ALONE TOGETHER
Yamcha learns that Roshi's training is anything but easy.
First things first, Roshi does the same thing when he started training Goku and Krillin: capsulize Kame House and take it to a much larger island south of here. Yamcha makes sure to call Peridot and tell her before his teacher does this; he doesn't want to risk her having a panic attack when she finds an empty island.
Every day begins at 4:30 AM. Roshi straps 100-pound turtle shells to Yamcha and Krillin's backs, and takes them to deliver milk around the entire island. Simple, right? Well, between zigzagging down a tree-lined path, climbing up a small mountain, balancing across a tree over a chasm, trekking through quicksand, wading across a river that's awfully close to a waterfall, and running from a bunch of carnivorous dinosaurs, all before the milk goes bad…It's anything but simple.
After milk delivery, Yamcha and Krillin plow an entire field with their bare hands. It's followed by a much-needed breakfast. Then, they switch from physical training to studying; no martial artist becomes a master by strengthening the body alone, after all. Though Yamcha becomes flustered when he sees what kind of stuff Roshi wants him to read…
After that is naptime. Move well, study well, play well, east well, rest well—that is the Turtle School way. Naptime is followed by Yamcha and Krillin helping out with local construction; breaking a sweat and building muscle, while also earning some money. Then swimming ten laps in a lake, while avoiding a shark or two.
Then, Roshi ties both of his students to a large tree and unleashes a hoard of bees onto them in order to hone their reflexes. Of course, it takes a few attempts for Yamcha, as he keeps instinctively putting up his bubble shield each time, but he eventually learns to control himself.
Day in and day out, Yamcha and Krillin are put through this kind of training. Days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months. It's never easy, but it helps the duo grow stronger.
OoOoOoO
Peridot keeps her promise to visit every week. Sometimes she comes alone, sometimes Bulma and/or the other Gems tag along.
About a month into training, the guys are suddenly awoken by Lunch screaming in fright. They rush down, only to see Okami standing outside the front door, and Ranchi looking ready to shoot him (which Yamcha hastily talks her down from). He had apparently run away from Capsule Corp. and swam across the ocean, all to find and be with Yamcha. Roshi's hesitant to let the giant wolf live with them, but allows it after seeing that Okami won't cause trouble. He mostly just relaxes, walks around the island, and sleeps next to Yamcha's bed, anyways.
A couple of months later, after another long day of training, Yamcha finds himself riding on Okami's back as the blue wolf explores a nearby jungle. During this time, as Yamcha clings to Okami's back, his hand gets close to the wolf's chest; the fur around his chest suddenly glows and Yamcha's hand disappears into it.
Yamcha yanks his hand out in surprise and falls off Okami, who just stops and sits on the ground. Yamcha stands back up and puts his hand near Okami's chest again, and gets the same results. On one hand, he shouldn't be too surprised, since he found his mother's sword in Okami's fur. But it had been a few years since then; he thought it was a one-time thing.
Yamcha decides to test this out and pushes a little further, and finds himself in a beautiful blue field, full of various blue flowers, but has no air. What is this place? Some kind of…pocket dimension inside Okami's fur?
While inside, he spots a small hill nearby with a tree on top of it, covered in blue blossoms. Curious, he heads over to the tree, and sees various items on the hill: a Crystal Gem battle flag, a bubbled gemstone…and a VHS tape labeled 'For Yamcha'.
Yamcha immediately takes the video tape and exits the pocket dimension through Okami's fur. He still has no idea what happened, but he's preoccupied with the tape. He runs back to Kame House, practically shoves Roshi (who was in the middle of rewatching his female aerobics videos) out of the way, and puts the tape in.
The screen crackles with static and flashes between different shots of the Diablo Desert, Kung Pao Rock, and the desert's oasis. Then, a few shots of Ocha talking happily to the camera are shown…along with a female voice offscreen. One that Yamcha's heard only recently…
After a few more scenes of Ocha talking and goofing around (making the female voice laugh), the screen flashes again, and this time changes to a shot of a gorgeous sunset over the oasis. And that's when it starts.
"Isn't it remarkable, Yamcha?" The female voice asks. "This world is full of so many possibilities. Each living thing has an entirely unique experience. The sights they see, the sounds they hear. The lives they live are so complicated, and so simple. I can't wait for you to join them."
