Hey, everyone. Ellis here.
Well, I did it. I finished a story. The very first one. I feel accomplished for once. This is the most epic moment in my entire existence.
I'll admit: it was hard. I had multiple endings to choose from. But, this is the result and it deserves respect.
Readers of Fanfiction, I give you Final Act.
The next few days, Penelope tried to finish the song while moving a bunch of corrupted Gems to Beta. Jasper did some hunting to get more participants for a more contained experiment. She didn't like putting them in cages, but it was a precaution for the experiment. Jasper promised they'll let them out when they're more stable. She agreed.
However, they were still missing the song; her song. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't finish it. She sighed as Jasper came in holding a familiar-looking box.
"What is this?" Jasper asked, seriously.
"Oh. I almost forgot about it." She spoke softly, walking over to take the box from her. It was a wooden box with a carving of a raven holding a pink stone in its claw. She smiled, sadly, "One of the scientists gave it to me. She said that I was found with it and thought that I should have it. It's a puzzle box. You solve the puzzle to open the box. I was never able to open it at first.."
She started to work the mechanics of the box, moving the pieces till a soft click can be heard and she opened the box. Inside was an unopened letter with her name on it and a strange crystal with different colored sides of yellow, white, blue, and pink. Jasper's eyes widened at it.
"Is that a diamond communication device?! How did you get one of those?" She asked, incredulously.
"Is that what it is?" She asked, looking over it, "It's been in here forever. So, were the keys and deed to this place. I think it might have belonged to my dad."
She was saddened by the thought. She won't admit it, but she always thought that if she came and stayed here, she'll meet her parents. It was a foolish thought, yet here she was. She knew her mom was gone now, so where was her dad? She smiled sadly at the Crystal and held it out to Jasper.
"You can have it. I don't think that I have any use for contacting Gem leaders." She said.
Jasper looked at her like she was completely crazy. Maybe. She wouldn't doubt it.
"You're giving it to me?! Are you okay?" She asked, concerned.
She smiled, softly, "Yeah, I am. I just have a feeling you'll put it to better use than I can."
Jasper didn't say a word as she carefully took it and placed it in her gem for safe keeping. She grabbed her box of bubbled corruptions.
"Shall we? I still need to see if the song is the answer to corruption." She spoke more cheerfully now.
Penelope went over to the warp pad and glared at it. She was making an effort to get used to it, but she still despises the contraption.
"Glaring at it will not make it any easier, sister." Jasper chuckled.
"I know." She responded, dryly.
None of the less, she walked onto the warp pad with Jasper and off they went with some incoherent muttering from her afterward. When she finally looked around, her eyes widened at the red rock walls miles high above her. She felt insignificant in comparison.
"Welp, welcome to Beta, Pinky," Jasper said, walking passed her.
She quickly followed after her, looking around as she did, "This is where you were made?"
"Yep. This is home," she confirmed.
She frowned at the disfigured holes. She's never seen a Kindergarten before, but even she can tell that these holes weren't right. She felt sorry for the gems that were born here. She had a feeling that, despite what everyone else thought about them, that they were actually really great Gems.
"I feel sorry for these Gems. I bet they're really nice." She commented, looking the various holes, "Was it all just Jaspers here?"
"Nah, there were Carnelians, too. We were at war so, this place was a rush job. I was the only 'Perfect' quartz." She explained.
"Have you been in contact with the other Betas?"
"No. It's kind of hard to when we're under different Diamonds."
"That's stupid. They're like your sisters, right? You should at least be able to keep in touch!"
Jasper chuckled, "I'd like to see you tell that to the Diamonds!"
"Then, take me to them so I can tell it to their face." Penelope retorted.
Jasper laughed, "You're a riot, you know that?"
"I just don't have very many fears with the way I lived. But, even so, it's okay to be afraid. It can make you stronger in the end." She reasoned, then spotted a giant hole, "I take it that's yours?"
Jasper looked at the one she was referring to and grinned, "Yep, that's my hole."
"Was the flexing necessary?"
"I didn't really have a reason for it. But, it does make a good first impression."
"True. I'll give you credit for that. So, where did you set us up at?"
"Over there. Come on."
Jasper led her down a section of the canyon to an open area where there were already quite a bit of corruptions in their cages. Penelope whistled, "You work fast."
"Thanks." Jasper grinned proudly.
Penelope set down the box, "Okay. If we split these ten in half, we can start on the first part of the experiment right away. The other side is the control group and this will be the main group. Once again, this is just to prove my theory about the song. Maybe, get some insight if we're lucky. Got it?"
Jasper phased into her uniform, "Right."
