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Description
Steven made his way down the steps to the cool tiles below, so excited that he could hardly keep his footsteps to the light rhythm that was needed to not alert any of the gems. He bounced up and down in the spot, a large smile on his face. This was it! He had finally gotten through to Jasper and now he could help her and hopefully Peridot, and show them what Homeworld really was!

And I'm gonna save the fusions! He gave an inward little squeal. Garnet is gonna be so proud! Steven double checked the kitchen to make sure Amethyst wasn't rummaging for a midnight snack. This was the time of night that Garnet and Pearl were usually in their rooms, or off training. If he was caught he'd be finished. If Lapis caught him he'd really be finished.

Lapis... The boy's sad eyes roved over to the newest room of the temple, where his newest friend was in there somewhere, probably hating him. He wanted to go to her so badly and make up, but if she knew he really was going after Jasper it would just make her angrier at him. Well...she lived with them now. It wasn't like he had to worry about finding her at the bottom of the ocean anymore. He'd apologize tomorrow, with some brand new fish for her aquarium!

Hurrying to the portal before anyone realized he was gone, the child disappeared in a flash of light.

For the first time, going to Kindergarden was an exciting experience rather than a scary one that brought the looming threat of doom. It was a hero mission, just him and Jasper! He wondered if she was gonna wind up staying with them too at the temple, and then he got even more excited at the very thought! Maybe they could convince Peridot to join too? As a giant team of Crystal Gems there's nothing they wouldn't be able to do!

Giving a little squeak of excitement, Steven looked around the breeding ground. As she promised, she was standing there, just a few feet away from the warp pad. "Jasper!" the child shouted excitedly as he ran up to her. It was the first time they were physically meeting since the incident occurred. He was much like a bouncy ball on sugar, hopping up and down around her in a circle. "I'm so happy to see you! Do you have any plans on how to free the fusions? Are you gonna bust 'em out? Are we gonna find a way to fix the shards?"

The large gem stared at the bizarre display for a while before she slapped a hand down on his head to shut him up. "First of all, brat, there will be no fixing anything," Jasper said grimly. "These aren't full gems that can regenerate. There's just...pieces of them. It's like a broken vase without any glue. There's no way to bring them back to life."

The boy's face fell. "So they're...gonna stay dead?"

"Yeah." And some foreign and bizarre self loathing part of her was wishing whatever made her up just stayed dead too in the beginning. "So..." She looked around. "Do the rest of the rejects—I mean...Crystal Gems, know you're here?"

The child shook his head. "No, I knew they'd stop me if they knew. They still think you're evil and want to kill them."

So the brat was alone...good. Should be easy enough, she figured. Peridot had assured her that she had the boy's capture all figured out and none of his guardians were here to get in the way. Even though the child himself had Rose's gem, he didn't seem to know how to fully use it. That would make this process easier and quicker.

"Let's head to the control room then," the orange gem grunted, leading her prey towards the hole in the ground. Steven skipped along, oblivious as anything and happy as could be.

"So where is Peridot then?" Steven asked. "You mentioned she was here..." His mouth tilted a little in amusement. "At least I think that's what you meant by 'Geeky.'"

Jasper smirked at the nickname and stepped onto the moving lift. "Yeah, that is what I meant. She's down there, waiting for us."

Steven's eyes grew even more starry. "She's in on this too?!"

If the boy had been looking at her, he might have caught the malicious glint in her eyes. "Oh yeah...she's definitely in on it."

The lift settled onto the ground below and Steven looked around at the flashing buttons, and the black transmission screen. Among several chambers that held the shattered gems, the boy saw a new pod. It was...smaller, like it was made for a child. There were clamps on the top of it and on the bottom. It was different then the others, and it was..empty. It was empty but it was open, like it was waiting to contain something.

The boy's heart began to beat fast and he swallowed hard. He gave a nervous giggle and he backed up until he bumped into Jasper's large legs. Out of instinct, he clutched one slightly. "Wow, I forgot how...creepy this place is. Um...where's Peridot?"

The orange form standing above him became menacing once more, her golden eyes glazed with ice. "Right here," she said calmly.

Before the child had a chance to turn around something suddenly burned into his back and his body twitched and jerked as sparks coursed through out his small form. The last things that Steven saw before his vision went black was the dark looks on both Jasper and Peridot's face.

--

He hurt all over when he woke up, and it was deja vu all over again. He was captured, he'd been hurt. His back stung from where the shocks hit him, and his legs and arms tingled and throbbed. He knew he had some burns from...whatever they used on him.

