Stealth Transport A3 "Foe Hammer" Emerald's P.O.V.:
It really was quite a serene scene, the surface of the water glimmered especially bright today, and despite the constant grumbling the new Sage recruits I did kind of feel a bit of peace that I desperately needed what with the upcoming war and trying to make sure our defences were well enough to withstand at least a couple of waves of Homeworld forces. I can't really express how much stress it puts on a guy, well I can try at least: a lot.
Though the stress as caused more than by just the upcoming war. I had to keep the Sage Training a secret from most of the army and planet, eyes only for those with the proper clearance. It really is harder than one would think, I'm sure some human could associate it with a schoolyard rumor. One person knows your secret and by two hours end the entire school already knows it and various other secrets you thought you kept so well, except this is multiplied by billions of ears, each hungry for any bit of information they can get a grasp on. In a way it's kind of sickening, but also oddly charming.
"Sir, we're coming up on the Spire in a few minutes, I suggest you kids strap in."
"Yes ma'am!" I look at all of the recruits and crack a smile as we all follow her suggestion, which was really more of a command, a human calling me a kid. It's fair I suppose, she's a seasoned veteran of many wars. Sadly Pearl can't be my pilot, owing an integral part in the new program and satiating the politicians on the Moonbase can be rather taxing.
I was lucky when I discovered her, finished top in all of her classes, many medals decorating her file, and overall a snarky attitude, overall she was definitely the best. She was perhaps even better than my wife, though I'd probably be in hot water if I admitted it.
A dull throb channels it's way up my body as we land, I let out a sigh of relief. I'm not really one for heights so it kind of disturbs me when I can't really see the ground. Even more relief flushes my body when the hatch opens and we set foot on the Spire, after hours in the air nothing comes close to beating the feel of stone under my boots.
I can feel the eyes of the recruits on my head, they're waiting for my word to move. I continue forward, my thoughts turning to the floating island that was now presiding at the top of the waterfall that both entrenched and encircled the Spire. I hear their boots clacking against the stone, despite being trained soldiers they sure aren't eager to use their own instincts, that's will have to be fixed.
Ground moves beneath us as soon as we were all secured on the tram, we use it because aircraft isn't allowed near or on The Isle. So many precautions are in effect, such as the aforementioned aerial rule, any recording devices kept off at all times, and most definitely no mentioning of The Isle. We reach the top in about ten minutes and I see many faces, trainers and trainees. Each of them size up the new humans, only two of them squirm under their scrutinizing glare.
The tension is unnecessarily thick, I successfully cut it with a chuckle, "Sheesh, you'd think we already lost to Homeworld by y'alls sour looks." My buddies Fire Opal, Rainbow Tourmaline, and Amber both try to tousle my hair, fat chance. I dodge their hands adeptly, none come even graze any follicle of hair. The trio of would-be hair-touslers fell upon each other, coming to rest in a neat, little pile. I give them a cold stare and they return it.
We can't help it, we all laugh at our display; sadly no one else does, and Pearl's stare prompts me to straighten my posture. Though it seemed mean-spirited at times, I was rather glad for her serious temperament. Without her I would probably not be taken as seriously as I am.
She seems satisfied enough, "All right, each of you know why you are here, to create a new line of Sages."
"Wait a minute, I thought the only Sages were Emerald an' the little lady over there" Jacob blurts out, motioning towards Ocasio and I..
I step forward, "While you're not totally wrong in that assumption Greene, you're also not fully correct; Only Lapis and I are fully Sages, Lapis isn't very vocal about it so I can understand you misunderstanding, it explains why our main weapons are our kinetic abilities. Anyway, during these few years as the prep work for the war was underway I had this project in mind, and in preparation for it I had gathered my closest allies to train them so they could help with it. Today all eighteen of you will be chosen to follow one of our New-Order Sages."
