Polished Gems Chapter 36: The Green Faction
Steven stared at the two green gemstones resting on a pillow on his window sill with Talc, Taz and Topaz. It had been a day since he had been poofed. The gems were busy with their other duties, the children staying to watch over Tourmaline and Topaz passing to do the same. Steven had to run back to the warp pad since all of the others got too grabby yesterday. Poor Tanza fainted when he showed her his cracked gem. But after some space was given, they were able to calmly approach him. Taz cuddled up next to a pillow while Topaz gazed at the stones across from the bed and Talc sat next to Taz on the floor. And to think today of all days he was going to surprise his friends with an outing to the barn with his father for a night to relax. Such a pleasant thing to come made his current situation all the more depressing. With their friend still in his personal cell, there's no way they could have a sweet moment without a sour taste in their mouths.
The front door swung open. Topaz glanced over his shoulder to see Greg looking up to him and the pale gem turned his attention to Steven.
"Steven. Your dad is here." He said.
"Oh." Steven said as he got up to his feet.
Topaz stepped aside as Steven ran down the stairs and down to his father. He gave him a big hug and the bearded man happily gave him one back. They stopped their embrace and Greg looked down at his boy.
"You doing alright kiddo?" He asked.
"Sort of." Steven admitted.
"Hey now, you got to him in time. He'll heal up like everyone else. Just give him a bit of time. Didn't he take a day to heal after a single crack on one stone last time?".
Steven smiled a bit.
"Yeah. I guess you got a point.".
"Don't worry about it. You and the gems have been stressed enough with this whole Feldspar situation. Speaking of which where are they?".
The warp pad activated, and from the light came Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Elbaite and Jasper. Amethyst was the first to rush over to Greg while the others calmly walked over to the two of them.
"Yo Greg! What's up?" The purple gem asked.
"Oh uh...well Steven and I were wondering if you and the other gems wanted to go out to the ol' barn for the night. You know...a break from everything since you guys have been working and been under stress." Greg offered.
Pearl smiled at his offer, but she knew now wasn't the time. Jasper just rolled her eyes and looked down at Greg, who was getting a bit uncomfortable.
"Greg...as much as we appreciate the offer, you need to understand that current circumstances take priority over others so-" Pearl explained.
"Of course we'll go." Garnet agreed.
All eyes were on her, some smiled, some were shocked, the rest were complacent.
"Garnet...you can't be serious! I mean what with the searching and the preparations that we have to go through and-".
Garnet placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder and gently shushed her.
"Buergerite's drones are doing a much better job searching for Feldspar than any of us could do on our own, even myself. And we're already making strides in fusion. Almost all of us can fuse now without any issue. It wouldn't hurt to take a day off." Their leader explained.
Pearl looked down at Steven and Amethyst's happy expressions and then smiled back to Garnet.
"Alright." She agreed.
She turned back to the three behind her to talk. Meanwhile Topaz was walking down the stairs holding Tourmaline's gemstones with Taz and Talc following him. Pearl moved away from the group and looked back to Garnet.
"I'll go get the others. You help Greg out if he needs it." The chipper gem stated.
Pearl ran to the warp pad, and Garnet felt Jasper's hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her disapproving gaze.
"A word. In private." She demanded.
Garnet walked ahead of her and to the warp pad. She went behind the right wall and leaned against it. Jasper stood in front of her with her arms crossed.
"The pearl raised a very good point. We shouldn't be wasting our time with pointless debauchery when you could be training or doing anything to improve our chances of beating that insane wretch." Jasper declared.
"Funny. I don't remember you participating in our training." The fusion refuted.
Jasper scowled.
"That's besides the point. You all shouldn't be wasting your time with this childish act. The quartz child should be-".
Garnet moved away from the wall and got in Jasper's face.
"He isn't the quartz child! His name...is Steven. He has Rose Quartz's gem, he has her shield, but he isn't her. He's just a child, and someone like him shouldn't even experience what we have to face. But he knows the danger, he knows the risks of what can and might happen. He wants to do nothing but help us. The least we can do is something to make him happy.".
"And you think that something like this will distract him from what he has to face?".
"We all could use this distraction. Just one more night of being together...it might be our last for all we know.".
Jasper stared down at her with a skeptical yet thoughtful gaze. She gently pushed Garnet away and walked towards the front door.
"Fine. Have your happy night. Don't expect me to participate. I'll stay within surveillance distance so you don't have to be on your guard all night." The orange gem stated.
Garnet was quiet for a second, but caught Jasper off guard with her next statement before she left the house.
"You still don't trust us, do you?" She asked.
Jasper stopped in front of the door for a second, and then looked back at Garnet.
"What reasons do we have to trust each other?".
"Because we're allies. If I didn't trust you to help, I would've left you in a bubble. But I'm taking a chance with you because I know you want to do good.".
Jasper was again silent. She scowled once more and glared at Garnet.
"What do you care? As soon as this is all over, I'll be going back to the Homeworld, and we'll be enemies again. This isn't permanent." Jasper growled as she stormed out of the house.
Garnet heaved a sigh and shook her head.
"At least she had to think a little before saying that." She said to herself.
/**/
The sun was just setting as the gems were setting up camp at the old barn. Greg was setting up the pit as Obsidian and Garnet grabbed some logs to put around them. Talc and Amethyst unloaded the van as Steven and Taz went to hang out inside the barn, with Jet and Tanza going to find a place for Tourmaline's gems to rest without being disturbed. Elbaite's group were huddled up a ways away from the group. It'd been so busy they didn't have time to talk among each other, and there was much to talk about as well as grieve about. Jasper left the group to practice on her own, wandering away far enough to not be disturbed, but still remained close enough for the others to keep an eye on her. The other Homeworld gems merely observed the others, as Pearl was speaking with Black Pearl, Sardonyx and Lapis. Topaz sneaked onto the roof to be alone for a bit, and Chrysoberyl stood and observed each gems individual or group activity. She was particularly interested in the Homeworld gem's lack of interest.
Greg had finished making the bonfire and looked over to Garnet.
"All set?" He asked.
"Got enough seats for everyone." She answered.
Greg flashed her a smile and a thumbs up, and she gladly did the same for him. Greg looked around to observe the others. His attention was drawn to Elbaite's group first.
"What's their story?" The bearded man asked.
Garnet sighed.
"They were once loyal to Feldspar. But recent events have changed that. They've...we've lost a friend rather recently, and we've been so busy with prepping and training that I guess they haven't had the time to really take it all in. I suggest we let them be. If they want to talk to us about it, they will.".
Greg had an uncomfortable frown on his face. The mention of death among gems frightened him. Sure the gems were his friends, but the worry for his son overshadowed that a hundred-fold.
"Garnet...you think we should let Steven sit this bit out?" He asked.
"I want him to just as much as you do, but you know how stubborn he is. Even back when the Homeworld invaded long ago, he wanted to do nothing but help us. Now we're in a similar position, and he's going to stand his ground as always.", Garnet stated, and then placed a hand on Greg's shoulder, "But you need to know that any and all of us will willingly give our lives to protect him. I don't know what might happen, I don't know who might survive or not, but I guarantee you that he will be safe.".
Greg smiled warmly and nodded to Garnet.
"Yeah...you guys have been doing this for thousands of years. I'm sure things will be fine.".
Garnet wanted to be real with Greg, but she was praying that things would turn out fine as well.
Greg looked away from Garnet and pointed to Heliodor and Fluorite.
"So...what's their deal?" He asked.
In the farm, Taz and Steven were horsing around exploring the base, and Tanza found a crate where the pillow holding Tourmaline's gems could rest without being bothered. She carefully placed the pillow down and looked at the stones. They looked perfect, but yet he wasn't coming back. Jet was next to her looking at them as well.
"Don't you think we should just keep them with us? We could move the crate near the pit." The small grey gem suggested.
"I think it's for the best that we let him be alone. Nothing is going to happen to his stones here." Tanza said.
"If you believe so. Let's go back to the others." Jet said.
The tall purple gem nodded and began to walk out of the barn.
"Taz! We're going back to meet with the others!" She called out.
Taz and Steven stopped playing and rushed out to catch up with the two gems.
Pearl, Sardonyx and Lapis walked over to the pit as the other gems exited the barn.
"Garnet, have you seen Topaz?" Pearl asked, "Black Pearl went to find him.".
The tall fusion just shrugged.
