HOLYSHITSTEVENUNIVERSEFUTUREISENDINGANDICANTHANDLEITAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!1!
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Lamp Entertainment presents…
Hayato looked up in awe at the figure floating in front of him.
His very own stand…
He suddenly felt the urge to giggle uncontrollably, though he thankfully managed to reel it in. He was a stand user now! How cool was that? Finally, he had something he could use to fight back against these aliens with!
Although… He glanced at Moonstone. She was sitting in her chair, looking at the map, deep in thought.
Hayato took a deep breath and steered his mind away from the awesomeness factor of having a stand and towards his goal of getting out of this mess. He may have an advantage if none of them could see stands, but he was still outnumbered. Furthermore, he was on board a space ship he didn't know how to control.
No, he would have to be patient and wait until the next time they landed before he could make his move. If he let Moonstone take him to wherever Josuke and Jotaro were he might be able to catch her off-guard and escape. And then he could team up with them to kick some alien butt. Yes, that seemed like the best option
Still… even when he knew that he finally had an ace in the hole made it a little easier to bear, having to wait even more didn't sound very fun. But there might be something else he could do in the meantime…
He inched a few centimeters closer to Moonstone and silently commanded Under Pressure to put a few sticky notes on her. Several pieces of paper detached from Under Pressure's 'skin' and placed themselves on Moonstone's cape. Text wrote itself on them.
Even though he couldn't make his daring escape just yet, he might still be able to learn some valuable information about his alien captors. After all, knowledge is power.
[Moonstone
Facet-1MB Cut-LU3
A former tactical adviser at Pink Diamond's court…]
Chapter 15: Exposed Position
It's the terror of knowing what this world is about
Watching some good friend screaming 'Let me out!'
Once upon a time back during Era 1 of the great Homeworld empire, a moonstone was created on Earth, the first colony of Pink Diamond.
The moonstone, like every other moonstone, was made to serve as a tactical adviser to the commanders of the army. This moonstone was quickly recognized for her talents and given a chance to help lead her Diamond's army in the war against the nefarious Crystal Gem rebels who sought to overthrow the Diamonds' perfect authority. The moonstone was honored to work in such close proximity to her Diamond and was eager to prove her abilities as a tactician.
However, only a few short years after she emerged, the greatest tragedy of the empire's history struck; Pink Diamond was shattered by Rose Quartz, leader of the Crystal Gems.
Moonstone witnessed it, alongside hundreds of other gems. The event shook every gem in the empire to their core. It was impossible. Unfathomable.
The remains of Pink Diamond's army quickly attacked the Crystal Gems, intent on making them pay for their crimes against all of gemkind. Their sorrow and despair were channeled into hatred and anger. The righteous fury of those still loyal to their Diamond clashed with the Crystal Gems' phony ideals and pretended moral superiority in one last climactic battle for the Earth.
However… despite their superior numbers, Homeworld's forces were driven back. Every time it looked like they made a major breakthrough, the cursed Crystal Gems pushed them back. And so, after several days of constant battle, they were ordered to retreat.
Moonstone had been put in charge of an elite squad of topazes. They had managed to push far into the enemy's lines when they received the order. She tried to keep the order, but the squad was gripped by panic when they saw their allies started leaving and abandoning them to the enemy. Moonstone was left behind. The tactician was unable to fight and would easily fall to even the weakest of the rebel soldiers.
Moonstone ran alone across the flaming and torn apart battlefield, trying desperately to catch up with her allies before their ship left the planet.
She arrived at the launching site just as the last few ships were about to leave. The other commanders had already fled, forcing Moonstone to board a dropship full of common soldiers and working gems. The ship was packed to the brim of panicking gems all squeezed together. Moonstone found herself crushed between several large quartzes for several hours before the ship finally arrived at Homeworld.
Once the ships made it back to Homeworld, the surviving gems from Pink Diamond's court were shuffled around and redistributed amongst the other three courts.
Moonstone found herself in a system that no longer had any need for her. After the loss of the Earth, Homeworld suffered a sudden resource crisis and large-scale invasions of planets with hostile organic lifeforms were no longer possible. As such, a lot of the commanding gems focused solely on military strategy were rendered useless and production of the moonstone line of gems was discontinued.
