The Battle of the Lunar Sea Spire
Connie held her head, pacing back and forth. "Oh, why is it that every time we meet a new gem they kidnap my brother?" Connie asked herself.
Opal watched the sight with a sympathetic expression before turning to Sapphire. "Any luck?" She asked.
Sapphire looked at Opal, her eye showing through her messed up hair, a crazed look within it. "What do you think?" She snapped.
Opal shut up, simply staring as the blue gem turned away and resumed her mental search for the hybrid they had lost.
Ruby tapped her foot to the side, her expression slowly growing more and more frustrated. Finally, she snapped. "Alright, I'm going to go look for that sorry little runt and make her give him back!" Ruby told her.
Opal looked to the angered Ruby. "We need to be careful. We need to be smart about this. This isn't just some random mission you can screw up on, this is Steven."
"Meanwhile, every minute we sit here, the moon is getting closer to its position! If we had the moon goddess statue, it wouldn't be a problem, but since it's broken, we're racing against a clock to find him before this place falls!"
As Opal was about to argue against Ruby's statement, Sapphire stood up. "Ruby's right. If what I'm doing right now isn't working, then the best we can do is look for her the old fashioned way."
"So, what are we going to do then? Split up?" Connie asked.
"…As dangerous as it might seem, we're going to need to split up if we hope to stand any chance of finding Steven before this place crumbles." Sapphire told her. "You'll stay with Opal, as she's the strongest. Ruby will come with me."
Opal and Connie nodded.
"Alright." Opal said. "We'll see you back at the warp pad."
"See you." Sapphire said back.
"Alright then, let's go before this place falls into the ocean!" Ruby cried as she led the way into the spire.
"Any luck sensing him?" Sapphire asked.
"Nope, just a bunch of rocks." Ruby said.
The two walked down a corridor, making sure to check every nook and cranny of the place.
"How did I not see this coming?" Sapphire asked after a silence among the two.
"I'm still surprised she waited this long. After so much time, I'd thought she was finally going to leave us alone."
Sapphire looked to ceiling, racking her brain for where Steven could be.
Far off, a sound could be heard echoing through the hall.
"Steven?" Sapphire asked hopefully, taking Ruby's hand and running in the direction of the noise she heard. She stopped, listening around. "Steven?!" She called.
A low rumble sounded from above.
Sapphire and Ruby looked up in the direction of the sound.
"Steven?"
A loud boom came, the roof exploding as a red light rocketed down, creating a huge cloud of black smoke. As the smoke cleared, Ruby and Sapphire could see the other ruby standing over an unconscious Opal.
The ruby stared at her catch for a moment, simply looking at her face as if to make sure she wasn't faking it. Then, she took a look out of the corner of her eye and gave a sick grin.
"There you are." Ruby said, turning to the duo and pulling her sword out of her gem.
Ruby and Sapphire got into fighting stances, each summoning their weapons.
"Where's Steven?!" Sapphire asked.
Ruby cocked her head to the side. "Huh, that's exactly what that one asked before I beat her to a pulp. Her little partner ran away before I could catch her, but I honestly don't care about her. And don't worry about the boy," A dangerous glint shined in her eyes. "I took real good care of him."
Sapphire let out a battle cry, leaping at Ruby at blinding speeds, jabbing and punching Ruby multiple times with her brass knuckles summoned.
The ruby summoned her gauntlet, hitting Sapphire away before rushing forward with her sword ready. Before she could reach Sapphire, Ruby came between them, summoning her gauntlets and blocking the blade.
The second ruby smiled. "Ah, I see you're still on the wrong side dear sister." She said, jumping away before swinging her sword, a wave of red energy shooting forward.
Ruby tried her best to block it with her weapons only for its force and power to throw her back, Sapphire catching her.
Ruby and Sapphire jumped to each others' side, both still ready to fight.
The ruby shrugged, walking forward. "Come on, you'd think after all these years you'd have realized just who the real enemy was."
The ruby punched through the floor, falling right through it.
Ruby and Sapphire looked in confusion at where hole in place of where she once stood, only for her to burst up right underneath them, throwing them both away.
