Chapter 10
Behind the Veil pt. 3: The Breaking Point
I own Nothing
"Naruto, Naruto! Hey, can you hear me?!" A voice called out to the damaged gem, breaking him from his stupor as he looked up to reveal non other than his pupil, Steven who's standing face to face with him within the cell.
"...S-Steven?" Asked Naruto, confused by the boy's sudden appearance.
"Yeah, it's me! Are you...are you alright?" Steven asked, seeing the dejected appearance of his teacher.
With a heavy sigh, Naruto answered, "no Steven, no I'm not…Everything is falling apart...and it's my fault," however, before he could continue his self loathing a questioned popped into his mind that he needed to address. "Wait….how did you...get in here?"
"Oh yeah, look at this!" Steven said in his usual bubbly attitude, slipping his arm through the barrier with moderate ease. However, as he does this, a web of green lines snaked their way across his arm, indicating to any observant viewer that, that wasn't really good for the young boy to do very often. "Isn't that cool?"
Naruto cocked a brow, "that doesn't look healthy,"
"Oh no, it's completely safe...I mean I knida feel a tingling sensation when I close my eyes but...you know what, never mind - let's get you out of here!" Steven said, rushing to his teacher's side in hopes of freeing him. However, once Steven got to Naruto's side he noticed the web of cracks making their way through his gem once more. "Wow, your gem is really messed up, did Jasper do this to you?"
"Surprisingly, no. The cracks in my gem were….self inflicted," he muttered,
Steven was confused by this, "what do you mean? Why would you crack your own gem?"
"It was a sacrifice I was willing to make to end the battle between me and Jasper...and as you can see, that sacrifice was in vain." He sighed in frustration as Steven began to do his part to heal Obsidian's damaged gem. "I was created with an unusual energy that rest within my gem, once tapped into it heightens my strength or speed to unmeasurable degrees, but that type of power comes at a price. In that form I'm technically a glass cannon, extremely powerful but easily broken; it's sole purpose is to be used to take down an enemy as quickly as possible, if I face a foe comparable or stronger than me at my max then I run the risk of cracking my gem the longer I rely on the power."
"Wow! No way, that sounds amazing! What can it do?" Steven wondered, licking his hand.
"W-Well…" He began, only to shiver as the lukewarm spit made contact with his broken gem. "E-Everytime I activate this ability I have two choices to pick from, either heightened speed or heightened strength, each takes from the other. If I pick speed, my strength takes a hit - same if I pick strength."
"Why haven't you used it before?" He wondered,
"I have used it in some instances," answered Obsidian, shifting slightly as the cracks in his gemstone began to heal - giving him back the energy he was sorely missing. "When my scythe's blade heats up, that's me transferring my energy safely to my weapon to heat it. I didn't use it for my body because that technique is used only in a last resort, I refuse to use it to win a fight I know I can win without it."
"Steven! Steven, where the heck did you go?!" A voice whispered harshly through the empty halls, catching the two's attention. Walking aimlessly outside the closed cell was a lonely Ruby gem, searching hectically for Steven, "I looked away for five seconds and he just up and diss-" before she could continue, however, her eyes met with the two locked within said cell, her words now stuck in her throat.
"Oh, sorry - I didn't mean to leave you behind, it's just I found one of my friends and I-" Steven began but his words were drowned out by their new guest.
"You!" She yelled, pointing a single digit in the direction of the shackled Naruto. "You're the whole reason we're in this mess! You're the reason me and Sapphire were separated!"
"U-Ummm," was all Naruto could muster before Ruby's attention was shifted down the hallway as a low yet audible hum began to reverberate throughout the hallway,
"Shh!...Do you hear it? The song, it's getting louder! We're growing closer to Sapphire, we need to hurry," She all but yelled as she seemed to merely pace back and forth, waiting for Steven to follow her.
Turning to face his pupil, Naruto asked, "Steven, do you know that Ruby?"
"Not really, I found her in one of the cells near mine and decided to help her out but she doesn't really seem too happy to see you. Is this another long, lost friend of yours?" Steven questioned in return,
"I hope not, I think I've had enough of surprise returns for one lifetime," Naruto chuckled as Steven slipped his hands through the green energy beam that kept his restraints firmly in place, unlocking it from the ground. Once freed, Naruto ignites his red aura and snaps his restraints, freeing his hands once again. "Thank you, Steven. Now, let's get out of here and save the others,"
"No problem," Steven rushed to the cell barrier as he slipped his arm through it, blocking the barrier's stream in that area, allowing Obsidian to duck and roll out of the cell with ease. Once out, said gem was greeted by the red ball of rage, Ruby, who took a swing at Naruto with her glove like gauntlet which narrowly missed.
"You traitor! Sapphire was right - you would betray us, her predictions are never wrong...but I didn't listen, I was too blind." Ruby yelled, taking another swing at Naruto. "Well, I'm not going to make that mistake again!"
"Wow, wow! Easy, Ruby" Steven jumped between the two, forcing Ruby to halt her assault on Naruto. "Obsidian is my friend and without him we won't even make it to Sapphire, we won't stand a chance against Jasper if she spots us. Now, whatever history you have with Naruto needs to be put aside for Sapphire, right?" He asked but Ruby didn't seem too willing to agree. "Right?!"
"FINE!" She yelled, her fierce temper still quite apparent, "but after I find Sapphire, I don't want you anywhere near me and her, got it?!"
"Crystal," Naruto answered, picking himself up.
"Good, now let's head out! I think she's this way!" She yelled before rushing off down the hallway, quickly followed by Steven and obsidian.
