Happy new year, everyone!:)
I hope 2017 brings hope and happiness for everyone. Not gonna lie, but 2016 was pretty shitty. I've been dealing with some really personal stuff these past 6 months which is why I haven't posted practically anything, but hey... better late than never I suppose. But I also want to thank you for the outstanding support for this story so far, seriously, I was not expecting it! I love you guys so much XD Enjoy chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Peridot & Lapis
"V'hat, may I ask, happened to ze barn?"
"There is a bloody truck lodged int'a the front of tha building!"
"And what happened to the silo?"
"I mean, I kinda think it looks fun."
A set of golden '?' appeared in the air.
The Guardians inspected the peculiar barn with question, but in truth, it had to be the most fantastic barn that one could ever imagine. One would not mind living in such a shed, as Jack stated, it looked like a lot of fun in fact. There even was an alien head with deer antlers glued to it, proudly placed on the front door, what was there not to like?
"Peridot and Lapis had fun making this their home." Steven explained. "Oh look," Steven cheered as his attention turned up to the truck that hung above the barn's entrance, "their they are now!"
"Hello Steven, nice of you to drop by!"
"HEY, STEVEN!"
Two figures appeared from underneath the parasol that was planted on the truck's trunk. One gracefully swooped down using a marvelous pair of wings made of water while the other simply did a bunny hop and landed on the ground without breaking their shins.
"You guys are getting along nicely," Connie complimented, "Are you two watching that drama, teen-camp TV show?" She asked.
"Camp Pining Hearts," the green figure corrected with a confident snort, "but of course, Connie. It is statistically and factually the best show to ever grace this planet, according to yours truly."
"That's an opinion." Connie muttered to herself, but still amused by the green one's assumption.
"NYYAAAHH!" The green one suddenly shrieked as she bounded backwards and pointed a small, barely threatening finger at the Guardians, "Who are they!?"
"Oh, don't worry Peridot! These are the Guardians, they protect the Earth just like us." Steven said as he coaxed the frazzled, lime-colored child.
"So, they're good guys?" The one called Peridot inquired with one eyebrow raised.
Steven and Connie nodded with gentle smiles.
Peridot suddenly collected herself, "Of course, I knew that." She claimed, making everyone roll their eyes.
"I'm Peridot, Cut 5XG, originally from Homeworld." Peridot introduced herself in a very stern and appropriate tone, she then gestured to the sea blue one, "and this is my faithful companion, Lapis Lazuli."
What, or where, was Homeoworld?
"Hey." Lapis said in a very monotone voice.
"V'ell," North began awkwardly, "I'm North. I give the children of the world gifts on Christmas."
Bunny followed in suit, "A'hm Bunny. I give the children of tha world li'l googies and candy on Easter."
"I'm the Tooth Fairy," Tooth began bashfully, the uncomfortable greetings almost palpable, "but please just call me Tooth. My fairies and I collect children's teeth every night for they hold precious memories."
"Z'is iz Sandy." North introduced as the little golden man waved, "I'z job is giving dreams to children every night." North then leaned in, "He does not talk." He whispered.
Sandy shook his head, he may be mute, but it's not like he was deaf as well.
Jack stifled a chuckle as he saw the Sandman's reaction. "And I'm Jack Frost, the Spirit of Winter."
"Fascinating," Peridot said, her tone of voice bordering on sarcasm and amusement.
"Anyways," Steven spoke rather loudly, "Peridot, Lapis, why don't you two show us your art!"
Peridot and Lapis gave Steven very clueless faces.
"My bad, I mean your Meep Morps." Steven winked.
Connie frowned, "Meep... morps? Is that even a word?"
"Oh!" Peridot squealed as she scurried inside the Barn, Lapis calmly following behind her. Everyone else followed right behind them.
"Wow!" Connie exclaimed, she had never been inside the Barn after the two gem's did a wonderful makeover. "You turned the silo into an aquarium! That's so cool! And hey, there's that alien doll you won, Peridot!" Connie giggled, Steven had told her all about the adventure to Funland with Peridot and Amethyst and how they discovered she had metal bending powers. But what on earth was the doll doing in there?
The Guardians looked about, there was garbage everywhere. But not the stinky and trashy type, but the more interesting and 'not a total or complete waste' type. They wondered what the Crystal Gems did with it. However, it had come to the Guardian's attention that some... garbage was more 'treasured' than others.
