"Afternoon, my liege!" Connie beamed, opening the door for Steven. She waited with her eyes closed for a response, but when none came, her eyes snapped open.
Steven had said nothing as he walked in, he looked rather conflicted, his eyes slightly narrowed. His shield clanged to the floor and he sat down on the couch without a word. He then got out his phone, looking worried when nothing came up on it.
"Steven? Are you okay?" Connie asked softly, walking up.
He glanced up at her in surprise, as if just now noticing her, but a big smile appeared on his face. He was with her, and he always felt better with her around. "Yeah! You ready for some fusion training?"
"Of course!" Connie smiled, and turned to see Lapis, Jasper and Peri waiting for them.
"There are my two perfect pupils!" Peridot beamed. "I hope you mentally prepared yourself for today!"
"I can't wait!" Lapis answered for them, hugging Jasper's arm in excitement. "Malachite may have the upper hand today! Jasper and I've been working on our harmony."
Connie gave a laugh, pulling Steven with her up to the warp pad. "Stevonnie is harmony!"
Lapis and Jasper stood on one side while Steven and Connie stood on the other.
"Now, try your best to maintain a perfect balance in both yourselves and your fusion!" Peridot instructed to them both. She glanced at Connie with slight worry. "Don't let any doubts or angers about anything in." She had really just made this practice to see if Connie would still be able to fuse stably after the shock she had gotten at the moon base. If the girl wasn't over it yet, they would know today. "Begin!"
Lapis twirled gracefully into Jasper's arm and was dipped gracefully. In a glow of green, Malachite formed. She was slightly surprised, but thrilled to see that she no longer had spider-like feet, or rather, hands that acted as feet. She had two feet, finally, and wasn't disappointed that she still had four arms. She had actually made progress. Her creators' work had paid off.
the children did their own unique dance, kicking and grunting before they grabbed hands and fused.
Stevonnie took their shield from their back and sword from their scabbard, determined to win. "Let's dance."
"Come at me, sweetheart!" Malachite chuckled in a taunt, still having her very competitive spirit.
Stevonnie ran at her with a yell, blocking with their shield just as Malachite slammed her helmet at them. The young fusion gave a growl, starting to sweat already. They started to run.
The other smirked, grabbing Stevonnie by their braid and pulling them back.
Stevonnie yowled in surprise but quickly twirled around, shoving the fusion off. They then started running circles around their opponent, nearly a blur because of Connie's Diamond speed, hoping to confuse them and then be able to gently kick them over to win.
All was going perfectly until Malachite managed to grab Stevonnie's shoulders in a surprise tackle. The young fusion gave a loud gasp, and turned, horrified to see that the world around them had grown red, and Greg Demayo, Steven's father, stared straight back at them in fear.
"What...?" Stevonnie gasped, but then they were overtaken with guilt and yelled as loud as they could, "Please forgive me!"
Malachite released them in shock, and they unfused as they fell to their knees.
In her own surprise, Malachite was once again her components, and they kneeled down in concern over the children.
"Oh man, are you okay, kiddo?" Jasper whispered.
Connie gave a groan in pain but managed to nod her head. She then glanced over to see Steven, he was crying. All the girl could do was stare for a moment, Steven rarely ever cried.
The boy ran off suddenly, too scared and upset to face the others.
"Steven!" Connie cried, and immediately raced after him.
Steven was found on the warp pad, looking out at the vast sky of the arena.
Connie sat down beside him and saw he wiped a tear away. "Steven, what's going on?"
The boy sighed softly, and gulped down a rising sob. "... I said something awful to my dad today, and I feel terrible about it, I wish I could take it back."
"What did you say?"
"H-He's been going on a few dates constantly with this lady named Sunshine, she seems nice, but… today, he grabbed my shoulder, and asked me if I thought Sunshine was cool and said maybe, if everything went well, she could live with us like… a family, like my mom. I got really angry… I shoved him away, I told him that he was trying to replace my real mom, and said he didn't even care about me anymore. It just came out! I… I wish I'd never said anything at all!" He then burst into tears. "Why did I say that?!"
Connie stared in shock. That was a pretty awful thing to accuse his father of. Steven must've felt jealous of this woman, because it had just been him and his dad all his life. "I know how you feel… Sometimes things just come out and you regret them later because they hurt someone you cared about…. I… I just don't let my emotions overwhelm me and keep them bottled up until they're gone."
