Alone in the City (Paddy/Closed)

[Hematite]

Yelle held a strong expression, mixed with anxiousness and duty. She knew she wasn’t much of a fighter, but in the long run the sapphire was right, this gem was one of their enemies in a way, she would have to do something if the situation came down to it. “Don’t worry, I may have a way of ensuring she doesn’t get too far out of hand.” Yelle piped up as she looked over at Hematite, “Remember that I am still very loyal to my kin, and I will not stand for any kind of harm you might try to cause. It would surely be in your best interest to surrender,” The peridot looked over at the sapphire, “if I must, I will act as a witness in your case.” She was starting to realize now that this fusion was beyond any kind of stubborn, it was  an iron will to be absolutely defiant to the end, or at least that’s what it felt like to her. In the end, this fusion had turned away from her kind and no longer wished to aid their efforts.

In some regards, Padpara’s thoughts weren’t too far off, Hematite was uncertain if she could challenge a group of enemies, but the fusion wasn’t going to go down without a fight. True, she had mentioned she was originally defective, but it would seem fixing part of that defection lies in her fusion form, with the sacrifice of many of her abilities, was a body more than capable of performing both dexterous and mighty feats. Where many Homeworld warriors shared the same body-type strength, and ‘charm,’ her fusion state gave her a combination of grace, strength and dexterity. And, of course, the mind of three-beings and not simply one. It would often prove to give her an edge that was above other combat gems, depending of course as there were exceptions.

The fusion would cross her arms and step away from the two, her silence was her answer as she said not a word after this and the peridot lifted her limb extender to activate the sliding door mechanism. “Let’s head to left wing so we can check out this prototype. We’ll have to ensure it’s thoroughly sabotaged before proceeding with reactivation of the facility.” She strode outside the door And Hematite followed, not before glancing at the sapphire with stoic eyes. This snake was quite ready to strike, there was no running here and so now she’d simply have to release her fury.

[Paddy]

Padpara gave a nod to the peridot. It was cases like these that seemed to build themselves, and she hoped there would be more witness intel to gather from gems like Serendibite, or the pearl that Hematite had mentioned. If so, the case would be ever more solid, and she could dispel any doubts she had about the entire story that the fusion had given of her inception, and subsequent defection from the empire. Then, the fusion's fate would be decided.

It was also good to hear that Yelle retained her loyalty wholeheartedly. Gems who spent a long time on the surface seemed to eventually have issues with maintaining loyalty, which had lead the sapphire (along with some colleagues) to hypothesize that there was something about Earth's composition in particular that affected the minds of gems, turning them against their own. Though, this peridot seemed to be an example that this was not the truth in this instance. It put a more genuine smile on her face as she listened to the gem go on to answer her question. 

The sapphire took Hematite's silence and sober expression for acquiescence; perhaps in the time being, they would all be able to journey in a cold peace, at the very least. "Right, let's head out then," She allowed the other gems to go first, again so she could observe them from a vantage point. It still felt strange for her, usually she would be the one in the center of the escort, padded on all sides by soldiers or kept in the front. This formation wasn't what she was use to, but the sapphire was observant enough to trust herself to it. Keeping an eye on Hematite was a priority, but she was also careful to peer back every so often as they began toward the left sector.

Though, after a moment of silence, Padpara began to feel uncomfortable. Her throat cleared, and she continued to plan out-loud,"Proctor, you mentioned that we would have to enter the sector in an unconventional manner?"

[Hematite]

The group exited the overseer’s room and Yelle gripped her limb-extender nervously as they walked, Hematite had actually placed herself between the two, which was odd to her. If they were trying to capture her; or at least she was going to act as an obstruction to this fusions’ intents, why place herself between the two? It didn’t register to her until she realized this fusion was completely aware of both of their positions, since she was capable of sensing their locations, placing herself between them neither put her at a disadvantage or advantage.

