Original Idea by: Scraps
Collaboration work with: DeityDeviantWarrior
Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar
Chapter 6: The Insidiae Massacre
[*]
Homeworld, Main Courtyard, several weeks later
[*]
Crowds of Gems swarmed in the courtyard as they prepared for a grand message from the Tribunal. It was apparent that the newly created Warp pads were finally installed onto the various planets that were inhabited by the Gems. Now the time had come for the Gemians to open these pads and expand the Gem's reach twice fold. As the crowds of Gems flocked in the courtyard, among them were three Gems of special notion. There was Emerald, Howlite and Hematite, who were in the center of the mob…in the blazing sun…wearing the full uniforms.
"By Gemia, how much longer?" Howlite groaned as she summoned her ax to shield her from the sun. "If I stand her any long, I'm gonna pass out."
"Stay strong Howlie." Emerald said as he wiped his brow of sweat. "It should be any minute."
"I think if you two didn't wear such complex suits, this would be much more bearable." Hematite said with a sigh. "Why don't you wear your Valor armor? It was made for situations involving intense temperatures.
Emerald and Howlite looked at each other and nodded in agreement, in that instant, there was a light grey flash and as soon as they could see Howlite, they saw that she was wearing a dark grey and blue body armor. As she looked at it, she sighed in relief as she felt much better.
"Ah much better." Howlite sighed as she stretched. "Thanks for the advice Hemmy, this think breaths like a Vosha's gas bag."
"My pleasure Howlite." Hematite replied with a smile. Suddenly noticing the crowd beginning to cheer and salute as he looked up to see the Gems looking up towards the top of the largest building in the courtyard, this was the main building of the Homeworld and it was the home of the Crystal Tribunal. At the top of the building, there was a balcony, which was occupied by three Gemians, known as the Crystal Tribunal.
"By Gemia…" Hematite said as he saluted his up bringers. "Allow me to prove my worth to your children, and be accepted in your holy quest for order and balance."
[*]
At the top of the main building, the three Gemians looked down at their subjects. The cheers of the crowd could be heard from all the way up.
"Such idolization…" Topaz scoffed as they crossed their arms in disgust. "We are their leaders, not Gods, and yet they phrase us like this."
"They should Topaz." Diamond replied as he looked down to the crowd below. "It is their duty to serve us and obey our orders. Unless you want to join Onychinos and attack those colony ships."
"Of course I don't, but this…this is wrong." Topaz said as they faced their brother. "That war has warped their perspectives of us, and this rogue Gem is just amplifying it."
"They need to be controlled so no more of these "rogues" have a chance to spawn." Diamond explained as he crossed his arms. "I recall that a few eons ago, you would agree with me on this, or have your Secundos changed your tune?"
"That's enough my dear siblings." Rose intervened as she pushed herself between the two Gemians. "You two can bicker all you want after this."
Diamond and Topaz grumbled as they turned towards the crowd. As Diamond stood forward, the crowd began to cheer loudly. Diamond then turned to Topaz and smiled before he turned back to the crowd and shouted to them.
"COMPARCO!" Diamond barked to the crowd, which went silent in an instant. It was so quiet, one could hear a grain of sand drop onto the stone ground of the courtyard. Diamond then stood back and grinned at the scowling Topaz. Rose then stood forward and addressed the crowd.
"Gems of the Homeworld, I am Rose Quartz the Lion of Gemia, to my left is my sibling Topaz, the Taskmaster of Gemia, and to my right is my brother, Master Diamond, the Old King of Gemia. We are here to speak to you regarding the terrorist known as Onyx, who has for the past several months been attacking colony ships and abducting Gems within them. We are doing our best to investigate this matter and bring this Gem to justice."
The Gems below cheered, Rose then turned to Topaz, who handed her a small gem stone. Rose then placed the stone on the base of the balcony and turned it, causing the Gem to emit a bright light which created a map of the galaxy above the Gems. Emerald, Hematite and Howlite watched in awe at the huge map above them.
"For now, my siblings and I are pleased to announce the finalization of the planetary Gem warp pad system. With this system, a Gem will be able to teleport from one planet to another almost instantaneously. In addition, special security measures are being created to regulate and track those who use the warp pads, with this, we can reduce the use of colony ships and make it easier to capture this Onyx."
As the Gems cheered, Diamond looked up to the map and stroked his chin, muttering a command under his breath.
"Onychinos, ad mecum…"
"…and now my brother Master Diamond, has something to say."
Diamond looked at Rose and approached the pedestal. As he did, the crowd cheered before falling flat silent.
