Before we start, someone had asked about the cast of Gemtalia. You can find the entire released cast here: cast , as this fanfiction and that blog are written/run by the same person and exist with the same AU in mind. If the link does not work when typed into the URL, please feel free to PM me if you have questions about the cast.
Episode 10: Peter's Lion
Hot couldn't even begin to describe the location for the Gems' latest mission. This time, they took Peter along with them.
Together, the four trudged over the sand dunes. While the Gems walked, Peter was dramatically crawling over the sand.
"W-Water. Water," he croaked out. "So thirsty. For water." Pearl rolled her eyes.
"It'll be safer if you stand up and walk," she said.
"You don't... understand." Peter continued crawling. "This. Is how. You're supposed to act... in the desert." With sweat pouring down his face, Peter flopped down into the sand. He groaned as Topaz pulled him up. He looked around. The area was covered with sand columns. "Is this the thing? The place?"
"Yes, Peter," answered Topaz as she put Peter down. "Zhe pover in zhe structures have turned aimless."
"It's building columns with no roofs, stairs that go nowhere!" Pearl added. "This is out of control!"
"Then I guess we better…" Turquoise said before jumping over Peter and rolling in the sand. "... roll on over there. Heheh."
"That was a bit unnecessary." Turquoise rolled her eyes as she stood. She mimicked Pearl under her breath, not expecting Pearl to hear her. "Excuse me?!"
Out of nowhere, a powerful sounding, but faint roar rang throughout the desert.
"What was that?" asked Peter.
"Let's go!" said Turquoise. She summoned her whip. Turquoise raced off in the roar's direction.
"It'll be best if you stay here, Peter," said Topaz.
"We'll be quick." Pearl added. She summoned her spear before chasing after Turquoise.
"What if something eats me?!" said Peter, sounding worried.
"Do not vorry, Vet One," said Topaz. She wiped the sweat off Peter's face and flicked it back at him "Zhere's nozhing out here zhat can harm you. See you soon."
"Okay." Peter watched as Topaz ran after Pearl and Turquoise. Peter walked over to a column. There was just enough of a shadow under it to provide Peter with shade from the blazing sun.
"It's. So. Desert," Peter muttered to himself. He pulled his shirt over his face to wipe the reforming sweat off of him. He froze when a growl crossed his ears. He pulled down his shirt for a second. After scanning the area, he found that there was nothing there. "Nothing can harm me. I am the Wet One." Peter wiped the sweat off of his face. He heard the growl again. This time, he saw a figure not too far away. Out of fear, Peter dashed behind the column he was leaning on.
The column chosen that moment to collapse.
Peter came face to face with the figure. It wasn't a person at all. It was a lion.
The lion had round ears, soft green fur, black eyes, a mint-green mane, and a dark brownish heart-shaped nose.
Peter stumbled backwards and in the sand. He crawled away from the creature.
"No no no," Peter repeated over and over. He stopped when a sand wall erected behind him. "No, no!" Peter's arms flew up to his face as the creature loomed over him. He expected an attack. An attack that never really happened. The lion simply yawned and lied down in front of Peter. Peter lowered his shielding. With an extreme amount of caution, the boy approached the lion. The lion's ear twitched. Peter backed away.
"Don't bite!" said Peter, hoping the lion understood him. The lion did not make any movement. Peter approached him again. He carefully placed a gentle hand on the lion's head. Once again, the lion made no retaliation. Peter began to pet him.
"Aw, you just wanted attention," he said as he ran his hand down the lion's strangely colored fur. "Didn't you, didn't you? Your fur, it's so soft." Peter buried his face in the lion's mane. "So, you from around here? I'm just here on business." He climbed onto the lion. The lion didn't do anything, allowing Peter on his back. "I really like your green fur. You're like the plants in the jungle!" Lion shifted his body, causing Peter fall off and lay next to him. "I always wanted an animal friend. But I thought it would be like a goldfish. Or a dinosaur! But I guess fate had other plans for Peter Väinämöinen." The lion put a paw over Peter. "... and his best friend Lion."
Suddenly, a wave of sand fell on the two. As Peter and Lion dug themselves out, Peter could hear familiar voices not to far away.
"Turquoise, bubble it away."
"No, quit being jealous, Pearl. My kill, my keep."
