AN: First time writing a major fight scene.

"Okay guys, let's hope this works," Steven gave an apprehensive look as he popped Bismuth's bubble. Bismuth's gem began to glow as it rose into the air. Large rays of light began pouring out of it and in a bright flash Bismuth was completely reformed. She stood there gazing at the crowd in front.

"Steven, what's going on?" Bismuth asked, confused.

"It's a long story but that's not important. Listen, Bismuth, I'm sorry things didn't work out the last time but we don't shatter other gems. My mom believed that every gem deserved to have a choice and by shattering them, we take it away from them," Steven explained.

"I understand," Bismuth said. Then she saw three gems and a human she didn't recognize standing behind Steven and Amethyst. "Who're the new gems? Haven't seen them around before."

"Oh, how rude of me," Peridot said. "I am Peridot, certified Kindergartener and the new leader of the Crystal Gems."

Bismuth was almost amused by the diminutive gem's statement. "Seriously?"

"What?" Peridot asked, curiously.

"Peri, she's one of the original Crystal Gems; she knows you're not the leader," Amethyst said, laughing.

The green gem blushed. She didn't know what was more embarrassing: the fact that she had lied to the face of a crystal gem and gotten swiftly busted for it, or the fact that she had made a fool of herself in front of Amethyst.

"Connie Maheswaran, it's a pleasure to meet you," Connie said shaking Bismuth's hand.

"We're recruiting humans now? Man, stuff changes a lot over 5000 years," Bismuth laughed.

"Greetings, I'm Padparadscha Sapphire," Padparadscha said. "And this is Ocean Jasper."

The corrupted quartz greeted Bismuth with a growl.

"You don't look like any Ocean Jasper I've seen," she remarked.

"That's because she's corrupted," Peridot divulged.

"Corrupted?" Bismuth asked, put off.

Steven explained, "At the end of the war, the Diamonds launched one last attack on Earth and the gems that were caught in it got corrupted."

"Typical diamonds," Bismuth groused.

"But we have the cure for it now; we were just about to heal one of them," Steven explained. "The thing is though, she kinda has a personal hatred for my mom and me by an extension."

"Why's that?" Bismuth asked.

"She said that mom shattered Pink Diamond," said Steven. Bismuth's eyes widened at this shocking revelation.

"But that's impossible," Bismuth stated.

"I thought so too, but --" Steven began.

"No "buts" about it," Bismuth said cutting him off. "Where's the sword?"

Connie unsheathes the sword and hands it to her. Bismuth raised the sword and, without any hesitation, she swung it at her own gem.

"OH, MY GOD!!!" Connie shouted.

"BISMUTH!?!" Steven exclaimed.

"Look closer," she said. After closer examination, they realized that Bismuth's gem was completely unharmed. "See? Not even a scratch."

"But, how?" Steven asked.

"I forged this sword with a light-weight metal alloy so that you could swing it hard and fast. But the sword has two other properties that Rose had specifically commissioned me to add: the alloy has somewhat reflective properties and, while the alloy is very durable, the sword is hollow and much duller than a sword should be. That makes it so it's perfect for cutting through a gem's physical form, but never the actual gem," Bismuth explained. "If this sword were to strike a diamond's gem, the blade would almost definitely shatter."

"Wait!" Steven perked up, a realization coming to him. "When I went on trial, Blue Diamond said mom had shattered Pink with a sword! But... if the sword can't shatter a gem..."

"...Then Rose couldn't have done it!" Connie finished.

"Yep," Bismuth replied knowingly.

"Alright, everyone" Peridot cut in, "I have found Jasper's gem," Peridot announced, proudly presenting the lavender bubble.

"Awesome, let's do this," said Amethyst.

"Let's take care of bismuth," Bismuth joked.

"Hold on, we should take her gem down to Amethyst's room," Steven said.

"Why?" Peridot asked.

"Because, if Jasper tries to attack us, I think we should have some space to defend ourselves or fight back if it comes to that," Steven explained. "Also, I don't feel safe fighting her off when we're this close to a pool of lava."

After sharing some nods, the rest of the people present went down the tunnel to Amethyst's room. Entering the area, Bismuth marveled at the sight of Amethyst's large horde.

"Woah... I've seen my fair share of junk piles back when I was fighting alongside some other quartzes, but this is something else," Bismuth praised.

"Heh, thanks," the owner blushed. "I've had plenty of time to collect."

