SHORT FUSE
Two days had passed since the accident with the drill that the Crystal Gems and Peridot were building in order to reach the Earth's core and get rid of the Cluster. Steven and Peridot were once again relegated to the simple job of separating the parts they would need to fix the drill, though Peridot had finally been allowed to be free from the leash.
There had been some discussion on whether this was the best course of action—Pearl had argued that the accident was just another reason to restrain the troublesome green Gem, while Garnet had decided that they owed Peridot for protecting Amethyst and that they should take precautions so that if another accident happened, no one would get hurt because they were restrained. (Maybe she had Seen a possible future in which Peridot had been unable to save Amethyst and was a little rattled by it?)
Still, the incident had made Pearl a little neurotic and now she didn't want to let anyone else near the drill. Not Amethyst. Not Peridot. Not even Garnet. And especially not Steven.
Steven didn't mind. Despite this setback, he was certain that everything would be all right in the end. Besides, the incident had helped Amethyst and Peridot bond, which made him very happy. Soon enough, everyone would be friends and save the Earth together. Then they could go out for pizzas and maybe he could even get Peridot to watch Crying Breakfast Friends with him and the Crystal Gems.
However, despite his good mood and hopeful plans for the future, Steven could feel that the atmosphere around him was a little heavy. It seemed that Peridot wasn't as keen about her assigned task. She kept grumbling about cocky pearls and overbearing permafusions, and how absurd it was that she, a natural technician, had made such a stupid mistake and how humiliating it was to be kept from working directly on the construction of the drill. Steven tried to cheer her up, but it didn't really work. The only times when she seemed a little less grumpy was when Amethyst came to fetch some parts at Pearl's request.
A shadow was suddenly looming over Steven and he looked up to see Garnet, who was supposedly looking back at him through her shades. Steven smiled at her.
"Hey, Garnet! What's up?" he asked.
"Just checking up on you," she replied, her voice cool and warm at the same time, the perfect blend of two opposites that Steven had only begun to understand after he had met Ruby and Sapphire. "Is everything all right?"
"Yep! We're fine. I've been telling Peridot about The Unfamiliar Familiar."
"Hmm."
"I don't think she was interested, though," he admitted, stealing a glance at Peridot, who was unusually quiet, her head bowed as she went on with her task and pretended Steven and Garnet weren't there.
"Are you hungry? I can get you some pizza," Garnet offered.
"Not right now, thanks!" said Steven, smiling brightly. Garnet must have Seen his plans to eat pizza through her future-vision. "I'm not that hungry yet. Besides, I'd rather eat it at home with you guys."
"All right, then," said Garnet, giving him a small, fond smile. "I'll go and see if Pearl needs anything." With that, she turned around and left.
"Okay!" Steven called out. Then, he looked at Peridot to make another comment about one of his favorite book series. The expression he saw on her face gave him pause, though.
Now that Garnet had her back to them, Peridot was openly glaring at her. Her eyes were filled with anger and resentment, but Steven could also see fear in them.
"I don't know why you hate Garnet and fusion so much," he said sadly. "I think it's amazing."
"It's not that I hate fusion," growled Peridot, her eyes focusing on her work again, although her heart clearly wasn't into it. "I just think it's inappropriate to stay fused all the time."
"But why is it a bad thing?" Steven pressed. "She's not doing any harm."
"That's part of the problem!" Peridot snapped, finally dropping the parts she had been fiddling with to throw her arms up in frustration. "She's not doing any harm, and yet I keep expecting her to! It's unnerving!"
"I don't understand," Steven admitted, feeling a little stupid. "Why do you expect her to hurt you? Is it because she poofed you before?"
Peridot heaved a sigh, her frown deepening as she took a moment to think. "Let me put it this way. How would you feel if I kept my laser cannon pointed at you all the time? Even when we weren't in a fight? Even when you weren't even looking at me, just trying to mind your own business?"
Steven briefly imagined that scenario. "I guess that would make me a little uncomfortable."
"That's exactly what being in a fusion's presence feels like to me," she said somberly. "Fusion is a battle technique. It's a living weapon. A war machine."
Although he realized that Peridot was spelling it out for him, if anything he was even more confused. It was true that Pearl had often told him that Gems normally only fused in very dangerous situations, but that just didn't match his experiences.
"Maybe that's how fusion works on Homeworld," Steven conceded. "But here on Earth, fusion can be used for other things that have nothing to do with fighting." He began to count on his fingers. "For example, there's Alexandrite, the Crystal Gems' fusion, who was formed just to have dinner with Connie's family... and Sugilite and Sardonyx—those are Garnet and Amethyst and Garnet and Pearl fused—they just destroyed the communication hub, and Sardonyx liked to tell jokes, too... And my dad told me about Rainbow Quartz! Pearl and my mom fused just to dance and make his video clip cooler," he rambled on, ignoring Peridot's expression of utter lack of understanding. "Oh, and there's Stevonnie! That's my fusion with Connie!"
"Wait, wait," she interrupted him. "You have fused? But you're a half-organic hybrid! How is that possible?" she inquired, fretting.
"Pretty cool, right?" said Steven, feeling proud of his unique fusion. "I think it's because Connie is a human and we're best friends."
"You fused with a human?!" Peridot shouted. "That makes even less sense!"
Steven could only shrug. He was just as clueless about the technicalities of gem-human fusion. He didn't even know exactly how gem-gem fusion worked.
"And of course, there's Garnet," he went on. "She's the fusion between Ruby and Sapphire. They're so close that they can't stand to be apart. That's why they're fused all the time. They love each other. Garnet is a fusion born of love." Steven felt his heart warm at the very thought and smiled at Peridot. "That's why you don't need to be scared of Garnet just because she's a fusion! She doesn't do it to intimidate you, and she only fights when she has to!"
He had hoped that his long speech would have reassured Peridot and helped her understand that things on Earth were different from Homeworld. However, he was dismayed to see that not only did Peridot look even more confused than before, she looked downright miserable. Steven had no idea where he had gone wrong.
