FIFTEEN

"Phos!" Red Beryl called cheerfully as she squatted down, holding Phos' hands.

We're out in the open, with Phos sitting on a wooden stool. Rutile was finally sleeping behind, lying on the side seats. The doctor deserves some rest, being up for so long.

"Sit out here, get some sun, and I'm sure the inclusions will get to work!" Red Beryl cheerfully told Phos.

"I know! I'll make you some cute pyjamas!"

"Thanks."

Hm? Pyjamas for?

"Right here you'll be able to call Rutile when you need," Euclase said. "Sorry about this," they added on, turning back to look at Rutile.+

"Do you remember anything about the Lunarians?" Alexandrite popped out of nowhere, looking at Phos with eagerness. "Well? What were they like up close? Well? Well?!"

"Alex, now's not the time!" Red Beryl cheerfully stopped the other peppermint-colored gem, placing both her arms on her shoulders.

----------------

"See you later!" Red Beryl bade goodbye as everyone else walked off.

Alexandrite looked back anxiously.

"The Lunarians..." they muttered as they walked away.

Waving goodbye, Phos sighed, stopped and look down, touching her legs.

"These things look kind of weird, huh."

"A bit, but it's not bad," I replied, sitting on the ground beside her.

"Hmm..."

Phos suddenly grabbed onto her left leg.

"Move!"

She leaned back too much and fell backwards.

"Woah!"

Luckily I was there to catch her.

"Phew! Thanks, Dan."

"No problem, what are friends for?"

Putting Phos back properly into position, I returned to sitting on the ground beside her.

"Hey, Dan."

"Yeah?"

"About what you said last night..."

"Ah, yeah. Can we keep that between us? A secret we'll share, alright?"

"No problem."

A bit more silence.

"Hey, Dan."

"What is it?"

"Do you want to work on the encyclopedia?"

"Of course! But... Sensei stopped it..."

"Me too...."

"Hey," I said as an idea popped up, "why don't we work on it in secret?"

"In secret?"

"Yeah! Nobody would know, and we'll still get to do our stuff!"

"Great idea! Then we'll be able to find a fun job for Cinnabar too!"

"Yeah!"

"Cinnabar..." Phos faltered, losing her initial enthusiasm and looking down at her legs. "How can I be worse off than when I started?" she muttered.

"Huh? No, no, no!" She suddenly cried out, shaking her legs and jumping up. "No getting all weak-kneed now!"

"Woah, Phos..." I muttered, quickly getting up.

Noticing that they themself is now standing, Phos lifted up one of their legs and stared at it in shock.

She then attempted to balance on just one leg, which worked brilliantly.

"Woah..." we both muttered.

"Congratulations, you can walk!" I shouted excitedly.

"They move!" Phos exclaimed with the same amount of excitement. "All right!"

"Quiet down..." I heard Rutile mutter in her sleep.

"Hey Phos, let's test them out! Can we run? Can we run!?"

"Sure!" was the reply as the peppermint gem launched at amazing speed.

"Woah.... Hey, wait up, wait up! Phos, slow down!"

--------------------

Dammit, I completely lost her. Phos is amazing, I can't even maintain my distance in between the both of us.

Stopping in the middle of the grasslands and catching my breath, I looked around.

Guess I'm alone now. Do I head back now?

Eh, I think I'll just laze around here.

I decided to simply take a long stroll around, perhaps run into Phos later.

As I walked, I allowed myself to think about various things.

I'm left alone again, am I not? But this is still different, everyone around has been really kind and supportive to me, and I really like it.

I eventually stopped moving and stared blankly at the grass.

Still, I'm still left behind. Everyone moves ahead, going after things they want to go after.

Except me. I'm always lagging behind, it has always been that way. Results, sports, companionship, happiness, I lag behind in all of this.

I sighed.

Maybe this is just who I am. A slow girl, always inferior to anyone and everyone. Someone nobody really wants.

I felt something land on my head. Looking up, I noticed that the sky has darkened, dark clouds completely covering the blue sky as far as I could see.

Hey, isn't this a bit cliche? Whatever, it's just a mere coincidence.

As the rain began to fall, I looked around.

