The Desert (Night)

Rose didn't know what it was about the desert that she liked. Maybe it was the silence. The fact that no matter where she went, there wasn't anybody around for miles. At least, no humans or Gems. Walking beside her was the Lion she revived all those years ago, pink like her Gem. An unfortunate side-effect of her bringing it back from death.

Suddenly, a beacon of light shone in the distance, gleaming in every color in the spectrum. Rose made haste, riding on Lion's back to see what this light was. If it was a Corrupted Gem, she could handle it without any problems. But if Homeworld was coming back...

When she got close to the beacon, the light died down, and a figure was visible in the sand. A small human child with blonde hair and tattered clothing. But that wasn't the part that worried Rose. The child's skin was almost completely covered in a crystal-like film that shone brightly. The child stood up, and he stared directly into the Gem's eyes with his own hollow gaze.

Now that he was facing her, Rose could see what looked like a poofed Gem in the child's arms. He was cradling it, as if to protect it. That was impossible, the Diamonds made sure that every Gem left alive on the planet was a Corrupted mess. Was the Gem this boy was holding originally a Corrupted Gem that caused his affliction?

"Are you hurt?" she asked, dismounting Lion. The boy didn't respond in any way. He just kept staring. "That Gem in your arms, did it hurt you?"

That got a reaction from the boy. He repositioned the Gem in his arms so that it was completely concealed. "5+ay aw6y fr0m u$." His voice was raspy, like he hadn't had anything to drink in ages.

Based on how he acted, Rose knew that one of two things was happening. One, this Gem somehow poisoned the child's mind so he protected it while it was vulnerable, or it was somehow unaffected by the Diamonds' attack and bonded with the boy. Either way, he needed to be healed. That crystallization looked like it was draining his energy.

"I know you don't trust me, but you need to be healed." Rose pleaded, tears gathering in her eyes. "I can get rid of those crystals if you just let me."

The boy's blank stare turned apprehensive. After a few seconds, he held out his arm while holding the Gem in his other arm. "D0 ^ha+ yo3 mu$t." he said. Rose leaned her head over his hand, dropping tears on his palm. The boy collapsed soon after, the crystals vanishing in a glittering light. After the crystals were gone, he stood back up. "Thank you for your help." he said. "Where are we?"

"The Sahara Desert." Rose said. "Do you need help getting home?"

"No, I don't think that's possible right now." the boy said. He then looked down at the Gem in his arms. "Not while it's still dormant."

"How did you come across that Gem?" Rose asked. "And how exactly did it look before?"

"Gem?" the boy repeated, confused. "Never mind. I met it a few months ago in a cave. As for how it looked..." The Gem started glowing and floated out of his arms. "You're about to find out."

In a bright multicolored light, the gem grew a bit larger and began to take a form. Four blue legs came out, as well as a blue head with diamond-shaped markings on its face. It landed on the sand, then opened its eyes to see the boy looking back at it. Cheerful, the creature leapt onto his face, making him fall back to the ground.

Rose didn't recognize the strange Gem as one from the war, and Corrupted Gems were never this amicable. What was this thing?

"Excuse me, but would you mind coming back with me?" she asked, still curious about the boy and his companion.

"What do you say?" the child asked the creature in his arms. It simply trilled in response. "Looks like we're going with you. By the way, I never got your name."

"You can call me Rose." the Gem said.

"I'm Dominic, and this little bundle of chaos is Terapagos." the boy introduced.

AN: Please Review what you think. Depending on the feedback, I might continue this.