Peridot inserts the antidote into the Hard Light Analyzer. "Okay, Steven. When she reforms, inject this anywhere on her body."

Steven gave a nod, then Peridot placed the bubble a good distance away from them and, with the help of a rusty metal sickle from one of the nearby piles popped it from a safe distance. After a couple seconds of the gem lifelessly lying on the ground, Jasper's gem glowed and rays of light began bursting out, the light bending into the shape of a basic humanoid form before fragmenting and letting out a roar of unspeakable anguish.

After a few seconds, Jasper reformed in her corrupted state, letting out a pained roar. Her tiger-striped face turned to the group and, with every sense aside from sight, they were spotted. She charged at them, only for Ocean Jasper to pounce on her and somewhat subdue her orange counterpart.

The two corrupted quartzes rolled around on the floor tussling with each other. They were scratching, biting, and headbutting each other until Ocean finally managed to restrain Jasper by wrapping her front paws around her throat and standing up on her hind legs, lifting Jasper into a similar stance.

"Steee-ven, NOW!!!" The teal gem roared out as Jasper struggled fiercely in her grasp.

Nodding, Steven rushed over to Jasper, placed the Analyzer on her leg and injected the cure just as Jasper kicked him away and threw Ocean off of her with her jaws.

Suddenly, Jasper's gem starts glowing and her form is shrouded in a bright light. The team watched as Jasper's form started shrinking and shifting, reverting to the familiar humanoid form of the Jasper they all knew. Soon, the light faded and the hulking quartz kneeled in exhaustion.

"Oh, my stars, it worked!!" Peridot celebrated, excitedly, the realization of her mistake dawning on her too late.

At the sound of the technician's voice, Jasper looked up and glared daggers at the group of gems huddled together.

"Rose..." she growled.

"H-Hey, Jasper, i-it's great to see you back to normal," Steven said, smiling nervously.

"Hah...hah...heh," The veteran gem chuckled.

"W-what's so funny?" Steven asked, almost not wanting to hear an answer.

"You....You really think....this changes something....heheheh....hahaHAHAH!!!" The snicker growing into the not-so-perfect quartz's trademark roaring cackle.

"What are you talking about?" Steven asked, reconsidering this plan.

"Don't play dumb with me, Rose!!" She shouted, angrily, pointing an accusing finger at the supposed leader of the rebellion. "I don't know what you did to turn Peridot against Homeworld, but it won't work on me."

"Jasper, please, it's not like that at all," Steven pleaded.

"Oh, cut the pleasantries, how gullible do you think I am?" Jasper asked. "You only healed me so you could try to drag me into your band of misfits and use me as your personal weapon against Homeworld." Jasper accused. "You'll do anything to win, won't you? That's the only thing that doesn't separate you from any other Homeworld quartz, isn't it Rose?"

At this point, Connie had just about enough. "His name is Steven, and he's nothing like any of does heartless gems from Homeworld; he actually cares about others no matter how many times they tried to kill him and unlike you, he doesn't take joy out of other people's pain!!!"

"You have a big mouth for something so small and fragile," said Jasper. "If you want to keep it on your face then you better keep it shut."

"The only person who needs to shut up is you. You know, you're one to talk about "doing anything to win" because the last time I checked, that's exactly how you got stranded on Earth, trapped in a fusion, and corrupted," Connie listed off.

"You dare!!!" Jasper roared through gritted.

"Woooh, someone call 9-1-1, Connie just fired shots, AHAHAHA!!" Amethyst nearly doubled over in laughter.

"Shut it, runt!!!" Jasper shouted before she turned her attention back to Steven. "Bottom line, this doesn't change anything. Healing me isn't gonna make me forget about what you did to my diamond and I will make you pay for it!!" She summons her crash helmet. "I WILL AVENGE MY DIAMOND!!!"

And with that, Jasper broke into her comet sprint and charged at them. While the others ran out of her path, Bismuth stood her ground and smiled proudly.

"I see you're ready to do bismuth," she joked.

As Jasper collided with her, Bismuth caught her helmet, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Sorry, soldier, but I'm afraid you're about to be dishonorably discharged," she smirked.

Bismuth reels her arm back and delivered a strong punch to Jasper's chest, knocking the quartz off course, sending her flying straight through one a trash pile and face-planting into another one. As Jasper tried to get herself back on her feet, she looked up just in time to see Bismuth, both hands shapeshifted into mallets, slam her right back onto the ground and delivers a rapid barrage of punches.

