Corrupted Pyrope

...

“It seems like they’ve got the situation under control now,” she sighed. “You’ll be safe here. Although, I’d still like to find you somewhere to stay out here. Hopefully one with no weird boxes this time, where you can just-“

A sudden shock ran through Garnet’s body as she received a premonition of another anomaly at the beach, near Steven’s house. There certainly had to be people in it or near it by now. She audibly gasped and grit her teeth. There was, realistically, nothing she could do about it…and yet…

“Pyrope…let’s find you somewhere nice and safe, but quickly. They might need my help back at the beach.”

Pyrope said after a moment, still needing time to process the situation fully.

-

Ultrive dashed across the beach, making his way past the other houses.

It's there, it must be.

And here Garnet paused, for she noticed Ultrive running in its direction. Her breath hitched and she grit her teeth, two minds processing thousands of things at once. It was only after several silent moments that she spoke.

“…We both need to get out of here. Whatever he’s doing, if this gets out of hand we both won’t be safe.” She dragged her foot in the direction back towards the warp pad, hoping Pyrope would get the idea.

It wasn't long before she took off after Garnet, in what was her best attempt at a straight line at that speed. Luckily, she didn't hit or trip over anything.

-

Ultrive spent no longer than five minutes in the suite. When he was done with the other anomaly, he tried to sense more, but couldn't find any in the immediate area.

Where... did they go?

He didn't expect to be alone on that side of the beach when he left the building, but honestly couldn't pay the fact much thought. "Where are we" should be your question, Y.

...

“It seems like they’ve got the situation under control now,” she sighed. “You’ll be safe here. Although, I’d still like to find you somewhere to stay out here. Hopefully one with no weird boxes this time, where you can just-“

A sudden shock ran through Garnet’s body as she received a premonition of another anomaly at the beach, near Steven’s house. There certainly had to be people in it or near it by now. She audibly gasped and grit her teeth. There was, realistically, nothing she could do about it…and yet…

“Pyrope…let’s find you somewhere nice and safe, but quickly. They might need my help back at the beach.”

Pyrope said after a moment, still needing time to process the situation fully.

-

Ultrive dashed across the beach, making his way past the other houses.

It's there, it must be.

...

As soon as she thought about her, her tail’s barking was the only sound around. The poor thing must have been so afraid, especially now. Leaning down and petting her frightened tail, she tried to tell her as much as she could without scaring her more.

“So…I messed up by opening and breaking that rod. Apparently, it created a rip between this world and somewhere else. Thankfully, this guy Ultrive came through as well. He’s not a Gem, nor a beast. He hunts ‘anomalies’ like this. In short…he’s cleaning up the mess I made. He’s on our side.”

She sighed, dropping her hand. “I’m so sorry, Pyrope. If I had known what that box was really about, we would’ve just gone to the other beach house instead. But this was a future I never saw coming.”

-

When Ultrive had successfully encased the anomaly in static, they began to crush it, attempting to keep synced up with each other as they shrank the static sphere.

Just... be... destroyed already!!

They roared, putting more energy into the attack. When the anomaly was completely destroyed, the static sank back to Ultrive's chest. Using this much energy in this short of a time clearly took a toll on them.

I can sense another one.

When they spoke, the slightly higher-pitched voice of 'Y' was more prevalent than it was a few seconds prior. They looked over to where the anomaly's presence was coming from - part of the beach, past the other houses.

Ultrive's left side transformed to match his right as Y started to run to the spot he sensed the anomaly.

Hasn't moved. I can take this one.

...

“I have no idea. But the box had the emblem of an Empire from this world that’s long since…evolved, and no longer uses that emblem. The house itself was built long after they stopped using that symbol, but I’m sure any human that saw it would just toss it aside. It just kind of…slid out of the wall. And terrified my friend.”

She looked up to think, and immediately spotted the distortion. Oh no. Was this all because she had done the right thing, at least at the time? She looked back down at Ultrive with widened eyes.

Ultrive sighed. Of course, it 𝘩𝘢𝘥 to have been a moved Object Class. 𝘞𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭.

