Summary: Hematite encounters a unique group of rebels.
Notes: This chapter marks the premiere of arc 4.
The sun was shining warmly over the Diamond Towers, a few rolling clouds scattered across the horizon. There was a soft, relaxing hum drifting from the city, gems going about their day like usual. Each of the Diamonds was in their office, doing various types of work. Well, all but one.
"And I swear to stars, this had better be the last time I get eaten by a gem monster!" Hematite tossed his arms up, one of his hands holding his eyepiece. "So I've shrunken down, right? And so this thing takes advantage of that, and I end up in what I can only call its 'stomach'; though it was more like a cave, to be honest. And there are bubbled gems and who knows what else everywhere." Grimacing, the service gem shook his head, his tongue sticking out slightly in disgust. He shifted in his seat, crossing one leg over the other. "I'm thinking to myself, 'oh, great, it's good that this thing doesn't know how to bubble me; I don't fancy being part of some gut-museum.'"
–
Blue's hands were pressed up against her face, her eyes bright and attentive. Her work was strewn across her desk, laying helter-skelter in messy piles and positions. The Diamond didn't seem the least bit interested in the tedium of paperwork and reports, as a wide space in front of her was cleared away for her to lean on her desk uninterrupted. Blue raised a brow at Hema's last few comments, and she sneered in displeasure.
"Yick... really? Stars, that musta been creepy," she said, swinging her legs under her chair. "How did you get outta that one?" she asked curiously, leaning forward over her desk. She always enjoyed Hematite's stories. He went on the wildest missions, saw the most peculiar and exciting of things at times, and always seemed to pay such close attention to little details. She loved hearing him tell his tales, even if it meant she had to shirk work. Well, not like this was much different than any other day.
–
Hematite chuckled and shrugged, starting to gesture with his hands again as he continued his story.
"Right, so at first I'm thinking maaaybe I can pop one of the bubbles to get some assistance, but I have no clue who any of these gems are, so I thought better of it. No, instead-" He leaned forward, putting his hands on the desk, shaking his head. "I had to wait at least seven hours before I could change back to normal! It was terrible!" The service gem chuckled, giving a half-hearted, exasperated sigh as he sat back in his chair. He ran his fingers through his hair, breathing deeply. "I managed to give it a good enough zap to get it to spit me out. I'm glad I didn't get destabilized, though. That thing was nooot happy to see me."
–
Blue smiled, though she looked more concerned than amused.
"Yeah, really... Hah, I'd really miss ya if you were gone for too long. I'm glad you're alr-" Before Blue could finish her sentence, she was cut off by a familiar, rapid beeping. Perking up slightly, she stared at the service gem, then at his eyepiece. "Errr, your communicator's goin' crazy!"
–
Blinking in surprise, Hematite started at the sharp noise.
"Ah, stars, hold on!" The service gem brought his hand back to his face, placing the small visor over his left eye. He cleared his throat and tapped on the surface, mentally commanding the eyepiece to answer the call. It clicked quietly. "This is Hematite."
–
It was White's voice that followed. She sounded hurried and serious.
"Hematite, I need you to report to my office as soon as you can. There's a big problem and I'm going to need your help. I'll explain everything when you get here," she said.
Blue couldn't make out too much of what was being said, but she could tell it was White's voice coming from the visor, and she barely made out the words 'report' and 'office'. She sat back, biting her lip. Darn, she wanted to hear the rest of the story.
–
Sitting up a bit straighter, Hematite frowned and cleared his throat again, nodding.
"Yes ma'am. I'll be right over." The service gem hung up and shot Blue an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I guess I owe you the end of that story later!" He stood up and adjusted his sleeves before standing at attention. Giving Blue a quick salute, he smiled and started for the door. "I'll see you around, Blue!"
–
Blue crossed her arms, sitting back in her chair. Well, she did have work she should be doing today, so maybe it was for the best. Giving the Hematite a wave, she grinned in understanding.
"Alright kid, good luck with whatever it is!"
–
The service gem gave a final wave before the office door hissed shut behind him. Stepping outside, Hematite looked around and stepped out onto the sky bridge connecting Blue's tower to Yellow's.
"Mm... at this rate, it'll take me at least an hour or two to get over there, even if I run." Hematite bit his lip as he started his brisk walk to Yellow's tower. White sounded rather urgent; he needed to get there quicker. Looking down off the bridge, Hematite eyed the various diamond facilities that laid between the four massive towers. Cutting through there certainly wouldn't help; it'd take him even longer to traverse.
... If he was this size, at least.
Hematite slowed to a stop, peering over the edge of the sky bridge The ground below the sky bridges were clear of any buildings, in case of incident or damage. A fall from this height wouldn't hurt a gem if they didn't hit their gemstone, as it was only about a hundred feet or so off the ground.
If White needed him, he needed to get to her as soon as he could. Perhaps if he...
He furrowed his brow, frowning. Backing up, the service gem stared ahead, across the massive expanse between him and the White Tower on the horizon. Hematite clenched his fists, suddenly bolting forward.
He leapt straight off the bridge.
The service gem's form began to glow halfway down to the ground, and he shifted up to his half height in a flash, landing with a heavy THUD on the clear ground below the bridge. He stood up quickly, and made a beeline for the White Tower, deftly making his way over the different, much smaller facilities that lay between him and his destination.
Unintentionally, he startled quite a few Peridots and other service gems that were busying themselves among the different facilities, but they didn't have much time to react as Hematite raced by. The service gem was glad he'd kept a mental map of this place where there was a semi-clear path between the towers.
The run to White's only took him about twenty minutes.
Stopping, Hematite stood next to the White tower, staring up at it, his breathing slightly heavy. The huge structure dwarfed him, even at eight stories tall. Hema couldn't help but marvel at how, no matter how tall he could get, there was always something bigger to remind him how massive the world really was. Whether it be tower, mountain, a Kindergarten cliff, or the Diamonds themselves, he was oft reminded that being the biggest race of gems in the universe didn't spare him from feeling tiny now and then.
But, he didn't have time to admire gem architecture! Looking over, Hematite neared the sky bridge that led to White's office and carefully placed his hand on the edge, sure not to put too much pressure on it. Closing his eyes, he focused on the bridge. Within a moment, he returned to his normal height, crouched on the edge of the bridge where his hand had been resting. He stood up straight and adjusted his sleeves before briskly making his way to White's office. He knocked, waiting for the door to hiss open.
–
White's Pearl opened the door, greeting Hematite with a gentle smile.
"Hello, you must be here for White, correct? Please, come in," she said, moving aside and gesturing for the service gem to walk through. White was sitting at her desk, apparently still on her communicator. She was nearing the end of a conversation.
"Alright... thank you for your notification. I'll see to it that this is taken care of as quickly and quietly as possible," she stated, her eyes closed and hands clasped together in front of her mouth.
–
Hematite stepped inside the office with a polite, warm smile to the Pearl. He folded his arms behind his back and stopped a little ways from White's desk. Blinking, he caught the voice on the other end of the call. It was quiet, but Hema could make everything out.
"That's greatly appreciated, White Diamond. Thank you. I'll see to it that I keep my eyes open for any trouble closer to my capital. I'll order my warriors to be on high alert. Again, I'm terribly sorry to ask for your assistance out here. I would have asked Yellow if she wasn't so awfully busy at the moment. Watch your back out there, these gems are notoriously tricky."
The voice belonged to none other than General Topaz.
–
White nodded and clicked off the communicator. Opening her eyes, she spotted Hematite in the doorway.
"You got here quickly," she said curiously, placing her hands down on her desk. There wasn't the normal feel in the air this time. While it wasn't exactly tense, it wasn't entirely welcoming and warm either. There wasn't even any tea set out on the table. White looked unreadable and thoughtful.
–
Clearing his throat, Hematite nodded and stood a little straighter.
"I shifted up and cut across the facility clearing. I figured that'd be far quicker." The tiniest of nervous smiles crossed his face. The air in the office felt odd. "I was right, thankfully."
–
She raised a brow.
"Clever. Good, you'll need your wits today..." she said, tapping her fingers on the desk. "Listen, Hematite; I've got to go on an important mission today and I'm going to need your help." She still sounded highly serious. Whatever this was, it wasn't good.
–
The service gem's shoulders began to tense. He brushed his fingers behind his back, nervously glancing away for a moment. He looked anxious. This wasn't right; White didn't usually look like this. What had happened while he was gone on his last mission?
"What do you need me to do?" He finally brought his gaze back to her.
–
Blankly, White stared right through Hematite.
"I've just received word from General Topaz that there might be a worrying uprising involving a particularly evasive rebel group out on her planet. If what I've heard is true, this could lead to an all-out war if we don't stop it." She closed her eyes, sighing. Clasping her hands together once more, she continued. "I need your help tracking down this group. Not only that, if things get nasty, I'll need your backup. This is a risky, dangerous task, but we need to act now if we are to avoid catastrophe. The group isn't big enough to start a full-scale war yet, but from what the general has told me, this sounds like the makings of a troublesome thorn in our side. I would normally take this job on alone, or with a small battalion, but I trust you far more. It's just going to be me and you. Do you understand?" She opened her eyes again. She looked fierce.
