'I...Thanks. Just don't tell anyone I'm here yet, okay?'

Did Sodalite know she wasn't ready to go back out yet? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, she was glad that she would be able to stay behind for a while. She returned the smile and watched Sodalite leave, a quarter of her wanted to chase after and change her mind.

She'd follow in time. For now, she needed to be alone a bit.

Her attention turned towards the books. She'd never actually seen, much less read one before, and her only (rather vague) knowledge of them came from Reggie. But she was more than familiar with drawings, and there were certainly lots of those, at least on the covers. Practically breathing in the images before her, she took in every single detail, trying and failing to avoid thinking of Talc.

If Talc liked my crude scribbles, she would've loved these.

Wait.

Would've loved?

She's fine, Eve, for the love of the sky. Fragile or not, she's lived for so long. It's not like she'll be taken down so quickly...Not like Howlite...

...Right?

She hoped she was right. Yet her worries kept tugging at her mind. Worries of Talc, worries of Reggie, worries about words and swords and right hands. They tugged as she finally flipped the book open, tugged as she tried making sense of the words before her, and tugged as the minutes went by, and soon they were tugging down at the corners of her mouth, only returning to a smile whenever Sodalite would.

For a good week, she remained like this, holed away in Sodalite's room. A week too long.

With a sigh, she gathered the books, put them away, and walked over to the door. Hesitating for a good few minutes, Eve though as to whether she really wanted to leave, but she knew that if she stayed alone any longer she'd just be left with those thoughts.

Besides, she wanted to stay beside Sodalite, and Reggie was probably worried.

And so, without another moment longer, she took a step forwards, the clanging of gears and turning of gears ringing behind her as she took a step forward. A gentle but clear "Hello," broke any chances of her going unnoticed to anyone in the temple.

"...It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Chromite took note of several other gems arriving alongside her and Candice. "Glad you could make it, Commander." she said. "These corrupted gems appear to be especially powerful, I could use your help." She blocked a few more attacks from one of them and pulled out her lance.

"You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun, did you?" Bloodstone retorted. "What do you say we give them the thunder and lightning treatment like old times?"

Chromite gave a contented smile and nodded. She began to loudly bang on her shield to attract the attention of the disgusting lizard. She tried to lead it away from Bloodstone so he could get a clear shot at it.

Hessonite and Pyrite were right on Aqua's tail, following her diligently in hopes of communicating with Bloodstone.

Candice looked at the other gems as they appeared and Chromite spoke to BloodStone. She saw that Mars was indeed with the rest of the group, and she shot a brief discreet glare at BloodStone and Aquamarine. She was about to call to Mars and tell them to get out of there, but she couldn't as another attack headed her way, and she fired back. She took her chance after the attacks and called "Mars! Run!" Just as she dodged another attack, she felt something ram into her chest and she yelped as she was thrown backwards. She didn't show that she was affected, and she quickly got back up.

Mars, having arrived at the scene shortly before the rest, had been grappling with one of the corrupted gems(the green one), still in his feline form. The two were rolling around in a chaotic tumble, clawing and biting at each other with a savage ferocity. The corrupted gem suddenly pushed Mars off of it with its back legs, clawing up his belly a bit as it did so. The transformed gem was sent flying a short distance before it hit the ground hard, rolling for a bit before he slid to a halt, a growl still emanating from his throat as he shifted back into his gem form.

Raising up his hand, he summoned six medium-sized chakrams, imbuing them with his energy to cause them to fly around him in a swarm of razor sharp fury as he rushed back into battle, ignoring Candice's command as he launched 3 of his chakrams at the cluster to keep it off of Candice, while he focused on the green gem. However, try as he might, the corrupted gem was able to dodge a majority of his attacks, all the while landing a few of it's own, striking at him when an opening formed in his swarm and sending him flying back. Each hit had a noticeable effect on him, but he continued to charge forward, trying again and again to bring down the beast. While he did this, the chakrams he'd thrown at the cluster would surround Candice, obviously meant to protect her, though the focus it must take to keep up this defense and deal with the corrupted gem was obviously taking it's toll on Mars ability to fight effectively.

Aqumarine had her own problems once she had arrived on the scene of battle since one of the corrupted gems decided to block her path to the others. It's plasma like wings stretched out as it shrieked angrily while spitting the same plasma like substance in her direction making her roll back to dodge it, her hand quickly pulling her weapon as she did. The ground sizzled, the substance melting into it at a quick pace causing a frown to form on her features. There was no way she would be able to use small ice attacks against this creature which meant she was much more limited than she had been prepared for. The creature sprinted forward, looking ready to run directly into her but instead used the momentum to slide around and whip its tail harshly into Aqua. She ended up roughly slamming and rolling across the ground, a growl softly leaving her lips at the mark left behind from the beast as the wound steamed and the plasma stuck to her form. She stood up, wiping the goo off and ignoring the wound it created on her hand by doing so and looked up in determination.

