LOG-110.

  Getting out of the fusion was…easier than I'd expected. There wasn't any real sense of resistance, bar my own slight hesitation to go back to just…yeah.

  Clink.

  What I didn't expect upon landing on my feet and turning around was to be greeted by Sodalite. Or more specifically, her gemstone.

  "Shit."

  Shaking my head slightly, I approached the inanimate core, kneeling down and inspecting it while chancing a pair of glances down either end of the hallway I'd chosen to break things off in.

  No one emerged from around the corners to watch me, and thus my attention was diverted back towards the gemstone right as it (thankfully) began to shine with the typical glow of a Gem beginning to take form.

  Stepping back, I watched as that light twisted and turned, forming the usual 'mannequin' of a body before details began to etch themselves out atop its surface. Clothes. Hair. Facial features. The essentials.

  There was a slight frown on my face by the time Sodalite landed on the ground herself, a slight thump echoing out through the hallway in comparison to my own silent descent.

  "I…wha-?"

  The one eyed Gem stumbled, blinking rapidly for a moment as she glanced around, as if seeing her surroundings for the first time. Said aforementioned eye locked in on me and widened right as I stepped forward, a gauntlet manifesting on my right hand as I pressed it flat against her chest and pushed.

  "Oof!"

  Off balance as she was, the aristocrat stumbled backwards, slipping slightly and tumbling back to impact against the wall behind her, staring up at me with…far too many emotions to identify.

  "V-Viridian! I-"

  "Quiet." I hissed.

  To her credit, Sodalite did go quiet, mouth shutting with a barely audible clack as I brought my clawed fingers up to my lips, the edges just barely poking against the side of my chin as I tried to think.

  "This…you and I…I don't know what it is."

  She blinked, mouth opening. I continued before she could voice whatever she was thinking.

  "But what I do know is that I can't risk any complications. Not from the Empire. Not from the Confluence. And most certainly not from you."

  I punctuated the words by stepping forward, crouching down in front of her and resting my armoured palm atop her shoulder.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  "So here's how this is going to go…"

  Sharpened digits trailed along the space between shoulder and neck, rising upwards until I had her jaw in as solid a grip as I could get without outright piercing her lightform.

  Judging by the way her singular pupil was visibly dilating, my little act was having some effect. Though maybe not the exact one I would have preferred, in this case. There was fear there, but also something else. I was almost tempted to say arousal but…Imperial Gems didn't come with something like that by default.

  Admiration, maybe. Horrendous as the thought was, considering the circumstances.

  "I have modified footage of everything. The talking. The fusing. All of it. One word of this…or of anything else you think you might have heard, and some good, loyal Gem will leak that footage. An aberrant, unhinged, defective Sodalite forcing cross caste fusion on the Confluence's darling Pearl. Now just what would that lead to, I wonder?"

  The ugly taste in my mouth increased as the blue Gem shivered, seconds before she leaned into my touch, uneasy breaths falling against the protective plating covering my hand.

  "I won't."

  It was unsettling, just how certain she sounded. But I took the answer anyway, nodding as I pulled back, ignoring the disappointed look Sodalite shot me as I stepped away.

  "W-wait. When-when can we do this again?"

  I grit my teeth as I turned around, beginning the long trek back to Hessonite's office.

  "When I'm up for it again, I'll find you. Now get back to work before someone notices you've been gone for so long."

  The breathy sigh that escaped the aristocrat prompted a twitch of my eye, even as I internally continued to scold my own lack of self control.

  —

  "Ah, Viridian, there you are! I trust your last performance went well?"

  Standard but effective respectful pose. Usual calm energy. Feet straight, head inclining slightly with my eyes closing for a moment. Every little detail that made sure I maintained that ever so perfect mask of a flawless Pearl, all as I played out a small bow.

  "Your trust is not misplaced, my Hessonite. It was most adequate. I would dare to believe that the Gems involved were most impressed." Even if it likely wasn't the exact kind of performance the Garnet was picturing.

  Nonetheless, the administrator nodded along, one arm sliding along the table next to her as she scooped up what I identified to be a particularly recent model of communicator, glancing at it for a moment before handing it off to an eagerly waiting Glitter.

  "Very good. I'm afraid your next outing will have to wait for now, however. A Pearl has arrived to assist in facilitating a minor resource transfer on behalf of her owner, and Glitter here is currently preoccupied assisting me with some datawork regarding an incoming prison transport."

  Turning slightly, Hessonite adjusted her posture, making a beckoning motion. I quietly made a mental note of the fact that some kind of convict (or convicts, depending on how many there might be) was apparently coming here.

  Something to look into later, most certainly, maybe Fawn might be interested?

  "Come now, tell Viridian what you need. If my presence is required, I'll be right here with Glitter."

  I watched as the Garnet stepped aside, a familiar blur of pink moving forward right as I caught sight of the Pearl's singular eye, wide with joy as she tilted down into a brief curtsy, elaborate hair moving with the motion.

  "Good to see you again Viridian! I'm just here to request a new batch of cushions for my Sapphire. Could you ah, please assist?"

  I regarded Fuchsia for a moment before slowly nodding, stepping to the side to commandeer a section of the table's interactive surface that wasn't taken up by Hessonite and Glitter's presence, already bringing up some of the transfer and order systems I'd taken the time to familiarize myself with.

  "I most certainly could, though it feels a little odd to come directly to a district administrator's private office to request pillows. What's the occasion?"

  My de facto owner and Batchmate continued to mutter between each other, even as Fuchsia moved up next to me and excitedly began to point out the specific shipment we were apparently going to be directing.

  "She woke up from her trance! Which, like, hasn't happened in ages. So we need to make sure she's super comfy and stuff until she's ready to announce what she saw! Normally I'd just deal with this myself, but I need to be sure, you know?"

  Tilting my head at that (and silently dreading the prospect of getting so close to one of the Empire's premier precognitive Gems, considering Star Sapphires put their normal brethren to fucking shame in the future sight department), I did my best to match the pink Pearl's bubbly energy, my fingers already confirming the landing of a supposedly incoming transport, this one carrying luxury goods rather than criminals.

  "Well, we'll just have to see what we can do about that then, won't we?"

  I silently reflected on just how odd it felt to transition back to 'normal' operations right after…whatever I was going to call the Sodalite situation, even as Fuchsia did a happy little motion from beside me.

  "Yep!"