Episode 18: Elegant Spear
Opening his eyes, Kameron's vision directed itself onto the ceiling of his room. Narrowing his eyes his mind retraced back to the events of last night. Closing his eyes he sucked in some air into his nose and slowly exhaled it out the same way.
'The Kindergarten... Those machines... Those holes...' Kameron thought to himself.
Raising his right arm he placed his hand onto his naked forehead.
Answers. That's all that he's wants. It's not much, he just wants to know what is going on. Yet apparently, this wasn't the time. Yeah, of course it isn't. Although...the real mystery lies in what will happen when he gets the answers he's looking for.
Turning his head, his thoughts centered around Steven. Does he know about this? Has Amethyst showed him the Kindergarten? Kameron shook his head.
No. He probably doesn't. But he deserves to know the truth too. Steven was younger than him, but even so, both of them need to know about that location. Yet...it was highly doubtfully that their families would tell them right then and there.
Opening his eyes and raising himself up, Kameron shifted his body and planted his feet onto the floor. Pushing himself away from his bed he turned his head and locked his eyes onto his goggles. Raising out his arm he grabbed them and picked them up, lifting them close to his face. These weren't just ordinary goggles, they were a gift. A gift that he'll treasure for the rest of his days, yet looking at them now gave him a mixture of joy and sorrow. Putting them on he lowered his head to his right arm, locking his eyes onto his Gemstone.
Him and Steven need to know the truth. It doesn't matter how bad it is, they'll manage. But...even if he were to ask everyone again they'd probably brush it off. So...there were alternatives to take if things went south.
Downstairs...the atmosphere shifted into one filled with tension and sorrow.
At the table, nearly everyone sat down together for breakfast. It was the most important meal of the day to start with, but...even that alone wasn't enough to negate what was happening around them.
Steven sat right beside Kameron as they dug into their breakfast. In front of the boys laid a triple stacking of pancakes dowsed in syrup, banana slices, and small touches of cinnamon. Just looking at it was definitely a sight to behold, yet...instead of smiles across their faces, there were frowns. The boys were eating what was given to them, though any kind of joy that could be mustered up wasn't coming.
Looking to his left, Steven took another bite out of his pancakes and glanced at his big brother. On one note, he was still happy to have the chance to see him again. However, from the actions that took place yesterday and last night, he could understand to an extent on why his big brother was upset. Though he didn't fully understand the details about it, he could see it in his brother's eyes on what might be going on inside his head. He wanted to help him, but wasn't sure how nor knew how to.
Right beside Kameron, Citrine pierced his fork right into his large stack of pancakes before breaking off a large chuck and sending it right into his mouth. Shifting his eyes to the right, he took some glances onto his younger brother. He opened his mouth to speak after swallowing, but...nothing came out. Instead...he merely stabbed his fork into his pancakes once more, putting another large chunk into his chompers.
On the opposite side of the table, Onyx picked up his cup of coffee and brought it up to his lips. Tilting the cup the warm liquid was poured through his lips before he slowly pushed the cup away. His eyes locked onto his younger brother. His eyes blinked at Kameron, gazing at him eating his breakfast. To the left, his gaze shifted onto Steven. The boy looked just as sad as Kameron did, and it was pretty obvious on why. Perhaps... Perhaps it is time.
Lowering her cup of tea, Pearl's lips curved downward at the state of the boys. Looking at her nephew, her thoughts went back to the events of last night. That aura... The glowing eyes... Apart of her wanted to know how he was capable of doing such a thing, but her thoughts were more focused on how upset he was. He'd seen the Kindergarten... He shouldn't have and now there could be a possible of Steven seeing it too. Steven isn't ready for that yet, but now...things were going to have to change. But...what was going to happen after?
"Kameron. Steven." Lepidolite said, making them look up at her. "Do you like my pancakes?"
Chewing up some pancakes, Kameron swallowed and nodded.
Steven nodded too. "Yeah. These are delicious. Thank you, Lepidolite."
Lepidolite's lips lightly curved upward. Though they quickly went down when she turned to her little brother. She was more than certain this would bring a smile on his face, but that failed. Sure, he was still eating the pancakes and didn't show any form of disgust, but...he wasn't smiling.
