Chapter 7: Date 6 99 6
As I awoke to the chirping of birds and the morning sun peeking over the mountains, I squinted as I opened my eyes. I stretched as my eyes adjusted and the world changed from bright light to the colorful planet I had known for years. I sat up and glanced to my left, where Peridot assumingly fell asleep next to me. The gem was gone.
I glanced around, scanning my surroundings, and spotted her a little ways away, sitting below a tree and tapping her screen with multiple beeps emanating from the technology. I stood up and walked over to her, my ears pricking as I heard her gently mumbling to herself.
"Heya, Peri. Sleep well?" I called to her as I got closer. She turned around with wide eyes for a moment, and then relaxed when she saw my form.
"I…think?" She closed her screen and played with some tufts of grass next to her. "I felt a strange sensation, almost as if I was watching a recording. But I opened my eyes, even though they were already open, and then it turned from night to day…?" Peridot scratched her head as I chuckled.
"Yep, you slept. That weird movie you saw is called a dream. The more you sleep, the more control you have over it." I smiled as she turned back to her screen.
"Yes, well, we won't have much time for that. We should start heading to the nearest warp. I have a few robonoids left, and we may be able to fix the Homeworld warp or at least find another way of communicating with the Diamonds." Peridot stood up and turned around, eyes fixed on her map. She started walking forwards, and I followed her, trotting for a moment to catch up with her.
I looked around as we walked, glancing up and seeing the way the leaves parted in intricate patterns, letting light in through their branches and almost making projections on the grassy floor beneath us. Her metallic legs thumped along as we walked; leaving a barely-noticeable trail of footprints with every step we took. Peridot was looking straight forwards at her map, following its directions and tracking every coordinate. I hummed softly to myself, matching the tune to the rhythm of our walking.
She, subconsciously, began walking in step with my humming, so much so that we were practically walking like soldiers, taking each step at exactly the same time so that we kept an even pace with each other. I grinned. Having spent so much time alone, I was still fascinated with how different Earth creatures and gems were, but yet they were very similar.
We walked for who knows how long, I lost track of the time. I swung my arms by my side and continued humming to the robotic rhythm of our feet. The sun continued its arc across the sky, biomes passing us by as we walked along.
Finally, we reached our destination. We were at another Kindergarten, this one in the desert, carved out of slabs of stone with large figures of gems popping out of the walls. In the center was a large warp pad, which we quickly scrambled towards, relieved to see after those hours of walking.
We both leapt onto the warp pad and Peridot activated it, bright light surrounding us and shooting us through space. Heading straight towards the Galaxy Warp in hopes of repairing it, I glanced around and saw some of Peridot's Flask Robonoid in the warp with us, flinging their mechanical legs in all directions to try and grasp any solid ground.
One robonoid managed to push itself towards the edge of the stream, and with the continued velocity, kept moving. I watched as one of its legs disappeared out into the cold vacuum as it whirled around. I looked towards Peridot, who was watching as well. Carefully, I reached towards it to try and pull it back into the warp, but a voice reached me through the bright light.
"You don't have to get it back. I have more, we can just let that one go." Peridot smoothened her hair as a strand was caught by the air rushing past us. I glanced back at the struggling robot and felt something, a strange guilt for the machine. I shifted my weight towards the robonoid and reached out, trying to grasp it as its legs flailed. Peridot raised an eyebrow at me, confused as to why I had remorse for this tiny machine.
I reached out more, stretching my arm and maneuvering to stay in the stream. I couldn't quite reach it, but I was determined at this point. We only had about four robonoids left, and I didn't want to lose this one. I didn't quite understand why, myself. I compressed myself into a small ball and kicked my legs in the empty space, finally reaching the robot as it was about to exit the stream. However, my momentum carried me forwards, and I continued to drift towards the barrier that separated us from the abyss we traveled through.
Before I could even panic, though, I felt a hand on my ankle. With enough strength to move me but not enough to harm me, Peridot pulled me back towards her in the stream, with the robonoid in my arms. The momentum, again, kept me moving, and I kept flying straight towards the green gem, as her limb enhancer released my ankle and were held out in front of her to prepare for the impact.
The warp was almost complete, but for a split second, we were face to face, in close proximity, with her arms at my sides and her eyes staring into mine through her visor. As we completed the warp, our centers of gravity were off, and we collapsed on the hard warp pad in the center of the Galaxy Warp, one on top of the other.
My face turning a bright shade of blue and hers matching mine with a shade of green, we scrambled off of each other, embarrassed. The robonoid, who had inadvertently been crushed from the landing, wriggled out from underneath me, its programming instructing it to go towards the broken Galaxy Warp. It began to do what it was programmed for, spraying its mending substance onto the reflective stone. The others that were travelling in the warp joined it, slowly repairing the warp.
The cracks began disappearing, but the robonoids were running out of their blue-green slime that repaired the stone. Their tiny bodies only held so much, and as the stream slowed, I bit my lip in anxiety. Then, they stopped, and stood motionless, no more programming in their system.
We stood still as well, assessing our situation. We had no more robonoids. That chance was gone.
We were stuck. Again.