She spent some time organizing staff at a research facility before she was picked up by an emerald with a small asteroid colony in the outskirts of the galaxy.
This emerald wasn't interested in Moonstone's tactical skills or knowledge, however. No, she was a collector of rare or unusual gems and merely wanted to keep Moonstone as a rarity.
And so Moonstone spent the next five thousand years wasting away as little more than a memory of an era gone by. It seemed that it would be her ultimate fate; robbed of her Diamond, her planet and her purpose.
That was, until one lucky day when Moonstone overheard Emerald getting an order to go to Earth and capture the remains of the Crystal Gems and bring them to Homeworld. While Emerald could not refuse the mission, she was quick to bemoan her orders as soon as the transmission ended. She was of the mind that everyone should have moved on and forgotten about the whole war on Earth.
That enraged Moonstone. To think that anyone would dare to disrespect her Diamond like that! But the situation also presented an opportunity for her. She offered Emerald a deal; Moonstone would go to Earth and capture the Crystal Gems. Then, they could share the glory equally. Emerald would receive the rewards of capturing the most infamous criminals in the history of the empire without lifting a finger.
Any other emerald would have been greatly angered by this idea. Such a proposal was a colossal insult and basis for swift and harsh punishment.
Of course, Moonstone knew that this emerald wasn't like any other. She found the offer amusing and accepted the deal, at one condition; Since Moonstone was part of her collection, she would only get to bring other gems from the collection with along to assist her on the mission.
Moonstone knew that Emerald didn't think she had any chance of succeeding and that she had deliberately stacked the deck against her. She only accepted because she thought it was a novel scenario and she found the failure and suffering of others entertaining.
Moonstone didn't care. She didn't care about Emerald. This mission was a chance to finally bring Rose Quartz and the Crystal Gems to justice for all their crimes against all of gemkind. It was a chance to get revenge. If she had to play along with Emerald's little games to get it, then so be it. She would not fail.
She chose four gems to accompany her and set a course towards Earth in a small Roaming Eye. According to the intel she had received, Rose Quartz was already on Homeworld, brought in for a trial. She had somehow managed to escape and was currently on free foot, hiding away in the dark depths of Homeworld. The mission was to apprehend the rest of the Crystal Gems in order to draw out their leader.
The mission changed, however.
When they got to Earth, they spotted a ship that wasn't of gem origins, nor did it match any of the primitive junk the humans had managed to fling into orbit. Curiosity got the better of her and Moonstone decided to investigate the vessel.
Turns out the ship belonged to an organic being not native to Earth but from another populated planet located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. He had spent some time researching the planet in order to determine if it was fit for his people to live on. Most of what he shared with Moonstone was only relevant to other organics. Things like the composition of the atmosphere, the climate and local vegetables like tissue paper and bananas. Boring, uninteresting and irrelevant to their mission.
That was until he told her about something else he had discovered on Earth, something very interesting That there were certain humans with special abilities called 'stands.' He told her about a human that could stop time and about another one that could erase anything with a touch.
He told her about Josuke Higashikata, whose stand could repair anything and everything. A power that could fix any wound or damage. Any damage…
That's when Moonstone got her idea. It was outlandish, downright bizarre. Every rational and logical person would tell her it was impossible, but by the stars, Moonstone was determined to try.
This mission had started as a way to exact revenge and maybe regain some of the status she had lost. Now it was something more. It wasn't just a mission any longer. It was a crusade. It was a chance to get everything back.
It was a chance to resurrect Pink Diamond.
xxXXxx
One of the first things Pink Diamond did when she claimed the Earth as a colony was set out to create a new type of quartz soldier. A new champion that was unique to her armies. An elite soldier to distinguish her forces from the other Diamonds'.
The idea, much like Pink Diamond herself was elegant, yet powerful; combine the precognitive abilities of a sapphire with the strength of a quartz soldier. A perfect combination of brains and brawn. They would be able to foresee an enemy's movements in battle and act accordingly.
That was the Titanium Quartz Project. The best kindergarteners at Pink Diamond's court were summoned to create the first series of thirteen prototypes of the new super-soldier.
All of them were failures.
