Chapter 13: Out of Your Depth
Another fist slammed right into the wall behind him; he just barely moved his head out of the way in time.
Josuke growled as he whipped his head back towards the maroon woman, who once again ran towards him. Crazy Diamond materialized next to him, and then his Stand flew through the air towards the alien with a shout.
"DORA!"
Crazy Diamond threw its fist at the same time as the alien. A silver-plated fist met a dark red gauntlet and a shockwave erupted from the impact, a boom echoing through the street. He once again felt his right-hand light up with pain as he grit his teeth; he felt the blood dripping from within his glove.
But he ignored the pain as he had Crazy Diamond pull back its fist and throw another punch at the afro-haired alien with its opposite arm; just as she did the same.
"DORA!"
Crazy Diamond's fist once again met with the maroon woman, and another shockwave erupted. Pain exploded in his left hand, but once again he ignored it as his eyes narrowed.
Because he had to see something.
Crazy Diamond pulled back both its fist, and the maroon woman matched his Stand's movements. And then, both his Stand and the alien attacked.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
Crazy Diamond and the visor-wearing woman's arms were blurs as they threw punch after punch at one another; both his Stand and the alien seemed to grow multiple pairs of arms as they moved faster with every second. Each punch his Stand threw was countered by the maroon woman, gauntlets smashing into his Stand's fist and not even struggling to match Crazy Diamond's current speed. Haymakers, crosses, every punch Crazy Diamond threw the visor-wearing woman also threw and slammed right back into his Stands fist; more shockwaves erupted from each clash of Crazy Diamond's and the alien's fist and even blew back the rain from the sheer force.
And every time the maroon woman hit his Stand's fist, more pain and blood would erupt from his hands. He could feel the warm blood soaking his glove and the dark welts that formed on his skin; his bones felt like they were snapping every other blow.
But he still had Crazy Diamond continue to throw punch after punch. Because while the alien was stronger than his Stand, was the same true for her speed?
Crazy Diamond's arms moved even faster, and its speed only kept rising as the maroon woman matched it.
Could she move as fast as a car?
Crazy Diamond was moving so fast that gusts of wind were created every time it swung its fists; the visor-wearing alien still kept up with his Stand.
As a bullet train?
Crazy Diamond's arms were gleaming, now looking like silver and pink missiles with every unbelievably fast punch it threw. And he saw the maroon woman scowl; it was hard to see in the rain, but he knew what he saw.
Could this alien move as fast as the speed of light?
He focused on the energy within him and a purple aura surrounded his Stand. And when Crazy Diamond threw its next punch, the sound barrier broke. A noise like a fighter jet taking off—only even louder—boomed throughout the street, he was actually pushed back from the force as he heard windows cracking.
And the visor-wearing alien was struck right on the cheek, head whipping to the side; she couldn't react in time, the speed of his Stand was too much.
He smirked. And Crazy Diamond roared.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
Crazy Diamond smashed fist after fist into the maroon woman's body, every hit that landed made small booms echo throughout the street. Crazy Diamond was pushing its speed to the limit as his Stand slammed its silver-plated fists into every inch of the alien's body; with every hit, her body violently twisted and veered.
"DORA!"
One last sonic punch slammed into the woman's visor, the windows around him shattering as she was sent flying backward. The afro-haired woman was like a rocket, traveling down the long, flooded street at insane speeds. Her flight eventually came to a stop once she landed back on the concrete.
However, instead of tumbling along the asphalt like he expected, the moment the alien's hair touched the ground, she almost instantly placed both of her hands on the concrete and pushed off; the maroon woman used the momentum from her flight to flip herself high into the air. He watched as the visor-wearing woman backflipped in the air—knees tucked to her chest—before she landed back on the concrete.
And when she lifted her head up to him, her cracked visor slowly broke into several shards that fell to the ground. And…it was a bit hard to see…but did she have…?
Crazy Diamond's eyes quickly became his own, his vision drastically improving in an instant. And he saw that the alien had three eyes; one eye red, another blue, and the third, centered on her forehead, was purple.
All of which were glaring at him, and the only thing within them was anger. And he doubted that those three eyes were just for appearance.
His eyes narrowed.
He thought back to how this woman, and this woman alone, was able to block his Stand's punches until they became too fast. But…he was sure that she didn't actually see Crazy Diamond. She only ever blocked his Stand's punches, and never once tried to hit Crazy Diamond back. It was like…she knew something was attacking her…but not what exactly it was.
Another boom of thunder came from the skies, followed by a bolt of lightning slamming down somewhere in the distance.
After every Stand battle he had been a part of, he had learned how to pick apart the small details of the enemy Stands and their masters and learn the little tricks that made their abilities work; and right now, he was putting those skills to work. How exactly could someone see an attack coming but not know what exactly was attack them? The wind from the punches? No, there was no way she could react in time if that were the case. Maybe she could feel it somehow? But if that was the case, then how? Damn it, what exactly was this woman doing that let her counter his Stand?
He couldn't find the answer. He needed more information about this alien's powers. So far, she had displayed a variety of abilities, more so than any Stand he had ever encountered, and that only made narrowing down how exactly she was seeing his Stand even harder.
He continued to glare at the maroon woman, thunder and lightning exploding within the dark clouds above him. And as he glared, he saw that the afro-haired woman's body had cracks in it, similar to the ones Sheer Heart Attack had gotten when he last fought the bomb. Cracks, but no blood. Cracks, almost like the ones he might see from in a rock or-.
He heard something coming from behind him.
Okay…what the hell?
Forming her body was always confusing. Like, she knew what her normal body was supposed to be like, and she remembered how each part felt and how to shape them with her gem. But, whenever she was poofed, even after having it happen to her so many times, there was always this feeling that this wasn't right. It was kinda like she didn't believe her body was actually gone; which, to be fair it wasn't, it was just…not physically there. When she was back in her gem, she could feel the…stuff that could become her body; she felt it floating around and just waiting for her to do her thing, so she almost always did a doubletake when she realized that no, she hadn't formed her body yet even though she could feel it.
But this was the first time that when she formed her body back into existence, she also felt pure agony spreading throughout every part of her; even to the parts that weren't even fully formed yet.
Amethyst let out a big, long groan as the purple light covering her body faded, unlike the pain. Her forehead rested on top of her arm as it laid on the ground. Her body felt heavy, like a big weight had been placed right on top of her. She had been poofed so many times before, but this time…this time was the worst. The absolute worst.
But she still had to get up. So, despite the pain and heaviness surrounding her body, she pushed herself off the ground with both hands; her body was shaking with every move she made as she let out a sharp gasp even though she didn't need to breathe.
Once she stood up, she slowly opened her eyes and took in exactly where she was. It was some kind of fancy apartment; marvel floors, a big wide room and high ceiling and a bunch of other expensive looking stuff covered every inch of the apartment.
How…how exactly did she get here again?
She rubbed her head as she continued to look around the room. Something…she was supposed to be doing something right now. But what was-.
As she turned, she saw a big hole in the wall of the apartment; plaster and random debris fell from the hole and onto the clean floor, and through the hole, rainwater and strong winds entered the room.
She squinted at the hole.
Huh, weird. That hole almost looked to be in the shape of her own-.
It all came back to her. That invisible thing they fought. That bastard. Jenny.
The pain within her body suddenly spiked, and she fell to one knee.
And her being pummeled before she even realized what happened.
