Author's note: Remember...
Jail Break
Steven didn't know what to do. Darkness in every direction with no end in sight. Steven had had dreams like this one in the past. They were terrifying...but he wasn't afraid this time. For some reason...he actually felt safe, it was inviting...warm almost...
Steven opened his eyes, fighting the temptation to close them and return to the darkness. The only thing that really kept him from doing just that was that the feelings had followed him here, giving him no reason to return to his slumber.
Steven barely moved his head, looking towards a yellow, electrical barrier.
What the-? Steven thought.
Steven flinched as he felt something soft press against the back of his neck and a sob rang out. He looked down and, for the first time, noticed two thin, blue arms were wrapped tightly around his chest. Steven took a look behind him and became shocked.
"L- Lapis?" Steven asked.
Lapis lifted her head from his neck, tears trailing down her face. "S-...Steven...you're okay."
They stared at each other for awhile, every moment feeling like an eternity.
"What?" Steven began. "What's going on? Where are we?"
Lapis looked a way for a second. "We're prisoners in a prison cell on a Homeworld ship…that's all I know." She smiled. "But it's good to see you again." She stared at him for a moment, her smile falling. Lapis buried her face in Steven's back, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry!"
"Lapis?" Steven asked. "What's happening? Where am I?" Steven took a few glances around the room. "What's going on?" As Steven finished looking around, he remembered Opal's gems falling to the sand. "Opal!" Steven cried, trying to escape Lapis' hold and get to the Gem Destabilizer barrier.
Lapis tightened her hold around the hybrid, not letting him get away. "Steven, please stop!" She cried.
Steven, ignoring her command in his fit of worry, continued struggling, unable to escape with her superior strength. "What are you doing?!" He asked.
"Steven, please don't struggle." Lapis begged, only holding him closer to her.
Steven gave one more try, going limp in her arms as he realized the futility of his efforts.
Lapis' hold around him loosened, but Steven could still feel that her arms were tensed, ready to catch him if he tried to go.
"Lapis...why are you doing this?...Why are you here? I-...I thought you were my friend." Steven said sadly.
"Steven I-!" Lapis exclaimed defensively, but quickly calmed down. "I am your friend." She assured with a sad tone.
"Then why are you here?" Steven asked. "Why are you helping them?"
"I don't want to be here!" Lapis exclaimed. "I didn't ask them to make me come here! I didn't want...to hurt you. I- I'm trying to help you Steven."
"How?! How are you helping me by keeping me in here?!"
Lapis hugged him softly. "Steven...if we do everything they say, if we just cooperate, then they'll let us go." Lapis said calmly, her arms relaxing. "They'll let us live."
"But they- they-...hurt you! They hurt me! They hurt my family!" Steven said.
"That's why we can't fight them." Lapis said, her hold on him tightening again.
"That's why we have to fight them." Steven countered. "They have my family! They could hurt them! They could die, Lapis!"
Lapis looked at him with a conflicted look, sympathy washing over her. "I-...I don't want you to die... I won't let you die. That's why I won't let you go. I love you, Steven. I just...I don't want to let you get hurt."
"Please let me go!" Steven began struggling again. "I have to save them!"
"No..." Lapis held Steven even tighter. "Even if I have to hold you down, even if I have to be cracked in the process, I'll keep you in here." Lapis told him assertively, trying her best to keep her voice from cracking. Lapis just wanted to keep him safe, even if it meant...this. "I won't let you get hurt, Steven."
"I- I-" Steven went limp once more, burying his into Lapis arms and crying
Lapis felt her heart ache at the sight. She didn't understand why he cared for them. They weren't worth his love...but he did love them for some reason. She wished he didn't, that he could just be happy that there was a chance that he would make it through this. He didn't though, he was willing to risk that chance to save a group that wasn't worth saving.
That moment of weakness was the one thing Steven had been waiting for, bursting forward the moment he felt Lapis' hold on him loosen, diving through the electrical barrier.
Lapis took a moment to process what had just occurred, her eyes widening at the sight of Steven getting up outside of the cell. "S- Steven!" She called shakily, voice hushed. "G- Get back in quickly! P- P- P- Please, i- it's the only way you'll get through this!"
