Jasper
Jasper glanced at the skinny human before her. He had a light brown skin color with dark brown hair. The human was holding a satchel in his hand with lots and lots of weirdly shaped papers. He looked at her with big eyes and his mouth was in awe. They both stand there for several moments until Jasper finally broke the silence.
"What do you want, human?"
"Human?", he stuttered. "Oh, yeah... Yeah, I guess I am a human." For some odd reason he began to blush. "Oh, I'm so sorry. May I introduce myself? My name is Jamie. And who might you be, my fair maiden?"
"Excuse me?" Jasper asked and raised an eyebrow at him. Were all humans as weird as this guy?
"I asked of your name, sweet hibiscus."
"I'm a gem, not a... whatever you called me. I'm a Jasper."
"Jasper! Oh that's music to my ear."
"I hate music", she grunted.
"Are you one of Steven's bigger sisters?"
"Seriously human, what are you talking about?"
"Um, hehe, I guess you are new here, aren't you?" he asked brightly.
"Well, I did spend several months in your planet's ocean, but I haven't seen much of the landscape yet..."
"I could show you around Beach City! It would be my pleasure", he said and went slightly pink.
Jasper thought a bit about this offer. If this human was planning on leading her into a trap, then surely she would be able to defeat him. He didn't seem to be strong at all. But why would a complete stranger want to give her a tour anyway? She didn't trust him. Then again, there was no one she trusted at this point, so that wasn't really something new. She might as well follow the Jamie for a little while. She had no allies on this planet and she didn't know anything about her current location. Besides, the fact that the base of the Crystal Gems was right next to the ocean, was highly dangerous because of Lapis. Maybe she could find some weapons or other stuff that might help her to get off this horrible planet.
"Fine then", Jasper said and formed a pocket in her uniform in which she put Pearl's gem. The Pearl wasn't too much harmed, so it probably would only take her a few hours until she would regenerate. That gave Jasper some time to think of what to do with her. "Show me Beach City."
"Your wish is my command", the Jamie said and stepped aside, so that Jasper could leave the house.
'Actually, that was a command', Jasper thought but remained silent. She still didn't know what to think about this human and his strange behavior. Jasper followed the Jamie in silence, her eyes constantly probing her surroundings, looking for threats. She felt distinctly awkward as they set off down Beach City together.
"So um, I hope you don't mind me asking", the Jamie began, as they walked along side the beach. "But um, well... You see... I was wondering, if, um..."
"Spit it out", Jasper growled.
"Right, um... Do you have a... boyfriend?" As he said that, his face began to blush again and he quickly stared at his feet, avoidig Jasper's eyes.
"A... what?" Jasper stared at him for several seconds with a blanc face. "What's a boyfriend?"
It seemed as if she had said something, that had made the human very happy- or very crazy. Because for some reason he started giggling uncontrollably.
Jasper silently decided not to question his odd behavior and instead asked him something else.
"What is that?" She pointed at a small building with a big metallic ring, that was lying on the ground in front of it.
"Oh, that's the Big Donut. Would you like to try some?"
"Some what?"
"Donuts of course."
Jasper was about to ask what exactly a donut was but then she thought better of it. She didn't want this human to think she was stupid.
"Oh, hey you two!" Jasper looked back at the Big Donut, where a tiny human with blonde hair was waving at them. A second, larger human with short reddish brown hair appeared beside her and was looking rather annoyed. "Could you help us?!" The girl yelled. "The big donut fell off the roof last night. Must have been the storm and it's just too heavy for us to lift it up again."
"Why can't we just call some craftsmen?", the bigger human asked in an annoyed tone.
"Because it costs a lot of money and we can do it by ourselves."
Jasper and Jamie came to a halt and Jasper noticed that the humans seemed to be rather impressed by her appearance.
"You're tall", the male human said. "Wow and look at those muscles! Hoho! It must have taken you ages to look so awesome! Guess you're training every day, heh?"
"Don't be rude", the female human answered, then she turned back to Jasper. "Hey, I'm Sadie and that's Lars." Her eyes wandered to Jasper's nose gem. "You must be one of Steven's caretakers, right? What's your name?"
"I'm a Jasper."
"A Jasper?", the Sadie replied confused. "Welcome to Beach City, Jasper. I bet you will like it here."
Jasper didn't reply and looked instead at the big metalic ring called 'donut'. "You guys really don't have the strenght to lift this thing?", she asked in disbelieve.
