Crystal Lite AU

[panspermia]

In the years since the Crystal Gems were last seen, things have gotten... interesting, in the Universe family. Monsters don't stop attacking the temple simply because its inhabitants are gone, and dangerous artifacts don't stop threatening humanity. The last remaining remnant of the Crystal Gems is one little boy, without any proper magical guidance or teachers of his heritage to show the way. What he has left to him is a handful of abandoned relics to piece together hints, and the secondhand experience of his very ordinary, very overwhelmed father.

They get by. His powers are growing, slowly but steadily. With each new ally or ability they uncover, things get a little better. It's never easy, but it's not as hard. And they've always got each other to count on, no matter what. So long as they've got that, there's nothing in the universe that can stop them.... though it does try.

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[oceantier]

She pushes something back in her face as he approaches -- some shadow that she slides away, hides. Twisting, she braces both hands in the sand and pushes up unsteadily, dripping water, balancing with slightly extended arms.

"A human came." It's hard to read from her face how she feels about that, unless one catches the tension in her jaw. "He . . . was excited and shouted something about the Diamond Authority? And then said something about a camera and ran away."

He'd said not to move, but she has absolutely no intention of obeying that.

[panspermia]

Already, Greg's angled himself to catch her if she falls, but he'll let her stand on her own so long as she can. He blinks a couple times at the mention of another human, then chuckles faintly. "Hah... maybe that's for the best. He'll probably start keeping an eye around here." Hardly the most reliable system, but checking a blog for misinformation is still an alert system of a kind.

"The warp's just up this hill here, c'mon."

The skeleton of a house sits in the temple's stone palms. The framework is all in place, but nothing has been finished to a liveable state. The small hole in the roof and little splintered pit in the floor below are just the latest signs of outside damage to a house that never gets close enough to be a home. In the very back, glinting dimly in the shadows, lies the warp pad.

[oceantier]

Why it's good to have a human keeping an eye on the place is beyond her, but aside from a sideways glance, she keeps the question to herself.

She comes very slowly, still unsteady -- though she seems a little stronger than before, only wobbling dangerously twice before recovering herself. She seems determined to carry herself, that knot forming again between her brows as she focuses on one bare foot in front of the other.

Her clothing seems to dry quickly, for although it was dripping, by the time that they reach the bones of the house, it's completely dry.

Reaching out for one of the studs that comprise the bared walls, fingers resting on the wood, she takes all of it in, tilting her head to catch the sunlight slanting inward from the unfinished roof.

"This . . . isn't made by Gems."

[panspermia]

"Huh?" He looks back at her, a bit surprised.

"Oh, uh. Well. A little of it is. The Crystal Gems were helping me build it, before... y'know." Greg pauses, and rights a can of nails that must have knocked over in the night. "Steven was supposed to move in once it was ready."

Sometimes he wonders if it's worth building anymore, with everyone gone. But the temple is still Steven's heritage. It's important for him to stay nearby. "Been trying to keep working on it myself for a while, but it's slow going."

[oceantier]

Her eyes trail up the wooden frames, gazing at the crossbeams, then outward at the beginnings of a layout left long unfinished. There's something empty about this place, beyond the obvious . . . something wistful, and maybe even lonely.

. . . Nonsensical, though. Buildings can't feel.

With a nod, she steps forward into the space, moving towards the warp pad. A last glance at him: ". . . Are you really going to need all of that?"

That cuckoo clock looks a little suspect.

[panspermia]

He chuckles a bit. "Ahhh, probably not. But you never know! Steven once managed to beat a monster with a plastic raft." The assorted junk clatters together as he shrugs. "Better to have as many options as possible."

Nervously, he steps onto the pad himself. The number of times he's gotten to use this thing could be counted on one hand after losing a few fingers. He rubs his together at the thought.

"You ready?"

[oceantier]

. . . With a plastic raft.

She stares at him blankly for a long moment (an expression that's especially effective with those blank, white eyes), trying to figure out if he's in earnest.

. . . The weird part is that he seems to be.

Strange, these two, Steven and this Greg, devoting themselves to beating back the monsters in this place. It's Gem business -- they could get themselves killed. They can't be as strong as Gems if they need all this paraphernalia to get by.

It doesn't seem to be . . . smart.

Honestly, it seems like it would be a losing battle.

Fortunately, it's not her decision. She has one task in this place, and she goes home. From there, these two can do what they please.