"I'm not jealous. Just be careful, if you drop it on the sand it'll rebuild everything!" Peter could see Pearl, Topaz, and Turquoise getting closer.
"Topaz, Turquoise and Pearl are coming," he said as he stood up. "Quickly, put my head in your mouth!"
"Peter!" shouted Pearl. Peter turned as stiff as a stone. He turned around. The Gems were behind him, weapons drawn. "What is that? What are you doing?!"
"Uh, stop!" exclaimed Peter. "It's okay, look, he's totally tame." Pearl's grip on her spear only tightened.
"That's impossible."
"No it isn't! I-I taught him to say 'I love you.'" When Lion didn't say anything, Peter moved his lips for him. "'I love you.'"
"That's so sweet!" said Turquoise. She had a gem embedded pillow clutched to her chest. "I-I love you too." Pearl sighed.
"Get your hands out of that thing's mouth," she said. Pearl released her spear. "We have to get the Desert Glass out of the desert." She shot a look at Turquoise.
"I got it."
"Let's go, Peter," said Topaz. The Gems made their way to the nearest warp pad.
"Okay, give me a sec," called out Peter. He turned to Lion. "Hey Lion, I gotta go. I had a lot of fun, I feel like you really get me." Lion gave Peter a blank stare. "Shh, this is already too hard for the both of us." He departed from Lion and joined the Gems on the warp pad.
"Turquoise, that pillow needs to be contained," said Pearl. Turquoise waved her off.
"Yeah yeah, I know what to do with it," responded Turquoise.
When they got back to the Temple, Turquoise commissioned Peter to help her build a fort out of the couch cushions. When they were finished, she placed the Desert Glass pillow on top. And now, she and Peter were sleeping inside their fort.
Peter's small nap was disturbed by something scratching on the front door.
"What's that sound?" mumbled Peter as he rubbed his eyes. Turquoise, still stuck in a half-sleeping state, put a hand over Peter's mouth.
"All I hear is your mouth," she grumbled. Peter moved her hand.
"I thought Gems don't need sleep."
"We don't," Turquoise sighed and turned over. "feels good though." The scratching sound continued. Peter groaned as he crawled out of the fort. He stood up and headed to the front door.
"Probably some kid trying to sell me lava insurance," he muttered. The scratching kept going. "Keep you pants on!" Peter expected a young child when he opened the door. Instead of a child, the lion from the desert sat on Peter's front porch. He gasped.
"Lion, oh my gosh!" said Peter, perking right up. "This is such a surprise! You came all this way to see little old me?" Lion attempted to get through the door. Peter held out his arms to stop him. "Whoa, you can't go in there, Turquoise is pretend sleeping. But we're together again. Now we can do everything best friends do."
Peter had no idea what best friends did. Or at least any good idea. He stood on top of the cliff that the Temple was built into. Lion was sitting in the sand on the bottom. Peter had the idea to try and see if Lion could catch him.
"Okay, here I come. I'm gonna jump. Get into position, ready?" shouted Peter from the top of the cliff. Lion remained perfectly still. "And, catch me! I'm jumping!" Peter went to jump, but didn't when Lion refused to move. "Catch me! I'm falling! Do it, catch me, I'll die! Eeee!" Lion continued to sit still and Peter still didn't jump. "Okay, obviously, you're not into this—" The rock beneath Peter gave away. He fell from the height of the cliff and onto Lion below him. He groaned. "... game."
After making sure nothing was broken, which luckily nothing was, Peter went back into the Temple. He came out with a ball and headed back to Lion.
"Okay, gonna throw this ball," he said to Lion. "Here it comes!" Peter threw the ball a good distance away. Lion, however, did not chase after it. He remained perfectly still.
"What?! That throw was so good! Lion, all you gotta do is catch it in your mouth, see?" Peter chased after the ball. He brought it back in his mouth to demonstrate to Lion what he was supposed to do. Lion remained unenthusiastic.
"Aw, you don't like that one either?" said Peter put of disappointment. Lion got up and began to walk away. Peter stood in front of him to stop him. "Okay, wait, I've got something you've gotta like!"
Peter lead Lion down to the Boardwalk. There stood the Chinese restaurant Peter frequented.