Steven pushed himself to his feet, looking to the wide eyed Lapis. He could see her fear, her worry. It hurt him a little, but he still had a job to do. He shut his eyes, not allowing himself to look into her eyes any longer. "I'm sorry…I can't…I won't." He opened his eyes to look back at her, wishing immediately that he hadn't. "I…I'll come back for you." Was all Steven could manage before turning away, setting off in search of his family.
The last thing he heard was Lapis' final desperate attempt at getting him to come back, silence following.
Connie opened her eyes groggily. "Ugh, my head." She groaned, sitting up and holding her forehead. After getting over her daze, she looked around the room she was held in. "Where am I?" Connie asked herself.
"Don't know what's going on...but I've got to get out of here, and fast." Connie stared at the barrier, curiosity and fear filling her mind. "Oooooh, I hope this doesn't hurt." Connie braced herself and walked through the barrier, shivering. "Well that was much more pleasant than I'd expected." She said before taking a look around.
Deciding it best to move quickly before her captors cake back and found her missing, Connie began running through the ship "Alright, gotta find Steven, gotta find Ruby, gotta find Sapphire, and gotta find Opal. Sounds easy enough."
Connie ran past one of the cells, taking a few steps back to find a gem inside quietly mumbling to herself.
The Gem was a pale cream color and had a thin form. Her nose was pointed, much like Opal's, and her peach colored hair came neatly to a point in the back. She wore a sky blue, sleeveless shirt, ballet shoes of the same color, and tight, pink, shorts that came down to her knees. Around her waist was a sky blue ribbon, below that a tutu of the same color. In the center of the Gem's forehead was a large, smooth pearl.
"Um, hello?" Connie called to the Gem.
The gem jumped, startled by Connie's presence.
"Hey, are you okay?" Connie asked, earning a confused look from the Gem.
"Connie?" The Gem asked after staring for a second.
"Yep!" Connie narrowed her eyes at the pale Gem, suspicious. "Wait, how do you know my name?"
The gem stood up quickly, revealing herself to be half the size of Opal. "It doesn't matter. We need to get out of here now, before it's too late; my name's Pearl by the way."
"...Okay?" Connie said, confused.
Pearl clapped her hands together impatiently. "Well come on, time is of the essence." Pearl said, taking a few frantic glances in random directions. "Oh where could they have put her?" She asked herself.
Connie nodded, understanding Pearl's predicament. "Don't worry Pearl, we'll find our friends." Connie reached out to barrier.
Pearl's eyes widened. "Wai-"
Connie's hand went through the barrier effortlessly, currents running through her arm.
"Of course..." Pearl said, settling down. "Why didn't I think about that?"
"Well what are we waiting for?" Connie said, jumping into the barrier, making a hole in it with her arms.
Pearl crawled through the hole nervously, calming down as she made it through. Pearl turned to Connie. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it!" Connie responded with a bright smile.
"Alright, now let's go find our friends," Pearl said turning to look at the various, branching hallways. "wherever they are."
Steven continued to run down the large hallway, looking back and for his friends. A loud cry of rage and an even louder bang stopped Steven in his tracks. "Ruby." Was all he said as he ran in the direction of the sound.
"Great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, GREAT!" Steven heard Ruby call.
Steven turned a corner to see Ruby, holding her head in frustration, pacing back and forth in her cell while Sapphire quietly meditated in the cell next to her.
"Ruby, they'll hear you." Sapphire told Ruby.
"Oh no, we don't want them to find us!" Ruby said sarcastically, punching her cell wall even harder.
"You're being irrational." Sapphire said.
"Let's see. We're trapped in cells in a giant warship going back to a planet that hates us where we're about to be killed!" Ruby exclaimed. "I think I'm being perfectly rational! Besides, I don't see what's much better about sitting around and doing nothing!" Ruby stated, pounding the ground with each syllable.
"I'm not doing nothing. I'm looking for a way to escape." Sapphire told her partner. "And if not me, then Steven or Connie is sure to find a way."
