Relic Safari (Closed w/ Paddy)

[Paddy]

"Tch," She sneered as the creature continued to hone its attention on her. The stand off was proving more and more difficult for her to maintain, which didn't bode well for future strategies that might call for the use of plasma. It had been a very long time since she had used this much of it in a span of hours, and the constant wear manifested as something of a sharp headache, detracting from her already wavering ability to focus. Though, part of her appreciated the corruption's caution as she continued to try to free herself; if it attacked, her predicament would make it difficult to avoid, and if it ran, she may not be able to pursue closely enough to keep tabs on the cooling tracker.

The ominous rumble of the ship sent a shiver down her nape, her head a tingling menagerie of panics kept at bay, and aches that had gone ignored until then. The voice of the forgotten vessel reminded the sapphire of everything that had bothered her about this mission, continuing to sap at her morale. But just as her pessimism began to rear itself over the edge of her thoughts, she managed to break her foot free, and stumbled forward. She took that forward momentum and pressed on, now rushing toward the enemy with the super-heated buffer with a more offensive intention; perhaps if she did manage to wound the thing, or startle it with her change of tactic, she could get it to do as she needed.


Despite the fact that 7XB had certainly dispatched of that corruption, there was a rustle nearby, followed by a sound much like the footsteps that had quietly tapped across the floor before. It accompanied a gust of misty wind that carried through the cavernous hold, and shuffling that seemed to pervade the dark space that hung above both the soldiers and the sapphire. Then, it lulled to silence. 

[7XB]

This time the Quartz definitely heard that distinctive clamor of those skittering, approaching footsteps warning them yet another corruption on the prowl, their snowy mane flying about wildly as they snapped towards the tell-tale sound, eyes narrowing. “Oh, Diamonds!” They exclaimed explicitly, “How many of these things are there? Ugh.” At this point, this skittering beasts were more of an annoyance to the battered quartz, like humans or a cockroach. “2FG,” they clip over their rigid shoulder, “is there anything useful in this crate?”

They meant, of course, the shattered crate by their feet, the diminutive gem rushing to sort through the fragments of pitted metal, “Um..no, no, commander! Just this weird.. cylinder..thing!”

The nervous corruption was finally driven back by her encroaching light, projecting itself through the air to escape, jagged claws hooking into the wall, hoping to escape to a deep, dark place.

[Paddy]

The sound that had filled the darkness above her caused the sapphire to fumble a bit, but luckily for her the corruption had seen fit to escape in that moment, leaping across the room with an unsettling agility to then scurry upward, toward the source of the sound before it had fallen into stillness. She would of course have to go after the creature before her tracker could go cold, but it would take a lot of energy to follow it upward, and she had to account for what she'd just heard. Something was up there, but she couldn't be sure what; perhaps she would find out, as she wasn't ready to let some noise scare her away. 

Pressing her lips into a line, she drew away a good portion of her plasma and reassigned some of it to create a rope. Then, she hurried up to the wall, and stuck her plasma onto it as far up as she could get it. As she did, her mind began to wander on the fact that it had seemed awfully convenient that the corruption would flee, just as that sound had echoed over the tall metal corridor. Her plasma pulled her up as if it had a winch, and she used it to keep herself secured as she threw up another line. Just as she did, the light from her rope glanced over dozens, if not hundreds of glistening, beady eyes, clinging to the wall just above her. Now, she made the connection; the foe had fled to join the rest.

"W-Whaa!" She screamed and nearly projected herself off of the wall. But before she could, they swarmed. Completely overwhelmed, and without much time to react, she tried to allow her rope to snap away so she could reallocate its use for another buffer, but she had already been grabbed by the jaws of one of these creatures, and dragged into the dark. Teeth gritting, she knew it wouldn't be a pleasant fall if she got the creature to release her now. Though, perhaps there was a silver lining-- would it take her in the right direction? 

[7XB]

As was made quite clear by the jagged teeth that held her so firmly in place, struggling would only end poorly for the little Sapphire, possibly shredding her to bits. However, as it stood, the creature seemed far more concerned with reaching whatever secret sanctum awaited in the inky darkness, scurrying in that direction through whatever unseen path they now traversed. Hopefully, this hideway would help Padparadscha locate the source of all of this trouble. If she survived, that is.