"Kameron."
Lifting his head, Kameron turned is eyes onto his father.
"You wish to know the truth?" Green asked.
Kameron nodded at his father. "I just want to know what is going on? And exactly...what are all of you?"
Closing his eyes, Green began gathering his thoughts. Neither he nor the others were fully prepared for this to come. There would come a day in which his youngest son and his young nephew would want to know more about their kind. Looks like... Today is that day.
"Very well." Green said, reopening his eyes.
Pearl gasped and turned her head to Green, "Green. I'm not so sure about this."
"Kameron has seen the Kindergarten. That has made him curious. Steven must see it as well." Green said. "The boys are getting older. Kameron is almost sixteen-years old. Steven is almost fourteen-years old. They both have chosen to follow what we do. The Universe is now making us do this and it is better for the both of them to understand the past by facing it. For the Rainbow Gems and Crystal Gems to forge a future that will benefit everyone, we must take several steps back. And so, I suggest that they see this for themselves."
Pearl turned her head to the boys. A small groan exited her lips. To be fair, she had regretted this day would ever come, and now it officially has. This was a really, really bad idea for a number of reasons. And of course the one who started of this was Amethyst. Why? Why in the name of existence would she ever consider bringing Kameron to such a place? Sure, Amethyst had told him her reasoning, but now...now Pearl have to go back to the one place that she does not want to go to.
Putting her cup onto the table, Pearl stood up from her seat and pointed her eyes toward Green.
"I don't like this. I don't like this at all nor am I going to enjoy doing this, but...the situation itself has evolved into something that is beyond my control." Pearl said. "So...I will bare the responsibility of showing the boys the Kindergarten. And...I will require Citrine and Onyx to come along as well." She added.
Both brothers soon turned their heads to bird-nosed woman.
"How come we have to go too?" Citrine asked.
Pearl scoffed, "Isn't it obvious? Aside from your father and Garnet, you are the strongest in terms of raw strength. And Onyx can provide an escape for us if we run into something dangerous."
Citrine moaned. That made a lot more sense.
"However..." Christie spoke up. "Before anyone leaves the table, make sure you finish your breakfasts first."
Looking down at their plates, the boys continued eating. Steven couldn't help but crack a smile. He gets to see the Kindergarten too. He's gonna be able to learn more about Gems. Meanwhile, Kameron's facial expression remained the same, but at the very least he'd now be able to look into this more. Only thing left to wonder is...what were they gonna find?
In a flash of light Kameron, Steven, Pearl, Citrine, and Onyx arrived at their destination.
Taking a step forward Steven locked his eyes onto the area in front of him. This... This wasn't exactly what he'd picture when seeing the Kindergarten with his own eyes. On Earth kindergartens were a school term to describe young kids starting out and their first time getting into the world of education. But...the Kindergarten in front him wasn't like that at all.
"This... This is what Amethyst showed you?" Steven said, turning his head to Kameron.
Kameron turned to Steven and nodded. "Yeah. She told me she was born here." Taking a few steps ahead, Kameron placed his eyes onto the holes in the walls. "The holes in the walls... That's where other Gems were born from, aren't they?" He added, turning to his aunt.
Pearl nodded and started walking forward.
With every step they took Pearl gritted her teeth. From left to right her eyes shifted onto the plethora of holes in the walls to the damaged machines. Coming back here... Why... It's even worse now due to the fact that Steven was here too. But...unfortunately, Green was right about what they should do. They can't keep this from the boys forever.
"Pearl." Kameron said, making her turn her head to him. "What are those machines?"
Shifting her head to the other side she stopped at one of the damaged machines. Just looking at it from it's state made her lips curve downward. One of the many instruments of the Great War.
"This... This is called an Injector. These machines dig their drills into the ground and inject a liquid into the rocky-surface, then after a few seconds a Gem erupts from the wall and is given existence." Pearl replied.
