Everyone rejoice! The hiatus is finally over, well next week it will be. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, six episodes are dropping friday, November 10th on Cartoon Network's app, which means no more of these filler chapters and we can get back to the good stuff that is the main series canon timeline! Sorry it took so long to upload, time has not been my friend lately and I thank you guys for your patience. I guess I have nothing else to say know except *POKEMON AND STEVEN UNIVERSE ARE NOT OWNED BY ME*
"Focus" Pearl's voice echoed through Ash's head, "focus all of your thoughts to your inner spirit. Focus all of your emotions towards it. Feed it. Let it overcome you and show you what it wants you to see"
Previously in the day, Ash had approached Pearl and asked her to help him unlock all of his Gem's abilities, figuring it could bring him one step closer to unlocking full control over his aura. Now the two were alone in Pearl's room meditating on top of her waterfalls. Ash himself was struggling however, to achieve his goal.
"Argh! This is hopeless! We've been sitting here for nearly three hours and nothing works!" he complained
Ash's outburst had broken Pearl's concentration as well, and after she gave him an irritated look, she took a deep breath and stood up "nobody said this was going to be easy Ash. We only have so much time before Homeworld and Team Rocket arrive for the Cluster. It is imperative that we're able to unlock as much as possible from you before they do"
"But that's the problem Pearl! It's almost like this, this wall is in front of me! And I can't break through it no matter how hard I hit back"
"Then it wouldn't be a challenge would it?" she mocked him "now just close your eyes, and let all your emotions run free, and show you your secrets"
Ash once again sat on the floating platform and closed his eyes. He heeded Pearl's instructions and began to try to let go of his emotions. As his mind began to empty, images of both memories and his dreams began flashing before his eyes and couldn't look away because his eyes were already closed. He saw his memory of when he and Steven freed Lapis from the mirror, when Lapis and Jasper fused into Malachite, of May stabbing Lapis through the chest, and finally, Skinny's face as she was shattered by Jasper right in front of him. The constant flow of memories became too much for him to take, and jolted awake, gasping for breath.
"Are you alright?"
"I, I have to go" he said while running out of Pearl's room, leaving her confused.
Nearly four hours later, Ash found himself and Lapis both standing at the top of the silo on the barn, with Brock, Peridot, James, Misty and Steven all standing below them on the ground.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked his fiance
She took his hand with a trusting smile "Absolutely"
He gently pulled her closer to him and placed his hands on her hips, she followed his lead and wrapped her hands on his shoulders. As they began to slow dance, they pulled away and he twirled her, catching her in his arms. After the catch, he pulled her closer until their lips were mere centimeters away from each other. But before they could kiss, the turquoise light illuminated the both of them and engulfed together, leaving Lash Malachite in their place. She heard the small group cheering their act as she sprouted her water wings and approached the edge of the silo. After taking a deep breath, Lash leapt over the edge.
The feeling of the wind in her face caressed Lash as she cut through the air, filling her with a feeling of excitement and made her feel giddy and free. Gliding through the air, she continued to fly over the treetop losing herself in the sky. Then she felt something grab her by the ankle and began to pull them down. To Lash's horror, their assailant was Jasper, shining an evil smile.
"You're mine now" she whispered to her as she began pulling her closer towards her.
Lash began to thrash around like a trapped animal, desperately trying to escape from the brute's grasp. The next thing Ash knew, he and Lapis had defused and were now both in a freefall and Jasper was gone.
"Lapis! Lapis!" he screamed with her still in his arms as they both fell. But she gave no response as they continued their freefall, it was clear that she was in a trance of some kind, a look of horror and shock plastered on her face. Seeing that there was no hope of snapping her out of her daze, he reached for his pokeballs and summoned Staraptor before they could both hit the ground.
After Staraptor landed them, he dismounted the bird and carried Lapis through their group of friends and ran into the barn.
"Lapis!" he once again called to her while resting her down onto thier mattress. And after getting no response, he finally felt he had no choice but to softly slap her across the face to bring her back to reality.
