Everything was black to Howlite.
Of course, she had been blind for almost a year and a half, due to the awful augmentation failure the Great Diamond Authority gave her back on Homeworld. Howlite couldn't quite describe where she was, what she was doing, or who she was even talking to just because of her blindness. Maybe she could just say that she was sitting in a room with no lights, talking to a shadow person.
Sodalite, however, could describe what was happening.
The two Gems were sitting in a warmly lit, small, pale pink room which had one large window that showed a beautiful view of the Beach City shoreline. They were sitting on two, little, white, cushioned, square shaped seats. Sodalite was holding Howlite's left shoulder and keeping her upright because Howlite swayed often and had a hard time with balance.
"Even if we can't get your visual health back to what it was before, mental state is just as important. The healing begins when we address the issue. Now," Sodalite scooted forward in her seat so that she may be closer to Howlite. "Tell me exactly what happened."
Howlite wasn't sure how to respond, she still didn't quite trust the shadow stranger, even after a few months of working with her, or maybe, Howlite just didn't want to talk about her past on Homeworld, or worse, what happened. She just blinked, even though it never really did much anymore.
"Oh come on, you can trust me," Sodalite said gently.
Howlite closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Well, it begins a year and a half ago, back on Homeworld..." Howlite began her story...
BOOM!
A long, metal arrow with a small, but powerful detonator on the tip of it hit its target, a dummy of a large figure that looked like a fusion. The detonator exploded once it landed upon the dummy, disintegrating it in a fiery inferno and leaving no trace that the dummy was ever there, except maybe some charred material left over smeared on the ground.
"Whoo! Nice shot Howlite!" An orange but slightly opalescent Gem shouted, patting the white Gem on the back as she relaxed her arms and lowered her bow.
"Thanks! Another one bites the dust I guess...Those Crystal Gems won't know what hit 'em!" The white Gem, Howlite said, smiling.
"Yeah, I think you are the best sharpshooter in the galaxy! No match for a bunch of defective Earthlings!" The orange Gem said.
"Aw, now you're just saying that. I think you are about as good as me, Fire Opal." Howlite replied.
Howlite's shooting partner/apprentice, Fire Opal, was a tall Gem with orange, opalescent skin, salmon pink, long, bushy hair that was kept in a ponytail, and eyes like a fiery storm. Fire Opal wore salmon pink leggings with white diamond prints on each knee, along with a tank top that was a bright yellow. She had a "Pear" body shape, along with plump lips and long, muscular legs.
The two Gems were training for war. The Gem War was young, yes, and the whole idea of Crystal Gems, fighting for Earth, and the philosophy of Rose Quartz was just bursting onto the scene. Howlite was renowned for her excellent, natural marksmanship and battle strategy, and the Diamonds treasured and praised her for her military achievements. Fire Opal, or Fi for short, was her apprentice, who was hopeful to be just as legendary as her mentor someday.
"I wonder if we'll get shipped to Earth for a mission? That'd be fun, wipe the whole lot out, and we'd get more rewards from the Diamonds!" Fire Opal said excitedly.
"Man, you can't go wrong with fame and fortune." Howlite grinned.
"It's what I live for!" Fire Opal shouted.
"Now, I think you are too young to already be contaminated by greed." Howlite scolded.
"Come on! Can't I grow up faster? I know you'd be down with it." Fire Opal smiled, then began to walk away from the training grounds.
Howlite followed Fire Opal, pondering whether she could count herself as a bad influence for the young, eager Gem in front of her. She often wondered if she was fighting for the right side, or if war was the right thing, but fighting was all she knew, she was made for it and even during peace time, her mind was fighting itself, or she was training for the next war.
Fire Opal skipped her way to the barracks where she and Howlite resided, whilst Howlite sauntered tiredly behind her. The barracks were a simple hangout area, no beds, no need for anything really, just a space where soldiers can sit, talk, play a few rounds of cards and other games, and maybe have a few drinks. Howlite and Fire Opal were the only soldiers in their barrack that weren't some sort of Quartz or Ruby, the rest were a herd of burly women who often had playful fist fights and were extremely loud and barbaric.
