Emerald walked toward the Gems. Whatever part of her that was the source of mocking laughter and snide remarks was buried under a mountain of rage. Despite the fact that she faced a gigantic fusion and three other gems besides, she didn't falter in her stride. She advanced like one who was confident in her victory.
"I think I liked her better when she was trying to be funny," said Sardonyx. "Frankly, right now, she is no laughing matter. Ten, is there anything we should know about our punchy friend here?"
"I have no ideas, sorry," said Ten. "I've never seen these weapons before, though I've heard of them. I would suggest not letting them hit you."
"Stellar advice," Sardonyx said dryly.
"Don't forget she still has her other weapons, her sword breakers. They can snap a sword in two easy if she catches them between the teeth on the back, plus it can stab and slice with the blade and bludgeon with the pommel. I've seen her use them a few times."
"'Use them?' On what, exactly? Sawing wood?"
"Mutinies," said Ten. "Let's just say Emerald isn't very popular among the crew of her ship. She doesn't even shatter them. Usually. She finds their attempts humorous."
"She regularly fights with her whole army?" Sardonyx's eyes went wide. "That's no joke!"
"She said before, during out last fight, that she had broken the will of other gems. That's not quite true: she's merely pressganged gems into her crew with the Diamonds' blessing, forcing them to fight and die so she can complete her own goals. She gives orders like a Diamond and the soldiers don't like it at all. They love their Diamond; they hate their Emerald."
"And what about those spiky-doos she's wielding?"
"I've heard her refer to them as the 'Planet Busters' when she needed to threaten someone back into line. Apparently, the crew has seen them in action and are terrified of them. I think I understand why, now."
"Well, you know what they say: show, don't tell."
"I've never heard that before in my life."
"Really, Ten, we need to get you caught up on things here on Earth. Excuse me a moment." Sardonyx took Amethyst off her head, placed her on the ground, and took a step in Emerald's direction.
"Hold on!" shouted Ten.
"I know, I know," said Sardonyx, continuing on and waving away her concerns, "you're going to tell me to 'be careful.' Believe me, I know. I'm also the one with the reach, so all things considered, it's best if I handle things here. Besides," she looked back at Ten, "this little lady only comes up to my waist, and you only come up to hers, so I'm afraid you would find things a bit difficult."
She twirled her war hammer theatrically as she closed the distance with Emerald. Emerald merely put up her fists. "Sorry, Emerald, dear," said Sardonyx, "I know we've had our differences in the past, but I believe its best if we hammer out our issues like adults. Here, I'll start." Sardonyx raised her hammer high overhead, bringing it down with punishing force. Emerald's fist came up to meet it and their attacks collided like a bomb going off.
It was with wide-eyed surprise that Sardonyx found herself being lifted off of her feet and thrown backwards, her weapon shredded from the attack like wet paper. She spun through the air and crashed into the sand behind Amethyst and Ten, rolling head over heels twice before shining brightly and separating into Garnet and Pearl, both of whom continued to bounce some distance before coming to a rest on the ground, groaning.
"You guys cool?" Amethyst called over, barely able to turn over from where Sardonyx had put her down.
"We are very much not 'cool,'" moaned Pearl.
"I'm pretty sure Sardonyx would have said something about a 'punchline' about now," said Garnet, staring up at the sky.
"I told you guys to hold on," said Ten. "You saw what that Planet Buster did. I don't know why you thought your war hammer would hold out."
"Our weapons have survived some incredible attacks," said Pearl. "Nothing like that, I suppose."
"You're lucky you weren't any closer to the impact or you might have been vaporized."
"Man," said Amethyst, "if we only had Sugilite or Opal, we'd have more than enough range to avoid that blast radius. Stupid Amethyst Emerald."
"Yeah, sucks for you," said Ten, then she started for Emerald.
"Oh, and you think you'll do fine alone when Sardonyx didn't stand a chance?"