She chuckled, looking between them. "Ah well, you'll see things my way when her worthless little gem is wiped off the face of this miserable planet.
The ruby waited patiently for her foes to make the first move, the two trying their best to come up with a way to beat her.
Sapphire took off into a sprint, running circles around the enemy. Then, with no warning, she shot forward.
The ruby simply stepped to the side, watching Sapphire pass and resume circling her.
Sapphire tried again, the ruby this time jumping over her.
"Please, is that all you've-"
The airborne gem was hit by Ruby's gauntlet, throwing the former into the ceiling.
"Okay, that was pretty clever." The ruby said, dropping to the ground. Ruby put her hands to her head, pushing it to one side, a cracking sounding. The pushed it the other way, repeating the process. "At least now I don't have to worry about you two holding back."
The ruby threw her sword in the air, summoning her gauntlets, firing them at the two gems.
Ruby and Sapphire narrowly avoided their individual attacks, Ruby quickly jumping over with her weapons ready.
Sapphire jumped to the side, barely avoiding the ruby's blade, the red gem attacking again, Sapphire jumping over before kicking the ruby in the face. She stumbled back, only to be hit by Ruby's gauntlet.
The ruby tumbled to the ground, jumping back to her feet, grin still present. "There we are. There's that old team work I've been wanting to see."
Ruby and Sapphire ran forward, weapons ready. Their foe didn't look intimidated in the least, holding her sword and spinning around quickly, a vortex of fire surrounding her.
Ruby was knocked back, but Sapphire made herself stop in the air before she could hit it. The blue gem watched as the fire stopped suddenly, the ruby at its center gone.
"What?" Sapphire exclaimed.
"Yoo hoo!"
Sapphire looked, finding Ruby rocketing down at her, trailed by a stream of fire. Sapphire wasn't able to react in time, the force throwing her to the ground. Sapphire groaned as she tried to sit up, her foe pinning her down. With a cruel grin, the red gem hit Sapphire with her gauntlet. She repeated the process multiple times before stopping, panting heavily.
"It's time." The ruby said, looking at the bruised face of the sapphire gem beneath her. She clenched her sword. "Say hi to Ruby for me."
The ruby raised her sword in the air, ready to strike Sapphire down, when she felt something grab her arm from behind.
"Hey, leave her alone!" Connie cried, trying her best to hold the red gem back.
The ruby gave a disgusted look. "This doesn't concern you!" She said, shaking Connie off, the girl stumbling back. She looked back to Sapphire. Now, no more distractions. Nothing was going to come between her and reven-
A flaming gauntlet fired into the ruby's face, exploding and sending her back. She glared, both of the red gems facing each other.
"Alright, your trying was cute at first," The ruby said, summon her gauntlet. "but now it's just pissing me off!"
The ruby leapt forward, flames surrounding her. Before she could collide, a pink barrier came between her and her target, the red gem bouncing back. She growled at the sight of Connie standing in front of her counterpart, the pink bubble fading.
"Fine, I guess I have to take mini quartz out too." She said, jumping and grabbing Connie by the shirt, throwing her away from Ruby. The red gem then jumped after the child, ready to strike with her sword.
"Ah!" Connie screamed, her bubble surrounding her again.
Ruby hit it, bouncing off again. She growled. "Come on! Come out of there and face me like a gem!"
Connie laughed nervously. "No thanks."
"Fine…we'll do this the hard way." Ruby brought her fist back, slamming it as hard as she could into the bubble, Connie surprised as cracks formed in its surface.
"Wait, how's about we talk this out?" Connie asked.
The ruby gave one more punch, the barrier shattering on impact.
Connie simply stared on in fear, unable to make herself move.
"You know…I hadn't really planned for anyone except the blue bitch to die here. I was going to leave the rest of you out of this." The ruby grinned. "But goals change." She raised her fist above Connie. "I guess there's going to be one less Crystal Gem walking out of here alive today."
"Don't touch her!"
The ruby looked over to find two gauntlets, one frozen, one aflame, flying at her. The red gem rolled out of the way, watching the weapons fly past and embed themselves into a wall. She looked to the source of the damage and was surprised to find that Ruby and Sapphire were gone, a tall gem standing in their place.
