Arctic Meltdown (C:7XB)

[Paddy]

Her feet clicked furiously down the tunnel, followed by the thump of heavy amethyst guards and 3JJ, along with the short but sturdy Deputy Clinohumite in tow. Each footfall other than her own grated on her temper, an annoying tick-tap that got more intrusive the longer she tried to ignore it; she hadn't ordered any of these gems to follow her, they just did, as was entirely expected of them. Right now, however, it felt like a jab to the side as she coped with the sting in her spine. Finally she threw up her hand and waved them all away with a sharp gesture. 3JJ hesitated to leave, and paused to stand where she was, keeping her eyes on Padparadscha as the sapphire continued blazing forward. 

She arrived at the end of the line to see the broad back of a stranger hovering over her desk. A gem who had so cleverly deceived her up to this point, a gem who had come to bring her more grief from the past that she had so desperately wanted to leave behind, on the surface of Homeworld. Her eyes narrowed as that stranger spoke; their cold tone reminded her of the dispassionate gem they had seemed to be in the beginning-- was that truly them, was that how they had so thoroughly evaded her detection? Was everything they had told her untrue? Had her emotions been so overwhelming as to blot out the truth, again? Perhaps what her mentor had once told her was true after all, but thinking of conceding to those words only made her volcanic anger and despair surge.

Padparadscha quit asking herself questions as 7XB posed their own, and her brows shot up as the name hit her, and a certain wicked, mocking smile flashed through her memory. Her mouth fell open, the focus of her eyes wavering as the quartz whirled to look at her. The sapphire stood, stunned when her eyes met their's, "What did you just say?" She hissed, though she had heard them just fine,"2MD, is that what you said? Arsenic 2MD?" Her teeth clenched, fists shaking with the turmoil wracking her mind. What she saw in 7XB's eyes was genuine anger, but the reasoning was not apparent to her. She tipped her head back slightly and fluttered her eyelids as she spoke more quietly, "I knew it, I just couldn't bring myself to believe it. You're with them too, this whole time you've been with them. All the data they stole before wasn't enough?" Her eyes darted to their fist, then back up to their eyes,"I don't know what she said to you, 7XB. I don't know what they sent you to do, but it doesn't matter," Her arm rose and she pointed toward the exit of the tunnel,"Because you're leaving, right now,"  

[7XB]

So she did know the arsenic gem they spoke of. Though they didn't imagine it being possible, their heart sunk even more, coming to rest in the churning volcano that threatened to boil over in their core. Of course she would be angry, defensive even, now that the wool had been pulled from over their eyes. Well, her betrayal had festered in their heart long enough, and no more would they suffer this cruel, deceptive traitor to walk all over them. “I have no idea what you're sputtering about, Padparadscha,” they cut across her lies with a violently dismissive wave of their free hand, “and I don't care.” The rage in their voice, palpable as it was, was only fueled farther by the despair that cracked their voice and threatened to drown it out.

“I only came here to see if what she said..was true. If you'd been trying to use me this whole time.” Looking back now, it all made sense. She'd been trying to gain their confidences, break them down.

“And I found this.” They now would reveal what had been held so securely in their hand- a portable storage device, clearly for use in the holotech in the office..but they had not been able to bring themselves to activate it, lest the true nature of her compilation of lies come to fruition.

“And I will leave, I cannot bear to be here.” They admittedly ruefully, their roaming eyes landing again upon the sapphire like the righteous blade of a guillotine. “But not until you tell me the truth: that you were using me. That it was all..a lie.” They wanted to hear it from her lips, those same lips that had languished such sweetness upon them. Such lies.

“Admit it.” Confess.

[Paddy]

Padparadscha reeled as pungent, bitter emotion laced their timbre, yet their words only reinforced for her the dire conclusion she had come to. As they continued, the sapphire's shaking slowed, until she stood as still as the stone around her, but for the movement of her eyes as 7XB revealed the data in their hand. Every force she could muster deployed to hold herself back, to keep her tears from satisfying this gem's game. No tears escaped in the silence that drew from 7XB's demand, but her wide-eyed gaze darkened as she sneered, slender brows lowering. Despite every shred of will she conjured to keep herself from feeling the brand of shame that Pink Diamond had freed her from, the humiliation cut through her as swiftly as 7XB's keen, exacting gaze. Padparadscha still couldn't let herself back down.

