The next day Rose told us about a group of Quartz's who were guarding a Home World base. The Crystal Gems were going to fight them, to send a message to Home World that they were serious and that this planet was off limits. As the Quartz's were going to be very strong, the Rebels strongest fighters were going to go. Rose, Pearl and an Agate were going to be the first line, while Garnet and Bismuth would sneak into the small base they were defending and take out the rest. I couldn't deny that I was nervous about this.
Not only would it be our first battle as Garnet, but doing it with Bismuth? Yes, I knew that they fought side-by-side during this time, but alone? No, we would be okay. For now Bismuth was still our ally, I had to trust her. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting go of all my worries. I wouldn't let us fall apart because of me again. I had to relax. Everything would be okay. After everyone was ready, I walked up to Sapphire, "are you ready for this?" I asked. Sapphire stared at me from under her bangs, "are you?" she asked back.
I nodded, "yes, I should be fine, after all, it's not like we're doing this alone like the last time- we have our comrades with us, and as long as we trust in them, ourselves and each other, I'm sure I'll be alright, that we'll be alright" I stared back at my partner with determination and held out my hand. The blue Gem smiled warmly at me and took it. We began twirling around in a waltz, with me once again picking Sapphire up and spinning her around. Laughing, our gems glowed and our forms turned to light, once again melding together perfectly. The pink and blue Fusion's form stabilized and Garnet grinned, cracking her knuckles, "let's beat some Home World Clods!" she proclaimed confidently.
R
Garnet, Rose, Bismuth, Pearl and Agate crept through the foliage in silence. Garnet was understandably nervous. Quartz Gems were made for fighting, and while Sapphire was focused, I was worried. The determination that I'd had before coming out here was beginning to give way for fear at the thought of our first real battle. The Fusion clenched her fists when they began to shake. After the disaster of our first mission, I had no idea what was going to happen. I shook my head to clear it, and looked over at Sapphire from within our shared Mindscape.
The blue Gem smiled, "we'll be alright Ruby, whatever happens, as long as we have each other, it'll be okay" she said. I grasped her hand, and our Gems clinked together, feeling right and safe while we were so close. I took a deep breath, and stared into her eye, "you're right, we'll be okay" I replied. Garnet turned her attention outwards as we neared the base, "here we go" she whispered. Suddenly, Rose Quartz, Pearl and Agate rushed out into the open. The Home World Gems let out a shriek of surprise, especially at being attacked by a Pearl of all Gems, but soon came back to their senses and attacked. The Quartz's clashed with their sister Gem, who fought back ferociously. As their comrades were distracting the other Gems, Bismuth and Garnet rushed into the base.
We suddenly came upon a small platoon of about eight Quartz's in a single room. Bismuth's Gem glowed, and her hands morphed into two hammers, which she bashed together, "come get us you Upper Crusts!" she exclaimed, grinning with excitement. Garnet summoned her Gauntlets, then, channeling Sapphires super speed, rushed forwards, and started punching every Gem in the building. Bismuth smashed through them with her hammers. However, they weren't the warrior class of our race for nothing. The ensuring battle was the most intense thing Garnet had experienced.
However, she used everything at her disposal. Karate, Future Vision and Gauntlets. She managed to take out a few of the other Gems, but the Quartz Gems didn't want to make it easy for her. Suddenly a bolt of agonizing energy shot through her body. It was so quick, no one had time to scream, but the Fusion fell apart regardless. Before they could get their bearings, the two small Gems were knocked away from each other and into the battle. Sapphire looked up at all the (to her) giant Gems. She couldn't see Ruby anywhere. The blue Gem began to use her Future Vision to try and find the easiest way to get to her partner.
Meanwhile I shook my head and looked around. There were huge Quartz's everywhere, so many that I could barely see through their bodies. I summoned my boxing glove and began to punch my way through my enemies. As I knocked another big Amethyst out of the way, I saw something that caused the flames within me to all but freeze. A Quartz with a huge hammer was advancing towards Sapphire. My eyes widened in horror. In desperation, I began to climb the nearest Gem, jumping from each of their heads to keep moving. Some of them noticed me and tried to knock me off, but I was moving too fast for them to catch me.
I jumped off the Quartz's head just as the one near my partner attacked. I reached my hand out to try and knock her out of the way. The hammer slammed into my Gemstone with a large amount of force. A huge amount of pain ripped through my body, as I was flung into Sapphire and both of us were thrown backwards, hitting the wall behind us.
(No one's POV)
The blue Gem pushed herself up and looked down at her partner, who was now lying in her lap, "Ruby! Are you okay?" she asked, almost frantically. Ruby opened her eyes weakly and smiled, "I-I'm so glad y-you're okay S-S-S-Sapp-pp-pp-ire *gasp*!" she replied, catching on the word, before gasping and flinching as pain shot through her form. Her body glitched and suddenly her arm and leg seemed to lose their ability to stay at their usual length. The blue Gem looked down at her partner's Gem embedded hand and saw, to her horror, a spider-web of cracks. Sapphire gasped and grasped the hand gently, "oh god, Ruby!" she cried, tears forming in her eye. Pain was wracking Ruby's body, but she forced her mind to clear, "S-S-Sapph, y-you h-h-have to f-find R-Rose- sh-she can, h-heal m-m-m-me!" she gasped out through the vocal glitches. The ice-wielding Gem nodded, steeling herself. She carefully picked up the red Gem's altered body and gently cradled it, taking extra care with Ruby's damaged Gemstone.
