3351/Toph Vs Jasper

Toph Vs Jasper
Date of Scene:	08 November 2015
Location:	Gem Warship <GW>
Synopsis:	Toph and Jasper duke it out! Earthbender versus Living Mineral! Meanwhile Peridot has no outlet for her anxiety.
Cast of Characters:	20, 836, 858

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Peridot (836) has posed:
    Her excursion to Beach City had been an interesting one. But, it was time for her to go home. She needed to inform Jasper that she was okay. The capture had failed, in a sense. Though she had been cornered for a spell. She had managed to talk her way out of the situation. But, she did not know what was to come next.

    She appeared to be on edge.

    Peridot rarely liked to go anywhere without an escort. This was extraordinarily true when she didn't have her tech to rely on. She was utterly helpless without her limb enhancers or robonoids. So, she asked Toph to fulfill that role. In exchange, she would see to it that her glove was returned.

    As they approached Kindergarten finally, they basked in the bright green glow of the giant hand ship. The large hole had already been partially repaired- an automatic feature of the robonoids doing what they did best. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the bright light. "Ugh.. normally.. I could just call down a pod to pick us up... but in the meantime.."
    She walked over to an injector and opened a panel. "I can hack into the injector network and use it to send a signal to the Warship. Normally they only communicate coordinates but since I have all the security over rides... Unorthodox way of doing it, but that's why I'm the smartest gem on the planet." She boasted.

    And, as if on cue, a small port opened up and a pod began to make its way down to pick them up. "Ha! easy.".

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Sure, the Homeworld gem wasn't one of Toph's favourite people, but if this meant she would be getting her glove back without trouble, then she could walk her home, so to speak. So no harm has befallen Peridot on the trek back to this place, and Toph even bends an earthen plate to slide down the side of the massive canyon that is Kindergarten. Down they go, and as Toph lands them safely at the bottom of the area, she can't help but frown slightly. So many holes...

    While she can't see the warship, the earthbender does sense that there is a large clump of metal up above them. It's far easier to 'see' all the injectors. And Toph walks up to one of them, resting her hand on it as she inspects the build and materials. Oh right, Peridot is talking about. She sure seems to like saying how smart she is. Then again, Toph is used to hanging out with people who claim intellectual superiority. "Dunno, Pearl is pretty smart too," she says calmly.

    Even as the pod makes its way down towards them Toph turns slightly towards the small gem, her eyes narrowed. "You better not try to run off without giving me my glove back. If you do that, then I'll have lots of stuff to bend at you here, both earth /and/ metal," she warns her.

Jasper (858) has posed:
     On the bridge of the Gem warship, Jasper broods.

     The large Gem has seated herself in the command chair, her white hair having fallen over her face, the child's gauntlet in her hand. Here she is, in charge at last - and she is in command of no one at all. Peridot is gone, Lapis is still on a mission, and the robonoids don't need orders. So, when something comes to life on one of the consoles, Jasper's interest is piqued. It's one of the pods, on automatic recall, about to head down to the surface. Hmm. Only Peridot could know how to do it and there is, of course, the possibility that the other Gem has been compromised during her absence. So, there's only one way to find out.

     She'll hitch a ride on that pod down to the surface.

     Getting to her feet, keeping hold of the gauntlet as a trophy, Jasper finds the pod and makes her way down to the surface.

     When the pod touches down, everything seems fine. That is, until it hisses open and a large orange-skinned figure, her mane of white hair catching in the wind, steps out of it. Jasper looks at Peridot for a moment and says nothing, but when her eyes alight on Toph she /grins/ and raises the gauntlet. "Well, well, well," she gloats, "I see you've come for this after all. What, do you think we're going to trade for it?"

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "As I've stated. I consider the glove worthless. However, I do see the inherent value my safety. If I planned to double cross you, I would do it when something of more use to me was at stake." She rubs her chin. That wasn't a very good thing to say. "I mean, I wouldn't go back on a firm agreement- but consider it from that perspective and there is no logical reason to go out of my way or take risk for pointless human tech."

    "As for the Pearl..." Peridot grimaced, looking down at her forearms. They were still wrapped with bandages. "... She is.. kind. Perhaps even proficient in some regards to engineering. But she is not my intellectual equal." She clasped her hands behind her back.

    The pod settled down next to them and she approached it. "Why isn't this place more... active?" She asked herself out loud. "I expected Jasper to have.. scrambled the eggs? I think is the earth phrase?

