Chapter Five

You'd think by now that things here wouldn't surprise me. I thought as I stood in front of the apartment building. It was a quiet morning, not many gems out and about. Pleasantly cloudy, a little humid but not too much. A very nice day. There wasn't much to see right now.

Except for the small, unusually patterned gem in front of me.

It was pretty easy to identify her as a fusion; the four legs gave it away, plus both her component gems were on her face. A large one for an eyeball, and a smaller teardrop shaped one beneath it.

"Well, 'ello there." She had a cloyingly sweet voice, and inexplicably, she seemed to have an accent-

You know I had been wondering about this since meeting Garnet, why do some gems have accents I can recognize? Maybe I shouldn't think too hard about it.

"Er. Can… I help you?" I asked, cautiously. Something about the smirk on her face was… well it wasn't reassuring.

"Maybe you can!" I found myself looking cross-eyed at something long and sharp pointed at my face.

"Ah." I managed to squeak, trying to lean away from the sword about a half-inch from my cheek.

"I think you would do well to come with me…" She simpered, eyes narrowing and lips pulling back into a wider, sharper smile. "After all, you're awful close to somethin real pointy and sharp! Wouldn't want you gettin hurt~"

"Oh god." I managed to mumble nervously as she twisted the sword, forcing me back inside the building. "This is gonna be a day ."

The malicious little gem quickly prodded and pushed me into the stairwell, the blade in her grip never quite digging into my skin, but always a little too close for comfort. She was giggling as she forced me to head down the steps towards the basement. I hadn't even realized this building had a basement. It looks like mostly dusty storage. She suddenly wheeled back, and kicked the back of my leg.

I fell, tumbling into a pile of junk. The jolt against the hard ground sent my glasses skittering off and along the floor. I groan, slowly pushing myself upright.

"Now you just sit tight! My master plan's gonna finally ruin this stupid "Lil' Homeworld" and get my revenge! Back for you soon~!" She sniggered, slamming the heavy metal door, engulfing me in total darkness.

Shit shit shit. Where's my phone this is way too dark-

Oh. Of course.

It had fallen out of my pocket.

So.

I'm in the dark, can't see where my glasses went, locked in the basement by some psycho.

This is like the worst dream.

It must be Thursday, I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

I thought about standing and feeling my way to the wall but realized that if I wasn't careful, I'd probably step right on my glasses.

I couldn't even see a strip of light where the door might be.

My breathing was getting faster. I was panicking.

What the hell was going on? Was that little fusion holding me hostage or something?

Damn it.

Without much choice, I slowly, carefully began to shuffle along the floor, extending my arms in the pitch darkness around me. It didn't last long, as I suddenly crashed right into more junk on the ground, knees first.

Ow. I sank to the ground, gripping my knee, grimacing. I was going so slow, too, and it still hurts like hell.

What the hell did I even bash into? Feels metal…

Oh god, what's going to happen to me?

I don't think the reality of the situation had hit until right then. I was alone, in the dark, in a storage space, blind, lost, and almost definitely in danger.

I had to choke back a sob of terror.

"Okay, okay." I mumbled to myself. "Think. Someone has to notice you're gone. It's a class day. You not showing up is immediately weird. You not answering your door or phone is weirder. All your stuff is still in town, so they won't think you left."

I took some deep breaths. "Someone will find me. They'll notice for sure."

If any of them even care about you, that is...

Ah hello malicious intrusive thoughts. I really am not in the mood for you today.

Too fucking bad.

Fuck this.

This time, I crawled, instead of risking standing again, feeling along the floor and above my face with my hands, shuffling, until I hit a flat, smooth surface. Felt like stone. The wall. Yes. Okay.

Groping along the wall, taking my time, my fingers brushed along something metal and I slowly followed the shape. It's the doorframe! Quickly I pushed myself upright. Doubtful, but…

Yep, it was locked. Figures. Worth a shot. I groped around for hinges, but no luck there either, the door opened the other way. Well, if the door was here… I began feeling along the walls next to the door, until I felt something boxy.

