Jasper frowned as she rolled over, feeling too cold to her liking. When her arm reached out and touched nothing but cool mattress, a whine bubbled up in the quartz's throat, sleep ebbing away. She heard two gem's laughter coming from behind and rolled over to face them. Jasper peeked an eye open and saw that Lapis and Peridot were cuddling together while watching something on Peridot's tablet, both still naked but without a care. Jasper whined again when she saw how their bodies were littered with love bites from the night before, most of which were from her, and scooted closer to them, purring at the heat that radiated from their bodies. She leaned up and greeted Lapis with a quick swipe of her tongue against her cheek.
Lapis tensed up at the lick and looked at Jasper like she had told her that she wanted to learn how to dance like Pearl. Jasper didn't paid no mind to the strange look and bent down to lick Peridot's cheek too, her chest rumbling as her purr grew louder.
Unlike Lapis, Peridot was very vocal about her displeasure. "That's disgusting, Jasper!" she yelled as she wiped her hand against her now wet cheek. Peridot paused the video the two were watching so she could glare at the quartz gem. Jasper only met her stare with a confused one. All she did was say good morning. Peridot flicked Jasper's nose and grumbled something about a striped clod not having manners as she resumed the video.
Jasper figured she wasn't in any real trouble because the gems didn't kick her out of the mattress so she made herself comfortable. She laid on her side and rested an arm around the two gems, her thumb absentmindedly stroking Peridot's side. When the video was over, Jasper yawned and sat up, reaching her arms high above her head. She didn't miss how two sets of eyes roamed her body as she stretched. "How are you two?"
Peridot answered with a kiss on Jasper's lips. "Good."
Lapis tore her eyes off Jasper's body long enough to meet her gaze. "Very good," she said, her eyes darker than usual with lust. Jasper almost smirked at the sight, after a night full of lovemaking, Lapis was still as eager as before. It made her want to stay in the barn forever but she knew she had to leave soon. So she gave the two gems a quick kiss and stood up from the mattress before either of them could pull her down. If they did that, then any resolve Jasper worked up would be gone.
"I have to go back," she said, bending down to grab the sweatpants off the floor. She tugged them on as the two pouted.
"Why?" Peridot grumbled, clicking out of the website she was visiting. Jasper saw that it was about spare robotic parts and wondered if the green gem was starting to make her own limb enhancers. She hoped not, even if it made Peridot taller, Jasper preferred having warm hands touching her instead of cold floating digits.
"Pearl might try to track me down if I stay away for too long," Jasper answered, pulling on the tank top. She felt a little guilty at leaving so soon but the longer she stayed, the likelihood of a search party increased.
Lapis chuckled at the thought, but an undertone of bitterness darkened the sound. "Maybe she should come and see and bring Garnet too." She rested her head on Peridot's shoulder possessively, earning an eyeroll from Peridot.
"I told you a thousand times, Lapis," the technician said, exasperated by the water gem's jealousy. "Garnet doesn't see me like that and she's already in a relationship!"
"With who?" Lapis snorted. "Amethyst?"
This time Jasper rolled her eyes. "I doubt that. There is a better chance of Amethyst ending up with that pearl." Now that she was thinking about it, there have been several times when Pearl looked at Amethyst when the purple gem wasn't paying attention. And the way that Amethyst constantly teased Pearl. Everything clicked into place and Jasper almost growled at how she couldn't see it before.
"She's a heterofusion, Lapis," Peridot explained, turning around to face the water gem. Usually the sight of her lover naked would cause the smaller gem to droll but the frown tugging at her lips and the jealousy in her blue eyes made her want to tell Lapis to cover herself. "And a permanent one at that. Obviously, the sapphire and the ruby love each other very much and besides, I only see them as a valuable comrade." She reached out and cupped Lapis's cheek. As if she pressed a button, Lapis's hard eyes softened and she leaned into the touch. "There is nothing you need to be afraid of. I love you and I would never betray that, Laps." Peridot smiled at how the nickname made the frown disappear.
Jasper grinned at the two, they really did love each other. She was just lucky to be a part of that. The quartz gem strolled over and had to kneel to press her lips against Lapis's gem. Touching another's gem was extremely personal and it was strictly forbidden on homeworld, perhaps even more so than fusing. "I love you too, Lapis. Don't forget that," she whispered against the gem. She moved up to kiss Peridot's gem too. "And you as well." Jasper leaned back and allowed the two to take turns pulling down her tank top and pressing a soft kiss on her own gem, feeling warm all over at the act. She forced herself to leave the barn before things could escalate further.