"What happened!?" Steven asked as the others all ran inside. Brock came to her side and began to examine her
"She's in shock" he concluded resting his ear on her chest to examine her heartbeat, then he remembered she had no heart to examine and pulled his head away feeling rather foolish. "She's going to need some space"
Ash pulled the blanket over her as the others all left the barn and grouped together outside.
"What happened to you guys?" Misty asked him.
"I don't know, one second we were both flying and the next I know, Jasper comes out of nowhere and grabs us. I saw her plain as day, and she was pulling us down towards her before we unfused."
Steven looked at him in thought, "you both saw Jasper?"
"Yeah, she looked so real, it was like she was actually there"
"Ash?" he then heard Lapis call to him from the inside.
"Hey sweetie, are you alright?"
She snickered at him because of the pet name and returned to his side "I'm fine now, what happened?"
"I saw her too, she tried to grab us. But don't worry, she wasn't real and she won't get you"
"But Jasper never was here" Brock spoke up, "how is it that you both saw her, grabbed you, let you go and disappeared while the rest of us didn't even see her?"
"No idea".
After giving Lapis some time to collect herself, she insisted in testing Lash's abilities once more. The others all gathered at the bottom of the silo again, just in case something went wrong again, and were all ready this time to catch them if they fell.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked her
She grew a gentle smile and extended her blue hand "yes, I trust you more than anything Ash. I'm ready"
He accepted her hand and they once again began their fusion dance. He pulled her closer than he'd ever held her before and the two began their slow dance, then she pulled away so he could twirl and catch her, just as they did earlier. With the dance completed, Lash took a deep breath in and leapt over the edge of the roof. The ecstatic feeling of freedom ran through her as she flew through the air, keeping herself much further in the air in case of the sudden appearance of Jasper again.
"Alright, this is good. We're all good, everything's going good" she thought to herself. Trying her best to try to fly in a loop like Lapis had done on multiple occasions. After letting her worries go, she finally began to forget the incident and finally began to enjoy herself in the sky. Then it happened.
"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" Jasper once again asked, grabbing Lash by the ankles as she did previously "I'm not done with you yet"
"No, no you're not here! YOU'RE NOT HERE!" she screamed before once again separating back into Ash and Lapis. This time however, Steven jumped into the air and caught both of them and returned to the ground safely.
"What happened this time? Because we saw the whole thing and Jasper wasn't here at all" Peridot told him
"I don't know, but we still saw her, felt her, that look of malice on her face is something I'll never forget and I can still feel her grip on me. How the heck did you guys all not see her?"
"Because she wasn't here you clod!"
"DON'T CALL HIM A CLOD!" Lapis shouted back at Peridot, finally snapping out of her trance "she was here! I'm not crazy! What's going on!?" she began to cry into Ash's arms.
Steven, who had been relatively quiet throughout the entire ordeal, finally approached them both. "I, think I might know what's happening here"
"You do?"
"Yeah, when me and Connie were training, Stevonnie started seeing things that we both regret and fear, so Garnet helped us out. It's kinda hard to explain, but it sounds like Lapis is going through what we were, since you guys saw Jasper grab you."
After some deliberation, the two followed Steven back to the Temple. A loud crash and the sound of both Pearl and a creature shouting came from the inside. The three opened the door to the sight of Pearl angrily scolding Amethyst, who had released Aerodactyl and was allowing the flying creature to wreak havoc in the kitchen.
"AMETHYST!"
"Aw come on P! She's just having fun, it's not like she's hurting anyone, isn't that right Aerodactyl?"
The flying pokemon screeched and leapt from the top of the refrigerator, causing it to fall over, much to both the pokemon and Amethyst's delight.
"Amethyst be serious! What did Arceus tell us about these pokemon!?"
Ash finally cleared his throat loudly to get the gem's attention.
"Oh, hello everyone," Pearl addressed them feeling embarrassed about her outburst
"Sup guys"
"Amethyst, Pearl's right. The pokemon Arceus entrusted to you are not to be used as toys" Ash irritably told her.
Accepting her defeat, Amethyst stuck her tongue out at him and lead Aerodactyl outside. Ash was honestly glad she took the fossil pokemon away, as he remembered his first, rather unpleasant experience with the pokemon. Although he knew this wasn't the same Aerodactyl that tried to eat him, he was still a little weary of the pokemon's presence.
