Chapter Text
Carnelian dangled his legs over the edge of a cliff, letting out a bored sigh. Scouting missions like this hadn’t been any fun lately; the Decepticons hadn’t made any moves in a long while. What’d it been, three years? They couldn’t have just up and left the planet, could they? There was a reason this war was being fought.
Just as he was debating reporting the usual ‘absolutely nothing out here’, some sort of noise down in the forest below caught his attention. Finally, something worth checking out!
…first things first, he got his communicator out to let his partner know what was going on.
“This is Crimson Cowboy, calling Azure Assassin, over.” Carnelian spoke into the device.
“Still not over those codenames, are we?” a voice on the other end chuckled.
Carnelian pouted playfully. “Aw, come on Beni, can’t I have a little fun?” The red gem could practically hear his partner’s eye roll over the communicator.
“What’cha need, Carn’? You find anything?” Benitoite asked.
“Some sort of activity over in the woods ahead of me. I’m gonna go scout it out.”
“Need backup?”
“Do I ever need backup?” Carnelian laughed.
He slid down the cliffside and started heading over towards the commotion. He hid himself behind a tree and peeked out into the clearing. His gaze narrowed at the sight he came across.
Robonoids. A whole squad of them. A good few seemed to just be watching the perimeter, but most of the drones were busy moving supplies in and out of what seemed to be a mine. The Decepticons had finally resurfaced, and it looked like they were busy.
Carnelian turned on his communicator again. “Beni, I’ve got visual. Decepticon robonoids, and a whole lot of ‘em.”
He could hear Benitoite groan over the comm. “I can tell what you’re about to do next by your tone of voice. Carnelian, you’re going to get yourself captured, just wait for m-”
She was interrupted by Carnelian bellowing out a battle cry and rushing into the clearing, taking out his weapon and smashing Decepticon drones left and right.
Benitoite grumbled, switching comm channels. “Pietersite, we might need to go retrieve our teammate. The ‘Cons are back and Carn’ might be neck-deep in scrap.”
“Understood.” Pietersite responded. They turned to the orange and white gem next to them. “Agate, do you have his coordinates?”
“I’m locked onto his signal, Pietersite, but our team is scattered across time zones.” Agate answered. Pietersite nodded in response, opening up a comm channel.
“Benitoite, Aventurine, Bumblebee. Rendezvous at base and prepare to warp out.”
Carnelian continued to fight against the robonoids, dodging attacks and hitting at the drones with his whip. Even with as many as he took down, more of them kept coming.
“Come on, is that all you got?!” Carnelian taunted, twirling his weapon above him. As reinforcements for the drones continued to arrive, Carnelian wondered just where all of them were coming from.
A dark shadow falling over him gave him his answer, as he turned around and spotted the Decepticon warship, The Nemesis, slowly drifting above.
Carnelian quietly got out his communication device again. “Hey, Beni? About that backup?”
“We’re on our way, just hang tight-!” Benitoite responded. The comms promptly shorted out right after the message got through. The Decepticons must’ve made quick work scrambling the signals.
“Well, might as well have a bit of fun before they get here.” Carnelian chuckled to himself, attacking more drones. He fought fiercely, but no matter how many he took down, more and more of them just kept coming. He was starting to get overwhelmed.
Carnelian was already outnumbered, but he knew that the robonoids weren’t going to stop showing up, and who was to say how long his own backup would take to arrive? He decided that if he was screwed, he might as well go out with a bang. He caught his whip around one of the robonoids, spun it around in the air just to show off, and flung it towards the mine at top speed, the resulting explosion throwing Carnelian and every remaining robonoid in the area backwards.
Even as he was dragged towards the Nemesis, Carnelian knew he’d won that battle.
Herkimer Diamond stood in front of the ship’s controls, scowling at the scene below. All his hard work, blown into oblivion by a Crystal Gem. How infuriating.
The silver gem turned to confront the perpetrator as he was dragged into the bridge by some robonoids. Carnelian sneered up at him.
“Herkimer. Been a while.” Carnelian mocked. “So, where’s your master?”
Herkimer growled. “Never mind him! I am my own master.” He reached up and summoned one of his swords from his gem. With a flourish, the blade was struck through Carnelian’s gut, impaling him. “Any more questions?”
The red gem managed to get in a rude hand gesture before his form dissipated. Herkimer let out a frustrated grumble as he bubbled Carnelian. Stars, Crystal Gems were infuriating. He turned on his heel to face the Nemesis’ controls again, and set a course to orbit Earth. At least he got something done today.
