"ROSE"
"WAIT, SO you're saying they're gonna kill everyone in the town?" Steven asked.
"Yes, though I don't know how far reaching their spell is." Connie looked to the city below. "They could've covered the entire state for all we know."
"Well, then we've gotta stop them!" Steven growled.
"Yeah, but how? We don't know where their central command is - it could be off-world even."
Steven frowned, trying to think when a bright light shone from above, forcing him and Connie to shield their eyes. Squinting, he looked on and gasped as a large Home World ship hovered over them, shining a red seeking light on them. The two tensed up, ready to fight when the ship's hanger door opened, revealing Coral inside.
"Coral …" Steven's eyes dilated.
"Well, it seems I was wrong to trust those mindless creature's to do their job without any guidance." The gem walked toward the platform's edge, eyeing Steven and Connie with a cold glare.
"I knew we shouldn't have trusted you." Connie drew out her sword. "C'mon, Steven, we can take her!" She ran on, slowing to a stop as she realized Steven remained where he was. "Steven?"
"Coral … why'd you do this?" Steven asked.
"What're you talking about, human?" Coral frowned.
"It's Steven, you know that." Steven stepped forward. "We met on the beach yesterday."
"And what of it?"
"You said you wanted to fit in; you-you said you wanted to meet the Crystal Gems." Steven said, confusion showing on his face.
"Steven, she lied to you." Connie went up to him.
"No, I know that's not true; she's different from the others." Steven began to breathe heavily.
"Steven -,"
"What you heard was merely an act; a ruse for me to get close enough to the Gems so we could launch an invasion at the heart of our enemy base." Coral said. "I was never your ally."
"That's not true."
"Steven -,"
"That's not true!" Steven yelled. "I know you're different, even if I didn't know you long, I know you're not like the other gems from Home World."
Coral paused, almost hesitating to speak when she raised her arm, coating it with red crystals. "Let's see if this changes your mind."
Coral jumped down from the ship an fired the crystals at Steven, nearly cutting him as he dodged and let the crystalline rock crash on the roof, spreading out and nearly hitting Connie as well. The gem landed and rushed at Steven at blinding speeds, swiping at his side with her hardened arm when he erected a shield and blocked it. The boy pushed back against the white woman, his plasma weapon grazing against the rock when Coral shifted quickly and crystallized her other arm, stabbing him in his side.
"Steven!" Connie cried, rushing to his aid when four Bloodstones crashed down around her, blocking her way.
Steven screamed in pain as Coral bore into his flesh, gaining a sadistic smile from her. "You humans are so fragile."
Shaping the crystals into a blade, Coral cut her way out of the boy, transforming the rock into a large fist and punching the boy to the floor. Steven skidded to a stop and Coral leapt at him with a jagged crystal, barely missing as he rolled out of the way and let her stab the concrete. The gem stood slowly, staring him down as she let the rock spread out and form into three clones of her!
The copies attacked Steven from all sides and he blocked quickly, barely keeping up with them as they moved rapidly, trying to cut him down. Coral swooped in to his blind spot and swiped at his leg, knocking him down to the ground. The doppelgangers assaulted Steven, stabbing repeatedly and ripping him apart.
Connie ducked and flipped away as a Bloodstone attacked her, nearly getting caught off as another swung wildly at her from her left. A third gem fired at her with an arm cannon and she panicked, raising her sword as she was unable to dodge. The girl slowly opened her eyes, expecting to be incinerated when she saw the blast part and spread out around the sword!
The blast shot out and destroyed the building behind her, burning through three other buildings behind her and leaving her standing on a small pile of roof. The other Bloodstones took aim and Connie flung the sword at them, stabbing one in the leg and catapulting herself toward them. Retracting the blade in mid-air, the girl flipped over and slashed a gem's crystal, breaking it apart and kicked through the remaining pieces.
Connie landed with a slide, eyeing the three remaining gems that prepared to fire. Extending her blade from its tether, she slashed a gem's crystal and flung her sword at another monster's cannon, lassoing it. Moving swiftly, the girl cut the gem's cannon off, causing it to blast another Bloodstone and destroy it. With one gem left, she chucked her sword into its core and dismantled it, moving to Steven's aid when more Bloodstones arrived.
