Backstage Protection
A Steven Universe Fanfiction
Chapter Four
A/N: Okay, this is where the headcanons start. This one is fairly small; just regarding Peridot's weapon. If this information has been canonically released and is any different and you are reading this in the future; I am currently writing this April 8th, 2015, 9:13 PM EST. The next episode to premiere is "Story for Steven," which is released tomorrow. Also, I have most of this fic planned out now; the main Crystal Gems only have really big roles towards the end.
Lapis didn't notice that a much larger, much more muscular gem was approaching behind her until Peridot shouted at her to watch out. The ocean gem swiftly dove to the ground and rolled onto her back, propped up on her elbows so that her gem wouldn't touch the ground, so that she could both escape successfully and see her attacker.
Jasper was standing over her, fists clenched, and she didn't look happy. Her breath was coming out in angered growling noises, and she looked ready to snap at any moment. Terror quickly settling in, Lapis backed away as fast as she could on her elbows, knowing she wouldn't be able to just let her wings loose and fly away with Peridot stranded here and her former superior this close.
"Look, I don't want any more trouble-"
She was cut off when she was grabbed around the throat and lifted into the air, letting out a frightened and distressed sound. She couldn't help but wonder why Peridot wasn't doing anything if she cared so much.
"Then you shouldn't have trapped me at the bottom of your damn ocean!" Jasper snapped in a gruff voice and shook her victim slightly. Said gem cried out in pain a bit, the strain almost breaking her neck.
"Jasper, please, let me go!" Lapis begged desperately, trying to pry the large hands from around her. "Please! I'll never bother you again, I won't even go back to Homeworld, just let me go! I'm sorry for everything I did!"
"It's too late for sorry!" The massive soldier almost yelled harshly, her gem flashing slightly as a helmet formed around her head and face. The smaller gem braced herself for impact, squeezing her eyes shut.
The hard tip of the weapon connected with her forehead and she let out a muffled cry, vision starting to get a little blurry as she went limp but started struggling again. "Let me go! Let me-"
She was cut off when Jasper put her hands on either side of her head, the perfect angle to snap her neck. Lapis's breathing sped up and she went deathly still, praying to whatever higher power there was that the larger gem would let her go instead of making her retreat back into her gem. She couldn't lose any more time.
Neither noticed, however, that Peridot had in fact moved. The small green gem ducked so that she was at a desirable angle and quickly thrust the electrified tip of a long staff against Jasper's abdomen. The largest of the trio let out an angry shout and dropped Lapis immediately, turning her attention to her former underling.
"Traitor!"
Peridot flinched, though she tried to hide it, and gripped her staff a little harder, expression hardening to a glare. She remained silent as Jasper spoke again.
"You're just as bad as she and those 'Crystal Gems' are!" She stormed over to Peridot, though she glanced at the staff nervously. She hadn't known what the green gem's weapon was, apparently. "You can expect this to be reported! I hope they decide to ground you into dust!"
The smallest of the three gems seemed to lose her composure a moment before looking even more determined. "And what if I decide never to go back home?"
"Then they'll hunt you down, and I'll be a part of it, you little rat!"
A heavy sigh before she thrust her weapon again, this time connecting with Jasper's chest. The muscular gem nearly screamed, quickly backing away.
Lapis got to her feet as well, trying to get into a fighting stance despite how blurry her vision started to get. She met Jasper's glare with a hard one of her own, waiting for the next move to be made as she moved to be next to Peridot.
This was like a more dangerous version of chess. Don't move out of turn, don't let the enemy make the smarter move. Keep your calm, keep your logic, and be ready to counter with the best move you can think of.
After what seemed to be thousands of years, Jasper finally put her hands up in a show of surrender. "Alright, alright. But you won't get away with this. I'll come back, and I'll beat both of you into the ground. Smash your pretty little faces in. Drag you directly to Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond and see what they decide to do with you."
With that, she turned to leave, wild white hair swooshing as she marched back into the treeline. However, Lapis had a hard time believing she was done quite yet, so the blue gem let her wings extend quickly. She glanced around to make sure nobody was watching besides Peridot before wrapping her arms around her partner just under her shoulders and taking off into the air.
"What are you doing?" The green gem was quick to question, tensing up as the ground got further away. The course was a little wobbly; the pilot wasn't used to this much weight when she was off on a flight.
"Getting us out of here." The ocean gem replied nonchalantly, glancing down as she got to the edge of Earth's innermost atmosphere. The continent was fairly easy to recognize along the coast, and luckily, the town she was looking for was on the coast.
"But all our hard work!" Peridot protested in her usual whiny voice, clinging to Lapis's arms a little as she stared downward at the planet.
"Change of plans. If the Crystal Gems could survive this long without technology, I'm sure we could. You still have the thing with your hand, anyway." She recognized the area she was looking for and started flying downwards in that direction. "Besides, Jasper knows where that spot is. What if she decides she wasn't done?"
"She said she was though!"
"Peri, you can't just trust what she says like that. She's dangerous. She could seriously hurt us."
Peridot pouted and muttered something about Lapis's trust issues, but didn't otherwise object. Instead, the next question was a reasonable one.
"Okay, but where are we going?"
"Beach City."