And so, after getting their own message out for the Diamonds, then came the part of actually waiting for them to come. On the brighter side of things, they all had a place to wait it out in the form of the Jungle Moon Base, but it was difficult to say exactly how long it will be, especially considering they're trying to revive Pink Diamond to her original state at the moment. It didn't help that there was so much left on their mind too thanks to White Diamond's little message for them on the communication either. So many left behind, and they had to handle it the second someone does come around ... hopefully some good help.
For the moment, the weather around the Jungle Moon Base had actually become a little bit worse, as clouds of rain began to come down onto the Jungle Moon. As some Gems weren't even close to being calm with weather like this, hearing the beating rain and even distant thunders didn't suit too tell for em, and they all got themselves comfortable as best they could manage up in the main room. They needed somewhere for a spotting point, and if they wandered off then who knows how long it'll take for them to track em down? They sat down in groups around the place, really having nothing better to do in the wake of the situation. Whatever aliens would be going around weren't going to be going about in weather like this, so any alien activity was out of the question. The only thing they could really do is engage in small talk to pass the time.
"There, don't be scared, Ruby," Twilight said, Leggy getting scared of the rain coming down and huddling next to her when she heard the thunder.
"W-What is it?" Leggy asked.
"That's just a rainstorm. We'll be fine as long as we stay in here," Stevonnie answered.
"Rain? Storm?" Leggy jumped when they heard thunder outside again. Seeing her scared, Stevonnie went over to her and sat down next to her. Leggy cuddled up against her, whimpering a little like a scared child.
"Oh yeah, Homeworld doesn't get storms like this. Look, it may sound scary, but it's really just rain, I promise."
"Does Earth get "rain"?" Leggy asked, looking up to her.
"All the time, and you know what, it actually helps the planet. And it looks like it helps the Jungle Moon too," Stevonnie explained, glancing outside from the Moon Base's windows. When she finished, a closer lightning bolt could be seen, and a shaking thunder rumbled the foundation. Nothing really shook, but they still felt it, and Leggy just stayed next to Stevonnie.
"Hey, speaking of which, what do you think's gonna happen once we get off this moon? I dunno about you, but sounds like we got A LOT to work with," Applejack asked, as she walked over with some of the others who overheard, sitting down in their little group.
"You tell us. Pink Diamond, the Space Station, the price on our heads, no Crystal Temple, Lars being ... revived. It's a lot to take in," Stevonnie admitted, counting out each event on her fingers.
"You think that's a lot to take in? I should be dead for all I know, but I'm still here ... and pink," Lars stated, still finding it hard to believe himself.
"Point taken," Stevonnie replied.
"Well, we're still alive, and we still got eachother. Things could be worse, right?" commented Onyx.
"You know, she's not wrong," Bismuth agreed. "We've been through mystical monsters, enemy soldiers, and survived White Diamond's imprisonment twice. What more could they hit tough creatures like us with?" A fair point, but White had thrown them for a loop enough times already. Before their conversation could continue, they began to hear somepony's stomach growl. Twilight smiled sheepishly.
"Guess I'm still a little hungry. got anymore of that fruit?"
"Onion's Gang ate the last of them," answered Lars. Bismuth checked the others, and she didn't see any fruit left from Fluttershy's rations, so she went on and got up.
"Looks like we're gonna need some more then. Don't want another onion incident," Bismuth joked. Before she went off however, someone else went over to her.
"Going out alone, Bismuth?" she asked with a grin.
"Hey, Lapis. You wanna come along?" Bismuth offered. Lapis flew over to her and to the stairs leading down.
"Only if you can keep up with me," Lapis said with a smug grin. Bismuth couldn't help but chuckle.
"That's my line," she joked, before both Lapis and Bismuth went on downstairs to get some more fruit from the jungle. Stevonnie found this a bit interesting.
"Huh. They seem to be getting along well. I wonder when that happened. ..."
"Shall I tell you?" The group turned and saw Tiger's Eye sitting off nearby, the Gem overhearing the conversation.
"You know, Tiger's Eye?" asked Onyx, as Tiger's Eye moved right over to them, sitting right next to her fellow Gem.
"Of course I do, those two had me going in for a loop before we all got stuck here. Plus it was Garnet's idea."
"What're you talking about?" Leggy asked. Tiger's Eye stretched.
"You guys up for a story?" she asked.
"Story time!" Pinkie suddenly chimed in, popping up out of nowhere. Still, despite that, Tiger's Eye got her memory to work.
---(Start Flashback)---
Here we go, alright: it was a chill day for me. I just found a good spot to have a little human activity called a nap. Just ready to doze off when Garnet comes up to me and says -
"Tiger's Eye! Come down from there, I have a favor to ask you," Garnet called. Tiger's Eye took a bit to come back around, but after snoozing up in a nearby tree in a manor similar to a leopard, she took a look down to the fusion in question. She looked off nearby, and saw Bismuth, Rhodonite, and a rather reluctant Lapis Lazuli standing next to her. Tiger's Eye stretched for a bit before she sat up in the tree branch.
"I told you, I don't want to do this," Lapis quietly stated, but Garnet paid her no mind, as Tiger's Eye jumped down from her perch.
"Hey Garnet, what's going on?" Tiger's Eye asked.
"I've got a mission for Bismuth and Lapis to attend to, and I want you to go along with them," Garnet simply instructed. It seemed pretty straightforward enough, the first mission assigned to her in ... well, ever.
"Me as a tag-along? Eh, I dunno, I was in the middle of a very nice nap," Tiger's Eye said, looking back up into the tree.
