Summary:
How to get ready for the apocalypse ... again
'Navy' smiled as she looked over the luxury place. It was almost like a vacation, something Rubies rarely got, so it was really nice to enjoy it while they looked for Jasper. "Look at this!" Leggy lifter something up, something made out of wood. "I found a weapon!"
"Can't be a weapon. It's made out of trees. That can't be an effective weapon." Army argued.
"Then why does it look like I can swing it really hard and beat someone up with it?" Leggy asked.
"Because that only works on organics. You need something more durable for gems." Eyeball answered. "If you want a real weapon, you've gotta grab something like this!" They pulled out a block with a chain wrapped around a blade. "It says 'chainsaw' on the side!" They pulled out some kind of cord on its side, and it began revving, the blades now spinning around fast and repeatedly. "NOW ALL MY ENEMIES SHALL COWER IN FEAR!"
"Wow, impressive find Ruby." Doc smiled. "As soon as we find Jasper, we can hand her this amazing tool to help her mission."
"Yeah, we can rip apart this planet before it expires!" Leggy shouted, using the wooden stick to hit the ground repeated. "For homeworld!"
"Aw, they're just so precious." Turning around, they saw that group of organics coming back, along with the earth commander. "I mean, I know they hate the planet, but you can't deny this is adorable." One of the two humans of the group observed.
"Wait, since when were there so many rubies?" A new organic, one with three eyes, said with a head tilt.
"It was a whole thing, just roll with it." The organic with curly hair waved off. "Hunter, authority mode?"
"Right." The commander coughed. "Attention, Ruby Squad!"
"Rubies assemble!" Eyeball called out as they all lined up in proper unison.
"Worrying intelligence has come in, the objective might be breached." The Commander explained a dire situation.
"Meddling earth bastards, how dare this planet get in the way!" Navy shouted indignantly. "We must rectify the situation immediately!"
"We are, we plan on directing a coordinated offensive counter attack to prevent any outside interference." The commander nodded. "So, to make sure there's absolute clarity with no disinformation as possible, you are to explain earth's fate as a way to give these soldiers direction, so we can act accordingly and protect Homeworld's mission. Are we clear?" The commander ordered.
"Sir yes sir!" They saluted.
"Well, it all started back before the war. The great diamond authority, to officially initiate Pink Diamond into the fold, selected earth to be her very first colony." Army started. "Unfortunately, that never happened, because that traitorous scum Rose Quartz shattered her!"
"The bitch!" Eyeball shouted. "Choosing organics over her own Diamond! Why I aught a-"
"Hey, calm down." Navy patted their back. "It's fine now …"
"Yeah, she's dead…like so dead." The curly haired one added. "Like, you can't get any more dead than that clod."
"Right … anyway, after she … shattered… Pink." They all took a silence for the Diamond they lost. "The Diamonds razed the earth, then decided to discuss what to do with the planet after." Navy explained. "They were hesitant, feeling it would be wrong to just pick up where Pink they left off, feeling like it would dishonor their fallen diamond."
"And they didn't like the idea of another rebellion popping up." Army continued. "Rose Quartz was made on earth, who's to say another gem made on earth wouldn't spark another rebellion?"
"So in the end, Homeworld realized that they can't colonize Earth." Doc explained.
"Oh thank Titan." The big girl sighed in relief.
"So by the orders of Yellow Diamond, we're destroying it." Doc continued. "After all, it's not like we're going to leave a planet full of organics floating around in space. That'd just be pointless."
"....So how….exactly are you planning on destroying the planet?" The short organic asked.
"Their first thought was to just blast it with ballistic and drilling based lasers until nothing remained, but sadly our technology wasn't advanced enough." Leggy said.
"So Yellow Diamond started to experiment with bioweapons." Doc went on.
"Bio weapons?" The human with optic enhancers asked with muted horror.
"She began experimenting with shards of shattered gems, forcing them together into unsightly monstrosities. Very unpleasant, but necessary."
"Gem … mutants …" The buff organic muttered. "They're going to … destroy earth?"
"No, those were the prototypes for the Cluster." Army explained. "It has about five million shards or so."
The buff organic nodded, before running out of the barn. "BLLEEEE!!" They made strange noises.
"Alright, and wouldn't any of you guys know when this…cluster…is about to be activated?" The human without optic enhancers asked.
"According to our mission data, all the information was given to Jasper and a Peridot that accompanied her." Doc said. "So let's go find them, it's our only hope to make sure the cluster activates!"
"… Still think they're cute?" The human with optic enhancers questioned the other human.
"Very much less so now."
========================================================================
"So …" Gus started, breaking the awkward silence as they warped back to the temple.. "On top of getting home, Jasper and Peridot running around, and Belos being here … the world is ending due to a massive force fused gem inside the earth." He grimaced. "Are we cursed? Have any of us been cursed, or being punished for something we did in a past life?"
