Episode 17: Enigmatic Gauntlet

In a bright flash of light both Kameron and Charoite appeared in front of their house. Up above the skies were dark; covered with nothing but a crescent moon and array of stars.

With what had happened, Kameron's lips curved downward. His aunt, Amethyst, came from a place called the Kindergarten. He'd never heard of such place, yet the place itself was real and gave him a plethora of questions entering his mind.

"Little brother." Charoite said softly, gaining his attention. "Keep what you saw to yourself for the time being."

Kameron's eyes expanded at his sister. Was she serious? She was seriously asking him to keep the Kindergarten a secret?

"Why? I wanna know more about it." Kameron replied.

Turning her body Charoite raised up her hands, placing them onto her little brother's cheeks. With one hand she slowly moved it up and down on his cheek as her single eye locked onto his. Her lips frowned at him the more she looked at him.

"Please, listen to me." She began with a soft voice. "I understand that you have a lot you want to ask us, but...this isn't something that's easy to explain."

"Why?" Kameron replied. "You came from the Kindergarten too, right?"

Her hold on her little brother's cheeks slightly increased. She then adverted her eye away from her little brother. Closing her eye for a brief moment she reopened it, turning her head back to him.

"You...could say that." Charoite said. "In a sense...yes. But I'm not from the same one Amethyst came from."

Kameron blinked at his big sister. She...wasn't from the same Kindergarten as Amethyst.

"Then...where are you from? Where did you, dad, and the others actually came from?" Kameron replied, raising up his hand and removing Charoite's hands from his cheeks.

*BEEP! BEEP!*

Right as she opened her mouth to speak a collection of sounds entered the atmosphere, making the two siblings jolt at it's echoing rhythm. Reaching into her pocket Charoite pulled out her phone and locked her eye onto the screen.

[Unknown]: Mentor. We've located the target.

Lifting her head back to her little brother and then toward her phone, Charoite's let out a small sigh and placed her phone back into her pocket.

"I'm sorry, little brother, but I gotta go now." Charoite said.

"Work?" Kameron replied, receiving a nod.

"Right now, remember what we talked about. When the time comes, we'll talk about it, okay?" Charoite assured.

Kameron groaned and crossed his arms. Yeah, everybody says that and it usually doesn't happen.

"What about Amber?" Kameron replied.

"Let me handle her." Charoite said as she pushed her head forward, planting her lips onto her little brother's cheek before pushing it back. "I'm really sorry about this, but I really, really gotta go." She added, as her bang started moving to the side, revealing her Gemstone where her right eye was suppose to be. From it the Gemstone glowed indigo and from it an indigo whistle came out, dropping itself into her hand. "I'll be back soon." She added, blowing into the whistle and getting covered in an indigo light before vanishing.

With his big sister gone Kameron turned his head, directing his eyes onto the front door. Approaching it he raised out his hand and grasped onto the knob. Closing his eyes he let the words Charoite just told him enter his mind. She said this'll be explained, but...would it really? With a revelation like this it just raises more questions. He wants to know. No, he has to know. But...would he ever will.

Twisting the knob, Kameron opened the door and stepped inside. Closing the door behind him his eyes turned toward the living room. There he saw Steven sitting on the couch watching TV with Garnet, Pearl, and a familiar figure sitting right next to the goofball. The figure was a tanned-skinned man with brown eyes and a bald head with long hair in the back alongside a small brown bread. The man wore a large white tank-top and short blue shorts. Lastly, the man had a large golden ring on his left hand, placed right onto his middle finger.

Entering the living room Steven, the Crystals, and the figure turned their heads to him. Upon seeing him Steven's lips immediately grew into a large smile before he raised himself up and rushed over to Kameron, wrapping his arms around his waist and putting his head onto his stomach.

"Kameron!" Steven yelled with his face in Kameron's stomach.

A small grunt exited Kameron's mouth due to Steven's actions, but nevertheless, he raised up his hand and placed it on Steven's head, softly rubbing it.

