Something's wrong with Topaz/Connie!


Steven ran toward Peridot, who was rushing into the brig. "What's going on? What's the matter?"

"It's Connie!" Said Steven, "she's going nuts!"

"Well, duh! We warned you there'd be some Blue Diamond residue left over in her Gem."

Peridot sighed. "Honestly, I'd be surprised if she was absolutely healed. Let me examine her." And she took out her portable Gemetic analysis scanner and approached Topaz's cell. The blue Gem was sitting in a corner on the floor, knees up, arms crossed, head down, sobbing.

"Connie, what's wrong?" Asked Steven.

She looked up, tears coming down out of her visor. "Steven, I wish I knew! I don't know why I got angry with you earlier. I'm so sorry; I think I'm losing my mind!"

"There's nothing wrong with you," said Peridot, looking at the scan readout.

"What do you mean?" She asked, wiping her tears. "Nothing wrong? Nothing wrong?! Why am I having these fits? Why did I lash out at my husband?"

"How much do you remember of your abduction?" The green Gem asked in a clinical voice while typing on her monitor. She was curious to see if the Blue Diamond technicians had manipulated Topaz's recent memories as well as suppress her human ones.

Topaz sat back and thought. "I remember fighting that Ruby in Beach City, then something hit me in the back! Oh, that hurt so bad! Then, the next thing I knew, I woke up in a prison cell like this one, except it was with a different Peridot. She had a blue uniform.

"Mm hmm." Peridot kept monitoring Topaz's Gem while this conversation continued, scanning over various areas of her Gem. "Do you remember what happened to you while you were there?"

"She took me in shackles to the court area, where there were some aristocratic Gems. Then I was brought over to have an audience with my Diamond."

"What?" Peridot raised an eye. "What did you just say?"

One of the displays on her monitor jumped! Peridot stopped the scan to immediately begin recording. Topaz put a hand to her head. "I...I" Her demeanor changed again! She jumped up and became angry. "Release me!" She yelled. "You can't keep me here!" Steven put a hand to his mouth.

Peridot looked back at her dispassionately. "And, just where would you go?"

"To my Diamond!" She banged on the force field again. "Blue Diamond!"

The green Gem looked at her monitor, studying the results and typing. "Interesting," she said after a few minutes. "I see your problem, Topaz. Yes, it's clear now."

"What, Peridot?" Asked Steven, "what is it?"

"Why didn't I see this earlier?" She scoffed. "Topaz has only been a Gem for a short while, and when I created her, the spot in her Gem where the Gemetic influences for Diamond Authority loyalty was left completely empty. Naturally, when a Gem is created in the normal sense, it's filled. That Blue Diamond Peridot must have seen the empty spot as a flaw in her Gem, and filled it."

She turned to Topaz. "It's clear now. That is why it's so strong in you, and why we haven't purged it - yet - we didn't think it was necessary to look there."

Topaz stared at her blankly, then calmed down. The "Connie" in her returned. "You're saying I'm sick, then? Like in human terms, brainwashed?"

"In a manner of speaking. You're going to require some additional Gemetic surgery.

Topaz looked at Steven, anguish on her face. "Please, do it quickly. I can't stand being like this. I feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

Peridot look confused. "Dr. Who and Mr. Who?"

"Characters from a human mystery story," said Steven. "Same guy, two personalities: one good, one evil. Mr. Hyde was the evil one."

"Oh. Well, we need to get Mr. Hyde out of your Gem, Topaz," said Peridot, "now that we know where he's hiding." Peridot was still wearing her extenders from the surgery, and used her floating fingers to reveal a virtual control panel. Drawing a line on it, she made a ray gun come out of the cell wall, pointed at Topaz. The blue Gem flinched when she saw the gun pointed at her.

"Alright then, let's get started," she said, and tapped a circle on the panel. A bolt of electrical light struck Topaz, and gasping, she flashed bright white, then in a puff, reverted to her Gem. It fell to the ground. Peridot then opened the force field and picked the Gem up. "Back to the operating room we go."


