Missing Peace: Chapter 41
Sapphire watched on with a wide grin as her Quartz soldiers advanced on the fusion that called itself 'Garnet'; the fusion that brought shame on all Sapphires with its very existence. She couldn't fathom what madness must have compelled a Sapphire to handicap herself by sharing minds with a Ruby of all things, but she was eager to watch their little experiment fail. If Facet 31 was going to rebuild Homeworld's society as it had been in the old days; a society in which Sapphires were respected aristocratic Gems, then this fusion would have to be the first aspect of the Diamonds' new status quo to disappear.
As Garnet fought to keep her Quartz attackers at bay, she barely took her eyes off the Sapphire. "Struggle all you want" the small blue Gem snarled. "An abomination like you doesn't stand a chance against this many soldiers. Rose saw your plan coming a mile away, and I'll gladly help her put an end to you!" It was then that something changed inside Garnet. Up until that point, she'd been focused solely on survival; on keeping her opponents at bay long enough for Steven to fix things, but now, she had a new goal. Every fibre of her being was telling her to prove that Sapphire wrong. Not out of a desire to say "I told you so" or anything so petty; she simply wanted to prove to this doubter what fusion was truly capable of. Fusion had defined Garnet's existence; she owed almost everything about who she was to it. If she could open another Gem's eyes to its worth, then she saw that as her task; her duty. So she decided: she was going to beat every last one of the Quartzes that were advancing on her, and prove that together, Ruby and Sapphire were stronger than any one Gem could be alone.
That, of course, was easier said than done. She thought back to her fight with Jasper aboard the hand ship; a moment that now seemed like eons ago. Back then, she had had a hard time fighting one Quartz. Now, she had to take on almost a dozen. Granted, it was unlikely that any were as strong as Jasper, but it would be a challenge all the same. A tiny bead of sweat formed on her forehead at the thought, but just as quickly as her apprehension had arrived, it faded. A second voice inside her head pushed that thought away, saying without words "It's going to be alright." Being a fusion was funny like that. You weren't two people; you weren't one person. Garnet didn't hear Ruby and Sapphire separately in her head; after all, she was them, and they were her. Still, it always felt like she had company somehow, even when she knew she was alone. That feeling was enough to keep her fear at bay in almost any situation. As the Quartzes advanced on her, she smiled, and lifted her gauntlets. "Let's do this."
She danced between their attacks with such grace that they failed to land a single hit on her. At roughly six foot-five, Garnet was not a small Gem by any measure. The Quartzes, though larger still, were clearly caught off guard by how fast she could move. She wrestled a gem destabilizer from the hand of one of the Rose Quartzes, and turned it on her enemies. She found the use of destabilisers…distasteful. She remembered all too well the two times she had been destabilised; once by Jasper, and once by Yellow Diamond. Neither time had been a pleasant experience, but right now, poofing these Quartzes seemed like the fastest and most merciful way out of this scenario, and it seemed less violent this way than using her gauntlets. Dodging a punch from the disarmed Quartz, Garnet thrust the destabiliser into its abdomen. Yellow geometric lines spread across the body of the Quartz for a moment, as its body vibrated in shock. Seconds later, there was a puff of smoke, and the Quartz's gem clattered to the floor. Incensed, the other Quartzes charged at her with alarming speed. Garnet leapt upwards, allowing them all to collide with each other. Twisting upside-down in the air, she allowed her feet to make contact with the ceiling. She pushed off, and went flying downwards like a meteor, striking the floor with her gauntleted free hand. The shockwave sent the Quartzes flying into the corridor's walls, many of them sprawling on the floor as they fell free of the resulting dents.
Sapphire watched on in shock. How was this happening? Gems of different types weren't even meant to fuse. They were a hindrance to each other. How could this 'Garnet' actually be winning? The remaining few Quartzes who were still able to fight charged at Garnet again, but she seemed unfazed; confident in fact. Ducking a sword swing, she hit another Rose Quartz with an uppercut that sent the huge Gem soldier smashing into the ceiling, poofing them on impact. Twirling around, Garnet threw the destabiliser into the torso of an Amethyst guard, poofing them also. As she turned to the last remaining Quartz, it scowled at her, turned, and ran in the opposite direction. "Where are you going!" yelled Sapphire hysterically. "To get reinforcements!" replied the Quartz, irritated having to explain herself. "Irrelevant! Get back here and finish her!" Sapphire continued to shout as the Quartz disappeared down the corridor.