"Where's Garnet?" Steven asked
"I'm right here" she answered him after stepping outside from her room "Ash, Lapis, follow me to the warp pad"
"How did you know what we'd ask you?" Ash asked
"Future vision"
Steven stayed behind with Pikachu as the three went to the warp pad. Garnet warped them towards a large, floating arena similar to a roman coliseum.
"Fuse" Garnet calmly commanded.
For the fourth time that day, they took each other's hands and performed their fusion dance. Lash turned to see Garnet smiling with glee, a rare sight indeed.
"It's very nice to meet you Lash" she told them while smiling like a little kid.
"Thank you Garnet, shall we get started?"
Both fusions sat down to face each other.
"For a fusion to work, there needs to be balance. An imbalance, can cause your fusion to lose touch with reality, see things that aren't even there, and eventually fall apart. That is to say, if one of you is falling apart, your fusion is as well. To find balance, you must understand your feelings, you must see them clearly without running from them" she explained getting into a meditating position. After Lash copied her, the two closed their eyes and began to take deep breaths. "Here, in darkness, everything's okay. Clear your minds. Here comes a thought"
The next thing they knew, Ash and Lapis were alone together in a new location. It was a darkened state with just a blue hue. Garnet's voice echoed around them in song while they both tried to comprehend their new surroundings.
"Take a moment to think of just, flexibility, love and trust. Take a moment to think of just, flexibility, love and trust."
At that moment while Garnet sang, a few butterflies made of white light emerged and surrounded the two. Though there were only around three or four, they seemed to crowd around Lapis specifically, causing her to tense up and look scared. Ash, feeling it is his duty to keep her safe and comfortable, began swatting at the ones around her, completely ignoring the ones which had turned their attention towards him.
"Here comes a thought that might alarm you. What someone said and how it harmed you. Something you said that failed to be charming. Things that you said are suddenly swarming and oh you're losing sight. You're losing touch. All these little things seem to matter so much that they confuse you. That I might lose you"
With the butterflies causing her distress gone, Lapis happily embraced Ash. Then something drastic caught her attention. The butterflies behind Ash had accumulated and now were in a large cluster. He looked up at her as if he carried a heavy burden on his shoulders.
"Take a moment. Remind yourself to take a moment and find yourself. Take a moment to ask yourself if this is how we fall apart. But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay. You've got nothing. Got nothing. Got nothing. Got nothing to fear. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here"
Lapis watched in shock and awe as the butterflies behind him flew into a cloud. A nightmare scenario began to unfold in the cloud, Ash was fighting Jasper, but the arena they were fighting was a complete hell hole, a city in ruin and fire. Littering the floor were dead bodies who were slain in battle, many of them Lapis recognized as Steven, the Gems, Brock, Misty, James and Serena. But there were a few she only knew from Ash's descriptions of them, an older woman was among the bodies and matched the description of his mother, a boy with green hair and a black suit jacket just like how he described his friend Cilan, and an girl with dark skin and enormous, purple hair like the description he gave for his other friend Iris. Ash was on his knees amidst the pile of corpses almost as if he had accepted his defeat. But the worst part of Ash's personified nightmare was Jasper herself. The monster Gem held a large sword in one hand, and was holding a chain clamped around Lapis's neck in the other. She gasped in horror as the blade Jasper was holding swung downwards at his neck, ending the vision of what horrible thoughts plagued his mind. The memory of Skinny being shattered by Jasper and Squareidot right in front of him then played just how he remembered it, a feeling of guilt for not being able to save her filled Lash's head. Finally, Ash's memory of him having to leave Lars, May and Dawn on Homeworld at Jasper and the Diamond's mercy also played in front of her. As the butterflies separated and the vision of Ash and Lapis alone faded, Lash opened her eyes and sang as well
"Here comes a thought that might alarm me. What someone said and how it harmed me. Something I did that failed that failed to be charming. Things that I said are suddenly swarming oh, I'm losing sight, I'm losing touch. All these little things seem to matter so much that they confuse me"
"That I might lose me" both fusions sang together in harmony "take a moment. Remind yourself to take a moment and find yourself. Take a moment and ask yourself if this is how we fall apart. But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay. You've got nothing. Got nothing. Got nothing. Got nothing to fear. I'm here, I'm here, I'm here.
