Chapter six! :) Thank all of you readers who have been with me so far. I hope you choose to stay to see what unfolds.
The Crystal Gems walk into the temple, covered in first degree burns.
"Guys! You're back!" Steven cheers. He runs forward and gives Garnet a hug.
"Sorry we took so long. Peridot had a few surprises for us," Pearl apologizes.
"Peridot? She was here just a few minutes ago!"
Pearl grows worried at this, and she picks Steven up. "What! What did she do to you?" Pearl asks, turning Steven upside down.
He giggles as Pearl puts him back onto the ground. "Nothing! She just asked for her foot and left."
"Well then let's let her get beaten by...THE PURPLE PUMA!" Amethyst announces, transforming into her alter ego and flexing her muscles.
"Amethyst, no," Garnet says, putting her hand on the Purple Gem's shoulder.
Amethyst shapeshifts back. "Aw, we never do my thing."
"We need to split up and look for Peridot. She can't have gotten far," Garnet says.
Amethyst and Pearl nod, and the three rush out the door.
Steven looks down and sighs. "Aw, man."
The ship looms ominously above Earth's atmosphere, circling the blue and green planet.
Pyrite sits at the helm, operating it. The ship still has analog controls, and it's a wonder the thing still flies after 3,000 years. But it would do. Besides, the two needed stealth for their mission. Using a warp pad would surely attract attention from those rogue Gems.
Lace paces around in the background, obiously thinking of strategies they could use to overtake the rebels.
About the same height as Pyrite, she is a no-nonsense gem. Instead of outfits that express her personality like some of the other Homeworld Gems, she only wears Homeworld's standard battle uniform, suited to her blue and white hue.
She supposed she had no life outside of battle, anyway. When she wasn't out giving orders, she was in stasis awaiting her next mission. It still confused her that she would be sent to a lowly planet such as Earth. The creatures there rarely lived past a century. What good were they?
Still, she had been assigned this planet as a mission, and like every mission, she was going to give her all.
"We could just land on the beach and take them head on. I'm sure that they'll be no match for your combat skills." Lace says.
"I don't know. If they managed to defeat a Jasper unit, they could be a threat. They may not be the most elite, but they at least know how to fight," Pyrite says, swiveling his chair around.
"How about this: We go undercover in one of the Earthling's cities. I'm sure that we could pass for humans if we tried. We need to stay away from the rebels, though. They might be able to recognize another gem."
That was actually a good idea. Lace curses herself for not thinking of it.
A sharp ding shows Pyrite that he's recieved a message. "Beach City, America," he reads. He runs a scan on the computer, and two results come up. One is a bowling alley in a desert [1], and the other is a calm town next to a beach. Pyrite chuckles, zooming in on the second option. "Looks like we found them," he says.
He moves the picture and runs another scan on the area. "Looks like the closest populated area is Empire City [2]," he says. "We'll stay there until the time is right."
The ship begins it's descent.
Amethyst looks around in the arcade. Peridot had to be on the boardwalk somewhere. There was simply no other place to go.
"Yo P! Find anything yet?" she yells.
An annoyed voice yells back. "Amethyst! You just asked me that two minutes ago!"
"I know. Have you found anything since then?"
Pearl ignores her, but suddenly she hears a voice coming down from the boardwalk.
"Hear, hear! Come see the amazing green woman!" Ronaldo calls, ringing a bell.
Peridot is sitting down, chained to the chair and fuming with anger. Apparently, she hadn't gotten far.
"LET ME GO, YOU CLOD!" Peridot yells.
Pearl runs toward Ronaldo and picks up Peridot. "Thanks for helping us," she says.
"Hey! I found her!" Ronaldo protests.
Pearl summons a Holo-Pearl, which stands idly at the boardwalk. "Here, play with this," the white gem says. Ronaldo gasps in awe, and pokes the projection.
"Garnet! Amethyst! I found her!" Pearl calls.
The two run out of the Big Donut and the Arcade, relieved that Peridot hadn't gotten away again.
The Crystal Gems drag her back to the temple.
"How do we stop Homeworld from coming here?" Garnet asks, getting up close.
"It's too late! Homeworld's backup is already in Earth's orbit," Peridot cackles.
"Wait! Garnet! I think I have an idea!" Pearl calls.
She reaches under the couch and pulls out a weird looking device. It's the same one the Gems were planning to use to disrupt the robonoids.
Pearl takes out a screwdriver and starts tinkering with it. "All I have to do is adjust the frequency...and there! This should disrupt Homeworld's ships." she says proudly.
A loud alert echoes throughout the craft.
"They must have jammed the controls! I can't keep it steady!" Pyrite yells.
The shuttle starts rapidly losing altitude, and soon it is enveloped in flame from the friction with the air.
"We're going down!" Pyrite yells.
His gem shines, and armor appears on him. He knows it won't be enough to protect him from the full force of the crash.
The ship hits the ground at 17,500 mph and explodes.
How's THAT for a cliffhanger! I've decided to put references in the story now. As always, thanks for reading :)
[1] Just a made-up place of mine. Do not waste your time searching for it on google Earth.
[2] In "We need to talk" Greg and Marty's next destination on their tour is Empire City.