It's Becoming Crystal Clear (Jasper x Reader)

Chapter 14: The Tables Have Turned

You only remembered one dream you had that night. You were running through the dark hallways from more animatronics, only they weren't the current ones. They were the old character designs from back when the place was still operated by the Funtime Friends Corporation. You found yourself cornered near a door labeled "Employees Only." Flinging it open, you found a set of stairs leading to the basement. Closing the door behind you, you scrambled down, hearing them banging at the door behind you. You stumbled about in the darkness until you heard the loud *CRACK* of the wooden door breaking. You bolted forward into the shadows, sprawling flat on your face when you tripped over a generator. You screamed as you felt a massive pair of hands grasp at you from behind.

You woke with start, immediately calming when you realized that the hands you had felt on your back were actually Jasper's. You sat up in her lap. Jasper was staring at the entryway to the kitchen attentatively. You looked up at her face. She didn't make eye contact, pretending not to notice you were awake. You smiled in amusement at her admittedly commendable effort. But finally she broke down, the corner of her lip curling up before she looked down at you without moving her head. Neither of you moved as you stared into each other's eyes, chills running down your spine.

"I love you," you said at last. You had expected to feel overwhelming relief when you told her, but instead you felt cold and afraid, wondering how she would react. But a sense of peace and of warmth washed over you when she leaned you over one large shoulder and hugged you. For a moment you forgot all of your fears, all of your insecurities, even the situation you were in.

"So I gathered," she said with a chuckle. "I don't mean to insult you, but when you try to hide things, it's just pathetic."

"Jasper," you said, rolling your eyes, "is there anything you DON'T think is pathetic? Besides, how long can you expect me to keep a secret? When you think about it, I guess I've loved you for a few thousand years."

"You're not pathetic," she replied, her cheeks turning a darker orange. "It's actually admirable that anyone could hold a candle for that long."

"Wait wait wait, hold on, when did you have the opportunity to hear that expression?"

"What do you mean? I should be asking where you heard it."

"Jasper, WHAT are you talking about?"

"That's a gem expression. If anything, humans learned it from us."

"Oh. Anyway, I think I might have a plan to get out of here! I don't know why I didn't think of this before!"

You pulled your phone out of your pocket and put in Steven's number. You didn't want to call the police, figuring they wouldn't have the equipment or knowledge to help, and could end up in unnecessary danger. You lifted the device to your ear, but you got a sinking feeling in your gut when you didn't hear it ringing. Instead, the call went straight to voicemail.

"Steven, it's urgent!" you said. "When you get this, Jasper and I are trapped in Cap'n Fishstick's. There's an evil gem keeping us here who's rigged the whole building to fly to Homeworld in a few days. I don't think we can break our way out. We need help, but be careful, there are killer robots and the ringleader possessed an innocent person somehow. Please, hurry!"

You ended the message, unable to do anything more in that regard for the time being. This was weird. It was unusual for Steven's phone to be turned off... or somewhere with no signal. You shuddered when you remembered what your foe had said. "Aquamarine and Topaz are collecting the others." Did that mean..?

You dismissed the thought and returned to the matter at hand.

"Come on," you told Jasper, standing up. "There are a couple of things we might be able to do."