The first five didn't respond to any stimuli and were more or less catatonic. The next four were so weak and frail that they could barely move. The next three were strong as any other quartz but lacked the power of future vision, making them no better than ordinary grunts. The last one, number thirteen was the only one that could be considered even a moderate success. She was strong, fast and tough and she possessed the ability to see into the future. However, she could only glimpse a few seconds into the future. And she had a big flaw, a weakness in her design that made her unfit for combat.
Even with this fault, she was presented to Pink Diamond. It was Titanium's first time outside the laboratory she was made in. And to this day, it remains her happiest memory.
She knew instinctively what her purpose was; to be the spearhead of her Diamond's army. Her elite warrior, a sword to strike down all that oppose her perfect rule. Yet, from the day she emerged, she was surrounded by lamentations and peridots proclaiming her a failure.
Pink Diamond didn't call her a failure, however. She looked at Titanium with a smile and told her that she was impressed with her. She promised Titanium that she would take her rightful place in her army soon enough. They just needed her on Homeworld for a few tests. Then she would be able to join her Diamond and fight for her, just like she was supposed to.
Titanium was sent to Homeworld to be examined by some big-shot kindergartener. The peridot in question took one look at the notes on the project and declared it a failure, too expensive to be viable. The Titanium Quartz Project was scrapped immediately and replaced by the much more successful Rose Quartz Project. Titanium was kept on Homeworld for further examination.
She asked several times to be sent back to Earth so she could be where she belonged, on the battlefield, fighting against the enemies of her Diamond. But her every request was denied.
When the news of Pink Diamond's shattering at the hands of Rose Quartz reached her, she tried to escape Homeworld and get back to Earth in order to kill Rose Quartz. She fought her way through several guards and almost made it on board a ship before she was stopped.
Soon thereafter it was decided she was no longer useful for anything and she was sent to a colony controlled by an eccentric emerald. The emerald had personally asked for possession of the only functional Titanium Quartz prototype.
Titanium was added to the collection and stuffed inside a cage, only occasionally let out to fight in mock battles in Emerald's arena.
That was her life for thousands of years. Far, far removed from the life she was promised.
Now she was here, following along in Moonstone's insane plans. First, she had promised Titanium revenge on the Crystal Gems and Rose Quartz. That alone had been enough to convince her to follow along. But now Moonstone was making an even loftier promise. A promise that Titanium was doing her best not to believe in. That she might have her Diamond back.
xxXXxx
In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness and silence. Then she exploded into existence.
That was Ruby's first memory. Great light and heat. An explosion.
When she first emerged, Ruby didn't think she was any different from the other rubies around her. She didn't understand why everyone around here was screaming and looking scared. She couldn't see anything dangerous anywhere. She didn't understand why everyone ran away and left her alone in the kindergarten. Something in her mind told her that things shouldn't go like that. She should be getting her orders on what to do as soon as she emerged from the ground. She thought that maybe she was supposed to run away too, but no one told her to, so she didn't.
She stayed in the kindergarten for a while, looking at machines and wondering what they were for. After some time, a couple of big quartzes approached her. They shouted at her and were really scary and mean. But Ruby did as they told her and stood still. One of them touched her with a yellow electric stick and she felt pain for the first time in her life.
When she reformed again, she was inside a tiny room with a wall of light that hurt when she touched it. A tall green gem that looked a lot like the ones from the kindergarten, but without the metal arms and legs stood outside. She talked about something Ruby didn't quite understand because she used words Ruby didn't know. But it sounded important, so she listened anyway.
She spent a long time in that small room. It was pretty boring most of the time, but the peridot's told her she couldn't leave. Sometimes, one of them would come into the room with some science machine to look at her. Other times, they brought stuff inside the room for her to set on fire. They always seemed really impressed whenever she burned something, so Ruby always did her best. She thought that if maybe she did a good enough job, they would let her out of the small room.
Even though it was pretty boring, she had some fun with the peridots. She would ask them questions and they would tell her about science and stuff, which was pretty cool. Especially the tall one they called A-One. She would always talk to Ruby about the things she was working on, or show her tricks with her spinning balls.
One time that wasn't so happy was when they took her into another room. It was a lot bigger, but with weird thingies on the floor. They put her in the middle and told her not to do anything. Ruby tried to, but as soon as they left, the things on the floor started shooting lightning at her. It hurt a lot. Ruby yelled at them to stop, but they didn't hear her. That's when she started feeling… weird. It was like a big fire inside her that grew bigger and bigger until she… exploded.
