Steven Universe: Beyond The Mirror

Strawberry Juice

Steven and Lapis are in a tight spot, standing at the core of a bursted giant strawberry within the Strawberry Battlefield. A corrupted Gem in the form of a beetle with a rainbow colored gem embedded on the chest shrieks at the duo in a fit of rage.

Lapis forces back her grimace, replacing it with an unsteady glare as she tightens her fists. She casts her eyes to the ground to gaze upon the flowing of the juice seeping into the core. Lapis hasn't tried to manipulate a liquid other than the common element of water.

In this predicament however, she must harness her power to manipulate the strawberry juice to her advantage. She raises her left hand up as her fingers retract into a claw. The juice gradually rises from the small pool reaching up to Lapis' skirt as she grits her teeth.

Steven gets up from the pool, his jeans dripping with strawberry juice as Lapis thrusts out her right hand towards the beast. The juice whips the beetle with a slight crack, causing it to reel back as Steven takes an abrupt step back.

The beetle screeches as it recoils to a degree to its left. The beast turns it's head towards Lapis as its eyes bulge. The shell diverges into two seperate flaps. They spring up, allowing the wings to hum as the user stands its ground.

Lapis waits for the beetle to make the next move as she holds her thin whip of strawberry juice at the ready with her right hand held back. The beetle snorts and it springs into the air. The wings flutter in a rapid pace as it charges towards its attacker.

Steven grimaces as he leaps in front of her, popping his sheild just in time. Steven grunts with squinted shut eyes as he crashes into Lapis, knocking her down with him back into the pool. Lapis groans as the beetle reproaches Steven and her with a left stomp.

Steven recovers first as the beetle thrusts itself forward towards him. His shield pops out only to dissapate the second it does, knocking Steven off the strawberry and into the field. He groans as he clutches his naval in anguish.

He stays down on his left side on the grass and dirt as Lapis yells out to him. "Steven!" The right side of her form is stained with the juice from the pool even though Steven caught more of that on the entirety of his body. The beetle immediately knocks Lapis off towards the very edge of the strawberry.

Lapis clenches her teeth as she turns her head to her right, laying on the ground. Her right eye twitches, bruised from the impact as the beetle hisses at her. Lapis pants, her chest heaving as she looks into the beasts' crazed smile that she remembered looking into...but only for a moment back during the Gem War.

Time freezes as Lapis recollects her last moments in the midst of Era One. She swooped down onto the ground as explosions went off around her. She covered her ears through clenched teeth as she squints her eyes.

She turned around as a Gem, a Bismuth, leaped towards her. Lapis gasps, turning to attempt to get away from her only to get jabbed in the gem, instantly getting poofed for the next five millenia to be trapped within her gemstone.

Back in reality, Lapis casts her eyes towards the gemstone on the beast's chest. Her eyes narrow as she sits up to reach out for the pool. She grunts as the juice rises off the surface and up towards the sky. The beetle, only inches away from her now, steps onto her bare mid region with it's front left leg.

Lapis doesn't allow herself to slip out of focus as keeps her eye on the juice. The beetle bends its head down towards her face as she flips her left hand back. The juice snaps at the beetle's butt, causing it to reel back a bit off her body.

The juice descends as it passes the rear end down towards the chest. Lapis doesn't make a sound as she concentrates on the juice's movement. She keeps her hands steady as she twists her pointer finger left and right, gradually pulling back her arm.

The beetle doesn't notice the slow, careful action as it stays still, unaware of the stream of juice hovering just below the chest towards the gemstone.

Once it reaches it's destination, Lapis flicks her finger forward--and back, allowing the juice to whip the gem, instantly poofing the beast. The beetle vanishes in a plume of smoke after a one final screech of astonishment. The leftover gemstone plops into the pool of strawberry juice as Lapis rests her head, closing her eyes with a sigh.

RECOVER FROM THE BATTLE AS YOU ENTER VOLUME 3...