31Chapter Twenty-Four: Epilogue
September 31, 2014. BAINE Headquarters.
Daniel sat alone at a desk, inside a dark office. The same office used to belong to Carter, and Daniel had inherited it upon being promoted to captain. Daniel's auburn hair had faded to gray in a few places, though he still looked quite muscular for his age. He was busy studying a file filled with several photographs when a light knock was heard at the door. "Come in," he said.
Dr. Rhodes entered. "You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked. He had taken to calling Daniel 'sir' lately at the latter's chagrin, most likely just to get his goat. He had gotten used to it.
"I did," said Daniel. "How are the cover-ups of the 'Beach City incident' coming along?"
"Not entirely well, to be honest," answered Rhodes. "Our official story is that an experimental weather-control satellite went haywire, but nobody's really buying it. I mean, to be fair, all the world's oceans suddenly just forming a giant pillar isn't exactly something you can cover up."
"It will have to do," said Daniel. "In this day and age, there are always going to be people who suspect that the government is up to something. Speaking of 'up to something,' that isn't why I called you in here. This is."
Daniel turned the file he was examining towards Rhodes. The most prominent picture depicted what appeared to be a small town square, next to a forest, somewhere in France. Upon closer inspection, a figure could be seen lurking within the trees. This was unmistakably the face (rather, mask) of Mr. Echo.
"I'll be danged," said Rhodes. "Look who finally decided to show his face again. So to speak."
"This was taken in Eiffel two weeks ago," said Daniel. "The locals are certain it depicts the legendary cryptid 'Le Loyon,' but I think it's obvious who it really is. But the worst part is, this isn't far from a local airport. Evidence suggests he's coming back to the states."
"So, what's our next move?" Rhodes asked. "Should we alert the Gems?"
"No, I don't want to bother them worrying about human affairs," said Daniel. "Besides, they've got Rose's kid to deal with. The entire reason BAINE was founded was to take care of this sort of thing so they didn't have to."
"If you say so, sir," said Rhodes. "You still think he's a threat?"
"Of course he is," Daniel responded. "SEEN may have disbanded, but he no doubt has other connections."
"Well then, I guess all we can do is wait and see what happens," said Rhodes.
"Yes," Daniel said. "All we can do is wait."
Rhodes nodded and turned to leave, but turned back when something came to his mind. "By the way, sir?" he said. "About Lapis Lazuli leaving? You don't think she went home, do you? As in, home home?"
"I am aware of the implications," said Daniel. "We need to recognize the possibility that Homeworld might return to finish the job."
Two Months Later. Forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Just outside of the forest, BAINE had set up a small base camp. There had been reports of a corrupted Gem in the area that had attacked nearby towns and livestock. Descriptions of it were sketchy at best, so the soldiers had little idea of what to be prepared for.
Daniel was the one leading the expedition. As the soldiers milled about behind him, he stared off into the horizon, evidently waiting for something, or someone. A chirp from his watch indicated that it was twelve o'clock sharp.
"Hello."
The captain started at this voice. He turned around to see Garnet standing behind him. "Ah, there you are," he said. "Sorry about that, I wasn't expecting you to sneak up on me like that."
"You asked me to meet you at midday. So I have," she replied.
"You, uh, certainly did," he said. "Good, now that you're here, we can finally move out." He turned towards the others in his battalion. "Alright, you lot, let's get ready to move out!" The nearby soldiers began gearing up for the expedition. "You wouldn't happen to know what sort of Gem we're up against, would you?" he asked Garnet. "Intel's a bit spotty on this one. Nobody's seen it in person."
"Unfortunately, that isn't how future vision works," the fusion explained. "Luckily, most outcomes I can see are successful for us."
"Ah, good!" Daniel said. "Anyways, let's roll."
The canopy of leaves and branches blocked out a fair bit of sunset, much to the chagrin of the agents present. Not only did it make it much harder to see among the trees, but it was much colder in the shade. One of the soldiers led the way, equipped with a Gem sensor. Daniel and Garnet both hung towards the back, and with all the sounds in the forest, felt it was safe to talk, albeit quietly.
"I hear you're a captain now," Garnet said. "Congratulations."
"Yes, thank you," Daniel replied. "It definitely took a lot of work, so I really feel like I earned it. Honestly, I'm just glad I can give back to BAINE after they took me in. I don't talk about it much, but I probably wouldn't have a home if it wasn't for them."
More silence followed as the group slid through the forest, searching for signs of the monster. None so far-not even any footprints. After a minute or two, Daniel spoke up again.
"So...how's the kid doing?"
"Just fine," Garnet replied. "He's come a long way since he first started coming on missions with us. He handled his encounter with Lapis Lazuli extremely well."
Daniel nodded. "Speaking of Lapis, you don't think she went back to...well, you know."
