Lamp Entertainment presents…
Chapter 17: Her Blue Soul
Homeworld…
December 23rd.
It was the day before Christmas and seldom had Homeworld been so excited! And not just Homeworld, but the jolly and cheer spanned the entire empire. And why should it not? Despite the seemingly impossible time frame, they had done it. They had pulled off the impossible. All throughout the galaxy stood over a million ships packed to the brink with over seven billion gifts and entire armies of gems ready to deliver them. They were just waiting for the first minute of Christmas Eve to come on Earth, and they'd be off.
And yet, there was still a dark shadow hanging over Homeworld.
The Winter Shadow was still on free foot. While there hadn't been any big attacks since the one at the Disarmament Unit, the Shadow's presence was still felt. There had been multiple cases of vandalism at several places on Homeworld, small shops selling Christmas gifts set on fire, or Christmas decorations being torn down.
Still, nothing could ruin the good mood the entire planet was in the day before Christmas Eve! Very soon, all the hard work the last three weeks pay off! Operation Christmas was in the final stages, the fine-tuning, so to speak.
Said fine-tuning was being done on the former Human Zoo Ship, now the Human Cruise Ship. The entire station had been moved to Homeworld and was now hovering over the enormous launching grounds from which the first few ships leading Operation Christmas would launch in less than twenty-four hours. The idea was to try the Gift Delivering Routines on some actual live humans and the Zoomans had been more than happy to lend their assistance.
Of course, at this point, the tests were mostly done, so the station was more or less empty, aside from a few gems and Zoomans doing a little last-minute training before the big day. The "Famethyst" and most of the Zoomans that usually resided in the station were doing some sightseeing on Homeworld… which meant that despite the high-security standards upheld everywhere else, the station was left almost completely unguarded.
Down in the lower levels of the Cruise Ship, a dark figure moved through dimly lit corridors. The figure was clad in clumsily sown together robes, her every feature obscured under the black cloth. She snuck silently through long hallways that were far from as opulent as the ones on the upper levels.
The lower part of the Cruise Ship hosted buzzing machines and humming environmental systems, several of them many thousand years old and out of date. The long hallway was lined with doors leading into various machine rooms filled with all the apparatuses that kept the Cruise Ship alive. No gem had been down there for at least three hundred years… yet, the robed figure moved with a certain sense of familiarity. As if she had been there before.
She finally reached the end of the long hallway. There were three doors, one right in front of her and two on each side of her. The one on the left side lead to the air conditioning system and the one on the right to one of many server rooms controlling the computers aboard. The figure didn't stop for either of these doors. She was headed for the one straight ahead. That door lead down to the lowest level of the station, to the gravity engine. The part that let the station hover like it did without coming crashing down on the planet and crush the hundreds of ships beneath it at the moment.
The dark figure slowly reached towards the panel next to the door to open it…. only for the door to open on its own. The door slid to the side with a pneumatic hiss.
"The Winter Shadow, I presume?"
The dark figure flinched and took a few steps back in surprise. There was a gem behind the door! A tiny little Aquamarine with her gem proudly presented on her chest. Her arms were folded behind her back quite casually. Right next to her gem sat a shiny badge that identified her as part of the Homeworld Law Enforcement.
"About time," the Aquamarine said, spreading her water wings and lifting up into the air. "I was getting tired of waiting."
The dark figure took a few more steps backward. Although you couldn't see her face at all, it was evident that things were suddenly not going according to plan.
"Now, Winter Shadow, you do have some options of where we go from here," the Aquamarine said, awfully casual for someone addressing the most wanted criminal on all of Homeworld. "Either you surrender right now…"
The dark figure reached inside her suit, seemingly to somewhere on her back. She pulled out her weapon, a long electric whip, which started buzzing threateningly.
"…or you could do that," the Aquamarine said while shaking her head. "How awfully predictable. "BOO!" The little blue gem suddenly shouted and the dark figure stumbled, taken by surprise.