"Using you?" She scoffed,"A quartz bursts into a project that has nothing to do with them, disrupts productivity, interrogates an interrogator, while poaching her records! Then you claim I've used you? What mockery, especially knowing her! She can't stand seeing that I've continued just fine without her!" The sapphire's voice raised as she made her retort, the words rang through the tunnel. 7XB seemed to be attempting to warp her into believing she was the one in the wrong, on top of treating her to the same bold lack of respect she had inexplicably found so charming; the sapphire was practically bursting at the seams with indignation and wounded pride. Still, some part of her yearned for all of this to stop, for 7XB to go back to pretending to be her...her what? 

No wonder they could never answer her question, of what they wanted from her. No wonder she only heard from them so sparsely. All of the moments that she had dwelt on so fondly now seemed to be day dreams, distractions. However, as little as she was inclined to trust her senses now, there was something; a familiar feeling of disconnect with them. The last time she had sensed this had been over something so simple, but strange. She opened her palm and looked to her hand, remembering the moment, and subsequently the day that they had spent together. Her hand folded as she dwelt on their word choice, and the deep scar that 7XB had shared with her not so long ago. Hearing her name from them now stung the same way any insubordination would, yet with salt pushed into the wound.

"You want to know the truth?" She uttered, vulnerable despair leaking into her voice, shoulders hiked. Her eyes again fluttered away the moisture threatening to build, but she gave them a sharp, molten glare. "I'll tell. But not here," Her eyes cast down, to the data they held hostage, then trailed over the dark rock hanging over them. She swiveled, and stepped off for the entrance of the tunnel. 

[7XB]

As stubborn and hurt as they were, caught up in their own wounded pride and self loathing, the quartz was staggered by the sorrow her voice carried, striking them like a painful lash- Even now her sadness affected them, leaving the sturdy gem somewhat confused. Even if her anguish was somehow genuine, though how could they possibly believe that anything she'd ever revealed to them up until this point was, why did they even care? Without a shadow of a doubt they could not help but believe that it had all been a ruse. The only feeling stronger than their righteous anger was regret.

Regret that they'd found the Arsenic at all, regret that they had even been wandering the tundra at all and allowed such a thing to happen. The truth was poison, and as much as 7XB so resented it, they held it against their heart- almost as a punishment for daring to believe in human fairy tales.

Yet, now they were confused, a hint of as much fluttering beneath their gaze as she turned to depart, expecting them to follow upon her coattails, as per usual. Their eyes narrowed distrustfully, a trap? Even if that was what the Pink Court gem was planning, 7XB was confident that they held the upper hand..or rather the advantage in their hand, nonetheless.

If any of the gems that they would no-doubt find upon exiting the quarry tried to detain them, or even managed to successfully do so, they would have already destroyed the drive by then, and any hopes of slandering their Diamond with it. Their steps echoed after her own, muscles tense all along the way.

Who would speak first, they wondered, once they got where they were going? And, more over, why did they care? They'd gotten what they wanted, so what could the sapphire hope to say?

[Paddy]

As she stepped toward the entrance, and her entourage, her shoulders crept upward as tension in them grew, turning her back on a gem who had infiltrated her operation and stolen from her. Their footsteps reminded her of all the times they had looked out for her; would this gem ever hurt her? Would they truly be so cruel as it seemed now?  

She had to throw out everything she knew about 7XB, and replace it with the knowledge that they were one of many pawns in Yellow Sapphire's grandiose scheme; whatever the end game was for that terrifying gem, Padparadscha wasn't sure, but the yellow court aristocrat had gone through the trouble of employing that rogue engineer, as well as the clear quartz. It seemed that sapphire was truly trying to break Padparadscha this time around, but she held her composure as she stepped. 

