Too late, in the moment of impact, EBL realized what was happening. The bet had never been on a Peridot being tougher than a Ruby - and they weren't - but on using Rubies as padding. They couldn't turn their heads to see what was about to happen, they couldn't brace, they couldn't put up a fight! The element of surprise had been part of the maneuver all along, and so long as the Peridot knew where she was going…

It was something an Era 1 Gem would never need to come up with, and something an Era 2 Gem would absolutely have to. EBL, with all her combat experience, never saw it coming. Through diluted consciousness EBL felt a sense of ...satisfaction?

Why? she wondered.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Even though she knew what to expect, Peridot felt her nonexistent solid-light internal organs rattle at the moment of impact.

Then she saw stars. Pretty, twinkling stars. "Oooohhhhhh stars," she thought.

She had a pretty good idea of how resilient she was, and also how tough Rubies were, but the maneuver had answered a risky question: would a Straight Flush of Rubies be enough to cushion her impact?

Short answer: Yes. (Long answer: 'Brain Not Working, Try Again Later'.)

Peridot had regained consciousness - and not much else. This appeared to still be more than what the Rubies had, from what she could see through hazy vision. But, by the look of it, the maneuver had succeeded: the six of them were all in a straight line.

Bit by bit, she forced her arm over to the Negotiator in its holster, preparing for her last move. Her lifeless hand and fingers were unwillingly dragged back into service and made to grip, then lift, then aim. "Final Crash," she mumbled.

"FINAL-CRASH," it responded. The Diplomat's vertices, unaffected by the severe G-forces, instantly whipped into a straight, glowing line extending from the pistol's muzzle.

Gathering all the strength she had left, she pulled the trigger.

ZZZZzznnNN

The green rods, originally Limb Enhancer fingers that Lapis had been able to find, burst out and tunnelled through the Rubies. In a blink they had embedded themselves inside the Rubies, one by one, like lances in dragons - dematerializing their physical forms one by one.

poof

poof

poof

poof

And then, only EBL remained, slumped on the ground with a glowing green rod still piercing her upper abdomen. "...rematch," she groaned, head tilted up slightly.

Peridot slumped down onto a knee. "...someday," she replied. "Maybe."

"Daytime. No tricks - ergh - no backup. Just... just you, and me."

What little strength she clearly had left, the Ruby had decided to devote to a conversation. Not materialize her knife, not curse her existence - words. It was, Peridot thought, something from an older time. "I heard... what you said... to DCC, was it? 'Lim- haah - limitless courage..."

"So... you were... listening…?"

"I don't know... what Peridots have..." She took a deep breath, and forced her tongue to work. "But you saw it. Here. Tonight."

EBL began to chuckle. Her grimace folded up into a smile, and with pained effort she reached out with a weak hand - pointing at Peridot's face before resting it on her shoulder. "Always remember that, soldier," she whispered.

POOF

The smoke gradually dissipated, revealing a clear night as Peridot collapsed down onto her back. She raised her free hand up in a fist - defiant, proud the moon could see her victorious.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Perry~"

She heard a voice.

"Perry-Dee~"

That voice again.

"Aw, Peridot's sleeping. Don't wake her up..."

A different voice. Two voices. Familiar ones.

"Well she fell asleep in her clothes. C'mon, Perry, it's morning already! Wake up, ya towhead!"

Friends.

She opened her eyes.

"Hey Peridot," Steven said. "I didn't want to wake you - I thought you said you never sleep?"

"Nah," Lapis said, "she sleeps more than I do."

Peridot pushed herself up and looked around. They were inside the barn, right in the middle of it - and above her were five freshly bubbled Gems, her bubbles. She remembered pulling together enough energy to bubble/send them, but not dragging herself back into the barn.

Flopped onto the ground next to her friends, she basically had no powers whatsoever. She shouldn't have been able to win. But she'd needed to, and in response she'd drawn something out from herself. Whatever it was - Genius? Potential? Abnormal Survivability? - the proof was in the bubbles along the roof beams.

Her body felt heavy. The previous night felt like a dream and sleep a delicious parfait. But Lapis was right: she had fallen asleep in her 'clothes', and at the very least she needed to change. Before that, though, she pointed up and smiled. "Hey, uh... Remember those Rubies from before?"

Though, as they looked up, she felt like she'd already changed.