Lifting his head, Kameron pointed it onto the familiar figure right as Steven released himself from their hug. Walking over to the couch the figure picked himself up and turned to Kameron as they both wrapped their arms around one another.

"It's good to see you again, Uncle Greg." Kameron said.

"You too, Double-Eyes. It's been a while." Greg replied while increasing their embrace. Soon after he slightly pushed himself back, getting a good look at his nephew. "Look at you. You're getting bigger and bigger by the day. The little guy I once knew is growing up to be a fine young man."

Kameron snickered at his uncle. "And you're still showing off your beard and that mullet of yours."

Greg chuckled and patted Kameron's shoulder, "Hey, I ain't never getting rid of these babies."

Kameron smirked at him. Since the day he came into existence he'd always seen his Uncle Greg the way he was. Honestly, the beard and mullet combo was really, really working for him. Just a glance gave him the impression of a retired musician, but that was neither true or assumed.

Moving on, Kameron turned to Pearl, whom rose up from her seat and approached Kameron before wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hi, Aunt Pearl." Kameron said softly, wrapping his arms around her body.

"Hi, Kameron." Pearl replied softly. "It's good to see you again." Slightly pulling away from him she raised up one of her hands and placed it onto his cheek. "You've gotten so big since we last saw you."

Kameron chuckled a bit. "That's what puberty does when you reach a certain age."

Pearl's lips then curved up as she gave her nephew a nod.

Kameron broke away from Pearl and turned his head to Garnet. Garnet herself stood up from her seat as Kameron walked around the table to the opposite side of the couch. Though she was taller than him, he smirked at his aunt as they shared an embrace.

"Nice to see you again, Aunt Garnet." Kameron said.

"You too." Garnet replied.

They soon broke apart with Garnet lifting up her head, putting it onto Kameron's head and slightly rubbing her fingers through his hair before pulling away.

Turning his head, Kameron pointed his attention to the dining-room and the kitchen to see that nobody was there. However, from the kitchen he spotted Lion outside, lying on the grass and chewing on some steak.

"Lion will be okay." Garnet said, making Kameron look at her. "For now he'll eat and rest. But by morning, he'll disappear again."

Kameron blinked at her and turned his head to Lion before putting his attention back onto Garnet.

"How do you know?" Kameron asked.

Garnet's bland expression shifted as she smirked and grabbed onto her visor while slightly adjusting it.

"My little secret." Garnet replied.

Blinking at her, Kameron groaned. So many secrets going around and he's got no clue what's going on.

Garnet's smirk soon shifted to a frown as she raised up her hand, placing it onto Kameron's shoulder. "Kameron. Me and Pearl need to speak to you...in private." She added.

Blinking at her again, Kameron turned his head to Pearl, whom gave him a worried expression. Though it was was a bit unclear as to what was going on, Kameron could make the assumption as to what it was.

"Is something wrong?" Steven asked.

Looking at his little brother and his uncle, Kameron shook his head at them. "It's nothing bad, Steven. They just wanna talk. It isn't serious." He added.

Watching his big brother, Pearl, and Garnet going up the stairs, Steven frowned a little. Kameron said it wasn't serious, but if that was the case then why couldn't they just talk in the living room? Still, he'll trust him and maybe after their talk they could do something together.

Reaching the top floor, the trio walked over to the left and headed toward Kameron's room. Opening the door he let his aunts into his room before closing the door. Pearl sat down on his bed and crossed one of her legs over the other while Garnet sat right next to her. Walking away from his door, Kameron went over to the wall next to his desk and placed his back against it before crossing his arms and putting one foot against it.

"Let me guess, you both know about Amethyst taking me to the Kindergarten, don't you?" Kameron asked.

Pearl and Garnet turned their heads to one another before putting it back onto their nephew. Straight to the point.

"How much did she tell you?" Pearl asked.

"She told me that's where she was born. It was where aunt Rose found her too." Kameron answered. "If that's where she came from, then that means you all came from a Kindergarten, didn't you?" He added.

