CHAPTER 22: THE WARRIOR AND THE CHILD
"I… I didn't know a Homeworld's gem could understand this kind of things… especially a Peridot… but… I was wrong… I'm… sorry if I tried to hurt you earlier… I just wanted to protect him…" Jet said extending a hand towards the green gem, who looked at her in disbelief, before composing herself.
"I guess… I should apologize too for the way I talked to you… it was unnecessary to insult you… I… I just didn't want to stand in front of a gem and take her insults staying silent anymore… I'm done with that life…" Peridot said taking Jet's hand.
"I guess Rose was right… everyone deserve a second chance…" Jet whispered as she looked at Steven, who, unbeknownst to Jet and Peridot, was awake and heard everything…
"Everyone deserve a second chance…" Steven thought as he slowly raised his head, noticing Peridot and Jet starting to walk away.
"I think we should head out… we could wake him up…" Peridot whispered as Jet looked at him one last time before nodding and descending the bedroom's ladder.
"Let's go outside… I… didn't get the chance to see the sea in a very long time…" Jet whispered smiling sadly as she listened to the quiet sound of the waves coming from outside, while the two of them opened quietly the door and began to head towards the beach.
"We should ask Garnet for a room in the temple… gah! I hate this strange friable soil!" Peridot groaned as she reached the beach alongside Jet, trying to shake the sand off her boots.
"You know… for a gem coming from Homeworld… you're pretty funny…" Jet said as she snickered slightly, sitting on the dry sand, patting a spot beside her.
"Uhm… thanks?" Peridot answered, unsure of what to say.
For some minutes they just remained silent, Jet staring at the sea, waves of water gently touching the sand in front of them, and at the sky, countless bright stars adorning it. After what felt like hours, Peridot turned towards Jet, it wasn't still very clear to the green gem what Steven or the other gems saw in this planet…
"Alright… I think this is enough… can you explain to me what are you doing?" Peridot asked, determined to discover once for all the mystery of this planet's charm.
"I'm admiring the sea… the sky… everything this planet has to offer…" Jet replied calmly as she kept her gaze on the waves.
"Why? What is the purpose of your action?!" Peridot asked raising her hands in exasperation as Jet smiled slightly.
"You can't see it, isn't it? That's fine… after all you're a Homeworld gem… but I can say that with time you'll understand the beauty of this planet too…" Jet said as she turned towards Peridot.
"You haven't answered my question…" Peridot said lowering her head.
"Well… you see… there isn't a real purpose in what I'm doing…" Jet said as Peridot assumed a perplexed expression.
"Then why are you doing it?" Peridot asked, confused more than before.
"Because I enjoy it Peridot… I lost almost everything in order to protect this planet… but it was worth it… I look at the sea… at the sky… you may see them as something simple… irrelevant… but the truth is that I've never seen something as beautiful as them on Homeworld… and it isn't simply because of that that I enjoy staying here… looking at this world… hearing its sounds… feeling its wind on my skin… it reminds me why I have fought for the Earth… maybe to your eyes it looks a simple hunk of rock… but what made you stay… love… compassion… they are all things born here on Earth… and if the Earth will die… they'll die with it… those feelings are what make the Earth really great and worth protecting… in your case… it should be obvious why you should protect the Earth…" Jet said as Peridot's eyes widened.
"Steven…" Peridot whispered as a small smile appeared on her face.
"That's right…" Jet replied as they both turned towards the sea.
"You know… I think I'm beginning to understand now…" Peridot whispered.
Suddenly, Peridot and Jet heard a sound coming from the sky. They both raised to their feet, Jet moving in front of Peridot and summoning her halberd. They were both expecting something awful appearing in front of them… instead… a wonderful figure made its appearance on the beach dressed in a long, light blue dress with two ribbons, one around the pelvis and one around the neck, a light blue, oval gem on her forehead… landing gently on the ground… her water wings disappearing in the light blue, tear shaped gem on her back.
"Oh… greetings… I haven't noticed the two of you…" Angelite said smiling at the two puzzled gems.
"You are really wonderful together…" Jet said as the fusion blushed slightly.
"Thank you Jet…" Angelite replied snickering quietly.
