What is up, peoples and persons?
I am so sorry for the veeeeery long update, but a LOT of stuff has happened regarding my lifestyle and it made it impossible for me to even get near my computer. So, here's a new small bit of reading, lol.
I skipped Arcade Mania since it was too simple an episode to make and not much to change since it wasn't really too focused on a long plot.
All the legalities apart, I don't own Steven Universe or any of it's affiliates; all rights exclusive to Rebecca Sugar.
Enjoy. :)
Okay, spending all day removing the sand from the wraps wasn't exactly my idea to end the day, but at least I'm fresh.
And the next day seriously bit into my ammunition.
See, they went off on a mission to get another creature and it left us with parasites that drilled and multiplied on a constant.
It didn't seem like much to worry about since they were okay with playing at the Arcade. Though someone please tell me why and how the fuck Onion actually won a moped…
But since Garnet was a secret gamer beneath, she was stuck playing Meat Beat Mania for hours and nearly a whole day entirely.
Steven and I had tried everything to remove her trance, to the point where we saw that she had a third eye after removing her sunglasses.
In other words, she could see the future… or at least predict it, maybe. No one really told me that, but I know a thing or two and third eyes usually say something.
That was why Pearl and Amethyst were clueless on what to do. They rely very heavily on her leadership ability. And that's bad.
Like, really bad.
Luckily, no one saw the broken machine since I was able to fix it before Smiley noticed. The last thing I need is another case. Or possible lawsuit… or another ass bite.
The gunshots were many and the shells were loud too. But no one can prove anything; I never leave a casing. Having magnetism is very useful outside combat.
And that brings us to today.
Garnet was off somewhere, probably looking for something. Meanwhile, I was with the other three, playing checkers with Amethyst and Pearl.
Steven sat atop a lifeguard tower, keeping track of turns by pelting the two with water balloons. Amy was concentrating, and by the looks of it, somewhat hard, to see what move she'll do next.
"Ha! Take that!" she exclaims.
"Wow, Amethyst, I'm impressed." Pearl was quickly shut by a water balloon exploding in her face. Steven makes me laugh so much, I'm pretty sure it should be said "Steven is the best medicine" in place of laughter.
"Now it's your move, Pearl," he states.
"Steven, the water balloons are appreciated but not completely necessary, you know," I add my two cents in.
"I know, but this way, the moves really matter."
"But it's checkers! Every single move matters," Pearl somewhat complained.
"True… in most cases…" I mutter the last part to myself. For pragmatists out there, the rules don't apply.
"It sounds like someone's being a sore loser," Amethyst gloats, twirling her wet hair.
If this was a cartoon, Pearl would probably have steam coming from her ears, considering her wanting to growl. But she regained her composure.
"I'm not a sore loser," she taunts, using one piece to win the frickin game, putting us all in shock, "because I just won the game."
Huh. I didn't even realize that Amy set her pieces to fail indefinitely. Then again, not like she paid too much attention to her remainders.
If one wants to win, or at least stalemate, one must know their opponent straight and perfect, not allowing them to take advantage of your weaknesses.
"Wha..!?" It's raining balloons. "Here it comes…"
She laughs at getting splashed, relaxing and sighing afterwards. "Feels good to lose."
"*Ahem* I certainly hope that's not the attitude you have during battle." Pearl, there's no need to scold all the time.
Just now and then.
"Ugh, you're no fun anymore." To be honest… when was she fun in the first place? "This is why we never form Opal." Hmm?
Opal?
Then…
"We don't form Opal because you're difficult and a mess."
Sheesh, girl, you salty. And you don't even have the composition for it.
"We don't form Opal because you're uptight and a-"
"Easy now," I say, almost letting Amy let this be PG-13.
Then again, this is rated M…
I only say that because Steven is here. Last thing I want is for him to learn the true meaning that is the vulgarity and vulnerability of humanity.
"Guys, guys!" Steven pushed them apart. Phew. "What is Opal?"
"Oh it's the two of us, mashed together," Amy explains, mashing her hands… together.
Pearl scoffed. "Is water just hydrogen and oxygen 'mashed' together?"
I take a second to think. LYNX appears by coming from behind me, a few stoppered test tubes shaking somewhat violently.
"When it is frozen, a technical yes," she replies, "and when used individually as a fuel, also yes." Pearl facepalms.
