"GUYS! GUYS GUYS GUYS!"
Steven shoulder-bashed the screen door to the Crystal Temple open and frantically looked around, hoping that the Crystal Gems were around to help. And much to his relief, Garnet was reclining on the sofa and had her nose buried in a volume of Pretty Hairstylist. As her young ward and Peridot barged in, she looked up from the manga and smiled warmly at the tiny duo. "Steven. Peridot. Good to have you back."
"No, this is NOT good, Garnet!" Peridot hissed as her hair bristled wildly, "This is terrible! I made the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life!"
"Yeah Garnet, this is REALLY bad!"
Concerned by their hysterics, the tiniest frown spread across Garnet's face as she set her manga on the coffee table. "What's the matter? Peridot didn't burn the barn down, did she?"
Peridot couldn't bring herself to look at Garnet as she answered. "I almost wish I did, because this is so much worse. Lapis... well..."
"Ah, yes. Lapis was supposed to be leaving today, wasn't she?" Garnet asked, to which Steven and Peridot nodded. "Her ship exploded and shattered her, didn't it?"
Steven and Peridot cried out in unison as they tried not to visualize such a horrible scene.
"NO! Her ship made it off the planet, but it won't be able to get where she needs to go! I FORGOT TO GIVE HER ENOUGH FUEL TO GET TO NOVA VELUTI! Oh I'm such a horrible, horrible person..."
Peridot slumped over onto the ground face-first, sniffling and whimpering while Garnet's frown relaxed. With a confident "Ah!" she stood up, and walked over to Peridot before picking her up off the ground.
"So that's what's troubling you..."
Her face swimming with snot and tears, Peridot nodded shakily. And much to Steven's surprise, Garnet responded with soft and gentle laughter.
"Garnet, this isn't funny!" Steven yelled, only for Garnet to correct him.
"I'm not laughing at Lapis, Steven. But I am amused by how much Peridot has grown as a person. Mere weeks ago, she wouldn't have been so concerned for someone else's welfare." Garnet set Peridot on the ground and gave her triangular hair a gentle ruffle. "There's nothing to worry about, Peridot. She's a Gem like us, so she has no need to breathe in space, and she has the benefit of flight as well. She'll be fine."
Neither Peridot nor Steven were convinced. After all, the last time Lapis flew out in space with her own two wings, things didn't go well for her.
"How do you know she'll be fine?!" Peridot hollered, voicing Steven's private concerns, "If her ship runs out of power, she won't have access to her star map! What if she gets lost in the cold vacuum of space forever?! What if she accidentally circles back and flies right into the watchful eye of Homeworld?! I was aiming to avoid exactly that by repurposing that escape pod for her, and if my gift goes to waste I... I don't know what I'll do..." Peridot sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I just wanted to show her how sorry I was for hurting her."
Garnet frowned again, and Steven could hear the cogs in her mind turning before she perked back up.
"Well Peridot, if you're still not confident in Lapis' chances then I can always consult my Future Vision! That should help put your mind at ease."
Steven and Peridot perked back up, with Steven excitedly screaming and smushing his chubby cheeks together while Peridot ran up and and frantically tugged on Garnet's arm.
"YOU HAVE FUTURE VISION AND WEREN'T EVEN USING IT?!" She hollered, "Well don't just STAND there, hurry up and look at the future already!"
"Hey." Garnet scolded, "Don't mess with my funky flow."
Peridot fell awkwardly silent, and Garnet's face was neutral as she stood perfectly still and silent. Her sunglasses may have obscured her eyes but Steven could perfectly imagine all three of her eyes glowing as she divined scenario after scenario after scenario. It lasted only for a minute, but it was the longest minute of Steven's life as the question of Lapis' fate left him on pins and needles.
"Steven. Peridot."
Despite her neutral tone, the smile on Garnet's face restored Steven's hope before she continued. "Lapis is going to be fine."
"Oh thank my lucky stars!" Peridot sighed in relief, "Sounds like the future you saw was a good one!"
"Seventy one good futures, actually," Garnet corrected. "The other twenty nine were pretty bad. There were the futures where she got sucked up and crushed by a black hole, ones where a stray comet smashed her Gem, one where she got eaten by a giant space turtle-"
The groan Peridot let out made it sound like she had been stabbed, which got a giggle out of Garnet.
"But overall, the odds are greatly in her favor."
"Good, good!" said Steven, sighing in relief, "But what happens to her in the good futures?"
"They all veer off in a short manner of time, but all start the same way." Garnet explained, "They begin with Lapis listening to music as her ship's fuel slowly burns away..."
'If I had a dollar bill for every time I've been wrong,'
'I'd be a self-made millionaire and you'd still be gone,'
'So hand me down my best dress shoes and my best dress shirt,'
'Cause I'm going out in style to cover the hurt...'
While the melancholy music rang out through Lapis' headphones, the Gem stared listlessly down at the escape pod's control panel. All through her core, this nasty feeling bubbled up deep inside of her: a feeling of regret. Regret for selfishly leaving her only friend behind on Earth. Regret for stealing his planet's ocean and attacking him when he was only trying to help. Regret for stressing him out with the Malachite situation...
