"C'mon, c'mon! Can't this stupid warp go any faster!?" Jasper yelled as the extended family floated in the luminescent fractal stream.
The echoes of the fusion's roar traveled for miles across the tristate area, eventually reaching the secluded building site. Once the gems heard it and Garnet pinpointed the source of the sound, needless to say their panic meters shot all the way through the stratosphere.
Amethyst gripped onto her whip as she impatiently ground her teeth together. Tiny electrical pulses flowed through Peridot as she gnawed on one of her fingers while looking at her holo-screen to possibly determine what kind of creature could've made that sound.
Garnet merely had her arms crossed – her face the perfect picture of stone-cold stoicism, which didn't ease Lapis' building anxiety. She pursed her lips together so as not to let any doubt roll off of her tongue.
"Fear is the belief in the worst possible outcome… Fear is the belief in the worst possible outcome…Steven is FINE!" she mentally chanted as she rubbed her temples.
On the other hand…Pearl was just mentally checked out. Although her eyes were pupil-less, it didn't prevent her from seeing self-generated mind movies of Steven in every kind deadly scenario imaginable.
Soon (not soon enough in their opinion) the stream deposited them in the silent house.
"LET'S MOVE!" Jasper yelled as she ran through the doorway. Everyone followed suit but Garnet had to hoist a fainted Pearl over her shoulder. It didn't matter if they hopped or flew up the temple side of the mountain, they reached the peak of the cliff side in record time. That's when they beheld the shaded backside of the titanic creature.
"What the heck is that THING?!" was the collective thought of all the gems, but they snapped out it once they heard a high-pitched scream.
"CONNIE!" they realized. Just before they could pummel the beastly monster, Garnet stretched her arms out and grabbed them; she had to extend three fingers in order to grab Lapis by the waist since she was airborne.
Before the squirming mass could question her sanity, another high-pitched sound filled the air. This time it was laughter.
"…HUH?" they all uttered and Garnet merely smiled. Then they saw the hairy being crouch down and pick up the giggling girl before doing a quick twirl. Now that the paranoia had been more or less dispelled, Garnet carefully released them; thankfully they managed to stay on their feet.
"C'mon. Let's go meet our new family member" Garnet causally said as she carried the unconscious Pearl and walked up to the chuckling duo.
"NEW FAMILY MEMBER?!" they exclaimed. Everyone looked at each other before treading cautiously behind their composed leader. Once they got in a position with better lighting, all of them gasped in shock. They couldn't believe their bulging eyes.
"Hello there!" Garnet called out.
"Hm?" came the response of the strikingly familiar-looking animal humanoid. It turned around with Connie on its shoulder and beheld the gawking gems below it. A saber-toothed grin formed on his lips as it spoke in a deep, silky voice "Hey guys! Wait…what's the matter with Pearl? Is she okay?"
"She'll be fine…however she'll definitely want to see this" Garnet answered. She sent a small spark of electricity out of her sapphire-embedded hand and Pearl woke up with a start.
"What the-? AHHHHH!" she screamed when she beheld the furry being above her. "WHAT IS THAT THING?!"
"Not a "what" but "who" Garnet clarified.
"H-Huh?" she stuttered as she was placed on her wobbly legs.
"…S-Steven? Is that you?" Lapis asked for the stunned group as she flew up to get a better look at his face.
"Kinda. Lion and I fused! How cool is that?!" he exclaimed with starry eyes.
The new fusion was as tall as Opal and sported the same color markings from when he transformed into a lion cub. His curly, chocolate brown mane reached the bottom of his back and Connie couldn't help but stroke the luxurious hair.
"Sooo fluffy" she whispered. The new fusion heard that too and couldn't help but show another fanged smile on his Steve-ly shaped face, that was adorned with Lion's brown, heart-shaped nose. The palms of his hands and soles of his feet were still devoid of fur just like his human self, but they had dark pink paw pads on them. Sharp, porcelain white claws replaced his finger nails. Additionally, there was a singular red orb on the back of his hands. The only unfortunate side effect of this transformation was that his clothes couldn't accommodate his massive, gladiator-built body. His red t-shirt was nothing more than a short, tattered tank top and his shredded pants were on the ground. Luckily for him and Connie, fur covered the male part of his anatomy.
After a couple of minutes, the fusion started to get uncomfortable under their unbelieving stares. He nervously chuckled, "Heh…hey c'mon guys. This isn't anything new-"
"What are you talking about?! This is entirely new!" Peridot blurted out as she engaged her holo-screen to scan his body. "A fusion between a gem and a human was already unprecedented, but a fusion between a gem and an animal?! I don't even know what to say!" she exclaimed as she continued to take notes.
"Well, you could say that they look freakin' awesome together! And your voice! It's so…so…" Amethyst repeatedly snapped her fingers trying to come up with the right adjective.
"So what?" he quietly asked her as his ears drooped a little bit, becoming self-conscious all of sudden.
"Angelic" Lapis described as she circled around his head.
"And really deep" Peridot added as she made another note.
"Yea, that! Sing something for us big guy! Please?" Amethyst pleaded.
"Oh, umm okay" he blushed. "Sing what?"
"I don't know, make up something! You're great at that" Amethyst praised.
"O-Okay. Ummm…" Levon thought for a moment before a natural clapping rhythm manifested out of his massive hands.
You might make a different song, yes that's right it's true
That don't make anybody more or less as good as you
If you can feel the music that's all you really need
Then turn this party all the way out
Good time guaranteed
Everybody stay up
Clap your hands and dance to the beat
Whatever you do little darlin' it's cool
Just don't take your seat
And wave your flag because everybody plays a part
One world united singing the song of the heart
His bold, silky-smooth vocal range combined with those improvised yet powerful verses sent all of them into a fan-crazed tizzy, ranging from big grins to indiscernible squeals.
"KAAAA! I LOVE IT!" Amethyst gleefully screamed as she wrapped her arms around his right leg. Lapis happily hummed in agreement as she gently landed on top of his head and nestled in his luxuriously soft locks. The blush on the fusion's face only deepened when he saw their reactions.
"So how does it feel…uh…what's your name anyway?" Jasper asked.
"Uh…I don't have one yet" he answered.
"Well, we'll start spit ballin' names and we'll go from there" Amethyst suggested and he nodded at that. "How about…Stion?" The being growled, vocalizing his displeasure with the combined name. "Yea…that sounded weird."
"Hmmm…what about Colossus Ore Lion? Or Col for short" Peridot suggested and he vehemently shook his head no, almost knocking Connie and Lapis off with his mane.
"P-tooh! Bleh!" Connie spat when she got some of his hair got in her mouth whereas Lapis got off of his head.
"Sorry guys! I'm sorry!" he apologized. He grabbed her off of his shoulder and set her back down on the grass before sitting Indian-Style on the grass as well; Lapis floated down shortly after.
"It's okay" Connie assured as she petted his giant leg and Lapis nodded, echoing the same sentiment.
"But that name isn't! What the heck was that?!" Jasper exasperated.
"I'd like to see you come up something better!" Peridot shot back.
"Already did. Jasper Jr.!" she smiled.
Everyone gave her a deadpan look.
"Really?" Peridot asked.
"What?" Jasper defended.
"No. Just no" Amethyst said shaking her head and everyone agreed with her. "Jeez, who knew coming up with a name would be so hard."
"Well…fusion names are based on the type of gemstone created when the fusers combine. But in his case, it's still his Rose Quartz. And those two red orbs on the back of his hands...but those don't even look like gemstones. Sooo…I'm guessing it'd be weird if we named him after his main gem" Peridot assumed and everyone nodded with that notion.
