#red agate!krupp

[tornrose24]

I couldn’t help myself :)

;)

By the time I opted to color them, it was too late to change the lines to brown for the skin.  Oh well, it’s an experiment. I’m not used to changing their skin tone to a more drastic color, so I opted to color their shadows as a compromise. :)

gem au belongs to @angerydj

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 22

With one confession, Mr. Krupp takes one step forward, but two steps back.

The CU gem au is by @angerydj

It was small. Noticeable only if you looked at the rock from a certain angle. A fissure at the top of just where the two parts of his gems came together. It looked like his gem was going to split apart.

“How did that even happen?” Tanzanite asked

“I don’t know!” Krupp snapped

“It’s your gem!” Tanzanite snapped back

“I know!” He yelled, “I know.”

He ran his hands through his hair, ready to pull it out of his scalp. Suspension from the council, possible termination from his job, lapses in his memory, and now this?! Somebody please shatter him now! Put him out of his misery! The agate rubbed his face.

“Do you... remember that time I went to you? My teeth were sharp?” Mr. Krupp asked, looking away from the screen.

“You threatened to shatter me if I ever spoke of that moment again.” Tanzanite said with a nod

“The threat still stands. But now it’s for what I’m about to tell you.” He added casually

“Oh dear, are you confessing to the statue?” Tanzanite asked

“No! Not that! I just...” the red agate stood up and groaned, taking a lap walking around his office.

It was then he noticed the broken window and the missing curtain. He growled, feeling his spots flaring and steam building up in his mouth. He finally sat back down in front of his datapad.

“I’ve...” he started, letting out the cloud of hot air, trying to calm down, “been having... lapses... in my memories.” Tanzanite raised an eyebrow.

“Lapses?” She asked

“One moment, I’m in my office scolding Yellow Sapphire and Red Zircon, the next I’m in their treehouse, then suddenly I’m in my own home.” Mr. Krupp explained, “I have no idea what happened in between!”

He was sounding frantic, desperate. Something in the back of his mind tried to calm him down. He shoved it back. Tanzanite looked convinced.

“So... even if you did make the statue fall, you wouldn’t have remembered.” She said

“I NEVER MADE THAT STATUE FALL!” Mr. Krupp yelled, slamming a fist on his desk. The desk cracked under his fist. He painted glaring daggers at Tanzanite, who noticed the fangs bared in her direction as well. She was unmoved and unimpressed.

Her image was replaced with security footage of the Pink Diamond statue. A large gem came into view. They must have jumped off a building to fall onto her. The gem wore a red and black polka-dotted cape and swung on one of Pink Diamonds arms. It started to fall, and was saved by a yellow shield.

The image stopped and rewound. It paused, showing very clearly that the gem that toppled the statue was a red agate. His agate. Mr. Krupp put a hand on his gem. Tanzanite reappeared on his datapad.

“That wasn’t me. It couldn’t be!” The agate said

“Agate, look.” Tanzanite said, “If what you said I said true, that you don’t remember, then... There’s only one gem who can help.” Mr. Krupps eyes widened.

“No. No nononono no no NO! Not her!” He said, knowing exactly what the gem was going to say.

“If she... If she did something to you, then Citrine is the only gem that can fix it.” Came Tanzanite response

Mr. Krupp groaned and rubbed his face again. There had to be another solution. He recalled reading about a gem who cried healing tears. I see she still around? Who was it?

“She’s a Rose Quartz! Leader of the rebellion!” the agate said, showing him a datapad with her image.

“A quartz? With healing tears?” He replied, pushing the pad down.

“That’s what they say. I love her hair.” The agate rubbed his bald head. He rolled his eyes, but smiled.

Mr. Krupp shook his head. He didn’t need old memories coming up a time like this. Besides, everyone knows that all Rose Quartzs were bubbled and hidden away. There are no more of their cuts to help him.

“Whatever happened to Citrine?” Came a question the agate was not ready to answer. He sighed and leaned forward.

“I had a talk with her.” Mr. Krupp replied

“And that’s when you shattered her?” Tanzanite guessed

“No, she poofed and bubbled herself! Told her Pearl not to let her out until I apologize! Said I had to figure things out for myself, or something.” He groaned

“Huh. Well, what do you need to figure out?” Tanzanite asked

“I don’t know! What my memories are, why my gem is like this, why I blackout, I don’t know! I...” he started, but was unable to finish.

Tanzanite knew as well as him what he was going to say next. He was lost. He was sinking into an abyss with no escape. If this crack was the start, then how long would he last? How long until he breaks? How long until he finally shatters? He needed help.

I’m here

No you’re not

I’m right here!

“No you’re not! THERE IS NO WE, THERE IS ONLY ME!” Mr. Krupp yelled out loud, startling Tanzanite. He felt his spots heating up while he desperately tried to cool down. This was not how he expected the conversation to go.

“Red Agate, whatever it is you’re going through, Citrine may be the only one who can help. It looks too complicated for me to handle.” Tanzanite said

“What? No I-” Mr. Krupp started

“You’re on on your own.” Tanzanite said, severing their connection.

The agate looked at the blank screen of his datapad. Then with a roar, he flipped his desk. The sing on the front flew off. He stomped on it. He felt hot and angry, and wanted everything to burn. He wound up his fist to start by punching through his door.

Stop! Think of the school!

Think of the infants!

Edith!

It froze inches away from the metal.

Edith. The one pure good thing in this whole colony. The red agate sighed, exhaling smoke into the air. If there was anything left to live for, it was Edith. To see her smile again. He had to hold on for her. He put a hand on his gem, then looked over his office.

“What a mess.” He said softly

He picked up his desk and set it upright. He repeated the motion for his fallen chair. The sign “Hope dies here” was ruined. A couple letters were burned when he stomped on it.

Now it read “Hope i s here”. He picked up his cracked datapad and started filing for a replacement. Along with a new window. So much work, so little time. Just focus on that.

The door suddenly opened, and in walked George and Harold.

“We’ve gotta do something about the new science teacher.” George said

“Yeah, it’s like he’s even more of a villain than Krupp.” Harold said, taking a seat on his desk while George sat in the chair in front of it.

“Uh,” Mr. Krupp started. The boys acted as if he wasn’t even there. Or perhaps they didn’t realize he was talking to them. Either way, it was annoying and needed to stop.

“I didn’t even think that was possible.” George agreed, leaning back in his seat, propping his feet up on the desk.

“Whoa whoa, wait a second!” Mr. Krupp tried again

“Tell me about it.” Harold agreed

What were these infants doing?! Who did they think they were. He sputtered, annoyed and frustratedly. He did not have time to deal with them.

“Oh! Maybe if we could fix this,” Harold started

“Can you even hear me?” Mr. Krupp asked, waving his hands between the boys.

“No, that’ll never work.” Harold finished

“Wait, he doesn’t want us to know what the P stands for. Maybe if we could figure out, we’ll know his weakness.” George added

“P? You don’t, no, the tourmaline?” Mr. Krupp said. But what did he have to do with anything?

“Exactly!” Harold said, directing it to George. Mr. Krupp growled.

“Where’s the respect!? I am your principal!” He yelled, slamming his fists on the desk once more that day.

But it did the trick. Both boys finally looked at him, surprised.

“Uh oh. Is he Krupp again?” George asked

“GEORGE!” He yelled, spots glowing.

“Yep.” Harold answered

“HAROLD!” He yelled, teeth sharpening.

“How’d that even happen?” Harold asked

“YOU TWO ARE IN SO MUCH TR-”

SNAP!

POOF!

“TRA-LA-LAAAA!”

[tornrose24]

@angerydj please tell me you did PD’s reaction to Red Agate!CU after this. :D

She would have LOVED Red Agate!CU now that we know more about her.

to be continued?? 

[kitkat1003]

Bloodstone

Part one, based off of this 

I changed up the storyline, but enjoy the angst!

@angerydj

It’s fairly easy to convince Melvin to fuse with him.  The little peridot is so eager to please, so desperate for more than a glance by a semi-pleased teacher, so excited for the limb enhancer he’s been denied despite his efforts; he’ll do anything for his simple desires that Professor Poopypants nearly feels bad for the manipulation.

Almost.

He needs this power, this taller, stronger form in order to take revenge and to truly dispel laughter so he can introduce himself without hearing snickers, and Melvin is impressionable and a follower and easy to control so he is the perfect choice.

Their dance is nothing special; he twirls the boy and they meld as one during Melvin’s moment of dizziness and confusion-he planned the dance out that way, the more control he has during the dance the more influence he’ll have on the fusion-and they form Andesine, taller, four-armed; with Professor Poopypant’s hair and mustache and he grins with sharp teeth as Melvin marvels at their height and his two limb enhancers.

They take over a small, abandoned factory-funnily enough(not that Melvin gets the humor) the factory used to create limb enhancers-and begin to build, two brilliant minds working as one and creating many, many drones that will suck the laughter out of the heads of infant and adult gems alike.