“Cylinder?” The quartz echoed, unwilling to turn again to look, unsure of exactly WHERE the corruption would emerge- little did they know that 2FG had found the same artefact they had been searching for all of this time. “Whatever it is, hand it over,” they ordered,reaching behind for it, “I need something to throw.”

[Paddy]

The silence around the soldiers drew on. Any clamor from the other side of the room had been deadened or lost on the wind. The stillness carried on for a long moment, as if the threat were biding its time. The vessel creaked quietly, like a tree pushed by the breeze, and the footsteps returned, interrupting the silence for only a moment before fading away again. "No," The clear timbre of Padpara's voice carried over the air,"Bring it here," 


It was a strange sensation to have her arm clasped by the creatures jaw as she dangled over the cargo hold in complete darkness, though the initial shock at having been surrounded by corruptions, and suddenly snatched up by one of them, had done something to cause her panic to overload her senses. Her jaw was clenched, and her entire body felt numbed, but she felt the sting of the creature's caustic spit running along her skin. She was as still as she could be, hoping not to perturb the thing nor its compatriots which followed close by, only appearing to her sense of movement in the air around her. Any thought she could've had from that point out was drowned by the mind-numbing panic.

She had been traveling for some time, though it felt much longer to her than it actually was, before she was dropped,"Ah!" her head split with terror, before she plopped into what felt like a mass of ooze. She fought with it, trying to prevent herself from being too caught up in it, but that just seemed to get her more tangled. Her mind whirred as she tried to kick herself out of her panic. Letting forth an exasperated sigh, she began to think; she had no idea where she was, nor if the rubies were here, nor what compelled the extraordinarily odd behavior of these corruptions. For now, all she could think to do was to test the situation. "Hello?!" She called into the dark.

[7XB]

The sudden, familiar sound of the Sapphire's voice caused the quartz to nearly drop the prototype almost as soon as it was handed off to them, eyes darting about habitually as if they expected her to return from the shadows- only to realize moments later that 'her’ voice was coming from the opposite direction of where Padparadscha had gone. Instantly they were suspicious, fingers curling around the object that they had yet to see, bringing it around to confirm what they had already imagined. If this had, somehow, been Padparadscha, she would have know the secret phrase they had so recently decided upon, and seeing as this imposter was so eager to trick them out of whatever it was that the Ruby had just found, it had to be the prototype.

One look told them them that this was, in fact, the case. “You want this?” They demanded, threatening to crush it, “ come get it!”

In the darkness that surrounded Padparadscha, a indistinct whisper answered her call, a dull, pulsing light flickering into existence at the other side of what appeared to be a larger chamber. It was a purplish light, like that of a gem trying to light the way, or a beating heart. “Padparadscha..” Came the stilted, distorted voice of the quartz, "Padparadscha where are you?"

As she drew closer she might hear, faintly, the muffled cries of the trapped rubies.

[Paddy]

Her heart lurched, any color left in her once-warm hue drained out of her as she heard both 7XB and the rubies. Immediately, Padpara recalled the commotion she had heard earlier; the cascading of crates, and subsequent silence. She surmised that they'd been captured, perhaps in the same manner she had, and now her panic was laced with a potent despair that punched straight through her chest. What could she do? Calling her pearl now would've been shrewd, but her projection apparatus was stuck in the ooze as well. Even if Pink Pearl did get the message, what would the servant do? The only thing she could, would be to call for back up, which might not arrive for hours.

Giving in wasn't an option though. She grit her teeth as she racked her mind for a way out. She had an idea, but it would sap her of any vitality left to try it. She felt like she'd run head-first into a brick wall already, and now she really began to feel the stress of fatigue, as well as the fresh pain in her twisted arm-- on top of the tumultuous storm of her emotions."I-I'm here, we'll find a way out!" Her wavering voice called, a grimace on her face. Her eyes fixated on the rhythmic violet light as she tried to hold herself together. She had no idea what it was, though it had a certain ghostly beauty to it. For a quiet moment she just let the words rattle through the spacious darkness.

It was in that silence that she remembered the mimicry, and her despair radiated like a poison through her. If she didn't like this deceptive place before, she now had an absolute, burning hatred for it. She let that hatred fuel the burst of energy it would take in order to pull off her plan. The sapphire had decided that a bold strategy was probably the only one feasible in this situation. She would try a new tactic, generating plasma across her skin like a molten suit, and attempted to push away the ooze around her as she baked it into place. It lit up her position, revealing to her the mostly empty, slim covered surroundings, but also giving away her position to anything that would've been nearby. She wriggled her way out, and stood balanced to give herself a moment. Then, she lowered a lantern down to make the surface viable, and made her way toward the other source of light, listening very carefully and stepping lightly.



