Hello! I know it's been a while since this got updated, and that's my bad. But I wanted to say thanks for reading this and that this is the one year anniversary of writing this fanfic! You know, when I'm not gone for months at a time...

Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy this fanfic and still around for when I FINALLY finish it. Once again, thanks for reading.

Even in transit, Condor refused to give up. She sliced at me again, her shortened ax a blur of orange. I raised my shield instinctively, but I made a mistake. My body reacted on instinct, following Pearl's teaching from our training sessions. I went to shift my legs, to brace them against the impact. But we're in a Warp Stream, where our bodies are carried along without any purchase for our feet. The ax connected, and without my legs to hold me, I was thrown out of the stream.

Cold. The instant I left the light, I felt a chill creep over my skin. The void between the Warp Pads held nothing. No light, not warmth, no land. It was a true abyss, one where nothing was meant to exist. Peridot tried to explain to me once why it existed. Something about a space devoid of matter, a pocket in the universe that left itself detached until the Warp Pads wormed their way in. I didn't understand what she said, but it helped me steady my head.

The stream from the Temple's Warp Pad was in front of me, but growing farther away as I was blown back, no force acting against the momentum from Condor's strike. I have to stop myself!

It still makes my heart twist when I do this, but I don't have a choice! I recalled Jasper's training, relentless days of pummeling and pain as she built me up. A haze of pink surrounded my limbs, and I know that my pupils must be shaped like diamonds right now. Like… now's the time to think of that!

I reached for my bubble, my usual defensive sphere. Not right! A different shape! A panel! I pictured the construct of light, a sturdy hexagon. My gem glowed. I crashed into something hard, my back lighting up with pain. The panel had appeared behind me and stopped me! I almost sighed before I remembered how thin the air was in here. I moved my body so that my feet were planted firmly against the construct. I set my eyes on the stream, the tail end in sight as it almost reached its destination. I put all the strength I could into my legs and pushed off!

It was close. So close that only the right half of my upper body went into the stream of light. I thought I would sail right through. But the stream sucked me right, washing me in a warmth that was welcomed after the biting cold of the void. I finally took a breath as the abyss vanished completely, letting in a burst of colors.

The stream faded, its job done. I was in the air a few dozen feet, having not been in the right spot. I let myself drift down, my eyes moving quickly to see what laid beneath me. There was no one on the Warp Pad. I frantically searched, my heart pummeling my chest at the worst possibilities.

There!

Just a few yards away from the Warp Pad, Condor and Mo were standing a short distance apart. I created another panel beneath me and jumped over to them, landing lightly on my feet. Mo was staring at the surroundings, his limbs loose at his side. His back was to Condor, who walked soundlessly. For the first time, I took the time to see where we had ended up. And I saw…

Strawberries.

Giant strawberries, some even larger than Condor, were growing as far as the eye could see. Bushes of green made the reddish-pink of the strawberries stand out brilliantly in the light of the rising sun. Platforms with massive clusters of vines were suspended in the air far over our heads. Various weapons of all shapes and sizes lay scattered within the plant life.

I hadn't been here in a long time. There wasn't any need to come here again. Just like it had after centuries of battle, the former wasteland had settled somewhere deep in my mind and remained dormant. But now, it seemed impossible that I could forget about the battlefield that now hosted tremendous strawberries.

Mo was slowly moving his head, turning to look at a patch of the field to another. Smoke rose from his hair, the strand impossibly pale in the faint sunrise. "This… I'm back…" Mo's voice was as insubstantial as his smoke. He took an unsteady step forward, his body in a trance as he stared at the scene around him. "The battlefield…"

"So this is where the efforts of the Rebellion struggled against Homeworld." Condor's voice was a harsh crack in the sudden stillness. She placed her hand against the giant strawberries, running her fingers over its surface as if to memorize it. "I wouldn't have thought that."

A wisp of white drifted past my eyes before fading. I refocused on Mo, whose hair seemed to be spilling out behind him. The smoke was calm, simply existing in the breeze as it's source studied his surroundings. I couldn't see Mo's face as he took one tentative step after the other. He was in a different world, a different time. I let the smoke graze my finger, catching a glimpse of his memories. Cracked ground and explosions that made my ears ring. Screams and the clashing of metal ringing in the air. A repeated day of fighting, struggling, resisting. I saw snatches of a war that I couldn't understand, of pain and grief that I don't know. Do the other Gems know what this feels like?

"We were here, thousands of years ago…" Mo said softly, slowly. "We fought every day against Homeworld. It was horrible. Everybody would lose hope each day as we struggled to gain ground. But we kept fighting because we knew that freedom would be worth it. We wanted to be free."