Meanwhile on the roof, Topaz continued to gaze up at the dusk sky. Black Pearl quietly snuck onto the roof and observed him from a distance before calling out to him.
"Are you alright?" She asked.
He was silent, lost in his thoughts.
She continued to stare at him, slowly piecing together some sense of the scene. She moved back to the edge of the roof.
"The bonfire is ready to go whenever. Just letting you know." She said.
He ignored her and remained static. She hopped off the roof.
The gems were finally starting to get together as the sun slowly sank towards the orange sea. Everyone did their best to muster up good vibes, but Steven felt a little off as he looked at the two Homeworld gems intentionally staying out of their business. Steven walked away from the group and up to the two sulking gems.
"Why you guys being anti-social?" He asked.
Fluorite glared down at him.
"What's the point? What we have here isn't a permanent thing. Once Feldspar is dead, we'll be going back to our home, and we'll be enemies again." The red gem said bluntly.
"Sorry Steven. That's just how it is." Heliodor added.
Steven frowned a bit, but smiled again as a wonderful rebuttal popped into his head.
"Well we don't have to be enemies when this is over." The boy suggested.
"Are you saying that we should just abandon the Homeworld?" The yellow gem asked.
"Nothing like that! But we can still be friends. You guys aren't that different from the crystal gems. You fight for what you believe in and you care about your friends." Steven claimed.
The two looked at him with curious eyes. Heliodor was reminded of Iolite.
"All that matters to me and the crystal gems is that Earth is safe. We don't want to fight anyone anymore. We just want peace. Gems live for a very long time, so living with hate seems like a very poor way to spend all of that time. And even if you guys don't want to be friends after all of this...at least the time you spent with us won't be that much compared to the time away from us.".
Steven walked away after that last sentence. The two Homeworld gems looked at each other.
"You buying any of that?" Fluorite asked.
Heliodor averted her gaze, then slowly walked away from her ally.
"You really going to go over to them? They aren't anything to us. This is all just based around a very desperate compromise." The red gem stated.
Heliodor stopped and looked over her shoulder.
"We're not going to get anything out of staying alone and not talking to each other. If I'm going to die soon, I would like to at least have some happy memories of my time here. And if we survive all of this, I still want to have some happy memories." Heliodor stated.
She continued to walk towards the group. Obsidian lit the bonfire with her flame breath and the resulting blaze illuminated the gems. Fluorite sighed and went after her companion. Chrysoberyl in the meantime continued to observe the others, particularly interested in Steven's interactions with the Homeworld gems. She walked away from the camp and marched over to where Jasper was.
The large orange gem was practicing her form. Each punch & kick were flawlessly executed. She summoned her helmet rolled into a ball and launched high up into the air. She spun in an odd orbit and charged back down to the ground. But as she charged down, her concentration was shattered as she saw Chrysoberyl staring at her, standing in her flight path. She broke her form and flipped to move out of the way. She missed the golden gem by a head and landed sloppily. She tripped over herself and fell to her knees. She growled and glared back at her intruder.
"What are you doing distracting me!? I made it perfectly clear that I wanted nothing to do with your kind so go back to your pathetic get together and leave me alone!" Jasper shouted as she got in Chrysoberyl's face.
"Are you cold?" The golem like gem asked.
Jasper's angered expression faded into a confused stare.
"What?".
"The dusk air. It is cold. Can't you feel it?".
Jasper backed off and scratched her head.
"I feel the wind, but it isn't that cold. Don't you feel it too?".
The golden gem lowered her head a bit.
"No.".
Jasper crossed her arms.
"Why are you here?".
Chrysoberyl looked into her eyes.
"You should join the others." She suggested.
The orange gem frowned.
"Did Garnet make you do this?".
The giant gem shook her head.
"Listen, I don't want to be with their kind. The gems of Earth betrayed their own thousands of years ago for...humans. We've slaughtered millions of other races on other planets to expand our reign. But no, they had to turn on all of that because a few gems were a little sympathetic of something so insignificant. I have no pity or sympathy for them. They may have brainwashed you, but I'm staying steadfast. They're just traitors that need to be forgotten or destroyed. I'm just with them because we have a common enemy that threatens us all. So take your pointless offerings somewhere else and leave me alone!" Jasper explained.
Chrysoberyl continued to stare at Jasper. She pried open her chest and exposed her gem to Jasper.
"Let me tell you something. I was made thousands of years ago during the war between the Homeworld and Earth. I was never like this, I was once as normal a gem as you. I wished to support the Homeworld so I volunteered for Feldspar's experimentation. She mutilated, contorted and reshaped my form to become nothing but a source of energy for this synthetic body. She forced her commands into my mind until all that whatever I once was became this, with the only goal in my mind being to kill Rose Quartz. I was shut down. Declared a failure as I could not properly function when battling other rebel units. I slept. I could do nothing but sleep, forced into a coma by my creator. Then...I was awoken by them. The Earth gems." Chrysoberyl said.
Jasper stared at the golem with mixed feelings of confusion and sympathy.
"I didn't ask for your life story. What's your point?" She asked.
"Ever since I interacted with them, I have learned much about life. About this planet. Over the weeks that I have been alive, I have grown fond of this planet. The gem I was designed to kill, I found that I agreed with her reasons for protecting the planet. Even those who have lived their lives away and on other colonies...they have found something to appreciate about this world. I can hardly feel like you...normal gems do. There is much that I still don't understand about this planet but I know enough to realize that it is worth fighting for. And I also know that these people only want peace. Yet it is under constant threat from people like Feldspar, or you." The gold gem continued.
Jasper was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She knew to stick to her duties as a quartz serving Yellow Diamond, but Chrysoberyl's monotone words bore into her skull like a power drill.
"I took a chance and learned the truth about this world. Why can't you?" She finished.
Chrysoberyl turned around and walked back towards the campfire. She didn't realize it as they spoke, but dusk turned to night. She stood still and reflected on what the construct said to her, but then she felt a chill run up her spine. The wind from earlier became frigid. She was cold and alone.
"Maybe...it's for the best that I at least attempt to learn what they see in this mudball." She thought to herself.
She started to walk towards the camp but stopped herself halfway.
"Think Jasper think! They're just trying to get in your head so that when Homeworld eventually comes by, you can give them a little lee way so they don't get destroyed or captured. They're just manipulating you!" She argued.
She turned around and started to walk back, but she stopped when she heard Heliodor and Fluorite laughing. The orange gem peeked over her shoulder to see Steven, Amethyst and Jet talking with her two allies. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves. Jasper grit her teeth in frustration. Her mind was filled with so many conflicting thoughts that she felt like there was a full scale nuclear war in her head. Finally, she relented, slowly treading up the hill towards the camp site.
"Whatever. If they're sold on it then my word probably won't mean anything anyway." She thought.
Jasper lumbered towards the campfire, defeated and ready to be a part of the group. The other gems looked at her, surprised to see that she had a change of heart. Steven especially. He ran up to the giant woman and guided her to a log.
"I'm so so glad you came! I can't believe it but you wanna be friends after all!" Steven claimed.
"Woah woah you are really stretching this for what it's worth kid." She protested.
Steven stopped and presented an empty seat. Jasper looked at it and saw that Garnet was sitting there as well. Jasper's expression turned unhappy. She sat down, crossed her arms and looked away from her rival. Garnet had a smirk on her face.
"Not a word from you fusion. Not. A. Word." She demanded.
Garnet nudged her arm.
"Glad to see you're really listening to me and the others." She said.
Jasper glared at Garnet. She started to twitch a bit. Greg felt very uncomfortable.
"Steven...isn't that the gem that uh...tried to steal you and the gems away during that invasion. And didn't she also headbutt you?" Greg asked.
"Yeah but that's all in the past. Right now we're buddies and we've gotta let her know that she is accepted in the group!" Steven declared as he picked up his ukulele, "So how about we give her a welcome duet?".
Jasper's attention shifted to the two humans and a sense of dread started to fill her being. Greg nodded in agreement and picked up his guitar.
"No. Don't you dare do it." She silently begged.
The two of them were tuning their instruments.
"I'm a prisoner with no shackles. If I leave now they won't trust me and I'll become more of a liability than an ally.".
Father and son began to strum their respective strings.
"A surprise attack. Pyrite falling from the sky and causing a massive explosion. A giant armada of Homeworld ships hellbent on putting my head on a stake anything to make them not do what they're about to do!" She screamed in her head.