"Unfortunatly no", the Sadie replied. "Could you help us to put it back on the roof or do you think it's a little too heavy?"
"Too heavy?" Jasper said angrily. She took the ring and held it in one hand above her head.
"Wow, you're soooo amazing", the Jamie squeaked.
"You rock, girl!" the Sadie cheered.
"Pretty impressive", the Lars agreed.
Jasper looked confused at the humans, who all looked up at her with stars in their eyes. She couldn't deny it. She really liked it to be admired like that.
"It's nothing", she said, but couldn't resist a sheepish grin.
"We owe you one", the Sadie said. "Could you put it on the roof, so that I can fix it?"
"Yeah, sure", Jasper said. It wasn't that she had anything better to do at the moment and maybe she could use these humans to her advantage sometime in the future. Even if they were just puny little beings with no powers at all.
"Please, have these!", the Sadie insisted, once they where finished fixing the big donut. She gave Jasper several boxes, filled with smaller versions of the big donut. They were soft and had different colors.
"What am I supposed to do with them?" Jasper asked. Was this some kind of poison? Did these humans work for the Crystal Gems? She probably wouldn't die from it but it could weaken her or worse, making her completly unable to fight.
"Oh right, Steven told me that you gems don't really know that much about human stuff. Hehe, well you can eat them, if you like. They are really sweet and quite tasty."
"You first", Jasper said suspiciously. She picked one of the donuts and gave it to the Sadie.
"Oh sure, thanks", the Sadie said and ate the donut right away.
Jasper stared back at the donuts in the box. So these things weren't poisonous after all. Weird.
"Come on Jasper, there is still so much, I would like to show you", the Jamie said.
"Alright, let's continue", Jasper said, closed the box untouched and follwed him, but looked back at the Big Donut, when she heard the Sadie's voice.
"I hope we see you soon, Jasper! You're always welome at the Big Donut! And thanks again", the Sadie yelled and waved her arm for some strange reason. Both, Sadie and Lars, were smiling at her. 'What's with these people?' Jasper asked herself .
"Please, allow me to carry the boxes for you", the Jamie said suddenly.
Without saying anything, Jasper put the boxes in his arms. He slightly shook but manged to find his balance again. They entered Beach City, which actually was way smaller than Jasper thought it would be. Nothing compared to Homeworld of course.
A loud and weird noise startled them. Some kind of vehicle was dashing unbridled through the road, shouting DEWY, DEWY, DEWY non stop. The vihicle damaged some buildings and was now heading towards a small group of humans.
"Are we under attack?!" Jasper asked the Jamie.
"No, I think major Dewy lost control over his car. We have to do something!"
Jasper came a thought. Maybe there were weapons inside this... car. It looked intimidating with that giant head on it's top. So there had to be some weapons, right?
She jumped on the street and right in front of the car, unintendingly shielding the small group of humans with her body.
"Jasper, no!", Jamie yelled but it was already too late.
The car crashed right into Jasper, but- nothing happend. She simply punched her fists in the metal and was now holding the car slightly in the air, so that it couldn't move forward anymore.
"So amazing...", Jamie cheered.
A man with shaky legs fell off the car. Jasper lay the vihicle at the side. The round things on it's bottom were still spinning.
"Wait, I handle that", Jamie said and put his satchel and the donut boxes onto the ground. He climbed inside the vehicle and did something with it's controll board, until the vihicle finally died off.
The shaky man had collected himself again and slowly stood up. Suddenly, Jasper felt multiply hands touching her and she quickly whirled around.
"You're a hero!", the tallest of the humans cheered . His skin was very pale and he had light blonde hair.
"Dude, you're so awsome!", the other male human with the dark visor said.
"Yeah, you're the best", the girl said brightly.
"You saved my life!", the shaky man from the vihicle said. "How can I ever repay you?!" Before Jasper could answer, he already continued to speak. "I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Major Dewy. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss …"
"I'm a Jasper", Jasper said, slightly annoyed. Didn't these humans know anything? She had her gem right on her face.
"What a beautiful name. So you're from Steven's family, I suppose. That's splendid. Yes, I can see the resemblance. No wonder you're a lifesaver. A protector. A hero. We can really be glad to have people like you. I will make sure everyone in Beach City will know of your bravery!" He turned to the Jamie. "What are you still waiting for, boy? Go! Run and tell the press about this. You wouldn't want a good story go to waste like that. Now, would you?"
"No, but I wanted to-"
"Hurry! We have to celebrate Jasper's bravery in the face of danger."