She picked up her foot, smashing it to the ground as ice shot out around her and the creature, thick spikes up ice stabbing upward at the creature causing it to jump up into flight. Aqua had been ready for just that reaction and tossed her weapon at the corrupted gem, stabbing it into the creatures leg which caused it to howl in pain before soaring higher. She tried to pull on the chain, hoping to keep the creature in place but it had too stronge of a force and dragged her off the ground slightly before the ice crawled up to grip her. It wouldn't help hold the creature but it did save her from an unexpected ride as she had to let go of the chain.

Aquamarine took the free second to check on the others, able to finally see what was going on at least before the corrupted gem came back with a vengeance. She noted that Bloodstone and Chromite had teamed up against what she could only assume was this 'Cluster' since she had never seen a corrupted like that before. It looked almost like a lizard made of tar but a chill ran down her spine at all the different eyes peering out of the body of the thing. The eyes seemed fimilar though she wasn't sure why but something was extremely wrong with it...it was definitely different that was for sure. She shook her head, wanting to get her mind off the thing and turned her attention away from the capable pair since she was more worried about the others on the field. Candice seemed strong but she was still a human which made Aqua worry since their bodies were fragile in comparison to their own. Mars would feel pain at the loss of the girl and all it would take was a well placed hit, no matter how skilled she was. Humans were much easier to lose...even without injuries. For now, it seemed like she was holding her own and Mars's weapons circled carefully in a type of barrier but Mars seemed to be in more of a pickle. The Lion's attacks seemed to be hitting more often than not which she could only guess was because of his protection of the girl. The focus he would need might be too much for him to handle while fighting since it was a new experience to try without the proper training to do so. The ice around her feet crumbled as she moved to jump down and headed in Mars's direction with a plan. He might not agree to such a plan but it seemed the most logical in giving him a boost to help Candice and it would also keep him more protected which seemed like a win win. It would also make it so she didn't have to worry over two but just one if he agreed to what she was going to offer.

The Lion moved to attack Mars again but Aqua quickly threw up a wall of ice around the creature though with its level of power, it wouldn't take too long for it to break through. They only had a short amount of time to discuss this since the two corrupted gems would be back into play soon and an even shorter time to make it happen. She looked over at Bloodstone but a moment, longing to do as she was about to suggest with him but he would probably never want to at least not with her or it felt that way. If they were to than this would seem like child's play but right now she needed to put Bloodstone from her mind as she focused on Mars. This would protect him and Candice as well as give enough power to equal or beat the corrupted gem.
"Mars..." she started softly before holding out her hand,"Please fuse with me. Together we would be strong enough to defeat this corrupted gem and also protect Candice."

Mars' battle with the corrupted gem was suddenly interrupted as a wall of ice rose up between them, giving Mars some time to breathe. Falling to his knees, Mars could help but feel completely useless in this fight, and as his uncovered eye turned to Candice's position, he felt it increase even more so. How could he protect her from that if he couldn't even hold of this smaller one.

His self-deprecation was cut short, however, as Aquamarine came over to him and asking him to . . . 'fuse'. The word brought up memories, fractured and hazy, but filled with a sense of awe, wonder. . . and power. He didn't understand exactly what was being asked of him, but he knew that it would make him stronger, perhaps even strong enough to fight the Cluster. With only a second of hesitation, he reached out to take Aqua's hand, rising above her and letting her lead him in a dance. Her movements were elegant yet serene, fluid like the waters of a river. In contrast, Mars matched her step for step, only everything about him was more aggresive and energized. Heat and Cold, Fire and Ice, the two would seem to both clash and meld as their gems began to glow.

Mars felt his body and mind fade away, transforming into formless energy as their gem forms circled each other. Memories, feelings, fears, secrets, everything about them was open to the other, and while Mars had little to offer due to his youth, Aqua was a veritable ocean of experiences, wrapping him up in a complex web of emotions that he could barely understand. He lost grip on himself, falling into the azure depths of their shared mind, a burning ember of gold amidst the sea. Soon, he couldn't distinguish the difference between his thoughts or hers. He was simply a part of a greater whole, and as the fusion neared completion, a process that had felt like hours but had only been minutes, two eyes opened to witness an entirely different world.

