A/N: I am so sorry for making you all wait nearly 9 months. I've been so busy with my last months of my college semester and I just started my new semester just this Monday.
Not only that, I've had some serious writer's block for this specific chapter for many reasons. But I finally pulled through, so you guys should be getting more frequent updates (way less than 9 months).
Also remember that this fic takes place a little bit after the events of Chillie Tid, so obviously since there are some inconsistencies with my plot (i.e Canonically, Rose was most likely created on Earth, while in this fic Rose traveled to Earth instead of being created here), I'm just going to say that this is an AU and just deal with the inconsistencies.
And one last thing! Because the SU show is introducing new episodes, and new characters and plots, I will be tweaking this story slightly to include those newly introduced plots. Other than that, the story is still on its originally planned plot! :]
Replies:
Guest(1) - I have noooo idea what you're talking about :3 *snickers* you'll just have to wait and see! Maybe, maybe not~ And thank you so much! The character's background will be revealed (eventually)!
flying ducks298 - thank you! :'D I hope to update more quickly soon!
Xanthophlobic - Why thank you dear! :] I'm glad you enjoy it!
Shiranai Atsune - Unfortunately they cant see his memories, but you can see the Gem's memories! And you know I cant answer that ! You'll have to wait and see! Hahaha
FlightfootKeyseeker - Hmm..You may be onto something ;) Wait and see!
Chlora Valkyrie - ; A ; you are so pure! Thank you for my 100th review and thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoy it!
KillJoyGem - Your favorite story? Oh goodness thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it! :) Oh boy, I wish the oasis was real too!
Yuna53421 - I was really thinking about it and there's an 85% chance I may do that. I Will let everyone know halfway through this story, if I'm going to make a sequel. But as of now, there won't be any chapters regarding the other Steven.
cristofer25 - Oh! HMM I WONDER WHAT THIS CHAPTER IS GONNA BE ABOUT ;)
Pirate Lapis - Thanks a lot! I'm glad you like their relationship! I like it too! And no, :( there won't be a chapter about the other Steven, but I will most likely write a Ver.2 story about the other Steven once I'm halfway done with this one! :3 Also! Thank you for that helpful comment, I'm going to post pictures of scenes of this fic soon (when I buy a new tablet). And lastly, I cannot tell you that! That is confidential! :)
I do not own Steven Universe but I do own this story.
ENJOY!
End A/N:
CH7: Mission
"Alright Steven, say 'aah' ," Peridot ordered gently, coaxing Steven to open his mouth.
"Aaaah!" Steven complied, opening his mouth as wide as he could, sticking his tongue out. He swung his legs back and forth on the now called 'doctor's table' in Peridot' room. He has grown so comfortable with the room now, he's started to name some objects within it. The table he was on was called the 'doctor's table', the computer screen, he called it, 'oversized laptop', and the flask robonoids that were numerically named by Peridot, now all had colorful and unique designs on each of them. It was easier to keep track of them now, since each robonoid had different functions. According to Peridot, the robonoids had specific functions based on their odd and even numbers. Even robonoids were mostly assigned for housework and medical work, while the odd robonoids were responsible for missions and 'Gem Duties', whatever that meant.
"Steven, please don't kick me," Peridot voiced.
"Oh!" Steven said, with his tongue still sticking out of his mouth. He stopped swinging his legs obediently and said, "Sowwie!"
With careful, robotic, fingers, Peridot gently placed a small, pink, pill on Steven's tongue. She withdrew her fingers and Steven closed his mouth, wriggling the foreign object with the tip of his tongue.
"Don't I need water to swallow it?" Steven asked concerned. Every time he swallowed an aspirin or pain killer, he had to drown it down with some water. Pearl used to stress about the pill being possibly lodged down his throat, and was constantly worried he would choke to death.
Peridot shook her head and opened a screen from her fingers, "No. It's a chewable capsule. You should be fine," she assured.
Surprised, Steven tested the new chewable 'Gem Pill' in his mouth. This was the pill that was infused with his mother's healing tears, and other miscellaneous healing items the Gems gathered. According to Peridot, this pill was supposed to relieve his muscle aches he has been enduring for the past week and a half. Even though he and Lapis dulled his pains when they went to the oasis a few days ago, it was only temporary, because in less than 20 hours, the pains continued on.
"It's cherry flavored!" Steven gasped, referring to the pill.
Peridot nodded and shrugged, "I thought that you would enjoy it, if it was a flavor you liked," she says, looking back at her screen, "Anyway the pill should be kicking in within a few minutes."
"Tastes good!" Steven smiled, swallowing the rest of the pill, "But, I don't understand. How will this pill be better than an aspirin or any other pain medicine that I usually take?"
Peridot glanced up from her screen before looking back down, scrolling past digital texts with her fingers, "Because, since the Versal Stone is embedded in your gem, I hypothesize that it's sapping away your energy and giving you the constant discomfort you're feeling," she looked up from her screen and continued, "Your gem, like all of our gems, affects how we physically function. If a gem is cracked, splintered or damaged in any way, the user suffers consequences from that hindrance. As for you, your gem functions the same but with half of the usual effects."
"Half?" Steven asked.
Peridot nodded, "Yes, half. You're half human, so your body is affected by what happens to it both physically and gematically, but mostly towards physical and strenuous stress to your body. Let's hypothetically say you were malnourished. Your body would likely shut down, due to lack of food consumption, and starve to death, like a normal human would. This situation is because of your human body, not due to stress from your gem.
"Now, if your gem was cracked or damaged, your body will also sustain negative effects that normal Gems would. You would be sluggish, glitching, and other possible side effects. Since the Versal Stone is literally trying to decompose your gem, you are now feeling the constant aches and pains because of it. That pill I gave you, has the remnants of your mother's healing tears, that is able to heal damaged Gems. I've used other ingredients in the pill to make the healing last for around 22 hours."
Following her explanation and examples, Steven nodded his head in understanding, "Okay. But…" he pondered, "If the Versal Stone is trying to decompose my gem, why hasn't it...you know...decompose yet?"
"Ah, well that's because you harvest your mother's gem," Peridot said, matter-of-factly, "Your mother had the greatest and rarest power of healing, so much so, that even her gem had the ability to heal itself. It was the reason why she hardly lost in battle. She was nearly impervious to damage." Peridot smiled in pride at her late leader's impressive abilities.
"Really? So like her gem would heal if it ever got damaged?" Steven asked in interest.
Peridot answered him by smiling smugly, "Well yes. She was one of the greatest Quartz soldiers to be ever created," she chuckled, "Besides, that ability obviously came in handy, both now and when you were an infant."
"Hm? Did something happen to me when I was a baby?" Steven asked, recalling asking this very same question to Lapis when they were in the Secret Oasis.
Peridot's face twisted into an annoyed frown. She turned away blushing in embarrassment and went to look back at her finger screen, "I wish I hadn't said anything."
So something did happen! "I wanna know!" Steven asked, suddenly very interested.
Peridot grimaced, glancing back and forth between Steven and her screen. She ultimately settled her sights on her screen, pretending to look at something interesting, while answering, "Well…obviously much like all babies and toddlers, you've been through some… minor accidents…" she said, stressing on the word 'minor'.
"What happened? I wanna know! Pleeease?" Steven begged.
