Chapter Twenty-Three: Retrograde


Immediately, Pythoriax sprinted towards Emerald. She threw her blade forward, and though he blocked it with a claw, he stumbled past, regaining his footing and turning around to face her. Emerald smirked; his rage was making him sloppy.

She said as such. "What's the matter? Not so high and mighty now that your plan went up in smoke? I thought you of all people would have a backup plan!"

Pythoriax ascended into the air. "And who's to say I don't?" he said. He flew at Emerald once more, the two clashing weapons when he reached her. His jets pushed Emerald back, but her heels dug into the floor. "For that matter, who's to say your friends survived that explosion? They could all have been washed away!"

Emerald threw the Interloper back. "You think they would stay outside with your metal colossus out there? I like to think my teammates have more sense than that!" She fired both of her blasters at Pythoriax; he dodged the shots, flying around the room to find a better angle of approach.

"No matter! Even without my foundry, even without my Apex, I will still crush you! You and all your pitiful subordinates!" Pythoriax flew towards Emerald from behind, driving a claw towards her. The three blades could not penetrate the exo-frame, leaving only a small chip. Emerald swung her arm around behind her, cutting a gash down the side of Pythoriax's face with her blade.

The Interloper flew off-course, crash-landing into the floor on the other side of the room. He pulled himself to his feet. "How can you resist these blades?" he snarled. "They should be able to cut through Gems instantly!"

"Funny thing about that," Emerald said, tapping the exo-shell. "This here is pure polymer. "You'd have to swing those things pretty hard to cut through this stuff."

"Then I shall do just that!" He threw himself at Emerald once more, though this time, she was much quicker. She launched a huge bolt of electricity from her fingers, blasting Pythoriax against the rear wall.

"Face it, metal-head, you're through!" Emerald started walking towards him. She readied her blades to finish him off. "Hey, when you get back to the Oculus, tell those friends of yours I said hi."

"Tell them yourself, in the void!" yelled Pythoriax. Before Emerald had reached him, he pulled a secret device out from a hidden compartment in his back. He lunged, thrusting a Gem destabilizer into Emerald's chest. Aside from her initial surprise, the tool had no effect. "What? What!?"

"Nice try," said Emerald. "You can't destabilize my physical form if I don't have one!" She thrust her blade towards Pythoriax's chest; he blocked it with his hand, the weapon spearing through his palm, though he was able to prevent it from entering his chest.

Meanwhile, unbenounced to the fighting pair, Pearl had just now come to. Her eyes slowly opened, as she made sense of her surroundings. "My...Emerald?" she said quietly. She looked up to see Emerald and Pythoriax locked in combat. She reached down to her Gem to draw her blaster, but stopped when she realized it was no longer there. She must have dropped it when they defused. She looked around for a moment, before spotting it in the distance. Too weary to get to her feet, she slowly crawled over to the weapon.

"You...you are nothing!" said Pythoriax. He pushed himself off from the wall with his legs, trying to free himself enough room to deploy his jets. "Even if you kill me, the Interlopers will still stop at nothing to destroy your feeble planet! My death will be meaningless!"

"Sounds to me like somebody who doesn't want to die," said Emerald. "If you were really even alive, I'd consider it. But you can't fool me; this isn't even your body. Your mind's still safe and sound back at the Oculus."

"Mmm, fair enough," said Pythoriax. "Still…" He had gained just enough room for his jets to come out. He charged them up, before looking Emerald dead in the eyes. "I'd rather not get demoted!"

The rockets let loose, carrying Pythoriax, who carried Emerald with him, up towards the ceiling. Pythoriax then quickly changed direction, speeding down towards the floor. He slammed Emerald into it with a deafening crack; the Beryl was momentarily stunned.

Groaning, Emerald got to her feet. Pythoriax hovered above her, but it wasn't just him she now had to worry about. Several Scavengers and a handful of Predators were making their way into this underground chamber, their focuses on her. "What did I tell you?" said Pythoriax. "I may be a big deal as far as rank goes, but I'm only one man. You can destroy me all you want; to tell the truth, I really don't care that much at this point. But I just want you to realize how pointless all of this is. There is no possible way you can destroy all of us! We'll just keep coming, and coming, and coming, until Homeworld is nothing but dust!"

As the Interlopers approached, Emerald held out her blades. "And that's why we'll keep fighting you. In case you didn't notice, it takes a lot to make us Gems give up. And you and your posse? You're not even close!" The robots began their attack; Emerald went wild with her blades, dissecting them before they could get a hit on her. The ones further away fired their blasters, to which Emerald countered by firing her own.

"No! Shatter her, you incompetent ingrates!" yelled Pythoriax, observing the battle from above. You have superior numbers, how is she beating you!?" Just then, the general's attention was drawn away from the battle to the other side of the room. Emerald's Pearl was still alive, and crawling towards her pistol. Clearly, she meant to assist her master. Pythoriax glanced back at Emerald when the idea came to him. He flew over to the Pearl, reaching her right as she was about to grab the blaster.

