Episode 24: Earthlings

Following up to the previous episode, Jasper and Hannibal were examining their army as Jack, Peridot, Steven, Raimundo and Amethyst were hiding behind a cliff to spy on them. Jack was surprised to see Jasper but was more surprised to see Hannibal. "I guess Hannibal unretired as well." Jack said. "Wait, how did you know that other person? Did Chase and Wuya tell you that?" Raimundo said. "Well, yea, they told me that Hannibal was the one who managed to assist Wuya to get back to her human form and split you into two, you and Jackson." Jack said. This surprised them. "Yea, former Heylin, remember?" Jack said. "I know, but how powerful is he?" Steven said. "From what I was informed, in his prime, he could take on several people at once and win." Jack said. "However, he's around 8000+ years old, so I don't know if he's still in his prime or well pasted it." "This is serious, maybe we should get back up." Raimundo suggested. "Sounds good. What do you think, Amethyst?" Steven said as they discover that Amethyst disappeared. "Oh, come on…" Raimundo bemoans softly. Jack, Steven and Peridot spot Amethyst trying to get the drop on them.

"You sure this would work, Jasper" Hannibal said. "I mean, you did lose to a Xiaol-" "I know, but I feel like if we get the drop on them, we could make Chase and Wuya regret letting me go. Besides, I feel like we could win easily. Isn't it right…AMETHYST!?" Jasper said. This caught Amethyst off guard and she fell down. Hannibal draws his sword and was ready for battle. "What are you doing here?" Jasper said. "I came here to win" Amethyst said. "You were doomed for failure, especially the moment you came out wrong." Jasper boast. Raimundo rushes up. "She can hold her own pretty well. Besides, she isn't weak!" Raimundo said, defending Amethyst. Jasper scoffs. "Every Gem has been made for a purpose, to serve the Diamonds. Those who doesn't fit are ordered to be purged." Jasper said. "To come out misshapen or even to defend this worthless planet is a disgrace!" This made Jack's blood boil and he charges out, sword quickly drawn. "You take that back!" Jack shouts as he stands next to Raimundo and Amethyst. "Wait...you must be Jack Spicer...am I correct?" Hannibal said. "You guessed correctly...Hannibal. Peri and I are Crystal Monks now!" Jack proclaimed.

Jasper summons her crash helmet. Raimundo draws out the Sword of the Storm. Peridot, while a bit nervous, was standing up as well. "I ain't afraid of you anymore, Jasper! I have metal powers!" Peridot said as she focus on a metal rod but was doing poorly. "It'll be a few moments, guys." She said sheepishly. Amethyst looks at Raimundo. "I want to do this sol-" Amethyst said before Raimundo hushes her. "No…together as one, Amethyst…the deal we made." Raimundo reminded. Amethyst was a bit hesitant about the deal, but it was agreed on, so she got no other choice. "Jack, take on Hannibal, Amethyst and I will handle Jasper." Raimundo said. Jack nods as he began to battle Hannibal. All 3 of them fought pretty hard immediately. Jasper was making Amethyst look like a mere toy while Raimundo was doing everything he can to assist Amethyst without being in her way. Jack and Hannibal was dueling fiercely. Both were showing off their swordsmanship to each other. However, Hannibal was giving Jack some issues as Hannibal has the experience backing him up. Both fronts were slowly wearing down as Peridot's focus was still on the metal rod. Steven decided to give Jack, Raimundo and Amethyst some breathing room by summoning his shield and hits a nearby injector. This cause it to fall and not only did Amethyst, Raimundo, and Jack avoided it, but also Hannibal and Jasper.

Raimundo and Steven rushes to Amethyst's side. "I can't win, guys…" Amethyst said in a down tone. "No matter what I do, no matter what the training, I came out wrong…She came out perfectly…" "That's what she wants you to think." Steven said. "Only she thinks that you should have been like her. Stop trying to be like Jasper. You're more like me...because we're both not like anybody." Amethyst was pretty moved by it. Raimundo let this happened and was happy to see Amethyst finally come around. Just then, the Injector was lifted by Jasper and tossed aside. "Heh, you think this is your lone trick, Steven?" Hannibal said. "Time isn't on your side." Steven offers a hand to Amethyst and she takes it and then pulls Steven into a hug. This… changes everything. A big explosion of smoke and light appears. This catches all of them off-guarded. Just then… A smoky colored fusion gem appeared. "WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY!" The gem exclaims. "Nice work… uh…" Raimundo said before pondering a quick name. "Hmm… Well, I'm a Rose Quarts and an Amethyst but that makes me… a Smoky Quartz." They said.