The sudden dizziness she felt only made her pain even worse. What the hell hit her? One second, she was being pulled towards that bastard and just as she got in front of him, she felt like a hundred of Jasper's fists had slammed into her in a second; she didn't even see him move before she was sent flying.
She let out another groan, shakily getting back to her feet.
Guy was fast, she'd give him that. Way faster than Jasper. Hell, even Garnet would have trouble matching-.
Her eyes went wide.
Shit, Garnet and Pearl were still fighting!
She shook her head before running towards the hole. Once she arrived at the hole, she stuck her head outside—rain pelting her skin and ridiculously strong winds blowing against her hair—and looked down at the street. She saw the holes in the concrete as well as the ones in several buildings and a few stores. She saw the fires that had been burning the town were now mostly extinguished. But she didn't see any sign of Garnet or Pearl or that bastard.
Shit, how long had she been out!? It didn't usually take so long to reform her body, at most it should have only taken her a few minutes since it was the first time she had been poofed in the fight. Just how long had Garnet and pearl been fighting that bastard by themselves?!
She felt worry slowly embedding itself within her, but she couldn't focus on that; not now. Not when she needed to find Garnet and Pearl now and see if they had dealt with-!
She heard a scream.
It was an incredibly loud scream, so loud that it echoed throughout the entire town. She knew that whatever made that scream was nowhere near her, but the sound she heard still made her flinch from just how booming it was.
Her head whipped in the direction it came from; at least, she thought that's where the sound came from. It was hard to tell. But she couldn't waste any more time just standing around, she had to go fight!
So, she jumped, whipping her hair. Her long white hair quickly went under her legs before wrapping around her face and then her back in a circle-like pattern. Her hair continued to wrap around her body several more times before her entire body became covered in hair.
And the moment she touched the ground, she began to roll in place. The hair covering her body began to spike up, now just as sharp as needles as she continued to roll in place. She was building up more speed with every roll, kicking up rain and stray debris as she got even faster.
And once she had built up enough speed, she moved. Her rolled-up body sped down the side of the building and onto the curb of the street in an instant; the rain made it a bit hard to steer herself, but she had done this enough times to know how to maneuver in the rain. She sped into the street, jerking her body to the right as she rolled all the way down the road.
Come on, come on. Where did that noise come from?
With a sharp turn, she entered another street. Nothing here. Another turn with her body and she was rolling down another large street. Nothing here either. Damn it, they couldn't have-.
As she turned at another intersection, she saw them. Garnet was at the opposite end of the street. And not even fifty feet ahead of her was the bastard that killed Jenny and Peridot.
She became even faster as she sped right towards him, the rain on the ground splashing high into the air. She saw the bastard's body stiffen as she got closer; he had heard her body whirling through the street. The bastard started to move, head quickly turning to face her.
But just before he completely turned his head, she veered to the right. When the bastard had finished turning, he saw nothing behind him as she sped right for a nearby building. Instantly, her ball-like body raced up the face of the building, and once she got to the top, she turned back down and the momentum made her even faster. She was moving as fast as a rocket as she sped right at the man from his side; the bastard still hadn't even turned around and was still facing behind him.
"Amethyst, wai-!"
Whatever Garnet said, she blocked it out. She focused only on the bastard as she rocketed towards him. He had finally started to turn towards her as she got closer, but the bastard was too late as she jumped from the ground and headed towards his face.
She was only a few feet away from slamming right into the bastard's face as his head continued to turn. But by the time he finished turning, he would get a face full of-.
She saw something.
Whenever she used her ball move—she should really come up with a name for it sometime—there was always a moment where she couldn't see. Just one moment where, as she spun, she'd lose sight of what was in front of her. After years of practice, that moment barely lasted longer than half-a-second, but still, in that short time, she would lose sight of what was in front of her.
Which was why as she spun through the air, there was a moment where she lost sight of the bastard. One half of a second where she didn't see the bastard as her body spun.
But in the next half-second, she saw something.
Something that hadn't been there before.
Something that stood just where the bastard had been.
Something that was…pink.
And then she felt something, something strong and incredibly hard, slam into her side as she was sent flying off course.
Josuke had almost been too late in reacting to the spinning, white ball of…something heading towards him. But he had Crazy Diamond appear in front of him and slam a right hook into the ball's side; whatever that ball was made of was incredibly sharp as he felt his already bleeding hands erupt with sharp cuts.
"DORA!"
The ball was sent flying, and when it hit the ground, it skidded along the wet road down towards the afro-haired alien. And after a few more seconds of rolling, the ball eventually came to a stop just as the maroon woman ran up to reach it; the ball then unfurled, and his eyes widened.
Because the ball was the purple one. The purple one that Crazy Diamond had punched over and over again. The purple one that his Stand had sent flying through a wall.
The person that didn't have even one injury present on her skin; she was rubbing her side as her taller friend helped her up, but that seemed to be the only source of pain she had. With Crazy Diamond's eyes, he looked over every part of her body. There were no wounds, no cracks, not even a bruise on any part of her body.
What the…how? Was that a part of her abilities? Healing?
He watched as the short alien stood back to her feet, saying something to her friend that he couldn't hear as she continued to hold her side.
Crap. If her power was healing, then that just made this fight a lot more complicated. Was the reason why she only just now reappeared because she needed all that time to heal? Could she heal others? What was the limit to her healing? Was there a limit?
Damn it, there were too many unknowns.
The maroon and the purple woman were now glaring at him.
And he glared back.
But he couldn't focus on the confusion within him; not now. He might not know how the purple alien's healing worked for now…
Purple aura enveloped Crazy Diamond.
But he would he would get his answers. One way or the other.
Without waiting another moment, Crazy Diamond moved. His Stand dug its fingers through the concrete, and the ground cracked. Crazy Diamond quickly lifted a large chunk of concrete from the street before it threw it up into the air.
And just as it came back down, the now visorless-woman shouted.
"Move Am-!"
She didn't finish as Crazy Diamond threw punch after punch into the chunk of concrete. In an instant, the chunk broke into slabs of all shapes and sizes. Slabs that were launched through the air with deadly precision as his Stand punched each and every one of them.
Slabs that headed right for the short alien at high speeds. The white-haired woman's eye went wide as she brought a hand to the purple gemstone on her chest. There was a bright purple glow, and out came the purple woman's whip. With a harsh flick of her wrist, her whip lashed out and hit several of the slabs, smashing them into dust.
But when the short alien brought back her arm for another strike with her whip, the rest of the slabs hit her. A barrage of concrete stones hit the purple woman one after the other, sending her flying off her feet as the slabs continued to pelt her. An explosion of dirt and rock erupted over the spot the white-haired woman once stood, a large black cloud now hiding her from view.
Whipping his head to the right, he saw the maroon woman charging at him; she had started to run the moment Crazy Diamond ripped out a part of the ground. She had charged in like she had expected his attack to be entirely focused on her shorter friend and not her.
His eyes narrowed as the afro-haired woman's gauntlet-covered fists once again crackled with blue electricity. Crazy Diamond quickly grabbed his jacket sleeve just as the maroon woman brought her gauntlets down to the ground; electricity jumped from her gauntlets and onto the streets.
"DORA!"
Crazy Diamond slammed its leg onto the ground, sending both it and himself high into the air; they just avoided the sparks of electricity as the sparks passed over the spot they once stood in. The three-eyed alien stopped running when she saw him dodge her attack; she then thrust both her arms forwards and aimed them right at him as he started to come down from the air.