After a quick jog to burn off some steam, Jasper reached the beach house. She entered it and took a quick look around. Seeing no one but a sleeping Lion on her bed and Steven in his own, the quartz gem quickly walked to the bathroom and locked the door. Jasper hopped into the shower and turned the knob to the hottest setting. She sighed in relief as the scorching water worked out the knots in her back. Sleeping with the two gems was fun but sleeping on the mattress left her back bent in all the wrong ways. Jasper ran a clawed finger across each mark she could reach, proud that was could tell which one belonged to which gem. Peridot added a bit more teeth and as such her markings were more pronounced but Jasper didn't mind, she certainly paid the gem back in full. Lapis's were already fading and some were already gone. Jasper was a little saddened at that but the water gem did have the duller teeth of the three.
Once Jasper was cleaned and washed away the scent of sex, she phased on her uniform and strolled to the kitchen for some breakfast. Feeling lazy, she grabbed an apple and sat on the stool munching on it, trying to decide which books she wanted to get from the library for the week. Jasper glanced up at Steven's sleeping form in his bed. She knew that he kept his phone on his dresser when he's asleep. Maybe she could borrow it for a quick second and ask Connie. Jasper didn't know how to use a phone but she figured it couldn't be that hard.
Her plans were halted when the temple's doors opened. Amethyst walked out and nodded a greeting to Jasper but stopped halfway through. She stayed still, studying Jasper, and her eyes widened at what she saw. Amethyst more bounded than walked to Jasper and slammed her hands on the counter. "Where were you last night!?" The words would have been accusatory if not for the excited smile on her face.
Confused, Jasper answered without a thought. "With Peridot and Lapis."
Her answer made Amethyst even more excited. The purple gem pumped her fist into the air. "Sis got game!" she cheered, morphing into Purple Puma.
"Huh?" Jasper felt her cheeks start to grow warm and quickly took another bite out of her apple. For a reason unknown to the quartz gem, Amethyst knowing of her activities with Lapis and Peridot made her want to go away and not be seen for quite a while. She wasn't ashamed of what she did but she didn't like how Amethyst seemingly knew what she was doing within a moment.
Amethyst smirked at Jasper and morphed into her, with the horns and all. Jasper narrowed her eyes at the purple gem's antics but they widened considerably when Amethyst pointed at her neck, one of Peridot's marks visible on the purple flesh. "You might want to cover up that hickie, sis," Amethyst joked in her best Jasper impersonation.
The apple that Jasper was eating got stuck in her throat and she had to slam a closed fist to her chest to dislodge it. Amethyst couldn't help the poor quartz gem, she was too occupied laughing on the ground, still as Jasper.
Unfortunately for Jasper, the temple's doors opened again and Pearl stepped out, her eyes narrowing in confusion at the scene before her. At least it wasn't Garnet. The fusion would have had a field day if she saw Jasper's hickies. Jasper growled weakly at Amethyst who had managed to at least get off the floor. Amethyst turned her head and wiped away the tears that fell out. "Hey, P."
Pearl strolled into the kitchen, wondering what in the world Amethyst was doing shapeshifting into Jasper. "What's going on here?"
Amethyst gave Jasper a wicked grin and threw an arm around Pearl's shoulders. "What's going on is that sis here is an animal." She tapped her horn for effect. "Pun intended."
"Amethyst, that isn't funny," Pearl chastised, ducking under Amethyst's arm.
"Oh lighten up, P!" Amethyst said with a sad frown, shapeshifting back to her normal self.
Pearl rolled her eyes and focused on Jasper. "I was coming here to tell you that we are all about to go on a mission and we may need your help."
Jasper raised an eyebrow to that. She didn't like how Amethyst suddenly became serious and wouldn't look at Jasper when Pearl talked. The quartz gem had her suspicions on what the mission entailed but she wanted to hear it from Pearl. "What is the mission about?"
"We are going to your kindergarten to bubble the rest of the corrupted gems." To Pearl's credit, she met Jasper's eyes and her voice was steady as she answered.
"The ones I had captured I'm assuming?" Jasper had thought that the gems had already caught all of them.
Pearl nodded and this time her gaze wavered for just a moment. "Yes, some of them escaped before we could contain them." She moved her eyes to Steven's sleeping form. "Once Steven gets ready, we're leaving."
