Flower of the Wastes (Solo)

[bloodruby]

About two Days have passed since Bloods escape onto the homeworld surface..

She had never imagined that such a desolate and barren place could exist as she had been aimlessly wandering when at long last, something came into vision for her.

A rather odd looking Obelisk.

It was a dour looking thing; tall and oddly-fabricated structure.. however suffering the passing of time out in the wastelands. She had never ran into any trouble since her escape but without a doubt, to the eyes of this ruby, this entire place appeared to be exceptionally foreign and.. off putting. The light over head had since long time ago dissipated behind the thick shelter of tall obelisks and vein-like tubes that encompassed the dull, and dead wastelands giving Blood the sentiment of being strangely caught in something.

At some point Blood stopped to extend and stretch her legs with a yawn and started pondering whether she was in the right... Did she deserve to perish because of her being an ineffective gem? She sighed and pressed on up to the entryway of the alien looking structure to her, a beaten looking thing with splendid symbols attached to it. She strolled up the ancient looking steps and her hands brushed over on the entryway, after a minute she was met by a short, gray skinned gem....

Her skin was turning more grayish in places and yet she seemed energetic. Her skin was a huge contrast to the stunning red of Bloods skin. Her eyes twinkled like the color of emeralds, however there was something in her look that panicked Blood... and she felt as if those shining jewels were examining her, as one would a bit of meat.

"Ah! welcome! welcome! A lone and stray gem out here in the crust? Oh dear, Oh my~ Please.. Come, come inside! You are such a beautiful thing, You look like you could use some respite, my dear!"

She felt to some degree... complimented. As Blood strolled inside she heard the entryway close behind her and the different snaps of locks being slid into put causing Blood to jump and look behind her...

Eventually, Blood had gone into an open room, and immediately she saw what looked like a stove set in the contrary corner of the room next to the Segway, driving into what seemed, by all accounts, to be a kitchen. Beside the stove however, the room was completely exposed, put something aside for what got her attention next.

She could hear the Gem yelling from another room, "Make yourself at home, dear!"

[bloodruby]

Set amidst the room was an expansive flawlessly cut platform, looking very.. exceptionally strange. Blood was transfixed upon it, this abnormal object in the this barren room, the base was decorated with gold and silver, finishing in a piece that had all the earmarks of being made of purest precious stone. Notwithstanding, Blood's eyes were attracted far from this to rest upon what delegated the bombastic thing. Had she comprehended what it truly was.. She would've crushed it to pieces were she ready to. More probable she maybe would have run from the place. There, set on the gaudy platform was a shining oval curve of some mineral obscure to her..

Nothing like anything she had seen in her time before escaping. It had the shading of jade, however little hints of glow were alive inside it, dashing one way then the following before leaving the curve totally to move inside the gem chunk.

The hues may have changed, however the shape they framed did not; a circle set in the focal point of the curve, wide delicate edges framed before scattering before reforming yet again. In any case, as Blood gazed at this monolith, something happened that haunted Blood; it squinted at her and then blinked.

A flood of shading diving and ascending over a sphere change to a hue of the purest red set at the oval's inside. In a moment, the gem who greeted Blood informed her that she was now joined by two others.
 

"O-oh, hello there. I wont be staying long, I just need to clear my head for a while." Blood said with a lingering sigh.

"Oh, do not worry about it! You should join us!" both the new gems said with a similar grayish skin... with the same puncturing emerald eyes as the gem who greeted her earlier. They grinned placatingly, however the way they cast looks amongst Blood and the platform alongside the grasp that soon gone up against Bloods arm offered truth to their contemplations.

"Wh-what?! I said I am fine! tch!"

She was going to struggle but their hold was too great... She was then lead down, into a dark holding cell...

As they reached the cellar, however, all thoughts of her fleeing and being angry and the peculiar obelisk were expelled from her brain. This cell was dark.. it was a glaring difference to the infertile look of the upstairs.

her eyes dart left to right, trying her best to hang on to what ever anger she has left...

On either side of her were gurgling hot tubs and set against a wall there was another grey skinned woman bearing an indistinguishable look from the ladies who'd brought her from the floor above. As the gems from the entryway strolled Blood to a stone chair, they gave her a mask.

The mask was somewhat fancy, covering the two eyes and a significant part of the nose also. Flawless white, trimmed in gold, fixed and studded with rubies.

The room was swarmed practically to limit with different individuals now, some standing, some sitting, some talking, some moving, some tightening the hot tubs, some staring and pointing down to Blood. After a minute, the lights cut out and boisterous music started blasting through the room as overwhelming strides came gallivanting down the stairs.

Then a greater amount of the grey skinned and jade eyed women peered toward the stairs, descending down was a final batch of them conveying an extraordinary weight on their wide shoulders. They grinned at Blood and let a monstrous laugh out as they hauled what seemed, by all accounts, to be a similar marble and stone of the Obelisk on the floor above with the same brandishing.. and.. similar ghost lights that framed supernatural carvings and images before vanishing and shaping something new.

The substance were a luminescent pink with cuts of odd red organic product gliding inside. For a minute, Blood figured she could see a hint of that same eye that beat the monolith upstairs before vanishing. As they'd set the thing down, they would continue to stare at Blood with a monstrous... ravenous grin on their full lips.

as of now.. Blood.. For some reason started feeling a solid, powerful buzz going on in her head. Other than that, something in those wide grins and energetic eyes ousted all contemplations of trying to leave this place from her psyche.

This may be it for Blood.. as she is filled with a heavy feeling of fear, something in the way they looked at her.. filled her with a dread and doubt that only a hated sweetheart could feel. Blood could feel time had slurred together into a foggy obscure.

