Recollection
[The scene opens with a shot of Skarloey passing over a bridge with a train of coaches. Sir Handel passes by in the opposite direction with a train of empty slate trucks. On the small wooden dock below the bridge, the Jade Palace members are meditating together as the trains pass by above them]
[Transition to a shot of Mahogany Beach as Furrball and Calamity can be seen laying down on the sand to the left while Priscilla and Penelope are doing the same to the right, Holly Blue Agate and Emerald are shown on the boardwalk walking side by side while Dexter and Jimmy pass by in the opposite direction, tinkering with their respective devices]
[Transition to Lapis and Jasper sitting down on the cliff overlooking the ocean. Lapis inhales the air and then lets out a breath]
Lapis: Isn't it beautiful?
Jasper: Hmm?
Lapis: The scenery.
Jasper: …It's alright.
Lapis: …You know, it took me a while to become comfortable doing this.
Jasper: What do you mean?
Lapis: Visions…memories, and all that. Not exactly the most…pleasant ones…
Jasper: …You're not talking about…that, are you?
Lapis: I see I was a little too transparent, but…in a way, I'm alluding to it…
Jasper: I really went overboard with that whole thing, didn't I?
Lapis: Understatement of the year…of course, you weren't solely to blame.
Jasper: [scoffs] Try telling that to some people.
Lapis: Whatever they say doesn't matter to me…I know I was unfair to you in that debacle…
[Jasper looks away, a bit of a solemn expression on her face, but she tries to hide it]
Jasper: I still forced you into something you weren't comfortable doing…it was my own fault for dragging us into that mess.
Lapis: "Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak gems look strong", I believe you said...so what were you trying to accomplish fusing with me?
Jasper: It was the heat of the moment, I couldn't stand being beaten by a fusion, let alone a rebel…so, I acted on impulse…of course, you know how the rest plays out…
Lapis: All those months, spent underwater…we were so…unstable…
[A flashback transitions us to a shot of Malachite at the bottom of the ocean, tucked away in a chasm as she's held back by her restraints]
Malachite: Hrrrrrrrrr…hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
[The large sea green gem growls at the sight of fish floating above the chasm, baring her sharp teeth as she suddenly lunges up]
Malachite: Come down and fight me, you cowards!
[Malachite swats at the creatures while we take a look inside of her as Lapis is clutching onto the water chains…from a distance, Jasper is being restrained by those same chains as she locks eyes with the blue gem, both stare intensely at each other, waiting to see who will make the first move]
Jasper: You can't hold me down forever!
Lapis: I'll hold you for as long as I can…so you'd better get comfortable!
[Cut to a shot of Malachite coming out of the water, dripping wet as she stares at the camera with a half-lidded expression of intimidation]
[Transition back to the present day with Lapis staring out to the ocean]
Lapis: …I couldn't come near this place for a long time afterward. Every time I was near the beach, I was reminded of all the anguish…I was hurt…and I inflicted it as well…
[Lapis slowly turns to Jasper]
Lapis: It didn't help that we had our encounter in the middle of the ocean…
[Jasper groans as she facepalms]
Jasper: What was I thinking…I just wanted a sense of that power again, anything to feel stronger than I was…you could say I was drunk on power….[sighs]...and it only got worse from there, as you're more than aware.
[Sequence of events from the past play over some of Jasper's past dialogue]
"My diamond!"
[Jasper picks up the gemstones of two mutations]
"Your diamond!"
[Jasper's helmet flashes over her head]
"PINK!"
[Jasper morphs into a mutation from her encounter with Steven, Amethyst, and Peridot]
"DIAMOND!"
