Fic: Atop the Crystal Universe - Part 2
Title: Atop the Crystal Universe
Author: lizynob
Summary: After the Rebellion, Tiger's Eye and his small team of Crystal Gems stayed on Earth to protect the planet and its inhabitants. Everything has been relatively peaceful for them, but one day an old foe suddenly shows up and they all must work to stop this new threat before it reaches the planet.
Pairings: None
Warnings: A few references to past Homeworld experimentation upon one of the characters
Word Count: 5,623
Author’s note: All characters are referred to by Gem name only. If I've done my job right, it shouldn't be hard to follow who is who throughout the fic. But I've included a list of all Gems and Fusions and the corresponding characters just in case anyone gets lost.
Gems
Tiger’s Eye - Linkara
Hematite - Spoony
Morganite - Margaret
Chrysocolla - Wayne
Turquoise - Oscar
Cat’s Eye - Mechakara
Amber - Allen
Emerald - Lord Vyce
Fusions
Sodalite - Wayne and Oscar
Labradorite - Wayne and Spoony (Insano)
Seraphinite - Oscar and LInkara (Linksano)
Heliotrope/Bloodstone - Spoony and Mechakara (Black Lantern Spoony)
“They’ve beamed aboard you know,” Amber remarked to his escort Gem.
“I already know that,” Cat’s Eye remarked curtly. “Prior briefing already expressed the possibility of old Rebellion Gems still lingering on the planet. Risk assessment analysis indicates they pose no threat to our mission. They will be subjected to their punishments soon enough.”
Amber expected nothing less and kept his arms crossed. “Would you like me to go ahead and subdue them?”
“If you so desire,” Cat’s Eye waved off blandly, looking at the video feeds from within the ship, showing the spread out intruders lurking through various corridors. “I only wish to have an audience with Tiger’s Eye before he is dealt with. The rest of the traitors are useless.”
“Even the Kindergarten Gem?” Amber questioned.
“Useless,” Cat’s Eye reaffirmed. “Nothing more than an archaic prototype. Deal with them if you wish, liaison. Homeworld plans will proceed as scheduled.”
Amber shrugged and walked off, leaving the calculating Gem alone to continue viewing the video feed for a little while longer.
“This has been long overdue, Tiger’s Eye,” he said to himself, striding purposefully towards the pathway that would lead him to the other Gem. He did not hurry; felt no rush despite the simmering temper rising within.
“If you want to face me, go ahead and do it already,” he commanded icily.
A brief flash was the only indication made, but it was more than enough for Cat’s Eye. “There you are,” he snarled, grabbing ahold of his enemy’s arm and flinging him into a wall.
Tiger’s Eye was quick to bounce back, however, and the two circled each other, eyes glaring.
“It’s been a long time, Cat’s Eye,” Tiger’s Eye said. “You seem just as arrogant as ever.”
“And you are just as imprudent,” Cat’s Eye remarked. “Is this really what you’ve let yourself become? How disgraceful. To think you used to be considered a hero at one point. I remember when other Gems used to praise your name back on Homeworld, when I thought I was lucky to be your subordinate. You were given such an important assignment when they sent you here, and you went and turned on your own planet for a bunch of pathetic meatbags.” Cat’s Eye grabbed a destabilizer from his belt and gripped it tightly. “You are trash!” He snarled, moving in for a strike.
Tiger’s Eye dodged the pointed weapon. “I am a Crystal Gem!” He threw his body into a solid punch to Cat’s Eye’s midsection, but the moment his gauntlets made contact, nothing but pain rippled up his arm.
“Augh!” Tiger’s Eye fell back, withdrawing his fist. “Did you fuse with a piece of lead or something?” he exclaimed, wincing slightly.
“As if I would degrade myself by fusing with anything,” Cat’s Eye remarked snidely. “Everything I am is due to my own efforts and upgrades. Homeworld has advanced far beyond anything you remember.” He took the opportunity to reciprocate the blow, forgoing his choice weapon in order to slam his own fist into Tiger’s Eye while he was down.
Tiger’s Eye was quick to evade, however, but Cat’s Eye blocked another blow. “No wonder Homeworld was desperate to replace you,” he said. “Luckily for them, I had everything you had, only better. And I look forward to seeing your ultimate fate. Do you know what Homeworld did to your precious Crystal Gems? You’ll find out soon enough. You and your whole pathetic crew.”