They have to steal things, and that takes more convincing Melvin on the Professor’s part; the peridot is a rule follower down to the letter, but a few well placed comments on how the school and the world they are living in undermines the Authority and ‘they are doing this to fix it’ is enough to sway Melvin’s worries and doubts.

He doesn’t realize that Melvin can hide things from him while they’re fused, that the boy is growing distant and hesitant on their plan; at least not until it is much too late.

At one point Melvin mentions how much school he is missing during this, and that sparks fear in Professor Poopypant’s heart, because there is the Red Zircon and the Yellow Sapphire that he remembers with a burning rage and a hint of terror because the twin nightmares that are George and Harold could stop them, and he will not allow himself to be stopped again.

The boys are walking home, to their haven of comic book making and creativity, and George has to pull Harold out of the way of a blast sent from one of the fusion’s limb enhancers.  Andesine-it’s getting harder to separate themselves in their shared mind-grins down at them with maniacal intentions, and the two boys shake, gripping each other as Andesine takes aim-

But then, a tear.

Melvin takes a stand, ripping himself away because he never wanted to hurt anyone, never wanted to do anything like this, figuring out that this is too much and Andesine is falling apart but Professor Poopypants refuses to lose again, so he grips Melvin’s fleeing mind and they struggle as Melvin tries to escape and Professor Poopypants tries to force him to stay.

George and Harold watch in horror for a moment before becoming resolute, taking each other’s hands and glowing to create their own fusion, but  Andesine’s white, struggling form falls just as George and Harold begin to combine and the two near fusions collide in a world of white and pain before it all becomes black.

They wake up as one, but at the same time they are four, too many eyes-legs-feet-arms-voices as they try to stand, glowing green veins pulsating painfully with each labored breaths through two mouths.  The world is tinted red through their visor, and each of their multicolored gems gleam in the sunlight as their legs tremble beneath their weight, and they all want out, for a moment they are threatened to fall apart-

But one voice clamors around the scared, pained ones, and that voice pulls them together with a violent tug and shout until the other three go silent in fear and they move, dragging the extra limbs behind them as they shamble to the school, mind set on nothing but pain and destruction.

They are Zircon, Sapphire, Peridot, Watermelon Tourmaline, Bloodstone.

Krupp sits at his desk with his work and Captain floats by his side, humming a soft tune and watching the way his Benny’s eyes focus and nearly glaze over while looking down at the screen, but a harsh scream causes the both of them to jump and move to the window, Captain jumping out and grabbing Benny in his arms as he does so, but he nearly drops the Red Agate at the sight that beholds them.

A…monster is the most apt term, but they both know it’s a botched fusion, can see the sharp, glasses-like shaped gem that belongs to Professor Poopypants and the half of a mustache that is just another sign of the crazed scientist, but it’s the other three gems that cause them to gasp, to pause in horror.

Captain sets Benny down as they recognize the visor and triangle gem of Melvin, and even more worrying, the rectangle shaped gem and tie of George, and the circle shaped gem and stripes of Harold.

The shambling, lumbering mess nearly roars out of its two drooling mouths, one eye-that must be Professor Poopypant’s eye-locking onto them with a harsh, manic glare and forcing the fusion forward, the huge limb enhancer arm swinging forward and grasping Captain in its large fingers, pulling him up towards its mess of a face, and on instinct Krupp summons his whip, throwing it out and lassoing another arm and Captain pushes the fingers off of him and begins to escape their grip.

The sound of sizzling skin could have been the noise that burned itself into Krupp’s brain, but the sound that lodged itself into his mind and pierced his heart was instead the pained, horrible scream that came from the beast’s mouth, because it was not Professor Poopypant’s voice, it was not Melvin’s voice-which would be just as painful, but somehow less impactful-, George and Harold’s voices cry out in unison, echoing across the school campus and the city.  Captain breaks free of the fusion’s grip and has to dodge a shot from the same hand that had held him just a half a minute later, and Krupp hates himself as he summons another whip and grasps another arm, taking both burning ropes and desperately blocking out the crescendoing screams of agony amidst the angry roars as he pulls the huge fusion down, the trembling legs giving out under the pressure and causing the fusion to fall, face first, to the ground.

Captain places a soft hand on Krupp’s shoulder as the two whips disappear-the marks remain, singed black and the screams become pained moans and Krupp wants the sounds to stop-and they stare, looking into the large eyes; all but one is leaking harsh tears that sizzle when coming into contact with the bright green veins that pop out from beneath its skin, and the eyes have so much pain that Captain has to look way.

Krupp grabs his destabilizer-every principal of a infant gem division gets one, and he’s never used it before but he kept it on hand just in case-and with a trembling hand, he jams it through the visor, between the eyes, and into the fusion’s forehead.

The yellow grid lines slide down across the fusion’s body, and it thrashes wildly with screams and roars and cries and it so easily pops and poofs into clouds, dust settling to show four gems-two limb enhancers- laying on the fake grass and immediately Krupp bubbles and sends away Professor Poopypant’s gem, doing so just as Melvin reforms.

The small peridot lunges for his limb enhancers, clutching them to his chest with eyes that are wide in hysteria and disbelief as they dart around the area.  For a moment, they lock onto Krupp and Captain, and Krupp is prepared for tears, for sobbing, but Melvin, gets up on shaking legs and runs away from the both of them, and neither Krupp nor Captain have the strength to call his name.

George takes five hours to reform, and he spends two more hours waiting silently-with haunted eyes, eyes that stare but don’t see anything-for Harold to reform, and when the two boys are reunited all they do is cry silently and clutch each other and shake.  Their faces are gaunt and their eyes are pools of horror and fear and tragedy and pain and Krupp takes a step towards them, but their eyes snap up to him and they look so scared that he backs away, shameful and too concerned to put into words.

Captain flies them to their treehouse-they refuse to let go of each other; they once lost contact and they had nearly screamed before their hands had found each other and they fell back into tense silence-and when they are alone Captain cries into Krupp’s shoulder and Krupp swallow a lump in his throat and lets his own tears fall.

The next week George and Harold are excused from school, and Captain checks on them every day, watching as they slowly begin to speak in short, clipped sentences before it progresses into normal dialogue.  They still refuse to let go of each other, but they never were far apart before, so it’s manageable.

Melvin is also excused for a week, and Krupp goes after school to check on him twice, but the peridot is nowhere to be found, his room untouched, like the boy has become a ghost of sorts.  It worries Krupp, but he has his hands full with George and Harold, so he goes to help the two kids he can.

The three come back to school on the next Monday-it’s surprising and relieving to see Melvin, but he isn’t wearing any limb enhancers-, and their faces are tired and Krupp doesn’t know what to do because nothing is okay.

It feels like there is an inevitable explosion waiting to happen, the three boys being their own ticking time bombs and he can do nothing but wait.

So he waits.

[tornrose24]

So I had this one ‘what if’ idea for the gem AU in my head regarding Krupp and Edith (and it doesn’t matter if she’s a Blue Agate or Blue Diamond for this, but I opted for the blue diamond design for the pics).

I had this idea that they tried to fuse once before, but for some reason it doesn’t work with Edith. Krupp can fuse with the boys and many others, but... just not her. This would upset her because she wants to do this with him and it gets more stressful when one considers that a fusion equals some form of a relationship with someone. (And before you ask, no I’m not implying symbolism of someone being sterile if such a thing were to happen.) The fact that Krupp has always been a fusion of himself with CU in many versions of this AU would make her feel awful because it would start to feel like she’s getting in between them and that’s probably why a fusion isn’t happening. But she doesn’t want to get in the way or separate the two to attempt a proper fusion because of how important their relationship is between each other. It wouldn’t be fair for any of them.

Though Krupp would soon let her know (in his own way) that the truth is that it both sides of himself have pretty strong feelings towards her and they’re only amplified when they are together as one individual. Every part of him (both the gruff, no nonsense individual and the fun loving, sweet individual) loves her and wants to be with her no matter what and it doesn’t matter to him if they can’t fuse because–

And yes, I might have been looking at pics from the ‘Keystone Hotel’ episode from Steven Universe for this one. :)

gem au belongs to @angerydj

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 19

Somebody had to pay for the strange actions of Captain Underpants. And by somebody, I mean Mr. Krupp.

The Captain Underpants gem au was made by @angerydj

“What?” Asked the Red Agate standing before the council. They were telling him some strange things. Things he supposedly did.

Changed his form, wore a “cape”, attacked a statue of Pink Diamond? He did not recall doing anything of the sort. But the council went on and on repeating his “offenses”.

“You knocked down a statue of Pink Diamond while running around in a different form with two infant gems.” Said the ruby.

“I heard the first time.” Mr. Krupp snapped

“Agate, I understand the need to ‘relax’ is strong especially for someone in a high position,” Purple Tanzanite said, rubbing the bridge of her nose, “But leaving the school in the middle of the day with two of its students is too far!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Mr. Krupp yelled, his spots starting to glow and heat up.

