Somewhere across the vast, dead wasteland of Antarctica, a particularly pink dot could be seen crossing the icy landscape. If anyone were close enough, they would wonder why a lion was at the South Pole. Then, they would question why a lion was pink-colored in the first place.
But it mattered little, for Lion was on a mission.
(A Week Ago)
The moment the Pink Lightform disappeared, as the Flash plucked the diamond right out of her chest, Lion opened a portal behind Flash as he lunged at him from behind. Unfortunately, it was for naught, as Flash, even slightly surprised, disappeared in a blur of red.
Flash moved around the battlefield with untraceable speed, using a bottle of tears to fix Wonder Woman and Hal Jordan. Lion, sensing that things had gone beyond his control, opened a portal underneath himself. He teleported beside the Pink Lasso of Truth as he glared smugly at Wonder Woman, whose jaw grew back. With the grace of a feline, he opened another portal, teleporting himself and the lasso away.
(Present Time)
Lion's current mood was terrible. His idea was to wait until he felt his friend was awake, but it had been a week and she was still asleep. The worst part was that he couldn't feel where she was to open a portal for her.
For an entire week to pass without ear scratches was unacceptable. Lion was unhappy, and his week was ruined! A grumble rang from his throat as he carried the Lasso of Truth in his maw. Lion was a smart boy, but he had no idea what this lasso was... but he understood that it carried his friend's energy, so it was Pink's by right. And that evil woman was trying to steal it, so he would protect his friend's property until they could take it again.
Lion wasn't worried; his mind wasn't very good at considering consequences. He was smart, but very short-sighted. He considered any problem out of sight nonexistent. So, since he felt that Pink wasn't actually shattered, then there was nothing to worry about, since she was just asleep like the lazy friend she is. Honestly, Lion didn't know how she got anything done without him.
A huge grizzly bear appeared on the horizon, staring at Lion intensely. Lion glanced at him with glowing eyes as his mane started floating slightly. The bear's instinct screamed at it loud enough that it turned and bolted from what its instinct told it was a guaranteed death sentence.
Lion returned to normal as he started jogging happily, keeping his hide-and-seek game going with that thief. And he was winning... sure, she found him sometimes, screaming about what is rightfully hers or whatever nonsense that thieves screamed while trying to steal. He simply teleported away each time... in fact, the last few teleportations happened the moment he smelled the thief. He was tired of hearing them shouting all the time.
Lion stopped in his tracks as his supernatural sense of smell picked up on that screaming, angry thief woman again. So, with no care in the world, he opened a portal under himself as he teleported hundreds of miles away and then kept opening portals while accelerating until he reached all the way to the opposite pole of the planet.
He was winning the hide-and-seek game... Lion was smarter than the thief woman! A few seconds later, an enraged Wonder Woman landed in the spot that Lion was in, as she screamed in anger before taking off again.
[Zatara POV]
Zatara, who made the temporary magical spell that kept Pink from reforming, was troubled. During his spell, he thought he could try to scan the diamond directly or even test her resistance to magic. It was a small spell, no harm in it. After all, although Zatara saw how cruel Pink Diamond was with Hal Jordan and especially Wonder Woman/Diana, he didn't hold a grudge. Sure, he would expect precautions to be in place, but it wasn't like it was the first time something like this happened; why, almost half a year ago, Superman got controlled for a few days and he did a few damages.
So yes, he believed the lady should bear some consequences for her actions, but instead of anger, he believed guidance was more in order. After all, although he never spoke with her much, he had quite a good impression from their short interactions. She reminded him of his daughter when she was much younger—so full of energy, excitement, and innocence... before she grew up, and now the only thing she talks with him about is how she is old enough to be her own hero, that she is an adult, and how she can handle herself.
'Teenagers.'
That pink alien added a little more joy to the Watchtower and obviously had very terrible levels of emotional control... so Zatara would suggest therapy and maybe keep her away from Gotham. That place is just... terrible. But since Batman convinced the League to wait until his project, which would make Pink's re-containment easier, was completed before trying to talk to the lady again, then Zatara decided to oblige temporarily. Although Zatara hoped they wouldn't need to re-contain her, precautions are always necessary.
So yes, Zatara's spell was harmless—just a little curiosity, nothing more, nothing less. But the moment his magic tried to probe a little inside the diamond, he felt a strange sense of doom and dread. He could swear the entire room had turned white for a second. Not because it lost its colors, no; it was like the white color simply swallowed everything up, and he felt it in his spine, in his blood, with every ounce of his being, that something was staring at him from behind.
