Howdy everyone, and welcome back to Don't Even Bother.
Well, this'll probably be the last chapter before Christmas, so merry Christmas. They say it's the best time of the year, and I think they're right.
Anyways, I don't do this very often, but I promise the end to this chapter is (much) happier than the last one. I know how dark of a turn that was, and I apologize if you really didn't like it. To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of it either.
Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe. Steven Universe is owned by Rebecca Sugar.
Present
"Thoughts"
Author's Note
"We just got the results from the X-ray back, and I'm afraid they aren't good. His wrist isn't broken, but he's fractured the distral radius bone. It's one of the most common wrist injures a person can suffer."
"Is it going to take surgery to fix?"
"Fortunately, no. Relatively speaking, it's a very clean fracture, so it won't require any intrusive operations."
The more Greg and Mrs. Maheswaran talked, the more claustrophobic Steven began to feel, sitting in what felt like not a doctor's office, but a shrinking prison. His wrist was injured, he knew that much already, but how badly was the key. In his mind, the absolute worst case scenario was that he would need-
"While this type of injury doesn't require surgery, I'm afraid he will need to wear a cast for the next six to eight weeks. Failure to do so would result in improper healing and placement of the bone, so we better get started right away."
Steven cringed.
The cast. Usually a bright color, like green or red. People like to sign it. But most of all, it's the classic sign of an injury. If someone's wearing a cast, it's safe to assume they're hurt.
And that's exactly what the Crystal Gems would assume.
The more Steven thought about it, the more his situation felt like being wedged between a rock and a hard place. No matter which way he turned, there was no escape: if he visited the Crystal Gems with the cast, then they would bombard him with questions and demands, inevitably leading to the discovery of Peridot's responsibility in the injury. If he were to ditch the cast, then he wouldn't be able to do anything with his right arm, and they'd find out he was hurt at some point anyways.
And of course, if he didn't visit the Crystal Gems at all, then they'd eventually go and seek him out, on their own initiative. Hiding for up to eight weeks would be impossible.
"If only I could get to the tape or mom's fountain, just for ONE SECOND! Ugh, what do I do...?"
"Steven? We need to apply your cast now. If you'll come over to this table, please."
He groaned.
"... Peridot?"
At first glance, Pearl wasn't exactly sure what to make of... well, anything she saw. A shattered lamp in the corner, the table it sat on knocked over? A big white box with the top torn open, its contents spread out everywhere?
Oh, and the very epitome of Homeworld's evil crying on the floor. There was that, too.
"Peridot."
The gem in question said nothing. Pearl knew she was choosing not to hear her. Her gem began to glow.
Still, for a brief moment, the blue and white gem ran through her options before recklessly rushing into what she was about to do. It certainly didn't seem like talking to Peridot was going to work; she would've at least responded if she had any intention of saying anything. That left only one other option.
But something didn't seem right.
Pearl felt a strange sensation overwhelm her, watching Peridot continue to quietly sob on the floor. In a way, it seemed like the other gem felt... weak. She was certainly scared about something, there was no doubt about that. It was quite unlike the Peridot she had grown all too familiar with, the Peridot she remembered from the Kindergarten and the ship. Something about her was different. And while it was noticeable before, in their previous encounter when they found Steven, it was certainly on display now...
And for once, she didn't have the urge to attack. Not this time.
Pearl gently sighed, the glow of her gem fading as she repelled any thought of summoning her spear. Without making a sound, she slowly walked to the crumpled form of the Homeworld gem, who hadn't moved since she made her presence known. She kneeled and put her hand on her back.
"Peridot, what happened here?"
"Peridot, what happened here?"
The gem in question vaguely felt the other touch her back. It was cold. And not just from the contact.
"AGH!"
Her senses kicking into overdrive, Peridot scrambled away as quickly as she could, colliding head on with the nearby wall. Ignoring the dizzying feeling quickly overwhelming her, her eyes darted around for anything she could use to escape the room, to get away from her. Nothing.
