A/N: Salve, everyone. Sorry for the late update. My mom just had back surgery and I'm helping her recover from it. Plus, I had a lot of trouble writing it. Also, I'd like to welcome our newest follower, Abby cadabby my candy. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: They're not mine!

+=0=+

Chapter 9) Fusion

The eleven beings ran out of the small house to find the source of the frightening sound. The turtles had their weapons drawn, along with April, who had pulled her tessen out of her pocket, and Casey, who brought out his photon pucks and hockey stick. The Gems had also conjured their respective weapons. They looked around, until they spotted a large, turtle-creature, larger than the cliff Steven's house was on, coming out of the ocean. It had yellow and blue spikes sticking out of the shell on its back. It also had what seemed to be one hundred sharp teeth, that it was baring at them. It had a large green gemstone on its right shoulder.

It climbed out of the water and roared again. The turtles, April, and Casey began to attack to no avail.

The Gems and Steven looked at the lame attack on the gem monster, laughing to themselves. "These guys are useless against giant monsters," Amethyst said. "How about we help them out?" Pearl asked. Garnet and Amethyst nodded in agreement. They ran off, with Steven behind them, leaving Splinter slightly confused.

Casey shot another photon puck at the monster, causing only a slight burn mark on the creature's leg. Along with the turtles, who were attempting to attack by the feet. April was only able to throw her weapon a few feet higher, hitting it in the calf of its leg.

"Oh, come on!" Raph exclaimed as Casey shot another puck at it, "How are we supposed to beat this thing!?"

"I think you guys could use some help," they heard a raspy, female voice say. "Uh… who was that?" Mikey asked.

At that moment, a giant, pink woman with light blue hair come out from behind the cliff. She wore a visor, had six gloved arms, four gemstones, one on her forehead, one on her chest, and one in two of her hands and leggings that had stars on the knees. "Is she another Crystal Gem?" April asked. "If not, I hope she's on our side," Donnie said.

The giant Gem created a giant, red hammer that looked it was made with two fists. She grabbed it and started swinging it at the monster, who dodged them easily. "Hm, I guess this still has some sense," she said.

"Let's try a different approach," she said, in a slightly different voice.

"Is she talking to herself?" Leo asked. "Maybe she's crazy?" Casey said with a shrug. "I don't know why, but something seems familiar about her," April said.

The Gem dissipated the hammer and a flail made of a whip and two joined purple gauntlets at the end replaced it. She swung it again at the monster and hit it on the back, causing no damage. "Really!?" Leo said, astonished.

The turtle monster jumped on the giant woman, trapping her underneath its feet. She struggled and suddenly opened her mouth, letting out a large breath of fire that propelled it into the water. A giant boulder flew out of the ocean where it landed and headed straight for the six of the them.

They all closed their eyes, bracing themselves in fear of what was to come, only to hear a familiar voice shout, "B-b-bubble!"

They heard a crash and opened their eyes to find themselves in a giant, pink bubble with Steven. "Steven?!" April said, astonished, "Did you do this?"

"Yeah, he did this when I met him!" Mikey said. "My mom's bubble can protect us from anything," Steven said, "I actually got to the bottom of the ocean in this thing."

"Cool," Casey said. "So, what do we do about that gem creature?" Leo asked. "Don't worry, Alexandrite will take care of it," Steven answered. "Is that the six-armed woman?" Donnie asked. "Yep," Steven said. "Good," April said with a slight sigh, "Then we know she's on our side."

They watched Alexandrite battle for a few more minutes, before she wrapped the flail around the turtle so it couldn't run. Then, she created a bow and arrow and shot it at the monster, finally destroying it.

"We're safe," Steven said, lowering the bubble. "Are you guys okay?" Alexandrite asked as she walked up to them. "We're fine," Mikey said.

"Oh, thank goodness you are alright," Master Splinter said, coming towards them. "Sensei!" they exclaimed. "Who are you?" Splinter asked Alexandrite. "We have already met," she answered. "Uh, I don't think so," Raph said, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. "Yes, we have," she replied. "Prove it," he said.

Alexandrite stood up straight without another word and appeared to have disappeared into a form of light.

Suddenly, they form turned into three. Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl appeared in the three forms. Garnet stood in front of Raph and said, "There."

"What the heck was that?!" Casey exclaimed. "That's what we gems call, 'fusion,'" Amethyst said. "Fusion?" Casey asked. They were walking back to Steven's house. "We're able to synchronize our bodies to make ourselves stronger," Pearl explained. "On Homeworld, they frown upon duel-gem fusion," Garnet explained.

