Polished Gems #35: The Ancient One
It was the morning after Tourmaline's episode. Garnet, Obsidian and Jasper were grouped up while the other gems had gone out to train in the art of fusion. It was their only option to match up against the power that Feldspar had to command, so they had to act quick and come up with a plan. Jasper and Obsidian stayed behind due to the former objecting to the idea of fusion while the latter saying she wished to wait for when Tourmaline would eventually come out of the temple since she already mastered the art. Once he was back inside of the house, he was oddly silent. He refused to speak with anyone and just walked into the temple. He wasn't even in his shared chambers. He hid himself away from everyone. The gems remained silent and just sat around the warp pad.
"So...what do you think of this mudball?" Jasper asked.
"It's surprisingly nice. A lot to do, various species are unique, and as you have seen, it's always exciting." The black gem answered.
"Tch, course it is." She scoffed.
Garnet was silent. Her eyes fixated on the door. She knew he would come out sometime today, she just had to be there when he did. Jasper and Obsidian continued their conversation but then the door opened. Obsidian's focus on Jasper was broken as she immediately turned her head to see the boy walking out of the temple. He was stone faced as he stepped towards the warp pad. Garnet got up and got between him and the warp pad. He stopped walking and looked up to her concerned expression.
"Tourmaline...can you explain what happened last night?" She requested.
He squinted his eyes as he scowled at her.
"No.".
He walked around her and onto the warp pad.
"Oh! We're training for fusion today. It's over at-" Obsidian started.
Tourmaline warped away mid sentence. Obsidian frowned and averted her eyes.
"Is he always like this?" Jasper asked.
Garnet looked at Jasper.
"No. This is extremely strange.".
"I think he's just losing it." Obsidian suggested.
Garnet glared at Obsidian for even saying such a thing. But she couldn't deny the possibility. Tourmaline has been tortured by the very thought of Pyrite more than anyone. And now he might relapse into Emerald if last night was hinting at anything.
"If you're so worried about him, go follow him." Jasper ordered.
Obsidian nodded and stood up. She turned to Jasper and made her get up.
"You're coming with then. You aren't allowed to be alone in this house until we're certain that you are serious about being our ally." The giant gem declared.
The orange gem sighed and nodded in agreement. Garnet got on the warp pad with them, and the three gems were off.
"Any idea where he's gone?" Obsidian asked.
"Too many." Garnet responded.
/**/
Tourmaline warped over to the floating islands. He stepped off of the pad and looked around at the serene area. It was here where everything began. Where Pyrite had been reborn, and their war was declared. He heaved a sigh as he tried to maintain some form of calm, but the feeling of being so close to losing himself once more didn't leave him. Having his friends, no, his family stare at him with a sense of fear and worry hurt him more than Pyrite or Feldspar ever could. He frowned as he looked down at the clouds below him and wondered if things will ever be the same again. He sighed and sat down on the edge of the island and let his legs hang off the side. He tried to clear his head and think about happier times. After he had overcome his corruption as Emerald, the first time he became friends with the crystal gems, meeting everyone of his new allies, meeting...Ruby. It had been so long he really thought about her, or Sapphire and Tanzanite for that matter. They were always in the back of his mind and his heart, but he didn't really think about them in passing or when alone. It just made him angry, sad and feel like a failure. But he felt all three of those things anyway, so why bother not adding onto the pile? He groaned as he leaned back, but his head hit something fluffy. He went from thoughtless to alert in an instant and scrambled to turn around he nearly slipped off the cliffside. But his frantic action was pointless, as the potential threat was only Lion. He breathed out in relaxation and looked at the pink feline with a modest stare.
"Lion!? Geez man you scared me. What are you doing way out here?" He asked.
Lion blinked and laid down in response. Tourmaline shook his head.
"I don't know what I was expecting." The boy sighed.
Tourmaline turned his back to Lion and looked back down at the clouds. Lion crawled along the ground and stared down with him.
"You know...you managed to somehow figure out a way to save me way back when, but I feel like it was sort of delaying the inevitable. Do you...know if there's any idea of something that could stop this...stop me from hurting my friends, or a way that I can live normally without worrying about losing it?" Tourmaline asked.
Lion looked at the young boy and growled. Tourmaline looked at him and smiled a bit.
"I really wish I could understand you right now." He chuckled.
Lion looked back down at the clouds and hung a paw of the edge. It was like he was reaching out for something. Tourmaline looked down at the space as well.
"What do you think is down there? And why do I keep asking you questions when I know you won't answer them?".
Lion ignored him.
"I think I'm gonna go explore down there." He declared as he got up.
Lion stood up and looked as Tourmaline shapeshifted his arms into bird wings. He flapped them a few times and grinned.
"Lapis does this all the time. How hard can it be?" He joked.
Tourmaline looked at the large beast and smiled.
"Thanks for the talk Lion. If the girls ask where I am, you know where they can find me!" He declared.