Tiger’s Eye had heard enough, and he wasted no time throwing himself in for another attack. But Cat’s Eye matched him beat for beat and Tiger’s Eye’s gauntness seemed to bounce right off Cat’s Eye. Until finally, with a gleam of personal vengeance in blazing eyes, Cat’s Eye slammed the destabilizer into Tiger’s Eye’s chest; watching as the other Gem gaped helplessly, his form cracking from the inside out. And then, in a sudden, violent action, Tiger’s Eye’s form came undone and nothing but a banded gemstone rested on the floor.
Cat’s Eye was tempted to kick it, or perhaps hurl it into the wall and watch it crack, but he straightened up. His battle had been quick and decisive and a true showcase of his superiority. The fact that it had been too short for personal satisfaction was not something relevant to his mission.
“You know, they have a word for Gems like you on Earth,” a voice rang out from behind him.
Cat’s Eye turned and his eyes narrowed at the nuisance coming to bother him. He struck out with the crackling destabilizer, but Hematite blocked it with his sword and then quickly sliced at the air in front of Cat’s Eye.
“One thing I really like about humans,” Hematite continued, “is they have some of the best ways of expressing things. And you, Cat’s Eye? You. Are. An. ASSHOLE!”
The grey Gem threw himself into his next attack and there was a wild flurry of strikes from both, a clanging, sparking back-and-forth with every jab of metal and swipe of blade. Hematite didn’t let his guard down for a second, too much of a righteous whirl of emotion upon seeing his friend torn apart. He acted without thinking, simply following the patterns of Cat’s Eye’s movement to block and dodge until he saw an opening.
With a fierce look on his face, he lunged at the other Gem with all his force, swinging his sword down to deal a deciding blow.
But as soon as the weapons connected, something happened, and Hematite had only one last appropriate Earth word to use before his entire figure began to dissipate into a bright glow.
“…fuck.”
***
“I’m a bit surprised you two aren’t fused,” Morganite remarked to Chrysocolla and Turquoise as the three darted along an empty corridor.
“It doesn’t make much sense, does it?” Turquoise acknowledged.
“Fusing all the time when it never matters and then staying separate in a battle. Completely backwards, yes,” Chrysocolla added.
“So…is it a strategy or something?” Morganite asked with curiosity.
The two other Gems hummed in thought together for a brief moment.
“In a way,” Chrysocolla shrugged.
“A pair of two smaller bodies can have many advantages over a single large body in multiple situations,” Turquoise said.
“Perhaps it would be otherwise if our fused state gave us more than just one set of hands,” Chrysocolla lamented.
“I know,” Turquoise agreed instantly. “Four eyes but only two hands? More to see and less to act with. The upgraded weaponry makes up for it sometimes, but still.”
Morganite chuckled slightly. “You two really are the oddest Gems I’ve ever met.”
“We aim to please,” Turquoise grinned.
“Oh, and apologies for earlier by the way,” Chrysocolla added.
“What, Labradorite and Seraphinite?” Morganite asked. “Don’t worry about it. It really wasn’t a big deal. They’re like… like those human children you see that never want to put their toys down. That’s all.”
Chrysocolla and Turquoise didn’t have the chance to break out into laughter at the comparison because an open room with a beckoning array of panels and screens was dead ahead.
“Perfect,” Chrysocolla smiled. “We’ll be able to able direct the ship now. And possibly uncover the data files for the current mission logs- find out what exactly Cat’s Eye’s been up to.”
“This is almost too easy though” Turquoise said warily as they entered. “We’ve had no interference of any kind. We haven’t even had to hide from any hostile Gems, or even see any other opponents. This ship isn’t that big. We should have at least come across something.”
“You mean…something like that?” Chrysocolla pointed with wide eyes at one of the video feeds.
“Oh… Oh no…” Turquoise’s expression soon matched Chrysocolla’s.
“Wait, zoom in on that!” Morganite yelped.
“Which part of it?” Turquoise muttered.
“No, there!” Morganite pointed to the corner of the screen where a barely visible golden dot rested.