"Who the hell is that Ruby and how does she know me? She seems so...familiar,"
"No, no, no! She stopped singing!" Ruby hissed, skidding to a halt as she frantically looked back and forth, hoping to find some direction to take that might get her closer to her destination. "Sapphire!" Ruby yelled, belligerently yelling her friend's name while Steven and Obsidian use this time of confusion to assess something that they weren't able to address moments ago. Next to them was a window, the single port they've seen that's allowed them to look outside the ship to gather their bearings. Naruto was the first to look, finding himself stunned by the immense beauty of space and yet a deep, guttural feeling of dread knowing that every second they waste the harder it will be to bring this ship back to earth safely.
But before either Steven or Naruto could get too used to this view, they spot Ruby running off towards another direction, practically leaving them behind in the dust. Picking up the pace, both Steven and Naruto caught up with the stumpy legged gem just in time to see another prisoner of this battle, however, it wasn't the one they were looking for.
Ruby grew excited, believing that maybe it was her supposed Sapphire but on further inspection, a frown took over as she glared daggers toward the water gem known as Lapis Lazuli. "Oh, it's just you." She muttered while Steven brushed past her, elated to see one of his long lost friends.
"Lapis!" He cheered, catching the attention of the blue haired prison bird. She looked back to see the three gems standing outside her cell, her face more than read fear and alarm. "I can get you out," Steven chimed, stepping towards the cell barrier, prepared to break out Lapis just like he did for the others.
"Stop!" Lapis decried, backing up from the entrance of her cell,
"It's okay, I won'-" His encouragement was cut short,
"No! I don't want your help. Things are bad enough as it is. I've already made too much trouble. Once we get back to homeworld, they're going to decided what to do with us," Lapis explained, elevating a frown form Naruto. If there was one thing that annoyed him more than anything was someone who's willing to give up so easily without even putting up a fight.
"I know what they're going to do to us and it won't be for the better," Naruto explained, taking a step towards the cell as he addressed the gloomy blue skinned gem. "All we can do now is fight,"
"Fighting? What has fighting ever done but cause more trouble?!" Lapis fired back, "I stood up for Steven and look at where that landed me, a cell like some traitor like you! I won't abandon my homeworld and I won't allow myself to get into anymore trouble than I already am!"
Naruto's face scrunched up into a frown as he leaned forward, "you think keeping your head bowed will save you?! I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you've already stepped out of line, Yellow Diamond has no use for people who defect! You're a liability! You will be terminated the second we land, but if you stand with us and fight you'll have a chance at a free life!"
Lapis did the same, getting more heated the longer this argument went on. "What's so free about living on that dirt ball of a planet, I'll just be trading one prison for another!"
Steven, once again tired to be the voice of reason, trying to stay in the middle of the two so their attention may be directed at him and not each other. "Come on guys, yelling isn't going to help u-"
Ruby groaned like a snarling animal, tugging at her headband viciously as the idea of living one more second without Sapphire was eating at her, "I don't have time for this!" She barked, running down the hallway, back from whence they came, hoping that their might be another way to her precious gem.
"Wait," Steven called out to Ruby but found that words weren't going to be enough to stop her.
"Steven," Lapis called, catching the young boy's attention, "whatever you're doing, just stop. If we do everything they say, they might go easy on us."
Steven was surprised at what Lapis had just said, "but they're...mean. They hurt my friends. They hurt my face. They've got you here in prison!"
"That's why we can't fight them." Lapis stated, worried about the action Steven might take that will harm both him and all who are imprisoned here in this ship.
"That's why we have to fight them!" Both Steven and Naruto answered,
Naruto gave one last look to Lapis, his eyes stern yet worried for the gem's mindset. "If we give up now, they'll never stop hurting others. If you give them an inch they'll take a mile,"
"Lapis, please - come join us," but their was no answer, she merely turned and faced the wall - dejected and unresponsive. "...W-We'll come back for you," Steven whispered before heading off in the direction of Ruby, soon followed by Obsidian who shot Lapis one final glance before taking his leave.
As the two continued, ducking and weaving through hallway after hallway they picked up on the singing that was supposedly coming from Sapphire. Taking the next right, the two almost ran smack dap into Peridot and Jasper, who were stomping down the hallways, Jasper's features screaming rage and contempt. Swiftly, Naruto scooped up Steven and placed his hand over his mouth before straightening himself on the adjacent wall as they both watched Jasper and Peridot walk on by.
"Why aren't we moving!" Jasper yelled to Peridot who recoiled in fear,
"I-I'm sorry, Jasper but Yellow Diamond ordered me to tell you!" Peridot lemented, "we cannot leave just yet, the whole point of us coming here was to check on the Clust-"
"Shut up in there!" Jasper yelled, kicking the cell wall surrounding a certain captured gem. "Obsidian and Rose Quartz takes priority! Get back to the bridge and set a course for homeworld like I told you too!"
Peridot tried to refute her superior officer, "but, Yellow Dia-"
"Enough!" Jasper snarled, inching closer to her startled underling until she was back against the wall. "Either do as I command or I'll shoot you out of the airlock, understood?!"
Peridot nodded quickly, "y-yes, Jasper!"
"Good, now get moving!" And with that, the grumbling behemoth stormed off, leaving Peridot to head for the bridge and set the corrodens, unaware of the two jail birds making their way towards the singing cell that housed a rather interesting looking gem.
"Hey, I like your song," he whispered, stopping before the cell. "Are you Sapphire?"