"Ok… I can afford the cl- ehm Jet… looking at this moving water with no apparent motives but… why are you two fused? Is there anything we should be worried about?" Peridot asked as she began to look around… trying to spot any possible danger.
"There are no dangers Peridot…" Angelite said as Peridot quickly turned towards her with a baffled expression.
"Then… why are you two fused?!" Peridot almost yelled waving her arms.
"Well… we both like to dance… we're very similar and well… Pearl really enjoys flying…" Angelite replied nonchalantly.
"That's it?!" Peridot cried.
"Basically…" Angelite said giggling.
"Okay… now I'm even more confused than before… this entire planet is backwards…" Peridot said grunting as both Jet and Angelite laughed at the green gem's exaggerate reaction.
"You know… if you really want to understand fusion… I could help you…" Garnet said walking towards the group, as all of the gems turned towards her.
"G-Garnet…" Angelite muttered as the fusion turned towards her.
"Pearl, Lapis… you make a really great fusion… I'm proud of both of you…" Garnet said smiling.
"Thank you…" Angelite said as Garnet approached Peridot.
"Yeah, surely you're not as incredible as Opal… but still… you're pretty great I guess…" Amethyst said snickering as she approached the fusion, who only grunted in response.
"What do you mean by 'helping me'?" The green gem asked, becoming suspicious of Garnet's intents.
"Let's fuse…" Garnet answered giving Peridot a reassuring smile.
"Oh my stars!" Peridot said nearly stumbling and falling on her back.
"If it is too much I understand… I'll just-" Garnet tried to speak but was cut off by her.
"No! No… I… I can do it... I want… I want to… understand…" Peridot said as Garnet slowly approached her and took her hands in hers.
"Oh my… you're really going to do it G?" Amethyst said both surprised and curious.
"I want you to know that I'm proud of you Peridot, I know that, for a gem that has seen fusion between two different types of gems as an abomination for the longest part of her life, this must be very frightening… but don't worry… I bet that after this you'll understand that Homeworld's rules about fusion were nonsense… alright then… get ready…" Garnet said, Peridot gulping as the fusion began to spun her around, Jet and Angelite closely watching.
After some moments a bright light began to emerge from both Garnet and Peridot's gems. Garnet knew what would have happened very well, but Peridot… she hasn't been so scared, excited and confused in all her life… for the longest part of her life, her superiors have always taught her that fusion had to be performed only between the same types of gems and only because of the benefits of the two gem's abilities combined and that, if fusion was performed in any other case, it should have been considered an abomination against the great Diamond Authority… but… what she felt wasn't pain… she wasn't feeling as an abomination… Peridot's robotic limbs fell on the ground as a bright light engulfed the duo… from it, a large figure began to stretch upwards, slightly taller than Opal, two pairs of arms and five eyes with dark green irises. It didn't last long, in fact, before the physical form could become complete, it split apart, but just for a moment, the fusion opened its eyes, tears streaming down from the ones on the far right and left. After a loud pop Peridot landed on the ground on her back as Garnet landed on her feet.
"Peridot… I'm sorry if-" Garnet was cut short by Peridot who ran towards her and embraced her legs, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"T-thank you G-Garnet! I've… I've never felt anything like that! I-if you feel that all the time… I c-can understand why you're always fused!" Peridot said, both laughing and crying
"I'm glad you enjoyed it…" Garnet said smiling at the small, whimpering gem.
"Yeah Peri… you were great! Now you're really a Crystal Gem!" Amethyst said as Peridot stopped sobbing and looked towards all the other gems, she remained silent for a moment and then, as she smiled widely, a little yellow star appeared on her chest.
Meanwhile:
Steven knew that what he was going to do would have been dangerous… after he heard Jet and Peridot talking, he began to think about their last stating… "everyone deserves a second chance", that's why as soon as they got outside… Steven went to the temple's door and entered his mother's room… and from there, he managed to reach Garnet's one… where all the corrupted gems were contained in bubbles, but there was one that wasn't a corrupted one… and Steven was right in front of the bubble that held her prisoner…
"Ok… ok now-" Steven rambling was interrupted by a low growl coming from behind him.
Lion had followed him, and now was standing behind him, giving him what looked like a serious expression… it was like if he was saying that he wasn't going to stop him… but that Steven had to be sure of what he was doing… because once she was freed… no one could know what could have happened.