"If she did, who's to say what will come of it?" she said. "None of the three of us have been to Homeworld in millenia. Amethyst has never been. It's hard to say what the future will bring, even as someone who can see it."
Suddenly, the soldier in the front stopped abruptly, holding out his arm to stop those behind him. "I've got something here, Captain!" he said. The Gem detector had begin clicking rapidly.
"Everyone, weapons ready," said Daniel. "She's near." The soldiers readied their rifles, and Garnet summoned her gauntlets.
The lead soldier scanned their surroundings with the detector, before realizing that the clicking grew faster the higher up he held it. He raised it towards the top of a tree in front of the group, and that was when they saw it. A shape sat at the very top of the forest, obscured by the branches. Other than it being colored a bright orange, it was hard to make out any details.
"That's our girl," Daniel said quietly. "Johnston, see if you can get a clear shot."
Another soldier evidently named Johnston carefully aimed a sniper rifle at the beast. Just before he could fire, a loud bird call sounded off. The beast's head came into view; unfortunately, this also meant that it saw the troopers.
The corrupted Gem took off flying as soon as it saw them. Johnston fired and winged it, but this seemed not to do any serious damage. The Gem divebombed the troops, who, after dodging the initial assault, got a better look at its appearance: It had the appearance of a gigantic hummingbird with bright orange plumage; A hexagonal gemstone colored orange and brown was located on its chest.
Daniel let loose with his, formerly Carter's, shotgun. The impact angered the beast, which turned towards Daniel. It was then that Daniel realized, as it raised its head upward, that what appeared to be its beak was actually a singular horn on its forehead, and it had a fang-filled mouth below it. The Gem let out an enraged screech.
"Well, that's incredibly unnerving!" said Daniel. "Come on, take it out before it flies away!"
Everyone shot at the creature in an attempt to overwhelm it. Finally taking some damage, the beast then responded by whipping up a whirlwind with its wings. Many of the soldiers were blown back by these winds. More were unable to get a clear shot because of them.
Garnet broke through the winds, slamming into the massive avian with both fists. The sheer force of the impact was enough to send it crashing through a nearby tree. Despite this, the Gem got her bearings and attempted to take flight once more.
"The wings! Take out her wings!" commanded Daniel. His soldiers opened fire, aiming to prevent the monster from taking to the air. Their efforts proved fruitful, as the Gem fell back to the ground, unable to take off with her damaged wings. Garnet took that moment to deliver the final blow, bringing both fists down on the stunned beast. It then exploded into a large puff of smoke, leaving only the gemstone behind.
Daniel hung his shotgun over his shoulder. "Heh, looks like I still got it!" he said.
"Uh, Captain Bridge? You do realize that Garnet did most of the work, right?"
"Shut up and let me have this, Johnston."
With their harrowing adventures come to a close, the BAINE agents headed back to base camp. Garnet picked up the gem to take it back to the temple.
"That was some great fighting out there today, G-squad," said Daniel. "It's no wonder Rose left you in charge."
"I hope she made the right call," Garnet added. She then placed the gem into a reddish bubble for safekeeping.
"Speaking of which, is Steven ever going to come on a mission with us someday?" asked Daniel. ""I'd like to meet the little guy."
"No, Rose Quartz was very clear. She did not want Steven getting involved with BAINE or any other Gem-based groups of interest."
"It's that bad, huh?" said Daniel, slightly offended. "Though, to be fair, I wouldn't want my kid running around with guns nearby, either."
"No, she just wanted him to live a normal human life," Garnet clarified. "She didn't want him to have to deal with anything he didn't have to."
"I see," Daniel said, nodding. "Still, probably best to keep him off of the field, right?" He gestured towards some armed soldiers walking by.
"Most likely," Garnet said. "I'll be taking this Gem back to the temple now."
She turned to leave, only for Daniel to call her back. "Garnet, one moment." She turned around.
"Yes?"
"Sorry to bother you about this, but I figured if any Gem would know, it would be you. I was looking over the reports we seized from Area X for the hundredth time the other day, because there's this one part I just can't get out of my head. You wouldn't happen to know anything about a group calling themselves the 'Children of Homeworld,' would you?"
Garnet was silent for a few moments. "The Children of Homeworld? I can't say I have. Not by that name, in any case. Are you sure it wasn't just referring to Gems?"
"I don't think so. The exact phrase was 'We can't underestimate the Children of Homeworld anymore. Their devotion to the Diamonds makes them dangerous, arguably even more than any Gem.' That's the only place they were mentioned in all the dozens of files we found."
"This is...troubling, to say the least," Garnet answered. "Unfortunately, I don't know any more than you do. If I hear anything, I'll let you know."
Daniel nodded in thanks as Garnet headed off to the warp pad. "Alright, kids, let's pack it up," he said to his fellow agents. "Our work here is done."
