Dreaming of the Monster
Steven lied in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He thought of the map that gems had been using back when they were actually searching. The map had many black X's in the places they had checked. He turned over, moving his head to an angle where he could see out the window. The ocean looked peaceful, almost too peaceful to be such a dark prison.
Steven really, truly missed his friend. He often had dreams about the two of them playing together, none of them about the Malachite realm though. He wanted Lapis to not feel like she had to do it on her own. He wanted to help her. He wanted her to be free, to be safe and feel at home.
Steven felt himself dozing off. The last thought he had was of the first thing he wanted to do when he saw her. He wanted to give her a big hug and tell her that everything is okay.
Steven opened his eyes. He was floating in an empty black space. He looked around to find darkness for miles. He knew from the moment that he opened his eyes that he was dreaming, he just didn't know what he was dreaming about. The only other time this happened was with…Lapis.
Steven tried to create something out of the darkness. Finding himself unable to, he decided to try exploring the darkness. He looked around for what felt like an hour or two, stopping and crossing his arms as he continued to find more darkness.
"This is getting me nowhere." He said rather quietly. Despite the low volume of his voice, he could still hear the sound echo throughout the realm, the sound booming back at him.
Well that was loud.
Steven stiffened when he heard a groan. He turned in the sound's source, finding nothing but the familiar darkness.
"Lapis?" Steven called out quietly to the darkness.
Before Steven knew it, a titanic wave of teal and black water came out of nowhere, crashing down on him and flooding the dark area. Steven struggled to fight the water's downward pull, trying to the best of his ability to stay above the water. The water began to leave just as quickly as it came. When the water finally drained into the floor, Steven found himself out of the darkness and into an area he hadn't been in awhile but could never forget. He was in the Malachite Realm.
Steven scanned the area quickly, his eyes resting on a sea foam green Lapis, the gem on her knees, trying her best to pull against her chains. Her dress was torn in several spots and her hair was a tangled mess, but Steven didn't notice any of that. What he did notice were the large, deep dark green bruises that covered her entire body.
"Lapis!" He called out, running to her aid.
Lapis raised her head, but quickly turned away from Steven before he could see her face. She was crying. "Steven?" Lapis felt her chains yank against her and she fought against their pull. As the pulling eventually ceased, he went limp, panting heavily. "W-why are you- how are you- y-you need to go before she finds you here!" Lapis called, letting her hair hide her face from the caring boy.
Steven dropped to his knees and hugged her tightly while trying to avoid any visible bruises, ignoring her command.
"Steven, please leave!" The ocean gem begged, trying her best to hold the chains above the floor.
Steven looked at Lapis' face, the gem trying to avoid his gaze but finding herself unable to. Steven gasped when he saw her. A large, dark green bruise ran from her left temple all the way down to her mouth and a second bruise covered her right eye. The fire in her eyes had been extinguished by the images Jasper had forced her to watch. She had almost run out of hope and, now that he was here, she had no more. Lapis looked…broken.
"You're hurt…" Steven felt tears forming in his eyes. "Why are you doing this to yourself? Why won't you let me help you?!" Steven asked, gritting his teeth as he began to cry at the sight of his friend in pain.
"She doesn't want help from you." A voice sounded from behind Steven. The boy turned from Lapis, whose expression had become one of absolute horror, to meet the gaze of Jasper. "Isn't that right beach-summer-fun-buddy?"
Lapis winced a little. To her that was more than just a name, it was something much more. It was a symbol of her friendship with Steven, a friendship she cherished more than life itself.
Steven glared through his tears. "You've hurt her." Steven accused, trying to keep his voice from cracking.
"And you're a genius." Jasper responded sarcastically. "Heheheh, Rose…I was afraid you weren't coming." Jasper told the boy, enjoying the fear plastered on Lapis' face. "But the brat," Jasper took a glance at Steven, just another spirit to break. "she knew she couldn't keep you away."
"You…you did this to her. What did you do to her?! What did you do?!" Steven shouted to the Homeworld gem.
