Fight Night

Pearl and Shadow stood in the kitchen washing the dishes while everyone else played a boardgame in the living room. It was a nice monday afternoon there wasn't a worry in the world or any missions to go on. Shadow wore a white buttoned up shirt with his sleeves rolled up so that the water wouldn't soak through his shirt. He had replaced his bandages with a black eye patch since it was getting a little better. Pearl liked his new look, everything from his shirt to the black slacks he wore, it looked like Shadow was starting to get back to his old self. The only thing she was worried about was when it gets dark and everything is quite. It's like all the self doubt and anger starts to whisper lies into his head cause you could see him slowly crumbling away by himself. He would leave for a long time then come back with bruises on his face and cuts on his fists. Pearl wanted to investigate but everytime she tried something seemed to stop her.

The door suddenly opened up and Lapis Lazuli walked in.

"Lapis!" Steven jumped up from his game to run over to the gem and hug her tightly.

The gem laughed at the little boys happiness to see her. "Hey Steven its been awhile." She hugged him back with a soft smile that made him happy.

Garnet kinda grew worried at her being here, even Amethyst look a little uncomfortable. "Lapis what are you doing here I thought you were coming over later?" Amethyst asked bluntly.

Shadow wasn't paying much attention because he had a pair of headphones on while he was washing dishes. Something was very comforting about washing dishes and listening to Matt Dennis angel eyes.

When Lapis looked towards Amethyst to respond she finally noticed Shadow. A hand went to her mouth in shock. Lapis slowly moved towards him to get a closer look. When she got close enough she stretched her hands out to hold his face in her hands.

Shadow wasn't paying attention so when he felt cool soft hands touch his face he sucked in a breath of air in surprise. It was Lapis, holding his face looking at what had happened to him. She was unaware of what Jasper had done to him so when her eyes stared at his he felt ugly.

Shadow didn't want to be rude so he grabbed her wrist softly. "Please don't stare it's not that bad." He forced a grin on his face to show her that he wasn't angry at the concern.

Lapis was truly lost for words she didn't know what to say or even ask. Pearl on the other hand was fuming that Lapis would just walk in touching him so inappropriately she was the one that caused this in the first place.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" Lapis looked around at everyone. The looks they were giving her made the gem feel embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it Lapis it seems like gems love to touch my face for some reason. I'm like an aphrodisiac for space rocks I guess." Shadow shot her two finger pistols but the joke was lost on the gem she had no clue what he was talking about.

"Showing up out of the blue is unlike you Lapis what's the occasion?" Pearl now asked.

Lapis looked at the gem with a annoyed look then looked glanced sideways at Steven. "I'm here cause the ship has been stolen."

Now everyone was standing up this was certainly troubling news.

"Who could have taken the ship? There's no way a human could fly it." Amethyst put a hand to her chin really trying to think. "Maybe it was a gem monster!"

"No not even close but good try. No it was um-" Lapis looked towards Shadow who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Even with one eye his gaze made her feel intimidated.

The gang was waiting in anticipation for Lapis to hurry up and tell them who could have taken the ship. Then Garnet saw something, something she never thought was a possibility in the endless choices that gem could have chosen to decide.

Lapis look towards Garnet and nodded. "You can probably take a guess what I;m going to say next."

"It was Jasper wasn't it?" Shadow stood up straight. Everyone turned to him in shock.

The blue gem nodded solemnly. "We didn't even realize it was her until we found this." Lapis outstretched her hand. Everyone closed in on her to see what she had. When Lapis opened her hand Shadow walked backwards shaking his head.

"We found this on the ground and- this happened two days ago."

Shadow looked at the necklace he had given to Jasper for christmas last year. The same one he threw into the ocean three days ago. "You've got to be kidding me." Shadow couldn't believe that Jasper had been stalking him. Jasper was close to him in the water and he didn't notice her at all. Then again with the lack of one eye it wasn't that easy to notice everything and there's the fact that it's the ocean.

Shadow clenched his fist in anger. "Get rid of it."

All of them turned around at to Shadow. Lapis was so shocked she didn't even realize what was going on. "Why? Isn't this the gift you gave jas-"

Electricity erupted from his fist when he smashed his fist on the countertop almost splitting it. "I said get rid of it I don't want to see it Lapis!" Shadow yelled so loud it made Steven cringe. No one said anything, a silent awkward air hung over them making Shadow sick to his stomach. Once again he was showing the ugly part of himself.