"A broken tape recorder?" Jack said with question as he poked the "art" with his staff. Now how come this small hunk of garbage was a special totem?
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!"
Jack nearly jumped out of his skin at Peridot's outburst. She was like a little chihuahua, such power and unbridled rage in such a tiny, adorable little thing... but Jack took the gem's advice and backed off.
Peridot walked up to the broken recorder and stood by it like a real inspector at a five-star antique road show, "This is our first Morp. It's called, "Wow, thanks."- I suppose I'm going to have to explain our reasoning a little further for you narrow-educated clods." Peridot huffed with boredom, but really she was hamming every second of it, "The piece resembles the struggle I had communicating with Lapis when we first met. But I'm not going to go into those details," Peridot coughed 'not suspiciously,' but it made the Guardians a little uneasy. "The ribbon is the resemblance of how my relationship with Lapis eventually bonded."
Peridot let out a sudden cackle and chortle sounding laugh, "It has no purpose, it just makes me feel bad about what I did to Lapis!" She perked up with an all too innocent smile.
Everyone else smiled as well (even Lapis), but it was rather strained and forced. What exactly did Peridot do to Lapis to make every little thing between them so intriguingly exaggerated?
"These are my Morps," Lapis began as she walked over to the side of the wall, "this ornament of a mitt, bat, and baseball remind me of the time we played baseball against the Rubies to protect Peridot."
Rubies? More gems!?
Lapis then proceeded to her next treasure, with the descent dosage lack of entertainment. "This is the leaf that reminds me of when Steven gave me... a leaf." She said dryly.
By the moon, the Guardians thought, they really are alienated rocks.
Everyone's attention suddenly turned to a broken TV that sparked to life and began to repeat a clip of Camp Pining Hearts.
"I just feel trapped- I just feel trapped- I just feel trapped-"
"And this," Lapis continued, "is to give an example for how much I love this show. Not for the thousand years I was trapped in a mirror like Steven had suggested earlier."
"Wait, WHAT!?" Jack couldn't hold that in. Even the Guardians didn't scold him for opening his mouth, they were equally as shocked to hear such a statement.
Steven and Connie groaned and laughed nervously.
Luckily, it appeared that Peridot and Lapis didn't catch on.
"It's complicated," Steven explained.
The Guardians decided not to push the subject any further.
"But you all are going to love this one!" Peridot rushed over to a pyramid of toilets as Lapis followed behind.
Half of the Guardians, including the two children, found it quite hilarious while the other half grimaced at the obscure and bizarre scene.
"Lapis, do us the honors!" Peridot cheered.
Lapis nodded with a serene smile as she lifted her hands. Water suddenly started to shoot out of the toilets like fountains and spiraled in the air and twirled into graceful patterns.
While Jack enjoyed himself watching the show, he took a particular interest in the fact that Lazuli could control water... which sparked an idea. With a small smirk, Jack twitched his staff and suddenly, the water shooting out of the toilets became solid ice and sculptured into the forms of Peridot, Lapis, Steven and Connie.
Peridot's and Lapis's smile faded away as they stared at the newly formed Meep Morp with awe.
"Who did that?" Peridot asked in a much calmer than her average voice.
"S-sorry," Jack stuttered admittedly, immediately thinking that he had done something wrong, "I just-"
"That's really neat." Lapis cut him off with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.
Jack cocked his head and gave a small smile, pleased that they enjoyed it.
Peridot suddenly had a change of mind, "But wait, this one over here will really knock your socks off!" She squealed as she scurried over to another section of the barn.
ADHD much? Jack wondered. Well, I'm one to talk...
"Ladies and gentlemen," Peridot announced as she rummaged through an old box, "please sit back and relax as you listen to the sound of a one-person band created by yours truly with her fabulous ferrokinesis abilities!"
Everyone awkwardly clapped.
Suddenly, instruments flew out of the cardboard box and hovered magically in the air. A harmonica, three drums, a triangle, a saxophone, and a pair of cymbals to complete the one-person (or one-gem), band. Peridot wasted no time in then performing by powerfully blowing into the harmonica, the force of the musical instrument's chaotic screech sent the rest of the music props flying away.
