Alesha's P.O.V

Huffing, I grip the steering wheel of the car I stole and gaze past the active headlights at the wooden structure resting thirty feet away. I only just arrived not that long ago, hence why the car is still running and humming, but I'm sure that this is the "Barn" where Lapis and Peridot are holding up. It was certainly a pain getting here, no doubt about that. After finding the nearest person with a working car, I killed them and took the car for myself. I figured I would get to where I wanted to go faster that way. And it was until a bunch of trees blocked my path and I had to detour. Taking that road, while also speeding past other drivers, only got me so far before I was forced to go off-road and onto the open plains. The trek from then on was a bit bumpy, partly due to me not wanting to slow down, but I was seeing red and burning with a need to kill. Wasn't too much later that I halted to a stop and parked the car right where it is now.

It might seem convenient that I found this place as easily as I did, but I had some help in the form of the guy who this car used to belong to. I had asked him about the Crystal Gems and he knew just enough to say that there were always two of the Gems that lived out in the nearby countryside. From the sounds of it, the Gems have definitely made enough of an impact on this little town as to where practically everyone knows at least a little about them. Kind of like Steven, now that I think about it. I made sure to thank the guy before cutting this throat wide open, because I truly meant it. He was helpful. And now here I am at my goal and ready to finish things.

Turning off the car, I unlock my door, but then open up the glove-box on the passenger's side and pull out a handgun. I had done a quick inventory check of the vehicle once I was far enough away from the former driver's body and found this in the process. I guess he was all about defending himself if he needed to. Didn't ultimately save him, though. But, it's a blessing for me. Gripping it with my left hand, I get out of the car and shut the door, the silence of the car engine no longer running giving way to the sounds of crickets chirping. And with my gaze locked on the Barn up ahead, I draw my knife, keeping the gun steady in my other hand, and trudge towards it. Grass crunches under my shoes as I tread closer and closer to the wooden structure. I'm hoping to make this quick, especially since they're probably not anticipating me showing up on their front step with a weapon in hand. But, even with that in mind, I take smaller and less noisy steps once I'm only a couple feet away from the entrance. And judging from the fact that I don't see any light coming from under the doors, I feel correct assuming that Lapis and Peridot are asleep. But, I shouldn't just go for the most obvious point of entry first thing either.

Steadily and carefully, I walk around the entire exterior of the place, staying away from the front doors in case they wake up. Unfortunately, there aren't any windows I can exploit and the only other possible means of entry is higher up above the front doors and blocked off with some wooden beams running diagonally across them. So, that means I'll have to use the front doors after all. Sighing in annoyance, I circle back around to the two larger wooden rectangles and lightly open one of them, cringing as I hear the material creak. Once there's a large enough crack for me to enter, I slip through and tiptoe my way inside. It's almost impossible to see anything in front of me and that proves to be a real pain when I step forward and feel something clamp hard around my leg while also stabbing it. I'm unable to hold back cries of anguish and clumsily fall over, another thing clamping over my left hand and stabbing it too. I scream even louder this time, no doubt alerting anyone within a five mile radius of my presence.

But then a couple of lights turn on and my vision clears dramatically. However, I glare angrily at the smaller green gem Peridot, who is standing near the second light with a baseball bat in hand. With my body in too much pain to even attempt standing up, I'm held victim to Peridot trudging over at her own leisurely pace and striking me across the face with her bat. I grit my teeth, feeling my nose break from the hit, and before long start seeing red dripping from my nose.

"That's for Amethyst" Peridot says, sneering at me.

I spit at her feet.

"And that's for breaking my nose, you fuck!" I snap at her.

"Trust me, I can break a lot more if you keep that attitude up" Peridot threatens, lifting the bat onto her shoulder, "Wanna find out?"

I stay silent, seeing that there's no other way than to just not get hurt anymore than I already am. Peridot exhales calmly and lowers the bat.

"It must suck feeling like you thought you could get the drop on me, but that I got the drop on you instead, Alesha" The gem taunts, lightly nudging the contraption piercing my hand, "Premium bear traps. Nice, right? I figured you would come and that's why I took these precautions. Why else would the upstairs balcony be sealed off and the front doors left unlocked without any lights on inside? The only part remaining was for you to step into one of these traps I laid out and fall into the other that I placed via your measurements. Helps when I have your file on hand that lists your personal information, like your height for example".

"Well aren't you a real genius?" I reply sarcastically, rolling my eyes through the pain.