And then.. Blood, thinking about her escape from her station more intently and drawing on emotions of hatred, influenced her to rise..

and rise she did out of the seat.. She felt herself weakened and went for the stairs to the weird structure.

[bloodruby]

Blood discarded the fancy mask that was put on her as she attempted to go to the entryway, she observed that door was bolted locked. Attempt as she may to open it, the entryway was substantial and unfaltering until the point when the sound of an jolt being tossed reverberated from the opposite side.

The entryway scratched as it opened, and she was then up close and personal with one of grey skinned women.. She had one eye and was much taller than the others.. her eye was loaded with hunger as she ran a hand down bloods chest to her gemstone.

"L-Leave." Blood mumbled, doing her best to hold tight under her weakened condition; She felt exceptionally terrified by what was going with her.

The grey skinned woman shook her head and smiled. "Tsk, But oh, it is dangerous out on the crust. You should rest now and think later."

Be that as it may, Blood was too weak to fight... she surrendered and mull over the strange Obelisk in the other room. It had changed, uniquely, from when she had arrived.

the once clear precious stone had gone up against a dull, red shade, similar to her gemstone on her chest, as had the jade curve that delegated it. No more hues moved inside, just a dinky obscurity that moved and whorled. The trims that crawled up the marble base were really hieroglyphic characters, glyphs, and pictograms of some long overlooked dialect. They sparkled with a blacked out red shade, and blood was constrained to lay a hand upon it.

As her hand dropped, her gemstone clicked a few times and...

All of a sudden, the pillar flared with some eldritch vitality, and the eye she'd seen before showed up, no longer a light.. yet.. a gigantic circle, crackling with untold forces. Blood felt it in her psyche... pictures flashing like crazy through her cognizant..

She saw her life pass in minutes. And then.. other things.. From her emergence all the way up to now. This rush had her dropping to her knees.

However, whatever dwelled inside that Obelisk and Crystal just stayed, as it generally had and as it generally would. She saw individuals with grey skin run to it, presenting penances of what appeared to be some form of livestock at first until the point when that was not enough. At that point they started offering it the gemstones of the inhabitants of homeworld, each gemstone offering making their skin gray and their bestowing green gemmed eyes upon them alongside some form of draining-like aura. In any case, with each essence of gemstone, the Obelisk's thirst developed and developed, until the point that a solitary gemstone was not sufficient anymore to slake its thirst.

Blood had bore witness regarding the developing of offerings until such a period when secret wars and slaughters were battled to assuage whatever foul thing stayed inside. At that point came the Purge, the finding and executing of its devotees until the point when few remained, and those that did were harried to the point of jeopardizing their Idol and whatever eldritch frightfulness lived there. It was then that they turned out to be more smart. No more would they be able to chase their prey so transparently. They turned out to be calm at that point, sitting tight for enough time to pass. This was the point at which they facilitated the first of their gatherings.

They moved noiselessly through time and the desolation of the once beautiful surface of homeworld. Even with the crust being as it is today, they remained. Adding more to their numbers and casualties, at the same time pigging out their Idol with the gemstones it needed. Blood saw hundreds of years bounce by like the death of sand in a hourglass, at the same time the grey skinned women proceeded with, the example of harvesting gemstones of the clueless nitwits who had gone to and stepped foot in this forsaken place.. all of this proceeding the whole while.

Blood saw everything. Every one of those gemstones being sacrificed to this creature... However, Blood likewise observed what revulsions laid behind the grey skinned women, what prowled and lurked behind the exterior of those consuming emerald eyes. And with that, everything went dark. Blood fainted..

[bloodruby]

When Blood again woke, she lifted herself up gradually and for a couple of minutes, she couldn't remember what had happened or recall on how much time had passed.. It almost seemed brief, her being knocked out. In any case, it would also seem that suddenly everything returned to her, the dreams and visions that had flashed before her, the incalculable gemstones.... Whatever had been occupying the Obelisk had left its vessel now as the crystal now had no red or emerald hue to it.

Blood then swung to escape, yet as she happened upon the entryway, she recollected what abhorrences waited for her down in the cellar, and dread stilled her body as she touched her gemstone..

Summoning up a mettle she had not known she had, she steeled her determination, calling on her Ripple Fists from her gemstone and fixed upon the overwhelming lock to the front door.

And with a striking blow she punched the door right off its hinges...

Only to find that the front door didnt lead outside but back down into that damned cell.

The only way out for her.. well.. At least she thought was through the cell.

As she descended the stairs her hands balled up into fists again, ready to punch anything..

The lower she got, the more the place was getting more dull, as she cleared the stairs and went into the cell she was just in before, A few minutes go before her and her eyes acclimated to the murkiness. She particularly wish they hadn't for the horrifying scene was just... nightmarish to put it lightly;

The floor was covered with shattered gems, all spread out on the ground as if they had all of a sudden just crumbled where they stood.

Words do no equity to the sounds Blood heard, the severing of fragile living and splitting of gems. In spite of the fact that the dimness that hung in the room kept me from seeing, the dreams had just demonstrated to Blood what hid there, just past sight. She advanced to step, "I-I just want to leave.." She said in a rough whisper when she ventured on something and heard a slight mumble. A look down showed that she had stomped on somebody.

A youthful Ruby gem like herself. In spite of the fact that her body and highlights were still, her eyes were wide with frenzy and dread. She worked hotly to attempt to make some sort of sound with her incapacitated vocal strings and face however all that exuded from her solidified mouth was a progression of snorts and groans. "H-elp.. please-" Reaching down, Blood took her arm and endeavored to hurl her out from the sprawl of shattered gems spread about the floor, yet her leg was tangled in something at the edge of vision. Scowling, Blood pulled harder, and harder, until the point when the Ruby gave a quieted groan of torment. Her eyes appeared as though they were attempting to drive themselves free of their attachments as her dead lips attempted to shape in an alarmed shout. It was then that Blood wound up plainly mindful of the low snarl and the silhouette that had started radiating from the murkiness. She froze and with a paralyzed feeling, she became aware that her hands were shaking savagely. As she trembled, the thing that grasped at her edge forward right up to the little light that shined upon Blood.

