well we left off on a depressing note didn't we? well anyways let's get right into it."
DOCKS . 1AM
as I run off the beach fighting back tears , i go up the sand and onto the wood dock, wondering if she would be here and how she would fight me this time. As i walked up , i saw what looked like Kunzite but there was someone with her, probably an innocent i theorized better go help them. " KUNZITE " I yelled and jumped up , going for an overhead slash with my axe, however i was stopped by a sharp object in my chest , i fell to the ground and saw it for a second before it disappeared into a poof of dust . An arrow. As i got up the mystery figure walked up next to Kunzite and i stepped back, "topaz" i muttered " why" i asked to no one in particular. He laughed and i could tell he was using his powers to carry something , something big " so i hear you got kicked out, no surprise there , that is pretty much what was happening at home, i mean , 4.0 GPA , smartest kid in the state , and what do you waste it all on , friends , who in this case especially, only hold you down, they make you have to take the bullet for someone else, when the only person you should do that for is your family, BUT YOU DIDN'T EVEN DO THAT" he yelled as i saw a giant boulder co em up , and i knew eh was going to smash me , i instantly put up my staff to block it . Topaz just looked at it and laughed " here's another example, you automatically protect yourself and don't' worry about anyone else, even if that means your closest and seemingly only friends die in the process " and with that eh dropped the boulder, on the two of them. I heard a crunching sound and tried to lift the boulder to help them , but it was too heavy, so i did what i had to do and cracked it with my staff , shattering it. I searched for any remnants of their gems, and saw a small sparkle driftin off to sea, scatters of pink and orange, dancing in the moonlight.
5 MONTHS LATER, CONNIE POV
As i came back form sword training , i realize how different thing's have been sicne obsidian left. There's been almost no gem activity and Pearl even made the otehr gems put the fence back up , and only and i can go in . When i got home and put away the Blade of Roses. My mom went to me and said " be careful, we're getting a new neighbor , adn I dont' like teh look of him , onyl shows up in the dead of night"I was getting curious, a new neighbor? , the otehr family , the Fernandezes left years ago , even before teh parade where i dropped my bracelet , I planned to see who he was later on, but for now i have a little suprise for Steven i need to prepare.
5 DAYS LATER
I heard a ring on the doorbell and saw my mom open the door " hello , sir what would you like" the nieghbor i realized and heard him speak in a very familiar voice " i just wanted to meet some of my new neighbors, i've been busy getting set up at work so i thought i coudl take the day off to get aquainted" My mom then nodded adn said " come in please, would you liek to stay for dinner. " The man stepped in and i saw his , and a large black gem on his shoulder.
REGULAR POV
As soon as i step inside I see Connie and seh run over to em and hugs me, As i went to return her embrace , her mom looked at me and asked " what on earth has gotten into you" she briegly explained who i was, adn ehr mother nodded slowly, I then looked at Connie "hey , how's Steven ?" she looked and nodded grimly. "i'll tell ya later" , I wondered what had gotten her so upset before ehr mom said to come in for dinner, which was delicous btw. Afterwards , seh told me to come up to her room with The List, while we were heading up , seh began to talk " Steven's been upset since you left, eh almost immeadility todl pearl to let you come back , but she wouldn't let you , she barely even lets me over with the exception of training, Steven hasn't been able to leave the temple for days, and chooses not to, He even made a little shrine in memory of you , he misses you Obi , you were like his brother, he said it himself, all his life he's been the one male gem , the oddity, btu when you came along , you were a way of saying how eh wasn't teh only one, and i think the whoel team has actually suffered because of it. I haven't seen things this bad since the Sardonyx incident a couple months back. I can tell that they need you , " she finished as i uploaded The List and checked any nearby gem attacks . Connie looked over and saw hwo many i have taken care of " Obi, this is almost as many as the monsters teh gems supspect, wait, have you been fighting them all?!" she wonders as I look up and close The List "yeppers, now let's go" I said as I climbed otu the window . " Where are you going " she asked , i simply looked at her and said , " tell the gems to go to the docks , a gem is there" I said , and i hope Connie didn't notice the hand that brushed away a tear.