"I . . . I never knew the world could look like this . . ." The Mars half of the newly-born fusion said in awe as she rose from the ground, seeing it in color for the first time. The battle seemed far off as they looked at themselves in the mirror-like surface of the ice, only for cracks to start appearing on its surface. The beast on the other side was demanding their attention.

Meanwhile, the Chakrams around Candice had changed, turning into rings surrounded by glowing light blue energy, striking at the Cluster more efficiently than before and causing small bits of ice to form on impact.

Meanwhile the cluster snapped at Chromite, hitting her shield with a loud clanging sound. She bashed her shield against its face, hoping to keep it distracted. Bloodstone jumped on top of its back and began slashing at the nape of its neck. The beast became frenzied and violently tried to shake Bloodstone off of its back. While this was happening, Chromite took the opportunity to thrust her spear into the underside of its neck while Bloodstone delivered a final blow to its head before he could be knocked off. The giant lizard disappeared in a cloud of smoke and shattered gems littered the ground. Bloodstone bent down to start picking up some of the shattered gems and gestured for Chromite to do the same, leaving the others to take care of the corrupted gems for the time being. "That was the first decent challenge I've had in a while." Blodstone looked surprisingly at ease, happy for the chance to finally flex his muscles again. "I knew you still had it in you, Chromite." he laughed. Chromite smirked, unusually for her, and said "Who told you I ever lost it, Commander? Not me." Bloodstone smiled back and said "Set your shield on the ground, I have an idea that will save us some trouble." Chromite did as Bloodstone said, and he started piling gem shards into it.

Hessonite and Pyrite looked to one another, sharing a brief glance with one another before joining arms and spinning about. Their bodies glew a magnificent white, the two forms joining into one larger form, twice the size of them at least. The new form was a similar yellow to Pyrite, her ears pointed and her hair just as wild to match. Three diamonds decorated the front of her sleeveless shirt. She had strapped arm warmers that went all the way from her biceps to her wrists, leaving only her shoulders exposed. Her thigh-high boots had small diamonds on them as well, the bottom of her boots plain and sock-like.

A devilish smirk appeared across her face as she stretched. "Ah, It's good to be back." Her eyes rolled ever so slightly. "Not where and when I wanted, but a fight is a fight."

Candice was caught by surprise by the sudden appearance of the chakrams at first, but she kept on fighting, and she kept an eye on Mars as she continued fighitng. There were a few close calls where the monster almost got Mars, but she managed to fire a bullet at the corrupted gem to make it recoil away from Mars during those two or three times. She wasn't going to let Mars get hurt, not while she was around. As she fought, she noticed that the chakrams would attack the cluster if it got too close to her, and she tried to use that to her advantage, despite that the attacks alone weren't very effective (such as trying to get in a position where the chakram could hit a weak spot).

She stopped when a wall of ice surrounded Mars, blocking the lion from him. She looked for a moment to see that Aquamarine was responsible, and she had a hand extended to Mars, which he accepted. She blinked to see that they were dancing. At first, she would've asked if this was really the time with incredulity, but then she remembered what she saw through the hidden cameras...Mars was fusing with Aquamarine!

Sure enough, Mars formed into nothing more than light, and melded with Aquamarine as she became light as well. Soon another figure stood in their place, and Candice could see the figure had two gems, one on the chest, and the other on the wrist. Her attention was drawn to the lion and the fact that the chakrams had turned into rings that glowed light blue. Noticing that the rings had improved in attack, she called out to the lion gem in order to give the fusion a bit more time, "Hey! Over here, you overgrown house cat!"

The insult seemed to get the corrupted gem's attention (apparently it had a sense of pride). She prepared herself for the attack as the lion lowered itself and prepared to pounce on her. She raised her gun and fired at the lion before she moved out of the way and allowed the rings to hit the lion.

Ma-no,their name was Larimar, turned to face the beast, only to see that it had turned it's attention towards Candice. This filled them with a protective anger as they haled out their hand, bringing forth Aquamarine's spear, only for it to shift and alter as they summoned a brace of chakrams to mesh with the spearheads, mixing and melding together until something entirely different was formed, a large staff with rings set on the top that rang ever so softly as they moved it. Larimar didn't spend much time on it however, as they moved forward to face the corrupted gem that was assaulting Candice, a cold look in their eye as they surged forward, who was tripped up by the glowing rings that were now protecting Candice.