3JJ kept her alert eyes shifting between each gem; she had been standing further back in the tunnel for the whole spat. She was a bit lost, but as the sapphire stepped passed her, the jasper's eyes dug into 7XB. The warrior swiveled and shouldered up to the gem, anticipating that they would be detained once more soldiers could join her. The pink court sapphire, however, didn't give an order. She kept walking until she crossed into the daylight once again, where she slowed to turn toward the short, red-orange gem who she had arrived with,"Deputy Clinohumite, get Pink Pearl. She will be in charge of monitoring our status, you will be in charge of making sure everything is accounted for. 3JJ, you're in charge of the quartz team," She spoke briskly, then turned, and kept walking toward the quarry's access point, picking up the pace somewhat. Her retainers looked at each other, but went into action. Padparadscha continued forward silently, up the ramp, then toward her ship. 

She kept walking, passed the ship, right out into the tundra wastes surrounding this small operation in the middle of the arctic. The sapphire wanted to be far from the quarry before she would begin to really try figuring out what in the name of the Diamonds was going on. The whole time she walked, she mulled over the things they'd said to her. The short gem had to hike up her knees to get through the snow, each step she sank a little bit more; not just physically, but emotionally. When she determined she was far enough she spoke without stopping her forward advance, to hide her failing composure,"So, 7XB. You want the truth? The truth," She slowed, the effort of plowing through the snow at this point was draining. Her head tipped and she gave an exasperated sigh,"Have I used you?" She shook her head,"I assume that must be some trick question. I hired you because I-- I thought..." Her head hung down for a moment,"I thought you were interesting. There was always something about you. Now I see it was all a machination. You can tell your ringleader that she really got to me this time. She hasn't won, no, but it would only be the truth to say that this elaborate scheme has cut me. Is that her goal, or is it just a treat for her on top of siphoning my data?"

[7XB]

3JJ, the one gem who they'd believe didn't exactly know the details of what was really going on here, was not the only one who expected trouble as she came to stand alongside them- the quartz was tense, and fully expecting the other quartz gems to try and seize them at any moment, but the order never came, and it seemed that wasn't even the last surprise of the day; They would breath a sigh of relief as they stepped again into the light of day, shrouded as it was by the stormy sky even relaxing slightly as their eyes adjusted to the light.

They had logically assumed that this little conference would take place, but that went out the window as soon as she ordered her entourage away, trudging through the snow as quickly as her little legs could carry. They had always found it somewhat endearing, the troubles that the much smaller gem had in locales they themselves could traverse with such ease.

That was genuine, at least. And now they were alone.

Her venomous words came against them so suddenly, both confusing and insulting; 'Ringleader”..was that the manner of languages she would use in reference to their glorious Diamond? The nerve! “I’ve never left any doubts as to my loyalties, Padparadscha,” they retorted, “I'll not stand here and let you insult my Diamond in such a way.’ though there was, now, a good deal of confusion on their part. Did she believe that Yellow Diamond was aware of what was going on here?

“You should count yourself lucky that I didn't contact Yellow Diamond myself.” Why hasn't they, though? “Rest assured, it's a mercy I did not.” But again, why had they not? They held the proof now in their hands to see the sapphire ruined, or worse.

“I wanted to..to see if she had lied. Admittedly I..wanted her to be lying, the Arsenic.” Their voice broke somewhere in the middle, peering down at the storage device, such a fragile thing held between their fingers. “But it true, isn't it? You.. you've been spying on Yellow Diamond, haven't you? That's what this is.” Acutely, they sighed, averting a melting gaze..

“That's all it's ever been. I suppose I was a fool, wasn't I, to expect any different?”

[Paddy]

Her eyes narrowed as she listened, and she stopped trying to trudge forward at all as they made a threat. She had her back turned to them, so the full effects of her truth senses couldn't be applied, but the waver of their voice sounded so natural that it gripped her heart; she never wanted 7XB to be upset, let alone so distraught as they seemed now. Their words grazed upon her own feelings; their final sentence to her echoing her own thoughts. Was that part of this ruse meant to humiliate and defame her?

Her hands drew up along her arms, eyes cast to the side as she questioned whether she had miscalculated-- wanting for that to be the case, yet there was still too much evidence to the contrary. She peered over her shoulder, but remained unwilling to fully reveal her red-in-the-face expression, eyes brimming with tears. She glanced forward again and shut her eyes; there was only one way to figure out what was really going on.

