"What's wrong, rock boy?" a lanky teen said as he held a toy in the air. "Lose your doll?" He tossed it to a rotund dark-skinned teen of about the same age, trying his best to keep out of the reach of a younger teenager.
"It's not a doll! It's an action figure!" the younger teen said as he leaped for the flying toy, unable to reach it.
"Who cares, it's still for babies!" the dark-skinned teen replied as he caught it. "Who is this guy anyway?" he said, examining the figure just out of the youth's reach. After a moment he threw it back to his friend.
"His name is Johnny Sunspot! He's a member of the Sun Riders!, Now, give it back!" the younger boy demanded.
"Hey Glenny," the lanky teen said, catching the toy with a devilish grin on his face. "I think Johnny here should go on an adventure, don't you?"
His friend donned the same expression. "I think you're right BT… How about the forest?"
"What? No!" the boy begged.
BT reeled his arm back and launched the toy over the gate separating the city from the forest. It flew past the trees and away from view as BT and Glenny chuckled. The younger boy rushed to the gate, a look of despair on his face.
"Why did you do that? That was a limited edition…" the boy said.
"Aww, why don't you just go get it, rock boy?" Genny taunted.
"I can't go in there!"
"What, are you scared?" BT teased.
"No!" the boy looked at the gate, hesitating for a moment. After catching his breath, he began to climb his way over, landing on the other side.
"I didn't think he'd actually do it…," Glenny muttered as Chiro ran into the forest. He and BT looked at each other nervously, worried about getting in trouble if he didn't return.
The boy anxiously walked through the forest, his bravery spent. A small creature unlike anything he had seen before scuttled past, causing him to jump back.
"What is that thing?" he said. With the creature long gone, the boy continued his search, beginning to realize he may never find the action figure again. "What did you get yourself into this time, Chiro?" he said, speaking to himself.
Not long after, Chiro saw another strange creature, this one a monkey, but not like any he had ever heard of. "A green monkey?" Chiro said to himself. "Didn't Mr. Gackslapper say something about that?"
The monkey seemed to be preoccupied with something, but due to the monkey facing the opposite direction, Chiro couldn't tell what. Chiro slowly approached, accidentally stepping on a loose twig.
Though the sound was far from loud, it was enough to startle the monkey. It turned around and, after seeing Chiro, bolted away. As it ran further into the forest, Chiro could see a familiar object in its hand.
"That's Johnny Sunspot! Hey, get back here!" Chiro ran after the monkey, barely managing to keep up as it swung through the trees. The monkey escaped through the window of what appeared to be an ancient structure. It seemed the plants of the forest had taken it for their own, growing freely on its walls.
"There's no way I can get up there," Chiro said, looking at the window. "Maybe there's another way in."
Chiro walked around the walls, finding a large archway. "What kind of place is this?" Chiro mumbled to himself as he walked through what appeared to be the only room in the building, noticing several objects that almost seemed to belong in a museum. Among the decrepit imagery on the walls was one that seemed almost new.
The unusual plaque stretched from the ground to well above Chiro's head. On its surface was a strange symbol surrounded by six gemstones, each a different color. Oddly, their placement suggested the existence of two more, cracked holes left behind by whatever once lived there. Chiro felt drawn to one of the remaining gems in particular, a gem of orangish hue. As he lifted his hand to it, it began to glow. The same glow emanated from Chiro's chest as he anxiously covered it with his other hand.
The plaque began to glow alongside the gem, opening into a doorway. "Whoa," Chiro said as he walked through the opening, entering a room almost resembling a cave. The walls, composed of a lustrous dark blue mineral, smoothly faded into the floor and ceiling, both of which made of the same substance. Embedded in the walls were countless orange crystals that seem to generate light, illuminating the room as well as a light bulb. Scattered
full of giant orange crystals. He was focused far too intensely to notice the opening closing behind him, leaving another plaque similar to the one before.
Chiro examined the crystals with awe for a moment before hearing a conversation between three people.
"I see you've completed your patrol," spoke an articulate and eloquent voice. "Is there anything to report?"
"Nope," another voice replied, this one much deeper yet cheerier than the last. "Just a bunch of little guys. Nothing to worry about!"
"Whatcha got there, Aventurine?" asked a third voice. While a bit more feminine, this voice carried far more confidence and force.
"I don't know, but it's awesome!" the first voice replied. "I found it in the forest."
"I gotta admit, it's… interesting," the third voice said. "It almost looks like a tiny human."
"I know, right!" Aventurine gleefully declared.
"Ametrine, please don't encourage him," the first voice interrupted. "His fascination with the humans is nothing but trouble."
"Calm down, Benitoite. It's not like it's a real human," Ametrine responded.
While he listened in to the conversation, Chiro had been approaching towards its source slowly. Unfortunately, he had failed to watch his step, tripping and falling to the ground with a thud.
"What was that?" the Ametrine asked.
"Oh… Uh… A human might of followed me..." Aventurine nervously responded.