–
Hematite's eyes widened, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
A war?
That was the last thing Homeworld needed to deal with right now. Or any time, for that matter. How could anyone even think of bringing on such devastation again? But, more importantly, how could such a large group go unnoticed for so long...?
"I understand, White Diamond. However, I have one question." Hematite cleared his throat. "I am not questioning General Topaz, but how do you know this could lead to a war? How did the general find out about this? If such a large group has gathered, shouldn't it have been noticed before?"
–
White's brows lowered, glancing down at the diamond pad that lay flat on her desk. Turning it on, she flipped through some files.
"I received an anonymous message today that set this in motion. I was suspicious... so I contacted General Topaz to see if she could confirm or deny anything and to see if she had any insight as to what was going on." White paused, selecting something with a single finger from the pad. "General Topaz, as far as I've seen and heard from Yellow over the centuries, is very skilled at keeping her planet in order. Yet, these gems have evaded even her. They have been detected before, but they've only recently become an active threat. It's highly likely it's the same group that I received the aforementioned tip on. Even with Topaz's confirmation, mmm. I wanted to double-check everything, so. I called Yellow to confirm if this truly has been a problem, or if General Topaz was just overreacting, but surely enough, Yellow says that this group has been trouble for quite some time. Neither of us are sure about it actually becoming a war, but we cannot take that chance. If Topaz and Yellow are having trouble, then we've got to do something. Their warriors' methods cannot seem to stop these gems."
–
Peering at the diamond pad, Hematite blinked and frowned. Topaz was having troubles with rebels? All her records showed that she was a skilled and intelligent strategist; if she couldn't handle this... No, if Yellow couldn't handle it...
Then what kind of faction were they up against here?
He nodded quietly and turned his attention back up to White.
"What was the message you received?"
–
White glanced back down at the pad, flicking her finger onto a small, diamond insignia. It appeared to be an audio file. The clip started playing. There was no picture or video, and the voice was unfamiliar.
–
The service gem stood at attention, listening carefully. There was a hint of static in the message, and as soon as the voice spoke up, Hematite grimaced in confusion. The gem on the other end was highly distorted, and the pitch of the recording shifted once in a while, making it impossible to identify the voice or to pick up on any vocal quirks.
"I don't have much time." The gem on the recording sounded hushed and hurried. They listed off some coordinates that sounded vaguely familiar to Hematite. He wondered for a moment if he'd been to them before, on a mission. The voice continued after listing the coordinates. "There is a faction of ex-Homeworld gems that are planning to rebel against the capital of this planet, and then Homeworld's. That's where their base is. These rebels mean business, there are so many of them, I think they mean to start a full-on uprising, starting with the White District. I cannot help you. If they found out I shared this information, I'd be shattered. But I can warn you of this. Be wary of their scout. They have one in that particular area, but only one. Do not let her escape, should she spot you. I believe she's under direct orders to give the signal to start the uprising, should anyone discover their plans. Please, White Diamond, if you're hearing this, you know what to do. Do not let them get away with this." There was a clatter in the background, and muffled, warped voices. "I have to go." Click.
The static stopped, and the recording ended.
Hematite stared, wide-eyed, at the small device. He couldn't pick out a single feature of the voice that he could recognize, it was so distorted. Sure, the message was clear enough, but it frustrated him that he wasn't able to pick up on any quirks. He didn't think he'd be finding the owner of that voice any time soon.
"I see."
–
White turned the diamond pad off completely, storing it in her gem.
"So, do you see what we're up against? At the very least, it's worth checking out. I'm just going to need your assistance if anything goes awry. Thankfully, there's a galaxy warp on her planet. We can get there in no time," she stated, standing up from her chair. "Are you prepared for anything?"
–
Hematite looked up at her as she stood, and his brows furrowed as he gave her a short, firm nod. There was a new, determined look in his eyes. He squared his shoulders and feet, standing with his chin high.
"Yes, White Diamond." He smiled, saluting her proudly. "They won't know what hit 'em!"
–
White smirked and stepped out from behind her desk. Raising her hand up, she brought it down on Hematite's head, ruffling his hair a little.
"Good. That's what I like to hear. We shall depart immediately. Come, Hema," she said, making her way to the door. This wasn't going to be easy, but she knew they could do it together.
–
The small service gem looked up in curiosity, his brows raising. Hematite inhaled in surprise as White ruffled his hair, and he smiled brightly, closing his eyes for a moment. As she walked off, he turned, following her eagerly.
"Right behind you."
Another mission with White! He couldn't wait. Together, they'd take these traitors down, and nothing could stop them.
Whoever you are, watch out. We're coming for you.
–
–
White stepped off of the warp pad with Hematite, glancing off to the side. She hadn't seen this planet for millennia, but had heard many stories from both common gems and Yellow herself about what was being done to it. The outside world seemed to be overrun by nature, yet White could pick out distinct signs of Yellow's handiwork in what technology did lay here and there. Fascinating. She'd take time to conduct some research in any other situation, but she needed to stay focused for this. There was no time for notes. Turning, she made sure Hematite was following close by.
"Alright Hematite, you should have the coordinates already. Go ahead and enter them in, and we'll be on our way," she said, staring ahead once more.
–
Huge, mossy, ancient-looking walls surrounded half of the area around the galaxy warp. Just beyond the walls, one could make out the tips of a few buildings, all of them seeming to rise at different heights. Their architecture resembled that of the Pink District, although bits of the structures appeared newer, more advanced. This planet was once a Pink Diamond-controlled colony, but now was under the rule of Yellow Diamond. Many of the buildings had been torn down, leaving enormous ruins along most of the ground outside the city, long since overgrown with wild plant life. But the capital's buildings had been left intact and expanded upon. No use in tearing down those facilities when they could be put to good use.
From the dense foliage and humid air, it was clear that this planet was far more taken by Mother Nature than Homeworld. While one had to search for a place as lush as this on the home planet, this one was completely overgrown with flora. In the distance rose range upon range of mountains, some seemingly capped with snow.
Stepping off of the warp pad, Hematite looked around. Now that he could see the planet's galaxy warp, he was sure he'd been here on a mission before. He was embarrassed to admit to himself that he hadn't recognized the coordinates, even though he should have. Sometimes he'd get lost in a mission and forget exactly where he was, whether it was the Pink District or another planet entirely.
Looking to White, Hema nodded, his visor chirping to life. Mentally, he entered the numbers from the recording and frowned, concentrating on his map. A small, white diamond insignia appeared over a spanning mountain range. The service gem grimaced slightly.
Stars, that was a long way to go...
"It seems we'll be walking for a long while. White?" He looked at her and cocked a brow, giving her the same look he had the last two times he had offered her a ride on his shoulder.
–
White observed the landscape around her. While it was interesting enough, it certainly looked like a hassle to get around. The Home City was far more tidy and well-kept. She turned to Hematite, giving him a nod.
"Seems that way. What do you have to remedy that?" she said with a hint of snark. Crossing her arms, she grinned. She already knew where this was going, and she certainly wasn't going to pass it up.
–
Hematite blinked at White's hint of sarcasm, and he turned his head away slightly with a smirk, though he kept his eyes on her.
"Oh, I don't know. I can't think of any possible way to hurry our trip along."
He stepped away from the warp pad and made his way out of the slightly-enclosed cove. If he was going to do this, he needed space. Stopping outside where the galaxy warp was nestled, Hematite took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his gem glowing brightly. As per the usual, he shifted to his half height, turned around, knelt, and held out his palm for White to climb on, a contented smile on his face.
–
White stepped carefully onto Hematite's hand as she had done a couple of times before.
"Right. You know where we are headed, yes?" she called up, grabbing a hold of one of his fingers. She'd never admit it, but something within her found these little trips on Hematite's shoulder or even in his hands strangely thrilling.
–
Slowly lifting his hand and standing straight, the giant gem nodded curtly.
"Mm. Seems their base is in a mountainous range out there." He nodded toward the horizon before them. "It'll probably be a long while before we get there, even with me at this size." Looking forward, he exhaled sharply through his nose, lifting his hand up close to his chest. He held it close enough to his shoulder that White could climb up if she wanted, or stay in his hand.
–
The Diamond arched a brow, quickly climbing up onto Hema's shoulder and crouching down.
"Well, we'd best be swift then," she said quietly, narrowing her eyes while staring into the mountains. This was going to be a long ride.
–
Hematite blinked and looked forward, the softest hum of disagreement escaping his throat. Swift wasn't exactly his plan. For once, Hematite didn't break into a run, or even a jog. Instead, he walked briskly, his steps even and measured. It was an odd change from the last two times. He seemed more focused, less in a hurry to get to where they were headed.
However, he simply didn't want to use up his energy. He was finally being smart, pacing himself. The last thing he wanted was to be without his size shifting in the middle of a dangerous battle.