"Oh, okay...", he said in a rather disappointed tone. "We will meet again, my dear Jasper!", he sang and ran away with his satchel full of paper.
"I owe you big time", the major continued. "It's -"
"Dewy! We came as fast as we could. If we hurry, we can still make it to your assignemed!" A man yelled out of a another car, that had parked right next to the Dewy.
"Oh... right, right", the major said in confusion. "If you ever need my help, just call me. Again, I can't thank you enough!", he said to Jasper.
"We need to go!"
"Right! See you around!"
"You're a hero, Jasper! I'm Sour Cream by the way", the pale human said. "And these are my friends Jenny and Buck. "
While the humans kept talking, Jasper glanced at the broken down vehicle, which was now taken away by some other humans. Should she hold them off, so that she could search for some useful weapons? … Nah, something told her, that she wouldn't find anything useful in it. But what should she do, now that she was alone again? She couldn't return to the temple. After poofing the Pearl the others would try to shatter her for sure.
"I need to go", she interrupted the humans, who were still talking about how great she was.
They did the strange waving ritual, which Jasper simply ignored.
Not wanting to bump into other strange humans again, she wandered up a high grassy hill. On top of the hill stood a big tower with a light coming out of it. As she reached the tower, she carefully checked if anybody was there, but she seemed to be alone. That was good. Being alone meant, that nobody was there, trying to shatter or torture her. She would need to drastically change her plan, and quickly. Examining her feelings honestly, she saw that arrogance had led her into error. That arrogance had led her to underestimate her opponents. That's why she was now stranded and probably wanted to be shattered.
She sat in brooding thought, unaware of her surroundings, for several hours, as she reviewed her failed plans. She had been too impatient for success, unwilling to wait before she tasted the fruits of victory. Because of that impatience, she had failed to plan for setbacks and assumed that she would automatically suceed.
Her life had taken a most unpleasant turn ever since she returned to this planet... Jasper's thoughts continued to run, each more depressing and soul crushing than the last.
Jasper went restlessly up and down the hill until she finally sat down and stared at the sea for several moments, as a cold fear gripped her chest. How should she ever survive this with so much water sorrounding her? There was no way of winning, no matter how much she would think about a plan. Not as long as Lapis was around.
She desperatly grapped her hair. She had failed a simle mission. That made her defective. That made her useless.
"Um, hey there", she suddenly heard a soft voice behind her.
Jasper jumped to her feet and turned around, only to see a small male human with oddly shaped yellowish hair.
"I'm Peedee. Um, I thought no one were up here. That's why I came. Sorry, if I startled you."
"What do you want?" Jasper kept her voice calm and level, making certain not to betray any of the fears she kept locking inside her.
"I just... I needed some space between my dad and me", he said slowly.
"Dad?", Jasper repeated.
"Yeah." The Peedee walked over to her and settled himself down on the grass beside her. "He is just so difficult!"
For a moment Jasper kept staring at him. 'I wonder what I did to make every human think we're so close' , she thought. With a slight scowl she decided to sit down beside him. Why was no one here on earth afraid of her, like they should be? Maybe humans were too dumb to recognise her as a threat. Yes, that seemed to be a plausible explanation.
"Wow, those sure are a lot of donuts", the Peedee said and looked at all the boxes.
Jasper had almost forgotten about them. When she saw his excitement, she grabbed a box and gave it to him. "Here, eat some- or don't. I don't care."
"Wow, are you sure you want to share a whole box with me?"
"Don't make such a big deal out of it."
"Thank you so much!" , he said and took the box. "Hey, I haven't even asked you for your name yet."
Jasper signed. "I'm a Jasper."
"A Jasper?", the Peedee asked. "So your name is Jasper?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you say a Jasper?"
"Because that's what I am. I'm a Jasper. One of dozens of other Jaspers who look very similar to me."
"Oh... But there is only one you, not dozens."
"What do you know about gems? You're just a human."
"You see, it does happen every once in a while, that there are humans, that look excatly alike, but they are still their on beings. Even if people look identical and have the same name, it doesn't mean they are the same person. They have their own thoughts and stuffs. Everyone is one of a kind. That's why I would never say I'm a Peedee out of many. It just doesen't make any sense. I'm just Peedee and you're just Jasper. It's as simple as that."
"Amethyst said almost the same to me...", Jasper said darkly, "but you guys just don't get it. This concept worked for thousands of years. Why sould I change my mind about it?"
"But don't you think it's a nice thought? Being an individual person?"
