A/N: THE TIME HAS COME ONCE AGAIN! HAHAHA! no time or anything more to say, so enjoy!
A Triangle in the Stars
Chapter Sixty-Three: Stronger Than You
Peridot's Robonoid was still busy fixing all the Warp Pads, but going as slow as possible, as per orders. The green Gem watched anxiously, hoping for something to happen. Lapis had her arms crossed, also watching. Jasper kicked Peridot, "Speed it up, runt! we don't have all day."
"Ow!" she huffed, but didn't make her robot go any faster. She simply insisted, "This. Takes. Time. Are you a technician?"
Lapis huffed, blowing the hair out of her face.
"I don't care. I want this done NOW!" Jasper stomped her foot, shaking the entire structure.
The blue Gem sighed. Peridot wasn't scared at all. In fact, she rolled her eyes, and huffed, "Fine. If we come out of the other end wrong, don't come crying to me."
She was about to order the little circular robot to work faster, when that familiar chime of a Warp Pad echoed throughout the area. And there they stood, Garnet, Steven and Connie, about to face off against Jasper and Lapis. Jasper whipped her head towards them, and growled, "Ugh.. them again. Peridot, keep working on the warp. We'll handle this."
She cracked her knuckles, raising Rose's sword. It was a beautiful weapon - and Jasper appreciated it. It was so easy to rip from the child's hands. Peridot soon saw them, having whipped her head around. She almost gave herself whiplash, but she didn't care, yelling out with a smile, "Connie! you're here! I'm so glad!"
She wondered where Stan and Ford were though. It confused her that they weren't here as well. And she also wondered who these other two were. But it was clear to her that one was a fusion. Lapis stood back, not wanting to get in the fight. Steven was there, after all. She didn't want him to get hurt. But she didn't want to betray Jasper either. So she decided on inactivity. Garnet spared Peridot a glance, and stepped down from the Warp Pad, frowning, "This ends now."
She knew the green Gem was a friend. Somehow. But she was grateful. It just meant one more ally.
"Lazuli, you take these pathetic humans! I'll defeat the filthy war machine!" Jasper ordered once more, summoning her helmet as she ran towards Garnet with the sword.
Garnet summoned her gauntlets and charged forth, prepared to pull a fakeout. Connie frowned. She had little idea what to do without the sword. She needed to get it back somehow. Peridot looked around, and soon saw the boat, the Stan O' War II, lying on its side. She was surprised it wasn't damaged by the landing, but considered this a serendipity. She was beginning to formulate a plan to help the humans and the fusion, and so she silently called the Robonoid back to her. It obediently complied, and she picked it up, pet it and put it away, and slowly started sneaking over to the boat.
Lapis glanced at the kids, whom she wasn't stoked to fight, especially not Steven. She furrowed her brow, glancing around and saw Peridot trying to sneak away. In an attempt to distract Jasper from Garnet, she called out, "Hey, look, Peridot's trying to escape!"
"Huh?" Jasper turned her head to look, stopping midrush.
Peridot stopped in her tracks, trying to hide her anxiety, "No, I'm not." And then she dramatically pointed at Lapis, frowning, "You're hallucinating!"
Garnet didn't stop the charge, and slammed her fist right into Jasper's stomach with a loud grunt. Connie cheered from within the bubble. Steven smiled a little and nodded. Jasper grunted, doubling over slightly. She was caught off guard. She growled.
"Lazuli, restrain her!" she then demanded, before swinging her stolen sword at Garnet, not allowing for any more distractions. Garnet dodged, and jumpkicked the Ultimate Quartz's direction.
Lapis sighed and flew to Peridot, whispering anxiously, "At least pretend you're working."
Peridot looked up at Lapis, a little surprised. She then nodded, and returned to her post. How could she pretend though?
Connie caught onto what Peridot was doing and looked at Steven, "We have to get to that boat..."
The boy nodded, and began moving the ball towards it. Lapis knew she didn't have to do anything but stay out of Jasper's line of sight. The Quartz was too focused on the fusion to check on her underlings. Peridot noticed the kids trying to get to the boat, and smirked. But they needed her. She wasn't sure if they could get it working again. She sighed, speaking in a relative whisper, "Lapis? can you cover for me?"
Garnet had her at almost every move, and deactivated one of her guantlets, using that free hand to try and wrench Rose's sword from Jasper.
"For what?" asked the hydro-Gem in the same hiss.
Jasper wasn't the most skilled with the blade, but that hardly mattered when the blade could destroy a Gem's physical form. She was a worthy adversary nonetheless, and when Garnet tried to take this prized possession, she just about sliced through the fusion's arm. The fusion pulled back just in time, backflipping. Maybe she needed some extra help...
"So I can get to that boat.. the humans will need my help," she kept up the whisper, frowning slightly. Her trench coat was billowing in the wind, with determination. Connie continued helping Steven roll the bubble towards the ship. It wasn't much farther now.
"Alright. I think you can go without Jasper noticing. Good luck!" whispered the blue Gem with hope. Peridot smiled at this.
Jasper lost her grip on the sword at some point while she was swinging it wildly, and it fell to the ground with a clang. Peridot whipped her head around to the sword, smile fading. It had landed near her. Garnet grinned, and charged again with newfound confidence, punching the Quartz in the face. The little visor beneath her helmet shattered, and she groaned as she recovered. The green Gem picked the sword up, almost surprised at how heavy it was. But she handled it okay. She started heading over to the boat with it, still agile. The kids were almost there.
Jasper growled, and pulled out a little yellow, unknown device. She proceeded to try to jab at Garnet with it. Garnet dodged these jabs, smiling just a little, "Come at me without any of those fancy tools."
The kids soon found themselves at the boat, finally, and Connie sighed of relief, "We made it!"