"What was it you said before?" said Garnet, walking slowly towards Sapphire, "that I didn't stand a chance?"
Sapphire yelped and turned around. At the sight on Garnet approaching her, she began backing away. "Woah" said Garnet, throwing up her hands. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to talk"
"Why should I believe that?!" Sapphire shot back, continuing to back up. "You weren't exactly in a 'talky' mood when you poofed my Quartzes!"
"That was self-defence" Garnet replied coolly. "But I don't need to worry about you hurting me, do I?" Sapphire knew the Garnet was right. The moment she took any action against the fusion, her future vision would fail, leaving her blind. Such was the curse of the gem placement she had emerged with. Obviously the fusion had sensed this too, which is why it was now being so infuriatingly calm around her.
"Don't patronise me!" Sapphire yelled. "I know what you crystal Gems do to anyone who threatens your precious little Earth!"
"The war was a long time ago" said Garnet, still keeping her voice level. "Nowadays, we try to talk to the Gems we disagree with; try to find a better way to settle our arguments." She wasn't sure why she felt so compelled to get to the root of this Sapphire's problem non-violently, when she had so casually dispatched all the other Facet 31 Gems she had faced. Garnet hoped that it was out of genuine sympathy for the small blue Gem's feelings, and not simply because she bore such a striking resemblance to Garnet's own wife. No, wait; Ruby's wife. Garnet sometimes had trouble separating Ruby and Sapphire's feeling from her own. She wasn't sure if she even should.
Sapphire spoke up, forcing Garnet to shake off the thought. "OK, let's assume I believe you're not going to hurt me; what could a fusion like you even have to say to me that would be worth hearing?" The venom in Sapphire's voice was clear. The way she emphasized the word 'fusion' was evidence enough for Garnet to make a good guess of how Sapphire had fallen in with Facet 31. It was no secret that Garnet's fusion, and subsequent joining of the rebellion, had resulted in some damage to the reputation of Sapphires back on Homeworld. It had been utterly irrational; the condemnation of an entire Gem type for the "crimes" of one, but that was just how Homeworld operated back then. It was understandable that a Homeworld Sapphire might resent her, maybe even enough to try to fight her, but something still didn't add up.
"I'm just trying to figure out why a Sapphire like you would even join a group like Facet 31. Their whole ideology doesn't make any sense."
"Ha! You're one to talk, Crystal Gem!" Scoffed Sapphire. "At least our rebellion didn't turn against our people for the sake of one planet of fleshy animals. Our Rose Quartz isn't a fake like yours."
Garnet bit back the urge to respond to Sapphire's goading, and instead continued her original line of discussion. "Just hear me out: Facet 31 always told you that Fusions like me were a mistake; that a Ruby could only hold a Sapphire back, but look at that I just did. Could a Sapphire have beaten all those Quartzes? Could a Sapphire have been unpredictable enough to defy your future vision?"
Sapphire had to admit that Garnet had a point. Seeing the fusion fight had been stunning. She had heard tales of Garnet's fighting prowess during the war, but seeing it for herself was another experience entirely. How could a fusion that wasn't supposed to exist be better at fighting than a pure Ruby fusion? How could it defy the predictions of a pure Sapphire? Over her entire life on Homeworld, Sapphire had been told that cross-Gem fusions were abominations born from defective Gems, and Rose had told her the same thing when she joined Facet 31. Had Rose… actually been wrong about something? That couldn't be true, could it?
Sensing that Sapphire was at least giving thought to her words now, Garnet continued: "Facet 31 exists to return Homeworld to the old ways, right? From before the Diamonds made peace with the Crystal Gems?"
"That's right" replied Sapphire.
"Well" continued Garnet, "is that really what any of you should want? Do you honestly think any of you would have a place on the old Homeworld any more, after everything you've been through?"
"What do you mean?" asked Sapphire, her tone growing ever icier.