"Alright, now that we know where the Blue Diamond influences are buried, let's purge them from this Gem," said the Homeworld Peridot. She and Crystal Gem Peridot were standing before the operating room control panel, with the display screen before them. Topaz's Gem was inside the Gemetic analysis/repair apparatus.

Steven was in the audience with Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst. "Won't take long," said Garnet.

A short while later, the Homeworld Peridot declared the operation a success. "All influences from this region purged." Steven called down from the observation area. "Can she come home?"

"I will leave that decision up to your Peridot," she replied. Crystal Gem Garnet looked up to the audience. "With proper supervision, and perhaps some work in your Fusion Realm, Garnet?"

Garnet nodded. "That will depend on how and in what manner Topaz will fuse," the tall Fusion Gem replied.

"What do you mean, Garnet?" Steven asked. "We have yet to see Topaz switch to human mode." She replied. "She didn't when she was under Blue Diamond's influence - she could easily have switched to human, then like you, gone through the force field to escape. That Topaz did not do it suggests she can't. We must be prepared for the possibility that Blue Diamond's Peridot has damaged her ability to do so."

"You mean, Connie may permanently be a Gem?" Steven gasped.

"It's a possibility."

"I think we can bring this Gem to a recovery area," said Crystal Gem Peridot. "Steven, Garnet, can you come with me?"

The Crystal Gems all nodded together. "We'll all come," said Garnet, and they went to a different area, away from the brig. The recovery area was nicely laid out, with a padded platform for the recovering Gem, and seats for waiting friends.

"This is nice," said Steven, "any games on that monitor?"

"Whatever you want, dude," said Amethyst, and pulled out controllers. "Ever since peace was declared, I put lots of stuff in here!" She pulled up "Lonely Blade". "Think you can beat me?"

"You're on!" And picking up a controller, they went after each other. Pearl rolled her eyes, while Garnet watched and smiled.


Some time later, Topaz began to regenerate. Her Gem levitated, the silhouette appeared, then with sparkles, her final form appeared and she came down to the floor.

"Welcome back, Topaz," smiled Garnet.

"How did they do? With the Gem surgery, I mean."

"Our Peridot believes they've removed all the Blue Diamond influences," said Pearl. "How do you feel? Any yearnings for her?"

Topaz thought. "None that I can sense, not like last time. Oh, what a relief!"

Steven got up to hug her. "I'm so happy! Welcome home, Connie!" She hugged him back.

"Now, Connie, something very important," said Garnet. "Try to change back to your human form."

"Oh, yes, I remember: back when I was in Blue Diamond's prison cell, I tried, and I couldn't. That Peridot said she'd experimented on my Gem; I thought maybe she did something to me." Topaz thought about changing to human.

Nothing happened.

"Oh no! I can't!"

"It's as I feared," said Garnet. "That Peridot may have altered your Gem to prevent it."

"But, that can be repaired also, can't it?" Pearl asked.

"It's very possible that ability could have been contaminated - or worse," Garnet replied, "but we shall let the Homeworld Peridot make the call."

"I'm not finding that ability anywhere in the Gem," said the Homeworld Peridot after an exhaustive search. She looked up to the audience. "I'm sorry, it must have been deleted."


Sadly, the Crystal Gems returned to Earth. Entering the Crystal Temple, Garnet stepped up to the Temple Gate and added a new Blue Gem to it. "This will be your room, Topaz," she said. Topaz sighed and placed her hand on the door. The door opened. Walking in, the room was empty. "Nothing here."

"You make of it what you wish," said Pearl. "Yeah! You can have lots of stuff in here, like my room!" Said Amethyst.

"Hmm, we'll see," Topaz replied. "How do I…?"

"It's your room. Whatever your mind makes of it, it becomes," replied Garnet.

"This...is going to take some time," Topaz replied.

Pearl put her hand on Topaz's shoulder. "Take all the time you need."

"Connie?" Said Steven. "Can I help?"

Holding his hand, Topaz looked at him with great love - tinged with sadness. "I...don't know whether Connie exists anymore." A tear came to her eye. "But...Topaz can sure use your help."