"I still don't understand," she finally admitted. "How is that supposed to be a good thing?"
"What do you mean?" Steven asked, feeling like he and Peridot were speaking different languages. "Love is always a good thing, isn't it?"
"Not between Gems," Peridot said somberly.
"Huh?"
"Love between Gems is taboo on Homeworld," Peridot clarified. "I suppose it's not that unusual, but it's not something that you can openly talk about, let alone display in public, especially if the Gems involved are from different classes and the hierarchy gap is too large."
"Oh... I had no idea that was how Homeworld felt about love," said Steven. "Garnet and Pearl never told me. Ruby and Sapphire always show a lot of affection for each other in front of me when they're split up, and I'm pretty sure Pearl loved my mom, too." Steven wasn't really sure if Pearl's love for Rose Quartz had been platonic or romantic, and he tried not to dwell on it too much, if only because it was a whole other can of worms.
"Well, maybe things used to be different," Peridot conceded. "They're both a lot older than me, from what I gathered. I've read some reports that mentioned that several millennia ago, fusion was considered the ultimate connection between Gems. I didn't look further into it, though. I wasn't interested in that topic."
"I think it's sad that Gems aren't allowed to express love openly and that fusion is just a battle strategy on modern Homeworld," said Steven, giving Peridot an apologetic look, hoping his opinion wouldn't offend her. "How can something so beautiful and awesome be a bad thing?"
"It's just how our culture evolved," Peridot replied nonchalantly. "I'm sure there were also some customs that humans found acceptable millennia ago and that are forbidden nowadays."
"I guess," said Steven. Peridot might have a point there, but it didn't really make him feel better. "I still think it's a shame, though. Fusion is really cool!" He remembered the feeling of being fused with Connie and felt sorry that modern Gems on Homeworld were missing out on such an amazing experience. This train of thought made him realize something. "Peridot... you've never fused, have you?"
"Of course not," she scoffed. "I'm a technician, not a soldier. I have never had either the permission or the need to fuse."
"Do you even know how to fuse?"
Peridot actually looked a little flustered and avoided his gaze.
"Fusion is still permitted to non-warrior classes in life-or-death situations," she explained, seemingly stalling her answer to Steven's question. "We are taught the mechanics of it before we are assigned to our first off-planet mission. It's standard safety policy, just like learning how to use a destabilizer or how to find emergency exits or escape pods. But no one really expects to ever need to do it. It's only a last resort."
"So you're not even sure you know how to do it?" Steven concluded, summing up Peridot's explanation.
"Knowing something in theory and putting it to practice are two very different things," she defended. "Trust me, I'm an engineer, I would know."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Steven nodded. He remembered his training to become a Crystal Gem. The Gems had tried to teach him how to summon his weapon and how to fuse, but in the end, those were things he had only really learned in practice.
"You know, if the Cluster is as dangerous as it seems, there's a chance that the Crystal Gems will need to fuse to fight it," Steven suggested. "You should try fusing with one of them! It could save your life, you know!" Mostly, Steven just wanted to see another cool fusion, but he couldn't tell Peridot that. Also, maybe if she fused at least once in her life, she would see how wonderful it felt and feel more at ease around Garnet.
Meanwhile, Peridot actually seemed to be giving it some thought, although she looked less than thrilled with the idea.
"I suppose what you say makes sense," she began, then shook her head. "But it would take too long and it's unlikely that the situation would degenerate to that point. I'm sure those Crystal Clods can handle it while you and I stay back to monitor the situation."
"Whaaat? I don't want to just sit back and watch!" Steven protested. "I'm a Crystal Gem, too! I want to help!"
"That would be very reckless of you," she said, looking genuinely disturbed at the thought of Steven taking part in such a dangerous battle. "Although you're a Quartz, your half-human condition makes you very vulnerable. Besides, your abilities are mostly defensive."
"Maybe you could fuse with Pearl!" Steven suggested, paying no mind to what Peridot had just said. He was too busy picturing the hypothetical fusion in his mind. "You're both smart, so I bet your fusion would be really, really smart! I bet you guys would even be able to read minds and move things just by looking at them!"
"I would rather be shattered than fuse with a Pearl, especially that Pearl," said Peridot with venom, throwing a dirty look in Pearl's direction. Said Pearl just kept working on the drill, blissfully unaware of their conversation.
Before Steven could jump to Pearl's defense again, Amethyst showed up, munching on a burrito that was hopefully still relatively fresh.
"Hey, guys!" she greeted them with her mouth full. "What are you talking about?"
"Hey, Amethyst!" replied Steven cheerfully. "We're talking about fusion! Peridot has never fused before."
"What, really? Never?" Amethyst looked at Peridot for confirmation. When the green Gem didn't deny it, Amethyst snorted in amusement. "Oh, c'mon, even Steven has done it! Even Connie, and she's not even a Gem!"
"So I have been informed," said Peridot dryly. "No need to rub it in."
"Hey, chill up," said Amethyst, raising her free hand in an appeasing gesture. "It's okay; fusion can be hard. But that's what makes it so cool when you can finally do it!"
"Cool..." Peridot repeated under her breath, seeming to mull over Amethyst's words.
Maybe it was a trick of the light, but Steven thought Peridot's face suddenly looked like it had turned a darker shade of green around her cheeks. Suddenly, for some reason, he was reminded of when Peridot had saved Amethyst from the drill, which gave him a great idea.
"I know!" he exclaimed, starry-eyed, and the two Gems looked at him inquisitively. "Peridot, you should try fusing with Amethyst! She's not as busy as Pearl right now, so she can help! Right, Amethyst?"
The purple Gem looked unusually flustered at first as she and Peridot stared into each other for a moment, taking in Steven's idea. However, she quickly recovered and looked cool.
"Sure, I guess," she said, laughing a little and shrugging. "It could be fun to try. What do you think, Peridot? Can I be your fusion partner?"
Okay, this time Peridot definitely looked a lot greener in the face.
"Y-yes, I suppose that would be acceptable," said Peridot, looking nervous.