That's it, I need to destroy that damn anomaly!

He swam past Garnet and back towards the beach, drifting to the surface as he did. The noise was louder without the water to partially block it out, but nothing he hadn't dealt with many times before. There, he thought, looking up at about 30 feet above where the box had been bubbled prior. And there it was, it had gotten stuck halfway through the bubble teleport. It was visually glitching like there was no tomorrow, shooting bolts of lightning that inverted the colors of the space around them in every direction. Ultrive rolled his eyes at the sight, muttering to himself.

Too late to do this alone. Great.

“Please! Let me help you! It’s my mistake, and you shouldn’t have to fix it alone. Maybe my friend Pyrope can help, too! She’ll probably be eager to help after finding out about all of this, anyway. Not only that-”

And then she poked her head out of the water. Holy heck. She had never seen anything like this before. But as scared as she was, she couldn’t leave him to fix a mistake she had made! She called to a familiar figure on the beach.

Ultrive said, panicked. He wasn't about to let another innocent being get killed, or worse because of his inactivity, but he had no time to get out of the water. Calming himself enough to, he focused on what he was about to do.

Anomaly, I rebuke thee!

His battle cry was quickly drowned out by a loud blast of static aimed directly at the thing. The static from Ultrive's chest had flowed up to and wrapped around his left teal arm, and been shot at the anomaly. The blast, upon reaching the anomaly, started encasing it. It wasn't enough to destroy the thing, but it did slow it down enough for Ultrive to reach the shore.

Okay Y, it's time!

He said to seemingly no one, until..!

Something was happening to Ultrive. One of his shoulder-spikes rotated so that the teal arm was pointed downward and the yellow arm was pointed upwards. He closed his eyes for a second before opening them again, his right eye was yellow with a black slit pupil instead of the reverse, which his left eye remained. The right half of his tail solidified and turned yellow. A small bolt of electricity sparked into existence between his - no, their - horns, flickering between blue and calm, and yellow and chaotic. They roared, two voices at once as another static beam, this time flickering vertically, was shot from the right yellow arm.

-

Pyrope had taken several steps away from the noise since it started, but otherwise remained still, terrified. Hearing the familiar voice of Garnet reassured her however, if only slightly.

Wh- what's going on?! Who's that?!

...

“I have no idea. But the box had the emblem of an Empire from this world that’s long since…evolved, and no longer uses that emblem. The house itself was built long after they stopped using that symbol, but I’m sure any human that saw it would just toss it aside. It just kind of…slid out of the wall. And terrified my friend.”

She looked up to think, and immediately spotted the distortion. Oh no. Was this all because she had done the right thing, at least at the time? She looked back down at Ultrive with widened eyes.

Ultrive sighed. Of course, it 𝘩𝘢𝘥 to have been a moved Object Class. 𝘞𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭.

That's it, I need to destroy that damn anomaly!

He swam past Garnet and back towards the beach, drifting to the surface as he did. The noise was louder without the water to partially block it out, but nothing he hadn't dealt with many times before. There, he thought, looking up at about 30 feet above where the box had been bubbled prior. And there it was, it had gotten stuck halfway through the bubble teleport. It was visually glitching like there was no tomorrow, shooting bolts of lightning that inverted the colors of the space around them in every direction. Ultrive rolled his eyes at the sight, muttering to himself.

Too late to do this alone. Great.

...

“That…might have been me. There was a defective rod in a sealed box in that house, one that could swap the consciousness of everyone within a mile or so radius. They’re supposed to just destroy a Gem’s form and make them retreat into their gems for recovery. So, I destroyed it. I’m…sorry that I stranded you here; protecting Gems and humans and destroying things that could cause harm is my job. If I had known about you…”

Ultrive began to put two and two together before realizing - oh 𝘯𝘰.

But wait, you mentioned a box?

He started to sound a bit panicked, although making a good effort to fight it. Just then, a faint, yet sustained sound faded in. It sounded almost like mechanical whirring, though much lower pitched.

Oh no.

