Well, I finally got this done. Sorry for the long wait, but with the current pandemic situation going on, life has become pretty hectic for quite literally everyone. And honestly, I did have half a mind to just give up on this. There were so many times I wanted to because there were so many times I just thought I couldn't make it work. The sheer length of it was a challenge and of itself as I had to jam so much into one chapter without breaking it apart, while also having to remove a lot of stuff as well. Not to mention this chapter includes one of the biggest and most significant things I've had to write for this story.
But it's here now. Good or bad, I am happy that it's done. So I do hope you enjoy it.
It was the usual, calm, peaceful, boring and but otherwise perfectly happy day in Beach City. With its sandy beaches, clear blue skies and friendly locals up and down the boardwalk, it was truly a fine place to for anyone to call home. Frankly, the only real downsides to living in Beach City would be the random monster attacks that would every other week and the occasional apocalyptic mishaps that were caused either by the three magical ladies who lived at the giant Temple built into the cliff side or the strange kid with the gemstone for a bellybutton. Usual the latter.
Steven was walking down the boardwalk alongside his father Greg, who was treating his son to a bag of fry bits from Mr Fryman's. As they walked, Steven was eagerly telling Greg all about his latest exploits with the Crystal Gems.
"So, then Pearl and Amethyst warped back up into space with their robot cubes things. Those are the ones that shoot out these cool red laser beams"
"Wow, that all sounds kinda….scary." Greg replied, uneasy. He usually didn't mind hearing about Steven's adventures with the Gems. While it always sounded a little dangerous from time to time, from what Greg could tell, things never really end that badly for Steven and nobody seemed to get hurt. But all this talk about Pearl and Amethyst, was starting to sound like something else entirely. And that was what was worrying Greg.
"Steven, you ever feel like maybe Gem stuff is too much for you?" Greg asked his son.
Steven stuffed a handful of fry bits into his mouth, slowly chewing and swallowing them, unsure of what his father meant by that question. "What do you-"
Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling sensation that shook the ground as though earthquake had just hit, knocking Steven off his feet. The entire boardwalk was struck by the same rumbling sensation; a dozen or so windows were shattered, startling a number of townsfolk before finally it ceased. Greg soon helped Steven back to his feet, who was now combating a brief sense of dizziness. Whatever that force was, Steven didn't think it was an earthquake. It felt more like a giant vibration that was moving through the air, like the aftershock of an explosion. Steven turned his head up to the sky, spotting something on the distance horizon, close to the setting sun. It was faint, but he could just barely make out an outline of the object, but he couldn't be sure if he was seeing things or not
"Is that a….giant sword?"
Whatever it was, Steven knew that it had to be the source of the disturbance and that he needed to inform the Crystal Gem, if they didn't know already. Both he and Greg hurried down the beach, heading toward the Temple, where they found both Jasper and Lapis near the edge of the shore. Lapis was pacing back and forth along the sand, appearing uneasy, while Jasper stood holding Steven's telescope, mount and all, in her right hand, looking through the eyepiece lens with a grim expression aimed at the unknown object on the horizon.
"Are the Light Cannons ready?" Jasper asked, without breaking away from the telescope.
"Peridot's getting the last one now" Lapis replied, fidgety glancing back to the Beach House, unable to keep herself still for more than a few seconds, hardly even noticing Steven and Greg as they approached the two Gems.
"Guys, did you see that thing up in the sky?" Steven asked instinctively, without pausing to register the likely redundancy of that question.
"No doubt about it" Jasper said, tossing telescope down to the sand, eyes still remaining fixed on the sky above. "It's a Gem warship"
The moment Jasper threw the telescope down, Lapis immediately set it up right again and looked into the eyepiece. "I've never seen one like that before" she said, growing more and more unnerved by the situation with each passing second. "It must be Pearl and Amethyst again. They must be bringing reinforcements with them this time"
"It's happening…" Greg whispered, with an increasing note of nervousness and fear in his voice.
"Let me see!" Steven cried. Lapis stepped aside as Steven took a hold of the telescope, placing his eye over the eyepiece to get a proper look at the mysterious object in the sky. Sure enough, his initial assumption was correct. The object was indeed a giant sword that looked to be the size of an airplane. The shape of the blade was long and wide, like a kind of broad sword, with a hilt, and a diamond shaped pommel at the end of the sword's grip. The sword, or rather ship, was black in colour, with the same the seamless and sleek texture that reminded Steven of Peridot's old spaceship.
"Peridot, are the Light Cannons ready?" Jasper yelled in the direction of the Beach House.
"Almost!" Peridot yelled back as she set down Rose's cannon on the front porch using her tractor beam. Peridot then tapped an icon on her finger-screen; a small metal platform slid out from underneath the rafters of the house, revealing an additional three Light Cannons, all now pointed up at the sky.
With everything in position, Jasper handed Steven a walkie-talkie, giving me a firm nod. "Light'em up"
Nodding in return, Steven spoke into the walkie-talkie, reciting the password to activating the cannons, the same creed that had been passed down to him by his father and by which Steven lived his own life by. "If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hotdogs!"
The walkie talkie duck taped underneath rafters carried Steven's message over to the Light Cannons, all four of them powering up at his command. The four cannons fired in unison, each releasing a beam of pure light energy that took the shape of a Rose Quartz figure. The four Quartz beams combined together in a spiraling dance, twirling in a straight line toward the sword-shaped spaceship, which made no attempt to maneuver or defend itself. The beams then struck the surface of the ship, bouncing off its black coated hull as though they were nothing more splashes of water, leaving no visible damage whatsoever to the ship nor did they appear to have slowed it down in the slightest.
"Nothing" Jasper said, holding up the telescope to her eye once again. She didn't sound surprised.
"What now?" Greg said, growing more and more fearful by the second concerned. A moment later, Peridot landed onto the beach using her finger-copter and joined the rest of the group.
"Looks like I have no choice now, but to pull out my secret weapon" she said, with mixture of apprehensive acknowledgment and reluctance, as opposed to her usual smug and overzealous enthusiasm. "I'll need some time to get it ready"
"And if that doesn't work, we'll have to take them on the ground" Jasper said. She then turned to Greg with a serious and grim look. "But we can't guarantee the safety of the town or the humans."
"Then it's time for some political favors" Steven said, pulling out his cell phone and selecting the number for Mayor Dewey. Steven didn't have to wait long before a frightened sounding voice he knew to be Mayor Dewey's answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mayor Dewey! It's me, Steven Universe"
"Universe, what's this thing in the sky?" the Mayor asked, sounding very much as though he knew or at least suspected, this was all Steven's fault. "As a man in a position of power, I can't have a big sword dangling over my head. "
"Mayor Dewey, the whole town's in danger" Steven said, stressing the urgency of the situation. "We have to evacuate the city."
It didn't take much more persuasion before Mayor Dewey was convinced to organise an evacuation and it took even less persuasion for the rest of the townsfolk to agree to evacuate within the next hour. Everything on the boardwalk closed down as the residents hurriedly backed up their belongings and essentials into their cars, slowly making their way of town in the form of a small convoy. From the sidewalk at the edge of the beach, Steven watched as the town had become virtually deserted, with only Mr Fryman and his family remaining, as they were almost finished loading their possession into the moving van. Though he was sad to see everyone go, Steven still felt relieved that they were all out of harm's way.
Steven then turned around to the others, intent on asking them what the rest of the plan was but paused once he saw Jasper hurling several large bags into Greg's van. Greg likewise was dressed in his full jacket, standing next to Lapis and Peridot, none of them speaking, yet all three of looked extremely nervous.
"Hey, that's a great idea, Dad" Steven said. "You should leave with the rest of the-" Steven paused when he saw his own cheeseburger backpack being dropped at Greg's feet. And it appeared to already be full.
"Is that my luggage?" Steven asked, confused. He looked up toward his father for an answer, with Greg practically flinching at his son's innocent gaze, unable to reply.
"Who wants to break it to him?" Greg said, turning to the other two Gems beside him. Lapis and Peridot exchanged a nervous look with one another, neither of them willing to volunteer. Slowly, all three of them turned to Jasper, who had just closed the door of the van. Realising all eyes were on her, Jasper let out a small, frustrated groan, knowing that they fully expected her to be the one to rip this band aid off. Jasper picked up Steven's backpack off the ground and walked over to the him.