"Why do you use your uniform for stuff like this?"
She shrugged, "I don't want to get those clothes dirty."
Penelope laughed, "Okay, I'll leave you to it. Over there, right?"
"Yeah, just follow that path and it'll lead you there. It's a small kindergarten, so you shouldn't get too lost."
Penelope ran off and found the area. Fifteen minutes later, she had her half contained. She apologized to each of them as well. She prays that this will work. As she turned to leave she noticed that she can't remember which way she came from. She picked a direction and ran through it like a pinball. She stopped short when she saw the warp pad. She went in a nearly full circle.
"Dratz!" She muttered, "Well, it could've been worst."
At that moment, the warp pad activated. Something was coming. Panicking slightly, she jumped behind the canyon wall out of sight. She peeked over to find Steven, Amethyst, and a tiny green gem she never seen before.
The green Gem kept ranting on about how Beta was insignificant in comparison to Prime. She followed them, not liking how the green gem was bad-mouthing the poor Betas. But, she did get some insight. Like how Beta was created in the middle of the war. She felt sorry for the Betas.
After a while, they reached Jasper's hole. She watched with amusement as the green gem actually checked out Jasper's hole with several different methods. All humorous in their own way. She nearly blew her cover laughing. She lost her humor when she came down from the hole with a nervous look on her face. They asked her what was wrong.
"Actually, I... I never seen an exit hole this perfect..." She admitted.
Penelope frowned. This is why Jasper kept thinking she was perfect, they kept telling her that she was. So, she believed them. Penelope clinched her fist in anger at Homeworld. She really didn't like how they judged even Jasper's sisters. They may not be perfect, but she believed that they're just as good!
She saw the the jealous look on Amethyst face and her heart broke. Was Amethyst envious of Jasper? Why? She thought Amethyst was perfect just the way she is. Besides, even Jasper had her flaws. But, they were still perfect cause they were themselves. The world shouldn't be clouded by envy. Nobody's perfect; especially the Diamonds.
Penelope sighed, thinking that she got too involved with this. But, she couldn't help it. Fate led her to Jasper and the Crystal Gems for a reason. Maybe, she needs to cure the Corruptions. Maybe, she needs to prevent another war between Earth and Homeworld. Or maybe, she needs to help them like they've helped her.
Her mind set, she turned to let them know that she was there, but stopped before she could even make a sound. She heard Steven tell her she can be whatever she wanted to be. She gave a small smile. Maybe... Maybe, she was too quick to judge him. She still won't forgive him for that parent comment... But, she'll give him a little credit as Amethyst said she'll beat Jasper.
She grinned, but noticed that the others frowned and tried to talk her out of it. She face-palmed, quietly. She wanted to yell at them to stopped telling people want they can and can not do! Amethyst can do it if she put her all into it! She nearly giggled when Amethyst named the holes she was going to do it for. Then watched as they noticed and discussed one of the holes that Jasper dug out. She panicked. At this rate, they were going to find Jasper and her experiment area! She had to warn her!
She, carefully, snuck pass them and raced to find Jasper. It didn't take her long. She found her quieting the corruptions, usually kicking the bars to their make shift cages. She, slightly, winched, but she'll yell at Jasper later.
"Ja—" She started to call out, but got interrupted by Jasper's yelling.
"Quiet, you! What happened to you? You used to be a Quartz soldier and now this! I can't believe that I have to reduce myself to recruiting you abominations! You remind me of that half-baked runt! This planet ruins everything! Well, except for me, of course." Jasper ranted on. It looked like she still haven't noticed her, yet, "You got what you deserve. We all get what we deserve. Right, Amethyst?!"
Penelope gasped, quietly, as Amethyst fell. She didn't notice her either. She doesn't think anyone did, really. She felt like she was watching a scene unfold in a movie. She watched as they continued talking. She found out that the little green Gem was indeed the Peridot Jasper came to Earth with, proudly stating that she was with the Crystal Gems and had uncontrollable metal powers. She'll introduce herself later, she just saw Jasper put her helmet on and the fight began.
At first, Jasper was pushed back, but after a bit, Jasper became unaffected by Amethyst's whips. Penelope blinked. She felt the sting of being slapped hard on the cheek and the numbing burn that came after it. She continued to silently glare up at the Mafia Boss, who sneered back at her in rage. They were in his dark office. The air reeked heavily of cigar smoke, sweat, and alcohol, dense with the tension between the two of them. A stalemate; an unbreakable staring contest.
"Worthless brat." He growled with a Russian accent.