One.. no two... five... yes five incredible, sparkling emerald eyes over an arrangement of gigantic, bloodied teeth twinkling lethally in the dimness. The young Ruby was torn from Bloods grip with a blood-turning scream before being dragged quickly out of the scope of her light. As the Ruby slid over the tile floor, she gazed toward Blood, at the light she held. Despite the fact that her voice was frozen, her eyes had been shouting louder than her throat would ever have as she slipped behind the cover of dimness. There came the awful sound of gemstone being separated.. shattering..

Frenzy seized Ruby at that point, she couldn't run, not until she'd figure out how to move again. She slowly started slowly picking around the assemblages of the fallen gems. The flashes before revealed to Blood that the grey skinned women would be more centered around nourishing and presenting their prey to their Idol than her insofar as she was brisk and attracted no attention regarding her presence. She passed more inactive emerald eye'd women, every one of them arguing frantically with their eyes and amongst each other, however Blood cruised them by, seeing this as a chance of escape...

In any case, seek as she may, a way out was no place to be seen.. As a last resort she made plans to scrounge through the pockets of the fallen, disregarding their moaned supplications for help as she rummaged through them. In the long run, She happened upon a gem with an arrangement of keys. Be that as it may, she was a bit more hardier than the others, and she raised her voice at Blood, asking for her to spare her from the things hiding in the murkiness. Blood then endeavored to hush the gem... however this only appeared to give her voice a louder quality so Blood swung to leave as speedy as possible. That is the point at which the gem got Bloods lower leg. Blood then bumbled and imposed upon a wall, her shoulder hurling up the switch of a track lighting that ran the length of the room, the odd colored lights giving the room a pinkish shade.

Despite the fact that Blood realized what anticipated her in the cell... seeing it in person made her tremble something fierce.. and the shout that battled to ascend in her throat was caught... She saw... them. The Grey skinned women that abided inside this Obelisk structure as they encouraged and surrendered offerings. There was a Crystal bowl which was mostly loaded with shattered gem fragments and the huge eye from before abided inside, swiveling as well and fro with a horrifying merriment... yet, then it settled upon Blood where she stood froozen in fear. Gradually, its hirelings lifted their heads to settle their sparkling emerald eyes upon where Blood had stood.

Their bodies had been turned into loathsome jokes of the human shape, smooth and trim, yet having no muscles in the arms and legs which now had been twisted and reshaped and extended to better suit their true nature. Enormous hooks bulged from the ruined tissue that used to be hands. Their skin was extended tight with sudden points of broken and transformed bones bulging out at crazy edges... yet, by a long shot, the most horrendous part of their highlights was the face. For underneath the gleaming green circles that now swung up to frown at Blood were the turned and assaulted appearances and looks of the ladies that had greeted Blood from before.

Saber-like teeth stuck from their vast jaws as the foul animals peeled back their lips to free blood-curdling screeches at her. The air solidified in Bloods lungs, and the yell that shaped in her throat as she spun and dashed for the stairs. Her blood coagulated as she heard the voice of the thing that used to be the first gem to invite her inside calling her name, alluring her, her voice twisted and ugly as her body. Jumping up the stairs two at any given moment She could feel the warmth of the animal's breath on her neck, hear the scrabble of hooks on wood as these creatures pursue Blood the stairs. She felt a burning warmth in her back however she did not stop what so ever, tossing herself through the doorway and stomping the entryway close behind her, making a construct of organic material. Be that as it may, one of the animals had figured out how to wind a hook amongst entryway before it could close...

[bloodruby]

Quickly, Blood did her best to seal the doorway shut. She was remunerated with the sound of bones shattering and the gigantic appendage withdrew with a horrific yell.

Wheezing for air, Blood set her back against the entryway, battling to slow down her breathing.

However, she would get no reprieve, for right when she had exhaled the organic structure she made to seal the entry way was shaken with a blow that sent her toppling to the ground.

She started moving frantically through the structure, and after finding the true front entryway secured with an alien looking latch, Blood drooped upon the ground, surrendering to her fate...

That was the point at which her eyes fell yet again upon the Obelisk. As the beating on the cell door achieved a fever pitch, Blood was transfixed upon the Obelisk once more, which afresh appeared to be controlled by whatever power constrained these cursed things. As far as Blood could tell.. they were not corrupt but something else entirely.. It was then that she seized upon it, and with incredible exertion, she sent it toppling to the ground. Inside her brain there came a shrieking anguish.. any semblance of which no natural power could replicate as the obelisk broke upon the ground.

The agony increased, and again dreams flashed before Bloods stricken eyes. A discord of terrible screeches from underneath cleared the dreams from her psyche, and sent her in stunning advances, towards the kitchen. Inside were many jugs of some oil-like substance, and with resolute reason, she started emptying the jugs all through the structure, pouring it underneath the entryway and upon the brutes seething inside. With that, she strolled back to collect herself and held up her fingers and snapped,

sending searing hot flares which the oil-like liquid took fastly to.. And all of a sudden the structure was land with jumping flares. The air was coated with tormented shrieks as the battering of the organic material all of a sudden stopped.. Blood, mustering up the last of her reserves of strength went to the front door.. She can feel her gemstone reverberating..

and with a last cry... "Rubyyyyyyyy.."