Peridot waved her hand, trying to dismiss the conversation, "It's not important. Just know you're alive and well. Er…well, at least the other Steven is." She pondered. She looked back at her screen, as if she had to check something, "Speaking of the other Steven, I have to go."
Steven raised an eyebrow in question. First, she brought up past events, but didn't elaborate on them, and now she has to leave? "What? Why?" He asked.
Peridot looked at Steven and rolled her eyes, "I have to go and visit the Liber Spire to research once more before the sun sets." She put her digital screen away and grabbed Steven by his waist. She picked him up from the table and set him down on the floor, "And before I go, I need to make sure that your pill is working correctly. Are you feeling any pain?"
Steven was surprised by the sudden question. He wasn't paying attention to the dullness of his muscles, the drumming headache, or the constant fatigue he always had. It was because Steven honestly didn't feel his symptoms at all! Steven hadn't noticed that he felt considerably better than how he was feeling for the past week and a half. Steven stretched out his arms in front of him and wriggled his fingers. Nope. He was fine. He shook his legs and bent his knees. No pain there. He curled and uncurled his toes to check. Not even a pinch of pain.
Steven looked up at Peridot, excited, "No! I feel great! I feel fantastic!" He threw his arms in the air.
Peridot sighed, relieved, "Good. You even sound better. This means that my pills were a succes-oooph!" Peridot gasped, nearly having her ribs crushed by Steven's death grip of a hug.
Steven snuggled his face in her middle, truly grateful for her help. He smiled gleefully and muffled into her ribs, "Thank you so much, Peridot!" And somehow squeezed her harder.
Peridot awkwardly stood there as she let Steven embrace her. She decided the best she could provide him was a warm pat on the head, and a hesitant smile, "You're welcome, Steven."
She expected the hug to be over a few seconds after she responded, but it seemed like Steven was really eternally grateful, because a full 30 seconds later, he was still glued to her.
"Uh, Steven." Peridot mumbled, not being used to being hugged this long. She wasn't the overly affectionate type like Lapis, and very rarely Jasper (when she wanted to be), "You can let me go, now," Peridot commented.
Immediately, Steven jumped off of Peridot, "Ah, sorry, Peridot." He gave her a sheepish smile and asked, "Does this mean I can go outside now?"
"Wait, let me check something," Peridot crouched down to Steven's height and pulled on the hem of his shirt. She was hesitant at first but slowly lifted up the pink fabric to reveal the Rose Quartz in his stomach. The gem was back to its original pink hue, however, there were small patches of murky white dancing on the facets. The Versal Stone was still very present inside of his gem. Peridot frowned. Well, at least the medication was working.
"Everything okay?" Steven asked nervously. He couldn't see his gem over Peridot's massive hair.
Peridot glanced up at Steven, then pulled his shirt down, back over his gem. She stood up and activated her finger screen to type down some notes, "You're as 'okay' as 'okay' gets," she responded. "The medication is doing its function properly, and you should be able to go outside and continue your normal routine."
Another smile spread across Steven's face. He's so lucky that he has Peridot to help him through this strange situation. If it wasn't for her and all her hard work, he would be wallowing in pain all day in his bed. But now…he can go outside! He could be free! He could go to the beach, or walk the boardwalk, or go to the arcade! Heck, he wouldn't mind to just bask in the sun's presence, and would especially not mind if he got a sunburn or not. It was all worth it.
"A word of caution," Peridot said, clearing her throat, "I am aware of your powers, like creating the shield bubble and most likely other various abilities, and I would prefer if you would use them as little as possible."
"Huh? Why?" Steven frowned.
"Because, using your powers requires energy from your gem. You need that energy for the medicine to work at its full advantage, which is when you're not using your powers," She explained.
"Aw," Steven pouted, "That sucks."
Peridot narrowed her eyes at Steven, "I need you to give me your word, Steven. Do not use your powers freely, unless it's an absolute emergency or a necessity. With the materials I salvaged, I only made around 70 pills for your consumption, which leaves me little time to figure this Versal Stone situation out."
Steven frowned at first, but eventually nodded, and said, "I won't use my powers unless it's an absolute emergency. I promise!"
Peridot nodded at his compliance, "Good. You're all done here. You may go outside."
Steven cheered excited to finally go outside, "Yay! I think I'm gonna go to the Big Donut to celebrate!"
Peridot grimaced, "Aren't donuts a breakfast food?"
"Yeah, I think they are," he answered.
"But, breakfast ended an hour ago," Peridot pointed out, noting the time on her digital screen.
"Oh, well you don't technically have to eat it at breakfast," Steven explained as Peridot rolled her eyes and shuffled towards a crystallized bookshelf, "You can eat it anytime except an hour before bedtime, because you're not suppose to have sugar before you go to bed. Er…well, at least, that's what Pearl told me." Steven mumbled and scratched his cheek, not completely sure where Pearl ever got that strange information from, but it seemed plausible enough for Steven to obey that rule, up until now.
Peridot plucked a heavy book from her bookshelf, now disinterested in the conversation, "I'll never understand you humans and your strange eating habits," She muttered. She turned around and began to walk towards the exit and two flask robonoids followed her right on her heels. Not wanting to be left alone in Peridot's sterile room, Steven chose to follow her too.
They both left the room and Peridot placed herself on the Warp Pad, "Alright Steven, I'll be back before the sun sets. Please take care of yourself."
Steven gave her a thumbs up and said, "Okie dokie!"
He darted towards the front door, ready to leave, until Peridot stopped him, "Oh! And before you go!" Steven halted and turned around, and Peridot continued, "Can you please remind Jasper to do her assigned mission today? She should be outside in the front, doing whatever she usually does out there," she rolled her eyes, "Remind her for me. She can be quite forgetful at times."
"Oh, okay! I'll tell her!" Steven said. Peridot thanked him and warped away. Steven's lips curled into a smile. Maybe on top of going outside today, he could also, perhaps, spend some time with Jasper. He was always curious about Jasper, since he's only spent a fraction of his time with her. The only times he would see her is when she would occasionally say hello when she walk past his bedroom to go to the kitchen, the warp pad or the front door. The Jasper in his world was very aggressive and intense, while this Jasper was a bit more…soft and calmer. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to skip the Big Donut to hang out with Jasper for a day.
Suddenly, Steven felt violent thud from outside, rattling the insides of the house. Curious by the sudden commotion, Steven walked out the front door and searched for where the noise came from. With little to no luck, Steven turned towards his steps until suddenly, he was immediately attacked by a merciless gust of wind. Steven squinted as wind whipped violently across his face. This wasn't a normal wind. It felt as if it were being controlled by someone or something. Steven went down his steps and finally onto the sand floor where the wind seemed to get even stronger.
Steven searched in the direction where the wind was coming from, but with no luck. Steven looked around, confused by the strange phenomena, until he heard a large thunderous clap to his left. Suddenly, there was a giant pink and green blur that flew across the sand, hurling in his direction. Steven gasped, and instinctively summoned his bubble shield around him. The pink and green blob deflected off the bubble and ricochet high into the air.
Shocked, Steven squinted at the blob for further inspection to see what exactly bounced off his bubble shield. Pink and green, round, and strong winds? Steven gasped and realized exactly what it was, "The Giant Puffer Fish!" He exclaimed. The Giant Puffer Fish monster twirled haphazardly in the sky while blowing wind in multiple directions. Steven never recalled that the monster could launch itself at a target. In fact, Steven remembered the monster being incredibly slow and only able to blow out wind.