“On it.” Chrysocolla’s fingers danced over the control panel, piecing together functions at rapid speed until the right combination of sequences was hit and he had control over the zoom function. He honed in on the dot and it was clear to see the familiar brown and gold bands.
“Tiger’s Eye!” They all exclaimed.
“I have to go get him,” Morganite said instantly. “His gem will get stepped on or shattered or lost or worse!”
“Right, let’s go,” the blue speckled Gems agreed, but Morganite pushed them back.
“No, you two have to stay here. You’re our ticket out of here when this is over, and you have to get those data files. I’ll be fine.”
“But-“
Morganite didn’t turn to see which one had said it. “I’ll be fine,” she repeated as she took off running, unaware of another figure watching from around an unseen corner.
***
How did this happen? I didn’t want this to happen.
THIS CAN’T HAPPEN! I AM STRONGER THAN THIS.
Oh are you?
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?
Heh, what’s it look like? I’m ruining your stupid plans. Asshole.
NO YOU WILL NOT. I REFUSE TO BE A-
“-fusion?”
The word slipped out from the new Gem’s mouth, and a sickening smile spread across its lips. “Hate to break it to you, Cat’s Eye, but you’re not you anymore.”
“And just what am I?” Cat’s Eye’s voice spat out, momentarily taking over before being shoved back down.
The Gem turned to look at the reflective surface of the ship’s walls. Two sunken, pitch black eyes peered back from an ashen-green face, four arms twisted around in irregular angles, and the entirely of the lumbering body was splattered with red droplets.
“Heliotrope,” the Gem answered in a low growl. “Or if you’d rather… Bloodstone.”
The fusion twisted around, shuffling in an uncoordinated fashion as one inner consciousness struggled to break free while the other fought to retain the two together. Bitterness and rage blossomed, which only seemed to hold the fusion together like a glue and the Gem snarled, lips pulling back over unnaturally sharp teeth.
So consumed was it in its own misery, that the light-colored Gem almost went by unnoticed. But the moment Heliotrope spotted the smaller Gem scooping up the forgotten Tiger’s Eye and putting in her pocket, he blocked the path of escape.
With a menacing gleam, Heliotrope held out Cat’s Eye’s destabilizer in one of his hands and Hematite’s sword in another. The destabilizer stabbed the weapon and the sword split in half before the two shards quickly reformed into a double scythe.
Morganite backed up slightly, trying to determine how to avoid the twirling blades.
“Don’t hold back,” Heliotrope spat.
Morganite blinked. “What?” She had to crane her head back to even properly see the fusion’s face and for a few moments, she thought she could see Hematite’s cocky, overconfident grin that he usually reserved for Tiger’s Eye when he had a plan that was absurdly risky.
“I said. Don’t. Hold. Back.” There was a momentary shift in Heliotrope, and there was a distinctly Hematite gleam across the fusion’s face that almost immediately melted away as the black eyes rolled around and the scythe suddenly went swinging.
In an instant, Morganite had already swerved out the way, ducking and twisting out of the blade’s path. “Okay. You asked for it,” she whispered fiercely.
It was like the flip of a switch, a switch she had before never turned on willingly since the Rebellion. All at once, her speed increased and her thoughts shut down. She did not see Heliotrope, or a Gem at all in front of her. She only saw one thing: a target. And within that target: weakness.
“Too slow,” she noted as the blades sliced through the air over and over and her arms clicked as a burning white-hot energy burst from her wrists. Then her shoulder, then her neck, her arms; anywhere a shot lined up, there was a beam bursting out of her from the muzzles built within her carefully crafted figure. She moved fast enough to be a blur, new energy blasts already forming while previous ones were still on the path to contact. Nothing else existed except for the next weak point to strike.
Heliotrope spun the twin-bladed scythe around, passing it through all his hands and reflecting off as many beams as possible and trying to get in an attack edgewise, but the sheer bombardment of blasts meant that many were connecting, and each one brought gruesome snarl out of the Gem’s throat. One unavoidable blow to the legs caused the Bloodstone to falter and when he lifted his head back up, the black eyes reflected nothing but pure white as a barrage of point blank beams pierced into him; the result of which was utter collapse in a burst of light as two gems clinked to the floor.
