Taking a Step (C: Saki) -Fin-

[Paddy]

Padparadscha gave a long, exasperated sigh. It had been some time since she last navigated this massive human construction, and she found it to be much more confusing than she remembered. Last time, she had Iolite to lead the way, and to handle these taxis, though she'd found that they required "money" for her to use them. Aside, she wasn't sure where to look. Her informants had given her precious little to work with, and it seemed that the gem she hunted had many more allies here than she could've anticipated. These earthlings put her on edge-- her last encounter with them had not been so pleasant. 

With no money, and a patience wearing thin, the sapphire considered that this investigation may need more time than she'd initially asked for. The board had been reluctant to send her here in the first place, but her resolve was steeled. This was personal, and she would take as much time as she needed in order to blow the doors off of her enemy's sanctuary-- that much was certain. Of course, for now, it was a seeking mission. The sapphire knew better than to try to engage with this particular foe on her own. At least she would have her pearl for back up this time, just in case. 

She flipped open her communicator and sent a transmission back to her ship, for Pink Pearl to receive, and spoke quietly. "It isn't a bust, but I may need more time to navigate this place and locate the target. Please contact the board and send back as soon as possible," Pink Pearl sent back confirmation, and the sapphire stood for a moment, looking around at the street signs and considering where she had already been in this concrete labyrinth. 

 

[Saki]

Saki was roaming the streets of Earth. She wanted to meet new gems in order to make some friends. Perhaps if all went well, her new friends could meet Sulfur. After what seemed to be 20 minutes of wandering aimlessly, she spotted someone. This woman had to have been a gem. She approached the gem with a cheerful smile.

"Hi there! My name's Saki. What's yours?"

She extended a hand to the gem.

"You are a gem right? That's so cool! I haven't met any other gems besides Dad. I've always wanted to make some new friends!"

She giggled and then had an idea.

"So have you been on Earth long? I'm new to this planet and we'll life in general but maybe we could learn about it together?!"

[Paddy]

As this gem made her way around the corner, the sapphire jumped, startled by the unexpected presence of another gem. This one seemed to be nonchalant, comfortable surrounded by the city, and the words that came out of her next were as equally perplexing as her sunny attitude. However, Padpara's eyes narrowed when she saw this gem-- Saki, she called herself-- extend her hand in a gesture that was all too familiar to her. She had seen a certain Howlite make a similar gesture, though she couldn't say whether he was the originator of the concept. Many gems who were bound to Earth seemed to make this gesture, so she took it as a custom. Padparadscha couldn't put her finger on what kind of gem this Saki was, she didn't recall ever seeing such a gem before. Everything about her piqued the sapphires curiosity. Dad? 

"Greetings...Saki," She stared down at the hand extended to her, unsure of how to respond. Her senses told her that this stranger was being completely genuine, though she had often questioned her abilities of late."I'm Padparadscha facet 10C8A cut 8QE. I've been working at Headquarters, and on the Earth colony for a few hundred solar cycles. Of course, it is always full of surprises. It must be exciting to be on one of your first dispatches,"

She paused for a few moments, mulling over what had been said to her. Much of what this gem said seemed strange, and was hard for the sapphire to wrap her head around, but she disregarded some of the more puzzling implications of Saki's words. "Forgive me but...I'm not sure I've heard of a dad gem...nor a saki. What are your functions?"

[Saki]

Saki giggled at her reaction.

"Oh no Dad is not a type of gem. It means father. My Dad is a Sulfur. I am too! I am not really sure what you mean by function. I'm just kinda living I guess. I've only existed for a few days now. I came out here looking for friends and now you're here! So perhaps we can be friends?!"

She got excited and triggered a decoy. Faster than one could blink, Saki ended up behind her with a copy occupying her original position.

"Oops sorry. I'm still learning to control that. If I get too excited I accelerate. Normally I can keep it under control but I just get very excited sometimes and then I lose control."

She bounced around a little bit as she waited to hear if this gem wanted to be friends.

[Paddy]

Sulfur? She remembered quite clearly how she'd felt to hear Spade bring up this Sulfur and claimed him to be somehow superior to the Diamonds themselves. It irked her to even let the thought pass through her mind, but she realized that this gem who spoke to her in the present had dropped some major clues right into her lap.

The sapphire was fairly young for a gem, and she had little experience in the field, but she was certain she knew the caste like the back of her hand. Sulfur was a gem she'd never even heard of, it was beyond obscure. Perhaps this was a model of gem so rare that even she-- an aristocrat-- wouldn't recognize it. If this was the same Sulfur that Spade had spoken of, Padparadscha knew this gem would be invaluable to her investigation. 