"I probably am. My womb donor was the bitch that started all of this to begin with." Lucci raised his hand with an eye roll.
"It could also-"
"Luz, if you self-deprecate, I will slap you silly then strap you to a bean bag for ten hours of hugging. Thin, ice." Amity threatened. "Besides, it's likely my family name that's cursed. Blights have never been good for anything."
"It could also be me." Vee shrugged. "I know nothing about the corpse that I came from. Only Alpha knew the details."
"My…uncle is Belos. That alone is worth a curse." Hunter sighed. "Captain? Connie? Any of you have family history you regret?"
"My mom's a bit uptight." Connie shrugged. "I'm more worried about Willow … and now Garnet."
The moment they explained the situation to the gems, Garnet immediately defused, Ruby running around in rage while Sapphire cried in a corner. "So many … poor souls …" The blue gem sputtered. Amethyst's reaction was mainly a lot of freaking out, and Pearl…..was still bubbled from the whole time travel thing.
Lapis was in the middle of pondering. "Hmm … you think we can jury rig Moldavite's ship?"
"What, you think we can build something from it to stop the cluster before it goes off?" Luz asked.
"No, I'm planning on taking Vee and leaving this planet, and she needs to breathe air." She responded bluntly. "This planet is screwed ten ways over."
"Lapis, I'm not abandoning this planet just because I'm in danger. We're going to stop the cluster." Vee growled. "Luz, what was it that you said about using the rocket to stop the cluster?"
"Well we just put a drill on the front and take it down just like they did in the Core." She responded. "Except you know …we don't destroy a large portion of the earth and risk a total collapse of the ground it's planted under."
"Great idea, small problem though." Gus pointed out. "The rocket's in shambles, and if it wasn't, we don't know how to build a drill."
"That shouldn't be too hard." Connie shrugged. "Who's the most tech savvy one here?"
"..." Sapphire, Ruby, and Amethyst all stared at Pearl's bubble.
" Oh come on!" Boscha yelled, setting part of the bed on fire.
"Hey, we can do something else!" Amity shouted. "Like, you know, get the Rubies to do something?"
"Those morons barely know how to tell left or right, do you really think they can build something?" Lucci countered
"Well it's either that or letting Pearl out of the cage." Hunter stated bluntly.
Lucci stared at the bubble, before turning to Vee. "How much do you love this planet?"
"As much as you love the Boiling Isles." She answered without hesitation.
"….Damn it….I better not regret this." Lucci squeezed the bubble, letting the gem drop on the floor.
The second it did, Pearl came out. "So close, so clo -"
Smack
Vines, abominations, and Lucci's hand pinned the bitch to the ground. "If it wasn't for Vee's sake, I and the rest of us here would make you feel every bit of hell that you made us go through." Lucci threatened. "But there is currently a geoweapon in the earth, and we need your skills. Try to mess with our life again, and I shatter you, understand?"
"... Geoweapon!?" Right, she was running blind.
"Long story short; Homeworld after the rebellion made a giant gem mutant and buried it somewhere in the planet." Luz summed up. "Once it emerges, the world will blow up, so we need a to make a drill to get to it before then."
The gem's eyes widened. "Okay, okay, maybe we could make something out of the rocket, but we'd need stronger materials … not to mention a timeframe and location." She muttered, going off into a tangent. "Fuel source, power couplings, a navigation system…"
"We can get a location and time frame out of the rubies. They're gullible but they can't be that uninformed." Hunter brought up.
"Didn't they just say all the information about the Cluster belongs to Jasper and Peridot?" Amity asked.
"They're the only source of information we have. It's not like a hub of information is just going to land on earth." Connie groaned.
"Maybe not on earth … but the moon could provide something." Pearl snapped her fingers. "Before the war, Pink Diamond used the moon as a base to oversee the colonization.
"Are we going to the moon!?" Most of the kids shouted with sparkly eyes, including himself.
"Hard pass. If it's another place dedicated to my womb donor, then I'll just stay here." Lucci sighed. "I'll be better off getting more parts for the drill."
"Wait, weren't there massive drill bits in the kindergarten?" Luz asked.
"Yeah, I'm going to space." Willow raised her hand. "I'd rather spend the rest of my life not seeing the utter decay that homeworld wants for every planet they ruin and destroy, and avoid more gem mutants."
"Then I'll stay behind too. I just got back from hell. Going in the opposite direction doesn't sit right with me right now." Amity stated.
"I'll go with-" Luz started.
"You're staying." Lucci immediately stated. "That's gonna be the punishment, no missions."
"Oh come on, can I at least look for Belos while everyone is doing this!?"
"No, we figured you'd be antsy; so we scheduled you an appointment with Ms. Waybright." Willow said.