"Howlite! Hey, how you doin'?" A bluish-green Quartz asked as she punched an Amethyst in the face.
"Pretty good," Howlite replied as she shoved away an oncoming mint green Quartz that was falling backward into her.
"Training go well?" An Agate asked.
"Yeah, what'd you expect?" Howlite said, stopping at a bar manned by a Fluorite who looked rather traumatized. "Drink please." Howlite slammed her fist on the table.
The bluish-green Quartz sat on the barstool next to Howlite, and her weight caused the stool to sag. She asked for a drink as well, then turned to Howlite.
"Are you doing anything tonight?" The bluish-green Quartz asked flirtily.
Howlite received her drink, took a sip, then slammed it down. "What makes you think you can talk to me like that?"
The Quartz shrugged. "I just figured, I mean, we've been in these barracks for a while, so I would consider you approachable. Also, you are just a sight for sore vision spheres, if you know what I mean."
"Oh, I know what you mean, and my answer is hell no," Howlite said brusquely.
"Aw come on! I know you aren't busy! It could be fun!" The Quartz pleaded.
"As much as I like to see you beg, I'd much rather see you leave," Howlite replied coldly, studying her nails and taking occasional sips.
"But-" The Quartz tried to speak.
"Leave, now, Chalcedony," Howlite ordered.
The Quartz, Chalcedony, left in a slump. Fire Opal took her seat, smiling big as usual, her eyes on Chalcedony as she walked over to a group of other Quartzes, who scolded her saying things like, "What kind of flirting was that?"
"What was that all about?" Fire Opal asked.
"It's nothing," Howlite replied quietly and brusquely.
Fire Opal gasped in realization, then let out a small, fanatical squeal. "Did Chalcedony just ask you out?"
Howlite rolled her eyes and diverted them from Fire Opal. "Yeah, how unprofessional." She crossed her arms.
"That's not unprofessional! That's awesome! I wish someone would ask me out." Fire Opal said.
"Look, we have a war to win. Word on the street is, the diplomats that the Diamonds sent to try to stop the Gem War failed. This isn't over, and until it is, I can't get distracted." Howlite snapped.
Fire Opal looked away from Howlite's intense gaze. "I guess you are right...I'm sorry."
Howlite's eyes widened at the sight of Fire Opal's lament. Howlite couldn't blame her, Fire Opal was only 1,000 years old, of course, she would be curious, naive, childish, and maybe a little bit right. Howlite felt like Fire Opal didn't deserve to be stuck in such a rough environment at such a young age, but that was just how Gem society worked, you emerged from the ground, usually on some distant, lifeless planet, and it's straight to training.
"I gotta go," Howlite said, getting off the stool and heading towards the door.
"Hey wait! Where are you going?" Fire Opal asked, jumping out of her chair and running after her.
"Out," Howlite replied as she grabbed her bow, quiver, and supply bag and slung them over her shoulder. She opened the barrack door, walked out and slammed it behind her.
Fire Opal stopped at the shut door, she reached for the knob, only to have her arm grabbed by a Ruby.
"I think she wants to be alone." The Ruby said.
"No one wants to be alone." Fire Opal replied as she shook off the Ruby's hand and ran out the door after Howlite.
Yellow Diamond paced across the throne room floor, muttering to herself as her two sisters watched.
"Ugh, those stupid Crystal Gems...and it had to be Rose Quartz too, one of our best leaders!" Yellow muttered.
"Yes, now Sapphire is gone too..." Blue added.
"Shouldn't we prepare for war if we know Sapphire and her associates failed?" White asked.
"Of course, we should!" Yellow stopped in front of them and raised her voice. "But how? Yes, our soldiers have been training, but without Rose Quartz, how are we supposed to get battle strategies, ideas? She was our greatest asset and now, we are fighting her!"
"Rose is not our only strategist," Blue said.
"Well, she was our winning strategist, and we can't use any other Quartz, you know they don't have all their lights on upstairs!" Yellow argued.
"We can use Howlite." White snapped her fingers in realization.