'So this is it, huh? After all the crap I put myself through, after all the terrible things I've done, Steven wants me to stay on Earth with him... and I thank him by leaving him behind forever. Some friend I am.' Lapis clutched her head with both hands and gripped on her temples while sighing. 'No matter how many chances I'm given, I'm just always gonna screw things up. Malachite, the barn...'
But while nothing was stopping Lapis from taking control of the pod's autopilot and veering back towards Earth, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Waiting back at Earth were all the things she hated: the Crystal Gems, Peridot, Jasper, the threat of Homeworld returning... and when faced with all these horrible things, regret had to take a backseat to her survival instincts.
'Look Lapis, there's no sense in whining: what's done is done. You chose to leave Earth, so you may as well own your choice.''
Not in the mood to wallow in self-pity any longer, Lapis hit the skip button on the CD Player which immediately switched from the initial somber tune to something with a far more lively, bouncier, all-around happier sound to it.
'Heh, I kinda like this one.' Lapis thought to herself, a small smile forming on her face as the heavy, iron-clad burden on her heart slightly dispelled, if only temporarily. While the singer explored the concept of selling out in the most upbeat manner possible complete with brassy backdrop, Lapis leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the control panel. She shut her eyes and sighed peacefully as she listened to it. Eventually, her foot began to tap the cockpit's glass in tune to the beat, almost on instinct.
'You know, Steven: as awful as I've been to you, maybe I can do my part in making up for it by enjoying your gift to the fullest.' Lapis thought to herself as she began bobbing her head along to the rythym, 'I'm two "Seedees" in, and with plenty more to go! I've got to admit, you humans really know what you're doing when it comes to music.' Lapis folded her hands behind her head, her grin growing wider by the second. 'You know, maybe I ought to stop being so down on myself. I'm on a fast track to a new life, and it probably shouldn't take too much longer to reach my destination at this rate...'
And it was in that moment, that Lapis learned the dangers of jinxing oneself: almost instantaneously, an ear-splitting alarm rang through the ship and overrode the volume of her music.
"What the-?!" Lapis gasped as she was caught off guard, her flinching causing her to bang her head on the pod's ceiling and her headphones to fall off her head and clatter onto the floor. As she rubbed her slightly aching head, Lapis looked at the control panel: the screen had turned a bright red color while showing the picture of a near-empty container and a warning message underneath it.
"Fuel capacity at... 5%?" Lapis read aloud as she could feel the ship gradually slow down to a crawl, "Refuel now to resume hyperspace travel..." 'Well... I suppose there could be some fuel laying around here, right? I mean, I'm pretty sure that Peridot would have the common sense to leave me some for my journey...'
Lapis bent over and studied the floor in hopes of finding anything that resembled a container of fuel. Cursing herself for being 5000 years behind regarding knowledge of Gemkind's technological advances, Lapis started to shift around in her seat to see if there could be some sort of weird compartment where Peridot may have left any fuel... but the only extra compartment Lapis could find was one that had the same symbol as the warning screen did, and a quick opening of the lid revealed that it was merely the fuel tank. Inside was a small sea-green lump at the bottom that was gradually melting away.
"Oh come on!" Lapis snarled as she began studying the control panel, wondering if there could be any sign of a potential fuel cache that she missed, "Don't tell me that Peridot forgot to leave me fuel! There's got to be some left!"
Thirty seconds of frantic scavenging confirmed Lapis' fears, and things just went from bad to worse from there: one by one, the lights in the escape pod shut off while the roaring of the pod's engines quieted and the vehicle creeped to a stop. Soon, only the control panel's main screen was left glowing as it showed the last message Lapis wanted to see: "Fuel levels at 0%. Initiating shutdown protocol. Please refuel as soon as possible." The screen then blinked off, leaving Lapis sitting completely alone in the dark, staring dumbfoundedly at the blank screen.
And for a few minutes, Lapis sat in the darkness of the pod, not really sure how to react to this new development. A part of her wanted to scream, a part of her wanted to punch a hole through the escape pod's map screen, while yet another part of her wanted to fly back down to Earth and teach Peridot a lesson for her incompetence... but once Lapis finally reacted, she couldn't bring herself to be angry. All she could manage was slumping back into her seat and groaning loudly while smacking a palm to her face.
As much as Lapis wanted to shift the blame onto her, there was no use being angry with Peridot for this screwup: this one was on her. Peri did all she could to make sure she had a safe trip through outer space: she went through the trouble of re-outfitting an escape pod with state of the art technology and made sure to give her an in-depth look at how to operate it... but Lapis simply didn't care. She flippantly forced her to speed her way through her explanation, and thanks to her impatience and spiteful, rude behavior, she likely prevented Peridot from realizing that she had to leave her enough fuel to make a complete journey to the Nova Veluti System. And look where it led her: she was drifting through space in a dead vehicle, all because she couldn't resist hurting someone who wanted to help her.