"Come on, this is not the time for therapy!"
"We know. She agreed to a swordsmanship lesson." Boscha responded. "That way you stay out of trouble and become somewhat useful. Sasha knows what she's doing."
Everyone stared at the human hating witch like she had lost her third eye. "It is so uncanny for you to actually develop respect for a human." Gus stated.
"If I hated humans just because I didn't like Luz, then I'd be no different than Belos." She rolled her eyes. "I just hate most people in general at this point, species be damned."
"Exactly. Love and hate has no boundaries." Lucci smirked.
"Although love is still better than hate." Vee butted in. "... So are we splitting the teams?"
"Yeah, Connie's going with Luz so she actually does go. Someone keeps an eye on Pearl to stop her from screwing everything up, one team to the kindergarten, and one to the moon." Gus wrote on the board. "We got Amity and Lucci covered on the kindergarten, and Willow's a go for space. Anyone else?"
"The Rubies trust me the most, and they're the ones with a ship, so I'm on the moon mission." Hunter raised his hand. "You coming with? Gus, Vee?"
"Human moon? Sign me up!" Gus shouted with a grin.
"I finally have a chance to see such a beautiful planet from up above!" The basilisk cheered.
"Guess I'm on Pearl duty then." Boscha turned to the pale gem, and cracked her fingers. "I've been needing to get a new practice dummy."
"... I-"
"No." Amethyst, Lapis, Sapphire, and Ruby all spoke.
"So … I guess I'm helping you guys lift drills?" Amethyst asked.
"Be my guest. Shouldn't take too long." Lucci shrugged.
========================================================================
Amity continued to carve into the injector with Amethyst, bit by bit. "Why is this taking so long?" Lucci groaned.
"Because your concept of 'quick and easy' destroyed the last three injectors." Amity retorted. "I get that you're not the most subtle person in the world, but save the earth bursting strength for lifting it."
"Not my fault these things are so fragile. They're like a thousand years old." Lucci countered.
"Six thousand actually." Amethyst corrected. "These are the things that planted good old me … overcooked and all." She grumbled.
"Don't let the rubies get you down. They're smaller than you." Amity tried to comfort them.
"I know. It's just… I lived my whole life loving who I was, liking and accepting what I am… and then boom , someone tells me I'm not supposed to be like this."
"Here here." Lucci cheered like he was toasting wine. "I spent my whole life loving my weird and unique powers, only to learn they come with a butload of baggage from the oh so infamous 'Rose Quartz'." The kid rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you liked her too?"
"Yeah … she was like a mom." Amethyst admitted. "But I was a kid that didn't know any better … I once thought your sperm donor was fun and awesome to hang with."
"Seriously?" Amity questioned. "With the bald head, scraggly beard and sunburn marks?"
"Before he became a mess he had a good personality." The short gem answered. "We also watched this show called lil butler, it was the best thing ever … then he and Rose had you, and suddenly I was … the one neither of them picked." She groaned. "Pearl kept being obsessed with Rose, Garnet had herself… so I'm just the reject no one wanted."
"You have the choice to be whoever you want. Unfortunately for me, my parents chose to make me the 'prodigal child' of the Blight legacy. I was the one they chose to 'love' more than any of my siblings, and it made my life hell." Amity groaned. "Trust me, being ignored by family can sometimes be a good thing. The fact you're not perfect probably makes you better than any of the other crystal gems."
"Yeah, you're the only one that doesn't annoy me, so you got that down." Lucci smirked.
"What about Lapis?"
"She said so herself. She's not a crystal gem, so I automatically don't hate her." The boy answered. "And you both have personalities that go beyond being a stuck in the mud and generally unhelpful."
"Hey, that's not fair … Garnet's sassy and has some helpful moments." Amethyst answered.
"Has she? She's helpful to Vee, but her future vision's been like every Oracle magic user we run into." Amity brought up.
"She can kiss people and lend them their future vision … Vee's the only one that stayed sane for five whole minutes." The gem answered. "When you can see everything it gets tough to tell what's actually gonna happen, you know?"
"I was once hit with hundreds of years of information from memories of a basilisk that tried to kill me and from my womb donor, so yeah, I know." Lucci rubbed his head. "Only proves the point that oracle magic is useless."
Amity hummed as she finally cut off the last bit of drill, watching it fall to the ground. "We have our part, you're up Lucci."
"Finally, I thought this was going to take all day." Her friend smiled as he lifted it over his head. "This is probably the most uneventful trip we've taken to the kindergarten."
"Yeah, it's just like how it used to be." Amethyst said. "The gray skies, the echoing caverns, the eternal silence." The purple gem took in a deep breath. "It might be a bad place, but it's always going to be where I came from. Never going to feel bad about that."
