A/N: Hey-o! If you missed chapter 2, I suggest going back to it. There's a lot here that wouldn't make an ounce of sense if you didn't read it.
Emma darted through the forest, ear alert for any out-of-place noise, eyes darting around frantically for even a hint of her friend's pale skin, hoping she was right about where he would be. If she wasn't...
She shook the thought from her mind. No, she had to be optimistic. She kept running, shooting a desperate glance at the falling sun. In just a few minutes she wouldn't be able to see anything.
She kept running. She checked a few of their regular places and groaned in frustration when, after checking them all, Denver was still missing. She sighed as the forest became suddenly dark. Gripping Wulfenite, she looked around, taking a deep breath.
"If you can hear me, and do something - anything - then please, help me find him," Emma breathed, hugging Wulfenite to her chest. "Please."
Wulfenite considered her options. Rarely had humans asked for help like this before, and when they had, there had never been anything she could do. But here, in the dark forest... if she ran a bit of hard-light directly over her gem without forming it... she could be a light source.
She steadied herself and began.
The flash of light was sudden and surprising, making Emma jump back, holding Wulfenite out in front of her. For a moment she was frozen in awe, her jaw hanging open at the magic being worked before her. With a quick shake, however, she was back to her senses, and she held Wulfenite out like a gas lamp, using her to see in the dark.
"Thank you," Emma mumbled, looking around. She glanced down and knelt next to a set of indentations and peered at it, a slow smile forming.
"Footprints," she whispered to no-one in particular. "We've got a lead."
The footprints were fortunately easy to follow, and after about five minutes Emma stopped at the edge of a clearing, letting Wulfenite send spears of light into the darkness. It was a good thing hard-light was disposable. Her final spear briefly illuminated a pale face that stared back through the darkness, leaping back with a yelp when a spear flew directly over his head.
Emma covered Wulfenite, and Wulfenite dimmed a bit, allowing for a bit of stealth. The two of them creeped towards the spot, Emma gently laying a hand on Denver's shoulder.
"Denver, what are you doing?" She inquired, though from her tone it was obvious she expected she knew the answer.
"You saw the note at the front of the apartments?" Denver inquired, getting up and grabbing her shoulder, glancing around. "I... went to see who it was, and..." he blushed. "I got lost."
Emma let out a huge sigh of relief. "So you didn't write that note," Emma repeated hopefully.
"I didn't."
"Good." She looked around, holding up Wulfenite again. Wulfenite took this as a sign to resume glowing. Denver let out a small gasp, searching Emma's expression for an explanation.
"Apparently your pops was right about it being magical," Emma stated with a smirk. "It helped me find you." She turned back to the darkness. "Where are we, actually?"
Denver gave her a look.
"Okay, okay, forgot, you were lost, now I am too," she shrugged. Wulfenite marveled at their horrible sense of direction, shaking her non-existent head, and decided to take charge.
She reached out with her light and pushed a tendril of pulsing light towards where they'd come, glad to see the pair were paying rapt attention. With a shrug, Emma began to follow Wulfenite's directions, slowly making ground through the forest.
"That's really cool," Denver commented, peering over Emma's shoulder at Wulfenite.
Emma nodded. "No kidding. Thanks, gem." She grinned at Wulfenite eagerly. "Thank goodness we have you."
Wulfenite automatically glowed brighter under the praise, illuminating the clearing brightly. The two humans shared a chuckle until a distinct noise was heard.
"What was that?" Denver asked fearfully, glancing around hurriedly. Emma backed up a few paces, instinctively gripping his hand.
"I don't know," she said carefully. "It sounded like-"
The inhumane roar was deafening.
Wulfenite panicked. No, no it couldn't be, it just wouldn't be right, they'd never-
The Gem Mutant burst into the clearing with a deafening roar, making its presence more than known. Its one eye focused on Wulfenite's Gem, peering at her with a look that could kill. Wulfenite flashed violently in an attempt to scare it away, but that only increased its determination.
It leaped forward, grabbing the bars wrapping Wulfenite in her cage with three mismatched arms, and Emma let out a cry of alarm as she gripped the other end, tugging violently at it.
"Denver, stop hiding in the corner and help me get it back!" She screeched. "It's our only ticket out of this cursed forest!" He shook himself and joined her, grabbing the wires as well, all of them pulling with all their strength to get Wulfenite.
There was an ominous snap, and Wulfenite hit the ground with a resounding thud, the wires pulled apart in the hands of Denver, Emma and the mutant gem. She paused, then quietly allowed a minor celebration.
I'm free!
She pulsed out a huge burst of light, blinding everyone around her briefly.
I can form!
She stretched out her bulky arms, her powerful legs, her bushy yellow hair, feeling herself grow back to her full height. Her body felt fresh and new, now that she didn't have to bother forming the awkward diamond around her own gem, instead just leaving the light orange on her arms, feet and face, while letting her body and legs assume a darker shade. Along her neck and waist and down the sides of her arms and legs were deep, blood-red lines, which ended at her middle fingers and her ankles.
