The first thing Snowflake Obsidian saw was very similar to herself. It may not have been the first thing she knew, but sight was such a gift that as the years wore on she would come to value that memory.
Her eyes blinked open, still forming, young and unused to their job, and it took a great amount of blinking to see the world around her, but once she did she was astounded to see, and be able to connect sight to sounds and feel and smell. She was suddenly complete, and it was beautiful.
Yes, the first thing Snowflake Obsidian saw was the sky, the endless, beautiful sky, and although it was overcast that day, she also saw something equally beautiful; Snow.
It was dark, but she didn't care; and, staring up at the sky, she felt a little twinge of cold on her nose as a snowflake landed there. She frantically rubbed it off, but her curiosity became too much and she held out her hand to feel the snow.
Nowadays, she simply smiled at the childish way she'd acted. No Gem should act like that, fascinated and awed and emotional; this is what she told herself, since she knew things she shouldn't, things about the Homeworld. More importantly, she knew that she was an artificial fusion.
The artificial fusions were made from gem shards, shards that were harvested and then reformed into a new shape and given new purpose. She wondered why it was so, that she was proper and complete; but of course, she wasn't.
No, somewhere in her heart she knew that she was what two gems had made together; she knew their story with vivid accuracy, and she wanted desperately to keep it with her always. It was just so... beautiful, how she was made, and she loved it. She loved them both.
Obsidian and Cristobalite were gems. Specifically, Cristobalite was grown here on Earth, and Obsidian had gotten close enough while they were forming to make one gem together, them themselves being too small to make anything proper alone... they made Snowflake Obsidian. She looked up at the sky and smiled.
She would never defuse - couldn't - and she was okay with that, because she was made from friendship. That friendship meant more to her than the world. She loved it.
She would protect it.
Taking a deep breath, she turned around to a rustling sound she heard behind her. She saw the disembodied hand fly at her, and with a quick swipe her gem formed her weapon - what she believed was called a Scythe - and swung it down on the mutant, rendering it helpless. She gripped it in her hand, then with a gentle sigh stored it in her gem.
She would have to find a way to deal with those things...
Looking up at the small town ahead of her, further down the path, she smiled. Maybe she'd be able to fit in here. After all, she looked human enough... Black hair and a pale complexion weren't too uncommon, after all. She was really more cream than white, and her hair, while bespeckled with white spots from her forced fusion, were never pointed out.
With a decisive nod, she kept walking. Soon, she reached the road, and automatically took the smaller one, knowing it was for those who walked instead of used a transportation device. She hoped no-one would notice her fearful silver eyes - they were a source of conversation, to be sure, but it usually got her kicked out of town.
The only place open at the time seemed to be a small shop with a large donut sign secured loosely on the roof of the building. She looked up, carefully decoding the words and deciding it was a fast food joint, and hoping they wouldn't mind her sticking around for a bit.
She walked in, making sure her projection was stable and she still appeared to be wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, sitting down at one of the few free chairs. She crossed her legs and sighed in relief... she was tired. Maybe they'd let her sleep for a bit...
When someone tapped her shoulder, she jolted, eyes flicking around to a young human girl who smiled at her. "Can I get you anything?" she asked politely, tilting her head just enough that her golden locks moved slightly.
Snowflake felt her chest go tight. "I... um... I'm finethanksforasking." She turned away to hide the growing blush. These people were so nice and pretty... and they were worried about her. Definitely very nice people.
The girl seemed confused, but nodded and moved on to the other table, talking to another human. She wished desperately that she hadn't screwed up and sat in silence.
It was a few hours later that the human came back and cleared her throat, startling Snowflake back into reality.
"Uh, um, yes?" she tried, putting on a nervous smile in an attempt to look friendly.
"I'm afraid we're closing up shop," she apologized shyly. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to go..." she paused when Snowflake Obsidian got up, seemingly focused on her gem.
Oh no. I've gone and done it now, I've screwed up and now I'll be running from the police for another 50 years Snowflake thought desperately. She continued her inner scolding as she turned for the door.
"Wait!" the woman cried, grabbing Snowflake's hand. The sudden warmth flooded her body, and she found herself unable to move as she turned fearfully back to the human girl.
"Um, I'm Sadie," the girl said slowly, "and uh, I know some people who look a lot like you. Are you like Steven's parents?" she asked.
Snowflake cocked her head to one side and thought about it. "Parents?" she inquired, not really sure what the word meant.
"Um... okay, what I'm trying to say is... are you a Crystal gem? Like them?" She tried, still paralyzing Snowflake with her grip.
"I am... a gem," Snowflake confirmed, a little upset. She'd probably have to leave immediately, or else something horrible might happen to her. Probably.
"So you don't know them?" Sadie interrogated, getting a quiet shake of Snowflake's head in return. Sadie let go slowly, and Snowflake felt obligated to stay for a few moments.