"Can you show us? I want to see this," April said. "Sure, I guess we can have a fusion to help us explain," Garnet said, "Pearl?"

She and Pearl stepped out into the open so that everyone could see.

Pearl started dancing like an elegant ballerina, while Garnet starting dancing in a harder style. "Are they…dancing?" Donnie asked. Then, he noticed that their gems were glowing.

Pearl got in front of Garnet during their dance. Garnet grabbed her and threw her up in the air.

When she came down, their bodies turned into light and the two forms turned into one. Suddenly, a giant, red woman with four arms, triangle hair, and a gap in her teeth. She wore a bowtie and sunglasses over her four eyes. Her gems were in her forehead like Pearl, and her hands on the top pair of arms like Garnet. She held a sort of English accent when she spoke, "Goooooood day, everyone!"

"Hey, Sardonyx," Amethyst said. "Sardonyx?" April said.

"It's so nice to meet all of you!" Sardonyx said. "Uh, nice to meet you, too," Casey said, a little weirded out. "Now, we fusions usually don't show up for anything other than a fight, but I think that this could be considered a 'special occasion,'" Sardonyx said. She walked on the beach and made the upper half of her body turn around, letting out a hearty laugh, "Does anyone have any questions about fusion?"

"Uh, what happens to the gems that make the fusion?" Leo asked. "Very good question, Leonardo!" Sardonyx said, "The gems that make up the fusion are still conscious when fused, they just have to work alongside each other to make the fusion work."

"What happens if they don't get along so well?" Raph asked. "Most of the time, they fall apart," Sardonyx said, a little sorrowful, "Others have actually been bound together by anger." April looked over at Steven and noticed him looking out at the ocean.

"What kind of weapon do you use?" Mikey asked. "Well, do you remember that mallet that Alexandrite used?" Sardonyx said. They all nodded. "Well…" she said.

She pulled Pearl's spear out of her forehead gem and threw it up in the air. When it came back down, she caught it with both hands, creating two orange gauntlets that joined together on the end, turning the spear into a mallet. She held the mallet over her shoulder and behind her head.

"Whoa!" they all said.

"Now, this is very well useful for fighting monsters, angry gem fusions, or simply destroying communication hubs," she said, "Any other questions?"

"What about Steven?" April asked, "Can he fuse?"

"Actually, yes, he can," Sardonyx answered. "But's he's only fused with me and his friend," Amethyst explained. "So, gems can fuse with humans?" April asked.

Sardonyx finally unfused into Garnet and Pearl. "No, Steven is special," Pearl said, "We think that he can fuse with humans because…"

"Because he's part human?" Donnie said. "Yes," Pearl answered. "Okay," Mikey said, "What about the other weapons Alexandrite used?"

"Well, the bow and arrows come from Opal, mine and Amethyst's fusion," Pearl told them. "And that awesome flail thing?" Casey asked. "Uh, that was Sugilite's," Pearl said, seeming a little uneasy. "Amethyst and Garnet's fusion," April said, understanding what Pearl was talking about. With a sigh, Pearl answered, "Yes."

"What's wrong with Sugilite?" Leo asked. "Sugilite can get a little…out of control," Amethyst said. "Why?" Donnie asked. "It's the combination of our personalities," Garnet explained, "They are so intense that the fusion is a little unstable."

"That fusion thing sounds so cool," Mikey said. "I want to see Steven fuse with his friend," Raph said.

They heard a car door close and a young girl call, "Hey, Steven!"

The sound of the stranger's voice made the mutants' ninja reflexes kick in and sent them hiding in a crevice in the cliff. "Guys?" Steven said, "What happened?"

"They're mutants, Steven. They feel safer if no one sees them," April said as a young girl came up to them, "Your friend must've scared them."

"Hi," said the young girl. The turtles recognized her from the day they met Steven. She had the same, large, pink sword strapped to her back.

"Hey, Connie. This is my cousin, April and her friend, Casey," Steven introduced. "It's nice to meet you," Connie said. "I guess she knows about the gems?" Casey asked. "Yeah," Connie said. "It's okay, guys," Steven said, "You can come out, guys, you can trust her."

The ninjas walked out of the small hiding spot, prepared for Connie's reaction to them.

+=0=+

A/N: Remember, read, review and share. Happy Holidays, and I'll see you in the next chapter! Vale!

-LB20