"You're going with Greg and the rest of humans" she said blunt and to the point, handing Steven his backpack.
"What, but why can't I-" Steven began, but Jasper quickly raised her hand which silenced him at once.
"This isn't the time for arguments Steven. This is serious". Jasper sighed and took a knee down in front of Steven, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Alright look, I know you've come pretty far these past few months. You're a lot stronger than what you were. But trust me when I say, you are not ready for this. Leave this to us. You need to go with Greg and everyone else and make sure they're all safe. That's your mission this time. That's just what Rose would do"
A part of Steven wanted to argue back, but as soon as Jasper mentioned his mother, he knew that he had to obey. If this is really what Rose Quartz would do, then it was no less than what Steven could do.
Nevertheless, it was still quite painful for Steven to get into the van alongside Greg and join the rest of the convoy of Beach City residents heading out of town. He had no idea when they would return home again. Hopeful the Crystal Gems would be able to resolve this crisis and things could then return to normal. But even now, Steven still wasn't entirely sure what this crisis actually was. Just as they were
Steven poked his head of van window, waving goodbye to the Crystal Gems, who were standing at the rafters of the Beach House watching as he and Greg slowly disappeared down the road. Jasper was leaning forward, her hands gripping the wooden railing, not even attempting a gesture of farewell. Peridot was waving her arms like crazy, with the biggest smile plastered over her face, while Lapis simply had her hand raised in the air, small, yet sad smile on her face. Once they were sure Steven was out of sight, Peridot lowered her arms, dropping her facade and appearing just as nerved racked as ever, taking a deep breath to steady herself again.
"We're not going to see him again, are we?" Lapis whispered, with a hollow sense of fatality, lowering her arm down.
"Of course we'll see Steven again!" Peridot exclaimed, sounding as determined as ever. "We can still do this!" Her face faltered slightly, as she took a huge gulp while glancing up at the gigantic sword in the sky still creeping its way toward them. "Despite the…. impossibly, terrifying, overwhelming odds against us. But this can't be the end….can it?"
"Nothing is over" Jasper said, her eyes focused sword in the sky; she spoke with the kind of confidence that only the defiant to the very end and even further beyond could invoke. "Not as long as we can still stand and fight. Now pull it together."
Steven sat in silence as his father drove out of town. By now the sun had gone down and the night sky was rolling in. In the distance, reflected by the passenger mirror, Steven could still see the black sword in the sky, appearing to be even larger than before as it drew closer and closer to the ground. Strangely, Steven felt as intrigued by it as much as he was terrified by it. He understood that Pearl and Amethyst were likely returning to cause even more trouble, but even with what was going on, a part of Steven still hoped it would all work out in the end.
"Maybe when Pearl and Amethyst come to the Earth, they'll see how nice all the people are and they won't want to hurt anyone." Steven said, voicing his thoughts aloud for Greg to hear.
Rather than sneer at his son's optimism, Greg just chuckled slightly and managed to force a genuine smile as he was reminded of the person who he loved the most. "Just like your mother."
"Yeah?" Steven said, turning to his father with interest.
Greg soon was brought out this pleasant moment of fantasy, as he was brought back down to reality once again. "Yeah. But these other Gems aren't like your mother" he said, firm and serious. "They aren't like Lapis, or Peridot or Jasper. They aren't gonna start caring about people now. They didn't the first time they..."
Greg immediately caught himself mid-sentence, realizing what he was about to say, but it was too late. The damage was done, and Steven's curiosity now was now in full effect.
"The first time they what?" he asked, not knowing what his father was referring to.
Greg was could feel a wave of panic starting to set in, quickly trying to think of a way of deflecting the question. "I mean, it was thousands of years ago!" he said. "It's not like I was there! The Gems should be telling you all this stuff, but I get it. I mean, they don't want you thinking of them like that!"
"Like what?" Steven asked, starting to get a little worried by his father's strange reaction. When he didn't reply, Steven knew something was wrong. "Dad, like what?"
Greg gulped, as sweat accumulate on his forehead. He looked more worried and nervously than Steven had ever seen him; he wasn't sure even sure if he was blinking. Greg's mouth began to quiver as though words were literally fighting to break free, until finally he snapped,
"Like aliens, Steven! Aliens who invaded Earth!
"What!?" Steven exclaimed, shocked, almost certain that he must have misheard his father.
"All they do is try to make up for it" Greg continued, now sounding slightly calmer. "They just can't forgive themselves, you understand? Look, they were doing something awful to the planet and your mother couldn't stand it anymore. She told me that's why she had to turn on her own kind. She gave up everything just to stop what they started here and drive the invading Gems off of Earth. "
Steven suddenly remembered the quiet conversations between Jasper, Lapis and Peridot. The increased secrecy, the way they evaded direct questions, the tension they had been trying to hide from him. Ever since Garnet appeared, something had changed. Steven didn't want to believe what his dad was saying to him, yet every word made perfect sense. Steven remembered the fight between Jasper and Peridot back in her old spaceship.
"You could never understand unless you were here"
It all sounded so horrible, but Steven couldn't believe it was that bad. There had to be some sliver lining to this story.
"So she saved the world. That's good!" Steven said, desperately. Whatever the other details were, Steven knew his mother had been the one to stop this conflict and knowing that his father would agree with him any moment now. But Greg closed his eyes and gave Steven a sympathetic yet grave look.
"No such thing as a good war, kiddo" he replied heavily, with no trace of humor or wit to mitigate the severity of that statement. "Gems were destroyed, people too. In the end, your mother could only save a handful of her closest friends. If it weren't for her shield, man, I don't know."
Greg trailed off, not wanting to complete that thought. He took a quick breath; despite the intensity if the last few minutes, he seemed to relax himself again. In fact Greg almost looked a little pleased with himself, having finally been able to speak freely on this subject in who knows long. But this feeling of contentment didn't last too long, as Greg took just one look at his son and saw that he was very obviously not taking this news well.
"But hey, let's look on the bright side!" Greg said, putting on a cheery smile. "We're gonna drive past that waffle place in a couple miles!
The last thing Steven could think about right now was waffles, no matter how delicious. All this time, he had no idea. No idea that the Gems had this dark and unpleasant history that they were keeping from him this whole time. He knew they had fought to protect the Earth, but this was different. Ever since the day Garnet had appeared, something had changed. This is why they are so afraid. History was about to repeat itself. And if what Greg said was true, the only reason they survived the last time was because of Rose's shield. Because of his shield….
"We gotta go back!" Steven said at once. "Turn the van around!
"No way, the Gems don't want you going back!" Greg said, keeping his eyes firmly set on the road in front of them, refusing to turn or slow down.
"I know they're just trying to protect me, but I have to protect them!" Steven said, pulling up his shirt and showing Greg his gemstone. "I have Mom's shield, they need me!
"I need you too! " Greg snapped back.
"Please Dad, what if they get hurt?" Steven said, tears beginning to appear his eyes. "Dad, turn around!" But Greg did not turn, refusing to even look Steven in the eye at this point
His words were falling on deaf ears. Greg was ignoring him completely. Steven couldn't understand how his father was trying to ignore him and keep from doing something so obviously important. Steven could feel something building inside him, something hot and burning. Something so intense that just made him what to scream as loud as he possible could until the windows shattered.
He felt something very angry.
"Dad, turn the van around, PLEASE!"
Without pause for thought, Steven gave into that burning feeling his stomach and literally punched the front of the van. Two things then happened at once. First there then came a very loud bang and popping sound as the airbag of the van deployed right into Steven's face. At the exact same moment as the airbag went off, Steven instinctively summoned his own pink bubble to act as shield around his body. The resulting collision between both the mad-made and mystical safety measure devices created enough force to literally blow Steven out of the passenger window of the van, sending him rolling down onto a ditch on the side of the road.
Greg instantly pulled the van over at once, opening up the door and rushing down to the ditch to check that Steven was alright. Thankfully, due to his bubble, Steven appeared to be totally uninjured from the sudden crash landing. Greg approached Steven just as the bubble disappeared, holding his son by the shoulder to him steady him.