"So where did it come from?" Steven asked himself as he watched the monster flail awkwardly in the air while it descended. In a superhuman flash, Steven saw an orange blur hop onto his bubble, and launched itself towards the Giant Puffer Fish. The orange blur slowed its momentum and stopped when it reached the monster. The orange object in question, Steven realized, was Jasper!
Jasper reeled in her fist and released a powerful punch, right in the Giant Puffer's side. The punch was so loud and deadly, that it emitted another thunderous clap that shook the entire beach. The monster flew away so quickly that Steven didn't notice it went across the water until he saw the puff of smoke that trailed the direction where the Puffer Fish was punched towards.
Steven stared in awe, and wide eyed as Jasper landed back on the beach with a thud. She grunted and stretched her arms and cracked her fingers. Her expression looked bored and perhaps even annoyed. Steven let down his shield and said a small, "Wow!"
Jasper glanced at Steven and smirked at him. She rested her hands on her hips, "I know. Hard to believe I'm that amazing."
"That really was amazing!" Steven praised, "That was so cool how you hit it off my bubble, and then jumped on top of my bubble to-" Steven paused. Wait. Didn't Peridot ask him not to use his powers as frequently as he usually did? "Oh no," Steven groaned and slapped his palm on his forehead, annoyed with himself.
"Whats wrong?" Jasper asked.
"Peridot told me to only use my powers in an absolute emergency! And I used them five minutes after she just told me not to." Ugh. This was going to be a challenge to not rely on his powers so much.
Jasper shrugged, "What's the harm in using your powers for one time?" She asked rhetorically, "Besides, you did use it for an emergency. You could've been hit by that thing. Don't want you having any more accidents."
"Yeah… I guess so," Steven shrugged, "By the way, you know that hitting the Puffer Fish monster across the ocean doesn't mean that it's gone forever." He pointed out.
Jasper rolled her eyes and cracked her neck, "You sound just like Peridot," she mumbled, "Yeah, I know it's going to come back. I've been hitting it away every morning for the past few days. I'll deal with it later."
Steven chuckled a little, the last part of her sentence reminded him what Amethyst said about the monster when she smacked it away towards the ocean. "You're supposed to pop it with something pointy so it can poof away."
"Good to know. Maybe next time when we see it, you should guide me through the whole thing," Jasper said sarcastically, "It will be like your own little mission."
"Okay! Sure!" Steven jumped excitedly, Jasper's sarcasm flying over his head, "Oh! Speaking of missions, Peridot told me to remind you to not forget to do your mission today."
Jasper only groaned, "Oh, please. I don't need a reminder like I'm some child."
"What's the mission you gotta do?" Steven asked, thusly interested.
"I have to obtain the Geode Earth Beetle. Lapis went to go retrieve its' counterpart, the Heaven Beetle, earlier this morning." She explained.
"Oh! I know where the Heaven Beetle is! It's at the top of a mountain where a giant bird lives!" Steven said. He remembered the time when he, Amethyst and Pearl went and did the very same mission, and to Steven's luck, he was able to persuade his friends to form into Opal.
"That's probably the reason why she's not back yet," Jasper mused, not interested in the giant bird story. She shifted her weight, then turned her head to look back at the temple, "I guess I should go get the Earth Beetle, before you know who, starts breathing down my neck, again." She turned and walked away, the opposite from the Temple.
"Oh! Jasper!" Steven called. Jasper stopped and turned her head, her back facing him. "Um..uh can I…come along?"
Jasper turned to him quizzically, "You want to join me on a mission?" She said, making it sound more like a statement than a question.
"Well sure," Steven smiled, "I thought you could have used some company."
Jasper threw her head back to laugh, mocking Steven. Steven frowned, "What's so funny?"
"Heh, you wouldn't last one minute on one of my missions," Jasper smirked playfully, mirth dancing on her yellow irises, "They're highly intense and extremely dangerous. But, hey, nice try to include yourself though," the orange Gem said, walking away and towards the underpass of where Steven kept his washing machine. Jasper was ready to leap up to to the giant hand statue supporting both the washing machine and the nearest Warp Pad, until Steven ran in front of her.
"What makes you think I can't handle that type of mission?" Steven narrowed his eyes at her.
Jasper perked an eyebrow. She shifted her weight again, her right hand on her hip and her left scratching the back of her head. She shifted her gaze at the afternoon sky, "It's an intense mission, like I said. It's not something that a rookie can handle, even if I'm there to help," she chuckled quietly.
"But I'm not a rookie!" Steven stamped his foot, now fully determined, "I've been on a bunch of missions! I've even saved Earth a few times!"
Amused, Jasper asked, "Oh really? And how do you plan on helping when we're underneath an active volcano?"
Steven blinked, "An active volcano?"
"That's where the Earth Beetle is. Right underneath an active volcano in a lava lake," Jasper clarified.
"Well I'll just uh..." Steven looked around pensively, "I'll wear a tank top then!" He said seriously. Jasper only laughed.
Steven frowned and flushed in embarrassment, "Hey, c'mon! I'm trying my best here!"
Jasper shook her head still laughing, "Sorry, Steven, I don't think that's going to work."
With an upset pout, Steven ran over to Jasper and hugged her legs and gave her his best, sad, puppy-dog eyes, "Pleeeeeaaaaaasssseeee, Jasper! I really wanna go!"
"Steven," Jasper finally sighed, "I don't think you should come. It won't be safe and the last thing I need is for you to get hurt and Peridot and Lapis will have a hair up their ass."
"But I won't get hurt!" Steven argued.
"Yeah, but if you do-"
"I won't! And if I do get hurt, we'll just say that I snuck on the Warp Pad with you and you didn't notice!" He tried.
Jasper arched a perfect brow, "You'd lie, just to go on this mission with me?" Steven nodded decisively. Jasper frowned, "Why do you want to go on a mission with me do badly?"
"Because…!" Steven groaned, letting go of Jasper's legs, "I've been at home all week and I thought we could spend some time together!"
Jasper rolled her eyes, "Steven it's going to be too dangerous."
Steven frowned. Obviously his 'please method' wasn't going through with Jasper. He wondered if there were any other ways to persuade her into taking him with her. When Jasper turned to leave, Steven's head was scrambling for ideas. He wanted to go with her and she wasn't having it.
Jasper crouched down, ready to leap up to the high platform, until Steven said, "I bet you won't let me come because you're too chicken!"
To his surprise, Jasper immediately froze in place. She stood from her crouching position and turned to face Steven. The look on her face made Steven contemplate whether or not he should've just kept his mouth shut. Jasper's relaxed demeanor contorted into an intense one. She resembled her other counterpart from Steven's original timeline, which, in this case, made Steven a nervous wreck.
"Uh oh…" Steven mumbled to himself. Had Steven gone too far? Had he hurt her dignity?
Jasper marched over to Steven and crouched to his eye level. Startled by her closeness, Steven stumbled backwards and fell on his bottom, "Uh...hah…hah..." he laughed nervously, "Kidding! I was just kidding!"
"No you weren't," Jasper seethed. Her massive height and her intense gaze made Steven feel even smaller than he already was in comparison, "You think I'm scared of taking you with me, huh?" she smirked sadistically.