Though many of them were seasoned soldiers, many of the future Sages squirmed as they wondered who they would follow. Pearl went first: kind-hearted Steven, prodigious Connie, and a determined Sadie. I next: a metallic Lapis who called herself Cel', a sneering Blue Calcite, and the cocky Star Emerald. Then Jasper: stalwart Amber, loyal Coral, and a lithe Cat's Eye, the last choice surprising everybody. Next up being Lapis: courageous Rainbow Tourmaline, feisty Fire Opal, and intelligent Blue Spinel. Ocasio and Como step up at the same time, but Como lets Ocasio ahead first, "Age is wisdom."
She frowns for a moment, "Doesn't that mean you should go first?" All he does is wink. She continues without another word except to name her choices: the crafty Diopside, the Greene-horn Jacob, and an iridescent Aura Quartz. Como doesn't really get a choice, but he's happy with the ones he is left with, the wily Samantha, an intense Beryl, and the last rookie of human decent, I didn't learn his name but his case file gave him the codename Styx. He was large, almost as stout as Coral and Amber fused and even though he was human his skin appeared to flow over him rather than attach to him, much like the dark river of his epithet.
They line up behind us, each behind their respective teachers, I nod to Pearl who pushes a button on her comm unit. A screen rises before all of us and an image flickers to life, Peridot's back is to us, as is the relatively familiar sight of one blond, curly haired young adult, Ronaldo. They look to be discussing something important with immense focus, so much so that when Ronaldo turned around and saw us staring he yelped in surprise.
"Ronaldo! Don't scare me like that!" Peridot says, she follows his gaze and peers at us, "Ah, I see everyone is on The Isle. Ronaldo, commence the rudders and activate the O2 propellant tanks. After that I'll need you to go test out"
"The Satellite Array, got it Peridot." Ronaldo finishes her sentence, "I hope you realize that I'm not unitelligent, I was able to successfully predict Homeworld's little Geode Weapon."
She doesn't respond, he shows no care either way. Happy little family they got in The Funnel; The Funnel is secret lab that's located on the one and only ship currently encircling Mars ever since the geniuses Upstairs thought that establish forward bases might increase our success chance. Peridot clears her throat after Ronaldo is gone and picks up a packet, most likely one debriefing her, like I said eyes only, only this is an exception, "Alright you little Green Peas, your Sagely Green Bean has decided to train each of you into a proper Green Bean Machine... w-what is this. Who wrote these nicknames?!"
I hear laughter in my head, Pearl's, 'Amethyst sure has a way with names.'
'Do I have competition now?'I tease, eliciting a shake of her head and a slight chuckle.
"Ugh, anyways. This Isle is one of technological marvels of human history, only seen in your 2D image monitors and as children's toys. It is a simple patch of solid carbon fiber, but at the push of a button." a small pause and then the world around us ripples as trees, mountains, hills, caves, and other topography is simulated on the seventy meter by seventy meter square, even a person who isn't much immersed in technology, such as myself, can be truly appreciative of this technological miracle.
Peridot now grins in satisfaction, "Now, I believe that was all I was needed for?"
I sigh, at least I got that much out of her, "Yes Peridot, I will take over from here."
"Good, now if you excuse me I have a Satellite Array to prevent that Fryman from mucking up." How funny is it that that they are both so stalwart in the belief of their own intelligence levels but neither is able to see they easily match each other.
I clap my hands together and face the recruits, by now the buildings must be finished, "Alright, look at the other people under your teacher," they do so, "That's your team, you will live together, fight together, laugh together, and most importantly you will beat the other teams together for privileges."
Ocasio steps forward, "It will be like the Spartans of Ancient Greece, there are no rules other than you may not kill each other, but if you are caught stealing from another team then you will be punished. Now, the first three teams to reach the forward base get first claim on rooms"
A dull thrum echoes, our cue to leave, they knew the requirements. Get to the base as a team within the top three and be rewarded, don't and... well it explains itself. Little did they know that arriving in a timely manner was not the case, well it wasn't the true test. All instructors scatter in various directions, either with aid of another or using their own abilities. I'm the last standing, everyone looks at me expectantly, I only give a quick one-fingered salute before using a chunk of stone to quickly fly away, "Day One has commenced."