"H-How about Bud?" Pearl quietly suggested.
Due to having access to Steven's memories, the fusion immediately remembered that that was what she wanted to name him when he was born. He smiled at the timid gem and gently explained, "Thanks Pearl, but that's a nickname for all my friends, especially Lion. It'd just feel weird to have a name that was said to everyone."
She nodded her head in understanding and let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.
Lapis tapped a finger to her chin as she stared at him. "How about…Levon?" she suggested.
"Levon?" he repeated. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he mulled it over. "Leeevon" he sounded out. Soon a low rumble traversed through his body, causing a smile to appear on the blue gem's face.
"He's purring" she realized and he properly articulated his opinion on the name, "I LOVE it!"
"I'm glad!" she happily replied.
"It's nice to meet you Levon" Garnet smiled.
Instead of returning the facial gesture, he abruptly stood up, placed his paw on top of her square afro and ruffled her bouncy hair. "I always wanted to do that. Now I'm finally tall enough" he whispered to her, causing her gemstones to glow.
Everyone got a good laugh at the touching scene.
"Yea! Great to have you bud! So…how do you feel?" Amethyst asked.
Levon took his hand off of Garnet's head and thought for a moment as he clenched and unclenched his hands. "I feel amazing! And…safe" he replied as he looked down at Connie; she looked up and gave him a gentle smile in return.
For anyone else, they would've needed more elaboration on his ambiguous choice of words. However… given what they witnessed and what he went through, it was as clear as the sky above them what he meant.
"I'm glad you do" Garnet said.
"Yea…me too" Jasper agreed and Pearl followed suit by nodding her head.
"I'm just glad that everything turned out alright. We were really worried when we heard your roar. We thought something was attacking you" Lapis explained.
"Yea. And when Connie started screaming, we thought you were going to eat her or something'" Amethyst chimed in.
"Wow…you guys heard me roar all the way from wherever you were looking for the clusters? Where are you guys looking for the clusters anyway?" he asked.
"In the kindergarten" Garnet answered.
"Oh…right. That makes sense. I guess it's not all that far away, but that's still pretty loud" he agreed.
"So…why were you screaming Connie?" Jasper asked.
"Oh…yea…umm…I was just really excited about seeing his new form. It reminded me of Atticus from the "Unfamiliar Familiar" series and I guess I had a major fangirl moment" she blushed.
"Unfamiliar Familiar?" Peridot asked.
"Yea! It's a really good book series! You should check it out sometime" Levon highly suggested.
"Human literature…we'll see" she replied.
"So whatchu gonna do now Levon?" Amethyst asked.
"I-I dunno. This is still kinda sudden for me" he replied.
"How about you test out your powers?" Jasper suggested.
"Hey yea! Good idea! Okay…let's see what weapon I can summon" he said and everyone backed up to give him some space.
He closed his eyes and focused his energy. Soon his inherited gem started glowing with its signature pink hue whereas a crimson light erupted out of the two orbs on the back of his hands. Almost instantaneously the light manifested itself into a pair of red, crystalline, arm-length blades.
"Whoooooa" Levon admired with starry eyes as he looked over his new weapons. "Arm slashers" he christened.
"Hmmm…offensive weapons" Garnet observed.
"Hey Levon! Try putting your arms together like you're blocking a punch!" Jasper called out.
"O-Okay" He did as he told and got into a defensive stance. Instantly the two arm blades morphed into semi-circles and fused like puzzle pieces to create his signature shield – albeit thicker, bigger and a darker shade of red.
"Awesome!" he cheered as he experimented by separating his arms a couple of times to see the weapons change from a shield back to blades.
"Offensive and defensive" Garnet corrected her earlier statement.
"Alright, time to see if I can warp roar. You guys may want to cover your ears" he said as he dismissed his arm slashers. Everyone heeded his suggestion and covered their ears; in Peridot's case she plugged her fingers into her head holes.
He took a deep breath through his massive nostrils. But instead of expelling all the air out of his lungs, it came out as a spitting razzberry.
"…Wh-what happened?" Connie asked.
Levon answered her question by summoning his arm slashers again, but this time they were a pale lily pink. His eyes glowed with a harsh white light as he looked down at the beach below. With a mighty swipe, he literally tore a hole in the air and leapt through it – disappearing out of sight.
"STEVEN!" Pearl shouted.
"It's LEVON remember?" Amethyst corrected.
"Levon, Bud, Jasper Jr. I don't care! Where's my baby?!" she cried as everyone looked around.
"He's going to come out in front of the temple right about…now" Garnet stated. And sure enough the bipedal feline emerged from another portal and skidded to a stop across the sand, creating a little dust cloud around him.
"Levon!" Pearl shouted again and hopped down the temple side of the hill. Amethyst followed suit whereas Lapis grabbed Connie by her hands and both she and Peridot flew down.
Jasper hung back with Garnet for a bit before saying, "Must be nice having future vision."
"…Sometimes it is. But most of the time I'm in the dark, just like you. The future is always shifting and it's never guaranteed" she replied before hopping down to accompany the rest of their family.
"…She's got a point" she thought before going down too. When she got there, Pearl was frantically checking over him to make sure he was okay.
"Pearl, I'm okay. Really I am" he tried to assure her, but she didn't listen. "Rrrrr…Knock it off!" he growled, startling everybody, and she immediately stopped her examination.
"S-Sorry" she meekly replied as she backed away.
"It's okay. Sorry about that, but Lion doesn't like being touched so much" he reminded. "Especially by her" he thought.
"Yes, yes of course. You are a fusion of both of their personalities after all" she replied.
"So what was that all about?" Peridot asked.
"Well…Lion said I can't warp roar per se. Instead I can tear open a portal anywhere and travel that way" he explained.
"**GASP** Just like that ghost wolf!" Connie realized.
"What ghost wolf?" Levon asked.
"He's an innocent fugitive from another TV show that I'm not supposed to watch about a half human/half ghost boy. You'll have to watch it to understand" she explained.
"Sounds interesting…but I can't."
"Why not?" she asked.
"I'm still grounded from watching TV, remember?" he replied.
"…But you're not in the ground" Peridot pointed out.
"That's not what grounded means. It means that I'm being punished for something I did and my punishment is no TV for one thousand…well…nine hundred and ninety-nine years" he explained.
"Punished for what? What on Earth could you have done to warrant such a lengthy punishment?" she demanded to know.
"I got on a bus with Connie and tried to run away with her. At the time she was worried that her parents would think all this magic was weird and that they wouldn't let us hang out together anymore. So we wanted to go to a place where we didn't have to worry about anything" he finished.
"…That's it?" Jasper asked.
"Um…yes?" he hesitantly responded, not sure on how to respond to that question.
"Who punished you?!" she demanded.
"Um…they did?" he said pointing to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl.
Her signature scary glare manifested itself as she looked at the perpetrators. She yelled, "Are you freakin' serious?! After everything he's done-"
"You're right" Garnet said cutting her rant off. "Levon, you have more than made up for what you did. And in retrospect…we didn't even give you a chance to explain yourself. Now I realize that it was a mistake made with good intentions. You're ungrounded from TV and you will never be banned from watching your shows ever again" she declared.
"R-Really?" he asked.
"Of course! We've should've done that a long time ago. We're sorry" Pearl apologized and Amethyst nodded her head in agreement.
"And don't worry Levon, I have their decree recorded in my personal logs in case they forget" Peridot added.
Twinkling stars appeared in Levon's eyes as he shouted, "ALRIGHT!" before leaping high into the air…and heading towards the ocean!