"Spying on Yellow Diamond? Are you not here, on Pink Diamond's colony, to spy on Pink Diamond? No, you're here for something worse, whether you realize it or not. I never mean to insult a Diamond, but if the gems of her court are caught exhibiting suspicious behavior within my jurisdiction, what am I to do? Does scrutinizing suspicious activity during wartime amount to an insult?" Her lips pressed together. It was possible that 7XB wasn't privy to the dark inner workings of Yellow Court machinations, those that she had witnessed with her own eyes. She wanted to believe that hint in their tone, these words that seemed so in sync with her own emotions. She thought about the records they'd stolen; if this was about her alleged spying, what on Earth were they doing with her project records? There were certainly things in those records she didn't want them to see, but she wondered if it was anything 7XB had expected to find there. 

She didn't want to allow her harsh tone to waver now, yet it did, her voice softening as hope clung to her,"7XB, if...if you would like to see what's in those records...I-- I'll show you, but first you must answer these questions. Who is Arsenic 2MD to you, and why are you here right now? I need the full truth," Without turning around, she unfolded her arms and stuck out her hand, presenting the holotech bracelet on her wrist. If they weren't willing to hand it over, they could place device into the holotech themselves.

[7XB]

7XB would come to a rather sudden stop some distance behind, fearful of mowing the delicate noble down. Their chest puffed with indignation at her suggestion; To suggest that they'd been sent here to spy on Pink Diamond or some other, more sinister purpose that they themselves weren't privy to..it was insulting. They had served their lumenous, brilliant Diamond for years uncounted: They were merely a quartz soldier, yes, but they were not a fool. “You know full well my mission..” They murmered, voice fading so that it was barely distinguishable over the wind.

They had come here so confident, so overwhelmed with righteous fury over what the slippery arsenic gem had told them out in the tundra, and had hardly questioned it again once the quarry had come into view- She had been right about it's location, why would they assume that she had lied about anything else?

Slowly, though, that was slipping away, the crack in their facade allowing it to dribble away as she cast a glance over her shoulder, what little light that shone down reflection off of the welling moisture in those wide, captivating eyes, though for only a moment. What conclusions the Quartz gem had drawn seemed so logical, but doubt seemed to be taking root. “I..” they looked again, downward, towards the device in their hands, then the bracelet she has offered up.

It the information was what they thought it was, her offer didn't make any sense to them. “I met her this morning,” they admitted, gaze lifting back to where it had once rested, “in the tundra. I had just finished a rendezvous with an associate, tracking a corruption’s trail from the southern climates. We'd had sightings this way and..well..” the details of that didn't matter.

“We had never met previously, but she mentioned you by name, and this facility.” Among other things, “So I..I came straight here to see if there was any truth to what she said.” Their stomach was twisting in knots already- had they been fooled so easily?

[Paddy]

Padparadscha braced herself for whatever 7XB would do or say next. Then, her hand lowered, brows furrowed as the clear quartz made their quiet assertion. They seemed to believe what they said was the truth, but the statement was too vague for her to pin down one way or the other; was their mission as they had once told her, or was it was she had surmised today? Silently, the sapphire stood and continued to listen, turning her ear only slightly toward them as they admitted the seeming truth. The investigator mulled over who this mysterious associate might have been, and why 2MD might have been in the right place at the right time to meet with the quartz. It all still seemed too convenient for the sapphire to fully believe that there wasn't some plot in the works, but perhaps 7XB didn't know of any such plot. 

In a way, that thought only made it worse. She stared forward, hit square in the chest with realization that knocked the tears from their holding. The sapphire quickly wiped them away, but it seemed a futile effort as they continued to stream down her cheeks. Her eyes trailed to the snow beneath her feet. Over the course of her time standing there, the snow had receded from the residual heat of her emotions. She stood still for a moment, allowing the sound of wind and distant ocean waves fill the air while she tried to think.

When she had reeled in her composure enough for her to hold a solid tone, she began,"Arsenic 2MD is a dangerous criminal who has been treading the line of the law for thousands of years, evading capture through technicalities. She is a savvy gem with friends in high places. Do the names Yellow Sapphire and Xenotime ring a bell for you?" Her head tilted, though she still didn't want to let them see her cry right now. She didn't wait for them to confirm whether or not they were in cahoots with her most persistent rivals,"If what you say is true, then..." The corners of her lips pulled down and she shut her eyes,"Then I think it's clear what's really going on here," 

Her deductive mind had come to a conclusion, one that seemed to hurt and humiliate her more than the prospect of 7XB never having been there for her. At least in that case, they were just another enemy who she knew how to deal with. This, however, was different, and more complex than she had originally thought. 