A few seconds of silence passed following 7XB's threat. "Please?" The voice carried on, seeming to come closer to the two gems,"Please help me," The voice twisted into a quiet, pained whimper. The shuffling from the darkness above resumed, along with the tap of footsteps closing in from all directions. The murky light around the soldiers glinted off of shifting shadows, popping over crates or slipping between storage containers, and the din of movement became louder and louder.

[7XB]

The sound of the Sapphire gem’s torment was agonizing to 7XB, but it was fortuitous that they saw it for what it was: a ruse. “It's not real,” they said aloud, in response to the frightened, confused look of the Ruby pressed against them by the shadowy descent of the shadow creatures upon their position.

A fine pickle they found themselves in, wasn't it? Despite the chance that she was in a much more dangerous situation, the clear Quartz couldn't help but wonder what the Sapphire would think of what could very well be their last stand. They brought the relic overhead, the alloy denting as they began to crush it, defiant plasma superheating it. “I'm not afraid of you, come and get what's left of it!” Slowly but surely, it was crushed.

The violet gem flickered violently, sputtering as what seemed to be the combined voices of 7XB and the stolen rubies howled in pain. Her control of plasma, even now, was unexpected, revealing that the room seemed to contain little more than the Sapphire and the massive..gem latched upon the opposite wall. That, and the cohort of countless eyes upon the ceiling. As one looked, though, the eyes begun to slowly vanish, the insectoids scurrying off to stop the Quartz from destroying the last conduit.

[Paddy]

She flinched and threw her hands over her ears as the once almost soothing pulse of light became erratic, spewing a teeth-grinding, turbulent cacophony. Along with the surge of movement above her, it caused her to stumble over her own feet. Prevailing fear tore at her, urging her to get out of here. She was hit with a pang; there were only few options that could explain why the creatures left her with the anomalous object, little by little. She hoped it would buy her time.


These pained voices were not, after all, the soldier she'd come to admire so much and their dedicated troops. Though it was disheartening to know that she hadn't found the rubies, everything now came together for her. There was much she could deduce; from the reason this ship was downed, to the reason this mission had been so arduous from its very onset. This was what it had been. Though every inch of her was numb, she clenched her fists, and hardened her gaze, repeating her mantra to keep herself focused now that the threat had become truly tangible for the first time. "0001 1AA," She called to the shrieking gem who had been affixed to the wall; it hit her fully, the ship itself was a gem artifact,"So you're the mastermind here? Well, you're to be re-purposed."


The gem had been designed to be like a phantom, pulling strings where no one could see it, and those whose weakened minds it manipulated would be at its beck and call-- she would have to work quickly. The sapphire focused to dispel her fear of 1AA as she marched forward, closer and closer to the prototype she was meant to recover for her Diamond; the relic that 7XB and their rubies had worked so hard to bring her to. Not only would it be difficult to reach the immense gem-core, but it would be a challenge to keep herself from tearing apart this heinous prototype once and for all, with her own hands.

Padparadscha threw a ring of light around the perimeter of the glowing core, blasting through the metal setting that had encased it. She had trouble bringing the plasma to the heat she would've preferred; the hotter she could get it, the more quickly she could pry this thing off of the wall and bubble it. The sapphire had exceeded her limits before, she would do her best to try again. She nudged more and more energy into the increasingly bright light, grimacing as her head felt like it was smacked with a bag of sand.



"No!" The voice shrieked, then evaporated as the cylinder crumpled like a tin can between 7XB's palms. The shuffling of steps became a rolling racket echoing through the gaping cargo hold. Corruptions poured down from the walls, whirled out from between the crates, and jumped over every obstacle in their path. Many of them had been caught in their own trap, though it allowed others to scamper over them, completely surrounding the 2FG and their commander. Then, the majority of the hive-minded creatures simply continued, escaping haphazardly behind the gems, into the corridor they'd entered through. As much as possible, they stuck to the dark, avoiding the dull umbrella of amber light.