Steven wasn't sure if he should play along or keep denying it until his face turned blue,"I...I mean…" He nervously looked around and inhaled sharply, "Y-yeah!"
Jasper's eyebrows furrowed and Steven continued, "It… It sounds to me that you're only worried about what Peridot and Lapis might say," he says, regaining his confidence, "Are you afraid of them getting angry with you?"
Jasper gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, "Of course I'm not afraid of those two."
"Sounds to me that you are," he countered.
"I am not!" she growled, "The day that I'll be afraid of Lapis and Peridot, especially Peridot, is the day that you can shatter me from existence!"
Steven smiled playfully, finally getting to her, "Oh, I dunno, Jas. I think you're just chickening out on me-woah!" Steven gasped as Jasper suddenly picked him up.
They both were looking at each other as Jasper held Steven just inches away from her face, "Listen, brat," she started, "There's no one in this entire galaxy that can scare me," she confirmed.
"I don't know bout that," Steven teased, "Sounds to me like you're chicken."
"I am not-!"
"Bawk, bawk, bawk!" Steven interrupted by making crude clucking noises, and flapping his arms like a chicken.
"Steven-!"
"I'm Jasper and I'm a giant chicken! Bawk bawk bawk!" Steven laughed, mocking the proud Quartz soldier.
In a flash, Steven felt himself ascending in the air. He felt the cold ocean breeze rush past his face and saw the sand beneath him grow more distant. In an instant, the momentum stopped and he finally felt himself land on something solid. Well, he himself didn't land on a solid mass, rather Jasper landed while she still held him in her arms. Steven looked around and saw that they were perched on the temple arm where his washing machine occupied. While Jasper walked them over to the Warp Pad, Steven glanced at the Temple and realized something drastically different.
The beautiful giant woman that was carved into the side of the mountain, with beautiful curls and eight arms, and the placement of Amethyst, Garnet, and his mother's Gem were replaced. Instead, it was a giant woman with a rounded face, with four eyes and a curvy build. She had, what seemed to be six arms and long wavy hair. Her face had dark swirly designs on her face, chest and arms, resembling much like the one's Jasper has, and was equipped with a triangular visor. On her forehead, there was a triangular gemstone, and far above it was an oval gemstone. Below, where a nose should be, there was a rhombus shaped gem placed instead. Lower below near the center of the chest was a circular opening, where a teardrop shaped gem was located. The rest of the Temple was unidentifiable because of the moss and damage that the sculpture sustained.
Steven blinked a few times, registering the sight of the sculpture. Steven had been taught, after Pearl's explanation of fusion, that the Temple was sculpted after a fusion between Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst and his mother. Now that Steven was in an entirely different universe, Steven was now faced with a foreign sculpture. A replica of the fusion between, Jasper, Lapis, Peridot, his mother and…
"Pearl?" Steven mumbled, squinting at the oval gemstone placed on the top of the fusion's forehead.
Before he could continue his observation further, there was a familiar opaque flash around him and a floating sensation. Steven looked around and saw that Jasper was now warping them to their destination. They instantly appeared in a dark reddish-orange cave, filled with bright yellow and orange lava streaks from both the ceiling and the floor.
Jasper placed Steven on the floor and said, "Here we are. Happy now?" she spat, annoyed.
"Yeah!" Steven smiled and stepped off the Warp Pad. It was unbearably hot and stuffy inside the cave, and Steven was already sweating, "Oh, man, I should've brought my tank top."
Jasper shook her head, "It wouldn't have made a difference." She also stepped off the Warp Pad and looked around for something in particular. She crouched down after a moment to pick up an item. Curious, Steven went to find out what larger Quartz was holding. Jasper turned to reveal a flask robonoid with a familiar number and illustrations marked on it.
"Oh! Robo 5!" Steven gasped at the robonoid.
Jasper frowned, "What?"
"That's Peridot's robonoid. Robo 5!" Steven explained. He went over to point out the drawings and designs he placed on the robonoid, "See, I drew a giant number five, some flowers and put my Sad Apple sticker on it."
"Why?" Jasper asked.
"Because, Sad Apple made her debut on episode five on Crying Breakfast Friends. I thought it would be appropriate," Steven giggled, to which, Jasper rolled her eyes and pressed a small and almost invisible button on the robonoid. The robonoid responded by revealing a small digital screen on its interface. Steven looked at the screen curiously and asked, "What's it doing down here anyway?"
"These robots are how we know where a corrupted Gem is and where to looks for them while on a mission," Jasper replied, while studying the small GPS location on the screen, "These robots go out in the field in search for a corruption or any other disturbance, and then reports it back to Peridot. Then Peridot instructs me about the mission at hand."
"Woah, that's pretty cool," Steven said, thoroughly impressed by the robonoid's usefulness, "So that screen tells you where the Earth Beetle is?"
Jasper nodded, "It tells us the last location where it was spotted," she answered. She stood up and tossed the robonoid to the side, "Its last whereabouts was near the Lava Lake, two hours ago." Jasper walked towards the direction where the Lava Lake was apparently located. Steven followed right on her heels.
As the duo walked down a bridge-like pathway that spiraled lower and lower into a bright yellow area. The brighter the light was, the hotter it got. Steven wiped the sweat from his eyebrow and huffed heavily. He trailed behind Jasper who seemed oblivious to the increasing temperature levels around her. When the two Quartz proceeded to cross over a deep crack of lava, Jasper stepped over it with no problem, however, when Steven tried to cross, a sudden bubble of boiling lava popped between the crack, exploding upward. Startled, Steven instinctively jumped back and fell on his behind. The heat from the floor was so hot, that is scorched the bottom of Steven's jeans. He immediately jumped up and rubbed his warm bottom, hoping to sooth the small burn.
Steven heard a small rumble of laughter nearby, and saw that Jasper witnessed his entire situation. Jasper stepped forward and picked him up and said, "Who's the chicken now?"
Steven gave a sheepish grin and Jasper placed him on her shoulders. Steven sighed and supposed that he was going to be carried the rest of the way, and slowly realized that he should've taken Jasper's previous warning seriously. If he couldn't even handle a walk under a volcanic path, how was he going to deal with the rest of the mission? While being perched on top of Jasper's shoulders? Not likely.
"I'm sorry…" Steven mumbled and rested his chin on the top of Jasper's head.
"What?" asked Jasper.
Steven groaned, "I should've listened to you when you said that this mission was going to be dangerous. I'm not going to be very useful when I'm just gonna be on your shoulders the whole time…"
Steven felt Jasper shrug, "What's done is done. You're already here now, brat. I'm not taking you back now, we've come too far for that."
A ball of uncomfortable guilt formed in the pit of Steven's stomach. Maybe he was just getting in Jasper's way and now he put more stress onto her. Oh great, just what he needed, to get in the way in a mission, "Also, I'm sorry for what I said earlier."
"Now what are you babbling about?"
"When I called you a chicken. I didn't mean it. I just wanted to go with you, and figured if I teased you, that you would prove a point in taking me with you." he admitted, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
Jasper gave a deep chuckle, "Calculative, yet sentimental, just like your mother."
"Huh?"
"Nothing. It's fine Steven. I actually preferred that you came along," she said.
"I-really?" he asked confused.
"To be honest, I'm not overly concerned about your safety. You've survived plenty of things in the past, so I figure a simple search and retrieve mission wouldn't kill you," she said.