Emerald continued to decimate the opposition, nearly-effortlessly taking down each of the Interlopers that opposed her. While her exo-frame now looked quite scuffed up, she still fought vigorously. However, a sound caught her attention; it sounded like a scream. She looked over to see Pearl being held in Pythoriax's grasp, struggling to free herself, to no avail. "Pearl!" she shouted.

"Ah, now we've reached an understanding!" said Pythoriax. "You seem to have quite the attachment to this little fashion accessory, am I correct?"

"Let her go, NOW!" Emerald yelled, her hands crackling with electricity, aiming them at the general.

"Up-bup-bup!" said Pythoriax, holding out his hand. "Be careful where you aim that! After all, you wouldn't want anything to happen to this poppet, now…" A claw appeared on his free hand, which he brought down closer to Pearl's gem, practically scraping the surface of it. "...would you?"

Emerald and Pythoriax stood facing off, each threatening to make good on their respective promises. Pythoriax, however, held far more weight with his hostage than Emerald did with her powers. Reluctantly, she relented, her arms falling to her sides. "Fine. You win. Just let her go."

"Not so fast," said Pythoriax. "I'll let her go free once I'm sure you're no longer a threat. First, allow your exo-shell to be destroyed, and your physical form destabilized. I'll allow her to live when your gemstone is in our custody. Is that clear?"

"I…" Emerald wanted to protest. It couldn't end this way, could it? After everything she had been through, this was how she would be beaten? As much as she hated it, Pearl's life was more important. "Yes, I understand. Do whatever you have to do."

"Excellent!" said Pythoriax. "I swear on my honor as a general that no harm will come to her."

"My Emerald, wait!" shouted Pearl. "Don't do this! It isn't worth it!"

Emerald looked into Pearl's eyes. "Yes, you are," she said. "Trust me, Pearl."

"But...but you can't...it can't…" Pearl said quietly.

A small smile spread across Emerald's cheeks, barely visible. "Trust me," she said, Barely audible.

"Alright, that's enough goodbyes," Pythoriax said. "Get her gem, and we'll figure out what to do with her." Two Scavengers shifted their blasters into blade form, and began walking towards Emerald. She stood entirely still, as though resigned to her fate.

What the Interlopers didn't realize, however, was that the air in the room around them had become much drier. Not immediately obvious, but the entire chamber was rich with static electricity, becoming more and more charged. Had they been paying closer attention, they might have noticed that green sparks were being emitted from Emerald's touch stumps. Just as the Scavengers prepared to slice through the exo-frame, the green Gem thrust her arm into the air. The electricity reached its peak.

The result of Emerald's charging became apparent. As soon as she reached upwards, a green bolt of lightning shot down from the ceiling and into her hand. Now overcharged, the Interlopers had no time to react before Emerald let loose her trump card: a powerful electromagnetic pulse shot out from her body. She and they shuddered for a moment as the power ran through their circuits, before going dark. Aside from Pearl, every being in the room had been short-circuited by the pulse.

Pearl pulled herself free from Pythoriax's grip before he could reboot. In the silence, she looked at Emerald's inactive exo-frame. She was still alive, surely. Her gemstone wasn't damaged in the blast; it couldn't have been. Pearl's main concern was what would happen if the Interlopers woke up before she did. She made her way over to her blaster, before being startled by a sudden voice.

"Th-th-th-tha-tha-that fool!" said Pythoriax, gradually coming back online. "She disab-ab-abled hersel-el-elf! Easy ki-ki-ki-kill!"

Paying no attention to Pearl, he made his way towards Emerald, preparing to take out her gemstone himself. However, a sudden jerk from her exo-frame caught him by surprise. Something was making Emerald's body move-but it surely wasn't reactivated yet. Besides, this movement seemed far less mechanical, and much more...organic.

A massive clawed hand suddenly burst forth out of the exo-frame's chest, crushing a Scavenger beneath it when it slammed into the floor. The exo-frame continued to jolt and spasm as this beast tore its way out of the small space. A ferocious roar emerged from its maw once its head was loose.

"You've got to be joking!" exclaimed Pythoriax. "Everyone who's left, kill that thing now!" The general himself retreated to a safe distance.

The giant monster that was once Emerald was now fully free of its cocoon. As the Interlopers surrounding it began to come back online, it smashed through each and every one of them with its teeth, claws, and spike covered tail. Pearl watched from afar, amazed by the sight, but also understandably terrified. She knew of her master's fate back on Alpus Beta...but this was beyond anything she had imagined!

With another mighty roar, thousands of volts worth of electricity shot out from the beast. Every Interloper surrounding her was obliterated by the surge, practically turning to dust. Afterwards, the room was silent once again. Silent, that is, aside from a light breathing sound coming from Emerald. She brought her head close to the ground as though looking for something...before turning her attention towards Pearl.