"Bring it on!" She charged at them.
Coral watched her clone's cut at Steven as he was down and she dismissed them, looking at the boy who lay in pieces with his limbs cut off and his flesh torn apart! Walking to him as he lay dying, she summoned a crystal sword and stepped on his chest, eyeing him coldly. "You humans are all the same; weak and foolish." She chuckled. "No wonder you couldn't save your own father."
Tears began to flow down the boy's face and the gem laughed, raising her hand to deliver the final blow when a sudden burst of steam erupted from Steven, knocking her back. Coral skidded to a stop, looking through the sudden cloud of vapor when Steven flew out of the haze, his body fully healed and his eyes blazing with rage. With a wild cry, Steven punched Coral in the face, shattering her crystals and sending out a concussive wave the blew the building to bits!
Connie was blown back by the force of the blast, getting instantly bubbled by Steven who rushed toward another building. Shattering Coral's face to pieces, Steven drove her into another building, causing an explosion that tore through the ground and sent dismantled houses flying into the air!
AMETHYST CRASHED onto the sand as a Bloodstone knocked her down, quickly summoning a hand cannon and firing at her. She dodged barely and looked back, seeing the beam incinerate the sand and vaporize a line of ocean water behind her. Amethyst lassoed its arm quickly as it recharged its blast and catapulted toward the monster, kicking it in its crystal and knocking it down.
The gem panted and looked around, seeing the Bloodstones lay waste to the beach and kill people in their wake. She panicked, trying to think of what to do next when she saw Mel swing her axe at a Bloodstone that stepped through a man's chest, getting her weapon destroyed instead. Amethyst reacted quickly, balling up and ramming through the gem, breaking it apart.
"Mel, are you okay?" Amethyst shifted back to normal.
"Yeah, I - look out!" Mel quickly said.
Amethyst turned and was immediately bashed by a Bloodstone that charged into her, flinging her across the beach and into the rocks bordering it! The hill cracked and sent chunks of earth crashing down toward civilians below, causing Amethyst to panic as she tried to pull her way out. Breaking out at the last second, the gem threw her whip at a large rock when a Bloodstone smacked her aside!
Amethyst toppled on the ground and quickly got up, only to see the rubble come down and crush the people beneath. "No!"
The gem froze in horror as she looked at the destruction around her, not noticing the Bloodstone take aim at her! "Amethyst look out!" Mr Smiley cried and pushed her out of the way.
Amethyst fell back and realized what happened. "Mr Smiley!"
The man sighed and smiled wistfully. "Protect those kids for me, alright?"
"Mr Smiley!" Amethyst reached out for him, only to get knocked back as the Bloodstone fired at the man, incinerating him instantly!
Amethyst panted as she saw the man's ashes fall to the ground, her eyes wide with terror as she saw people getting killed everywhere. Dread took over as she tried to think, realizing she was truly outnumbered by the monsters that culled the people she'd tried to protect. Seeing Jim, Royce, Mel and Betty get surrounded by the mindless soldiers, she began to lose hope.
With a sudden burst of determination however, she ran on, evading the Bloodstone that fired at her and shape-shifting into a ball. Amethyst raced across the beach, looking away from the people dying around her and aiming for the four kids ahead. Leaping through the air, the Gem smashed through the monsters like a pinball, turning back to normal in mid-air and looking down at the children below.
"Hang on!" She cried and spread out into a giant cloth.
Wrapping around the four like a blanket, the gem shaped into a large sphere again and rolled across the beach, evading a Bloodstones that tried to attack her. Amethyst looked back at the people being murdered on the beach and shut her eyes to it, focusing on protecting the kids and heading back to the city above.
SAPPHIRE STARED at the holo-projection in terror, the glowing symbols striking fear in her as one of the terraformation points was at the Temple itself! "If they terraform the earth, all life would cease to exist." She stepped back, wondering what to do next when she bumped into someone!
"What is a Sapphire doing on my ship?" A familiar voice said.
