It's a couple days from the last missions conclusion. Amethyst and Pearl were playing checkers outside of the temple while Steven sat on a ladder in front of them. "Alright, time for round two. Pearl may have won the first round, but Amethyst can always turn things around. After all, anything can happen in.. The Water Balloon Games!" He clutched a couple of droopy balloons in his arms as the two began playing.
After a few suspenseful moments, Steven tossed a water balloon on the purple gems head, making water explode on not only her, but her pieces as well. His assault continued on both gems until Pearl checkmated her opponent.
"Ha! I win. The best part about this is it's not syrup or ketchup or any disgusting Earth condiment! It's just clean, purified water." Pearl let out a victory cry, making Amethyst roll her eyes and flip the board.
"My gosh, you're such a sore winner." She replied, folding her arms.
"Me? What about you?! Game night was horrible!" Pearl rebuttals.
"You guys had game nights?" Steven asked as he zoomed down the ladder.
"Ugh, this is exactly why we don't form Opal anymore!" Amethyst said with frustration. This pricked Steven's interest, however.
"Who's Opal?" He asked, making the two look back to him.
"Oh, Steven! We never told you about fusion! Take a seat and I'll explain everything." Pearl said excitedly, the boy full of wonder doing as she said. "Opal is the fusion between Amethyst and I. You fuse by dancing in a magnificently enchanting style!"
"Actually, I don't dance like you at all, Pearl." Amethyst butted in. Pearl rolled her eyes and continued.
"When two gems fuse, their limbs, facial features and colors become one. They merge into each other and their physical forms are combined to create a completely separate entity!"
"Woah! Can you guys form her now?" Steven had stars in his eyes as he spoke to the two.
"Sorry, dude. Opal is dead and Pearl killed her." Amethyst joked. Steven's expression changed and tears began to form in his eyes.
"B-but.. How?" He sobbed out.
"No, Amethyst! Sorry, Steven, Opal isn't dead just.. We don't fuse unless it's absolutely necessary. It's a last resort in case our very lives are in jeopardy." Pearl explained properly.
"You can't just do it for me? Just once? Please?" He clasped his hands together and put on a sad expression.
"Sorry, Steven. But, hey we can describe her for you!" The tall gem started. "She's blue with long, white hair and four arms. She has my nose but Amethyst's lips and eyes. And her height? Let's just say she's much taller than me." She smirked at him, who was back to being excited.
"She is awesome.. But when are we ever going to have to fuse again, am I right?" Amethyst said, shaking the water off of her body. Then, Garnet and Rose came out of the temple and approached the three.
"Bad news." Garnet stated behind her leader.
"What's up, Rose?" The short gem asked, lying on her back.
Rose sighed before responding. "This isn't going to be easy, but we have two missions to do in the next seventy four hours. We're going to need two teams, one for each."
"What are the missions, Mom?" Steven asked, already getting pumped up.
"The first one is a trip to the Sky Spire. We need one team to get to the Spire and retrieve the Heaven Beetle. She'll try to attack since she's a c- monster. So they need to be ready for combat." Their leader explained.
"Well, that doesn't sound so bad. What's the other one?" Pearl asked out of curiosity. Garnet stepped forward.
"It's a mission through a volcano in which we must get close to the Earth's core. We will then retrieve the Earth Beetle from molten lava after poofing her." Her visor shined and sparkled.
"I'm down for whatever as long as I'm not on the same team as Pearl." Amethyst stated. Pearl shrugged and folded her arms.
"I feel the same way. So, which team am I on, Rose?" The two looked at their leader who in turn looked to her son who was now right next to her.
"Mom! Mom! I have an idea!" Steven tugged on her long, white dress.
"What is it, honey?" Rose kneeled down to meet his eyes. He began whispering into her ear.
"Pearl and Amethyst obviously aren't working together right? Pair me up with them to get the Heaven Beetle bubbled! I can keep them together." Rose thought of it for a second before nodding.
"I don't see why not. Steven, Amethyst, Pearl. You're in a team together. Garnet and I will take the Earth Beetle." Rose announced.