"Just promise me you won't turn me into a nerd," Amethyst teased. Without waiting for a response, she threw the rest of her burrito into her mouth and swallowed it whole. Peridot just watched her in fascinated horror.
"Great!" said Steven. "So, how do we start? Peridot said she took theoretical fusion lessons back on Homeworld, so she just needs practice."
"Pfft! Of course she did. Nerd!" Amethyst remarked, rolling her eyes. "Fusion isn't something you can learn from books," she told Peridot. "It's all about feeling. You have to let yourself go and just focus on being one with the Gem you're fusing with. Translating to your nerd-speak, you have to—how do Garnet and Pearl say it?—synchronize the frequencies of your gems. That's why we dance. Dancing isn't always needed, but it makes it much easier to synchronize."
"Ruby and Sapphire are so tuned in to each other that they don't even have to dance," Steven piped in, addressing Peridot. "They can fuse by just holding each other."
"Yeah, and they make a really stable fusion," Amethyst added, apparently enjoying the fact that someone was actually listening to her, hanging on to her every word. "Garnet can stay fused for a long time, while Opal will split up as soon as she feels any sort of conflict between me and Pearl."
"I see," said Peridot, although she didn't sound too sure of herself.
Amethyst clapped her hands once, going from lecturer-mode to coach-mode. "Okay, let's see what you got. Show me your dance steps!"
Peridot hesitated for a moment before she stood up from her sitting position on the ground. She stood awkwardly for another moment, looking very much out of her element. Steven and Amethyst waited patiently, both giving her reassuring and encouraging smiles.
Slowly, stiffly, Peridot bowed to an imaginary partner. The gem on her forehead didn't glow, though that was to be expected, since Peridot wasn't initiating an actual fusion, but merely demonstrating what she had learned about fusion dance back on Homeworld.
Then, she seemed to hold her imaginary partner and looked at her feet, counting, "Right. One, two, three. Stop. Left. One, two, three. One, two—no, wait, wrong gravity connector! One, two, three, twirl!" She made a very pathetic and clumsy attempt at imitating one of Pearl's graceful ballerina twirls and ended up losing her balance. She yelped as she fell face first on the grass.
Steven thought there was something both familiar and strange about the scene he had just witnessed. Familiar because it reminded him of his own fusion dance lessons with the Crystal Gems, in which he had tried to copy each of their styles and failed miserably every time. The strange part was that Peridot's dance... didn't look like a dance at all. Steven couldn't decide if Peridot was just really bad at dancing or if the dance itself was flawed on a fundamental level. He looked at Amethyst to see her reaction, but the purple Gem looked about as confused as him.
"What on Earth was that?" she asked, her tone a little bit exasperated. "Is that what Homeworld calls dancing these days? Or did you just make this up on the spot?"
"These were the steps that were taught to my class," replied Peridot, picking herself off the ground. "Since it's been a while, it took me a moment to remember them, but I didn't make anything up."
"Wait, don't tell me this is a standard choreography that some schmuck who probably never fused in her life taught you and a bunch of other Gems with diagrams."
"All right, I won't tell you," said Peridot, looking completely lost.
Amethyst just stared at Peridot, seemingly trying to decide how serious the technician was being.
"Man!" she sighed heavily, blowing her bangs from her eyes in a show of frustration. "You'll never fuse if you dance like that! Forget everything they taught you about fusion dance. It's all wrong."
"What do you mean, it's wrong?!" Peridot asked, completely bewildered. "There have been several research works about the most efficient method of fusion! Each step was carefully and scientifically studied and analyzed! I read some of those reports myself."
Amethyst was yawning during the last part of Peridot's tirade. She gave the green Gem a lazy, uncaring look.
"Yeah, I get it, you like reading reports," she said, making a dismissive gesture with her hand. "But have you ever actually seen anyone fuse with that method? Have you seen it with your own eyes?"
"N-no," Peridot admitted, flushing dark green in embarrassment. "But I knew a Peridot who told me she had seen—" she was interrupted when Amethyst blew a raspberry, once again rolling her eyes.
"Okay, lesson number one," said Amethyst, looking like her temper was beginning to rise. "Forget everything Homeworld taught you. They don't see fusion the same way we do, so I don't want to hear any more about it. Let's start over, from square one." She paused to breathe out a heavy sigh, looking almost regretful. "Maybe I'm the wrong Gem for this. You should ask Garnet—"
"NO!" Peridot's sudden vehemence actually made Steven and Amethyst jump in fright. "I don't want Garnet to teach me," she elaborated, looking at Amethyst with fiery determination in her visor-covered eyes. "I want you to teach me! You're a Quartz, a natural soldier, and you obviously have a lot of experience and know what you're talking about!"
This time, it was Amethyst who was blushing. Steven took notice of this, though he wisely remained in silence. It wasn't often that Amethyst got so much praise and admiration, especially coming from another Gem.
"O-okay, if you insist," said Amethyst, attempting an uncaring shrug, but it didn't really help her hide how flattered she felt.
"Yeah! Go, Amethyst!" Steven cheered her on, intent on supporting both Peridot's choice of a fusion tutor and Amethyst herself, who—Steven knew all too well—had some deep-seated self-esteem issues despite her cool facade. These two Gems needed all the moral support they could get and Steven would do his best to provide it.
Amethyst preened a little, tossing her long locks of hair over her shoulder before looking at Peridot again. "When we were trying to teach Steven how to fuse, we actually learned something ourselves; no one can tell you how to dance. You have to figure out your own style."
"Well, that's helpful," Peridot replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Amethyst didn't seem to take offense, though. "We can help you find the dancing style that works for you, though. Steven, let's go back to the Temple. We'll get a nice soundtrack for our homegirl."
Steven grinned. This was going to be so much fun!
xxx
"I'm not sure we should be here," Peridot grumbled for the millionth time. She was currently sitting on Steven's couch while Amethyst got some furniture out of the way. "We should go back just in case we need to help with the drill. Pearl may be more competent than I initially thought, but she can't possibly handle it all by herself."
