Jasper was drifting along. Warm sea water held her tight, just as she imagined a mother would. She couldn't feel her hands. She flexed to find that no muscle would respond, she was dimly aware that she had no body. She was in her gem state, impervious to threats as she healed.
A sudden current sucked her along with it, tumbling her to and fro. Where she was headed a complete mystery. Yet the current seemed to have a destination, it moved with purpose, carrying her along for the ride. She could she nothing. Could hear nothing. Only knew she was at the bottom of the ocean.
For a long time she simply floated with the waters, oddly content. This was the most at rest she'd been in centuries. She toyed with the idea of remaining here forever. No endgame, just existing.
Just when she was sure the ocean would keep her forever, she was spat from the waters. Now there was only coldness. How long she'd lain upon that spot, she had no clue. Days? Could even be months. Time moved differently within the gem.
Jasper focused as well as her recovering haze would allow. She thought of her partner, Peridot. Where was she? Probably lost as she was. Maybe even terminated. She doubted that though, the Gem was tough.
A warmth returned and she felt safer at once. Like a blanket was around her and she was tucked in bed. It was like home. Perhaps that's where she was? Peridot may have found her after all! Unlikely, but probable.
Jasper could feel others, sensed that there was turmoil. An argument waging over something. Whatever force that beheld her was clasping her tight. Protecting. It was so familiar, like an old friend.
The altercation seemed to end as soon as it began. The warmth was moving towards something. She could sense elation. Expectation. The blanket around her unraveled and she felt herself being placed. Where?
She thought of Peridot again. It bothered her no end not knowing her status. Was she safe? Was she lost? Was she...scared? She was definitely alone. Jasper would search for her as soon as she got her corporeal form back.
It wouldn't be long now. She let her thoughts ebb into nothing and drifted off to sleep.
Jasper stretched her aching body, reveling in her well rested state. She'd awoken without a sound, simply rising up from slumber, eyes opening to examine her surroundings. The first thing that catches her gaze is the moon outside.
Now that's a big fucking moon.
Homeworld had dozens of little moons scattered across the sky. They were visible all through out the day. But nothing like this.
She could hear waves lapping on the sand outside. She must not be far from the ocean. Jasper gazed at the vicinity, spotting an enormous portrait of Rose Quartz above the doorway. She could smell familiar Gems. The Crystal Gems. She must in their base.
Jasper stood, elevated slightly by a pile beneath her. It looked like a shattered table...and a tiny pink pillow. Was this where she had been kept?
Her body tensed and she activated her adamantine helmet. She heard no movement in the house, but still sensed another. The boy. Her gaze shot up and she caught a glimpse of the small human's hair before he retreated from view.
Jasper leaped, landing with a crash on the next floor. The halfling was wide eyed, frightened but composed.
"You brought me here." She boomed. He managed a nodded. "Why?"
She could recall being tousled over and over by waves. The ocean spitting her out on the shore. She remembered being trapped at the bottom of the waters with the mirror gem. How long had they been there? It felt like centuries.
"You washed up. O-on the beach." He pointed behind her. She turned and could make out the emerald fingertips of her starship. So Peridot hadn't left without her? Or...was she dead? These Gems would have smashed her crystal without remorse. And she couldn't expect anything else.
"You knew what I was?" Jasper turned to face him again. This didn't make sense. He'd willingly picked her up, knowing she would return to her full form. They could have contained her in a bubble. Yet, they didn't.
"Of course. I almost missed it, but you twinkled. I thought you wanted to be found." The boy sighed, seeming his prior fear of her had ebbed. He yawned into his hand. Didn't he realize they were still enemies?
"Where is Peridot?" Jasper asked. She felt a warp activate somewhere in the house and saw light cascading from the other room. The other Gems must have returned.
The boy jumped to his feet, his hands flew to his messy hair. "Oh-uh maybe you should hide?" He suggested in a whisper. Foolishly concerned.
Jasper ignored him. She surged from the top flight, landing on the floor below. The wooden slates there cracked beneath her heavy feet. Their home base was as frail as their resistance.
She spotted the Gems on the warp. They readied their weapons, taking a battle stance.
"Steven! Get outside!" The pearl yelled to him. Her voice leaving little room for argument. She charged first, a hot anger burning in her doe eyes.
The fusion brandished her gauntlets, smashing them together like a taunt. Jasper couldn't see her eyes, but knew she was analyzing her. Her body language said I'll turn you into pulp, though she didn't move from her spot. Neither did the amethyst.
"Leave or we will destroy you." The pearl warned.
Oh yaaaawn. Jasper smirked, putting her hands on her hips. "Come and get it, then." Her eyes flashed menacingly, but the pearl seemed not to care, or even notice. She held her spiral spear up to Jasper. What was she gonna do with that? Tickle her? She gave a haughty laugh.
"Pearl! Wait!" The boy hollered from his loft before scrambling down the steps. He took a defensive stance. In front of her. Jasper looked down at the squaty little human. His arms were spread wide. "We have to give her a chance!"