The doors at each side of the hallway opened, revealing a large Jasper on one side and a Topaz on the other. Before the dark figure had time to even try and fight back, or even run away, they slammed into her. There was a bright light, and when it faded away, the figure was stuck inside of a Lily Pad Jasper fusion. The captured gem wriggled a bit, but quickly realized the futility of it and went still.
"Not so tough in person, are we?" the Aquamarine sighed. "Come on, big girl," she said to her partner. "Let's bring her in." She winked at the dark figure. "We got some people who are very eager to meet you."
xxXXxx
A few minutes' worth of elevator rides and walking later, the tow police gems and the captured figure arrived at the old Bubble Room. This time, the room was hosting a fair bit more gems than just the Rose Quartzes that normally hung out there. The Rose Quartzes were still there, and so was the Famethyst, but also the three Diamonds, Spinel, and just about all the police gems they could sneak onto the station.
The Lily Pad Jasper unfused into her component gems, dropping the dark figure on the floor in a rather pathetic-looking pile of limbs and dark cloth. As she struggled to sit up properly, she got snared in her own clothes.
White Diamond was laughing gleefully the entire time.
"Ahahaha! You fell right into our trap!" she said, her face lighting up with a faint yellow light of amusement.
Yellow Diamond nodded, trying and failing to conceal a smile.
"You didn't really think it'd be this easy, did you?" she asked rhetorically. "That we'd leave this place entirely unguarded while you were still on free foot?"
"Moving this station here and letting it sit right above the field with the gift delivery ships?" Blue Diamond continued. "That was all part of the plan. We knew you couldn't resist such an opportunity."
"If this station were to fall out of the sky, not only would it cost the lives of thousands of gems and several dozen hips, but it would also be devastating for the morale of every gem in the galaxy," Yellow Diamond said. "You would accomplish your twisted goal of destroying Christmas in one fell swoop."
"Enough expositing!" White said. "The time has come to find out once and for all who this Winter Shadow truly is!" She reached towards the quivering figure on the floor, grabbing the black cloth with the tip of her impeccably polished fingernails.
With a dramatic gesture, White Diamond tore the hood and cloak of the figure to reveal…
"You!" Yellow exclaimed. "I recognize you!"
"Me too!" Blue gasped.
"We too!" the Famethyst shouted in shock.
"I… I don't," White said, confused. "Who is she?"
The figure sitting on the floor, looking like she was ready to cry, was none other than Holly Blue Agate.
"Hmph, ironic, isn't it?" Yellow mused. "Caught in the very same station you once commanded."
"B-but why?", one of the Famethysts, Amethyst 8XG cried out. The entire group was in shock to see their old boss turn out to be the feared Winter Shadow. The Rose Quartzes hadn't known Holly Blue for as long as the Famethyst had, but what little they did know about the blue gem… yeah, she didn't exactly seem like the type who could pull off anything even remotely close to what the Winter Shadow had managed to.
"That is a very good question," Blue said coldly. She reached down towards Holly Blue, who was starring at the floor and placed her finger underneath her chin. She forced Holly Blue to look up at her and all the gems surrounding her. "Why were you trying to destroy Christmas?"
"I-I…" Holly Blue stuttered, her gaze dodging around the large room. She muttered something unintelligible under her breath.
"Speak up!"
Holly Blue flinched. Her face suddenly scrunched up and large tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't…"
"I wasn't asking for an apology," Blue said, her voice as cold as ice. "I was asking you 'why.' Tell me, drove you to try and destroy Christmas?"
"B-because… To get back at them!" Holly Blue sobbed. One weak arm gestured clumsily towards a certain group of gems standing in the room.
"The Famethyst?" White asked. The triumphant yellow slowly faded from her face and was replaced by a faint shade of confused pink. A hundred or so pair of eyes turned towards the group of guard gems. The Amethysts seemed to shrink, while Skinny Jasper and Carnelian hid behind their larger friends. "What do they have to do with any of this?"
"Ever since the Crystal Gems visited, all of the guards have been so mean to me!" Holly Blue cried. "T-they started bossing me around and made me do all the hard and dirty work all on my own… they called me names and told me I'm worthless and that no one wants me in Era 3."