"Is that how all earth born gems are? Small… weak… sentimental."
There was a unified moment of silence. "Hello … Jasper." Lucci stated without even turning around. "I take it you're still mad at us for … well, existing?"
"Even after everything you've taken from me Rose, you don't even have the decency to look me in the eye as you mock me?!" The orange gem launched herself at them, only for Lucci to put up a giant shield, to which she punched repeatedly.
"I'm a mocker, I mock." Lucci snickered. "If anything, you should be thanking me. You were going all nutso as Moldy."
"Moldavite had power!" She slammed her head against the shield, which began to crack. "The power to take you on with all your cheap tricks!" And slammed it again. "And now I'm stuck here with nothing to do but end you as I wait for the end!"
"So your best idea right now is to just fight one person and die alongside this planet?" Amity glared. "What kind of a moron are you!?"
"One that had nothing left!" Jasper shouted. "I betrayed homeworld when I fused with Peridot! I want it back! And the moment my crimes are discovered, I'll be shattered! So why not end it all!?"
"If anything it's a good thing you didn't stay together." Amethyst rolled her eyes before the shield broke, as Jasper sent Amethyst flying, reaching down to meet Lucci's fist with her helmet, creating a shockwave as Lucci was pushed back.
"I've fought a lot of dumb people in my life … and you are by far the dumbest!" Lucci shouted back as Jasper crashed into one of the gem holes. "I've seen desperate people lose the will to live, but you … you are just delusional."
Amity pulled out some abomination muck. "Okay, Amethyst, me and you will pin her down. That'll give Lucci-"
"No." He interrupted them. "I'm doing this myself."
She blinked. "What?"
"I'm doing this alone." The kid reiterated.
"Lucci, don't be dumb! It took LAW last time to beat her. At least fuse with me so pudding-"
"A while back, me and Willow fused in order to survive Terra Snapdragon. We had to split eventually; and Willow took her own head on and was able to match her head in." Lucci glared at Jasper. "There comes a time where pride is more important than winning a fight."
"....The whole freaking world's about to blow up! Pride can go suck an egg!"
"Well maybe I'm just pissed off and want to crack her open like a nut!" He shouted, glowing pink and rushing the gem head on as the ground began to tremor and crack around them. "Because after the shit she pulled as Moldy, there's no freaking way I'm going to let you be the next Bismuth!"
"Stop comparing me to a Bismuth!" She shouted, clashing against Lucci at speeds fast enough to cause their limbs to blur. "I am a Jasper! A soldier that never stops until her mission is complete, ROSE!" She caught one of Lucci's punches, using it to swing them overhead and into the ground, before stomping against a shield he used to block.
" Then stop calling me Rose, I am Lucci! The most infamous Criminal on the Boiling Isles, and a stubborn little shit that would rather pretend that you don't exist!" He formed spikes on his shield, launching them at Jasper to force her off, before jumping up and punching her even higher with two bubbled fists.
Amethyst stumbled out of the hole, making her way over as the two fighters turned into balls, either from spinning or bubbling, bouncing at each other like pin balls. "So … we just sit back … I guess?" She asked.
"I guess. The only other time Lucci's been fixated on finishing a fight himself was with Hunter." Amity nodded.
"... Looks like him and Luz both need a win." The purple gem noted as the punches became thunderous roars in the sky.
"Yeah, guess Jasper's the most convenient punching bag available."
"... So where are we keeping her once this is over? Cause the Rubies want her, but I feel sending her to the Boiling Isles is gonna cause more problems than it'll solve." The gem asked. "And I get the feeling you guys don't trust Pearl not to do something stupid again to keep her at the temple.
Another thunderous punch was made. "Honestly….I think Lucci might shatter her."
They blinked at that, watching as Lucci began extending his arms to continuously punch her into a deeper and deeper crater. "... Yeah might."
========================================================================
Hunter looked out at the stars … he was in space. "Captain Avery … we have reached the realm where man can never walk." The boy quoted.
"Chief engineer O'baily, fret not. For the stars are mere stepping stones of exploration." Gus played along, watching as an asteroid flew right by them.
"This has gotta be the coolest thing ever!" Vee shouted in joy.
"Coolest?" Navy asked. "We haven't even hit light speed yet, the stars are just dots. It gets much prettier after they turn into lines."
"Pretty lights." Leggy said, mesmerized by lights in general. Out of all the Ruby's, she seemed to be the least dangerous…then again, all the Ruby's in general didn't really seem all that dangerous, so that could've just been a facade. "Wow, do you think a Meteor caused that?" Leggy asked, pointing to a chunked off section of the moon from Salem's brawl.
"Can't be, looks too clean cut, and there isn't enough rubble floating left." Doc observed. "It's almost like a laser hit …" She gasped. "You were right Commander, there WAS a breach in objective! Someone other than humans has been around earth!"