[7XB]

Though the gem weapon had now lost it's prized ability to magnify it's power, and therefore control the skittering corruptions at any real range, it was still more than dangerous enough at such a close range as Padparadscha was. A similar, distorted howl of rage, this time very clearly radiating outward from the gem, rushed forward to meet the Sapphire as her white-hot lasso found it's away around it. The tidal wave of suffering was much like the inky darkness the group had encountered earlier, assaulting her synapses with that same, primal misery.

7XB moved to shield the Ruby as best they could from what they could only imagine as an Attack, their eyes squeezing shut in anticipation of what was to come..only to realize it didn't. The creatures, perhaps set free by the destruction of the relic, began to flee, both from the gem and the warm, if dull, light they seemed to produce. “That was.. unexpected, wasn't it?” The Quartz seemed almost bemused, turning to face 2FG- they were soon the only two gems left in the room.

“Now come on, we've got four gems to find. Finally, finally they'd be able to get to the bottom of this..assuming Padparadscha had been successful and could still be tracked.

[Paddy]

The light from the plasma dimmed as soon as the core's dark anguish coursed around and enveloped her. Every hardship she'd faced in the passed day seemed to hit her all at once, twisting like a knife. Then came a wash of every self-doubt, the things she hid about herself or disliked, every time she'd failed in the past, the fears she'd faced, all of the gems that had hurt her; it all crushed down on the sapphire in a dense singularity. The insidious object's psychological attack brought her down, quivering to her knees as she could no longer hold herself together, tears pooled in her eyes. For that moment, everything she did felt entirely hopeless, without real direction or worth. Her body physically weakened, her mind wound around like a top, dwelling over everything that 1AA forced her to face-- she had utterly lost focus.

As tears dripped from her chin, her eyes trailed back up to face the tyrannical gem still implanted in the wall, the plasma surrounding its setting had begun to cool. What had come of her comrades? The pain twisted through her chest, telling her what she had been trying to ignore about the swarm of corruptions that had disappeared. On top of that, she hadn't been able to find the rest of the rubies yet. What would come of everything they'd gone through to bring her to this point? She closed her eyes, and tried to swim through the fog of her doubts to find the trackers she'd given to 7XB and 2FG. Her brows furrowed as she concentrated. Then, like blips of light on a dark horizon, she grasped the presence of the still-live tags. Not only were they still standing, but they seemed to be on the move. She still felt too weak to get up, and tears still poured from her eyes, but now, she could see that things weren't all as hopeless as this malicious prototype wanted her to think. 

From where she sat, she resumed her task, shoving what remained of her energy into melting through the gem's setting. The metal creaked and wavered, giving a small boost to her demolished sense of confidence. Then, a chill slipped down her spine as she heard something; the gem core not only manipulated her emotions and her sense of reality, but now, it whispered through her consciousness, asking her if she were truly doing the right thing, or whether she were on the right side of this conflict. 

 

[7XB]

Unsure of where else to begin, 7XB and the Ruby made for Padparadscha's last know position with all possible haste, the impressive.agility with which the Quartz soldier moved causing the walls and passageways of the derelict to echo and shudder. The dark presences seemed to have receded to a great degree, no doubt critically weakened by the loss. “Where..ahha!” The still-warm remnants of plasma hanging from the wall was definitely a solid clue- Had she scaled the wall, or tried to do so?

At the very least, it seemed as though she had tried. The eagle-eyed gem noted the countless claw marks, a pattern formed overtime. With the light of the powered marker they could see which gashes were fresh, leading through a rather large chasm in the corner of the room..leading down to the next level. With a joined nod towards each other, the two plunged forth into the breach, first the quartz, than the ruby. Immediately they could feel that darkness again, but nowhere near as strong as before.

They must have been getting closer, as moments later Padparadscha would hear a voice, hopefully, cutting through the despair, “Padparadscha!” It was distant, muffled, but it was there, “Riverside! Padparadscha!”

[Paddy]

She began to wonder if the movement she'd registered from her tags had been more deception. Internally, she questioned what she was even doing here; why did Pink Diamond want this horrible object back? To recycle it, to find a new use for it of course, her Diamond was too frugal to let something like this go to waste. Then again, this had been a military vessel, initially under Homeworld's commander in chief-- would Yellow Diamond have some use for it? Perhaps she shouldn't have been questioning the Diamond's motives. But, it was her nature to find truths, not necessarily to tip-toe around conventions; truthfully, she felt this thing would better serve the empire by being ejected into the nearest sun. What use was a prototype who turned against its own? She couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't at this point. Could she trust anything at all?