"Incorrect analogy, LYNX," Pearl scolded…
"Then please explain, 'professor'." She throws away said tubes behind her and a massive holographic explosion happens, along with a mushroom cloud. It hurt… mostly because the sound was much closer to me. "How does an iron impure silicon dioxide and a calcium carbonate form into another coefficiently measured water infused silicon dioxide?"
"Well, it's simple." Pearl kneels down to demonstrate using sand manipulations..? There were two shapes, representing the both of them. "When we synchronize our forms we can combine into a powerful fusion gem named Opal." Both bowed and danced in a certain ballet, and when they touched, they turned into one-
Wait, wait…
Sand. Manipulations.
Sand?
…bruh…
Where the fuck was that when we had the Desert Glass!? Ugh…
This world…
Then again, it's probably just used as a minor thing.
Amethyst took me out of my stupor when she stomps on said sand. "Except I don't dance like that."
"Amethyst." Pearl was nearly shocked.
"Weird way of fusion, but it's not too different from mine," I mutter, looking at another direction.
"I concur." LYNX, you don't fuse. You break them, ha. Get it?
"Wow, that's so cool! But tell me more about Opal!"
Steven will never run out of enthusiasm, will he? Then again, it's only been about 7 or 8 episodes…
"Well, Steven, she's an ultra powerful, stone cold Betty- that part's me. And she's like, kinda tall… (Whisper) That part's Pearl."
Betty? You?
"Sorry, but Pearl is in no way a Veronica…" I take a minute to look at them. "Metaphorically speaking."
"Veronica?" They all ask.
"Betty and Veronica, it's a term that statistically individualizes two girls in different idealistic personalities, where Betty would be the 'sweet girl next door' and Veronica as the 'sassy hot girl down the lane'." They become very confused. "One is kooky and sweet, one's the opposite; what's not to get?" Ugh…
"Okay… what Amethyst is attempting to say is, Opal is an amalgam of our combined magical and physical attributes fused into a single entity."
In other words, my type of bullshit.
"Wow! Can you do it right now? Come on, form Opal!" Steven, I think you may be a bit overexcited.
Amethyst scoffs, telling me that it's bad.
"We only form Opal when it's absolutely necessary," Pearl laments.
In other words, probably never because you'll burn through every other possible options if it sounds that bad.
A familiar warp pad light and sound confirms us that Garnet is home.
"Garnet's back!"
They promptly leave, leaving the chessboard behind. I wanted to grab it, but I shrug instead, thinking that it probably won't be missed.
I make it back to them, hoping I didn't miss anything. But Steven decided to take the initiative and get there quicker.
"Remind me again why Garnet had to leave?"
"She was on a mission to locate a few artifacts," Pearl informed. "If anything, she'll brief us on what we need to do."
A mission every other day? Meh, at least it's something to do.
"Whoa, a rock! Thanks, Garnet!"
"Souvenir, huh?" I ask Steven… before he bites into it. Hmm.
"So, was your mission a success?"
"I have located the Geode beetles of Heaven and Earth," she replied. "We should split up to retrieve them."
If only it were that easy to find what I need…
"Well, I'm going with not Pearl," Amy snarks.
"Well, that's perfect because I don't want to go with grammatically incorrect people anyway," Pearl snarks back.
"Is her talking about me?" Steven asks, finally stopping from biting the rock.
Uh… Would that be considered cannibalism? He can't bite into it, but… I'mma try not to think about it.
"No, Steven," I inform. "You are actually saying it correctly in certain parts of English, globally speaking."
"You will all go together," Garnet commanded.
"What? Why?" Sans Steven.
"The Earth Beetle's at the bottom of the boiling lava lake, and only I can swim in lava." She begins to summon a pair of snorkeling goggles. It wrapped around her head, giving her cube afro an hourglass shape. Kinda.
"I beg to differ, but I… haven't worked the kinks out of the ability," I add, "so… yeah, never mind."
"Like I said. You'll find the Heaven Beetle at the top of the Sky Spire. It's safer."
"You mean boring-er." Facepalm thanks to Amy… again.
"You mean more boring." And my fingers crush my face because of Pearl.
Again.
"So you agree with me."
"Ugh…"
I roll my eyes and take out my Scatterpoint, removing the shells it has. I was expecting to deal with more earth related enemies so it still had Wind ones loaded.
