Like a Sore Thumb ... (Intro/Open)

[Hematite]

She was hoping this would have been the end of it, she was hoping the gem would have just given up—but she was something beyond persistent, was pleasing her diamonds this much of an obsession with her? As soon Padpara had come even thirty-feet of Hematite, being the only gem there she immediately picked her up through sensory abilities. The gem’s head spun around with disbelief to see her pursuer with a wide vicious smile closing in on her, her gait quickening by the second. Hematite made an almost exasperated groan and then took off yelling as she realized this just wasn’t going to stop!


“It’s-It’s a dem-AH!” Suddenly, she jumped in the air used a man’s head akin to something as a foot-stool and then another person’s shoulder eliciting shocked crises, as she leapt over a group of citizens and took off as fast as she could. Even though she was certain she was faster than this gem, there was issue with visibility, and if she was truly desperate enough, Padpara could simply continue to track her in her tired moments. No, she needed to shake this gem, and she needed to shake her hard. But how, how could she manage a way to get away without drawing some line to her.


She almost slid as she broke into a sprint across a corner, a young man with dreaded-hair was of course playing on his phone, jiving to some music through his headphones when all the sudden he’d have felt someone place a hand on his shoulder, twist him around and yell in his face. He slid back his headphones, “Wait, what?” He said with a raised brow, and then looked over the strange creature before quickly realizing hematite didn’t look like any normal human being he’s ever seen. “Where’s the nearest river!? A deep one, a long one!” She yelled to him, “Whoa … you … human?”


“Just answer my question!” she shouted hysterically. “Uh, well.” He thought for moment, and watched as Hematite kept nervously glancing at the corner, and then he could have sworn he saw smoke over the city buildings. “Is that … smoke?” He immediately felt something take hold of his shoulders and shake him violently, “Tell me where a river is!” She yelled. “Damn, alright, I think if you keep heading down this road and make a right that’s Empire River, it connects to the bay ov- He-hey!” Before he could finish, the alien woman was taking off.


Hematite kept looking back to see if her pursuer had given up, just give up she prayed, just let her go!

[Paddy]

Of course she knew it would be a losing endeavor run after the fusion without a plan, she'd determined as much earlier. She watched with chagrin as Hematite catapulted herself over the crowd of people. The sapphire herself didn't break stride, but her anger rocketed into the mesosphere as the mass of Earthlings around her refused to make way. Her irritation showed on her expression as she lost time weaving around them. Most of the humans were too confused to really react, though some did make to scamper out of the way as she sprinted around them, keeping her eyes trained on her rapidly moving target.


Padpara had surmised that she had the advantage of knowing the city better than the fusion, from what she had heard earlier. She knew how to get to the main avenue, how to navigate the backstreets (or at least she was getting better at it than she use to be), and she knew her way to M-Tower-- though it was a difficult building to miss as its sleek architecture loomed over the entire city. In the best case, she could drive the gem toward a more closed and crowded space, or toward M-Tower, where numerous Homeworld allies were stationed. However, she knew that it wouldn't be easy, and Hematite likely already had plans of her own.


The sapphire slowed as she came to the corner, and her eyes flicked about until she rounded it just in time to see the fusion taking off in the opposite direction, leaving a shaken human in her wake. The man's wide eyes trailed after the fusion, then snapped onto the smaller gem than dashed passed him. Padparadscha didn't stick around to witness his baffled expression, she kept wracking her mind for a way to cut off her target. 

The road nearby was populated with vehicles, flowing steadily through the traffic lights. Again, she cut across the street while the oncoming cars were at a red-light stand-still. Once on the meridian, she threw her hands around to catch the attention of a cab. It slowed down, the man inside swaying his shoulders to a catchy pop tune as she swung the door open.

"Human pilot! I offer you money If you help me pursue my suspect," She point toward Hematite, quickly making her way down the road

"Uh, do you have some kind of badge?" He questioned, one of his thick brows floating up as he turned down the music. The sapphire grit her teeth, watching the fusion get farther down the street. Her hand wiped through the air and she brought out her holoscreen. Then, both of the man's hairy brows were getting away from him as she watched her flip through to bring up her portfolio. "This is some 'men in black' stuff," He chuckled as he squinted at it.