"Thank you Rose." Diamond said as he looked to his sister. "An interesting strategy, but now here is a more effective strategy. I have been creating an elite group of warriors to combat this foe. But I need Gems worthy of being part of my personal army. While Rose suggests running away and waiting, I have an alternative: join the Diamond elite and help crush Onychinos once and for all."
The Gems below muttered and looked to each other with concern, they had already finished one war, but was it wise to start another? Just then, Emerald dashed in front of the crowd and faced them, grabbing their attention as well as the Tribunal.
"Listen, this Onyx is nothing more than a…uh…a virus!…and the only way to utterly destroy a virus is not to run away and let it spread, but to stop it before it attacks our most vital areas and get bigger."
The Gems looked to each other in agreement as they began to look back to Diamond and the tribunal and begin to cheer.
"Yeah, let's end this pest once and for all." A Gem shouted as he summoned his weapon.
"Smite the parasite." Another Gem shouted as she summoned her weapon.
As more and more Gems began to summon their weapons, Diamond smiled as he looked to Rose who gave a look of concern.
"Diamond, please don't do this." Rose pleaded as she approached her brother. "Don't force them into a war with each other, don't make the same mistake Tiberium made."
"I do not make mistakes Rose." Diamond said as he looked back to the crowd, who began to cheer their master on. "I erase them."
Just then, a large shadow descended upon the courtyard as the Gems and tribunal looked upward to see the giant ship above them. It was of no design that no Gem has ever seen before. But it resembled a Metalian ship, only with black Gems upon it.
"It's Onyx!" Topaz shouted as they summoned their familiar Nilrem and summoned their lance. "Diamond, get the Gems to the warp pads now!"
Diamond turned and jumped off the balcony, slamming onto the ground, he gestured to the Gems to follow him to the large warp pad building. As he and the Gems rushed towards the building. Diamond made a faint smile as he whispered another command.
"Peridot, incipiunt tempus duobus."
In that instant, the Gems and Diamond felt the ground rumble as they suddenly watched as the large building suddenly explode before them. As the Gems watched in horror and shock, Diamond watched the spectacle with a grin and single obsidian tear in his eye. He then turned towards the Gems, who turned as they saw the ship above them open up and begin to drop large red crystals below.
"RUN!" Diamond shouted as he rushed with the Gems, summoning his mace and knocking away falling crystals. Diamond "tried" to summon his familiar Chalcos, but before he "could", he heard the sound of flying objects as black blurs shot around the air. Just then, one of them grabbed a Gem and lifted her into the air. The others watched in horror as the Gem was poofed into her Gem form before she was brought up to the ship. The other Gems looked to Diamond in panic as he raised his arms towards them.
"Now do you see our options, we can fight and end this, or run and be slaughtered one by one." Diamond explained as another blur grabbed another Gem. "Now who will join me in ending this virus once and for all?"
The Gems cheered as Diamond watch them with amusement. He then watched as Topaz, Rose were bringing a crowd of Gems away through one of Lion's portals while Emerald Howlite and Hematite were helping Gems into a bunker.
"Good." Diamond said as he looked back up at the ship above and then back to the Gems. "Now prove your worth as my new elite, Onychinos is behind you."
As the Gems summoned their weapons, they turned to see that there was nothing behind them. Just ruins and discarded weapons.
"Master…there's nothing behind us. She's not…beh-" One of the Gems said before she was interrupted by a sharp pain in her back, the other Gems looked at the Gem and saw a black crystal protruding out of her chest. Suddenly, they felt the same pain as they saw the same spikes protruding from their chests. As one of the Gems looked behind her, she saw a grey skinned Gem with black hair and a black suit with a yellow triangle in the center. She also had large black crystal claws extending from her hand, which she was using to stab the unsuspecting Gems from behind.
"I believe the Master said that I was behind you." Onyx said with a grin. "Serves you right for not listening to him. But don't worry, I'm sure we can fix that."
Before they could do anything, the Gems poofed into Gems and fell onto the ground. Onyx then picked them up and put them into a grey bubble. She then turned to Diamond and bowed to him.
"Well done Onychinos." Diamond said as he crossed his arms. "My siblings are escorting Gems to one of the backup colonies and all the warp pads save the Tribunal Hub pad has been destroyed by Peridot. Without the option to escape, my siblings will be forced to help create an army to combat against you."
"Thank you Master." Onyx replied as she raised her hand with the bubble. "But to be honest, it was our new recruits that truly won today."
Just then, a large figure stopped next to Onyx, it was triangular in shape and had for eyes on each side of its head.
"Agate, report." Diamond commanded as he turned to the Gemdroid.
