Scene #4605: Gems in the Crystal Valley

Owner	Pose
Rose Quartz	Crystal Gems. Crystal Gems. Friendly Neighborhood Crystal Gems! That's Rose and the gang, who come flying in hanging off of her or being carried in her arms, floating down through the sky. Why are they here? Because there's gems here and rose wanted to investigate if there were any of their kind being made in this region!
Jasper	What is Jasper up to? It's a good question. Ever since she hit Beach City, and was sent packing back under the water, she's been missing in action. Strangely enough, as fate would have it, she's here for the same reason Rose is - to find Gems. After all, with all these strange crystals, some of them have to be what she's looking for: the remnants of Homeworld's army. Peridot had taught her that across this world there could be all manner of forgotten Homeworld relics. She stalks amongst the crystals like a predatory beast, stooping to inspect all manner of small gem-like object. "Fah! Useless! Is there anything of /value/ around here?!"
Lapis Lazuli	Lapis Lazuli was dark, dark blue. "I-I can fly you know! i-I have wings!" She'd probably said that at least dozen times. And Rose had probably ignored her. After all, Rose had the shield and Lapis was just so delicate. And looked like she wanted to STAB the other woman. "Hate. You. ALL of my power. Everything. Everything I have." She grumbled.
Steven Universe	Steven, for his part, has his arms and legs extended like Dogcopter, flying in with a WHOOSH to save the day! He's even making the whoosh sound effect! "Oh wow, this place is sparkly! I should get some pics!" And just like that the cell phone is out, snapping pictures to send to Connie. All of this while carried under one of Rose's arms.
Rose Quartz	"It's alright Lapis," she says, kissing her forehead soothingly. She's distracted as she descends through the air, both with Steven and a squirming Lapis. That's why she manages to flip upside down as she floats down... And lands atop Jasper, unless Jasper manages to notice at the last moment. If she doesn't though... PIIIIIIIIIIIIINK. SO MUCH PINK HAIR EVERYWHERE!
Jasper	Jasper notices, but doesn't quite believe it. Well, she does believe it, because Jasper is an extraordinarily simple Gem, and can very easily decide about the truth of what she sees. "Rose?" Jasper asks and then, banishing any trace of confusion, "ROSE!" Jasper's shout is more than loud enough to be heard at such close range. "I see you've finally given up on that pathetic disguise! I saw through it right from the start!" And then she sees Lapis, and... Rose again, the one Peridot called 'the Steven'. Indignant rage is replaced by bewildered anger. "There's two of you?!"
Lapis Lazuli	Lapis Lazuli blinked and then flew off after the landing, landing a few feet away. "Did you really have to go that far? I WAS--" And then she froze. Her wings disappeared and she fell to the ground, her eyes going wide as her breathing quickened and her heart hammered. "J-jasper? What... what are YOU doing here? you shouldn't... YOU can't be here! Y-you! Did you... did you know?!" she asked Rose, her voice filled with betrayal.
Steven Universe	Steven wriggles free and hops down to the ground at the shout, his shield appearing in an instant as he steps in front of Lapis. "Jasper! How... Where have you been? How have you been?" This last is an actually curious-sounding question, because he just doesn't know how else to respond or what to expect.
Rose Quartz	"Oh, hello Jasper." she says with a smile. "It's been quite some time since the war," she says warmly, going to embrace the huge Quartz Soldier. After setting Lapis and Steven down of course. "It's so nice to see you again, I haven't seen you since before the Ziggurat." she chuckles warmly, shaking her head. "I'm just glad you got off planet before the Gems started to sing.
Jasper	Jasper's sneer looks like could shatter a Gem. She glances to Lapis, then to Steven, and then to Rose - stepping back as the leader of the Crystal Gems tries to crush her! Her helmet is instantly atop her head, her fists balled. Teeth gritted, fangs bared, Jasper stares at Lapis. "And what are you doing here, Lapis? With these two Roses?" Her head snaps to look at Steven and Rose. "Do you really think you can trick me, Rose? Do you really think I'm so stupid?! What, where's the rest of your army? Waiting to ambush me? Hah!"
Lapis Lazuli	Lapis Lazuli shook her head and shuddered. "I... I'm not... I'm just... S-Steven, we need to get out of here... we need to..." And she looks around, before she finally makes a run for it, towards the nearest pond. Running past Steven and... by Jasper. Okay, so she panicked a little bit.
Steven Universe	Steven is all set to listen to Jasper's explanation, but what he gets is... less than explanatory. On the other hand, something his mom said poked at the edges of his mind. "Wait, sing?" He looks up at her confusedly just as Lapis advises fleeing and runs past him. "Lapis, wait!"