Entrance To The Isle, Day One:
The trainees stood there confounded for a few moments longer. Slowly it sunk in, pump your legs and make it to home in time for the spoils. Each team scattered in different parts of The Isle.
Unbeknownst to the teams were little, cloaked video orbs that Peridot had cooked up so the instructors could watch their teams respectively. They had all tried to choose students that would work well in a team. The test was designed to break them apart, make them competitive; any trial within it would send them all closer and closer together until they realized there wasn't really any base, they had to work as a whole and not in a divided force. It was an unorthodox procedure, but the time restraint was forcing Emerald to hurry up the training as much as he could.
Speaking of the training, all teams were accounted for as tiny blips. The only video footage was from each instructor's personal orb. Emerald watched his team intensely, they seemed to have made it to the plains, he wondered what their first trial was going to be there.
The Isle, Great Plains Biome:
'Dear Moonstone, these two can barely keep up!' Star Emerald was quite unhappy with his partners, for Gems who were supposed to be soldiers they didn't really move that fast. If anything they moved like little chysols, a crustacean unique to the Plains of Father Meteor. He thought that with her metallic hue Cel' would be a bit better, she was obviously of a specific design, no other Celestial Lapis Lazulis were known to him.
"Hey it'd be just grand if y'all could keep up!" He turned once again and saw the Calcite catching his breath, one would think his Gem was busted with the lack of energy he had.
Cel' gave him a cold stare then turned back to Calcite, offering him her hand. He gladly took it and they continued running. Star heard them approaching from behind and they soon overtook him, they blew past him, leaving him the one trailing behind.
'So now they want to run.' He couldn't help but smile as he heard an ominous roar from behind.
The Isle, Dense Forest Biome:
Cat's eye jumped from branch to branch as the two powerhouses patrolled below. They had knew something was following them but not exactly what it was. Of course it would probably be the first trial, and if Coral and Amber truly knew Emerald as much as they believed then there would be plenty of traps. He might enjoy juvenile acts of leisure, but when it came to training regiments he could be twice as malicious as a Diamond. Amber and Coral were already frayed as it was with that feline above making the leaves whisper and making the limbs from trees quiver, the worry of tricks and traps put the icing on the cake.
Meanwhile, in the foliage above, Cat's Eye was scanning every area with intense focus. She was glad that the forest was dark, her area of expertise. Cat's Eyes were used almost exclusively for colonizing Wandering Planets, Planets that had no sun they revolved around. Their reflexes could be christened as divine, their sight almost as acute as a Diamond's, and their innate sense for dangers and where they lie were always a reason for their immensely rare, but not unheard of, recruitment into battalions for Homeworld boarding parties. Her ability was the exact reason Jasper had chosen her, she was sure Jasper recognized her abilities.
Prideful thoughts took her concentration, so it was no wonder how she was completely surprised when she realized she could no longer hear the lumbering oafs beneath her.
"Amber, Coral, you imbeciles picking your teeth with trees down there?" No sound. Worry laced her thoughts, "Hey this is not funny! Answer me now you Clods!"
Now there was sound, and teeth, oh were there teeth.
In the desert one can feel the full wrath of the sun bearing down upon their body as if it were a god who, furious with creatures upon its most beautiful child, razed the creatures in one spot with all of it's anger. Well that really only applied to humans, Lapis's Team: Fire Opal, Spinel, and Rainbow Tourmaline, walked in the sand unhindered.
Fire Opal even cracked a joke, "Sheesh, anyone feeling hot?"
Tourmaline snorted a laugh, Spinel chuckled and socked Fire Opal in the shoulder, "Wisecracker, eh?"
"Hey he's just trying to lighten the mood!" Tourmaline said with a snicker.
Spinel and Fire Opal groaned in unison, it was one thing for Fire Opal to joke about his powers, but this crossed the line! Impish smiles flooded their faces, Rainbow Tourmaline took that as his cue to get some cardio. If one was to come across the sight, they wouldn't be wrong to assume some native tribe was in battle.
The two finally managed to subdue Rainbow Tourmaline, "I concede, I concede! My joke was terrible, apologies, apologies."