"Dad, please. I have to go back. I have to!" Steven said, looking his father straight in the eye, tears now streaming down his face. "They don't have my shield, do you understand?"
Greg stared deeply at his son, wiping away one of his tears. There was something unspoken passing between the two of them. A sense of trust and faith that only a father and son could experience. Steven loved his father more anyone. Steven didn't want to have to leave him, but he also couldn't let Greg stop him from going back to the Crystal Gems when they needed him. Steven wanted more than anything for his father to understand why he had to do this. He couldn't leave until he was sure that his father understood. And being his father, Greg knew exactly what Steven wanted to hear from him right now.
"Yeah, okay" Greg said, smiling warmly, finally giving in. He briefly squeezed his hand around Steven's arm. "Just be careful, or I'm gonna run fresh out of family.
"Stay with everyone and keep them safe" Steven said, rising back to his feet. "I'll figure out some way to get back to Beach City."
Steven suddenly felt something big and soft press up against the back of his head. He turned and saw Lion standing right next to him. Where he came from or why he had just chosen now of all times to show up, Steven had no idea, and he was not about to question it.
"Oh, this'll work!" he said, happily. Steven mounted on top of Lion who had kneelled down for Steven to climb up.
Lion took off in a run, heading back toward Beach City. From here, Steven could see the giant sword had arrived and was now hovering right side up over the water, looming directly in front of the Temple. Steven just hoped it wasn't too late. But there was still one last thing he needed to do before he faced whatever was about to came next. Steven pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number. There was no reply on the other end, instead just going to voicemail. Steven wasn't really sure if this was better, but he spoke, nonetheless.
"Hey Connie, it's me"
10 minutes earlier
"Is it ready yet?" Jasper shouted, her voice carrying over the increasing sound of the wind.
"Not yet" Peridot shouted back impatiently.
"It's almost here!" Lapis stressed.
"It's almost ready"
"Peridot!"
Once Steven had departed, the three Crystal Gems had relocated down to the beach in front of the Temple. The giant black sword in the sky was now less mile away from them and closing in fast, no doubt about to make landfall in what could only be a matter of minutes. But if this was going to be their last stand, the Crystal Gems were certain to have a welcome prepared for it.
Resting in the middle of the beach below the Beach house was a massive, green skinned finger, roughly the size of a train cart, made of a sleek metal that very obviously was not of this world. Peridot was standing next the finger, working diligently in front of an exposed panel on the underside of the finger, revealing a kind of computer terminal. Down at her feet were a series of wires running out from the terminal, connected to small green orb. The orb was cackling with green energy, as a power bar on the computer screen was slowly filling itself up.
"I haven't used the main cannon from my ship since I crashed here" Peridot said. "But by adapting this old power unit, it should be able to generate enough energy to fire, but we'll only have enough for one shot."
"Then we make it count" Jasper shouted back, standing firm, looking directly at the tip of the sword approaching her without any fear. "Lapis, now!"
Taking a deep breath to focus herself, Lapis raised her arms up into the air; water from the surrounding ocean gathered onto the beach, coming toward the base of the massive green finger, and lifting it up into the air. The water began to expand and contorting, slowly taking on the shape of human shaped hand attached to the base of the green finger which acted in place of the missing index finger. With the finger now attached, Lapis stretched her right arm forward, raising her thumb upward and pointing her index finger at the oncoming sword like a gun; the giant water manifestation followed Lapis movement exactly, taking aim at the sword as well, the green index finger now pointed it at the ship, a huge orb of green energy began to forming at the fingertip as the cannon prepared to fire.
Jasper remained where she was at the head of the beach, holding her ground unflinchingly, the wind rushing past her as black sword titled forward, slowly coming to a halt as it turned upright, the tip of the blade hovering above the surface of the water.
"NOW!" Jasper screamed.
Primed and ready, Peridot pressed her metal digit down on the icon of her finger-screen. The cannon fired, releasing a huge, powerful beam of energy. The water manifestation rippled violently as it withstood the recoil of the blast, Lapis using of her strength to hold it together.
In the brief second before the beam struck against it, the sword suddenly rotated sideways, the edge of the blade now facing forward. The beam split in half as it struck the edge of the blade and veering off into two separate directions into the sky. With the cannon having fired its single shot, it powered down, the luminescent green colour turning dull and lifeless.
A streak of light traveled down the length of the sword's edge and a second later it released a thin, curved wave of black coloured energy that cut through the air, slicing clean through the cannon. For a brief instant, the two halves of the cannon split apart from each other, before they both erupted into a massive green explosion that blew the water manifestation apart as well. Pieces of the cannon rained down on the beach ocean, followed by a brief shower of rain.
"It's didn't work…" Lapis whispered, her voice almost shaking with disbelief.
"Oh, this is not good" Peridot cried, clutching fistfuls of her hair, rapidly glancing back and forth between the ruins of her cannon and the gigantic sword that now loomed over them.
"What…what do we do now?" Lapis asked loudly, now beginning to sound desperate as she looked at Jasper's back. "We've got to have another plan!"
But Jasper said nothing, as she continued to glare at the massive sword in front of her, as though she was trying to pull it down with sheer will. It was then Peridot cleared her throat in a seemingly loud manner, catching Lapis' attention.
"Well, there is… one other alternative we haven't considered yet" she said.
"What?" Lapis said, impatiently. "What else is there we can do?!"
Peridot briefly glanced down to the sand, before looking up at Lapis with a painful expression. She didn't want to say it, but she said it, nonetheless. "Maybe….if we had Malachite?"
Lapis eyes widened as soon as she heard that single, terrifying word. For a moment Lapis looked like she going to get angry at Peridot for even suggesting such a thing, but instead she sighed, relenting. Deep down she should have known this was going to be brought up. But even if they were out of options, Lapis honestly didn't know if she could do it again.
"I-" she began.
"No" Jasper said sharply, cutting Lapis off as both she and Peridot turn around to look at Jasper in surprise. "No fusion. We can't count on Malachite. Not this time"
Lapis shared another surprised look with Peridot; Jasper had never once turned down any opportunity for herself and Lapis to attempt fusion, and this might have been the best excuse she was ever going to get. And yet, she was the one refusing it this time, leaving Lapis at a loss for words.
"Jasper, you really don't-?"
"I can handle this" Jasper said, without turning to Lapis, keeping her eyes focused on the ship hovering in front of them. "Whoever is in there, we take them out here on the ground and then take control of that ship. Now, quit you're whining and get ready. Here they come"
The three Gems now looked upwards to pommel of the sword as something was now happening. The exterior metal began to ripple like water as a black coated sphere emerged from the surface and floated down to the beach. The sphere rested on the sand, before it receded downward, seemingly dissolving into the sand and leaving two figures standing in its place. One of these the figures was Amethyst, her expression fierce with determination. And standing next to Amethyst was another familiar figure that the Crystal Gems were not expecting to see again.
"You!" Jasper growling, pointing at an accusing finger at Garnet. "You lead them to us, didn't you?"
Garnet grimaced slightly at Jasper's words. Since the last time the Crystal Gems had seen Garnet, her colouring had changed, gaining more consistent purple, while having some random botches of blue and red in places. Her clothing was not much different except that she was now wearing some kind of visor over her face, covering up her three eyes.
"She….I didn't have a choice!" Garnet cried after a moment's pause. "This was the only way for Ruby and Sapphire to be safe"
"Leave our planet alone" Lapis said, unfurling her wings, readying herself for battle.
"All of you are gonna surrender to us right here and now" Amethyst said with an impressive display of confidence and authority as she stepped forward. "Or else this time, I won't go so easy on you"
Jasper threw her head back and let out a cruel chuckle. "Oh, that was you going easy on us last time, huh?" she sneered, clearly far more amused than intimidated by Amethyst threat. Amethyst blushed slightly, looking embarrassed by the lack of an impression she had made. She was about to follow up with another quick retort, but Jasper didn't allow her that chance
"Tell me something. Who else you got up in that ship?" Jasper asked, glancing up to the pommel of the sword. "No overcooked runt like you would have their own Pearl or be put in charge of their own mission. So, who's really here looking for a fight? A Hessonite? An Emerald?"
