Default Settings // Sequel to "Factory Reset"

Chapter 14: Scared

Chapter 14: Scared

In the short amount of time Lapis had known her, Peridot had learned how to tell when she was upset almost immediately. How? Lapis had no idea. All she could read from the situation was that Peridot was the only one in the temple and was extremely worried.

"Lapis?" Peridot walked with the slightest of a limp left, the last of her injuries from the Kindergarten finally fading. "What happened?"

"I..." Lapis shook her head. As she stood in the darkened room, Lapis struggled for words.

"Lapis..." Peridot lead the gem to the couch, "I would like to help you but in able to do so, you're going to have to talk to me. What happened?"

Lapis shook her head. Peridot stood in front of Lapis, deciding to sweep everything off the table so she could sit down herself.

"Red, she...she knows. About hijacking, about her old self, about everything. She got angry and something happened that I don't think should've," Lapis tried to explain.

"What do you mean?" Peridot frowned.

"A long time ago, you said that hijacking should make someone a clean slate."

"Right," Peridot paused. "But that was before we knew about the change in memories."

"Exactly, but they didn't just change that, they changed her coding, right?" Lapis asked.

Peridot paused again, possibly from thinking. "That is correct. It's essential to the process. After all, a gem's coding is everything they are."

"And if you can delete, you can add," Lapis nodded, "Like fighting styles, powers, things like that."

"What are you trying to say?" Peridot frowned.

"Red poofed Jasper...like she was nothing," Lapis had a far away look in her eyes. "No one's ever poofed Jasper."

"And you're upset because Red has that power?" Peridot asked.

"That too," Lapis said and then widened her eyes in regret. Peridot connected the dots.

"You're...upset about Jasper."

"I didn't say that."

"But you are." Peridot shook her head in disbelief. "You still care about her even after everything-"

"I do not care about her," Lapis cut Peridot off with a harsh glare.

Peridot stared for a moment with her mouth open as if to argue before letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry I brought it up."

The air was tense as neither gem knew what to say. That is, until Lapis remembered something she had been meaning to bring up.

"Jasper said that anyone with the correct codes could access Red's gem," Lapis stood up and crossed her arms, "Do you have them?"

"Wh-What?!" Peridot asked, "Why would you assume I have them?"

"You and Jasper sent the codes to Homeworld," Lapis raised an eyebrow, "Right?"

"Yes."

"Then wouldn't one of you still have them?"

"I-" Peridot glared at the taller blue gem, "They were lost when our ship blew up, AKA my only way to contact Homeworld in case you forgot. And don't you think that if I had access to something like that, I would've tried to put a stop to what was happening to Ruby!"

"That's exactly why we need those codes," Lapis insisted, "After all if someone could change her into Red, maybe we could change her back to Ruby."

Peridot shook her head. "It's impossible. We don't have any way to access her gem. Not anymore. And we don't have the technology necessary to do it again."

Lapis felt her hopes sink.

"Besides," Peridot added, a little less harsh, "Ruby by the sounds of it may be too far gone to help."

"That's not what you tell Sapphire."

"You aren't Sapphire." Peridot stood up on the table to try to become more level with her. "Hijacking isn't a forgiving process. Whatever is left of Ruby at best is severely weakened. Even then, who knows what measures the virus might go to to ensure Red stays in power."

"That's assuming Ruby is even there at all," Lapis said quietly.

Peridot, although she didn't want to, nodded her head. "We have no idea what hijacking can mean. We can only learn as we go. That's why we need you Lapis, to tell us what she's doing."

"Yeah." Lapis sat back down with her head in her hands. "About that. How long will it be before the others are back?"

"Not long." Peridot glanced towards the warp pad. "Why?"

"Because Red has a plan and now there's no way Jasper and I can stop her."