"I am, actually. And I can promise you..." Peridot smirks, bending down and taking the gun and knife out of my hands, "...I had plenty of other ideas on how to capture you and this was one of the tamer options".

She then steps back and walks off towards the other end of the Barn, pushing a chair over bit by bit until it's a couple feet in front of me.

"What's that for?" I inquire.

"Well, if I'm to keep an eye on you so that you don't escape, I gotta be nearby" Peridot explains, "Oh! That reminds me. Wait here for a second".

Mentally cursing at her for the cruel joke, I watch the gem go over to a sort of workbench set up in the same general area that the chair was from and grab a power drill. Part of me is actually scared of what she'll use it for while the rest of me is visualizing myself taking it from her and ramming the running drill head through the gemstone on her forehead. As was proven with Amethyst, a Gem's weakness is their gemstone and Peridot's is even more noticeable. It'll be easy to kill her once I get out of these fucking traps. But, Peridot comes over and keeps me planted on the ground with her foot as she drills two screws into the traps on both my arm and my leg.

"Snug enough for you?" Peridot continues.

I flip her off with my free hand, but she then steps on it too before bending down and casually snaps it in the wrong direction. I yell in pain, my arm partially flailing about until Peridot removes her foot and I bring that hand over to the one stuck in a trap. I snap the finger back into place quickly, though it still hurts like hell, and glare flaming daggers at Peridot.

"How is it that someone as small and as skinny as you can do so much damage to me?" I growl, "No wonder Steven wanted to get away from you psychos!"

"Oh, so I'm a psycho? Tell me then, Alesha, what makes someone deserve that title? Someone who goes out every night and kills people that didn't do anything to them or the person willing to punish that someone for their atrocities? You can try to pull as many tricks or mind games as you want, but they won't faze me" Peridot says, her eyes narrowing down at me, "And I typically am not one to seek out the need to punish another person, but I'm also not from this planet and I don't entirely share your morals on what's right or wrong. My kind were conquerors of worlds and we were molded to make sure that our goal would be achieved with no issues. I came here with that intent, but I changed when I met Steven and the Crystal Gems. I became somewhat of a better person. But, that doesn't mean I can't resort to my harsher and more cruel instincts, especially given that you are responsible for the death of not only Amethyst, but a number of other innocent people. I might not have cared as much in a previous life, but like I said, I changed. Now I do care. And now you have to face the consequences of murdering good people".

"Is that so, huh? Where's your tall, blue friend? You know, the slut who probably doesn't wear anything under that skimpy dress of hers?" I run my mouth.

That earns me a slap, one I expected, but it goes to show how easily I can get a rise out of her.

"Like I'd tell you" Peridot scoffs, hopping up onto the chair, "You'd pick apart anything I would tell you and use it to benefit your own motives, so being needlessly forthcoming isn't something you'll see much of tonight".

"Oh, I think you'll be a lot more forthcoming when Steven gets here and demands to know why I'm like this" I smirk.

Peridot merely grins back, making my smirk falter slightly.

"Nyehehe!" She snickers, "Funny story, that. But I'm going to wait to tell you until the right moment. I want to be able to document your face when I lay it all out".

She sits back in her chair, continuing to snicker to herself. I try to appear like she's not scaring me but what she said, but internally, I'm actually wondering if she's alluding to something true and if she is, I'm worried/scared about what it could mean for me or Steven.

Please, my love. Hurry.

Steven's P.O.V

Clenching my hands together, I remain seated on the front steps of the house Alesha and I took as ours. I made it home without any surprises, police or raging fireworks alike, but haven't yet gone inside. I know if I do that I'll either find Alesha herself waiting for me or her scent upon the air, which would remind of the very painful fact that I'm now forced to accept as the truth. In times like these, I wish Lapis was here to comfort me, even though she has no reason to. But she's probably long gone by now, maybe even back at the Barn with Peridot. Besides, why would she lend her sympathies to a person who she used to be friends with that turned out to be a killer? Lightly knocking my closed fist against my forehead, I glance down at my wrist, remembering that the blade that killed Connie and Priyanka was once there. Scrunching my eyes closed, I push those thoughts away and try to focus on something else.