Morganite nearly fired off again, ready to finish off her opponent for good. Move on to the next one. The next target. There was always a next target. Must destroy and destroy and destroy like a good weapon.
The word suddenly made her pause. Weapon… Yes... she was a weapon. But not… No.. Because… Because…
“Partner! Friend!” Morganite gasped out, skidding to a halt, nearly falling on her knees as she remembered the world around her.
Frantically, she grabbed Hematite’s gemstone and bolted off toward the control room where Sodalite was now sitting with both hands pressed into the panel, visible codes of data flashing through all four eyes.
“Okay, I got them both,” Morganite said, holding Hematite and Tiger’s Eye. Can we go home now?”
Sodalite tried to say something but the only let out a shuddering noise while massive quantities of information continued passing through him until finally his hands jerked back and both sets of eyes blinked back to normal.
“We have to stop them!” Sodalite suddenly shouted.
“What?”
“They’re escaping! I tried to force a shutdown of the evacuation processes but was overridden and there’s no time and Amber’s going to-“
There was a deep rumbling rippled throughout the ship and Sodalite ran to one of the windows. “Too late,” he moaned, watching a bright sphere detach from the vessel in the direction of Homeworld.
***
“I think this is officially becoming a thing,” Hematite noted, sprawled out on the couch after reforming.
Morganite smiled. “You asked for it.”
Hematite grinned back. “Yeah, I did. My plans are brilliant that way.”
“Your plans are horrible and nearly get yourself destroyed,” Tiger’s Eye said with a roll of his eyes.
“You’re just jealous because Cat’s Eye took you down in like, one minute flat,” Hematite retorted.
“He had a- a- I don’t know what exactly it was,” Tiger’s Eye said.
“A destabilizer,” Chrysocolla supplied. “A rather fascinating device.”
“But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what we’ve found,” Turquoise added.
“You mean other than Amber grabbing Cat’s Eye and escaping?” Tiger’s Eye remarked before quickly giving Morganite a look. “Which wasn’t your fault.”
Morganite didn’t look entirely convinced but didn’t bring say anything other than “Who even is Amber?”
“A liaison from Homeworld who is currently overseeing the Crystal sector,” Turquoise answered. “Cat’s Eye was his escort.”
“And even that doesn’t compare to what we discovered next. You won’t believe what I found,” Chrysocolla said excitedly.
“You mean what I found,” Turquoise corrected.
“Well, technically what Sodalite found,” Chrysocolla amended.
“Okay, whoever found it, what is it?” Tiger’s Eye pressed impatiently.
“The scouter’s name is Vigilant, and it belongs to Emerald’s league,” Chrysocolla said. “That came off of Emerald’s war ship.”
“Wait, what?!” Tiger’s Eye exclaimed.
“Why would Cat’s Eye be using one of Emerald’s ships?” Morganite asked.
“Who cares?” Hematite laughed. “We stole one of Emerald’s ships! This is amazing!”
“This is dangerous,” Turquoise corrected.
“…And kind of amazing,” Tiger’s Eye admitted.
“And kind of awful?” Morganite tried for.
“And kind of too soon to be jumping to conclusions,” Chrysocolla finished.
“So what now?” Hematite asked. “No offense, but can I at least take one day off?”
Tiger’s Eye nodded. “Hematite’s right. We need some time to go over everything we’ve gained today and formulate a plan for our next course of action.”
“And by ‘go over everything’ you mean ‘read comic books’, don’t you?” Morganite gestured to the issue of Superman Tiger’s Eye was already holding, the same one from earlier.
Tiger’s Eye did look somewhat guilty but didn’t set the book aside. “I still need to finish this one,” he said in way of defense. “I’ll be able to think more clearly once I’m not thinking about how I’m only partially through the story.”
“Glad to know you have your priorities,” Chrysocolla stated dryly.
“Hey, you never know, maybe I’ll get a good idea from it. These things do have some good strategies in them sometimes.”
He was met with a few looks of incredulity but then acceptance.
“Whatever,” Hematite shrugged.
“Just don’t take forever about it,” Turquoise added.
“I’ll be in my room,” Morganite said.
The Gems parted ways, leaving Tiger’s Eye alone on the couch to curl up and open where he left off.
