Hey, everybody! Welcome to my new story! This is essentially a rewrite on my story Redemption because I didn't like how that story was going. As it now, I'm deleting Redemption from my account since this story will replaced it.
This story comes after my one-shot Barn Mates: Alternative Ending so the events of Hit the Diamond didn't happen in this continuity. This also takes place after 'Steven Floats' so Steven has his floating power already. Anyway, enough chit-chat, let's get this story started! Enjoy!
"Explain to me what exactly the purpose of this 'Beach Party' is."
Steven looked up from where he was helping Amethyst set up the volleyball net to look at the tiny green Gem. "We're supposed to have fun, Peridot. Since we spent a lot of time away building the drill, then saving the Earth and Lapis, we decided to do something fun for once."
The past couple of weeks had been stressful for Steven and his family, especially the last few days. Defeating Malachite and stopping the Cluster hadn't been easy plus afterwards Steven had to deal with Lapis' lingering animosity toward Peridot.
But everything had turned out right in the end; Jasper and Lapis had been separated, the Cluster had been bubbled to keep themselves and the Earth safe and Lapis and Peridot were getting along better now. Sure, Jasper's whereabouts were unknown and Homeworld was still a threat but overall peace had been restored and things were back to normal for the Crystal Gems.
"But shouldn't we prioritize searching for Jasper?" insisted Peridot. "She could be out there causing mayhem while we are here wasting time!"
"Chillax, Peri." said Amethyst as she finished setting the net. "G would let us know if we need to worry."
"Sigh, fine." She was still worried but they had a point and the chance to learn more about human culture was something she couldn't miss.
Steven had left theme to check on the rest of the preparations. His dad was cooking hot dogs and burgers on the grill while Pearl and Garnet set up the table and Steven smiled as he watched them interact. It looks like any remaining tension from the Sardonyx Incident had disappeared and they were even closer than before.
His smile shifted into a frown when he noticed Lapis sitting near the shoreline hugging her knees to her chest. She was staring at the ebb and flow of the ocean with a blank expression, not noticing Steven's presence until the boy sat down next to her.
"Steven!" she said startled but quickly smiled. "Hey."
"Hey." he said back. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah!" she said quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You don't have to be here if it makes you uncomfortable, I know that you aren't fond of the ocean now." He said reassuringly. "No one is gonna be mad if you leave."
Lapis looked at him in shock then smiled. "Thanks for thinking about me Steven but I can't stay away from the ocean forever, it is part of who I am."
Steven looked unsure but decide to respect her decision "Ok, but if you need anything just tell me, alright?"
"Sure."
"Steven!"
Both Gems looked up to see Connie sprinting toward them, wearing a large sunhat and a duffel bag on her shoulder from which they could see Rose's sword poking out of it. Obviously Connie came prepare even if they were only having a beach party.
"Connie!" he embraced his best friend. "I'm glad you came!"
"It took some time to convince my parents to let me come."
The other Gems came over as they separated though Lapis and Peridot stayed back and Greg kept his focus on the food.
"Hello, Connie." greeted Pearl. "I see you brought Rose's sword with you."
"A good knight is always prepared, Ma'am." The girl said, repeating one of the most frequent lessons Pearl had taught her. The white Gem smiled, pleased that her student followed her teachings.
"Oh Connie, you remember Peridot and Lapis, right?" Steven said, guiding Connie to where the two were.
"Uh, yeah," It was an understatement to say Connie was nervous. She had not really interacted with these two the same way as the rest of the Crystal Gems. The two Gems in question looked almost as nervous as Connie.
Peridot was the first to speak as she cleared her throat. "Greetings, Connie. I recall seeing you at Steven's birthday celebration. I apologize for not making acquaintances then for I was busy with making sure to keep track of the drill's progress."
"Oh, i-it's ok, I understand that you were busy. It's a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand in greeting but both Gems looked confused by the gesture. "Shaking hands is a common human greeting dating back when humans carried weapons everywhere. By showing that the hand that normally held a weapon was empty, they proved it was intended as a friendly meeting. The custom stuck even when nowadays it's safe to assume most people are unarmed."
Understanding filled both Gems faces and Peridot smiled as she grabbed Connie's hand in her's. "It's nice to meet you as well."
Connie smiled back but her nervousness returned when she turned to Lapis. This was the safe Gem that had stolen the ocean and tried to drown her and Steven. Needless to say, being in her presence made Connie more than nervous.
"Um, n-nice to meet you."
"Likewise," As she finished the handshake, Lapis held a mixed expression of awkwardness and guilt. "Listen, I'm sorry about trying to drown you before, I didn't know humans needed air to live. Steven explained it to me but I'm still sorry."
Connie was surprised by the apology but smiled anyway. "Is ok, that's in the past now. If Steven forgave you then I can too." And her smile widened when Lapis gave a small smile in return.
"So, who wants hot dogs and burgers?"
Greg had chosen that moment to announce the food was ready. Steven and Amethyst both cheered and charged toward the table with Connie following at a slower pace. The others weren't interested in eating so they sat around the table to talk. Steven smiled, watching as Connie, Peridot and Lapis got to know each other better, happy that the two Gems were getting along and that Connie wasn't nervous anymore.
Miles away from Beach City
Groaning as she came to, the powerful warrior lifted her head up from where she lay and looked around. It appeared she had washed up on a rocky beach, the deserted shore stretching for miles. She was completely alone.
"Grr... RAAAHHHHH!"
