[IC] Steven Universe: Second Gem War

[LokiLeo789]

Birth Place of War Revival

Thousands of years ago, before the dawn of humanity, the Gems were once a proud race of celestial and magical beings, born with amazing abilities that give their race amazing powers and abilities, and all share the trait of having a magic crystal embedded somewhere on their bodies, the source of their powers that give them the ability to summon special weapons, along with channeling their strength to power whatever unique abilities each Gem is born with.

The galaxy is vast and expansive, several worlds belonged to the Gems and further increased their influence and power, with nothing in the galaxy able to defeat such a mighty alien race, the Gems prospered and had a golden age that lasted for eons, with seemingly no end to their prosperity.

But great power can easily corrupt those who wield it.

As time went on, the inner politics of the Gems slowly formed a massive rift, several Gems found out horrible secrets of their kind stripping entire resources and exterminating life on entire worlds for the sake of their empire, having no regard for any living thing while moving on to repeat the same process, causing civil disputes that only increased the separation of the Gem race.

Things only got worse when Gems seeking to protect life filled worlds decided to rebel against their kind and defend the same worlds to preserve, only to be met with the same fate of extinction while their government covered up the incidents and regarding them as mere accidents.

Because of this, Rose came to Earth, with an army of rebels, who had the same view that she did. She was successful in protecting earth, but not without many casualties. 20 years later, The HomeWolrd is back for earth, and know the responsibility lands on Stevens shoulders.

The Burning Room

Steven

Steven took infornt of the small pool of hot lava that brought back so many memories. He remembered the Together Breakfast that he had planed out for the Gems that day. Unfortunately, it did not end well, but he knew that doing popcorn to waffles was gonna be a bit weird tasting anyway. Today, Steven was here on serious business, it had been a month since the HomeWolrd invaded earth once again. They were able to setup an outpost in the forests out side Empire City. Steven and the Crystal Gems took immediate action, they found away from heal all of his mother former troops to help fight of the invaders. Tensions have been rising ever since they created the outpost, would they take Empire City, what were they waiting for. Garnet suggested the moved in quickly and take care of the threat. Although Steven agreed, he was afraid that he may hurt the people of the city. In truth, he was afraid of war.

5 Gems stood in front if him in the Burning Room. Garnet and Amethyst stood on either side of him. Pearl was already out side the forest waiting the this team that had just been out together. They were just a few of the strongest Gems that they had, according to Garnet. This teams name Is Crystal Valor, they would be the first gems to engage the enemies. Steven sighed before he began to speak, "You are a group of Gems I no nothing about. Uhh, all I can do is wish you good luck, an please be careful."

Garnet immediately took over after Steven finished. "You will enter the forest from the North, of the front, were they will be expecting. You will meet Pearl there, and she will tell you the rest." she said in her usual stern voice. And with that, they were dismissed.

[Xartarin]

In her corrupted form, Melanite was simply a formless magic around her gem, but unlike many others she retained memories and only acted defensively as the ghost of the lighthouse. That lack of violence made Melanite a good candidate for being restored to her former power, but it also meant Melanite remembers the discussions made around the burning room, the fear in the Crystal Gems, and she took it as a sign of what to come. It was her only impression of the enemy's power, and it wasn't an optimistic one. Melanite didn't even consider herself a formidable fighter in battle. On Homeworld she was an outdated gem that operated machinery, made obsolete by technical geniuses like the likes of Peridot or even Pearl, and as a monster she was just a nuisance to Steven and his friends. Being among the very first to engage the enemy was a terrifying concept.

However, as a homeworld gem she had a hand in the destruction the kindergartens started on Earth, and as a monster she brought misfortune to many humans throughout mystery who mistook her for a valuable stone. She more than owed it to the living things on Earth to fight for them now, and hope to repay it for the damages she had already caused to its inhabitants.

"Th-thank you for this opportunity, a-and all the work you have done so far," Melanite managed to choke out despite her nervousness. She rose off the ground, and looked around at her teammates briefly, all gems she did not recognize. Unable to bear the gaze of so many superiors for long, Melanite decided she would wait for the others outside before progressing, and she left.

[clanjos]

WHAM!

That was the sound as Halite, already seething with rage, punched Citrine square in the face before turning to glare at Steven and Garnet. When he next spoke, it wasn't a question so much as a command. The blood rushed through his body as his breathing grew ragged from his anger.

"Where am I. How do I leave."

[Xenonia]

Citrine had only just opened her mouth to speak, when it was immediately shut by the force of an inordinately strong punch. She was really looking forward to joining the fight again, helping the Crystal Gems once more find victory against the tyranny of homeworld... But she wasn't thinking about that at the moment. She was thinking about the knuckles that had currently embedded themselves in her jaw.