With that, the boy leaped off of the side of the floating island and closed his wings together. He dived down like a hawk through the clouds, their moisture dampening his clothes and hair. Once he broke through the other side, he saw that he was above a gargantuan landscape. What looked like a field with giant holes, presumably where the now floating islands came from, and he spotted a forest that he assumed was some tens of miles away. He grinned as he opened his wings up and started to glide towards the dark green area. He gently glided downwards, occasionally dipping so that he could lose altitude. Eventually, he made it towards the forest. He was almost there, in a few seconds he would be in the canopy of the forest. He leaned his body backwards in an attempt to slow himself down for a landing, but he came in too hot and he lost his form. As he plummeted downwards, he morphed his wings back into his arms. He yelled out various obscenities and grunts & groans of pain as he tore through branches and vines. He ended his landing by slamming into a boulder. Luckily he landed on his chest, so his gems were unharmed. He peeled himself off of the stone, various cuts, bruises and a black eye healing on their own.
"Well that felt...awesome." He groaned out.
He got to his feet and looked around to see that this forest wasn't a normal forest, but a swamp. He looked around to see various, small trees half submerged in brackish water. Lily Pads and algae decorated the water's surface, and he was standing on the only mildly dry area of the place.
"Oh good it was just the ground. Much better answer to what that wet feeling on the back of your head was." He thought to himself, "Well at least this place got a bit more interesting.".
He gathered his senses and looked around. He decided to go north, as he saw the trees expand the most that way. He gently placed one foot on the water, and then the other. He then proceeded to walk along the water's surface, ready to explore this mysterious zone.
/**/
The Crystal Gems were practicing fusion at the arena in the sky. Pearl was practicing with Jet while Amethyst was working with Black Pearl while helping Dravite and Elbaite fuse. Tanza and Taz were trying their own variation of the fusion dance along with Rubellite and Pegmatite. The only ones that weren't practicing were Talc, Fluorite, Sardonyx, Heliodor, Topaz, Lapis Lazuli and Buergerite, the last of whom was tinkering with some sort of mechanism while Steven watched her. Chrysoberyl stood near the warp pad, observing the other gems. The group were trying their best, but they were in a funk. They couldn't shake off what happened to Tourmaline last night, and it was bothering them all. Tanza tried to twirl Taz around, but she messed up the step and the little gem fell over.
"Sorry Taz." She said as she crouched down to help her friend up.
"It's fine. Just...distracted I guess." The tiny girl stated.
A pillar of light formed from the warp pad, causing all of the gems to stop their activities to look over at it. From the light, out came Garnet, Jasper and Obsidian. Pearl and jet walked over to the trio, with the others following suit, save for Buergerite.
"Garnet, what are you doing here?" Pearl asked.
"Did you see Tourmaline?" Tanza asked.
Garnet sighed.
"Yes, but he warped somewhere before I could stop him.".
The group exchanged some somber expressions and then looked back to Garnet.
"We're going out to find him, just wanted to let you know." Obsidian stated.
"Any progress with...this." Jasper asked.
"So far no." Elbaite stated, "We almost had it a few times, but it's still a little complex.".
Jasper looked over to see the group of gems who decided to sit out on the exercise.
"And what about all of you?! If they're resorting to this garbage you should at least be putting in some form of effort as well." The orange gem shouted.
"I'll barely cause a change." Talc stated.
"I'm not doing this. No way, no how." Fluorite argued.
"I'm able to fuse with Obsidian fairly easily. I have enough experience with the art, so I'd rather let the others get in more practice." Sardonyx replied.
"If I'm fusing, its with Iolite." Heliodor said.
Lapis was silent, looking away from the brutish gem.
"I don't think we need to worry about the blue brat. Her powers are powerful enough on their own to merit sacrificing one of us just to get a bigger version of a gem that can control water." Topaz said.
Jasper glared at him.
"And what's your excuse?".
"Trust me, I know fusion.".
Buergerite let out an exasperated sound of satisfaction and she raised up an orb with her tendrils.
"Finally!" She proclaimed.
Steven was the first to run over and look at the strange thing.
"Woah! What is it?" He asked.
"Allow me to demonstrate. Gather 'round ladies, I'd like as many eyes as I can get for this." The cream gem declared.
The gems walked over to her with mixed looks of anticipation. They formed a crescent line so that all could gaze on Buergerite's invention.
"Finding Feldspar's whereabouts is without a doubt our top priority. But seeing as Garnet's future vision displays events that could happen, it could take weeks before she goes off the vision that is correct, and who knows what she could've made by then. That being said, it's no longer anything to worry abou-".
"Just do whatever you're doing already!" Jasper shouted.
Steven slapped the giant gem's leg and she glared down at the little boy.
"Don't be rude." He stated.
She scowled at him and then turned back to the engineer. The cream gem used her tendrils to carefully pull out a small cylinder from the ball. She let it go and it floated in the air. She turned her back on the group and walked towards the edge of the floating facility. She smirked and threw the ball as high as she could. It reached it's peak, and then quickly fell back down over the edge. Before it disappeared into the clouds below, the ball burst into a large group of small shards. These shards flew off in all sorts of different directions, some flying past the other gems, while the rest went in the opposite direction. Buergerite walked back towards the floating cylinder and she then tapped it with her tendril. It blinked blue for a second, and then it fired various projections of different aerial views.
"With this device, I can scour the entire planet in only a few days!" She claimed.
"A few days!? That's nuts!" Steven declared.
Each gem was looking at a different projection, and each one got a different sight. Lapis saw the drone flying over a vast field of flowers while Pearl saw one scouring the depths of the ocean.
"This is very impressive, but aren't they going a bit fast? I can barely make out what I'm looking at in some points." Pearl stated.