    Peridot blinks in surprise when she realizes who was in front of her. The tiny gem looked like a toy next to the massive Jasper. She had never quite realized just how big she was. "J-Jasper." She starts, pursing her lips. "Have you been lounging around since I've been gone?" Her brows press down on her eyes. "You ought to be grateful I was able to avoid capture."

    She looked to Toph briefly. If she wanted too, now certainly would be a great time to pull a double cross, now that Peridot had been safely escorted to her seat of power. But, she saw no good reason to violate the terms of their agreement. "The dirt wizard and I have reached an accord. She has escorted me back to my ship in exchange for the delivery of her fumble stump font interpreter." Peridot points to the glove. "I see you have brought it, anticipating my needs." She grinned. "How uncharacteristically efficient!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Most people might see it as worth selling," Toph shrugs. It's made by a famous person, after all. And heck, if it was auctioned off on eBay it might fetch a small fortune. Though she does see the logic in Peridot's reasoning that it would be pointless to double-cross her over something she herself didn't need. "Yeah yeah, I get what you're saying."

    As something steps out of the pod, Toph can't help but frown. Oh right, that's the big Homeworld gem, isn't it? To say that she's quite larger than the others is a serious understatement, but then again, it doesn't appear that the blind girl is intimidated by the large figure where she stands.

    When Jasper begins talking however, Toph can't help but let out a slight snort. "It's mine, of course I came for it. As Cloderella just explained, she and I already made a deal, so I'll be taking it back now."

    All it takes is a brief movement of her hand as she raises it, and in response the metal reacts. Unless Jasper's got one hell of a grip on it, she risks the Stark tech glove flying out of her hand!

Jasper (858) has posed:
     Peridot might see the glove as worthless, however, Jasper clearly doesn't. She regards Peridot with a cold gaze. "We'll see about that," is all Jasper decides to say. "If you weren't captured, then how come you need an escort?"

     Her eyes slip to Toph then and as Toph tries to bend it out of her grip, she finds out instead just how strong Jasper's grip is! "Now, now, I didn't make any deal. You want this, don't you? I can tell." So, Jasper throws the gauntlet down between herself and Toph. Literally.

     "The question is, can you pick it up, before I pick /you/ up, little human?" The dirt crunches under Jasper's feet as she lowers herself into a position to pounce! She's not moving yet, but it's clear that she'll lash out the moment Toph tries something.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Selling? Selling it for what?" The concept of money was just another thing on the long list of things that were completely foreign to a Homeworld gem. When Peridot needed something, she either requested it from her superior- or simply took it from somewhere else. If her superior denied it , or if the location she was attempting to take it from was too strong. She simply went without.

    Well, that wasn't important. The important thing was finalizing this arrangment.

    She grimaces at Jasper. "Because I don't have my limb enhancers! It's a long way to walk, therefore I struck a mutually agreeable contract to ensure my saftey."

    As Jasper threw the glove down, Peridot took a step back. "I..." She looked to Toph then back to the orange gem. "I'm trying to honor my agreement here! Why are you interfering? Seeing to my safety is a massive service to the Homeworld empire!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "For money, of course. Most people are are occupied with it," Toph explains to Peridot.

    A clear frown settles on Toph's face when she feels Jasper holding tightly onto the glove. And then she points directly at Jasper. "It's mine, and you have no right to keep it from me!" When the glove is thrown down on the ground however, Toph's eyebrow can't help but twitch. Sure, she's rough with lots of stuff, but the glove that Tony made for her, that's different. When her satchel was stolen, it was wrapped up in cloth to protect it. To throw it down on the ground like that...

    Then there's the challenge. And as prideful as she is, Toph can't help but huff indignantly. "Nobody picks /me/ up." All it takes is a slight twist of her foot. Underneath the glove, the earth moves into a small pillar that launches the glove up through the air. At the same time Toph is moving off to the side, extending her left hand and calling the metal towards her, while she keeps her right hand ready for when Jasper reacts. Sure, Peridot might be trusted enough to honour agreements... but the large quartz is a whole other matter!

Jasper (858) has posed:
     "Then you'll allow me to pass on the appropriate honours from Homeworld, won't you?!" Jasper snaps to Peridot. Her gem, set in the middle of her face, where her nose should be, glows bright and sets a wicked helmet atop her head. It's a weapon for crushing, not merely something to protect her head.

