asper lifted a hand to scratch at an inch on her arm, leaning up when Lion squirmed behind her. Once the animal was settled, Jasper resumed using him as a back support. The last book of the Spirit Morph Saga was being held carefully in her other hand, the claws far away from the fragile pages. Her eyes greedily ate up the words on the pages, finally nearing the end. She glanced back to the beach house as laughter filtered out from the open door. Connie and Steven were watching some surgical show inside while the Crystal Gems were in their respective rooms. Jasper turned the page and began to read the last chapter of the series. She could hear Lion snore behind her but she ignored the animal as her eyes flashed from page to page, a scowl deepening with each page.

Jasper growled as she made a move to turn the page but there was nothing left. She closed the cover and turned her head to look at the neat pile of books next to her. Jasper picked each one up and read the spines, setting them down with care. She reopened the last book and reread the last chapter, disbelief settling on her face.

"That's it?" she whispered to herself, bewildered. She held out the book and held it this way and that, as if by doing so a new chapter would magically appear. "That can't be it," Jasper growled. She slammed the book shut and turned her head to glare at the beach house.

Lion must have sensed Jasper's growing anger because he woke up mid-snore. He looked at her blearily for a moment before starting to purr in an attempt to calm her down. When he tried to rub his head against Jasper's gem, Jasper hissed at him. Lion reared his head back to stare at her for a moment, his eyes going to the book for a second. He grumbled and rested his head against his forepaws, knowing that he could do nothing to quell the storm developing in the quartz gem.

Jasper stood up and bellowed, "CONNIE!" the book clenched in her hand. She heard a crash from inside the house and figured that either Connie or Steven had fell off the bed in shock.

Connie ran out of the open the door, Rose's sword grasped in her hand as her eyes roamed the beach, searching for whatever had caused this disturbance in Jasper. Steven followed closely behind, his mother's shield gleaming in the sunlight as he rubbed a bright red splotch on his forehead.

"Get over here!" Jasper roared at Connie, raising her arm so Connie could see the book in her hand.

Connie's eyes narrowed as she tried to read the book's title. "Destiny's End?" Realization dawned on her face as she figured out what had gotten Jasper so upset. "You read Destiny's End!"

"How the" she clenched her teeth as she fought the urge to berate the human for reading such trash, "how can you read this garbage!?" Jasper slammed down the book into the sand, not caring that she exerted so much force that pages were ripped off and being carried away by the wind. She spat at the book as if the words had personally insulted her. "This is a disgrace! Even Dr. Seuss can write better endings than that pathetic excuse of an author!"

The sound of a sword clattering on the patio brought Jasper's eyes back up. She watched Connie sprint down the stairs and run over to her. The human stopped in front of the book and kicked it. "It's terrible!" She looked up with adoring stars in her eyes. "I'm so glad you think so too!"

Jasper ran a hand through her messy hair as she started to pace. She gestured wildly to the pristine stack of books next to the now awake Lion. "How can the series come to this!? It was full of fighting and war and death in the first three books!"

"I know right!" Connie yelled, almost jumping up and down in her excitement. "It had so much potential to write the best ending ever!"

"I can handle the fact that Archimicarus started to develop feelings for Lisa in the second book but at least they kept the fighting!" Jasper snarled at the remains of the last book. "But now they were just lovesick animals! It is a dishonor to Plinkman who sacrificed himself so Lisa could continue the rebellion. And that cake! How can you describe a stupid cake for fifty pages!? You eat it and then shit it out!" Jasper bent down to scoop up the remains of the book. The few pages remaining were barely held together by the snapped spine. She turned her body and chucked the book into the ocean, the novel crashing into the water a good thirty feet away. "Fuck you, author!" she roared.

Connie laughed and jumped up high, her arms in the air. "Yeah, fu-"

"Don't," Jasper snapped.

A frown was the response but at least Connie didn't finish what she was going to say. Not that Jasper would truly care if the human swore, but she didn't want another lecture from Pearl if the gem ever caught wind of the incident. "If I ever hear you talk about that accursed book, I will throw you out to sea myself."

Instead of being afraid at the threat, Connie grinned and nodded. "Understood ma'am!" she said with a salute, causing Jasper to roll her eyes.

Now that Jasper had ranted and destroyed the offending novel, she was stable enough to feel that several people were watching her.

She turned her head to see that her yelling had caused the Crystal Gems to go outside and crowd around the patio, watching the two of them. Amethyst was currently on the floor, wheezing from laughing too hard and Pearl had her hands on her hips, a foot tapping rhythmically on the wooden floor. She opened her mouth to start chastising Jasper but a moment later groaned, "Forget it," before heading back inside, dragging a still chuckling Amethyst behind her.

Steven leaned his chin against the railing and pouted at the spot where the book had landed into the ocean. "But I liked the ending," he grumbled. He had hoped that Jasper would enjoy it too and they could bake the cake together.

Garnet smiled down at Steven and ruffled his hair with an approving nod. "That's because you're, Steven." She looked down at Connie and Jasper and gave the two a thumb's up.

"Even Garnet," Steven whined, watching sulkily as the fusion went back inside the beach house.