"Well that could've gone better." Mars muttered as he saw the timid gem make her way off into the distance. He followed at a distance, keeping just out of sight until they made their way into a nearby diner. Mars simply leaned against the wall of the establishment, pressing against the communicator in his ear in order to make contact with Candice. "Gem's secure and I can verify that she doesn't seem to be a threat for the time being. I also doubt I made a good first impression too. *sigh* If only Zoe was here . . . he always knew what to say in these kinds of situations."

Thinking back to Zoisite caused Mars normally cheery disposition to fade as he slid down to the ground, his eyes lost in a slight haze as he thought back to that day. Like always, he thought of all the things he could've done-should've done- in order to save one of his oldest friends. They had been thick as thieves, brothers born from the same rock and soil with a bond forged from many shared experiences during their time in service to the General. "Do you remember that one time in Afghanistan, when we were escorting those refugees." He spoke in low, reminscent tones as his mind went back to one of their more recent adventures. "They were all so terrified about what would happen the next day, and he suddenly launched into a big, dumb heroic speech about how he;d make sure nothing would happen to them, no matter what. He was so over the top with it that they had almost no choice but to smile and laugh, and just like that, everything seemed alright. He always knew how to but people at ease and leave them with a smile on their face.

As he spoke, small streams of tears would flow down his face as the pain in his chest, something that had haunted him ever since his friends passing . . . and the disaster that followed it. "I know this isn't the time to talk about this Candice but . . . I really miss him. He'd know how to talk to these new gems, how to deal with this whole situation. . . how to deal with me." Mars grew deathly quiet as he felt the full weight of his pain bear down on him, his sorrow spilling out once again through the happy mask that he had taken to adopting ever since the incident. Sometimes, I forget that he's gone, I think he's just out on a solo mission for awhile and that he'll come back as good as new. And then reality hits. . . and with it, the pain.

Mars couldn't stop the stream of tears that flowed down his face as he ran a hand through his ear, waiting for candice's response in silence while people gave curious passing glances before moving on their way, though a few couldn't help themselves, taking pictures of the giant man in strangely colored military garb with multi-colored hair and tiger stripes crisscrossing his body.

[@GuardianAngelHaruki]@Veiled Angel

---

"Holy Shit! Are those gems down there? Damn, Dad would lose his shit if he knew that their were actualy gems down here. Of course, he'd do the same if he actually knew I had met gems before, but hey, what he doesn't know won't hurt him. But Man-O'-Man did I pick a lucky day to go shifting through Old Gem tech."

The person giving the slightly vulgar commentary of the situation was a rather oily spattered male youth wearing what he referred to as 'common clothes', a long sleeve T-shirt, denim jeans, and sneakers that were purchased from a local clothing store. This individual had short-ish black hair, burning green eyes that were positively beaming with excitement, and a rather pale and soft complexion that spoke of someone who neither got outside much nor did much in the way of hard work. In his hands currently was a pair of binoculars, which he had modified ever-so totally with old gem-tech he had managed to salvage from old sights around the world that his father's company had found. Now, all that meant was that these binoculars just game with a cool-looking HUD display that told him about the general info of his surroundings(temperature, wind speed, etc.), but that was much better than blowing up in his face, as a few of his previous works had tended to do a short time after activation as in five seconds. Anyway, he'd been observing the proceedings of the two groups of gems from a cliff that was some distance over the Kindergarten, overlooking it all.

"Okay, so we've got one group close by that seems to be gathering around the tall blue Gem, who seemed to be kinda spaced out right now, and . . . is that a human? Skin color would lead me to saying yes, but from what I saw earlier, the blue one seemed to change her attitude based on something she said. Interesting . . .very interesting." THe individual noted this with a nod before turning his sights on the other group which was a bit farther away and cut off from the others by a few rock formations and cliff faces. "On the other hand, however, we have a group that's headed by that Emo-Punk looking Red Gem, and his two croonies. Geez, someone seems to be going through their rebellious phase or something. For an alien from Outer space, I was expecting something more . . . spacey, not a guy looking like he's about to snatch candy from twenty babies, then light an orphanage on fire."

Reggie(as this individual liked to call himself), having gotten more than an eyeful of the two gem groups, decided to head back to town. Standing up quickly, he thought about all of the questions he had for Eve, when they ever came back from where ever they went a few days ago, about these new gems, as well as some new questions about gem tech and- Why did everything suddenly turn sideways and start shifting to the right? He pondered momentarily as he turned his head, only to discover the rather simple answer to this strange twist of events. He had, in his haste to leave and absent-minded train of thought, taken a misstep while walking away and was sent tumbling into the chasm below at what was becoming an increasingly worrisome rate. Now, Reggie's father had long beaten it into his head that a Dorvain should be cool and calm under pressure, and Reggie always liked to think he could do that in most instances.

This, however, was most certainly not one of those times.

