Light In the Universe DX

Chapter 16: Next mission.

     Robert woke up sweating, the cackles of the night witch still echoing in his head. He had no idea what this creature was or why he kept appearing in the realm of eternal night, but they seemed to only get more and more intense, this time his poor mother not even having the will to fight against the dark one anymore. 

Robert slunk out of bed and down the stairs. He wasn't sure how he could live with himself, knowing he failed so miserably. It had been years since she disappeared and he spent his time doing what? Moping around? Waiting for her to just reappear?

His psychic training with Arya felt too little, too late at that point. He wondered what the point in even going on was, trying to imagine if he wasn't there, maybe things would be different.

The gems were gathered in the front room with his father, everyone having serious looks on their faces, talking in low murmurs.

Robert tried to see his mother again, hoping it wasn't true, but it was.

"These things just keep coming and fizzling out under sunlight," Pearl said, presenting the shriveled creature on the table.

"And what d'you want me to do 'bout it?" He asked. "I'm just a guy. I ain't like you superheroes."

"We're just trying to look for answers," Garnet said

"You were high up in the military, right?" Amethyst asked, "Did they ever see anything like this?"

"Nope, just terrorists," he said.

"There has to be something in your wife's spell books about this." Pearl suggested, "These things didn't just suddenly appear, probably."

"Either way we must act fast." Garnet said, "Whatever these things are after, they get closer and closer to the temple each time."

"What are you all talking about?" Lily asked, coming down the stairs, limb enhancers still on. 

"That thing your Dad just dropped in like a minute we couldn't even scratch" Amethyst replied

"I'm gonna be honest, I just blacked out the minute I saw that thing throttlin' my kids," he said. "When I woke up, it was gone."

"The dark creature? I've been trying to analyze it." Lily brought up her finger screens, showing a black sample and some information about it written in gem. "Its DNA doesn't match with anything from your world or any of the ones the diamond's colonized, it's completely alien by my logs."

"The only thing I've found though is these things, while vulnerable to raw light can absorb the energy that gems produce," Lily explained, hovering her logs towards Pearl. "I think they're after you."

"And...what does it do with that energy?" Pearl asked nervously. If she could have gotten any paler, she would have. 

"We don't know yet, my best guess is to sustain itself." Lily said, "Like how humans consume plants for the energy they get through photosynthesis." 

"So, we're food to them?" Amethyst asked

"Basically," Lily replied

"What about Steven, w-will he be okay?" Pearl asked

"As a partial organic, like myself, he isn't in danger of being fully drained by the dark masses." Lily said,  "Though they could drain our gem's energy, leaving beings like us with fatigue."

"Then why was it trying to eat the humans?" Pearl asked

"That's a question I have yet to uncover, though it may have something to do with this "soul" the humans speak of." Lily read from her notes "Though some more extensive research is required, I'm not even sure if it's trying to "eat" them, in the traditional sense."