Sapphire froze as she heard this, turning around to see the Gem Commander standing behind her. "Jasper!"
"How do you know me?" The orange gem raised her brow, squinting when she realized. "What a minute! You're one of the Crystal Gems!"
"It's funny how you forget me after all that happened." Sapphire glanced around the room, trying to find an exit.
"What do ya want? We all fucking look the same." Jasper chuckled. "It's a shame a gem of your stature lowered yourself to join a group of rebels that pop up every day and get shattered the next."
"Well, we're different from the others." Sapphire said, ice spreading out beneath her feet.
"That's true." Jasper walked up to her. "But a day or a few thousand years is irrelevant; you will be snuffed out like the rest!"
Jasper leapt at Sapphire with a punch and the blue gem zoomed out of the way, letting her crash toward the ground when the gem stopped in place. Catching herself before hitting the ship, the orange gem hovered to the ground, sighing and shaking her wrist. "Hmm, careful not to damage everything around you? That's different." Sapphire frowned.
"Heh, well unlike you, Home World evolves." Jasper jogged in place.
"Well, the change is minor; I can still take you on."
"Oh really? While you're not fused with that fucking clod Ruby?" Jasper smirked.
"What?"
In the blink of an eye, Jasper shot up to Sapphire and knocked her down with a powerful punch, sending out an impact wave. The wave stopped before it could hit the ship's walls however and went back into the orange gem's arm, sending ripples of energy through her body that gave her a wicked grin. Sapphire lay on the ground stunned and the orange stepped on her.
"No damage? But how?" Sapphire panted.
"Kinetic energy; why let it go to waste when I can use it to amp myself up instead." Jasper said plainly. "Now, let's have a talk." Jasper planted her foot through Sapphire, causing her body to explode into vapor! She walked through the haze and looked at the fallen gem's crystal on the floor, picking it up and leaving the room.
PEARL HOVERED in the lotus position on the hill above the Temple, focusing her mind as she led an ethereal clone to the door of the building. The apparition pressed her hands on the door, causing magical symbols to ripple to life and allowing her to read them. The patrolling Bloodstones roamed around the building, completely unaware of the gem as she tried to break the code.
"Now, Pearl, breathe." She sent her consciousness into the clone. "What did Garnet say about magical seals?"
Pearl looked closely at the symbols that spread out, her finger tips gliding along with them as they went out like water in a stream. She felt the magic run through them, one deeply malevolent yet familiar as Garnet had once taught her and Amethyst how to break them - though Amethyst completely ignored her. She followed the pattern and unwinded the bindings; the magic of power, darkness and reverence to Svartalfheim.
She twisted her hand, turning the symbols into a swirl and causing them to disappear. "Perfect!"
The clone phased through the door and entered the living room, her smile immediately vanishing as she saw the damage the Bloodstones had caused as furniture was thrown around and the floor and walls were broken through. Fighting her anger, she headed for the Temple door, concentrating on the inner weapons control room so she could retake control of the building. Shining her crystal on the star lock, she entered the bunker.
The gem stepped into the massive white concourse littered with round platforms and tubes that ran from the floor to the ceiling. She sighed with relief as the place seemed untouched, frowning as she remembered something and quickly ran out of the room. Accessing the door from the other side again, Pearl went down to Rose's sanctuary.
Stepping through the Temple doors, Pearl walked into the large marble courtyard lined with pillars, roses and statues of rose. She calmed down as she entered the chambers, looking at the images of the Crystal Gems' founder and starting to feel at ease. With her mind cleared, she began to leave when she noticed something at the corner of her eye.
Spinning back around, Pearl looked to the wall to her right and started to panic as she saw a crack spreading across it. Running down the pathway toward the center of the hall, the gem realized that a crack was spreading beneath the plants lining the walls. She reached the center of the room where a large statue of Rose resting under a skylight stood and froze in horror as she saw a large hole in the wall behind it!
Stepping into the broken path, the gem looked on as Bloodstones destroyed statues of deceased Crystal Gems in a backroom. Tears watered her eyes, quickly drying as rage filled Pearl and she started to materialize. Entering the ethereal clone and disappearing from the barn outside, the Crystal Gem summoned a spear and stood before the monsters.