And it was true, Hematite chose her position rather wisely and made careful steps to follow the proctor, not even needing to look back. She wouldn’t have too, the moment Padpara’s intent would turn against her, the fusion would sense it through the sapphire’s emotional content. Something she was happy these gems weren’t aware of. But it would be in that moment that she’d either strike back or find a way to distance herself. Part of her was still hoping to avoid confrontation. She wondered if she could lock them in a room, or separate when they weren’t paying attention.

She kept her eyes open. She must stay aware.

“O-oh yes! We will indeed.” She spoke up and brought her holo-console into view, “Normally the sector is reachable only through a designated entrance within the main foyer of this facility. But with the lockdown activated, it wouldn’t be possible to reach it from there, and instead we’ll have to head to the hidden antechambers of the security station and use the access ways there to get to the left wing.” Despite her years in the dark, it seemed she was still on top of her facility management and the location of its secrets. Some of them at least. She was still quite worried about this so call hidden project.

This must have been something far beyond her.

[Paddy]

"I see," She answered, bringing a finger to her chin to tap it as she thought. Now that she knew how they were getting there (more or less) she tried to imagine what the next step would be, though trying to foresee that proved to be difficult. Dismantling the prototype would have to be completed carefully, considering the fact that Yelle had already been honest about the fact that she didn't know anything about it.

Padpara glanced over her shoulder. Though the main power grid was down, she couldn't imagine what threats might lurk here. The peridot's knowledge seemed reliable and plentiful, but what other prototypes had soared over her clearance? And more importantly, had those prototypes managed to gain their own freedom in the time that the facility had been breached by Project H-3567? Even before there had been an eeriness to the silence of these corridors, but now it seemed to her to be the calm before the storm. Her eyes trained forward again, onto Hematite, before she flicked her hand to surf through her holoscreen.

She looked for the status on her communicator-- still down for the long range. Then, she began to look through the data files that had been transferred to her, searching for anything of interest. Though, in actuality, this was the expenditure of nervous energy. The threat Hematite had made still weighed fresh on her mind, and it made her antsy to have this gem still more or less at large. Despite the fact that she had already determined the risk, part of her felt it to be irresponsible to allow this gem to simply walk free after her intimidation. She decided to use what range she had on her communicator to send a file to the Proctor, under an encryption that her device would be able to decipher.

"We need to plan the take-down of Hematite before the reactivation takes place," The message would read,"If our timing is off by a moment, it wont matter how many soldiers Headquarters sends our way-- she'll already be gone," 

[Hematite]

The proctor felt her limb extender resonate, a usual sign that she was receiving a message and the confusion on her face seemed to prove it. Hematite, however, seemed to glance at the proctor as she felt sudden bit of curiosity from the gem, and certain interest. She was pinging her sonar at its maximum, she wanted to register all she could from these gems. She’d have analyze the emotional content of the two aura’s around her, and that alone was going to leave her quiet and concentrated.

The Peridot read the message and her eyes went sly and her expression seemed to show some anxiousness, She began to type out her message all the while Hematite’s eyes fell heavily on the gem, whose emotions were confusing her some, why the sudden interest? It was possible that the gem was checking her map or at least was using the panel to check something important. She couldn’t draw a conclusion.

“Padparadscha, I am unsure if this is a task we should attempt on our own. It might not have dawned on you, but that gem is most likely completely wary of your position as we speak. This is extremely risky, we don’t know what she is capable of.” She grew ever more nervous. “I’m equipped with a chargeable integrated blaster in my limb-extender. It’s made more for stunning instead of physical damage, but if charged can be quite effective. But the issue here is our ability, are you sure we simply shouldn’t wait to inform our Diamond? And of course, build a task force to handle her?”

[Paddy]

The peridot's message seemed to echo the thoughts in the back of the sapphire's own mind, cautions that would have to be considered. Padpara had already attempted capture of this fusion on her own, and regrettably, she'd been out-paced every time. That thought alone was grating enough, and now she'd let this renegade get her caught up in something she should've never been a part of; though, there was the silver-lining of meeting this peridot, and her morose crew, who would now be sitting peacefully bubbled in the holding cells of Padparadscha's space cruiser. 