She blinked, again. She was back at Beta. An injector just hit the ground, making her jump. The fight had progressed. How long was she gone? Minutes? She couldn't tell. She saw an explosion of light that blinded her a bit. When the bright light resided, she saw in its place a gem she never seen before. She widened in wonder as she heard Jasper call her a fusion. Her mouth dropped open, Steven and Amethyst fused into that?! If she can puke rainbows, she'd be doing it by now.
The fusion, who called herself Smoky Quartz, was cute and funny. She had her own personality! Penelope drooled in amazement as she wondered if she and Jasper will fuse into something just as amazing.
She snapped out of it and shook her head. She had to stop the fight! Jasper was getting beat up by giant yo-yo at this point!
"Stop it!" She yelled, phasing her gauntlets as she deflected the giant yo-yo into the cliff face.
Smoky looked shocked, "Penelope?!"
"Stay out of this, sister! This is between me and her!" Jasper barked.
"All of you are going to stop fighting before I have all of you bubbled!" Penelope snapped, "We shouldn't be fighting! Especially, you and Amethyst! You both are the same if you just stop fighting and talk to each other for once!"
"She's done more harm than good, no offense." Smoky said, "I mean she talked about recruiting these guys for an army. That sounds like an evil plan to me."
"That's because I'm the reason these corruptions are all gathered here! I was about to conduct an experiment to cure them! Auntie was just helping me!" Penelope yelled at her.
"Auntie? Jasper's your aunt? I did not see that one coming!" Smoky remarked.
"It's called being unpredictable. Try it sometime." Penelope smirked.
Smoky smiled at her, then looked behind her. She threw her yo-yo in Jasper's direction. Jasper was going towards Crazy, who was trying to get out of her makeshift hold. Penelope frowned. Why would she go for Crazy? From her personal experience, Crazy was the most aggressive Gem Corruption she'd encountered. She watched as Jasper got hit twice with Smoky's yo-yo. As Smoky appeared in front of her, Jasper continued towards Crazy.
"What's the rush, Auntie Jasper? I thought things were going great between us?" Smoky teased.
"I will not lose to another fusion!" Jasper raged, as she grabbed Crazy's jaws.
Penelope gasped in fear as a light began to enveloped them. Biggs' warning rang in her head like an air raid siren. She didn't have very many fears, but her biggest fear was to lose the only person she had to a family. She took off at speed of light and grabbed both gems with her gauntlets before their forms could merge.
"NO! I won't let you become a monster! YOU PROMISED!" Penelope screamed at Jasper's Gem as she used all her might to rip them apart and threw Jasper's gem as far away from Crazy as possible.
She couldn't look to see where Jasper landed as she had to deal with a very aggressive Crazy. She tried to block Crazy's swipe as she was thrown into the cliff side; hard. She heard someone called out to her, but she was a little disoriented from the crash. She never took her eyes off Crazy, though, as she dodged the next hit despite the handicap. Crazy always did hated her for some reason.
She quickly put some distant between them. Her eyes readjusted themselves and she saw her gauntlets dispersed. She noticed the numbing pain in her Gem and head. She was lucky for the adrenaline rush to keep her moving right now. She won't last another hit. Her eyes landed on Jasper, who looked shocked, angry, and confused by what she'd done.
"Oh, how the mighty Gods have fallen so far from the thrones of Heaven into the burning pools of sulfur in Hell." She laughed, dryly.
Jasper's eyes widened in confusion, "Penelope…?"
Crazy growled at her ready to strike again, but her eyes remained on Jasper.
Penelope looked at her sadly, "You want to be a monster that badly that you're willing to destroy yourself? Fine! But, what am I to you?! Was all that time we spent together that meaningless to you?! You say no one ever wants to be with you, but I've always been next to you this whole time! You're just too much of a clod to see me! You're the only person I ever had to call a family! I could care less of everything else, including Earth!… I just want to be with you… Is that too much to ask?"
Crazy charged at her as she whispered her prayer, "One last time… for her."
Penelope summoned everything she had left into one hit. Her gauntlets never reformed. Instead, from her fist glowed into a bright pink light that engulfed the Beta Kindergarten.
As the light faded, all the others could see from where they were was a poofed Crazy and the fading glow of her cracked Pink Diamond as Penelope's world went black.
The End is only the Beginning.
There are drawings on my Tumblr page under the username of alpha-ellis. I'll be posting some art of Penelope and the others as I go. If you have fan art, please tag it with my username. Mainly, cause Penelope is my OC, but I want to be able to see other people's work and this is the best way to go.
As always, please review.
Thank you,
Ellis Alpha
Who Am I
"You can save her... Right, Rose...?"