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Welcome to Earth
It’s not supposed to be like this.
Jasper’s first thought was not a pleasant one. A moment ago, she was still forming, safely ensconced in reddish-orange rock. Now she was herself, her gem formed and complete; ready to emerge.
Danger
She didn’t understand this. Jasper knew, somehow, that she was being summoned out of the ground, now, for some urgent reason. That something was wrong. That she was in danger. She didn’t know what was happening, but she knew, instinctively, what her only possible response could be.
Fight
She formed her body with a moment’s reflex, and her helmet followed suit. She flexed her arms, and pushed herself out of the rock. And into chaos.
dangerDangerDAN—
A purple gem barreled into Jasper before she touched the ground, smashing her into the wall of the canyon. Jasper had no time to think. But her instincts kicked in. She brought both arms down, slamming the flat blades of her palms into both sides of her opponent’s neck, and drove her helmet down on the other gem’s head, stunning her. She kicked the purple gem across the canyon and looked around, trying to get her bearings.
Survive
She could hear explosions and screams, coming from further away. But closer to hand, a second purple gem with a wickedly curved blade was menacing a smaller green gem, while the first purple gem was getting to her feet. The green gem ducked under the blade and ran for Jasper.
Protect
Jasper let the smaller gem hide behind her, while she faced the two purple gems. They were sizable, but not as large as she was. The unarmed gem came charging forward at a terrifying speed, her body crackling with energy and almost a blur. Jasper dropped to one knee, head down, and let the gem slam into her helmet, stunning her attacker for a moment. Jasper herself shook off the impact, raised her head, and slammed the front of her helmet into the other gem, dissipating her form into a purple cloud. Then she looked around desperately for the second attacker.
There!
She was trying to slip past in the confusion, almost clinging to the wall of the canyon. Jasper charged, somehow crackling with energy herself. Her target readied that short, curved blade, but she looked shaken at how easily Jasper had dispatched her comrade, and she stumbled as Jasper got close. Jasper smashed her into the canyon wall, leaving herself alone with the smaller green gem.
Safe?
That gem looked up at her with obvious relief, but an undercurrent of panic. “Well, you’re not the worst looking quartz I’ve seen today.” The gem pointed to a haphazard pile of spears lying near the sloped exit to the desert canyon. “Weapons are over there. We’re under attack.” She looked at Jasper impatiently, “You’re a quartz soldier. So, get going.” The green gem waved her off and was already moving on to the next injection point, calibrating some kind of equipment as she walked.
Weapon!
Jasper ran over to the spears and picked one up, hefting it experimentally. Hopefully she’d know what to do with it when the time came. She wished the smaller gem had explained more of what was going on before leaving her alone.
Not alone
Two smaller gems ran into the canyon, one yellow and the other red-orange, shouting, “Follow them! They can’t have gotten far!” They spotted Jasper, and she raised her spear and growled. The nearer, dark orange gem held up her hands, “Whoa, big girl! We’re on your side. Have you seen two Amethysts come through here? We think they’re after the kindergarteners.”
“Amethysts?” Jasper asked, not lowering her spear. “Are they purple and a bit bigger than you?”
“Well you don’t have to rub it in.” the yellow gem muttered, while the first one said, “Yes, exactly! So you’ve seen them?”
Beat them
Jasper pointed to the two purple gemstones on the canyon floor. “They’re right here. Or what’s left of them, anyway”
Both gems visibly relaxed, and the red-orange one spoke again. “Thank the diamonds! We had to go after them, but I didn’t think we could take them out ourselves. I’m a carnelian,” Carnelian said, “and this is a citrine. They haven’t had time to give us full designations yet. You’re, what, a jasper?”
Yes
“Yeah, that sounds right.” Jasper said, not knowing how she knew. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“Hold on,” Citrine said, “There’s no one else here. You took out both of these amethysts, alone?”
“I guess I already know how to fight.” Jasper said, with a shrug. Then she pointed her spear back at the yellow gem, “Now, are you gonna tell me what’s happening here?”
Citrine just stared up at her, but Carnelian answered, quickly, “The Crystal Gems launched a surprise attack against the kindergarten. The kindergarteners are pulling us out of the ground as fast as they can. We’re trying to hold them off until reinforcements arrive. Reinforcements other than us, I mean”
Confusion
Jasper relaxed her spear. “Crystal gems? Kindergarten?”