'Well, looks like I've got another screwup on my record. God, I'm an idiot...' Lapis thought bleakly to herself. But as tempting as it was to resume wallowing in her own self-pity, it wasn't like Lapis was helpless. She could easily fly to Nova Veluti with the wings on her back thanks to not needing to breathe in the cold vacuum of space. Sure, it would take an incredibly long time, but it wasn't like sitting around and grumbling to herself would make it go by any faster.
So with a heavy heart, Lapis pushed open the cockpit and stepped out into the vast void that was outer space, allowing Steven's CD player and it's accessories to drift out with her. She sprouted her wings and flapped them in order to stay in place as she scoped out her surroundings. As to be expected, it was gorgeous: trillions of stars twinkled around Lapis, and brilliantly colored, cloud-like nebulae added a much-needed splash of color to the deep blackness. Asteroids of various shapes and sizes drifted all around her, and Lapis could see the tell-tale tail of a dazzling comet soaring far across the horizon. Having always been fond of star-gazing, Lapis couldn't help but simply marvel at the world around her until the sight of the CD Player drifting eastward bought her back down to Earth.
"WHOA!" Lapis exclaimed in surprise as she flew over and tucked the player and it's related items against her chest, "Oh geez," she sighed in relief as she grabbed the CD carrier, batteries, and headphones as well, "If I lost Steven's gift, I swear I'd... huh?"
In her bid to prevent her music from drifting away, Lapis took notice of something that had evaded her sight until now: off in the distance she could see a curious metal structure drifting about in place. It was a polished, sleek and shiny chrome building with six pointed edges: the top, bottom, and four spires that stretched towards all four cardinal directions, and over near the base of the building was a large neon blue forcefield that appeared to lead to a hangar of sorts, given the enormous shapes that seemed like ships inside.
"Well aren't I lucky?" Lapis mused aloud, "When my ship runs out of fuel it does so near some sort of interstellar outpost, and it doesn't look like anything Homeworld would build. Wonder if any of the locals have some fuel they can spare..."
And so, Lapis placed the CD Player and its accompanying accessories back inside of the escape pod, flew behind it, and was able to push the ship along to the outpost at a decent speed thanks to the lack of gravity. As Lapis drew closer, she noticed the presence of some spherical drone-like machines that were lazily drifting around the outpost. When they took notice of her, a single drone approached then flashed Lapis and her ship with a neon blue laser light. Before Lapis had time to parse what was going on, it's ocular lens flashed green and the drone did a few cheerful loop de loops before the other drones in the area turned and flashed their lights at the forcefield, turning it green before they flew off. Lapis frowned and furrowed her brow before shrugging.
'Eh, looks like they were checking to see if I was a threat. Guess I'm in the clear!'
Lapis pushed the ship over to the forcefield, and found that she and the ship were able to pass through the green field of energy with little resistance. But the second she entered the hangar, her ship crashed to the ground with an ugly-sounding *CLANG!* which served as a reminder that gravity worked exactly the same here as it did on Homeworld or Earth. Taking note of how the other ships in the hangar were all neatly settled alongside the walls in designated parking spots, she felt a bit awkward that her ship was just sitting right smack dab in the middle of the exit, but what could she do? The ship was out of fuel, and it wasn't like she could effortlessly hoist it over her head and carry it. So with another shrug, she just let it sit there and walked over to the far end of the hangar, uncaring of the fact that several drones had entered and began beeping angrily at the sight of her haphazard parking, their optics flashing red...
'Heh. If anyone's got a problem, they can deal with it. I'm just gonna ask around for some more fuel, and if someone thinks my ship's going to get in the way... well, that might give them some incentive to help me out.'
Lapis reached the end of the hangar where she was met with a pair of steel double doors leading... somewhere. Lapis couldn't make out the odd alien chicken-scratch written on the sign above the door, but soon, the innate Gem ability to decipher most languages kicked in and it all made sense to her: "South Star Rest Stop". Lapis didn't expect much of a hassle from a rest stop, so when the doors parted upon her approach, she confidently walked inside... and wasn't quite prepared for the atmosphere that awaited her.
The first thing Lapis noticed upon walking inside was the fact that when she entered, it seemed... oddly seedy, despite being advertised as a place for relaxation. The "rest stop" was dimly lit, and swanky old-timey rock'n roll music (Or at least the alien equivalent) was playing from a neon-colored speaker that a few patrons were hanging around and bobbing their heads in time to the beat. And speaking of the patrons, Lapis knew she was going to run into some weird looking people... but she didn't expect to be outright overwhelmed by weirdness from the get-go.
The bar was a menagerie of bizarre alien species: the people hanging around the music player looked almost human, but had vaguely pale yellowish skin, wide eyes that never seemed to blink, blond tufts of hair on top of vaguely pear-shaped heads, and no ears whatsoever. Seated at a table yakking among one another in odd harsh accents similar to Jersey natives back on Earth were a few pale white goblin-looking aliens who were short in stature and had weirdly long limbs, pointy ears, flat noses with slitted nostrils, and bulbous yellow eyes with reptilian slits for pupils. A buxom, thickly built draconic alien with long horns and scaly indigo skin was serving a plate of fried food and mugs filled with frothing purple liquid to a bunch of mole-like aliens, who gawked at her under their triangular shades due to being captivated by the way her skimpy ensemble of short shorts and a tied shirt flattered her curvaceous figure. At a different table another runty goblin alien had two beautiful looking, vividly colored bird women in skimpy outfits similar to the dragon woman on each arm, and was drunkenly telling the pair tall tales about a supposed "Durios Grand Vault Heist" while they each took turns slipping gold coins out of his pockets and into theirs.
