2 Earth months later.
During Jack's new life as a part of the colony, he unknowingly began to make a name for himself. Although, news of a human joining Homeworld would of course bring attention. Despite the colony being spread out across galaxies, word still spreads fast. Many speculated who Jack was, did he have control over the Labradorite, what was his relation with the Diamonds, was he truly an ally or a spy? Jack ignored these questions altogether, stating only that he was loyal to the Diamonds and would do what is necessary to help the colony thrive. Alongside him was the kind Diopside, who he later learned was facet 5M4D cut 2ZE yet continued to refer to her only as Diopside for simplicity. Diopside evidently showed a caring nature for Jack, protective even as she seemed on edge whenever other gems were at a distance close enough to attack him. Although she would have to hold herself back for Jack's training. On the colonized planet of Erythron, Jack currently undergoes a new training regimen to harness the power within his gem, and surpass the limits of the human body.
"Oof!" Jack grunts in pain as he finds himself flat on his back again, his cheek stinging and tasting blood in his mouth. He currently was wearing a sleeveless yellow and white striped tank top with a black x across it, with the three diamond insignia on the front, and dark blue pants. It wasn't easy finding human clothes to wear, considering the most Homeworld ever made for a human zoo, which Jack fortunately did not have to be a part of, but the material was easy enough to replicate using their superior technology and using his memories of clothing. While the top wasn't very fashionable, it at least showed where his loyalties lied. Maybe once he rose in rank he could have it changed into something better, but for now this would have to do for his current status as a gem in training.
"Don't tell me you're tired already?" Said the taunting tone of his current trainer, a Rutile Topaz. She stretches her well defined arms and legs, her skin so white it was almost see through, wearing a black colored combat uniform with white outlining, her pear shaped gem adorned on her right hand. She claims all of her long flowing hair was gold, but some have said to have found bronze and silver colored strands. Do not be fooled though by her beautiful features and voluptuous form, because this topaz is a powerful warrior who can crush gems with her bare hands, and the axe she wields is no joke either. Fortunately she was doing only hand to hand combat with Jack for now, as he cannot summon his gem weapon yet.
"Well sorry miss perfect. It took long enough for me to get used to the fact that I don't need oxygen to survive anymore, but it's still tough to fight with the stupid gravity of this planet, it's twice the pressure my body is used to."
"Excuses excuses, keep on flapping your lips and your enemy will get the drop on you." Rutile jumps into the air before diving to kick the human. Jack quickly rolls out of the way and pushes himself up.
"Woohoo! Go Jack!" Diopside can be heard cheering for him on the sidelines along with other gems who train under the topaz. Jack presses his hand to the gem on his chest before looking to Rutile as the dust settles. He runs headfirst over to her, swinging his fists in an attempt to inflict damage on her, but she only dodged with ease.
"Come on human, gotta be quicker than that!" She grabs Jack's arm and flips him onto the ground. Her words ringing in his head as he lies on the ground in pain. Rutile smirks as she picks him up by the collar to make him stand up. "Alright, how about this? If you can land one blow on me, I'll do whatever you want for 24 hours."
"Pfft, if the human can get a hit in, I'll eat a boulder." A Carnelian says in a joking manner alongside the others.
Come on Jack, you gotta be faster. Gotta be quick. Jack be nimble. Jack be quick. The words echo in Jack's mind as he raises his fists. He steadies himself before running toward the Topaz, his body becoming lighter and faster. The Labradorite sparks in his chest, his heart pumping faster, new blood pumping through his body. His legs become a blur of speed before Jack jumps into the air. Rutile looked in awe before trying to dodge, but Jack swoops down and delivers multiple speedy punches to the gem's gut. One punch was weaker than his normal strikes, but with a bombardment of his fists, it was more than enough to compensate for the power drop.
As the surge of speed goes down, Max is panting heavily as he looks at his instructor, who currently had her arms up, guarding herself. Her arms were visibly scratched up by his attacks, and slowly lower to reveal the smiling Topaz. "Nice job kid, you managed to hit me."
"To be fair, you were able to block them." Jack smiles back, and looks to see some gems egging on the Carnelian to eat some nearby rock on the ground. "You know, I won't make you serve me, I don't think I necessarily earned it yet. Besides, I don't want gems talking behind my back and saying I've risen in status or something."
"You're a weird person, but I like it. How about I just owe you a favor?"
"Deal." The two go to shake hands but then hear a slow clapping nearby. The gems disperse to see a new gem emerge. With a golden gem where her left eye would be and pale yellow colors adorning her body, she walks closer to Jack and Rutile. She was an obvious quartz gem, with the intimidating air around her, toned upper body and powerful legs, yet also carried a distinct sense of success and higher ranking. A smug smile on her thin lips as she directs her attention to Rutile.