Citrine spoke up, “This is the kindergarten.” A brief wave of her arm encompassed the curving canyon walls, pockmarked with gem’s exit holes, including their own. The sides of the canyon sloped up towards each other, leaving only a thin ribbon of blue sky overhead. She frowned. “And the Crystal Gems are traitor gems, trying to take over the Earth. That’s this planet. Here, I’ll escort the prisoners back. You take the newbie out to the front lines.” She addressed that last to Carnelian, as she bent down to pick up the two amethyst gemstones.
“Prisoners?” Jasper asked.
“These two.” Citrine said, hefting the purple gemstones. “They’ll reform soon, so we can’t just leave them here. You didn’t think you’d killed them, did you?”
Shock
Jasper shook her head, “I wasn’t thinking. They attacked, I reacted. That’s all.”
“Well, I hope your reactions are that good on the battlefield, because that’s where we’re going.” Carnelian said, waving to the departing gem. “See you soon, Citrine.”
“Not if I see you first!” Citrine shouted back, already running deeper into the Kindergarten.
Silly
“What are you smiling about? Let’s go.” Carnelian gestured for Jasper to lead the way out of the canyon, and started to fill her in as they went. “There’s two Crystal Gems at the north end of the kindergarten, keeping us penned in here. A bismuth and some kind of fusion, I heard. Don’t know why they’d send a construction gem against soldiers, though. ”
She shook her head at that, and continued, “But the real fighting is up ahead. They sent a major force to take us out. Mostly amethysts. All we’ve got is the commander, a few ruby guards and whoever the technicians on duty could pull out of the ground—a few carnelians like me, some citrines of course, and plenty of jaspers like you. Well, not like you. Most of us could have used more time underground. We’re not ready for this.”
Me neither
Jasper said nothing, and kept walking.
Carnelian frowned, “I’m not going to lie. We’re outmatched out there, and outgemmed. But if you really took down two Amethysts by yourself, maybe you’ll make the difference. We just have to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Hopefully ours.”
“How long is that?” Jasper asked, as they began to jog quickly up the slope, towards the sounds of battle.
“The warp pads are down. Could be hours. We’re holding on, thanks to, ahem, local reinforcements. That’s us. But that won’t last.” She looked down, and added, softly, “We won’t last.”
Not safe
But there was no time for further conversation, as a boulder larger than Jasper sailed above their heads to crash into the canyon below. They ducked anyway, and ran forward in a crouch, onto the battlefield.
Or what was left of it. Cracked boulders and scorch marks scarred the dry red earth for more than a kilometer in every direction. A squad of small red gem were taking cover behind a rocky arch, as more boulders sailed past. Carnelian led Jasper there.
A yellow and black striped gem, as large as the amethysts Jasper had just fought, glared at them. Carnelian saluted, crossing her hands and arms to form a squarish shape.
Diamond
A clattering noise. Jasper looked down to find that she was making the same salute, and that she’d dropped her spear. One of the small red gems laughed. Jasper quickly picked up the weapon.
Embarrassment
The striped gem nodded at the two of them, and looked down at Carnelian. “Report, soldier!”
“Commander Agate, the two amethysts who broke past our lines have been captured. The Citrine who accompanied me is escorting the prisoners back. I’m returning with the latest gem from the Kindergarten. A Jasper.”
“I can see that.” Agate snapped, looking up at Jasper. “Seems they finally managed to pull a decent looking soldier out of this lousy patch of dirt. You two guard our west flank. When they’re done throwing these pebbles at us, I expect them to make their first full-scale assault. Be ready to hold the line.”
Purpose
Carnelian saluted again, as did Jasper, this time setting down her spear first. She belatedly realized that this was their cue to leave. Carnelian led the two of them to an even more scarred and blasted patch of ground.
Excitement
With a nearly sheer cliff at their backs, they had a broad view of the battlefield spread out before them. Ahead and to the left, some distance in front of the kindergarten entrance, they could see the commander and her few soldiers waiting patiently behind the rocky arch as the last few boulders crashed down. A few small groups of orange and yellow gems were taking cover behind the other sandstone spires and rock piles. Jasper could even see other jaspers, though smaller than herself. But they were not an army.
Worry
“How many of them are there?” Jasper asked, “There’s not many of us.”
“Two fewer than before, thanks to you.” Carnelian said, “But we’re outnumbered, even so. There’s scores of them, at least. We do have one advantage, though.”