A savage roar erupted from her throat as she punched the sandy ground. Those dammed Crystal Gems! They'll pay for everything and so will Lapis for siding with them. She'll have her revenge and relish as she crushed all of their gems to dust.
Just outside Earth's atmosphere
The vessel floating around Earth's orbit was noticeably different from the one that brought Jasper, Peridot and Lapis to Earth. The ship was colored black and resembled a human patella, making it slightly smaller than Peridot's.
Inside the ship's control room a lone figure sat wrapped in shadow, hiding its features from view. From what little could be discerned, the figure was as tall as Garnet with short spiky hair and piercing golden eyes. Those golden eyes flicked back and forth across the holographic screen as their owner once again reviewed the mission's data. Once it was satisfied, the screen vanished allowing the figure to gaze down at the Earth through the ship's viewing port.
"So, this is where Yellow Diamond's mission has brought me," the voice was female, smooth and strong. "More than 5,000 years have passed and I find myself once again in this insignificant planet."
The Gem's gaze moved away from the window to the control panel before her. With fluid grace, she lifted her hand and pressed down on a section that glowed at her touch. A panel opened below the ship and various objects were launched, shooting at great velocity towards Earth.
Back at the beach
After eating, Steven suggested a game of volleyball and mostly everyone agreed. Lapis and Peridot chose to observe for the time being, so the teams consisted of Garnet, Pearl and Greg vs. Amethyst, Steven and Connie. The game was very intense with neither team willing to give up. Amethyst made use of her shapeshifting extensively but neither Steven not Connie where slouching. Using impressive teamwork, the children and Amethyst gave the other team a run for their money a Pearl and Garnet visibly struggled to keep up, Greg having already run out of breath.
After a while, both Lapis and Peridot decided to join in so Greg and Connie substituted with them. Now it was Garnet, Pearl and Peridot vs. Steven, Connie and Lapis. The new game started slow at first while the newer Gems learned how to play. Soon, they got the hang of it and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The game came to an end when Garnet jumping high into the air and served the ball with such force in heat up from the velocity, turning the sand into glass on impact and destroying the ball.
Everyone was now sitting on beach towels as they watched the sun set behind the ocean, painting the sky and waters with brilliant colors. As they all relaxed, the two newer Gems agreed that the day had been quite fun.
"I must say, this beach party was very entertaining." said Peridot from her place next to Amethyst. "You were right, Steven. This fun was something necessary for us."
"Yeah," agreed Lapis, who sat on Peridot's other side, close to Steven. "This was fun. And it really didn't bother me being so close to the ocean. I might start to enjoy being in it again sooner than I expected."
Steven smiled, glad that his friends had fun. He happily continued to gaze at the beautiful sunset next to Connie, taking in the peach he felt at being with his family.
BOOM!
The peace shattered as a resounding boom rippled through the air, startling the Crystal Gems.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
More booms resounded but these seemed more distant. Still, it was enough to rattle the Crystal Gems who were already on alert by the first boom and were standing up in alert.
"What in the stars was that?!" screeched Pearl, summoning her spear even if they were no enemies around.
"It sounded like a sonic boom," said Connie and she elaborated when Steven gave her a confused look. "It happens when something travels so fast it breaks the sound barrier."
"Sounds like many somethings broke the sound barrier," said Greg nervously.
Garnet was still as a statue, silently gazing up at the darkening sky. Suddenly, her eyes widened behind her. "Something is heading this way!"
The others alarmingly turned to where the fusion was looking in time to see an object approaching them at high velocity. They didn't have time to take in details before the object crashed several feet away from the group, lifting up a huge cloud of smoke as it created a huge crater in the beach.
"Garnet, what do we do?" asked Pearl nervously, shaking slightly. She couldn't help it; today was supposed to be relaxing but once again they faced danger and so soon after the Malachite/Cluster situation and she wasn't the only nervous one. Peridot trembled as she cowered behind Amethyst while the ocean's tempo increased in response to Lapis anxiety.
Seeing the others fear, Garnet quickly made a decision. "We are gonna see what we are up against."
The others nodded and followed the fusion toward the crater, summoning their weapons while Connie retrieved Rose's sword (Greg decided to stay behind and out of their way to not burden them).
They soon approached the edge of the crater, and Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl gazed inside of it. The dust settled, allowing them to see the cause of the crater embedded on the center of it.
"It looks like a pod?" said Pearl uncertainly.
Indeed it was a pod, but this one was different from Peridot's. For one thing it was black with yellow 'veins' crisscrossing the surfaces and instead of being a sphere, this pod had an elongated shape, making it resemble a pill.
Peridot approached the edge of the crater when she heard the word 'pod' and gazed down at it. The pod looked familiar to the tiny technician but she couldn't quite place where she had seen it before. Suddenly, her eyes widened as the memory of the pod returned to her and she stumbled away from the crater, shaking in terror.
"No," she whimpered in fear. "It can't be..."
On the rocky shore miles away
The warrior gazed down her own crater at a similar pod that sat in the bottom. Unlike the green Gem, she did not cower or whimper, not even when the pod opened and a cloud of steam spilled out. She kept her gaze leveled as a shape was revealed in the smoke, two glowing red eyes staring at the warrior with killer intent.
This turned out a bit differently from my original draft for the chapter but I think it turned out great. I got the next chapter sorta planned out and I'll be working on it as soon as possible because I hope to have at least a few chapters up before the new episodes July 18th. Chapter two will hopefully be done soon! In the meantime, read, review, favorite and follow!