"How dare you desecrate the memories of my fallen sisters!" Pearl yelled, drawing the Bloodstones' attention. "I will make you pay for what you have done!"
Manifesting six clones, Pearl dashed towards the Bloodstones and fought them head on!
THE SOUNDS of panic filled the air as people fled from the scene of Steven and Coral's battle; several buildings and cars being crumpled together like paper as debris filled the streets. Coral's headless body lay beneath a heap of rubble, seemingly dead when her shoulder crystal glowed and her body began to regenerate. With her eyes forming and her face becoming whole again, the white woman pushed herself up, crystallizing the rubble above her and shattering it instantly.
The gem got up, grunting as pain washed over her body and caused her to move sluggishly. Despite regeneration, her kind still felt pain, pain that if built up enough, would immobilize her and cause her crystal to shatter and end her life. She knew this and tried to think of a way to quickly kill Steven, a gem who somehow managed to withstand enough damage to shatter most she'd come across.
She looked around, apprehensive when Steven came rushing at her from out of nowhere and swung at her head. The gem ducked, dodging barely and seeing the force of his punch destroy a road behind her. She reacted quickly, calming herself and caught the boy's punch, locking fists with him and pushing back.
Steven quickly overpowered her, bringing her to her knees and driving her into the ground. The earth exploded from his strength, sending lines of dust rising several meters high and destroying the remaining street nearby. Connie saw the wind blow from the next street, quickly getting up and running toward it.
Coral stopped at a nearby bar, having barely ran away from Steven before he'd have destroyed her. The boy stood in the haze of dust and smoke, turning toward her and bathed in steam and pink energy. She grunted as she tried to think, holding her left arm that was completely torn apart.
Steven came rushing at her again, ready to strike when the gem ran up to him as well, quickly sliding beneath him and cutting his right leg with a crystallized arm. The boy staggered, nearly falling from the large gash on his leg, but lunged at her again when she swiftly went under again and stabbed him! Coral knocked Steven down and drove the crystallized blade into his body, drawing a scream from him.
"You're strong, exceedingly strong, but careless." Coral regenerated her destroyed arm, writhing as her crystal sparked. "Your crystal can only take so much before you shatter, and you are at your limit."
The white gem summoned another crystal blade and moved to stab him when Rose's sword flew through the air and impaled her side! The weapon carried Coral through the air and drove her into a building's support beam, disintegrating her instantly and sending her crystal plopping on the ground! Connie stood a few feet away and retracted the sword, running to Steven who pulled out the blade that'd stabbed him.
"Steven!" Connie knelt beside him. "You're bleeding!"
"Yeah, well she did worse to me on the roof." Steven held his stomach and healed the stab wound, only to spit out blood again.
"Steven!"
"I guess she was right." Steven wheezed. "I'm dying."
"Not on my watch, c'mon!" Connie lifted Steven up, struggling under his weight. "I won't let you die here."
SAPPHIRE'S EYE opened slowly, her mind foggy as she came to and took in the area around her, realizing that there were several of her! She shook her head, realizing that they were mere reflections that seemed to be all around, like she was surrounded by glass. She tried to move, but failed, feeling her hands feet being held back by an unseen force, a force that pulled her head up and made her look forward.
"Everything is made of atoms; tiny particles that hold everything together and keep the balance." Jasper's voice came, almost disembodied until the orange figure entered the dark space. "But pull at them enough," she grabbed the air to her right, bending it like glass and drawing a bloodcurdling scream from Sapphire. "And everything falls apart."
Sapphire screamed as she felt her body being pulled at from all sides, looking around and seeing her flesh being slowly ripped from her arms and legs! She gritted her teeth, not giving in to the pain, but was immediately overwhelmed as her arms started to disintegrate into particles of light. She cried out in agony as her body was torn, yet held together by the strange force, keeping her in constant pain.
"I will break you, Sapphire." Jasper moved up to her. "You know this. I will rip you apart slowly, but surely even if it takes a thousand more years; I will show you true agony unless you tell me what I want. Where are the Crystal Gems?"