Yellow face-palmed. "White, could you please stop gushing over that Gem. I know you made her, but she is no Rose Quartz."
"I think she is on to something," Blue added.
"How so? Please, enthrall me with your glorious plan, defect." Yellow said mockingly.
Blue furrowed her eyebrows, then stood with pride as she told her plan. "Howlite may not be Rose Quartz, but we can definitely improve her, and she is all for working in our favor. She is loyal, she has military talent, she has made winning battle strategies before, and she is all business. Howlite has the potential to be even more powerful than Rose Quartz. We can modify her body with a series of augmentations, so that she may be stronger, smarter, faster, and have improved senses. Her marksmanship is excellent already, she is strong and has a good brain, but we can make it better."
Yellow's eyes widened, along with White's.
"So you're saying, we make a super soldier," Yellow said.
"Yes, and if Howlite works out, we can make an army of these soldiers, and wipe out anyone who dare defy us...forever, no more Crystal Gems," Blue replied, clenching her fist with determination.
White looked over to Blue, and nodded in approval, Yellow did the same. Blue was desperate for the approval of her sisters, so this was enough to make her shake with delight and blush.
"Jasper! Ametrine! Fetch me Howlite at once!" Yellow ordered.
The two guards standing at the door nodded and ran out of the room.
Shing!
Howlite had her complete focus on the hologram in front of her. She blocked every incoming thrust with exceptional grace, and her thrusts were quick and powerful.
"I usually don't mind soldiers coming up here to practice, but I don't really think you need it..." The Pearl that Howlite grabbed to project the holograms said from the sidelines as she projected another holo-Pearl holding a sword.
"Of course, I need practice, we have a war coming up," Howlite grunted as she blocked another attempt to run her through from the hologram.
"If you say so..." The Pearl said.
Howlite was practicing in one of Homeworld's many Sky Arenas, where battles were fought, as well as gladiator fights took place for entertainment. Pearls were the only Gems Howlite knew that could project holograms, so she happened to snag one to help her practice her swordplay. It was nighttime, and the sky was a deep lilac with crystal stars, however, the Sky Arena lit up at night, especially the designs on the floor, which radiated light blue, except for the Great Diamond Authority logo in the center.
Fire Opal took a space taxi to the Sky Arena and stopped in the doorway to see Howlite sword fighting. She walked out into the Sky Arena, almost tripping over Howlite's lazily placed supplies.
"Howlite!" Fire Opal called.
Howlite turned around abruptly. "Fi..." She replied quietly before almost getting stabbed by the Holo-Pearl. She dodged and sliced through the Holo-Pearl. "Ugh! What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?" Howlite asked with a grunt.
"You don't need to practice. You shouldn't be so stressed." Fire Opal said gently as she approached Howlite slowly.
"I have a right to be stressed. You wouldn't understand..." Howlite replied, tightening her grip on her sword.
"No, you don't. What's bothering you? I can understand if you let me." Fire Opal asked.
"I-" Howlite began before she was interrupted.
"Stop!" Howlite and Fire Opal turned around to see two soldiers, Quartz-like Gems. One had two toned orange skin and orange and black clothes, the other had two toned purple and yellow skin, and her outfit matched.
The purple and yellow Quartz ran over and grabbed Howlite by her wrists. "You have been selected by the Diamonds for a special mission, they advise that we hurry, no dawdling."
"Wait! What is the mission? When are you coming back?" Fire Opal asked, running after the Quartz.
"I can say nothing with any certainty, ma'am, but I would assume...never." The purple and yellow Quartz replied.
"Never? That's impossible, I need her to come back! What about training?" Fire Opal protested.
"Oh yes, you will be assigned a new mentor tomorrow." The Quartz said emotionlessly.
"Wait, you have to, at least, give me an explanation!" Fire Opal shouted. She noticed that Howlite conflicted on whether or not to try and free herself or let them take her.
"Please, go back to your post, and remember that this is all for the greater good. Have a good night." The Quartz ordered as she threw Howlite into the backseat of a space taxi.
