Note - I don't know if this chapter might be a bit bothering to some. I'll put that out there just in case.
TitanWolf - I had actually planned on a fusion between them at some point.
~O~
Chapter Four: Shadow of a Doubt
"We have a problem."
Steven looked up at the sound of Peridot's concerned voice. She was scrolling through a holographic display from a tablet she had retrieved from Yellow Diamond's ship.
"What's wrong?" Steven asked.
Peridot's features were grave. "My sister kept a list of the gems she had used to experiment on. One of them listed here is a Schorl."
"What's a Schorl?" Steven asked her.
Peridot made a face. She looked a little worried. "A Schorl isn't a gem I've met personally, Steven. But I used to read stories about them. Primitive gems with Mind-Control powers." She grimaced. "Parasitic monsters that the Authority used to use to interrogate if need be."
Steven looked worried. "So if this gem isn't on the ship, that's a good thing?"
"Of course it's not!" Peridot cried, glaring at him. "She probably escaped with the others and is running around latching onto gems like the soul-sucking beast she is!"
"Wait, wait," Steven held out two hands. "What do you mean, 'latching onto'?"
Peridot huffed impatiently. "I'll explain it once we talk about this with the others. They're going to need to know."
She gathered the gems to the barn and explained the list of corruptions that had been kept on Yellow Diamond's ship. And the Schorl.
Garnet furrowed her brow. "What would a Schorl look like?"
Peridot produced a hologram of an uncorrupted gem from the tablet. A tall, eerily thin gem in black, hooded robes. Her face was partially hidden, save for a single white eye that stared out through ribbons of black hair.
"A Schorl in its uncorrupted form," Peridot told them. "She is a rarity on Homeworld and the Diamonds had ceased productions of her gem type within just a single decade of their creation. That's possibly why most of you have never heard of her."
Pearl looked surprised. "Why?"
"Their methods were deemed too...'primitive'. Before they were recycled by the Authority, they had been used as supervisors in interrogations. They can latch onto a gem and force them to speak any terrible thought they may have ever had."
Lapis made a face. "That sounds...really bad."
"Bad enough to have White Diamond even scrap them?" Peridot said, raising an eyebrow. "And White Diamond finds a use for everything. But since this one was still on the ship, I can imagine my sister was probably torturing her, the same as the others."
"It's not like she wanted to." Steven reminded her.
Peridot exhaled. "Yeah, true. Like it or not, she still did it. And I don't think a Schorl will willingly listen to us if we find her."
Garnet nodded her head and stood. "Then we have to find her at all costs."
Peridot shuddered. "Well, you do that. I want no part of that."
"Why?" Lapis looked at her.
"WHY?" Peridot cried, "In case it escaped your notice, I don't think she'd be too happy to meet the sister of a gem responsible for torturing her!"
"Alright, calm down," Garnet ordered. "We'll find Schorl. In the meantime..." She looked down at Steven with a smile. "Don't you have a birthday to get to?"
Steven grinned brightly. "Sadie's birthday!"
"Well, hurry along." Garnet urged, giving him a little push. "Leave us to figure this out right now. Go and have fun."
While Steven hurried off, Amethyst sighed heavily.
"Where are we even going to find Schorl?" she asked. "She could have run off anywhere by now."
"We can start searching in the battlefield," Garnet said, "That's a start."
Amethyst groaned and leaned back. "That'll take FOREVER!"
"Come on, Amethyst," Garnet urged, plucking her from the ground with one hand, "We're not closer to finding these gems by lying around."
Amethyst just groaned in response.
O
A whisper.
"Please, do not abandon me. I promise to do good..."
A shadow quickly darted away through the trees when the light of Pearl's gem shined through. Pearl, Garnet and Jasper were wandering through the woods in search of Schorl. Another series of whispers froze them where they stood. They looked around, barely making out the sound of voices.
Gem Language.
"What is that?" Pearl whispered. "Is that our gem?"
"I don't know. Stay close." Garnet warned.
A voice now spoke. Rough and coarse.
"Is that you, Peridot? My old...friend?" the voice came from one who sounded sick. Madness behind a shaking whisper followed. "Do you seek to finish that which you could not?"
Garnet's gauntlets appeared. "Alright, that must be her. Be ready."
The gems continued on through the darkness of the woods, but a howling sound pierced the air and they looked up frantically. A bony, almost paper thin shadow passed overhead, but they saw nothing.
"You...you are not Peridot, are you? Has she sent you in her place?"
"Schorl!" Pearl called. "If that's you, come out! Let's just talk. Whatever Peridot put you through, it's over now."
"She's been tortured, Pearl." Jasper said lowly. "Do you really think she's going to want to talk?"
