Shattered Hearts (Steven Universe)

Chapter 11

Peridot spotted the human that had kept her safe from harm, and headed towards him, hovering over him until she could land safely. Ben looked at her with wonder, like he had the last time the gem had used her tech in front of him. "That's new," he murmured. "Peridot, are you okay? I-" Before the human could say another word, Peridot grabbed him by his shirt collar and brought her face close to his, her eyes narrowed to greenish slits. "You imbecile! You've been screaming my name and running around this place all day, haven't you?" When he started to answer, she cut him off and released him, dropping him into the dirt. "Oh, I don't care if you have been or not!" Her voice grew quieter now. "My enemies are here now in this very place, and you led them right to me! Do you realize what a nuisance you are?" Ben swallowed hard and then replied, his eyes widening at her outrage. "Um...yes?" Peridot scowled and stormed away. Ben noticed this and ran after her. "Peri, wait! Wait, I'm sorry. I am an imbecile, like you said. I didn't mean to cause trouble. I was just...worried about you." The gem spun around to look at him. "What?" "I mean it! I was." The boy's face had turned a pale shade of red. "I wanted to make sure you were safe, but I didn't know where you were at the time. I tried to follow your footsteps, but the wind here kept blowing the dust around and made them go away." He sighed. "If you want me to leave, I will, but I'd appreciate some sort of explanation beforehand. Why are those gems chasing you in the first place?" Now it was Peridot's turn to look surprised. She walked over to him and sighed. "You really want to know why?" The human nodded briskly, his black, spiky hair bobbing as his head moved. Peridot frowned. This would make him turn away from her forever, but it was what he wanted. "Fine. It's a very long story, too long for me to tell you all of it at once, but there is a reason that those gems are after me now. The wasteland that you and I stand in was the birthplace of many gems, numerous ones that served as a strong army for the rulers I work for. The means with which they were created drained the life from your planet, leaving it like this." Peridot gestured with her arm to the barren ground and the walls with hundreds of holes in them. Ben took it all in, but remained silent. "Rebels fought against the rulers and their armies because they thought our ways were cruel." The human interrupted her then. "Did you think it was?" Peridot started to answer, but then thought better of it and only told him, "I couldn't say. I wasn't around for all of the war." Ben nodded, but looked dissatisfied. The green gem continued her story anyway. "The war between the gems that wanted to demolish Earth and the gems that wanted to protect it went on for many years, but there was a point in time when the fighting had ceased because the rebels had been almost entirely eliminated. To punish them, one of my leaders decided to take the gems that had fought against them and..." Her voice trailed off. "And..." She tried again, but the words wouldn't come out. "And what?" Ben asked after a few moments. "What did they do?" Peridot's shoulders hunched as she considered her options. With a shake of her head, she sighed. It was too late to turn back now. He'd already learned too much. "Maybe it would be easier to just show you what I mean."

Peridot led Ben to the cavern that she had spent her last few days hiding in. The barrels that lined the ceiling were still there, but one had broken from hitting the floor. The Cluster that had been inside was not in the chamber, luckily. Peridot eyed it nervously and stepped around the mess, fighting the slight urge to clean it up. The Crystal Gems must've been in here. Footsteps sounded suddenly, and the green gem lay flat against one of the walls. She grabbed Ben's wrist and whispered for him to do the same and not ask questions. The boy obeyed her, but when Pearl raced past the tunnel, he visibly turned to look at her. The defective gem left soon enough, and Peridot jerked him towards her. "Stop doing that!" she yelled. "Do you want me to die?" "No," Ben shouted back. "I just haven't seen many other gems before. Why do they have stars on their clothes instead of diamonds?" Peridot studied the yellow diamond emblems on her outfit and then spoke. "They serve under a different ruler, I guess." She recalled the task at hand and explained the rest to the human as best she could. "My ruler thought that the best idea for revenge would be to do what the rebels would never have wanted-be used as weapons. They-" Peridot gasped when a cylinder above Ben's head shook violently and then fell, hitting the ground in front of him when he moved out of the way. The boy backed away in fear as light came from the gems that had been forced into a fusion. The beings struggled and howled, but then came together. Several eyes opened, and multicolored body parts reached for Ben. The human was visibly shaking at the sight. "What is that?" "A Cluster." The monster growled and charged at the boy, but Peridot found her destabilizer in time. She stabbed the creature with the live end of the weapon, and it writhed and twitched as energy similar to electricity pierced its body. Its physical form went away, leaving a mottled, twisted gemstone in its place. Ben was still shaky, and he stepped backwards, hitting the nearest wall. "Peridot...This isn't right. You made that thing to hurt the rebels?"

"Yes, but...but I.." Tears threatened to emerge, but the gem fought them back. "I thought they deserved to be treated that way." "But why? They were gems just like you." The boy's eyes narrowed the way Peridot's had once. "You're heartless." "Heartless?" The gem looked back at him angrily. "I am not heartless. My planet's people needed an army." "So did the rebels." Peridot glared at him. "No, they didn't. Don't you see? This is why I can't stay with you any longer. You've made me question my loyalty. That punishment had to be right. I can't just change sides after all this time. Anything other that what I believe now would be treason, and I don't want to die, not at the hands of her. Yellow Diamond would make me suffer and would laugh about it." Ben's horror at her actions vanished with those words. "You would die for being a hero?" "Yes." Peridot let her tears leave her eyes. "Heroes break the law." "Maybe, but wouldn't you rather die knowing you're right, than die knowing you're wrong?" He held his hand out to her with a slight smile. "Stick with me, Peridot. Earth might seem strange, but it has its perks. You don't need to follow your leaders anymore. You can be free if you do what you think is right, and what's right is to be here with me." Peridot could hardly see through her tears, but had heard his voice. It hurt to face this change, but maybe his words had truth to them."Really?" "Really." Ben's smile grew bigger, and he put his hands on her shoulders. "Following your heart, however, is a necessary freedom." Peridot's green eyes widened, but she didn't pull away when Ben leaned forward and kissed her.

Author's note: Hello again! So this story won't be as canon as I had originally wanted it to be, but that's okay for now. Enjoy this new chapter, because updates after today are likely to come much slower than before. Okay, bye :3 ~ awesomeri14