Pearl intertwined her fingers together and turned her head to Garnet. Kameron had already known this much. Would it be bad if he were to learn more? Was it the right time to tell him about it? He is older than Steven, but...how would he react if the truth were to be told to him? So many scenarios to make, yet what would be the best course to go on?

"Kameron." Garnet said calmly. "You must forget you ever saw that place."

Kameron narrowed her eyes at her while rolling them. Wow...that was such a typical response. Classic.

"Charoite told me the same thing, but would you two like to know something?" Kameron asked as he pushed himself away from the wall and approached his aunts. "Why? If it's something personal, I'll back off, but this...this involves all of us. So why are you all continuing to lie to me?"

Garnet soon stood up from Kameron bed and approached him. Lowering her head, she looked down at her nephew, whom gave her a firm expression. The look in his eyes... It was pretty obvious as to what was going on in his head. Still...she'll need to do this carefully.

"It is not that simple to explain, Kameron. Neither of us wanted you or Steven to see that place. Just forget about what you saw." Garnet replied. Raising up her hands, she softly placed them onto her nephew's shoulders, "I can see that you're wanting answers, but this isn't the time. One day, we will explain it to you and Steven."

Kameron's narrowed slowly shifted into a glare. His fingers began to curl up, forming into fists. This isn't the time? No, of course it isn't. Not a good time, never a good time. When then? When? WHEN? WHEN WILL IT BE A GOOD TIME THEN!?

Seeing his glare, Pearl quickly stood up from her seat and grabbed onto his hand, making him turn to her. She frowned at him as her eyes started to shaking. Her grip on him slowly increased the more she looked at him. Part of her wanted to tell him, to quell the anger in his eyes, but...how? What should she say? What could she say? The only thing she wanted was to bring down her nephew's anger, showing a similarity to Pyrope's.

"Honey. Please, please understand. Please." Pearl said, her voice nearly choking.

Seeing her shaking eyes, Kameron increased the grip of his fists. Soon enough...his pupils started glowing cyan as his Gemstone started radiating a small glow. This involves everyone and here his aunts were asking him to just forget what he just saw!? No... No! No, no, no! Not this time.

Looking right at his glowing eyes, his aunts removed their hands from him, taking a step back as a cyan aura started covering Kameron's body.

"Kameron! You need to calm down." Garnet said firmly.

"Get out..." Kameron replied in a whisper.

"Kameron, please-" Pearl attempted to speak.

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" Kameron screamed, his eyes glowing brighter by the second.

Not wanting to see exactly what would happen if his frustrations were to expand, both of his aunts gave him a nod and quietly exited out of his room. Watching them leave and shut the door, the aura surrounding Kameron started vanishing. His eyes slowly reverted back to normal as he uncurled his fingers. Raising up his hand he saw the marks made onto his palms with blood dripping right out of them. Closing his eyes he raised his hands to the side of his head and sucked in some air.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Outside of his room Pearl jolted at the roar that was unleashed by her nephew. Turning around to his door she took a step forward, but stopped when some additional pressure was added to her shoulder. Turning her head her eyes were then placed onto Garnet whom shook her head at her. Frowning her, Pearl turned to her nephew's door again. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to speak with him and find a way to handle this...but...with the current state Kameron was in right now, that didn't seem like a good option.

Garnet too looked at her nephew's door. That scream... It kinda sounded like what a vulture would sound like when soaring through the air. From that kind of perspective, Kameron was a furious vulture who just wanted answers. Something had to be done, but...she wasn't sure how to tell him the truth. However, with that kind of response, how long would it take until the vulture took flight and use it's talons?

The next morning Kameron lied in his bed. His eyes shut with a rhythmic collection of small breaths exiting his mouth.

