" Steven!"
Lapis uttered his name with growing anxiety, covering her mouth to hold back a gasp. The young boy who had freed her many months ago from her mirror prison was now fighting monsters ten times his size, right in front of her. She recalled his good nature towards her being, his laughs and jokes; how he approached her on the ship only to beg her for her safe return in his dreams, inside Malachite. She missed him. And she knew she did as she felt an overwhelming sense of joy overtake her as she saw his shape, standing next to the crystal gems. A smile laid on her lips and a small bit of excitement palpitated through her, though the green gem beside her seemed more concerned then happy at the presence of the gems. But the little gem was not as helpless as she had remembered, that was for sure.. He had grown much stronger, able to summon his pink, rose embellished shield with more consistency, and evade the basic swipes of the corrupted gem's jaws. His teamwork with his guardians had also improved vastly, protecting his equally short mentor, Amethyst, from another bite as he threw his weapon into the crest of the beast's head, making it dizzy. And his teammates had also grown in their togetherness, as Pearl and Garnet slashed away at the creature's legs, finally bringing it down to the ground.
This small boy had grown, and for some reason it scared her. Was he the still the Steven that saved her, that wanted to help her, that wanted her back? What she did for him, she only did to return the favor that he had done for her; but she couldn't help but miss his kindness—he didn't treat her like the others did, like a tool, like an enemy. He came back for her, he cared.
So when the behemoth gem collapsed and released its form to reveal six smaller corrupted gems, Lapis felt her fears return. "We've gotta help them." The blue gem's voice was firm, assertive.
" Has your brain rotted under all of that salt water? We can't do that!" Peridot grabbed Lapis's shoulder, who looked ready to enter the fray." Those gem's are armed and we need to approach them in a friendly manner and—"
Lapis disregarded all that the technician had offered, as she watched one of the mini reptilians leap and went right for Steven. " STEVEN!" This time the gem's voice was heard by everyone as the blue gem dashed out from the brush to defend the quartz child, despite Peridot's shriek's off," Lazuli! Return here this instant!" as she also stood up.
Though the gem was smaller, the reptilian was still incredibly savage towards its opponents, and even Lapis's scalding water had minimally impacted the creature's intent. Steven had managed to confuse the gem once more as he hit its skull with another spinning shield. Attention now focused on the blue protector, he could not withhold a yelp of glee as he realized that the water gem was standing before him, in real, physical time.
" Lapis! You're okay!" the little gem cried. She returned his grin with a kind smile of her own. He hadn't changed; he still had that same starry look in his eyes.
But the moment of distraction was all that was needed for the opponent, who shot a beam of light at the blue gem. It all seemed so sudden, a minute ago she saw the boy beaming at her, and then the next she sensed the bolt of energy slice through her chest. She couldn't prepare for it, she couldn't defend herself.
Enveloped in the familiar feeling of numbness that snaked up her body, her hands touched at the point of where the beam had hit, where a hole was in place, and then looked to the horrified face of the human gem that she had just tried to save. " Steven..." her voice wavered, on the brink of disappearing. " Im sorry.."
Unable to hold on to her physical form, she poofed into her gem, releasing a cloud of smoke where she stood.
"NO, LAPIS!"The human gem trotted over to the Lazuli stone, quickly grasping it in his hands. He knew she would be okay, but it there was something unsettling about watching his friend disappear—a gem stone is the focal point of a gem's vulnerability. A gem can't do anything in its rock form, whether defend itself or attack. She was dependent now, relying on him for protection. A poor choice, as Steven had once again gotten distracted and forgotten that his foe was back on the offensive, and practically a leap away from him. He created a pink bubble around himself with the stone right when the creature had landed on him, and was bounced backwards by the corrupted gem—hitting the unfortunate person standing right in between the trees.
Peridot grumbled something under her breath, probably another insult, as she got back on her feet, soothing her face with her fingers. She of all people sat back to avoid getting into the fight, and yet still became a part of it; when it comes to the crystal gems, she should have figured that it was a rather inevitable outcome. There wasn't much talking between Steven and Peridot, they were both dumb struck with their circumstances; with the green gem being hit in the face once again by the quartz child, and he by the fact that it was Peridot who now stood in front of him. Both were frozen, at least until Peridot registered that Steven had Lapis in his hands. Her irritation returned as she snatched the Lazuli stone right from his chubby palms and examined it.
" Well at least you didn't break it..."
" Hey! Give her back!" The gem attempted to scamper up to reach her arm, but she placed her free hand against his face to prevent him from getting closer.
" Why you—argh quit it! She's MY informant!" A frown placed on her lips, a big stress on the work my.
" Well she is MY beach summer fun buddy!" Steven retorted, past her hand now, and jumping up and down to get at Peridot's other hand.
"Don't give her such strange, earthly labels—she wouldn't possibly understan—EUUUUHAHHHH!" She had barely missed the razor sharp claws of the corrupted gem, whom had now reached the quarreling gems. It would be best not to stay, so Peridot decided to make a run for it, delving up through a rocky canyon. Steven was following in hot pursuit, and the crystal gems—having taken care of the other five minis—join the chase.