Steven sniffed and looked at her, confused. "That doesn't sound like a healthy way to go about things."
"Everyone else has bigger emotions and problems, I'm sure. They don't need me to worry about too."
"Hey, you two!" Lapis suddenly called, surprising them both.
They looked up to see Jasper walking down the stairs to them and Lapis was just landing beside them.
"Stevonnie wasn't stable back there, so which one of you is forcing fusion?" Jasper growled.
"Jasper, neither of them are forcing it. Something is wrong with Steven, that made them imbalanced." Lapis said softly.
They then realized the kids were staring and Lapis smiled.
"Wanna go talk about it?"
As the gems and human boy watched the sunset from the porch's sides with their feet dangling over, they all felt a sudden sense of calm.
Lapis was the first to speak. "When I- we, were Malachite for the first time, we were both so nervous and worried that the other would mess it up or become too scared, that Malachite formed completely unstable and ready to destroy."
"It looked and felt like we were drowning in the ocean, and that Yellow and Peridot were upset with us, scared of us. Maliciate must've thought that they were judging her because she just attacked… She was strong, and I loved that feeling, I didn't want it to stop-"
"But we had to." Lapis whispered sharply.
"And after that day, I wanted to stay fused so… you know the rest." Jasper mumbled to a concerned-looking Connie. "You see guys, when you two aren't in harmony, your fusion can get scared or even angry when confused, it could hurt people you love. That's why you have to always be at peace with yourself and your fusion partner before you dance."
"... How can we make peace in ourselves?" Steven asked softly.
"We'll show you. Trust one another." Lapis whispered, and gently grabbed Jasper's hand.
In a green glow, Malachite was there, sitting calmly. She glanced at the children and smirked. "Your turn."
They nodded and grabbed hands. Stevonnie was there.
The older fusion then slipped down from the railing she had sat on and lead them to the beach where she promptly laid down with her hands behind her head.
Stevonnie was confused, but followed her example.
They stared up at the pink and orange sky as the sun set for a moment, and listened to the waves.
"Now, let's try this together." Maliciate muttered, closing her eyes.
Stevonnie closed their own eyes.
"In this darkness… you're safe. Take a deep breath and exhale as gently as you can…"
Stevonnie did so.
"And now, listen to the ocean, hear the tides coming in, falling back, feel the near invisible salt on you face, hear the seagulls…."
Stevonnie listened and felt. This was so calming…
"Now, drop all those sensations at once!" Malachite suddenly cried.
Stevonnie did so quickly and heard Malachite mumble something.
Stevonnie let their eyes flutter open and gasped softly. They were no longer at the beach, but they were in a calming blue place, another realm, the fusion realm.
Malachite smirked at her friend's shock and started to sing. "If you could take a moment to think of just flexibility, love, and trust. Well, take a moment to think of just flexibility, love, and trust…."
Stevonnie glanced over to where Malachite nodded and then saw Lapis and Jasper in the distance.
Jasper suddenly grabbed Lapis' arm, and fell to her knees. She was silently begging the other.
Lapis look terrified and a glowing white butterfly landed on her finger. She cupped it in her hands carefully and then sadly turned away from Jasper.
The bigger gem looked confused, then angry. She grabbed Lapis' wrist, and yelled at her without words.
Lapis looked shocked and scared, she then ripped her arm away and ran.
Jasper stared after her, shocked at what she had done. A swarm of the butterflies surrounded her, and she stomped off in anger.
Stevonnie then realized this must've happened in the past.
"Here comes a thought that might alarm you. What someone said and how it harmed you."
Lapis kept her butterfly held to her chest, as if she didn't want to let go of it, like it was protecting her.
"Something you did that failed to be charming. Things that you said are suddenly swarming."
Jasper meanwhile was sitting while her swarm nearly ingulfed her. She didn't even bother to fight back. She covered her ears in anger.
"And, oh. You're losing sight. You're losing touch. All these little things seem to matter so much that they confuse you. That I might lose you…"
Lapis glanced over at her friend, and hesitantly reached out to her. But then, her eyes widened and she went back to holding her butterfly.
