"I'm so glad you're back," Rose cried tearfully as she tightly embraced Opal, almost getting entangled in her double amount of arms. "When I realized how my actions actually affected Amethyst, I began to blame myself for what you went through, and I know that that's foolish of me but I understand if you don't see me as the rightful leader of this Rebellion—"
"It's okay," Opal reassured the rambling Gem, gently pushing her away and smiling softly. "I'm perfectly in balance now after Sapphire helped me. And I understand what you did now."
"Y-you do?" Rose blurted out in surprise. "I know it was a dreadful thing to do and there's not a moment that passes where I don't think about it, but it was something that needed to be done for our cause, even if it goes against my philosophy and everything—"
"It's true that Pink Diamond wouldn't accept me if she were alive right now, right?" Opal interrupted her, a steely look in her eyes.
Rose tentatively nodded after a moment of hesitation. "No matter how I reasoned with her, she couldn't accept the ideals of the Crystal Gems. She even scorned the idea that life outside of the Gem race was worth protecting. She certainly valued Gems, but always had a traditional way of thinking, never accepting anything new or different. She even told me that the way the Diamond Authority ran things was already efficient enough and needed no changes. She would most likely not understand how beautiful you were."
Opal sighed solemnly. "That's okay with me. Amethyst—and I—have certainly moved on. I don't need to dwell on the past anymore. I have a whole future waiting in front of me. On a planet I'm excited to learn about and with many Gems I'm eager to teach about fusion."
"Hey Opal, we're gonna need your help!" Bismuth's familiar voice shouted out in the distance.
"We're coming!" Opal called out in reply and she and Rose arrived to the scene to see both Ruby and Sapphire sprawled on the floor; the red soldier groaning in frustration, literally fuming, and the seer simply frowning in disappointment.
"I predicted that that attempt would fail but I got so excited about the chance to fuse, I disregarded the odds," Sapphire muttered forlornly, genuine sadness showing through the cracks of her stoic façade.
"Ugh, and you had to make me go through with it!" Ruby cried in outrage, leaping back up onto her feet so she can rant to Sapphire, who still didn't bother to get up. "Why can't you try Bismuth or something else you're more compatible with? Force me to go through this with you again and I'll punch you so hard your physical form will dissipate!"
"You wouldn't do that," Sapphire scorned the other Gem flatly, lifting herself gently into the air so she can stand up again. "Most of the threats you've thrown my way are complete lies. You only do so to look like you have control over me."
Ruby growled as the air around her grew steadily warmer and warmer. "Well, here in the Crystal Gems, there's absolutely no one who tells me I'm beneath them, to say that I'm just made to serve and die! I used to protect Gems as high as you and you know how they paid me in return? By abandoning me after retreating from a battle because apparently I wasn't important to them! As long as you're with us, you have no right to say that I'm worthless!"
"I would never call you or any Gem worthless," Sapphire seethed. "You take out your frustration on elite Gems by threatening me and saying I don't belong here! Not only is that petty, it also disregards Rose's decree of equality amongst Gems! I did absolutely nothing to you and you should treat me that way!"
"No wonder the two of you can't fuse," Opal interjected before the argument escalated, especially since the floor beneath Ruby and Sapphire was already both singed and coated with a layer of frost, "You both do nothing but clash with each other."
"Perhaps that's a sign that fusing would an unwise choice," Sapphire mused for a moment.
"For someone with future vision, I can't believe it took you that long to figure that out," Ruby mumbled underneath her breath.
"No," Opal intoned with absolute seriousness in her voice. "That just means that whoever would be created from your fusion would be even more compelling."
"But what's keeping you two from forming a bond?" Rose asked softly.
"Both of you need to let go of your pride and let each other into your thoughts," Opal advised them, clapping all four of her hands together excitedly. "What makes a fusion strong isn't the sum of the components' power but the strength of the bond between the components; complete harmony is what makes fusions last long."
"That sounds . . . intimate," Rose remarked with absolute awe in her eyes.
"And kinda cheesy," Bismuth added. "Do you really think we have all the time in the world? These two have been doing nothing but fight with each other."
"Hey, I've fused before plenty of times," Ruby cried out indignantly. "I didn't need to think about all of that. All I needed to do was latch onto my partners and hold on for the fight."
"That's how Homeworld wanted you to see fusion," Opal corrected her. "And when you compare me to how Homeworld fusions act, do you see any similarities?"
"No," Ruby muttered bashfully.