“Several gems say they saw you,” the peridot added

“They were lying.” Mr. Krupp banged a fist on the table, leaving a crack in it. The peridot ducked in fear.

“Agate! You are the only one in the colony from your cut!” Tanzanite yelled back

“I did not do anything.” The red agate climbed on top of the table.

“And he’s on the table again.” The Pearl said, rolling her eyes. Tanzanite held up her reputation for being one of the few gems to not back down to the agate.

“Agate...” Tanzanite sighed, “Do you remember everything you did yesterday?��

“Of course. I awoke from sleep. I reviewed and replied to all the messages on my datapad. I walked to the school. I...” Mr. Krupp started. His voice was caught in his throat as he struggled to find the right words.

He went to school, he got a casserole from Blue Agate, he caught Yellow Sapphire and Red Zircon in his office, then... He drew a blank. What happened in his office? He remembered suddenly being in Red Zircons treehouse, wearing one of his office curtains. The next thing he knew, he was back home.

His spots cooled and dimmed.

“I, uh...” he stammered. Tanzanite sighed.

“Red Agate, I am sorry to say this,” she said as he climbed off the table, “your position on the council is suspended until we can figure out whether or not you will be a principal at the school.”

“What?!” Mr. Krupp asked

“In light of yesterday, it seems that you have proven to be unstable and unpredictable in the face of the stress the school provides. Prove your own stability in organizing it and the suspension will be withdrawn. If any incidents involving you happen again, and you will be removed.” Tanzanite explained

“I have been the principal of that school for ten years. You think you can just terminate me like tha-” Mr. Krupp said, spots flaring.

“Red Agate.” Tanzanite warned

Mr. Krupp held in his comment, but blew out a cloud of smoke.

“Understood.” He said, grinding his teeth.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down as he departed. He had a school to run today, after all. He stopped at a window to glance at his reflection, pulling up his lip.

The last time he had a “black out”, he managed to have sharpened teeth just before the fact, and there managed to be destruction somewhere in the colony. No fangs were poking out of his gums and nothing was destroyed. Sure, Pink Diamonds statue fell, but it was still intact.

Before yesterday, it had been years since the last “black out”. What else happened before the one yesterday? Focus Agate, what happened?!

The school once his castle where he ruled now let like a dungeon closing in around him. He couldn’t trust any of the naive infants, he couldn’t trust the traitorous teachers, he couldn’t trust his own memories. Mr. Krupp felt trapped. But he found himself wandering to the cafeteria. He stopped at the doors, looking through the window.

At least he could depend on one thing: The radiant smile of Edith. So full of hope, of light. Oh, how he wanted to hold her hand. He wanted to know if she had powers over water, or ice. How he just wanted to be with her. 

His gem ached. Something inside yearned or release.

“I just want to be with you.”

... He did say that once, didn’t he? For who? What happened?

He turned away from the door. Numbly, he began the trek to his office.

Then, just down the hall, he saw THEM. The very BANE of his existence. He might not have remembered much of yesterday, but he definitely remembered THEM.

George and Harold.

They were wearing different shirts. They danced down the hall playing music from a human box like device that boomed with the beat. How dare they revel while he be under suspension from the council. In fact, it’s because he didn’t want to be in charge of the whole colony that there is a council in the first place.

But did he get credit?! Not a single thank you!

Mr. Krupp stomped in the direction of the infants. They were either unaware or uncaring of his approach. Unlike the other gems that scrambled into their classrooms for safety. One even hid in his locker.

“What are you two doing together?” He demanded, “I separated you!”

George put the device down and turned it off.

“No you didn’t.” he replied with a cocky smile. Mr. Krupp was thrown by the smug comment. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. He grasped at his pockets to find the right datapad with their separation logged on it. Not that one, that had his folded up curtain. Ah ha!

“Yes I did. In writing.” He whipped the pad out and held it forward with his own cheeky smirk. Unabashed, George looked up at the older gem.

“I don’t see a signature.” He said, turning to his friend, “Do you, Harold?”

“Not a thing.” He said

The red agate looked at the datapad. Everything was filled in, except his signature. They were right. How were they right?! From his shirt pocket, Mr. Krupp pulled out a stylus to remedy the matter.

“See? Signed, sealed, and separated.” He held the pad out to rub it in their faces. Serves them right. But George merely snatched the device out of his hands.

“Hey! Give me that!” Mr. Krupp ordered

Snap!

And once more the blackness took hold of him, allowing Captain Underpants to reform. With a ‘Tra-la-laaaa!’, he wrapped the folded up cape around his neck and stood proudly in the hall while George smashed the datapad and dumped it in a garbage can. As if it solved every problem.

“Problem solved.” He said

As soon as the words let his mouth, another problem reared it’s head. The bell rang. All of the students started to leave their homerooms for their first classes of the day. Captain Underpants was ready to greet all of the infant gems with a smile on his face. The zircon and sapphire in charge of him were not.

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 18

Another day, another chapter. And a surprise drawing!

The Captain Underpants gem au was created by @angerydj

With their exploration of Mr. Krupps home done, the boys placed the bubbled gem on his bed. Quickly, they darted out running their hands over everything before closing the door and standing outside the window. With a sigh, they finally started to relax after their long stressful day.

“Geez. This was not how I pictured the day would go.” Harold said

“Why couldn’t your clarity warn us?” Garage asked

“It doesn’t work normally! I see some stuff in my dreams and even then i can’t tell what the deal with everything is!” Harold answered defensively, turning away from his friend.

The sapphire wanted to get a handle on his power of future sight. Perhaps it was because of the fact he’s a young gem that it doesn’t work properly yet. It was still a sensitive subject for him. And George knew.

“Harold,” George sighed, “I’m sorry. I’m just tired.” 

“Me too.” Harold responded, looking back at his friend.

They then turned to look at the glass puddle. Although Red Agate knew what the footsteps meant, the boys did not. And after the last field trip, a few other infant gems dubbed the spot the glass puddle.

Harold walked on it and stood where one of the footprints stood.

“What’s with the dance steps?” Harold asked

“Hm, not sure. Let’s try it out.” George walked over the puddle to the spot of the second footprints.

The boys walked around the puddle, following the footprints exactly, then met in the middle.

“That’s it?” Harold asked, unamused

“Let’s try again, add some style.” George suggested

“It’s a dance!” Harold suddenly realized, looking down at the footprints. “These are dance moves!”

“Oh! Then dance sapphire!” George said.

The boys ran back to their spots and bounced along to the beat of their own song. Dancing’s along with the footprints under the glass was much easier. It felt so natural to the both of them. But on top of all that, they were having fun. Losing each other, they met in the middle, their gems glowing. 

George noticed and quickly stepped back.

“Wait wait!” He said

“What?” Harold asked, noticing the glow in his gem dulling. They stared at each other.

“Were we,” Harold started

“About,” George added

“To fuse?” They said in unison.

Through the puddle, they noticed the center had a large set of footprints. Those weren’t regular dance steps, they were a fusion dance.

As much as the infants wanted to try fusing, see what it was like, they both understood the fact that neither of them were entirely ready for the experience. Maybe one day soon, but after the day they had, not now. One look at each other and they knew.

“We have got to try fusing one day.” They said simultaneously. They shook hands in agreement and began making their way back to the colony.

“Wait, what about Krupp?” George asked

Oh yeah. They still had to deal with him.

Harold pulled out his slingshot and shell. He took aim through the window where he could see the red and yellow bubble. 

“What about tomorrow? He’s going to try separating us again.” Harold realized. George’s eyes widened with a sudden epiphany.

“We can control him now.” He said, “All we have to do is snap our fingers, and ‘tra-la-laa!’ He will never separate us again!” 

“Alright. But as soon as I pop the bubble, we gotta run.” Harold said, pulling back the shell in the sling. “One... Two... Three!” The shell flew through the air, and so did the boys upon its launch.

The shell made contact and popped the bubble. The red agate shined and reformed. Mr. Krupp gasped and held his gem.

“YOU TWO HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO-” he started

Where were Yellow Sapphire and Red Zircon? Why was he back home? Most importantly, what in the name of all the stars in the sky was happening?!

He walked through his house, trying to retrace his steps and talk through how his day went. There were lapses like inky stains in his memory. Something wasn’t adding up right. It made Red Agate feel like tearing his hair out, and it made his spots glow and heat up.

He stomped over to the charging station for his datapad. It was full of messages. Some were concerned like “is there anything you need to talk about?” Others were angry like “what kind of cold takes a form like that?!”

He paced in his living room then stopped to look at the tank. His reef in the ocean was bleaching. He wondered if there was a way to save it and brought a piece of coral home. And a shrimp to help clean things.

But that didn’t help him. He couldn’t even be calmed by the sight of something he has been caring for!

“What is happening to me!?” He asked the reflection of himself in the glass.