"LEVON!" Lapis shouted. She quickly formed a giant water hand out of the ocean to catch him. But her safety measure wasn't needed for the glee-filled feline landed gracefully on the palm of the water hand.
"Coool! I can walk on water too!" he exclaimed before jumping off the hand like a diving board onto the still surface. "Hey Lapis, can you make a couple more of those water hands, but make'em like platforms?" he asked.
"Um…okay?" she agreed as she created more hands.
"YEAA! WOO HOO!" he cheered as he kept on climbing higher and higher, until Pearl almost had a conniption about how high he was.
"P…chill. He's got this" Amethyst said. But in order to soothe her frantic mind, Lapis started making lower level platforms; Levon followed the descending and ascending pattern.
"I missed this" Lapis commented as they watched him happily hop from platform to platform.
"Yea…it's been a while since we've seen him so happy" Amethyst added.
"Not just happy, but carefree" Garnet said.
Connie looked at the smiles on their faces, but could sense the regret within them as well. The few remaining ire embers that burned for them started to die out and she smiled at the happy-go-lucky fusion as well.
Suddenly he performed a back flip and landed in front of the gems – even sticking the landing no less.
"Did you have fun?" Lapis asked.
"Yea! It was awesome! Thanks Lapis" he replied.
"You're welcome" she smiled.
"Man this so coool! I gotta show dad! Be right back!"
"WHAT? WAIT LE-" But their yelling fell on no ears for he disappeared through his self-made portal.
"We have to go after him now!" Pearl shrilled.
"Yea, there's no way I'm gonna miss the look on Greg's face. It's gonna be hilarious!" Amethyst grinned.
"Amethyst this is serious! What if people think he's a monster?!" she countered.
"Please. He's pink. If anything they'll think Lion just had a growth spurt or something'" she dismissed.
"Regardless, we better keep the peace and Greg's heart beating. Let's go gems!" Garnet commanded as she grabbed Connie and all of them took off towards the car wash.
At the car wash…
"Yea, that's the way Buck! Keep working on those chord progressions. It's all about finding that perfect pressure" Greg instructed his pupil.
"Cool beans Mr. U. See ya next week" Buck said as he gave a little two finger side salute before slinging his guitar over his right shoulder. "Oh yea. When you see Steven, tell'em I wanna do a duet at our next session."
"You got it Buck, take care!" Greg said as he watched his only non-related pupil walk away to whatever destination he had in mind.
A smile crossed his puffy beard as he pictured his two prodigies playing together. "Now there's something worth seeing in Empire City" he said to himself as he packed up his own guitar. "I wonder how he's doing anyway. I haven't seen him all that much since he started doing his "hard core" gem training. I'd better go over and make sure they're not pushing him too hard. Of course knowing Pearl, she probably covered the whole training area in bubble wrap" he chuckled to himself as he walked around the side of the car wash to put the guitar in his van.
But instead of going to get an answer about the well-being of his son, the answer came to him and in a BIG way. Levon emerged from his exit portal outside of the car wash; his landing creating a small tremor.
"Hu-huh? What's g-going on!?" Greg stuttered as he fell out the back of his van and stumbled towards the drive way of the car wash. And inadvertently running into Levon's leg.
"OOF!" he grunted before pushing his face off of the furry limb. He felt the pink fur for a bit before gulping. He hesitantly looked up and saw the gargantuan feline towering over him with a saber-toothed grin.
"Hey dad!" he spoke in his smooth baritone voice.
Once the initial fear wore off and the cogs started turning in his brain, he sputtered out "S-Steven? I-Is that y-you?"
"Yea, it's me!" he beamed, but Greg shouted, "OH MY GOD! HOLD ON STEVEN I'LL SAVE YOU!"
"Huh? What?" he asked but Greg ran to the water hose and turned it on full blast! "H-Hey! What're y-you-?! S-Stop!" Levon sputtered out as his father sprayed him with water.
"Don't worry son! You'll be okay! You're going to be okay! I love you, don't you ever forget that!" he rambled as he continued to hose him down.
By then the Lion side of Levon was fed up! "Grrrrr…ENOUGH!" he roared, accidentally sending Greg flat onto his back, but he got up real quick. Sore bones weren't going to stop him from "saving" his son.
"Don't worry Steven, I won't give up until you're all better! No mangy cat is going to stop your old man!" he declared as he went in for round two of the water battle. That is until he was grabbed from behind and hoisted into the air. "Wh-What the!?"
He turned around and saw that Jasper was holding him from the back of his tank top. "What in the world are you doing!? Let me go NOW!" he yelled.
"Look, I'm probably the last gem you want to talk to, but listen and listen well. Steven. Is. Fine" she slowly articulated.
"It's true Mr. Universe! Steven's okay" Connie chimed in as she got out of Garnet's arms.
"…Aside from being wet anyway. And I'm not mangy" he irritably said as he shook the water off of him and tried to lick himself dry.
Lapis walked over to him and used her hydrokenisis to take all of the water off of his body.
"Thanks Lapis" he smiled and Lapis returned the gesture while giving a slight nod.
But Greg still couldn't believe it. "B-But h-he's"
"He's fused with Lion" Garnet finished as she twisted the hose nozzle to turn off the water.
"What?!" he shouted before staring at the fusion with wide eyes and small pupils.
Amethyst couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing at his short-circuited state of mind. "Th-that's what I was waiting for! I-I can'tBWHAHAHA!" as she fell to the floor and held her hurting sides.
"Amethyst really. It's not that funny" Pearl chided.
"It's a little funny" Garnet chimed in as Jasper set him down.
After a couple of minutes Amethyst finally stopped laughing, but Greg was still frozen in shock.
"…Dad?" Levon said as he waved his paw in front of his face.
"You don't think the organ within his cerebral cavity stopped processing…do you?" Peridot asked.
"Hmmmm…" Garnet hummed. She walked up to him and "gently" flicked him on the back of his head.
"OW!" he yelled as he rubbed the back of his skull.
"Sorry, but it was the only way to wake you up" she apologized.
"Wake me up?" Once again it took a couple of seconds for the cogs to turn again until he blurted out, "Wait…ITS REAL?! Steven fused with Lion?!"
"Sure did" Jasper answered.
Greg approached his hairy son and smiled while stuttering, "Th-That's incredible! Since when?"
Levon happily sighed in relief before answering, "Just now!"
"H-How is this even possible? I thought gems couldn't "fuse" with people let alone animals" he asked.
"We thought so too, but that notion was blown out the water once we saw Stevonnie" Pearl acknowledged.
"Yea. C'mon, Greg. It's Steven! Who knows what's going to happen with him" Amethyst chuckled.
"Wait hold on. Who's Stevonnie?" Greg asked.
"It's the fusion between Steven and Connie. I would think with that name it'd be a little obvious" Garnet answered.
Greg looked at the girl in question and asked, "You can fuse with him too?!"
She hesitantly nodded her head before blurting out, "Please don't tell my parents Mr. Universe! They've barely gotten used to all this magic stuff and this might send them over the edge and-"
"Whoa whoa, it's okay. Believe me, I understand plenty…well at least enough to get by with all this magic stuff. Besides, you're not the first human to try and fuse with a gem" he replied.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I think he means me, right?" Levon asked.
"No. You're our successful attempt at fusion, but I tried to fuse with Rose before" he explained.
"What? When? C'mon tell us!" Levon begged with starry eyes.
Greg looked over and saw Pearl's face almost completely blue and said, "That's another story for another day."
"Awwww" Levon whined.