Just as Bismuth was about to land another hit, Jasper catches her fist and kicks her in the chest, sending her flying a good distance away. Jasper stood over the stunned blacksmith and as she was about to crush her with her crash helmet, Bismuth managed to roll out of the way, get back on her feet and hit Jasper in the left cheek, causing Jasper to stumble back a small way. The two now stood in front each other, both sizing the other up. Jasper glares at the blacksmith with gritted teeth while Bismuth shapeshifted her hands back into mallets and braced herself for the upcoming assault.

Without warning, Jasper lets out a battle cry and makes a sprinting charge towards Bismuth, the former builder gem responding in kind. The orange quartz reeled back her arm, ready to land a blow to Bismuth's head. Just as they were about to get into each other's range, Bismuth ducked under Jasper's arm, dodged behind the quartz warrior and popped back up, landing a mallet on the small of the quartz's back. She tried to get another hit in but Jasper managed to grab her arm, pull her in close, lifted her up by the throat, and slugged her directly in the chin, sending her flying into the air. As Bismuth fell, Jasper swung her helmet into the side of her chest, sending her into the wall.

Just as Bismuth was about to get up, Jasper sends her back into the wall with her spin dash, putting a massive hole in it. Before the blacksmith can react, Jasper grabs her leg and hurls her across the room and she lands skidding across the floor right into a boulder, breaking it in half.

The blacksmith gets up just in time to see Jasper charging right at her. Using this to her advantage, Bismuth stepped out of Jasper's path and grabbed the back of her uniform collar. Using her full strength, she hurled the quartz into a nearby stalagmite. Frustrated, Jasper leaped into the air and tried to land a spin dash on the blacksmith only for Bismuth to dodge it and deliver a punch to her torso. When she tried to deliver a kick, Bismuth simply caught her foot and threw her into a trash pile.

Now angered beyond reason, Jasper charged at Bismuth, locking them into an intense struggle. Now locked in a stalemate, the two gems began dodging, punching, blocking, and kicking each other, desperately trying to take down the other. At this point, the two of them both appeared to be battered up and bruised and this fight seemed like it was gonna go on forever when suddenly, Jasper grabbed Bismuth's arm, pulled her over her shoulder, and repeatedly slammed her into the ground. After the fourteenth slam, Jasper de-summoned her helmet and lifted Bismuth up by her neck before she headbutted her right in the face, sending her back into the ground. Before Bismuth could even get back up, Jasper summoned back her helmet and slammed it right into her stomach.

While Bismuth grasps her stomach in pain, Jasper speaks up, "You held up well for a builder gem, I'll give you that. But I'm afraid this battle is over."

Suddenly, before she could do anything, An azure club flew at Jasper from behind, flying around her head to slam into her visor, knocking her backward. After recovering from the split-second shock, she attempted to rise again and was promptly pinned down at the arms by a pair of dark green throwing axes.

"WHAT IS THIS!?!" she shouted as she struggled to get back up.

"HEY CLOD!!!"

Jasper turns her head to the source of the incredibly nasally voice, revealing it to be none other than Peridot.

"Here's an idea, if you're going to go up against someone who has ferrokinetic abilities, try to find a battlefield that isn't littered with metal weapons!" Peridot taunted.

"When I get up, you're as good as shattered!" Jasper shouted in retort.

"If you get up," Peridot corrected smugly.

"That won't be a problem," Jasper said, grinning. She went into a spin dash and leaped into the air, breaking out of her restraints and landing gracefully on her feet.

Now panicking, Peridot raised a battle axe and sent it hurtling toward the large quartz. Jasper caught it with little effort.

"Hmm, haven't used one of these in a while," Jasper said, turning the axe over in her hand, despite Peridot's best efforts to pull it away. "Let's see if it's any good." She turned back to the small, green gem, who gulped nervously.

But before she could even react, she was struck by a purple spin dash, causing her to lose her grip on the axe as she was sent hurtling over one of the trash piles. Quickly recovering from the attack, Jasper saw that the hit came from none other than Amethyst.

Jasper smiled menacingly. "Seriously? Are you really gonna try to come up against me, again? Did you learn nothing from our last two encounters?"

"Yeah, I actually did." Amethyst returned, hotly. "All I have to do is wait for you to lose your temper and try doing something stupid. It's an easy opening, I could take you down without wasting too much time or effort," the purple runt smirked.

