Episode 22: Bismuth Part 2
Picking up where Part 1 left off, the Gems and Monks were heading to the forge, which was around an active volcano. Steven was pretty excited. "Man, never knew you guys had a forge lying around not being used." Raimundo said. "Well, since Bismuth was out of commission, we had no good reason to come back here." Pearl said. "Yea, besides, this place isn't the same without me." Bismuth said. "Hmm…That sounds most interesting, Bismuth." Omi said. Bismuth nods as they arrived at a stone slab. "Looks like we're be back...in Bismuth." Bismuth said. Raimundo chuckles a bit. "Cheesy pun there, Bismuth." Raimundo said. Bismuth's gem began to glow and the earth rumbles a bit. The slab opens up like doors, creating a tunnel into the volcano.
"Ta-da!" Bismuth said. "Now that's an entrance!" Steven said. They began to head in. As they got in, Steven and the monks began to feel some strong heat. "Man, it's getting pretty warm in here." Steven said. "Yea, but it's a volcano that's still active. It's a near given it would be hot." Kimiko said. "It remind me that time we got the Sapphire Dragon in the volcano." Raimundo said. Raimundo then looks at Garnet, still mostly cool as a rock. "Before you wonder… it's just a name, it had the color of Sapphire, but no gems were used… at least I think." Raimundo said as Garnet understood him.
Soon they arrived in a dark room. Bismuth walks up to a wall, shapeshift her hand into a hammer and slam on a pedestal in the room. Lava began to flow and dowsing Bismuth into the lava. The monk were stunned and were unsure if Bismuth survived from that. A few seconds later, Bismuth walks out, seemingly relaxed. "Nothing like a hot lava bath to get into a working mood." Bismuth said. "Wow, didn't expect you to be heat resistant." Raimundo said. Bismuth chuckles a bit. "So, what did you do at Homeworld...well, before the rebellion?" Kimiko asked. "Homeworld used us Bismuths to erect spires and temples for the Gem elites to enjoy." Bismuth said. "However, Rose taught me that my life is my own. That I could choose to do whatever I really wanted" She said as she began to forge something. "So, I became a weapon maker." Bismuth said as she reveals a sword. "Whoo-wee, that is some fine sword you made." Clay said. "Heh, That's great to hear. Which reminds me… Is it still here?" Bismuth said as she walks over to a chest and opens it. "Aha! Yep, it's still here!" Bismuth said. She then hands Garnet a brass knuckles and Garnet summons her gauntlet, adding the knuckles to the gauntlets. Raimundo whistles. "Talk about an upgrade." Raimundo said. Bismuth then hands a forked attachment for Pearl and managed to make her spear into a trident.
"Bismuth… you shouldn't have." Pearl said. "Eh, it was not a big deal. I was working on them before…" Bismuth said before trailing off. "Anyway, I might as well give it to you now." She said after a beat. Raimundo then walks up next to Amethyst. "Well, was there any upgrades for Amethyst right here?" Raimundo said. Amethyst was a little uncertain on it. "Do you have any weapons?" Bismuth asked. "Just this old thing." Amethyst said as she pulls out her whip. "Wow, not every quartz could make a whip like this. Mind if I take a look?" Bismuth said. "Sure, knock yourself out." Amethyst said, indifferent. Bismuth examines the Whip and gets an idea. She worked on it fairly quickly and returned with the enhanced whip, now with spiked Flails. Amethyst was surprised and in awe. "Wow! Thanks, Bismuth!" Amethyst said, ecstatically. Bismuth chuckles as the Monks are really impressed with Bismuth.
A bit later, the Gems were doing some training while the Monks were watching. "Man, Bismuth is really a great asset for us." Raimundo said. "Yea, she is most powerful, especially with her weapon making." Omi added. Kimiko pulls out her laptop and began typing stuff in. "Putting Bismuth in your spreadsheet, Kimiko?" Clay said. "Yea, think about it, we got now Peridot, Lapis, Jack, and now Bismuth added to our roster. We could easily rotate around the 4 of them for our Shen Gong Wu hunts. This would make the Heylin be on the back foot constantly. Especially with 2 of them being former Heylin themselves." Kimiko said. "Well, that's great to hear. It's very unlikely for us to lose Bismuth in the near future." Raimundo said. "I mean, Bismuth on the up and up and things might improve for the future." Omi, Kimiko, and Clay nods. They watch some more of the training.
