Chapter Ten: Research Room

The hordes of the dead attacked. Hessonite dashed around in near-light-speed bursts, slicing through the undead with each one. Demantoid hurled energy balls at the invaders. Pyrope cut through their attackers with razor-sharp gusts of wind from her fan. Even the Ruby got in on the fight, having summoned a warhammer almost as big as she was!

Peridot joined the fray as well, using her newfound limb enhancers to her advantage. She fired shots of plasma at the undead fiends, as well as using her magnetic powers to hurl shards of metal like flechettes. Though there were no large bodies of water nearby, Lapis was far from helpless: she used her water wings, transformed into icy blades, to cut down any zombies that came too close.

"Tell me, why did you feel it necessary not to bring our prisms?" asked Demantoid, smashing a corpse that came too close with her enhanced arm.

"This was supposed to be a stealth mission!" Hessonite said. She dispatched an incoming zombie behind her without a glance. "Plus, I didn't think we would need them! The fighting isn't even near here!"

"Hate to tell you this, but the fighting's right here!" said Peridot. While she was busy blasting away, one of the zombies pounced from behind, pinning her to the ground. She struggled to push it off, its teeth chomping inches from her face. "Get offa me, you clodding freak! Lapis, help!"

"Hang on, Peridot!" cried Lapis. In a flash, she flew over to her fallen friend, doing a twirl in midair upon reaching her, successfully slicing the undead in half. "There. You good?"

Peridot got to her feet. "Never better. Now, whaddya say we finish these pebbles off?"

Lapis nodded. "Let's do it!"

"Yeah!" yelled Ruby, lifting her hammer above her head. "Die, zombies, die!"

All six Gems fought with all their might. As it was not a full horde of the undead, only a small scouting party, the battle did not last much longer. Soon enough, the ground around them was littered with twice-dead organics.

"Now that was a battle to be remembered!" said Hessonite. "Excellent work, girls."

"Of course it was!" said Pyrope.

"Indeed," said Demantoid at the same time.

Peridot nudged one of the zombies with her boot to make sure it was really dead. "Remind me, what were we looking for again?"

"The necro-sphere," Demantoid said. "Once we destroy it, all of the reanimated organics on this planet will be returned to their natural state. That is to say, they will be dead once again."

"And it can't be too far," said Hessonite. "Let's stick together. There's no telling how many more of these monsters are down here…"

The group set off deeper into the research facility. Power seemed to have been cut, meaning it got darker and darker as they descended. They all activated their gem-lights, including Lapis, who couldn't see much with it. Much to her irritation.

"Pyrope? I'm scared," said Ruby, clinging close to the pink Garnet's legs. "It's too dark to see. What if those zombies ambush us?"

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" said Pyrope, clearly annoyed. "Carry you?" Given the Ruby's lack of change in facial expression as she stared up at her, she clearly expected as much. Pyrope groaned. "Okay, fine," she said, picking up the red Gem.

"Hold on a moment," said Peridot, stopping the group. "Something's here…" She walked over to investigate a room marked with Gem glyph. "It says…'artifact room'. Should we investigate?"

"No reason not to," said Lapis. The Garnets agreed, and everyone entered the room. The entire place seemed to have been ransacked-more so than the rest of the facility, at least. Glass cylinders, most likely to have contained the artifacts in question, had been smashed to pieces.

"Wow...what happened here?" asked Pyrope.

"It would appear that the area has been destroyed," said Demantoid. "Most li-"

"Yes, no kidding!" interrupted Pyrope.

"Most likely, Skeletor's armies were drawn here for one reason or another," Demantoid forcefully continued. "As to what that reason is, we have yet to find."

"Demantoid, do you think you could get the power back on?" asked Hessonite. "Maybe we can shed some light as to the importance of this room." Demantoid nodded, walking off after scanning the nearby area with a light from her eyepiece.

"The biggest question I have is why was Homeworld performing research into the First Ones?" Peridot asked. "More specifically, how do they know about the First Ones?"

"Ah, that's right, you've heard of these 'First Ones' before," said Hessonite. "Would you mind filling us in on what exactly they are?"

"Well, basically, it goes something like this," Lapis said. "There's this other dimension called 'Despondos.' And in this other dimension, there's a planet called 'Etheria.' Long story short, the First Ones colonized it, and now the present-day Etherians are allied with the Crystal Gems to fight against the Horde, who want to take it over."