Pearl still wasn't sure what to make of it all.
"Um... Peridot?"
"NO! GET AWAY! Y-YOU CLOD!"
"Clod?" scoffed Pearl. "Why y... look. I'm not going to hurt you. I don't have any weapons on me. See?" She held up her hands in a surrender position to demonstrate, only to be rebuked by Peridot furiously shaking her head.
"NO NO NO NO NO! YOU'RE LYING! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Peridot's arms desperately fumbled around her for something to grab onto, the only relief coming in the form of a small pillow, barely larger than her visor. She chucked it at Pearl, who caught it easily.
"Peridot!" yelled Pearl, her patience growing thin. She slammed the pillow against the ground and began to walk towards the other gem. "I just want to talk! Why can't you see that?"
"NO! N-N-NO! STAY AWAY!"
There was nowhere to turn. Her back was pressed firmly against the wall, with no escape from the sides. As Pearl inched closer and closer, she also inadvertantly blocked the door. There would be no escaping what she knew was coming next.
It was over.
"J-just go away..."
It almost hurt to watch.
For a brief moment, Pearl felt twinge of doubt cross her mind as she wondered if this was even the same Peridot. Based on past encounters alone, she knew Peridot to be cold and cunning, a master tactician with a great deal of unpredictability on her side. And, most importantly, she was irredeemably evil. She was the enemy. A symbol of everything the Crystal Gems fought to oppose.
And yet, here she was, crying her eyes out, her face buried deep in her knees. She was utterly terrified.
"But... why? Why would she be scared of me? The Peridot I remember would always relish the chance to fight back, so why is she so nervous? Has she really changed that much... since she met Steven?"
Pearl shook her head. All of those thought could come later. Business first.
"Peridot..." she whispered as she continued to walk to her. The other gem made no attempt to move from the corner. Pearl sat immediately opposite her.
"Peridot, I need you to listen to me." Her speech appeared to fall on deaf ears; the Homeworld gem didn't move an inch. "It was worth a shot, but I can't back off now. Not after this..."
"Look, I can see you're... a little nervous, about me being here right now. But I promise you, on my life, that I'm not going to hurt you. Honest."
Her promise got the reaction she'd been hoping for. After a moment or two, Peridot finally looked up, straightening her left leg to expose her face. Pearl gently covered her mouth at the sight of her bloodshot eyes, especially distorted by the damp, foggy visor she wore.
"H-how do I know you aren't lying...?"
"I didn't bring anything with me, see? Well, aside from Steven's jacket," replied Pearl. She put the garment on the floor and slid it away from the two. "I don't have anything with me I can use to hurt you. And... even if I did, I wouldn't. Really."
Peridot looked at the floor.
Peridot looked away from Pearl, allowing her mind to race through the alleyways of her emotions. To her, this whole scene felt... unnatural. And it didn't take her long to put her finger on it.
"... Why?"
"Why... what?"
For the first time since their conversation began, Peridot glared right into Pearl's eyes. They didn't have the same cold gaze she remembered from the Kindergarten; no, it instead seemed almost... warm. Friendly.
Like she was being honest.
"Why are you being so nice? You hate me."
Pearl bit her lower lip.
"You seem different. You're not quite like I remember... you don't seem like you're the threat you used to be."
"You can say that again..." she mumbled under her breath. Pearl rolled her eyes.
"Peridot, what happened here? Why is this room so badly damaged?"
Peridot briefly glanced around the chamber, her eyes focusing in on the destroyed lamp and knocked over table. She knew there wasn't anywhere to go but the truth. She had to physically suppress a chuckle as she thought about her situation; it almost felt like confessing a mistake to her superior, Yellow Diamond, back on Homeworld. You didn't want to do that often.
"Um... I knocked over the artificial lighting device over there. By throwing that storage cube at it."