His eyes adjusted to the room as the moving colors formed into Jasper and Peridot. They were going back and forth from the lift with different gadgets and tools in their hands, and Steven could hear lasers beaming on the ground above.

"How is the status of the ship coming along?" Peridot asked her comrade as the woman made her way back to the panel. Jasper shrugged, almost listlessly.

"Along, I guess. I don't know, you're the techy one, I'm the muscled one that beats things up." She didn't even sound snarky when she said it, and there was no cocky smirk on her face. Peridot raised an eyebrow.

"Are you feeling alright?" she frowned. Something felt...off about her companion. And given the fact that Jasper barely ever showed much emotion (neither of them did), it was...concerning. "I am concerned."

The woman grunted and scowled at the green gem, shoving her aside as she made her way over to the panel. She was making a direct effort to avoid any eye contact with their prisoner. "I'm fine, Peridot! Just...concern yourself with your own stuff, okay?" she barked at Peridot, hoping that her angry tone would scare the little nerd off. It didn't. "I guess I just miss home." More like, she wished she knew where her home really was...

At that Peridot's straight face dipped to something sympathetic. "As do I, but once the ship is finished we can finally head back. We have checked the cluster and captured the Quartz child. That was our mission."

The Quartz child... Finally she looked over at their prisoner, who had been completely silent this entire time. Straightening up tall, Jasper slowly walked over.

The boy couldn't even look at her. His entire body shook with physical and emotional pain. It felt like his heart was crumbling apart. "H...how could you..." The orange gem made no response, and with a strangled cry, Steven jumped to his feet and slammed his hands up against the glass. "HOW COULD YOU!" His face was a mess of tears and mucus.

Jasper's lip twitched in a snarl. "How could I what?" she snapped. "You knew this from the beginning, kid! We. Are. Your Enemies. We're gems sent from Homeworld to destroy this disgusting hunk of rock and everyone on it! You know that!"

"But we—we were talking!" The child could hardly get anything out through his sobs, which trailed off into hiccups. "Y-y-you said you weren't w-with Homeworld anymore 'cause they be-betrayed y-you! You said w-we were gonna s-save the fusions! Together!"

"Of course I did," Jasper snarled. "I needed some way to get you here and I knew you were stupid and desperate enough that you'd think I did a complete turn-around!"

The boy trembled and buckled against the glass, his hands sliding down it. "I-I trusted you..." he whispered.

Suddenly, Jasper's eyes dipped to something more morose, and almost sympathetic. "A word of advice, brat. Don't blindly put your faith in something without thinking because it's only going to break you in the end." She closed her eyes and walked away from the cage, hardening her reserve.

Steven threw himself up against the glass, his gem flickering with stress as it attempted to summon something that could help him. It was no use. All that appeared was his bubble, and it immediately popped inside of the cell. He kicked and clawed at the capsule.

"It's futile, Quartz child," Peridot informed the boy as she walked over. "We realize that our last attempt to capture you failed because we didn't realize that your specific species was...unique. But I have created this capsule just for you with the right technology. It will hold gems and humans."

"Why are you doing this?" Steven sobbed. "What did the earth ever do to you? What makes you want to destroy it so bad?!"

"It is our mission," Peridot said simply. "We do what our Superior tells us to do."

"But why?!" the boy cried. "Why do you hurt people? Why does she want to hurt people? What does she get out of it?! What do YOU get out of it?"

"You know nothing of our world, child," Peridot scoffed. "Yellow Diamond does what she thinks is right for our civilization. All she wants to do is make sure our planet and our kind prospers! Our leader simply wants the best for us!"

Steven narrowed his eyes. "Really?" He glared at the green gem right in the eye. "Was it out of that mindset that she decided to fuse together sick and damaged gems to make them into war machines, like she did with Jasper?!"

The giant gem at the other side of the room froze. She whirled around to them both and pointed a dangerous finger towards Steven, arm shaking. "You shut your mouth."

"Was it out of wanting to do the best for her people that she never, ever told you what you ARE?" Steven cried. Peridot's eyes widened a little.

"Jasper...what is the child talking about?"

"I said shut up you little maggot, before I ram your teeth down your own throat!"

"Was it out of wanting to do the best for her people that she just made you as a weapon?!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Jasper screamed and was beside the capsule in a flash, and her fist burst through an empty chamber. Her skin sliced and shards flew but she didn't care. Her eyes were wild and murderous, her fangs gnashed together menacingly towards the child. Rather then cower, Steven stood up tall in the capsule and challenged her with a glare.

