Busy, Busy, Busy.

So college is getting busy, but I'm still chugging along on this.

One interesting note: The setting of this chapter, the Starlight Savannah, is actually from my other Steven Universe story of the same name. It's shorter and complete: basically, Amethyst is bored; Garnet takes her on an adventure. Fun times are had. If you liked this story, you'll likely enjoy that too, feel free to check it out and tell me what you think.

But let's go! I've been waiting to do this chapter since Beta/Earthlings aired, See if you can guess why.

Chapter eleven: Soldiers and Monsters

S&DS&DS&DS&DS&DS&D

Ruby pressed herself flat against the ground, trying to will herself into remaining unnoticed. Everything had gone quiet, save for the repetitive crunch of Jasper crushing the crystal grass beneath her feet.

What was she supposed to do now?

'Get out of here.' a voice inside her head demanded, sounding an awful lot like Sapphire. You can't beat Jasper, not alone.'

Yeah, she should run. Heck, the warp pad was right there! Just jump on it and woosh! She'd be out of here so fast; Jasper wouldn't be able to lift a finger. It was smart. It was logical.

And yet… somehow she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't just run away! Like a coward!

That's all Ruby had been doing that for the past week: running around holding up Sapphire's gem and generally being about as useful as a screen door on a starship. Only to be rewarded with absolutely no changes to the situation. She was sick of it. Sick of sitting around, sick of being helpless, sick of accomplishing nothing!

What was Jasper doing here? Ruby could hear the crinch of Jasper's footsteps getting farther away; if the Homeworlder was here for her, wouldn't she stay and search around the warp pad? But Jasper had breezed past the warp like it wasn't there, so what was she looking for?

Who cares? Get out of here this instant.

Ruby ignored the voice, angrily drowning it in the depths of her frustration She couldn't just leave! What if Jasper was up to something nasty! Like… like, what if there was some kind of Homeworld weapon the crystal gems had missed? They'd missed the cluster and that had nearly destroyed the planet.

The crystal gems, no, the earth itself wouldn't be safe until Jasper was dealt with, and the first step of that would be finding out what the quartz was up to.

This is a bad idea.

She'd be fine! She was small; she practically blended in with the grass' pinkish hue, so it would be a cinch to stay hidden beneath the crystal grass. As long as she was careful, Jasper wouldn't spot her.

Her mind made up and irritating voice ignored, Ruby lifted herself off the ground and began to move.


Jasper was on the hunt.

She had been trailing this gem monster for days, attempting to get a feel for it. It had started when she had happened upon a human vehicle torn to shreds. Half the scrap metal had been melted into slag and there had seen a giant footprint melted into the human road. She knew for a fact that organic creature weren't capable of that, only a gem could.

The level of carnage had been impressive, certainly enough to warrant a closer instigation. Jasper had a need for powerful soldiers to complete her mission, and judging by the destruction this freakish monster had left in its wake, it would suit her needs just fine.

She just needed to find it and bring it to heel. She'd already done so to half a dozen others; it had been easy. The gems she had found were mere shadows of their former selves: snarling, misshapen, broken things. Stupid as well, each and every one of them had tried to put on a grand show: snarling and roaring at her, only to back down whimpering as soon as she struck them. To think these freaks had once been proud soldiers of the diamonds made her sick.

But she would use them.

She would take these broken soldiers and forge them into a weapon to use against the remains of Rose's rebels. She would give them a chance to serve the diamonds once more.

There was honor in that.

Jasper knelt, eyeing the trail of broken grass and churned up earth ahead of her. She could almost feel the anger radiating off of the ground and it had been like that since she picked up the trail, wherever this creature was, something had certainly made it mad. She hoped that meant it would put up a fight; she'd been longing to fight something worth her time since she pulled herself out of the pit Rose had dropped her in.

More importantly, the damage was fresh, sap was oozing from the shattered plants and the dirt was recently disturbed.

She was getting close.

She set off a quick pace, ready to close in on her prey. She stalked down the path of broken ground until she reached a wide circle full of broken plants, clumps of dirt, and nothing else.

…What?

Jasper glanced around, her eyes narrowing in thought. Something was wrong, this creature had to be here, it couldn't have just disappeared. Could it be hiding? But where? Based on the tracks she had been following, it wasn't small, so the grass wasn't tall enough to hide it.

