There it was. The Earth.

I'd only just arrived at the bridge when I saw the mass of blue and green outside of the window. I picked up my pace, stopping beside Peridot's seat. The warship wasn't in orbit yet, but the planet was close. A strange object floated outside, drifting lazily past the ship.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing to it.

"I'm not exactly sure," replied Peridot. "I sent out a Hand Robonoid to investigate." Pausing, one of her limb enhancers' floating digits pressing something on the control panel. A holographic screen popped up, showing various images of what I assumed to be aerial views of...cities? That had caught me off guard. There were no cities during the war. All that I'd known of humans was that they lived out in the wild, taking shelter in caves and defending themselves with primitive spears. They'd somehow managed to evolve from that, which was...puzzling.

"Using this data," the technician continued, bringing me to attention. "I was able to identify any and all cities adjacent to shorelines composed of Earth sediment. If you look here…" A digit pointed to a certain spot located on the northwestern continent. The image zoomed in, showing a smaller human settlement. What interested me was the stone structure near the shoreline. Though the shot was from above, I could see what looked like arms protruding from the sides. "Not only does this city exist on what can be called a "beach", but there seems to be remnants of Gem architecture. This may be the "Beach City" the Lazuli spoke of. If I have your permission, ma'am, I believe we should land here."

"Of course," I said with an approving nod. I had to admit, I was impressed. "Very good work, Peridot. I'll be sure to inform your manager of your ingenuity."

I smiled politely down at the sitting Gem, and she looked up at me with wide eyes and a deep blush. She then smiled, a small and rather awkward-looking one. Seeing her joy only made my smile grow wider. I was of the opinion that all Gems, even the lesser ones, deserved some sort of commendation for a job well done. It was good for morale, after all.

"Thank you, Zebra Agate, heh…" she said sheepishly. Clearing her throat, she looked back at the control panel, her "hands" sinking into it as if it were made of fluid. "The ship will land within the next hour."

"Jasper and I will deal with the traitors, should they show themselves," I proclaimed. "It should take no more than a few minutes. You will be free to head to the Kindergarten after that. I shall inform Jasper." Peridot nodded in agreement. I turned from the window, preparing to walk back towards the rest of the warship. Suddenly, I paused. I remembered the traitor curled away in her cell. A sneer formed on my face as I called back over my shoulder:

"Have the Lazuli removed from her cell. I want her to watch exactly what happens when a Gem even thinks of turning against Homeworld."

I walked on after that, Peridot's nervous "Yes, ma'am…" fading into nothing behind me. Eagerness pulsated throughout my form. I was so close...so close to hearing Rose begging for mercy as thrashed her repeatedly over the head with my crook. It was less than what she deserved, but that was where White Diamond's punishment would come in. I was certain of that.

As I made my way down the corridors, a thought came to mind. I remembered that sparring attempt I had when Jasper rotations ago. She'd said something about me being rusty. I was too flustered at the time to pay it any mind, but now that I thought about it, I begrudgingly had to confess that she was right. Agates weren't always used for combat; usually, our sheer presence was enough to keep a Gem in line, and any fighter Gems under our command were involved with actual warfare. That wasn't to say that I had no fighting experience; I was ordered to fight alongside my Quartzes halfway through the war, before the rush job that was the Beta Kindergarten. That was thousands of years ago, however. I needed practice. I needed another sparring session.

I slowed my pace as the entrance to the training bay. Jasper's fierce shouts made my hands tremble slightly. How embarrassing...I was supposed to be striking fear into her, not the other way around. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter was that Jasper was incredibly intimidating, more specifically, her enthusiasm. I didn't want a repeat of last time. I bit my lip. If I wanted a chance to spar with Jasper without it becoming a game of chase, I needed to think ahead.

I needed to do something unorthodox.

I reached the training bay entrance, my past excitement being replaced with dread. What I was about to do wasn't so much risky (hopefully) as it was incredibly cheap. Nevertheless, this would be entertaining. Carefully, I brought out my crook and held it against my body. I then reached for the side of the entrance, fiddling with the control system. I found the light source and turned it off. Immediately, the room side turned pitch black.

"What the hell?" I heard Jasper mutter. Pressing the button to close the door, I quickly ducked inside and was submerged in darkness. I hugged the wall, treading as lightly as Gemly possible. I couldn't see her, and I wasn't about to do something as stupid as walking blindly into her. I heard her smack her lips in annoyance. "Tch...what did that runt do?"

"Oh, Peridot had nothing to do with this, I assure you," I dared to call out. I smirked, amused at my own boldness.