"…so let me get this straight," Yellow said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Could gems get headaches? Who knows, but if they can, you can bet Yellow was well underway getting one. "You were willing to endanger thousands of gems and ruin an entire holiday… because a few people were mean to you?"
Holly Blue was starring down at the floor, very embarrassed and ashamed.
"When you put it like that…" she mumbled.
Something landed in front of Holly Blue. Something that sounded very… springy. She looked up and saw Spinel standing there; she had jumped from where she had been standing on Yellow's shoulder pad.
"Hey, I get it," Spinel said softly, stretching her arm and awkwardly patting the sobbing Holly Blue on the shoulder. "It's all cause you were jealous of all the people that had friends while you were alone, isn't it?"
"I guess," Holly Blue said meekly.
Meanwhile, White's eyes were firmly fixed on the squirming Famethyst group. Some of the Amethysts had paled from their ordinary deep purple to a more magenta magenta hue.
"Is this true?" White asked. "Have you been saying those awful things to Holly Blue?"
"Um…" one of them hesitated.
"We, uh…" said another one, but she got distracted by an incredibly interesting spot on the floor that demanded her full attention.
"Well?"
"We were only doing it because that's what she's been doing to us for years!" 8XJ finally said. "She was a terrible person and a horrible boss! She treated us like dirt!"
"That doesn't give you the right to be mean back," White said, scolding the gems like they were a pack of newly emerged gemlings making a mess in the kindergarten. "Era 3 was supposed to be an era of forgiveness and new beginnings, not for petty revenge!" She picked up Holly Blue by the scruff of her neck and dumped her in front of the Famethyst group. "Now I want you both to apologize to each other."
"I'm sorry for how bad I treated you!" Holly Blue sobbed.
8XJ looked around at her sisters. No one said anything or seemed very keen on actually looking Holly Blue in the eyes, but all of them nodded.
"We, uh… we forgive you," 8XJ said. "And, um… I hope you can forgive us too. We should've been the bigger gems about it. But we weren't. And that was wrong of us." She extended her hand towards Holly Blue.
Holly Blue smiled a real, genuine smile for the first time in… ever.
"I forgive you," she said, wiping the last of her tears from her face. She shook 8XJ's hand, and the Amethyst pulled her into a very awkward and brief hug.
"Did I do good?" White whispered to Yellow and Blue, who both nodded.
"Steven would be proud," Blue said, prompting White to blush with a proud yellow.
"Well, I guess all is well that ends well," 8XL said cheerfully, patting Holly Blue a bit too roughly on the back.
Yellow laughed a little.
"Ah, I suppose so," she said with a smile. Then her smile suddenly disappeared and her hand shot out to grab Holly Blue and hoist her into the air. "However, Holly Blue Agate, you are still under arrest for destroying the dropship at N1V-25, as well as blowing up the Disarmament Unit here on Homeworld, endangering several hundred gems, arson, and tearing down several Christmas decorations from hard-to-reach places. You will be placed in jail awaiting your trial. You may hav…"
"Wait!" Holly Blue shouted. "I haven't destroyed any ships! Or blown up any Disarmament Units! Or set anything on fire! That wasn't me!"
"Of course it was you, Holly Blue 'Winter Shadow' Agate," Yellow scoffed.
"Nonono, that wasn't me!" Holly Blue cried, panicking and struggling in Yellow's powerful grip. "I'm not the Winter Shadow!"
The temperature onboard the station seemed to drop several degrees in only a few moments.
"W-what?" Yellow asked through gritted teeth.
"Check the records!" Holly Blue said. "I have never even been to N1V-25!"
"You're lying!" White yelled, her face flashing with fiery red. "You're… you're just…"
"She's telling the truth," said one of the police Herderite's in the room meekly as she was holding up a holographic screen. "This Holly Blue Agate has no recorded visits to N1V-25, neither by warp pad or ship. And…" The Herderite searched through another list. "She has never been recorded to be anywhere near the Disarmament Unit, nor anywhere near the apartment complex where Peridot N07-H3R's limb enhancers were stolen."
