A/N: Forgive me for the long wait! I do hope the wait was worth it! I will try to finish this fanfiction before summer ends, so expect more updates in the next two weeks! Thank you all for all your support!
Now, enjoy Cracked Landing chapter 15!
Sunlight poured into the window of the Crystal Gem residence, shining onto the blanketed floor. Ronaldo winced at the sudden flood of light against his closed eyes and let out a tired groan. His hand lazily searched his side for a blanket but instead landed on a feminine figure tightly bundled up beside him. Ronaldo's sleepy eyes shot open as he noticed the green gem curled up on his side. Peridot lay in the crook of his arm, her eyes closed and mouth slightly agape as she slept soundly. Her fingers were tightly gripping his shirt, not showing any signs of letting go anytime soon. Ronaldo's eyes widened and his cheeks heated up.
"Uh, Peridot…" Ronaldo whispered with embarrassment. He shifted, moving away slightly in an attempt to wake the sleeping gem.
"Mhn…" Peridot groaned, and her brows furrowed with slight annoyance at the suddenly empty space. Her body shifted, and she scooted closer to the human, snuggling back up to her spot beside him. Ronaldo blushed.
"She sure is clingy." A voice chimed beside Ronaldo. The Fryman quickly turned to the source of the voice only to see Steven lying on his stomach, gazing at the two of them with starry eyes.
"S-Steven? How long have you been staring at us?" Ronaldo asked with embarrassment. The half-gem simply shrugged with a smile.
"Dunno." Steven simply said. "You guys are so cute!" Steven grinned with joy. Ronaldo, on the other hand, was completely flustered.
"W-What? I-it's not like that, Steven, and you know it!" Ronaldo argued. Steven opened his mouth to retort when the Temple door opened, revealing Garnet and Amethyst who stepped out, making their way over to the small group. Amethyst let out a lazy yawn and stretched her back.
"Mornin' Steven. I can't believe you're already up! Do you know how early it is?" Amethyst lazily slurred. She opened her mouth to continue but quickly fell quiet when her eyes landed on Peridot who was practically sleeping on top of Ronaldo. "Woah! Haha, what happened here last night?" Amethyst joked with a laugh. Ronaldo thought he was going to die of embarrassment.
"It's not what it looks like! We were just-!" Ronaldo began to stutter.
"Ronaldo, what exactly is your relationship with Peridot?" Garnet asked with interest.
"N-nothing! We're just friends! Honest-!" Ronaldo blabbered. How was Peridot still asleep through all of this? She really was a heavy sleeper! The temple door again opened with a hiss and Pearl stepped out with her back straight and eyes wide awake.
"Ah, Garnet! I'm glad you're up. I was just-" Pearl began but trailed off when she saw the sight before her. Ronaldo couldn't help but hide his face in his free hand with embarrassment.
"What on Earth is going on here?" Pearl squawked at the top of her lungs. Peridot's eyes shot open at the sudden loud wake-up call and sat up straight, flailing her arms.
"Peridot, reporting for duty!" Peridot stammered still half asleep. Her cheeks quickly heated up when she realized her embarrassing outburst and slapped her fingers over her mouth.
"Ahem." Garnet lightly cleared her throat, hoping to grab the lost gem's attention. Peridot quickly turned and was met with five intent gazes.
"Uh, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Peridot chimed.
"No, we were all awake. Actually, we were waiting for you to wake up." Pearl chirped. Peridot's face darkened with a blush.
"Ah, I see." Peridot mumbled to herself. Her eyes went to the blonde haired human, and she cleared her throat.
"Good morning, Ronaldo." Peridot said politely. "I trust you had a restful night?" Ronaldo's cheeks became beet red at the mention of last night, and Amethyst burst out laughing. Peridot looked over at the giggling gem with utter confusion.
"What's so funny?" Peridot chimed with confusion. She glanced over at Ronaldo who was awkwardly rubbing his neck with a blush on his face.
"Hey Peridot! Let's go build sand castles!" Steven said with a grin. Peridot looked at the half-gem with more confusion.
"Sand castles? What is the purpose of building sand castles?" Peridot tilted her head curiously. Steven quickly jumped out of his makeshift bed and grabbed Peridot's fingers, leading her out the screen door.
"It's fun! Come on!" Steven chimed happily. Peridot looked back at the three Crystal Gems. They all smiled at Steven's playfulness, but Peridot knew that they still did not trust her. Perhaps now was a good time to prove to them that she could be trusted?
"Oh, I see. Well, I suppose I will join you in this human activity." Peridot mumbled as Steven led her out the door and down to the shoreline.
"H-hey! Wait up!" Ronaldo stammered, fumbling to strap on his shoes and followed behind them. Steven ran under the stairs of the Crystal Temple, grabbing two buckets and some shovels before plopping down besides Peridot who was waiting by the shore. He took out one of the shovels and handed it to Peridot along with a bucket.
