Chapter Text
“Boring,” groaned Saparata as he struggled to keep up with Flux, who was striding ahead. The gemstone seemed focused, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as if he were on high alert. Even though the Lunarians have been appearing very rarely lately, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
“Calm down, we only started patrolling a few minutes ago—how can you already be bored?” Fluixon replied, continuing to walk forward without turning to face his partner.
“You’re too quiet, especially today,” the gemstone said discontentedly. He had barely caught up to his partner; now they were walking close enough to each other that their shoulders were almost touching.
“You say that as if it wasn’t your decision to team up a hell of a long time ago,” Flux shot a barely perceptible glance at Saparata. Saps noticed it, but paid no attention. “But you agreed,” the quartz gem added defiantly.
“And I already regret it,” he muttered under his breath. Saparata gave him a light nudge on the shoulder, chuckling. “Oh no, you really do enjoy spending time with me—don’t even try to deny it. You wouldn’t be walking here beside me right now if my company annoyed you.”
They walked on for several minutes in almost complete silence, with only the soft sound of the ocean echoing around them. In fact, Saparata didn’t mind just sitting in silence with Fluixon. Those moments of silence didn’t seem like a bad thing, on the contrary, they sometimes became a better way to communicate than words. Just the two of them and the boundless expanse of the world.
The ocean changed its tone time and again, shifting from the most turbulent to the calmest in a matter of seconds. It resembled a kind of symphony, though without a clear rhythm. A symphony without a conductor and without sheet music, just pure improvisation by nature.
Saparata turned his gaze to the ocean, watching every rise of the water, even by a single millimeter. Gemstone was actually very observant; he often watched for something while on patrol. That’s how he discovered that butterflies predominated on the western part of the island, while various beetles were found on the eastern part. This information, of course, was useless, but when you’re bored at work, you start looking for entertainment in anything.
Patrolling, actually, isn’t all that boring, considering he spends his time with a friend. They were almost always lucky, and the Lunarians hadn’t appeared even on the sunniest day. Seriously, for as long as he could remember, Lunarians’ ship had appeared in the sky only twice. But for them, it wasn’t a big deal.
The patrols almost always left him with fond memories, except for those times when he and Flux would get into arguments over complete nonsense. Though those arguments usually blew over quickly, like the wind on a spring day.
Saparata opened his mouth, trying to say something, but the words seemed to slip right past him, and he couldn’t form a single coherent sentence. He sighed, trying to find a new object to observe. His gaze darted from side to side, he knew almost everything on the island like the back of his hand.
𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦; 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘷𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯—𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴—𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘫𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩—𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺, 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦.
“Flux,” Saps says. “Less than a mile from here, there’s a hill with lots of butterflies. Can we go there?”
“Butterflies? And isn’t that hill outside our patrol area?” Fluixon turns his head toward the gem, looking at it in confusion.
“So what? The weather isn’t exactly ideal for the moonflowers to bloom anyway,” he began to persuade the Saparata. “Please?” He gave a crooked smile, looking at the enchanting gem.
Flux sighed; he just couldn’t resist that smile. “All right, but not for long, got it?” He was about to say something else when he was grabbed by the arm and pulled forward. Saps’ stupid habit.
All the way there, the quartz gemstone told him everything he knew about butterflies: why most of them live in the west, how long they live on average, and how easy it is to find common ground with them without scaring them away.
Fluixon just nodded in response, trying not to pay attention to the fact that they were still holding hands. The gem had a firm grip; Flux could have sworn that if the gem had squeezed his hand just a little harder, it would have shattered into pieces. After all, a hardness of 5 didn’t really work in his favor.
As soon as they reached their destination, Saps pulled the gemstone along behind him, moving closer to the butterflies.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” asked Saparata, admiring the creatures in the air. Their movements resembled a dance that never ends.
“Perhaps,” Flux said quietly. “Are they at least somewhat different from the butterflies in other parts of the island?” he added, looking flustered.
The quartz gem chuckled, looking at his partner. “Actually, not really,” he began. “Same coloring, same movements. Though, I don’t know how to explain it, they feel different here? Like the same creatures, but they give a different impression.”
“So there’s no difference, as such?” He raised an eyebrow, still looking at his partner with confusion. Saps nodded. “I suppose so.”
Fluixon nodded, indicating he accepted his answer. He looked ahead; perhaps Saparata was right—the butterflies really do feel different here.
“Do you like this place?” Saparata leaned against the shoulder of the enchanting gem. “It’s quiet and peaceful here,” he replied.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckled softly. They stood in silence for a few minutes, motionless, as if everything had frozen.
Everything seemed so peaceful, as if they no longer had any worries or concerns. It was as if they didn’t need to worry about anything in the world; they had each other, and that was enough for both of them.
“You know, I think there would be a nice view of the stars from here,” Flux began. “The stars?” the quartz gemstone asked. “Yes,” he replied quietly.
“Do you like the stars?” Saparata glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. The enchanting gemstone nodded. “There’s something about them… something captivating. Do you know what I mean?”
“Maybe,” Saparata could understand what his partner was trying to convey, but why the stars, specifically? “We could stay a little longer tonight to watch them,” he added.
