"It looks like a prison..." Steven said.
"What's a prison?" Malley asked Steven.
"It's a place where people go when they have done something wrong or unlawful. But Lapis was imprisoned in a mirror because other gems thought she was a Crystal gem."
"So?"
"It's–... let's just say being in prison isn't fun."
Saying that Steven and Malley walked closer, large iron bars surrounding the building. The gate doors opened for them and there was a clear path.
"Should we go in?" Malley asked.
"I don't know. We were trying to reach Jasper and I don't think she would be dreaming about this. Maybe we should go back."
"Back to what? An empty ocean? I think we should check this out."
Malley stepped in, Steven quickly took her hand and joined her passed the gate. After that, the gate doors closed behind them and they made their way inside. It looked like a modern waiting room but the staff consisted of hollo–gems. Some Pearls, Garnets, Amethyst and even a holo–Steven passed by. All going a regular pace, never talking, never making eye contact, and not stopping for anything.
"Whoa, it's the gems," Steven said in wonder.
"But why do they look like that?" Malley asked.
"I think it's supposed to represent something but I'm not sure what." He answered.
A moment of continuous observation passed before Malley lowered herself closer to Steven and whispered. "So how do you look for someone in a prison?"
"I don't know. But I think you go to the person at the front desk and they either tell you where or take directly to the person." Steven explained. He looked ahead of them, before giggling, "They got a holo–Pearl receptionist."
At the front desk, the holo–pearl looked up from the computer when she noticed the two strangers.
"Welcome to the CT Mental Health Facility. Are you here to commit?" Holo–Pearl asked.
"Mental Health?" Steven repeated. Then a wave of realization hit him. "Ooooh, this isn't jail, it's a hospital."
"A what?" Malley asked.
"It's a little different from a prison. A hospital is a place for humans who aren't feeling well." Steven answered. "Connie's mom works at a hospital, as a doctor. When someone is sick or injured, they go to a hospital to try to get better with help from doctors."
"In places like this?" she asked.
"Yeah, except I've never seen one with a cage all around it before."
But Malley didn't understand and said to the holo–Pearl. "We're looking for Jasper. Where is she?"
"Which Jasper do you wish to visit?" Holo–Pearl asked.
"Which? There's more than one here?" Malley questioned.
"Oh yeah, there must be other types of jaspers here since the gems have bubbled over the years," Steven said. "How are we supposed to tell her which one we want?"
"Bubble caretaker and gem cut would suffice," Holo–pearl said.
"Bubble caretaker?" Malley asked.
"Whose bubble is this Jasper stationed in." Holo–Pearl explained.
"Oh, Amethyst," Steven answered. "Jasper is in an Amethyst bubble."
"And she was a four–pointed gem," Malley added.
"Understood, one moment please." The holo–gem typed away on the computer until there was a chime. "Jasper gem located. Follow me please." She stood up and walked towards one of the doors to their right.
Malley and Steven looked at each other questioningly before nodding in agreement and followed the hologram. They walked down a long hallway till they reached a door that led to another hallway, then another, and another. Each one looking identical to the last with the only difference being the different colored doors along the halls. Some were pink, maroon, blue, purple, and other assorted colors. When they went down the fifth hallway, most of the doors around them were pink or purple.
"Wait here" Holo–Pearl said, before entering a room with a purple door.
Malley shifted nervously where she stood while Steven stepped closer to one of the other doors. There was one pink door that got his attention and there was a window, but it was too high for him so he hopped over to the window of the pink door. Inside, was a typical patience's room with bright pink walls, carpet floor, and a large bed. However, even though the sky was pitch black outside, there seemed to be unknown light source coming from the barred window giving the illusion of daylight. But what made Steven's breath hitch was the sight of a wounded Bismuth unconscious in the large bed under the window.
"Bismuth..." Steven muttered.
Not understanding what he meant, Malley moved in to look, "Who?" she asked.
"Tha– That's Bismuth. She's a gem." Steven explained, his voice shaking. "Bismuth was a gem I had to poof. She tried to hurt me because she thought I was my mom and tried to poof me too."
"You had to poof her."
"Yes... if she's here too. Then..." he paused for a moment in thought. "Then maybe this is what happens when–" He was cut off when a holo–Amethyst stepped out the purple door.
"Hey, you can see her now." Holo–Amethyst said, robotically.
Malley was nervous, but she couldn't wait any longer and was about to walk through the door when Steven suddenly grabbed her hand, stopping her.
"Malley wait, do you think you're ready?"
"I can't wait anymore Steven, I need to see Jasper," Malley argued. She pulled but Steven held his ground.
"But it's important, I just want to be sure that you know what happened to her before she was poofed. Did the gems ever tell you that Jasper was cor–"
"Steven!" she finally jerked her hand away. "I've heard enough about Jasper to get the idea; she was bad, you beat her, and now she's in a bubble. I'm done hearing about how terrible she was and I need to see her for myself." Malley maneuvered quick and wide steps till she was in the doorway and Steven was behind her.
"Wait!" Steven cried out.