     Jasper leaps to the attack, not making any attempt to intercept the glove - grinning wickedly, she goes right for Toph, drawing one big fist back, a golden corona of energy buiilding around her limb! It looks like she's going to try and clean Toph up with a big right hook!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    When Jasper charges at her, Toph is already reacting. And it makes sense that she leaps straight for her, doesn't it? The earthbender throws her hand upwards, calling up an earthen wall to block the incoming attack. And as expected, Jasper is no weakling as her right hand utterly destroys the earthen wall. It lessens the attack somewhat, though it does send Toph flying backwards with a yelp as she tumbles, eventually landing on her feet again. As she does so she slams her right fist down into the ground, sending a series of earthen spikes towards Jasper.

    As for Peridot, she is safe from the earthen attack. "Great, another brainless brute... I've beaten guys like you before!" Toph calls at Jasper. Though, gems are way tougher than humans...

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "This is not--! Ahh!" Peridot gives a yelp as the fighting breaks out. She covers her head and starts running away. Which made Toph's job of not catching her in collateral damage all the easier. It wouldn't be wise for the self-proclaimed smartest gem on the planet to linger too closely to two brutish fighters. Each coming in their own special flavor of brute.

    "This is insubordination!" Peridot whined. But otherwise couldn't do much to stop it. She dared not attack Jasper over a matter such as this. The orange gem was the only true ally she had- save for Lapis. But, she couldn't bring herself to support Jasper in the fight either. She had made a deal... Either way It looked like Toph was on her own.

Jasper (858) has posed:
     The spikes rip out of the ground, coming right for Jasper. The first one catches her, biting deep, but Jasper simply strikes the other ones with huge, sweeping blows, sending rocky fragments spiralling in all directions. One of them, she headbutts, as if she's going to force it back into the ground.

     Jasper sets herself on both feet and suddenly glows, flaring golden. Her forms collapses on itself and she becomes little more than a whirling ball of energy, like a living buzzsaw, and she streaks towards Toph, like she's going to just run her over, leaving a glowing line as she goes - something that is, unfortunately, wholly lost on her blind opponent.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Man, she's like an oncoming freight train, isn't she? If this wasn't a serious fight then Toph might appreciate the fact that her opponent fights like a typical earthbender. Heck, she isn't even responding to the taunt!

    The rocks smash, and Toph frowns. Peridot is running off, though she seriously doubts that Jasper would stop attacking even if meant injuring her comrade. Besides, doing something like that would be cowardly and something weaklings did. While she doesn't like Peridot, she doesn't exactly hate her either.

    As Jasper lands and her form changes, Toph blinks in surprise, and she kicks the ground underneath her as she slides off to the side, just barely avoiding being struck by the dangerous attack. "HEY!" Okay, what's the deal, really? Toph kicks the ground again and brings both her arms up, and the earth shifts right where Jasper is sliding towards, aiming to launch her high up into the air.

Jasper (858) has posed:
     Jasper's humanoid form resolves out of her mad charge - arms, legs, feet, a head, hair - but she's not able to counteract Toph's attack. She's suddenly airborne, hurled through the air like a comet. She slams into a nearby cliffside, cracks spreading through the whole face, leaving a Jasper-sized imprint in the rock.

     Even from that high up, Toph can feel Jasper's eyes on her. She's still not done, it seems.

     Jasper launches herself out of the hole in the cliff, falling in a barely directed descent, leading with that prow on her helmet, like she's going to try and crush Toph beneath her forehead!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Even as Jasper slams into the cliffside, Toph doesn't seem to relax where she stands, swallowing. Just how the crud do you defeat somebody like that? It seems she has little choice unless she herself wants to be killed, because it does seem like Jasper is not pulling any punches here.

    While Jasper is up on the cliffside it seems she has bought herself a few seconds, so Toph throws her arms out to the side, and the earth around her responds, moving to wrap itself around her. The vibrations carry throughout the ground when Jasper launches herself back towards her, though Toph throws her arms forward, causing two of the injectors nearby to shift, the drills breaking off as they are thrown towards the large gem. If she manages to block or evade that attack, well... Toph will focus on keeping her defense tight. "What the crud do you want?!" she demands, not really sounding happy. This fight is not something she expected today.

Jasper (858) has posed:
     Jasper probably doesn't understand the concept of pulling punches. She lands hard, forming a new crater and kicking more dust and dirt into the air, obscuring the general area, leaving her little more than a hulking silhouette.

     One drill slams into her, and Jasper grips it with her hands. Then the second, and that one forces her down, crushing her beneath it. Her form flickers but, and it might be a surprise to Peridot, she doesn't poof out of existence. She's trapped, however - but who knows for how long.

