AkumaXHwaorang - As for the language thing you mentioned; yeah, I've never been fond of that in SU fics myself. Never made sense to me. (I also swear like a drunk sailor, so I ain't a prude. LOL) Always made me cringe when I saw it.
As for keeping them in character, I try pretty hard to do so. If I don't like a line, I will spend a while reworking it in my head until I feel like it's good enough.
~O~
Chapter Thirty-Five: Maternal Heart
Jasper was still spending time searching for a sea shell. She picked her way through the sand with a frustrated sound. Seeking the perfect shell for Pearl was becoming a chore, but now that she set her mind to it, she couldn't give up.
"Hey, sis, what are you doing?" Amethyst was standing there, hand on her hip.
Jasper didn't look up at her. "Nothing."
"So...you're just combing through the sand for your health?" Amethyst joked.
Jasper didn't offer a quip or response this time. Amethyst sighed and approached her. "Seriously, what are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm trying to find a gift for Pearl, if you have to know." Jasper snapped, giving her a look.
"So, you're looking in the sand?" Amethyst didn't understand.
"I'm looking for a shell. Pearl's come from shells and I thought that..." Jasper trailed off at the smile on Amethyst's face. She began to take it more as a joke and scoffed, standing. "Forget it. It was a stupid idea."
"No, it's cute!" Amethyst insisted, stopping her from leaving. "I'll help you look. Pearl's at the Diamond library anyway. We have time."
Jasper nodded. "Good."
They spent the better part of the morning searching for a shell, but every one Jasper found, she disapproved of. It had to be perfect. It had to represent a perfect image of Pearl.
"Jasper! How about THIS one!" Amethyst yelled from the ocean, holding up an enormous clam.
Jasper made a face. "Don't be stupid. That's too big."
"I never heard Pearl complain..." Amethyst quipped, at the corner of her mouth.
"What?" Jasper snapped.
"Nothing!" Amethyst sang, returning to the ocean.
Jasper dug through the sand for a few minutes longer before grinning. She had found the perfect shell. A shimmering opalescent thing. Smooth and fine. A perfect representation of the gem she felt adoration for.
Pearl was sitting and reading a scroll in Pink Diamond's library when she heard the sound of the warp pad. When she saw Jasper approach her, she brightened and held up the scroll.
"Jasper! I had no idea that there were scrolls of ancient fusion dances!" she exclaimed, delighted. "I thought they were destroyed!"
Jasper shook her head. "White Diamond holds no desire for fusion, but she keeps books and scrolls for research purposes."
Pearl smiled happily. "It's amazing! Gem history in the palm of my hands!"
Jasper had her arms behind her back. "Pearl? I, uh, wanted to give you...something."
"Really? Like what?" Pearl looked interested now.
Jasper hesitated. The more she thought about her trifle offering, the more she felt like it was simply a waste of time. Pearl had found Pink Diamond's library. This was just a simple thing she had scoured for in the sand. It suddenly seemed embarrassing.
"Jasper, what is it?" Pearl asked, interested in knowing.
"I...found this for you." Jasper held out the shell.
"Oh. A shell." Pearl raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, it's..." Jasper scratched the back of her neck. "I know pearls are made that way and I thought it... I tried to find the best one, but..." She huffed and looked away. "It's stupid. Forget it."
Pearl took the shell from the palm of her hand. "Jasper, no. It's adorable. Thank you!"
"Really?"
Pearl ran her fingers over the shell's surface. "Because it was given to me by you. I want you to understand that no matter what you give me, big or small, I'll always love it."
Jasper chuckled quietly. "I suppose."
Pearl smiled. "I'll keep it in my room where it'll stay safe."
True to her word, they returned to the temple and Pearl placed the offering on a pedestal by the many waterfalls.
O
Jasper was alone in the house reading a book.
Connie suddenly came rushing in, clutching her hand and shrieking in pain. It startled Jasper so much, she jumped to her feet and frowned.
"What in the name of the Diamonds are you screaming about?" she demanded.
Connie rushed around and Jasper noticed that she was holding a towel that she had wrapped her hand with. She looked like she was going to cry.
"Where's Steven?" she cried, "Where is he?"