Hope
“What’s that?” Jasper asked, both curious and eager to pass the time. She was ready to fight, but she didn’t want to go into her first real battle unprepared. Anything she could learn now could make the difference between winning and losing.
Survive
Or the difference between life and death. Better to know as much as she could.
“Commander Agate doesn’t think they have any real leadership on the field today, thank the Diamonds.” Carnelian answered, “Their attacks, there’s been no plan. No strategy. So they’ll probably just hit us everywhere at once, instead of them all pushing through at the same point in our defenses. We’ll have to fight a few of them ourselves, but we won’t have to take on all of them at the same time. I don’t think even you could handle that. No offense.”
Fear
Jasper shuddered, “None taken. I’m ready to fight, but not an army. Not by myself. We’ll do this together.”
“Together,” Carnelian nodded, gripping her spear more tightly. “You know, I was worried when I saw you. The other jaspers have been insufferable since they held off the first attack this morning. It’s all ‘Jaspers are strong’ and ‘Jaspers don’t give up.’ That’s great for them, but what about me? What about Citrine? We’re quartz soldiers too.”
She held her free arm tight around her chest, her voice growing softer, “And this is our war. It’s our home. We have to fight, too. Even if we’re not strong like the jaspers. Not strong like you”
Shame
“It’s not like that.” Jasper said, stepping in close to the smaller gem. She rested her left hand on Carnelian’s right shoulder, where her red-orange gemstone was set. Its facets were hard and smooth against Jasper’s palm. “They’re afraid, like you.” Jasper paused. “Like me. This is all so new. For all of us. I forgot that, for a minute. You seemed to know everything already. But we both popped out of the dirt today, right? And…”
Alert
Carnelian looked up, a smile beginning to form on her face. But Jasper had been distracted by a flash of red in the distance.
“What is that? Over there, by the commander.” Jasper asked, pointing towards the arch, where there was now a single huge red gem standing where the crowd of smaller ones had been.
“What? Oh. That’s the rubies, fusing. They did that this morning, too. Might be a signal.” Carnelian said.
Confusion
“You mentioned fusion before. What is it? Where did all the rubies go?” Jasper asked, scanning the horizon.
“They combined. That’s fusion. All the small rubies fuse together into a single larger ruby.” Carnelian answered.
Curiosity
“Is fusion only for rubies?” Jasper asked, the seed of an idea beginning to form at the edge of her mind.
“I…guess so?” Carnelian hazarded. “They didn’t tell us anything about it, so maybe it’s something only rubies can do. But it’s also…” she stopped short when Jasper pointed her spear at the horizon.
Danger
“There, in the distance. Someone’s coming.” Jasper said.
And, indeed, there was a smudge in the distance. Within moments, it was easy to see the plumes of dust kicked up by the attacking amethysts, who were rushing forward to close the vast open space between them and the assorted pockets of defenders.
“That group’s coming for us.” Carnelian said, pointing to the rightmost bunch of amethysts. She straightened up, and Jasper took her hand off her shoulder. “We have our orders.”
Duty
Jasper nodded. “Hold the line. We can’t let them through.”
It seemed like an endless wait, but it couldn’t have been more than a minute. The amethysts were using some kind of roll or spin to advance at a terrifying speed—the same that one had used in the canyon, what felt like a lifetime ago. The group advancing on them came into sharper focus. There were at least five in front, though their dust cloud might be obscuring more.
Survive
“If we let them get this far, one might slip past us.” Jasper said, quickly. “You stay back and make sure no one gets by. I’ll meet them head on.”
There was no time for Carnelian to object, so she braced her own spear and waited.
Excitement
Jasper charged forward, dropping into a spin of her own, and crackling with yellow sparks. She held her spear by the middle, pointing out to the side, so that it could spin in place. The amethysts tried to split around her, but the terrain this close to the cliff was littered with boulders and outcrops. They had trouble maintaining speed while getting out of Jasper’s way.
Jasper simply crashed through the offending boulders, and into two of the amethysts. With the energy of the impact, she pushed them down, sending them sprawling as she launched herself into the air. From that height, she nailed one with a throw of her spear, and slammed down into the other, leaving only their gemstones behind.
Delight
She could do this! She could--
DANGER
Jasper didn’t even have time to grab her spear. The other three amethysts had turned and were all converging on her. She let the closest one slam into her helmet, but the other two crashed into her side and back, making her stumble and almost fall. One of those gems pulled a short blade from the gemstone on her thigh, while the other took a whip from the gemstone on her forehead.
