Lapis and Peridot

She was trapped in a mirror...

[Here's the beginning of the story! Told from Lapis Lazuli's point of view if you don't understand that within the first paragraph. I apologize if anything is confusing. Just let me know and I'll try to fix it. So this is set before The Return, when Lapis and Jasper and Peridot (and more gems? Maybe?) are in that giant hand-shaped spaceship and Lapis is trapped in her prison cell. This is my first fanfic... so... enjoy?]

I can't believe it. I just can't BELIEVE it! I pounded at the ground with my fist, trying to refrain from throwing myself against the wall in despair. Hah. Whether I "believe" it or not doesn't matter, I reflected bitterly, sarcasm dripping from my thoughts. I mean, it's not like Lapis Lazuli was made for anything BUT being trapped! Oh yes, Lapis simply LOVES being cooped up in a miserable, tiny, cursed CAGE! I slammed my fist on the floor again, refraining from screaming my frustration. I didn't want my captors to come and try to shut me up... Not that robotic green one, and definitely not the enormous orange monster of a Gem. I shivered and attempted to compose myself for about the fiftieth time in the past - how long had I been trapped in this little metal cage of a room? I had no idea. But I shoved that thought aside and got to my feet shakily.

Calm down, Lapis, you'll be fine! I lied to myself in desperation. Wish I could believe it. Nooo, nothing will be fine, I have nothing to do, I'm trapped again, and I don't think I have any way to escape... EVER. Where am I, anyway? Hesitantly, and for no particular reason, I walked over to the front wall of the little area I was trapped in. Three of the walls, as well as the ceiling and the floor beneath my bare feet, were made of a hard green metallic substance that I had never seen before. The other wall wasn't so much a wall as a yellow, partially transparent waterfall of electricity and... something else. Whatever it was, it really hurt to touch. I peered past the force field and out into the corridor. I really had no idea where I was. The passageway was also all in that weird green metal, as far as I could tell, with weird tubes passing through the roof and... oh no, oh no, someone's coming! I could hear footsteps echoing in the weird corridor. I flung myself into the far corner of my room, curling up into a ball, hoping it wasn't the big orange... Jasper, was it? At least the green one, as unfeeling and monotonous as she could be, wasn't violent. Jasper seemed to reinforce every cruel word with a hard knock, and she was strong enough for those knocks to hurt.

It didn't matter, though. I didn't care what happened to me anymore. I was just a weak gem... a weak, lonesome gem with nothing to live for. I really wouldn't care if someone shattered my gemstone. I had been looking forward to going home and just living there, but once I had arrived at Homeworld, nothing was like it used to be.

My thoughts were interrupted when a gem came up to the entrance of my cage and cleared her throat. It wasn't Jasper, thank goodness. It was just the- I couldn't remember her name. I kept my head down and hugged my knees, but then the green gem spoke. "Lazuli." I looked up reluctantly, not wanting to make this other gem angry.

"Yes?" I replied, seeing that she seemed to be awaiting a reply. Her expression, always neutral and uncaring, seemed to alter a teeny bit, but I couldn't interpret it.

"Address me by my name when you speak to me, Lazuli," the gem ordered in a cold voice. I nodded wordlessly, not sure how to tell her I didn't know her name, and she went on. "It has come to my attention that there is some... crucial information about this mission which you neglected to inform me of." This gem was really annoying, in a way, with her expressionless face and voice. I could tell by the following silence, though, that she wanted me to respond somehow.

"...Ah..." I hesitated. The other gem's brows furrowed and she narrowed her eyes. It was a little intimidating, her standing there coldly with her strange robotic legs and arms and visor. "I don't understand, I, I've told you everything I know!" I tried to look as if I were telling the truth, even though I wasn't; I had avoided telling her about Steven. I was going to protect him. He saved me, after all. And besides, Steven wasn't relevant to her mission.

The green gem looked slightly annoyed, but her voice retained its normal monotone. "I told you to address me by my name," she repeated. "In other words, you must refer to me as Peridot." Oh, so that was her name. "Don't lie to me, or I will request that Jasper assist me in my interrogation." I gulped and nodded shakily. Peridot nodded firmly and then did something strange with her fingers. Her fingers were odd in the first place - floating cylinders - probably weren't even her REAL fingers and goodness knew how they worked, technology was so advanced now! Then again I had been stuck in a mirror for thousands of years. I threw those thoughts out of my head and focused on what Peridot was doing. She had summoned a strange screen using four of her 'fingers' and was using the remaining finger on that hand to click something. Suddenly the yellow electric wall of my cell disappeared and I could see everything outside clearly... everything was so green. The other gem stepped into my cell and then reactivated the barrier. She turned to me, her expression neutral, and resumed speaking.

"I have no more wish of summoning Jasper than you have of my calling her. Therefore I suggest you cooperate." Her voice was toneless and she wasn't looking at me, just staring over my head, but the words were still surprising and I blinked at Peridot confusedly. She didn't want to call Jasper? Huh? I was confused. But I wasn't going to tell her anything that could endanger Steven. Not after his kindness and trust were invested in me, even though I was a danger to him and all he loved.