"She said she'd be fine!" Amethyst reassured her. "She can handle it for a couple of hours, at least."
At that moment, Steven ran down the small flight of stairs that connected his bedroom to the living room. He was carrying an old CD player under one arm and a box full of CDs under the other arm.
"Okay, I got as many music genres as I could find!" he announced, setting the CD player down on the floor. "I thought we could start with some disco, because that's the closest thing to Amethyst's style and she can show you how she dances."
"Yeah, good idea!" Amethyst smiled in approval. "She needs to know how I dance anyway, so that she can sync with it."
Peridot said nothing, just watched with a little trepidation as Steven put on the CD with disco music.
The upbeat song started playing. At first, Amethyst just snapped her fingers and bobbed her head to the rhythm, her eyes closed.
Then, as she slowly immersed herself in the music, she started shaking her hips, then her shoulders, and soon her whole body was moving. Peridot's eyes widened as she watched Amethyst run a hand through her hair and then turn around to shake her rear at her, throwing the green Gem a rather suggestive look. Peridot frowned and blushed, wondering if this really was all part of the dance or if Amethyst was making fun of her.
The song eventually ended and both Steven and Amethyst turned to stare expectantly at Peridot.
"So, what do you think?" Steven inquired.
Peridot cleared her throat, making sure to weigh her words before opening her mouth. She didn't want to risk upsetting Amethyst again.
"It sounds... nice, but I don't think it's my style," she said, hoping that sounded diplomatic enough. Fortunately for her, the two kept smiling. Steven nodded, as though he had been expecting her response.
"Yeah, I didn't think it was, but at least now you know how Amethyst dances."
Amethyst didn't say anything, just folded her arms and winked at Peridot, who once again was thrown off by the strangely suggestive gesture.
"Since you're an intellectual Gem like Pearl, maybe you'll like her kind of music," Steven went on, switching the CDs.
Peridot listened quietly as a very soothing song started playing. It sounded a lot more harmonious than the previous song, but also a lot more melancholic.
Steven got up from the ground and started dancing. Or trying to dance. It was quite obvious that this wasn't Steven's style, either. The dance was supposed to look as elegant as the song sounded, but Steven's chubby body just wasn't built for that much elegance.
"So?" Amethyst prompted once the song was over and Steven finally tripped on his own feet and fell down.
Peridot hummed. "It sounded a little too fancy for me. And a little boring, to be quite honest."
"Pfft! We can both agree on that one!" said Amethyst.
Meanwhile, Steven was already switching CDs again. "Maybe some jazz? It's smoother than disco, but more upbeat than classical music!"
Peridot bobbed her head slightly at the rhythm, although her expression remained neutral. Her right hand was tapping on her knee.
"This isn't so bad," she said, making Steven grin. However, she shook her head again. "I don't think it's quite the right one for me, though."
"Maybe you'll like rock," said Steven.
"I don't know what that sounds like, but the name does suggest it would be appropriate for a Gem," commented Peridot.
"There are several kinds of rock music," Steven explained. "My dad used to play rock, back when he was a one-man band. That's how he met my mom. She really liked rock. All kinds of it, even hard rock, which I admit isn't for everyone. Here, I'll put some of my mom's favorite songs on."
For the next couple of hours, Steven kept putting on several CDs with different kinds of music. Peridot's reactions continued to range from mild interest to outright dislike. Sometimes, Amethyst or Steven would dance to give her a better idea about the music playing, but none really caught the picky technician's interest.
Despite the continued rejection, Steven and Amethyst were having fun. It felt like a nice small break from all the stress of learning about the Cluster and helping build the drill. Peridot's patience, on the other hand, was running thin. She started to grumble about how pointless this was and how they were just wasting time.
"Let's see... What kind of music sounds like Peridot's style?" Steven wondered under his breath.
"Well, she's a big nerd, so... I don't know, anime songs? Star Trek?"
"Amethyst, that's not funny!" Steven tapped his chin and hummed, deep in thought, as he looked at the remaining CDs in the cardboard box. Then, his face lit up. "Oh, I know! Let's try some techno!"
"Techno? That should be interesting," commented Peridot, although she still looked bored. She fell silent when the music started playing.
It actually was interesting. The music had a nice, steady beat that felt oddly familiar. If she closed her eyes, she could even picture herself back on Homeworld, at her usual work station, or maybe on board of one of her ships in space, blissfully alone, surrounded by nothing but machines, holo-screens, and the stars. No wonder it was called "techno". The music really reminded her of all her tech. It was repetitive, mechanical, predictable. It felt safe and comforting.
Without quite realizing it, she had gotten up from the couch for the first time since this whole music session had begun. Her eyes were still closed; she was still lost in her fantasies of being back to her routine, back to normalcy, logic, order, predictability. All she saw were codes, all she heard were beeps and the whirring of her flawless machines and her robonoids. She moved her arms and legs, feeling again the weight of her limb enhancers on them. Her floating fingers wiggled and moved around, controlling her screens, controlling her machines, controlling her ship. She was in full control.
Her forehead tingled, her gem seeming to fill her up with warmth. The sensation was unexpected, however, and she reluctantly opened her eyes just a little, enough to see Amethyst in front of her.
Amethyst was dancing. In her own way, of course, to her own music. Her movements were erratic, frenetic, much faster and more fluid than Peridot's, but Peridot couldn't tear her eyes off. It was almost hypnotic, the way Amethyst's long hair accompanied her movements, lashing back and forth, majestic as a true Quartz. Although she was short and a little chubby, her body was flexible, the sway of her hips unusually graceful for her.
Amethyst opened her eyes just a bit as well and their gazes met. She smiled at Peridot, who found herself smiling back. Peridot then noticed that Amethyst's gem was glowing. Before she could ponder this, Amethyst pounced on her, their foreheads bumping slightly against each other. Despite Peridot's surprise at the unexpected gesture, she laughed a little. Amethyst laughed as well, even louder.