Rose Quartz	"Oh I don't have an army anymore. After the Grand Unification, there's really no need. Humans have their own heroes now... So do other Aliens... There are even more gems." she says. "And even if the war were still going on, this is a neutral zone. It was decided that both sides needed a place where they could go to not be in danger of dying for a little while. So Neutral Zones were created. The tradition is quite sacred." she lies smoothly. Sure those zones DO exist, but she doesn't have time to figure out if this is one or not. "I'll prove it to you," she says, drawing her sword and laying it down on the ground. "Pick that up, and let me hug you. If you really feel like you're in danger, you can always run me through. You know you're tough enough to take a little hug."
Jasper	"Don't lie to me, Rose Quartz!" Jasper sneers. "I've seen your army - that little runt, that broken Pearl, that joke of a fusion! I remember Homeworld, even when you and Lapis and Peridot do not!" She eyes the sword, reaches for it, and draws it from the ground. She holds it high and light glints off the pink blade. And then she lowers it, pointing the tip of the blade squarely at Rose. "You're such a fool to lower your defenses, Rose Quartz. Don't you realise how easily I could shatter you? You must know how much I /want/ to." But she doesn't.
Lapis Lazuli	Lapis Lazuli runs right past jasper, leaps into the pond. She kinda just... sits there now. Just her eyes above the water. Total maiden of the lake style, watching it all. Occasionally air bubbles come up as she burps under the water. And now Jasper was armed. Wasn't that just WONDERFUL!
Steven Universe	"Everybody, wait!" The cry is anguished, seeing his mother's sword pointed at her, and her ready to simply impale herself on it for a hug. I mean, hugs are great, but that's taking it too far! "Just, just... stop freaking out and trying to fight! No one's trying to hurt you, Jasper! And Mom, please don't walk into your sword... I... I'm only just getting to know you. I didn't even know the Homeworld gems could sing! I like singing! It's something we have in common now! Jasper, do you sing?" Well. Now that's a confused and frightened and confused and mistaken and confused argument if ever there was one!
Rose Quartz	"They're not an army. They're my friends." Rose says as she opens her arms. "And I can be your friend too. There is so much to learn, and so many worlds to see. The universe is full of adventure, and full of so many living things. We fight. We're quartz's, it's what we do. But what happens after the fight? Another? And another? I don't want my whole life to be about violence. It gets boring after a while, doesn't it Jasper? Fighting all the time? I know how it is. Being the best. Being the greatest fighting who has ever lived. The only problem with being the best is that soon, you don't have anyone left to fight. Oh you could fight humans. But they're no threat. You could fight other gems, but they're so much weaker than you. You could even fight other Quartz's, but why? When you're the best, and your life is all about war and violence... there's nothing left..." she says, looking Jasper square in the eye. "I have one question that I want you to answer for me, Jasper." "Who Are You?"
Jasper	"No," Jasper tells Steven, as blunt as a brick. "We have nothing in common. I respect the will of the Diamonds - and you've all cast it aside." Rose's admission of them being her friends draws harsh, mocking laughter from Jasper. "Of course we fight. It's what I was made for! I'll find worthy opponents and I will break them." Of course, Rose has a point. Where will Jasper go, what will she do, if she somehow manages to avoid being shattered and ends up at the top of the proverbial ziggurat? "I've never been bored in a fight before, and it's not going to start now." Still, the question gives her pause. She's quiet for one moment. Two. Three. The sword comes down into the ground, cleaving deep. "You think I don't know you, Rose Quartz? You want me to lose, to be as useless as your subordinates - and then you'll be there. But I'm not worthless. I remember you. I remember what you /did/. Who am I?! I'll be the one to make you /pay/ for what /you/ did to /my/ Diamond, Rose Quartz! And you'll need to shatter me to stop me."
Lapis Lazuli	Lapis Lazuli looked between them, at Jasper. At Rose. At... them. She took a slow, deep breath. Her hand reached out and then the rope lashed out. Long tendrils of water lashed out, forming chains. Long, familiar chains. The very ones that once held Jasper. Because this wouldn't end well. But she was talking about breaking things. About killing things. About hurting people. And steven was here. And she had a sword. And she was still panicking, just a little bit. However, when she did it... A small smile spread on her lips. Just below the water.
