#graven fallsnierse

[freezing-kaiju]

Survivors of Shards

chapter 13

@apollowuzhere @irazel @grilledwatermelon

more willa cause i wanna get this done

I followed Cuprite out of the metal room into the bright sun.  She bent down and picked up the bubble holding Billy’s gem, then turned to the surrounding gems, who I assumed was the rest of her crew.

“Everyone, I have an important announcement,” she declared.  “Stay away from Gravity Falls.  The people there are hostile and posses a weapon that can instantly corrupt gems.”  A yellow gem on my right gasped.  “For your own safety, stay out.”  Her expression switched to something a bit more pleasant.  “Oh, and some good news.  Willa here will be joining the crew.”  With that, she turned around and retreated back into the room with my bubbled sibling.

I felt uncomfortable under the gazes of the many gems around me.  “Um….hello,” I said, smiling softly and giving a small wave.  They probably didn’t look at me too fondly since I had attacked them not too long ago.  I shifted nervously.  The others looked at me with a mixture of expressions: some sympathy, some disgust, some fear.  Then a large golden gem stepped forward, her chubby hand outstretched towards me.

“Hi!  I’m Amber,” she greeted cheerfully.  “I think we sorta met before, but that doesn’t count….but anyways nice to meet you!”

This gem, Amber, seemed nice enough, but I did a quick sweep of her mind just to be sure.  Her mind was very pleasant, filled with positive thoughts and little things she’s noticed on earth that she likes.  She had a particular interest in bees, specifically how cute they are.  She also seemed fond of the peridot that was with the group.  Once I was a bit more sure I could trust Amber, I cautiously reached out and shook her hand.  She happily returned the shake and smiled.

“Is it ok if I hug you?” she asked.

“Um….y-yes I suppose so,” I agreed.  “What an odd request.”

“Yay!”  Amber lunged forward and wrapped me in a very soft, warm hug.  I tensed at the sudden impact, but relaxed almost instantly.  It was nice.  I felt almost….safe.

Amber pulled away from the hug, to my disappointment, and a hand clapped me on the shoulder.

“Heya!” the responsible bismuth exclaimed.  “Nice to meet you too.  What exactly are you gonna be doin’ here las?”

“D-doing?” I questioned.  I felt a lump form in my throat as I began to panic.  “Is….is there something I was supposed to do?  I’m sorry, was I supposed to be helping you with your ship?  I did not know.  I’m so very sorry.”  I bowed my head and clasped my hands together in shame.

The bismuth’s gaze softened a bit.  “No, no, it’s ok.  I was just saying….well we could sure use the help, if you want to.  We’re down about thirty crew members.”

“Yes, well I-” I cut off mid sentence, losing my footing and grabbing at my gem.  The corruption had swelled up, the burning feeling returning for a moment, then retreating, leaving me a gasping, sobbing mess.

The bismuth stepped back in fear, muttering, “Was it something I said?”

Then another gem, a pink and yellow one, ran forwards, waving her hands in a series of symbols.  I remembered long ago there was a human who used those motions.  They did not have the ability to hear or speak, so that was how they communicated.  I only knew a few words, but could never use it fluently.  

I tried to stand back up, only to have my knees buckle under me and land with a small “thud” back on the grass.  The pink and yellow gem raised her eyebrows and stared at me with her gem eye.  It was over her right, just like mine.  It glowed and a beam shot out at me.  I was frightened and started crawling away, but when it hit I felt a feeling similar yet different to Cuprite’s.  I was calmer, but also….invigorated.  I apologized and stood back up, thanking the gem.  Then I realized something.

“Can you hear me?” I asked her.

The gem nodded.  I let out a small sigh of relief.  I didn’t want to be rude by speaking when she couldn’t hear what I was saying.

“What’s your name?”

While she signed, I recognized the word “name.”  She finished and the bismuth translated, “‘My name is Lemonade Tourmaline.’”

“Very nice to meet you.”

Lemonade Tourmaline nodded, and a figure in the back moved closer.

“Hey,” they said.  “My name’s Peridot Facet-4T6B-Cut-9JH.  Glad to see another addition to this mess of idiots.  We’re all doomed here, but hey, we’re doomed together!”

I shrunk back from the peridot.  The word “doom” repeated in my mind.  “I….um….I’m s-sorry….I’ll….I’ll do better….”

“Nah nah nah, not your fault.”

Amber butted in, placing a hand on the peridot’s arm.  “I’m sorry, 9JH can be a bit blunt sometimes.  Everyone’s still trying to get over the tragedy….I’d say so far you and Lavander Jade have cried an equal amount, poor dear….”

