"This is by far the weirdest feeling I've felt on this little journey of our's," Athena expressed as she leaned over the edge of the Jolly Roger and into the thick swamp fog surrounding them, her arm held close to her body in a sling.
UNITE and the Jolly Roger had continued on their way through the Wilds, passing through the Devil's Canyon and into the Swamp of Spirits just moments ago. The waters around them were shallow, murky, and covered in strange red algae. Sounds surrounded them, their source unknown. Eyes followed them yet again, and yet again, they came with no faces attached. The ship came to a stop, reaching a point where the waters were too shallow for it to continue. A small crew would be left on the ship to keep watch while Team UNITE, Captain Charlie, and a small party of pirates would search the marshes. It quickly became apparent that the entirety of these swamps was infected, and had that been a problem, this area would quickly become one of the largest Infected Zones on the continent. Trees floated to and fro, mutated crocodiles, snakes, and boulders with stalactites for hands roamed the area. From only 30 minutes of searching, the party had discovered a total of 6 active Fusion Portals.
Athena shrugged off the sling and jogged forward to stand next to a friendly face.
"You alright?" Bronwyn asked her in a monotone voice. The secret was out. Now, in addition to Doctor Holiday, Rex, and Nova, Charlie, Kerry, and Athena knew Bronwyn's dark secret. Bronwyn hated it. Especially the fact that the bloody pirate knew. She sighed to herself. At least only two people knew her first name.
Athena nodded, jumping at a mutated bullfrog's distorted croak, "Er, yeah. This place is just... way more spooky than even I thought it would be. I mean, I had heard stories. Y'know, from other Rangers. But being here... it feels like we just shouldn't be."
"That bodes well, then," Bronwyn expressed, blasting a Bull-Frog that had set its sights on the group and seemed ready to charge.
"What do you mean, that bodes well?!" Kerry exclaimed, standing on Bronwyn's other side.
"It means that I have a strong feeling we're on the right track," Bronwyn replied, her voice still flat.
"Yarr, I be keen on agreein' with ye, lass," Charlie called out from the from of the group. They were stopped, pointing forward with their sword.
Before the group stood a large lake, the water a dark green, sizzling as it lapped against the muddy banks.
"Infected. All of it," Kerry said, pointing out the obvious.
"Look closer, lad," Charlie urged. In the direct centre of the lake were a writhing mass of tentacles.
"It's... a giant Fusion Portal," Bronwyn said, her voice finally changing its tone to match her surprise.
"Ye ev'r seen somethin' like this, Cap'n?" asked a Candy Pirate.
"Ne'er," Charlie confirmed. "Ye clumps o' chewed gum get back ter the ship. Let the crew know. We got our prison."
I had been stuck in an endless loop for what felt like days on end. In truth, there was no way to tell how long it had been. All I knew was that I kept getting thrown back and forth to different points in my life; the mall, the beginning of the invasion on the rooftop, the streetlamp in Tech Square. I had no control over what was happening. Using my powers just made it worse. In some cases, I delivered a line of some sort, usually of confusion (however, whenever I arrived at the Tech Square point, I would tell my friends that I caused the explosion that destroyed the streetlamp, to which Kerry would respond in confusion and concern. That script was the same, a broken record of a time I couldn't remember. I tried to yell out, scream for help, get someone's attention, yet it was all to no avail. I was trapped in an endless loop, my only company, my own cries for help.
During the 51st loop, that changed. I felt hands grabbing for me each time I was thrown from one time to another. I called out, and I could almost hear an answer from a man with an accent that reminded me of old newscasters from the 1940s. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but I kept calling to him. And then, as I reached my hand out, I felt skin meet my own and was propelled upward. I landed unsteadily on a beach, sand crunching underneath my feet. I looked up and was met with the face of a kindly older man in a lab coat and brass vest, strange adornments decorating his visage. He wore goggles that he lowered as I straightened myself out. He twisted a cane with a stopwatch as its head and stuck it in the sand as he reached out with a gauntleted hand to help me steady myself.
"Hello there, my young friend," he said warmly, "it seems it's my turn to save you for once."
"What?" I asked, my throat dry.
"Do you not recognize me, Miss von Zon?" he responded, cocking an eyebrow.
"No, I can't say I do," I coughed.
"Ah. So this must be our first meeting. In that case, greetings. You may call me Professor Paradox. Everyone else does," he smiled, extending his hand.
I cautiously shook it, "Nova. Though I suppose you already know that. Are... you a Timewalker?"
