[IC] We Are the Crystal Gems

[Akayaofthemoon]

Flying-Plasma Corrupted Gem

A hissing sound could be heard from the creature as the paralyzing poison hit its scales, the heat from the beast causing it to sizzle and the scales letting the poison slick off it. Carnelian's attack had at least slowed down the beast if not irritating the corrupted gem further. It was about to full out attack the gem when another noise caught the creatures attention and it realized another one was nearby. It was about to start off in that direction, the redish orange gem heading the same way anyway but instead it cried out. It dropping the one it had had a hold of as an explosion ripped at it's body making its flight unstable, the wing connection now horribly mangled. It want to try and land when its other wing was suddenly under attack. The corrupted gem quickly crashed into the ground and building below, a large cloud forming from its landing as well as being poofed.

Maeve

She had been listening to her music, jamming along as she made her way down the road. Sure, she had suppose to arrive tomorrow or the next day according to her dad's schedule but she had been too excited to wait. Maeve didn't need rest stops or a motel when she could be in her new home and it wasn't like the important things were loaded in the van. Well, nothing breakable in any case so what did it matter if she was going fast. That was her thought just before she was slamming on the breaks and swerving a bit to avoid hitting someone that had sprinted into the road. She had been about ready to scream at the person for being an idiot when her breath clogged, eyes wide as she watched them go. That...that had been gem armor...she was positive. Had that been a gem? Or...had that been....was there another like her? Maeve found herself jumping out of the van, not even worrying about shutting the door as she sprinted in the direction she hoped the other had gone.

The wind whipped her bright orange hair around her face as her green eyes looked around desperately for where the other had gone. People were rushing past her but she headed forward with determination. A loud explosion made her stumble a bit, looking up as the creature or dragon began to fall to the Earth below. She lost her footing as the corrupted gem crashed, scrambling to get back up as she made her way to the direction the beast had fallen.

[pyroman]

Chalcopyrite's attack seemed to have been a success. The gem mutant had poofed out of existence, leaving only it's gem. The impact of the crash was not enough to make Chal split in two, thankfully enough, but it was not the softest landing that she ever had.

She hit the floor and tumbled to a halt, laying on her back and facing up to the sky. "Well." She said to herself. "Now that the mutant is dealt with, I need to find the commander." She stood up and looked around, hoping that those other gems would be able to direct her up the chair of command to Bloodstone, or at the very least, whoever was acting for him in this battle.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Carnelian

Carnelian had noticed that the gem was still moving and she could sense that the poison had failed to reach the creature's system. She mumbled with her eyes wide, "Uh oh...", as she saw that it was preparing to attack her while she was in the air. However, before it could even attempt to attack, a blast shot past her (just barely missing her, only singing the tip of a strand of her hair), and hit the corrupted gem in the wing, causing it to fall and crash. The crash had immediately poofed the gem. Carnelian landed on the ground, and found that she was the closest to the corrupted gem. She commented as she sauntered towards the gem, her hips swaying "Well, that was easier than expected. I should really thank whoever fired that shot..." As soon as she was close enough, she bubbled the gem and had it teleported back to the temple.

She heard the sound of someone running towards this area and she let out a hum as she turned to face whoever was coming, "Hm? Who's there? Come now, don't be shy,"

[21308]

Spinel made her way down from the tower and walked out. "Well, that was certainly something. I appreciate your help, Carnelian. I suppose I should thank whoever took out that beast's other wing as well, but it appears that will have to wait." Spinel made note of the presence of two gems she had never seen before. "I don't believe we've met, do either of you know Aquamarine, or Bloodstone?" she asked, addressing Chalcopyrite and Maeve. It seemed odd to her that there would happen to be two gems in the town at once.