She landed lightly, glaring at the gem mutant. While she wasn't sure how it had come to be, she was fairly certain it was another one of those idiotic fusion experiments...
she shook herself from the morbid thoughts, and balled her hands into fists. The roar from the mutant set her going.
She delivered a quick uppercut to the mutant's jaw, hopping in the air to dodge the lowest arm that swept under her. As she fell back down to the ground she whipped her other arm around into the mutant's neck, causing it to screech in pain. Gaining confidence, she threw a final punch straight to the mutant's stomach, knocking it back and poofing it in a brownish-rainbow puff of smoke.
She took a few deep breaths through her reformed lungs as she picked up the forced fusion's gem. There wasn't really much she could do about it, so she improvised, grabbing her old chains and twisting them around the gem shards so that they would be able to resist formation. Getting up and dusting off her hands, she turned back to Emma and Denver.
"Who... are you the spirit in the gem?" Emma inquired, getting her act together. Denver was still cowering in fear; Wulfenite didn't blame him. She must have been at least twice as tall as they were.
"Yes," Wulfenite confirmed, testing her voice. "Emma, it is nice to finally meet you. It has been centuries since I've been able to walk freely like this..." she smiled, stretching out her legs and arms. "It is fortunate that metal cage was broken."
"Oh my goodness," Denver voiced, gulping. "that was a cage? Why were you trapped?!"
Wulfenite shook her head. "Nothing bad. I was merely a bit unlucky." She shrugged at their questioning looks. "A story for another time. We should probably be headed home. Boy, does it feel great to be able to talk again..."
Wulfenite waited patiently for the pair to get to their feet, finally taking to either side of her. Emma calmed when Wulfenite explained she knew the way, and the three of them started heading back.
Emma began firing questions the moment she felt safe. "So, what's your name?"
"My designation? I've forgotten," Wulfenite admitted, "but my subspecies is known as Wulfenite."
"And you're okay with the name Wulfenite?" Emma inquired, barely missing a beat. "How do you feel about the nickname Wolfie?"
"Wolfie?" Wulfenite considered. "I don't see why not. Denver, would you like me to slow down? You're trailing behind." he jolted at the sound of his name, shaking his head violently and speeding up to match pace with Emma and Wulfenite.
"Denver, you didn't skip breakfast again, did you?" Emma inquired solemnly, glaring bullets into him. He dodged her gaze deliberately, hiding behind his golden locks.
"Mmm'be." he muttered. Instantly Emma was at his side, gripping his wrist.
"Change of plans, we're headed to the Pizzas for a double size," Emma announced. "I'm not having you go home hungry just because your Dad forgets to feed you sometimes."
"But Emma..." he whined, and they were off, bickering casually as Wulfenite led them past the trees and down the winding road back to Beach City.
As they approached the food area that Wulfenite had seen from her gem a few times, she took a moment to take it all in, for real this time. She breathed in the rich smells of fish and cheese and tomatoes, all fried to a well-done crisp. It smelled lovely.
"Wolfie?" Emma inquired, getting the Gem's attention. "could you make sure Denver doesn't run off on me? I don't want him insisting on a smaller size while I'm ordering, so he needs to stay here." She pointed to a specific place on the ground, which Denver stood at with a miffed expression.
As she ran off, Denver's eyes followed her carefully, finally averting back to Wulfenite. He studied her for a few more seconds, then finally asked, "Wulfenite, what are you?"
"I'm a Gem, from a galaxy called Homeworld," she explained. At his blank expression, she chuckled. "Yes, I know, the name is uninspired-"
"No! That's... not it." He paused. "So you're like, an alien species based on gemstones?"
"I guess that's one way of saying it," Wulfenite agreed. "I've never been off this planet, though. I was hatched in the Kindergarten here." She shrugged. "I suppose that my species as a whole is 'alien', but I come from this planet, so I myself would probably not be 'alien'."
"That's still awesome," Denver said, looking up at her in awe. "And you're super-tall, too."
Wulfenite grinned. "Wulfenites often are."
Denver considered this as Emma waited impatiently at the desk of the Pizza's takeout desk, tapping it uncomfortably and occasionally glancing back to make sure he hadn't run off. "So there are gems other than Wulfenites?" He asked at last, the curiosity getting the better of him.
"Plenty," Wulfenite agreed. "New kinds are being made all the time. Each gem is a specialist in a certain type of job from birth. I've always considered myself a good interrogator, but only Peridots can hold that job." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Peridots are egotistical and whiny. I'm not very fond of them, myself."
Denver frowned. "So they wouldn't let you be an interrogator?"
"If they'd gotten so much as a whiff of the idea I wanted to be one," Wulfenite admitted, "I'd have probably been shattered."
"Shattered?" Denver repeated, unsure. "Like the thing in the forest? It had a gem like you do."