Any and all conversations that were being had within the chasm would be suddenly interrupted by a rather loud and panicked scream/shriek would reverberated across the cliff walls, alerting everyone to Reggie's current state of distress. Some in Aquamarine's group(who would actually be able to see where he would make his gory impact should he hit the ground) might have thought the scream was a bit too-high pitch to come from the dashing fellow, but since he was about to be dashed against the rocks below, he could be forgiven for his voice rising a few octaves as he plummeted to his demise. As he approached the ground, Reggie covered his face with his arms and closed his eyes, hoping that his end would be swift and painless, before his thoughts turned to Eve and how this would devastate her. First Talc . . . now me. . .I'm sorry for being such a clumsy idiot. . .Dammit.

Reggie's cry would cease as he waited for the end to come, knowing their was no way he could possible survive a fall from this height.

@Guardian Angel Haruki@Akayaofthemoon@Vocab@rocketrobie2[@Halting Blooper]@SevenStormStyle@Spinna@Kronshi@2b3heart@Loony@EnterTheHero@Pathfinder@pyroman[@ianzerp]@BrassOtter

Candice held her fingers to her communicator in order to listen to Mars as he called in. When he told her that the gem was secure and that she wasn't going to be a threat, Candice smiled lightly and answered "Excelllent. Great job, Mars," Her smile faded at the mention of Zoe. She listened as Mars reminisced about Zoe back in Afghanistan. Tears started to trickle down her face as Mars kept on talking, allowing him to grieve. She was glad that she wasn't actually out in the field, and it was the drone instead. She answered after he had finished speaking, she answered him, showing that now was the best time for the discussion, instead of later,

"I remember. His speech got me to smile too. It was both dumb and inspiring in its own way," She took a shaky breath in, trying to not to cry as well and she continued as she took out his mirror and looked at it seeing her own tears, "I miss him too, Mars. He would...definitely know what to say to anyone in the newborns'...and our, situation now,"

She then said to him, tears still streaming "Mars...I may not be Zoe....but, I will help you in any way I can. Just...let me know what I can do if you need me...OK? I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm here for you,"

She rubbed away the tears and she apologized "Sorry...I must sound like a broken record at this point,"

---

Carnelian reached the group, and before she could even introduce herself, she heard a loud scream. Knowing that Aqua was busy, the newborns were confused, and Soda was...well, she wasn't sure what was going on in the Sciency gem's mind. So, that left her to rescue the human that was falling to their doom.
She ran to him, jumped into the air, and caught the human like he was a bride. She commented humorously after she landed with him in her thin and seemingly delicate, yet strong arms, "Aw, Dahling! I know I'm fabulous, but there's no need to go...falling for me now," She set him down on his feet, and she told him, "Don't you know it's dangerous here? You should get on home, Dahling...,"

She then looked to Sodalite and she called "Sorry I'm fashionably late, Soda Dahling! I took care of that corrupted gem you pointed out,"
She then looked to the newborns that were there and she greeted "Hello there Dahlings! I'm Carnelian! It's so lovely to meet you all!"

@Raijinslayer
@Akayaofthemoon
@pyroman

Serpentine heard a loud scream coming from above. She turned around and looked up to see something falling down in the distance. The scream pulled her attention away from the red gem's group and she began to walk quickly towards the falling object. As Serpentine rounded the corner she nearly ran into someone. Skidding to a halt, the green gem back up some. They seemed to be other gems but there were a couple of squishy looking ones. A goofy smile came across her face and she did a shy wave.
"Uh... Hello...."

@Guardian Angel Haruki @Raijinslayer

What did she want to with that commodity called Life? That was a good question... There were so many things to do with Life, it was almost impossible to pick just one. But she didn't have to pick just one aspect, did she? It wasn't like she was being forced into one part of Life, so what should she pick?

Simply saying that she wanted to live was meaningless, since living was the most key part of Life as a whole. She could do so much... She could sing, write, explore, fight, love. She could go whichever way the wind blew, or forge her own path of steel from determination, or even destroy someone and steal their path.

She could do the tertiary choice easily, or at least that's how she felt. Somewhere deep inside her was a feeling that could only be expressed as knowing. She felt like she knew what she was destined to become. Someone who broke heart and bone at the snap of a finger, literally, and could wage war by herself at the single stroke of a string.

A string? What kind of string killed men? The only real string she could think of was the kind you used in fabric making. So, what, she would wage war by choking people to death with a christmas jumper? That didn't seem very smart...

Either way, she felt it. There was a way she was supposed to live, and that was likely the way she would live. Since that was the path her mind had chosen for her, that was the one she would take and make her own. She would probably end up a Gravewalker, and a girl on the edge of death her entire life, but that didn't really matter. It was her own path, one she chose herself, and nothing could make her happier.



Somehow, in the time she was lost in the thought of what to answer the red man with, he had wandered off. She startled slightly, looking back towards the Orange-y one, the walking fortress and the Stoner, before running off towards Bloodstone.

It didn't take long to catch up. She wasn't the fastest of runners, and her small frame wasn't exactly helping - plus the whole matter of being recently born - but the red man hadn't gone that far ahead. Once she caught, she moved to the side of him and took a place there.