Jasper barely hid a blush of embarrassment as she remembered that she had fallen victim to that plenty of times before and growled at the smaller quartz.

"Aww, did I make big cheeto puff angry?" Amethyst taunted.

"THAT'S IT!!!" Jasper shouted. She swung her fist at the diminutive quartz only for amethyst to spin dash under her fist and into her legs causing her to trip. She tried to land another spin dash, but Jasper managed to disrupt it by punching her in the stomach, sending her hurtling into the wall.

Amethyst placed her hand where Jasper punched her and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, this is weird, it doesn't even hurt. Last time, she easily crippled me with a single punch, but now it's like she didn't even touch me. What is going on with me today?" Amethyst thought to herself.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by her gem senses tingling. She looked up to see Jasper heading straight toward her. Using her newly acquired speed, she manages sprint out of her path, shocking the larger quartz as she ends up punching the wall.

"What the? How did you... Nevermind, I'm not gonna ask," said Jasper as she rushes toward the purple quartz. Amethyst gracefully leapt over her, in a mock ballerina pose, leaving her opponent to collide into a rather large trash pile.

"Oh, yeah, a little word of advice; some of my piles aren't exactly....hmm, what's the word Pearl used, ummm? Oh right, "structurally stable," Amethyst warned, mimicking pearl's tone for the last two words.

"Wait, what?" Jasper was. Her question was swiftly answered by the pile collapsing and burying her in it.

"Looks like you..." the tiny gem paused, digging around in the trash pile she landed on, "just got trashed." Amethyst finished, lifting a pair of old sunglasses from the pile, and putting them on.

"OOOOOOOHHH!!!" Steven and Connie cheered from the sidelines.

Jasper bursts out of the pile shouting, "I'M GONNA SHATTER YOU!!!"

Jasper picked up a large boulder and threw it at the small quartz. Suddenly overtaken by her gem senses, Amethyst's fist is enveloped by purple aura as she reeled it back and punched the boulder, reducing it to dust with a powerful shockwave.

"Woah, okay, I still don't know how this is happening. But, HOLY SMOKES, that was awesome!" she thought. Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by Jasper delivering a kick to her face, sending her a good few feet away.

Before Amethyst can get back up, Jasper summoned her helmet and launched herself toward the purple gem.

Seeing this, Amethyst dashed out of the way as Jasper's helmet crashed into the ground, only to bounce back and knock Jasper across the face with her own spin dash. She bounced again, trying to get another hit in, only for Jasper to grab her by the neck and pin her to the floor. Amethyst struggled in her grasp but to no avail.

"I'LL SHATTER YOU!!!" Jasper shouted reeling back her fist.

Suddenly, she was blinded by a flash of light.

. . .

Jasper found herself in the Beta Kindergarten with the night sky hanging over her, where she was surrounded by the other Betas. They all stared at her with wide eyes and looks of disbelief.

"What's going on? How'd I get here? Why does this feel so familiar?" she thought.

Jasper was confused about what was happening until the sound of sobbing sparked her memory.

"No, it can't be!!!" Jasper thought, frightened.

Looking down, she saw that instead of Amethyst, she had a small, red quartz pinned to the sandstone wall by her neck. She was in tears, her face thoroughly stained with tracks.

"Carnelian!" Jasper thought. It was all coming back to her. She always treated the other Betas like trash, Carnelian tried to stand up to her, a fight started, and then...

"No!" she thought.

Glancing at the smaller quartz, she saw that Carnelian was heavily beaten up. She had a bruised eye and on her left shoulder was a cracked gem.

The small gem glared up at Jasper with a spiteful, teary-eyed expression. "Go ahead then. Do it, Ultimate Quartz," she spat.

. . .

Back in reality, Amethyst was still struggling to break out of Jasper's grasp when all of sudden Jasper shouted, "NO!!"

Jasper threw her opponent into a trash pile, leaving her confused.

"What was that about?" Amethyst thought, still in shock.

Meanwhile, Jasper stood there in deep thought, clutching her head, a tremble overtaking her body as if she were trying to carry a corrupted gem on her shoulders.

"It was an accident, I didn't mean to, I just lost my temper, I would never try to shatter my own sibling," she thought to herself, apologizing to a gem that wasn't there.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a metal object smacking her across the face. Turning in the direction of the attack, she identified the attacker to be a dark-skinned, female human child, who happened to be wielding...