"Don't you get it Sapphire?! We're done, finished!" Ruby slumped to the ground, leaning against the cell wall. "Let's face it...we're gonna die... There's no way to get out of here."
"Hey Ruby, hey Sapphire!" Steven called happily as he approached their cells.
Ruby looked at the wall that separated her from the blue gem. "I hate it when you're right." Ruby told Sapphire.
"So you'd prefer the alternative?"
Peridot looked at her screen, scanning the planet for something. "Come on Kindergarten, where are you?" Peridot asked.
A large red X appeared on the screen.
"Grrrr, dang it!" Peridot exclaimed loudly. "Why does this planet have to be filled with so many interferences?! It's almost as if it's the only defense the human race has tried to improve upon!"
Peridot groaned. "Looks like I'm going to have to use the ship. So much for one Earth rotation until calibration. With this much interference, I'm going to need to use half of our energy at once. That also means we'll have to wait for the engines to recharge before we can get back to Homeworld."
Peridot walked up to the ship's controls, one tap from her mechanical finger activating the machine. The results were almost instantaneous, showing a location on her interface.
"That's more like it. Hopefully it should only be one Earth hour until the ship's engines are recharged. Until then, I'll go check on the Cluster. I'm sure Jasper won't mind, given that it was our original mission. It's not like I'm needed here right now anyway." She said. "Besides, it'll give me a chance to see where that other Crystal Gem is hiding."
"Negative one hundred and twelve bottles of pop on the wall, negative one hundred and twelve bottles of pop. You take one down, pass it around, now you've got negative one hundred and thirteen bottles of pop on the wall." A stocky, purple gem sang, banging her head against her cell wall the entire time. Her hair was wild, long, and white in color, coming down to her calves. She wore a black sleeveless top and long gray pants that reached her white boots. In the middle of her chest was a purple amethyst gemstone, the object from which she had gotten her name from.
Amethyst slumped to the ground, hitting her head one last time against the prison wall. "Well, you always said you wished you could've been there to fight Homeworld and protect Earth." Amethyst told herself, trying to see the bright side of the situation. "I should've wished to be taller instead."
"Connie!" A familiar voice called out, making Amethyst perk up.
"Connie!" Another familiar voice called.
"Opal!" A third one called, Amethyst recognizing it immediately.
"Steven, Ruby, Sapphire!" Amethyst called out. "I'm over here!"
After a short wait, Amethyst heard the metallic clank of feet running across the ship's floor. Eventually, the group of three made it to Amethyst.
"Oh thank goodness you're okay." Amethyst said. "I thought for sure that Jasper had killed you."
Steven gave the purple gem a confused look. "What?"
"Oh, sorry." Amethyst said, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "I guess you don't know me. You se-"
"Yea, yea, yea, let's cut the chitchat." Ruby snapped. "Steven, this is Amethyst. Amethyst, long time no see; we're currently trying to get out of here before Jasper finds us."
Amethyst flinched at the name, but grinned soon after. "Aw man, I was hoping to try and take that sorry excuse for a Gem down."
"Because that worked so well last time." Ruby said with an eye roll as Steven created a hole in the Amethyst's cells' barrier.
"Whatever." Amethyst took a look at the group. "Where's Pearl?!" She asked, her calm demeanor leaving once more.
"Relax." Sapphire told her.
"Yea," Ruby added casually. "we're not sure where anyone is right now."
"Thank you Ruby." Sapphire said between clinched teeth.
"Don't worry, it shouldn't be too hard to find her." Steven assured happily.
Something about what Steven said seemed to calm down Amethyst, the purple giving him a small smile. "Thanks." She said.
"Well what are we doing standing around here for?!" Ruby asked, pushing Amethyst and Steven onward. "We have lives to save, ours included!"
"Amethyst!" Pearl called. "Amethyst!"
"Ummm Pearl?" Connie called. "Maybe we shouldn't be yelling like that. I'd rather not have another run in with Jasper."
"Amethyst!" Pearl called, ignoring Connie's advice.
Connie gave an exasperated sigh. "Gems have never listened to me before, why would they begin now?" Connie sighed before following after the pale GEm.
After taking a few steps, Pearl held her hand up in the air, telling Connie to stop. "Do you hear that?"