"But what I want to know is how you and Lion were able to fuse with him" he asked.
"I-I'm not sure how we were able to fuse, but in Levon's case it's because Lion and Steven are brothers. They share the same gem" Connie answered.
"Yes…of course! Both of them are hybrids so of course they're compatible" Peridot realized before quickly jotting down more notes.
"Whoawhoawhoa, hold on. What do you mean Lion and Steven are brothers?" Greg asked.
"Story time!" Levon announced before he once again assumed the role of orator. He explained the first time they formed Stevonnie then transitioned to the wildlife excursion they went on and some of the startling revelations Steven found out.
In the middle of his story, he subtly gave a side glance towards Jasper and Pearl. They immediately got the hint and gave a quick appreciative nod, silently thanking him for not revealing the more sordid details of the fusion incident and the true reason as to why Levon was formed in the first place; he equated it to nothing more than a training exercise. Both of them shuddered as the possibilities of what could've happened if Greg found out passed through their minds, with Steven leaving for good being the least of their problems.
"And that's what happened" he finished.
"Lion is Commodore Cottontail?! He's that little kitten that shredded my pants!?" he asked.
"I'll shred your whole van into little pieces if call me by that name again!" Levon growled as his fur bristled up.
"S-Sorry" Greg nervously stuttered as little sweat beads formed on his bald head.
"Yea…sorry about that. It's just that Lion really hates that name" Levon explained. Then his voice tone voice shifted as he growled, "So don't you get any ideas Amethyst! I'll mess you up big time! Got it?!"
"What? Would I do something like that?" she innocently asked while batting her eyes.
"Yes" everyone answered.
A small blush crept up on her face as she crossed her arms and muttered, "Whateves."
"But…this is still a lot to take in. I knew Rose healed you and all but I didn't know she implanted her gem in you so to speak" Greg said.
"Yep. So I'm not the only hybrid around anymore…and I'm okay with that" Levon sighed in relief.
"But you're still one of a kind in my book Stu-ball. Err…Le-ball" Greg corrected and everyone nodded at that, causing a big, sharp-toothed grin to appear on Levon's face.
"So…I have a question. Why were you spraying him with water?" Connie asked.
"Oh, that. Well…I remembered when he first started shapeshifting. It was a…experience to say the least. All these little cats just started popping out all over his body and taking control of him. He came to me for help because the gems were on an important mission to keep the planet from breaking apart."
"Funny…we're trying to do that now" Peridot thought before Greg continued, "Then he figured out that the cats hated water, so I begrudgingly ran him through the car wash to get rid of'em. So when Levon showed up, I thought those cat things unified into a single creature and took over him again" he explained.
A collective "oh" passed through the captivated audience.
"That sounds absolutely horrific!" Lapis commented, shuddering at the thought of her best friend turning into a corrupted…gem.
"Yea…it was pretty scary, but I got rid of them and that's all that matters. So I'm just chalking it up to more learning experience" Levon replied.
"Indeed. Your growth from then to now has been remarkable" Garnet smiled.
"She's right. I mean it's just amazing how fast you're growing…I still remember when you were just a tiny baby in my arms" Greg fondly reminisced.
"Now I'm a lion warrior!" he proudly declared as he flexed his bazooka biceps.
"…Who's still ticklish" Lapis cheekily added before pouncing on Levon's back and scratching his favorite spot on his shoulder.
"Oooooooo…yeaaaa" he happily purred. Soon a pulsing light emanated from his gem, matching the rhythm of his thumping foot.
"Wh-What's going on? Are they going to fuse too?" Greg asked.
"Naw dude. That's the happy glow, remember?" Amethyst smiled while wiggling her eyebrows; Greg blushed when he heard that.
After a couple of minutes Lapis stopped her soothing touches, much to Levon's dismay. When he stretched his upper body up, that's when Greg finally noticed the tattered state of his clothes.
"Levon, what happened to your clothes?" he asked.
"Oh…heh. Guess I got too big for'em" he sheepishly answered.
"Does this happen all the time when you fuse?"
"Not with Stevonnie, our clothes fuse into one outfit. But Lion doesn't wear clothes, so maybe that why I tore through them" he guessed.
"That and the fact you're packing some serious muscle there" Jasper added.
"Well…this is going to be a problem. You can't be bursting out of your clothes every time you fuse. And I doubt the mall has anything in your size" Greg commented.
"Indeed. Even though it's obvious that humans have to put on appearance modifiers, you are half gem. It's quite strange that you don't have at least one appearance modifier that can meld to your body" Peridot observed.
That's when a long forgotten memory resurfaced inside Levon's head.
"Pearl!" he suddenly called out, startling the lithe gem.
"Y-Yes Levon?" she asked.
"May I have my mom's sash please?" he asked.
"Sash?"
"Mom's piece of battle armor" he clarified.
Pearl looked at him with wide eyes. "H-How do you know-?"
"Rose told me about a lot of stuff and I just remembered this piece of info when Peridot said that. I know you have it. Now…give it to me" he irritably said before his tone changed and he added, "Please?"
"Levon… you have to understand. There's a reason why your mother locked that armor away"
"Inside your gem or somewhere else?" he asked.
"Err…well, I was tasked with guarding it so I thought it'd be easier to keep it in my gem, closer to me" she explained.
"…Uh huh" he replied with one raised eyebrow when he saw her cheeks turn blue. "Anyway, it rightfully belongs to me since I am her son" he countered.
"B-But it hurt Rose-"
"Wait what? This sash thing hurt Rose?! How can armor hurt somebody? It's supposed to protect!" Greg asked.
"Indeed, that sounds like some faulty equipment. Maybe I can repair it" Peridot offered.
"You can't fix it" Pearl replied.
Peridot furrowed her eyebrows and glared at her, a little offended by her statement. "What? Why not?"
"Because it's organic plant armor. It's alive" she explained. "Don't misunderstand me. It did protect her, actually a lot of us during the war. But for whatever reason, it siphoned off Rose's energy so she had no choice but to seal it away. Levon, I'm sorry but I can't give it to you knowing what it did to your mother."
Levon let the explanation sink in. "…I understand. And thanks for looking out for me" he said.
Pearl sighed in relief, believing that the issue had been resolved. That is before Levon bared his fangs.
"But, you're forgetting one thing. I'm not Rose! I'm able to do things that she couldn't do!" he snarled. He took a deep breath to keep his rising agitation in check. "Look, I already knew all that stuff. I wouldn't have asked for it if I didn't think I could handle it."
"NO Levon! It's too dangerous!" Pearl shouted as she glared at the primal fusion.
"So was everything else I went through, missions and…otherwise. And everything turned out alright in the end" he countered causing Pearl's argument to falter.
"…He does have a point" Jasper reluctantly agreed.
"Not to mention, I'm organic too. I want to see if I can bond with it. But how can I succeed if you won't even let me try?" he finished.
The area was still as the contemplating cogs turned in all of their heads. Instinctively everyone turned their attention towards Garnet, waiting to see what her response would be.
"Hmmmm" she hummed as she tapped her chin. She adjusted her shades and commanded, "Pearl give him the sash."
"B-But"
"Remember, fear is the belief in the worst possible outcome" Garnet repeated.
"Yea. Plus, we're all here to make sure nothing bad happens" Lapis added and Pearl finally nodded her head in acceptance.
"…Alright. Just give me a second." She walked away from the group so she could have room to perform her summoning dance. "TOOOOOOOAAAA….HAAAAAAAAAH" she chanted as a rose-colored bubble emerged from her gem. "Here it is" she said as the bubble instinctively floated towards Levon.