Back at the Heylin, Chase and Hannibal were now long out of the building, going to do their things. Wuya was now in charge for the time being. She was walking down the hall when Katnappe walks out of her room. "Ah, Katnappe." Wuya said. Katnappe was in deep thoughts at that point and gotten a bit startled when Wuya mention her. "Oh, hey, Wuya…" Katnappe said, unsure what to say. "Something on your mind?" Wuya said. "Why do you care?" Katnappe said. "Well, we are allied together because of Chase and I want to see what is on your mind." Wuya said. Katnappe lets out a big sigh. "Well, if you want to know, ever since I lost to that Steven kid, I really been hungering for revenge against him. I mean, I should have creamed him and gotten the wu easily…but I got overly cocky and didn't expect his bubble thing to knock me out." Katnappe said. "Well, I may have been a little harsh on you, mostly because Steven was just still too new against us. However, with hindsight…Well, I should have given you a little leeway." Wuya admits.
Katnappe appreciates it a bit but thinks a bit more. "How much powerful did Steven get before my return?" Katnappe said. "I assume he's either on par or gotten stronger over time. His Healing spit has to return by now. Plus, with the Monks, his strength is bound to get stronger. His speed might improved as well. So, I wouldn't recommend hunting him down immediately." Wuya said. "Wait till Hannibal and Chase to return and we might discuss a sneak attack in the future." "Ooooh, I like that idea." Katnappe said. "I mean, we got Tubbimura and Vlad to hold Garnet and Clay off, me and you to force Raimundo and Amethyst into a standstill, Pandabubba with his wealth could hire some goon to force Pearl and Kimiko into submission, and Chase and Hannibal could aim for Omi and Steven." "I see, you think that's a promising outlook and I agree with you. All we need is to get Chase and Hannibal on board and we'll strike when the time is right." Wuya said. "But how do we know when the time is right?" Katnappe said. "Well, Pandabubba could coax some spies to analyze Beach City and when they report something that could give us an advantage…we march onto Beach City." Wuya proclaimed.
This seems to please Katnappe. "I like that idea. It has the potential to surprise attack them when they least expect it." Katnappe said. "All we need is to buy some time and make sure we keep a good chunk of our wus. For now, we'll see where the chips fall and see where we need to go." Wuya said. Katnappe nods with an evil smirk. "Oh, that twerp Steven is not going to be ready when we march onto Beach City." Katnappe said. Wuya chuckles a bit. "A little anxious, I see." Wuya quips. "Yea, I've waiting roughly a year since my defeat against Steven to get back at him." Katnappe said. "So, roughly 2 seasons or so?" Wuya said. "Duh, I really want to face off him as soon as I can and knock him down a peg or two." Katnappe added. "Well, okay then. Just wait and bide some time and we'll get back at them, one way or another." Wuya said as she walks away. Katnappe smirks at the camera.
Back at the Monks, it was night time and Steven and Bismuth went somewhere. The Monks were taking a bit of a nap, well, sans Raimundo as he was wondering what is going on with Bismuth and Steven. The gems were doing other things, Pearl was reading, Amethyst was on the stairs just relaxing, and Garnet was making sure everything was in order. Raimundo slowly gets up from his sleeping spot and walk up to Garnet. "Do you know where Steven is?" Garnet asked. "Well, I overheard that Bismuth wanted to show Steven something special. She took Steven to the forge if I call." Raimundo said. "Hmm...that's strange, Steven's shield doesn't need an upgrade. Maybe the sword could but it's very unlike Steven to use it." Garnet said. Just then, the warp pad activates and Steven arrived, looking like he went through a massive battle. Bismuth's gemstone was in a bubble as Raimundo and the Gems rushes up. "What the heck?" Raimundo said. "I think I should explain what happened." Steven said.
Soon, Steven informed the Gems and the recently awoken Monks about what happened. The Gems were putting the bubble containing Bismuth's gemstone in the burning room. The Monks were shocked and were split on the whole situation. Raimundo and Omi believed Steven had did the right thing on telling them about what happened to Bismuth and pretty much wrote off Bismuth as an ally. Clay and Kimiko were still hoping that later down the line that Bismuth could be redeemed and become a critical ally in the future. Omi and Raimundo respected the opinion but they agreed that Bismuth should be bench for a good while. Raimundo sees the Gems walks out of the burning room and walks over to Steven, comforting him and supporting his decision. Bismuth looked like she would have been a great ally, but she threw it all away and as a result, is now out of commission. For how long? For that, we'll wait and see.
End of Episode 22