"Fi!" Howlite shouted. Fire Opal's teary eyes were locked on her. "Take care of them for me," She said gently as the orange soldier climbed into the seat in front of Howlite and slammed the door. The purple and yellow Quartz got in the seat next to the driver, who looked just as afraid as Fire Opal was.
"Step on it!" The Quartz shouted before slamming the taxi door and riding away, leaving Fire Opal.
"Howlite..." Fire Opal said quietly, breathlessly, yet her voice still hung with sadness. She let a few tears roll and splatter on the floor, before taking a deep sniffle and regaining her composure. She stomped back into the Sky Arena in anger, much to the Pearl's surprise. Fire Opal grabbed Howlite's supplies and slung them over her shoulder.
"Come with me." Fire Opal ordered.
"Where are you going? What's going on?" The Pearl asked as she stood up and ran after Fire Opal.
"I'm going back to the barracks." Fire Opal grunted as she hailed another taxi, the Pearl stopped beside her.
"Might I ask why?" The Pearl asked.
"A Gem of your status shouldn't ask questions." Fire Opal replied brusquely as the two got into the taxi and drove away in silence.
"Gah! Let go of me, will ya?" Howlite shouted as she squirmed in the arms of the two soldiers. The white halls of the Diamond Palace were quiet, so quiet that you could hear the heavy clanking of the soldier's leg armor.
"Absolutely not, we were ordered to keep you restrained at all cost." The purple and yellow Quartz, Ametrine grunted.
Howlite groaned, then let the Quartzes carry her to the Diamond throne room...she remembered when she first walked in there, and she was assigned to the Diamond in which she would serve for the rest of her life, White Diamond. Ever since then, she was stuffed in a barracks with the rest of the Quartzes and Rubies of the same assignment, and she always bore the White Diamond crest on her chest.
She walked into the throne room with the Quartzes, and as she got to the center, she muttered a few words and shook off the Quartzes arms, and they returned back to their stations. Howlite looked up to see the three Diamonds looking down at her, judgementally.
"I see she grew up to be a feisty one," Yellow whispered.
"Yes, she will be a good, ruthless soldier," White whispered back.
Howlite turned to White Diamond. "My Diamond, what do you request of me?"
White chuckled. "They certainly trained you well. Well, my sisters and I are very proud of your progress as a soldier, and you will be assigned to a mission shortly. For now, we're having a party tonight, to celebrate you. Get ready, and make it quick, we'll see you there." White Diamond snapped her fingers and two Pearls ran in to assist Howlite. "Take care of her," White said as Howlite was lead out of the throne room.
The Pearls stripped her and dressed her in a slinky, long, black dress, giggling and fawning all the way. The Pearls also unbraided her hair, leaving the thick, black, wavy waterfall to touch and drag on the floor. Howlite was nervous for the party, but she tried to keep it from fazing her. She always hated fear, she saw it as vulnerability, along with love and sadness. The barracks were always rough, and she quickly learned that there was no room for emotion in the life of a Gem soldier, and she often despised her humanity whenever it peeked it's head to far above the surface of her thought pool. Howlite took a deep breath, slipped on her black, sleek high heels, and the Pearls came to escort her.
"I don't need your protection." Howlite snapped as she walked to the party room with confidence and perfect posture. The Pearls listened to her and followed close behind.
Howlite entered the party room, and it was everything she expected of a Gem party, techno music, darkness with flashing multicolored lights, and the silhouettes of the other partygoers dancing rhythmically, but careful not to accidentally fuse. She immediately decided that she was not in a mood to dance, so she quickly picked up a drink at the mini-bar and decided to talk to the aristocrats who were stationary, although they seemed to be busy all clawing for the Diamond's attention as they sat on the lavish thrones not paying attention to any of them.
"Ah! If it isn't the Gem of the hour! Howlite! Come, have a seat." White Diamond shouted, then shoved a Pearl off the armrest of her throne and patted it, beckoning Howlite to sit.
Howlite sat on the armrest and watched the other partygoers, taking occasional sips of her drink just like she did in the barracks. White tapped her on the shoulder.
"How are the beverages?" White asked, her voice honeyed.
"Mm, pretty good," Howlite said quietly.