Survive
The amethyst with the knife stabbed forward. Jasper grabbed her by the wrist and spun into her lunge, pulling her off her feet, and using her to block a strike from the other amethyst’s whip. She tossed her into the third amethyst, who was only now getting to her feet, and dove for her spear.
Anger
The whip wrapped around her spear and pulled it back, but Jasper already had her eyes on a different target. She had to separate these three, or they’d keep coming at her together. She grabbed one of the smaller boulders, picked it up, and turned back towards the amethysts.
The whip cracked towards her, but she blocked with the boulder, letting the strike cleave the rock in two. She threw the two halves at the two amethysts struggling back to their feet, and charged the one with the whip.
Enough!
The whip struck once more, but Jasper simply took the hit and plowed into the surprised violet gem, fists flying. A final blow from her helmet left another violet gemstone lying on the battlefield.
Not finished
Jasper kept moving forward, putting a bit more distance between herself and the last two amethysts before turning to face them.
But she needn’t have worried. Those two gems hesitated to approach her, even though one had a knife and the other had some kind of short spike. They were beginning to realize that two on one was unfair odds—but not in their favor.
Contempt
“Cowards! Weaklings!” Jasper shouted, “You outnumbered us, but we didn’t back down. And now you’re afraid? Pathetic. You Crystal Gems are nothing but trash.”
“I’ll show you trash!” One of the amethysts screamed back, charging forward with her spike. The other hurried to follow, not wanting to be left alone.
Good
Jasper waited a few moments for the gems to close in, then lowered her head and dashed forward, smashing her helmet into the lead amethyst and knocking her onto her back. The other tried to close in with her knife, but Jasper dodged the wild slash and slammed a kick into the offending amethyst’s midsection, sending her stumbling backwards. The first amethyst tried to roll over and climb to her feet, but Jasper grabbed her by the ankle and spun her into the second amethyst, leaving the two of them in a tangled heap.
Now, perhaps some gems would hesitate to kick an opponent when they were down. Jasper did not. A brutal, sustained set of kicks and stomps battered the two amethysts. Finally, Jasper dropped down to one knee, slamming a fist into each of her opponents with her full weight behind the blows, leaving only their gemstones behind.
Victory!
Jasper scanned the battlefield for any other foes. She could see dust clouds to her left, where the other kindergarten gems were fighting their own battles, and a crowd of purple gems attacking the giant Ruby fusion.
Then she heard the scream. From behind her.
Carnelian!
Jasper spun around. Two amethysts that she’d missed had slipped past her when she was fighting the other five. Those two were now menacing the smaller red-orange gem, back by the cliff. Jasper started to run towards them, but the fight had taken her some distance away. She could only watch, as she rushed forward.
One of the amethysts had a spiked mace, and the other hand a long-handled war hammer. Carnelian was busy dodging blows from the two, trying to keep them from getting to close while not letting them get away. Thankfully, whatever blows they’d landed thus far didn’t seem to have done any real damage.
Protect
Jasper couldn’t run any faster. She was closing the distance, but each second felt like hours.
Both amethysts struck at once. Carnelian ducked under the first strike, and rolled away from the second, but now she was backed up against the cliff. She blocked the next strike from the mace with her spear, but it snapped from the blow, and before Carnelian could react the war hammer slammed into her right shoulder, knocking her down. She did not get back up.
NO!
Jasper was screaming now, inarticulate with rage. The amethysts turned at the noise, weapons ready. They glanced at each other, then stood their ground, waiting for Jasper to reach them.
But at the last moment, they each stepped back and to the side, leaving space for Jasper to rush between them. Unable to arrest her momentum, Jasper barreled on, and the two amethysts hit her from both sides as she passed, striking heavy blows with hammer and mace.
Survive
The first set of blows rattled Jasper, and crashing into the cliff face didn’t help. The amethysts struck again, before Jasper could turn around. The blows knocked her to her knees, and she had to brace her arms against the cliff face to keep from being knocked down completely.
As the amethysts raised their weapons again, Jasper pushed herself sideways, twisting around so that she landed sitting with her back to the rock. The mace missed her completely. She grabbed the handle of the war hammer as it swung down, and pulled hard.