Again she jumped when Saki disappeared from in front of her, and she whirled around to get the gem back into her line of sight. It put her on edge, but still, the gem seemed sincere. "Friends?" She managed, wondering about all of the strange things that Saki said. She still didn't get what a father was, but intended to find out,"Sure, Saki, let's be friends," She gave a warm smile, though underneath she still calculated the chances that this gem was connected to her target,"What do friends do in a place like this? Perhaps you can show me around,"

[Saki]

Saki blushed with embarrassment at her question.

"Well technically I don't know what to do. I've only been alive for like a week and I have never left the castle until today. I'm sorry. If I knew it would help I would've done something. Hmm... Well perhaps I can still help you get around the city. My abilities are really good at fast movement. Just gotta see where we are."

She bounced around as she did a quick examination of the surrounding area. She was so excited to have a new friend. She hoped she wouldn't accelerate again. She knew that it had to recharge but still she didn't want to keep startling her new friend. She had to learn how to keep her speed under control.

[Paddy]

"Ah, I see. Please, lead the way," She smiled, then brought her hand to her chin in contemplation. This gem had just been created, and had a slew of strange mannerisms, but she was proving to be a bank of data. The sapphire couldn't help but to feel a bit guilty for involving this innocent, oblivious gem in her investigation, but she had to do what she needed in order to solve the case. Castle? A sort of kindergarten? If that were the case, wouldn't Padpara at least have an idea of what such a thing could be? 

Rather than trying to keep an eye on Saki as she surveyed the city, the sapphire flipped open her slate and scrolled down to her own map of Empire City. She had the places she'd been before highlighted and labeled, but it was still a confusing mess to her. She couldn't imagine there were any castles here in Empire City, but she had heard tell of gem hideouts dotted across this human-made landscape. 

"Castle, you say? What's that?"

[Saki]

Saki smiled.

"Well it's like this big structure. It's not like the ones here. It's very ancient looking. Dad built it with the help of my Uncle Howlite and my Aunt Blu. I've never met the man but I'm sure he's a good guy!"

She looked around and spotted some kind of structure labeled "Teddy's". She looked at Paddy.

"I think I found a place for us to go! Hang on!"

She grabbed Paddy's hand and zipped forward at break neck speeds into the establishment where a large human man looked at the pair.

"Welcome to Teddy's. How my I help you?"

Saki smiled at him.

"I'm Saki and this is my new friend Paddy!"

She giggled at the nickname. The bouncer chuckled.

"Name's Frank. You guys look like gems. If you're here for the Boss, he ain't here. He promised his girlfriend he wouldn't go here without her."

[Paddy]

Deep in thought, she considered what a castle might look like, and the names that Saki had dropped. Howlite, in particular, had jarred her. Was this confirmation? Was this Sulfur directly connected with her target? And now she had a new name to contemplate, Blu...who was no doubt an associate of this Howlite. If it were the infamous 9XR that Saki spoke of, then Padpara was blown away by the possibility that she was already hot on the trail. 

The sapphire hardly noticed as Saki moved on. Having her hand grabbed jolted her out of her head space, "Wuh!" She sputtered as Saki dashed with her to the door of Teddy's. Suddenly, she was standing in front of a rather intimidating human. Paddy? That was new, but she supposed a pseudo-name might be better than giving her true cut here. She hadn't been called 8QE since her days under mentorship, anyway. 

"Y-yes...we're gems," She nodded, and the declaration from this organic surprised her. He seemed use to dealing with gemkind. Padpara narrowed her eyes at the mention of the boss. This mysterious figure may have also been familiar with gems, though there was no way of knowing. "Ah, no, we're here to...relax," She gave a smile to Frank, then peered down at her communicator. Her pearl hadn't gotten back to her yet.  

[Saki]

Saki grinned. Then she was curious.

"So who exactly is the Boss?"

Frank chuckled.

"Sir Howlite is what he calls himself. Says he's a Knight of The Broken Gems or something like that. Anywho, he's not here today."

Saki's eyes widened.

"Uncle Howlite owns this place?! That's crazy!"

She suddenly remembered something Sulfur had said to her. To stay away from him. Good thing he wasn't here. Saki led Paddy inside and Frank had them sit down in a booth.

"If you two need food or drinks, just ask our waiters."

With that he returned to the entrance and continued to guard the place. Saki giggled.

"So what exactly did you mean by dispatches? Are you not from Earth?"

That was impossible. All gems were made on Earth as far as she knew.

[Paddy]

The sapphire went numb as the human and Saki continued on, giving her more or less a firm confirmation that the Broken Gem she sought was in direct connection to this place-- and the gem who she had recently met. Her head swam in the surreal impact of the realization, she shot her gaze up to Saki. Is this gem playing me for a fool? She gripped her fists as it dawned on her that if there was one Broken Gem in the world who could evade her senses, there may be countless others. Saki had seemed utterly sincere, there had no indication that she had been contradictory in any way. Yet, finding Howlite's Empire City base had been too easy, it was difficult for her to not feel suspicious. Was it a trap?