"Come on, T, it'll be a blast. We'll be out there against the elements, fighting beasts and taking names. You wanna be apart of that?" Bismuth insisted. Tiger's Eye began to get a little interested on that part.
"Ok, ok, where're is this monster at anyway?"
"A bit vague for the moment. It's rather flighty, but your best bet would be at the Prime Kindergarten," Garnet instructed. And Tiger's Eye lost her interest the second she mentioned a kindergarten.
"And you all have fun with that," Tiger's Eye commented, climbing back up into the tree.
"Tiger's Eye."
"What? I've been in a kindergarten for 1,100 years, I think I can go without seeing another one. Besides, there's nothing new to see," Tiger's Eye stated, about ready to go back to sleep, when Garnet punched the tree, making her tumble down into her arms.
"You've been in the Supreme Kindergarten. The Prime Kindergarten might hold more surprises for you than you think," Garnet reassured, placing Tiger's Eye down over by Lapis and Bismuth. She'd never been to it before, so maybe that could work. She looked to Rhodonite, who actually looked a bit calmer with the idea than usual.
"You're chill about this, Rhodonite, aren't ya?"
"W-Well, you're going to a Kindergarten. There's nothing too dangerous in a Kindergarten, right Garnet?" Rhodonite asked, though she was hoping for a good answer. Garnet decided to calm her nerves and nodded her head. That gave Tiger's Eye less of a reason to go off.
"Come on, it'll be fun. You're going on your first mission on Earth, don't you want to look around Earth a little bit more?" Bismuth asked. Tiger's Eye thought about it, and eventually she simply shrugged.
"You know what, why not? But if we get nothing out of it in twenty minutes, I'm leaving," Tiger's Eye said, going off on her way to the nearest warp pad. Bismuth and Lapis began to go, but before Tiger's Eye went off, Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Tiger's Eye? I do want to ask one thing of you. ... Try to keep the harmony, please?" Garnet asked.
"Harmony? What for?" Tiger wondered, scratching her head.
"Bismuth and Lapis aren't getting along, and I want to help them with this mission. But they'll know something's up if I go with them, so ..." Tiger's Eye could get the rest of the idea, as she looked to Bismuth and Lapis. Bismuth looked alright and ready to go, but Lapis looked more withdrawn than usual. As Tiger's Eye left, she managed to hear something from Rhodonite and Garnet as she, Bismuth, and Lapis went off.
"Harmony mode engaged," Tiger's Eye stated, before catching up to the others.
"You sure about this? No offense, but Tiger's Eye never kept a secret in her life," Rhodonite whispered.
"It'll be fine," Garnet reassured with a smile.
"I can hear you, Rhodonite!" called Tiger's Eye, annoyed with the statement.
Well, one Warp later and we were at the Prime Kindergarten. Another Kindergarten. Yipee. I mean, I only needed one look at it to know what I got myself into, and what was exactly anything new with it?; tons of holes, a few injectors, so on so forth. And unlucky for me, this was no different from the Supreme. A bit smaller, maybe, but that was it.
It was very quiet when they got there, and they began to move on out through the place. Tiger's Eye didn't bother going off ahead of the group, seeing all this before, and letting Bismuth take the lead. Lapis just stayed quiet for their walk around.
"Keep an eye out troops, that monster could be anywhere," Bismuth stated, pretty confident in the task. Tiger's Eye felt a bit more bored than anything as she observed the area. The injectors were rather abundant, more so than the Supreme, but apart from that there wasn't anything too special about it. Lapis didn't bother herself too much, something Tiger's Eye noted fairly early on. Tiger's Eye moved on ahead and jumped onto a fallen injector.
"What's with you?" Tiger's Eye asked.
"Oh, nothing, I'm fine," Lapis insisted, trying to play it off like nothing was wrong. Tiger's Eye felt a little bit confused.
"This is fine? You looked giddy as ever not too long ago. What, got in an argument with that Jamie guy or something?" Tiger's Eye questioned. Lapis Lazuli flew off back to Bismuth after that, not wanting to talk about it. Tiger's Eye needed to step up her game here if she did want to keep harmony between these two. By the time the Off-Color caught up with the other Gems, it seemed that the path ahead split up in two. Although it was a full canyon, it looked like something had went through here recently according to the deeper path dug out in the nearby wall, the hole itself only barely visible behind a few injectors. Bismuth was already on it, her hands turning into hammers, and with a well aimed uppercut swing, knocked the injectors clear out of sight, and out of the way!
"Tada!" shouted Bismuth with a grin. Tiger's Eye applauded her with a smile, but her smile went away when she saw Lapis Lazuli. Lapis didn't really look too impressed, arms crossed and gaze lowered, as she went over to the tunnel herself.
Okay, I knew something wasn't right here. Yeah, I didn't know Lapis too much, but she wasn't know for this quick mood swing far as I knew. I thought Jamie had something to do with it for sure.
"We got ourselves a tunneler," Lapis said.
"HELLOOOO!" Called Tiger's Eye.
Helloooo ... Helloooo ... Helloooo ...
Nothing much apparently, but it could be anything in there. Now her previous statement on this place being boring was pushed aside as she took the lead on inside, going in about a foot in before looking back.
"We got our target. You ready for some action?" Bismuth asked, smirking to Lapis. Lapis sighed.
"Sure, whatever," Lapis responded. Bismuth looked a little bummed out, but Tiger's Eye wasn't leaving something like this lying down.
"Cheer up, Lazuli, whatever Jamie did to you, you can deal with it later," Tiger's Eye reassured her, really believing that the problem related to this Jamie fella. Lapis now felt more embarrassed than anything.