"What? The Horde?" said Pyrope. "But that's impossible! The Horde was wiped out several years ago! Their leader was destroyed! How is it possible that they survived?"

"One of them somehow managed to escape to Etheria," said Peridot. "And by the way, he's not happy about Homeworld killing his boss. I think he wants to use Etheria's power to get revenge."

"Hmmph! I would like to see him try!" said Pyrope.

At that moment, the lights suddenly burst to life. "Ah, looks like Demantoid got the power running again," said Hessonite.

"Indeed," Pyrope said. "We do make a good team, don't we?"

"What do you mean? You didn't do anything," Hessonite said.

"Exactly what I meant," Pyrope continued. "You're the brawn, she's the brains, and I'm the...uh...the other one."

"And I'm the cute one!" Ruby cried.

"The power has been restored," said Demantoid, returning. "Shall I begin accessing the files?" With a nod from Hessonite, the green Garnet stepped over to the console and pulled up several documents relating to First Ones research.

Peridot read several of them. "'Heart of Etheria?' 'Great Computers?' 'The Lock?' Man, these guys sure were busy!"

"Yes, but why?" said Hessonite. "Why would Gems be so interested in the First Ones? And if they are, why have I never heard of them?"

"Oh, right, there's something else I forgot to mention," said Peridot. "You see...the First Ones? They're kinda the...original creators of Gems."

Everyone stopped and stared for a moment. Eventually, Pyrope broke the silence. "Don't be ridiculous! Everyone knows that the Diamonds created Gemkind!"

"But who made the Diamonds?" asked Lapis.

"Well, obviously…" Pyrope racked her mind for an answer. "I-I'm not sure. I suppose I always assumed they just...existed."

"How exactly do you know this?" asked Hessonite.

"Well, apparently, the First Ones' home planet was called 'Eternia,'" Peridot said. "And when I asked a First Ones artifact to locate Eternia, it showed the exact coordinates for Homeworld."

"That's probably why Skeletor was so interested in this artifact room," said Lapis. "He was a First One himself. He was probably looking for a way to make himself more powerful."

"Perhaps we can find out for ourselves," said Demantoid. "There is security footage of Skeletor's initial incursion."

"Well then, don't keep us waiting!" said Pyrope. "Play it!" Demantoid did so.

The video played depicted the moment Skeletor's forces broke through the initial defenses. Undead beasts swarmed the few Gems guarding the facility, reducing them all to their gemstones. Most startling, however, was when Skeletor himself strolled into view.

"Skeletor...he was here?" said Pyrope, worried.

"It would seem so," said Demantoid.

"Spread out! Find the Lock!" Skeletor commanded. "We must find it before Homeworld discovers how to use it against me!"

Demantoid paused the video. "And we have our answer."

"So, Skeletor wanted to find something called 'the Lock.' because he was worried that Homeworld would use it against him," said Peridot. She looked around at the state of the room they were in. "I guess he found it."

"Demantoid, search the database for any mentions of this 'the Lock,'" Hessonite commanded. "Meanwhile, let us look for any artifacts left over. Skeletor may have taken the Lock, but maybe we can find the next best thing."

"I dunno, this place looks pretty empty," said Ruby. "Wait a minute...if the First Ones made the Gems, doesn't that mean we're artifacts, too?"

"Alright, that's enough waxing philosophical out of you!" said Pyrope, placing Ruby on the ground. "Now earn your keep and help us look!"

"So, Hessonite...what exactly are we looking for?" said Lapis.

"To be honest, I don't truly know," Hessonite said. "Anything that can give us an edge on Skeletor."

"I would not count on it," said Demantoid. "These records show that every First Ones artifact contained in this room has been destroyed."

Hessonite sighed, disappointed. "Every one, you say?"

"Every one," repeated Demantoid. "However, records are saying that the Lock is still secured. It appeared to be hidden in a place where Skeletor could not locate it."

"So then, it's still here!" said Pyrope. "That's great news! So...where is it?"

"It's exact location is not stated," said Demantoid, but it is apparently nearby something referred to as 'Project: Drawbridge,' located not far from here."

"Uh, okay," said Peridot. "What's Project: Drawbridge?"

"Here are some notes left by the project's overseer," said Demantoid. "Not content with simply hiding on another planet, the First Ones have hidden their power in another dimension. Project: Drawbridge will allow us to obtain that power ourselves. It will allow us to access Etheria."

It...it's a portal," said Peridot. "A portal to Etheria."