Sapphire gnashed her teeth, fighting through the pressure to look Jasper in the eye. "Go ahead, tear me up like all the other Sapphire's you've played with, but I'll never talk."
Jasper chuckled. "So you did know. Heh, I'm impressed by how much you knew while being bound by Blue Diamond." She paced around. "I have tortured Sapphires time and time again after they have rebelled and they all broke. There are many ways to break a gem."
"Well, you're going to be here a long time before I betray my friends! I would die for them!"
"Is that so?" Jasper smiled. "Maybe one in particular, the others - they just come with the set." She gained a frown from her. "We all know about your fusion with another gem type; a fusion forbade by the Diamonds themselves. You knew the untold powers forbidden fusions would bring and brought that power to that renegade Rose."
"It's not like that!" Sapphire growled.
"Everyone seeks power." Jasper said. "The power to rule, the power to conquer, or a shield to hide behind."
"Stop talking."
"You're insignificant, like every other replaceable sapphire used as tools in battle." Jasper moved up to her. "You're weak; finding your only purpose when bound to another like you were when next to Blue Diamond."
"Shut up!"
Jasper pulled against the glass, tearing Sapphire's back apart. "I know you all; weak, defenseless and always needing another hand to hold; just like you were programmed. You only know how to hide." she stepped back, watching as the blue woman began to cry. "And like every other replaceable insect, I will find what makes you tick and throw you into the scrapyard."
Jasper released her grip on the glass and walked away, leaving Sapphire hanging in mid-air.
PEARL TWIRLED through the air and slashed cleanly through a Bloodstone's crystal, breaking it apart and landed on her feet. She looked to her right, seeing her clones taking out the other monsters with similar ease when a wall nearby exploded as four more rock gems arrived. Spinning her weapon, Pearl dashed into action, heading right for the enemy.
A Bloodstone shot a laser at Pearl and she phase-shifted, letting the beam go right through her and allowing her to stab the gem in its crystal, destroying it. Another monster fired at her and she tried to phase through the attack when a glowing hexagram appeared on its arm, making the blast burn right through her even while ethereal! Pearl cried out in pain and fell to the ground, clasping her side and writhing on the floor.
The clones saw this and rushed to her aide when the Bloodstone that shot Pearl punched the ground, summoning magical symbols made of light that spread out and electrocuted them! The seven gems squirmed in pain as the magic surged through them, the original Pearl's body tearing apart and bleeding out on the floor. Fighting through the attack, the pale woman focused her mind and manifested a clone in the next room, shifting her consciousness into it.
Falling to the floor, Pearl panted and looked around, trying to get her baring and get used to her new body. She looked to the wall behind her and heard her old body and her clones get blown apart by the magic spell, causing her to shudder as she realized she'd be dead had she not switched bodies. Picking herself up, she started to think of her next move when she noticed that she was in Rose's memorial room.
Pearl walked through the large, square room littered with Home World symbology and statues, the five largest being Rose's deceased sisters who stood as the pillars of the room and Rose's which was at the center back. The statue was magnificent, standing at twenty feet tall and covered in statues of birds and flowers that grew out and covered everything in the room. It felt peaceful and reassuring, just like it always felt when she was around.
The pale woman couldn't help but smile as she was in the room, almost poetic as she sought refuge after the fight and ended up where her old leader was. She stumbled suddenly however and felt a sharp pain going through her body, causing her to fall to a knee. She looked at her hand and saw her veins bulging beneath, bringing a small chuckle to her lips as she sat down.
"Hmm, I guess Amethyst isn't the only one among us who's careless," Pearl said, "Balance and flow; never use your powers without pause or you'll strain your gem, just as you always said." She looked up at the statue, sitting before it like a child before her mother. "You always told us we'd be ready when the time comes; you trained us for this and taught us more than any gem would have been learned in Home world, but we're not ready."
Pearl glanced around. "Home World was more than ready for us and we can't do anything about it." She turned to the statue. "What should we do? I've tried everything I could and I don't know where the Crystal Gems are … or where Steven is." She sighed. "I couldn't even protect him when Home World attacked and now he's out of my reach …" She smiled slightly. "But, you knew this'd happen? You must have prepared for this in case we weren't ready, right?" She waited, getting nothing.