"[MASTER DIAMOND…THIS UNIT PROUDLY REPORTS THAT ALL GEMS WITHIN THE VISIBLE VICINITY HAVE BEEN APPREHENDED AND HARVESTED…SCANS HAVE REPORTED THAT 500 MILLION GEMS ARE MISSING FROM THE TOTAL REPORT…38 MILLION ARE RESIDING IN A METALIAN BUNKER BENEATH ONE OF THE BUILDINGS…THIS UNIT IS READY TO INTERCEPT AND ACQUIRE TARGETS.]"
"No…" Diamond commanded as he raised his hand to the machine. "Return to Insidiae and prepare the next batch. I will send the elite to your position, unaware and ready for you to strike. Now get going, my sibling should be here any minute."
The Agate saluted as it and the rest of the Agates returned to the ship above. He then turned to Onyx and extended his hand.
"You know what to do." Diamond said as he felt a heavy object in his hand.
"Understood." Onyx replied. "I will not fail you."
"You better pray that you don't." Diamond growled. "Now go!"
Diamond watched as his servant disappeared in a column of light from below the ship. As he watched the ship ascend into the stars and blast off, Diamond looked to his hand, which has a dark red crystal attached to a metal cylinder. Diamond summoned his mace and then twisted a dial on the cylinder of the crystal before he pressed it, causing the crystal to beep and hum as he placed it upon his chest. As he felt the crystal begin to heat up the beeping start to speed up, he closed his eyes and smiled.
"Ego sum Ordinis. Ego sum Praeceptor. Ego. Amo. Obsidian Sanctum."
The next thing Diamond knew he felt an intense heat as he was thrown back. Diamond felt his body slam into the ground as rocks and crystals fell on top of him. Diamond shouted as he felt pain course through his body. He looked and saw that his left hand was blown off, as well as several portions of his body. As he began to drift in and out of consciousness, he saw a pink figure rush up beside him, as well as a gold colored figure.
"Dimy!" the pink figure said as she moved closer. "Please stay with us."
As Diamond drifted into darkness, he could feel his remaining arm start to feel wet as the pain began to fade.
"It's working!" a familiar voice said. "Keep going."
[*]
Homeworld, Tribunal Chambers, several hours later
[*]
Diamond quickly shot up as he looked around and saw that he was back in his room. He then stood up in his bed and looked around, noticing the balcony that was open before him. Stepping out of the balcony, he saw the destroyed ruins of the homeworld, devastated by the attack from earlier. Diamond looked upon the devastation with a small grin, but the smile faded as he felt a pang of pain from his chest.
"What have I done?" Diamond thought to himself, only to feel a burning tear trickle down her cheek. "Is…this all going to be worth the price?"
"Of course it won't Diamond!"
Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him, he turned to see to see standing there was Tiberium with Peridot in his arms.
"Diamond help me!" Peridot shouted as she tried to break free, tears rolled down her eyes as she looked right towards the Old King.
"PERIDOT!" Diamond shouted as he tried to run towards her, only to feel two sets of arms hold him back. Diamond looked and saw that both Topaz and Rose were the ones holding him back.
"Let me go! Please!" Diamond exclaimed as he tried to break free. "Siblings please! I need to save her!"
"You can't save it." Topaz said in a black tone. "It is an abomination to existence and it needs to be destroyed…slowly…for our cause."
"No…" Diamond pleaded as tears began to pour from his eyes, he then turned to Rose, who was smiling at him. "You can't! Please! I'm begging you! I'm the one behind the attack, behind Onyx, behind everything! Not her! Take my life! Kill me! Just let her go!"
"Aw, don't cry for you defective toy Dimey. After all, it's just was a disgusting souless sex machine. Just to prove it, I'll dissect it slowly and show you every piece one by one."
"NO!" Diamond shouted as he tried to break free, only to see Howlite and Emerald in the place of Rose. Diamond then looked forward to see Peridot on a table, her arms and legs bound to the table as a set of tools were set beside Rose and Tiberium.
"ROSE STOP! I'M SORRY! I WAS BEHIND EVERYTHING! OBSIDIAN TOLD ME THAT DOING THIS WOULD SAVE THE UNIVERSE! PERIDOT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS! DON'T HURT HER! I 'M BEGGING YOU!
"D…Diamond…" Peridot muttered weakly as she looked to Diamond. "H-help me…."
Diamond watched as Rose summoned a saw and began to slowly saw into Peridot's leg, causing the green Gem to emit a high pitch scream as dark green blood began to pour into a small tub beneath the table. Diamond reeled back in agony before Hematite appeared and held Diamond's head straight.
"You must watch the freak die Master." Hematite hissed into Diamond's ear. "Hearing its screams will be more satisfying than any number of times you fucked it."