Stepping up, Kameron raised out their hand, placing it right onto the old metal of the machine. So...this is the machine that gives birth to Gems. If that's the case then who created the machines? What about the liquid? Is the liquid the source of the Gems? Were there other beings that were around before Gems? More and more questions continued racing into his mind, creating the possibility of an enigma erupting.
"Were you born in a Kindergarten too, Aunt Pearl?" Kameron asked, turning his head to her.
At the mentioning of that...Pearl turned her head away. Bringing up her hands she intertwined them together. Closing her eyes her thoughts were slowly gathering themselves together. It's been a long, long, long time since she's even considered thinking about that. To her, it didn't matter anymore. But to Kameron and Steven, it'll give them more insight about her. But...it might also change how they see her. Even being here might've changed their perspectives on how they see the Rainbows and Crystals.
"I... I can't answer that." Pearl replied.
"But-" Kameron asked before getting interrupted.
"Kameron, please." Pearl replied, shutting her eyes tightly.
Seeing her in this state made Kameron removed his hand from the machine. It was personal to her. Perhaps, it was too personal for her to speak about.
"Alright." Kameron said softly.
Decreasing the tightness on her eyes, Pearl slowly opened them up and released her hands from each other. Letting out a puff of breath from her mouth she walked away from the machine and others.
"Come. Let's finish this up and go back. I don't want to be here any longer than we have too." Pearl said.
Without a words the boys, Citrine, and Onyx followed her onward.
The more they walked small moans continued exiting out of Steven's mouth. The more he kept looking at the atmosphere around him the more his nerves twitched. This was where Gems were born, but it felt sad and depressing. Still...even if it was, he was learning.
"Kameron. May I ask you something?" Pearl asked.
"About what?" Kameron replied.
"What happened last night. That aura... How were you capable of doing that?" Pearl said.
Kameron merely shrugged. That kind of question he was okay with answering.
"Training." Kameron answered.
Pearl's eyes greatly expanded at his answer. That's it? That was the reason?
"Citrine. Onyx. Is that true?" Pearl asked.
Citrine nodded. "Yeah. He's been able to do that since he turned fourteen."
"He merely allows the energy to build up inside his body. Depending on his state of mind depends on the outcome of the energy usage." Onyx explained.
Hearing this sent an array of thoughts into Pearl's mind. Kameron was able to to do what he did...because of training? And due to him having similar abilities to Green, there's no telling exactly what kind of skills he can do.
"That reminds me." Kameron said, turning his attention onto Steven. "What kind of training have you been up to, Steven?"
Steven turned to his big brother. "Actually, I haven't been training?"
Kameron's eyes soon expanded the moment Steven said that. Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Steven...hasn't been training? That's...bad. That's not a good thing at all. Both him and Kameron were born differently than their families, which meant they didn't automatically know what their abilities were, how many powers they had, and what to do with them.
"Then...exactly how are you able to use your powers?" Kameron asked.
Steven merely shrugged, "I just try to figure it out on my own."
Sucking in some air, Kameron exhaled it out and placed a hand onto his forehead. Of course. Why should he think otherwise. Well...something needed to be done about that. If Steven was gonna have a chance in going on missions, then he'll need to be prepared.
Going further and further into the Kindergarten, Pearl released a gasp from her mouth and stopped in her tracks. The others stopped and looked at her, wondering why they were stopping this time. Right in front of them was another collection of holes and a Injector in ruins. However, Pearl slowly walked up to one of the holes and placed a hand onto the crust of it's shape. Her lips slightly curved upwards as she locked her eyes onto it. Her eyes softened at it, but...tears started falling onto her cheeks. Looking into the hole there was an object just...lying on the ground. Going into the hole she reached her hand out and grabbed it before coming out.
Standing up she turned to the boys and showed them what was in her hands. It was...a scabbard. But this wasn't any ordinary scabbard. It was pink with the symbol of a rose on it.
"What's that, Pearl?" Steven asked.
Small sniffles exited her mouth before she could respond. "This Steven...is Rose's scabbard. I've been searching for this for years. I never thought it would ever end up here."
"That belonged to Rose?" Kameron asked.
