Chapter 11: A Brief Look into the Past!

CBLT 4465 staggered out of his escape pod. Shortly after capturing the Rebel Gems, he and his platoon were supposed to bring them back to Homeworld Prime for execution. But somehow, the traitors had escaped and caused the ship to crash. CBLT 4465 was now alone, on a planet unfamiliar to him. His only hope was to find either General Spinel or Black Jade, the commanding officers he was placed under.

Much to his relief, he saw another escape pod only a few meters ahead of him. The image of the pod drew closer to him as his speed increased. Suddenly, a black Gem stumbled out of the pod onto his knees.

"Commander Jade!" CBLT 4465 stopped in his tracks once he saw Jade's face. His entire face was pitch-black, save for two, red vertical stripes that covered his equally dark eyes. His head was full of white hair that had a red stripe that ran all the way from the front of his bangs to the back of his neck. His white eyebrows were knitted together in a frustrated expression as he stared at the petrified CBLT.

"M-my apologies, C-commander Jade," CBLT 4465 stuttered as Black Jade pulled the hood from his cloak back over his eyes. "I-I know that you don't like being seen without your hood, but I suggest that we work together to find General Spinel and Commander Zircon."

Black Jade stood up slowly, keeping one hand behind his back as if to conceal something. For a moment, all that CBLT 4465 did was stare at Jade's half-covered face. Finally, Black Jade reached out to the blue soldier, revealing the black gemstone embedded into his right palm. But just as he was about to get closer, the CBLT shivered from pain as he felt his gemstone crack. Before he even knew it, his gemstone was being tugged out through his body and into the clutches of Jade. CBLT 4465's physical form disappeared; the only thing left of him was his cracked gemstone. Jade tightened his grip, crushing the gemstone in his grasp and sprinkling the dust onto the ground at his feet.

"Apology, accepted, soldier…" Black Jade grunted in a dark, monotone voice. Black Jade went back to his escape pod and sat, cross-legged, in the shade. Closing his eyes, he focused all of his energy into his gemstone, channeling its collective power through his future vision, until he finally entered an astral plane.

In his mind, Black Jade was now back on Homeworld Prime. More specifically, he was in the reconstructed Visionary Temple, which currently served as the headquarters of the Diamonds' current advisors: the Shadows. At one time, the Visionaries were well-known as the advisors of the Diamond Hierarchy. But when Crimson Topaz rebelled against his former masters, the Visionaries' eyes were opened to the truth about their masters' tyranny. Unfortunately, several Visionaries refused to turn away from the Diamonds, and chose to slaughter their brothers and sisters. Those who remained loyal to the Diamonds formed a new order; subjecting themselves to a process called the merge, which turned their gemstones and their skin to a dark black, leaving only small traces of their original color behind. These Gems called themselves the Shadows. To this day, the Visionaries are all but extinct.

Black Jade concentrated on what he wanted to see, focusing on the one Gem he knew would be able to help him. Finally, his astral form stood before a ten-foot tall Gem with black skin and a dark robe. A dark indigo stripe spread diagonally across his face as he looked down on the Gem in contempt. This was Black Jade's instructor; Black Sugilite.

"My instructor…" Jade kneeled before the massive astral image. "My mission has been compromised. General Spinel, Commander Zircon, and the entire platoon have gone missing and I am now stranded. I request that you contact Gray Diamond and send reinforcements."

"No…" Jade's head lifted slightly in confusion. "You have failed one of the most simple of tasks assigned to you, my young student. You are a disgrace to my teachings… and to your legacy…" Jade hung his head out of self-doubt, fearing that Sugilite's words were true. "However…" Jade's head lifted back up to better acknowledge his instructor. "It is within your power to gain redemption…"

"How, my master?" Jade asked eagerly. "How may I earn your forgiveness? What do I need to do?"

"There has been a new possibility in the timeline… have you felt it?"

"… Yes."

"After you and Spinel made your last report from the Andromeda System… I have been focusing on the possibilities surrounding this… other… this female Gem you captured along with your mother, Princess Opal Doublet…"

"…Doublet means nothing to me…"

"And I now have no doubt… that this Gem has the potential to unlock her own future vision… stalk her… bring her to me… and I shall complete your training… do what must be done, Black Jade… and crush any who stand in your way…"

"Yes, my master…" The astral image of Black Sugilite disappeared as Jade returned to the physical world. But the black Gem continued to sit down, trembling with fear. He reached behind his back and placed a half-crushed, black helmet in front of him. The helmet had two long, curved horns on the brow. A jagged and scratched visor lay only a few inches below the horns, connected to a razor-sharp mouth-plate. Black Jade hung his head in shame over the helmet, allowing tears of self-pity run down his cheeks.