"Not to worry. The drones are simultaneously observing and recording everything they see. I can use the central key to look over their footage at a much more manageable speed once they're done recording. Even if one gets destroyed, all of its memory is backed up to the key." The cream gem said, "But I've also equipped them with a sensor designed to detect gem-like energy. If it senses something of the like within a one-hundred feet radius, it will slow down and search for the source.".
Tanza gasped.
"One of them is slowing down!" She stated.
All eyes were on the projection she was looking at. The drone was zipping through a flooded forest and stopped when it spotted Tourmaline from a distance.
"Hm. Looks like we found Tourmaline at least. Not exactly the result we're hoping for, but it's a good result nonetheless." Buergerite said.
The gems looked to see him smiling as he walked along the water.
"Funny, I don't recognize that place at all. How could he have warped there?" Pearl wondered.
"Well I can pinpoint where it has been on the globe using the central key. Just give me some time." Buergerite stated.
"Okay then, new plan." Jasper declared, "Anyone who isn't doing fusion, you're on watch duty.".
Topaz shrugged.
"I'm good with this.".
The others nodded and started observing the individual projections.
"Alright. We'll do our best with fusion!" Taz beamed.
Buergerite tapped a section of the key cylinder.
"Let's let this one be on its way to find something bigger." She stated.
/**/
Tourmaline walked along the wet path, curious as to what he may discover. So far, he was very bored. There were plants, and that was about it. There weren't any animals about, even fish. Either something was wrong, or he just so happened to discover what could possibly be the most pointless ecosystem ever imaginable. He heaved a sigh as he continued on. He was probably at the heart of the forest now, and there was still nothing interesting. He saw a shoreline and ran over to it, leaping off of the water and landing on the sandy shore.
"Maybe there's something on land." He decided.
He sprinted through the forest, leaping over stumps and crushing roots underfoot. He grew tired of taking his time, and just felt like running until he found something fascinating. For a few minutes, still nothing. He began to grow more irritable until he decided to run into a patch of vines. He leaped into them, grabbing one, and then swung straight up and into a rock ceiling. He swung back down and shook his head, dismounting from the vine. He brushed the vines aside and saw that this was a small cave that led downwards. He took a step back and saw that the entire top of the area was covered with moss so thick, the rocky area could've passed for a half cut down tree. The two trees that sandwiched the entrance were so close to it that it looked like the vines came from them and weren't an extension of the pile of vegetation above. Unless someone did what Tourmaline did, they would've easily missed it. So Tourmaline, desperate to find some action, walked into the cave and traversed downwards. He let his gems glow brightly and the cave was somewhat illuminated. He went deeper into the small space, but was then halted by a wall. He grimaced and stomped his foot down hard, causing the ground to crack. And then it cracked again. Before the young boy could react, the ground underneath him crumbled and he fell downwards. After a few moments, he slammed into the stone floor.
"Really having bad luck today." He thought.
Tourmaline got to his feet, and looked around his surroundings to see that he had fell some tens of feet downwards. He looked over and saw something mystifying. It was a giant carved mural of a gem. She was in a dignified, warrior like stance with jagged spires behind her. She had what appeared to be long, flowing hair, and a diamond shaped gemstone directly on her chest. Tourmaline couldn't put his finger on it, but this visage was familiar to him, but he couldn't understand why.
He looked behind him to see a gem who looked the exact same behind him, only this time there was what appeared to be a crudely drawn army of people rallied around her. Possibly other gems no doubt. As he looked up at the space, he suddenly heard a rock fall to the ground. He quickly turned around, but saw nothing among the stalagmites. The boy turned around, but couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He walked towards the south end of the massive chasm and discovered an underground lake. It more than likely connected back to the surface, so he decided to avoid going for a swim. He turned back and walked over to the north end of the room. Along the walls were portraits of this one gem. He couldn't put his finger on it, but this woman was all too familiar to him, and he couldn't shake the feeling.
His mind gained some sense of respite when he discovered in a small, crudely carved indentation in the wall that there was a glinting green gem. He jogged over to the piece and examined it. It looked like a broken shard of some kind, but he couldn't tell what type of stone it was. Staring down at this stone, he felt his instincts tell him that it was dangerous. He continued to stared, entranced by the stone. But suddenly, he heard the sound of stone being disturbed once again. He quickly turned around to see something in the darkness rushing towards him. Before he could call out to the noise, a sharp, dark green blade came towards him. He moved his head out of the way of the sharp blade, and then he was face to face with his assailant. Her skin was green, and he was staring into her eyes, which were as black as night. Her blade had pierced through the solid rock like it was sheet paper, not even leaving cracks around the entry point.
"An egg...must remain in its nest." She said in a calm, toneless voice.
She pulled her blade out of the wall and Tourmaline backed against the wall. The gem was a little smaller than Garnet and had a gem on her stomach in the shape of a diamond. Her hair was as black as her eyes, and it was tied up in a long ponytail. As she moved, he could see it swaying around her upper back. A black, large and square tank top covered her chest, most of her shoulders and half of her stomach, cutting off where her gem was. Around her stomach, black splotches like ink were spattered across her dark, jungle green skin. Her pants were loose fitting and black, cutting off halfway at the shin. Bright green stockings slightly obscured by her pants covered the rest of her skin, and for the last bit she wore forest green shoes. Black dots covered her arms in varying patches like someone haphazardly spraypainted them. Each part of her body seemed to have some bit of marking here and there save for her face. She had a fierce, yet serene expression on her face. The gem stared down Tourmaline who was increasingly becoming terrified of the stranger.