Amethyst curled her lips in a snarl and shifted her feet in the sand as she glared fiercely at Jasper.
"You don't have worry about anyone else" she growled in a low voice. "Because I'm taking the one who's gonna take you down!"
"Why are you still talking about it then?" Jasper said, unimpressed.
With a furious battle cry, Amethyst charged forward, summoning her braided whip from her gemstone, while Garnet remained where she was.
"Amethyst, wait!" she called after her. "We need to fight together!"
But Garnet's words were soon droned out as Amethyst let out another cry as she leapt up into the air, unfurling her whip, swinging it directly at Jasper's head.
With a slightly bored expression, Jasper simply arched her neck backwards, avoiding the whip as past over her head. Unfortunately, neither Lapis nor Peridot were anywhere near as prepared just barely having enough time to move out of the way of the oncoming whip as it missed Jasper and came flying at the two of them instead, striking down at the sand where they had they been standing.
Amethyst dropped back down to the sand, landing right behind Jasper. She turned about with a devilish grin on her face and raised her fists in the air, ready to fight but paused in surprise when she realized that Jasper hadn't turned around yet. Instead, Jasper formed her crash helmet on her head and charged forward at Garnet instead, who summoned her own two gauntlets to defend herself.
For a moment it looked as though Amethyst was about to say something in protest at the fact that Jasper had ignored her completely, but she did not get the chance. Spotting something out of the corner of her eye, Amethyst jumped out of the way, narrowly dodging a green bolt of energy from Peridot's finger-cannon. Peridot fired her finger-cannon again, keeping Amethyst within her line of sight, but the small Quartz Gem somersaulted out of the way, moving as nimble as a cat.
Lapis extended a watery arm out, trying to grab hold of Amethyst, but Amethyst ducked underneath her reach, dodging each of her attacks as well as another blast from Peridot, in an amazing display of agility, while occasionally flinging her whip back at Peridot and Lapis. As three Gems fought continued to trade blows, there came a loud booming sound from the other side of the beach as Jasper and Garnet collided with one another. Garnet's gauntlets struck against Jasper's crash helmet, the air vibrating around them from the force of their attacks as they pushed against each, neither of them able to gain an inch on the other. Finally, they broke apart and began to circle each one another, preparing to clash again at a moment's notice.
Amethyst paused in the middle of her acrobatics and glanced over to where Jasper and Garnet were fighting with a look of anticipation, clearly expecting Jasper to cease her duel with Garnet and come to battle her any moment. But Jasper's focus was on nothing but Garnet, either oblivious or disinterested in the fight that was happening adjacent to them.
"To tell you the truth, I've been hoping to get a rematch with you" Jasper said with relish, punching her right fist into her left palm, staring down Garnet, who raised her gauntlets in the air, looking equally ready for another bout.
Amethyst watched this exchange, appearing dumbfounded, before her face contorted into a furious snarl. Refusing to be ignored any longer, Amethyst swung her arm forward and with a quick snap, wrapped the end of her whip around Garnet's waist before pulling her all the way back across the sand behind her.
"Back off!" Amethyst shouted. "She's mine!"
"No, Amethyst, don't switch with me yet!" Garnet cried, but again Amethyst ignored Garnet's command and charged at Jasper, who merely dodged her attacks with the same ease as before.
Garnet raised her left fist and the air around it beginning to sizzle as a red orb of heat formed around her knuckles, as she prepared to rush in after Amethyst, just as bubble of water surrounded Garnet's fist, dousing out the fire. Garnet glanced over her shoulder to see Lapis with her arms extended forward with a look of concentration on her face as she held the bubble around Garnet's fist. Garnet's right fist turned to bright blue ice, intending to freeze the water, when Peridot's tractor beam wrapped around the fist, pulling it back.
Garnet struggled against the individual bindings that Lapis and Peridot managed to entrap her with, unable to shake her hands free. Finally Garnet stopped struggling and began still. The gauntlets on her hands slowly to grow in size until they were at least three times their original size, popping both the water bubble and tractor beam. Garnet slammed her newly sized gauntlets together, producing a powerful shockwave in the air that knocked both Lapis and Peridot off their feet, but they didn't stay down for long as they jumped back into the fray within seconds, while Jasper and Amethyst continued their own fight. Amethyst tucked her head between her legs and spun her body fast like a buzz saw, firing herself at Jasper, who swatted her away with the back of her hand. Yet this did not deter Amethyst as she immediately got back up and attack again, only to end with the exact same result of Jasper knocking her back.
The battle had become so chaotic that no one noticed the small pink portal that opened under the base of the Temple, out of which appeared Steven riding Lion. It took a handful of seconds for Steven to try and get a grasp of the situation he was seeing, unsure to call attention to first: the giant sword standing over the water or the fact Garnet was back. The only certain thing was that everyone was fighting again, and he had to do something before anyone got hurt.
"Thanks Lion" Steven said, dismounting the big cat, who curled up on the sand, now looking tired. "You stay here. If something goes wrong, Dad's gonna need a new son"
Patting Lion on the head, Steven ran down the beach toward the battle, not entirely what he was going to have do, only knowing that he had to find some way of stopping this. Garnet had just stunned Lapis using a short burst of electricity from her gauntlets. She then knocked Peridot to the ground with a strong right hand. Once that she down, Garnet took the chance to move in, pulling her gauntlet back and about to strike Peridot.
"STOP!"
Garnet's fist could have been no more than an inch away from Steven's face as she halted her attack at the exact moment that he placed himself in front of Peridot.
"Steven!" Peridot and Garnet cried in unison.
"Steven?!" Lapis said, looking up in shock. Jasper had just knocked Amethyst back once again as she turned around, her fierce eyes wide with surprise at the sight of Steven.
"Sapphire! I mean, Ruby, I-I-I mean Garnet!" Steven stuttered, holding his hands up a peaceful gesture as he approached the Fusion. "Please, stop. Why are you doing this?"
Garnet started backing away, shaking as though she were afraid of Steven, struggling to find the words to explain herself. "I-I-I…we…we don't have a choice, Steven."
"Of course you have a choice!" Steven said, moving closer to her. "It doesn't have to be like this"
"Yes, it does" Garnet stressed, now sounding terrified. "You don't understand Steven, this….this is the only way I can exist, that we can be together. By fighting, by using our combined strength. Homeworld will never let us stay fused unless it's to fulfil a purpose"
"But that's a horrible reason to stay fused" Steven said, appalled. "I thought Ruby and Sapphire just wanted to be together. You said you were made out of love, right? But this isn't love"
"No…" Garnet whispered, placing her hands on either side of head as tears began to stream down from within her visor. "No, no, no…" . She continued to moan in despair as she fell to her knees. In a moment her body was transformed into pure light and split into two smaller fragments, each taking on a separate form that Steven quickly recognised as both Ruby and Sapphire.
"What's wrong?" Ruby said, immediately rushing next to Sapphire. "I can't….you…."
"We can't do it anymore" Sapphire whispered, falling to her knees, grabbing fistfuls of her own hair as a single large tear trailing down the middle of her face. "I don't want this. Don't you see? It's not worth it"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry!" Ruby cried, tears now forming in her own eyes as well, as she began to smack her palms to her forehead in frustration. "I just thought I was doing what was best for you after everything you went through to find me again. I didn't want you to feel like it was for nothing"
"It wasn't for nothing." Sapphire replied, turning away from Ruby, refusing to look at her. "But it wasn't for this either"
Ruby's eyes began to water, her lower lip quivering as she hugged her arms around herself, looking heartbroken and ashamed. Steven wasn't entirely sure if he would call this situation a success, but it didn't appear as though Ruby or Sapphire any intention of continuing to fight for the moment.
"Steven, why did you come back?" Lapis asked, suddenly appearing next to him and grabbing him at the shoulders. "You have to get out of here!"
"See, I knew we'd see Steven again" Peridot said, as always refusing to pass up any opportunity to express her correctness.
"I'm Crystal Gem too!" Steven said, pulling away from Lapis. "This is my home. Dad told me all about that stuff about the war and how Homeworld was trying to do something bad here. I don't really get what this is about, but whatever this is, I'm a part of it too. I won't leave you guys."
