As Mars waited to see if Topaz could think of anything, he suddenly got a notification from Candice, listening intently while keeping an eye on his charge, he noticed exactly when her face twisted in disgust, something which caused him to raise an eyebrow in confusion, wondering if he'd done something to offend her, only for understanding to dawn upon his face as she suddenly asked questions about stuff Candice was telling him. So she has some form of super hearing . . . definitely shouldn't let the general find out about that little tidbit. With that in mind, he didn't let Candice know that she was being overheard, as he was sure that the general was also keyed into it, in order to keep abreast with the situation. Instead, he continued to listen to Candice's report. At the mention of Red heading this way, Mars was quick to let out a rather colorful curse before he could check himself.

So they either have locked onto me, Topaz, or a corrupted Gem that is currently on the approach. . . *sigh* if it's me or Topaz, then things have a chance to resolve peacefully, but if it's a corrupted gem, then there could be casualties, especially if these new gems don't give a damn about the local populace.

Before Mars could think any deeper into the situation, however, Topaz spoke up again, expressing concern with the thought of Red coming here. Before he could try to comfort her, however, she suddenly took a rather steely stance, looking him in the eye and asking him to teach her how to fight. She might have just take a hammer to his Gem, as it left just as painful an impact on him. His golden irises seemed to glaze over as his mind was taken back to all of the warzones he'd been to, all of the friends he'd loss. Zoe was the first major lost in his life, but far from the only one. Corporal Reese, Sergeant Maxwell, and many other brave men had died while he could do nothing to stop it. They were all fighters and killers alongside him, their souls damned to this ongoing slaughter, as well as dealing with the effects that came with this lifestyle. And this young gem was asking him to possibly induct her into this life. To fight was to kill, in Mars' mind, and to kill is to experience hell. Even now, he could see the faces , moving forth from the edges of his vision to take the center stage alongside Topaz.

A wall of faces burned into his mind, all of them being those who he had ended with his own hands. His gaze broke from Topaz for a moment as he looked down as the ground, his vision swimming as he saw all of the blood that stained his hands. He was on the cusp of breaking down once more from that one question, but strangely enough, the source of his distress was also the source of strength that allowed him to momentarily put it aside. He had to at least appear strong before this newborn, who was depending on him for a lot right now. He was needed at his fullest right now, and he couldn't afford to retreat back into his mind, especially with Red on his way here. As such, when he returned his gaze to Topaz, they were once again clear and focused.

"I would like to thing that this new gem is nice, but Candice isn't one to make mistakes like that. If she says that Red was threatening Gems, then he was. As for Gems being powerful, that's more in line with facing humans. When faced with other gems, then it's a more even playing field, though sometimes not by much. Not all gems are made to fight like I am . . . still, that doesn't mean that you can't. I . . . am willing to teach you how to use your abilities and how to defend yourself. I won't, however, teach you how to be the aggressor, on how to 'fight'. It's something that will fundamentally change you in ways that are, in my experience, seldom positive." Again Mars' eyes began to grow distant, but he shook his head, clearing his thoughts of the voices that dwelled in it before walking passed Topaz, motioning for her to follow. "But let's move on from that for now. First, we need to get out of the town, lest we endanger the humans here. If Red is after you, he might back off if you tell him you have no interest, as it seems like he doesn't want to force any of the other newborns into his collective, but we can never be too sure and I'd rather not gamble with the loves of the people in this town. That being said, I want you to keep an ear out for any particularly loud noises and alert me to them. You may not realize this, but you shouldn't have been able to hear Candice, or 'the Lady in my ear' you were referring to, but since you did, it leads me to believe your power is being able to hear things very, very well."

As Mars spoke, he made sure to keep the communication device turned off from his end, to prevent anyone from overhearing him say that, turning back on when he finished, just to keep in touch with Candice in case something happened. He also brought a hand up as they walked, the one with his gem in it, and showing it to Topaz. "As a quick run through, this is my gem and it's the most important thin on my body. That rings true for all gems, because this is what keeps us alive and our physical forms stable. I don't have time to get into specifics, but the first thing you need to realize is that if this gets damaged, it's hard to keep up your physical form, and if it happens to break . . . then you cease to exist. So you must be sure, above all else, to protect your gem. Understand?"