"You escaped," she answered plainly, only to see exactly how such a feat was done when Steven shoved his hand into the barrier, cleaving through it like butter. "Of course," she muttered before Steven stepped through the barrier and held up his arms, giving Sapphire an easy way out which she took with grace. "Thank you, Steven and you too, Obsidian. I'm glad to see that both of you are safe,"
"You're welcome," Steven said, pulling himself from the barrier only for a question to pop into his mind. "Wait, how did you know our na-"
"SAPPHIRE!" Yelled a voice that both Steven and Obsidian have been growing all too familiar with over the past couple of minutes.
"Come on," Sapphire ordered, grabbing Steven's arm before whisking him away with blistering speeds, quickly followed by Naruto who felt rather left out. Zipping through corridor after corridor, Sapphire, Steven and Obsidian found their way to Ruby who stood on the opposite end of a massive room, nearly shaking with anxiety. However, once the two locked eyes, everything seemed to fall to the waist side. "Ruby!" Sapphire yelled with joy, rushing to greet her love just as Ruby did the same, meeting in the middle with a loving embrace.
Once they had their little hug, Ruby went straight away into looking her over, making sure she wasn't harmed in any way. "Did they hurt you?"
"No, no. I'm okay," Sapphire answered, gripping Ruby's hand tightly. "Did they hurt you?"
"I-I'm fine...b-but none of this would have happened if it wasn't for him!" Ruby began only for her rage to shift towards the blonde gem standing behind Sapphire.
"Ruby, that's not true. He's not our enemy," Sapphire infrared, keeping her small partner at bay with her words.
"But you predicted it, Sapphire. You were right, you are always right! He was going to betray us and get us in this mess! How could we possibly-" Ruby began to ramble,
"This was not my prediction," Sapphire said with a light chuckle,
"W-What?" Ruby murmured,
"I saw that his demons would come back to haunt us, I never said he'd betray us - he never has," Sapphire said, taking a glance towards the gem in question before continuing. "Just like all of the Crystal Gems, Obsidian has a past that haunts him, it's just unfortunate that his past has come to our present,"
Ruby gaze shifted to the floor, almost embarrassed at her actions leading up to this reveal. "S-So...he didn't betray us?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Sapphire answered, "though you did lie to us, that I can't tolerate."
Steven, who's been mostly silent through this whole ordeal, could only scratch his head in confusion. "...I'm still very confused, how do you two know Obsidian?!"
The two looked at each other, a smile slowly creeping onto one another's lips. Ruby reached for Sapphire, scooping her up in a twirl that grew more and more faster until Ruby's feet lifted from the ground, both bodies illuminating in a form of pure light all the while their two giggling laughter began to form into one. Once done the form of one of the Crystal Gem's prime time players appeared before both Obsidian and Steven, Garnet! "Steven!" She chuckled, landing before the amazed boy. "Thank you,"
"Garnet," Steven muttered, shocked at this new development. "You're a fusion!?"
"Oh, I-I'm sorry. We didn't want you meeting us like this," She apologized,
Steven merely snickered, "well, did I make a good first impression?"
"Oh, Steven. We already love you," she smiled warmly as she grazed his cheek with her hand, before her attention soon turned to Obsidian who stood in a shocked stupor just as Steven did moments before. "And Obsidian, thank you as well for helping put us back together,"
"N-No problem," he muttered, the shock slowly fading to reveal a smirk. "I guess it was good to finally meet the two gems that make up Garnet, though I wish I would have known, I would have tried to put my best foot forward."
Garnet smiled, "well, Ruby wouldn't have been too happy to meet you regardless."
"Y-Yeah, about that - I'm-" He began, only for Garnet to silence him before he could even finish.
"Don't mention it," she said, "Ruby's a bit of a hot head, she'll lash out if she thought you had anything to do with hurting Sapphire. If anyone should apologize, it would be me."
With a chuckle Naruto placed a hand on his teammate's shoulder, "well, we both have things that we're sorry for."
"Where is he?!" A vicarious voice yelled from far away, a voice the group has grown accustomed to hearing at this point.
"Speaking of which," Naruto remarked before turning to his pupil. "Steven, find the others and get to the control bridge."
"But I don't know where they are." Steven said, only for Garnet to plant a tender kiss to his forehead. Giving him just a hint of her future vision powers. "Future vision," he cheered, honing in to Amethyst and Pearl's location. "Wait, are you two going to be able to beat her?"
"Don't worry, Steven. Garnet and I won't lose that easily," Obsidian remarked, turning towards the entrance he could hear Jasper's hefty footsteps approaching from. "Now go, we're counting on you."
With Steven booking it towards their imprisoned friends, Garnet and Obsidian only had a moment to themselves before Jasper stormed in. "Are you sure you're still up for this?" Garnet asked,
A chuckle left his lips, "that's funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."
But their playful little banter was cut short as Jasper skidded into view, her face twisted into a scowl as she looked over the two. "Oh, great. You're both out?" She remarked bitterly, "fine, you think that two puny runts slammed together and a broken gem can take me on? Ha! That's laughable, how about you two quiet embarrassing yourselves! I've seen what you two really are!"
Garnet chuckled, soon followed by Obsidian - "No, you haven't." Garnet mussed as she summoned her glasses along with her powerful gauntlets, prepared to throw down once more with the belligerent gem.
"You never have and you never well," Naruto stated, snapping his scythe into existence as he took up a stance - a noticeable red aura hovering over his form. "We will end this right here, right now!"
"Try it, see how far your weakness will take you!" and with that, the three charged forward, meeting in the middle for a climactic battle!