"T-there has to be some sort of bunker; some weapon or spell, something that could help us out." She spoke, receiving silence. "… Please … please answer me, Rose … I'm all alone," She choked up, "… There has to be a way out of here … I can't do this by myself." She breathed shakily. "Please, give me a sign, any …"
Pearl looked to the statue longingly, desperate for an answer in the cold unyielding silence as Rose's eyes stared blankly into the distance ignoring her. A waft of cold blew through the room and Pearl sat beside herself, her hands shaking and her lips tightening. Tears welled up as she finally admitted to herself what she already knew; Rose was gone.
PAIN RUNG dully through Sapphire's head as she looked blankly through the dark nothingness before her, the sensation never ending as her body was endlessly being pulled apart. The suffering was all she could feel as she was hung by the malevolent force, her pain somewhat comforting as she knew it meant she was still alive. It was a cynical truth she felt, she almost wanted the pain even if it meant she could feel again.
Her mind now rested in the present for the first time in a long while, her thoughts completely her own as she took the time to breathe even while choked. All she could think of was finding Ruby, somehow never truly realizing that she was on her own. In this moment, in her state of enduring anguish, she accepted that she was alone. And that meant that she had to think differently.
She allowed herself to feel the torture, the tearing, the bleeding and the agony that went with it all as she reconnected with her entire being. Touching the tips of her fingers and sensing the air around her, she shut her eye and rested in her mind, embracing the solitude within; taking in nothing but the cold.
Jasper stepped into the black and looked at the gem that hanged helplessly, smiling to herself as she saw the emptiness on her face; she had broken her. The orange woman reached to pull at the glass when Sapphire grabbed her by the neck!
"What!?" Jasper tried to pull away, but was immediately covered in ice! "What is this!?"
"There's a lot you don't know about me." Sapphire said, looking at her with nothing but hate.
Jasper tried to budge and jerked back in shock as she saw the skin of Sapphire's arm and back torn back in the glass torture chamber and her gem cracked in half! "But how? You should be dead!"
"I've never felt more alive." Sapphire sneered and her pupil vanished as she froze Jasper over. "If I ever see you again, I will fucking kill you." Ice burst out of Sapphire's body, covering the entire room and breaking through the walls!
Sapphire fell at high speeds as she ended up out of the ship, seeing Jasper's frozen body plummet away from her. Her breath grew shallow and she looked at her crystal, seeing slowly shatter! Feeling herself slip away, the blue woman shrouded herself in a thick cocoon of ice and crashed into a building!
AMETHYST ROLLED into an abandoned building in Thayer Street and collapsed on the floor, letting the kids fall out again. The gem panted and slowly turned back to normal, the four kids collecting themselves and realizing what'd happened. Betty started to hyperventilate and looked around in a panic, seeing the others quietly sitting around.
"What just happened?" Betty said, clasping her head.
"We lost, again." Royce rubbed his shoulder. "If you can call what's been happening a win at all."
"All those people died." Mel said, her eyes wide in horror. "They killed Mr Smiley!"
"We need to get outta here!" Betty cried.
"And go where?" Royce asked. "The whole city's been blown to shit."
"Well, we can't just sit here! If the aliens find us, they'll kill us!"
"Yeah, I agree with Betty; I want out." Mel said.
"They're gonna kill us! They're gonna kill us!" Betty paced around.
"Hey, hey, nobody's gonna die." Amethyst said, still lying on her back.
"Didn't you just see what happened out there?" Royce raised his brow.
"I was there with you, genius."
"We can't do this, Amethyst, we should run while we can." Mel said.
"Oh, what? You'regonna be the pussy now?" Amethyst said.
"You're an asshole." Royce frowned. "You're joking around while people died out there!"
"You think I don't know what happened." Amethyst sat up. "I watched everyone die as I ran."
"You were running? I thought you supposed to be a hero!" Royce said.
"I was trying to protect you!" Amethyst said, a silence falling in the room.