"RUSH!"

she yells as she unleashes a powerful barrage of rapid-fire punches and blew the strong unrelenting door off the hinges.. Struggling to keep herself up, she started running off into the wasteland.

For a drawn out stretch of time..she doubted her rational soundness as any normal individual would in the wake of encountering what she had. However, this all was real.. Her life was in danger... She survived..

Regardless of how frequently she tried to tell herself it was only a terrible dream, the eye and the flashes of images told to her that the eldritch ghastliness she had borne observer to was very much real. She knows now that the animals she experienced were not easily going to leave her alone. Regardless of whether those that she saw died in the inferno or not, She knows she is not protected; for the dreams that flashed through her brain as the Obelisk and its precious stone broke upon the floor showed to her... reality. That there was not one...but many Obelisks, all strewn over this wasteland, some with huge numbers of nightmarish animals in its thrall. Also, now, she is known to a few. And she knows of their insider facts and that makes her a danger.

In any case, She can see them when she is traveling. The piercing gazes in the distance and sparkling emerald eyes showing up out of no where it seems. They tail her, generally only a couple of ventures behind.. They don't set out assault her out in the open yet she fears the day is coming soon when there will be no place left to run, and there will come a thump.. at some late hour, or a savage yell right from behind her back...

[bloodruby]

A thick fog surrounded Blood entirely, with only one solitary trail leading her to some unknown path. Blood could see obelisks and vines that punctuated the landscape and gave the entire area a perpetual state of death.

The cool air chilled Blood deeply. Indeed, even with her powers based off of flame itself, she was shuddering and could scarcely feel her nose. She was considering everything up til this point as she walked on the little trail and strolled for around a hour prior to she all of a sudden stopping. Something wasn't right. Blood began to appear to be tense. Excessively so.

Continually whipping her head to confront something that she never could see, never letting her watch or guard down. Everything is so peaceful for now and with those things continually following her.. She didn't care for being in the open.. in the middle of this narrow road.. it made her feel so.. vulnerable. She couldn't shake this sentiment of being taken after more intently now. This ghostly cloak hung over the very climate of the place. Each time she was certain something would be behind her she would swing to discover literally nothing. However, every time she took a stab at focusing on the beautifully desolate wasteland landscape, the more eerie it moved toward becoming.

By what appeared to be sunset she was more suspicious and kept her Ripple fist clench hands out. In addition to the lingering paranoia, winds had picked up. Not strong, but just enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand upright. She came to a resting spot, but whenever she finally felt relaxed, she’d see something that would make her blood run cold. A figure just barely visible darting into the forest of obelisk, a pebble tumbling a few yards behind her. Just something, that would put her on edge again.. She went off the road and into the shelter she had found and set a blaze on the ground and bundled herself into a fetal position. It felt good to be out of the open, but the sobering reality that the only thing separating her from the horrors of whats following her was a small fire..

She fell asleep surprisingly soon...

[bloodruby]

Soon enough, Blood was woken up by a breeze and her fire dying out. It was no longer an eerie breeze, yet an intense, boasting storm. Her hair was fluttering, and she could hear the vines rustling and stirring viciously. She endeavored to disregard it and close her eyes, yet a few minutes after that, she heard something that promised her no rest for whatever is left of the night. She could hear the breeze calling something. The only way she could recognized this was on account of the breeze had an off pattern. The shrieking repeated in a way that was unmistakably a voice. After tuning in for a few minutes, Blood could make out what it was calling. JADE. She had no clue what it implied, yet it seemed like a name. "Ja-AAAAA-de, JA-aaAAAAay-deeee."

She could scarcely contain herelf. She moved onto her knees, shaking, with her head covered in her knees. "This is bad.." She didn't gaze upward. And then.. nothing. Suddenly.. she could feel a slight pressure on her shoulder, which made and forced her to snap her head up, looking around, with a look of dread. "I-I need to go, need to go now. Need to go. I need to go now." She stammered. As she said this she started to get up and push toward the narrow road once more.

"Wait... Im not going out there... I don't realize what the hell is going on.. yet going out there is the exact opposite thing I am doing.. trying to keep safe.." She says to herself as she watched out into the night, she was staggered by what she saw. The air was still.

"This is outlandish." She thought. Seconds prior she was being assaulted by a windstorm. Far more detestable, the breeze wound up noticeably noiseless. She heard shouting, and recognized it as the emerald eyed creatures that was tailing her. It drew off into the air and wound up noticeably quiet. She backed off from where she heard the noise coming from quicker than she had ever done anything in her life and clustered in a dark corner, tuning in to the silent hush that hung over the outside.

She was astonished. Not startled, but rather amazed. Astonished that she some way or another slept through this all, even while grasped by dread. In the wake of ensuring that there was nothing waiting to get her, she accumulated her valor and courage and ventured on the narrow road.. The morning air was fresh and as cold as ever. Her main goal was to make it somewhere she can safely rest and gather herself. She didn't try getting any more rest. She did not ever give it a second thought. All she got is her will, some gloves, and a power to set anything ablaze and yet.. she was scared out of her mind.She saw that, in the patches of dirt, there were impressions... Footprints. At first taking after human strides, however then getting to be... contorted. They turned out to be longer, more extended. Before long she was certain that they were of the same creatures that were following her, but no. The longest arrangement of these prints she saw was approximately five feet. Indeed, her own creative ability couldn't make a beast with feet of this gauge.

At that point it occurred to her. They weren't impressions. In no way, shape or form. No, they were drag marks.

[bloodruby]

The long tracks in the dirt were confirmation of something being pulled and dragged. "Gracious..." Blood whispered to herself.