When I was a kid, I remember loving the rain, but my parents wouldn't allow me to play in it. They're worried about me getting a cold, so I understand. Now though... As a gem, illnesses do not exist, right? Guess I can just enjoy the cold rain hitting on me for as long as I want.

I sat down, looking at the sky above. The drizzle had now escalated into a heavy downpour. Just like the ones I like.

The cold wind blew, the raindrops pelting on my hard, gem body. Hopefully that powder finish is at least resistant to freshwater.

Hey, I should take a nap here, it's really relaxing.

Laying down on the ground, I closed my eyes.

---------------------

"... oooi. Ooooooi! OOOOOOI!"

Jumping up in shock, I fumbled, tripped and fell, landing on my butt.

"Phos?"

"Nope, Yellow Diamond. You shouldn't sleep out here in the open, good thing it was raining so the Lunarians wouldn't come out."

"Ah, Yellow Diamond." Looking around, I've noticed that the rain has stopped, the sun back up in the blue sky.

"Phos is back at the school, by the way. They crazy fast legs left you behind, didn't they?"

"Eheh, yeah."

"I need you to come back with me now, Dan. Phos is going into combat and they need a partner, do you want to be the one looking after Phos?"

"Really? Of course! They're weak, so as a junior I need to look out for them."

"That's good to hear. Also, your report to Sensei too. Here," the oldest gem around offered her hand, which I took.

"Thanks," I replied as I got up. "We're going back now?"

"Yeah, we are."

The sky reddened as the sun began to set.

-----------------

"..... and Ventrico only did so to get back her people. Please, Sensei, don't blame her."

Yellow Diamond and I are back at the school, where I just finished giving my report to Sensei in the presence of Phos and Rutile.

"Your actions have been reckless, young Danburite. However, without you, Phos would have been in a worse shape than what they are now. With that, I thank you."

"Ehhh, no need for that, Sensei! If there's anything, I should thank you instead for not punishing me..."

Sensei just placed his hand on my head.

"It is all okay, young one. Don't worry about it."

"O-okay," I replied, feeling myself blush. Dammit, why do I blush this easily?

"Now then," Sensei moved on, turning to Phos, "let us hear your side of the happenings at sea."

"Oh, right," the peppermint-haired gem replied. "Uh, the sea was wide and big, and..."

"Sensei," Rutile chimed in, "Phos has lost nearly one fifth of her memories belonging to the former legs."

"Understood. Just tell me what you remember as it comes to mind."

"Well... King was actually larger and looks different, she transformed as we got closer to her old city. And..."

Phos went silent for a bit.

"Ah, humans..."

I saw Sensei flinch in shock.

"Hu...mans?" Yellow Diamond clarified.

"Yeah... King had a story passed down her people... Humans were creatures who once inhabited this world, but retreated into the sea after the sixth moon hit... ways are eerie..."

Hearing a crack, I peeked back and noticed that Sensei had cracked a small section of the table.

"The 'flesh' of them became the Admirabilis... the 'bones' struck a deal, became us and went back to land... the 'soul' fled to the moon and became the Lunarians..."

Even more cracking. Seems like Rutile and Yellow Diamond had noticed that too.

"Also..." Phos went on, looking up at me.

I gave her a "please don't say it" look.

"Ah, sorry. That's all I remember."

I sighed in relief internally.

"Very well," Sensei acknowledged, turning around and facing outside.

"Sensei," Yellow Diamond asked, "what are humans?"

"You are all dismissed," was the only reply we got from him.

--------------------

"Sensei seemed a bit off, didn't he?" Yellow Diamond commented.

"Yeah," Rutile replied, "it was probably frustrating because Phos remembered nothing from the sea. Other than that 'human' part, of course."

"What are they, anyway?"

Yellow Diamond and Rutiled walked ahead, while Phos and I trailed behind. Night had already fallen, with the jellyfish lighting up the corridors.

"Hey, Phos."

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"Ah, it's nothing. It's a secret that I'll keep for you, don't worry," the peppermint gem replied with a comforting smile.

I returned the smile.

"Back to our rooms, I guess?"

"Not yet, gonna look for Amethyst first tonight."