But whatever she was about to do, he wouldn't allow it to happen.
A bright yellow aura surrounded him and Crazy Diamond. And from behind the thick cloud of dust on the ground, he could see something equally yellow glowing. The glow grew brighter as from within the cloud, the broken slabs of concrete came flying out and headed towards the maroon woman. The slabs crossed the distance in an instant and slammed into the three-eyed alien's back, more dust erupting into the air; the afro-haired woman's eyes went wide as she was sent flying forward.
But not before her gauntlets were launched from her arms like twin missiles. Fire erupted behind the two gauntlets as they propelled through the air; however, when the slabs hit the maroon woman, her aim had been thrown off, the gauntlets now off course as they flew right towards a building about fifty feet away from him. The gauntlets exploded on impact as the top portion of the building was reduced to chunks that fell to the wet street.
He blinked.
…Rocket fists. Are you kidding-?
He heard a whirling noise. The same whirling noise he had heard before.
Still in mid-air—though he was now getting closer to the ground—he turned his head and saw the short alien back in her buzzsaw-like move, speeding through the cloud of dust and traveling down the road at high speeds. He saw her go onto the curb before quickly traveling up a nearby building, never losing speed as she somehow jumped off the building and flew right towards him.
But if she thought trying the exact same move would somehow work on him…
Crazy Diamond quickly moved in front of him as it pulled its fist back, the purple and white ball getting closer.
She would have another thing coming.
"DORA!"
Crazy Diamond threw a punch right at the spinning alien; and the moment his Stand threw its fist, purple flames erupted around the alien.
His eyes went wide as the purple woman suddenly turned into a flaming ball; and the moment Crazy Diamond's fist punched the white-haired woman's spinning body, the flames around her exploded. A searing heat consumed him, the only thing he could see was purple as his body suddenly went flying backward—Crazy Diamond had faded out of existence. The purple quickly faded as he turned his head around, burns now present on his skin, and saw that he was seconds away from crashing on to the ground.
He quickly called back Crazy Diamond as his Stand appeared in front of him. Crazy Diamond grabbed him in a tight hug just as it hit the ground back-first. His Stand once again protected him from physically hitting the ground, but he still felt his Stand's pain as his back suddenly screamed with agony. He couldn't focus on Crazy Diamond any longer as his Stand disappeared, and he tumbled on the wet ground before stopping himself after a few moments.
He got up as quickly as he could before he looked around him. He saw the white-haired woman crash onto the ground—two identical black whips falling from her hands and scattering along the ground—as she bounced off the concrete once before landing on her stomach. There was a bruise forming on her forehead as she pushed herself off the ground, slowly.
He whipped around to see where the maroon woman went. And he saw her standing only a few feet away, another pair of gauntlets on her hands, as she threw a massive fist right towards his head.
He brought up his arm, channeling his energy as Crazy Diamond's arm overlaid with his own. The woman's massive fist slammed into his limb as a shockwave was created from the force. He felt his bones clank against his skin as he grit his teeth, and he could feel the blood that erupted on his arm from the punch. The afro-haired woman quickly launched another punch, this one coming low and aimed for his leg, and he responded by once again channeling his energy as Crazy Diamond's arm appeared behind him.
And then the limb grabbed his jacket and threw him up into the air. He jumped over the maroon woman's punch and was now right over her head; the three eyed-alien had stumbled when her punch missed, and he immediately saw his chance.
A purple aura surrounded him as Crazy Diamond came into existence, the air glittering pink. His Stand moved, speeding through the air as it slammed the bottom of its fist right into the center of the maroon woman's head.
"DORA!"
The three-eyed alien hit the ground face-first as he heard cracking noises come from her body. As he fell back to the ground, Crazy Diamond once again struck, raising its leg high before bringing it down.
"DORA!"
He just touched the ground next to the afro-haired woman as Crazy Diamond's heel slammed into her back. He saw even more cracks forming on her skin, and just as he would have had Crazy Diamond continue its attack, he heard a snap coming from behind him.
He whirled and saw the lashes of a whip aimed for his throat. He channeled the energy within him as his Stand disappeared for a moment before instantly reappearing just in front of the whip, bringing up its arm to block the tails as they wrapped around the length of its arm.
He watched as the purple woman's eyes widened, shocked at what she was seeing. And then he heard the crackling of electricity coming from his side as he quickly turned around. He saw the maroon woman had gotten up and was now charging at him with her electrified gauntlets, every one of her furious eyes glaring at him as she roared.
In an instant, he shot a glance at the whip around Crazy Diamond arms. It wasn't exactly thin, but it wasn't too thick either. The material might not be the best for what he was planning on doing, but…
Well…let's see if this works.
Crazy Diamond sped through the air, and the short alien was suddenly tugged forward, hitting the ground with a splash as she was dragged along the concrete by her whip. Crazy Diamond moved in front of him, and just as the three-eyed alien's gauntlet was inches away from his face, his Stand ripped apart the lashes around its arm with its other hand before it shouted.
"DORA!"
In an instant, Crazy Diamond wrapped the torn tails around one of the maroon woman's gauntlets—tying the broken lashes in a tight not around her fist as his Stand jerked on the strand of the whip in its hand. The afro-haired woman stumbled as he stepped to the right, both fists missing him as she tried to regain her balance. The moment Crazy Diamond tied the whip around her large fist, the electricity around the maroon woman's gauntlets jumped to the knot and then to his Stand, both him and Crazy Diamond gritting their teeth as electricity fried their bodies.
But it wasn't just his and his Stand's bodies being electrocuted. For the electricity traveled down the rest of the whip as well; he saw from the corner of his eye the purple woman slowly getting back to her feet just as the electricity reached the end of her handle. Blue sparks convulsed around the short alien's body as her eyes went wide, screaming as she fell back to the ground.
"Ame-!"
The maroon woman didn't finish her panicked shout as Crazy Diamond grabbed the middle of the electrified whip—he had to suppress a scream from said action—with both hands as it pulled up, lifting the maroon woman off her feet before it spun and brought its arms down. Right towards the purple woman.
"DORA!"
The three-eyed alien was sent flying over his head and down the street, right towards her comrade. Her gauntlets were still covered with electricity, and it still traveled down the whip towards the white-haired woman, who hadn't let go of her whip, as the sparks around her body grew even brighter.
He saw the purple woman's eyes widen even further just as the maroon woman slammed into her. The afro-haired woman's larger body obscured the smaller alien's own as they were both sent flying down the street; both of them crashed into a parked car on the curb, but while the shorter woman crashed through the front windows, the three-eyed alien bounced off the edge of the roof and hit the concrete. He watched as the maroon woman rolled uncontrollably along the concrete, the cracks on her body growing before she eventually stopped rolling.
He let out heavy, tired breaths as he stared at the unmoving women on the street. He brought his hand to his face as he coughed a few times, blood spraying from his mouth and onto his gloves. His body felt like it had been burned from the inside out, similar to what Kira did with his bombs, except this burning was less scorching then if that bastard had exploded him. The bones in his body, especially around his hands and left arm, felt cracked; it was hard to even clench his fist without wincing in pain.
He coughed again. Crazy Diamond still floated by his side as the rain seemed to come down even more than before.