".… They killed lil Bobby …" Jim said finally. "How are we supposed to do anything against them if everyone dies?"
Amethyst paused as she saw the look in Jim's eye, seeing the same despair in the others. "… People die when you try to protect them and you aren't strong enough; there's nothing that can be done about it."
"But this isn't like every other time you've saved the city; the whole city's destroyed now!" Royce said. "What's there to save?" He huffed. "We should've just run when you told us to then we wouldn't have held you back."
"Look, we may be outnumbered and outgunned, but we can't give up." Amethyst said. "The Bloodstones have the whole city and there's nowhere to run, but we have to fight."
"But how?" Jim asked.
"Together."
"And if we lose?"
"Then we do that together too." Amethyst said and stepped forward. "If we run, we die; if we stay here, we die; but if we fight back, then we have a chance." She looked at the kids, but they remained silent, unconvinced. Sensing the atmosphere, the Gem sat down with them, waiting for their decision.
A LEAF wafted through the air and landed on Pearl's cheek, shaking her from sleep as she realized she'd nodded off at Rose's feet. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled to herself in embarrassment - she really hadn't grown much at all. She stood up and was surprised that she was able to move freely again; her body having healed herself during her slumber. She looked on throughout the room and sighed in relief as the Bloodstones hadn't got to her yet.
She stepped away from the statute and stood before it to get a better look, seeing the beautiful face of her old leader that gave her a smile. Her thoughts quickly flooded in however as she tried to figure out what to do next, remembering how her clones and her old body were destroyed by a single Bloodstone. She began to think of a different approach when a low rumbling caught her attention.
She looked up at the ceiling and saw sand trickling down, another tremor startling her and leading her to look at Rose's statue. Looking at Rose's face, her eyes squinting as she noticed a slight glow coming from within. Confusion set in when suddenly, a laser blasted through Rose's face and shattered it!
Pearl froze in horror as Rose's face fell to the floor, crumbling and rolling to her feet as her body above remained headless. The Gem couldn't move, her body shaking as everything around her collapsed as Bloodstones smashed through the walls! Roses sister's fell and broke to pieces all around Pearl, the pale woman's mind slowly catching up as Rose's statue finally broke!
"No!" Pearl cried, watching her leader's body splay on the floor.
Pearl covered her mouth, tears trembling through her as six Bloodstones stalked toward her and took aim, ready to fire on the Gem who wouldn't move. She looked up at the six burning lights around her, the beams speeding toward her, inches away from incinerating her when a pink bubble of light swallowed her and vanished!
The six monsters remained, looking around as Pearl had disappeared.
PEARL FELL to the ground with her arm over her face, shielding herself from the blasts that never arrived. Blinking, she realized that she wasn't in the memorial hall anymore and picked herself up, looking around and seeing clear skies all around. She was atop a mountain and saw Beach City in the distance, the Temple facing her.
She raised her brow in confusion when Lion walked passed her! "Lion?" She squinted and the beast continued walking. "You saved me?" She asked, getting no reply. She laughed slightly, thankful when her smile turned to rage. "Where were you!? Why didn't you help me!?" The animal remained silent. "Listen here you -," An explosion cut her off.
Pearl's body went cold as she looked on, despair setting in as she saw the Temple explode in a giant flame in the distance! Her legs went weak and she fell to her knees, her head shaking as she mouthed her grief silently as her home fell apart.
"… Rose …"
AMETHYST TOOK a swig of a discarded beer and tossed it away when she heard the explosion as well, looking up and seeing a massive fire rising from the hill at the beach! She rose up and saw the fires rage on, realizing that the Temple was destroyed. Standing alone on the roof of the abandoned building, the purple Crystal Gem sighed and watched solemnly, letting go.
"Goodbye Rose …"
"STEVEN! STEVEN, stop, your wounds haven't healed yet!" Connie yelled as she followed Steven who walked toward the window of the small home. Catching up to him, she saw the flames and gasped. "Steven …"
Tears flowed freely down the boy's face as he watched in horror as his home went up in flames. "Mom!"
Well, to my surprise, I found out White Diamond is an actual canon character - thought we just made her up. Ah well