Getting To Know You
Fifteen minutes passed since their arrival in the strange world, as our bands of heroes continued to follow the mysterious "Shadowmane" Family to their home. The whole time they walked, each of them began to share stories amongst themselves about each other. However, about halfway through most of said stories; there was much murmuring and sarcastic laughter.
"Okay...Okay, let me see if I've heard you correctly" Artha chuckled while shaking his head at Danny Fenton, "you're...an eighteen year old kid...who fights ghosts?" In response to this; Danny gave him a sort of "if I'm lyin, I'm dyin'" sort of expression. "And you claim to have the same powers as these ghosts" murmured Parm in disbelief, "I...find that rather difficult to believe, to be quite honest."
At that moment, the one called Amethyst bellowed out a hearty laugh before deciding to share the story of herself and her friends. "You think that's nuts, my friends and I aren't even humans" she exclaimed, "our bodies are actually manifestations of light from our gemstones." As expected, this statement left everyone utterly confused; especially when looking at the boy called "Steven Quartz/Diamond Universe."
"What's his story, then" questioned Kitt, "you guys say you aren't humans...but he certainly looks like it." Amethyst and her friends, Garnet and Pearl exchanged wary glances at each other; feeling unsure of what to say next. That was when Greg decided to take the floor and speak up.
"It...It's a rather weird story, just so you know" he muttered uneasily, "but I promise that every word of it is 100% true." After that, he began to divulge into every detail of his and Steven's history with the Gems. He spoke of their first arrival on earth, about their universal quest to harvest new members of their kind by harvesting the resources of every other planet and most importantly, he spoke rather fondly about the time he shared with his wife; Rose Quartz.
"She and I had a...strange relationship, to say the least" Greg confessed, "but we truly loved each other...enough so that she wanted to raise a child of her own, just like humans did." When this was brought up, Kitt asked if this "Rose" went on to adopt a child to raise for herself. "Nope, she wanted to have her own kid the natural way" Greg replied, "but...there was a catch."
It was here that the atmosphere suddenly went grim, which made everyone feel quite concerned. "What happened to your wife" inquired Starfire hesitantly, "whatever you wish to share, we can 'take it;' as my friends often say." For a moment or so, neither Greg nor the Gems felt comfortable enough to answer.
But then, much to their surprise; they heard the Diamonds urge them to continue. "Please...tell us what happened" begged Blue Diamond, "however grim the tale might be, I wish to understand what Pink's final moments were like." To say that Greg was surprised would be putting it mildly, to be frank.
Regardless, he took in a deep breath and began to recite every detail. At first, the story sounded like a typical "soon-to-be-mother" delivering her baby story. But when Greg neared the end; not only was he close to bursting with tears but so were Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst.
After taking a moment to collect himself, Greg decided to cut the ending as short as he could. "With her last ounces of strength and power, Rose gave one final push and then...Lil' Steven was born" he said with a sniffle, "after that, she just...faded away." Despite hearing the story straight from the horse's mouth, as the saying goes, nobody seemed to believe him.
"So...that's it, poof" murmured Lance, "she just disappeared...just like that?" In response to his confusion, Steven gave the young Penn boy a sort of "so-so" hand gesture; indicating that he was half-right. "As confusing as it sounds...Rose's form faded away and she became me, after I was born" he stated, "I've even got her gem to prove it."
With that affirmation, Steven lifted his shirt slightly to reveal his midriff. There, everyone stared in both awe and mild confusion at a magnificent rose pink gemstone where his bellybutton should be. This in turn, created a great deal of reactions from the other hero groups.
Some like Luffy and Beast Boy proclaimed that Steven's group was "the coolest bunch of dudes ever." Others like Connor Penn, Nico Robin and even Sam Manson found Steven's story difficult to believe. That was when every one of them began to ask Steven all manner of questions.
Luffy: Does that gem of yours ever itch?
Danny: Have you ever gone up into space with these Gem ladies before?
Parm: If your mother is one of these Gems and your father is human...does that make you a hybrid?
Starfire: Does the planet Tamaran exist in your universe and if so, have the Gems made colonies there?
Tucker: What kind of spaceships do Gems use and are they any better than what humans have?
At first, Steven didn't mind the questions...with the exception of Parmon Sean's; that one made him a little uneasy. But after a while, it grew a little overwhelming and Steven needed to breath. So, much to his surprise; his instincts took over and he suddenly formed his bubble shield around himself.
Thankfully; when it appeared, no one was roughly pushed back or hurt. But as expected; when he looked at them again, Steven suddenly saw everyone staring at him wide-eyed in confusion. For what felt like ages, no one else had spoken a word; which made Steven feel even more nervous.