If she were permitted, Lapis could have spent all day gawking at all the aliens hanging around, but she knew that she had to get down to business. She confidently walked past a yellow, slippery-looking star shaped alien who was sleeping curled up on the floor, as well as a duo of beaked reptilian aliens with head fins shaped like mohawks who leered lustfully at her, and reached the bar. And said bar was packed with aliens either quietly sipping drinks, eating food, or sitting with their heads down on the countertop. They all looked like they weren't in the mood to be bothered, but honestly? Lapis didn't really care at the moment.
"Uh... hey. I kinda need some help."
The sleeping patrons remained deep in their slumber, but the ones who had yet to pass out all turned and glared at her. All these angry stares, whether they be a pair of bulbous goblin eyes, one giant eye from a lumpy little mushroom monster, or nine black eyes belonging to what looked like an orange blob of sentient protoplasm, all made Lapis go from confident to awkward in a hurry. For a few tense seconds Lapis frowned as the row of bargoers stared her down, but before she could angrily ask what in the world they were staring at, a booming feminine voice broke the silence.
"Need help, huh?" the voice's owner announced as she took her place behind the bar, "So what do ya need, miss: food? Drink? A nice warm be-"
The speaker stopped short and looked absolutely shocked when she found herself face to face with Lapis. And Lapis couldn't help but react similarly, because she was looking right at a Gem! A Bismuth for that matter: easily identified by her bulky, muscular physique, rainbow dreadlocks tied back in a ponytail, and prismatic rainbow Gem embedded in one of her biceps. This Bismuth had lilac-colored skin and dressed in a pink-and-black apron and pants ensemble with a stylistic flagon emblazoned on the front: an oddly appropriate look for a Homeworld defector turned bartender. While running into other Gems wasn't out of the question due to Peridot bringing them up while talking about Nova Veluti, Lapis had to admit: she didn't expect it to happen this soon.
"Well I'll be... now what in the world is a Lapis Lazuli doin' all the way out here?" Before Lapis could answer, the Bismuth snorted and rose a hand dismissively. "Nah, save it. I bet I already know the answer: ya got bored of your cushy upper-crust lifestyle and wanted to do something bold, somethin' daring! Ya ran away from Homeworld, but realized that you're stuck in unfamiliar territory, all alone except for the weirdo meatbags who aren't willin' to drop everything and throw themselves at your feet. I'm right, aren't I?"
"Well, uh... technically?" Lapis answered, completely thrown off balance by this Gem's rudeness.
"Heh, read ya like a book." The Bismuth scoffed, "Well then, from one Gem to another, welcome to Nova Veluti: your home away from Homeworld! Don't mind all the meatbags milling around out here, you'll get used to 'em. Honestly, they're better company than all the high class snobs back at Homeworld... but anyway, let's cut to the chase: you said ya needed help, right?"
"Uh, yeah. I did." Lapis responded dryly, and was met with a sarcastic chuckle that was practically dripping with venom from the bartending Bismuth.
"Well miss, if it doesn't pertain to food, drink, or board, you might wanna take your problems elsewhere. But hey, don't let that dissuade ya from telling me what ya need! I could use a good laugh..."
"Don't worry, it's nothing too big." Lapis answered bitterly, "I just need some fuel for my ship: I ran out on the way here and need some more if I want to reach the nearest planet."
"More fuel..." the Bismuth pressed a finger to her chin and looked up at the ceiling, pretending to be lost in thought. "Now that is something I can actually help ya with! Heh, lucky for you, I keep quite a few fuel canisters around these parts."
For once, this Bismuth's words sounded genuine as opposed to insincere or rude, and that was more than enough for Lapis to drop her own surly attitude for a brief moment. "Oh! Well uh... thanks!"
"No prob!" the Bismuth replied jovially, "Now all I need is around, eh, twenty two credits or so, and you should have enough fuel to at least make it to Dizmol!"
"Wha- credits? What are you talking about?" Lapis asked, her confusion bringing a mean, smug little smile to the Bismuth's lips.
"Money, sweetheart. It's the Nova Veluti system's official currency, valid on all nineteen inhabited planets and a hundred and forty seven moons!" the Bismuth cocked an eyebrow at the frowning Lapis and giggled. "Oh, hold up a second: you're confused, aren't ya? Well I can't blame ya: money wasn't really a thing on Homeworld, and upper crusters like you just got whatever you wanted handed to ya on a silver platter. So let me give ya a quick rundown, currency is-"
"I know what money is! I just... don't have any..." Lapis snarled sheepishly, balling a hand into a fist. Indeed: Homeworld didn't have a currency system, and high class Gems like her got gifts such as Pearls or fancy furnishings either as rewards from their Diamond or from bartering and trading with one another. With that being said, she learned what money was through Steven and did not appreciate being talked down to in such a manner. But before she could give her a piece of her mind, the Bismuth cut her off.