"You should meet them," the human decided. "I wonder if you're a mutant like Steven was talking about yesterday..." She shook her head. "One way or another, follow me. Oh, uh..." she turned back to a boy human behind the counter. "Lars, close up shop for me, will you?"
He waved at her, seemingly in acceptance of this request, and she took Snowflake's hand again. She noticed Snowflake bristle, presumably, because she said, "no need to be scared. C'mon, Steven and the gems will know what to do with you."
She was led away from the shop, down to the seashore, Sadie having let go of her hand after a few minutes. For a while they walked in silence, but soon Sadie began to ask more questions.
"Where are you from?" Sadie asked curiously, matching pace with Snowflake.
"Nowhere important," Snowflake mumbled.
Sadie smirked. "If you say so." the silence continued, but fro some reason, Snowflake wanted to talk more.
"Snow."
"What?"
"I was... first... aware of myself in a place where it was snowing." Snowflake explained. "It was... very pretty."
Sadie smiled. "I'm sure it was."
"It was night-time," Snowflake continued, desperate now for interaction, for a voice to speak back. "There were no stars, but I looked up at the sky anyway, and there were snowflakes everywhere... falling down from the sky."
"We don't get snow much here," Sadie admitted. "but I know that it's quite an experience the first time you see it."
"It is," Snowflake agreed. "Are you... from here?"
"Yeah," Sadie confirmed. "Right here in Beach City."
"Beach City..." Snowflake repeated, the words rolling comfortably off her tongue. "I like it."
"Glad to hear it."
They rounded a corner, and Snowflake stopped in her tracks to stare up at the large statue in the side of the cliff. It was of a woman, wearing a helmet, and she seemed very pretty. Of her six arms, only three remained with their hands intact, two of which were on the ground. She looked up, and further up, to the carved curls in the statue's hair, the firm expression, the gem within her chest, much like Snowflake Obsidian's.
"Pretty cool place Steven has, yeah?" Sadie commented. Snowflake nodded numbly. "C'mon, I'm sure one of them're awake. There's always a gem awake."
They trotted up to the door, and Sadie knocked a few times, waiting at the door with a slightly impatient expression on her face. A small purple creature, much like Snowflake, opened the door and rubbed her eyes.
"Oh, heya Sadie!" she cried, smiling back at the human woman. Instantly Snowflake obsidian recognized the gem as an Amethyst, though her growth seemed stunted... perhaps she made up for it with good shape-shifting?
The Amethyst's eyes traveled to Snowflake's chest, then her eyes, and Snowflake couldn't help but flinch at her shocked expression. She drew a quick breath and went down on one knee, bowing deeply.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," she stated respectfully, knowing that an incomplete gem like herself had a place only as the lowest station compared to this military gem.
"Yo, chill," Amethyst said casually. "Up you get, no need for formalities here. This isn't homeworld, after all."
Sadie sensed her presence had become a disturbance. "I'll leave it to you, Amethyst," Sadie said calmly, stepping away from the house. "See ya at the Big Donut tomorrow."
"Yeah, see ya!" Amethyst agreed. To Snowflake, she said, "Right... uh, come with me." Snowflake nodded, smiling at Amethyst to show her thankfulness as they went into the cozy house.
Inside, she saw a most peculiar set of gems.
The first she noticed, being the biggest, was a large fusion that alarmed her until she realized that it was not being called out on by the other gems. Perhaps this was normal? It went against what she knew about gem culture, but it seemed... right, somehow. She felt some sort of kinship for this pink and dark blue gem. Her eyes were obviously staring at Snowflake, but she could not see them; they were behind a visor that reflected the light a bit more than she figured it should.
Then her head turned to the Pearl. It had already summoned a spear, a very beautiful spear at that, from somewhere. Her pointed nose was delicate, her gem placed in her forehead, her hair stricken back as if pushed by high winds. She decided that this Pearl was very high quality, and not just in her formation; she was obviously trained for many more tasks than a normal Pearl would be capable of.
Then there were the smallest two, one of which was a human. The human boy was quite young, with brown eyes and fluffy hair that she wanted desperately to run her fingers through, although she knew it was probably rude. The other was a green gem, one she did not recall having seen before, though she was fairly certain it was a Peridot. She was... adorable. Her outrageous triangle-shaped hair was not disturbed in the slightest as she leaped to her feet and let her jaw hang open.
The human boy asked, "Amethyst, who's this?"
"I dunno, Steven," Amethyst shrugged. "Sadie just dropped her off. She seems okay, but I'm not sure."
Snowflake decided that the opinion of this human was even more important than the opinions of the gems. She bowed deeply to him, hoping to show off her sense of respect.