"Well, that is a name I've been called before," Paradox replied. "Not to mention you and I are just two of the several co-founders of the Timewalker's Association. So, yes, I am. Not in the same way you Nova's are, however."
"What... was that?" I asked him.
"You're still suffering from your Temporal Displacement Episodes, it would seem. If I'm correct, that was your... second?" Paradox guessed.
"Maybe? Temporal Displacement, I've heard that before. What does that mean?"
"In short, your being is adjusting to becoming disconnected from the timestream. Your existence doesn't know to what universe or time period you belong to, if any, and so it is trying every possible combination. To compensate in lamens terms, the timestream itself is flinging you from universe to universe at extremely fast speeds, giving you the illusion of being caught in a loop of sorts, revisiting times you've existed in already or will exist in at some point."
I looked into the sea, shining and blue. Boats milled about beyond, children swam and played, their laughter inaudible. The sky was clear, not a cloud nor civilisation-destroyed rogue alien planet in the light blue infinity. The other Timewalker joined me.
"You must have a lot of questions, my young friend," Paradox said gently.
I looked at the sand at my feet. I noticed my shadow was dark and long and had been cast against the air like there was an invisible wall. "To say the least," I confirmed.
"Go ahead. I will answer what I can."
"What is this place?" I asked.
"You will remember your pocket dimension?"
I nodded.
"We are there, in what you call your Temporal Display Theatre," Paradox explained. "What we are looking at is... well."
He motioned around us. I could see a boardwalk behind us. On that boardwalk, I notice a group of 4 familiar people. My parents, my brother, and myself. All younger. "This is... about a year ago. Our family took a vacation to Beach City. It was the first time I was taken to the continent of the Foglands."
"Indeed. However, it is closer to 5 years ago, now. You've aged 5 years since this time, after all," Paradox reminded me.
"Right," I sighed. "So, does that mean I have not only physically aged but also..."
"You've temporally aged, yes. You have the ability to manipulate your age at will. I could teach you how to use it. You could turn back time and become 10 again if you'd like."
I considered his offer for a moment but hesitantly shook my head. "Not now. I... need to know how that reality plays out, first."
As I said that, the scene shifted. We now stood in a different, equally familiar location.
"It would seem we're about to," Paradox informed me.
I joined his side as we watched another scene unfold. It was my vision. I followed myself as I snuck through the Fusion Prison, watched as I silently spoke to Talmessite. She looked in Paradox and I's direction before I read her lips say that she knew I was a Timewalker and I needed to wake up. However, the vision continued as the small green Gem was forced to approach us by an ensemble of Stalactitan guards. She suddenly turned around and shouted at the monsters, who instantly reached forward and stabbed the small Gem's form, causing her to disappear in a poof of light green smoke. The version of me from the vision reached forward, only to be instantly countered by the guards, the scene shifting to a black void as they made contact with my body.
"What-" I began.
"Best not to think about it," Paradox answered.
Did I just watch myself... die? I shook off the thought on Paradox's orders and turned back to him. "What am I supposed to do?"
"To get out of the Temporal Displacement Loop?" he clarified. I nodded. "Well, your pocket dimension is timeless. You just need to make it here, then to this room and away on your transporter. It detects which Nova you are and sends you back to the correct universe and time. You become quite the inventor in the future."
"Wait. I solve my own problem? How does that work, y'know, temporally? Shouldn't that make a paradox?" I asked.
"It should. But you solved that issue, too. You made a pocket dimension to live in that was resistant to paradoxes, to time."
"Quite the inventor," I repeated, groaning.
"Are you all right, my friend?"
I sighed, "No. If I can be honest. What I am supposed to be doing? Time at my fingertips and I feel like I'm stuck in place."
Paradox chuckled, "Welcome to the world of being a time traveller. Or Timewalker, to be more specific. You and I, we are perhaps the only two of our kind. Other Timewalkers simply have the ability to see the timestream or have a lot of experience time travelling. You and I have control over perhaps the strongest force in the omniverse. It is the power of immortals and fools. Sometimes both at the same time," he said, giving me an indescribable look of caution and warning. "What we do with this infinite power is up to us. Nova von Zon's exist across the omniverse. Some are unstoppable tyrants, some are unbeatable heroes, and a great many fall before they have a chance to become either. Meanwhile, there is but one Professor Paradox. It's an odd phenomenon. Yet, I digress and return to the point at hand. What you do with your power is up to you, Nova."
"I... I want to stop Fuse."
"That's a good start, my friend," Paradox smiled.
