The purple Gem walked for a little bit, simply lost deep in her thoughts; the swirling tempest of ideas and imagination. This couldn't be normal... It was like there was nothing. This place didn't really exist. Perhaps this was a dream? It felt real... The rock floor, the slight chill in the air, the screaming that resounded off the cavern walls into her ears which barely registered the sound any longer.

There was a slight voice in her head. Something about... Newborns and... Water. Or was that the gemstone? It just sounded like buzzing to the girl, an annoyance, and she forced it away, far away. The voice was gone, that was good. She wouldn't have to listen to that damnable sound. It didn't so much as hurt as it was a general vexation. It couldn't have been the important, because if it was whoever that water person was would send it again. Hopefully.

Her walk was interrupted by the appearence of some orange-y yellow person who started to speak to her.
"Dear purple one, do you know where I'm supposed to be?" what? Where they were... Supposed to be... Were they supposed to be somewhere?

Charoite went to open her mouth, but any words she meant to speak were silenced indefinitely by a light pelting of rocks from above like a aeroplane dropping bombs on an enemy. She turned and looked, spotting a purple coloured gem not too different in shade to herself, yet lighter by a degree. Again, she would have said something, but this time nothing came out.

It wasn't like the last time, where her speech was stopped by another event. No, this time her speech simply failed her. She opened her mouth to say something, her throat and voice box moved to make the sound, but no sound could be heard. It was like something was barring her from speaking, from making any sound save the gentle, rhythmic noise of her breathing.

This couldn't be right... Speaking was one of the only things she had at this point, and now it was gone. Not that she could speak before... Was she mute? Was she born without the ability to speak at all? That couldn't be right... She had spoken in her dreams, there could be no way her voice was gone. Then what was wrong? Some kind of mental barrier, a useless defence mechanism that shutdown her voice box?

The Gem almost didn't notice as two other people appeared in front of her. A person with dark red skin, and another heavily clad in armour, like someone from a fantasy setting. Surely that amount of weight would have been uncomfortable, no?

The red man spoke. His voice was less like that marine person... It was almost nice to listen to, very different from the overwhelming annoyance the voice in her head caused. She turned to him; away from Orange, away from Rocky. And tried to speak once again. And again it failed. Where was her speech?! She looked up to the red man in a sort of anguish, but quickly replaced it with a smile.

I can speak. she thought. And she could. Maybe she didn't want to before, but now she did. And she would speak. Charoite would speak like she had never spoken before, which was for the most part true. How would it sound? Very much unlike that of the dream, surely.

"I-I... I w-want..." her hand outstretched to take his and shake it, her voice unsteady, shaky and light. It was sweet, almost, and innocent, "T-to live..."

In only moments, a thousand happenings took place. The orange being could only observe from her high perch as many familiar, but not quite known, figures appeared from the dust of the ground. They had awoken individually, and yet in tandem they arrived. The cold grip that was tinted with loss only grew with each appearance, spreading from her core and constricting her body like a vice. For a reason unknown to her, she could not put a name to it like she could with the others, as if it refused to be recognized by her subconscious. As she struggled with her own feelings, a green child came and left, unheard in the chaotic cyclone that was her mind. What was this feeling, why did it bother her, and how was it connected to them-

Suddenly, two voices made themselves known, one through the air, another though her thoughts. The shrill sound of... excitement? Held within the first, it cut a swath through the air, welcoming every individual. The second, born within her mind, was firm yet smooth. Like a polished rock. The names they chose for themselves clicked into her mind, clearing the reasons for the clouded familiarity like the final piece of a puzzle. Aquamarine and Sodalite... were Gems. She could feel the statement settle within her, clear as day even before the Aquamarine made the statement. But... what was a Gem? Was that what she was as well? What all the others were? Then why did that singular being beside the named Gems not hold the same familiarity as the others? Were they something else?