The service gem made his way across the countryside, his visor quietly whirring away as he walked toward the location on the map.
–
White was a little confused at first, but soon caught on to what Hematite was doing. How wise. With a small grin, she brought out the diamond pad that she stored in her gem before. Well, since they were going to be a little while, she might as well take what notes she could. The architecture was an odd mix of new and old, and the wildlife was vast. It had been a long time since she had seen a planet in this sort of condition. She found that it might be valuable to her archives.
–
–
Despite them leaving at nearly the crack of dawn, night had fallen upon the two gems before they arrived, and two moons were high in the sky as Hematite approached the monstrous cliff sides of the mountains. He looked up and frowned deeply, a soft hum in his throat. He didn't like going into enclosed spaces when enemy gems could be lurking at any turn...
"Hmmm. My coordinates say it's somewhere in here, but..." Hematite reached up, scratching the back of his head. "Tch." Putting his anxiety aside, the service gem made his way slowly into a large chasm between two of the cliff sides. This place was eerily similar to the place he and White had gone as Howlite, though there was admittedly a little less signal interference here. His visor wasn't completely on the fritz like it had been with Howlite.
–
White glanced around, curiously eyeing the cliff faces. Looks like there was only really one way to go.
"Don't worry, Hematite. We'll find them; just keep looking. Are you getting much interference?" she asked, looking up to his face. She clutched the fabric over his shoulder gently, peering around.
–
The service gem shook his head just slightly.
"Thankfully, no. It seems this place has lost its strong connection with Pink Diamond, unlike the last location we visited like this, back on Homeworld. The plant life is far less obtrusive to my radar." He looked up and around him as he walked. "It's strange... I thought we'd have seen more gem creatures by now. But, perhaps the base being nearby has chased them off." At this point, Hematite was just trying to make small-talk to ease his nerves. He wasn't used to not running into some sort of gem creature for such a long stretch of time. Surely he should have found something in the long hours he and White had walked. Something just didn't feel right to him.
No sooner had he spoken than his visor chirped, a faint signal blipping onto the screen. There was a faint screech from one of the cliff sides, and along a path that ran among some woody plants, a small, insect-like monster glared down at the two gems. Hematite looked up and frowned.
"Spoke too soon."
–
The Diamond stood up tall on Hematite's shoulder, raising her hand slightly. She was going to pull out a weapon, but she hesitated. She wasn't certain if it was worth messing with right now, and the less noise they made, the better. Turning her head to Hematite, she nodded silently.
"Careful."
–
Hematite glanced at his leader without turning his head, and gave a small nod. He stared up at the creature once more, his brows creasing as he bared his teeth. It was rather small, and wasn't exactly the type of monster that he'd normally mess with if he came across it, since it wasn't large enough to consider a threat... But this creature was acting odd. It wasn't running away. In fact, it was venturing closer, snapping its pincer-like jaws at the giant gem.
What on Homeworld did it think it was doing?
Sighing, Hematite lifted his hand up to his eyes and flicked on his hunting visor. A small target appeared and locked onto the gem.
Whiirrrr
Click
"Tch. It's just a copy." Hematite's eyes widened as he realized what that implied. "Which means there's a mother nearby."
–
White's eyes narrowed, and she summoned a polearm. She didn't want to cause a scene, but a mother monster was dangerous. Should things get dicey, she didn't want to take any chances of Hematite getting worn down before they got to the base.
"Shall we take care of them, then?" she asked, glaring at the small monster still approaching. "The quicker we get rid of these things, the better."
–
Nodding, Hematite exhaled quickly through his nose and made his way closer to the gem creature. It was far, far above him on the cliffs, and he realized he couldn't reach it.
His gem began to glow.
Slowly, the already-giant gem grew taller, soon reaching his maximum height. Unnerved by this, the insect-like monster screeched and scurried away, trying to make some distance between itself and the harvester. However, Hema was too close. Reaching up, the giant gem effortlessly plucked the creature off the wall and held it close to his visor, scanning it carefully. Snapping its jaws, the monster thrashed around, hissing angrily. The screen made a few sharp clicks and chirps before Hematite finally had a solid read.
"Gem located: Jade copy. Status: Corrupted. Mission Objective: Eliminate." Jade signature now locked into place on his radar, Hematite sharply closed his fist around the creature, poofing it easily.
–
White held onto Hematite's glowing form, watching the world around her seem to shrink. Raising her brows, she realized she'd never been on his shoulder while he was at full height before. It was incredible, albeit momentarily unnerving. She decided not to dwell much on it, after all; he was making sure he was careful with her. Even if she did fall, it wouldn't hurt her. Standing up straight again, she tapped the end of her polearm on Hematite's shoulder gently.
"Any sign of the rest?" she asked, fixated on Hematite's visor.
–
At the light tap, Hematite looked over at her fully, the target on his visor squared in the center of the screen. It wasn't locked on anything in particular at the moment. Hema's eyes, at this distance, could just faintly be made out behind the hunting visor.
"I've got the signal; shouldn't take long if it's nearby." He turned his head to the path in front of him and took a deep breath, pacing forward, silent. His visor whirred away, the target now flickering around the cliff sides and sparse plant life as he hunted for either more copies or the gem mother. He wasn't sure which he'd rather find first...
–
White blinked as he spoke, staring up at the insignia on his visor. At the very least, she could make out his eyes, so it wasn't really as unnerving as it would have been. She'd never been quite this close to his face at this size, either. White kept a steady hold of Hematite's shirt with one hand, crouched low.
"Alright. Keep steady," she said sternly, glancing around for any sign of movement.
–
The giant gem nodded without a word, making his careful way through the system of chasms. To his satisfaction, the Jade signature was slowly getting stronger. If they were lucky, he could take it out quickly and they could continue on their way to finding the rebel base. He didn't want to spend too much time or energy fighting corrupted gems.
–
About twenty minutes passed without incident. The harvester stepped out of the narrow path he'd been on for some time into a large, branching clearing. It seemed this place was a barely-used Kindergarten, as there was a single injector drill and about ten or so holes in the far side of the cliff. Five or so narrow paths branched away from the center clearing, and Hema frowned, looking around. He suddenly froze in place. His visor clicked aggressively. There was a faint screech down one of the smaller chasms, and it was approaching fast.
–
White growled, clutching her polearm in hand. She'd heard it too, just barely. Quietly, she lifted the weapon and took a steady hold, almost as if she were aiming. However, she didn't see anything yet. "Get ready."
–
Hematite nodded, baring his teeth. His visor had caught movement down the chasm. A large, powerful signal was on the move.
A huge, much more monstrous version of the Jade copy from before came crashing out of one of the chasmic paths, scurrying along the wall, its jaws snapping and dripping with acidic green saliva. The liquid dropped to the floor, bits of 'steam' burning away from the drops.
Right, don't get that on you.
A deep growl rumbled in Hematite's throat, and his hands flashed, his knuckledusters appearing. A distant roll of thunder followed, echoing the giant gem's growling. Clouds were starting to move in.
Despite the dark of the night, Hematite had a full view of the monster before him, and stepped back quickly as it leapt off the wall and scurried toward him, jaws snapping. The service gem delivered a quick blow to the side of the Jade monster's face, earning a loud screech.
–
White couldn't remain steady on his shoulder forever like this, so it was time to move. With an agile leap, White maneuvered herself onto the gem monster's head, driving the end of her spear into the back of its neck. With a blood-curdling cry, it thrashed around violently, spitting acid up in the air in all different directions. White grunted, holding onto its fluffy mane and grabbing her polearm from its neck.
"Sorry Hematite!" She called out, scurrying down its spine. Summoning another pole arm, she spun each in her grasp before aiming and chucking them one by one at the creature's long, segmented body.
–
Hematite inhaled sharply through his teeth, just BARELY dodging the wild shots of acid that the monster spat out.
"WHITE BE CAREFUL WITH THAT-"
Stumbling back, the giant gem froze, spotting movement near White, on the creature's neck. As his leader made her way down a few segments of the monster's spine, something shot out from the Jade's thick mane of fur, striking White directly in the back, wrapping around her. It was a multi-ended whip.
Before either Hematite or White could react, the weapon snapped back, thrusting the Diamond harshly to the stone floor below, directly in front of the giant, insect-like monster.
–
Yelping in shock, the Diamond went flying into the ground, hitting it with a painful 'THUD'. She grunted in pain, momentarily dazed. Pushing herself off of the ground, grunting, she stared up wide-eyed at the monster. What on Homeworld?! Summoning another polearm, she took a few rapid steps back and pointed the metallic tip at the beast, who roared viciously at her gesture with unwavering, primal rage.
–
The Jade monster quickly snapped its head down, jaws dripping with acidic spit. But then its mane shifted. A gem twice the size of White appeared behind the creature's head, a whip in one set of hands, the monster's fur clutched in her two others. She stood high, proud, with her chin tilted up. A wide, confident grin was painted on her face. Letting out a bellowing laugh, the gem cracked her whip, the monster below her lurching up in response, clacking its huge 'beak' with a loud, piercing screech.