"U-um... I-in life, I-I want... T-to live my own w-way!" wasn't that the exact thing she didn't want to say? "I-I mean... I-I want to be able to ch-choose my path." that was better. It made more sense, too. Now all that was left was to fully commit to the path she had chosen, and... Well, follow it.

She didn't sound stupid, right?

Strengite followed the amazingly armour clad gem whom had helped him down from his perilous perch with a skip in his step, glad to be on the ground for the first time in his life rather than in it. Eventually they caught up to the group of which he was throwing rocks at earlier. He wished he could greet them but at this point he knew he could only do so physically, though this didn't stop him from trying yet again.

This time however sound came from him but the voice wasn't his own, it sounded distinctively familiar and he knew from exactly where. "Hello there." was all that seemed to emit from the small gem but the voice was definitely that of his armour clad friend. This was amazing for the small gem who's eyes went wide simply at the ability to say one phrase that, itself, wasn't even close to as enthusiastic as how he was acting. The small gem now happily walked with the group saying the same two words over and over again in the same tone "Hello there. Hello there. Hello there. Hello there."

@Kronshi@Spinna@SevenStormStyle@Vocab

Bloodstone continued walking through the Kindergarten awaiting the questions that were sure to come. Instead of questions though, he simply got more answers which was an unique experience. Not that Blood was complaining, this allowed him to continue his own interrogation without interruption. Well, trust me, there will be plenty of paths for both of you to discover and chose from. I will guide you and train you to be stronger so that you may reach these goals. I have much I can teach you about this world, the history of gemkind, gem powers and abilities, and HomeWorld where gemkind started. Of course, this knowledge and training doesn't come free but it is cheap. All I ask in return is your trust and loyalty. As for you Chromite, I'm sure we'll be coming across some newborns soon enough. They rest were in the fourth quadrant over around that wall, except for the one that went towards town. We can let that one go for now though unless you just really need something to do."

As Bloodstone finished his sentence, he heard a scream come from above and then a bunch of thuds coming from around the bend. Blood looked over to see what was going on and spotted a Carnelian holding a human boy. It's quite odd that a human child come near this place. Oh look, a rebel gem saving the day again. Woopty-Damn-Do. I wonder, why is that boy here? Does he want to meet gems, or recover gem tech, or perhaps study this place's architecture? Wait a minute, is that an Emerald? No, it looks.. different. What gem is that then? It doesn't quite appear to be a Verdelite either, He thought right as Chromite began to say hello to everyone. "Chromite, really? You're going to get us... Oh, it's you. Well, I'm glad you found your... um... voice but I must ask you to be silent."

Bloodstone peered around the corner once more to see if they were heard. It didn't appear so since she was busy talking to a Sodalite and possibly some newborns. Of course they'd be behind the wall were he couldn't see them and the only way to get a peek would be to reveal himself to the Rebel Carnelian which would spark a fight and make the newborns he had on his side consider leaving him. Unless, He thought, I try to be peaceful and they start the conflict. Blood began to walk around the corner and motioned for the others to stay put. He revealed himself and waved towards the green gem as he tried to get a look around the wall and see the newborns.

@Spinna@rocketrobie2@Vocab@SevenStormStyle@2b3heart@Guardian Angel Haruki@Raijinslayer

Aquamarine

Her mind drifted through a sea of thoughts and pictures that came from different locations as the world around her blurred away. She couldn't tell you what was happening as she held conversations together and focused on what the new gems were trying to show her. It was surreal and felt like she was just a passenger in a dream till everything grounded to a halt as the vision of red became her view. The hand moved on its own, clutching the white rim of fabric as emotions stirred within her at the view of this other gem. This gem shouldn't have effected her anymore but they did. He had a hold on her unlike any other. The emptiness and agony of what might have been began to stir as well as the heart crushing pain of loving someone more than anything and knowing they didn't want you in return. It was a loneliness that couldn't be explained to the others and a irrational to any of logic. She hadn't forgotten. She had buried it away but it always clawed to the surface to make her suffer. He might have moved on and he probably hates her but she was just mad and hurt along with feelings that should have been at rest.

The Blood she loved wasn't the same one that was here in the Kindergarten but who's fault was that? None but her own and yet she still cared about who he had become because he was still him. Aqua blinked, pushing the thoughts away to enter the real world once more. There were more here now and she felt a little dizzy and lost but her eyes instant looked up to find the orange gem but saw nothing. She knew the others would keep the newborns near them safe so she gracefully moved to the side of the canyon wall, ice building under her feet before she moved the ice to build upward like an elevator till she was at the gems birth hole. She sat down outside of it, not wanting to intrude on what she now knew to be Citrine. "Are you alright Citrine? I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner. You don't have to stay here all alone. If you'll let me, I just want to help you learn and keep you safe but the choice is yours. I will answer any questions you need."

She didn't want to left Citrine alone in this dark hole and the others needed to be found as well. She picked out the newborn signatures that weren't in her group and gave them a message.