“Alright,” he said to himself. “Comic book first, then back to saving the Earth.”
Author: lizynob
Summary: After the Rebellion, Tiger's Eye and his small team of Crystal Gems stayed on Earth to protect the planet and its inhabitants. Everything has been relatively peaceful for them, but one day an old foe suddenly shows up and they all must work to stop this new threat before it reaches the planet.
Pairings: None
Warnings: A few references to past Homeworld experimentation upon one of the characters
Word Count: 5,623
Author’s note: All characters are referred to by Gem name only. If I've done my job right, it shouldn't be hard to follow who is who throughout the fic. But I've included a list of all Gems and Fusions and the corresponding characters just in case anyone gets lost.
Gems
Tiger’s Eye - Linkara
Hematite - Spoony
Morganite - Margaret
Chrysocolla - Wayne
Turquoise - Oscar
Cat’s Eye - Mechakara
Amber - Allen
Emerald - Lord Vyce
Fusions
Sodalite - Wayne and Oscar
Labradorite - Wayne and Spoony (Insano)
Seraphinite - Oscar and LInkara (Linksano)
Heliotrope/Bloodstone - Spoony and Mechakara (Black Lantern Spoony)
“They’ve beamed aboard you know,” Amber remarked to his escort Gem.
“I already know that,” Cat’s Eye remarked curtly. “Prior briefing already expressed the possibility of old Rebellion Gems still lingering on the planet. Risk assessment analysis indicates they pose no threat to our mission. They will be subjected to their punishments soon enough.”
Amber expected nothing less and kept his arms crossed. “Would you like me to go ahead and subdue them?”
“If you so desire,” Cat’s Eye waved off blandly, looking at the video feeds from within the ship, showing the spread out intruders lurking through various corridors. “I only wish to have an audience with Tiger’s Eye before he is dealt with. The rest of the traitors are useless.”
“Even the Kindergarten Gem?” Amber questioned.
“Useless,” Cat’s Eye reaffirmed. “Nothing more than an archaic prototype. Deal with them if you wish, liaison. Homeworld plans will proceed as scheduled.”
Amber shrugged and walked off, leaving the calculating Gem alone to continue viewing the video feed for a little while longer.
“This has been long overdue, Tiger’s Eye,” he said to himself, striding purposefully towards the pathway that would lead him to the other Gem. He did not hurry; felt no rush despite the simmering temper rising within.
“If you want to face me, go ahead and do it already,” he commanded icily.
A brief flash was the only indication made, but it was more than enough for Cat’s Eye. “There you are,” he snarled, grabbing ahold of his enemy’s arm and flinging him into a wall.
Tiger’s Eye was quick to bounce back, however, and the two circled each other, eyes glaring.
“It’s been a long time, Cat’s Eye,” Tiger’s Eye said. “You seem just as arrogant as ever.”
“And you are just as imprudent,” Cat’s Eye remarked. “Is this really what you’ve let yourself become? How disgraceful. To think you used to be considered a hero at one point. I remember when other Gems used to praise your name back on Homeworld, when I thought I was lucky to be your subordinate. You were given such an important assignment when they sent you here, and you went and turned on your own planet for a bunch of pathetic meatbags.” Cat’s Eye grabbed a destabilizer from his belt and gripped it tightly. “You are trash!” He snarled, moving in for a strike.
Tiger’s Eye dodged the pointed weapon. “I am a Crystal Gem!” He threw his body into a solid punch to Cat’s Eye’s midsection, but the moment his gauntlets made contact, nothing but pain rippled up his arm.
“Augh!” Tiger’s Eye fell back, withdrawing his fist. “Did you fuse with a piece of lead or something?” he exclaimed, wincing slightly.
“As if I would degrade myself by fusing with anything,” Cat’s Eye remarked snidely. “Everything I am is due to my own efforts and upgrades. Homeworld has advanced far beyond anything you remember.” He took the opportunity to reciprocate the blow, forgoing his choice weapon in order to slam his own fist into Tiger’s Eye while he was down.
Tiger’s Eye was quick to evade, however, but Cat’s Eye blocked another blow. “No wonder Homeworld was desperate to replace you,” he said. “Luckily for them, I had everything you had, only better. And I look forward to seeing your ultimate fate. Do you know what Homeworld did to your precious Crystal Gems? You’ll find out soon enough. You and your whole pathetic crew.”