"He's with the others on a mission," Jasper approached her, frowning. "What's going - What did you do? Let me see it!"
Connie couldn't protest as Jasper had already pulled the towel away. She was stunned to see that Connie had cut the palm of her hand. She quickly covered it back up and without speaking, urged the human to the sink and began to run her hand over the water.
Connie cried out again in pain when the water touched her open cut.
"What happened? What did you do to yourself?" Jasper demanded, staring at her in disbelief.
"I was..." Connie hissed sharply, forgetting the pain in place of how odd it was that Jasper was helping her. "I was working on my science project outside and I cut my hand on a piece of the aluminum I was using. Ah! It hurts!"
"Of course it hurts, idiot. You cut yourself deep." Jasper scoffed, reaching up with one hand and searching for things in the counters.
"Hold still." Jasper ordered, taking a bottle of alcohol.
When she poured it on Connie's wound, the human gave a wail of agony and tried to wrench away, but Jasper had her arm wrapped around Connie's hand, leaving it impossible. Jasper was indifferent to her sounds and continued washing the wound.
Connie continued to whimper, but Jasper searched for bandages. Instead she found gauze and began to wrap it around Connie's hand. She didn't speak and Connie had been silent, watching the gem with a mixture of confusion and surprise.
"Jasper." she said.
"Yeah? What?" the gem groused.
"Uhm..." Connie smiled a little, momentarily forgetting her pain. "Thank you. I didn't know you knew how to take care of human cuts."
Jasper glanced up at her, then shrugged her shoulders. "I knew what humans were. It was my job to understand their weaknesses and how they repaired themselves. I'm not stupid, you know."
"I know, I just..." Connie laughed sheepishly, shrugging too. "You never seemed the nurturing type."
Jasper looked at her, lips parting slightly with a small sound.
The tiny bird rested in the makeshift next.
Jasper hovered over the creature, running a finger across its frail body. It gave a small chirp and she tilted her head.
"You're wing is broken," she told the animal, "Ridiculous. Weak. I'm surprised you haven't been eaten up by a stronger animal."
The bird looked around, attempted to fly but flopped down, face-first. It seemed to stare down at its broken wing for a moment before chirping up at Jasper. The gem's features softened a little.
"Ridiculous..." she muttered.
"I should probably get back to my project." Connie interrupted.
Jasper snapped out of her thoughts and frowned at her. "Don't cut yourself again. What are you doing for this...'school project' that made you injure yourself anyway?"
Connie smiled. "Oh! I'm building a diorama of the universe. I'm using aluminum foil for a backdrop."
She started to leave, but her phone rang and she noticed it was Steven. She answered it and brought the phone up to her ear.
"Steven?" she said.
On the other end, Steven and the gems were fighting off a corrupted gem that consisted of tentacles and eyes. He blocked a swing of a tendril with his shield.
"Connie!" he cried. "Garnet needs Jasper here! Another gem corruption's loose in the jungle!"
Connie looked up at Jasper, who stared at her questionably.
"Uh, what jungle, Steven?" Connie asked, anxious. "There's more than one!"
"Hold on." There was a series of shouts from the gems in the background, a loud screech from the gem monster that had Connie holding her head away from the phone with a wince. "Garnet, what jungle?"
A grunt from Garnet in the background. "The Gem Hunting Grounds!"
Connie looked up at Jasper. "The Gem Hunting Grounds?"
Jasper's face lit up. "I know where that is." she said. "They used the Hunting Grounds to train warriors before the war."
She started for the warp pad and Connie followed behind her. "I'll go with you!"
Jasper snorted. "I don't need your help."
"I can help!" Connie insisted. "Besides, homework can wait."
Jasper rolled her eyes, but didn't care if the human followed or not. So long as she didn't get in her way.
O
Yellow Diamond tapped her finger impatiently against the arm rest of her cathedra.
Two Yellow Gypsums dragged a Peridot into her chamber. An older Peridot and an Era-1 gem. Facet - 1A2L Cut-4XH.
One of few who still walked without corruption. And without the need for Limb Enhancers. This one did wear intricate head gear with a large magnifying lens hanging from the side.