---

Maeve

She had no clue what to say through all this chaos. This isn't how she planned it would be and though she had so many questions, this new gems need Aquamarine and the others more. Maeve knew she could wait her turn and tell the truth soon, that she was all human...she wasn't sure what she was sometimes. Maeve lightly touched her gem, feeling like it was her mother giving her support and courage as she stood by all these gems side. She was startled out of her thoughts when a human said her name and she noticed the nervousness. "Oh of course. Sorry, wasn't really expecting anything." Maeve chuckles nervously, quickly signing for the unknown package so the other could leave as soon as possible. It look like the guys was ready to just bolt out of there and never look back. Gems weren't that bad, right? Well...this place was a little creepy...okay a lot creepy....and now men were falling from the sky to be caught by....kimono savior? She was really starting to wonder if she was dreaming.

---

Bixbite

"Chromite, Bixbite. Report to the Command Deck immediately. We've got some activity on the radar."
"Yes Commander!" Bix answered enthusiastically. She was overjoyed that Bloodstone had called upon her to be there with him and Chromite to meet the newborns or the possible newborns. She quickly moved out of her shattered ruins of a room as robotic targets splayed in piece all over the floor, still steaming. She would prove her worth to Bloodstone. He never said it but something always felt like she needed to prove herself to him. She needed to be better and work harder than any other under his command. Bix wanted to question so many things, like the blue gem on the door and why other whispered about her in negativity. Sure, she wasn't a normal body guard and yeah there were not really any Bixbite's that she had seen but that just meant she was special, right? The Diamond said she was important. That she needed to be stronger. Stronger than what though? It felt like she was missing her true purpose but what was it? No one would say.
She arrived at the deck, eagerly awaiting just a glimpse of there Captain but no one came and after much longer than it should have to realize....they had left without her. Bix's fist curled tightly shut, rage boiling under the surface as she knew now to wait, not wanting to risk confusing a newborn with another random presence."Chromite, always so perfect and in Blood's favor. She didn't even speak up for me I would bet. He would have waited for her. I don't get it! What must I do!?! Why won't he let me in even a little!?" she hissed angrily before plopping into her assigned chair on deck and holding back the urge to punch a hole in the wall of the ship. That wouldn't make Commander happy so she would hold back for now.

"Heh, even if you were, it's not your fault if I'm just a bad listener. Don't beat yourself and get bent out of shape on my account." Mars said with some of his usual levity sneaking it's way back into his voice. "And don't worry, Candice. I know I can count on you, and . . . just having you listen does help out a lot."

"But enough with that, I've taken up more than enough of your time. Anything happening in your neck of the woods?"



Reggie's eyes suddenly popped open as he felt himself being caught, blinking rapidly as he found himsef flipped over and set down on his feet. He'd first stare down at his feet, then at the top of the cliff he'd fallen from, before settling his gaze on his savior. He first opened his mouth to say something, but all that seemed to come out was some soft laughter, which quikly, turned into a fit of giggles mixed with tears of relief as he fell to his knees, taking a moment to kiss the ground and thank go dhtat he was alive, before his mouth alerted him that dirt was gross and his brain that dirt was also extremely unsanitary, causing him to quickly enter a spat of spitting out any stray particales that made it's way into his mouth and rubbing out the taste of it on his sleeve. This would be followed by another bout of spitting as he forgot that he was covered in the strange oily substance that seemed to lubricate the gem drills inner machinery.

Once he had calmed down enough to consider his surroundings, he noticed that their were two humans(how did he miss that guy?), that the girl was gorgeous and that he might be in love, that he was wearing nothing but oil-coated common clothes, his hair was a mess, he was surrounded by gems, that the girl had a single gem in her ear(must be a gauge.), that the Emo-punk Gem had showed up(and Big Blue doesn't seem to be a fan), and that he had spent about 5 seconds too long sitting on the grown staring at the Orange-haired girl. He quickly scrabbled to his feet, turning to address the Gem that had saved his life.

"I thank you for saving my life Carnelian -wonderful name by the way, those are such beautiful gemstones-, and I will take your words to heart and make my exit, as will the other two humans who are also in attendance." As he spoke, Reggie would walk up to Maeve and Carmen and start to push them in the direction the nearest exit from the Kindergarten, cnotinuing to talk the entire way. "Come now, lets just leave the Gems to their business and all that- Oh, hello, didn't see you there- take our frail, human saves back to town, yes. Wouldn't want to get in the way now would we? Nonononono, that would be bad, _{and possibly fatal}, so let's just keep walking, keep moving, and over all, have a good day." Reggie's greeting to Serpentine would be somewhat lost in his constant stream of words, which was more than somewhat propelled by his increasing fit of nerves as he felt that they were in the middle of an increasingly dangerous situation.

While he was guiding the two out, he reached for his pocket and pulled out a smartphone, quickly dialing in a number, followed by a quick set of texts between him and some other person, followed by a few muttered curses, grumbles, and more texts being sent. After a while, he'd suddenly shove it back into his pocket, looking somewhere between content and agitated.