"To be fair, I never said that it was good," Peridot reasoned with a smirk.
"Well... then why don't you and Lapis do it together?" Steven drawled with an edge of eagerness. Steven was way to proud of Peridot's relationship with Lapis to leave it alone, especially for guests that the two gems needed to impress.
Lapis got the hint and willingly went along with the act. She gracefully swooped up a tambourine and stylishly rattled it against the palm of her hand. She twirled around-that would even give Pearl a run for her money-and joined the shorter gem. Peridot joined in the fun as she created a harmonious beat with her partner by tapping on the triangle.
Connie began to subtly tap her foot to the rhythm of the smooth tambourine and the chime of the triangle. Steven couldn't help but notice as he extended a hand to the girl with a small yet playful smile. Connie returned the gesture with a bashful smile of her own. The two children began to wistfully start dancing without a care in the world. For the Guardians, it was rather charming to watch, yet they felt awkward for just standing there and not doing anything.
It was like that until Jack felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. Jack looked down to find Sandy warmly smiling up at him as he silently motioned towards the ceiling. Jack-getting the message-chuckled as he lightly tossed the sandman into the air, floating up himself shortly after. The two spirits then danced through the air, smiling themselves silly as they whimsically pranced around on an invisible floor. North let out a happy bellow as he scooped the Tooth Fairy into his arms and began to waltz around, laughing as Tooth giggled and squealed with delight in his arms. Everyone then began skipping and turning and laughing as more instruments (with or without Peridot's total control) joined into a chorus. Bunnymund was the only one who did not feel like joining into the festivities.
However, nobody seemed to notice the neon-blue and lime-green hue that was emitting from Lapis and Peridot's gems.
"Come on, Bunny!" North roared cheerily, "Loosen up a bit!" North gave Bunny a mighty nudge which forced Bunny to abruptly stumble into Lapis who tripped into Peridot...
In less than a second, three distinct things happened all at once:
One: A blinding light shines throughout the barn.
Two: Everyone stops dancing and stares.
Three: A tall, new figure is standing in the room... and Peridot and Lapis have seemingly vanished.
Everyone holds there breath and takes a step back, away from the figure. The figure then groans with confusion as it slowly turns around, it's head bowed down.
"Wha-" The figure speaks, it's- her voice high with a melodic ring. "What's going on?" She breathes.
The giant woman finally looks up... and she is amazing.
Her turquoise hair-that reaches the roof of the barn-shimmers and twinkles in the sunlight that feeds through the cracked rooftops. It billows in the air as if suspended in invisible water. Her mint green skin looks as smooth as silk and softly glows beneath the light. Four eyes, the color of a dazzling teal, sparkle beneath an aqua-shaded lens that slanted upwards, creating a sort of glasses. Four long arms stick out from a petite and thinly built upper body which sports a royal sea-blue crop top, decorated with a white diamond in the center and held together by a dark sapphire ribbon laced in the back. A ruffled, asymmetrical skirt wafts around the woman like waves on water, the color changing from all kinds of shades of green and blue. Her precious and small feet go without shoes and a triangular green gem is spotted on her forehead, and a tear-drop shaped blue gem is seen between her shoulder-blades.
"L-Lapis? Peridot?" Steven stuttered, utterly astounded. Yet, worry creeped in the back of his mind... if his eyes weren't deceiving him, this was not going to be good, even if the sight before him was purely an amazing and beautiful thing to behold.
"Steven!?" A squeakier voice than what they previously heard called out as a flash of green took over the four pupils, "What is this?" The woman stared at one arm is disbelief as two others joined hands as to figure out a meaning, while the fourth clutched the skirt with confusion.
Suddenly, the woman let out a cry, causing the children and the Guardians to cower back, but the Guardians had brought out their weapons, not understanding what was transpiring before them.
"No!" Steven cried, running in front of the Guardians, shielding their path from the giant woman. "It's only Lapis and Peridot, she's not a threat... they fused!"
"What tha bloody hell does that mean?" Bunny exclaimed fiercely, but lowering his boomerangs just a slight bit.
Before Steven or Connie could answer, the woman spoke up again.
"We-we fused?" The woman said, "NO! HOW?" She suddenly shrieked, two large hands covered her eyes which had snapped into a pure blue while the other two clawed and grappled onto the wooden beams of the barn for dear life. The woman collapsed onto her knees in a defeated heap, "N-no, this cannot be!"