"Yes, thank you for your astute observation. I'll…make sure you're praised in the report." Damn it, now they were thinking something WAS suspicious.
"I'm gonna get praised." Doc spoke with sparkly eyes.
"So adorable yet so horrifying." Captain muttered to herself. "How much longer till we get on the moon?"
"We're arriving on the base now." Eyeball said, landing the ship down. A few seconds later, the door opened up.
"I'm gonna go on the moooooo-" Gus began running out … only to start floating as he spun erratically in the air, before hitting a wall. "Right, lower gravity in space."
"I don't know how you organics can stand to travel without bodies that automatically adjust to any planetoid." Navy said as she and the rest of the rubies were able to walk just fine.
"Because now we can do this." Vee smiled, before hopping into the air. "Weeeee." Glad to see someone could keep their innocence despite … well… existing because of Belos playing god.
"Come on, no time to dilly dally, we need to get moving!" Eyeball commanded as they walked up some stairs, where a bunch of mura laid out. "We can pay respect to our leaders once we get that data."
"Pink, Blue, Yellow, White …" Willow knotted, looking at them. "Why those four … why no more?"
"The older the history, the more muddled it is." Navy shrugged. "According to some legends, she was created with great power, but was too imperfect, so she split all her rage, her joy, and her sorrow into the three other diamonds, to become a perfect White light free of all colors and spectrum."
"Others say we were made by an old organic species as a perfect lifeform, but their planet could only support the creation of Four Diamonds." Army said.
"And one said we were made by the moon to bring beauty to the universe." Leggy smiled.
"No matter the story, one fact is known for sure." Doc smirked. "The diamonds are flawless beings, and once they control the universe; all flaws will finally be eradicated." She turned to them. "You organics made the right call helping destroy earth. I'm sure the zoo will have plenty of space for you once we're done."
"... Yeah …" Vee said quietly as they made their way to the top. Of course, they were genocidal, he kept forgetting that. And yet he still preferred them to Belos. "So … what now?"
"We just access the control panel, like so." Army jumped up … and missed. She tried again … then again … Hunter walked up and lifted her up. "Thank you commander."
"No problem soldier." He nodded, looking out at the window. Out there, they saw everything…the stars…the meteors…and earth…in its blue and green glory.
"So that's what the earth looks like from space." Willow looked out in awe. "So much blue. So big and so blue."
"And yet it looks so much smaller than it actually is." Gus said. "... Do you think the Demon realm would look like this?"
"I think it'd be more blue. There's only islands there right?" Vee asked.
"Hard to say. There hasn't been much travel outside the boiling isles themselves. Who knows how many titans there actually were." Hunter looked on.
"Titans? You know about the devils of Homeworld?" Eyeball turned to them.
"... Lapis spoke of their … horror?" Gus lied.
"Horror..heh…that doesn't even begin to describe them." Navy laughed. "A species nearly as old as the diamonds themselves, welding unnatural powers that could bend time and space itself. They once infested the world that would one day become Homeworld, and nearly wiped us all out with the savage ferocity."
"Wait, you guys came from the same world!?"Willow shouted with wide eyes and disbelief.
"Wait, did you think they were on another?" Army asked.
"That's just… what we assumed." Hunter answered. "So, how did you beat them?"
"No one but the diamonds have the answer to that. They say that near the apex of destruction, White Diamond made a prayer to the moon goddess, who granted them mercy and banished the devils into the abyss, never to be seen again." Doc responded solemnly.
… Hunter guessed that means even TITANS weren't a match for the Archivists … Well, tough luck for them. Better to focus on making sure the world didn't blow up before that. "How are we doing on that date retrieval?"
"Almost got it…yes, I have the location for the cluster!" Army cheered. "It's just under the mantle of sector g right here …" They pointed.
Vee looked at the map … "I guess that explains why the gulf of Mexico is so hot."
"Any chance you can tell us anything about when it's supposed to emerge?" Gus asked.
"Hmm … when did you guys encounter the proto clusters?" Doc asked.
"About a month ago." Willow answered.
"According to this, it should take approximately sixty earth days after that before stage two, where twenty four hour tremors begin to rip earth's upper crust to pieces." Army said. "So going by this, you have around…thirty to twenty earth days before activation."
Hunter was tempted to say that was lucky considering how often disasters popped up, but decided to refrain less the universe screw them over again. "That means we have thirty days in order to find Jasper before it's too late!" Eyeball screamed.
"We should see if we can access their communication devices from up here. Maybe the close distance could actually connect with something on earth." Navy suggested.
"Yeah…you go and do that." Fortunately Hunter knew he didn't have to worry there, Jasper wasn't Moldavite anymore, so the chances of her having tech on her was slim. Hopefully Jasper would stay lost just long enough to think of something.