"Ah, alright, goodnight then. See ya tomorrow!"

----------------------

"I'm back, Katsumi!"

"Yeah, what took you so long?"

"Ehehe, unforeseen circumstances. You weren't bored, were you?"

"Hehe, of course not, I took the time to explore the place! I walked around everywhere, it was interesting.

"Walked? You were in this form the whole time?" I asked, looking at the girl sitting on my bed.

"Yep, nobody saw me! By the way, remember the gift I mentioned?"

"Huh? Yeah, I do, what with it?"

Katsumi giggled. "Here it is!"

Reaching for her back, she pulled out two orange objects about 6 inches long and an inch wide, each consisting of two metal "sticks" attached to a single center "piece" at the top. The single row of circular holes, facing towards me and funneling inwards for a bit before going in perpendicularly, gave them the necessary detail, away from the appearance as mere "sticks".

Looking closer, I realized that each object has a hidden red blade, about 5 and a half inches long, facing downwards inside between the two "sticks".

I recognized what those are.

"Ehh, butterfly knives?"

"Yep!" was the cheerful reply I got. "I know, sounds cliche, me carrying butterfly knives, but I used them before I got these sweet, sweet daggers! Here, I really want you to have these!"

"Thanks, but why?"

"Self defense, silly! Well, perhaps not, they can't exactly block whatever those Lunarians throw at you. But hey, not everything needs a reason, right? Come on, just take them! One hand for each!"

"Well, alright I guess, thanks."

"No problem, just take them now!" Katsumi encouraged impatiently.

Looking at her, then at the butterfly knives, I did as I was told, grabbing one of them with each hand.

"Hey, why do they feel warm?"

"It's like that, now they recognize you as their wielder. Flip them out, that's the only way they'll unlock their full abilities for you!"

"Hm? But how-" I wanted to ask before I recalled how to flip them open.

Only that I have never used a butterfly knife before.

"You got it? These knives will give you with my knowledge, my moves, my skills, my tactics! But they're closed, so you only know how to flip them open," Katsumi pouted. "Open them for me, please?"

"Eheh, alright."

Twirling both knives, I flipped them open and grasped onto them tightly.

"Now, don't let go, please!"

"Huh? But wh- woah!"

Red, glowing lines that weren't there had appeared, starting from the tip of the blade before proceeding down to the handle and up to my hands.

"Hey, it's getting hot, the heat travels up those lines?"

"Yep! Hold onto them, it'll stop being hot once they've imprinted themselves on you. Keep holding, don't let them go!"

The red lines glowed up and around my hands, arms, and shoulders bringing along an intense heat I could barely tolerate.

"Argh!"

The lines split, one half travelling downwards to the rest of my body while the other half went up towards my neck.

"Don't give up, Dan! You can do this!"

As I felt the heat consume my whole body, I held back the urge to scream in pain.

Suddenly, it all stopped, and all that was left was a very comfortable warmth.

"Hahah! Congrats! You passed! I'm so proud of you!" Katsumi cried out happily as she hugged me.

"Hey, watch the blades!"

"I know, I know! Here, look into this small mirror," she urged, pulling out a pocket mirror and opening it.

Looking at my own reflection, I noticed that I now bear the same lines as Katsumi had when she wielded her daggers. My black-and-white clothes, previously having only those two colors, also had these red, glowing details on them. Turning around, I noticed that these lines run everywhere around my body as long as it's on skin or clothes above skin.

"Wow."

"You look brilliant! Now you can close them up."

I twirled the knives and closed them up. The lines on my body and on the knives immediately faded away.

"These knives aren't things that anybody can just hold," Katsumi explained, "usually opening them would scald an ordinary person until they dropped them. But you, you're different, you're both worthy and the closest thing I have to a counterpart that isn't a copy of me in any way."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're the closest. Those knives like me, they like you too. They're yours now."

"Mmh. Thanks."

"No problem!"

I sat down on the bed, beside Katsumi.

A few moments of silence.

"Oh! I forgot!"

"What is it?"

"Here," Katsumi pulled out, "their holders. Stand up and turn around, let me attach them onto your belt."

