[IC] We Are the Crystal Gems

[Raijinslayer]

Mars

Mars had no words to explain how he felt upon witnessing Blood's breakdown, only that it made him feel a strange mix of pleasure and self-loathing, though he had a hard time deciding which side was feeling which. It was all so muddled and the thoughts invading his mind were so dark and hateful that he could hardly stand it. Looking back on what he said, he wondered if some of Tiger's hatred had mixed into him despite his efforts. Either way, he didn't feel like he should be hear anymore, and while everyone else was talking, turned to leave. He needed to collect himself away from these gems. As he walked by Candice, he made a gesture to indicate that she give him some space. He just wanted to be alone right now.

As he tried to exit, the other gem from before came in holding a small black gem. Not feeling well enough to think about apologizing, he simply walked by him. Once he was outside, he walk around the out edge of the temple until he found a spot where the sun peeked through the upper canopy of stone and earth. Once there, he sat down and took a short breath, allowing the warmth of the sun to wash over him. Before long, he seemed to go into a meditative state, becoming less aware of his surroundings as he instinctively went into energy gathering mode. As he gathered energy from the sun, his stripes would each take on a low glow, which would progressively get brighter over time.

@Guardian Angel Haruki

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Candice Ghoste

Candice was surprised to see that Bloodstone had recovered from his mental breakdown, but she kept her distrustful, emotionless mask on as the gems kept speaking. She turned her attention to Mars in concern, and she noticed how he seemed to be thinking to himself. Soon enough he turned and started walking away. Before she could ask any questions to him, he gestured to her, silently letting her know that he needed some time alone. She looked at him and nodded in silent understanding. She watched him leave, and saw the orange gem from before, Amber come into the temple.

She silently walked to the wall of the temple right next to the entrance, where she could see where Mars went off. However she didn't follow after him. Instead she leaned against the wall, intent on listening to the discussion some more, and waiting for Mars. If anything, Mars leaving gave her the chance to do what she came here to do. While the gems seemed to be focused on Amber, or each other (on anyone besides her), she discreetly and quietly took out one of the bugs and stuck it to the wall behind her right leg. The small bug easily blended into the temple wall, so it would be hard to detect once she stepped away from the wall. She remained leaning against the wall, and crossed her arms as she stayed silent.

@Raijinslayer
@Kronshi
@Akayaofthemoon
@Saarebas
@21308

[Akayaofthemoon]

A deep blue blush dusted over her cheeks, more out of embarrassment and the awkwardness of Blood's reaction making her feel awkward but at least what she did worked. She looked away from the others, trying to get her face to calm before turning back to the others with a slight frown as they started talking about the truce as if it was already a thing."I will discuss details of training and schedules if and when we decide on an actual truce. As far as I know, we have only had a few votes and not every gem is even here and instead of finding them it has been one thing after another. After today...after Howlite...I would like to know all the young ones are safe. I want go out and find them now before one more thing happens making that impossible. Once we hear everyone's opinion on the matter then I will continue this conversation. I am sorry, excuse...,Aquamarine stated before stopping her sentence as Amber came in and asked what was going on.

"Bloodstone would like to call a temporary truce but I called for a vote on the matter to get everyone's opinion since it is not fair to make a decision like this on your future. I would like to explain more but I need to find the others, excuse me Amber. It is good to see you back though. It is good to know you are safe." she said, her tone getting much softer near the end than it had at the beginning. She rushed past Amber, wanting to find the others fast as she moved down the steps of the temple. She noticed Mars, glad to see he hadn't gone far but didn't say anything as she rushed past as she figured he needed time alone to work things out plus she needed to find Emerald and Melanite. Aqua needed to know they were safe. She thought about going to the kindergarten first but decided against it as she moved towards town. It wasn't as much of a trek to town and it wasn't like a maze which meant the search would move faster. She was only just outside of town when a familiar green figure appeared which made her feel somewhat relieved but then she noticed he was with a new gem but wither she was really new or not was hard to say plus there was Reggie and another human which she believed was name Gilles. Her relief only lasted a few moments for the closer she got the more she noticed that Emerald didn't seem in good shape."Emerald! Are you alright? What is wrong?" Aquamarine asked voice full of concern, trying not to be panicked. She looked to the new gem and asked,"I do apologize for the strange meeting but Emerald and all my young gems mean a lot to me. My name is Aquamarine, if you would like to go to the temple with us you are welcome." That being said, she carefully scooped up Emerald so that he didn't have to walk all the way back to the Temple since he looked like he might pass out at any moment. She turned to the two humans and said with a light smile,"It is nice to see you again Reggie. If you two would like to come to the temple too you are more than welcome."

