Vampire Tails- Guess who's back!
Stahlrim's Regrets
The escort ship landed softly on the snowy mountaintop, its engines unable to be heard over the sound of the howling wind. The ramp lowered with a hiss, the dull, synchronized sound of marching footsteps moving away from the ship and towards the archaic structure before them. Once the order was given, the soldiers burst through the large stone doors and stormed into the cathedral, weapons ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Black Diamond walked into the Crystal Monastery, his hands folded behind his back, his Pearl and his Peridot following close behind him. Just like their Diamond, both Gems had a grey appearance, black uniforms, and a rigid posture. The High Commander kept his eyes forward, focusing on his target, who was kneeling before a dark magenta altar, carved from- What appeared to be- Pure crystals.
"High Commander Black Diamond," The Ancient Father Stahlrim said, not turning to face the mentioned Gem, "I have been expecting your visit for quite some time."
"Where is the Pink Diamond?" Black Diamond demanded, having no interest in idle conversations.
"I do not know, High Commander." Stahlrim answered politely.
The Diamond stormed forward pass the priest and forcefully knocked over the altar. The crystal item fell to the ground and shattered. "Where is the Pink Diamond?!" He screamed, 20,000 years of rage and frustration finally revealing itself as a destructive outburst.
"I told you, I do not know." Father Stahlrim repeated, his calm aura not at all affected by Black Diamond's hateful energy.
"You sheltered Pink Diamond!" Black Diamond yelled, "She came to you, bringing with her Rose Quartz and stealing White Diamond pearl! Tell me where she is!"
"I can see that Mercury really did personally design you…" Stahlrim sighed, "You have his anger… His rage… Even his ignorance…"
Black Diamond suddenly became unnervingly calm, his gaze turned upwards towards the stain-glass mosaic of the Goddess Crystal. "Tell me, Father Stahlrim… Does Crystal grant forgiveness?"
"No." The Ancient answered, "Crystal does not grant forgiveness, although she may reward it to those deems worthy."
"How hard," Black Diamond started, "Would you have to work to be forgiven for allowing the Crystal Monastery to be destroyed?"
Stahlrim thought for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders. "That is not within my power to decide."
"Is it not within your power? You, the Ancient Father Stahlrim? The last remaining follower of the Church of Crystal? The Ancient Geminoid who, as legends say, is the wielder of the Purge Stone, the mysterious jewel said to be the only physical remnant of Crystal Herself, rumoured with the ability to give life to whatever inanimate object it pleases, and take away life for whatever it sees as unworthy?!" His voice had grown louder towards the end of his speech, but he quickly got it under control.
"I am not the last of the Church of Crystal. I have recruited two new souls to serve Her Clarity." The Ancient countered.
"Nonetheless, I give you the chance to restore your Goddess to Her former glory. Hand over the Pink Diamond, and your honour will be restored."
"I will not accept your deal, High Commander." Father Stahlrim said with finality.
"Then your Monastery shall be destroyed." Black Diamond declared, straightening his back and turning to the peridot. "Take us back to the Geode, and prepare an orbital bombardment on these coordinates. I want this structure reduced to nothing but ash." He order.
"Yes, my Lord." Peridot nodded, using her limb enhancers to create a holographic screen and beginning to program the attack.
Black Diamond and his party left the Crystal Monastery, taking the escort ship back to his Command Vessel in orbit. Once the giant stone doors had swung shut, Father Stahlrim sighed deeply. As he picked up the pieces of the crystal altar, he felt a comforting hand fall on his shoulder, squeezing softly.
"I'm sorry, Father Stahlrim." A deep voice said from behind him, "This is all my fault."
"This is true, Brother Mercury, but the time for blame has long since passed. Now is the time for action." Stahlrim stood up, turning to face his second and newest Crystal Acolyte. The Ancient Mercury, former High Commander of the Ancient Geminoids, now attempting to do right by the mistakes that he has made, swallowing his pride and devoting himself to the Church.
"Are you suggesting that we fight?"