"Lapis, calm down, it's okay!" Connie rushed forwards in an attempt to soothe Lapis who was clearly freaking out and having a mental breakdown.
"It's not okay! I can't do this! STOP!"
With a guttural grunt, the woman grew horribly disfigured. Within a mere blink however, the woman poofed into smoke as Peridot and Lapis were visible again. The two gems collapsed to the floor with a grunt from the impact. Steven ran towards Peridot while Connie ran to aid Lapis. The Guardians dared not to move, they were paralyzed by the woman with the voice as loud as thunder.
"Peridot, are you okay?" Steven asked as he hoisted the green gem onto her feet.
Peridot groaned and rubbed her head, opening her weary eyes as they set upon Steven. "Steven, w-was that... fusion?"
Steven nodded, "Yeah, Peridot. You and Lapis just fused!"
"Holy smokes..." Peridot gawked in wonder.
Nobody had yet to pay attention to Connie and Lapis.
"Lapis, talk to me! Are you alright?" Connie asked in a panicked tone, reaching out for Lapis who was struggling to get on her hands and knees.
"Don't touch me!" Lapis yelled as she gave one last effort to stand atop her wobbly legs.
Connie's eyebrows creased with worry as she saw the tears that ran down Lapis's face.
"And you!-" Lapis shouted, pointing a shaking finger at Peridot, "Stay away from me!"
Steven stepped in and tried to defend Peridot, "Lapis, it just happened. Peridot didn't mean-"
"I don't care! Go away! Leave me alone!"
Peridot's eyes grew wide with dread as she realized the unintentional damage she had caused. "No, Lapis! I'm sorry! Please-"
Lapis stumbled away before breaking off into a run and racing outside. Everyone attempted to catch up to her, but the moment she stepped outside, her water wings let her soar into the air as Lapis then flew away... far away... and nobody could do anything.
Breaths short, hearts racing, everyone just stood still in silence. In literally less than a minute, everything had turned to chaos. Dancing on thin air and floating instruments seemed like a dream.
"Aquamarine..." Peridot quietly said.
"Sorry, Peridot?" Steven said, making everyone's attention revert to the small, green gem that cowered in the center of the group.
"That fusion... she was Aquamarine." Peridot said with awe, but also with dead hope falling off her lips.
"But what is fusion?" Tooth spoke up, flying into view.
"Ya mates," Bunny joined in, "what did we just see?"
"Fusion is the ultimate epitome of harmony."
Everyone gasped (excluding Sandy who simply put up an exclamation mark) as Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl were seen walking towards them.
Steven ran to the three gems and gave them a hug, "I'm sorry, guys."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Steven." Pearl replied sweetly as she leaned down towards the boy's level.
"But what happened?" Amethyst exclaimed, just as confused as everyone else.
"Peridot and Lapis fused." Connie murmered.
Amethyst and Pearl inhaled sharply and recoiled at the response while Garnet bared her teeth in a frown, barely able to hold back a wince. This was indeed bad...
"And where's Lapis?" Pearl questioned, fearing she knew the answer.
"She flew away." Jack said, finding his voice to get involved in the conversation.
"Do ya think she v'ill return?" North asked as he stared off to where Lapis had flown away.
"When she is ready... we hope." Garnet responded as she shifted her shades.
Sandy then flew in front of everyone's view and began showing pictures of the gems with speaking bubbles over their heads.
"I suppose you're right, golden one," Pearl spoke in a defeated huff, "a proper explanation is in order if things are going to happen around here."
The gems, children, and the Guardians began to slowly walk back to the beach hut, their day not over yet.
"You also wouldn't mind explaining more about yourselves, Guardians?" Garnet asked, although her question sounded more like a demand.
"V'ut of course," North offered graciously, "it iz only fair."
Amethyst snickered, "And I do think you might have to take up my request of staying for the night..."
I hope you all enjoyed!:)
Again, happy new year everyone. I sincerely hope everyone has a fulfilling new year. I cannot thank you enough for all the support after being on this sight for 3 years, it's life changing, seriously. I love to write and I love you guys, means a lot to me. Stay safe and be loved, everyone.
Peace!
-SkatingDJ