Then; Danny, Luffy, Chiro and Artha pointed at him and muttered one single phrase in awed unison..."how did you do that and teach it to me now." After taking a moment to calm down from feeling overcrowded, Steven smiled at them and said it was part of his powers. After that; he then went into a small demonstration of said powers, from summoning his shield to his super jump/floating abilities.
In particular, it was the floating that left several of the other heroes rather stunned. "Yeah, floating powers are cool...I guess" murmured Beast Boy slyly, "but can any of you do...THIS?!" Before anyone could react, the green teenager suddenly began to morph into several different animals; from the smallest of insects to the largest of prehistoric beasties.
But while some of the group applauded these skills, Amethyst proclaimed them to be "amateur hour." "Sure, you can turn into animals" she muttered, "but can you turn into people?" With that challenge made, she quickly shapeshifted into a purple look-alike version of Beau; which left the dragon in question rather confused.
"Awesome" cried Luffy with gleaming eyes of delight, "can all you Gem girls change shape like that?" In response, the triangle-haired Gem (whom Steven called "Peridot") said that different gems possess different abilities. "My friend, Lapis; for example can control all forms of water" she stated, "she once even tried to take all the earth's water in order to try and return back to the Gem Homeworld!"
The moment she said this, Peridot let out a startled "eep" and clamped her hands over her mouth; hoping Lapis didn't hear her. Now...the petite technician Gem's words weren't spoken out of malice, mockery or spite. But because the moment she described happened at a rather bleak moment of Lapis' history, it was one that she didn't wish to relive in any way.
But rather than scorn the gem for her actions, she was amazed to hear everyone suddenly speaking in rather excited voices. "Did you seriously try and lift all the water off the earth by yourself" questioned Luffy, "what...huh...HOW?!" While hesitant at first, Lapis decided to give a demonstration of her abilities (albeit a small one."
Soon, they were passing a river flowing by them and that was when she decided to take action. With a few waves of her hand, a fraction of the river water rose up and formed into a ball; which contained a small number of fish inside. As expected, this created quite a buzz amongst the other heroes.
"That is quite impressive, friend Lapis" Starfire exclaimed, "but...why would you want to steal earth's oceans?" Again, Peridot found herself growing nervous and she began to fear that her comrade might feel displeased. But much to her surprise, Lapis simply stood silent; as if contemplating on whether or not to speak.
Then, after receiving a comforting pat on the shoulder from Steven; she decided to speak up. "Long story short...I only needed the water so that I could return home" she explained, "at the time, my gem was cracked and I couldn't fly back myself." No sooner had she said this, Lapis focused her mind and then...a pair of magnificent water wings appeared behind her.
Upon seeing this happen, Chiro's blue monkey friend suddenly let out a series of excited yet shrill screeches. Naturally, this noise did not seem to please those around him. "Kid...tell that pet of yours to quiet down" growled Zoro, "or else I'm gonna have to do it myself!"
Upon hearing this, Chiro took a defensive stand before his team; daring the swordsman to make the next move. Meanwhile; the Shadowmanes, though slightly ahead of them, could sense that there was hostility growing among the heroes. "I do believe Chiro's comrade, Gibson is simply remarking on how astonishing Miss Lapis' powers are" Gabriel said calmly, "but I suppose you cannot understand him properly...yet."
Before anyone could question the elf prince on his words, the suddenly did something they found incredibly odd. First, he began to draw odd symbols of light in the air. Then, once the symbols appeared; he blew at them and they suddenly vanished into small clouds of dust.
Before anyone could question what was happening, the dust suddenly washed over all the heroes; which caused them to cough and hack loudly. "Dude...what is your deal" Tucker coughed, "why are you blowing dust in our faces?!" Rather than answer him, Princess Donella simply asked everyone else to face the Hyperforce.
At first, none of them wanted to comply; thinking it was some kind of trick. But then, Gabriel assured them that they simply had a surprise for them. After a brief moment of hesitation; everyone shrugged slightly in agreement, turned towards the monkeys and prepared for the next step.
"Very good" murmured King Thaylog, "now...Antauri, do you have anything you wish to say to everyone?" For about thirty seconds, the silver primate remained silent; which led everyone to think he didn't understand the elf. Then; he approached the other heroes, gave a bow, cleared his throat...and spoke.
"Greetings, Humans and peoples of differing species" he said softly, "I am Antauri, Second-in-Command to the Hyperforce and Chiro's mentor." To say that hearing the monkey speak to them all was surprising would be the understatement of the millennia. It took a while but eventually, Beast Boy was the first among them to speak.
"Um...Hey, my name's Garfield Logan...but my team calls me Beast Boy" he murmured, "can you...do you really understand me?" Without saying a word, the Monkey Team smiles at the green lad and each give him a nod. "Dude...this is so cool" he cried with delight, "now, I don't need to change form in order to talk with animals!"
