CHAPTER 25: THE RAGING ONE

"I'm disappointed in you Steven… what would your mother think of you…" The fusion said as everyone remained mouth agape.

"S-she would be proud of-…" Steven tried to say before being cut off.

"PROUD?! PROUD OF WHAT?! PUTTING US ALL IN DANGER?! IF SHE WAS STILL HERE SHE WOULD HAVE HANDLED THIS BETTER THAN YOU! BUT SHE'S GONE BECAUSE OF YOU! NOW MOVE!" Angelite screamed angrily, Steven was shocked by such a statement, he couldn't believe Pearl and Lapis could say such a thing to him.

"Guys..." Steven said as tears began to stream down his face.

"It doesn't matter… I'm going to end this!" Angelite said before jumping towards Jasper, her scythe ready to strike.

"No!" Steven cried as Angelite jumped over him an towards Jasper, who summoned her helmet, ready to defend herself.

"How could you come back?! You were broken!" Angelite screamed as she tried to slash Jasper, who managed to dodge her attack.

"Listen, Steven-" Jasper tried to talk, for the first time in her life she thought she could solve a situation with words and not with her physical strength, but the fusion in front of her wasn't make things easy.

"Shut… up! You may have fooled him, but not me! Not after what you have done!" Angelite yelled angrily as she kept trying to hit the so much hated rival.

"Guys stop! Garnet! Please you have to help her! Lapis and Pearl won't listen to me! They're too angry!" Steven pleaded as he reached the leader gem, who stared at the young boy for some moments before nodding.

"Peridot, Amethyst, Jet, we don't know what Angelite could be capable of, we never got to experience her true power, it could be dangerous, stay here with Steven, I'll try to reason with her…" Garent stated as she turned towards the fusion.

"Couldn't we just not risk our life against a angered fusion and let her destroy Jasper?" Peridot asked stepping backwards.

"Peridot!" Steven said as Garnet shook her head.

"Alright… but this won't end well…" Peridot sighed as Steven reached her and the others.

"Be careful ok? I've never seen them like that…" Steven said looking at his two friends, who now have become something completely different.

"Garnet, are you sure about this? She's like in a berserk mode or something, she could hurt you…" Jet asked as Garnet remained stoic in front of that possibility.

"Don't worry… I'll make her understand…" Garnet said as she began to approach the fighting gems.

"Why won't you die?!" Angelite screamed as her attacks became more furious, Jasper more and more weary.

"Stop!" Garnet yelled making the raging fusion stop attacking, Jasper caught the occasion to kneel and catch her breath, Angelite was making her have a really bad time.

"Garnet?! Why are you stopping me?!" Angelite cried in disbelief.

"Lapis, Pearl, unfuse right now!" Garnet said firmly as her eyes became wide.

"W-what?" Angelite asked, puzzled by what her comrade has just asked her to do.

"You've heard me, you hurt Steven, Lapis and Pearl would have never treated him that way, they would have listen to him, you're losing yourself in your hatred, unfuse now!" Garnet said raising her tone.

"What do you know about me?! I am myself! Don't treat me like if I'm crazy! You don't know what she did to me! I was inside her mind! I know how she really is and I'm not going to let her go!" Angelite yelled back as Garnet summoned her gauntlets.

"Lapis, you're letting your rage take control over you and Pearl, separate now or I'll-" Garnet was cut off by the staff of Angelite's scythe hitting her in the chest and making her fly and crash against Jet, who collapsed on the top of Peridot.

"Gah! Get up both of you! You're crushing me!" The poor green gem muttered as she tried to slip away from the duo who was crushing her.

"YOU WOULD DARE TO CHALLENGE ME?! BECAUSE OF HER?!" Angelite screamed as a great water hand began to form the ocean and suddenly grasped Jasper.

"Jasper no!" Steven yelled, squirming in Amethyst's arms and managing to make her let go.

"Steven stop! Come back here!" Amethyst said trying to catch him.

"Look at what you're doing! You're tearing us apart!" Angelite hissed between her teeth.

"Y-you a-are the o-one who's d-doing that…" Jasper muttered as the hand clenched around her, making her howl in pain.

"SHUT UP!" Angelite screamed raising her weapon over Jasper and bringing it down, she would end this right now, she wasn't right, Jasper was the one who hurt them, not her!

But instead of hitting the trapped gem, her scythe hit a bright pink shield. The impact caused a shock wave which made the great water hand shatter and the fusion stumble back. When she got up, her eyes widened when she noticed Steven kneeling down beside Jasper, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Steven asked as Jasper slowly opened her eyes.

"I've been… better but… thank you…" Jasper muttered weakly giving the young boy a small grin.

"Steven?! What are you doing?! Get away from her! She's going to hurt you!" Angelite said clenching her fists.

"You're wrong! You are the one who was going to hurt me!" Steven yelled angrily as he stood between the fusion and Jasper.

"S-Steven?" Angelite muttered in disbelief.

"Look around you! You hurt Garnet! And Jet and Peridot! You couldn't just listen to me! You… you were so angry that you couldn't even control yourself! Jasper changed! I showed her something she has never experienced before and I changed her! But… but you were so fixed on hurting her that you didn't even care if you hurt other people in the meantime! You could have hurt me! You could have killed me if I didn't summon my shield!" Steven cried in a fit of anger, but he calmed down as he noticed Angelite covering her own mouth, tears streaming down from the pair of eyes he imagined appertained to Pearl.

"I… I c-could h-have k-killed m-my baby…" Angelite whispered before a bright light engulfed the fusion, followed by a loud pop sound.

Pearl and Lapis landed ungracefully on the ground, both of them exhausted and terrified by their own actions. Pearl got up trembling and sobbing, hands on her mouth as she looked at Steven, before she ran away in the house. Lapis tried to call her but she was too weak, together they were meant to be something beautiful and to do extraordinary things, but they became what she feared the most. Without saying anything, she got up, summoned her wings and flew over the cliff which overlooked the temple.

"Steven, are you ok?" Garnet asked approaching the boy who sniffed a little and wiped away his tears.

"Not… really, I… I have to talk to them…" Steven said as he slowly began to make his way towards the lighthouse.

"I… I'm… sorry, I didn't want this to happen…" Jasper almost whispered as she got up.

"Don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault…" Garnet stated reaching her.

"I knew this wouldn't have gone well…" Jasper stated as she lowered her head.

"Indeed, this didn't go well. Listen Jasper, your actions may have seemed unforgivable to us, but Steven thought it was right to give you a second chance… and I'm doing the same, don't disappoint him… he puts a lot of trust in you…" Garnet said extending her hand towards the striped gem.

"I won't let him down…" Jasper said, a little bit surprised by Garnet's action, nonetheless she took her hand and shook it.

"I'm glad to hear that…" Garnet said turning around and heading towards Peridot, Amethyst and Jet.

"I… for what it's worth… I'm sorry… for what I did to you the first time we met… I may not understand you… but… if your parts really care so much about each other… then… I guess it wasn't right to separate them…" Jasper said, avoiding eye contact with the fusion, who was more than surprised to hear that, guess Steven really changed her…

"I'm glad to hear that too…" Garnet said giving the warrior a small smile… and Jasper did the same.