Ten nodded, not looking back. "Unlike your weapons, my shield actually is indestructible." She glanced as Steven, still lying in the sand some distance away. "I'll try not to break Rose's sword, though."
"Well, good luck," said Amethyst. "If you lose, we all die, so do your best."
"Amethyst," scolded Pearl, "try to be more supportive."
"What? I'm 100% team Ten. Go Ten." She threw her one good arm in the air, cocking a fist.
Emerald and Ten came to a halt twenty feet apart. "You're about to die for a group of idiots," said Emerald.
"I was going to die anyway," said Ten.
"True," said Emerald. "If you already know this, why do you bother fighting? Just lie down and die."
"Because firstly, it will anger you," said Ten, "and that thought makes me happy. Secondly, as a warrior, I have to try. Third, small though it may be, there is always a chance I can win. And last, but certainly not least," her gaze narrowed as she raised her shield and held her sword out to the side, ready to charge, "you killed my friends."
Before Ten could rush forward, Emerald took the liberty of closing the distance, aiming a rising blow at Ten's side. Ten moved her shield in the way and their weapons met. There was a titanic explosion of sound and sand and Ten was physically pushed backwards several feet but, true to her word, her shield held out. Her arm almost didn't, however, and she winced it pain. She made a mental note to brace herself better for the next attack, or it might be the last.
Emerald moved forward again, striking at Ten's head. Ten dodged to the side, bringing her sword down on Emerald's arm, but the Planet Buster took the blow without showing a mark. Ten made another mental note, then leapt back to avoid the next attack. She readied for the next blow, but instead of charging, Emerald punched the sand at her feet, sending up a wave of blinding particles into the air.
Ten's vision was completely obscured, but she was too experienced a fighter to let such a maneuver get this best of her. Most warriors would move back and try to escape the cloud, which Emerald might very well expect. Some would strafe on the side with their sword, keeping their shield angled towards their opponent, or maybe move in the other direction to throw off a particularly clever foe. Ten did the one thing no intelligent foe would possibly guess: she raced forward, pushing her shield out in front of her in a bull rush charge. She was rewarded by a thump as her shield collided with Emerald stomach, knocking her off her feet to vanish in the low-lying cloud of sand below.
As soon as Emerald was down, Ten jumped through the air, landing in a neat roll, avoiding whatever low swipes at her shins that Emerald might attempt in retribution. A cheer went up from the Gems, the clash having clearly gone in Ten's favor as she emerged unscathed from the cloud.
Despite their encouragement, Ten was annoyed she hadn't led with her sword instead. She knew she made the smart move keeping her defenses up against that Planet Buster, but hindsight made her kick herself for not ending the battle right there. She hoped it wouldn't cost her.
Emerald stood from out of the dust cloud as it dissipated, brushing sand off of herself. She tsked in annoyance. Ten moved in quickly, knowing it was probably in vain to try to catch Emerald off guard, but she had to try. As she thought, the first swing of her sword was met with a block from the Planet Buster. Emerald punched with her other hand, but it was easy enough for Ten to dodge; Emerald was certainly fast, but Ten was a bit faster. Of course, one hit and that was likely it for Ten, but she took what positives she could.
They exchanged a few attacks, Ten deciding to forego her shield unless absolutely necessary, worried about the risk to her arm. She stabbed and slashed, Emerald blocked and countered, aiming for easy blows to Ten's arm or leg, knowing any connection would be instant victory. Ten had to retreat more than she would have liked, but this was a fight that required utmost caution.
Emerald attacked low from the left, an attack made obvious by how far Emerald had to crouch to get her giant body that close to the ground. She feigned a blow to the knee that switched to a swipe at Ten's side at the last moment. Caught by surprise, Ten's only recourse was to raise her shield. The blow rang out, but at least this time the shield rested against her shoulder and the blow wasn't as shocking. Expecting Ten to be stunned, Emerald rushed forward with a quick left jab, finding instead that Ten sidestepped the attack and delivered a quick shield bash to the face. Disoriented and staggering back, Emerald raised her arm to block Ten's incoming blow, but angled her arm incorrectly, receiving a cut along her forearm for the mistake.