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 17

So many questions, so much trouble to get into, so little time...

The Captain Underpants gem au was made by @angerydj

“What an astounding headquarters!” Captain Underpants said, looking at everything in the treehouse. “Full of relics from my past exploits and adventures!” He picked up a plunger he recognized when he fought Wedgie Woman. “Oh this takes me back.”

But... did it really? Yes he recognized everything from the stories George and Harold had archived about him. But it felt wrong. Something was missing.

Something important.

While he was rummaging around the treehouse, the boys were discussing what to do now while drinking something called “so-duh”. He found the turtle drone and gasped.

“Look at you, you precious little thing!” He said, picking up the drone. “You are so adorable.”

The boys laughed at him. He was a charming gem after all. But he still had questions that needed to be answered. He put the turtle down.

“Well sidekicks, now it is time to fly again!” He said cheerfully

“What?! No! Nononono no!” George said frantically

In desperation, he splashed his drink into Captain Underpants’ face. The liquid dripped onto his gem. His form glowed and quickly poofed away, leaving his cape suspended in the air for one second before his gem glowed and reformed into it. But it was Mr. Krupp that formed.

“Wha, what? What’s happening? Why am I wearing this thing?!” He asked, voice growing louder with every question. 

One second he was in his office, looking into the panicked desperate face of Yellow Sapphire and Red Zircon. Now... well they were still panicked and desperate, but this was most definitely not his office. He was wearing one of his office curtains as a cape though.

“Oh no, he’s Krupp again!” The yellow gem pointed out.

“You two!” He said, stomping closer to the infants.

George fearfully looked away, and snapped his fingers. Krupp poofed away and Captain Underpants reformed.

“Tra la laaaaa!” He said heroically

“What? That’s it! That’s how we can turn him back!” Harold said

“Turn who what?” Captain Underpants asked before he was splashed with a drink. 

Poof!

Mr. Krupp put a hand on his gem.

“Why is my gem all wet? Hey!” He said, pointing an accusatory finger at Harold before he snapped his fingers.

Poof!

“Tra la laaaaaaa!” Captain Underpants said

“We should probably stop.” George suggested with a smile

“We should, but we won’t.” Harold responded

“Did your clarity tell you that?” George asked, quirking his eyebrows and cracking a smirk.

“I don’t need to see in the future to know how we both work.” Harold said with his own smirk before splashing their creation with his drink.

Poof!

“Where am I even? You two are-”

Snap!

Poof!

“Hey sidekicks!”

Splash!

Poof!

“You two are in big trou-”

Snap!

Poof!

“It is time to fly agai-”

Splash!

Poof!

“What’s happening?!”

And back and forth it went with the two infants laughing all the way. Until they made Captain Underpants poof into Mr. Krupp while he leapt in the air. The agate poofed once he hit the floor. The boys winced at the loud thud that echoed in the small space of the treehouse.

“Might have overdone it.” Harold said

“Yeah.” George responded

Carefully, he picked up the malformed gem. He held it one way and saw his reflection in both parts of it. He furrowed his brow holding it steady.

“You know, I don’t get it.” He said

“Get what?” Harold asked, his face reflecting off the other part of their principals gem.

“How does hypnosis even work on gems?” George asked, turning around to look at his friend. “I mean, you have Mr. Krupp who’s all,” he quickly changed forms to be the red agate, “Follow rules, listen to me, blah blah grr grr!” He clicked his heels the whole time to emphasize his point. Harold snickered all the while. “But then, you have Captain Underpants, and he’s all,” he changed to Captain Underpants and struck a heroic pose, “Truth! Justice! All things pre-shrunk and cottony! Tra la laaaa!” Harold fell back with laughter.

“You are rocking at shape shifting!” He said

“Thanks! But not the point.” George said, changing back to himself. “You know what I mean, right? How did an old gem like Mr. Krupp get hypnotized into believing he’s someone else?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he has a secret happy side nobody has ever seen.” Harold suggested, putting a hand on the agate in his friends hand.

The gem started to glow. It meant that Krupp was reforming. The boys put their hands on the gem and made a yellow and red bubble around it. They heaved a sigh of relief having stopped their principals reformation.

Then they realized they stopped their principals reformation.

“I think it’s time we took him home.” Harold said. He stepped away from the bubble and picked up a slingshot and a shell.

“Where does he even live?” George asked

“Uh,” Harold started

Beryl looked over the ingredients for the meal for her son. Her eyes turned to the recipe.

“Carefully chop the carrot without cutting your fingers,” She read out loud.

“Hey mom!” Harold said

“Dinner will be ready in a minute sweetie!” She called back

“Do you know where Principal Agate lives?” He asked

“Red Agate? I don’t know sweetie. He doesn’t have a house, and I have never seen him go into an apartment building for long. Some gems say he lives outside the colony by the glass puddle.” She called back

“Okay! Thanks! I’ll come right back!” Harold yelled back. Being focused on preparing the meal, Beryl did not catch that last part.

“Wash your hands when your done playing!” She yelled back, before hearing the backdoor slam.

“Outside the dome?!” George asked “I heard there’s a monster out there!”

“Yeah. A mean old red agate.” Harold said, holding the bubbled gem in question. The two let out a short laugh.

“No but seriously.” George said

“Lets go before the sun sets.” Harold said, leading the way.

They used to go outside the dome for field trips. But that was when they were younger. That stopped because George and Harold wandered off too many times to count, as far as the infants remembered. The near darkness of the cave that lie just outside of their colony swallowed the light from the hole. George and Harold noticed the charred metal that was melted to make the Red Agate shaped hole.

George made his gem glow to help shine a red light around them. Just a few steps away from the colony, they found the glass puddle. It was a spot where footsteps in the sand were perfectly preserved under glass. And right next to it, where wires slithered into every window, was a strange stony domicile carved into the rock of the cave.

“I think that’s the place.” George said. Harold stepped behind him.

“What if that monster is inside, waiting for us?” he asked

“What if it’s full of bubbled gems that crossed him?” George asked

“The floor covered in fragmented gems!” Harold added

“Gems he ate!” George added

Finally they opened the door. A light came on, and the Harold screamed.

Whatever they were expecting Mr. Krupps house to look like inside, this wasn’t it.

A monitor was set up across from a chair. At least, that’s what they assumed the large boulder with a melted spot was for. On a shelf was a glass tank with a couple pieces of coral and a shrimp swimming in the water. That was all they could see rom the door. It wasn’t scary at all.

“Why’d you scream?” George asked

“I don’t know, it was just a reaction. This is actually kinda nice. In a rocky sort of way.” Harold said. The two walked in, Harold putting the bubbled gem in the “chair” while George closed the door behind them.

“We probably shouldn’t look around.” George said

“Yeah, definitely shouldn’t.” Harold agreed. The two smirked at each other, knowing that was what they were going to do. 

They went into what they assumed was the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The only thing in it was a bucket of frozen bait fish thawing.

They opened every drawer. The only utensil they could find was a fork, and it was bent awkwardly.

They opened the cupboards and didn’t find a thing.

“This guy is bumming me out.” Harold commented

They opened closest, turned on and off lights they even tried bouncing on his bed which was hard as a rock too. The house was empty, boring, and sad. This was nothing like they expected rom their principal. But st the sameness time, it was exactly like him.

A hollow house for a hollow gem.

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 15

In which things get both better and worse in a snap!

The Captain Underpants gem au is by @angerydj

Red Agate stared in disbelief at the ring and the infant gem wearing it. They really must have been desperate.

“What?” He asked

“What?!” Harold said

“You said do something!” George responded

“What is that anyway?” Red Agate asked

“Forged by the most magical humans in the far off land of China,” George explained, “On the darkest floor of the darkest castle where only the most powerful of human artifacts dared to be made, The Hypno-Ring.”

Oh yeah, Red Agate caught them on the beach collecting weird human stuff that one time. He confiscated a red ring in a bag from them that day. He was certain they stashed whatever loot they found elsewhere.

Red Agate raised an eyebrow.

“Hypnotise me? With that piece of plastic junk?” He asked, tapping on the ring with his stylus. He let out a laugh.

Would that even work? Can gems even be hypnotized?

“Can it work?” Harold asked

“What do you think? We found it on the beach.” George whispered back to his friend. But he turned back to Red Agate, a determined look on his face. “I’m warning you. If you don’t listen to me, you’ll get very sleepy.”

“Are you two really that desperate?” Red Agate looked at the ring. Wait, was it spinning? How was it spinning? “It’s not going to make me...” he paused to let out a yawn. He should not have been this tired. “I’m not getting... I’m not... hoo.” All he could see was the bright red spinning ring. Light shined from the swirls into his face.

He felt himself lift up from his seat. George and Harold even felt themselves float over the ground.

“What... Human magic... is this?” Red Agate asked, unable to look away from the hypno ring. He fought hard to keep his heavy eyelids open.