Pearl nodded. "Yes. Rose use to hold her magnificent sword within it whenever we would engage in battle." Right then and there her lips curved down, "But...without the sword it remains incomplete. Since Rose's...Rose's...passing...I've been meaning to find her sword as well, but...with the passage of time I've been unsuccessful. It is unclear where it is now."
Huh... Looks like another mystery has erupted. Only...if this one was gonna be as hard as the others.
ROAR!
At the abrupt sound nearly everyone shook. Turning their heads they all witnessed Lion in the distance, slowly coming up to them.
Seeing Lion, Steven gasped as his pupils soon turned into stars. Maybe this'll help Pearl.
"Lion, I'm so glad you're here." Steven said, running up and wrapping his arms around Lion. Pulling away from Lion, Steven turned around and placed his attention onto Pearl. "Pearl, Lion can help complete the scabbard."
Pearl blinked at Steven before turning her head to Lion. Does Lion have something to do with Rose? The obvious answer was because of his pink appearance, but...maybe it was possible.
"Steven, your mother's sword isn't a just a regular blade. It resembles a cutlass saber. There are vines etched into the guard that connect to a rose-shaped pommel." Pearl replied.
Steven rapidly shook his head.
"Lion. May I have mom's sword, please?" Steven said, turning to Lion.
Lion tilted his head at him and shifted his sight onto the others. Soon after he kneeled in front of Steven as his body started glowing pink. At the tip of his forehead a bright pink light erupted and soon took the form of a pink pommel with a pink guard. Reaching his hands out, Steven wrapped his fingers around the pommel and began moving back. The further he moved back the more the object revealed itself until it fully came out.
"Here it is~" Steven sang, holding up the object in the air.
Pearl blinked and...couldn't find the words to describe what was right in front of her. All this time... Of all the places that's it's been, it was with Lion this whole time?
"Here, Pearl." Steven said, bringing the sword to her.
With one hand she reached out and wrapped her fingers onto the pommel. Lifting it away from Steven she increased her grip onto the blade and placed it into the scabbard. Just like that...Rose's sword and her scabbard were now reunited. And yet, she wasn't satisfied.
"What's wrong, aunt Pearl?" Kameron asked.
"Rose...never told me she had a lion." Pearl replied, putting her gazed onto the completed scabbard.
"Are you sure?" Citrine asked.
Pearl then narrowed her eyes and pointed them right at him. "Yes! Rose never had a lion! If she did, she would've told me about it."
Citrine took a step back from her outburst. He was just asking and yet she just blew up at his face.
"Perhaps Rose kept things from you." Onyx said, stepping forward.
Pearl immediately shook her head. "No! No, no, no! She tells me everything! If there was something bothering her, she would tell me. If I asked her a question she would answer me. If there was something on her mind I was the first one to know about it."
"Maybe...she wanted to protect you, like everyone else?" Steven asked.
Pearl then turned her head to him, shooting a harsh glare and making Steven take a step back.
"What would you know!? You've never even met her, Steven!" Pearl yelled.
Steven gasped with his eyes starting to shake.
"Hey, calm down, Aunt Pearl." Kameron said firmly, taking a step further.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Pearl yelled, turning her sights onto her nephew. "This is all your fault! If your mother and father never had you, Rose would still be alive!"
At that moment...it was as if time itself had stopped. The atmosphere felt even bleaker than before. The boys and Lion all pointed their eyes onto Pearl whom still carried an angry glare. But then...as the the area was getting more quiet than normal her glare had started fading. Instead, her eyes slowly widened as she lifted up her opened hand and placed it onto her mouth. Her eyes started shaking the more she looked at her nephew. The anger that she had just earlier...was now replaced with guilt.
"Kameron... I... No, I...I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm saying. I...I didn't mean it." Pearl said, her voice now filled with sorrow.
Kameron...merely stared at his aunt as he absorbed the words she had just told him. Yes, she was upset. But, from the way she said it, the words held truth in them. A collection of small beats echoed through his heart. His mind...could understand the meaning behind her words. His soul...was now engulfed in sorrow.
Raising up his hand Kameron placed it onto his goggles and slowly lowered them onto his eyes. This was not how he thought things would go when searching for the truth, but...it looks like a price had been paid when a painful secret had just been revealed.