The three gems laughed heartily, so much they forgot this was supposed to be training. Spinel, who had the best memory, finally grew rigid, "I almost forgot..."
The other two looked at their suddenly terrified friend, "What?"
They got their answer when the ground shifted all around, shiny crys... iridescent teeth filling their vision. "RUN!"
As night slowly approaches the sound of wood crackling in a fire could be heard. Diopside wanted to continue into the center to find the base but was outvoted two to one. "Come on Aura Quartz, we don't even need warmth!"
"No but I do, ya little goblin!" Jacob Greene argued.
Aura Quartz nodded in agreement, "If we're to work with humans then we have to accommodate them."
"A-alright... but this means you ain't got the right to complain when we're ambushed." Diopside didn't like this, all of his training with Ocasio had taught him one thing: never stay put for too long. What also worried him other than just staying still was the eerie silence, shouldn't there be more traps? Just because it was the first day didn't mean they wouldn't have them, would it?
He got his answer sooner than he expected, first the fire went out. Jacob moaned feverently, Diopside couldn't help but wonder how such a wimp of a human could have gotten the green-light to train as a sage.
Diopside was wary when the fire was abnormally extinguished, already in a stance to bolt if things turned for the worst, "Told you guys, should've been prepared!"
Things immediately turned for the worst, first an impossible event occurred, a landslide going uphill towards them, then, from inside the landslide, came a giant metal worm with a maw full of whirring teeth. Needless to say all three of them began running deeper into the forest, sadly it had little to no effect in the effort to escape. The worm sheared through earth and trees, going faster and faster. They were about to get caught when...
"Steven, we're all ready to go." Steven was glad to have Connie with him, for without her he wouldn't have been able to group up with Como's students. She noticed they were following them, not to cheat or anything but merely just because they had happened to go inside the same entrance as they.
Almost immediately afterwards the two groups were one group, something that Como and Pearl both smiled about from behind their video orb screens.
Steven nodded, "Alright, c'mon you guys, let's get to that base." All six members of the newly formed team began their sprint towards the center. They were rather lucky, from the beginning of entering their biome, a sort of small mountain area near the deep forest biome, they had heard ominous roars from creatures that even Connie didn't know about. Beryl seemed relatively shaken up with each roar so the rest of the team assumed it was a Gem creature, that only worsened their fears.
They soon ran into an enormous mountain, so high that to climb it would be foolish, lucky for the team Samantha had figured it for a test. She hefted a small stone as far up as she could and, lo and behold, the rock was grabbed by a metal claw and thrown back at the ground. The stone almost nicked Samantha in the arm, instead it pierced the ground easily.
"Slava Bogu," Samantha rubbed her arm, conscious of the fact she nearly lost it. After confirming that it was still there and not injured she pointed into the forest, "I guess we're going in there."
Sadie shook her head, she wasn't so sure that she wanted to meet the creatures that made those ominous roars, "I'm not really feeling that way."
Beryl nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I can't really put my finger on it but I think I heard that roar before."
Steven looked at Connie who in turn looked at Styx, might as well include all of the group, "Styx, any ideas?"
Styx shrugged, big talker that guy. Connie sighed and looked at Steven, "It's your decision Steven, I'll follow you anywhere we go."
Steven frowned, he didn't like being shoved into the leader position like that. Sure he was the General of the entire army, but still that was a necessity, this choice could easily have been made by another person. He stood there looking at everyone, could he risk their lives like that just for first pick of beds?
He frowned even harder, why should he? Just then a frustrated yell was heard, followed by, "This big fricking worm needs to go already!"
Samantha perked up, "That sounded like that big orange guy, Amber..."
Everyone looked down at the ground, nobody would scream about a little worm, so it had to be a giant one... one capable of easily attacking two Gems and a relatively well-trained soldier. Steven smiled, impossible odds, this was his forte, "C'mon guys, we've got some friends to save."