Hematite quickly covered his ears, inhaling through his teeth, grimacing.
More signals suddenly appeared on his radar.
It was an ambush.
Stars, not again!
Over the edges of the cliff sides, more gem monsters suddenly poured in, a few of them being ridden by different rebel gems. The chasm clearing was suddenly filled with a cacophonous mix of screeching and battle cries.
–
White scowled, glaring daggers into the gem who stood upon the gem monster. By the looks of it, they weren't a standard gem. At least, from what she could tell, it had to be a fusion. Growling, the Diamond raced back towards the massive harvester. It wasn't a good idea to stand out in the open.
"Hematite! Quickly! Take out that beast!" she snarled, her eyes locking on the gems flooding over the cliffs. Summoning two more polearms, she rushed into the fray, leaving Hematite to the corrupted Jade.
–
Hematite's visor had gotten a good-enough look to identify the gem on the monster's back. The screen blinked for a moment before a set of stats appeared to the sides.
Fusion found: Zultanite. Components: Ruby and Amethyst. Status: No gem faults detected. Mission Objective: Harvest.
Gritting his teeth in a snarl, the giant gem shot forward, ready to deliver a sharp blow to the Jade monster. Zultanite cracked her whip again, and before Hematite could fully close the distance, the corrupted gem creature whipped around, slamming its huge 'tail' into him, knocking him away. Clawed hands met stone, and the harvester skidded to a stop on the rock floor, deep gouges dug into the ground by his claws. Now on all fours, Hematite snarled fiercely at the gem monster, his hackles raised. One of the approaching warriors cackled maniacally, kicking their heel into the reptilian monster they rode down the wall. The creature hissed aggressively as it leapt down, landing on Hematite's back. The warrior raised up their sword to strike the giant gem's neck, but they shrieked in surprise as a massive, clawed hand shot toward them. In an instant, the clawed tips of the giant's hand dug into the gem monster, poofing it effortlessly. His hand wrapped firmly around the rebel.
Hematite clutched the warrior tightly in his fist, his eyes still locked on the Jade monster that was now fast approaching him. Without missing a beat, the harvester snarled down at the warrior in his fist, opened his mouth, and shoved them in quickly, his teeth snapping shut behind them. The rebel shouted in panicked surprise and turned around to try and escape, but it was too late. Hematite quickly tilted his head back, his gem glowing. Swallowing thickly, he tapped his gemstone before dropping his head, glaring daggers at the monster before him.
–
Shouting with vigor, the riders approached quickly on their monsters, weapons drawn. White huffed, standing tall. Relying on gem monsters get around? That wasn't very bright. As they'd gotten closer, White lunged forward and kicked one of the warriors in the head, knocking the wind out of them. They fell ungracefully off of the creature, leaving the beast to screech and thrash about aimlessly. Swiping her polearm through it, it was quickly poofed. She glared down at the first warrior who scrambled to their feet, clutching their weapon tightly in hand. White spun her pole arm around, not taking her eyes off of them. Slowly, she turned the spinning pole arm towards them, brows furrowed. White's gaze met the warrior's, piercing through them coldly... but there was something else there. Something strange.
The blade on the end of the weapon started to glow brightly, creating a glowing trail in its wake. She walked forward towards the warrior, who surprisingly didn't move. The warrior stared wide eyed, jaw agape as they watched the Diamond approach them. They were transfixed not only by White's gaze, but the terrific display of her weapon. They were frozen in place, unable to move.
CLANG!
Their weapon dropped to the ground and, within seconds, White sharply thrust the weapon into the warrior, sticking it straight through them. They were immediately forced to retreat back into their gem. Retracting her weapon, she clacked the spear tip on the ground, staring forward at the other three gems who were now close by. That little trick didn't go unnoticed.
–
At this point, Hematite was grappling directly with the Jade monster, vicious snarls and cries of anger echoing around the chasmic clearing. He snapped his hands around the creature's jaws, holding them shut. The acidic spit soaked onto his hands, earning a hiss of pain from the giant gem, but he forced himself to ignore it. With a snarl, he grabbed the creature's neck, snapping it with ease. The Jade monster poofed into a huge cloud of greenish smoke, its oval-shaped gem falling to the floor, along with Zultanite.
Hematite was hissing through his teeth, holding his hands close to him, grimacing. Stars, that stung! He glared daggers at the fusion gem on the ground, lashing his hand out to bubble the Jade that laid on the floor. He quickly tossed it into his mouth and swallowed, the gem easily being stored away.
Zultanite bared her teeth at the giant gem before her, lashing two multi-ended whips out of her gemstones. The ends, however, were now alight with a bright red aura.
–
The trio of warriors advancing on White quickly stood up on the backs of their monsters, and from the looks of it, their weapons were ranged. Two had bows, and one had what looked to be a throwing glaive. White wasted no time in pulling out a second polearm, walking ominously slowly towards them. She had a fearless look on her face as she easily sized up the group. One of them hesitated, their bow twitching in their hand. Seems they didn't do well with intimidation. White plunged a polearm into the ground between her and the three warriors, much to their confusion. She couldn't have missed that easily
Unfortunately for them, it had been on purpose. During their confusion, White skirted to the side and threw the other polearm, catching one of the gem monsters in the side. It screeched out in pain, exploding into dust. The warrior that was once riding it stumbled over, and grabbed White's polearm Shakily, they stood up, holding her own polearm towards her. White stared blankly at them, and laughed.
"You shouldn't have done that," she said darkly, flicking her wrist. The warrior was suddenly blinded as White's spear exploded into unnaturally-bright rays of light, the dust catching in their eyes. They scrambled back, frantically rubbing their face to try and get the Diamond's light trap out of their eyes. Before they could manage, however, White was upon them, kicking them straight into another one of the warriors and knocking them off. The monster decided it didn't want to be there and high-tailed it in the other direction.
–
Zultanite laughed boldly at the enormous gem before her and lashed her whip out at his wrist, grabbing onto it easily. Hematite would have caught the movement, had he not been distracted by the searing pain in his hands, and he yelped as the sharp ends of the weapon dug into his skin. He glared at his arm, staring at the tiny, spiked balls at the end of the whip.
A cry of agony suddenly tore through the chasm.
Hematite's entire form was suddenly alight with a bright red energy. The harvester suddenly crumpled to the ground, the side of his face painfully meeting the uneven rock floor. It felt as though his entire body was on fire, despite there being no flames around him. His entire body was involuntarily tensed, unable to do anything.
Zultanite approached him.
One of the fusion's four arms casually pulled out a large, very spiky flail-like weapon. The same red aura began to glow around it. Zultanite gave an eerie chuckle, her eyes wide. She opened her mouth, sneering at the huge gem before her. When she spoke, her voice was low, raspy, and had an unnatural hiss to it.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall~ You'll make a great trophy."
She took another step toward Hematite's exposed neck.
–
White made quick work of the two gems that had slammed into each other, bubbling their gems away. Now, it was just the one with the throwing glaive. They were aiming, ready to attack, when something from behind made them flinch. White, too, couldn't ignore it. She turned her head sharply, eyes widening to see that Hematite was suddenly in a lot of trouble. Clenching her fists, the Diamond completely ignored the gem she was fighting before. Before the warrior could take advantage of her distraction, however, she was already off and running towards the others. They scowled, following soon after her.
SHINK!
A huge polearm sank into the ground mere feet between both Hematite and Zultanite. With a fierce growl of fury, White was quick to summon another weapon. Her eyes were wide with rage, and she quickly closed in on the fusion.
–
Zultanite's eyes widened. Damn, she'd forgotten about White! Snarling in fury, the fusion leapt back, closer to Hematite's face, her whip still firmly in her grasp, the line drawn tight. The huge gem's lip curled into a snarl, but he could do nothing. A vicious growl rumbled in his chest as he glared daggers into the fusion mere feet away from his face.
–
White summoned another polearm, dragging the bladed edge across the ground as she ran, creating a small trail of sparks. Her eyes narrowed. There. The whip. In one graceful, alarmingly fast motion, she'd split her polearm in two, another bladed edge appearing on the other half. They were small, but that was all she needed. Quickly, she jutted one towards Zultanite, the weapon whizzing inches past her shoulder. In her distraction, White was able to get close and swipe the other polearm across the weapon, a loud snap resounding soon after. As she did so, she glared up at the fusion and darted back a few feet. She smirked.
–
snap
Zultanite snarled in frustration as her weapon snapped, and she very nearly hit herself in the face with the hilt as her hand was sent flying back towards her. She stumbled a single step back, viciously glaring at the Diamond before her.
But she suddenly noticed that Hematite's body wasn't glowing anymore.
She glanced to the side without moving her head.
