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Post by Silver Wings on Sept 11, 2017 3:34:04 GMT
The small green gem yawned and stretched her hands above her head as she walked into the temple. She came here every so often for various reasons, today it was just to... reflect, on thoughts and such. She walked into the heart of the temple where the gems from over the years had been collected, Jasper was somewhere among them. Not just any Jasper, the annoying Jasper who hadn't wanted to follow the instructions of the mission, the one she was supposed to have been in charge of, though it felt the other way around the whole time Jasper had been with her. Seeing the bubble of her old coworker was rather high up she frowned and started to divide a plan... which was to climb the wall and retrieve the bubble herself. She was elegant enough to do such a task! Not seeing the consequences of the act she started her accent up a vine like corner of one wall of the dome shaped room, and reached out, trying to grab the bubble close enough that she could hold it... just so she could remember.
Her hand and grabbed it close enough, but unfortunately her grip on the wall slipped, and now holding the bubble tight against her chest she plummeted and landed roughly on her rear, leaving her hissing in pain until she realised the bubble had popped, and Jasper's cracked gem was in her hand.
In a panic she quickly dropped the gem, already to late to rebubble it since it was glowing, already about to take form.
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Post by americanfacepalm on Sept 11, 2017 3:51:16 GMT
The last thing she knew was pain, then the rush of being forced back into her gem. The thing she knew now was something unique to Gems. The feeling of returning to the world after being inside one's self, quite literally, for a time. Too long a time. Any time spent stuck in there was too long for her. The moment that the Jasper's gem clattered to the floor, she forced herself to take shape once again. In a blinding flash of orange light, a Quartz's body showed, still in its soft light form. There was no cycling through previous forms. Hers were always the same, though few and far between. Hair poured out of the head and the light dimmed until it was gone, having formed into hard light. She was the same as the last time she had been conscious. Tall, bulky, and menacing. Her stripes slashed across her body like battle scars.
Her eyes were like those of a hungry animal, yellow and cold, narrowed to slits. Jasper stared down at the Gem cowering before her, the sight all too familiar. It was that pathetic Peridot from the Beta Kindergarten, from her mission. The mission. She'd had no idea what had given the worthless clod of dirt the thought that she was in charge on that mission. It was apparent than as it was in this moment that the green twerp was defective. Yet, somehow, she had gotten her, the Jasper, into a bubble and into the hellish Crystal Gem prison room. On her peripheral vision, she could see countless other Gems who were trapped here, most likely wrongfully, to be tortured or destroyed. She didn't put it above them to do it.
Glaring down at the wretched thing in front of her, the Gem who had been stripped of her limb enhancers, her status, and her dignity, she spoke with anger dripping in her voice. There was enough black hatred to fill an ocean, honestly.
"You!"
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Post by Silver Wings on Sept 11, 2017 4:13:11 GMT
"Jeepers!" came peridot's high pitched voice of fear as she flipped over onto her stomach, and using all fours like that of an earthling dog or her pet pumpkin, she took off, not bothering to see if Jasper would actually give chase, most likely that was what the threatening quartz would do. Pop her... though she knew for a fact jasper could do much worse than that too, and wouldn't take the liberty of bubbling her for sure. No. No Jasper would shatter her! She'd shatter everyone! After doing a few loops around the room she finally jumped and used her tiny nails and small fingers to grip the wall she had earlier, accenting quickly until she was sure she was out of reach of Jasper... for the moment. Who knows what that insane quartz would do. She took a moment to steady her breathing and slowly peeked over her shoulder to look down at the ground where Jasper would be, frightened to death that the gem would start climbing up after her.
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Post by americanfacepalm on Sept 11, 2017 10:48:56 GMT
Jasper's somber demeanor was somewhat broken up by the ridiculousness of Peridot's next actions after her single exclamation. It was expected of other Gems to cower before her in fearful respect and awe of her power, but this was a whole new level of terror. A level of terror that was funny, given that, most often, other Gems did not resort to scuttling on all fours, running a lap around the room, and then climbing a pole. If they did something strange like that, they were most certainly flawed. This Peridot must have been some manner of defective, physically and mentally.
A quiet chuckle escaped her and her death glare turned into what could only be described as an evil grin. She relished driving her enemies before her into abeyance or retreat (which was only a momentary delay as Jasper would eventually destroy their physical form or worse anyways). After watching the self-humiliation of this poor defect, she began to make her advance toward the pole in the center. Thunderously heavy stomps signaled her wake even if Peridot did not yet have her eyes on her.