"Wait, if you aren't overly concerned, then why did you say all that 'danger' stuff earlier?" he asked.
"Because it was the responsible thing to say," Jasper shrugged, "Especially since after your recent mission. The others are treating you like you're made of wet paper."
Steven frowned, "Are you talking about the Versal Stone?"
"Of course," Jasper rolled her eyes, "You survived the most lethal weapons in Gem history. Lapis and Peridot thinks that you should be handled with more care, but I don't think so. If you can survive that, you can survive anything."
Steven instinctively reached for his gem and clutched the fabric covering it, "I was really scared that day," he mumbled aloud, finally admitting his fears to another person, "I thought I was really dying that time. Like...I've had close calls before but, never like that…"
Jasper turned her head slightly, and then back towards where she was walking, "We were all scared, you know."
"How scared?" Steven inclined.
Jasper shook her head, "Lapis and Peridot were definitely...distraught… over the ordeal, but I…" she trailed off, lost in her train of thoughts.
"Jasper…?" Steven called quietly, after a few moments of silence.
She shook her head again, as if she was trying to shake the thoughts out of her mind, "It was pretty damn shocking to see you almost dead on the floor," she grumbled out, "If you would've died that day, that would've been the end for me."
Steven's eyes widened, "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Rose asked one thing from us before she gave birth to you. Just one favor to repay all the debts that we owed to her. She wanted us to protect and raise you to the best of our abilities," Jasper frowned, "And if you would've died that day, I would've failed what Rose asked from me."
Steven mentally shriveled up in a nice heaping pile of guilt. Was he really that much of a bother? He nearly cost Jasper the meaning of her existence. He nearly erased his mother's gem. He nearly died because he couldn't follow the simplest instructions. Steven felt ashamed. When was he going to grow up and consider everyone around him? Consider how impactful he was in the lives of the Crystal Gems. And not just his Crystal Gems, but these Crystal Gems as well. Steven buried his face in Jasper's massive mane of hair and whimpered pitifully.
Noting his discomfort, Jasper patted Steven on the thigh affectionately. When he didn't respond, she decided that lightening the mood would be a better tone for the atmosphere. At least, better than Steven attempting to sob in her hair, she thought, "Anyway, I knew you were going to be a sturdy little Quartz soldier, like myself, when you were way younger."
Steven raised his head, intrigued, "Really?" he asked quietly.
Jasper shrugged, smirking to herself, "It's not a huge surprise. You've proven yourself worthy after the day you broke your hand."
Now this fully captured Steven's attention, "When I broke my hand?!"
Jasper nodded, laughing at the distant thought, "You broke your hand when you were about… four… or five years of age," she thought, trying to remember how old Steven was at the time, "It was pretty funny, until Peridot wouldn't quit bitching at me," She instantly growled, brooding at the loud and annoying shrieks that came from Peridot that day.
"I never broke my hand...or anything on my body before!" Steven expressed.
"Well, you've succeeded in this universe," Jasper replied.
"Can you tell me about it?" Steven eagerly asked, "I asked Peridot about something like this earlier, but she didn't want to talk about it."
Jasper rolled her eyes, "Of course she doesn't. She and Lapis would shapeshift a heart, just to have an aneurysm about every little scrape or bruise you get," she shook her head, "Anyway, it was a mid afternoon on the beach in front of the temple…"
~o O o~
I swear, if another bird shits on me, I'm going to rip it's wings off and throw it in the ocean.
I glare at the stupid animal as it flaps away, as it left it's feces on the tip of my boot. I can almost hear the bastard laughing as it leaves to go annoy someone else. Squawking at humans to feed it, or flying aimlessly in the sky; I cannot, for the life of me, understand it's purpose in the world.
Peridots were technicians. Useful.
Lapis Lazulis were valuable assets to control water on other planets. Understandable.
Quartz were elite soldiers to follow orders under a commander. Absolutely functional.
But birds? Just another stupid creature to piss me off.
I grit my teeth in annoyance at how stupid the varmint is and ball my fists. I need to punch someone. No. If I punch someone on this planet, they'd probably combust into pieces.
I groan. Can't someone on this planet just come up and fight me?! I am itching to pummel someone into the dirt! That someone could be Peridot. Oh, Gods, just once, I wish I could just beat her senseless until my arms get tired. And even after that, I'd use my legs until I couldn't stand.
She purposefully punishes me by making me do annoying tasks such as 'watch Steven' or 'go to the grocery store' when she can clearly do them herself! But does she do them? No. I'm the one 'babysitting' Steven, while she's off doing whatever she deems important.
Ugh! Can this day get even more goddamn annoying?!
First, Peridot, leaving Steven on me. Not to mention Greg and his annoying habit of leaving Steven here at the temple on a weekly basis and refusing to tell us when he'll return. Not that Steven is a problem, but, it leaves one of us to stay behind at the temple to watch him.
That one, being me. Screwing up my routine and afternoon to babysit Steven, when I should be out, fighting any corrupted gem that dares to oppose me.
But no. I'm stuck here on this damn beach, getting shat on, while Steven watches movies inside.
Peridot is out, doing whatever.
Lapis is helping humans with a hurricane situation down south.
And I'm...
"Getting annoyed," I grumble and stomp towards an impressive boulder. If I can't punch someone, I could at least punch something. I raise my fist, and reel it back, then carry my momentum into the boulder, instantly shattering it into countless pieces.
Hm. That made me feel...better. I guess. Though, it's not as satisfying as actually defeating an opponent. It would take me dozens of boulders to crush, for me to actually calm down from this annoying haze of anger. It's a good thing that there are plenty of boulders around for me to smash.
I go up to another boulder and smash it. Then a third one I approach, I shattered into particles. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. And the sixth.
"Urgh!" I groaned. I was wrong. This is tedious and a complete waste of my time! It's not satisfying. It's boring. It's useless! I am a Quartz! I was made to fight! I was made to be active! Not to stand around and punch gravels of-
"Jazzy!" I hear from a distance. Oh great. There's only one person in the whole galaxy who calls me that regularly, and can get away with it. I turn to see little Steven hopping down the steps, barefoot as usual. His shirt hangs sloppily off his body because it is way too big for him. Figures; he barely reaches my kneecap, he's so small.
He hops down the last step successfully and picks up the hem of his shirt before running towards me. I roll my eyes. You would think Greg could find him some clothes that actually fits.
Steven runs up to me, giant grin that shows off his missing front tooth and yells, "Jazzy! Jazzy! Jazzy!" in his small, squeaky, voice. Oh, that nickname. When he first started walking and talking, he could barely pronounce any of our names. Lapis was 'Lappy', Peridot was 'Peri' and I was 'Jazzy'. The shortened names all were similar and was fairly easy for him to remember as he was learning human linguistics. Now that he's much older than he was then, he still hangs on to these nicknames, especially mine. He occasionally calls Lapis and Peridot by their full name, but it was fairly common that he called me by my hideous nickname. Very rarely he calls me by my official name.
I grit my molars together, as Steven's shrills of my name gets louder. Oh good heavens, can he just be quie-no. No. He's only a child. I can't lose my patience with him. No, never with him. I need to calm down when I'm around him.
I inhale deeply, then exhale, "Yes, Steven." I tried.