The floating gems slowly spun around the room. The infants reached for each other to hold hands.

“What’s happening?!” Harold asked

“I don’t know!” George responded

As soon as the strange phenomenon happened, it ended. Everything that was suspended in the air fell down. George and Harold landed on their feet. Red Agates face hit his desk before he fell back on the ground. 

“What was that?” Harold asked

“I don’t know. I honestly didn’t think that could happen.” George admitted

Both infants carefully approached their principal. His eyes were bigger than normal and glowing a white red light. Red Zircon waved his hand in front of his face. There was no reaction from the older gem.

“I guess gems can be hypnotized.” He said

Harold climbed onto Mr. Krupps desk and picked up the turtle shaped drone. It struggled in his grip, reaching for the red agate. He pressed a button on its shell. A beam of light scanned his form, causing his yellow sapphire gem to shine. The drone suddenly stopped struggling. It then hugged Harold.

“You’re safe now, little guy.” He said, putting the drone in his bag.

“When I snap my fingers, you will obey our every command!” George said, holding up his hand, ready to snap.

“What is that? What are you doing?” Harold asked

“I don’t know, I’m just saying the first thing that came to me with great authority.” George replied. He looked down at Red Agate. “You are now a CHICKEN!” 

SNAP!

The infants watched and waited. For something, anything. Red Agates form poofed away, leaving his gem suspended in the air. But in the second it could have fallen, it shined and he took a new form.

George and Harold could not believe their eyes. A pink chicken with red spots formed in front of them. It clucked and walked around the room, pecking and scratching at the floor.

“It worked! He thinks he’s a chicken!” Harold said in disbelief and amusement. “Loamy let me try. Uh, you’re a monkey!”

SNAP!

The chicken poofed away and reformed into a big monkey. He pounded his chest and swung on a lamp. Harold laughed and pointed at the money that was once their principal. The money agate climbed onto their principals desk and threw the Captain Underpants comics in the air. One managed to hit George in the face. He looked from the figure on the cover to the monkey.

Despite changing forms, the monkey still resembled Red Agate. But despite the fact, he vaguely looked like the drawing of Captain Underpants. George wordlessly showed Harold. He gasped at the realization. With one look they both knew what they had to do next.

“You are now the greatest superhero of all time, the amazing CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS!”

SNAP!

Yes!

The gem shined as Red Agate reformed himself. As he leapt from the desk, he activated a fan that kicked up the comics. They blew around him as he ripped the curtain from the window and wrapped it around his neck. Harold and George shielded their eyes started from the sudden sunlight. When the comics settled and everything calmed, they stared in awe at their creation come to life in front of them.

“TRA-LA-LAAAAAA!” Sang Captain Underpants

He felt braver, stronger, and above all, he felt free. As if some dark cloud finally was pushed away. It made him happy.

“Captain Underpants? Is that really you?” Harold asked

“Let’s see... Underpants, check!” Said the gem, snapping the waistband of his human-like undergarment, “Captain, also check.” He saluted, then put his fists on his hips. “I’m pretty sure I’m Captain Underpants.”

The infants couldn’t take it anymore. They fell down on the floor and rolled around laughing. They couldn’t stop! It was just too hilarious!

“I guess that would mean you two are my sidekicks!” Captain Underpants said

“Sidekicks?!” The boys gasped before laughing once more.

“Fear not! This colony is safe under my watchful eye.” He looked out the window. There was so much to see. And he wanted to see it all and make sure everything was safe. “Let’s see what’s afoot!” He jumped through the glass out the window, leaving a Captain Underpants shaped hole behind. Unfortunately, he could not fly and instead landed on the ground below.

“Well, that was invigorating!” He said.

He pushed himself up off the fake grass and looked at the familiar land that should not have been familiar to him. And yet it was. Onward he ran to the colony. The two infants followed out of sight behind him.

Other gems gave him sour looks, like they had no idea who he really was! Therefore, they were just jealous! He was a strong gem! An Agate that fought for truth, justice, and all things pre-shrunk and cottony.

But he still should be able to fly. He might not have known much about himself, like why was he “awake” now and what had been happening to him in the meantime, but he knew that he should be able to fly. Perhaps his cape was defective.

Oh well, off to help helpless gems!

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 13

Okay. I am sooo sorry this took so long!

The Captain Underpants Gem au is by @angerydj

With infant gems coming into their powers, it did not take long for the teachers and Red Agate to realize some of them would be elemental. A class had to be moved outside because of an embarrassed ruby who got too hot for anyone to handle.

Of course, the humans already had an answer to any problems dealing with interior temperatures. So the scientists and engineers of the colony installed into the school and air conditioning unit that stretched through every hall into every class and every other room, too. Even Red Agates office had it. 

Of course the bismuth who explained the system to him reminded him the vent in his office was to keep the infants cool, in case he lost his. He was able to control his rooms temperature on his datapad. Red Agate was also given a little fan to help him cool down if he got too hot. 

Harold and Geo-Yellow Sapphire and Red Zircon of course took advantage of the air conditioning not even a week after it was installed. Red Agate shuddered at the horrible stench the school was plagued with.

But now. After all this time. The infants were caught! He had them right where he wanted them!

With Red Zircon and Yellow Sapphire sittings in front of him, he gently dropped the temperature of the room. Red Agate crossed his hands, leaned forward on its desk, and cracked an unsettling grin at them.

“What’s he doing with his face?” Zircon whispered

“I... I think he’s smiling.” Sapphire answered. He shivered slightly at the cold air. “So cold. So cold!” The infants rubbed their arms, trying to warm up. Red Agate chuckled.

“I’ll just let myself in, receptionist gem.” Melvi-Orange Peridot said, striding into the office confidently. The little turtle drone followed him in.

“What is he doing here?” Red Zircon said

“Why, the little peridot has worked very hard on his inventions. But he had another one, a little extra credit piece, that I commissioned myself.” Red Agate leaned closer to the peridot who looked as smug as ever. The little drone stopped in front of the desk.

“I call it the Tattle-Turtle 200.” Melvin picked up the drone to show the gems. “On the outside, it looks like a normal Earth turtle, but inside,” Orange Peridot took the smiling turtle head off of the drone, revealing a camera with a glowing red lens, “oh, look at that, it’s an infant cam!”

Red Agate felt like giggling seeing Red Zircon and Yellow Sapphires looks of pure shock and terror. He had them, he had them!

“Oh Melvin, what a delight! I wonder what it could have recorded!” Red Agate said gleefully.

Red Agate activated the drones holoscreen, getting ready to see what was recorded. He would finally have evidence! Proof that these gems were the worst cuts around! He would show this to the council and... why wasn’t it working?

“Hang on.” He mumbled, trying to figure out how the tech works.

“You just have to-” Orange Peridot started

“I got it.” Red Agate responded, before an error message showed up on the screen.

“It should work for any gem.” Orange Peridot commented

“I think I know how gem tech works, Sneedly.” Red Agate snapped

The screen suddenly showed Red Zircon and Yellow Sapphire huddled behind the toilet invention, tools in hand.

“Screwdriver.” Yellow Sapphire said, fiddling with the inner workings of the invention.

“Is this one ply, or two?” Red Zircon asking, shoving toilet paper into the machine.

“We are so guilty!” Yellow Sapphire softly laughed

“Quiet fives!” They both whispered before crawling away, their work done.

Red Agate smiled at the gems. 

“Wow. You can... you can really tell... that’s us.” Red Zircon said in shocked awe.

“That definition... it’s nice.” Yellow Sapphire added

“I can’t believe it. I’ve got you!” Red Agate said happily

“We’ve got them, sir.” Orange Peridot reminded him.

“Of course Melvin, thank you.” Red Agate pulled the extra credit from his shirt pocket Andy tossed it to the peridot, “Extra credit, granted!”

Orange Peridot happily caught it. He smiled at the boy sand bound to the door.

“Extra credited and it feels so good!” He said cheerfully beforehand leaving.

“What are you going to do?” Red Zircon asked

“Tell our parents?” Yellow Sapphire added

They held each other’s hands. They were afraid. 

Good.

Not good.

VERY GOOD!

Wait, that’s it!

“No. Obviously, they failed you both when it came to raising you.” Red Agate strode around his desk to stand behind the infants. “I have a more fitting punishment in mind.” He placed his hand s one the back seat of their chairs. “I’m going to have you both placed in separate,” he pushed the chairs apart for emphasis, “Classes!” The infants gasped. Red Agate couldn’t hold it in any more. He started laughing maniacally. “I’m going to annihilate your friendship!”

“You can’t!” Yellow Sapphire begged

“This is cruel! Even for you!” Red Zircon begged

“You see? You won’t be together, you won’t pull pranks, and ruin my life.” Red Agate said with a growl at the end. He went back to his desk to sit down.

“No! This is not fair! I won’t let you do this!” Red Zircon yelled, his gem glowing. Instinctively, he reached for it. To his surprise, he summoned a whip. Red Agate raised an eyebrow.