"W-What? N-No, he's fine, and so am I!" Lapis insisted, her face turning more blue than usual. Bismuth smirked.
"Oohh. Don't worry, we won't tell anyone," Bismuth joked. Flustered, Lapis rushed on ahead, not wanting to talk about it any further. That wasn't the problem anyway, according to Garnet, something she remembered.
So was it Jamie or was it Bismuth? I've never seen Jamie officially myself, but Garnet never really said squat about him, and according to Lapis's bag of reactions, sounded more like something Bismuth had done, or something. So, after checking the tunnel, it was back at point A, and we actually ended up splitting. Lapis came with me and Bismuth went solo.
Tiger's Eye and Lapis got themselves in a different part of the Prime, this area passing by the Warp Pad entrance, and plenty of other Injectors. Tiger's Eye, now more interested in the Kindergarten with the possible beast going around, went on ahead and along the many various holes, trying to figure out where the monster had gone off to. Lapis was checking the area from the skyline, though oddly she felt less annoyed about things, though still looked like something bugged her a bit.
"So, Lapis, you wanna share something, or what?" Tiger's Eye asked, getting to the point.
"Share what, I'm fine really," Lapis insisted, this time showing a friendly smile on her face.
"What's with the grin? You were just ticked off at Bismuth a minute ago."
Well that didn't work, and Lapis tried to fly to a different spot. However, Tiger's Eye wasn't leaving her be and followed her easily, landing in front of her on a wall side Gem Injector. Lapis stopped fast when she landed there.
"Quit running off, will you? How're we gonna get anywhere if you keep doing that? Look, just say it will you, she's not here to hear you if that's what you're worried about." Tiger's Eye was referring to the mission, but Lapis took it as something different, and she sat down over on the same injector.
"Sorry, sorry. ... Look, Bismuth and I have a ... bad encounter."
"Oh? Do tell," Tiger's Eye insisted. Lapis groaned.
"She acts like she never did anything wrong, but ... UGH, she acts like everything's fine, but it's not! I've been trapped on this planet for so long. Trapped, and left behind inside a mirror, all because she had to find me and take me down. She's the reason I was stuck. ... So alone. ... So trapped. ..."
"So what?" Tiger's Eye suddenly cut in. Not the best choice of words.
"What do you mean so what?!" Tiger's Eye stumbled back on Lapis's outburst.
"You sound like you're overreacting. you just got stuck in a mirror, that doesn't sound so bad," Tiger's Eye said.
"Well it is that bad, especially after getting your stone cracked and accused of being a Crystal Gem," Lapis made clear, remembering all the accusations and interrogations she had to go through because of it all. Tiger's Eye though didn't think of it as such, but before they could go any further, they began to hear something underneath them both. Lapis and Tiger's Eye looked down and saw something move on by.
It looked like five different creatures, each one looking fairly large and robust, moving around like a group of hunting dogs. Each one looked as large as a bear or rhino, no eyes or ears on their rounded heads, and their bodies covered in a coat of hair like a mane. Two seemed to be leading the pack, with three others trailing close behind.
One brick red and the other purple like Amethyst, both of them with five horns on their heads.
The three others trailing included one being a brick spotted orange with three horns, one looking like a nose, one cobbled with grey and orange mixed with three horns on the forehead, and one green in color with only one single horn like a Unicorn.
Lapis and I stayed put on our little bunker, seeing this Quartz Pack show up. They sure looked like quartzes to me, judging on their types and all, but we didn't jump at them right away. I dunno about Lapis, but I thought they looked pretty nervous already, especially the smaller ones. And well, we found out why.
A distant moan. Not a sound they were familiar with, and neither were Lapis and Tiger's Eye. Then came out another surprise, and another resident of the Prime Kindergarten: a Gem experiment! They could tell it was the moment it came out, showing a humanoid-like creature with fused two heads, one side with two arms and the other with a large muscular arm ending in two hands split at the palms. Colors on it varied from light green, to yellow, to orange, to brown.
It was joined by two others: one looking like a crab with a toothed lined mouth and five legs carrying it around, and another one with the body of a hand, two legs out of the index and middle finger, with a large eye at the top.
"Gem Monsters and experiments?" wondered Tiger's Eye, curious over what would happen next. Lapis was a bit more confused herself. She had seen her share of Gem monsters, so seeing this kind of set up was a first for her.
Immediately the leading member of the group growled at the experiments, and the strange experiments paused on seeing them. Normally someone would just run away, but instead they charged forward right at them. The five horned monsters roared at them, only making one of them slow down, but the smaller ones backed up as they came close. The cobbled tri-horn made a run for it, only for the crab mutant to jump at it, landing right on its head! The brick red one rushed at the crab mutant, biting down hard onto one of its legs before shaking it like crazy, the cobbled one shaking off the attack. The humanoid mutant targeted the orange one head one, whacking it hard in the head with its large arm like a hammer. The orange and purple one tackled it to the ground, both pulling hard on its arms like a tug of war. The experiment proved stronger than it looked, and actually lifted one off the ground in a swing, sending the orange one flying to the wall! The tremors from that made the injector Lapis and Tiger's Eye were on a bit unstable, and losing its grip. Lapis got out her water wings and grabbed Tiger's Eye before the injector fell right down onto the fight! The corrupted Gems noticed it a little sooner, and bolted for it, but the Gem mutants ended up crushed underneath it, the Quartz Pack high-tailing it out of there. The clustered up gemstones were left on the ground for Lapis and Tiger's Eye to gather up.
