Chapter Seven: Peridot
Steven rode on Lion's back down one of Beach City's shores; rage in his eyes. Lion slowed to a stop and Steven jumped down. He looked at the hourglass that sat in his palm as he started to walk away from Lion.
"I know what to do now." He said, "But I have to go alone. Lion, go back to the temple; I don't want Garnet, Amethyst, or Perl worrying while I'm gone. Make sure nothing happens to them."
Lion roared and opened up a portal. When he was gone Steven held up the artifact he had found inside Lion's mane.
"Okay, I have to do this now… Take me back to the beginning!" He yelled.
There was a sudden burst of white light that engulfed everything around him.
Steven opened his eyes. The strange, yet familiar, surroundings and sour taste in the air forced him to sit up. Around him stood the wreckage of what was once a great stone city. Everything had been reduced to rubble. Low laying green fog prevented his eyes from recognizing anything further than a few feet away.
Slowly he made it to his feet, swaying slightly as a wave of dizziness struck him. He took a few cautious steps over large chunks of stone that littered the ground. After a moment of disorientation everything that happened over the last few hours came to the front of his mind. In his right hand was the hourglass, which he then tucked into his pocket.
"Quit you're squirming, you're never going to break free!" A voice called out from behind him.
Steven turned around but could barely see.
"Please, just let me go. Forget about Steven, he's done nothing wrong." Steven recognized the voice to belong to Lapis Lazuli.
Steven began to walk towards the voices.
"It's too late to defend him!" The voice screamed, it was Peridot's.
"Just don't-"
"Don't tell me what to do! Once I transport him here I can start my plan."
By this point Steven knew he was close to them. He summoned his weapon and kept moving until he could see Peridot. Her back was to him.
Steven threw the shield at her. The moment it collided with her a loud clang rang out as Peridot was knocked to the ground. Lapis tried to move away but stumbled due to the chains weighing her down.
Peridot turned and looked up at Steven.
"How did you know I was here?" She demanded. In desperation Peridot took out Hematite's gem, attempting to get away.
Steven picked up his shield and used it to knock the gem out of her hand. She stood and he hit her again. He slammed his shield into Peridot over and over again.
"Steven, stop!" Lapis cried out.
"Where's Jasper?" Steven demanded, ignoring Lapis Lazuli's plea.
"I don't know!" Peridot yelled.
"You're lying!" Steven yelled as he picked her up and threw her into a stack of blocks nearby.
Peridot staggered to her feet. Steven grabbed her with one hand and held his shield in the other, preparing to strike. Peridot intended to kill everyone he cherished in life; he wasn't going to let her do that. Steven began to bring his shied down, hard, towards Peridot's forehead.
"Steven, she's telling the truth! Neither of us knows where Jasper is." Lapis said.
A sickening crack filled the air as his shield met Peridot's gem with great force. Lapis Lazuli fell to her knees. Peridot's body began to shake and fizzle until her physical form disappeared. Her gem lay on the ground in several pieces.
Steven turned to Lapis Lazuli and threw his shield at her chains, freeing her. She sat for a moment before standing.
"How could you?" She asked with teary eyes.
"She would have killed you- and a lot of other people."
"You don't know that!" She screamed.
"Yes I do!"
"You're just like the Crystal Gems! You don't care about us at all. I can't believe I thought you were my friend…"
"…Lapis you don't understand-"
Steven was cut off by Lapis' wings flapping, creating a loud gust of wind. She shot up into the sky before he had a chance to say anything else.
He pulled the hourglass out of his pocket and sighed.
~End of C7~