The camera turns around, revealing a large woman with a periwinkle-blue complexion, pale lavender, white and violet hair styled into two pointed buns, violet eyes, wearing a familiar blue jacket, and has a warm smile on her face. Holly Blue Agate.
"Yamcha, we can't both exist. But I won't be gone. I'm going to become half of you. And I want you remember that every moment you spend loving yourself…That's me, loving you and loving being you. Because you're going to be something extraordinary. You're going to be a human being." She laughs, and tears of joy appear in her eyes. "That's my favorite part. A human being…I wonder who…how you'll be, what you'll think, what you'll want. Oh, I'm so happy for everyone who's going to know you." She sighs softly. "I'm rambling. If they look to you, trust yourself. Take care of them, Yamcha."
The screen flashes again, this time showing a heavily pregnant Holly setting down the camera and walking over to Ocha. The couple lovingly embraces, with Ocha caressing Holly's belly. They lean in for a kiss…and the screen flashes one last time, crackling to static as the tape ends.
Yamcha doesn't realize he's crying until he feels the tears fall down his cheeks. He quickly wipes them away, though Krillin, Lunch, Oolong and Puar (who were watching from the kitchen) aren't fairing any better.
After 17 years of only hearing stories about her, he finally got to see his mother and hear her voice.
OoOoOoO
Time continues to drag on, and before they know it, 8 months have passed since the defeat of the Red Ribbon Army. People all over the world are still trying to investigate what, or who, took the RRA down overnight, but thankfully haven't found anything to trace back to the Crystal Gems. The world may never know the truth, but that's okay with them.
On a lovely January day, after Yamcha and Krillin conclude their training, Bulma and Peridot stop by for their weekly visit. Whenever Bulma visits, she and Yamcha try to spend as much time as possible together. Whether it be going on walks, playing games and chilling in Kame House, or just sitting down to talk and laugh, they're slowly but surely getting to know each other and strengthening their friendship.
On this particular day, they decide to go on a walk, and soon find themselves on a cliffside overlooking a small neighborhood. The people down there look to be having a small party; they're laughing and dancing to music and are having a good time overall.
Bulma eventually asks Yamcha if he wants to dance with her, which he accepts. The two dance around; solo first, and then eventually find their way into each other's arms. In this moment, they're laughing joyfully and having the time of their lives together. Feelings of elation are bubbling up inside of them, and they're getting stronger by the second.
While laughing and spinning around, with Yamcha holding Bulma close to him, his gem suddenly glows, the blue light engulfing them both…
A few seconds later, the glow dies down. Yamcha and Bulma are gone, and a new person is in their place. If one were to look, they'd realize that she looks awfully familiar…
Back inside Kame House, Peridot is tinkering with a small device she pulled out of her gem, waiting for Yamcha and Bulma to come back. She hears the door open, and turns around to greet them…and drops her device.
Yamcha and Bulma aren't standing in the doorway. Someone else is. Someone with both Yamcha and Bulma's features, who's much taller than either of them, with an excited smile on her face, and who has a familiar gemstone peaking out of her shirt.
Oh, my stars…
About an hour later, the rest of the Crystal Gems and the others are all gathered in Kame House, each of them staring at the new person in shock. Rose is ecstatic that Yamcha can fuse now, and asks the new person what her name is. She thinks about it for a minute, then answers confidently: Panti.
This is unprecedented. A Gem fusing with a human being…it's never happened before!
This sparks something in Peridot. If Yamcha's able to fuse now, then does that mean…?
Lapis asks Panti how it feels to be fused together, to which she responds that it feels amazing. Eventually, Rose tells her, "Panti, you are not two people. And you are not one person. You are an experience. Make sure you're a good experience. Now, go. Have. Fun!"
Panti takes those words to heart, and doesn't hesitate to run around the island and have fun, full of vim and vigor. Out of curiosity, Krillin asks Panti to spar with him, which she eagerly agrees to. Thanks to Yamcha's strength and Bulma's wits, Panti proves to be a bit of a challenge; the spar ends in a tie, though both of them had fun.
They head back to Kame House, where Panti defuses back into Yamcha and Bulma, exhausted but happy.
OoOoOoO
A few weeks pass. In the middle of February one day, Peridot suddenly arrives in the middle of the week. She begs Yamcha to come with her, much to his surprise; she explains that they've discovered the location of two corrupted Gems, the Geode Beatles; while Rose, Jasper and Lapis are hunting down the Earth Beatle, she and Apache are going after the Heaven Beatle, but she has a feeling that they'll need Yamcha there.