"Please, no human could ever enter the deeper parts of the temple without help," Benitoite stated. "You did close the door, didn't you?"
"Yeah!" Aventurine confidently replied before taking a much less certain tone. "I think…"
"Who's there!" Chiro shouted.
"Everyone, quickly!" Benitoite shouted.
Chiro entered the room in a pose reminiscent of his television heroes. He looked around the room in pretend vigilance only to spot a couple of monkeys, these ones with yellow and blue fur.
"More weird monkeys?" Chiro asked. He knelt down to speak to them. "You guys haven't seen a green monkey around here, have you?"
The monkeys looked at each other. If Chiro didn't know any better, he would've sworn they looked nervous.
"Who am I kidding?" Chiro said as he got up. "You guys don't understand me. Where did those voices come from?" His eyes widened as he turned to see the green monkey still holding his action figure. "There you are!"
The monkey ran again, leading Chiro on a chase around the large room.
"Give that back!" Chiro shouted.
The green monkey looked at the action figure in his hand, then back at Chiro. "Okay!" it said, dropping it and retreating to a corner.
"Finally," Chiro said has he picked up the toy. It took him a moment to realize what had just happened. "Wait… Did you just talk?!"
The green monkey noticed the others behind Chiro, nodding at him. "Uh… no…."
"I knew it! You did talk!" Chiro said, clearly ecstatic with the idea. "Then I was hearing you monkeys earlier!"
Meanwhile, the blue monkey had been dragging his hand across his face while the yellow monkey was nodding in disappointment. At the same time, a figure walked through a passageway into the room. He could've been confused for an ordinary person if not for his unnaturally pale red skin and crimson hair.
"What's going on up here? I can hear you guys from...," the red figure began, trailing off after seeing Chiro. His form began to glow white, changing shape into that of a red monkey to match the others.
"It's too late, Spinal," the yellow monkey said using Ametrine's voice. "He already knows we can talk."
"This has never happened before…," the blue monkey, his voice revealing him to be Benitoite. "No human has ever entered the temple! How could this happen…" He turned to the green monkey, rage replacing anxiety. "You left the door open, didn't you!"
"No way! I'm sure I closed it!" the green monkey replied. Chiro could only assume this one was Aventurine from his voice.
"I knew you're obsession with these humans would bring nothing but trouble!" Benitoite chastised.
The red monkey leaned against the wall. " Let it go, Benitoite. It was bound to happen eventually."
"What do we do now?" the yellow monkey asked.
"I'm not sure," Benitoite nervously answered. "Nothing like this has ever happened… We'll have to wait for Obsidian. He'll know what to do, I'm sure. If only he wasn't on a mission..."
As if on cue, a bright light flooded the nearby hallway, peeking through the door. "He's back!" Benitoite exclaimed as he ran out of the room.
A tall figure emerged from a pillar of light, his face displaying a look of calm serenity. His skin was as black as pitch, speckled with white splotches. His robes and hair displayed the same dark color; a golden star emblazoned on its chest. Embedded on his forehead was a gem of the same colors that graced the rest of his body. He has only emerged for a second before he heard a familiar voice calling his name.
"Obsidian! Obsidian!"
"What is it, Benitoite?" the figure asked calmly.
"We have a problem," Benitoite responded. "A human has entered the temple."
"I see… What does he know?"
"He believes we are talking monkeys."
"Very well," Obsidian said as he transformed into a black-furred monkey. "I will speak to him."
Obsidian and Benitoite entered the room where Chiro and the others waited. It seemed that in that short amount of time that Chiro and Aventurine had become friends, sitting down and playing a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors.
"Aventurine!" Benitoite shouted. "We don't know anything about this human!"
"What?" Aventurine said. "He's not hurting anything."
"It's alright, Benitoite," Obsidian said. He turned his attention to Chiro, displaying a mix of uncertainty and amazement. "This boy… He is no mere human."
"What?" Benitoite asked. "Look at him! How could he not be?"
"Can you not sense it? The familiar energy this one possesses?" Antauri raised his arm, causing another orange glow to emit from Chiro's chest. Chiro immediately covered it, his increased anxiety apparent.
"You needn't fear. You are not alone. Have you not noticed ours?" Antauri motioned to his forehead where a black and white gemstone lied.
Chiro glanced around to see gems on each of the monkeys, loosening his grip.
It took a moment for the others to realize what Antauri implied, their eyes widening with shock. "You can't mean…" the yellow monkey asked.
"But I do, Ametrine. This boy has a gem."
"That's impossible! A human cannot have a gem!" Benitoite insisted.
"The universe is a strange thing, Benitoite. There are many things we do not know." Obsidian turned his attention back to Chiro. "What are you called?"
"I'm… Chiro…"
"Chiro, may I see your gem," Obsidian asked.
Chiro hesitated, but eventually pulled on the collar of his shirt, revealing an orange gem.
"No way…" the yellow monkey quietly said.