She dashed forward down the path with a pace that would match an Olympic. She transformed what was an hour long walk into a 35 minute dash. She wanted to keel over when she finally found a cave entrance. She was welcomed by a purple gem and was escorted into the cavern for some respite.

The gem sat down with her and tuned in to Bloods record of the occasions. "I swear on my life, that what I am stating is valid. I have encountered plenty of horrors.." Blood expected wariness, yet got bona fide worry from the purple gem. She figure this may have vexed Blood significantly more.

"I see." The gem reacted. "The-the.. name. What was the name being called?" Blood endeavored to remember what she had heard. "I don't have the foggiest idea. J-ade..something? Jade..Jade. Jade! That is it." The expression on the gem's face recounted a story all alone. "Why? Does that mean something? Is it essential by any stretch of the imagination?" The gem stayed noiseless for a couple of moments before reacting. "If its 'That' Jade.. well.. that Jade was a conspicuous seeker. She lived numerous years back. One night, She stayed away forever. That night, an appalling tempest came over the whole place.. Winds blowing and shrieking." The gem immediately finished the sentence and looked down at Bloods gemstone, looking as if she had committed an error. Blood was baffled at this frightfully unclear and apparently pointless data. Blood could tell the gem was keep something hidden. Something critical. "Furthermore, What was the deal? How could that be vital? What the hell does this all mean?" Blood reacted rather forcefully. The old gem sat still as a statue for what appeared like ages, yet at long last whispered "The Magenta Jade"

"What the heck is the Magenta Jade?" Blood asked as the Gem eyed her with a contorted look of doubt and dread. Indeed, even The Gem looked stressed. Reluctantly, the old Gem reacted "It is something we endeavor to get away from." Blood's look of perplexity at her answer more likely than not prodded her into expounding, "The legend holds that it makes due on the shattering of Gems. It might have even been a gem once, however not any more. It is a contemptible animal that stands taller than any gem and can strip your stone. It becomes more grounded with its very presence, and appears to have come back from whatever dimness it has covered up in for so long." The gem stopped, "Some time recently, the Magenta just took a few gems every cycle. We essentially acknowledged it as.. life." The gem swung to confront Blood, "After some time, the gems that dwell here promised to embrace a secret out here on the crust. Never to talk about or even recognize the Magenta, and soon, inexplicably, the kidnappings melted away."

Blood looked into her thoughts, endeavoring to process what she was hearing "And the Jade?" The gem gestured, "The Jade was something you claimed to encounter early before. Like I stated, this all links up." But there was one additionally thing. One thing that didn't make any sense. This Gem.

A dismal look came over the gem's face. "It's time you left. We can provide you a bit more respite but we would not want to have an encounter with the Magenta after trying to bury its existence." Blood got up to leave and as she strolled through the entryway, the gem never moved their look from her.

Blood needed answers, however she was depleted and as of now overpowered by this inconceivable information. Subsequent to measuring her alternatives, Blood concluded that she needed to spend one more night out in the obelisk forested areas. She has no clue what came over her. Regardless of whether it was the objective of having the capacity to expound on her encounters, she wanted a conclusion for this ridiculousness or something... this influenced her to backpedal out there.

[bloodruby]

Her stroll through the obelisked areas was far more terrible, on the grounds that this time she was aware of Magenta Jade. She didn't attempt to persuade that purple gem to accompany her. Something revealed to Blood that she had doomed that purple gem just by raising this beast from the dead with her questioning. Ending the quiet. The ever-present dreadful paranoia was presently heaped on with a heap of guilt now. She at long last made it to where she tried to rest before and saw that very little had changed. The approaching vines and obelisks stayed and the sickening drag marks on the ground still sat. She couldn't take it. She kicked dirt over it to eradicate the imprints and impressions.

She took after the tracks, proceeding to cover them, to an Obelisk. The edge of the knoll. Blood could see the kicked up dust and dirt as she looked behind her. Be that as it may, there was something unique. A huge cut on an Obelisk.

Like somebody had taken a jack-hammer through it. What's more, on another only a couple of feet further, resembled an enormous claw mark. Like when a wolf denotes their territory. Be that as it may, this looked as though something had recently scratched it while strolling through the this forest of obelisks. Blood felt debilitated. She backpedaled to an Obelisk sitting across from the scratched and sat tight for sunset.

The breeze grabbed once more. Not so awful, but rather sufficiently still to blow Bloods hair. She knew the time had come. Blood stood up and brushed herself off. The night was enlightened by a delicate however passing light, as the mists over and again clouded things from see. This time, the breeze had a physical impact. She could see the vines swaying delicately and the grass blowing over one way. She couldn't tell if this was ameliorating or not. She looked over her shoulders, up and around and at the ground... Nothing. Subsequent to remaining in the breeze for some time longer she chose to cross her arms and hold up some more. She turned on her foot rear area and almost blacked out at what she saw.

There it was... standing specifically next to the scarred obelisk.

It transcend no less than a foot taller than Blood, and looked straight down with eyes like a hawk. It had teeth like a canine. Some sort of set up of eyes.. like.. green. She could see the teeth pointed through its stomach.. Yet, it's arms. Goodness God... it's arms. They were staggeringly long, with it's claw-like hands that looked as if they could cut through steel. The body was mishapened and strong looking, with a pale dim composition covered up under a thin layer of what looked to be hide. The lower body looked rotten and slender, and Blood could see that this creature was like the ones she encountered before... But grotesquely abominated.. She comprehended what it was. there was no mixing up it. It was what she was told of... WARNED of.

It was the Magenta Jade.