"Just go!" She snapped, and as if it were the crack of a bullet, he stepped on the gas and accelerated-- though not as quickly as she'd like. "We need to catch up to her!"

"Listen...uh, lady, I know you're some kind of agent or whatever but I ain't losing my license today. What happens if she turns down any alley or something? This ain't 'COPS' ya know, though I do like that show..." As the human rattled away, filling the air with chatter, the loyalist gem rapidly lost her patience with him. However, the cab wasn't going any slower than she would've been on foot, and in fact was quite a bit faster even if they were still within the speed limit. She lowered herself and peered out of the window to keep her eye on Hematite. With another crossroads coming up, the sapphire prepared herself to bail out of the vehicle. 

[Hematite]

This was probably the most exercise this gem has gotten in the few years she’s traversed these odd lands. It felt good to be pushing herself again, if only the circumstances weren’t so dire. She looked back behind for only a split second to register something pink and without even confirming if it was her pursuer, continued to sprint as quickly as she could. As she made her nearest right, she could see the river and along with that several small ferries used for tourist on an occasion.



The only issue was that what separated her from the river was a tightly-nit housing-unit that spanned most of the street. She’d have to scale a building to get over there and not to mention a chain-link fence before that. But it was her only chance. She looked behind her once again to check the distance between them and realized her pursuer had vanished. Did she really give up? She wanted to hope so, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to relax completely. She vaulted over a slow moving car as she neared the fenced in housing section. There was a stairway on the other side of the building, but it was barred closed with a built in locking mechanism. She'd have to scale it, her training in something akin to urban exploration and acrobatic stunts was going to pay off for once.



It seemed she had to get over this fence first. But honestly, she looked behind her again, it seemed possible that the sapphire had given up on chasing her after all. It would make sense, she had an advantage of speed, but something just wasn’t right.--she could still faintly sense a gem around her. She was about ready to start climbing when she realized a group of humans were staring at her oddly. “The hell are you supposed to be?” One asked, and Hematite made careful reply with nervous eyes, she almost forgot she wasn’t disguised at the moment, “A cosplayer?” one of them made a skeptical glare, “Comicon was like, three months ago?”



“What’s a Comicon?” she asked curiously; the flow of the word alone caught her attention as it reminded her Japanese, and the group of younglings looked at each other baffled, “You’re a cosplayer and you don’t know what Comicon is, get out here!” The laughter that ensued afterward was enough to make even this old gem blush with embarrassment. She was starting to regret leaving her home.

[Paddy]

Her small hands gripped at the door handle, her teeth gritting as she listening to the cab driver prattle on about his favorite TV shows-- none of it really made sense to her, so she made an effort to mentally block out the human's chatter. Hematite had quickly made her way across the avenue and disappeared behind the corner store. However, this would come as an advantage, as it put the fusion on the same side of the street as the cab. She wished she'd ended up with a more daring pilot, but she was making progress in her pursuit, and conserving the energy she would need in order to finally capture the renegade.

During this moment of downtime, she sent a quick coded message to her Pearl back at the ship, in order to inform her on her whereabouts, and she punched in a message to M-Tower as well. Unfortunately she didn't think either of them would be able to react in a timely enough manner to assist in the capture, but perhaps they could arrive in time for the detaining of her suspect, and subsequent transport back to Headquarters for interrogation. She hoped, at least. 

The nearer the cab coasted toward her target, the more that chill bothered her. Without having to focus on running, or chasing after someone, or being in a philosophical kerfuffle, she now took a moment to think more clearly on it. There was no way to know what it was, but from the beginning, this seemed to be a sensation tied to the presence of Hematite. Her brow furrowed as she mulled over the fusion's last words to her before she'd taken off. It still didn't make sense to her, but there was no longer time to contemplate as the car came closer.

Hematite seemed to be tied up with some humans, so the sapphire took a moment to figure out how she would deal with the cab driver. Humans had this concept of compensation that the Homeworlder had little grasp on, and she wasn't even exactly sure what money was, but she had something she could give him. "Here," She crafted a quick token, embossed with a code,"Take this to M-Tower and they'll give you what you need," She pointed at the tower and slipped the token onto his center console, "Keep going a bit further up..."