He dug around in his coat pocket and pulled out a pristine manila envelope, handing it to me. It was sealed with green wax, the stamp was a clock with two distinct hour hands and a minute hand. Depending on how you read it, it was either 11 o'clock or 5 o'clock. It smelled of old leather and seemed oddly heavy despite looking like it held nothing, not even paper, within.
"You gave this to me a few months from now, asking me to give it to the next new Nova I met," Paradox explained. "It has instructions on some of your powers, including what to do when you enter a Temporal Displacement Episode. I believe it also has a new change of clothes and your official membership badge to the Timewalker's Association."
"All that in this tiny envelope?" I asked.
"Quite the inventor," Paradox told me yet again.
I nodded and looked around the room. Paradox interrupted my thoughts.
"I'm afraid I have to cut this meeting short, my friend. Will you be okay?"
I looked at the man and nodded my head confidently, "I think I need to figure some things out on my own."
He smiled, "You're already doing better than most Nova's, then. That letter has instructions on how you can contact me. We'll see each other again soon. Good luck, Nova. Oh, and, by the way - Gwen Tennyson is a truly brilliant teacher. Continue to follow her lead and you'll do great things."
With that, Paradox disappeared into a blue portal. I looked closer at the envelope.
From: Nova von Zon
ATN-998
For: Nova von Zon
ATN-1,001
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS ENCLOSED WITHIN. HANDLE WITH CARE, OLD MAN.
We're looking forward to getting to know You. - The Timewalker's Association
Good luck.
I reached to open it but stopped myself, deciding instead to put it away in my suit. I walked to the centre of the room, climbing onto the strange platform and being returned to the cabin I disappeared from. Victor, Gwen, and Huntress Wizard had seemingly been looking for me, given that all three stood in the entrance of the cabin and murmured amongst themselves.
"There you are!" called out Gwen upon seeing my return.
"Are you okay?" Huntress Wizard asked.
"I'm... I'm alright. How long has it been?" I asked.
"A few hours, at least," Victor told me.
"What happened?" Gwen asked.
"It's... a long story," I admitted.
"We've got time," Huntress Wizard said, crossing her arms.
I sighed and took a seat on my assigned bed, beginning to recount what had just happened to me. As the story came to a close, Gwen spoke up.
"So, you've met Paradox, have you?" she asked. I nodded. She smiled. "What'd you think?"
"He's... weird. But wise. I can't stop thinking about what he said, 'Time travel is the power of immortals and fools.' I... I don't know what to think about that. If it's the power of immortals and fools, which one am I? I... don't want to be a fool with infinite power at her beck and call, but I don't think I want to be immortal, either-" I rambled.
"Hey," Victor interrupted. "You still got that necklace I gave you?"
I was taken aback. Had he even been listening!? "What? Why does that matter?"
"Answer the question. Please," he insisted.
I pressed my hand against my chest, then reached into my shirt and pulled it out. Needless to say, I was surprised to see it had survived the trip through the In-Between when nearly all my other belongings hadn't. I didn't even notice it had survived the trip. Wordlessly, I reached back, undid the chain latch and held it in my hand in front of Victor.
"HW? If you would," he said.
Huntress Wizard nodded and cast a yellow beam of light at the necklace, causing it to hover above my hand. Before our eyes, the metal rusted, degraded, and grew back as wood, the toes of the frog being replaced with small pink flowers. The necklace then re-attached itself to my neck as the witch's eyes turned from yellow and green to turquoise and blue. As her eyes turned back to normal, she gave me a slight smile.
"What Victor means to say, Nova, is you're not a fool. There's something about that necklace that he has told me and perhaps no one else in history. It is something I cannot tell you, but it is something you will learn - in time. What I can tell you - from one powerful, ageless, cute girl to another - is that your friend is right. You're immortal. That spell I did just proved it, without a doubt," she told me.
I held the now-wooden necklace in my hands, unable to believe what I was hearing. I looked back up, my eyes meeting with Victor's, then Gwen's, and finally with Huntress Wizard. I couldn't find the words. I wanted to beg them for answers, to know what made this necklace that I had almost entirely forgotten about so special, to know what I should do next, but instead, the only words that could come out were "I need some time to myself."
The others acknowledged and obliged, leaving me alone in the dimly lit cabin, cicadas and crickets providing the background music as I sat back down on the bed and pulled out my alternate's letter. I read the front a hundred more times before I finally grabbed a pocket knife from my desk and opened the letter, hoping that I wasn't ripping open my own Pandora's Box.