"Take a moment. Remind yourself to take a moment and find yourself." Malachite sang softly, holding a butterfly in each her hands. She suddenly released all four, making Stevonnie stare after them in surprise. "Take a moment to ask yourself if this is how we fall apart."
Lapis suddenly took a deep breath, and released her butterfly. She then sprinted over to Jasper, managing to weave through a sea of butterflies. The big gem was shocked to see her, but accepted the hand offered with a big smile.
"But it's not. But it's not. But it's not. But it's not. But it's not. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. You've got nothing. Got nothing. Got nothing. Got nothing to fear…."
"I'm here." Lapis sang silently with Maliciate's words, pulling her up.
"I'm here." Jasper and Lapis joined hands and glanced up at the sky.
"I'm here."
Stevonnie watched the two stare up at the butterflies then sat up and turned, not surprised to see their own components walking on the other side. "Here comes a thought, that might alarm me."
Steven walked with Connie close behind him. The boy suddenly stopped as a butterfly ran into him. He shut his eyes as if trying to block it out, but then an entire swarm came from seemingly nowhere.
"What someone said and how it harmed me. Something I did that failed to be charming. Things that I said are suddenly swarming."
The children watched in awe and fear as the butterflies fused into a massive one and projected a memory to them. In it, Steven turned in anger when a hand touched his shoulder. Tears were in his eyes as he yelled and his father looked shocked when the boy finished.
Steven in the fusion realm let tears come to his eyes.
The butterfly exploded suddenly then to their shock, and the cloud went around Stevonnie's head.
"'m losing sight. I'm losing touch. All these little things seem to matter so much that they confuse me," The fusions met eyes and Malachite joined in. "That I might lose me…."
Stevonnie took a breath, and they let themselves put thier hands behind their head to relax, laying down beside Maliciate. "But it's not. But it's not. But it's not. But it's not. But it's not. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. You've got nothing. Got nothing. Got nothing. Got nothing to fear…"
"I'm here." Connie watched in worry as Steven cried, but then wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm here," Steven stared into the distance at the butterflies, but then shut his eyes and grinned.
"I'm here…"
The two laid down on the ground to watch the light show that the butterflies were putting on by fluttering around. They watched in surprise.
"And it was just a thought. Just a thought. Just a thought. Just a thought. Just a thought. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. We can watch. We can watch. We can watch. We can watch them go by,"
Lapis suddenly laid down beside Steven and Jasper by Connie. They all watched in complete wonder.
"From here. From here. From here…." The two fusions finished gently and Stevonnie sang softly, "Take a moment to think of just flexibility, love, and trust. Take a moment to think of just flexibility, love, and trust…."
The next day, Steven came in with a huge look of relief on his face. "My Dad and I talked about it last night, and I told him I was really, really sorry. He told me that Sunshine would never replace my mom, but that he still loved her, they were friends even before he met mom, and after many years, they were shocked to meet each other again when she moved here. Talking to Jasper and Lapis, er, Maliciate, really helped!"
"That's wonderful!" Connie beamed, leaping up. "Ready to train?"
"You know it!" Steven cried.
"I'm gonna get changed." Connie laughed, running to the bathroom. She then froze in her tracks, seeing her mother's scabbard on the table. On its handle was a familiar glowing butterfly. No… not today. Just keep ignoring it, everyone else has bigger problems. She thought to herself.
She shook her head in worry, and then ran past it.
Malachite moved swiftly as she avoid Stevonnie's kick, and let the fusion's water clone take it instead.
"Good work, you two!" Peridot called.
Stevonnie grinned. They then took out their sword and gave a yell, stabbing into the clone.
Then, the world went red.
Stevonnie started, horrified, at the shocked face of Zircon. Connie had almost killed her! She was gone! And it was all Connie's fault! "I'm sorry!"
The gem exploded into butterflies.
Stevonnie backed away in fear, feeling butterflies surround them and starting to breathe rapidly. "Oh no, not again!"
"Who was that?" Stevonnie cried, Steven was clearly confused.
"Zircon." Connie answered quickly in a high and scared voice, letting Stevonnie know, breathing hard.
"Connie, hold on! Everything's going to be-!"
"This shouldn't be happening! I… I don't want to confront this! I want to just keep it away! I need to grow up and get over it!" Connie yelled in anger at herself, making Stevonnie suffer on accident.