"Lapis! Tiger! What happened over here?!" called Bismuth, rushing over. Such a crash wasn't going to go unnoticed.
"You wait until now to show up?" Lapis said, angry at the wait.
"We're fine, but some pack of monsters got in a fight with some of the experiments," Tiger's Eye answered, showing some of the cluster Gems she had gotten for Bismuth. Lapis was still a bit ticked, but her words were quickly forgotten about when a distant roar echoed throughout the Prime Kindergarten.
"Come on," Lapis groaned, already getting out her wings and flying off after the Quartz Pack. Tiger's Eye and Bismuth watched her go, seeing how frustrated she was.
"Did she get hurt?"
"No, she's just ticked off, that's all. Something about a mirror. Come on, let's catch up," Tiger's Eye answered, running off to keep up with Lapis Lazuli. Bismuth however didn't catch up, and Tiger's Eye and Lapis soon took notice, but Tiger's Eye got a hit from Lapis.
"Why'd you say that?" Lapis groaned. she really didn't want to deal with it, but her blabbering on about it wasn't helping.
"What? You said that, didn't you?" Tiger's Eye retorted, rubbing the back of her head. Bismuth did walk up to them at this point, though Bismuth was more focused on Lapis than Tiger's Eye. The defective Gem took a sidestep to give them some space. Lapis felt a curse come up in her mind towards Tiger's Eye, her gaze looking down in an annoyed expression. Bismuth knew what Tiger's Eye was talking about.
"Lapis, look, I -" Lapis got her quiet when she brought a hand up, finger pointed upward to get her to shut up.
"You were going to say you're sorry, weren't you? ... I've been trapped for thousands of years. Because you had to attack me. Homeworld questioned me, berated me, all the while I was forced to sit there and take all of that. You think just saying "I'm sorry" is going to fix that?" Lapis questioned. Tiger's Eye felt a shiver run through her with that response.
"Now, listen Lapis, I know it's bad, but I had to fight for Earth. I got caught up in it, ok? I didn't mean to have you go through all that."
"I bet you didn't," Lapis spat, turning away again as she crossed her arms.
"Lapis, I was fighting for the Crystal Gems, what was I supposed to do?"
"OH, so you admit you had to attack me! I didn't even fight, and you just jumped on me like it was nothing to you!" Lapis snapped. Bismuth didn't use the right words here.
"Now wait a minute, just let me explain -"
"No, I don't want to hear it! Ugh, let's just find those targets and get this over with," she stated, not wanting to hear whatever she had to say. Tiger's Eye began to grow more troubled now, and only got even more so when Bismuth went right up to her.
"Lapis, I've tried to be nice to you, but all you've done was shut me out! I was hoping we could be friends, but I guess that's up to you," Bismuth said. Lapis had enough.
"Why're you pretending nothing's wrong?! I've suffered because of you, and you're acting like it's no big deal!"
"You think I don't know, Lapis? You're talking to a Gem who -"
"Don't you start that! You've not been cracked, you've not been trapped, and you've not been treated like dirt the whole time," Lapis cut in, now off the ground and flying above her.
"I did too. Ok, so I wasn't cracked, but I ended up trapped inside a bubble for most of the war. All my friends are dead, and I couldn't do anything! You think I've just stopped caring about them?"
"Actually yes!"
Tiger's Eye couldn't help but back up as the argument continued, but as they were talking, she kept her look around them. she took note of a smaller creature watching them from one of the many holes, seemingly stalking them.
"You serious? Yes, I was tough in the Gem War, but one thing I'm not is uncaring! I was heartbroken, torn up, when I found out just how much I've missed when I got back. Old Crazy Lace, Biggs, Snowflake, they're all gone now and I couldn't do anything! Don't you stand there and think that I'm horrible just because of one time between us both. Yes, I attacked you, but no, I didn't intend for you to go through all that! How was I supposed to know, anyway?"
"You had Garnet, didn't she tell you?"
"Garnet wasn't even there!" yelled Bismuth. Despite her anger, Lapis was becoming a bit more humbled by her. Bismuth was more imposing after all.
"Look, I'm really trying. You're the only one still has something against me, and I'm trying to fix that. If there's anything I can do, anything to help with this, I'll do it. Just say what it is I have to do." Lapis paused for a minute, and then looked right up to her.
"I want you ... To leave!"
~~~~~~~
"She said that?!" gasped Rarity. The story Tiger's Eye was telling got a bit of a crowd at this point; Leggy, Stevonnie, AJ, Twilight, Sadie, and Lars being joined by Rarity, Amethyst, Soup, Jamie, Fluttershy, and even Melanite.
"Oh yeah, she was ticked off. After seeing her so happy and giddy, it was like someone messed with her programing or something," Tiger's Eye noted, still shivering on remembering that face. Amethyst and Stevonnie (or the Steven side to Stevonnie), were well aware of the kind of backstory Tiger's Eye was talking about, and both couldn't help but cringe a little.
"Well then what? Did they talk it out?" Stevonnie asked.
"Eh ... well ..."
~~~~~~~
"... Ok."
And without another word, Bismuth turned and began to walk away! Tiger's Eye felt a hit of guilt strike her, and Tiger's Eye quickly got over to Bismuth.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, l-let's not get too hasty," Tiger's Eye said, trying to push Bismuth off back towards Lapis, but Tiger's Eye strength was nothing compared, and she was literally pushed along the ground as Bismuth kept walking. Tiger's Eye was moved aside, and bismuth went on through the Prime Kindergarten. Tiger's Eye tried getting to Lapis instead, but she was already gone and out of sight. Tiger's Eye stopped and looked back and forth between both directions, growing a bit frustrated both at herself and the others.