@Veiled Angel@Kronshi@Spinna@Guardian Angel Haruki

Candice kept on running as fast as she could. She soon reached the town, and was soon leaping across rooftops and using parkour to search for the Mars. The search didn't take too long thankfully. She soon spotted him walking with another gem, heading out of the town. She smiled in relief for a moment, before she contacted him and let Mars know that she was on the rooftops, with clear visual of him and the gem with him. She also told him that she was keeping an eye out for Red and any other gems that was heading their way. She was on the tallest rooftop in the town, and she had a very good vantage point if the situation called for sharpshooting.

...Was Zoe's death her fault? If she had never introduced Mars and Zoe to the military life, then Zoe would still be alive and Mars wouldn't be...

The thought hit her again like a speeding truck. She shook her head and tried to focus her mind and keeping an eye out. She had to protect Mars and the new gem.

---

Carnelian looked to Sodalite and Aquamarine respectively as they each spoke, answering her question. She heard the white gem and was nearly appalled at the mention that she didn't know how to want. It was something gems and humans could do, so why couldn't she...? Shaking off the response she nodded to Aquamarine and she answered in response, "Alright. Sodalite, dahling, Let's get going! We have no time to lose!" She then looked back at the gemlings and she waved to them saying "I hope to see you later at the temple dahlings!"

She then jumped elegantly away from the ground before taking off into a run heading for town. She wondered briefly if Sodalite and she were going to have to fuse again. Not that she didn't mind being Goldstone, but she hoped that the situation wouldn't call for a fusion.

@Spinna@Vocab@Kronshi

After helping up the downed white Gem, Stengite zoned out for what seemed like an hour but in reality was probably only a few minutes. He was almost literally lost in thought as he flexed his new cognitive abilities while he mulled over his current predicament. From the sounds of everything going on he came to several conclusions, first being that the two leader type gems seemed really shifty, on the one hand you had a suave and regal red gem who seemed alright upon one's first glance but he also seemed a bit off in his mannerisms. The biggest redeeming trait for the crimson coloured gem at the moment was the apparent loyalty to him from the armoured gem that helped him down from his perilous perch earlier. Then it came to the other side of the fence, the blue motherly gem who looked like she was very sweet and caring but almost to much so, like she was hiding some deep, dark terrible secret with a friendly smile. However she to had the redeeming trait of having the white gem he had helped out earlier on her side which gave him a reason to join them too. The decision was a difficult one and both offers had their ups and downs but after a great deal of thought the small gem finally came to a realization.



Neither of them had shown him any outright hostility (even though the red one did seem to get a little rowdy with one of the brighter coloured gems) but that didn't mean they wouldn't in the future. Strengite wasn't afraid of the Gems... well at least not yet, but he felt down in the pit of his gem that he didn't feel like taking orders from either of them. Strengite smiled as he stood there, content with his decision.

Now all that being said Strnegite wasn't going to outright tell them that he wasn't joining them, that might lead to a fight! And while fighting wasn't at the bottom of the list of things Strengite would like to do, he knew for certain that he probably couldn't take on either of the two gems in one-on-one combat. So instead of declaring his un-allegience to either gem, he decided that he would go along with the Red group into the tee-ow-n and slip away as soon as possible.

Strengite gave a half hearted wave to the blue group as he began walking towards the Red group only to realize they had left already. Quickly Strengite began to run after the Red group in the hopes of catching up to them before they got to far, after all, they were th only ones that knew where the tee-ow-n was.

Oh? A fusion? If the the situation was so horrible that she and Carnelian would need to become Goldstone, then so be it. However, if there were other options to be had, those would be reviewed first. It wasn't that Sodalite disliked fusion, no, not at all. She enjoyed fusing with Carnelian and Aquamarine in the few times that it happened, but if she were going to be honest, Goldstone was a liability from the get-go. Smart, witty, and an ego more than twice the size of Goldstone, the fusion was dangerous if not attended by Aquamarine, One of the remarkable few to ever really meet Goldstone. She couldn't remember if Mayor Coss had met her. She didn't remember much of the Halloween fiasco so long ago. In any case, Goldstone refused to back down from any challenge, and Bloodstone could more than easily turn that around.

