Chapter 10
Rose sat contently in her room as she polished one of her many swords. It had been a couple of hours since she and Sapphire had parted ways at the clifftop, and she was still riding the emotional high. It wouldn't be too long before Steven was awake, and she was eager to tell him about her night, but for now, she was taking advantage of the early morning hours to have some time to herself. As she polished the sword to a splendid shine, she caught a reflection of her own torso in it, the Facet 31 emblem on her chest staring her in the face. She still wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to keep it. On one hand, it came with a lot of bad memories, and earned her a lot of unwanted attention from the uncorrupted Gems. On the other, it was a symbol of her bond with her comrades; a bond that hadn't disappeared even after the organisation had been disbanded.
She quickly received another reminder of times gone by when she heard an electronic tone emanating from her bedside cabinet. Despite already knowing where the noise was coming from, she was nonetheless surprised to hear it. Quickly setting aside the sword and opening the drawer, she took out a small black tablet; her old Facet 31 communicator. When she had surrendered to Steven after the battle of the Human Zoo, she had given a communicator to a few of her closest friends and most trusted generals, so that they could remain in contact no matter where they ended up. She knew that most would be returning to Homeworld, and she had wanted to make sure that they could check in with her if they felt the need, even while she was on Earth. Until this moment, none of them had used the channel she had set up; they were all probably far too busy adjusting to their new lives in Era 3. If one of her comrades had called her now though, she knew she had to be there for them. Opening the message, her eyes widened as she read it:
"Hello 9DS; it's good to speak to you again. I hope you're well on Earth. I've just arrived here myself, and I need to talk to you as soon as possible. I don't know that I'm ready so speak to the Crystal Gems right now; I'd rather deal only with you. If you're willing to talk face to face, meet me in the control room of this planet's Prime Kindergarten as soon as you can. I await your answer; 1NX."
Rose set down the tablet and sat in silence for a moment. One of her comrades was on Earth?! 1NX of all people?! 1NX had been one of Rose's closest friends during Era 1, and had served as her second in command in Facet 31 during Era 3. Other than Sapphire, Rose couldn't think of anyone she was considered a closer friend; and yet, while she felt happy at the prospect of seeing 1NX again, she was also concerned about the reason for her visit. What could be so important that her friend had flown all the way to Earth rather than just tell her over the communications channel? Why be so secretive about the meeting. Had the Diamonds made 1NX a fugitive? Rose wouldn't have put it past them, but she somehow doubted that Steven would have allowed it. Did she simply not trust Earthlings yet? If it was the latter option, Rose couldn't exactly blame her; their past experiences with Earth had been traumatic, and Rose's change in opinion was primarily down to Steven, who as far as she was aware had never spoken to 1NX. She made a mental note that, when she met her old ally face-to-face, she would try to convince her to speak to Steven. Regardless of the reason though, Rose already knew that she had to go immediately. A Gem who had fought alongside her through thick and thin needed her, and she wasn't about to let them down.
The Prime Kindergarten was draped in its usual foreboding mist when Rose warped in. There was a steady stream of dim light filtering down from above, but it wasn't enough to clear the haze. Trying to shake off the sense of unease that the lifeless canyon had been instilling in her of late, Rose made her way towards the facility which lay beneath it. Before long, she was staring at the green metallic passageway which led down through the floor of the canyon. Every Kindergarten had a similar facility, designed to allow technicians to oversee operations while the Gems they were monitoring incubated. This facility, however, had once had another purpose. Steven had told Rose the stories of how this facility had been used to monitor the Cluster; a colossal geoweapon constructed from the shards of those who fell in the war. While Rose had dabbled in weapons of mass destruction herself, the thought of building one out of corpses made even her shudder. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she willed herself to focus on the task at hand; her friend was waiting for her down below, potentially in need of help. She could not afford to let trepidation cause her to hesitate now.
The facility's elevator wasn't functional, so Rose had to just slide down the entry hatch, but she landed gracefully enough in the corridor below. The low lighting that cast the hallway in a dim green glow was a clear giveaway that the control centre was in low power mode; just as she had suspected. The lack of repairs suggested that no-one had been down there since Steven's last visit. The place had largely been forgotten, making it the perfect location for the two Quartzes to meet, away from prying ears. As she walked, Rose stepped around the shattered rock cores which littered the floor; former incubators for the Diamonds' fusion experiments. As strategically sound a meeting place as it was, this was about the last place on the planet that she wanted to be. She quickened her pace slightly, eager for once in her life to be in the company of another Gem as soon as possible.