And I ultimately do. The thought of when this whole situation ends and what my next steps are onward. When Alesha is handed over to the police by Peridot and Lapis, I think it's only right that I turn myself in afterwards. Lapis and Peridot might protest or try to convince me not too, but it's not their decision to make. Because I honestly wonder how far I would've gone and how many more people would've died if Alesha's true colors hadn't been revealed to me. She would've influenced me to do worse than what I would've been comfortable doing, even if her influence isn't as obvious or noticeable. When I turn myself in, though, my crimes will certainly justify capital punishment and I won't argue with them. But, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Sighing, I stand up and turn around, opening the door and walking inside. I don't get two more steps though before I hear a slight sound on the wind and the door opening behind me. Thinking it's Alesha, I prepare to fight, my fists clenching as I turn around. But it's not Alesha.

It's Lapis.

I loosen up as the blue gem walks over and lunges at me with a hug when she's near.

"Thank goodness you're ok!" She exclaims, "I was worried that you wouldn't make it, so I waited on the roof to see if you would come back, knowing that you'd probably come here".

"I'm just glad you're here, Lapis," I murmur, hugging her back.

"Really?" She says, blushing and stepping back from the hug.

"Yes, really. I didn't think you'd still be in the area or if you were that you'd even want to see me" I admit.

"Why would you think that?" Lapis asks, sounding a bit hurt that I would think of her in that way.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I killed people! And showed no remorse while doing it?!" I exclaim, crossing my arms, "Doesn't that register in your mind that I'm not a good person?!"

"Yes, it does, but you're not a monster, Steven" Lapis argues, stepping forward and holding my hand in hers, "And...friends don't give up on each other, no matter what".

I take a moment to process her gesture, finding it to be a tad affectionate for something between friends, before I respond.

"Are you sure it's as friends, Lapis?" I ask, feeling like I'm on to something here.

"Well...I..." She struggles to answer, letting go of my hand in apparent embarrassment.

"You don't have to lie or hide things from me" I say, my tone and behavior changing in response to her change in tone and behavior, "I haven't lied to you and I certainly won't hurt you. With nearly everyone else that I care about gone, I don't want to lose you too".

Lapis, seemingly, works up the courage and approaches me once more, this time getting even closer.

"You won't lose me" The water gem says softly.

"You promise?" I ask to be sure, not wanting my heart to get broken again.

"I promise" Lapis nods, her face inches from mine.

Then, as if driven by instinct, Lapis leans the rest of the way in, tilts her head slightly and kisses me. Though I could kind of sense it coming from her, I'm still shocked. I don't recoil or pull back, though, since her lips taste so good. It's a refreshing taste from Alesha's, whom I no longer want to kiss anyway, but the biggest reason I let Lapis kiss me is because of the feelings I've noticed, that have been developing inside of me, that have been about her. How I missed her the most and how beautiful she looks, despite her never changing her outfit. It's these feelings that propel me to reciprocate the kiss back onto her. And now that I've done that, she sees that I share her feelings and gets more hungry with her kisses, her breathing speeding up as a result. Her increased ferocity makes me instinctively grab her on the back of her waist and pull her in close, Lapis snaking her arms around my neck to level the playing field. By the time we force ourselves to stop, since we probably would've kept it up all night if we hadn't, Lapis and I are both a bit short of breath, her panting the most out of the two of us. Her eyes still shine with want and I want her too, but now's not the time.

"I waited too long to say it, but I'm not scared anymore, Steven. I love you. I really do love you" Lapis exhales, speaking with the most passion in her voice that I've ever heard.

"I don't even know what love is anymore" I admit to her, "But I can't deny these feelings that make me want to hold you close and kiss you to no end. If that's what love is, then that's what I feel every time I look at you, Lapis".

She smiles brightly and rests her face against my chest.

"It hurt me to see you get taken away that night" Lapis confesses, "I wished that they would've just taken me too, but now I wish for something else. I wish for us to be together and once we deal with Alesha, I wish for you to come live with me in the Barn so that we may spend the rest of our waking hours by each other's sides".

"You really mean that?" I ask, happiness springing forth within me.

"Yes, I do. I mean it with everything I have" Lapis confirms.

Smiling externally, I bow my head and rest it against hers, Lapis's hands still not moving from behind my neck. But then she says something that makes my smile waver.

"I need to go" She tells me softly, "Peridot's probably wondering where I am and I need to get this hard drive to her".

"Will I see you again soon?" I semi-plead, really hoping that her answer is yes.

"Without a doubt" Lapis replies, leaning closer so that her head is on my shoulder, "We're so close to locking Alesha up for good. Now that we know that this is where she's choosing to hide, all Peridot and I need to do is hand over the hard drive and the pictures we took of Mr. Maheswaran's murder to the police and our work will be done".