"Forgive me…" he sobbed. "Sugilite is right… I have failed you… not because I allowed the prisoners to escape… not because I allowed myself to be stranded on this miserable planet… but because I feel it again… my former self begging to be freed… I thought that I had cast aside all of my false beliefs… but when we captured my mother… I… I… please, show me… show me the power the darkness offers… and nothing will stand in our way… I will finish… what you started… Uncle Beryl…"

When his tears stopped, Jade placed the tips of his forefingers on the horns of Beryl's helmet. Suddenly, a powerful vibration ran through Jade's form, causing a wicked grin to spread across Jade's face. "Thank you… my uncle…"

"HE'S YOUR WHAT?!" Onyx could barely believe what his sister had told him.

"It's true." Opal sighed. "Black Jade is my son."

"But… who is the father…?" Quartz asked, trying to keep everything under control.

Opal looked out the window, resting her head on her hand as she continued. "Onyx, do you remember that mission to Mars we went on during the war… the one with Azurite and Pyrope?"

"How could I forget?" Onyx looked down at his feet. "Pyrope saved my life… and Azurite… she was the love of it."

"Well, you weren't the only ones who consummated their love that night… Pyrope was shattered that day… but after I landed in Andromeda… I brought Red Jade into this world. I just thought that I could protect him… but he had a sick fixation on our family history. There's just too much Beryl in him."

"Wait, wait, guys; can someone please get me up to speed?" Stephanie stepped in between the original Rebel Gems. It was now eight o' clock in the morning, and the four original Rebels stood before Stephanie, Margaret, Ronnie, and Cobalt. "First of all, how can you two be siblings and fusions of the same Gems? Second, who can Black Jade be your son if you didn't give up your physical form? And third, who is Beryl?"

"Would you prefer that I answer those questions in the order you asked them, Stephanie?" Quartz asked.

"Sure…" the teenage Rebel shrugged.

"Jet and Ivory created a project called 'Triple O.' Reproduction for Gems is different. And Onyx's brother. Satisfied?"

"I can't really remember what I asked…" Stephanie sat down from exhaustion. Everything had happened so quickly, she found it hard to take in. Two hours ago, military personnel had arrived to know what had happened. Being the daughter of a Homeworld diplomat, Opal handled the personal relations part while everybody else helped with clean up. One hour later, the people of Beach City returned to their homes, among them were a relieved and tearful Margaret Universe and Ronnie Markson. Both of whom were glad to see Stephanie unharmed. And just recently, Opal revealed the identity of the slender black Gem who nearly killed them.

Finally, Onyx kneeled down in front of Stephanie, bathing her in the gray light of his empathy appetite. "Its okay, Stephanie. I will explain everything…" Onyx lifted his palms up to the wall, shining a gray light upon it to display his memory and tell the tale.

The Earth. 379 years ago…

Onyx stood outside of General Topaz's ship. The Rebels had flown to Earth's moon in order to destroy the Communication Hub. If the Homeworld colonists were to lose the Hub, they would lose all contact with their Diamond superiors. Quartz was always at General Topaz's aid, helping with strategies and attack plans. Azurite acted as the strike-force's supervisor; the dark-blue Gem proudly gazed at her soldiers. After the death of Topaz's friend, Aquamarine, Opal took over as the representative to their human allies, when she wasn't struggling with her feelings for Pyrope and Onyx.

But Onyx could only gaze down at the Earth's surface. Opal noticed the sad expression on his face as she got closer to him. Ever since Master Alexandrite had died at the hands of Black Beryl, Onyx usually tried to hide his emotions, but nothing could ever get past Opal. She rubbed his arm to get his attention, gazing at her reflection in his visor.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He finally asked. "You can see Africa from here… if you had the enhanced vision my future vision grants me, maybe you could see the village… were my momma raised me…"

"Onyx, what's wrong?" Opal was now deeply concerned.

"Opal," Onyx finally turned to face her properly, "how do you feel about fusion?"

"It's an excellent battle tactic." Opal shrugged, rubbing her thumb on her left hand. "There's not much else I can think-"

"Opal, please!" Onyx took off his visor and looked at Opal with desperate eyes. "You can tell me the truth. No one else will ever know. Please… tell me."