The rings seemed to not have as much effect as on the Cluster, the protruding crystals on its body blocking it from most of the damage. This made the lion continue on its current path, sprinting forward instead of pouncing at the insutling human in its wake. It would have made contact if not for the multitude of rings slamming down before it and to the side making the creature have to jump out of the way. Its eyes narrowing in on the one that had dared to attack it and get in the middle of its prey. A tall slender woman with long flowing snow colored locks was what came into its view, her weapon held beside her as rings glowed at the top of her weapon before becoming solid once more. The corrupted gem let out a loud roar, frustration obvious as yet another new enemy had appeared to stop them. It pounced at Larimar, swiping once it was near only to have her gracefully jump out of the way of its razor sharp claws. The creature bared its fangs, the crystals on its back growing in size as if it would on an angered cat if it was fur. It swiped once more before quickly moving in for a bite out of this annoying thing before it but it didn't bite down on anything soft or satisfying. No, in its mouth were sharp edges, the woman's weapon now lodged in the lion's mouth and pushing so to force the lion at a greater distance before removing the item.

The lion turned, dashing back at Candice instead of facing Larimar but it wasn't as enough as rings slammed against the creatures feet, the ice tripping the creature up since it had no protection there. The lion snarled trying to pick itself back up from the ground slowly as it realized that there was no way around not fighting the blue enemy.With a subtle grace, they swung their weapon in a swift yet calm motion, and while the action itself was almost gentle, the resulting action was anything but, as a large bulwark of ice rose up from the ground, smacking the beast into the air with a solid smack. Almost as if they were in a trance of some sorts, Larimar began to manipulate the ice around her, having it remain frozen yet move around her as fluidly as water. Set in a hypnotic dance she transformed it into a sharp spike and sent it hurtling towards the airborne figure, but it was quick to twist out of the way at the last second, landing on the icy spire before leaping off, letting out a growl of vengeance as it did so.

The tall warrior showed not a hint of fear at the creatures attack, however, thrusting out her Shakujo, the rings spinning rapidly before phasing off the weapon to slice through the air, bringing with them the same sound of gentle ringing. The monster tried to move out of their way, but they came back around and began to relentlessly batter the creature, slowly covering it in ice and bruises before it finally crashed into the ground, barely able to move as it was covered in a thick layer of ice. Raising the Shakujo, Larimar seemed to pray for the creature, shaking her staff to send signal it's passing, before bringing the but of the weapon down on them, causing the corrupted gem to quickly poof, leaving only their gem to fall to the ground. Larimar winced at having to stab the lion but they wanted this to be over with so that Candice would be safe and that is what filled them with the determination to poof the adorable corrupted gem.Reaching down, Larimar calmly bubbled the fragile stone, giving it a small kiss before sending it on it's way to the temple where it could be protected. Once that was taken care of, the tall gem turned her eyes to Candice, walking towards the human with a slight sway in her gait. She let go of her Shakujo, letting it deconstructed into nothing but a small, fading cloud of floating light particles, flaring brightly before flickering out, once more accompanied by the calming sound of ringing bells though Larimar paid little attention to that.

They walked slowly over to the other, long snow hair swaying back and forth as she did. She didn't say a word until she was right before Candice, she simply bent down a little to look her in the eye, giving a slightly coy smile as she notice a hair of hers was out of place. Her hand moving out to slowly push a strand of hair behind the girl's ear having her finger slowly trail down Candice's face in a caring, yet playful manner as it made it's way to her chin, raising it up a little as she stood up but they couldn't resist moving the hand back up to rest on Candice's cheek softly as if almost cupping it. "Are you alright?" she asked,her voice having a deep, maternal cadence to it, a sure sign of Aquamarine's major influence, yet there was also a clear hint of Mars' playful energy there as well. A light smile was set on her lips but worry in her eyes as she awaited Candice's answer with bated breath.

Candice braced herself for the blow from the lion, but instead of feeling hit and being pinned to the ground, a multitude of rings smacked into the lion and made it jump away from her. Candice watched a bit as the lion and the fusion of Mars and Aquamarine fought the lion, the fusion seemed to overpower the lion with ease. Candice gasped lightly as the lion turned to face her and charged at her. Before she could even think of dodging, the lion was hit and it poofed after the last attack from the fusion.

She looked to the fusion as she dismissed the weapon in a flash of light and she started walking towards her. Candice prepared herself for anything, as she didn't know how this fusion was going to act.

Unfortunately, nothing could prepare her for the affection and concern the fusion showed for her.