He spoke his thought from barely five seconds prior. Looking up towards the source of the noise, he could already see it distorting a bit of space in the distance. Like looking at a visual copy of the world put on 75% opacity and through a fisheye lens over the original. Trying not to completely panic, he asked the critical question:

...

She floated awkwardly for a moment, thinking about how to start over. “L-Let me start again,” she began. “I’m an alien called a Gem, and I was under the assumption that you were one of the beastly ones of my mind that had yet to be healed of what made them beasts. However, you’ve proven to me that you’re not, so…”

She smiled, but only a little. “My name is Garnet. I’ll tell you all about me if you tell me all about you. I’m a defender of this planet and you seem…you look cool, but you also don’t look like you’re from around here.”

It pondered for a moment before deciding that there probably wouldn't be any harm in sharing a bit of information.

I'm an anomaly hunter. After being attacked by something from the Glitch Realm, I decided to hunt down any potentially destructive anomalies so that no one else would have to deal with something like this.

It gestured to the static on it's chest, recalling a memory that didn't seem good.

“Now I’m the one confused,” she admitted with an awkward giggle. “What’s this ‘glitch realm’, and what qualifies as an anomaly? You…do have a nice name, though.”

She had promised to tell her about herself, though. “Like I said, I’m Garnet. I’m a protector of Earth, and I’m currently trying to find a Gem friend a home on the beach here. However…the house I chose for her collapsed. And I have reason to believe it has something to do with you…because as it was collapsing, we saw and heard static in the woodwork.”

Ultrive sighed sharply, calming himself before he could get any more frustrated.

As for the Glitch Realm... I'd rather not say.

Talking about the Glitch Realm was stressful for him, but it wasn't important anyway. There's no way he would ever end up there in the near future, right? He wasn't even in any of the Twenty Realms for all he knew.

Hm, he thought. A planetary guardian who doesn't know what anomalies are.

...

She floated awkwardly for a moment, thinking about how to start over. “L-Let me start again,” she began. “I’m an alien called a Gem, and I was under the assumption that you were one of the beastly ones of my mind that had yet to be healed of what made them beasts. However, you’ve proven to me that you’re not, so…”

She smiled, but only a little. “My name is Garnet. I’ll tell you all about me if you tell me all about you. I’m a defender of this planet and you seem…you look cool, but you also don’t look like you’re from around here.”

It pondered for a moment before deciding that there probably wouldn't be any harm in sharing a bit of information.

I'm an anomaly hunter. After being attacked by something from the Glitch Realm, I decided to hunt down any potentially destructive anomalies so that no one else would have to deal with something like this.

It gestured to the static on it's chest, recalling a memory that didn't seem good.

...

She helped Pyrope out of the debris, looking over the ruined house. So much for that. “For now,” she said truthfully. “I just saw something from that…noise, disappear into the ocean, but…you’re more important right now. I can’t leave you alone, or more craziness might happen.”

She scanned the beach and ocean. Not a trace of those horns in sight. “There’s another windowless honeymoon suite on the opposite side of the beach. If that one has the same problems this one does…that would be crazy. I may just unfuse.”

You could pretty much see Pyrope processing the information like a decades old computer trying to run over 50 tabs at once. After a moment, she spoke, sounding more genuinely confused than anything else.

I have a couple of different questions, but one of them is probably more time-sensitive than the other, so...

She tried to quell the negative opinions of fusion that were ingrained into her mind by Homeworld. Sure, they were strict about it then, but everything seemed different and new in Era 3.

Something... disappeared into the ocean?

“Unfortunately, yes. And it looked corrupted, just like you. I trust you far more than them, though…I have to find out what they want.”

Turning her glasses into swimming goggles, she walked up to the ocean. “I’m going into the ocean to find and interrogate them. You stay right here. If what’s out there is a Gem…we can’t risk you being controlled.”

She smiled in her direction, even though she knew she couldn’t see. “There shouldn’t be any other Gems around here, though. When I come back, I’ll tell you all about myself and how I fused.”

And she decided that they looked cool. Their intent, though, was a different story.

“You there!” she cried, hoping it carried through the bubbles. “I don’t want to hurt you! My name is Garnet, a former member of the Crystal Gems. If you’re corrupted, I just want to heal you; if you’re not, I want to talk. Please, I don’t want to hurt you!”

