Chapter 9: The Lost Temple of Obsidian
Pearl stood upright as she watched Sour Cream put my shards into his jacket pocket, in a ovular bubble.
"You're not going to believe this," Sour Cream said as he and Pearl arrived on the warp pad just a few miles from the Lost Temple.
"Sour Cream, she's not coming back," Pearl said as Sour Cream began to run towards the mountaintop.
"She's not dead yet, c'mon!" Sour Cream called and Pearl, reluctant to this whole thing, raced after Sour Cream.
"Sour Cream, what did you see?" Pearl asked as they began walking up the carved out steps up the mountain.
"Obsidian, she showed me her flags, and her hidden army. The rest of Homeworld is coming, and she had made this mountain her temple. She made a way to make gems whole without them becoming a part of her," Sour Cream said as he ran up about 20 steps.
That's when all hell broke lose. A beast appeared from nowhere, growling, angry, and corrupted.
"Sour Cream, watch out!" Pearl cried as she summoned her spear. Sour Cream signaled for her to wait.
Sour Cream turned to the beast, and he held out his hand, fear peaking inside, but he kept his hand just a few inches from the corrupt gem.
"We're not going to hurt you," Sour Cream said as the beast sniffed his hand. When the beast pulled away, it turned into a humanoid form, for its gem was not truly corrupt. Sour Cream watched as another Obsidian, this time pitch black, appeared before him.
"Follow me, White Obsidian, it has been too long, and the others will be anxious to see you. Jasper especially, and Morganite," the Black Obsidian said and Sour Cream sighed.
"I am not her, she has been shattered," Sour Cream said showing the Black Obsidian my shards in the bubble.
"Are her shards all there?" Black Obsidian asked and Sour Cream nodded.
"Yes," Pearl said quietly, and Black Obsidian turned to her.
"You are one of her apprentices, aren't you Pearl?" Black Obsidian asked and Pearl nodded. Black Obsidian chuckled as she began walking up the staircase, leading Sour Cream and Pearl up to the Lost Temple.
"Everyone, White Obsidian has come home! He is back as well! They are back together, and soon, we will have our own White Diamond to unleash holy hell on homeworld!" Black Obsidian called out, and soon, an entire army was following Sour Cream, Pearl, and Black Obsidian up to the temple.
Once at the top, Black Obsidian stepped aside to raise the flags. Sour Cream placed his hand on the cold stone, and he opened the temple up. Thousands others began to sing, heavenly music as Sour Cream approached a small statue of diamond, that had a small carved circle that would fit gems.
"Here goes nothing," Sour Cream said as he placed my shards perfectly into the circle, and it began to glow immediately.
"Holy cow," Black Obsidian whispered as my gem was fixed. Not a crack to be found in it's surface.
Sour Cream carefully took my gem out of the carved out circle, and he noticed that there was a small note in the circle as well.
"She's going to be fine. Thank you for helping another, young warrior. I know that you are destined for great things, and so is she. -W.O." was what the note read and Sour Cream chuckled.
"This is amazing, she found a way to fix broken gems..Maybe..Does it work for any gem?" Pearl asked and Black Obsidian nodded.
"Any and all," Black Obsidian said and Sour Cream began to laugh. Pearl watched as he walked outside to see the flags.
"This is what she meant..She was preparing for death, and war.. This is our advantage.. We can win by appearing with more than anyone imagined, other humans, other gems," Sour Cream said as his eyes traced the outline of the border.
"She told me the same thing. Sour Cream was it?" Black Obsidian asked and Sour Cream nodded.
"Yeah. Do you think White Obsidian is going to be happy?" Sour Cream asked and Black Obsidian laughed.
"Heck yeah. She rolled with us for eons, preparing us for war, and making new gems too. She's gonna be happy that the Earth is gonna be freed, and able to defend itself from other invaders oncoming," Black Obsidian said smiling.
"Sour Cream, we should go tell the others, they're going to be elated to find out about this hidden army," Pearl said and Sour Cream sighed.