"This is my favorite place to eat. Or one of them," explained Peter as Lion walked behind him. "They have fish. Cats love fish, everybody loves chinese food, so you're gonna love this!" When they got to the restaurant, Peter leaned up to get a look inside. "Woah, this place is jumpin'! Wait here, we're gonna blow some minds."
Peter opened the door and walked inside. Inside, Aurel was eating and Patrick is using his laptop at one of the tables. Only one staff member was on duty.
"Hey guys!" said Peter when he entered. No one reacted."I'm doin' okay, you know? Just gettin' some food." He walked up to the counter.
Waiting for him was the only staff member available. She had long, dark brown hair put back in a long ponytail and golden-honey colored eyes.
"Hi, Lien!" said Peter to get the girl's attention. Lien leaned against the counter.
"What're you having, Peter?" she asked.
"I'll just have my usual, please! Oh, and can you give me two?"
"You must be hungry." Lien headed behind to the kitchen. Peter laughed.
"I'm ordering for two," he said. Peter looked behind him when Patrick audibly spat out his drink.
"Peter's pregnant?!" he exclaimed. Peter shook his head.
"I don't think so, but I have a giant pet lion right outside!"
"You're not 'lion' are you?" said Lien. She walked to the front counter with two plates in her hands. Peter chuckled.
"That's funny. But I'm not."
"I believe it!" said Patrick. He got up from his seat. "Lots of weird stuff happens in Heta City. You'd know if you read my blog: Keep Heta City Weird! I also have buttons!" He tugged on the makeshift button pinned to his shirt.
"Just go outside and see for yourselves," said Peter. He watched as the three in the restaurant went outside to see if Peter was telling the truth.
"This is amazing!" said Patrick from outside. Peter nodded to himself in satisfaction. "It's invisible!" Peter, confused, ran outside to join the others. His jaw hit the floor when he saw the space Lion sat was now empty. Lien, Patrick, and Aurel were waiting for Peter to reveal Lion to them.
"What? He's not invisible. At least I don't think hes supposed to be," said Peter. His hand searched for Lion, hoping the fact was true. "He's green."
"Green? How can he be invisible and green?" Patrick asked. Lien made her way back into the restaurant.
"There's nothing out here Patrick, Peter was 'lion'," she said, swinging the door open. "Sorry for using the same joke twice." She walked back inside.
"Bet you're not even pregnant…" said Patrick as he followed her.
"No, I'm telling the truth, he's real!" shouted Peter. No one listened. He looked to the one person left outside. "Aurel, you believe me right?" Aurel glared daggers at Peter before scurrying into the restaurant. Peter begrudgingly followed.
Peter walked back to his house, trudging his feet in the sand. He still wasn't completely over Lion's disappearance back on the Boardwalk. When the sound of scratching hit Peter's ears, he picked up his pace and ran the Temple.
In front of the door was Lion. He was scratching relentlessly against it.
"Hey, hey Lion!" shouted Peter as he ran up the steps to the door. "You left me at the restaurant, I looked like a fool! I had to eat two whole plates by myself!" Lion ignored Peter. At long last, his scratching was enough to break through the door. Without hesitation, Lion jumped into the house.
He creaked in, and Peter followed. Turquoise was still sound asleep underneath her pillow fort. Neither Peter or Lion woke her.
"Lion, Lion no! Lion?" said Peter in a harsh whisper. Lion didn't care about being quiet. He roared at Turquoise's fort. His roar acted as a sonic wave, knocking down the fort and pushing back Turquoise.
"Keep it down Peter," Turquoise said with a yawn. She didn't notice Lion at all before she fell back asleep.
"What was that for?" said Peter. He followed Lion's gaze. "The pillow?" Lion was staring at the Desert Glass. Before he could get to it, Peter ran over and snatched it up. He jumped onto his loft. "Is this what you wanted? This pillow? I've been trying to play with you, and feed you, 'cause I thought we were best friends. Did all of that mean nothing to you?" Lion jumped up near Peter, trying to snatch the Desert Glass. Peter ran out of the house and onto the porch. He held the Desert Glass to his chest.
"Fine, I don't care! If you want it, you can have it!" In anger, Peter threw the pillow onto the beach. It landed a good distance away. As soon as the Desert Glass hit the sand, the entire beach shook. The Desert Glass took over the sand, making structures all around. Peter stared out at the chaos he had created. He ran out to get the Desert Glass before it could continue. Topaz and Pearl ran outside the Temple.