Damn. These aliens were tough. Their abilities lacked any of the cohesion and unity he had seen from other Stand Users—well most of them, anyway—and each one was just as powerful as the last. They had decent tactical skills, their fighting styles were refined and deadly, and their durability was outstanding.
So, he needed to hurry up and end this fight.
Still panting, and only now really noticing just how cold it was outside, he stared at the prone alien women's bodies. Neither moved as lighting rolled around in the clouds.
And then—just as he expected—they both slowly started to move. The short woman climbed out of the car and through the broken windows as the three-eyed alien pushed off the ground with her hands. The white-haired alien moved towards the hood of the car as the afro-haired woman shakily got back to her feet.
And once the maroon and purple woman stood back up, lighting came down from the sky and hit the ground somewhere off in the distance.
He looked over both of their bodies with Crazy Diamond eyes as they glared at him. The cracks on the afro-haired woman's skin were now even deeper, and through the rain he could hear them expanding. The white-haired woman had more bruises on her skin and pieces of glasses sticking out on some of her limbs. And she still had bruises on her skin.
His eyes narrowed.
She hadn't healed herself. Even though she had done it before, she wasn't doing it now. Nor was she trying to heal her friend. Why? Could she really only heal herself? And was the reason why she wasn't doing it right now was because it took time? That seemed to be the most likely explanation, but there still could-.
"Garnet, let's fuse!"
The purple alien's shouts interrupted his thoughts. He saw the short woman looking at the three-eyed alien, who was slowly walking forward with clenched fists.
"We can't! Not right now!"
The maroon woman did not stop glaring at him as she responded, but for a moment her expression became conflictive before the look quickly vanished, anger rising within her face. Whatever "fuse" meant, he could tell that the afro-haired alien also wanted to do it, but she held herself back for some reason.
Crazy Diamond slowly floated in front of him.
Fuse. What did that mean? For a moment, he thought about the same kind of fusion from Dragon Ball, but he immediately killed that thought; he didn't have the time to make jokes. Whatever this "fuse" was, for some reason they couldn't do it right now. But they would be able to do it soon, from the sound of it.
Damn it, he seriously had to take these women out fast.
"What…what the hell is this guy's deal!"
The short woman was shouting again, confusion within her voice along with frustration.
"I…I don't know what but there's something-!"
He stopped three-eyed alien—Garnet, if he heard right—from talking as he shouted.
"I'm surprised that you're still up, midget!"
The white-haired woman whirled her head back towards him, glare more fierce than before.
"What did you just-!?"
"Oh, sorry, can you not hear me from all the way down there, you walking purple Oompa Loompa!"
It left a bad taste in his mouth using those words, considering one of his best friends was also a dwarf, but he needed the purple woman distracted. He needed her angry.
And seeing the fury that rose within her expression told him he absolutely succeeded thanks to his words.
"He's trying to provoke you! Don't fall for it!"
The short alien didn't seem to hear her friend's shout as she took a step forward, snarling. Good. With her now furious, she wouldn't listen to the maroon-to Garnet's words. And the less the white-haired alien knew about how Crazy Diamond worked, the easier it would be to take her-.
"You're fucking dead! You and that damn turtle you have on your head!"
He stopped thinking.
…Turtle. She called his hair a disgusting, filthy, no good reptile?
His right eye began to twitch violently, lips moving into a snarl; he felt the anger that filled his eyes as a purple aura whirled around Crazy Diamond, his Stand's expression one of pure rage.
He had never met someone who was so enthusiastic about digging graves.
He sprinted forward.
"Wait, don't-!"
Garnet never finished as the short woman jumped into the air, hair wrapping around her until she was nothing more than a sharp white ball of needles. And when the ball touched the ground, the purple alien took off like Sonic, dashing through the street as her rolled-up body whirled faster by the moment.
He continued to sprint as the purple woman started to zig-zag through the street, moving in fast and irregular patterns that were impossible to keep track of with his eyes.
But with Crazy Diamond's eyes—pupils now bright blue—he could see the white-haired woman' spinning body with ease.
He suddenly stopped running as he reached a parked car, standing only a few feet away from it; his eyes darted around as he watched the short woman dash, the alien now a streak of purple and white as she ricocheted off the buildings around him, building up speed with every ricochet.
And with one last rebound off a building a good distance behind him, she came spinning right towards him at an angle. Within seconds, she would be slamming into him.
But that was more than enough time to act.
Crazy Diamond moved towards the car and grabbed the handle of the front door. His Stand then ripped the door right from the car, lifting it above its head before slamming it into the ground in front of him. Crazy Diamond had used enough strength that when it slammed the car door to the ground, the door went through the concrete and was now embedded firmly in the street.
And because of the angle Crazy Diamond had put the door on, it looked more like an improv-ramp.
A ramp that the purple alien could not move around in time as she traveled up the metal door before jetting off the top, sailing far over his head and high in the air as she came out of her ball form. He watched as she flailed through the air before she crashed through a window of one of the buildings, glass breaking on impact and falling to the ground.
He heard a roar, and he whirled around to see Garnet running towards him before she jumped high into the air. He turned his head up high as he watched Garnet pull her fist back, angling herself mid-air before gravity sent her plummeting back to the ground; Garnet now looked like a living meteorite as she headed towards him with another roar.
He had Crazy Diamond grab him by his jacket as it stomped as hard as it could on the ground.
"DORA!"
With that shout, he was sent flying forward, and not even a moment later Garnet's fist slammed into the spot where he once stood. The ground wavered, and then deep fissures ran through the concrete as dust and large chunks of the street flew into the air; he felt the shockwaves that erupted from Garnet's punch, and when he landed he stumbled as the street shook, falling to the ground after a few more shakes. Crazy Diamond prevented him from hitting the ground as his Stand caught him by the back of his jacket, the shaking around the street ceased as Crazy Diamond helped him stand back up. He turned back to where Garnet had hit the ground and saw a crater—so deep he couldn't even see the bottom from where he stood—as thick clouds of dirt rose from the center.
And from within the crater and through the clouds of dust, the maroon alien jumped out and landed on the outer edge of the crater. Garnet had on another visor, where she got he didn't know, but even with the visor covering her face, he knew she was glaring at him.
He gave Garnet his own glare as he looked around the ruined street. He saw the fissures that now extended from one end to the other, the sewer pipes that were now exposed above ground.
He glanced to the left and saw the broken remains of the car he had once stood next to, now nothing more than broken chunks of metal. Chunks of metal that were positioned right behind Garnet.
He glanced down.
And at his feet, he saw one of the car's blue door handles.
He instantly picked up the handle with one hand. He then looked up at Garnet and grinned.
"Thank you very much."
Confusion grew within Garnet's expression. Just as a bright yellow aura surrounded the door handle in his leather gloves.
And then an equally yellow aura surrounded the broken chunks of the car before they slowly floated off the ground. The chucks of the car, as well as several other pieces of machinery, then rocketed forward. Right towards Garnet as she whirled behind her.
And he knew, even without looking at her face, that all three of her eyes were wide.
The first chunk that slammed into Garnet carried her off her feet. A second chunk soon caught up to the first and started to reconnect with the first chunk, forming the lower half of a trunk. More chunks came from below and formed the underside, and on top of that the floor. A large seat squeezed itself behind Garnet as another seat appeared right next to the first one; two more seats were soon placed right in front of Garnet. Multiple seatbelts wrapped around Garnet and the chair she sat on as she was tied to the seat by a thick black bow on her torso.