Get up
Jasper caught the amethyst off guard, so the mauve gem stumbled forward rather than pulling back. Deprived of the leverage she was hoping to use to pull herself to her feet, Jasper instead kicked out at the off-balance amethyst, knocking her into the other one.
With a moment’s reprieve, Jasper levered herself up using the war hammer, and leaned her weight against it for a moment as she settled herself.
Fight
The amethysts were back at her almost before she was ready to face them. But this time she was armed, and ready. A swing of the hammer smashed the unarmed amethyst to the ground, and Jasper shifted the handle back to block the strike from the mace.
The first amethyst bounced up and made a grab for the hammer. Jasper pulled back, then released it, sending the amethyst stumbling back just as the other tried to charge forward. As they attempted to disentangle themselves, Jasper grabbed the largest boulder near to hand. It took her a moment to pull the multi-ton hunk of rock out of the ground, but the amethysts were still struggling to regain their footing when she smashed it onto them, leaving only their gemstones trapped under the resulting rubble.
Numb
This time, there was no feeling of elation, nor fear. Jasper simply felt hollow. A quick glance around the battlefield confirmed that there were no further amethysts in their portion of it.
She turned to Carnelian’s still form, only to see the small red-orange gem starting to struggle to stand up.
Shock
Jasper helped Carnelian to her feet. “Are you okay? You weren’t moving.”
“I’m fine, I think.” Carnelian said. “Just dazed. They came out of the dust cloud while you were facing the rest. I tried to hold them off here, but…”
Pride
“Shh, it’s fine. You did well.” Jasper said. “We’re safe for now. Wait,” her finger traced a hairline crack on the surface of Carnelian’s gem. “Are you certain you’re okay? They hit you in your gem, right? There’s a crack, here. Real thin, though.”
“It’s no big deal.” Carnelian craned her head to try to look at her own shoulder.
Concern
“Are you sure? You should go check with one of the technicians. If there’s something wrong, they can fix it.” Jasper suggested.
Carnelian nodded, “I’m sure. I’d go if it’ll make you feel better, but our orders are to hold the line.”
Duty
“Tell you what,” Jasper offered, “I promise to hold them off here, if you promise to get your gem fixed.”
“Fine.” Carnelian said, smiling and holding out her hand, “It’s a deal. But save one for me. I think I could take them in a fair fight.”
“Deal.” Jasper agreed, taking Carnelian’s smaller hand in a firm shake. “I’ll see you when this is all over.”
Relief
“See you then!” Carnelian said, as she started to jog off. “I’ll check in with Commander Agate and then head back to the technicians. You keep fighting.”
“As if they could stop me!” Jasper shouted at Carnelian’s retreating form. More softly, she continued, “Of course I’ll keep fighting. We made a promise.”
Worry
Jasper watched Carnelian get within shouting distance of the enormous Ruby, and, presumably, the commander, and then head back into the kindergarten.
But there was little time to reflect. Off to her right, Jasper spotted another group of amethysts, approaching along the base of the cliff. She wondered, for a moment, if they’d been planning that approach all along, or if they had waited to see where the fighting ebbed soonest. But it didn’t matter. They were here now.
Survive
Jasper tossed a nearby boulder at the oncoming gems. It slowed their charge and let her get a decent count of their numbers. Four, this time. She’d have to split them up first.
But these amethysts were more prudent then the prior group. They stuck close together, two aiming for Jasper directly, and one on either side moving to cut off any escape.
Fight
Jasper couldn’t wait for them to close in. She charged forward and to the right, hoping to pick off the single amethyst approaching on that side before the others could intercept. To her credit, the amethyst did not slow down or change direction, choosing instead to smash into Jasper head-on. But Jasper had a helmet, and her foe did not.
Jasper got up. The amethyst was still. Jasper grabbed her violet hand, and her violet gemstone, and prized it free, leaving the rest of her to dissipate. Unfortunately, by the time she’d managed that, the other amethysts had her surrounded. They were all armed with spears, nearly identical to the one she’d lost, rather than proper gem weapons.
Defend
Her enemies circled around her, too cautious to get close. However, that meant Jasper had little trouble blocking and avoiding their spear thrusts. Soon, the opening she’d been waiting for presented itself: one of the amethysts struck with poor footing, expecting Jasper to easily dodge. But Jasper grabbed the spear instead, pulling forward and causing the amethyst to stumble and lose her grip on the weapon.
