AN: Hey guys! Some people asked me an English version of this fanfic, so I'm gonna give it a try. I'm actually half of the way with the fic, but let's just begin like fresh with this one, alright?
In this story, we'll begin going in parallel with the events of Jailbreak, to start taking our distance to the show plot progressively until reaching the Steven Bomb 2.0 episodes with several changes already present, and then continue with a plot on my own. So, yeah, this is not SB 3.0 cannon, exactly. I've changed my mind about some characters after watching such episodes, but what is done is done.
In short: the story you're about to read is mine, while the design for characters, most of places and context are a creation of Rebecca Suggar and property of Cartoon Network.
Let me show you how I'm managing dialogs for this fic in particular:
- Character: What it says [thoughts in middle] (actions and expressions in middle)
The thoughts which take place in middle of dialog lines imply a short pause between words.
Now, let's begin!
Recruitment
A fiction series by DragShot
Prologue: The Great Escape
Earth. A planet apparently so common, yet so statistically extraordinary when carefully observed. Such planet is, in thousands of light years, the only one which meets the conditions needed to shelter sentient life. Its mere existence is such a miracle... a wonderful miracle.
And that place was more known than the expected.
There was a plated warship in orbit, with five finger-like protuberances coming out of it, pointing towards the planet. Suddenly, its inferior base exploded and the ship began falling down, victim of the gravity force of the self-effacing planet.
In the control room, three individual were trying to recover control of the ship. The first of them was the tallest one, with inhumanly pale skin and a pearl gemstone on the forehead. The second was considerably smaller, with purple skin and an amethyst embedded on the chest. The third one, unlike the others, looked just like any human child, wearing a magenta t-shirt with a big yellow star on it, jeans and sandals. Next to them was another individual, with green skin and a peridot gemstone on the forehead; it was tied with a dark, spiky whip.
In an instant, the prisoner hit the ground with her head, summoning an escape pod around her to successfully flee away from her captors. The pod was quickly sent out of the ship, plummeting towards the planet.
- Amethyst: Crap, I lost her!
Then, a new subject makes its appearance. This one was taller than the already present, possessing a dark reddish skin, sort of square-afro-styled hair and dark glasses.
Together, these individuals, responding to the names of Pearl, Amethyst, Steven and Garnet respectively, conform a team known locally as the Crystal Gems. An alien squad that made of the blue planet their home, and to which they had promised to protect from even their own species.
- Garnet: This ship is going to hell real fast!
- Steven: What about Lapis?
- Garnet: There's no time!
- Steven: Dammit!
Although their efforts, nothing avoided the obstreperous crash of the warship on the bay of a small town known as Beach City. The ship lost one of its fingers at the moment of the impact. Moments later, a short circuit provoked a deafening blast, destroying the vehicle completely.
Then a lion of a distinctive rose color arrived on scene, searching between the debris and sending them away with a powerful roar. Done this, we find our heroes protected from the explosion by a dense pink bubble under control of the kid, revealing to have a rose quartz gem embedded on his bellybutton. The bubble dispelled, allowing them to take some air.
- Garnet: Good work.
- Steven: Thanks. (Suddenly remembers what happened minutes ago) Garnet! I didn't know you were a fusion this whole time!
- Amethyst: Wait... did you meet Ruby and Sapphire?
- Pearl: Oh no, you weren't supposed to know just yet. Garnet, your plan!
- Steven: (Confused) Ah?
- Garnet: It was a surprise for your birthday.
- Steven: Oh, don't worry. I will just pretend nothing of this happened, and problem solved.
- Garnet: Hmm... sounds fine to me.
Some rubble were launched far away in front of them, revealing a beefy gem with orange, dark-stripped skin and a fluffy pale hair, having for nose a jasper gemstone ironically small for her physical form. The invader rested on her knees, visibly exhausted and breathing with difficulty.
- Jasper: Rahh!... Don't... think... I'm defeated... (loses breath for a moment, then takes some seconds to gather the air only necessary to speak) You... are... a cheater... fusion... (grins) Yeah, he he... if I had somebody to fuse with... you wouldn't stand any chance.
More debris are thrown away while another gem, with soft blue skin and metallic blue hair, breaks free from her prison.
- Lapis: What... the hell...?
- Steven: (Scratches his head, sightly embarrassed) Eh... I'm sorry, Lapis.
- Garnet: Thinking it better, maybe throwing Jasper into the reactor core wasn't the best idea.
The blue gem gave a look to her surrounding for a moment, with an evident expression of annoyance on her face.
It was that situation all again. How many times was she supposed to pass through this?