"Right." Sodalite nodded to Carnelian. Her left hand rose to push a small strand of hair aside. It was tickling her face and bothering her. Looking back at the Gemlings, she smiled sweetly and tilted her head. "I bid you all ado, ta ta for now!" She waved them off as she ran to chase Carnelian, back into the town to survey the current level of damage and what could be causing it.

It seemed he had stuck with three followers, possibly four. Things were going remarkably well this time. The last Kindergarten newborns were very adamant about staying where they were. Quite a few questions were asked of him, and Bloodstone took a serious tone to answer. "I'm certain we should take the newborns, let them see us in action if there is a Corrupted. As for Bixbite, go ahead and call her. We may need the extra power, besides my weapon doesn't have to ability to fuse without a three gem fusion. By the way, recruits, I would like names so I can stop calling you recruits as soon as possible." Bloodstone looked behind him at the newborns, he still needed to answer their questions before he could expect his to receive a reply. It was only the polite thing to do.

He looked towards the shy purple one. She didn't really seem keen on listening to people. Hopefully she learns to act otherwise soon. "As I've said before, payment is simple. Loyalty and trust, that's all. I have my reasons for my actions and I need you to respect that and not ask too many questions about my doings. I also have a strong concept on powers and control, I could definitely teach you, green one, how to better stabilize your beam and teach the rest of you how to find yours," Blood stated as he turned from the shy purple one to the small green one and then to the others.

Bloodstone focused his gaze on the late-comer. The purple one with weird speech patterns. "Purple one with the copycat voice, I hope you know that long speech was mainly meant for you. You needed words to copy and I gave you as many as I could, it would have been much easier to skip the formalities, trust me. So, follow me and we'll see what's going on in town. Hopefully, nothing to disastrous." At that, Bloodstone turned towards Chromite, nodded, and faced the woods separating him and the town.

Bloodstone preceded to approach town after his explanations. He had work to do and no amount of newborns was going to keep him from that. After walking through the woods, the town came into view. It was a fairly decent-sized town with a lake in the very center of the whole thing. What is it with humans that their lives have to revolve around water? Blood rummaged through his jacket pockets as random items fell out of the holes in his coat. It took a couple seconds but he managed to find what he was looking for and put the rest back. Bloodstone unfolded the localized scanner and began searching for gem signals. "Gods, the range on these are terrible in comparison to the ship. I can't even get half of the town in it's radius. Look here though, two little signatures to the north-east. Let's hope there is something fun going on over there and that Bixbite shows up before it is too late." Blood began walking in their direction, summoning his weapon in the process. A dark grin creeping on his face, "Get ready Chromite. This should be an event no matter what the signatures turn out to be."

@Spinna@SevenStormStyle@Vocab@rocketrobie2@HaltingBlooper@Veiled Angel@Raijinslayer

As they walked to well... where ever Mars was taking Topaz she felt her worry (and her bravery) going away she felt calm again. Due to this she looked at her new friend for the first time in a casual way ,as every other time she looked at him it was in the eyes or at his feet. She looked at her new friend who had a lean build like hers, kinda, and was wearing baggy army pants and a small jacket of sorts, and apparently nothing under it by the looks. While I really don't like that the jacket is so small and personally I would like a big long actual jacket jacket. I would probably ditch the jeans, and his hair is about my length which I approve of. . This being thought she looked at her own basically leggings. When she made her way back to her friends eyes she remembered how they glazed when she brought up fighting, and how she instantly regretted it. She never wished ill and yet it still happened at just a few words she stabbed him (metaphorically). Her first reaction was to apologize yet instead she just decided to help him forget that thought all together by speaking more words.

