"From my nuzzle, I will spit.
On your waist, I will sit.
Fire, but not exactly a flame
Deadly in a hand that can aim.

I am... A blaster."

~Rod's Riddles.

Jade

Athena looked surprisingly feminine for a robot. Her metal body was curvy, as if her designer had paid attention to all of the 'important details'. Jade had to remind herself that there was a human mind inside of that large metal head.

"Hey, Athena."

The metal woman's movements were slow and clanky. Again, it was hard to believe this used to be a human.

"Yes, Jade? What do you wish to ask me?"

"What was your name before... Athena?"

Athena paused, as if considering the question. If she could've frowned, she would have.

"I don't remember," she spoke, almost a whisper. "I don't remember anything before Athena. I was in a chamber, and it hurt, it hurt so much - then I was inside this body. I... Miss my old body. I -"

Suddenly, with a shuddering movement that startled Jade into a little hop and a yelp, Athena deactivated. Jade waited for a few seconds, confused as to what happened, confused as what to do about it.

Athena reactivated just as suddenly.

"Yes, Jade. What do you wish to ask me?"

Jade was stunned into silence. This was slavery, not science.

"Never mind, Athena. It slipped my mind."

°°°°°°°°

"This is Miss Cily and Perl's flat. Can I help you with anything else, Jade?"

"Um, no. Thank you."

"Anything for you, Jade! It is you who will free us. The prophecy states it."

"Prophecy? What prophecy?"

"I-I am not cleared to say. Forget I said anything, and please pardon my talkative voice box."

"It's fine. I'll ask Reeve about this. Don't worry, I won't tell him I heard about it from you."

Athena looked almost relieved. The robot woman raised a hand in a sort of farewell salute, turned around, and clanked away.

°°°°°°°°

"Welcome, Jade. Umm, sorry our place is a mess, it's kind of my fault -"

"Kind of? It's completely your fault, Perl. It's your turn to clean today."

"Yeah, whatever," Perl grumbled, opening the door for Jade to enter, remembering to smile halfway through. Jade smiled back and entered, hearing the door click shut behind her.

The flat was just as luxurious looking as Jade's, maybe more. Not that Jade expected any less after seeing Cily's office. The room was white and blue themed, with splashes of red here and there. Jade doubted Perl had had a choice in the apartment theme and design. It was most probably all Cily, who had proven her dominant personality times and times before.

The latter was slouched on a comfortable looking chair, wearing informal home clothing, and was snacking on something from a small plastic bag. The entire area around her mouth was greasy and covered in crumbs. The worst part? Cily still radiated elegance and superiority. Without trying, apparently. Her strange red eyes regarded Jade with a hint of warmth, but otherwise retained their lazy, amused appearance.

"Jade. It's good to see you. How was the rest of the meeting?"

"To be completely honest? Useless. And uhh, I have an unrelated question. The eye color. Is it gem related?"

"My my, aren't you a sharp one!"

Cily's voice was tainted with sarcasm, and Jade remembered why she initially disliked the woman.

"Cily! No need to be rude!" Perl chided. "She was making sure, that's all."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Sorry, Jade."

"Don't worry about it," Jade said smoothly. "So where are all the other gems? Why is it only us two here?"

Cily scowled, but Perl put a gentle hand on her arm, and she seemed to soften.

"Two of them are dead. Alex Sapphire and Muskel Diamond. Alex was returning from work, and somehow his path brought him to a series of winding alleys. He was shot there, trying to Leap over a wall. Muskel was killed while in police captivity. So much for security."

Cily sneered, and Perl looked away. Jade understood how Perl felt. Cily's words were true. The CCPC couldn't even protect someone inside their center, much less the entire city. It saddened her.

"And the others?"

"Jade and Ruby are here, in the Underground."

"Obviously," Perl snorted, miming zipping her mouth shut when Cily glared at her.

"Amethyst Dred still does not know. We have spies watching over her, and apparently so do the Glass Dragons. We're both waiting for the other to make a move. The last is Slade Lapis. Glass Dragon. Our sources tell us he's been with them since a very young age. Basically irredeemable, tainted and corrupted since childhood."