I do like versatility and that's the main aspect of my guns, but I decided to have a separate mod because I had a whole 32 gauge and .500 interchange thing, but it was painful; 16 and .316 are much more manageable and easier.
I also would've gone with a Kel-Tec KSG-12 rip, but then decided that I didn't need the extra tube. Plus, compared to regular ones, it felt kinda bulky despite being a bullpup.
"Well, if we're going to a mountainous terrain, I might as well. LYNX, please be on the lookout for any climate changes once we get there."
"Standing by."
"Are you ready, Moira?"
One last shell, a pump of the action, and pressing the safety on and the semiauto function, "Ready." I hook the thing to a grip hook I pulled slightly up from my sash.
Putting guns into the sash alone was hardcore looking… well, kinda, but it seemed sloppy. So with the help of her new robots, LYNX made those automatic grip things, like that one thing a toothbrush commercial had one time. Think Robocop but without it being holstered away into my leg and instead onto the sash and into my pouch.
I hop on the pad, thinking it'll be a lighter thing than yesterday.
"Steven, Moira, be sure to keep the harmony," Garnet said one last thing.
"I'll try."
"Today's going to be all about HAR-MON-"
The warp activates, sending us at a blinding speed.
"- NY! Oof!" Steven fell from the warp, seeing that we now teleported…
Wait. We were in there for how long? Two microseconds?
Then why the hell were other times completely different?
Sigh.
This show needs subtitles.
But anyway, I look up, the spire being slightly blocked by the clouds.
"Whoa… is this where the Heaven Beetle lives?"
"Apparently…" Pearl analyzes.
"All the way at the top." Amethyst almost sounded as if she wanted to complain.
"Might as well go," I say, "or we'll burn too much daylight. Lead the way; I'll cover us from behind."
The two nod and we look at our path, making sure Steven stays close. I scan around the area to see if there's any suspicious activity.
None.
"LYNX, finding anything?"
"Nothing near. Standing by."
Good.
"So, when you fuse, do you turn into a giant giant woman, or just a regular-sized giant woman?" He asks.
I'm an inch taller than Pearl; you make your own conclusions.
And that's especially seeing that I was 5' 8 before coming here as a regular human.
But this was enough for the purple Gem to really start groaning.
"Does one of you control the right arm and the other control the left arm?"
"Imaginative or relative, huh?" Hmm. Makes sense…
"Come on, Steven," Pearl says, both now getting off the pad.
"Wait, these are extremely important questions."
"It'll all be in due time, kid," I say, ruffling his hair. We begin trekking up to these long steps. I'm amazed actually at how the vegetation around here hasn't consumed it already considering its time.
"Phew, there sure are a lot of stairs… how about you form Opal and give me a piggyback ride?"
"No," they went.
"Here, Steven." I pick him up and set him on my shoulders, the kid laughing. I almost gasp at a few… memories.
A flashback sped over my eyes for a quick second, forcing me to look away.
No… enough.
I ignore them for the mission. This isn't a time for you to indulge on that, Matt. You'll keep it, you know that.
He chuckles even more at the notion, probably enjoying the extra height. But it doesn't stop him from asking questions. Then again, I don't blame him. I'm also curious to know how their fusion works.
"What about if you eat a hotdog? Whose stomach does it go into? Or do you share the same stomach? (Laugh) That would be gross!" I heard a faint footstep.
"Contact!"
A bush rustled causing me to set Steven down and aim my shotgun while they summoned their spear and whip respectively. The rustling began to stop and reveal a…
Goat?
"False alarm," I state, reholstering my arm.
"*Gasp* Look out! It's a magical goat guardian!"
I love how he makes some pretty good excuses… if the two were okay doing a Bavarian fire drill.
"Quick, you have to form Opal! It's the only way to defeat it!" I commend you for too much now, kid. He even pretends to duck and cover. "Hurry before it kills us all!"
I thought it was a show that… oh, I said that already, didn't I?
"Ugh, Steven," Pearl walks up to the goat, "we only fuse for deadly situations. Does this look like a deadly situation?"
Well, considering it bit your thumb, maybe.
"Ow! Hey! Bad mountain goat!"
*Bleat*
"Pearl… they took your thumb, Pearl." I couldn't resist.
Amethyst laughs to the point of falling. I did too without falling. It's not everyday I get to see the animal scold the human. I'd rather not translate what it said.
"Darn it. Aw, I'm never going to get to see Opal."