[Kronshi]

After retrieving the cluster shards, Bloodstone quickly raced to a warp pad and brought himself to his spaceship. "Dammit, I have to get the unstable shards to my lab before they reconnect and return to their cluster state." Before he could reach his lab though, the shards started glowing and re-fused with each other. Blood dipped the shards into a beaker full of chemicals and prayed for the shards to come undone so he could fix his mistake. Instead of coming undone, the shards took a turn for the worst and started forming a huge amount of crystalline spikes that pierced Bloodstone's body, barely missing his gem's center and leaving a crack in it. Before poofing, Blood sent one final message over the communicators. "Aqua, gods I hope you get this, something went wrong at the ship and I don't know what's to come next. Please, get here as fast as pos...." Then he was gone from the broadcast.

In his mind, Bloodstone's memories were flooded with flashbacks to the war. "Bismuth, Chromite, Talc, Sunstone, .......Aqua. Gods, how did I let this happen. Bismuth, I've separated myself from you to protect you. Chromite, I brought you back into this mess. Talc, I have done nothing but fail you. Sunstone, I don't even know where you are anymore. And Aqua, what even happened between us? Where did it go wrong? Why have all my plans gone to shit? I fought for everyone else's happy ending by sacrificing my own, and now everyone sees me as the villian. I have my own sins to bear."

[pyroman]

Upon hearing Bloodstone's name from the small white gem, She snapped into formation, her hands winding to form the diamond salute on instinct. "Commander Bloodstone? You know him? I need to speak to him as quickly as possible. I haven't reported in yet and I'm sure that he'd be mad that it's been this long since I actually saw a gem commander."

She looked at the tiny little gem that she could easily fit inside her hand. She wondered why she wasn't aware of the presence of Aquamarine or her squadron either. All of the gems around her were indigenous to Earth, she knew that much, but they were still so strange from the off-world versions. So different, so colorful, so... unique. Her head tilted to the side. "Say, little gem. What facet are you a part of? I haven't communicated with homeworld for so long, I need to speak to a commander."

[Akayaofthemoon]

Collab between 21308, Guardian Angel Haruki, & Akayaofthemoon

Maeve stopped for a breath of air, panting as she looked around to make sure that she was headed the right way when a feminine voice rang out.

"Hm? Who's there? Come now, don't be shy,"

She whipped around in the direction of the voice, pushing the bushes aside to pop out into the crash site. Her bright green eyes instantly looked Carnelian over, a feeling of hope creeping up on her but she shoved it down quickly. It was possible this woman wasn't a gem since she looked pretty human other than the orange eyes but it was Halloween. Colored contacts were a thing after all so she knew she needed to ask but the words wouldn't come. Could she really take another let down?

Maeve steeled her resolve, ready to ask when more people started to show up...well she knew they weren't people unless this new person on the scene was an albino or something. She looked between the two in front of her and opened her mouth to ask her much desired question when it died on her lips and a bright smile appeared. There was no way this other being was not a gem since they were huge....a gaint woman.

She could hardly contain her excitement and enthusiasm as she stood with the group of gems. More and more started to appear, making her want to float away and when one became two...she didn't even know what that was! It was unfortunate that some had left so soon but at least she could still get answers, hopefully since she didn't seem to be the only one that wanted information.

"I can't believe I finally found you all...." Maeve said softly muttered, the reality of it all finally hitting her. She wasn't alone and her mother wasn't alone or the only one of her kind. Now she actually had others that understood a part of what she was and could teach her more about herself.

Carnelian watched with interest as a girl stepped forwards to show herself and stare at them. The reddish orange gem noticed the other gems and Candice arrive on the scene...one of the gems was a taller woman who seemed to be standing close to the human girl, but she kept her attention on the young lady who seemed awestruck. She waited patiently for the young lady to speak, and when she did, Carnelian raised an eyebrow.

She looked at the girl carefully to see that she looked mostly human, but there was a gem on her earlobe. She asked the girl in curiosity, "Dahling, may we inquire as to who you are and why you were searching for us?"

Candice, who had immediately rushed towards the town on foot just after the corrupted gem fled from her group, soon arrived, only to find that the problem was already taken care of. Ignoring the fact that Larimar had been by her side, and just unfused, Candice tried to focus her attention on their discussion, but she was somewhat distracted by the newcomer.