When he looked inside, all he saw was a tiny vine with a lone leaf at one end.
"…That's it?" Peridot asked.
"Looks can be deceiving" Garnet stated.
Peridot quirked one eyebrow up at that comment, until she remembered that she was standing right next to the biggest, physically-deceiving being she ever met.
"Alright…here I go" Levon said as he popped the bubble. The quarter-sized sprig gently landed in the center of his palm. After a few moments, it started to move on its own.
"Whoooa" Connie marveled as she watched it from afar.
"Heh! It's feels like a roly poly!" Levon chuckled as the vine continued to squirm around. Soon his heightened hearing senses picked up a yawn. He looked around to see who committed the vocal action, but everyone's eyes were glued on him and the plant.
"W-What's wrong?" Connie asked.
"Someone yawned" he replied.
Immediately everyone looked at Amethyst. "What? It wasn't me!" she defended.
"She's right…because I just heard it again" he said. On a hunch he brought the vine closer to his face to get a better look.
"Awww! It's got a little mouth near the leaf. And it was just waking up" he cooed as he gently rubbed the top of what he assumed was its head.
"That thing really is alive?!" Greg asked.
"Yes, that's what I said" Pearl flatly replied with a side ways glance.
"S-Sorry, but I just wasn't expecting it to be "alive" alive. I mean I thought it be "normal plant, not moving alive" he clarified.
"Well, it seems to like Levon a lot" Lapis commented when she saw the vine hunch its body up like how Levon would when she scratched his favorite spot. Pearl merely folded her arms and continued her vigilant watch.
"Hey little guy. Did you sleep well?" Levon asked.
He was surprised when he actually got a peep in response. "Wh-where am I?" it asked.
"Cool! You can talk! Guys, did you hear that?" he excitedly asked. Everyone shook their heads no.
"Are you sure it spoke to you?" Pearl asked.
"Yep, sure did! Did it talk to mom at all?" he asked.
"…Not that I recall" she replied.
"What did it say?" Connie asked.
"It asked "Where am I?" You're on Earth little guy, at my dad's car wash" he told the little sprig.
"E-Earth? …Fight! Fight war!" it squeaked as it started moving around like a crazy snake.
"Whoa whoa little guy! It's okay, the war is over. No more fighting" Levon assured.
"…For now anyway" Jasper thought as she continued to watch their fascinating interaction.
"N-No fight?" it asked.
"No fight" Levon smiled.
"…Where Rose?"
"Oh…um…well she's here. Kinda. My name is Levon, and I'm a fusion between Steven and Lion!"
"…Fusion…like Garnet?" it asked.
"Yea! Hey Garnet, this little guy knows about you!" he beamed and Garnet smiled at his enthusiasm.
"Where Rose? Is hurt?" it asked.
"No, no! She's fine. Y'see Rose, my mom, gave up her physical form to give birth a son with my dad, Greg, and she gave her gem to him. That's Steven. Then she put a part of her gem in a hurt lion cub to make him feel better. That's Lion" he tried to explain.
The sprig curled itself into a tight coil and remained that way for a couple of minutes.
"I-Is it okay?" Peridot asked.
"I think it's trying to make sense of everything I just told it" he replied.
Soon it uncoiled itself and raised its head up. "Steven has Rose's gem. Lion has Rose's gem. Rose no got gem?"
"Oh no! My mom is still in her gem, inside of Steven" he clarified.
"…Steven fusion of Rose and Greg gem?"
"Yea! But my dad Greg is a human, not a gem."
"…Steven human and gem?"
"Yep and Lion is a gem animal. So I'm a fusion of a human, gem and animal!" he proudly exclaimed.
"…How?" it asked.
"Uh…good question. I don't know."
"Can talk to Rose?"
"I'm sorry but no. Well…not like how we're talking. She can only talk to Steven, but only when he's really hurt and needs to be healed" he explained.
"NO! No hurt! I protect!" it declared.
"Thanks little guy! I'd love it if you could keep me and my family safe" he smiled. The plant furiously nodded his head at that.
"But I have a question. Why did you want to talk to my mom? Did you want to ask her something?"
"…Why lock me up? Did do wrong?" it sadly asked as it looked down. Immediately Levon's ears drooped and a frown crossed his muzzle.
"Levon, what did it say?" Greg asked when he noticed his son's downcast look.
"He asked why mom locked him up" he replied.
Another collective but cringy "oh" passed through the group.
"Levon…you have to tell it the truth" Garnet said.
"B-But"
"Levon" she said a little firmer. "You inherited this vine – that includes everything that comes with it. The good and the bad."
Levon gulped and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry you got locked up little guy, but m-mom had to because you were hurting her."
"No…no hurt. Never hurt" it dejectedly replied as its head hung limp.
"…Yea. Um…do you know Pearl?" he asked.
"…Sword slasher that around Rose lot?" it asked.
"Yep, that's her. She said you were draining my mom's energy."
"No drain! No hurt! Hungry!"
"Hungry?" he repeated.
"Hungry, no food! Weak…very weak. Had to feed. Rose had food" it explained.
Slowly a couple of light bulbs started to flicker on inside of Levon's combined head, but he needed more info.
"…Pearl, my mom always wore this little guy right?" Levon asked.
"Yes. The only time she took it off was when she had to seal it away, and that was during the middle of the war" she answered.
Levon carefully folded his arms while still keeping his palm up so he could hold the tiny vine. "Hmmm…mmmmm" were the vocals of rumblings of his thoughts, but it didn't even come close to translating what was going on in his mind.
"Healing tears…plant super fertilizer…rocks are minerals…plant seeds need an abundance of minerals to grow…a little extra in order to reach its full potential."
"THAT'S IT!" he exclaimed nearly throwing the sprig up in the air and making everyone else flinch due to the sudden outburst.
"Wh-What? What is it?" Peridot asked.
"I'll be right back guys. Connie can you hold him please?"
"O-Okay" she agreed.
"Thanks! Okay little guy, I'll be right back with something that'll make you all better. I promise. I'm gonna put you in my best friend Connie's hands. Do you promise to be good until I get back?"
The sprig nodded its head and Levon carefully placed it in her hands.
"See you guys in a bit!" and just like that he disappeared through one of his self-made portals, leaving everyone behind to interact with one another…which was minimal at best. An awkward silence enveloped them, but at least it wasn't as soul crushing as when Connie and Steven were alone with Pearl and Jasper.
But being the easy-going guy he was, Greg broke the tension when he cleared his throat. "Umm…well…until Levon gets back, I could give you guys a tour of the car wash if you want" he offered to the new members of the family.
"Uhhh…doesn't seem like there's much to show" Jasper observed.
"Well, I am a little bit curious as to the kind of technology you employ to wash cars. …What's a car?" Peridot asked.
"How can I put it? A car is like a space ship that moves on the ground only. It doesn't fly. Humans use them to get from place to place" he explained.
"How primitive. So that…van… of yours is a different class of car?" she asked.
"Yep, you got it. Cars come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. And here's where they come to get clean if they're dirty. So long as they can fit through the entrance" Greg explained.
"I am familiar with the process known as "cleaning" so I am correct in assuming that you use water and soap to clean these mobile machines?" she asked and Greg nodded his head.
As they continued to talk about the mechanics of operating the various devices, a subtle groan passed through the rest group. "Levon…please hurry up" they collectively thought. Even the little vine was as still as a stick, completely bored out of its mind at the dull discussion.
Thankfully their prayers were answered when Levon appeared out thin air. However the sudden tremor startled the little sprig, causing it to coil up.
"Levon!" everyone called out.