Steven opened his mouth, Jasper braced for whatever mushy thing he was about to sing, but Steven's focus was broken when he noticed a green light coming from the barn. A wave of relief engulfed Jasper.
"Oh thank the stars.".
Everyone got up from their seats and rushed into the barn. Tourmaline's gems floated up to the center of the barn and a human form of light started to appear. All of the gems eagerly awaited for Tourmaline to come back to them, but something odd happened. The neatly shaped form began to contort and glitch. The group's optimism turned into dread.
"What's happening?" Tanza asked.
"I think he's defusing." Garnet suggested.
As if on cue, the two stones separated and began to contort & shift into different shapes. Then there was a burst of extremely bright light. Everyone shielded their eyes from its intensity, hearing two thuds without seeing the source of the sound. The light dimmed down to nothing, and the group looked to see Jade and Aquamarine getting up. The two of them looked at each other.
"It feels so odd to do this." The small blue gem stated.
"I know, but it's urgent that they know asap. There's only so much we can feed through Tourmaline's thoughts." The tall dark green gem said.
Before anyone could say anything, Pegmatite bellowed out in glee and charged through the crowd, knocking several gems out of the way and nearly trampling Jasper. Jade looked to see a giant wall of grey come charging towards him. The next thing he knew, he was caught in a giant bear hug. She nuzzled her giant head against his.
"Yes yes hi Pegmatite it's great to see you too. But you need to put me down and let me speak with the others now. I have dire information." Jade insisted.
Pegmatite nodded and set the man down. He walked towards the group with Aquamarine joining him by his side. Garnet stepped forward to meet him halfway.
"Jade? What's wrong?" The fusion asked.
"Everything's wrong right now Garnet. As if the Feldspar situation wasn't bad enough, we saw a ghost the other day." Jade declared.
Steven tilted his head in confusion.
"Ghost? We talking bed sheet boo stuff or the revenge kind?" He asked.
Half the group looked at him with confused stares while others chose to ignore him. Aquamarine was the only one truly acknowledging him.
"The revenge kind." She answered.
The pair walked forward and the others moved back to their original positions. Everyone took a seat while the two resurrected gems stood in the center of the camping circle.
"I thought that it was all over. They were dead, nothing was left of them but I can't believe of all the insane, twisted things in all the thousands of years I've lived, that I had to be wrong about this." Jade stated.
"What are you talking about Jade?" Lapis asked.
Jade's serious expression turned even more stern. He looked over to Garnet and the crystal gems.
"Garnet...you'll understand this the most. The gem that attacked Tourmaline...was Tsavorite." He admitted.
Garnet's eyes widened at the mention of that wretched name. She tightly gripped her arm as her body tensed up.
"To make matters worse, she has a shard of...of…" Aquamarine stammered.
"A shard of what?" Obsidian asked.
Aquamarine shook her head as the dark, all encompassing feelings of terror filled her entire being.
"A shard of Green Diamond's gem.".
There was silence among the gems. Garnet felt a bead of sweat form at her brow. A name she hadn't heard in many millenium, and now there's a chance that it could come back.
Suddenly, Jasper let out a loud chuckle.
"Are you serious!? Has your time cooped up in that boy's tiny body cracked your mind?!" She continued to laugh, "Everyone knows that there is and always has been only four perfect diamonds. Yellow, Blue, White and Pink Diamond. No Green Diamond.".
Jade punched the fire pit and let out a pillar of green flame.
"Shut it!" He shouted.
The orange quartz flinched at the display of strength. Jade seethed a bit, but Aquamarine grabbed his arm and he calmed himself.
"Sorry. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true." Jade stated.
Steven scratched his head.
"Wait I'm confused. Could you explain this whole Green Diamond thing, and why you only seem to know about her?" Steven requested.
"He isn't the only one who knows about her." Garnet interjected, "I do too.".
"I know about her too." Lapis added.
Everyone else was silent.
"Seems that I still have a lot to explain." Jade stated, "Let me start from the beginning.".
Steven sat down with an eager expression on his face. He had campfire stories on the list of things he wanted to do, but all of the sudden the greatest story possible just fell right into their laps.
The other gems stared at Jade with intrigue. Aquamarine sat down on the log behind Jade and patiently waited as the tall gem began his story.
"Before the creation of Rose Quartz, before the ancient gem's civilization expanded just outside this very solar system, they were under the rule of the diamonds. You are all familiar with four of the diamonds, however back then there was a fifth diamond, a ruthless and brutal leader who reveled in conquering planets for the sake of expanding her faction's kingdom and generating power. That diamond was Green Diamond, the all powerful, all knowing gem that...I once served." Jade began.
Everyone stared at him with feelings of awe. Though a few gems were a little skeptical, though they kept their protests to themselves as they were still interested in what he had to say. Even Topaz left his perch to observe the scene from the roof. Steven was blown away by what he had heard.
"Whaaaat!? There was a, and you were, and that many years, and holy smokes this sounds amazing! Tell us everything!" He beamed.
Jade stared at the child with a bit of confusion.
"Are you sure? I was going to paraphrase it a bit." He stated.
Steven shook his head.
"Nope! Keep everything there! Why would we want to skip over any details for something this amazing!?" Steven proclaimed.
There were no objections, so Jade nodded in agreement.
"Very well. Let's start from the beginning...My beginning to be specific." He suggested.
Steven nodded eagerly, and soon everyone was engrossed in Jade's tale. The gems were no longer sitting around a campfire, but were transferred hundreds of thousands of years back in time, to the time where Green Diamond ruled with an iron fist.
/**/
There was total blackness. Nothing but the void. A group of gems were gathered in a chamber filled with dark green crystals awaiting a miracle. Suddenly, the ground began to quake and crack. Dark green light shone through the cracks, illuminating the room. A new gem was about to be born. The fertile soil vibrated uncontrollably, and then all was still. No light, no movement, there wasn't anything. The surrounding gems stared at the still ground. Azurite moved away from the circle to get a closer look. She peered at the cracks in the ground, and then a few feet in front of her the ground exploded, causing the blue green gem to stumble backwards and fall on her back. From the newly formed crater, Jade was born. He groaned as he stumbled out of the loose ground. He took his first step, and then took a seat on the still solid ground. All was silent still silent, but now there was light. The three surrounding gems let their stones glow, illuminating the room. Jade looked up to see Bloodstone, Tsavorite, but before he could look at the titanic third gem, Azurite landed in front of him. The startled gem flinched and leaned back as the other gem leaned in.
"What kind of gem is this!?" She exclaimed as she started looking over every part of his body, "Are they durable? Are they intelligent?".
After looking over his body, she got on all fours and leaned into his face.
"Are you daaangerous?" She asked.
Jade was silent, and Azurite's coy expression faded into a bewildered one as Bloodstone lifted the odd gem off of Jade.
"Forgive her enthusiasm. She's done it for a lot of new recruits." The quartz explained.
Jade looked up at the giant gem with a meek stare. Tsavorite rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh.
"Bored, are we?" A deep, irritated voice echoed.
Tsavorite jerked to stand up and at attention.
"No lord diamond!" She stated.
"Each addition to my army is a momentous moment. And I have to say that I have a somewhat...interested in this one in particular. Haven't felt this sort of sensation since you popped out of the ground." The voice said.
Tsavorite looked on at her two comrades welcoming Jade into the pack. Jade seemed a little happy now that the confusion was cleared up. The tall gem turned around and walked away.
"My lord?" The black green gem uttered.
"I'm placing him in your hands for now. I'll be back later this week. I'm off to conquer another planet." She stated.
"Without us? Shouldn't we come to assist you-".
"I am fully capable of gauging a situation Tsavorite!" She yelled, "It's species is so primitive they don't even have proper weaponry. I can take it down with a few platoons. Besides, genocide always inspires my best ideas.".
Everyone was silent. Jade rushed ahead of Bloodstone and Azurite. The quartz reached out to stop him but he went ahead of the two. He stopped next to Tsavorite and looked on at the great diamond. She was as tall as Opal, had intimidating shamrock green eyes, and short, Cleopatra esque spring green hair. She wore emerald green body armor with seafoam green gauntlets. Her legs were obscured by a Jade green cloak. Her slanted pupils glared down at Jade, and he felt a chill run up his spine as her fierce aura ate away at him. She pointed directly at him and he felt like his first moments were about to become his last.