[bloodruby]

Bloods voice was lost. She could scarcely inhale not to mention shape a coherent thought. She did not know what to do. Immediately, She made a large portion of a stride backwards,yet before her foot even touched the ground, The Magenta all of a sudden squatted and jumped over Blood, thumping into her and tearing through her side with it's huge claws. Blood scrambled to escape. Viciously growling, it got Bloods leg and pulled her back no less than five feet. It's strength was staggering. Blood was almost lifted off the ground by the power.

She moved onto her back and met it's look once more.

She could see it's hot breath steaming out of its stomach mouth exposed to the harsh elements air. It let out a blood coagulating shriek and jumped for Blood. She moved, with awesome agony, a few feet away, barely missing the animal's deadly strike. On its fours, it swung to confront Blood once more. She steeled herself and called upon her Ripple Fists, confronting it, and shut her eyes. This was it. She could shatter, yet at any rate.. she'd get one great shot in. It jumped for her, however was caught by a single punch by Bloods ripple fist.

She heard a 'POW' as she struck the side of its chest, making the creature discharge a foul shriek a foot from Bloods ears. It's breath stunk of decay.

Bloods ears rang, however she some way or another got to her feet and started an edgy, adrenaline powered run to the narrow road. As her listening ability returned, Bood tuned in to the beast growling with outrage behind her. She hoped that it hadn't started to pursue her; in the event that it did, Blood was dead. She made it to the edge of the Obelisk forest while proceeding to hold her struck midriff. She could make out the trail in the diminished light and summed up all the strength she needed to make it there.

She never impeded her pace, for if she had let up for even a moment, She'd be back in the arms of the brute. She ran out onto the trail and was in a split second attacked by a blinding light.

[bloodruby]

Before she knew it, Blood was flying, and arrived with a crash onto the dirt. She opened her eyes and saw three figures.

Two of them, were the purple gems from the cave, venturing out to find Blood, the other, was the Magenta. It was standing outlined against the light at the edge of the dirt inversed of her. It started to heal it's chest. She attempted to get to her feet however felt red hot agony in her left leg. One of the gems helped her get to her feet and essentially dragged her off back towards the cave like she was a sack of potatoes. The force of landing on her wounded leg brought tears to her eyes, but she was just too relieved to care.

The other gem remained in dread before the beast, raising a hand before her. It seemed this gem had a blast-type power and before she could let off an attack, the Magenta snatched the gems leg and dragged her off into the obelisk forest. She could hear shouting, and the sound of boots scratching against dirt.

"I-I have to go help..."

[bloodruby]

"No! You're still wounded, you'll die out there." The purple gem said.

"But they need help!" Blood argued.

"You can't do anything for them, trust me. You need to rest, or you won't be able to make it to another day." The purple Gem urged.

The gems words seemed logical enough. She couldn't go and die out there without accomplishing anything. The purple gem helped her back inside the cave and sat her down in the corner.

Blood Ruby looks down and says "You think your friend is..."

"Dead? Yeah, I do." The gem says.

"I'm sorry.." Blood Ruby says.

"It's fine, we weren't exactly friends. She was a good fighter though. Shame to lose someone with her skill set." The gem says coldly, looking back towards the Obelisk forest.

"What's your name?" Blood Ruby asks.
"I am Rose-Jasper. It's a pleasure to meet you." She says, holding out her hand to shake.
Blood Ruby hesitantly reaches to shake Rose-Jaspers hand, "I'm Blood Ruby, Thank you for saving me.."

"You're welcome. So, what's a Ruby doing out here?" Rose asks.
"I esc- uhh.. was sent out here to.. Umm Exile." Blood Ruby answers.
"Oh, so you're a defect?"

"I'm not sure what I am now..." Blood Ruby says, looking down.
"Well, if you want, you could join me and my associates. We're planning on leaving this planet." Rose offers.

Blood Ruby says "What? How do you plan on leaving this planet? Where would you go?"
"We're building a ship. It's not easy, but I think we'll manage to get it done." Rose answers. Blood takes a moment to take her words in.

"What do you need me for?"

"Well, we could use another fighter. We're always better off with more people to help us." Rose says.
"I don't think I'd be much help, I'm not exactly a good fighter." Blood Ruby responds.

Rose Jasper smiles halfway. Blood Ruby takes a good look at this gems features.




"What are you doing?" Rose asks, interrupting Blood Ruby's thoughts.
"Just observing." Blood Ruby responds.
"Oh? And what conclusions have you come to?" Rose asks.

Blood sighs, "I am in. I am just worried about your friend still. I don't want to write her off as.. shattered so fast."
"She's not shattered, she's just not doing well. She'll be fine." Rose says.
"I hope you're right." Blood responds.
"So, when do we leave?" Rose asks.
"We?" Blood repeats.
"Yes, we. You don't think I'm going to let you go alone, do you? I need to make sure you're safe." Rose says.
Blood Ruby is surprised by this answer.

Blood Ruby blinks rapidly, her eyes narrowing out side, "I.. guess now, I can't wait here." Blood Ruby begins to try to stand up, using the cave walls to support her.
"Are you sure you're ready?" Rose asks.
"No, but I have to get out of here." Blood Ruby responds, grunting as she pushes herself up.
"Alright, let me help you." Rose says.
Rose-Jasper puts her hands under Blood Ruby's armpits and hoists her up.

"I can walk." Blood Ruby says.
"I know, but I want to make sure you don't fall and hurt yourself."

Blood Ruby says "Why aren't you concerned about your friend and focused on me so heavily?"
"I am concerned about my friend, but I'm more concerned about you. I'd rather you be safe than her."
"Why?"
"Because... You're..." Rose-Jasper's voice trails off.

"Go on..." Blood Ruby says.
Rose-Jasper's eyes widen in surprise.
"You're what?" Blood Ruby asks.