Opal gazed down at the two gemstones in Onyx's palms and sighed. "It's… it's beautiful. It's like I trust someone else, so I synchronize with them, and then… I'm still partly myself, and yet, I'm someone entirely different. No matter what any other Gem ever said, I've loved it… why are you asking me this?"

"Alexandrite told me I had a brother…" Onyx breathed calmly. "His name was Obsidian… he was created by Jet and Ivory, too… and he felt about fusion the same way you and I do…"

"Onyx, please, tell me, what's troubling you?" Opal looked into two of Onyx's eyes, listening to every word he spoke.

"Beryl's here… now, on this moon…"

"How do you know?"

"He's been concentrating on me. Ever since I last faced him." Onyx lifted his right hand to show Opal the white streak on his gemstone, the one that was damaged from his last fight with Black Beryl. "He's come for me. He can feel when I'm here. That's why I have to go; as long as I stay I'm endangering this group and our mission here. I have to face him."

"Why?" Opal was now visibly worried.

"…He's Obsidian… my brother…"

"Your brother…?" Opal's eyes were wide with shock.

"There's more." Onyx steeled his nerves as he continued to speak with Opal. "It won't be easy for you to hear, but you must; if I don't make it back, you're the only hope Crimson has for the Rebellion."

"Onyx, don't say things like that!" Opal's lips quivered as she spoke. "You're irreplaceable! You trained under Master Alexandrite! You have powers I-I don't understand, and could never have!"

"You're wrong, Opal. You have those powers, too. In time, you'll learn to unlock them as I have."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because thanks to you, Opal, I now know that I was right about my family. Fusion is sacred to my family… my brother loves it… I love it, and… my sister loves it…" Opal slowly removed the glove from her hand, revealing a second gemstone in her palm. She held both of her hands up to Onyx's, noticing that the cuts of their gemstones were completely identical. "Yes… it's you, Opal…"

"…I know." Opal breathed nervously. "Somehow, I've always known."

"Then you know why I have to face him."

"No!" Opal began to cry; Onyx had never seen her cry before. "Onyx, run away! Far away! If he can feel your presence, then leave this place! I'll explain it to General Topaz, everyone will understand! If I were put in your position, I'd do the same!"

"No, you wouldn't." Onyx wiped his sister's tears away. "You've always been strong."

"But why must you confront him?"

"Because… there is still good in him. I've felt it. He won't turn me over to the Diamonds, I can save him. I can turn him back to our side. I have to try." Onyx brushed aside Opal's bangs to see a tearful third eye on her forehead, causing a soft smile to spread across his face. He placed his visor back on his head, and set off towards the Communication Hub.

A few minutes later, Onyx allowed himself to be captured and brought to the control deck. There, he was greeted by a seven-foot-five Gem wearing a black suit of armor. A long cape fell from his shoulders, concealing most of his body. A horned helmet covered his entire head as he reached out with his right hand, revealing two gemstones merged together as one. "Welcome, my brother…" Beryl spoke coldly.

"Yes… welcome, my new student…" Black Malachite cackled from his throne. Green spots covered his black face as a wicked smile spread from ear-to-ear. "You will be subjected to the merge, and you will join your brother under my studies…"

"You're gravely mistaken. You won't seduce me like you did my brother." Onyx gave a cocky smile as he went on. "Because soon I'll be dead. And you along with me."

"Oh, no… I'm afraid it is you who are mistaken. About a great many things." As Onyx's smile began to fade, the sinister Shadow lifted himself off of his throne, making his way to the gray Visionary. "Did you truly believe that I would not be aware of Topaz's arrival the moment he set foot on this moon? Oh… I'm afraid the Communication Hub's shield generators will be quite operational when they arrive…"

Meanwhile

"May the future be in our favor…" Admiral Amber was never a very religious Gem, but she knew as well as anybody else that it wouldn't hurt to ask for a few miracles. The Rebels had begun their assault on the Communication Hub, Azurite proudly led her troops towards the Homeworld's drones; Elite Rubies. Opal, Pyrope, and their titan friend Rubellite were ordered by Crimson to sneak into the Hub and deactivate the shields. Quartz, who had just recently started to obtain his independence startled Crimson with the quartz-gibberish all quartz sentries spoke before learning any real language.

"Genera Tapas, towa stea sfe!"