"Jasper..." Peridot was shocked and confused. "What is he talking about?"

The gem whirled on her. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND JUST FIX THE SHIP!" she roared, her eyes flooding with tears. Peridot stumbled back, horrified. The woman stood there, hunched and panting like a rabid animal.

Steven trembled."Jasper-"

"SHUT UP!" This time she punched the glass, making the child fall. "You don't know ANYTHING about our leader OR our planet! You don't know that I'm...I'm..."

"We both saw it!" Steven cried. "You know that you are, Jasper! They don't care about you! They forced you and other gems together and they never told you! Stop lying to yourself!"

"I'M NOT. LYING TO MYSELF!" She screamed at the child. "SHUT YOUR MOUTH BEFORE I CRUSH YOUR GEM!" Her voice cracked at the end, and a solitary tear slipped from her eye. She clawed at the glass and nearly needed to lean against it for support. Her large hand slid down the glass uselessly, and tearfully, Steven reached out one of his little hands and pressed it against where hers was.

"Jasper..."

All at once, the fusion shoved herself away from the glass and tore at her ears. "Just shut up! You don't...you don't know..." Her voice trailed off. She tore at her hair. She nearly fell to her knees. "You don't..." She needed something desperately. Confirmation. Confirmation that this brat was just spewing lies and so was her mind.

She punched a button and Yellow Diamond immediately appeared. Her mouth lifted into a delighted smirk at the sight of the child in the pod. "Wonderful, General. I see you're calling to give me some good news! Is that the Quartz child?"

Jasper ignored everything she said and just answered with one desperate blurt. "Am I a forced fusion?!"

Yellow Diamond's eyes widened and she seemed incredibly stunned. "What?" she asked.

"Are you talking to our Superior?" Peridot asked as she came down on the lift. She paused at how the other woman was shaking. "...Jasper?"

"I said am I a forced fusion, Superior?!" Jasper demanded, more desperately. "Am I a forced fusion?!"

Yellow Diamond was silent for a long moment. Then, her slanted face became impassive. "How peculiar. It's incredibly rare that any gem remembers the process."

Jasper almost crumbled against the panel as her knees went weak and the world shattered beneath her. "What?" she managed meekly.

Yellow Diamond tapped her chin, almost observant. "Usually after the fusion the subject begins to lose its memory and see themself as a single being."

Peridot stared from Jasper to Yellow Diamond in horror. "What? What are you saying, Superior?"

"It's true," was all Jasper practically whimpered. She hadn't whimpered since she was a cub. "You fused some damaged gems together to make me...as a weapon."

"You should be prideful, General," Yellow Diamond said simply. "Out of all the fusion experiments you were the most successful. You were incredibly strong, even when the subjects used to make you were incredibly defective."

Peridot gaped in horror, but Jasper seemed to have stopped functioning completely. "Su...Superior..."

"Besides, it's no different then the cluster-"

"It's entirely different from the cluster!" Jasper suddenly shouted. "The cluster was meant to be a punishment for the rebellion on the treasonous gems! But I—but they..." She trailed off, sickened by the thought of the gemlings that were forced to go through this. "I never did anything to you! I've been loyal to you since my HARVEST! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"

"You're a successful war experiment-"

"I NEVER ASKED TO BE AN EXPERIMENT!" Jasper almost wailed. Peridot stood there, shaking. She had no idea what to do. "I thought I achieved my rank because of my strength and my skill! I thought I was a powerful asset!"

"You are," Yellow Diamond said simply. "And that wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for the fusion. You should be thankful for it."

"Superior..." Peridot was appalled. Her stomach twisted and suddenly as she looked around at the amalgamation of mutants around the room she was filled with terror. "How..how could you have done this? To her? To...others? This—this was meant to be a consequence of the rebellion—how could you have done this to your own subjects? We pledged our lives to you, Superior! The entire empire is loyal to you—us included!"

"I'm aware," Yellow Diamond said coolly. "It's easy to keep the loyalty when no one remembers the process. This isn't the same as the cluster," she chuckled. "The cluster is to force those treacherous Crystal Gems to suffer for their betrayal, but fusion among Homeworld is simply to build a stronger army, and stronger soldiers!"

"We are sentient beings!" Peridot cried. "We aren't supposed to simply be used as weapons! If this is what you did to Jasper then what did you do to me?"

Yellow Diamond scoffed. "Oh I did nothing to you. You were simply a useless little gemling that somehow found herself in the top ranks in technology out of luck."

Jasper snarled. "Don't you dare talk about her that way..."