"Oh, I didn't do anything. Lapis did all of the work; I just had to give her that last little push. Brat, do the honors of telling our "guest" what's happening…and you better hurry to because I'm sure that Rose has been dying to have a conversation with me." Jasper popped her knuckles to get the point across.
Lapis flinched at the sound that always meant pain, the only difference being that Steven was going to be the victim. Lapis dropped her head in shame and mumbled something barely audible, the gem wishing she could take Steven and fade away from this place.
"Aww Lapis, I don't think our friend can hear you." Jasper gave a monstrous grin. "So speak up!"
Lapis, refusing to show her face to the friend she had failed, spoke barely loud enough to here. "I…I lost."
Jasper gave a booming laugh. "That's right, she failed you Rose." The large gem took a step towards the two, chuckling as Lapis did her best to spread her water wings around Steven protectively, the wings simply falling limply at the ocean gem's sides. Jasper shook her head at the spectacle. "You know she really likes you. And I mean really likes you. Even when I'm not showing her what I have in store for her, you're still all this weakling thinks about. It's sickening how…intimate her precious little thoughts can be."
Steven felt Lapis stiffen.
"Oh I'm sorry Lapis, that was a little private wasn't it?" Jasper asked cruelly. She gave a chuckle. "She's obsessed with you. You're all she ever thinks about." Jasper's expression turned to exasperation. "Day, night, it never ends." Jasper groaned. "I'm getting off topic aren't I? As I was saying before, she doesn't want you to help her. It would go against the whole reason she decided to trap herself here in the first place."
Steven continued to glare, wondering what the gigantic gem was saying.
Jasper's eyes widened, the orange gem laughing. "What!? Oh come on, don't tell me you're so stupid to 've not even realized it! You're right, she really is blind!" Jasper laughed. "Think about it Rose. She was next to your Earth's ocean, she could've cracked me on the spot and stayed with you, but she decided to trap us under this planet's wretched sea instead. Don't you wonder why?"
Steven had to admit that he had wondered about it some, but had brushed off the thought.
"Please don't." Lapis quietly begged, a look of pure shame on her face, earning a worried glance from Steven.
Jasper ignored her. "Because she just wants to get away from you." Jasper gave a cruel laugh, something other than humor evident. "Isn't that hilarious? She's obsessed with you and, at the same time, all she wants is to keep you away from her."
Steven continued to stare at Lapis, the water gem avoiding his gaze. Lapis looked ashamed. Steven shook off Jasper's previous statement and glared at the orange gem.
Jasper crossed her arms and smiled fondly in memory, reminiscing at the fun she had felt watching Lapis suffer. "You know, I originally didn't like sharing a mind with the obsessive little twerp over there, but it's starting to grow on me. I love how she reacts to me showing her the things I have in store for her little "pet"."
Lapis gave a weak glare to the orange gem at the insult towards her friend, it going unnoticed by the warrior.
"You should've seen what I showed her to take her down. She was so…pathetic." Jasper grinned nostalgically.
Steven gave a light growl. "You're the pathetic one if you're using her feelings as some sort of tactic." Steven snapped.
Jasper's smile dropped into an angry scowl. The orange gem walked up to Steven, yanking him up by his shirt collar. "What did you say to me?" Jasper growled, a cold glare on her face.
"Steven!" Lapis called, trying to stand up to take Steven back, the chains holding her not budging. Lapis turned her head from Steven to Jasper. "Please don't hurt him! I'll stop fighting, I'll give you control, I'll do anything! Just don't hurt him!" Lapis begged.
Jasper ignored Lapis' pleas, her full attention on Steven.
If Jasper's glare could kill, then no one would have survived the one Steven gave to the Homeworld gem. "You heard me. You're pathetic." Steven said without fear, something unnerving about his tone.
Jasper felt a shiver run down her spine, something that confused her. She shouldn't be afraid of the enemy; she had never been afraid in the face of a foe. She reared her fist back. "I'm not pathetic! I'm the one in control of this fusion now! I'm the one who was you at my mercy! You're worthless compared to me. You. Are. Nothing!"
