<Nora>

 

A majestic palace, barring walls that seemed to shimmer with a subtle pink hue, rose from the desolate remains of a planet. Its massive spires reached high into the sky, towering over all surrounding buildings. Yet, despite its gargantuan size and the overbearing blue star in the sky, it didn’t cast a shadow. No, instead, it emitted a faint, warm glow similar to that of molten rock. A glow filled with spirit and life.

Here, in this majestic palace, resided many beings. Beings who possessed a fantastical and extraordinary aura by nature. A nature that made them shine more brightly compared to the average creature of their universe. However, even among these extraordinary beings, there appeared to be one that radiated such a nature greater than the rest.

Greater than the rest combined.

“Lexiconnnnnnn!”

In the throne room, the heart of the palace, sat a dazzling being. With cotton candy hair and sparkling diamond eyes, she bore the resemblance of fine nobility. Currently, though, her actions lacked anything that could be called such.

“How much longerrrrrr?”

Sitting in perhaps the most undignified posture possible, the being peeked one of its closed eyes open. Staring at the floating grey book before it.

This was Nora.

‘I can’t believe I’m bored…’

You wouldn’t think it possible for someone who was reborn as the leader of a space-conquering civilisation, but hey, it happens. After a while, things just become more and more efficient, requiring less and less input from the leader. Everybody knows what to do and how to do it. In short, Nora was suffering from having overly competent subordinates.

It gave too much free time.

“Good things take time, my diamond.” (L)

Nora frowned at the frankly treacherous words uttered by the magical book. It being the only being in this world not directly created by her power was very annoying. Instead of the usual, “I’ll see it done, my diamond!” said with great enthusiasm. All she got was back talk and dodging questions.

Clicking her tongue, Nora tapped the communication orb situated on her lap.

“Dear gems everywhere, I’m pleased to announce that Steven is finally ready to take his rightful place on Pink’s diamond throne!”

“How’s it going everybody? I know you all might be thinking of me as the new pink diamond, but you don’t have to put me on a throne. I already have a rightful place, and it’s on Earth. It’s a beach house where I live with my friends, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. As much as I love dismantling the empire and saving all your planets, I can’t wait to get home and spend some quality time with my friends.”

How much time has passed since this message came through?

Nora stared at the frozen projection.

Simply put, too much time.

Tapping the orb, she played it again. Once more, twice more, thrice more… until he lost count.

Despite being fairly certain she had been reborn in the Steven Universe Verse, seeing proper confirmation was still rather jarring. After all, suddenly waking up on a barren planet with a magical talking book guiding her wasn’t something she expected from the show. It was only after said book started teaching her did she piece her situation together.

“My diamond…”

A sombre voice called out Nora.

Breaking her concentration and turning her gaze, she met the eyes of a concerned gem. Onyx, the only grade 1 Admiral, wore a concerned expression. Nora instinctively smiled seeing her face. She couldn’t help but feel warm seeing her. Without her, surviving on this planet would’ve been impossible. She was her very first and very best make.

Standing up, Nora let out a light giggle.

She couldn’t wait to get back to Earth.

“To the treasure room!” (N)

 

 

Walking to the treasure room, Nora passed by quite a number of guards. In passing them, she would always stop and have a nice long chat with them. Honestly, it was quite the waste of time, but when you got nothing but time, it hardly matters. The guards enjoyed it, and Nora got to kill a bit of time. A win-win situation for everyone involved.

‘The old hidden brother… sister… family member trope, god, I wonder how he’s going to react!’

Nora struggled to suppress her giggles. Out of all possible tropes she could immerse herself in, this was possibly her most favourite one. It was just too perfect.

“Have I not told you good things take time, my diamond? Rushing over to the treasure room will not speed up the process.” (L)

Hearing the voice of the treacherous scum, Nora merely ignored his words and stuck out a tongue. She wouldn’t need this doubter for much longer.

“My diamond… if I may be so bold as to ask…?” (O)

Seeing her hesitating yet full of sincerity, Nora nodded. It was good to encourage capable people to speak their mind. So, with a cheerful smile, she stated,

“Nope! You may not be so bold!” (N)

Witnessing her closest confident confidant freeze up and fall silent, Nora chuckled.

“Hehe, I’m just joking a little.” (N)

Glancing at the slight glum on her face, a vicious smile bloomed on Nora. She was just too easy. Quickly feigning a sad expression, she continued,

“You know… I’m hurt too. After all this time, and you still call me so… so formally.” (N)

“My diamond, you know I can’t—” (O) 

“Are... Are we not close?” (N)

“My diamond! No, that's not it! It’s just—” (O)

“It’s just?” (N)

Nora inched closer and closer to the Admiral while giving the most charming eyes imaginable.

“No… Don’t tell me… You’ve, you’ve found someone else, haven’t you?” (N)

Looking downcast, Nora set the final nail.

“Well, that’s okay. I—I understand that—” (N)

“My diamond! My whole body and mind belong to you!! There are no others!!! I swear it upon my life!!!!” (O)

The Admiral bent down on her knees, held both of Nora’s hands in a firm clasp, and swore in the most earnest fashion possible.