Then the whole room disappeared into light.
xxx
Steven had stars in his eyes as he looked on in utter amazement and delight while a green light and a purple light swirled around and melted into each other. They had done it! He hadn't actually expected to make this much progress in just one day, but they had done it!
He waited with bated breath as the green and purple light faded and a single Gem became visible. Steven stared at her in wonder. She wasn't a very big fusion, only a little bigger than Garnet, but she had a nicely toned body, neither too thin nor too thick. She had two eyes and four arms. Her skin was green with spots of purple that almost looked like tattoos, and her hair was light purple with a few green locks. Steven could see that the top of it was a slight triangular shape like Peridot's, but the fusion's hair was long, reaching down her knees.
She was wearing some sort of green and black jumpsuit, with a yellow diamond symbol on her chest and star-shaped tears in her pants around the knees. She had a visor over her eyes, but it was a different shape from Peridot's; it was narrower and stylish, like shades that a celebrity might wear just to look cool. Her nose was small and thin, and her lips were full and heart-shaped like Amethyst's.
As expected, there was a gem on her forehead—green with purple spots—and another on her chest—purple with green spots.
The fusion looked down at her four hands and gasped.
"I did it?" she asked, incredulous. Her voice was nasal and raspy.
"Yeah, you did it!" Steven confirmed, running up to her with his hands up in excitement. "You look great! What's your name?"
The fusion hesitated, maybe taking a moment to figure it out, and answered, "Atlantisite."
xxx
Pearl and Garnet could only stare in shock at the fusion that stood before them. Neither of them had actually expected the Homeworld Gem to fuse, let alone learn how to do it in such a short time.
As far as fusions went, this one was rather unimpressive in size, standing only a head taller than Garnet. Of course, a small fusion didn't necessarily mean a weak fusion, as Garnet herself was very strong. Still, there was something about this fusion that made her seem rather... nonthreatening. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was making funny faces and slapping her butt at Pearl like a bratty five-year-old human child.
Atlantisite, she had called herself. Pearl was definitely unimpressed.
"Bet you didn't expect me to do it, huh?" Atlantisite jeered between fits of raspy, utterly obnoxious laughter. "Didn't think there was a fusion who could be even more awesome and amazing than Sardonyx, did you? Hah! Eat your heart out, Pearl!" Another ear-grating bout of laughter.
Pearl did her best to keep her composure, but it was getting very, very difficult. Amethyst and Peridot were annoying enough by themselves. It should have come as no surprise that their fusion would be a whole new level of obnoxious, disrespectful, and loud.
"Well, at least it looks like they're having fun," Garnet commented quietly, unperturbed by the new fusion's inappropriate behavior.
"She's absolutely insufferable," said Pearl, frowning at how Steven was actually giggling at Atlantisite's antics.
"Don't be like that, Pearl," Garnet said, not unkindly. "She's a nice Gem deep down. She's just excited and has a..." Garnet paused and watched as Atlantisite shape-shifted into a rather crude and caricatural imitation of Sardonyx to make Steven laugh, "special sense of humor," she finished, the slightest hint of sarcasm seeping into her voice.
Pearl forced her lips to form a smile and did her best to keep her voice light-hearted, clasping her hands in front of her and clearing her throat to get Atlantisite's attention.
"All right, Atlantisite, that's enough," she said, inwardly congratulating herself on how patient and pleasant she sounded. "It's indeed wonderful that Amethyst and Peridot were able to fuse, but we have work to do. We still need to finish building that drill, and I suppose I could use Peridot's help after all. I'll make sure no other accidents happen."
Pearl thought she had been perfectly reasonable in her request, but Atlantisite looked a little offended.
"Oh, so Garnet can stay fused all the time, but I can't?" she said petulantly, crossing her upper pair of arms while her other two hands rested on her waist. "Talk about an unfair treatment. Is it because I'm half-Peridot? Or because I'm half a defective Amethyst?"
Now Pearl was the one who took offense. "Don't be ridiculous. I never looked down on Amethyst because of her size and you know it."
"Then why are you always bossing her around?" Atlantisite countered, her face darkening. "She is the one who should be bossing you around and you know it."
Pearl groaned and glanced at Garnet and Steven. Garnet was just watching them stoically, as usual, but Steven had stopped smiling, sensing the tension in the atmosphere.
"Look," said Pearl with a sigh, "if Amethyst has something she wants to get off her chest and talk about with me, she should talk to me directly and not through a fusion with Peridot of all Gems."
"Hah, nice try," said Atlantisite, giving her a crooked grin. "I'm not unfusing because of you. I'll unfuse when I damn well feel like it. You can't tell me what to do anymore."
"Guys! Guys!" Steven finally intervened, coming to stand between Atlantisite and Pearl. "Please don't fight!"
"We're not fighting, Steven," Atlantisite reassured him, fondly ruffling his hair. "I'm just trying to make a point here."
"What point, exactly?" Pearl prompted, crossing her arms. All pretense of patience and pleasantness were quickly evaporating.
"That I'm the bigger Gem now," Atlantisite answered smugly. "It's okay, I understand why you would feel threatened by me." She tossed her long hair over her shoulder.
"I don't feel threatened by you," said Pearl. "Why would I even feel threatened by you?"
"Because unlike you, I'm actually the perfect combination of brains and brawn." To illustrate her words, her two lower arms flexed her muscles, while her right top hand touched her forehead. "I have the intelligence of a Peridot and the strength of a Quartz."
Pearl just harrumphed, still looking unimpressed.
"So you see," Atlantisite went on, "there's no need for me to unfuse."
"All right, I get it," said Pearl with another sigh. She could feel a headache coming on. "You can stay fused and help me with the drill."
Again, she thought she had been perfectly reasonable. They were wasting precious time with this pointless argument. Once again, however, Atlantisite refused to see reason. She just snickered, her shoulders shaking with mirth.
"You still don't get it, Pearl," she said. "I'm an ultra powerful Gem. I can take on the Cluster by myself."
"Excuse me?!" Pearl said while Steven just gasped. "You can't be serious!"