Jasper looked at the tiny human for a moment. He was grinning. Then he stared back at the horizon and quietly ate a second donut. Yeah, it was a nice thought... Somehow... But it wouldn't change anything. She had a task to fulfill. She would get her revenge for what Rose had done to her!
"Why do you humans eat stuff like this. I... I don't quite understand the concept of it."
"Well, it taste good", Peedee said and gave her a donut. "And we need to eat or else we would die."
Jasper took the donut. "So these donuts are energy supplies for you? I always wondered how you people regenerate."
"Well, donuts aren't really healthy but yeah, they give some energy as well. We also need to drink and sleep."
"You humans really are fragile. Just how long do you usually live anyway?", Jasper asked and carefully inspected the donut.
"Um, well, I think the oldest human that has ever lived was about onehundretandten or so. But it's different. Some die much sooner."
Jasper lay the donut back and stared in disbelieve at the tiny human. "But that's so short. How do you manage it to deal with the thought of such a short life span?"
Peedee shrugged. "We just live", he said and stared at the darkening sky. "We're trying to make the most out of it. At least that's what we should do. What I should do." He sighed. "I just realised how silly the argument with my dad was. It was all just because I didn't want to take the weekend off. He said I should have some fun and I refused."
"So you disobeyed a direct order of your superior and are scared of being destroyed?" Jasper asked.
"No, of course not! Dad would never hurt me. He only wants the best for me. We're family after all... Hey Jasper,- thank you."
"For what?"
"For listening and for making me realise that I should make up with my dad. It feels horrible not wanting to talk to him. I was so stubborn and thought I was the only one, who was right and that I was doing the right thing. While he was just trying to help me", he said and stood up. "I hope to see you again, Jasper. You can eat some fries at our restaurant. It's on me. See you!" And with that he ran down the hill and towards beach city.
Jasper watched him out of sight, then she noticed, that she was still holding the donut in her hand. She throw him away and kicked the remaing boxes off the hill as well.
Just in that moment, she saw Amethyst on the beach.
"Oh yeah! It's raining donuts!", she cheered and began dancing in the rainbow colored donut rain, stuffing as many donuts as possible in her mouth.
Jasper backed away. Last thing she need, was the Crystal Gems finding her, even though she wasn't really hiding. She sat back down and wondered why nobody of the Crystal Gems were looking for her. By now they must have seen the mess in their base. So why was nobody searching for her or for Pearl for that matter. Did they simply not care anymore?
Well, to be completly honest, she was not a big threat to them, simply because she was outnumbered. But she had thought that they would at least look for Pearl.
Jasper put her face into her hands, blocking out the world around her once more. As far as she knew, she was the only living quartz soldier out of her colony to have survived the rebellion of the Crystal Gems. Jasper had arrived on Homeworld to find out that heads turned and whispers followed her wherever she went. She was the one perfect Jasper, who had survied, but she was also the Jasper, who had to retreat in the end. Not able to bring victory to Homeworld.
This gem forsaken planet belonged to Pink Diamond not to Rose. It belonged to her colony, not to the Crystal Gems! Rose had taken everything away from her! Everything! Her diamond, her planet, her colony and her dignity!
Jasper took her face out of her hands, opened her eyes and stared at the calm sea, running a finger over her gem. Why should she believe that this boy wasn't in fact Rose? He was just like her, wasn't he?
Yes! She would fight her, once and for all! Jasper was no stranger to pain and injury and if this final battle would mean her death, then so be it! But she would never surrender! She would never forgive! She would never ever let herself manipulated by Rose Quartz!
Jasper listend closely to the silence around her. There was still no sign of any of the Crystal Gems. She kneaded her forehead with her knuckles. But how should she defeat all of the Crystal Gems together? Or should she wait for a moment when Rose was alone? She looked hopelessly around, and her eyes paused on the glowing gem that slowly floated into the air right in front of her.
Pearl was coming back.
Jasper got to her feet. The thought of summoning her weapon passed briefly through Jasper's head, only to be instantly rejected. She wouldn't need it to win a battle against Pearl.
Jasper sighed deeply and folded her arms. 'Here we go again', she thought and put the most menacing expression she could master on her face.
"Jasper!" Pearl shrieked and jumped up as though she had received an electric shock.
"Pearl", said Jasper in a casual tone and saw, with some satisfaction, that Pearl looked vaguely panicked.
"You poofed me!"
"And you poofed me", Jasper replyed, still keeping her cool.
