Hi again, and welcome back to Into Oblivion.

Whew... okay, we're back. I got all that stuff I mentioned in the author's note in the last chapter out of the way, so let's get crackin' with those new chapters. Yee.

Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe. Steven Universe is owned by Rebecca Sugar.

Present

"Thoughts"

Author's Note

"Peridot, what's that in your pocket?"

Peridot slapped her hand to her hip. She felt around for a moment, her fingers fumbling every which way, but she danced around the bump she knew was there. "What? What are you—"

"That!" Amethyst pointed to her leg, and the sizable bump attached. "You know it's there as well as I do. What is it?"

"Uh... nothing."

Amethyst shook her head. She stomped across the burning room floor; Peridot eyes widened, and she froze on the spot. Amethyst quickly came face-to-face with her, and then she grabbed the collar of her uniform.

"Peridot, whatever it is you've got, don't make me take it. Let me see."

Peridot gazed into Amethyst's eyes. They were cold, unrelenting. She saw none of the usual excitement or warmth she had come to expect from her teammate; this was strictly business. It was very similar to... Jasper. Back on the ship, at least.

Peridot sighed. And then, after closing her eyes, she slowly nodded.

Amethyst released her grip on Peridot's uniform. She landed square on her feet, but kept her hands away from her sides; she had to be careful not to aggravate the gem's cracks. Though she had a feeling when all was said and done, Jasper's gem would be a lot worse than just damaged...

Peridot reached into her pocket. She fumbled around for a moment, and finally rubbed her finger along Jasper's gem. She gently put it in her palm, and then lifted her hand out. She put it out in front of her, and looked Amethyst right in the eyes.

"... It's Jasper gem. That's what I have."

Peridot opened her fingers. Amethyst's eyes trickled down to her hand for a moment, and then back to Peridot's face.

"Why?"

"... Why what?"

"Why do you have her gem?" Amethyst cocked her head to the fire pit, just to her left. "Were you going to burn it?"

"Wha—no, no! Of course not!" Peridot was horrified at the suggestion, and its nonchalant delivery at that. "I was going to heal her at the fountain..."

Amethyst's face dissolved to a frown. She crossed her arms. "Heal her?"

"Yes, heal her. I know you don't exactly like her—"

"You got that right."

Peridot rolled her eyes. "I know you don't exactly like Jasper," she continued, "but she's not that evil, honest! She was just following orders. Once we get her fixed up... I don't know, maybe she'll be willing to hear us out? It's worth a shot."

"No, it really isn't. Don't you remember what happened on the ship?"

"Yes. She imprisoned you in lethal protective barrier cells and repeatedly threatened the destruction of both yourselves and the Earth if you failed to cooperate."

Amethyst's frown deepened. Peridot's eyes widened.

"B-but that was a long time ago! All those feelings of hatred and anger have had a long time to cool, so if we just—"

"Peridot, do you seriously think this is a good idea? If we heal her gem and let her regenerate, she'll just come out and attack us again. And I really doubt Garnet will be as... forgiving as last time."

Peridot gulped. She looked in her hand again, at Jasper's gem; it was every bit as worse for wear as it was before.

"But..." continued Amethyst, earning Peridot's attention. "Peridot, I don't like Jasper, but I think I understand why you're doing this."

"You do? How?"

"Well..." Amethyst shrugged her shoulders. "You were allies once, even if it was for Homeworld. It makes sense. Kinda."

Peridot breathed a sigh of relief. She had to admit, she hadn't been expecting this kind of reaction from Amethyst, this calm discussion. But it was certainly preferable to the alternative.

"But Peridot," she continued, "trust me when I say this: If you want to keep Jasper safe, put her back in the bubble, and don't let her regenerate."

"But why? We can't just leave her here!"

"There's no other choice. If Pearl and Garnet see she's out, they're just going to hunter her down, crack her gem, and stuff her right back in another bubble. She has no way off of Earth, there's nowhere else to go."

Now it was Peridot's turn to frown. She took a few steps around the burning room, in a slow, steady pace; then she turned around and faced Amethyst again. She lifted up the gem, and held it out for her to see.

"Look at her gemstone, Amethyst."

Amethyst took her own step forward, and carefully looked over the rock. "It's cracked. We already knew that."

"Have you ever retreated to a cracked gem before?"

Amethyst blinked. The question caught her off guard, and her thoughts tapered off for a moment. "Uh... no, I haven't."

"Neither have I. But I've read reports on the experience. It seems that whatever damage is sustained to your physical being remains in your gem, and affects you just as much in there as it does out here."

"So?"

