Chapter Three
The Adventure Begins
Pearl sat at a table, looking over the piece of parchment again. She'd heard of many ways to calm down on the way to Donokin. Drawing, breathing, sleeping, etc. She'd tried breathing, and that hadn't helped, so now she was trying another; drawing. But this planet didn't have pen and paper as she knew it; it had parchment and ink, and she'd been lucky to convince Father Rynok to hand some over. She had tried drawing what was on her mind, which of course was Steven. She was getting increasingly worried; this had never happened before. Unknown enemies taking him to an unknown planet for an unknown reason, and they had to get him back before….before what? Pearl didn't know how she planned to answer that question, and she didn't want to find out.
A solid thunk on the table startled Pearl, causing her to splash ink all over the parchment. She looked to the direction of the noise; Jedidiah had dropped a rucksack onto the table.
"Sorry," he said, "didn't mean to scare you." Pearl sighed,
"It's okay, I'm just worrying over...over." Her lips began to tremble. Jedidiah pulled the chair out and sat down in front of her.
"The boy?" Asked Jedidiah,
"Yes," she said, "his name is Steven. He's the son of someone very close to me and the other Crystal Gems."
"Crystal Gems?" Asked Jedidiah,
"The group that I belong to, along with Amethyst and Garnet."
"Who is Garnet?" Asked Jedidiah.
"Oh, right," said Pearl, "Gems can fuse into one being, and Garnet is the fusion of Ruby and Sapphire."
"Ah," said Jedidiah, "Who is this Friend?"
"Her name is Rose Quartz," said Pearl, and Jedidiah could tell by her voice trembling a touch that this was a very sensitive subject for her; he'd have to choose his words carefully. "She was...very amazing. Very wise and kind, but a fierce warrior. You never wanted to get on her bad side. She could take down powerful foes easily."
"Did she pass away?" Asked Jedidiah,
"Not quite," said Pearl, "she had to give up her physical form to birth Steven, and give him her gem." Pearl paused and tapped her gem in her forehead,
"Every individual gem has one, but fusions have the gems of all involved in that being. As long as the gem is kept in good condition, Gems can live forever."
"So, they don't need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe?" Asked Jedidiah. Pearl shook her head no.
"We can eat and sleep," said Pearl, "but we do not need to to sustain life. Amethyst loves eating and sleeping, but she will not die if she stops."
"So, Steven," said Jedidiah, genuine curiosity in his voice, "who is his Father?"
"His name is Greg," said Pearl, "he is a good man, but we did not always get along. I hope he is doing okay, and that Connie can keep him out of trouble until we return with Steven."
"Connie?" Asked Jedidiah,
"She is one of Steven's closest human friends. Humans are the people of Earth. Out of curiosity, what are the people called here?"
"We call ourselves Donokinites," said Jedidiah, "I've not heard of a human."
"I see," said Pearl,
"Indeed," said Jedidiah. "But there is another kind of person on this planet, but they're in hiding, save for one." He reached into his ear, much to Pearl's confusion. What looked like a small person was between his thumb and index finger. They seemed to be sleeping. Jedidiah gave her a gentle squeeze.
"Hey!" the person cried out, their voice tiny and light.
"Say hi to our new ally," said Jedidiah, and set the tiny person on the table, Pearl not taking her eyes off her. The tiny being began to slowly grow, until she was about as tall as Steven. Her skin was fair and soft, her hair a fiery red in wafer thin locks that seemed to go all over the place. Her lips were also red, her eyes an icy blue in contrast to all the red, and her nose just hovering over petite. She wore a vibrant pink dress, and her soft feet were bare.
"Hello," she said, her voice only a touch deeper than when she was in Jedidiah's ear.
"Hello," Pearl returned, "what is your name?"
"Beatrice," said the little one, shifting so she was on her knees, and seemed comfortable doing so, "you?"
"Pearl," the Gem answered. Beatrice extended her hand, and Pearl shook it. Beatrice looked down at the parchment in front of Pearl,
"What were you drawing?" Asked the small red headed one,
"Someone very close to me," said Pearl, fighting to keep her emotions in check, "and we need him back. Jedidiah has agreed to help us." Pearl then looked at Jedidiah, "You mentioned a prince?" She asked him,
"Yes," said the man, "Prince Abu Donokin. He went into hiding a year ago, and to overthrow the king, I need to find him. I've had no luck, so that's why I asked you. He couldn't have gone that far, but how far did he go? That's what I'm trying to figure out." The trio was soon joined by another. Short in stature, with purple skin, and white hair. A purple stone in her chest.