Yamcha's a little hesitant at first, especially since he's in the middle of his daily training, but Roshi gives him permission after seeing Peridot's urgency. The green Gem practically cheers and drags Yamcha to the nearest Warp Pad; they warp to the Sky Spire, where Apache is waiting for them.
While traveling through the ruins, Peridot suddenly starts telling Yamcha about how she and Holly used to fuse together a lot, creating the powerful and brilliant Chrysocolla. This intrigues Yamcha, and Peridot continues telling stories of the great battles that Chrysocolla won; Apache just rolls her eyes during this time.
Eventually, the trio climbs to the top of the Spire, only to discover that the Heaven Beatle is missing from its home. They're suddenly attacked by a giant bird monster (later revealed to be several corrupted Coral monsters fused together). While running from and trying to fight it off, Peridot "accidentally" trips and shoves Apache into the path of the bird monster, swallowing her whole.
This horrifies Yamcha, and Peridot pulls him aside, saying that they should fuse together. Yamcha's surprised and tries to protest, since he's still new to fusion and doesn't know if he can do it with a Gem yet, but Peridot manages to persuade him, saying it's the only way they can save Apache together. He eventually agrees and the two of them dance together, their Gems glowing and a white light engulfing their bodies as they synchronize…
Inside the giant bird, Apache sees a bunch of junk scattered around her, and discovers the Heaven Beatle in the midst of it all. As she holds it close to her, four bluish-green arms suddenly punch into the bird's stomach and drag Apache out, and she discovers that her savior is tall, muscular man with familiar gemstones on his chest and forehead.
He is the fusion between Yamcha and Peridot: Chrysocolla 2.0.
The giant bird ends up breaking into several smaller bird-like monsters (which are just beaks with wings), and attack them. Chrysocolla 2.0 sets Apache down and fights against the birds, easily destroying their physical forms and bubbling them away, all with an impressive display of Yamcha and Peridot's skills.
Once all is said and done, they warp back to Kung Pao Rock, where Rose, Jasper and Lapis are waiting with the Earth Beatle. There's in awe at the sight of Chrysocolla 2.0, and happy to see that Yamcha can now fuse with both humans and Gems. He defuses back into Yamcha and Peridot, and Apache gives the Heaven Beatle to Jasper, who puts both Geode Beatles into a terrarium and bubbles it.
Peridot and Yamcha are both elated that they were able to fuse. Of course, Yamcha has to rush back to Kame House and continue his training. But this won't be the last time we see Chrysocolla 2.0…
OoOoOoO
Some more time passes, and Yamcha finds himself trying to balance his training and going on missions with the Crystal Gems, as Peridot keeps taking him on them at random times. And every time, Peridot convinces Yamcha to fuse into Chrysocolla 2.0. Yamcha thinks it's a little weird, but he trusts Peridot's judgment and goes along with it, and is admittedly having a lot of fun doing so.
However, during one of the missions at the beginning of March, everything goes haywire…
Yamcha, Lapis and Peridot are hunting down another corrupted Gem. While Peridot runs ahead to investigate, Lapis talks with Yamcha about fusing. She ends up asking if he wants to try fusing with her, and he agrees.
Peridot returns a few minutes later and starts to say that this looks like another job for Chrysocolla 2.0…only to be cut off when a tall woman with water wings suddenly lands in front of her. She is Azurite, the fusion between Yamcha and Lapis Lazuli.
Azurite is ecstatic about her existence, running and flying around. Peridot, however, is wide-eyed, and not in a good way. She tries to yell at Azurite while she's in the air, telling her to focus, but she's too high up to hear her. While up in the air, she spots the corrupted Gem rampaging and flies towards it, using her combined abilities to fight and bubble it. Sure, she destroys quite a bit of the surrounding area in the process, but she's having too much fun to notice.
As soon as she sends the bubbled gemstone away, Azurite defuses, revealing Yamcha and Lapis laughing and hugging. But Peridot chooses that moment to burst through the trees, looking less than pleased. She berates the two of them, saying that what they did was reckless, and insists that it would've gone much smoother if Chrysocolla 2.0 had done it instead.
While Yamcha feels guilty, Lapis grows suspicious. The trio warps back to Kung Pao Rock, where Lapis pulls Peridot aside and privately confronts her. This leads to a heated argument between the two, with Lapis accusing Peridot of wanting Yamcha to fuse with nobody else. Peridot fervently denies this, which Lapis doesn't believe.