Near his bed his door slowly opened up. On the other side Azurite quietly stepped inside and slowly closed the door behind her. Walking up to her brother her eyes gazed at the current state he was in right now. Truthfully, it was wrong and very disturbing to watch a person as they sleep. Although, there were exceptions to this such as infants or those who are under the influence of a sickness. Her brother was no longer an infant nor was he sick either, yet a flow of sadness surrounded her thoughts.

Getting down onto her knees, Azurite closed her eyes as she brought her hands together; intertwining her fingers.

'O great spirits. Thank you for your bravery and kindness that you bring to this world at it's times of need. Forgive me if I am to be selfish, but please, please watch over my brother Kameron. I am aware the life ahead of him will make him face difficult challenges. He is strong. He is smart. But as young as he is, he is stubborn as well. I ask with all my soul to please watch over him when I cannot. I will do what I must, but please O great spirits, give my brother protection as I have.'

Opening her eyes, Azurite turned to her younger brother who was still sleeping. Releasing her hands from each other, she lightly pushed herself forward, placing her lips onto her brother's forehead. Retracting herself she stood up from the floor and directed herself to his door before stepping right out.

Coming down the stairs Azurite turned her body to the right, seeing Steven sleeping on the smaller couch. Her lips slightly went upwards at the him, but then they went down as he was the only one in the living room right now. Turning her body to the left she made her way through the dining-room, through the kitchen, and opening up the sliding door which led her to the backyard.

Outside the skies above were dark, but held small shades of light-blue coming in alongside some hues of orange and red. Over the horizon the sun was slowly rising up, shining it's light among the planet. Any other day, watching the sun rise was such a beautiful phenomena to witness, but...unfortunately today wasn't one of those days.

In the backyard Azurite saw the rest of her family and the Crystals gathered around in chairs with Lion merely sleeping near them. Among the Crystals, Amethyst sat in her seat with a frown while sitting right next to Garnet and Pearl. She held both of her arms together while her gaze was pointing right at the ground. That alone brought more sorrow into Azurite, yet as she closed the sliding door she joined up with everyone and took her seat right next to her brother Pyrope and her sister Amber.

"Everyone." Green announced, making all eyes turn to him. "I do apologize for how early it is, but we have reached a serious issue that must be addressed immediately. And this issue includes all of us."

"What about Kameron and Steven?" Amethyst said. "Isn't it shady leaving them out of this?"

"It is." Green addressed. "However, we must discuss the issue ourselves first. Then we may speak with the boys about it."

Amethyst rolled her visible eye and sat back in her chair.

"Ah think we should start with the obvious." Amber said, pointing her attention onto Amethyst. "Why did ya bring Kameron and his friend ta the Kindergarten?"

Amethyst clicked her tongue, "I already told you why."

"But not ta everyone else ya didn't." Amber retorted.

Amethyst soon groaned. "I wanted to show my nephew where I came from. Besides, how come you Rainbows haven't told him yet? Oh yeah, because it "wasn't the right time" like you always say."

"That's not the point, Amethyst." Pyrope said angerly. " We were gonna show him on his sixteenth birthday."

Amethyst blinked at him, "For real?"

"Yes." Azurite replied calmly. "We were going to tell him at that time."

"Well, sorry I ruined the surprise." Amethyst said, crossing her arms and turning her head away.

Pearl soon placed her hand next to her mouth and coughed into it before she spoke, "Well, despite Amethyst's actions, I'm afraid Kameron might do something rash if this isn't taken care of."

"What do you mean?" Citrine asked as he chomped on an apple.

Putting both of her hands onto her lap, Pearl closed her eyes, recalling the events of last night before reopening them. "He was...very upset that we were keeping secrets from him. And...his state of mind was...getting rather erratic, to the point his powers were getting violent."

The others turned to one another. That...didn't sound so good, especially considering that teenagers are a lot more vulnerable and mostly rely on their emotions rather than forethought. This alone meant that his power was getting stronger, yet without proper guidance...the path he'll go down on would only bring destruction.