She couldn't understand, couldn't grasp it within her mind. Confusion, a staple emotion for the now titled Gem, only magnified every moment. Her body slowly sunk back from whence it came, and before she knew it, her back was against the stone, knees pulled up to her chest as she shook with indecision. Under the tangerine glass, fearful amber was unseen by the world. She knew none of the "Gems" could reach her, too far up for them to go up to, so she pondered, and thought, and waited in her birthplace. Mulling over a single sentence hundreds upon hundreds of times.

'What should I do?'

Serpentine heard the voice of Aquamarine and looked around, confused. Where was the voice coming from? From her head? It sounded like it was coming from somewhere. But the green gem saw no one around her. She saw a location appear in her head but it just looked like where she was now. Sighing, she began to walk. The thought in her mind was pulling her in this direction. Maybe this feeling was leading her to Aquamarine.

As she walked, she began to hear voices. Serpentine felt excited, yet cautious. She peaked around the corner of the cliff wall to see a people standing there. Were they gems? They were different colors like her. She saw a red one, a purple one, and a few more. Was Aquamarine among them? Serpentine decided to sit back and watch for now. Could she contact Aquamarine back to see where she is?

"Agent Ghoste. Agent Mars. There have been strange readings coming from an area near Mohs Town. Your mission is simple. Find out what is happening here, and report it to us. If it turns out to be like...that time, well you know what to do Ghoste,"

Candice didn't like the idea of doing another mission so soon, especially considering their recent loss of a friend. Normally, she would be okay with going on, despite the loss of a friend. But the friend they had lost was with her for seven years. The loss was hard on her, and she wouldn't doubt that it would be hard on Mars as well. Hopefully this mission will just be an information gathering mission and no fighting would be necessary, just like one of the other agents reassured them. Unfortunately, Candice had a gut feeling that they may have to fight at some point during this mission. Whatever may come their way, she will keep her promise to Zoi. She is going to protect Mars and be there for him...

The day before yesterday was spent driving an RV to Mohs Town, and yesterday was spent setting up the camera feed by secretly hacking into whatever security cameras were in town, and placing bugs around. Today was the day to use the first drone to check the area. They have three drones, just in case someone destroys the first one or spots it. After turning on the drone and making sure the camera and mike was fully functional, she looked to Mars and told him, "Alright Mars. This drone is ready to fly. You ready for a bird's eye view?" She had the tablet out to show what the camera picked up and set on the ground.

With the drone's remotes in her hands she controlled the drone and had it fly off towards the area with the strange geological readings. She turned her eyes to the tablet as soon as the drone was out of sight and used it to control the drone's next moves. The camera soon showed the area and Candice breathed in recognition, "A Kindergarten..." She controlled it to descend slightly and she picked up images of colored figures appearing from the walls, and heading to a blue figure and a red figure. She commented "It looks like blue and red are gathering the people that are coming from the walls...Maybe we should try to lure the curious newborns here...?" She moved around in order to gather more images, and see who would be curious enough to follow it.

@Raijinslayer



Carnelian, who had to take care of a corrupted gem, had just come back to the temple and sent the bubbled gem with the rest of the others when she got the telepathic message from Aquamarine.

- Carnelian, can you hear me? The newborns are finally emerging....they are finally awake and here!-

"I hear you Dahling! I'm on my way!"

Carnelian dashed from the temple to the Kindergarten, her long orange hair flowing behind her and yet never tangling, and her beautiful kimono never slowing her down. As she ran into the Kindergarten, she headed for where Aquamarine or the other newborn gems may be. She caught sight of the drone and she telepathically called Aquamarine, using her name to imply how serious the situation may be.

"Aquamarine. I think we have company. There's a strange machine flying around here,"

"Well that wasn't a planned exit." Topaz told herself as she slid off of the nearby slope into what appeared to be a nice forest. As she navigated her way away from the weird sounds, she heard the sounds of almost a mechanical wind if she had to describe it. "Well I'll never get anywhere if I don't find people." Topaz muttered to herself as she followed the sound as fast as she could, and only praying that she could find people and finally have a friend.