Finally, the roof came back into place at the same time the windows reassembled themselves and the car was now completely fixed; and it still rocketed forward as he watched Garnet struggle in the back seat of the car.
As the car got closer and closer to him, he let out a breath. Crazy Diamond floated next to him as it rolled its shoulders.
And just as the car was inches away from hitting him, his Stand appeared in front of him as it grabbed the hood of the car; its fingers pierced the metal with ease as Crazy Diamond easily found purchase. The yellow aura faded, and his Stand lifted the car above its head and began to swing the car around, pink muscles bulging as it spun in the air with the car held in its grasp.
Crazy Diamond continued to spin the car, slowly starting to look like a small tornado of pink and silver as it kept spinning faster by the moment.
And then Crazy Diamond let the car go with one last spin.
"DORA!"
The car spun through the air like a discus as it soared high above the buildings, and he could see that within the car Garnet was still firmly trapped in her chair. He watched as the car continued to fly over a few more buildings before it disappeared from his sight.
And after a few moments, he heard a boom. Not the boom of lighting, but the boom of a car exploding.
He was fairly certain Garnet would survive that—considering what else she had taken and gotten up from—and was even more certain that the maroon alien would come back within a few minutes; but right now, Garnet wasn't here, which meant that right now-.
There was an explosion of brick and dust from one of the buildings to the right of him, a large hole now present in the walls as a spinning ball plowed through it with ease. The ball jumped into the air and then quickly turned back into the purple woman as she landed on the wet curb.
-He could take care of the healer without any interference.
His eyes scanned the short alien's body, and there were still bruises on her skin. She still hadn't healed herself, and that confused him. If there was some kind of time limit to her healing, why didn't she just hide and wait until she could heal her body and then come out to attack him like before? Sure, her friends were in danger, but it didn't take her that long to heal herself the first time, at most it had been eight minutes before she was fully healed. Did it take longer the more times she used her power? Did it take more concertation or-.
He let out a long breath.
Too many unknowns. Too many questions. He couldn't come up with an answer right now. He needed to just focus on defeating the purple woman as quickly as he could before either Garnet came back or before the white-haired woman used her healing or some other kind of-.
"Your hair sucks!"
What the fuck was that?
There was rage within his expression now; he could feel it rising within his face as it twisted his lips into a vicious snarl. He glared at the purple runt with eyes full of anger as he took a step forward.
"What?"
His voice was quiet, almost inaudible in the storm of rain and thunder around him. But he knew it still cut through the sound and reached the short alien's ears.
The alien who was giving him a shit-eating smirk.
"It looks like you glued a God damn steak to your ugly head!"
She figured out he got angry when his hair was insulted.
"It looks like a big old, moldy roll of bread just rolled up to your head before dying!"
And now, she was trying to get him angry. To get him to make stupid mistakes just like he had done to her just a few minutes before.
"Your hair just looks like a big fucking disappointment!"
Well, congratulations bitch…
With every damn word that left this dead woman's mouth, he felt his anger triple.
It worked. Because he was pissed.
He let out a roar as he charged forward. He saw the smirk on the runt's face grow as she quickly got back into her ball form before dashing forward.
However, this bitch missed one. Little. Detail. And it would cost her.
The white-haired alien was getting closer and closer to him as he sprinted faster, Crazy Diamond by his side as a yellow aura surrounded his Stand.
And when he was a few feet away from the runt, she suddenly dashed to the left and away from him. He instantly saw what her plan was; to quickly circle around him and strike him from behind while she thought he would make a sloppy attack due to his rage.
But he didn't attack; he didn't have Crazy Diamond move from his side and strike out in anger. The only thing he did was come to a complete stop the moment the purple woman made her move.
Just because he got angry, that did not mean he acted like an idiot.
The yellow glow around Crazy Diamond grew. And then an equally yellow aura surrounded a good portion of the street.
If anything, getting pissed off just made him even more efficient at kicking ass.
The portion of the road the bitch raced along began to bubble, little drops of black slowly floated up in the air. The road quickly began to look more like a sea of darkness as it swirled, little burst of black rising like tides and holding their position.
There were many parts that made up a road like this. Cement, gravel, and even dirt made up the roads most travel on. But there was one thing that he had made sure to memorize when it came to road construction. One thing that had caught his interest and made him research more facts about it.
The seal coat of the road. As in, the protective coating that covered the asphalt and acted as a sort of shield against the elements.
Coal tar.
All at once, the portion of the road that had been covered in yellow aura stopped swirling as every inky tide, every spot of black that had floated up into the air came crashing back down; the road now looked like it had been painted with a new, glossy black paint.
And the moment the thick black substance came back to the ground, slipping right underneath the purple runt in the middle of her dash, the bitch came to an abrupt stop as she flew forward before landing face first into the black tar that now covered the road. With the exception of the area he stood around.
Coal tar. One of the stickiest and most adhesives liquids known to man when it was in its natural state.
Slowly, he walked forward. He traveled along the path of road that he hadn't converted to coal tar before he reached the edge of the thick black pool that now made up a good portion of the street.
Right where the runt laid. He could see the bitch struggling to get up, lifting her head up from the coal tar and face now pitch black with viscous black strands connecting her face back to the ground. She was able to hold her head up for a few seconds before the strands forced her head to slam back into the tar.
"Hey…"
His voice was as cold as the rain falling from the skies. He glared at the purple bitch as Crazy Diamond slowly floated forward.
"Armrest…."
Was that her name? He hadn't really heard it properly when Garnet shouted it and it was somewhat hard to remember right now. Well, he didn't' really care either way.
"Just to be clear…."
He tilted his head to one side as his Stand snarled.
"What exactly did you say about my hair?"
There was thick black bubble rising a few feet away from where—he assumed—her mouth was before it popped.
"That's what I thought."
And with that, Crazy Diamond moved. His Stand flew through the air right towards the runt and grabbed her leg. Crazy Diamond then lifted her out of the tar, he saw her eyes widen in pain as the thick strands were removed, and then it slammed her onto another portion of tar.
"DORA!"
With that roar, Crazy Diamond quickly picked the purple bitch off the ground again and then once again slammed her back onto the road, and he felt it shake from the impact.
"DORA!"
Crazy Diamond lifted the bitch even higher into the air this time, and when his Stand slammed her into the ground, thick blobs of tar shot into the air as he heard the woman's skin crack.
"DORARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARARA!"
Crazy Diamond became a mix of purple, silver and pink as it slammed the purple woman over and over again into the ground; he could hear both the ground and the alien's skin cracking each time Crazy Diamond used the runt as its own hammer. All he could see were streaks of pink and purple as his Stand continued to crack her face against the road.
And then—as it picked the purple bitch off the floor—Crazy Diamond threw the alien high into the air.
"This time-!"
As he shouted, Crazy Diamond pulled back its fist. And both his and his Stand's glare was absolutely vicious.
"-STAY DOWN!"
Crazy Diamond quickly followed with its own roar as it threw a punch at the falling purple woman named Armrest.
"DORA!"
He saw the runt's eyes go wide just before his Stand slammed its fist right into her mouth. And then Armrest went flying, teeth leaving her mouth like bullets as she rapidly backflipped through the air. He watched as Armrest crashed through the glass panels of a bus stop before she slammed into the building right behind it; brick and plaster shot out of the building as Armrest became firmly embedded within the wall.
