Life Series Oneshots

Before The War

Secret Life

Gem and Scott

Up on a mountain of cherry trees, you would assume that it’s inhabitants were harmless. You would assume wrong.

Gem swung her sword with expertly practiced swipes. She leaped around the clearing, her orange hair swinging back and forth as she danced left and right. Gem struck her battered practice dummy, sinking her sword into its stomach. With a graceful spin, she extracted the blade and spun away her eyes shining with determination.

Gem stopped for a brief second, her feet skidding against the ground as she sized up where she would strike next. Gem sheathed her sword and grabbed her bow from where it rested on her back. She quickly fitted it with an arrow, and then she was off again. Like a swift and deadly blur, she raced around the dummy. Gem shot the arrow, and its aim was true, sailing through the air before thunking into the dummy's back.

Gem allowed herself a moment to admire her strike before pulling out her sword and landing another blow on it’s arm. Gem took a step back and practiced dodging an opposing swipe by ducking down and burring her sword into one of its legs.

She suddenly tripped on the dummy and fell down at the mercy of what would've been her enemy. Gem didn't give up. She lifted her hands up and braced them against the ground above her head. She gave herself a second to pinpoint her target before launching herself up off the ground, kicking the dummy in its jaw. She landed behind it and turned around to see she had knocked it to the ground with the force of her blow.

She stood up and wiped the sweat that had begun to form on her brow away. Gem sighed and sheathed her sword before walking over to a bench at the edge of the clearing. She sat down and took a drink of water before pulling her hair out of its loosely tied braid. The soft red curls tumbled down her back, giving her the illusion that she was far less dangerous than she actually was. Gem bowed her head, causing her hair to fall down over her shoulders and brushing against her cheeks. Gem sat there for a little longer before standing up, ending her short break.

Gem reached for her bow, time for target practice.

*****

“Gem!” Scott called weaving through the trees. “Gem?”

Gem was gone from her house, and with the threat of a red war hanging over their heads, Scott knew there was only one place she would be.

“Over here.” He heard her response from a little to his left.

Suddenly, Scott heard the twang of a bow, the strike of its arrow followed by a sigh from his friend.

Scott pushed through some bushes and came across a large clearing. In the middle of said cleaning, there lay a broken practice dummy made of straw. Scott sighed and looked to his right. There stood Gem, a bow lifted in front of her as she aimed her arrow towards a target in front of her.

Gem was facing away from Scott, and her face was hidden by her hair, which tumbled down her back instead of being tied up in a braid like normal. She loaded the arrow into the bow string, and she drew it back to her face with a deep breath. Scott walked up from behind her and patiently watched as she realised the arrow, and he listened to the tell tale thunk of it hitting the target. She turned around to face Scott with a slightly sadistic smile on her face.

She didn't say anything. She just reached for another arrow. But before she could take it, Scott grabbed onto her wrist, pulling her hand away from the arrows. Gem sighed and regarded him with an impatient gaze.

“Scott.” She sighed with a small smile. “Let go.”

“No.” He responded easily.

“Yes.” She replied forcefully.

“Gem, you practice too much.” Scott said with a sigh. “Take a break.”

“No.” She said grimly. “Someone will need to defend us. I can't lose you two.”

“Oh Gem.” Scott said, pulling her into a hug.

Gem sighed and wrapped her arms around Scott, squeezing him tightly. Scott sighed as he wondered how she was feeling. This was Gem's first time in a life game, and Scott couldn't help but wonder what she had done to upset the watchers, but that was beside the point. Scott remembered how sacred he was in his first game, and he knew that Gem was feeling all of these emotions now. He sighed, rubbing reassuring circles on her back, trying not to think back to the past seasons.

“Listen Gem.” Scott said, knowing that he would mean every word he was about to say. “I promise I will do everything in my power so that you can win. Gem, you will not die. I promise.”

“But then you'll die.” Gem protested, looking up at Scott.

“I've won my round.” Scott smiled, “Now it's your turn.”

“But I don't want to meet them.” Gem whispered softly, and Scott knew who she was talking about.

“The watchers won't hurt you. They don't hurt the winners. They give them too much enjoyment.” Scott said, speaking the hard truth. “The watchers even give the winners the choice to leave.”

“But Grian, you, Pearl, and Martyn all came back.” She pointed out.

“Well I didn't want to leave my friends behind.” Scott explained, hugging Gem closer. “And the watchers would never truly let me go.”

The watchers only made these games for their own pleasure. And disobedient people from other worlds made the perfect players for the game, in the watcher's eyes. Many people thought the watchers to be benevolent Gods, watching over the people of each world and keeping them safe. But that was far from the truth. From Evo to Empires, the watchers meddled in everything.

“But what if I don't win?” She exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Then you'll come back to us in the next world.” Scott sighed, remembering Ren.

“I have to keep you and Impulse safe.” Gem said with a sigh, pulling away from his hug.

“But at what cost?” Scott asked and looked away, afraid to see the determination in her eyes.

“Anything.” She replied, and the hard tone of her voice scared Scott.

“You're going to win.” Scott said with force. “I promise you that.”

Gem sighed and grabbed another arrow. Scott backed up and watched as Gem fitted the arrow into its socket and aimed. Scott crossed his arms and watched as she trained. They were all waiting for the storm to break. They each had different priorities for when it did, but they were doing it for each other. And when the fight began, they'd be ready.

I love writing about Gem! The fact that I write in the Life Series makes it a little hard, not gonna lie. But whenever I get the chance to write about Gem, I always take it. She's probably my favorite! 😍
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