"I see..." Pearl decided not to ask her the reason why, for fear of upsetting the (temporary?) peace she had established between them. "Where's Steven and Greg?"
"They went somewhere. They told me to stay behind and look after the car wash."
Pearl nodded. "I understand. When they come back, tell them I stopped by to give Steven his jacket back," she said as she pointed to the piece of clothing on the floor. "He'll probably need it tonight."
And with that, Pearl stood up. She came to the car wash with a mission, and she had accomplished it. With her job finished, she began to walk to the door. At least, she walked to the door until she was interrupted.
"Wait!"
Pearl turned around. Peridot was looking straight at her.
"Um... when you said I seem different... what did you mean by that?"
Pearl squinted her eyebrows.
"What did I mean by that? Isn't it self-explanatory?"
"It's exactly as I said. You don't seem like you're dangerous anymore."
Peridot shook her head. "But WHY? Why do you see me that way now? I thought you Crystal Cl...Gems hated me."
Pearl leaned against the frame of the door. The more she thought about it, the more she realized Peridot had a perfectly good point: from her point of view, all the Crystal Gems ever did was endlessly attack and hunt her down. What reason would she have to suddenly not see her as a threat anymore?
It all boiled down to one crucial element.
Pearl turned around and walked back into the room, once again taking a seat in front of Peridot. She allowed herself a moment of quiet to collect her thoughts. The other gem anxiously fidgeted her legs.
"... Peridot, up until now, the Crystal Gems and I have had a... set view on how to think about you. After all, you were the one who attacked Earth with the Red Eye and the ship. We viewed you as a threat."
"Well I knew that much already..." mumbled Peridot. Pearl couldn't help but smile.
"But seeing you now... you've changed, and I don't think you're lying in the way you're acting. You've become a different gem. Figuratively."
"Well gee, thanks..." said Peridot, her voice lightly laced with sarcasm. Still, it was certainly a relief to hear her former greatest enemy say she no longer hated her down to the very core of her existence. It was actually rather nice.
"Can I ask you something?"
Peridot looked back up at Pearl. Now she wanted to ask her a question? What was this about?
"Um... I suppose."
Pearl once again smiled. She stopped for a moment.
"... Are you different because of Steven?"
Even though she asked the question, Pearl already knew the answer.
It didn't make any sense for Peridot to just reform and suddenly change her personality without a catalyst. After all, what reason would she have to forgive hundreds of years of conflict between Homeworld and Earth? Why would she in particular be any different from the other gems of that planet?
She wouldn't. But somehow, some way, Steven was able to do it. She believed in Steven.
"What do you think?"
Pearl raised an eyebrow. "What do I think? Well, I'd say Steven's helped you..."
Peridot's face creased into a glum expression. She looked away from Pearl, unable to make eye contact. "You just don't understand..."
"Understand what?"
"... Before I met Steven, I was stranded here on Earth. I had nowhere to go, and nobody to turn to. And every time I tried to contact Homeworld to request exfil or assistance, you and the others were always there to stop me."
"Well... yes, but what's your point?"
"My point is, can you blame me for being so miserable?!" shouted Peridot, momentarily startling Pearl. "I only came to Earth because I had a simple mission to do, and you CLODS kept interfering with my work! And then, even when you had me down, you just HAD to keep kicking!"
"Well if you remember, YOU were the one who invaded Earth!" snapped Pearl. "And we're the Crystal Gems! We're the GUARDIANS of this planet, and all its living beings! if we see you as a threat to our existence, then we will HUNT YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!"
Pearl closed her eyes and sucked down a few deep breaths as she fell silent, her rant finished. Although the Homeworld gem wasn't talking, she expected to see a mix of fury and annoyance from Peridot when she looked at her again. She opened her eyes.
She couldn't have been more wrong. Peridot sat scrunched up in a ball, gently rocking back and forth. Hey eyes were wide and furiously blinking, like she was about to cry again. Her appearance caused such a shock that Pearl barely heard her speak.