With a nod, she leaves her position near the door, trailing her fingers along the studs of the wall until she runs out of them and is forced to go without. Unconscious of it, her hands come out slightly from her body as she steps up -- like a child learning to balance or a bird preparing to fly.

"Where were you wanting to go?"

There are a number of warp pads.

[panspermia]

He stares at her for a moment.

"Uhh."

He... has no clue. He doesn't even know where all the warp pads are, how many there are all over Earth. When the plan had been based around how fast the van would go, finer details of the plan hadn't developed. Access to the warp pads made travel faster, but without any ideas it didn't cut down much on where to start.

Greg cups his chin, wracking his brain for details. He didn't get much out of the kidnapper Gem before she escaped, either. She mentioned having a mission here, something important to her, but not a heck of a lot in the way of details.

"I think she mentioned... a... school? Or something? Do you know anything about that?"

[oceantier]

A school? But Gems don't--

Oh.

Oh.

". . . Kindergarten?" she supplies. "She was going to the kindergarten?"

[panspermia]

"Yeah! I'm pretty sure she mentioned that. You know it?"

It's plain enough that he has no idea what the place is meant for.

[oceantier]

She can tell, and it's probably just as well that he doesn't.

Though following Rose Quartz . . . is this really something she'd never told him?

How much does he know, really?

That's at odds with her a little somehow. Again, not really her business, any more than any of this place is her business. But. Somehow she doesn't like that idea, either -- the idea of keeping your followers, people who trust you, in the dark. It feels . . . willfully manipulative somehow.

One less point for Rose Quartz on a long tally of negative ones.

Still, there doesn't seem to be a lot of point in explaining it to Greg if they're just headed there briefly. He'll probably never need to know. If this other Gem is at the kindergarten with Steven, it should be a fairly simple matter to take care of her and complete her end of the bargain.

No time to waste.

"Yes." With that simple reply and no more explanation, she steps to the center of the warp pad, raising her arms, preparing for the rush of energy that normally accompanies a transfer.

. . . Nothing happens.

[panspermia]

If Greg noticed her internal conflict, he makes no mention of it. In the hour or so since they've met face to face, Lapis has given the strong impression of someone who doesn't like saying all that's on her mind.

More importantly, there's supposed to be a magic pillar of teleportation-light around them, and he's noticing a distinct lack thereof. Greg glances around, tensed up from the anticipation of the warp.

"Uhh. Where's--is something wrong?"

Is she messing with him? She doesn't seem like the type to mess with him. Something's definitely wrong.

[oceantier]

She doesn't usually like to reveal her thoughts, no -- or in some cases, has simply fallen from the habit -- but in that moment her features are bare, exposed, emotions chasing through her face. Anxiety. Fear.

Disregarding the question, she drops her hands, bringing them up again.

Again, nothing.

She's broken.

She's really broken.

A test of her abilities while Greg was gone had shown her things weren't quite right. That was what the boy with the yellow hair had come upon -- her wrangling the waves, them lashing into the sand in frustration as she failed to manifest her wings.

She'd told herself it was like her legs -- something that would come back given additional time out of the mirror. She'd told herself the crack wasn't so bad.

She'd almost managed to convince herself.

Her hands sink. Droop. Separate . . . and come to rest at her sides.

"It . . . should work." Her voice is small, suddenly too far away. It's almost as though she's telling herself more than she's telling him.

[panspermia]

Greg stares down at the warp, panic creeping around the edges of his stomach. It was working last night--if it's not working now, did the other Gem sabotage it? Could she do that without coming here? Did her little robot thing break it, or...?

Looking up at Lapis, he's struck by her expression. He's seen that face before. Steven, every time he fails to get his powers to work, every time he doubts if he's really a Gem and if he's able to live up to all the pressures put on him... he always makes a face just like that one.

Concern for her overwrites Greg's personal fears. He reaches out, just brushing an arm with his fingertips. He's dealt with this before, and he'll help her do the same. "Hey. Don't worry. We'll figure this out. You just take it easy for now, and it'll come to you before long. 'Kay? We'll find another way for now."

[oceantier]

The touch is unexpected, non-utilitarian, and it startles her; she jolts a little, the movement pulling her away from his fingers. Unfortunately before she realizes that small bit of reassuring contact, that little bit of warmth . . . feels good.

And then there's no way to go back, even with only a bare inch of space between them. She finds herself wanting him to reach out again . . . but also knows he won't.

Maybe it's because of that touch, though, and the quieting concern in his voice that allows her to open.

"My gem is cracked." She draws her arms close, tucks them against her. "It has to be that. I can't . . . I'm missing powers. Things I should be able to do."