"Ill protect my gem and yours" As she said this she smiled as wide as she could at the the thought she wanted to protect everything she could but Mars was special to her and made her feel safe, not to mention helping her get down this whole gem thing and she was thankful for that, however its not liked she loved him in... that way. He was like her brother and mentor maybe a father. Beside he is probably taken by the lady in his ear that takes trust. "I'm gonna be honest and i mean no harm by these words so please don't be hurt. I think you should be enough to deal with the Red gem since your trained, however I want to learn how to defend myself from you ,but only if you want to teach me not because I'm asking and you don't want me to get hurt. I want it to be because you really and truly want to. I wish I could help just by being here, but it appears that I can only help by being beside you so I'm going to try to not be a burden to you or the lady in your ear." As she said this she hugged him and then stepped back when she was done. After this she looked him in the eyes and stated "Its clear that I will have responsibility's just for being a gem and it would appear that you and Mrs. Ear are my teachers." After all while the lady in Mars ear didn't seem to care for Topaz, Topaz could tell Mars meant a lot to Ear lady and therefore Topaz had to protect Ear lady and hoped that Ear lady would return the favor.

Last but not least I wish I knew her name

@Guardian Angel Haruki @Raijinslayer

"I'll take care of it, Commander. Chromite responded. She readied her communicator and called the ship. Bixbite, if you're hearing this there's a situation down here. Please hone in on my coordinates and get yourself here as soon as possible, we may need your assistance in bringing down a corrupted gem." Hopefully this will spare me from any rotten looks later. Chromite took note of Strengite, who apparently had chosen to join them. "Ah, so you made the right choice after all. Good." she said approvingly.

Chromite began following Bloodstone. Affirmative, Commander. 'Fun' may not be the word I'd use, but it will be good to dust off my shield for a change. Although based on those readings, I fear whatever skirmish is waiting for us may be rather underwhelming.

@Kronshi@rocketrobie2@Akayaofthemoon

Mars

"I do want to train you because want you to be safe. I may have hesitated earlier, but that is for reasons I'd . . . rather not burden you with." Mars' tone was gentle and calming, despite the anxiety and apprehension he was feeling. If Red was coming here, Mars doubted he'd be alone, and if he wanted to fight, Mars really doubted he'd play fair. Nit only that, but while Mars spoke as if ffom experience, he'd never fought a gem before, not seriously. He'd dealt with Gem monsters, but he knew that wasn't nearly enough to prepare him.

"Topaz," Mars said with a very serious tone, looking her deep in the eyes. "If Red comes looking for a fight, and if he's looking for me, then you need to go and find Candice in town or that Blue gem. I'd like to think I can take him, but it always good to have a back up plan. Do you understand me, because this important. I don't want to risk him hurting you, or worse, if he turns out to be too much for me to handle."

Once Mars was certain she got what he was saying, he then raised up his Gem, it's smooth surface taking on a golden glow as he summo ed forth a single chakram from it, which he soon imbued with energy and sent hovering around him. "Another thing to know about Gem's is most can summon sone kind of weaoon from their gem, though those that our more dependant on powers may not. While we wait for Red to get hear, you might as well try and learn how to summon your own."

"I am often called 'Titanite' as a material, but 'Sphene' is generally the more common name used once I am formed." Sphene replied to Bloodstone's request for their names. She gave a slight smile. "That is about all I know of myself at the moment, but I have the impression that my physical form is not quite so robust as one like that of - Chromite, correct?" She looked at the soldier inquisitively. "- and that there is something here, presently undisturbed." She motioned to her gemstone. She felt something akin to a fluttery ache whenever she thought about it, like there was a little, winged organism brushing against the inside of the stone. Every now and then, it would get the beginnings of a glow on it, but she wasn't quite sure where to go from there, so it always just faded eventually. Whatever was waiting to form, she doubted it would be a heavy weapon of any kind. Something small and elegant, perhaps.

Her thoughts were cleared of her musings as the group came upon a "town". She almost didn't catch the rest of what Bloodstone was saying, as she struggled to take in the entirely new sight all at once. There was so much movement, and color was spread all over the place! An involuntary "stars" escaped her as she scanned the narrow streets for signs of life. So these were the "humans" here, these delicate chaos-makers! She watched them with amusement for a moment before continuing to follow Bloodstone, though now keeping some distance due to the fact that he appeared to be on guard.

@Spinna @Kronshi

As Maeve spoke, she might've noticed that Reggie was staring a bit. . . Okay, a lot. Reason? Her smile. He was completely shocked how such a gorgeous girl could look even more so just by moving a few facial muscles just the right way. When combined by the fact that he was the one that had caused her to smile, and Reggie would feel like he was on Cloud nine just from that. However, Maeve didn't stop with just that, oh no, she had to prove that she was the girl of Reggie's dreams almost immediately afterwards.