10 people found themselves in a grand entryway to a massive underwater prison; Athena, Bronwyn, Kerry, and 7 people from the crew of the Candy Pirate vessel, the Jolly Roger, including its captain, Chocolate Charlie. The absolute scale of this place was breathtaking; hidden underneath a heavily infected area of the already infected swamps directly to the south of Elmore and Sherman, this prison supposedly held every Gem in the solar system, including - perhaps most importantly - the heroic Crystal Gems. The monsters here resembled those in the Darklands, making it all the more surprising that this place was in the Greater Bellwood Area instead of in those dangerous lands.
The group stayed close together as they moved into the Prison. They were immediately met by a pile of formerly corrupted Gems from Little Homeworld, all poofed with no sign of reforming. It was clearly a warning, saying that should anyone try to free the Gems trapped here, that would be their fate. Bronwyn led the group, having remembered the path that Nova had laid out for them. Any resistance they met was quickly and quietly taken down. Spawns hopped up and down the halls, following their Stalactitan and Terror Claw masters. A few Doppelgangers patrolled the halls, namely Wilt, Rex, and Lance of the Titan crew. An odd selection for a prison, to be sure, but definitely not one to be trifled with.
"Just down this hallway," Bronwyn whispered as the group dodged their way into the corridor where Nova had encountered the Gem called Talmessite in her vision. An exhausted greyish skinned pink Gem hung from the wall at the end of this corridor, matching the description of that very Gem.
"Hey!" Kerry hissed in a loud whisper-yell.
The Gem stirred and looked at the group, her eyes growing wide. "H-Humans?!" she exclaimed, "H-How'd you get here?!"
"Our friend met you in a vision. Are you okay?" Athena asked.
"Get me down and I'll have an answer for you," Talmessite squirmed, "Are you talking about that Timewalker I met? Do you know her?"
"We do. How do we get you down?" Bronwyn asked eagerly.
"You'll need to find the Peridot that's here. She's been running this place. Against her will, of course. She has the keys to our cells," the trapped Gem hurriedly told them.
"There're more of ye here?" Charlie asked.
Talmessite nodded, "I've only seen her, but I've heard the voices of some others."
"Good. Someone needs to stay with this one here while we go find the others," Athena announced.
"No!" Talmessite exclaimed. "If they find humans here, they'll probably shatter all of us. Stick together and free the Gems you can. When you free the Peridot, come back for me."
"She's right," Bronwyn agreed, "We need to be smart about this."
"Right," Athena sighed, "We'll be back for you!"
The Gem nodded as the group made off further down the hall. In the distance, they could hear a woman humming to herself. Silently, the group turned and went in the direction of the voice, discovering a lone blue Gem with long off-white hair singing to herself in a cell.
"There! Let's ger 'er out!" Charlie commanded.
"Wait. Why isn't she acknowledging us?" Athena pointed out.
Surely enough, she showed no signs that she was aware that a group of 10 humans had arrived to free her.
"Athena's right. Something's amiss," Kerry agreed.
One of the Candy Pirates knocked on one of the bars, immediately swearing and retracting her hand.
"Hologram," Bronwyn said. "I think we might be looking at a holographic one-way mirror of sorts. I have no doubt she knows where she is but has no idea what's going on out here."
"Move on and come back for her, then?" Kerry asked.
Bronwyn nodded, leading the group further down the hall, being stopped by a sudden shout.
"Hey! Get over here so I can beat you up!" shouted a short red Gem from a place where she had been melded into the wall, much like Talmessite.
"We're not here to fight you. We're here to save you," Athena told her, making a motion to get her to quiet down.
"Save me? Did Steven send you!?" the Gem shouted excitedly.
"N-No," Athena stammered, "We... don't know where he is."
The Gem growled, "Well, what about Sapphire? Did you find her yet?"
"Sapphire? Short, blue-?"
"Short, blue, beautiful, yes, her! Where is she?" the Gem shouted.
"Calm down, please. We're trying to avoid attention. Your... Sapphire...? She's just down the hall. We don't know how to get her out yet. We were sent by a pink Gem to find a 'Peridot,' apparently, we can have her help us get you out," Athena explained, "Do you know where she is?"
"Peridot? I-I'm sorry, I've not seen her," the Gem said, trying and failing to lower her voice.
"Okay. We'll be back for you, then. We can't get you out yet. We're sorry, just hang tight," Bronwyn assured her.
"Not like I can do much else here," growled the small Gem.
The group continued down the hall, their luck running out as they approached a three-pronged fork in the road. They quickly agreed to go against their instincts and split up, Team UNITE going left, Charlie and two members of his crew going right and the last four continuing forward. UNITE came upon a staircase leading up, following it until they reached a control room of sorts. Within, a small army of Fusions monitored a small green Gem as she begrudgingly pushed buttons and flicked levers, machinery humming as she did so. Fusion Rex appeared over her shoulder and observed her doing this, to which the Gem threw out her hand to him, flinging him across the room.
