A/N: This is, of course, continued from the previous chapter. I don't know why, but I just get the feeling that Ruby and Sapphire didn't quite see eyes-to-eye at first.
It doesn't take long to figure out why Ruby's around. She possesses remarkable strength for her size, and the rapport she has with most of the inmates of Containment Unit 6—banter and somewhat crude jokes, mostly—makes it so that no one goes out of their way to test Sapphire's resolve or character. Instead, they talk to her.
Sapphire has to admit, she doesn't quite know what to do when she's not expecting a fight every time she goes into the recreation center.
Nevertheless.
"You don't have to walk me back to my room, you know," she tells Ruby, though she does make a point of keeping her tone light. "I know the way."
Ruby shrugs, which is what she does whenever Sapphire gets too close to the truth and she doesn't know how to handle it. "We were having a good time. Didn't want it to end."
Didn't want Sapphire getting herself into trouble on the walk back to her quarters, is more like it.
If Ruby thinks anything of her doubtful silence, then she doesn't get the chance to remark upon it before they hear a sardonic "Well, isn't this just the cutest thing."
Of course, Ruby isn't friends with everyone at Containment Unit 6. The probability of being friends with everyone is painfully small.
Ruby sets her jaw and turns around, exuding an air of annoyance. "Onyx. I knew I smelled you coming."
Sapphire looks between her allegedly incognito handler and Onyx, and concludes that she has no idea what the hell Ruby is trying to do. Every gem here is either asymmetrical or otherwise dysfunctional, it's true, but picking a fight with one that's twice your size really doesn't seem like a good idea.
Onyx, who is predictably dressed in dark tones, is not asymmetrical. Her gem is set in the space just under her collarbone. Her physical construct is not the most muscular, but she's also a far cry from being built like a pearl (for example). Her lack of asymmetry means she possesses some other instability which makes her unfit to join the general populous, and that makes her all the more dangerous.
Onyx's dark eyes narrow at the insult. "Is that the best you can do, little Ruby?" She gestures to Sapphire. "Trying to impress your girlfriend?"
"You're speaking, but all I hear is your inferiority complex."
Suddenly, apropos of nothing, Sapphire has a vision. This happens sometimes. Her future vision is fickle at best, only occasionally responding when she beckons for it, and taking over all of her senses in others.
It's short and to the point, illustrating Ruby being caught by the abdomen and slammed into the metal wall in the hallway by Onyx's large war hammer. She retreats into her gem to prevent further damage, but it's already cracked. Considering who and where they are, there isn't much hope for repairs. What happens next doesn't even bear mentioning.
Sapphire returns to her senses a bit disoriented, as usual, but she's just in time. Onyx officially has her hammer out, and Ruby has produced a pair of boxing gloves on both hands. She's stubborn, unafraid, about to charge.
Sapphire moves without thinking, swiping Ruby out of the hammer's trajectory and circling around Onyx. She deposits Ruby in the bigger gem's blind spot before summoning her own knuckledusters. All it takes is a punch to the back of the leg and a nasty jolt of electricity, and Onyx, bewildered and insulted, crumples into a temporarily nonfunctional heap.
"Come on," she says to Ruby, who is wearing entirely enigmatic expression. "It only lasts for a couple of seconds. We need to get out of here."
"What the hell was that?" Ruby lets out a groan and starts clutching at her temples, but she moves out of the way when Sapphire moves to grab her arm and sprint out of Onyx's range. Her expression is clearing now, becoming less ambiguous. She's furious, for some reason.
"You were going to get clobbered," Sapphire replies calmly. "And I stopped that from happening. We're wasting time, we have to get—"
Ruby's hands fall to her sides, ball up into fists. Her eyes narrow. "No, I don't have to do anything you say. You don't give me orders."
Where is all of this hatred and volatility coming from?
"I'm just trying to help!"
"Yeah, well I don't want your help! Did you hear me ask for it? No? That's right, you didn't, because I don't need it. I can take care of myself, so just go to your room and leave me alone!"
What the hell just happened?
When Sapphire replies, she makes sure she doesn't give an inch. Neither Ruby nor anyone else is going to have any idea of what's going on under the frosty exterior she's projecting. "That's all I ever wanted to do."
Off to the side, Onyx groans and begins to stir. It's time to get out of here.
If Ruby has a comeback, then Sapphire doesn't stay to hear it. She's already locking herself in her room, feeling something that is either anger or disappointment licking at her insides like fire. It won't be tamped down, but she has to douse it somehow. She has to get a grip on herself.
Sapphire starts humming, and when that's not enough she starts singing. She doesn't go to full volume, but she does make it loud enough to drown out the cacophony of indignation and hurt that's going on in her head. It's a song that has no words, but the melody is familiar and soothing. She sings until she feels calm again, and then she drops into the chair by her communication station and looks down at the gem in her right hand.
So much for not getting into any fights.