“Told you it’d be a whip.” Yellow Sapphire commented

But now that he had it in his hand, Red Zircon had no idea what to do with it.

“Really?” Red Agate asked.

He stood up and clicked his heels together. With no effort, he summoned his own, cracking it on the ground as he pulled it from his gem. Geor-Red Zircon shielded his eyes from the sparks.

“You really want to try something, bub?” He asked, “Go ahead.”

Red Zircon looked away. He glanced at Red Agate briefly, but couldn’t bear the heat that was building in the gems form. Yellow Sapphire climbed out of his chair and grabbed Red Zircon hand. The whip vanished from his grasp.

“Didn’t think so.” Red Agate said with a chuckle. “Enjoy your weekend, infants. Because come Monday, your worlds will come crashing down around you.”

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 14

A chance encounter with Blue Agate, an additional name, and an obedient drone.

The Captain Underpants gem au is by @angerydj

“We’ll be fine here.”

A red light shined on the cave wall.

“Are you sure?”

A pink light shined next to him.

“Nobody leaves the colony. We’ll be safe here.”

“What if we’re caught?” 

“If they try separating us, I’ll shatter any gem that gets in the way. Nobody will tear us apart.” They held each other hands...

Monday. 

The day he would break up George and Harold, no, they were Red Zircon and Yellow Sapphire. Red Agate felt ecstatic about the fact. But a part of him, that annoying, stupid part, it was sad. Remorseful.

He would not let that get in the way of his victory. He will have order in his school. Starting with the separation of those two.

He could have filed and filled out the forms at any time between Saturday and the moment he walked into his office on Monday. He had to do it in front of them. He wanted to see all of their hopes and dreams die in their eyes. He wanted them to suffer as much as he could make them. He wanted...

The drone bumped into him. Red Agate rolled his eyes, stopping at the door to his office. Melvin explained that it would stay with him at all time until it was imprinted by another’s gem. 

It was so clingy. It was... it was nice.

It made Red Agate... happy?... to have something to look after other than his reef. Granted it’s only been a couple days. At least the drone obeyed his commands. Unlike SOME GEMS.

“Ugh, that reminds me.” He groaned

Red Agate pulled out his data pad. He almost forgot he still needed to send out a message to the colony and council looking for a new science teacher.

“And sent.” He said to himself

When he looked up from the pad, he had the shock of his life. A certain gem had snuck up on him and waited in silence for him to finish his task. Thankfully that gem was the prettiest gem in the whole school. So Red Agate tried to calm himself down after the fright.

“Blue Agate.” He said

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I hope you can forgive me.” She said, feeling guilty and holding something in her hands, “I should go.” She took a couple steps away.

“Uh, no! Blue! It’s okay, I was just um, so, hi.” Red Agate said. He slid his pad back into his pocket and picked up the drone, tucking it under his left arm.

“What brings you around here?” He asked

“It’s just that... I was preparing a recipe for the infants, and I wondered if other gems liked eating food. Then I accidentally made this tuna casserole, with your name on it, in jalapeño peppers.” Blue Agate explained

Instead of ‘Red Agate’, the peppers spelt ‘Krupp’. But Red Agate leaned forward and smelled the dish. He was suddenly at a loss for what flavors food had. He wasn’t a gem to eat food, but he has tried a few small bits here and there.

“Smells, uh... Spicy.” He said, hoping that was the right word. Blue Agate nodded her head, a smile tugging on the corner of her lips.

“That’s because it’s it’s been dry aged for a week.” She explained

“I don’t know what that means but it sounds time consuming.” Red Agate responded with a nervous smile.

“It took a week.” Blue Agate responded. Red Agate kept smiling while his mind raced for something else to say. 

Anything! Don’t stand there looking like a fool! This isn’t working. Get out! Get out with some dignity left in tact!

“Well, I guess... I should get back to work. School’s not going to run itself!” Red Agate said, retreating to his office. He sighed in relief. He looked down at the drone he still held. Wait, where’d that food Blue make go? He made the drone hand on to his leg beneath his pants and opened the door, but she was gone.

“Wait! Blue! You never gave me that tuna casserole!” He called out, running in the direction of the cafeteria. He managed to catch up to her just outside of it.

“Oh. Are you sure? You don’t have to if you don’t eat.” Blue Agate said

“I uh, I’m willing to try it.” Red started

Especially if I took was made by you! Say it!!

“Especially if you made by... it.” He blurted out.

“What?” Blue asked

“Nothing!” Red Agate quickly said before gently taking the casserole dish from Blue, “I’m just going to... put this in the teacher lounge... than bring it home. Thank you Blue Agate.”

“It’s Edith, actually. That’s the name Harold and George gave me.” Blue Agate explained

Edith. Her name is Edith.

“And I’ve been meaning to ask you,” She started again, pulling Red Agate from his thoughts.

“Ask me? Uh, what?” He asked, nervously.

“Most humans have two names. I mean, I know we gems have one name, but if a human is called ‘mister’ or ‘missus’, than they have a first and last name. I know your last name is Krupp, but what is your first?” Edith asked

Two names? Why do humans need two names? What’s the point? And why can’t Krupp be my first name? Come on think! What humans do you actually like? Let’s see... Guggenheim, Banneker, Butler, no wait Franklin! That’s it!

“It’s Benjamin.” Red Agate responded

“Hm. Benjamin Krupp. Has a nice ring.” Edith said before walking into the cafeteria, closing the door behind her.

He was alone. He put a hand on his gem.

“Edith.” He whispered. He sighed with a smile on his face. 

He felt himself heat up slightly. It was nice not to burn anything in his path. Thankfully, the infants were all in their classes. They would not see him redder than usual, walking down the hall to his office.

The high of talking to Edith suddenly wore off when he saw his door slightly open. Two little whispering voices soon reached his ears as he carefully walked closer. But Red Agate still felt the drone hanging on to his leg. 

He walked in without them noticing. They were looking over the cabinet drawer where he kept all of their confiscated goods. Red Agate silently closed the door then clicked his heels together. The two jumped and turned around, clinging to their comics.

“Well, if it isn’t George the red zircon and Harold yellow sapphire.” He said confidently, he pulled a chair up, “To what do I owe the pleasure?” He put his foot on it. “Is it, perhaps, this?” He lifted up his pant leg to show the drone still hanging on.

“Oh no.” The zircon sighed

“Nice try.” Red Agate said with a smirk, “Melvin had the bright idea to make it smart enough to be imprinted on by gems. He never leaves my side.” He picked up the drone and put it on his desk.

“That poor turtle.” The sapphire whispered

“Everyone, sit.” Red Agate said

On a shelf were various datapads for various duties. Red Agate picked out the one he needed and slapped it down on his desk. The infants were sitting in their chairs, while the drone and stack of comics were sitting on his desk. All was as it should be. 

But it wasn’t perfect yet. It will be soon!

“Do you know what this is for?” Red Agate asked, holding up the pad. The boys were too scared to answer. “Why this is the form that seperates you. I can actually see the end of your friendship.” The infants gasped “And it ends right here,” he picked up a stylus from its holder, “on this dotted line.”

“George! Do something!” Said the yellow sapphire

The gem “Yellow Sapphire” will be transferred to another classroom to be determined by “Benjamin Kru-” Red Agate scribbled out his human name and wrote Red Agate.

“Put that stylus down Mr. Krupp!” Red Agate looked up to a swirling red and white patterned ring on the finger of George, “Or we’ll hypnotise you!”

[tornrose24]

So I like @angerydj‘s gem au with Krupp and CU being a fusion… and I also love @memeberd‘s take in which Edith is Blue Diamond…. but I really loved the idea of BlueDiamond!Edith being RedAgate!Krupp’s superior/diamond so I HAD to draw that out:

I think it would be a cute aau because I think she would be a lot nicer than the other Diamonds. And I could see RedAgate!Krupp torn between wishing she wasn’t so nice as she is right now and was a bit tougher vs. being happy to serve her over the others while harboring a secret crush.

I think it would be cute if she could fuse with him/them.

Also, I don’t know what would happen to a Diamond if they lost enough power or what it would take to shrink them down, but…

I’m sorry, I just find it all to be so cute.

(Oh yeah, the ideas belong to the specific creators as mentioned above and Steven Universe belongs to Rebecca Sugar).

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 12

It’s time for the first(and probably the last) invention convention.

The Captain Underpants gem au is by @angerydj

The auditorium was packed with infant gems. The teachers had retreated to the back, supervising everything. Red Agate strode up to the stage. A microphone had been set up in front of tables full of inventions. More specifically, tables full of Sneedlys inventions.

“Is this thing on? Ahem, I am sad to say that your science teacher, Mr. Fyed is no longer with us.” Red Agate anounced. Every infant gasped

“He’s shattered?!” One girl yelled before crying.