This girl...she looked human, but the gem on her earlobe was clearly not an earring stub. There was also something familiar about this person. Who was she? Did she met this person before? Was it on a previous mission?! If she had, then her cover could be in jeopardy! She kept a stone cold expression on her face as she studied Maeve discreetly, trying to remember where she had seen her before.

"Oh, I apologize. I must have lost my head there for a second and forgotten my manners. My name is Maeve and why I was searching for you all was....well..." she started, a sad smile touching her features as she touched her earlobe. "I wanted to learn more about my mother and her kind as well as find out more about myself." she answered truthfully, letting her hand drop away from her ear.

---

Chromite followed Bloodstone to the ship, seeing little purpose in remaining where she was since she had no responsibility to protect the town and there were several other gems there.
Chromite winced at seeing Bloodstone injured, but she ignored the mild shock of what happened and immediately grabbed his gem and bubbled it, allowing the bubble to hover over her hand for the time being. The cluster was continuing to expand at an alarming rate and she didn't have the means to stop it, so sending Bloodstone's gem to another part of the ship was not a viable option.

Chromite teleported back down and ran to the spot where the battle had taken place, carrying Bloodstone's gem with her, and hoping that Aquamarine was still there.

Larimar watched as the beast took off, looking over at Candice for a moment to see what she would do. The fusion didn't want to leave Candice's side but at the same time they would split soon if she decided not to head for town since Aquamarine would go no matter what. She would not leave the town to suffer if something went wrong and what about her young gems...she didn't even want to imagine if one of them shattered. Aqua knew they were strong but the worry didn't lessen for her. When Candice started off for the town, Larimar followed quickly behind and making sure to stick close to the human in front of them.

By the time they arrived, the beast was taken care of and it seemed like a meeting of the gems, well mostly gems as it seemed a human was in the mix. The fusion joined into the group, eyes scanning over each of them to make sure there was no damage but staying silent as the others asked questions to each other.

There was no sign of Aquamarine, or the gem she had fused into where the battle had taken place. It looked like Chromite was heading into the town after all. She headed in that direction as quickly as she could. Chromite searched the town, following any evidence of the battle that had just taken place, until she came across a group of gems, several of whom she recognized. She approached the one who she recognized as the fusion of Aquamarine and Mars. "Excuse me, Aquamarine? ...Or whoever you are, I need to speak with you, preferrably unfused. It's important."

Larimar turned attention onto the new voice amoung the group, brow arching as interest was piqued until the owner was recognized Chromite for one and two, that whatever she needed only required Aquamarine. The two really didn't need to stay fused anymore since the town was save and so was Candice so Larimar once more became a swirl of energy, splitting into two different quite known forms before becoming solid. Aquamarine took a moment to get use to her form again before focusing back on Chromite. "What is it you need to speak to me about? Is everything alright?" she asked, realizing that Blood wasn't with her and the two had disappeared as everyone else moved for town.

"There's been a development with the cluster the commander and I took care of. He tried to contact you but I predicted that your fusion would destroy your headset. It may be best if we spoke of this away from the others, I'm not sure how many people he wants to know."

Aquamarine felt a bit nervous about what Chromite could possibly say and to even make matters worse, the gray gem didn't feel it nessassary to let more people in on it either. She gave a light nod and motioned for the other to lead the way since Aqua wasn't sure how for she wanted to go away from the group.

Chromite led Aquamarine behind a nearby building and looked behind her to make sure nobody else was following. When they were out of sight and earshot Chromite said "I realize that this isn't a good way to start since I'm asking you for help, so maybe you should just take it as a precaution. Please try not to get emotional." Chromite hoped she hadn't offended Aquamarine but didn't really want to know. She pulled out Bloodstone's cracked and bubbled gem for her to see. "As you can see, the commander is a bit out of sorts, I assume he was trying to contact you because he knew he'd need help."

Out of all the things Chromite could have said not to get emotional about this had not been what she had in mind when Blood's cracked gem in a bubble came into her view. Any other words said we lost on her as she looked to the bubble, her mind going over the possiblities on what could cause such an injury in the first place and if everyone else was in danger. "Hand him over." Aqua ordered calmly, holding out her arms for the bubble and not going to take no for an answer.