"Light? Please?" I prayed, feeling it until I hit a switch, and immediately the room was illuminated.

Okay, now at least I'm not totally blind.

Just legally blind until I can find my damn glasses.

I really need to get some kind of cord to keep those things from getting knocked off my face. All I could see wass blurry shapes.

Still, seeing blurry shapes is better than not seeing a damn thing.

"On the bright side, I'm definitely not getting sunburned today." I groaned, beginning the arduous hunt for my glasses.

I have no idea how long it took me to find them, but eventually I managed to pluck them off the floor. I gave them a quick clean, before pushing them back onto my face.

Man, this room really was full of just random junk. It's like a dragon horde of useless trinkets. And scrap metal too. Some of it probably belongs to Peridot, she seems to like gathering random things to make sculptures with Lapis.

Er, "Meep-Morps."

Okay, that's two things. Next… I had to find out if my phone was in the room. Oh!

" HEY SIRI!" I shouted, listening for the telltale beep-boop. Nothing.

"Dammit. It must have fallen outside." I mumbled to myself. I don't think anyone can hear me down here, either.

Fear suddenly gave way to frustration, and I stomped over to the door, slamming my foot into it.

"God! Fucking! Damn! You!" I shrieked, voice cracking as I threw myself at the metal door, banging on it, kicking it furiously, rattling the handle and shoulder-tackling it once.

Ow, ow, ow, not doing that again.

I utter a string of strangled incoherent curses. I shouted just about every swear word I knew, devolving into pure gibbering nonsense. I finally thudded myself against the door, before slowly sinking against it to the floor, rage giving way into panicky sobbing.

Suddenly, the door opened and I tumbled forward to the floor, landing with a painful thud. Ow. I slowly sat up, rubbing my head with a groan.

It was the small fusion, and she was smirking down at me. Before I could say anything, she suddenly leapt up, wings of some kind emerging from her back. Water-wings?

Either way, before I knew it, I was yanked into the air by the back of my collar, and was rapidly flown up the steps. She was strong for her size. She reached the top far more quickly than I realized she would, dragging me rapidly towards the roof door.

Oh geez, she actually is going to throw me off the roof, isn't she?

I grimaced as she kicked the door open, flying out towards the edge of the building. She swiftly pushed so I was just barely on the edge of the roof. I could see gems in a crowd below, and could just make out their muffled shouts. The building was at least a dozen floors, easily enough of a fall to shatter every bone in my relatively frail body.

The gem clutching me by the collar grinned, pitching me forward with a rough shove, gripping me hard by the arms, so that the only thing between me and the edge of the roof was the small barrier. She could easily just yank me over it and let go, and even if someone caught me I'd still probably snap in half.

If I don't fight, I'm going to die.

Fuck this.

FUCK YOU!

I didn't think, I just twisted my arms upwards, gripping hard, locked my legs against the barrier at the roof's edge and swung downwards hard. The only advantage I had was surprise, and boy she wasn't expecting that.

With a jerk, I managed to slam her into the wall below, and snapped my hands away, scrambling rapidly backwards, twisting around and pumping my arms and legs as I sprinted back for the stairwell. I dove through the door, slamming it behind me.

A blade sheared its way into the metal, having been thrown by my assailant moments ago, the icey saber just barely missing my face as it shot through, and I scrambled to get away.

I leapt up, sitting on the handrail and began sliding down it, leaping off as I reached the landing below on the top floor. Knowing she could easily catch up if I kept going down, I dove into a hallway, quickly flattening myself against the wall as the door closed behind me.

I could see through the pane of glass on the door from where I was, and watched as the hostile fusion shot down the stairwell. Perfect. She must have thought I went further down. Now I just needed to think of a quick way out, preferably while endangering myself as little as possible.

Wait. Fire escapes.

Perfect.

I began moving toward a window instead of the stairwell, pushing it open with a grunt. I clambered out, landing quickly on the metal escape. I could see the gem crowd below, still trying to piece together what was going on.

Moving fast, I scrambled down the metal stairs, though the steepness was nerve wracking. I had to find someone and fast. Anyone.