But it was in vain, Malley was in and what she saw there filled her with horror. A fearful look in her eyes, her hands clasped over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming, a terrified whine escaped her throat though, and she backed against the wall.
There on the large bed was Jasper in a half–corrupted form. She had a humanoid her shape but with monstrous features. Her muscular forearms had beast–like hands with sharp claws, a maw where her mouth should have been, and finally, the ugly green blotches and spikes sticking out of her arms and other parts of her body, including two horns protruding from the left and right side of her head. Jasper wasn't moving, seemingly unaware of the new gem's presence.
Steven quickly came into the room and saw Jasper for himself. He looked at her sympathetically and then he noticed Malley, huddled up in a corner.
"Malley," Steven said warily.
The malachite gem didn't respond, she just held herself tighter.
"What's wrong?"
"Wha–... what is that?" Malley whispered, fear in her voice.
"Where?"
"There!" She said, pointing at the hospital bed.
"Malley, that's Jasper."
Malley looked at the boy in surprise before looking back at the unmoving gem.
"But– How..." Malley stuttered. "What... Why does she look like that?"
"Because she's corrupted." He paused, "Didn't any of the others tell you? Jasper isn't just in a bubble just because she was hurting us but also because... she lost her mind in a corrupted fusion."
"Corrupted fusion?" Malley repeated.
In the beach house, all was quiet as Steven and Malley slept. Suddenly the warp pad outside the temple chimed and Lapis Lazuli appeared. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at first and was about to walk to the temple door when she heard a whimper. Lapis looked back with concern.
'Steven?' Lapis thought.
She quietly made her way to Steven's loft but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the noise again, this time coming from the couch. Lapis only saw the blanket bundling tightly over something and it shifted. With a shaky hand, Lapis gently lifted the cover and to her surprise, it was the malachite gem.
Lapis' mind raced with questions. Her first course of action was to take this gem down but then the younger gem stirred again.
Malley's moves made it clear that something was distressing her. A nightmare perhaps. Then she went still, and a tear came down from the corner of her closed eye.
At that moment, the longer she looked at the distressed expression of the younger gem, Lapis felt a strange tugging in her chest, preventing her from moving. What could this be, she wondered.
But then Malley turned her back to Lapis and muttered sleepily, "Jasper..."
Hearing that name, Lapis remembered those burning yellow eyes and the fight that broke out at the beach. Her expression turned cold and stern, behind her, her wings formed and the water transferred onto her hand.
'None of them will ever figure it out and they will forget about her just like they did with me.'
It formed into a shard of ice and Lapis was preparing herself but not before looking back at Steven's sleeping form above.
'Forgive me Steven, but I have to end this'
Lapis raised her hand but before she could strike, Garnet grabbed Lapis wrist and forced her to release the icicle. Garnet twisted Lapis' arm behind her back.
"We need to talk" Garnet whispered.
She shapeshifted her free arm longer and helped the blanket back on Malley. When that was done, Garnet dragged Lapis into the temple and Peridot nervously followed behind. Garnet released the fuming water gem once in the boiling room.
"What do you think you're doing?" Garnet questioned, trying to hold back her furry.
Lapis rubbed her wrist. "I was protecting Steven," she said, "which is more than I can say for you"
"Lapis..." Peridot muttered.
"How can you let that thing anywhere near Steven? She's dangerous and she needs to go"
"No, she doesn't. Malley is no more a threat to Steven than the rest of us. And Malley is not a thing... she is your creation and you should be sincerer to her plight, not trying to stab her while she sleeps." Garnet words growing colder.
"My creation? What makes you think she is mine anyway? Outside of the fact that I was a Malachite once, there isn't any evidence that she came from me."
"Actually there is. Peridot and I just came back from Mask island and we now know what Malley truly is."
"I tried to heal her, I really did, but she wouldn't let me and then... she became fully corrupted. And that's why she looks like that..." Steven concluded.
Malley stood up and slowly walked to Jasper.
"Be careful," Steven said softly.
Malley didn't take her eyes off the half–corrupted gem and she approached. Tried as she might, Malley couldn't find the best way to describe her feelings right now. She did a side by side comparison with Jasper's arm and her own and noticed the similar distinctive coloring between the blots on Jasper's arm and her own. Steven wondered how he hadn't realized this before, but his thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Malley's shocked expression as she backed away.
"Malley?" he asked.
"Steven... the spots. Why do they look like that, did... did being Malachite have anything to do with her corruption?" Malley wondered.
"Nononono. Malachite isn't responsible for this. Jasper chose to fuse with a corrupted gem."
"But why are the colors the same then? It can't just be a coincidence."
"Well–... it's..." he struggled for a moment before shaking his head and said, "Malachite definitely had an impact on Jasper but that wasn't part of her corruption. Jasper made the risk so it's no one else's fault. So please don't start blaming Malachite for this... or yourself."
Malley mulled this over for a moment until she eventually returns to Jasper's side.
"Can she hear us?" Malley wondered. "She hasn't moved."
"She could just be really tired. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper too."
"No. I don't think it's just sleeping."
Malley raised a tentative hand and was about to reach out to Jasper before Steven nearly stopped her.
