Chapter Eight: Becoming Human
Steven woke up from his rest, feeling much better than when he closed his eyes. As he sat up with a yawn, he was pleasantly surprised to see Spinel sleeping at his bedside. She must have fallen asleep before she could return to the small pool. She really was just like that stray cat. He took the blanket that covered him and gently draped it over Spinel's slender frame. She looked so delicate while she was sleeping, how could anyone stomach hurting someone like her?
While Steven brushed a bit of hair from Spinel's face, a young woman peeked into the tent, startling him a bit. The girl simply stared at Steven and Spinel with a blank expression. Steven looked back at her, unsure what to do. It was someone he had never seen here before. She was rather short, with yellow hair that had been put up in a bun, but still seemed untidy. The yellow collared shirt she wore was a bit disheveled and didn't quite match with the brown and red checkered pants she had on. At least most of her untidy appearance was covered by the large white lab coat. Though the girl also wore large, yellow tinted goggles, Steven could clearly see the green, inverted triangle shaped Gem on her forehead. So this was another Mermaid?
"G-Good morning?" Steven greeted finally, hoping to break the awkward silence.
The girl narrowed her eyes as she continued to stare at Steven, not bothering to reply.
"You're Steven?" she asked as if she was expecting someone else.
"I am," he replied automatically.
"Huh. I see," muttered the strange young woman. "Wake your friend; I've brought the Gem for her."
"Wait, does that mean…you're Peridot?"
"Yes. I was sent here to help a Mermaid," answered Peridot simply. "So wake her up. This procedure is not going to be pleasant, I need to prepare her first."
Though Peridot turned to leave, Steven reached out, "W-wait! She's wanted to meet you; don't you want to be here when your friend wakes up?"
Peridot looked down at Spinel as she slept before glancing back at Steven.
"She's no friend of mine…" answered Peridot bitterly before she turned and walked away.
Steven stared at the entrance to the tent, a little confused. Spinel was looking forward to seeing her friend, but Peridot didn't seem to react at all when she saw her. Still, maybe that would change once they talked face to face? "Hey, Spinel?" Steven began, gently shaking her shoulder.
Spinel groaned a bit, but when she opened her eyes she saw Steven staring down at her. "Chocolate?!" she asked in a panic, unsure how long she had been asleep.
"No need, I feel much better," Steven replied with a laugh. "Thanks for looking after me."
Spinel sat up, anxiously tugging at one of her pigtails in embarrassment. "You're welcome…"
"Your friend Peridot is here," announced Steven. "She came in earlier to say that your Gem procedure would start soon and they wanted to prep you. …She uh…didn't seem too happy to see you though. …maybe she didn't recognize you."
Though Spinel smiled at first, her smile faded slowly and she sighed. "No, I'm sure she knew who I was…and I'm sure she wasn't happy to see me. I was excited to see her…because I just wanted confirmation she was alive."
"Why wouldn't she be happy to see you? Weren't you friends?"
"We…used to be. …but I once…trusted someone that made me lose all of my friends." Spinel admitted, pulling at both of her pigtails now.
Steven couldn't help but notice that she didn't quite elaborate on the subject, so he thought it better not to pry. He was already aware that Spinel had trouble trusting others, but he figured it was just because he was human. "Hey…I'm sure—"
"Are you ready?" Lars asked as he peeked into the tent, unaware the two were having a conversation. "Everything has been set up inside my tent."
Spinel was actually glad to have a distraction. She wasn't even sure why she'd mentioned anything about her past like that. He certainly didn't need to know what happened to her or what she did. "Yes, let's get this over with."
Steven didn't say anything before he lifted Spinel into his arms, following Lars from their tent and towards his own. He still wasn't too excited about Spinel receiving one of these Gems, but all he could do now was support her and hope his fears didn't come to pass.
Once they arrived, what Steven saw didn't make him feel any better about this. Things had been set up as if they were about to perform surgery.
Peridot was waiting beside a metal cot that had been rolled in, holding a large pink Gem in the shape of a heart. "Set her down and I'll explain what's going to happen," Peridot ordered simply.
Steven was terribly reluctant to do so, but he carried Spinel to the cot and placed her down carefully. "...can I stay here?" He asked, glancing over at Peridot. He didn't want to get in the way, but how could he leave when she was about to undergo something like this.
"That's fine. I've heard you're rather strong. I may need you to hold her down," answered Peridot as she grabbed a large syringe.
"Hold her down?" Repeated Steven, clearly becoming more and more anxious about this by the second. "Is this—"
"—she'll be in a lot of pain," interjected Peridot. "Her entire body will be changing. Growing new bones and limbs, fusing with the Gem as it becomes the core part of her body. So yes, this procedure is dangerous. Some Mermaids don't survive the transformation."
Steven breathed deep, trying not to panic, but failing as his brain began screaming that he should take Spinel and run. Spinel could see that Steven was losing his composure. Not that she cared for the words Peridot chose either. Reaching over, Spinel placed her hand on Steven's arm.
"I'll be fine," Spinel reassured.
Though Steven wasn't sure Spinel would want him to, he clasped both his hands around hers and nodded with a nervous smile. "Y-yeah. You'll be fine."
Spinel was once again surprised by Steven. The way he worried about her, it was as if she were something precious. In six thousand years, had anyone treated her this way?
"I see your trust in humans hasn't changed." Peridot chided bitterly.
Steven was taken aback by Peridot's words, but Spinel was not. If anything, it seemed she had expected it. What surprised Steven, even more, was that Spinel wasn't saying anything back. She just had this wounded look on her face.
"Hey, she-" though Steven felt the need to defend her, Spinel shook her head, hoping he wouldn't continue.