"Metallic gooey clod! I'm doing everything you are making me do! What else do you want?!" she shouted, one of the Stalactitans pushing against the back of her neck with its set of claws.
"What do we do?" Kerry whispered.
"I think that's our Gem," Bronwyn deduced. "We need to get in there and help her out. Just the three of us. We bring in the entire crew and every monster in this whole structure will come in around us."
"Right. Any plans?" Athena agreed.
"Honestly? I'm kinda tempted to just go in guns blazing. Get rid of them as fast as possible. Kerry, you focus on Fusion Rex, and Athena and I put the hurt on everyone else. Thoughts?" Bronwyn suggested.
"Works for me," Kerry shrugged. Athena nodded, readying her sword.
On the count of three, the team rushed into the room, their surprise attack catching enough of the monsters off-guard that Bronwyn and Athena were able to eliminate the weaker-looking ones immediately and Kerry was able to trap Rex behind a vortex of fire. Quickly, Bronwyn fired off some shots at the Stalactitan nearest to Peridot, causing the creature to stumble backwards and allowing for Peridot to slip away from the console to stand at her rescuer's sides.
"Who are you?!" she exclaimed.
"Is that really important right now? We're here to help you get your friends out," Athena grunted as she pushed a Terror Claw off of her and cut its arm off.
"About time!" she shouted, thrusting her hands forward and bringing Fusion Rex through Kerry's fire and slamming him on the ground.
Athena and Bronwyn focused now on the biggest Stalactitan in the room, which roared, throwing its claws in the air. As it did so, the ground hummed and erupted into a column of bright green fusion matter, knocking the two attackers away. Athena summoned her Numbuh Five Nano as she closed the distance, stabbing at the Fusion's form as the Nano did a backflip and struck down on the monster's head with her foot. Bronwyn took a few extra shots at the monster as it fell to the ground, securing its fate. With the Stalactitan Major now a puddle at the feet of Athena and Bronwyn, they turned to take out the other minions that had been trapped in this control room.
Meanwhile, Peridot used her ferrokinesis to grab a console from the wall and smash Fusion Rex with it several times, while Kerry had been peppering the monster with fireball after fireball. It was mere moments before it, too, was nothing but a smouldering pile of foul-smelling ashes. In the centre of these ashes sat a pair of goggles, the lens cracked. Kerry picked them up and placed them in his pocket as he turned to face the green Gem by his side.
"I'm Kerry Thompson, by the way," he told her.
"Peridot, leader of the Crystal Gems, at your service!" the Gem smirked.
"Leader? Isn't that Steven?" Kerry asked.
"Oh sure, he and Garnet both claim to be the leader but everyone knows who it really is," the Gem assured the Plumber.
"...Right..." Kerry concluded, "Anyway, Talmessite told us you have the ability to let the Gems out. Is that true?"
"Well," Peridot began, looking at the other two as they took down the last of the spawns cowering in the corner of the room, "now that I'm free of... those things, yes. Unfortunately, it won't be as simple as flipping a switch. I need to be right next to their cells."
"We can do that," Athena told her, joining the conversation as she wiped the fusion matter off her Candy Cutlass.
"Speaking of," Peridot said. She extending her arm to the others. She pointed to a small blinking red chip on the underside of her wrist. "I need you to destroy this for me. I've already started a countdown I won't be able to reverse on my own by using my powers. These Inhibitor Chips will poof us after just 5 minutes of use of any of our gem powers."
Kerry nodded and shot a small flame at the chip, causing it to overheat and explode.
"Ow! Er, I mean, thank you," Peridot said, clearing her throat. "Well. You'll need me if you're going to find the other Crystal Gems. Follow me, new friends!"
She turned and marched out of the control room, Team UNITE shrugging as they followed close behind, leaving the control room in a state of ruin. She almost immediately stopped, staring directly at the wall in front of her. She gulped and reached forward, pressing her hand against the gooey wall. The wall faded in front of her, and a purple Gem not much taller than Peridot immediately used a whip to grab Peridot.
"Alright, you creeps! Any of you take another step forward and I'll poof this one!" she growled.
"Amethyst!" Peridot coughed, "Let me go!"
"Wait. Humans? What are they are doing here?" Amethyst said, letting her whip dissolve into shimmering light.
"We're here to get you out," Athena explained for the fifth time.
"Wait, really? Al-right! Prison break! I've been waiting for this!" the Gem cheered.