"So if we don't fix Jasper's gem, she'll be stuck like this FOREVER! Cracked, damaged, even unable to to move! And it's not like it gets better in her gem... is that really the right thing to do? To just leave her in agony like this?"

Amethyst fell quiet. Her eyes fixed on Peridot's hand, and by effect Jasper's gem for a moment. Then she turned to Peridot's face: her head hung low to the ground, apparently watching her feet. Amethyst sighed.

"... Fine."

"Fine...?"

"We'll go and heal her at the fountain."

Peridot's frown flipped in a heartbeat. But before she could speak, Amethyst cleared her throat.

"But let me be clear: The second her gem is fixed, she goes back in the bubble. Permanently. Do you understand?"

Peridot, after a moment, reluctantly nodded. She would've preferred Jasper to be free, but it was obvious the Crystal Gems weren't about to allow it; there was little point in fighting the decision. In any event, the whole point of her mission was to fix Jasper's gem, and now the opportunity presented itself. Without a fight, at that.

"Okay then," said Amethyst, breaking Peridot's thoughts. "Let's go."

Connie watched the blue and red dot in the sky. Lapis and Steven, to be exact.

She wasn't quite sure how it happened. One moment, Steven was safe with the Garnet. The next, Garnet was flat on her back, courtesy of a nice punch to the jaw, and he was... for lack of a better term, kidnapped? By Lapis?

It was rather astounding. And that feeling didn't fade in Connie's mind in the slightest, not even as she watched them soar away from the canyon. Farther they went. Farther.

And then gone.

"GARNET!"

Connie's head whipped to her left. It was Pearl, leaned against the cliffside. She was breathing loudly, and sweat drenched her face. She'd forgotten she was even there.

"GARNET! SHE'S GETTING AWAY, COME ON!"

Now Connie looked to her right. Garnet was still flat on her back-Lapis packed quite a punch to her jaw, it seemed-but she jumped to her feet in an instant. She held out her hands, and a bright flash erupted from the gems embedded in her palm; she shrank several inches, and shapeshifted into the form of a bird. The same one she used at Mask Island.

"PEARL, GET ON! GO!"

Pearl started to sprint. But just before she reached Garnet, she skidded to a stop on her heels, and looked Connie in the eyes.

"Connie, have Lion bring you home. Don't wait here for us, we won't be coming back."

Connie nodded. With matters settled, Pearl ran the extra few steps to Garnet, swung her leg over her back, and grabbed her stomach tight. Garnet flapped her wings and flew up, and then, after angling herself, took off to follow Lapis and Steven.

Connie coughed from the dust kicked up.

"Here we are. Let's make this quick."

Amethyst stepped off the warp pad. Her hands were buried deep in her pockets, and her head hung low to blot out the surroundings. Especially Peridot.

"I agree. We can't let Pearl and Garnet see we aren't at the temple, or they'll get suspicious. Come on."

Peridot led the way into the canyon, with Amethyst several steps behind. She stepped over danced around rocks and plants sticking up from the ground; then she went near the cliffside itself, and walked along the edge. Almost unknowingly, she took a quick peek at the rocks, but then she stopped for a better look.

"Hey... Amethyst, what's all this?"

Now Amethyst looked up. She deflected her gaze to Peridot, and took in what she was referring to. "The cliffside? What about it?"

"Look at it, it's all... damaged. Like there was a fight here."

Amethyst glanced over the cliff again. Now that she knew what to look for, she had to admit Peridot had a point; the wall of the cliff had huge holes from side-to-side, with chiseled rocks lining the ground. Not to mention several large gashes...

"Hm... these are probably from forever ago. Forget about it."

Peridot's gaze stayed locked for a moment longer. But then she turned back to the front, in the direction of the fountain, and continued her walk. After a minute or two of going in a straight line, she rounded a corner.

She stopped cold.

"LION?!"

Amethyst's eyes snapped open.

She'd been trailing several steps behind, but now she ran to catch up. When she rounded the corner and reached Peridot's side, she skidded to a stop, and then she looked forward. "Lion? Where? Where is—"

Amethyst cut herself off. Sure enough, just ahead of the two and leaned against the cliffside, was Lion. He looked to be sleeping, but his ear perked up at the shout. He didn't look up.

"Amethyst, what's Lion doing here?" said Peridot. She turned to her with nervous eyes. "Why isn't he back at the house?"

"I... I don't know. He might've just decided to come here on his own, but—"

"Lion? Listen, do you think you can warp back to that one neighborhood you did a little while ago? Steven will be back soon, so it'll be just me."

The voice came from around the corner, and so did the sound of footsteps. Amethyst and Peridot turned.