Pearl exhaled. "I thought I could at least try."
There was a skittering. Something moving.
A pair of white eyes focused on Jasper before diving forward.
The gems gave a collection of cries before they found themselves enveloped in darkness. It passed only for a moment before vanishing. They looked around before noticing Jasper struggling to prevent herself from being dragged into a black, tar-like pool.
"Jasper!" Pearl shrieked.
She dove for her and Jasper grunted, struggling to yank her arms loose. A few snapping sounds of black strands being torn.
Garnet quickly moved to help. They both took Jasper's arms and struggled to pull.
Jasper winced with a cry when she felt sharp claws embed themselves in her sides.
"Jasper! We got you!" Pearl cried. "I'm not letting you...go!" She snarled with effort, glaring into the shadows. "Let go of her, you disgusting, horrible - "
A large, tar-like limb swatted the two gems aside and Jasper vanished into the shadows, struggling to fight off the force.
"Jasper!" Pearl shouted, giving chase.
"Pearl, wait!" Garnet ordered.
"I'm NOT losing her again!" Pearl spat, slicing through the trees with a grunt of effort.
She could hear the sounds of Jasper fighting off the corrupted gem for a few long moments as she worked her way through the woods.
While she searched for her, Jasper had grabbed a handful of black mass and tugged, hissing with effort. The gem's white stare met hers and she glared back at it.
Schorl's face resembled a frightening, humanoid skull. Her mouth opened with an eerie snarl and she lunged forward.
Meanwhile, Steven was visiting Sadie at the Big Donut with his gift. Connie had chosen to join him. Sadie opened his gift and was amused by the donut-shaped hat inside the box.
"Wow, Steven. This is really cute!" she said, "Thank you!"
Steven smiled. "Now, you can be the best donut at the Big Donut!" he joked.
They shared a laugh.
Connie looked around the store and noticed no one else was there. "So...no one came to visit you?" she asked, a little disappointed.
Sadie shrugged. "Ah, that's okay. My mom has something planned for me tonight." she replied, straightening the donut hat on her head. "I appreciate you guys stopping by, though."
They smiled, nodding their heads.
"So...how are things going with Jasper?" Sadie asked.
"Not sure. She's been...different." Steven replied.
"How so?"
Steven awoke in the middle of the night and found Jasper sitting by the window, watching the moon outside. She glanced back slightly at him and looked tired, but overall, not in distress as much as he expected.
"Jasper, are you okay?" he asked.
Jasper exhaled quietly. "I'm fine."
"You've been up for a while." Steven said. "Couldn't sleep?"
Jasper didn't answer. She simply watched the moon in silence. A grave look crossed her features and she said nothing more. So eventually, Steven returned to bed.
"She's been corrupted twice, Steven." Connie reminded him. "I mean, I can't imagine any gem would go through that unscathed. Plus, when she was healed, it wasn't like the first time."
"True." Steven agreed. "And Yellow Diamond's corruption was a lot different too..."
"We'll figure it out." Connie assured him. "Maybe when we get back, we can talk with her more."
"Maybe..." Steven didn't seem sure for some reason.
O
"Jasper!"
Pearl cut through the trees and shot a few rounds from her spear before she spotted Jasper kneeling in the grass, her head hanging low. Her hands were resting at her sides.
The darkness hindered a great deal of Pearl's sight, but she quickly rushed up to her anyway, narrowly tripping in the process.
"Pearl, be careful." Garnet warned. "Schorl could be back at any moment."
"Why did you leave me?"
The two gems froze and looked at Jasper when she had spoken. So suddenly. So full of her familiar bite. It had been a long time since she'd spoken that way. In such venomous, cruel pitches.
"Wh-What?" Pearl started to reach out.
Jasper chuckled darkly, still hanging her head low. There was a flash of teeth when she grinned. "I should have known then. That was why it took so long. You didn't want me back after all."
Garnet shook her head. "Jasper, what are you talking about?" she demanded. "We don't have time for this when we have the Schorl to catch."
"You were lying. I know you were lying..." Jasper continued speaking. Not looking at them.
Pearl's features twisted. "Jasper, we... I don't understand. I didn't lie to you."
Jasper looked up at her now. The two gems looked stunned to see that her yellow eyes had changed to bright, fiery red.
"Well, that would be the first time, wouldn't it?" she snarled.
Pearl's eyes widened. "Her eyes...!"
When Jasper stood up and stepped into the moonlight, the two gems noticed a thick tendril of pitch wrapped around her throat, long hands splayed across her chest and a white-eyed skull looming over her shoulder.
Garnet raised two hands. "Come on, Jasper. I know you're not the one talking."