The amethyst sucked her teeth. "The bitch had her chance!"
"Language." The fusion condemned.
"Fine, the weenie, had her chance!"
"Pearl came at her first!" The steven scolded. "We don't even know what she's like. I don't think she'll hurt you."
"Oh, I'm going to hurt them." She promised, gritting her teeth with her fists balled. She smacked the spear from Pearl's hands and planted a kick to her thin neck.
The steven gasped, running to his guardian's side. She leapt to her feet not a moment later, snatching her spear from the ground. She bolted for Jasper again, swinging her weapon at her chest. The pearl spun her lance round in a pirouette and drew a halberd from the gem on her head. She scarcely gave her a moment to breath before stabbing each spike deep into Jasper's arms.
Jasper roared in pain, snapping each of the lances in half. Before she could dig them out a concussive blow met her forhead. Her skull cracked against the wall, and it gave way as she fell through it.
Her foe was in a battle rage. She became stronger when her young was endangered. Jasper snagged her leg before it could connect with her teeth. She jumped to a stand, yanking the thrashing pearl into the air. She bashed her against the floorboards, splinters flew in every direction as she pummeled her opponent into the ground.
Jasper noticed small hands tugging at her side. It was the steven, beseeching her to stop. She could barely hear the boy over her own bellowing. She slung the female over and over, like a doll a child would play with. The boy pulled harder, landing surprisingly powerful blows to her leg.
"Stop! Stop! STOP!"
Before she could flick him away, the fusion's gauntlet plowed into her jaw, knocking her through another wall and unto the beach sands outside. She recovered quickly, but was felled again with a hammering crack to the top of her skull. She felt her feet buckle and bury in the sand.
The amethyst had joined the fight as well. She sprung and donkey kicked the fuck out of Jasper's gem. She howled in pain and her helmet dissipated. She tried to summon it again but could barely concentrate over the agony.
Jasper plucked the purple runt by her hair and spun her with a back breaking momentum. She flung her leagues out in the ocean. Two down. Two to go. And she'd fought this Gem before, she knew her tricks.
The fusion clasped her gauntleted fingers together, ready to dish out the finishing strike. She lifted her hands high above her head and Jasper seized the opportunity. She punched the opposite sides of her forhead, shattering her visor into pieces. An eye for an eye. The fusion blinked in confusion for a split second. Just enough time for Jasper to pluck the third eye from her socket.
She flicked it into the gritty sand, stomping it with a satisfying squish. The Gem fell to her knees moaning in pain, her gauntlets were gone.
"Garnet!"
Jasper craned her head, the pearl had her arm around the child. He eased her off and jumped through the hole in the wall. He rolled like a marble on the sand, then ran as fast as his stumpy legs would take him. His sight set on her.
"Steven, don't!" The pearl yelled to him, grabbing her bruised sides. She winced, but ran paces behind him. Jasper was surprised she was still standing.
Was the halfling really going to challenge her? She'd pummel him into the earth.
The fusion knocked Jasper off her feet, and was heading towards the boy. "Steven, go back! Stay inside!" She went to grab him but he darted between her legs, slipping from her hold.
The amethyst had returned and was barreling straight for Jasper , her hair matted in thick sopping plates. She veered off to Steven's side, shoving him down. "Get back, Steven!" She barked.
He ignored her like the he had the rest, brushing himself off. He ran even harder.
The purple runt shifted into a hulking male. His chest swelled and he rammed into Jasper like a wrecking ball, sending her skipping across the dirt like a stone. She scrambled for purchase, slamming her fists into the ground and launching right back. Jasper kicked the amethyst in the genitals. He winced, but otherwise was unaffected. He grinned and bored a fist into the side of Jasper's head.
"I'll kill you!" Big Purple screamed. Punching her again and again, seeming keen on damaging her nose gem. They shifted again, taking her original form. "Steven should have broke you when he had the chance!"
"Then why didn't he?" Jasper sneered, blocking the amethyst's fist. She kicked her in the chest and the runt wheezed. Jasper summoned her helmet once more, cracking the head on her foe's skull. She groaned and wobbled with dizziness.
The fusion must had recovered, because she was making a b-line for Jasper. She sprinted faster and faster, rearing her fist back, leaping into the air. Jasper looked up, planning to headbutt her into the cosmos.
Jasper buckled, readying for the oncoming attack.
Pink suddenly filled her vision and her yell of frustration echoed back to her. She looked around, bewildered. She was encased in a Rose Quartz bubble. And she wasn't alone. Jasper peered down. The halfling had his arms stretched high, sweat rolled down his cheeks. Her attention was shattered when the fusion came clamoring back down, her be-spelled gloves bashed against the surface of the orb. The sphere reverberated with a warbling thwack!
Yet the bubble held strong, not even a crack in the shell. He was shielding her. Why?
She should squash him beneath her boots. Did he think showing her empathy would save himself? Save this miserable planet?
"Take it down, Steven!" The fusion commanded.
"Get out of there!" The pearl squawked from her alcove. The amethyst drew a rope from her gem, cracking it threateningly.