Connie put a hand to her ear. "...Nope."
"I'd know that voice anywhere." Pearl said.
"Are you even paying attention to anything that I'm saying right now?" Connie asked.
"Come on, they're this way!" Pearl told Connie excitedly, running off.
"I'll take that as a no." Connie said before following after the gem.
"Amethyst!" Pearl shouted, stopping to listen for her companion. "Amethyst!"
"Pearl!" A distant voice called out.
"Amethyst, I hear you!" Pearl exclaimed as Connie finally caught up.
Connie was out of breath when she caught up with the other Gem. "Hey, can you ple-" Connie felt Pearl grab her arm again. "I'm really beginning to hate you."
Pearl took off in a sprint, pulling Connie behind her.
After Pearl ran for awhile, she stopped, listening again.
"Pearl!" The voice called again, much closer this time.
"I'm almost there Amethyst, just stay where you are!" Pearl called out happily before running in the voices direction. As Pearl rounded a corner, she ran into something, making her let go of Connie and fall to the ground.
Connie looked up to see something she had been hoping beyond hope to avoid. There was Jasper, huffing, a furious expression across her face.
Pearl and Connie got up, backing away slowly.
"Oh silly me, this isn't the way to bathroom." Connie said nervously.
"Yea, so, we'll just head back to our cells if you don't mind." Pearl added shakily.
As Pearl was about to back around the corner, Jasper grabbed her by the throat, leaving Connie frozen in fear. "Oh no you don't!" Jasper told her. Jasper gave a thoughtful expression as Pearl struggled in her grasp. Jasper's mouth slowly curled upwards into a cruel smile. "You know, I don't actually think that you need to be alive." Jasper put her thumb to Pearl's gem and began to press down, preparing to crack it.
"Hey!" Someone shouted.
As Jasper looked over to see who it was, a white boot connected with the Jasper's cheek, knocking the warrior Gem to the ground and forcing her to lose her grip around Pearl's neck.
Pearl fell to the ground, holding her neck where Jasper's hand had been.
"Hey Pearl?" A thick, purple arm reached down to her. "You miss me."
Pearl looked up and smiled. "Amethyst."
"Great, both of you are out." Jasper groaned before curling into a ball and rolling towards them at a rapid pace.
Amethyst quickly threw Pearl out of the way before letting herself get hit away by Jasper.
Jasper uncurled, staring at the two gems before her. "Look at you two. You know you can't win, why do you even try?"
Pearl and Amethyst each gave a nervous glance to one another, the exchange not going unnoticed by Jasper.
"So you two are going to try to fuse again?" Jasper concluded, giving them a look of disgust. "Let's see if you can last long enough." She said, pulling out her Gem Destabilizer. She ran at the Pearl, thrusting her weapon at the lower class gem.
Pearl stood up quickly, summoning a white, crystal-like spear to block the weapon. The two gems pushed against each other, Jasper using her other hand to punch Pearl in the stomach. Pearl stumbled backwards and dropped her weapon, allowing Jasper to try and attack once more. A crack sounded as Amethyst used a purple, spiked whip to catch Jasper's wrist. The short gem, in an act of tremendous strength, threw Jasper in the air, the orange gem curling into a ball once more and rocketed back down towards Amethyst.
"Not so fast!" Connie called as she jumped in front of Amethyst, using her bubble shield to block the attack. She looked back at Amethyst with a friendly smile. "Hey, I'm Connie; you must be this Amethyst I've been hearing about."
"Yep!" Amethyst answered, grabbing Connie's wrist and pulling the girl to the side as Jasper broke through the barrier, landing next to the duo in a cloud of smoke from the smashed floor. Amethyst pulled Connie away from the area and got to Pearl's side. "Hey P, you think we got her?"
A roar sounded and Jasper came flying out of the smoke at them, the trio holding their weapons to their enemy. As Jasper was about to land a hit, a large, flying gauntlet came flying at Jasper, knocking the warrior to the side.
Jasper shook off the pain and looked in the attacker's direction. "Alright, whoever did that is in big trouble."
A foot slammed into Jasper's gem, sending the warrior into one of the ship's walls.