The ruby's eyes narrowed. "Garnet. The cause of the whole mess. I was wondering just when I'd see you again. I guess all I had to do was threaten your family. Ironic, given how little she cared about mine." She stood up, weapons ready. "If my sister weren't in there, I'd happily oblige to cracking your sorry gems." A sick grin crossed her face. "I guess I'll just have to settle with tearing you apart."
The ruby shot forward, swinging her sword at the fusion. Garnet summoned her gauntlets, blocking it before throwing Ruby back. Ruby landed on her feet, firing her gauntlet at the fusion.
Garnet grabbed it with her weapons, forcing it to a halt. Garnet gave Ruby a killer's glare before crushing the weapon like it was nothing.
Ruby wasn't fazed, the red gem upon Garnet in a second, unleashing a powerful combo upon her before finally uppercutting her. When Garnet was airborne, Ruby shot her gauntlet at her point blank, shooting the fusion away.
Garnet was thrown to the ground, lying still for a moment. She tried to pull herself up, only for another of the red weapons to hit her across the face, throwing her even farther.
"You're pathetic Sapphire." Ruby said.
Ruby pounced at Garnet, the fusion rolling away. Ruby crashed, brushing up a cloud of dust.
"All you do is run from what you've done."
"It wasn't my fault!" Garnet said, watching as the smoke cleared. When it did, she let out a gasp, a hole in her enemy's place. She quickly jumped to the side, barely escaping as Ruby emerged from where she once stood.
Ruby pointed her sword forward. "Ah, come on, you can't hide the truth from me. It doesn't matter who shattered her, who was there to see it happen. She fused with you, she died for you. So in the end," A sick, twisted grin grew on Ruby's face. "her dust is on your hands."
Ruby jumped forward, attacking quickly with her sword. Garnet jumped back, grunting as she felt the blade graze her chest. Garnet stumbled back, summoning her gauntlet as Ruby jumped forward again, this time grabbing the sword.
"Don't worry Saphy,"
Ruby let go of the sword, jumping and kicking Garnet in the torso, the fusion releasing the weapon.
"I'll make your death quicker than hers was!"
Ruby grabbed the weapon out of the air and sliced forward, cutting through Garnet's body. The fusion was stunned, shock showing on her face as her shades fell off of her. In a cloud of smoke, Garnet's body disappeared entirely, Ruby and Sapphire lying on the ground.
Sapphire groaned as she pulled herself up, gasping as she saw a sword pointing at her, mere inches from her face.
Ruby took heavy breaths, a look of fulfillment on her. "After so long…I've tried braking your will…I've tried braking your spirit…but now…I'm going to break you permanently."
Ruby reared her sword back, looking directly into Sapphire's eye. This was it, this was the moment she had waited so long for, she was finally going to avenge her sister's death. As she was about finish Sapphire off, until the ground began to shake.
Ruby stumbled back, looking around her as the temple began to shake violently. "What?"
Sapphire didn't waste the opportunity she had right then, jumping up and kicking the ruby down.
"Ruby, get Opal and Connie out of here!"
"What about you?" Connie asked.
"Just go!" Sapphire shouted.
Connie didn't have time to object, feeling herself get picked up and placed on top of an unconscious Opal, Ruby running as fast as she could with the two in hand.
The second ruby growled as she pulled herself up, glaring at Sapphire. The look she gave the blue gem was cold, animalistic. Yet, as she looked around to the crumbling temple around them, a more thoughtful look appeared in her eyes.
Ruby grunted angrily, glaring at Sapphire before aiming her gauntlet forward. "We'll finish this later." Ruby quickly moved her gauntlet up, shooting the ceiling. Sapphire jumped back as the rocks fell, shocked as she caught a glance of Ruby running the opposite way before her vision was blocked.
Sapphire stared at the rocks blocking her path, wondering what just happened. She considered pursuing her, but she had more important things to attend to.
Connie coughed as she pulled herself onto the raft, followed by Sapphire floating and carrying Opal and Ruby.