"Oh, really? Coulda fooled me, what with you just barging in and demanding free fuel and all. But hey: old habits die hard, am I right?" The bulkier Gem then grabbed an enormous flagon and began polishing it with a clean washrag. "Well I hate to say it, but if ya don't have cash, then you're not gonna get far in Nova Veluti, especially with me."
"Oh come on!" Lapis threw her arms up in the air in exasperation, "Can't you spare just a little fuel? I'm new to this part of the galaxy, how am I supposed to have any money?!"
"Missed the part where that's my problem." the Bismuth sneered, grinning smugly up at Lapis from the flagon she was polishing. And now completely fed up with the bartender's attitude, Lapis slammed a fist onto the counter which caused all the non-slumbering patrons at the bar to flinch and gasp.
"Alright, you know what?! I'm sick of your attitude, Bismuth." Lapis snarled, pointing a blue finger at the Gem's muscular chest, "I haven't done anything wrong to you, but the very second I walk in you just treat me like a piece of crap! What is your problem?!"
"Problem? Honey, I don't have a problem. It's just after spending what, seven thousand years of my life doin' thankless construction jobs for a buncha stuck-up brats like you, where the smallest screwup could've gotten me executed on a bad day? It feels mighty satisfying bein' able to tell ya where to stick it for once."
'Oh, YOU think you've had it bad? Heh, well I've got a heck of a story to tell you...'
It was so tempting for Lapis to try to shame this rude brute of a Bismuth by telling her about her 5000 year long imprisonment, but she had a feeling it would be a waste of her time. Considering the bartender's overall attitude, she'd probably be met with another "Missed the part where that's my problem" or be accused of lying. So Lapis growled in frustration and crossed her arms.
"You know what? Forget it. There are plenty of other people in this rest stop, and if you don't want to help then I'll just find someone who will."
The bartending Bismuth responded with a fit of hearty, booming laughter that reverberated throughout the rest stop, causing every patron (save, again, for the sleeping ones) to look up from their food, women, or music and turn towards Lapis and the bartender, making the blue Gem feel oddly uncomfortable with the attention all of a sudden.
"Oh, you wanna bet?!" the bartender turned to the crowd and pounded the countertop. "Hey guys, listen up! Princess over here ran out of fuel for her ship, and needs to bum some off one of you! Thing is, she wants it for free. Now, are any of you guys just gonna let some stranger waltz up and take something that you paid for?!"
Most of the crowd cracked up, their laughter causing a deep navy blush to creep into Lapis' cheeks. And after the laughter died down, she was met with jeers and comments from the peanut gallery.
"You kidding me? I WORKED for my fuel! Still workin' for that matter, ya freeloading parasite!" a mole alien sneered.
"I've only got enough fuel for me, so shove off!" a tall, broad creature covered in thick pink fur with eyestalks protruding from his head hollered.
"Sorry miss! I'd buy you some fuel, but I've got child support to pay!" a tiny goblin alien seated next to Lapis whimpered shamefully.
"YO, BLUE LADY!" one of the gawking beaked reptiles from earlier hollered at Lapis while pointing at the Draconic waitress as she passed. "If ya need money, why don't ya just slip into one of those cute lil' outfits and pay us a visit? We'll give ya a nice big tip, that's for sure!" The speaker and his friend cracked up as he slapped the waitress' rear, causing her to retaliate by slamming the pair to the floor with a smack of her tail and freezing them solid with a gust of icy breath for good measure.
Surprisingly, among the otherwise hostile crowd one alien eating by the jukebox looked absolutely appalled by the reception Lapis was getting. A big, burly fellow dressed in a mechanic's jumpsuit coated in oil stains, he looked almost cuddly and adorable thanks to his minty green body, rotund physique, bulbous nose and huge, expressive eyes. But the way his thick eyebrows furrowed and his massive hands curled into fists was surprisingly intimidating. He pushed his plate of purple eggs away and stood up, leaving Lapis to wonder what he had to say before the Bismuth reached across the counter and placed a massive mitt on her shoulder.
"Honey, do you even know where you are?" She asked, then continued without giving Lapis any time to speak. "This rest stop? Aside from a couple'a drifters here and there, pretty much every patron is an asteroid miner! Y'see, unlike you, these guys live their lives doin' hard, honest work extractin' minerals in the vacuum of space! They're pourin' blood, sweat, and tears into their paycheck, and considerin' how hard they work for their money and how much fuel they need to see their families around the galaxy? Heh, good luck findin' anyone who's gonna lift a finger to help your privileged behind."