I reached the ground, and leapt from the escape, gasping and panting as I began sprinting towards the middle of the crowd of gems.

The building doors burst open and the furious gem chasing me emerged, two blades drawn, growling. It was a straight shot from her to me, no way I could run...

And then, a huge fist slammed right into her, flattening her.

I turned, eyes wide as Spinel stood between myself and my assailant, her fist shrinking back to normal size. Several of the gems in the crowd quickly stepped near me protectively. A big pair of Amethysts, flanking me like bodyguards.

Spinel glanced at me over her shoulder, her stance tense and eyes narrow. "You okay?" She asked softly. I nodded weakly. All I had was a banged knee. Spinel sighed a little, relief on her face, then she turned back to the gem fusion, who was pushing herself upright.

"Darn it…" She groaned, holding her blade up angrily. "Get out of my way! That's my hostage!"

Spinel was smiling, but it wasn't pleasant or happy, it was wide and sharp and almost predatory.

"Ya know, ya sure got a thing fer entrances, what with ya burstin' into the class and bragging about how you had a hostage n' would make us destroy this place if we didn't want her hurt…" She said, tone sing-song, as she suddenly leapt forward, reaching into her gem. She landed right in front of the fusion, whipping out a wicked-looking scythe. Must have been one of Bismuth's- it had the Crystal Gem star emblazoned near the top. "Which was really stupid of ya to do when that hostage happens to be my friend…"

The fusion slashed but Spinel just kind of… stretched her body backwards, easily avoiding it. With a twirl, she spun the scythe rapidly, a pink blur that swiftly caught the saber before it could be slashed back at Spinel again. The fusion growled, taking to the air, unleashing a flurry of swings, before snapping her arms downwards. The air hissed, and several more blades like the one she held appeared, gleaming razor sharp ice. Spinel twirled the blade in her grip, knocking them aside, or simply sidestepping the attacks altogether.

"Whoop! So close!" Spinel bounced out of the way of the attacks, her legs curling around into spirals. Before she could react, Spinel leapt up behind the fusion, kicking her square in the back, raising the scythe and bringing it down. The gem blocked her, but barely, as she was slammed into the ground hard, unable to properly counter as Spinel pushed the scythe down hard. Spinel suddenly leaned in, real close. "But seriously, ya really shouldn't mess with my friend, okay? Because if ya do…"

Her eyes were scary . I suddenly see how she could have tried to kill Steven and the other gems. Real glad that look isn't pointed at me.

"I'll make you really wish you never tried it." Spinel finished, suddenly whirling. Her arms had looped several times around the gems, squeezing tightly. The gem fusion began squirming, eyes widening as the arms looped around her began to squeeze tighter and tighter, until-

There was a sudden, loud flash, and the gems popped apart. A Ruby, and a small, blue gem- an Aquamarine, I think. The two smaller gems flopped right out of Spinel's grip now that they were a bit smaller than their fusion.

"Ow! Ah, man…" The ruby groaned, glaring at the Aquamarine. "So much for your brilliant master plan! Now what?!"

"We can still fight! We can-" The Aquamarine paused, as Spinel spun her scythe into an offensive grip, advancing on the duo with venom in her eyes. "We can also run away! " She swept forward, little wings popping out as she grabbed the Ruby, and began ascending fast as she could.

Spinel stretched her legs, ascending nearly as fast, casually taking one last swipe at the duo, who were looking a lot less angry and a lot more scared. It was halfhearted though, and the pair managed to escape with a squealing yelp. Spinel dropped back down, tucking the weapon back into her gem.

"Ying!" She quickly bolted over to me, and before I knew it, hugged me tight, actually lifting me in the air a bit. "You're okay, right? For real? She didn't do anything?"

"She locked me in the basement for a while, not sure how long though." I smiled nervously, flushing. "But I'm okay, just… banged up… What, uh… Who was that? What the heck was that all about?"