Maybe she'd be able to capture the fusion off guard? It would be conspicuous for her to leave the vehicle, so she would attempt a different strategy. She hunkered down to make herself unseen. Her nerves prickled, her hands again gripped that the door handle anxiously. The sapphire waited until the cab was parallel with her suspect-- then, she flung the door open, and leaped toward Hematite, summoning the remainder of her plasma and flinging it out in a quick attempt to cover the distance between her and the target.  

[Hematite]

Here Hematite was, deeply unsatisfied with the young teens laughing at her for apparently being something akin to Gaijin in this country, when what happened next was like something straight out of an animal documentary. Well, at least her reaction was as her antennae stood straight up. She felt something! Oh yes, like a rabbit her posture straightened, her eyes had this certain knowing and even the kids—or at least the one’s being actively perceptive noticed as she looked around with an alarmed glare akin to a prairie dog whose just seen a threat on the horizon. And it was surely her friend, she could recognize this cold stagnant feeling anywhere, in fact she was beginning to recognize it much like scent. But the issue was that although she sensed a direction, although she was sure this gem was getting closer by the second, she couldn't see her-until that is …

A yellow taxi pulled in front of them, yes-yes! She surely felt the gem's presence in this strange automobile, but what could she do in middle of a city full of humans.

This is what she does. She flings the door open and launches an orb of plasma at her! Hematite was expecting her to get out, was ready for it-but to hurl deadly liquid fire at her in the process was absolute madness! The gem barely dived out the way but what happened still elicited cry of pain from the gem. Hematite’s hair was struck and large chunk of it for that matter. The younglings about shouted in sheer hysteria as bundles of her hair went to protect her, she dived out the way and now silver locks were scattered across the ground with burnt edges. There was a visibly pained look on her face—it hurt almost so much that she almost forgot to do the one thing that TRULY mattered in this moment. RUN!

The gem launched into the air and used what remained of her locks and her own physical strength to vault the fence, then with grace that could impress a gem or two, began to scale the building only yards away. She really had to get away from this gem, before she ended up poofing her, or worse. Luckily however, what was rest of her hair could be used to climb it rather swiftly, but as soon as she reached the top, she felt nauseated Hematite’s hair was capable of many things, feeling, movement, and much more- and in reality it was much like an extension of her body—instead just growth that added appeal. But this came with a cost, it reacted to stimuli just like anything else, and pain was one of those things.

She remained almost kneeled over as she tried to grit her teeth through the throbbing electric pain and the afterburn didn't help either, but it simply wasn’t working. She needed a moment, hoping surely, that her pursuer wouldn’t find her way up this building.

[Paddy]

The cab's tires squealed as the driver punched the gas and took off as soon as he realized there was a battle going on, giving Padpara a tinge more of agitation as she remembered how he had refused to give the same gusto to her chase. The other humans scattered to the wind, leaving the street empty but for the gems and the passing vehicles. Cars slowed to get a glance at the strange scene that unfolded here.   

There was a brief moment of triumph at the fact that she had landed on her feet, as well as a hit on her target. However, her goal had been to trap the fusion. For a split second, the target seemed to be immobilized, but deftly recovered and took off before she could be detained. Padpara's eyes widened as she watched Hematite take off over the fence, and quickly make her way up the building. The sapphire didn't sit idle for long, she grit her teeth and tried to think of a way for her to keep on the fusion's tail. There was no way she was going to give in, especially after how far she'd taken the chase. 

The agility of her suspect was impressive, irritatingly so. The sapphire herself was much too short to jump a fence, but she recalled her orb, and stretched into a shape tall enough to accommodate for her height. She simply burned through, leaving a sapphire-sized entry in her wake. Then, she squinted up the building, where the fusion slipped over the edge of her sight.

She didn't want to scale it-- that would make her vulnerable, aside she wasn't particularly fond of heights nor was her method of climbing a very quick one. But if she didn't follow her target, it was very likely that her trail would be lost. On top of all that, the vitality she needed to keep using her plasma was running dry. There weren't many options for her to take advantage of, but there wasn't time to sit around and try to come up with a better strategy. It seemed she would have to make herself vulnerable. 

With the remainder of her plasma, she stretched it into a rope, and threw it up as far as it would go, then latched onto the side of the building and yanked herself up. She created a small foothold, then did the same, repeating the action until she made it to the top. Her teeth clenched, she was getting drained from the constant use of her ability, but she couldn't let it show overtly. The sapphire clambered onto the roof, to see her opponent taking a breather. This came as a relief, part of her feared that the dexterous gem would've been long gone by the time she arrived.