When Lapis flew out here to the Nova Veluti system, she had one goal in mind: find a safe place in space where she'd be free from any kind of conflict or strife. She didn't want to get caught up in anybody's business and didn't want to instigate any conflicts. But the hostile environment and uncaring jerk of a Bismuth clouded her mind with rage, and her desire to avoid conflict was drowned out by the bartender's annoying, scornful laughter. Lapis grit her teeth, and her fists trembled with rage while thoughts of shutting the bartender's fat mouth roared louder and louder in her head. But she wasn't looking to cause a scene. She just wanted to ask a few questions and since they weren't well-received, she was content to walk away...
Until she spun around and slugged Bismuth across the face anyway. She was hit with enough force to actually stagger backwards... at the cost of Lapis feeling like she had punched a brick wall.
"GAH!" Lapis cried as she grabbed her aching hand. 'Geez, and I thought that would actually feel satisfying.'
The bar went silent to the point that one could hear a pin drop, and everyone's gaze shifted between Lapis and the Bismuth while the music cut out. Her mouth and eyes wide with shock, the bartender gawked dumbly at Lapis as she held her cheek.
"You... you... you uppity little BRAT!"
With a furious snarl, the Bismuth hurled the flagon at Lapis' head. She ducked it, causing it to keep sailing through the air until it shattered over the head of the draconic waitress, who staggered backwards only to stand her ground and quite literally roar in anger.
"GRAAAAAGH! WHAT THE- WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!" she bellowed as the Bismuth tried her best to dismantle the situation.
"Whoa! Sorry about that Trista! Trust me, I didn't mean to hit you- WHOA!"
Furious with the grabby duo that had been hassling her all day as well as her uncaring boss neglecting to do anything about them, Trista flung her serving tray like a massive discus towards the Bismuth. She transformed her hand into a fan-like object and swatted it away... right into the head of a slumbering mole alien patron with a nasty sounding *CLANG!*, causing him to crash onto the floor crying out in pain.
"GAH! Geez... What in tarnation- WHO THREW THAT?!" He growled as he staggered to his feet and looked around the crowd. Several bargoers all pointed fingers at Trista, who bared her fangs and threateningly blasted puffs of icy wind from her snout. "You, huh?! Last I checked, I didn't do nothin' to warrant a tray to the head!" He picked up a stack of empty plates in front of him grabbed one between two knife-like claws on his left hand. "Well here's a rude awakenin' for you, missy: When you hit me, I hit BACK!"
The mole haphazardly flung plate after plate and due to his rage and drowsiness... didn't come close to hitting his target. He did however accidentally fling the plates too close to a few other bargoers for their liking, which in turn was like throwing several matches at a series of powder kegs: each little act of barroom violence had escalated into a full-on bar fight.
With a sly grin on their faces, the sorta-humans changed the jukebox's music to a funky-sounding track and jumped into the fray. All around Lapis plates shattered, fists flew, and food and drink alike were slung all over the place. Tiny aliens would tackle larger ones and pin them to the tables or floors, then mercilessly beat them down until either being swatted off by their victim or knocked aside by two other aliens trading fisticuffs. Trista the waitress was now firing a series of icy blasts into the crowd, freezing three drunken brawlers solid before being slapped aside by the protoplasmic alien. While that duo began their own pitched battle, Lapis and the Bismuth jumped away as a pale goblin and the slumbering star-like alien from earlier fought a frantic steak-knife duel on the countertop, each metallic clang created by the clashing of their blades sounding absolutely grating despite the sheer spectacle of it. Angrily swatting the duelists off the countertop, the Bismuth grit her teeth and morphed each hand into a powerful hammer.
"Alright honey, I've just about had enough of you. Beggin' for handouts, punchin' me in the face, startin' a fight in my bar?! You just made things PERSONAL!"
She vaulted over the countertop with an angry snarl and tried to crush Lapis, only for the smaller Gem to leap out of the way and avoid being crumbled into powder. Now absolutely furious, the Bismuth removed her hands from the banged up floor and took several swings at Lapis only to miss every single blow.
"And you made things personal by being rude FOR NO REASON!" Lapis retorted. Summoning her watery wings, she flew away from the Bismuth and hovered safely near the ceiling. Casting a glance at the frozen bodies of the beaked hecklers from earlier, Lapis grinned evilly as she lifted one of them to her side with her hydrokinesis, and slammed it into her assailant. With a mighty crash followed by the sound of shattering ice, Bismuth and the heckler were flung over the countertop and smashed against a shelf before falling to the ground with a thud, both parties groaning in pain. Satisfied with teaching the antagonistic bartender a lesson, Lapis folded her arms and smirked only to have her celebration cut short by a large jelly-filled pastry being thrown right at the back of her head.
"What the- HEY! Who threw that?!"
Lapis tensed up, and her hard-light body naturally repelled all the crust and sweet fruit filling from her hair. Amidst the carnage that consumed the bar, she caught sight of her attacker: a tall and lanky mammalian creature who glared sneakily at her as he prepared to fling another pie with his prehensile trunk of a nose. Prepared for this attack, Lapis dived out of the way of the incoming pastry, swooped towards him with the icy body of the other beaked heckler in tow, and smashed him against a table with it. Landing on the ground and dusting off her hands, Lapis soon found herself surrounded by the three sorta-humans, all of whom glowered at her with creepy smiles plastered on their faces while enthusiastically slapping sharp, heavy pickaxes against the palms of their hands. Unfazed by their sinister demeanor, Lapis turned to the sink behind the bar, where she could feel the presence of water calling out to her. She extended an arm and summoned a mass of water with enough force behind it to tear off the faucet as it flew over to her, and began morphing and violently shifting as Lapis shot a death glare at all three of her assailants.
