Lapis awoke with a daze. The bitter earthy taste of hardwood filled her mouth. She wasn't sure if it was the grogginess of the morning air, but something felt different. And as she came to, she realized it felt very different. She realized she had fallen off the balcony onto the floor in the center of the barn. A sudden rush of thoughts flooded her head, and many of them didn't feel like her's. "Wait a minute...", she said audibly. "Since when do I have-" She cut herself off. That wasn't her voice. These weren't her hands. And she had never worn a visor in her life. When Peridot finally rushed in, it became abundantly clear what had happened. Hiddenite shrieked with a voice loud enough to awaken Veggie from their slumber. Smacking her head on the roof, she stumbled back against the far wall, her hair collapsing into her eyes.
Brushing it aside she realized she had 4 arms, and flowing long neat hair, a visor with 4 eyes, a smallish skirt over a partially open suit, but something was missing. She realized what it was feeling up her new face. She realized that Jasper's gem was nowhere to be found. Malachite was gone, she hadn't returned. In her gem's place was a large cut triangular gem on her forehead. In realizing this, she began to laugh. And laughter turned into tears of joy. It was... okay! "Is this what it feels like?", she said aloud to no one in particular. Carefully crawling on all six out of the barn she stood up straight. She looked down on the roof of her home and realized her line of sight was at least 8 or 9 feet above it. She snickered nasally and shouted, "Not so short anymore? Eh, Lazuli?"
Hiddenite looked around, as if expecting a response that would never come. For she had already answered herself. "So we fused, now what?", she said. She resolved that this experience was far too new and uneasy to go it alone. In a split second decision, she began to gallop as quickly and carefully as she could to the beachhead. Steven sat in a chair on the balcony table of his home. He was reading a book and treating a minor sunburn from yesterday's outing. Pearl stepped outside into the crisp summer air. "Good morning Steven.", she said in her cheerful manner. "Hey Pearl! Check this out!", Steven replied excitedly. "What am I supposed to be looking at Steven?", Pearl said. "Over there in the distance! See the ship?", Steven continued. Pearl could make out the distant figure of a large cruise ship skimming the horizon. "Lars decided to take Sadie on that cruise with his family this summer. I think they're really starting to like each other." Steven spoke with a lot of hope in his voice. Pearl tried her best to seem interested, although most of the time she couldn't remember any of Steven's friends. "Oh! Well that's nice of him Steven."
Just then Pearl began to make another shape out, but much closer. It began with a disturbance in the wave patterns, and approached the beach rapidly. Pearl froze with fear for a moment, and shook it off. Summoning her spear in preparation for whatever this was, she spoke to Steven very quietly as not to panic the two inside. "Steven, I want you to get inside." Steven looked up curiously at Pearl, eking a bit of nervousness in his voice, "Pearl? What's wrong? What do you see?" Pearl reaffirmed her command louder this time, "Now Steven! Get inside the house!" The figure began to rise from the shallower waters and stumble onto the beach. Pearl threw her spear at the figure's chest, but one of the menacing hands caught the spear halfway, bursting it into a shower of spent energy. Suddenly, it called out, "Wait! Guys! Don't panic! It's me, Lapis! I mean Peridot! I mean, oh geez who am I again?" Pearl was reaching for another spear when Steven jumped in front to block her vision. "Pearl! Wait!" Pearl shouted at Steven, "Steven! Get inside! This isn't your battle!" Steven shouted again, "No, it's not what you think! Listen to her!" Pearl paused for the briefest of moments. Hiddenite knelt to become eye level with the balcony. "Look, I know this is weird, but Peridot and Lapis just fused. I need your help to figure out what's going on!" Pearl looked like she had seen a ghost, blank faced and unmoving. Suddenly her voice raised into a steady yell, "Garnet!"
The Crystal Gems assembled on the beach moments later. Garnet moved about Hiddenite's legs like a curious dog meeting a new human. She inspected every inch she could possibly reach, and climbed to the one's she couldn't. Her constant verbal questioning began to feel more like an interrogation. Finally Hiddenite interrupted Garnet's long-winded analysis of the situation. "Excuse me, Garnet, do you mind if I ask a few questions instead." Garnet made a face that the gems knew only too well. It was the 'let me educate you on fusion' face. "Yes, whatever the question is I'm sure I know the answer." Hiddenite paused and thought to herself. After a minute of thinking she asked, "How is it possible to have synchronized and fused in our sleep?" Garnet's face wore a smug grin that seemed like it had been saved for this very moment. "Love." The word seemed to bother Amethyst a slight bit. Hiddenite didn't seem satisfied with the response. "But how!? Neither of us, or them, were fully conscious!" Garnet spoke softly, "It doesn't matter. At some point last night, your gems came within full synchronization and your physical forms fused. Whether you knew it, or not. In short, love is the answer."
Hiddenite sat down gently on the sand. She leaned back with her extra arms and rested her head in the other two. With a deep sigh she pondered the next question. "How do we, unfuse?" Garnet's smile faded a bit. "You'll know when it happens." Hiddenite facepalmed, "Ugh, that's useful to know." Garnet shrugged, "I'll only say what's best for you. You need to trust I've got your best interests in mind." She adjusted her visor a bit to refract the sun's rays. Steven leaned over to Amethyst's ear, "Future vision..." Amethyst looked a slight bit irritated. Hiddenite asked again, "Okay then, how do we fuse again?" Garnet's comment was unwavering, "Love." Hiddenite had run out of patience, and fell backwards splayed out on the shore. "Ugh! Why are you always so cryptic!" Garnet frowned, "I'm not being cryptic. There's no need to be cryptic." Hiddenite pounded a fist into the sand, "Yes you are! None of this makes sense! What does it all mean!?" Garnet sighed, "It's not as complex as you think it is Hiddenite. It can be very simple if you understand it." Hiddenite shrieked, "Understand what!?" Garnet began singing softly, "There's nothing you can make that can't be made. No one you can save that can't be saved. Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time..." Steven jumped in, ukelele in toe, "It's easy!" The two began singing together, "All you need is love! All you need is love! All you need is love! Love... Love is all you need..."
Hiddenite tried to hide it, but she couldn't help but crack a wide smile. Sitting up and letting the sand shower off of her back, she did her best to understand it. "So, you're saying I am the answer?" Garnet threw up her arms in satisfaction, "Yes! That's exactly it! You embody the love and trust that exists between Lapis and Peridot. You will fuse and maintain that fusion only when that bond is at its strongest. That's who you are. That's who I am. That's fusion." Hiddenite stood up, and began to look confused, "That's great! But, what do I do now?" Garnet spoke very sternly, "Hiddenite, you are not two people. And you are not one person." Remembering this part of her talk, Steven jumped in once more, "You are an experience! Now go have fun!" Hiddenite's smile widened, "Yes. Yes! I'm gonna have fun!" And without another word, she bolted off around the corner and disappeared from view. Garnet looked down at Steven, "Please try not to steal my thunder next time." Everybody laughed, well almost everyone. Amethyst's laughter was more of a nervous chuckle. Almost as if she was faking it. Steven had a way of knowing these things.
As the group began to dissolve and move on with their days, Steven paid close attention to Amethyst. It felt like she was withdrawn, almost as if she was hiding something. And it didn't take Steven long to put two and two together and figure out what it was. But he didn't dare confront Amethyst about it. Not yet at least, for now it was better to leave her be.