CHAPTER XII: FINDING HER
None of them spoke a single word. Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst went back towards the house. Once in, Garnet leaned on the counter, her gaze low. Amethyst sat down on the couch while Pearl… Pearl sat down on Steven's bed, his gem clutched against her chest. Hours passed, but nothing happened. The morning after, Amethyst and Garnet found her still in the exact, same position. Her eyes were half opened, distant, almost… lifeless.
"Pearl…" Amethyst tried to call her, but she received no response.
"Pearl look at us." Garnet said, sitting down on the bed, gently taking the pale gem's face between her hands. "It will be alright."
"Have you seen it?" That was Pearl's question, a question Garnet had hoped she wouldn't do.
"I…" Garnet stammered, she didn't dare to look into the future, she wasn't strong enough, she just hoped that everything would turn out alright.
"It doesn't matter! Steven will be okay P!" Amethyst spoke loudly, almost angrily, she was afraid, she was mad, but her gaze softened once she saw Pearl's tears. "P… you gotta be strong… we all gotta be strong for him, okay?"
"O-okay…" Pearl whispered. " Can you stay?"
"Of course we'll stay, we'll stay until he'll come back." Garnet reassured, softly rubbing Pearl's back.
Meanwhile, on Yellow Diamond's asteroid mine:
"Look at this disaster… how could we create such incompetent gems…" Yellow Diamond seethed.
Her ship, alongside Blue's, landed on the asteroid mine a few moments later Lars's escape. Needless to say, both Diamonds became furious once they discovered that Rose Quartz had once again managed to avoid her fate.
"My Diamond." A couple of Citrines saluted, they were holding a gem by her arms.
"Ah… there you are… do you have any excuses?" Yellow Diamond crossed her arms, there wasn't even the slightest trace of compassion in her voice, nor in Blue's gaze once it fell on the captured gem.
As soon as the Diamonds arrived, they demanded for the captain they trusted with Rose Quartz's capture to be found. And now there she was, defeated, broken, covered in scratches, standing only thanks to the two Citrines who were holding her.
Emerald.
"M-my Diamond… their captain… tricked me…" Emerald muttered without breath.
"You mean that a human tricked you."
"There… there were other gems… I didn't know…" Emerald's excuses were cut short.
"You should have been prepared Emerald, we gave you one of Homeworld's best ships and now look… you managed to turn it into debris… you failed… again." Yellow Diamond spoke in a menacing tone.
"N-next time I promise I'll catch them!" Emerald cried.
"Next time? There won't be a next time." Yellow Diamond answered with a mock laugh.
Emerald's eye widened in terror.
"Be sure to escort this sorry excuse of a captain back on Homeworld. Commission her execution to an Onyx, I don't care which one." Yellow Diamond waved at the two citrines, who slightly bowed before taking Emerald away.
"My Diamond! Please! I will do better! Give me another chance!"
But Emerald's words fell on deaf ears as both Yellow and Blue Diamond turned around, ready to leave the mine.
"What should we do now?" Blue asked.
"It's time to take the matter into our own hands." Yellow Diamond growled menacingly.
Meanwhile, in Beach City:
It was after one, agonizingly slow hour that finally, Steven's gem began to glow. A chubby silhouette formed around the pink gem and in a matter of seconds, the young boy was back. He didn't even have the time to land properly on the ground, the gems tackled him before that, enveloping him into a bone crushing hug.
"Steven!" They cried together.
"Guys!" Steven said, both laughing and crying.
"Oh my stars you're back! You're really back!" Pearl exclaimed, happy and baffled together, taking Steven's face gently between her hands.
"Mom says hi." Steven smiled, leaning into her touch.
"W-what?" Pearl whispered, dumbfounded.
"You saw Rose?!" Amethyst asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, she loves us guys, she never stopped loving us and she'll never stop, never."
The group remained together in silence, enjoying Steven's return. It was after some minutes that Steven spoke up.
"Oh my gosh! Peridot! Where is she?!" Steven looked around frantically.
"Don't worry, we found her gem on the beach." Garnet said smiling, opening her fist, revealing a green gem that laid on her palm.
"Peri…" Steven said, gently taking the gem into his own hands. The young boy closed his eyes and exhaled a long breath before speaking again. "Where's Jasper?"
"She got away before we could catch her, but we will, oh we will and when that happens I'll-" Pearl growled before Steven interrupted her.
"I have to find her." Steven said determinately.
"You can't be serious." Garnet whispered.
"Dude she crushed you into smoke." Amethyst said grimacing.
"Absolutely not!" Pearl said out aloud.
"Who do you think let her out and cured her?" Steven asked.
"Oh my stars, y-you let her out! Steven why did you do that?!"
"Because she's one of the gems that suffered more because of mom's lies, and now I have to make it right." Steven said hopping down his bed, he stopped when he felt Garnet's hand on his shoulder. "Garnet please, I know you all love me and don't want me to get hurt, but now she knows and I think it might have broken her inside. I have to find Jasper, I have to make it right, for her, for me, for mom, for everyone."
Garnet remained silent for a moment before speaking up.
"We're going with you, me and Pearl, you and Amethyst, we'll split up and search for her and when we'll find her… then we'll decide what to do." Garnet said, a ghost of a smile appearing on her face, she was worried, but she also knew that Steven was right.
"Garnet he just came back, we can't risk-" Pearl tried to speak but became silent as she felt Garnet's touch on her shoulder.
"She won't hurt him, not now that she knows."
Pearl and Garnet decided to look underwater, after all, when Malachite was destroyed and Jasper lost in the sea, that's where she hid herself, waiting for her chance to attack. Steven and Amethyst decided to look elsewhere, the place where Jasper was created… and defeated. They reached the warp pad and disappeared into the beam of light. Seconds later, they found themselves looking at the Beta Kindergarten.