As Emerald began to walk towards her, Pearl yelped. She pushed herself up against the wall, bracing for attack. However, none came. She felt a light breeze on her skin: the beast was smelling her. She looked up at it. Sure enough, the gemstone present on its right forelimb was undoubtedly Emerald's. She looked into the creatures countless yellow eyes. Although they looked nothing like hers, something about these eyes filled Pearl with comfort. Although her mind, body, and emotions had been twisted beyond recognition...this beast was still her.

"Emerald?" said Pearl, slowly reaching out her hand. Emerald made no effort to stop her. "Do...do you remember me?"

While she obviously didn't say anything, the monster didn't seem to react to this in any way. Pearl continued reaching out. Mere moments before her hand could be laid on Emerald's snout, the corrupted Gem suddenly threw her head back, roaring. Pearl stumbled back in shock.

As Emerald reared back, Pearl caught a glimpse of Pythoriax on her back, his claws sunken into her matted fur. Emerald swung around wildly, trying to shake him off, but to no avail. It wasn't until she rolled onto her back that she was able to get him off. With him now in range, Emerald lunged, catching him in her jaws and shaking wildly. However, this was not the end.

Emerald was suddenly interrupted when yellow lines of energy began to run down her body. Almost instantly, her body disappeared in a puff of smoke. Her gemstone landed on the floor, as did Pythoriax, Gem destabilizer in hand.

The Interloper general got to his feet, laughing. Sparks flew from the gashes Emerald's teeth had left. "I must admit, you almost got me there," he said. "But at the end of the day, everything is as it should be." He picked up her gem, examining his reflection in the green stone. "With the Koh'i'Noor once again dominant over the Gems. As it always should be."

A small energy shot then impacted the side of Pythoriax's head. While the projectile wasn't powerful enough to damage him, he was in no mood for games. "What now!?" he said, his head whipping to the side.

Pearl stood a short distance away, aiming her blaster at him. While her apprehension was obvious, she nonetheless stood stalwart. "You'd better put her down!" she said.

"Oh, how adorable!" said Pythoriax. He nonchalantly tossed the gemstone over his shoulder and began walking towards Pearl. "The little one still thinks she can save the day!" As he approached, Pearl fired more and more shots at him, but they did little to hinder his movement. He reached her soon enough, lifting her into the air by the neck-she dropped her blaster.

Pythoriax held out the Gem destabilizer, taking apparent joy in using it to taunt the Pearl. "It seems that owner of yours has rubbed off on you! When will you Gems learn? You are tools, made to be owned, meant to be commanded! And you...you're not even a useful tool! You have no purpose, save for being somebody's pretty pet! You really think you can defeat me all on your lonesome?"

Pearl strained to speak through the Interloper's tight grip. "Probably not…" she admitted. "But I can sure as void try!"

Pearl snatched the Gem destabilizer right out of Pythoriax's hand. Before he had time to register what had happened, she thrust it towards his face, driving the tines directly into his optics.

"AAAAARRRGH! YOU BITCH! I CAN'T SEE! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Pythoriax threw Pearl to the side, reaching up to pry the destabilizer from his eyes. She scrambled away, going over to her blaster. Upon grabbing it, she rolled onto her back to face him.

Though blinded, Pythoriax still stomped in the general attention of Pearl. "You can't hide from me!" he yelled. Before he got too close, Pearl opened fire; a few of the shots collided with his already damaged head. This resulted in his cranium erupting in a fiery explosion that sent shrapnel flying, causing Pearl to shield herself. With that, the Interloper general fell to the ground, with an unceremonious thud.

Shaking with fear and excitement, Pearl got up. She glanced at Pythoriax's inert body, before walking over to Emerald's gem, which she picked up.

"It's over now, My Emerald," she whispered. "We beat him."

However, it wasn't over yet. A sudden noise behind her caused Pearl to whirl around-Pythoriax stood up, his headless form slowly limping towards her.

"You think you've won!?" he said, his voice barely discernible through the static. "I brought Homeworld to the brink, and I'm only a general! What makes you think you stand a chance against the Primax?" He began walking towards Pearl. "He'll kill you all! He's going to eat you alive and scre-"

With a powerful boom, Pythoriax was suddenly crushed underneath Onyx's hammer. The weapon lifted up to reveal a scattering of broken metal and Gem shards. "I've been wanting to do that for a while now!" she said.

"Pearl! Are you alright?" Tenrit hurried in behind Onyx, holding Nines' gem in his hands. "What happened down here?"

"I'm alright," she said. "Emerald's suit thingy got destroyed, but she's fine, too. But we should probably get her back home before she regenerates. But what about you? Did you win?"

"Void yeah we did!" said Onyx. "After Tanzanite blew up their foundry, everyone lit up that Apex! And then we came down here and, well, you saw that for yourself.

"So we won, then," said Pearl. She looked down at the glittering green gem in her hand. "Then everything's okay."