He smiles brightly at me, it's almost blinding, "I finish watching my movie!"
"Yeah? How was it?" I ask.
"Good! The bad guys lost and the good guys won, and they lived happily ever after!" he threw his hands happily in the air, "When I'm a Crystal Gem, I'mma gonna be a good guy just like you and Peri, and Lapis and the good guys on the movie!"
I sit down on the floor, my knees raised but spread apart, and I rest my elbows on them. I might as well sit here and try to calm down and engage in a conversation with a toddler, "That's great kid."
Steven settles down next to me, and rests his body on my leg. I hear him babble a little more about his movie and who his favorite character was. After a while, he lost interest with the conversation, and just sat quietly next to me, as we stared at the ocean.
This was more calming, I suppose. Better than breaking those damn rocks.
"Hey, Jazzy?" I hear.
"Hn?"
"When am I gonna be a Crystal Gem?" he asked innocently. I looked down at him and saw that his eyes were full of wonder and curiosity. Waiting for me to tell him when he'll become an official 'Crystal Gem'.
The skin under my eye twitches in response. The title, Crystal Gem, was not a completely pure name to be called. The title means many things. Rebel. Freedom. Betrayal. He doesn't know the true meaning behind the Crystal Gems. How we single handedly tore a united race apart. Shattering each other. Locking our previous comrades into a bubble for the better. It was all for a cause. A cause that I once opposed to, until she changed my mind. I close my eyes and chuckle. Rose Quartz sure did start some crazy shit with Homeworld.
"Jazzy," Steven calls me again. I hear him sigh a bit, exasperated, "Jasper!" he groans at me. Probably upset that I haven't answered his question yet.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you, brat," I reply, and look back at the ocean, "You are a Crystal Gem, you know."
I glance back at him to see him shaking his head defiantly, "Nuh-uh! I don't go with you and Lappy and Peri and fight the monsters!"
"You can't fight the monsters yet, kid," I answer.
"Why not?!" he whines.
"Steven, you can barely lift the little robots, let alone beating up anyone," I point out. He pouts a little, knowing that was true, "Fighting anyone takes hard work, training and discipline."
Steven looked at me with that curious face of his. His eyes open really wide, and his mouth makes a small 'o' shape, "You mean like...fight on a choo-choo train?"
Oh my Gods,"Not a train. Training. As in practicing."
"Oh! So practice fighting, like you?"
"Yes. Like me," I nod.
"Do I… break the rocks like you?" he asks, pointing at one of the shattered pieces of what boulder was left, "To training?"
"To train," I correct him. If he's going to use this word, he might as well use it correctly, "And, you can't break these rocks, so don't even bother trying."
His face puckers and he frowns at me, "Yes I can!"
"No, you can't," Well, at least right now he can't.
"Lappy said that I can do, whatever I put my minds to!" he argues.
"Well, good for her." I say, and I can tell he caught onto my sarcasm.
He stands up and stomp his tiny feet at me, "I can do it, Jazzy! I can do it, and then I can be a Crystal Gem, too!"
I snort with laughter. This kid is too determined for his own good. He reminds me of myself, "Go knock yourself out, kid. And, hey, if you succeed, I'll even throw in a treat for you."
Steven's eyes grow big and little stars twinkle in them, "Really?"
Well, he didn't quite register my sarcasm this time, but I'll go on ahead with it, "Sure. Break the boulder and I'll make you an official Crystal Gem."
"Okay!" he said far too quickly, and with a lot of excitement. He picks up the hem of his shirt and trots over to the nearest boulder he can find. It's a pretty massive hunk of rock, compared to Steven's tiny frame. Compared to myself, well, the rock comes up to my waist in height, and is as wide as Peridot's hair. He stands in front of the boulder for a while, not doing much of anything. He's sizing the rock up and checking around it. He looks back at me and waves, and says something, along the lines of him going to punch it like the characters from his movie. Oh, this ought to be good.
I watch him as he took in a deep breath and close his eyes. He squats down in a very dramatic pose, which I'm assuming is from that strange movie he watched. He opens his eyes and and yells out an embarrassing wail, and throws his fist into the boulder.
I don't know what I was expecting. And I'm not quite sure what I was witnessing. I certainly saw Steven ram his fist into the boulder, but… nothing. Not that I expected something incredible to happen, but...surely maybe some sort of reaction. He's still poised in front of the boulder with his fist connected to it. I can't see his face, so I'm not sure what's going on in that head of his.
"Steven?" I call. I get up from the floor and stalk towards him. He literally hasn't budged an inch when I reach him, and I look over to try and see his face, "Steven?"
When I finally see his face, it is the most comical expression of his I've ever seen. His face is twisted into a confused smile, yet his eyes are bulging out as if he's stubbed his toe. His face is ruby red and it looks like he's holding his breath.
I muffled a snort, but then I start to fully laugh aloud. I breath in pocketfuls of air and let it out in a loud cackle of laughter. Tears prick out the corner of my eyes and I fall on my rear and laugh until my chest hurts. His face! That crazy expression of his is so-weird! I physically can't handle it!
As I laugh, I hear another sound. A sound that I hated hearing since Steven was an even smaller child.
Crying.
I cease laughing and I see that Steven finally moved. He was now sitting on his rear cradling his swollen, purple hand, in his normal on. Big, fat, ugly tears were dripping down his even redder face, and snot threatening to dribble down his nose.
Oh, shit.
My chest burns at the sight, and I'm not quite sure what to do. Lapis is usually the one to tend to Steven's crying spells. And if she's not here, it's usually Peridot, then Greg for an emergency. As for me…well… Steven's better off with a pack of wild dogs to care for him than the alternative.
I wince at his crying. His hand is crumpled, and bruised from having contact with the boulder. The tears keep falling and I deem myself almost utterly useless. I may not be the most nurturing, but I've seen what Lapis does when Steven hurts himself, and if I mimic her actions, maybe it will go smoothly. I frown and kneel before him and cautiously reach for his swollen hand. I move to touch it to see the extent of the damage. Before I even graze it, he flinches and moves his hands away from me; bawling and screaming even louder.
Oh hell.
"Steven," I try to say, as gentle as I can, "Steven, let me see-"
"IT HUURRRTS!" he hiccups in between his sobbing.
"I know, but I need to see your hand," I try. I'm nervous as shit, but I'm trying to keep calm for the both of us, "Let me see," I reach over to palm his bruised hand, and this time he allows me. His tiny, purple, hand rests on my giant palms; not even a fraction of the size, even in its swollen state. I cradle it as gently as possible as his wailing continues. I rub my thumb on the back of his hand to receive an instinctive flinch and an even louder sob.
Oh no. I groan. I just had to let him punch the damn rock. I attempt to run my thumb on his hand again, this time I feel something move inside of it.
Oh. Kill. Me. It has to be broken.
Steven has a broken hand. And I let it happen.
"Fuck."
"Th-that's a- a-b-bad-word!" Steven chastises me, while sobbing.
I roll my eyes. Leave it to Steven to point the obvious, "I know-whatever. C'mon, let's fix this," I say and gently pick him up and carry him back, carefully into the Temple. Within minutes, Steven's loud crying dies down after I put a large ice pack on his hand and sit him on the kitchen counter. He was eating that cookie kitten-whatever- ice cream, that I gave him, quieting him down, crying silently.