"No, you did mean it." Kameron replied with a pained voice.
PING!
At the sound of the abrupt noise, Kameron, Citrine, and Onyx pulled out their phones and noticed a Gem symbol glowing before getting placed onto a location from the map.
"Steven. You're going back to the house." Kameron said, his voice now held no emotion.
"What? No, I wanna-" Steven replied until he got interrupted.
Right under his feet a small black portal erupted from the ground and without warning Steven fell right into it just as it closed up.
"Steven!" Pearl called out.
"Don't worry about him." Citrine replied while he approached Pearl with a glare across his face. "You'll see him after the four of us take care of the mission."
Some saliva went down Pearl's throat as she looked up at Citrine. The last thing she'd want to do was to make him even angrier. He wasn't Pyrope, but that didn't mean she'd want to see what would happen if Citrine was really angry. She slowly nodded at him as a large black portal erupted right behind her. Turning around Pearl was then shoved forward by Citrine and continued walking until she went inside the portal. After her Citrine followed suit with Kameron and Onyx following right after with the portal closing behind them.
On the other side of the portal the quartet were met with an interesting welcome.
Up above the sky was covered in gray clouds mixed with only a crescent moon and a group of stars giving off any kind of light. Down below the area was filled with an abundance of trees covered in snow alongside the ground. Near the trees were small patches of bushes covered in snow and small squirrels rapids running out of the bushes and across the snow to get to a nearby tree. Lastly, a small breeze of cold air blew right on by. Due to bodies, Citrine, Onyx, and Pearl couldn't feel the cold passing by. Though the same couldn't be said about Kameron as cold air exited his mouth while he placed his hood on.
"I'm gonna scout ahead and see if there's anything we need to worry about." Kameron said, walking away from the group.
"It's not too cold for you, is it?" Pearl asked worriedly.
A reply didn't leave Kameron's lips as he approached a nearby tree. Rushing up to it his foot granted him an extra boost upward as he managed to grab onto a branch and ascended further up the tree. Planting his feet onto a strong branch he bent his legs and hunched over before quickly leaping over toward another strong branch and another until he began moving among the trees.
Keeping an eye on him the others started walking onto the path they were on. Luckily for them the snow wasn't too deep, so traversal wasn't too much of an issue. However, that mattered little to Pearl as she kept a grip on Rose's sword while keeping her eyes on the trees. What she said to her nephew... It was in the heat of the moment, but he didn't deserve that. She'll have to apologize to him when she gets the chance.
Coming up to a large tree a collection of growls entered the atmosphere, making the trio stop in place. Behind the tree a snow wolf made itself known to them, walking out and locking it's eyes on it's prey.
The look in it's eyes... The way it was showing it's teeth... That alone made Pearl shiver and take a step back, but that was a big mistake. The snow wolf growl at her and pushed itself forward until it jumped into the air opened it's mouth at her. But...right when it could bare it's fangs into her a black portal erupted right in front of her, forcing the snow wolf to go right into it until it vanished into the darkness and the portal disappeared.
Pearl rapidly blinked at the events that just transpired. Everything was happening so fast she wasn't able to reach, but thankfully she was saved.
"Thank you, Onyx." Pearl said, turning to him.
Lowering his arm Onyx and Citrine continued walking without giving a word to Pearl. She...merely stood there in the snow and turned her head, watching the boys leave her without any kind of acknowledgement. Her lips curved downward as she started picking up the pace. While walking she raised up Rose's sword and scabbard near her Gemstone as it began to glow. The sword and scabbard were then covered in a white light and began to shrink until it got absorbed into her Gemstone. With her item now secured she lifted her head back onto the trees.
Soon, Citrine and Onyx came to a complete stop, allowing Pearl to catch up to them. Up in the trees Kameron slowly climbed down onto a lower branch before leaping right out of the tree and back onto the snow covered ground. Approaching his brothers and aunt the four of them stood side by side and looked down below to see their target.
In a large area stood a massively large orange creature with a huge horn sticking out of it's head. The creature stood on all six of it's legs and had small orange eyes with a large jaw. The creature had what looked like platings on it's back. Lastly, there was a large orange Gemstone placed on it's head near it's large horn.