"This is your only warning: back off."
Undeterred, one sorta-human ran towards Lapis and took a mighty swing, only for her to dodge to the left and knock him out cold by morphing the watery mass into the shape of a fist and slugging him in the face. The other two decided to gang up on her, but to no avail: Lapis shifted her watery mass into a giant tentacle that wrapped itself around a sorta-human's waist. With a surprised cry, he was hoisted into the air and swung like a wrecking ball across the barroom, smacking his buddy aside before being flung up at the ceiling.
"DOES ANYONE ELSE WANT TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME?!" Lapis snarled as her opponent crashed onto the floor, now utterly consumed by anger and bloodlust as she furiously glanced from patron to patron. At this point she almost wanted an excuse to beat more boorish idiots into the ground, but the other patrons were either busy brawling among each other or shaking their heads nervously as they backed away from her. "Good!" Lapis growled, now turning to the door. "Now stay out of my way, and leave me alone!"
"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" the bartending Bismuth hollered as Lapis made her way to the door. "After causing this kinda ruckus, the only way you're leavin' is in PIECES!" Rearing back a meaty fist, she stomped her way through the barroom and hollered with primal rage, shoving aside any brawlers who got in her way. Unimpressed by the bartender's now-murderous fury, Lapis turned around, morphed her watery mass back into it's original blob-like form, and slowly clenched her hand which caused it to undulate and tremble violently. When the Bismuth got close enough to land her shattering blow, Lapis threw her palm forward which in turn caused the mass to fire an extraordinarily powerful jet of water that blasted the Bismuth with enough force to plaster her against the wall behind the counter with so much force...
*POOF!*
...that her hard light body collapsed under the force of the water pressure and "poofed", letting her Gem harmlessly clatter onto the floor where it'd be resting until she regenerated. Now with her last attacker neutralized, Lapis stormed out of the rest stop and returned to the hangar where she stood and faced the ground, breathing heavier and heavier, until-
"GOD!"
She grabbed handfuls of hair and yanked it while screaming in frustration before letting go and plopping down onto the floor, where she sat with her legs bunched up and her face buried in her arms as they rested on her knees.
'Great! JUST GREAT! I walked into a bar for help, and walked out of an anarchic hellhole. What do I even DO now?!"
Well there was one obvious answer: fly to the nearest planet and leave her ship behind. But that posed it's own problems: space was huge, and for all she knew she'd take a hundred years at best to get there. And while it was hardly five thousand years, one hundred years of nothing but flying while alone with your thoughts and listening to music that was bound to get repetitive would be maddening all the same. And that was assuming she was actually flying towards the planet: she had no idea where it could be and if she flew the wrong way, that one hundred year trip could turn into a five hundred year trip, or a thousand year trip, or a five thousand-
'No. Oh no, this is NOT an option. I did NOT escape from that stupid mirror just to be subjected to another millenia's worth of torture! No, there has to be another way! There's gotta be...'
The only other option Lapis could think of was stealing a ship... but Peridot's was incredibly user-friendly and would likely control far differently than the more refined ones that were gathered in the hangar. She could at least break into one and hide, or... worst case scenario, threaten somebody into letting her hitch a ride. But again: punching Bismuth and that unintended bar fight aside, unnecessary conflicts were exactly the kind of thing Lapis was looking to avoid. But before Lapis could force herself to brainstorm any other possible answers, the rest stop's door opened, and she was joined by another person looking to escape the all-consuming havoc within.
"Oh, well howdy there, Blue! Almost didn't see you down there! Is everything alright?"
Surprised by how jovial and bombastic the speaker sounded, Lapis glanced up from her knees and realized that the speaker was that portly, cuddly-looking alien in the bar! One of very few people who seemed unhappy with the way she was treated by Bismuth and the others prior to the bar fight, for that matter. Relieved that she wasn't going to have to fight off yet another jerk, Lapis sighed and shook her head.
"Well... I'm pretty sure you heard exactly what's troubling me before I screwed up in there." Lapis answered plainly.
"Yeah: you've got no fuel for your ship, and no money to buy it from anyone! That's pretty rough, I tell ya."
"Do you have to rub it in?" Lapis growled, glaring up at the friendly alien. He looked quite taken aback, his eyes wide with concern as he shook his head.
"Aw Blue, I'm not rubbing anything in!" the alien promised the surly Gem. "I'm just telling it like it is: a stranger in an unfamiliar corner of space in need of aid, and with no one to turn to? That's awful! Even worse was the way all those people in the bar were heckling and making fun of you for it! I'm truly sorry that happened to you, Blue!"