"Are you sure you don't want to dance? It'll be fun...you better let loose before your mission..." White whispered in Howlite's ear with a hint of charm speak.
"Nah, I'm not a dancer." Howlite turned White down.
"What about dancing with me? We could outdo everyone here, just say yes..." White whispered.
White Diamond had always possessed hypnotic abilities, and they worked well at breaking the nearly impenetrable walls that Howlite had. Howlite followed White Diamond onto the dance floor, still mesmerized. White had summoned her two ivory fans, and a zesty, yet techno tune had begun to play as she began to do a mix of belly dancing, salsa, and flamenco, shaking her hips and waving the fans elegantly, moving closer and closer to Howlite, who had begun an awkward ballet routine. White did a precise twirl before grabbing Howlite's hand and pulling her close, so close that their faces and bodies were almost touching. White Diamond pressed her fan against Howlite's cheek, then let it glide down her face and lift up Howlite's chin. She pulled the fan off of Howlite's face, then the two did a synchronized twirl away from each other. During the twirl, White grabbed Howlite by the hand again so that Howlite couldn't escape, pulled her in for a final dip, and as Howlite slid in toward White and got poofed by White by sliding into her fan blade.
The sudden cloud of smoke didn't faze the guests as much as you think, instead, they saw it as an effect, like a fog machine. The guests cheered and kept dancing, whilst White picked up Howlite's lifeless, prism-shaped Gem, smirking to herself. She walked over to her sisters, who were just as happy to see the Gem in White's hands as she was. They left the party room to get the lab ready, for they already had the augmentation built.
Howlite's eyes blinked open, only to be blinded by a bright light. She laid in the same old dentist chair, strapped in tight, and her eyes darted left and right as she watched scientists, medics, and technicians dart back and forth across the lab, fiddling with paperwork, fumbling with chemicals and materials. Suddenly, a pair of golden yellow eyes met hers. Howlite recognized them as Yellow Diamond's, but her face was covered mostly by a surgeon's mask and her hair covered by white cloth.
"What are you doing?" Howlite growled, baring her teeth.
"Getting you ready for your mission." Yellow Diamond replied.
"Shouldn't my own Diamond be operating on me?" Howlite asked.
"Oh, she is. Now please forgive us, we ran out of anesthetics this morning. This may sting a little, and remember, this is all for the greater good." Yellow Diamond said, pulling safety goggles over her eyes.
"T-The greater good." Howlite managed to stutter quietly. She didn't want to admit it, but she was afraid, she was shaking in her chair. It's not every day you're stripped from your routine, poofed at a party and regenerated into some strange surgery.
She suddenly felt cold hands touching her Gem. Howlite looked down to see a medic, who looked like a Fluorite, dusting it off and polishing it for who knows what. She stepped away and turned to Yellow Diamond. Howlite caught a bit of their conversation.
"Her Gem is ready, my Diamond. When she was poofed, we applied the augmentation into her Gem, now all we must do is perform it on her eyes." The Fluorite said quietly.
Howlite cocked an eyebrow, then squinted in suspicion. She saw Yellow Diamond nod, then the shadows of two medics loomed over her, holding menacing-looking metal tools. The kind that cut, prod, snip, and transform. Howlite never thought that the information was relevant, but she realized within that time that she had an irrational fear of these tools. The tools approached her face, and she shut her eyes tight, but one medic pried her left eye open with her cold rubber gloves and began operating.
Sting. Yeah right. This was not just a sting, more like the most excruciating pain that Howlite had ever experienced, and she had been shot three times in one battle. This pain caused her to cry out no matter how hard she tried to hold it in. Not only could she not blink so her eyes were dry, her eyes were being stabbed, jabbed, and cut open with the tools, and the pain was as painful as it sounds, even worse. Not only that, every few minutes, the medics would spray a weird cleansing substance in her eyes, which felt like corrosive acid. After around fifteen minutes featuring many spectrums of ache, burn, and the sound of tearing tissue, and not to mention, Howlite lost vision in her left eye, it was onto the second one, which felt three times worse because of the existing soreness in her left one.
