Sodalite didn't know how she felt.
In front of her were two Cubic Zirconia. She had always thought they looked like bugs; their metal forms banged and fizzed, their massive arms twitched like wings, and the blinking lights of their visors made it look like they had a dozen eyes.
"...And then after that we swept up her gem and made our way back" the Cubic on the left concluded, the glowing lights of its face shifting to Sodalite's hand.
The grey gem looked over to her right hand, upon the back of which Carnelian's gem was delicately balanced. It was a good size for a quartz, the edges smooth and the angles of her cut crisp and dynamic. It wasn't quite as lustrous or clear as it once was, but Sodalite wasn't surprised by this; Carnelian was almost as old as her, and Sodalite wasn't exactly an Era 2.
"...Interesting." was all the grey gem said.
"Interesting?" The drones said, their synthetic voices in harmony.
"Interesting" Sodalite repeated, a bored look on her face. She sighed, flicking her wrist and launching Carnelian's gem forward. The Cubic on the right quickly grabbed the gem from midair, and, giving a quick salute, exited the room. The other Cubic quickly followed.
Now alone, Sodalite looked at the only other feature of the room; a large, ornate computer monitor. The edges were carved out of some unknown material that glittered bronze, and each corner was shaped to resemble a cog. Compared to the smooth grey walls and geometric chair the gem was sitting in, the monitor looked very out of place.
On this ornate screen was footage taken from the ship Carnelian used to go on what should have been an easy mission. The grey gem had paused the footage on one particular image; the fusion's hammer embedded into one of her top bruisers.
"Hm." Sodalite grunted. "Hm hm hmty hmity HM." she jumped from her chair and began pacing the length of the room.
"Four minutes. That fight lasted four minutes." she said to herself. "Saying nothing of that finishing blow, Carnelian has never let a job fight be longer than 2 minutes. Interesting, it is. Very, very, interesting."
At that point Sodalite had walked out the room. The halls were made of polished white metal, but the wall parallel to the door was moored with long, shallow grooves, like if someone ran a knife over the surface.
"I mean, I knew they were more than expected. That's why I sent Carnelian." she rambled as she walked, "but to fight her and WIN?! Prism's sake!"
Sodalite rounded a corner, and immediately stopped at a door to her left.
The door was smaller than average, the rounded top of it coming barely an inch over Sodalite's head. It was a blue so light it blended with the white wall surrounding it, intricate geometric rings and lines embedded into it. What was peculiar about it, though, was the large drops of condensation lingering on the metal's surface.
Sodalite reached forward to activate the door, but before her gem even shimmered the door was engulfed in a light purple glow and vanished.
"Oh, hello, Imperial," she greeted, her voice displaying both confusion and amusement, "training again?"
The gem before her was about her height. Her skin was a light pink, shown off by the shorts and cropped uniform top she wore. Her purple hair was held back with a hair tie, resulting in a Large puff of purple near the nape of her neck. Her lavender eyes glittered like the pink gem on her chest.
"Been pretty boring the last few days" Imperial Garner remarked, her voice smooth as silk' "had a feeling you'd show up, though."
"Of course you did," Sodalite remarked, "look, I don't want to bother you too much, I just need-"
"Hyalite"
"...Excuse me?" Sodalite asked at the interruption.
"You're looking for someone to send on your little experiment, yeah?" Imperial explained, "If you wanna get the best case scenario, I recommend Hyalite."
The grey gem put a hand to her chin and thought for a moment.
"... Best case, huh?" Sodalite said after a moment of silence, "She'll do. Thank you for your… recommendation."
Sodalite turned to leave, but a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Must you go so soon?" the garnet asked, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "You could always stick around a little and-YIPE"
The pink-purple gem recoiled, her hand coming away. Where her hand was and Sodalite's shoulder was a cluster white, glowing spikes. The skin and clothing around them was also white, but faded back to grey as the spikes retracted.
"Thanks, but no thanks," her voice was cold for half a second before bouncing to disturbingly sweet. "Thanks again!"
And with that, Imperial Garnet was left standing alone in the doorframe.
"...What do we see in her?" she said to herself, rubbing her hand as the door closed behind her.
Hey Guys! Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter; I'm still getting into the groove of getting out a chapter a month. So here's a little interlude for y'all.
Hope you like it!