Tiger’s Eye had heard enough, and he wasted no time throwing himself in for another attack. But Cat’s Eye matched him beat for beat and Tiger’s Eye’s gauntness seemed to bounce right off Cat’s Eye. Until finally, with a gleam of personal vengeance in blazing eyes, Cat’s Eye slammed the destabilizer into Tiger’s Eye’s chest; watching as the other Gem gaped helplessly, his form cracking from the inside out. And then, in a sudden, violent action, Tiger’s Eye’s form came undone and nothing but a banded gemstone rested on the floor.
Cat’s Eye was tempted to kick it, or perhaps hurl it into the wall and watch it crack, but he straightened up. His battle had been quick and decisive and a true showcase of his superiority. The fact that it had been too short for personal satisfaction was not something relevant to his mission.
“You know, they have a word for Gems like you on Earth,” a voice rang out from behind him.
Cat’s Eye turned and his eyes narrowed at the nuisance coming to bother him. He struck out with the crackling destabilizer, but Hematite blocked it with his sword and then quickly sliced at the air in front of Cat’s Eye.
“One thing I really like about humans,” Hematite continued, “is they have some of the best ways of expressing things. And you, Cat’s Eye? You. Are. An. ASSHOLE!”
The grey Gem threw himself into his next attack and there was a wild flurry of strikes from both, a clanging, sparking back-and-forth with every jab of metal and swipe of blade. Hematite didn’t let his guard down for a second, too much of a righteous whirl of emotion upon seeing his friend torn apart. He acted without thinking, simply following the patterns of Cat’s Eye’s movement to block and dodge until he saw an opening.
With a fierce look on his face, he lunged at the other Gem with all his force, swinging his sword down to deal a deciding blow.
But as soon as the weapons connected, something happened, and Hematite had only one last appropriate Earth word to use before his entire figure began to dissipate into a bright glow.
“…fuck.”
***
“I’m a bit surprised you two aren’t fused,” Morganite remarked to Chrysocolla and Turquoise as the three darted along an empty corridor.
“It doesn’t make much sense, does it?” Turquoise acknowledged.
“Fusing all the time when it never matters and then staying separate in a battle. Completely backwards, yes,” Chrysocolla added.
“So…is it a strategy or something?” Morganite asked with curiosity.
The two other Gems hummed in thought together for a brief moment.
“In a way,” Chrysocolla shrugged.
“A pair of two smaller bodies can have many advantages over a single large body in multiple situations,” Turquoise said.
“Perhaps it would be otherwise if our fused state gave us more than just one set of hands,” Chrysocolla lamented.
“I know,” Turquoise agreed instantly. “Four eyes but only two hands? More to see and less to act with. The upgraded weaponry makes up for it sometimes, but still.”
Morganite chuckled slightly. “You two really are the oddest Gems I’ve ever met.”
“We aim to please,” Turquoise grinned.
“Oh, and apologies for earlier by the way,” Chrysocolla added.
“What, Labradorite and Seraphinite?” Morganite asked. “Don’t worry about it. It really wasn’t a big deal. They’re like… like those human children you see that never want to put their toys down. That’s all.”
Chrysocolla and Turquoise didn’t have the chance to break out into laughter at the comparison because an open room with a beckoning array of panels and screens was dead ahead.
“Perfect,” Chrysocolla smiled. “We’ll be able to able direct the ship now. And possibly uncover the data files for the current mission logs- find out what exactly Cat’s Eye’s been up to.”
“This is almost too easy though” Turquoise said warily as they entered. “We’ve had no interference of any kind. We haven’t even had to hide from any hostile Gems, or even see any other opponents. This ship isn’t that big. We should have at least come across something.”
“You mean…something like that?” Chrysocolla pointed with wide eyes at one of the video feeds.
“Oh… Oh no…” Turquoise’s expression soon matched Chrysocolla’s.
“Wait, zoom in on that!” Morganite yelped.
“Which part of it?” Turquoise muttered.
“No, there!” Morganite pointed to the corner of the screen where a barely visible golden dot rested.