And it was just a thought. Just a thought. Just a thought. Just a thought. Just a thought. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. We can watch. We can watch. We can watch. We can watch them go by. From here. From here"
Garnet stopped singing and allowed Lash to finish out the harmony by herself "Take a moment to think of just, flexability, love and trust."
With their melody over, Lash separated back into her two parts. Lapis now looked tranquil and peaceful, but her calm face turned to worry once she saw Ash's face. On his normally confident and gleaming face was gloom and full of despair, then he did something that he hadn't done since the day Serena first came to the Gem's Universe, he cried. Not just a few tears, he was heavily bawling after seeing his worst nightmare come to life right in front of him.
Lapis placed her hand under his chin and gently lifted his head up so she could look him in the eyes. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, allowing him to cry into her chest. He had always been the one to comfort her and kept her safe and calm whenever she broke down, now it was her turn to help him during his emotional crisis. Thinking quickly, Lapis moved her hand up and down his back in a circular motion, the same notion he would do for her whenever she required emotional support.
"I, I had no idea that you worried so much Ash"
He slowly pulled out from her grip and after taking a deep breath, he turned to her "of course I do. I've been scared of her getting you again Lapis, I've been scared of Jasper and Homeworld hurting you and everyone else I love. I never want to lose you Lapis."
Garnet stood up, "now that we've figured out what's holding you back, I think you owe Pearl an apology"
As he dried his eyes and sniffled, an idea filled his head. He quickly stood back up, and without a word, he ran towards the warp pad and with his Jasper, he transported himself back to the Temple. Steven's Eevee and Pikachu were playing in the living room while Steven was helping Pearl do the dishes, although she was doing a majority of the work.
"I'm sorry Pearl, I want to try again"
She looked at him as if she didn't believe him, but after seeing his puffy, red eyes, she could tell he had done some self searching. "Alright, follow me"
He, Pearl, Steven and the pokemon all went back to the warp pad and went back to the Sky Arena, where Garnet and Lapis were still waiting.
"Are you sure about this?" Pearl asked as Garnet, Lapis, Steven and the pokemon went to the seats.
"Let's do it. My mind is clear, I'm ready to try one more time"
"Very well then, sit"
He followed Pearl's instruction and sat with her in the middle of the arena. Closing his eyes and focusing on unlocking his aura.
"Focus" she told him
He put all his energy into his inner being, focusing as much as possible to his aura. After a few moments, still nothing happened.
"I don't understand. My mind is set now, I should be able to do this, I know I can do this but I still just can't!" he groaned, finally accepting defeat.
In the stands, Steven and the pokemon all looked sad about his surrender, but Lapis had a final idea and walked over to her soon to be husband, taking his hand.
"From what we've just been through together, I wonder if maybe together we can do this"
After once again fusing into Lash, she sat in her meditative state like she did with Garnet. Taking a few deep breaths, she once again heeded Pearl's words.
"Perhaps Lapis is right, we might have been looking at this from the wrong angle. Both of you have always been confrontational, so perhaps we should try a more physical approach wouldn't you say?" Pearl asked summoning both Gallade and two holographic copies of herself.
Lash smiled "now you're speaking my language!" and jumped into battle. As she summoned a blade of water to strike the first holo pearl, she gasped as the holo pearl changed into Jasper. This time, Lash took a deep breath in and continued to slash downwards into Jasper's chest before she could attack "I'm not afraid of you anymore." she whispered into her ear "I'm stronger, we're stronger, than anything you have planned for us. And I know you're not the real Jasper, but I have a feeling that the real one knows this already. So if you want to take Lapis and our worlds away from Ash so badly? Well come and try, because we're ready for you! And you will not win!"
"Defeat accepted, good job!" the imaginary Jasper said before fading back into a holo Pearl and disintegrating.
