About a mile away from Wiltshire a Gem warp pad activated and an overly happy Prism materialized. Thankfully her former comrades kept them in good working order otherwise she would have had to make other arrangements of travel and she didn't want to waste the newly acquired power. Thanks to her little detour at the River Stank her power orbs were now at full capacity, with a little extra in them for any unforeseen complications. Not that she anticipate any further problems. After all no one, other than Rose Quartz, knew about her secret lab here at the Stone Circle; and Prism knew her old friend well enough to know that Rose wouldn't share this information with anyone. Doing a few super leaps Prism soon found her self at Stonehenge, or rather what's left of it. "Ah the Stone Circle. Not as grand as I remember it, but with a few quick repairs, it should still work." Prism commented. But as she approached the famous landmark/tourist trap, this less than intimidating human in a uniform stood in her way.
"Sorry Mam, but if you want to see Stonehenge you need to buy a ticket." the man informed her pointing to a building with a sign that said 'Stonehenge tours'.
"Ugh, what is with these natives and their obsession with tours!" Prism complained. Still this little inconvenience may have provided her with an opportunity.
Back in the hovercraft, Taylor was in the galley enjoying some of the leftovers from the hero's picnic earlier. Due to prism's attack he missed lunch. As Taylor ate, Marcus and Ophelia sat down just opposite of him. "Oh hey guys long time no see. What some fries?" Taylor greeted.
"Don't you hey guys us. June told us what you did. How you tried to sacrifice her to resurrect some evil god." Marcus accused.
"Not that we are totally unforgiving," Ophelia swooned. Even though she knows what Taylor did to June was inexcusable, she still found him rather cute. More so now after finding out that he's the son of a god. Not just any god. Loki, her favorite god of all time. The original Norse mythology one, not the silly comic version.
"In my defense I was trying to free my father, and people always say that you should always try to help family even if you hate them." Taylor justified.
"Well maybe, but that's no excuse!" Marcus accused.
Taylor jokingly shrugged. "So June finally decided to let you guys in on her secret of being the Te Xuan Ze?"
"Not really, circumstances kind of revealed it to us," Ophelia confessed.
"I see," Taylor smiled. "Still I'm kind of surprised that she would allow you to tag along on this dangerous mission."
"Um actually," Ophelia and Marcus mumbled. Looking away to avoid eye contact. Telling Taylor everything he needed to know.
"You snuck onboard! I must say I'm impressed." Taylor laughed. Marcus and Ophelia weren't sure if he was praising them or mocking them.
"We just wanted to help," Ophelia said.
"And how is that going for you?" Taylor asked. Again the two started looking around trying to avoid eye contact. "Well that's to be expected, but the good news is that you won't have to worry about any of this pretty soon." Taylor smiled.
"What do you mean by that?" Marcus asked suspiciously.
"Oh didn't June tell you? Once we deal with this Prism person/monster/alien/whatever, June is planning to raise the veil again." Taylor started explaining.
"Yeah June did say something to that effect," Marcus said recalling hearing June and the others talking about the veil.
"So the monsters are going to become invisible again big deal," Ophelia said not really seeing the point of doing this since the cat is already out of the bag.
"Did she also tell you that in doing so will also erase the memories of any and all non-magical beings of everything that has happened since the veil came down?" Taylor smirked.
"What are you saying?" Marcus and Ophelia gasping in disbelief.
"Just that by this time tomorrow the only thing that will be magical in your lives will be Disney XD, and June goes back to being that weird girl who always ditches her friends for no reason." Taylor snickered.
"No," the two stuttered in shock. Both recalling how their friendship with June would often be tested every time she'd run off without any explanations. Now that they finally learned her reasons, they didn't want to go back to being the ignorant disapproving friends because they don't know what's really going on.
"Ahem, this is your captain speaking. I just want to let you all know that we are approaching Stonehenge." Peridot's voice came over the intercom.
"Well duty calls. I got to go help June by fighting by her side, and you guys just do whatever it is you non-powered types do. Oh you can have my fries." Taylor boasted as he got up. Leaving the two completely bewildered. Unbeknownst them that off to the side, there was a concern pair of eyes that has been eavesdropping on this whole conversation.
Up at the cockpit, June stood up looking out the window. From the distance, Stonehenge looked like a small dot on the window. "What's the situation?" June asked.
"Eye of the Dragon," Jake chanted giving him heighten sight. Thanks to that he could all see these monsters either making giant stone slabs or carrying the slabs over to Stonehenge. At the center of it all, directing the monster was Prism. "Looks like Prism has been working overtime. Using a bunch of stank monsters to rebuild Stonehenge." Jake reported.