"Wha...who are you!?" He shouted.
The dark green gem raised her sword to Tourmaline and pointed it at him. It looked like a nodachi with a deep green blade & a jagged black handle.
"A defender of her master. This is the sacred place where her greatness shall be reborn. Those who trespass during her reincarnation...will die!" She dictated.
She brought her sword to her side and then quickly slashed forward. Tourmaline leaped over the attack and over the intimidating gem. He landed a short distance away from her and looked back. The sickening feeling in his stomach from looking at the murals and stone intensified tenfold at the sight of her. He felt a headache coming on and he felt himself sweat. He temporarily snapped out of his trance to summon his grieves and defend himself. She rushed over to him and began slashing at him. Tourmaline dodged the first two attacks and kicked away the third strike, following his roundhouse with a back kick. The woman blocked the kick with her open palm and grabbed his foot, then throwing him aside. As he rolled along the jagged floor, she leaped towards him, flipping through the air. Tourmaline stopped himself, looked up, and saw her coming at him. He moved to the side but the force of the impact sent him rolling back again. He managed to get back to his feet and rushed at her. Tourmaline couldn't let her get the upperhand, she was too fast. Tourmaline punched at her head first, but she stepped out of the way. He began his onslaught of punches and kicks, but her defense was just as impressive as her offense. This only made Tourmaline panic more, and the pain in his head to grow.
"Why is this happening? What is she doing to my head!?" He shouted in his head.
His moment of weakness gave her an opening to counter attack, swinging her sword upwards. He felt it leave a shallow cut across his abdomen & chest and took a step back. She swung her sword downwards but Tourmaline clasped the sword between his hands. He struggled to keep the sword where it was while his opponent slowly inched her way forward. She stared down at him with that same, terrifying gaze.
"Hm, you're surprisingly competent for a young wretch." She commented.
"Who...the hell are you!?" Tourmaline repeated.
She frowned at him.
"Why bother asking? You won't live long enough to remember it." She threatened.
The blade slipped through his hands and slammed into his right shoulder. He yelled out in pain, but grabbed her by the arm with his right hand. He morphed his free hand to be clawed and then thrusted it towards her stomach. The mysterious woman grabbed his wrist and the two were stuck in another power struggle.
"Tell me...your god damned name!" The bleeding boy shouted.
She glared down at him. He was putting up a struggle, but it was nothing to her.
"You fight like a fool. So sloppy and unfocused. Why should I tell my name to some nobody that can barely hold his own?" She stated.
Tourmaline raised to his feet, moving the sword and her arm with it and then kicked her in the stomach, the blades on his shoe sliding down to the sole as he did so. The blade sunk into her flesh and she was knocked back a small ways. Her blade came with her, spilling a trail of his blood as she went back. She glared back at him and witnessed his regeneration taking effect.
"This nobody just made you bleed." He boasted.
She put her hand on her stomach and then looked at her blood. Her green hand was stained black. She looked back at Tourmaline, who was cautiously staring back at her.
"Impressive. Most of anyone wouldn't be able to get such a hit on me. I've grown a little...complacent since I've took my position guarding my master. In the past many gems and beings alike were cut down by my blade, but I don't think I have seen one with such a peculiar power. But again...you're nothing but an amatuer. You could have easily aimed for my head and ended this match, and now you're going to suffer for it." She announced.
"I have more powers than you think. Not only that, if all you can do is slice me up, I'll just heal it off." He rebutted.
"It's been awhile since I've actually had to earn a victory, so I just made a small mistake. And that healing of yours, how long can it keep up? Ten minutes? Five? How long do I have to keep cutting you before I make a permanent mark?" She asked.
Tourmaline smirked and went into his fighting stance.
"Not telling.".
"Fine. I'll find out either way.".
/**/
Garnet felt a headache coming on. Her future vision kicked in and she had a very unpleasant sight. A premonition of Tourmaline's demise, and it seemed to be very near. There was always a chance that her visions were wrong, but something in her gut told her that she shouldn't leave this one up to chance. She abandoned her post observing the various projections and walked towards the warp pad. Jasper noticed her leaving.
"Hrm, where you going?" She asked.
"I'm heading out to check on something. Pearl! Amethyst! Come with me!" She called out.
The two gems looked away from their trainees and rushed over to Garnet.
"Practice your form!" Pearl called out.
"Go with the flow!" Amethyst bellowed.
Steven moved away from his position and met up with the gems.
"Can I come too?" He asked.
Garnet looked down at him and given what she saw, they might need him.
"Sure, just stay safe.".
The boy's smile was wide and he rushed onto the warp pad. The three of them went off and the rest of the gems were in a bit of confusion.
"Well great. Stuck fumbling about like children." Elbaite complained.
"Ease up. If we stress ourselves out it'll only make the fusing process more complicated." Dravite stated.
Obsidian and Sardonyx looked at each other and then to Jasper.
"Is it alright if we let you survey on your own? We can step in in Pearl and Amethyst's places." Sardonyx requested.
"Ugh...fine." The orange gem relented.
"Thanks." Obsidian said.
The two large gems walked over to educate the groups and Jasper looked over to Buergerite.
"Will it be harder to spot any sort of action without their assistance?".