"Nevermind. Come on, we need to get deeper in the cave where the others are." Rose-Jasper says.
Blood Ruby goes silent and nods, letting Rose-Jasper guide her through the cavern tunnels.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Rose-Jasper asks.
"What?" Blood Ruby asks.
"Why do you keep asking me why I'm helping you? Do I seem like a person who wouldn't help someone in need?" Rose-Jasper asks.

Blood Ruby hobbles on and looks away, "You literally let your friend get taken by that monster out there. Something just does not add up."
Rose-Jasper lets out a sigh, "I didn't let her get taken. I wanted to go get her, but I was afraid of what would happen if I did."
"What do you mean?" Blood Ruby asks.

"I'm a coward. I know that and I'm not going to try to make myself seem like anything else. But, I'm trying to change. I want to be brave." Rose-Jasper says.
Blood Ruby crinkles her nose, "I don't know what to say to that, Rose-Jasper. But I will trust your judgement. Let's just get to your hide out for now."
"Okay." Rose-Jasper says.
Rose-Jasper and Blood Ruby enter a large cavern room. In the middle of the room is a small campfire. A few gems sit around the campfire. They look up and stare at Blood and Rose.

"Rose! Where have you been? We thought you got taken by the Magenta Jades!" One of them exclaims.
"I almost did." Rose-Jasper says,
The smallest gem looks and counts on their fingers, "R-rose, what happened to Purple sapphire?"
"She got taken by one of the Magenta Jades," Rose-Jasper says.
"Oh no."
"So, what are we going to do about the Magenta Jades?" One of them asks.
"Nothing. We're leaving." Rose-Jasper says.
"What?"

"We're leaving." Rose-Jasper says, more sternly.

[bloodruby]

"But, Rose-Jasper! We can't just leave! We have to do something about the Magenta Jades!"

"And what would you do? What could we do? We're not fighters. We're not warriors. We're not soldiers. We're just... us."
Rose-Jasper admits.

"But..."

"No buts. Blood Ruby, Let's go."

Rose-Jasper grabs Blood Ruby by the hand and begins to drag her.
Blood Ruby plants her foot in the ground, her face scowling from the pain, "Hold on, Rose-Jasper. Can't you see how scared everyone is?"
"Ruby, I know you're scared. I'm scared too. But, we can't let them see that. I have to be strong. I have to lead." Rose-Jasper says in a hushed tone.

Blood leans against Rose, "Where exactly is this ship of yours going to go?" Her eyes narrowing.
"I don't know, Blood. I'll think of something."

Blood Ruby's eyes widen. Rose-Jasper is lying to her. Blood Ruby feels it.
"You don't know anything, do you?" The red gem hisses.


Blood Ruby looks over her shoulder to see the three other gems sitting around the campfire staring at the two. They're all scared. They have every right to be, but Rose-Jasper is trying to keep them calm.

"I'm sorry, Blood Ruby." Rose-Jasper says with a sigh, turning around to the group of other gems. "I'll go to go talk to them."
"No, Rose. I'll do it." Blood shakes her head.
"Ruby, you're hurt. Let me do this." Rose protests.

"No. I need to do this." Blood Ruby says with a frown. She begins to hobble over to the campfire, Rose-Jasper following closely behind her. The other gems clear out of the way as the two approach the fire pit.

"We're all scared." The blue gem says.


Blood Ruby nods, "I know. But we all can't sit here and just let ourselves be shattered. I.. fought with that thing out there and it nearly killed me. It took all my strength to get out of that battle alive."

"You're hurt." A yellow gem says, pointing at the Ruby's injured leg.

"I know I am." Blood Ruby says, "But I'm not going to let that stop me from doing what's right. We need to fight. We need to fight for our lives."
Rose Jaspers eyes widens and she frowns, "Blood-Ruby, No. I said we are leaving. I thought you wanted to help me get them up?! This is madness if you think we all could take those things down!"

"We need to try." Blood snarls.

"No! We need to go!"

"Rose, I'm sorry. You can go if you want. But I decided.. I'm not going to run away from a fight." Blood Ruby says with sureness in her voice.

"Blood, you're hurt. You can't even walk straight. This is foolishness." Rose-jasper tries to reason.

Blood Ruby sighs and shakes her head, "I'll be fine. If you want to leave in your ship, go ahead."

Rose-Jasper huffs, "Idiot. You Rubies are all the same."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're all stoic and emotionless. It's no wonder you're all being shattered."

"That's not true. I feel things. I'm just not going to let them control me."
"Yeah, well you're in pain right now. You can barely walk." Rose-Jasper clearly points out.

"I'll heal." Blood Ruby says.

Rose-Jasper shakes her head, "Maybe saving you was a bad idea."

[bloodruby]

Blood Ruby sighs and hunches her shoulders, "It doesn't matter. It's the right thing to do."
Rose-Jasper says, "You're not going to convince me to stay."
"I'm not trying to." Blood Ruby takes a sit.
"Then what are you trying to do?" Rose-Jasper looks at her.

Blood Ruby taps her chin, "I'm trying to think.." She looks at the three scared gems, "What are your names?"
The blue, yellow and red gems answer in unison, "Bixy, Soda and Carna."
"You're not going to convince Rose to stay?" Bixy asks.

Rose-Jasper flings her hand, "You all can either come with me or get shattered with Blood Ruby. I thought bringing her in we would have a good chance of escaping here but I was wrong. You all would be destroyed following her!"
"I'm not going to shatter for following the wrong gem." Carna says.
"Yeah, I'm not going to leave you." Soda says.
Bixy looks at Blood Ruby, "I don't know what to do."
"You should go with Rose. I'm a lost cause." Blood Ruby says.
Bixy shakes her head, "No, I'm staying with you."