She couldn't determine the full truth of what she were going to say next without seeing their reaction to it; she was still, before she swallowed, and shifted her small feet. Padparadscha turned around, eyes still shut tight, but that couldn't stop the tears from falling. Her face was beet-red, entire form holding tension as her eyes fluttered opened, and she looked up with all of the pain this debacle had dredged up swimming in her hazy vision,"You don't trust me, and they know that." Her head hung with shame, and her arm raised again to show them the bracelet,"There are things in those records that...that I wasn't...ready to--" She pressed her lips together,"--that I never wanted you to see. But I'm not spying on your Diamond, 7XB. I'm merely protecting my own."

[7XB]

The foundation that the Quartz had believed so solid was crumbling away, faster and faster, beneath their feet as Padparadscha spoke, each crack of her voice compromising the integrity of what they believed, or what they thought they believed anyway. The moment of silence only allowed this dreadful uncertainty to incubate, inevitably caught up in the toxic maelstrom of feelings building up in their gut. Had they really been caught up in some plot to ruin Padparadscha? A brute used to hurt her worse than the mere destruction of her work would have been able to achieve? The two names she mentioned with such mournful loathing meant nothing to them, names without faces, though it was safe to assume that these gems had some place or importance in Yellow Diamond's court.

Amongst uncounted millions of gems alongside them under the service of their Diamond, it was not unusual to come across the odd gem that they had never heard of, let alone met, much like the arsenic gem who'd slipped out of their grip, but it was clear that these gems and Padparadscha carried some history between them- Had their relationship with the sapphire gotten 7XB tangled up into some sort of political dispute between nobler, craftier gems?

Just before the Quartz could use this as justification for why the pair of them were utterly incompatible, Padparadscha turned, and any last trace of color faded from their already-pale face as they beheld her desperately broken expression. 7XB practically recoiled in horror, something like panic seizing control of their expression: They had never seen the sapphire look so tormentingly distraught, and as much as it pulled at their heartstrings to see her upset at all, this left them feeling more brutally gutted than ever before.

Then she spoke, and they began to crumble.

“I..no it's not, it isn't..” As much as they wanted to deny it, the evidence clearly spoke for itself, didn't it? They cared for her, truly, but had they full trusted her, conscious and subconscious, would they have been so easily manipulated by these other gems? “I..these feelings, I..” They had been so unsure about these warm feelings for so long, had it really been so easy to write them off as fake?

What came next pulled their attention and, admittedly, their interest. Tentative, they touched the drive into the offered bracelet..

[Paddy]

Her lips pulled down as they began an attempt at defending themselves, though it was undeniable at this point that they were more inclined to trust an outlaw arsenic than the Pink Court sapphire they had spent months building rapport with. However, as she stood questioning everything they'd ever said to her, it came to her attention how little trust she had found it in her to share with 7XB herself; not just today, but throughout the time the two of them had explored their emotions.

Padparadscha's eyes followed their hand as the quartz connected the device, all the while wishing they would think better of prying into the records of her life, wishing they would simply concede and allow her to have her secrets. Eyes cast to the side as the holotech received and began to process the data. Humiliation dragged on every limb as if the gravity of this planet were too much. Embarrassment continued to take over her expression in blaring red, and tension wound up her back, shoulders and jaw. 

"Feelings...how little faith we have in such things, no?" The sapphire's brow arched, and her eyes flicked away. Perhaps it would have been better for her to scrutinize those feelings even more than she had, as it had been her willingness to give in to those emotions that had caused her this moment of grief anyway.

She quickly pulled her wrist away from their hand, and looked down at it for a moment. Padpara was the only one who could activate her holotech, and its security protocols had been greatly revamped since the recent breach of her data; the sapphire could very well make some excuse to not show them, but for as many questions as she still had running through her mind, they had answered those that she had posed. After all, they had seemed to trust her enough to give her room to try to explain herself. She tapped her wrist and allowed the data to boot up onto her screen. Padparadscha glared from the side of her eyes at 7XB, wondering how much of these records they would read before they came to whatever they were looking to find.