Connie let out a gasp. "Garnet!" She called happily as the fusion landed.
Garnet looked over to the girl with a grin. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Garnet asked.
"Connie!" Steven called happily, taking his sister into a tight hug. "I was so worried about you." He separated and looked at Connie with a serious expression. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"I'm fine Steven." Connie assured him.
"Well isn't this touching?" The entire group turned to see Jasper get up. "But you forget that I'm still not out." The warrior pounded her fist into her palm.
Amethyst and Pearl growled at the powerful foe before looking at each other.
"Shall we?" Pearl asked with a smile.
Amethyst grinned. "You need to ask?"
Pearl took Amethyst's hand in hers and gave the shorter Gem a spin before their gems glowed and their forms became one. The light dimmed, revealing a grinning Opal.
"I've always preferred to fight together." Opal said with a confident grin.
"Opal?!" The twins called from behind her, eyes wide with wonder.
"You're a fusion?!" Connie asked.
Opal glanced behind her. "You know it." Opal answered with a confident smile.
"Great, now there are two of you." Jasper groaned, earning Opal's attention.
"Steven, Connie, I need you two to go to the control room." Garnet told the twins. "Try to steer the ship back to Earth the best you can."
"How will we know where it is?" Steven asked.
"Or even how to control this thing?" Connie added.
Garnet walked up and kissed Connie's forehead, a vision of the path coming to the girl's mind.
"Future Vision!" Steven exclaimed excitedly.
"Mmhm." Garnet told them. "Now go."
Connie nodded, taking Steven's hand and pulling him away.
Jasper prepared to give chase to the two, Opal stepping to the side to block the path.
"Where do you think you're going?" Opal asked. Noticing Jasper wearing a somewhat fearful expression, Opal chuckled. "What's wrong?" She taunted. "You scared?"
Jasper growled. "You wish, filthy war machine!" Jasper snapped, all fear fleeing from her. She looked at Garnet and Opal with a look of disgust. "Fusion is just a cheap war tactic to make weaklings like you stronger."
Garnet and Opal looked at each other and then back Jasper, the two fusions grinning confidently.
"Is that what you think?" Garnet asked.
"Well then, we have some work to do." Opal said. Opal gestured to herself. "Opal." She sang.
"Garnet." Garnet sang, indicating to herself as well.
"Back together." The fusion duo sang. The two, back to back, pointed at Jasper. "And we're never going down at the hands of the likes of you because we're so much better," The two sang, now pointing to themselves. "and every part of us is saying "Go get 'er"."
Opal and Garnet began to circle around Jasper, all three preparing for the fight.
"The four of us ain't gonna follow your rules," Garnet sang as Jasper readied her Gem Destabilizer, the former summoning her shades over her eyes. "come at me with out any of your fancy tools."
"Let's go just us and you." Opal sang as Jasper began to charge at her. "Let's go, each one of us is two.
"Go ahead and try to hit us if you're able." Opal front flipped out of the orange Gem's path, Jasper punching forward and missing her target, creating a crater in the ground. "Can't you see that our relationships are stable?"
Jasper tried once again to hit Opal, this time blocked by one of Garnet's gauntlets. "I can see you hate the way we intermingle." Garnet sang, skillfully jumping over and ducking under a combo of Jasper's punches. Garnet landed in front of Jasper and held her finger up at the warrior. "But I think you're just mad 'cause you're single."
Jasper sneered and tried to hit Garnet again with her Gem Destabilizer, barely managing to notice an arrow coming at her. Jasper leaned back to avoid it, quickly getting smacked to the ground by Garnet.
"You're not gonna stop what we've made together." Garnet sang, trying to punch Jasper again, the warrior rolling out of the way in time to avoid it.
Jasper tried once more to hit Garnet with the Gem Destabilizer, one of Opal's arrow flying into and hitting it with enough force to break it in half. "We are gonna stay like this forever." Opal sang.
"If you break us apart we'll just come back newer." Garnet sang as she jump kicked the shocked Jasper in the chest, landing in a battle stance. "And we'll always be twice the gem that you are."