The young girl turned herself on her back, closing her eyes as she lied down. That was a doozy. She was pretty confused as to what happened, but at least they found Steven and made it out of there…
Connie's eyes snapped open. "Steven!" She cried, immediately jumping to her feet, preparing to jump off.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ruby said, catching the girl before she could jump.
Connie pulled herself from the red gem's hold. "Steven's still down there!" Connie exclaimed. "We need to go down there and get him!" She said.
"Don't worry, we'll find him." Sapphire told the girl from the air.
"But he can't breath! He could be suffocating right now!" Connie told them, tears forming in her eyes. "What if-"
Small bubbles of air emerged, pulling the group's attention. Then more emerged, then more, until finally one large, red bubble emerged, Ruby, Sapphire, and Connie shocked by what was inside. Unconscious, peacefully resting with a knot on his head, was Steven.
"Steven!" the three called, Sapphire grabbing and popping the bubble, Steven falling into her arms.
"Is he okay?! He's not hurt is he?! Oh, if that gem hurt my brother, I'll-"
Sapphire smiled. "Steven's fine. He probably hasn't woken up since he was taken by Ruby."
"Well what happened? Did he learn how to make his bubble?" Ruby asked.
Sapphire gave a thoughtful expression, landing in the raft. "Connie's bubble didn't float…and it wasn't red." She said. "Plus, I doubt he would be able to make it in his sleep."
"Who cares?" Connie exclaimed, pulling her unconscious sibling into a hug. "I'm just glad he's okay."
Meanwhile, descending to the ocean floor, watching with an expression of concern, was Ruby.
A red gem breathed heavily, looking at the menacing glare of a large pink lion. Heh, she didn't even know why she was breathing. She didn't need to breath, and doing it wasn't really helping her cause.
She had thought for certain that this would be her demise, that she would die without avenging her friend's death. This creature had been actively hunting her down for years now, and it had almost caught her after so long of evading the surprisingly intelligent creature. So, after so ruthlessly pursuing her, she was surprised to find that, instead of feeling the big cat's fangs digging into her skin, a small human jumped in front of her, halting the beast.
"No, bad Lion!" The human commanded, voice young but amazingly authoritative for someone of his age. "No attacking Ruby!"
The only thing more amazing than this was the fact that, with a short growl of frustration, the beast turned its head away.
The red gem gave a sigh of relief before looking to the human that had saved her life.
"Well…that happened." The human said, looking curiously at the lion. "Weird, you've never attacked anyone we know before..." He continued, seemingly talking to the lion. He turned around. "Hey, you okay?" He asked her, sticking out his hand.
"Yea…thanks kid." The red gem stared for a moment before sticking her hand out to his. She felt as the human tried to pull her up, unable to do so with the small amount of strength it held. She chuckled, pushing herself up.
"Sorry about that." The boy apologized. "That's so weird." He smiled. "Man, you must have really made him mad this time Ruby.
The gem smiled at that. "Guess so… So, I presume you two are friends."
"Yep!" The boy chirped. His smile fell. "Wait, what?"
Ruby felt herself freeze. Had she said something wrong?
The boy's smile returned. "Quit messin' around Ruby, you know that." He said with a playful shove, the red gem not even budging.
Ruby gave a nervous chuckle. "Yep, silly me, just jokin' around and stuff."
The boy's eyes widened. "Wait, you aren't going to tell Sapphire or Opal about this, are you?!" He asked. "If they find out Lion's still taking me places and I haven't told them, I'll get in big trouble!"
Ruby was shocked by the sudden outburst, but gave a reassuring smile. "S- Sure thing kiddo." She said, patting his head.
The boy gave a relieved sigh. "Whew, thanks."
The two stared at each other for a moment.
"…Well, Lion and I better go find whatever he wanted to show me before Sapphire and Opal get back and see I'm gone." The human said. He ran up to the pink cat, hopping on its back.
The lion grunted as it stood up. It took a step in the opposite direction to Ruby, giving one last glance to the red gem before beginning to run off, gradually picking up speed.
The boy gave an excited laugh, turning back to Ruby. "See you back home Ruby!" Steven called as the lion sprinted off, leaving Ruby behind.
Ruby smiled. "Heh…nice kid."