"Hey Jed," she said, taking another chair at the table. In her hand was clutched some bread. She munched on the bread as she observed the party at the table.
"Is that the communion bread?!" Pearl demanded, glaring at the purple bread muncher.
"Nah," said Amethyst, between bites, "one of the monks was eating some, and he got full, so he asked if I wanted it and I said yes. Because hey, free bread." She took another big bite, chewed thoughtfully, and then swallowed.
"So, when do we set out?" she asked, before taking the last bite.
"Soon," said Jedidiah, "but let's wait until...Garnet, was it?" Pearl nodded, and Jedidiah continued. "Joins us, then we'll discuss a plan." As if on cue, another pair of feet was heard approaching. From nowhere (or rather, from around a bookshelf) approached a very tall woman. She had reddish, pinkish skin, wearing massive gauntlets, a pink shirt with stars on the chest and puffy shoulders, and dark red and dark blue pants. Her hair was massive, looking like a helm, and she wore white glasses that covered her eyes completely. She sauntered up to the table and sat down with the party.
"Who is this?" she asked, looking at Beatrice.
"Beatrice," the fairy replied, standing and curtsying to Garnet. "And yourself?"
"Garnet," the woman replied. Beatrice then turned to face Amethyst.
"And you, miss?"
"Amethyst," the purple gem said.
"Now that the pleasantries have been exchanged," said Jedidiah, pulling everyone back on track, "let's get to work on finding your boy and overthrowing the king. Let's start by-" but before he could finish, the front doors of the church swung open, banging loudly against the stone walls that supported them.
"HELP HELP!" cried a voice. The party looked in his direction. The man, clad in a grey robe with blue running down the chest and arms, ran to the table.
"Sir Jedidiah!" he cried, "thank the gods! We need you! Goliath's troops are attacking my village, just down the road to the south. Please help us!" The villager slowed down, noticing the gems, and that they were looking at Jedidiah.
"Sir Jedidiah?" asked Garnet, "Wouldn't that mean you're working for this king? Care to explain yourself, Jed?" Jedidiah stood up.
"I will, on the way. There's people who need us."
"How do we know you're not leading us into a trap?" asked Pearl, "who's to say we should trust you?"
"Please!" cried Beatrice, "Mr. J, er, Jedidiah is good. He used to work for the king. But the king turned bad, and Jedidiah refused to serve him anymore. Now Jedidiah isn't a knight anymore, and is being hunted by those he used to serve. People call him Sir Jedidiah because he still holds the morals that the king once stood for. You've got to believe me." Beatrice began panting like she just outran a monster. After a short silence, Garnet spoke up.
"You'd better hope she's telling the truth, Jed." she said, "otherwise, you're going to regret lying to us." She stood, soon joined by the other Gems. "Let's go then." The man sighed in relief,
"Thank the stars!" he cried out in joy, "I'll lead the way." The man took off running and the others were forced to catch up to him. Since Beatrice was unable to shrink fast enough to fit in Jedidiah's ear, she (with permission of course) settled in Garnet's hair. The run to the village was short, but first impressions were not good. The air was smoky, the smell confirming it. The sounds of screaming and panic becoming more audible as the heroes came closer to the village.
"Beatrice," cried Jedidiah, "care to get some more rain down?"
Beatrice popped out of Garnet's hair and raised her hand, saying her incantation. The thunderclap came, followed by the rain. The rain did help with the fires, but so far had not yet put them out. The first soldiers came out of the town, dragging two women with them.
"It's Jedidiah!" one of them cried,
"And those Gems from the forest!" Cried the other, and they released their hostages, letting them flee back into the village.
"I don't know how you escaped from Captain," snarled one of them to the gems, "but I'll personally take you to the Sonic Yard when we defeat you!"
"And I will get a major promotion when I defeat you, Jedidiah!" Declared the other. Jedidiah didn't seem fazed by the threat. He simply drew his sword,
"I'll believe that when I see it," he taunted. This caused both of the guards to charge. Jedidiah clashed his blade into that of the guard, harder than the guard was anticipating, causing him to drop his sword. Before he could reclaim it, Jedidiah delivered a kick to the side of his head, causing his helmet to fly off. Jedidiah quickly bashed his fist into the man's face, knocking him out cold.
The other guard charged towards the Gems, only for Garnet to knock him out with one blow to the chin. The heroes left the guards to lay on the wet grass and ran into the village. Already the remaining guards were charging, all shouting.
