Chapter Twenty-Two: Dire Times


Tanzanite strained; the mental effort of controlling an entire ship by herself was proving much more taxing than she had anticipated. With nobody else to see to the propulsion, shields, navigation, radar, weaponry, or any of the numerous subsystems, she had to take care of all of that on her own. Nevertheless, she powered through the pain, piloting the Soul Evaporator down towards the Central Spire. The Decimator was almost ready to fire, but she had to get in range first.

The battle continued to rage on the surface. All of the battleships, Pythoriax's flagship among them, hovered above the bio-venom foundry, preventing any Gem ships from getting closer. However, the Interloper's superiority in this conflict was about to be certain: the Apex had arrived at the Spire. As it didn't have any weaponry aside from its massive size, Tanzanite surmised it was one of the older models from when its kind was first developed. Even without lasers and rockets, the titanic mecha was in place to decimate the settlement, something it would be able to do without opposition if someone didn't do something soon.

The Soul was in place. The Decimator was fully charged. If she was going to do anything, now was the time. Tanzanite sent another message to her commander. "My Emerald! The Decimator is ready to fire!"


Down at the Spire, the Apex had just arrived. The defensive cannons continued to fire, doing little to slow it down at this distance. With a single swing of its arm, the Apex sent the tower careening to the ground like it was made of building blocks. As the Interlopers marched on the Spire, the Gems defending it had no choice but to retreat.

Tenrit held tight to Nines' gemstone, taking care not to accidentally scratch it with his metal hands. He was unable to access her khopesh, and he had left her blaster when he had run away, and so had no way to defend himself as the Interlopers approached. Worse still, the Apex continued to demolish the Spire's only means of defense.

Amidst the panic, Tenrit saw a familiar face in the distance. Onyx limped towards the main tower, her physical form severely beaten up. Glowing slash-marks covered her body, and she was missing a good portion of her left arm. Tenrit hurried over to her. "Onyx, there you are!" he exclaimed. "What happened to you?"

"Pythoriax happened," she said. "He's here, and he's somehow upgraded himself."

"I'm aware," said Tenrit, holding up the Citrine gem in his hand. "He isn't still here, is he? Where did he go?"

Onyx's body flickered violently, causing her to double over in pain. Tenrit ran up to catch her, not that he could hold her up for long. "He went after Emerald," she said, strained. "Said I wasn't worth his time, and just flew off."

"So Emerald's in trouble," said Tenrit, looking off into the distance. "Actually, we're all in trouble! Hurry, let's get inside."

Onyx's body continued to flicker. "I'm alright, just give me a minute. I can still fight!"

"Trust me, you're in no shape to be fighting," said Tenrit. The Interloper forces were drawing near. "Quick, we have to defend the Sapphires. I guess. I could take 'em or leave 'em, but that's what you Gems would do, right?"

"Heh, I guess it is," said Onyx. The two of them joined the other Gems in hurrying into the Spite, hoping they could defend against the attack from within. Though with the Apex approaching, prospects looked dim.


Tourmaline gingerly reached down to touch the shattered remains of Zirconium's component Gems. She may have been working with the Interlopers to topple the Diamonds' rule and send Homeworld into chaos, but, now knowing that she was so far gone that shattering herself seemed a better option than going into hiding with Emerald's help, she couldn't help but pity her fallen foe. Perhaps there would be some way to make it up to her.

"When we get back to Homeworld…" Tourmaline said to herself, "...we have to keep the rest of her team out of Homworld's hands. They'll be shattered for sure. We at least owe it to them to keep them alive. All they wanted was to be free. But, working with the Interlopers…" Tourmaline seemed to be having an inner conflict.

However, a noise in the distance interrupted her turmoil. The fusion looked towards the source of the sound, to find it was coming from Pythoriax's rocket boosters. The Interloper general descended down to Tourmaline's level; though his eyes were the same piercing beads as always, they seemed to exude an aura of smugness, similar to when Emerald had first met him.