"Alright! So first, you shovel some sand into your bucket!" Steven instructed. He began shoveling sand into his bucket and Peridot looked at him with confusion. Her fingers were still gripping the shovel, but she had no idea what to do.
"Here, let me help!" Ronaldo chimed, taking a seat besides Peridot. He put his hand over her fingers and guided them to the sand, helping her dig shovel after shovel of sand into the bucket.
"Yeah! Ronaldo's got the hang of it!" Steven smiled.
"Steven, I know how to build sand castles." Ronaldo said sarcastically rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, I know. I used to see you and Peedee make sandcastles a long time ago!" Steven said in remembrance.
"Is this some kind of a human ritual?" Peridot asked with curiosity.
"Nah, it's just something kids do for fun!" Ronaldo chuckled. He turned the bucket upside down and gently patted it before removing the bucket to reveal a strong sand tower. Peridot's eyes widened with fascination. Steven grinned with excitement and grabbed a stick and leaf, putting it on top of the tower.
"This will be our fort!" Steven proclaimed proudly. "Nothing will knock down the Crystal Gem Fort!" Steven pumped his fist in the air with excitement. Peridot smiled. Steven was such an energetic boy, and this world was such a fascinating place. Pizza, sleeping, sand castles. Peridot knew this was only a small portion of what this world had to offer.
Suddenly, Peridot felt something cold at her heels. Peridot stiffened and turned to look at the ground, water lapped at her ankles and was only getting higher with each wave that washed ashore.
"What the-?" Peridot's gaze traveled to the ocean, and her eyes quickly widened. A tall wave hovered over them ominously ready to crash down on top of the three. "Steven! Ronaldo!" Peridot yelped and quickly grabbed the two, tossing them aside. Steven fell back into the sand with a thud and Peridot followed, rolling between the two.
"Peridot! What's going on?" Steven yelped in shock as the wave crashed down on top of their sand castle. Of course, that was the least of their concerns.
"Peridot!" Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl burst out of the temple, jumping down in front of the group with their weapons ready. Peridot stiffened with fear.
"Guys, wait! This wasn't Peridot's fault! We were just-!" Steven stood between the gems with determination when a familiar chuckle interrupted him.
Everyone's gazes traveled to the ocean where a recognizable figure emerged.
A very large, white-haired figure.
"Well, well. If it isn't the Crystal Gems." Jasper spat, shaking off the salty ocean water. "It has been a while hasn't it?"
"Jasper!" Steven squeaked in shock. "W-where's Lapis?" He asked, realizing the blue ocean gem was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, that pathetic excuse for a gem?" Jasper chuckled. Her clawed hand opened, revealing a familiar cracked, blue, teardrop shaped gem.
"Lapis!" Steven gasped with fear. Peridot's eyes widened in shock. Her body shook with fear.
"She put up a good fight, sure. Obviously, she was weak. After all, fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak gems stronger." Jasper hissed. "She thought she could keep me trapped in a fusion. Wrong! She trapped herself, and now look where we are." Jasper grinned sinisterly and roughly dropped the gem to the ground, digging her heal in it.
"Don't hurt her!" Steven cried, wanting to charge in after her, but the gems held him back.
"Look at this shameless display!" Jasper laughed, her gaze traveled down to Peridot who was shaking besides Ronaldo. "Ah, Peridot. Thank you so much for abandoning me on that ship in your pathetic escape pod." Jasper hissed with angry sarcasm. "I'm sure Yellow Diamond would be pleased to know that you abandoned your commander." Peridot stiffened at the mention of her leader's name. "No matter, get over here so we can get back to Homeworld." Jasper huffed. Peridot felt fear course through her veins.
"Peridot would never go back there! Leave us alone you-!" Ronaldo began when he suddenly felt Peridot shift beside him. Peridot stood up, her fingers pulled into tight fists, and she began to march over to Jasper. Jasper grinned while the others looked at her with wide eyes.
"You- I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Pearl hissed angrily.
"Traitor!" Amethyst accused. Peridot did not speak. She simply continued towards Jasper.
"Peridot…?" Ronaldo breathed in shock. Was this really happening?
Peridot stopped in front of Jasper, her expression completely changing.
"Jasper! It took you quite long to return. I have been stuck here with these pathetic humans and sad excuses for gems! I will prepare the ship for return to Homeworld, and I will let Yellow Diamond know immediately." Peridot stated firmly. Jasper smirked.
"Set a course for Homeworld, and this time, don't mess it up. I'll take care of these Crystal Gems."
A/N: Oops. Another cliffhanger? Yes indeed! Forgive me, but I love writing cliffhangers!
As always, leave me a review to let me know you liked this chapter!