I rubbed my face with my hands, thinking of what I should do. I can't leave him with a broken hand. Not only will Lapis and Peridot chew me out about it, but I could only imagine what Greg would complain about. I groan, partially annoyed and mortified.
Ok, what should I do? Think.
A human infirmary? I frown. No. Any place that requires me to be around any hysterical humans is an absolute no. Peridot's room? … no, I wouldn't know the first thing I'd do once I step foot in there. C'mon, think. How is this so… difficult…?
I hear something slip and fall; followed by Steven's loud crying. The ice pack was on the floor. It must have fallen from his hand and caused some type of friction, because Steven's right back to crying as if someone chopped his hand off.
Uggh! Why can't the stupid thing just sit there while I think of something-!
I hear the Crystal Gate swish open and hear an annoying, nasally voice say "What is going on in here? Why is Steven crying?!"
Oh, great. Oh just perfect.
Peridot rushes towards Steven and is shocked at how hard he's crying. She looks at me, narrows her eyes and says, "What did you do?"
I grit my teeth, "Why do you think that I did something?"
"I asked you to do one thing Jasper. To watch Steven! I come back and he's crying. You've had to have done something!"
"I didn't do anything!" I yell, extremely agitated. She ignores me and faces Steven to trying to calm him down, "What happened was an accident and-"
She whips her head around and glares at me, "An accident?! What happened?!"
"If you would let me finish-!" I growl.
"He's a child, Jasper! You do know that children need to be watched at all times in case of any accidents! Were you neglecting your duties as his guardian?" she accuses.
"No! I was watching him, smartass," I bark out, "We were outside and-" I try to explain.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS HAND?!" Peridot screamed, her attention at the bluish purple, crumpled hand that Steven was holding in his other.
"It's broken-" I try.
"BROKEN?!" She screeches, with a terrified look on her face. She stares at me in bewilderment, as if I committed murder.
"It was an accident. Steven wanted to prove he was strong, so he wanted to punch the boulders on the beach-"
"YOU LET HIM PUNCH BOULDERS-mmph!" I slapped my hand on her mouth, to cease her talking.
I lean in and butted heads with her and growled, "Shut. The. Hell. Up," she stopped struggling to talk and just stared at me, "Steven is hurt. And it was an accident. You screaming isn't helping. Either help Steven, or get the hell out, and trust me, I'm more than willing to kick your ass and throw you into the ocean."
Peridot's eyed widened in response, and I continued, "I'm going to remove my hand, and so help me, if you scream, bitch or complain about anything, I am going keep my word from my earlier threat. Do you understand?" Peridot nodded quickly. I released my hand from her mouth and she instantly wiped her mouth with the back of her arm.
Oh, what a drama queen.
I roll my eyes and picked up Steven's discarded icepack. I place it gently back on his hand and hushed his crying.
"The smartest solution is to heal it as quickly as possible," Peridot pointed out.
"No shit, Peridot," I snap.
She glares at me and says, "I think we should take him to Rose's fountain."
I raise a brow, "The fountain, is destroyed."
"Yes, but I'm sure that there is still a bit of water left to extract from the pump. Enough drops to put on Steven's hand." she says.
I frown. The fountain, where Rose's healing tears was completely demolished. I doubt that there is any water left over after all these years.
Peridot shifts to her finger screen, and says, "With your strength, you can squeeze what's left from the pump," she suggests.
"Alright," I say. I scoop Steven up in my arms and go to the Warp Pad, with Peridot in tow. She calls her stupid robots over and they come along with us.
When we arrive, the fountain is even more hideous than it was a few decades ago. It's natural pink hue, is now a murky gray color, as if it was always raining. The moss and bramble around the fountain was decaying into a rusty color, due to lack of maintenance. The fountain itself was a disaster. The four sculptures of Rose were completely destroyed; shattered, in multiple pieces. The circular base, which was used to hold the water was busted with cracks and pieces of rock breaking off.
The main, giant sculpture of Rose, where the water actually emits from was hard to look at. The head of the sculpt was cut clean off, and two damages pumps where water fell, was revealed. The spot where Rose's gem was place was carved out and the rest of it was tattered and broken in attempts to damage and disrespect it even further.
"Ugh," Is the only sound I can make to describe myself.
"Jasper, if you use those pipes up there," Peridot pointed to the pipes where Rose's head used to be, "And extract what's left, there should be enough to put on Steven's hand."
I nod and hand Steven (who nodded off to sleep at some point) to Peridot. I jumped up to the pipes and tried to squeeze what was left from it. With a lot of effort, I was able to get enough in the palm of my hand. I jump back down and put the healing liquid on his hand.
As soon as it came in contact with him, his hand was completely healed, as expected. The discomfort on Steven's sleeping face, vanished, as if nothing happened.
"It worked," Peridot sighed, relieved.
"Of course it did," I say. I turned to her and narrowed my eyes, "Lapis will not be hearing about this."
Her face went to that flat, dumb, mocking look she sometimes give me, "And what threat will you give me this time around? Hit me? Blackmail me? Throw me into-"
"I'm not bullshitting," I snap. She shuts her mouth and blinks at me, "I mean it. Don't tell Lapis anything." I don't need her two cents into the situation. Not to mention, she would overreact even worse than Peridot did.
Peridot rolls her eyes, "Fine," she mutters, and says something about ordering efficient first aid kits.
Night came quickly, and Steven was tucked in his bed, sound asleep. Peridot was with him, scrolling through her screen, vowing to research more on first aid kits and where to purchase them.
I was back where it all started: on the beach. The waves swayed back and forth onto the moist sand. I walk around to where that boulder was. Where Steven broke his hand. I'll admit, it was a reckless decision to let Steven hurt himself, and it was stupid how I sat back and laughed while he was in pain.
My eye twitches as I land my sight directly on the boulder. This was stupid. I was stupid. Being Steven's guardian was more than enough trouble, and I add onto the mess of keeping him out of harm's way.
I sigh, and turn away, but...something catches my eye. I turn back around and stare at the boulder, and see something that I missed earlier. I walk over towards it, and squat next to it, to inspect the rock, further. My eyes slightly widen. There is a small fist indent, about an inch or two deep, carved into the boulder. There were spiderweb cracks spreading from it, with tiny chips of rock falling from it.
What the hell?
I stared dumbfounded at the damaged boulder. Did...Steven… do this? If I'm being honest with myself, I didn't actually look at the damage that Steven did earlier. I was only interested in the damage he caused to himself.
I blink at the crater again, not quite sure what to make out of this. A normal human child couldn't do anything like this. So this must be a new feat from Steven! This makes sense, of course. Both Rose and I were Quartz. Quartz are one of the strongest in our race. Steven must have harnessed some of Rose's abilities, such as her physical strength. And if that's true, that means that Steven is capable of a lot more than just harboring the Rose Quartz. He could be able to shapeshift, bubble, summon a weapon, heal…!
I snicker to myself and look back toward the Temple.
Being Steven's guardian was proven a difficult task… however…
"Being his mentor…" I smirk, balling my hand into a fist, "Is something I can handle."
~o O o~
"So I did break the boulder!" Steven gasped, still perched on Jasper's shoulders. She walked into a narrow cavern with glowing streaks of lava, decorating the inside.
"I wouldn't use break, but you dented it," she shrugged, glancing around the eerily calm area.