As she thought to herself how much friendlier it sounded then what ever was going on in that weird foreign place she woke up at. Following the mechanical wind to a giant black line in the middle of the forest. "How..... Unique?" Topaz shyly said as she followed the strange line. After awhile Topaz finally saw a beautiful sight come into play that she loved as she could only compare it to that evil lonely place that she woke up at. Where there was once a shrill shrieking noise there was now friendly conversation, where there was a loud explosion there was now only friendly faces that are nonchalant, peaceful, and possibly caring if she knew them. All she could do was smile with this new found hope as she headed toward this amazing sight before her.

"Oh, uh... Yeah, I can take it out there." Carmen responded, leaning back in his chair, coffee in hand. The deliveryman before him looked... well, twitchy would be generous. The guy was clearly tweaking out on something, and Carmen didn't feel like trying to tell the guy that his client would probably be back home soon to sign off on the delivery he seemed rather eager to drop off. Something about a schedule he had to keep, bigwigs to keep happy, a job on the line if every single package wasn't delivered today. Apparently the recipient, that odd orange girl, had last been spotted headed toward the wasteland. Carmen didn't usually run deliveries on weekend, and this was a pretty sketchy offer, but he didn't press for details, especially not when he was handed $80 to run just outside town and drop this thing off. Easy job (how could he miss that orange-haired kid in such a desolate place?) so long as he was back here at 5 to drop off the signed delivery form. Easy money, no problem...

__________

"I should have just cost that man his job and finished my chemistry paper..." Carmen grumbled, covering his head to hide him from the shower of rocks that had just erupted from the earth in front of him. He'd been here all of ten minutes and Hell seemed intent to free itself from under the crust of the earth. There were screams and explosions, humanoids rising like from the ground like it was Dawn Of The Dead. He'd paid enough attention in history class to know what this place was, and past experience was enough for him to wish he had a horde of the undead to deal with over the what was really out in the fog. This delivery just got... Difficult.

Carmen took a moment to fish his essentials out of his bag; his mask, his grappling canon, and the package. He was going to find that weird orange kid, Maeve, and then he was going to beat it back to town as fast as he could and gear up for what was likely going to be the coming apocalypse. If gems were starting to come back, there was no telling how bad that could play out, especially for Mohs town. The young delivery boy slipped his mask on, strapped his grappling device to the bottom of his right forearm, and tucked the package into his jacket pocket, and after a breath to calm his nerves, darted out from behind the boulder he'd taken cover behind.

Orange, orange, he had to find someone that was orange, and pray it wasn't one of the gems... and if it was, he prayed that they wouldn't attack him on sight. More of these humanoids forced themselves free of the canyon walls above, and other still moved about in the fog before him. He darted past a green, a purple, a yellow, another green, a red thing... It was so hard to see in this fog! He considered trying to use one of these weird, giant machines that were sitting all over the place to get a better view on-- There!

It had taken a few minutes, but he saw a cloudy, orange shape through the fog, along with two blues. He was about to approach, but something... Someone was whispering to him? No, it was... In his head? 'Come to me', it had said. If these gems were trying to congregate for something, he didn't want to be here for it. He needed to finish the job and go. Carmen sighed, and started moving again, this time taking things slow and approaching cautiously.

"Miss Maeve?" Carmen called, stopping once he could make out the features of the figures before him. That was definitely the kid... With two gems, plus another. At least two of them seemed distracted with hugging. Right, that could potentially be bad. "Uh... Sorry to interrupt whatever..." He started, looking at the gathering mass of gems. "'This' is, but, I just need you to sign off on this delivery..."

Carmen pulled the manila folder from his pocket, the order to sign stuck to the back. He awkwardly held it out, the pink 'eyes' of his mask anxiously darting between Maeve and the gems near her.

@Akayaofthemoon @pyroman @EnterTheHero

After watching the events that transpired, which were mostly just more people talking, Spinel came to a decision. She would fashion a task for this Aquamarine to prove that she was trustworthy. Spinel closed her eyes and focused hard on her location within the kindergarten, and included a message for the one who might see her thoughts. "Please tell no one of this, not yet."