"You are to obey your peers every command. The first week of your birth shall be the harshest training you will ever endure in your short life. You'll be beaten down, burned, frozen, and be subjected to pain that your feeble mind wouldn't believe even existed. By your second week...well, I hope you adapt to the conditions coming this week. If not, your life shall be for nothing. Prove your worth to the one true diamond faction!" The intimidating gem ordered.
Jade was stunned into silence. All around him the the gems looked at him then back to their leader. She crossed her arms and started to tap her arm impatiently.
"Well?" She asked.
Jade shook his head and gained a determined expression.
"I...I'll do what I can for the diamond faction!" Jade declared.
The titanic gem continued to stare at him. She then shrugged and walked away. The surrounding gems gathered in front of him and were at attention. Jade's stern composure went lax.
"What's the diamond faction?" He asked.
Tsavorite shook her head and walked to the right. She motioned for the others to follow her and they did as such. They walked to the right, away from the mighty diamond. She walked onto a disc and was teleported away by a beam of light. The troupe of gems entered a dark hallway illuminated by evenly spaced spheres of light.
"First and foremost, you do not serve the diamond faction. You serve OUR diamond's faction. The ultimate faction, the Green Diamond Armada." Tsavorite explained.
"Armada?" Jade asked.
There was a light at the end of the corridor, and once they were out, what Jade saw was incredible. The sky was filled with bright lights from thousands of stars, various nebulae and interstellar clouds. On the ground below, limestone earth housed many strangely structured buildings, with various gems worked in this formed society. The other gems walked above it all on a large runway floating high in the air.
"Our society is responsible for spreading the word of our great leader. We travel to various galaxies, examining different planets and then taking over them in the hopes to expand our empire and create more gems." Tsavorite stated.
"Don't you just do it here, like you did with me?" Jade asked.
"What happened with you was a special case. Every century Green Diamond has this tradition where she spawns a gem from this planet, as it is the one she calls home and hopes that she will spawn something incredible." Tsavorite stated.
"And she's right! Cause the first one to pop out of the planet was Tsavorite, then came me, then Bloodstone, and a few other gems and now you!" Azurite declared.
Jade looked at the others and then focused on Azurite.
"I take it the big one if Bloodstone and the leader is Tsavorite?".
"Mhm!".
"And uh...what about those others?".
Azurite got a little uncomfortable.
"Oh. Well...the last few centuries have been a little rough for Green Diamond. They were just...really bad gems that ended up dead in some way or form. She's just tired of disappointment." The blue green gem stated.
Jade frowned.
"But don't worry! I'm sure you'll break the cycle!" She beamed.
Azurite walked ahead and Jade was left with Bloodstone.
"Is she uh...serious about that?".
"No. It's been a millennium since a worthwhile gem was around. I'm sure you'll be fine as number eleven." The giant gem stated.
Jade shook his head and looked forward. He was distracted from the grim news when he saw a giant green tower. Shards of crystals spawned from the outer walls to create a natural wall of spikes. He nervously chuckled.
"Is that where Green Diamond lives?" He asked.
"Yep. A magnificent palace for a magnificent ruler." Azurite answered.
"There's a lot more connected below." Bloodstone added.
They all made it to the first gate and Tsavorite turned around. Bloodstone stopped Jade and the three original gems stared at him with now malicious gazes. Tsavorite opened the gate behind them and the three of them stepped aside to show a killing field. Various traps and obstacles designed to maim and destroy anything that dared step foot in the hundred yard arena.
"This is where you'll live for the first week of your life. One-hundred and sixty-eight hours of pain, endurance and torture. That is what you must overcome to prove that you are worthy to serve Green Diamond." Tsavorite explained.
"My advice to you, figure out how to summon your weapon and learn what powers you have hidden within." Bloodstone added.
"By the way you're starting...right now!" Azurite shouted.
She grabbed Jade by the arm and then threw him down towards the pit of death. Tsavorite closed the gate and the three of them chuckled.
"How much you wanna bet that he survives the week?" Azurite asked.
"You always say they win and you've lost every bet since. There's not much left you have that I want." Bloodstone stated.
"How about the bloodthirsty chains of burning torture!?" Azurite offered.
"I'll think of something that can match that later." The giant gem said with a smile.
Tsavorite held back for a second to look back at the gate with a solemn expression.
"Please let this one be good." She hoped.
/**/
A great war ship slowly descended downwards to a landing pad. The giant structure landed and the front of the ship opened up revealing Green Diamond. She stepped out of the ship and suddenly, a small green gem rushed over to her side as she walked back to her ship.
"How was the trip lord diamond?" The little one asked.
"Pathetic. It was so easy." She stated.
"Ahm, yes of course.".
"How is the new recruit doing?" The giant gem asked.
"Uhhh, well-"
Green Diamond rushed to the front door of her tower and turned back to the smaller gem.
"Forget it, I'll ask the elites.".
She turned around, entered the tower, and walked through her giant throne room. Her central control panel where she was able to view all activity on her planet. But she ignored it for now, walked over to a corridor on the other side, and continued onward to the trial chamber. She saw her three elites sitting around the main gate just biding their time. Tsavorite was the first to see her and urged the other ones to kneel before her. Green Diamond raised her hand up in response.
"At ease." She ordered.
"Thank you lord diamond.".
"What is the status of number eleven?" She asked.
"Not sure. We got a twenty minutes before the full week is done." Azurite stated.
"You mean to tell me that none of you have kept him under observation?" She growled.
Azurite scratched the back of her head.
"To be fair, your excellency, you imposed a strict rule that you were to be the one who oversees the operation and no one else.".
Green Diamond covered her face with her hand and sighed.
"Whatever just open the door. Least I can see aftermath of whatever carnage happened.".
Bloodstone tapped a few keys on a panel and the door opened up. The four gems walked in to see the new recruit's shattered remains. There was a bit of a walk to the pit. There was nothing but blackness and pillars. Tsavorite walked ahead and let her gem light the way. The two made it to the edge of the arena and peered down. During the fourth day, the arena would dispense robotic drones that replicated an average soldier. Green Diamond prided herself for having the most diabolical training arena ever constructed, though there wasn't much competition for such a thing among diamonds. So sad to say that her tradition has yielded a lot of failures. For every gem like Tsavorite or Bloodstone there were thirty failures. It didn't get under her skin that much though, as that made the gem's victory that much sweeter, but waiting on a prime soldier to appear still wore on her patience. However to everyone's surprise, in the center of the arena, surrounded by drones, flames and traps of all kinds, Jade stood tall. Battered and bleeding, but he still stood with a look of determination and rage.
"I...can't believe it." Bloodstone commented.
Azurite guffawed.
"I knew he was special!".
"Keep your adulations for later. He still has a half hour left.".
Green Diamond leaned over to focus in on Jade.
"Funny, I don't see his weapon." She commented.
Everyone else took notice to this and then Jade looked around to see the four of them staring down at him. His scowl turned into a devilish grin. He raised his right arm to the sky.
"Green Diamond! How wonderful of you to return after your victory over whatever pathetic slag dared to stand in your way!" Jade greeted.
Azurite leaned over to Tsavorite.
"Kisss aaaaaasssss." She hummed.
"I will admit, being thrown into this pit, being under constant assault from all of these vile and wretched things, it gives me an idea of what kind of world I will be in. Well I will tell you this my lord! I love it!" He exclaimed.
Green Diamond was surprised by his declaration. To have enough energy to give such a zealous and insane speech, still inches from death, it was something insane.
"I don't know how long it has been, but I have done it. I know how to summon my weapon. But I put it away! I was doing fine without it, so I figured I would put it away for the sake of letting my ruler, my matriarch bear witness to my blade's birth!" He shouted to the heavens.
His right arm's gem began to glow and it's light formed into a rectangular sword. As he clenched the hilt tightly, the drones continued to pour into the arena, all positioned to drive him into whatever diabolical trap to defeat the confident gem.
"The thrill of combat, the adrenaline from pain, the fear of every moment being your last...it all seems to have an undertone of...euphoria to it!" Jade declared, "I understand now why I was put into this arena. Cause I had to get used to dealing with this level of insanity on a daily basis, and I don't want to have anything less than this!".
Green Diamond stepped as close to the edge as she could and looked down at his face.
"Tell me your name!" She commanded.
"My name...is Jade!" He answered.