"Steven, you can't be here this time!" Lapis said, shaking her head. "This is too-"
"Forget it". Everyone turned their heads toward Jasper. She was looking at Steven with an amused, slightly proud smirk. "You really are just like her, huh? She couldn't stay away even if she wanted to"
"Hey!" There was a cracking sound in the air as the end of a whip suddenly smacked against the back of Jasper's head. Without so much as flinching, Jasper turned around, looking as irritated as if a bee had just stung her. Amethyst, now looking battered and furious, snapped her whip against the ground again.
"Don't turn your back on me!" Amethyst swung her whip again, but this time Jasper caught it in her hand, stopping it dead in its track. Amethyst angry face suddenly dropped into an expression of surprise and fear.
"You want my full attention, runt?" Jasper said, twirling the whip between her fingers.
With a mighty tug, Jasper pulled the whip forward, literally dragging Amethyst's feet through the sand until she was standing directly under Jasper; somehow Amethyst appeared even smaller than before.
"Alright, now you've got it!"
Jasper reached down and clasped her entire hand around Amethyst head, lifting her off the ground, her tiny legs kicking in the air as she screamed, struggling to break free.
"Let me make something clear to you" Jasper said, leaning in close, speaking in voice so cold and fierce that Amethyst ceased her screaming and froze up in fear. "I'm the strongest Gem on this planet. This whole planet is my turf, my territory! Any Gem that wants to mess with the Earth has to come through me to do it!"
Jasper pulled her arm back and punched Amethyst clear in the chest, just inches below her gemstone, sending her flying back across the beach, smashing down to the ground. Amethyst had only just barely managed to stand up again, when Jasper kicked her hard in the stomach, knocking her back once again.
"Jasper, stop please!" Steven cried, rushing forward.
But Jasper had no intention of stopping, as she grabbed Amethyst by helm of her shirt and picked her up once again. Amethyst could only give one last look of hatred and defiance at Jasper, before Jasper delivered a power headbutt her in face, this time sending Amethyst flying so far back that she landed at the very edge of the beach, under the shadow of the hovering sword.
"Do yourself a favor and stay down!" Jasper shouted.
"Jasper, stop, that's enough!" Steven begged, grabbing Jasper by her hand, feebly pulling at her arm. He may not have known Amethyst very well, but Steven couldn't bear to see Jasper hurt her like this. However, Steven stopped pulling when he noticed that Jasper's hand was shaking. Surprised, he glanced up to Jasper's face; her teeth were clenched, her lower jaw trembling. Steven had seen that kind of reaction from Jasper before and it usually would denote anger, but when Jasper spoke again, he realized she wasn't angry; she was desperate.
"Please…..just stay down" Jasper whispered, for once in her life wishing she didn't have to throw another punch. She didn't seem to notice that her crash helmet disappeared off her head.
But despite the brutal beating she had received, Amethyst had no intention of standing down, even if her body disagreed with her. She groaned painfully as she once again tried to raise to her feet, but her legs seem to give up on her and she collapsed down to her knees. Tears began to fill Amethyst eyes as she slammed her fist down in the sand in a bout of frustration, muttering to herself, sounding close to delirious
"Can't stop, this is my chance. Have to keep fighting, I have to….have to show them I'm….I'm not…"
"That's enough, Amethyst"
Amethyst let out a sudden, terrified gasp, whipping her head around to the sword that was towering over them. Everyone else on the beach froze as they all had just heard that same loud, booming voice, coming from the ship.
"Oh no" Sapphire whispered, now sounding frightened, covering her hands over her mouth.
"What is it?" Ruby asked, sounding very worried as she hovered over Sapphire. "What did you see?!"
The Crystal Gems quickly huddled together once, forming up in front of Steven, who arched his head up to the giant sword, trying to see what was about to happen next. Near the top of the sword, the pommel began to ripple once more, becoming fluid-like as another black orb emerged from the surface, slowly descending down to the beach. Just as the first one did, the orb melted away, dissolving into nothingness, revealing another pair of Gems. The first one being Pearl, her head hanging low and her hands neatly folded at her waist as she stood in silence next to the second, mysterious figure.
The unknown figure was another Gem, that much was obvious, but not one that Steven had ever seen before. They were tall, appearing roughly the same height as Jasper. But unlike Jasper, they were not as bulkier or stocky. Instead, their body was thin, yet it was not lacky in anyway, but rather lean and well-toned, with the right amount of muscular to appear intimidating. The skin on their face was a kind of ash grey colour, while their hair was inky black and tied back into a small, round bump near the back of their head.
The clothing they wore appeared to be a mixture of black and dark purple, with wrist length gloves over their hands and a cloak that hung over their left shoulder, concealing their left arm. A black, round gemstone was displayed just below the naval area and just above waistline, appearing almost like an extravagant belt buckle.
The Gem expression was mostly impassive, neither smiling nor scowling. Their face was round, slightly angular along the lower jaw and chin. Their eyes were also black in colour, small and almond shaped, yet even from a distance there was a kind of intensity about them, a sort of powerful focus; they looked like the eyes of a hawk waiting patiently for any sign of its prey. Beyond that there wasn't anything else particularly noteworthy about their facial features, other than they might have given the impression of youth, despite the fact Gems had no true age.
The unknown Gem did not say anything, only to cast a brief look over their shoulder to where Amethyst was lying. With sudden burst of energy that seemed to instantly abolish her fatigue, Amethyst jumped her feet, ran over and stood at attention in front of the unknown Gem, like a trained soldier before their general. The unknown Gem then looked in the direction of Ruby and Sapphire, and raised their right hand, making beckoning gesture with their two fingers, obviously signalling them to come forward. Without wasting a single second, Ruby and Sapphire all rushed over to stand before the unknown Gem alongside Amethyst.
Amethyst stepped forward, obviously wanting to get the first word in both anyone else did. "Ok, I know what this looks like, but just me give another chance and I swear I can still-"
Before Amethyst could finish, the unknown Gem reached inside of their cloak and pulled out what appeared to be some kind of metallic fork attached to the end of a handle. Amethyst fell silent instantly, looking at the strange fork with dread.
"I ordered you to take the Gem destabilizer with you. You did not take it" the unknown Gem said. Their voice was soft, articulate and controlled, yet there was an unmistakable note of cold anger behind it that needed no higher pitch to emphasize the strength and authority it carried. "Why did you not take it?"
Amethyst gulped, looking down to the ground as she muttered out a very feeble answer. "I thought…. I didn't need it"
"I see" the unknown Gem replied after a brief pause. They dropped the fork down at Amethyst feet. "Then it seems you overestimated yourself as much as did I. We'll discuss this later. And as for you two" the Gem continued, turning their head in the direction of Ruby and Sapphire; Ruby instantly threw herself, arms spread, in front of Sapphire who cowered behind her.
"When I found you two in that strange form, you were able to convince me that you could be useful to this mission. And when you told me where the location of the Gem base was on this planet, I offered you the chance to prove yourselves. But instead all you have proven yourselves as a complete embarrassment and disgrace." The Gem shook their head, looking disappointed. "I should have known better than to allow this"
"Please, it was my fault!" Ruby said. "Punish me, not Sapphire"
"I will deal with the two of you later. But for now, you will both stay out of the way. And so, will you" The unknown Gem cast another dark glare at Amethyst again. The unknown Gem then sighed and shook their head again. "It would seem the only Gem here I can truly rely on is Pearl". Behind them, Pearl raised her head slightly at the mention of her name, appearing neither pleased nor ashamed. "Still, it doesn't matter. I will handle this now"
Steven and the Crystal Gems watched this exchange from their side of the beach, taking the moment to recollect themselves. None of the Crystal Gems knew what to make of this new Gem, but they were very much expecting another fight, nonetheless. Steven himself felt he had even less understanding of what was happening, still feeling like he was locked out of some kind of loop. He didn't know who this unknown Gem was or what they wanted with them. The only thing that he could tell was that whoever this Gem was, Ruby, Sapphire, Amethyst and even Pearl seemed to be afraid of them.
"So, you're the one behind all this?" Jasper said, addressing the unknown Gem directly. "Who are you and what do you want?"
The Gem stepped forward and opened their mouth, preparing to speak, but they were instantly cut off by Pearl, who very quickly rushed front of them.