Something dangerous and old was staring him down. The only thing he heard was a very light-hearted voice that almost sounded happy or affectionate, but it lacked something. The voice felt hollow in a way that even demons didn't have.
"I will appreciate if you leave starlight diamond untouched... Moonlight is already saddened; there is no reason to escalate things, dear organic."
As he remained frozen, finally snapping himself from his shock as incantations started being spoken on pure instinct...
"How uncivilized. Sigh. I guess it can't be helped... Since you didn't oblige my request, then I hope you won't mind a little more of a direct approach."
The voice was the same fake warm tone, but now with a slightly cold edge to it. And in that small second, he only saw two white orbs of pure white light staring at him, as he felt the light intensifying and then... nothing.
When he came back to it, he found himself standing in a random spot in the Watchtower. Checking on the footage, it showed nothing out of the ordinary. In the footage, he simply placed the bubble spell, as some of the heroes liked calling it, before he walked out calmly.
But that wasn't him! He didn't remember leaving that room... whatever that voice was, whatever it did, it had controlled him against his will by passing all his magical defenses and simply dropping him once he was away from Pink.
'Starlight... if he was to guess correctly, then Starlight was most probably Pink... Who was Moonlight?'
Which is why Zatara was concerned. He simply couldn't get the feeling of powerlessness out of his mind. It has been a week since then, and Zatara, in a much calmer state, decided to inform Batman on a later occasion, just in case it was needed. The only reason he hesitated to tell anyone else in the beginning was that an entity capable of passing through everything and taking control of him so easily wasn't something that the League should anger unless necessary.
[Pink Diamond POV]
So! Have you ever thought what would happen when you get super depressed inside your own diamond? Well, I have discovered the answer, and it isn't what I expected, to say the least.
In the inside of her own diamond, due to her increased depressed state, her unconscious mind decided to bring an individual from memories to help itself. And that, my ladies and gentlemen, is how Pink Diamond is currently running in circles while her own mother is chasing her, carrying a belt.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Pink was running while smiling, with tears streaming down her face from joy as she played along and screamed for her life.
(Few minutes later)
Pink laid down, her head rested in her mother's lap as she was being scolded about being too depressed about things that are outside of her control. Of course, she was aware that it was just a fragment of her imagination in her own diamond... but to be honest? She didn't want to leave. She hugged her mother as she smiled, content to just enjoy the moment.
It was in this moment that she realized that it has been so... long since her human self last saw or felt this safe. No matter how old, no matter what... a mother's embrace always felt like a safe haven, and in that moment, it was exactly what Pink needed.
"You have to stop worrying too much... You always act like you can carry everything yourself."
Pink didn't answer, simply listening as she felt that old hand patting her back while her face stayed buried in her mother's embrace. Pink was huge, about 12.5 feet and a half, yet she felt tiny. And yet, here she was, being hugged by her mother—a tired old woman, not even six feet tall—yet the soothing voice was something she missed so, so much.
"Your siblings are still there. They are good children, just as you were; you don't have to worry about me..."
Time seemed to pass as her thoughts started turning in her diamond... Pink knew why she couldn't let go; she simply avoided thinking about it. Except for the fact that Pink's side from their new personality was terrible and was like gasoline to her human side's grief.
But the other reason was because she knew her mother knew her too well. She didn't die; she just found herself here, in this body, in this world. Which meant that her body was likely never found, and that was what Pink hated the most, because she knew her mother wouldn't give up. She knew her mother won't even consider him running away as a possibility, and even if the authorities declared him dead... she would wait.
Even if she accepted it after a while, Pink knew that her mother would hope that the next person who pressed the doorbell would be him. Year after year, hoping that someday he would come home...
He could not even die properly to give his mother the peace of mind. And so, finally letting go completely, he cried heavily and apologized while the hologram simply hugged him tighter, and Pink felt her guilt ease a little less.
She couldn't care less about the time she spent, nor did she bother with the chaos outside. Her tears stopped as a peaceful smile formed on her face. After all, she was safe, and she finally apologized, even if indirectly.
************
(A/N): This is the first time that Pink had to face her instability head on and after this she would be slightly less volatile….Character development and all that but Pink would still be Pink and chaos is gonna follow her if she liked it or not.