Jasper glared at her. "Shut up!" she ordered.
She focused on Pearl now. "You never wanted me back," she hissed, "None of you did."
Pearl shook her head, pleading. "Jasper, that's not true!"
"Really? Because ause everything you've ever done since we've met has been to deceive me." Jasper continued, without consequence. "Confess, Pearl!"
Pearl's eyes brimmed. "What do you want me to say? That I've made mistakes? I've made mistakes. We all have. But my love for you has always been true!"
Garnet looked at her. "Pearl, that's not Jasper talking."
"Shut up!" Jasper spat at her.
She advanced toward Pearl, who took a step back. "You had what you wanted. Yellow Diamond is gone now, thanks to my help. You would have left me to rot in that stinking bubble forever, wouldn't you?"
"No!" Pearl cried.
O
Jasper's eyes opened, but she found herself no longer in the woods.
Instead, she was in Pink Diamond's court, lying on the floor with her helmet on. She looked down, noticing that her form was flickering in and out. Her gem had been cracked and she struggled to maintain herself before she could fade away.
"I tried to tell you, didn't I?"
Jasper looked over and found a gem sitting there beside her. She knew the gem from her squadron in the war. A topaz she had lost in battle before. She knew the face, remembered the voice.
The topaz was covered in burns and her gem was cracked.
A fire.
A screaming gem that Jasper could not reach from the rubble. The flames continued to burn her form while Jasper struggled to save others. She had been left with no choice but to abandon her when the Rebels pushed forward.
No choice.
"I tried to tell you, Jasper." Topaz said, with a sigh, "I tried to warn you what would happen. You're the gem of Pink Diamond. You think you can protect everyone of us. If you save just one more gem, you wouldn't have to hear Her screaming at night."
Jasper grunted, struggling to stand. Her form flickered again.
"Whoa, don't get up. You'll only make it worse." Topaz told her, holding out a hand. She smiled thinly. It wasn't a pleasant smile. "You do that, you know. You make things worse every step of the way. Maybe if you'd have been careful, the others would still be alive. Maybe Kunzite wouldn't have been shattered by your very hand. And maybe you wouldn't be where you are now."
There was a scoff from another gem. "That's ridiculous."
Jasper looked up, spotting Kunzite sitting across from her. She shook her head patiently, but her stare was firm.
"I was hit from an attack by the Rebels," she said. "I asked for you to do it. If you hadn't, they would have probably taken me prisoner. It would have gotten worse if you didn't act. It went the way it was supposed to, Jasper."
Jasper grunted, shutting her eyes in an effort to calm herself.
O
Jasper had begun fighting the two gems.
Pearl ducked to avoid a charge and Garnet made an effort to remove the Schorl from Jasper's back, but she was swatted brutally away from the creature's fist.
"Jasper, you have to fight it!" Pearl shouted. "You know me! You know the gem that I am! You know how much I love you!"
Jasper charged at her without hesitation.
"Jasper, if any of what Schorl is whispering is true, why are you here with us now?" Garnet demanded, ducking from a punch of her fist. "You have become one of us, whether or not you choose to believe it. We consider you a Crystal Gem now."
Jasper's reddened eyes widened with a snarl.
O
Within her mind, Jasper was surrounded by various other gems she had felt personally responsible for. Rhodonite, Kunzite, the Peridot onboard Yellow Diamond's ship and the fusion of Pearls from the ocean floor.
"I could have... I could have saved you..." Jasper hissed, looking at the Peridot.
The gem smiled sadly, shaking her head. "My fate was already sealed, Jasper. I was destined to end that way. No matter the outcome, I had planned to fade. You can't blame yourself for my decision. It wasn't your fault."
"It WAS your fault."
Jasper looked beyond them and saw Yellow Diamond standing in the doorway now. Her face was cracked, like a porcelain doll and her arm was dripping with yellow ooze, forming a puddle on the floor at her feet. She smiled.
"We are all responsible for the decisions we make in life," Yellow Diamond told her, "All of us. You had failed your purpose and you were punished. We all get what we deserve. Remember what you told me, Jasper? You were ready to accept what you deserved."
Jasper shut her eyes tight. Her form flickered again.
Pink Diamond was behind her and Jasper felt herself comfortably resting in her lap. The gem smiled lovingly and stroked her hair.
"It's better now, Jasper. It's better." she assured her.
Yellow Diamond stepped into the room with a scowl. "It isn't better. You know it won't ever be better. Especially not for you."
The fusion of Pearls rumbled gently, nodding.
O
Steven and Connie had found the three gems in the woods. They worked together to fight against Jasper and free her from the Schorl's control.
O
Topaz sighed, leaning against Jasper's shoulder.