Her face turned red as the fusion pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and rested her hand on Candice's cheek. She answered the fusion, trying to keep her composure "Er, I-I'm fi-fine!" Her mind reeled with the fact that this fusion was acting in this manner. She wanted to ask so many questions about what happened to Mars and Aqua, and about the fusion. However she snapped out of this dizzying state as soon as a loud screech echoed and she looked to the corrupted gem that was left with a slight gasp.

A loud screeched filled the air, the long forgotten corrupted gem returning to where it had been injured. It came down quickly, grabbing the first one it saw with is claws before taking back off just as fast as it had come. The unfortunate Chalcopyrite being the creatures' victim as it head towards the town where everyone and the young gems were.
Blood looked up at the creature took off, making plans to go after it until he saw the direction in which it was heading.The young gems would need to be warned and Aquamarine wouldn't have her earpiece anymore because of the fusion. He felt a slight tinge of panic, worrying for the gems since he could care less about the humans there unless maybe it were Reggie.
He touched the communicator, trying to send a full out message to all of them and praying they got it.
"Everyone! Listen to me! A corrupted gem has gotten past us and is headed your way fast! Be prepared to fight or get out of there! We are on our way but hold it off for as long as possible. I repeat, it is headed for town!" he said, knowing the reply would be static for most but there was nothing to be done about that. It wasn't looking good that was for sure.

"You dumb mutant, let go!" Chal yelled at the beast carrying her. Her style of fighting in this form was of no use when she was hanging. Her feet were down and away from the mutant, and attempting to cut herself free of unfuse would be fatal for even a gem at this height.

Once more, she smirked. Her exclusive weapon wouldn't be of much help in the current situation, but Hessonite's weapons would be rather useful. With only will, Chalcopyrite's feet were covered in a nearly white light, shaping Hessonite's power boots over her own feet. Using the boots, she launched bursts of energy out of the bottoms, rocking her back and forth underneath the airborne mutant carrying her Diamond knows where. If she could just swing enough to blast the dumb mutant in it's face so they'd both fall, she could propel herself down to the ground safely. Neither of their natural powers would allow them to get out of it's tight grip, so they'd just have to wait and see where they're going.

"What...what just happened?" It seemed like a strange thing to say, staring at the door of the temple, talking to nobody but himself. Emerald was a bit confused by what had just happened. Something about a mutant, or... or something. He was too tired to think of something better. He would try to put it together after he had some time to rest. Things were getting blurry. He had thought he had heard some noises in the distance, but he dismissed them as being in his head. He walked over to the wall and slumped down against it. If anything happens, I'm sure they'll tell us. Emerald closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep once more.

"Wow! Carnelian, I love your costume! It's so elegant!"
"Where'd you get the mask? It's so lovely!"
"Carnelian, will you be coming to the party tonight?! I would love to be able to dance with you there!"
"Oh Dahling, that is so sweet of you! I think I can make it to the party tonight. After all, I did make this costume for the occasion! OHOHOHOHO!"

Ever since Carnelian had come to Mohs Town she had gained a group of admirers (men and women alike), and whenever she wasn't training or resting at the Temple, she was always out and about, allowing the admirers to show her around. It was a good way to learn about the town, and she got to bask in their praises towards her obvious beauty and ladylike mannerisms. Of course there were others in Mohs Town who merely blushed when they looked at her, or looked away, but she pegged them as just being too shy, unlike her admirers. She had noticed the occasional spat between two admirers, but she ignored it in favor of their kindnesses. Her attention did not waver from her admirers...until she heard a familiar voice on the earpiece.

"Everyone! Listen to me! A corrupted gem has gotten past us and is headed your way fast! Be prepared to fight or get out of there! We are on our way but hold it off for as long as possible. I repeat, it is headed for town!"

Carnelian sighed softly in irritation of the rude one's words. She mumbled quietly to herself "Now of all times..." She then stood up from her seat at the cafe table and she excused herself politely to her admirers "I apologize, Dahlings, but there is something I must attend to. I'll be back with you shortly. Ta ta for now!" The admirers didn't get the chance to try and convince Carnelian to stay, as she hurried off, the kimono not hindering her movements at all. She walked as fast as she was able, without alerting anyone that something was wrong. She was headed off to go and fight off the corrupted gem.

Spinel got Bloodstone's message and began moving into the town. She spoke back into her communicator. "I'm going to look for a vantage point. I'll let you know if I see the corrupted gem." She hurried through the town, eyes dating about for something suitable. There was a clock tower near the center of town with an area at the top where she could stand. Spinel ran into the building and climbed the stairs as fast as she could until she reached the roof, probably startling several township employees on her way there. When Spinel reached the roof, she generated her crossbow and looked for the gem beast that was headed their way. She began to load her bow.