Her partner was limp in her arms, her face and eyes were scrunched up tightly in agony. Sapphire grit her teeth. "Don't worry, you'll be okay, I'll get you help, I swear" she whispered to Ruby. Then she shot off, faster than she'd ever moved before, knocking enemy Gems out of the way without a care. Sapphire Looked ahead to See where she'd find Rose Quartz. When she'd found the warrior Gem, she headed straight towards her, before finally stopping in front of their leader. Rose had her shield out, as well as her sword. "Rose!" Sapphire all but screamed. Said Gem looked up, after Poofing another Quartz soldier. Her eyes widened in alarm at seeing the state Ruby was in.
The blue Gem ran up, and Rose's Bubble instantly formed around the three, "what happened?!" the pink Gem exclaimed, taking Ruby's hand and examining her Gem. However, Sapphire was too upset to answer, and tears kept trailing down the middle of her face. Rose knelt down and a tear fell from her eye. When it dripped onto the cracked Gemstone, it glowed, and the crack healed almost instantly.
(Ruby's POV)
I let out a gasp as though I had just come back from the dead and my eyes shot wide open as my form glowed brightly. My arms and legs retracted back into their original length and I blinked my eyes up at Sapphire's face.
"Sapph-" I whispered, seeing the tears on her face and reaching up to wipe them away, "I'm okay now" I replied, smiling reassuringly. My partner grasped my hand with my Gem and pressed it to her cheek, feeling the perfectly smooth surface against her physical form. Sapphire caressed my hand softly, before helping me sit up. I grasped her other hand with my free one. Then my eyes turned deadly, "why don't we let Garnet show these bastards just what happens when you mess with one of us?" I asked with a dangerous grin. The blue Gem returned the look, helping me to my feet. After testing the strength in my legs, I lifted Sapphire up and spun her around. Our Gems glowed and we were fused once again.
Garnet looked out at the enemy Gems, "let's dance" she said, as she nodded at Rose. The pink Gem nodded back and slid her sword out of it's sheath. Then she dropped her Bubble and both of us ran off back into the fray.
R
After the battle was over, Rose came over to us. We had already un-fused and Sapphire was sitting stoically next to me. After checking us over, she said that she had to go check on Agate and Bismuth, and turned to walk away, but not before telling us that she was glad we were both alright now. We weren't alright though. Physically we were fine. But emotionally and mentally- not a chance in hell. I knew that Sapphire was going to break down eventually, most likely when we were back at base and alone.
For now I simply held the silent blue Gem in my arms, stroking her hair and whispering that I was alright over and over, as many times as she wanted. But I was also extremely shaken up. I mean I'd almost- just the thought of it made me choke on air. It terrified me. Pearl came up to us, frowning slightly, "um, are you two okay?" she asked us. I inhaled shakily, "yeah, I'm okay, just a bit shaken, but Sapphire-" I tightened my hold on her body, "it'll take a while" I replied softly. Pearl nodded in understanding, "well, I've been through similar situations myself, if you two ever want to talk- I'll listen" she said, before turning and walking away.
I blinked. Huh. It seemed that she was finally opening up to us. I looked down at my lover. She was as solid as her Gemstone and cold as ice. I frowned; I knew that she was naturally cold, but not that much. I began rubbing her arms to warm her up, but she didn't move. I wondered if she was using her Future Vision, as she was so still. I decided to wait for a little while to see if she would snap out of it. A few minutes passed and my partner was still in the same state as before. I then decided to take matters into my own hands. Lifting up Sapphire's hand with her Gem in it, I threaded my blocky fingers through her small ones and pressed our Gemstones together.
As always it sent a pleasant tingle through my body, though it seemed to be slightly different this time. As I'd hoped that same jolt went through my partner. She slowly moved her head to face me. I smiled warmly at her, "hey," I said gently, "it's okay, no more danger, you don't have to worry anymore tonight, okay?" I asked softly, wrapping my other arm around her waist and pulling Sapphire closer to me. The blue Gem shivered, before clinging to me without a word. I began rubbing her back, "shh, it's okay, no more danger" I whispered. She tightened her grip on my Gem-embedded hand.
Then she began to speak, "R-Ruby, can we stay Fused for a while, a-at least until I calm down? I want you closer to me" she whispered back. Instead of speaking, I began to kiss my partner. Sapphire melted into the kiss, while tightening her grip around me. I felt warmth grow within me, different from my flames. It was the warmth of my love for this Gem, and I was happy to show just how much I loved her. My partner started to kiss me back, and I could almost feel her desire to be closer to me right then. As we grew more passionate, our Gems began to glow once more, engulfing us in purple light. When it died down, Garnet was once again in our place.
She clenched her fists around our Gems. We would protect each other this time, no matter what.
To Be Continued