"Thank you, I realize you don't exactly owe us anything." Chromite handed Bloodstone's gem to Aquamarine.

"I wouldn't quite say that but that is a story for another time and probably one you could care less about." Aqua smiled softly and held the bubble close, popping the bubble with ease as the gem dropped into her awaiting palm. She would have usually started a healing ice globe but that was only one way to heal and the one she used to avoid...awkward situations she had learned about on Earth. She moved the gem to her face, closing her eyes as she started up her healing but instead of making an orb Aqua leaned down to gently kiss Bloodstone's gem, letting it glow and slowly stitch back together. She bubbled him once more, sending him off to her room in the temple for now since he would be safe till awaking. It was obvious that something was a muck at the ship or they would have just gone there. "Now, how did he get that way and what do you mean their is a development with the Cluster? What happened and should I be worried for the others?"

"Well, when we returned to the ship, the Commander attempted to do something with the gem shards instead of bubbling them individually and sending them away. They fused back together and he put them in some kind of solution, which only seemed to irritate them more. The creature they turned into has not regenerated, however the gem cluster quickly expanded to an unprecedented size, which is what injured the Commander. It had overtaken Commander Bloostone's lab and was neaing the control room as I left, and at the rate it was going has likely destroyed the ship at this point. However, I'm aware of no danger to you or your friends."

"It should be checked on, just incase it doesn't stop growing and needs to be contained."

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I intend to do that soon after we're done here. Am I to assume you sent the commander back to your temple? I suppose that place is as good as any for now."

[pyroman]

Huffing and puffing, a not-quite-middle-aged man ran with all of his energy to the temple of the crystal gems, hoping that Aquamarine, the leader of the town's defenders, would be there.

He sighed in relief upon seeing her, but tensed up upon seeing one of those villain gems right next to her. Was Aquamarine a villain all along? Had she just been making her own chaos and then resolving it to make it seem like that were heroes? Either way, he needed to talk to her about the current situation.

"Aquamarine!" He shouted as he neared her. "Please tell me that you have that monster thing under control! Fortunately, Saban endurance covers monsters destroying your city on a weekly basis, but that one seemed even worse than before."

[Raijinslayer]

Marra Mamba

When Mars and Aqua separated, MArs was left a bit shell-shocked, unable to contain the shaking he felt down to his core as he looked at his hands, feeling a deep sense of longing as they appeared in the same muted black and white colorations as before. These colors had been just fine to him before the fusion, but now . . . now he felt robbed and empty inside.

"It was . . . beautiful."

He'd stay that way for a bit longer, until he suddenly remembered the situation at hand. He quickly rushed over to the town, but found everything and everyone to be safe and sound, with the damages being minimal and small. Even better, he saw Candice amongst them and, being unable to contain his excitement and relief, leaped at her from behind, tackling her to the ground to bring up a big cloud of dust. As it settled, it showed Mars in his feline form, nuzzling his face against Candice's intensely for a moment, before his eyes opened, taking a second to stare at the newcomer with wide eyes as he sat on Candice, seeming rather comfortable in his current position. His eyes locked on to the gem on her ear, and his first thought was that it was a gem, but then he shook his head, remembering what candice had told him one day about these things called earrings. That must be what this girl had, right?

Reggie

Reggie gave a little fist pump of victory as he saw his shot connected, touching the emerald gem on the gun to bring up the holo-wheel and switch it back to it's handgun form, which he quickly pocketed into it's holster as he rushed back down the stairs, passing by the bewildered inhabitants as he made his way over to the scene. he saw Aqua and Chromite, but they seemed to be busy with something else at the moment and it probably wouldn't do good to disturb them. As he approached the second group, he couldn't help the split-second glare that crossed his face as he saw Candice, her face reminding him of the situation he now found himself in, but he quickly fixed his frame of mind, instead focusing on the newcomer. . . specifically, on her words. Well, more like a few in particular, such as 'mother and her kind'. those were good words to focus on, so he should make a very concise and mature statement about it.

"HOLY FUCK, THEY CAN BREED!?!?!"

Nailed it.