"No. The strictest rule in the Church of Crystal: Do. No. Harm." The priest said sternly, sounding as though he was scolding a small child. "But, there are followers of Her Clarity who must break this rule, and for that, i do not blame them. As much as it disgusts me to even think, conflict and strife are inevitable. They are a force of nature, like the very blizzard that rages outside of these walls as we speak. That is why the Earth has both myself, as well as the Crystal Gems: The warriors who are willing to fall from grace, and the priest who ensures that they never fall too far, as to be unable to be saved from the darkness."
"Then what do we do?!" Mercury asked impatiently, his old personality beginning to break through his newer, calmer appearance.
"First… I suggest we get off of this mountain before the High Commander up there takes us out along with the Monastery." Stahlrim answered, far too calm for their current situation.
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A few hours later, Father Stahlrim and Brother Mercury found themselves sitting in a cozy little tavern located at the very base of Mount Everest. At first, the villagers were confused at the sight of them, and not because they were aliens, as Mercury had originally believed. No, Father Stahlrim had told his story to the humans who had originally founded the village, and the old priest took a trip down the mountain every once in a generation to take a short walk before returning to his meditations.
No, they were confused, Stahlrim said, because of the strange reflective man who wore robes similar to Stahlrim's. After he had introduced his second Crystal Acolyte to the villagers, they seemed to understand, and began to show Mercury just as much hospitality as they showed "The First Founder", the name they gave to the one who lived in the area long before humans had.
Now, the priest and the acolyte were sitting in the cozy little tavern, Mercury impatiently tapping his fingers against the wooden table as Stahlrim took his time to enjoy a hot cup of tea. Finally, Stahlrim spoke up, his words audible throughout the tavern, as the few humans in attendance were remaining silent as a sign of respect. Despite that, they couldn't help but look over as the Ancient spoke.
"We need to get into contact with Brother Spinel." He said, "Biologically, you and I cannot use the Gem Warp Pads to travel, so we will have to take the long way around, but our situation is far too dire to wait any longer than we have to."
"So what would calling this 'Brother Spinel' do to help us?"
"While we travel, Brother Spinel will do what he deems as necessary to begin to collect and gather information regarding the Black Diamond. Not only is he silent and subtle in his every task, he will not allow his emotions and experiences to get in the way of his mission, all without raising any unnecessary suspicion."
"Why didn't you tell me that a third Ancient Geminoid survived the Creation War?" Mercury asked.
"What makes you think that Brother Spinel is an Ancient?" Stahlrim countered with a knowing smirk, "Faith is not unique to a species, Mercury, and while Spinel did not have the best intentions when he first arrived at the Crystal Monastery, he, much like yourself, has been making great strides in the reformation process."
"We're getting off topic, Stahlrim." Mercury said, "We don't have time to chat idly. Get into contact with Brother Spinel, we need to get moving."
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Logan Mercer unlocked the door to his apartment, dragging his green duffle bag through the door and kicking it shut. He tiredly tossed the bag onto his couch, but was too tired to make the bag do anything other than fall to the ground. The soldier ignores this, falling onto the couch with a deep, long sigh. He had just returned to Beach City after a longer-than-expected visit to Paris, France, where his old friend Naomi had asked him to investigate some strange Gem-like activities.
"Doctor Mercer." A strange, distorted voice spoke up, scaring the living daylights out of the soldier, who frantically looked around his house while yelling every bit of profanity that he could think of.
"Doctor Mercer, your talents are required." A tall man stepped out of seemingly nowhere, moving towards Mercer. He wore armour that seemed to look more like cloth, but Mercer noticed that some pieces seemed to be strangely rigid and moved less when the stranger moved. The soldier tried to look at his face, but a short masked covered his lower face, and the hood that he wore cast the rest of his face in shadows.
"Doctor Mercer, Father Stahlrim has tasked me with obtaining information. You possess talents that would be of great benefit to me. You will come."
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A/N- Hey Fanfiction Rewritten, I hope you saw the tiniest bit of development at the very end in regards to our collaboration.
Quick little announcement, but I have founded a clan on Clash of Clans, called Wanderers. My username is Canaan Rooks, so come and join the fun! :D