"Pearl, Amethyst!" Steven yelled, running through the barren hallway of the prison portion of this ship, booking it around every corner and down every corridor looking for his friends. Even though Garnet gave him a glimpse into the future that still doesn't mean that this place doesn't look exactly the same no matter how many corners he turned. How could anyone navigate these almost endless hallways without some sort of guide or map? This was impossible. And yet, just when Steven was about to turn back in hopes that he might have not seen them, a voice called out to him - one belonging to one of his Crystal Gem teammates.
"Steven!" Pearl yelled from her cell, catching his attention just in time. "Oh my goodness, how did you escape?!"
"We don't have much time to explain, Garnet and Naruto are facing off against Jasper and we need to get to the control panel, now!" Steven explained, jumping through the barrier with relative ease, shocking both Amethyst and Pearl with such a display.
Pearl was the first to speak, "what?! Steven, we need to keep Garnet away from Obsidian, he's dangerous!"
Steven looked to Pearl, confusion written clear as day across his face. "No way, what are you talking about?"
"Amethyst told me everything, Obsidian once was the right hand of Yellow Diamond! He's been lying to us since day one, he can't be trusted." Pearl informed him, "I knew it, I knew we shouldn't trust him but no, of course, Pearl is just a loon, she only sees the bad in people...and to think I compared him to Ro-...nevermind, we don't have time to discuss this. We need to go and help Garnet!"
Steven's eyes widened, startled at such a statement. "...N-No, that's not right. Naruto would have told us if he-" he began, only for Amethyst to jump in with her own two cents
"Yeah, that's what I thought too, but apparently he pulled the wool over all of our eyes, Steven." She muttered bitterly, her words thick with sadness and contempt for this whole situation.
"Amethyst, not you too." Steven muttered, disheartened by how upset Amethyst seemed by this information. However, Steven wasn't ready to simply just write off his teacher so easily. "...Look, this doesn't make any sense! Naruto has been helping us combat Jasper and Peridot this whole time, he's put his gem on the line time and time again to make sure this world was safe! If he was still the right hand of Yellow Diamond then why would he even have helped us?"
"I-I don't know, Steven, but all I do know is that right now Obsidian can't be trust around Garnet, we need to go and help her!" Pearl answered,
"No, we have to get to the control room right away, Peridot's about to set us on a direct course to Homeworld!" Pearl pondered on what Steven told her, biting her thumb as she did so. "Whatever problems we have with Naruto, we have to put on hold until we're safely back on earth, Pearl! Come on, I know if the roles were different you'd be saying something like this too!"
"...H-He's right, right now getting back to earth is more important." Pearl nodded, turning her attention to her sulking partner in the corner. "Amethyst, we need to get Peridot."
"Alright, whatever." She mumbled as she hopped from her bench with a heavy sigh, still showing signs of sadness and betrayal from this new development regarding her favorite gem.
"Alright! Now let's get going," he cheered before placing himself between the barrier and his trapped comrades, giving them an opening to crawl through. Once freed the three made their way to the control room, weapons in hand, each worried about what awaited ahead. As the rounded a corner a hefty thud shook the hull of the ship, stumbling the trio rather harshly.
Pearl turned to face the direction the attack came from, "please don't tell me that's what I think it is."
"Pearl, we have to go," Steven said,
"B-But what if-"
"Pearl!" She hesitated, a fear for her friend's well being still fresh in her mind but she knew that what they needed to do was more important. Like Steven said, we'll deal with Naruto's deception when they land safely back on earth. Turning back to the group, Pearl lead the way towards the control room which was mere feet away.
"What the heck are those fools doing back their? If they destroy my ship I'll-" Peridot muttered, hammering away at her LED keys, trying to keep the ship stable enough to move, however, her concentration was cut short when the doors to the bridge opened, revealing three more escaped prisoners. "No, no, no! You three won't stop me from getting away from this damned planet!" She hissed, equipping herself with her own gem destabilizer before going for Steven only for it to prove rather ineffective.
Steven grabbed hold of her weapon, merely buzzing the young boy a bit before both Pearl and Amethyst dog piled the lanky yellow gem, making quick work of her by simply binding her in Amethyst's whip. "Humph, for a gem who talked a lot of game you really didn't put up much of a fight,"
"Get off me, you clods don't know what you're doing!" Peridot yelled, watching as Pearl takes the helm of the ship, cracking her fingers and preparing to fly this ship safely down to earth. "No, don't touch that!"
"You got this Pearl," Amethyst encouraged, pulling tighter on Peridot's restraints while Pearl lowers her hands onto the holographic screen.
"Alright ship, turn us around!" She declared, trying to sound more sure of her abilities with this tech than she actually was. Once her hands touched the see through screen however, a surge of energy and information surged through her - distorting her eyes into nothing but static.
"U-Umm, Pearl are you alright?" Steven asked as Pearl merely sat their, a low, audible groan the only thing leaving her lips as she continued to connect with the ship's system. While this continued, another shock rocked the ship but this time it affected it much more than simply shaking it. A heavy explosion irrupted through the outer hull of the ship, knocking out most of the power to the ship but unfortunately, seeing as the ship was close enough to be affected by the gravitational pull of the earth, the stranded ship began to slowly get sucked down towards the earth itself. "Oh no, what now?!"
As the ship began to fall from its original trajectory, both Obsidian and Garnet round a corner just in time to escape a rampant explosion caused by their little scuffle with Jasper. "Why is the ship going down?"