After that, she was moved to a new room. She hated that room. It was small like the old one, but instead of a wall of light that she could see through, it was just an ordinary wall. She was there all alone. No one came to talk with her anymore. Only small robo-machines would come in to look at her with science lights.
Ruby spent most of the time sitting in one of the corners or walking around the small room, waiting for something to happen.
Finally, one day, something did happen. A-One came to visit. Ruby was excited at first to have her friend back, but A-One wasn't there to talk about science or other things that friends talk about. She sat down on the floor and told Ruby to also sit down.
She told Ruby that she was an off-color. Wrong. Broken. And that there was nothing they could do to fix her.
Ruby didn't really understand what she meant. She could do everything they asked her to do, so what was wrong?
A-One asked Ruby a very strange question. She asked Ruby if she wanted to live.
Ruby thought about it for a moment. It was a really weird question. She wondered if it was some sort of trick question.
She decided to answer 'yes.'
A-One then told her that there was a gem called Emerald that was interested in adding Ruby to her collection. Ruby wasn't sure what that meant, but she hoped it would be fun.
It wasn't.
She was moved to another place, into an even smaller room. Even though she was green too. Emerald wasn't nice like the peridots had been. She was mean and forced Ruby to fight against bigger, stronger gems. They would hit her until she exploded.
Ruby hated the new place and she hated Emerald.
She didn't understand. There were many rubies like her around, but they weren't in small rooms that they couldn't leave and they didn't have to fight other gems. Was… was she being punished for something? Because she was an… off-color?
A long time passed by and Ruby was sad the entire time.
But then one day, a new gem was placed in the room next to Ruby's. She was one of the small peridots, but she was missing her metal arms and legs. And she was very sad. She sat in the corner of her room and cried for a long time. Ruby felt bad for her, so she decided to try and cheer her up by talking to her.
Peridot didn't respond at first, but after a while, she started talking back. Ruby asked her every question she could think of and Peridot answered. They talked a lot for many days or maybe even years.
Ruby had been sad for so long that she almost forgot what being happy felt like. Her new friend helped her feel happy again and Ruby hoped she made Peridot happy too.
But one time, Emerald overheard them talking and she got very angry. She made Ruby and Peridot fight together against some very big gems in her arena. Peridot was very afraid because she didn't know how to fight. She just stood still while the bigger gems came running towards her. Ruby tried to pull her out of the way when… something happened. She didn't remember what happened next, only that she felt strong. Stronger than she ever had before. The next thing she remembered was the other gems lying on the ground, poofed.
Emerald became even angrier after that, even though they won the fight. Peridot was moved to another room where they couldn't talk. That was the saddest Ruby had ever been. She just sat in her room and stared at nothing for a really, really long time.
But then Moonstone came and told her that she would get to see Peridot again! All Ruby had to do was help her with a mission to a planet called Earth. Moonstone didn't tell her what the mission was for, but Ruby didn't really care. If it meant that she and Peridot could be together again, then she'd do anything Moonstone asked her.
xxXXxx
Contrary to her friend, Peridot's early life was peaceful.
She emerged in a small kindergarten on the colony B-14, given a standard-issue set of limb enhancers and sent to work in a weapon factory alongside several other peridots from the same facet. She worked in Maintenance, repairing and recalibrating various pieces of weaponry and the occasional ship engine or factory equipment. Some might have found it boring and unfulfilling job, but Peridot enjoyed it enough. Although she would have to admit, researching and developing new technology and science did sound a bit more exciting than fixing scratched paint jobs on plasma cannons.
Still, there was something reassuring about the reliability of her day-to-day existence. A few hundred years passed by without any major changes, surprises or upheavals. It might not have been the most fulfilling work, but it was safe. Predictable. Her life was sorted into a comfortable pattern with the rest of her existence neatly laid out before her.
That was, until the accident.
A short circuit in a destabilizer caused the weapon to overload and release a massive burst of electrical energy. The surge was enough to completely fry the circuitry of her limb enhancers and blind every gem in the room with the bright flash of light. The shock was strong enough to poof even the biggest and toughest of quartz soldiers and it was more than sufficient enough to poof Peridot.