"So... What happens when a gem dies?"

"We're not exactly sure. But Reeve believes the gem is transferred when the body dies. Why? How? No one knows. We've never actually studied that."

Jade rubbed her head awkwardly as they fell into uncomfortable silence.

"I'll... Get you a drink," Perl muttered. Jade nodded in recognition, smiling.

Cily and Jade locked eyes, and the latter decided this was the best time to bring up the topic. Nothing guaranteed Reeve's answer, and she had a feeling Cily would give a better answer, despite Reeve's promise to answer all of her questions fully.

"Cily, what's the prophecy about?"

For the first time, Cily looked startled and off-guard.

"Where'd you hear about it from? I bet it's one of those bumbling metal oafs. They can't keep their mouths shut. Oh but Cily, they're the future of the Underground!"

"Doesn't matter how or where I heard about it. What matters is that I did. And I'd like to know more."

Cily paused, fuming in silence. She raised her eyes to the ceiling like 'why me?'

"Alright. I'll take you to Rod. Reeve won't be happy, though. Not that I care, of course. I act the way I like."

"Rod?"

"He's a seer. Affectionately referred to as 'The Riddler' since he tends to toss out riddles as frequently as he does prophecies. Visions of the future. People from all over the Underground visit him to hear about his visions."

"The future. You believe a man has the power of seeing the future."

"Oh I didn't at first," Cily's response was solemn and dry. "You'll see. He knows things no one should. If he were in his right mind, I believe he would've been much more valuable."

"Sounds nice."

"Don't worry, he's completely docile. He probably can't hurt you if he wanted to."

Cily stood up, stretching, brushing a few crumbs off her clothes.

"I'll change into something more formal, then we'll leave to Rod's immediately."

Perl walked in at that moment, holding a tray with a metal canister on it.

"You're already leaving?" she asked, sounding disappointed.

Jade accepted the drink with a smile. "Unfortunately, yes. But I'll be back later for sure."

Perl smiled back, nodding slightly. She clutched Jade's hand.

"It's great to have you back, Jade. You scared me shitless."

°°°°°°°°

A few minutes later, Cily was back in the room, as elegant and attractive as ever. Her blonde hair flowed down het shoulders, contrasting her coffee colored skin and brilliant shade of red in her eyes. She wore a pair of bright blue pants, made of a material Jade had never seen before, and a bright red shirt, most probably cotton.

Jade found it weird that Cily almost made her question her sexuality, but apparently Cily didn't. She seemed to attract a lot of attention from males and females alike.

"Ready?" Cily cooed.

"Umm, yeah. I guess so."

"Let's go, then."

Cily Ruby's lips curled in a small smile, opening the door. She gestured for Jade to go first, courteous, friendly.

Jade accepted, striding up ahead.

°°°°°°°°

A large sign, crudely written with splatters of green paint, advertised the place. It hung over a small door, the ground floor of an especially low and old building.

Rod's Riddles seemed to be a center of attention, judging by the size of the crowd waiting outside.

"Make way," Cily snapped, and they scattered.

Jade raised her eyebrows, only to receive a wink from Cily.

"You have to learn to take advantage of being a gem. People here will believe your bluff. They believe we have mind control powers and whatnot."

Cily snorted as if it were the most ridiculous idea in the world. For Jade, it wasn't. She never was one for taking advantage of powerful positions. Not as a policewoman before, not as a gem now.

"Why is the man out of his mind?" Jade asked suddenly.

"He talks about weird outwordly things. 'Some song' and 'apples', for example. No one knows what they mean, and when he's asked, he just giggles. Like a little girl."

"Alright, that's pretty weird. I'll admit that."

"Well, you can form a clearer opinion when you meet him in person. Let's go."

Cily stepped in, Jade following closely, as if cherishing the company while she still had it.

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

Ayyy fellas, what's good?

Not much of a cliffhanger today, I know. You should thank me ^_^

Just kidding, of course. I thank you for coming back again this week.

As always, leave a vote if you enjoyed the chapter and would like to see more.

Have a great day/night! :)

#CilyberSaturday