The creature crawled right over to a large rock and grabbed it with it's large upper-arms and opened up it's large jaw before shoving the rock right into it. Up and down the creature's mouth crushed and chomped right onto the rock until it was nothing more than little tiny pieces before swallowing it. Turning it's head it spotted yet another large rock and began crawling right toward it.
"So... What's the plan?" Pearl whispered.
Taking a step forward, crystals started erupting onto Kameron's face and continued spreading until they covered his lower jaw. Raising up his right hand crystals started crawling right onto his skin and covered each of his fingers until they ended in sharp points.
"Aunt Pearl." Kameron whispered in a serious tone. "You take it out while me and my brothers give you an opening."
Pearl turned to her nephew and cocked an eyebrow. Just when she was about to ask him for details Kameron slammed his crystal covered hand into the ground.
On contact the crystals traversed through the soil and roots, making their way right toward the target. Coming in close four large crystals erupted right out from the ground, circling around the target. On their sides four crystal tendrils shot out and intertwined with the others until they pierced themselves onto the opposite crystal. The target lifted it's head and started looking around, not knowing what was going on.
Pulling his hand out, a black portal appeared in front of the boys and they immediately went into it before they closed themselves up.
Pearl wasn't entirely sure what was going on nor understood exactly what the plan was. The only thing that was given to her was that her nephew told her she would be the one to take it out and that an opening would be granted to her. Though it is extremely unclear on what that opening was going to be, she's putting her trust into her nephew's words. Her Gemstone started to radiate a white glow before she raised her hand to it and pulled out her spear. Twirling it she grabbed onto the lower portion of it's tip and held it up while locking her eyes onto the target.
A black portal soon erupted within the surrounding crystals and coming out of it Kameron dashed straight toward the target. Leaping into the air he twisted his body and soon stretched his leg out, aiming it right onto the creature's jaw. On contact the creature was greatly pushed back, however just as it was going airborne another black portal came out with Citrine popping in. Stretching his arms out he grabbed onto the horn of the creature. Getting a good grip on it he began rotating his upper-body over and over and over until he threw the creature straight into the air.
Raising up her head, Pearl locked her eyes onto the airborne target. Her spear was then engulfed in a white light as she pulled it back. Soon...the target began descending right back down and right when it was coming down toward the middle of the area Pearl lifted her leg and stomped onto ground before taking a step forward and throwing her spear straight forward. In a flash the spear burst straight through the cold air, reaching it's target further and further until it pierced itself right through it's body.
POOF!
Right then and there the creature released a loud grunt until it was imploded into a large orange explosion. The only thing remaining of the creature was it's Gemstone as it starting falling from the air before landing right onto the soft snowy ground.
Leaping into the air Pearl came right down into the area and went straight to the Gemstone. Picking it up she engulfed it into a white bubble before tapping it's top, sending it away. The mission was complete, yet...she didn't any kind of joy from the success. Turning her head she spotted the boys as the crystals in the area started breaking apart while Kameron held his arm into the air. Once they started breaking into smaller pieces they all began flying right toward his arm. One after the other the crystal shards were then absorbed into his skin without causing any kind of discomfort until they were all gone.
Dismissing the crystals on his lower jaw, Kameron and his brothers approached Pearl.
"Wow..." Pearl said in awe. "Kameron, I...I never knew you were that flexible with your powers."
"That's what training can do for you." Kameron replied until he rapidly turned his head to the side. "Achoo!"
Pearl gasped and approached him, "Are you okay?" She asked, raising a hand to him.
Kameron took a step back, making his aunt miss contact with him. A few sniffles exited his nose as it wiped it with the sleeve of his hoodie.
"I'm fine. C'mon, let's get out of the cold." Kameron replied.
Pearl retracted her arm and gave him a nod. Shortly after Onyx raised out his arm, summoning another portal. Together the four of them walked into it as it started closing behind them.
End Of Episode 18.
Hope you all enjoyed. Now things are getting spicy, and not in a good way.
See you all soon.