#sorry I’ve really been going feral since the script drop

[fiiiiin]

Ughhhhh the way Hangman says he’s grown into it but it’s obviously still a touchy subject and he tries so hard to deflect and switch the topic….they absolutely are exes there’s absolutely no way that amount of tension and hatred could’ve been due to anything else but lost love

[weeping-petals]

Alone but Found

Word Count 2,085

On a visit to the Prime Kindergarten, Garnet makes an improbable discovery

Periodically, the Red Eyes entered the atmosphere and scanned across the surface of the globe, scouting for survivors following the Gem Song. They were easy to avoid, but their presence was unnerving and at times appeared when it was inconvenient. Even for someone who could anticipate where the vessels would descend to.

 Garnet wondered if they could recognize the corrupted gems as gem-kind. There was a scenario yet where one of the scout vessels encountered and scanned one of the feral gem creatures. The closest she’d envisioned was a Red Eye coming too near a massive gem creature, the irate beast swatted down the vessel and pummeled it into nonexistence.

 This scenario did come to pass, but nothing of Home World’s reaction came of it. No more and no less of the searching vessels piloted across the globe, collecting information on the state of rebel camps, abandoned weapon forges, and deserted temples. Vessels remotely controlled, on a scripted course to gather intel on decimation. It was evidence of how little Home World viewed the state of the planet, but there was comfort in this projected indifference.

 The prime kindergarten was a husk of life, drained entirely of minerals and vitality. Garnet was only there to check if the injectors remained dormant and take stock of subterranean facilities. The Red Eye drifted down from the stratosphere – this she predicted. For the barest of moments, she fretted it was present to reactive injectors, though pointless that would be. Home World was not above creating incomplete gems to meet production goals, if the Beta Kindergarten was a fallback example of Home Worlds priorities.

 She didn’t need future vision to see how she could evade the vessel. Its actions were choreographed, easy to follow. The craft was in the way, however, and made mobility constrained. Attracted to movement, it would seek out spirals of dust or rocks crumbling from the parched cliff face. She remained perched on the injectors bulb, several meters above the canyon floor, far out of range.

 It does see something, though. Some action or deliberate interaction caused it to divert course. And activate. What does it see? That she cannot tell. It couldn’t be Spinel, the gem was off escorting Rose Quartz today. This change in rail-scouting was baffling, and alarming.

 Garnet leapt off the injector and used the holes in the cliff side to give pursuit, with caution on the wind. The Red Eye was doing its own thing, distracted by clusters of boulders and the splint pieces of an injector embedded under debris.

 Movement flashed below, not more than a meter off from the Red Eye. Movement. Not a stray breeze, not rocks tumbling. Something detached from the eroded scenery shuffled towards the rotating vessel.

 Oh! Oh….

 Soundlessly, Garnet skidded down the cliff and bolted across open ground. A blur of lilac scuttled among the choppy terrain, entranced by the bright hull of the vessel. Garnet leapt outward and caught the figure before the Red Eye could spin to it and initiate a scan.

 “Shh!” She hissed, once they ceased rolling. The creature, or gem, in her arms squirmed and whined. “Hold still!” Garnet stuffed her shoulders back into a narrow crevice, indifferent to the gem gnawing on her knuckles.

 The Red Eye swept by, scanning the rocks and dust kicked up by the intervention. It would deem the evidence irrelevant and move on. This Garnet predicted.

 She did not predict getting an elbow square to her shades and the gem scampering away. “Wait! Come back!”

 Thankfully, the gem squeezed between tight fissures that the Red Eye took no interest in. Unfortunately, Garnet was forced to creep above the ground, barely tracking the bright color of the gems complexion weaving among narrow fractures. She had to avert her attention to assure the Red Eye remained oblivious to the activity, while ducking and rolling behind ruins. Taking chance with the slimmest of scenarios, Garnet snatched up a sizable boulder and chucked beside the revolving craft.

 The Red Eye locked onto the location of impact caused by the projectile, and swept over to examine shattered pieces.

 Once she caught up with the gem, she called, “It’s too dangerous to be out here alone.”

 The gem paid no mind. She escaped the fissures and tore across the winding passages of the kindergarten. At least she was disinterested in a violent confrontation. “I’m a friend! Where are you going?”

 “Where are you going?” echoed back.

 That retort nearly made her stop and ponder, but the Ruby in her insisted she not stall. She divided her attention through the coursing pathways of possibility, and maintaining sight of the bright flashes of the gems hair against the drab terrain. Overtaking the gem would be simple enough, but she was interested in where the eventual was leading them. Now was not the time to be rash, this was the time to be cautious and patient. She maintained distance, feigning inability to catch up.

 The race eventually led into a deep canyon, along where several deep breaks dotted the cliff face. At the base of the vertical wall, the gem dove into an opening.

 Garnet eased out of the sprint and closed in on the silhouette. There was only one way the gem could get out.

 “Hello?” she called. “Are you in there?”

 A pause. Then the voice echoed back. “Are you in there?”

 She stayed back from the opening. The gem was not about to bolt again. “You don’t need to be frightened. I won’t hurt you.” No reply. “How long have you been here? Are there others with you?”

 “Are there others with you.”

 “Do you know who… you are?”

 “Who you are.” The gem would not emerge.

 Maybe it was because she was a fusion, and didn’t know how to respond to this. Garnet was burning with questions and curiosity, but every scenario she pursued for answers led to more of the echoing. This was peculiar.

 “You’re an Amethyst,” she replied. The voice within the cuvee retained silence. “But all of the Amethyst from this kindergarten were evacuated long ago.” A bit of rustling flittered around inside the hole. “And….” She let her words drain away.

 “There are others like me,” she offered, instead. “There are not many of us left, but we’re holding together. You can come with me, if you like?”