"A bit, but not by much. Just make keep an eye out for slow movement...like this!" She called out.
The gems' attention shifted to a singular display. The bot was in the sky and flying above what looked like a gem ship.
"What's this?" She asked.
"I recognize it. It's the ship that the Homeworld gems that attacked us came in." Topaz interjected.
Jasper looked over to the pale gem with a raised eyebrow.
"Homeworld gems?".
"Yeah. Led by Carnelian and apparently some group called the shattered gems came with them." He answered.
"Sheesh. At this point I'm surprised that Yellow Diamond hasn't sent in an army." Jasper said.
"Why bother with an entire squadron of nobodies when you can send in a strong platoon to get the job done more quickly and efficiently?" She asked.
Jasper gave him a questioning stare. She couldn't fault his logic, but she didn't feel like admitting she was right.
"Well it may not be the prize we were searching for, but it's still a good find. I'll let the little guy hook onto the ship and we'll leave it at that." Buergerite stated as she fiddled with the main controller.
"Alright ladies, back to the other projections." He said in a chipper tone.
As they went back to their own sections of windows, the bottom of the Homeworld ship seemed to have landed somewhere.
/**/
Carnelian and Chalcedony leaped out of the cockpit and walked across the front of the ship. Ametrine looked over at them from behind, still inside the ship.
"You sure you don't want us to come with?" She offered.
"After the skirmish that happened last time, no dice. We're here only for Feldspar and no one else. This is only a small reconnaissance run. That wretch can be hiding anywhere on or in this rock, and our readings show something faint in this crevice here." Carnelian explained.
Ametrine rolled her eyes and went back into the ship.
"Let's get this over with." Chalcedony pushed.
The two gems leaped down the hole and the two found themselves in a very large cavern.
The walls were eroded by time and various, naturally formed pillars of rock supported & decorated the cave's interior. The two looked around as they traversed through the darkness.
"So...you want to talk about Topaz?" Chalcedony asked.
"No...I mean, it was just jarring to see him...alive, and completely different." She answered, "If I see him again I'd rather we just talk. It felt terrible to fight him.".
Chalcedony looked at her commander with sympathy.
"I understand...but you still need to know that he's now affiliated with the enemy." The blue gem stated.
"I can at least know why.".
The two continued on and saw nothing of interest as they went onwards. Chalcedony scanned the right side of the area and caught sight of an oddly shaped rock. It was completely spherical and nestled amongst a selection of misshapen and jagged rocks. She nudged her leader and pointed over to it. Carnelian nodded to her and they ran over to examine the space. The sky blue gem tossed aside the rocks that surrounded it and picked up the sphere to see that it was in fact a bubble. It felt like a bubble, but it was stained grey due to all the dust that had covered it over the years. She wiped the dust away to see that it contained a small bright blue and white green gemstone shaped like sphere.
"Interesting. You think it belongs to the Earth resistance?" Chalcedony asked.
"If so, why would it be sealed away and abandoned for so long? It makes little sense." Carnelian inquired.
Chalcedony looked back at the trapped gem.
"Well, how about we free it and see what they have to say? If it's a corrupted one, we can take it down before it can respond. And if not, we may gain a potential ally." She suggested.
"Hrm...well we don't have much to lose. Pop it." Carnelian ordered.
The blue gem slammed her fist against the bubble and it popped. She caught the orb as it fell from it's levitation and then placed it on the ground. The two looked at the stone intently, waiting to witness the stone's true form. A good thirty seconds passed and no reaction. Carnelian bent over and pushed the stone. It rolled a little bit, stopped, and gave no response. It was as still as a corpse. Carnelian looked back at Chalcedony and saw that she was equally confused.
"I don't understand." She stated.
"I don't either. Any gem would've regenerated by now. Something must have happened over the years to ruin it." Carnelian suggested.
The two looked at it for a few more seconds before deciding to move on. Chalcedony picked up the stone and held it in her hand. Best to keep it in sight in case something does happen. They continued on and noticed another dust colored bubble in a much more obvious spot. It was slightly floating above the area it would've remained hidden amongst the stones. Carnelian was the one to grab the stone first and inside was a tear-shaped dark green stone with blood red splotches all around it.
"Second time's the charm?" Chalcedony suggested.
"Sure. This one is a quartz at that, so we can gain quite the powerful ally." The red gem stated.
She popped the bubble, dust spraying everywhere but she managed to catch the gem before it fell. The stone immediately floated away from her hands and began to glow. The two of them stepped back and observed its rebirth. The form came first, and it was a bit above average for a quartz. Her hair came first, with was a long mane that reached past her shoulders. The dark light dispersed from her body and revealed the gem's form. Her skin was as dark as her base gem, which was embedded in her chest, flipped upside down now. She wore a dark blood orange v-neck vest. It was slightly small, as it failed to cover her would be naval. She also wore dark yellow green pants with black combat boots. She had red splotches all across her skin, as if she had walked past a splash zone at a slaughterhouse for a straight five minutes. Her face looked like she was bleeding from massive head trauma. She had a morbid, and vicious expression on her face as she opened her eyes. What would be whites were orange as the brightest flames, and her pupils were yellow and looked as though they were in the middle of mitosis.
Carnelian was a bit intimidated by the gem's appearance, but moved past this emotion and regained her composure. She confidently looked up at the mystery gem along with Chalcedony.
