AN: Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Life at my studio has been busy. Especially with the whole dinosaurs-aren't-legally-recognized-as-people thing.
I heard that next month we will learn Garnet's true origin story. Since my stories are in an AU, the canon story will not happen, although I will incorporate some elements of that into my backstory for Garnet.
Enjoy! ~ T. Nerdinator
Rainbow Quartz felt unstoppable. What Azurite had said reminded her of all those times she had fought off corrupted gems, the largest she had encountered roughly the size of a skyscraper. What type of gem had that been? she had asked herself. Oh, that's right - it had been a corrupted calcite.
Speaking of carbonate minerals, Rainbow Quartz had decided against watch duty for Malachite, seeing as she wasn't quite over her fear of the large green fusion.
But she knew she couldn't avoid her fear forever. No, she had to overcome it; slowly, but surely, would she gain the courage to run her hand through the fusion's hair, which reminded her a bit of her own. (Which it should, seeing as they both contained quartz-series gems as components, and Rainbow Quartz was, obviously, a quartz herself).
Alexandrite had sat herself in front of the large bubble Malachite was trapped inside. The latter, not wanting to anger the former, had resolved to staying quiet, keeping her lips closed so that only her fang-like canine teeth were visible. She didn't know what Alexandrite's weapon was, but anything with an extra, fanged mouth hidden under its chin was enough to keep her from trying to escape.
Suddenly, there was a burgundy-colored flash of light. Alexandrite sank through the clouds that made up the ground and disappeared. Malachite saw this, figured that Alexandrite had been summoned, and blankly stared out into the world.
Maybe I should try to escape, she thought. No - that wouldn't be right. I'll have to earn my freedom. Oh, I shouldn't have tried to kill that Rainbow Quartz - was she #485? Oh, it doesn't matter. They're right. I'm a monster. A tear slid out of her lower left eye.
A lavender fusion she didn't recognize passed by her bubble. Malachite watched her walk around the perimeter of the bubble, not paying any mind to Malachite. Then she disappeared into one of the clouds next to it.
Malachite sighed. She knew what kind of fusion that one was - an azurite, a spunky mixture of a lapis lazuli and an amethyst. The kind of fusion Malachite could never be. It made the large, green-striped figure depressed.
Blip.
Malachite heard something enter her bubble. She turned around to see the azurite had entered her bubble.
"'Sup," Azurite said.
Malachite recoiled a little in shock. "W-what are you doing in here?"
"I wanted to speak with you."
"Me? But...I'm..."
"No, you aren't. You have goodness inside you, Mal. I know it."
"How?"
"Both of us share a Gem component. Your lapis is mine as well. We can share information telepathically."
"...What did you drink last night?"
Azurite facepalmed. "Look, why do you think Rainbow Quartz 485 and Opal 515 have such a strong bond? They share a pearl component. The ensuing information exchange is great, so great they actually fell in love with each other."
Malachite looked on intently as Azurite explained the fine mechanisms of fusion, how it would ultimately lead to a greater understanding between its components if done right.
Something about Azurite was enticing to Malachite's four eyes. She didn't know what, but she was drawn to it.
A while later there was a loud rumbling noise right in front of Malachite's bubble. Azurite panicked. "If anyone asks, I was never here," she told Malachite, and dove inside the larger fusion's pants.
Before Malachite could react, Alexandrite materialized in front of her. "I see you have behaved," she said.
"Well, yeah, what did you expect?" Malachite asked. Azurite was pressed against her left fore-thigh-shoulder, and it was making her a bit uncomfortable.
"I was expecting you to go on a rampage."
And with that Alexandrite left to find a new fusion to keep watch over her.
Malachite's lower lip trembled. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Azurite, having slid out of her sleeve, noticed the other fusion was about to cry.
"There, there, Mal," Azurite said, trying to soothe her newfound companion's sadness.
"S-she's right," Malachite sniffed. "I'm a monster. Nothing can change that." She started crying.
Blip.
"Why does the new guy always have to do the brunt work?" an unfamiliar voice said.
Malachite stopped crying. She and Azurite turned around to see another fusion. Only this time, the fusion was larger - somewhere between Opal and Malachite in stature - had four arms and four eyes, and was teal in color.
"A turquoise?" Azurite asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you guys kept to yourselves for the most part."
"Most do," Turquoise replied. "But my connection with other Lapis 55462-containing fusions alerted me here."
"ANOTHER ONE? Sheez, Lapis gets around," Azurite said.
"I think she may be in love with Peridot 3702, however," Turqouise explained.
The other two fusions drew a blank.
Turquoise sighed. "I'll have to tell you what happened, don't I?" she asked.
The other two nodded.