[Jasper's fight with Steven from the premiere of "Little Homeworld", her gemstone shattering in "Fragments", now set in Toon City as we see her standing out in the rain from the events of "Showers"]
[Cut back to the present as Jasper sighs]
Jasper: I just don't know when enough is enough…heh, ironic. I considered myself the perfect soldier, yet here I am being sappy about my mistakes…
Lapis: You're not the only one who went overboard…when I was finally freed from that mirror, it was my first taste of freedom in a long time…but, I was so angry at how I'd been forgotten…so I wanted to show this world a fraction of the pain I'd endured…
[Cut to a flashback of Lapis stealing the ocean's water, rising into the sky on the aquatic pillar, her eyes are all white as her gemstone was still cracked at the time]
Lapis: And even after I came to my senses, things only got worse from there…
[Flashback to several events from the show, Lapis being held captive in the vessel, Malachite, crushing Peridot's tape recorder, raising the barn to the moon]
Lapis: I just didn't know how to channel everything…I tried to look content, appear as if everything was fine, when it wasn't…even then, I didn't consider how I was hurting other people in the process…
[Lapis looks down at the grass with a somber expression]
Lapis: Sometimes I wish I could have handled things differently, that I wasn't so impulsive…but of course, we can't change the past…
Jasper: You were just in a bad place at the time, I kept digging myself deeper and deeper cuz of my pride.
Lapis: You were hurt too, though…
Jasper: I was trying to live out my purpose, to fight and defend, to avenge my diamond…little did I know she was staring me right in the face...yet I never saw it…
Lapis: Well…I can't blame you for that…being kept in suspense for that long, not knowing the truth…
[Jasper puts a hand to her head]
Jasper: I just wanted to prove myself…now I wonder what Pink would have thought of me during that period…ugh, who am I kidding, it'd have been shame…
[Lapis silently reaches out a hand to Jasper's shoulder]
[Pan-out shot of the duo as a third member enters the party. Peridot is shown walking up the path to the cliff when she sees Jasper and Lapis sitting by the edge]
Peridot: Oh…hmm…
[After looking uncertain for a few seconds, Peridot swallows her pride and goes up to the other two gems, sitting down to Lapis' right]
Peridot: Heeeeeey, you two. Havin' a little chit-chat or something akin to it?
Jasper: I see you managed to crawl your way into this.
Peridot: I mean, I was curious to what discussion was on the table…though based on your faces, I have a pretty good assumption.
Lapis: Perceptive, aren't you?
Peridot: Well, it was what I was made for, hehe, but anyways, this wouldn't happen to be another recounting of history, would it?
Jasper: That's…surprisingly accurate.
Peridot: Allow me to be the first to say that you've been making good progress thus far, I mean, in terms of demeanor.
Jasper: Bit ironic to say that given I was just self-deprecating.
Peridot: Not too uncommon with us, to be fair.
Lapis: I mean, she's not exactly wrong. You have changed a bit since we had our…"chat."
Jasper: How so?
Lapis: To be specific, you remember the fire that occurred a while back…you saved me when I was knocked down…I still wonder why you went out of your way to do it.
Jasper: …Why wouldn't I? I'm not gonna leave someone to burn alive.
Peridot: It's just…very noble on your part.
Jasper: I…I guess you could say it was impulse…and wanting to make some kind of amendment.
Lapis: …Shows that you do care after all…I might sound crazy for accepting it, but…at this point, I just can't stay mad anymore.
[Lapis looks up to the sky]
Lapis: I don't wanna be identified as someone who's just depressed with life, I wanna live it for as long as it'll let me…
Jasper: So…normal, then?
Lapis: Yes…how about you…I think it's gone…decent, wouldn't you say?
Jasper: It's…alright…at least I'm not seeking to crush someone to death.
Peridot: Well, I'd say that's a step in the right direction…it's ironic, you'd never picture us sitting like this many years back.
Lapis: I guess it's a testament to how much things have changed, for better or for worse.
Jasper: …I'd say…for the better.
[Jasper looks over at Lapis and attempts to give a small smile to the blue gem, to which she returns with a genuine smile back, giving the same gesture to Peridot who gives one of her signature grins]
[Pan-out shot of the three looking out towards the ocean against the setting sun in the background, lingering for a few seconds]
[Cut to black]
Character Guide:
Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, Malachite, Holly Blue Agate, Emerald - Steven Universe
Calamity Coyote, Furrball - Tiny Toons Adventures
Dexter - Dexter's Laboratory
Jimmy Neutron - The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Po Ping, Shifu, Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, Crane - Kung Fu Panda
Priscilla Pinkpaws, Penelope Pinkpaws - Angelina Ballerina (2002)
Skarloey, Sir Handel - Thomas and Friends