They were back where they started, the forest Warp Pad, accompanied by Cornelian. It didn't take much effort to find Dragon's Eye the first time. They figured it would be just as easy the second time. Garnet didn't intend to have the three split up to search, though. Instead, she had them all walk together while she led them.
They were now walking through the forest, being as quiet as possible. If they were going to find someone as dangerous as Dragon's Eye, they had to be stealthy. Pearl seemed a bit anxious, even when she was around other gems. Something about this forest seemed so familiar, yet so off. It was almost as if she had been here before. This uneasy feeling made Pearl hope this search wouldn't take long.
###
A group of gems sat at a lone table near the center of the saloon, right by the stage. It was a reserved spot for these particular gems, whom others called "special". Rose Quartz had chosen these gems to train them herself, day after day. They all had a remarkable aptitude for learning their preferred professions. Some of them learned skills in hunting while others learned of medication. The rest either learned how to lead or how to follow into battle. To them, everyone else was inept. No matter how hard anyone else trained, they wouldn't be as skilled as them.
There weren't many of these special gems. But if you looked closely, there were more than meets the eye. The gems in the group were Rubelite, Tiger's Eye, and Opalite. There was also Cornelian and Carnelian–Carnie for short–and Dragon's Eye. Finally, there was the largest gem of the group, just shorter than Rose Quartz: Quartz. It was quite obvious she was a fusion, due to her two sets of arms, but no one's seen her unfuse before.
The group of gems sat there, some with a mug of beer in hand. Rose wasn't there to entertain yet, so everyone just conversed. The table was quiet for a little bit while everyone around them chattered away. Rubelite broke the silence by speaking, with a subtle slur in her voice. "When d'ya guys think Rose'll choose who the officers'll be?" She drew the attention of everyone at the table.
Carnie shrugged a bit. "Who knows? Maybe she'll wait until the Diamond Authority's already here!" The short orange gem snorted a bit. "She was slow enough teaching us how to fire guns." She looked around the table at her peers. Most of them didn't seem to agree with Carnie.
Opalite responded to the gem's remark. "It's not her teaching us too slowly. It's just us not training fast enough." Unintelligible chattering spread across the table. Everyone else seemed to agree with the soft-spoken gem. This seemed to make Carnie grow a bit heated. While she was only joking with her remark, she grew jealous. She wanted the others to look at what she had to say instead of just skimming over everything. The gem wanted the support Opalite always got. Carnie didn't want to start a fight, so she just rolled her eyes and went silent.
Tiger's Eye sat there silently, arms crossed as she watched more conversations unfold. She didn't enjoy jumping into conversations, whether she started them or not. All she wanted to do was wait for Rose Quartz to arrive. Dragon's Eye noticed her absence in the various discussions. The orange gem glanced over to her and nudged her a bit, whispering. "Aren't ya gonna join in?"
Tiger's Eye shook her head in return. The only real reason she came here to the saloon was for the entertainment. If Rose never started entertaining, she would be doing training after-dark with Dragon's Eye.
Several minutes went by before the familiar face of Rose Quartz appeared from outside. The sound of the wooden doors swinging open grabbed everyone's attention. Everyone turned and looked towards Rose who was now walking across saloon. She headed over to the stage and stepped onto it. Her eyes scanned across the crowd as gems cheered. She hadn't even started speaking, yet everyone was already applauding her arrival.
Rose's face became flushed. Shaking her head, she grew a wide grin and began her nightly entertainment. The crowd stayed quiet while she spoke and laughed when she finished. This was routine for the army, yet it never grew old for anyone. Except for Dragon's Eye. The orange gem was hardly listening to anything her leader said on stage. She grew bored as she played with a strand of her short hair. Everyone around her was paying attention to Rose, incognizant of the disinterested gem.
No one noticed her stand up and tread over to the entrance, not even Tiger's Eye. When the short gem approached the entrance, she pushed through the swinging doors. Garnet and Pearl, both standing by the doors, paid no mind. They were too captivated by Rose's performance.
The darkness of the night overwhelmed Dragon's Eye the moment she stepped outside. The stars that riddled the sky illuminated the ground, giving it a soft glow. The gem was also giving off a subtle glow, the stars illuminating her as well. She didn't usually come outside during nighttime, but when she did, it felt… Peaceful. She felt a calming sensation every time she did it, and it inspired her to work hard. Dragon's Eye found it weird, though. Usually a peaceful atmosphere lead to a calming conclusion, but not for her.
She grinned as she sauntered down a dirt path leading to the training grounds. She kept her pace slow so she could take in the calming atmosphere around her. Grains of dirt skipped every time her feet touched the dirt ground. She arrived at the outskirts of her destination, standing in front of a gate. Pushing it open, she made her way inside. She was now surrounded by various dummies and racks of weapons.