Steven shook his head, his face turning pink. "You'll just keep fighting! You'll kill each other!" He yelled, his voice slightly muted from the sphere around them.
"Release me! And I might not kill you." Jasper warned.
The boy snapped his head and glared at her. Fear had been replaced with resolve. "You wouldn't kill me." He stated so surely.
"Oh? I won't?" She grabbed him by the shirt collar, yanking him up to her. Eye to eye. "What makes you think that?"
He let himself be held as he stared right into her eyes. Gutsy halfling. "Because Lapis let you go for a reason."
"How do you know I didn't break free?" Jasper tightened her fist and his hands flew to her's.
"Because Lapis said there's hope." He whispered.
There is hope.
Lapis had set her free. The Gem had prodded her mind for every single thought. Taking a particular liking to Jasper's memories of Peridot. She'd linger on the memories and make little ohhhs! Or the occasional tsk tsk.
You care about her. Don't you?
Jasper had refused to answer. But it turns out, she didn't have to.
Then there is hope.
All Jasper remembered after that had been the ocean swells and then warm sunlight. And an even warmer embrace, the boy finding her.
Jasper growled, releasing her hold on him. He fell to the sand in a heap. The longer the sphere was up, the more it drained him.
Steven stood again, and they both scanned the Gems outside of the bubble. They'd all seemed pacified, for the moment. But Jasper knew what would come next.
"That's your ship over there, right?" Steven pointed to the busted hand that was her starship. Pieces were strewn all across the beach, she spied some parts jutting from the water. It'd take a while to repair all the damage.
"Who else's would it be?" She retorted.
"And you want to go back home, don't you?"
What was he saying? He couldn't possibly mean he'd help her escape. "I need to get my partner and return to Homeworld, yes." She saw no harm in carrying along with his questioning.
"Peridot?" He asked.
"Do you know where she is?"
The boy shook his head. So they hadn't found her. She might not be hurt. Why was it such a relief? Peridots could be easily replaced. Though, the thought of replacing her's was...unsettling. She was fond of this Peridot, only this one knew how to make her laugh. Even if her jokes were as dry as dust.
"If we help you repair your ship, you'll leave?" Steven glanced to his guardians. The pearl shook her head, the others remained stoic. Calculating.
Jasper returned her helmet to her gem, cracking her neck and fingers. "Once Peridot arrives, yes." It was obvious this small Steven would vouch for her. Though it baffled her to no end, she decided it was her only option. There was no way she could fix the ship by herself. She wasn't even sure all of them could do it.
Though she was loathe to admit, Jasper wasn't schooled the best in her home's technologies. She'd stuck to what she knew best. Battle. Her fists and her mien were all she needed, and both had served her very well. She was at the top of her Sec's class.
Steven was visibly contused, he shuddered as the last of his power waned. The bubble popped and all the Crystals Gems surrounded them, weapons held at bay.
Jasper remained on guard, keeping each of them in her gaze, at all times.
Steven went by their side, pulling them into a circle to whisper. They all peeked over their shoulders periodically to eye her.
"Enough with this. When do we start the repairs?" She yelled to them, to which they ignored. Jasper simmered, repeating the question louder.
Steven spoke above the rest. "Tomorrow morning! In the meantime, you can stay-"
"Outside." The pearl interjected. "You can stay outside."
The fusion crossed her arms. "Agreed."
Steven belly ached, groaning about how dark it was out tonight. Such a frivolous thing to be concerned with.
"I start tonight then. You know this doesn't stop me from completing my mission, right?" Jasper stated. Once Peridot and she made it back, this planet was as good as toast. They'd deliver the data they'd gathered. Or rather, that Peridot had gathered. Fleets of dreadnoughts would arrive through their Homeworld's Quazi warp in seconds.
"Obviously." The fusion replied, brushing off her words almost entirely.
These idiots were really going to repair the enemies' ship, and let them be on their merry way? Jasper was beginning to like Earth hospitality. She grinned at the group. "Well then everything is peachy." She flipped her gaze to the enormous pieces of ship jutting from the water. She'd attend to those first.
The pearl seemed to have recovered from her previous beating, though she limped slightly. The other two Gems looked to her with absolute worry. The fusion tenderly put her palm on her back, helping her walk to the steps of their home. She cooed something about her doing a good job. The pearl flushed, brushing her thumb across the fusion's empty socket.
"Your eye..."
"It will grow back."
Steven remained in place, his doughy brown eyes full of wonder. He gazed at her with an approving smile. What was this about? She gnashed her teeth at him.
"Steven, get away from that beast." The pearl called from the height of the porch. He took their words to heart as he ran up the stairs to be join them. She leaned down to his ear to share a secret. "Don't be alone with her. Never trust her." She warned, throwing daggers with her disapproving glance.
They made their way inside, but not before the boy got one last neck straining glimpse at her.
Wow, I do believe that was the un-smuttiest chapter I've ever written. Don't worry though, that won't last long! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please, I'd love to hear what you thought about it. Don't forget to fav/follow and review!