"Lapis said I didn't have any major accidents, but I guess, it was because you didn't want her to know?" Steven concluded.
"You've had plenty of accidents after that event, that Peridot and I didn't mention to Lapis. Some of those accidents were Peridot's fault." She suddenly stopped, catching slight movement from her peripherals.
Steven gasped, excitedly, thoroughly interested in his adventures of getting hurt with Jasper and Peridot, "There were more accidents? Where? Did I hit my head? Did I break my arm? How about-"
"Quiet," Jasper hushed him, glancing around the cave. Puzzled, Steven looked around to find something amiss. After a few moments, Jasper summoned her crash helmet, and crouched in a defensive pose.
Steven looked around nervously, and whispered, "Jasper, what are you-"
"Hush," she ordered, clenching her fist. She looked upwards and Steven followed her line of sight. The ceiling of the cave was rich with streaks of lava in between the crack of rocks. The streaks were weaving slightly, as a rock started slithering by itself. Now fully aware at what Jasper was so defensive about, Steven's eyes grew wide, as he saw clusters of wavering rocks, slithering along the cave. When focused, Steven could make out, what seemed to be beetle-like creatures that were the same texture and color as the rocks above, creeping around the cave. Dozens of beetle creatures were around the same height and width as Steven, and had razor sharp pincers, much like Centipeedle's, but horizontally rather than vertically.
"Uh… w-which one is the…" he gulped, "... the Earth Beetle?"
"Neither," Jasper seethed.
The added conversations agitated the corrupted rock-like beetles and they immediately turned to face Steven and Jasper. Jasper bared her teeth at the sudden change in direction and the rock-like beetles opened their pincers and omitted a giant screech in unision. The screech was so loud and painfully earsplitting, Steven had to cover his poor, sensitive ears.
The ground began to shake violently when the beetles ceased, a few seconds later. Jasper gasped, hanging onto the wall,maintaining their balance.
"What's happening?!" Steven shrieked, tightening his grip on Jasper's hair. Before Jasper could answer, the floor began to cave in like a sinkhole, before suddenly exploding, revealing, first a large pair of lava oozing pincers, the same height as Jasper. Then as it crawled out of it's hole, the creature revealed itself as a much larger version of the rock-beetles. Its face was in the shape of a beetle, while the rest of its body resembles an oversized python with one pair of insectoid limbs to help it partially crawl. It's body was so large that it could barely fit within the 20ft high cave. It crawled out with it's front two legs; the rest of its body was slithering because of the lack extra limbs. Lava slid off its body and its endless coils wrapped around itself.
"What is that?!" Steven shouted, and without warning, Jasper lunged at the monster, with Steven clinging onto her for dear life. Jasper quickly launched a punch, right on the monster's pincers, emitting a horrendous noise, similar to lightning striking a tree. The Beetle Monster stumbled back briefly, but retaliated swiftly by using the end of its elongated body to wrap Jasper in a deadly grip. Similar to a boa constrictor, the monster clenched its body around Jasper, tightly. The creature binded Jasper's limbs and all the way up to her bosom. The tight grasp around her was so firm, it nearly knocked the wind out of her. As her arms and legs were useless, she trashed around, trying to free herself.
"Jasper!" Steven yelp, still mobile and not affected by the monster's grip. Before Steven could figure out what to do to help her, the monster's beetle-like head hovered above them. It cocked its head slightly, then opened its pincers wide. The inside of its mouth glowed yellow, then orange, then brightly colored red, and orange slime started dripping down. Much to their horror, Jasper and Steven realized that the slime was lava and it was going to pour right on their heads!
"Steven!" Jasper shouted, her pupils dilating in pure horror at the thought of Steven getting molten hot lava poured onto him. She couldn't do anything but watch the scene above her.
"AAH!" Steven screamed, too frightened to jump out the way. Instead, he flinched, and instinctively shut his eyes and threw his arms above his head to protect himself.
He braced for the intense, scalding, lava to melt his skin off; ending his small and fragile life.
However, nothing came.
He was in fact, still flinching, covering his arms above his head; eyes still clamped shut. Curious, of why he wasn't dead yet, Steven snapped one eye open, to observe his surroundings. Instead of the violent red and orange lava, raining over him, there was a pink dome that hovered above them.
Steven opened both eyes and realized that he had instinctively summoned a very large shield. It was around the same size as the one he used when Peridot and Jasper infiltrated Earth, and shot a cannon at the Crystal Gems. Except, this time, it didn't immediately disappear like the last. It stood in place as the lava rolled off of it, and onto the floor; safely avoiding Jasper and Steven who was still perched above her.
"Rose's shield…" Jasper whispered to herself in awe. She hadn't seen the weapon for a decade, until now.
Realizing that the lava was clearly not working, the Beetle-Snake-Monster stopped spitting out lava and decided to viciously peck at the shield instead. With heavy force slamming down on his shield, it was physically draining Steven's ability to hold it. He had only summoned this weapon a few times before, and this was only the second time he had summoned it this large, and on an accident at that.
"Oh no, I-" he stopped as the insectoid monster pecked harder, "-I can't…hold it!"
"Hold on!" Jasper growled. She flexed her body pushed with all her might to break the monster's grip on her. She struggled and thrashed until there was a small enough opening for her to slip her arm out.
Jasper freed her left arm and transformed her hand into a sharp needle-like object, and roughly stabbed the monster in one of the coils that constricted her.
The monster pitched a horrendous scream of pain and instantly released Jasper from its grasp. It flailed around viciously and violently threw both Jasper and Steven on the other side of the cave.
Jasper landed on her feet, as Steven was flung a few feet away from her. He fell on his back and rolled a few feet, landing on his stomach on the heated floor. Too spent to care for the burning floor from overuseage of his powers, Steven laid on the floor, nearly unconscious.
"Steven!" Jasper called, and was instantly next to him. She picked him up from the boiling floor and cradled him in her arms. There were multiple burn marks on his palms, cheek, nose and forehead, thanks to his harsh landing.
Steven squinted open an eye and mumbled, "...oww…" and curled into Jasper's hold.
Jasper let out a shaky breath, relieved that Steven was still alive and partially well enough to speak. There was rumbling movement behind them, indicating that the monster recovered from the last attack and was ready for more. Even the smaller beetle monsters that hung above them was hissing and baiting for the larger monster to continue with the fight. Jasper glanced behind them and saw the Beetle Monster, limp slightly over to their direction.
"Shit," she cursed, and looked back at Steven's exhausted body. She grit her molars together and thought, 'I shouldn't have ever brought him along. I should have stood my guard and kept him safe at home where he should be resting… not following me on missions.' she conceded and thought of a final solution to jeep Steven out of this dangerous situation.
She stood straight up, with Steven in her arms and said, "Go home and get some rest."
She formed an orange bubble around his body, "I'll be back later, soldier." she smirked and bubbled him away, back to the safety of the Temple.
A/N:
Hope you enjoyed! I promise to update sooner! I've been working on this Chapter for months. It was scrapped a few times before this final outcome.
This chapter was originally showcasing Jasper taking Steven to the hospital but it had no direction to where the story was headed. Plus I wanted to show interaction of how proud Jasper is of Steven and how she doesn't treat him like a piece of glass.
Because you all waited so long, I made this chapter approx 11k words! Wasn't that nice?
Anyway, Thanks for reading!