"Are you disrespecting your Superior, General?" Yellow Diamond demanded in a cold, threatening voice. "Your mission was to check on the Cluster and destroy those traitorous Crystal Gems."

"Traitorous?!" Jasper snapped. "The Crystal Gems just left Homeworld for another planet! You've been blinding our entire society while you experiment on your own subjects under everyone's nose!"

Yellow Diamond sneered. "Oh go ahead, Fusion. Turn your back on Homeworld, I dare you. Turn your back on us. Where will you and your Subordinate go? Do you truly believe that the Crystal Gems will accept you?" She laughed harshly. "Are you willing to just wander the planet uselessly for the rest of eternity?"

Jasper went silent.

"All you have is the Empire. It's all you've known. It's what you were bred for. So what if you aren't who you think you are? It's not like you'll be any use anywhere else. Experiment or not, you've served your use well." She almost purred, eyes cold and manipulating as a smile slid over her face. "You have been a powerful asset to the war. Look at what your fusion allowed you to accomplish!" Her smile widened. "And you..." She looked to Peridot. "If it weren't for Jasper you'd hardly be any worth to anyone."

Both gems were silent.

"You know this temper tantrum is pointless. Neither of you would turn against Homeworld. It's the only thing that makes you worth anything."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Steven suddenly roared, slamming the glass. Hate burned into his young eyes. "They're worth everything even without you! Peridot is smart and you didn't make her that way! She was made smart! And Jasper is strong no matter what! They both are! They had to be to get through the nightmares YOU PUT THEM THROUGH! They're stronger then you'll ever be! You're just...just a COWARD that sends other gems to do your dirty work!"

Yellow Diamond gave a loud cackle that screeched across the airwaves. "Oh bold, aren't you, you little parasite? But I knew that, you were that way even before the rebellion, Rose."

Steven sneered and his gem flared with his and his mother's rage. "It's Steven Universe. And some day we're gonna take you down!"

"Oh it'll be hard to do that, won't it?" Yellow Diamond sneered. "When I rip apart your fleshy form and yank that gem out of your stomach."

"You just try it!" Steven yelled back. His gem glowed brighter. "We are good and good will never be defeated!"

Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes and glared at Jasper, who was still completely silent. "I'm tired of the creature's incessant chatter. Fusion, rip that gem from his stomach." Jasper and Peridot's eyes widened.

Golden eyes turned to look back at the helpless boy in the capsule, and she looked to Peridot. Then, eyes glazed over like ice, Jasper coldly, silently strode towards the pod. Steven whimpered and backed up desperately in the glass.

"Jasper, please...no!" He choked out a sob as Jasper ripped open the pod and yanked him up by his shirt collar.

Yellow Diamond's demonic grin became wider. "Do it now, Fusion. Reach into that parasite and rip that gem from his stomach."

Jasper's cold golden eyes slid towards the child in her grasp. They narrowed in on his tear stained swollen face. Her grip tightened on his collar and he tried futilely to escape.

"Jasper..." the boy begged, biting back a sob. "Please... Please don't do it. They don't care about you there. They don't care...about any of you! I know you didn't ask to be a fusion! You didn't ask for anything that they did to you and...you didn't...deserve it!" He was outright crying now. "But you're more then just a war machine!"

"Do it now, fusion," Yellow Diamond crooned. "You know who you really are..." The look on Yellow Diamond's face was almost coaxing, menacingly. Her smirk was cold, quiet, like a mother cat coaxing its young to hunt.

Jasper looked at the sobbing boy in her grasp and then her blank stare moved to Peridot. The green gem was just standing there, frozen, wide-eyed.

Suddenly it clicked. Jasper gave a slow, almost nonchalant nod. "You're right, I do." She lifted Steven up higher over her head. Her other hand formed into a menacing claw that neared the helpless child. But after a moment, her hand clenched into a fist and struck past the boy to the tubes behind him, shattering it with a devastating smash.

Jasper whirled to a shocked Yellow Diamond with one single, cold smirk. "But you don't." Her fist smashed into another tube, the skin tearing and bleeding but she hardly noticed. The hand holding Steven suddenly chucked him at Peridot and the green gem grabbed the child and just stared, stricken.

"GO!" Jasper roared through the breaking of glass and the terrifying sound of screams and shrieks that resounded through the air. A torrent of limbs suddenly spilled over Jasper's form and engulfed her completely.

Peridot ran, fighting to hold onto the screaming and struggling child. "NOOO! JASPERR!" His screech rivalled the sounds of breaking glass and roars of the enraged fusions that echoed through the cave.