"I'm dead serious. With my superior intellect and extraordinary strength, I can finish the drill and kick the Cluster's butt without your help."
"Atlantisite, that's enough," Garnet finally spoke up, although she still sounded very collected. She adjusted her shades. "You're not as strong and stable as you think. You can't defeat the Cluster by yourself. I can't See a single possible future in which that happens. Are you absolutely sure you want to go down this path?"
Atlantisite actually looked a little disconcerted for a brief moment, before she recovered her usual smugness.
"You underestimate me," she said. "I'm obviously the superior Gem here, so I'm taking charge. You guys go back to the Temple and stay put while I go save the world and become a hero."
"Wait a minute," said Steven, confused. "Didn't Peridot say that fusions are low-ranking and can't be in charge?" he asked innocently, no trace of spite.
"Can't hear you, la-la-la-la!" Atlantisite shouted in a singsong tone, running away like a kindergartener (the human kind, not the Gem kind). "Gotta save the world, see you later, bye!"
"Wait!" Steven shouted, running after her.
"Steven! Come back here!" Pearl shouted at him, following suit. She then realized that Atlantisite was running in the drill's direction. "Oh, no, you don't!" she muttered, her gem glowing as she summoned her spear.
Atlantisite was already standing in front of the drill when Pearl caught up, posed to throw her spear at the unruly fusion.
Unfortunately, Atlantisite had good reflexes and incredible agility. She dodged Pearl's spear and summoned a whip from the gem on her chest to wrap it around Pearl tightly, immobilizing her. She pulled with two hands and threw Pearl against the wall with more force than was necessary. Pearl's body crashed through the wall with a loud crack, raising up a lot of smoke.
"Nooo! Pearl!" she heard Steven shout. The worry in his voice made her heart clench.
"I'm okay, Steven. Don't worry," she reassured him. Despite her words, she was anxious to touch her gem to make sure it wasn't cracked, but her arms were still held tight against her body.
She looked back at Atlantisite, who actually looked a little guilty and even surprised at herself. The fusion averted her gaze and muttered, "Sorry."
Garnet had come into the barn as well, taking her time to look at the whole scene. She didn't move, however, not even when Atlantisite tied a knot on her whip and looked at the shorter fusion warily.
"Garnet! Do something!" Pearl beseeched.
To her shock, however, Garnet seemed to relax, crossing her arms and refusing to budge.
"It's okay, Pearl," she said. "She won't fight us. She wants to fight the Cluster."
"Finally someone who understands!" said Atlantisite, looking wearily at the ceiling before turning to the drill. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Pearl. This will be over before you know it."
"That's true," Garnet agreed.
"See? You trust Garnet, don't you?" Atlantisite quickly checked over the drill. "Hey, would you look at that! The drill is practically finished! I'm just going to make a few adjustments."
Atlantisite fiddled with the panel. From her position, Pearl couldn't see what exactly she was doing, but she guessed that Atlantisite was doing some final programming for the drill, which was one of the things that been left to do and that Pearl had meant to have Peridot help her with.
"It's not perfect, but I guess it will do," said Atlantisite under her breath when she was done. "It's good to go."
"We haven't even tested it!" Pearl protested, still tied up, when Atlantisite lifted the entire drill off the ground and began to carry it outside.
"There's no time or need for that," Atlantisite argued right before she left. Steven hurried after her, while Pearl and Garnet just watched.
"Can I come with you? Can I? Pleaaase?" Steven begged.
"Sure," was the chilling answer, and Pearl started struggling against the restraining whip. "I guess it's only fair to let someone watch me being amazing."
"Garnet!" Pearl shouted again. "We have to stop them! Steven, come back here! It's too dangerous!"
"He'll be fine," Garnet reassured her just as the whip around Pearl vanished. She could hear the drill starting.
Ignoring Garnet's words, Pearl immediately got up and ran outside. Unfortunately, it was too late. There was only a big hole on the ground. Pearl's hands went to her head, pulling at her hair as a scream of pure exasperation tore through her throat.
"ATLANTISIIIITE!"
xxx
Steven felt torn. Part of him felt bad about leaving Pearl and Garnet behind. He knew Pearl was going to be okay and Garnet would untie her, but she was bound to get really angry.
On the other hand, he was also super excited. The drill was finally finished and he and his cool new fusion friend were on their way to defeat the Cluster.
"Maybe Pearl will forgive us after you defeat the Cluster," he said.
"Of course," Atlantisite agreed, her eyes on the panel. There wasn't much room in the drill's cockpit. It was their luck that Atlantisite was a relatively small fusion and Steven himself was a kid. "She will thank me later."
"I'm glad this is finally happening," he confided. "The Cluster sounds really scary. I've been really worried about it ever since Peridot told me that the Earth might blow up soon because of it."
"Yep, we can all sleep a little easier after this," replied Atlantisite, although there was a certain edge in her voice that Steven couldn't quite figure out. Maybe it was just nerves? He decided to keep talking to cheer her up.
"After we defeat the Cluster, the first thing I'm gonna do is get Pearl a present so she won't get too mad. Then, if she and Garnet don't ground me, I'll buy a big pizza at the Fish Stew Pizza so we can all eat and celebrate together. I'll call Connie, too."
"Sounds like fun," Atlantisite commented, her mind elsewhere. She was eying the panel, deep in thought.
"What are you going to do after all this?" he asked, hoping to engage her into the conversation.
She smiled. "Well, I never really thought about it. I guess I'll just be happy to go home."
Steven pondered her words, not sure what she was referring to. "Where is your home?" he finally inquired.
"What?" She gave him a confused look, finally tearing her gaze from the panel.
"I mean, is it the Temple?" he elaborated. "Or Homeworld? Or... maybe the Kindergarten?" He remembered how Amethyst had once referred to it as her true home, and Peridot was a "certified Kindergartener", so it would kind of make sense.
Atlantisite, however, was taken aback by his questions. She looked like she had no idea what to answer.
"My home... well, I guess it's... um..."