“What? No. He wanted to spend his weakened with his family. So I fired him!” Red Agate said joyfully. “I’ll get a new one.”

Whispers suddenly filled the room.

“Something must have happened.”

“I bet Principal Agate had something to do with it?”

“I think I saw Mr. Fyeds gem flying in Principal Agates bubble.”

“Anyway,” Red Agate said with a smile that stopped the infants from talking, “On with the convention. We’ll get started with Melvin Snee-” he quickly cleared his throat and looked away, “Orange Peridot, with the first of his sixteen-”

“Oh! It’s actually seventeen.” The peridot corrected

“Seventeen inventions. Take it away, Sneedly.” Red Agate walked off stage

The seat he took had a perfect view of Red Zircon and Yellow Sapphire.

The peridot was truly a genius... but he made some stupid stuff. Humans would get more use out of them. The human town was still blissfully unaware of the colony hiding nearby. But the gems that visited still learned from the society everything it takes to blend in. And some of them did share their gem tech and inventions while bringing some human inventions back. Melvin and his father must have picked up the most human junk.

Red Agate noticed the terrible twosome whispering. He loudly shushed them, making sure they heard him. He turned his attention down at his datapad to look at the news.

It was boring.

He looked at the back wall. All of the teachers must have snuck off to the teachers lounge.

This was going to be a long day. Was Melvin talking about his first invention still? Oh stars, no wonder he didn’t have many friends. Peridots were not known for being socially active.

As the Orange Peridot talked, Red Agate closed his eyes. The hum of Melvin’s voice was kind of soothing. He just wanted to rest his eyes, but he managed to fall asleep instead.

He was awoken an indiscernible time later... when a roll of toilet paper collided with his face. 

Gems have no use for toilets. They were a human invention that fascinated many scientists in the colony. But to understand them, they had to learn about human physiology. Red Agate shuddered at the thought.

The toilet Melvin created had electronic enhancements. And it was currently playing a song while launching toilet paper out at the infants. The young gems cheered.

“Orange Peridot! Turn that thing off!“ Red Agate yelled

“Uh, I’m trying sir, but it’s not responding!” Came Melvin’s response. He climbed onto the invention and tried turning it off, even as it danced around the stage.

“Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Oh, Freedom!” The song sang

Something inside of him, the back of his head, laughed. He felt a pull as if it urged him to laugh. He started to tap his feet to the rhythm.

“There is no we, only me. Only me!” Red Agate whispered through his gritted teeth.

Red Agate could only watch in horror as the infants danced around. Some of them started dancing with each other. Their gems glowed.

“No!” He quickly separated two gems, “Stop it!” He darted between two more. 

But even when they weren’t together the school of young gems still danced to the music. Suddenly the music stopped. Red Agate sighed, seeing Orange Peridot on the seat of the toilet.

“FREEDOOOOOOM!”

The toilet launched Melvin into the air, confetti spewing from the bowl. Red Agate watched the gem soar over the crowd and land at his feet, flat on his face. The Orange Peridot mumbled something, then pushed himself to his feet.

“Seventeen.” He said

“Melvin.” Red Agate grumbled shaking his head.

“Principal Agate, I swear, the turbo toilet was not supposed to work like that.” The peridot said. Red Agate pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “It was almost as if it was tampered with.”

With a snap, Red Agate opened his eyes. He looked at Melvin who looked back at him with the same enlightened expression. They turned to the stage, eyes falling on the strange drone designed to look like a turtle.

“Where are Red Zircon and Yellow Sapphire?” Red Agate asked, a sickening smile stretching across his face.

He noticed their absence in the auditorium. But he had a feeling. He confidently strode through the hall to the front door she of the school. And there they were walking away, side by side. Red Agate adjusted his tie and threw the doors open.

“Oh boys!” He yelled “A moment please.”

The infants turned around in horror, realizing the awful truth of the situation that Red Agate reveled in.

They were caught.

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 11

Nobody quits! Not even me!

The Captain Underpants gem au is by @angerydj

“I quit.” 

“... I’m sorry?”

“I said I quit Agate!”

Red Agate blinked at his, now former, science teacher. The amethyst, who has been dubbed Mr. Fyed, crossed his arms. 

“I heard you. I don’t understand.” Red Agate asked

This was a first. Every gem enjoyed their job. Or at the very least said they enjoyed their duty while returning home to relax before yet another stressful day began again. Nobody quit. Not even the janitorial gems.

“You can’t quit.” Red Agate said

“I have a family too, and we enjoy the weekends together.” Mr. Fyed said

“You think that makes you different from any of the other gems in this school? In this colony?” Red Agate asked. Mr. Fyed stammered in an attempt to think of a retort.

As much as the gems of the colony developed their own identities and individualities, they were all still gems. Amethysts, pearls, agates, and zircons. All of them were rocks and not different at all.

I’m different. So are you!

“Shut up!” Red Agate quickly spun around and hissed at the voice. He inhaled and turned back around to face Mr. Fyed. He looked confused, but still knew what he wanted to say.

“This will be the third Saturday this month I’ve had to work. It’s not fair!”

“What’s ‘not fair’ is me being stuck with snotty little infant gems and teachers who think they’re in charge here.” Red Agate stood up behind his desk. “What’s ‘not fair’ is the fact that we as a colony have been abandoned on this annoying planet. What’s ‘not fair’ is that the one gem in charge of this whole experiment is stuck in a bubble and would probably bubble herself for her own stupid, stubborn reasons!”

Mr. Fyed mumbled something and turned away. Red Agate came around his desk and stopped in front of the gem.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you just say?” He asked in a low, but sweet toned voice, his hands held behind his back.

“Everyone knows it’s your fault.” Mr. Fyed responded. “Everyone knows you are the reason Citrine is gone. Do you know what the infants are saying?”

“I don’t care.” Red Agate said flatly, looking away.

“They say you poofed and bubbled her, then hid her gem in a secret place nobody would ever find.” Mr. Fyed said, “They’re calling you a tyrant as corrupt and twisted as the gem on your chest.”

“I. Don’t. Care!” Red Agate responded, leaning closer to the amethyst. “The only infant that knows the truth is the gem raised by her. Let the infants talk. They come up with nothing but nonsensical ideas of humans flying wearing nothing but underwear.” Mr. Fyed had to lean back to get away from the principal in front of him. “But I can’t give every infant detention for saying rude things.” Red Agate walked to the window. 

Besides, I’ve heard worse things spoken of me behind my back, he thought.

“What am I going to do?” He asked

Mr. Fyed sighed. He couldn’t find himself relaxing, though. Something was going to happen. Red Agate was going to do something. Was the room hotter? It felt hotter. Mr. Fyed glanced at the door behind him. It looked so far away. 

“Well, now that everything is settled,” he started, taking a step back to the door, “I hope you’ll find a new science teacher.” One more step, “Best of luck, Mr. Krupp’t.” He turned around.

A burning whip wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides. He was pulled back. Red Agates spots were not glowing. A good... sign? His face was set in a stony glare. It was hard to tell what would befall the amethyst.

“It’s Mr. Agate.” Red Agate growled

“I am so sorry Mr. Agate. Me and the other teachers decided to go by the names on our doors, and I assumed.” Mr. Fyed. Red Agate rolled his eyes and tightened his whip.

“If I wanted a human name, I would decide what it is.” He growled

“Right. Sorry. Understood.” Mr. Fyed choked out.

“And you can’t quit. You’re fired!” Red Agate pulled the burning whip tighter. 

Poof!

Red Agate caught the gem. The bubble formed around it was orange with a red spot on it. Red Agate sighed and tossed the gem up in the air to catch it. He knew what to do with it.

From the rooftop of the school, he heaved and threw the gem as far as he could. He chuckled as he saw it fly out of his field of vision.

“Hmph.” Red Agate said to himself.

School was released hours ago. Nobody should have been walking the grounds. Yet looking down, Red Agate spotted Blue Agate making her way away from the school. Even from this distance, he could see her gem on her back, shining in the light.

He suddenly wondered what name she was given. The infants were always kind to her, and she was the same with them, even thought some of the food she made tasted gross. Her name must have been beautiful. Red Agate wandered back down into the hall. He stopped in front of his door and rolled his eyes at the name.

He licked his thumb and started to rub away the T at the end. Whatever paint George and Haro- Zircon and Sapphire used was tough to wash off. He groaned and left the name “Krupp” before making his way homeward.

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 10

Behold! The prank that unknowingly changes everything!

The Captain Underpants gem au is by @angerydj

This was a first. At least this prank didn’t cause panic and mass hysteria.

Every single locker had a human name painted on it. Red Agate walked down the hall reading them all. Cleo? Teague? Percy and Willow? Orange Peridot stood by his locker. Melvin was written on it.

Melvin Sneedly. Not bad, actually. Fitting. Red Agate mused.

“I think we both know who I saw responsible for this.” The peridot said, crossing his arms.