What would appear was an index of the records. The text was nondescript, but projected up for the quartz to see all seven-hundred phases of Project Lotus, accessible by only those with the specific clearance to view it. The mission statement would appear in the first entry of the index; to create a massive artifact, a Plasma Conduit, to be utilized a renewable energy source, terraforming tool, and a devastating weapon-- a joint project between the Pink and Yellow courts. The preliminary entry would go on to list the involvement of fifty specially selected arsenics to work on the project, alongside many olivine-class technicians and aristocratic proctors, most from the Yellow Court. It would seem devoid of involvement from Padparadscha gems until the final preliminary information; six hundred and seventy six gem cores, the Padparadscha 8 Series, were yet to be created when this entry had been filed, but their incubation in Homeworld Kindergartens had been undergone in an unspecified location.

Below the preliminary entry were the options to go to the next entry, or jump to another phase in the project. 

[7XB]

By nature, the Quartz gem was not nosy, as they had been in service long enough to know what happened to gems that pried their way into matters that were not their own, especially gems as low-brow and disposable as themselves. In this case, though, 7XB could not help but feel as though the situation was different: They had given so very much of themselves to Padparadscha, revealed parts of themselves that they had thought, and very wished, that they had locked away. Something about her made them exceptionally vulnerable, but this vulnerability deserved at least some of the blame for this mounting heartache. But for all they had given, all they had revealed, some cynical part of them insisted that she had given less- a long-suppressed resentment born of her frequent deflections in regards to her past. Like many things, it had dwelt beneath the surface, breaching amongst the suspicion and distrust that had arisen just this past few hours.

The light of the holotech projection reflected in their eyes, the harsh right painting their face in fluorescent hues. The information overload was immediately a problem, a very visible discomfort upon their face as they struggled to adjust, especially under such scrutiny. The gruff quartz gem must have seemed exceptionally out of place poring over all of these technical documents, but they were committed. Their finger came up in due time, information soaring past at the mere presence, and onto the next document..

There was..a lot there, admittedly. Project Lotus: The weaponizing of plasma on a grand scale, a titanic example of the myriad of gem-powered artefacts the Diamonds possessed. Useful as they may be, these devices were often draconian affairs, the fine punishment for gems for which the Diamonds decided shattering was too merciful.

An eternity as a living, suffering battery, deprived of both form and free will. 7XB wouldn't say they necessarily agreed with them, but their utility couldn't be denied.

To imagine, though, that countless gems, Sapphires of all things, had been created for the sole purpose of powering some machine..it shook them. Their Diamond, their glorious, unquestionable Diamond..had allowed such a thing. And Padparadscha had been one of them, one of the lucky ones? Their eyes dropped to their palm, from which their plasma abilities originated; They had often thought of it as a similarly between themselves and Padparadscha, a connection with a gem so different than themselves. This definitely put a different perspective on it, to say the least.

[Paddy]

As arctic silence rung out after her words, the sky continued to darken with clouds. The wind picked up, but it still wasn't enough to breach the stationary, yet blistering temperature of the sapphire, still wracked with confusion, despair, and hope. 

It was odd to see them working with holotech, and the sapphire's eyes would glimmer just slightly at the endearing sight of them trying something they weren't accustomed to, with that honed focus of theirs she found charmingly effective. However, it was impossible to forget whose records they were picking apart, and under what circumstances they had done so, with such discomfort in their expression.

She continued to eye the gem as they read and the storm churned above their heads. She thought silently on her mantras as tears continued to slip through her defenses. Other thoughts crept through her repetitious centering techniques; the records wouldn't tell all, but they certainly held much of her life within their texts. What would 7XB do once they knew she was...off color, defective? It had always quietly nagged her how this perfect clear quartz seemed to accept her, before knowing that she had come out the wrong way, that she was a freak. Wasn't it clear from seeing her that she was unlike other gems in such glaring ways? Her mannerisms, her appearance, her job-- which 7XB no doubt knew was not her true purpose by now. If they didn't trust her before, it was easy to think they might never trust her now. 