What started as quiet talking turning into full-blown yelling, which catches the attention of Yamcha and the other Gems. And just in time to hear Peridot yell, "Fine! Maybe that's true! But it's been so long since Holly and I fused! Forgive me for wanting to relive the good parts of the past!"
Shocked, Yamcha steps forward and asks what she means. Peridot struggles to stammer out an answer, but Rose steps in and says she's had her suspicions for a while now. The pink-haired Gem asks Peridot point-blank: "Have you been manipulating Yamcha to fuse with you?"
Peridot nervously stammers again. Yamcha tries to deny this, saying that Peridot wouldn't do that; after all, she's the one who says that fusion is sacred and should only be used for emergencies. But Peridot shamefully admits that Rose and Lapis are right. Stunned, Yamcha asks her why she did it.
"I missed fusing with Holly, okay?" Peridot grumbled out, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. "Before Yamcha and I first fused, I thought that I could relive those moments as Chrysocolla. And I was having so much fun! I missed the feeling of Holly's gem, and I didn't want it to stop!"
"So…" Yamcha places a hand over his gem. "You've just been using me…because you miss Mom?"
"What?" Peridot looks appalled. "No! I-I just…" She shakes her head. "Yamcha, I just wanted to share a few more victories as Chrysocolla."
"Then why did you have to manipulate him?!" Jasper growls.
"That—Shut up!" Peridot snaps, then turns her attention back to the half-Gem teen. "Yamcha, do you have any idea how scared I was when your gem cracked? I thought I was going to lose you!"
"We all thought we were going to lose Yamcha, Peridot," Rose sternly reminds her. "Don't make this about you."
"I'm not!" Peridot cries. "I wasn't strong enough to stop that assassin guy! But when we're Chrysocolla, I feel like I can do anything! And when we're fused, I can protect Yamcha! I can make sure nothing happens to him!"
"Peridot!" Yamcha finally steps forward. "It's okay. I don't need anyone to fight for me. That's why I've been training with Roshi, so I can become stronger."
"But you shouldn't be anywhere near the fight!" Peridot argues. "You're too important!"
"No, I'm not!" Yamcha snaps back.
"Yes, you are!"
"I am not!"
And finally, the damn breaks. "WHY WON'T YOU LET ME DO THIS FOR YOU, HOLLY?!"
Silence follows Peridot's scream. Yamcha and the others are nonplussed. Peridot realizes too late what she said and covers her mouth in horror. "Y…Yamcha, I…" she starts to say after a minute, but the teen pushes past her and runs to the Warp Pad. "Yamcha, wait!"
But he doesn't. He warps away without even looking back.
OoOoOoO
The next day, Peridot arrives at Kame House. Lunch greets her at the door, and Peridot quietly asks if Yamcha's here, saying that she wants to talk with him. Ranchi, who's relaxing in the living room, bluntly tells Peridot that Yamcha left in the middle of the night, taking his possessions and leaving a single note, which she hands to the green Gem.
'Don't look for me – Yamcha'
Peridot starts to panic and pulls up her holographic screen again to track him…only to discover that he left his jacket here at Kame House. This intensifies her fear; she has no idea where he is, and for all she knows, he could be seriously hurt.
But then Lunch mentions that he seemed really distant and quiet after returning to Kame House. Peridot's guilt returns and she leaves Kame House.
OoOoOoO
It's revealed that Yamcha headed to the Strawberry Battlefield. It's a bit lonely, but right now, all he wants is to be alone. Alone to camp and spar there, feasting on the strawberries and various wild animals in the area.
Of course, Okami ends up tracking him down again and refusing to leave his side, so he's not completely alone.
He spends his days running around and practicing what he's learned from Roshi so far. Though as the days drag on and it gets closer to his 18th birthday, Yamcha starts noticing some strange changes in his body. He's more tired than usual, no matter how much he sleeps, he's hungry all the time, and he constantly feels heavy and sore. He's not sure what this is, but just blames it on his constant training and being stressed out.
One morning, he's too tired and sore to train, and just lays on Okami's back as the wolf wanders around the Strawberry Battlefield. After a while, Okami suddenly stops, and Yamcha looks up to see why: there's a giant, floating, upside-down pyramid structure in front of them.