"Peter!" shouted Pearl in a panic. "The Desert Glass, it's rebuilding its castle." Turquoise appeared behind her. She was rubbing sleep from her eyes. Pearl turned to her. "Why didn't you bubble it earlier?!"
"Welcome to shrug city, P," said Turquoise with a shrug. Pearl groaned before turning to Peter.
"Don't move, we're coming!"
"Okay!" Peter said, flashing her a thumbs-up. Before the Gems could come and get Peter, sand swirled around the boy and engulfed him in a sandstorm. Peter looked back at where the Desert Glass had landed, shielding the sand from his eyes with his arm. He had to get the Desert Glass before Heta City was taken over by the sand.
Peter pushed through the sharp winds. He forced his way into the eye of the storm. Many sand structures had erected themselves throughout the beach. The Desert Glass rested atop a very tall tower with several sand columns branching out of the tower.
"There it is, the pillow! I have to get it off the sand," Peter said through gritted teeth. He ran at the tower. He made his way to the top of the tower by jumping from the oddly stuck out columns.
Outside of the sandstorm, the Gems were working and trying their best to break down a massive sandstone wall the Desert Glass had built. It was the only thing keeping them from entering the storm. Topaz was repeatedly punching the wall with her gauntlets. They barely made a dent.
"Zhis vall's not moving!" said Topaz through her teeth.
"We gotta get through before things get any-" said Pearl as she slashed the wall with her spear. She was cut off when Turquoise was launched in the air via an erected column.
Inside the eye of the storm, Peter continued his trek up the tower. He jumped over several more structures. He getting close to the Glass. With triumph near, Peter picked up his pace. Just as he neared the top of the tall tower, Peter misplaced his step. He slipped. Peter began plummeting towards the ground with a scream.
Peter saw a green blur out of the corner of his eye. The wind was knocked out of him. His fingers gripped around something soft. Whatever had caught Peter landed on the sand. Peter sat up, with a wide grin stretching across his face. Lion had caught him.
"Lion! You didn't come here to steal the pillow, you came here to protect us from it!" said Peter happily. Lion seemed to growl in agreement. Before Peter could celebrate this reunion, the Glass raised more walls around him and Lion. Sand spikes littered the ground. "It's there!" Peter pointed up at the tower. "It's putting up defenses, how are we gonna get up there?!"
Lion had the perfect answer. He let out one of his sonic roars, reducing the spikes in their path.
"Yep, sounds good," said Peter. "Let's go."
Lion roared again. He darted towards the tower, creates a path. He sprinted to the top with Peter on his back. "Now, Lion!'
Lion broke through the final walls of the tower. Peter bent down scooped up the Desert Glass.
The storm immediately dissipated when the Glass left the sand. Lion landed roughly on the ground, and Peter was flung forward with the glass. The sand on the beach had thickened incredibly. The Gems emerged from the sand piles. Peter chuckles nervously as he stood up. He handed the Desert Glass off to Pearl.
"We should've done this in the first place," said Pearl as she bubbled the pillow and Glass. Her glare was directed at Turquoise.
"In my defense, I forgot," said Turquoise with a shrug. Peter turned to Lion, gently stroking his nose.
"So I guess, this is goodbye again," said the downtrodden Peter. "We had some good times, but I'm sure you have other magical stuff, to smash with other magical boys."
"'I love you Peter. I want to stay with you forever!'" said Peter, making it sound like Lion had said it.
"Really?" Peter turned to the Gems. "Guys, you hear that?"
"Are we really going to let him keep that?" Pearl asked Topaz as she sent away the Desert Glass.
"Ve kept Turquoise," stated Topaz before heading back towards the Temple. Pearl oddly began laughing hysterically at Topaz's words.
"'Kept Turquoise'," she said through her laughter. "Oh Topaz, that's priceless!" Pearl followed Topaz and a silent and glaring Turquoise to the Temple.
"Yay, Lion!" cheered Peter before engulfing Lion in a hug.
In the next episode, Peter takes the Gems on his own kind of adventure by bringing them to the Fun Land Arcade, where Topaz becomes enchanted by a rhythm game.