"Because, you threw Jasper into one of the ship's power cells. This ship is massive, meaning that if you take out even a single power cell, the ship will start to fall! We need to get to the bridge," Obsidian answered as they both turn another corner. "If we hurry, I can possibly save us from a devastating crash!"
"How could you do that?" Garnet wondered,
"I'll steal one of Peridot's limb enhancers, those are the only things that can control the holographic functionality of this ship. Once I got those I can- AHHHHH!" Naruto began to explain only to feel something harshly grip onto his ankle before pulling him through a thick ship flooring to the next floor.
"Obsidian!" Garnet yelled, prepared to jump down and help one of her comrades in arm only to be stopped by said comrade.
"Forget about me! Go save the others!" He yelled before a string of grunts and heavy thuds filled the air. "I-I'll hold off Jasper!"
"You can't handle her on your ow-" The ship jumped, braking through the first layer of earth's hefty atmosphere, the Thermosphere.
"Get going, now! This is my fight and I have to be the one to finish it! Keep the other's safe, they're the only ones that matter." With a heavy heart, Garnet abandoned Obsidian as he commanded and headed towards the bridge, prepared to do whatever it took to protect her friends.
"Well, well, well - haven't you become the self righteous hero in my absence!" She yelled, chucking Naruto across the room like a rag doll, sending him crashing into a wall with a hefty thud. "And for a fusion no less, a few years ago I'd spit at such a display, but I hate to be a hypocrite. I know just how it feels to be one with someone else!" She said, stalking over to Naruto with predator like procession. Jumping to his feet, Naruto snaps his weapon back to life, prepared to face off against Jasper one more time.
"Jasper, even you know that we're all in mortal danger!" He argued, trying to keep a good yard of distance between the two. "At this height and with the ship's built up speed, we'll all surely shatter when we hit Earth!"
"Well then, that gives me more motivation to pop you and escape this falling ship," She hummed rather cryptically, rushing Naruto's position, gem destabilizer in hand, only to miss by an inch as he ducked under her reach and slashed at her thigh, only nicking her in the process. She stumbled but stands firm, turning back towards him with a stern look. "Prolonging the inevitable won't pan out like you think," she said, pacing towards him while he kept his distance. "Either way one of us has to give and my resolve is solid, what about yours?"
"I'll stop at nothing to protect the people I care most about and if that means I have to go through you, then so be it!"
"Your words are as hollow as your threats," she hissed, tightening her fist for battle. "You've done nothing to truly stop me, the Naruto I knew wouldn't hesitate to try and cut me to ribbons and yet here you are, talking to me when you should be fighting!" She yelled, rushing him once more only for him to try and escape yet again and yet when he tried to bound over her shoulder his ankle was caught by Jasper's mighty grip. It only took Jasper a second before she threw Obsidian to the ground, bashing him against the thick flooring of this ship. Before he could even try and get up, Jasper dropped her knee onto his sternum, driving the air out of his chest as she pinned his arms high above his head.
"J-Jasper,-"
"Enough!" She yelled, glaring him down as the whole ship grew quiet. The ship plummeting through the atmosphere, the rattle exterior of the ship, all the debris slamming against the hull, all of it was drowned out by this singular moment. Jasper looked down at Naruto, her eyes held rage and yet, surprisingly, a sense of sadness as she looked into his, a mix of pain and confusion. "Quit fighting it, just stop it!"
"W-What are you talking abou-"
"Quit pretending to be something you're not! These...Crystal Gems have stuffed your head with lies! You're not a defender, you're not a rebel...you're my Obsidian," She looked down at him, almost a hint of vulnerability in her words. "All those years we've spent as a team, they can't mean nothing! All the missions, the battles…..the fusions, you can't tell me that you've just thrown it all away!"
"...I-I could...never," he whispered,
"Then why do you resist!? Why do you keep pretending like none of that meant anything to you?!" She asked fervently, a question that seemed to be eating away at Jasper's very being.
"T-Those moments...meant everything...to me, but it doesn't….blind me to the travesties we….committed on behalf of….Y-Yellow Diamond," he answered,
Jasper snapped back, "what does any of that matter!? Yellow Diamond has nothing to do about us!"
"It has...e-everything to do with us," he retorted, "I-It has to do with….e-every gem, t-this is...bigger than you and I...J-Jasper,"
"..." Her grip tightens around Obsidian's wrists as her helmet comes to life, the protective glass shielding her eyes from Naruto's sight. "Last offer, give up and come quietly,"
"N-No, I wo-" but before he could finish his sentence Jasper railed him with a dead center hit with her helmet directly onto his face, denting the floor with how impactful such a hit was.
"Again, give up!"
"...N-No-" another landed it's mark, silencing his statement even further.
"Again!"
"N-"
"GIVE UP!"
"No!-"
"AHHHHHHHH!" She yelled, dropping three more heavy hits against Naruto's, his body now limp only twitching from the devastating hammer strikes against his cranium. With her tantrum over, Jasper slowly released her hold on Naruto and, without warning, placed a single hand on his cheek, a single tear left her as she dispersed her weapon of choice, showing the true bitter sadness that has morphed her face to an almost unrecognizable degree.
"Damnit, why did you have to make me do this to you," he didn't respond, all the movement he could muster was his eyes shifting ever once and awhile around the room. "You...You brought this on yourself, I've tried everything to make you see reason but...you're too damn stubborn! You've always been too stubborn for your own good!" The more she talked the old Jasper started to leak through as she tightened her grip on his skull the longer she spoke.
