Rhyncho and Capri had now arrived at the space station where they could access the space capsule they needed to reach other planets. It seemed like the feeling in Capri's gut was getting stronger and stronger the closer they came to finding Gneiss, but she still had to keep in mind that she could be wrong about where exactly Gneiss could have gone and that the whole thing might be for nothing if they failed. Nevertheless, this gave her even more determination to find the High Priestess and bring her to justice.
As soon as Capri and Rhyncho made it inside, the first thing they did was walk up to the space station director, an Aurichalcite indigenous to the badlands of Magnesiochromite. She was a sky-blue Gem who had curves in all the right places and a buxom chest. Her face took on a square shape with a Roman nose and plump lips and her hair was done up in three buns across from one another in the back.
"Top o' the morning to you, dear Gem and Opisthia," she greeted the two strangers before her. "How can I help you today?"
"And the rest to you, Miss Aurichalcite," Capri replied. "My, uh, friend and I are searching for a Gem who may've left Mineralis for another planet. We were hoping if you had a space capsule handy."
"We only have one available right now and it can only fit two passengers. Another Gem stopped by to take a space capsule half an hour ago. You wouldn't be looking for her by any chance, would you?"
Capri couldn't believe what she'd just heard: another Gem just happened to take a space capsule and leave with it. What were the odds of that happening? And what were the odds that it could've been Gneiss?
"Oh, um… yes, she is," she answered her. "Can you tell me what the name of the Gem was that took the single-passenger capsule?"
"Sure. It's Acasta Gneiss."
Rhyncho gasped. "Oh my God! You were right, Capri."
"Alright, now is there a reason you're looking for her right now?" Aurichalcite asked curiously.
"Well, you know about Yggdrasil, right? I'm one of the Guardians of the Tree and Gneiss had actually stopped by and infected it while it was already sick. I brought this young lady with me, Capri Universe, to track down the High Priestess and bring her back to be extradited."
Aurichalcite's eyes flew wide open and she gasped. "Oh my Gods! I've heard of you. You're Rhyncho Searles Trona. What a pleasure it is to meet you finally."
"Thank you, Miss Aurichalcite. And the same to you. You've been a great help to us. Now can we take the two-passenger capsule now?"
"Sure. Just go down the hall to your left. Sorry if I kept you waiting for so long."
"It's okay. Again, thanks for your help."
By the time Kermesite, Diaboleite, the Topaz brothers, and what was left of the Crystal Gems had finished working on the trap for Xenotime, they were beyond exhausted out of their minds. For at least six hours, they'd managed to pour all of their efforts into creating what was essentially a giant metal wire cage that could easily fit a Deinosuchus inside. They'd even managed to have the foresight to use Kermesite's magic to make the metal cage virtually indestructible just in case Xenotime decided to destroy it in all her rage.
"Well, that's it," Blue Topaz announced. "That's about as much as we could do for the trap. Now we just need someone to lure Xenotime over and hopefully stop her."
"'Kay," Aquamarine said. "So who are you gonna use as bait?"
"Well, we need someone who's small and has the right kind of weapons to provoke her. Someone like… you."
"Wha… me? But I'm just a kid! You can't use me!"
"Yes, I can. Now you better go out there and get her. The fates of our world and this one depend on you."
"Yes, sir."
And with that, Aquamarine was off to find Xenotime and bring her back. She started running, running, running as fast as her legs would allow her. She was determined to find the monster no matter how much her muscles ached and seized in pain. She kept a lookout for Xenotime, making sure to look all around for any sign of her. Suddenly, she heard a low growling coming from beside her.
"Hello?" she called out. "Is there anybody out there? If you're looking for a fight, you're gonna get one!"
The growling only grew louder.
"So you do wanna fight?" Aquamarine now asked with a smirk on her face. "Well, you better come get me then. Tell you what, I'll give you a head start." Her arms turned into cannons right at that very moment and shot off lasers into what she could only presume was in Xenotime's direction. "How do you like them-?"
Suddenly, Xenotime started charging at the young Gem girl. Aquamarine promptly screamed and shat herself before deciding to run off and lead the monster to the trap. She ran, ran, ran as fast as possible, making sure that every sprint she made got her further and further away from death. Meanwhile, Xenotime had fully given in to her primal instincts. Where she would've seen a possible ally, someone who could possibly save her life, she saw food.