"... Please let me finish..."
Pearl's posture immediately loosened, adopting a more casual sitting position. Her expression softened into one of sympathy as she nodded her head, motioning for her to continue her speech.
"You see, it was about a month ago... I heard one of your teammates-I think it was the fused one-yelling Steven's name in the Kindergarten. I was outside at the time, so I hid in a pile of rocks and waited. I didn't know why she was yelling for him, but I wasn't about to take any chances.
When she left a few minutes later, I got out from my hiding place and started to run. For the entrance to that underground chamber. And it was right around there where I met, well... you know."
Pearl leaned forward, blocking out all other sounds as the other gem continued to speak. She had already heard about what happened when Steven ran away, from the boy himself, but hearing it from Peridot's point of view would be just as useful.
"We didn't get along at first. Actually, it took a little bit of an accident for us to even start talking. We ran into each other again because he was running away from you three. I took him down with me to the chamber to hide, and... well, I guess it kind of took off from there."
"Wait, back up a second... it's because of US you two became friends?"
Peridot nodded. "It was. I don't know how you three found a trail, but he said he saw you coming in the distance. I knew he wasn't about to outrun you if you caught sight of him, so I took him down to the underground chamber with me."
"And then what?" "Sounds like Steven left a lot of details out when he explained all of this to us..."
"He took out several Earth inventions and showed them to me. I really liked the Rubik's Cube in particular. He even introduced me to sleeping. Then-"
"You didn't like it, did you?" Pearl couldn't hide the smirk creeping up on her. Peridot squinted her eyebrows.
"I adored it. I still do it every now and then."
"I don't know how you someone can enjoy it. It's just so... strange." Peridot gently shook her head at this. Her face was lined in conflict as she tried to hide her smile.
"We can discuss that later, I guess... but as I was saying, I woke up a few hours after he explained sleeping to me. I remembered I had to record my daily log-it's a requirement by Yellow Diamond to all operatives in the field. I opened the program and started to speak... but then I thought of something."
Pearl ran a hand through her hair, her mind racing with possibilities.
"You thought of what?"
Peridot pursed her lips. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment before turning back to Pearl.
"I thought about how things had changed for me. It was only one day, but everything I did with Steven was... wonderful. It was completely different from anything I ever experienced on Homeworld."
Pearl's expression darkened at the mention of her former planet. That was one road she never liked to travel down, no matter what the context was. Talking with Peridot was no different.
"I'll bet it was."
Peridot nodded. She leaned back further against the wall. "It took me a little while for me to realize it, but it got the point where I thought to myself 'are things really that bad here if I have Steven?' After all, we were basically both stranded, although he was doing it willingly. To me, it felt like we needed each other."
Pearl said nothing as she looked at the floor. "And I bet he felt the same way..." she thought as she anxiously fidgeted her fingers with each other. "Why else would he have been so upset when we found them?"
"Do you know why I told you all this?"
Pearl shook her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts. "Well, aside from answering my question, no..."
"... What I'm trying to tell you is yes, Steven changed me. Without him, I have no idea where I'd be, but I'm willing to guess it would probably be wherever you put gems you capture. But he also made me realize something else."
"And that is?"
Peridot took a deep breath.
"He made me realize that... I've been happier living with him than I've ever been in my life. And I don't see a point in trying to go back."
"What do you-" Pearl cut herself short.
"You don't mean...?"
"I do. You don't need to worry about me harming the Earth anymore. Why would I if I don't serve Homeworld anymore?"
Pearl's eyes widened. She quickly double checked in her mind she heard correctly.
But she knew she did.
Though they never spoke of it out loud, Pearl knew that the Crystal Gems always assumed Peridot's time on Earth, even after meeting Steven, was temporary. After all, she was a technician loyal to Homeworld, and Homeworld only. There was no reason for her to become attached to Earth. It was inevitable that, whether it came sooner or later, she would just drop everything, masterfully evade the entire team, and slip away. She had proven to be pretty good at it already.