After his outburst, he quickly to a moment to recompose himself, clearing his throat as he tried to rearrange his thoughts and say something decidedly less crass.

"Uh, sorry, just . . . didn't think they could . . . well you know, right. The thing with the, uh, um, that, and . . . moving on, introductions. Ur, I'm Reggie, the fancy looking on is Carnellian, the short white one is Spinel, and I don't know the name of the one who is currently a giant cat WHYTHEHELLARETHEYAGIANTCAT!?!?!?!"

Two for two, Reggie. You're a conversation master right now.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Candice Ghoste and Carnelian

Candice snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the mayor's question to Aquamarine, and she realized that she had been staring at the girl. She moved to speak to the girl. She wanted to ask her who her mother and father were specifically, but the words never came out of her mouth. Instead, she yelped as she felt someone tackle her to the ground, and she coughed a bit from the dust. She felt nuzzling and she laughed a bit trying to scold Mars (but failing due to the whiskers tickling her a bit), "Mars!" She could see Reggie glaring at her from her peripheral vision, but she chose to ignore it. He had no proof that she was with the Government, and she was sure that her father and the others hadn't given away her cover and position here.

She had snapped out of the laughter when Reggie had shouted his question about Gems breeding (at least her father wasn't here to hear that. She knew that would've elicited an all-out 'Kill them with FIRE!' reaction). She watched as Carnelian walked up to Reggie, and lightly hit Reggie on the head, and she chastised him, "Language, Dahling!" Carnelian didn't like the use of foul language. It just wasn't proper, and it was quite rude. She bowed politely to the girl after she was introduced, and Carnelian greeted "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dahling!

Carnelian smiled approvingly when Reggie apologized for his statement, and introduced them to the girl. Candice rolled her eyes at Reggie's comment regarding Mars' shape. She answered Reggie and Maeve, "His name is Marra Mamba, but he prefers to be called Mars. And he likes cats," She then asked Mars, "Okay, Mars. Can you please get off of me now?" She then looked to Maeve, and once she was standing, she introduced herself, "My name is Candice Ghoste,"

[Akayaofthemoon]

Maeve

"HOLY FUCK, THEY CAN BREED!?!?!"

Maeve looked to the new arrival with wide eyes before feeling extremely awkward by the statement since what she thought was someone like her was obviously not. She also was at a loss on well...on exactly how to reply to such an outburst. She shuffled on her feet a bit, not really wanted to touch on that subject and was happy of the distraction of know who all she was talking to well up until the giant cat comment which had her laughing. "I..I'm happy t....to meet you all." she said between laugh, having to take pauses as she was trying to regain her breath but just ended up laughing some more. She regained her composer as the other human woman introduce the cat to be Mars and then introduced herself once she was in a standing position. A bright smile flashed on her features before she replied,"Nice to meet you, Candice. I guess I should re-introduce myself since we have had new arrivals since then. My name is Maeve Byrne."

Aqua

Let us first let the others know the situation before going to take care of the problem on Bloodstone's ship. They might be needed if it is too out of hand for the both of us." she stated to Chromite before turning in the direction of a familiar voice. A soft smile place on her face as middle-aged human quickly made his way in her direction and silently listened to what he had to say."That is fortunate indeed but it seems I must give the unfortunate information that it might not be over. It seems there is some...havoc happening on the gem ship because of one those monsters. I will be trying to work with Chromite here to stop the problem before it might become one for the town. I promise to keep you informed Mayor and I do apologize for the chaos on one of your happy holidays. I had not wished for Halloween to turn out quite like this..." Aquamarine answered calmly with a hint of dismay. "Please excuse us, we must let the others know and set to the ship at once." she gave a light bow of her head before tilting her head towards the group so Chromite knew to follow.

[21308]

Chromite nodded and walked side by side with Aquamarine. "I appreciate your help in these matters, Aquamarine. It seems that you and I will continue to share a common enemy for some time. I'm afraid however that I have no idea how we're going to destroy this cluster, if it's still growing at the same rate. I don't think the weapons we have will be sufficient."