"So guys, what are your names? Mines Reggie, well technically it's Reginald Alexander Dorvain, but I prefer the former. It's catchy, and flows off the tongue much easier." If either of the two were savvy to the goings on of technology and science would recognize the Dorvain name as the name of the leading tech company in the field of researching the alien artifacts littered across the world, as well as being known as one of the largest weapon manufacturers in the world.

[@Akayofthemoon]@2b3heart[@GuardianAngelHaruki]@BrassOtter

Serpentine noticed the red gem from earlier. Except for this time, he was looking at her instead of her spying on him. Was he waving at her? The green gem tilted her head curiously and raised her hand in response. She didn't know what the motion meant but she felt a like she should copy it. Looking back at the other gem and the pale thing, she saw that they were okay. Smiling, she started to walk over to the red gem.

As Serpentine walked, she received Aquamarine's message in her head. She placed her hand against her head, still not used to the the idea of something talking to her from inside. Blinking a couple times, she looked back up. Was the red gem Bloodstone? One way to find out. As she approached him, she raised her hand again to copy the wave a second time. "Umm... Are.. Are you Bloodstone? Like what Aquamarine said?"

She started to take in the little details about the red gem, memorizing them. "What is Homeworld? Who is Aquamarine?"

@Kronshi

"That's... yep. Thank's, Canrelian." Sodalite went from hopeful to deadpan in a matter of seconds after seeing her red friend up and save someone. "Yes, yes, thank you Carnelian, good work on saving that human!" She tried to be cheerful, she really did, but something about Carnelian's almost hyperactive attitude just drained Sodalite.

It wasn't long until Aqua prepared her and Carnelian a message, informing them about Homeworld. She scoffed and prepared her weapons. "You'd think that after all of this time, Homeworld would leave this planet alone. But no, they have to make sure that they can make earth as effective as possible, even after the kindergartens were shut down!"

R H O D O N I T E

At first there was nothing. It was a complete numbness that held no memory, no dreams, no fondness to revisit in the present. The idea was sweet; a world of free of worry or choice, a peaceful state of existence. Now there was a flash of thought. Words echoed out everywhere and before she knew it there in the midst of nothing, a sudden self awareness flooded all of her senses. Where am I? the thought came in a groggy voice. I-in production? The response came as common sense yet the feeling of confusion did not fade. I need to get out… I need to… the thought trailed off and another came through.

“-Newborns, please hear my voice. My name is Aquamarine and I am a Gem just like all of you. You need not worry or feel lost and alone. I will guide you to my location and from there lead you out of this place if you so wish. Just think of your location, think of it and show me in your mind. If you can't then I will come to you, please stay safe...-“

Gem? She questioned That’s right…I’m a gem. Suddenly a flash of light erupted blinding out all other thought. The feeling could only be described as a ‘pop’. It was like a heart beat only the pulses came in waves and disbursed energy, threads of light like ribbons from the core of her being that formed effortlessly into a body. First her head, then torso then arms and legs until there she was. Muted pink skin while her black hair cascaded down her shoulders touches of pink strands blending into ebony. Her gem rested at the center of her forehead and it was a dark rose pink with black ink like markings. Rhodonite had formed. Her fingers dug into the dirt and she noted the softness. The air was dry and caused her choke on the first huff of breath. She coughed tasting metal. Her knees were weak and she could feel them shaking under her own weight. Somehow this didn’t feel normal. Information was chaotic in her mind and the longer she thought the more information seemed to appear. Where am I? The Kindergarten. Who am I? Rhodonite. What am I doing here? I was made here…I was made for… she narrowed her brow, the answer wasn’t there.

Rhodonite stood feeling shaky as she rose. Her pink eyes scanned the area and she could see the grey of the earth around her. Holes were caked along the canyon walls and it was dark. No sense of life. She took a step and turned to look at her own hole. I was just born...how long was I in there? Again she drew a blank. Her hand rose to her forehead and she could feel the warmth of her gem. A groan escaped her lips and she turned her attention from her hole to look again at her surroundings. There was no signs of life yet she could see a set of strings lit in various colors that were scattered in various directions of the canyon. “Other gems…” she mumbled. “The voice…Aquamarine,” she stretched out her hand and followed the lights with her fingers. “Which one,” Rhodonite seemed unsure but moved in the direction of one thread that seemed less erratic than the others. It was bright and steady and it was soothing in the way it glowed, was this Aquamarine. “She said it would be safe,” the comment meant as reassurance for herself. She stood a minute analyzing all the threads still unsure.

If she was being honest, what caught her off guard the most was the hug.

She couldn't remember such a gesture before in her life, so at first she'd been tempted to assume it as some sort of attack. She reined herself in, though, because the Gem's words didn't match up to the action, and it had seemed rather non-threatening. And as the hug continued, she had to admit it felt... nice. Warm, enveloping, comfortable- she'd never experienced anything quite like it in her life. The ground had been stifling, so she burst free. The chambers she'd been put in that scanned her had been confining, claustrophobic; She'd destroyed them all. But this felt... nice. For reasons she couldn't adequately describe.