I was stunned. My heart was aching as I heard the emptiness in Mo's voice. A recollection that had lost meaning. A truth that didn't hold the spark it once did. Worn down by thousands of years of fighting, and then thousands more of loneliness.

I wish I had been the one to answer first. That Mo would have comfort in his turmoil before anything else. But my voice was stalled. For an important second, I couldn't find words. And then those that followed weren't filled with understanding or sympathy. They weren't from my mouth.

"And you thought you could have the same thing. Is that how it is?" Condor's tone wasn't harsh or condescending. It was clear, a firm certainty that felt unshakeable. A voice Mo had heard since he had first emerged. "You wanted to find a place here on this planet when all others had failed. You thought you finally fit in. After all, this was a world where supposedly anyone could be anything. Even if they didn't know what that is."

The smoke became unstable, the elegant stream breaking into quivering strands. Mo's hands were grasping the opposite elbow. His head bowed.

I opened my mouth to say something against Condor, but she whipped out a small ax and threw it at me so casually that I was slow to react. I called up a barrier made of panels, but the weapon was too quick. It scraped against the top of my guard and struck me in the side of my head. My ears rang as stars exploded in my vision. I was on my knees, my head booming.

"'This was different. I don't have to become something I'm not anymore. I can fit in here. I found my place.' Those must have been your thoughts when you got here. You felt at peace for the first time. But it wasn't real." Condor had gotten close to Mo, now she laid a hand on his shoulder. Mo couldn't even flinch at the touch; he was enraptured by Condor's speech. "You could tell every time you were around. The other rebels would tense up at first before remembering you were on their side. They would be uneasy when your powers were active even if you didn't have any malicious intent. No matter how much you tried to prove yourself, however much harm you put yourself in front of, you still couldn't get close. There was a canyon between you and the others, and it was uncrossable. Just like before, you were alone.

"You're one of a kind. A Gem that was never meant to exist at all. No matter how much power you could wield or how useful you tried to be, it was never right. You messed up, tried the wrong thing, or they simply didn't trust you from the beginning. Your final hope, this Rebellion planet, still couldn't accept you. I know that you must have suffered on your own."

Mo was hugging himself, withdrawn in his protective shell, but his body was loose. It had given up on fighting, sagging under an invisible weight. It didn't make sense when Condor pulled Mo's back to her, wrapping him in her embrace. "You don't have to be on your own now. No matter many times you were thrown out or slipped up, I was always there. I did everything I could to help you find your place no matter the result. It's been thousands of years since you ran off, but I'm here now. Give me the chance, and I'll help you keep finding where you're supposed to be. I'll be by your side again."

The smoke was surrounding them, a half-formed cocoon around their bodies. Mo wasn't resisting against Condor's arms. He didn't fight back. His smoke didn't turn against the Agate as it drifted harmlessly around her. With a final motion, Mo's arms fell. His Gem started to glow, his body enveloped in light. The Gem on Condor's navel matched the light of Mo's, her body becoming bright.

Realization crashed in too late. As their forms became one, I leaped forward, reaching out for Mo. I opened my mouth, pure desperation tearing out of my throat, "STOP!"

Their forms wove together seamlessly. Time seemed to still as they became a ball of light, their bodies absorbed into each other. The ball suddenly erupted, a blast of wind throwing me back. I skidded over the ground, coming to a halt in a squished bush. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the scene in front of me.

The merged light took a humanoid shape that towered over me, taller than Sardonyx and bulkier. The second pair of arms emerged from the midsection, flexing their wrists as they solidified. A mane of hair sprouted from the head, quickly wrapping itself around the top several times before the rest spilled out over the left side of a blank face like a veil. The light faded, revealing a pale brown figure with splashes of white running up their arms. Mo's familiar tank top with the cutoff sides took shape, but it was now skin tight and had a faded insignia of the Four Diamond Authority in the center. Boots with high heels formed over their feet, grey tights covering their legs. The Gem at their naval had turned the same brown as their limbs, with splotches of white interspersed. The edge of Mo's Gem that I could see was the same. Two eyes, one on top of the other, opened on the right side of their face. The irises were a reflective copper that caught the sunrise's light much too well.

The fusion looked down at themself, momentarily stunned. Then they smiled. I could only see the right side of their face thanks to their hairstyle, but I couldn't miss the row of razor-sharp teeth. The fusion stared down at me, cocking its head to one side. "I see you're still here."

Their voice wasn't right. It was as if three people were talking, one voice unfamiliar while Condor' and Mo's overlapped behind it. Just being around them made my skin crawl. "Let him go."

