(Greetings everyone!
So, I told a few people that there wouldn't be as much death in this story as my others. I'm going to have to backtrack on that statement, sorry. A lot of people are about to die, tragically.
Anyways, here's the next chapter. Please do check the poll I made on my profile to help with what I make once this one is completed. Thank you all so much for reading!)
It was on the tenth day that the world ended. The armada came from the sky, the spies activated, and humanity could only watch and struggle as the alien force descended on it. There was, however, a sliver of light in the darkness. The deadline for the Crystal Gem's project had been pushed back four days. The armada was facing a resistance that it hadn't anticipated. The Crystal Gems had their suspicions, and Garnet confirmed. The Diamond Authority was fighting back against the alien invasion. The Crystal Gems' sworn enemy was unknowingly buying them some time to save Beach City, maybe even the world. Even with this extension, the Crystal Gems wanted to execute their plan now, to stop as much bloodshed as possible. So, in the middle of the day, in the middle of their back yard, the Crystal Gems set up their Frankenstein's monster of a machine. It was mainly grey and green, as it was primarily made from pieces of P3R1, and the grey hand ship. It vaguely resembled a radar dish, but seemed like a light gust of wind could take it apart.
P3R1 was still in the garage, a long cable linked her with the machine. She was franticly writing code to make it work, her corrupted files weren't making it any easier. The message they intended to send went along the lines of 'Human secret weapon, abort mission.', but with more details, lies, and reasons to leave, all made by P3R1. The Crystal Gems were all standing around the machine, either doing final checks, or preparing for if it went wrong. Pearl was fiddling with the wires that were exposed, making them more stream lined, and less of a tripping hazard. Amethyst was sitting on a lawn chair in the corner, playing a game on her phone. Garnet was carrying a crate into the garage, that she dropped, and opened. It was position in a way that P3R1 could only just see what was in it. It was filled with several black hand guns. A quick database search showed that they were all classified as 'GLOCK' class pistols. Garnet took one, loaded it, then put it in a holster hidden by her black leather jacket. P3R1 said nothing, she didn't question where she got them, or why she had them. It was the end of the world, after all.
Finally, at three in the afternoon, they were ready to begin. The group all crowded around P3R1, and waited, as she sent the signal, and waited for a response. It should have taken only a couple of seconds to get the message to the armada, but P3R1 kept having to jump through hoops for the corrupted files. It took a while, but the message finally got through. Now all they had to wait for a reply.
It was late the next day when they finally got a reply, and it sent a chill through the bones of every human present, and through the circuits of P3R1. The armada interpreted the message as there being a weapon in Beach City, that caused the grey hand ship to crash, so, they all turned away from their attacks against the rest of the planet, and were ordered to converge on the small coastal town. In twenty-three hours, the armada would be upon them, and the Crystal Gems would all most certainly be killed.
Lapis spent four hours after the reply sitting in the garage with P3R1, watching and rematching the simulation of them living happily together. She sat there, staring at the screen, smiling like she was imagining it for herself. It was obvious to the green and yellow robot head that this woman had been through something, something very traumatic. She didn't probe into her life, it didn't matter either way. They were both going to die in less than a day, even less for P3R1, as her newest predictions calculated. When Lapis began to look like she could fall asleep right then and there, P3R1 cut the simulation, and told her she needed her rest. She seemed too tired to argue, the dark bags under her eyes were so big. She got up, and left, leaving P3R1 alone.
P3R1 was about to see what she could do about her corrupted files again, when she realised that Lapis's phone was still connected to her. There was little she could do, so the phone stayed there, dangling from a cable.
The next morning was filled with chaos. The Crystal Gems did everything, from planning, to building, and hoping. They made sure there were no people in at least the surrounding houses. Thankfully, most people had cleared out of the town. They also salvaged the machine, and P3R1's arm that wasn't turned into a gun, creating a dome shield, that encompassed the house and the garage. The three-remaining finger from the used hand were placed in a triangle shape around the house, and a faint yellow hemisphere flickered to life.
The plan was quite simple. The shield would be used to protect the weak and young, that meant P3R1, Steven, and Lapis were inside the house. The rest of the Crystal Gems were in neighbouring houses, with several guns and weapons each. Pearl had an ornate spear, that seemed over a century old. Amethyst had a crude whip, made from barbed wire and leather. Garnet had two big metal gauntlets, which seemed to be a mix of medieval and modern technology. Lapis didn't have a weapon, so she used P3R1's arm, the one that was converted into a gun. Steven had an ornate pink and bronze coloured shield made from a strange variety of metals, unlike anything P3R1 had seen before. Apparently, it had once belonged to his mother.