"Grr…if fusion wasn't a headache before…" Jasper said, bemoaning the time she lost to Garnet. (Remember, Raimundo bested Jasper a few episodes ago, not Stevonnie.) "Don't worry, we got plenty of tricks. Ever seen "Sink the Dink"?" Smoky Quartz said as they summons their weapon, a massive yo-yo and began attacking. Jack and Raimundo began to fight Hannibal as Smoky would handle Jasper. Hannibal was now getting a bit overwhelmed with the new attack. Jasper was getting outflanked by Smoky Quartz while Hannibal began to go on the defense against Jack and Raimundo. During the battle, Jasper would use her spin dash but it would backfire badly and crashed into a wall, allowing a good chunk of her captured gems to go free. "GAH! MY ARMY!" Jasper said. "Great…now we are back at square one, Jasper!" Hannibal said with a snare. "I only got one more trick that I can assist." Jasper said as she rushes to the snow monster and began to fuse. "Uh-oh." Raimundo said. "Jack, hold of Hannibal for a bit." He commanded. Jack nods as with a bit of a new confidence began to put Hannibal on the backfoot. Jasper was now fused and was ready to attack. "Sword of the Storm, WIND!" Raimundo said as a big dust storm began to brew. "Good Call, Rai. Beside, this trick will blow you away" Smoky said as they pull out 2 more yo-yo and began to spin them to make the storm more massive. This caused Jasper to unfused with the snow monster and crashed into the ground. Hannibal couldn't believe it, Jasper failed. Not only that, Jack was starting to get the better of him. The potential is there, and Chase was right all along.

Jack then stopped attacking and rushed over to Raimundo and Smoky. "Nice job, you…three, right?" Jack said. Smoky nods as they gave Jack a big pat on the back. Hannibal slowly walks to the crater as the snow monster quickly gets up and leaves. Hannibal sees Jasper at her lowest point. Jasper began to laugh hysterically. "You...okay?" Hannibal said. "Okay...OKAY!? Not only did I lose to a fusion in the past…not only did I lose to the small fry of the Xiaolin Monk...but I lose to a fusion and that string human!? That is unacc-GAH!" Jasper said as she began to feel pain. Her left arm began to alter. This caught not only Hannibal off-guard but also Raimundo, Peridot, Jack, and Smoky, who would defuse back to Steven and Amethyst after seeing it. Jasper's condition began to grow worse and worse. Steven slowly approaches Jasper and began to lick his palm with Saliva. However, Jasper refused any help. How so? She swiped her left claw onto Steven. It only grazed him, making a hole in his shirt. Peridot rushes over, having now given up on the rod and arrive. "What in Blazing is going on?" Hannibal said. Jasper chuckles. "Heh...I should have known you two would join Rose's crusade, Jack and Peridot…" Jasper said. "You two lost your status, your prestige, your passion… your dignity." "Hey, we have 2 of those still… at minimum." Jack counters back.

"Why are you two even wanting to protect this useless planet?!" Jasper said in a scolding matter. "Well, first off, There's a good amount of life. Not only that, Jack seeing a good amount of potential in me makes me pretty confident in myself. Plus, with my metal powers, I do see potential in myself." Peridot said as the metal rod finally did her bidding…by suddenly landed behind her. "Huh…Still got some work to do, Peri." Jack quips. Jasper's condition continues to get worse. "Okay, Jasper… Don't move." Steven said. Jasper stands up and aggressively points at Steven as her condition continues to deteriorate. "You cannot manipulate me, Rose!" Jasper shouts. "Hey, he's trying to help." Raimundo said. "Help…? HELP!? I have been fighting second I broke out the earth's crust. What you did to my colony, my planet, nay...MY DIAMOND...is treasonous!" Jasper said. "Wait… you talking about Yellow Diamond?" Jack asked rhetorically.

"Wha-Ah! NO…MY DIAMOND IS PINK DIAMOND!" Jasper shouts as the corruption takes over. This makes her into a gem monster. She roars and began to charge. Peridot quickly uses her metal power to unintentionally put a metal rod into Jasper's chest. This caused her to poof. The gemstone fall to the ground. Hannibal was stunned on what happened. He walks over to the gemstone and picks it up. "W-what are you going to do with her?" Steven said with a nervous tone. Hannibal tosses the gemstone aside next to them. "Nothing…I thought I could…get another ace in the hole." Hannibal said with a reserved tone. "Apparently, Chase was right on the money that Jasper was a lost cause." "Wait, really?" Peridot said. "Yea, and he planned on talking to Jack to convince him to rejoin the Heylin." Hannibal added. "However, it seems that he'll be too late." Hannibal began to walk away. "So, wait, we ain't going to fight anymore?" Jack said. "Not today… but sooner or later…We'll make sure that the Crystal Monks fall and Earth with it." Hannibal said. He then looks at Steven. "And You… Steven… there's more to your mother than you'll know. My ace in the hole will be the death of the Crystal Monks." Hannibal said as he walks off into a big dust storm. This perplexes all of them. Amethyst walks over to the gemstone and goes to her knees. She sighs and bubbles Jasper's gemstone and sends it away. Raimundo walks up and Amethyst leans against him in exhaustion.

A bit later, Raimundo, Peridot, Jack, Steven, and Amethyst were heading back to the barn. "Man, that was some battle." Raimundo said. "Yea, but we now got another threat that is linger our heads for a good while...I need to inform the others about Hannibal." Jack said. "Well, you do that, but I don't think I wanna do anything for a month." Amethyst said. Just then, they sees not only Garnet, Pearl, Kimiko, Clay, and Omi, but also the 5 rubies, trapped in water bubbles. Amethyst groans, knowing that they still got some work to do. Even with the Rubies arrival, it seems that Hannibal is likely going to be a major threat to be on the look out for the foreseeable future. And what does he know about Rose?

End of Episode 24