Shadow didn't bother waiting he grabbed his duffle bag closet to the door then headed out. Before he got outside he gripped the door tightly. Shadow took a deep breath before turning his head to the only family he could rely on.

"I'm sorry for yelling I didn't mean to ruin anything. I'll be back in a bit." Shadow gave them a smile which he faked and a thumbs up then closed the door behind him.

Pearl was infuriated, once again Lapis had managed to hurt him and she was so oblivious it to it, she thought that what was making her so mad but honestly she thought it may have been something else. "Lapis you still don't understand? Jasper is the one that destroyed his eye. She almost killed him because of you!"

"Because of me?!" Now Lapis was the one getting mad Pearls accusations were way out of line.

Before the two could bump heads Steven and Amethyst hopped up to intervene.

Amethyst pushed at Pearl to go outside. The tiny gem urged her friend on. "Come on P this isn't the right time to be picking fights."

As much as Pearl wanted to argue with her she was right this wasn't really the time to be fighting again not with Shadow just up and leaving like he did. Pearl couldn't even go back inside before Lapis came bursting out the door.

Pearl didn't need her angry gaze to know what the gem was about to do. Lapis created her water wings from her gem then took off. Steven and Garnet came running out just in time to see Lapis taking off into the night sky. Another friend had disappeared into the night with no word.

Lapis was so irritated at how Pearl was acting towards her. How could she have known what had happened to Shadow if no one said anything. Regardless Pearl was acting unusually hostile even if what happened to him could have been her fault. Lapis flew around the town looking for Shadow.

Beach city was pretty quiet at this hour. She could see some of the residents closing down their shops ready to end the night. Unlike Shadow he was ready to release the anger that was slowly building inside. He could feel the heat on the tips of his fingers, it was as if his powers wanted him to just destroy everything around him. Before Shadow even knew it he arrived at his location. The bouncer standing guard in front of the door glared at Shadow as he approached as if Shadow hadn't been here before. When Shadow was close enough he didn't even need to remove his hood for the man to know who he was, he didn't even need to see his face. The power that seemed to just drip from his pores told the man exactly who it was. Not wanting to keep him waiting he opened the door to the warehouse to let the fighter in. Low hanging lights guided his way towards the sounds of people cheering from the stands.

"Well look who's back!" The arm of the over enthusiastic man wrapped around Shadow's neck. Alberto was the ring leader of this underground fight club. When Shadow had showed up a couple days ago he had thought nothing of him, just another punk trying to earn some quick cash. That was until he beat four of his best fighters and walked away with only a few bruises. Now the fighter was a star that shone brighter than any other fighter, a star that could be exploited if Shadow would just take his offer.

Shadow slapped the man's arm and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt roughly. "Cut the shit! I want the best fighters you have in the ring with me." Shadow cursed in annoyance, something he hadn't done in awhile. "Anything less and you'll be in the ring this time."

Alberto wanted to curse the man and have him beaten to death but he knew not to let someone down like him. He put his hands up defensively showing that he meant no harm. "Alright alright go get ready you're up next."

Shadow let him go with a shove then headed to the locker rooms where he could change. A couple having sex yelled at him to leave but when Shadow took of his hoodie and summoned his powers to both his hands they quickly had a change of heart. Now he was alone again in this dimly lit room getting ready for another fight.

The blue gem touched down on the ground across the street. She could tell it was Shadow behind the hood by the way he walked as if nothing in the world could possibly hurt him anymore. The tall human at the door took one look at Shadow then opened the door for him. Lapis crossed the street after him she didn't want to lose him after she had just found her friend. The human noticed her right off the bat because when she approached him he crossed his meaty arms.

He scowled at the odd woman beneath him. "I think you're at the wrong place girl the costume party is a block over."

Lapis gave him a sideways look. "My friend just walked inside please just let me in." Lapis tried to step past him to the door but with his broad shoulders he barely moved an inch to block her small frame.

"Woah there girl the only way you're blue butt is getting in is if you're a member. Unless…" The man looked her up and down with a sick look in his eyes. "If you want to do me a favor then I can do you one." His hand gripped her shoulder roughly.