"Greetings. You've been imprisoned for a long time. My name is Carnelian and this is my assistant Chalcedony. Who are you, and who have you served?" She asked.
The great gem looked down to see the two, much smaller gems. She looked them up and down and noticed the insignia of Yellow Diamond, and she furrowed her brow and scowled.
"I refuse to give my name to a few puppets to a slag ruler." She growled in a deep, guttural tone.
Their eyes widened as the new gem said those offensive words to them. What kind of gem was she that she could insult Yellow Diamond as such? The two scowled at her and went into an offensive stance.
"Would you like to repeat that?" Chalcedony asked.
"I've said my piece. Now scurry off with your tails between your legs before I tear you apart." She threatened.
Carnelian drew her foil and Chalcedony summoned two boomerangs. Before the new gem could grab her weapon, the red gem stabbed her in the stomach. To her horror, she saw that only the tip of her foil was able to go into her. She pulled back and a small trickle of red blood trickled down from the wound. The two stepped backwards and glared at the great beast of a gem in front of them. However their enemy's steadfast, enraged stare waned after they backed up. Carnelian figured the stab did more damage than she assumed and got ready to charge back in.
"Oooh Yoo-hooooo!" A maniacal, voice called out.
The two gems looked to see the source of the voice. It was another gem, and judging from the stone on her arm, it was the other gem that refused to regenerate.
"Hiii!" She greeted.
Her torso & shoulders were covered by a skin tight, dark blue wrap and she also wore a tattered skirt that went to her knees. On her right arm, there was a copper gauntlet with overlapping diamond etchings that housed the blue and green sphere Carnelian and Chalcedony ignored. The skirt was like a torn up sheet of bright blue bandages haphazardly sewn together, and then spattered with bright green paint. From the sides of her skirt, the bandages coiled around her legs and wrapped most of her feet up, with her toes still uncovered. The gem herself was a head smaller than the quartz that stood behind the pair of Homeworld gems, but she had proportions similar to an average woman, save for her grotesque face. Her hands were bony and her nails were like sky blue claws. Her skin was dark green and her nose was small and pointy. Her large mouth was shaped into a permanent smile with bright green lipstick lining it. Her eyes were rather small and sunken into her head, and were deeply disturbing. Midnight blue replaced her whites and pupils, leaving a burning green ring around where one pupil would be, and a bright orange ring around the other. Her hair was incredibly short, with no length on the back and barely any thickness. One half of her hair being night blue, and the other side dark a balance between the bright green splotch of her skirt and her skin.
"You ought not to do that, redhead." She warned.
Carnelian turned around to face the quartz while Chalcedony remained steadfast against the mystery gem. However, as the red gem moved, the wicked one quickly moved to her side, completely bypassing Chalcedony, who had just caught her advancement.
"Woah woah wait wait wait!" The weird gem warned, "Better listen to what I have to say hot stuff.".
She casually walked over to the giant gem who looked down upon her with a caring stare. Their eyes locked and in that moment, the years that had passed since they were sealed felt like yesterday.
"Why not attack them when you had the initiative? They're nothing but Yellow Diamond's filthy underlings." The quartz brought up.
Her friend tilted her head to the side and kept that permanent grin on her face.
"We haven't gotten a chance to stretch our limbs or speak to another for…" She looked away from her and to Carnelian and Chalcedony, "...pardon me what year is it?".
"Twenty-seven thousand, one hundred and fourteen." Chalcedony answered.
"Hrm...that's odd. When we went away it was year one hundred and ninety-six thousand, eight hundred and fifteen." The jester-like gem stated.
Chalcedony and Carnelian exchanged a glance and looked back to the strangers.
"Were you sealed away...in the ancient times?" Carnelian asked.
The weird gem tilted her head in confusion.
"You consider those the ancient times? The old bag you work for is at least twice as old as that!" She cackled.
She laughed maniacally and the two Homeworld gems were growing impatient. Suddenly, she stopped, raising a hand to barely cover her mouth.
"Where are my manners!? We haven't even done introductions." She bent her legs outwards and bowed her head, "My name is Azurite. And the lovable scamp behind me is Bloodstone.".
Bloodstone still scowled at the two gems.
"Uh, hello. I am Carnel-".
Azurite quickly stood up and her gem shone brightly. Blue and green bled into the different diamonds on her gauntlet. She raised her fist to the sky as her arm began to shine in a gorgeous shimmer of blue and green.
"I can feel it flowing through me once again. I've missed feeling so alive." She declared.
Carnelian and Chalcedony were on guard. They had no idea what they were capable of, and if they're in league, Bloodstone already established that they are no friend to their faction.
"Will you please come with us?" Chalcedony asked.
"Hmm...nah. We have much to see and if we're awake than that means it's probably time to go do some work with our third friend." Azurite stated.
Carnelian's patience was finally spent.
"Alright no. You two are coming with us. One way or the other." She threatened.
Azurite crossed her arms and scratched her chin. She was supposedly in deep thought, but her unchanging expression didn't allude to it.
"Hmmm...nah." She disagreed.
She thrust her arm forward and a massive cloud of night blue smoke burst from her stone. Carnelian and Chalcedony covered their eyes and began to cough. They didn't need to breathe, but the sensation of the smoke made it feel like acid was simultaneously being poured into their eyes and throats. They fanned the smoke away and saw that the two gems disappeared. They frantically looked around to see nothing but the blackness of the cave.