Rose's Sword!

Glaring at the human with a fury that could make a veteran agate turn tail and run, Jasper charges toward her opponent, swinging wildly at the small human, only for Connie to slide under her arm a slash at her back before stabbing her in the leg.

Ignoring the pain in her leg, Jasper summons her helmet and swings it at Connie, only for her to duck under it and deliver a punch to her visor, shattering it.

Connie leaps up and tries to deliver an aerial attack, Jasper managed to grab her by her shirt and pin her to the ground. As the human struggles, Jasper crouches down so that they are face-to-face.

"You fight well for a human, Homeworld could really use someone like you. It's a shame that I'll have to put you down," she said.

Thinking fast, Connie scooped some dirt out of the floor and threw into Jasper's eyes. Jasper screamed in pain as the dirt temporarily blinded her, allowing Connie get in a quick punch to Jasper's eye.

Standing back up, Jasper struggles to remove the dirt from her eyes. By the time she did, Connie delivered a leaping spin kick to her face. While recovering from the attack, she caught a glimpse of Amethyst attempting to spin dash at her from behind. Using this to her advantage, Jasper dodged it and kicked her from behind, knocking her out of her spin dash, causing her to collide with Connie.

Suddenly, a loud roar filled the room and Jasper was knocked back a few feet. As she was nearing a trash pile, she gets struck by a large blue claw, sending her into a wall. Gazing back at her new challenger, Jasper finds herself exchanging looks with an enraged Ocean Jasper.

"You again? Heh... Should've known you'd join a team of worthless silt; you fit right in," She spat.

"RE-VEEENGE!!!" Ocean roared. She was soon accompanied by Lion, who bared his fangs and growled at the large quartz.

As her eyes landed on the large pink cat, Jasper began to remember again...

. . .

Back in the Beta Kindergarten, Jasper had the cracked, Carnelian pinned to the ground, crying her eyes out.

"Go ahead then. Do it, Ultimate Quartz!" she spat.

Jasper stood there with her fist reeled back, completely frozen in shock when suddenly, she was tackled by a brown, furry, blur. She punched the attacker off of her and looked up to see Rose Quartz crouched over Carnelian.

"Are you alright, dear?" Rose asked the smaller quartz.

Now overcome with rage, Jasper stood up and growled, "ROSE!!!"

Rose turned to her and shot a glare at the orange quartz.

"Why am I not surprised?" said Rose under her breath.

"You need stay out this, this doesn't concern you!" Jasper shouted, angrily.

"When an elite soldier is picking on a defective gem, it is my business," She replied. "And if you have a problem with that, you can answer to me."

"With pleasure!!" Jasper hissed. She pulled out two axes, summoned her helmet, and pounced at Rose. But just as she was about to strike her, she was rammed from the side by the same attacker from earlier. Gazing up, she saw that her attacker was a lion with pale-brown skin and a dark brown mane. The creature glared at her, snarling.

. . .

Staring into Lion's eyes, Jasper saw the same glare that she had seen on that day when the Beta Kindergarten was attacked by the Crystal Gems.

"You!!" she hissed.

Lion growled his reply. The message was clear.

"I'll see to it that both of you pay for what you did," she growled.

Out of nowhere, Ocean Jasper lets out a roar that shakes the entire room. Her gem starts glowing and parts of her body start shaking.

Peridot opens her Gem-Pad as a message pops up saying: "WARNING: MULTIPLE UNIDENTIFIED GEMETIC PROCESSES BEING EXECUTED WITHIN 'Ocean Jasper'!"

Opening the message, what she saw left her speechless.

"STEVEN!!" Peridot called out.

"What is it, Peridot?" he inquired.

"The corruption pathogen in Ocean Jasper seems to be...," She trailed off, still reeling from the shock.

"What?" Steven pressed.

"Mutating," she finished.

Suddenly, large, cyan spikes started to emerge out of Ocean's back and poke through her mane. The spikes started emerging from her shoulders and around her paws. Long, cyan tusks emerged out of the sides of her head and she starts growing three inches taller. Ocean stomps her front paws on the floor, cracking it, and she lets out a mighty roar.

"Woah, what happened to her?" Steven inquired.

"It would appear that the trauma caused by Malachite has caused the corruption to increase to the point where the animalistic characteristics in the host, as well as strength, endurance, awareness, senses, and size, are amplified," Peridot explained. "In other words, she's going through, well... let's just call it "Super-Corruption."