As Reggie told his pale friend his specialities with no minor amount of excitement, his ears seemed to twitch slightly as Maeve expressed her interest in the subject as well. A girl, a gorgeous, kind, beautiful, captivating member of the fairer sex, not only seemed to enjoy his presence, but also was interested in Reggie's field of expertise. To most guys, this would be the moment where they'd try to turn up the charm, and act as cool, suave, and macho as possible.

Reggie, however, fainted.

Not immediately, of course(he was tougher then that), but over a course of events. First, he turn around with a strange look on his face, the emotion somewhere between exhilaration and bone-breaking nervousness. Then, he'd attempt to give an answer to her inquiry, but all that would come out was a bunch of gibberish that mixed the plans for a laser canon with poetic depictions of beauty and love, before his brain finally seemed unable to keep up. And just like that, his body would enter free-fall, falling forward to the ground as he lost consciousness mid-almost-sentence, his form quickly racing to meet the ground with a solid thump. And there he'd lay until someone was able to bring him back to the world of the living, snoring slightly as he did so too.

@Akayaofthemoon
@BrassOtter Just to be sure

A gander? There had to be stuff Reggie's father had that he could use for a thesis for a damn doctorate, several times over! Carmen was almost vibrating with excitement, head swimming with the possibilities this strange, sudden, but wholly welcome new acquaintance he'd found might be able to do, for both himself and for Reggie. He certainly didn't possess gem tech, but Carmen could count the number of people that had gadgets like his on one hand, without the use of all fingers on said hand. He was about to offer to show the young man before him to his own personal workshop when Maeve spoke up, further filling him with excitement. Two people to try and wow with his inventions? He almost wanted to refuse payment from that mailman, just from all the good that was coming from this trip.

Almost.

Reggie seemed pretty excited to... A little too excited, it seemed. He barely got half way into something about lasers before blowing a gasket and passing out, hitting the ground with a wince-inducing thud. Well, so much for showing off to Reggie today... but that did still leave Maeve--

"Uh... Hey, Starburst? I know you probably spent your whole life being told not to get in stranger's cars, but, uh, you might want to humor me..." Carmen gulped, hastily sliding his mask back down over his face and nodding up the hill. At the crest was a small contingent of gems, heading this way, led by the black and red gem. The guy seemed to have a bad rap from what he'd heard earlier, and he sure as hell didn't want to be around to get in a gem's way. Not without being properly armed, at least.

"So... My rickshaw is right by the road near here. You can take a ride with me, or you can find a way back and hopefully not piss off tall, red, and sinister there." Carmen offered, hurrying over to pick Reggie up and sling the unconscious guy over his shoulder. He didn't really wait for Maeve to give him an answer, either, already booking it for the road. He had a feeling something was about to go down, and he wasn't about to be caught without some form of self-defense.

@Akayaofthemoon @Raijinslayer

As Bloodstone walked through town, he looked back at the group. Alright, so a Sphene and a still silent copycat gem. I suppose the other purple gem got lost in thought and stayed in the forest. As for the Emerald, he just seemed to wander off back towards Aqua. Typical useless Emeralds, damn prototype gems. At least he's not as bad as the last one, took all my strength not to shatter that multi-personality freak. I wonder if the Diamonds have shattered that worthless green pile of- 'Affirmative, Commander. 'Fun' may not be the word I'd use, but it will be good to dust off my shield for a change. Although based on those readings, I fear whatever skirmish is waiting for us may be rather underwhelming.' Bloodstone cleared his thoughts, he had to stay focused on the mission at hand. Blood looked back at his scanner and realized that Chromite was right, the readings were weak. They were probably two newborn gems, or at least one is. Then again, no chances could be taken. The two newborns that did stick with him needed a leader that could protect them. It was fun though, seeing the shocked look on the human's faces. Most humans have never heard of gems, and those that have probably only know about the rebels. They've never seen a HomeWorld gem, have they.