Lash then saw the other holo Pearl and Gallade attack her from behind, holo Pearl with her spear while Gallade was using a psycho cut attack. Lash quickly turned and was able to grab Gallade mid strike with her third, tail like arm, and threw the pokemon into the holo Pearl, causing it to disintegrate as well.
"They were behind her, how did she?" Pearl began to ask, but her question was answered by Lash standing back up to face them, her eyes were glowing a light blue, and a barrage of blue flames covered her fists.
"Is that?" Steven asked
"Oh yeah" Lash exclaimed, as she fired a beam of aura into the sky, creating a small explosion of blue fire in the process.
"Congratulations Lash" Pearl told them as the spectators came from their seats "you did it"
"No Pearl" she said as she defused back into Ash and Lapis "we did it" Ash then raised his fist to the air, expecting to recreate the aura attack he just performed to no avail.
"Huh, I guess only Lash has complete control over aura then" Steven concluded as the others began to laugh at Ash's dilemma.
Sitting at his mahogany desk in his office in Team Rocket headquarters at Viridian City, Giovanni began to pour himself a glass of his favorite red wine and relax, expecting a quiet evening to himself. But to his dismay and annoyance, the intercom rang and his secretary's voice came through.
"Mr. Giovanni, lieutenant Aquamarine is here to speak to you, she says it's on the Diamond's authority"
"Very well, send her in"
The door opened and Aquamarine flew in, followed by the Team Rocket agents assigned to her.
"Aquamarine, Cassidy, Bobby-"
"It's Butch si-"
"May I finish please? Now where was I? Oh yes, Bobby, Annie, Oakley, and The Iron Masked Marauder, what do I owe for this gathering?"
"Mr. Giovanni, my team is ready for deployment and our mission to obtain the Lapis Lazuli is about to be underway"
"From what I've been told the Lazuli is only for Jasper's behalf, why should I care?"
"Because, the mission launch was delayed on account of a group of off color gems allied with the Chosen One stealing one of our ships. After seeing them in action, the Diamonds believe that this mission requires more than just five-"
"You dare barge into the new Pink Diamond's office during his quiet time, to ask for more soldiers!? Tell the other Diamonds that since I haven't received MY full part of our arrangement, I am not inclined to provide more than promised!" he yelled
Aquamarine looked at him with an annoyed scowl "you are not Pink Diamond, just because we have given you one of her shards dosen't you get all her abilities human. You are lucky Yellow or White Diamond weren't here to hear that, or I'd stake my life on that your little agreement would be broken, and you'd be executed for your arrogance Giovanni. Shall I call the Diamonds and let them know what you really think about them?"
Giovanni looked at her nervously, he honestly didn't even know White Diamond existed until now, but Aquamarine's threat sounded genuine, he had to be diplomatic. "I'd be more than happy to provide you with more soldiers for your little task force, but these five are my top agents, a five man army if you will. They will be more than competent in retrieving her, I'd stake my life on it"
"Be careful what you wager Giovanni, alright team let's go!"
"One moment please Aquamarine, I'd like a word with the Marauder in private for a moment"
"Two minutes" she said as the others left
"What do you want from me sir?"
"I'm just questioning your loyalty, that's all"
The Iron Masked Marauder looked worried when he said this, remembering his attempt to overthrow Giovanni by using Celebi a few years ago, "I understand sir, but I am now ever loyal to you. I'd kill for you and the Diamonds"
"Not good enough Marauder" he said taking a sip of wine "that's far too easy to say, what I want to hear from you is something only the truly loyal would say they'd kill for me. Would you say, kill a baby for me?"
The Marauder grew an evil smile "absolutely sir"
"Excellent, no go with the others. I have a lot at stake here and if it means stealing the ex girlfriend of their general or whatever to obtain my agenda so be it. And remember, kill anyone you want, just not the Lazuli, Ash or Steven. We still need them"
The Iron Masked Marauder saluted him and followed his comrades outside, through the portal to Homeworld they came from.
"What did Giovanni want?" Aquamarine asked him as they began to board their ship to Earth.
"He just made this mission a whole lot more fun" he said with a deranged smile.