"Then let Lapis go Jasper!" Steven commanded. "If you're so high and mighty then prove just how strong you are and do this on your own!"
Jasper sneered at the hybrid she had in her grasp, but looked down at the ocean gem that was groveling at her feet, the latter in tears and begging quietly for Jasper to have mercy on Steven. Jasper looked back at the hybrid and grinned. "You know what? I'm staying. As fun as it would be to kill you myself, I want to make sure that you and your army are finished. So I think that your precious little gem and I are going to stay together for a little while longer." Jasper punched Steven in his face, earning a pitiful cry from the boy and a loud sob from Lapis.
"Please, I'll do anything! Just tell me what you want!" Lapis cried out as Jasper struck him again, another pained cry sounding.
Jasper pounded Steven two more times, Lapis letting out a sob with each attack to her friend. When Jasper prepared to hit Steven again, she became slightly unnerved. Steven, with a swollen eye and a bloody nose, glared at Jasper. He looked like he was almost snarling, like he was an animal. The most unnerving part was that his eyes held something that had never been present in them before: hatred, pure hate.
Suddenly…Jasper smiled again. This was the Rose she had wanted to fight. "Well look at this. Rose Quartz is still the warrior I remember. It's a shame you still care for sad little shards like this. You would've made a great ally."
"Let her go." Steven commanded again.
Jasper's smile widened as her eyes began to practically burn with desire. Rose truly was the warrior she wanted to clash with in battle. "You and I are going to battle. It will be a fight that will be spoken of for ages to come. It will be one that will outlive even the Diamonds' glorious name. It will be glorious. They will sing songs in the victor's name."
"Let her go!" Steven repeated.
Jasper pulled the brave child up to her face, grin still there. "You have no idea how badly I want this fight to just be between the two of us Rose…but I have a promise to keep." Jasper looked to a sobbing, horrified Lapis, the water gem meeting the warrior's gaze. "A promise that when I defeated you, I would make sure that you died slowly and painfully. A promise that she would watch. A promise that your tortured cries were going to be the last thing she would hear. A promise that the last thing she would feel would be her own arms tearing you apart. A promise that your blood was going to be the last thing she would taste. A promise that the last thing she would see would be your eyes as you beg her to end your miserable existence." Jasper quickly turned her head to look back to Steven, maniac glee in her eyes. "A promise that she would know that she failed you and that you would die at her hands. And trust me when I say I'm going to keep my promise." With that, Jasper struck Steven with full force, a sickening crack sounding as Steven left the Malachite Realm.
Lapis cried and sobbed on the ground, trying her best to remember that what happened to her friend was not real. As she cried, the ground slowly began to take her under.
"No!" Lapis shouted as she took notice, slamming her hands to the ground to push against the floor, only for them to start sinking in as well. It was almost up to her shoulders when the sinking stopped. Lapis looked up to see Jasper still standing there with her arms crossed and a maniac smile still spread across her face. Lapis turned away from Jasper, crying as all the thoughts that Jasper had forced her to watch played back in her mind.
Jasper crouched down, taking Lapis' face by the chin and pulling it to where Lapis was forced to meet Jasper's gaze. "Heh," Jasper said. "Your caring for her is and always has been your ultimate weakness. Now you will be forced to watch the only one you care about suffer." Jasper stood up and turned away from Lapis, beginning to walk away.
"You won't beat him you know." Lapis said, earning the larger gem's attention.
"What did you say brat?" Jasper asked, a hint of anger evident.
"You will not beat him! He cares too much about me to let you stay in control. That's what makes him stronger than you!" Lapis said.
Without turning, Jasper responded by asking her. "Oh is that so? Well if she's so strong, strong enough to beat a foe such as I, then why are you so afraid of yourself, an ally, hurting that sorry little pebble?"
Lapis looked down at the ground that had begun to slowly drag her under.
"Heh, that's what I thought." Jasper said as she started walking again.
Lapis looked back up to see empty space where Jasper was. She hung her head in shame, giving up as the ground dragged her under with little to no effort.
Lapis fell to Jasper that day. That day, Malachite became free.