"I...well, me and Steven heard him scream last night." Greg said. "I wanted to do something, but...I thought it would be best to leave him alone for a while. Still, I'm not so sure what we should do about this. I feel like if we keep on lying, it's only gonna get worse."

Both families turned their gazes onto one another. On the one hand, they're gonna have to do something. But on the other...it was how they were gonna explain it that made it even harder than it really was.

Garnet raised up her hand, putting right under her chin. With what she saw from Kameron last night, would Steven be capable of doing that too? Both boys were half-Gem and half-human, yet they were born from different types of Gems. That difference was pretty clear for her to see, but...how much stronger would the boys get at this point since they were getting older and with age provides the unexpected.

PING!

In a flash a loud sound entered everyone's ears, breaking them out of their train of thought.

Reaching into their pockets, the Rainbows pulled out their phones and on their screens they saw a Gem symbol blinking. Tapping onto it the background changed into a map before the Gem was placed onto a specific location.

Once the location was verified Azurite gasped as to where the threat was. No... No... anywhere but there.

Getting up from her chair she turned her head to her parents, "Father. Mother. I must go now."

"I'm coming too." Pyrope said, getting up.

"So will I." Garnet added.

"Very well." Green replied. "Everyone else, Let us stay when the boys have awoken."

Pearl raised an eyebrow at him, "What? No, I am going too."

"Pearl." Garnet said, making Pearl look at her. "It will be better for me, Azurite, and Pyrope to go on this mission. Staying here for Kameron and Steven will cause some tension, but...it will also give Kameron comfort so that he won't be dealing with this alone."

A gasp then exited out of Lepidolite's mouth, "I know just what'll make my brother smile." She added as she got up and went to the sliding door before going inside.

"If it's what I think it is, then she'll need some extra hands." Christie said, following her daughter.

Getting up from their seats, everyone else closely followed her inside. For now there was small solution to the issue, yet for how long will it last?

Now that Azurite, Pyrope, and Garnet were alone, the trio came up and gathered into a circle before Azurite and Pyrope summoned their whistles from their Gemstones. Putting them into their mouths, Garnet placed her hands onto their shoulders right as the siblings blew, covering their bodies in their respected colors auras before all three of them disappeared.

In a blinding flash of light, the trio soon arrived at their destination.

The moment they arrived words alone wouldn't began to describe what was happening right in front of them. From left to right there where large huts made of straw, only...huge flames covered them from head to toe. Screams echoed through the area with a myriad of people running all over the place. Most of them were carrying other people covered in ash, others held buckets in their hands and throwing water at their huts to extinguish the flames, and some fell on their knees, crying while holding onto their loved ones.

"Ya..." Azurite said in Mohawk.

Summoning her wings, Azurite took flight, reaching the highest point into the air before she raised up her hands. Both of her Gemstones and her eyes glowed bright blue as she began rotating her body. Little by little, trickles of water poured right out of her and descended right onto the huts below. The moment water started hitting the huts and the people, the people of the land raised up their heads seeing Azurite use her power to help them.

Soon, Azurite's rotation began to slow down as she stopped pouring water. Down below many of the huts were completely soaked, but what mattered the most was that the flames were out.

Coming down Azurite landed back on the ground with Pyrope and Garnet walking up to her. Right when her brother attempted to speak to her a few of the people approached them. One of the people was an elderly woman whom held a staff in her hand walked right up to the trio, holding a solemn expression across her face.

"Gjinisgam." The elder said in Mohawk.

Azurite retracted her wings and bowed to her. "Tota." She added in Mohawk.

The elder soon turned her body and raised up her staff toward the edge of the village. "Eh non:we."

Azurite nodded and turned to her brother, "I will stay and help any injured. You and Garnet go after the one responsible for this."

"You sure?" Pyrope asked, receiving a nod.

Turning his head, Pyrope looked over to Garnet and...she had already started walking off. A groan exited his lips before he went after her.