"But that's not soon enough" I jokingly whine, caressing her back.

"That doesn't mean I can't sneak over here even when Alesha's here" Lapis slyly coos into my ear, "We can be as secretive as we want for now, but just you wait until we make things official".

"I'd say I can't wait, but I guess I'll have to" I smile, giving her another quick kiss.

Lapis then waves goodbye and opens the door before summoning her wings and jumping into the air. I follow her outside and watch her fly away, missing her already. She quickly fades out of sight and a thought comes to mind. Huffing to myself, I walk across to the next house over, the Maheswaran house, and push the unlocked door in. It was never locked after Lapis and Peridot went in this morning, but that's not important. I trudge up the stairs in no time and push open the door to Connie's room. And right there, above her bed, is what I'm looking for.

Connie's sword, the one given to her by Bismuth during our time on Homeworld together. Wasting no time, I walk to Connie's bed, step onto it, and remove the sword from it's frame. It fits pretty well in my right hand and I turn it over, glancing and observing it, before giving it a couple practice swings. Yep, this should definitely come in handy. Pearl's sword training hasn't been completely erased from my mind either, which will only compliment the use of this sword. Gripping the blade tightly, I glance at it once more before picturing Alesha in my mind. I said that I wouldn't kill anyone else, but if the police can't do what needs to be done, I'll break that vow in a heartbeat.

Either way, this is ending soon.

Alesha's P.O.V

"Oh, and here's another interesting fact! Did you know there are actually 10,000 different kinds of tomatoes?" Peridot continues, having droned on for over thirty minutes with this specific topic.

"Uggghhhhh!" I groan.

I sincerely believe that she's actually interested in the art of planting and growing things and that this is only torturous to me since I'm still in great pain and couldn't care less about some fucking fruits and vegetables. I more wish that she would get to the damn point and tell me that bit of information she teased earlier instead of sitting cross-legged on that chair in front of me with her nose buried in a book.

"Hehe, I love this one, especially. Did you know there's an even number of rows in every cob of corn?" Peridot asks, sounding like she's enjoying herself.

"No. And I also don't know why I'm still forced to listen to you prattle on about this instead of telling me that supposed 'funny story' you mentioned earlier" I snap, making my level of annoyance clear in my tone.

Peridot then grins mischievously and closes the book, setting it on her lap.

"I was waiting for you to say it for yourself, but I guess I don't have to wait any longer" Peridot says, "You're finished, Alesha".

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

"What I mean is that I know you were the one who not only killed Jenny, Peedee, Amethyst, and Greg, but Mr. Maheswaran and Sadie's entire band too" The gem elaborates.

"Ha! What proof do you have that I did any of that?" I argue, though I start to worry that she's onto me.

"Plenty, Alesha. I have more than enough of evidence to have you locked up for the rest of your life, assuming you're not given the death penalty instead" Peridot grins confidently, folding her arms in front of her chest, "And some of it was much easier to collect thanks to you. I'll give you some examples since I'm feeling generous at the moment. You killed Mr. Maheswaran in his own house and even left the murder weapons at the scene, with your fingerprints on them I might add. Not only that, you were caught on camera doing it and, upon realizing this for yourself, tried to hide the computer hard drive containing the evidence. Unfortunately for you, Lapis found the hard drive at the place you've been hiding in and is more than ready to turn it and my fingerprint replications over to the police".

I feel my stomach drop, my heart racing, my panic rising, and dread pressing into my chest all at the same time. This is the entire definition of "not good". I fucked up one time and she, with her friend, actually caught me in not just one way but two ways. How in the hell did they find our hiding spot?! The entire point was to be right under the noses of our enemies without them being none the wiser about it! Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!

"Want to hear another instance where we caught you with your pants down? And not literally I must stress" Peridot continues, "Take this very evening for instance. A band performance by Sadie Killer and the Suspects, their last one before leaving Beach City. And we had speculated that would take their 'last show' and make it more literal than anyone else was planning it to be. So, I used the same camera from Doug's house and fastened it to the roof of the building closest to the concert stage. Lapis and I then asked Steven to take you there, which he did, and I watched on the live feed as you fell into our trap. That's right, I have live footage of you killing those security guards and rigging the fireworks behind the stage, all with time and location timestamps. Have anything else you'd like to say that I can disprove?".