P3R1 was certain that the presence of the shield would draw the forces of the armada to the house, so the Crystal Gems altered their tactics. Lapis and P3R1 would stay in the shield, and act as a diversion. Amethyst and Garnet would spring a trap outside the protection of the shield, while Pearl would escort Steven to a place that they knew that would be safe, at the very edge of town, just below the hill. P3R1 tried to calculate the chances of Steven surviving this, but the corruption was getting worse, so she kept her mouth shut, and let the people around her keep their hope.
It was mid-day when it happened. The sky was calm blue, then it wasn't. A tint of orange rose from the forest side of the town, went high up into the sky, then crashed down into the ocean, far out from the shores of Beach City. In the distance, hovering on the ocean, over two dozen massive ships moved quickly. Some were in the shape of hands and arms, other were balls, and some were other bizarre shapes.
The ships slowed down when they reached the orange field, it seemed to the Crystal Gems that they couldn't get through it, but P3R1 knew better. The first ship, a massive white arm, slowly melded through the orange wall of energy, which crackled in response, sparks of orange energy shot up and down the arm. The rest of the armada followed, the field seemed to weaken for a moment as all of them passed through it. They kept moving, until the formed line, hovering over the beach on both sides of Beach City. For a painful minute, they simply stayed there, unmoving. P3R1 could hear the signals going between them. They were finalising their plans, the minor details, the troop formations, and so many more things, all at once. P3R1 could barely keep track of them, her corruption was getting closer to being done. She couldn't calculate it anymore, but she knew she had hours to live. She was beginning to find it hard to think straight, and she was beginning to hallucinate in all her senses. She kept her mouth shut about it though. Lapis didn't need to know that right now.
With a sickening thud that could be heard all the way at the garage, all the ships of the armada landed at once. With no hesitation, troops poured out of them, a tidal wave of grey and orange. They moved quickly through the streets, heading directly for the house. The closer they got, the more of them broke off into smaller groups, taking up more tactical positions, behind cars and buildings. Garnet was squatting on the balcony of a house across the street from the shielded house containing Lapis and P3R1. She saw the positions of the troops, without being seen herself. She took note of which cars the troops were closest to, then she slowly moved over to a set of make shift switches and transmitters. She flicked a few, and waited.
Even from the small hut at the very edge of town, below the hill, Steven could feel the explosions. It was one room, poorly made, and had only the most basic of furniture. Steven sat on the lone chair, while Pearl paced around the room. It was as if the explosion wasn't real to her, she just kept pacing, and pacing. She began to twirl her spear as she walked, it was obvious she was in deep thought. Steven just sat there, feeling miserable. He wanted to go and help his friends, but knew there was nothing he could do.
Amethyst walked out onto the street, observing the dead alien soldiers, and the burning cars that were their demise. She almost felt sorry for them. They didn't even get a chance to fight. It seemed like they all were dead, and the coast was clear, for now, so she continued to walk, her whip trailing behind her, like a spiky tail. She stopped at the corner of the block, and looked back down the street. She saw the shielded house, the energy crackling, she saw a few homes up in flames opposite the protected one. She began to scan the nearby houses, looking for a good new position to sit in. The last house she sat in was one of the ones up in flames, and she reckoned she could find a better spot. She saw Garnet, waving at her, but she couldn't hear what she was saying. The sounds of the flickering fires drowned out everything. She closed her eyes. It was kind of peaceful. She took a deep breath, and reflected on her current position. It was the end of the world, she was trapped with the majority of the invading force, and it was almost certain that she'd be killed. So why did she feel so at peace right now? She realised, a lot of stuff that had been stressing her out recently didn't matter anymore. She'd let them go, and she felt way better. She smiled, thinking of all the problems and worries flying away, like butterflies.
Something cut through the sound of the flames. It was in Amethyst's ears in an instant, and it sounded her doom. She heard the thudding of many, many heavy footsteps. Her eyes shot open, and she saw. She saw a new battalion of soldiers, filling the street in front of her. She didn't even get a chance to fight, she had a hole through her chest before she could blink, and was dead before she hit the pavement.
Garnet cursed from her hiding spot. Amethyst died way sooner than she had anticipated. Tears began to form in her eyes, but she wiped them out. She had a job to do. The soldiers kept moving towards the shielded house, unmoved by the sight of their dead and burning allies. They kept marching and marching until they surrounded the ground level house that Garnet was hiding in, a wall of grey and orange, with no escape. She didn't have to question it, they were there for her. She slipped off her bracelets, kissed them both, and put them down. She thought of her mothers as she put her gauntlets on, and moved into a defensive stance, as she heard the door being broken down.