He let out long and heavy breaths, staring at Armrest's seemingly unconscious body. He didn't even blink as he watched Armrest, expecting her to somehow teleport away like her ivory friend had or perhaps to get back up as she finally healed herself.
But Armrest did not move. She just stayed motionless in the wall.
He looked around at the ground. At the cracks that were now everywhere. At the tar that now had pieces of ripped clothing and what looked like purple skin on it; though, the "skin" looked more like finely refined paper instead of actual flesh. Crazy Diamond had used its full strength on the short woman.
He frowned.
His Stand hadn't held back in the slightest.
He then looked back at Armrest. He saw the deep cracks on her body that were still growing; the way she didn't even twitch in her spot on the wall.
And the way he didn't see with Crazy Diamond's eyes even the slightest indication her chest was rising. Like she wasn't even breathing.
His eyes went wide as he had Crazy Diamond grab his jacket before it slammed its foot into the ground. They went flying over the road and the tar before landing just a few feet away from Armrest. Crazy Diamond quickly—yet gently—removed her from the wall and placed her down and the curb.
He crouched down and checked for a pulse.
There was none.
He felt his breath catch in his throat as his body went cold.
Shit! He went too far; way, way too far! He wasn't used to fighting people who didn't bleed so he had no idea how much damage they could take before-!
He gnashed his teeth together.
Damn it, he let his anger get the better of him and made him do something-!
There was a glow. A bright purple glow coming from Armrest. He looked down and saw that the gem near her chest was releasing a bright purple light, and it slowly began to engulf her entire body. In a few seconds, he quickly found himself staring at the glowing outline of Armrest's body.
And then there was a large explosion of purple dust. He inhaled some of the dust as he coughed, both his and Crazy Diamond's hands trying to wave away the dust as quickly as they could. Within a few seconds, the dust cleared as he looked down.
And Armrest was gone. The only thing left in her place was the purple gem that was above her chest.
He blinked, one hand reaching forwards as he slowly picked up the purple gem. He brought the gem up to his face as he stared, Crazy Diamond only a few feet away from him with a confused expression on its face.
Did…did she teleport? But then…why was her gem here?
His eyes narrowed. He thought back to the beginning of the fight, where Armrest had disappeared once Crazy Diamond punched her through the wall. And then he thought back to the peach-haired alien, who had also disappeared an instant after she had been slammed through a wall.
There was something here.
In his mind, he could see Armrest completely healed again.
Something he was missing.
He could see Armrest pulling out her whip from within her purple Gem. And then he thought back to Garnet, where her own gems glowed with the same light just before they were covered in her gauntlets.
Something…something that could help him-.
"Let her go!"
When he heard that furious voice, he instantly turned around.
And he saw the ivory woman. The ivory woman who swung her spear right towards his wrist in a hissing arc of white. Crazy Diamond instantly pushed him to the side with one arm as it used the other to block the spear.
The peach-haired alien's eyes went wide.
"Wha-!?"
"DORA!"
Crazy Diamond smashed its fist right into the ivory alien's pointy nose, and she was sent flying. He watched as her body spiraled through the air, but when she landed back on the concrete, she went into a roll, pushing off the ground with her hands and using her momentum to spring back to her feet.
And when the pointy-nosed woman landed, she snarled at him.
"Let. Her. GO!"
He had no idea as to why the ivory alien was so angry at him. Or why the hell she was ordering him to let this "her" go when the only thing he had on him was-.
He glanced at that the purple gem in his hands.
-The gem.
His eyes widened. And as the woman charged at him through the rain, he realized what he was missing. He realized the answer that had been staring him in the face since the fight began.
No, the thing he should have realized before the fight even started.
Gems?
That's the name of their race.
He could hear Greg's words as his eyes looked up to the large gem on the peach haired woman's face.
These aliens…they were rock people! How Armrest healed herself, how this ivory alien healed herself, was because of an ability every member their race had. The ability to go back into their gems.
The pointy-nosed woman took another step forward, a splash erupting underneath her foot.
That thing he had seen back when the ivory alien went through the wall wasn't some egg, but the gem on her forehead! It most have been because of all the damage she took; when the peach-haired woman reached a point where she just couldn't continue fighting, she would go back into her gem to rest and recover!
His eyes darted to the purple gem in his hands.
It explained why Armrest didn't just heal herself after he injured her again or why none of the others did the same. Because when they did recover, they were helpless. They couldn't move or fight back or do anything. Most likely the only thing they could do was sit and wait before they were healed and could come out again.
There was another splash as the ivory woman got closer.
But now what could he do with the gem in his hand? He essentially had Armrest cornered now and there was nothing she could do defend herself. But she didn't have an actual body he could injure, only her gem. And it would only be a matter of time before she could get back up and join the fight again; he had no idea how many times they could go back into their gems to heal, which meant that as the fight progressed and he grew more tired, these aliens could just heal themselves and continue.
Another splash.
He had to do something to prevent that. It was obvious by the ivory woman's expression that Armrest could still be hurt, even in this state. So, what would happen if he had Crazy Diamond crack the gem a little? Would that make it harder for her to heal or would it stop her healing all together?
What would happen if he shattered the gem in his hand?
He shot a glance at the sprinting ivory alien. And then he looked back at the gem in his hands. He channeled his energy, and Crazy Diamond's limbs overlaid with his own.
He then started to squeeze the purple gem with his fingers.
And then he stood up, got into his best pitcher's stance, and shouted.
"You want her!? Take her!"
Like Hideo Nomo, he threw the gem overhand like a fastball. The gem spiraled through the air as the ivory woman's eyes widened, just before the gem reached her and beamed the alien right in the center of her oval-shaped gem; the peach-haired woman's head went reeling back as she screamed.
He couldn't take any chances. For all he knew, shattering the gem might just kill Armrest. Unless he figured out something that told him otherwise, he couldn't risk attacking any of the aliens when they were recovering.
As the ivory woman dropped her spear as she brought both hands over her gem, he watched as the purple gem that was Armrest hit the ground as it bounced along the wet streets. And then it bounced right through the cracks of a storm drain.
Huh. He guessed that was one way to deal with his problem.
"Oh no, Ameth-!"
The ivory alien turned away from him as she shouted, panic within her eyes.
He saw his chance, and he took it. Crazy Diamond grabbed his jacket and then stomped on the ground.
"DORA!"
They went flying towards the ivory woman, who whirled around as her eyes widened. She still hadn't picked up her weapon, and now that they were so close, there was no way she could react in time.
Crazy Diamond pulled back its fist as they were only few feet away from colliding with the peach-haired alien. And then, from the corner of his eye, he saw something. He turned his head to the right, and his eyes widened.
For a car was flying right towards him, to close to have Crazy Diamond try and punch it away. He acted quickly, Crazy Diamond disappearing from reality for a second and then instantly reappeared right in front of the path of the car, arms crossed.
The car slammed into Crazy Diamond, and he could feel metal scraping against his arms as he let out a painful shout; the car almost immediately crashed back to the ground after it hit his Stand. He was sent flying, careening through the air until he landed on the concrete with his injured back. He shouted again as he tumbled uncontrollably through the street.
When he stopped tumbling, he quickly pushed himself off the ground. His legs wobbled as he tried to stand back up, but he managed. And once he was back on his feet, he looked up.
