Jasper stayed where Steven had left her for a few minutes after the boy had run back to the temple. She just stood there, her mind blank and her shoulders stiff with the infinite possibilities that could occur if only she took a step towards the barn. She could faintly hear some tinkering from inside the building but she couldn't tell if it was Peridot or Lapis.

Lapis.

Jasper could feel her heart thumping in her chest from excitement. She was surprised that she couldn't hear it and the ground didn't shudder with each beat. But it also pounded with fear. She clenched and unclenched her hands, feeling claws threaten to break the skin of her palms on several occasions. Even if the claws pierced the skin, Jasper would probably not even notice the blood weeping from the wound. She was so close, finally able to talk to Lapis, to see her and touch her. A long whine rose up from Jasper's throat as the quartz gem began to pace. Back and forth, back and forth, but never making any progress to the barn. All she had to do is walk into the barn and demand that Lapis see her. But what if the gem used the pond full of water against Jasper and poof her. What if by poofing her, Lapis undid the healing process and Jasper became corrupted once more? The quartz gem shook her head, Lapis wouldn't do that, wouldn't use her powers against her. Not again. But what if she did? A hand raked through her hair, Jasper taking solace in the pain when one of the claws scratched at her scalp.

She was excited a moment before, wasn't she? Jasper groaned in frustration and she kicked at the ground, watching a small cloud of dust gather in the air. What was wrong with her? She was the strongest quartz gem that was ever created! She fought Rose Quartz and her rebels and lived to tell the tale. Jasper looked back at the barn and then at the direction where Steven had left. Before she could convince herself otherwise, Jasper turned and marched towards the barn, a determined frown on her face.

However, a light breeze halted Jasper in her tracks when she was a few feet away from the ajar doors. The scent of Peridot and whatever was in the barn filled her nose but there was not a hint of Lapis. Had the water gem flew off while Jasper was struggling between her two options? She must have. The quartz gem's shoulders slumped in defeat as she took the last few steps to enter the barn.

Peridot was indeed the one that was causing all of the tinkering sounds. The technician had her eyes closed with her arms raised up in the air. Her body was shaking with how focused she was, a light sheen of sweat making her skin glisten. Peridot was using her metal powers to construct something that looked like a mix between a lion and wolf with rusty scraps she must have found lying about in the barn. Already there was a rough outline of the animal but there was a lot more work to be done. Jasper shrugged off the cheeseburger backpack and let it hit the floor without any care. The gem turned her head to look at Jasper, the metal that was once floating in the air crashing down and adding even more dents to the surface.

Jasper ignored the smaller gem, however. She was too busy taking in the building that Lapis now called a home. She watched the different fish swim about in a tank that covered one of the walls, a cylindrical structure that did not belong with the barn jutting out from the other side. Some green stuffed alien with a tophat floated by, stuffing coming out of the rip at its neck. Jasper narrowed her eyes in confusion but something else caught her attention. To the left of the fishtank was a stick with which three objects hung from, each connected to the stick by a string. Jasper didn't have any idea what the objects were but they all carried Lapis's scent. Next to the stick was a mound of dirt with a lone leaf sticking on top. Even if Lapis's scent wasn't on it, Jasper knew she would recognize the creation belonging to the water gem. A finger came up to touch the leaf that reminded Jasper of her old gem but something stopped her. It wasn't hers.

"I just feel trapped."

The quartz gem turned her head to look at the last of Lapis's creations. She walked over to it to get a better look. It was something that she thought Steven called a television showing a human boy wearing a green camper's uniform. He would repeat the statement, "I just feel trapped," over and over again. Two mirrors stuck out of the television, both angled so that they captured the boy's face. A growl rumbled in Jasper's chest as the phrase continued to be repeated, her hand closing into a fist as she fought the urge to ram her horns into the horrible contraption.

"Don't," was the only warning Peridot gave Jasper. The quartz gem looked behind her and saw that Peridot had moved to the middle of the room, a hand raised. Several of the shrapnel she was using earlier twitched on the ground.

Jasper let out a huff of annoyance but she left Lapis's last creation alone. She sniffed at the air with her eyes closed, trying to find anything that would help her figure out Lapis's whereabouts. When she couldn't find any, Jasper leapt up onto the second floor of the barn. There was a mattress placed seemingly without thought in the middle of the floor but there was nothing else of real importance on the bare floor. Jasper walked to the mattress and took a deep breath. She could smell Lapis and reasoned that this was where she rested. Her head tilted to the left at another scent and she buried her face into the mattress, taking an even deeper breath. "Peridot?" Peridot's scent was definitely there, but why would the two gems share the same mattress? Jasper shook her head to clear it and took another sniff. The two scents were old, perhaps a few weeks. With a snarl, Jasper walked to the edge of the floor and leapt down to the first floor, landing on all fours with a thud and causing everything to shake for a moment. She straightened her back, her fangs bared as she hissed at Peridot.

"Lapis isn't here," Peridot admitted. The gem looked up at Jasper with tired eyes, not reacting to the hiss like Jasper expected. The green gem shrugged like it was no big deal that she deceived Jasper and walked back to inspect her sculpture.

"I know," Jasper responded, tapping her nose. A frustrated sigh left her mouth as she sat down on the blue hammock strung up between two poles. It gave a weary creak at Jasper's weight but it held. "I should've known she wouldn't be here." Her eyes bore into Peridot's back as she growled, "You told her."