"Don't worry Lion… I know what I'm doing…" Steven said as he grabbed the bubble containing a very familiar orange gem, as it popped, he grabbed the two pieces and gave it a small lick before sticking them together.
Steven waited, knowing that what he had done could have brought really bad consequences on him, but he didn't care, he knew that somewhere in her, there had to be some light, he wanted to help and he wasn't going to abandon her in a bubble for eternity, he has seen the effect on that on Lapis, held prisoner in a mirror for who knows how long, he wasn't going to do the same with her. After some moments, the gem began to hover in the air as a large, menacing silhouette formed around it… Jasper was back.
Steven waited, knowing that what he had done could have brought really bad consequences on him, but he didn't care, he knew that somewhere in her, there had to be some light, he wanted to help and he wasn't going to abandon her in a bubble for eternity, he has seen the effect on that on Lapis, held prisoner in a mirror for who knows how long, he wasn't going to do the same with her. After some moments, the gem began to hover in the air as a large, menacing silhouette formed around it… Jasper was back.
"Finally…" Jasper muttered as she opened her eyes… needless to say, she wasn't expecting her greatest enemy standing in front of her.
"Uhm… hi!" Steven greeted her as he nervously scratched the back of his head.
"You… why are you are?! Did you come here to mock me?!" Jasper growled as she stepped forwards.
"No… I freed you…" Steven answered as Jasper stopped walking, a devilish grin appearing on her face.
"Then you must be a real idiot… why would you do such a thing?" Jasper asked as Steven stepped forward too.
"Because I wanted to give you a chance…" Steven answered as Jasper howled with laughter.
"You really are just like your mother… you were both fools… why would I ever want a chance to stay here? Your mother tried this on many gems… she even managed to change some of them… not me… words will never change me… I'm a Homeworld's warrior… I was made to destroy the enemy… and my enemy is you… you proved to be like your mother in words… but I doubt you'll be as strong as her…" Jasper said as she summoned her helmet.
"You don't have to do this Jasper!" Steven pleaded as Lion began to growl.
"You're right… I want to do this…" Jasper replied as she dashed towards Steven.
Steven managed to get out of Jasper's way before she could hit him, so, instead of him, she went towards Lion, who used his sonic roar and made her fly towards the room's wall, almost crushing it at the impact.
"You are a coward! Making you allies fight for you!" Jasper yelled at Steven as she stood up from the ground, stumbling slightly, still dazed from Lion's attack.
"Lion stop hurting her!" Steven cried as he got between the two of them.
"Are you crazy?! I'm your enemy! You are not supposed to protect me!" Jasper cried as she threw a punch at him.
"You're wrong!" Steven yelled back as he suddenly summoned his shield and blocked her attack, surprisingly both of them stumbling backwards because of the impact.
"You… are… a… fool!" Jasper cried angrily as she rushed towards him, head down, ready to struck him with her battling helmet.
Steven raised his shield in front of him and even if he managed to block Jasper's attack, he flew backwards, thankfully landing on Lion's back, who began to rush towards the wall, roaring and forming a portal in front of them.
"Hey! Come back here and fight!" Jasper yelled as she rushed towards the escaping duo.
"Lion! Where are you going?! We have to stay here!" Steven said as he gripped tightly Lion's mane.
"You're mine!" Jasper cried as she jumped towards Lion and managed to grasp his leg before he and Steven could disappear in the portal, which they did all three together.
As Lion jumped out of the portal, they all landed on the ground. Steven jumped off Lion and looked at his surroundings… Lion brought them in Rose's room. Immediately, he turned towards his pink guardian and kneeled down, making sure he wasn't injured.
"Lion is everything ok?" Steven asked, as Lion just gave a low growl and stood up.
"Hehe… why changing place? I'm going to kill you anyway!" Jasper said standing up from the ground.
"I don't think so…" Steven said looking around once more, and then at Lion, as he understood why his furry fried brought him there, a large smile appearing on her face, which enraged Jasper even more.
"Why are you smiling?!" Jasper cried angrily, she knew she was stronger than this little pebble, so why couldn't she just kill him? He was so weak, but, still, she hasn't even touched him yet.