Description
Steven made his way down the steps to the cool tiles below, so excited that he could hardly keep his footsteps to the light rhythm that was needed to not alert any of the gems. He bounced up and down in the spot, a large smile on his face. This was it! He had finally gotten through to Jasper and now he could help her and hopefully Peridot, and show them what Homeworld really was!

And I'm gonna save the fusions! He gave an inward little squeal. Garnet is gonna be so proud! Steven double checked the kitchen to make sure Amethyst wasn't rummaging for a midnight snack. This was the time of night that Garnet and Pearl were usually in their rooms, or off training. If he was caught he'd be finished. If Lapis caught him he'd really be finished.

Lapis... The boy's sad eyes roved over to the newest room of the temple, where his newest friend was in there somewhere, probably hating him. He wanted to go to her so badly and make up, but if she knew he really was going after Jasper it would just make her angrier at him. Well...she lived with them now. It wasn't like he had to worry about finding her at the bottom of the ocean anymore. He'd apologize tomorrow, with some brand new fish for her aquarium!

Hurrying to the portal before anyone realized he was gone, the child disappeared in a flash of light.

For the first time, going to Kindergarden was an exciting experience rather than a scary one that brought the looming threat of doom. It was a hero mission, just him and Jasper! He wondered if she was gonna wind up staying with them too at the temple, and then he got even more excited at the very thought! Maybe they could convince Peridot to join too? As a giant team of Crystal Gems there's nothing they wouldn't be able to do!

Giving a little squeak of excitement, Steven looked around the breeding ground. As she promised, she was standing there, just a few feet away from the warp pad. "Jasper!" the child shouted excitedly as he ran up to her. It was the first time they were physically meeting since the incident occurred. He was much like a bouncy ball on sugar, hopping up and down around her in a circle. "I'm so happy to see you! Do you have any plans on how to free the fusions? Are you gonna bust 'em out? Are we gonna find a way to fix the shards?"

The large gem stared at the bizarre display for a while before she slapped a hand down on his head to shut him up. "First of all, brat, there will be no fixing anything," Jasper said grimly. "These aren't full gems that can regenerate. There's just...pieces of them. It's like a broken vase without any glue. There's no way to bring them back to life."

The boy's face fell. "So they're...gonna stay dead?"

"Yeah." And some foreign and bizarre self loathing part of her was wishing whatever made her up just stayed dead too in the beginning. "So..." She looked around. "Do the rest of the rejects—I mean...Crystal Gems, know you're here?"

The child shook his head. "No, I knew they'd stop me if they knew. They still think you're evil and want to kill them."

So the brat was alone...good. Should be easy enough, she figured. Peridot had assured her that she had the boy's capture all figured out and none of his guardians were here to get in the way. Even though the child himself had Rose's gem, he didn't seem to know how to fully use it. That would make this process easier and quicker.

"Let's head to the control room then," the orange gem grunted, leading her prey towards the hole in the ground. Steven skipped along, oblivious as anything and happy as could be.

"So where is Peridot then?" Steven asked. "You mentioned she was here..." His mouth tilted a little in amusement. "At least I think that's what you meant by 'Geeky.'"

Jasper smirked at the nickname and stepped onto the moving lift. "Yeah, that is what I meant. She's down there, waiting for us."

Steven's eyes grew even more starry. "She's in on this too?!"

If the boy had been looking at her, he might have caught the malicious glint in her eyes. "Oh yeah...she's definitely in on it."

The lift settled onto the ground below and Steven looked around at the flashing buttons, and the black transmission screen. Among several chambers that held the shattered gems, the boy saw a new pod. It was...smaller, like it was made for a child. There were clamps on the top of it and on the bottom. It was different then the others, and it was..empty. It was empty but it was open, like it was waiting to contain something.

The boy's heart began to beat fast and he swallowed hard. He gave a nervous giggle and he backed up until he bumped into Jasper's large legs. Out of instinct, he clutched one slightly. "Wow, I forgot how...creepy this place is. Um...where's Peridot?"

The orange form standing above him became menacing once more, her golden eyes glazed with ice. "Right here," she said calmly.

Before the child had a chance to turn around something suddenly burned into his back and his body twitched and jerked as sparks coursed through out his small form. The last things that Steven saw before his vision went black was the dark looks on both Jasper and Peridot's face.

--

He hurt all over when he woke up, and it was deja vu all over again. He was captured, he'd been hurt. His back stung from where the shocks hit him, and his legs and arms tingled and throbbed. He knew he had some burns from...whatever they used on him.