Watching them leave, Azurite got down on one knee in front of the elder, intertwining her hands together. Lowering her head she shut her eyes. The spirits have not informed her of what would transpire today, yet more guilt entered into her mind. Her worries of her younger brother and now...the catastrophe that has come to this sacred place.

Perhaps the spirits are punishing her for keeping the truth hidden. It must be. And if so, then it is deserved. Any form of punishment from the spirits are well deserved.

Soon...some additional weight had been added onto her head. Lifting her head she opened her eyes to see the elder looking at her. Her lips curved upwards as she rubbed her fingers through Azurite's hair. Azurite's eyes started to shake with her lips quivering. She didn't deserve this act of kindness from the elder, yet it was given to her. Why?

GGGRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!

Azurite's thoughts were then interrupted by the frightening roar. Turning her head around her eyes lightly widened at the source of the roar.

At the opposite end of the area there was a large light-blue creature with light-blue eyes, sharp teeth, and a large fat tall. The creature had small spikes on it's back covered in ice and small ounces of cold breaths were leaving it's mouth. Lastly, there was a large blue Gemstone on the right hand of the beast.

The creature took a step forward and opened up it's mouth. Jerking it's head forward the creature unleashed a large burst of ice from it's mouth.

Getting up, Azurite dashed straight toward the beam and placed her hands out. On contact she narrowed her eyes with a few grunts exiting her mouth, but little by little the beam started to get smaller and smaller by the second.

Not again. The village had already been damaged by flames. No more harm will come to it so long as Azurite was here. She is unable to protect it, but that does not mean she is unable to do anything right now.

Soon enough, the beam of ice vanished into thin air. Pointing her attention onto the creature, Azurite raised up her left hand with her Gemstone in her palm beginning to glow. From the Gemstone a long rod pushed itself right out of it before she grabbed it with her right hand. Twirling the rod in her hand she grabbed it with her other hand and pointed it at the creature. With both hands she twirled the rod and spun her body until she raised it high into the air and rapidly brought it down onto the ground.

A large arc of water blasted itself right out of the rod, bursting through the air and making it's way straight to the creature.

POOF!

Given no time to respond, the arc of water went straight through the creature. At first, it appeared as if nothing happened, but...soon enough both sides of the creature broke apart and landed on the ground until they exploded into blue smoke.

Lifting up her rod, Azurite stepped up and looked down at the Gemstone laying on the ground. Picking it up, the Gemstone was encased in a blue bubble before it got tapped and was sent away.

The threat had been taken care of swiftly, but only partly. The damage had already been made, yet as Azurite turned around and planted her eyes onto the area she could see there be a chance to save what was destroyed.

Far away from the village, Pyrope and Garnet sprinted onward, following a trail of flames.

With every step he took, Pyrope clenched his teeth with traces of steam exiting right out of his body. To say he was pissed right now would be rhetorical. He had many reasons to be pissed right now. The fact that Amethyst spoiled the plan of when they were gonna tell Kameron about the Kindergarten, seeing a whole village engulfed in flames, and the possible chance of a monster killing innocent people.

Who wouldn't be angry at that?

Turning her head, Garnet took notice of the steam exiting out of Pyrope. For as long as she's known him, the only times this would happen would be when he was furious. And based on the events that had happened recently, she couldn't really blame him for how he was feeling right now, but...it might just make things more complicated if this were to continue.

"You need to calm down, Pyrope." Garnet said.

"I am calm." Pyrope replied angerly.

"No you're not. Calm down." Garnet said firmly.

Groans exited right out of his mouth as he turned and glared at Garnet. Ugh! As much as he would want to give her a piece of his mind there were other things going on that he needed to pay attention on.

AAAAAAAAAAAGGHH!

Hearing that loud cry, both Pyrope and Garnet turned their heads to see a single D.H.P. soldier facing a huge monster. The monster in question had a sphere-esque body with small arms and legs. It had large red eyes and a short red tail. Most notably, there was a large red Gemstone on top of it's head.

