Connie clutched to Steven as she looked around the dead kindergarten... "Oh wow Steven... it's so big in here, I hadn't thought..." Steven held onto her arm not wanting her to fall. "Yeah. The Gems haven't told me everything about this place, but the general bit is they made other Gems here."
Moonstone peaked out of a hole at the voices. No one ever came here since they left... were they after her? She remembered a lot of the earth born gems were destroyed... She dashed through the tunnels and out to another hole to look at them closer.
"Really?... how did these things make gems? It's like test tube babies then..."
"I dunno. They're made if rock so... they grow?"
"Maybe... Wow there are tunnels everywhere!" She said walking forward excitedly to look inside a few. Steven chased after her. "Hey, be careful! Some of these are deep, a-and Peridot may have had more experiments around..." Connie turned toward him sharply, "You didn't tell me there could be gems here. We should have brought lion then we'd have a sword..."
Moonstone panicked as they came to her tunnel next and scooted back in as far as she could.
"Well, Peridot is somewhere else. And I can use the bubble if I need to... I just wanted to be somewhere where it was just us." He grinned sheepishly. Connie blushed her young mind going places it shouldn't. "R-right... that's sweet of you Steven, I shouldn't have snapped..." Steven chuckled like he always did when he was trying to dispel any awkward or nervousness. "It's okay. You can be worried. We can go get Lion if you want."
The tiny gem thought she was in the clear and pulled the black hood over her head to hide in the shadows better. Connie turned to look at the warp pad before shaking her head, "No Steven I-..." she blinked looking right at the set of red eyes... Steven looked confused. "What's wrong?" He followed her eyes. "Oh!" He immediately stepped in front of Connie. "W-Who's there?!"
Which blinked right back at the two pairs staring at her before she screamed and ran through the tunnel.
The scream startled Connie and she backed away, "S-St-STEVEN!" And with that she was sliding roughly down one of the tunnels at neck breaking speeds.
"Connie!" He shouted, immediately going after her. "H-Hold on Connie!"
Moonstone just heard them following her and ran faster, summoning her dual daos from the gem on her hip. She knew she would lose in a fight but she wasn't going without one!
She didn't stop sliding until she slammed into a metal like pod which started lighting up at her touch... "Ahg... S-Steven?..." It was a few long moments before he tumbled down after her. He ended up hitting a large rock and went flying in an opposite direction.
"Steven! Are you ok?" She asked unaware the top was closing on her the drill beneath her starting to twist into the earth... "Steven!" Moonstone knew that sound. It was an Injector!... she looked back as the tip headed right for the girl and she went running, blades separating to slash it in half. "MOVE!"
Steven looked up, and all he gathered from what he saw was a Gem running at Connie and a drill activating. Immediately he ran at them. "Don't hurt her!"
She tried to duck down, falling as it dug beneath the earth taking her with it. "Steven! Get the other gems!" The unknown gem jumped over the boy, slashing the Injector to break it. The first cut wasn't deep enough. "WHY DID YOU COME HERE!?" She leapt back to spear the machine before it put a seed in the ground or worse. In the girl.
She screamed feeling an extreme amount of pain as the machine grew brighter causing Steven to panic. Connie was shouting for him to get the Crystal Gems, but the warp pad was too far away. He would never make it. So instead, he summoned his shield and rammed the machine as hard as he could, trying to take out a leg.
Moonstone was still on it when he rammed it, knocking it hard enough to rock. Her blades slipped through the metal as she slipped down and screamed. "YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE IT WORSE!"
He had to save Connie! "If it's on its side, it can't drill! Connie, get away from the point!"
Connie clutched to the stone in the center which seemed to be the only thing not moving at the moment, "...S-Steven..."
No... he... He had to bubble them both. He leaped into the hole, falling next to Connie before forming the bubble around both of them. Please please please work...
Moonstone found her footing again and slammed the Injector down, shattering it. She panted and looked around before seeing the slight pink glow and panicked. Did it plant a seed? She held her swords and fused them back into one as she crept forward. "...Hello?"
With Connie practically wrapped around the gem it went with them... she felt so strange... cold almost. "Steven?..."
He wrapped his arms around her. "Connie? Are you ok? Did the... the machine hurt you? I-I can heal you! It'll be ok!"
She leaned into his touch softly sighing, "It felt like pain... but I don't think I'm actually hurt..."
The gem jumped down and looked at the bubble and stepped back. She poked the bubble lightly as she noticed the Injector tip was in there. Her eyes went wide. "Did that touch one of you...?"
"I-I think it got Connie..." Connie held it tighter to her chest whimpering...
"Get it away from her, quick!" She used her swords to slash at the bubble. If that put a seed in her, they needed to get it out before it sprouted... Steven immediately let the bubble pop and practically tore the Injector tip away from Connie. Moonstone vanished her swords and took the girl, looking her over and moving her limbs to find any trace of a seed feeling panicked, Which showed the smooth gem which seated perfectly against her breastbone... Connie curled up numbly trying to protect herself...
Worried, he got on his tip toes. "Connie, does it hurt? Does it feel like it's getting bigger?" He knew that the machine made gems that fed off of energy to grow... it could suck away Connie and kill her. It would all be Steven's fault!
"It's too late. It's set." She tapped it lightly, surprised the theory had actually worked. "They always wondered if it would work..." It was a beautiful gem too... Smooth, rounded, hardly any flaw...
Connie covered it with her arms groaning at the unfamiliar sensation, "Don't!"
"Sorry. Let's get you out of here. You need the surface to properly hatch."
"Hatch? What do you mean, hatch? What's going to happen to Connie?" Steven shook Moonstone's arm frantically, tears streaming down his face.
"In honesty? I'm not sure. The other gems theorized that planting a seed in the life forms here would make gems grow faster. A steady life force that didn't need time to build a form since there would already be one. Seeing as she hasn't died, that theory worked. But like any gem made, they need to surface for it to be complete..."
"So cold..." She shivered twitching as they moved, "S-Steven?..."
He walked side by side with her. "It's ok Connie. I'm right here. You're going to be ok." He looked up at Moonshine. "Right?"
"Judging by the gem she has, once she gets to the surface and gets heat back in her, she will be fine." She looked down to the boy and frowned. "I feel like I know your gem. But I do not know you."
He looked nervous. What if this Gem was evil like Jasper or Paradot? "Who's side where you on?"
"Side? Side of what?"
"The... Gem war? With the Crystal Gems and Home world?"
Connie gave a soft sigh... focusing... it was slowing down. The gem was taking over, "Steven I love you..."
Immediately Steven stopped. "C-Connie? No, don't say that, you sound like you're saying goodbye!"