"That was a gem mutant, and no, shattering's worse." Wulfenite shook her head. "Consider what happened to that gem a... safe-mode, like a protection mechanism. When she had sustained enough damage, she returned to her gem to reform. Unfortunately, she will not reform unless some idiot decides to break the cage metal I was once in."
"So... what's the difference?" Denver inquired. Wulfenite shivered visibly.
"What happened back there... she was poofed. It's as I described... and shattering is when we're... what was the word..." she grumbled as she searched for the right word. "Destroyed? Broken? I don't know the human parallel."
"Wait, so they smash your gem?" he asked, desperate to know. "What's dangerous about it?"
"Yeah, well," Wulfenite desperately searched for words. "Poofing... you can recover from that, in a few weeks tops... but shattering? You never come back. It's... it's..." She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know the word."
"It sounds to me a bit like death. So they... would give you a death sentence, just for wanting to be an interrogator?" He sympathized, getting up the courage to pat her arm. "That's really harsh."
Wulfenite hummed it off. "Not really, not to most," Wulfenite admitted. "I'm a bit of a weirdo, honestly. Most Wulfenites only ever dream of fixing chariots..."
"That's wrong," Denver said firmly. "Anyone can do anything if they set their mind to it."
Wulfenite grinned at the optimistic outburst. "I guess you're right," she agreed, turning back to see Emma running to them with a large, greasy box in hand.
"Pizza time!" She cried, handing it to Denver quickly. "C'mon, let's go eat at the lighthouse!" She dashed away quickly, followed by a panicked Denver. Not sure what to make of the exchange, Wulfenite followed after them.
She watched in fascination as Emma forced Denver to eat. He seemed to be enjoying the food, at least, which was why Wulfenite did not interfere, instead opting to watch them eat their food in silence. She had studied them enough to know vaguely how their organs worked, but it was still fascinating to her.
The Gems, admittedly, were not... natural. However, they were alive too, and eons of learning and practice and failure had gone into making them. How humans had only had one chance, and had made it through with much more beauty than Wulfenite could ever have found in herself or other gems, was nothing short of unbelievable.
"Want some, Wolfie?" Emma inquired, offering her a piece. "It's tast-oh. Um, you eat stuff, right?" She hastily corrected herself.
"I do eat, but it isn't necessary." Wulfenite smiled. "However, I have never tried this... Pizza... before. It is a relatively new food. I would like to try it, if possible."
Emma grinned and held out a piece, which Wulfenite took delicately, biting off the end and testing it. Her smile grew as she politely but quickly ate the piece, then shyly asked for another. It wasn't long before they finished the entire pizza.
Denver stretched and got up, helping Emma out. The two of them were about to leave, but suddenly remembered Wulfenite was still there.
"What should we do about you?" Emma asked no-one in particular, sitting down to think. "We can't just go home and say 'oh yeah, my necklace turned into a gem-based alien.' They'd never believe it." Denver plopped down beside her and considered for a moment.
"Any ideas, Wulfenite?" Denver inquired, looking up at the gem. She frowned.
"I... have never made my own decisions," she commented, panicking a little. "How do you...? I guess I could shapeshift?"
Emma bounced to her feet. "You can shapeshift?"
"Yeah... all gems can," Wulfenite explained. "it's not hard, I just don't have much practice. Plus, I can't shapeshift forever." She rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Is there anything I should shapeshift into?"
Denver grinned. "Wolf," he said immediately. "let's take you back as a wolf."
Wulfenite nodded and closed her eyes. She'd only made major changes to her body when she wanted to eat or breathe, and those had all been internal. Changing her very appearance and gem location would be difficult, but she could do it.
The lighthouse filled with an ethereal glow as Wulfenite arched her back and pulled in most of her bulky form, pulling her yellow hair over her entire body, hiding her gem in the long strands. She tied off the transformation with her tail, testing it slowly and letting out a quiet hum of approval.
"Awesome!" Emma cried, pouncing on Wulfenite and sending a hand through Wulfenite's hair. "Oh, oh, can you carry us back?"
Denver was about to protest, but Wulfenite nodded. "I don't see why not." Emma hopped onto Wulfenite's back, and pulled Denver up behind her. She gripped Wulfenite's back, made sure Denver was still clinging onto her waist, and said, "We're ready to go!"
Wulfenite bounded away, slowing a bit at Emma's sudden exclamation. Denver looked over her shoulder and commented, "It's a bit confusing to hear a Wolf talk."
"I'll make sure not to when you introduce me," Wulfenite agreed. "who's house am I to go to?"
Apparently this hadn't occurred to the pair of them, and Emma looked back at Denver, who shrugged helplessly.
"Denver should keep you, my apartment is animal-free anyway," Emma declared, turning back. "Plus, his Dad's pretty lenient. I'm sure he'll let Denver keep you there."
Wulfenite nodded and adjusted for the new destination.
A/N: Yay! Wulfenite's back!
Read n Review as always! Hope to see you guys again soon!
(also wish me luck on my exams;-;)