[Leaves]

Cough! Cough! Dirt and muck were swallowed as Moonstone took her first breaths. Her eyes were watery and her limbs punched the earth's surface. Small rocks landed onto her as she kept pushing her limbs. She fell forward once she didn't wall. Moonstone stumbled outside her birth place landing in the gravel. Ack! Ack!

Phoot! Moonstone spat on the ground trying to rid the taste of dirt in her mouth. It was then that she finally opened her eyes. The day's brightness struck her; instinctively, she shielded her eyes. She kept her eyes opened slightly and examined the area around her. It was a lot to take in. She began getting chills from the place. Holes on the walls were stacked upon each other with broken down machinery littered everywhere.

Moonstone backed up onto the wall between two compartments. Her breathing was becoming unsteady; she frantically looked in all directions and then at herself. She stared at her palms and legs; she was bewildered and took a pause. She was beginning to take everything in.

[Raijinslayer]

Mars

After a while, Mars exited his meditation, feeling better in a physical sense, if not an emotional one. As he contemplated his troubles, he thought back to the dagger at the Kindergarten, how he'd felt upon holding it. He was certain that the weapon had been a connection to his past life, and he wondered if there were other things there that would help him know more. Maybe there was something that could give him some positive memories for once.

With his idea set, he walked back to the temple to let Candice know of his departure and to ask her to meet him at her home once she was finished up here. After that, he took of in the direction of his birthplace, moving so fast that he reached the area in half the time it took him and Candice to walk there, maybe even a third. He slowed down once he entered the area, looking around for signs of anything that could jog his memory. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind, everything was just meaningless trash to him. He was just about to give up when he heard a seance noise nearby.

Curiosity taking hold, he followed the found to the sigh t of a new gem being born, crawling her way through the dirt, before looking around at her surroundings. Mars stay hidden from sight for awhile, before deciding to help her out in his own special way. He took a few steps back, than ram got ward before launching into a mighty leap. He planned on landing in front, but he miscalculated and instead smashed into the wall high above her. A groan of pain, follows by long fall, then a short crash, and Moonstone would find herself confronted with Naea as he struggled to pull himself from a him shaped crater in the ground, clearly a little fuse from the endeavor.

"Hey there, friend, I'm Mars," he said in a chipper tone, though it was clear he was in pain, he seemed to be igniting it unfavorable of trying to make the new gem feel better. "I know you must be confused tight now, but don't worry, I'm ready to answer nearl any question you may have, but first, one of my own. What would your name be? That's the sound you make with your speaking bits that you and others address you by, such as my own, Mars, ory friend's name, Candice.

@Guardian Angel Haruki

@Leaves

[Leaves]

Moonstone's heart rate was beginning to decrease. She started to get used to the roughness of the dirt on her fingertips. Her eyes scanned the entire area; Moonstone had became more relaxed than scared. Although, the area did still give her chills and gave her a sense of fright, but she was able to control it.
It was at that moment she could almost feel her heart burst out of her rib cage. She could not prepare herself for a person falling out of the sky. She jumped off the floor to the side and away from the stranger. Moonstone tripped over her feet and skidded on the ground. She faced the man and crawled a few inches backwards. The stranger claimed he meant no harm, but his appearance said otherwise.
Moonstone studied Mar's appearance. He had scraggly, long hair with various dark colors. His clothing was absent except for a jacket and jeans. His entire body was covered in stripes; this individual looked more as a predator than a helper. Moonstone listened to the sounds coming out of the man's mouth.
Moonstone slowly stood up as to not startle Mars. She held her palms up in a defensive position like a person would instinctively behave towards a stray dog. "....." Moonstone opened her mouth, but couldn't get the talking bit quite right.
"..........." She shook her head.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Candice Ghoste