"What!?" The two rival gems shouted in unison, shocked expressions on their faces. Steven rushed toward them, taking both of their hands.
"Yay! C'mon, guys, let's have some fun!" The two glared at each other. Garnet stepped forward and looked at the pair with an intense intimidation.
"Steven, keep the harmony between these gems. And.. Good luck." The aloof gem walked off with Rose.
After warping to the Sky Spire, the three begin walking up the high trail to the floating islands. The grassy mountain was old, yes, but still had new, growing trees and plants.
"Woah! That's a long climb and I'm really tired. Maybe you guys should form Opal and give me a ride on your shoulders?" He suggested, walking behind the two.
"Steven, we just started. You couldn't possibly be tired." Pearl responded. Peering over her shoulder, she saw the boy with his arm's slouched and his lip pouted. She rolled her eyes.
"Look, Steven, Opal doesn't come out unless Pearl and I are dying or you're in danger. We haven't even fused in over 13 years, dude." Amethyst said, the group getting to the top of the hill which only revealed an even longer trail ahead. Steven got between the two and began singing.
Steven: All I wanna do
Is see you turn into
A giant woman
A giant woman~
Steven: All I wanna be
Is someone who gets to see
A giant woman.
The group continued their way on through the trail.
Steven: All I wanna do
Is help you turn into
A giant woman
A giant woman~
Steven: All I wanna be
Is someone who gets to see
A giant woman.
Steven: Oh I know it'll be great
And I just can't wait
To see the person you are together!
Steven: If you give it a chance
You can do a huge dance
Because you are
A giant woman~
Steven: You might even like being together
And if you don't it won't be forever!
But if it were me
I'd really wanna be
A giant woman
A giant woman~
Steven: All I wanna do
Is see you turn into..
A giant woman~
By now, they were nearing the end of the trail and finally close to the floating islands. Steven had pestered the gems several times throughout the journey.
"Aw, man, look at all that climbing left. We're lucky you guys can fuse right?" Pearl and Amethyst looked at each other in annoyance.
"I got a better idea, dude!" The purple gem took Steven by the waist and chucked him to the top, where he landed right in front of a goat. He smiled with sparkles in his eyes.
"A goat!? I'm gonna name you Steven Junior!" He told the animal, hugging it around it's neck. Pearl, horrified at what Amethyst had done, ran up the rest of the mountain to recover Steven while Amethyst shape shifted into a toy airplane.
"Steven! Get away from that disgusting animal, it could have rabies!" The long nosed gem shouted, grabbing Steven's shoulder.
"Aww.. But he's so nice! There's no way he could have rabies." Steven defended, much to Pearl's frustration.
"What's rabies?" Amethyst asked, shape shifting back into her normal form. The goat dashed away down the hill.
"Steven.." Pearl got down to his level. "I know you want to be a good Crystal Gem. If we can get all the way over there and capture the Heaven Beetle successfully with you on our team, you'll have proved useful. So let's get this over with." The boy nodded solemnly.
"Okay.. Alright, let's go!" He jumped up before stepping a couple of steps back. Then, he built up momentum before jumping. Thankfully, Pearl caught him by his shirt.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no. Amethyst, you go on ahead first." The tallest gem ordered, to which Amethyst readied her knees for the jump.
Steven gasped in realization. "Wait! This is the perfect time to form Opal and-"
"Steven, shut up!" The two gems yelled in unison, almost immediately covering their mouths. Steven was shocked, recoiling visibly. Tears started forming in his eyes and spontaneous thoughts rushed through his head.
"Wait! W-we didn't mean it.. Steven-" Amethyst reached out to him. However, he ignored the gesture and instead shape shifted his feet into rocket engines.
"This hurts, but not as much as that did.." The two screamed his name as he jumped as high as he could, followed by a push from the rockets allowing him to cover a ton of vertical ground. His tears flew in the wind while thoughts of frustration flew through his head.
"What's wrong with them? Why are they always like this to each other? Aren't we supposed to be a family?" His voice broke more with every word until he finally crashed onto the Sky Spire. It was a harsh landing, his face scraped against the rough, rocky floor. Pearl and Amethyst immediately started jumping through the floating platforms to reach him as fast as possible.