"Oh, dang-it! Now what am I supposed to do? If I got back myself, Garnet's gonna kill me when she puts two and two together. Come on, think, think." before Tiger's Eye could think up of an answer, she began to hear growling off nearby. Sure enough, that same creature crawled out of its hiding place to confront the lone Gem. And this one didn't look like any quartz Gem or Gem experiment she had witnessed already. The creature coming out looked way too huge for the hole it walked out of, climbing up the Prime Kindergarten wall with ease. It looked like an odd lizard, six legs gripping the wall like a gecko. Its mouth was long and narrow like a gharial, though it ended in a beak rather than lined with teeth, and despite most of its body covered in scales, it still had what looked like a mane down its back, shaggy and red like ember. The tail was completely flat like a beaver, patting the wall as it came out of hiding. While seeing such an odd creature wasn't enough of a surprise, it didn't help that in the creature's jaws looked like part of a clustered stone, which it proceeded to swallow.
"OK, that's something! What's this?" Tiger's Eye wondered. The single eye on the head looked off the wall and directly at Tiger's Eye, and for the moment it appeared to be a stand off. Was this thing what Garnet sent them after, or no? The strange animal crawled down from the wall, and stood on the ground. As it had the head of a crocodile, it was easily as long as one, and it hissed at her as she backed up, unsure how to react. Should she fight it? Should she run? The animal sniffed the air for a minute or two, its jaws wide open. Slowly, Tiger's Eye began to back up, not removing her gaze from the animal conical eye. As for the creature, it took only one look to her gemstone. And one look was all it took.
"WHOA!" Reacting fast, Tiger's Eye jumped out of the way as the creature lunged forward, jaws closed and trying to skewer her as if its mouth turned into a spear. It tried snapping several more times before it quickly turned and bolted off for it, the creature rushing after her. With Tiger's Eye's speed, she got a good headstart on the creature but this six-legged beast kept pretty good pace with her, going along the walls to gain a height advantage Tiger's Eye turned around, and brought out her bow and arrow, starting to shoot the animal, but much to her surprise, the tail of this creature not only reflected the shots, but shot one right back at her like a baseball getting hit by a bat!
"GUYS! Where are you, I found the problem!" Tiger's Eye shouted, just before the creature leaped onto her head first! With its mouth wide open, Tiger's Eye ducked fast. The front jaws skewered the ground like scissors, and with it open, left just big enough of a gap for Tiger's neck! It got its mouth out, but the distraction got Tiger's Eye enough time to slip out, and rush up the wall. She didn't stop until she was on a Gem Injector.
"Lapis! Bismuth! Get over your tiff and come back here!" Tiger's Eye called, but she didn't get any answer. The monster jumped up the wall and rushed up to her level, going onto the injector with her. Tiger's Eye backed up until she was on the very edge of the injector, face to face with such an odd creature, as it opened its mouth and hissed again.
"Oh, come on. Why did I have to bring em up? If I'd kept my mouth shut they would still be here. Mad, sure, but still here," Tiger's Eye told herself, almost losing her footing on the injector end. This put more weight onto the injector, making it more unstable in its footing, making it groan and creak. The animal lunged forward, and Tiger's Eye made the biggest jump she could do, landing on the wall as the shift in weight made the injector bend. The creature though was quick to react, and leaped across the canyon onto the opposite wall, the Injector falling down in a huge crash. Tiger's Eye simply looked over to the animal as it made another hiss, and actually used its beak like a jackhammer, digging a tunnel into one of the pre-existing holes.
"Huh. So that's where that hole came from."
I'd be lying if I said I didn't know what to do: Lapis and Bismuth were gone, I was alone, and now we had not just Gem mutants and corrupted Quartzes to worry about, but this freak of nature too! Well, Garnet wasn't lying either: no Kindergarten had ANY of this. Anyway, after that little venture, I did what any sensible Gem would do: hightail it out of there and try to find the others. And hopefully in one piece, and before any monsters show up again.
"Lapis! Bismuth!" Tiger's Eye called at a point. she stopped over by another part of the Prime Kindergarten, this time nearby the Warp Pad, as she perched herself off nearby.
"Lapis Lazuli! Bismuth! Where are you guys! I'm sorry for what I said, if it was me!" Tiger's Eye called again, but not getting much response. All she could see were holes, injectors, and empty landscape. She sat down like a dog would, trying to find some clue on any of them.
"Come on already. You'd think after another crash they would come running. Or anything would come running. ... Unless ..." A thought shot through her head of that monster eating them both, but she quickly shook her head.
"No, no, no, they're stronger than that. HELLO!! LAPIS! BISMUTH!"
Still nothing evident. Tiger's Eye groaned, and started to wander a little bit away from the Warp Pad, and over on some more unstable ground.
"Lapis! Bismu - AAAHHHH!" *thud* "... Ow."
Next thing I knew, I was underground, tumbling head over heels and ending up in some other room. It look all, green, and like something Homeworld would make.
I believe that's the control room for the Prime Kindergarten.
Thanks Peridot. Now as I was saying, I was stuck underground, and no, Bismuth and Lapis weren't there. As much as I wanted them to be at that point. But what did I find?
"What're these?" Tiger's Eye wondered. Looking into the control room, Tiger's Eye soon began to notice something over in the ground off nearby. Tiger's Eye hopped over to said objects, seeing about five of them, and all looking like eggs. Eggs that were colored suspiciously like rocks, but Tiger's Eye knew a rock from something else, and these were indeed eggs.