"Where did they go!?" Carnelian shouted.
"They vanished!".
"Impossible! A mere smoke cloud couldn't cause something like that to happen. And how could a gem as big as Bloodstone run away silently?" She brought up.
"If something like this is magic to you clods than the quality of gems being produced must have plummeted like an asteroid!" Azurite's voice echoed.
The two looked back to see the insane gem standing on the ceiling.
"My associate has already exited this miserable hole but I'd like to say one thing to you before I depart on my noble quest to avenge my master by shattering yours. If we meet again, or any of you Homeworld scum, we'll tear you to itty bitty pieces and ground your gems to dust...got it!?" She shouted, pointing at them with her gauntlet, "Write it down on your hands if you don't trust your heads! Ahahahahaha!".
Chalcedony grit her teeth and threw her boomerangs at her. Azurite swayed out of the way of the bladed projectiles. She then quickly danced away while she did an off key scat song.
The two rushed after her to catch up to her. Little did they know that Ametrine and the rest of her squadron were waiting to catch them off guard once they exit the hole. They saw the radiant ray of light from the crack in the ground they entered, leaped out of the dark cave, and it was as still as it was when they left. The two of them looked around and saw no signs of disturbance. Carnelian leaped onto the ship, peered into the cockpit and saw Ametrine staring right back at her.
"What are you doing just sitting around!?" She shouted.
"What crawled up your butt!?" Ametrine barked back.
"Because of your laziness, two rogue gems just escaped from us!" The enraged gem yelled.
Ametrine raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about? I've been staring at the hole for the past two minutes and I saw nothing come out of there except for you two." She explained.
Carnelian's rage subsided and she looked back down to Chalcedony. Chalcedony hopped onto the ship and looked at her commander.
"This makes no sense. We just saw Azurite, and she managed to not only get away from us, but also went undetected as she exited the cave. It isn't possible!" The sky blue gem argued.
"I'm sure this will tide over. So long as we avoid them and let the Earth gems handle them, it should be fine. They're their problem now." Carnelian suggested, "But now, we move past this pit stop and continue the mission. And this time, all bubbled gems will stay as they are.".
Chalcedony nodded in agreement and phased into the ship with Carnelian following behind her.
"There's nothing of use here. Let's continue the search." Carnelian ordered.
Ametrine started the ship up and it slowly raised into the air with a loud, rumbling noise being emitted from its core.
"This certainly was strange...but I'd like to know who exactly is their third friend." Carnelian thought to herself.
/**/
The black and green gem slashed towards Tourmaline, but the boy dodged to the side and swept her legs. She jumped over but Tourmaline spun once again, this time raising his leg up to catch her mid-air. She blocked his bladed foot with her sword, but the impact was still enough to knock her away. She flipped and landed on her feet, gazing at Tourmaline with a newly kindled sense of determination.
"I have to admit, I'm starting to warm up to you. You're putting up quite the fight. That being said, I'm still a little unsatisfied." She taunted.
"Well I'll give you something that'll really blow your mind." Tourmaline offered.
His leg began to glow, he kicked forward, and a wave of green energy tore up the stone floor & rushed towards his opponent. She did not even flinch from the sight of his attack. She held sword to the side as if it were in an invisible hilt, and then swung at the blast, slicing it in two. She smirked at the thought of his bewildered reaction, but as the blast dissipated, she saw no one. Her confident smile shifted to a startled frown. She looked up to see him coming down like a guillotine, ready to either crush or impale her. Tourmaline had a massive grin on his face as he came crashing down.
"Told you I'd blow your mind!" He shouted.
He landed with a loud crack. To his dismay, she disappeared. She had dodged his attack by inches, and she was right behind him.
"Again you missed your chance. Why are you so…" She growled, and then slashed his back, "...pathetic!?".
Tourmaline yelled out in pain. If he had a spine it would've been severed. The black and green gem twirled her sword around and was ready to thrust it downwards...towards his gem.
"Just die." She ordered.
Tourmaline could feel it. He was about to die. He isn't fast enough to stop it, he isn't strong enough to beat her, and he's all alone.
"This can't be it...this can't be how I die. This bitch can't kill me...I...I will…" He thought to himself, his mind escaping him.
She thrust her sword towards the back of his leg, but he quickly spun around and blocked the attack with his hand. The palm of his hand ran down the length of the blade and he grabbed the dazed gem's throat with his other hand. She could feel her throat being crushed and responded by kicking him back. As he flew back, she felt her throat. There were some light cuts on it. If she had reacted a second late, he would've torn her throat out. Tourmaline got up and grimaced at her. His eyes were flushed emerald green. The wound on his hand wasn't healing. He roared out and rushed towards her at blinding speed. He leaped up and kicked towards her head. She ducked out of the way, but couldn't dodge the follow up elbow to her head. She fell face first and skidded along the ground.
The mystery gem raised her body up to see the bottom of Tourmaline's shoe, blades sticking downwards. She started rolling as he started stomping onto the ground, cracking the stone as he marched on. The green black gem managed to roll onto her knees and slashed at Tourmaline's stomach. A thick green line formed along his gut, but he ignored the pain and grabbed her by the face. He lifted her up and slammed her back into the ground. As she bounded off of the jagged floor, he kicked her across the room. She bounded off the floor once more and landed on her feet. She was prepared to defend herself from the next attack, but he just saw him standing still, clutching his head in pain.