“That would be wonderful,” Flux smiled faintly. “Thank you,” he added, almost in a whisper.
Silence enveloped them both again; neither wanted to break it, yet they didn’t need to. A black spot appeared in the sky ahead, from which a melody rang out that could not be described in words. It sounded otherworldly, something divine. It could have been the most glorious thing in this world, were it not for what it foreshadowed.
A ship of the Lunarians emerged from the black spot. Had they really decided to show up right now? Flux immediately sprang to his feet, drawing his sword. Saparata followed right behind him.
“What’s the plan?” Saps asked, eyeing the ship. 𝘈 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.
“We don’t have much of a choice. No one’s patrolling this section right now, though they probably should be. The Master has gone off to meditate; we can’t count on him showing up,” Fluixon replied coldly. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as he watched the Lunarians’ movements.
“As you say,” Saparata muttered. “Be careful, okay?” he said anxiously. Flux nodded.
The first row of Lunarians fired; the arrows emitted a characteristic whistle. Both gems sprang into action. The arrows struck the blade of Fluixon’s sword, leaving minor dents on it.
Out of the corner of his eye, Flux noticed another arrow that would have pierced his neck had Saparata not stopped it with his sword. The quartz gem was actually much better in combat, and his reaction time was much faster.
“I need you to throw me up there,” Saps said sharply. “Raise your sword up, holding it horizontally.”
Flux, having no doubts about his partner’s plan, raised his sword exactly as instructed. Saparata leaped, using Fluixon’s sword as a springboard for his next jump, which gave him enough height to land on the Lunarians’ ship. He raised his sword in front of him, deflecting another volley of arrows. One arrow struck his shoulder, leaving a small crack, but it wasn’t critical.
His movements were precise, graceful, and yet unpredictable. That was precisely why he was so skilled in combat. Gemstone sprinted toward one of the moonstones, swinging his sword at it. He cleaved it in two with a single blow, but new arrows—embedded with shards of gemstones—popped out from inside the Lunarian.
“Oh,” Saps gasped before hearing a whistle behind him. He barely managed to dodge, losing his balance and falling to the ship’s floor; his sword flew out of his hands.
The gemstone flinched, feeling something grip his arms and pull him upward. He looked up and saw a net being pulled by the Lunarians from the other side of the ship. He braced his feet against the ground, trying not to lose his balance and stay on the floor, but it was futile. He felt cracks spreading across his body from the intense pressure of the net. His sword had slipped from his hands, so there was little he could do.
Fluixon barely managed to hook his feet around a ledge on the ship, preventing the Lunarians from dragging him further. He had to figure out what to do immediately, or he would find himself on the moon within the next ten minutes.
He felt his left arm growing stiffer by the second. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. He struck the net with his left hand, causing it to practically fall off due to the force of the blow, thus freeing himself from the net.
Now he had a completely different problem: when he fell, he hit the ground so hard that his body was nearly shattered into pieces; his left arm had apparently fallen somewhere into the ocean after the net tore it off. He could barely stand up, let alone walk.
Saparata, getting to his feet and grabbing his sword, immediately rushed back into battle. He struck the moon creature again, and then again, until it vanished. He repeated the same sequence with the other Lunarians, simultaneously trying to dodge their arrows.
Striking the last two Lunarians with a single swing, the ship vanishes beneath his feet. Saps lands on his feet and immediately runs to his partner. He throws his arm over Flux’s shoulder, becoming a support for him.
“Oh my God, are you okay?” Saparata asks anxiously. “Why am I even asking? Of course not!” he corrects himself.
“I’ve been better,” Fluixon replies curtly.
“Wait, your hand?”
“Ocean,” the gem replies briefly.
“Oh, wait, I... I can find it,” Saparata says anxiously.
“No need,” the gemstone stops him. “It won’t do you any good, you won’t find anything.”
“I can try,” he says before he’s interrupted. “No. There’s no point in that,” Fluixon sighs. “We should turn back.”
“Oh! Um, okay.” Saparata replies quickly. He sighed, pulling Flux closer to him. “I think it’ll be better if I carry you.”
“If that’s necessary... fine,” he doesn’t have time to finish before he’s picked up. He wraps one arm tightly around Saparata’s neck. “I’ll kill you if you drop me,” he says coldly.
“Don’t worry, I won’t drop you,” he smiles crookedly, holding his partner tightly.
Saparata sits next to Fluixon, holding a shard in his hands and trying to glue it into place. Finally, he manages to attach the last one.
“Are you done?” the enchanting gem asks quietly. His gaze is fixed on his left hand—or rather, on the spot where it should have been.
“Almost—I just need to cover the cracks with powder,” Saps says, carefully applying a layer of powder to Fluixon’s body. “Why are you doing this anyway? Isn’t Benji the one in charge of medical care?” Fluixon asks.