Rose Quartz	"Why would I want you to lose or be worthless? You would not be you without your self-confidence." she says. "I take gems and I make them better. They choose their lives, and it makes them stronger. Garnet. Stevonnie. Opal. None of those would be possible if they were weak. Even Malachite would not have been possible if Lapis were anything other than strong-willed and powerful." the older Gem says. "Jasper, I have been around tens of thousands of years. Far longer than you. It doesn't start right away. But little by little, you'll notice. The fights aren't as fun. They're over too quickly. So you start looking for ways to handicap yourself. but even that starts getting too easy. Then... LOOK OUT!" As the chains lash out, Rose RUSHES forward. For such a big woman, she can move like lightning. Shoulderblocking Jasper and knocking her out of the way, the chains grab at her wrists and ankles. Stumbling, Rose falls on the hilt of the sword sticking up through the ground. "Jasper..." she coughs. "Who are you?" POOF
Steven Universe	"NO!" The sound escaping Steven's lips is agonizing. For a brief moment he watched his mother die, the one he grew up without, the one that just appeared again in his life even though she's a little different than he expected she's still HER... and then he sees the gem. Entirely undamaged. That doesn't dry the tears, but it does fill him with relief. Jasper vanishes from his radar as he leaps to catch that precious gem, then to roll and land upright, just like Pearl taught him, shield up and ready at the edge of the water. Except for a brief moment he isn't sure which way to point it... But of course Jasper is the dangerous one, Lapis' move hadn't been meant to hurt Rose... He's certain of it. He tells himself he's certain of it. "Lapis... We... we need to leave. I don't want to fight, and Mom can't..." The shield is there, but he sounds so helpless and uncertain now.
Jasper	"Look out?!" Jasper snaps, "For what?! For-" Jasper grunts as she's shoved backwards, snarls as she scrabbles for purchase in the dirt and rises to her feet. "I knew you'd trick me! I knew it- I..." And then Rose poofs out of existence. Jasper stares, trying to make things make sense, as Steven - who she's beginning to think isn't just Rose in a human disguise, but only just beginning - snatches up her gem. And then she sees Steven and she truly /sees/ Lapis, and she laughs. It's a hollow sound, without a trace of humor behind it. "You're pointing that shield the wrong way! You think that was an accident?" she says, her words a weapon directed at Steven and Lapis. "/She's/ the one you should be truly afraid of. You might think I'm a dumb brute but that one? You're a monster, Lapis! You just struck down Rose Quartz under the guise of being her friend, her lackey! I'm so pleased for you!" What's worse, is that for the first time in a very long time, she actually does sound... happy.
Lapis Lazuli	Lapis Lazuli stares, her eyes going wide. N-no. She hadn't meant to do that. She WANTED to do that. But she hadn't MEANT to do that. A small rush of joy flooded through her as she watched rose poof. It disappeared a moment later when she realized Steven saw that. She looked to him. "Steven... I-I didn't mean to... it was an accident... I never... I never wanted... I-I was going after... after Jasper... she was... she was... she got in the way. It was an accident. I... I swear." She was frozen with indecision. "I-I'd never... n-no, I didn't... I wasn't... I... S-steven, we need to... we need to get out of here!" She runs towards steven. She was in full panic mode. It probably didn't help that she hadn't made her... dislike for rose hidden.
Rose Quartz	Rose Quartz is a gem. She really can't do much right now. But oh boy. Inside her gem? Party time for Rose! She peels off her white dress, throws on some ratty old pajamas, and kicks back on the couch with a bowl of popcorn to watch Maury.
Steven Universe	Poleaxed by the emotional onslaught of Jasper's accusation and Lapis' growing breakdown, Steven hesitates again. He wants to talk to Jasper, but right now he also kind of wants to beat her with the shield somehow and that's not conducive to good negotiations. He also wants to get Rose somewhere safe, but he's still reeling from the fact that she was poofed, still feeling the remnants of loss from when he thought she was GONE... "I... We... Jasper... Lapis didn't mean to..." His heart pounds like it wants to burst, blood rushing in his ears and he just sort of locks up.
Jasper	"You tell yourself that," Jasper tells Steven, gloating. "Keep saying she didn't mean to. Maybe, one day, you'll even believe it." Jasper steps back, arms spread in a final bit of mocking friendship, and wanders away. Her laughter carries through the air, even as she vanishes behind one of the crystals jutting from the ground. But everything Rose did... that echoes around inside her mind, and she can't come any closer to understanding it.
Rose Quartz	If she can take just a little more of the hate out of the world If she can make just one person think. If she can bring just a tiny ray of hope into someon'e life. Then Rose has already won.
Lapis Lazuli	Lapis Lazuli charges in, grabs Steven. "Let's go!" Assuming she's not blocked. She'll hug him close and her rings will extend, taking them back into the air. "I'm sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I never wanted to, I'm so sorry." She'd say over and over, holding him close. "I-I never meant to... I'm so sorry." She doesn't even listen to anything he says, holding him close.
Steven Universe	"Urk!" Steven's paralysis is broken by being grabbed and carried off, the shield vanishing as circuit breakers blow and he faints.