"GEMIA DAMN YOU!" Diamond screamed as he tried to break free. He then heard a wet plop as he saw Peridot's limbs on the floor. He then looked up to the bloody Rose, who had a small knife in her hands. "GEMIA DAMN YOU ALL! KILL ME! KILL ME INSTEAD!"
"See Dimy, there's no blood, just wires and metal." Rose said as she walked up to Diamond and rubbed her hand on his face, smearing his face with Peridot's blood. "But if that doesn't make you believe, then this will."
Rose walked up to the limbless Peridot and placed the knife over her stomach. Diamond watched in horror as Rose stabbed the knife in Peridot's stomach and pulled downward.
"NO!" Diamond screamed as he tried to break free. He watched as Rose began to rip out Peridot's intestines and throw them to the floor. She then turned around and walked up to Diamond, holding a dark green pulsing organ in her hands.
"If she is a Gem like us, then why does she have this?" Rose said as she pushed it closer to Diamond. "It's a Metalian core. Is it not?"
"YOU'RE INSANE!" Diamond screamed. "YOU'RE ALL INSANE!"
Diamond stopped screaming as he felt Hematite grab his mouth and force it open, allowing Rose to stuff the organ into his mouth and hold it shut.
"Swallow or I'll cut off its head." Rose said with a grin. "…and no vomiting, that's cheating."
Diamond obliged and began to swallow the slimy organ. He gagged as he felt it slide down his throat. But he was finally able to do so. As he gasped he looked up to Rose, who held her bloody saw in her hands.
"I did what you asked." Diamond said between gasps. "I kept my end of the deal, now fulfill yours."
"…no…"
"…What?" Diamond said with shock. "B-but you sa-…"
"Just kidding!" Rose said gleefully as the rest of the Gems began to laugh around her. "I'm gonna kill this thing regardless of what you do. You of all Gems should know that."
Diamond felt Hematite hold Diamond's head forward as Peridot looked to him, blood trickled from her mouth and nose as she gasped, looking to him with a look of fear.
"I'm sorry…" Diamond whispered as black burning tears poured from his eyes. "I…I'm so sorry…"
Diamond watched as Rose began to saw through Peridot's neck. As the green Gem screamed, her voice began to become disoriented and warped as the blade of the saw began cutting through her vocal cords. Eventually the saw blade finally cut through enough to allow Peridot's head to bend back, dangling off by the skin from the back. As Diamond looked to the remains of Peridot, the Gems released him, as he knelt to Peridot's body, he looked up to see Rose, Topaz and the others were gone, when he looked back to Peridot, he saw that she was gone as well. Diamond then looked up to see Obsidian standing before him.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?" Diamond shouted at the Leviathan. "I'M DOING ALL I CAN TO SAVE THEM…TO SAVE HER…WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?"
Obsidian slowly leaned in towards Diamond before it burst into a cloud of black smoke around the Old King. Diamond suddenly began to gasp for air, feeling the smoke enter his mouth and nose with each gasp. After the last of the smoke was consumed, Diamond made a large gasp before he fell over.
[*]
"NO!" Diamond shouted as he shot up from his bed, startling Rose, who was sitting beside him.
"Dimy! You're okay!" Rose said cheerfully as she hugged him. Diamond watched as Rose pulled away and smiled at him. He then saw an image of Rose with a bloody saw and sadistic grin before she returned to normal. Diamond gasped as he looked at his hands and legs, noticing that his wounds were gone, but the scars remained. Looking to Rose, he realized that all that happened before, was a dream...somewhat.
"Where…where am I?" Diamond said as he looked around. "What happened?"
"Onyx attacked the Homeworld." Rose said as she touched Diamond's hand, only for Diamond to pull back quickly. Diamond quickly noticed this and placed his hand back on the bed.
"Forgive me." Diamond said softly. "I…I had a bad dream."
"It's alright Dimy." Rose said as she sat up and hugged her brother. "You were injured from Onyx's attack, but you bought us enough time to rescue so many Gems. Thank you so much."
Diamond felt the warmth of the hug and he felt the same pang of regret in his chest as from before, but only it was larger and stronger. He then felt his eyes fill with tears and he embraced the hug and began to sob into his sister shoulder.
"I'm sorry Rose." Diamond sobbed. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. They are dead because of me."
"Dimey, this wasn't your fault, not the slightest" Rose replied as she comforted her brother. "You knew nothing about this. There is no way you could do anything to stop this, but you still save so many."
"But if only I prepared better." Diamond exclaimed as he pulled away from Rose's shoulder. "I could have saved more.
Just then, Topaz entered the room and approached Diamond and Rose.
"Ah Diamond, I am glad to see you're awake." Topaz said as they approached Diamond's bedside. "One of the Gems was still alive when he was captured and was able to send a message back to us. We know where Onyx."