"Okay, we've gotta be silent, I don't want her to run away." Steven whispered.
"Okay." Amethyst replied.
The two of them kept walking until finally, they heard a sob. It was coming from a hole of one of the Beta Kindergarten's walls. It was Jasper's hole. Amethyst motioned Steven to remain where he was, she would check if everything was alright and then he could proceed to… do whatever he had in mind. Amethyst jumped and landed on the hole's entrance. Jasper was sitting right at its bottom, curled on herself, trying to suppress her sobs. When she heard Amethyst approach, she slightly raised her face.
"This is just perfect, she sent you to shatter me, good, that's the only thing I deserve." Jasper half laughed.
"Lucky for you, Steven is not like that."
"Stop calling her that, it's desecrating." Jasper growled.
"Listen, Steven is here okay? Outside this hole, he wants to talk to you, to make peace, to explain things. You hurt him, again and again and this time we thought he was gone for good, but he's not and he wants to give you a second chance, so you might want to stop acting like an idiot and listen to him." Amethyst stated.
Jasper looked slightly surprised, there was something authoritarian in that little runt's voice. She had to admit, she was defective but she was brave.
"I don't want a second chance, I don't deserve it." Jasper grumbled.
"You do." Steven said, appearing in front of the hole's entrance.
Amethyst stepped aside, giving him a warning look before leaving him alone with Jasper. Steven hesitated for a moment before stepping forward, he kept walking towards Jasper until he reached her side. The big orange gem kept her face hidden between her knees. Steven sighed and sat down beside her.
"I'm sorry." Steven said.
"Please do it… I know I don't deserve your forgiveness… I don't understand what is happening and maybe I don't want to understand… I hurt you… my own diamond… I know there'll be a punishment so just do it…" Jasper murmured.
"There won't be any punishment for you Jasper, it's not your fault." Steven said.
"You're lying… you're… please don't look at me… I'm not supposed to look weak in front of you."
"Jasper you got it all wrong, I wanted to explain but you didn't let me… I'm… it's true that Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond… but I'm… I'm not her… not entirely." Steven said.
"I saw the gem, I know it's you…" Jasper whispered.
"It's true, this is Pink Diamond's gem, but think about it. Back on Peridot's ship, the first time we met, how do you think I got out of that cell?" Steven asked.
"I… I…" Jasper was at loss of words. No gem could have escaped that energy field.
"It's because I'm half human Jasper, that's how I escaped and that's how I managed to fuse with my human friend Connie."
"That doesn't make sense." Jasper's face finally became visible, she looked scared, confused and obviously, as always, angry.
"Pink Diamond tried to convince Yellow and Blue Diamond to let the Earth live but they wouldn't listen to her. She loved this planet Jasper, more than anything else, that's why she decided to create someone who could face the Diamonds, who could lead a rebellion and save this beautiful planet."
"Ha! Beautiful, look at what it did to so many gems!" Jasper laughed bitterly.
"You're wrong Jasper. It wasn't the Earth that corrupted gems, the Diamonds did that."
"N-no, no you're lying! There were Homeworld gems between those monsters! The Diamonds couldn't have done that to their own soldiers!"
"They did Jasper. Pink Diamond faked her shattering, she knew it was the only way to make Yellow and Blue leave, but they didn't go away without one last attack. They used their power to corrupt every gem that remained on the Earth, to avenge Pink's death." Steven explained. Seeing how Jasper remained silent, he decided to continue. "After the war, many years after, Pink Diamond fell in love with a human. She wanted to have a baby but she couldn't without giving him something of herself. That's how human babies are made, both mother and father have to give something of themselves for the baby to be born. Pink had only one thing to give… her gem… that's how I was made… I'm her son."
"H-how… I don't…" Jasper muttered, her eyes fixed on Steven.
"I know it's a lot to take in… just know that I'm here and that… I forgive you Jasper…" Steven slowly moved his hand towards the bulky gem, and laid it on her arm, it was strangely soothing and comforting, Jasper thought.
"You don't know what you're saying, you can't just forgive me after all what I've done."
"I already did." Steven smiled up at her and moved his hand to take her much larger one.
Jasper didn't resist when Steven helped her stand up, she didn't resist when he took her out of that dark hole or when he guided her towards the warp pad. She didn't run when she appeared inside what looked like a tiny human settlement and saw the remaining Crystal Gems taking out their weapons, ready to strike. She didn't summon her helmet, and remained baffled as she listened to… Steven… explaining how she now knew the truth, how he wanted to give her a second chance, how she trusted her despite everything she did to them. One thing Jasper knew for sure. Pink Diamond was still alive, maybe not as she remembered her, but she loved her 'son' so much that she gave him her gem, that she became part of him. She'd protect him with her life, for that was her purpose. Little did she know, Steven would show her there was more, so much more to life than that.
Boyyyyyyy! Did you miss me? The exams are finally finished but only for a little period of time, soon they'll start again so I don't have much time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you'll enjoy the next ones, probably two more before the story ends. The truth is that I had many other ideas but I'm feeling like my inspiration is fading, so I'm going to write a really good ending instead of going on with mediocre chapters for who know how long. Oh and one thing before I go, how awesome were the latest episodes! I mean, both Bismuth AND the Diamonds appearing AND the cluster emerging AND Steven finally telling the Diamonds the truth! I have only one complaint, the season has just two more episodes before it's concluded, come on they could have given them to us immediately! I mean come on! Really?! Ending before showing Yellow and Blue's reaction to Steven revealing them who he really is?! That's mean, really mean.