"Do I have any say in this?" Jasper asked. Whatever good feeling that was left after last night was crushed by Pearl's swift, "No." Pearl went back to the temple, leaving Jasper and Amethyst in a tense silence.
Amethyst rubbed the back of her neck, an action very similar to her own, Jasper realized. The purple gem sighed and sat on a stool next to the quartz gem. "You okay?" Amethyst laid a comforting hand on Jasper's arm and was shocked when Jasper didn't pull away.
"I'm fine," Jasper grunted, her voice leaving no room for discussion.
"If you're sure." Amethyst glanced back at Steven to make sure he was asleep before leaning closer to Jasper so she could whisper. "Congrats by the way. For that," she gestured to the hickie still plainly visible on Jasper's neck. "I didn't think you had it in you to handle those two."
Jasper scoffed as she shook her head. "I'm a quartz warrior. Of course I can handle a peridot and a lapis lazuli." A smirk spread across her face without Jasper's knowledge.
Amethyst punched Jasper's arm good naturedly. "That a girl, sis!" She lowered her voice when Steven turned over his bed but thankfully the boy still slept. "Honestly, I'm surprised that the two of them even got together after," her eyes dimmed, "well you know."
"Peridot interrogated Lapis and basically kept her as a prisoner?" Jasper offered. Amethyst nodded with a grimace. Jasper shrugged and leaned forward in her chair. "Life on earth is strange." She glanced at Amethyst with a sad grin. "Did you ever expect me to live here after trying to shatter you all? More than once I might add."
The purple gem took a few moments to think about a good way of answering before finally shaking her head. "Nope." She glanced at Steven again, sporting her own sad smile. "I'm glad that he healed you though. It means that there's still hope for the rest of them, ya know?"
"Maybe," was all that Jasper could offer. She wasn't like the other gems bubbled in the heart of the temple. She was infected by another and was only corrupted for a second before being poofed and bubbled. Jasper didn't know if Steven will ever gain the ability to heal the shattered mind of a true corrupted gem but by the way Amethyst was looking down at her hands, she knew the rest also had their doubts. She sighed and looked out the window, watching some birds fly off in the sky.
It was another hour before Steven woke up and got ready for the mission. By the time the boy was waiting on the warp pad impatiently, everyone was in the beach house. It was uncomfortably tight with four gems and a hybrid standing on the warp pad but it only lasted a few seconds before they were teleported to the Beta Kindergarten. Jasper stepped off the pad as soon as the light from the warp pad stopped surrounding them.
"We should split up to make things faster," Pearl suggested, looking at the numerous holes with an expression akin to disgust.
Jasper scowled at her and started to walk off in a random direction. "I don't care what the rest of you do but I'm going on my own."
"What!?" Steven called out, jumping off the pad and running at her. "At least take me with you in case you need help." When Jasper didn't slow down, he started to jog to keep up with her long strides. "Please?" Jasper just grunted but she didn't say no so Steven continued to jog by her side. He noticed that the others didn't say anything and looked back. Pearl and Amethyst looked very upset but Garnet gave him a thumb's up, signaling that it was okay that he was going with Jasper and not someone else.
Jasper hated being on the mission already. She knew better than to try to get the boy away from her, he would just follow her around until she relented. A part of the quartz gem wished she had Lapis and Peridot with her now but a much bigger part was glad that they weren't present. Jasper glared at the holes that the two passed. She knew every gem that had come out of this sad excuse for a kindergarten and she wished she didn't. Most of them were gone now, either shattered in the war or corrupted. There were so few of them left that it made Jasper bare her fangs, something she thought she had gotten over.
Steven caught on Jasper's mood and didn't try to talk to her. He looked at the holes and with each little twitch of Jasper's fingers, he knew that the gem that came out of the sandstone was dead or worse. There were too many times the quartz gem's fingers twitched like she wanted to claw at something. Steven looked ahead, scanning the area for any corrupted gems. He couldn't handle seeing anymore of Jasper's tells, he didn't want to know the cost of the rebellion.
The two were so caught up in their own minds that they didn't realize where their feet were taking them until they stood in front of Jasper's hole. Steven sneaked a glance at her face, worried at how she would react. Jasper was looking at the other holes around her own, none of them were still around. Out of all the holes that marked that face of rock, only she was left. The ultimate quartz warrior.