"Is she going to be alright?" Padparadscha asked, worried.

"She should be. Corruption is attuned to the emotional state of its host, so this form should wear off once she starts calming down," the green gem said, a slight twinge of uncertainty still in her voice.

The now super-corrupted Ocean Jasper stalked towards her opponent, who summoned her helmet and launched herself at her corrupted combatant. Ocean twirled around and smacked Jasper with her tail, sending her hurtling toward Lion, who bounced her back with his sonic roar and sent her skidding across the floor.

When Jasper finally managed to get back on her feet, Lion jumped onto her back and sinks his teeth into her shoulder. Cringing in pain, Jasper tried her best to shake off the feline as he started clawing at her from behind.

Finally, Jasper managed to get a hold of Lion's mane and threw him into a nearby trash pile. She tried to deliver a punch, but Lion ducked under it and bit down hard on her leg. Hissing in pain, she swung her foot out and throws him off, but she's then hit with another sonic roar that sends her hurtling toward Ocean Jasper, who sends her back to the floor with a swing of her tusks.

Before she could get back up, Ocean slammed her back into the floor and delivered a rapid barrage of slashes. Just as she was about land another blow, Jasper grabbed her arm and threw her into a wall.

"Is that the best you can do?" Jasper asked getting back to her feet. "You're gonna have to try better than -" Jasper's monologue was cut off by a large, cyan spike sailing past her head.

"What the -- AAAHH!!!" Jasper shouted as another spike skimmed across her arm, leaving a small wound.

Turning her attention back to her opponent, Jasper saw Ocean flick her now bulbous tail, sending another large, blunt spike barrelling into her knee, forcing her to double over. Ocean Jasper roared as she launched a full barrage of spikes from her body. Fortunately, Jasper managed to push herself up in time to dodge the initial barrage. Running as fast as she could, Jasper made her way to one of the many trash piles in an attempt to take cover. She hissed in pain and nearly lost her balance when three smaller spikes lodged themselves into her back.

Finding a spot to hide, Jasper leapt over the trash pile just as a spike sunk into the back of her other shoulder, causing her to cringe in pain as she fell behind the trash pile, landing on her stomach.

Propping herself into a sitting position, Jasper started along the painful process of removing the spikes from her body as she tried to wrap her head around what was happening.

"How am I losing to this abomination? I should've defeated her seconds ago," she thought. Her internal dialogue is interrupted by the sound of large footsteps and animalistic snarling. "That thing must be hunting me down."

Looking around for something she could use to her advantage, she glanced up at the pile she was hiding behind, which appeared to be four inches taller than Ocean Jasper. She smiled. "Perfect."

She snuck over to the other side of the trash pile as Ocean Jasper stuck her large head out from the opposite side, trying to sniff out her prey. As Ocean walked over to Jasper's previous position, The Quartz That Could stood at the top of trash pile cracking her knuckles. "Let's give her a taste of her own medicine."

Jasper let out a battle cry and leapt off the trash pile, reeling back her fist. As she was about to close in on her target, she is sent hurtling into the wall by a sonic roar. Gazing back up, expecting to see Lion charging at her, Jasper was startled when she found the pink feline was nowhere to be found.

"Where did it go?" she thought. Her question is soon answered when a bright light emanates from the ceiling. Looking up, she is met with the sight of Lion emerging from a portal, about the tackle her.

"ENOUGH!!!"

As Lion approached her, Jasper choked the large cat and slammed him into the floor, then a wall, putting cracks in both. After giving three punches to the chest, Jasper raised the feline to eye level and headbutted him, forcing him to the floor, unconscious.

A loud roar of pure rage brought Jasper's attention back to her other opponent. Ocean Jasper was baring her teeth at orange and growling incoherently, which confused Jasper for a moment before she finally the got the canine gem's message: "LET'S FINISH THIS."

Hearing this, Jasper summons her helmet and gets into a sprint position. "After you, freak."

Ocean roared and charged at the orange quartz, the perfect quartz responding in kind. As the two warriors got closer, Jasper slid between Ocean's front legs and spin dashed into her stomach, sending her hurtling into the ceiling before she fell back down, landing on her side. Before Ocean can get back up, Jasper slammed her back into the ground with her spin dash.

Standing over her defeated enemy, Jasper prepared to deliver the finishing blow when suddenly, a loud scream filled the room.