Her eyes flicked up from her holoscreen for a moment to analyze the gem directly in front of her. Hematite seemed to be on alert, though there were a number of reasons that could be-- including the fear that the sapphire had brewing, that this fusion would lash out at any moment. So far it had been difficult to predict much of Hematite's decisions, but she would have to try.

"It's a risk," Padpara typed into her screen,"But so is relying on backup. It could take hours for responders to arrive, but she doesn't know that. The fugitive will have to be subdued before then. Pink Diamond doesn't have to be dragged into this affair, I'm not going allow my suspect to simply get away after..." She stopped typing, realizing that she was fuming at this point. The sapphire had sworn that she would finish what she started, but the three minds she was after had proven to be a bigger problem than she had initially anticipated. Even with the help of M-tower and her pearl, she still found herself being thrown through loops by this fusion rebel. All the same, she knew how strange it may seem to the peridot for her to make this so personal; Yelle didn't know about what Padparadscha had put herself through to try to redeem gems like Hematite, and it would be unfair to project the ire that stemmed from that internal maelstrom onto this situation, especially when the Proctor's gem was on the line here as well. Still, she couldn't bring herself to call it off quite yet. 

She back-spaced up to the point where she had mentioned Pink Diamond, and started typing again,"If we can detain the target, none of that will be necessary. Your stunning mechanism will be perfect; after she is stunned, it will be a cinch for me to trap her with my plasma, and subsequently release her form. Afterward, her components will be separated into the holding cells of my ship until we reached Headquarters," 

[Hematite]

Walking across scaffoldings and raised stairs, the group wwas now in full sight of a large hall leading to a doorway, the word ‘security,’ making a long stretch to its doorstep. The peridot read the message and she seemed to almost exhale nervously. At this Hematite felt the building anxiety in the gem, what exactly was making this gem so nervous? True it was dark here, and there could be anything lurking in the shadows-but then possibly this had to do with her inexperience with dangerous situations, something Hematite’s life had surprisingly built her for. Honestly, she’s had to fight and protect those she’s care for before, including humans.



“Are you sure? I’m a little worried, this enemy could be beyond us. Far beyond us. But, I guess I can get a shot off, it’ll work. It’s a slow firing weapon so, don’t expect a lot of cover fire.” She jotted in and noticed her fingers were trembling, she was excited? Scared? It was difficult for her to keep her composure when she realized she’d have to put down a gem right behind her. But this was business, this was her duty, she had to do what she could.



Hematite watched the Peridot careful, again, more of these odd emotions pouring from her, she noted she had been staring at her limb extender for some time now and raised a brow. What exactly was she up to? Her head slightly shifted to look behind her, the sapphire was playing around her halo-pad system, a technology she wasn’t certain she understood. She couldn’t draw any lines, it seemed these two were lost in their devices at the moment-except suddenly, Hematite felt something like low flame burning behind her, cold fire if you will. She’d sense this before, this sudden anger was none of than the sapphires’.



She looked forward, this was proving to be very strange.

[Paddy]

The physical cues that acted as windows into the peridot's worries did something to compound onto Padpara's irritation with the situation. Risky actions meant decisiveness was absolutely paramount, and if the Proctor wouldn't be resolute, the moment would be lost-- likewise, the sapphire had to find a way to calm herself down before she got too far ahead of herself. Her lips pursed as she tried to mask her own increasingly charged will to act. They hadn't even gotten to dismantling the project yet, and she was already stewing about how she would destroy her enemy instead; though, she did feel much better now that there was a plan in place. 