"I am made o-o-o-o-of Lo-o-o-o-ove o-o-o-o-of" Opal sang.
Steven opened the door to the control room "Hey Connie, do you here singing?" He asked as they walked in.
"Meh, I don't question it." Connie said, waving it off.
Opal dismissed her bow and summoned her whip. She quickly wrapped her whip around Jasper's fist, pulling her in before punching the warrior in the face. "Lo-o-o-o-ove, Lo-o-o-o-ove, Lo-o-o-o-ove."
Jasper stumbled back, coming forward and grabbing two of Opal's arms.
Noticing Garnet coming at her, Jasper used Opal as a bat, hitting Garnet away before throwing Opal as well.
Opal and Garnet stood up, still raring to go. Jasper growled at them before summoning her crash helmet and charging at them.
Connie stared at the ship's controls for a second. "Alright, I think all I have to do is..." Connie placed her hands inside of the control panel. "Oooooo." Connie quietly exclaimed as she took control of the ship, heading back to the temple.
"Mm mm mm mm mm." Garnet hummed as she grabbed Jasper's helmet, throwing Jasper into the ground. Jasper, taking advantage of her position, grabbed Garnet's leg and did the same. Jasper looked to see a few of Opal's arrows coming flying at her, the former quickly rolling out of the way, the weapon sticking in the ground.
Jasper stood up, only for the arrows to explode and pick up a large cloud of smoke.
As the smoke cleared, Jasper, Garnet, and Opal found themselves in the ship's engine room, a massive hole in the ceiling above them.
"This is who we are." Garnet was on the ground, her gloves in tatters and a crack running across her glasses.
"This is who I am." Opal was next to Garnet, a few holes in her leggings and top.
"And if you think you can stop us," Garnet sang, gradually pulling herself up. "Then you need to think again."
"Because together I am a feeling," Opal stood next to Garnet, visibly tired but still fighting on. "And I will never end."
Jasper pulled herself to her feet, scrapes and bruises covering her body. Despite the damage, she grinned at the challenge before her, rushing towards them with complete certainty that she would be the one standing victorious.
"And I won't let you hurt my planet," Garnet sang, summoning her gauntlets.
Opal summoned her whip and spear. "I won't let you hurt my friends."
"Go ahead and try to hit us if you're able." Opal sang, leaping over Jasper's attack. "Can't you see that our relationships are stable."
Opal used her whip to grab Jasper's leg from behind as the warrior reached Garnet, pulling the orange warrior away and tripping her.
"I know you think we're not something you're afraid of." Garnet sang, facing the fallen Jasper.
Jasper stood up quickly, looking back and forth between her enemies.
"'Cause you think that you've seen what we're made of." Opal smiled cockily.
Jasper growled, curling into a ball and rolling at Opal, surrounded by a yellow aura.
"But I am even more than the two of them." Opal leaped over the attack, only for Jasper to change directions and come back at her. "Everything they care about is what I am." Opal leaped over Jasper once more, looking around as she began to roll around the room.
Jasper came flying at Garnet, the fusion grinning and grabbing Jasper's helmet with her gauntlets. "I'm full of fury." Garnet threw Jasper to the ground, the latter making a small trail as she came to a stop.
Jasper opened her eyes to see Opal smiling down at her, the fusion putting her weapons together and aiming her bow at the warrior.
"I'm out of patience." Opal sang.
"I am a conversation." Opal and Garnet sang together.
"I am made," Opal fired her arrow at Jasper, the latter shutting her eyes in preparation for what came next." O-o-o-o-of Lo-o-o-o-ove o-o-o-o-of" Opal continued as she and Garnet fled the scene.
The arrow exploded, engulfing Jasper and the ship's engine room in its light.
"And it's stronger than you." Garnet added as they ran on.
Garnet and Opal made it to the control room in time, seeing Connie panicking as she tried to get the broken control panel to work. Connie turned around at the sound of the door opening. "Garnet, Opal!" She cried happily.
Garnet's eyes widened as she noticed something very important, making her split back into Ruby and Sapphire.
"Where's Steven?!" Ruby asked immediately, grabbing Connie by the shoulders.