"You're too slow, croc!" Aquamarine yelled out as a taunt. "I bet if you were any slower, you'd be a snail!"
Xenotime picked up a bit more speed in response and this urged Aquamarine to do the same. When she finally saw the trap on the horizon, Aquamarine quickly made a sharp right turn while Xenotime ran straight into the trap and knocked herself out.
"Good work, Aqua!" Blue exclaimed. "Now if Kermesite would just hurry up and pull up a spell to change my sister-in-law back to normal, we might be able to fix this."
"Hey!" Kermesite yelled. "I'm flipping through this book as fast as I can."
"Can I help, Miss Kermesite?" Diaboleite asked as sweetly as she could.
"Haven't you helped enough already?"
"Fair enough."
Kermesite proceeded to continue flipping through her book for the right kind of spell that could change Xenotime back whether it was successful or not. "Alright, now where is that damn spell?" she asked herself. "I know it's somewhere in the 'R' section, but I can't remember the name for the life of me..."
"Okay..." Jade said. "Now what do we do?"
"Just wait for Kermesite to find the spell she's looking for and change Xenotime back, I guess," Blue answered uncertainly. "It might take a while."
Capri and Rhyncho had now made it to Giegue, one of the prison planets Mineralis had had in its possession for fifty Mineralis years. This planet had a surface temperature of approximately 122 degrees Fahrenheit, ideal for making prisoners suffer while working under extreme conditions, and was perpetually stuck in a xeric environment that hosted very little indigenous life. What little life there was, however, featured such organisms as lizard people known as Geyri that were much like the Opisthias, date palms, venomous snakes, flies, and regular, puny lizards that often roamed the planet in great numbers. Only one building could be seen for miles on end: a steel tower that stood approximately eighty feet tall and overlooked all the prisoners within its vicinity.
"While your instincts might have been right, how do you suppose we might find Gneiss around here?" Rhyncho asked.
"I'm not sure," Capri replied. "But maybe if we put our heads together, we can figure out where she could be hiding."
"How would crashing our heads together help us find Gneiss?"
"It's a figure of speech."
"Ah. I see."
"Anyway, maybe if we ask around, they might point us in the right direction."
"Are you sure they might know where she is?"
"Absolutely." All of a sudden, Capri spotted a female Geyri in the distance. "Look, I see a Geyri! Let's go ask her about Gneiss!"
"Capri, wait!" However, his cry fell on deaf ears and he sighed while trailing behind her.
Capri caught up to the Geyri and grabbed her shoulders. The Geyri turned around to see who it was.
"Can I help you?" she asked the stranger who'd grabbed her.
"Um, hi, I'm Capri Universe and the Opisthia behind me is Rhyncho," Capri answered.
"Okay..." The Geyri left in an awkward silence and just stared at Capri the whole time.
The Geyri had vibrant green and black scales that covered her body, a toned masculine body that exposed her muscle sinews, and her tail was covered in several tiny spikes that could easily be used against intruders. She had dark gray eyes and her mouth contained several sharp, shiny teeth that stood out against her bluish-black gums and tongue.
"We're here to find someone," Rhyncho explained. "She infected the Tree of Life and we need to bring her back to Mineralis so she can be punished for her crime against life."
The Geyri just continued to hold her tongue.
"Can you help us find her?" Capri asked the Geyri.
Finally, the Geyri decided to speak again. "Well, we just met, but sure, why not? I can help you out. By the way, my name's Zarmina."
"Thanks, Zarmina, you're a lifesaver. Now do you know where she might have gone?"
"Uh, well, you haven't given me much to go on. Can you be a little more specific than that?"
"Sure, no problem."
For the next few minutes, Capri and Rhyncho proceeded to explain to Zarmina who Gneiss was, what she'd done before, why she decided to infect Yggdrasil, and why they decided to go after her.
"Wow…" Zarmina said. "What a piece of work."
"I know, right?" Capri asked. "I'd never heard of anyone trying to hurt Yggdrasil the way she did, at least until now. I know my grandmother saw beauty in everything, but I wonder how she would've felt about someone deliberately poisoning the Tree of Life."
"I can't even begin to imagine how that must feel. Alright, if we want to find Gneiss, we need to go up to the top of the prison tower and lure her out."
"That sounds like a good idea, but what if the warden catches us?"
"That's a risk we're willing to take, right?" She didn't get an answer right away. "Right?"
"Right," Capri and Rhyncho simultaneously answered.