Meanwhile, on the ground below, the rest of the Autobots had just arrived on the scene. They had their weapons at the ready, fully expecting to be met with hostility, but they were stowed when all they saw was a smoldering battleground. Carnelian was nowhere to be found, and the Decepticon ship was just vanishing through the clouds above and into the stratosphere.
“Oh stars…” Benitoite muttered, clenching her fists so her hands wouldn’t shake.
Pietersite turned to Agate. “Can you track his position?” The orange gem turned on the device he was holding, the screen showing the status and locations of the rest of the team, sans Carnelian, unfortunately. Agate lightly smacked the side of the pad to try and get it to show their missing teammate, to no avail.
“Nothing. The Nemesis is probably scrambling the signal.” Agate huffed.
“So Carnelian is alone on Decepticon turf…” Aventurine thought aloud.
Agate nodded. “With no way for us to know whether he’s alive or not.”
“SCRAP!” Benitoite swore, kicking a charred rock across the ground. Bumblebee Jasper cautiously approached her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
“We’ll find him, Benitoite.” Pietersite reassured. “The Decepticons will more than likely rear their heads again.”
Benitoite sighed, nodding. She turned her gaze to the smoldering mineshaft nearby. “It seems they’re planning something big, by the looks of it.”
“Good thing Carn’ interrupted their little operation, huh?” Aventurine chuckled half-heartedly.
“Pietersite, you don’t think…?” Agate muttered.
The red and blue gem nodded sagely. “If the Decepticons are collecting resources at this scale, they may indeed be preparing for his return.”
Benitoite smirked, slamming her fist into her palm. “Well then, we’d better start preparing for him ourselves, shouldn’t we?”
Miko walked along the shore, picking up rocks and tossing them into the waves. The young teen was bored out of her mind. Sure, Griffin Cove had an amusement park and an arcade and places to eat, but there were hardly any other kids around for her to hang out with, and there was nothing interesting to do. She’d been to arcades that were ten times cooler back in Tokyo.
The teen came to a chain link fence blocking her path. It ran all the way from the lighthouse cliff to past the water’s edge, and a bright yellow sign displaying the words ‘KEEP OFF BEACH’ and ‘NO TRESPASSING’ was hung up right at eye level. As she read the sign, she noticed a much smaller ‘Please’ underneath the rest of the text. Cute.
Fence be damned, Miko was feeling adventurous, so she decided to ignore the warning and climb over to check out what the rest of the beach was like. She’d only gotten three steps in when she heard a deafening screech unlike anything she’d ever heard before in her life. Miko whipped her head around towards the source of the noise, witnessing a huge centipede-like monster with bright green ooze dripping from its mouth scurrying along the cliffside. As it passed over the fence, some of the ooze splattered onto it, corroding the affected areas in seconds.
This was MUCH more like it!
The centipede monster ran further down the beach, and Miko followed behind it, having pulled out her phone to film the spectacle. She was pretty glad the thing didn’t seem to acknowledge her, otherwise she was pretty sure she’d be in trouble. As cool as this was, she didn’t want to get sprayed with acid.
Miko slid to a halt suddenly. She’d been led to what seemed to be a cave in the side of the cliff, leading somewhere deep underground. The remains of ruined pillars were scattered by the entrance and across the sand before it.
Was this some sort of important historical site? Was Miko going to be arrested for sneaking in?
“On your left!”
No, something much stranger was going on here.
Miko looked to the base of the cliff, seeing someone dressed in all blue running along the sand. In one superhuman motion, they leapt from the ground and landed on the centipede monster, which bucked around wildly trying to shake them off. Miko could almost hear them growling trying to keep their grip.
“Bumblebee, now!” they shouted. From the cliff above, ‘Bumblebee’, a figure dressed in, fittingly, yellow and black, dropped down, weapon at the ready. The blue figure leapt off as Bumblebee landed on the monster’s back with a crackle of electricity, the centipede letting out another ear-splitting screech as it was electrocuted. Miko then saw the blue figure, alongside someone in green who had just shown up, leap high into the air, coming down fast on the monster’s head and burying it into the sand with a single, powerful motion.
And in the blink of an eye, the monster vanished in a burst of light, leaving the three strangers standing in its crater, and Miko a short distance away, eyes wide, unable to tear her gaze away the whole time.