"What could she possible be planning?" Pearl wondered.
"Who cares, we've got to stop her no matter what!" Amethyst declared.
"Right," June agreed. "Peridot, set her down. The rest of us lock and load." June ordered. As the hovercraft began its decent, the heroes all got ready. Steven and The Gems activated their weapons, with Connie drawing out Rose Quartz's sword. Jake transformed into the Dragon form, with Huntress Rose doing a weapons check on all the weapons hidden in her suit. Randy putting his mask as Howard gave him a thumbs up while munching on some snacks. Zick and the other Tamers were loading their Universal Dom Boxes into their holsters, as Elena packed all their spare Dom Boxes into her backpack. June and Monroe were carefully goes through her inventory of talismans and magical spells, selecting the ones they believe will benefit them best for the battle to come. June was so preoccupied that she didn't notice her friends approaching her.
"June we need to talk," Ophelia said.
June raised her head to see Ophelia and Marcus standing in front of her. The look in their eyes told her that whatever it is that's bothering them, it's serious. "Can this wait? I got to get ready." June asked. Knowing that the fate of the world is in her hands, again, she really did not need anymore pressure or distractions.
"No June it can't," Ophelia said with a tone of seriousness that June hasn't heard in a long time. Not since June broke her promise to help Ophelia with her independent movie project for the film festival. An act that nearly ended their friendship.
"Okay," June gulped.
"Are you going to erase our memories of this?" Ophelia asked.
"What?" June gasped. "Where would you get a crazy idea like that?" June stuttered nervously.
"Taylor," Marcus answered sadly. "He told us that when you raise the veil, we're going to forget everything."
"Tell us June, is this the truth?" Ophelia asked with a hint of desperation in her voice.
"Yes," June reluctantly answered.
"Why?" Ophelia cried.
"Because the rules state that no non-magical human should know about the monster world." June replied.
"But what about them?" Ophelia demanded pointing to the sidekicks. "They're non-magical and yet they know all about the magical world!"
"Their memories will be erased too. At least those without magical protection." June explained.
"Even so they knew about the magical world even before all this started. So why are they so different? Why couldn't you let us in the way their friends let them in?" Ophelia asked.
"Because the elders won't allow it. Ophelia, I know you're upset, but please try to understand. This isn't like ditching class to go to the fair, or sneaking into a movie without paying. Breaking the rules of the Te Xuan Ze will have repercussions that you can't possibly imagine." June explained.
"So I guess your job is more important than your friends?" Ophelia snapped.
"With the fate of the world at stake, then yes it is." June replied with a soft yet stern voice. Ophelia was taken back by, not only her response, but also by the serious look on her face. It was as though her childhood friend was replaced by a battle harden soldier. Even though Ophelia knows that this is part of who June is now, she isn't sure if this is the June she wanted to be friends with. Leaving a tense and uneasy heavy atmosphere between them.
Peridot landed the hovercraft several meters from Stonehenge. Naturally since there were so close, their arrival did not go unnoticed. "What is this? More tourist to add to my workforce?" Prism wondered as she saw the craft landing. Since she never actually saw the hovercraft on the island, she had no way of knowing that it belonged to her enemies. Needless to say she was quite surprise to the Crystal Gems and their allies running out. "No, no, not now. I still need more time!" Prism ranted. "You there stop them!" she ordered. Several monsters dropped whatever it was they were doing and started charging at the heroes.
"Remember what I told you. To destank them we just need to destroy whatever it is that they hold most precious." Randy advised them.
"Wait let me try something," Zick requested. "STOP!" Zick commanded using his Voice Dom. Raising his left hand up with his eyes glowing. The others watched in awe as the monsters all stopped in their tracks. Unlike before with the corrupted Gems, these monsters were made from humans and so they couldn't resist the commands of the Tamer. Zick then pulled out his Universal Dom Box and pointed it at the monsters. "I COMMAND YOU TO LEAVE THOSE PEOPLE AND GET IN THE DOM BOX!" Zick ordered. As per his command the stank left one of the victims and immediately got sucked into the Dom Box. Reverting it back into a human. The Dom Box began analyzing the stank and judged it to be 'Extremely Dangerous'.
"Hey it worked," Zob praised. The other Tamers brought out their own Dom Boxes, but since they weren't as powerful as Zick, they needed to weaken the monsters a bit before they can capture the stank.
"NO! NO! NO!" Prism screeched. She then released more stank, turning some of the local wildlife, mainly small rodents and insects, turning them into more monsters.
"Holy Spit! We're going to need a lot more Dom Boxes," Elena commented.