"You go ahead, I'm staying here until she reforms," Sour Cream said and Pearl sighed.
"Why? You can carry her gem to the Temple of Roses, can't you?" Black Obsidian asked as the others filed into the Lost Temple.
"Yes, but I want to stay here for her sake.. She must really miss this place," Sour Cream said and Pearl was already making her way back.
Black Obsidian smiled as she stayed by Sour Cream's side, watching, waiting for me to return fully.
About a week later, I reformed, and I found that my eyes had changed colors. The entire fleet was in awe upon seeing my wings unfurl, and seeing my know moon silvery-grey eyes. I felt exhilarated when I saw Sour Cream smiling right at my side.
"Sour Cream!" I cried out happily as I hugged him warmly. He smiled as he hugged me as the Army cheered.
The gems began chanting in harmony an ancient chant, and Sour Cream, alongside me, began to sing.
I soon found myself singing with him as we headed towards the beach, both Sour Cream and I creating other gems in unison, preparing for war that was coming with the starships.
When Beach City saw the small Army, they saluted, and they began to march alongside us, ready for war. I knew that they had been trained to fight by not only one another, but the other gems.
"WE ARE THE CRYSTAL GEMS!" Black Obsidian called out as the other gems, including Steven, Rose, and Eve, joined the march.
"This is war, you know what to fight for! Don't back down, and fight like the world depends on your actions alone. Injuries will be taken care of Rose Quartz, Steven Universe, Dr. Martinez, and Connie Martinez. Firearms and replacement weapons for will be taken care of by Greg Universe, and Mr. Martinez. Light Cannon operation is going to be the other children, and pyrotechnics will be taken care of by Jasper. Lapis, Peridot, take your quadrants and cover the right flank. Kikki, Nikki, take the left flank. Kids, spread out along all areas, and make sure to take a cannon per group of two, the activation code is 'If every porkchop was perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs.' Ronaldo, Mr. Fryman take the back, and Harmony, Hikari, take the front. All other troops, spread out throughout the city. Steven, Rose, Connie, Dr. Martinez, stick together, help anyone you can. Greg, start planning your route to get weapons to everyone with Mr. Martinez. Who are we?" I asked finally and everyone raised their voices to a single battle cry.
"WE ARE THE CRYSTAL GEMS!"
"WHO ARE WE?" I called again, and the callback was even louder.
"WE ARE THE CRYSTAL GEMS!"
Chapter 10: This is War!
"This is war," I said as the fleet of soldiers took their positions. The large fleet of starships appeared, as I raised my sword.
"Hell is gonna break loose," I heard Sour Cream say as he stood by my side, ready with a grenade launcher.
I nodded, and a single gem landed in front of us both. She was a Zircon, who seemed deeply troubled by the size of our army. She held up a small mace, her eyes wide in terror.
The Zircon, along with now multiplying numbers of other gems, joined our army. For a moment, I noticed hundreds of thousands of Rose Quartz soldiers standing inside the ranks.
"UNLEASH THE PHOENIX!" I called out and the war began. Rose Quartz were the first to attack, leaving thousands of gems poofed and inside, and now around the temple.
The light cannons went off in unison, and they hit the larger starships. It was almost stunning as I fought alongside Sour Cream, battalions and battalions of soldiers coming upon us.
"WE NEED TO FUSE! EITHER THAT OR DEATH FOR THE BOTH OF US!" I shouted over the sounds of gunfire, cannon fire, and explosions.
"AGREED!" Sour Cream said as we both dropped our weapons. We clasped our hands together, and we became the new White Diamond.
Everyone froze for a moment. Every gem stared in awe as White Diamond shot down all 25 of the starships easily.
The warriors of Homeworld began to retreat, and that's when the mothership came.
"ALL LOYAL HOMEWORLD SOLDIERS RETURN TO THE MOTHERSHIP! RETREAT!" I heard a Jasper shout and soon, Beach City was littered with abandoned weapons, and only three broken gems. It was almost too good to be true..