Jasper turned and marched to one of the injectors that was still embedded on the sandstone's face, ready to inject another gem at a moment's notice. Jasper jumped up and went into a spin dash, aiming straight for the legs. On the last second, she exited the spin dash and slammed her horns at the legs, roaring her rage as she felt the metal give way. The injected fell on the ground and Jasper grabbed it. She lifted the contraption above her head and marched back to her old hole. With another roar, she hurled the injector at her hole, destroying it with a thunder of broken rock falling. Jasper's chest heaved as she inspected the wall face now. The other holes were left unharmed but hers was completely demolished. Not even Peridot would be able to say that it was her hole if she looked at it. Jasper glanced down at Steven and he stared back, her hands holding on to one another for any small amount of comfort. The quartz gem huffed and started to walk away, not giving her hole another second of her time.
Steven looked at the ruined hole, watching how the sun made the bits of metal that stuck out of the rubble shine. He turned and ran back to Jasper, not sure of what to make of what Jasper just did. He looked up at her face but it revealed nothing. Steven played with his fingers before resting a hand on her leg to get her attention. When she didn't look down at him, he still asked. "Are you okay?"
"Why is everyone asking me that?" Jasper growled. She wanted to do something, anything! She had too much energy and after destroying her hole, Jasper just wanted to run for days on end without stopping. "I hated being the perfect quartz warrior." She had no idea why she admitted that but she couldn't stop now. It was like breaking her hole broke the dam within her. "I was always expected to follow orders, orders that sometimes meant I had to shatter other gems, other jaspers. I always said yes ma'am, never no, never thinking for myself." A disgusted snarl tore from her throat. "I didn't even know how to fucking read!" Jasper stopped and stared at the holes whose occupants would never have the chance to return. "We were created to fight. That's all we were good for. That's what everyone told us we were good for. But Rose Quartz saw more than that." Her hands shook as she clenched her fists. "She fought and shattered her own kind because she saw something more than what we were told. She sacrificed so many gems for this planet because she saw more than what the diamonds said this chunk of rock was good for." Jasper stopped talking, forcing her hands to relax lest the claws pierce her palms.
Steven was silent and the two stayed like that for a long time, the boy trying to figure out what to say and Jasper trying to keep her breathing under control. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, the words on his tongue dying before he could get them out. Finally, he found the right words that could help Jasper calm down and he was about to say them when he was interrupted by a loud inhuman roar.
Jasper's body jerked as if someone physically pulled her back from her thoughts. Her head snapped about as she tried to find the corrupted gem that made the noise earlier. Her nose couldn't pick up on anything but she knew it was there. Jasper took a step closer to Steven and allowed her claws and fangs to lengthen. If the boy got hurt, Pearl would never let her hear the end of it.
Another roar bounced off the sandstone walls, this one much louder than the first. The corrupted gem must have located them but Jasper and Steven still didn't have a clue where it was coming from. "Use Rose's bubble if I can't stop it," Jasper ordered with a growl. Her body tensed as her animal instincts kicked in and command that she fight the creature challenging her. Her eyes narrowed and through a cloud of dust, she could make out the corrupted gem's body. Jasper snarled when the creature took a step forward, growling.
It was the corrupted quartz that Jasper had fused with months ago. The sight of it made Jasper's blood run cold. She barely heard Steven call out her name as the creature gave a bellow and charged at the two. Jasper released her own battle cry as she went into a spin dash.
The two met with a boom that bounded off the walls. Jasper ended up under the creature and had to grab its jaws to stop it from tearing a chunk out of her shoulder. The fangs sliced into her hands but Jasper didn't let go. She twisted her body, trying to get the creature on its back, but one of its paws caught her abdomen and slammed the quartz gem back on the ground. Jasper growled and headbutted the creature's head, ignoring the claws that were digging into her stomach and tearing her flesh. The corrupted gem reared its head back and Jasper let go of the fangs so she could grab the forelimb pinning her down. Jasper used both legs to kick the creature off of her before it could try to bite her again. She rolled away as it slammed next to her, a hand covering the wound on her stomach. Blood poured out and seeped through her fingers but Jasper gave another snarl and charged. She caught the creature by surprised and jumped on its back, her free hand digging its claws into the flesh for better leverage. Jasper's vision began to blur and she shook her head to clear it. The corrupted gem reared back on its two legs, hoping to throw off the quartz gem. Jasper grunted and let go of her wound to use both hands to grab at the creature's back. She pushed out with both legs and the corrupted gem shrieked, backing up and slamming its back into a nearby wall. Jasper felt the strain but she kept pushing with her legs and pulling with her arms, trying to snap the corrupted gem's back.