"Well, that's one down. How many more to go?" Bronwyn asked.
"Well, Ruby, Sapphire, and the Talmessite are down that hall. I think Pearl, Lapis, and Bismuth are down that hall," Peridot said, pointing down each hall as she explained.
"Wait. Who's Talmessite?" Amethyst asked.
"So you've never met her either?" Peridot questioned.
"Not that I know of. What's she like?" Amethyst told her.
"She's... weird. Pink. Seems to know more about you than you know about yourself. I dunno, she's totally someone that Steven would get along with," Peridot said.
"Steven gets along with everyone," Amethyst laughed.
"I know! That's why I said that!" Peridot exclaimed, her laughter adding to Amethysts.
"So," Bronwyn cleared her throat, "what about that hallway?"
"That's where all the other Gems went. They tried to organize a revolt at one point, so the monsters... poofed them all. Shattered the worst," Peridot answered.
"Yikes. I'm sorry to hear that," Kerry said.
"Yeah," Peridot responded, looking at the ground solemnly.
"Oh, shoot! My Inhibitor!" Amethyst shouted.
"I got it," Kerry said, grabbing Amethyst's arm and overheating the chip.
"Hey, thanks, dude. Where'd you find these guys, Peri?" Amethyst asked.
"I didn't. They just stormed in here. Speaking of, let's go get Pearl, Bismuth, and Lapis," Peridot answered, leading the way down the hall Charlie had taken.
Almost immediately, they regrouped with Charlie and his crew, who led the group further down the hall, presenting them with a passed out blue Gem in a cage. Peridot immediately opened the cage and rushed in, holding the Gem in her arms.
"She's a'right," Charlie told her.
"What did they do to her?!" Peridot shouted.
"Not sure, we found 'er like this," one of the other Candy Pirates said.
The Gem stirred and groaned, blinking her eyes open. "P-Peridot?"
"Lapis!" Peridot responded, "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine. They shocked me earlier. Some new test, I think," the Gem groaned, leaning up.
"They're not supposed to run experiments when I'm not there! They know what could happen. I thought they wanted you all alive."
"It doesn't matter," Lapis sighed.
"Yes, it does!" Peridot argued.
"Who're these guys?" the new Gem asked, moving past her friend's pleas.
"They're breaking us out. C'mon. This human has fire powers, he can destroy your Inhibitor Chip," Peridot motioned at Kerry.
"Oh, that old thing? I destroyed it already," Lapis said as Kerry approached.
"How did you destroy it?" Amethyst asked. "I tried and tried, it only resulted in me poofing over and over again."
"Easy. I just smashed it with a water fist," Lapis said casually.
"Girl, you're scary sometimes," Amethyst laughed, offering a hand to Lapis.
Lapis chuckled and took Amethyst's hand, activating her Gem and sprouting two wings as she was pulled up, "Shall we?"
"Yarr," Charlie said, "After ye."
At the end of the hall, two Gems sat back to back in neighbouring cells. As the group approached, they excitedly stood up.
"Guys!" shouted a grey Gem in blacksmith's gear.
"Oh! And humans!" added a pale Gem in a cyan jacket.
"They're here to rescue us," Amethyst explained as Peridot lowered the fields that protected their cells.
The Gems ran out and hugged each other. "We're saved!" shouted the pale one.
"I told you! Oh, Pearl, I told you Steven would send someone!" replied the grey one as she spun the other.
As they did, a blinding light covered the hall, laughter and joy emitting from deep inside the light. As the light dimmed, what remained was a single Gem, as tall as both of them combined, with four arms and long rainbow hair.
"Woah," Amethyst said. "Woah!"
"Haha, ha. Er, maybe went a bit far with my excitement. Man, it's been a minute since I've been me! How long has been since we formed Ammolite?!" exclaimed the new Gem.
"You guys are... gorgeous!" Peridot exclaimed.
"Ha, thanks, Peridot. Good to see you without your Infector entourage," said Ammolite, kneeling down.
"Speaking of, you still have your Inhibitors, right?" Peridot asked.
"Oh, right!" the Gem exclaimed, checking all of her arms. "Huh, weird."
"What is?" Kerry asked, a flame already summoned in his hand.
"They're gone," Ammolite said curiously.
"They're down here," Lapis said, picking up two deactivated chips off the ground.
"Must've come off when we fused," Ammolite said.
"So, we gonna go save the others, or what?" Amethyst asked.
