Angelite traversed around a forest, envisioning what would befall now and how it all began.
A gem had seen her. A gem knew she existed. For any other gem, it wouldn't matter. But for Angelite, it was pernicious.
Thousands of years ago, when Angelite was formulated on Homeworld, she and the other Angelites were some of the most powerful gems in existence. In fact, they were so powerful that the Diamonds wiped them all out in fear that other gems could be superior to them. All of the Angelites were shattered - except for one.
Angelite X7K.
She managed to flee and ran away from Homeworld in fear of being shattered. For thousands of years, she wandered Earth, encountering plants, animals, and humans. She became attached to the planet and made it her perpetual home. Until a sequence of events altered Homeworld and Earth simultaneously. Pink Diamond was shattered by a Rose Quartz, and a war started. It went on for a thousand years until one day, a light appeared in the sky, and most of the gems on Earth changed. Into corrupted gems, specifically.
Angelite watched it all from afar.
She had no idea how to help. She couldn't tell Homeworld, and she couldn't tell the Crystal Gems. Both alliances would get her killed. So she chose to evade conflict, only occasionally shattering a corrupted gem. She thought she was doing the gems a favor. A shatter of mercy. She couldn't comprehend existing as a mindless beast, isolated, frightened, and disoriented. Angelite did what she could to put them out of their agony.
While recollecting all of this, Angelite sat on a fallen log and cleaned her scimitars in a pond. She knew she could simply summon another, but she preferred the ancient human customs.
Suddenly, she heard a thud behind her, a few feet away. She turned and saw a bow-and-arrow. Then the same gem she had encountered moments ago stepped from behind a bush with their hands in the air.
"I mean no harm," the green gem declared. "I just wish to talk." The gem spoke in what humans would consider an Australian accent.
Angelite scowled, glaring and walking away, hefting her scimitars. "Why can't you simply leave me alone? I told you I-"
"My life is in danger," the gem blurted, grimacing.
"So is mine," Angelite replied. "Now, shoo."
"Just listen!" the gem exclaimed, pulling her long shamrock green hair. "My name is Tourmaline. Green Tourmaline specifically. My master wants me to recruit you. We are a clandestine gem society, located just near a boardwalk in the municipality of Beach City. There are only a few of us, but we're all rebels. Similar to the legendary Crystal Gems, except no one knows about us. It's a safe environment, and we all help one another. Our intention is to take over Earth for ourselves - something the Diamonds were too asinine to accomplish."
Abruptly, the temperature in the forest dropped. Tourmaline winced and turned around apprehensively. "Onyx will explain more. You have to come with me."
Angelite processed the gem's story leisurely and thoughtfully. She took in the gem's performance, her way of speaking, and persistence. She then came to a conclusion.
"You," Angelite began, twirling a scimitar. "are frightened. Frightened extensively. You say your life is in peril, and you're fairly anxious to return to this hideout of yours quickly. Possibly to avoid punishment. And this master you speak of . . . Onyx. I can understand they're not precisely the most compassionate leader." She gestured to Tourmaline's gem, which had a faint but noticeable crack on the side. "I'll have to decline. The evident abuse from this Onyx and your erroneous statement about the 'safe environment' your community has to offer are more than enough to convince me that you, this Onyx, and the rest of your undercover platoon aren't a suitable alliance for an Angelite like myself."
Tourmaline was speechless. "Y-You don't understand. If I don't return with you, Onyx will-"
"Shatter you? Trust me, I know the fear of being shattered. It's a fear I've carried with me for thousands of years. There are thousands of you Tourmalines. You will not be missed. But what about me? I'm the last gem of my kind. I have a legacy to maintain, and a thousand gems to avenge. So I would appreciate it if you stopped pursuing me, and it would be magnificent if you could disregard me entirely."
And with that, Angelite wandered backward into the obscurity of the forest.
Tourmaline chuckled, then began to sob, falling to her knees and crawling towards the fallen log. She laid her head down as the tall, dark shadow of a gem towered over her.
"Such a disappointment," Onyx groused.
She summoned a sledgehammer and brought it down on Tourmaline's head. The green gem poofed instantly, and her gem fell to the forest floor.
Onyx plucked up the gem. "Sweet dreams."
And then Angelite could take it no longer. She darted out of the forest so fast that she appeared as a mere beam of lavender. She grabbed Tourmaline's gem, sliced at Onyx with her scimitar, and vanished from the forest in five seconds. Onyx was left speechless, and she wheeled around wildly.
"What is the meaning of this?" she shouted. Her gruff voice echoed through the forest.
Angelite and Tourmaline's gem were already gone.
Onyx touched the torn fabric that was sliced by Angelite.
"I'll solve this enigma, and I'll annihilate any life form that strives to interfere with my hard work."
The shadowy gem chuckled mischievously as she exited the forest, bright moonlight illuminating the passageway.