"Steven! Are you okay?!" Amethyst got to his side, helping him up. He had scrapes along his cheeks and the tears were still prominent, however the rockets were gone upon impact.
"W-why are you guys like this?" He yelled, the two Crystal Gems staring at each other in shame. "Do you guys ever get along?! You can't even pretend to like each other for me? Its that bad? Why, what happened?" Tears slipped down Steven's cheek as he awaited an answer. Pearl sighed and Amethyst took her hand.
"I honestly don't know.. You're you and I'm me, we're completely opposite to each other. But we need to learn to.. Ugh, what's the word?" Amethyst snapped her fingers, trying to think of the word.
"Cooperate?" Pearl answered, smiling. She was pretty charmed by Amethyst's speech. Steven was smiling now, wiping his tears away.
"Yeah.. C'mon, Pearl. Let's cooperate together." Amethyst looked up at the pale gem, who blushed before smirking. She twirled Amethyst like a ballerina, the two giggling before Pearl tossed the short gem into the air. When Amethyst fell back down into Pearl's arms, the two glowed a bright white, finally fusing into the giant woman.
Steven was grinning with glee, holding his hand to his chest. Opal grew into the tall, blue, long haired warrior the boy was expecting all day. She grabbed Steven gently, smiling at him. "Do you.. Know who I am?" He asked with uncertainty. He was certainly bashful, his cheeks were rose red.
Opal giggled, clearing her throat. "All you wanna do.. Is see me turn into.. A giant woman~" The two cuddled each other before Opal jumped high into the air, landing on the very top of the Spire. There was no Heaven Beetle. Only a giant bird.
"Wanna distract it for me? Something tells me the Earth Beetle is in that bird and I need a very special person to handle the job." Opal winked, lowering the half to the ground.
"You got it!" Steven bubbled himself, rolling up to the bird and bumping it's ankle. The giant turned around and opened it's mouth, screeching spit all over the pink defense. The giant woman took out her whip, then her spear and combined them into a bow and arrow.
She shot the bow as Steven rolled away. "Come at me! I'm your next meal!" He yelled at the feathered monster, who screeched at him. The light arrow struck the bird in the throat, causing him to regurgitate the Heaven Beetle, who upon falling onto the ground, got up and attempted to bite Steven.
"Haha, I'm still bubbled-!" Just like that, the beetle popped the bubble with it's jaws, plopping Steven onto the floor. "Uh.. Amethyst, Pearl, Opal!" He shielded his arms, closing his eyes. Fortunately, Opal crushed the beetle under her foot, poofing it immediately. She flashed a thumbs up, and Steven grabbed the gem, clapping for them while cheering them on.
"That was pretty great. Now, can I get that ride home?" Steven asked. The fusion picked him up with her palm and placed him on her shoulder.
"Of course. Enjoy the ride!" She responded, jumping from the Spire to the hill.
Once back home, the two were met with Rose and Garnet sitting on the couch. They gasped, it had been years since they had last seen Opal.
"Yup, that was all me!" Steven smirked, pointing at his chest before jumping into his mother's arms.
"Great job! Where's the Heaven Beetle?" His mother asked. Opal went wide eyed.
"I.. I don't have it." The fusion defused, Amethyst and Pearl falling opposite to each other.
"It should be in your gem, aren't you the neat freak?!" Amethyst argued, getting into Pearl's face. The tall gem pushed back.
"Not while we were fused, your absent minded randomness contradicts from my excellent skills!" Peal shoved a finger at the purple warriors gem. Steven cleared his throat, revealing the gem.
"Ta da!" He held it up, winking at the two.
"S-sorry about that.. I guess we still have more work to do." Amethyst scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.
"It's alright. We both did our best, but Steven was the order.. I can't believe I just said that." Pearl responded.
"I can't believe you doubted Steven." Garnet butted in, smirking at the child who blushed in return.
"Hehe.. That was the biggest mistake." Pearl sighed, smiling at the boy in Rose's arms.
The end!