"That's….good." Diamond said as he sat up in the bed. "So where is she taking the Gems?"
Topaz looked to Rose before looking back to Diamond.
"It seems that Onyx has captured your Gem colony." Topaz explained with hesitation. "She's captured Insidiae."
Diamond paused for a moment and stood up to walk over to the balcony. Looking outside, Diamond put his hands behind his back and, with his siblings behind him, make the widest grin on his face. He was worried that the location of Insidiae as Onyx's base would be suspicious, but it seems his sibling was not as bright as they claimed to be. Diamond quickly composed himself and turned to his siblings.
"I will lead the elite to Insidiae." Diamond said as he approached his siblings.
"Diamond no!" Rose objected. "You just recovered from the last attack. You are in no condition to fight."
"She's right." Topaz interjected. "You may have recovered, but you will need to regain your Vitae."
"There's no time." Diamond objected. "I am the only one who knows Insidiae inside and out. I can use their defenses against them. They won't know what hit them."
Topaz and Rose looked to each other and sighed before Topaz nodded in agreement.
"Thank you." Diamond said as he began to walk towards the door. "I will summon the army and we will be on our way to Insidiae, you two will stay behind and protect Homeworld in case Onychinos attacks again.
"Alright, but be careful Dimy." Rose said as she looked in concern. "I don't think that even you would know what Onyx is planning."
"I would not be so sure about that." Diamond said with a smile as he walked through the door. Walking down the hallway towards the tribunal hub.
"But what I am sure about is that this battle will be rather…quick."
[*]
Homeworld, Tribunal hub, present day
[*]
While "Onyx" had destroyed the warp pad hub, there was a special Hub that was unscathed by the attack, it would be used by Diamond and the Elite to attack Insidiae and destroy Onyx and her army in a surprise ambush. As Diamond explained the plan to the Elite, he looked to his army consisting of Emerald, Hematite, Howlite, and an army of Gems. Diamond smiled as he concluded his speech.
"…I understand that many of you will not return to the Homeworld, but understand that your sacrifice will help in ensuring the balance of the Universe is unscathed. You will help shape the future into a greater one with this victory today. Together, we will ensure that those in the future will no longer endure what we all endured. They will live a life without war, or greed, for with this battle, we will eradicate those evils once and for all."
The Gems cheered as Diamond turned towards the huge warp pad. As he looked to a panel beside him and pressed on a button, he heard the warp pad begin to charge up and then create a column of light. Diamond then began to march into the warp pad, with the Gems behind him, unaware at what lied ahead of them
"Ready to kick some rogue Gem trash Hematite?" Emerald said as he marched towards the warp pad.
"Of course I am." Hematite said as he summoned his curved blades. "Let's just hope that I don't have to carry you back like a little child."
"That's said for the both of you." Howlite said as she clenched her ax. "I'm not coming back for you if you fall behind.
The three Gems laughed as they stepped through the warp pad. Enjoying the little time they had before the impending battle ahead, if one would call it that.
[*]
Gem Colony Insidiae, Warp Hub, present day
[*]
It was a barren wasteland, the surface had changed since the colony's last use as a Gem fortress, and it was now entirely coated in metal and metallic crystal. Where once the small moon would be a small moon, it was no moon, but a space station of immense power, it also carried within its hull a dark secret, a secret that had been waiting years upon years to finally be released.
Suddenly, on a nearby station upon the facility, a warp pad opened up, out from the column of light walked Master Diamond, looking around before he tapped the warp pad with his foot. In that instant, the warp pad lit up again, and the small army of Gems began to march from the war pad. As Diamond watched the Gems began to group before the Old King, awaiting his plan to attack the former Gem colony.
"Alright, here is the plan." Diamond explained as he summoned a small hologram of Insidiae on his palm. On the small orb, there were three markers, one green, one grey, and one black. "Smaragdus will lead a third of the army upon the east side of Insidiae, towards the venting shafts. Hematite will then lead a third towards the south side and enter the docking bay. Howlite will charge the remaining army towards the entrance while I sneak inside and disable the defenses. Once Smaragdus and Hematite have disabled the lock systems at their locations, Howlite will break the door down and charge inward. Are there any questions?"
As the Gems looked to each other, one of the Gems raised her hand.
"…that do not involve an alternative to fighting."
The Gem dropped her hand as she cupped her hands over her head, the Gem next to her began to comfort her.
"I understand if you are afraid, and yes, I know that many of you will not return to the Homeworld, but what happens today will be end of Onyx's plan once and for all. I promise you, this battle will change the fate of not only Gem kind, but of the entirety of this Universe as a whole. Now who's with me?"
"I am!" Emerald said as he stood forward and summoned his sword and faced his comrades. "I'm ready to see the look on Onyx's face when I cut it in half!"