"I... suppose I did", Pearl mumbled and looked around. "Is everyone okay? You didn't wonder off to Beach City? You do know how fragile humans are, do you?"
Jasper groaned.
"What is that supposed to mean? Did you harm the humans or didn't you?", Pearl snaped.
"You Crystal Gems and your humans", Jasper grunted and stretched her arms. She was tired of arguing, she even was tired of fighting. Which didn't happen very often to her. All she wanted was a little break. Time to think. But at this point, she would never get one. Well, if the Crystal Gems were dumb enough not to fight her anymore, then she would just ignore them for now. Yes, that seemed to be a solid plan. She let herself fall down to the ground and watched the evening sky.
"Jasper! What are you doing?! I asked you a question!"
"And I don't feel like answering. Go away. Leave me alone", Jasper muttered annoyed and didn't even bothered to look at Pearl anymore.
"Ugh, Jasper, really!" There was a bite of impatience in her voice.
It was quite for several seconds and Jasper thought, Pearl had finally given up, but then she heard her again. "Well, everything seems to be normal from up here. So I guess you didn't go to Beach City after all. Then, what exactly did you do today?"
Jasper didn't answer and pretended she hadn't heard her. It was silent once more but then she heard Pearl coming closer to her. Jasper intinctly strained her muscles in case Pearl was trying to poof her. Instead Pearl sat down beside her and Jasper finally looked at the smaller gem. Pearl's body was relaxed and her face has softened.
"I was afraid you might seriously hurt someone, out of rage and revenge. But you didn't hurt my gem while I was defenseless. I, um... I think I was wrong about you. I thought, well I thought you were just a brute, who would never stop until she gets her revenge and intimidate everyone around her."
"Pearl", said Jasper in low and dangerous voice. "Look at me. I was made to be a brute. I AM a brute. I am intimidating. That's what I am. What I'm supposed to be... That's what I will always be... Now leave me alone already."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"GO!" Jasper spat furiously. "I don't care for any of you pathetic gems! I don't care for the humans! I don't care for anyone! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Jasper..." Pearl began.
"WHAT?!"
"I don't think you're a brute. Alright, maybe you are, but there's more to you. I can see that now... I was wrong."
"Ugh!"
"We're not as different as one might think", Pearl chuckled.
"How is that?"
"We both make a lot of mistakes."
Jasper did not look at the smaller gem, nor could she think of anything to say, though she couldn't resist to smile a little. Yeah, currently she was a master of making mistakes. Over and over again and it really sucked.
"Keep smiling like that and people might actually think you're a nice person", said Pearl pleasantly.
"Zip it."
"Come on, let's go home", said Pearl and stood up.
Jasper looked at her with a blanc face.
"Oh, um... I mean the temple. The others are probably wondering where we might be and we definitely have to clean the mess we made."
Jasper was about to give her a witty answer but then the solution came to her. It was so simple, and so obvious, that she couldn't believe it had taken her so long. Those Crystal Gems seemed to honestly believe they could manipulate her in betraying Homeworld and join their little team. But that was absolutly perfect! All she needed to do, was playing along until she would get a moment in which she would be finally alone with Rose. She would get her revenge after all!
"You don't have to be afraid", the Pearl continued. "No one is going to hurt you. I just explain-"
"I AM NOT AFRAID!", Jasper burst out. "You're acting as if I would need your pity! But I don't need it! I don't need you or anyone else! You can choose, fight me or leave me but I'm not willing to listen to your jabbering one more second!" Jasper barked but then she bit herself on the lip. 'I need to be nicer or they never let me near him.' she thought.
"Oh Jasper, why does it always have to end in a fight. Why can't you just talk about-"
"I was made for fighting! Not for talking or do I look like a Sapphire to you?!" Jasper groaned mentally. She did it again. 'Come on, say something nice! It can't be that hard.'
'Hey Pearl, I'm really sorry for what had happened. Please, can I stay in the tempel, so I can shatter Rose in privat?' Even in her head the words sounded stupid.
Jasper took a deep, steadying breath and then said, "I'm, um... sorry, I guess..." She looked away quickly as though frightened of hurting her eyes. This was so embarrassing!
Pearl stared at Jasper for several moments, probably asking herself, if Jasper had finally lost it.
As the awkward silence began to stretch, Jasper said in a gruffy tone, "Happy now?"
"Delighted!" Pearl said brightly and gave Jasper a small clap on her arm. "You're finally making some progress. Come on! I can't wait to tell the others."
Fighting the urge to poof Pearl again, Jasper followed her.
