"We need to talk," I said the next day, making both Gems look up at me with raised eyebrows.
"What's up?" Sapphire asked with a smile. I glanced sideways at the video game, noticing she already had a tamed dog, but I just shook my head. Pearl, for her part, was totally locked in, decorating a virtual wooden house.
"I'm going to be gone for four months," I blurted out to keep it concise.
Both of them froze for a second, but without taking their eyes off the screen, waiting for the explanation.
"I have a project that requires me to be away," I added bluntly.
A few seconds of silence followed, and then, with a calmness I didn't expect, Sapphire spoke.
"Go right ahead," she said, adjusting her posture to keep playing.
"As far as I'm concerned, take three years," Pearl chimed in without even blinking, way too busy placing item frames on a wall.
On my end, I could feel three black anime lines forming on my forehead at their sheer indifference, but I calmed myself down. At least they didn't get all sentimental again.
"If you guys need anything, ask Yarbis, but don't overdo it," I said as I walked toward the exit.
"Take care of yourself," Pearl said.
"Stay safe out there," Sapphire added.
I stepped out of the ship and started walking, taking in the heavy air of FanganZ. Slowly, my walk turned into a jog, then a full sprint, feeling the raw power of my current body slamming against the reddish soil. I kept running until I felt entirely free—a sensation of pure speed that cleared my head. Out of nowhere, I leaped with all my might, watching how beautiful the planet's coppery sky looked from up high.
I crashed back down to the ground with a dull thud and pulled up the coordinates Yarbis had marked on my map. After several minutes of a steady jog, I arrived at a cave hidden among sharp rock formations. I stopped and peered into the dark interior.
"Yarbis, initiate environmental adaptation protocol," I ordered, activating the remote systems.
The cave floor began to vibrate. Small construction drones deployed from my gear and began working at an incredible speed. I couldn't just leave the injector in the dirty earth. First, a series of alloy pillars drove deep into the ground to level the surface, creating a perfectly flat metallic platform.
Next, the drones began sculpting the cave walls, widening the space and sealing the cracks with a transparent polymer to prevent any gas or dust leaks from ruining the chemical process. I installed a series of white neon lights that flickered to life, illuminating every corner and transforming the natural cavern into a sterile, futuristic laboratory.
Finally, the center of the platform slid open, allowing the injector to emerge from its transport unit. The massive drill of light and metal locked into the central axis, connecting to the power cells that would extract energy directly from the planet's core.
"Environment optimized, sir," Yarbis's voice echoed through my interface. "Oxygen and pressure levels adjusted for synthesis initialization."
I looked at the injector, which now glowed with a bluish hue in the dim light of the cave. Everything was ready. There was no turning back.
I was a little nervous about this, but whatever, right? After this, I'm definitely heading to Earth to see what's the deal with everything over there. Plus, I need to talk to a Diamond and see what their gem looks like in person to better guide myself into what I want to become. My aspirations aren't small, and this is the first real step.
Those were the thoughts racing through my mind as I positioned the injector with millimeter precision toward the cave floor.
"Yarbis, initiate the anchoring sequence," I ordered, feeling the injector lock into the platform with a heavy metallic clang.
The plan was simple in theory, but complex in execution. The injector wasn't going to create a new gem; instead, it would act as a high-intensity incubator for my current one. I stepped into the induction chamber, right beneath the drill's core.
"Process overview, sir," Yarbis interjected. "The injector will absorb your gem without altering its base structure. Once inside, the system will filter pure nutrients from the planet's core and pump them directly into your light form. It is essentially an accelerated gestation process to obtain the nutrients missed during your original emergence, plus a few synthetic energy boosts I've designed—assuming your gem can withstand them."
"Do it," I said, closing my eyes.
I felt an immense gravitational pull. The injector cranked up to 100%, emitting a hum that made the cave walls vibrate. A white light enveloped me, and suddenly, I lost all sensation of my physical body. My gem was sucked into the injector's core, left suspended in a fluid of pure energy.
"Gem positioned. The injector will remain active, and I will monitor every fluctuation," Yarbis assured. "If internal pressure rises too high, I will abort the process, but for now... everything is stable."
The last coherent thoughts I would have were:
I hope this takes exactly as long as it needs to, so I can become someone better suited for what I've prepared for in the future, I thought with a smile as my consciousness drifted into the depths of my gem. Suddenly, I was left in a state between emerging and not emerging; it was feeling absolutely nothing and, at the same time, feeling everything. It felt strange, like floating in a warm vacuum that was constantly expanding.
Outside the gem:
"Gem positioned. Nutrient energy extraction mode activated," Yarbis's voice said in its usual monotone drone, officially getting to work.
"Estimated time: 1 year," the AI declared as the injector began to glow with an intense light that illuminated the entire cavern. The drill's hum escalated into a constant roar that shook the mountain.
"Minerals beyond parameters. Life beyond structure," Yarbis's voice echoed, analyzing the components the injector was tearing from the crust of FanganZ. "High probability of surpassing perfection."
Yarbis would be working tirelessly around the clock while, on my end, I remained in a coma, so to speak. I had no idea how much time had passed, but I trusted my calculations and my AI completely.
"Minerals depleted within a 100-meter radius. Increasing the reach of secondary injectors," Yarbis reported as sensors detected the earth turning gray and barren around the base. "Processing if my Silica can take the strain... Processing..."
An electric silence filled the cave, broken only by the flashing emergency lights.
"Gem in optimal condition. Keep extracting until our system commands otherwise," the AI ordered the machines.
