What am I doing? Peridot mentally scolded herself for being impulsive as she made her was down the cold, empty halls with Lapis. She held tightly onto the Water Witch's hand, guiding her through the maze of cells. I am going to get myself killed, Peridot thought. What was I thinking? It was bad enough that she was in Jasper's home, but now she was kidnapping her Water Witch. And Lapis was slow. Every once in a while, Lapis would inhale sharply, or her breathing became slightly shallow. However, Peridot knew it was because she was in pain.
Peridot occasionally glanced back at Lapis and see her lips tightly pursed with her eyes were closed tightly. She felt a mixture of pity for Lapis and annoyance at herself. Abduct the injured water nymph. Great idea, Peridot. She was an idiot. She could not dwell on her rash decision though. What done was done. Lapis was here with her now. She couldn't let it interfere with her primary objective; find Steven. Much to Peridot's relief, Lapis remained silent and allowed Peridot to lead her.
However, Peridot wasn't quite sure where she was going. No one had been inside of Jasper's castle before. This was uncharted territory, and it made Peridot anxious. They were blindly running around in this labyrinth. There were rows and rows of cells lining the cold, gray walls. Their feet echoed on the black ground. The shields were up and humming with electricity. However, no one else was imprisoned in them. Lapis seemed to be the sole occupant on this floor. Where are the other nymphs? Why was Lapis in isolation? This struck Peridot as peculiar. She always pictured the Water Witch living in luxury; surrounded silk and servants and enjoying the devastation she caused with Jasper and the other nymphs. It was quite the opposite.
"Do you need to rest," Peridot asked when Lapis started to move slower. Her tone was short and clipped.
"No," Lapis replied, soft and quick. They said nothing to each as they rounded another corner. Peridot started to wonder what the others would think when they saw her with Lapis. She would only have a short time to argue her case for-basically-kidnapping the Water Witch. And it was not going to go over well. The others would not be receptive to Lapis. Peridot was certain of this. Actually, she was more than certain. She had no guarantee they wouldn't attack Lapis on sight. She would have to stop them too. Peridot would have to make them understand why she did what she did. Even if she did not entirely understand it herself. Why did I do this, she asked herself for the hundredth time. They finally came to a flight of stairs; one leading up and the other down. Peridot thankfully recognized them as the ones she had ascended earlier. Peridot stood for a moment, contemplating where to go.
"Not up," Lapis warned. Peridot turned to her. Lapis was nervously biting her lower lip. Her blue eyes were wide as she gazed up the stairs; her eyes fell back onto Peridot. They stared at each other for a minute. Peridot was trying to figure out if she was lying. She did not have time to dwell on it. A loud crack of static made both of them jump. It was followed with a garbled, quiet voice. Her communicator! Peridot had forgotten it was on her wrist. She untangled her fingers from Lapis' and pulled back her sleeve. It was a makeshift device she had thrown together for this mission. Each of them had one just in case they got lost or captured. Lapis was looking at her with interest as she raised her arm to her mouth.
"I didn't catch that, Pearl."
"We found him! One floor down from where we entered. About 600 feet and around the corner. There are hundreds of prisoners here." Relief flooded Peridot, but it wasn't going to last long.
"Great. Great…uh, Pearl…I…"
"No time, Peridot. Get down here so you can lower the shield!" The other line went silent. Peridot sighed. She wished she had remembered about the communicator beforehand. It would have softened the shock of Lapis. But, they found Steven. That is what mattered. Now they had to free him and get out of there. So far, it had been surprisingly uneventful rescue. It was almost unnerving to think how simple this had been. Peridot did not want to think about it; however, she did review her steps. She had gone up one floor, so they had two floors to find Steven and the group. Silently, Peridot took Lapis' hand again, and they descended the stairs.
It didn't take long for them to find the third floor. Pearl was not overestimating the number of prisoners. Unlike Lapis' private level, the cells were stacked four by four. The rooms were smaller with the same shields set in place. There were no beds and only a small toilet. Some were crammed with two or more humans or creatures. The entire hall was filled with the commotion of hundreds of voices and cries. Peridot stood for a moment with her mouth hanging open. She looked at Lapis. Her expression was unreadable, but Peridot could tell she was just as distressed. Lapis caught her staring and averted her eyes.
The conditions of the cells were deplorable. Some of the toilets had evidently stopped working at some point. The smell of feces, urine, and sweat, was strong in some areas. When Peridot dared glance over at them, she could see walls and floors smeared with excrement. The prisoners looked filthy, and many were severely malnourished. Peridot's heart ached from the poor souls. No one seemed to notice them, or if they did, they did not care. They were too occupied in their own misery. This can be us, Peridot realized with a sickening feeling of dread in her stomach.
"Peri! Over here!" Amethyst waving her arms feverishly to get Peridot's attention at the conjunction. She was still wearing her mask, but Peridot could tell it was her by her stocky figure and raspy voice. Her stomach tightened, and she increased her grip on Lapis's hand. Okay…here we go. Amethyst hadn't notice Lapis yet. She signaled Peridot to follow her around the corner. Peridot took a deep breath. Her heart was thundering against her chest. She could feel her erratic pulse against her temples and wrists. Pearl and Ruby were waiting impatiently near a shield.
