Chapter Three: First of Many
Lapis Lazulis, as is to be expected of Gems capable of flying through space itself, are remarkably fast flyers. Not just marginally speedy, either: these blue Gems are capable of warping space around themselves to get to where they're going faster than light, able to travel hundreds of light years in a matter of hours. Not literally, of course-nothing is truly faster than light-but they warp space so as to arrive at their destination sooner than light would have. Think of it like taking a shortcut.
Lapises can also carry a passenger with them during this time, multiple if they carry water as well. As 'our' Lapis didn't have access to any water this time, she was only capable of bringing Peridot with her.
"So...how exactly are we going to blend in without anyone recognizing us?" Lapis asked the small green Gem.
"Simple," replied Peridot. "All we need to do is slip in, grab some limb enhancers for me, and we'll blend right in. Simple, right?"
Lapis was rightly skeptical. "In theory. How do you know we won't get caught?"
"Because we won't!" said Peridot. Lapis decided not to comment.
Not long after, the pair came upon the colony they sought. "There it is-Yellow Diamond Colony #17!" Peridot announced. "Now, land over there, near the armory. And be careful to avoid the scanners."
"Yeah, I...don't think they look the same as in Era-1," Lapis said.
"Right," Peridot said with a sigh. "Bring me down over by that grey building to your left, and fly in-between the other buildings."
As the two descended closer to the colony's surface, they noticed a suspicious lack of activity. The planet, like most Gem territories, was usually bustling, but for some reason, there was only silence. "What's going on here?" asked Lapis. "Everything looks so...dead."
"Hey, at least that works in our favor," Peridot said. "This way, nobody will notice us. Which they would have by now, with your flying…"
"You know I could just drop you now, right?" said Lapis.
"Please don't," Peridot said meekly.
Both Gems touched down near the armory, which strangely seemed to have been cleared out of weapons. The few that remained were scattered haphazardly around the floor. It didn't take a genius to realize that something bad had happened here. Peridot, however, remained blissfully unaware of that fact, selectively or otherwise.
"Aha, there we go!" Peridot said, having spotted a set of limb enhancers. "Now, just give me a moment to suit up...I'm sorry, but do you mind?" Lapis looked away as Peridot donned the prosthetic devices. "Ta-da! Just like before we met Steven, right? All we're missing is Jasper!"
"Oh, yeah, then the old team would be back together," Lapis groaned. "Come on, let's just go find a ship so we can get off this ghost town."
They began walking down the streets of the seemingly-abandoned colony. "You know, I'm starting to think this is an entire ghost planet," said Peridot. "Just where is everybody?"
"If we're lucky, we might not find out," Lapis replied. She looked all around, not seeing a single ship. "How is it that there isn't one ship anywhere?"
"I guess everyone took them when they left," said Peridot. "Maybe we should-hold on, did you hear that?"
Some rubble had been displaced in a nearby alleyway, drawing the green Gem's attention. "Yeah," said Lapis. "What was that?"
Peridot put her limb enhancer in blaster configuration. "I don't know, but let's find out." She snuck towards the source of the noise as Lapis watched from afar, unnamused with her cohort's antics.
"Peridot, it's probably nothing," she said. "You don't need to act all skittish like that."
"'Probably nothing?' Lapis, that could be what caused everyone to leave!" she countered. "It could be anything! even-WAUGH!" Peridot practically leapt out of her physical form as the source of the noise revealed herself: a lone Ruby, her gemstone on her forehead.
"Is it safe to come out now?"the Ruby asked. "You two are here, so it must be, right?"
"Um…" Lapis looked around. "I guess so."
"Oh, thank the stars!" exclaimed the Ruby. She pulled herself out from the loose rubble and strolled past Peridot, who was still pointing her blaster at her. Not that the Ruby seemed to mind.
"So, um, we just got here," Lapis said, "so do you think you could fill us in on exactly what happened here? Like where everyone went?"
"Oh, they all left," the Ruby said. "Once that thing cut through our defenses, the order came in to evacuate."
"Wait, the whole planet colony was evacuated?" asked Lapis.