"Just look at Facet 31's Gems" said Garnet, he voice becoming more emphatic. "Quartzes, Sapphires, Rubies, Peridots, and dozens of other types of Gem, living and working together. No caste system, no rules; just a community. If you put things back to the way they used to be, you'll lose all that. The Rubies will be worthless; each one serving a Gem elite, but never talking to them like an equal. The Sapphires will just be soothsayers, and the Quartzes will just be soldiers; all just going about their business, never crossing paths. Is that what you want?" That did it. For the first time, a flicker of uncertainly crossed Sapphire's face. Garnet had thought that it might. She had seen the way the small blue Gem's face lit up whenever she mentioned Facet 31's Rose Quartz. Another Gem might have confused it for the admiration all the rest of Facet 31's Gems had for their leader, but to Garnet, the reality was as clear as day. After all, she'd stared at that same face with that same expression five thousand seven hundred and fifty years ago, and again, just a short time ago, on her wedding day. She knew what a Sapphire in love looked like.
Sapphire stared absent-mindedly into space as the impact of the fusion's words hit her. Did going back to the old ways really mean being separated from Rose? Had Rose been planning on that, or had she not realised? Sapphire wasn't even sure which of those options was worse. Sapphire kicked herself for never noticing it. It wasn't like she was ignorant of the fact that all sorts of Gems worked together in Facet 31, but somehow, she had never picked up on the contradiction this represented. Facet 31, in their quest for the preservation of Homeworld's ideals, was in fact moving away from them. She didn't know what to think. She had never been unhappy with her life on Homeworld before the war. It had been Pink's rebellion that had caused everything to go to hell, so it had seemed only natural to want the old system back; but now that she had experienced life in Facet 31, could she really go back to being just another Sapphire again? Who would she even work for? If they deposed the Diamonds, she wouldn't be answering to them. She had always hoped that once the battle was over she would be serving at Rose's side, but Quartzes weren't leaders. Did Rose intend to go back to being a soldier once all this was over, or was she planning to make herself an exception to the old system, and rule over Homeworld as the Diamonds' replacement? Did she plan on extending that privilege to the rest of Facet 31 too? And if so, had all that talk about wanting things back the way they were been a lie? Sapphire's heart told her to trust in Rose, and just believe that her leader had everyone's best interests at heart; but her head was now swimming with countless questions that seemed impossible to shake off. She needed answers, and she could only get them from Rose herself.
"I-I….." Sapphire began, unsure of how to even answer Garnet's question.
Garnet crouched down to look Sapphire in the face. The gesture was rather pointless, as Sapphire saw through her future vision rather than an eye, but Sapphire found herself more at ease like this all the same. "Let's go and talk to Rose ourselves" said Garnet, speaking in a soft, reassuring voice. "If she cares about you half as much as you care about her, she'll tell you the truth; and if you don't like the answer, there's no one better than you to convince her to change her mind."
Lost for words, Sapphire paused for a moment, then simply nodded, and gestured for Garnet to follow her. She couldn't believe she was taking the advice of a Crystal Gem; a permafusion, of all things. Still, if there was even a chance that her future with Rose was in jeopardy, she needed to find out. Her confusion over what lay ahead was causing her future vision to act up, and the picture in front of her was growing patchy and hard to make out. Luckily, the zoo's layout was the same in basically every immediate future, so she was able to navigate the corridors without assistance from Garnet. The two made their way towards the command centre, where Sapphire knew Rose would be, lying in wait for Pink Diamond, or "Steven" as the fusion seemed to insist on calling her. She only hoped that they got to Rose before Pink did. If a fight was already underway then they arrived, she would have little chance to talk to Rose about anything.
As Sapphire and Garnet neared the command centre, they heard voices approaching them. Quartz soldiers; dozens of them from the sound of it. "Fusion! We've got company!" Sapphire shouted back to her unlikely partner. "It's Garnet" Garnet shot back, trying not to let her annoyance to slip into her voice. "Anyway, can't you call them off?" Sapphire shook her head. "If it was just Amethysts then maybe, but the Rose Quartzes won't listen to me, they only answer to Rose herself. Besides, if I change the timeline any more, I'll just blind myself completely." She stopped and turned to face Garnet. "You're the tough one aren't you? Use some of that Ruby muscle of yours and get us out of this mess."
Beneath her golden visor, Garnet rolled all three eyes. "I hope you can hold out a little longer Steven" she thought to herself. "I'm coming as fast as I can…"
Author's Notes: Hope you're all still enjoying the story. I've noticed that my daily chapter views have dropped off by about half after I took that break, so if you're one of my
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