"How brutal." Hematite said with a sigh as he stepped forward. "But I suppose that it's time to finally end this pest once and for all."
"How about the two of you just stay clear of me?" Howlite laughed as she shoved Hematite and Emerald aside and summoned her ax, bowing to the Gemian before her. "I'm ready when you are Master."
Diamond smiled as he looked to the army of Gems, who summoned their weapons and cheered as they divided into thirds and charged off in separate directions. As the Gems were gone, Diamond pulled a small red stone from his pocket and held it towards his face.
"The army is here." Diamond said to the stone. "They will be attacking the three entrances, prepare the Agates and begin the harvesting extraction."
"At once Master." The stone replied, its voice sounded exactly like Onyx. "Our traps are armed and ready for harvesting."
"Good…" Diamond replied as he looked to the sky, towards a large cannon in the distance. "How are the harvesters?"
"Fully operational." Another voice emerge from the stone, this time it was Peridot's. "The reverse engineering of the Metalian tech was successful, we will have the schematics in a matter of hours."
"Send the schematics to the other Diamonds." Diamond ordered as he summoned his mace and turned to the warp pad. "Be sure to remind them to keep it a secret."
"Understood." Peridot replied. "Um...what was the project name again?"
Diamond lifted his mace and smashed it onto the warp pad, breaking it into chunks before Diamond looked up with wide eyes and a small smile.
"…Kindergarten" Diamond replied as he walked away from the destroyed warp pad. "Project…Kindergarten."
With that, Diamond began to walk towards the entrance of Insidiae, hearing the rumble of the Agates below him.
[*]
Gem Colony Insidiae, Main Courtyard, present day
[*]
Howlite and her group of Gems stood before the entrance of the colony, waiting for the signal from Hematite and Emerald.
"What's taking them so long?" Howlite said to herself as she spun her ax around. "It's not like Emerald to take so long to pull a simple lever, right?"
Suddenly, Howlite heard a small rumbling as she saw a swarm of Agates appear in the sky. As she brandished her ax, she turned to see the terrified Gems beside her.
"Hold your ground Gems!" Howlite ordered as she jabbed her ax into the ground and pulled up a huge chunk of the floor, using it to shield herself and the Gems beside her while said Gems deflected the stray Agates. "Hold!"
Howlite watched as an Agate shot around the defenses and scooped a Gem into the Air. Howlite watched as several Agates swarmed around the Gem, like flies on a carcass. There was a poof, and the Gem was no more. Howlite turned to her Gems and then went back to supporting the large barrier before her.
"It's just a button!" Howlite growled as she felt the barrier begin to bend and warp from the Agate attacks. "How hard could that be?"
[*]
Emerald and his solders charged through the forces as Agates rained down upon them. After several hours of marching and five Gems being abducted, the Green Gem finally arrived at the Ventilation shafts. Emerald could see a switch between two vents as well as several Agates blocking the path towards it.
"Quickly! Hold them off." Emerald shouted as he dashed towards the switch, cutting down the Agates that blocked him. "I can reach that lever over there and disable this section of the colony."
"Master Emerald! Help us!" one of the Gems pleaded as he blocked an Agate claw grab. "We're outnumbered and they're too strong. You can't just-"
The Gem turned to see Emerald dashing towards the lever. He made a soft scoff as he heard the sounds of the Agates cutting through his comrades before he felt the Gemdroid's claws shredding his body and tearing his Gem out.
Emerald stood before the lever and quickly grabbed it. As he tried to pull the lever down, he found that the switch did not budge. After several seconds of pulling, he then realized what was happening.
"It's a trap…" Emerald whispered as he quickly turned towards his "solders". "Retreat! It's a trap!"
Emerald gasped in horror as a wall of Agates stood before him, their chests each carried a Gem within, all of them bloody with the essence of the Gems Emerald lead to battle.
Emerald brandished his blade and aimed it at the Gemdroids before him. Looking around, the Green Gem could not find any form of escape.
"Damn it!" Emerald said as he aimed his sword as the Agates before him. "There's no way out."
[*]
Hematite opened the door to the hangar as he and his solders marched within the dark chamber of the hangar. Hematite then waved his hand and summoned a small ball of light, using it to guide the path before him. As he guided his Gems through the hangar. Despite the light from Hemaite's orb, a large portion of the hangar was still dark.
"Keep your senses up." Hematite said as he summoned one of his blades. "Onyx may have booby-trapped this whole hangar.
As the Gems carefully troughed through the chamber, two Gems that were straggling behind rushed up to the rest of the group. One of them was large and Green with a metal circle shaped weapon while the other was dark green with a red stomach and rings in his spiked hair.