No matter how many trees Amber threw at the worm, it still kept coming, it was an unstoppable force of... well... force. Coral tried sensing for any pieces of metal but was both sad and happy to find the only fragments of metal were cogs and other gears that surely helped to work any sort of traps. Cat's Eye's pride was still a bit wounded, she was sure that Jasper now thought her the weakest, even more so since all she could do against this worm was call out where it was going to surface to her oafish comrades below.
While Amber threw another one of the trees from nature's personal stock, Coral began noticing things about the worm. It was definitely Crystalic in nature, but it wasn't natural, it definitely behaved like a creature from Homeworld but still foreign at the same time. Then it it him like a ton of Clods, it was the same in every aspect to a Deldied Wyrm, a particularly deadly type of Crystal Animal hunted by Gems for game, but instead of it living up to it's deadly heritage, it merely seemed to be playing with the three.
'Is it after us, or perhaps leading us...' Jasper nodded her head at her video tablet with approval, it seemed that Coral was onto something, or at least his facial expression said as much.
Coral concentrated on the Worm, he didn't think he'd really feel anything, but without access to any of Homeworld's lands it was entirely impossible for them to really be able to add any living Deldied Wyrm. Lucky for him that was the correct choice, the thing was entirely mechanical! The only thing that was organic was it's roar, a really good recording of the real thing.
If Coral could get close enough to it then he could perhaps destroy it, that was the easy part. The hard part was getting it to stay still, something that Amber and Cat's Eye seemed to have a hard time doing.
Before Coral could think of a plan he heard thundering footsteps behind him, it was Pearl's team and that weird Aquamarine's Team! They immediately set to task, working in unison with Coral and the others. Steven, Connie, Samantha, and Jacob distracted the machine while the others surrounded it.
Pearl, Jasper, and Como watched their teams with great interest, they seemed to have joined together seamlessly.
Styx was the first to move, he grabbed the Worm's tail, Amber and Cat's Eye soon followed the same task. It was now Coral's turn, his will crashed upon the deadly machine's metal carapace. Dents formed in the metal, then wrinkles, the cycle continued until the machine was just a giant ball of scrap metal. Everyone roared with excitement, they had definitely passed this test!
Steven looked left and right, "We're kind of missing some people."
Everyone looked around, they were missing people, Emerald, Ocasio, and Lapis's teams to be exact. By now everyone knew, or at least guessed there wasn't really a base, the real first test was to get everyone together as one team, there was no individual when it came to sage training, or at least that's the mumbo jumbo that Amber and Coral remembered Emerald saying when he talked about the days of his youth.
Everyone knew what to do without anyone saying it, their legs pumped to find the other squads.
Jacob, Diopside, and Aura Quartz almost ran into Blue Spinel, Fire Opal, and Rainbow Tourmaline. Instantly all six of their instincts kicked in, they all ran to the left and right, just in time for both of their Deldied Wyrms to ram into each other, a dull hum echoing as the two metal shells crashed onto each other.
All six of them joined back up with each other, Spinel being the first to say anything, "So, how's everyone's day going so far?"
Diopside's forehead found it's way into his palm, faking a smile, "Oh it's going swimmingly Spinel Sir. You know how it's so fun to be chased by a deadly creature."
Fire Opal shot out a gout of fire towards the two Worms, it temporary fried their circuits and they were immobilized for a few moments longer, "Look you little Coshle, you better drop the sarcasm."
Everyone broke into snickers at the word Coshle, well everyone with the exception of Jacob and Diopside, who's frown only deepened. The worms started whirring back to life so Jacob started searching for a weapon and asked, "What's so funny about that word?"
Spinel, after a few more giggles, cleared his throat explained that a Coshle was synonymous for what Jacob would call a 'couyon.' Now Jacob started laughing, causing another round of laughter to go about. Diopside was furious, just because he was so young didn't mean he was foolish, heck he was the one who didn't want to stay still and, if Aura Quartz and Jacob had listened, he would've been the reason they wouldn't be attacked by that worm.