Incensed, Emerald lashed out with a vicious backhand, forcing Ten to jump backwards or risk taking the powerful blow which, even without the Planet Buster's point, would have hurt something fierce. Taking advantage of Ten's retreat, Emerald glowered and raised her hands. "Full tilt or nothing, it is," she said. Her gems shone, her sword breakers emerging from her hands. She flipped the one in the right hand immediately so she held it pommel out, then turned the left so the teeth faced Ten.
"Aw, she got you, Emerald!" Amethyst jeered. "First blood! You on the ropes now."
"Forced to take out even more weaponry?" Garnet called out. "What a sorry sight for a 'superior' gem."
"You suck!" Pearl shouted viciously, causing the other two to laugh at her brevity.
"Silence!" Emerald commanded. She flicked her wrist in their direction, then returned her attention to Ten. "You did this to yourself," she said.
"Did what?" asked Ten, half mocking, half concerned.
Amethyst grunted and began to stand. "Ah, geez, she's getting into my head again, guys. Joke's on you, Esmerelda, my body's too jacked up to be any use to you."
"I'll be the judge of that," said Emerald, her gems glowing and Amethyst's matching hers.
"Aw, not this again," Amethyst grumbled as her hands went to her gem. Her neck tautened, her teeth clenched, and she hissed in pain as she pulled out two weapons. Amethyst looked down and saw two Planet Busters resting on her arms. She looked up at Ten. "Uh, dude? This ain't good." She turned and started moving towards Pearl and Garnet, dragging her wounded leg behind her.
Ten scowled at Emerald, who now stood between Ten and her friends. "Really? Can't take me on fair and square, so you resort to attacking the wounded?"
"Please," said Emerald. "I didn't shatter a thousand of you traitors by being nice. You don't deserve 'fair.'"
"Any time you want to stop me would be great, Ten," Amethyst called. Garnet and Pearl rolled onto their stomachs, trying to drag themselves away, but with at least one good leg, Amethyst was slowly yet surely closing the distance.
Ten took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She knew exactly what Emerald wanted: she wanted Ten to rush in an effort to save the others, a move that would surely cause her to make some fatal error. Ten knew she was the only chance her companions had of surviving, what with Amethyst being controlled, Pearl and Garnet barely able to move, and Steven having not stirred since she left his side. He almost looked asleep, though how he could sleep with the constant explosions of sound was beyond her.
"You're not going to get what you want," said Ten.
"I just want you and that Steven to lie shattered at my feet. Frankly, I don't think I'm asking for much."
"I disagree." Ten lunged forward, attempting to skewer Emerald's leg, but Emerald punched down, succeeding in both blocking the blow with her Planet Buster and blasting the sand up at her feet again. This time, she immediately kicked out, catching a blind Ten from the side. Ten skid across the desert, tucking under her shield as she came to a rest. Emerald appeared from the cloud of sand above, coming down hard an inch from the edge of Ten's shield, barely missing a game-ending blow to an exposed leg.
A second blow was incoming. Ten kicked off of Emerald's leg, twirled on her back and pulled her leg out of the way just in time as another cloud of sand erupted from the spot where it had just been. As she spun, she lashed out with her sword, hearing a higher-pitched ring that told her she hadn't hit the Planet Buster, but instead the narrow teeth of a sword breaker. She felt a jerk and knew if she held on to the sword, it would be snapped in two by the dagger. She released the hilt, rolled backwards, and pushed herself off the ground with her hands, flipping to her feet. She considered pulling a second shield for her now-empty hand, but decided having two hands on the one shield would serve better at keeping her arms from snapping under the pressure of Emerald's attacks.