I can now feel sweat drops running down the sides of my face, a sickening sensation building up in my stomach as the rest of my body begins shaking. Just when I was attempting to assure myself that it couldn't get anymore bad, it got ten times more bad. No wonder Peridot appears so confident in herself. She's got me with their blood practically pouring from my hands. But then, a pit of anger inside begins to bubble, Steven's name surfacing in my mind as something she just said.

"What..did you say..about my boyfriend?" I seethe.

"If I were you, I wouldn't bank on expecting a warm welcome home if you happen to escape. Because after we revealed to him that you were the culprit behind the murders of his friends, it took very little convincing to get him to help us in catching you. I'd imagine he's none too pleased about it and considering you just blew up four more of them not that long ago, he's more than likely going to start resenting you" Peridot says completely serious.

"You're lying" I grit my teeth, "Steven would never take anyone's word at face value without knowing them well enough to see if they're actually being truthful".

"Um, have you forgotten who we are?" Peridot pointedly asks, crossing her arms and speaking in tone that addresses me as if I was stupid, "Lapis and I have known Steven far longer than you have, Alesha. He knows us very, very well and we remained friends even throughout this whole catastrophe. He trusts us and even if he had reason to doubt that, we gave him proof and explained things to him so that he would understand it like we came to understand it. You've only known him for the better part of almost a month, yet you think you understand him better than us? That's completely ridiculous".

"No! I do know him! I spied on him for years!" I let out accidentally.

"What?" Peridot tilts her head, looking genuinely surprised.

"From the first time I saw him, I fell in love with him. I told myself we were destined to be together and that I would do anything to make it happen. I would do anything for him. I would even kill for him!" I exclaim, "So, my feelings got stronger and stronger for him until having pictures of him and keeping some of his possessions wasn't enough. I needed to see him and feel his touch. My parents got in the way, though, and they learned real fast what happens when you deny a girl the love of her life".

"So you not only stalked him for years without his knowledge, but also stole things from him, came into the Temple without permission, and even murdered your own parents just because they were going to stop you from seeing him?" Peridot shakes her head and exhales, "Of all the humans I've known, you are officially the sickest and most deranged one of them all".

"At least I have love. That's more than what you and Lapis can say" I smirk at her.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. And don't let Lapis hear you say that either. You'd probably have a seizure if you found out that she's in love with him...oops, I just said it anyways. Sorry, not sorry" Peridot smirks, sending my own grin right back at me.

With how easy it's been to kill people lately, combined with the constant anger against them for being in between my happiness with Steven, it doesn't take much to set me off. But...hearing that................sends me off the edge in an instant. I let out a mix of a growl and a scream and tear at the flesh of my ankle and wrist, cutting the wounds wider and deeper until I yank myself free of the bear traps. I then full-on dive at Peridot, sending her tumbling backwards out of the chair. I then dig my nails into her face and smash her head into the floor over and over again.

"WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE?! WHERE IS THE RECORDING?! AND WHERE IS THAT WHORE NAMED LAPIS?!?!" I yell loudly in her face.

"Hehehehe, I'm no sellout, you sicko" Peridot grunts, her face braised badly, "And good luck trying to find the evidence. I buried it where you'll never think to look".

Screaming in rage, I pick up off the floor and throw her across the room, Peridot colliding with a beam and breaking it upon impact. I then pick up the chair and throw it at her, Peridot dodging it, before I grab the knife and gun from the workbench and unload the entire clip at her without pausing. Bullets spray at the ground and the space around her, but Peridot moves so quickly that none of them hit. Still pissed, I throw the empty gun at her, which does smack her on the back of her head, before chasing after her. She runs around the Barn while I stab and slice wildly at her. The gem even tries blocking my attacks by using support beams as cover. But it only stalls me temporarily before she has to dodge and run the other direction. Peridot then goes to climb up a ladder leading to the balcony. I strain and lift the entire workbench up before throwing it at her. It demolishes the ladder and Peridot has to hurriedly climb the remaining bit before she falls. But when she jumps and grabs the ledge, I grab her by the legs and thrash, trying to pull her down. She kicks me in the face, aggravating my still broken nose, but only succeeds in pulling me up with her.