The Quartz was about to make her way up the pole, just about at the same time that Peridot turned to look, as the previously ignored crack in her gem made itself painfully known. In brief glitching of her physical form, Jasper's size greatly diminished to that of the runty Amethyst who took refuge on Earth. Everything became taller in her vision. No, wait, things weren't larger. She was smaller! Her eyes darted down to her body. By the Diamonds, she was cracked!
Although it was a chip now, she knew that exacerbating it would certainly mean shattering. She could come back from injuries to her body, yes, but not from shattering. But whether or not she lived did not matter to her so long as Rose Quartz paid in due.
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Post by Silver Wings on Sept 11, 2017 10:59:43 GMT
Peridot watched with horror glazed in her eyes as Jasper made her way over, there was no escape, Jasper would catch We and shatter her. She didn't get to even say goodbye to anyone. Not Steven, not Lapis... she felt like she was about to cry, accepting that this wasn't only going to be her death but possibly the death of everyone. This was all he fault too. "Steven!" She cried out the name in a panic, as if to warn him... before her eyes caught Jasper... shrinking? By the stars, the crack! Peridot took this time to point and laugh, one single loud "Hah!" leaving her mouth as she dared to smirk, "That's what you get for attacking us you big fat Clod! Well, now you're less of a big fat one and more tiny! Nyah hehehe!" She clung to the pole with both hands again, not going to underestimate her enemy to the level of physical combat. The greeen gem hadn't even mastered a slap yet, she wouldn't do good in battle even against the smallest Jasper on homeworld. "Come at me you pebble!"
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Post by americanfacepalm on Sept 11, 2017 20:07:07 GMT
Peridot cried out a name. The name that, for some reason, she insisted on calling Rose Quartz. There had to be some magic at work since she had everyone convinced that she was a human boy. After their fight in the Beta Kindergarten, Jasper herself had started to doubt that it was really Rose. Perhaps she had fused with a human and forgotten who she was? If that was the case, it was pathetic. But the sheer terror that the neon green techie displayed gave her a rush of joy. This was her purpose. Shove those who were out of line back in... or destroy them.
But Jasper's form had become unstable due to the physical flaw in her crystal, derailing her plan to climb up the pole and punish Peridot. The Gem in question dared to mock her new stature (which was, of course, thanks to the crack).
"Rrrr-argh!" she exclaimed, punching the center beam in frustration. Although smaller than normal, her superhuman (or perfect Quartz) strength remained with her, causing the blow to leave a dent. "I'll get you! Call me a clod, but it won't do you much good when you're laying in pieces on the ground!"
The taunt only egged her on. Forcing herself to work with the hindrance of a runty build, Jasper leaped onto pole and began to inch her way up. It was incredibly smooth, being made of inanimate crystal, but she had been formally trained to handle all kinds of things.
"Call me a pebble, will you!"
The hairline crack on her gem widened with all of the physical effort. If she was not careful with what she did, she would likely experience another glitch in her physical form.
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Post by Steven on Sept 11, 2017 20:57:23 GMT
Peridot was there, and then she wasn't, and that could either be a very good thing or a very bad thing depending on where she ended up when she wandered off. It was mostly his fault, Pearl had been doing laundry and he'd insisted on helping, which left the small gem to her own devices for a bit, and she was a little bit like a puppy that way, when left alone she tended to either entertain herself, or get herself into some sort of situation. He'd looked everywhere else arounf the house for her, it wasn't like it was easy to hide a bright green alien anywhere(but he'd been proven wrong on that note before), and she wasn't in the immediate area around the house, so he decided to check the last place he could think of.
He heard the shrill voice cry his name at around the same time that he managed to take in the situation fully upon entering the scene, he glanced back the way he came as he shuffled from foot to foot, wondering if he should go get Pearl or handle this on his own, after a moment he sighed and waved his hands as he approached the pair, "hey! Leave Perry alone!" He was trying to distract Jasper from her pursuit enough to give Peridot a chance to get down from where she'd climbed, "how'd she get out?!" He threw a worried expression up to Peridot, then back to Tiny-Jasper, just as worried for her current state as he was for his friend's well being.
"Jasper you need to stop! You're all cracked and if you keep doing this you'll shatter!" He didn't want that anymore than he wanted Jasper to shatter Peridot.
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Post by Silver Wings on Sept 11, 2017 22:41:46 GMT
Peridot gave out a cat like screech at the pole shaking immensely, almost making her loose her grip. Maybe... maybe insulting Jasper hadn't been one of her best ideas.Hearing Stevens voice she fell, landing on Jasper's head and then face-first on the ground, thankfully not proofing, that would be bad. "It was an accident!" She said in response to Stevens inquiry on how the tiny behemoth gem had escaped. She ducked behind Steven, peeking out from behind him with brows furrowed at Jasper, "What do we do!? Steven we can't let her shatter herself!" the green gem said with a sad crack in her voice. Sure Jasper was a mean clobber head... but just like everything on Earth, Jasper was a living thing. And just like Peridot, Jasper didn't know what to do about being stuck on earth. Right? She was just angry and confused, that didn't deserve a shattering.