As she did, the group turned to face the sound of footsteps running down the hall. As they approached, an alarm began to blare. It was clear the guards had finally caught on. As the monsters came to stop and ready for battle, Ammolite stepped forward and cracked their knuckles, summoning a spear in one arm and shapeshifting another into a hammer. They melded the two together, summoning a battleaxe so big it took all four of the Gem's arms to hold.
"C'mon, you planet-destroying creeps. Let's dance!" shouted the Gem as she swung her axe down. As it struck the ground, the entire prison rumbled and nearly every monster in the vicinity of where the axe had struck fell into a puddle.
"I'm following her," Kerry said, running to follow the axe-wielding Gem as she cleared a path down the hall, cutting open the walls as she did so.
The prison began to fall in around them as Ammolite led the way to Ruby's location, then Sapphire's, and finally towards the entrance. Any Fusion in the way was destroyed, either by one of the Gems, humans, or the giant now leading the escape. By the time they arrived in the entrance wing of the prison and began to make their way to Talmessite, the last known Gem here, Peridot stopped the group.
"There's... somewhere we need to destroy," said the green Gem.
"Oh?" Ammolite asked, panting.
Peridot opened her mouth, but stopped and looked away, opening a hidden door on the way to Talmessite's location. "Amethyst. Lapis. You need to see this. Er, Ammolite, I'd prefer you didn't... but, we need to destroy it."
"I understand," Ammolite said. "I won't go with you if you don't want me to. But you'll need firepower. Lapis, Peridot?"
Ammolite smiled at the two Gems, causing them to look at each other. Lapis spoke up first, "I-I'm not ready. Are you sure she can't come with us?"
Peridot didn't respond at first, looking down the hallway she had opened the door to instead. "It's okay. Lapis, you can probably flood it without us needing to... y'know."
"Right. Lead the way," Lapis said, following Peridot and Amethyst down the hall.
Everyone else - now joined by the combination of Ruby and Sapphire, Garnet, who seemed overjoyed to see Ammolite specifically - continued down the original hall, arriving in the large open cell block where Talmessite was housed. As they approached the Gem strapped up to the wall, they were stopped by one final force. A small army stood between them and freedom, and as Ammolite cut Talmessite off the wall, the leaders of this army stepped forward. Fusion Wilt and Fusion Lance stood to halt the group's final push.
Fusion Wilt opened the "discussion" by firing an energy blast at Ammolite. As it connected, that blinding light returned, but this time when it dimmed, Pearl and Bismuth stood on their own. Fusion Lance pressed a button on his watch, summoning a grotesque Fusionized version of Lance's Manus armour. Garnet and Talmessite stepped in front of Bismuth and Pearl, respectively, as the humans readied for battle. Athena, Kerry, and Bronwyn ran forward to deal with Fusion Wilt as soon as possible while the Candy Pirates fought with the minions and the Gems prepared for battle with Fusion Manus.
Bronwyn shot at Fusion Wilt to get his attention while Kerry let out a blast of fire, coating the Lord Snotzax-inspired Fusion in a wave of flames. As the flames passed, Athena ran in to chop off the Fusion's blaster arm. Surprising Athena, she succeeded in doing so, and the metal attachment fell to the ground, clanging loudly as it did so. Bronwyn picked up the blaster and used it to create a hole in the Fusion's chest as Athena began furiously cutting the Fusion Imaginary Friend's limbs off, one by one. Again and again, she was surprised by how easy it was to do so, and quickly the monster fell to the ground.
The team turned their attention to Fusion Manus now, watching as it easily batted the Crystal Gems around like it was nothing. As Kerry grabbed its attention by pelting it with fireballs, it charged forward, a large sword in its hands. A single swipe was enough to send all three members of Team UNITE flying across the hall. A decision was made then and there to retreat, and all three members ran back to the hallway they had come from eventually finding their way to where Amethyst, Lapis, and Peridot had gone.
"They're trying to make Gems. That's why they singled me out," Peridot was telling Amethyst.
The room they now stood in was massive. Robots and mutated creatures flew about the room, checking on pods and holes.
"You helped them make a KINDERGARTEN?" Amethyst shouted.
"You know it's not like that, Amethyst. They made me, threatened to shatter me and all of you if I didn't."
"Peridot's right," Lapis added, "Peridot knows better than anyone of us that these... Infectors or whatever they're called, they're ruthless. They could've shattered us all. But they didn't. And we have Peridot to thank for that."
"I know! I know. I'm sorry. Just... let's destroy this and get this over with," Amethyst groaned.
"Sorry to interrupt," Bronwyn spoke up, "but the other Gems need your help."
"Thanks for the heads up, but we're busy. Peridot was right. We need to destroy this," Amethyst countered.