Peridot whirled around to glare at Jasper, the shrapnel she had just placed on the sculpture falling back down with a rejected crash. She looked absolutely enraged. Her cheeks flushed with anger as her hands clenched into trembling fists. Jasper doubted that Peridot could even lift a nail to defend herself with her mind clouded with this much anger. "Of course I didn't tell her, you clod! She wasn't here to tell!" The gem was too upset at the accusation to think better her words. "You think you're the only one that misses her?" Peridot's eyes widened as a hand slapped against her mouth but the damage was already done.

"What?" Jasper's head reared back.

With a few steps, Peridot was right in front of Jasper. Any fear that Peridot had displayed for the bigger gem was replaced with anger. She pointed at her as she yelled, "She left because of you! Right when we got back from that hospital, Lapis just flew away!" The anger diminished as Peridot's eyes dulled with sadness. A hand quickly reached up to brush away a stray tear. "She didn't even say goodbye."

"And you didn't think to mention this to anyone?" Jasper managed to growl out. Lapis had been gone for more than a month and Peridot didn't bother to tell anyone. The quartz gem got off of the hammock and began to pace throughout the barn. She had too much energy to stay still. Jasper was playing nice for so long and right when she was about to be rewarded, she comes to find out that that person had been long gone. "Why?" Jasper demanded an answer.

Peridot didn't say anything for a few long moments, instead playing with her fingers as she looked up to the second floor as if Lapis was going to appear any second. The green gem looked down and muttered, "Lapis is several thousands of years old, she can handle herself."

The response didn't calm Jasper. She marched over to Peridot and bent down so that they were eye level. When Peridot tried to turn her head, Jasper gripped her chin to force her to look into her piercing eyes. Peridot grabbed at the hand and used all her strength to push it away but Jasper gave her chin a light squeeze, warning her. The green gem stilled and looked at Jasper's eyes with her own. Jasper could see the walls being constructed in the green eyes but she could also see the shock at the gentle touch Jasper was giving her. The quartz gem almost scoffed, she wasn't that stupid to leave marks. Jasper continued to stare into Peridot's eyes, trying to read what the technician was hiding.

"Why?" she repeated.

Peridot glanced away but Jasper didn't give her chin another squeeze. The quartz gem knew she had Peridot cornered. Jasper followed Peridot's eyes to the last of Lapis's creations. She looked back at Peridot and waited for the green gem to answer. "She just," Peridot began, looking down at the hand that kept her there, "she needed time to think and I didn't want to interfere." Jasper frowned at the concern that leaked into Peridot's voice. Her eyes lifted to meet Jasper's and they hardened. "If I had told anyone, you would have found out somehow and force me to take you to her." Peridot gave the hand another shove and Jasper let go of her, watching her fall to the floor. Peridot glared up Jasper and got to her feet. When Jasper didn't do anything except meet her gaze, Peridot threw her arms out. "Well? Aren't you going to try to hurt me? I knew Lapis left and I didn't tell anyone."

Jasper's head tilted to the left. The thought of shattering Peridot didn't even enter her mind. "No," she said simply, returning to her spot on the hammock.

The two stayed quiet after that, both just studying one another. Jasper could hear the world continue outside the barn, the wind brushing against the leaves that had fell, the small laps of the pond hitting the grass, and a few birds chirping as they flew about. None of it held any interest for the gem. The one thing that did was gone and the peridot currently standing in front of her didn't know where she was. Jasper's eyes narrowed suddenly as she once again left the hammock. "You know where she is," she said.

Peridot didn't show any reaction but Jasper knew she was right. "You know," she repeated, taking a step forward. "Where is Lapis?"

"I don't know," Peridot said, her voice full of uncertainty as she corrected herself. "I'm not sure but I have an idea of where Lapis might go." She straightened her back and stared up at Jasper with crossed arms and a determined look on her face. "But I'm not going to tell you."

"Why not?"

Green eyes widened in shock at the question. "Because if I tell you, you're going to go after her!"

Jasper didn't bother even trying to lie. "You're right. I've waited months to see her and now that I finally get to," a hand lifted to indicate the barn, "she isn't here and you're hiding her whereabouts from me." Her voice lowered to a whisper, gentle enough that Peridot's eyes swerved from the second floor to look at the quartz gem. "If you really miss Lapis so much, come with me and we'll bring her back."

The hope brewing in Peridot's eyes twisted something in Jasper's stomach but the quartz gem didn't know what. "You just want to talk to her?" Peridot asked.

"I don't know," Jasper answered honestly. "Right now I want to see her and I know that you do too."

Peridot thought about what Jasper said for several minutes. She could sense that the quartz gem was telling the truth but it was still very risky to tell her where Lapis might be hiding. Her eyes glanced up at the second floor where Lapis usually sat reading or pretending to sleep. She looked back at Jasper, her eyes resting on the horns before sliding down to look at the new markings on her arms. Finally, she looked at Jasper's eyes. They were the only thing that hadn't changed, at least physically. They were still as yellow and intense as before but there was something desperate in them now. "Fine," she said at last with a sigh. Peridot walked to the barn doors and looked back at Jasper who hadn't moved, still waiting to learn where Peridot thought Lapis flew off to.

Peridot pushed her visors back up before talking again. "We're going to Mask Island."

Jasper almost regretted asking where Peridot thought Lapis was. "You think that-"

"Yes," the green gem interrupted, glaring up at the bigger gem, "I think she went to the place where she lost control of Malachite."