"Hey guys!" he replied.
"Whoa, what's in the bubble?" Amethyst asked pointing to the giant bubble he was carrying.
"Dirt!" he smiled.
"Dirt?" they repeated.
"Good dirt!" he clarified before asking, "Hey dad, do you have a big bucket I can use?"
"Huh? Oh, yea sure! Let me go get it." With that he went inside the main building and grabbed a large, blue ten gallon bucket.
"Perfect! Thanks dad" he said.
He carefully poked a hole in the bubble and poured some of the dirt into the bucket. He had to keep his mouth open in order to breathe so his nose wouldn't inhale that funky smell.
"Levon, where in the world did you get this stuff?!" Pearl asked as she and everyone else…well except Amethyst, covered their noses to try and block the pungent odor. Even Jasper could smell it.
"Lion's secret grove" he answered as he sealed up the bubble and sent it to the temple. "That should be good. Connie, can you put him in the bucket please?" he asked and she nodded her head.
She carefully placed the tight coil on top of the dirt and scooted back.
"Hey little guy, time to unwind. I think you're going to like thissss!" he cooed as he rubbed its body. Slowly the vine uncurled itself and slithered around its new surroundings. Then all of a sudden it burrowed down out of sight.
"Dad, can you pour some water on top please?"
"Sure son" he said as he ran to grab the hose. He turned the nozzle and poured a generous amount of water on top.
"That's good. Thanks dad." Greg nodded and turned it off. Then he opened his mouth and let some of his healing spit fall onto the fertile soil.
"Levon, what-" Lapis' question was cut short when the bucket started shaking. Levon held it steady while everyone looked over it.
"Wow…he sure was hungry. Maybe I should've just put him in the bubble" Levon commented as the dirt level got lower and lower, until the only thing that remained was the little sprig – munching on whatever dirt was left.
Only…he wasn't so little anymore.
"Whoa…little twig got big" Amethyst said.
"Yea…it's almost as long and thick as my arm" Connie observed.
"How you feelin' there bud?" Levon asked.
"Really good! Food really good!" it happily peeped, and this time everyone could hear it.
"I guess it can talk" Jasper said.
"But only Levon can understand it. Very peculiar" Peridot commented as she decided to scan the plant.
Levon picked it up; it was still small enough to be held in one hand but definitely had a bit more weight to it. "Do you need any more?" he asked.
"Me good. Thank Levon" it said.
"You're welcome little guy. Hey, do you have a name?"
"…No name" it replied.
"Would you like one?" he asked.
"Okay. Name me"
"Y'know, I've been calling you little guy all this time, but are you a boy or a girl?"
"…What boy? What girl?"
"…Never mind. Okay, let's see…hmmmm…how about-"
"LEVON! PUT THAT THING DOWN NOW!" Peridot yelled. Her outburst caused little spikes to form along the sprig's back as well as making it hiss.
"Hey, hey it's okay. Peridot didn't mean to scare you" he assured as he petted it.
"What's wrong?" Jasper asked.
"That thing is a krudzipulo erdrocus!" she exclaimed as she stared at her now red screen.
"Uh…wanna speak normal?" Amethyst asked.
"That plant is a Krudzu! Also known as the gem disintegrator!" she clarified.
"What!?" everyone gasped.
"These kind of plants are highly territorial and vicious. They're native to the planet Faltride, another location of an unsuccessful gem colony. Gems didn't even have a chance to incubate let alone land on the planet because of these things." She shuddered as she continued, "I-I remember reading some of the reports of gems that survived. B-Being snatched up in the middle of the night while they're on patrol…ear hole piercing screams as they're being eaten alive…and one of them is here now!" she screamed as she quickly backed away.
"…Huh. Kinda sounds like a plant version of canicaligians" Levon thought.
"Why in the world would Rose Quartz have something like that?! No wonder it hurt her! That's our natural enemy!" she shrilled.
"Mom found beauty in everything, so she must've saw something special in this little guy. And so do I; he's pretty cool!" Levon smiled as he petted it.
"B-But that thing absorbed-"
"That's because mom didn't feed it" Levon cut Pearl off.
"I mean, I get it. Kinda hard to focus on taking care of something that's your natural enemy when you probably have no idea how and when you're in the middle of a war. That's why he sapped some of mom's energy – you guys are rocks. No offense" he quickly added.
"None taken" Garnet replied.
"Even if he's from a different planet, he's still a plant. He needs water, sun, and soil in order to grow and reach its full potential" he explained. "You sure are one tough little guy, surviving as long as you did" he praised as he scratched it underneath its chin, causing it to happily peep.
Garnet smiled at the interaction and Jasper noticed it. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" she asked.
"No, this was just one of the paths I saw. I'm merely happy that this is one that occurred" Garnet explained. "And we shouldn't be too surprised by this. He was able to win the three of you over after all" she followed up; Lapis, Peridot and Jasper all nodded in agreement with that.
"So can I keep him? Pleeeease? I'll take care of him, I promise!" Levon crossed his heart.
"I know you will. And yes you can keep him" Garnet agreed.
"Alright! Welcome to the family Rudy!" he dubbed his new friend.
"Rudy?" it asked.
"Yea, that's your new name. D-Do you like it?" he asked.
"Rudy like! Thank Levon!" it peeped before jumping out of his hand. Before he could ask where he was going, Rudy slithered up his leg and wrapped itself around his waist. Soon it bloomed leaves along its body, creating the signature rectangular-looking sash.
"Sooo Coool!" he marveled with starry eyes.
"Lookin' good there Levon!" Amethyst praised as he gave a quick turn.
"OHMYGOSH YES!" Connie exclaimed with diamond eyes. "You look just like one of those jungle cat warriors! All you need now is a circle earring and a tribal tattoo on your shoulder!" she gushed.
"Uh…" Levon uttered as he tried to follow her fangirl ramblings.
"You aren't getting any piercings or tattoos until you're thirty!" Greg asserted, snapping Connie out of her fanatic state of mind.
"What? C'mon Greg, live a little. Besides, didn't you haveMmmph!" Amethyst was about to comment that he had multiple ear piercings when he first met Rose, but Greg covered her mouth.
"Don't encourage him!" he whispered and she got the message.
"…Oookay? Anyway, Rudy. Just let me know when you get hungry okay?" The sash shook its leaves in response.
"Levon. This won't be the last time I'll say it. You never cease to amaze me" Garnet smiled.
"But…I didn't do anything. All I did was pet it and feed it" he replied.
"No. You did something far greater than that. You gave it a chance. Sometimes that's the greatest thing anyone can do" she stated and everyone, especially Jasper and Pearl, nodded at that notion.
Levon sported another big grin, before stretching his arms up and yawning.
"Tired big guy?" Amethyst asked.
"A little bit. Laying on the hill sounds pretty nice right about now" he mumbled while smacking his lips.
"Yea it does!" she happily replied.
"Indeed. I think we all deserve a break from dealing with the clusters and everything else. If it's alright, may we join you?" Garnet asked.
"Of course it is! It'll be like a sleepover outside! Here, I'll carry us back to the temple. Dad, are you coming?" he asked.
"Y'know what? I will. It's been pretty dead so far. Lemme just lock it down and I'll just flip the sign that says I'm going on break" Greg answered.
"Hooray!" Levon cheered.
"Need any help?" Pearl offered.
"Oh! Um, yea. If you could put those cleaning supplies and that bucket back in the cabinet in the main office and lock it up that'd be great" he said. Pearl nodded her head and followed his instructions. "Now I just need to put these chairs back in the van and hose down the drive way."