"B-but…" White stammered. "But you were trying to sabotage the gravity engines! You were trying to make this station come crashing down!"
Holly Blue paled.
"W-what!? No, do you think I have a death wish or something?"
"Then what were you doing down on the lower levels?" Blue asked. She tried to sound as suspicious as she could, but her conviction was wavering. "And if you're not the Winter Shadow, then who is?"
"I don't know who the Winter Shadow is," Holly Blue said. "She approached me while, uh…" She blushed a little. "While I was crying in a park," she muttered. "She was wearing a black robe and never spoke, so I have no idea who she is, not even what kind of gem… she only spoke by writing with a pair of limb enhancers, so I thought she might be a Peridot or something…"
"And what were you doing in the lower levels of this station just now?" Yellow insisted.
"The Winter Shadow said she had a plan," Holly Blue said. "And that all I had to do was place a message for you down there…"
"A message…?" Blue said.
"Yeah…" Holly Blue grunted and managed to free one of her arms from Yellow's grip. She reached for her gem and pulled something out of it. A small holographic display unit. White extended her finger, and Holly Blue placed the small device on it. She pressed it to activate it. A large holographic screen appeared with a short message written on it.
"She said that as long as you saw this… then she would be able to destroy Christmas."
Yellow and Blue leaned in to see what was written on the screen.
WHo Is ThE sleepwalker?
xxXXxx
Somewhere out in space…
Out in the vast oceans of empty space, there was a small planetoid that had once been considered as a potential mining world. However, after Era 3 forbid the exploitation of worlds with life on them, any plans for the planetoid had been scrapped.
The life consisted mostly of plants similar to moss sitting atop rocks in the sea, algae, and a few globs of cells that hadn't quite reached the metazoan stage just yet.
If the plans to convert the planetoid into a mining colony had been carried out, then the first step would've been to reshape the surface into a more suitable landscape for spaceships to land and enormous drills to be deployed. The next would be to remove the sizable body of water that covered most of the surface. A prime job for a Lapis Lazuli, such as the curly-haired Lapis currently on the planetoid. Except she wasn't doing any terraforming.
She had been planning to. After the freckled Lapis chose to abandon her and go to Little Homeschool, she had decided to keep going on her own. Not like she needed any help. It was just a bit faster and easier with help. And also more fun…
For some strange reason, as soon as she set foot on one of the small islands scattered across the watery surface, she lost all of her motivation. She could barely muster enough motivation to make a splash. Instead, she found herself just… sitting on top of rocks and staring down at the primitive life struggling to survive in the water.
Sometimes when night fell, she'd lie down and look up at the stars in the sky and the three moons orbiting the planetoid.
How long she spent on that tiny little world she didn't know. Could've been a few days, or a few years. Didn't really matter.
One day, however, something happened. She was sitting on top of one of her favorite rocks when she heard a sound behind her. It was the single warp pad that had been installed on the planetoid activating. She turned around, but too late. Whoever it was that had arrived was already disappearing again in the pillar of light.
The curly-haired Lapis rushed over to the warp pad. There was… something lying by it. It was long, flat, and rectangular and wrapped in some kind of… colorful, thin wrapping material that tore easily. There was a ribbon tied around it.
Inside the gift was a large painting. It had been made by shaping some clay into the general outline of the painting, dried up, and then painted.
The painting depicted the curly-haired Lapis and her old companion, the freckled Lapis.
There was a letter inside as well.
"Merry Christmas!" it said. "I hope you like this painting I made of us. I can show you how to make them if you come and visit. You're still welcome in Little Homeworld if you want to. Hope you're doing well. Sincerely, Lapis."
Despite everything… there seemed like someone still cared for her lost blue soul. And perhaps one day she'd be brave enough to accept it.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
I had me some good laughs, reading all the comments assuming the Winter Shadow was the one crying at the end of chapter 2. Hahaha! The Winter Shadow is too mean to cry.
The whole "tears turning to ice" thing was supposed to be symbolic.