"What are you talking about, Quartz?"

"Sheal stea uep!"

"How can their shields… still be up?" Crimson lowered his shield enough to gaze past the glistening armor to see that his white friend was correct. "Break off the attack, the shields are still up!"

"Take evasive action!" Admiral Amber shouted. "All troops, prepare to retreat!"

"No!" Crimson shouted back. "We'll never get another chance at this, Admiral!"

"We have no choice, General Topaz! Not even the shield from your gemstone can withstand firepower of this magnitude!"

"Pyrope and the others will have those shields down, we just have to give them more time!"

Back at the Hub

"Isn't it an amazing sight to see, my young student?" Malachite chuckled as Onyx clenched his fists in anger. "Don't let it stop now… if you behave yourself, I'll let you collect their shards as a reminder…"

Onyx impulsively summoned a flyssa from his right palm, bringing it down onto the malevolent Malachite. Unfortunately, a glistening black cutlass blocked his blow. Beryl thrust his sword upward, causing Onyx to back away. Onyx did his best to block Beryl's attacks until he could finally leap to safety on top of scaffolding.

"Impressive." Beryl commented. "Most impressive."

"Your thoughts betray you, Obsidian." Onyx tried to reason with his fallen brother. "I feel the good in you, the conflict."

"That name no longer has any meaning for me. And there is no conflict."

"You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before, and I don't believe you'll destroy me now."

"You underestimate the impact the Rebels' abuse had on me." Beryl growled. "If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny!" Beryl was about to throw his cutlass at Onyx, but some kind of explosion shook the entire Hub. Onyx fell to the ground, but a wide grin was plastered over his face; Opal did it!

Outside

"The shields are down! Push the attack forward!" Admiral Amber smiled brightly as Azurite's troops trampled the ruby drones.

"We're on our way!" General Topaz unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards the Communication Hub. "All troops, press on! Hahaha! I told you they'd do it, Quartz!"

"Hehehehehe!" Quartz chuckled.

Back Inside

Beryl wandered through the darkness in search of his brother. Using his future vision to reach out and find Onyx, the black Gem also used his merged gemstone to illuminate the surrounding area. "You cannot hide forever, Onyx…"

"I will not fight you."

Beryl whipped around. He couldn't see him, but the sinister Shadow could now see into Onyx's mind. "Your thoughts betray you. You're feelings for your friend's are strong…" Onyx tried his best to block his thoughts, but to no avail. "Especially for our… sister… so, this whole time, Opal was my baby sister. Now, we don't need you. Alexandrite was wise to hide her from me, and she was even wiser to hide her being a fusion. She saw the abuse I suffered, the discrimination, the pain. Now, if you will not accept the merge… then perhaps she will. And then, I think we'll go to that wretched village you love so much… and burn it to the ground."

"NEVER!" Onyx summoned both flyssa from his palms and buried them into a surprised Beryl's shoulders, pinning him to the wall. "I offered you love, redemption, and you repay me by threatening everything I love!? You honestly believe that you have suffered? Don't. Blink!"

Beryl screamed in pain as Onyx violently ripped into his mind. Various images flooded Beryl's psyche, showing him Onyx's past experiences. How the other children of Africa would throw rocks at him, how the adults would look down on him in disgust, how the slave drivers took him away from his momma. Finally, Beryl broke free of Onyx's mental grasp.

Onyx used his mind to pull the flyssa away from Beryl, and began to rapidly slash at his fallen brother. Beryl did his best to parry every blow Onyx dealt out, but he tripped over himself, falling onto his back. Onyx slammed his dual flyssa together, causing them to form a larger fusion weapon. The blows became stronger against Beryl's cutlass with every strike Onyx made. Suddenly, Onyx knocked Beryl's sword away and sliced his gemstone nearly in half.

"Aaaaah!" Beryl grasped his palm, comforting his wounded gemstone. Onyx kept his fusion sword close to Beryl's face, looking away to face Black Malachite's laughter.

"Good! Your hate has made you powerful! Now, strike your brother down, and take his place at my side!" Onyx glanced down at the white streak on his gemstone, then back down to see the crack he had made on Beryl's gemstone. It was then, that Onyx realized what was happening; he now had a choice to make, and it had to be now.

"…Never." Onyx dissipated his fusion weapon, turning to face a confused Malachite. "I'll never be subjected to the merge. You failed, you filthy Shadow, I am more than a Visionary; I am a fusion. I am made of love. Like my brother before me. And I am proud."