Candice listened until she noticed that Mars was coming back to the temple, and she listened to what he had to say. She was surprised to hear that he was going to go back to the Kindergarten and look around. But she was relieved that he wanted to meet her back at the motorhome once she was done here and once he was done with the Kindergarten. She nodded and answered him before he left "Alright. Be careful," She couldn't help but feel a bit of worry for Mars, enough to wish him to be safe while he looked around the Kindergarten. What if he got attacked by one of those monsters? She shook her head and she told herself that he would be able to take care of himself. He was able to attack Amber with ease. If anything, she should be worried for anyone who crosses Mars' path. She remained leaning on the wall for a little bit longer. If it looked like that they noticed her, then she would leave. Otherwise, she was going to stay, and hopefully, ask Aquamarine a couple of questions.

@Raijinslayer
@Kronshi
@Saarebas
@21308

Carnelian

Carnelian didn't know what to say in response to how sleepy, and lost the gem in front of her seemed. She was somewhat as lost as he was. She was surprised to see another gem, a tall blue woman appear this time, with a gem on her collarbone. Carnelian watched as the woman picked up the green gem, and spoke to her. Carnelian smiled and answered "It's quite alright. It is nice to meet you. I am Carnelian. And yes, I would like to go with you to this temple..." She looked to the two humans in slight surprise. She hadn't noticed the two, and she quite honestly, thought that they weren't involved with the green gem. She looked to the two of them with a raised eyebrow, her fan hiding a blush that rose on her cheeks from embarrassment.

@Akayaofthemoon
@HaltingBlooper

[LizLegend]

Zircon remained silent for the most part; she felt like it was not her place to say anything for awhile with the interactions between Mars, Bloodstone, and Aquamarine. Mainly between Mars and Bloodstone. It seemed to be a personal business between them and them only. There might have been times where Zircon wanted to speak up at the time that would at least seem appropriate, but she either decided against it or didn't know what to say exactly. Let alone, she was not entirely sure how to react to this. For awhile there was tension in the air for sure, but that eventually started to subside when Bloodstone quickly transitioned back to normal from an emotional breakdown with the sympathy of others. That, and Sodalite's words hung around her mind while it was still fresh. Zircon's view on Bloodstone as the 'bad guy' was deteriorating. For that day, at least. Especially that day after everything. Zircon grows a slight paranoia of what could happen in the future, but her focus is on here and now. Here and now, being what matters more in Zircon's point of view. Although, her thoughts on the subject were a bit...jumbled.

Zircon let out a slow exhale before taking notice of Amber's return, her ears barely catching his first couple of words before cutting himself off and asking what's going on instead. 'Something happened.' Curiosity and concern rose. Looking around at other people in the room, and seeing Bloodstone and who seems to be his ally starting to talk it up, Zircon thought about asking Amber about it or maybe just to clarify if she heard him right. But it was probably that there was a better place and time to ask, considering the recent events of tension having previously filled the atmosphere of the room. Knowing Zircon she wanted to at least ask as soon as possible, or even right now actually. Briefly getting impatient with herself for trying to making up her mind, Zircon went up to him step by step as she gently cleared her throat, "Y-You said something about something happened...? If I heard right I mean..." She spoke softly enough for concern to be heard in her voice while looking up at big, tall Amber.

[pyroman]

She said nothing. Sodalite's thoughts were elsewhere, thinking about many things. She returned to he chair without a word. Anything that she could say at the moment would do nothing to effect the outcome of the situation. All she could do was either continued to sit around or move back into her room to continue studying the behavior of both Bloodstone and Aquamarine. Her hunch continued to grow, but she needed to make sure that she was absolutely right.

[HaltingBlooper]

@Akayaofthemoon Emerald glanced up towards the blue blob that he could tell was Aquamarine. "I-I guess....I guess the.....um......whatever what happened back there.....with the others.....and the other two people.......I guess it just took a bit out of me." He couldn't really remember much, everything was a blur. Everything was getting dark. He would sleep. He would rest.

