Archive of Our Own

With a mighty pull, the ocean swallowed Malachite whole. As Jasper raged against the chains, Lapis did all she could to restrain their monstrous body. She couldn't hold this fusion. Jasper was too strong and her will wasn't strong enough. She just needed to get her down deep enough.

Mile passed mile as Lapis pulled them down. The deeper they went, the less Jasper fought, Slowly succumbing to the intense pressure. Finally, when all light was erased, and only the beasts from the birth of this planet graced them with their presence, did Lapis relax. 

She sensed that Jasper was gone, finally. Her conciousness had finally receded into her gem. Malachite began to crumble, and Lapis was free. She snatched up Japser's gem and clutched it to her chest, swimming even further down until she could see a faint shimmer of blue light. 

Struggling against the the intense pressure, she followed the light into a cave, centuries old. There, in the center of the cave, sat an ancient shell; a corrupted gem. The poor soul it housed had long ago become dormant, appearing instead to simply be a large oyster, but Lapis knew better.

"Hello again Aquamarine. It's me, Lapis, and I brought us something to do."

The gem shone faintly brighter in response to her voice, opening the lip of its shell to reveal its gem. Here lay Aquamarine, long forgotten to the annals of history, but not to Lapis. 

Aquamarine, who had been there when the Gems had first arrived to earth. The first to join Rose Quartz's army. The first to fall in the final battle. Lapis remembered, as she dragged Aquamarine's body from the battlefield, she had wept for her her. Wept for her friend, her mentor, her guardian. 

Lapis had never taken a side in the war. She had only supported Aquamarine. When she had fallen, Lapis' wrath had been a sight to behold. She had swept the virgin ocean across the field of battle, blindly destroying both forces, until Rose Quartz had cracked her gem.

The next thing she had remembered was Rose Quartz's face. She had tried to kill her then, but she no longer had a body. Rose had explained that she was forced to put Lapis into that mirror so she wouldn't harm anybody. That she couldn't trust her anger. 

She had told her nothing of Aquamarine, though Lapis had screamed her name. For centuries Lapis had done nothing but think of Aquamarine. Until Steven had released her. For that she was eternally grateful, and before she tried to return home, she had searched for Aquamarine. 

It had been easy to search out her gem in the ocean. When she realized she couldn't bring her back home with her, she had wept again. But now she was back, ready to spend  eternity with the only gem she had ever loved.

But wait. As the thought crossed her mind, Lapis remembered who she had left behind. She was up there. Peridot. All alone, scared and angry. Guilt flooded her heart.

it hadn't been Peridot's fault that Lapis was imprisoned. Peridot was naught more than a peon. A number amongst countless other Peridots. Home world had changed drastically since Lapis had last been there.

Individuality was gone. Everyone had a job, and it must be completed. Peridots had always been the technicians of the gem planet, but now they were mass produced and assigned their positions at birth. Gems weren't given lives anymore. They weren't allowed to have experiences and learn or to enjoy their lives. They were given a number and sent to work. Lapis's Peridot was number seven million twelve thousand twenty six.

Lapis had met Peridot soon after she returned. She had tried to assimilate, but to no avail. She had been ordered to go to the citadel to be assigned a position. To her chagrin she had been given a position as the lowest servant possible, a technician's assisstant. Peridot had been given Lapis because Peridot was assigned to Earth.

It had been difficult at first, getting along. Peridot seemed to have no patience for Lapis. It had all changed when Peridot was placed in front of a tribunal. her lack of notable progress had been troubling. She was threatened with being destroyed and sent out Of the chamber.

When Peridot had returned to her office, Lapis had been expecting her to be angry, or shaken. Not as distraught as she was. She nearly collapsed on the floor as soon as she entered. 

"Peridot, what's wrong? What did they say?"

Peridot's eyes were as wide as the moons that circled their base, "The diamonds. Their going to smash my gem if I don't have results soon. I need... I need to send more robonoids. Another red eye. Something, anything!" 

Peridot had tried to get up, but Lapis had forced her back down. Much to Peridot's surprise, Lapis had wrapped her slender arms around her and clasped tight until she stopped shaking. 

Not a word was traded after that, they simply lay on the floor of her office, Peridot wrapped in Lapis's arms and Lapis's face buried in Peridot's hair. They were pressed together so tightly for so long that, when they finally released, Lapis could barely remember how to move her limbs.

whenthey were released, Peridot had stared at her so intensely that Lapis feared she was in trouble. But instead, Peridot had rushed forward, planting her lips onto Lapis'. Lapis had expected her lips to be as cold as her robonoids, but her perpetual frown belayed the presence of a soft, warm, loving gem.

from then on they had started a relationship. It was awkward at first. Relationships had retreated from the forefront of gem culture since Lapis had been gone. Once, it had been the desire of every gem to find their soul gem. 

Lapis had taken the time to explain the custom to Peridot one evening. The stronger a bond between two gems, the less monstrous their fusion would be, so, when fused, the fusion should only have extra eyes. No extra limbs, not huge. Just a normal gem, with just the right number of eyes, so they would always be able to look out and see the love that had become their body.

When Lapis had asked Peridot to try to fuse with her, she had been refused adamantly. Eventually, however, she had coaxed her to try, and they had failed miserably. Peridot had tried earnestly, but she couldn't dance at all. It had descended into a mess of limbs and a pleasant evening.

Of course, it was all ripped apart when Steven had shown himself to Peridot. Lapis had been the first to know of course. She had been torn between saving Steven or saving Peridot. She owed the boy, but she couldn't let Peridot be smashed. She wouldn't. So she had sent her message, and she had been arrested. 

She would have smashed her own gem if she could then, but Peridot had stayed her actions. She had been promoted, she would fight for Lapis's freedom, as soon as the mission was over.

But it had all fallen apart. The ship had fallen. Peridot was somewhere on Earth, and she was too deep in the ocean to be of any help. She would search for her, but she had to watch Jasper. Without her here to subdue her, Jasper would escape and wreak havoc, bring the home world gems back and destroy this planet. 

Resigned to her fate, she set Jasper inside the shell and curled up there herself. Retreating into her gem, she whispered a prayer to the goddess of the gems, the Pearl of the Stars, that Peridot would find safe haven.