"Give it up," She projected over the breeze,"No matter where you go I'll be able to track you down. You're only making it worse for yourself," She had enough information to make an entire case report on this fusion, so even if she couldn't capture the gem now, her time in relative freedom from justice would be very limited. 

[Hematite]

It was finally over, she could breath—she could … Wait, she heard the telltale sound of something so hot it could burn the air around it and much to her dismay, the aura of the gem pressed on her sonar as she was somehow getting closer. Standing to her feet, shaken though in no way ready to give up, Hematite watched as the pink sapphire climbed her way over the edge of the structure and looked her dead in the eyes. Hematite made careful strides-her opponent had range as an advantage in this situation and she carefully took the time to place herself between the gem and her exit. A dive off this building into the river behind her.

"Give it up," Hematite’s breath stilled at this, “No matter where you go I'll be able to track you down. You're only making it worse for yourself," She could feel the determination pulsing in this gem, it was unlike anything she had ever felt.

If only it was pointed towards something a little more positive.

“You’ve proved my point, by the way.” Hematite scoffed through some pain, “A race so willing to hate, so willing to harm, to take away others’ freedoms? Soon, in whatever dream-life you think you’re in, it’ll become a nightmare as your own customs ground you into dust. What point will you have for your purpose then? Nothing, just you and your Diamonds … your worth is as little as the dirt beneath our feet, forgettable, ephemeral and meaningless. Soon, you’ll embody nihilism at its finest.”

A few chuckles left her mouth as her eyes became intense, a certain knowing in them, “And unfortunately for you, despite that face you put on filled with pride and honor—I can feel your fear, no—your terrors. That horror lurking in the back of your mind. You know you’re just a washed-up gem, a failure, something clawing in the dark for a meaning but despite being given a purpose—you’re a still a puppet, your purpose defined you—it’s creating you, it’s in control of you and the moment you lose it, you’ll be even less than what you are now—hollow and empty.” Her smile widened, she’s lived long enough to see the fate of beings like this, sadly there were some humans who took the very road this gem was taking, stories passed down to her that always ended in the same tragic but meaningful way.

And with that the gem turned and sprinted for the buildings’ other edge, she didn’t care if this gem hunted her down, it was already obvious she wouldn’t let her go from the beginning.

She lept into the air, taking a rather graceful diving position as she descending towards the water.

[Paddy]

As Hematite spoke, the sapphire's brows twisted up and the corners of her lips pulled downward into a sneer. The blistering hot plasma she had left whirled around her as she stepped forward, and prepared for the final capture. Each word fed her flame, especially when the fusion again claimed to know something about the way she felt. To her, the words sounded like the offensive ravings of a cornered gem, trying to push her captor out of kilter. The sapphire decided that she pitied this fusion, so she listened as the gem spoke her piece.

Simultaneously puzzled and enraged, she still couldn't wrap her mind around the perspective of this renegade. She contemplated what was said with an increasingly urgent need to sate her need for answers. What could be more fulfilling than serving ones purpose? Where was there more freedom than in that pursuit? It seemed that the fusion indeed knew something about the way the sapphire felt, yet interpreted in a manner that she couldn't understand. Of course her inception, her creator, the reasoning for her creation defined her; what gem wasn't defined by their purpose? Was Hematite claiming to be exempt from this condition that affected all of her species?

Indeed, the sapphire considered that life would be empty without purpose-- so why give that up? Why toss away one's purpose, in exchange for wandering an untamed planet, without meaning behind ones actions? This group of gems could run away together, try to abandon that meaning that their creators had given them, but ultimately they were still created for a purpose. They simply chose not to fulfill it. 

She opened her mouth to say as much, but quickly regretted the moments she had given Hematite before the fusion launched herself off of the building. The sapphire dashed toward the edge, her brows pulled together as she focused. Now wasn't the time for regret, she had to act quickly-- her plasma stretched as far as she could make it, zipping after in a desperate attempt to capture the gem. The sapphire herself couldn't swim effectively (never had the need), nor would she risk damaging her fragile form to make such a ludicrous jump-- as much as she was tempted to. She clenched her teeth, knowing this was a decisive moment. 