"How is she holding up?" White Diamond's voice cut through the agonized cries of Howlite.
"Fine." The medics replied in unison.
"Fine? Do I sound fine?" Howlite shouted before wailing in pain again.
"That's perfectly normal, especially without anesthetics." White Diamond replied. "Now, could you hurry up? The faster this one gets done the sooner we can move onto more augmentations."
"More augmentations?" Howlite asked with a quiver in her voice. She wanted to cry but knew she couldn't. Surprisingly, her mind wandered back to Fire Opal, her starstruck attitude, her encouragement, her innocence...Howlite felt like she needed to be everything that Fire Opal thought she was, and if this helped her fulfill it, then she was going to do it. "I'll do it." She added impulsively, but yet her determined voice hung with security and sureness.
"Excellent. Now resume, I don't wish to slow the procedure." White Diamond exited gracefully but slammed the door behind her.
The procedure continued, and the pain resumed, along with the loud cries of Howlite. She could tell the surgery was reaching its end, because her vision began to cloud darker and darker, like an eclipse. By the time it ended, everything was black.
"What do you mean she's blind?" Yellow Diamond screeched at a Fluorite, who flinched and held her head low as Yellow screamed.
"Yes, my Diamond. We're not sure how long she's going to stay like this, she's certainly not good for anything at this point. In fact, according to our speculations, you may have just permanently blinded one of your greatest assets." The Fluorite replied, looking at a holo-screen on her arm.
"Don't explain to me my failures! Discard her! Cast her with all the other defects, see if I care. Now do it quickly, a blind Gem is no use to us here." Yellow Diamond commanded, dismissing the Fluorite with a frustrated wave of her hand.
Howlite was sitting on the guest bed, oblivious to what was happening. She assumed her blindness was merely a temporary effect, and all she had to do was sit for a few days and her vision would be back to normal. Boy, was she ever wrong. Howlite patted her knees rhythmically as she enjoyed the silence. The Fluorite entered the room with a loud creak of the door, accompanied by a Jasper, unbeknownst to Howlite.
"The Diamonds request of you." The Fluorite said cooly as the Jasper lifted Howlite by the arms.
Howlite did not argue, she trusted the Diamonds despite the pain she had experienced. It wasn't just naivety that fueled this trust, but also the fact that she had been under the Diamonds' allegiance her whole life, and there was really nowhere else to turn. The Fluorite and Jasper led Howlite to the docking port for a spaceship, manned by an Agate. All it took was a single look for the Agate to understand what was happening. The Agate took Howlite and left the Fluorite and Quartz. She took Howlite to the escape pod where she would be shot off into the void of space. Howlite was oblivious as the ship took off silently and quickly, soon traveling out into depths of space, warping to a separate galaxy, even. The Agate pressed a few buttons on the controls with cheery beeps, and with that, the escape pod shook violently and blasted off into space.
"I have discarded the pod, now making the return back to Homeworld." The Agate spoke into a communications device before turning her ship around and blasting back off to Homeworld in hyperspace.
Howlite had no clue what was happening, but fear teemed through her like an electric shock as soon as the pod shook. Her hands slammed against the walls of the escape pod and she felt around. She pounded her fists on the walls soon after, but to no avail, she was trapped. How could she be betrayed so easily? It didn't matter where she was to know that, whether be some rehab center, torture chamber, dungeon, or worse, an escape pod, she still knew exactly what the Diamonds whom she trusted for so long did. They never were proud of her, no, they simply were trying to get rid of her...But why? She thought... Howlite felt like she did everything she was correct, in fact, she even won battles for them in multiple wars. It was all too much...She sacrificed her life, her inner peace, her relationships and emotions for her Diamonds, only to be tossed away like a messed up doodle. Howlite began to sob, although it caused more pain in her eyes, but she didn't care. She hadn't cried in a long time, and let's just say it was long overdue.
The pod continued to drift deeper and deeper into the silence of deep space...
After three days of drifting, Howlite's pod began to plummet into the atmosphere of a blue planet known as Earth. It was a young planet, not light to show through the night, just land and sea. No sign of civilization. As gravity pulled the pod down faster, Howlite's insides thundered like a bass drum. Closer and closer to the surface she plummeted, and she crept back into the back of the pod, where she braced for the hard impact onto the surface...
