Steven Universe: Omega Origins
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Greetings Readers. So, I hope you all had a good week. Sorry about how long this took to come out. I had to take some standardized state tests at school. Anyway, this marks the real beginning to the story of the Omega Colony. First up, we have the gentle giant of the group, Tiger Jasper. But first, a message from Feraligreater328.
A/N (Feraligreater328): Hello all. This is the second co-op that I'm blessed enough to be a part of. FanficFan has been absolutely amazing (as has supersaiyanjin as a contributor) and I hope you all enjoy this lovely little piece of side-lore we're working on together! :)
Yes indeed, thanks Feraligreater328. Alright, without further adieu, Here… we… go.
Paria Canyon...
The stark environment of the barren depths of Paria Canyon could be described with one, apt word: eerie. The wide open emptiness of the canyon, underneath the harshness of the desert sun made the area rather inhospitable for any fledgling flora or fauna to try to flourish there.
Beyond the lack of plants, there were very few animals crawling the barren expanse either. Due to all of the modifications the Gem Homeworld had made to the area when they were occupying it. Even hardy animals such as snakes and salamanders were few and far between. Any examples of those were only around long enough to catch a quick meal of whatever animal was unfortunate enough to have ended up in the Canyon before slithering away to their own, greener pastures.
No Earth-native species could survive in a area so devoid of nutrients, but that was not to say no Earth-born species could survive. For, something was growing just beneath the barren rock of Paria Canyon. Something that was accidently seeded by four unsuspecting benefactors.
Mere weeks ago, four distinct figures had visited this canyon and waged war with a mighty foe. A back and forth battle between these two opposing sides ended with the four of them, the B-Team, walking away victorious.
The ferrokinetic Peridot. The angry, brutish Jasper. The brooding, consistently annoyed Lapis Lazuli. And the human companion Connie Maheswaran, the one intrusted with the task of guarding the sword of Rose Quartz, former leader of the Rebellion . The quartet walked away from their battle with the Omega Injector both victorious and in one piece. However, what they had not counted on is what they had left behind...
3 weeks prior…
Ammolite landed, with all of her weight, on the Omega Injector's center. And then, grabbed onto its legs and pulling on them, Ammolite shouted at Connie. "NOW CONNIE MAHESWARAN! COUNT IT OUT!"
Connie complied. Running up to the panicking Injector, Connie fell to her knees and began to smack her hand against the ground. "ONE! TWO!"
Ammolite roared and screamed out the final number. "THREE!"
And then, with a mighty pull, Ammolite tore the Omega Injector in half, spilling Genesis Fluid all over the ground. Ammolite stared down at the Omega Injector, hefting its severed lower half into the air and using it to smash the machine's Power Crystal.
Ammolite glowered down at the dead remains of the Omega Injector. And then, raising two of the Injector's severed legs into the air in victory, Ammolite screamed at the top of her lungs. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAA-"
POOF!
As Connie collected her poofed allies and left the Canyon, she didn't take the time to notice the remaining Genesis Fluid and what it was doing. Layered on top of the shattered earth, the alien liquid seeped into the ground.
Its unique chemical structure doing bizarre things to the rock it melted into, changing and warping and growing. Creating...something new...
Back in the present…
The wreckage of the Omega Injector creaked under the force of the wind that swept through the Canyon. But, otherwise, everything remained still. It was still the same eerie, abandoned canyon as it always had been. Littered with artifacts of a civilization that had long since left the planet.
Everything was peaceful. Until, suddenly, a column of light erupted from the ground. Sending the Earth around it scattering, the light faded and was soon replaced by the emergence of a bright red hand with a dark orange stripe running across it.
The hand pawed around on the ground, searching this new area for things to grab onto. Its massive fingers scraped across the ground, the jagged, serrated nature of them leaving claw marks all across the ground.
Soon, with some effort, another hand burst through the ground. The left-most partner to the right that had emerged first. They both scraped across the ground, looking for something to grab onto, to give them leverage before finally sinking their pointed tips into the rock and pulling. Soon, with as much strength as they could muster, the hands allowed their owner to pull her massive form from the Earth.
She dragged her massive frame out into the open light of day, leaving a gigantic, jaggedly round hole behind. She groaned and growled to herself as she assessed her new surroundings, her new life. She ran her fingers through her hair and flinched as they collided with the gigantic, single horn sticking out of her head.
Confused as she was, the Gem had one clear thought in her head. Clear as the day she was born into: Tiger Jasper.
Her name was Tiger Jasper.
But, beyond that, she had nothing. Her legs struggled at first to heft all of her weight up. But, once she managed to get onto her feet, she was moving around quickly, looking for any sign of what she was here for, what she was made to do.
In the back of her head, Tiger Jasper knew that she was born for something. She just couldn't place what. She turned and glanced towards the broken form of the Omega Injector. The mysterious metal structure stood tall, like a rotting tomb. Foreboding and massive.
Tiger Jasper shrugged and began to plod towards the wreckage, hoping that she would find something there that would clue her in as to her purpose. She busted through the metal siding with her massive fist and sauntered in, flipping around some scrap and moving things around until, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glint.
Taking a step over to the glint, Tiger Jasper's curiosity got the better of her. She bent down to look at it and her eyes widened in horror. What was that thing staring back at her?!
She continued to stare at this new creature on the ground. She motioned at it, waving at it and flinching as it waved back in turn. After a few moments, it dawned on Tiger what was going on. That thing...it was her. Tiger brought her hand to her face and gasped in terror. That hideous thing...that thing with the warped form and the broken Gem in the center of its chest...it was her.
Horrified, Tiger glanced around and eventually found a large, brown tarp sitting on the ground. Not knowing where it had come from (and not particularly caring) Tiger Jasper ripped it off the ground and wrapped it over her. Despite never having seen another lifeform, she knew that something the wrong.
As she tied as solid knot in the cloth at the base of her throat, she slowly began to feel it as well. Something was inherently wrong with her. Something that was causing just the slightest shiver up and down her body.
As the pressure caused by her horn ripped through the fabric of the cloth, Tiger Jasper grunted and walked out from the metal wreckage. She desperately hoped that someone would emerge soon and help her better understand just what was going on.