"Ugh... my bloody head..." The groan escaped the giant Gem that was Amber as he groggily sat up from the massive pile of miscellaneous pillows and blankets that apparently acted as his bed. He let out a deep, practically floor shaking yawn as he stretched his beefy limbs. "Oi, this trainin' is taken a lot out of me..." The living orange mountain grimaced aloud as he felt the soreness that was spread out through his body. The past few weeks had been a blur for Amber, he spent all of his time training. Ever since that day in the kindergarten Amber had been pushing himself more and more, he didn't want to feel like he wasn't trying hardest. He didn't want to be the reason any more of his friends got hurt or worse... Amber shook his head in an attempt to rid it of such thoughts before he hopped out of his mound of cushions. His room wasn't much, in all honestly it was one of the more simple ones in the temple. Besides his mountain of pillows in blankets the only things of note in the room were a various assortment of large and heavy metal objects, Amber had taken it upon himself to start collecting such things after he over heard a group of humans in town talking about how pumping iron made them stronger. With yet another yawn and a scratch of his ample belly Amber began to make his way out of his room. His eyes were still half shut as he entered the main room of the temple. "Mornin' all, what did I miss?" Amber asked to no one in particular, in all honesty no one could of been in the room for all he knew.

"Mornin' all, what did I miss?"
Emerald snapped awake, glancing bleary-eyed around the room before seeing Amber. Emerald took a second to wake up enough to focus, before turning to Amber and speaking. "Good morning, Amber. They....erm...the others went off somewhere....something about gem....monsters? I'm still not really sure." Emerald sat there for a second, staring off into the distance, although the distance was really a wall about forty feet away. "Wait...what?" For some reason, he hadn't actually realized what was going on until he said it. "Uh oh."

Sodalite smiled. She wasn't quite sure how long Evenkite was going to stay hulled away in her library, but she was glad that she didn't stay in there for too long. She didn't mind the thought of a little librarian Evenkite going around and sorting her books and even adding some new ones to the collection. Some new gems appeared, none that she recognized, and Bloodstone left to go and sulk somewhere, but she remained at the temple, vigilant and ever-watching. Emerald was doing his thing. Just standing around and probably complaining internally, if she had to take guesses.

"Mornin' all, what did I miss?"

It was amber!

After Evenkite had left, Sodalite confided with Amber, endlessly going on about her plans and contingencies. She was now sure that he was tired of all of that, and after the death of Howlite, she hadn't spoken much to him. She assumed their friendship was still valid, and charged at the larger gem and lept onto him, her arms wrapping around him to hold herself up. "Amber!" She smiled more. "Evenkite is back, and you look.. you!"

"Mornin' all, what did I miss?"

How did it not occur to her that Amber would return to the temple? Eve was prepared for many things today. But this?

This was not one of those things.

So what was it that Amber missed?

No idea, but I hope it's me. Leaving. In front of you. Because otherwise this is going to be very, very awkward.

And sure enough, what not with Eve's usual luck, such simply couldn't be the case. No, Sodalite had already told Amber that she was here. At that moment, Eve wished she had never left the room -no, never left her room, the little crevice isolated from the world, where she was meant to stay in until Talc returned. She still liked Amber, but she doubted that feeling was mutual after their brief meeting after Howlite's death, and the last thing she wanted right now was a draining interaction or hostile reaction. Though now there wasn't much of a choice. Leaving would probably result in a worse one.

So with her face yellow-green and her ears pointed down, she took in a deep breath, collected herself, and opened her mouth. A thousand different words crossed her mind.

Not one came out.

It was as if any sound she tried to make was sucked away before they could take form. Closing her mouth quickly, Eve simply stood where she was, head down, left hand tugging at her right sleeve, heels on the floor, trembling ever so slightly.

This was a mistake.

H-He could crush you...j-just like that.

He probably hates me.

W-What if he d-did it?

He must be furious, seeing me.