"Zebra Agate?" Jasper grunted, understandably confused. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing," I cooed. "I just realized that we had some unfinished business." I could now see the glow of her gem. A beam of orange light began moving this way and that. She was searching for me. I let out a sharp gasp as it nearly landed on my arm. Unfortunately, the noise still gave me away.

"Hmph. Is that right?" Her boots thudded against the floor as she approached. I dashed off to the side as quickly and as quietly as I could. She started snickering. "Are you kidding? You're not seriously trying to get the drop on me, are you? Wow...you know, that's pretty cheap."

I almost laughed. Quickly, I slammed my hand over my mouth as I held back a giggle.

"I prefer to call it strategy," I shot back. "You do know what strategy is, yes?" She snorted. That got me. I started laughing, and immediately Jasper's searchlight fell on me. A flash of light told me that she was equipping her crash helmet.

"Tsk," she scoffed. Thanks to her glowing Gem, I could make out that trademark grin of hers. "Strategy...I'll show you strategy, Agate."

"Oh?" I purred. I was right; this was fun, and we hadn't even traded blows yet. "Come on, then. I give you permission."

She didn't need any further coaxing, though I was pleasantly surprised that she'd waited as long as she did. She started sprinting at me. This time, I was ready. Using her light as my guide, I rushed at Jasper. When I felt she was close enough, I swung my crook, the hooked end facing away from her.

TWACK!

The impact was hard; I could feel it through the crook's handle. Jasper cried out as she staggered to the side, at least from what I could tell. I wasn't finished. I swung my crook again, this time, swinging it upwards. There was another hard impact, followed by Jasper's yell. There was a thud; I assumed she fell backwards, as the shine of her Gem was now beneath me.

"Are you alright?" I asked in mild concern. I was expecting Jasper to shoot back that she was fine or something to that effect. However, she remained silent. Jasper's searchlight began moving; I think she was trying to get up. I'd taken a step back, when suddenly, she growled.

WHAM!

It was now my turn to be thrown off balance. Something hard decked me in the face, and I was sent to the floor before I could even process that I was in pain. My crook flung itself from my hand, clattering against the ground in the darkness.

"Guess your little plan backfired," Jasper remarked, looming over me as she laughed. Her searchlight shined directly into my face. I narrowed my eyes. I couldn't let her get the upper hand. Deciding to ignore the pain as best I could, I felt around in the dark for my crook. "Oh, no you don't."

Jasper was suddenly on top of me. I began to panic as her hands gripped my wrists, rather tightly, I might add. With a snarl, She forced them to the ground. I brought up my knee and it pressed into her stomach. Now, she couldn't bring her full weight on me. If she wanted to move my leg, she'd have to release one of my wrists, and judging by her sudden hesitation, I got the feeling that that wasn't what she planned on doing. It was a very small victory, though. Jasper laughed again. I could barely look at her with her searchlight shining down on me, but I could just make out her form out of the corner of my eye.

"That's it?" she taunted. "Tch. I was hoping you'd last a bit longer than that."

"I'm not finished yet," I insisted, but that only earned me a third laugh. I gritted my teeth in frustration.

"Heh, looks that way to me," mocked Jasper. She moved one of my wrists, now holding onto both of them with one hand while the other suddenly took hold of my chin. I gasped as my head was turned to face Jasper. I squinted against her searchlight.

"Could you at least turn that down a little…?" I grumbled. I was so glad I'd turned out the lights; to say that I was completely flustered by this was an understatement. My body felt hot, even more so now that Jasper was handling me with such confidence. Her searchlight dimmed, allowing me to finally see the smug satisfaction on her face. She was smirking again, all of her teeth exposed. For a fraction of a second, I actually thought she might bite me.

"I guess I should thank you," Jasper finally said, much to my confusion.

"...What?"

"I could never do something like this to Yellow Agate. She'd crack my Gem if I even thought of asking her to spar, and she sure as hell isn't afraid of hurting me." I frowned at that.

"I'm not Yellow Agate," I stated firmly. "I don't want to hurt you. This is supposed to be fun."

"But what's fun without a little risk, huh?" There was that purr again. Jasper's now half-lidded eyes glowed with an almost...primal emotion. I couldn't describe it, and yet, it allured me. This entire situation was risk incarnate, and dare I say it...I was enjoying myself. The more I thought about it, the more I was beginning to wonder if Jasper was right. Perhaps I was holding myself back.

Maybe it was time to give Jasper what she wanted.

My body began sparking with electricity, flashes of white illuminating. Jasper's arrogance quickly changed to surprise.