It was going to happen eventually. Or so they thought.
"Peridot... do you mean that?"
"Of course." Peridot couldn't help but squint at the odd reply; what kind of a question was that? Weren't her intentions obvious enough? "It's as I said before. I see no reason to return, especially after my time with Steven. Why are you surprised?"
"B-but you're from Homeworld! Do you have any idea what this means? Not just for you, but for Earth! I still remember it well, the consequences of defecting to any other planet or society-"
"I assure you, it's completely okay," interrupted Peridot. "Think about it. Even when I specifically sent out messages requesting extraction, did Homeworld ever send any form of aid? No. If they didn't try to rescue me even when I was trying to reach them, why would they do so now? As far as they know, I might as well be dead. Recycled."
Pearl's throat suddenly caught on nothing, her voice unable to escape the confines of its prison. Her mind desperately fumbled to think of something, some counter-argument to Peridot's admittedly sound logic. She came up empty handed.
She was right.
Peridot, noticing the hesitation coming from the blue and white gem, decided to continue. "Besides, even if I still wanted to, I can't go back. You and the other Crystal Gems always stopped me, and you would just do so again and again. I'm staying here, the Pearl... excuse me. Pearl."
The other gem blinked in surprise. She raised an eyebrow.
"Wait a second... what did you just call me?"
"Pearl? That's your name, is it not?"
"No, no!" Pearl furiously shook her head. "Before that! What was it you just said?"
"I don't under... oh. The Pearl. Please forgive me for that error."
Pearl's lips went dry.
"... Isn't it customary on Homeworld to refer to gems, except for Diamonds and some Quartz, as 'the?'"
"Well, yes, but-"
"Then why'd you correct yourself? Why am I not 'the Pearl' to you? Answer me!"
It only took one glance at Peridot's utterly bewildered face for Pearl to feel like a fool. The truth was, even she wasn't entirely sure why she was being so intrusive, angrily questioning what was most assuredly a simple slip of the tongue. At the same time, however, she was rather curious to find out why Peridot was so quick to correct herself. Why?
She smiled. Pearl bit her lip.
"Pearl, one of the very first things Steven taught me about Earth... he told me that everyone is unique. You see, I used to call him 'the Steven.' I thought he was the only Steven in existence, so it made sense to me. But that's not true." Pearl gently nodded.
"When he told me that there are many humans named Steven, I still didn't understand why he didn't want me to not call him 'the.' After all, wasn't he just like every other Steven out there? Why shouldn't he be called the Steven?"
"Because he's not like the others..." whispered Pearl. "He's unique."
"Exactly. I couldn't wrap my head around it at first, but I understood eventually... there may be a lot of Stevens out there, but he's still his own person. He's Steven."
Peridot paused for a moment. She looked into Pearl's eyes.
"And another thing I've learned here on Earth... that applies to everyone. There are a lot of Pearls back on Homeworld, but that doesn't matter. As far as I'm concerned, you're just Pearl. I'm not going to look at you all the same way just because you're the same kind of gem."
"I'm not going to look at you all the same way just because you're the same kind of gem."
Pearl suddenly felt a strange urge to cry.
Not even an hour ago, Peridot was her enemy. She wasn't just a enemy, though; no, she was the enemy in her eyes, the very definition of everything she opposed. Even if Steven trusted her, she didn't. And she never would.
But that was an hour ago. And it can be funny how some things change so fast.
Peridot wasn't a threat anymore. That much was obvious purely from her reactions earlier in their meeting. But it wasn't just the fact that she couldn't harm the Earth anymore that made her so different from what she remembered, but instead her personality. The Peridot Pearl knew hated her, the Crystal Gems, and everything about them. And she never hesitated to show it whenever given the chance.