This was the opposite of what Peridot had hoped for. Not only was she being chased up the rocks by another gem, but she had her other enemies also trailing behind, not to mention that Lapis was of no help either. Clearly, this was a giant miscalculation, and who knew if the gem would escape to make any more. Her feet were stumbling as she went uphill, a few stray beams hitting the rocks next to her. The shattering sound had tripped up the green gem, who was nearing a dead end anyway. On the floor, the beast was about to pounce—but a light spear slid straight into the gem's chest—finally being the last hit needed to bring down the corrupted gem. It slumped over, before poofing into a round, emerald colored jewl. But Peridot was nowhere near safe, even as the crystal gems took and bubbled the stone—it was now her turn to be attacked.
" Wawawa-wait a minute! This is all a big misundersta—UHHAUA!" Garnet's gauntlets punched the ground, missing Peridot's head by a hairs length, forcing it to crack, and the alien dashing upwards to escape. From the looks of it, the gems won't stop to listen—"tch Lazuli, of all the times, now would be the best one to come back!" She prepared her cannon, aimed at the four who were closing in, trapping her against the walls of the canyon. Flying up is impossible, Pearl will just hit her with her spear, scaling the walls when Amethyst can fling her whip around, that also seemed like a horrible choice; she could only rely on the water nymph. Her eyes darted to the stone in her hand, feeling a sense of desperation flood her mind. " Please..."
The canon was loading, forming a bigger electric ball as the group neared.
"Please Lapis..." It was almost done charging.
"Please Lapis...save me!"
The cannon did not go off.
As if awakened by Peridot's mental plea, light traveled outwardly in all directions from the jewel, growing brighter by the second. Rising from Peridot's hand, a body swallowed the light, taking its life to reform the water nymph that was inside it. Her dress uncurled to reveal a thin black ribbon around her waist where the previous opening was, and the emblem of a dark blue star on her chest. It was simple, but the design had given up its identity—Lapis was now an earth gem. Everyone was caught by surprise at Lapis's appearance, but with her entrance, the tension between the enemies had softened.
" Lapis!" Steven was the first to approach the water gem, full of zeal. Lapis giggled and murmured a," Hi Steven," then turning to face the other three gems; her smile faded into neutrality, still bitter as she remembered her imprisonment. Peridot was absolutely relieved; now that Lapis was here, the rough edges between the two groups can now be smoothed over. Feeling much more safe now, the green gem neared and hide behind the reformed nymph; it was best to look as innocent as possible, and the gems really wouldn't hurt her if she stayed behind Lapis. At least that's what she assumed. They couldn't be threatened by the water gem, she was already accepted for her sacrifice—she was already cared for by Steven. At least this is what Peridot had hoped for. This is what she needs.
" Lapis, step aside. Peridot is the enemy—she can't be trusted." Garnet seemed to have calmed, with her movements growing more brisk as she motioned over to the green gem.
"Let us have her."
" Wait, please let me explain." Fixated on the gems now, she took a steady stance in front of her companion. " She...wants to surrender."
"What?!" Pearl was the one to speak now, voice becoming cross. " Since when? She couldn't possibly have—she was the one who sent the signal at the Communication Hub!"
" Yeah, and she tried to kill us on the space ship!" Amethyst had now joined in.
Lapis raised a brow as her gaze settled on the gem behind her, none to amused, and questioning. Peridot hadn't mentioned those things before, but they weren't exactly speaking to one another consistently either—just saying what was needed. But her main concern was that Steven was no doubt put in danger because of her—she could care less about the other gems—but Peridot had threatened to hurt Steven.
Feeling everyone's eyes on her, Peridot squirmed under their stares; something must be said to convince them.
" I..look I was just defending myself—"
"Ha! Defending? You were trying to destroy us! Crush us!"Pearl retorted, pointing her long fingers to the startled gem. " As if you would ever—"
" Yellow Diamond isn't coming."
The reply hung in the air with heaviness, the statement was not one to be expected either. Amethyst looked to the two taller figures, in disbelief while Pearl fiddled with her hands. Out of all of them, it seemed like Steven had the most neutral impression; he didn't know what to believe.
" She sent me a reply...she told me that I have failed the mission and that I can't return—but I want to go back! I need my pod so that I can turn back!" Peridot felt her voice quiver, unsure if it was for dramatic effect, or if the choking feeling in her heart had risen to explain some truth. Yellow Diamond had not answered her, it shouldn't be taking so long. In her heart, the swelling question of," maybe no answer is an answer" had repeatedly surfaced in her mind. If that was the case, then the gem will really did have to actually make a ship to get home—which was only her last resort. But the voice in her head echoed opposite. She had to have faith, she couldn't have been left here. Not so simply, not so suddenly. The plan—the plan needed to start, and as she refocused, she erased the wavering with more force.
" I want to go home, but I need my pod. I want to fix it and return home." The gem now stood up and now exposed herself to the fierce gazes of the other gems, and raised her hands next to her head. She needs this. She needs this badly.
The crystal gems all looked to one another, puzzled before a young voice broke the silence.
" I think we should let her." All eyes now focused on the voice's source, Steven.
" But Steven, she is our enemy!" the long, pale gem was about to start...
" But its much easier than having to hunt her down, and on top of that, we can watch her in the temple." The human gem looked up to his mentors with plea. " Can't we just...give her a chance?"
Both Amethyst and Pearl peered over at the taller gem, where the unofficial leader of the team pondered the boy's request. She looked to Peridot and Lapis, before turning back to the boy, who now moved closer to her. It was hard to decide, even with the aid of her future vision; she wasn't sure just how much of a moral transformation Peridot had gone through—or even if she went through one at all. But the small boy's appeals finally assured her of her decision, though cautious of her answer.
" We'll let her stay."