     "When I get my hands on you!" Jasper snarls, the muscles in her arms bulging as she pits her strength against the weight of the drills...

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "No no no no!" Peridot waves her arms wildly from the side lines. "Not the injectors!" Robonoids were disposable... easy to replace. Injectors were a finite resource. Peridot could not easily make more without access to Homeworld.

    Peridot cups her hands by her mouth. "Don't break the injectors!" Any more damage, to Kindergarten and Peridot wouldn't be able to stand idily by and not pick a side. The fate of their species was at stake, afterall.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    For Toph it matters little if there's dirt and dust in the air, it's a tactic she often uses in a fight. But one thing is for certain, Jasper is built like a tank, but even she can be stopped with enough force applied it seems. And that it takes a great deal more to poof her.

    "That's not a complete sentence!" Toph snarks, "why are you attacking me? I just came for my glove, you nitwit."

    Though she hears Peridot's distress easily enough, and she points at Jasper. "Hey, she was coming at me, I was merely acting in self defense! Get her to back off, and I won't have to use them to defend myself," she states as a simple matter of fact. "Seriously, is she always acting like a rabid bull gator?"

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Peridot was unsure how to express just how much her hands were tied. She couldn't go into depth the nature of her command, the rank of a Jasper- how she couldn't turn on an ally over a matter like this. Not for Toph.

    "I can't!" She shouts back. "But if you keep destroying my equipment... I.." She squinted uneasily. "I'll have to help -her-!" She gestured helplessly. It wasn't that she abhorred violence. She saw it as a useful tool to get what she wanted. But this wasn't a fight she wanted.. and she knew it would cause further damage to Kindergarten.

Jasper (858) has posed:
     The drills groan as Jasper seems to find some way to lever her strength against them. She /pushes/, grinning widly, eyes alight with rabid battlelust. "That's right," Jasper says through gritted teeth, "Stay right there. Keep talking. I'll be free sooner or later, and then you'll see just how bull gator I can be!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    A sigh leaves Toph when Jasper talks, and she can hear just how eager she is to fight. So she extends one earth covered hand towards Jasper. The metal of the drills shift slightly, aiming to push the large gem further into the ground. Sure, she could try to bend the metal around her, but then Peridot would be inclined to act. And honestly, she didn't come here to fight, not today. "Heck, you seem to love fighting even more than I do..." Her focus returns to Peridot. "Anyway, I got my glove, you got home safely, so I'll head home myself now. My parents are probably waiting for me to get home in time for dinner. You should be able to fix the equipment easily enough, I didn't do anything but disconnect the drills. Bye!" With that the blind girl turns around, kicks the ground... and then rushes off towards the other cliffside... and up. Seems like she's not sticking around to finish the fight.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Peridot makes no move to stop her, to the contrary she seems relieved Toph is attempting to escape. She puts her hand to her chest and let's out a small sigh. A disconnected drill she could fix. It was the delicate inner workings. The gem producing parts. Those were irreplaceable without a jaunt back to Homeworld to replenish them.

    Carefully she poked her head over the rock, and waited to see what Jasper did next.

Jasper (858) has posed:
     The metal groans as Jasper hefts it on her back and shoulders, getting her knees beneath her. "You better run!" Jasper roars out, her shout punctuated by the sound of the first drill hitting the dirt. The second? Well, she's still got that balanced on her shoulders, held by her arms. "Run home to your 'parents'!" Hah! Whatever those are...

     With a roar, Jasper twists and hurls that drill at her shoulders to the ground. It's not a long way to fall for the equipment, not really, but between its weight and the force Jasper imparts to it... Well, it's one that Peridot won't so easily replace with the rest of the bit.

     Seething, Jasper turns back for the pod. She marches right by Peridot, probably assuming that the smaller, greener Gem will fall in line without issue.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The earthbender finishes making her way up the cliffside, and as she lands on both her feet the earthen armour crumbles around her. Though she does take the time to turn around, leaning forward as she places a hand to her mouth, her words echoing throughout Kindergarten. "I've got better stuff to do than to fight you right now, it's taco night!" No, she really doesn't care if Jasper thinks she's being cowardly. This is just being sensible when she wouldn't even let her know /why/ she began fighting her in the first place. If you're not fighting for something you should be fighting for fun, at least that's what Toph thinks.