I did as she told, and she began attaching them onto my belt.

"Alright, the knives told you this already, but these holders are attached to your belt via clip, pulling them out is easy when you want to remove them. Blade side in first, left holder for left knife, right holder for right knife. You'll hear and feel a click when you properly put them in, and it's not hard to pull them out," she said as she finished with the attachments and then proceeded to grope my rear.

"Eeeeh?"

"Hey, did anyone tell you that you have a cute ass?" Katsumi cheekily commented as she stopped and slapped it.6

"Ow!"

That wasn't me, that was Katsumi.

"Hehe, I'm hard, aren't I?" I taunted as I turned around, trying to stop my blush. "Perks of being made out of essentially solid rock?"

"Perks of being made out of essentially solid rock," she confirmed with a smile. "And now," she finished as she turned back into a butterfly in a flash and taking her spot high on the wall, "time to sleep!"

Looking at her, I smiled. "G'nite then, I guess."

"Yeah, g'nite."

--------------------------

Running.

Running in the rain, stepping on puddles, in a grey world.

This is my worst nightmare.

I've been here multiple times before. But I am never going to get used to it.

"You ungrateful brat! Get back here!"

Turning around, I saw the principal chasing after me.

I looked forward and pressed on harder.

"Stop running!" I heard a collective shout.

Turning back again, I saw my class chasing me along with the principal too. Panicking more, I looked forward and kept focusing ahead.

"This only gets worse as you run, Nicole," the voice of the guy who started it all said. "Stop and it'll still be worse. I told you, I will make your life a living hell."

"No!" I shouted.

Looking back yet again, I saw a whole group of people chasing me now. My parents. The principal. Teachers. Students. Strangers.

They're all coming after me.

I turned forward and immediately stopped, terrified.

The monster in my dreams. The one plaguing me since I was a kid. My very worst fear.

I stumbled as I turned back. But the group is already close, surrounding me in a circle, getting darker and unrecognizable.

The monster grew taller, larger, scarier.

I crawled back in extreme fear, hyperventilating.

"No, no, no, No! NO! NO!"

The monster raised his claws and swung them, my eyes kept open no matter how I wanted them to shut.

Only this time, I didn't wake up yet.

I felt my head roll on the ground, eventually coming to a stop.

I looked at my shattered body, stunned and unable to do anything.

"Huh?"

This has never occurred before.

Everything faded away.

Sunshine and grass appeared. This is the grassland!

"Dan! Dan!"

Looking ahead, I saw a familiar peppermint gem run towards me.

"P... Phos?" I managed to finally utter.

Phos slowed down and squatted down, turning my head so that I can see her face.

"That's right, it's me. You're okay now. Safe with me."

I felt tears of relief roll down my eyes.

Phos picked up my head, turned it upright and kissed my forehead.

"You're safe with us all," she reaffirmed, holding me upwards. Behind her, everyone was here.

Kongo-sensei. To his right, Cinnabar. Dia. Rutile. Bort. Red Beryl. Euclase. Morganite. Goshenite. Sphene. Peridot. Amethysts. Neptunite. Jade.

To his left, Obsidian. Yellow Dia. Zircon. Ghost Quartz. Obsidian. Alexandrite. Hemimorphite. Watermelon Tourmaline. Benitoite.

All of them are smiling warmly. Smiling at me.

I felt more tears down my cheeks as I broke into a warm smile.

At last, I have a happy ending.

-------------------------

"...an! Dan!"

"Huh?"

Opening my eyes, I noticed Katsumi standing beside me. The sun was already up.

"Were you crying in your sleep?"+

"Well, maybe..." I replied, sitting up. Feeling my face, I felt no tears.

"You're a gem, so looks like you have no tears. You do have cracks though," Katsumi noticed, showing me her mirror.

She was right, I do have tear-like cracks down to my cheeks.

"Eh, I'll just get some powder later."

"Alright. Bad dream?"

"Yeah, really bad dream. With a good ending, though."

"Ehehe, that's good. By the way, Phos is out for patrol now, you're going to be lonely today."

"Really?"

"She was carrying her sword yesterday, didn't you notice?"

"Ah, no, I didn't..."