"So, this is where you've been hiding," he said coldly. Beneath his icy demeanor was barely-suppressed fury. "I'm glad I was able to find you. I've such a surprise in store for you! And from the looks of it...you've one for me, as well."

"Good to see you're finally taking matters into your own hands," said Tourmaline. "Finally finished hiding behind your hired muscle?"

"Yes, I've had enough hiding to last a lifetime!" the general exclaimed. "When you stay off the battlefield as long as I have, you start to develop a longing for blood, unquenchable by watching from the sidelines. An itch that can only be scratched by killing!" His gaze was drawn to the broken gems of Zirconium. "And speaking of killing...it looks as though you've done away with Zirconium! And then there was one."

"I had nothing to do with her," said Tourmaline. "Once she lost, she decided that she couldn't live in a world where she had to accept my help."

"Mmm, it's no concern to me how she died, only that she's out of the way," said Pythoriax. "Now, let's move on to more pressing issues: have you fused with that Pearl of yours?"

"Maybe," Tourmaline said. "What's it to you?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing, I just never thought you'd stoop so low," he said. "But then again, I suppose I'm not one to talk, considering my…" He summoned Serpentine's claws onto his hands. "...enhancements."

Pythoriax dove towards Tourmaline. The fusion quickly re-summoned her blades, blocking his claws. She was pushed back by the impact, her boots skidding on the floor before gaining the traction to stop him. She threw her arms outwards, knocking Pythoriax back, before he rushed again.

"I've been waiting a long time for this!" he said, as his weapons clashed against the fusion's. "Ever since you destroyed my station, and cut me in half! I've dreamed about this day!"

"And I'll do it again!" yelled Tourmaline. She punched forwards with one of her arms, the blade sinking into Pythoriax's shoulder. The Interloper let loose a roar of rage, flailing his claws as he tried to get free. Just before he pulled free, his claw left a small scratch against Tourmaline's cheek.

After checking the damage, Pythoriax looked up to see the claw mark he had left. "Oh, did I cut you? What's the matter, Emerald? Are you feeling alright?"

"S-Shut up!" said Tourmaline. But indeed, she was beginning to feel the effects of Serpentine's venom. Her vision blurred, and her body began to glitch and flicker. Exhaustion began to set in as well. Despite this, she still tried to go after her enemy.

Pythoriax effortlessly dodged Tourmaline's clumsy strikes. "Are you sure you don't need some time to rest?" he taunted. "Because I'd be happy to give you a break! The longer we do our dance down here, the closer my forces come to obliterating any resistance up top!"

"Obliterate this!" said Tourmaline. She pointed the tip of all four blades at the Interloper, and from each one shot a projectile like those from Pearl's pistol. Pythoriax was caught off-guard, and so the shots collided with him, leaving visible marks on his chassis. He growled in anger, and took to the skies to avoid further shots. Tourmaline continued to fire, but Pythoriax was too swift up in the air. She needed a new tactic.

Remembering what she had learned during her battle with Zirconium, Tourmaline attempted to access her powers. She concentrated, succeeding in making herself weightless. She pushed off the ground, taking herself up to Pythoriax's level.

"Oh, look at you, flying so high like a little bird!" said Pythoriax. "How about I clip your wings?" She rushed her, claws outstretched. Even in her current state, Tourmaline was quick enough to block them with two of her blades, using her lower pair of arms to stabilize herself. The two struggled in midair for some time, before Tourmaline knocked the general off her with a headbutt.

"Maybe I should have given that more thought…" she said, rubbing her forehead. Nonetheless, Tourmaline was now using her powers to become fully airborne. She flew after Pythoriax, the two glancing off of each other as the struggle continued.

Tourmaline eventually got the upper hand, pinning him against a wall. "It's over, Pythoriax," she said. "You're through, and so is your foundry!"

Rather than be angry as she expected, Pythoriax merely laughed. "Are you so sure? Perhaps you should be paying better attention to your surroundings."

