Ruby reached Redwall the following morning just as everybeast was sitting down to breakfast. She burst into the Great Hall.

"Ah, there's our little spy," said Major Perigord. "So, how is the scheme working? Did Sapphire successfully infiltrate the enemy camp?"

"She did," said Ruby. "And they bought her story about being a soothsayer. She's already convinced Damug to meet us at the ridge instead of here."

"Splendid!" the Major exclaimed.

"But I've got some news that isn't so splendid," she went on. "Damug has set up camp in the kindergarten, the place where we first met the Flower Monsters. He's trying to create a new army of Gems that will do his bidding!"

Pearl leaped to her feet. "That's terrible! He's already got a huge vermin army. If he gains an army of Gems, too, he'll be absolutely unstoppable!"

"Sapphy's gonna do her best to sabotage his efforts, but she may not succeed," Ruby said.

Tammo stood up. "Pardon me, does anybeast mind my makin' a suggestion?"

"What suggestion is that, Tammo?" the Abbess asked.

"Well, obviously if Damug Warfang is successful in creating his Gem army, we're in big trouble. However, we've got that Martian ship sitting out there in the yard, and there might be powerful alien weaponry inside that could combat an army of Gems. If Amethyst, Pearl, and I were to be relieved of our construction duties for the day, we could tunnel down to the hatch of the ship and take a look inside."

Tansy looked skeptical. "The moles spent two whole days digging and never even came close to uncovering the hatch. How could the three of you manage it on your own?"

"Leave that to me," Amethyst said confidently. "I'll just put my shape-shifting skills to work."

"You're a shape shifter?" Joshy questioned. "Like those creatures they have in Equestria, the changelings?"

"I never heard of a changeling, but yep, I can turn myself into anything I want. I'll just change myself into a bulldozer and have that thing dug up in no time."

Abbess Tansy looked at Pearl. "Could she really do that?"

Pearl nodded. "Oh, yes. All Gems have shape-shifting abilities, but Amethyst is especially gifted at it. I've seen her turn into all sorts of things."

Arven peered at Amethyst. "Could you turn into a squirrel, like me?" he asked her.

"Sure. Easy-peasy." In the blink of an eye, Amethyst became a squirrel.

"That's amazing!" said Arven. "She looks just like a real squirrel, except she's purple!"

"Oh, that's nothing," said Tammo. "I've seen her turn into a helicopter!"

"Can you do an otter next?" Skipper called. In a flash, Amethyst turned into an otter.

Lots of creatures started shouting out things they wanted to see Amethyst change into, but Abbess Tansy held up a paw, silencing them. "Very well," she said. "I'll allow the three of you to forgo your work on the wall so you can examine the ship."

"Did you hear that, Tamm?" Amethyst said. "We're gonna be the first ones inside!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back at the kindergarten, Peridot was helping Damug set up an Injector. Sapphire was watching. She looked worried, but you couldn't tell because her hair covered her face.

"You put 'em in the ground, drill side down, like this," Peridot said. "Be careful not to space them too close together."

"Why?" said Damug.

"Because if you do, they'll come out looking like conjoined twins. I saw that happen once with two Rutiles back on Homeworld."

They propped the Injector up, with the drill on the bottom, and it began tunneling into the earth right away. "This is all we have to do?" Damug said.

"Yep. The Injector puts colorful goo stuff into the ground and after time, a Gem is formed."

Damug narrowed his eyes. "What exactly is this 'colorful goo stuff'?"

Peridot squirmed nervously. "Only the Diamonds are aware of the full content of the mixture, but I know that part of it is Diamond sweat."

"Interesting. These Diamonds, they're the rulers of your planet?"

"Yes."

Damug's next question completely shocked Peridot. "What do you suppose would happen if I added my own sweat in there? Would the resulting Gems have my DNA in them then?"

Peridot stammered, "I-I have no idea! No one's ever tried anything like that before! Remember, until now, only Gems have ever created other Gems. It might have no effect, or it might damage the mixture, making it impossible for the Gems to be born at all!"

"Or maybe it'll make the Gems twice as strong, being half Gem and half Greatrat." Damug reached out and unscrewed the gemstone from the top of the Injector. He rolled up his sleeve and let a few drops of sweat drip down into the tube. Then he screwed the gem back on.

"There," he said. "This'll be a little experiment. We'll see what happens with this one. If it turns out all right, I'll add my sweat to ALL the Injectors! If this works, I could wind up creating a new super-race! I'd be the master of all creation!" A nightmarish gleam appeared in his eyes.

Peridot shuddered. This could throw a wrench into her plans. She'd been banking on the idea that the new Gems would only take orders from her. She had planned to order the Gems to kill Damug and his vermin as soon as they emerged, but if they had rat genes in them, they might obey Damug instead of her.

And Sapphire was even more terrified than Peridot. This was worse than she had imagined. Not only was Damug creating his own Gems, but now he was putting his own DNA in them! The creatures that resulted from this experiment might end up being like a bunch of evil versions of Tammo! She had to find a way to stop this from happening. But with a thousand vermin watching her every move, what could she possibly do?