Considering their abilities, I feel like it isn't being used to their full advantage in ending his questions. Is shapeshifting not an option?
Steven eventually began singing a few things about wanting to see a giant woman. We were climbing up a very steep, you could say, land ladder that had every footstep be a rubble filled scratch.
A rock even hit my face.
Amethyst decided to play a prank once we reached a river. Pearl, using her graceful balance, uses the rocks to avoid being wet… despite my insistence that I can easily remove said water…
Her loss.
But Amy comes up looking like the top half of a shark, making Pearl fall… and wetting me in the process.
Fricking. Wetting. Me.
She's a rail thin, curveless, stick of a body. How the absolute fuck does she splash enough to not only get me, but drench my dress completely?
And I'm wondering if someone indigenous has settled here before because I'm pretty sure wooden bridges was not a thought on their minds when coming here.
Amy, being Amy, decides to bounce on it to have a bit of fun with the waves.
Not gonna lie, I wanted to as well. However, I was more focused on the path ahead… and why Steven Jr., the goat so promptly named, even joined us in the first place.
The argument those two had was enough to bring me back, annoying me and making me feel bad for Steven. As much as it looks like this isn't affecting him much, I really beg to differ. Imagine how much he must be hurting on the inside seeing his role models at each other's throats.
Even the group hug he does doesn't look like it helps.
Eventually, we reached an impasse. A bridge of floating land masses was the only way to reach the other stairs, making me think of what to do. Kinda hard to think now that Steven stopped singing. Speaking of…
Steven was riding the goat to this point and it allegedly abandoned us. It started hopping the pieces to get to the other side, bleating as if it was telling us to do that. Oh, wait, he is.
"Wait up, Steven Jr.!"
"Whoa, now!" I exclaim, stopping his momentum and preventing him from falling.
"I'm not sure you can make those jumps," Pearl informs.
"Oh, you should fuse into Opal, and then lay across the rocks like a bridge!"
I stifle a laugh and they look at me, somewhat confused.
"Sorry, the suggestion was funny," I apologize. "Steven's a riot; what can I say?"
"*Sigh* We don't need Opal to get across."
I don't think he'll take no for an answer anymore…
"Can you do it anyway? Please? It would be easier, wouldn't it?" Sheesh, he's practically begging them.
"Not as easy as this!" Amethyst grabbed Steven and threw him to a landmass, somehow making it and landing on it as well. It took some balancing, but I think they're good.
"Oh, wow, Amethyst! That was a really good idea."
"Hah, I know; I'm full of 'em."
Pearl reacted accordingly… meaning very worried.
"Easy, Pearl," I put a hand on her shoulder. "He's resourceful, that kid.
"Yeah! Come on, Pearl, it's safe. Just look."
Wait, that didn't give you the right to jump..!
Amethyst joined in and I could swear that Steven had his eyes become pin pricked just for this occasion. He fell.
The two exclaimed and shared a glance, nodding after.
Amethyst summoned her whip, allowing Pearl to wrap it around herself and dive in for Steven, who was eventually caught after two seconds. The whip became taut and up they went when the line was pulled, the three sitting there in silence for a second.
"That was so great how you worked together. Why don't you do that all the time?"
The two share another glance, and look away… very annoyed. Grr…
It's getting to me too.
I roll my eyes… again… and summon up some sand to make a temporary solid bridge.
"If we're done playing chicken, I recommend we hurry up," I… command. Yeah, command. I used a little more spike in my voice than I intended. They look away, only somewhat ashamed.
I proceed to keep building the sand once we get to the edge. It eventually disappeared when we hit the step to the stairway that for some reason spirals the entire mountaintop.
It takes about 10 minutes to clear them. Imagine living here. You wouldn't want to lug your TV once you're halfway up.
"(Whine) I can't feel my legs anymore…"
"Tell me about it," I add, chuckling after.
We seemed to be in the midst of a small lake where in the middle has a small island and… temple.
Funny how I see and hear so many things related to a 'temple'… yet I have not seen one church in Beach City.
Well… Good. Have any idea how badly we'll be assaulted should people of extremes know about us? I'm not saying I'm a heathen or whatever, but you know that the extreme situation could be true.
"(Instant second wind) Hey, look at that!" Steven made it to the little establishment. "It's a tiny temple!"
Pearl and I walked over to it as well, while Amethyst stood back.
