Ruby

She glanced at the girl, Jade.

"She is weak. She does not know how to control her gem."

'Shut up, Ruby. Your opinion is unwanted,' she thought back at her gem.

"My previous carrier was nicer."

'Ruby.'

"Alright alright, shutting up."

°°°°°°°°

Jade

She was still staring with shock at Cily. Jade hadn't even considered the possibility that Cily had survived. And now she was here.

"Cily - my friends, are they okay?"

"They're completely safe. Don't worry about them."

"But - the news - the three people dead -"

"Yes, it was just to hide us. We have control over the media. Which is why your face and name hasn't been made public."

"Us? And... Why blame me in the first place?"

"We need to bring down the Police Center, and your friend didn't want to expose herself."

"My friend."

"My romantic partner. Perl."

°°°°°°°°

Jade didn't know what or who to believe anymore. It seemed everyone was in this, against her. Keeping secrets from her. It was ridiculous.

Perl didn't meet her eyes when she entered the room a few minutes later.

"You, Perl? Of all people?"

"I'm sorry, Jade," she whispered. "I couldn't tell you. Trust me, I wanted to."

"Let me guess. Steven is in this as well."

Perl nodded slowly. "Yes, he is. But not in the way you think. He's from an opposing group called the 'Glass Dragons'. That's why he went downstairs with me, to keep a close eye on me. He felt something was wrong."

"That's also why he acted unfriendly around me. He knew I was with the Underground." Cily spoke smugly, a smirk dancing on her lips.

"And... The bomb? The assassin?"

Reeve answered this time. She had completely forgotten about him.

"Sent by us. Just not for the reason you think. We didn't intend to harm you, and we still don't. He was meant to escort you here before that man got to you first."

"Keith. I'll take a wild guess and say he's also in this entire plot."

"Ex-Glass Dragon. Gone rogue."

"Of course. Next you're going to tell me my mother is the leader of the Underworld."

Someone chuckled in the hallway outside.

"Don't be so surprised, sweetie."

°°°°°°°°

The door creaked open. Standing at the door was Marcus Firelamp, a grin on his face, cybernetic eye clicking humorously.

Cily huffed. "That wasn't funny, Marcus. You could've scared the girl out of her pants."

"Guess what Cily, I'm not your worker-slave anymore, so you can stop treating me like one."

"We should get going," Perl said, laying a large hand on Cily's arm, who nodded.

"Be seeing you later, Jade."

The two ladies left, leaving her with Marcus and Reeve.

°°°°°°°°

"So you didn't actually work for Cily?"

"No, I didn't. Like I would. I was just undercover. By the way, the third 'dead' person in the factory was me, not Steven. We wouldn't try to cover a Glass Dragon."

"Who are they, these 'Glass Dragons'? Why do you guys hate them so much?"

Marcus sent an anxious look in Reeve's direction, who nodded dismissively. Marcus raised his eyebrows as if surprised, only to receive a blank stare from Reeve.

"Alright, fine," Marcus sighed. "He trusts you, which means I should too."

It was Jade's turn to raise her eyebrows.

"You don't trust ME? Excuse me, you're the ones who brought me here. If anything, I'm the one who should have a hard time believing you."

Marcus raised his hands in surrender. "Point taken. Sorry."

He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

"Alright children, gather around me. Papa Marcus is going to tell you a story."

°°°°°°°°

The time is around 20 years ago. A younger Reeve is trotting through the streets of Cilyber. Industrial zone.

A hand reaching out from an alleyway. Reeve trying to fight back, only to be beaten to the floor. A malicious gleam of a blade on his face, running down it. It felt warm, no pain yet, but Reeve screamed anyway. The warmness trickled down his neck.

Acts like these, pure violence, continued to pursue innocents who couldn't defend themselves, all over the city. Thus, when most of them joined the Underground, the hatred of this gang grew and seeded in the children. Battles were fought, alliances were forged, enemies were sworn. The police pretended not to notice.

Although not officially at war, the Glass Dragons became the nemesis of the Underground.

°°°°°°°°

"That scar. The Glass Dragons did that to you?"

"Me, and anyone who was unlucky enough to fall into their clutches."

"So that news reporter..."

"Tanya, aye. I believe it was your ex-partner Steven who did that to her, threatening her to hide his identity."

Jade knit her eyebrows together. "Steven, what have you gotten yourself into?" she murmured.

"That's why we aim to reform the society of Cilyber. Open the Barrier. Who knows what lies beyond Cilyber?"

"I do. Death," Marcus snapped.

Reeve raised his eyebrows at Marcus. "We've been over this, Firelamp. It is not the time for this discussion."

"The People Before placed the Barrier for a reason, Reeve! You have to see that!"

Reeve raised his hand, and Marcus fell silent. Out of respect? Fear? Jade didn't know.

"So, why me?" she asked. "Why choose me to help with this rebellion?"

Reeve raised two fingers, but it was Marcus who answered.

"Mostly two reasons. Your relations with the CCPC. And the Jade Gem. Really, it should've been obvious."

"Thank you Marcus. You may leave now," Reeve said quietly.

Marcus opened his mouth, then shut it, changing his mind. Instead, he nodded curtly, sending a small smile in Jade's direction.

"I'll be seeing you later. Peace out," he said, leaving through the door, leaving Jade alone with Reeve again.

Jade frowned. "What does that mean?"

Waving a hand dismissively, Reeve huffed. "Probably something he learned from the Tablets left by the People Before. It appears some of them spoke 'Cilian', the language we are speaking right now."

She paused, deep in thought.

"Can you explain to me what a Gem is? Because it appears to be quite important to you, especially considering the lengths you took to bring me here."

Reeve looked away, as if he had been expecting the question yet was annoyed by it anyway.

"Let Cily answer that for you. She's more familiar with the topic. It gives her a lot of influence around the area. The famous Ruby Gem."

Was that envy in his voice?

"So, Jade, I'm going to have to apologize. I have work to do, and I prefer to do my work alone. Now if you don't have anymore questions -"

"Actually, I do."

"-I'll call for Athena to escort you back to your room. Or wherever you want to go."

"I can find my own way around, thank you very much."

"It's for your safety, I assure you."

She had to bite on her tongue to stop herself from arguing. Must be how Marcus felt. Reeve was impossible to argue with.

A banging sound grew stronger and stronger, until it stopped right outside. Something knocked on the door, another of the metal men. Or women.

"That must be Athena. Alright Jade, I look forwards to working with you."

"Likewise," she muttered, already moving towards the door.

She stopped. This wasn't the first time she had seen Reeve. It was him at the bar, with the other hooded man. He was the drug dealer that had haunted her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ayy people, what's up!

Welcome to the Underground! Do you like what you're seeing so far?

I have big plans for Jade, make sure to stick along for more. We're getting there ;)

Again, thanks for coming this week. Cilyber thanks you, Jade thanks you, and I thank you.

See you next week! (I hope)

#CilyberSaturday