Because it was. I heard a song being played..
Those four fatal notes, and that's when I snapped into the ultimate beast mode. Sour Cream and I unfused, and I jumped into the air, as high as I could go without testing the limits of the atmosphere.
I threw up a shield around the entire planet as the song became a light, and that light blinded me..
Sour Cream screamed as the light faded. All of the gems were safe, and I began shaking violently. I saw myself being to morph into a beast, and I quickly returned to the beach, landing onto the sand hot enough to make glass.
Sour Cream watched in horror as my form changed, and I looked up at him, my eyes watering, and my entire body shaking like I was in a blender.
"I'm...I'm sorry… I tried-d t-to hard-d-d," my teeth chattered making it hard to speak.
Steven saw what was happening to me, and so did Rose. The two ran up to me, and Rose immediately pulled out a small vial of elixir.
"You need this," Rose whispered and her son nodded as she dropped only three droplets onto my gem. I couldn't see a thing. It was just white. All of it a ghastly white..
"T-Talk to me..Talk..I can't see..I-I'm blind," I said as I felt arms wrap around me.
"I'm here, Obsidian, I'm right here. Take a deep breath, you're going to be fine," Sour Cream said and I heard footsteps going away from my location.
"Are they-they alright?" I asked and Sour Cream seemed to shake in fear, and I heard him crying.
"They're fine..You-You need to listen to me, I know the counter melody," Sour Cream said as I felt tears drip down my cheeks.
"Sing.." I whispered as I felt my persona start to fade. Sour Cream's voice seemed almost warm, as they made me feel whole again, and I felt my persona return to me.
"You're still in this form..The form of a human," Rose said and I let my arms wrap around Sour Cream. He squeezed me tightly as I began to cry, still trembling in sheer shock and fear of what I had just done to save the lives of thousands other.
"Tha-Thank you. When are we to be wed again?" I asked and Sour Cream laughed.
"When we get back to the shop and have at least a week to prepare," Sour Cream said and I felt myself smile.
"That sounds good.. It sounds really good," I said as he helped me to my feet. I felt a warmth on my chest, and instinctively looked down, almost like I was really seeing.
The warm sticky liquid seemed to roll down my chest, and I heard a loud scream. I knew that somebody had been murdered right in front of me, but who or how was unknown to me.
"White Obsidian, kill me...Just kill me and get it over with..I have no money, no son, nothing.. I have reached the very bottom," Marty's cold, drunken voice hit me as his hands clawed up my shirt.
"I..I cannot see, therefore I cannot kill. That is the problem for an eye for an eye, everyone winds up blind," I said coldly and Marty screamed aloud as he hit me over the head with a beer bottle.
I felt no pain, which was odd, but I stayed still. Marty screamed out in anger, and I heard no other sounds than the oceans, the seagulls, and my own breath.
"I-I hate you," Marty said as he slapped me. Again no pain. I knew suddenly that the blood on my chest was not my own.
"Y-You killed someone...Who?" I asked and Marty growled.
"Starchild Jr.." Marty growled, and that's when I took him by the throat beginning to choke him.
Sour Cream was unconscious, and Steven was dead, that was clear enough to me.
"Sparing you is no mercy," I whispered as I poofed him, bubbling his gem forever. When I sent it to the temple, I dropped to my knees, feeling around for Steven.
When I did find him, tears ran down my cheeks. I cried hard for what seemed like hours.
It's all my fault, I failed to keep him safe, I thought as I cried. Someone placed their hand on my shoulder, and my head went up. I knew who it was based on the pressure of their hand on my shoulder.
"It's not your fault," I heard Greg say through his tears.
"But it is..I failed to protect him..I failed to cry out, I failed to see that he was coming," I cried and Greg got onto his knees in front of me.
"He's not dead, Obsidian," Greg said and I heard Steven groan. I gasped as I felt Steven lift himself up out of my arms.
"Y-Your tears," Steven said and I quickly covered my face with my hands, gasping in relief and disbelief.