- Lapis: Seriously, what the hell is you guys' problem? (Turns her back, a pair of water wings come out from her gemstone) You know what? Screw this! I'm out.
In the exact moment she tried to lift, Jasper took her by one of her foot, pulling her down abruptly to the ground to grab her from one arm and talk meanly to her:
- Jasper: Where do you think you're going, brat?
As soon as he saw this, Steven tried to stop it; but Pearl acted first, preventing him from intervening.
- Steven: Lapis!
- Jasper: Come Lapis. Fuse with me!
- Lapis: (Incredulous) ... Is this some kind of cruel joke?
- Jasper: Shut up up listen! Haven't you got enough of being trapped in that stupid mirror due to THEM?
Jasper hold the petite gem's jaw, forcing her to look towards the Crystal Gems, who were already standing in front of them.
- Jasper: Think about it, it is now when you can take revenge! YOU in ME!
Lapis was dropped immediately, landing on her butt. The time around her seemed to stop.
The ocean gem looked steadily towards Steven. The hybrid seemed honestly worried about her and what was happening to her. During all her stay on Earth, since the invasion, he was the only creature that was interested enough in her to actually listen, to really offer a helping hand.
- Steven: (Saddened) Lapis?...
And although Steven hadn't been able to get her out of the warship as he assured her minutes ago, she was still in debt with the kid.
Thanks to him, she could get out of her mirror prison, in which she was trapped for about five millenniums.
Thanks to him, she could recover from her wounds.
Thanks to him, she could get back home..
No. That planet known as the Gem Homeworld was far from being the majestic place she once was part of.
Lapis gave a look to the beefy gem next to her. Her hand was extended towards the petite gem, and her eyes were glowing intensely... although in a sightly perturbing way.
She offered to cooperate to make her previous captors pay for what they did. Certainly, an attractive proposition.
If it weren't for she being her current captor, of course, and she surely was going to keep being it as soon as this ended.
No. She couldn't allow this to go on.
Lapis had more than enough of every damn body wanting to take her as prisoner.
She definitely wasn't going to serve anyone anymore, much less to a pawn of her.
The empress with a heart as cold and hard as diamond. The current ruler of Homeworld, now lacking of its beautifulness, in which she lived countless wonderful experiences.
They wouldn't take her prisoner again, not while she was alive... not while at least a tiny shard of her gemstone wasn't reduced to dust.
The ocean gem moved her attention towards Steven again, seeing the angst perfectly pictured in his small face.
Why did Steven offered his help to her?
What did make him different from the other gems?
Why did that gemstone in his abdomen look so shockingly familiar?
Unfortunately, she wouldn't have time to know the answers. Lapis knew what she had to do. Her decision was taken.
The time resumed its course. It was time to act.
- Jasper: (Twisted smile) Come on, just say yes!
Lapis stood up, looking dead serious, and didn't respond with anything more that an extended hand. Jasper let go a small laugh in joy and took it.
- Steven: NOOOOOOO!
And so, the short dance that seemed eternal for Steven began. After some steps, Lapis ended wrapped in Jasper's arms, and the synchronization was established. Jasper could be seen smiling grimly once more before the lights engulfed her completely. Moments later, a colossal emerald-green gem with six arms and four eyes was rising in front of our heroes, laughing in a terrifying manner. The beast lifted one of its arms, raising an even bigger water hand from the ocean with it.
The Crystal Gems got prepared for the worst, but as soon as Malachite, the fusion product of both gems' madness, tried to crush them, the water arm suddenly turned into a chain that trapped her arm. More water chains appeared from the ocean, holding her other arms and her torso.
- Malachite [Jasper]: Uh?... (Falls faceplant to the ground) What?
- Malachite [Lapis]: Enjoying the show?
- Malachite [Jasper]: What... What does THIS mean!?...
- Malachite [Lapis]: When I broke free from that mirror I swore nobody would use me again. I'm NOT going to be anyone's prisoner! Now YOU'LL be my prisoner!
The chains started to pull back, dragging the giant fusion towards the ocean, despite itself.
- Steven: Lapis! Don't do it!
- Pearl: (Keeps her hold in him) No, Steven!
Jasper tried desperately to undo the fusion, but the same rage that she focused to do it was part of what kept the bond, and Lapis' rage was way stronger than hers, so her attempts were futile. The creature was slowly being submerged into the ocean until only her head could be seen on the surface.
- Malachite [Lapis]: We're going to stay in this miserable planet... TOGETHER!
Said this, Malachite was lost in the depths of the ocean to not be seen anymore. The water cooled off progressively until it was back to normal.