Could it fly? Some of the corrupt gems she had captured could do that…

No. Her instincts were telling her that it was here. Somewhere.

Her hair suddenly stood on end, sending alarm bells clanging in her mind. Acting on blind instinct, Jasper threw herself forward. As she rolled forward she heard as much as felt a sudden snap behind her. Rolling to a stop, she spun around. Two giant sets of claws were sticking out of the ground, shredding the air between them where she had been standing.

Jasper blinked, staring at the claws in surprise.

It had tried to ambush her.

Jasper could feel the grin work it's way onto her face. Interesting, it seemed this monster still retained some base cunning.

This was going to be fun!

"Get out here." she demanded, cracking her knuckles. "Come out and face me like a gem."

The claws stilled, then slammed against the ground and the beast erupted into the open. It was big; it's front limbs supporting a thick torso that stood at least twice Jasper's height. Its long neck was covered in a thick spikey mane of pink hair ending in a savage reptilian face, complete with jagged teeth and a single horn on its nose. It had no back limbs that she could see; just a long winding tail that ended in a number of wicked looking barbs.

But it was the beast's eyes that really caught Jasper's attention. They stared down at her with an almost unsettling amount of focused fury, like it was trying to make her burst into flames through its gaze alone. Between its eyes, she could see the beast's gem, pale orange and shaped like a rounded diamond, imbedded in its forehead. She couldn't tell what kind of gem it was from here, but then, she hardly cared.

She materialized her helmet in a flash of light.

The creature's eyes widened at the sight of her weapon and it roared, throwing itself forward with wild abandon. Jasper merely sidestepped, planting her fist into the side of its face as it passed and sending it rolling.

"Please tell me you can do better than that!" she scoffed."I don't want this to be a waste of my time."

The beast hissed and threw itself at her once more. Rolling her eyes, Jasper sidestepped and swung out. Before her blow could land, the creature yanked its head downwards, ducking beneath her fist and swiped upwards with its claws, slamming its forelimb into her chest and sending her flying backwards.

Jasper rolled in midair, landing on her feet and forcing her to a stop. She snorted at herself, appalled by her own carelessness. This beast had already demonstrated that it was capable of simple planning; she should have seen that move coming.

That kind of sloppiness was unacceptable.

It was charging her again. Humph, if it expected to take her by surprise a second time then it was in for a nasty shock.

She crouched low, bending her head towards the charging beast. It loomed above her, clearly hoping to crush her beneath its bulk. She snapped her legs out, sending herself rocketing towards it like a missile. The ugly thing didn't even have a chance to react before she hit it head-on with all the force of a freight train. Her helmet slammed into its chest with a meaty thunk and it screamed as it was hurled through the air. The screaming intensified when it landing on a patch of crystal grass, impaling it and snapping off by the dozen as it writhed in agony.

Jasper crossed her arms, looking on impassively as it hauled itself back upright. She eyed the blades of grass sticking out of its hide. Odd. From what she had seen of the other abominations on this backwater planet, they tended to be rather fragile, her blow alone should have been enough to disrupt its form. And yet, it rose, looking angrier than ever.

So it could take a hit. She liked that in a soldier, but it was nothing a more thorough beating wouldn't solve.

She stepped forward, ready to finish the job, then its reptilian eyes locked onto her and the gem on its forehead lit the air with a harsh radiance.

Jasper's mind went blank and her vision hazy, smothered by a cloud of red fog. She couldn't think, she couldn't… feel anything. No. She felt… angry. A great wave of blind fury swept over her. She was furious! Wrath incarnate! She could barely move beneath the weight of her rancor.

She needed to break something, just wrap her hands around something, anything, and grind it into dust. She could hear a rhythmic pounding- thud thud thud- and suddenly there was pain.

Something had slammed into her, she could feel the rush of wind as she flew through the air and a sudden crack as she hit something more solid.

The pain brought a form of clarity; she could feel her form wavering and desperation took hold. She knew she couldn't afford to dissipate. She had to maintain her form, anything less was tantamount to defeat, to failure. Jasper grit her teeth so hard they creaked, and she felt the fog of anger begin to recede.

Her vision began to clear and through sheer force of will she raised her head, something was moving towards her. The corrupt gem! It's eyes staring down at her with rage as it dragged itself closer and closer.