He summoned his bow and aimed it forwards, directly at Fire Opal. Fire Opal was turned away, looking for approval for another comment he had made about Diopside. Diopside loosed the arrow, Fire Opal barely dodged it, "Hey you kark, that almost hit-"
An explosion rocked Fire Opal to the ground, everyone turned and saw both Worms were destroyed, nothing but charred grass remained. Everyone the turned to the companion who had loosed the explosive arrow, what they saw shocked them.
Ocasio looked at her father smugly, "Looks like I win the bet."
Emerald tore his eyes away from his screen to stare at his daughter's for confirmation. He grumbled as he reached into his pockets and handed his daughter a small metallic tube with Crystallic glyphs etched onto it, "You're not allowed to share it's contents with anyone, understand Topy?"
Ocasio nodded her head, she knew if she so much as spoke a single letter from this Era 1 Data Tube then her father would've made her go through sooo many different training exercises.
Diopside was livid, he was tired of not being taken seriously because of his age. He thought that joining the Crystal Gems would've meant his dream of being taken seriously would've been achieved. His vision changed, not one tinted red, his vision literally changed. He was in the past, stars shone above as he sat cross-legged in a sand dune, "Hey Dippy!"
Diopside turned around, it was Krivonz, well his Homeworld regulated name was Red Agate, he wasn't a soldier, no he was just someone sent by Red Diamond to check on the Mining Outpost, to keep all of the soldiers in line, to terrify them. Diopside couldn't have cared less about how terrifying he was supposed to be, but it seemed Red Agate had taken a liking to him, and though he fought it, Diopside liked him more than he would care to think about.
"Really Kriv, I thought we talked about this, my name is Diopside." Krivonz laughed, causing Diopside's cheeks to flush a light shade of jade, 'Sheesh, why does he make me feel like that?"
He sat beside Diopside, "And I thought I told you, your nickname is Dippy. Now c'mon Dippy, it's my last night here and I think you and I should have some fun."
Diopside turned towards Krivonz, he shook his head when he saw the devious glint in Kriv's eyes
When Steven and the other teams arrived on the scene they were shocked to the other teams struggling to subdue Diopside, all around the fields were small craters. Connie stepped forward, "Hey what's going on here?"
Coral saw her first, "He unlocked Sage Mode and went beserk!"
Aura Quartz smiled, "Don't suppose we'd be much trouble if we asked for some help?"
Diopside let out a roar of anger, heated tears flooding down his face, "YOU SHOULD'VE LISTENED!"
Diposide's tears rushed down his face in a constant stream, Krivonz was dead, shattered by a small contingent of rebels comprised of the natives from the planet. Their bodies littered the ground, Quartz soldiers immediately began disposing of the bodies. Diopside's Commanding Officer picked up the shards, "I'll report this to Red Diamond."
A small hand grabbed the thick arm, squeezing with nothing but pure rage and disbelief, "I had told you... there was a small rebel base... you told me to go away... you ignored me..."
The grizzled Gem tried wrenching his arm free, "What are you saying? I could care less what I did or told a young gemilng like you!"
Diopside could feel the fear, it pulsed in the physical form of this Gem Officer. His vision distorted, narrowing until the officer's face was the only image within it, "YOU SHOULD'VE LISTENED! NOW AGATE IS SHATTERED!"
The Officer's physical form fizzled out of fear for a second, allowing him to escape Diopside's grasp, he dropped the shards on the ground and drew his weapon, an extravagant looking spear, "Looks like I'm going to have to teach you a lesson kid."
By now the Quartz soldiers were taking notice of this, they all stopped working to watch.
Diopside was furious, if this Kark had listened then Agate may have lived! But now it was too late, Diopside's smile turned wolfish, he bared his teeth. His conscious had shut completely off, he was focused solely on avenging Krivonz's death.
Laughter rumbled out of the gem, one could feel the insanity leaking from it. Even the War Machine Quartz Soldiers started inching away from the kid. Diopside's Gem began glowing, a dark mist began rolling in. A bow was the last image of Diopside that the officer had saw before the smoke screen enveloped his field of vision.