"Gems!"
"Jedidiah!"
"They're working together!"
"Stop them!"
None of the heroes were fazed. Pearl and Amethyst summoned their own weapons and ran with Garnet and Jedidiah into the fray, and the battle began.
"It will bring me much glory to defeat you!" Cried one of the evil knights.
"You and every other knight!" retorted Jedidiah, and deflected the spear strike from the soldier, then drove the blade into the helmet of the soldier, knocking it to the side, but not fully off. Part of the visor lifted up, revealing the sun to one of his eyes. The man was thrown off by this, allowing Jedidiah to strike the man in the face his fist. This caused the man to recoil, his helmet falling off. Jedidiah then drove his elbow into the man's ear, knocking him out.
Two more guards charged at Jedidiah, but he simply stepped to the side, tripped the one to the left, and then shoved him to the right. He crashed into his ally and both came tumbling down. The first man was rendered out cold on impact, but the other got up again. But before he could charge Jedidiah again, a crack broke through the air and the man fell over. Amethyst stood behind the knocked out body,
"Got your back, Jed." she cried. Before she could gloat about it, Jedidiah took out his bow and shot an arrow behind her. She turned to see that the arrow, with a rock in place of a razor sharp arrow head, had knocked out a guard who tried to ambush her.
"You should watch yours," said Jedidiah. Amethyst ran off with Jed to another small skirmish.
Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield, Pearl had just shoved three soldiers into a water trough, and then kicked it over, soaking all three men in dirty water. They stood and tried to attack her, but she was ready. She stabbed her spear into the dirt and swung, like she was the dancer and the spear was the pole. She kicked all three in the face, knocking all three men out in one fluid motion. She dismounted gracefully, and heard the sound of someone coming up behind her. She whipped around to attack, but stopped; Jedidiah and Amethyst were running to join her.
"It's always better to have partners on a battlefield like this." Said Jedidiah. Pearl nodded. Then she caught Amethyst looking at something. Pearl turned to see guards being launched every which way; Garnet was having a good time. The three warriors ran to join her in the fight. When they reached her, she had a big grin on her face.
"Really, now," she taunted, "this is what counts as effort on this planet?" She saw a soldier running across a wagon to ambush her, but she stomped on the handle, the wagon becoming a catapult, sending him flying to parts unknown. She heard three pairs of feet and turned to see Pearl, Amethyst, and Jedidiah running to her.
"Glad you could make it," she said, and the fighting resumed. The four stood together in a circle, attacking the knights of evil and having a dang good time in the process. After a while of fighting, a voice yelled, "They're too strong! RETREAT!" The Knights fled, leaving their gear to escape. When the dust settled, the heroes could see the fires had been vastly diminished. The villagers were walking out of wherever they were hiding in, and slowly approaching them.
"You have saved our village!" A voice cried out. The heroes turned to see that the same man who had come to them at the church. The villagers began cheering, clapping.
…
The dark castle stood. Looming over the major city of Donokin, built atop The Deathtrap Mountain Range. The sky above the castle was blood red, and white lightning cracked across out with a huge, menacing thunderclap. Goliath Manor stood like a hungry dragon over a hapless village. In the throne room, Goliath paced back and forth, his massive figure stood over seven feet tall. His sword clattered against his thick armor with every step, his shaven head shining with each lightning strike.
"It shouldn't be long now," he said to himself, "that child will be my puppet soon, I can feel it." He heard footsteps approaching, but the feet were too heavy, and wearing metal boots; Not Oracle and the brat. He turned on his heel, to see Captain, who seemed a bit woozy, he was dragging one of his soldiers to the room.
"Now what news do you have for our king?!" demanded Captain. The Soldier did the normal salute, then began.
"Your Highness," he said, "I bring grave news. Jedidiah has teamed up with three gems."
"WHAT!?" demanded Goliath, then turned to Captain, "I am to understand you dealt," he put air quotes around dealt, "with these gems, Captain."
"I was going to," said Captain, "but then that blasted Jedidiah ambushed me and stole them, as well as my bag, and he let my Field Treader go back to its primal state." Goliath nodded,
"Very well," said Goliath, "If that fool wants a war, he's got one." Suddenly, the air was filled with another set of footsteps. Goliath turned to see Oracle approaching him.
"He is ready, your majesty," she said, bowing.
"Excellent," said Goliath, "bring me the Earthling, or should I say, former earthling." Goliath burst into evil laughter.