What in the Twelve Benevolent Realms does any of that 𝗺ean?

...

She helped Pyrope out of the debris, looking over the ruined house. So much for that. “For now,” she said truthfully. “I just saw something from that…noise, disappear into the ocean, but…you’re more important right now. I can’t leave you alone, or more craziness might happen.”

She scanned the beach and ocean. Not a trace of those horns in sight. “There’s another windowless honeymoon suite on the opposite side of the beach. If that one has the same problems this one does…that would be crazy. I may just unfuse.”

You could pretty much see Pyrope processing the information like a decades old computer trying to run over 50 tabs at once. After a moment, she spoke, sounding more genuinely confused than anything else.

I have a couple of different questions, but one of them is probably more time-sensitive than the other, so...

She tried to quell the negative opinions of fusion that were ingrained into her mind by Homeworld. Sure, they were strict about it then, but everything seemed different and new in Era 3.

Something... disappeared into the ocean?

“Unfortunately, yes. And it looked corrupted, just like you. I trust you far more than them, though…I have to find out what they want.”

Turning her glasses into swimming goggles, she walked up to the ocean. “I’m going into the ocean to find and interrogate them. You stay right here. If what’s out there is a Gem…we can’t risk you being controlled.”

She smiled in her direction, even though she knew she couldn’t see. “There shouldn’t be any other Gems around here, though. When I come back, I’ll tell you all about myself and how I fused.”

...

She helped Pyrope out of the debris, looking over the ruined house. So much for that. “For now,” she said truthfully. “I just saw something from that…noise, disappear into the ocean, but…you’re more important right now. I can’t leave you alone, or more craziness might happen.”

She scanned the beach and ocean. Not a trace of those horns in sight. “There’s another windowless honeymoon suite on the opposite side of the beach. If that one has the same problems this one does…that would be crazy. I may just unfuse.”

You could pretty much see Pyrope processing the information like a decades old computer trying to run over 50 tabs at once. After a moment, she spoke, sounding more genuinely confused than anything else.

I have a couple of different questions, but one of them is probably more time-sensitive than the other, so...

She tried to quell the negative opinions of fusion that were ingrained into her mind by Homeworld. Sure, they were strict about it then, but everything seemed different and new in Era 3.

Something... disappeared into the ocean?

...

Returning her gauntlets to normal and getting off of Pyrope, her eyes were directed towards a round hole pulsing faintly with static. “What is that?” she mumbled.

She walked up to it, raising up a fist and punching through it. It was connected to the box, no doubt, and she didn’t want anything disturbing her or Pyrope anymore.

The static fizzled out, returning to... the water. Something could also be seen retreating into the water, but only it's head was visible. It was dark teal, with two horns - one light blue, one light yellow. It's eyes were black, with yellow slit pupils. It widened it's eyes at even the chance of being found and sank faster.

Pyrope couldn't stop wondering just what caused this mess?! Everything was fine until- oh. That containment unit must have been lodged in a load-bearing wall..? Or maybe it was something to do with the buzzing she heard, there was really no way to tell with her limits. Today is just so much to deal with.

Is... is it over? The chaos, that is.

...

Why? Why was this happening? The building hadn’t been built around the box. And the destabilizing stick hadn’t been connected to the house, either. It was a honeymoon suite, one built within the last century by humans and only humans. Something fishy was going on…but before she could find out, they had to survive.

Above them, the roof made an almighty rumbling noise. It was going to cave any moment. “Hold on tight and don’t move!” she ordered. “I may poof, but at least you’ll be safe! Once I reform, we’ll figure this out together!”

...

“Brace yourself! I’m going to pull you free!”

Covering her gem with one hand and holding her body with the other, Garnet just managed to yank Pyrope free from the dirt and debris. That done, she was able to take survey of the situation.

The debris was piling up fast around the place where the box had come from. And with no windows-as well as no protection for Pyrope’s gem-there didn’t seem to be a clear way out.

So she made a split, crazy decision to save her new friend.