Despite his aching body, Yamcha jumps off of Okami and the two of them enter the Pyramid Temple. Once inside, Yamcha sees that it's a large room, with a symbol containing three triangles on the floor, and three different murals painted into the ceiling.
The first mural is of a pink figure, with a triangle on her stomach, and multiple hands reaching towards her.
The second is of a yellow figure, similar to the first one, except her triangle is located on her chest, and she's standing in front of a reddish-orange sun.
And the final one is of a white figure with, with a triangle on her forehead…facing off against a familiar bluish-purple figure, with several smaller figures behind her, and fighting off the white figure with a single, blue diamond…
How peculiar…
When Yamcha sees the bluish-purple figure, all it does it remind him of his mother and what happened, making him turn and leave the Pyramid Temple. Later on, he sits on one of the floating rock structures with Okami, staring off into the distance. Memories of talking with Peridot after discovering Holly's scabbard replay in his mind…and are then followed by the memory of their last interaction…
Yamcha sighs. "Okami," he says quietly, leaning against the blue wolf. "Do you think the Gems really see me as, well, me…or do they still think I'm Mom?" He looks down at his own hands. "I know I'm not her. I'm just…a part of her. My own, independent part. But…am I just 'Holly' to them, and not 'Yamcha'?" He sighs heavily, drawing his knees up to his chest. "I just want to be my own person…" Okami nuzzles his head against Yamcha's, as if silently trying to comfort him.
Days continue to pass, and even though his body still aches, Yamcha continues to train and work through his emotions. At least he has Okami to talk to, though the wolf isn't much for conversation.
And on the morning of his 18th birthday, Yamcha wakes up to discover why he's been feeling so weird lately…
OoOoOoO
After reporting Yamcha's disappearance to Bulma and the other Gems, Peridot starts growing distant, disappearing for hours or even a couple days at a time, claiming that she's going "missions". The others can tell that she feels guilty about what happened, but she refuses to open up about it.
Eventually, Apache grows curious and follows Peridot during one of her "missions". It leads her to a surprising sight: a massive structure that resembles a yellow arm, but is broke down and worn out with age, covered in plant overgrowth.
Apache ends up watching Peridot in secret. The green Gem practices her ferrokinesis, looking like she's sparring with an imaginary foe, and quietly sings to herself as she does so.
Peridot: "I'd…do it for him
And I would do it again
I'll do it for her
That is to say, I'll do it for him"
She closes her eyes, imaging her memories around her. Memories of training and fighting for the Rebellion, memories of discovering her ferrokinesis and learning to properly wield it. Peridots weren't made to fight, but that didn't stop her from trying, from fighting alongside Holly.
"Keep my stance wide,
Keep my body lowered,
As I'm moving forward—Ugh!
Concentrate, Peridot!
Don't you want him to live?!
Right foot, left foot…
Put your whole body into it!
Everything I have and everything I am,
I've got to give!"
Peridot continues sparring, still swimming in her memories. And every once in a while, the images of Holly constantly flicker to Yamcha and then back again.
"On the battlefield, when everything is chaos
And I have nothing but the way I feel,
My strategy and what I've learned…
I'll just think about the life we'll live,
Together after the war!
And then I'll do it for her
That's how I know I can win!
I'll do it for her
That is to say, I'll do it for him"
As Peridot continues (unaware of Apache's presence), her memories switch from the Gem War to its aftermath, of discovering and bubbling corrupted Gems, of living their new lives on Earth. And how she did it all for Holly, wanting to protect her and impress her…how Holly would always smile and tell Peridot she's proud of how far she's come…
Everything she did, she did it for Holly.
"Deep down, I know…
I'm not built for fighting
But that doesn't mean I'm not prepared to try
What they don't know is my real advantage
When you live for someone,
You're prepared to die!"
Apache's surprised when she hears this. Sure, she arrived on Earth and joined the Crystal Gems after the war had concluded. And she knew that Peridot admired and had a close relationship with Holly. But she didn't know it was this extreme!
"And I thought I was the oblivious one with abandonment issues…" the monochromatic Gem whispers to herself.
"I can do it for him
I'd do it for her
And now I'll do that again
I do it for her, and now I'll say
I'll do it for him…"
Peridot sighs as she pulls herself back to reality, reopening her eyes and the floating metal pieces around her dropping to the ground. She couldn't believe this. She spent literally thousands of years alongside Holly, never leaving her side, and doing everything for her. Then her job changes to doing everything for Yamcha. She wanted to badly to have a baby, despite knowing what it would cost her, and had asked the Crystal Gems to look after her child.