It wasn't long before she emerged into the control centre's main chamber. The walls opened out and the ceiling rose considerably as she exited the corridor, making the space feel slightly less suppressive. "1NX! 1NX, are you there?" Rose shouted into the dimly lit room, her powerful voice carrying easily over the low hum of the electronics still operating within the walls. She was relieved when she received a swift reply. "9DS? Is it really you?" 1NX emerged from behind a wall near the far end of the room, a visible mask of relief on her face. Rose had never seen her look that way before, and feared that her suspicions about 1NX being hunted might have been correct. Without thinking, Rose ran over to her and pulled her into a hug. "Woah!" 1NX exclaimed with a giggle that contradicted her rough exterior, "Is this a thing we do now?"
"Oh, sorry" Rose said with a bashful smile. "It's just really good to see you again." 1NX gently raised her fist, placing it against the Facet 31 logo which still emblazoned her own jumpsuit, and replied "and you, old friend". Rose felt a mix of emotions when she noticed that her friend had also opted to keep her Facet 31 uniform, but she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised; the movement had likely meant just as much to 1NX of its members as it had to her. If one were to try to put it in human terms, they might have called it a family. "Now," 1NX continued, snapping Rose out of her reflection, "we need to talk fast. I don't know how much time we have before we're found."
"What do you mean?" Rose interjected, a worried tone creeping into her voice. "Who's trying to find us? If it's not safe for you here, why did you come here in person instead of using our comm line?"
1NX took on a stern, determined expression. "This place isn't safe for either of us. I came to see you in person because I need you to come back with me; back to Homeworld."
Garnet's chamber was bathed in an orange glow by the lava which sat in a large pool in the centre, and flowed through small channels in the floor. The air rippled as heat radiated upwards, but the room's sole occupant was undisturbed. Garnet sat in a meditative pose, taking a brief moment to glance around at her surroundings. She smiled slightly at the absence of the multi-coloured bubbles which had once dotted the ceiling; their occupants now uncorrupted and living freely again. While it was incredible to have all her old friends back, it had also galvanised her desire to protect the Earth. For this reason, she had been in her room meditating even since she and Steven had got back from the roaming eye, trying to narrow down her future vision enough to find the craft's occupants, or at least give some clue as to what the next few days would bring. So far, she'd seen plenty of timelines, but none had yielded useful information. Either this meant that the new arrivals weren't going to be a major factor within the next few days, or that what was coming was unpredictable enough that she hadn't been able to foresee it yet. The fact that the second option was even a possibility filled her with unease, and compelled her to continue.
Behind her visor, she closed her lower two eyes, opened the third, and returned to her meditation. The timelines snaked in front of her vision like tributaries of a great river, each one ending in a pool with a vision of events yet to come reflected in its waters. Usually, she could traverse these pools with great ease; the act was even soothing at times, provided that the futures in question were benign. Today though, she felt only exasperation. She had been at this for hours; long enough that she was now exploring less and less probable timelines; their tributaries so miniscule that they were practically dry. The visions in these pools had the least clarity, and the events within them were often so absurdist as to be completely divorced from reality. At this point though, Garnet was willing to trawl through them all; the occupants of that roaming eye had to have gone somewhere. The idea that they had just disappeared was too unlikely to even feature in its own pool at all.
After another indeterminate stint of frustrating pool hopping, during which she had had to push down Ruby's desire to punch something multiple times, Garnet finally chanced upon a pool whose events caught her eye. As she stared into it, taking in the future it displayed, her eye widened in shock, both at the content of this future, and the rapidity with which it is approaching. There was one key problem with Garnet's future vision: it was coloured by her own perception. Futures appeared likely or unlikely because she considered them so, not necessarily because it was actually true. If a future comes to pass which lay outside her expectations, it often went unpredicted until it was virtually upon her, as was the case with the future she was now witnessing. In an instant, the tributary turned to a raging torrent, and the image in the pool grew so sharp and crisp it was as though she was staring at the events in person. Overcome by a sense of panic at what she saw, and frustration at not having seen it sooner, she managed to blurt out only two short words. "Oh no..." Snapping out of her meditative state and jumping to her feet, Garnet sprinted for her room's exit. She needed to get the others; now.
Author's Notes: Well, that's the end of the stuff I had pre-written for this story. From now on, I'll be writing it as I go. I'll try to keep to the every-other-day posting schedule, but I can't make that a promise. If the chapters become more sporadic, you know the reason. In the mean time though, why not tell me what you think
of the story so far? Any reviews are appreciated. That said, I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