"NO!"

In an instant, Padparadscha zoomed towards the large quartz using her naturally enhanced speed and shoved Jasper a good distance away from her friend, using her fast speed in to enhance the force of her push. The defective sapphire stared down at her fallen comrade.

"Ocean?" she called out.

The corrupted quartz was motionless.

"Ocean, say something," she said, worried.

Still, Ocean remained silent.

"Ocean, please!!!" she called out, a single tear leaving her eye.

Finally, the corrupted quartz replied, "Pad-pa?"

After a short pause, she happily replied, "Yes, Ocean, it's me; thank the stars, you're alright."

With a sound much like a sigh, Ocean Jasper began to shrink, the spikes on her body began to recede, and her form lost most of its bulk back. The off-color sapphire wrapped her arms around the animalistic gem's neck. The sounds of Jasper's yell suddenly shakes the room, causing Padparadscha to look up. As she followed the sound, she was greeted with the soldier charging at her, reeling back her fist.

Suddenly, Padparadscha was pushed out of Jasper's path. Looking back, Padparadscha was horrified to see Steven push her out of the way as Jasper swung her fist and punched him directly in the stomach, sending him into the wall.

"Steven!" she cried. She rushed over to the hybrid, who was clutching his stomach in pain.

"Wow, you must really be desperate for recruits if you chose this worthless defect," Jasper stated. "Beat it."

Padparadscha stood defiantly. "I won't let you anywhere near him!"

"Fine, have it your way," stated Jasper. In one swift motion, she picks both of them up by the scruff of their necks. "It's only fair that one of your teammates get to watch your final fight."

"STEVEN!!!" Connie and the gems cried.

"PAD-PA!!!" roared Ocean.

Grabbing the axe she dropped earlier, she took off for the temple door, quickly leading Connie and the other gems in pursuit. Exiting the temple and stepping onto the warp pad, she glanced back to find the others about to approach her. Shooting a quick glance to Steven and Padparadscha, she held the bladed end of the axe under the necks of her hostages, who struggled to get out her grasp. Seeing this threat made, Connie and company came to a halt, frozen with fear.

"Not another step!!" Jasper threatened. Suddenly, the other temple door opened and Garnet and Pearl came rushing out.

"What's going on in here!?!" Garnet demanded. Gazing at the scene in front of her, she and Pearl summoned their weapons.

"If you want them to stay alive, then you better stay where you are," Jasper warned, forcing them to stand down. "At the very rare chance that you find us, these two will only be alive long enough to say their last words."

In an instant, the warp pad activated and they were gone.

"Steven," Pearl barely whispered, tearing up as her weapon vanished from her grasp.

"Don't worry, Pearl, we'll get him back," Garnet said, placing a hand on her teammate's shoulder. She then cast her attention to the others. "For now, I believe someone has some explaining to do."

Even behind her shades, Connie and the others could feel Garnet's cold, nearly hateful stare. If looks could kill, there would be a dead body and four powdered gems on the floor.

After collecting her thoughts, Amethyst decided to come clean. "Alright..."

. . .

(Outside of Earth's atmosphere)

In a flash of light, the ship commandeered by the Quartzes exits out of hyperspace and makes its way to Earth. Inside the cockpit, the Primes and Betas were sprawled on the floor, snoring away as Skinny manned the ship's controls.

"*Sigh* Our planet hasn't changed a bit. The ocean's still blue, the grass is still green, and the sun's still shining as bright as ever," she reminisced, smiling. Then she turned toward Carnelian, who had her head on the dashboard, resting peacefully. "Okay, as adorable as you are, I might as well wake you up and let you know," Skinny said, fully aware of her co-pilot's unconsciousness.

She gently poked the smaller gem's cheek. "C'mon, Carnie, wake up." Soon, the red quartz finally stirred, stretching her arms and letting out a yawn.

"*YAWN* Mornin', Beanpole," Carnelian murmured.

"Morning, sis. We're nearly home," she announced.

"Sweet, should I wake up Holly and tell her we're gonna let her out once we land?" asked Carnelian, gesturing toward the sleeping agate.

"Sure," Skinny said. "But, what say we give her a special wake up call." Smirking as she emphasized "special".