@Akayaofthemoon

"There are... A lot of answers here, so I'll be going through them in order." Sodalite smiled to the Emerald, bowing her head ever so slightly as she looked around. "This," She motioned around herself. "Is the Kindergarten, your birthplace. Another young gemling, ready to explore this world and everything is has to offer. We will be leaving shortly, just as soon as we round everyone up and make sure everyone is safe." Again, she smiled at him. "Your eyes are one of your abilities, Emeralds like you could use them for many things, but it takes a sharp mind to figure out what it can do beyond its intended purpose." Her eyes turned to Aqua. She was still processing all of the information that she asked for, not to mention she had to keep the link up between herself, Soda, Carnelian, and all of the gemlings. She could stand in for conversation for now, being the completely unofficial but hopeful second in command to Aquamarine. Maybe Carnelian saw herself as second? However it was, Soda was right there, and she could answer some questions for now. "One of Aquamarine's abilities is to speak to us telepathically, through our minds. She's busy trying to talk to a lot of people at once. "

@pyromanEmerald took in this fascinating(had to stop myself from making a pun) information. Well, he wanted to leave this wretched place now, with its holes and gray dust. He wanted out as soon as possible. "Can we leave really, really fast? This place is tErrIFying!" He ducked behind the larger gem and turned his eyes up, illuminating everything in the beam to the point where the glare became irritating. The holes would not get him this time! He caught a green gem farther away as he scanned around, the beams briefly passing over everything, sometimes doubling back, and he thought Oh wow, another me! He pointed at the green gem and said "Is that another me? It looks just like me! But floating! And a bit taller!" Unknowingly, he was probably hurting the other green's eyes. @EnterTheHeroOr some scientificy sounding word that would mean the same thing.

Mars

"I'd say just observe for now. I'm going to check out the one that seemed to head to town, make sure nothing goes wrong. If you need anything, just call, and I'll be right back." Mars said from a little ways away, walking out from a nearby shadow as he began to make his way to Town. As he passed Candice, his steps slowed to a halt as he seemed to hesitate for a moment, before turning to look back at Candice. "Stay safe, okay? I've got a bad feeling about the red guy.."

Mars gave her a nod after she replied, before making his way towards the nearby town. Soon enough, he arrived, walking passed the storefronts of various shops as he looked around for the newborn. However, as he passed by one shop, he took a moment to look himself over. He had changed a lot after his years in the service to the General with Candice. His hair now only went down to just past his shoulders, and while it was still a mess of colors, they were more subdued then before. His outfit still consisted of him only wearing a jacket and pants, though now he wore a sleeveless army-style jacket and camo-pattern pants, all patterned to his color scheme of course, though once again, the colors were more subdued. He looked so different that it was kinda off-putting, but considering what had happened in his life, it was more than appropriate.

Letting out a soft sigh, Mars moved on ignoring the looks he was getting as he continued the search. After a few more moments, he found his target, seeming to just look around and explore. While he would normally be fine with just letting her go about her business, he was on the clock, and that meant making sure each and every new gem was accounted for, at the very least. He didn't approve of getting them involved in army work, but it wasn't his decision to make, and he was already on thin-ice as it was. Rolling his shoulders a bit, he walked up to the gem, clearing his throat a bit in order to get their attention, as well as announce his presence.

"Hey there, name's Mars. . . well, it's techinically Marra Mamba, but I prefer Mars myself. Anyway, would you mind telling me what you're planning to do in town. Sorry to bother you, but it's my job to make sure that all the humans around here are kept safe, as well as a few other things."

@Veiled Angel@Guardian Angel Haruki

"H-hi" Topaz shyly muttered looking at the ground quickly. "Well as for my business here... Well I was asleep but when I woke up I heard some scary sounds so I made my way here because it sounded like a nice place. So what is a human? I'm so so sorry if I caused any disturbance sir. I-i mean Mars." Topaz asked looked like a scared third grader who is afraid to raise their hand for any reason. Gripping her wrist as if ready to run if the need arises, however with no trace of hostility in her eyes.