Oh, sh-
S N A P
Face mere feet away from the ground, Hematite crouched, his breathing heavy. A cloud of tannish smoke and sparkles began to dissipate from around his bared teeth. Two barely-audible 'tinks' sounded from behind the harvester's closed teeth. Hematite snarled, lifting his head slightly. He tilted his chin up, swallowing quietly, his gemstone giving a flash.
Hema lifted his face to the final warrior that stood nearby, his teeth glinting in the low light his visor gave off. The screen made an eerie, high-pitched electrical whining sound.
–
White followed Hematite's gaze, unwavered and staring at the final warrior. White sighed, brushing her hand through her hair.
"Well now, glad that's taken care of."
The warrior, frozen in terror, stared back. A monstrous gem and a Diamond against them? After taking out their entire group? No thanks. They stepped quietly off of their monster, dropping their glaive onto the ground. The monster hissed, scurrying away without a second thought. Trembling, the blueish gem slowly held up their hands, surrendering.
–
Slowly, Hematite's form began to relax. Well, at least this one was smart enough to know when they were beat. Glancing at White, the huge gem sat up, albeit a bit painfully, and stared down at the final warrior, his visor the only visible part of his face. He reached down, his clawed hand hovering over the gem before he picked them up by the back of their shirt. Lifting them to his face, Hematite frowned and began to scan. The visor beeped, the target changing into the gem's own personalized insignia, and Hematite cleared his throat.
"Gem Captured: Sodalite. Status: No gem faults detected. Mission Objective: Collect and Harvest." The harvester paused, his voice draining of all emotion. "Sodalite, you have been found guilty of conspiring with criminals against the will of the Diamond Authority, and you will be detained and brought to justice. Your gem will be undamaged, should you cooperate."
The warrior swallowed nervously, nodding.
"Are you uh... gonna carry me back or somethin?" he asked awkwardly, with a vaguely hopeful grin.
White, standing below, cleared away what weapons were still lying around and scanned the area for any stray gemstones that needed to be bubbled.
–
Arching a brow, Hematite exhaled quietly through his nose. His visor clicked.
"Not exactly."
Vwip !
A shining, silvery bubble appeared around the warrior, completely encasing them. Hema held up the bubble with three clawed fingers, balancing it on the tips of them. He brought the bubble closer to his mouth.
–
At first, Sodalite was confused. He placed his hands on the bubble, looking up at it...but regretted looking back behind him. Gasping, hescrambled back into the far wall of the bubble.
"H-Hey what are you doing?!" he cried out in a mild panic. He'd seen what the harvester had done to his leader, and he wanted nothing to do with it.
–
Hematite ignored the warrior's outburst and placed the bubble in his mouth, pushing it back with a single clawed finger. Thankfully, at his current size, the warrior was no problem. The harvester didn't waste any time, and soon tilted his head back, a finger placed to his gem as it began to glow. He swallowed thickly, tapping the silvery gray stone on his neck. The light quickly faded, and the giant gem dropped his head back down with a soft sigh. Looking down, he spotted White Diamond standing not too far off.
"...Well, that could have gone worse."
–
White had just finished bubbling the last of the stray gems and was now standing tall, brushing off her arms.
"Yes, indeed. You should probably consider shifting down a bit, though... I don't want you tiring out too badly," she said, turning around. "Besides, I'm fairly sure we're close now. That couldn't have been all of them." She said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Sure, that'd been a fair number, but that couldn't possibly have been the 'war worthy' group they were looking for, unless this rebellion was just full of hot air. White wasn't sure she wanted to take the chance on them being cocky rather than legitimately dangerous.
–
"Right, right." Hematite nodded quietly and sighed, closing his eyes. Soon enough, he shrank down to about his half height, and he crouched low, his hands on his knees. "Are you alright?" He looked her over. She didn't seem to be harmed in any way, thank the stars. "Thanks for saving me back there."
–
White spared Hematite a small smile, taking a few steps towards him.
"Yes, I'm alright, Hematite. Do not fret," she said, placing a hand on her hip. She paused, deep in thought. They had to be close, if there was an ambush set up here. Turning her head back to the service gem, she gave him a curious look. "You can pick me back up and we can continue, if you feel you're able."
–
The giant gem took to rubbing his hands, quietly inhaling through his teeth. Stars, that was a dumb move he made earlier. Hematite shook out his hands and glanced up at White.
"Maybe we should wait a little while. I don't think we're in any immediate danger now, and... well. That fusion did a number on me." He looked at his hands again, clenching and unclenching his fists with a grimace. "I need to let these recover. I might need them later."
–
White nodded, turning back to the chasms.
"Very well, that's understandable," she said, glancing around the cliff faces. It seemed like this place was cleared out, from what she could see. Still, it was so dark, it was hard to make out the horizon.
–
Hematite, however, could see things just fine with his visor on. He did a quick scan of the area. No gem signatures.
"It's clean; we're safe for now." I think. Grunting, Hematite slumped against one of the cliff faces, still fussing over his hands. The acid ate through the ends of his sleeves that covered his palms. He idly wondered how long the pain would last. He hoped it wouldn't be long; they still needed to find the base.
–
White took a seat on the ground as soon as she heard from Hematite that it was safe. Closing her eyes, White took a deep breath, relaxing. She appeared to be meditating, her hands clasped in front of her. All went silent, aside from the thunder rolling over the horizon.
–
About an hour passed. Hematite hadn't said another word, and the only sound that came from him was the occasional clenching of his fists. But as the night ticked on, something started to nag at the back of his mind. He tried to overlook it, but as the minutes passed, he found it increasingly difficult to ignore.
"...White?" he said softly, looking over at his leader. "If those gem monsters were obeying those rebels... do you think-" He paused for a moment. Last time he'd brought up corrupted monsters, White had acted strange. But he had to know her thoughts on this. "Do you think corrupted gems have some sort of... I don't know. Do you think they're still aware? After they turn into monsters?"
–
White opened her eyes as the silence was broken. She felt her breath catch in her throat. He wanted to talk about that again? Sighing, she resigned herself to the fact that she wasn't going to be able to avoid Hema's question this time. She couldn't dodge it forever. There was a long pause between Hematite's question and her response.
"I doubt it. Gem monsters are primitive beasts. Beasts can sometimes be tamed. The gems they used to be are mentally torn apart, no longer resembling their old selves. Perhaps their instincts are what drive them to behave when a gem captures them. They might have some basic awareness, but..." She paused, shrugging her shoulders. "I just don't know how they think. I've studied gem creatures on occasion, but they're mysterious and highly variable. Some are more docile than others, while some will shatter you as soon as they see you. There's a lot we don't know about them... So to answer your question, I'm truly unsure. I'm sorry."
–
Primitive beasts.
Vermin. Filthy. Beastly. Stupid.
He'd heard it all before.
He just wanted some sort of hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd be okay. That whenever he did... finally fall to his fatal flaw, that perhaps things wouldn't be so bad. But no matter where he looked, he found no comfort.
Not even in his leader.
Hematite clenched his fists quietly, the fabric over his palms bunching up between his fingers.
"... Right. It's fine. Nevermind, I'm sorry I asked." He looked away with a soft sigh, going silent. Right. He wasn't going to bring that up anymore. It never ended with answers. None that he wanted, anyways.
–
White could sense a tone of pain in his voice. It wasn't fine, and she knew it.
Furrowing her brows, she looked down at her hands, which she clasped together. She didn't like thinking about it anymore than Hema did, and she was glad for the silence that fell between them.
–
–
The night ticked on. Thunder and storm clouds were still rolling over the chasms, blocking out any of the light from the two moons that were just starting to set in the sky. Hematite was leaned up against the wall still, his head slightly tilted, his eyes closed. His mouth was slightly ajar, as it normally was when he slept, and his visor was no longer on his face. He had, however, kept his eyepiece on, and set it to scan for gem signatures every five minutes.
Chirp!
With a start, Hematite opened his eyes, sitting up groggily. He looked around. There was a new signature on his radar. Baring his teeth, the giant gem flicked his hunting visor back on and looked around. Across the way, in the pitch black shadows of one of the chasmic paths, Hematite saw the tiniest flicker of movement- a flicker that would have been invisible to the naked eye.
"White, someone's here."
–
Without more than a moment to snap out of her meditative state, White took a stand, stretching her arms and holding out her fists quickly beside her. Glancing around, she quickly realized she didn't see anything. Nonetheless, she trusted his judgment. After all, he was trained for this kind of stuff. Without a word, she took a few side steps towards him. Once she was close enough, she looked up at the gem with a fierce scowl.
"Looks like it's time to go, then."
–
Whoever it was, they were retreating quickly. Hematite growled and knelt down, putting his palm out for White.
"C'mon, they're headed that way!"
As soon as she'd climbed up, Hematite rushed toward the narrow path, quickly squeezing in. His shoulders occasionally brushed the sides of the cliffs, but he was too focused on his target to mind. Whoever it was, they were fast, and they were putting a worrying amount of distance between themselves and their pursuer.
–
White glared down, able to catch small glimpses of the moving gem. Not enough to make any details out, but she knew they were a gem and not a monster.