=======================================================================
Lucci used a couple of Spinel moves to swing the giant gem around, faster and faster, before slamming her into a shield. "Hhss." Could she at least help out?
"No, it has to be me right now Sugar." He was the strongest one on the team … but between Moldavite and Belos, he was still too outclassed. Lucci needed this, to push his limits without putting anyone in serious danger. The only time he felt like he could the entire time he was on earth was during his fight with Jasper. Back then, it did take fusion to take her down, but before that..they were equals. If he took Jasper down, that meant he was stronger. "You know, as someone that prides themselves in always completing their mission, you've done a very crappy job so far!" He slammed her back into another hole.
She sped out, before spinning around again, their time extending her leg instead of trying to headbut him, gaining range as she kicked him into the ground. "Stop judging the fight before it's concluded! You clearly have a problem underestimating everything around you!" They shouted, falling down to hit him on the ground.
"I underestimate nothing!" Glowing pink, he sent hexagons into her side, leaving her arms exposed, pushing them off as punched her right in the face. "This planet is fragile as shit and you're the most durable thing on it. So lucky you, you get to be my punching bag!"
He swung at her stomach, she kicked him back. "I spent my entire life bettering myself to take you down! Stronger planets, smarter foes, do you think I'm going to lose to someone who trained themself so little as you!?" She shouted, trying to crash in his head with hers.
He placed a bubble around his head and counted it, the two of them clashing against each other like raging bulls. "I fight people stronger, smarter; and bigger than me all the time. My home is a cesspool of anarchy, crime, and plagues, and I thrive in every minute of it!" He pushed forward. " People have wanted me dead all my life, and I've come to expect it, live with it, even enjoy it." They went back to clashing their arms, punching each other within seconds, before Jasper was pushed back … Lucci looked down at his hand. "And unfortunately for you … you were training for Rose."
"You have her gem, I don't care what you call yourself-!"
Smack
He countered her fist with a drill, pushing her back. "I am Lucifer Clawthorne! Half Gem, Half Witch! You guys may be immortal and smart and strong at birth, but that's it! You stay like that forever!"He pushed her into a wall, drilling into her chest. "Witches grow every second of every day, improving themselves and becoming better! In other words …"Lucci gave a massive push, shoving her through the walls of the Kindergarten. "I don't have your LIMITS!" He pulled her out, and kicked her in the side. "I was born weak, but I grew strong!" He slammed her against another wall. " What the fuck do you have?"
"The…the loyalty of my diamond…my love for her.." Jasper huffed, getting ready to throw another punch.
"So nothing but blind admiration."He spoke, punching her in the stomach.
"You … wouldn't get it … your fight for this worthless planet …" They stepped forward.
" Don't you get it!?" He called her out, going pink as he caught her fist, time slowing down like everything was in slow motion. " You.." He hit her a hundred times in five seconds in the chest." "..are…" He kicked her in the back before she could be sent flying into a wall. " Nothing!" He ran right to her spot she was flying through mid air, and shoved her into the dead dirt. " I don't give a flying FUCK about earth!" He slammed his hexagon covered fist into her face.
Crack
And sent her back … cracked and glitching, as her right arm fell flat, and her left leg shriveled. "I …won't … give …"Even then, they marched to him. "AS long …as I …m OV e."
"Don't you get it? What you're fighting for is nothing. The fact you're fighting for someone you probably didn't know personally is just pathetic." He flicked her in the forehead, sending her on her back.
"Ne Ver … suur Ender." They stuttered, continuing to push themselves up.
"Just bubble her already Lucci!" Amity shouted.
"Do you know what the worst part is? You bored me." He scoffed, spitting on her cracked gem. "The reason your fighting isn't even personal like it was for Bismuth."
The gem fixed itself, along with her body. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Two voices shouted.
"Do you think this little sign of mercy is going to get me to change my mind?" They asked. "That I'd switch sides like everyone else?"
"Not at all. I'm not going to force you to join me, or even ask. But fighting you clearly does good for me. So the next time I feel like punching something, I'll come back to you." He responded, turning away.
"Lucci, I normally don't say this, but what the hell!?" Amethyst screamed.
"She's a brute. A mindless, goalless brute." He said. "Nothing to be afraid of."
"For someone who claims to not be Rose, you act just like her." Lucci paused, turning back to gaze at her. "Sparing your enemies instead of finishing them, and attaching yourself to rejects everyone would ignore …"
CREAK
He punched her in the face again, and recrackedher gem. "You just had to push it. Have fun glitching. I can think of no better hell than that." He snickered. "I'm not sparing you out of compassion, I'm sparing you because it'll do me good. You're a punching bag for me, and until you learn to live for yourself, that's all you're ever going to be."