Amber couldn't help but grin, it was good to see that Emerald was still his old self even in the face of... wait did he just say monsters? Before Amber had the chance to follow up on Emerald's statement he was glomped, he had picked up that term from a rather nice girl he had met in town. It took him a moment to realize it was Sodalite who was responsible for the sudden hug attack, yet again causing Amber to break out into a grin. "Well it is good to see ya too lassie." The giant Gem said as he held his blue cohort in his arms and let out a hearty laugh. Then the news that hit him pretty hard came, Eve was back, and she was standing right there. Amber couldn't lie to save his life, he was pretty hurt when Eve left and that hurt eventually turned to resentment. Then again Amber had been harboring a lot of resentment for the last few weeks, only a small piece of it being towards Eve. But over the weeks of training Amber found it impossible to keep all that negative feeling in him, it slowly but surely slipped away from him and he found himself feeling sorry about how he turned away from Eve. He slowly set Sodalite down before walking over to Eve, getting down onto a knee in order to be at her eye level. Amber was the brightest bulb but he could see how down Eve was and he couldn't help but feel responsible, he couldn't have that. So with out a word Amber quickly pulled the tiny Gem into a massive hug. "It is grand to see ya again wee lass." He said in the jolliest voice he could muster. He then tossed her into the air, stood up and safely caught her on his shoulder in a sitting position. The orange Gem gave Eve a huge grin before turning back to Sodalite and Emerald. "I don't know 'bout ya lot, but I 'ave been cooped up in 'ere far too long. Who wants to go stomp on some monster faces?" Amber said before throwing his fist into the air and another hearty laugh.

Reggie was currently wondering the city streets, his gun and sword strapped to his sides and his emerald gem battle suit gleaming in the sunlight. As people passed him by and gave him looks, as he gave off an aura of intense anger. People gave him a wide berth as he fingered the latches of his weapons, clipping and unclipping them as he continued to pace around town. The cause for his anger was simple, yet complicated all at once.

He had found himself with the chance to finally gain the vengeance that he had lost hope in years ago, and this brought forth a surge of emotions that he hadn't felt in a very long time. But, in order to gain this information, he would need to give information on Bloodstone and potentially put the gems in danger. He'd said yes, but whether or not he'd actually go through with it . . . he needed some time to think this through. Walking around, he simply watched people pass by for the most part. After some time, he sat down on a bench and took out his Gem-modified Desert Eagle, the shining gold now sporting a few pulsating lines of emerald-like material.

What do I value more, protecting my friends . . . or finally getting some closure on my parent's death?

Sodalite removed herself from Amber and continued to smile. Their group, if it could be called that, was back together! All they were missing was Reggie, who Sodalite wasn't sure where he was at the moment. In any case, the blue gem looked to Evenkite and glanced at Amber, subtly motioning her to move closer to Amber. When simple gestures didn't seem to be enough, Sodalite wordlessly started to push Evenkite forward to Amber, hoping for the two to let bygones be bygones and at least start on the road to recovery.

Flying-Plasma Corrupted Gem

The corrupted gem held onto its prey, safe from any possible attack from the being in its grasp but not to the creature's knowledge. It did however wobble a bit from the pain as the gem below started to struggle in its grasp and irritate the already hurt leg that Aquamarine had dealt in battle earlier. It tightened its grip on the other but just as Chalcopyrite stopped in her endeavor of attack to wait out their little flight, the corrupted gems hurt leg let go of Chal on one side to dangle them by the one arm it still had grasp off. It didn't bother with the fact this could be a bad thing as it just focused in on the town now spotted, letting out a loud shrill cry as it came closer and closer to the unsuspecting humans having no idea that it was in the line of sight of Spinel and that other gems were scattered about the area ready to defend. It built up speed, rushing in so that it could attack and ravage the town below with hot plasma.

Carnelian easily spotted the monstrosity, carrying another gem in its claws. After she stopped in what she considered an ideal spot, while the humans were running away. She gracefully reached towards her gem on her nape, and immediately materialized two fans. She took a moment to stare at the small sacs that were hidden within the fans, and she watched as they filled themselves with a green liquid. During what time she had to train, she learned how to create poisons, and she was now creating a paralyzation poison for her to use. As soon as her fans were ready to dispense the poison with just a simple wave of the open fans, she leapt up the buildings with grace, and she propelled herself into the air to reach the monster's...face, if she could call it that.

As soon as she was at it's level in the air, she smirked "Hello, Dahling!" She then waved the fans at monster, sending the poison at the monster. She tried to get it into the monster's mouth as well as the skin, just in case the skin won't absorb the poison. However, there was also the chance that the poison may have landed on the captured gem as well.

After she had twirled gracefully and dispensed the poison, she fell back down to the Earth, and closed her fans, preparing herself for if the monster fell to ground from the paralyzation.

