Chapter Nine: They came for me

The beach house was alive as everyone was preparing for the coming battle. Vegeta, Garnet, Amethyst and Jasper were strategizing their plan, as they would be fighting together. Peridot was showing Pearl the weak spots in the seemingly impenetrable armor of the HomeWorld warships. Steven and Connie were training together in the center of the living room, under the watchful eye of Pearl.

Steven blocked Connie's sword with his shield and pushed her back. "Ya know, I think we should fuse for this." Steven suggested. Connie sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Do you think so?" Connie considered his proposition. They'd never trained as a fused being, so it could be quiet challenging.

Steven smiled and nodded. "We said we'd fight together, and we can't be any more together than when we're fused, right?" Vegeta had stopped to watch the two children after hearing them talking about fusion. Connie smiled tossed the sword onto the couch before taking Steven's hand. With quick erratic steps the danced from one end of the room to the next, ending in Connie dipping Steven as their laughs became one and they disappeared into a blinding flash of pink light.
Vegeta gasped slightly at their sharp rise in power. And size.

"Here's Stevonnie." The fusion called out, both hands thrown in the air. Before anyone could react to Stevonnie the front door of the beach house burst open and 2 dozen armed men stormed the house.

The screams of "Don't move!" And "Hands where I can see 'em!" Were coming from each of them as they put their assault rifles in the face of each of the beings in the house. Jasper lunged for one of the men but was stopped by Vegeta. "No sudden movements." One of the men ordered, the barrel of his gun no more than 6 inches away from Pearl's gem.

"Stand down, everyone." A woman's voice came from the doorway. A short red headed woman, dressed in US Army Fatigues waltzed into the house. "Please excuse the rudeness of my men, it's standard procedure." She was far from imposing, but she held herself in a way of authority. Pearl stepped towards the woman, causing several of the men to raise their weapons.

"It's standard procedure to burst burst into a private residence and hold them at gun point?" Pearl hissed.

"It is if you believe they have withheld information from the government that holds information vital to the survival of the human race." She narrowed her sites on Pearl. "I am Captain Anna Dunn of the United States Army. Shall we sit down?" She gestured to the table, taking the folder from underneath her arm. Pearl obliged her and sat down at the table, though Captain Dunn didn't do the same.
"18 months ago an alien ship landed here, and returned to outer space for exactly 6 hours before crash landing back here." She set three photos taken from a satellite on the table. "These photos were taken last night from one of our high orbiting telescopes." She set 6 more photos on the table. Each had a more detailed view of the 31 war ships drawing close to Earth. "Now to the point." Captain Dunn leaned over the table and looked around at everyone in the room. "The military seems to think you're working with the armada heading for Earth, but I don't believe that's the case." Pearl was rigid as the woman spoke, as if she was afraid of this human.

They sat in an awkward silence for a long time before Pearl finally responded. "What do you believe then, Captain?" Pearl glared daggers at her, earning her a laugh.

"I think they're coming here to wipe you out." There was a collective gasp among the gems, which only confirmed Captain Dunn's theory. "I think we're just caught in the middle of your little spat. A spat I don't believe you can win." The soldier's demeanor changed drastically. "I convinced my superiors that your little group could make a useful ally against these invaders; but they're not sure we can win this either." Standing upright she slid the pictures to Pearl. "They're giving us one shot to win this thing. If we fail, they're going to make sure nothing survives." She turned and headed for the door, followed by her men who followed her in single file fashion. "Be ready." her words echoed through the beach house as she exited the building.

"W-what does she mean 'make sure nothing survives'?" Stevonnie asked, trembling from the stress induced panic attack they were having.

"I don't think we want to find out." Lapis chimed in from her spot at the foot of Steven's bed, letting out a sigh of relief as she jumped down towards everyone.

"We better get back to training if we don't want to find out." Vegeta ended the conversation with finality, closing the broken wooden door as best he could. He watched them as the headed for the trucks sitting on the sandy beach, his mind still focused on her words. "We have 4 days," He turned back to his comrades. "So let's focus on training."


The next days flew by as everyone trained and prepared for the battle, under the constant surveillance of drones flying high in the sky. This went unnoticed by most of the group, but not Vegeta. On their last night before the invasion Vegeta decided to put on a demonstration of his power.
So in the fading light Vegeta powered up to super saiyan, the shock wave nearly knocked his companions off their feet. With a smirk he took it one step further, and with a thunderous yell he powered up past his super saiyan form. The aura surrounding him was less free flowing and more rigid, and an electrical aura flicked around his body. "We might stand a chance after all." Jasper commented to herself from her seat atop the temple.

"I'll say." Peridot watched in aw of the saiyan. Peridot knew that Vegeta was powerful, but in all the reports she'd read about the saiyans, there was nothing about a transformation like this.
A small smile of pride was spread across his face, realizing he'd surpassed his own strength once again. It was a bittersweet moment for the ascended saiyan, knowing his strength would be tested, and if he failed, no one would be spared. Stevonnie, Garnet and Pearl watched from the porch of the beach house, Stevonnie's laughs of amazement were the only sound coming from the three. Pearl turned her attention from Vegeta and to Lapis who hadn't said a word in more than a day, as she manipulated the clouds in the sky so she could see the stars. "Pearl?" Stevonnie began as Pearl walked towards Lapis. Garnet grabbed Stevonnie's arm before the fusion could interrupt Pearl.

"Lapis?" The ocean gem only made a small noise in her throat to acknowledge Pearl. With no idea what to say Pearl began to try and make small talk with Lapis. "I didn't know you could do that." She noted, and it truly did amaze her.