"And even back then, I gave you everything! I did everything I could to get you to see me for more than just a…..I-I even fused with you, a sick, perverse deed that if Yellow Diamond found out we'd both be shattered...and yet I did it for you! And this is how you repay me! By betraying me! By spitting in my face!" She pulled forward, bringing Naruto's face closer to hers - her eyes now glaring deep within his. She paused, almost waiting for an answer from the seemingly comatose opponent before letting out a stress filled sigh. She dropped his head back to the ground, "but it doesn't matter anymore, you'll be coming back with me and that's the end of that."
As Jasper went to stand she stopped when Naruto whispered, "J-Jasper,"
"What?" She asked, turning to face her victim.
"I-I'm….s-sorry,"
"Sorry?" She was taken aback by this, she inched closer. "Sorry for what?"
"T-This!" He yelled before firing up, activating the Gem Destabilizer that he had snagged from Jasper's belt. Before Jasper could even try and stop his advancement, the destabilizer was already dug deep into her gut, sending volt after volt of green energy through her body like a living buzz zapper. As the stubborn bull she's been known to be, she fought against the weapon, refusing to be dispelled like others before her did. With her last amount of energy, she raised her hand to Naruto's cheek one last time, her features mixed with betrayal, hatred and misery.
"P-Please…D-DON'T!"
"I-I'm sorry!" Were his final words to his once long standing friend, slapping away her hand before digging the tip of the weapon deeper into Jasper's abdomen one last time, exploding her physical form into a hiss of smoke, leaving behind her very existence, her gem. Slowly making his way towards the discharged gem, Naruto picks it up with a level of care he knew Jasper would never show his gem. Once in hand, Naruto stared down at it with an almost uncharacteristically numb expression, his appearance looking as if he's been through hell 1,000 times now.
Naruto went to take another step but found himself unable to do so, dropping him too a single knee; his vision began to blur as the toll of those repeated blows to his head took effect. "I-I can't….move," he thought, falling once more but this time onto his back, splayed out on the floor for all to see. "I-Is this where my….story ends? Beaten...a-and broken?"
"Steven! Can you give me a status report, cause from back here this ride's getting kinda bumpy!" Amethyst questioned, bouncing up and down on top of Peridot as the ship began to shake and stir in it's decent.
"I don't know what's happening, Pearl isn't moving!"
"What?!" Amethyst questioned heatedly, jumping from her position on top of the tech-savvy gem to check on the situation and as Steven said, Pearl hasn't moved or done practically anything for a solid minute, even though the ship is freaking plummeting towards the Earth at ludicrous speeds. "Hey, earth to Pearl?! What the heck is wrong with her?"
"I don't know," Steven answered
"Peridot! You know what's happen- Hey!" she turned to find said gem worming her way towards the center of the room, prepared to activate her secret escape pod hidden within the floor of her flight deck. Amethyst rushed to stop her, wrestling with the bound gem like a flopping fish pulled fresh from the sea, just as Garnet made her entrance. "Garnet! You're okay!" Amethyst cheered while still trying to wrangle this obnoxious tech wizard.
"Keep her still, we need her limb enhancers!" Garnet ordered, making her way quickly towards the two gems flopping around on the ground.
Once Garnet's plan was heard by Peridot she became even more adamant about escaping Amethyst's hold on her, "oh no! I refuse to let any of you fools take my limb enhancers!" She yelled, flailing just enough to slip out of Amethyst's small arms and directly on the spot she needed to be on. Once situated, a jell like orb formed around her, prepared to shoot down to planet earth safely but when the Crystal Gems are around, there's no such thing as a perfect plan.
As the jell pod began to close, Garnet slipped her gauntlets into the crack of the ship - causing said pod to halt its extraction until the pod was fully closed. "You clods! I won't be stuck on a crashing ship with a bunch of simple minded simpletons! Let go, let go!"
"Not a chance," Garnet answered, wrestling her hand into the pod to hopefully retrieve what she wanted. As she wrestled once more with the slippery little gem, Peridot tried to take action against this rude fusion. Without warning, Peridot aimed her limb enhanced finger towards Garnet as it shifted into a weapon of sorts, allowing her to fire off a round almost directly into Garnet's hairdo; thankfully she dodged before it buzzed her square afro.
"Eat plasma!" Peridot yelled childishly, rapidly firing her new weapon off randomly, hoping to catch one of the Crystal Gems off guard, to no avail. Dodging each shot with relative ease, Garnet simply reached in and gripped Peridot's arm and went to rip it off only for one last shot to go off, catching her shoulder.
Recoiling in pain, Garnet subconsciously released the pod, allowing the slippery little weasel to escape with all of her limb enhancers.
"Garnet, are you alright?!" Amethyst asked, rushing to her side.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I've been hit with far worse," Garnet reassured her friend, nursing her tender shoulder for a bit.
"That's a relief," Amethyst sighed. "But how are we supposed to stop this ship now? Without her limb whatever's we're screwed,"
"Well, I might not have gotten her whole limb, but I think I've got the next best thing." Garnet smirked as she presented a single digit of Peridot's enhancer; it wasn't much but it's all they had right now and it will have to do. Picking herself up, Garnet took charge and tapped the finger against the holographic screen and, thankfully, the screen reacted to it.
"Great, it works." Steven cheered, only for his smile to be replaced with an inquisitive stare. "...but does anyone know what this stuff means?" He asked, looking at this strange, nonsensical screen of lights and shapes that no normal individual could actually read let alone control.
"Not a clue," Answered Amethyst, shrugging her shoulders as per usual in a stressful situation,
"Nope," Garnet answered simply, shaking her head in abject confusion.