    Hmm, at least the glove seems to be all right, she concludes as she inspects the glove, turning around where she's standing at the top of the cliff side. While she would never admit it to most people, she really missed the thing. And perhaps now she can finish the ending of the book she was reading.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Peridot seemingly deciding that the battle was over, strides forward. Her tiny little fist curled into balls. "What was that!?" She ask, furrowing her brows. "I had that under control! And look at this!" She gestures at the drill bit. "This is replaceable.. but, it's not easy! I don't exactly have a massive supply of carbonite lying around!" She presses her fingers into her temples.

    "She just wanted her junk and she'd be out of our hair! And where have you been!?" she points.

    "Do you know what I've been through?" She gestures at herself, looking rather bruised and bandaged. "I managed to talk my way out... but it wasn't easy! And the dirt wizard was helping me--!" She looks vaguely off in the direction Toph went.

Jasper (858) has posed:
     When Peridot looks back in Jasper's direction, the larger Gem is just /there/, looming over her, looking down at her across her gem. Evenly, Jasper asks, "Were you saying something, Peridot?" Evidently, all of Peridot's questions and comments have fallen on deaf - or uncaring - ears.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    A bead of sweat breaks on her forehead as a nervous expression falls across her face. Her lower lip stiffens. Much like before, she had to pick her battles. But it was the first time since they captured the Steven that she gave an order and it was directly defied by her escort.

    She rubs her arm. Pick her battles. The drill bit was not important. In the grand sceheme of things, the battle with Toph was of little consequence. A sport, if anything. But..

    "Where were you?" She ask in a more collected voice, her fingers gripped her own shoulder tightly. "I didn't even expect you to be here, I thought you would be out there looking for me."

Jasper (858) has posed:
     "I was indisposed," Jasper replies calmly. "You think I'd go look for one Gem amongst an entire Multiverse? No. I knew they'd bring you back or wish to ransom for you. So, the ship allowed me to keep watch and monitor the situation." Who knows if she's telling the truth.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "They were just as likely to bubble me and never let me go." She answers. Eventually moving to step up into the pod. "What could you possibly be indisposed with?"

    "Ugh.. nevermind."

    "That was a volatile situation, and you complicated it." She kept her own tone even and waited for Jasper to step in.

Jasper (858) has posed:
     "Shipboard security," Jasper replies simply, the catchall statement which Peridot might think really means 'I don't want to tell you'. She squeezes into the pod - it's a tight fit.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Did you at least safely store my limb enhancers? I'm sure they were damaged in all this." She seemed on edge. Her mind flashed momenterily to Pearl, of all gems. She saw how injured Peridot had been... the unmasked concern from an enemy. It was strange.

    "And are you even going to ask me if I'm okay?" Sass crept back into her voice. Jaspers lack of concern didn't fully mesh well with Peridot's self-importance world view. Her hand hesitated over the controls. Mostly because it felt weird directly interfacing with them with her actual hands. She had used her floating fingers for years. But eventually she keyed the commands to return them to the ship.

Jasper (858) has posed:
     Jasper gives Peridot a strange, uncomprehending look. It's flat, like she can't understand what she's hearing. "Yes," she tells her to the first question. To the second, Jasper eventually asks, "Why? I know you're a Peridot, but when did you become so /weak/? I see your body, your gem doesn't appear to be cracked - you're functional and you can do your job. That is, unless you're implying that you're unfit to perform your duties." Jasper fixes Peridot with a firm stare. "Are you unfit to perform your duties, Peridot?"

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Peridot's face scrunched up, as her cheeks turned a darker shade of green. She refocused on flying the pod. There was so much she wanted to say. She had been stabbed in the chest! She'd never been poofed before. She'd never been this close to the combat. Every part of her still ached from what Garnet did. She wanted to talk about it. but..

    She needed Lapis, and all she had was Jasper. And for some reason she couldn't quantify that made her angry.

    "I'm not weak!" She shoots back. For a brief moment she felt as though her job was holding her hostage. "And I am still fit. Everything around here would fall apart without me!" She proclaimed. "You'll do good to remember that, the next time you disobey a direct order."

Jasper (858) has posed:
     It's hard to tell what Jasper thinks, sometimes. Maybe she doesn't, maybe she essentially just operates on some threat recognition heuristic. Toph was a threat, so she acted. Peridot's threatening her idea of order, and so she reminds her of her place.

     "You're weaker than me," Jasper states, not looking at Peridot. "As far as I'm concerned, everything around here is falling apart regardless of your status."

     After that, with that simple comment, Jasper goes quiet, saying nothing more until the pod is back on the ship.