A small laugh came from the younger gem before she turned to look at pearl. "You ramble when you're nervous." Pearl shrugged and took a few steps closer to her. "Do I make you nervous?" Lapis went back to star gazing while she awaits Pearl's response.

"Well," Pearl furrows her brow. "You are possibly the most powerful single gem I've ever met." When Lapis didn't respond she closed the distance between them, until she was a mere foot from Lapis, staring down at the back of her blue hair. "Are you afraid?" pearl asked, though the answer was rather obvious.

"Terrified." Lapis spoke in a monotone voice, shrugging off Pearl's hand when she rested it on her shoulder. Pearl reached around and grabbed a grip of Lapis' chin, forcing her to turn and look her in the eyes.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Lapis rolled her eyes and yanked her face out of Pearl's grip.

"I'm not afraid of dying," Lapis tried not to snap at her. "But I am absolutely terrified of losing the closest thing to a family I've ever had." Pearl was taken aback by that.

"Family?" Pearl thought silently. "Lapis I-" Before Pearl could finish her sentence smashed their lips together, keeping a firm grip on Pearl's arms so she couldn't pull away. The kiss was desperate, like that of a lover leaving for war. After the initial shock Pearl let herself get lost in the kiss, but as soon as the kiss began it was over, as the sound of trucks rolling down the beach grabbed their attention.

Nearly a hundred well armed men spread out on the beach, the trucks set up as a sort of barricade. "It seems like they'd have brought more men." Lapis noted.

Pearl nodded as she watched the men scramble to prepare, Captain Dunn Barking orders at them as they went. "They aren't preparing for a war." Garnet stated simply, gaining intrigued looks from her friends. "They're going to test the strength of HomeWorld's military." Garnet finished explain as she watched.

"Then what?" Stevonnie asked.

"Then," Garnet turned back Stevonnie. "I think we'll be finding out what Captain Dunn meant by making sure nothing survives."

Vegeta scoffed at the conversation he was listening too. "You act as if they've already won, and they haven't even arrived yet." There was silence among them.

"You don't honestly think we can win, do you?" Lapis questioned him.

"So you're just going roll over and die!?" Vegeta became increasingly frustrated with the spinelessness of his little group.

"Of course not." Lapis hissed. "But you don't fully understand how powerful HomeWorld has become."

"I don't need too." Vegeta turned towards the sky and the no visible fleet of war ships entered the outer atmosphere. "All I know is that I'll do whatever it takes to defend this world. If you aren't going to fight to your full potential, Lapis, then you should flee." There was a small gasp from everyone. "You'll only be a distraction if you refuse if you refuse to fight." At that a water hand sprang from the ocean and barreled towards Vegeta, with a blast of energy the hand vaporized. Vegeta turned and smiled at Who was being restrained by Pearl. "Much better." He smiled, feeling her already enormous energy swell.
Before Lapis could respond a dozen fighter jets flew over head, the following shock was rattled the windows of the beach house.

"Weapons free." Captain Dunn said into her radio. Small flashes of light were visible in the early morning sky as they engaged the alien invaders.

"No effect." A man's voice came over the radio, the panic in his voice was obvious. "I repeat, no effect." Captain Dunn didn't seem surprised, or even worried for that matter. Her pale face showed no emotion.

Lifting the radio to her mouth, she spoke calmly. "Pull back." She tossed the radio back into her Humvee and grabbed her weapon. "Looks like we got a fight on our hands, boys!" This earned howls of excitement from her unit. Vegeta laughed aloud, her confidence in the face of possible annihilation was admirable.

"They have no idea what's coming." Pearl remarked, a hint of sadness in her voice, knowing all these men were likely to die here.

"They don't need to know what's coming." Vegeta began to walk towards the line of troops.
Peridot and Jasper had already made their way to the beach, Peridot shaking with anticipation of informing their commander of their treason. Jasper was much better than her young companion at concealing her fear, it hid its self behind angry eyes and clenched fists.
Time seemed to slow down as the warships slowly descended towards the beach, the obvious command ship was the first to land. The large hand slowly opened and out stepped Blue Diamond, followed by four Pearl guards and Coral.

The smile spread across the general's face as she scanned the solders and then the Crystal Gems, her eyes locking with Jasper's. "Jasper." Blue Diamond gestured for her to come to her, Jasper complied. "I'm surprised you didn't force these traitors to destroy you," Blue Diamond was far more serious than before, but there was a small smile and her dark blue lips. "I'm sure you know where your loyalty lies." Jasper turned back towards the Crystal Gems, Stevonnie's eyes were pleading, Vegeta how ever gave her a small nod.

"I'm not your slave anymore, General." Jasper turned back to her former commander.

The smile disappeared from Blue Diamond's face, and a growl escaped her throat. "Impudence!" She screamed in anger, striking Jasper with the back of her armored hand and knocking Jasper off her feet. "You dare to betray ME? After all I've done for you!?" The Diamond wrapped her hand around Jasper's throat and lifted her from the sand. "I am going to end you, here and-" Before she could finish Vegeta intervened, elbowing Blue Diamond in the jaw and sending her flying. The saiyan pulled Jasper, coughing,to her feet. Blue Diamond recovered quickly and stood just feet in front of Vegeta, a small laugh finally escaped her as she broke into another smile.

"You're powerful," She wiped the blood from her chin. "But it'll take more than brute strength to stop me."

"You're in luck," Vegeta returned her smile, and she raised an eye brow, her face asking him too continue. "I brought more than strength to this party."

That will finish this chapter up. I'm sorry if the quality is at all diminished. I've been very depressed as of late and found writing extremely difficult. But I have already started chapter 10 so that should be up much faster. There will be 1-2 chapters, then I'll post an epilogue to finish it up (: Thank you everyone, for your continued support and please drop a review if you can (: