Ocasio

It's been three days since the others have returned, I have yet to see Dad. The others came back looking pretty banged up, Coral more so than the others. I wasn't told why they were so, or why Dad hasn't come back yet, though, as of right now I'm going to try and worm information out of Obsidian. She was out on the beach trying to summon her weapon, she was getting pretty close. "Hey, Obsidian!" I call from atop the deck, I walk a few steps back before running forwards and kicking off of the railing. As I sailed into the air and eventually landed by her I sighed in relief, if this were two days ago that would have left me writhing in agony. "What'cha doin?"

She frowned, trying to regain her concentration, but it seems that I had done too much damage. "Well, I was trying to summon my weapon."

I nod, "Oh, sorry."

She blew a loose strand back into place, "It's fine, I wasn't getting anywheres anyhow." she turned to face me, "So, what did you need Ocasio?"

I scratched my head in an attempt to fake loss of memory, "Hmm… what was it… what was it?" I continued the act by shrugging, "It seems I've forgotten, silly me right?"

She narrowed her eyes in suspicious irritation, that was new, "You want to know what happened." I nodded furiously. She plopped onto the wet sand and patted next to her, I took the seat and was surprised to find that it wasn't that gross, "Well, what exactly have you heard?"

"Nothing." I answer. She sighs and goes on to explain every detail of the mission, from the legion of corrupted Gems, which sounded awesome until she mentioned Howlite. "Howlite?"

She nodded, "Howlites were developed about a century before the Crystal Rebellion, each one meant to be a replacement for the Quartz line. They were designed to have complete and total devotion to whomever they were seeded for and were also the first and only gems to have been intentionally developed with a defect in their stones in order to generate a certain level of ferocity in them."

"Wait, so Aunt Amethyst and Jasper are obsolete?"

She gave me a confused look seemed to ask if I was stupid, but then she realized something, "Oh yes, I sometimes forget you are a recently developed Gem. All you have is the basic knowledge every Gem has at creation."

I frowned, wondering if I should be offended or not, "Thanks?"

She didn't seem to notice my mood, "Do not mention it. But to answer your question: I meant Quartz gems, not quartz soldiers. Howlites were easier to make and thanks to their design, they also served as field operatives for land-based vanguards, even one of them was enough for even the most well coherent Quartz Prowler squad."

I nodded slowly, "Ok, so how does she fit into this?"

Obsidian went to answer, but she faltered. "Well…"

"And how was she corrupted if she still had her form?" I asked, the mystery behind Howlite was rapidly replacing my worry over Dad.

Obsidian shook her head clear of something, "She was the first Howlite… also Father's pet experiment."

"What?"

Obsidian seemed to grow angry, "You heard me. Black Diamond is responsible for her corruption. After he joined the Rebellion he had tasked me with disposing of her… but Homeworld was waiting for us at the facility…"

"What… what are you saying?" it was as if she were speaking another language.

Obsidian pulled her knees to her chest, "I was supposed to shatter her, I was supposed to destroy the facility and all of Io's kindergartens, but the Homeworld Loyalists had known what Black Diamond was doing and waited for us. We were shattered for treason against the authority."

I sat there in stunned silence, I stared at this stranger in my presence, her rage, those eyes that were once filled with silent cheer but now were rapidly swelling with tears, the pitiful and defeated posture… it was so alien to me. This was not the Obsidian I knew, not the one she was supposed to be. Something else also struck me as odd, "Why do you call him father, but then revert to Black Diamond?" she froze up. "He is your father right?"

She looked away from me, "In theory… in practice, well, that's a different story."

"So you hate him? Or did he hate you?"

Obsidian looked appalled by the question, "Moonstone no, he didn't hate me."

"But you hate him." she started to say something, but stopped halfway.

She looked to the sand below, "I don't hate him… it's just, I'm not sure if I should love him."

"You should." I reply simply.

She looked at me angrily, "Yeah?"

I nodded, "Throughout the stories I've heard, he seems heroic."

"They're supposed to."

"They aren't, he was an outcast and a traitor. Sure, the stories I've heard about him during the rebellion portray him oppositely. But, I steered away from all of those but one." Now she meets my gaze, but I look out to the horizon, "Jasper, Peridot, they are the most pro-Homeworld Gems here. Though they've seen the truth, they also knew the good parts."

Three Weeks Prior:

Ocasio

I jump to the right and as soon as my feet touch the ground I have to hit the ground. The corrupted beast soars over me, it's strangely canine body landing a few yards away from me. It turns around as quickly as I had hit the ground, it's paws began thundering. The amount of anger and pure mania that it exuded made it all the more hilarious when out of nowhere Jasper tackled it and put it into a headlock before casually jerking its neck.

After the creature was poofed sat up on the dirt and wiped the sweat from my forehead. Jasper assaulted my back with what I'm sure she thought was an encouraging pat, "You did good there Sagedaughter, growing nicely into those reflexes." I looked down to my hands, I should have felt happy that I helped, but all I could feel was angry that I still couldn't summon my weapons. Jasper must have noticed because she picked me up off the ground, "Still mad about that, huh?"

I nodded, "I wanna be able to help, and not having my weapon just makes me a nuisance. Everyone else has their weapons, and they are a thousand times stronger because of it!"

Jasper crossed her arms, "You do realize I needed you to take down that corruption, right?" I told her she just did it out of pity. She groaned, "Look, I'm not good with these inspirational deals, so I'm only going to say this once: it's not the weapon that makes the soldier. It's not the weapon that strengthens the warrior. Your grandfather had no weapon and as far as I know, Black Diamond did not either."

"I know they didn't…"

Jasper nodded, "Then you should know their strength, they were weaponless yet still amazingly strong. Worth the fountains of praise they received."

I shook my head in confusion, trying to make sure I understood her correctly. I knew Black had received praise among the ranks of the Crystal Gems and a select few among Homeworld, but that was only due to his intelligence. "But I thought he was an outcast among Homeworld?"

"And you'd be right, he is definitely an outcast; among the upper-crust. Among the soldiers and many of the lower-crust he is held to the same standard as Pink Diamond, though for a different reason." she faltered for a moment, I let her be. It was obvious she was still mourning the loss of Pink Diamond even after all of these years, "Pink Diamond was a kind soul, she tried to keep up a tyrannical appearance to appease Blue, White, and Yellow Diamond. But there were always slip-ups, she was too compassionate for Gemkind. Black Diamond was intelligent, crafty, and despite what many will tell you, more knowledgeable on stratagem than Yellow Diamond. Most will also tell you how Black Diamond is the inverse of pink, though this is also untrue."

"How so?" I asked.

"Ahem, I believe I can answer that." I heard a nasally voice answer. I turned around to Peridot, where did she come from? "The Justiciar sent me."

"Who?" I ask.

"Ugh, have you no knowledge of Emerald's legacy?" she scowled, "Never mind that. To answer your question, Black Diamond was an outcast to all except his pink sister. Though, with his antisocial behavior and his umbrakinetic prowess, a rare and unique power already known to be a symbol of the Reaper and that draws on the negative emotions of its user, made him a stark contrast to Pink Diamond who had proven herself to be a compassionate ruler. But, what many do not know, and I am afraid these are all just rumors left over from the Clan Wars, is that Black Diamond cared for all under his court. When Amourabundus had set upon Homeworld in a zealous march, the Emerald Army had first struck Black Diamond's capital city."

"Wait, grandfather and Black Diamond fought each other?"

"Nonsense, Black Diamond had surrendered instantaneously," oh. Peridot waved a hand, "However, that 'battle' has some controversy to it. Some say he had allowed the Reformists safe passage to the next city. However, even if this is true, it paints a rather different portrait. He understood that he would not have won, that the Clan Wars would be only ended through Amoura. He also understood that even if he were to somehow put up a fight, it would amass too many casualties on his side." Peridot took a moment to breath, "His intelligence in battle is comparable to Yellow's, better in most aspects even. However, his compassion for those he rules, albeit rather subtle, is equal to Pink's; though, he could be just as heavy-hearted as Blue, and he was just as prone to emotional outbursts as Yellow was. However, these are traits that every Diamond had, more or less. He was also calculative and had his moments of cold-hearted logicality, the marks of leadership that White Diamond had so often used..."

I shook my head, trying to remember everything Peridot had just word vomited. "So… who is the opposite of?"

Peridot nodded, "All of them; Black Diamond was arguably the most intelligent out of the five, he too was filled was compassion, with anger, with sadness, and cheerless, frozen cynicality. I would think it safe to assume, that he in himself is the opposite of all the Diamonds.

Jasper nodded, "Though I wouldn't say that Black was bad because of it, if anything, he was a better being because of it. He wasn't just somethin you could peg down so easily, he knew how it was to be considered lower, in fact he was the most vocal supporter of the military. Not because of our efficiency, no, but because he considered us all our own gems. If history were to repeat and Pink was still shattered, I would hope for Black's survival..."

"Yes, many of the first era peridots have also vouched immensely for his kindness and would secretly congregate to mourn him." Peridot added, her tone trickling a surprising amount of sadness.

Present:

"Your father affected even those who should not have been loyal to him, even with the qualities that made him a pariah, he still did things his own way. He thought of gems as individuals, I haven't heard of many Gems throughout history doing that." I finish.

Obsidian shook her head, "Rose Quartz did, Pink Diamond indirectly did, Amoura and Oceanus had done so as well... yes, though he was noble, his means of protecting his "court" was through experimentation and heartless science."

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KARKING KIDDING ME!" I angrily yell, startling Obsidian in the process. "Did you not even listen?" I clenched my fists and stared at Obsidian angrily, "You're going on what you think is true!"

Obsidian angrily stood up and started shouting as well. "What I think is true? Ocasio, look around you! Fire Opal, Flint, Howlite! They were all under my father's court, they were all used by him! Even those of his court who have died are still abused, Draco Testa, another Obsidian just as I, was the whole basis for what he did to Howlite!"

I was about to scream at her that what happened to Flint was the current Diamond Authority's doing when a memory of fear hit me; it was but a flash, but in it I could feel the air that was once tinged with childish wonder, but the air grew stale and cold. I knew immediately who it was from "You think he would do that to you."

Obsidian reeled back in shock, "W-what?"

I took a step closer, she takes a tentative step back, "You've seen what happened to Flint, one of his creations, you've seen what happened to Howlite, who was experimented on to replicate what had happened to an Obsidian… and you feel as if Black Diamond would do that to you."

She averted my gaze, "And so what?"

"That's why you won't see reason, that's why you can't . You're scared of what he could have done." I take another step, "You think he would have corrupted you next had the time been different."

She curls her fist, her anger returning, "So what if I did? You've just given reason why I should-" I interrupt her by wrapping my arms around her and putting her into an embrace.

"He wouldn't have done that to you." I said, and truthfully, while I was unsure that Black Diamond wasn't somewhat bad for what he did, I was sure that what I had said, what I had promised, was absolute. Apparently Obsidian believed so too because I could soon feel my shoulder slicken with tears.

"How can you be certain?" her voice was so close to my ear that it sent my skin prickling with goosebumps.

Before I could answer her, the perfect answer provided itself, "Let me go Jade! I wanna see my daughter!"

"Emerald, I swear upon Oceanus's grave that if you do not get-"

I turned back to Obsidian. "Because, a parent's love for their child is absolute; you said so yourself. He loved you, and if he did not, then he would not have considered you his child and you would not have ever called him father."

"Jade, don't you dare… Jade, pl-" moments after a large gale hits me and I can hear a faint "He-e-e-e-elp!" fade into the distance.

Obsidian looked at me with a smile, "I suppose you wish to see your father."

I looked towards the horizon and shook my head, "I think you might need my attention more."

Emerald

I try to pry myself from the crater that I had made upon impact, 'Sheesh, and she calls herself a healer.'

I can hear a faint chuckling in my mind, "Oh, she is definitely a healer, Jade just has very aggressive techniques." true to his words, Jade's ironclad grip wraps around my shoulders and rips me out of my little hole.

She stands me up and helps steady myself before dusting my body off and handing my coat back, "I hope you know I wouldn't have had to do that if you had just cooperated."

I nodded my head, "Yeah, I know. It's just, well, it's been three days and I was certain that Ocasio was worried."

"Oh, she most definitely was." Jade replied.

I don't understand how that was supposed to help me, "Well then why keep me from seeing her?"

"Because Emerald, you were poofed." I still didn't understand, "Well, think of it this way, if she has never seen you in such a state. She would have most certainly freaked out and that would have been no good." I nodded slowly, it was starting to make sense now. "Also, she would have tried to take out her anger on the Howlite; that would have also not been any good seeing as we still have yet to determine how her specific corruption works. If we can figure it out then we may have a chance to pick up where Black Diamond left off."

I stared widely at her, "And that would bolster our ranks as well."

She nodded, but shortly thereafter she shook her head, "Yes and no, while you are right about the bolstering of our ranks alongside the declustered gems, we are already risking Ocasio enough by just using this machine." Oh yeah, that's right. While we and the others were on Io, those, other than Jade (who was pretty steamed that she wasn't informed of the plan) and Ocasio, were busy taking down clustered beasts and unearthing the proto-clusters. Peridot estimated that in the past three days alone they had managed to take down around thirty-seven percent of the clustered beasts and unearthed all of the proto-clusters in each of the kindergartens.

However, the machine with the crystal alone did not function like we had hoped it would have (we we're barely able to save to crystal). I nodded my head, "Well, I understand that our only option is the clusters, but do you have any ideas about curing corruption?"

Jade shook her head, "I do not know of any surefire ways without the use of Ocasio's power, but I have a theory on it."

"Well, let's hear it then."

She nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, like I said, we would have to rely on Ocasio's power to decorrupt the corrupted gems. However, it would require a certain power of Star Quartz's" before I can even guess as to what she means a vermillion light fills the slowly darkening area around us, "Amoura, hello, while I am honored for your visit I would have preferred you not endanger your son's condition."

My dad winked at her, thankfully it wasn't a flirtatious wink, "A pleasure to see you too Jade; it's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

Jade shook her head, "I see you can still be as immature as he was."

I looked to my father in confusion, it made me feel like a small child for a moment, "Who is she talking about?"

Dad either didn't hear me or ignored my question all together, "About your theory Jade, are you referring to Meteor's Creed?"

"Precisely that." she replied.

I watched as my father's expression turned grim, "Well, I believe that could work… given the right conditions."

"Yes, that is why I am so hesitant about it." I shook my head, it was as if I wasn't here anymore.

I put my hands on my hips, "Can somebody please tell me what Meteor's Creed is?"

My dad turned to me and I watched as he remembered I was here, it kind of irked me. Oh well, at least he remembered, Steven had watched cartoons where the characters go on and on while the one character out of the loop tries to get their attention in vain, "Oh, Emerald, sorry. Well, you see, meteor's creed is a certain power unique to Meteor Gifts."

I shook my head, "Meteor gifts? As in, presents?"

Jade now shook her head, "No, you are aware of the stories of Gems showing up in kindergartens yet no records of their seeding are able to be yielded?" she sighed, I guess a blank stare was a no in her book, "Well, it has happened many times. But, to explain it in short, there Father Meteor and Mother Moonstone have supposedly intervened from time to time and planted random gemstones, your namesake-"

I waved my hands, feeling my cheeks flush in embarrassment, "Please, I don't like my real name."

She nodded and, while simultaneously ignoring my father's confused look, continued, "Well, these gems are often referred to as Meteor Gifts and Moonstone Gifts respectively. Your father and his father before him were meteor gifts, and you are as well. Like I was going to say though, your namesake was a Moonstone gift. These select gems would often, but not always, lead lives that would determine how Gemkind would continue its existence, your father, a Meteor gift, started the Clan War, your Mother, a Moonstone gift, finished it and set in motion many reformations, and you aided the Crystal Rebellion."

I nodded, slowly getting a grasp on the topic, but one nagging question still persisted, "Ok, but what does this have to do with Ocasio though?" However, as soon as I asked it I realized the answer, "We're going to need her to use Star Quartz's energy, don't we?"

"Not exactly… we're going to need her to channel Star Quartz herself."

My mouth dropped wide, "Excuse me? I heard you correctly, right?"

"Yes, though, what Amoura has failed to mention is that she does not need to truly channel the demi-goddess." Jade annunciated demi very harshly, something that seemed to irritate my father. I guess they had arguments like this back then? "She would merely need to harness a fraction of her power and channel it into you. But, seeing as how she isn't trained to do that, I will have to act as a conduit." Ok, but I still had no idea what Meteor's creed was. Luckily, Jade had another shortened explanation, "It is a state of being. Remember how I said I would be the conduit," I nodded, "Well, you are also a conduit by using Meteor's Creed, however, it will be Ocasio going into Howlite's core."

I nodded slowly, I was still sorta lost on what she meant, but I think the basic idea was I would be going into some sort of trance and it would serve as some sort of gate for Star Quartz's power to flow through. However, since Ocasio didn't know how to transfer energy, Jade would have to act as gate between us and, through some weird science-fiction -- yes, this is even science fiction to me despite my civilization being technologically leagues ahead of most species we've come across -- sort of deal, Ocasio would be transferred over into Howlite's core and she could somehow cure Howlite's corruption.

I relayed my thoughts to Jade and she nodded, "I suppose that's how you could state it." She clapped her hands together, "Alright, Amoura, you get busy teaching your son the chant and I shall collect Ocasio and we shall meet at the barn in two hours."

Ocasio:

I rubbed my temples in order to soothe the massive headache that was coming on, it's hard adjusting to all of these bodily systems. I think I've involuntarily thrown up like two or three times now. However, that was not what was causing my surmounting headache, it was all of the information that has been drilled into me in the past two hours.

I still couldn't understand all of it; one moment I was chilling on the beach with Obsidian -- I never noticed how beautiful the sunset made her -- and the next I was busy getting seventeen lectures all at once by Jade. However, I still remembered what I had to do so I'm still able to get what I need done. Jade had made sure of that, with her lecture.

Jade held out a hand for me and a hand for Dad, who she had to grab because he was heavily focused and chanting something in a language that I only half understood. I would have focused harder on his words had my vision not gone out the moment Jade gripped his shoulder. I started freaking out, I tried moving but felt no connection to my body. My mind raced with all that could have happened. I died? No, because I still heard Dad chanting. Was I poofed? Plausible, but doubtful. So, what was it?

'Forw…' A faint voice started but quickly fluttered away. It came back, repeating the same word… But once again fluttered out. It was rather odd, it kind of reminded me of how Steven's radio sometimes had bad reception.

"It is similar I suppose." A somewhat familiar voice rang.

'Star Quartz?' I start, there was no doubt about it, 'Where am I?'

"A tunnel of sorts." what did that mean? "I may be a deity, but I am just as clueless as you are when it comes to these sort of things."

Well, this was getting frustrating. 'Well, what should we do?'

"I suggest moving forwards." how would I do that? A sigh that was not my own was heaved, "You take one foot in front of the other."

'I don't know if you can see Star, but I don't seem to have… feet?' before my eyes I watched as a golden light swam up from the darkness, first my feet came, then my legs, and everything else soon thereafter. Though, something felt off. The little outfit I had formed from my image of my father was no longer what I was outfitted in, no, I was now decked in what I could only assume was a white, leathery type of armor from the waist down. I felt around my chest and could feel a sort of wiry shirt, almost as if it had metal weaved into it. My hair was also no longer long and pale yellow, now it was short, choppy, and black. I was surprised not only by the transformation but by how the black of my surroundings were darker than my hair.

I could hear Star Quartz chuckle, "It appears that you do, in fact, have feet Ocasio."

'Oh stuff it,' I barked. After that I assumed the direction that was directly in front of me and tried moving forward, and when I did I could feel my feet touch solid ground. Pretty soon I could see a bright light, and it rapidly enveloped me.

Meanwhile:

Jade gripped tightly to the rectangular gemstone, she thanked Moonstone that Emerald was too far gone into the ritual to notice that his daughter had poofed. It was a necessary requirement for the ritual, Jade had to transfer a tiny bit of Ocasio's energy into her gem then transfer that energy through Emerald's gem and then, through his meditation and the ritual, Ocasio would find herself in Howlite's gemstone, which currently was being held by Emerald through a very thin sheet of stone.

"If he finds out this happened, he is going to be furious."

"Of course he will Libby, he is their child after all."

Jade whistled to silence the two voices in her head, 'Please, be silent for just a tad bit longer, Librium, Til. The ritual is almost over.'

Ocasio:

I was pushed into a line immediately, I could feel the other four around me. "Forward F. H2!" boomed a loud, loud voice. I watched as my sister moved forward into the light… wait, sister? No, I had no sister. Where am I? I try to look around but my eyes are fixated on the center light of which this other gem stood in. She looked back at me, the three of us left, and stood tall. I don't know why but it seemed as if she was trying be strong for us.

'Star Quartz' I tried. No response.

I turned my attention back to the other gem, she was being dragged away without a single trace of fear in her face. There was no sound, there were no screams. Only the doors closing softly behind her and the escorts.

Pretty soon all returns to dark. Cold, heartless, and inky blackness are the only other companions other than my last two sisters… other than the other two gems with me. From the darkness I could see only that, darkness. Pretty soon my mind became a jumble of thoughts, racing with each and every possibility of what he could be doing to my sisters.

After an eternity of shivering and fear, the center light returns and we are once again forcibly thrusted into line. The booming voice, however, is not immediately back. When it does return, the announcers sounds off a bit. Not in an insane way, they just sound different. Kind of tired, and a little broken. "Forward F. H4"

This time, I can feel the cold, yet strangely delicate, hands of the escorts grip my shoulders and force me into the center light. It is here that I can see their faces closely, I can tell immediately that they are roughly a meter and half tall, their strength was disproportionate to their size (my vision was leveled a good meter above them). One is tinged in various comfortable shades of earthy brown, the other swaddled in a nice palette of white and light green. Despite their differing colors, they both held the same color of emotion: pity.

I'm soon being ushered to the doors, my vision levels on the last two of my sisters. Their faces are stricken with grief and fear, grief over me and fear for the mystery that would envelop me past these two doors. One of them, she had a gem on her left shoulder, tried to rush over to me. The other, who had a gem pegged directly into her forehead, grabbed her arm and clutched her tightly to stop her. I prepare for the doors to swing open as we make contact with it, but there is no contact. In fact, just as the light shut off I could see and feel nothing. I once more floated in the inky darkness. Every deafening roar was from silence and silence alone.

Except, "Topaz!"

I ignore the ringing that Star Quartz leaves in my head, 'Star Quartz, where were you?'

Confusion sweeps through me, "What do you mean, I was always with you. You were stuck in the Howlite's memory." Wait, does that mean that she can't speak to me while in… Howlite's memory? "Precisely."