"Be careful"
Jasper was motionless, even as a turquoise colored hand gently settled under her chin and the thumb softly rubbed her cheek.
However, Malley's own lips parted as if wanting to speak but the words were stuck in her throat. Then her lips quivered and her eyes watered. Malley then took it a step further, she wrapped her arms around Jasper's neck, hid her face in the crook of it, and she started to sniffle. Malley ignored any of the prodding spikes around the area and continued her hold.
Steven looked on sadly. He said nothing and just allowed Malley to continue.
After a minute or two, Malley eventually raised herself up again, off of Jasper and wiped off any lingering tears. She looked at Steven and said, "Isn't there anything we can do to help her?"
"Oh, believe me, I want to help her and all the other corrupted gems. The crystal gems have been trying to find a way to cure them for years but they can't figure it out. I've tried my healing spit on another corrupted gem but it didn't last and she reverted back." he explained, "I want to help her, Malley, but I haven't figured out how."
The sadness lingered as Malley considered his words, but she then said, "I get it. But Steven, would you really help Jasper even if she refused to fight for you."
"I never planned to ask her to fight for me." He said in conviction. "I just don't like that she's suffering so much and I want to help her realize that there can be more to life than fighting. Even if she never considers joining us and becoming a Crystal Gem, I still want to help her heal and be happy."
Malley didn't reply right away but she felt a sense of relief wash over her. She was about to voice this when she heard a sudden splashing. It came from outside but there was no time to ponder this further as a water chain appeared from behind, snatching Malley by the ankles and suddenly dragged her under the floor at great speed.
"Malley!" Steven cried out. But he was too late.
For a moment, Steven was left alone with a comatose Jasper but then the floor began to shake.
BOOM BOOM...BOOM BOOM
Steven listen carefully and he realized that the noises went on in a pattern.
BOOM BOOM...BOOM BOOM
'Footsteps?' he thought.
Just then a large shadow blocked out the light from the windows and he felt uneasy all of the sudden, a feeling similar to being watched. Steven's suspicion was confirmed when he looked towards the window and saw a pair of large yellow eyes looking back at him.
Malachite crouched outside the building, looking at the boy and then at the half–corrupted gem. She could hear Steven's voice but it came out as mumbles through the glass. And in any case, Malachite simply rolled her eyes at him and looked at the quartz soldier intently.
"Malachite!" Steven shouted but the colossus gem didn't even acknowledge him before fading away.
In the waking world, the malachite gem gasped awake. Her bright, yellow eyes staring up at the ceiling for a while before sitting up and rubbing her head. It was still dark outside and there wasn't anyone else in the beach house.
Malley, controlled by Malachite, threw off her blanket and started pacing the floor.
"Malley?" came Steven's voice. The boy saw the gem down in the living room. He got out of bed and hopped on the couch from the loft. "Malley? What happened?"
The malachite gem ceased her stomping and looked towards the boy, "I'll tell you what happened, that brainless brute screwed me over. Again!" she answered before resuming to her pacing across the room.
Steven quickly realized the situation and, although he was concerned, he asked curiously, "What do you mean by that? You've dealt with Jasper before? I thought you never got to talk to them."
"That's not it, you pebble. I wanted to fight the quartz but she took that away from me too, just like with the first form." Malley stopped in her tracks and looked up at the ceiling. "I had this whole thing in my head; We'd meet face to face and then I'd bash her thick, empty head with my powers. Then after the epic battle and the dust settles, I would show Jasper just how inferior she really is." Then she shook her head in disappointment. "But that's never gonna happen now because she damaged herself before I ever got a shot!"
The was a pause for a moment.
"Um... you know, talking like that is one of the main reasons why we don't want you near Lapis. And aside from that, I know you've been giving Malley nightmares and that's not good for her... or do you just not care about her either."
She glared at him with her yellow eyes, "Malley... isn't anything spectacular. She's just a crying little gem looking for something that doesn't exist for us."
"And what's that?"
The malachite gem was about to speak before she and Steven heard the chime of the temple door. Malachite snarled before running into the bathroom and slammed the door just as Lapis stepped out of the temple.
"If you want to gamble with this, fine! But leave me out of it." Lapis exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down," Garnet said. "The children are trying to sleep. Including yours."
"Why do you keep saying that? She is not a child, she's a curse. A reminder of everything I hated about who I was as a malachite."
"Lapis..." Peridot said.
"No," Lapis interjected. "I don't care. I just want her out of my life and away from Steven too because no matter who she is, that thing cannot be trusted."
"Lapis!" Steven exclaimed.
Lapis looked around and saw Steven. "Steven?" she asked.
"How could you say that about Malley? If you ever took the time to get to know her, you'd see she isn't that bad."
"Steven...?" came a soft voice.
When Steven looked at the doorway to the bathroom, he saw Malley slowly stepping out. Her bright green irises almost glowing in the dark.
"Malley…" Steven said in relief.
Author's Note: It's getting really hard to write Lapis', emotionally. A lot on my plate right now but I'll still work on my Fanfics. Till next time