Just as she did, her apparatus pinged as she received a message. From her pearl or M-tower or both, she wouldn't know until she checked. 

[Hematite]

She was putting her hopes falling velocity, she realized this fall was longer than most she had ever attempted, and this was essentially base-humping at this point. And to make matters worse she felt the presence of the gem close just a little closer than comfortable in that split-second rush of jumping, And then at the corner of her eye she say something glowing pink and she immediately used all of her hair and what little air control she had to throw to create a fan-like shield that smacked Padpara’s plasma whip away.

But, now the dive which was essentially for the safety of her body had be compromised, all that form and precision was gone and she slammed back first into the water. Not even her form could take such an impact and in that instance there might have been slight glimmer as Hematite’s form gave up in the crash and her gems sunk to the bottom of river. The portion of which that opened directly into the bay, it was not only very deep, but murky.

[Paddy]

Her mouth fell open as Hematite took a risk that her plan hadn't accounted for, slapping aside the searing liquid light and sending it splattering out, opposite from her target. Shocked eyes tracked down until the target plunged into the river, disappearing below the surface with an audible smack. For a moment the sapphire stood, simply stunned and somewhat awed at her suspect's own determination.

There was no way that Padparadscha could follow hastily enough, but she wasn't ready to give up. She'd never be ready to do that, for any reason, but especially not in the pursuit of justice. Hematite's name would be added to the list of gems which the sapphire was going to recover at all costs, in the name of Homeworld and her Diamond. Her lips pulled back together, her fists clenched.

Another ping came from her holo-apparatus, reminding her of the first. She flicked open her screen, and saw that both of her contacts had answered her. One gave air-space clearance for her ship, and the other notified her that transport was on its way. She turned to see that brightly hued vessel zipping across the sky-- Pink Pearl already making haste to meet with her patron. This was a much appreciated change of pace, compared to the last pilot she had to deal with today.

The sapphire waited for the ship to come to be level with the building, and the ramp tracked out to allow her passage. She stepped aboard to see Pink Pearl sitting in the pilot's seat, giving a Diamond salute while the auto-control stabilized the ship. "Your Clarity," She said in her soft tone, giving a bow of her head. Padpara returned a terse nod of acknowledgement.

"We're going to scour the water, but in this daylight we can't be too conspicuous. I'll work from the ground, you keep an eye from above," She commanded as she took up her seat in the captain's chair. It was unfortunate that this model of ship wasn't outfitted with more tracking technology, especially considering her line of work. But, it was small, nimble, made for speed. Pink Pearl gave a nod, and began to punch in codes on the control panel. The ship gracefully rose, and they went to find a nearby place to station it in order to let the sapphire loose. 

Experiences with water in her life had been, thus far, unpleasant. For that reason, she wasn't overly eager to get into it. She stared down into the movement of the river into the bay, knowing her foe was somewhere beneath (or hoping that she hadn't somehow found a way to escape just yet). Though this river was much slower than others she'd encountered, its murky depth was off-putting. She sat on the edge, before slipping in, only to find that she was rather buoyant. The sapphire kicked her limbs around in an attempt to lower herself, though it was a fruitless effort. With pursed lips, she used her plasma to form a weighted belt around her waist, pulling her down through the water. Bubbles flitted around her as she took her first steps onto the riverbed. 

With total disregard for the original purpose that had brought her to the city and the time that it was taking, the investigator searched through the river, then out into the bay, for signs of her target. She kept a small bauble of light nearby, allowing huge amounts of energy into it in order to keep the water from cooling it into a solid. From above, her pearl sent real-time grids to the sapphire's apparatus, and the two of them combed over the water for the better part of the day. However, her irritation climbed higher the longer the search went on, until finally she realized that Hematite must've been long gone.

She prepared herself to return to the surface after this failed escapade, then something glimmered at her, catching the light from her orb. For a moment, she thought it almost looked like a gem. But, she knew this bay was full of shiny human trash; glass, metal, jewelry, plastics. Exhausted and disheartened, she knew it probably wasn't worth turning it over. Then, she released her weights so she could float back up through the water. Perhaps the fusion would have a little bit more time with her delusions of freedom, but her actions would soon catch up to her-- the sapphire would be sure of it.