While Beast Boy reveled in this new development, the rest of the heroes were utterly confused by it all. "How the heck can we hear those monkeys" question Amethyst, "for that matter...can we hear what all animals are saying now?" Feeling curious, Steven approached Lion and proceeded to ask him if he could understand what he said; albeit in a slow manner.
After that, he offered no reply; which caused Steven to feel slightly disappointed. "It's okay, buddy" he said calmly, "you can say whatever you like to me...tell me what's on your mind." For a moment; Lion, once again looked as though he didn't want to say anything.
But then; he placed his paw upon Steven's shoulder, looked him straight in the eyes offered two simple words in a stoic yet soft voice..."I'm hungry." Despite this rather short reply, it was just enough to prove that the elf prince's words were true. Needless to say; Steven, Connie, Greg and all their Gem friends were quite surprised to hear Lion speak.
"Okay...so I can talk, big deal" he sighed, "I've been 'talking' to y'all for years, before today but you never seem to listen to me." Despite the rather brash tone in his voice, it did little to dampen Steven's spirits; who proceeded to hug his mane lovingly. "This is gonna be so cool" he chuckled, "I'll bet you have lots to say to us now.
With this simple statement, Lion's interests were suddenly piqued and he quickly drew his attention towards the others. "I actually do have some things to say" he murmured, "for starters...what's with you guys and my mane?" Naturally, this statement seemed to confuse the Diamonds and the other heroes; while Steven and Co. simply chuckled sheepishly.
"What's he talking about, kid" questioned Nami, "what have you guys done with his mane?" Almost immediately, Sam accused Steven or one of his friends of animal abuse; proclaiming that one of them must've "dyed" the lion's mane a different color for style. "You are wrong in that assumption, Lady Samantha" Gabriel interjected, "the one called Lion has always been pink."
Once again, everyone was shocked by how these mysterious elves seemed to know so much about them. "Look, buddy; we've been walkin' for almost forty minutes" grumbled Sanji, "could you please tell us where we're going and explain how you know so much about us?!" The Elf Prince simply smiled at him and then, he pointed towards a hill outside of the meadow.
"Over that hill is where our destination lies" he stated, "once we've arrived, everything will be made clear." With that said, he and his family urged everyone to keep up. But before he could move further, King Thaylog was suddenly stopped by one of his guards; who claimed to have heard noises in the meadow where everyone arrived at.
"It might actually be nothing, soldier" the king assured, "but just in case...you and three more of your men should explore the wood; make certain that no one else followed us." After giving a salute, the elven soldier gathered three of his comrades and they proceeded back into the meadow; leaving everyone else to their own devices.
When everyone reached the hilltop, moments later; the Shadowmanes urged everyone to look down in the valley. Curious, Amethyst changed her eyes into a pair of binoculars and looked ahead. When she found what the elven royals wanted her to see, she gasped in shock and awe.
"Guys, look down there" she said while pointing, "there's a village down in that valley and it's big!" Without a moment's pause, everyone followed suit with the gem's wishes and gazed down at the valley. When they found what Amethyst spotted, there were gasps aplenty of surprise.
The Shadowmanes meanwhile, simply smiled at their guests' shocked demeanors; thinking that this kind of reaction was to be expected. "We take it you find our home appealing, then" questioned Thaylog, "in which case; we welcome you to our kingdom...welcome to Overon!"
(First AN: Thus, we have reached our destination; the question is...what surprises lie in store for our heroes? Will the Shadowmanes people welcome them all kindly and what will the guards find back in the meadow during their patrol?
For these answers and more, join us for the next chapter.)
(Second AN: This may seem like a slow/filler chapter for some of you. But not only does this part of the story give the heroes a chance to become properly acquainted. It also gives some of them a chance to briefly show off their skills.
In the next chapter, the reasons for how the Shadowmanes know everyone and why they were brought into this world will be revealed. But word of warning; when that time comes, prepare to have your minds blown!)
(Third AN: The spell casting method Gabriel used for his spell is loosely inspired by how spellcasting is done on the Netflix animated series, The Dragon Prince. It's one of the ways some members of his people and other practitioners of sorcery in his realm are able to use their magical abilities. You will see more of these skills presented, as the story continues.)
(Forth AN: Since Lion is now capable of speech in this story, imagine his voice sounding a little like Keith David. For those of you who don't know him; he's the man behind the voices of characters like Goliath of Gargoyles, Bolo from Final Space, Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog, Spawn from the animated Spawn film and the replacement voice for Glossaryck from Star Vs. The Forces of Evil.
You're more than welcome to use your own ideas on what Lion's speaking voice would sound like, while reading his lines, everyone. This is just my own personal idea.)
(Final AN: Since it has yet to be done on the show; I did my best to describe the moment of Steven's birth and Rose/Pink Diamond's "passing," even though it was told through a story by Greg. I hope I did that part enough proper justice, everybody.)