When I'm fully on the platform, I tackle her through the door, breaking it down and putting us both on the floor of the balcony. She punches and punches, but I'm too furious to care aside from my own punches raining down. I even go back to stabbing at her, but the knife keeps missing her for some reason. Peridot then gets an opening and knocks me upside the head, giving her a chance to get out from under me and run back the way she came. But I recover and catch up to her, punching her in the back of her head just before she jumps. Peridot tumbles through the air and lands roughly on the ground, but I don't stop, jumping off the platform and landing on top of her. Seething and heaving, I finally stab her in the back before grabbing her ankle and dragging her to the front doors, throwing her out of it and destroying the doors simultaneously. I then sprint outside to where she landed and put my knee in her chest, hovering the knife over her gem. I go to end her, but the knife misses again, stabbing the grass instead of her. Growling, I slice and slash rapidly, all my strikes hitting the grass near her but never hitting her.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?!?!" I shriek.

I then go to stab her gem once more, but it feels as if I'm pushing against some sort of invisible barrier. I strain and push, the knife barely getting any closer.

"Because I haven't said my piece yet" Peridot answers, her voice hoarse, "You're fighting against my power and since I can control metal, it's why those bullets and knife strikes missed. I don't fear dying. I haven't after spending years and years without anyone to care about. But now that I've done my part and helped the people I do care about, I can perish without a single regret. And when you kill me, you'll doom yourself. You'll get rid of the only person who knows where the evidence is. And now that you're deeply wounded, Lapis and Steven can easily finish you off. Like I said, I've done my part. And I'm fine to have sacrificed myself for them when I know that I have nothing left to lose and nothing to fear anymore".

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!" I scream at her, breaking past the barrier and stabbing her in her gem repeatedly.

It cracks much faster than Amethyst and I only stop and take a breath when Peridot fades away, a cocky smirk on her face as she goes. However, my rage hasn't dissipated yet. I still need to get that evidence and hunt down that slut before she shows Steven her pussy. Panting, I stand up and look up at the Barn itself.

Already started one fire tonight. Might as well make it two.

Lapis' P.O.V

I can still feel the kiss on my lips as I'm flying to the Barn. I even touch my fingers to my lips to see if I'm hallucinating. I'm not, it's actually feeling that way. It makes me so ecstatic that I can't keep from smiling. We finally kissed and he even kissed back, which lets me know that he loves me too! But then my mind starts to wander and I begin to have dirty thoughts about him. About us. The two of us pressing ourselves against each other. My mouth then gets dry and my feelings turn to hot and bothered, arousal settling in. Did our kiss really get me that worked up? It must have and I must love him so much to the point where any meager amount of his touch can excite me. That's real, true love. Not what that crazy psycho Alesha probably thinks love is. I'm not about to go murder an entire town for Steven, and that's because I actually have my head on straight.

I pass through some clouds while my mind is still elsewhere, taking the phrase "having your head in the clouds" to a whole new level. And I'm only refocused when I pass through a particularly thick one and it nearly causes me to fall, spinning me around. But, I catch myself and shake my head, looking down below and seeing the grasslands and the Barn itself not too far away. Sighing, I essentially dive down through the sky towards the place I can, I guess, call home. The landscape speeds by in a blur, due to how fast I'm going, but then slows down to normal when I ease back and straighten up, touching down on the grass behind the Barn. Casually walking around the side towards the front, I wonder what Peridot's done while I was gone. But then, when I turn the corner, I freeze and quickly double back behind that corner.

Alesha is standing there all hunched over, looking wounded and bloody but still murderous. She didn't seem to notice me, but I put my hand over my mouth to silence the sounds of my breathing. If she's here then.....oh stars, Peridot! Slowly looking around the corner, I search for my best friend, not finding any trace of her. I then pull back and put my head against the wood, trying to calm myself. It doesn't get any better, though, when Alesha starts talking out loud to herself.

"Stupid bitch thought I'd be merciful after putting bear traps on me? Ha, no! How's that going to work now that she's dead?" The killer growls to herself.

Peridot's dead?! I put a hand over my chest, a pain surging there from the sudden realization. Part of me wants to cry, but the next thing Alesha says quickly halts that.

"Now all that's left to do is to kill Lapis. That slut won't know what's coming" She grunts.

Fear spikes in me, so I do the only thing that my mind is telling me I should do. Tiptoeing away towards the back of the Barn, I then summon my wings once more and soar back into the sky, going as fast as I possibly can. I don't even care if Alesha saw me leave, I just had to get out of there. The Barn isn't safe to come back to as long as Alesha knows where it is. But I can't go to the Temple either since she's been there as well. Biting my lip, I know the place I'll have to go. The hyena's lair itself with the boy I love waiting there. Picking up speed, I flap my wings ferociously and head for town.

Hopefully he can help me.