"Didn't one of the ponies mention this before? Let's see, what was it ... E ... egg? Egg! but wait, why're they here of all places?" Tiger's Eye tapped one of the eggs out of curiosity. Suddenly, one of the eggs moved, nudging under her fingers. And then ...
*hissss*
"Crud, it's back!" she gasped, jumping up and out of the way. Sure enough, something moved out of the shadows, and turned out to be the same animal she saw earlier. This one was more interested in protecting its eggs though, and didn't go too far from them. Tiger's Eye kept her distance from this thing, as it then proceeded to ... swallow the eggs. It didn't take long til all the eggs were stored inside the creature, and after that, it focused its attention towards Tiger's Eye. Instead of jumping though, it shoved its beak into the ground, and seemingly injected the eggs in multiple places, each one underground.
"Wha? So is this an injector monster, or ..." Tiger's Eye was very confused, but after all the eggs were properly incubated, the creature looked back up at her and zoomed up to her level, making her stumble back. Here we go again.
"Tiger's Eye, is that you down there?!"
"Oh, thank the stars," Tiger's Eye sighed. Looking up to where she stumbled in, Lapis and Bismuth slid down to see the creature confronting Tiger's Eye. Clearly they got worried over the crash they heard earlier, no doubt, but the creature was more aggressive when it saw them. Three against one, and this monster was willing to comply, especially with eggs to protect.
"What is that thing?" Lapis asked.
"Don't ask me, but it eats Gems, so unless you wanna be a side dish, let's go!" Tiger's Eye informed.
And not a moment too soon, and the monster jumped right at them, making them scatter! Tiger's Eye, Lapis, and bismuth made a three way split, all missing the creature's jaws, but its singular conical eye focused on Lapis Lazuli, as it gave another loud hissing. Lapis had little time to react, as it jumped right on her, its beak snapping at her. Lapis only avoided getting snapped by grabbing it by the jaws, but it didn't make that any easier. After a few shakes, it dislodged itself and its beaver tail whacked her down off the platform, dangerously close to the eggs. Lapis fell onto her back, and looked up to see the monster ready to jump on top of her, only for Bismuth to suddenly jump in and send it flying with a well-aimed hammer hit.
"Back off!" Bismuth ordered. but of course, the creature wanted them gone, but when it saw her gemstone, it soon aimed for that instead. Lapis felt a little stunned, but not from the monster itself, but from what Bismuth did. Lapis just told her to get lost, yet here she was trying to save her life. The beast lunged for Bismuth, and actually got its beak into her Gemstone, though it didn't damage it on sight as it was an inner gem, much to Bismuth's luck. She gripped the creature by the mouth, the beast unable to peak or open its jaws, thrashing to get away from her. Bismuth kept her grip and forced it out of her gemstone, and with a few good swings, threw the creature to the back of the room. This knocked it out for a moment as Bismuth went down to Lapis, extending a helping hand.
"... You ok?" Bismuth asked. Lapis paused for a moment or two, trying to contemplate, and without another word took Bismuth's hand, getting up to her feet. Tiger's Eye peered down to them for a moment.
"Nice, but you better get out of there, I think its eggs are there," Tiger's Eye said, not wanting the animal upset with them any further. Bismuth and Lapis looked around, but all they were seeing was mounds under their feet. Speaking of, the creature got itself shaken off from the hit, seeing Lapis, Tiger's Eye, and Bismuth all up on the same level at that point.
"What do we do with that thing?" Tiger's Eye asked. Bismuth looked a little closer at it.
"We leave it. It's not a Gem, and therefore not why we're here. Come on, let's go," Bismuth decided. and not a moment too soon, them all leaving before the creature could snap at any of them. Its eggs were safe, and that was all that mattered.
Sweet. But what about Bismuth and Lapis?
I'm getting to that. So we got out of there, and left eh ... whatever it was with its "eggs", or whatever you call it. Bismuth even sealed up the entrance to the control room. she said it wouldn't follow them, though I'm sure it could just dig itself out. Anyway, there we were, up by the Warp Pad again after a few more minutes of searching. Guess that beast drove the rest out, because we found nothing after that. Sure we found a few stray, tiny Gem experiments but that was about it.
"Ok, so that's that. alright, let's go back," Tiger's Eye decided, heading to the Warp Pad and waiting for Bismuth and Lapis. Bismuth had salvaged whatever they did manage to find, bubbling them already. Lapis trailed behind her for a bit, but eventually, Tiger's Eye saw her stop. Normally she'd call it out, but she didn't bring anything up this time.
"Bismuth?" Lapis asked, getting her attention.
"What's up?"
"... Why'd you do that?" Bismuth turned fully to face her, a little confused.
"Do what?"
"I told you to leave me alone, I called you careless and everything ... and ... you still saved me?" Lapis was still trying to wrap her head around it. Bismuth paused, but she then smiled and playfully fluffed Lapis's hair.
"We're Crystal Gems, we stick together. and you know what? I should apologize. You were caught up in it, so was I, and we both ended up where we didn't want to be," Bismuth concluded. Lapis shrugged.
"Guess so. I mean, there's no such thing as a good war, right?" Lapis said. Bismuth chuckled.
"Yeah, true that."
"So ... we good?" Lapis asked meekly. Bismuth sighed.
"Well, like I said, that's up to you. I'm good with you, but ..."
"... Then we're good," Lapis concluded. Tiger's Eye smiled on hearing that, as they all got up onto the Warp Pad. With a tap of Tiger's Eye's foot, the Warp Pad activated, and they were off on their way.