And there's no real way to fix a cracked gem, is there? Not here on Earth. How she can fulfill this part of this bargain may be limited at best.

Maybe she can't at all.

[panspermia]

The recognition on his face is easy to read; Greg knows enough to know this is a Problem.

"Oh...kay. Ahhh... hmm." His brow furrows, thinking furiously. Not only is Steven in danger, but Lapis could be in serious trouble too. As terrified as he is for his son, Greg can't ignore the gravity of this, either.

"What... what would you normally do for a cracked gem?" He's sure Rose has mentioned it at some point, long ago. There's got to be a solution.

[oceantier]

"At home certain Gems can heal." She pulls her arms tighter; she doesn't need the reminder that they're not at home, without any other Gems on the planet besides the one they're pursuing or that have reformed into monsters. She's not going to be able to fulfill her part of the bargain, she's not going to be able to get home, and she's going to be stuck here on Earth . . . Forever, when she was never supposed to be here in the first place.

[panspermia]

"Rose could." He says it softly, suddenly. "I saw her. Heck, she used it on me, a couple times." Never anything too dire or big, but she'd startled him the first time she'd cried on a twisted ankle. "It hurt her to see things suffer."

He hadn't realized it was such a rare ability, but if that was the case... if Rose left her friends behind, only able to hope Steven would eventually learn the same...

"She must have left a reserve somewhere. We can heal you if we find it."

[oceantier]

Hurt her to see things suffer, but not enough to avoid war.

It's a quick thought, but just as quickly buried in a flicker of hope. She doesn't dare hope too much; it still sounds pretty theoretical from him -- not even like a sure thing. At the moment, though, she'll cling even to that . . . and in spite of her impressions of Rose Quartz, she won't be too proud to let the residuals of the Gem's magic heal her if they can.

". . . You don't sound sure it exists," she points out. "What makes you think she would have?"

[panspermia]

In a way, that's what caused the war. It's a matter of whose suffering hurt her more.

"I know she's got reserves and sanctums all over Earth. Steven went to one, and I know she's got more. She left things scattered around, in case of emergency or something." Call it paranoia, call it coldness, call it secrecy, but Rose had always spread out her plans and resources.

"She wouldn't leave her friends without a way to heal after she's gone. Not after all they went through. All we gotta do is figure out where." He rubs at his head. "Lion can probably help us out with that."

[oceantier]

Irony in all of this -- that now she actually has to rely on something from Rose Quartz to heal her. It's not appealing, but . . . what choice does she have? She can't deny that her gem shouldn't remain as it is; if it cracks through, she's done.

The lion, though . . . that she looks a lot more doubtful on. That's the big, pink animal . . . right?

"Lion?" The skepticism is clear.

still me, just may switch between accounts

[fragileandsoft]

"Yeah! You've seen him, right? Helps me and Steven out, sometimes. When he feels like it. He's usually got a pretty good handle on Rose's stuff."

He steps back off the warp, gesturing for her to follow again.

"He's not usually too eager to let people ride on him without Steven around... but this is an emergency, maybe he'll make an exception. He did just save me from starving."

Okay!

[oceantier]

She remembers Lion. Mostly as an enormous nose whuffling at the surface of the mirror, fogging up the glass with his great gouts of animal breath.

Not the greatest first impression. Her skepticism remains firmly in place as she gives another short nod and trails after him.

"Why does he know about Rose Quartz?"

She's not going to shorten it to "Rose" like he does.

[fragileandsoft]

"Well, I haven't really asked. I don't speak Lion."

A rumbling noise answers the comment. The feline in question stands at the bottom of the stairs, watching them with faintly glowing eyes.

"Speak of the devil--glad you didn't go far, pal!"

Greg rushes down the stairs, but Lion keeps his gaze fixed firmly on Lapis. His teeth aren't bared, and he doesn't growl again, but he stands tense, waiting, watching.

"Uhhhh--right. You left earlier, you didn't get to meet her. This is Lapis Lazuli! She's--she's gonna help us find Steven. Right? She's a friend!" Lion still doesn't move, and Greg waves Lapis closer. "We're aaaaaall on the same side here. Working together. Yeah?"

[oceantier]

Yeeeah. Sure. All on the same side.

Lapis has frozen where she is, feet braced on the stairs, staring back at the enormous, pink feline below. She doesn't trust it. She knows it doesn't trust her. They have a standoff between them, Gem and lion, with Greg in between. It's not an angry standoff, but it is a standoff all the same.