"Let's get started," Peridot stated as Lars and Rhodonite arrived to help.
All Steven could do was take a deep breath as the others prepared a few things. He didn't know how any of this was really going to work, but he wanted it to be over as soon as possible.
Spinel was also feeling a bit anxious about this. It was difficult not to now that the moment had arrived. Steven was right, this was terribly risky, but the end result was worth it. She'd be much less of a burden this way.
Peridot began by sticking Spinel in the tail with the syringe, which luckily didn't seem to hurt much. Next, she took the Gem in her hands and started reading from a piece of paper. Steven couldn't understand the words she used, but as she read them, a light flickered inside the Gem, getting brighter the more she repeated the spell. Once the Gem had lit up completely, Peridot placed it on Spinel's stomach. The anxious silence was broken the moment that Gem touched Spinel's skin and she began screaming out in pain.
"Spinel?!" Steven gasped out, gripping her hand tight.
The Gem appeared to be sinking into her stomach as if it were burning through her skin to melt into her. Rhodonite was already holding down Spinel's tail as the Mermaid squirmed in pain. Her screams were filling the tent and the more time went on, she couldn't keep still.
"Hold her shoulders down," demanded Peridot. "She needs to keep as still as possible."
Steven grit his teeth and quickly placed his hands on Spinel's shoulders to hold her down. He hated this. Looking back, he could see that the Gem had seeped its way into her body. He hoped that meant the worst was over, but to his dismay, it only seemed to get worse from there. Spinel's entire body began to convulse, her eyes wide as she screamed even louder. Tears poured from her eyes as her body rocked against the cot in an attempt to either reject or accept the Gem that entered her.
"How long is this gonna take?!" Shouted Steven over Spinel's screams.
"The worst is almost over," Lars shouted back.
Spinel was gasping for breath, as her entire body burned her. It was like something was crushing all of her bones from the inside and setting them ablaze. The pain was almost too much to take and she kept praying that she would simply pass out, but it didn't seem she would be so lucky. Though Spinel couldn't see it, Steven was watching her body change slowly. Her pink skin was turning a light peach hue, her scales were slowly disappearing, and her tail was separating to form the shape of two human legs. Once her scales were gone completely, Steven looked away from Spinel's naked body as it was nearly done forming its new design.
The moment her tails transformation had been completed, Spinel finally stopped screaming and was granted mercy when she lost consciousness, her body going limp against the cot. Steven was relieved she was no longer screaming, but she still seemed to be in pain. "Is that...it?" Steven asked hopefully, trying to steady his own breathing as he removed his hands from Spinel's shoulders. He made sure to keep his gaze on her face to preserve her modesty, getting a little annoyed that another man was in here while she was like this.
Rhodonite placed a thin sheet over Spinel's bare body, allowing Steven to look her over without guilt. It was then that he noticed where the Gem had chosen to position itself. The heart shaped Gem had taken its place right in the middle of Spinel's chest and turned upside down.
"...oh come on..." Steven groaned with a tired sigh. It was like someone was making a bad joke. An upside down heart, over her actual heart that now acted as a target for someone to hurt her?
"The next 12 hours are going to be crucial for her. The Gem will be taking in her energy and attempting to redistribute it. She'll develop a fever and need to stay hydrated. Her new legs will also be weak and cause her a lot of pain. The healing process is different for everyone, but hopefully, she'll be walking in the next few days." Peridot explained, finally looking a little concerned for her old friend.
Steven was forced to walk back to their tent alone while Peridot and Rhodonite dressed Spinel. To make sure she was as comfortable as possible for now, they dressed her in a large nightshirt. Peridot explained that it was best not to cover her legs for now because she would need to be checking them. When Spinel was finally brought back to the tent, Rhodonite was holding her while the Rutile Twins removed the small pool, replacing it with a futon for Spinel to sleep on.
Without a word, they left Steven alone with Spinel while he knelt beside her bed. Though he was still worried about her, he had to admit that her human form was just as lovely as her Mermaid one. With a long sigh, Steven placed his hand over his heart and closed his eyes. He was relieved she had gotten through the worst of it, but this experience had certainly taken years off his life.
He was vigilant in watching over her for the rest of the day, wiping the sweat from her brow, keeping a cold wet rag over her forehead in an attempt to cool her fever, and checking her pulse every so often. They had brought food for him a couple of times during the day, but he honestly wasn't hungry. His stomach was still in knots over the events of this morning.
Before he knew it, the sun had set for the day. The only thing he could take comfort in was that her fever had finally broken and her breathing was no longer as labored as before. As he reached over to remove the cold cloth from her forehead, Spinel's eyes fluttered open slowly.
"...it hurts..." Spinel groaned softly.
"Wh-what hurts?!" Asked Steven in a panic.
Spinel lifted her arm and her eyes opened wider as she examined herself. Her skin tone had changed and her scales were gone. She was terribly aware of her new legs due to the horrible, stinging pain that pulsed from the both of them. She wanted to sit up and check the rest of her body, but everything ached.
"Everything," Spinel replied, "everything hurts."
"Is there anything I can do?
"You can take a walk," began Peridot as she entered the tent. "I need to speak with Spinel alone."
Steven was a bit conflicted. He didn't want to be rude, but the two girls seemed to have a complicated history and he didn't want Peridot to say something that would upset Spinel when she was just starting to feel better.
"…she's still not feeling well…" answered Steven.
"I wasn't asking you," Peridot hissed.
Spinel attempted to sit up, "Steven…could you give us a minute…?"
"…okay, but…don't overdo it. You just woke up…" replied Steven as he got to his feet and reluctantly left the tent so the two could talk in private.