"To be honest, I was expecting something somewhat… different," I judge. Seeing as how it barely reaches my knees…
"No, it's a simple temple; it's just where Garnet said it would be," she reported. "The Heaven Beetle should be inside."
"Check it out!" He peered inside. "It's even got a little beetle bedroom, and little beetle bongos, and a little beetle baby book."
LYNX extended a hologram to allow me an X-Ray vision mode. W… why the fuck would a beetle need a Genesis? "All that for what exactly? And where is the thing?"
"It's supposed to be here. The Heaven Beetle wouldn't leave, would it?" We take a look at our surroundings, but I can't feel anything that small walking about. "Oh, it could be anywhere!"
"Ha, maybe you should freak out some more," Amethyst replies, adding a bit of cynicism to the rest of her sentence, "that's really gonna help us find it."
And I think that's where Pearl gets pissed.
"(Angrily) I can't believe your attitude, Amethyst! And now you're just slouching over here doing nothing!"
Again?
"Hey! It's not my fault that…" *Zoom*
Huh?
I felt and heard something, and I'm pretty sure the goat did too. He started freaking out like animals do with an imminent threat. His bleating starting to reach high volumes.
"You feel that too?" I ask it, almost kneeling down.
A nod and bleat gave me my answers.
"Hey, cut it out! You're scaring Steven Jr.!" He even pushed them apart…
"No, no, it's something outside of those two. But what could it-"
Suddenly, something comes from the water, quickly getting our attention.
"Whoa, now!"
Before anything happens, I quickdraw a few shells into it with no effect. It didn't even faze it… or notice it…
And- whoa!
*Chomp*
"The goat!" It ate it!
"My son…" Steven, not now!
Pearl attempted her own attack by summoning her spear and throwing it. And it eats that too..?
Jesus Christ…
"In here, guys!" Amethyst motioned inside the shelter that was the stairwell, I quickly back flip into it, dispersing the rest of my ammo before reloading.
"It ate my spear! How does something just do that!?" Pearl yelled, once almost safely inside.
The beak of it started pecking through the entrance, barely giving us any leeway.
"Considering that it's about 50 times the size of any eagle," I say, pumping the gun, "I say very easily. It didn't even flinch from my buckshot…"
"(Excited) Guys, this is great!" Steven exclaims. "Now's the perfect time for you two to form Opal!"
For once, Steven has a point. Unless I want to give myself away, my elements aren't gonna be much use here.
"Uh… hmm… He's right," I continue. "If Opal really is your combined prowesses, the best time is now. Considering our options, that's our best bet." The two nod and get in positions.
So how does it work exactly? Do they do certain hand movements? A little dance? A… few lines drawn and some weird mix of a- oh.
Never mind; it's a dance.
A bow starts making making their gems glow and off they go.
Pearl, being… Pearl, starts off with a piano and stance similar to ballet, one of grace and poise.
Amethyst, since she probably knows more about human culture than Pearl and Garnet… and maybe Steven and Rose combined, goes with popular music, I swear I can hear it, and starts low key swinging to straight up twerking, one of free form and fun.
Hmm. They don't mix, do they?
Even Pearl groans from that.
They attempt to get closer by spinning or sidestepping respectively and they go to grab each other… and failed. Pearl, since her style involves exact movements, accidentally elbowed Amethyst's face, causing a choppy grab. Ouch.
They begin to glow completely now. Engulfed in light, they start to change shape, much to both Steven's and my amazement. But something went wrong… again.
It nearly completes, but something falters and they start to destabilize, forcing the two out.
Amethyst was the first to speak. "(Annoyed) So you wanna try that again? With less hitting me in the face this time?"
I think this is the first time I facepalm for good reason… and with me actually being genuinely annoyed.
"(Pissed) Well, it would have worked if your movements weren't so erratic and formless," Pearl retorts, also somewhat annoyed.
I've met enemies who aren't this uncoordinated…
"So it's all my fault? Ho ho, you totally weren't even trying to sync with my dancing. (Loudly) You should know how I dance by now!"
Grr… heat starts to come off my body, almost furnace like. Damn it, I'm at my limit..!
"Moira..?" Steven went, slightly concerned.
But I ignored him.