[Raijinslayer]

Mars

Mars frowned slightly as he saw that this new gem seemed to be incapable of speech. He almost asked if there was anything wrong with her, but then he remembered that the other tiny gem had looked a little strange when he'd posed the question to them, so he held off on it for now. Instead he picked himself up and sat down on the ground, scooting over until he was right in front of the smaller gem, giving her a smile. It was at this moment that he noticed her right eye, noticing that it was actually her gem. With that in mind, he leaned in closer, holding out his arm to show her his own, than pointing to her right eye to let her know that's where her's was.

"Okay, no talking for now then, that's okay. I'll try and teach you later, but first, I've an important lesson for you. You see, we're these things called 'Gems', and these parts of our bodies our very important, so try not to let them get cracked." Mars smiled faltered sightly, thinking about cracked gems bringing up a plethora of memories to his mind, none of which were pleasant, but he forced those to the back of his mind. He wasn't about to have a breakdown right now and scare this new gem. "Anyway, how about we head out of here, huh? This place isn't the best to hang around." Mars smiled as he picked himself up to a kneeling position, holding his hand out for the young gem to grab on to.

@Leaves

[Loony]

Obeying the older -no, living- gray gem, Evenkite had stood outside the temple as instructed, quiet, still, and unmoving. Or so she had been. Eventually she found herself beginning to twitch and fidget as time went on. Chromite had gone in for a while now and there was no sign she was coming back. So either she had forgotten about her, or she was right about it intentionally being dangerous. The imp-like gem let out a small sigh as she waited, tugging gently at a strange of her hair.

Maybe this was a dumb idea. Honestly, what's the likelihood that Sodalite will even want to see you, never mind hear what you say? Chromite might be hurt in there for all you know, and on your behalf.

Maybe you should just go back to the Kindergarten and hide, like Talc told you to. Wait for her to come back for you.

Before she went through with her decision, she changed her mind. First a chaotic coloured gem exited -Mars, whom she thought of following but thought better of as she saw his expression- while shortly after a familiar orange gem stepped in. Apparently unnoticed (as she often was thanks to her knack for disappearing and her small stature), Evenkite opened her mouth and then bit down on her lip, whatever words she was to utter silenced before they were formed. As quietly as she had stood, she slipped past the door as Amber entered and quickly sought out to keep her unnoticeability living, avoiding eye contact with any of the gems, keeping her figure still and out of plain sight. Right now, she felt the need to observe, not be observed. And a lot to observe there was. Chromite was clearly unharmed, and with her was...Bloodstone? The little gem felt a knot in her non-existent stomach. Somehow, this didn't seem right.

And then, when Aquamarine spoke of this truce, the little gem frowned and made her first movement, shaking her head. It seemed unreal...And foolish. Though she kept telling herself Aquamarine wasn't to blame, she couldn't help but feel more and more that she wasn't making the right decisions. If Bloodstone had called the truce she was more than certain he was up to something, and as much as she put more faith in Bloodstone than Aquamarine, there were the newborns -no, younger gems- involved as well. For their sake, as they had chosen her side over his, she worried.

Once the older blue gem left, she heard Zircon ask about what had happened to Amber. As much as she wanted to know, her mind was still focused on two things. The first was the truce.

The other was on Sodalite.

Though the little gem made no movement, her eyes were fixed on the younger blue gem. She thought for a moment for how to draw her attention without alerting the overs of her presence. She settled her gaze on the chair Sodalite was seated in. Perfect. The movement to others wouldn't seem out of the ordinary thanks to the wheels, but Sodalite, being in the chair, would know it wasn't natural. A quick glow of her eyes and the chair was lifted no more than a centimeter before it was dropped back gently, causing it to skid ever so slightly. Her gaze returned back to Sodalite, a desperate look on her face. She crossed her fingers across her lips in a gesture that Sodalite would hopefully interpret as 'say nothing', and then returned to being still once more. Sodalite could know she was there, but the others couldn't. She needed to talk to her in private.

[pyroman]

Sodalite continued sifting and reading through the papers she had in her possession. There was only so much that she could do at the time that would have any sort of effect on the outcome of the situation. However, none of those options seemed positive in any way, shape, or form. Bloodstone and Aqua's truce, if it could be called that, seemed strange. Given what little she knew about the relationship between the two, she had a feeling that their truce to train the young gems was something that wasn't unlike ideas they had before the two split apart. It was more or less joint custody over the gems, who would live in either of their separated leaders (or parents, in the case of humans) homes for an established amount of time before staying with the other leader for the same amount of time.

