Steven and the gems had just finished several hours of dance practice.
"Great job everyone," Pearl said enthusiasticlly. "I know we didn't make any tangible progress in regards to fusion, but didn't we have fun?"
Steven and Amethyst agreed and Garnet nodded yes once.
"I'm glad you think so," Pearl continued, "because I'm thinking we make dance practice more of a regular thing."
"How regular?" Amethyst asked.
"Five days a week," Pearl said.
"Five days a week?!," Amethyst said in shock. "Why so much?"
"I have a reason for that," Pearl said. "I think it might help us be better prepared for what the Homeworld throws at us next. You remember how Jasper had a very low opinion about fusion?" The others nodded yes. "Now let's assume that Jasper had such a dismissive opinion because it's indicative of what the Homeworld now feels about fusion."
"I would assume that," Steven said in a confused tone, "if I knew what 'dismissive' or 'indicative' meant."
"Pearl's saying," Amethyst began, "that maybe Jasper didn't like fusion because everyone on the Homeworld doesn't like fusion anymore."
"Oh," Steven said in understanding.
I really hope he now knows what those words mean, Pearl thought, hoping she could expand Steven's vocabulary.
"But why wouldn't they like fusion?" Steven asked. "It's cool."
"I don't know, Steven," Pearl said. "Maybe because gem Technology's advanced so much, the Homeworld has decided to embrace it instead of the full range of gem abilities."
"That makes since," Amethyst said. "Without her gem disrupter thingie, Peridot was super easy to take down." The pudgy gem chuckled as she fondly remembered easily subduing the technologically-inclined gem.
"I didn't think about that, but you're right," Pearl continued as she put her hand under her chin, "From what little we saw of her, it would seem that Peirodot's abilities revolved around the manipulation of advanced gem tech."
"And Jasper didn't even seem to understand what fusion was," Garnet spoke up. "She thought it was only a way for two gems to become more powerful and thought that trying to get Lapis to hate us more than her was all it would take for them to successfully fuse."
"And look how that turned out," Amethyst said and then chuckled. Garnet cracked a smile at how Jasper's attempt to use fusion after badmouthing it backfired on her spectacularly. "But what does that have to do us upping dance practice to five days a week?"
"If the Homeworld doesn't use fusion," Pearl began, "mastering it will give us an advantage over them. And considering they have numbers and advanced technology on their side, it's an advantage we desperately need."
"There's just one small problem with your plan, Pearl," Amethyst said. "It's not gonna work."
"You're only saying that because you hate anything that involves hard work and practice," Pearl shot back.
"Not true," Amethyst countered. "I'm also saying it because as you and I are uncomfortably aware of, you can't always make a fusion happen by working at it." Amethyst then turned to Steven. "Didn't you think it was weird that Pearl and I can't become Opal whenever we want but you and Connie were able to fuse by accident?"
"Not until just now," Steven said.
Not sure how to proceed, Pearl decided to do what she usually did when having a disagreement on future plans with Amethyst.
"What do you think Garnet?" Pearl asked.
"You both make very good points," Garnet said as she adjusted her shades and looked at Amethyst. "You're right in that there is a track record of fusion not happening by working at it. And you're right," she said as she turned to Pearl and placed a hand on her shoulder, "about how fusion could be our best of leveling the playing field with the Homeworld. We'll do dance practice three days and week for a while and then see where that gets us."
"That sounds good," Pearl said as Garnet removed her hand. Unfortunately for Pearl, hearing Amethyst point out the holes in her plan mad her feel significantly less confident about it.
Maybe their technology had nothing to with it, Pearl thought. Maybe the Homeworld gave up on fusion because of its inability to yield consistent results.
Garnet walked up to a window and looked up at the sky. Even though she was her usual unexpressive self, the others could tell that she was deep in thought.
"It would seem that the Homeworld has become a much colder place it," Garnet said. "They have embraced technology and conquest and abandoned love. They must be stopped."
I could not agree with you more, Pearl thought. As much as she understood the Homeworld's hypothetical frustration with fusion and was impressed with their technology, what they were planning to do to Earth was wrong. I'm not sure how yet, but we're going to get better at fusion and protect this planet from their machinations. And Steven is going to be the key to their defeat.
Pearl had formed another theory that she decided to keep to herself for now. If Steven ever fused if one of them, the resulting fused gem would have their combined powers, the elders gem's millennia of experience and be part human, which would hopefully translate into a resistance to the Homeworld's anti-gem weaponry.
Such resistance has already saved us, Pearl thought. If Steven hadn't broken out of that cell, we'd all be on a one-way trip to the Homeworld. Pearl looked at Steven and thought about he has made great progress with his gem powers. She knew that with further practice and hopeful mastery of fusion that he would save the Earth. I believe in you, Steven.