"I can take care of the drive way" Lapis offered as she formed her water wings.
"Cool! Thanks Lapis" he replied as he quickly put the multi-colored folding chairs away.
Pearl got out of the building just in time and everyone backed up to give Lapis some space. Using the water from her wings, she covered the entire area – grabbing every speck of dirt imaginable – before dumping it in one of the storm drains.
"Whoooa" they marveled, causing Lapis to blush.
Greg ran over to close the shutters and coil the hose. "And that's that!"
"Awesome! Let's go!" Levon exclaimed.
Before he could pick anyone up, a loud tremor similar to that of one hundred freight trains ripped through the area!
"GRAAAAAA!" he roared as he covered his ears.
"LEVON!" everyone shouted as they got close to the kneeling fusion. Luckily the tremor went as quickly as it came. "Levon, are you okay?" everyone asked.
"Y-yea. I'm okay. …Sensitive hearing" he replied.
"What the hay was that?" Greg asked. He looked over at the car wash, thankfully all the windows were still in tact. "Good thing I invested in that premium thick glass after all" he thought.
"A space vessel entered the atmosphere" Garnet answered.
"…Yellow Diamond" Jasper nervously uttered.
"No way…she actually sent someone for us? C-Could she?" Peridot thought.
Instinctively everyone looked up at the sky, but there was nothing there.
"You sure about that G? I don't see anything" Amethyst commented.
Peridot expanded her holo-screen and scanned the sky. "…No, there's a ship up there" she said and everyone looked at the screen.
"A stealth ship. They're trying to be inconspicuous this time around" Jasper commented.
"Well, time to let'em know that we can see'em and give'em a warm Earth welcome" Amethyst grinned as she cracked her knuckles.
"Y-Yea" Peridot agreed.
"I'm sorry dad, but we have to put our outdoor sleepover on hold" Levon apologized.
"Yea…I know. You do your thing son. Just…be careful. Please?" he emphasized as he grabbed his son's hand.
"I promise" he replied before giving his dad a hug.
"Yea, don't worry Greg. You might want to go on ahead and get a victory barbeque ready for us" Amethyst confidently said.
"Alright gems, let's go! Levon, take Connie home" Garnet ordered.
"What?! No! I'm not leaving! What's the point of all that training if I'm not going to put it to use?!" Connie argued.
"No Connie, she's right. You can't fight" Levon agreed.
"W-What?"
"Not without a sword" he grinned as he reached into his head and pulled out his mother's sword.
"…Really?" she asked as she gazed upon the scabbard of the pink sabre.
"Of course! You're an expert swordswoman, remember?" Connie smiled and grabbed the blade.
"Thanks Levon. I won't let you down!" she firmly assured.
"You never do" he smiled as he put her on his shoulder. Then he grabbed the rest of the gems in his arm.
"I'm not holding you too tight am I?" he asked.
"No…you're just really soft" Lapis sighed in content.
"Yea dude. When this is over, I'm totally using you as a pillow" Amethyst said and he chuckled at that.
"…Feels like I'm holding a bunch of action figures" he thought before opening another warp portal. They traveled along the diamond dusted expressway and emerged in front of the temple; Levon carefully set all of them down on the sand.
"Pearl! Amethyst! Ready the light cannons! The blast will ruin their element of surprise" Garnet commanded.
"Right away Garnet!" they acknowledged. Amethyst ran up the steps and set up the lone wagon canon on the porch while Pearl brought out the controls for the quartizine trio out of her gem.
"Peridot, tell us where to aim" Garnet ordered.
"H-Huh? Oh right! Um…right there" she pointed.
"Levon, light them up!"
"If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs" he boomed and the cannons reacted to his voice, firing four pink laser blasts at the camouflaged vessel.
The Rose-shaped projectiles hit their target, and this time it had at least some effect. The invisible cloaking around the space ship disappeared, revealing a green, oblong-shaped vessel.
"It…it kinda looks like a patella" Connie commented.
"A what?" Levon asked.
"Patella. That's the name of the bone that makes your knee cap" she explained.
"Oh" he replied.
"Well, it's going to be a broken knee cap soon" Jasper commented as she tightly squeezed her hands.
"No." Garnet firmly stated.
"No? No to what?" Jasper asked.
"No to breaking it and no to you three fighting whatever gems are on that ship" she clarified.
"What?! Are you crazy?! You think you can handle whatever's on that ship? You barely handled me!" Jasper exclaimed.
"Wow…thanks for the vote of confidence" Amethyst sarcastically said.
"It's not like before. We know what kind of technology home world has at their disposal. Not to mention we have a couple of aces up our sleeve" Garnet said as she looked as Connie and Levon.
"You said that this is a stealth ship, correct? That means that whoever's in there probably has an escort but is built for reconnaissance, not for battle. Plus, if they see you and your outfits and figure out you defected from home world, they could relay a message back and may start an investigation of every Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, and Peridot back home, leading to unwarranted deaths" she finished.
"What if we just change our outfits back to normal and pretend we're under mind control?" Peridot suggested.
"No! If we do that, that'll tip them off that there's a diamond here and they'll go after Levon!" Lapis countered.
"Besides, I'd rather be smashed than have that slave mark on my chest again" Jasper added.
"R-Right" Peridot stuttered.
"Then it's decided. You three wait in the house. Once whoever's in there comes out, Lapis can drag the ship underwater, leaving them defenseless. Not to mention, we can use that technology to our advantage. Just wait until I give the signal" she ordered as she demonstrated the signal - a rocket gauntlet punch.
"…This path better be the right one" Jasper semi-warned.
"I'm actually going off radar so to speak. I know everything will alright because we're fighting for those we care about" she smiled.
"And love is the belief in the best possible outcome" Lapis added.
"Alright! Break!" Levon clapped his hands, but everyone gave him puzzled looks. "Oh, it's a human way of saying let's do this."
"Ugh! So many shortened euphuisms! Why can't humans just say what they mean?!" Peridot exasperated.
"Pretty soon you'll be saying them too. Now go!" Garnet commanded and the three of them hurried up to the beach house.
The gems summoned their weapons as the space craft steadily descended to their location.
"Heh…Talk about déjà vu huh?" Amethyst chuckled.
"At least we don't have to mount another city wide evacuation" Garnet commented. "We got this."
"Yea!" Levon and Connie exclaimed as they gave each other a hi-five.
Pearl could only smile at her protégés. "I promise I'll make it right" she internally swore as she firmly gripped her spear.
An acid green hue blanketed the town as the ship continued its descent. While the front line was focused on the object in their sights, one of the newest members was focused on conflicting emotions raging inside of her mind.
Back in the house…
Jasper and Lapis were pressed up against the window, peeking through the blinds as they awaited the arrival of the newest batch of invaders.
"Who do you think is in there?" Lapis asked.
"Like Garnet said, a gem built for reconnaissance. Maybe a Jet or a Zoisite. Heh…wouldn't it be something if they sent another Jasper as its escort?" she bitterly chuckled.
"…Jasper" Lapis sighed as she put her hand on her shoulder. "You're your own gem here, not just another copy. In Steven's eyes, no matter what you do, you'll always be his tiger teacher. Just like I'm his all-time beach buddy" she assured.
Jasper was silent for a moment as she tried to collect her thoughts. "…Thanks Lazuli. A-And I know I didn't do this and I should've a while ago but…I-I'm sorry f-for the way I treated you. Y'know? Back when we first came here a-and everything before that and GAH! Why can't I just say what I want?! I'm sorry I was a major clod! C-Can you forgive me?"