Her chair shifted.

It wasn't natural.

Sodalite knew well that it was no form of wind that moved the chair that she sat in. No matter how light she was, no sort of wind could possibly have the strength to push her and her chair up vertically without any one of the many gems around her feeling a thing. Her eyes were taken off of her papers to look around at what could have possibly happened to cause such a strange occurrence. Her chair had even moved afterwards, so she was completely sure that it actually happened. There was no way that it could have happened in her mind. The chair even lit up for a brief moment, which was more than one sense playing with her at a time.

Everyone was still doing what they had been the last time, but there was a single thing that stood out.

Evenkite.

She was there.

Her eyes widened, but she said nothing. She saw the finger over Evenkite's lips, and understood the signal clearly. Her face was burried back into her papers. Just like the last time, she would say nothing. So many emotions and memories rose to the surface upon seeing her face, but she had to remain silent for now. Maybe she would be there to stay? Maybe they would see each other more with the negotiations between Bloodstone and Aquamarine?

Without a word, Sodalite once again rolled into her room. The door opened as she got close, and did not stop once until after she arrived in her room. However, unlike the last times she had gone back, the door remained opened.

[Loony]

Evenkite felt a mixture of relief, shock, and oddly, guilt, as Sodalite left the door open, but she lingered not on these feelings. Wasting not a moment, she slowly, silently, made her way towards the door, taking extreme care to remain unnoticed. The room was filled with more books and papers than she thought possible, along with unorganized hordes of who knows what. In contrast to her usual exasperation expressed at her former friend's hoarding issues, she gave a small smile. Some habits die hard.

The smile faded quickly though, as her old feelings plagued her once more. She no longer just felt unwelcome here, but unworthy. By all means, she didn't think Sodalite should've given her a chance, and she felt dumber than ever for trying to seek for forgiveness.

And yet here she was, in her room, alone. Given another chance.

Her voice came out somewhat strangled and high pitched, feeling the unfamiliar sensation of a lump in her throat, but what she spoke was unmistakeable. Simple. One word. A word that, right now, was more important than all else to the little yellow gem.

"Sodalite."

[pyroman]

As soon as she had entered her room, Sodalite spun around in her chair to face the door. As soon as Evenkite had made her way through the door was ordered to close behind her. She said nothing and simply watched as Evenkite looked at her room. While most of the hoard piles had been stored away, there were still a good deal of them that still littered her library.

She smiled at the thoughts of her first moments live. She had spent her time gathering weapons and being an annoyance. All of those weapons resided in her room like she had planned on doing so. Evenkite had called to the sky to get her to stop making such a ruckus.

However, the single word that Evenkite spoke removed her smile. The emotions she was holding earlier began to surface. The last time they had seen each other, they did not leave on good terms. One of them left the other. When they were younger, Sodalite would have said that Evenkite had left her to stay with Reggie and Bloodstone, the clear enemies, but now, she was unsure of who was leaving who.

In a similar fashion, Sodalite uttered only a single word. She intended on holding her emotions back as much as possible, and thusly, her words lacked emotion, but still held depth.

"Eve."

[Akayaofthemoon]

Aquamarine couldn't quite understand what Emerald was talking about but she was sure it whatever it may be must have been a lot on him."Shhhhh, rest young one."she said softly, holding Emerald close and carrying him protectively. She waited a second, feeling his full weight of him drop in her arms and signalling that he was finally asleep. Her attention moved to the new gem, a gentle smile lighting up her face as she spoke,"Nice to meet you than Carnelian. Please follow me and I will show you to the Temple." She turn to look at the two humans before speaking up to them,"All the others are at the Temple as well if you would like to follow and join up with them."

That being said, she headed in the direction of the Temple and made sure to keep a slow enough pace for the others to keep up with her. She also didn't want to be back at the Temple too quickly. Everyone seemed all for the truce but all it did was make he feel conflicted and she honestly still wasn't for it. It was the young ones choice of their fate but she wanted very much to protect them. At least maybe she would get to see Eve. Aqua knew the gem didn't trust or like her but she did care and worry about Eve.