 “Come with me.” The round face peered out of the entrance, but the gem dared go no further. She gazed at the Garnet, eyes large.

 “You’re all alone,” Garnet hummed. “Waiting for someone. For orders, that never reached you. I want you to come with me. You should meet the others.”

 “Orders. Amethyst. Alone.” The face ducked back into the hole.

 Garnet stood and averted her eyes, scanning where the Red Eye was last hovering. Its scripted movement worried her in no way. The vessel was already ascending towards the crestline of the canyon walls, fading into the haze of silt spiraling on stray gusts.

 “If you’re not ready.” Garnet moved back from the hole and crouched beside a larger, more impressive cutout. “Then we can wait. Together. You shouldn’t be alone. No one should ever emerge alone. I’m sorry it’s taken this long, for someone to find you. It shouldn’t have been this way.”

 A year and a day later.

 An intense storm swept through the region, torrents of water flooded the prime kindergarten. The soil robbed of nutrients, was stony and dense like amber.

 Garnet was coated in clay and wet, but she had not budged an inch since she took post outside the small exit point of the Amethyst. Though quiet and patient, not a sound rang from the cuvee, no indication that the Amethyst was still within. But Garnet knew she was there.

 Then at long last, the same face peered out at her. Water sloshed around the stout gems limbs as she edged into the downpour, eyes glistening with wonderment.

 “Amethyst. Alone.” She restated.

 “Not anymore,” Garnet assured. “You’ll be with others. We’re all different, but we’re all good. You won’t be alone.”

 The Amethyst frowned and tilted her head. “You won’t… be alone.”

 When they arrived at the Crystal Temple, it looked like an argument was in full steam. Not one of them noticed the light beam travel to the platform and deposit their forms, amidst echoes and mocking barks. Rose Quart’s stood off beside a glittering wall, shaking her head. Spinel was deflated on the floor, pigtails drooped, while Pearl rattled through a tangent about communication arrays and tampering with equipment, or something.

 Garnet sighed loudly, effectively catching the attention of each. Varied expressions of shock flashed through the gems.

 “I’ve had this Amethyst for a year and two days,” she began. “And I’ve decided, if anything were to happen to her, I’d crack everyone in this room. And then myself.”

 The Amethyst beamed and waved. “Hey’all!”

 “Oh my stars!” Pearl gasped.

 Spinel poofed in a flash of pink.

 “An Amethyst? A miniature Amethyst! She’s so compact and adorable!” Rose rushed to Garnet and knelt to view the gem held in Garnet’s arms. “Where have you been? Where did you come from?”

 “Have you! Where come!”

 “Her communication skills… are different.” Garnet explained. She let Rose take the gem from her arms, and hold Amethyst at arm’s length. The Amethyst swayed her feet.

 “We’re goin’ to the Crystal Temple Gems!”

 “How can we be sure she’s not a spy sent from Home World?” Pearl posed. She plucked Spinel’s gem off the floor and moved closer, to inspect the Amethyst. “Not to question your abilities, Garnet. But…” Her eyes traced their way to the Spinel on her palm.

 “Poofed!” crowed Amethyst. She waved her arms out midair, while Rose spun around and around.

 “That?” Garnet questioned. “She was at the prime kindergarten, trying to antagonize a Red Eye.” Pearl nearly dropped Spinel. “Well, not really trying. She doesn’t know what they are.”

 Rose swept Amethyst to the ground and set her down. “I’m a Rose Quartz,” she stated, to the beholding stare of the small gem. “Do you know what you are?”

 “Amethyst!”

 “Why were you waiting in the kindergarten?”

 Amethyst shot her shoulders up. “Dunno.”

 “How did she survive the attack?” Pearl posed. She set Spinel on a jut of rock, pinned by crystals. “Even on the polar side of the planet’s globe, gem creatures have begun appearing.”

 “Unless, she had not formed yet,” Rose poised. The amethyst tugged at her dress end, then began fanning it. “Is that a possibility?”

 “That is an astronomically small possibility. It’s the only one I can see.” Garnet moved over and tugged up the Amethyst, before she could crawl under Rose’s dress. “In other words, not a spy.” The Amethyst thrashed in her grip.

 “Small possibility! Survive! What is this place?”

 “This makes no sense.” Pearl cupped her chin and followed Garnet as she rocked the unruly gem in her arms. “She should know where she is. Her purpose. Why does she keep repeating what we say?” She bolted upright when the gem slapped her. “The nerve!”

 “Can’t really say,” Garnet replied. She dropped the Amethyst, the gem not expecting this hit the hard floor and tumbled to her backside. “Go run off now. Explore.”

 “WHOOOO!” Amethyst ran off towards the opening of the cavern and the beach outside.

 “The corruption song,” Rose murmured. “Maybe she didn’t survive the effects.”

 “Or,” Garnet posed, “if she emerged late, as you suspect, there was a problem with the injection. Either way, it doesn’t matter to speculate. I don’t imagine Home World would have much use for an Amethyst of her stature. Ah, and she has an intriguing aptitude for shape shifting.”

 The Amethyst was running by along the seashore, and Garnet called out for her. “Show them your thing!”

 As requested, the Amethyst leapt high and reformed her shape. In a flash, she was a roaming vessel glaring into the cave. For a brief spell, Pearl and Rose Quartz became alarmed, springing into a formation for defense. The shape was convincing, even if the color was all wrong. And Red Eye’s didn’t have two large eyeballs adorning their slopping sides. This one, too, could not stay airborne for more than a second before it crashed into the sand. The Amethyst resumed her normal shape, and spat out a wad of sand.

 “That was amazing, Little Amethyst!” Rose rushed down the steps. “Can you do gems? Do Pearl!”

 “Why me?”

 “How about humans?”