"What do you mean?" asked Carnelian. Skinny motions for her to lean in closer and whispered something in her ear, causing the red gem to smile and chuckle mischievously. Carnelian snuck behind Holly's place by the left wall and shapeshifted her legs so she was at her height. She then stuck her finger in her mouth, covering it with her synthetic saliva, before sticking it into Holly's ear. The uncomfortable squish of the gooey saliva in her ear woke the agate with a start.

"OH, MY STARS!!!" Holly shouted.

Skinny fell out of her seat laughing her head off. Carnelian doubled over laughing as her legs shifted back to their original size.

"Why would you do that? I swear you two are absolutely disgusting!!!" Holly shouted. "And I can't even use my hands to get it out of my ear thanks to these chains."

"HAHA, C'mon, Holls, even you've got admit that was priceless. You should've seen your face. "OH MY STARS!!!"," Carnelian said, mocking Holly's voice and facial expression.

The agates cheeks turned navy blue in utter humiliation.

"Yeah, she totally got you. Consider this payback for that electric whipping you gave me back at the zoo," said Skinny.

"What are you talking about?" Holly inquired.

"Um, hello? During our escape when we we're just nearing the ship, you ambushed us, wrapped that whip around me, and tried to electrocute me until I poofed," Skinny explained.

The former enforcer gave a begrudging sigh. "Okay, fair enough, I suppose I deserved that. But I thought you said you didn't want revenge?"

"Ah, ah, ah, I said we weren't gonna resort to torture; I didn't say we weren't gonna get you back," Carnelian chided.

"But did you have to use that much saliva?" Holly asked, disturbed.

"Hey, we wanted to make sure you got the message," said Carnelian.

"Trust me, I got the message and I can still feel it, ugh," Holly groused. "So, this is Earth? Looks rather bland to me."

"Well, sorry, our home's colorful, lively appearance doesn't match the colorless, lifeless, eerie textures that you're used to seeing after a planet's been harvested," Skinny retorted.

"It's not that it's just; what do you see in this planet? What makes it so special?" Holly questioned.

"It's our home, that's special enough for us," Carnelian countered. Then, her eyes caught a glimpse of something. "Um, Skinny? You might wanna take a look at this.

Looking over the horizon, Skinny was shocked to see a Roaming Eye heading toward the planet. "Ah, silt."

"What are we gonna do!?!" Holly yelped, panicking.

"Hey, calm down, I'll just contact the ship and tell them to..."

"GET DUSTED, GUNK!!!" Carnelian shouted, cutting Skinny off as she pressed a button. Instantly the ship fired two missiles, hitting the Roaming Eye with full force and knocking it toward the Earth.

"Dang it, Carnelian, we were gonna talk to them; not ice them!" Skinny chided.

"Oops, sorry, kinda spur of the moment," Carnelian admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. C'mon, let's wake the others up," Skinny said making her way to the others.

"That's the last time I'm going to try sleeping," Holly grumbled.

"Ah, don't be like that, Holls. It was just a small prank," Carnelian said humbly.

"A 'small prank' that left me with an ear full of your disgusting saliva," Holly shot back, disgusted.

"Well, didn't sleep feel nice?" Carnelian asked.

"I suppose," Holly admitted, hesitantly.

"Good," the red gem replied.

"And I also suppose the prank would be somewhat amusing to someone else," Holly surrendered, pouting at allowing them to hear such thoughts.

"Ha! I knew it!" Carnelian exclaimed.

"But don't tell Skinny I said that," she amended. "And there will be retributions for this when we get to Earth."

"Whatever you say, Holly-dolly" Carnelian assured left-handedly as she kicked her feet upon the dashboard.

Holly grumbles under her breath while also trying to stifle a laugh as the ship made its way to Earth.

A/N: Will the gems be able to save Steven? What happened in the Beta Kindergarten that scarred Jasper so badly? Will Amethyst ever discover her diamond origins? And will Holly Blue Agate ever be able to take a joke? Find out in the upcoming chapters.

E/N: Hoo, boy, this Jasper redemption arc might take a while, I oughta grab some popcorn. I've just been strung along for the story, for the most part, seeing where Doc goes with this, and I'll say, I've been waiting on another check-up with Holly and the Fam. As an idol of mine in the fanfic world would say, I hope you like what's to come!

Credit goes to:

Sir Spuddrington Tatortot (co-creator, editor, and miscellaneous consultant) for help with editing, wording, and characteristic maintenance.

Moonlit_Wings (Archive of Our Own) (Avid supporter) For being with this series and providing support and tips since day 1.