[Loony]

"Eve."

A long silence followed. There was so much Eve wanted to tell her, but now that she had the chance, she found it hard to find the right words, to form proper sentences. She thought once again of the papers she had written, wishing she had them with her. Perhaps Sodalite would never see those papers, but she had to hear what, in essence, was written, and she had to hear it now. Thus with a deep breath, she began,

"...I have...A lot to tell you," she said slowly, her voice regaining its usual composure, "So much to tell you, that I'm not entirely sure where to begin. There's Bloodstone and the truce and Earth a-and...and Howlite..." The yellow gem's nails dug into her palms at the mention of the newborn -no, young, no, dead- gem.

"However, if we're even going to talk, I think this needs to be said first. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Maybe you won't want to hear it, and maybe you won't accept it, but that's okay, because either way, it needs to be acknowledged."

Eve's gaze fell to the floor, taking in another deep breath before fixing her gaze back on Sodalite. It was hard to look her in the eye, but unlike last time, she would do so. Eve felt it was important to do so, somehow. Maybe she'll see something in them that she wouldn't hear in her words, but whatever the reason, she would not look away.

"For what happened that month ago, and before that...I'm really, really sorry. I wish I had the words to explain just how sorry I am. What you had done was incredibly brave and touching, Sodalite, and I was too angry at the time to see that, and I was too angry to realise that I had hurt you, and that it was in no way right for me to have left you all as newborns, because I should've been there for you all-"

Should've been there for Howlite.
"-And though I'm sure you regret it now, know that what you did wasn't wrong. I still stand by what I said back then, that your concern really shouldn't lie in me, but with Aquamarine and the others younger gems. But I suppose I'm a hypocrite for saying that, because for as long as I was on Bloodstone's ship, I worried about you. That's the main reason I came back..."

At this point, there was no more slow, careful speaking. Her words tumbled out ceaselessly and without any hesitation, the composure lost.

"I wanted to see you again, Sodalite. See if you were okay. See if maybe you could forgive me, and, y-you know...And you don't have to forgive me, and I understand why if you don't, and l-like...It's okay. It's okay if you never forgive me, or if you hate, because I don't think I forgive me either and I think I'm starting to hate me too, and it's okay if you never want to see my face or hear me speak again. I'm alright with that. I want your forgiveness a lot more than I think I want to admit. I'd spend hours writing and re-writing apologies because I couldn't ever get them right and I doubted you'd even want to hear me speak, but if you don't forgive me...I can accept it. As long as you're okay and you're not still hurting over something stupid like me, because even if it seems stupid now with everything else happening, if I'm hurting this much and I wasn't on the receiving end then I know you're still hurting, so as long as you aren't anymore, I'm okay with that. Because you don't deserve to feel that way over me. Forgiven or not, I want...I just want you to move on and feel better."

By the end of her speech she felt the lump in her throat once again. The last of her words, despite this, were soft. Quiet.

"I missed you."

The lump in her throat seemed to grow and she felt strange tight feeling in her chest. No tears were beginning to form but it sounded as if any moment they would appear.

"I missed you a lot, y-you know that?"

Dear skies Eve, you sound pathetic. Why are you wasting this poor girl's time?

[pyroman]

Was she not going to speak? The silence that followed told Sodalite that Even had nothing to say to her, or was lacking the bravery to tell her what was on her mind. However, the breath that Evenkite took alerted her that she was going to speak.

Even howlite's name put Sodalite in a bad mood. The papers in her hands crumbled as she remembered exactly what she was doing when it all happened. She could have helped. She could have just stayed with the group and found a way to keep Howlite safe.

It was difficult, but Sodalite focused her gaze on solely Evenkite. She had to listen to every word that escaped her lips. She had to listen to them and understand them. No matter how difficult it was, with all of the memories floating around her mind, she managed. Her actions a month ago weren't brave. They weren't honorable. They were idiotic. She had rushed into an enemy location without any information on her target or her captor, or bloodstone at the time, and had taken Evenkite from where she wanted to be in the first place. She absolutely hated herself for how foolishly she acted then, and crumpled the papers further.