"Mffmrfrm!" she tried to speak properly, but couldn't. In fact... Oh no. Oh no. Citrine knew what came next...

POOF!

A little orange gem fell to the floor, pulsating slightly in preparation of reformation.

[Kafka Komedy]

As Sard stretched out, getting a feel for his form once again after being some dumb loafing monster for so long, he half paid attention to what the half-human said. Then, the leader gem, Garnet, explained the plan to him and the others. "Hmm. We take the most expected route- an unexpected move! I like it." Sard said with a grin. He lethargically summoned a shuriken and spun it around in his hand, remembering how to use it. As he did this, the Melanite spoke her gratitude, albeit nervously. She gave him and the rest of the rag-tag team a good once over, her black curly hair bouncing slightly as she stared up and down. She looked sorta like a ghost, a gothic-like theme, he liked it.

Then, a loud sound echoed through the room, sounding suspiciously like a fist hitting an unprepared opponent. Sard whipped his head around to see a Citrine in gem form, and a very suspicious looking Halite. That jerkwad had hit her without so much as a warning! Sard was all for outwitting your opponent, but this was straight up unfair. Jerkwad asked two quick questions, his bellowing voice making them sound more like orders than queries. Sard quickly pointed to him, and answered him. "One! You're in a room with Me in it. Two! You don't leave, if you wanna hit innocent people." Sard quickly summoned a second shuriken, and spun both around in his hands at a surprising speed. "Why don't you try to hit me instead, you cloudy fool?" Sard asked, getting into fighting stance and preparing to thrash this sack of rocks.

[clanjos]

"...I- I- Innocent?!"

His face twisting and his body turning bright red, he kicked Citrine's gem and summoned his hammer. With a roar, he raised it and began swinging at the still-bubbled gems. The mere suggestion that Citrine was blameless had enraged him.

"NONE OF US ARE INNOCENT! WE ARE THE GEMS!"

So much pain and suffering caused by the Gems. They'd treated him as a weapon, a tool. They'd drained the life from swathes of this planet and others to make more Gems. Their mere existence was emblematic of the slow death of the ecosystems of a planet so they could reproduce. And that knowledge made him even angrier.

"OUR EXISTENCE IS ENOUGH OF A CRIME!"

[Stern Algorithm]

Amber opened her eyes for perhaps only the second time in her life. She remembered very little, the beginnings of self awareness, a group of other young gems around her, and suddenly, intense pain and darkness. Here she was surrounded by other gems, older. A gem was speaking, who seemed to really have it together, so Amber listened intently. Suddenly, one of the larger gems turned violent and hit another, causing the victim's body to dematerialize and retreat into its gem. When the larger gem kicked the retreated gem away, Amber ran to retrieve it, picking it up, and cupping it in her hands. She didn't know much, but she knew enough; either inherently, or as a result of repressed memories of her time as a monster, that Citrine was hurt. Amber looked over at Steven and Garnet in fear and confusion, turning her gaze also to Sard, who seemed to be standing up for Citrine. Amber didn't want to fight.

[LokiLeo789]

Obdi was surprised to find out that he had been a monster. One second he was fighting for Rose, a fight that would end the war. Suddenly, everything went black, as if he fell asleep. It felt that it was only a few seconds of sleep, then he woke up in the Burning Room, a place he really did not recognize. It had been a week since he had been awaken from his hostile slumber. Scared and lonely, Obdi immediately clung to the rope of leadership that Steven provided. It reminded him of Rose, but he could remember Her having a child, maybe it was after the transformation.

Obdi listened attentively to the explanation the Garnet and Steven provided. Apparently, a coward like him was powerful in the eyes of the Crystal Gems, which was beyond him. Obdi threw a side ways glance to the Gems on either side of him. He had a recollection of them from the war, but he could not remember them. It was weird. Obdi nodded eagerly when they were dismissed to head over the the forest were the HomeWolrd out post was set up. Despite his eager exterior appearance, but on the inside, he was terrified. It did not help that the largest of them had just smashed his fist into the face of a defenseless Gem. It immediately hid inside it's Gem, and the assailant summoned his own weapon. Obdi noticed Steven wanted to step in, but Garnet stopped him, she wanted them to settle it. Obdi frowned, how could they? This Gem looked like he was on the verge of killing them all.

"Stop! If you don't, you will force us to use force." He said nervously, taking a tentative step towards the berserk Gem.