"Hey!" Maliciate suddenly yelled, grabbing Stevonnie's shoulders with one pair of arms and their face in the other. "Calm down, breathe!"
Stevonnie looked around wildly, seeing they were back in reality.
"Are they alright?!" Peridot yelled, running to Stevonnie.
The young fusion turned slightly but then they were violently shoved back into the corrupted fusion realm.
Garnet suddenly stood before her, giant, looking pained without her glasses. All her eyes were crying.
"I could've helped you!" Stevonnie yelled, tears welling up in their eyes. "Why didn't you let me help you?!"
The vision suddenly changed into Skinny angry and Connie felt everything flooding in on her.
"You tried to kill me! I-I tried to make you understand! I had no choice!" Connie yelled in panic inside the fusion. They dropped their sword and sighed. "I'm sorry I got you wrapped up in this, Steven!"
"Connie, it's okay! Just let it out! You don't have to hide your feelings, not from me, or the Temps!"
"B-But if I do tell them how I really feel about all of this, I-I-!" Stevonnie was then surrounded by all the gems Connie had hurt and started hyperventilating.
The figures all suddenly exploded into butterflies, and Stevonnie watched in horror as they started to form a new face. They started backing away, whimpering in fear.
Then, Connie saw the cold, angry eyes of her mother. She glared down at them, furious at all her daughter had done. What a failure she must have thought Connie was. What a waste. What a mistake. The girl had never felt more frightened in her whole life as the Diamond looked like she would shatter her for being such a terrible gem.
"No!" Stevonnie screamed. Suddenly, the world seemed to freeze as their foot slipped off the cliff at the sky arena, and they fell off. "Ah!"
"STEVONNIE!" Maliciate and Peridot cried, the fusion splitting up into her two components.
In their turmoil, Stevonnie fell apart in a scream and they were back to Steven and Connie.
"W-Whoa!" Steven yelled in shock. "Connie, we're falling! If we can fuse again, Stevonnie can help if we use your diamond strength to slow us down when hitting the ground!" After no response, he looked over to her. "Connie?"
Connie was crying as she fell, grabbing her head while her hair blew above her as they hurtled towards the ground. "No! I can't fuse, I can't think straight! I wish I'd never let you known how I felt! I have to be stronger than that! You and the Temps don't need to know!"
"No, we want to! Connie, if these thoughts are making you suffer, then of course the Temps and I want to know about it! We all care about you, we don't want you to feel scared to tell us things! If you do, you'll feel better, I promise!" Steven creid, grabbing her hands and pulling her close.
Connie stares into his eyes and felt tears grow in her.. "I didn't want to hurt them! They were all going to kill me for what my mother did! I-I couldn't let them! And my mother… Steven, I'm such a failure to her!"
"Your mom would be proud of you and love you, just like you told me mine would've!" Steven yelled over the wind, hugging her close and putting his forehead against hers. "You have to let people know about this stuff, you have to let them know when you're hurting! That's… That's the first step to healing yourself!"
Connie sniffed loudly and then nodded. "...Okay… But I'll only tell you, not the Temps. Not yet."
They then embraced each other and Stevonnie was back.
They gave a scream in panic, falling back into the orange world and into a swarm of butterflies. They then opened their eyes and realized there was no need to be scared or hurt anymore… They just needed to breathe.
The fusion let themselves be ingulfed, punching down into the cloud of winged fears.
A bird was happily singing when a very strong wind suddenly blew it away. There was a loud crack and thud when Stevonnie punched the hard ground, leaving a large rut in it. They glanced down to see their fist was sparking yellow. They had done it.
Stevonnie didn't care about the pain in their hand, or the rut in the ground in that moment, they just flipped over with a laugh, tears coming. They stared up at the stunning blue sky and smiled wide. "I'm glad I don't have to face my fears alone anymore… I might scare you away though!"
They smiled. "Don't worry, I'm staying right here."
Hey everyone! I'm really sorry this took so long! I've been really sick lately and I'm doing some after school activities! I'll try my best to keep on top of this! Oh, and if you're wondering, yes, Sunshine is a character in the original show! She appears in Season 5, episode 14 as a old friend of Greg's!