However, it was beautiful.

Sodalite found that she was logic driven and uncaring about the ripple effects of her actions over the course of the month. Evenkite made her break her character, which should have been at it's absolute strongest during the time of her birth. There was nothing in her mind to effect her decisions other than the instilled desires that she had learned about herself. Her decision to go after Evenkite broke her character. Her actions were illogical and flawed, something that the Sodalite now would not have stood for.

Evenkite told her that forgiveness or not, her concern was if Sodalite was still hurting or not. Of course she was hurting. It was the most important decision that she had made in her life, so to speak, and it impacted her every day. She wanted Eve back. She didn't even know the gem that well, but she wanted her back as a friend. The lines between friend and Foe were blurring so quickly. It was something she could not make sense of.

"Eve..."

She paused once more. Normally she had a set choice of words for just about every occasion, but this was not one of them. Her words were slow, calculated. She needed to make sure that what she was saying was right.

"You've made me question myself. You and your actions alone have made me do such ridiculous things like looking inside myself and seeing who I really am. When Reggie took you on Bloodstone's ship, I broke my character. That shouldn't have happened, you know. When humans and gems are born, they rely solely on their base instincts. Mine are to focus only on logic and personal results. I shouldn't care about what happened to you... or what happened to Howlite... But somehow I do. I was always worrying about you, Eve. I wanted to know what you were doing, how Bloodstone was treating you. I even considered sneaking onto the ship."
She paused again. She could no longer hold the papers without tearing them to shreads, so the put them down on one of the many desks and looked at Evenkite once more.

"I'm not going to forgive you." She needed to take a breath. "Forgiving anyone just like that is foolish and risky, so I ask that we redeem ourselves. I'm not telling you, and I'm not saying I want you too. I need to forgive myself as well. I could have saved her... I could have stayed with the group like a logical person, and I could have just talked to reggie like a logical person."

"And... I missed you too."

[Raijinslayer]

Mars

Mars smile fell as the Gem seemed to retreat from his outstretched hand, her face overshadowed by her hair. Unsure of what to do, Mars scooted closer to the figure.

"Hey, are you o-"

Why did you kill me?

Mars jumped away from the girl. looking around for the source of the voice in his head, only to have his eyes drawn back to her. She looked different now, dressed in battle armor, cracked and broken, and was looking up at him with the gem in her right eye slowy cracking, a strange darkness leaking out the cracks in wispy tendrils. Mars couldn't move, couldn't even speak as she stood, walking over to him with a slow, limping gate, a haze covering her body as she moved. In that haze Mars saw her as she was in life, fall beneath a pair of gleaming golden daggers. Suddenly, the oppressive atmosphere of the Kindergarten was filled with the hushed whispers of a thousand souls, all saying the same five words.

Why did you kill me?

As the pale gem approached, the ground began to crack as more gems rose from their graves, their gems all leaking that same dark mist, all approaching the frozen figure of Mars, some crawling their way by their hands as they lacked a lower body. Before lonbg, Mars found himself being crushed in the savage press of bodies, unable to do anything as he fell under a crippling sense of guilt and fear. Another voice had join this whispere, a screaming voice that was tinged with despair and insanity, crying out in defiance.

Leave me alone, already!!!!!!!! I had no choice, it was my duty!!! None of you are real, so why can't you just leave me alone!!

Mars felt his non-existent heart begin to race as pain lanced through him. Looking at himself, he saw the undead gems begin to devour him, and that awoken in him a greater sense of fear to override his guilt. He3 struggle against their hold, but it was no use. Their were too many, and his strength seemed to have left him in his moment. As the pain rose to new heights, he felt a bunring in his chest, one which grew hotter and hotter as he struggle more and more until, with a deafening roar, he let it loose. The shockwave from the explosion of energy would be felt all the way back at the temple, shaking the ground with a slight, but noticeable rumble. The Kindergarten, however, would be completely wrecked. The high cliffs and machines would be completely torn down by the force of the explosion, leaving only a huge smoking crater in it's place. And in the center of that crater was a large single gem, a jagged crack lanced across it's surface.