"I think so, but I don't know for sure," she replied. "I kind of got left here…"
"Hold on, 'thing?' What thing?" asked Peridot.
"You know, the weird purple thing," she answered. "It just showed up out of nowhere and started blasting everything!"
Lapis' eyes widened. "This purple thing…" Lapis said. "It didn't happen to be about this tall, dressed in a robe, holding a staff with a glowing crystal on it?"
"That's the one," said the Ruby. "Why? Have you seen it before?"
Peridot and Lapis exchanged a glance. "Could you excuse for on moment?" asked Peridot. Both Gems huddled together, facing away from the Ruby.
"This isn't good!" whispered Peridot. "Skeletor was here! Who's to say he isn't still here?"
"If he was still here, he would have attacked us by now," Lapis said. "Besides, he probably would have found her if he stuck around," she said, gesturing to the Ruby.
"Hmm…" Peridot looked suspiciously at the small Gem. "Hey you! Skele-I mean, that purple thing couldn't shapeshift, could it?"
She shrugged. "If it could, I didn't see it," she said.
Peridot turned back to Lapis. "Okay, so he isn't disguised as a Ruby," she said. "At least, not this particular Ruby."
Lapis rolled her eyes. "Let's just find a ship and get out of here." She went back over to the Ruby. "Do you happen to know if there are any ships around here?"
"Not a single one," she responded. "I've been looking around for a while now, and the entire area's been cleaned out. I was going to head for the other side of the planet when you showed up."
"Looks like we're in the same boat, then," said Peridot.
"What's a boat?" the Ruby asked.
"Nevermind that," Peridot said. "In the meantime, we'll just have to keep looking for a ship."
"You mean like that one?" said the Ruby.
All three of them looked upwards. Indeed, a large vessel was approaching them. As it drew closer, more of its features became recognizable: it was orange in color, and vaguely diamond-shaped.
"Yeah," Lapis said quietly. "Like that one."
Air blew past the trio as the ship came in for a landing. "Do you think its owner would let us borrow it?" said Peridot.
"We should ask her," the Ruby said. "Probably not, though."
A ramp descended down from the vessel with a hiss and steam. Light shone from inside, but the inhabitants soon came into view. Flanked by a pair of Citrines, the ship's apparent captain descended the ramp. A captain who Peridot instantly recognized.
"Wh-Hessonite!?" she exclaimed.
"Hessonite?" said Lapis. "The same Hessonite from Earth? With the Prism?"
"Indeed, it is me!" the Garnet said. "The very same."
"Wait, you two know her?" said the Ruby.
Hessonite's eyes narrowed. "It would seem they do," she said, approaching Peridot. "You there, Peridot! I feel like I've seen you before. And you've clearly seen me before…"
"Well, that's, uh, because...I went with you to Earth to retrieve your prism. Remember?"
Hessonite stared at Peridot for quite some time, the latter of which was looking quite nervous. "Yes, I suppose I remember you. Tell me, how did you make it offworld? I thought you were captured by those Crystal Gems?"
"How I escaped?" Peridot said. "Well, I...I slipped away when they weren't looking, and I rewired my battle-pod to be capable of space flight."
"And where did you go?" she asked. While all of this was going on, the Ruby had climbed aboard Hessonite's ship.
"I, uh…" Peridot said, unable to think of anything.
"She met me in space!" Lapis said. "And she told me everything that happened. And now we're here, looking for a ship."
"How fortunate for you, I happen to have one," Hessonite said. "Come along, Peridot. Your Lapis Lazuli friend may come along as well." She made her way back up the ramp.
"Actually, Hes-My Hessonite, we needed to-"
"That was an order, Peridot," Hessonite said. "We have a lot of work to do, what with this magical threat on the loose."
Peridot looked around. It seemed she had worked herself into a corner. "What do we do now?" she whispered to Lapis.
"Just play along for now," Lapis said. "We'll steal a ship as soon as we can. Steven and the others will be fine, don't you worry."
"Mmm...okay," Peridot said. Both of them walked aboard Hessonite's ship, which prepared for takeoff.