His eyes adjusted to the room as the moving colors formed into Jasper and Peridot. They were going back and forth from the lift with different gadgets and tools in their hands, and Steven could hear lasers beaming on the ground above.

"How is the status of the ship coming along?" Peridot asked her comrade as the woman made her way back to the panel. Jasper shrugged, almost listlessly.

"Along, I guess. I don't know, you're the techy one, I'm the muscled one that beats things up." She didn't even sound snarky when she said it, and there was no cocky smirk on her face. Peridot raised an eyebrow.

"Are you feeling alright?" she frowned. Something felt...off about her companion. And given the fact that Jasper barely ever showed much emotion (neither of them did), it was...concerning. "I am concerned."

The woman grunted and scowled at the green gem, shoving her aside as she made her way over to the panel. She was making a direct effort to avoid any eye contact with their prisoner. "I'm fine, Peridot! Just...concern yourself with your own stuff, okay?" she barked at Peridot, hoping that her angry tone would scare the little nerd off. It didn't. "I guess I just miss home." More like, she wished she knew where her home really was...

At that Peridot's straight face dipped to something sympathetic. "As do I, but once the ship is finished we can finally head back. We have checked the cluster and captured the Quartz child. That was our mission."

The Quartz child... Finally she looked over at their prisoner, who had been completely silent this entire time. Straightening up tall, Jasper slowly walked over.

The boy couldn't even look at her. His entire body shook with physical and emotional pain. It felt like his heart was crumbling apart. "H...how could you..." The orange gem made no response, and with a strangled cry, Steven jumped to his feet and slammed his hands up against the glass. "HOW COULD YOU!" His face was a mess of tears and mucus.

Jasper's lip twitched in a snarl. "How could I what?" she snapped. "You knew this from the beginning, kid! We. Are. Your Enemies. We're gems sent from Homeworld to destroy this disgusting hunk of rock and everyone on it! You know that!"

"But we—we were talking!" The child could hardly get anything out through his sobs, which trailed off into hiccups. "Y-y-you said you weren't w-with Homeworld anymore 'cause they be-betrayed y-you! You said w-we were gonna s-save the fusions! Together!"

"Of course I did," Jasper snarled. "I needed some way to get you here and I knew you were stupid and desperate enough that you'd think I did a complete turn-around!"

The boy trembled and buckled against the glass, his hands sliding down it. "I-I trusted you..." he whispered.

Suddenly, Jasper's eyes dipped to something more morose, and almost sympathetic. "A word of advice, brat. Don't blindly put your faith in something without thinking because it's only going to break you in the end." She closed her eyes and walked away from the cage, hardening her reserve.

Steven threw himself up against the glass, his gem flickering with stress as it attempted to summon something that could help him. It was no use. All that appeared was his bubble, and it immediately popped inside of the cell. He kicked and clawed at the capsule.

"It's futile, Quartz child," Peridot informed the boy as she walked over. "We realize that our last attempt to capture you failed because we didn't realize that your specific species was...unique. But I have created this capsule just for you with the right technology. It will hold gems and humans."

"Why are you doing this?" Steven sobbed. "What did the earth ever do to you? What makes you want to destroy it so bad?!"

"It is our mission," Peridot said simply. "We do what our Superior tells us to do."

"But why?!" the boy cried. "Why do you hurt people? Why does she want to hurt people? What does she get out of it?! What do YOU get out of it?"

"You know nothing of our world, child," Peridot scoffed. "Yellow Diamond does what she thinks is right for our civilization. All she wants to do is make sure our planet and our kind prospers! Our leader simply wants the best for us!"

Steven narrowed his eyes. "Really?" He glared at the green gem right in the eye. "Was it out of that mindset that she decided to fuse together sick and damaged gems to make them into war machines, like she did with Jasper?!"

The giant gem at the other side of the room froze. She whirled around to them both and pointed a dangerous finger towards Steven, arm shaking. "You shut your mouth."

"Was it out of wanting to do the best for her people that she never, ever told you what you ARE?" Steven cried. Peridot's eyes widened a little.

"Jasper...what is the child talking about?"

"I said shut up you little maggot, before I ram your teeth down your own throat!"

"Was it out of wanting to do the best for her people that she just made you as a weapon?!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Jasper screamed and was beside the capsule in a flash, and her fist burst through an empty chamber. Her skin sliced and shards flew but she didn't care. Her eyes were wild and murderous, her fangs gnashed together menacingly towards the child. Rather then cower, Steven stood up tall in the capsule and challenged her with a glare.