"I'm surprised by you, a powerful warrior like you losing to a human? I thought when you popped out of the ground that you would be better than that."
"Hey that's not fair, she didn't lose, we ended the fight because I just tagged her." Jack objected, only for the gem to coldly stare at him.
"Quiet beast, the better race is talking."
"Citrine, you and I both know he's part gem. He has just as much right to talk as you and I." Rutile speaks defensively, stepping a little in front of Jack.
"Right?" Citrine's eye widens before she sweeps Rutile's leg, knocking her over, then stepping onto her head. "What do you know about rights!? You are nothing compared to me! I am the rarest of quartz! Created specifically to bring the success of Homeworld's armies! You are nothing compared to me!"
Before she could slam her foot harder on the Topaz's head, a stone hits the back of her head. She looks menacingly to see Jack holding a few pebbles in his hand. "Leave now. If it's a fight you want, I will ask Yellow Diamond personally to have an arena set up for us to duel. One on one, no holds barred."
"J-jack, don't…" Rutile weakly protested, but Citrine only guffawed loudly before kicking her to the side.
"I'll make sure you're humiliated human...very well. If you can miraculously convince our Diamond, we will duel. Just understand you have no chance of winning."
"A...human with a Labradorite intertwined with its being? If you didn't have the physical evidence, I'd say time has driven you insane Yellow." The melodious and playful voice of White Diamond echoes in the room, accompanied by only her fellow Diamonds. Of course their were the pearls, but they rarely made a difference. White Diamond was just as tall as her sisters, with spiky yet also luxurious looking white hair on her head, hypnotizing half lidded eyes accentuated by her shining gem on her forehead. In the massive room she was currently conversing with Yellow and Blue Diamond about the new addition to their colony. "It had been many years since the formation of a Labradorite, I didn't think we had the materials for it."
"We don't. It apparently was on Earth during the war, but became corrupted with the rest of the stragglers." Yellow Diamond lets Blue compose herself, a tear escaping her eye at the mention of Earth, but allowing Yellow to continue. "I don't know how it survived out there for so long, but soon enough it revealed itself and attached itself to this Jack human."
"Interesting. If the gem is still active in the human's body, then we truly have a valuable asset to our side." White Diamond smiles as she looks at the holographic images displayed of Jack and the gem in his chest.
Blue Diamond however was more curious to the human, a fragile looking being yet very devious. "Should we really give up on Earth as he says? I'm not sure if I can believe that they're capable of destroying their own planet."
"I went through all of his memories with the Amino technology, he speaks the truth. Even if it difficult to believe, some scouts have searched the planet and found violent volcanic activity. If the humans don't destroy it, this 'supervolcano' will do just fine."
"A shame, the humans are such a fun race." Blue sighs sadly, only for White to put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, you still have plenty at the zoo, and now we have a new human."
"I suppose you're right, but is it safe among the other gems, what if they hurt him?"
"Oh please, I'm sure he'll be fine."
The entrance to the room opens though as a grumbling human walks in despite a Diopside and a lightly bruised Rutile Topaz trying to talk him out of something.
"Please Jack, this is a danger to your health." Diopside pleaded.
"I'm not gonna let some Yellow Diamond wanna be, hurt my mentor and walk away with it. That Citrine is going down!"
"It's fine, I get hurt all the time, you don't have to do this."
"I know how bullies work, you let them walk all over you once, they'll do it over and over unless you show you can stand up for yourself and fight back."
"Okay but the Diamonds won't let...you..fight." Rutile and Diopside look to see the three Diamonds staring boredly at them. The two immediately salute in a terrified manner. "My Diamonds! I- we're so sorry to interrupt b-but"
"Okay this is getting nowhere," Jack decided to intervene and waves at the three giant gems. "Yes, hello there, pleasure to meet all three beautiful Diamonds in one room, and sorry to interrupt. I'm just looking for permission to use an area for an arena to beat up this Citrine who was being quite rude to me and my mentor." Diopside and Rutile looked at Jack as if he was insane for talking to them so casually. "What? Do I got something on my face? Whoa!" Jack yelps in surprise as he's picked up by the back of his shirt by Yellow Diamond and presented to the other two Diamonds.
"This is the human I was speaking of, Jack, with the Labradorite infused with his body." She sets him stand on her raised right hand, and uses her left to lift his shirt and show the blue gem on his chest, inadvertently causing him to blush furiously, still not being used to having his shirt lifted so casually.
"Well now I can say for sure that what you're saying is true." White Diamond smirks as she walks over and stares curiously before gently rubbing the gem with her relatively large finger, causing Jack to make an unmanly but cute squeak in surprise. "Adorable~ I didn't know humans were capable of such sounds."
"I-I don't normally make sounds like that, I w-was surprised." He blushes harder until he finally takes his shirt down.
Blue Diamond giggles softly and rubs his head gently with her hand. "Since when can humans change color?"