"That," I squeaked. Spinel turned, still refusing to put me down, to face Garnet. "Was Bluebird Azurite. The Ruby and Aquamarine that make them really hate Steven. We haven't seen them in a while. They stopped coming once Steven left, so we thought they'd just probably try and bother him, but…"

"Seems like they didn't…" I sighed. Spinel let my feet touch the ground again, though she still was clinging. She did say she was touch-starved. "What'd she do, threaten to hurt me if you didn't dismantle this place?"

"Yep." Spinel frowned. "Garnet socked her in the face so hard I thought she was gonna poof on the spot. Guess they're tougher than they look."

"They're not a very stable fusion." Garnet frowned deeply. "They don't care or trust each other enough, so it's usually quite easy to seperate them. To them, it's only a means to an end."

"Real nasty, huh?" I sigh. "I'm just glad I managed to get away…"

"Me too! Geez, we were combing all over trying to find you." Spinel rubbed the back of her head. "...Oh! I'm uh, still holdin onto ya, huh?"

"It's fine." I giggle. "It's surprisingly comfy."

The amethyst duo on either side of me backed up a bit, giving us some space. "Hey, Garnet! Ya think we should make sure they didn't just go and hide somewhere?"

"Or do we still have human class?" The other one cracked an amused smile.

"I think class is canceled for today." Garnet cracked an amused smile. "Today's lesson could have been "how to prevent humans from being kidnapped.""

I giggled, and snorted a bit. "Fair enough. I… Yeah. I need a little bit to um. Decompress and process… That."

"Okay, are you actually okay?" Spinel frowned deeply.

"I will be." I reassured her. "I'm just really freaked out right now… I've uh, never actually been in that much danger before."

"I think that's expected." Garnet shook her head. "But… I would like to apologize. We should have thought to warn you that you might be in danger here. Most of the time you're safe, but most of the time isn't always."

"I…" I paused for a moment, processing what she said. It made sense that there would be some risk. Gems are so much more powerful than humans, after all. "Apology accepted. We'll just have to be a little more vigilant I guess."

Garnet nodded, then began to stride off. "I'm going to make sure that those two actually left. Stay safe."

Garnet began strolling off, the Amethyst duo quickly following her. Some other gems went off to do so as well, and the crowd began to disperse, the tension in the air evaporating and calming.

"So… What now?" Spinel finally let go of me, unwinding her arms from my waist.

"Blahhhhhh…" I flopped on the grass, sighing. "Get a band-aid for my knee and stay inside all day. That's my plan. Wanna hang out at my apartment? I'm not exactly up for being outside right now."

"Uh… Okay! Sure!" She perked up and I grinned.

"I mean, if ya want to. I'm not uh-"

"No no, I don't exactly have any plans to do anything…"

"Okay good." I giggled weakly. "Because um, I… I really don't wanna be alone after today."

Spinel frowned, resting her hand on my shoulder as I stood up, following me home. "You're sure you'll be okay?"

"I will. Promise." I smile. "Especially if I get to hang out with a friend as good as you are!" Smooth, Ying.

It seemed to go over well, though, because she was smiling for real now. "Aw, I'm good at bein yer friend?"

"Well yeah!" I nodded as we entered the building, heading up the stairs. "I mean, saving my life aside, the first thing you did was make sure I was okay, yeah?"

Oh god we were holding hands again. Help. My heart can't handle this.

I unlocked the door and we headed into my somewhat sparse but comfy apartment. Spinel glanced around. "Huh. Different from mine. I guess that's probably 'cause you actually have the whole kitchen thing."

"Humans gotta eat!" I shrugged. "At least without teaching today I have time to actually fix myself something for lunch… I usually wake up too late and have to skip making it."

I headed over to the fridge. Leftovers sounds good. Spinel watched with interest.

"I don't actually know what all that stuff's for." She chuckled, tipping her head.

"Well this box keeps my food cold so it stays good longer, and this box makes my food hot because it tastes good hot." I grin, patting the fridge and microwave as I stuck my leftover noodles in to heat them.

I leaned against the counter, trying to play it cool since, y'know the girl i was having a stupidly huge crush on was right there , and-

Bonk.

