Lapis and Peridot

Crash

"I'll come back for you," promised Steven. I felt my eyes well up with tears as he turned and ran away.

[Peridot's POV]

"We can't leave yet!" I was shouting at Jasper, trying to make her understand that we had to complete the mission. "The whole point of coming here was to check on the Cluster!" I had followed her to the cell where the Sapphire had been trapped. She had regenerated and immediately began to sing, and it seemed to make Jasper furious. She slammed the wall, making the whole area shake.

"STOP SINGING!" She turned to me. "Rose Quartz takes priority." I glowered at her. "Get back to the bridge, and set a course for Homeworld." I grumbled. Why was she the one in charge? Her ideas were ludicrous. But of course I had to obey.

"Go to Earth, they said. It'll be EASY, they said."

~~

Time passed. I was in the control room, doing as Jasper had asked me to do, when the door to the room suddenly slid open. What the– I spun my seat around. In the door, ready to run at me, were the Steven, the Pearl, and the Amethyst. How did they escape? Thoughts flew through my mind, but I dismissed them: I had to subdue the prisoners! I summoned and grabbed a gem destabilizer. It was rather scary to be on the other side of a weapon that had been used on me before, but desperate times drew desperate measures.

The Steven came at me first. He grabbed onto the end of the gem destabilizer and... nothing happened. What?! Before I could question it, the Amethyst and the Pearl were coming at me full-speed, weapons drawn out. Oh no. This wasn't good.

I couldn't use my arm blasters for fear of damaging the ship; I couldn't fly or run away because they were blocking the exit. I was trapped. It was only a matter of time before the Amethyst had me wrapped with her whip and knocked on the floor.

"Don't touch that! You clods don't know what you're doing!" I was panicking. This was going wrong, wrong, wrong! This was the worst mission I had ever been on. First Lapis confused me, then Jasper disobeyed orders, and now the prisoners escaped?

"You got this Pearl!" The Amethyst was holding me down with one foot. I watched in horror as the Pearl stuck her hands into the mind-reading liquid. 

"Okay ship, turn us around!"

~~

So there I was trapped on the ground, tied up, barely able to move – when suddenly the most tremendous shock went through me and I knew I had to get off the ship. It started shaking and trembling madly. The tremors were just enough to knock Amethyst's hold on me loose and then I bounced across the ground. Ouch, ouch, ouch – I slammed my forehead against the ground and commanded my escape pod to take me away. And then I was gone. Just in time.

At a certain distance away from the ship, the Amethyst's whip finally disappeared. I jumped up and ran to the control panel. I had to keep from crashing. As the Earth loomed in front of me, growing bigger every moment, I cast one last look back towards the ship. Then I turned away, and focused on the task at hand.

[Lapis' POV]

The ship was shaking harder every moment. It was going to crash, and I was going to crash with it, and be shattered. I just knew it. I had heard muffled bangs and thuds coming from somewhere in the ship, and then there had been a jolt of electric power – I felt it in my bones – and the ship began trembling. I buried my face in my hand. I only wished I had been able to save Steven from this dreadful fate. After all I had done for him, I was going to kill him... I should have stood up for myself, I shouldn't have given away the location of the Gem's base... I buried my face in my arms. This was it. This was the end.

There was a tremendous crash, and for a moment I though I heard singing. Then came an explosion, and for a few moments, all was black.

~~

I was underneath something, some rock or scrap of metal. But I was still alive, and my gem was in one piece. I had to get out of here! I had to find Steven and save– I shoved aside the giant thing that was on top of me. "Augh... Ngaahh..." I threw myself out. I panted, then threw myself up into the air, summoning my wings. I had to–

A hand grasped my ankle. "C'mere, brat!" Crud. It was Jasper. She pulled me out of the air, wings disappearing, and held me up by my wrist. "Aw, don't fly off so soon." I closed my eyes. Maybe this was all a dream. But no, it was all too real.

"Lapis!" That was Steven. I opened my eyes and saw him, along with his three guardians. So he was alive. Good. He tried to jump for me, but the gems held him back. Jasper pulled me closer to her face.

"Lapis listen, fuse with me!"

"What?" But she disapproved of fusion! What was going on here?

"How long did they keep you trapped here on this miserable hunk of rock?" Rough fingers pinched my face, then I was dropped on the ground. I got to my feet unsteadily. "These gems, they're traitors to the Homeworld. They kept you prisoner, they used you. This is our chance to take revenge!" I stood, staring at Steven. His gaze turned pleading, hopeful. I had to protect him. The thought repeated itself again and again. He saved me. Now I would save him. "Come on... Just say yesss..." Jasper's mouth twisted into a demented smile.

"Lapis, don't do it," pleaded Steven. I was torn. And then a tiny idea suggested itself to me, and I grasped at it, expanded on it, and made my decision in a moment.

I put a hand out towards Jasper.

"NOOOOO!" Steven cried, horrified.

~~

Malachite. Giant. Six arms. Formed by hate and a lust for revenge. But inside, two separate gems: Lapis Lazuli, and Jasper. And we were arguing. Malachite spoke as I argued with Jasper.

"Nnnhahahaha," Malachite/Jasper laughed. She put one arm out and I pretended to help her out, lifting a limb of water out of the ocean. "Hahahahahha!"

I grasped the water and formed it into a hand. Then I made my move: the hand grabbed Malachite's arm and formed a handcuff holding her back. "Huh?" Jasper was surprised. "What?" Another limb grabbed the other arm. I brought a large pillar of water and wrapped it around the waist. I was going to do this, I was going to do this and NOTHING was going to stop me. I would save Steven. I would do this for Steven. Everything for Steven, that little boy who was now standing on the beach looking shocked and confused.

Jasper forced Malachite forward; I tried to make Malachite collapse. Controlling a fusion like this took tremendous willpower, but I was summoning as much as I could.

"What are you doing?" That was still Jasper. I focused and spoke through Malachite's mouth.

"I'm done being everyone's prisoner. Now you're my prisoner, and I'm never letting you GO!" I brought two more water hands and grabbed the last two feet, dragging Malachite into the ocean.

"No. Nooooo!" Jasper tried to unfuse, grasping at the sand on the beach to stay out of the water and pushing me away, out of Malachite, but I grabbed the fusion and kept it together. For Steven, for Steven, for Steven, and for REVENGE.

"Lapis!" Steven called, running forward. His guardians were behind him. The sight of the boy to whom I owed my freedom from the horrible mirror gave me the courage I needed for the last pull to get Jasper underwater.

"Let's stay on this miserable planet – together!"  I pulled Malachite underwater. This was it. I would stay here. Forever.

~~

I'm sorry Lapis. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. But now, I'll just have to forget you. Because we're all going to be shattered, and I'll probably never see you again... Goodbye.

Peridot, I'm sorry I couldn't teach you more about friendship. I don't know where you are now, and I'll never see you again. I wish life could have been better for both of us, but now... this is it. Goodbye.