She fell silent. Her eyes were back to staring at the panel, but they looked haunted now. Steven watched in worry as her confused expression morphed into one of terror. Two of her hands started shaking, while the other two clenched into fists.
"Atlantisite?" he called to her softly. "Are you okay?"
"I have no home," she whispered, her voice sounding as horrified as she looked. "I have no home!" she repeated, a little louder, an edge of hysteria getting into her voice.
"Hey, it's okay!" he tried to reassure her, smiling and patting her on one of her arms. "The Temple can be your home! Amethyst has her own room there, and Peridot has stayed in my bathroom. I'm sure you can feel at home there, too!"
Atlantisite didn't seem to be listening to him, though. She started breathing hard and muttering.
"What am I doing?" she asked. "What have I done? What are you making me do?!"
"Who, me?" Steven asked, but the fusion didn't pay him any mind. Her eyes were unfocused and she was holding her head now. Were Amethyst and Peridot in conflict inside Atlantisite's mind?
"I'm going to die," she said, with so much certainty and fear that it made Steven's blood run cold. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I didn't want this. You made me do this! It's your fault! I have no home and I'm going to die and it's your fault!"
"Atlantisite! You're not going to die!"
"Yes, I am!" she shrieked. "We're all going to be shattered! If not by the Cluster, then by the hands of Yellow Diamond! No, I won't let it happen! I don't want to die!"
"Atlantisite?" Steven was scared now. The fusion was getting progressively hysterical, shaking her head violently as if trying to physically shake off her thoughts.
"I can't do this!" she exclaimed, then opened crazed eyes and started punching the panel with all her might. "You can't make me do this!"
Steven tried to crawl backwards to avoid getting caught in Atlantisite's rage, but there wasn't much room to retreat to.
Once the panel was completely destroyed, the drill came to a stop and all lights went out. Finally, Atlantisite seemed to calm down.
Fumbling in the complete darkness, Steven reached for his cheeseburger backpack. He was glad he had remembered to bring it with him. It took longer than usual to find what he was looking for, but finally he found his flashlight.
He switched it on and saw Atlantisite curled up, hugging her legs to her chest, her head resting on her knees. He couldn't see her face, for it was hidden behind her long hair.
With the drill now inactive and silent, he could hear soft muffled sobs coming from her. Feeling his heart lurch at seeing his friend so sad, Steven slowly approached her again. He put his free hand on her shaking shoulder.
"Atlantisite?"
She raised her head and gave him a regretful, tear-filled look.
"Steven," she replied softly. "I'm sorry if I scared you."
"It's okay," he reassured her, with a small smile. She didn't smile back, though, just looked away as if ashamed, which made his own smile fall. Worry grew in him again. "What's wrong? Why did you destroy the drill? Pearl and Peridot worked so hard to build it."
"I'm sorry," she apologized again. "I panicked. I mean, Peridot panicked. And then Amethyst panicked. I almost came undone, but Amethyst is keeping me from splitting up. She won't let Peridot go."
Steven was unpleasantly reminded of Malachite. She was also a fusion who was being kept from splitting up against one of her halves' will. He had never expected one of the Crystal Gems to do the same thing.
"Why? Why did they panic? I don't understand."
"Steven..." his name came out as a sigh. Atlantisite looked very tired all of a sudden. "Peridot is so scared... She's never been more scared in her life. She's scared of being on Earth, scared of the Cluster, but she's also scared of defeating the Cluster and going back to Homeworld."
"Why would she be scared of going home?" he asked.
"Steven, don't you get it?!" Atlantisite snapped, closing her eyes in aggravation, and he briefly wondered if Peridot was taking control of the fusion. "She doesn't have a home anymore! She failed her mission and she worked with Homeworld's enemies to disarm a weapon that took thousands of years for Homeworld to develop! Even if she survives the Cluster, she'll be charged with high treason and be harvested or shattered as punishment!"
"Oh..." Steven was momentarily speechless. He had never thought how much had been at stake for Peridot. "I had no idea. She never said anything about that."
"She didn't think about it, either. She was just desperate to survive and go home." Atlantisite's tone was hollow. "She just didn't want to think about it. It hurt too much. When you forced me to think about home, she could no longer ignore the issue and it just came crashing down on her."
"I'm sorry," he said, feeling his own eyes sting with tears. "It's my fault, then."
"No, Steven, it's not your fault!" she frantically told him. "It would have happened either way, eventually. She couldn't run away from her problems forever."
He bowed his head and swept an arm over his eyes to wipe his tears. Atlantisite's reassurances didn't make him feel much better. His friends were still hurting and he was now scared for Peridot.
"You know," he murmured, "if Peridot became a Crystal Gem, she could live with us on Earth. It could be her new home. I wouldn't mind if she wanted to stay in my bathroom. We would protect her."
"Oh, Steven," she said fondly, touching his chin to lift his head so he would meet her gaze. "You know Peridot isn't ready to join the Crystal Gems."
His heart clenched. He had known no such thing, actually. Deep down, he had always hoped and even expected that Peridot would end up becoming a Crystal Gem. When Peridot had started bonding with Amethyst, he had been certain that it would happen.
"That's why Amethyst panicked," Atlantisite continued, as if she had read his mind. "When Amethyst realized what was going on, she was scared, too. She didn't want Peridot to die or leave. She felt Peridot's hurt and fear through me, and she held on tight."
Steven's eyes widened just a bit as he began to understand.
"Amethyst won't let Peridot go because she wants to protect her," he whispered in wonder.
Atlantisite nodded. "She thought Peridot would feel comforted and safe as part of a fusion," she said, hugging herself. "And staying fused as me, Peridot would stay on Earth and be a Crystal Gem."
Steven couldn't help but smile. In a way, it was sweet of Amethyst to want to comfort and protect Peridot so badly. However, his smile fell when he remembered Malachite again, and what Garnet had taught him about fusion.
"And how does Peridot feel now?" he asked, dreading the inevitable answer. "Does she feel... comforted? Or safe?"
Atlantisite's eyes filled with tears and desperation again, and she started shaking once more, even as she hugged herself even tighter.