Rose-Jaspers eye twitch as she stares down the yellow gem, "Bixy! I-.. You know what, fine. Soda, Carna, say goodbye to Bixy, we are going."
"As I said, I'm staying with Blood Ruby." Bixy says.
Rose-Jasper's eye twitches again, "F-sine, you're choosing to be destroyed then. Come on, Soda and Carna."
Soda and Carna follow Rose-Jasper deeper into the cave.

Bixy looks down, "I'm sorry, Blood Ruby. I'll try to help you as much as I can."
"It's fine, Bixy. You did the right thing." Blood says putting her hand on her shoulder.
Blood takes a deep breath, "So Bixy, what can you do? What powers do you have?"

"I can make plants grow instantly."

"That's a rare one. I've never encountered a gem with that power. It'll be useful for our survival here. What about your weapon?" Blood Ruby stretches her leg.
"A bow and arrow." The yellow gem answers.
Blood Ruby grits her teeth, "You think you could make me some sort of brace with your plant power stuff?"
"Yeah, I can try." The yellow gem answers softly.

Blood Ruby stretches her leg completely out, "Do it then. We need to get out of this cave."
Bixy nods and starts to make her way to Blood Ruby's leg.
"Ah!" Blood Ruby shouts in pain as the yellow gem touches her leg.
"I'm sorry!" Bixy says.
"It's fine, just... just do it carefully." Blood Ruby says.
"I'll try to make it as comfortable as possible."
"It's fine, I can take a little pain for the cause."
Bixy nods and begins to twist and turn Blood Ruby's leg. It's clear that she is trying her best to help Blood Ruby out. Blood Ruby watches as Bixy's hands begin to glow a faint green color.

The green light envelops Blood Ruby's leg and cave mushrooms begins to sprout from the floor.
"It'll be a few hours before the brace is ready. You should meditate, I can alert you when it's done." Bixy says.
"I'm not tired."
"You should rest, you've been on your feet for a while and fighting the jade. You should take advantage of this time to relax."
"I suppose you're right."

Blood Ruby closes her eyes. She tries to meditate but she can't get the image of the Magenta jade out of her head. She's never seen a creature so large and powerful.

[bloodruby]

While Blood Ruby meditates, Bixy decides to go for a walk around the cave room. She looks at the walls and notices that there are some interesting drawings on them. They seem like they are from a different time period. There are pictures of what appears to be gems fighting some kind of monsters. The gems are drawn in an incredibly detailed fashion, while the monsters are drawn in a much more simplistic way.

Bixy examines more closely and it seems these crude drawings of gems defeating what looks like the Magenta Jade. It seems that the Magenta jade used to be a lot smaller and weaker in the past. It grew stronger and bigger over time, which is why the gems had to retreat to these caves.

Bixy examines further and see that the drawings depict the gems defeating the Magenta Jade, It shows the gems fighting back the jade, and eventually winning.

The gem feels a sense of hope after seeing these pictures. She just hopes that she will be able to help Blood Ruby defeat the Magenta jade. Bixy walks around some more and notices that there are some strange objects on the ground. They look like they are made out of glass, but they have something inside them. There are a lot of them, and they seem to be scattered around the floor at random.

Bixy walks over to one of them and notices that inside it there is some kind of liquid. The liquid seems to be boiling. The yellow gem pokes at the glass container with her finger, but nothing happens.

She looks up at the rest of the cave paintings which does feature these strange shards.

"The heck are these things?" She asks herself.



She picks one up and it's heavier than she thought it would be. She drops it and it clangs against the ground.

"Ouch." She hisses, shaking her hand.

Bixy notices that there is a strange pattern on the outside of the glass. It almost looks like a picture of some kind. It looks like the silhouette of the Magenta Jade with the shard piercing its midsection. Bixy pieces it together, these shards are whats needed to destroy the monsters!

"How could I be so stupid?" She says to herself. "I bet that's how the other gems defeated these things."
She picks up another shard and looks at it. The liquid inside of it is still boiling, and the steam rising off of it makes her finger burn a little.
"Tch!" She says, dropping it again.
She decides to pick up a few more shards.
Bixy goes and wake Blood Ruby from her meditation, "Blood! Blood!"

"Mmh?" She answers groggily.
"Come here, I think I figured out how to kill the Magenta Jades!" Bixy says excitedly.
"Oh? How?" Blood Ruby stays in place, looking at her.
"These shards! They're really heavy and hurt to touch for too long!"
"Yeah?..."
"Well, I think they can probably pierce through the jade's thick skin. We just have to throw them at the jades or pierce them."
Blood Ruby narrows her eyes, "It can't just be that easy.."
"It looks like it from here." Bixy says, sitting next to Blood Ruby.
"We'll see." Blood Ruby says while trying to move.

Bixy's eyes widen, "Aht! Hold on! Let me see if the mushroom cast is done.." Bixy lowers her hands over Blood Rubies injured leg to seal the fungus cast over her leg. Green light envelops the leg and the fungus begins to disappear into her leg, "There! All better!"

Blood Ruby blinks hard, "Th-the cast went into my leg? What is it doing, Bixy?"

"It's healing it, you know. I will explain later but for now come on, we have to go!"

"Alright, alright." Blood Ruby gets up and stands on her leg. It still hurts a bit, but she can walk fine. She can feel the pain numbing slowly.
The two gems head out of the cave and into the wasteland that is home crust. They walk for a few minutes before they see one of the Magenta jade monstrosities, the same one that was hunting Blood Ruby. The creature stands in place, perfectly still. It's magenta color almost blending into the background of the sky.

"It's a long ways away, but it's definitely one of them." Bixy whispers.
"It's still too close." Blood Ruby says, "I'll take care of it."