"M-my Diamonds please. I'm h-here under different circumstances, n-not to be played with like a pet." He clears his throat to try and get rid of his stutter. "A Citrine gem has striked my mentor and insulted me for being a part of the colony. I declared that I would battle her and force her to apologize to Rutile Topaz and me for her actions."
"A Citrine? Most are generally prideful, even to the point of considering themselves second only to Diamonds." Yellow Diamond explained as she looked to Max. "But that pride does not come from nowhere, they are powerful quartz warriors, and generally bring success wherever they go. To battle one can be considered suicide.
"Maybe so, but I believe she was insulting your decision to let me join. She said clearly that I don't belong with Homeworld's army. This Citrine is going too far by bullying others and questioning your judgement, I beg of you to give me a chance to defeat her with an audience to see so that she will know her place." Jack knew it was dangerous to twist around the truth and make Citrine seem more of a problem, but he felt this would be the only way to take down that gem and also prove himself to many gems that he belongs.
"Hmm...I see what you mean by smart." White Diamond says with a devious grin, looking to Yellow and nodding. Blue seemed nervous of the prospect of their new human getting hurt, but felt she could trust her sisters.
Yellow nods slowly before looking to Jack. "Very well, you may have a place to battle. I will have my architects find or create a suitable yet simple arena for you. Citrine will be notified as well."
Jack smiles wide before regaining his composure and saluting to the Diamonds. "Thank you my Diamonds." He walks by the astonished Diopside and Rutile before pulling them out of the room.
86400 seconds, or one Earth day later…
The architect gems finished marking an open area with zero hazards or environmental advantages besides the soil on the ground. Many seats were filled with various gems who were curious to see the throwdown between the Diamond chosen human, and the powerful Citrine. Said yellow gem was already in the marked battle circle, a smug grin on her face and waiting for the human.
"Please! You don't have to do this."
"Yes I do Diopside. I already got the Diamond's permission, and there is already a crowd waiting. I can't back out now." He looks to the big gem and sees her tearing up slightly. "I promise you in the name of the Diamonds that I won't die, I'll still be here with you."
"*Hic* o-okay...it's just, you're the nicest person I ever got to be with. Most call me an airhead or that I'm too soft...but you instead are so kind." She hugs him tightly, accidentally pressing his face into her bosom.
"I-it's okay Diopside...I like that y-you're soft and kind. You made me feel welcomed into the colony, like I truly was a part of Homeworld. But now it's my turn to help, by defending others from punks like Citrine." He escapes the hug and smiles at Diopside before going to the arena.
"Wait!" Rutile comes over and puts a hand on his shoulder. "I know I can't stop you, but at least let me help." She bends down to his height and kisses his forehead, causing Jack to blush once more, which seems to be a trend.
"W-what was that?"
"A Rutile Topaz or Quartz can amplify the power of a gem temporarily through close contact. A Quartz can only help other Quartz, but a Topaz like me can help others like you."
"I-...thank you Rutile, I swear I won't lose." He gives a thumbs up to the two gems before walking into the drawn circle, his focus on Citrine.
"So you really showed up? Well at least now I can humiliate you in front of all these gems. The Diamonds will learn that they were wrong to let a human into our ranks."
Jack chuckles softly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was more about some dumb affinity you have for the Diamonds. Sorry to say, but the reality is...they like me more than you." He smirks at the Citrine's infuriated expression.
She raises her hand to the gem where her eyes should be and slowly draws out a long deadly scythe. "I have shattered many enemies with my weapon, you will join them soon." She dashes toward Jack before jumping up into the air, swinging her scythe in a downward arc.
"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick." He whispers to himself as his gem flashes a small light in his chest, allowing the human to reach incredible speed and dodge the attack with ease. "See this? I'm far too fast for you. With this skill, I know I can win."
"You mean you bet on the fight using only that skill?!" Rutile yelled from the sidelines.
"Um...maybe?" While distracted, Citrine trips Jack over using the end of the handle, causing him to fall and skid across the dirt.
Citrine walks over to the downed human and raises her weapon once more. "Any last words?"
"Uh, time for my other special skill, RUN AND SCREAM!" He rolls out of the way of the scythe, at least not before the blade caught his shirt and ripped if off. Now the audience watched the humorous scene of a topless human male running and screaming while an angry Citrine tries to cut him down. "AH! RUN AND SCREAM MORE!" Jack could feel himself running out of stamina and knew he needed a way to take out his opponent without a weapon. The he looked at his tattered shirt and smiles before diving for it.
"Stay still and shatter!"
"How about NO!" Jack grabs the fabric and uses his speed boost again before wrapping the cloth around the gem's useable eye.
"Hey what's going on? I can't see!"