The fusion turned their head to the other side as they sneered. "Now who could you be referring to? We're the only ones here. You must be confused. Didn't you hit your head?"

"Don't mess with me!" I yelled, anger rising in my chest. "You can't do that! You can't just manipulate someone into fusing! It isn't right?"

"You really are confused. No one was manipulated. All that was said was the truth." Their voice was almost sweet but a sarcastic underbite filled it with insincerity. "No strings were pulled. No one was persuaded. It was just the truth, every single word. It was Moissanite that agreed, even started it! How can that be manipulation?"

My fists were clenched at my side so tightly that they hurt. The blood was pounding in my ears. My body was screaming! "You played him! You know how to make him come undone! You poked and pulled so that Mo would fall apart! It's horrible! You broke him down and pulled him in!" Even as my teeth ground together, I could feel the tears I was crying. "You aren't helping him! You don't get to do this to him!"

They sighed. The sneer slipped as irritation set in. "You talk to me as if I'm Condor. I'm not. I'm not her or Mo either. I'm Dolomite, and you don't get to talk to me like I'm not. Mo is a part of me, but I'm me. If you have a problem, then I don't want to hear."

Dolomite's upper right hand reached up over their head. For a moment, a cloud of Mo's smoke spewed from the open palm. In the next, it whirled and became a ball of light. With an easy movement, Dolomite hurled the sphere at me.

I summoned a light barrier to shield myself. The sphere connected and sparks flew. The ball was halted, but then it exploded. A flash of light swallowed my vision momentarily and cleared just as quickly. My barrier had been broken to pieces, bits of smoke clinging to the shards and turning them grey.

A shadow fell over me. Dolomite spared me a glance before they whipped out their foot, kicking me in the gut and sending me flying. I clutched my middle as the pain was dulled by my healing ability. When it was done, I caught myself in the air and slowed my descent to almost none. I was high in the air, level with some of the floating platforms. I looked down, far below, as a flash caught my eye.

Each of Dolomite's four hands was holding a sphere now. With a roar, they thrust their arms out. At the full extension, the balls burst into multiple jets of light that swerved and crossed each other without colliding. I summoned a panel below me and leaped to the side. A jet tore through my creation without resistance, the pink growing dull as it vanished. I threw out my power, creating more panels scattered in the air. I landed on one and hopped to the next, the previous one eradicated by a beam of light. The lights bent and squirmed, following me as I jumped from panel to panel. As I evaded, the lights began to dim and then went out completely.

Dolomite has Mo's power to disrupt Gems' powers, but Condor's influence must be reshaping it, turning the smoke into a vicious weapon. Still, it isn't connected to Dolomite once it leaves their hands. It expires, unlike Mo's smoke.

I can't summon my shield. If I do, Dolomite could steal it and use it on their own. I have to stick with my other powers.

I summoned one more panel, angling it towards the fusion. I pushed off and rocketed towards Dolomite. I summoned my bubble around me as I sped towards them. The attack was predictable, easily dodged. Dolomite moved backward as I came close, expecting me to plummet into the ground. When I was near, I threw out my arms, my bubble expanding in size multiple times over. It caught Dolomite and threw them off their feet.

I popped the bubble and summoned another panel that was almost perpendicular to the ground. I pushed off again, my aim clear. My pink encased fist landed a solid blow to Dolomite's torso, earning me a grunt as they were launched farther. I have to keep pressing!

I summoned another volley of panels in a loose dome around them. Before their feet could reach the ground, I felt time slow. Their body was moving in the air as if through molasses. The breeze had come to a halt. I was speeding up and wouldn't let it go to waste. I rocketed from one panel to the next, striking Dolomite's body wherever I could along the way. I changed direction on a dime, not wasting a single extended moment. Dolomite's body was slow to shift as each blow landed.

Their body was starting to glow, but I couldn't focus on that! I have to keep pummeling until they come apart! Don't give them a moment to recover! I landed dozens of hits, then more and more! As I came around again, the glow around their body dispersed outwards like a ripple in the water. Even though it was slowed, I passed right through it. I gasped as the power I had was suddenly wrenched out of my body. I slowed down. The light spread out and met my panels, shattering them on contact.

I crashed into the ground at the same time Dolomite landed on their back. My shoulder was aching from the impact, but I licked a finger and pressed it against my skin. The pain immediately faded. I heard Dolomite stir, so I quickly got to my feet. I reached for my powers and felt them come back right away. It was a temporary disruption, thankfully.