The drones rushed in all at once, but Jade was so used to their attack patterns that he was able to effortlessly dodge their attacks and cleave them in two with his newly kindled blade. It was an all out war zone and Jade was the lone mercenary taking on an entire army. Blood leaked from his cuts and welts, but the pain was nothing to him. He was able to continue the onslaught without skipping a beat.
Green Diamond was deeply intrigued by his fighting style, as were the others.
"Damn, look at em go. Just smashing em like they were made of glass." Azurite commented.
"So savage." Bloodstone added.
Tsavorite was silent looking down at the scene and then looked to her diamond to see something amazing. Her diamond was smiling. She hadn't smiled for over a thousand years, but now she was grinning like all the stress of the world left her for this one wonderful moment. The black green gem looked back with her own smile.
Suddenly, Jade took a spear to the stomach. He was lifted into the air and he grit his teeth in pain. He threw his sword at the drone and its head split in half. The machine exploded and he fell on his back. The remaining drones took the opportunity to surround him and ready their blasters. Jade quickly removed the spear from his gut, but it was too late. They all fired at him at once, and each blast made their mark. There was nothing but the sound of the remaining whirling traps.
The other gems looked up to see their diamond in the same position she had been in, but now she was scowling, and her arm was twitching.
"So disappointing. And he only had five minutes until-" Azurite thought.
Jade leaped out of the cloud of smoke and cleaved several bots in two. The two at his side attempted to fire at him, but Jade thrust his sword back at one while kicking the other one over. The force of his kick knocked several other drones into the death pits below, and the robot behind him blew up, allowing him cover to attack the rest of them. He threw his blade at the farthest drone and then picked up the nearest one, throwing it into the rest of the grouped up drones. The resulting explosion decimated the rest of the drones, and there were no more enemies for Jade to face. The dark green gem fell back and sat down, chuckling to himself as he enjoyed his time of peace. The pits and traps deactivated and then all was still in the darkness. Jade's eyes lit up with glee.
"I...I did it!" He declared.
"Naaah! Not just yet new blood!" Azurite taunted.
Jade looked up to her in confusion, but then several spotlights lit up a gargantuan hole in the ground. From the hole, a giant octopus like drone emerged. It's four tentacles lashed out with blades on the underside of them. It had a central, large eye glaring right at Jade, and it was held up by four spikes.
"That's the final test! You beat that, you pass! You don't, you either die or have to start from square one. By the way, you only got fifteen minutes to drop it. So get to it!" The blue green gem beamed.
The beast stomped forward and ripped off a chunk of wall with one of its tentacles. It chucked the large piece of rock at Jade but the battle scarred gem was able to catch the stone and throw it back at his opponent. The mechanical horror smashed the rock with one of it's mighty tentacles, but the distraction was enough for Jade to get in underneath the beast. Under the monster, he looked up to see a mechanical beak open up to reveal several laser cannons. They took aim and fired at him, but the fast gem was able to avoid the attacks. He took his opportunity and slashed at one of the legs, but his blade only went through halfway. The monster moved and took Jade's sword with it. Jade focused and his sword disappeared from the damaged leg.
A laser round hit him in the back and he flew forward. The blast was more intense than any of the drone's attacks. He painfully got back up as the beast slammed its damaged leg down, causing it to stumble over. Jade rushed forward to deliver the finishing blow, but he was greeted by its bladed tentacles. They swung and slammed down to stop the warrior, but he moved around the large and clunky attacks and made it to the machine's central eye. He roared out as he slammed his sword into it's monstrous eye. The glass layer cracked, the beast was still, all was silent, but the beast then grabbed him. Jade could feel sharp metal dig into his body, and the vile beast flung him towards the opposite end of the arena. Jade slammed into the wall, it breaking behind him as he bounded off it and fell some tens of feet below. He laid flat on his face, still clutching his sword. The beast let out a mighty bellow as it balanced itself on its three remaining legs. Jade got to his hands and knees and coughed up a load of green blood. He trembled as he stared down into the puddle.
"No...this can't be it. I've come so far! I can't let it end this way! I can't! Not in front of my Diamond! Not in front of my comrades! Not...what am I doing?" He thought.
Green Diamond stared down at him with her same level of intrigue.
"Get up. Get...up. I know you can." She thought.
The beast roared as it stomped forward to kill Jade.
"What did I say about this? This was all for fun. Something to entertain my queen. To prove my worth. And now I'm just beating myself up when in truth, I'm having fun with this deep down. So...why the hell am I being so stupid!?" He yelled in his head.
Jade fell back onto his knees and placed his sword in his lap.
"I am to do everything for her. But...if I'm going to do it...I'm going to do it my way!".
He grabbed his blade with both hands, held it in front of him, and his gem & blade began to glow a bright green. A roaring flame of emerald emerged from his sword, and the flames fanned backwards to engulf his body. Jade then charged forward like a shooting star, as if he had become one with the flames. All the others watched on in awe, even Green Diamond.
"Just try and keep up!" He taunted.
The beast started swinging wildly in a vain attempt to hit him, but the gem was too fast for it. Jade charged up to the ceiling and planted his feet into the solid rock. The gems could see through the flames that he had the most insane smile on his face.
"Green Diamond!" He called out.
His diamond looked up at him and he looked back to her.
"This fire, this inferno, I burn for you and you alone!" He declared.
With that, he charged back down to the machine and into one of its tentacles, breaking it off of the body. Before the beast could react, Jade rushed through the other two and then circled around to charge into it's eye. His sword was slowly going through the incredibly hard surface, but he managed to crack through and thrust his blade into the machine. His flames blew out and he was blown backwards, but the machine trembled and quaked as the fire from his blade tore it apart from the inside. The beast blew up in a giant green and red inferno. Jade's confident smile contorted to a horrified frown as he realized that he couldn't escape the blast. The wall of fire rushed towards him, but suddenly it changed direction. It was flowing towards the other gems.
Jade looked to see that the explosion was being absorbed by Green Diamond. His mighty ruler had her open hand reaching out and the crimson and emerald flames entered her palm. Under her armor, he could see light escaping through the links in it. The explosion was completely absorbed, and Green Diamond reveled in the feeling of all that power contained in her arm. She could feel his passionate flames burning deep within her core, and it filled her with a type of euphoria she had not felt in quite some time. She grinned and looked down at Jade with a smile.
"Jade!" She called out.
Jade got to his feet but then stumbled to kneel before her.
"Yes my lord!".
"Take the rest of the day to rest. Then...meet me in my private chambers. You've done well for your first week. For the first time in a millennium...I'm impressed." She said.
With that, Green Diamond walked away. The other gems leaped down to congratulate him.
"Way to go buddy you did it!" Azurite cheered, "You're a part of the team, and you just won me a pair of ten thousand volt bladed whips!".
"Yeah! Way to-wait what?" Bloodstone added.
Tsavorite walked in front of him and offered him her hand.
"Welcome to the mightiest force in the universe." She said.
Jade smiled and grabbed her hand.
/**/
Jade walked up the stairs to meet Green Diamond. It took him five hours to recover from his ordeal, but as soon as he felt alright he rushed to meet with his leader. As he ascended up the tower, he finally made it to a giant double door. Jade reached for the handle with hesitation, but he moved past his nervousness and opened the door. It was a relatively bare room save for a large, gorgeous ottoman. On a wall there was a giant screen displaying various areas of the planet. There were a few square cubes in front of the ottoman. Green Diamond was standing outside on a balcony, looking down at her civilization.
Jade took a knee and bowed before his ruler.
"I'm here, as you requested my diamond.".
Green Diamond turned around, walked into the room and with a wave of her hand, curtains unfurled down, concealing the opening to the balcony. She smiled down on him.
"Get on your feet Jade." She commanded.
Jade did as he was told and stood at attention.
"If I may be so bold, why did you wish to see me? To review my performance in the arena?".
"No. To let you know a few things about your position, your world...and myself." Green Diamond said as she walked over to her ottoman, "Have a seat.".
Jade walked to one of the square cubes and took a seat. Green Diamond grinned and started to glow.
"First of all…" She started.
Green Diamond shrunk in size and her appearance entirely changed. She was a little taller than Bloodstone. Her hairstyle changed as well, it was more natural and it's length was at her upper back. Her battle armor was replaced with a black tank top with her gem, which was shaped in a diamond, on the chest area, a long skirt of similar color to her cloak with a thigh high split. She wore long, dark green boots and mint colored gloves. Jade's powerful, regal looking queen shifted into a beautiful young woman.