"Oh my stars, are you OK? Are you hurt?" I asked and Steven laughed.
"I'm fine, thanks to you anyways," Steven said and I felt Sour Cream help me to my feet as Greg got Steven up out of my lap.
I felt no pain..Non whatsoever, which was weird. I usually felt the pain of those around me, and I was sure I was somewhat bruised from that crash landing onto the sand.
"Am I wounded in any way? I can't feel any pain," I said and Sour Cream's voice seemed elated.
"You're fine, even after that beer bottle hit your head," Sour Cream said and I began laughing.
"Then..It's over. It's over..We won! Oh my stars we won!" I said and everyone began cheering. I found a blue tint to the white I was stuck in, and then suddenly, I found myself staring right into Sour Cream's eyes.
"WE WON!" Sour Cream cheered and I began laughing as he lifted me into his arms, and we began spiraling around.
"WE WON! WOOHOO!" I cheered aloud and the rest of Beach City cheered aloud, whooping, whistling, and instantly the entire community was rebuilt. Every building damaged in the fight was fixed, or entire remade. I laughed, my gem glowing, and my eyes searching Sour Creams.
"White Obsidian, you have your sight back!" said happily and Sour Cream looked into my eyes.
"Yep! And tonight, it's our home now!" I said and everyone was laughing, cheering, being who they were.
"YES!" Sour Cream cheered happily. Everyone was so happy, and I saw the sunrise that day, and as it did, I did something completely out of this world. As we were dancing, I created a lighted dance floor, a DJ station, party lights, a smoke machine, and a bubble machine.
"BOOM! LET'S PARTY!" I called out and all of Beach City and the gems came out onto the dance floor, dancing like no soul was watching.
"Looks like this the engagement party!" Sour Cream said as he jumped behind the DJ station.
"Naw derp dude! THIS IS LIT!" I called as I danced like I was the only one dancing in the world.
Battle Scars started playing just as my wings unfurled, and I rose up into the skies, dancing just above the ocean, putting on a show as the sun created a halo around me.
I started portraying my entire, whole, uncensored past, and Sour Cream looked up to see that I had scars all over, and inside my mind as well.
The rest of the party though, was upbeat, happy, and powerful. We danced until dusk, not caring who joined and who left..
When everyone went home, the props disappeared, but the DJ station stayed, and Battle Scars replayed.
"You've been through hell and back, haven't you?" Sour Cream asked as he stopped the song, and the DJ station turned to white mist.
"Yeah, but I'm sure you have too in your own sense," I said and Sour Cream laughed.
"Yeah, I guess we've both had hell in our lives. I never thought I'd be in an interstellar war," Sour Cream said and I laughed.
"And I never thought I'd fall in love," I said as I hugged Sour Cream. I knew our love was as strong now as the day we met.
He embraced it, and that's the moment when we finally allowed ourselves to fully let go of the reigns we had on our powers, and a white lily began to bloom at my feet.
"I need to tell you something," I said and Sour Cream nodded.
"Anything you have to say, I'll listen," Sour Cream said as I completely unfurled my wings.
I took a deep breath, and I opened my third eye, which didn't phase him.
"I am not human, you know that much, and I am only a millionth gem..My main race is another, Galatean," I said and Sour Cream smiled.
"I don't care where you came from, as long as you stay you," Sour Cream said and I smiled.
"Really? Well, that went better than expected," I said and Sour Cream laughed as I furled my wings and closed my third eye.
"Heck yeah, I don't care if your Martian, gem, Galatean, or Andromedan, I'm just happy you're here," Sour Cream said and I laughed.
"Actually I am three of those things," I said and Sour Cream laughed.
"Well, I know it's not Martian, besides, you're awesome anyways," Sour Cream said and I began laughing my lungs out.
"You're so kind, so accepting..I can't wait until we're wed," I said as Sour Cream took up my hand.
"That would be a dream, to finally settle down, end the war, and have our own legacy," I replied.
Finally hope was blooming, and we were getting further than anyone had before..