"Room! I need all what you can provide to slow down Jasper!" Steven yelled as he began to run away from the enraged Homeworld fighter.
"What?! Is this your tactic?! Running away?! Are you truly Rose's son? She may have been a fool, but she would have never ran away from a battle!" Jasper yelled as Steven turned around only for a brief time, just the time he needed to blew her a raspberry.
"Try to catch me!" Steven said as Jasper's eyes widened.
"Why you little b-" Jasper was cut short by a punch to her jaw, which made her fell to the ground, the fusion between the ruby and the sapphire towering over her.
"You! How did you get in here!" She yelled as from the ground she kicked her right in the stomach, but instead of falling on the ground, the fusion just dissipated into pink clouds.
"Gosh I hope this work!" Steven said out loud as he kept running.
"What?!" Jasper yelled as, standing up from the ground, she saw countless clones of Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet, accompanied by many clones of almost every person Steven knew, after all, he hasn't been so specific to the room.
"Out of my way!" Jasper yelled as she punched through the crowd.
"Jasper stop! We don't need to fight! Deep down you know what you are doing is wrong!" Steven yelled as he stopped and turned towards the orange gem.
"Ha! Wrong?! I'm serving my masters! I was made to do that!" Jasper yelled back.
"But is this what you truly want?" Steven said as Jasper hesitated for a moment, just the time a clone of Amethyst needed to wrap her up in her whip.
"This IS what I want!" Jasper cried furiously as she ripped the whip apart before being assaulted by countless other opponents.
"No! That's not true! That's the same thing Peridot said! But the truth is that she acted that way only because the only thing she knew for all her life was fear! But you wouldn't need to be scared here!" Steven said as Jasper began to become nearer and nearer to him, still, even if her attackers were easily defeated, they were still hitting her, and hit after hit, she was losing her strength. No matter how many she crushed, one in ten always managed to hit her.
"T-that little worm! I bet she stayed on your side! Well… t-that's just wonderful! I'll have another gem to crush as soon as I will have crushed you!" Jasper cried as she was hit again and fell on the ground.
"Why are you doing this Jasper? Because Yellow Diamond will be pleased? She doesn't care about you or other gems, she sees you just as a war machine that could be replaced with no problems!" Steven said as Jasper stood up but stumbled and fell again.
"S-shut up! S-she values me very much! I'm o-one of her strongest soldiers! I-I… I'll make her proud!" Jasper muttered as she crushed other clouds clones, until the last one fell and disappeared, leaving only a few meters between the warrior and the child.
"Tell me something Jasper… when she speaks to you or to other gems… does she refer to you as 'a jasper'? Or does she call you by your name? Are you even more than a number to her?" Steven said, but his tone wasn't mocking, it was sad, compassionate, he didn't even move as Jasper crawled towards him, nearly beaten and without strength because of the cloud clones.
"S-shut up… y-you don't know anything a-about me…" Jasper almost whispered as she reached the boy.
"You don't need to do this Jasper…" Steven said as he kneeled down and, much to Jasper's surprise, put his little hand on hers.
"W-what a-are you…" Jasper said raising her hateful eyes, meeting Steven's compassionate ones.
"You'll never admit it Jasper… you're a brave warrior and saying something like that means to be weak for you… I really admire you… you're the strongest gem I ever met, even if you use your strength for a purpose that is different from mine… but you're scared… scared that you could fail Yellow Diamond and that she could crush you because deep down you know that she doesn't care… and so you try to hide that with that attitude of yours… being mean and scary… but you don't need to do that here… I care about you…" Steven said smiling at the now puzzled gem, she stared for a moment in those merciful eyes, this, this creature… cared about her? No, Yellow Diamond did it too, did she? She hesitated for a moment, but then she gritted her teeth and hate came back in her eyes.
"Y-you… aaaargh! Shut up!" Jasper cried hatefully.
The warrior raised her fist… and crushed the little boy under it.
Hi guys! We hope you liked this chapter and the story so far, I bet you didn't expect something like this coming? Am I right? However, I'm really sorry for the delay but, school started again and it is a little bit stressful, after all this will be my last period in high school and the final exams are becoming nearer and nearer, however, we hope it was worth the wait, see you in the next chapter!