She dived blindly sideways, tucking her body in, and heard a blow strike the air where she stood, then another following after her. She rolled to her feet and leapt backwards, her arms pressed against her shield in case an attack landed. She burst backwards out of the settling sand and looked quickly around, realizing that her friends were still on the opposite side of the cloud. She cursed under her breath. She was finding no chance to get away, and now she was disarmed to boot.
As she worried over this, Emerald burst from the sandstorm. Ten jumped away as Emerald tried to slam both of her Planet Busters into Ten's shield at the same time, a move that would have proved devastating had it landed, Ten was sure. Emerald's next punch connected square with the shield, a second following shortly after, and Ten stumbled back, nearly losing her footing. Her arms ached, but she held. She cast her eyes quickly about for her sword, but it was nowhere to be seen, and soon her attention was back on Emerald.
She had to divert Emerald's path somehow, but every attempt to step sideways was thwarted as Emerald took three steps in the same direction, forcing Ten to back up the way Emerald wanted, putting her further and further from her friends and her weapon. She wondered if Amethyst had reached the others yet, but was fairly certain Emerald would be gloating about it had the others been shattered.
As Emerald moved forward for another flurry of blows, her eyes suddenly went wide and she stopped in mid step, turning back toward the cloud of sand behind. She seemed about to say something, but before she could speak, Ten had jumped past her, smashing the edge of her shield into Emerald's eye. Emerald fell back, clutching at her face and crying out, but Ten was already sprinting away. Ten didn't know what had distracted Emerald, but she knew it was something in her favor.
Emerald howled in rage and charged after Ten, shouting incoherently as she came. As Ten approached the swirling cloud of sand, her sword suddenly spun toward her across the sand as if kicked. A large shadow passed behind the sand, and without warning a fist the size of a bus snaked out of the sand and crashed between Ten and Emerald. Ten dived for her sword and snatched it up and spun to face Emerald, allowing herself a moment to examine the giant gem behind her.
She looked to be sweating in pain, her legs nearly crippled, and her arms tattered, but she also smiled broadly. "You just got outplayed, punk!" Alexandrite shouted.
Emerald shook with fury. "How is this possible?! How is that wretched little Amethyst free of my control?!"
"You can thank me," Steven's voice seemed to echo from nothingness.
Emerald spun angrily. "Where is he?! Show yourself!"
"He's all up in here," said Alexandrite, tapping her head. "He's shielding Amethyst's mind. So how does it feel to be outnumbered? Terrible, right?"
Emerald pointed at Alexandrite. "You have no idea the sort of power you are facing. You're mongrels! You're traitors! You're nothing!"
"Looks like someone is throwing a hissy fit." Alexandrite sighed. "I lost the Planet Busters when Steven broke your control, but I think we can make due with other options." She waved Sugilite's flail in the air while her free hands pulled a whip and a spear from her chest. She fashioned them into Opal's bow, and then stood with both weapons ready. "You could still surrender, you know."
Emerald's arm whipped through the air. "Nonsense! What I will do is shatter the lot of you, then hunt down and shatter your compatriots for daring to stand against me! Mercy is now officially off the table!" She crossed her arms, bringing her sword breakers up to her Planet Busters, sliding them against one another. The weapons fused, and Emerald was holding two weapons that looked like spiked baseball bats. The spikes were evenly spaced and bent, allowing for blade catching, obviously the remnants of the sword breakers. The air around the bats was warped, as if they were giving off an intense heat.
"Oh, no you don't," said Alexandrite. She pulled back her bow and released an arrow of light toward Emerald. With a frightening ease, Emerald struck the arrow with her club, causing it to ricochet away and explode in the distance. Unfazed, Alexandrite released another arrow. This one burst into a hundred tiny arrows, spewing outwards in waves. Emerald braced, then slammed both of her clubs together. The resulting shockwave not only blew all of the arrows away, but it was powerful enough to stagger Alexandrite from a hundred feet away and knock Ten completely over.