@Akayaofthemoon

@Guardian Angel Haruki

[Akayaofthemoon]

The walk back to the Temple had been peaceful, quiet but peaceful none the less that is until the ground began to shake. It wasn't enough to knock her or the others over but it was enough to cause her to stumble, her grip on Emerald tightening to make sure he wasn't dropped. Aqua felt panic rise and the feeling of a knot tightening in her gut as she looked in the direction of the Kindergarten, knowing the earth there was unstable,brittle, and she still didn't know where Melanite was. What if they were their when the earth had shook? She needed to get Emerald back to the Temple but a search through the Kindergarten had suddenly become a top priority."I'm sorry to do this to you Emerald but I don't see another way to get you back to the Temple and know you are hundred percent safe. Hope you can get out of this on your own later but I shouldn't be too far behind if not.", she spoke to him softly even though she knew he was not wake to hear it. She carefully placed a large bubble around him, swiping her hands in opposite directions as the bubble sparkled before disappearing it to the Temple.

She looked to the others behind her, not sure if the humans remembered where the Temple was and knowing Carnelian didn't. Aqua took a calming breath, spreading her hands forward as she made a path of ice that was thick enough not to melt on them before reaching the not too far destination but not enough to harm the land below her ice. It would just give it a little extra watering once the sun washed the ice away. "I apologize for not showing you the rest of the way personally but one of the young gems in my care is still missing and with that quake, I fear for their safety should they be at Kindergarten. Just follow the ice trail and it will guide you." That being said, she took off like lightening and speed as fast as she could to the Kindergarten. Rock-slides had happened all over the place, her fear rising as she did her best to look through the different piles she came across. She was desperate to find the black gem but what she found had her thoughts going from the black gem to wondering what had happened. This place was completely torn apart, the epicenter of an explosion and she realized that what she felt earlier hand not been an earthquake at all but this and whatever caused it. The large crater was still smoking, mixing with the fog and making it that much harder to see. Aquamarine carefully placed herself on the edge, sliding down into the crater and not sure what was going to find exactly but she had a feeling of dread. Each step she took closer to the chard center made her on edge, her fear and worry only growing.

Her eyes widened, shaking and horror stricken at the view of a gem sitting in the middle of it all. Not just any gem though...that was Mars's gem. Aqua's legs gave out from under her, her knees dropping into the soft earth as she scooted and crawled closer with a hand hovering over the gem, tracing the jagged crack in the air with shaking hands. Images of Howlite popped in her head on a loop, her heart squeezing in pain as tears flowed freely and worried fueled her."I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'M SO SORRY." Aqua cried, words she couldn't say to Howlite and sadness for letting something like this happen to Mars even though it wasn't truly her fault that he was in this crater but she was too far gone in grief to think of that at the moment. "It's okay, it's okay, stay with me okay? Your going to be just fine, I've got you..."Aquamarine said softly, picking up the gem as if it were the most fragile of glass or the most precious of items. She cupped the gem in her hands, crying as she gently brushed her forehead to the cracked gem as her hands started to glow and pulled her face back a bit, healing ice slowly curling around the gem and wrapping it in a blanketed ball of healing. Aquamarine knew she needed to get out of this crater, she needed to still find Melanite, she needed to take Mars's gem to the human he trusted but she wasn't willing to let the gem out of her sight yet and she couldn't seem to force herself to stand.

Grief and sadness couldn't be pushed away anymore and with no one around to judge her, she finally was letting it all out. She cried in agony, holding Mars carefully as she rocked back and forth to comfort herself. If he wasn't there in her hands...she wasn't sure what she would do to the place around her. She just wanted to crawl away from the world and fall apart but at the same time she wanted to crush, break, throw something to let out the anger she had for herself. She should have been stronger. She should have done more. She had triple checked to make sure the other Kindergarten had been safe for the young gems but maybe if she had done it once more than it wouldn't have happened. Aqua felt she had failed Howlite and the guilt ate at her. She should have died...not Howlite. If Howlite had been the cracked one than Bloodstone could have healed her."Please don't die too. I beg of you...not again.", Aquamarine whispered, fully laying in the middle of the crater as she snuggled the ice ball to her.