"We're done," announced Topaz, and opened the door to her room. Everyone entered, and stepped inside. "Oh, my!" gasped Pearl, looking around. "Wow!" exclaimed Amethyst. "Very nice," said Garnet. The group were transported to a rockbound seashore with a Hindu Temple gate before them. Steven and Topaz had decorated it along the lines of the Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee. The base was decorated with sky-blue pillars set against a golden background. At the top was a Pagoda-style roof decorated with Hindu gods on each tier. To the right was a similarly-architected bell tower.

"Let's go inside," said Steven, and opened the doors. On entering, they were transported to an entirely different realm! Now they were in an enormous cave; before them, nestled inside a circular crevice, was a gigantic vertical ice pillar! Approximately 12,000 feet high, it came out of an opening at the top, nestled there like a mysterious blue-white ghost.

"Whoa!" Said Amethyst, "now that's a lotta ice!"

"Very interesting," said Garnet. "What is that, Topaz?"

"In India, particularly in the south, many Hindu temples have what are known as Swayambhu Lingams," she explained. "A lingam is a symbol of divine generative energy, worshiped as a symbol of manifest on their own - not made by man. They appear suddenly or mysteriously without any human efforts. They are self existing and when the saints or holy men see them they install them in a temple. We have several stories about great saints like Adi Shankara installing such lingams in several places."

"This one is a copy of an Ice Lingam at Amarnath Caves. It's a favorite of mine," she smiled.

"Oh Topaz, it's breathtaking!" Said Pearl.

"One more spot," Topaz said, and took them to a door to the left of the lingam. It led to...a surprise!

"What the…?" Laughed Amethyst. "This is too cool! Was this your idea, Steven?"

"Guilty," he smiled. For inside the door was a replica of their beach house. All of their memorabilia, photos, and furniture.

"But...why?" asked Pearl.

Topaz shrugged her shoulders. "Well, since this is my Gem room, we wanted a place where Steven and I can hang out - you know, like before."


The doorbell to the Maheswaran residence rang. "Coming, " said Mr. Maheswaran, and picking up his cane, walked to the door and opened it. Before him was a Crystal Gem.

"Oh, hello!" He smiled. "May I help you?"

"Hi, Dad, it's me, Connie."

"Connie? Why are you wearing that costume? It isn't Halloween."

Topaz chuckled a bit. "No, this isn't a costume. This is me now; I'm a Crystal Gem. May I come in?"

"Of course!" He replied, somewhat awkwardly, "come in! Come in, Connie...Priyanka! It's Connie!" His wife got up from the living room and walked in. "Connie!" She exclaimed, then stopped abruptly. "Connie - is that you?"

"It's me Mom."

"I don't understand," she replied. "What's going on?"

"Same question I had," said Mr. Maheswaran.

"Let's all sit down," said Topaz, and they went into the living room. She told them everything that had happened, beginning with hers and Steven's plans for infusing a Gem into her body so that they could be together forever, up to the point where it was discovered that she could no longer change back to her human form.

"And, this...this is permanent?" Her mother asked.

"Looks that way," she sighed.

"Oh, my Connie!" She began to cry. "My dear, sweet, Connie!" Her face fell into her husband's shoulder.

"How could they DO this to you!" Her father yelled angrily. "We trusted the Gems - you trusted them!"

"It wasn't the Crystal Gems, Dad," she explained, "it was Blue Diamond and her cohorts; they are evil. The Crystal Gems have been defending Earth from the Great Diamond Authority for thousands of years."

"And Steven; what does he think of this?" Her father continued.

"He's heartbroken," Topaz replied. "When I was abducted, Steven led the effort to rescue me! The Crystal Gems and the new Homeworld Gems removed all of the Blue Diamond's implanted influences and brought back all of my memories - of you, of Steven, of Earth."

"You're right, I'm sorry," he said. "But can there be any hope?"

"There's always hope." Topaz took their hands in hers. "In the meantime, I will always love you with all my heart, and I will always honor my heritage! I will defend our planet with every ounce of my strength!"

Her parents reached out and hugged her. "And we will always love you, Connie!" Said her mother. "Or, do you have a new Crystal Gem name?"

She smiled. "It's Topaz."