This gem, this filthy abomination, had done something to her; tampered with her mind. It had tried to control her! To command her!

Suddenly she was angry again. But it was different; this anger wasn't the impotent haze of fury forced upon her a moment before.

This anger was hers and hers alone.

She could feel it coursing through her body like fire. Burning away the remaining wisp of fog. Her rage brought focus, clear and distinct. Until now, she had been testing the creature, letting it show her what it was capable of.

No more.

She barely registered the movement. One moment she was laying on the ground, the next she was racing through the air, slamming helmet-first into the creature's opened maw. The sound of fangs shattering filled her with a savage euphoria, and she surged forwards again, bashing the creature backwards. Her hand snapped out and locked onto the creatures tail, she pulled, spinning the creature around her in a savage pirouette. Around and around she spun it until she leapt into the air and swung it down, slamming the creature into the ground.

Its screams filled her with the sweetest satisfaction. And yet, it still refused to dissipate, still it held onto its form. No matter, she would finish this now.

She leapt onto its belly and raised head, her helmet gleaming in the sunlight, ready to be brought down with all the finality of an executioner's axe.

Something wrapped around her neck and yanked her off her feet.

Its tail!

She snarled, raising her hands to pry the limb off of her, only for the monsters own limbs to shoot forward, claws locking around her arms and holding them in place. It's eyes locked onto hers and she could see its fury, mirroring her own in fire and depth. It opened its maw, a fierce crackling was the only warning Jasper got before lightning burst from its jaws.

Jasper screamed.

She could feel the electricity coursing through every inch of her body. She struggled and writhed, desperately trying to break out of the creatures grip, she might as well have tried to bench-press a starship.

And then she was falling; she didn't even register the thump of her body hitting the ground. All she could feel was the lightning running laps up and down her body, she felt her form waver beginning to dissipate.

No.

She held on. She couldn't understand why she was holding on. Why she let the pain run its course instead of letting go for the sweet embrace of oblivion? She didn't know. She couldn't think why. She couldn't think anything.

But she held on. Some part of her refused to submit. She didn't know how long she lay there, but eventually, the pain began to recede. Slowly, inch by agonizing inch, she forced herself up onto her hands and knees.

She looked up; the monster was still there. It didn't look any better than she did. Its mouth was full of broken fangs, it was covered in dirt, and a dozen blades of crystal grass were sticking out of its side like arrows.

But still, it held on.

It wasn't over. Jasper couldn't give up. Sluggishly, she pushed herself upwards, pulling herself onto her feet. She wobbled, nearly falling all the way back to the impossibly distant ground, but she caught herself. She stared up at the beast, daring it to come closer.

The creature backed away, lightning began to flow outwards from its gem coursing down its back and surging outwards, forming a pair of crackling wings.

Jasper blinked.

The monster flapped its wings, slowly lifting itself off the ground. It turned, and began to fly.

It was running away.

Jasper stared at its shrinking figure until it vanished from sight. Only then did she let herself fall to her knees. She closed her eyes and breathed, letting the dry air into her body and exhaling it. Again and again until her mind began to work again.

She had lost.

No. At worst, it had been a tie; her opponent had run away.

But if it had continued to fight, she would have lost.

Jasper considered the thought. It should have made her angry, the thought of defeat should have filled her with boiling rage. But instead, it just made her feel tired.

What was it about this planet? What was it that made everything wrong? She could not remember the last time she had suffered the disgrace of defeat. And then, she had returned to this planet, and now she had suffered two.

She wasn't supposed to lose. She was the perfect quartz, the singular super soldier that stood above every other gem, second only to the diamonds themselves.

She wasn't supposed to be weak.

She took another deep breath and brutally crushed the thought.

Get up soldier. There's a battle to be won.

Opening her eyes, she forced herself back to her feet once more.

She wouldn't stop. She couldn't stop.

Jasper had a debt to pay. She owed it to every gem that had fought and died here in the name of the diamonds. She owed it to her colony, tarnished and ruined by Rose and her rebellion.

She owed it to her.

She would defeat Rose. She would take every twisted and backwards thing this planet could throw at her, and she would overcome. She would shatter every last one of Rose's rebels and bring back Rose's gem as an offering to the diamonds.

Maybe then, Pink Diamond could finally rest in peace.

Jasper steadied herself and began to march.