He stopped her, surprisingly enough, pushing her up to a standing position again and giving her a smile as bright as the sun. "Who're you?" he asked cheerfully, grinning up at her.
"My... name is... Snowflake. Obsidian." She said, gulping deeply. She refrained from saying any more, hoping his reaction would not harm her chances of staying near here.
"OH. MY. STARS." The green one said, going up to her. "You're a FUSION!"
Snowflake felt her heart fall. Would the green one ruin her chances? She flinched as it ran up to her and inspected her gem closely.
This is it. I'm done for, she told herself. They'll shatter me into a million pieces.
As the green one inspected her, the... Steven asked her what was going on, supplying her name as 'Peridot'. She gulped and pushed down her protocol for long enough to ask, "Peridot, why are you inspecting me?"
her reaction caused Snowflake Obsidian to begin stuttering helplessly, trying to push her actions off as ignorance or at least apologize for them. The Amethyst patted her arm, saying something calming and asking her to quiet down, which she did immediately.
Peridot looked horrified, but Garnet looked... peculiar, like she was inexplicably happy. The Garnet got up and ruffled her hair, making her realize just how tall this gem fusion was.
"Hello," Garnet said in a friendly manner. "It's okay, you can stay fused. Tell me, how long have you been fused? It's okay whether you decided to stay fused or not."
"I... thank you," Snowflake decided was the appropriate reply. "I... have always been fused."
Peridot gasped. "No. WAY."
Snowflake turned to the small green gem. "What's wrong? Am I making you uncomfortable?" she asked with worry creasing her forehead.
"You, you're a successful artificial fusion!" Peridot cried in excitement. "I thought so before, but it all makes sense! Always being fused, and you're far too thin to be a proper fusion, and your fusion is perfect, you're obviously a successful gem mutant!" Peridot cried, her emotions all mixed and confusing. "This, this is incredible!"
Snowflake Obsidian started, not really sure how to react. In her heart, she knew it was genuine, this phrase... this compliment, but her mind kept saying, no, it couldn't be. She licked her lips nervously and said, "I... thank you?"
Peridot grabbed Amethyst by the collar. "DO you KNOW what this MEANS?!" Peridot cried excitedly. "This means that we might be able to save some gem shards! Her gem shards are definitely on Earth, and it also means that artificial gem fusion can be successful and without harm done!" She continued to ramble and shake Amethyst, but Snowflake was becoming nervous from Garnet's gaze, even as the Pearl stuttered helplessly in the background.
Garnet grabbed her shoulder, and she winced, expecting the worst, but instead a question was asked.
"Are you happy?" Garnet inquired.
"Um... yes?" Snowflake tried. "I'm... not sure what you mean."
"Are you okay with being fused, forever and ever?" Garnet asked seriously. "Fusion is sacred. It's not to be taken lightly."
"I... yes. I am happy to remain fused." Snowflake obsidian confirmed, hoping it to be the right answer. "I've never known anything else, and I couldn't maintain my form if I wasn't fused."
Garnet let go, nodding. "Right. Tell me, if you were offered the chance to find your other parts, would you?"
"I... would," Snowflake Obsidian confirmed. "but... I wouldn't try too hard."
Garnet nodded. "Good. Peridot?" the green one turned. "We should get to work rebuilding that drill. We'll need to check the cluster. Until then, Snowflake here can check the corrupted shard room for any of her missing pieces."
Peridot nodded. "Right! Let's get started-"
"Tomorrow," Garnet finished for her. "Snowflake, go ahead and get some rest. We'll watch over you until you can be complete. Both of you." She smiled, and Snowflake Obsidian smiled back, unable to stop herself.
She had... acceptance.
She would be... complete!
She got to rest!
She felt a gentle tug from her hand, and turning to look, she saw the Steven again. The small... human, she decided, pulled her up a few steps and showed her a sofa.
"You can sleep here tonight," he explained. "We'll sort out something more comfy tomorrow."
"Steven, why don't you have Snowflake sleep in the barn with Peridot and Lapis Lazuli?" Garnet suggested.
Snowflake began talking quickly. "Oh, no, really I'm okayrightheresoyoudon'tneedtoworryI'lljust-"
"Take a deep breath?" Garnet suggested.
Snowflake Obsidian took a deep breath.
"Um, Garnet?" Pearl said, interrupting the larger gem. "She can stay in my room, I keep an extra bed ready."
Garnet nodded and turned to Snowflake Obsidian. "You heard her. Pearl will take good care of you, so you just go with her."
Snowflake nodded, walking daintily as she could down the steps and standing in front of Pearl. A smile played on Snowflake's face as she was led away.
I hope good things happen from now on, she prayed, hoping her prayers would be heard for once.
A/N: This will not be updated regularly... AGH why did I start YET ANOTHER fic?! I need to stop doing this
Feel free to Read n Review and all that jazz, really appreciate that