Peridot joined them, holding the sword protectively, and jumped in the boat, trying to get it to sit upright. Bill himself was still snug in Jasper's bubble, near the steering wheel, but he seemed to be waking up. Steven got rid of the bubble around him and studied the boat. Lapis mostly just sat there watching everything like a silent spectator.
Jasper snarled. "You're an abomination!" she launched herself at Garnet, yelling. Garnet held out her arms, intent on pushing Jasper back. The green Gem handed the sword over, and Connie took it and stepped into the boat as well. Peridot would ask all sorts of questions, but this wasn't the time. She continued trying to move the boat.
"Hey, look!" the boy called for everyone's attention, pointing to the little bubble with Bill in it. Connie followed the finger's direction and gasped. He then took the sword from the brunette and popped open the bubble, by poking it with the tip of the blade. The demon was now free once again, but was still conked out. He twitched every now and then though. Peridot glanced at him, stopping what she was doing, and raised an eyebrow. She asked, "What is that?"
Connie smiled at him. She was glad he was still alive. She didn't think she could handle life if he died because of their failure.
"That's... um.. a long story!" Steven admitted, nervously. "We don't have time for that right now though!"
Jasper tried to sock Garnet in the face with her free hand, and jab at her torso with her device. The fusion caught the hand, and flipped over Jasper before she could hit her with the device. She frowned, "You're not fighting fair."
Jasper spat at her, "It's not about fighting fair - it's about winning! and you're one to talk about fairness, you filthy war machine!" she roared and lunged at the fusion again, weapon poised to hit her chest.
Garnet frowned and simply sidestepped mere inches before it hit, and the Quartz Warrior crashed to the ground, shaking the structure much like an earthquake.
The small Gem Technician trembled, but nodded, and glanced at the boat again, "Okay. Well, help me right this boat." She resumed pushing. Connie, after picking Bill up and setting him somewhere safe, helped her push.
Steven got out the boat and picked it up with ease, with the two still on it, "Where do you want me to put this?"
"Waah!" Peridot screamed quietly, holding onto the edge now. She was honestly surprised, and the brunette blushed a little, having forgotten. The Gem cleared her throat, "Right here. The ocean is miles below. I'm gonna need to repair it."
Steven then set it back down, upright, just as easily. Peridot thanked him, letting go of the ledge, and looked for a panel. Connie shakily let go too, glancing over at the fight almost anxiously.
The fusion walked around Jasper and took the object, breaking it in two and tossing it away. Jasper yelled with frustration, getting up and spinning into a whirlwind, circling the fusion. Hopefully, she was thinking, Garnet would have no idea from where the orange Gem would strike next. Garnet stared at her, still in a battle pose. She was going to have to guess.
Peridot soon found the panel and slowly pulled it off, revealing the vital wires and circuitry within. She'd visit the engine later, if she needed to. But right now, she studied this. Some of them had been snapped, clean in two, and her eyes widened.
"Find anything?" Connie whispered, and the green Gem nodded, turning a little pale.
"Can you fix it?" asked Steven, before wondering what they needed the boat for anyway. They had the Warp Pad, after all!
"I think so.." the small Gem began to work, focusing on fusing the wires back together. "This boat could fancy a weapon or two."
Connie finally got why she wanted it fixed. To help them defeat Jasper. Just Jasper. She'd noticed Lapis wasn't trying. Jasper suddenly struck from behind, punching hard. Garnet fell forward, groaning slightly, but she wasn't down yet. She promptly got back up and launched herself at Jasper. The brawny Quartz kept fighting, glaring with hatred at the fusion. She hated everything she stood for. And she knew it was a losing battle. She was terrified of that fact, so she did her best to ignore it and keep fighting.
Peridot fixed the wires, and then walked over to the safe and cracked it open easily, pulling out what she thought would go well for making a weapon. She made sure it wasn't anything valuable though, but picked the junk that didn't really seem to hold value. Connie and Steven watched her lug these back with quite some interest.
Garnet grinned. She knew she was winning, and didn't hesitate to show it. She kept fighting too, getting hit a few times but not going down, and dodging and blocking too. Jasper glanced around and saw Lapis sitting there. "Lazuli! help me!" she commanded, throwing another punch. She bit her lip, trying harder. She had to win...
The fusion caught the punch, frowning softly, but then it turned into a smile, "Let's go, just me and you."
Lapis glanced between them both, torn by indecision. She saw that Garnet and Jasper were seemingly locked in a stalemate.
Peridot set the objects down and set about making weapons with them. It was of the oddest things, things they never thought could go into weapon making before. But with the tools, the green technician was well on her way. The brunette's eyes sparkled. The boy watched as well, eyes sparkly stars. Peridot could practically feel the admiration, as she continued working, so she smiled.
Lapis then decided now was a great time to retreat to the sky, and she tried to take off, only to be caught by Jasper, who dragged her back down, kicking and struggling. The Quartz growled then, slamming Lapis down, knocking her out for the time being. She yelled, before throwing some more punches at Garnet. She knew she could win against them if they weren't fused. And that infuriated her. She shouted, "Fusion is just a cheap trick to make weak Gems stronger! quit embarrassing yourselves."
The fusion simply smiled, even as one of the punches conked her on the face. She then delivered a sweeping kick. Jasper felt her legs fail her, falling to the ground. She was losing her footing in this battle and she knew it.
A/N: Cliffhanger again! xD This was originally going to be longer, including [[REDACTED]], but I decided it was too long and split it off here. Ace had Jasper and Steven, and I had Lapis for four lines before Ace vouched to take her for the rest of the chapter ((nice job!)), and I had also Garnet, Connie ((whom Lapis was switched for)), Peridot, and Bill.
I hope you enjoyed that. :3