"Do you think you can summon your own weapon?"
Opal raised her eyes to the pink-haired Quartz, dipping her head to smell a blossoming flower. She remained on the ground, her legs crossed, fingers laced in her lap. "I don't know. I've barely come to myself."
"Well, you— Pearl and Amethyst have weapons, don't they?" she asked, hopefully, and gazed at the rose in thought.
"Yes . . . I think so," the fusion mulled. "And of course. Amethyst is a Quartz, and Pearls are manufactured to protect their owners in extreme circumstances."
Rose turned away from the blossoming bush and crouched down. "May I see them?"
The fusion nodded, activating her gemstones and drawing from them a pearlescent spear and crystal-studded whip.
Rose gasped in delight and took them into her hands. "A spear! And look at this whip! Three tails — what a rarity."
Opal coloured. "It's really nothing special."
"Of course it is!" Rose gushed. "Quartzes most often share weapon choice with Rubies! — the only other Gem I've ever seen with one of these is an Agate. Amethyst is one special Gem." She paused for a moment, brow furrowing as her eyes drifted over the weapons. "Perhaps you can . . . combine them?"
"I . . . I could try," the fusion admitted, and gently took the weapons back. Using her second pair of hands to push herself to her feet, she straightened, and tried to piece them together.
Needless to say, that didn't work.
She tried again, and then, upon Rose's suggestion, crashed them together in some attempt of force-fusion. The weapons defiantly kept their form.
"Ah, well . . . that's alright," Rose soothed. "I'm sure that even without a fusion weapon, you'll be just as amazing with the original ones."
At that moment, a cry echoed from beyond the clearing.
In a flash of light, Rose was wielding her sword and hefting her shield in front of her.
"Stay here," she told the fusion. "I'll be back as soon as I can. If they get past us, hide."
And in a flutter of skirts and ringlets, she shot into the air and disappeared beyond the canopy.
Opal now stood in the middle of the fray, berating herself. Her Quartz side had compelled her to join the fight and protect her friends, and now she hadn't the faintest idea how to help.
Avoiding attacks was no problem. With her newfound increased agility and speed, she could easily sidestep most offences, but that wasn't exactly helping the Crystal Gems. Standing tall, she scanned the turmoil, sighting a flash of pink in the distance.
Rose.
Steeling herself, she took running start and entered a flying leap. She flew through the air, ponytail trailing behind her, and landed softly on a small patch of vacant earth.
The Quartz was nowhere to be seen. Turning, she glimpsed the flash of her tailored sword over the heads of the battling Gems, and sighed, running back the way she had come.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a huge orange Gem ploughing towards her, and executed a series of graceful flips, landing right next to the renegade Sapphire.
"Opal!"
Rose's panicked cry was cut short as the clash of combat filled the air. The fusion whipped around.
Rose was holding her own against a barrage of military Gems, straining to uphold her expansive shield. The look she shot her over her shoulder was fearful.
"I told you to stay hidden!"
Opal said nothing, instead summoning her spear and whip and bending her knees.
A few paces to the left, a Gem disappeared in a cloud of residue, and the fusion launched her spear at the attacker, poofing her, and darted over to snatch up the gems. She paused for a moment, contemplating, before phasing them through her forehead gem and whirling back to her companions.
"Sapphire, stay behind me," Rose ordered, and the smaller Gem scampered up to her, the two almost immediately enveloped in a big, pink bubble. The shield dissipated, and the crush of Gems swarmed around the bubble, hacking at it with clunky weapons.
From where she stood, Opal noticed Sapphire cuddling closer to their leader, bunching her fists in her skirts, and murmuring something. Seemingly in reply, Rose nodded and, gritting her teeth with effort, thrust her arms out, expanding and popping the bubble and sending the crowd flying.
They immediately disappeared from view in another onslaught of Gems.
Something flashed in Opal's periphery and in a split second flipped herself into the air and over the newest wave of Gems. Landing gracefully and turning, she found a befuddled green Gem staring at her, weapon idle in their hands.
Back to back with her leader, Opal skilfully lassoed with her whip and thrust with her spear, driving Gems back into the fray. Minutes seemed to blur as they circled together, advancing on the enemy's frontline.
"Ah!— No! Please!"
Opal's gaze darted to a small blue Gem in a faraway clearing, lined with ice. Her eyes flared as she noticed the Hessonite standing above her, brandishing an effervescent sword.
"Sapphire," Rose gasped behind her, having heard the call. "Sapphire! Where are you?"
The faraway Gem's palm glinted as she raised it in defence.
Opal hurriedly calculated the distance between them and glanced down at her weapons. There are too many Gems — I can't make it in time. Looking up, she saw others advancing on her friend. Spears are single use. I can't use them.
There was no time to think. Without even considering what she was doing, Opal threw her arms up and brought her weapons together in a blaze of light. Following the feeling simmering in her gems, she brought the thing down, steadying it with two straight arms, and pulled back the newly viable string.
She zeroed in on her target and bit her lip, bringing a blaze of energy forward, manifesting it against the thing in her hands. Hands buzzing with energy, she saw the Hessonite's sword slash down, and released the string—
A blazing arrow arced over the sea of Gems and, seemingly of its own accord, split into a dozen smaller shards, fishtailing off into different directions and impacting multiple Gems. They all froze for a moment, seemingly holding their breath, and then Opal's vision was obscured by a huge shimmering cloud.
When the residue cleared, she pinpointed Sapphire shivering on the ground, surrounded by sweeps of blade-like icicles.
Multiple gems glinted on the ground around her.
"You were amazing."
Rose pressed a final kiss to the top of Sapphire's head and turning, smiling warmly at Opal. There was a hint of flush on her cheeks. "Thank you. I'm sorry I doubted you."
"I can't blame you," she replied, still dazed. "I would have doubted me, too."
There was a moment of silence.
"Thank you."
Opal's eyes dropped to Sapphire, nestled in the grass. The Gem tilted her head and her fringe shifted, revealing one big, blue eye. "Thank you for saving me."
After a surprised pause, Opal quirked her lips in return. "You're welcome."
"We need to move out," Rose said, and stood. "The others are recovering over there. I'll go tell them we're leaving."
"Wait."
Rose stopped in her tracks and turned. Sapphire gazed timidly up at her.
"Please . . . I need to rest. I think . . . we all should rest."
Rose looked skeptical. "We can't. We're not safe here."
"I agree with Sapphire," Opal intervened, and the two shot her surprised looks. "Everyone needs a rest. The Homeworld forces know where we are, but it will be a while before their troops get back to report, and even longer before they send another battalion. We're safe for the next few days."
Rose paused, glancing at Sapphire, Opal, and then back at the collected Crystal Gems. After a moment, she sighed. "Alright, but we need to find some shelter."
"Thank you," the fusion smiled, and Rose replied with a good-natured nod before moving off to the others.
Opal and Sapphire were left alone.
The fusion lowered herself onto the grass and crossed her legs. Feeling someone's gaze on her, she glanced over at the smaller Gem.
Sapphire averted her gaze and flushed, ducking her head. Her fringe fell back to cover her eye.
Opal smiled and laid back in the grass, giving a contented sigh. Focusing on the heat of the dappled sunlight dancing across her skin, she closed her eyes and drifted off to the sound of the breeze-ruffled trees.
PROMPT: "Please do a chapter of Opal fighting against homeworld gems during the gem civil war" — for HT Guest on FanFiction! Hope you enjoyed! :)