Once again I focused on imagining a solid path and found my body once again reformed. The image of those Gems resurfaced and I soon realized that this body that I currently walked on an invisible bridge belonged to Howlite, the similarities were striking. I'm surprised it took me this long to realize. 'Ok, so now what?'

Confusion once again swept through me, "I am afraid I do not know, none of your predecessors had managed anything this far."

I cocked my head needlessly, 'Predecessors?' I never got a reply. Or at least I don't remember getting one before I was soon sucked into another memory. This time there was light, or I assumed there was only because everything was white, I could see not a surface or edge anywhere. It was the complete opposite of the memory nexus… memory nexus? 'I'll just assume that's from Star Quartz' I thought to myself. Unlike the nexus, in which everything was the darkest of blacks, everything was the starkest of whites.

'Five thousand eight-hundred thirty five…' what? 'Five thousand eight-hundred thirty four...' why am I, Five thousand eight-hundred thirty three…' thinking in numbers? 'Five thousand eight-hundred thirty two…' a door opens from one of the invisible walls, an inky darkness, 'Five thousand eight-hundred thirty one!' shifts through the portal. My heart races, they're back, they're 'Five thousand eight-hundred thirty!!!' back! I try to run, my hair gets in my face as I struggle against the restraints. I know, 'Five thousand eight-hundred twenty nine!!!' that it is futile to struggle, they always, 'Five thousand eight-hundred twenty eight!!!' get here before I can escape. My only solace, 'Five thousand eight-hundred twenty seven!!!' is that since I am here my sisters are still safe in the cell.

"Release her. Now!'

Did I, 'Five thousand eight-hundred twenty six?' hear that right? Who 'Five thousand eight-hundred twenty five?' is saving me? The restraints come off, but 'Five thousand eight-hundred twenty four…' I know they are lying, they just, 'Five thousand eight-hundred twenty three.' want to finally shatter me. I've produced no results, 'Five thousand eight-hundred twenty two.' and they want me gone so they can experiment, 'Five thousand eight-hundred twenty one.' on my sisters already. I fall to the ground, I won't let them. I open my mouth and snarl, my voice is hoarse and the only words I can manage are, "Five thousand eight-hundred twenty." My assassins seemed confused by it, my smile widens until it hurts my cheeks, now they shall receive what they have dished unto me. It takes but seconds, I rip off a chunk of pristine white metal and feel it's jagged edge. I rush towards the two assassins and shove the metal through the first one's dark gem. The dust from the explosion impacts on my face, it feels good. I was once their toy, now they are mine.

I turn on the last one, they've fallen over and are cowering. I grip them by the neck and hear them squeal for forgiveness. I dig my makeshift blade into their shoulder and smile gleefully as they too explode into a shower of crystal dust.

The light disappears. The shadows once more return. A stretch of lights turn on the roof turn on. I cry.

Their shards are all that is left.

Their smiles that I had never seen yet always knew were there.

They are gone.

My sisters, dead, it's funny. I laugh. "My toys are broken." my hoarse voice said. "I want more toys."

My gem burns, and the sensation of it cracking apart tingles my nerves. It's a good sensation. It makes me laugh harder.

Meanwhile:

A storm begins brewing, Jade can feel it as each and every cold droplet strikes the earth, her, the gemstones of both Ocasio and Howlite, and Emerald. They are downright freezing and overall uncomfortable, soon lightening crackles.

"She better hurry."

"She could get trapped Jade."

Jade did nothing, but her acknowledgement was a given. She prayed that Ocasio would soon wrap this up, they were teetering on the edge of the third hour now. Each previous host had only lasted four, or so that is what Jade could remember.

I am once more shoved into darkness, though it feels colder now. My gem no longer stings, and my cheeks no longer are sore from smiling. 'But that wasn't me,' I reaffirmed myself, 'That was Howlite.'

But that didn't make me feel any better. "Little one, I know this may seem like a bad time, but look."