As soon as it started, it ended. The corrupted gem released one last shriek and poofed. Jasper fell hard on her front, the wind knocked out of her. She raised her head to see Steven staring at her stomach, his hand gripping Rose's shield like he was about to throw it. Jasper coughed and grimaced as blood flew from her mouth, staining the orange ground red. She watched Steven run over to the gem and bubble it. He send it off with a tap of his hand and took a step towards her, his hands raised in case she needed help. She struggled to her feet but the pain crippled her. Before she hit the floor again though, Steven rushed over and grabbed her, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "Jasper I'm so sorry! I should have done something sooner but I was afraid that I would have hit you and-" his rambling stopped as another bout of coughing brought up more blood.
Jasper groaned and sat down, propped up by the wall to her back. "Fuck," she panted, looking at her stomach. She was somewhat surprised that she wasn't dead already, there was so much blood. The quartz gem closed her eyes and felt the sun kiss her skin. "Of course I would die here," she muttered.
"Y-you're not g-going to die."
She peaked an eye open and grimaced at Steven. "Bullshit," she tried to growl but it came out a weak whisper.
Steven looked at the wound and took a deep breath. "I can heal you," he said solemnly. "I've done it before with something like this," he admitted. He gingerly moved Jasper's clenching hand away from her stomach and gasped as blood immediately began to weep. Steven licked his hand and nodded in approval at the saliva gathered there. "When you slashed at me as you were first becoming corrupted, I should have been killed." He placed his hand against the wound, not paying attention to how it felt like hamburger meat. "I felt your claws rip through me but I healed myself."
Jasper's breathing became steadier and her stomach didn't hurt that much anymore. She could feel her body being stitched back together. "I don't remember that."
"Well you should," Steven removed his hand to inspect the site. It was like the fight never occurred. The skin was still red where the blood was drying but there was no puncture wound. "It really hurt." A hum was his only reply but he took it as an apology. He sighed and stood up, offering his hand. "Come on, the others probably heard the fighting and are worried about us."
"You, maybe," Jasper muttered, accepting the hand. She felt something familiar when they touched, like she was suddenly missing a piece of herself and was becoming whole. Jasper snatched her hand away like Steven had burned her and both gems stopped glowing.
Steven stared at his hand and then jumped back when he realized what was happening. "Sorry! I didn't mean to!"
Jasper shook her head, halting the words, and stood up on her own. She had a sudden sense of vertigo and placed a hand on the wall behind her for support. Once the dizzy spell left, Jasper turned and began to walk back to the warp pad. She saw the others there and as soon as they noticed Steven, Pearl and Amethyst ran over to him. They fussed over him and said that they heard fighting but they didn't know where he was. He explained what had happened but stopped to calm Pearl down when she noticed the blood on his hand. He told the two that it was Jasper's but she's healed now so everything was okay. Jasper ignored all of them and stepped onto the warp pad. She didn't acknowledge Garnet but the fusion studied her. "You and Steven almost fused." It wasn't a question but Jasper nodded anyway.
"You two almost did what!?"
"Whoah, what!?"
Amethyst and Pearl yelled at the same time and Steven looked around them at Jasper. When the quartz gem didn't say anything, he spoke up. "Yeah, it was after I healed her but then Jasper stopped it from happening."
"Why?" Garnet asked.
Jasper had no doubt in her mind that the fusion knew why, she just wanted the quartz gem to say it. "I would have corrupted him."
"How do you know?" The question came from Pearl this time.
"Because I became corrupted." Jasper didn't have the slightest clue why they were questioning her on why she didn't fuse with Steven. They were all looking at her expectantly. She did the right thing, not fusing with Steven. Didn't she?
Garnet pushed up her visors and looked off in the distance. "I think you should still try."
Jasper's head whirled to stare at the fusion. Had the sapphire completely given control to the ruby regarding intelligence? She looked at the others but none of their faces showed any grievances to what Garnet had said. Pearl did look hesitant but for once didn't voice her objections. Amethyst and Steven had encouraging smiles but that only confused Jasper even more. They've seen first-hand what had happened to her when she fused with a corrupted gem! And now they wanted to fuse with her? The quartz gem felt like her head was too full and she ran a hand through her hair. She looked back at Garnet who gave the tiniest nods. Shoulders deflating in defeat, Jasper grunted, "Fine."