The orange gem walked over to various racks of swords. She reached toward a rack holding swords made for fencing and picked up a saber. She gingerly ran her finger across the blade, humming a bit. Dragon's Eye liked to train with the sharpest swords. She liked testing both her accuracy and lethality. She only did this so she'd have a good replacement for her weapon. She still hadn't mastered summoning it yet. The short gem moved her hand down to the grip, clutching it. The thin layer of leather wrapped around the handle felt warm against her touch.
Dragon's Eye held the sword up high, the blade glistening under the stars' twinkle. She then closed her eyes as her gem began to emit a mahogany radiance. Everything was silent. The gem concentrated, even straining herself a little bit. Her eyes then shot open, interrupting her concentration. The gem looked around, making sure no one was there. 'Phew…'
The short gem was trying to summon her own hologram. Several years ago, many rookies learned this skill from Pearl in a desolate forest. She was one of those rookies. Due to the location of her gem, she had a hard time with the lessons. It always felt awkward for her, trying to summon a doppelganger from her backside. She also had various struggles due to her gem's location.
Sometimes her hologram would come out wrong and malfunctioning. Other times it would try to attack her. With her back turned, she wouldn't have known. Despite her issues with summoning it, she kept going anyway. Though, even with her determination, embarrassing moments still arose. Dragon's Eye wanted to make sure no other gems were here to watch her. Assuring no one was around, she went back to concentrating. It didn't take long before the glow radiating from her gem returned.
The small dragon's eye made a valiant effort in summoning a partner to train on. Before she knew it, a small flash of light revealed a holographic doppelganger. With a gasp of accomplishment, she turned around, a wide smile on her face. She did it! She was successful! The excited gem then grew a look that welcomed battle. Grasping her saber in hand, she told the hologram to begin the battle. Following her command, the doppelganger grabbed its own saber. It then began to fight with Dragon's Eye.
Adrenaline rushed through the young gem as she trained hard. Sweat ran down her face and body as she moved across the battle field. She sent hard offensive blows and practiced her defensive moves. It was wonderful to her. She felt like she was flying through the air. Swiftly whisking around the battlefield made her feel free. She was both calmed by it and excited by it. This made her training even easier than it should be.
She soonhad to stop in her tracks and send a finishing blow. As the two were neck and neck, Dragon's Eye prepared to disarm her opponent. The hologram followed suit, preparing to send a drastic swing toward the young gem. She grinned, jerking her saber in a way that sent the others' weapon soaring. It landed on the dirt a few feet away. Without hesitation, Dragon's Eye jabbed the blade right into her doppelganger's abdomen.
After yanking the sword out of itself, the hologram announced, "Match set! Challenger wins!" It spoke with a voice that sounded like the red gem, but more robotic. Before Dragon's Eye knew it, the orange projection disappeared into thin air. The fight took longer than expected, but the young gem was proud of herself. In the midst of battle, she learned some new techniques herself. With a few huffs and puffs, she trudged over to the racks and set the saber back in its place.
Dragon's Eye sat down on the dirt, weary from the fight. She wasn't used to training this much alone. Despite her clear tiredness, she was still pumped. The experience was exhilarating, and she planned on doing it more. She wanted to get stronger and learn more and more quicker and quicker. The only way she knew how was to do it again and again.
###
Almost three weeks had gone by since Dragon's Eye started this new nightly routine. She would stay outside in the training fields while the others went on to the saloon. Her peers weren't worried the first few days, but that changed one night...
Despite the fact they always see the young gem the next day, something felt off. Tiger's Eye worried she was becoming introverted and losing confidence like she had before. Cornelian thought she was just outside screwing around. She didn't take much liking to the orange "nuisance".
Tiger's Eye went and sat at the table. The saloon had just opened for the night, and her best friend wasn't there with her. She shifted in her seat a bit as she tried to get the unwanted thoughts out of her head. Several other gems in her posse arrived, but there was no sign of Dragon's Eye. This feeling of loneliness and worry made the gem shift in her seat a little more.
Opalite seemed to notice her odd behavior. She scooted her seat over to the golden gem, looking at her. Speaking in a quiet voice, the white gem asked, "Are you okay..?"
The other gem glanced at her concerned colleague. Due to her shyness, Opalite never questioned the well-being of others gems before. But it seemed the gem's concern overrode her social awkwardness and took over. She questioned Tiger's Eye again, hoping to get an answer. The golden gem sighed, opening her helmet to reveal her mouth. "I'm fine… I guess." She responded in a quiet tone.
The caring opalite, who had a heart-shaped gem, drew closer to her upset comrade. She didn't like seeing her teammates upset. "You guess..?" Tiger's Eye only gave a nod in response, now avoiding eye contact.
