Dan & Phil: Not of This Earth

06 | This Wasn't Planned

Word Count: 1792   

     A fused beryl lifted Black Opal into the air with one hand. He stood sheepishly in her palm and looked onto the full room. Dan stood below him, facing the crowd with his arms crossed uncomfortably. He had never been around so many Gems at once.

     There was a soft murmur in the room, a variety of eyes looking at one another. Never had Black Opal seen the hall so full. He had only ever seen four Gems in there at once before; this was something entirely new to him and he greeted it with open arms. "Can I have your attention, please?" he announced through his cupped hands. Every head turned to him, obedient to a rare Gem's words and thankful for his kindness. "Thank you. Now that you've all been freed, you can either roam upon your freewill or join us in escaping to the rebellion on Earth!"

     "Rebellion against what?" someone called out.

     "Against the Diamonds, of course!" Dan snapped. "They destroy any planet they colonize, and they've hit one with organic life. If that's not something you care about, then consider the fact that you've all been trapped for all this time, reduced to someone's possessions. There's no way you can agree with that practice. Joining this rebellion is fighting the Diamonds in one form or another." He took a step backwards and took a quick glance at Black Opal, almost apologetic, passing the "talking stick" back to him.

     Black Opal nodded and returned his eyes to the crowd. "If you're willing to fight against the tyranny that's towered over us for eons, then let me hear you!" He thrusted his fist into the air, but no one followed his action. He lowered his arm and looked from Gem to Gem. A thick cloud of anxiety hung in the air. "Don't let whatever 'power' the Diamonds have scare you. Each one of you are a unique individual with unique powers and abilities! When individuals band together, they become an all-powerful unit!"

     "Like fusion," Dan coughed.

     "Like fusion!" Black Opal repeated for the crowd to hear. "Together, we can do anything! Are you with me?!" He trusted his fist into the air again. "Hoorah!"

     Fists of all colors and sizes punched the air. "Hoorah!"

     The massive crowd stormed through the center of a small settlement, yelling the entire way despite Dan's frantic request to...not. Black Opal gripped Dan's wrist as they ran, Dan leading the way to the nearest airfield. If they hadn't been holding one another's wrists, Black Opal would have been trampled in an instant; his eyes wandered from facility to facility, admiring the architecture and pastel aesthetics – he tripped over his own feet again and again, unable to focus on the task at hand.

     "Opal, pay attention! It's not much farther," Dan said with urgency. He turned to Black Pearl, sprinting by his side. Her braid swung across her chest and hit it on occasion. "Are you sure you can fly the newer technology?"

     "I was imprisoned specifically because I had the audacity to learn how to pilot and I taught eleven pearls," she briefly pointed her thumb over her shoulder, "what I knew. And it's only been a couple of years since we've flown, Obsidian. The tech shouldn't have changed too much."

     They soon approached a field of rounded hatches of various sizes. Airships sat on raised platforms from some of the hatches, each one shined to perfection and some being repaired. A single building stood between all of it, raised on a single column. As they got closer, they could see the faces of the technicians through the glass. Surprise came across their faces and each one scrambled along control panels.

     The ships that sat in the open began disappearing under metal bubbles that rose from the ground. The entire group was at least 50 meters away from a single aircraft.