"Peridot... she... she just wants to go home." Tears spilled from her eyes and she sobbed again, although she didn't hide her face this time. "She feels trapped in a never-ending nightmare."
Steven started crying again. It hurt him too much to see her suffering so. He hugged her, and after a few moments, he felt her return his embrace with all four arms, engulfing him with her larger form.
"Amethyst had good intentions," he said softly. "She didn't mean to make Peridot feel trapped."
He pulled back from the embrace to look at Atlantisite, who looked ashamed again.
"But this is still wrong," he told her gently. "Garnet once told me that fusion is a choice. You can't use it to force someone to do what you want, not even to make them feel safe. Peridot has the right to choose between facing her problems on her own and asking for our help. You have to let her go, Amethyst."
Atlantisite looked down and just hugged herself tight again.
"She already was brave enough to ask us for help against the Cluster," said Steven. "I'm sure she'll also ask her for help against whoever tries to harvest or shatter her, too. And then maybe she'll even grow to like Earth and decide to stay and become a Crystal Gem. Or maybe she won't and she'll decide to go live in another planet or something. Either way, at least it'll be her choice, and we have to respect it. Because if we don't... I guess that makes us as bad as the Gems that created the Cluster and the other forced fusions."
He fell silent, thinking about the mutant fusions. Garnet was right; it was sad that they hadn't been given a choice. He wished he could help them somehow...
There was a glow that illuminated the dark cockpit. Steven had to close his eyes, since he was so close to the brightness. It quickly faded, however, and when he opened his eyes, he could see two Gems where Atlantisite had been. He grinned at them, glad that Amethyst had understood.
Amethyst wasn't looking at them. She averted her gaze and rubbed her arm awkwardly, her head bowed in shame. Peridot was looking at Steven in surprise, but then she caught sight of Amethyst and looked just as awkward and embarrassed.
"I'm glad to see you guys," Steven said, drying his tears. "I mean, Atlantisite is cool, but no one should stay fused against their will."
Both Gems looked even more ashamed, although Amethyst did look at him from the corner of her eyes.
"Yeah," she said. "Just don't tell Garnet, okay?"
Steven's grin widened and he gave her an OK sign with his free hand. Amethyst's lips curled into a weak attempt at a smile before she looked away again, sulking.
Nobody said anything for a few moments, and then, when Steven considered taking the initiative to speak, Peridot cleared her throat and turned to Amethyst.
"I believe we have a drill to fix," she said, trying to sound businesslike, although Steven thought he could see her blush. It was hard to tell with such poor lighting, though. "Let's take this back to the barn and get to work. And once we defeat the Cluster..." Peridot cleared her throat again, "Well, I'm sure Atlantisite can figure something out and survive. She's both smart and strong, after."
Steven had to make an effort not to gasp too loudly when he realized what Peridot was implying. Amethyst turned slowly to look at Peridot.
"You mean it?" she asked quietly. "You would fuse with me again?"
"I mean, if that's okay with you, of course!" Peridot amended nervously.
Amethyst stared, then smiled. "Only if it's okay with you."
"Well, I wouldn't have suggested it if I weren't okay with it," Peridot replied tersely.
Amethyst's smile evolved into a chuckle, and she lightly bumped a fist against Peridot's shoulder, eliciting a surprised yelp from the green Gem.
"Okay, but you gotta learn how to summon your weapon, because summoning just my whip as Atlantisite? Talk about embarrassing!"
Peridot puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms.
"There's nothing embarrassing about it! I never needed a Gem weapon. My limb enhancers were much better than anything I could possibly summon."
"Well, your limb enhancers aren't here."
"And whose fault is that, exactly?"
"I just hope your Gem weapon doesn't turn out to be a screwdriver or something."
"Wh-what if it is? A leverage optimizer can be used as a weapon!"
"Whatever it is," Steven cut in, "I'm sure Peridot can make it cool, and Atlantisite will make it even cooler when she combines it with Amethyst's whip!"
"Yeah, I guess. We do make a pretty good team, huh?" Amethyst held Peridot's shoulder. "Did you see Pearl's face when we took her down? We're awesome!"
Peridot looked at the hand on her shoulder, her blush intensifying. Then, she actually smiled. A happy smile, just like the one she had had right before they had first fused.
"We are!" she said.
xxx
Back at the barn, Pearl was pacing back and forth, while Garnet calmly sat on a hay bale, holding a straw in her mouth. It was a new habit she had picked up ever since they had started working on the drill construction.
"I can't believe we let this happen!" Pearl was ranting. "I don't understand why we can't just go after them! Steven could be in danger! Atlantisite is too reckless and rebellious to be trustworthy! Oh, just wait until I get my hands on her! Or them!"
Garnet closed her three eyes behind her shades and smiled.
"They're coming back. Everything is all right. Steven is unharmed, and Atlantisite has willingly unfused."
Pearl stopped pacing and came to stand right in front of Garnet, her face the picture of worry and anxiety.
"Did they destroy the Cluster?" she asked, her hands clasping and clenching fretfully.
"No, they destroyed the drill instead," said Garnet bluntly. "They're bringing it back so we can fix it and try again. Don't worry; you'll be in charge again. They won't give you any more trouble for a while."
Pearl huffed. "I should have known that despite Peridot's skills as a technician, Atlantisite was bound to break the drill before she even reached the Cluster."
"It wasn't an accident," said Garnet. "She destroyed it on purpose."
"What?!" Pearl reeled from the revelation, a million different thoughts running through her head. "Why would she do that? Did she go berserk like Sugilite? Did Peridot take over and decide to turn on us? Were they under attack?"
"It's all right," Garnet said for what felt like the millionth time today. "She regrets it and Peridot will do her best to fix everything." Garnet smiled. "I also had doubts, but they chose the best path in the end. Everything will be all right now."
Pearl wasn't sure she understood. Garnet took joy in being cryptic sometimes, a trait she got from Sapphire, no doubt. Nevertheless, Pearl trusted Garnet. If she said everything was all right, then everything really was all right.
THE END