But now... to hear Peridot, during a heart to heart conversation, say that she would not only no longer oppose her, but accept her for who she was? Regardless of her origin or background? Regardless of the fact she was a Pearl?
It was completely unlike Homeworld. But Peridot didn't serve Homeworld anymore.
She said it herself.
With a content sigh escaping her lips, Pearl crawled next to Peridot. Just as she was about to question the meaning of this, she put any doubts to rest by placing her hand on her shoulder. Her touch wasn't cold. Not like last time.
"Thank you, Peridot..."
She glance over at Pearl. She looked thoroughly spooked. "Uh... for what?"
"For everything..."
"Steven, are you sure it was an accident?"
"Dad, I'm completely positive. You know as well as I do that Peridot wouldn't do something like that on purpose."
"I know... but I'm just being careful," nodded Greg. "I want you to be safe." With a light cough blossoming from the chill of the rainy night, he shut the door of the van and locked it. He and Steven quickly ran inside the car wash to avoid the torrential rain outside.
"Peridot? Where are you?" yelled Steven as he slipped off his wet sandals, leaving them to dry on the mat in the front entrance. "Peridot?"
He received no reply. Although he tried to fight it, he couldn't help but allow a wave of fear to wash over him. Thinking quickly, he ran to the room where the accident first happened. "What if she ran away or something? I mean, if I've done it before, then what's stopping her...?"
He ran through the open door of the room. He stopped dead in his tracks.
Peridot was indeed in the room. She was leaned against the wall, talking quietly to...
"Pearl?! Wh-what are you doing here?"
Both gems turned to look at him. Peridot's eyes widened. "Steven!"
Without any hesitation, the gem sprang up from where she had been sitting, screeching to a halt in front of the boy. She collected her breath as she knelt on one knee. She took both of his shoulders in her fingers.
"Steven, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm-"
"Peridot." She cut herself short. She was scared to look. But after a moment of hesitation, she glanced up from the floor into his eyes.
He smiled.
"It's okay. I forgive you."
"It's okay. I forgive you."
Before he had time to even think about what to say next, Steven gasped as he felt himself enveloped in the familiar embrace of Peridot. This time, however, it felt different. He could've sworn he heard her lightly sobbing as she rested her head on his shoulder. He was right.
And her grip on him only tightened further when he mirrored her gesture.
"It's okay, Peridot... it's okay..."
Pearl quietly gasped at the sight.
As soon as he walked in the room, she could tell there was no acting or falsehood from either of them. There was no trickery or pretending. What she was looking at was exactly as it appeared: the pure, unaltered friendship between Peridot and Steven. Aside from their very brief encounter in the Kindergarten, she had to confess she had yet to see it.
But she didn't have to wonder any longer. And unlike before, she wasn't opposed to it. Not at all.
Pearl stood up and walked to the two, their hug not moving an inch. She kneeled next to Steven and patiently waited. She noticed the cast on his right arm, but decided not to mention it.
She didn't want to interrupt the moment.
Steven shifted his head on Peridot's shoulder to his left. He caught a faint glimpse of Pearl's blue shirt.
And then it hit him.
"AH! P-P-Pearl! What are you doing here?"
"I was dropping by to give you your jacket. You left it at the temple. But, well, then I met Peridot here..." smiled Pearl. The boy broke of the hug and took a step back, his eyes bulging wide. This was all sounding way too familiar.
"Ah... Pearl, p-please, don't hurt her!" "If only my stupid wrist wasn't injured! How can I defend her if I only have one arm?!" he thought as he desperately glanced back at his friend; much to his surprise, she didn't seem particularly worried, or even affected. Nevertheless, his gem began to glow underneath his shirt as he prepared to summon his shield.
"Steven, you don't need to worry," she said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I promise you, I'm not going to hurt Peridot. I have no reason to."
"But... Pearl, I thought-"
"About that." She smiled. "It's a bit of a long story."