The golden gem was extremely worried for her friend, the one she called a 'sister'. She remembered back when Pearl taught rookie gems... Back when the small gem was too scared to do anything. It upset her quite a bit. Dragon's Eye was too embarrassed to train in front of anyone because of how inept she was. It all was due to her gem's location. Tiger's Eye worried—due to the other gems' attitude—her old emotional habits had returned.
Opalite made another attempt in calming her upset peer down. She suggested to go look for Dragon's Eye instead of sitting here and worrying. Tiger's Eye's head perked up as she looked at the white gem, thankfulness in her eyes. Before she knew it, the gem was gone out the door.
It was raining outside. The grass was soaking while thin streams of water flowed between the lumps in the dirt. Small indents in the gooey ground held small puddles of water. It started raining not too long ago, but the dirt path was already muddy. Tiger's Eye darted along the path, mud flying up with every impact her foot made. She made her way to her destination. She was soon able to see the training grounds from afar, through the dark rain.
The gem drew closer and closer until she finally reached the gates. She gasped, seeing something she never expected to see. It was Dragon's Eye, fighting an identical hologram; saber on saber. Tiger's Eye expected to see the sad, young gem she had unfortunately grown to know. Despite the relentless downpour, the golden gem was proud. She never saw her sister this invested in training, let alone against a hologram she created.
The gem continued to spectate as Dragon's Eye fought against her opponent. Just as the hologram was about to strike, she took the chance first. Slashing at the opponent, the match was finally over. The hologram announced the challenger the winner and dissolved into thin air. The short gem had no idea of her friend's presence.
Catching her breath, Dragon's Eye headed over to the racks and put the saber up. She jumped a bit when she heard mild clapping coming from her friend behind the fences. She turned to see who it was and blushed upon seeing Tiger's Eye. She would've tried to run away, but this was Tiger's Eye, her best friend... Her sister. The golden gem approached the smaller one, a proud smile hidden underneath her helmet.
"Nice swordsmanship." Tiger's Eye complimented, now standing in front of her smaller red counterpart. An awkward chuckle and avoidance of eye contact was the only response that came to her. Dragon's Eye was still blushing, embarrassed someone had seen any amount of her training. The young gem didn't exactky know why she was so anxious. She trained in front of everyone else during normal sessions! But that was because everyone else did the same thing as her… Right? No... She did things differently; her way.
The amber-colored gem rested her hand on Dragon's Eye shoulder. "I understand why you came out here…" Tiger's Eye then said. "It makes it easier to learn without an audience." She knew the red gem inside and out. This was the only reason she could think of the gem sneaking out here to swordfight. A nod came in response, along with the gem looking up at Tiger's Eye.
The smaller gem felt free. She had no reason to fret anymore. The few days she'd been training out here gave her time to think over the past. Silence continued to filled the air. After a few more moments, the gem rocketed towards Tiger's Eye. With her arms outstretched, she wrapped them around her and hugged her tight. This caught the older one off guard for a few seconds before she returned the hug.
She had no reason to fear.
###
Pearl, anxious, remained silent while Garnet made an attempt to converse with their "hostage". The dark red gem already knew who Cornelian and Dragon's Eye were, but that was long ago. She knew people changed over time.
Without a moment's hesitation, Garnet began to ask various questions about her arrival here. For each question she asked, the larger orange gem would respond with hesitation. Cornelian was trying to stall the conversation so she'd have more time to think of a way out.
Pearl's emotions were quite contrary to Garnet's stoic manner. She was paranoid! Something about this place made her feel uneasy. It didn't help with Cornelian making obvious attempts to lengthen their mission. Looking around as they walked, some about this forest also felt familiar... It was almost as if she's been here before. This feeling told her she was here a long time ago, maybe even back during the army! Despite her nerves, Pearl tried to keep her composure. She knew she had to stay calm and alert, just in case anything jumped out at them.
The three continued to walk through the forest, Garnet looking straight ahead. She had finished questioning Cornelian, causing a silence to whisk over them. Despite silence overwhelming the forest in their vicinity, something still felt off to Pearl. Her instincts told her they should be extra careful, but she wasn't sure. The gem tried to convince herself it was just the paranoia talking.
The further they walked, the more Pearl was sure she was going to give up. Maybe Dragon's Eye actually wasn't there! Who knew?
"Garnet?" The gem piped up, now wanting to convince Garnet to come back later. The red gem stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Pearl. The slim gem continued, "Uh… Do you think we could maybe come back here another time? I don't think Dragon's Eye is—" A sudden burst of dust filled the air before she could finish. They couldn't open their eyes until dust passed away.
A large metallic object hit the three gems before they got the chance to recover. Not even Garnet's big hair could protect her from the hard object. The three gems were now on the ground, unconscious.