As she finished that thought, Fusion Lance walked into the room, re-activating his armour as he did so.
"I don't think you have a choice," Athena said plainly.
"Lapis, keep doing what you're doing. Amethyst, let's show these guys how it's done!" Peridot exclaimed.
"Right," Amethyst smirked, cracking her knuckles and summoning her whip.
Just as Team UNITE readied along with them, a loud metallic clang came from the Fusion's back, causing him to quickly turn around.
"Hey, guys! Sorry, I'm late!" shouted the voice known to every Gem and human around the galaxy.
"About time you showed up, dude!" Amethyst shouted as Steven Universe, one of several boys to have saved the galaxy in the past few years, entered the room and began to show Fusion Manus what it meant to be one such hero.
It wasn't long before the combined fighting prowess of Team UNITE and the Crystal Gems' own Shorty Squad was able to beat down Fusion Manus to a point where he was kneeling on the ground. His armour had begun to fall off, and in only a few moments, the rest of the Crystal Gems, including Talmessite, and the crew of the Jolly Roger had joined. Before any of the Candy Pirates could even get a hit in, however, the armour was gone, and all that remained was Fusion Lance, surrounded by every single Crystal Gem and nearly every member of Team UNITE.
"Alright. That was easy. How's it coming, Lapis?" Peridot yelled over her shoulder.
Everyone turned their attention to the roof of the prison, high above this Fusion "Kindergarten." Cracks had formed and water had begun leaking in.
"It's - agh - tough, but I... got this!" replied Lapis as she strained to control the poisoned water.
"You're doing great, Lapi-!" shouted the Gem, choking on her last word.
"Peridot!" Steven shouted.
Everyone's attention was back on Fusion Lance, a sword in his hand and through Peridot's back.
"No!" shouted Lapis, letting go of the water to turn around and join in the beatdown of what was left of the Fusion.
"I-I'm fine. This... doesn't even hurt," Peridot stammered, looking at the blade poking through her.
As soon as the sword and its wielder disappeared into a puddle of Fusion Matter, so too did Peridot disappear in a poof of smoke, her Gem falling to the ground.
"I... did not see that coming," Garnet said as she bent down and cradled Peridot's Gem in her hands.
Talmessite cleared her throat and stepped forward. "I don't mean to downplay an emotional moment, but..."
The roof cracked and gallons and gallons of water flowed through the opening Lapis had created. Talmessite shouted something over the commotion, but her voice was, quite literally, drowned out. All that anyone saw of the Gem was her summoning a large sledgehammer and striking the ground, causing a soft blue light to encompass everyone and send them back to the surface, right next to the Jolly Roger.
"What was that?" Amethyst exclaimed.
"I'm Talmessite," greeted the tall pink Gem.
"Talmessite is one of the original Crystal Gems. She, like other Talmessites, can create temporary short distance Warps," Pearl explained.
"By the way, it's great to see you again, Talma. Where's Graphite?" Garnet asked.
"It's good to see you again, too, Garnet. Blue is..." Talmessite began, stopping herself.
"If she was in the Prison, I'm sure she made it out," Garnet assured her. Talmessite simply nodded.
"Oh, by the way," Steven said, "I ran into all those poofed cured Gems. I sent them off to Little Homeworld. Dad and Connie are already hard at work getting them back."
"That's great to hear, Steven," Pearl said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for the save," Athena told Steven, rubbing the back of her neck.
"I should be the one thanking you for breaking my family out of jail! I didn't even know they were here!" Steven replied hastily.
Athena smiled and turned her attention to Talmessite. "Are you okay?"
"I... I don't know. I'm happy to get out of there, sure, but... Blue is missing. I need to find her," Talmessite responded.
"We'd be happy to help," Bronwyn offered.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm gonna stick around with these Gems for a while. Need to be with my people for now. If... if I don't get anywhere in my search, I'll find you again. Er, thanks again. Tell your friend I said hey when you get the chance," Talmessite replied.
"We understand," Bronwyn responded, "Good luck, Talmessite."
"You too, humans."
"We've given you 'more time' for the last time, White!" yelled the woman.
"Have you ever tried to reel in an insurgency, Black? It's not exactly a walk in the park. I've got my hands full, especially now that they have structure-" protested White Knight, desperately trying to keep his composure.
"Yer not makin' better fer yerself, pardner," responded the Southern man.
"We're doing this our way now," concluded the woman.
The call ended abruptly and White Knight was left alone in a silent office. As always, he immediately sent word to his old partner and the de facto head of New Providence.
Six,
Our luck has run out. Send out the word. War is coming.
White