In front of my nonexistent eyes I watched as another blaringly white room appeared. I felt my body, my actual body return to me. And as it did, I could feel myself being dragged towards the white room, almost as if it were the opening to a stream that I was being rushed down.

Just as I would have hit the mouth of the stream and seen a new body of water, I soon crashed through the door and found myself in a new area. The grass was dead, the mud was dark, and the water was sludgy. I now trudged through what memory told me was a marsh. My body now piloted me rather than the other way, even if I tried it would not leave from its path. "Little one be-" Star Quartz began and ended.

'Star Quartz?' nothing. I tried again and got the same response, deafening silence. Was this a memory? No, it seemed different and as far as I knew, even back then, Io had no marshes. Was… was this Howlite's psyche, or, at the very least, what was left of it? She was corrupted after all.

My body took a left, then a right. Pretty soon I could hear laughing, though it was rather melancholy so I guess it was more like I heard crying. As my body and I got closer to the tearful someone the marsh turned thicker. There was more foliage and the mud was more abundant, turning each step into a battle just to raise a leg.

Somehow, my body made it through the marsh. Suddenly, I found my control return, it was kind of odd how it happened. It wasn't instantaneous, it had returned only a minute or so after I broke free of the marsh, and it didn't feel natural. "Sorry Ocasio, I could not risk you losing yourself in the murk of her corruption." Wait, so Star Quartz had taken over my, "Not your body, merely your psyche for a couple of seconds." she interjected.

'Well it felt like an hour to me' I said with crossed arms. I only had a hint of acknowledgement in return. I tried to get more of a reaction but I soon felt the presence of a third member, I turned around and I could see the small, flickering form of a hunched over person. I walked over to it and their sorrowful moans became apparent, I took a step back and cleared my throat. How would I make contact with them? Who were they? Wait, their hair was dark and their skin was black. The leathery armor they bore made my shoulders ache from the memory of wearing them. "Howlite, I presume?" I asked.

Her head swiveled directly towards me, her face turned from anguish to that of a person who had just seen a ghost. With the ease of someone throwing a pebble, she pushed me away from her, "Get out! You have to leave!"

I stood up and dusted my legs off, she was rather strong. But I wasn't going to relent. "No, you're coming with me."

What was I saying, how was she going to come with me? I didn't even know exactly how to cure corruption! Howlite was confused as well, "What do you mean come with you? there is now way to cure corruption."

I shifted from one foot to the other, "Well it's either this or you get bubbled."

She shoved her knees to her chest and began crying once more. "I'd be better off being harvested, I wouldn't be able to harm anybody else anymore." Wow, she was kind of a downer.

Irritation seeped into my head, "Have you been through her experience?"

I shook my head, of course I have, I experienced her memories. Wait… I take a step forward, "Howlite, please allow me to help."

I took another step and Howlite stared at me in fear, her tears flowed ever more. She stood quickly and swung a fist at me, I sidestepped and shoved her back, trying not to hurt her even more. Could I harm her here? Maybe psychologically I guess. My thoughts were interrupted by Howlite rushing at me again.

"Go away!" she screamed.

I jumped away from her. "No." I said. I looked to the dead grass below us, "I want to help you Howlite. I really do. I want to save you… from this." I waved an arm around us to emphasize my point.

Howlite stopped, her face darkened, "I don't want to be saved."

"Of course you don-"

"Shuddup! My sisters tried to save me, and I killed them! Homeworld tried to save me, but they were too late!" a dark light began manifesting around Howlite, "And so are you." she took a step, and then another, and then another until she was full on running at me. She raised her arm and from the dark ooze around her seeped an axe of horrifyingly large proportions. She leveled it above her head and began to swing it.

I thought about dodging it, I thought about running. But I didn't… I raised both my arms in acceptance and smiled at her. She swung her axe and I closed my eyes, still baring my smile. After that, there was a bright light… and then… silence.