“Don’t you think that’s enough, my diamond?” (L)

“Yes, yes.” (N)

Urging the melodramatic gem to her feet while rolling her eyes, Nora had them carry on with their walk.

‘Such a worrywart.’

It wasn’t like Nora wasn’t aware of what she wanted to ask. She could see the concern on not only her face but also on the faces of all the gems they had interacted with. They were worried about her. They were worried she might be disappointed, they were worried she might get hurt by those other gems, but, most of all, they were worried she might not return.

All pointless worries.

Reaching the treasure vault, Nora enthusiastically chatted with the guards before heading in.

The moment her gems meet the others, they will realise how pointless their worries are.

Stepping onto the podium, Nora, Onyx, and even the magical book were encased within a precious pink bubble. The bubble hovered in the air for a moment before dropping down into a vat of purple liquid. They sank for a couple of minutes before resurfacing on a stellar pink plane.

It was a long, unending corridor with various hallways splitting off.

If in a rush, Nora would normally just fly straight to the end, but seeing as how they were trying to waste time, she decided to walk the day long journey.

 

 

Arriving at the empty door frame at the end of the endless corridor, Nora walked in with an apathetic march. Laid at the centre of the room was a warp pad.  Broken down and seemingly forgotten. Surrounding it were various new, more refined gadgets all trying to revive it.

Hovering over to the pad, Nora silently cursed the former Pink Diamond before landing.

If there was one thing to be certain about in this lifetime, it would be that the greatest obstacle in her returning back to Earth was the former Pink Diamond. For whatever reason, she had made the process exceedingly difficult. In fact, it was so difficult Nora had given up on it entirely. Deciding to explore the other interesting galaxies in the boundless expanse of space instead. And, it would’ve remained like that for the rest of forever if not for the orb recovered here.

A light step alerted Nora of the presence of her right hand on the pad.

She activated the warp.

Not with her powers, no, but with a melodic hum.

The dead gadgets surrounding the portal power on with a light roar. Feeding the collected energy of several planets into the warp. The warp buzzed to life, glowing brightly.

‘Come on! Come on!’

Nora waited.

Ding!

The first requirement was met.

Ding!

The second requirement was met.

Ding!

The third requirement was met.

Ding!

The four requirement was met.

Buzz!

The fifth requirement was not met.

Nora was tempted to throw something at the wall.

 Abruptly, the warp dimmed. Another failed attempt. They were yet to meet the stipulated requirements.

“You should’ve listened to me, my diamond.” (L)

Grabbing the floating grey book out of the air, Nora whispered,

“Hey.... Tell me what the last requirement is before I obliterate you.” (N)

“As much as I would love to divulge that information to you, my diamond. Such a thing is not in the bounds of my current self.” (L)

Has Nora mentioned how much she has grown to hate this book? Always keeping secrets behind her back. At first, she dismissed this behaviour out of respect for her mentor, but as they grew together and the secrets ballooned, she gradually lost that sentiment. This book knew a lot about the former Pink Diamond, and it for sure knew what the last requirement was.

Just like it did for the previous four.

Remembering the grand efforts alone filled Nora with anger.

The first requirement was the crystal key: It was a key that required countless gems to brave the harshest of worlds teeming with monsters. It was used to unlock the restrictions placed on the warp.

The second requirement was an energy source: It required the destruction and absorption of several worlds. It was used to bypass the warp's rejection of Nora’s power.

The third requirement was a lack of weapons near the portal: It required the complete removal of all offensive and defensive weapons in the world.

The fourth requirement was a knowledge of the location: It required Nora to scour for the former Pink diamond’s memorabilia despite having knowledge of Earth.

The amount of time and energy used to satisfy one requirement was absurd. With how difficult it is, Nora repeatedly wondered how the former Pink Diamond managed it alone. But, at the end of the day, one message was made clear.

Do not come.

The former Pink Diamond really didn’t want Nora to come or, if she were to come, to come completely defenceless. How else could you explain the lack of weapons as a requirement?

‘Wait… defenceless’

“Onyx, leave the warp.” (N)

Nora watched the gem hesitate briefly before stepping off. Due to the overbearing tendencies of her closet, she had never actually tried this by herself. It appeared too obvious now. If the former Pink Diamond wanted her completely defenceless, what better way than to strip her of her gems?

“M-My diamond, this isn’t safe; please let me accompany you!” (O)

Nora shook her head then hummed once more.

If this was all it took, then maybe…

Ding!

The first requirement was met.

Ding!

The second requirement was met.

Ding!

The third requirement was met.

Ding!

The four requirements were met.

Ding!

The fifth requirement was met.

 

The fifth requirement was met.

Nora smiled.

‘So that’s how it is, huh?’

“My diamond!” (O)

Looking up at the book floating beside her, Nora couldn’t help but taunt.

“Are you mad?” (N)

Receiving no response, Nora’s smile grew wider.

 “What? No way… Are you actually mad? You are mad! You are mad I don’t need you anymore!” (N)

Giggling wildly, Nora met the eyes of her gem.

“See you soon!” (N)

In a flash, they disappeared.