[KiltmanBagz]

Balas was...surprised to be awake honestly. She had sort of thought she had died, and had been oddly at piece with that notion. She was a very old, even by the nearly eternal standards of the Gems, an a career warrior at that, few of her class were around for as long as she had been, most being undone in the glory and heat of battle. It was a fate she had always expected for herself, heck it was a fate she thought she had fallen to. The war between the crystal gems and the homeworld was a desperate one, they were outnumbered significantly, and only through the fierce determination of the Crystal gems and the clever and wise guidance of their leader had they even the semblance of hope. It would have been no surprise for her if unmaking had been her destiny in the corse of that war....But it turns out she had been corrupted, though the memory escaped her grasp, and had been on earth as some giant worm monster. Weird right?

And now, though the power of Rose's child, ( she was still grasping at the comprehension that a gem had a CHILD at all ), she was brought forth to battle once more. She couldn't say she was displeased by this to be honest, she had always loved fighting and even more fighting in a cause she believed in. Earth was one such cause, and to be able to lend her strength to the crystal gems and once more light a warm fire in her heart.

But a quick and sudden shade was brought on the glorious reunion with existence and purpose, when the largest member of the group struck out at another gem and was nearly frothing with rage. Tension hummed thick in the air as they group seemed to prepare for battle. She recognized the potential for disaster quickly , and fell back into her

"ENOUGH" she said suddenly and sharply, in a voice that seemed impossible loud and clear for one so small. She stepped between the giant and the other gems. She had summoned her great bearded ax, and had hooked it around the shaft of the hammer and held it still, though it took all her strength to manage such a thing and she was rather sure that Halite wasn't really focusing his strength at the moment. "Do you all not recognize where we are? We are in the heart of a base. If something in here got damaged the resulting destruction could kill us all." she shot a swift glance to Halite "As well as any living thing for miles around."

She turned and faced Halite squarely "I know better than anyone the sins of the gems. You not the only expendable weapon in this room berserker, but fighting and raging in here risks more than pride and life. So either apologize and agree help us or leave peaceably." she spoke in a calm serious voice. but as soon as she had begun to address Halite her right fist, her free hand, had closed tightly and the air about it shimmered as it was vibrating dangerously. from the clenched fist emanated a vibration so deep and intense that it couldn't be heard so much as felt. "Or, if you can't contain your rage, we can take this outside and I can end your rage for you."

[Kafka Komedy]

Sard stood, mouth agape, as Halite decided to mow down battalion after battalion of defenseless gem. The sheer rage filled madness somehow prevented Sard from reacting. Instead, the Obsidian and the Balas Rose stepped up, the Balas being the more convincing, fiercer, and braver of the two. Still, he didn't fault the Obsidian for trying. It was also important to try and be nice and polite to hulking rage monsters, to try and calm them down. He personally though, wanted to kick the crap out of Hal. He attacked the bubbled gems, beings incapable of even responding. Sard hated that.

"Ahem, we'll end his rage. I want in on this." Sard said, facing the Balas. Then he turned to the Halite, pointing a shuriken at his face. "Now c'mon, you brute. Let's take this outside."

[Xartarin]

Seemingly as soon as she left the room, a plethora of interesting noises erupted from the burning room behind her. Screams of rage, a rampage of destruction, and the unmistakable noise of a gem injured enough to retreat to their gem. Their mission hadn't even begun and one of their troops was already down for the count! With her powers of levitation, Melanite was sitting upside-down, floating in the air just outside the room. She had expected everyone to merely follow her out, after all they surely wanted to get to Pearl as possible. But now it sounded like everyone was fighting each other, in full view of Steven, Garnet and Amethyst!

"Kekekekeke! This group is going to be a lot of fun, huh?" Melanite said to herself, spinning around in the air. She was tempted to poke her head back in and see what all the fuss was about, although she had a pretty good idea which of those gems could be causing the ruckus, but she didn't want to end up being the next gem poofed away. As far as she was concerned, she slipped out just in time to avoid dealing with any of that garbage. It was someone else's problem right now!

Outside the dimensional door was a fridge, in the house part of the temple. The act of consumption did appeal to Melanite, as a wandering spirit she utilized a gigantic mouth to consume many things, mainly for the purposes of horrifying others, and she vaguely remembered the kitchen as a place where humans ate things. Figuring no one would miss it if she ate any old thing lying around, Melanite floated over to the fridge, grabbed the bread box sitting next to it, emptied the bread out onto the floor and shoved the box into her mouth before struggling to chew it. Eventually she just ended up with a scratched up bread box stuck in her mouth.