"He is Black Onyx" she declared, very loud and boldly. "The Supreme Protector of all of Homeworld"
"Black Onyx, huh?" Jasper said, smirking at the Gem with a growing sense of bloodlust.
"Protector?" Lapis whispered, with a hint of trepidation in her voice.
"…..He?" Peridot said, arching an eyebrow in confusion.
With a slight grunt, the aforementioned Black Onyx gently nudged Pearl out of his path with the back of his hand. If he was angry at her sudden interruption, he did now show it, as he simply walked past her and stood opposite the Crystal Gems.
"So, this is what remains of the so-called Crystal Gems" Onyx continued, crossing his arms, running his eyes over each member of the party as if trying to apprise them. "Quite an intriguing group. The legendary, perfect Quartz solider, Jasper" he said, while taking particular note of Jasper, who let out a slight low growl in response.
"The infamous Lapis Lazuli" he added cryptically, earning himself an angry glare from Lapis.
"Peridot, Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG" Onyx said without missing a beat, which caused Peridot's to let out a small whimpering sound, looking particularly vulnerable.
"And…" Onyx paused when he finally noticed Steven, hiding behind Jasper's legs, briefly regarding him with a look of incomprehension. "What is that thing?"
"He's nothing, he's just a human!" Sapphire shouted immediately from behind. Onyx briefly turned his head to look back at Sapphire as she spoke. "He…he won't be any trouble"
"This isn't a Gem controlled planet" Peridot said, doing her best to try and hide the fear in her voice as she spoke. "You h-have no business here!"
"Get off our planet now!" Lapis snapped angrily. Her voice then dropped to a low and far more dangerous sounding whisper as she punctuated each word. "Before we make you!"
Onyx did not appear the least bit intimidated or even interested in Lapis threat, as he rubbed his hand underneath his chin, looking to be more preoccupied with his own thoughts more than anything else.
"I really must confess" he said, briefly glancing up to the sky and back down to the Crystal Gems. "When I discovered that someone or something from a supposedly dead planet had been destroying my Hexahetrons, I was admittedly…concerned. I'm not unaccustomed to setbacks, but I don't like unknowns. That's why I sent my Pearl and Amethyst back to this planet for further investigation, to try and discover what was causing these disruptions." Onyx made a brief gesture his hand, indicating toward Pearl and Amethyst behind him, neither of them looking the least bit appreciative at being mentioned by name.
"Imagine my surprise when they came back and told me that a regiment of the Rebellion had somehow managed to survive and has been in hiding here in secret for the past 5000 years. Oh yes, I was concerned. But there was still one thing I needed to verify before we could continue with our original mission. And despite this debacle, I have learned exactly what I needed to know. Rose Quartz is dead"
Jasper, Lapis and Peridot each shared a surprised and concerned look with one another at Onyx unexpected statement. Steven gulped, feeling even more uneasy than before at the mention of his mother.
"The true purpose of this assault was to draw the leader of the Crystal Gems, Rose Quartz, out into the open" Onyx continued. "Every report I have ever read and every story I have heard from every Gem who was involved with this planet, led me to conclude that Rose Quartz was no coward, nor would she needless risk the lives of her fellow Gems in battle at her own expense. And yet, she did not appear to aide you. I can now safely conclude that Rose Quartz is gone"
Now beginning to understand the circumstances a bit better, Peridot let out an optimistic smile, deciding to test her luck. "So that means you'll leave and never come back?"
"Yes, we will leave" Onyx replied flatly. Peridot broke into a wide smile, feeling an immense sense of victory.
"….Once our mission is completed". Peridot dropped her smile, now feeling a much more familiar sense of disappointment.
"What's this mission of yours?" Jasper demanded. "What do you want with the Earth now?"
"Even if I told you, it would make no difference. We will finish our task here, but I have had my fill of your interference. And at the very least, I cannot allow the two of you roam about unchecked" Onyx said, pointing a finger specifically in the direction of both Jasper and Lapis. "I will put an end to this most promptly"
Onyx lowered his right hand to his gemstone which began to release bright, white glow. Within that light, a black coated pommel, handle and cross guard became to materialize. Onyx gripped the handle with his hand and in a single, swift motion, he pulled his weapon free from his gemstone and swung his arm out wide; in his right hand he now held a massive double-edge black broadsword, that looked to be width of a chest and three times the length of an arm. It was black in colour, glistening with a dark brilliance, that made it appear opaque and imperishable. But the most noticeable feature of the sword was that looked identical in shape to the giant ship that was still hovering behind them.
There was sudden loud whirling noise, as the ship came to live again as it slowly started to rotate itself right side upwards until it was pointing at a 90-degree angle, matching the pose Onyx was holding his sword in. Onyx then gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands and shifted his legs out wide as he took up a stance in the sand. Holding his arms out forward, Onyx slowly raised the sword up past his head as if preparing to swing down. Behind him, the ship followed the same pattern, pulling itself backwards, ready to come down upon the Crystal Gems like an executioner's blade
"Steven get out of here, now!" Jasper ordered, taking up position in front of the group as though she was prepared to take the brunt of the attack herself, while Peridot and Lapis looked to be paralyzed in fear, unable to move.
"No, this is my home!" Steven said, still refusing to abandon the Gems. "I'm Crystal Gem too!"
"Steven, wait!" Peridot cried.
Without warning, Steven broke away from Peridot and rushed forward in front of Jasper, nothing but the thought of protecting everything he that he loved motivating him to do what needed to be done as he braced himself, hoping that this would work.
Like a clap of thunder, the great sword came down upon the Crystal Gems, shaking the land, the sea and even the sky as the clouds above disappeared from the force of the impact as the sword struck against something solid. Underneath the giant blade, Steven was standing with his arms out wide, unharmed and his gemstone exposed. The second before the sword had struck, he had managed to summon a massive pink shield that was almost equal in proportion to the size of the sword, stopping it dead in tracks before it could hurt him or the Crystal Gems, who were staring at the giant shield with stunned amazement.
Across the beach, Onyx eyes widened as he appeared genuinely surprised for the first since he had arrived, staring up in disbelief at the great pink shield that had thwarted his attack. He flung his arm back; the ship broke away from shield and returned to its original upright position in the sky. From behind Onyx, Ruby and Sapphire were still holding onto one another, both of them looking to be a mixture of shocked and amazed by what had just transpired.
"Whoa!" Amethyst whispered in awe, her eyes glistening at the sight of the pink shield, which have may been the most incredible sight she had ever seen in life.
But Pearl on the other hand, appeared to have become a living statue, looking at the massive pink shield as though it were something straight out of a personal nightmare. Moving slowly, she raised both of her hands to her face and place them over her mouth, as tears slowly started to trail down from her cheeks.
After another few moments, the pink shield slowly began shrink down back toward Steven, until it final disappeared in a small bundle of glittering lights. Seeing that they were safe and in still in one piece, Steven collapsed to his knees, feeling more exhausted than he could ever remember, never having made a shield that big before. For a moment, maybe he thought he should feel proud of himself, but that would have to be sometime after the ground stopped spinning below him.
Lapis and Peridot quickly rushed to either side of Steven, checking for his health as he collapsed into the former's arms, while Jasper remained in front of the group like a sentinel, ready to stop anyone from coming near.
On the other side of the beach, Onyx was staring down at his sword, his brow furrowed as he examined the blade with a contemplative look, as though he was trying to discern some kind of trickery. After a moment, he pulled his eyes away from his sword and directly onto Steven, now giving the young boy his full and undivided attention.
"You said that thing was a human" Onyx said, abruptly turning to glare accusingly at Sapphire.
"H-h-he is!" Sapphire replied shakily, nodding her head as fast as possible. "He's just a human"
"Then how does a human have the power of a Gem?" Onyx demanded, causing Sapphire to flinch fearfully as Ruby placed herself in front Sapphire once again, hoping to shield her from Onyx wraith however she could. Onyx then turned to Amethyst, who was still watching the Crystal Gems with her mouth agape.
"Did you know?" Onyx asked.
"Huh?" Amethyst asked, startled, turning to Onyx as though she had forgotten entirely about his presence.