"Be careful what you wish for," I hummed. In that instant, electric energy shot out from my body and gave Jasper a mighty jolt. Sparks flew as she was launched off of me, shouting in alarm. There was then a cacophony of noise as Jasper crashed into...something.

I got up, not bothering to look for my crook or re-summon it. I followed Jasper's Gem glow and threw myself down on top of her, straddling her stomach. Jasper's hands were on me quickly, but I wouldn't wait and give her the chance to push me off. I began delivering punch after punch, growling as fiercely as I could each time I made contact. Jasper fought back, and before I knew it, we were rolling across the floor, locked in combat as we barreled into the equipment around us. She'd land hits, as would I, but I don't think either of us really registered the pain. The adrenaline, the chaos...this was all that mattered in that moment.

Then, the lights turned on.

I cried out in discomfort, as did Jasper, and we collapsed in a heap on the floor with me on top of her. Sitting up, I now found my hands resting against the sides of her head, my fingers interwoven in her splayed-out hair. We were both panting heavily, and I'd only just now noticed the feeling of sweat dripping down my bare "skin". Our eyes were locked, and I couldn't make out what emotion she was feeling. I wasn't sure what I was feeling, either, but I did know one thing: I hadn't wanted it to end.

"Er…" I suddenly heard Peridot's voice. "Am I...interrupting something?"

I looked up, seeing the green Gem standing at the training bay entrance. Her eyes darted from me to Jasper. Remembering myself, I pulled myself off Jasper's body, as much as it pained me to do so.

"Just a bit of sparring," I responded quickly, dusting myself off. "Is...everything alright, Peridot?"

"I'd...heard all the noise and I thought maybe an engine had exploded or...something."

"You should've just stayed at the bridge, half-pint," Jasper grunted, having gotten to her feet herself. Peridot glared at the Quartz.

"Alright, alright," I said quickly, glancing between the two Gems. "What I think Jasper means is that we appreciate the concern, but things just got a bit...carried away?"

"I can see that," Peridot commented, her eyes sweeping across the room. I decided to take a look for myself and see what damage we'd done. There was a treadmill that had its lower platform completely smashed. That had to have been what Jasper landed on earlier. I grimaced, knowing that I'd have to explain that in the future. After the treadmill was a mess of barbells and dumbbells that had been knocked over. I think we'd even crashed into the punching bag, as it was still swaying. I was amazed at myself, in all honesty.

Yes, well," I started. "As you can see, everything is perfectly fine. Well, many not "perfectly", but you know what I mean. That will be all, Peridot." I clapped my hands, signalling that it was time for the technician to return to her post.

"Yes, ma'am."

Peridot hurried off after that, leaving me alone with Jasper once again. By now, I'd caught my breath, and the training bay was now quiet aside from the rhythmic hum of energy flowing through the pipes on the ceiling. Jasper and I turned to each other. She was smiling. One that was quite tame compared to her usual smiles. She looked satisfied, which had me blushing yet again.

"Now that was more like it," she began, breaking the silence. "I guess I was wrong about you, Zebra. You're not as rusty as I thought you were. I actually felt a few of those punches, heh."

"Thank you, Jasper," I replied with a grin. "And you're more durable than I thought. Not a lot of gems can take that attack point-blank and still keep their physical form. But, then again, you're not most Quartzes, are you?"

"Hell no, I'm not." With her hands on her hips, Jasper stood tall and puffed out her chest. I chuckled softly.

"I'm honored to have gotten a chance to spar with you, then," I told her. "My Quartzes will be jealous, especially the Amethysts; they absolutely adore you."

"As they should."

I'd been preparing myself for some more banter with the Quartz when I'd suddenly remembered why I'd come to the training bay in the first place.

"Stars, I'd completely forgotten," I mumbled. Jasper glanced as me, a brow raised. "I was going to come and tell you that we've nearly entered Earth's orbit. That was, until all of this…" I gestured at the mess we'd made. "...Happened."

"About time," Jasper sneered. She began cracking her knuckles in anticipation. "I needed a warm-up, anyway. When are we landing?"

"Within the hour, according to Peridot. We still have some time to spare. Which gives me an idea…"

"Oh?" Jasper looked at me in interest. I felt bad, because what I was going to suggest was not going to be anything fun.

"I think we should tidy up a bit," I said. Jasper's eagerness deflated, a gleam of betrayal and disappointment in her eyes. I covered my mouth as I laughed apologetically. "Come now, let's not be savages. Besides, someone has to do it. I'll even make it a game."

"...?"

"Whoever finishes gets to land the first punch on Rose."

I'd barely finished the sentence when Jasper sprinted towards the nearest dumbbell.