The blue figure picked up some sort of light green orb from the ground, then magically encased it in a blue bubble. “Well, that’s done with. Good job, team.”
Bumblebee silently pumped their fist in the air.
“I’m relieved that thing just barely missed us with its acid.” The green figure shuddered. “At least we’re all still in one piece.”
“Speaking of which, we’d better go check the fence to make sure it’s not damaged. We don’t want any humans getting the wrong idea and sneaking in.”
All three figures froze and turned around, spotting Miko staring at them with starry eyes.
“THAT WAS SO COOL!” Miko squealed.
“You jinxed it.” The green figure sighed. The blue figure’s expression narrowed, and they spun on their heel, approaching Miko.
“You’re not supposed to be here, human. Didn’t you read the sign?” They reprimanded.
Miko snorted, crossing her arms. “You think I’m gonna listen to a sign on a fence? The intimidation is kinda lacking when you write ‘please’ underneath it.”
“They kinda have a point, Beni’.” The green figure agreed.
“Don’t take their side.” Beni snapped. They turned back to Miko. “How much did you see?”
“I got pretty much the whole thing.” Miko answered, displaying the video on her phone. Beni snatched it out of her hand. “HEY-!”
“Then you ALSO saw how dangerous it is over here. You could get seriously hurt, or worse.” Beni fiddled with the device. “How do you delete this…?” They muttered under their breath. Miko stole back her phone, shoving it into her pocket.
“Hands off my phone.” Miko hissed.
“Listen, human.” Beni fumed. “We’ve been trying to keep ourselves hidden for the sake of your species. We don’t need brats like you getting in our way.”
Bumblebee motioned like they were trying to get Beni to calm down. Miko pouted a bit.
“Cut me some slack, okay? There’s hardly anything fun to do here! I just wanted to find something cool…”
“Isn’t there a, uhm… ‘Fun Land’ or whatever?” The green figure asked, struggling to remember the name for a second.
Miko shook her head. “It’s pretty much just like every other amusement park, same with the arcade. I want something new, not a boring version of the same things I can find in Tokyo.”
Miko felt like she was shrinking under the gaze of the three people in front of her. Beni sighed, pinching the bridge of their nose.
“Look, human. You’re not in trouble. Just- delete that video off your ‘phone’, go back over the fence, and forget this ever happened.” Beni placed a hand on Miko’s shoulder. “Pretend you never saw any of this. We don’t exist.”
Miko nodded, taking her phone back out and deleting the video. Miko gave the trio one last dejected look before she headed back over to the fence, dragging her feet on the sand a little.
The three gems started back towards the base once the human was out of sight.
“Don’t you think that was a bit harsh?” Aventurine asked.
“It’s for their own good, ‘Ven.” Benitoite responded. “Pietersite doesn’t want harm to come to organic life, so keeping them away is the best way to protect them.”
“Guess I can’t argue with that.” Aventurine shrugged.
Unknown to them, a robonoid scout was perched on the cliff above, having seen the entire thing.
And Miko’s life was in far more danger by sending her away.
Pietersite sat on a hill overlooking Griffin Cove. Agate had detected heightened Decepticon activity around the outskirts of the town recently, so Agate, Benitoite, and themself were on patrol to make sure they didn’t try anything.
So far, they’d found nothing.
Pietersite turned on their comm link. “Agate, Benitoite. Do you have anything to report?”
“Nothing. West side is clear.” Benitoite responded.
“North side is empty as well, Pietersite.” Agate added.
“Are we sure they’re even around here? It’s been a while now and we still haven’t seen anything of note.” Benitoite asked.
“Our tech may be a bit scrappy, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Agate replied.
“Agreed.” Pietersite concurred. “We cannot be sure the Decepticons have truly left until we thoroughly search the area.”
“Hm. Alright then. I’ll get back to you two if something happens.” Benitoite concluded.
Pietersite closed the comms, returning to their patrol. Benitoite did have a point; it had been a few hours since they first started their investigation, and they’d seen not so much as a single robonoid the entire time. Of course, the Decepticons were cunning, especially under Herkimer’s command. It was very likely they were biding their time until they lowered their guard.
Something moving towards the base caught their eye. It was… a human? Odd. Was it the same human that Benitoite and Aventurine had said hopped the fence two days ago?
The human seemed to stop and stare at the other side for a few moments, as if in thought. Pietersite was almost certain they were debating climbing over again. Surely after what they’d witnessed, they were fascinated with the gems. They were alien after all, and what was ordinary to them was new and strange to a human.
