Lapis and Peridot

The Arrival

"That's them alright," Peridot said, voice metallic. She turned back and looked at Jasper. "They're the ones who keep breaking my machines."

Jasper was unimpressed by the sight of the three huddled gems on the beach. "This is it?"

"Jasper! They keep interfering with my work!" Peridot was indignant. I huddled behind Jasper, not wanting Steven to see me.

The burly gem let out a sigh. "Looks like another waste of my time. Hey, get over here!" She grabbed my arm, yanking me out in front. I pulled my arm away with a burst of annoyance, began to say something– then stopped. I looked at Steven and my eyes widened. Uh-oh... oops.

"Lapis," I saw rather than heard Steven say.

Jasper looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "This is their base?" I turned away, ashamed that Steven should see me like this.

"Yes."

"You need to leave immediately!" shouted Garnet from the beach.

"Yeah, step off!" called the short Amethyst gem.

"This is not a gem-controlled planet," added Pearl, looking worried. Jasper yanked me after as she leapt down to the beach along with Peridot.

"Neither of you saw Rose Quartz?" Jasper asked gruffly, folding her arms. "Ohh, what a shame. I'd hoped to meet her. I was looking forward to beating her into the ground." I saw that Steven seemed to shudder. "But this is all that's left of her army? Some lost, defective Pearl, a puny, overcooked runt, and this shameless display? Hmmh. What is that?" She pointed at Steven. All the Crystal Gems jumped into battle position.

"It calls itself The Steven," Peridot replied. I had to do something to defend him, after all he'd done for me!

"He's just a human. He isn't a threat at all. He, he's not one of them!"

"I know what a human is," Jasper told me coldly. She added, to Peridot "You don't need me for this. Just, blast 'em with the ship." She turned and started walking away.

"Ugh. Fine." Peridot opened her fingerscreen. I watched in horror as she made the ship move, the whole entire ship, and point at the Crystal Gems. They looked terrified, and rightly so.

Garnet turned back to Steven. I couldn't hear her words, but she was probably telling him to run to safety. He was arguing, saying he wasn't going to go... "Firing," Peridot said coldly.

"I'm a crystal gem TOO!" I heard Steven yell. There was a bang, and Jasper turned around. I watched everything happen, powerless to stop it. There he was, my little Beach Summer Fun Buddy, standing in front of the Crystal Gems and protecting them with his shield. The shield faded and collapsed, but not before Jasper realized what it meant.

"That shield. That symbol!" Jasper seemed to grow as she growled. "You. You have the power of Rose Quartz!"

"Now do you believe I needed an escort?" It pained me to see the cold, cruel side of Peridot. Over the past weeks I had almost forgotten it existed, but now it was back. She didn't even care, didn't seem to mind if she shattered the Crystal Gems.

"Fire barrage, widespread!" Jasper ordered. Peridot drew a stripe across her screen. I drew a deep breath. The ship shot a stripe of white power and then there was a big explosion

"Rose." Jasper was standing among the blowing sand, stepping towards Steven. "Why do you look like that? Why are you so weak?" I came up behind Jasper. I needed to do, to say something–

"Don't hurt him!" I was desperate

"You knew about this," Jasper accused.

I shook my head, coming up with an excuse on the spot. "It wasn't relevant to the mission!"

"Forget about the mission," was Jasper's cold response.

"What!?" That was Peridot.

"Yellow Diamond needs to see this... thing." Steven shivered and looked terrified. In a burst of sand, Garnet came up behind him. She looked ready to fight. "Good." Jasper growled, ready for a fight. A helmet blinked into place on her forehead – her gem-weapon. Garnet lunged for the punch. The force of it pushed Steven backwards.

"Steven RUN!" Garnet shouted, running forward again.

"Priming gem destabilizer," Jasper said, pulling out a weapon. I drew back. I noticed Peridot also stepped backwards as if she was scared – a strange response. Before long I knew why it was dangerous. Jasper had no sooner touched Garnet with it than the fusion flew backwards, electrified... and then all that was left were two gems lying on the ground. Pearl and Amethyst looked shocked and terrified. I didn't blame them.

Steven was trembling. "I was there, you know," Jasper said, striding towards Steven threateningly. "At the first war for this garbage planet. I fought against your armies. I respected your tactics. But this...?" Jasper grabbed Steven by his shirt and picked him up. "This is sick!" She thinks Steven is Rose, I told myself wonderingly.

"Unhand him!" Yelled the Pearl as she and Amethyst ran towards Jasper. They really did care about Steven. It was remarkable, but I couldn't blame them.

"I don't get what you're planning, Rose. But look! Your base is taken. Your armies are ruined! You... have failed!"

Jasper drew her face forward, slamming her helmet into Steven's face. He went limp. I froze. What's going to happen to us now?