Dolomite got to a kneeling position before they looked at me. Their right eyes were wide in anger. The upper right and lower left arms reached for the Gems at their shoulder and naval, respectively. They drew back holding a pair of Condor's axes, enlarged to fit Dolomite's size. Quick as a bolt, they rushed me.

I leaped free of their first slash and backtracked, summoning a wall of panels, hoping to block the attack and throw them off balance. The ax sliced through the barrier, only coming to halt until almost halfway through. Coils of grey leached into the pink, making the wall disintegrate.

They brought their right arm up high, the ax catching the sunlight. Right as it fell, I jumped back as hard as I could. Their attack missed me by a mile, but Dolomite smirked.

A flash in the corner of my vision drew my attention. One of Dolomite's free hands was holding an orb of light. The ax was a feint!

I was still hovering in the air. I didn't have time to summon a panel! The orb exploded and jets of light shot at me! They swallowed me one after the other, each one making my skin feel like it was catching fire! My powers were yanked away and, now unable to stay airborne, I dropped.

Dolomite's knee rammed me on the way down and knocked me back in the air. Two of their arms were spread wide then came together, trying to squish me between their palms. Desperately, I reached for my powers. For the slightest moment, I felt nothing. A hollow space where my abilities once were. Then, a rush of familiar warmth. I threw up a bubble barely larger enough to contain me. Dolomite's hands came together, the force of the impacts rattling inside the bubble. I could see their hands grip harder against my bubble, their limbs tinted pink through the smooth surface.

Then the world exploded.

The pink was engulfed in a wave of white, so pure and brilliant that it swallowed everything. I couldn't see! I screamed as the light clawed at my body, trying to tear me apart! No matter what I tried to do, my powers were yanked far away from me!

When it faded, my vision was a mess of spots that were almost as impairing as the light. Sweat made the hair stick to my forehead. My lungs felt close to bursting.

Dolomite's grip tightened around me. They pulled their arm back and flung me across the battlefield. I hit the ground hard, skipping against rocks and plants until I finally crashed against something solid with a crunch. I fell to the ground, my body screaming in agony. Every part of me felt like it had been seared and dragged behind a car. I licked my hand and pressed it against where the pain was greatest. Slowly, the ache started to ebb and cease. I caught my breath and got to a kneeling position. My body was starting to recover but it was getting harder to keep going.

A sudden thought shot into my head. Had I ever faced someone this strong on my own? I poofed Corrupted Gems on my own, but not at this level. I had the help of the Crystal Gems when we faced White Diamond, the might of us combined as Obsidian doing the actual fighting. I'd beaten Jasper, but even she wasn't this strong. I'm in a league I have never faced before.

No, I can't think of it like that. This shouldn't be a fight! I'm trying to help Mo! Focus! This is about Mo!

...Mo…

Another flash drew me back. Dolomite was holding another orb and was preparing to hurl it. I tried to stand but stumbled. I reached out trying to catch myself. My hand found something behind and I caught myself. The surface was slick, unnaturally smooth. And tough. The thing I slammed into when Dolomite threw me! I turned to see what it was. Peeking out from a strawberry plant, a flat object caught the sunrise with a metallic gleam.

Dolomite fired. I grabbed the object, hoping that I guessed what it was right, and pulled it free. It was a relief to see that I was right! I held the shield in front of me and braced myself for impact. I felt the force of the jets slam into a shield. I pushed back, not letting myself give an inch. The pushing eventually stopped, so I lowered the round shield. It was larger than my own and much heavier, but I couldn't be happier that I had stumbled upon it. At least now I had a familiar weapon with me that couldn't be stolen.

I heard Dolomite snarl as they drew two more axes from their gems. They tore across the former battlefield, closing the distance between us in little time. I adjusted my grip on the shield and had a thought that probably saved me. Even though this was probably forged by Bismuth, I had little hope that it would stand much of a chance against the weapon of a Gem like Dolomite, especially after multiple blows. I had a weapon but it wasn't enough.

Any chance I had at playing defense was gone. I have to go on the offensive again.

Instead of retreating when Dolomite slashed again, I crouched and swung my shield up. The ax rang against the old shield, but it was enough to deflect the attack over my head. Dolomite fell forward, their weight thrown off. They found their footing fast, but I had the chance.

I rushed forward and slammed the shield against the back of Dolomite's knees. Their leg bent and they were kneeling now. They tried to smash me with an empty hand, but I sidestepped. I braced my legs and pushed off, jumping right towards the fusion's face. I put all the force I could into my swing, a scream spilling out as I bash the shield into Dolomite's face.