Jasper lost no time, spinning to face the other two purple gems. She used her newly-won spear to divert a pair of simultaneous strikes, and struck back, leaving her spear stuck through the amethyst on the left—for a moment. When that amethyst’s form dissipated, there were two spears free for Jasper to take. But also one enemy still armed, and another regaining her balance.
Attack
Jasper wasn’t about to lose out on a weapon for the second time. She dove for the spears and grabbed them both, but she had to drop her guard to do it. The unarmed amethyst crashed into her from behind, sending the two of them rolling along the hard earth. At least the blow shoved her temporarily out of reach of the spear-wielder.
Jasper and the amethyst struggled to their feet. The other amethyst ran towards them, with a cry of “For Earth! For the Crystal Gems!” Hearing that, the closer amethyst leapt at Jasper to try to grapple her and leave her at the mercy of that final spear.
Dominate
Unwilling to let go of her claimed spears, Jasper kicked the offending amethyst back, and threw one of her spears. The purple form poofed instantly, and Jasper was left with one final foe.
This amethyst stopped short. She used her spear carefully to keep Jasper at a distance, not willing to close with the larger gem. They circled each other warily, until Jasper was able to get into the position she’d been aiming for. She threw her final spear at the amethyst, who dodged easily. But while she was getting out of the way, Jasper grabbed the boulder she was now standing next to, and threw it, too. That proved more difficult for the amethyst to dodge.
Destroy
With the amethyst stunned by the boulder, Jasper pressed her advantage, smashing forward with her helmet, and knocking the other gem to the ground. She continued to hammer her with body blows until the amethyst’s form gave out entirely.
Outrage
Jasper was too angry to shout. How dare they! How dare they claim to fight “for Earth.” Earth was her planet. Her home. But the Crystal Gems didn’t care about her. Worse, they wanted her dead. And not just her. There were other gems here too, her sisters.
Revenge
Jasper froze in place. Then she nodded to herself, quite calmly, and began to gather the fallen spears. She was about to do something reckless, dangerous, and, quite possibly, very, very stupid.
And then the Rubies exploded.
Jasper was so focused on her plan that she nearly missed when the ruby fusion fell. But Commander Agate’s voice cut through the din of battle, “Gems, fall back! We’ll hold them at the entrance!”
Orders
Still holding the spears, Jasper ran back to the kindergarten entrance, and turned to survey the battlefield. There was Commander Agate, of course, with two—now one—now zero—rubies by her side, holding off a horde of Amethysts with her whip as she backed towards the kindergarten entrance. And there were a few other Jaspers, shorter than herself, coming from the far side.
Protect
Jasper leaned the spears against the cliff wall, near to hand, and hefted one. An amethyst was getting too close to the commander, almost dodging under her whip. But she never saw the spear coming.
The other amethysts froze, scanning for the threat. And giving their quarry a chance to make a break for it. The agate took that chance, turning to run at top speed towards Jasper.
Spears
The other few jaspers were just arriving, with no amethysts in immediate pursuit. Jasper tossed each one a spear as they arrived, which they were all too happy to take.
They held their spears aside as the commander ran past them, but closed ranks against the pursuing amethysts.
Defend
The amethysts kept their distance, and it soon became clear why: there were many purple figures in the distance, approaching at a more deliberate speed.
“Their attack stops here.” The agate ordered, surveying the jaspers in front of her. “I need to go back and see why our reinforcements haven’t shown up. We should at least be getting more of you off-color quartzes. Until I’m back, don’t let them into the kindergarten. Hold the line.”
Survive
The jaspers did not salute, but simply nodded. And with that, the commander, too, was gone. It was the four of them, now, against what would soon be a small army of amethysts.
So few
“Are we all that’s left?” Jasper asked.
One of the new jaspers nodded. “Yeah. But jaspers are tough! They’re not going to take us down easily. Especially not you.”
Another jasper was more direct: “Wow. You’re huge.”
Pride/Shame
“It’s not like I asked to be big. I just came out this way. Anyway, stay behind me. I don’t know what these amethysts are planning, but I better be in front.” Jasper said.
The last jasper spoke up, “Hmph. We don’t need protecting. Not by you. We’re jaspers too. We can take care of ourselves.”
Guilt/Anger
With the amethysts grouping up but not approaching closer, Jasper turned to face her accuser. “Hey, I didn’t mean—”
But she was cut short by a flash of purple light behind her, and a sudden expression of shock by the other three jaspers.