Ba Bum, Ba Bum, Ba Bum...
The quick, heavy pounding of Howlite's insides drowned out everything else, but there were faint hints of the popping, sparking wires that were destroyed in the crash, the crackle of green flames, and the light howl of the cold winter wind. Or at least, that's what Howlite thought they were. Despite all efforts, Howlite couldn't regain her sight, but she decided to try and heighten her senses by climbing out of the destroyed escape pod. Once she found her way out through feeling, she fell face first into what felt like snow. Howlite adjusted to the cold quickly and decided to crawl around on her hands and knees and feel around, although she was still shaky and traumatized from the crash. Every twig she stepped on, every mournful song of the wind, every tree she bumped into caused her to jump. There were several nights spent in her broken pod where she lay awake, afraid, alone, haunted by all that had happened.
Little did she know, she was going to spend her first year on Earth that way...
It was winter again. Light flakes of snow drifted towards the ground slowly, and the slow wind acted as partners in their dance. The forest was quiet, there were few birds or animals at all for that matter, just the leafless branches occasionally moving with gusts.
Howlite was actually feeling quite adequate, going for a stroll through the forest, using tree trunks to prop her up. She had adapted decently, but she was still quite an anxious soul, so she was never really calm for very long. Her once tightly braided hair was a wild, loose tangle of some parts which were still braided and the frowzy parts that came undone in the crash which were knotted and crimpy.
Not too far off, were the thundering pounds of three horses galloping through the woods. The breath of the horses puffed out in light fogs through the cold winter air. Surprisingly, there were Gems on these horses.
"I saw it just around this bend, I swear, there's a Gem in these woods!" A dark green and salmon pink Gem said, riding on a chocolate brown horse alongside the great Crystal Gem leader, Rose Quartz, sitting prestigiously on a horse as white as the snow at their feet.
"It could've just been a human, I wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly, Unakite." Another Gem added, a pinkish-red and blue one, to be exact.
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Garnet! I followed the mystery figure to...a Homeworld escape pod!" Unakite, the dark green Gem, replied smugly.
"Then, why didn't you just capture her there?" Rose Quartz asked, curiously.
Unakite flinched at Rose's words, as though Rose was scolding her. "Um...Uh...Ah, you see, I wanted you to decide what we do with her, I mean, I didn't want to just you know, burden you with a new Gem suddenly! Hehe, you know what I mean?" Unakite stuttered.
"Mm, sensible, but it would be better if we don't waste the energy of these poor Earth creatures when we could've just taken her in one trip," Rose replied.
"Yes, ma'am," Unakite said quietly, keeping her eyes on the trail ahead of her.
Howlite felt vibrations on the ground...She heard the hoofbeats approaching...as well as the distant conversations...the scentless air suddenly had a tint of animal manure and dirt...Howlite had no choice but to start running towards the escape pod where she had found refuge for so long.
"There she is, after her!" Unakite shouted as she saw Howlite's shadow run off through the forest. The group directed their horses and urged them to go faster.
"Argh, next time we're taking speeders, these creatures are slow and weak!" Garnet shouted. The others obviously knew it was Ruby talking.
Every fallen tree, root, or rock that stood in Howlite's way tripped her and slowed her down, whilst the pursuing horses jumped over them agilely, soon gaining on Howlite up close. Howlite's thoughts were overshadowed by heartbeat, footsteps and panting, whimpering breath. The cuts on her arms and legs from life in the forest burned in the cold, and they became further painful as falls and oncoming branches exacerbated them.
"She seems almost...afraid." Rose Quartz said quietly to herself. "Quit running! We mean no harm!" She shouted.
Howlite looked behind, although that didn't do much. During that time, her foot got stuck underneath a fallen tree. She fell face first into the snow and struggled as she heard the hoofbeats getting closer. Howlite was panicking inside, struggling for all she had. The hoofbeats slowed, and she felt one of the riders jump off into the snow. More footsteps approached her.