"Oh! Uh... well, thanks, I guess." Lapis answered awkwardly, not expecting this kind of sincerity from the alien. Granted, he didn't look the type to harass her, or make her feel bad going off her first impression of him in the bar, but this kind of outright friendliness... that was a pleasant surprise. "But it's okay. I'll deal with it, you know? I mean, I can fly, I can breathe in space, I'm hardly helpless."
"Oh-ho boy, isn't that the truth?!" the alien guffawed, slapping a meaty palm against his knee. "The way you just flew around throwing ice all over the place, and slamming people onto the floor with water... I tell ya, you Gems are some of the toughest folks I've ever seen! But that doesn't mean you have to just rough it out in space, either." He reached down towards Lapis and opened his hand invitingly to her. "Tell you what, Blue: forget about what that bartender was yakking about in there! She says that no one here at this rest stop would want to help you for free, but she's wrong! She's DEAD wrong! I've got plenty of fuel to spare, and if you need some? I'm more than happy to give it to you, free of charge!"
Lapis' mouth was agape as she processed all this. "Wait, you're... just gonna give me some fuel?"
"Free of charge!" the kind stranger repeated, flashing a thumb's up and a winning grin for emphasis.
"Wow, that's... so kind of you." Lapis sputtered, now completely flabbergasted at this display of generosity. "B-But why? I haven't done anything for you, and you don't have anything to gain from it! Are you sure you actually want to do this?"
"Well why wouldn't I?" the stranger asked incredulously, "If you know that someone needs help, and you've got the means to help them, then you don't have an excuse to ignore them, y'know? It's the right thing to do!"
"W-Well in that case... yeah, sure! I guess I'll take your fuel!" Lapis took the stranger's hand and got to her feet. "Thank you... uh..."
"Hurley! Real nice to meetcha, Blue!" The alien named Hurley chuckled as he shook Lapis' hand, shaking her about like crazy due to his surprising strength.
"Thank you, Hurley. And my name's Lapis: Lapis Lazuli!"
"Ha, well that's a pretty name, Lapis! But I think Blue's got a better ring to it..." Hurley chuckled and popped his back before continuing. "But anyway, how about we head on over to my ship? We'll grab some fuel canisters, and I'll help with refueling should you need it!"
"I think I can handle that part myself, but thanks anyway!" Lapis replied with a giggle.
"Ha, okay then! But uh... quick question: which ship IS yours, anyway?" Hurley asked, cocking a thick, bushy brow.
"Oh you'll know it when you see it! It's green, round..."
"Wait, are you talking about the ship that's being towed away?"
"Yeah, that's exa-" Lapis stopped dead, and felt her stomach drop when she let Hurley's words sink in. "Wait... towed away...?"
Lapis turned to the end of the runway, and gasped at the sight that was waiting for her: her escape pod was gripped tightly by a large clawlike attachment protruding from a large white ship and pulled up to where it was resting on it's bottom. The engine flared...
"No, no, no, no, NO! WAIT, THAT'S MY SHIP! GIVE IT BACK!"
Uncaring to her pleas, the ship blasted off and veered to the left after breaching the forcefield. Sprouting her wings, Lapis took off in hot pursuit and cleared the runway in seconds, only to be caught by the forcefield and blasted back onto the ground due to it shifting colors from green to blue. Crying out in pain due to her Gem banging the floor, she simply laid there and groaned in defeat as she listlessly stared at the ceiling and came to a realization: nobody was exempt from local parking laws, not even her...
XxXxXxX
Author's Note: Alright ladies and gents, here's chapter 4: where the REAL action begins.
Basically, with this story? It's not going to be grimdark and doom and gloom, but it IS going to be darker than the main show: no gore or constant ridiculous swearing, but there definitely will be a good amount of violence, trauma, some mild swears (used sparingly)... basically, around Clone Wars levels of dark. Since Lapis is basically a moody older teen/young adult while Steven has the mindset of a child, I kind of want the Nova Veluti system to overall feel grittier and sleazier to reflect Lapis' cynicism, which I embodied in the bar scene. Which, in turn, was so fun to write for because not only was it great incorporating all these crazy aliens and having an excuse to slip in a Bismuth vs Lapis conflict when the show failed to deliver one, but the bar fight was just too fun to write. I was still getting a good feel for action scenes back when I wrote this, but I can say that I had WAY too much fun with it.
And some assorted trivia before I leave you guys for the week: the Bismuth? I never put it in the story itself since I couldn't think of a way for it to be mentioned without it feeling awkwardly shoehorned... but her name is Lilac, much like her skin color. A mean little Bismuth grown embittered by millennia of hard labor, and now a bartender with a mean pair of hammerhands, Lilac is a Gem I had a surprising amount of fun writing for and more than anything kinda used her as a way to take the piss out of those overly anal SU Critical types, ha ha. And uh... full disclosure: just because I wrote this particular Bismuth as a total jerk with little, if any redeeming qualities, it doesn't mean that I hate ALL Bismuths or the character herself. I love her and am writing more sympathetic Bismuths in future chapters.
And PS: The songs Lapis listened to in the ship are both real songs! Both are by the ska band Reel Big Fish, the first being Drunk Again, and the second being Sell Out.