@Raijinslayer

Candice looked to Mars when he spoke and she nodded at his answer. When he told her that he was going to check on the one that went into town, she answered him before he left completely, "Will do. You stay safe as well. Don't hesitate to call me if you need help," After she told him that he nodded and walked away. The change in Mars' appearance was jarring to her. It was clear to her that what happened was taking a serious toll on him. If she could, she would make that pain go away, but she can't. She was only human. She turned her attention back to the tablet and controlled the drone observing the two groups, after she placed the bluetooth phone headset on her ear. She had to agree with Mars when it came to the red one. That one looked dangerous, even though they were just talking to the newborns that approached them. The blue one on the other hand had more of a...motherly disposition, despite being spaced out right now. She watched as another red gem, one in a kimono, showed up to the blue one's group.

@Raijinslayer
@Akayaofthemoon

That name. What was that name? Aquamarine? Aqua. What is she doing here, why is she always in my way? Well, At least I know where her base is now. After I collect the newborns I'll just shatter this place until it's just a crater of lost souls. Bloodstone straightened a bit after he shook the purple one's hand. He couldn't let Aqua get these two. He needed something to show the Diamonds to keep them from destroying this place. He still had many fun experiments to perform on this place. "No dear, if anything Aqua is to escort you to me. See, we split up to cover more ground but I am the commanding officer. And as for you, I must ask, what do you want to accomplish with the precious aspect of life?" Blood looked around after saying that, looking for more newborns or perhaps Aqua and her rebels. Then he looked up, Bloodstone thought he felt a rain of rocks yet he simply blamed it on the unstableness of the canyon walls but no, it was a poor gem that didn't know the stability of his physical form.

"Oh Gods. Chromite, Bixbi-"

That one. That clone. That insignificant gem that couldn't even bother getting to the Command deck in time to see him off. She's probably running around wondering what to do like an idiot. Why did she have to be such a clueless, useless, disgraceful, weak, and annoying waste of gem.

"Chromite, please retrieve that newborn. Can't let him crack his gem now can we?" Bloodstone looked towards the other two newborns in front of him. Hopefully, he didn't scare them with his more commanding tone. "Well then, why don't we head off and look for other newborns like you. Sure, three is already a fantastic number but the more the merrier right? It would certainly heighten the odds on the amount that may agree to stay with me and let me train them. That way, one won't be alone with me and my group feeling like no-one understands what they're going through. So please, follow me and feel free to ask any questions you wish." And with that, Bloodstone started walking further into the Kindergarten.

@Spinna@Vocab@SevenStormStyle

"Yes, Commander." Chromite pushed a sufficiently large, flat-looking rock underneath where Strengite was hanging and climbed on top of it, so that there wasn't too much distance between him and herself. She held her arms out and said "It's safe to go ahead and let yourself drop, young one. I'll catch you."

@Spinna@Kronshi@Vocab@sevenstormstyle

Strengite was glad to have been finally noticed though the suggestion of simply jumping down didn't seem as far fetched now that he thought about it. He had no idea really what he was capable of so maybe he could just jump down? That didn't matter anymore however as one of the Gems below readied themselves to catch him. With closed eyes and a good amount of fear Strengite let go of his hold on the wall and dropped down towards the Gem below him. He also stopped relaying his position to the voice in his mind from before as he focus was broken from the fall.

As Strengite landed he gave a small wave to the others in the group and gave the gem whom had helped him a nod in thanks as he couldn't actually verbally thank them due to his recently discovered impediment. He began looking over the other Gems more carefully as he hopped out of the arms of the Gem whom had helped him down. The lot looked vastly different from each other but Strengite assumed that was normal as none of them were freaking out due to this fact but it was still odd for him to see all of these other Gems that were so vastly different from himself.