And what had Peridot done? She drove him away.
"What is wrong with me?" She asks herself.
"Would you like the list alphabetically or in descending order of obnoxiousness?" Apache asks dryly as she steps out, surprising Peridot.
From there, Apache tries to convince Peridot to talk to her. Apache knows she's not good with emotional stuff, but knows that talking helps. During this, Apache retrieves some fish from a nearby river and cooks it over a fire. She asks Peridot if she wants any, but the green Gem declines, looking disgusted as her companion eats.
Eventually, Apache gets Peridot to talk.
"Did…Holly ever make you feel like you were worthless?" Apache asks, remembering the words that Peridot sang earlier.
"Oh, no," Peridot chuckles. "Holly made me feel like I was everything…" She stops chuckling and her smile falls. "I just…I know we broke away and rejected Homeworld's laws and intentions. I know that we can be whatever we want now. But…it's so hard to let them go, even after all this time…I still feel like I can't do anything on my own…But…"
"But what?"
"But whenever Holly looked at me, or fused with me, or told me how proud she was of me…I felt like I could do anything. Like…maybe I was strong enough to not let anything happen to her…I-I meant it when I said that our relationship was different…I was her one of her first allies, and have been through everything with her…" She sighs heavily. "I only wanted to please her…and then, I wanted to please Yamcha…"
Tears start forming in Peridot's eyes as she continues. "When…When Yamcha's gem cracked, he was in so much pain…and I couldn't do anything to make him feel better. Suddenly, I went back to being a weak Peridot. I thought I was going to lose him…lose Holly…and then it all would've been for nothing…Sure, we fixed it. But what if the Dragon Balls didn't exist? What if…what if…"
Apache places a hand on Peridot's shoulder as the tears continue falling. "Then, when I learned that he could fuse, I thought that this was my opportunity. N-Not only could I make it feel like Holly was with us again, but I could also be close and p-protect him…But I was wrong! All I did was drive him away, all because of my own stupidity!" She slams her fists into the dirt, trembling as she cries.
For a while, Apache just silently rubs Peridot's back as she cries. After several minutes, Peridot calms down and wipes away her tears. The duo continues talking after that; they end up swapping stories from the last five-thousand years, laughing amongst themselves and lightening the mood. As the sun starts to set, they decide to head back to Kung Pao Rock.
"By the way," Apache suddenly says as they walk, motioning to the giant yellow arm. "What is that?"
Peridot blinks. "Oh, that's…just an old Homeworld ship," she explains, looking away. "I don't like it, but it's peaceful here. I come here whenever I need to be alone."
"Oh!" Apache exclaims with a grin. "So this is where you go whenever you're on those 'long-term missions'!"
Peridot snorts and rolls her eyes, and the two of them head to the Warp Pad.
OoOoOoO
Time drags on, as usual. Once she's back, Peridot opens up to the other Gems about how she's feeling, and it turns into the five of them opening up about their own struggles since Yamcha's birth. Jasper constantly reminding herself that she needs to be strong…Lapis' desire to make them happy…Rose remembering everything Homeworld did each time she encounters an organic creature…Apache constantly reminding herself that she's no longer bound to Homeworld…It feels good to just talk with each other, after everything they've been through together.
A few days after Yamcha's birthday, while all five of the Crystal Gems are relaxing at Kung Pao Rock, the Warp Pad suddenly activates and startles them. The light dies down, revealing Yamcha. He's back…and he's different.
The last time they saw him, he was barely at 5'8" and was only slightly muscular. Now, he's standing at 6'5" and has a much stronger, heavy, stocky build. He's built similar to a Quartz; more specifically, an Agate.
The Gems are surprised at his new appearance, but are overjoyed to see him nonetheless. After exchanges a few hugs and welcoming words, Peridot approaches Yamcha and asks if they can talk. He agrees and they leave Kung Pao Rock, heading to the nearby oasis.
The two of them spend the day talking. Yamcha confesses that he feels like the Gems don't see him as his own person, and Peridot opens up about her fears and insecurities, explaining why she did what she did. Through listening and understanding, and a few apologies on Peridot's end, the two make up.