"H-Huh? What? W-Where am I?" Pearl asked, finally slipping out of her knowledge trance as she stared down towards the blinking screens and shifting symbols with a new found air of knowledge and understanding that she never thought she'd have in such a short amount of time.
"Pearl, you're back!" Steven cheered, latching onto her leg with a bone crushing hug.
"You had us worried there for a moment, I thought you were gonna be stuck like that," Amethyst jeered, jabbing Pearl with an elbow.
Garnet laid a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's good to have you back, Pearl but we can celebrate that later, we need to find a way to stop this ship,"
"I-I think I know how to," Pearl mumbled, still scanning the interface like a madman.
"What?" Amethyst asked,
"I think I know how to slow down the ship," Pearl repeated,
Amethyst looked a bit skeptical, "how in the world do you know how to do something like that?"
Pearl looked to her hands, the very thing that connected her to this console in the first place. "I-I don't know, it's just...after I touched this console for so long, these symbols started making some sense to me. Now, by no means am I an expert, but I might be able to slow it down."
"If there's a chance that we can make it out of here alive, we need to take it." She said, "here," Garnet thrusted the finger forward, creeping Pearl out for a moment before seldomly taking it,
"Thanks, now….w-which symbol represents the stabilizers?" she murmured, hovering Peridot's removed robot finger over the screen, hoping that she might find the right one. "Well...let's try...this one!" She said, tapping the symbol in the right hand corner, regretting that decision almost immediately. Once touched, the entire ship's power system shut down, leaving the ship without lights and such. Quickly tapping the screen again, the ship's power sprung back to life. "Okay, not that one, never that one!"
"I thought you said he knew what you were doing?!" Amethyst barked, dropping to the floor as the ship took another hit from entering another atmospheric layer.
Pearl whipped around, glaring heatedly at Amethyst. "I haven't been studying this for years, Amethyst! I'm still very new at this and I'd appreciate some support!"
"And I'd like to know that we won't explode because you clicked the wrong button!" Amethyst retorted, allowing her feelings get the better of her in such a high tensioned situation.
"Enough!" Garnet barked, stomping her foot down to get her team's attention. "We don't need you two bickering when our lives are hanging in the balance!" She said before turning to Pearl to give her a bit of positive reinforcement. "Alright Pearl, try again. You'll get the right one, I know it."
"T-Thanks Garnet," she released a sigh of relief before straightening in her chair and taking another look at the screens. "Alright, let's try this again."
While the remaining Crystal Gems continue to try and do some damage control for this dive bombing warship, Lapis Lazuli still remains silent and oblivious to everything that's happening around her, merely wishing to stay in her own little cell - hoping the problem might fix itself. A part of her didn't understand by these fools continued to face danger after danger, threat after threat when all it does is break you each and every time, never free, never safe. They're sadists, maybe? Maybe they can't leave well enough alone, they have to mess with it and upset the status quo. Whatever it may be, it's only going to lead to their downfall, something Lapis wanted no part in...that is, until she saw a familiar face in a very unfavorable position.
Fumbling into sight was the blonde rebel himself, barely able to stand let alone continue forward with the ship shifting and twisting without warning. He seemed quite different from the last time she saw him; instead of standing tall and speaking absolutes, he's hunched and a look of defeat was evident across his face - this was not the same man Lapis came face to face with minutes ago. As he goes to take another step his body shifted with the movement of the ship, sending him down to the ground with a heavy thud.
Lapis watched as he tried to pick himself back up from the ground only to end up back on the floor, his body now going limp from lack of energy. "What does he think he's doing?" Lapis thought, watching his failing with a critical eye, "where's he going? What does he think he's going to accomplish working himself half to death? If...If he'd just did what I told him to do none of this would be happening. We wouldn't be careening towards Earth in a broken ship with no pilot! Why on earth did they leave their cel-"
"L-Lapis," While Lapis was busy blaming Naruto for putting her in such an awful situation, said blonde had inched his way towards her cell, placing himself right outside it with his back placed comfortably by the plain wall next to her cell. "Are you...a-alright?"
"What?" She asked, cocking her brow ever so slightly.
He shifted his weight, trying to find a comfortable position for his battered body. "I asked...a-are you alright?"
"I should be asking you that question, you look like you've been-" She began only to see the pulverized blonde finish her sentence for her.
"Through...a-a war? Yeah...k-kinda happens when you're...hit in the head 5 times by J-Jasper's...helmet." He muttered, running a finger or two over the nasty bruises he's got. "O-Or was it 7? I-I can't...keep track," He chuckled, only to wince at the pain such a simple laugh brought his aching head.
Lapis was confused, "how could you make a joke at a time like this?" She asked, getting a shrug in return.
"...H-Humor can keep us...sane in dreadful t-times," he answered plainly, "like this one,"
I calming silence coated the hallway before a single question came to Lapis mind that she needed to address. "Was it worth it?"
"W-Was what...worth it?" He asked back,
"The beating, was it all worth it to get the stuffing beaten out of you by Jasper?"
"Well...I-I won so, kinda...yeah." Naruto said with a cheeky smile, lifting up Jasper's gem for Lapis to inspect. "I may...be e-extremely sore in the morning...but I'm p-putting a-away a...powerful enemy, that's….a win i-in my book."
"...Y-You beat...Jasper? But how?!" She asked, blown away that this gem could even hold a candle to that beastly creature she called jasper.
"I...used my h-head," he smiled, tapping his extremely sore head, snickering all the while.
"That's not funny," she murmured, trying to hide her sneaker.