Danger
Jasper spun around to find herself face-to-knee with a truly enormous Amethyst—a fusion! And one with a huge purple fist, slamming towards her group.
Protect
“Get back!” Jasper shouted, shoving the nearest jasper behind her. She didn’t see the jasper on her right stumble back, losing her balance, and falling sideways, nor the third trying to catch the first two. She didn’t see them grabbing on to each other with a desperate need to survive, to be stronger than what they were.
But she did see the orange glow they cast on the desert sand when they fused, just in time to catch the amethyst fusion’s fist, inches above Jasper’s helmet.
Wonder
Jasper ducked under the orange, striped fusion and stared in awe. The enormous jasper stood nearly eye to eye with the amethyst fusion.
An orange fist swung through the air, and smashed into the other fusion’s chin.
“The plan! We hit her but she didn’t fall down!” the jasper fusion shouted, then answered herself, more calmly, “The plan is to hit her until she falls down.”
Envy
It seems the amethyst fusion had the same plan. The two colossi simply stood there, trading blows. Every impact shook the ground and all the smaller gems nearby. The other amethysts kept their distance, wary of stomping feet and Jasper’s ready spears.
Survive
Jasper dashed back into the Kindergarten to pick up an armful of spears. She wasted her first four throws on the amethyst fusion, but these spears weren’t enough to damage her. The rest she threw, when she had a clear shot, at the waiting amethysts.
Defend
But mostly, she waited, for those rare openings. She couldn’t get past the two fusions, and neither could the rest of the amethysts. At least they didn’t seem to know whatever trick there was to fusing. And they were so absorbed by the fight that they did not always notice her spears in time.
And it was an absorbing fight. The two giant fusions were grappling now, hands locked, trying to push each other over. A slight stumble by either side would send them nearly crashing into Jasper or the amethysts, but no one retreated.
Survive
Jasper watched the fusions struggle, and made sure she was never underfoot. The amethyst was weakening, she thought. Maybe the jaspers were strong enough. Maybe they could hold the line.
Suddenly, the amethyst fusion dropped to one knee, and then to both. The jasper fusion kicked her down and slammed both fists into her giant purple foe, causing the amethysts to separate with an audible pop.
Fight
Jasper was on her guard now, ready for anything. One of the waiting amethyst tried to sneak around the jasper fusion. The others did not make that same mistake.
The formerly fused amethysts, exhausted, were no match for the jasper fusion.
But the jasper fusion, exhausted, was no match for the swarm of amethysts that quickly overtook her.
Survive
Jasper couldn’t see what happened to the other jaspers when the fusion went down. She couldn’t see, but she knew. They were gone now. They were gone, and she was alone.
So she fought, stepping back into the kindergarten entrance so that the amethysts had to come one or two at a time.
Survive
And in their ones and twos, she beat them.
Jasper was alone now. It was her, and the amethysts. It was her, and the fighting.
Survive
Sometimes she fought, beating amethyst after amethyst. Sometimes, she waited, by the entrance and the cliff. But more amethysts came. More always came. This was her life now, the fighting and the waiting. This was all her life had ever been.
Survive
Sometimes the fighting seemed to last for seconds and the waiting seemed to last for hours. Sometimes the fighting seemed to last for hours and the waiting seemed to last for seconds. She couldn’t tell the difference anymore. Between the hours and the seconds. Between the fighting and the waiting.
Survive
This planet’s star crawled across the clear blue sky, slowly, slowly. The amethysts attacked again, quickly, quickly.
Her legs felt like lead, heavy and soft. Her arms felt like iron, heavy and stiff.
Survive
She was punching now. There was an amethyst with a sword and she was punching her. The amethyst had an axe, now. Was it the same amethyst? Had it always been the same amethyst? She did not stop punching. Now the amethyst was gone. Had there ever been an amethyst?
Survive
There were many amethysts in front of her. One. One, and one. One, and one, and one. And one. There were many amethysts. She grabbed one by the neck. She grabbed another by the neck. She cracked their heads together. Two gemstones landed on the hard earth.
Survive
But there were more amethysts. One more. One more, and another one. One more, and another one, and another one. Always another one. She kicked one. She hit one with a boulder. She smashed one with her helmet.
Survive
They hit her, too. She blocked with her helmet, or with her arms, or with nothing. They punched, and kicked, and bit. They stabbed, and sliced, and smashed. Every hit slowed her down, sapped her strength, muddled her thoughts.
