In minutes, the team was assembled and on the warp pad, ready for the search of the missing boy they had all come to care about.
So far they only knew a single detail- they needed to watch for big claws.
Garnet had an idea of what might've taken the child, but again, the only idea she had was from her future vision and the same claw marks in the sand that everyone else saw. Her future vision wasn't 100% accurate, but they needed to start searching for him and fast, before anything happened to him.
The Crystal Gems warped out of their temple, appearing in a flash of light on a warp pad on the edge of a thick forest, which was ended by the ground becoming sandy and then stretching into beach, which edged a piece of ocean with rough waters.
"You think he's.. here?" Pearl began, regaining her composure, trying to focus not on what might be happening to her baby but on finding him. "It looks like there's nothing here."
Garnet glanced down at Pearl. "I think that whatever took him came here. .. By the size of the clawmarks, I think we should stick together." The tall gem then started off into the forest, followed by the rest of her team.
Pearl nervously summoned her spear, holding it out in front of her. If this monster made Garnet want to keep the group together, it must be something powerful.
Peridot glanced at the spear and gulped, stepping quietly through some fallen twigs. She had been programmed for checking on one of Homeworld's experiments, repairing technology, maybe taking a few clods prisoner- but not looking for a clawed beast in the middle of a forest, with such low visibility. She tried to see past the trees with her scanning ability, but with no result.
Amethyst took a lot of cues from Pearl- so, the smaller gem summoned her whip and slung it back over her shoulder.
The ocean gem stopped in her tracks, turning her head and walking past a tree and lifting up a shimmering black feather, approximately the length of her arm. "This is interesting.."
The leader of the group walked over to Lapis, looking at the feather and taking it from her hand, running a hand down the soft end of the feather. "Our monster must have wings," Garnet said with a small nod to Lapis, thanking her wordlessly for keeping a good eye, "Look for more feathers and claw marks.
Garnet continued to lead the other gems through the forest, snaking their way through trees, bushes, and other undergrowth.
Nervous and on edge, Pearl heard the snap of a twig being snapped on and immediately swung her spear, slicing clean through a small tree. It fell over, crashing into a bush and sending a rabbit which caused the snap sprinting.
"Pearl. Careful!" Garnet said in a low voice, turning to look at the other Gem, who relaxed her spear and looked down at the ground in shame.
"I.. I'm just nervous. I want Steven back." She mumbled, staring down at her feet, her voice shaking.
"Yeah, G! She's being careful! We have to watch out until we see the thing with all the feathers and claws, so we can smash it and get Steven back. Aren't you worried too?" Amethyst stepped up beside the pale Gem, grabbing Pearl's free hand with her own that wasn't holding the whip. Pearl's eyes widened and a slight blush spread on her face at the gesture, but she didn't yank her hand away.
Garnet paused, looking down at their intertwined hands and continuing on to find Steven's kidnapper.
"Why.. are you holding my hand?" Pearl still didn't pull her hand away, instead holding Amethyst's hand as well, her long, slender fingers laced through Amethyst's shorter ones.
Amethyst just shrugged, also continuing after their leader. "I wanted to."
Garnet pushed past a tree, then found a space where some trees had been cut down- obviously by a slash of claws, as trees that had not been completely sliced through bore rugged marks across their bark.
"Well.. we're going the right way." Jasper said, glancing around at the trees. Her long mane of hair had been caught in some twigs and leaves which just stayed in, giving her the appearance of a wild tiger.
Peridot nodded. "This thing has to be huge.."
"Let's just keep going, we need to find Steven quickly." Garnet kept pushing ahead through the forest, keeping an eye out for clues.
The group had grown silent, nothing to be heard except their breathing, rustling leaves, and their footsteps in the damp earth.
Garnet paused for a second, thinking of something to lighten a mood a little bit, before smiling and beginning to sing.
"If you're evil and you're on the rise, you can count on, the.. six of us taking you down."
Pearl looked up at their leader at hearing her voice, smiling slightly, hand still linked with Amethyst's. "Cause we're good and evil never beats us.."
The Gem holding her hand also looked up, laughing slightly. "We'll win the fight, and go out for pizzas! We.."
Lapis walked faster, to catch up closer to the front of the group. Back when Jasper and Peridot were being silent, Steven pulled out his ukulele and started playing this song for them. "Are the Crystal Gems."
Jasper remembered the words to the song and felt obligated to join in. "We'll always save the day."
In a less confident than usual manner, Peridot also joined in on the singing. "And if you think we can't, we'll always find a way."
The pale gem near the front of the group grinned. They actually felt like the Crystal Gems right now. It felt like they were a whole team, not just Gems cooperating together out of necessity, like it had felt with the ex-Homeworlds until now. "That's why the people of this world, believe in!"
"Garnet."
"Amethyst!"
".. Peridot."
"Jasper."
"Lapis!"
"And Pearl.."
There was silence, as they seemed to wait for the cheerful boy to call out his own name, but it was a sad moment for them all, as it sunk in completely that he was missing. He wasn't here, and that's why they were here in the middle of the forest to find the boy. He needed to be helped, to be saved.
The song hanging off in the air without any ending provided a motivation to the Gems to push on, and they continued on their way in silence.
Then, the silence was shattered, with a monstrous roar.