[pyroman]

She seemed to have fallen into the background, and without a word, Chalcopyrite followed her own path, set on finding either Commander Bloodstone, or another commander that might be on this strange and interesting rock that she's inhabited for a number of years.

She went away, following and old yet unbeaten path to where she found two gems and an older man walking towards her. She was quick to draw cover, listening in on the conversation as she knew well who the blue gem was and what she was capable of.

"I suppose I can try and spin this into some thing, but the town already knows about you, and I think that they're finally starting to accept you all as who you are. I do hope you reconsider about the scare house, though. Your transforming abilities would be quite the treat!" Chal could hear the man speak on, seeming to walk with them as he didn't quite get the dismissal as the Rebel General Aquamarine walked on. She peaked out again, noting Chromite, one of the people she was supposed to be working along side under Bloodstone. She didn't seem to be escorting Aquamarine as a prisoner, so maybe Aquamarine had turned her?! In an instant, she jumped from her cover and looked to the two.

"I am placing the two of you under arrest by the laws of the Higher Diamond Authority! Aquamarine for betraying Homeworld, and Chromite for committing treason by working with this rebel!"

[21308]

Chromite raises an eyebrow. "Very funny you two, but have you forgotten that I'm the one in charge of you? Where exactly have you been these past centuries?

[pyroman]

Chromite's straightforward and simple response was more than enough to knock the two out of sync, resulting in the formerly singular giant woman to be divided into two, much smaller women.

Chuck, though wanting to step in and help resolve the issue, knew that this was beyond him. He didn't know how the rules on Homeworld worked, but he was sure that talking things out could settle down the two who had just tried to arrest Aqua and Chromite. "Let's just walk and talk it out, everyone, okay?" He tooked a few steps forward and stretched out his arms, keeping the two groups of two from nearing one another. Looking to the two new gems, he motioned for them to explain themselves.

"Our computers were off course." Hessonite was the first to speak, Pyrite already preparing her pick for battle. "We survived, fusing with each other kept us alive, and we did send out a distress beacon, but you didn't answer. We assumed the worst and looked for the next commander on Earth, hoping that Commander Bloodstone was either still active, or someone had taken his place to continue... whatever it is that Homeworld wants with this planet."

[21308]

Chromite noted Chuck but didn't say anything to him. "Odd, this is the first I've heard of us receiving any distress beacon from you, although I've only been on this planet for a few months. Rest assured, Commander Bloodstone is alive and well, but there's been a bit of an incident. He was severely injured in a lab experiment and, at his own behest, I brought him to this rebel because she was the only one we knew of with healing powers. Now that you're here, we could use your help in defeating... just whatever it is that the Commander was trying to make"

[HaltingBlooper]

It's been long enough. Wake up, we don't know if they need help! Emerald jumped to his feet, stumbling, not really in control anymore. He bolted out of the temple, swerving a bit, and made his way towards where the others had gone. Well, we'll need a vantage point, so we should go up that cliff. When he reached the top, he saw something going on below him. A strange Gem seemed to be threatening Aquamarine and...Chromite? This made no sense! "Not another hostile Gem! I can't deal with this again!" He formed a two foot cube of stone in his hands and dropped it above the stranger.

[pyroman]

Hearing some sort of strange, whining sound, Hessonite ans Pyrite looked to the green gem, barely jumping out of the way of the falling stone cube.

Pyrite glared daggers at hers and Hessonite's assailant, spawning her pick and already stomping away to Emerald. However, Hessonite was quick to stand in Pyrite's way, getting the latter to grunt.

"I know what you're going to say, but he totally deserves it! He just tried to crush us!" Pyrite glared once again at Emerald.

"Pyrite, we just bounded in and threatened to arrest two people. We made a scene, his reaction is fare." Hessonite did what she could to calm down her other half. "Please, put the pick away."

Grumbling, she did as she was asked and sent her pick away, grunting again and looking at to Chromite. "Pyrite and Hessonite, reporting late for duty."

[21308]

Chromite gave an approving smile and said "Understood. Glad to have the two of you on board again, let's regroup with the rebels and start working on our battle plan."