400 A.D. Somewhere in the Middle East
She was sick of this. All of it: Constantly running, constantly looking over her shoulder, constantly having to avoid anything related to her own kind...ect. She could barely sit down and rest anymore. Sure they would stop for a couple hundred years if she laid low enough, but then they would remember and start the chase up all over again. This time though, they had kicked it into high gear. Almost every where she turned they were there, though rarely did she see Rose Quartz anymore. Why did they even want to capture her anymore?! It isn't like she was a threat to their precious planet and dopey little ape-pets. Sure she didn't really like them, but she wasn't trying to hurt them either! At least not anymore. A few thousand years ago, definitely, but not now.
She had to get those gems off her back once and for all...but how? Jasper flopped down on the hot sand and growled in anger. She stared up at the clear blue sky before sighing and closing her eyes. It was hopeless. The only way she could escape them is if she were dead. She lay there, tired and defeated. After a little while she drifted off to sleep.
She awoke with a start as she felt something tugging on her gem. Her eyes flew open to see a human gripping it with his hand, frozen as he realized she was alive. Almost immediately, her hand flew up to the man's throat and gripped it tightly. The man gripped the hand as she rose to her feet, lifting him off the ground. His legs kicked back and forth and his eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared him down.
"I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry!" he gasped, "Please let me go!"
Jasper's glare grew more venomous as her grip tightened further. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't crush you right now," she growled.
"You want jewels?" he choked out desperately, "I have plenty! Pick whatever you want!" Jasper's gaze shifted over to a camel laying down. Heavy bags hung from its sides. She tossed the man aside as she walked over to it. Examining the contents of it, she noticed a few that looked very familiar: jaspers. She looked upon them with disgust. Sure they weren't alive, but it was still disturbing to know humans bought and sold these. How would humans feel if gems sold their bones and wore them around as a sign of wealth?
As she looked a particularly large polished jasper, an idea came to mind. What if the Crystal Gems only THOUGHT she was dead? A wicked grin crossed her face. "I'll take this one," she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement. Almost instantaneously, she grabbed the arm of the merchant wielding a dagger. She turned to him with a glare. The ragged jewel merchant gulped loudly.
...
A week later, North America
"There she is!" Amethyst cried. Jasper turned her head and feigned shock. Her plan was working perfectly. Jasper growled and glared at them. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl all stood with their weapons at the ready. Rose Quartz stood at the center of them, a determined, stoic expression in her face.
"Surrender or face the consequences!" Pearl cried, standing defensively in front of the group.
"You four? Again?!" she snapped, "What is wrong with you?! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"
"Jasper, you are a threat to this planet and it's people," Rose said, "If you come with us quietly, you may live with us in peace as our prisoner. However, if we have to take you by force, you will not be given any sort of second chance. You will remain bubbled for the rest of your days."
"I don't see much of a difference in those options," she growled. Jasper looked around. She needed a distraction to get a head start. She quickly spied a boulder and heaved it out of the ground. "Infact, I would rather DIE than be stuck with the likes of you!" she cried, tossing the large stone through the air towards Rose. Just as Garnet moved to stop it, Pearl tried to block it as well, sending them both flying back.
Jasper ran as fast as she could, forming her spin dash. At the same time she made sure to leave a good trail behind her for them to follow. She stopped in front of a rocky ledge towering above her and listened carefully. They were about a minute away. She had to work quickly. She pulled the jasper out of her pocket. Now instead of being just a large chunk, it was cut down to resemble her own gem. She crushed it in her hand and dropped the shards on the ground.
She then summoned her crash helmet and slammed it against the rock wall. She jumped out of the way as the rocks fell right on the shards of jasper.
She hid in the brush as she heard running and voices in the distance. "This way!" Pearl shouted, "We can corner her up here!" The four gems ran around the bend before screeching to a halt. Looks of surprise covered their faces.
"She must have slammed into the cliff face," Garnet observed as she walked over to the rubble.
"Ha! She ran right into it! How dumb can she be?" Amethyst said as she started to move the rubble. Jasper's fists tightened as she bit back her anger. Now was not the time to lose her temper.
"Isn't this great, Rose?" Pearl said, "Now we don't have to worry about subduing her!"
Rose had a look of disappointment on her face. "I suppose so," she said, "I just wish we could have convinced her to come with us."
"Why?" Pearl questioned, "She's a brute! She has no respect for this planet! She never has and she never will!"
"You don't know that, Pearl," Rose said with a hopeful look in her eye as she looked out into the forest, "People can change. You just have to give them time." Her gaze swept over the trees. For a second Jasper could have sworn she was looking directly at her, but her eyes passed over her.
"Uh g-guys?" Amethyst called, "I don't know if we'll need to bubble Jasper..."
Rose and Pearl turned their attention to the other gems. The two of them were staring in shock at something amidst the rubble. "Why not?" Rose asked, walking over.
"Because there's not much left of her to bubble..." Amethyst answered. She looked like she was going to be sick as she subconsciously covered her own gem with her hand. Pearl gasped and Rose's smile faded. There amidst the rubble were shards of an orange gem.
"She," Pearl started, "She can't be! This must be a mistake."
"Do you know of any other orange gems that would be running right through this area?" Garnet asked.
Pearl began to panic. This wasn't supposed to happen. "Rose I'm so sorry!" she said, "We didn't mean for this to happen! None of us could have predicted thi-" as she turned to her leader, she stopped as she saw Rose's face was hidden by her curls. She walked over to the broken shards and lifted them in her hands.
She said nothing as she held the broken stones, her whole figure looked solemn. She formed a bubble around the pieces of gemstone and tapped it, sending them away.
Jasper continued to watch. She wanted to leave but she couldn't look away. She couldn't believe it. Did the Crystal Gems actually feel guilty for her? The four gems sat there in silence. After what felt like an eternity, Rose spoke. "Gems," she said, "Go ahead and head back without me."
"You sure?" Amethyst asked.
Rose nodded. "I need some time alone," she said. Garnet nodded and she and Amethyst started walking back. "Pearl, that means you too," she said.
The smaller gem looked taken aback. "But Rose-" she started.
"Please Pearl," she said, "I'll be fine. I just need a few moments by myself."
Pearl hesitated before nodding and running to catch up with the others. A few minutes passed before Jasper got up to leave. As she did, Rose suddenly spoke.
"I know you're there, Jasper," she said. Jasper froze and turned back to the large gem. "Come out," she continued, "I promise I won't hurt you."
Jasper stepped out of the brush. "Why didn't you give me away?" she asked.
"Because I want to give you a chance," she replied, getting up, "Whether you like to admit it or not, you have changed. It's been over 4000 years since the war. Although you seemed pretty dead set on it for the first few hundred, I haven't seen you trying to terrorize the people of this world in years."
Jasper shrugged. "Let's just say we've come to an agreement," she said, "They don't bother me, and I'll leave them alone."
Rose grinned warmly. "That's still better than randomly attacking them," she said. "If you keep it that way," Rose said, "I won't tell the others about this." She held out her hand to shake. "Do we have a deal?" she asked. Jasper shook her hand and nodded.
Hey every one! Sorry about not posting for a while. Also, Sorry about the absence of Thadius. I have at least one more story planned without him (unless you want to see the second part of the meeting story, then it would be two) before I'll be posting three consecutive ones with him. anyways, i hope you enjoyed this chapter!