"Jasper..." Peridot was shocked and confused. "What is he talking about?"

The gem whirled on her. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND JUST FIX THE SHIP!" she roared, her eyes flooding with tears. Peridot stumbled back, horrified. The woman stood there, hunched and panting like a rabid animal.

Steven trembled."Jasper-"

"SHUT UP!" This time she punched the glass, making the child fall. "You don't know ANYTHING about our leader OR our planet! You don't know that I'm...I'm..."

"We both saw it!" Steven cried. "You know that you are, Jasper! They don't care about you! They forced you and other gems together and they never told you! Stop lying to yourself!"

"I'M NOT. LYING TO MYSELF!" She screamed at the child. "SHUT YOUR MOUTH BEFORE I CRUSH YOUR GEM!" Her voice cracked at the end, and a solitary tear slipped from her eye. She clawed at the glass and nearly needed to lean against it for support. Her large hand slid down the glass uselessly, and tearfully, Steven reached out one of his little hands and pressed it against where hers was.

"Jasper..."

All at once, the fusion shoved herself away from the glass and tore at her ears. "Just shut up! You don't...you don't know..." Her voice trailed off. She tore at her hair. She nearly fell to her knees. "You don't..." She needed something desperately. Confirmation. Confirmation that this brat was just spewing lies and so was her mind.

She punched a button and Yellow Diamond immediately appeared. Her mouth lifted into a delighted smirk at the sight of the child in the pod. "Wonderful, General. I see you're calling to give me some good news! Is that the Quartz child?"

Jasper ignored everything she said and just answered with one desperate blurt. "Am I a forced fusion?!"

Yellow Diamond's eyes widened and she seemed incredibly stunned. "What?" she asked.

"Are you talking to our Superior?" Peridot asked as she came down on the lift. She paused at how the other woman was shaking. "...Jasper?"

"I said am I a forced fusion, Superior?!" Jasper demanded, more desperately. "Am I a forced fusion?!"

Yellow Diamond was silent for a long moment. Then, her slanted face became impassive. "How peculiar. It's incredibly rare that any gem remembers the process."

Jasper almost crumbled against the panel as her knees went weak and the world shattered beneath her. "What?" she managed meekly.

Yellow Diamond tapped her chin, almost observant. "Usually after the fusion the subject begins to lose its memory and see themself as a single being."

Peridot stared from Jasper to Yellow Diamond in horror. "What? What are you saying, Superior?"

"It's true," was all Jasper practically whimpered. She hadn't whimpered since she was a cub. "You fused some damaged gems together to make me...as a weapon."

"You should be prideful, General," Yellow Diamond said simply. "Out of all the fusion experiments you were the most successful. You were incredibly strong, even when the subjects used to make you were incredibly defective."

Peridot gaped in horror, but Jasper seemed to have stopped functioning completely. "Su...Superior..."

"Besides, it's no different then the cluster-"

"It's entirely different from the cluster!" Jasper suddenly shouted. "The cluster was meant to be a punishment for the rebellion on the treasonous gems! But I—but they..." She trailed off, sickened by the thought of the gemlings that were forced to go through this. "I never did anything to you! I've been loyal to you since my HARVEST! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"

"You're a successful war experiment-"

"I NEVER ASKED TO BE AN EXPERIMENT!" Jasper almost wailed. Peridot stood there, shaking. She had no idea what to do. "I thought I achieved my rank because of my strength and my skill! I thought I was a powerful asset!"

"You are," Yellow Diamond said simply. "And that wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for the fusion. You should be thankful for it."

"Superior..." Peridot was appalled. Her stomach twisted and suddenly as she looked around at the amalgamation of mutants around the room she was filled with terror. "How..how could you have done this? To her? To...others? This—this was meant to be a consequence of the rebellion—how could you have done this to your own subjects? We pledged our lives to you, Superior! The entire empire is loyal to you—us included!"

"I'm aware," Yellow Diamond said coolly. "It's easy to keep the loyalty when no one remembers the process. This isn't the same as the cluster," she chuckled. "The cluster is to force those treacherous Crystal Gems to suffer for their betrayal, but fusion among Homeworld is simply to build a stronger army, and stronger soldiers!"

"We are sentient beings!" Peridot cried. "We aren't supposed to simply be used as weapons! If this is what you did to Jasper then what did you do to me?"

Yellow Diamond scoffed. "Oh I did nothing to you. You were simply a useless little gemling that somehow found herself in the top ranks in technology out of luck."

Jasper snarled. "Don't you dare talk about her that way..."