Ruby staggered through the grassland, one hand clutching Sapphire; the other pressed firmly against her head, which was pounding like a bismuth was using it as an anvil.

This whole thing had been a stupid idea.

It had been going fine, she had managed to follow Jasper easily and the tall gem towered above the grass so Ruby had no trouble keeping track of her. Then she'd watched as Jasper picked a fight with a corrupt gem for some reason.

That had been interesting to watch at least. Corrupt gems just made her sad and Jasper was flat-out the enemy, if they wanted to fight each other, then that was great! It'd save her the trouble of taking them down later.

Then Ruby had been swamped by a wave of… something. The gem monster had used some kind of attack that forced its way into her head and sent her thoughts into a tailspin.

Ruby wasn't really sure what had happened after that. When she'd come to, Jasper was gone and so was the monster. Worse, her hands had been empty, for one awful moment, Ruby had thought she had lost Sapphire. But then she'd found the blue gemstone resting on the ground a few feet away, so everything was okay.

Well, no. No it wasn't.

She couldn't seem to find the warp pad. Her mind was still full of a lingering fuzz from whatever that dumb beast thing had done and she just couldn't seem to get her thoughts together.

And now her vision was starting to fade, which was the final straw needed to raise her boiling frustration into a full-blown panic. She was alone, in the middle of nowhere, and gem monsters and Jasper were wondering around. She did not have time for this. She needed to get back to the temple before she blacked out!

A sudden bout of wooziness sent her careening right into one of the crystalline trees that dotted the savannah. Before she could work up the energy to scream out her frustrations, she was interrupted by a birdcall. Glancing up she up she saw an owl sitting in the tree staring down at her.

"What are you looking at?" she snarled. "You- wait a sec." Ruby blinked; there was something niggling at the back of her mind. Something about the owl… didn't they only come out at night or something? What was…?

Oh.

Ruby slapped her hand to her face and groaned. She was such an idiot; she wasn't blacking out, it was just nighttime. How the heck had she missed that? All she would have had to do is look up at the freaking sky. The moon was right there, like a big sign that might as well have been flashing the words: 'Ruby's an idiot!'

Which meant that she had been wandering around for hours. She was probably even farther from the warp than when she wad started!

Ruby leaned her back against the tree and let out a frustrated sigh, letting her back slide across the rough bark until she was sitting.

"I… I can't do this," she murmured, placing her head between her knees. She stared down at Sapphire's gem and could feel her eyes beginning to water.

She couldn't help the others fight, she couldn't stay out of trouble, heck, she couldn't even bring herself to talk to any of her friends about it. They probably wouldn't even be questioning the fact that she was gone or think to look for her.

Ruby snorted, a twisted grin twitching across her face. Even if they did decide to look for her, it wasn't like they had any way to find her.

It was pathetic. She'd lived on this planet for five thousand years, and now she was hopelessly lost without any idea how to get back.

Without Sapphire, she couldn't do anything.

She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing her building tears back. She needed to rest. Hopefully, come morning, everything would look better. Ruby opened her ears and listened to the chorus of insects chirping and buzzing all around. She focused on the noise, refusing to let herself think about anything else. And it worked, she watched in silence as the moon slowly inched its way across the sky.

Her reverie was finally broken when by a sudden light beneath her. Her head snapped downwards, scarcely daring to let herself hope.

Sapphire's gem was aglow, casting everything around in an azure radiance.

Wordlessly, Ruby raised her hands and the gem floated into the air, the gem spun and flashed, forming into the familiar blue figure.

"…Sapphire?"

"Ruby?" that single word gently lapped its way into Ruby's mind, washing away the tension and the frustration and the fog.

Ruby threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around her other half and squeezing as tightly as she could. Sapphire squeezed back just as tightly and suddenly everything was right with the world.

"Are you okay Ruby?"

"I am now."

S&DS&DS&DS&D

I reserve the right to give my monster as many stupid powers as I deem necessary!

But anyway, Jasper. She's fun to write. No idea what I'm going to do with her next though. I'll have to figure that out. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I feed on your attention like a squirrel on nuts.

And if any of you where interested, check out my other SU story: Starlight Savannah. This story may have finally surpassed that one for kudos, comment, and what not. But I'm still pretty proud of it. Let me know if you think that one was good as well!