In an attempt at self-preservation he whirled his spear, using as a fan of sorts, he immediately regretted it. He saw all of the Quartz soldiers were shattered, each with a Diopside lording over the shards. They all turned towards him, over the course of five minutes the Officer's screams of horror were ringing louder than any sound ever created, it could've easily made an outsider run away in hopes to escape the demons that certainly plagued the area.
Walls of Fire, Solid Light, and Iron trapped Diopside, finally stilling the revenant. Everyone was troubled by the turn of events, they had all seen a gem in Sage mode before, but those Gems had seemed to be at peace. Diopside had retaliated as if they were demons who had poked and prodded him for eons, was he not meant to be a sage?
Even now Diopside was still struggling against his restraints, Tourmaline fell to one knee as a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, "He got through my last wall, Coral he's going for yours now."
Coral grunted an acknowledgment and grunted once more, the earth shook a bit as more bits of iron gathered from the soil to form another safe perimeter around the rabid animal within. Everyone gathered in front of Fire Opal, Rainbow Tourmaline, and Coral with weapons drawn. Steven was hoping it wouldn't come to poofing Diopside, but if the teachers didn't step in then it might happen.
Pearl's contemplative face entered Connie's head, 'What would Pearl say? What would she do?'
Thud
"Uh, what was that?" Samantha nervously asked.
The other three Gems joined their friends, Coral shook his head in amazement , "All of our walls are broken, we're going to have to subdue him."
Jacob cursed under his breath, "Well how in the heck do ya expect we do that? Sure, you interstellar hunks of stone have weapons and Styx, well he's a weapon all by himself, but Sammy and I over here ain't got much in the way of or fightin these kinds of fights."
Coral looked at Cat's Eye, there was a silent argument for the better part of a few minutes; when she sighed it was apparent the Coral was the victor. She handed one of her long knives to Sam and Coral fashioned an iron blade for Jacob, it was crude but it would do the job.
More bangs echoed loudly in the forest, everyone knew the dreaded monster that caused them would soon appear from it's prison. Appear it did, the last bastion exploded apart in shards and they only stopped short when Coral raised a hand to still them. Dull thuds sounded as the shards of metal hit the soil beneath them.
Diopside's menacing stare made everyone shiver, how would they be able to defeat an unruly Sage? Jacob took a long stare at his crude sword, it seemed rather silly now that he realized it was meant to stop Diopside.
"Get down!" everyone ducked upon hearing the command, Steven was the only one standing. He raised a hand and a hairsbreadth away formed a rather large Rose Shield, a fraction of a second later the explosive arrow struck the center of the shield.
A blinding light flashed and pieces of soil and rock flew past them, some striking skin and physical form alike. After the light had died down one could see extensive and haphazard gashes where the blast had been deflected diagonally of Steven's shield.
Everyone stared in amazement, everyone had known the strength of the Rose Shield, or at least stories about it, but nobody had expected it to stand against the strength of such an explosion.
Ocasio whistled, "I did not realize the Rose Shield was that durable."
Pearl and Lapis smiled, Jasper gave Ocasio a stare, "Are you kidding me kid? Rose's Shield withstood the full brunt of The Harmonies!"
'The Harmonies?' Ocasio was extremely confused by what that was, and her interest piqued when both her mother and her aunt wore similar dark expressions.
Sadness seeped into her thoughts, Star Quartz spoke delicately, 'Do not press about it just yet young one.' Ocasio reluctantly obeyed.
The smoke was the next to clear, Diopside seemed to appear even more monstrous than before. Steven's hand rose again when Diopside nocked another arrow, however, pain shot through his arm upon doing so. The strain of maintaining the Rose Shield against the amped-up explosion had taken it's toll, costing Steven the use of his arm for a bit, 'Sheesh, that explosion was worse than the Homeworld Ship Beam!'
Everybody was waiting for the shield to rise again, nobody realized the strain it had on Steven, they scrambled to find cover when they did figure out why the Shield had not formed. It was fruitless, though, they couldn't get away, the next explosion would definitely destroy them.
The Arrow flew, screams of horror went unheard as it exploded, the light outshining the early morning sun that signaled the beginning of Day Two.