Chapter 7, The World We Used to KnoW Inside
A heartbeat.
A smiling face.
A water droplet.
A snap.
Anger. Fear. Feirce energy. Pure power pulsed and bounced off the walls of her body. A fire was lit inside of her when she saw that all too familiar shape of Garnet. A Disgusting revolting look appeared on Tourmaline's face, taking literally every one in the crowd by surprise. Surprised at how someone taken as anxious and gentle could even be able to bear that look on her face.
Garnet was fuming. How dare they betray me and let them out? She summoned her gauntlets, ready to pulverized anyone and anything that crossed her path.
The sky was a dirty red. Clouds littered it. Tense air blew at Tourmaline's hair as she stood face to face with Garnet. Internally, she was trembling with uttermost anxiety and fear, but she had already made a promise. A vow to herself.
I won't break first.
The crowd around them had gaping mouths as if they were watching a really entrancing movie. But no soul dared speak or move a muscle, not even Pearl and Amethyst. This was their fight . Their time to prove that they were more than this.
Tourmaline and Garnet started circling each other, but Tourmaline had other plans. She ran up to Garnet, took a deep breath, and leaped. A wavering whistle was heard in the air as Tourmaline summoned her weapon. A circular green sheild With a yellow star appeared in the center. Around the sheild appeared four trapezoid shaped blades. They spinnned around the sheild as Tourmaline prepared her blow. As the sheild was about to touch Garnet, she grabbed the sheild with both of her gauntlets, and a boom echoed around the full beach. The sheer impact of the hit shook the entire beach.
Tourmaline was shot to the ground. Panting, she rose shakily, ready to do what had to be done. "Why Garnet? Why do you refuse to let us live-" She charged at her again."Together?" The blades around her sheild separated and flew towards Garnet. She dodged each and every blade that was thrown at her. Tourmaline let out a gasp as her best efforts were dodged like she never even threw anything at her.
Had all of her best efforts been swiped off of Garnet's neck like a droplet of sweat? That wasn't fair at all!
"Because, homeworld made me suffer, so I make them suffer back." She responded to her earlier question.
Still grounded, her body flared with anger once again. "YOU STILL THINK YOU CAN PUSH US AROUND LIKE THIS? IT'S NOT FAIR!" She stood up and pointed a finger at Garnet. "You don't get to do this! You don't get to say that!" She shrieked. Tears formed in her eyes. "Do you even know how much pain you've caused me?" She was trembling now. "I can't stand it anymore! What's your problem! Because I think... I think that you're acting a lot like homeworld does!"
"Do Not compare me to homeworld! I am nothing like them."
"But you are."
"You tryed to separate them. Homeworld did that to you."
Her gaze was blazing into Garnet's as she spoke.
"You said they were unnaceptable. Homeworld did that to you. You forbade their love. Homeworld did that to you. "You broke them, and treated them like garbage. Homeworld did. That. To. YOU!" She made a running jump at Garnet, more powerful and crushing than before, and tackled her to the floor. She summoned a blade from her sheild and started frantically stabbing at Garnet's gems as the other was completely helpless to her attacks.
"Hypocrite! Hypocrite! Hypocrite-" she kept shouting as she continuously staBbed her.
That's when the gems stepped in. "Tourmaline stop!" Amethyst shouted. "She's gone!"
But Tourmaline wouldn't listen. She kept ruthlessly stabbing. That's when Pearl and Amethyst had to pull her off themselves. They arm locked her. She started kicking and thrashing, saying "let me go!" And sobbing angrily. After many minutes, the last string was pulled.
"Le-eh-t M-e" Suddenly, a shower of pink shards tumbled out of Steven's gem, and she lost consciousness. A bright light split Her apart.
Peridot was wide awake and crying, while shaking the lifeless body of
Steven.
"He can't be g-gone, can he?" The miserable broken gem said.
Pearl, struggling to keep herself together, cried,"This is something that even healing tears can't heal."
...
...
It had been a week since Steven and Garnet's death and just about everyone was mourning. All of the town had moved slower as Steven wasn't there to make it run faster.
Greg and Connie were devistated, obviously, and rarely visited The temple anymore.
The crystal gems, or what remained of them had carried on with their duties begrudgingly, and often cried over their baby.
But the worst case of all was Peridot.
After she was healed, She now basically lived in the beach house, rarely speaking to anyone and crying throughout the night. All she did was sleep and cry. She had taken one of Steven's hoodies while the other gems had packed up all his things in boxes. All that was still out was Steven's bed in which Peridot slept in. She had been wearing the hoodie the entire week, never taking it off. Despite the gems constant attempts to pull her out of depression, she would persist in being completely depressed.
One day, the gems made something for her.
"Peridot." Amethyst poked her back.
"What do you want with me?" Peridot said slurring.
"Come downstairs dude! I can't stand seeing you like this!"
"No. I'm never getting up."
"Please Peri! I know your sad over Steven, I know you loved him, we all did! But you have to move on eventually!"
Peridot turned her head to look at her. She looked bad. Her lower eyelids were dark and her cheeks were tear stained. "What if I don't want to?" "What if I want to hold on to Steven until the end of time?"
Amethyst sighed. "I get it. You probably loved Steven even more than anyone. But if you don't try anymore, than you won't realize that there are people who care about you. So whaddya say, wanna come with me?"
"Fine. But only a minute."
"Yes !"
And so she trudged downstairs slowly. As amethyst tapped her shoulder, she looked up Above the door.
Instead of there being a picture of rose quartz, there was a portrait of Steven and herself hugging together, with words etched on to it saying, 'to the love that lasts beyond death.'
And for once in a long time, Peridot smiled.
THE END
(Thanks everyone. I'm literally crying right now. I don't know what to say. See you all in my next story!)
-Snowy