“On it.” Chrysocolla’s fingers danced over the control panel, piecing together functions at rapid speed until the right combination of sequences was hit and he had control over the zoom function. He honed in on the dot and it was clear to see the familiar brown and gold bands.
“Tiger’s Eye!” They all exclaimed.
“I have to go get him,” Morganite said instantly. “His gem will get stepped on or shattered or lost or worse!”
“Right, let’s go,” the blue speckled Gems agreed, but Morganite pushed them back.
“No, you two have to stay here. You’re our ticket out of here when this is over, and you have to get those data files. I’ll be fine.”
“But-“
Morganite didn’t turn to see which one had said it. “I’ll be fine,” she repeated as she took off running, unaware of another figure watching from around an unseen corner.
***
How did this happen? I didn’t want this to happen.
THIS CAN’T HAPPEN! I AM STRONGER THAN THIS.
Oh are you?
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?
Heh, what’s it look like? I’m ruining your stupid plans. Asshole.
NO YOU WILL NOT. I REFUSE TO BE A-
“-fusion?”
The word slipped out from the new Gem’s mouth, and a sickening smile spread across its lips. “Hate to break it to you, Cat’s Eye, but you’re not you anymore.”
“And just what am I?” Cat’s Eye’s voice spat out, momentarily taking over before being shoved back down.
The Gem turned to look at the reflective surface of the ship’s walls. Two sunken, pitch black eyes peered back from an ashen-green face, four arms twisted around in irregular angles, and the entirely of the lumbering body was splattered with red droplets.
“Heliotrope,” the Gem answered in a low growl. “Or if you’d rather… Bloodstone.”
The fusion twisted around, shuffling in an uncoordinated fashion as one inner consciousness struggled to break free while the other fought to retain the two together. Bitterness and rage blossomed, which only seemed to hold the fusion together like a glue and the Gem snarled, lips pulling back over unnaturally sharp teeth.
So consumed was it in its own misery, that the light-colored Gem almost went by unnoticed. But the moment Heliotrope spotted the smaller Gem scooping up the forgotten Tiger’s Eye and putting in her pocket, he blocked the path of escape.
With a menacing gleam, Heliotrope held out Cat’s Eye’s destabilizer in one of his hands and Hematite’s sword in another. The destabilizer stabbed the weapon and the sword split in half before the two shards quickly reformed into a double scythe.
Morganite backed up slightly, trying to determine how to avoid the twirling blades.
“Don’t hold back,” Heliotrope spat.
Morganite blinked. “What?” She had to crane her head back to even properly see the fusion’s face and for a few moments, she thought she could see Hematite’s cocky, overconfident grin that he usually reserved for Tiger’s Eye when he had a plan that was absurdly risky.
“I said. Don’t. Hold. Back.” There was a momentary shift in Heliotrope, and there was a distinctly Hematite gleam across the fusion’s face that almost immediately melted away as the black eyes rolled around and the scythe suddenly went swinging.
In an instant, Morganite had already swerved out the way, ducking and twisting out of the blade’s path. “Okay. You asked for it,” she whispered fiercely.
It was like the flip of a switch, a switch she had before never turned on willingly since the Rebellion. All at once, her speed increased and her thoughts shut down. She did not see Heliotrope, or a Gem at all in front of her. She only saw one thing: a target. And within that target: weakness.
“Too slow,” she noted as the blades sliced through the air over and over and her arms clicked as a burning white-hot energy burst from her wrists. Then her shoulder, then her neck, her arms; anywhere a shot lined up, there was a beam bursting out of her from the muzzles built within her carefully crafted figure. She moved fast enough to be a blur, new energy blasts already forming while previous ones were still on the path to contact. Nothing else existed except for the next weak point to strike.
Heliotrope spun the twin-bladed scythe around, passing it through all his hands and reflecting off as many beams as possible and trying to get in an attack edgewise, but the sheer bombardment of blasts meant that many were connecting, and each one brought gruesome snarl out of the Gem’s throat. One unavoidable blow to the legs caused the Bloodstone to falter and when he lifted his head back up, the black eyes reflected nothing but pure white as a barrage of point blank beams pierced into him; the result of which was utter collapse in a burst of light as two gems clinked to the floor.