“Of course. Thank you, Melvin.” Red Agate said with a smirk, walking past the gem. He stopped at a classroom. Painted on the door was Ms. Ribble. He felt panicked. He ran to his office. “Mr. K’ruppt” greeted him in red paint, a crude rendition of his gem drawn below his given name.

“Didn’t even spell corrupt correctly.” Red Agate mumbled as he keyed in his code to his office. He moaned and sat at his desk. 

It was bound to happen. Human homes, human time and calendars, human food, human everything, except for the gems. It was only a matter of time before everyone wanted their own human names. He still had to punish the gems responsible for naming everyone.

Especially him. If Red Agate wanted a human name, HE’D decide on it.

He called in Yellow Sapphire and Red Zircon. Thankfully, they arrived within five minutes. They sat down in the two chairs in front of his desk. He glared at him, trying to think of what to say, of how to punish them properly.

Tried that... did that... not that again, stars no!

He heard the gems whispering to each other. They stood and slowly made they’re way to the door. Red Agate slammed on a button. The door was sealed shut with another door sliding down and locking in place.

“Wow, that’s an expensive looking door.” Red Zircon commented

“Nice, huh? It was either that or funding for the music and arts programs.” Red Agate said with a smirk. “Pretty sure I made the right choice. Now can either of you explain why every gem in this school has a name?”

“Come on Principal Agate, you gotta admit it’s so confusing with everyone going by the names of their gems!” Red Zircon said, “I mean, why? Really?”

“Why do we have to go by the names our gems?” Yellow Sapphire asked

“Not to mention, it’s confusing to be like ‘hey Zircon! No, not you, the other zircon.” Red Zircon explained

“Every gem wants a human name, like in the books in the human books in the library! I want to be Harold.” Yellow Sapphire continued

“And I want to be George. There’' should also Tommy, Lisa, Rebecca, Jake, Amanda,” Red Zircon added

Red Agate slammed his hands on his desk before standing up. He held in his scream, but steam still came from his mouth when he spoke.

“No! You are Red Zircon, and you are Yellow Sapphire. There’s no changing what you are.” Red Agate said

“That’s what we are, not who we are!” Red Zircon said, his hands balling into fists. “Besides, do you have any proof that we gave everyone names? This is a colony of laws, last I checked.” 

“You fixed the cameras outside, but why aren’t there any inside?” Yellow Sapphire asked

“Ugh! For too long have you two have disrupted the carefully calibrated school I created.” Red Agate sat down and spun around in his chair, “I may not have proof yet.” He turned back around to face the infant gems, “But I’m going to get you kids, one day very, very soon.”

“Alright.” Yellow Sapphire said with a shrug.

“Fair enough.” Red Zircon agreed

“Get back to class.” Red Agate said, annoyed at the infants lack of fear.

He still startled and surprised them. But those two gems looked at him as more of a nuisance. An annoyance like an octopus that managed to slip through the smallest cracks of coral after eating half a school of hogfish. 

They weren’t afraid of him. Not anymore. Red Agate sighed and went to the window. He saw his reflection. He groaned at the grumpy visage that stared boredly back at him.

Smile...

Something pulled at the corners of his lips. The smirk that slowly formed made him uncomfortable.

He had to focus. Zircon and Sapphire had to pay for all of their pranks. Not to mention, Red Agate had to deal with all of the painted lockers and doors. He found the datapad designated for repair and maintenance claims.

Leave them alone...

“No. It’s graffiti defiling school ground, it needs to go.” Red Agate responded. He grumbled and held his head, realizing what he just said. “There is no we, only me. There is no we, there is only me.”

If he was going to bring the two gems to justice, then his trap was bound to work. He activated the PA system.

“Attention everyone,” he announced, “just to remind you, the first of many monthly Invention Conventions will be on this Saturday. And attendance is mandatory for all gems and teachers.” He paused, hearing a chorus of groans echo in the school halls. “But don’t worry, since this is the first, we should be done by 9. PM!” He laughed before turning the system off.

That’ll get those gems. And that’ll certainly get Zircon and Sapphire to start thinking of how to ruin it. He wouldn't doubt it.

Unknowingly, Red Agates left hand gently pushed the maintenance pad into the trash. Human names forgotten, he pulled out his personal datapad to make the appropriate plans. George and Harold will be their own undoing.

...

Red Zircon and Yellow Sapphire will be their own undoing.

Whatever they were going to call themselves, the infants were going down!

[pirate-autobot]

The Experiment: Ch. 9

This had to be delayed because of a certain hurricane that decided to come to Florida. I’m okay, though.

Anyway, this might not be the best chapter, but Orange Peridot finally find a his way in the spotlight. Red Agate is unamused.

As always, the Captain Underpants gem au is by @angerydj

“What is it now Orange Peridot?” Red Agate asked boredly

As useful as the peridot was, he always had something to say to the agate. He would always straighten his posture as he straightened his visor then say something to help educate the gems or tell on Yellow Sapphire and Red Zircon.

“I feel the need to tell you this. I saw Yellow Sapphire and Red Zircon in the library looking up old gem records.” The peridot said

“And this concerns me... why?” Red Agate asked

“They were looking up agates sir! Aren’t you worried they might find out about you?” Peridot asked

“I have never been to Earth before. There’s nothing about me they could find. Now unless you have your mothers bubbled gem with you ready to pop and tell me what I need to know, then leave, Sneedly.” Red Agate said

“Uh, yes sir Principal Agate, sir.” Peridot said fearfully. “Oh! And I saw Sapphire and Zircon making their comics by the sports field.”

“Yeah yeah thank you, now go.” Red Agate said. The peridot bowed his head but stopped before the door.

“Do I get... extra credit for this?” He asked

Ah, yes. There it is.

Extra credit.

Some of the teachers came up with it as a means to make the infant gems feel better about their poor grades. They can do extra assignments or some other menial task. It was meant to help improve their grades, but really what was the point? If they failed at the regular task, who was to say they wouldn't fail their “extra credit assignment”?

But Orange Peridot was intent on earning as much extra credit as he could. He took after Citrine. In a way he wanted to prove his superiority over the other infant gems. It wasn’t hard for Red Agate to figure that out on day one.

“If you want extra credit so badly, then fix the exterior security cameras. They’ve been on the fritz for years.” Red Agate said with a sigh, conveniently leaving out the fact that no peridot had been able to fix them.

“Yes sir, Principal Agate, sir!” Orange Peridot said with a bow. He left before he could see the agate roll his eyes.

The peridot had also proposed the idea of a day where the infant gems could come together and show off something they created, an “invention convention” was what he called it. It was so obvious he wanted it to show off how smart he was.

Red Agate had to admit, his intellect was impressive. He was so smart, he didn’t even need extra credit. Unless it was for something else...

The gem shrugged the thought off as he walked through the school to the sports field.

The infant gem forms were way different than regular gems. They actually needed activity to help them grow stronger. Activities and sports were researched, a quartz was assigned to be the “gym” teacher, and a spot behind the school was dubbed the sports field.

Red Zircon and Yellow Sapphire sat behind a set of bleachers, laughing to themselves as they completed yet another comic of that Underpants guy. Red Agate sighed, something laughing in the back of his mind.

“There is no we, there is only me.” He whispered

The infants didn’t notice him, not even when he stood behind them. 

“We should have done an origin issue years ago.” Red Zircon commented

“Yeah, like, first!” Yellow Sapphire added

CLICK!

The infants froze at the sound. Their heads turned to see Red Agate standing over them, fists at his side. He snatched up the comic. He wanted to rip it to shreds.

No!

Red Agate instead rolled it up and waved it in the gems’ faces.

“I’ve told you two a thousand times not to draw these idiotic comics!” He yelled. Red Zircon quickly covered his ears. “Get back to class. Now!”

Escorting the gems, Red Agate noticed the camera on the corner of the roof turn toward him, the red light blinking. After escorting the infants back to class, he returned to his office.

“Will Snee-hm, Orange Peridot please come to my office?” He said over the intercom.

A few minutes passed by before the peridot finally arrived. He looked as smug and proud of himself as ever. Red Agate did everything in his power not to roll his eyes at the infant.

“As you may have noticed, I was able to repair those cameras. It was a matter of rewiring-” he started

“Yes yes, and the extra credit?” Red Agate started, holding up a small circular datapad. It resembled a zircon monocle, but it was able to store limited information. Just enough for Orange Peridots father Pearl to be pleased for whatever reason.

The peridot smiled. His fingers drummed in the palms of his hands. He really wanted the credit. Red Agate smirked.

“Now, I could give this to you, but I have a request.” He said

“Yes sir?” The peridot asked. Red Agate stood and walked around his desk to the front.

“After much consideration, I realized your 'invention convention’ idea is not as bad as I thought. You can bring any and all inventions you want to show off, and any other student could do the same.” He said, holding the credit down to the peridot. As the infant reached for it, the precious item was snatched away.

“But first,” Red Agate added, “I have one request...”