Chapter Six

I flew through the night sky under the full moon as I searched for the patch of barren land near Little Homeworld. When I saw the forests replaced by bare earth, I knew I'd found the right place.

When I saw evidence of a small campsite, I landed and began steeling my nerves for what was about to follow. She had to be close by, and I couldn't risk showing any weakness or fear.

"Jasper!" I called out. "Show yourself! It's me!"

For a moment, I heard nothing, and I wasn't sure what to do next. Then I heard stirring from the nearby hovel. Jasper emerged from the darkness and removed the cloak she wore around her shoulders. I gasped a little when I saw the horns coming out of her head, the remnant of her corruption.

"So," she sneered, "You've finally come crawling back to me." She eyed me up and down. "I liked the skirt better."

I'd last seen her the day Steven and the Diamonds healed all the bubbled corruptions, but only from a distance. We hadn't actually spoken in nearly three years, and I tried my hardest to hide that I was rattled.

"I'm here to talk, that's all," I told her, as I took a step back.

"I'm not interested in talking, Lapis," she spat. "You can either fuse with me, or fight!" She then spread out her arms towards the dead land that surrounded us. "And I don't see any oceans around, so fighting me would be a bad idea!"

She always underestimated me.

I concentrated hard on the ground below us. Ten, twenty, thirty feet…

There has to be one nearby! I thought.

Jasper began to ask, "What are you d-?"

There!

Around fifty feet underground lay an aquifer. In an instant, I used all my strength and pulled the water to the surface, where it burst through the ground as a newly made spring.

"You were saying?" I asked when I saw the surprise on her face.

She began to laugh a little. "Now I remember why I like you."

I shook my head as I took a step closer. "No, you never liked me, and I certainly never liked you. Let's cut the bullshit."

I could barely see her raise an eyebrow in the moonlight. "Bull—what?"

"Really?" I sighed, "You've been on this planet all this time, and you haven't picked up anything from Earth TV?"

"Got better things to do," she grunted.

I glanced at the wasteland that surrounded us. "Yeah, I can see."

Jasper unleashed a growl that soon turned into a roar. "You, and all your Little Homeworld friends! You disgrace us! You've abandoned everything our Empire was built on, to live like alien dirt! Even the Diamonds are a disgrace now! And it's all because of your little bag of meat who dares to carry my Diamond inside his disgusting body!"

She surprised me when I heard her stifle tears. "Now I have nothing," she sobbed.

"Oh, boo hoo!" I groaned. "You know, sometimes, I look back on Malachite and I really regret what happened, but hearing you whine about how much you miss serving cruel despots, I just—ugh!" I turned the newly formed spring into a gushing geyser and drenched us both. "I'm not here to talk politics, and I'm sure as hell not here to listen to you badmouth Steven!"

Jasper whipped her head around to shake her hair dry. "Then why are you wasting my time?"

I composed myself and stood my ground. "I'm here because I need to talk to someone about the rebellion, and you're the only one I can ask about it."

She let out a chuckle. "The rebellion? Go ask Steven's friends—the disgusting fusion, and that pathetic excuse for a Pearl."

I took a moment to try to clear my mind, so I could focus. "I have to talk to you, because you know what it's like to shatter someone."

I could tell I'd surprised her now, for she stood quietly and gave no reaction.

"You…you know what I mean, don't you?" I asked. "You shattered Crystal Gems during the rebellion."

She folded her arms with a snort. "So?"

I struggled to find the right words. "Do you…ever think about it? Do you ever have any regrets?"

Jasper let out a big guffaw and stared down at me. "Regrets?! My enemies turned on their Diamonds! They were fighting for a garbage planet infested with vermin! If I could have shattered every Crystal Gem—"

"What good would it have done?!" I shouted. "The Diamonds weren't as perfect as you thought, were they?"

She staggered back like she'd been slapped. "He tricked them all," she muttered, as she turned away from me. "He did something to them. He…infected them somehow."

"I told you, I'm not here to talk about Steven," I insisted, as I screwed up my courage. "I just need to know how you live with having shattered people."

She turned back to me, and even in the moonlight, I could see the glint in her eye. "Who did you kill, Lapis?"

Before I could stop myself—before I could think—I said it: "Two other Lapis Lazulis, on Cestus III."

Even seeing Jasper practically squeal with pleasure at my shame, I felt some relief in simply admitting it all.

"They wouldn't stop terraforming when I told them to," I blurted out. "They…they…"

"They insulted you. They mocked you," Jasper said, with a smug grin.

"How did you know?" I asked, as I felt my legs grow unsteady. I glanced back at the bubbling spring to make sure it was still there.

"Don't play dumb with me, Lapis," she growled. "I know you. Better than anyone…better than any gem, or your precious Steven!"

"No," I muttered, "You never knew me at all. You never will."

"I know you better than you know yourself," she replied, as she stepped closer to me. "You didn't come here to find out how I cope with being a shatterer. You came here to confess, because you think I'm not worthy of judging you!"

I shook my head. "No…that's not it…"

She leaned over and looked me straight in the eyes. "But I do judge you. I did what the Diamonds made me for! I shattered those who opposed their plans." She then ran her fingers through my hair. "You murdered two gems who were doing what they were made for—what you were made for! If sanity still existed in this universe, I'd drag you to Homeworld and throw you to the Diamonds myself!"

She grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to her. "Let go," I said, but my own voice sounded distant and hollow.

Jasper clutched me tightly and whispered in my ear: "Fuse with me, Lapis. We're the only ones strong enough to fix this universe."

She picked me up and attempted to spin me around. Before the dance could begin, I flung my arm wildly and connected to the spring with my powers. Moments later, I felt the rush of water pound us both, knocking us apart as it blew us backwards.

As I regained my balance, I could hear her laughing.

I released my wings and took off into the night again. Below, I could hear Jasper shouting: "Come back! Please! Please!"

I spent the rest of the night sitting on the central tower at Little Homeworld, stewing in my humiliation as I watched the moon travel through the sky.