The Weight of the Ocean
It was cold, cold and alone down here.
Where exactly here was is left a mystery now to the blue gem, held aloft currently by the stirred current around her.
The cuffs, though made of water, were now chaffing her wrists beyond repair, her once comforting world of water crashing around her like a fallen tower.
She heard the slightest of movements behind her, but she was ready.
Swing to the left, now the right, dip low, take her by surprise
She performed with almost a sick delicacy, twisting out of Jasper's frenzied swipes at her conscious hold over Malachite, this was almost common now, the ritual almost a twisted dance to them. Jasper trying with frenzied hatred to claw at Lapis from her chains, Lapis simply twisting away. Though she knew that it was common knowledge now.
Any day now…..
They'd come undone….
This was made apparent as Jasper suddenly lurched forwards once more, the slight slacking of the chains between them enough to recoil and throw herself at the water bender, catching her off guard and toppling them through the waves.
Deeper and deeper they went, tousling the water around them in battle, Lapis struggling to fight her hands free, and Jasper screaming hysterically all the while.
"You cannot beat me Jasper! I will hold you here until eternity's end if I have to!" Lapis cried out, her voice horrific and frenzied from the crashing water surrounding them. Her eyes glowed an ominous blue, light cracks of light flitting through her form as she pushed herself to form a large hand between them, effectively forcing them apart…. For now….
Lapis crumbled soon after, coughing at the water forcing itself into her lungs, she had no problem with breathing water, unless it was pushed against her breathing pattern in battle like that. Now she hacked on water that just kept coming, kept rushing in from all sides.
She could sense Jasper coming, could sense her slow, haggard approach through the space between them, she attempted to shield herself, to cry out. "Jasper STOP!" Her body trembled, weak and cuffed blue wrists burning as she attempted to hug her sides, an odd ripple of pain shooting through her as she struggled to regulate her breathing. A pause and a static ripple seemed to cross between the two as a thin, and then thicker cloud of blue pooled between them, startling Jasper a little as it emerged from the smaller gem's lips along with a haggard cough.
"What is this?" Jasper seethed, staring with wide eyes as Lapis fell tiredly to the ground. She watched with mixed fascination and slight horror of all things as the cloud continued its stream from her wounded enemy's lips, floating up and disappearing into the murky depths around the two. "You're injured, badly….. I could easily defeat you! Stand now runt, and spare yourself the humiliation of taking death like a worthless dog!" Jasper seethed once more, pushing close enough now to see that Lapis was hunched over in the water, gripping uselessly at her sides as the azure substance showed no sign of stopping.
The former general focused, going into the mind the shared as Malachite, escaping reality in a sense and finding herself in a scape of greens and blues as their shared mentality came into focus.
"Gah- finally, I don't have to breath like a lowly fish!" She stepped through the mess of their mind and eventually came to her target. Lying helplessly on the ground was the close to breaking gem, her skin glowed white in some places, her form snapping in and out of focus as she tried desperately to move as little as possible from her crumpled position on the ground. Jasper could hear pathetic wet coughs and saw the ground beneath her clenched hands splattered with more and more deep blue liquid as she sputtered there. So weak, now's my chance!
She moved cautiously, trying to slip around her so she could smash her back into reality and ultimately out of existence, assuming she hit her gem.
She silently summoned her helm and stood poised over the trembling form, unable to help herself as she thought bitterly, This runt just got through telling me she'd hold me here for eternity and now this?!
"Last chance Lazuli, get up now or suffer a swift end as a coward."
She received no response
Just more wet hacking from the almost limp form in front of her.
Jasper reared her head back, ready to deliver the finishing blow, when Lapis shakily raised her head, looking back over at Jasper slowly. Her dress was severely torn, her eyes empty and leaking tears blankly as what could only be described as blood pooled out and bubbled dark blue against her sickly pale skin, dripping against the floor she'd barely been able to lift herself from as she stared her former general down.
"You know I loved you once. You know I did Jasper."