"I suppose you're right Chromite. Either way though, we can't let our guard down. I saw a human drone earlier which means we're being watched. I personally don't want to have to deal with the human military again. If we had decent forces it would be easy to obliterate their military but just the two of us aren't enough to fight their chaotic weaponry." Blood continued walking through the town until he made sighting of two gems heading out of town to a more open area. One seemed to have control of both his weapons and powers, probably teaching the other one how to fight. An open clearing like this makes for good training without injuring the town, but it left them open to attack.

Bloodstone approached the gems, gesturing for the newborns to hold back and for Chromite to follow. "Stay here for now, I don't know what these gems are up to yet. Go say hi to a human or something. They may give a few more words for copycat here to use." As he reached the two gems, Blood cleared his throat to announce his presence. "Greetings, I see you're trying to train that newborn. You do know gems don't just pop out of the ground knowing how to summon their weapon right. It takes time, and they have to truly feel a need for it to summon it before they're trained. Either way," Blood stopped for a second to de-summon his weapon, "What are you two doing here in town? Wouldn't it be safer to go to a gem training arena? It should be just a simple warp away."

@Spinna@SevenStormStyle@rocketrobie2@Vocab@HaltingBlooper@RaijinSlayer@Veiled Angel
and possibly @Salt Me Senpai if she saw the gems wandering through town.

As this unknown red gem approached Topaz and Mars Topaz put her self slyly in front of Mars just enough to (for her hope) draw red gems gaze. "Ummmmmm not to be rude but what is a gem training arena? Or a Warp?" As she said this she looked at Mars with a curious face. Topaz then proceeded to acknowledge all of his companions. " Anyways" Topaz strutted up to him like she was the big slice of cheese. "Why did you threaten that gem, who do you think you are running around here threatening gems and acting like you own the place!" Topaz was mad she didn't know why she didn't feel this strongly earlier.

"Unless that poor gem pulled out a weapon and threatened you that was unnecessary." Ill show him! She thought as she raised her hand in the air trying to do that weapon thing Mars showed her. As she struck a super hero pose she realized nothing happened. She looked in her hand then at the spectical she was making and then slowly stepped behind Mars to hide her embarrassment. I cant believe i just did that I made a fool of myself. I should have just stood behind Mars and did what he told me. As she Pressed her head to his back and really hoped the lady in- Candice didn't hear that.

@Kronshi@Raijinslayer@Guardian Angel Haruki

Stengite had zoned out once more as he began to follow Chromite and big-red-something, he couldn't remember the gem's name despite it's constant use. He finally came back to his senses as he heard big red begin to talk again and explaining that his long drawn out speech that Stengite wasn't listening to was to help him pick up on a few words. "tHank yoU" Strengite said as he tried to amalgamate words that he had just heard the gem say into some sort of half hearted gratitude. He could appreciate the offer but given all of the grammar and lingo used by Big Red, he didn't think he would be able to transfer over the right undertones to his own speech. Basically he wanted someone else as a speech instructor.

As the small group got into town Strengite began to marvel at all of the sights around him from the hugh-mens to the 'Bob's hot dogs' stand. It was truly mesmerizing for the small gem as he first came into contact with human structures. "Fun" was the only word that the small gem could draw upon to describe his feelings towards the humans. Eventually the group was lead to some wide open area where two other gems were standing. Big Red told the him and Sphene to stay put or at least not follow along which was fine by Strengite, now was his chance to go down his own path. "Affirmative, Commander." Strenite said as he began to back away from Bloodstone but not before giving the 'commander' and Italian salute.

As Strengite ran off he found his way into a store selling light boxes with pictures of people on them. As he walked down the isles of the store looking at various people talking with one another he began get a positive feeling welling up inside of him as he learnt more and more about how he could express himself in the way of words.

"Hey kid, if your not buying anything then get out." said one of the hugh-mens that seemed to be employed by the store. Stengite stared straight at the man who looked to be in his mid-forties with a balding scalp and well kept moustache.

"Hey kid, if your not buying anything then get out." Strengite copied back at the man who seemed a little shocked by hearing his voice played back to him by the small purple looking person.

"Ha, ha." the man said as he got up from his restful position at the register and strode over to Strnegite "Now get out.".

Strengite spent the next few minutes just walking deeper into town using the the sign that read 'City Hall' as his guide so that he didn't somehow het lost in this labyrinth of a town. Eventually Strengite made his way to the sign finally and laid down on the ground in front of it as he began to think about all the different words he could use to greet people.