"Steven? It's almost 10:00, it's time for bed. Where are you?"
Greg was thoroughly stumped. He had already check the garage, Steven's room, and his own, yet the boy was nowhere to be found. And for that matter, where was Peridot? Where did they run off to?
"Oh, not again..." shuddered Greg as he walked into main living area. He stopped.
Sitting in the middle of the floor was Pearl, a smiling and laughing Steven on her lap. Immediately opposite them was Peridot, who seemed to be laughing about something as well. Only one question popped in his mind in a flood of confusion.
"Um... Pearl? When did you get here?"
"Hello, Greg," said the blue and white gem, turning to look at the new entrant. "And to answer your question, I've been here for hours now. I was delivering Steven's jacket. I came by while you two were at the hospital."
"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Greg's gaze deflected to Peridot, who waved at him. "But I thought you didn't like... you know what? It doesn't matter." And with that, he turned around and walked into his room, shutting the door behind him.
"Okay... so as I was saying, there was this one time when one of your robonoids tried to-" Pearl's humorous story was interrupted yet again, this time from a loud, wide-faced yawn from the boy on her lap.
"I guess Greg wasn't kidding about bedtime." She laughed and rubbed the top of his head. Steven smiled and snuggled into her chest.
"No, I guess he wasn't... but seeing him just reminded me of something. Dad!"
"What?"
"I just remembered where the tape is! I'm going with Pearl back to the temple to use it!"
"Do you need a ride?" Greg opened the door of his room and stepped out, already fully dressed in pajamas. He walked to the kitchen counter and picked up his van keys. "Why did I leave these exposed?" he mumbled as he slipped them in his pocket.
"Yeah, a ride would be great, thanks!" His father nodded and walked out the front door of the car wash. The rain outside had ceased, eliminating the need for an umbrella or to hurry.
"So, I suppose you'll use that tape to heal your arm and come back?" asked Peridot.
"Not quite... I think I'm going to stay there overnight."
"Oh... I see. Well then, be sure to stay safe, as always."
Steven looked at her and smiled.
"Peridot, I'm not staying there by myself. You're coming with me."
Folks... this story has been a wonderful ride, but we're close to the end. There are three chapters left. This isn't just a spur of the moment thing; I've had the ending planned since the very beginning, but I've been debating when to reveal we're reaching that point. I figured now is as good a time as any.
Anyways, I'm pretty sure I can guess the question on many of your minds: will there be a sequel? Well, in terms of a direct successor to this story, no, there will not be. I came here with a story to tell, and after the next three chapters, I'll have told it. I don't have any other directions to take this plot, and I see no point in extending a story beyond its natural life. It'll start to get stale after a while. (Please don't try to give me ideas for a sequel, either. It just isn't going to happen.)
HOWEVER:
I do have some happier news. While I'm not doing a sequel to this story, I do have an idea for another story in mind. I'll say three things about it:
1. It'll have Lapis and Jasper. You didn't think I just forgot about them, did you? (If you did, I don't blame you, lol.) Unless I really deviate from what I have in mind, I expect Peridot to be completely absent.
2. While there will be cute moments, it won't be the main focus like it is here. I'll be going for a slightly different style.
3. Remember what I said about me not being a control freak, and that I release chapters as soon as they're written? I'm changing that up. I'm going to write the entire story before I publish a single word. This'll allow me to go at my own pace, and I can't even begin to tell you how valuable of a tool that will be. It'll also allow me to have a consistent release schedule, something I've craved for a while now.
For those curious, the new story will be called Into Oblivion. Why is it called that? You'll just have to find out... whenever it begins. I honestly can't give a really accurate estimate, but I'd say probably sometime around the summer. I'm not too sure, though, it may be sooner or later. I'm certain I'll do some one shots and stuff like that in the meantime, so it'll be fine.
So... three chapters left. We'll talk more about that when we get there. But for now, let's enjoy what's coming next.
Have a nice day.