Pietersite understood their longing to find out more. They’d been the same when they first came to Earth, after all.
The human eventually turned away from the fence, solemnly heading back towards the boardwalk. It seemed they made their decision. Pietersite quietly watched over them to make sure they made it back safely.
They couldn’t have guessed what happened after that.
It was a good thing Pietersite had decided to keep their eye on the human, because out of nowhere, a swarm of Decepticon robonoids appeared and surrounded them, to both their surprise and Pietersite’s. Pietersite quickly summoned their sword, rushing down to the beach to protect the human before they could be attacked.
Miko assessed the situation in front of her. She was completely surrounded by these- floaty robot things? Whatever they were, they looked like trouble, and it didn’t look like there was any way for her to slip past them.
Unless…
Thinking quickly, she vaulted herself over one of the robots and started sprinting back towards town as fast as her legs could carry her. Unfortunately, they were chasing after her, and no matter how fast she was going, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to outrun them. It wasn’t like she’d be able to hide from them if they were directly behind her, either.
If only she had a weapon or something on hand.
At least she wouldn’t end up needing one. In a familiar fashion, someone dropped down from the sky and sliced through two robots at once with a sword, quickly finishing off the rest of them as they approached. Miko stood back and watched the fight in awe.
Once the robots had been thoroughly taken care of, the imposing figure turned to face Miko.
“Are you unharmed?” they asked.
“I’m fine! Thanks for the save!” Miko nodded enthusiastically.
“It’s no issue.” the stranger smiled. “My apologies for getting you involved in all this.”
Miko tilted her head in confusion. “What do you-”
“Pietersite!”
The human turned around upon hearing the voice, and as two more people arrived, Beni and Miko pointed at each other in recognition.
“You!” Miko blurted.
“You’re that human!” Beni shouted simultaneously.
The other person approached Pietersite. “Pietersite, what are you doing with this… human?” they asked in an almost disgusted tone.
“Relax, Agate, they mean no harm. They were surrounded by the robonoids, so I stepped in to protect them.” Pietersite explained.
“The Decepticons went after a human?” Beni asked, turning to the other two.
Miko raised her hand. “What’s a ‘Decepticons’?”
“Nothing you should be getting involved with.” Agate scoffed.
“Considering they were just attacked by them, they very well already have.” Pietersite corrected.
“What do we do with them, then? We can’t just let the Decepticons come after them again.” Beni spoke up.
“I have so many questions and none of them are being answered.” Miko muttered to herself.
Pietersite chuckled. “We’ll explain everything in due time.” They turned to Agate again. “For now, the human should reside with us at the base. If the Decepticons are targeting them, their life is in grave danger.”
“Wh- Stay with us?! A human?! In our base?!” Agate sputtered.
“Pff- Don’t blow a fuse there, Agate!” Miko giggled. She was only met with looks of confusion.
“Fuse a- what?” Beni asked.
“Uh- Don’t worry about it. Human phrase.”
“My point still stands.” Agate grumbled, crossing their arms.
Pietersite placed a hand on Agate’s shoulder. “I understand your concern, old friend, but this is the safest option. We do not want any harm befalling this town or its residents, which does include ourselves.”
“I guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing having someone else around.” Beni shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll get along with ‘Ven and ‘Bee, human.”
“You can just call me Miko.” Miko corrected, smiling.
Miko tossed her bag and guitar case over the fence and excitedly climbed over after it. This exchange program had ended up being completely worth it after all. She hadn’t been too keen on living in some random town in America and leaving behind the city life she was used to, but now she was glad she did. Otherwise she never would’ve gotten to see that centipede monster and the ‘robonoids’ and she wouldn’t get to hang out with… well, whatever they were, they definitely weren’t human.
Her life was finally starting to get more fun.
Miko scooped up her things and started sprinting down the beach to get to the cave. Pietersite stood at the entrance, waiting for her.
“Okay, I got all my things!” Miko announced, sliding to a stop in front of Pietersite.
Pietersite nodded. “I presume you’re all prepared for your stay then?”
Miko bounced on her heels. “Yep!”
Pietersite chuckled, motioning for Miko to follow them as they started towards the cave. The human eagerly followed alongside them…
…and was met with an empty hole in the ground.
“What is this?” Miko deadpanned.