"(Stern, lowly) Will you both (Suddenly shouting) stop that!?" A pulse of my own power discombobulated the two and forced cracks on the ceiling and walls when I yelled. They were pushed away my the sheer force. "I do not know what it is that's basically forcing you two to be at each other's throats, but I've reached the end of my patience!" Fire starts forming on my shoulders.
The two quickly start to make excuses, only making the flames I had get hotter. "Moira, no-" "We didn't-"
"I don't want to hear it!"
The ceiling crashes in, allowing the bird to peck in and start screeching at us.
Shut. The fuck. UP!
Slapping this fucker's beak, I make sure to dictate who is the law here. "You shut your lousy, lowdown, loudmouthed feathery ass the hell up!"
"Caw!" Grabbing me with its talon, I prepare for the worst, especially considering that my angered flames went down as soon as it did. I get a quick glance at the others before I was thrown away.
"Crap." Yeet!
"Moira!" The shocked looks that the others get only solidified the gravity of the situation. I was sent flying high, the bird thing reaching great altitudes. I reoriented my nerves and get ready.
"Let's dance!"
Releasing myself from it's grip, I quickly jump up from it's beak, reaching faster speeds than I anticipated. Not a problem since I can fly, but I was too pissed to remember that.
"Hope you brought your appetite!" I straighten myself to fly directly straight down its gullet. For good measure, I even aim my Scatterpoint to see if it'll do any other damage at all.
"Matthew, what are you doing!?"
"Don't tell me you have a fear of this, girl; I thought you weren't programmed for fear!"
"Human emotions aren't that complicated, but I really hope you know what you're doing!"
"If I can't kill it from the outside, maybe it just needs a pill!" It opens up. "Side effects may include upset stomach!"
*Boom!* *Ricochet*
"Internal bleeding!"
*Boom x 2*
"And a high likelihood of death! Rah!"
*Boom!* *Chomp*
*Bang* *Thud*
*Clunk*
*Bump*
*Slam* "Oof! Ow…"
Damn, that hurt.
When was the last time I did that?
I raise my head to crack my neck; I wasn't expecting solid organs and it really-
Solid?
Huh? I knock the… floor, seeing that it is solid…
What the..? I look around and see an actually well lit crevice, making me wonder…
Why is this solid and not- *Bling!* I look at my hand.
Oh, right. It's a corrupted Gem.
At least it isn't terribly lethal.
I stand up, brushing what I hope isn't acid off me. If this bird is anything like a real one, it would've burned a bit. Guess it wasn't. But then seeing as how a lot of things are in here, like bits of tree, a boat and a car tire for some reason, maybe I can find-
*Bleat*
Hmm?
"Oh, look at that."
Steven Jr. survived. It seems to be chewing on something.
"Eating after being eaten; I don't blame you." It's like feeling sleepy after seeing someone else yawn, contagious.
After closer inspection, the thing he's chewing on doesn't seem to be breaking down.
Then again, beetles are very-
"*Gasp* The Heaven Beetle!" I went to grab it… then stopped.
Someone like a goat isn't gonna give up that easily. No problem.
"I'll trade you this better made beetle for that one," I bargain, bringing out another beetle, a real one. Kinda bigger too.
Some things crawl in there and they never see the light of day again. Well… outside natural light anyway.
He bleats almost happily, dropping the other one. I quickly kneel down and grab it so it doesn't escape.
"Hello, little MacGuffin." What would they need them for? Remembering back on it now, it's not like they've told me there's a certain quality or ability they-
*Crunch*
Suddenly, a hand pierced through the belly, probably trying to get me. I'm thinking it was Pearl… until I realized that it's more purple tinted and much, much bigger.
"What the?"
Another hand appeared, confirming that it's at least one of the two or something… until two more came in, almost freaking me out a bit.
"Kid, don't freak out," I tell it… and almost chuckle at the joke before it got taken away, freaking out. "Damn."
Yep. One soon to another.
I run to a hand, allowing it to grab me… though I kinda wished it went lower than my upper body.
"Augh! These things are sensitive, you know! Eyeet!"
Gross! Ugh! Bird flesh!
Ugh… worse than being born…
I was eventually brought close to the origin of said arms, Steven and his goat apparently passengers of it as well.
"Steven!"
"Moira!"
I didn't get to see much except for an exploding bird and it turning into a bunch of broken up shards, becoming small beak versions of its predecessor.
"Opal?" I hear from Steven.
Looking at my savior, I realize that it really was someone else.