The larger Gem flinched, and Vert realized sheepishly that she was still carrying a charge. Stupid lightning powers- they were so darned inconvenient when you weren't using them to blow stuff up. She squirmed free of Aquamarine's grasp, looking contrite.

"Sorry. I can't really turn off my powers yet, and you seemed... uncomfortable. I was worried I was hurting you." She smiled ruefully. "Electricity doesn't match up well with most things, does it?" She floated away from Aquamarine, when she heard someone talking about her- she assumed it was her, since there weren't any other green Gems around- and she turned to face whoever it was.

And promptly got a faceful of hi-beams from the Gem's eyes.

"Gah," she muttered quietly, moving out of the path of the eye-lights, but of course the Gem's head just followed her, seemingly unaware of her discomfort, or that he... she... it? was the cause of it. She raised a hand, still wincing past it, trying to look at the smaller green Gem.

"Beg pardon, other green, but I don't think I'm a you- I'm a me. I'm Vert. It would be very nice to meet you, but could you perhaps dim your... eyes? They are quite bright, and I've been in the dark for quite some time..."

@HaltingBlooper

@pyroman"Help look? Sure! Whatever gets us out of here faster." Emerald heard a shriek, and looked up to see a.....well, it wasn't a gem, but it was hurtling towards the ground. And then a reddish gem caught it. Good, one less thing to worry about. Did the holes do this? This was a lot to take in. It was probably the holes' fault.

"Beg pardon, other green, but I don't think I'm a you- I'm a me. I'm Vert. It would be very nice to meet you, but could you perhaps dim your... eyes? They are quite bright, and I've been in the dark for quite some time..."

"Right, sorry! I'll try to turn it down, if I can. I hope you're not mad. My name is Emerald." The lights flickered off, revealing eyes that appeared....off. They seemed almost lifeless, if it weren't for the fact that they were attached to a very much alive Gem. "Hey, it worked!"

Candice couldn't help but smile gently when she heard the levity creep back into his voice. She looked back at the screen on her tablet after he asked, and she answered his question seriously, sensing the tension between Red and Blue through the screen, "It looks like Red and Blue have encountered each other with their groups. They're clearly not happy to see each other..." After a bit of silence with her listening to the conversation, she continued, "We also have a member of the Dorvain family in the Kindergarten. Thankfully, he's getting himself and the other two humans, out of there."

---

Carnelian had smiled at the green gem that hesitantly waved and greeted her. However, before she could greet back (and while the human boy she rescued was kissing the ground), she caught a glimpse of red, and saw a Bloodstone (was this the Bloodstone Aqua had told her about? She honestly never thought she would actually see the scumbag in person!) and she heard echoes of his voice reverberate in her mind,

"Unless, I try to be peaceful and they start the conflict."

That statement was more than enough to tip Carnelian onto his plans. He wanted to paint them as the villains for the newborns. Carnelian wasn't going to fall for that now.
Soon enough Aquamarine's message reached Carnelian, and she thought back to her fellow Crystal Gems,


Carnelian then suggested out loud to Sodalite and the other newborns nearby after Reggie spoke, as though she had never spotted Bloodstone, "My dears, I think we all should take our conversation somewhere else as well. The Kindergarten is a dangerous place to linger. Shall we lead the way, Soda Dahling?"

@Raijinslayer
@Kronshi
@Akayaofthemoon

Everything was happening so fast, it made Vert's head spin- more Gems showed up, then some Not-Gems came and went, and then Other Green shined a light in her eyes and that was annoying but he was a Newborn so she couldn't exactly be mad at him after all she was basically a Newborn herselfFOCUS. She took a deep breath (even if she didn't need to breathe, it helped with the whole, "concentrate and stay calm" thingie), and let it out, focusing herself and looking around, taking everything in completely as she could.

Firstly, she took stock of everyone around her- there was Aquamarine, Sodalite, Kinda-Orange, Other Green, and now a Red Gem. There were some Not-Gems, too, but they were leaving. Sad, kinda- she'd like to see how Not-Gems fared for company. She didn't have much luck with Gems, aside from these new ones, but that was always subject to change. There didn't seem to be much going on, until...

-I am not a part of Bloodstone's team and I am not part of his HomeWorld. I will not force you to choose sides. Just be careful. I know better than anyone that he isn't always what he seems-

Vert stiffened, half with rage, half with fear, fuzzing into static repeatedly as sparks started to fly from her form. She turned to Aquamarine, desperation plain on her face.

"H-Homeworld...? Did I hear that right? There are Gems from Homeworld here?! Oh, jeez, oh my..." She started to float around in a circle in a simulacrum of distressed pacing, agitated arcs of electricity jumping up and down her arms, sparks flying from her toes. She stopped just as suddenly, and zoomed to within a few inches of Aquamarine.

"We, we, we have to leave. Now. Like, now. Before they get here, before they see us, 'cause if they see us... if they see me...!"