"I-It's kinda funny," he snickered once he noticed a smile start to break through Lapis's usually stoic features. But Naruto's smile soon vanished as he knew there was something he needed to say to Lapis Lazuli and it couldn't be postponed. With a stern look and an open heart, Naruto began, "I-I know how it...feels, t-to want everything to….go b-back to how things u-used to be. T-To just bury y-your...head in t-the sand, h-hoping that someday you can just...g-go home, but once y-you...light that f-fire, it w-will...never go out. Y-You can never...u-unsee the injustice and tyranny o-of your leader...and y-your people, y-you can never...l-look at your home a-again….without seeing the b-bodies that line it. I don't blame you for being afraid...but know this, it's worse to hid than it is to fight."
"..." Lapis remained silent, reflecting on his words for but a moment before he started to get up and head towards the control room. "Wait, where are you going?"
"I've got to...g-go help some old f-fashioned gems land a-a….h-high tech gem warship or we're n-not going to last v-very long," he said, before turning slightly to face Lazuli. "A-Also, I'd s-suggest staying...i-in your cell. Y-you're much safer i-in their than o-out here. W-Wish me luck,"
"Good luck," She thought because a part of her refused to say something like that out loud.
"We're still coming in too fast, I've done everything I can but nothing is working!" Pearl all but screamed as she gripped the stolen digit tightly in her hand, fearful as they approach the Earth, growing ever closer the longer they try to delay it.
Amethyst was growing anxious as their only option for survival went up in smoke right before her eyes. "What can we do, we can't just stand here!"
"My bubble shield can protect us," Steven suggested,
"I believe that's the only option we have at the moment," Garnet answered, "everyone gather around!" She commanded, rallying everyone away from the front of the ship.
"What about Lapis?" Steven wondered, his heart always set in the right place even in the face of danger.
"There's no time! We've got 5 minutes before impact!" As the group gathered around Steven, prepared to wade out this drop within Steven's magical bubble, the door opened - revealing a battered Naruto and with him was something no individual thought he would have, one of Peridot's arms.
"I knew she left a spare around here somewhere," he sighed as he makes his way towards the console, "I-I'd suggest staying in that bubble, I'm not 100% sure how to drive this. I'm basing this off of years watching Peridot do it and a few simulators I did during my training, which was about a good 5, 000 years ago."
"But what happens if we can't stop it, you could be shattered!" Steven asked,
Naruto could only answer that question the best he could. "With the time we have, I can't stop it from crashing regardless of what I do but I can do two things, I can redirect it to a body of water and I can slow it down. With that done I should be able to survive….I think,"
Steven didn't like the sound of that, "you think?" He asked, worry plain as day in his voice.
"Yeah, it's a rough estimate. That's why I'm telling you to keep that bubble up so you all are safe," he finished as he took his spot near the command chair, letting a sigh before continuing. "Alright, memory don't fail me now." He muttered as he picks up the holographic screen with a flick of his wrist, hovering it over the mechanical instrument that he's prepared to use. Once done his detached robotic fingers began to fly, going above and beyond what a simple digit could do. Each minute he spent with the screen, the ship began to slow ever so slightly and take a more ergonomical direction towards the sea resting a 3,000 feet away from their base of operation. "50 seconds before impact, hold on to something!" With Naruto warning, Steven sprung up his bubble and he plopped himself into the captain's chair, locking in the safety straps for extra precaution. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - brace for impac-" Just as he was prepared to say it, the ship made contact with the glimmering ocean of beach city, disrupting mountains of water from its impact. The beach's waves grew stronger and encompassed more land, not reaching the city thankfully, but the previous shoreline of beach city was now almost nonexistent.
As the water and ecosystem tried to compensate for this drastic change the people within the Warship were not in good shape to say the least. The crystal gems were the better off, seeing as Steven's held up pretty well under pressure and is still keeping form after such a harsh impact; their pilot however was a little winded to say the least. Thankfully, his seatbelt idea was sound, so, once he shook off the impact - he broke out of his seat and tried to assess the damage as best he could. "Is everyone...alright?"
"Define alright?" Amethyst asked belligerently as she picked herself off the ground, her head now throbbing because of the impromptu space ship crash.
"Alive,"
"We're all still functioning," Garnet answered,
"Good," with his mind set to ease, Naruto along with the Crystal Gems made their escape of this wretched ship, making a stop to pick up a blue haired water imp in the process. Slowly, the ascended to the very top of the ship, the sunlight nearly blinding the group as one by one they filed out of the sunken warship, taken in their surroundings as one would take in the devastation of a battlefield.
The crystal gems have returned home and nothing would be the same again.
Naruto and the Crystal Gems have just faced one of their toughest opponents but will that be the end of Jasper? Where did Peridot end up? What will happen with Lapis Lazuli? How will the team react to knowing about Naruto's well kept secret? Find out all and much, much more in the next installment of Naruto: Obsidian Dreams!
*Author's Note*: Hello everyone, I'm glad I was able to update a bit faster than I usually do, I wanted to finish this one on Christmas but….it didn't happen. Now, as you can tell, this ending is different from the original and that's because...well, I kinda want to try and take this fanfiction in a different direction. Now it's not going to be completely different, we'll dip into the OG continuity for important plot details and such but I really want to try and make a new story with this. Make some new twists and turns that you guys won't see coming, some will be happy to hear that and I'm glad and some will be sad about it and I'm sorry but I think if you give it a chance I think you'll enjoy it. Anyway, thank you all so much for reading my story and happy late Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa. Please review so I can hear what you guys thought of the final 'behind the veil' arc and please PM me if you have any questions!