"Stop...don't lose control! Don't lose control!" He repeated in his mind.
Taking the opportunity, she rushed towards him and impaled him with a single strike. He felt that strike, as the green from his eyes bled out.
"Now I see. You're repressing your true self." She proclaimed.
"What...are you…" He groaned.
Before he could finish, she pulled her sword out of him, spilling blood over the floor, and then uppercutting him. Tourmaline was launched back a few feet and his opponent was standing idly, looking at her bloodsoaked blade. He slowly got back up to his feet as she began to speak again.
"You yearn to bathe in the blood of your enemies. Revel in carnage and pain. But your holding yourself back." She growled.
Tourmaline got to his feet, but bent over as he clutched his stomach wound. It's been awhile since he really bled out, and the pain he was ignoring a few seconds ago came back in full force.
"No...that's not who I am anymore!" He denied.
He stopped clutching his stomach and got back into his fighting stance.
"I am a guardian of my friends and family. I am a crystal gem!" He declared.
His opponent frowned and just shook her head. She then rushed forward, dragging her sword through the floor. The deep green blade now had speckles of black forming on it. Tourmaline leaped back to avoid the oncoming slash, but when she sliced it upwards, a fan of black energy emerged from it. He was engulfed by the blast and was badly burned by her surprise attack. He landed on the ground and she was already upon him. The pulsating blade swung at him and he tried his best to dodge or block her attacks, but the new aura of black around it made it so that each time he evaded the brunt of the strike, he was still left with some injury. He managed to bat her blade away and attempt to kick her away, but she pushed his leg aside and immediately punched him in the throat. He stumbled back and coughed from the strike. He was losing a lot of blood and gaining more damage as the fight went on. It was extremely difficult to maintain his form with all the damage he had, but he persisted to stay. She dashed forward and slashed at him, but he managed to muster the last of his strength and match her attack. His kick was strong enough to knock it out of her hands, but his gem suffered some damage from recoil. He had her defenseless, he just had to follow it up.
"Yes! I did it!" He thought.
He kicked forward, and in the mere seconds during his motion, she moved back, touched her gem. The blade that was flying through the air vanished, and she pulled it back from her stone. With all of her strength, she slashed the new blade in an upward arc, slicing clean through Tourmaline's leg...and his gem. Tourmaline's confident grin turned into a pained, horrified expression. She slashed at his chest in a downwards strike and he fell to the ground. He laid there, twitching with his form glitching out like a broken video game sprite. She stomped on his other gem and cracked it further. He couldn't even react to it. He felt nothing and pain fluctuating at such a rate nothing felt real. He could still see and hear, but just barely.
"This is what happens when a guardian fights a warrior. You're moral standards cost you your life, but you still managed to put up a good fight while you were your actual self, so I'll finally answer your question." She declared.
She held her sword over his gem. He looked at his leg and then up at the wall behind him, at the stone that started all of this, and then back to the face of the one who had defeated him.
"I'm Tsavorite." She stated.
Tsavorite raised her blade up a little more, got ready to strike downwards, but then suddenly looked over her shoulder. She noticed four shadows falling into her lair. She looked back to Tourmaline's pitiful state and chuckled a bit.
"Lucky you." She said.
The crystal gems saw the horrific scene and immediately rushed in to save Tourmaline. Pearl fired at Tsavorite with her spear but the ferocious gem slashed away each blast. She then grabbed the stone shard embedded in the wall and made a dash to a small junction in the cave.
"Oh no you don't!" An enraged Amethyst shouted.
She rolled towards her at blinding speed, leaping from her ball state and unleashing two whips. The first one was slashed away but the second one managed to wrap around her arm. Tsavorite quickly grabbed the whip and yanked Amethyst down to her level. The small purple gem fell towards her, and then was punched away. The green black gem yanked her other arm free from the whip and continued to run. Garnet fired her gauntlets at her, but she managed to clash her sword against it, then knocking them away. The fusion regenerated her arms, but Tsavorite managed to disappear into the darkness. There was a faint splashing noise, and they declared her lost. Steven rushed over to Tourmaline but his form burst before the boy could make it to him. He grabbed his cracked stone and immediately applied his healing spit to it. Pearl looked down to see his other stone, cut in half.
"Oh no…" She whispered.
The gems gathered around to see what was left of Tourmaline. Steven gave the cracked gem to Amethyst and grabbed the two pieces.
"Uh...Uh...Uh...I can fix this!" He said and licked the smooth ends of the gems and put them together.
He held them together and stared at them. The other gems looked at the stone with defeated expressions.
"Steven...I think it's too late." Pearl said.
"You don't know that!" He shouted, tears in his eyes.
He looked back at the stone, and there was a green light around cut. His stone was whole once more, and a wave of relief washed over the gems.
"That was too close." Pearl said.
"You got any idea who that gem was?" Amethyst asked Garnet.
"Not sure. I barely got a glimpse at her in the darkness." The tall gem said.
Steven smiled and hugged the stone.
"That doesn't matter right now. Let's just go home and put Tourmaline somewhere safe.".
Garnet grabbed the stone from Amethyst and picked up Steven.
"Yes, let's go home.".
The gems smiled, defeated that they couldn't capture the perpetrator who nearly killed Tourmaline, but they saved him. They still had their friend.