And he saw Garnet slowly walking towards the ivory woman. There were even more cracks in her body and she now walked with a limp, her visor just as cracked as the rest of her. When Garnet reached her friend, she slowly turned her head towards the ivory woman.
And while they were too far away for him to hear—the only things he could really hear right now were the heavy rain and thunder—he was able to read her lips with Crazy Diamond's eyes.
He had made out the words, "we can fuse now." And the moment Garnet said that, the peach-haired alien's eyes went wide. A second later, she turned her head and narrowed her eyes at him. She then turned back to face Garnet and nodded her head.
And then…they started to dance?
Well, that was what it looked like anyway. The ivory woman began to shimmy, arms held at her side, while Garnet began to move her arms in circular motions from behind her comrade—palms facing out and body rotating in unison with her hand motions.
He did not know why exactly they were dancing, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna let it continue. He had learned that when his opponents did something strange that didn't seem to make sense, it was most likely some kind of move that could very well end him.
Crazy Diamond dug its fingers through the concrete and picked up another chunk of the street; his Stand then lifted the chunk above his head before throwing it forward.
"DORA!"
The chunk went flying towards the two aliens who were still dancing. And even as the large chunk of ground got closer, Garnet and the ivory woman still continued to dance.
He saw a glow beginning to emit from the two as they stepped closer to the other; a large, white glow that grew brighter with every second. The chunk was almost at the two aliens.
The glow got brighter, a white light soon shining from amidst the rain.
And then the chunk hit them. Dust and dirt erupted into the air and obscured his view of the two aliens. For several moments, nothing happened as he stared at the cloud of dirt covering the street.
And then, he saw the white glow again.
And it got bigger.
And bigger.
And even bigger.
His eyes were wide as he lifted his head up to stare at the giant glowing thing that towered over the buildings. A thing that was in the general outline of a person.
He was frozen in the rain as his eyes kept getting wider. And then he spoke.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
So much pain.
Stevonnie continued to scream as they rolled on the ground.
So much pain. So much agony.
Their screams only got louder with every second. Their body convulsed uncontrollably, limbs twisting and back arching, everything felt hot and scorching. The only relief from the burning was the blood and rain that dripped down their skin. But that only helped so much. They could taste ash in their mouth as they coughed thick globs of blood, those moments were the only ones where they weren't screaming.
"I'm sure you're wondering what just happened."
Kira's emotionless voice still reached them through all the pain. They couldn't see him, their vision went from thick whiteness back to clarity far to quickly to make out anything, but that didn't matter. They knew he had a cruel smile on as he looked at them with his horrible purple eyes.
And they knew that monster was staring at them with its pink—far, far to pink—eyes as they continued to scream.
"Well, to put in terms you children will understand, my Killer Queen turned you into a bomb. And then, I blew you up."
Lion roared from somewhere. Where was he? They needed their friend. They were helpless right-.
Even more intense pain erupted near their stomach as their screams became even more high pitched, blood spraying from their mouths.
"Now, now, you mangy animal. I'll get to you in a moment."
Lion roared again, but this time it was interrupted. A sound like a cannon going off blared through the rain and thunder and was quickly followed by what sounded like trees falling down.
They continued to scream. For a moment, they could see Kira and that monster slowly walking forward before everything went back to white.
"It must be awful that you can't heal yourself, isn't it Universe?"
Even through the rain and their screams, they heard him chuckle; thunder boomed throughout the sky.
"Just like his healing, but that's about the only similarity. You're nowhere near the man he is."
They could feel the malice Kira leaked; it slithered through the air and wrapped around their skin. They needed to get up. To move, to run and get out of here. But the pain…it was too much! Every convulsion and twitch they made was absolute torture and no matter what they tried they couldn't control their body even slightly. There was no way to get up. No way to run.
"Come now Universe, Maheswaran. Even the midget didn't scream this much."
They wanted to be angry. They wanted to be stronger than their pain and get right back up and attack. They wanted to fight.
They didn't want to be terrified.
Their screams grew louder, limbs convulsing and in the process their fingers brushed along the gem in their stomach. They felt cracks in the gem.
Cracks.
Through the whiteness, they found themselves staring at almost every corrupted Gem they ever faced.
No.
They stared at Jasper as she began to corrupt.
No!
And then all they could see was Peridot, cracks everywhere on her body and tears, in her eyes, just before she exploded.
NO!
They rolled around on the ground again, still screaming as the whiteness faded from their vision.
And they saw Kira staring down at them, the monster floating right by his side. His smile was even worse than they imagined.
"Did you honestly think you could win? Two children dressed up as an adult? Please. I've known plants deadlier than you."
His eyes looked down at their stomach. At their gem.
"Oh my, that looks quite painful. Maybe not as cracked as that midget's but-."
Whatever else he said they didn't hear as they screamed. Something…something was wrong. Something hurt. Not just the agony in their body, but something…deeper. But what-?
They realized something. Steven and Connie hadn't said anything since the explosion. They focused on the world within them, the realm where the two people who made them existed. They clenched their eyes shut for a few seconds, somehow keeping themselves from screaming as the pain became just a bit manageable.
And when they opened them, they saw purple. And then they saw something that shouldn't be possible.
They saw that world within them was crumbling.
The blue tiles that made up every inch of the world and had extended for who knows how long were falling apart. The ground cracked as they saw tile by tale fall into pitch black nothingness that had not been there before, their world now seemed to float above an abyss. The blue sky was actually cracked as the same purple gas they had seen around Kira began to leak from it and float down to the ground; they saw the gas slowly swirling around what was left of the ground, a circular wall of purple surrounding them as it continued to rise with every second and moved even closer towards them.
And then there was Steven and Connie.
The two people who made up her very being were bleeding. Bright red blood spilled from cuts and gashes all over their bodies, their clothes torn and exposing burned skin and they could hear their friends making agonizing groaning sounds every other second.
How? This wasn't…possible. They were in an entirely different world, why did they feel the explosion too? Steven and Connie did share their pain, yes, but never like this. They could feel every punch they received, but the actual strength of the blow would always feel so much weaker to them.
But here they were, lying in a pool of their own blood with agony-ridden expressions.
They had to do something. They had to...to help them now! The tiles kept crumbling and falling into the abyss, and if nothing were done they…they…
They didn't want to find out.
"St-st-st-Steven!"
Their voice was raspy and weak, it hurt just to say that one word. They saw Steven rolling around as he continued to let out that horrible sound from his mouth. And with one more roll, he was now facing them, a large streak of blood now leaking down his face as he stared.
"Tr-tr-try and he-heal Co-Connie!"
If…if Steven could heal Connie, then maybe some of the damage to their world would be reduced. But they weren't sure if Steven actually understood what they said. Steven had a dazed look in his eyes even as he stared at them. More tiles continued to fall down into the abyss.
"He-heal Conn-!"
They never finished as something slammed into their gem. They screamed again as the world changed from blue to grey. They found themselves staring up at a grey sky.
And also Kira and his monster, who both had their feet on their gem.
"Are you even listening right now?"
They put more pressure on their gem and they screamed even louder.
"I have no idea what exactly it was you just whispered, but it's still rude to talk when someone else is trying to educate you."
They hated how just the slightest bit of anger that rose in his voice was enough to make them shiver. They didn't want to be afraid, they tried so hard to stay strong but…but…
The monster and the murderer kept staring at them. Hollow and empty pink eyes worked alongside cruel and malicious purple to let them know one thing; that they were trapped and helpless against them.
