Diamonds are Forever - Episode 1

Episode 1 - Starshine

	Steven and the gems arrived on the scene, deep within the Amazon forest.

		“Now remember, you two,” said Pearl, completely immersed in mom-mode, “if you see anything…”

		“Contact you immediately,” answered Steven and Connie in unison, “Got it!”

	As the two kids raced off eager for an adventure, Pearl gingerly stepped off the warp pad, followed by Amethyst and Garnet. Some unusual activity had been cropping up over the past few weeks, and with a few new Tube-Tube videos showing some peculiar damage to the rainforest, Garnet finally decided it was time to investigate.

		“Yo, Garnet...” murmured Amethyst, “do you think it’s Jasper again?” She balled her fists, silently hoping that it was; she was determined to knock Jasper down a peg, or twenty.

		“No.” Garnet said, flatly. “There haven’t been that many corrupted gems in this part of the world, and with any luck it’ll be nothing more than some out-of-control deforesting operation.”

		“Besides,” chirped Pearl, “as far as we know, Jasper still finding her way back to the beta kindergarten after our last encounter.” She shifted her eyes to the side, “Hopefully there aren’t many gems for her to round up while we’re away.”

	And with that, the gems each set off on their own.

	Steven and Connie were talking excitedly as they searched their part of the forest.

		“Connie’s second mission!” Steven was barely able to contain himself, though he made sure to take plenty of pictures whenever the thought made it back to him. “This is so great;” he exclaimed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, “it’s almost like you’re a real gem!”

		Connie chuckled, blushing. “Oh, I don’t know about that.” She smiled shyly at him, “But hey, at least we get to hang out, right?”

	The kids threw their heads back, laughing to themselves. As they walked, they took in the scenery; the lush, green trees, the occasional animal eyeing them from a distance, and every so often some ancient gem ruination. As they pressed on, however, they began to notice the forest had grown significantly quieter.

		“Uh… Connie?” murmured Steven, looking over his shoulder, “Do you, uh, hear anything?” He turned to face her, looking concerned. “…Anything at all?”

		Connie paused to unsheathe her sword before glancing around, straining her eyes and ears.  “No, I…” she turned to Steven, sharing his worries, “I don’t hear anything.”

	The sudden explosion of feedback from their walkie-talkies startled the two children, causing them to cry out and jump back. Steven reached into his pocket for the radio, nearly dropping it once he had it in his hands.

		“Steven? Connie?” called Pearl’s voice, “Are you okay? How are you doing? Have you found anything?”

		Steven nervously pressed the button to reply, “N-no, nothing; but, uh… Is it weird and quiet where you are?”

		“Now that you mention it,” began Pearl, “the animal presence certainly seems, ah, ‘diminished’ this deep into the forest; I’d imagine this is where they would all be, seeing how it’s so far from any human settlements…” There was a brief pause, followed by a silent feed of static. “Do you want us to come get you?”

		“Well…” started Steven. Before he could continue, several trees rustled loudly, startling Connie and him.

		“Hello? Steven?” called Pearl through the receiver, “D-don’t worry kids! We’ll be there shortly!” Her voice became increasingly obscured by static. “Just find a place to rest and we’ll –“

	The walkie-talkie blew out in Steven’s hand, the rush of feedback and static causing him to drop it out of reflex. The sounds of ‘something’ moving throughout the woods around them began to unnerve the two children; Connie instinctively linked her arm with Steven’s, keeping her sword at the ready while he summoned up his shield.As the rustling slowly drew closer, the kids raised their weapons and steadied their breathing as they turned in circles, slowly trying to pin down the source of the noise.

		“Steven!” cried Pearl, bursting out of the bushes from behind the two children. “Thank goodness I found you two! Are you alright?”

		As Steven came down from his near heart attack, he slowly nodded his head. “Y-yeah… We’re fine.”

		“Heyo!” shrieked Amethyst, bursting out of another bit of densely-packed foliage, “What’d I miss?”

		Garnet dropped from the canopy above without a word, landing with a hard ‘thump.’ “No sign of any gems. Pearl? Amethyst?”

		“I haven’t seen anything.” Pearl replied.

		“Nothin’ on my end.” said Amethyst.

		“Well, at any rate,” said Pearl, taking a few steps away from the group, “it seems like there aren’t any gems in the area, though some of this destruction doesn’t seem to be manmade…” She turned back to the group with her arms out at the sides, about to ask what they should do next when she suddenly dissipated, gem falling to the ground.

	Steven ran forward to retrieve Pearl’s gem, but was quickly yanked back by Garnet, sending him sprawling on his back. As he sat up, he noticed Garnet was completely still, while Amethyst slowly looked around, angrily winding and unwinding her whip around her fists. Steven glanced at Connie, and could tell right away just how nervous she was. He stood up and took her hand, readying his shield.

		“Amethyst.” muttered Garnet.

	Without a word, Amethyst leapt into the air, high above the treetops, to get a better view.