"How big is this building anyway?" the big Gem said as he sighed. "Does Master Diamond really expect us to do all this for a little switch?"
"Nothing personnel, but I swear, sometimes I wonder what the Tribunal truly think of us." The smaller Gem said as he cracked his knuckles. "Well no matter, cause after this, everyone will be kissing the feet of the all mighty Blo-"
The small Gem heard a faint swish as he quickly turned around and saw the Gem behind him was gone.
"Hey…Gusite?" The Gem said as he looked up to the black ceiling. "Hey…this isn't funny."
As he looked up, he saw a small yellow dot in the distance, he then heard a faint poofing of a Gem, he then watched as more dots begin to light up on the ceiling, eventually noticing that the lights were watching him.
"Oh... lutum!"
[*]
Hematite continued to press forward, as he reached the end of the chamber, he saw the lever attached to the wall in the distance.
"By Diamond's beard!" Hematite sighed in relief. "There it is…finally!"
Hematite quickly rushed towards the lever, eager to pull it and get in on the combat before Emerald and Howlite got it all, but as he pulled the lever, the entire hangar suddenly flashed with a bright light. As Hematite's eyes adjusted, he turned around to see his entire group of Gems were gone. As he looked around in shock, he looked up and saw the large ship that had attacked the homeworld, along with a swarm of Agates hanging off the bottom like bats. Hematite summoned his blades and armed himself as the Agates dropped down and surrounded the black Gem.
"[GEM IDENTITY CONFORMED…IDENTITY: HEMATITE…CLASSIFICATION: CONVERTED METALIAN GEM…CONCLUSION: STUN AND BRING TO MASTER DIAMOND]"
"What?" Hematite said as he lowered his weapons towards the Agate that spoke. "What do you mean…I'm…I'm a Metalian?"
Suddenly, Hematite felt a sharp pang in his chest as three crystal nails stuck out of it. The Gem then felt his body lift back until he was now upside down, staring into the face of Onyx.
"Oh you are more than that I'm afraid." Onyx said as she began to walk towards the entrance of the hangar. "My "big brother"."
[*]
Howlite chucked her ax through an Agate as she smashed her fist through another, as she raised her hand and summoned her ax, she dove back behind a warped barrier, containing several Gems behind it. One of them had large white hair and a green Gem on her left eye.
"Jade, how many Gems are left?" Howlite asked the Gem as she peeked over the barrier, nearly getting shot by an Agate eye beam.
"It's just us." Jade replied as she gestured to the twelve Gems alongside her. "So what do we do now? The warp pad is broken and Master Emerald has the last teleport scroll."
Howlite looked to the Gems and then she gave a weak smiled.
"Well…it looks like we might not make it home after all, my loyal Gems." Howlite sighed as she scratched her head. "But when Hematite and Emmy return, at least we've soften their defense…sort of."
Jade looked to the other Gems and nodded. Jade then summoned her wave blades and stood up.
"It's been an honor, Master Howlite." Jade said with a warm smile.
"Please, just call me Howlite." The Grey Gem replied as she patted the one eyed Gem on the shoulder. "Today, we will all fight as equals."
The Gems smiled as they summoned their weapons and rose up alongside Jade. As Howlite grinned, she turned to the Agates and rushed forward.
"CHAARGE!"
Howlite and the Gems rushed forward, ready to end their lives to help stop Onyx once and for all. But as they reached the Agates, they noticed the Gemdroids were just floating still. As the Gems looked around in confusion, they heard the sound of metal moving around as their attention was brought to the huge door, which was slowly beginning to open up.
"They did it! They actually did it!" Jade shouted as she and the Gems cheered in victory. "We breached the entrance."
"Yeah, but where are Emerald and Hematite?" Howlite said as she approached one of the Agates and tapped it, which responded with nothing. "They should be here by now, along with the others.
"Don't worry Howlite." A voice said to the grey Gem. "You will see them soon enough."
Howlite and the others turned to see Master Diamond walk out from the large door. In that instant, the Gems bowed to the Old King, who smiled as he walked up to Howlite.
"The mission was a success Master." Howlite said to Diamond. "With the defenses offline, it should be a straight shot to Onyx, correct?"
"Of course." Diamond said as he turned towards the door. "But don't let your guard down, we still don't know what traps still remain inside this colony."
"With all due respect Master, I think we can handle her." Howlite said with a grin. "I just wish that Hemmy and Emmy were here…to…see…this…."
As they approached the door, Diamond and the Gems stopped in their tracks as they saw the Gem Onyx standing at the door. She smiled as she snapped her fingers and the Agates reactivated, quickly swarming around the Gems and grabbing Howlite, Jade and the Gems, leaving Diamond before Onyx.