Above ground, the Apex continued to pummel the Gem structures. The turret towers were almost entirely destroyed by now. Only one last obstacle stood in its path: the Spire itself. The Apex wound back its arm, letting loose with a massive blow to the tower's side. The building held, but the impact was felt throughout. Including underground.

So great was the punch that Tourmaline was shaken from her place on the wall by the impact. Pythoriax, unsurprisingly, capitalized on this momentary lapse to attack. He lunged forward, sinking both his claws into Tourmaline's midsection. The fusion cried out in pain. "Now! Die!" Pythoriax blasted towards the ground at full speed, pushing Tourmaline down ahead of him. With a resounding crash, the fusion was split into two.

Slowly, Emerald opened her eyes. She lay on the floor, back in her exo-shell. Pearl was not far off, still flickering from Serpentine's venom. Her blaster had clattered somewhere else as well.

Pythoriax slowly made his way towards the dazed Beryl. "I've almost finished here. Send a team for extraction," he said over the radio. He returned his attention to Emerald. "So, this is how it ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. Never thought you'd die like this, did you, O mighty Emerald?"

"What, to the weakest of the four Interloper generals?" said Emerald, doing her best to regain some semblance of control over her robotic shell. "No, I can honestly say I didn't."

"Far from it!" he said boastfully. "I may not have been a combatant, but I've done more damage to your pitiful regime than the rest of my fellows combined! By preventing Homeworld from acquiring resources, I have, in effect, singlehandedly crippled your empire." He placed his foot on Emerald's chest. "You see, all four of us had our roles to play. Melvirius was conquest, Omnulus was war, and Glithenes was death. Me? I'm famine. With a little bit of pestilence mixed in."

Emerald feebly tried to remove the Interloper from her. "You...you sure love the sound of your own voice, don't you?"

"Bah! I can't expect you to have any idea what I'm talking about," he said. "Now, before I execute you, and every worthless Gem on this wretched planet...do you have any last words?"

"Last words…" said Emerald. Admittedly, she couldn't think of any. "Could you give me some time?"

"An odd choice for last words," said Pythoriax. "But, if you wish to be remembered for saying that, then so be it!"

At that moment, a voice came through Emerald's communicator. "...merald...ready...fire!" it said. Tanzanite again.

"What? What was that!?" said Pythoriax.

Emerald stared up at the Interloper general. "You wanted my last words?" she said. "How's this for last words: Fire, now!"

"Roger that, My Emerald!"

Tanzanite let loose with the Decimator. The blue beam cut through the air, tearing through the battleships that stood in its way. The smoldering wreckage of the Interloper vessels descended downwards, setting off a spectacular chain reaction. Tanzanite knew that she could only fire once, so she had preemptively set the Soul Evaporator up in such a way that, when the beam fired, the damaged ships would take care of the rest. And they did so, falling atop their fellows, adding to the destruction. In particular, the Pandora's Box crashed directly into the foundry below. As Tenrit had said earlier, bio-venom was quite reactive.

What followed upon the dreadnaught crashing into the foundry was an even larger explosion than before, as every ounce of bio-venom went up in flames at once. If any warships had survived the initial Decimator shot, they were surely destroyed now. And, due to it being underwater, the explosion kicked up an enormous tidal wave.

This wave, even higher than the Spire, rushed towards the same at lightning speed. Thousands of gallons of water washed over the spire and, by extension, the Apex. While the Central Spire was rooted in place, the Apex had no such luck, being swept aside by the torrent, being blown a full body's-length away from the source of the explosion. Though not completely destroyed, it was in no place to resist.

This explosion had also rattled the surrounding area enough to knock the three of them around. Emerald got to her feet-her first thought was to make sure Pearl was alright. However, the pink Gem was nowhere in sight. Pythoriax, however, got to his feet as well.

"You...you miserable rock!" he yelled. "I'm going to feed you to Serpentine!"

Emerald concentrated, summoning blades to both her arms. Feeling her strength renew, she glared up at her foe as she crackled with electricity. "Bring it."