“Just the entrance, Miko. Do not worry.” Pietersite reassured. They approached the back wall and held their hands to their chest. The gem embedded there began to glow bright red and blue, and Miko watched in awe as the cave wall opened into a spacious room. Pietersite turned back to the human with a smile. “Welcome to Crystal Gem Outpost Omega One.”
Miko stepped inside, taking in the scenery. Agate was working at some sort of weird computer, hardly sparing even a glance to the new arrival. There was a staircase leading up to two raised balconies, on one of which Bumblebee and that green person- Miko assumed they were the ‘Ven’ that Beni had mentioned- were sparring. Towards the very back of the outpost was a crystalline platform, placed right before a door that supposedly led further into the base.
It was incredible.
“This is so cool! I can’t believe I get to stay here!” Miko squealed.
“Temporarily.” Agate interrupted. “At least until we can be sure the Decepticons won’t come after you again.”
Miko huffed in frustration. Bumblebee and ‘Ven came down from the balcony to greet the human.
“You’re that human from the other day, aren’t you?” ‘Ven asked.
“That be me.” Miko grinned. “I’m Miko! Miko Nakadai!”
“Nice to meet you for real! I’m Aventurine, and this is Bumblebee.” Aventurine replied, motioning to Bumblebee. Bumblebee waved hello.
“Not much of a talker, huh?” Miko commented. Bumblebee responded with a halfhearted shrug.
“He, uh, lost his voice a few thousand years ago.” Aventurine sheepishly explained.
Miko blinked. “Did… Did I hear that right? A few thousand years?”
“Yeah?” Aventurine confirmed, similarly confused.
“Organic lifespans are much shorter than our own, Aventurine.” Pietersite interrupted, chuckling.
“I still have no idea what you guys are, and I keep learning things that don’t explain anything.” Miko laughed.
Pietersite smiled. “Allow me to explain.” Miko turned her attention fully to Pietersite. “We are inorganic alien lifeforms known as gems, from a planet very far from Earth.”
“Gems? As in like, rocks?” Miko asked.
“Indeed.” Pietersite confirmed. They motioned to the gemstone on their chest. “Our bodies are projected from our gemstones, similarly to a hologram. As such, we do not experience the passage of time like your kind does.”
“So, you guys are basically immortal? That’s so cool!” Miko gushed. “What are you all doing on Earth?”
Beni, who Miko hadn’t noticed enter the room, spoke up. “Our Homeworld was pretty much ruined by the war, so around two thousand years ago, we took to space and found your planet.”
“War? Against who?” Miko asked.
“The Decepticons.” Pietersite began. “Over five thousand, seven hundred, and fifty years ago, Gemkind rose up against the Diamond Authority, the oppressive monarchs of our planet, to fight for our freedom. But after their downfall, the two leaders of the rebellion, myself and Iolite, disagreed on what the next step for our society was to be. Our resistance split into two factions; The Crystal Gems, who sought to protect organic life and to end the colonization of other worlds, and the Decepticons, who sought to conquer more planets for their own empire. And as such, the Great Gem War has raged on since.”
“The Decepticons… like those robot things from yesterday?” Miko wondered.
“Kinda.” Aventurine chuckled. “They’re gems like us, they just let their machines fight for ‘em most of the time. Heh, cowards.”
“The Decepticons have been in hiding for some time now, but it would seem they’ve made their return. And they may have mistaken you for one of us, Miko.” Pietersite continued. Miko shuddered. “If their recent increase in activity has been any indication, as I fear it has, then they are preparing for Iolite’s arrival to Earth.”
“What'll happen when he gets here?” Miko asked.
Pietersite sighed. “That I am uncertain of, but what I do know is that it will be catastrophic for this world…”
Alexandrite strode confidently into the bridge of the Nemesis, displaying a reading on their visor of someone trying to contact the ship. Herkimer turned his head back to glance at the other gem.
“Those transmissions are coming from deep space. Are you absolutely certain it’s from… him?”
Alexandrite silently nodded.
Herkimer grumbled, turning to walk into the halls of the Nemesis. “Fine. Then open the Galaxy Warp stream, and prepare the Nemesis for his arrival.”
Alexandrite turned to the ship’s controls as Herkimer left the room, heading towards the warp room. The lights of the room lit up as he entered, standing on the balcony overlooking the Galaxy Warp.
The warp pad came alive with a beam of light, and as it faded, a cloaked figure stood in the center. Herkimer glared as the gem tossed off the cloak with a dramatic flourish.
Iolite grinned as he took his first step into the Nemesis.
“DECEPTICONS! I have returned!”