"Do not play games with me, Amethyst!" Onyx snapped impatiently, brandishing his hand in the direction of the Crystal Gems. "Did you know about this?"
"I-I-I didn't know anything, I swear!" Amethyst said, coming out of her daze at once. "I thought he was human too. I mean he looks just like one"
Though he didn't appear fully satisfied, Onyx did nor pry Amethyst any further as he turned to the only Gem he had yet to ask. Pearl was still standing completely frozen in place, her hands still covering her mouth. Onyx eyed her with suspicion, knowing immediately that something was off about her reaction.
"Pearl, have you something you want to say?" Onyx asked.
Pearl did not lower her hands from her mouth to answer him. Instead she closed her eyes and let out a small whimper as though she was in pain. Narrowing his eyes, Onyx stepped closer to Pearl.
"Pearl, have you seen that shield before?" he asked in a low voice.
Moving as though she was straining herself, Pearl slowly pulled her hands from her mouth and spoke in a barely audible whisper. "Y-yes"
Onyx took another step closer, now practically hovering directly over Pearl, yet she refused to look him in the eye. Moving slowly, Onyx calmly placed his hand on Pearl's cheek and with no obvious effort, he lifted her head up to face his.
"Whose shield is that?" Onyx asked, looking her dead in the eye.
Pearl shut her eyes as more tears ran down her face, her body trembling as the words came without her realizing it. "That is…. the shield of… Rose Quartz"
Onyx released Pearl, who backed from him away at once. For a moment, Onyx closed his eyes, appearing to be in deep concentration.
"I see. Very, very clever". Onyx opened his eyes again and turned back to face the Crystal Gems who still remained in the exact same spot, once again not having nearly enough time to formulate any sort of feasible plan to get themselves out their current situation.
"So you are as devious as they say, Rose Quartz" Onyx said, now looking directly at Steven. "I never considered the possibility that you would disguise yourself as a human. That was careless of me. You might have actually slipped away. But now there is no more hiding, Rose Quartz"
"Please, just forget about them" Sapphire pleaded, breaking away from Ruby and moving up next Onyx. "They're not a threat to Homeworld. And the Cluster is-"
"The Cluster is no longer a priority" Onyx replied curtly, raising a hand up to silence Sapphire. "The mission has changed. This is a matter for the Diamonds now. We will take Rose Quartz back with us"
"You're not taking anyone, anywhere!" Jasper said, taking a step forward. "I'm gonna warn you one last time. Get back in your ship and get off our planet. Or else"
Onyx stared at Jasper with an impassive expression. He flipped his sword upside down and thrust the tip of it into the sand, allowing it to stand in place, before he too step forward.
"You do not want to fight me" Onyx said, slowly shaking his head; there was no hint of boast or taunt in his voice. It was as though he was stating a simple fact.
Jasper smirked darkly and cracked her knuckles together, knowing that this was only going to be resolved one way; the only way that Jasper wanted it to be resolved.
"You don't know me very well"
Summoning her crash helmet again, Jasper launched off the ground in burst of orange fire, flying toward Onyx at a breakneck speed like a comet. Onyx made no attempt to run or dodge the oncoming attack. Instead he simply raised his palm in the air and held his ground as Jasper collided into him. There was another powerful explosion and a resounding shockwave that knocked Amethyst, Pearl, Ruby and Sapphire clean off their feet and sprawling onto the sand.
But when the smoke cleared, Onyx was still standing in the same spot, not having moved so much as an inch; with just the palm of his hand, Onyx caught had Jasper's helmet, bringing her to a complete stop in the middle of the air. Jasper dropped back to her two feet and swung her right fist directly at Onyx face, but he swiftly caught her fist with his other free hand.
Jasper snarled at Onyx and started to push her body forward, trying to overpower him, but to her surprise, Jasper soon realized that she wasn't able to move forward at all. In fact, it was quite the reverse; she could feel herself slowly being pushed back. Growing frustrated yet no less determined, Jasper doubled her efforts, her right arm beginning to shake as her fist pushed harder against Onyx palm. But aside from a slight tremble in his shoulder, Onyx did not waver under Jasper's strength, keeping his grip on her hand and helmet, holding his stance as if she was no more than a child trying to push him over.
"I know about you" Onyx said. "They say you were the most perfect Quartz solider ever created. And from what I can tell, they were obviously underestimating you. You are without a doubt the finest Quartz I have ever seen."
"Spare me….your sarcasm!" Jasper growled furiously.
Onyx raised an eyebrow, looking sincerely bewildered. "What's sarcasm?"
Letting out another angry growl, Jasper reached up and grabbed Onyx wrist with her free hand, trying to pry his grip off of her helmet, but his arm did not budge no matter how hard she pulled. Shaking, Jasper could feel Onyx pushing down even harder on her helmet, the pressure gradually building like nothing she had ever felt before, sweat accumulating on her brow as she struggled to keep her head up straight. Then, in a split second, the visor on her helmet cracked and there was a loud snapping sound followed by a small puff of smoke around Jasper's head as her crash helmet was crushed into vapour. Her head protector gone, Onyx thrust his hand forward and wrapped his entire palm around Jasper's forehead, his fingers as they dug painfully into her scalp.
Onyx released his hold on Jasper's fist, letting his arm drop to his side as he pushed down even harder on Jasper, now keeping her at bay with only one arm. Jasper desperately clawed at his arm with both her hands, trying to break free but to no avail. After a long struggle, Jasper let out a loud bellow as the pain around her head was becoming too great to bear, taking a knee down onto the sand, feeling like her head was about to be crushed like a grape.
From behind Onyx, Amethyst slowly rose back to her feet watched with an expression of horror as Jasper was pushed down even further now resting on both of knees at Onyx's feet as though she was all but begging him for mercy; there was no better revenge that Amethyst could have asked for and yet this sight did nothing but sicken her, wincing as Jasper let out another painful cry.
"You might have been made to be perfect". Onyx raised his arm up and literally hoisted Jasper up off her feet, dangling her in the air. Behind him, Amethyst's eyes now swelled with tears, her expression turning to both terror and guilt.
"But I was made to be better than perfect".
Jasper's single, visible eye, peering out from between Onyx's fingers widened in horror, as she knew what was about to happen next and knew she could do nothing to stop it
Onyx curled his right hand into a fist and in one powerful stroke, punched Jasper directly in the chest. The impact was like a miniature sonic boom and Jasper's body was sent flying through the air like a cannon ball across the beach right over the heads of Steven, Peridot and Lapis, until she crashed right into the side of the cliff near the Temple, creating a massive fissure along the rock.
Steven gaped in shock, completely stupefied by what had just happened. He had never seen Jasper get beaten so easy and unceremoniously before, not even against Garnet. All his life, Steven had known Jasper to be the greatest warrior alive. As long as they had her, it never felt hopeless. And something very terrible inside of Steven was telling him Jasper wasn't getting back up again any time soon.
With their team leader now seemingly out of commission, Peridot and Lapis slowly turned back around to face Black Onyx, who did not appear to have so much as broken a sweat yet. With the same blank expression as before, Onyx cracked his knuckles together and slowly started making his way toward Steven and the Crystal Gems.
"Steven, RUN!" Peridot cried, forming her fingers into her cannon, just as Lapis sprouted her water wings and took off into the air. Peridot fired three consecutive shots at Onyx, who easily dodged each attack, moving in like a blur as he sped across beach. Before Peridot could fire her fourth shot, Onyx appeared directly in front of her, holding his open palm over her cannon. In an instant, a mass of black coloured energy, a kind of shadowy smoke, appeared from Onyx palm, releasing a wave of darkness that blasted Peridot like a powerful gust of wind with ten times the force.
"Peridot!" Steven cried in horror, watching as she crashed down to the ground again.
Before Steven could rush to her aide, Onyx raised his palm in Steven's direction and preparing another wave of the same black energy, but then suddenly paused in his attack when a chain made out of water clasped onto his wrist. A second later, a dozen more chains shot out from every direction, latching onto his arms, legs and neck. Onyx made no attempt to more or struggle against the chains covering his body. Instead he just stared at the bindings with a mild, unconcerned look of curiosity. He then glanced to the sky, watching Lapis who was hovering above, her arms outstretched.