"It took you…" Ruby did not finish her sentence. Her eyes widened at the sight of Lapis. Go! Go!
"Okay. Wait. Hold on!" Ruby, Pearl, and Amethyst were getting into attack position. Pearl's sword and Amethyst's whip were drawn, ready for a fight. Behind her, she could feel Lapis retreat. "Listen. I can't explain right now. We don't have time! She is with me, okay? I promised to find her home. She is a prisoner too."
"It doesn't matter, Peridot. She is the Water Witch," Amethyst barked.
"I know…I…"
"What is the meaning of this," Pearl interrupted. Her blue eyes were narrowed. "How can you be so stupid?"
"Yes. I get it was stupid but…"
"This is a sure way to get us killed," Ruby hissed. They were all advancing on Peridot and Lapis, weapons ready. What do I do? They won't listen to me! You knew this was going to happen, she argued with herself. Peridot positioned herself between Lapis and her friends, raising her arms out like a shield.
"STOP!" A male voice broke through the bickering. Everyone froze and turned toward Steven. The burly man was standing as close to the force field as he could. He looked tired, and a bit roughed up. His clothes were dirty and torn; otherwise, he seemed well. "Peridot's right. This isn't the time. If she has a reason for bringing the Water Witch, I trust her judgment."
"But, Steven," whined Pearl angrily. Steven motioned her to stop, crossing his massive arms and shaking his head.
"No, Pearl. Not the time." Pearl huffed and withdrew her sword reluctantly. Amethyst followed suit. Peridot sighed with relief which allowed her body relaxed. Ruby, Pearl, and Amethyst shot deathly glares at Peridot and Lapis, but they would never second guess Steven. Everyone trusted his judgment. Peridot was incredibly grateful for Steven's intervention. Maybe he saw the same thing in Lapis as she did. Or, he had enough faith in Peridot to know what she was doing. Which was good because Peridot did not have any trust in herself at this moment.
Without another word, Peridot brushed passed the trio and went to work on the shield. Lapis stayed against the wall, away from Pearl, Ruby, and Amethyst. Peridot could feel her eyes moving between her, Steven and the other three. Peridot realized how horribly she was sweating. Between nearly being attack by her friends and concentrating on her task, Peridot's nerves were going haywire. She wiped away the precipitation from her forehead, biting her tongue as she fiddled with the contraption. Just like the control panel on Lapis' cell, Peridot was able to quickly drop the shield to Steven's prison.
Pearl, Ruby, and Amethyst rushed forward to greet Steven. They fussed over him like three mothers over a small child. Well, they were surrogate mothers to him. Peridot had only been a part of this family for seven years. Yet, she felt like Steven's younger sister. That was Steven. That was the beauty of the Crystal Gems. They made you feel like family. Peridot smiled at the reunion then looked over at Lapis. She was watching them, arms crossed over chest and her features stoic. Without warning, Steven grabbed Peridot and wrapped his large arms around her waist. He picked up the petite girl with no effort on his part.
"Hello, Steven."
"Hey, Peridot."
"Enough, "snapped Ruby. She jutted her thumb toward Lapis. "What are we doing with her?"
"She is coming with us," Steven said, smiling.
"Oh, no, she is not," Pearl replied indignantly.
"We don't have time to argue, Pearl. She is coming with us, right, Peridot?"
"Yes. I promised her." Pearl looked pissed but didn't say anything else. Steven set Peridot down and stepped toward Lapis. Lapis looked up at him, emotionless. He took a moment to study her. Her arms were still crossed; her posture was tense. Peridot could make see Lapis' fingers digging into her arms. Steven offered her his hand. Lapis frowned at him suspiciously.
"I'm Steven."
"Is this a joke?" Lapis' tone was dripping with cynicism. Steven laughed and shook his curly head.
"Not at all. But, I think it's only fair you know who we are, and we know what to call you. I doubt your name is Water Witch."
"It's Lapis. Lapis Lazuli."
"Hello, Lapis. This is Ruby. Pearl. Amethyst. And, of course, you met Peridot." Lapis nodded but didn't move or unwind her arms. Steven pulled back his hand.
"Now that is out of the way. We need to go," he said.
"What about the others?" Peridot scanned the walls of prisons. Steven's face fell as he followed her gaze. He sighed, shaking his head.
"We can't do anything now, or we would kill ourselves and them. This is why we must overthrow Jasper." No one said anything. They knew this to be true. They couldn't save everyone here without risking their lives. It would take hours to reach and hack each cell. Even if they could reach everyone, it would be harder to sneak them all out. The weight of the decision hung in the air. Solemnly, the group headed back to the opening. Peridot took Lapis by the hand again and followed behind. Well, that was one obstacle out of the way-for now. All they needed to do was escape without another hitch.