The year of incubation was just beginning, and while I slept, the injector was converting the essence of an entire planet into the fuel that would grant my rebirth.
2 months later:
"What do you think Silica is up to?" Pearl asked as the two of them carried some wooden planks. They were trying to build a real house using the knowledge they had picked up inside Minecraft, but applying it to real life. Turns out, in the physical world, gravity wasn't nearly as forgiving as it was in the game.
"No clue," Sapphire replied with total calm as she fitted a door into its frame.
"I wonder if she's okay," Pearl muttered to herself, pausing for a moment to look up at the grayish sky of FanganZ.
"Everyone has their secrets, Pearl," Sapphire said after a moment, noticing her partner's anxiety. "Let her have hers." Sapphire finished with a smile as she leaned down to start a real campfire.
"I just hope she's alright, okay?" Pearl insisted, rubbing her hand a bit with a slightly nervous smile.
"Oh, come on, girl. Just stay calm, she'll be back before you know it."
Pearl nodded, sitting down next to the growing fire. The two of them stayed like that in a comfortable silence, trusting that their leader knew exactly what she was doing.
4 months later:
"Hey, don't you think it's a little too quiet around here?" Pearl asked as she walked alongside Sapphire through an area of low vegetation and jagged rocks.
"Honestly, I'm surprised," Sapphire admitted. Both were wearing their gravity suits, but right now they preferred walking at a slow pace instead of running or jumping. They were walking with a clear purpose thanks to one of Sapphire's visions; she had sensed that a beast was roaming this area, and if it wasn't neutralized now, it would eventually reach the ship. They knew the ship was practically indestructible, but they didn't want to deal with the hassle of a giant animal banging against the hull in the middle of the night.
Suddenly, through some purple-leaved bushes, they spotted it.
It was a creature that looked both elegant and intimidating, something they had never seen on Homeworld or in their travels. It had a sleek body covered in short, coarse fur, supported by four long, slender legs that ended in cloven hooves. The most striking feature was its head: two massive, branching bony structures sprouted from its forehead, like sharp, withered trees reaching for the sky. Its eyes, large and dark, locked onto them with a wild intelligence as its pointed ears twitched.
"What a bizarre creature..." Pearl whispered, cautiously aiming her pistol. "It has spears growing right out of its skull."
"It doesn't look like an ordinary animal," Sapphire analyzed, narrowing her eye. "But it is a bit creepy. Look at how the air shimmers around it."
The mutated stag let out a roar that sounded like metal clashing against metal and lowered its antlers, gearing up to charge. This was no normal animal; the mutations of FanganZ had turned this herbivore into a territorial war machine.
"Well," Sapphire said, adjusting her gauntlet. "Looks like our quiet day is over."
The mutated stag didn't wait. It charged with explosive speed, kicking up a cloud of reddish dust in its wake.
"Left!" Sapphire shouted, her eye flashing for a millisecond right before impact.
Pearl reacted on pure instinct. Thanks to the upgrades from Silica's gravity suits, her movements were much more fluid and faster than those of any normal gem. She did a side roll, hearing the air whistle as the animal's antlers missed her flank by inches. Without wasting a beat, she aimed her pistol and fired twice.
The energy projectiles slammed into the creature's back, but the mutated fur seemed to act as natural armor. The stag let out a metallic grunt and slammed on the brakes, skidding on its hooves before spinning around with surprising agility.
"It's tougher than it looks!" Pearl exclaimed, backing away as she recharged her weapon's energy.
"Don't give it space!" Sapphire shot back.
Sapphire lunged into the attack. She activated her boot thrusters for a brief instant, gliding across the ground as if she were skating on ice. The stag tried to gore her, but Sapphire was a blue blur, impossible to catch. She ducked, dodging a headbutt that would have shattered a boulder, and threw a punch packed with the suit's kinetic force right into the joint of the animal's front leg.
A sharp crack echoed through the air. The creature hobbled, letting out a bellow of pain that made both Gems' eardrums vibrate.
"Now, Pearl!"
Pearl didn't miss her window. She sprinted toward a nearby rock and, using the increased gravity to launch herself, leaped clean over the creature. In mid-air, time seemed to slow down for her; she lined up her pistol's sights, aiming at the only spot that didn't look protected by that coarse fur: the base of the neck, right where the antlers met the skull.
Pew! Pew!
Two precise shots pierced the mutated flesh. The stag collapsed forward, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Its legs twitched a couple of times before it went completely still. Silence returned to the area, broken only by Pearl's heavy breathing.
"Whew... that was... intense," Pearl said, lowering her weapon and wiping some dust off her face. She looked at the animal's body with a mix of pity and disgust. "This place really doesn't want us here, does it?"
Sapphire walked over, inspecting the remains with a serious look. Her hands were still shaking slightly from the adrenaline of the fight.
"FanganZ is a place of survival, Pearl. Silica knows that," Sapphire commented, glancing in the direction of the hidden cave. "That's why she's doing what she's doing. So that the next time something like this—or worse—shows up, we won't have to struggle so hard."
Pearl sighed and holstered her pistol back onto her suit.
"Well, at least it won't be bothering the ship anymore," she said, trying to get her cheerful tone back. "Let's head back. I still have to finish the roof of the house before it gets dark. Yarbis says there's a thunderstorm coming."
The two of them started the trek back, leaving the beast's carcass behind, while miles away, inside a silent injector, Silica's body kept absorbing the planet's essence, preparing for something much bigger than a simple hunt.
End of Chapter 24.