"Alright we'll deal with the monsters, you guys help these people get to safety!" June ordered. As the heroes began engaging the monsters, the sidekicks all guided the destank dazed people out of harms way. While they were distracted, Prism continued working at rebuilding Stonehenge. Using levitation powers to lift and guide the stone slabs to their proper place. She was about half-way done when...
"NINJA AIR FIST"
A burst of solid air struck her. Prism turned to see a lone warrior standing against her. Behind him, she could see that they others were still engaging her army of monsters. "You're a fool for coming against me alone native." Prism hissed.
"I'm sure my friends will be along shortly," the Ninja said. Sounding more confidence than he actually felt. Being the expert on dealing with Sorcerer types, the Ninja knew it was a waste of time and energy to fight to fight the monsters. So he used his stealth and smoke bombs to sneak pass the monsters in order to fight the head of this beast, Prism. Of course that meant that he would have to face her alone until the others arrive. Which Randy wasn't really sure if he could do. Still that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. The Ninja quickly jumped at Prism swinging his sword at her. Prism reacted quickly using her rainbow colored orb staff to parry the Ninja's attacks. As a Glass class Gem, Prism may not be the combative type but she did know a bit of how to defend herself. After a vicious duel, Prism fired a burst of stank at the Ninja blasting him outside of the Stone Circle.
"I am the most powerful Gem there is. What ever made you think that you a mere Earther can beat me?" Prism laughed.
"You shouldn't underestimate me. After all I've beaten the Sorcerer and Ghoulian at the same time!" Ninja boasted. "Sort of," he confessed. "Besides I have unlikely allies!" He quoted as the other heroes rallied around him after finishing off the remaining monster.
"It's over Prism!" Garnet declared.
"I want the river Styx back. I need it for my community service." Taylor added.
Prism cursed, she was so busy fighting the Ninja that she didn't have time to finish her repairs to Stonehenge. Quickly analyzing the situation, she came to one possible gambit. Even though the Stone Circle only half complete, by her calculations it should still work. "I commend your accomplishments," Prism mocked as she slowly made her way into the center of Stonehenge. "But I'm afraid you overestimated your chances." The heroes stared at her with confusion and then with horror as Prism placed her staff in the very center of the circle. The liquid stank from the orbs started to drain down into the rocks, causing Stonehenge to activate. "You see the one you call Ghoulian only had a mere four orbs. The Sorcerer had around twenty. I on the other hand, have MILLIONS!" Prism directed their attention to the sky as hundreds of thousands of power orbs of different colors all started to collect above Stonehenge. "Did you honestly think I would spread my precious orbs around the world without some means of gathering them all back?" Prism laughed.
"Oh boy," the Ninja cursed seeing all the sorcerer balls hovering above with more flying in.
"The Stone Circle, it's some kind of retrieval device!" Pearl observed.
"Yeah we kind of all figured that!" Garnet commented causing Pearl to blush with embarrassment.
"Now bear witness to my full might!" Prism decreed as she slowly levitated up into the air. The different colored orbs began collecting around her, almost like a paint by number with each colored ball gathering as specific locations. Everyone's jaw dropped as the thousands of orbs formed into the shape of a giant woman. It's face resembling Prism's, and it was wearing a multicolored Valkyrie style armor. Most terrifying of all is the size. Prism's new form is almost twice as tall as Alexandrite!
Off to the side, near the hovercraft, the sidekicks all watched with silent terror at this turn of events. "To quote a good friend of mine: 'that would be so cool if it wasn't going to hurt us'." Spud gulped. The others were too shock to even retort to that.
"Magnificent," Prism said admiring her new body. Looking down at her enemies, she decided to test her new powers. Pointing her finger at them, she fired a stream of stank. Reacting quickly, and driven by his drive to protect his loved ones, Steven created a giant shield over his friends. The shield managed to block the stank for awhile, but soon it started to crack under the overwhelming force, and then explode! "Incredible! Rose's shield is strong enough to withstand the full power blast of an Imperial class starship. But I can break it with a mere finger. I am more powerful than even the Elders. More powerful than those arrogant Diamonds. I am the most powerful being in the universe!" Prism laughed with triumphant. Looking down she could see that thanks to the shield, the heroes were still alive. Battered somewhat from the explosion, but still alive and ready to fight. "Oh you're still here," Prism gloated as she charged her fist with stank this time instead of just her finger. "Well then this should be more than enough to finish you off!" Prism yelled as she threw a stank filled punch at the heroes. As before Steven mustered all the strength he had left to create another shield; but this time, Prism's attack broke right through it like if it was made of paper. Steven stood there, like a deer caught in headlights, as the giant stank wave quickly descended down upon him.