They hug each other, feeling closer than ever, and end up accidentally fusing into Chrysocolla 2.0 again. Except this time, he's not born out some kind of desire. He just sits there, smiling and hugging himself, content with just remaining here for now.
Up next: the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai!
I really enjoyed writing the "Straight to Video" part of this chapter. It's just so freaking sweet!
When it came to the whole gender fusion thing, I've gone back and forth on this for several days on how I wanted to handle this. In the end, I decided to take the DBZ route. The only male-female fusions we've seen in DBZ are from the game "Dragon Ball Fusions", plus some fan speculation online; based on what I've seen, it sounds like the gender of those fusions are determined by which partner is physically and/or mentally dominant; examples include Great Saiyaman 12 (Gohan and Videl) and Android 1718 (17 and 18) both being male, and how, if initiated by Bulla, then a Five-Way Fusion will end up being female.
My reasons for each one: we all know that Bulma is the dominant one regardless of who she's with; Yamcha doesn't seem like the type to care about gender, but Peridot still feels lower than Holly/Yamcha; and since Azurite is all about having fun, Yamcha lets Lapis take the reins since she's the "fun one".
And the whole Peridot incident…I didn't want this to feel like emotional drama for the sake of having emotional drama; I hate it when movies, TV shows, stories, and even other fanfics do this crap, so I'm trying to avoid it at all costs. I wanted this to feel like something that would actually happen in this fic, and didn't want to stay on it for several chapters.
I also had fun writing the scene between Peridot and Apache. The whole "Do It For Her/Him" song was kind of an on-the-spot decision. Plus, we got Apache cooking some fish (that's a fun little reference to some trauma…).
And there's a giant yellow arm here…Hmm…I'll leave the reasons why up to your imagination
And before you ask: yes, Yamcha went through a human-Gem growth spurt.
Oh boy, I've got something interesting planned for the next part…
Thank you so much for reading this! Please leave a review letting me know what you think! God bless you and have a wonderful day/night/whenever you read this!
Panti
(She/Her)
Gems/Partners: Yamcha/Holly Blue Agate and Bulma
Appearance: 13 feet tall. Curvy and strong, feminine build. Lightly tan complexion. Long, deep indigo-colored hair that's thick, slightly messy, and ends at her mid-chest. Periwinkle-blue eyes. Most of Yamcha's facial features, with Bulma's eye shape.
Outfit: Short-sleeved white shirt. Brown jeans with the right leg torn off at the upper thigh. Gray lace-up combat boots. Holly/Yamcha's jacket tied around her waist.
Voice Actor: Amber Lee Connors (sounds like Nozomi Kaminashi from Keijo!)
Trivia: Her name is derived from "panties", "pan" (from the Spanish and Japanese words for "bread"), and "tea"
Chrysocolla 2.0
(He/Him)
Gems: Yamcha/Holly Blue Agate and Peridot
Appearance: 13 feet tall. Slightly muscular build. Turquoise complexion with teal-colored splotches. Messy, star-shaped hair that ends at his shoulders, has Yamcha's bangs, and has a dark aquamarine-green to black color gradient. Four eyes (top are green and bottom are black). Four arms. A blend of Yamcha and Peridot's facial features. Bluish-green gemstones.
Outfit: Emerald-green shirt with a golden six-point star on the chest. Black high-waisted gi pants. White sash around his waist. Pine-green boots that resemble Peridot's Limb Enhancers. Holly/Yamcha's jacket. Short, fingerless black gloves on the bottom hands. Peridot's visor.
Voice Actor: Richard Ian Cox (sounds like male Ranma from Ranma ½)
Azurite
(She/Her)
Gems: Yamcha/Holly Blue Agate and Lapis Lazuli
Appearance: 14 feet tall. Feminine and slightly muscular build. Ice-blue complexion. Thick black hair like Lapis' except longer, ending at her midback. Four arms; the top pair is thick, while the bottom pair is slim. Dark blue eyes. A blend of Yamcha and Lapis' features. Medium blue gemstones.
Outfit: White short-sleeved shirt underneath a large midnight-blue vest that ends at her hips. Knee-length cornflower-blue skirt. White strap around her waist. Ripped-up black leggings. Fingerless elbow-high black gloves on all four hands. Holly/Yamcha's jacket tied around her waist. Golden six-point star hairclip on the back of her head.
Voice Actor: Veronica Taylor (sounds like Sailor Pluto from Sailor Moon)