Chapter 25: Betrayal

Pearl and Steven were exploring the maze of tunnels, without talking, when they saw a green light coming from the end of the tunnel. They nodded to each other and they summoned their weapons, ready to take out the Manager. What they were not expecting was a really frightened Peridot that came towards them running

"Peri?" Steven asked

"Steven! Pearl!" Peridot shouted "Oh, thanks the stars!"

"What happened?" Pearl asked her

"It's the Manager! I turned my back for a second and Amethyst was no longer there! Then I turned and the Manager was there! I started running the hell away and then I found you"

Pearl started running towards the direction Peridot came from, followed by the green gem and Steven. When she found herself at a crossroad she, still not turning, asked Peridot "Which tunnel did you come from?"

Peridot placed an hand on her chin "Hmm. Let me think" then she made an enlightened expression and she snapped her fingers "Oh, right I remember" she dashed towards Pearl and in a fluid move extracted a destabilizer from her hair and stabbed Pearl right in her chest, poofing her immediately. Pearl's gemstone fell to the ground and Peridot picked it up slowly, bubbling it. Then she put it in her gemstone

Steven had been watching the whole scene astonished. What the heck was happening? Peridot simply stood there, her back facing Steven.

The hybrid broke the silence "Peri? What's happening?"

Peridot turned, a murderous and slightly maniacal grin on her lips. She inclined slightly her head at a side and looked at Steven with an amused expression "You haven't guessed it yet? Wow. You must be a bigger clod than I expected"

"Peridot?"

"I've never been a part of you, ridiculous Crystal Clods. Seriously. Did you really think that if I wanted to contact My Diamond I couldn't have contacted her with the communication hub? I've been just playing a part"

"A-a part?"

"It was just an act. My Diamond and I agreed that I needed to gain your trust, so I let me be captured and revealed you of the Cluster. Then on the Moonbase I made sure that you saw the diamond communicator. Then I staged a fake argument about how 'On the Earth there are things that are worth protecting'. And the funniest thing? You fell for it, you clods! Pathetic. But it wasn't enough. So My Diamond sent the Manager at the perfect moment. It tightened our 'bond'. I even arranged for my matron to come to reveal you a fake 'plot'. Then we discovered Pink Diamond's secret. I have to admit that I didn't accounted for such revelation. Who would have thought that a Diamond would commit such treasonous acts?" she shrugged and then looked at Steven with a malicious smirk "After all, seems like that even Diamonds can be useless defects. I have one right in front of me"

Steven looked at Peridot with an expression that was hurt beyond comparison "P-Peridot? But-"

"You were going to say if I truly felt anything for you, weren't you?" the green gem answered, putting an hand under Steven's chin and lifting his head, making him look in her eyes. Her cold, unfeeling eyes. Hot tears started pouring from Steven's eyes, running all the way down his face. It was all the answer that he needed. He summoned his shield and sent Peridot ten yards back. She immediately rose up to her feet, facing him. She extracted her staff and made a motions with her fingers, as to say "Come and get it"

Steven threw his shield to the green gem, who simply stopped it mid-air with her magnetic powers. "Seriously. Did you really think that would be-" she started mocking him, but she was stopped by an uppercut straight in her face. She looked at him with a look that was a mixture of disappointed, angry and mildly amused "I gave you a chance to die painlessly. Welp. I can say to My Diamond that I tried to capture you. At least I can have the pleasure end your sorry existence"

Peridot clicked something on her staff and a blade emerge from each end. She started to make it spin, first slowly then faster and she sprinted towards Steven, trying to slice his flesh. He parred with his shield and for a good five minutes with Peridot continuing to try to wound Steven, each blow faster, each blow stronger than the one that came before. Steven was panting heavily, but he was only tipping into his enhanced resistance. Peridot, though, had stricter restrictions in terms of stamina, so she knew that she had to finish the duel fast. So she decided to make her enemy lose focus.

She started walking circles around Steven "You know, when all this will end with your defeat and when I'll return your mother's gemstone I will be handsomely rewarded. I will become as important as my Manager. I will have my own Pearl! I can figure myself, looking from above those Agates and Ambers that before thought I was only a mindless drone bowing to me and helping me to choose my own pearl. I will have a personalized pearl, one that reflects all of desires" an evil flash lighted her eyes "No, I have an even better idea! I will take your pearl! It will be fun, forcing her into submission. It won't be easy, but in some years it will be done. After all, pain is an excellent teacher. And all the difficulties will be worth something! Only seeing her following me diligently, bowing to me and calling me master, it'll be great!"

Steven lost it. He threw his shield to her in anger. Just as she wanted. She jumped on the incoming disc and she sprinted again towards Steven, but this time, instead of passing at a side, she charged right towards Steven, one of the blades aimed towards his heart. Steven raised quickly his shield and the clashing of the two weapons roared in the caves, making the walls tremble for a second and raising the dust that covered the floor, making impossible for anyone to see who was the winner of that hit. The dust slowly deposited itself on the ground again. Steven's shield had taken the blow, but Peridot's blade had pierced the shield, emerging for a good two inches from the interior surface of the shield. More than enough for what the green gem planned. The blade split in four and a sonic shockwave sent Steven against a wall. Steven's head hit the wall, causing him to lose concentration and the shield to dissipate. Peridot didn't miss this chance and outstretched her arm towards Steven with a triumphing smile, throwing four half bracelets made of steel towards the hybrid. Each of them pinned one of his limbs to the wall. Steven tried struggling to get free, but to no avail. Peridot advanced towards the blocked Crystal Gem, putting her staff back in her gemstone and extracting from it a tool resembling a scalpel.

"Do you like it? I personally designed it. It extracts gemstones with the higher precision possible. Of course you won't survive the operation, but is not as it is important, isn't it?

Steven moved his glare to meet Peridot's one, but when he looked to her face, he saw something… strange. Her facial expressions were still cold, focused and uncaring, but her eyes… her eyes were scared, like they were translated from the face of someone that was scared of losing someone they loved. But it wasn't just that. From the corners of the eyes came two unstoppable flows of tears. One of Peridot's hands went on her cheek and when they felt the tear that was there, a feral, furious grin appeared on Peridot's face and the eyes returned cold and angry. She muttered something under her breath. "Shards. How that runt managed to…" She stood still for a second and then she fell on the ground, her limbs starting to move in all directions, an arm trying to extract her gem out of her body, the other one blocking it. It was like there were two Peridots, sharing the same gem. Steven had an illumination. What if… no, she couldn't have done that, right?

There was only a way to discover it. He started pounding his head on the wall behind him. With every hit his vision became dizzier. His ears started to ring. It was more difficult to focus. Then a shadow darkened his vision. He was passing out.

"I'm coming" Steven managed to mutter before losing consciousness