Both pairs of eyes, almost simultaneously, met Connie's.

"LAPIS, STOP! STOP!"

Lapis paid no heed to Steven. She didn't need his distractions.

Keeping him in her arms through all his squirming and thrashing was bad enough. Trying to fly at top speed was even worse. But the very last thing she needed, at that given moment, was for him to try and convince her to turn around and go back to the Crystal Gems. She knew that was what was on his mind, and she really didn't need to hear about it.

The point was to escape. She still had to finish the job.

Lapis, through her wind-whipped hair, threw her gaze over her shoulder. Even as her eyes stung, she caught the vague shapes Garnet, in the form of a massive bird, and Pearl on her back; they appeared to be just a touch slower than her, but still very much in pursuit. Pearl in particular caught her attention: she had a spear—at least twice the size of a normal one—in her hand, and her arm was raised high. If she ever got within throwing distance...

Lapis grunted, and turned to look forward again. From the corners of her eyes, she looked for something, anything to help her shake them off; instead, she got nothing but open air and clouds. And the ocean underneath.

"Ocean... wait!"

"STEVEN, CLOSE YOUR MOUTH!"

She had to shout to be heard over the wind, but she hoped she got the message across. She looked at him in her arms, and saw that was indeed the case; for the first time since she took off, he had stopped wailing at last.

Lapis moved her hand to the top of his head. She flattened her palm along his hair, and then waited.

A small bubble emerged from her hand, just a little smaller than a tennis ball. Rather than popping from the pressure, however, it kept it's form intact; Lapis, in turn, kept it tightly pressed to Steven's head.

Then, after a moment, or two, the bubble increased in size. it slowly began to envelop his entire head. Finally, just as it reached his chin, it stopped itself and combined, firmly encasing his head within the sphere.

"WHAT THE-LAPIS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"TAKE SLOW BREATHS! AND HOLD ON!"

For the time being, Lapis kept her flight path straight. But then, just as she passed into a cloud, she turned her wings sharply, and dove straight down. She brought Steven close to her chest, and angled her shoulder to take the impact.

They plunged into the water.

"... Connie?"

Amethyst stared at Connie, and vice versa. The tension in the air was thick; almost suffocating. It was the first either had spoken in minutes.

Connie said nothing. She kept her eyes locked on Amethyst's, and only occasionally flickered to Peridot. They both shared one feature: shock. Not fear, but shock. Fear was hers, and hers alone.

"What are you doing here?"

Connie shut her mouth. She hadn't meant to speak out, not yet. Now the ball was in their court, and it was coming right back.

"Us? What are you doing here?"

Connie paused for a moment. She looked over Amethyst and Peridot again: they didn't seem particularly angry, just surprised. And since Lapis was long gone, was there really any harm in telling them the truth.

"... Steven and I came here to heal Lapis. Her gem was cracked."

"Wait, Steven's here?" shouted Peridot. "Where? Where is he?!"

"He's not, not anymore... he left."

Peridot scrunched her eyebrows. She lowered herself back to her heels. "He left? Where? Tell us!" From the corner of her eye, she saw Amethyst nod in agreement.

Connie gulped.

"Uh... he was... he was taken by Lapis. By force. Pearl and Garnet are going after them."

Amethyst and Peridot fell quiet. Now they both watched her again, with the same eyes as before; suspicious, confused, even cold. Taken by force? They weren't entirely sure exactly what she meant, but... it sure sounded like kidnapping. Neither could bring themselves to ask.

"B-but don't worry!" Connie's voice tore through the silence like a knife. "Lapis won't get away. They'll catch her, I know it. Steven'll be back soon..."

Lapis laughed to herself.

She had to confess, even though she had to come up with it on the spot, using the ocean was an ingenious idea. Pearl and Garnet? They could never hope to follow her, not down here. She was already hundreds of feet below the surface, and always zig-zagging and changing course. She lost them many miles ago, and she knew it. She didn't even need to check.

And the bubble around Steven's head was a nice touch. To make sure he didn't drown, of course.

Still, as the thought crossed her mind, Lapis looked at the child in her arms. His eyes were closed, and his mouth open just ajar. She gently grabbed his wrist between her thumb and index finger, and held it: a steady pulse hit her fingertips. She wasn't sure exactly when he passed out, but the point was he was okay.

Even so, Lapis's smiled faded. Her arms, tense and stiff, brought Steven close to her. She closed her eyes tight.

"Don't worry, Steven. I'll get you far away from them, and all their lies..."

Well then.

The story's been chugging along so far, but now we're really starting to get into the thick of things. There's lots more exciting stuff coming soon, so be sure to stay tuned.

Have a nice day.