"This little operation should be swift. In the event that it's not, then we've already lost-- the enemy is indeed skilled but so are we," Padpara's message read,"Just be calm. Neither I nor Hematite know what the activation procedure looks like; just before you turn on the power will be the perfect moment. For now, let's focus on finding and figuring out a good way to dispatch of the project," 

With that, she looked up from her holoscreen and gave another glance over her shoulder, then back ahead toward the door. The Morganite overseer's ominous words trailed through her mind as the group came nearer to the site of the forgotten prototype. She wondered what sort of alloys would make up this creation, and if her plasma would be effective against it. Considering the fact that gem-fragment security drones were in use here, she also contemplated what might be used to power a project of such scale. There might also be consequences to this endeavor to face afterwards, if the thing was even still around. It was easy to imagine that perhaps it had already been disposed of, but no chance could be taken in this regard. 

[Hematite]

There was a nervous shutter from the proctor as she tried to summon her composure again, she actually spoke out loud, “Well, um … give me a second to access the emergency activation grid.” And then she jotted in something to the sapphire’s communicator, “Alright, I’ll go on your mark, but we need a sign or cue.” And then quickly jumped to her console, with a few swept parameters here and a access node there-the door flashed with lights, as a mechanical voice spoke out:

“Welcome to the security center, Due to protocol 3-47569 A0 The facility is on low-power reserve and full internal lock-down. Security defenses have been deactivated until further notice or subsequent reactivation of the facility.”

And the door slid open and the massive complex expanded to show a large space designed too house and rest many units in the most ergonomical of design choice. Hematite actually seemed to draw back a moment as she followed the gem inside. Her eyes peering about as if though she had seen a ghost. Except it was more like a memory was forming, “This area reminds me of the barracks Serendibite use to keep her creations, very simple, very bare and dark.” The peridot looked back a little surprised the fusion suddenly started speaking, from the fusions eyes she was genuinely nostalgic of the feeling.

“I remember her pearl would visit every hour and do her head count, and assign us to certain test areas. Every day it seemed like one of her master’s experiments would vanish.” And she never saw them again.

Her eyes narrowed at the suddenly vibrating feeling as she followed the peridot deeper into the complex, a strange nearly turbulent aura behind the walls of this area made her hair suddenly start standing up. Yes, she sensed more than one, there was several of these strange convulsing energetic anomalies coursing from major points of the facility but even more unsettling was one massive one below them. She stopped. “I sense, something … But I’ve never sensed anything like this before.”


The peridot stopped and looked back a little worried, "What does that mean?”

[Paddy]

As the peridot worked on the door, Padpara worked on her text reply,"When I prompt you to get the power on, that will be my signal. If for some reason you run into trouble with your stunning mechanism, tell me that there has been technical difficulties." As the door opened, it eased her nerves to hear more confirmation from the system that they wouldn't be suddenly attacked by faulty security or something along those lines. Still, her own experience told her that deep, dark places usually lead into something she would rather not deal with. 

Hematite's ominous recountings weren't helping much, and the sapphire's nerves piqued when the fusion declared her sense had picked up something unusual, even by her standards. "Well, if your ability is to locate gems, then it must be some sort of gem, no?" She tried to reason out loud after the proctor finished speaking,"The gem-fragment powered drones that Proctor Yelle mentioned may be the logical explanation, seeing that they may be stored here in the security sector. They shouldn't be an issue for us due to the fact that we've been registered, but registration or no the project is what is going to be a problem for us and for everyone else if we don't locate it,"

She continued to keep her holoscreen up, taking documentation of the place as the group went. It was a habit of hers, and a good one if she were going to make any kind of case out of this debacle-- she would have to explain the gems they'd found in suspension, as well as the fact that they would have torn down what seemed to have been a very resource-heavy project to ensure their safety. This would be a case for herself, and for the Proctor, when they got back to headquarters. Upon Hematite's capture, this would also be good evidence of what the sapphire believed about the fusion; she was a victim of circumstance, who had hope of rehabilitation. 

"I suppose the question would be, where is this sensation coming from?" She asked, eyeing Hematite.

[Hematite]

The peridot would reply, "Affirmative." And then turn her attention to the fusion as she spoke.
 