Lapis was sick of this human she had no time for this. Lapis summoned water from a nearby fire hydrant and sent it crashing into the man knocking him out instantly. The blue gem sneered at the human then opened the door to head inside. The first thing Lapis noticed was the smell of something metallic then the sound of humans cheering as she grew closer and closer to the end of the hallway.

She could hear the sound of people yelling over something. As Lapis drew closer she could see humans in the bleachers staring at a caged ring in the center of the room. They had crazed looks on their faces as if what ever was in the ring was so invigorating that they needed to look so crazy. As she neared closer to what was driving them so wild someone hit the cages of the ring hard startling her. Whoever was in their with the man beat on him like a drum. She could hear his fist hit the man so hard that blood spattered across the floor like a mural. Lapis was truly terrified this was savage! Maybe she messed up and followed the wrong man there was no way Shadow would be in a place like this with these animals. It made her sick to think that humans were capable of enjoying this kind of violence and brutality.

Lapis almost turned to leave until another blow then a crash sent the opposing fighter sprawling scarring her. When the man looked up from the ground they both met eye to eye. It was Shadow, who was in the ring. Lapis held her mouth open in shock but not him. His skin was soaked in sweat and blood. His lip was busted and his cheek a nasty shade of blue and purple. The one thing that really scared her was the wild savage look in his eye, not shock that she had found out his night escapades just a cold animalistic look in his dark gaze.

It was as if Lapis being here gave him the fuel to actually fight back. Something about her being here made him sick with rage. Like she was here to try and take away another thing that made him feel human. Shadow couldn't even tell himself he was even human at this point. The fighter in the ring with him was done with his showboating and turned to finish him off. He ran at Shadow to strike him in the face with his knee. It took a fraction of a second for Shadow to turn around a drop his elbow right on top of his knee deflecting the blow then followed up with a rising elbow strike to his knee. The blow knocked the man's mouth guard out from between his bloodied teeth and causing him to stagger backwards in pain. By the time the fighter could get his eyes back on Shadow he spun in the air on an axis and threw his right leg out hitting him in the face with a devastating tornado kick. The blow connected with his jaw and after that it was lights out. His body dropped like a sack of potatoes as did the crowed they did not expect him to bounce back like that. Not even Alberto cheered because he started betting against Shadow after he started taking more hits than giving them.

The blue gem could feel how everyone was in awe at what just happened she could tell they were just as shocked as she was. A feeling of dread washed over her when she slowly looked around at all the quite faces that were trying to figure out what had just happened then her eyes fell back on Shadow who was glaring at her.

"I didn't want anyone to see me like this." Shadow tried to hide his bruised face but his blood stained hands made it hard. "You aren't suppose to be here."

Lapis wanted to take a step back and escape this side of Shadow she discovered. "So this is what you do? By day you wash dishes, listen to your music and by night you fight till you're covered in blood. What kind of life is that?" She summoned wings and lifted off into the ring.

Shadow would have laughed if he had it in him. "I can't do anything else. I told everyone I would do better and honestly, this is my best. The anger that just keeps building up needs a way out and this is it! This is my way!"

Water appeared from a crack in the walls controlled by the water gem. It circled around the cage like a snake ready to strike but Lapis didn't attack him. "Look at your face Shadow that should be enough proof that this isn't right."

Now Shadow really did laugh, he laughed so hard that Lapis started to laugh with him. "You know you're right Lapis… I'm scared that I won't be able to get past this anger."

"I don't know either but anything is better than this. Believe me I know." Lapis smiled when Shadow chuckled she liked hearing him sound happy. When Shadow hugged her she was not that surprised. The only thing that surprised her was the sound of clapping behind them.

Alberto strolled onto the ring with five other fighters all equally angry looking. "You come into my home… act like you're losing then win! You lost me a lot of money so tell me how can you make it to me Shadow?"

"Do you accept food stamps?" Shadow was about to shoot them pistols but he didn't think his humor would get him out of this situation, so he holstered the guns for a later battle.

The fighters began to circle around the two like a bunch of sharks. Alberto had a mischievous look on his face that put Shadow on edge. "If you don't have the money Shadow we can always take it out of that blue bitch you have with you. How bout it girl you want to make us happy?" Alberto and the rest of the men laugh.

Lapis got closer to Shadow, whatever the human was talking about made her uncomfortable. The vibe he was giving was just like the man outfront. Electricity crackled off his body threatening to zap her. Shadow balled his fists up creating a immense power of electricity in his hands. He turned to Lapis to see that she was inching away from her.