Except Peridot didn't poof.
The electricity instead surrounded her like an aura, blue lightning dancing around her for several long moments, before slowly disappearing as if nothing had happened. But something did happen, and every gem in that factory saw it. At first, they looked on with shock at the impossible event that transpired before their very eyes and then with fear as they collectively realized what was going on.
Security was summoned to deal with her. Since the destabilizers didn't work, they resorted to physical means in order to poof her.
When she next reformed, Peridot found herself in a holding cell within an unfamiliar laboratory. The gem looking at her through the insulated glass window was familiar to her, however. Peridot A1, a legend amongst all peridots across the empire, known as the best kindergartener in the universe. Under any other circumstances, meeting her would have been a great honor and dream come true, but in this instance, it was a great shame.
A1 confirmed what Peridot had already figured out the moment she realized the destabilizer didn't poof her. When she first emerged, the kindergarteners had noted that her gem had a slight discoloration, a hint of yellow that was atypical of Era 2 peridots. But as everything else suggested she was fully functional, they decided it was probably just that; a discoloration. Had they opted to run a few more tests and look a little deeper into her gem, they would have found the truth. A chemical deviance within her gem gave her the ability to store and conduct electricity.
Peridot was an off-color.
She knew what that meant.
She had lost everything. Her colleagues would never want to see her again and she could never go back to her job. Off-colors were not desired. They could not be tolerated or allowed to exist within the great design of the empire. There was only one fate that awaited her.
But… she didn't want to.
The small part of her mind that was still capable of rational thought told her that she had already lost everything, what difference would it make if she lost her worthless life? Yet, an overwhelming fear filled Peridot's being at the thought of facing the great unknown of death. She knew that it was a useless effort, that no one was going to listen to the desperate pleas of a defective freak like her. But that didn't stop the tears from flooding her escaping her eyes, nor did it stop her from dropping to her knees and beg for her life.
To her amazement and surprise, A1 actually took pity on the younger peridot. She said that there was an eccentric emerald who collected unusual gems, including off-colors and that she might be interested in adding Peridot to her collection.
Peridot realized immediately that her new life wasn't going to be a good one and that she'd be little more than a freak in a cage to be gawked at. But at the very least, as horrible a life as that might be, it was still a life. Still, that first night in the cell that became her new home did make her wonder if she did make the right decision…
That was until another voice reached out to her through the darkness. It was another gem from Emerald's collection, a small Ruby. She became Peridot's friend, her first real friend. She was a ray of sunshine through the darkness of misery.
Of course, it couldn't last.
When she found out about their conversations, Emerald became furious. She forced Ruby and Peridot to fight together in one of the arena battles she occasionally arranged for her own amusement. It was during that battle that Peridot and Ruby committed the one sin greater than being made defective.
They fused.
Peridot couldn't recall precisely what had happened, only vague recollections and… feelings. Power, strength, and confidence like she had never felt before and for the first time in a long time… safety.
That didn't last long either.
As punishment, Ruby and Peridot were separated, put in different parts of Emerald's compound. For the second time in her life, Peridot lost everything she had.
Without her friend around, Peridot fell into a depressive state, literally sinking into a pathetic pile on the cell floor. She refused to move or speak, even when Emerald jeered and taunted her. She didn't even bother thinking. The only thing on her mind was the despair slowly crushing her into nothing, a state worse than death.
She stayed like that for many, many years until the day Moonstone came to her with a promise. Help her with a mission and she would get to see Ruby again.
Now they were finally together again on this insane mission to Earth. And Peridot was determined to make sure that they were never separated ever again.
xxXXxx
Moonstone
Facet-1MB Cut-LU3
A former tactical adviser for Pink Diamond's armies. Made on Earth. Technically, she is a blue cat's eye moonstone, but that's a bit of a mouthful, so most people simply say 'Moonstone' and leave it at that.
Gem placement: Navel.
Weapon(s): Small crystal balls.
Appearance: Moonstone is of average human height, around 175cm tall. She is thin and has blue skin. Her hair is short and light blue with white stripes. Most of her body is usually hidden under a large cape. Under it, she wears a fairly standard gem bodysuit.
