AUTHORS NOTE: I own all this story so please dont steal! PLEASE R&R! I only have one reviewer! Thanks to Glitter Poison! I would like more so I know that there are people reading it. Tell me if you like it or if you dontI really dont care. I wrote this becauseI was bored out of my mind and also becauseI didnt have a book to read. So review!

CHAPTER 3

"So, where are we going?" Opal asked as they traveled down a deserted highway. She was sitting between the window and Peridot. Garnet was on his other side.

"We are going home." Joshua said as they turned off the highway.

"I know that, but where is 'home'?"

"None of us know." Garnet voiced, "Josh usually throws us in the back. I think we all are, or at least I am, old enough to see. I think we have old enough for a long time now. I mean I am sixteen now. Please?"

"Oh… fine. But only the first four of you, since you are all sixteen. We wouldn't need the young ones knowing where 'home' is yet. But I think we need to make a pit stop."

They pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of a mountainous area. Joshua got out, as did everybody else in the front. He went around to the gas tank and put his hands over it.

"What's he doing?" Opal asked.

"Oh Josh is just filling the tank." Garnet replied. "We must have been running low on gas. It saves the trouble of going to the gas station and paying a lot of money."

Toby ran towards her. He walked around her legs and meowed. She picked him up and patted him on the head. Everybody had lots of energy for it being only seven O'clock in the morning. Joshua must have done something. Or maybe it was the great morning fresh air.

"Hey! Look at that!" Opal shouted as she saw a great majestic fox. It was swishing its tail around and was looking at her. Toby looked at her confused.

"Look at what?" Peridot said gazing around. "I don't see anything."

"Look right by those bushes. There's a very pretty fox."

"Hey Garnet, didn't Joshua say something about a fox? I kind of remember him saying something."

"Yeah. But I can't remember it either. I'll go and ask him." Garnet dashed to the other side of the car. She stood right next to him. When he was doing magic she couldn't interrupt until he was done. It might screw something up.

"Yeah? What's up?" he said finally.

"Didn't you mention, before we left the house, something about a fox?"

"Yes, what I said was if you see a fox with white eyes and an abnormally long tail than you must immediately tell me and I will take care of it."

"Oh um… Opal has seen a fox, but neither Peri nor I can see."

Meanwhile, Opal had put Toby on the top of the van. She started walking towards the fox.

"Do you think I can get close enough to catch him?" She asked Peri.

"I still can't see it, but I wouldn't try. It will probably run away anyway. If it doesn't move come back here. Ok?"

Opal didn't reply. She was set on getting this fox. It was lying down now still staring at her. It would have looked dead if it's tail would stop moving. The fox's eyes were white and glazed over but yet it could see her.

"Peri, something's weird about this fox." She whispered never taking her eyes off of it.

"Yeah what?"

At that moment Joshua came running around the van.

"Opal don't go any closer to that fox."

"So," she said looking around. "You can see—"

The child never finished her sentence. The fox had sprung on her left hand. It tore at it as though it were paper. Surprised and dizzy, she glanced at the fox. It seemed to be smiling. Opal was going to go after it but she felt faint. The bite's poison was flowing through her veins. She looked down to see the ground rushing to meet her.

She woke to find herself to be on a bed with a very worried Peridot beside her.

"Joshua," Peri banged on the front of the back seat, "She's awake what should we do?" Some people around her wouldn't look at her. They all looked sickly to her.

"How are you feeling?" Peri asked. She figured they were in the back of the van.

Opal found it very hard to talk. "I've been better." She said and managed a smile. He smiled back.

"Just keep her awake." Joshua yelled back. "We're almost there."

"I should probably introduce you to everybody. Okay there's Emerald, Alex, Ruby, Sapphire, and me." He said pointing to everybody. "Then there's the four you haven't seen yet but don't worry. You will later. They're Garnet, which you already know, Onyx, Aqua and Diamond."

"We also have powers that should be introduced." Emerald interrupted. She was a dark-haired girl with an Asian tint to her.

Emerald had emerald eyes and that was why her foster parents thought her name was from.

"Oh yeah, I was getting to that. Emerald can become invisible and walk through walls, same as Onyx. Alex and Sapphire can read minds. Ruby and Aqua can conjure fire. I can talk to animals and my partner Garnet, can do the same. I think that's everybody."

"No, you forgot Diamond." Ruby said in a matter-of fact tone, pushing some of her auburn hair out of her face. It was the latest style in the People magazine.

"Oh yeah. Sorry Ruby."

Ruby had come from the same kind of city Diamond came. A high maintenance area where if someone shopped at target they were considered a hillbilly. Diamond and Ruby always criticized everybody "lower" then them. So they were a good pair for each other.

Ruby really cared about her since she was in fact Diamonds best friend, actually only friend. Diamond's snotty attitude didn't give a good impression on others less superior of her.

"You've actually already talked to her. She was the one who called your home a shabby old village. She," Peridot paused but continued. "Can turn anything into rubies, crystals, and diamonds."

Opal struggled in saying, "She could make a lot of money doing that. But cool! Now I have something to think about. But that's still a lot to handle in one day. I won't remember it. Well, hi everybody." That wiped her out. So she thought it better to go to sleep.

"We can't let you drift off. Sorry Opal." Sapphire said.

Opal was beginning to like these people. They seemed nice and they actually cared about how she felt.

"When you saw the fox…"Alex inquired, "What did it look like?" He seemed embarrassed asking.

"Well," she began but stopped because she couldn't breathe. She had looked at her hand for the first time. Just now remembering that the fox had completely bitten her last three fingers off. Her ring was there but it was stained with old blood. It looked like it had been in many battles and she liked that. All that remained of the 'battle with the fox' as she now called it, was a long scar going along her knuckles.

Oh would I have a story to tell. And only on my first day at this place! But I am causing concern and worry and that's not a good feeling.

"Yes…" Everybody was waiting for an answer. She couldn't figure who had said that.

"Oh yeah." She struggled. "Don't forget this is hard for me to get out. So don't rush me." The child breathed heavily. After she recovered herself she continued. "Well, it was red but I couldn't help noticing something wrong about it. I was about to tell Peri when it bite me." Everybody winced at that. Opal was the only one who hadn't seen all the gore. But she was the only one who had felt the surging pain go through her last three fingers. She took a deep breath. "I noticed that when I got closer, it would still follow me and I thought it was blind. Its eyes were white and clouded over. But yet it could still see me…" She trailed off. There was an uncomfortable silence in the van. But the Joshua broke the silence as he opened the back. They hadn't even know they'd stopped.

"We're here!" He looked at everybody's faces and was puzzled. "I'll carry Opal. She probably doesn't even have enough energy to speak. Everybody else, can take care of themselves." He laughed. Everybody laughed with him.

They were right next to a large forest. It was made of mostly maple and oak trees. There seemed to be a huge tree house in the middle. You wouldn't have noticed it if you weren't looking for it.

"Joshua?" She looked at him like the long lost father she had never knew. "Is that home?" he smiled at her. She was drifting off.

"Yes." The man answered. "That's home." And with that she finally fell into a deep sleep.

Now review!