A gem on her forehead and the crest of her chest told me that they fused.
So that's fusion, huh? An increased sense of power, all their abilities combined… and Amethyst being right.
Except for the no extra legs, it's mostly the both of them… well, mashed together, but in a more organized manner. Like water.
Hmm.
I refocused myself on the onslaught of winged beaks, some of them going a kamikaze attempt and piercing themselves onto the ground beneath us. Opal kept backflipping until she got to the stairs, sliding down on the top of them and jumping off once getting to the end.
Steven didn't stop yelling and I didn't say anything about it since it felt like an odd roller coaster to me as well. Opal soon reached the ground, a landmass a bit further from where we started.
With a very appropriate tone of protective and assertion, Opal let us down and told us to, "Stay low," before summoning both the spear and the whip, mixing the two until they became a very long hunting bow.
Wow… all my fusions only result in mixed enhanced powers. Signature weapons? I never thought to incorporate that…
All flashiness aside, Opal proceeded to knock back the string, making an arrow of light appear soon after.
I hope that's an exploding star or something, girl. One alone isn't enough. There's at least a good few dozen still after us.
The winds surrounding her told me that something similar might happen, seeing that it sorta looks like she's powering that up.
Once try get close enough, she releases the string, shooting the arrow and exploding it to become smaller ones to attack each one, poofing them into oblivion.
*Sigh* Good.
She turns around, allowing us to see her.
Wow… she'd be a total bombshell… if she had a curve in the front like I'm do. But she don't, so she's just a regular bombshell, ha. Plus, with her hair that way, and the way she's dressed, she looks more like a "cooler teenage sister" compared to me. I look caring and outgoing but my hair being purple gives off a more fun outlook.
And mostly cause she's… kinda tall. She extended a hand to allow Steven to get up.
Stare down much, huh?
Steven looks somewhat nervous.
"Uh… do you… know who I am? Who… we are?"
Opal chuckled a bit. "(Singing) All you wanna do, is see me turn into…"
"*Gasp* A giant woman..!"
I also chuckle, mostly at how playful she is.
"So it's not just a combination of power, but also mindset and balance of personality, huh?"
"You know it." I nod.
"Well, you missed one," I say.
"Huh?"
A dragon's breath, literally, was thrown to a remaining beak, no trace of it left. I shot it behind me without looking. "You have your tricks, I have mine. *Wink* Tch tch." *Burp* Smoke came out. "heh, 'scuse me."
The warp back was without incident. We made it quickly enough to see that Garnet had come back as well, drying her… steaming hair.
Right, lava.
"We're back!" Steven announces.
"The Heaven Beetle," she commanded.
"*Gasp* I don't have it," Opal said before destabilizing and unfusing, almost pushing the two away.
"(Accusational) Amethyst, you got distracted!" Pearl instantly sat up.
"Hey! You were the one getting carried away with all those fancy backflips!"
"Girls, girls," I stop them, "those only happened at the spiretop, Amy, and all our search efforts were stopped when I was swallowed whole, Pearl." I take out the Beetle and toss it to Garnet, who put it in a turtle container which held the other one.
"Good job, Moira," she complimented. A bubble appeared around them and takes them away. "I also see you and Steven helped your teammates fuse."
The two look at each other, surprised. When you're with me, shit is happening one way or another.
"And all we have to do was get Moira eaten by a bird," Steven proclaimed… somewhat proudly.
"If that happens, a lot of birds are not gonna like me," I tell him. "Then again, some of the pelicans and seagulls of Beach City do owe me some favors…"
"Nice work, everyone," Garnet said. "You'll be great at fusing one day."
Not me. I'm sorry, but-
"Wait, we can do that too!?"
Huh.
"Considering you're half Gem, I'd say so," I reply. "Now no one bug me please."
I walk over to the seat near the window and lie down, finally relaxing from the vibes today.
Yep. Feeling better.
Well, considering this is my "bed" and chair, it's not a wonder, is it.
Arcade Mania, to me, was an episode to discover Garnet's Future Vision and a danger plot for multiplying starfish that felt like an excuse. And since Moira is an alien with many abilities that I haven't even shown a good chunk of, its really something she would just pass as "oh" and be done with it and keep it a secret from Steven.
Anyway, next chapter should be soon, and this time, I'll try to keep that.
Hope you enjoyed. See you next time.
RaNd0Mk1D8o3I