Chapter 23: Do It For Me
"We have a problem."
"You know, one of these days Lapis is gonna burst through our doors and not start a conversation that way."
"Not now Pearl," Lapis groaned. It would seem Pearl and Steven were the only ones in the temple at the moment. "Where's Peridot?"
"She's with Sapphire," Steven replied. "Should I go get her?"
Lapis nodded, tapping her foot impatiently. Red had to know she was here. Every second she spent in that temple was another step closer to Lapis being in serious trouble.
"Lapis?" Peridot asked when she walked in. "What is it?"
Sapphire followed close behind, not paying too much attention to the conversation.
"Should we wait for Amethyst?" Pearl asked.
"There isn't time for that!" Lapis snapped, earning worried looks from the others. Peridot walked over and placed a comforting hand on Lapis's shoulders. Lapis closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry I couldn't stop her, it would've been too risky, but..." Lapis sighed with defeat, "Red has Bismuth as prisoner."
"What?!" Pearl squawked. "But how is that possible? We have Bismuth bubbled! How did she know she was even here? No one knew about that but me, Sapphire, Steven and Amethyst!"
"I don't know, ok?" Lapis cut her off annoyed. "I'm not exactly in the best position to help you anymore."
"What does Red plan to do with Bismuth?" Sapphire asked calmly although her mind was reeling.
"I...I don't know but whatever it is..." Lapis shuddered. "She's acting even weirder than usual. She's frustrated and-and rattled, like something's getting to her and she doesn't like it."
Sapphire gasped slightly. Could Ruby somehow be reaching out?
"Does this have to do with the other day?" Steven asked. "When we were looking for...or maybe I guess I was looking for it, but-"
"Steven do you remember what you said to me that night?" Sapphire asked hurriedly.
"I already told you, I don't really remember anything from that night."
"You said that two other people were after that stone." Sapphire's brain was working faster than she could keep up. "One was Red. Who was the other?"
"I..." Steven shook his head in disappointment. "I don't know. I'm sorry."
Then could there be a chance, thought Sapphire, that the second gem was Ruby? Could she have been searching for it too?
"None of that matters right now. We need to get Bismuth on the same page as us." Pearl began to pace around the kitchen area. "Steven found her bubble in lion after Red left and brought it to us. We didn't want to pop it yet because Rose must of bubbled her for a reason. She'll have no idea what has happened to Ruby, or even in the last thousand years!"
"You should convince this Bismuth to do whatever Red wants," Peridot thought carefully. "Red won't be able to hide her plans from you if she has to tell Bismuth. Stick by her side if you can, keep us updated on the progress."
Lapis stared coldly at the ground. The last thing she wanted to do was be anywhere near the Crystal Gem. It only brought back memories of her trapped in that mirror. Bismuth had poofed her in the first place. In a way, it was her fault she was in this mess at all.
Peridot knew exactly what Lapis was thinking and pulled her to the side. "Lapis, we need you to do this. Please."
"What if I can't?" Lapis said quietly, "What if I just can't forgive her?"
Peridot hesitated. "We've...all done bad things." She paused. "But don't we all deserve redemption? In some way? Please Lapis...just give her a chance."
Lapis looked at Peridot. Her eyes had so much hope that she'd make the right decision.
"If you won't do it for her," Peridot looked down at the ground, "Would you do it for me?"
Lapis sighed. They really did need this. And she couldn't say no to Peridot. Lapis took a deep breath in and nodded. She could do this.
"I'll be back."