~~~~~~~
"And by that there, looks like the two are pretty good since," Tiger's Eye finished. It was a bit of a good story, and one that kept them all distracted from the storm outside. Or rather, lack there of, as by the time she finished, the storm had since passed them by, though the sun was starting to set by now, being dusk at this point when the others looked on outside.
"Whoa, where'd the rain go?" Leggy asked, curious more than anything.
"Must've cleared up during that story. Good job, Tiger," Onyx said, thumbs up.
"Heh, weren't nothin," Tiger's Eye replied. And not a moment too soon, as they began to hear something come up the stairs again.
"Soup's on!" called Lapis, as she and Bismuth came back up. Bismuth brought up the majority of the catch, plenty of fruit for them to eat, along with a few extra types they found were edible. Much of the group were glad to see them back, both of which a little bit wet from the rain outside, but otherwise okay. Stevonnie watched from afar for a moment before she took a look outside with Leggy, seeing the Jungles outside.
It sure looked beautiful. ...
*grrrrr*
~~~~~~
It's difficult to say exactly just how much time had gone by since they've first landed. Sure, the days on the Jungle Moon seem to be going as they should, but they weren't sure if the time here was the same as the time on Earth, or Equus for that matter. Another long night had gone by, and the alien world sun rose up, though admittedly it was a little bit harder to tell with the giant planet it was circling around to truly be sure. Although many of them didn't need it, most of the group spent the time sleeping inside the room, a few keeping watch just to be sure that nothing bad would happen. Those on guard were Topaz, Rhodonite (who couldn't sleep anyway), Flint, and Zircon, though even they ended up dozing off after a while. nothing seemed to have happened through the night, lucky then, and when the sun did begin to come up, it was a signal that danger was over. Speaking of, much of the ponies and humans were in their own groups around the place: Lars, Sadie, and Twilight sleeping by Fluorite, Stevonnie sleeping with Jamie, AJ, RD, and Leggy, and so on. not a sound there was inside the room, but even so, one tiny little animal thought it had found a good spot to investigate. It was the same froggy dragonfly that came by earlier, and with most of them sleeping, it didn't feel too threatened by many of them, as it fluttered on inside, this little guy got the attention of one figure in particular, especially when it thought funny to land on her muzzle.
Pinkie Pie. The pink mare shot one eye open the second it felt the thing on her face, seeing eye to eye with it. she didn't look spooked, but more curious, like a little kid would be. And since she was just waking up, she shook off the weird looking bug, only for the animal to land over on Leggy next. The Gem woke up fairly quickly on seeing this similar animal, and she tried to catch it as with earlier. The little creature fluttered off out of reach, landing just along the rim of the window, Leggy trying to catch it again in a little hop. The flying alien wasn't going to stick around, and actually flew on outside. Leggy looked on outside to the morning light alongside Pinkie Pie. Pinkie liked a good chase as much as the next pony, but she knew that maybe it might not be the best idea to just go off.
That didn't stop Leggy though: climbing out the window, she began to go down the tower on the thick vines, trying to get her little animal, which they saw land off in the trees down below. Pinkie peeked down from the roost, and saw Leggy going off down.
"Wait for me," Pinkie called, her voice hushed. One hoof after the other, and Pinkie followed Leggy down along the vines. It actually took only half an hour to do, the last bit having them both slide down a vine like a fire pole until they landed on the ground, with Pinkie landing on Leggy's square head.
"Oh! Lookie," Leggy said, pointing off to the nearby trees. The pink mare and little Ruby took sight of their little animal, who actually was starting to glow a tiny bit in small beeps, like a flashlight, as it rested in the morning shade, and helping itself to some morning dew. Leggy and Pinkie went on over to the animal, Leggy trying again to catch it in a pounce. Of course, the animal didn't wait around, and flew out of her reach. That didn't stop Leggy from trying to catch it though, and she kept trying to jump for it, as it fluttered from tree to tree. It took Leggy a bit but she finally managed to get it under both hands. The little animal squirmed slightly under her hands, but then Leggy and Pinkie Pie found it actually got settled in both hands.
"Gotcha," Leggy said.
"It looks so cute. Couche Couche coo," Pinkie said, her hoof rubbing the little animal. The tiny animal chirped like a spring peeper, before it hopped out of Leggy's hands, and off back into the trees. Both mare and Gem were ready to go off after the little thing again, but Pinkie's sense started to go off with a twitch of her tail.
Something's coming their way.
And if her Pinkie sense didn't say that, the looming shadow sure did. Leggy and Pinkie both paused, and looked over to the source of this shadow.
A creature. A huge, dinosaur-like creature. In fact, it looked like some weird cross between a tyrannosaur and a chicken: back end scaled and front end looking feathered. It had the body type similar to a T-Rex, though as this was no Earth 2.0, there's a lot that separated this thing from your typical dinosaur: two large feet ending in three toed claws, but they look a lot like human feet, if someone would stand on their tiptoes. On the heel looked like a long claw, making it appear like it had high heels on its feet. The tail was a lot more stunted, like that of a bear. As for the front, it looked like that of a Silkie Chicken, with a lot of scruffy feathers going up its chest, and over its head, all colored up in a mess of greens and pinks, camouflage no doubt. It didn't show any eyes, but it did show a large beak much like the other lifeforms found here, though the beak on this one had an extra edge on the front to look like sabre teeth. It had forearms sure, but they didn't look too long, and ended up crab-like pincers.
Pinkie Pie and Leggy starred up at this newcoming creature as it towered over them, easily the size of an Earth Elephant, and as long as a Semi-Truck.