They sway but don't go down. I land a bit away from them and look down at the shield. A large section had been sheared off the surface, making the weight distribution lopsided. It wouldn't take another hit. Dolomite shakes their head and growls at me. The shield now damaged, I pull it back, adjust for the uneven weight, and hurl it at the fusion. My aim is off, and it would have hit their collar instead of their head if they hadn't snatched it out of the air. Dolomite's sharp teeth were bared as they inspected the damaged shield, but their expression quickly wavered. It was a look of surprise, and they let their body relax. Wisps of smoke started to drift off their limbs.

"Tiger's Eye's shield…" They murmured as if in a trance.

Tiger's Eye? Oh! That's one of the Rebellion Gems that we uncorrupted! That must be her's. A flicker of hope flared in my chest. Dolomite isn't acting right. That has to be Mo! Dolomite isn't as whole as they seem!

The moment passed as quickly as it had started. Dolomite threw the shield aside and swiped low, trying to cut me down. I leaped up and floated so that I was eye level. Now or never...

"Mo, listen to me!" I yelled as I evaded another ax. "You have to stop! I know you don't want this!"

Dolomite swatted me away with one of their empty hands. I landed on my feet, skidding a bit before coming to a halt. Dolomite snarled, a hand tearing bushes and crushing several strawberries. "Shut up! I told you, I'm not Mo! I'm Dolomite! Talk to me like I'm me! Not someone else!"

Another sphere in their hand! More jets of light wriggling through the air! I constructed more panels, forming layer upon layer of walls. The lights collided with my barrier. I felt it eat through, tearing my power to pieces. I summoned more and more, pushing back until the light could fade. It was almost done until the remaining, fleeting lights came together into another jet and punched through the remaining panels. It crashed over me, erasing my powers and making skin scream. It passed over, and I fell to my knee. Dolomite was panting, yet their eyes hadn't lost their luster.

My powers were already back, but I need a different approach. One that I relied on time and time again. "Mo, please. Listen to me! You don't need to listen to her! You have us! Let us help you!"

"ENOUGH!" Dolomite roared. "He's not here to listen to you! He's me! She's me! I'm me! Stop talking to me as if I don't exist!"

I was too slow. The flat of Dolomite's palm slammed into me and threw me upwards. When I was airborne, another spiked me like a volleyball. I crashed into a strawberry bush, now covered in sticky juice as my body groaned. I bit my lip, trying to force my saliva to heal me.

It wasn't fast enough. Dolomite bounced high into the air, combining their two axes into one of massive proportions. As they fell, Dolomite brought their ax down, aiming to cleave me in two.

The world spun. Suddenly I was racing towards the sky, the stars fading as orange overcame a nightly purple. Dolomite was below, looking up as I sped higher. I didn't know what was happening until I heard a voice.

"Steven! Are you okay?"

Relief like never before rushed through me. "I'm okay. Thanks, Lapis."

The blue gem had saved me at the last second, scooping me up and flying high out of Dolomite's reach. "How did you find us?" I asked as the adrenaline made my head rush.

"When you guys warped, we all split up to track you down. There are so many Warp Pads across Earth that we couldn't all look as one group. I just found you first." Lapis explained as she evened out. She circled Dolomite down below, keeping an eye on the fusion. "Is that…"

"It's Mo and Condor," I told her. "But it's not Mo's fault! Condor said all this stuff because she knew it would break Mo! She made Mo feel worthless, that she was the only one Mo could depend on, and then she convinced him to fuse!"

Lapis had gone silent. We continued to circle, Dolomite watching us carefully. I was growing worried. "Lapis, please. This isn't Mo's fault."

"Is Mo fighting back?" She said calmly.

"Yes!" I answered right back. "I know Mo's fighting! I can hear it! Trust me, Lapis!"

Lapis nodded, her eyes lost in the distance for a second. "No one should have to go through that. I won't let it happen."

I didn't have to ask what she meant. She's remembering. She's remembering Malachite. An unstable, ravenous fusion between her and Jasper. She did it to save us, but Lapis put herself in a prison. It was a violent fusion between themselves, unhealthy and chaotic. Nothing but spite and determination held that fusion together. Lapis doesn't want someone else to suffer like that. But it's not only sympathy.

It's guilt.

In that fusion, Lapis was the one that took her anger out on Jasper. She wasn't selfless in the endeavor. Lapis caused her share of pain and anguish for Jasper. She's worked hard to become someone else, someone that doesn't lash out aimlessly and hurt others.

"Lapis…"

"I'm okay Steven." She looked down at me, her eyes sad even as she smiled. "Let's save Mo."

I just nodded, knowing that we had each other in this. "Okay. Let's go!"