On the beach four individuals remained, watching the place where they saw the beast for the last time, awestruck.
- Garnet: (Adjusting her shades) Well, those two definitely don't do any good each other.
- Steven: (Sighs heavily) Aww crap...
There he goes again. In what moment had Pearl lost the control of things with the Quartz child?
What would the former leader of the team think of her at seeing such a scene?
If only certain gem weren't trying to bring him on bad steps every moment...
- Pearl: Steven! What did I tell you about saying curse words?
- Steven: Oh... sorry Pearl.
The gem switched her attention directly towards the responsible.
- Pearl: This wouldn't have happened if you didn't show those adult movies to Steven, Amethyst.
- Amethyst: (Indignant) Could it be known what the heck have to do some action movies with all of this!?
- Pearl: Don't dare change the topic, Amethyst. You know well I'm talking about the language you and Steven are employing lately.
- Amethyst: And what do you tell me about Garnet then, there in the ship?
- Garnet: (Totally stoic as usual) It was an emergency, I was really nervous.
- Amethyst: (Sarcastic) Yeah, sure. 'Cause controlling Ruby's impulsiveness must be too damn hard...
- Pearl: Amethyst!
- Garnet: It actually is!
- Amethyst: Oh come on...!
Steven wasn't sure about how to stop the sudden argue between the gems. In fact, he wasn't sure about anything anymore.
The kid had just been kidnapped by a bunch of aliens in a enormous ship, one of them having left him a black eye and "killed" one of his protectors; for then ending with the ship destroyed and with someone he really cared about sacrificing herself, maybe in a futile way, due to her own frustration. To that was needed to add the state in which Beach City should be at the moment. What was a 12-year-old boy supposed to think about that?
This definitely wasn't something common for Steven; but for being a Crystal Gem one had to be strong, they say. Strong in what really mattered, strong in the real way.
Fortunately for him, the ringing of his cellphone was what stopped the heated discussion maintained back there, as Garnet was unusually unsuccessful with that.
- Steven: (Reads the caller id) Oh, man... I don't like this. (Accepts the call) Hello?
» Connie: Steven, I got your message. What happened? Are you OK?... Please tell me you're not hurt!
- Steven: Eh...
» Connie: (Impatient) Steven? Steven!
- Steven: Y-yeah... I'm... I'm fine, don't worry. (Short pause) Hey... I-I'm calling you back, alright?
» Connie: Steven, wai-
Steven ended the call. He didn't know how to explain Connie what happened. For that he would need to assimilate it all in first place, because even he didn't ended believing it. Long gone were the happy days of going to missions with the gems, fighting corrupted monsters and collecting shards, having a nice time with Connie, helping occasionally to his father and eating some ol' good Cookie Cats at the end of the day. Yes sir.
His team was affronting hard times, making it tremble. The Crystal Gems needed one each other now more than ever.
They needed him.
Maybe it was time of taking a more active participation in the team's decisions.
This sounded like a case for Serious Steven!...
NO. This wasn't time to play serious!
This was time to actually be serious!
About the homeworld gems, Steven had to admit it: they were fascinating beings.
Jasper, so brave and strong. With the enough will to face a veteran, powerful, perfect fusion, with the confidence of actually being able of come out victorious; even knowing she wasn't.
Peridot, cautious, meticulous, full of knowledge and at the same time so... miserable. She had no options, she had no choice. Only orders to follow.
And Lapis... Lapis Lazuli. That beautiful petite gem lost in time. A great friend. So sweet, delicate and graceful. Seeing her wonderful smile opaqued by her hard situation was just too much.
Inside him, something got clear enough: those three gems were having a really bad time. One maxim of the Crystal Gems was "no gems are to be left behind", and Steven felt he had to make honor to it.
- Pearl: Oh sweet gems, the beach is made quite a mess. We're going to have to clean up all of this before the others come back.
- Amethyst: (Annoyed) Really? Our gems could have been smashed to dust and the only thing you can think of is to clean?
Clean up? Of course! How could he have ignored all the mess around him? And with Pearl nearby, this probably wouldn't end before the beach gets as clean and shiny as before or even more.
- Steven: (Feeling defeated) I hate Mondays.
NA: I have to confess I always wanted to hear Garnet say that first line of hers...
Anyway, feel welcome and wait for more; or at least for what is already published in the original entry, in Spanish.
Don't forget to leave your reviews and comments alike. That stuff is what we writers expect the most of you: to feel our message and ideas are actually received by someone, with a reply, giving place to a lasting conversation.
By the way, translating one of these chapters seems to be harder to me than simply redacting them, so it's gonna take a while to do it.
Thanks for reading.