She started to hyperventilate, as illogical as that was. Well, screw logic. This took priority. She turned away from Aqua and--

And there he was. At least, he seemed like a he. They didn't technically have genders, so she could call him, "it." But that would get confusing, since he looked like a he, and OH CRAP, THERE'S HOMEWORLD GEMS, DEPLOY ESCAPE MANEUVERS

With a yelp, Vert's body became green lightning- still in much the same shape, but pure energy and electricity- and flew in an arc over Aqua's head, striking the ground behind her and reforming into her more solid shape. She floated quickly up behind Aquamarine, taking care not to touch her, or anyone else- hurting people was (hopefully) not on the agenda today. She peeked out from behind Aqua, still trembling and glitching.

"Is that them? Are they with Homeworld? Don't let them come over here, if they are. 'Cause then they'll want to do things again, and I'll have to get messy again, and then I'll have to go to sleep and try to forget again..." She continued muttering such nonsense to herself, eyes locked on Red Man Gem fearfully.

@Akayaofthemoon@Guardian Angel Haruki@pyroman@Kronshi@HaltingBlooper@2b3heart@Raijinslayer

(NOTE: If I missed anyone, tag-wise, just assume that most everyone in the area could easily notice Vert's little Electric Slide moment.)

Bloodstone surveyed the surroundings and looked at all the newborns, there were dozens of them and each one was gathering around a very familiar face. He began to take a step forward when he was approached by the odd green gem. She was questioning the identities of the two leaders here as well as the subject of her home planet. "Yes young one, I am indeed Commander Bloodstone. I have no idea what Aquamarine told you about me but trust me, it is never the whole truth that comes out of her mouth... or mind. As for who she is, Aqua is that blue gem heading up that wall towards the orange gem. I believe she's a Citrine. And finally HomeWorld, that's were gems are from originally. We've run out of resources there to make new gems without drawbacks so we expanded to other planets to form a new era of gems that would become you and the other newborns here. The first Era-3 gems. Well, at least some of you are." Blood quickly explained everything he could at the time before hearing a shriek and a large crackling of electricity. He looked up to see a Verdelite hiding behind Aqua, her eyes locked on him. Then the Carnelian behind him tried to persuade the others to leave the area. Wow, Aqua really has them riled up about me, huh?

Blood stepped out into the open and announced himself to the gems, "Greetings, I am Commander Bloodstone of HomeWorld. Military General of Earth and Lead Scientist of HomeWorld. I see Aqua has already filled your heads with assumptions of me without giving me a chance to speak. Please, consider this, I am the one specifically in charge of this Kindergarten and every other one on Earth. My actions are what lead to your existence. Aqua and her forces wanted to end these operations for good and ensure that you newborns could never exist. Rose Quartz, a despicable gem, lead Aqua and others away from my leadership and gave them a new life here on Earth. All of those rebels valued this planet more than your very lives. At least they had a choice though, Aqua on the other hand was about to lead you away without knowing of any other options."

Bloodstone stepped forward while gesturing for Chromite and the three newborns to step into view. "See how me and my knight come to you and even our own enemies with no hostile gestures and yet the moment that this Sodalite hears I'm here they have weapons out. I already have three newborns who seem to like me, I hope, and a brave knight ready to defend you from harm. That is all I have to say on the matter of me against Aqua. We've done enough arguing as is and I refuse to do much more. If you newborns wish to ask me questions, feel free and I shall answer them." Bloodstone then placed himself on the ground, folding his legs and playing with the electricity darting between his finger tips. He had no care if the rebels attacked him, it would only strengthen his point and Chromite would surely protect him proving her loyalty and bravery.

As Bloodstone signaled for her to come out, Chromite did as instructed. Unusually for her, Chromite stood next to Blodstone instead of slightly behind him as as knight would, just in case this should happen to get bad. She kept a close eye on the small gems who had decided to join the two of them as she came out, she did not touch them but would attempt to sort of herd them with the bottom of her lance if it looked like they were wandering towards danger. Unfortunately for her she couldn't put her lance anywhere because, unlike her shield, it was not a summoned item and couldn't be drawn back to her if she left it. Chromite would just have to do her best to look non-threatening, which was slightly difficult to do while covered in armor and holding a weapon. At least her expression was as blank as always, slightly stern but not aggressive. She gave a nod to Bloodstone, which was her way of letting him know she'd be ready to begin defensive maneuvers if she rebel gems tried to fight him.



Spinel had gotten a good handle on the situation at this point, observing from her safe vantage point while seemingly attracting no notice at all. It seemed that every individual in the area was converging around the blue gem who had contacted her earlier. She, as well as the red gem who had just introduced himself, seemed like a leader, and something about that drew Spinel to them. She moved out of her hole and tried to climb back down so that she could hear the conversation more easily and possibly ask some questions. However, she had more difficulty climbing back down than she did getting into the hole in the wall. She was lucky enough to be near a slanted rock when she lost her grip, and quickly tumbled down into the canyon floor, mostly unharmed.