"Uh ... hello?" Pinkie said, waving a hoof. Either this thing didn't see them, or it saw that as a threat, because it gave a good loud roar at them soon afterwards, which sounded like a low-toned vulture screech. They weren't having fun anymore, and the giant animal proceeded to try and crush them under its feet. It used its high heel like a dagger, the rest of the foot arched up. Pinkie Pie grabbed Leggy and bolted for it, the high hell skewering the ground as they bolted for the Moon Base. They got right to the front door, and bolted inside just in time. And lucky for them, the giant animal was too big to fit inside, slamming its body into the wall of the Moon Base. If they weren't awake before, the whole group sure was now from such a tremor. Pinkie Pie went all Fulgurite speed to get back up to the higher level, Leggy following behind as she held Pinkie's tail.
"What was that?!" shouted Peridot.
"Ruby, Pinkie, what did you do?" Rhodonite asked.
"Nothing! We didn't do anything. Well, expect finding this alien who chased us here," Pinkie said, Leggy nodding in agreement. Army though got up to them and whacked them both in the head.
"You clods, can't you stay still for one minute without getting us in trouble?!" Army snapped. She was ready to jump at them again, but Garnet got hold of her, lifting her up like a baby, as Army thrashed and kicked to be put back down.
"Adorable," Garnet simply said. Though this wasn't the time for some jokes, especially when they heard the screeching from said animal down below them. Garnet got Army held under her arm before addressing the others.
"Ok, everyone calm down, we'll be okay up here," Garnet reassured. Rhodonite, Peridot, and Fluttershy took a look down to the lower level, and saw the creature still trying to get in from the bottom level, forcing itself in.
"It's inside," Rhodonite managed to say through her teeth, pointing down to the lower level.
"Peridot, got any idea what that even is?" Fluttershy asked, a little humbled. Peridot tried to think, but she looked as worried as they were.
"I have no idea."
"What do you mean you have no idea?!" snapped Rhodonite.
"I mean I have no idea, I didn't study everything!" snapped back Peridot, only for them all to be quiet when it screeched at them. They all moved away from the door, Onion's gang doing the hand gesture to be quiet. It can't know where they are, or how to get them. The screaming from Peridot and Rhodonite though made it aware that something was in here somewhere. With all their focus on the door though, none of them noticed that another shadow loomed from the upper windows ...
"MOVE!"
In a sudden screech, the upper windows suddenly shattered wide open as a secondary head from the same creature charged through, almost grabbing them.
"Alright, you wanna fight, you got one," Bismuth said, bringing out her hammers. She and Rainbow were ready to go, but before they could go in, the first animal shot its head through the bottom door. This forced the group to the center of the room, both beaks snapping at them from both of their escape routes.
"T-Two of them?" said Melanite. Topaz took to the offensive, bringing out her weapon and she, Rainbow, and Bismuth went to attack the aliens. Rainbow gave a power kick to the first one, and the other two went for the one by the shattered window, so strong together it knocked it off the tower! The thud when it landed shook the Moon Base. The first one stopped and seemed to retreat, its head no longer poking through the door.
"I-Is it enough?"
...
*BAM* not even close. The floor underneath them was suddenly skewered by the creature's heels, and front pincers, making an unstable square form up on the upper level. With the combined weight of the Gems, Humans, Ponies, AND the alien, the floor collapsing was inevitable. Everything, including the alien, fell right down to the bottom level in a massive heap of flooring and bodies. They shook off the fall, though some of them didn't really get up so quickly, injured in some way.
"Everyone okay?" asked Topaz.
"I think so ... wait, where's Stevonnie?" wondered Twilight. It didn't take much longer for them to find her. Or rather, her components. Removing some of the heap, Steven and Connie had come back, forcing to unfuse in the fall, and a bit dazed but otherwise okay.
"You two alright?" Garnet asked, going right up to them.
"Yeah, we're fine," Steven answered. No time for a check up: the beast came out alright as well, as it forced off the rubble. Sure it was dazed, but it didn't get hurt too much in the fall. It moved very fast in its next attack, and attempted to peck at the group, forcing them to scatter, including Connie. ... And Connie got to her feet. something that surprised even her.
*CRASH*
In comes the second alien, able to slam its way through the door, a lot more forcefully. They were hoping they would fight eachother or something, but these two were working together, and eyed the amount of choices on their breakfast plate for the morning. The situation had becoming very critical.
"Still think we'll be alright, Garnet?" Rhodonite asked, suspiciously this time around. Garnet adjusted her shades.
"Give them a minute."
"Give who a minute?!" Rhodonite snapped. This was not the time for some half answers, especially with these two aliens ready to attack them. They had their meal in sight, but before they could do anything, both predators then sensed something else. Something, to them, far more dangerous, as a shadow went by the moon base roof. Both of the animals glanced upward, and while still hungry, they weren't going to stick around and wait for this creature to find them. They both turned and made a run for it back into the jungle, leaving their quarry behind them, much to their confusion. What could've chased them off?
"... Hey. Hey, look, a gemship."
Flint, Zircon, and Rhodonite took a look outside, and indeed a welcoming sight could be seen far above them. It started out faint, but with the morning light, they were starting to make out a sort of shape in the air. What the aliens thought was some sort of predator was actually the silhouette of Blue Diamond's gem warship! And boy did it look impressive: a giant blue arm easily large enough to fit a town inside, much like the White Diamond Space Station. The cavalry had arrived to see them home.
"We're saved!" Melanite gasped.
They were ready to go now.