Morganite nearly fired off again, ready to finish off her opponent for good. Move on to the next one. The next target. There was always a next target. Must destroy and destroy and destroy like a good weapon.
The word suddenly made her pause. Weapon… Yes... she was a weapon. But not… No.. Because… Because…
“Partner! Friend!” Morganite gasped out, skidding to a halt, nearly falling on her knees as she remembered the world around her.
Frantically, she grabbed Hematite’s gemstone and bolted off toward the control room where Sodalite was now sitting with both hands pressed into the panel, visible codes of data flashing through all four eyes.
“Okay, I got them both,” Morganite said, holding Hematite and Tiger’s Eye. Can we go home now?”
Sodalite tried to say something but the only let out a shuddering noise while massive quantities of information continued passing through him until finally his hands jerked back and both sets of eyes blinked back to normal.
“We have to stop them!” Sodalite suddenly shouted.
“What?”
“They’re escaping! I tried to force a shutdown of the evacuation processes but was overridden and there’s no time and Amber’s going to-“
There was a deep rumbling rippled throughout the ship and Sodalite ran to one of the windows. “Too late,” he moaned, watching a bright sphere detach from the vessel in the direction of Homeworld.
***
“I think this is officially becoming a thing,” Hematite noted, sprawled out on the couch after reforming.
Morganite smiled. “You asked for it.”
Hematite grinned back. “Yeah, I did. My plans are brilliant that way.”
“Your plans are horrible and nearly get yourself destroyed,” Tiger’s Eye said with a roll of his eyes.
“You’re just jealous because Cat’s Eye took you down in like, one minute flat,” Hematite retorted.
“He had a- a- I don’t know what exactly it was,” Tiger’s Eye said.
“A destabilizer,” Chrysocolla supplied. “A rather fascinating device.”
“But that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what we’ve found,” Turquoise added.
“You mean other than Amber grabbing Cat’s Eye and escaping?” Tiger’s Eye remarked before quickly giving Morganite a look. “Which wasn’t your fault.”
Morganite didn’t look entirely convinced but didn’t bring say anything other than “Who even is Amber?”
“A liaison from Homeworld who is currently overseeing the Crystal sector,” Turquoise answered. “Cat’s Eye was his escort.”
“And even that doesn’t compare to what we discovered next. You won’t believe what I found,” Chrysocolla said excitedly.
“You mean what I found,” Turquoise corrected.
“Well, technically what Sodalite found,” Chrysocolla amended.
“Okay, whoever found it, what is it?” Tiger’s Eye pressed impatiently.
“The scouter’s name is Vigilant, and it belongs to Emerald’s league,” Chrysocolla said. “That came off of Emerald’s war ship.”
“Wait, what?!” Tiger’s Eye exclaimed.
“Why would Cat’s Eye be using one of Emerald’s ships?” Morganite asked.
“Who cares?” Hematite laughed. “We stole one of Emerald’s ships! This is amazing!”
“This is dangerous,” Turquoise corrected.
“…And kind of amazing,” Tiger’s Eye admitted.
“And kind of awful?” Morganite tried for.
“And kind of too soon to be jumping to conclusions,” Chrysocolla finished.
“So what now?” Hematite asked. “No offense, but can I at least take one day off?”
Tiger’s Eye nodded. “Hematite’s right. We need some time to go over everything we’ve gained today and formulate a plan for our next course of action.”
“And by ‘go over everything’ you mean ‘read comic books’, don’t you?” Morganite gestured to the issue of Superman Tiger’s Eye was already holding, the same one from earlier.
Tiger’s Eye did look somewhat guilty but didn’t set the book aside. “I still need to finish this one,” he said in way of defense. “I’ll be able to think more clearly once I’m not thinking about how I’m only partially through the story.”
“Glad to know you have your priorities,” Chrysocolla stated dryly.
“Hey, you never know, maybe I’ll get a good idea from it. These things do have some good strategies in them sometimes.”
He was met with a few looks of incredulity but then acceptance.
“Whatever,” Hematite shrugged.
“Just don’t take forever about it,” Turquoise added.
“I’ll be in my room,” Morganite said.
The Gems parted ways, leaving Tiger’s Eye alone on the couch to curl up and open where he left off.
“Alright,” he said to himself. “Comic book first, then back to saving the Earth.”