Hematite lowered her antennae as she tilted over some, focusing on her empathetic resonators she seemed to be trying to get clear signal of whatever it was, “Yes, it’s of course gems but there … something is off about this.” There were chills running up her spine, something was very wrong and her eyes grew almost glossy with shock. The shattered gems around her were emitting a kind of heinous energy she’d never felt, it was numbing and writhe with some kind of contorted energy that couldn’t begin to describe.

But despite these odd freakish sources, nothing was more sinister than the larger one emitted below them, it pulsated with some kind of malintent, never had she such emotions from any gem. “Several of them are all around us.” She got out with a hoarse whisper, “But there’s one more … A larger one below us …”

“Much larger.” She corrected herself and the proctor’s eyes brows rose with alarm. “That’s … that doesn’t sound very good.”

[Paddy]

"Hmm," She tapped her chin, leaning around to analyze the cues coming from Hematite. She had no way of knowing why the fusion looked as if she were ready to bolt in any direction, but considering the nature of older prototype projects, she wondered if there was indeed something off going on here. Still, she wanted to believe that they had taken the proper precautions to ensure their own safety. "No, it doesn't sound good at all. We would be surrounded when the reactivation occurred, but we should be safe from the drones thanks to the registrar. That will be something to keep in mind as we move ahead, however. From the sound of that file we opened earlier, the project was an augmented battle drone; I'd guess that the big one is probably the thing we're after," 

Her eyes flicked up and down Hematite, and her lips pulled into a line. It seemed that the fusion's ability would be giving her a bit more leverage than previously anticipated; her power to sense the drones would be a huge help once the power was reactivated, especially since not everything here was entirely reliable-- but then, what leverage would the two loyalists have to keep her around? Maps were handy, but Padpara's perception of Hematite made her out to be somewhat careless; would maps and clearance mean anything to the fusion, once the elevator was powered on? For now, the sapphire would stick to her initial plan as her eyes passed over the Proctor's message on her screen, but mulled over these considerations.

She pointed to the floor, and summoned a small glob of light right there, brightening up the gloomy security chamber. This would be a test of the heat resistance used here; she upped the ante until the small pool of light was as bright as a sun, and as hot as one. The floor fumed off metallic gases, and her blip of light melted straight through, with an echoing clink when it hit the floor below. With a small relieved exhale, she looked between the two of them,"Hematite, is it directly below? I should be able to puncture through here. We can scout, demolish the project, recover what we can of it, then get out of here," 

[Hematite]

Hematite barely heard the gem over the thoughts screaming in her head that something was very off about the state of these gems, something was telling her she should simply turn around now, but she couldn’t withhold the feeling that something was terribly wrong here. She looked over at the sapphire, “Yes, it’s below us. I want to say maybe around three stories?”

The peridot would access her map, “That’s … directly below us would have been the living quarters for the workers roster of our facility. Placing them near security made them easier to manage. “

The two gems would watch the sapphire coalesce an orb of energy in her hand and begin to burn her way through the laminated, the Fusion’s eyes seemed to narrow at this, this sapphires control of her plasma was incredible indeed, but she noticed now that this was a mental thing-it wasn’t her technology, it seemed this gem could wield plasma as if summoning it. And have accurate control of her powers. Such a thing took many of the benefits her hair could use but tuned them to the maximum, this out performed her own ability in almost every department. This energy could sear through about anything … but she also realized this was also sign of a weakness, it seemed in their encounters that heating up this odd fifth element took some energy and that seemed accurate considering how hot it got. Hematite wondered if it could protect the sapphire from a fast strike. She would have to note this, it would seem her only chance of escape with these two would be to use a tactic drenched in stillness and suddenness, she had one more trick up her sleeve, besides her torinoko, and this could prove to be her only method.

“Well, if you’re ready then I guess I am.” The peridot managed to get out nervously, Hematite nodding in response.