Survive
No more thinking, then. She would fight. She would hold the line. She had a duty to her diamond. And she’d made a promise.
Survive
And so she fought. Through the day. The sky grew red, to match the sand. The shadows grew long. And still the amethysts came. Sometimes they talked to her. Sometimes they said nothing. But all she did was fight.
Survive
Now there was only the silence.
The battlefield was littered with purple gemstones. They glimmered and glistened and glittered. They shined and shimmered and sparkled. And they had tried to kill her, every one.
Survive
It was dark now, and quiet. There were stars overhead, thousands upon thousands of them, as though some even greater gem had battled there, and left the night sky strewn with the gemstones of her enemies. Jasper was mesmerized by the sight.
She stood there, still and silent, staring upwards, for what seemed like an eternity. There were no more amethysts to fight. So she did the only other thing she still knew how to do. She waited.
Alone
The fight was over, then. No one else was left out here, on either side. Not the rubies, not the jaspers, and not the amethysts. But she’d done it. She’d held the line, saved everyone still inside the kindergarten. She’d fulfilled her duty. And her promise. So she waited, silent and still.
After a time, Jasper heard a noise behind her. She intended to spin around and face the potential threat, but her movements were sluggish and slow. By the time she’d turned, the other gems were close, close enough to attack, had they been hostile.
Weak
“Well, shatter me sideways. Here’s why we didn’t get attacked from the south! She held out after all.” It was Commander Agate, with two of the technicians, the green gems from before. It seemed like so long ago, now. Jasper managed a feeble salute. The commander waved it off. “At ease soldier. Did anyone else make it?”
Shame
The words were slow in coming. “Only me.”
And then, “the rest are out there.” Jasper gestured to the battlefield that lay beyond the kindergarten entrance.
Agate shone a light from her gem across the ground. “By the Diamonds! There’s scores of them! How many did you fight?”
Duty
“All of them.” Jasper answered. “They kept coming.”
“Ha! She’s got jokes. And she fought an army to a standstill. I like this one.” The commander said, smiling, “Peridots, I’m leaving her under your command. Gather up all the debris out there. Ours and theirs. And pack up any equipment left in the kindergarten. We’re moving out. Wait, no. Leave the injectors. Not like the Crystal Gems will use them.”
Confusion
The words came quickly now. “Moving? But, I held the line. The kindergarten is safe.” Jasper said, “Aren’t we staying, now?”
The agate frowned. “That was an order, soldier. We’re evacuating. It’s not safe here anymore. Now that the Crystal Gems know about this place, it would take too many soldiers to defend it and keep it running. Not worth it, anymore. Not that it was ever worth it. All they could grow here was rocky lumps. Eh, except you, I suppose. At least you can fight.”
And with that, she was gone, back down the canyon.
Shock
“Well, let’s get to work,” one technician offered. “The sooner we start, the sooner we’ll finish.”
“Wait,” Jasper said, “What happened to Carnelian? And Citrine? They both went back to you, and I didn’t see them after that.”
“There was more than one carnelian and citrine.” The other peridot answered, her voice suddenly quiet, “But that doesn’t matter. We sent everyone north.”
Fear
“What do you mean?” Jasper asked carefully, trying to ignore her sudden unease.
“There was a gem—a carnelian, now that I think about it, maybe the one you mean? Anyway, she swore up and down that the south entrance was safe. That we had a gem here who wouldn’t let any Crystal Gems through. And we trusted her. We had to. So we sent her north. We sent them all north.”
Jasper said nothing, waiting for her to continue.
“At the north entrance, they were a couple of crystal gems, real monsters. Like an earthquake. Implacable, unstoppable, pulverizing. We must have sent three battalions worth of new quartzes into that maelstrom of destruction. I told Tiger’s Eye that they weren’t ready. But I don’t know what I expected. This place has been a rush job since the start. They never gave any of us enough time. Especially not them. And none of them made it. We sent them all to their deaths. Then those two Crystal Gems vanished suddenly, just before our reinforcements finally arrived. Like they knew they were coming.”
Disbelief
“I don’t understand.” Jasper said, “She promised she’d be okay. And we won. I did it. I held the line. Shouldn’t that count for something? Why make us, and send us to die? Why them, but not me? What makes all this worth it? What makes all this right?”
The peridot simply shrugged. “Welcome to Earth.”