"It's unlikely that you were made to be a soldier, yes. Rest assured, the Commander and I are more than capable of finding a suitable job for you." Chromite said to Sphene.

Chromite nodded at Bloodstone and followed him, ready with her lance and ready to shield them if necessary. As they moved away from the young gems and toward their subjects, Chromite remained silent. She wasn't disappointed exactly, but she wasn't as well-suited for diplomatic missions as her commander was, and it seemed fairly clear that that's all this would be. She merely stood there inconspicuously, ready to back Bloodstone up if need be. At the very least, her presence there would hopefully make it cleary that Bloodstone commanded some sort of authority.

@Raijinslayer@SevenStormStyle@Kronshi@Veiled Angel

Mars

The arrival of Red and his gang immediately set Mars on edge, but one would be hard-pressed to see it given that he did little more than look in the Homeworlders direction, noting that he was vastly outnumbered, even when factoring in Topaz, though he had to admit that she didn't amount to much at the moment in terms of fighting. Mars' brow furrowed slightly at the gem's statements, especially the one about Topaz's weapon, as he had always been able to summon his weapon for as long as he could remember. And yet, before he could possibly question the man about it, Topaz seemed to suffer from a case of amensia, as she seemed to forget everything that Mars had just told her, stepping out in an attempt to intimidate Red, but only succeeding in drawing all attention to herself in a rather embarrassing way.

Mars didn't say anything, but a very audible sigh could be heard as he let his chakram disperse, seeing as how, at least for now, violence wasn't the intention of either party. Placing one hand on his hip while the other combed through his hair, the military gem took a second to compose himself, though he still couldn't shake off a feeling of intense distrust towards this newcomer.

"I'm sorry about that Red, She's a bit over-eager at times and didn't take too kindly to your treatment of one of the other Newborns." Mars kept his tone completely at ease and controlled, not wanting to give any of them a reason to start a fight right now. "Moving on from that, I have to admit to some shared ignorance amongst us, as I've little idea what you're talking about with these Training Arena's and warps. Well, I know what an arena is, but I've never been to one specifically for Gems. No clue about Warps though, that's a new one for me. . . Oh, and where are my manners, I've forgotten to introduce myself. Marra Mamba, but I prefer to be called Mars if you don't mind. And you, given the coloration would be a . . . Ruby? Garnet? Red Diamond? Not quite as knowledgable as I should be on Gem names, so feel free to stop me anytime.

@Veiled Angel
@Kronshi
@Spinna
@SevenStormStyle

Charlotte, enjoying a nice walk through the lovely Mohs Town, was having a rather simple day. Her family was doing well, the town was doing well, and there hadn't been an incident with the Crystal Gems in some time.

Oh no.

Charlotte stopped mid-stride and took a look down at the cup of water in her hands. It was only a matter of time before the Gems and their weird Gem Magic would seep into the town. She had talked to Aquamarine about too much human interaction and the passing of boundaries, as Sodalite had been known in the past to cross that line in her examining of humans and their lives. The last time she had spoken to the gems, the smaller blue one, Sodalite, seemed almost giddy about something. She began to worry more and more about the safety of her town.

She started walking again, her course changed to the Crystal Gem temple. She just had to check in and make sure that everything was okay. Aquamarine should contact her in the event that something goes wrong, but there have been cases in the past.

Emerald was...confused. That seemed to be a rather common feeling, in the short time he'd existed. He was also slightly relieved, relieved that the scary people seemed to be leaving and that the scary people weren't as angry. He was also a bit lost. Since Bloodstone had left, he knew who would have answers. He turned to Aquamarine, a look of panic taking over his unmoving eyes.

"Um...Aquamarine? W-what are we going to do? I heard something about a town, whatever that is?" He paused, trying to compose himself. A thought crossed his mind. "Am I with you? Are...Are they going to come back?"