"Ow! Same damn leg!" I squeaked, buckling and grabbing my knee. " Aiyo , that's gonna bruise…"

"You okay?" Spinel stood, weirded out.

"Fine, fine! Just- I bonked that knee earlier in the basement." I grimaced, rolling my pant leg up. Ooh, that's bleeding a bit actually. "Tsk…"

"Uh!" Spinel looked really freaked out. "What is that?! Oh god, are your insides leaking out?! Are you gonna die? Quick, um, what do I do? Do you need a human doctor, I know how a phone works I can call a human doctor, oh geez, oh gosh-"

"Easy, easy." I giggled. "It's a little blood. Humans have a lot of it, if I lose a little I'll be okay." I stood, fumbling through the cabinets to find a bandaid and some simple antiseptic. Kitchen is a good place to have those things, I've found.

"Oh…" Spinel looked incredibly embarrassed, sitting down and averting her gaze sheepishly. She was blushing a lot too. I finished bandaging my knee and the microwave dinged.

"It's sweet of you to worry." I smiled at her, and she just averted her gaze further. I giggled a bit, pleased to have the upper hand for once.

"...Oh geez, I've- I've seen blood before, I just- I literally forgot…" She buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking with laughter. "I guess I was kinda… mid-breakdown then."

"Ah." I took a seat at the counter so I could still face Spinel, beginning to munch. "Well a tiny amount of blood won't cause problems. I don't- I'm not too well-versed in medicine, but I think I remember hearing that a human can survive losing about half the blood in their body? Maybe?"

"Hm. You guys sure do got a lotta stuff that can hurt ya." Spinel mused, eyes low. "...Kinda troublin' actually."

I hummed, finishing a mouthful. "Yeah, we're… weirdly fragile yet not?" I grin nervously. "We need the right kind of air, the right temperature, gravity, humidity… plus we get hurt by stuff like radiation, electricity, stress can give us health problems…"

"Wait, stress can make your bodies have problems? I-I mean Gems can change cause of how we're feeling or our personalities, but…"

"Yeah, stress can weaken our immune system, and make us vulnerable to different diseases from bacteria or viruses…"

" Bacteria can make you sick?!" Spinel was gaping in utter disbelief.

"Sure. Not all bacteria, though. Some kinds of bacteria are good for us."

Spinel was reeling and it was hard to not crack up at the look of confused bewilderment.

"Plus we have to eat food and consume calories, certain amounts of water, and various specific nutrients from those foods. But too much food and water can also cause problems."

"You guys have it rough! " She announced, looking even more concerned.

"We're adaptable." I smiled, polishing off my meal, sitting next to her. "We've been around for a while now, we've had time to adapt to all these little specific things that we need."

"I guess so…" She hummed. At least Spinel looked less worried than before.

"I wouldn't worry too much." I smile at Spinel. "I got a lotta life left in me, so long as I don't get attacked by psycho gems again."

Spinel growled a little. "If she shows up again I'm gonna throw her into the moon."

Annnnd I was feeling flustered again. It's probably bad that I found that a little hot. I better not mention that to any of my friends or they would never let me live it down.

"Hm, you sure yer okay? You uh… Your face is kinda red. Sunburn?"

Shit.

"Uh. No. I uh…" I had no idea how to get outta this one.

"Seriously, ya keep havin problems today…"

"I'm not-" I cleared my throat, deciding to tease her a bit. It's my only out. "I promise I'm okay. You… really care about me, huh?"

"Yes." She said flatly.

Crap. That didn't work. It actually is making my face hotter . My blush is worse now.

"Okay, I don't know much about humans but you look even worse." She was frowning, brow furrowed deeply now.

"I'm flustered, okay?!" I blurt, flushing. "I get flustered easy when- um… Just, when… Sometimes… Just. Sometimes! Okay?! "

Spinel stared at me for a good minute, before she began laughing at me. I just turned to polishing off the last of my lunch to hide my embarrassment.

"Yer adorable." She said, and I just about choked.

She's gonna kill me way before Bluebird ever can.