Padparadscha, deep in her heart, hoped that the quartz might see her through it all, and continue their inexplicable acceptance of the oddity that she was. Deeper, she wondered if this gem might understand that hollow lonesomeness that had haunted her, but noxious sickness settled into her for even having the thought. She clutched her midriff with her free hand, many memories she didn't want had been knocked loose of their holding. Despite it, she knew she had to keep herself in the present, and glanced up to 7XB as they looked down into their palm.

That small glimmer of hope was scorched into ash with a snap of smoldering temper,"Well?" She muttered with a caustic note in her voice,"Did you find what you were looking for? Or what she was looking for? Yellow Sapphire would've been thrilled with your performance, 7XB. She would've been awfully happy to have that data," Her eyes stayed on theirs, and the moisture on her skin evaporated almost as soon as it appeared. 

[7XB]

As much as they themselves were grappling with all of this information, it suddenly struck them how Padparadscha must feel, carrying this information on her own for all of this time..it must have been a great burden for peach gem. They knew as well as any just how poisonous an anchor like that could become if allowed to fester. Wide, serious eyes came to focus on the crumbling sapphire before them, emotion without name or explanation pulling at them as they beheld their beloved Padparadscha in such a state.

It took a moment for her scathing response to really take root inside of the Quartz gem, her thick tears incinerated by the time their eyes lifted to meet her own, wide and contemplative in comparison to her own. “Faith..” They began, vaguely reminiscent of what she had said minutes ago, something that would stick with the Quartz longer than her venomous outburst, “how little we have in each other..” Their own anger.had fizzled out beneath the torrent of information, and the Quartz would find that they had far too much to digest to be angry.

This left them free to comprehend the sapphire and her emotion in greater detail- the humiliation and shame at root of her anger was practically translucent, they felt it. To them, she was no less dazzling than before, nor any less radiant now that they had some account of her apparently 'flaws’- the very differences that made her unique to them. After everything they had done, Padparadscha had every right not to believe a word they said. They sighed, a frown pulling at their lips as their eyes lifted again to the projection, a few moments of tapping causing it to disappear into her bracelet again, backpeddling just enough for their heel to crush a particularly hardy chunk of snow to fine powder. They made no real move to retrieve her archives, instead reaching to tame back their tangled mess of hair with a heavy sigh.

Faith. Something they both lacked. If she was going to believe that they were part of the conspiracy against her, the Quartz could think of nothing they could say to convince her otherwise, but it didn't matter. They were a gem of action.

[Paddy]

She was struck off guard by their more pensive expression, having expected their fury to match up against her own as had happened in the past. A fuming temperature was almost difficult to maintain, with not only the icy wind sweeping over them, but 7XB's eyes settling onto hers, the same shade as the landscape around them; a gaze that could be as harsh as a frigid blizzard, or as serene as a silent arctic plain. She analyzed what she saw, pressing her lips together as she tried to interpret what that look in their eyes meant. 

Then came their subdued reflection. Her thin brows shot up and her lashes fluttered; of everything she'd expected for them to say, they had revealed something least anticipated. She stood, anger eclipsed by confusion for a moment as she thought, until they closed her holotech, and stepped away from her. The chunk of permafrost crushed beneath them was a reminder of the power this quartz shouldered. Her brows lowered, darkening her expression once again as she kept a careful eye on their movements. They could very well attempt to take the physical copy of those archives with them, but she had improved her own prowess over the course of her time on Earth, partly in thanks to the things she had subtly picked up from her combative correspondent during their time working together; yet despite the scenarios running through her head, they almost seemed to be surrendering.

As they laced their fingers through their hair, she realized that 7XB was likely still coming to terms with what they had seen in those records. Their preoccupation with their hair had often been something she had quietly cherished, and it was a reminder that this gem wasn't, after all, a stranger to her. They were the only gem she had ever been so close to. 

Padparadscha's indignation was too stubborn to concede, and it still burned to know how true their words had been. Her lips pouted and she crossed her arms, eyes cast to the side as she refused to look at them. "I trusted you with my life, 7XB," She muttered through a wavering voice,"But what are we doing? It's all blown open now, isn't it? The very foundation of our little secret, those feelings, were distrusted from the very beginning. Of course there is no faith," Her arms clutched closer to her body, and she seemed to take on pressure from within, her teeth clenched. The sapphire then stepped forward, making to weave around 7XB and go back the way she'd come.