[clanjos]

It seemed that Halite was starting to cool down, his breathing growing calmer... then Sard went and brandished a weapon at him. Veins began to bulge as a greenish field formed around the head of his hammer, drawing in many of the gem bubbles. Where to go. What to do. How to feel. Once again the Gems sought to control who he was.

"Every living thing for miles around versus the lives of a few hundred war criminals, Homeworld and Rebel alike..."

The bubbled gems- left the field, and he began throwing them at the present Gems- save Amber, Steven, and the dormant Citrine. Specifically, aimed straight at the gems that were their true forms.

"THAT'S A PRICE I'M WILLING TO PAY!"

[KiltmanBagz]

Balas growled in frustration as her reason failed to reach Halite, she let her Ax free as the massive gem resumed his rampage and dived to the side, making rather sure she was between Halite and the other, and most importantly the Massive red-crystal heart of the sanctuary. As she did the vibration from Balas's hand seemed to rapidly shiver up her arm and into her throat. When Balas ruby opened her mouth seconds later, she didn't yell, cry, or scream. She roared. It was a deep rumbling sound that was more akin to the cacophony of an avalanche than any sort of noise to come from a living creature. The sound leaving her mouth was visible cone of force, shimmering in the air and tinted a faint reddish color. This was not her most focused sonic attack, but she wasn't truly attacking now, she was defending. the cone contacted the oncoming hail of gems and the faltered like a swimmer against the current of a powerful river. Soon the lost all momentum, and Balas sensed her bellowing. The kunai clatered to the ground and the bubbled Gems drifted in their new places.

"If you truly believe that is a fair trade, without even stepping outside to see where this base is located, then you never cared about this world, or any of the life on it." Balas said in a deeply cold voice, far different from the commanding if reasonable tone she was using before "Halite, you are a hypocrite and a traitor to your own beliefs. There is no gem in this room more dangerous and worthy destruction than you. I give you one final chance. If you will not work with us, take this new life you were given out of kindness and hope of another who wants to save this world, and leave." This time both her hands shimmered with the vibrations of her gathering power, and there was a similar shimmering glow about her throat, and the bone deep rumble that emanated from her body this time could be felt in the ground, the discarded weapons on the floor rattling with its vibrations. She spoke again, her voice coming out with an odd wavering quality. "Don't think I'll simply defend again, Halite, forgiveness is not truly in my nature."

[clanjos]

"NO. MERCY. FORGIVENESS. KINDNESS. LOVE. HAPPINESS. FRIENDSHIP. THOSE AREN'T IN YOUR NATURE, ARE THEY!?"

The green field around the hammer was getting more and more visible as he pointed it to the now further shattered gems in the bubbles. It seemed that using high-powered sonic screams at already cracked gems had some... adverse effects. Even now, this enraged Halite.

"YOU'RE A GEM, JUST LIKE THE REST! YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT OTHER GEMS. YOU'RE JUST LIKE THE ONES WHO KEPT TELLING ME TO BREAK THOSE INNOCENT HUMANS! YOU JUST WANT TO POINT ME AT YOUR PROBLEMS AND HOPE I MAKE THEM DISAPPEAR."

[Xenonia]

It had only been a matter of minutes, but Citrine's gem began to glow in Amber's hands. Perhaps it was the urgency of the situation that drew her out so quickly, or perhaps she was simply reckless, but either way, the short orange gem was quickly developing a new body. Soon, she was reformed, looking nearly identical to her initial appearance, though her hair was now parted to the other side, and her shirt hung a bit lower. She dashed forth from Amber, to once more stand between Halite and his potential victims, including the now potentially dangerous Balas Ruby. Citrine looked at Halite pleadingly, trying her best to eminate her calming aura.

"Please... Stop this. Violence is wrong." Her concern seemed legitimate. Real. Foolish.

[clanjos]

"...I'm sorry I must have misheard you."

With a grunt, Halite dismissed his hammer, crouching down to look Citrine in the eyes.

"Because it sounded like you said violence is wrong. That's... not something I ever thought I'd hear from a Gem."

His skin was quickly returning to white. His breathing less ragged. His voice much calmer.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, uh... what's your name?"

[Kafka Komedy]

Sard stared angrily at Halite as he began thinking about what to do. In all honesty, Sard didn't want Halite to surrender. Sard wanted a fight, and a fight Halite would seemingly give. With a bellowing yell, he quickly threw the gem bubbles at them, as a sort of projectile weapon. Sard tapped into his adrenaline for a second, but the Balas reacted quickly, using a sonic blast to slow all the gems to a halt. Balas once again tried to persuade him, an effort that provided useless to no one's surprise. He screamed once again, and prepared to attack... only to be stopped by a gentle voice.