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Post by americanfacepalm on Sept 11, 2017 23:33:48 GMT
Peridot came crashing down on her head, bouncing off like a stone skipping off of water. Jasper observed her face-planting into the floor, which would have been amusing if not for the fact that the surprisingly durable Gem had ricocheted off of her, causing a lot of pain. Peridots were very dense for their small size, their density being what made them so tough to force back into their gems.
"It's an accident you won't live to regret!" Jasper announced, leaping off of the pole she had been climbing to catch her prey. Like the pitiful thing she was, the lime-colored thing (she wasn't really a Gem to her anymore; none of the Earthlings were) scuttled to hide behind Rose Quartz.
Her eyes went wide, then immediately narrowed to sharp slits at the sight of her sworn enemy who had taken to disguising herself with a strange, small form. Though, to be fair, Jasper wasn't her most intimidating at that moment with her cracked gem unable to support her proper body. "Rose! What do you care if I shatter? You didn't care when you shattered our Diamond!" she growled, although she doubted that with this severe case of amnesia, Rose would even remember doing the heinous act.
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Post by Steven on Sept 12, 2017 0:01:14 GMT
He cringed a bit when Peridot smacked hard against the ground, he knew enough to know it wouldn't be enough to even phase the durable gem, but it still didn't look like it felt particularly good. He couldn't imagine what sort of accident could have caused this, but at this point it didn't really matter, this was the current situation and they were just going to have to figure out a peaceful way to deal with it, "we wont! Or...Well we'll try not to..." He didn't want to see that happen, he didn't want to see Jasper lose her only chance, "I-I could fix you! I could fix your gem!" He half pleaded to the tiny, furious behemoth.
Steven wasn't in the least surprised when she still insisted that he was Rose, but he still pleaded his case to her, "I'm not Rose Quarts, I'm Steven, and I DO care if you shatter!" He didn't know what they would do, they couldn't risk fighting her like this, and he didn't want to risk fetching Pearl in case she did decide to try and fight her, "please let me help you, Jasper, Steven wants to help you!" He threw Peridot a worried glance behind him, looking more than a little at a loss, if he could at least get her off the attack mode, that'd be a good start.
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Post by Silver Wings on Sept 12, 2017 0:26:58 GMT
Peridot flinched at the other gem's voice, and took in a deep breath. If they were going to die here then she wanted to get something off her chest. what she had been planning to speak to the cracked gem inside the bubble. With a fist clenched to her chest she stepped out from behind Steven and instead stood in front of him, her turn to shield her friend. "Jasper!" Came her tiny yet firm voice, much higher pitched than the deep gargling voice of Jasper. "Try and see things from our side, try real hard not to be so thick headed and stubborn! Look at yourself!" She slowly took a step forwards, scowling as if a mother scolding a child, "Even if you kill one or all of us, what's the point? Revenge? Revenge that no one would remember? Because guess what? The diamonds can and probably already have replaced us! They aren't coming back and they don't care about us anymore. You'd sit here and let yourself shatter for gems who don't care about you?!" She stomped her foot on the ground like that of a toddler having a fit, turning her back to Jasper, glancing to meet Steven's eyes, though the young green Gem was still addressing the Ex Co-worker behind her, gaze turning to the ground,"For whatever reason... The people on this planet are willing to forgive us. Steven, the gem you keep hurting over and over, and Lapis, they forgave me... and we're still trying to help you."
She turned back to Jasper, standing firm in her position, "Back home you are a number. 0420. That is all you are. That's all any of us were. But here on Earth, I'm Perry. Peridot. I have a unique name. I am a unique thing. No one can tell me otherwise. Here you can be Jasper, here you can be strong and a hero and show off and still be like us... That's all I want to see. I know what it's like to be angry and scared and trapped in one of those bubbles thinking you'll never see home again, and when I was popped by mistake I attacked too. But then I opened my eyes a little."
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Post by americanfacepalm on Sept 12, 2017 1:53:31 GMT
The firmness of Peridot's voice surprised Jasper. Her bravery earned her a chance to speak, at least for the time being.
