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It was dead silent on the beach. There were no humans nearby, no seagulls squawking, and even the ocean's waves seemed to silence themselves. The only light came from the distant shine of Beach City, along with the full moon and stars above. The sky was clear and beautiful tonight, and even Homeworld's galaxy was visible. But all the majesty of the heavens seemed to dull in shock of what had just happened. The very aura tragic events that had just taken place stained the sand like blood, and left scars so deep this area would reek of tragedy for years to come. Everything seemed to replay before the witness's eyes.
Lapis, Peridot, and Steven were all out on the beach. It was a little before sunset, and the group had begun to head back to Steven's house. It was a nice night out, and nothing much happened; that is, until a powerful corruption attacked the three out of no where, and they were forced to fight against it. It was tough, but they thought they could take it. A fusion seemed like it would help, but as they were deciding who would fuse with who, the monster charged it's horn straight for Lazuli's gem. And then, it happened.
Lapis could recall it in such detail she could still hear the bloody screech Peridot let out as she toke the killing blow for her. In such detail that they could still see every motion of the raging corruption as it sent Peridot and her impaled gem flying to the ground off one of its thin breaking-point sharp horns. They could count every grain of sand that went flying as Peridot crashed to the ground, her gem cracked beyond repair. The rage on Lapis's face had been indescribable as she attacked the creature with such a fury it was a wonder she didn't crack herself. The monster had been shattered almost immediately.
The sinking feeling Lapis felt inside her could only be compared to what it would feel like to fall through the earth's crust straight into hell. She ran to Peridot's limp form, which was lying on the beach, her gem completely shattered. Miraculously, she had managed to keep her physical form together for now, although she was in such pain she questioned if it was worth the final goodbye. Tears streamed down her face, but she made no noise, as if she hadn't the strength to cry. Lapis grabbed her into a hug, forcing her to sit up straight as she looked into her eyes. Lapis had tried not to cry, but seeing the broken gem on Peridot's forehead destroyed her. She couldn't feel or see anything else, and the world seemed to grey out around her. Peridot stared at her, a hopeless look in her eyes. Peridot's form seemed to shimmer as she gasped in pain. She coughed, "L-Lapis..... Y-you.... You're s-so beautiful......" She was staring at Lapis, immobile and hardly capable of speaking. Lapis was mute, staring back at Peridot in utter shock. Peridot's eyes seemed to dim, as if she had become blind to the world around her. All she could do was smile and choke out her final words with her last breath: "Never change......."
And that was it.
Just like that, Peridot was gone. Her physical form vanished, leaving only a pile of green shards in her place. Lapis stared, a broken, disbelieving look on her face, at where Peridot had been moments before.
And then she cried. She crumpled into a pile of racking sobs, unable to breath or speak or see through her waterfalls of tears. And, from, the back, all Steven had done- all Steven could do- was watch. Lapis turned to him and screeched at him, telling him that he HAD to fix this, he HAD to fix her. Steven had never seen someone look at him with so much pain- the only time he'd ever seen something even close was when Pearl talked about Rose. But Pearl never begged him with her entire being to fix things. It was a terrible, consuming feeling that he didn't know how to deal with. But it hurt to see Lapis like this, it killed him inside to see Peridot die. So, he approached Lapis and the shard pile. She silently watched him reassemble the pieces of Peridot's gem. He licked his hand, and raised it in the heroic way he always did- even in soul crushing moments, Steven refused to stop being... well, Steven- and touched it gently to the pile.....!
Nothing happened.
And with that Lapis feel into numbness. She couldn't feel anything but grief. Not the soft breeze that had just started, not the sand under her feet, not any hope for anything- just grief. Steven had tried to comfort her- and for quite a long while, to- but she didn't even seem to realize he was there. And so eventually he left, still in shock of what had happened- he couldn't really comprehend it. Lapis sat there on the beach, softly crying, for who knows how long, before something happend- the gem shards started to glow, and fuse back together to fix Peridot's gem. Lapis looked up, in shock, and but hardly dared to hope. It rose up and started to take a form-!
~~~~~~~
Now, two figures stood along on the beach. One was merely confused, and the other felt a rainbow of emotions along with ones words can't really describe. Lapis was jolted out of her daydream- although she regarded it as more of a nightmare of memories- To hear the green figure pointing at her repeat her question- "Who are you?"