"Whoa…" Aventurine gasped.
"I can't believe my stinking eyes!" Spinel added.
"That's…" Benitoite stuttered.
Chiro grew nervous once more, not knowing what was happening. "What's wrong?"
"Chiro," Obsidian said, "What do you know of someone named Citrine?"
"Citrine? That's my dad's name," Chiro replied
"Dad?" Obsidian asked, having never heard the term before.
"I think that means a caretaker or something," Aventurine gladly explained.
"Ah," Obsidian said, turning his attention back towards Chiro. "Chiro, Citrine was a good friend of ours. In fact, he had a gem as well."
"My mom always told me I got it from him," Chiro said.
"While I'm not sure what a 'mom' is, they were right. You have his gem," Obsidian said, transforming back into his humanoid form and motioning the others to follow. "That means you are one of us."
"One of you…" Chiro softly said.
"One of us! One of us! One of us!" Aventurine cheered, marching around the room with his arms in the air. His newly displayed body was brawny in appearance, his skin a pastel shade of green. His already unkempt, short dark green hair flowed wildly as he pranced around the room.
"Obsidian, you can't be serious!" Benitoite objected, the only one still in monkey form. "He's a human, and beyond that, he's not even mature!"
"Benitoite, you must open your mind to other possibilities," Obsidian said. "Chiro. You hold a great power within you. With your permission, I would like to train you how to use that power."
Chiro's eyes lit up like stars. "I'd like that!"
"Surely you must be joking," Benitoite interrupted. "What does everyone else think of this?"
"If Obsidian says the kid can cut it, that's good enough for me," Spinel said as he shrugged in his human-like form.
"I'm all for it," Ametrine added. "It would be nice not to be the youngest one here for a change." Like the others, she had taken a humanoid form as well, one very similar to Aventurine's. Unlike Aventurine, however, her skin was pale yellow and her slightly longer hair was a vibrant gold. Her outfit was torn in places, displaying a mix of purples, oranges, and pinks.
"Please, be sensible!" Benitoite begged.
"Come on, Benitoite! Please!" Aventure asked with an enormous grin.
Benitoite sighed as he covered his face with his hand, shifting into his humanoid form in the process. "Fine…" Bentonite was even thinner than Spinel, his pale blue skin covered by a suit of varying blue shades. The glasses he wore shone spectacularly as if made from an alien material.
"YAY!" cheered Aventurine. "One of us! One of us!"
"Chiro," Obsidian said as Aventurine continued to cheer. "The path you are about to take is by no means an easy one. It will be dangerous. Are you sure you want to take it?"
"Yeah," Chiro confidently responded.
"I'm glad to hear that," Obsidian said Now, perhaps we should introduce ourselves?"
Aventurine only stopped cheering to volunteer. "Me! I'll go first!" He ran up to Chiro and begun shaking his hand wildly as if the concept was new to him. "I'm Aventurine! If you need something built, I'm your gem!"
"Thank you, Aventurine," Obsidian said with a chuckle. "I am Snowflake Obsidian, but I am more commonly known simply as Obsidian."
"I'm Ametrine," Ametrine added. "It's nice to meet you."
Spinel removed himself from his relaxed pose to join the group gathering around Chiro. "The name's Red Spinel Facet-SPRX Cut-77, but everyone calls me Spinel."
A moment passed before Obsidian motioned to Benitoite.
Benitoite sighed in defeat and joined the group, taking on his humanoid form as well. His was just as thin as Spinel's, if not more so, with light blue skin and vibrant blue. "I am Benitoite, though I'm sure you've gathered as much."
"So, who are you guys anyway?" Chiro asked. "I mean, you've told me your names, but what do you do?"
"We are the Gems of Shuggazoom. We have made it our mission to protect this world from anything that may threaten it," Obsidian explained.
"Cooool…" Chiro said. Suddenly, a series of musically timed beeps began playing, prompting Chiro to pull something from his pocket while sending the gems into a panic.
"What is that?" Spinel shouted.
"Are we under attack?" Benitoite questioned.
"Don't worry, it's just my phone," Chiro respond. "Do you guys know anything about the outside?"
"We've tried to avoid humanity," Obsidian calmly responded. "It could be dangerous if they knew we existed."
Meanwhile, Chiro's ringtone continued to play. "Would you please silence that device!" Benitoite begged.
As Chiro looked at his phone, his eyes flew open. "It's ten o'clock already? Not good!" The call was from his mother; a conversation Chiro dreaded. He nervously answered the call.
"Chiro?" his mother asked from the other line. "Where are you? You were supposed to be home an hour ago!"
"I'm sorry, mom. I just… lost track of time. I'm on my way!" Chiro ended the call. "I'm sorry, but I really have to go!"
"I see you have other obligations. Perhaps tomorrow?" Obsidian asked.
Chiro was already running out the door, Johnny Sunspot in hand. "Definitely!" he declared as he escaped from sight.