“Yes, but,” the quartz gem says awkwardly. “I’d like to make amends for my mistake. I’m truly sorry, we… I shouldn’t have suggested going there,” he holds his partner’s hand as he applies the final layers of powder. “I’m done.” He sets the powder aside and sits down next to Fluixon
“Saps, it’s not your fault. And I’ve already told you that,” the gemstone says quietly. He places his right hand on Saparata’s left shoulder, practically hugging him. “Lunarians could have appeared anywhere else,”
“Yeah, but I could have…” Saparata tries to say in a trembling voice. “I could have done something,” he clenches his hand into a fist.
Fluixon sighs, resting his head on Saps’ shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault, all right?” he begins. “You really did a great job; if it weren’t for you, I’d probably be on the moon by now.”
Saparata moves closer to his partner without saying a word. He gives a wry smile. “What do you suggest we do about the hand?” he asks quietly.
“Shore of Nascency.”
“Oh, that makes sense... do you think there’ll be something there that can replace the hand?”
“Maybe,” yawns Fluixon. “It’ll be better if we go there in the morning.”
“Alright,” Saps nods.
“I think it’s pretty late, you should go to sleep,” the gemstone says sleepily. He hugs Saparata tighter, as if he might fall asleep right there.
“You too,” Saps corrects him with a giggle. A sincere, broad smile finally bloomed on his face. “Goodnight, Saps,” the gem said before getting up and walking further down the hallway.
“Goodnight, Flux,” he yawned, and went to his room.
𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐’𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭? 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮? 𝘖𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦—𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺? 𝘈 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭? 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸-𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵; 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.
Early in the morning, the two gems stood before the shore of Nascency, a tall mountain where all gems were born.
“I’ve never been here before, I’ve only heard a few things from others…” admitted Saparata as he surveyed the landscape. At the foot of the mountain lay several gems—or rather, what might have become of them. The minerals, not yet fully formed, rarely had even a single limb.
“Me neither; hardly anyone comes here,” the gem noted. “Still, most don’t need to end up here.”
“So, do you have any idea what could replace my hand?” Saps asked quietly. “An alloy. It’s not a sure thing that it’ll take, of course, but I don’t think taking other gems would be any better.”
The quartz gem nodded, following his partner. They walked side by side in complete silence. Saparata looked around, trying to find something resembling an alloy.
𝘍𝘭𝘶𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦.
He sighed, seeing no trace of any alloy.
It could have been a truly wonderful place, were it not for the realization that every shard on the ground could have been a gem in its own right. The thought that the same thing could have happened to him was frightening.
His gaze darted from shard to shard. 𝘈𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘭, 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥.
“Wait a minute,” the gemstone paused. “Isn’t that a gold alloy?” He turned his head toward Fluixon, waiting for an answer.
“Looks like it—probably gold and platinum,” Flux crouched down next to the alloy. “Do you think it’ll work?”
Saparata nodded uncertainly. “It’s worth a try.” He picked up the alloy, which was currently in its solid state. Holding the alloy in his hands—which felt quite heavy for a moment—he looked at his partner with a sad expression. He pressed the alloy against the gem’s shoulder, hesitating as to whether its body would accept the replacement hand.
“It’s not certain the alloy will bond with the body,” Fluixon sighed, looking at the “new hand.” “After all, a hardness of 5 isn’t that high.”
“I think that’ll be enough to support the body. I heard a story about how a gem body with a hardness of 3.5 was able to support the alloy,” Saps smiled uncertainly. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem for you.”
Flux nodded, still sitting on his haunches. Several minutes had passed since the blade had been pressed against his hand, and nothing had happened yet; it was starting to get on his nerves.
“Listen, Saps, we should find something—” He hadn’t even finished speaking when something happened that he hadn’t expected at all. The alloy began to bubble as if it had been doused with boiling water, taking on various shapes. Neither of the two gems uttered a word, having absolutely no idea what was happening.
Eventually, the alloy formed something that looked more or less like a line, if you could call it that. Then, something more like a limb took shape, though the alloy was still oozing out from it in all directions.
“Hey, I think the alloy has accepted you after all,” the quartz gem finally spoke up. “Can you somehow, well, move it?” he pointed to his hand.
Flux aised his hand, from which hot spave was still partially flowing, above his head. He twirled it in front of him a few more times before speaking. “It feels strange. Still, moving it is entirely possible.”
“I suppose one problem has been solved,” he offered his hand to Fluixon to help him stand. “We should report this to the master.”
The gemstone nodded in agreement, taking Saparata’s hand and rising to his feet. He stared intently at the new hand for a few more seconds before shifting his gaze to the guide. The guide, in turn, was staring just as intently at Fluixon’s hand.
“Can you, well, somehow turn it back into a liquid state?” he asked curiously. “I don’t know, and I certainly don’t want to find out right now.”
“We shouldn’t be thinking about this nonsense right now,” the gem replied irritably, striding forward. “We need to find the master, remember?”
“All right, all right, we’ll be in luck if he’s not meditating right now,” he said, catching up to his partner, still glancing at his hand from time to time.
They walked the rest of the way without saying a word; neither of them wanted to start a conversation, especially after what had happened recently. Saparata was quietly humming some tune to himself, Flux wasn’t sure if it was a song or just his partner improvising. If it was the latter, he was remarkably good at coming up with things on the fly.