"Hey now, I'm not saying you did anything wrong, it's just that . . . ugh, I'm terrible at this kind of stuff." Mars ran a hand through his hair, taking a breath to gather his thoughts. he obviously had frightened the poor thing with how direct he'd been. He just had to ease up, maybe stop insinuating that she was doing something wrong. She was just born a fe moments ago to a rather strange situation, so she's obviously confused, and him coming in out of nowhere wouldn't help anybody. "Okay, so to answer your question, humans are . . . like us, yet not like us. We Gems are made in the ground and pop out fully formed, while humans have to do . . . stuff in order to be born from other humans. Humans are pretty cool once you get to know the good ones, but one thing you have o keep in mind is that, as a gem, you can be a bit dangerous to them. We're stronger then they are, and thus, we could easily hurt them without really meaning too."

"Now, that being said, I don't think you mean anyone here any harm. I can understand why you'd want to come down here, considering how everything seemed to be blowing up and getting crazy. However, I can't just leave you here unsupervised, for your safety as much as the humans. So, either I stay here and we can keep talking for a bit or we can take a nice walk over to where my partner is. Oh, and if you don't mind telling, what is your name?"

@Veiled Angel

"I... I don't think I'm who you think I am. I'm not dangerous. I can't hurt humans. I don't fight, let alone know how to. I... No offense, I just need to be alone. I'm sorry if I cause any sort of problem or trouble." As she says this, she starts to walk away quickly, making her way down the street blocking out all nearby noises ,exempt for the ones she wants ,focusing on the nice ones that she dreamed of before awaking to this strange place and finding herself in front of this thing called a diner? "How quaint?" she thought to herself, feeling a need to just get her bearings before anyone threw anymore information at her, so she walked in and sat down in the back coving her eyes to remind her of why she came out.

@Raijinslayer

"Carnelian, Im glad you're here. Sodalite smiled to her red friend "Auqa's managing the mind links, it's just you and me for now. We need to round up anyone we can and bring them back before someone takes notice!" Sodalite walked briefly around. Maybe Carn would have some information as to what was going on, but this Kindergarten was much, much louder than she expected.

Sodalite wasn't the best of friends with Carnelian, or Carmen, as she liked being called, but Sodalite believed that they got along well enough. Sodalite was more of a friend to knowledge than actual other gems or people, even Aquamarine, but that didn't stop her from having a goof friendship with them.

She then looked to Emerald standing behind her. "Emerald, can you please use your eye-lights to help me and Carnelian here look for more young gems? All of this activity is sure to grab someone's attention, and we need to get you out of here before you get hurt."

"I suppose that I would like to aid my fellow gems in the aquirement of new worlds." Sphene replied after a moment of thought. "It may be my job, but that doesn't mean I'm not excited to do it. As for when I am not needed, I'll just have to wait and see what's out there to discover."

She watched Chromite retrieve the stranded gem with relief that he was safe on the ground, though she hadn't really expected him to be damaged. Well, any more so. She felt that it was unkind of her to make assumptions, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with the other new gems. One hadn't uttered a single sound so far, and the other seemed to struggle with vocalizing. That, and the fact that they both seemed so rough around the edges behaviorally had her concerned.

Pulled out of her thoughts by Bloodstone's request-or was it an order?- Sphene gave a quick nod of understanding and fell in place behind him. She didn't have any questions for now, so she instead went to work testing her function by quietly humming scales under her breath and trying to mentally assemble strategies for the various aspects of planetary assimilation.

@Kronshi
@rocketrobie2
@Vocab
@Spinna

Chromite prepared to step down and set the new gem on the ground, only to see him casually hop out of her arms. "Please follow me, young one. I'll take you to someone who can keep you safe." Chromite offered her hand to Strengite and attempted to lead him to Bloodstone. Regardless of whether or not he followed, Chromite went back to where they had touched down.

"Hello there." Chromite greeted Sphene. "It looks like you made the right choice, excellent. You may call me Chromite, and it's likely that we'll be working together soon." She then approached Bloodstone "Shall I try to retrieve some of the others, Commander? This may be the best opportunity we get for some time."

@rocketrobie2@SevenStormStyle@Kronshi