"...This is who I actually am." She said in a young woman's voice.
Jade stared at her in disbelief. His jaw was agape, stunned into silence by the revelation. Green Diamond chuckled.
"Oh I love everyone's reaction. Nothing will top Tsavorite's reaction but your's is pretty good too." She admitted.
She laid on her side on the ottoman in a relaxed position. One of her legs was exposed as she stared back at Jade with a playful stare.
"So...you enjoying the view?" She teased.
Jade shook his head and looked her directly in the eyes.
"No my diamond! I mean yes, I mean...you look really beautiful." He stated.
Green Diamond rolled on her back and started guffawing.
"Ahahaha! Oh...oh my me that's rich! Just...woo you went straight for it! I thought your performance gave me a good impression but you! You are something else!" She laughed.
She clutched her stomach and started kicking into the air. Jade was beyond confused.
"This...is my powerful leader?" He thought.
"I...I can't...I can't...I feel like I'm going to explode! I think this is the end...I'm gonna pop! I'm gonna die of laughter!" She continued.
She continued on for a few seconds and then calmed down. Her loud laughing faded into light giggling. She sat up straight and took a deep breath.
"Oooooh geez. Thought I was gonna die there!" She admitted as she wiped a tear from her eye, "Okay then, let's get down to business. Ask me any question you want.".
"Oh! Uh, well I guess the first question I have is why don't you walk around like that all the time?" Jade asked.
Green Diamond's happy expression shifted into an irritated frown. She flopped back onto the ottoman in with an irritated groan.
"Ugh, it's because the other diamonds want me to. We have a super strict code and we should have a personal appearance. We gotta be big! Imposing! The epitome of perfection! And I kind of...don't fit the bill. So I morph a bit to match their stupid standards. It's a pain but whatever." She explained.
"I hope having to do that all the time doesn't affect your capabilities." Jade commented.
His diamond looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and he immediately bowed his head in respect.
"Not that you would ever be weak my lord green diamond!" He shouted.
She chuckled again.
"Oh Jade ease up. I know you meant no disrespect by that. But that sort of transitions to a request I have for you." She mentioned.
He raised his head and looked at her with determination.
"Anything for you!".
Green Diamond sat onto the end of his bed and stared directly at him with a cocky glare.
"Your power intrigues me. So...I'm giving you another test.".
"Yes?" Jade asked.
She smiled.
"I want you to hit me as hard as you can.".
Jade's confidence turned to shock.
"My...my diamond!?" He shouted.
She held up one finger and hushed him.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's an order from your diamond. Use your fist, use your sword, do what you want to do. But I don't want you to sell an attack in an attempt to kiss my ass and make me feel special, no. I want you. To hit me. As hard as you can." She demanded.
Jade got up and summoned his sword. He gripped it with both hands and raised it up high. She stared at his sword and waited in silence. A few seconds went by and Jade swung the blade down as hard as he could towards her head. The blade connected with her head. Jade's eyes were opened wide. The guilt of striking his master was too much. His gut was tying itself in knots and he broke out in a sweat. Suddenly, he heard her laughing again.
"Oh ho that's the stuff! I actually felt that!" She giggled.
Jade hopped back and made his blade disappear. To his shock, Green Diamond remained unmoved. She gave him a wide grin and Jade could only stammer.
"What...how...my…".
"Sweet Jade, let me imbue you with words to live by. You're either perfect, or you're not me." She stated.
Jade sat back down and looked at her in amazement.
"So...any more questions? That aren't about me." She asked.
"What is my role? Well, our role?" He asked.
"The point of our armada is to invade other worlds and obliterate any resistant life forms. After that, the other diamonds come and harvest the planet. I get some new gems, they do all the boring work, rinse and repeat." The beautiful gem answered.
"So we regularly kill other species?".
"Oh Jade don't be so modest. We're above them. We're essentially immortal. Well, we diamonds are definitely immortal but the rest of you are pretty close.".
"Alright. I think I get it.".
Green Diamond smiled and pat his head.
"Good! You get one more question.".
"Uh...Are the other diamonds nice?".
She frowned.
"They are arrogant, stuffy sticks in the mud who would rather have someone else do their dirty work then to do it themselves. Also they're pretty weak. They'd rather lead than do stuff. Our relationship is pretty strained." She said.
Jade was silent.
"Okay, time's up. Now go and train. You'll be working with the other three as part of the elites. In other words...GET BACK TO WORK!" She shouted.
Jade rushed out of the room and leaped down the stairs. The great diamond leaned back down on her ottoman and groaned. She didn't want to be reminded of her strained relationship with her "fellow" diamonds. Their rules, their policies, they were nothing but nuisances to her. She got back up and morphed into her regal form.
"Alright, game face G.D.. Let's get some work done." She said to herself.
/**/
Centuries had passed since his initiation. Jade had fought in many battles with his sisters under his Diamond's guidance. His name became just as infamous as the other gems in the armada's faction. The gems had spread throughout several galaxies, all thanks to Green Diamond's military prowess. Life was splendid for the faction, until one fateful day.
Green Diamond was accompanied by her elites. They strode down a bright walkway in the middle of space. She was called for a meeting by Yellow and Blue Diamond, and they chose to meet at a citadel in the middle of space. The gate to the citadel was guarded by two giant golems, but they allowed entry for the great diamond. She walked inside and saw the two mighty diamonds sitting in their own thrones, accompanied by their pearls.
"Green Diamond, wonderful that you came today." Blue Diamond greeted.
"Have a seat." Yellow Diamond offered.
A giant throne appeared from the ground. Green Diamond took a seat and the elites stood by her sides.
"Alright enough formalities. Why did you summon me here?" She asked.
"It's about your demands for each planet we've harvested. They're starting to get very egregious." Yellow Diamond stated.
"There's only so much we can give without dipping into our own resources." Blue Diamond stated.
"What? That's the reason you brought me here!? To scold me on payments that I have rightfully earned!?" Green Diamond shouted.
"Please calm yourself. It's just that there aren't that many gems in our faction's territories compared to yours." Blue Diamond stated.
"That's because most of my troops go to wars instead of yours!".
The three diamonds began to argue and the elites sighed.
"I hate politics." Azurite commented.
Jade's eye wandered and he saw Blue Diamond's hand maidens. He felt his heart stop when he beared witness to a little gem looking at him as well. For the first time, he had looked into the eyes of his future lover, Aquamarine. Azurite brought him back to reality with a nudge to the ribs.
"Uh oh, someone's got the hots for a hand maiden!" She jested.
"Shh! You're gonna piss off the diamonds. And I… I don't know about that." Jade whispered.
Azurite looked up at the titanic gems arguing and then back to Jade.
"You can go talk to her. Sneak behind Blue Diamond's chair and go speak with her." Azurite stated.
"Are you crazy!?".
"Yes. Just dash over quickly.".
Jade felt uneasy about it, but he went for it. Aquamarine was surprised by his bold action, and Jade shyly beckoned her to come behind the throne. She reluctantly did so and he was face to face with her.
"Hello." Jade said.
"Hello, Jade." She greeted.
"You know my name?".
"Of course. We know of all Green Diamond's champions.".
"Oh, right of course.".
"Which makes me wonder what you want with a lowly gem as me.".
Jade scratched the back of his head and smiled.
"Well...it's just that you looked really pretty and I thought it would be best if I were to talk to you now before I never see you again." He admitted.
Aquamarine blushed a little and averted her gaze.
"Oh my...thank you.".
Jade reached into his pocket and gave her a small stone.
"We keep these communication stones on us at all times. My frequency is one, six, four. Call me whenever you'd like." Jade said.
"I...I'm not sure.".
Jade held her hand.
"Please do. I would love to learn more about you.".
Aquamarine felt butterflies in her stomach and nodded in agreement. Jade smiled and quickly dashed back to his post. The light blue gem walked back to her spot. The dark green gem leaned over to talk to Azurite.
"What'd I miss?".
"Things are taking a pretty violent turn.".
Green Diamond slammed her fist on her throne, causing it to crack.
"That is enough! I have had it with your petty, condescending lectures!" She shouted.
Yellow Diamond stood up and glared at her.
"Don't talk back to us! You may be a diamond but you are still much younger than any of us! Enough with your ridiculous tantrums you-".
Green Diamond got up to her feet and her hands began to glow with energy. Yellow Diamond was stunned into silence.