		“Garnet,” whispered Steven, “what’s –“

		“Look out!” she cried, pushing the kids aside as the ground beneath them exploded. Steven and Connie quickly scrambled to their feet, glancing towards the crater. Amethyst slowly sat up with a groan. Garnet quickly scooped her and the kids up and dashed for Pearl’s gem just as the trees behind her split in two, cut by some invisible force. “Steven,” she cried, running for the warp pad they came on, “keep a lookout!”

	Garnet took off with such force the ground beneath her ruptured, the trees and shrubbery bending outwards as she raced by. Steven was barely able to keep his eyes open with Garnet’s intense speed, but he felt his mind begin to focus as he gazed towards the treetops. Every so often, he’d see a dark blur keeping pace with them, or even appearing ahead of them, just out of sight. As the group broke through into the clearing with the warp pad, Steven saw the blur one last time.

		“Garnet!” he cried.

	As soon as the sound left his lips, Garnet tossed him toward the warp pad along with Connie, Amethyst, and Pearl’s gem. Not a second later, the blur took Garnet to the ground. Always quick to react, Garnet managed to throw whatever was after them off of her just as it laid its hands on her, and quickly sprung up to see what she had caught. Several feet away, their stalker slowly rose to their feet from a crouched position. It was a gem, or at least appeared to be one, thought Steven. She had an ashy complexion, like wood that had been burnt white, and was well-built, though not quite as burly as Jasper. Her piercing gaze went right through Garnet, and her long, white hair stood curled and on-end.

		“Who are you?” shouted Garnet, readying her gauntlets. “Why are you here?”

	Ignoring Garnet’s questions, the enemy gem lunged forward. As soon as Garnet drew her fist back, her foe adjusted their poise, deftly avoiding the incoming blow. The gem quickly retaliated with a swift strike to Garnet’s stomach, followed by a hefty left hook, shattering her visor and sending her to the ground.

		“Hey!” cried Amethyst, “Didn’t forget about me, did ya?!”

	Amethyst charged forth, drawing her whips and curling up as she gained speed, racing towards the enemy gem in a purple blur. The gem raised her hands, ready to counter, but Amethyst quickly shifted directions repeatedly, flitting all around her opponent before pulling back. The gem attempted to move forward, but found herself wrapped up in Amethyst’s spiked whips.

		“Ha!” she gloated, “Bet ya didn’t see that one coming!”

	The gem narrowed her eyes and flexed her arm; Steven, Connie and Amethyst watched as a long, curved blade quickly sprouted out of the gem’s arm, running just past her elbow. In a flash, she cut herself free of the ropes. Retracting her blade, she continued glaring at Amethyst.

		“Wha – hey!” shouted Amethyst, flushed purple, “You’re not supposed to do that!”
	Curiously, the gem responded by taking a wider stance and putting her arms out to the side, shrugging. She raised an eyebrow and waited for Amethyst’s next move.

		Amethyst growled, steadily becoming angrier. “Why you..!”

		“Amethyst, don’t!” shouted Steven. He glanced at the enemy gem, and felt his stomach drop when he realized he had just gotten its attention. After a brief pause, the gem raced forward. Steven quickly raised his shield just as the gem’s claws came down, loudly scraping along his shield and sending him tumbling away.

		Before the gem could continue its advance, it swiftly took a step back, just avoiding Connie’s sword. “You leave him alone!” she cried, pulling back for another swing. The gem cocked its head before easily avoiding her attack, and carefully watched as she continued to fruitlessly swing away with her sword. Eventually, the gem extended its blade and quickly deflected an incoming blow, knocking the blade from Connie’s hands and leaving her wide open.

	The gem raised its arm, and brought down its blade. When Connie opened her eyes, she saw a ball of dust tumbling towards Steven, before realizing it was Amethyst’s gem; she had spun herself toward this powerful enemy in an attempt to save Connie, and had managed to buy her enough time for Steven to pull her into his bubble.

		“Just… Just leave us alone!” shouted Steven, tightly clutching Amethyst’s gem. “You can’t break through my shield so – so just go away!”

	The gem stepped over to Steven’s bubble, and poked at it experimentally. After a few slow, soft scratches and prods, she suddenly exploded into a flurry of slashes, stabs, jabs and punches, all equally ineffective. Resting her hand on the sphere, she locked eyes with Steven, her piecing gaze chilling him to the bone. With one last, agonizingly long scrape of her claws, she slowly broke away and strode back into the jungle, stepping past a still dazed Garnet.

	Reluctantly, Steven lowered his shield once the gem was out of sight. Amethyst reformed almost immediately, touching down with tottering, uneasy steps.

		“Ugh…” she groaned, holding her gem, “What was that thing?”

		Steven scooped up Pearl’s gem, looking it over in his hands. “…I don’t know,” he murmured, clutching the gem tightly, “but we should go before it comes back.”

	Connie helped Garnet to her feet and walked her to the warp pad. She and Steven took one last look at the jungle before warping away, catching the glint of their attacker’s eye in the foliage a few feet away from where they’d been standing.