Four massive arms of water emerged from out of the surrounding ocean, two on either side of the beach. Lapis threw her hands forward, as the four slammed down on top of Onyx, one by one, trapping him underneath the water. Lapis smiled to herself, keeping as much pressure on as possible, making sure nothing could possibly get up from that.
For a moment, Steven thought it was over, but then a saw strange shadowy mass forming inside of the water, which began to ripple violently as if there was some great fire was burning inside. The shadowy mass grew larger, the water manifestations non contorting widely as Lapis tried to keep hold of them, until finally the mass of water was blown apart like a huge bubble, the droplets evaporating in the air.
Onyx was still standing in the same spot, looking superbly dry, wisps of shadowy mist disappearing around him. Looking up to Lapis again, Onyx raised his right hand and pointed two fingers up at her. A shroud of dark energy began to surround around Lapis' body, like a kind of cloak, much to her shock and confusion. Onyx then flicked his two fingers, pointing them downwards. Before Lapis could either attack or run, her entire body was sent hurtling down to the ground faster than a bullet, as though someone had just tied an impossible heavy weight around her neck. Lapis hit the ground hard, the impact creating a small crater in middle of the beach. She struggled to push herself back up, but the same black shroud was still engulfing her body, keeping her pinned down, as she was unable to even lift her head up.
"Lapis, no!" Steven cried. Scrambling back to his feet, Steven ran toward the crater as fast as he could, hoping that he could help her. But the moment Steven had started to run, Onyx thrust his palm in his direction, the same black energy glowing around his hand and a second latter, Steven was blasted off his feet by the same dark-coated shockwave that took out Peridot.
Steven rolled along the sand as he landed, coughed slightly as he tried to catch his breath. He had no idea what had just hit him. The only thing he knew for certain was that it hurt. It hurt a lot. But he also knew that he couldn't let that stop him. Lapis was still in trouble and needed his help. With extreme difficulty, Steven rose back to his feet again, forgetting about his own pain as he slowly began to hobble his way toward Lapis, but his legs soon became like jelly, giving way under his weight. Nevertheless, he had to get to Lapis, even if it meant crawling his way there.
Onyx silently watched this display from afar; for a moment, he stood in a brief, defensive stance, clearly having been expecting something to happen, a counterattack or some impressive display of power on Steven's part. He had been expecting a real fight. Yet all he saw Steven do was continue to crawl his hands and knees in a pitiful manner, moving toward his incapacitated ally.
"Is that… it?" Onyx said, with a barely restrained note of disbelief in his voice. In single motion, Onyx jumped into the air and landed on the ground in front of Steven, with enough force to knock him back again. Coughing, Steven stared up at Onyx who towered him, glaring back at Steven with a look of contempt and disappointment.
"This is the best you can do?!"
Steven glanced around Onyx to where Lapis was lying. He couldn't reach her. Not unless he got past Onyx first. Steven didn't know what else to do, but he had to help his friends. He had no other choice. One way or the other he had to help them.
Straining himself, Steven began to lift himself back to his feet, clenching his fists and tried to take up a fighting stance, focusing with all his might on summoning back his shield which briefly flickered over his arm, yet it could not maintain its form.
Onyx watched this desperate endeavor of resistance with an expression of apathy, making no attempt to interfere with Steven as he struggled to both stand and summon his shield.
"You know, I can't help but marvel at the irony of this." he said, as Steven wobbled on his feet, nearly losing his footing once again. "For a moment there, I actually believed I was going to face the Rose Quartz, Homeworld's single greatest enemy. I honestly wasn't even sure if I could defeat you or not. But now that I've seen you, in such a weak, pathetic and useless form, I really must confess"
Onyx expression turned to a deep scowl as he raised his palm out at Steven. "I am not impressed."
There was another dark shockwave, and Steven was knocked back several feet across the beach, where he landed flat on his back right next to Peridot's fallen form. Steven coughed again, feeling his head beginning to spin even more violently, his vision starting to get dim as he stared up to the stary night sky. His right eye seemed particularly sore. Onyx's face then entered Steven's field of vision once again, his hand reaching down and grabbing him by the front of his shirt, hosting him up into the air.
"How could someone like you have possibly defeated a Diamond?" Onyx asked.
Steven groaned painfully. He had no idea what Onyx was talking about. He had no idea why a Gem he had never even met before was attacking him, his home and his friends. He didn't understand any of this. He didn't understand why this nightmare was happening. What could they have done to deserve such violence and destruction?
"Why… why are you doing this?" Steven croaked out, feeling tears beginning to swell in his eyes.
Onyx blinked, looking almost incredulous at Steven's question. "Why?" he said. "You ask why? All this is because of you, Rose Quartz. You, your Crystal Gems, your rebellion, your unspeakable crime. I was created to ensure that the chaos you instilled into your fellow Gems would never disrupt the order of how things should be. I am the living embodiment of the security of Homeworld. Any threat, any risk, any unknown, I will stamp out. What happened on this world will never be repeated again. I was made to be sure of that"
Steven only felt even more confused, but at this point, it that didn't really seem to matter as his head kept spinning, his vision becoming blurring. Out from the corner of his eye, Steven could just barely make out the figure of Pearl slowly walking toward them; her head was lowered, and her hands were folded behind her back. Onyx had yet to take notice of her as she approached, as he was far too preoccupied with Steven.
"Now, let's see if you reform in time for when we reach Homeworld" Onyx said, pulling back his arm and raising his fist in the air, taking aim directly at Steven's face.
Despite his dizziness, Steven could feel a fresh wave of fear coming over him, realising that Onyx was about to try and poof him. Except Onyx did not realize that Steven was not going to poof like a normal Gem would.
Just as Steven began to anticipate the horrible pain that was about to follow, there was a sudden flash of green light. Onyx dropped Steven to the ground as his entire body was enveloped in a bubble of energy, freezing him in place. Caught off guard, Onyx could see Peridot from the corner of his eye, raising up to her feet, far quicker than anyone could have if they had truly been knocked unconscious. From her left hand, she was holding Onyx in place with her tractor beam and in her right hand, she had already prepared a bolt with her finger-cannon, waiting for the exact moment. She took aim right at Onyx gemstone, preparing to end this.
Just before she could fire, Peridot let out a startled cry as a wave of electricity erupted around her body, yellow coloured vein extending down her face and limbs until finally she burst into a puff of green smoke. Steven couldn't believe his eyes; Peridot was gone, leaving behind nothing but her gemstone as well as her metal arms and legs which dropped down to the sand.
The tractor beam that had trapped Onyx disappeared, freeing him, as he let out a tense gasp, looking close to shaken, but he quickly recompose himself. Onyx turned in surprised to see Pearl, now standing over Peridot's bodiless gem, the Gem Destabilizer in her hand, pointed out in the air. She was shaking uncontrollably, looking as though she couldn't believe what she had just done, any more than Onyx could have believed it.
Lifting his head up from the sand, Steven stretched out his arm, making one last feebly attempt to reach Peridot's gemstone, before his body finally gave up on him and went limb, unable to move or think as he lost consciousness. The very last thing Steven saw before he blacked out completely, was Onyx approaching Pearl, placing his hand on her arm, easing her trembling.
And that's the last chapter of this story. The end. Goodbye
Just kidding.
You know, I've wanted to introduce the character of Onyx for a quite a long time now, ever since I first got the idea for them. It is fun writing original characters. I honestly couldn't think to use any character from the show in place for Jasper in this episode. I actually have lot of backstory made up for Onyx already, but I won't go into that just yet. You'll see a little more about him in the next chapter. If you do want to ask anything about Onyx or where the story so far, please feel free to do so, and I'll see what I can post in the next chapter, so long as it's not too spoiler-y
Anyhoo, I did say that I wouldn't post this chapter until I had the second part done. Which I do. But I'm going to wait a few days or a week at most before I post it, just to finish editing it. And after that, I'm not sure. Will I keep going? Or will I end it now when I have a good opportunity? I really can't say. Writing this has been a great joy for me, as much as it's been source of frustration as well. All I can say I will keep going and see where this takes me. Thanks to everyone for there support and if you can please leave a review or a favourite.
Peace out and stay safe.