Unlike a specific, deviant Peridot; her gem was located on her shoulder and her hair was wild. Her form didn't necessarily reflect perfection, but that wasn't important given her skills as a Kindergardener. A scientist of the highest order in Yellow Diamond's court.
"Let go of me!" she snapped. "Don't treat me like a prisoner!"
She looked up at Yellow Diamond and immediately knelt before her. "My Diamond!"
Yellow Diamond waved one hand. "Stand." she ordered.
The Peridot did just that, rising.
"How have you progressed with your research?" Yellow Diamond asked. "I expected a report from you sooner."
"Y-Yes. The corruptions you've sent to me show similar stages of corruption as your first." the Peridot replied. "They react erratically to the sample of healing salve and it has proven to hasten the corruption process."
Yellow Diamond smiled. "Good. That's what I like to hear." she said. "Now, what about reversing the process? Have you discovered any ways to do so?"
The Peridot shook her head. "No, my Diamond."
She didn't seem content with this new task she had been given.
"My Diamond. If I may speak freely..." she began, hesitant.
Yellow Diamond waved a hand in the air. "Go on."
"I feel as if my duties are better served to the creation of new life. Not the destruction." the Peridot told her, hesitant.
Yellow Diamond's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your duties are to serve me." she replied, a mild edge in her voice. "I haven't forgotten your endeavors to the creation of our specific 'Perfect Quartz'. That is why I know you will not disappoint me in this task."
The Peridot crossed her arms in salute. "Yes, my Diamond."
"You are dismissed. I expect a new report on the status of the corruptions in another week."
The Peridot departed.
Once she returned to her laboratory, she passed rows of cells filled with corrupted gems who had the misfortune of being made defective. This was their new fate. And she had witnessed Yellow Diamond destroying them all for the sake of planning an assault on Earth.
The Peridot reached into a cell, stroking the furry, sticky side of a corrupted gem.
"Forgive me..." she whispered.
She remembered what it was like on Pink Diamond's colony. How it had felt to be HER Peridot. To have created gems instead of destroyed them. All for the sake of Yellow Diamond's needs. Needs that had become warped from the chaos of Earth.
"She would loathe me for what I've done..."
A gurgle. "Shatter me..."
The Peridot made her way toward a cell, where a gem twisted in the middle of corruption lay. A creature of hooves, tendrils and claws. What had once been a Hematite was now a creature swathed in smoke. Hematites could transform their physical forms into smoke to escape capture.
But this one had resembled a living nightmare.
"I'm sorry. I cannot do that." the Peridot told her.
Tears poured from the gem's eyes.
O
The corrupted gem surged through the brush, howling; a four-legged gem beast resembling the elephants of Earth.
Jasper gave chase, panting.
"Don't run from me!" she shouted.
Connie was clutching Rose's sword in her hand and followed as fast as she could. "Jasper!" she cried, stopping for a moment to catch her breath. "Wait for me!"
The gem corruption screeched as it crashed through the trees. Connie could hear Jasper's grunts of effort as she tried to subdue it. It took a few moments before the creature came charging out at her, but Jasper grabbed one of its legs and yanked, sending it falling to the ground with a loud, terrible cry.
She was covered in brown and gray splotches; clearly the corruption had put up quite a fight.
Connie took that chance to leap high and bring the sword down through the corruption's physical form, dispelling it and leaving only its gem at Jasper's feet.
"Wow, we make a good team!" Connie said, smiling.
Jasper had to admit that to a small extent. "Yeah. You're a bit clumsy on your technique, but you're not a bad warrior."
"Clumsy?" Connie looked confused.
"Yeah. Look...uh..." She retrieved a branch from the ground and held it like a sword, "just stand like me."
Jasper stood in a stance and watched Connie mimic it, but her handling was off. Jasper bent down and straightened her arms a bit to assist.
She thrust her stick forward and Connie did the same with Rose's sword.
She grinned, delighted.
It was odd to be "training" with Jasper, but in a way, kind of fun.
"I know you think that battle is all about skills, but you have to put brute force into your attacks sometimes," Jasper said.
"I'm not that strong as you." Connie pointed out.
"True. But you've seen me fight. Use your enemy's strength against him."