She grunted at the first sentence. Why would she ever want to think from their perspective? It would make her just as defective as them! But then she jabbed at the only thing that Jasper was sure of. Revenge. It was true what the little Gem said. What was the point of being able to destroy all of her enemies if she was not around to enjoy it? If her Diamond didn't care? No, not her Diamond. Yellow Diamond. She honestly felt nothing for her like she did for the one she was made for. The notion that she could and would be replaced was not new to her. Every soldier risked being replaced due to poor performance. That was why she forced herself to be so perfect, to be the Kindergarten Quartz Who Could. If she was of value to them, she would not disappear. If she was of value to them, perhaps she could be of value to herself.
Her stare remained hard. This soppy forgiveness and unconditional love nonsense was what sullied the minds of the Gems who became rebels all those thousands of years ago. She was strong enough to resist the temptation to give in and go prancing around petting humans and picking flowers with these rejects.
"That's not all I am," she protested. Partially true were those words. She was famous, a war hero Jasper. Her vigor and determination saved her from the fate that befell the others made in the name of Pink Diamond: entrapment in the human zoo. But it was a hollow pride. Her title and accolades meant nothing to her, though Peridot's idea of a unique name didn't appeal to her either. How did you tell Gems apart if they all had silly names? If none had proper designations? The number 0420 was who she was... wasn't it?
"Unique," she spat back. There was nothing worthy in being unique. If a Gem was unique and did not fulfill their role, the system did not work and they wasted precious resources. She wanted Jasper to be a hero? Wasn't she already for going toe-to-toe with Crystal Gems during the war and all sorts of enemies here and now?
"You think I'm scared?" she chuckled a deep, hoarse laugh. "Quartzes don't feel fear."
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Post by Steven on Sept 13, 2017 19:34:40 GMT
Steven's eyes widened in surprise when Peridot stepped out in front of him with a look on her face that said that she had a lot to say to Tiny-Jasper, and maybe whatever she had to say would be enough to get through to the stubborn gem facing them down. He'd never heard her speak with this much conviction and solidity, and he couldn't help his eyes tearing up a little, completely and utterly proud of how far his friend had come since their first encounters, when she turned to him, he gave her an encouraging double thumbs up, but didn't interrupt or cut in otherwise.
He wasn't all that surprised when she seemed to persistently resist, but he came to Peridot's side and put a hand on her shoulder, "That was great Perry!" He grinned, then turned a worried glanced back at Tiny-Jasper, "everyone gets scared sometimes, we're scared right now, scared that you'll shatter without ever really getting to know any different..." He exchanged a glance with his friend, "it's fine if you wanna keep trying to hurt us, you wont win, but at least let me help you so you don't break into a million pieces in the process..." He almost sounded teary as he spoke, more than a little desperate not to let someone go that they could save, "please, Jasper..."
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Post by Silver Wings on Sept 14, 2017 2:14:49 GMT
Peridot glanced to Steven's hand on her shoulder... She normally would have mustered up a smile but this... This was a hard situation. This was a homeworld gem she had known for quite some time, someone she wasn't exactly close friends with, but someone she understood their point of view, and from experience knew that it was a horrible way to think. It had taken for an open minded Peridot such as herself to conform, and still after months she still wasn't exactly well situated. For a jasper like... Jasper... it was ten times harder.
"Let him heal you and then maybe we can try and talk this out?" She squeaked out desperate and hopeful words, certain that it was no use she grabbed Steven's sleeve and pulled him back, eyes staying on Jasper for a long moment before she grabbed both of Steven's shoulders, looking him in the eyes, her gaze going back and forth between his. "You and I both know she won't listen to reason... Maybe..." She grew quieter, "Maybe Pearl needs to poof her... then you can heal her and we can still bubble her." Speaking as if Jasper wasn't there probably wasn't the best idea, but what else could they do? Jasper was dangerous to the planet, Jasper was dangerous to them. Heck, Jasper was even dangerous to herself. Peridot couldn't bear to watch everything.
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Post by americanfacepalm on Sept 14, 2017 2:31:34 GMT
Jasper weighed her options. It was shatter and die with pride, having destroyed Rose Quartz, Steven, whoever this was... or live another day and get her revenge through other means. Arms crossed, she said, "I'll do it. But don't expect me to fall for your schemes, Steven. I know how you Crystal Gems deceive Gems. Make us think that joining you is our only option by stripping us of everything we have." The name rolled off her tongue with extreme disdain. Rose or not, she hated this person.
She didn't want to admit it, but at this point, she was tired. She had been fighting the moment she broke free of the Earth's crust and it was finally catching up to her, the acts of anger and never letting her guard down. It was exhausting her.
"But you should still be afraid. That lost, defective Pearl won't stop a rampaging Jasper and you know it," she said, eyed narrowed at Peridot, clearly having heard her little plan to save her against her will. If they were going to help her, she wanted things to happen on her own terms. She refused to be shoved into another bubble.
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