The monster sucked in some air as it's body grew bigger until it exhaled and unleashed a high-pressured burst of flames from it's mouth. The D.H.P. soldier quickly jumped out of the way and began to run as the creature started turning it's body while continuously spitting out fire.

Without a word Garnet charged straight toward the creature and summoned out her gauntlets. Leaping into the air she pulled her arm back and thrusted it forward, making contact with the monster and knocking it off of it's feet.

Pyrope turned his attention onto the soldier and rushed up to him near a collection of large rocks.

"Yo! You okay?" Pyrope asked.

The soldier turned to him and shook his head. "I've got this. I don't want your help." He added, pulling out a tomahawk from his side and rushing over to the monster.

Getting back up on it's feet the monster raised it's head at Garnet and exhaled in some air once more, increasing the size of it's body and then spitting out more flames. Watching the flames come to her, Garnet jumped out of the way, but now the flames had a new target: the soldier. Bursting through the air, Pyrope raised out his air, tackling the soldier to the ground and having the flames miss him.

"Look! I'm not gonna stop you from doing what you want, but you're gonna get killed fighting that thing alone. What about the rest of your village?" Pyrope asked angerly.

The soldier glared at Pyrope and pushed him off while getting up. "That monster burned my village! It killed my mother! Don't you dare tell me how to protect my village. The spirits-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it! I'm sorry for your loss. My sister is in your village right now helping as many people as she can. You wanna fight, fine. just don't get killed so that you have a home to go back to." Pyrope interrupted, summoning out his axe.

The soldier continued glaring at him, but...Pyrope shot him a glare as well. Turning their attention onto the monster both men gave it a harsher glare and ran straight toward it.

The monster puffed up again, spitting out another stream of flames. Watching it come to them both men dodged the stream heading their way and continued to run until they came right up to the monster. From left to right they raised up their weapons and slashed them onto it's arms, cutting them right off before dashing ahead and lowering their arms onto it's legs, chopping them off too. With no arms or legs the creature plopped right onto the ground and rolled right onto it's back.

"Garnet! Take it out, now!" Pyrope yelled.

Given the moment, Garnet jumped high into the air and dived straight down, stretching her arms out at her target.

POOF!

In the fraction of a second Garnet decimated the monster on impact, making it explode into red smoke. From the smoke the only thing remaining of the monster was it's Gemstone, to which Garnet picked it up and placed it into a bubble before tapping it, sending it away.

With the threat over Garnet turned her body and made her way back to the village.

Dismissing his axe, Pyrope turned to the soldier, whom placed his tomahawk back onto his side, yet still glared at Pyrope.

"Don't think this interaction will make me like you." The soldier said angerly.

"You don't have to like me." Pyrope replied as he walked ahead. "Just go home and be with those that are still alive."

Watching him walk away the soldier grunted and followed him.

Reaching up to the the village the trio noticed Azurite surrounding a child's arm in water before taking it off. Once it was off the child moved her arm and no pain had come from it. The child smiled at Azurite and went over to her parents before another villager went up to Azurite for treatment.

All over the soldier gritted his teeth at the damage done to his home. The spirits had foretold an attack, yet he was not strong enough to defend his people. And now, the ones responsible for centuries of pain are here to help them. Why would the spirits allow this? What was it that they were trying to teach him? Was he that weak against a threat such as this?

"We took care of the monster." Pyrope announced, gaining Azurite's attention.

"Good. I have a few more to attend to, then we may leave." Azurite replied.

Without a word, Garnet walked away, heading straight toward the entrance of the village. Pyrope and Azurite merely watched her leave until she vanished in the distance. The mission was over, but there was still much to do. Though...whatever was going on in her mind they couldn't tell. She shows up at their house, joins them on their mission, and now she just leaves.

For now, helping the village was Azurite's top priority.

End Of Episode 17.

Sorry for the long wait.

Also I want to say that if I made any in-corrections with the Mohawk language, I sincerely apologize. I mean no disrespect. If I have, I apologize again.

See you all soon.