Lamp Entertainment presents…

Deafening sound.

Blinding light.

Intense heat.

Rubble falling.

The entire world shakes.

Chapter 12: The Escape

December 10th

The explosives were hidden inside alcoves at the very top of the building, where the walls and ceiling connected. They detonated all at once and the force shook the entire building. The shockwaves pushed smaller gems off their feet and even left the Diamonds stumbling.

Large cracks started spreading across the ceiling. You did not have to be a mining gem to figure out exactly what was about to happen. And yet, no one moved. Every gem on the ground were like deers caught in the headlights, too shocked to move.

Ancient rock groaned and an enormous chunk of the ceiling collapsed and fell.

For a single long moment, White Diamond stood paralyzed, starring at the Winter Shadow hovering safely within her alcove. She could reach out and grab her…

She didn't. Instead, she, Yellow and Blue rushed in under the collapsing ceiling. They raised their hands and braced for the impact.

The small mountain or rocks and rubble hit with the impact of a meteor. But the Diamonds were stronger. Together, the three of them pushed against it and kept it from crashing down on the small gems beneath them.

The cracks continued to spread across the enormous piece of ceiling. Rubble fell from it and landed in some of the molten metal in the forge, splashing liquid steel everywhere.

"Everyone!" Yellow yelled. "Get into the bomb chamber!"

"Q-quickly," Blue groaned, struggling to keep the mountain of rock from breaking apart and collapsing.

That got the gems moving. A small flood of colorful gems moved towards the large opening of the large bomb chamber in the middle of the forge. That dome was the safest place to be right now.

Peridot N07-H3R had been thrown off her feet by the shockwave from the explosions. She struggled back up on her feet and ran as fast as her clumsy legs could carry her toward the bomb chamber. Large boulders fell around her, threatening to crush her

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something. A green gem lying on the floor, paralyzed by fear.

"Come on!" she shouted and grabbed ahold of Herderite's arm. She started dragging the taller gem along. "We have to get to the comb chamber!"

A piece of rubble landed in a vat of molten steel and splashed drops of glowing metal onto Peridot N07-H3R. She let out a shrill shriek in pain. The scream seemed to make Herderite wake from her shocked state up and she struggled back up on her own feet. She grabbed Peridot and lifted her up in her long arms. She ran toward the bomb chamber, hurrying inside the dark metal dome.

"Was that the last ones?" White groaned.

"Yes," Yellow said, gritting her teeth. "On three." She let go with one hand and lit it up with lightning. "One."

"Two," Blue said, forming a ball of concentrated energy in her hand.

"Three!" White yelled, her eyes glowing with power.

Together, they blasted the rock with as much power as they could muster. The falling ceiling shattered into a million pieces that rained down around them.

The bomb chamber was pelted with hundreds of boulders, each one making the inside echo. The sound was beyond deafening. Some gems poofed right then and there, just from the intense sound alone. Others wouldn't regain their hearing for days or until they reformed. But at least they all survived.

The dust settled. The forge was completely destroyed, beyond all repair. Molten metal slithered slowly underneath and between some of the boulders, hissing like venomous snakes. The only thing that wasn't destroyed was the bomb chamber. Confused and terrified guards peeked out from the storage rooms and workshops they had been hiding inside. In the middle of the mess stood the Diamonds, covered in dust and with a few scrapes here and there from particularly nasty rocks. They were breathing heavily.

White Diamond was the first to act, pulling her foot free from the rubble. Her nails and shoes were far from as immaculate as they had been only a few minutes prior, but she didn't care. She walked over to the wall where she had last seen the Winter Shadow hiding inside an alcove on her hover tray.

The hover tray was still there, floating in the air next to a cooling vent. But the Winter Shadow was gone. All that was left was the stolen set of limb enhancers. That and a message scorched into the hover tray.

you can't catch a shadow

White let out a wrathful scream and punched the wall. There was a bright flash of red light and the wall exploded, leaving a large hole to the outside. There was a fiery red blush on her face. Yellow and Blue both flinched.

White stood there, panting heavily. Slowly, the red on her face shrunk. It didn't disappear and wouldn't for several hours, but it got smaller. Other colors, like deep green and purple crept onto her face as well. Without a word, she kneeled and started picking up boulders blocking the entrance of the bomb chamber and chucking them out the hole she made. Yellow and Blue joined her.

No one said anything.

Inside the bomb chamber, gems were crying both from pain and fear. Many of them were clutching their heads and ringing ears. Others were cradling the gems of their poofed friends in their hands. Two green gems were holding each other tight and they didn't let go for several hours.

xxXXxx

The Winter Shadow hid deep within the forge's ancient cooling vents, patiently awaiting the right time to leave. Just mingle into the crowd, pretend to cry. Slip out undetected. Easy.

The Winter Shadow smiled an empty smile born from hatred, not joy.

White Diamond's scream of rage had reached even into the dark depths of the tunnels where the Winter Shadow was hiding. The time when she would finally see the truth was coming soon.

The Winter Shadow would show it to her.

The End… or is it?