"You're…you'reNOt a RoseQuartz…" Jasper laughed, even as her form glitched. "You're somEThing more….sOmetHing different."
"I have a name, use it." He growled.
The gem groaned as they stood right back up looking down at him with a glare. "... Make Me."
He created a drill again, and slammed it right through her chest, his hand piecing the other side. "I'll ask you again once I let you out."
Pooof
The rock fell to the ground. "… So you're just gonna make her a living punching bag?" Amity asked.
"More durable than Coven Scouts, but not quite as annoying as Coven Heads." He nodded.
"… Really reconsidering my moral understanding on you." Amethyst muttered, staring at Jasper's gem.
"Morality doesn't mean much when the government was founded by a genocidal maniac." Amity responded.
"Besides, it's not like I'm going to kill her. She's just a stubborn idiot who doesn't know what she's doing. Like a less likable Steve." He bubbled the gem. "I'll keep her in Spice for the moment." Definitely a souvenir worth keeping. "So … the drill?"
"Right, help me lift it to the warp." Amethyst turned to the piece. Now, time to focus on something actually important. Fixing this place so Vee and Luz's mom could live on it.
========================================================================
Luz was launched back into a wall … again. "You're not playing defensively Luz, it's the only way you're gonna not get beat down with an attack." Her current teacher chided.
"Yes Ms. Waybr-" She was knocked around again by the backside of her teacher's sword.
"I told you, outside of office hours, call me Sasha." Ms Wayb-Sasha's swordsmen mentor style was very different from pearls, notably the lack of self sacrifice talk that the pale gem drilled into her. "That goes for you too, Connie."
"Sorry, my mom drilled into me to always use the last name of anyone older than eighteen." The girl said, looking over a pair of broken glasses. "And now I have to buy yet another pair …"
"Consider switching to contacts. Your enemy isn't going to give you a second to recover them."
"I tried that already. My eyes were not built for that." The girl shivered. "I spent five hours trying to get the burning glass out of my retina …"
"Sounds like a personal hurdle to overcome. Get on that. Also on your left." Connie prepared to block, only to get struck on the right.
"Ow, you said left!"
"Exactly, never trust your enemy. Their end goal is to either murder you if nessesary or torture you if funny." She responded. "Would either of you trust Belos with not lying to you?"
"Never. That's why I blew up the portal door when he forced me into giving it up." Luz responded. "In fact, I actually got the drop on him once because he thought he could trust me."
"Excellent, you have the lead." Nice, finally something to-she was kicked in the stomach. "That doesn't mean you should drop your guard."
"Okay, I am never going to trust compliments from a teacher again." Luz groaned.
"You think I'm bad? Talk to Anne about her experiences. She got duped into robbing a train." Their teacher laughed. "Okay, enough of the one on one. I want you two to come at me with everything you got." She took out another sword, flipping both blades in each individual hand.
"Okay …" Luz grabbed her sword, hefting it up, and rushing forward with Connie as they both struck at her sides.
"Just because you're pincering doesn't mean it's teamwork." Sasha responded, blocking their attacks and using them to lift her body, kicking them both in the face. "Being in sync means knowing what the other is going to do, and each move must complement the other." A lot easier said than done when you had absolutely no clue what the other one was thinking of at any time.
"Okay, clearly just attacking at the same time isn't going to work, so let's plan this." Connie winced as they turned to each other. "I'll go for her head and distract her eyes, you go low and aim for the legs and knock her off balance.
"Right!" She rushed in with Connie. Luz swung her blade low.
Sasha responded by jumping up, standing on her sword and blocking Connie's blow. "Talking out loud right in front of the enemy ain't gonna cut it either." She responded, having her sword pointed at Luz's neck."If this was a real situation, you'd be dead, and Connie wouldn't have any support, so she'd be dead too. Put up a better guard." Without looking, Sasha blocked Connie's attack, and used the momentum to make the two girls collide into each other.
"It's like she has eyes everywhere." Connie groaned in pain.
"Dual wielding is more than having more than one sword at a time. It's fighting from two directions simultaneously. Luz based her entire style around a two handed blade, raw power and raw focus in a single moment. Your experience is based on precision and waiting for the right moment. Neither style is wrong, but if you don't learn to adapt and switch it up, you grow stagnant." Sasha said, getting four practice swords and handing it to them. "Which is why the remainder of the lesson will be teaching you two the bases of dual wielding."
"How is duel wielding going to work with a two handed sword?" Luz asked.
"It won't. That's why you have to start developing the habit of carrying more than one type of blade at a time. Back in Amphibia, I learned how to store over a dozen of them in my left boot alone."
"…How did you walk?"
"Very painfully." They admitted.
"Wait, what about me?" Connie asked. "My style?"