"Ah! Of course, the Gem on your forehead," said her father. "Well, let me be the first to say, I am honored to have a Tamil Crystal Gem defending the Earth."

Her mother kissed her. "Do well, Topaz. We are proud of you."


"Alright, before we can begin work in the Fusion Realm, Topaz, we need to see you fuse," said Garnet. They were in the Crystal Temple with Steven, Pearl and Amethyst.

"Stevonnie?" Asked Steven.

"Not Stevonnie," Garnet replied. "I'm afraid Stevonnie is not an option. However, you and Topaz can fuse. Let's see what that results in."

Husband and wife nodded, and held hands. A flash of light appeared with a rose and a blue gemstone circling around each other, followed by a white silhouette began forming. It grew. And grew. And grew until it was bigger than even Jasper! Finally the the Fusion appeared; it had Topaz's hair and visor but Steven's facial proportions. A single set of brown eyes were behind the visor, and the Topaz Gem was on their forehead, with the Rose Quartz on the navel. The skin was peach like Steven's, and the outfit resembled his, with jeans and tshirt instead of Topaz's dress. Like Topaz, the fusion had dark blue boots.

However, the most interesting thing about this fusion was the number of arms. Smoky Quartz had "three" arms (2 and a half actually, since two forearms shared one elbow). Peridot had always theorized that Smoky had three because although Amethyst was a full Gem, Steven was half Gem, half human (i.e., only ¾ Gem in the fusion).

And Stevonnie? "Well duh! They couldn't have one arm!" Peridot had protested years ago. "So they got two arms since between them there was only ¼ of a Gem."

Peridot continued with her theory. "Opal? Two Gems, four arms. Sugilite? Same. Alexandrite? Three Gems, six arms."

"Four Gems," corrected Garnet. She was referring to herself being a fusion of Ruby and Sapphire.

"OK, OK, skip Alexandrite," waved Peridot. "But but but, maybe...because you've been a fusion for so long, hmm?"

"Whatever," Garnet crossed her arms.

"What about Malachite?" Asked Pearl.

"Weird-O," said Peridot. "Arms? Legs? What?"

Anyway, that was an earlier argument the Crystal Gems had. So...what did this fusion have?

Four arms!

"Hmm. Blows Peridot's theory," said Garnet. "Can't wait 'til she sees this," chuckled Pearl.

"Huh." Said the new fusion, looking at their four hands. "So...what shall we...I...be called? Amethyst? You're always good at this."

"Hmm." It had her stumped for a minute or two. "Pink...Topaz?" They all gave her a look. "Hey!" She protested. "It's better than Rose Topaz!"

"We're OK with it," said the fusion.

"Well, then, Pink Topaz it is," said Garnet.


Pink Topaz and Garnet went to the seashore. Facing each other, they sat down for meditation, putting their three pairs of hands in the mudra for the Vishuddha Chakra. "Let us begin," said Garnet.

"Close your eyes."

"Breathe." And the surrounding location faded away until they were in total blackness.

"Here, in darkness, everything's okay. Listen to the waves, and let them fade away."

"Now, I want you to go deep, into the recesses of your Gem."

"Which Gem?"

"You are a Stable Fusion. Not only do you remain in strong synchronization, you have a romantic relationship, thus keeping a strong bond between each other. One Gem bonds with the other, in harmony. Share your memories. Share your feelings. Share your thoughts."

"Now, seek out remaining influences from Blue Diamond. If you find any, purge them. You are a Crystal Gem. Your Gem belongs to you, not to her."

And Pink Topaz plunged into the deep recesses of their bonded Gems - Rose Quartz and Topaz. Steven felt the agony of Topaz's capture and torture at the hands of Blue Diamond's Peridot. Topaz felt Steven's horrified anguish at losing her. Together, as a couple, they searched out and destroyed any remaining influences that had been implanted by Blue Diamond's Peridot.

When done, they returned to the Fusion Realm where Garnet waited. "We're done."

"Good," she replied. "Cleansing breath."

"Open your eyes."


Well, all of Blue Diamond's influences have been purged! However, it appears that the human Connie is gone, replaced permanently by Topaz!

Can Topaz ever regain the ability to return to a human form?