"I need you to do me a favor Lapis just this once okay."

His powers died down for a second so that he could get closer to her without her fearing him. "You know the last time summoned threatened someone I cared about the night didn't end quitely."

Lapis put a hand to her mouth in shock. "So what are you going to do?" She asked but Lapis already knew the answer.

Shadow spun around just in time for a fighter to try and attack him. The blow landed across his face knocking him back a couple steps. He could taste more blood in his mouth giving rise to his anger. The man spun around to hit him with a devastating back kick to his face. Shadow was ready this time and sidestepped out of the way. He concentrated power to his both his fists as two more fighters ran at him. He slammed his fist on the ground creating a pulse wave that electrocuted the men. The remaining men stood frozen like a statue, afraid at whatever this thing was in front of them. The closet man on the left dropped from an electrified punch to the face the other man turned to run he was pissing himself at what was happening. He didn't know how he did it but when he flicked his wrist an electric whip was produced in his hands. The man turned around just in time for the whip to wrap around his neck electrocuting him to the point of blacking out. The weapon he managed to conjure gave him a sick feeling. It reminded him of a gem that always sent a shiver down his spine when he thought about her.

Alberto was the only one left now for Shadow to pass judgement on. As Shadow moved closer to him he stepped backwards with a terrified look in his eye. That put a sadistic smile on Shadow's face.

"Now Alberto tell me while you're still alive. Do you fear death?" Shadow tried to give his best Davy Jones impression.

Aberto was shaking so hard he couldn't get any words out. Shadow didn't need him to talk though he was going to kill him regardless of what he said. As Shadow moved in close to tear that ass up the man fell over in terror. "Please okay okay I get it I'm sorry!" He kept trying to move back but Shadow wasn't having any of it.

He dropped a knee down on the chest of the man and leaned in closer to look into the scared eyes of this pathetic man. "If you don't have any fear then let me give you a reason too." Shadow punched him in the face again and again. Blood spattered his arms and face from Albertos nose and mouth. Alberto begged for him to stop which only earned him more blows to the face. On the sidelines Lapis watched as Shadow beat the man till blood painted his skin. Once again she was seeing him fall into a hole that she just tried to get him out of.

"Shadow don't-"

Shadow turned around to look at Lapis. "What you don't want me to kill him? I know you're a gem Lapis so you won't understand what this man probably would have done to you if I wasn't here."

Lapis started for him. "It doesn't matter what he would have done it's the fact that you stopped him before he could. You don't have to kill this human." She put a hand on his shoulder actually making him flinch. "You don't have to kill for me."

Shadow looked at Alberto's beaten swollen face then back at the blue gem smiling at him despite how bad he looked.

"Fine you win. Let's go home."

Both of them walked down the streets leaving behind the fight club. Even though she knew her friend would eventually get better she couldn't deny the fact that what she saw tonight from Shadow was something that she hoped to never see again.

"Hey Lapis?"

The gem flinched from the sound of her name. "Yes what is it?"

Shadow smiled at her. "Thank you for returning the necklace."

Lapis was shocked at the change of what. "Uh oh… Your welcome." She wasn't expecting for him to wrap his arms around her neck but when he did she wasn't uncomfortable at all. In fact she was happy that Shadow was being this open with her despite the issues they had in the past.

"Are you afraid that Jasper will never come back?"

The question was so direct that Shadow couldn't help but spit out the drink he had gotten from a vending machine. "Wow you don't have to be so forward Lapis you won't hurt my feelings."

Once again Lapis gave him that look she gets when she doesn't understand what he was saying.

Shadow just shook his head in defeat and just decided not to bullshit his way out of this conversation. "If you want me to be serious then I guess I'll answer a question with a question. I thought Jasper and I were making so much progress. You see me now with a missing eye and my face beaten because I can't control my anger and still ask me will I miss her?"

Lapis just growled in irritation. "You're not being serious or answering my question. We spent all the time of the sea together and yet I missed her. I know it sounds sick-"

"No your not sick Lapis. I understand what you mean and I apologize for sounding rude. I just don't have an answer for you." Shadow left it at that he had nothing further to say on the subject. So now the two just walked in silence on the beach headed where the only people that really mattered were waiting.