"What?!" Connie took a quick glance around the room. "He was here just a few minutes ago!" Connie informed the group.
"We need to find him, now!" Opal said, getting ready to leave the room.
Sapphire wore a terrified expression upon her face. "There isn't enough time." She squeaked, almost hoping that she wasn't heard.
Connie, hearing the comment, shut her eyes. "I'm sorry Steven." With that, she summoned her protective bubble, keeping the group safe and keeping Opal from leaving.
"Lapis?!" Steven called out as he ran through the ship's corridors in search of his friend. "Lapis?!"
"Steven?!" He heard a familiar voice call back.
"Lapis!" Steven cried excitedly, running in the direction of his friend's voice. As Lapis finally came into view, sitting in her cell with her face looking to the right, Steven tried to call out her name again, only to thrown about as the ship crashed.
Steven lied motionless on the ground, slowly opening his eyes to see Lapis doing the same. "Lap-"
The crashed ship exploded, leaving the beach covered in green fire and the ship's wreckage.
Lion came running onto the beach, sniffing a pile of rubble before using his roar to blast it away. Underneath, Connie, Opal, Ruby, and Sapphire stood inside of Connie's bubble. Connie dismissed her bubble immediately, scanning the beach frantically with a worried expression.
"Steven!" The young girl called out.
After a short pause, a pile of rubble began to shift.
"Steven?" Connie asked hopefully.
An arm shot out of the rubble, making Connie jump back, the whole group knowing who it was. Jasper emerged from the rubble, falling to her knees.
"This...isn't over... You two only won because you were fusions." Jasper said weakly. "If I had someone to fuse with I'd-"
Another pile of rubble began to shift, revealing a weakened Lapis Lazuli. When Lapis emerged, her eyes immediately fell upon the Crystal Gems. Her eyes widened, quickly becoming a hate-filled glare upon recognizing her captors. "Y-...you!"
"What the- L- Lapis?" Connie asked.
"Heh." Jasper chuckled.
Lapis looked over to Jasper and, seeing the warrior moving towards her, spread her water wings out and tried to flee.
"Come here brat!" Jasper said, grabbing Lapis out of air by her leg before dangling the water gem by her arm. "Ah don't fly off so soon." Jasper said with a smirk. Jasper held Lapis up to her face, the ocean Gem closing her eyes as Jasper looked at her with an almost maniacal look in her own. "Lapis listen, fuse with me!" Jasper told her with a grin.
Lapis opened her eyes, confused. "What?"
"How long did they keep you trapped on this miserable hunk of rock?" Jasper asked, dropping Lapis to the ground. "They're traitors to their Homeworld. They kept you here and used you." Jasper scanned the group over, her malicious grin remaining. "And would you look at that, they didn't even care enough about your precious Steven to save him, protecting themselves and leaving him to die." Jasper said.
Lapis looked over at the group and realized that what Jasper had just said was true. They stayed safe during the explosion while he was left to whatever fate the ship held for him as it was destroyed. At the thought, an untold fury began to build up within Lapis as her desire to see the four suffer became greater. Lapis clenched her fist and began to grind her teeth together. "Steven..." Lapis said quietly.
"Don't do it Lapis!" Connie begged, seeing the anger on Lapis' face. "Think about the planet! Think about the people! Th- think about Steven for heaven's sake!"
"Yes, think about your Steven, the one who saved and healed you when you were at your weakest, the one who loved you when you thought you were forgotten..." Jasper narrowed her cat-like eyes. "because I'll still let you keep your little pet when all of this is over."
Lapis looked at Jasper hopefully.
"All you have to do is say yes," Jasper stretched her arm out to the water gem. "and he'll be all yours."
Lapis looked at the group of Gems in front of her with a hate-filled glare. She despised every single one of them; she hated the worthless planet they were trying to protect. The only one she did care about, the one she loved more than anything else that had ever come into her life, had been promised to her by Jasper...with his happiness, freedom, and life on the line, it was sadly an offer she couldn't refuse.
Lapis shut her eyes, making up her mind, and turned away from the Crystal Gems to Jasper with a solemn expression, praying that Steven could forgive her for what she was going to do.