Emerald stood erect for a moment, trying to look unfazed from the blast, but she stumbled to one knee momentarily. She stood quickly, her lapse serving only to further anger her.
"Looks like even she can't handle that blow," said Alexandrite.
"I don't think my shield can protect me from that," said Ten, standing. "You'll be left with a perfectly useable shield covered in a fine, pink paste."
"I don't think even the reach of my flail will help," said Alexandrite, letting the flail vanish from her hand. "It's either the bow or nothing."
Alexandrite's lower mouth opened. "We could tire her out," it said.
"If we don't tire, first."
"At least we now know where five thousand gems' worth of power went."
"Silver linings, I guess."
Emerald began to run at Alexandrite. Alexandrite nocked an arrow in a flash, letting loose a half dozen in short order. Emerald easily deflected them, closing the distance so quickly that Ten barely had time to get her shield ready and follow. Alexandrite took a huge leap backwards, but Emerald kept up, pursuing with ferocity. Alexandrite landed and leapt back again. Soon she was by the ship, then nearly past it, desperately shooting arrows at an Emerald who never failed to knock them away.
"Do a spread shot!" shouted the lower mouth.
"We can't," said Alexandrite. "If she performs that shockwave at this distance, we're done for."
She stepped back again and found nothing under her foot. She stumbled back, turning to see that she had reached the cliffs behind the ship. Behind her was a drop of several thousand feet. While the fall wouldn't kill her, it would leave her exposed to Emerald. She tried shifting to the side, but Emerald was faster. Ten could see what was going to happen a moment before it did: Alexandrite, though large and powerful, was nowhere near the speed of Garnet or Sapphire. Emerald was going to leap in to deliver a blow that would be impossible for Alexandrite to stop, and impossible to survive.
Ten reacted without thought. With reflexes honed from a thousand battles, she leapt a fraction of a second before Emerald could, diving to put herself between Emerald and Alexandrite. Emerald pushed herself off the ground, rocketing upwards and forwards, too late to stop herself or change trajectory. Her clubs were heading right for Ten instead of Alexandrite. In that moment, Ten wasn't sure if what she had done was foolhardy or courageous, but either way, she raised her shield before her body with her left hand, and raised Rose Quartz's sword with her right. She would take the blow and swing at the same time. She didn't know if she would survive the attack, or if her own would connect, but if she could save just one more comrade from Emerald, that alone was worth the sacrifice.
Emerald neared, managing to look surprised, angry, and pleased all at once. She didn't seem to care who she killed first, just so long as she killed. Her clubs came up, ready to be struck together.
Ten was a moment away from initiating her own attack when there was a blur of motion from her right. From seemingly nowhere, a pink shield spun into view, striking Emerald in the arm and the head. The blow jarred her arm, causing her swing to go wide. Instead of the clubs meeting and producing another shockwave, one club went high and the other low. Ten saw her opportunity and took it, spinning her body in the air so that she slid through the gap between the two clubs, each passing uncomfortably close, but ultimately missing. Ten cleared the gap and swung wildly upward. With her weapons fused, there was no Planet Buster to save Emerald's arm this time, and Rose's sword passed clean through, severing it completely.
There was a burst of air, and Ten fell to the ground. She rolled to her feet, astonished that she was alive. She looked over at Steven, still standing in his throwing pose, looking utterly flabbergasted by his own throw. He looked at Ten and threw his arms up, whooping incoherently in exhilaration. "Did you see that?!" he managed to shout. He wobbled and sat hard on his backside, still tired.
"I saw it, alright," Ten shouted back, though not with the same unmitigated joy Steven displayed. She looked back toward where Emerald had landed. With the hand severed, the two Emeralds had been separated. Now the same size as Ten, one of the Emeralds lay wounded on the ground, while the other had been forced to retreat to her gem from the damage.