A small smirk appeared on the blue gem's face and she replied, "Well, considering we rest in the same temple, work together and we haven't smashed each other's gem yet, I'd say I already have."
"Heh…true that. Thank you" she said as she ruffled her hair.
"J-Jasper!" Lapis screamed.
"Sorry! I'm sorry! Force of habit" Jasper apologized as she quickly retracted her hand off of her head.
"N-No, it's alright. I-I just got to get used to being touched like that" she replied.
Immediately images of her forcefully holding Lapis' head against a table while they were in an interrogation room played in her mind. "Sheet rock…I really was a major clod" Jasper lamented as she ran her hand through her long hair.
"Well, we were brought up in a cloddy system. Now we know better" Lapis consoled.
"…But it's still home" Peridot silently added.
"What?" they asked as the turned around to see her standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed.
"I-It's still home. Yes I know I had a rough upbringing and I basically had to work myself to the core to even earn a lick of worth from Yellow Diamond, b-but it's hard alright?! Not to have some feelings for where you came from. I mean, just the fact that she sent somebody down here after I sent all those distress signals – for the record this was before you found me and I was dead set on completing the mission – has to mean something!" she explained as her floating fingers extenuated her confused feelings.
"…So in the off chance whoever's in there was sent to retrieve us for Yellow Diamond, you'd actually go back? Leave all the love and support, or for that matter any love and support, you've ever received behind? Do you have any idea what Yellow would do to us knowing that we failed an easy mission?! Not to mention how hurt Steven would be!?" Jasper harshly questioned.
"I KNOW!" Peridot shouted, making her former superior back off. "I-I know" she choked out before crumpling to the floor. "I-I don't understand! I thought I'd gone against everything that home world stood when I decided to stop the cluster and be a part of this insanely loving family. B-But there's just this little thing inside of me that's making me feel really…small. Almost microscopic. And I hate it!" she cried.
"…I think I get it" Lapis said as she walked over to her former captor. "You're homesick."
"B-But this is my home! I want it to be!" Peridot gestured to the beach abode.
"I know you do, but you haven't fully accepted it yet. And who can blame you? So far all you've seen is the kindergarten, that ravine, and the temple. And the car wash if you count today. How can you call a place home if you've never seen it? Experienced it?" Lapis asked.
"But Jasper said that Steven was her home" Peridot pointed out.
"And he is" agreed Jasper.
"How can a place and a person be a home?" she asked.
"Home is where you feel you belong. Like Lapis said, I'm actually my own gem here, not just a marked-up copy. Steven made me feel different and I liked that. So I wanted to stay with him, and if that means staying on Earth then so be it. Plus the donuts and pizza are a nice bonus" Jasper joked.
"For me, even when I went back to home world, it wasn't as how I remembered it. It felt wrong. Heh…I should be grateful that you guys brought me back to Earth. My memories might still be a little fuzzy about everything that happened during the war, but I would've missed out on making new memories and experiences here with him on this planet. This feels right to me" Lapis added.
"So I need to compare the feelings I have for home world compared to here?" asked Peridot.
"Yep. And if you still want to go back home…that's your call." Jasper said.
Peridot wiped the mist out of her eyes, closed them and took a deep breath to steady her thoughts. After a few minutes, she started shaking. "I'M SUCH A STUPID CLOD!" she blurted out, causing Lapis and Jasper to flinch. "I've only been here for what…twenty earth rotations and it's a heck of a lot better than all the time spent on home world! How could I even think about leaving this place? Leaving him?!" she angrily cried.
"That's stinkin' thinkin' for you" Jasper commented.
"Stinkin' thinkin' sucks!" she declared.
"You can say that again. And I don't mean that literally" Jasper clarified when she noticed her about to shout from the top of her illusionary lungs.
"Heh…even these strange and sometimes contradictory Earth sayings are way better to listen to than the harsh orders of my manager" Peridot laughed as Lapis helped her stand up.
"It's a process Peridot, you'll get there and we'll help each other" Lapis assured.
"Th-thank you Lazuli. And you too Jasper. And Lazuli, I'm s-sorry too for how I treated you before" Peridot apologized.
"Don't mention it. As far as I'm concerned, that version of Peridot doesn't exist anymore" she smiled and Peridot awkwardly smiled back.
But the blissful mood was broken when the whole house started shaking. Everyone ran back to the window and saw the knee cap shaped ship right in front of everyone.
"Lapis, you ready?" Jasper asked.
The blue gem closed her eyes, flexed her arms out and felt the energy of the ocean course through her body. "Ready" she answered as she opened her eyes.
Everyone kept their eyes glued to the battle ready gems, waiting for Garnet's signal.
"D-Do you think Yellow Diamond is able to see any of this?" Peridot asked.
A big smirk formed on Jasper's lips and she replied, "I sure hope she can. I'd give up my arm to see the look on her face after we take care of this squad."
"You don't think Garnet will want to keep'em trapped in a bubble forever…do you?" Lapis asked.
"For a little bit, but not for long. Not if Steven has anything to say about it. Hope you're ready for our team to be bigger. We're probably going to need another base soon" Jasper smiled.
Back down on the beach…
Everyone faced the stationary space ship in front of them with unwavering determination. No one even flinched when an orb emerged from the top of the ship, revealing the shadowed sole occupant.
…Or so they thought.
"Hmm?" Levon looked towards the left side of the beach, in the direction of the abandoned warehouse. All of a sudden, he opened his mouth like he was snarling and panting at the same time.
Connie picked up on this and asked, "Levon? What's wrong?"
Before he could answer, the massive gem jumped into the air and landed in front of them, spraying sand dust everywhere. Every shielded their eyes from the debris.
"This is what I have to deal with? Psssh. Pathetic. She was right, I can handle this" a voice spoke.
Soon the dust cloud dispersed, revealing the threating gem. Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of the titanic warrior, but Amethyst was the most petrified out of all of them. She even dropped her weapon.
The foreign gem was a little bit shorter than Levon and had the muscular girth to complement her impressive height. Her rounded face was framed by her long, lavender locks. It was decorated with a small upturned nose, fierce looking eyes with indigo colored pupils and plump lips. She wore a uniform that was almost a carbon copy to Jasper's. The only difference was instead of being shades of oranges, they were shades of purple, just like her solid skin tone.
"…No way" Amethyst breathed out as she collapsed to her knees. But once she saw the eerily similar faceted gemstone on her left shoulder, she knew it wasn't some horrible dream. This was what she was supposed to be. This was a true –
"A-Amethyst?" Levon hesitantly spoke.
"Yep, that's my name. Too bad you guys won't be alive to remember it."
Hoo Boy...talk about an identity crisis. How will Amethyst handle her "complete and perfect" counterpart? And Levon might have to put Rudy to good use a lot sooner than expected. Will Pitch Black complete her mission and claim a prize in the process? Tune in next time for "One on One" which won't be out until July. In addition to my mom and aunt's b-days this month, I have a lot of studying and CPR training to do in order to pass my final to be a personal fitness trainer. Thanks for your understanding and for all your support.
Levon, the perfect cinnamon sugar donut with Steven's sweetness and Lion's spiciness. At least he didn't get hurt this time around. I hope you were able to discern who was taking control during certain situations. Poor Greg...his heart can't catch a break ;P
I based Rudy off of the Krudzu hybrid hydra from the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series as well as kudzu plant. Those things spread like wild fire, just taking over everything.
And if you guys want to listen, those lyrics are from Prince(RIP) "Song of the Heart" from the moive "Happy Feet"
I don't Steven Universe nor Prince's music catalogue, just my imaginative capabilities.