Spinel had to think fast. She was in the best position she could be in to make a shot, but the creature was holding a gem who could be hurt from the fall. She saw Carnelian trying to fight it below her. This made Spinel's decision even harder. Should she keep waiting and allow Carnelian to possibly be hurt? Should she risk taking the shot? Would it even matter anymore, now that the monster had been hit? She turned visible, placed her bow on the floor and put her hands over her mouth, sacrificing her relative safety in order to get Carnelian's attention. "LURE IT TOWARDS ME!" she shouted.

Hello, Dahling!

Chal continued to struggle against the gem mutant, doing all she could to assist the other gem in freeing her and taking down the monster. She was much stronger as a fusion than her two smaller components were, and the Poison, while nothing to laugh at, was not enough to do serious damage to Chal.

With a spark of imagination, she remembered something that Pyrite had seen on one of the televisions during their time wandering the earth. She continued to swing, wrapping her arms and legs around the mutant the best she could before activating her Adhesion to cling to it. She rocked herself to her sides in an attempt to get them spinning, hoping to drill them into the ground head first. Unfortunately, they did not have weighted clothing, nor did they have arm wraps that seemed to make them more powerful when taken off.

Carnelian easily landed on her feet, somehow still adding a bit of flare and grace, with a flourish of her kimono. She looked up at the monster, anticipating its fall when she saw the captured gem try to do something. What was that gem planning? Didn't they realize that they were probably going to be paralyzed soon. She looked towards the bell tower when she heard a familiar voice call out to her, telling her to lure the monster to them. She was in complete deadpan when she touched the headset and she answered Spinel through the headset, "Spinel, dahling, why didn't you say so earlier?! I've already used paralyzation poison on it! It's going to fall soon!"

She shook her head and she continued through the headset "Ah'll do what ah can dahling. Just hang on," She then jumped up again, and catching the monster's attention she called out to the monster, "Oh sweetheart! Large, Dark, and Hideous! Come and get me!" She then tried to lead the monster over towards Spinel when she figured that she had its attention.

Reggie looked up as he heard a cry from the air, his eyes darting across the sky until he saw the beast heading towards the town. With a low curse, he looked around for any building nearby that's offered a good vantage point, before noting one that seemed relatively intact and provided a good view of where the battle seemed to be about to take place. He'd be quick to rush to his feet, running across the street and almost getting run over by a van as he did so, but luckily for him she stopped just in time. He didn't spare much of a glance at the driver, only noting a flash of fiery orange hair and matching eyes, before he continued on his way. He'd smash open the door, confusing and frightening the people inside as he quickly made his way to a door on the side that led upstairs. Within a minute, he was on the roof, his Desert Eagle drawn and readied as he rose it up. Bringing his finger down on the green gem that now sat on the back of the gun, a soft glow would resonate from it, before a small screen popped up, showing a holographic wheel of weapon types to chose from.

He quickly cycled through until he found the selection he wanted, swiping down to confirm the choice. No sooner than he did, the gun would take on a bright green glow as it suddenly began to elongated and morph in his hands. Within seconds, the weapon would finish it's transformation, changing from a Desert Eagle to a strange crystalline rifle, made from a strange gold and green material. It was long and rather unwieldy as he set it down, to legs forming underneath it as he lay on the ground, a holographic scope forming near his eye as he leaned in closer. His gaze was set directly on the creature, and he was aiming for a shot at one of shoulders, so he can ground the thing and keep it from getting back up again. The holographic scope zoomed in on it, and as it did so, he noticed that some other gems seemed to fighting the monster as well, not to mention that it seemed to be holding one in it's claws.

If I miss . . . No, don't think that way, you designed it like a pro, and have even tested it out a few times. It's could, and your good. You won't miss. Taking a calming breath. he aligned the shot, the crosshairs of his rifle aligning over the inteneded target. He'd take a deep breath, feeling all the tension in his body build until the point where he felt like he'd explode. And then, as the breathe exited between his lips, he'd pulled the trigger.

The shot would ring out with a melodious bang, a strike of green light trailing behind it as the bullet cut through the air. On impact with either the target(the creatures shoulder) or whatever was unfortunate enough to get in the way, it'd drill in a bit before exploding in a powerful burst of energy, hopefully enough to damage the Gem monster's shoulder and keep it from flying anymore.

@Akayaofthemoon

Well, there was no turning back now. Spinel was hoping that Carnelian would be able to lead the creature to her tower with as little interference as possible, so that the gem it had caught would have a place to land if she shot it down. Thanks to Reggie's attack, it looked like the monster would likely be going down soon enough anyway. Spinel aimed her crossbow at the creature's other wing and fired, hoping this would finish the job, and that maybe Chalcopyrite would be able to land in the tower with her from this distance.