Powers and Abilities
•Spin-A little something Moonstone picked up on in the research facility she briefly worked at. Spin is a physical phenomenon that lets a spinning object output more energy than was put into it, violating basic laws of physics. Spin has a multitude of uses, both in and outside of combat. It can, for example, be used to increase the power an attack or drastically alter an object's trajectory through the air.
Stats
Destructive Power: B
Agility: C
Effective Combat Range: A
Durability: C
Skill: B
Rarity: A
Titanium Quartz
Facet-TQ Cut-13
The only semi-successful prototype from the Titanium Quartz Project. Can get a bit grumpy at times.
Gem Placement: Left eye
Weapon(s): Straight-bladed cavalry swords.
Appearance: Above average height, around 210cm tall and slimmer than what is typical of most quartzes. Her skin is grey and gleams like metal. In the right light at the right angle, you can see her entire body faintly shimmer like a rainbow. Her hair is rainbow-colored and fairly short, atypical of quartzes in general. Her gem is shaped like a rod and reaches from her eye socket to the back to her head where it pokes out.
Powers and Abilities
•Immediate Future Vision-Titanium can peek a second or two into the immediate future within her direct field of vision. In effect, it allows her to see an enemy's movements before they make them.
•Cryokinesis-Activates involuntarily whenever Titanium uses her future vision. It renders her entire body cold enough to freeze water almost instantaneously.
Stats
Destructive Power: A
Agility: A
Effective Combat Range: C
Durability: A
Skill: A
Rarity: N/A (experimental prototype)
Ruby
Facet-X1A Cut-LN6
An Era 2 off-color. Tiny dragon. She enjoys learning new things, even if she isn't very good at remembering them.
Gem Placement: Forehead
Weapon(s): Small throwing knives
Appearance: Red skin, short and stout. Has a large cube-shaped hairdo.
Powers and Abilities
•Explosion-Ruby's pyrokinesis is far above average amongst even rubies from Era 1. She can release an enormous amount of energy in the form of an explosion radiating outwards from her body. This ability is very volatile and can be triggered against Ruby's will by emotional or physical trauma. Ruby is not negatively affected by her own explosions, but she does require some time between each explosion in order to recharge.
Stats
Destructive Power: A
Agility: C
Effective Combat Range: E (B with explosions)
Durability: B
Skill: C
Rarity: E
Peridot
Facet-31L Cut-33N
An Era 2 off-color. Far too young and clever. Is tired of always losing everything she loves.
Gem Placement: Chest
Weapon(s): None
Appearance: Green skin, short and unthreatening. Arms and legs like sticks. Large pyramid hair. She currently wears a new pair of limb enhancers.
Powers and Abilities
•Electrokinesis-Peridot can create, absorb and control large quantities of electrical energy. While there is a limit to how much energy she can absorb, it's a large enough amount to render most electrical attacks and weaponry useless against her.
Stats
Destructive Power: B
Agility: C
Effective Combat Range: C
Durability: A
Skill: D
Rarity: E
To be continued…
D-do you get it? Exposed position. Do you get the pun?
As I said a few weeks ago, going into March means I'll be working a lot more again, which means I won't have as much time and energy to dedicate to writing. I've considered a few options, and I have an idea I would like to try; a bi-monthly schedule.
Basically, I take one month to write new chapters that I upload the next month, and then it's back to writing the next month after that. This plan isn't without flaws or downsides and it is subject to change, but I hope it will work.
Now, March is going to be a little different. I don't if ya'll know this yet, but uh… Steven Universe: Future is ending. The ten last episodes air this month. I won't bother you with it right now, but let me tell you, it got me worked up real good. I will be a changed man after this month. March is also special as March 25th marks the two year anniversary of this story and I want to take a moment to reflect on things. I'm planning on releasing a little anniversary chapter. Nothing too extravagant, just something to celebrate with. Hopefully, I'll also have the next chapter finished by then, but we'll have to see how that goes. I've learned not to give any promises by now.
TL;DR, more stuff on March 25th.
Ah… chapter 16 is going to be fun. For me. Not so much the Duwang Gang, as they're getting a rather... chilly Welcome to Beach City. What exactly does that mean? Find out next time on JoJo and the Crystal Gems! Until then, take care of the Planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!