"Quickly, Hematite!" White shouted, baring her teeth. She crouched low on his shoulder, grasping the fabric to avoid falling off. The occasional brush with the cliff faces startled her, but she managed to keep hold.
–
Baring his teeth, the giant gem nodded and urged himself faster along the rocky path. The three gems wound through the chasms, turn after turn. Hematite could never get more than a quick glimpse of his target, which frustrated him. How was he supposed to identify them if he couldn't see them? As he rounded a corner, the giant gem glanced at his leader.
"Do you think that's the scout the recording mentioned?" he asked curtly, still chasing after the dark figure.
–
White kept steady, remaining low.
"It's possible, yes. It'd be safer to assume, since we're so close to the base. We need to catch them!" she said in a stern manner. They hadn't appeared to have sounded the alarm yet, so they still had a chance to divert a possible catastrophe.
–
Nodding, Hematite raced around another corner, only to stop dead in his tracks. A flash of lightning flickered overhead, followed by an ear-splitting clap of thunder. The giant gem stood in front of an absolutely massive cave entrance, its dark, craggy walls an inky black blot on the side of the cliff. It looked to be about two hundred or so feet tall, over twice Hematite's height.
"... This must be it."
Slowly, the service gem made his way inside, looking around, his visor lighting the dark cave walls dimly. Hematite frowned as the floor began to slope gently downwards. He glanced at his visor radar. Yup, the gem's signature was still strong, they were down here somewhere. Though, he feared that he'd lose it if they got too much deeper into these dense caverns.
–
White eyed the cavern with suspicion. Odd; this seemed a little obvious. Still, it was dark, and deep within the chasms. Perhaps they didn't need to be too well hidden. Or maybe there was something more to these caves. Only one way to find out!
"Let's go." White summoned a polearm, spinning it three times. The metallic blade started to glow, and she waved around the weapon as a bright light appeared at its end. She motioned it around like a torch, using it as a mildly effective light source. Well, at least she wasn't completely blind now. "Hm..." she hummed, narrowing her eyes. "Be careful in here."
–
Glancing at White's weapon, Hematite raised a brow. Huh, he didn't know she could do that. He nodded and turned to the task at hand, heading further into the caves.
However, the deeper he went, the more a chill started to crawl up his spine. The signature on his radar was starting to look familiar. He couldn't place it... he was sure it was a gem type he'd harvested before. It bore a semblance to a gem monster's stats. But he couldn't place which one off the top of his head.
Hematite looked around nervously. The caves were getting narrower. He realized with a cold, unsettling pang that this would be the perfect place for another ambush.
"I don't like this... White. Maybe you should..." He looked to his leader, biting his lip nervously. His eyes were impossible to make out at the moment. "Maybe you should stay here. If they're planning an attack or something, it'd be better if one of us stayed behind. We can't both be ambushed again, not in such closed spaces."
–
White's expression twitched, but before she protested, she took his suggestion into thought. Maybe he was right. She didn't like the thought of leaving him alone, but if he was nervous, perhaps it would ease his mind. She could handle herself, after all, for the most part.
"Alright, if you're sure about this. If I run into trouble, I'll run and try to find you and call you on your communicator. I can take on a few rebels by myself, but if I get overwhelmed, I'm going to need your assistance," she said, giving him a nod. "If you need my help, give me a ring on your communicator."
–
Hematite turned to his leader and nodded, carefully letting her down off his shoulder.
"I will. I'll keep my eyes open." Setting her down, he stood straight and turned to the tunnel he was headed down. "I'll be right back." With that, he continued down into the caves, soon too far into the shadows to see. Eventually, even his footsteps faded.
A roll of thunder shook the caverns, echoing against the rock walls.
–
As Hematite made his departure, White took the opportunity to look around her. It was dark, the air was stiflingly stale, and every surface in the caves was damp and cold. Holding up her polearm, she illuminated a small bit of the cavern near her. Seeing nothing of interest here, she headed down a different path than Hema. Her footsteps were quiet and steady, and she kept her eyes peeled. Within the cavern, there were a few forks in the paths. Grunting, White tapped the end of her polearm on the wall. There was a long, drawn-out, yet quiet, echo. Seemed this path went pretty far. She did the same on the left wall, and the echo died out rather quickly. Seemed the right path went on for some time. Might as well check this out.
She headed down the path to see if she could find any signs of the scout, or the rebels for that matter. She kept her guard up in case she was spotted. Part of her thought about changing into her stealth outfit, but a blinding flash of light would be incredibly conspicuous. Then again... she wasn't being the most stealthy right now. Looking to her polearm, she dimmed the light just a tad, and made her way through the hall. She was bound to find something eventually, she just had to keep going.
–
Down, down, down. How far did this path go?
Frowning deeply, Hematite ran his hand along the wall. It was cold and damp to the touch, though he'd be lying if he said it wasn't a slight relief to his seared palms. They certainly felt better, but they hadn't fully recovered. Taking his hands away from the rock, Hematite clicked his tongue, continuing to move forward. That scout had to be down here, somewhere...
Minutes ticked by. No sign of the gem.
Until finally, Hematite spotted movement. The hunter's eyes widened, and he lowered himself closer to the ground. However, that proved rather useless, as the small gem darted away, having seen him. Hissing through his teeth, Hema shot forward, his feet slipping slightly on the damp ground of the tunnel.
Another crash of thunder echoed loudly through the caves, making the walls and floor tremble.
Hematite grit his teeth and skidded around a huge stalagmite, peering around it. He could have sworn...
Another dart of movement caught his eye.
Dammit, how fast WAS this thing?!
His breathing picked up, and his stalking grew more aggressive as he skidded down the path. Hematite was soon stumbling through the cave, partially on all fours, chasing after the tiny, elusive gem. They outwitted him at every turn. Every dip, every nook and cranny became a new escape for them.
Until Hematite had had enough.
With a stifled grunt of frustration, Hematite bolted forward with all his speed and skidded around a corner, his hand shooting out to a smaller branching path he'd seen the gem go down.
And then he felt something struggling in his palm.
Eyes widening, Hematite smirked triumphantly, slowly sitting up as he brought his hand close to his face.
Stars... this one was small. Not quite as small as Sphalerite, of course, but for a non-micro gem...
Slowly, the huge harvester opened up his palm and pinched the gem's shirt between his fingers, holding them up. He stared at her, unblinking, pursing his lips.
"You were far more trouble than you should have been."
The gem was minuscule for a non-micro. She was definitely smaller than Rubes, and had an Axinite's skinny build. She couldn't have been more than two or so feet tall. She hardly weighed anything, and her desperate kicks and flails didn't make Hematite so much as flinch. A blue diamond insignia rested on the side of her shirt, much like where Rubes' laid, and she wore a sleeveless one-piece outfit with sharp little shoes. Her hair was swept back in a rather odd fashion, with a tuft of bangs in the front. Smaller tufts rested at the sides of her face, much like Yellow Diamond's hair. A small, rectangular teal-green gemstone was settled on her shoulder, and gleamed brightly in the light of Hematite's visor.
Hema arched a brow. Ah, an Emerald. He'd caught one not too long ago, on his first mission with White. Though that one had been corrupted. It was no wonder he recognized the signature. So this was what they looked like normally?
Standing tall, Hematite held the tiny gem in front of him. His visor began its full scan.
Another crash of thunder shook the cavern.
Whirrrrrr
The green-haired gem stopped struggling. She looked up, eyes wide, staring with terror into the huge screen before her.
And then she took a deep breath.
Cli-
SCCCCCCCREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Crying out in shock and pain, Hematite instantly covered his ears, trying to shield them from the sudden blood-curdling, super-sonic screech that seemed to pierce to his very core. His head felt like it'd split in two; his vision faded. The hunter's visor glitched out, making a horrific, static-y buzzing noise.
Hematite blacked out.
The screeching raced through the rest of the cave system, but the volume didn't fade. No, the sound seemed to echo just as loudly from every single direction, throughout all the tunnels. It shook the walls, the floors, a few rocks cracked.
And then the sound reached White's location, stabbing through the air in an instant.
–
White found herself in what looked to be the mouth of a massive cavern. Finally, she'd found some kind of room. But there was no time to celebrate.
Her polearm clattering to the floor, White grasped the side of her head and stifled a pained yell, the ear-splitting scream echoing through the caves as if it were being shouted an inch from her head. Stars, what WAS that?! Her eyes shot open wide. That had to be the signal, the scream that they'd been trying to avoid! White quickly grabbed her polearm and ran forward into the dark cave, looking for any sign of where the scream was coming from. It sounded like the scout was nearby, but it could have just been carried by the caves. Was it ever going to stop?! The Diamond began to get nervous, sweat forming on her brow. Her head was spinning from the sheer volume. Whoever was screaming was not stopping. She suddenly wondered if she should call for Hematite. Perhaps he had found the scout? Or worse, the scout had found him.