THE NEXT DAY , STEVEN POV
Connie said therye was a gem at the docks, so we almost immeadilty set off, we ahvent' seen any action in months and it felt nice to get out without Pearl watching my back. As soon as we got there however , we heard gunfire and saw the gem and someone else fighting it with a long black crystal staff " OBI " i yelled happy to see him again , only to have Pearl stick her spear out at me and say " NO , YOU ARE NOT TOUCHING THAT PIEICE OF FILTH" I summonded a bubble and dispelled it , sending a shockwave that cold throw he roff balance and i ran to Obi , but as soon as i did , I felt a codl hand on my shoulder and a raspy voice wispering " hello child, do you wish for death's cold embrace" and i saw a large sytche aimed at my throat, and a muffled scream of pain as i saw blood flow, but not my own , i look and see Obi layign there , with a gash abotu 5 ft wide and 6 ft deep in his neck. I ran over to try to heal him and he coughed out had a mumble of words btu i could clearly make out " dont' fight, run" as soon as i placed my hand wiht my healing spit on him , i could see the blood stop , but the gash stayed " listen kid " he said choking slightly " its my polished gem status, you can't heal me, onyl slow the inevitable , so get out of here all of you , i wanted to baet this guy before yous howed up so i could prove i was strong, so let me prove it in another way, by making sure you don't die today, oh and check yoru e-mail" eh said as he summoned his guns and shot the gem. I understood why he wanted us to leave and had faith so i left, the others following me, although i could hear 4 very distinct words " i love you , Brother"
We came back abotu 5 hours later and from what we could tell the gem was gone, all we did see was a black gem in the sand. Quitely i plucked the gem up form the sand as i heard Pearl going off on some rant " well he did go into a battle complety underpowered adn underprepared, so we can only asssume he was easily defeated , and his stance while fighting , absolutly horrid." and she went on and on abotu everything wrogn with Obsidian , and i have had it with her " ENOUGH!" I shouted " SO MAYBE HE WASN'T PREPARED , MAYBE HE KNEW HE COULDN'T WIN, BUT HE SAVED US, HE'S GONE NOW, BUT ITS BECUASE HE PROTECTED ALL OF US, HE ALWAYS HAS, SO IF YOU HATE HIM SO MUCH BECAUSE HE HURT ME, HE DID IT SO THAT I WOULDN'T BE LAZERED BY THE WAY, BUT FI YOU STILL HATE HIM, FINE AT LEAST APPREICATE WHAT HE'S DONE FOR YOU" everyone looked at me , mouth haning open , confused as to my sudden outburst " let's go " i said and walked back to the temple , holding the black gem in my hand please come back soon
That night the other gems went in their rooms, and i did what i did when Pearl got poofed, -put on Obisidian's favorite movie, btu intsead of Lonely Blade 5, I got out some movie called "Space Balls" He said it was funny , but i couldn't understand why from the cover, during the movie I saw a flash and looked to the pillow i had placed Obi's gem on . I could tell Obi was reforming btu hesistating a little, "come on Obi" i said " you can come back, if Pearl says anything , i'll convince her to let you stay , so please coem back." As i hugged the gem i heard a voice saying " that's not why he's staying in his gem" I looked and saw Pearl with some sort of gem device , when i look closer it appears to be a mirror " its a lapider , it keeps gem in their gem state adn doesn't allow them to take a physical form, its often used fro prisoners , but he's no different so we don't have to worry about that" Pearl than grabbed Obi and stuck him in the mirror, just liek what happened to Lapis " the thing is" Pearl went on " he still coudl have reformed , it would have been much more difficult to catch him that way, so I wonder why he didn't " we then both heard a laugh and said " because that's a fake, ya know for hte brain's of the team , you can't tell the difference between a gem and a hunk of black rock" Obsidian then came out of the shadows and I swear that cut form the neck was still there
REGULAR POV
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE" Pearl yelled and summoned her spear , I got out my staff and said calmly "listen i never had any intention of hurting anyone, and for whatever reason you despise me , i just wanted you to know that I will go , if you let Steven have a normal life again" Pearl looked at me and boasted " i'm makign sure he doesn't meet swine like you, people who hurt their own teammates" as she came in for a stab with her spear, i blcoked it and came in with a feitn, then adn sidestriked her, stopping just at her head, then i got out one fo my knives and threw it , at a black mass aiming for steven's head.
