This is the rewritten version. :3 I changed some things, and removed others. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I promise not to take forever to post the next one. XD
I slowly opened my eyes, a bit dazed by the sudden jolt of energy in my body. Before me was an empty hole. A black, narrow passage that seemed like it was purposefully shaped for something…. or someone. At the end of it, some distance away, a tiny speck of light beckoned me forward.
My body moved forward on it's own. Moving toward the light like a winged insect toward a flame. There was no sound in the darkness, not even the sound of my own footsteps.
As I grew closer to the speck of light, a warm feeling spread through my body. Suddenly, without warning, a light began shining from my chest. My gaze fell to my chest. To a triangular gemstone embedded there. It glowed with a light blue haze.
It and the speck seemed to resonate with each other. Each grew brighter as I grew closer to the speck. Then suddenly, as the speck became blinding, my gem stopped glowing.
I closed my eyes, attempting to shield myself from it's brightness. The warm feeling grew stronger with each passing moment, then suddenly, it vanished. I hesitated to open my eyes, somehow fearing what might meet my gaze, when a voice tore through the silence.
"Look, over here! This one's blue!" It cried.
More and more voices began chiming in, then I felt something touch my arms. My eyes shot open and I stepped backward instinctively. A group of smiling faces met my gaze.
A large group of tall, yellow beings stood in front of me. Each of them had a gem as well, embedded in various locations on their body. They were all larger than me. I felt like an insect staring up at a group of dogs. Oddly though, I felt no fear when looking at them. In fact, it felt like I was surrounding by people I knew. I couldn't help but smile back at them.
"Umm…. hello," I called out after gathering my thoughts.
Each one of them cried back a 'hello' in response. In one version of the word or another. The ones closest to me lifted me up without warning, pulling me into hugs and cooing over my small size in comparison to them.
Truth be told, I was only a bit smaller than them. Their shoulders were maybe an inch or two higher than my head, but still, they felt like giants in comparison. Smiling, friendly giants.
It was a bit overwhelming to be crowded by so many, especially since my environment was still a bit of a mystery to me, but I couldn't help but like it. Having so many friendly faces around made for such an awesome welcome.
"Move! All of you useless Topazes, get out of the way!" A stern voice shouted.
Almost as if on cue, all the smiling faces grew fearful, and each scurried away from me as quick as they could. As soon as the crowd dispersed, a rather large blue lady marched up to me with a stern look on her face. All of the comfort I felt a moment ago was replaced by a sudden fear. I could even feel myself moving backward again instinctively.
The large Lady stared at me in silence for a few moments. The entire area was quiet and the air was riddled with tension. My instinct was to study her as she studied me.
Her hair was long and well-kept, but colored a beautiful shade of white. She had a bit of an arrow-shaped blue gem on her belly, and she wore an elegant outfit. It was beautiful-looking, but at the same time, clearly meant for a fight.
"Peridot, scan this Topaz. I want to be sure it is genuine and not a defect," the lady ordered, stepping aside and pointing at me.
A green lady was stood behind her. I could only assume this was "Peridot." She was only slightly taller than me and had green skin and yellow hair in the shape of a triangle. She wore a visor over her eyes and had a green gem on her neck, similar in shape to mine.
"Y-yes, my Agate," Peridot said, rushing past the Agate.
Four of Peridot's fingers formed themselves into a screen, and then a green light scanned me from top to bottom over and over again. The other Topazes watched in silence, each of them with a worried look on their faces. Even I couldn't help but feel a bit worried. What would happen if I was a "defect"? What would they do?
After a few minutes of agonizing silence, the finger-screen made a satisfied beep and a smile spread across Peridot's face. She tapped on the screen with her remaining finger then showed the screen to the Agate.
The Agate rubbed her chin gently, then smiled as well. The sternness seemed to vanish a bit from her face, but only slightly. Walked closer to me and placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Topaz Cut-11FL. Come with me," she instructed, motioning for me to walk forward.
I hesitantly followed her instructions and remained as quiet as I could be as she led me away from my starting point. Each Topaz I passed looked down at us with worried looks. One good thing that came from her taking me to… wherever she was taking me was that I got a good look at my environment as we walked.
We were in a canyon. The walls were high, and tall, spider-like machines walked every side. There were countless holes on the walls as well, each one person-shaped. Something told me I came from one as well, considering how many of them were shaped exactly like the other Topazes. Mine must've been smaller though. Did that mean I was, in fact, a defect? Fear swole in my chest as that question shot through my mind.
Part of me wanted to resist the Agate. To run as fast as I could away from her, but another part of me told me that would be stupid. That going along with her was the only option.
Soon enough, the canyon opened wide, and we stepped onto a metal-like walk-way. A large spire rose up before us, and in the distance, were many others of it's kind. I could hear noises from ahead, but none set off any alarms in my head.
The Agate came to a complete stop at the foot of the spire, forcing me to stop as well. Peridot moved ahead of us and typed something onto a screen on the wall of the spire. As soon as Peridot finished, part of the wall of the spire split open in two, creating a doorway for us to enter. Just large enough for all three of us.
The Agate led us inside, then the doorway closed behind us. The room we were in was rather large. There were numerous gems walking around inside, each working on one thing of another. The Agate walked ahead of me, then turned to face me.
"Topaz, wait here. Peridot, keep an eye on her. I will return shortly," she instructed.
"Yes, my Agate," Peridot said, crossing her arms over her chest and forming a diamond-shape with her hands.
I instinctively mimicked her, even though I wasn't sure what it was. The Agate turned away from us and walked deeper into the room without another word. I scratched the back of my head and turned my attention to Peridot.
"Am I in trouble?" I asked hesitantly. Peridot snickered then, turn to face.
"Quite the opposite. You're a Blue Topaz, a very rare gem. We haven't had one of you grow in ages. The Agate is most likely informing Yellow Diamond of your growth as we speak," she explained matter-of-factly.
"Oh, really? Yellow Diamond?" I asked, quietly trying to think of who that might be. I felt like I knew the name, but I couldn't quite place it.
"Yes! She's the wisest, most logical ruler there is! She'll want to know that one of you finally grew. She'll make the most efficient use of you for sure!"
"Oh, well…. cool… I guess…"
"Stop looking so worried. There can only be a bright future for you. Sure, you came out with no powers, but that's the consequence of being Era 2."
Powerless. I was supposed to have powers, but came out powerless. That should've made me a defect. At least, I thought so. Turns out, the Agate's definition of defect was different than mine.
And that honestly scared me.