Grunting quietly, she waved her polearm off to the side, illuminating some of the damp rocks. It was just too dark in here. With little choice, she made the light on the end of her weapon brighter, just enough to light the way a few good feet ahead. It seemed as though she were alone here, but it was hard to tell with all the disorienting noise. She had to keep moving, if she could. Her steps were uneven and sluggish, and every few moments, she found herself covering the sides of her head to block out the horrific, head-splitting sound. Soon enough, her steps stopped entirely, and her eyes screwed tightly shut, her teeth gritting together in pain. Her hands shaking, vision blurring in and out, White let her polearm slip from her grasp. It clattered to the floor, and the Diamond was left clutching her head in searing, head-pounding pain.
–
Another roar of thunder rumbled outside. It rolled through the caves for a solid five seconds, making the rock walls tremble.
…
…...
…
Footsteps.
Rapid footsteps.
There were footsteps headed straight for White Diamond's location. But through the continued screeching, and the sudden roll of thunder, the sound was completely masked. They stopped behind White. There was a deadly pause. They stood three times White's size, with two gems across their back, one on their stomach, one round one on their forehead, and another rectangular one on their leg. Two of the gems appeared to be a Bismuth and an Emerald, but the other three were hard to see through the fusion's long, silky hair that swept over their forehead and draped over their back. Three pairs of glowing eyes adorned their furious face, slit pupils locked onto the Diamond in front of them. The screeching continued to pierce through the air. Thunder shook the caves.
The gem behind White raised a broad, massive war hammer, reeling it over their shoulder.
H!
CRICK!
Eyes cold, suddenly void of emotion, the hammer-wielding gem lifted its weapon. They crouched down, eyes narrowing. Before they widened again, a gasp of horror escaping them.
"Oh, stars."
The voice came out as many, all mixed into a panicked amalgamation. Stepping back, the fusion fizzled their massive weapon away. They stared at the crater in the ground, and the contents in the center of it, hesitating- before they turned tail and bolted from the tunnel, heading straight for the exit of the caves.
–
"Ugh..."
Head ringing painfully, Hematite finally managed to crack an eye open. He was crouched on the floor, on his knees, his clawed hand loosely trying to cover the sides of his head. What happened... Everything had gone dark... where was...
The giant gem suddenly realized the screeching hadn't stopped. Head pounding, Hematite yelled out sharply in pain as his senses came back, the Emerald's unholy screeching piercing back through to his core.
"STOP, STOP STOP STOP!"
VWIP!
The screaming ended abruptly.
Chest heaving, eyes squinted in pain, the giant gem clutched the tiny, silvery bubble in his hand, leaning over and resting his forehead on the cold cave floor.
"Oh, thank the stars... Ugh..." Hematite felt the faintest bit of nausea in the pit of his stomach, but he swallowed, forcing it back down. The pain was finally subsiding... His ears were still ringing, but he could finally feel his senses returning to normal.
Taking a deep breath, the harvester finally pulled his face away from the stone floor and stood shakily. He held the tiny bubble up in front of his face, glaring daggers into the tiny Emerald inside. She'd placed her hands on the inside of the bubble, pushing against it as hard as she could. Hematite sneered.
"We'll let White decide what to do with you."
He had no clue if that scream had been the signal. If it was, he'd need to have her out, to interrogate her.
The giant gem mentally willed his visor to call White's communicator.
No response.
"..."
Walking up the path, Hematite retraced his steps and looked around, scanning for White's gem signature. Something didn't feel right.
–
Winding down the seemingly-endless tunnel, Hematite finally found himself in the part of the caves that he'd left White in. There was a crack of thunder. Flinching, the giant gem looked around.
"White?"
He turned, scanning the area.
"...White Diamond?"
No, this isn't right... where is she?
His hunting visor was picking up a signal, but it wasn't nearby. It seemed to be deeper in the caves, down a different path than the one he'd taken. He walked down it quickly. His breathing was starting to quicken, a tight knot of dread making itself known in his stomach.
"White? White!"
He scanned again. Her signal wasn't moving.
"WHITE!"
He called shakily into the caves, his voice echoing off the stone walls. His hands began to tremble.
Where is she, why isn't she answering, something happened, White oh stars where are you, what's going on, ANSWER ME!
The service gem finally skidded to a halt at the end of the tunnel, finding himself in an enormous room. He looked around frantically. Her signal was strongest here.
"WHITE, ARE YOU IN H-"
His visor caught sight of something.
Laying on the ground was a tiny, pale, crystalline object in the center of a large divet in the stone.
Ckkkk
Hematite's hunting visor gave an unsettling buzzing sound before it came online.
It scanned the gemstone.
Hematite's eyes widened in horror, and he let out a strangled noise of distress as a hand flew up to his mouth, covering it entirely. His fingers dug into his skin. His breathing became uneven, and he took a trembling step backwards.
Gem found : White Diamond
Status: D
An inhuman sounding whimper escaped Hematite's throat as he stared at the bright red words on his visor screen. He shook his head, and the visor dimmed, turning off. He couldn't look at the words right now. When he spoke, his voice was strangled, cracked, and high pitched.
"No, no no NO NO NO! OH, STARS, NO." Hot tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, the nausea from before rising in his throat, making him dizzy. The giant gem clutched his bangs in his free hand, looking around, choked sounds of distress escaping him. "O-oh stars w-what do I do, oh, White, h-how could this-!" Snapping his attention to the tiny bubble in his hand, Hematite suddenly snarled, the sound coming out far more beastly than it normally would. The tiny gem screeched in terror, though the sound was muffled, and plastered herself back against the wall of her 'prison'. Her chest heaved, and she stared up at the furious gem with eyes as wide as saucers. She couldn't make out what he'd seen in the darkness that had set him off. She looked terrified and confused. "YOU. THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" His voice's pitch faltered unevenly. "IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU-!"
He paused. He had more than half a mind to shatter her. In fact, he would have liked nothing more right now.
But no, he just wanted her out of the way right now. He couldn't even look at her. He'd deal with her later.
Furiously, the giant gem shoved the tiny bubble in his mouth and swallowed quickly, tapping his gem in a rushed manner. His breathing hitched, his shoulders tense. As soon as he was alone, his fury vanished, replaced only with horror and anxiety.
White, no, this couldn't be real, this can't be real, you're a Diamond, YOU'RE A DIAMOND!
Hematite's hands shook uncontrollably, and clutched at the front of his suit, over his chest. His clawed fingers skittered on the fabric before clutching at it tightly, one of his hands scrunching up the diamond insignia on the front of his clothes.
"I let this happen- oh stars, I was supposed to be guarding you!" He finally drew his eyes back to the tiny gem on the ground, and he felt his stomach lurch. He turned away again, gripping his head, eyes wide. His fingers dug painfully into his scalp, and a choked whimper cracked from his chest.
"W-we can fix it! Hah, ahahah! We can fix it; it'll be okay! Nothing's unfixable!"
The giant gem grinned unnervingly, though his expression was one of barely-restrained panic and guilt. He quickly made his way over to White's gem, reaching down for it. But he hesitated, his hand shaking uncontrollably above the gemstone.
He was afraid that if he touched it with his bare hands, he'd shatter her.
There was a long, agonizing pause.
...Vwip!
Lifting the bubble up to his face, Hematite stared in horror. There was a single, deep crack along the upper-horizontal middle of White's gemstone. She was lucky she wasn't dead.
Shaking violently, the giant gem forced an unnerving grin and held the bubble close, turning and heading out of the cave. His eyes were wide, and held a panicked, thousand-yard stare.
It's okay, you're okay, you're gonna be okay, everything is fine, you're going to be fine!
An off-sounding laugh escaped the gem.
"It's okay, White, we'll get you back to Homeworld, and Y-Yellow or someone will fix you up, e-everything's-" His voice was suddenly broken by a shuddering sob. Tears began to stream down his face, past the bottom of his visor. "E-everything's gonna be okay! I've got your back! I-I-"
… I failed you.
–
–
What...
What happened...
Where am I...
White's eyes slowly opened, staring up at darkness. Her entire body felt like it weighed as much as a ship. Worse yet, every fiber of her being was exploding in pain. Twitching a brow, White tried to move herself. She started with her hands, twitching her fingers and clenching them into fists. Then she finally moved her arms.
"Ugh..."
Slowly but painfully, the Diamond sat up, placing her hands against the side of her head. The horrible screeching had stopped, finally. Her vision was blurry, and it felt like someone had knocked her out. She couldn't entirely remember what had happened, but it felt like she had been struck with something.
Gasping quietly, she suddenly remembered where she was. Right, Hematite! I have to find him!
Shuddering, she weakly stood up and stumbled forward, grabbing onto her shoulder. As she regained her focus, she took a deep breath and started forward. She didn't get far. Stopping immediately, the Diamond's eyes grew wide upon realization that she was not where she was before. These weren't the caves.
The room she found herself in was dark, but as she gained her consciousness, she realized she was in a massive room with shelves upon shelves of archives and books. It was like a massive library with towering aisles. Quickly, she placed her hand over her mouth, anxiety spiking through her.