"Things you should know about humans, one, we like to make use of our surroundings." Using this to his advantage, he rushes at Citrine and uses the power boost Rutile gave him as he lifts her up into the air. "Two, we're very stubborn." He takes hold of her leg and starts spinning her around as fast as he can. "AND THREE, F*** YOU!" With that said, he throws her out of the circle and into the dirt. "Take that into account when you're fighting someone like me, who's now stronger than a human." The crowd cheers eagerly at the victorious human, Rutile fist pumping in the air and Diopside crying happily. Jack smiles widely, singing "We are the Champions" to himself.
"ENOUGH!" Everyone looks to see Citrine on her feet and angrier than ever.
"Aw, why do you gotta ruin the fun? Look, it was a good game but you were thrown out of bounds. If that was a cliff, you'd be done for."
"Silence you animal. You think I care about the arena rules? No, all that matters is that you perish!" She summons her scythe before going at Jack hacking and slashing at the air as he barely manages to dodge, his skin getting cut left and right, openly bleeding.
"Hey that's not fair!" The crowd heckles Citrine, Rutile and other Quartz gems trying to stop her, and Diopside going to Jack.
"Are you okay?" She says in a panicky voice as she hugs him, trying to use her energy to heal him. While he was definitely re energized, her healing could healing couldn't fully heal his cuts, but at least stop the bleeding.
"I'll be fine. I told you I'd win." He chuckles softly but then blushes as Diopside kisses his forehead. The two smile at each other until it happened. A horrific image staining itself into Jack's mind as Diopside is decapitated. Her head and body dissipate into the air, leaving only her gem on the ground. Jack fell onto his knees and looks beyond the gem to see an angry panting Citrine, and the gems that tried to hold her back now on the ground in pain.
"Now that she's out of the way, it's your turn." She raises her scythe and swings once more in a horizontal arc, only for Jack to catch the blade with an open palm and grab onto it. Citrine struggles to take back her scythe, looking at the blood ooze out of his hand onto the blade. Jack glares at her intensely, his gem glowing brightly in his chest, and strangely a blue light coursing from his chest to the rest of his body. Beneath the skin, his gem infused heart pumps a strange new blood through his veins, his eyes glowing a bright blue, his veins visibly shining through his skin with the gem colored blood. The red blood on the blade now mixes with the newly flowing blue one. His open wounds rapidly heal until they seem to have never happened. Jack stands up and tosses Citrine's scythe to the side. His hands reach toward his chest, his gem glowing even brighter before two long daggers flash into his hands. The handles jet black with dark blue lines reaching from the bottom of the blade to the end of the handle. The blades themselves incredibly sharp, especially the tip. It's curved shape near the top classifies it as more than just an ordinary knife, but an athame. Jack's stare never wavered from the Citrine as he brandishes the weapons.
"Y-you think just by having a weapon, that makes you any stronger?! It doesn't! You're nothing compared to me!" Citrine raises her hand and wills the scythe back to her. She reels back and tries to slash at Jack multiple times, but he dodges every swing with ease before making a quick slash at the air. Everything was silent for a moment before the shaft of the scythe is cut clean in half. "I-Impossible."
"You harmed my allies, now you must pay. I am Jack Divinos, the wielder of the Wizard's stone, Labradorite." Citrine only growls angrily before running toward Jack to attack him with her bare hands. Jack raises both daggers before slashing in an X shaped pattern in the air, causing a glowing red X to form and blast through the gem. Citrine was still with eyes wide open before violently dissipating, her gem falling onto the ground.
The audience was astonished before cheering loudly for Jack, being victorious in battle. Jack's body slowly returns to normal, the blue light in his body gone, possibly his heart returning to giving regular blood. Exhausted from the immense boost of power, he falls onto his knees and picks up Diopside's gem, hugging it close. Rutile comes over and puts a hand on his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, she'll come back soon. It normally takes at least a few hours for Diopsides to return to physical form." Jack nods slowly as he hugs the gem close to his body.
From afar, the live video of the victorious human was watched by the three Diamonds, all of whom were absorbing this new information.
"So the Labradorite is active, and impressively gives quite the boost in combat abilities." Yellow Diamond confirmed casually.
White Diamond giggles lightly as she looks at the screen. "What did he call it though? The Wizard's Stone? Humans come up with the silliest of names for things."
"Although, their definition of a wizard is not too far off from what a Labradorite is capable of." Blue Diamond explains. "In the past, some showed strange abilities of strange kinesis abilities, such as levitating objects, changing matter into different forms, even the ability to peer into weaker minds."
"They sound dangerous as an enemy, but an essential ally. Jack doesn't know how to fully control his abilities, but by serving the empire he will not only grow stronger, but closer into our grasp." Yellow responds more to herself, thinking out loud of her plans for this human. The three look curiously as they replay the fight on the screen, seeing the ferocious power revealed deep in his eyes.