“Oh, well I’m sorry for being such a burden,” I said, feeling guilty for getting in their way.  “I’m sure you didn’t need this in a time of crisis.”

“Eh, buck up mate!” a voice behind me shouted.  I turned and saw a lanky red gem grinning and leaning on a sword.  “We’re all in this together, roight?  Least you are now….’less you wanna leave.  I’m Aventurine, by the way, but you can call me Red.”

“Hello.”

A jasper pushed Red and 9JH to the side, mumbling, “Outta my way wankers.”  They then continued a little louder, “Willa, aye?  Got a few….ok, a lot of questions for ya.”

“....Ok-kay….” I agreed.

“First off: you from homeworld or from Earth somehow?  Second, what happened to you?  Third, would it hurt if I poke you in the corrupted bits?  Fourth, what the hell is Spain?”

I was a little startled by the barrage of questions, but I had done so little to help already….

“Well, my sibling and I were originally from homeworld, but we came here after an….accident on our ship.  We arrived a while ago and a….not so nice human….hurt us….and….” I stopped to collect myself.  It was hard to retell the story once, let alone twice in one day.  “Anyway….yes it would hurt, so please refrain from doing so.  I have heard of Spain, but do not know quite what it is.  My sibling and I have not traveled far from Gravity Falls.”

“Right, ok, right, gotcha.”  The jasper scribbled down the information, then smiled.  “Thanks!”

I smiled back.  “Glad I could help.”

“What the hell is going on here?” the alabaster, who I recognized from in the woods, asked, kicking down a door. “This guy stabbed me! Why are we letting them free?”

“I….I’m very sorry about earlier,” I said, trying not to upset them any more than I already had.  “I didn’t mean to hurt you….I-”

The alabaster growled slightly. “Cause anymore problems, and you’ll get more punishment than just a hug. I really hope you like bears.”

I stepped away from the gem, shaking.  A high pitched voice laughed behind me.

“I think a hug from you would be punishment enough Al!” they exclaimed, scaring me even more.  I was really starting to regret coming out here without waiting for Billy first.  My head shot around to make eye contact with a grinning hematite.  The alabaster rolled their eyes, mumbling something I couldn’t quite make out.  

“She’s not wrong you know,” an obsidian said flatly.  I hadn’t noticed her there before, and the sudden appearance made me want to retract back into my gem.  There were way too many people here for me to process.

Then the yellow gem from earlier, a beryl by the looks of her, ran up to the alabaster, panic on her face.

“Are we just going to ignore the fact that Calcite went back towards that awful town?!” she shrieked in fear and anger.  “Not to mention that neither of the rubies can be found anywhere!  They could have followed her!”  The other gems seemed taken aback by her outburst.

“I already had this talk with Calcite,” the alabaster responded.  “She didn’t want me following her. Believe me, I wanted to go with her. What can I do if she doesn’t want me to? I got the feeling she’d try and fight me if I did. If the rubies followed her, at least she has some protection.”

“Those rubies are sweet, but they are no protectors, and if what Cuprite said is true, I don’t think it would make much of a difference.  She’s too stubborn for her own good.  I’ll go with you, hopefully she’ll listen to me.”

“Fine. Perhaps we could try to track her down. The bird has decent eyesight, so it should make things easier.”

The beryl nodded and began hovering off, the alabaster in her wake.  I watched for a moment, thinking on whether or not my next choice would be a mistake.

“Wait!” I yelled.  They both stopped to look back at me.  “I’m….I’m coming with you.”

“That’s not happening. You’ll just cause trouble,” the alabaster said.

“Besides, we could never ask you to go back to that place,” the beryl agreed.

“Listen,” I began, a bound of confidence flowing through me.  “I’ve lived in that town for decades and I know those woods like the back of my gem.  If anyone will be able to help you find your friend….it’s me.”

“And I have to help the Calcite that helped me.”  I kept that one to myself.

“I mean,” the hematite contributed, snorting a bit and wrapping an arm around my shoulders, “their gem is on their eye, so the back is probably easy to see.”  The beryl and the alabaster shared a glance at one another.

The alabaster shook their head and shrugged tiredly. “I can take them in a fight, and they might be able to help. It’s up to you, Beryl. How do you think Calcite would react?”

The beryl looked like a deer in headlights, rubbing her hands together nervously.  “I….uh….I think she would use whatever resources she had.”

“Fine.” the alabaster grumbled. “You can come, but don’t slow us down and don’t try anything.”

“Y-yes!  Of course!  Thank you!”  I began following the two back into the forest I had been trapped in for so long.  But before I could leave, I heard a voice call out from behind me.

“Willa, darling,” Cuprite said, “would you please come in?”