The two returned to the house and the other gems had already been there, waiting for them. They looked up, surprised to see Connie and Jasper engaging in conversation.
"...wow, so what did you do?" Connie exclaimed, star-struck.
Jasper grinned, punching the palm of her hand. "I punched it right in the nose and it flew so high that it hit a gem ship, taking out the engine!" She laughed. "You should have seen the look on that Nephrite's face!"
"Connie! Jasper!" Steven rushed up to them. "Did you get the gem?"
Jasper nodded. "Yeah, we got it."
"I see the two of you have bonded." Pearl said, with a smile.
"Jasper has SO MANY interesting stories to tell!" Connie told her. "And you should have seen her when that corrupted gem charged!"
Steven grinned. "Wow! I wish I could have been there!"
"Steven, you were with us." Pearl pointed out, approaching Jasper. "And we had our own - "
She immediately cut herself off and slapped her hands over her mouth and nose.
"Jasper! What in the name of the known universe is THAT?" she cried, disgust pinching her face.
Connie giggle sheepishly. "Oh, the corrupted gem knocked Jasper into something. I was trying to ignore it."
Jasper looked at Pearl with dismay, annoyed by the way she was reacting. "You're overreacting." she snapped. "It's just a bit of Earth mud. The stupid corrupted gem knocked me into it."
"That isn't just mud!" Pearl cried, still pinching her nose. "Stars, I'm going to be sick! AND THAT'S NOT PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE!"
Amethyst was cackling, nearly falling from the couch. "It is if you're me!"
Jasper protested as Pearl pushed her toward the bathroom to clean her off. She pushed her into the bath tub and turned on the water. Jasper grunted, annoyed at she was immediately doused in soap of every kind and Pearl began to scrub her off.
"You're being ridiculous." she snapped.
"No consort of mine is going to stay filthy." Pearl said, scrubbing Jasper's shoulders with two sponges. "You need to take better care of yourself."
"I'm not the one who constantly fusses over every little thing!"
"I do not fuss over EVERYTHING! Just the things that smell bad!" Pearl huffed. "Honestly, you really are Amethyst's sister."
Amethyst was cackling in the hallways. "Pearl! Wait, let me go get a camera!"
Jasper sat there in the tub, rolling her eyes and complaining the entire time.
While Pearl continued to clean her up, Garnet started to prepare lunch for Steven and Connie. She noticed that the human had a bandage wrapped around her hand.
"What happened?" she asked.
Connie looked down with an embarrassed chuckle. "School project accident." she said. "Jasper helped fix me up."
Garnet looked up, listening to the sound of the hair dryer click on. A few more choice complaints from Jasper and Pearl. It reminded her of Ruby and Sapphire.
"...Jasper, you're getting puddles on the floor."
"It's not my fault. I have a lot of hair."
"Yes, you do. Now under normal circumstances, I love your hair. But Steven could slip, now stand on the rug, please."
"Fine." A dramatic groan. "You're being ridiculous."
After a few moments, Jasper stepped out of the bathroom with Pearl holding a hair dryer. She was allowing Jasper's thick mane of hair to be dried for a few moments. When she seemed satisfied, she shut it off. Unfortunately, it made Jasper's hair poof out in an hilarious way.
Connie and Steven giggled, unable to help themselves.
Pearl bit her lip, struggling not to laugh. "Oh. Oh dear, I miscalculated."
Amethyst held a camera in hand and flashed a picture.
No one knew what happened next, but several pictures were taken in the wake of everyone fighting for control over the camera.
O
Note - I am Jasper - level fussy when it comes to finding a gift. LOL. Also, I kinda wanted to show that Jasper's learning how to be as maternal as the rest of the gems. In some small way. As she had once learned from Pink Diamond.
Also, the "Shoulder" Peridot being the one who had "made" Jasper will make a return. And I feel as though her possessing a "maternal" nature was an interesting change as most gems don't seem to have that in the show. Also, the reason she addresses Yellow Diamond as "her diamond" - though she belonged to Pink Diamond - will be better explained down the road.
Also, it wasn't just mud Jasper was knocked into. LOL. I am Pearl when it comes to bad smells and cleanliness.