Absently, Padpara trailed after Saki and Frank, unable to look up from the thoughts swirling around her. It jarred her back into reality when the group had come to a sudden halt in front of the booth. She glanced around, getting a good sense for where the exits were, though the dimly lit establishment didn't seem to have many potential egresses. The booth itself was about half her height, she climbed up into the seat and tried not to think about how undignified she might have looked. Once she was settled, she swiveled to get a direct look at Saki as she asked her question. 

"I was manufactured on Homeworld," She answered languidly, trying to slog through her befuddlement. It didn't seem like the time or place to begin talking about her complex history, and she didn't want to think too hard about it right now either. How could this gem not know what a dispatch was? Everything about this was off, but she kept talking, "Ever since Pink Diamond established her colony here, I have served the Sol System Headquarters. This is one of many dispatches to the surface that I've undergone,"

[Saki]

Saki giggled as Paddy told her story. Once she finished, she had a question.

"That's a good story Paddy. But I have a question. What's Homeworld? I've never heard of that before? Is it like... A country on Earth? I've never heard of Homeworld."

This was rather mysterious. What kind of place was Homeworld? Who lived there? What happened there? So many questions were buzzing around in her head.

"Well I was made here on Earth in my Dad's castle! He, Uncle Howlite, and a few other gems live there. Aunt Blu used to live there but she doesn't come by as much according to Dad. He also has a few humans too who live there. It's kind of in a wasteland so it's very isolated and boring. I'm much happier out here with people!"

[Paddy]

The sapphire stared at Saki with her brows upturned. She shouldn't have been surprised by this gem's lack of knowledge at this point, but to think that there were gems who had never heard of nor seen Homeworld was baffling to her. It seemed almost cruel for a gem to not know their origins to such a degree. What kind of gem was this "Dad" to keep their brethren from the truth of gemkind?

"Saki..." Padparadscha cleared her throat,"Homeworld...is the central point of the entire gemkind empire. It's a planet many light-years away from here-- where all of gemkind originates from. You and I are not natives here on Earth, neither is any other gem. We came here...to colonize it, to transform it into the vision our Diamonds foresaw it taking on. That...is the purpose of every gem's existence, to serve the Diamonds," She paused, peering at the young gem before her with a fatigued expression. She felt a deep pity for this gem, who had been brought into the world with no conception of her meaning and place in the universe. "Surely this dad of yours hasn't neglected to share your true purpose with you?"

As Saki went on to speak about the rest of her associates, the sapphire decided that this gem must've been truly as naive as she seemed. If this were some kind of trap, she couldn't imagine why this sulfur would be sharing all of this sensitive information with her. "Where...where is this castle?" The sapphire's gaze was sharp, trained on Saki like a laser. 

[Saki]

Saki was confused.

"Diamonds? I've never heard of Diamonds."

Then it got weirder.

"True purpose? Well I mean, he and I are the only Sulfurs left in existence. I don't really know how exactly we have a purpose if we're so few in number."

This was starting to make her a little uncomfortable. Paddy was talking about things that she'd never heard of. It'd be like hearing someone talking about you in a foreign language. She was unsure why Paddy was so laser focused on her.

"It's out in the wastelands. Other side of the world from here. It's a pretty big place."

She looked at a waiter who passed by.

"Excuse me Sir could I have something to eat? Maybe some chicken if you have any?"

He left and came back with some chicken strips in a basket. He gave it to Saki and walked away.

"You want any Paddy?"

[Paddy]

Her mouth hung open for a moment as she processed the things Saki was saying to her. She felt the overwhelming urge to whisk this gem away from this horrid situation she was in, and to educate her properly about her place in the universe. But she knew, with the connections that Saki had, that would be a difficult and dangerous task, not to mention much outside of Padparadscha's jurisdiction. No, she would have to continue to rely on this gem's naiveté. Still, she felt she had to explain, she had to share the truth with this sulfur. 

"Saki, that's not how it works. The Diamonds are the rulers of all gemkind. Without them, your...dad wouldn't exist nor would you. There are few Padparadscha, but each was created to serve the immaculate Diamonds. Sulfurs too were created to serve, but--" She stopped short of going on about how the sulfur who had raised her was a traitor to his kind. She wanted to get around to that, but for now, she felt going on about this any further might alienate Saki even further. She gave an exasperated sigh and clasped her hands together.

She could have leaped out of her seat when Saki mentioned where the castle was, but the directions were vague, and she tried her best to conceal her excitement at finally knowing where to apprehend one of the most heinous and notorious criminals in the history of gemkind. This, she thought smugly, would be a big notch on her belt.

However, she was soon distracted when asked if she wanted to participate in the Earth rituals of food and drink. She eyed the basket on the table, and wondered what Saki was going to do with that odd pile of material. The last time she'd tried drink she'd become inebriated beyond self control, and she didn't particularly want to revisit that. "Ahh...no, no, I'm fine. But, this wasteland, does it have a name? Do you have coordinates?"