The remaining Emerald dragged herself across the sand, nearing her twin, reaching out. Ten's foot came down between the hand and the gem, kicking the latter away. Emerald's fist clenched and she looked up at Ten with naked hatred. She directed the hand bearing her gem at Ten, struggling to regain control of Ten's mind, but the shield Steven had helped raise still stood and Ten felt nothing.
"Utter nonsense," Emerald panted, her arm shaking from strain. "How are you resisting?"
Ten kicked Emerald's arm away. "You're not taking control of any more minds, Emerald," she said. "And you're not going to hurt any more of my friends. Not now—" she raised her sword high overhead, "—not ever."
She plunged downward into Emerald's chest. Emerald looked nothing so much as angry before she destabilized with a modest poof of air and her gem sank into the soft sand below.
A cheer went up from the others as Ten knelt down and picked up the two Emeralds. Alexandrite came apart, the three Crystal Gems still wounded and exhausted, but very much alive. Steven ran to them, throwing his arms around them and laughing. They were so taken in with their own celebration that they barely noticed as Ten walked by them towards the cliff edge. It was Pearl who turned her head first and saw the look on Ten's face. She pried Steven's hugging arms off of her. "Ten? What's the matter?"
Steven, Amethyst, and Garnet all looked toward Ten, all still smiles and joy for the moment. Ten turned to meet their eyes, and their smiles vanished. "Ten?"
Ten shook the hand holding the two Emeralds. "Are you going to bubble these two as well?" She demanded to know. "Just put them away in some little prison somewhere until someday, long after you're all gone, someone just comes by and releases them?"
Garnet pushed to the fore of the Gems. "That is the way we do things around here, Ten. If you're going to be a Crystal Gem, you need to understand that." She put her hand out. "Give me the Emeralds so we can bubble them. Then we can go home."
"And then what?" She looked at the other gems with wild, feral eyes.
Garnet looked dangerous. "Ten, you need to calm down. You are heading towards many unpleasant futures. Please, relax and consider what you are doing before you do something you regret."
"So you're just going to lock them away and tell me to forget about them? Forget about what they've done to us, done to me and my friends, and tell me to just keep living in a house a hundred feet from them, pretending the gems that killed One, Three, and Seven aren't alive and well?!" She spat on the ground.
"Yes, and that is what you will do. We do that every day and we live our lives just fine. We're going to lock the Emeralds away because that is our way. We do not shatter."
Ten looked down at the Emeralds in her hand and her eyes narrowed. "You don't shatter. I do."
"Ten, no!"
She tossed the Emeralds in the air, summoning two shields from her gem. As the Emeralds came down, she slammed the shields together upon them and the gems broke into pieces. She pressed and ground on them them until they were reduced to glinting green pebbles, then flung the shields out over the cliff. She then picked up the Emerald dust that had fallen to the sand and threw that too, scattering the remains of the two gems into the wind, letting them spread over an unknown distance so that they could never be put back together. When she was done, she looked back at the others to see the horror written on their faces.
Steven had his hands over his mouth, his face full of terror and confusion, as if he didn't understand what sort of creature he was looking at. "Why, Ten?" he asked, his voice breaking.
Garnet put a hand out, gently guiding Steven behind her. "You saved our lives, Ten," she said, "and for that, we are grateful, but you made a promise when you joined us that you would never shatter another gem again. You made that promise, and you willfully and purposely broke it." Garnet looked at the others. Amethyst nodded solemnly. Pearl's lip quivered and her eyes welled up, but she nodded too. Lastly, she looked at Steven. He looked back and forth between Garnet and Ten, then closed his eyes and turned away, tears falling. At last, he nodded as well.
Garnet looked back towards Ten. "Ten, for the destruction of two Emeralds, the Crystal Gems hereby banish you from Earth. I'm sorry."
Ten fell to her knees, trying to keep herself from crying, and failed. "I know," she said. "I'm sorry, too."