"I will do my best to more precise when speaking with you in the future, though I am not positive I will be every single time. I will adjust to what you need and protect you the best I know how."Aqua said to Spinel with a soft smile before looking in the direction of Emerald. She listened to what he had to say before walking over to him, petting his hair a bit before answering,"You are more than welcome to come with me. We live in a Temple on the mountain side near a town called Mohs and I will be taking anyone who wants to stay with me there so you can be safe. We need time to teach you and you are not ready for a fight. We help protect the humans in that town from the corrupted gems that HomeWorld made and left behind. We try to help the gems as best that we can by bubbling them so they don't hurt others or themselves. I can't say if Blood will return to this area but I know it is not safe. You are as free as you want to be with me Emerald. I would never make you stay if you didn't want too. I will protect you from Blood and the others with my life if you don't want them around you."

"Everyone that doesn't want to stay here, lets head out now. I will keep coming back to check on the rest of you since I still want you safe but we can't wait here any longer. Please be careful and if you need anything, you can head to town and you will easily see the Temple. You know where we are and you are always welcome." Aquamarine stated with sadness in her voice at the thought having to leave any of them behind. She curled her hands before heading in the direction of town, keeping a slow pace so none of the others were in of range in case she needed to make a shield and so they could catch up.



Confusion, that was the exact look and feeling she had as Reggie spoke. It quickly went from confusion on what he was trying to say with all the jumble speak to feeling worried as he didn't look so well all of a sudden. What had changed?"Reggie, are you alright?"she asked nervously. It was even seconds after she asked that the guy before her was taking a dive for the ground which made her cringe a bit when she wasn't able to catch the other in time. Maeve quickly knelt down, shaking Reggie a bit in a panic and called his name a bit in hopes he would walk up. When the other gems moved out of the Kindergarten and the pale gentlemen said they should scamper out of here while picking up Reggie, well Maeve readily nodded."A strangers ride is the least of my worries if we piss them off.....besides...I want to make sure that he is alright. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving him, you know?" she replied as she followed after Carmen.



The blinking on the radar caught her attention, curiosity getting the better of her as she went to check it out. It was coming from a nearby human community and she would have cared less if it hadn't been that newborns might be lost and scared in a sea of those not like them. If she could help any of them than she would and Bloodstone wouldn't think any less of her for not being at her station if it meant taking care of any newborns found. Bix would protect them and bring them to the ship. The warp pad didn't take her far from town and now she was wandering through it with her hood up, not wanting the attention from these other beings. The Commander was probably already in town but back up was never a bad thing...well more back up anyway. She felt a streak of jealousy rush through her for a second at thinking of Chromite but she shook it off. This was not about the grey gem, this was about helping the newborns or Bloodstone in his endeavors.

This feeling was familiar.

Alone in the ground where a quartz soldier was meant to form, Gembone came to life, slowly, surely, blissfully unaware of all that surrounded them. In their slumber, faint memories passed by - the sound of thundering footsteps, the warmth of a star in the sky, the rush of water at their feet. The stillness of the ground was alien, but they knew not of it. Amid their slumber, the malformed quartz gem, tainted with the remains of organic life, continued to form, larger than any quartz soldier before them.

The memories began to grow darker, still. Smokey skies. Frozen floor. The chill seemed to run through their very being, jolting them awake.

No light, no life.

This was oh so very wrong. Panic in their heart, they clawed at the earth with blind desperation, the kind that overcame one in fear of their life. Why where they here? They were dead, yet they were alive. They were a hunter, yet they were prey. What had happened? The earth below them crumbled away and they flinched in surprise at sun above them, for it was not the sun they knew - far older, far wiser, no longer hidden behind the ash. They looked up at it, blinking. The world was far too small, too primitive, yet too advance. They cried out for help, but nobody came, for sound would not come. They were confused, oh so very confused. Nervously they glanced about, taking in their surroundings through reptilian eyes, looking for something, anything else, that was familiar. Their gaze fixed on a small white being among a group.

Group, good. Safety in numbers. Finally, a familiar sight, a familiar thought.

Torn between the instinct to walk on all fours and stand on both feet, the giant gave a sort of lumbering gait towards the colourful group, pouncing on the aforementioned white gem.

So many questions, of so many questions. They tried to speak them all at once, but two vastly different tongues seemed to tug and tie upon each other, dying in their throat - all that came out was a quizzical chirp, followed by a whimper and an apologetic dip of their head. They felt many eyes upon them, and were frozen in fear, forgetting to get off the poor creature they so readily flung themself at.