Citrine had reformed rather quickly, a feat he personally thought was a little odd considering her nature. When she had come out, she looked almost the same, a bigger shirt and her hair was reversed. She calmed him down, simply by saying violence was wrong. How foolish. But apparently, it worked on Halite. He dismissed his weapon and began talking to her. "Seriously?" Sard asked, looking around the room. With a grunt, he decided to leave. He clearly wasn't getting what he wanted, so whatever. All he had to do was wait until the mission.

He entered the foyer-type area of the temple. A simple human abode, it seemed. Once he entered, he saw the gem who had left earlier, eating some human food. It didn't look like she was getting very far, though. That gave him an idea as to how to cool off, luckily. "Heh, eating some human food, huh? I don't particularly like the stuff. I enjoy their liquids more." Sard said, opening up the cold fridge, and grabbing a fresh soda off of one of the shelves. He slammed the fridge door, a little to hard, but not causing any permanent damage. "So, what's up?" He asked, popping the cap off the tasty beverage in his hand.

[LokiLeo789]

Obdi jumped upon hearing the angered voice of Balas. Things were quickly getting out of hand, Balas had taken out her own weapon, and was ready to confront the raging Gem. Sard had also summoned his own weapon, and with Balas, was ready to take down Halite if necessary. As much as Obdi wanted to help, no matter how badly he wanted to stop this. He was afraid. Halite was a powerful gem, large and intimidating.

Unfortunately, people can change quickly. Obdi watched in horror as the Gem took all the Bubbled Gems that floated around The Burning Room, and was thrown at them. Despite that fact that Balas had easily and safely stopped the incoming Bubbled Gems. Anger was etched into Obdi's soft features, those were his brother and sisters, his comrades, how could Halite so easily endanger them in such a way.

Fortunately, Halite surrendered. Obdi wanted to attack him none the less, but he balled up is anger and stomped away. Obdi walked out and passed the Gems inside the foyer slash living space inside the temple. He walked outside, onto the beach, a place that he had not seen, in forever. It's beauty soothed him, calming him down, despite that, he still wanted revenge.

Steven
"These are our strongest gems?" Steven said with a sigh. He had sent these Gems to take out an important Outpost for the HomeWorld, and yet, they had not even left and they were already fighting. He felt bad for Pearl, how would she react to such Gems. "Don't worry Steven, they will be fine." Garnet said with her usual stern voice. "I hope so." Steven said raking his hand through his hair.

[Xartarin]

Melanite turned to look at Sard, and in giving up on swallowing the bread box whole, snapped it in half with a surprisingly sharp set of teeth. "Give me a break, I haven't had this form for long," Melanite replied, referring to her new state of not being a corrupted gem, but also her new state of having a body other than an entire building. "I know humans definitely put things from this kind of room in their mouths, and when I take over a building I can eat whatever I want, but now I'm suddenly having problems! I wonder how humans tell food from non-food..."

This train of thought was only maintained for a moment before Melanite answered Sard's question, only rather than explaining what she was doing now (that much was obvious, she was clearly trying to eat a breadbox), Melanite decided to explain what she had been doing just moments ago. "Well, I was under the impression we had an urgent mission to attend to, but clearly some gems have different priorities! I'm glad I stepped out before I could even see that tantrum, but I have three guesses as to who's responsible. I should plan a prank and cheer them up!" This train of thought took Melanite somewhere actually useful, and as she had an idea Melanite grinned and clapped her hands with excitement. She folded her arms, and with a clever sneer she said to Sard, "Hey, I got something that'll really teach those gems to mess around! Let's say we have a race to see who can get to Pearl first, huh?"

[Stern Algorithm]

Amber had wondered why Steven, Garnet, and Amethyst didn't intervene, and started losing hope as the situation escalated. However, Citrine's gem began agitating and floated up into the air. Amber pulled back as Citrine reformed and confronted Halite. Something about Citrine made Amber feel calm, her previous sense of hopelessness leaving. Amber saw several gems leave before confirming whether or not the situation was completely defused yet, so decided to stay. Amber got up off the ground and stood behind Citrine. She summoned up enough courage to speak to Halite, hoping what she said wouldn't anger him further, "Not all gems here have fought or harmed other life...at least, I know I haven't." Though technically, she had killed the caretaker of her kindergarten, she had no memory of it. "I'm sure there are other gems bubbled up that are like me, and it wouldn't be right to judge them without at least letting them speak for themselves. You wouldn't do that, right?"