"I've lived long enough to know how I want to live in life! I'm tired of living by your rules, and appearing the way you want me to appear!" She shifted into her natural form, "I'm done doing your dirty work. If you want more gems to yourselves, do the job yourself you uptight, irritating clods!".
Yellow Diamond grimaced at her and felt her body twinge with rage. Green Diamond frowned.
"This conversation is over. Good-bye." Green Diamond turned and walked away.
The elites followed her. Jade peeked over his shoulder to see Aquamarine staring in disbelief.
"You are not to leave!" Yellow Diamond shouted.
The two large golems blocked her path, but Green Diamond raised her hand and obliterated them with one blast of vivid green energy. She looked back at the two shocked diamonds with malice in her eyes.
"You can't make me.".
The gems stormed back to her ship and then went off. Green Diamond sat in her oversized chair with the sourest expression on her face. Tsavorite was the first one to speak to her.
"Good of you...to finally stand up to them my diamond." She uttered.
"Find a planet with life on it. I have a lot of rage to burn." She ordered.
Azurite reluctantly tapped a few keys on a panel and after a few seconds of scanning, something came up.
"We have a few actually-".
"Good. I'll go with any of them. Tonight will be a bloodbath.".
/**/
A week had passed since that fateful meeting. Green Diamond had went into isolation as soon as they all got home. The elites were doing their best to manage things without her leadership, but it was getting to them. Jade had continued to speak with Aquamarine in between their duties. Their conversations were the only things that really motivated him to go on.
It was nighttime on the planet. All was somewhat still, and Jade was all alone. He sat on the edge of one of the windows of the tower, looking down at the world. The cold wind that caressed his face had an almost hypnotic feeling to it. He suddenly felt the urge to see his diamond. He didn't care if he would be going against orders, he had to go and see her. He moved from the window and rushed to her chambers. He carefully opened the door and saw her laying lifelessly, face down on her ottoman.
"Did I give you authority to enter my chambers?" She said.
Jade stepped inside and bowed his head in submission.
"I'm sorry my diamond. But...I was worried about you.".
"I don't care how you feel. Leave.".
"But...my diamond we need you to come back-".
She raised her body up, reaching back with one arm and a green aura engulfed her arm. She had an enraged expression on her face.
"I said leave!" She shouted as she fired at him.
Jade took the blast to the chest, being knocked back into the door and fell to his feet. His skin burned worse than it ever had before. Green Diamond's expression turned to horrified concern and she immediately rushed to his side.
"No no no! I thought you would've dodged or run away! Are you hurt?" She asked.
Jade coughed and smiled.
"I'm alright my diamond.".
"Don't call me that." She demanded.
She lifted him up and walked him over to one of the cubes. He took a seat and she sat on her own.
"Why don't you wish to be referred by your title?" He asked.
She sighed.
"I wish not to be reminded of my position. I'm tired of all this diamond nonsense. I just want to be a ruler. My own ruler, and not have to be like others just because of who I am." She explained.
"You are your own ruler. You are my ruler." Jade argued.
She smiled.
"I know, and I appreciate you and the rest of my gems. But there has to be some changes now. Things look bleak, but they can be adapted to." She said, "It'll just be harsh doing so.".
Jade nodded. She leaned back and started to hum. Jade tilted his head in confusion. The humming turned to whistling. She continued to whistle her song and Jade leaned back, enjoying the melody. She stopped and continued to stare up at the ceiling.
"That song...I used to hum it all the time when I was first born. I made up the melody myself. I could only whistle it when I was alone because it would've been an odd thing for a diamond to do, but I still find a way to do so. It's what keeps me going. It lets me keep my sanity amidst all the violence, the stupid politics, against all the stresses in my thousands of years." She stated.
Jade looked on with a sense of pity and sorrow for his leader.
"Do you...dislike fighting?".
"No. I love to fight and conquer...but above all I love that song. I can't understand why, but it's the most important thing to me." She admitted, "It's silly I know.".
Green Diamond leaned forward and smiled at him.
"Thank you for coming to see me Jade." She said.
"My pleasure my dia...my matriarch." He said.
She shrugged her shoulders.
"Eh, that'll have to do from now on.".
He smiled and walked out of her chambers.
"Leaving already?" She asked.
"You rest. I'll take care of whatever mess is going on with the other gems.".
She nodded, giving him her consent to do so. He exited the room and closed the door. He looked to his side to see Tsavorite, Bloodstone and Azurite. Before he could say anything, Tsavorite raised her hand to him.
"Say nothing. We heard every word." She admitted.
"And we have to say thank you. So long as we know that she is fine, everything will be alright." Bloodstone said.
The four gems walked down the stairs together.
"You think she'll come out of her chambers soon?" Azurite asked.
"I can only hope so, but it seems very possible." Jade admitted.
Tsavorite averted her gaze from Jade, and then looked back to him.
"Jade, I-".
She was cut off by a strange buzzing noise. It was Jade's communication stone. He fished it out of his pocket and held it in his open palm. He looked at the others and they silently gave him their consent to activate it. He tapped the top of it, and a hologram of Aquamarine was displayed. She looked distressed.
"Aquamarine? What's wrong?" He asked.
"Jade! It's awful, so awful!" She shouted.
Tsavorite cut in and looked at her.
"Calm yourself. What's going on?" She demanded.
"The other four Diamond's armies are coming to destroy Green Diamond!" She admitted.
The four gem's eyes went wide with shock and terror.
"What!? Why!?" Azurite shouted.
"I only heard bits and pieces of the reason why but it was mentioned that Green Diamond has become a liability and she has to be...broken." She choked, "Their armadas are on their way now and it looks so bad for you all now it looks really, really bad! I had to warn you because...you'll be killed if you don't turn her over!".
The others looked at each other and Jade looked back to the crying blue gem.
"Thank you for telling this to us." Jade said.
The sky blue gem flinched as she heard a sound on her end.
"I think I hear someone coming! I have to go!" She declared.
The hologram cut out, and the four gems immediately rushed back to Green Diamond's quarters. Bloodstone broke down the door and their diamond looked at them with confusion.
"What's going on?" She asked.
Tsavorite stepped forward.
"My lord! We just received a message from a mole that there's going to be a coup to destroy you!" She shouted.
All the life from their leader's face was drained. She slumped onto her chair with her head in her hands.
"I...I can't believe it. After all this time, they're just going to throw me away like this?" She asked herself.
"My queen get a hold of yourself! We need you more than ever!" Azurite shouted.
"I can assemble the troops now! We can fight them back, we can show them how powerful we truly are! You'll be respected as the most powerful gem of all! It'll all be okay!" Bloodstone declared.
The others looked back to see her the mighty gem's eyes well up with tears. She couldn't lie to herself, she knew what would happen no matter how much denial she was putting against it.
"It'll be okay!" She repeated.
Green Diamond looked at her elites with concerned eyes. Her mighty warriors were now reduced to children begging their mother not to die. A determined scowl formed on her face as she got up. She walked over to the edge of her room, before the balcony and stood there.
"My mistress?" Tsavorite uttered.
"They only want me, right? Then that's what they'll get." She stated.
Jade rushed forward and stopped right behind her.
"No! You can't surrender to them! You're Green Diamond! The most powerful gem in all the galaxies! You can't go out like this!" He begged.
She chuckled.
"You're right. I won't give them the satisfaction of letting them see me grovel before them. I'm going out on my own terms." She stated.
Her skin began to crack, light leaking out of her body. Jade took a step back and the others grouped around him. Their diamond turned around to show her form crumbling. Her face was barely recognizable due to the energy her stone was putting it. Her gemstone began to crack under the pressure she was exerting.
"Show them my remains. Let them know that my gems are not a threat to their reign." She ordered.
"No! You can't die!" Tsavorite shouted.
"Sorry, this is the only way. I have one last order for all of you." She declared.
They were all silent as she smiled at them. Her gem was about to burst.
"Survive.".
With that, she imploded. The room filled with light, blinding the four gems. They looked back and all that was left was a pile of shards. Tsavorite rushed forward to the pile and grabbed a chunk of the remains of her goddess. The others couldn't look at the site, but Jade managed to step to Tsavorite's side. Jade put a hand on his comrade's shoulder as she silently sobbed. Azurite looked back to her allies with tears in her eyes as well.
"What do we do now?" She asked.
Tsavorite wiped the tears from her eyes and walked back to the others, gripping the chunk of green stone as if her life depended on it.