They were absolutely terrified about what these two would do them. They were alone, Lion off who knows where and they hadn't told the other Gems where they were going so there was no chance of getting backup. No chance of getting saved.
No, no...they…they didn't want to-.
"Though, I suppose it doesn't matter."
Kira's cold words brought them out of their thoughts. And the next thing they knew, they felt something grab their throat as they were lifted into the air.
They found themselves being held up by the pink monster with one arm; the only reason they didn't scream was that their throat suddenly felt crushed. And Kira stood by the monster's side as he glared at them with cold, unfeeling eyes.
"Now, normally I'd just blow you up like everyone else; but right now, I feel like you owe me for all the times I had to put up with your nonsense, Universe."
He smiled that horrible, inhuman smile as they saw the pink monster lift its other hand up.
"So, for now, you're going to entertain me with those lovely screams of yours."
The grip on their throat grew tighter. They never had to breathe as much as other humans, but they still needed air.
"And, when I'm bored, you'll give me one more oh so delightful scream."
Somehow the cruelty grew. Somehow, the man's smile became even more sadistic and pierced their already terrified body, making every part of them ice cold as their heart hammered against their chest.
"So, Universe, you and Maheswaran can pray to God if you want…"
The pink monster brought its leather gloved hand towards their left eye.
"Though, I don't think it'll matter if you pray, considering that you both are about to go straight to hell."
His smile now stretched to the ends of his face.
They tried to struggle; they tried to move, but they couldn't. Their body was locked both from pain and pure, unmitigated horror. They were going to die. They were going to die. They never thought it would end like this. They never thought they somehow meet a man who was ten times scarier than anything they could ever dream of.
Their eyes were wide as saucers as the monster kept inching its sharp, claw-like hands forward.
Anyone, someone help! Please!
Their fear kept rising, twisting every part of them and slowly destroying whatever was left of their hope. And it just kept getting stronger as Kira started to laugh; a cruel, absolutely horrible laugh that was just as inhuman as the rest of him.
Help!
"Now then, why don't we get-."
The rain stopped.
It didn't lessen, it didn't slowly clear up, it just stopped. Without any warning, the heavy downpour came to a complete stop.
They saw Kira look around, confused. Slowly, he turned his head up.
And then he stiffened. For a moment, he didn't move a muscle. And then, he spoke.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
It was the first time Kira's voice sounded stressed. They quickly followed his gaze as they looked up.
And above in the sky, they saw a massive layer of water covering a large portion of the storm clouds. They could see the rain from the sky pelting the layer of water, sending ripples throughout the massive body of liquid and making it bigger with every second.
And just underneath the layer, they could see something. It looked like...a person.
Their eyes went wide.
And the moment they did, a torrent of water shot from the layer of liquid and headed right for them. As the torrent got closer and closer to the ground, it began to shift and change form. The torrent's body became slimmer, the head changing shape and appearance, and within a few seconds they found themselves staring at the same water dragon they had seen just a few weeks ago.
"Damn it!"
The monster let go of them, they fell to the ground with a shout, and grabbed onto Kira's jacket. The monster then slammed its foot onto the ground, and the force was enough to send them flying away. And both Kira and the monster just dodged the dragon as it slammed into the spot they had once been.
A massive tidal wave erupted and swept over the ground. Their body was submerged by the wave and carried them; they careened through the water as the waved pushed backward. After a few seconds, the wave crashed onto the ground with them along with it, and they hit the wet dirt hard as they tumbled underneath the wave. And as the wave receded, they let out a gasp the moment their body wasn't underwater as their pain grew worse. Within seconds they let out another scream as they stopped tumbling.
But…but at least they were away from that monster and the murderer.
They quickly got control of their screaming as they slowly tried to sit up, eyes still closed. But the pain was too much as they fell back to the ground with a painful cry. The wave only seemed to have made their injuries-.
"Sorry."
Their eyes shot open and went wide when they heard that voice.
"I saw what that guy was doing to you and…I just acted. Should've done...something different."
They turned their head to the right. And they saw Lapis, crouching down next to them.
And she looked awful. There were deep, dark rings under eyes, her hair messier and dirtier than they had ever seen. And when they stared into Lapis' eyes all they could see was exhaustion. She just looked so…damaged.
Why was she even here? Where had she been?
"I…where are the others? Are they dealing with whatever's going on in the town?"
The…the town?
"Wha-what's wrong with the-?"
There was a cracking sound, and then they screamed. Their stomach hurt so much!
Worry consumed Lapis expression as her eyes went wide—and at least now there was something there instead of just exhaustion.
"Steven!"
They suddenly saw that murderer's face.
"Stevonnie!"
They didn't mean to snap at Lapis, but…they had enough of being called someone they weren't. Even through the pain, they still gave Lapis the best glare they could manage given their injuries.
"Ri-right. Sorry."
Lapis looked down at their gem.
"Can't you heal yourself?"
They groaned before responding.
"Steven's…Steven's healing spit can't heal his own injuries. S-so I can't heal my own injuries."
Lapis eyes frantically looked them over.
"Fuck…what the hell happened here?"
Lapis turned around; and they followed Lapis' gaze and saw Kira and his monster slowly getting up several hundred feet away near a shattered tree, his expression rising with anger.
"Who is he?"
They coughed blood. They let out several wheezes before they spoke.
"He's…he's the guy who…who's been kidnapping everyone."
Lapis suddenly froze, eyes wide.
They coughed again.
"He-he's the one that's been…that's been responsible for…everything!"
Another cough as more blood left their lips.
"He's the one that-."
"Killed Peridot."
They looked up and saw Lapis expression had become…empty.
"That's the guy? That guy right their?"
Lapis pointed a finger at Kira, and her voice was somehow even more hollow then her expression.
And they suddenly felt…cornered
"That guy?"
It wasn't just the fact that everything around them suddenly seemed to get cold—even more so than a second ago. It wasn't just the fact that droplets of water suddenly appeared literally out of thin air as they flew towards the sky and joined the massive body of water above.
It was the fact that the entire forest now seemed to cling with something that made them feel like they were trapped.
"That guy?"
Lapis was snarling. And Kira looked nervous as he took a step back, it was the first time they had ever seen him look like that.
"THAT BASTARD!?"
It was only now that they realized what was clinging to the air.
Pure, icy rage. The same immense fury that blazed throughout every inch of Lapis' expression. Every bit of hatred within her leaked into the forest; they felt Lapis' anger slowly building up like a monsoon around them, and with one look at Kira, they knew the murderer could feel her rage as well.
"You…"
Lapis' voice was low, but it rumbled like thunder. They could see her eyes were murderous as she glared at Kira. A part of them had thought that the Lapis they had seen two weeks ago was scary. And that part of them was right.
But the Lapis in front of them now—the one whose expression was full of hatred and whose eyes promised retribution—was absolutely menacing.
"You're fucking dead."
Lapis clenched both of her hands. And up above the sky, the body of water began to change. Five tendrils of water extended from the main body and began to shift and ripple, looking more like fingers with every second. But then, the tendrils became jagged and knife-like and began to glimmer. The main body quickly shifted as well, now looking like a palm and wrist.
Lapis hadn't made her giant water hand.
Instead, she made a giant water claw.
And then, Lapis rose both of her arms and brought them down with a roar.
And the claw flew down.
To Be Continued~