"Are you alright?" A smooth, soothing voice asked.
Howlite fearfully struggled more to escape before replying gruffly. "Yes."
"Your appearance begs to differ." Howlite heard another voice.
"Unakite..." The smooth voice said scoldingly.
"Y-You're...Gems? You must be the rebels! You're not going to get me alive!" Howlite growled.
"Not like that, we're not." Howlite felt a warm hand wrap around hers and free her.
"W-What are you going to do with me?" Howlite tried not to sound fearful, yet her voice was as shaky as the rest of her limbs.
"We're going to help you." The smooth voice said. Howlite felt the owner of the voice left her up onto what felt like a furry, yet hard creature. She also felt the owner mount the unknown object. "Hold onto me." The voice took Howlite's arms and wrapped them around her waist.
"Let's head back to base," Unakite added before the four of them galloped away, leaving Howlite's escape pod to decay, hopefully along with Howlite's trauma.
Rhodonite snapped out of her daydream. The light of the setting sun shining through the window behind her. She scoured the room tiredly, only to see Blue standing directly in front of her.
"I've noticed you are now on probation. I can't really help you there, you are officially a danger to Gem society, I hope you're happy." Blue Diamond said.
Rhodonite sat cross-legged on her bed within her guest room, a beeping, robotic, green probation shackle wrapped around her left leg. A look of pure hatred was spread on her face. "Happy? Do I look happy to you? Not only am I stuck with this thing, but do you have any idea what I have just endured? Maybe, I don't know, be supportive and understand?"
"What happened, besides corruption? You're better now, what happened to that happy, determined Rho I was talking to a few days ago?" Blue asked.
"I'll tell you what happened, your sister, Yellow happened. I'm not happy, no, I never truly was, but I am certainly determined, more than ever! Your sister's words are convincing, and they sting like knives and leave my sanity more poisoned than ever before. However, I will still fight this war...now I'm not sure if my cause is one of greater good, or of unimaginable evil, but I will fight it, no matter what. Make your decision now, Blue, join the heroes or join the villain, the madman, the devil, the wounded and spiteful animal." Rhodonite raised her voice and stood up.
"I guess, I'll be with the heroes." Blue Diamond replied.
"Fine, run back to your Diamonds, see if I care." Rhodonite growled and crossed her arms in a furious huff.
"What? I said I was joining the heroes!" Blue shouted.
"Well, I'm certainly not a hero, am I? I don't know what I am, and I really don't give a damn, but whether I am a great hero or a powerful, feared monster, I am meant to do this, and you can't stop me." Rhodonite said. "War means destruction...and although I never wanted the deaths of innocent Gems, it will happen. According to Earth views, that makes me somewhat of a terrorist, does it not?"
"I don't know of Earth views! But what I do know is that I agree with you, and I'm joining your side. I don't know what happened with your sister, but we better find a way to get you out of that shackle, because I'm not going to let this die down." Blue Diamond replied, taking on Rhodonite's previous determined nature.
Rhodonite's eyes widened in surprise. She turned to face Blue, who held her arms out for a supportive hug. She ran over and took the hug, tears leaking from her eyes and onto Blue's clothes. After a few minutes, Rhodonite pulled away and held Blue's shoulders.
"Did you have a dream while you were gone?" Blue Diamond asked.
Rhodonite nodded shakily. "This war isn't just about freedom...it's about avengement," Rhodonite mumbled.
"But mostly freedom." Blue smiled.
"Yeah." Rhodonite lightly smiled back.
"You're a hero to me...remember that." Blue Diamond pulled Rhodonite in for another hug.
"Yeah," Rhodonite mumbled to herself, although she still wasn't sure.
Heeeey and Happy Valentines' Day!
For me, it is Eat cake and Try Not To Be Sad You're Still Single Day
But my birthday was on the twelfth so I guess I still get to have people worship me hehe
I apologize for taking so long on this one..for it required a lot of thought and words...and my life has been quite stressful so it took a bit to get around to it.
This took a lot of work so reviews are encouraged! Hope to hear from you guys soon!
-AmethystGalaxy999