"You tried to move on and avoid this reality, but that is what it is now," she explained, "You have to open your eyes to the truth. You've rebelled all the same. I think you've been that way for a long time."
Rhodonite sighed, gently petting Jasper's hand. "You don't have to continue, Jasper. Not if you don't want to. Your freedom. Your life will always be forfeit in the end. Always."
The fusion of Pearls shook her head. "No, that isn't true. Look at the life you've created among those who adore you now. Look at the love you've made with one of my own. That is truth. That will never change. It is dark for now, but there will be dawn once again. And you shall remember to smile bright like the evening stars."
Yellow Diamond loomed over her. "You told me you'd earn back your loyalty, did you not?" she said, her voice calm, but cold. "But I don't think you knew what you even said. Your eyes were open, but you didn't want to see. Even though I made efforts to make you see it. But did you adapt? Did you change? No. You would lay with a gem who lied to your face. Who allowed your Diamond - your GOD - to be broken. And you would forgive her for that?"
Jasper flinched with each cold word. Finally, she struggled to stand, her form constantly flickering in and out.
"I didn't know... I didn't know who you were..." she whispered, "I was standing at the bottom. I would have taken ANYONE'S hand. No matter who it was."
She looked at Yellow Diamond, who continued to smile cruelly.
"I know who I am. I know what happened. I know what has to keep happening," Jasper continued, her eyes brimming, but her voice growing stronger. "I know the gem I have to be."
She pointed at Yellow Diamond. "You? You're dead. Everything that you were is dead and GONE! You... You did that to yourself. You brought EVERYTHING that happened...on yourself. And I'm not going to have your shadow lurk over me any longer!"
Jasper withered, her eyes filling. Tears poured down her cheeks. She raised two shaking hands to her face and started to sob softly.. The other gems around her didn't speak. They simply watched.
"None of this is over, I promise!" Jasper shouted, pointing at Yellow Diamond again. "I'm not going to give up! Jasper's NEVER give up!"
O
"Hold her down!" Garnet shouted.
While Garnet held Jasper's arms down, Stevonnie grabbed the Schorl in one hand and cut through its form with their sword. Jasper gave a soft, choked gasp as her throat was freed from the gem's grasp.
She blinked in and out of reality as she was carried away by the gems around her. She could barely make out the sounds of their voices.
"What's wrong with her?" Pearl cried.
"A Schorl's touch can numb a gem's physical form." Peridot was somewhere. Where had she even come from? "She's going to be a little...well... She's not going to be herself for a little bit, let's just put it that way."
"...Was it the corruption?"
"Maybe. There may be lingering effects. We don't know."
Jasper shut her eyes. She was tired.
Several years ago
The Peridot wandered into her laboratory that night.
There was always a change in the air between night and day. Sometimes she just felt it in the core of her gem.
When she had once walked on Earth.
"...Peridot...is that you...?"
Peridot gazed into the darkness of the cage. She saw a skittering. A shadow dart away from the light of her gem.
"Yes, I'm here."
"What are the stars like?" A sigh from the gem within. "I've never known the wonderful sight of the stars. What I even look like, really..."
Peridot exhaled patiently. "They're the same bright, luminous sphere of plasma held together by their own gravity as always."
"I would love to help..." the gem said, "If it would please you..."
A dry, gentle laugh; it was only the slightest bit manic.
Peridot ignored her voice, making her way through the laboratory.
"Peridot..." the gem inside the cage pleaded. "I cannot help what I am. I know I am a bad gem. I must be if I am treated this way... But that is what they made me to be."
Again, no response.
A fierce slam of claws against the cage bars.
"You worship them. The Gods who made us, the TRUE EVIL. But it was SHE who created evil. It was SHE who created me!" Another quiet chuckle, filled with madness. "If you new the true nature of the Diamonds, Peridot; you TOO would have done what I did."
"What you did was an abomination to every gem in existence," Peridot struggled to find her voice. "Not even I would have attempted that."
"You will NEVER know joy again, Peridot. You will be shattered and left to rot until creation's last breath..." the gem inside snarled. "DO YOU HEAR?"
Peridot sighed softly. She was silent for a while.
"Maybe I will..."
O
Note - Schorl is a form of Tourmaline. I thought she could be voiced by Lotte Rice. Who voiced Adeline from Bloodborne. Particularly toward the end. The raspy voice seemed to make the most sense.
In a sense, she was made to cause suffering. Why she is the way she is. So she feels her actions are justified because that was how she was made to be. And being trapped? She was left to suffer that fate because of what she saw in the Diamonds.
This chapter was a bit dark, but I've been in a bad place with my seasonal depression.