@Kronshi@SpinnaEmerald flinched when he heard the red Gem, a bit startled by the sudden appearance. As he listened to the taller Gem's....request? It seemed more like an order at points, but Emerald chalked that up to coincidence. Taller Gems seemed to act, and indeed, be more important, or so it seemed. He'd keep that in mind. As the....speech went on, Emerald became more and more confused, conflicted. Was this true? Was Aquamarine trying to....trick him? She certainly wasn't telling the whole story, that was for sure! He turned his head to Aquamarine. "Is...is that true?" He then, catching movement out of the corner of his eye, turned back to see....a gray, armored soldier that ranked slightly above the holes in terms of scariness. It was terrifying, that was for sure. A loud "pew" could be heard throughout the Kindergarten, as a green bolt flew above Bloodstone's head, leaving a scorch mark on the wall behind him.

Maeve

Maeve opened her mouth to speak up several times as this guy shoved her and the package deliverer out of the Kindergarten. She had desperately wanted to be there and hear all that they answered to the newborns. It wasn't like she could fault the other though since she knew he had only wanted to protect them from danger. It was actually very sweet and brave but she wished it had turned out different. Now that she knew gems were close though, she could get her answers later. Someone had to know where the gems hung out or stayed at.

"Dorvain....that sounds kind of familiar. If your family is in research than it was probably mentioned by my dad. He is into that kind of thing and so am I. My name is Maeve Star Byrne and it is a pleasure to meet you, Reggie. You can call me whatever you like, I'm use to all sorts of nicknames.

---

Aquamarine

Aqua stiffened as she felt the other Gems get closer, standing in front of Citrine's hole calmly even as Vert flew passed her as a bolt of lightening. She felt sorry for the young gem, wondering what this small gem had been put through at the hands of HomeWorld to be scared. "Yes, those would be the HomeWorld Gems. Don't worry, I won't let them harm you and I doubt they would want to for right now." she stated quietly, turning to face the frighten gem and placing a hand on their cheek. "It will all be alright. Just stay here with Citrine."
At least she could be relieved that the humans were gone and out of here in case things got hostile. She had wanted that for the newborns but it didn't seem Blood was going to let that happen. She just needed to not fight with him and maybe nothing horrible would occur. It was bad enough they were in the Kindergarten at all with what we could be lurking.

Aquamarine turned her attention back to those outside, staying silent as Bloodstone spoke since she did want the newborns to at least hear his side even though she had warned them he wasn't what he seemed and he wasn't but she had told them they could make a choice which the other couldn't have known. Emerald looked to her, questioningly with a look that could only read as confusion, upset and maybe even a bit of a guard. She jumped down from up top, gracefully landing on her feet before looking to Emerald before speaking, looking to all of them. "It is nice to know after all these years you still love to leave out details like the parts about your own leaders. Yes, I followed a gem named Rose Quartz who promised to protect this planet and the humans that already lived on it. Yes, I wanted to stop the Kindergartens here because that was just the beginning of HomeWorld's plans. Nothing would have been left after they were through with it. It is why HomeWorld can't make gems there, they used everything up. Do I regret the newborns made on Earth?No. I wouldn't have spent almost every day in this desolate place, protecting you all if that is how I felt. Your lives are beautiful and precious. They could have walked away and left us gems on Earth with no fight and we might have made some Kindergartens ourselves without going overboard but they wanted to make us do as they said and they wanted this planet instead of just choosing a different one. I could not stand to see one more planet fall especially since I believed we could learn something special from the humans of this world. I don't want you all to be forced into being what you were designed to be or what they think you only can be. You all are so much more. I want you all to live and choose to be whatever you choose. The Commander maybe in charge of the Kindergartens but he wasn't the one fighting for you all in this Kindergarten. Plus he left out the fact that his rulers, not only did something unforgivable to my friends but too his own comrades as well. Something that took who they are as well as a normal form and something so far that can not be fixed. They cared not about anyone then. It is all about order and commanding. Ruling and power. I've seen gems crushed because HomeWorld didn't like what they had done or even said. I've seen gems feel like they are worthless for just being the gem type they are. If you all wish to leave, I won't stop you because I told you that the choice is yours. I won't bash on Bloodstone, no matter how much he would like me too or thinks I already have. Everyone has there good points and everyone has things they regret. Everyone has a perspective on how they see something and two sides to every coin. I have given you all the only warning I have to offer. Do what you feel is right for you and what you want out of your life."

Strengite stayed behind the Red Gem that he now knew as Bloodstone and listened intently to his speech. What he was saying made sense to him as he really didn't have anything else to go off of for history of this place he found himself in called a Kindergarten. Suddenly Strengite was brought out of his trance like state of listening as he faintly heard something fall behind him. Absent minded, the newborn gem walked off in the middle of Bloodstone's speech to find what fell.

After a little bit of searching Strengite found what looked like a very bright white gem on the ground. Wanting to show the same kindness that he had been shown only minutes prior, Strengite merrily walked up to the gem and offered his hand to help them up. "Greetings, I am. STreNGitE" Strengite said as he stitched together the sounds that he knew into an introduction.