"Are you disrespecting your Superior, General?" Yellow Diamond demanded in a cold, threatening voice. "Your mission was to check on the Cluster and destroy those traitorous Crystal Gems."

"Traitorous?!" Jasper snapped. "The Crystal Gems just left Homeworld for another planet! You've been blinding our entire society while you experiment on your own subjects under everyone's nose!"

Yellow Diamond sneered. "Oh go ahead, Fusion. Turn your back on Homeworld, I dare you. Turn your back on us. Where will you and your Subordinate go? Do you truly believe that the Crystal Gems will accept you?" She laughed harshly. "Are you willing to just wander the planet uselessly for the rest of eternity?"

Jasper went silent.

"All you have is the Empire. It's all you've known. It's what you were bred for. So what if you aren't who you think you are? It's not like you'll be any use anywhere else. Experiment or not, you've served your use well." She almost purred, eyes cold and manipulating as a smile slid over her face. "You have been a powerful asset to the war. Look at what your fusion allowed you to accomplish!" Her smile widened. "And you..." She looked to Peridot. "If it weren't for Jasper you'd hardly be any worth to anyone."

Both gems were silent.

"You know this temper tantrum is pointless. Neither of you would turn against Homeworld. It's the only thing that makes you worth anything."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Steven suddenly roared, slamming the glass. Hate burned into his young eyes. "They're worth everything even without you! Peridot is smart and you didn't make her that way! She was made smart! And Jasper is strong no matter what! They both are! They had to be to get through the nightmares YOU PUT THEM THROUGH! They're stronger then you'll ever be! You're just...just a COWARD that sends other gems to do your dirty work!"

Yellow Diamond gave a loud cackle that screeched across the airwaves. "Oh bold, aren't you, you little parasite? But I knew that, you were that way even before the rebellion, Rose."

Steven sneered and his gem flared with his and his mother's rage. "It's Steven Universe. And some day we're gonna take you down!"

"Oh it'll be hard to do that, won't it?" Yellow Diamond sneered. "When I rip apart your fleshy form and yank that gem out of your stomach."

"You just try it!" Steven yelled back. His gem glowed brighter. "We are good and good will never be defeated!"

Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes and glared at Jasper, who was still completely silent. "I'm tired of the creature's incessant chatter. Fusion, rip that gem from his stomach." Jasper and Peridot's eyes widened.

Golden eyes turned to look back at the helpless boy in the capsule, and she looked to Peridot. Then, eyes glazed over like ice, Jasper coldly, silently strode towards the pod. Steven whimpered and backed up desperately in the glass.

"Jasper, please...no!" He choked out a sob as Jasper ripped open the pod and yanked him up by his shirt collar.

Yellow Diamond's demonic grin became wider. "Do it now, Fusion. Reach into that parasite and rip that gem from his stomach."

Jasper's cold golden eyes slid towards the child in her grasp. They narrowed in on his tear stained swollen face. Her grip tightened on his collar and he tried futilely to escape.

"Jasper..." the boy begged, biting back a sob. "Please... Please don't do it. They don't care about you there. They don't care...about any of you! I know you didn't ask to be a fusion! You didn't ask for anything that they did to you and...you didn't...deserve it!" He was outright crying now. "But you're more then just a war machine!"

"Do it now, fusion," Yellow Diamond crooned. "You know who you really are..." The look on Yellow Diamond's face was almost coaxing, menacingly. Her smirk was cold, quiet, like a mother cat coaxing its young to hunt.

Jasper looked at the sobbing boy in her grasp and then her blank stare moved to Peridot. The green gem was just standing there, frozen, wide-eyed.

Suddenly it clicked. Jasper gave a slow, almost nonchalant nod. "You're right, I do." She lifted Steven up higher over her head. Her other hand formed into a menacing claw that neared the helpless child. But after a moment, her hand clenched into a fist and struck past the boy to the tubes behind him, shattering it with a devastating smash.

Jasper whirled to a shocked Yellow Diamond with one single, cold smirk. "But you don't." Her fist smashed into another tube, the skin tearing and bleeding but she hardly noticed. The hand holding Steven suddenly chucked him at Peridot and the green gem grabbed the child and just stared, stricken.

"GO!" Jasper roared through the breaking of glass and the terrifying sound of screams and shrieks that resounded through the air. A torrent of limbs suddenly spilled over Jasper's form and engulfed her completely.

Peridot ran, fighting to hold onto the screaming and struggling child. "NOOO! JASPERR!" His screech rivalled the sounds of breaking glass and roars of the enraged fusions that echoed through the cave.