"We run. We get as far away from those monsters as possible. I refuse to live in a world ruled by them!" The green and black gem shouted.
Bloodstone nodded.
"Agreed! The Homeworld scum will never order us!" She yelled.
"Yeah! Right Jade!?" Azurite stated.
Jade silently stared at them with a solemn expression on his face. He looked at the pile of green and back to the others.
"I can't." He said.
They all stared at him in disbelief.
"What? But...Jade you can't give your life to them. They're evil! Look what they drove our leader to do!" Tsavorite said.
"I know but...if I leave, what of the others? They'll be slaughtered. If I stay, and...show them what our leader did, they might be spared." He explained, "I can't abandon them. Not like this.".
The others were silent and Tsavorite walked towards him.
"I'm sorry. I want to join you, I do. But someone has to stay and sort all of this out." He argued.
His ally opened her arms and hugged him as tightly as she could. The others ran to him and did the same.
"We won't forget you." She promised.
"Same here." Bloodstone said.
"Never, ever." Azurite added.
They all let go of him, and looked at his face one last time to burn the memory of it into their minds.
"I won't either. Now go! Before some scum ship can come chase you down!" He ordered.
They nodded, and then they ran off. Jade looked at the pile one last time, knelt down, and picked up his leader's remains. With a heavy heart, he exited the chambers and went to surrender to the other diamonds.
/**/
Around the fire, all stared at Jade with awe and sorrow. It was late at night, and everyone could feel the emotion that he had gone through, especially his lover.
"I managed to stave off their attack after showing them Green Diamond's remains. They didn't destroy my faction, they enslaved them instead. I managed to get into Blue Diamond's faction and live the rest of my days with Aquamarine. And well...the rest is history." Jade concluded.
"Woah…" Steven uttered.
"That's so sad…" Jet said.
Garnet looked at him with a sympathetic stare.
"As amazing as the story was, what does this mean if your past allies are still around?" Heliodor asked.
Jade looked to her with stern eyes.
"I died once, and I was revived. The same can be done with her. If Feldspar gets her hands on that fragment...I don't know what could happen." Jade worried.
"Well we'll get her first! And we'll bring her back! And...and she'll meet Tourmaline and you guys can be together again!" Steven declared.
Jade looked at the young boy's confident smile and smiled back.
"You think so?" He asked.
"Sounds all fine and good but we need to focus on the immediate threat first." Jasper stated.
Jade's smile faded away and he looked at the large quartz with a grimace.
"Jasper! The man just poured his heart and soul out to us. Have some respect!" Pearl scolded.
"Yeah! Give em a break!" Amethyst added.
"Sorry, but it's the truth. The main point he made about this was that if we don't find them, Feldspar will have something that powerful in her possession. I'm thinking in terms of things that matter as of this moment." Jasper said.
Pegmatite roared at Jasper.
"Pegmatite's right! That was still a really cruel thing to say!" Rubellite shouted.
"No...she's right." Jade interjected.
The others looked to him and saw his stern expression.
"You all need to focus on stopping Feldspar as soon as possible. That's the truth." He relented.
With that, he ran to the hills where Jasper went.
"Jade wait!" Aquamarine rushed after him.
The others got up but were stopped by when they heard a voice.
"Let the man go!" Topaz shouted.
The others looked up to see Topaz sitting on the edge of the barn's roof.
"This is something that should be kept between husband and wife. They can work this out in their own way. We need to focus on our own problem and then we can help them with theirs." He argued.
Tanza stepped forward and glared up at him. She looked down to Taz and then heaved a sigh.
"He's right. Let's just calm down and let him have his space." The purple gem agreed.
The others looked at each other in silence, and then sat back down.
"Thank you. I didn't mean to sound insensitive but that's just how it is. Now let's focus on formulating a strategy for when we find her." Jasper stated.
Pearl looked to Garnet.
"How much time do you think they need?" She asked.
"Let them have this night in peace." Her leader said.
/**/
Morning came and the gems were packing up the van. Everyone had some level of smile on their face. Between Jade's story and the discussion of strategy, they felt very confident in what was to come. Steven was about to get into the car when Tanza rushed from the hills on her bladed skates. She had a panicked expression on her face. The others went to meet her and the tall gem skidded to a stop in front of them.
"Tanza what's wrong? Where's Jade and Aquamarine?" Garnet asked.
"Honestly I think they would've been Tourmaline at this point." Elbaite commented.
"I think I saw some light coming from the hill late at night. They definitely fused." Pearl added.
"He's gone! Tourmaline ran off in the night!" Tanza shouted.
"What!?" Garnet yelled.
The happy mood of the gems was shattered. In it's place was panic, paranoia and worry. Tourmaline was gone without warning, and he was running into a world where a threat that threatened the universe was growing.
/**/
Tourmaline waited at the edge of the railroad tracks, waiting for the first train to come by. He remember from a story Steven told him about how he went to the kindergarten. He knew there was a functioning warp pad there, and that's where he would start his journey. All the memories of his father's history with Green Diamond flooded into his mind and enlightened him on the truth of his last encounter. He knew he had to find Tsavorite, and on his own. Deep down, he shared his father's love of his diamond, and he had to get to her before the crystal gems or worse Feldspar did. He looked to his right to see a train slowly chugging towards him in the distance. He walked closer to the tracks, but heard something land behind him. Behind him, Topaz walked to him.
"So...you're going after Tsavorite and Green Diamond by yourself. Tell me why." Topaz demanded.
Tourmaline turned around and looked at him with a disinterested stare. Topaz was surprised to see that his normally tan skin was now dark green, much like his father's.
"Look, I don't need a reason." He said.
Tourmaline turned around. Topaz drew his sai and took another step towards his former student.
"You're going against impossible odds with an unstable mind. You can do this with the others Tourmaline, I know they'd be more than happy to help. So come back and fight alongside them!".
Tourmaline scratched the back of his head and sighed.
"Sorry Topaz, but I'm tired of relying on others to fight my own battles for me." He admitted.
He turned around and got into his fighting stance.
"This is my fight.".
Topaz frowned, looked away, but reluctantly got into his own fighting stance. He rushed towards Tourmaline with both sai at the ready, but Tourmaline rushed in as well and punched him in the stomach.
"Not so slow anymore huh?" Tourmaline taunted.
He kneed Topaz in his face, lifting him off of the ground as he flung backwards. Tourmaline side kicked him mid air and Topaz flew through the air and bounded on the hot pavement.
"Go home Topaz." Tourmaline demanded.
Topaz growled and rushed at him again. Tourmaline sighed and the pale gem was upon him. Topaz stabbed wildly at Tourmaline, but the young gem deflected each strike. In between his attacks, Tourmaline punched him in his throat, stopping him. Topaz clutched his damaged throat in agony. If he had a windpipe, it probably would've been crushed by that blow. Tourmaline grabbed him by his shirt, dragged him to the side, and then chucked him far away.
"Face it, I'm stronger than I've ever been. You can't make me do anything anymore." He said.
"I won't let you throw your life away!" Topaz shouted.
Topaz ran back at him again, but this time he started to glow. He morphed and his gems separated, forming two, smaller Topazes. Both had a gem of their own. Tourmaline smirked and looked to see the train was almost upon him.
"Really? Busting out this old trick?" Tourmaline chuckled.
Both of the gems attacked him in perfect coordination, both holding their own pairs of sai. But Tourmaline crushed their offense immediately, grabbing one by the throat and kicking the other one down. He threw the squirming one towards the downed one, and the two skidded along the road. Before they could get up, Tourmaline was upon them, his foot held high ready to stomp down. They couldn't react in time, they just accepted their defeat.
Tourmaline stomped down and there was a huge cloud of dust. The sound of cracking and crumbling rock filled the air. The dust settled, and the two small gems saw that Tourmaline just stomped in front of them, shattering the stone and creating a small crater. Tourmaline looked down at the two of them with a stern expression. They morphed back into their original state, and Tourmaline walked away. The warning lights for the train started to go off, and security beams descended down. The train started to roll by. Tourmaline looked back at Topaz one last time with dead eyes and a serious scowl.
"Make sure nothing bad happens while I'm gone." He requested.
With that, Tourmaline jumped onto the moving train and disappeared with it. Topaz got to his feet and looked on as he saw his comrade standing on top of the train, gazing at him as he went away.
"Goodbye, old friend." Topaz thought.