"Good, glad you know the difference," Opal said with a smile.
"But do you really think that Sapphire and I are compatible enough for this?" Ruby blurted out. "I'm all hyper and all over the place, she's silent and all broody or something, I used to be a foot soldier and she used to be a high-and-mighty noble, and I've probably fused a million times while she's a—um, well . . ."
"Are you actually judging me for having never fused before?" Sapphire said softly, but with a sharp expression on her usually expressionless face.
"You act like everything I say towards you is a potential insult," Ruby growled.
"Because it's usually is."
"Well, can you blame me?"
"You see, this is what is dividing you apart," Opal interjected. "And for fusion, you need to combine together." She intertwined her fingers for a visual effect.
"Well, what do you suggest we do to fix it?" Sapphire asked.
"I know it's hard to let go of your pride but it's what you have to do in order to break down all the barriers in between you," the fusion explained. "Ruby, it is indeed really petty for you to hold a grudge against Sapphire for something she wasn't even involved in. Sapphire, you need to open yourself up to Ruby, even though you know she's a stranger who's been giving you a tough time so far."
"I'm sorry, but I can't help but see the elite Gems who disposed of me like I was nothing to them whenever I look at her!" Ruby fumed.
"I know what happened to you was absolutely terrible and I'm sorry if Gems of my kind were involved in that," Sapphire said. "But I swear that if you insist that you are different from most Rubies, then you would believe me when I say I'm different from most elites!"
"Yeah, and besides," Bismuth chirped in, "even if she's an Upper Crust, she's an Upper Crust who realized that the Crystal Gems are the ones who fight for justice and freedom, no matter what the cost! The really bad ones are the ones who chose to oppose us and our goal!"
". . . Thank you, Bismuth," Sapphire said tentatively, like it took a moment to realize that that was a compliment.
"Well, then I'm sorry!" Ruby blurted out, the air around her finally releasing its heat. "But didn't Opal say you have to let go of your pride, too?"
"Okay, fine," Sapphire sighed in defeat. "There's no longer any reason for me to lash out against you now that you've apologized and I'm sorry for anything I could've said prior to this that had offended you. I just want to be able experience the phenomena Opal had discovered, which was the first thing that managed to spark my curiosity in a long time, and I believe you are the perfect candidate."
"Is it because we're the same height as each other?" Ruby asked awkwardly, a sudden blush on her face.
"Perhaps, even if I'm a little taller," Sapphire giggled. "But I believe we should still see what would come out of this."
"Can't your future vision just tell you?" Ruby cried.
"No, because for the first time, my future vision cannot provide me with whom our fusion would create," Sapphire mused. "The path of fate dictates that we would fail every time."
"Then what was the point of trying in the first place?" Ruby almost burst into flames at the outrage she was feeling.
"Because the path of fate also dictates Opal should've never formed in the first place," Sapphire explained wistfully. "It also said that I would've never become accepted as a Crystal Gem. It also said that Blue Diamond should've ended this war several weeks ago. And look where we are now."
"Wow, so even if fate tells us we can't, we really do have the power to do anything," Ruby gasped.
The seer nodded and stretched out her hand. "Let us prove fate wrong again."
Opal almost exhausted herself trying to get Sapphire and Ruby to synchronize together correctly. Ruby went into rage mode a couple of times but always eventually tried again and Sapphire was sometimes a bit disagreeable but her future vision reminded her that she didn't have time to complain if she wanted the outcome she desired.
Finally, it happened.
Like Opal, the fusion wasn't exactly comprehensible at first. Her hair was splashed bright pink and blue and her clothes were perhaps a mismatched cross of a soldier uniform and a ball gown. She even only possessed one boot on one foot!
But despite it all, she was beautiful.
She was clumsy, she was confused, and she definitely could've made a Gem think they've succumbed to hallucinations if one saw her.
But she was beautiful. Both Opal and Rose would agree.
"What's your name?" Rose asked softly as she grabbed onto the new fusion's hands to keep her from falling on her face.
"G-Garnet," the multicolored Gem muttered. "How do I know that? Who am I? Who are you?"
"My name is Opal," her fellow fusion responded with a gleeful smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "And I'm a fusion just like you."
A/N: Unfortunately, that's the end of this story. Perhaps another idea could start the plot again in the future but for now, Opal had made peace with both herself and her components. Thank you for making it this far and I hope I'll find the strength to overcome my current writer's block so I can provide you with more!