She was in her pocket dimension... But something was off.
Something was terribly off.
The room she stood within was familiar to her, sure, but it wasn't warmly-lit like it usually was. It was unkempt, messy, and the more she looked around the more she noticed was out of the ordinary.
"What happened here?..." she whispered to herself, grabbing one of the books casually off the shelf. Turning it over, she gasped in horror, dropping the book. "What the?..." She looked to the shelves and placed her hand on another row, thumbing through many different books. Upon closer observation, the titles and words of the books were all scrambled and order-less. Worse yet, it seemed as though they were scattered around in a glitching pattern. An unnerved grimace crossed White's face. She dared to keep looking around.
White continued down the dark, dreary, and messy aisles of the massive library. The further she walked, the more she felt an eerie sense of dread overcome her. She felt as though fire-hot needles were pricking into every inch of her skin. Her head was pounding. Grabbing one of the diamond pads that rested on the shelf, she looked around to the other aisles before turning it on.
Her eyes widened again, and she stopped in her tracks. Instead of turning on, the diamond pad played static. That wasn't supposed to happen; these things didn't just stop working like that. She heard a noise behind her.
Turning her head, she spotted an active diamond pad on the shelf behind her. It, too, was playing static. She heard more clicking noises. Then another. Then another. The static noise became louder and louder until it was all she could hear. She started to breathe heavily, panic rising. What was going on?! She threw the diamond pad in frustration, turning on her heel and bolting down one of the aisles. The static sounded like it was all around her- loud and inescapable She skidded to a halt as she exited an aisle, finding herself in the center of a rotunda where the edges of many different bookshelves met. The Diamond fell to her knees and clutched the side of her head, eyes screwed shut.
Her breathing grew heavy and erratic, and the pain refused to go away. At least the static was starting to die down a little. It was still there, but it wasn't as overbearing. Opening her eyes with a shuddering breath, she stared up at the ceiling. There was a glass roof that hung above her, which normally sported a warmly-lit sky. Now, all that could be seen was a pitch, inky blackness. That... and some form above the glass... something that was slowly phasing into view. She squinted, rubbing her eyes. Was she seeing things now? When she looked up again, the glass roof was once more blanketed in it was, it wasn't there anymore.
Sighing heavily, she looked around the rotunda. At least she had a general idea of where she was in this place now. This area marked the center of the library. It was easy to get lost in the aisles, especially if it was dark on top of everything else. She was glad to be somewhere familiar, at least.
White sat in the center of the room for what seemed like hours. She wasn't sure how long she'd be in here, but she didn't feel comfortable reforming just yet. Whenever the Diamonds were poofed, they never came back quickly. It was more stable to take a little longer with their reformation. However, she was in a dangerous spot. She couldn't stay here for as long as she'd like. Not that she wanted to stay here, anyway.
She was meditating, almost. Calmly sitting still, she placed her hands on her knees, legs crossed. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing slowly. The pain wasn't going away.
Crackle. Crrrrrrick.
White's eyes shot open, a small gasp escaping her lips. An inky blackness seeped through the shelves, through the aisles, and moved as if breathing, and alive.. As if it was closing in around her. She swallowed nervously, looking behind her. All around her, the darkness crept unsteadily towards her.
Crk .
White's brows furrowed, her lips parted in curious confusion. What was that noise? She was the only one in here. Blinking, she stood up quickly. She was...wasn't she?...
Rrrrrrgh .
Gasping, the Diamond turned around, backing up a few feet. She could have sworn she heard something. This place was normally silent. She took one single step forward.
Hisssss .
She turned on her heel, looking frantically from side to side. The darkness was closing in. Faster it devoured the shelves, leaving nothing but the center of the room and White. Her eyes widened in horror. Was this some kind of dream?
SCRRREEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAACCCCHHHHhhh!
White grasped her head, her ears ringing. What on Homeworld was THAT?! White felt herself tremble, fingers grasping at her cheeks. The darkness stopped spreading. It seemed the horrendous sound had stopped it. What was it, though?
Suddenly, she felt an ominous sense of dread overtake her. Something she wasn't used to feeling. Her eyes slowly drifted from side to side, but she spotted nothing within the darkness laying thick in the aisles. Then, she heard it. A faint crackling sound from far, far above her.
Slowly, she looked up...
"GAh-hhHAAAAAAAAHH!" White shrieked in fear, stumbling down to the floor and scrambling back. Staring up at the glass ceiling, she stared into the eyes of something huge above the glass dome. Whatever it was, it was pitch-black and beast-like. White could only make out one detail..
Four piercing, white-slitted eyes glared down through the glass, the fog of hot breath steaming up the dome. What appeared to be huge eyes peered through the glass, narrowing, fixated on the Diamond within the center of the room. However, they remained still, watching quietly.
White fell silent, her entire body frozen in terror.
White stared up at the mysterious silhouette above the dome. Its unnervingly stark, white-slitted eyes narrowed, glaring right through the Diamond. White sat still, unsure if she should move, or if she even could move. At least it didn't seem to be doing anything, whatever it was.
Hhhhhhggghhh ...
A rumble echoed through the room, creating a subtle tremor. White grasped the smooth floor, her breath catching in her throat. She remained stationary, unable to take her eyes off of the monstrosity.
Maybe it was time to get out of here. White took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
...
...
Nothing.
Her eyes shot open, sweat dripping from her brow. She couldn't reform. Wherever her gem was in the real world, it was enclosed somewhere. She was trapped.
–
–
Run, get back to Homeworld, don't stop, don't look back. Get to the warp. Get White to safety.
The sun was slowly beginning to rise, casting a warm-pink glow over the landscape. Hours had passed. Hematite was approaching the galaxy warp near the planet's capital, White's bubbled gem clutched tightly in his hands. But he was normal-sized now. He'd traveled so far and so fast that he was running on fumes. He'd slowly shrunken down on the way back, and now could only maintain his normal height. And even his hold on that was starting to wane.
No, get back, get White to the towers, get her somewhere safe. You can pass out later.
Scurrying up to the cove where the warp pad was nestled, Hematite quickly stepped onto the bright blue surface. Just before he warped away, a bulky figure crested the side of the wall, staring down at the warp in surprise and confusion.
It was General Topaz.
As soon as she spotted the bubble in Hematite's hands, she opened her mouth, reaching out a hand as if she were about to say something. But a brilliant flash cut her off, and she stood there, silent, a look of genuine shock and horror on her face.
Oh, stars... that... that gem, was that...?
–
He called both Blue and Yellow to White's office.
Needless to say, he had tried to keep a calm tone, but there was something incredibly off about it. He didn't share any details, nor did he tell them why White hadn't called herself. No, they only knew to meet him in the Diamond's office.
Hematite stood, facing White's desk, her bubbled gem clutched in his hands. An eerie calm had taken over the service gem. He stared at the silvery-pink bubble, eyes wide, body cold. He waited for the Diamonds to show up.
–
It didn't take long. Both Blue and Yellow had caught something off in Hematite's voice, and from the sounds of it, something was wrong. He was back far too soon, even if White was with him. Stopping in front of White's office door, Blue had arrived just a bit later than Yellow. Yellow waited anxiously outside the door, staring up at it. It looked like she had just arrived, and was standing idly in front of the door, lost in deep thought.
"Hey, Sparky, did you get called over here too?" Blue asked, running up to the taller Diamond. Yellow looked apprehensive.
"Yes. What concerns me is that White wasn't the one who called..." she said, looking down, placing a finger over her lip.
"Yeah, and Hema didn't sound so good..." Blue frowned with concern. The two Diamonds made brief eye contact, and then looked to the door. Time to see what was up.
They didn't even bother to knock. The door hissed open, and both Diamonds quickly walked in, Blue behind Yellow. They stood at attention. Even Blue took a much more professional stance than usual. Yellow was the first one to speak.
"What's going on?"
–
Hematite's shoulders tensed, rising as his head ducked down. He held the bubble closer. He didn't turn around. The air in the office suddenly became far more tense. It felt as though the whole office were filled with a suffocating sort of heat, without feeling warm at all.
No, it felt cold.
The small service gem still didn't turn around. The huge knot in his stomach tightened.
"...White and I went on our mission." His voice was laced with barely-disguised emotion, even though it was, at the moment, impossible to tell what that emotion was.
–
Without turning their heads, the Diamonds glanced nervously at each other. White was nowhere in sight. An unquestionable anxiety started to boil in their cores. Neither of them found the words to reply. That is, until Blue spoke up.
"Hematite, what happened?"
–
There was an unbearably long pause. Hematite's form shuddered violently before he suddenly went still. His shoulders dropped. He slowly turned his head. Eyes wide, mouth slightly ajar, it was clear what had laced his voice not moments ago.
It was fear.
And it… was guilt.
"Something went wrong."
He turned, lifted his hands, and presented White's bubbled gemstone to the two Diamonds, the deep fault along the gem front-and-center.
