Beyond The Gem

Nine

     The humans cheered and gasped when they saw us. "Ninhursag! Ningal!" They welcomed us as we walked into the city, a fleet of guards behind us. They offered Pink and I food, but whenever I turned it down, Pink thanked them and accepted. The humans danced around, us watching. They were all so happy, and so absolutely cheery. Things were going very well. The sun set, orange upon the horizon, and they began to sing songs of their people.

     Pink and I watched intently, clapping every time they finished. They truly did see us as gods. Their king appeared, bowing to Pink and I. Though it felt amazing to have some of the power and worship, I still accepted Pink Diamond as my own ruler.

     But then someone screamed.

     Everything thing stopped, and everyone looked around to attempt to locate who had screamed. But there was an aweful sound, the sounds of snapping and cracking. Pink's guards split into two groups: one ran towards the direction of the sounds, and the other half summoned their weapons and surrounded Pink in a circle. Pink tried to stand and look over the rooftops to see what was happening, but I turned to her and bore the Diamond symbol. "I'll be your eyes." I summoned my spear and ran towards the sound after the guards, catching up with them.

     The guards kept running and running, listening, but I knew where the sounds were coming from. I shoved through guards and sprinted towards the town's marketplace, and came upon a fugitive gem holding a human woman by the neck. She was covered in scratches and her arms were clearly broken. Blood was splattered everywhere, on the side of buildings and across empty stands. The gem was easily twice my size, but I hurled my spear towards her.

     The gem smiled and slammed her head into the human's head, then dropped her. She fell in a heap, but I had no time to tell if she was unconscious or dead. The gem was running, and I chased after her, nearly slipping in a pool of blood.

     The gem ran and ran, shoving through stray people that had not been in front of Pink Diamond, some children. I helped every single one of them up, and received the same reply each time. "Thank you, Ningal."

     I nodded to them and continued, throwing spear after spear towards the gem. She came upon a wall near the end of town, then turned to face me. She waved her hand and summoned a helmet from the gem on her nose.

     I growled and charged, throwing my spear and summoning another. She dodged, then deflected my attack and snatched my arm. She slammed me into the building, and pain erupted throughout my body. However, I launched another spear towards her. I was not going to give up until either the guards find us or her gem is poofed.

     "You'll follow Tanzanite!" The gem laughed and, with frustrating ease, dodged another of my attacks. I was smaller considerably, but I just couldn't give up. The gem reared her head back and launched it forwards.

     I barely had time to roll out of the way. When I did, the gem turned and rolled into a ball. So she was a Quartz, then. The spiking ball sped towards me, and I tried to dodge, but her hand grabbed my ankle and launched me nearly ten feet in the air. For a brief moment, I coul see Pink stepping through the houses and trying to find the fugitive gem without harming any buildings. I called her name, then fell back below the rooftops.

     My face met the gem's fist, and my jaw screamed as I hit the ground. The gem laughed. "You're a Pearl, aren't you? Lousy and useless, only meant for running errands for others!"

     The gem stepped closer, and I pushed my back against a wall. "I'll kill you if you harm her."

     "Oh, really, you pathetic Pearl? And how will you do so? Who do you belong to, anyways? Is your life really important enough that you'd want to risk it for some lowlife gem?"

     I balled my hands into fists. "Yes," I growled. "Because My Diamond is Pink Diamond. And I'm willing to give my life to save her. I'll do it for her, and nobody else." I summoned two spears and charged. I was ready to kill for Pink, I was ready to do anything just to keep her and the people on Earth safe.

     The gem, however, smiled and reared her head back again, then slammed it down onto my body. Then, there was blackness. Complete darkness, silence, as if I had left the battle, but I knew exactly where I was.

     I'd been poofed. And now, I was at the will of that fugitive gem.