For a moment, Malachite just stared in confusion at Onyx's words. No one had ever resisted the temptation to gain power, but when he looked into the gray Visionary's eyes, he could see that he wasn't lying. "So be it… fusion." Malachite spat in disgust. "If you will not be turned… you will be destroyed." A bright green blast shot from Malachite's gemstone, striking Onyx square in the chest, making him fall to the ground in agony. Malachite laughed maniacally as Beryl rose back up to his feet. But what neither Malachite nor Onyx noticed was that Beryl was now clenching his chest rather than his gemstone, trying his best not to let it go.

Beryl had gotten a chance to see what Onyx faced as a human being, and realized that it was far worse than anything he had faced in the Rebellion. Tears rolled down his cheeks beneath his helmet as he continued to watch his brother scream in agony. He wanted to look away, but Onyx called out to him, begging for help he feared would never come.

At last, Obsidian grabbed Malachite and lifted his former master over his head. Malachite redirected his power towards Obsidian, but his power had no effect. Finally, Obsidian flung Malachite into the Hub's main reactor, causing a massive explosion that blew the black Gem backwards. Onyx struggled to get to his feet, and made his way back over to his brother.

Outside

An explosion caused the Communication Hub to come crumbling down before the victorious Rebels. The only one who wasn't happy was Opal. Pyrope and Azurite did their best to comfort her.

"I'm sure Onyx wasn't in that thing when it blew…" Pyrope assured her.

"He wasn't… I can feel it…" Opal rubbed both of her arms as she stared into the smoke. But to everyone's surprise, they saw someone carrying another person over their shoulder. Opal, Pyrope, and Azurite rushed to Onyx's side, but stopped in their tracks once they saw who he was carrying.

Onyx dropped Obsidian onto his back, trying his best to keep him alive. Onyx took off his visor to look his brother in the eyes, surprised to see his brother grab his arm. "Onyx… please… help me get… my gemstones out of this suit…"

"But you'll be shattered!" Onyx sobbed.

"Nothing… can stop that now. Please, because of my anger, I killed our parents… because of my weakness, I slaughtered the innocent… please, just this once… let me see… what I could have had… as my true self."

With a tearful nod, Onyx twisted Obsidian's gemstone until a flash of light retreated into the cracked gemstone, causing the armor to fall away. Onyx placed the gemstone on the ground, gazing at the black and white lights bring Obsidian's physical form back to life. Obsidian's body was terribly deformed; his muscles were swollen and decrepit, his arms and legs twisted in different directions, his skin was an explosion of black and white, and two of his eyes appeared to be melted into one.

Onyx placed a hand on Obsidian's shoulder, hoping to give any comfort he could. But Obsidian gave a weak smile, lifted his right arm onto Onyx's shoulder, and spoke softly. "Mother and father… would have been so… proud of you…" Onyx shed a single tear as he smiled at his brother's words. "Now… go… my brother… leave me…"

"No…" Onyx frowned. "You're coming with us! I made a promise! I have to save you!"

"You already… have, Onyx…" Obsidian coughed and looked to the other Rebels. "In my arrogance… I thought I was beyond saving… that Black Beryl had destroyed me… but you knew… you knew that I was still alive… tell our sister… you saved my life…" With that, Obsidian had one final look at his brother. His eyelids became heavy, his head began to tilt backwards as he felt the gemstone in his had break further.

"Brother!" Onyx cried as he grasped his brother's hand. "I can't lose you, too!" But it was too late; Obsidian's form disappeared, leaving only the shattered remains of two gemstones, once merged together. Onyx bubbled the shards and hugged it tightly as tears continued to run down his face.

Onyx… Master Alexandrite's voice echoed in Onyx's mind. You were right… Onyx removed his visor to see the spirit of Alexandrite, and another spirit begin to appear beside him. This spirit wore robe similar to Alexandrite's, his skin was black with streaks and spots of white, and he smiled as he showed Onyx two holes in his palms where his gemstones should have been.

Present time

"I brought Obsidian's shards back to the Temple." Onyx concluded. "I took them to the burning room and cremated them, granting him true peace." The others remained quiet, silenced by Onyx's sad tale. But Onyx finally smiled and looked to Stephanie. "And that's how I know, I'm never alone…" Stephanie laughed and hugged her guardian.

Next: Beach Summer Fun Buddies!