"Master Diamond!" Howlite shouted as she tried to break free.
Onyx approached the Gemian and smiled as she stared up at the Old King before her.
"Onychinos…" Diamond said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Where are the Gems? What have you done to them?"
"The Gems have been turned into Agates." Onyx explained with a smile as she looked to Howlite, causing the grey Gem to swallow hard. "Except for Emerald and Hematite of course…"
Howlite sighed with relief, happy to hear that her friends were okay, but now she needed to find a way to escape her capture and help Master Diamond defeat Onyx.
"Where are they now?" Diamond said with the same tone as he raised an eyebrow.
Onyx then looked to Howlite and smiled. As she did, Diamond looked to Howlite and then back to Onyx, giving her a small nod.
Howlite watched in absolute shock and horror as Onyx knelt down on one knee and bowed her head downward. As disturbing as this was, it was nothing compared to what Onyx said:
"They have been positioned in the chamber…" Onyx explained as she continued- to bow to the Gemian before her. "Just as you ordered…Master."
The last word struck Howlite like a hot knife in her chest. As she looked up to Diamond, she watched as he waved his hand and the Agate holding her released her. The grey Gem looked up and quickly summoned her ax. The thoughts of Homeworld, her friends, Jade, all of this, it was his fault.
"You…you started the attack on homeworld." Howlite said as she clenched the ax tighter. "You…you led us to a slaughter…"
"No, this was not a slaughter." Diamond said as he began to walk towards Howlite and stopped as he finished his thought. "I would think of it as more of a… purification. That would be the perfect way to describe it, and it's all thanks to you and the others. Thank you."
Howlite shouted as she jumped towards Diamond, ready to slice his head open and let his brains slide onto the ground. But as she was about to make contact, she felt her body become surrounded by a grey bubble.
"So aggressive." Diamond tsked as he placed Howite on to the ground, still containing her in the bubble as he approached the Gems held by the Agates. "You are quite predictable, my little insipiens."
As he approached Jade and examined her, he grabbed her face and inspected it. He then opened her mouth and looked inside, quickly retracting as he looked to the acid burning on his gloves.
"I wonder…" Diamond said as he reached out towards Onyx, who handed him a syringe. Howlite, Jade and the Gems watched in horror as Diamond opened his robe, revealing a large black orb in the center of his chest. Diamond stabbed the orb with the syringe and extracted a black fluid. He then closed up his robe and held the syringe of fluid towards Jade.
"This is known as Ichor, the essence of the…Obsidian Leviathan." Diamond explained to Jade. "I have discovered an ancient and powerful weapon from a age long ago. It is a…a…a virus! A virus, that from what I have witnessed…"
Diamond stabbed the syringe needle into Jade's neck, causing the Gem to scream in horror as she felt the burning fluid course through her entire body. Diamond then backed away as he watched Jade break free of the Agate holding her and fall to the ground.
"…has a variety of interesting side effects."
Jade began to emit a bloody shriek as her began to vomit black bile. She then felt her abdomen warp as several arms emerge from her torso. As her jaw began to stretch around her head and expand, Diamond looked to Howlite, who watched in horror as the Gem she fought with several hours ago was beginning to shed large grey flakes of thin stone, eventually cloaking herself in a cloud of dust. As Diamond approached the cloud, a large monster emerged from the cloud. It was long in size and had a large maw with a green eye in the center. The white mane and acid saliva indicated that this was Jade, but it also wasn't.
"J-Jade?" Howlite said as she fell to her side and fainted. Her last sight was several Agates hauling the Gem creature away as Diamond spoke to Onyx.
"Forgive the questioning Master, but you want…her Vitae?" Onyx said as she kicked the grey bubble. "I would expect you to choose Emerald's or even Hematite's for "her". But using her Vitae…it's a joke right?"
Diamond walked up to Onyx and summoned his mace, swinging it across Onyx's face and flinging her into a wall. Diamond then walked over to Onyx, grabbed her by her hair and dragged her towards Howlite. As he placed her head before Howlite, the grey Gem saw Onyx's face, her jaw was dislodged and she had black tears trickling down her face.
"I told you countless times not to question me!" Diamond hissed as he dropped Onyx to the ground, he then began to kick her in the stomach. Causing the black Gem to gurgle and vomit black bile.
"If I need your option…" Diamond hissed as he stood above Onyx and summoned his mace. "…then I will beat it out of you, like so."
As Howlite drifted into unconsciousness, she saw the fading face of Onyx as a large Diamond mace began to smash into her face again and again. Although she had lost and the leader of her people was a traitor, it was some comfort to see Onyx suffer….
…little did Howlite know, was that what she would go through would be so much worst.
[*]