[Paddy]

Padpara wondered for a moment at the implications of what the peridot pointed out about their position relative to the target. In the living quarters, where gems would've been stored between shifts, waited the project who had caused the sudden upheaval in this testing compound. Her lips pressed together, and she tried not to think of it any further. For now, she would focus on what it meant for their escapade. They would have to descend through three floors of material, and then she would  have to build some kind of ladder for the other gems to use to get down. She still didn't know how much energy would be needed for the rest of this endeavor, which made her apprehensive about making the move. 

But, it would save them time, and possible clearance mishaps-- every door they came to seemed to make her more and more nervous. She laid down a thin sheet of the plasma, melting a hole just big enough to fit the gems through single-file. Then, she pulled it up around her and used it like a rope to rappel down. She peered around in the next dark corridor, starkly unadorned and still. The sapphire closed her eyes, and focused on the shape she wanted to create; then, she drew the rope down, pinned it to the floor, and pulled prongs out on either side. She sapped the heat out of it, creating a stone ladder. Then, she got to work on testing the next floor. Like the one above, her full-powered plasma melted through it like butter, so she repeated the process. 

It was nerve-wracking, more and more so as she came closer to the third floor down. When she stood over it, she wriggled her arms and rolled her shoulders to release tension, and took another moment to hone her focus, before melting through to reveal what laid directly beneath them-- and literally right beneath her, was what appeared to be the metal dome on top of the towering mechanism. She flinched back as the melted metal from the floor dripped over the top of it; she almost expected it to reach up and give her pay back for the burn, but it remained static. She sat silently, staring down at it, then exhaled and finished up the ladder. "Clear," She called finally.

[Hematite]

Hematite only became more interested in understanding this strange phenomenon occurring from this sapphire, she wielded the ability with such an astute perfection. It was dangerous and intimidating, but then again, letting the sapphire get too far seemed to push Hematite to move and she dived after to follow the gem, using her hair as a form of glider, a careful combination of quick descents and small hangs before following after the sapphire with each layer she’d make.

All the while the Peridot stared into the hole jealously, she noted what seemed to be crude ladders leading into the pit which she attributed to Padpara, the sapphire seemed to be making a way for her to go down. Embarrassingly she had no choice but to oblige and made her way down the ladders at a ‘careful,’ speed.

Hematite however, kept her eye on Padpara instead, she was unsure-but she wondered if her ability to do this, however she was doing it, was based on either a pool of stamina or concentration. Both sounded similar but had a clear difference in execution. She couldn’t register any outward changes in the gem however, so she couldn’t draw a conclusion. Instead she only seemed to note a sudden nervousness from the gem.

She hadn’t been concentrating on her sonar, keeping it instead close to her and at a manageable output. But now she’d start to focus a little bit more on this ability and what happened next was certainly one of her least favored events of her long-lifetime. Fatefully, Hematite’s ability to read and register the emotional state of gems around her, was honestly a mechanism of her survival, so far it had proven to show her a spectrum of understanding in the world of gem’s and complimented her lifestyle well. But, through all the emotions she’s felt-had she ever felt an agony so certain? She was sure it was the screaming conscious of these gems calling out to her. No it wasn’t audible screaming she could hear-but she could practically feel it, they were crying out from their very souls.

The fusion would freeze still, eyes growing more shaken by the second as she realized this mass of emotional agony was possibly hundreds of gem fragments, and she could feel them squirming in unfathomable confusion, pained and furious. Despite the horror, she felt an overwhelming sense that she should be saving these gems from this existence. What was it that lit a stroke of compassion in this fusions heart? It wasn’t gems, it was actually humans.

She recalled at some point she had made bonds with many humans, but what hurt her more than anything was when she recounted the first time she experienced human death. This event had deeply changed her, human life was as she put it, ephemeral compared to a gem. The respect she garnered for living life changed, even toward a gem. Human’s only had a finite amount of choices, and days they would see waking reality before entering that silent slumber.

Every decision mattered, for them it was a gamble.

“There’s … hundreds of them …” The peridot just getting in ear reach of the gems as the fusion went on, “Shattered gems, stuck below us.”