A/N: Hey guys, Iamboria here. This is my submission for Day 3 of the Pearlmethyst bomb, for which the prompt was fusion. I'll be posting this all at once, so I'll only leave comments at the beginning and the end. I'm not sure how happy I am with this, but at least I finished it. Anyway, I hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Steven Universe or any of its characters.

I am Opal, a bond formed in an era long passed.

I remember the first time I was myself. The Great Gem War was nearing its end. Homeworld forces were weakening, and some were beginning to retreat. On a short scouting mission, a young gem named Pearl had found a lone gem on the outskirts of a kindergarten. These gems were generally simple Quartz forces, and were killed instantly upon their discovery. However, something was ...different about this gem. Maybe it was the distinct purple of her slightly cracked gem, or the abandoned look in her eyes. Whatever the case, she picked up the uncharacteristically small gem, and ran faster than her legs had ever carried her. At first, the young gem was thoroughly confused and frightened, not knowing what was to become of her. But the look in the older gems' eyes made her feel safe, secure, at peace. The elder gem must have felt the same way, as in an instant they transformed into light.

In my first few moments, I didn't even notice a difference. I kept running towards the warp pad that Pearl knew would lead to the camp…

"Wait? What camp? Where am I going? Who am I?" I looked down at my hands, blinking… but instead of two pale arms or two violet arms, I found four lilac ones.

I immediately fell apart.

Back in those times, it was incredibly rare to be able to fuse. It was seen as taboo by Homeworld forces, and some of the strongest rebels could never even attempt the act. A common legend passed down through the rebel armies said that if two gems could fuse, they were fated to be together for the rest of their days.

In Pearl's 4000 years of life, she had only witnessed two gems with the ability to fuse; Ruby and Sapphire. They were powerful elemental gems that defected from Homeworld royalty when they were punished for fusing. Together they formed Garnet, who was renowned by gems on both sides for her intelligence and sheer power. It was rumoured that she once took on a Diamond and single handedly cracked the gem beyond repair. She was a gem you didn't mess with.

But Pearl was nowhere near as powerful as either of those gems. She was simply a discarded defect from a servant assembly line. Hell, she couldn't even summon a gem weapon more powerful than a simple spear. And she hadn't even known the purple gem for more than a few minutes. Was it even… possible?

"What… what was that?" the young gem asked.

"I- I don't know. We're going to find out, though." Pearl picked up the young gem and hurried to the warp pad. She knew there was only one place she could go to figure out what happened.

Mere minutes later, the two arrived in the chambers of Rose Quartz, the leader of the Rebel Forces.

"Greetings, soldier" the gem bowed with her sword, a common custom in those days. "What do you need? And who is this peculiar gem you've brought?"

The two looked at each other, and I felt myself being brought together again.

After a short moment of black, I awoke to find Rose Quartz staring in awe, her sword collapsing onto the floor.

"No… there's no…" she stuttered, jaw practically on the floor. "Bismuth, get Garnet. Immediately."

The gem rushed off to a nearby tent, and was back within moments with the legendary fusion.

"What's the… Wait, who is this?" she questioned.

"That's what I called you here for" she began "I think she may be a… fusion."

"What? Prove it. Show me yourselves."

I unfused and refused at Garnet's request. She was in such a state of shock, I had to do it several times before she could believe what she saw.

"Wow, you really are a fusion." she murmured, barely loud enough for me to hear. "And you fuse like you've been doing it for centuries... What is your name?"

"Well, the small one is Amethyst, and the tall one is Pear-"

"No," she chuckled "What is your name?"

"I-I'm not sure..."

"You're... not sure? Tell me, when's the first time you fused?"

"Earlier today..."

"But that's... no, you're too close for that, unless..." Garnet stared off into the distance, deep in thought.

"... the vision. Of course..."

"W-what?"

Garnet snapped back into reality. "Oh, it's nothing you need to be concerned with. And about your name... I've never seen a gem like you before. I feel you could create a name that suits you."

"But how would I do that?"

"Think really hard about who you are. The name will reveal itself."

I lost myself in thought for a minute. If I was going to give myself a name, it was going to be good.

Tanzanite? No, too casual.

Iolite? No, too pretentious.

"Opal." I affirmed. "My name is Opal."