Chapter Thirteen:

I didn't remember the ride home. Maybe I was passed out, but I don't remember. Abi's father came with us most likely for questioning, but it was also for his safety. Out of every creed that came back, only Marco was put in urgent care. Even after I came too, I was unable to see how he was doing.

In Marco's place, I had to give a report which only consisted of me retelling the events up to that point. You should already know what has happened, so I will tell you that I left some things out, but not all were on purpose.

I never found Abi's dad. I wanted to apologize to him for not keeping his daughter safe. At best, he was taken somewhere safe that was either in custody of the Creed or some other trustworthy faction. I would guess since Obsidian was after Abi, sending her father back into the world would be no danger to anyone. The only concern they should have is making sure he doesn't go off on his own to find his daughter.

Sometime after I woke up, I went to Marco's car just in case I didn't leave anything left in there. Actually, I was sent to the car. Gambit, a researcher that Marco knew, was waiting for me to wake up at the infirmary I was at. She told me that anything that was in the car was not taken out under specifications from Marco sometime before the mission. She also told me to meet her once I had grabbed everything of "importance".

I don't know why I did what she said. At that point, I hadn't officially met her and Marco didn't really talk about her. Those that focus on research and those who work in the fields rarely interact with each other outside getting specific information about a gem related thing or getting new modified gear. Not to say she wasn't trustworthy, but rather I was unsure what it was I need to get as she made it sound like I need to look for something specific. If this was something Marco wanted me to do and she was just relaying the order, that was fine. I figured would get my answers regardless as he never told me to do something that wasn't explained later.

For the first minute or two, I didn't find anything that belonged to me other than my knife until I looked in the trunk. The capsule that held the gem me and Gabi fought was still there where I left it. That's when another strange thought occurred to me. Marco's request prevented anyone from taking this gem into custody as it should have been. "Why" was definitely the right question, but more specifically why would the Creed agree to this?

I took the capsule with me to Gambit making sure to keep it hidden least someone would see me with it. It wasn't too hard to find her, but when I found her, she was sitting alone at a table with a box. It was a plain shoe box all white and nothing more. I knocked on the door and she turned to me. Her hair was short with pink highlights that started at her tips and fade going upwards. She looked so tired and almost seemed to force a smile on her face. Her clothes were long, but they didn't sag off of her. The goggles around her neck had a green tint to them which seem to be faded with time.

"Hey Rekirts," She said with a yawn. "Do you have everything?"

"I-I still don't know what that all implies."

"That's fine. Come in and close the door." I did as she asked and sat beside her. "Alright, I'm sure you have some questions for me."

"I was hoping you were just going to explain everything to me."

She began rubbing her eyes. "Don't you have one question to ask me before I do?" I shook my head. "Ok." She pulled the shoebox closer to her and opened it. Inside was another black-blue box that looks tougher than the one it came out of.

"Show me what brought." I placed everything on the table, but she was only interested in the capsule. Now holding it in her hands, she continued to talk. "I don't need to tell you why the creed exists. I don't need to tell you what we do day in and day out and what we prepare for during that time. It's a dangerous task for us humans."

"But the Crystal Gems can't save everyone," I said with a lump in my throat.

"And neither can you."

"If I could have been more efficient..." My mind trailed back to the fight with Obsidian. "If I could do half the thing Marco and the others could do. But I know I have a long way to go."

"The end result is actually closer than you think."

I looked up at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"And there goes the first of many questions. You're not the only one who has noticed that Marco and a select few have been able to do things that only gems can do."

"Like Abi? I don't remember seeing them do anything like that. I was too busy with my own fight."

"Really? Well, this feels awkward. No wonder you didn't have too many questions."

"Is this related to Abi?"

"Kind of. What I'm about to tell you, very few should be aware of at this moment, so I hope for Marco's sake you keep this to yourself. Got it."

"Yes," I said sternly.

Gambit put the capsule into the shoe box. "Like I said before, what we do as the creed is dangerous. We are trained to handle such problems better than any human, but we are still just that. That all changed when the Hybrid was born and sometimes after a gem came to us offering the same kind of potential."

She opened the box and inside was a single fingerless glove with a blue gem at the center.

"This gem does not ally herself with the Crystal Gems, but she has also broken ties with her homeworld. She came to us with the promise of powers equal to the Hybrid, or at least close to his."

"And, what, we just accepted?" I asked, picking up the glove.

"Everything we used were things we had from the fabric to the gemstones."

"But the creed doesn't have gemstones. Unless you mean ..." It didn't hit me until that moment. The only gems we could have had on us were corrupted gems and gem shards. "She was willing to use her own kind?" I put the glove on the table and turned to her. "And we were ok with this?"

"'This' was back when we didn't know corrupted gems and non-corrupted gems were the same things. Are you bothered by this?"

"Just tell me what this has to do with anything."

Gambits eyes were unflinching and still tired, but she smiled and continued. "You could imagine why we kept going even after knowing the truth. It's not like we could save them. But after Marco got his 'enhancements', he started digging into who that gem was. I don't know if he found anything, but I think he was close. That glove was a model he asked me to make for you."

"Why would he think I'd want it?" If it was anything like what Abi had, it wasn't very appealing. Even without meeting Abi, I knew so little about what any of this stuff could do to me. I didn't want to have anything to do with corrupted gems in that way.

"This is a choice about whether or not you will finish what he started. He's stubborn, so I'm sure if he is battle capable, he will finish this. But you saw him at his worse."

The lump came back into my throat. "But why should I take this?"

"You need to take both this," she said, pointing at the glove. She then pushed the shoe box towards me and continued, "and this. With this glove, you can take on the properties of a gem, which means you can fuse with gems and humans alike. However, that is only a theory."

"Which means what exactly?"

"Marco was unable to take on whatever was thrown at him that put him in that position. Even though this enhancement is a bit stronger than what Marco has, it alone won't be enough. I say all of this in the hopes that you do take up Marco's mantel and figure out what is really going on."

Don't ask me how long I had thought about it. Don't ask me what went through my head for all I remembered was Abigael turning her back to me, Marco's missing arm, and the hopelessness I felt back then.

"Well, what was the name of the gem?"

"Tourmaline and she is not going to be easy to take down."

Without another word, I grabbed the glove and slipped it on. There was a sharp prick in the back of my hand. It grew colder as my nerves were being pricked by invisible needles that seemed to worm their way up my arm and to the rest of my body. My screams were muffled a cloth gagging me as I heard Gambit say, "I guess I should have knocked you out first."

My head was splitting apart as another scream entered my head-

There was so much pain when I came too. I didn't-I don't know where I am. "Who are you?" I tried to ask the human, but he was in too much pain to hear me-

I couldn't hear what the voice was saying, but as soon as all was silent, I'm sad to say that was the last time I heard her voice.