The gem instantly deflected the knife and came cahrging towards me , a sulking black mass of pure fear " i guess my quarry will have to wait for now" eh went in for a series of slashes , while Pearl ran to make sure Steven was unharmed. I got out my axe and began to swing "ya see , this is what i get for leaving, I do what all the tv shows do and say that i appearantly gained no new abilities in the 6 months i have spetn all of my time destroying gems " i mutter while blocking his attacks, makign sure to keep my eyes on him as he attacked , and so i coudl get a closer look, he was about 8ft tall, adn had a scrawny build, but you could tell eh was much more powerful than i was . His hands were black with long, red fingernails, liek that of a animals, and he was wearing what looked liek a blood red cloak. His weapon, a sythce was about 5 ft long and he was cleraly a master at it,his swings adn stirkes told em so. I was barely able to block one when i saw a large black shape coming from his hand, instantly i felt teh wind get knocked out of me as i was sent flyign into the wall deja vu i think as i realize he isn't going to let me leave, unless its as a corpse . I had a plan which was enough to buy me soem time , i quickly got out my pistols adn shot him infinatly.
now the thing abotu my guns is they have no ammo limits, but require soem of my energy to shoot, i always have 16 pre-set, but to pull off an inifnte shot like i was planning, i would need a lot of energy, last i checked i could only keep up this fire pattern for about 5 minutes , however i have gotten stronger, adn in my mind i pictured Steven , that little kid who could make anything better. Instantly i felt a surge of power and felt my shtos actually deal damage, i could see Pearl getting Steven out of the house, adn seh gave me a wuick nod of understanding, which further assisted me in my endevors of butt-kicking, (hey i can't be literate all teh time)
After abotu 13 minutes i felt myself getting weaker, losign more energy. I had to end this quicky, so i fused the pistols into a shotgun state and quickly blasted him wtih my final charge shot. I felt thorughly spent and exsauhted but i think i got him , at least that was what i was thinking before i felt taht same feelign of pure fear strike me. I recoiled into the floor and saw the sycthe sink into the wood floorign right next to me "you show promise , my dear dear prey, i feel as though you coudl be quite the challenge for me, so i shall go for now, and coem back when i belive you can actually defeat me, adn when I do come, you shall feaar teh Grim Reaper's blade" he muttered and dissapeered in a puff of black smoke. "WOW" i said" sterotype much?"
Steven adn Pearl cam eback a few mintues later, Garnet and Amythyst were on a mission when i got there, so when tehy came back i breifly explained what had happened, to all foru of them . Booting up The List i quickly foudn teh entry i was looking for as i sadi teh stats aloud to the gems.
Name:Heliotrope
Weapon:Sychte , has profieceny with other types of weapons and knows basic hand-to -hadn combat
Fighting style : stalking the oppponnet, drivign them insane
abilities: healing, teleportation, shadow force (see glossary of gem abilities)
Speed level: 6
strength level : 8
durability level : 4
Intelligence level : 10
main threat : Its brutal tenecity
Strengths : its strentgh and deadly weapon skill
Weaknesses: Often tries to go in to " soften" the oppenent, does not have much endurance and cannot multi-task
How to defeat it:attack it with a large group adn do not stop fighting
Danger level: 9A , DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIGHT WITHOUT SPECIALIZED TRAINING
The gems were all silent, however Steven was the 1st to say " what does 9A mean" i looked up form teh screen where i was wacthing soem video fo hsi attack patterns adn said simply " it means he is a Apocalypser" Amethyst realized the naem form her days at the kindergarden " does that mean?" I nodded and said with as much of a commanding voice as I could muster " it means we're fighting a devil , and I'm its target." Pearl then put a hand on my shoulder adn said " I think you mean WE'RE its target"
Welp, this is the 10th chapter and i think it shows, we've come through a lot together and I just want to say thanks to all 4 of you who acutally enjoy this story.
Bloodstone (Heliotrope): Originally thought to represent the blood of Jesus Christ by Christians because of its' colors (dark green with orange or red spots). Used to be prescribed as a cure for all types of physical bleeding. It was given to the injured or sick person to wear or place over the affected area so the bleeding would stop.