"Luz has advantage here since she carries a two handed sword. Both her arms are used to the motion, so they're more 'broken in' in layman's terms." Sasha answered. "For you, you need to get used to working with your non-dominant hand like it's your only one, and the easiest way for that would be a lot of weight training."
"... Goodbye feeling in my right arm."
"I once lost all feeling in my arms drawing glyphs all night, so I'm already used to the feeling." Luz shrugged as she grabbed the two swords. "Now … enguard!" She swung the blade … which flew out of her hand and right next to Connie's head, cutting a few strands of hair. "... Surprisingly light." She muttered at the glare the girl sent her.
"Don't fret, everyone makes mistakes. I know I nearly beheaded a few toads my first time training with a blade." Sasha chuckled. "Never let one mistake hold you back."
"Right … usually it's multiple." Luz chuckled as she pulled the sword out of the wall.
"Hey, there's no room for self doubt here. You're doing great, kid."
"If you say so.." a blade was put into the wall right next to her face.
"Say you're amazing." Sasha told her.
"But.."
"Say it."
"This isn't that big of a-"
"Say it or I will knock you upside the head until you do."
"... I mean we're training anyway-"
SMACK
Well, Luz couldn't say she'd be weak if she survived this. "If you weren't being punished, I'd be more concerned about a human woman putting the smack down on you." She looked up groggily, seeing Amity staring down at her along with Lucci.
"Oh hey, Sweet Potato, Roomie. What's up?" She coughed weakly. "Take it your day went well?"
"For the most part. Yes. Ran into Jasper, but Lucci managed to poof her."
"Finally!" Luz shouted. "That's one problem down … all that's left is Peridot, the Rubies, Belos, finding a way home, the Cluster-"
"I'm still waiting to hear you say it!"
"Talking with friends!" Luz shouted back.
"Even better." Sasha pinned her down with her foot on her back. "Your friend refused to admit how amazing she is. I believe you two can help reinforce that."
She sent them both looks. "I did a lot of heavy lifting." Lucci answered. Yes, one down! "Amity didn't do much, so she should have a full tank." … And like that, doom was upon her.
=======================================================================
Peridot threw herself into her work. It helped distract her from thinking about the unmentionable timesthat plagued the back of her skull. No longer was she bound by the whims of others, being pushed around and forced to have no agency of her own. She was in complete control of her own life now, to make her own choices and decide her own fate.
"Test number seventy three." She muttered. "In an attempt to use the energy of the strange organics, I have decided it might require organics themselves … so I dumped them into a machine that will suck all cellular energy dry." Peridot looked at the pot of noisy creatures. Several furry and mostly diseased filled vermin. They laid behind one of the town's waste disposal containers and seemed to have a limited form of speech. Pitiful creatures that no one seemed to notice, if anything, humans seemed to be relieved they were no longer in sight.
"If this doesn't work, I'll have to switch to humans and see if something there is tangible." She stated, flipping the switch.
" Sqqqaaaaawwwwwweeeeee….!"The creatures cried out in pain as their life force itself was drained out of them. If she was correct about this, and she hardly doubted she was, then from what she observed from the 'witches' they manipulated energy through some sort of naturally occurring bio-circuitry. Closer examination of the use of 'magic' showed certain symbols that would appear just as they control the natural resources of the planet.
Thus she created a machine to direct the energy into a limb enhancing arm that had the symbol that appeared within the flames engraved into its palm. Peridot waited until the tank was full. "And … activate." The energy was placed into the arm … which began to glow … before catching flames.
"Test number seventy three conclusion….failure." Peridot absolutely despised having to put those words into her own mouth. It meant that she would be stuck here for an even longer period of time. That she would be stuck on the same planet as those insane organics….stuck on the same planet as Jasper…
"I just need … something!" She screamed, as she began dismantling the equipment for parts. "There can't just be nothing! Why does my equipment keep setting itself on fire!? I've taken every precaution to prevent flammable damage, but everytime it all ends up in flames-" Peridot looked over the wreckage … noting something quite fascinating. "The metal itself has converted from solid to plasma …"
All this time she had that her equipment was combusting for no discernible reason … but she hadn't stopped to consider the transmutation was accusing onthe limb enhancer itself. "It worked … It worked …" Peridot grinned. "I revolutionized energy itself!" She cackled. This was amazing! She had made a breakthrough in the laws of conservation of matter! Anything was possible for her now, ANYTHING!
She had to take this back to homeworld, she had to bring this discovery back to the Diamond's…no, she still needed to understand it fully, and she still needed to get off this forsaken planet. The only ones that understood this ability more than her at the moment were those subspecies humans. And they'd detonate her form before even considering helping … and it's not like she had the power to steal one of them … Peridot looked at the arm.
"I need a weapon …" She only hoped there was enough time before the cluster emerged