The sapphire jumped when she heard her name, 7XB's voice resonating through the dark. She swiveled to stare in the direction she though she heard it from, then glared back up at the gem core. This had to be more cruel deception. Still the darkness continued to torture her with all of her sorrows, she grit her teeth. Then, the code word struck her ears. Her lip quivered as her worn eyes went wide, tears still falling over her cheeks. Could she trust what she heard? For a moment, she didn't answer. 

Though, the word reminded her again that this mission hadn't been only arduous; it had been something else entirely, something she'd never experienced. An adventure through alien lands, with an incredible gem by her side. They were not just someone to talk to, but someone who offered a bastion of support during what had been the most difficult journey in her career. It reminded her of the little moments of peace they'd offered her-- along with the passionate ones. She choked on a sob as she wished with everything left in her that she was hearing something true right now. It sounded true to her, she wanted to believe it. The sapphire tapped hand along the rims of her eyes, and turned away from the venomous gem still stuck to the wall. "Riverside-- 7XB, I-I'm here," She called back, her voice wavering. She sniffed,"I've found the artifact,"   

She didn't want them to see that she had utterly fallen apart here. Putting everything she could into it, she pushed herself to get onto her feet with a grimace on her face, and tipped her head back. Being able to stand reminded her of all the victories the team had shared that day, and she set her jaw as she tracked her eyes onto the malignant enemy. Anything this foe could shoot at her was just dark smoke and mirrors, a desperate attempt to get her to give up. It had to come down from there sooner or later, and she'd already cut through a significant portion of the metal. The plasma continued to channel around the setting, popping it loose bit by bit. 

[7XB]

They heard, at first, nothing but their own voice flowing off of the walls like raindrops, fearing that, despite the growing heat of the tag clutched so tightly, so desperately in their palm, that they may have been too late to save Padparadscha this time. Even in the short time they had known each other, she had developed quite a reputation for getting herself into trouble.

The quartz began to dread what they might find at the source. How would they live with themselves?

And then, a return cry, any suspicion abated at the returned use of their code. Her voice, despite the tell-tale crackle with an origin they cannot place, was almost angelic..if a bit farther off. “Oh, thank the Diamonds! Stay where you are! We're coming!”

The weakening gem core let out a final groan, as did the metal it was attached to weakened under the heat, a grinding scream resounding as it fell..

[Paddy]

Tears still fell from her eyes, but now it was due to the surge of hope that welled up to replace the sense of dread that 1AA had instilled in her. The tags continued to make their way at a steady, rapid pace; each step closer, and hearing 7XB's voice, gave her heart more strength. When the final bits of setting gave way, her eyes widened, her teeth clenched as the gem core's agonized protests reverberated off of the walls of the chamber. She dove forward to bubble the gem just before it could hit the ooze-coated floor, preventing it from taking on any kind of form if it could, and to cushion its momentum. Pink enveloped the amaranthine core, muffling it and keeping its virulent powers contained. 

She stared at the gem where it sat bubbled in front of her. This part of the mission was a total success, and the fact that 7XB was on their way most likely meant they had carried out their given objective. But, anxiousness tinged this victory. Her mind was still numbed from the attack, and she had been reminded of the full extent of her injuries. On top of that, she had initially set out to find the rubies. Though it couldn't be said to be a failure yet, she wondered where in this enormous ship they could be. Were they trapped with corruptions, desperate for help? Were they wandering, lost? It sent a pang through her chest. Her eyes trailed up from the captured gem, to the setting she'd pried it out from. Behind it, a gaping, dark room. 

This darkness was not the thick, aberrant shadow that had hunted after the team. It was simple lack of light, carrying no sense of misery with it. Still, she felt reluctant to step forward to investigate it. Her skin prickled as her eyes slid back down to eye the relic which Pink Diamond had sent her to retrieve. For a moment, she left the gem there, and stepped around to lean into the room, collecting what was left of her plasma to shed light into this previously hidden area. From what she could see where she stood, it was lined with a series deadened, dust covered panels and seats, with a single raised podium at it's center. 

Before taking any more steps, she turned around, and waited with weak-knees for the remainder of her entourage to return. Her eyes searched the dim chamber for signs of 7XB and their ruby, and she took some more time to dab at the rims of her eyes to try to lessen the evidence of her struggle here.