Author's Note: Warnings for some stuff about war, PTSD and physical assault.
Navy Pearl
Pearl had never been as good as the other pearls.
It wasn't that she was defective. At least, not in any real way. Her gem wasn't misshapen, she was well behaved, she always tried her best. There weren't any obvious failures in her functioning. She just… wasn't as good.
She tried to be as polite as she was meant to be, but she always slipped up. Let some emotion show on her face, forgot the correct addresses, got her words all confused and jumbled up. And she wasn't as quick as the others. She didn't learn the dances as swiftly, needed more time to memorise the patterns. She was slower with her chores, more methodical. Every time she realised her mistakes she'd panic— she'd dig herself deeper, or trip up, or make a mess, or say the wrong words, or—
She just always made it worse.
Finally, she made one mistake too many. Dropped a beautiful glass sculpture that her Master had commissioned, new and gleaming. She'd tripped, and the glass had gone flying, right into the group of Gems who'd assembled to admire it.
She barely even heard the Gems yells of pain and horror as the glass hit them. She barely even noticed her Master screaming at her, slapping her. It was all too overwhelming. The shock. The embarrassment. The horror.
The relief.
At least it was all over. No more worrying now. Finally she'd be Harvested and put to good use. She'd never been any good as a pearl— maybe she'd work better as a power source. At least she wouldn't be able to make any other mistakes.
Which why she was surprised— and alarmed— when instead of being shipped to the Central Harvesting Centre for processing, she was instead sent to a lab and presented to a Morganite.
Pearl had never seen a morganite up close before. The scientist-Gem was tall, her features sharp, her expression detached. Under her gaze, Pearl felt examined, scrutinised, evaluated.
"You have been sent here," Morganite said, slowly, "because you have failed to adequately support the Glorious Gem Empire which created you."
Pearl bowed her head in shame.
"But," continued Morganite. "You have been granted a chance to redeem yourself. Tell me: are you willing to do anything in service of the Diamonds?"
"Yes," Pearl said, without hesitation.
Something akin to approval appeared on Morganite's face. "Good." She waved a hand, and an open door appeared next to Pearl. "Go inside and wait."
Pearl did as she was told.
The chamber she had been brought too was odd. It was large— very large. It utterly dwarfed the tiny Pearl. But it was not some beautiful or grand Temple, as most spaces of this size were. It seemed to have no purpose at all, as far as Pearl could tell. It was shaped like a box. A plain, simple box. There were no decorations, no furniture, no equipment, nothing. The walls and floor were completely bare. All of it was plain, pure white, aside from one wall, which was grey, and shinier in texture.
She was still trying to determine what the room's purpose was, and why she had been taken there, when at last, the door in the wall reappeared. It opened, and in came a Quartz. A Prase, more specifically, judging from the green of her skin, striped with shades of darker green which matched her hair.
The Prase looked much like any quartz. Large, muscular. But there was something about her that seemed different to Pearl. It took a moment for her to place what. The Prase's expression. Most quartz warriors were proud, boisterous, revelling in some battle past or yet to come. Not this quartz. She was just… blank.
The door closed. A moment later, Morganite's voice echoed through the chamber from an unseen source. "Prase facet-9g4k cut-3ac," she said, voice calm and clinical. "Pearl. Fusion Trial, session 1. Begin."
Silence.
"Pardon?" Pearl said.
"Fusion trial," said the unseen Morganite. "You two are required to fuse."
More silence. Pearl looked at Prase for confirmation. She expected to see matching confusion and bewilderment on her face, but there was nothing.
"But—" said Pearl.
"Follow your orders," Morganite's voice demanded. "Fuse."
Pearl's mouth snapped shut. She'd always messed up her orders before. This was her last chance.
But this was different. All the other times, she'd simply been slow or clumsy or misunderstood.
This time, she simply could not comprehend what had been asked of her.
Again, she looked at Prase for some kind of reaction— an acknowledgement of the sheer absurdity of the order. But still her face was oddly blank. Prase said, "Gems of the same type must touch to fuse."
"But we're not of the same type," Pearl wanted to say, but she managed to clamp down on the urge and said nothing. Prase turned to face her more fully, then held her hands out, palms up. Pearl glanced around the huge chamber, as if expecting something or someone to appear, to tell her that she'd misunderstood, of course she wasn't being asked to initiate physical contact with a Quartz warrior! That she certainly wasn't being told to fuse with one.
But no such thing came. No admonishment, no warning. Pearl looked at the waiting Prase's face. Still emotionless, Prase nodded at her.
Pearl reached out and laid her own hands on top of the Prase's.
It was the first time she'd ever made physical contact with another Gem, aside from the times her Master had struck her. The sensation was strange. She'd expected Prase's hands to be as hard as stone, yet they were surprisingly soft, despite the callouses.
So caught up was she in analysing the feeling that Pearl didn't immediately realise that no fusion had occurred. When she did, she blinked up at Prase, who stared calmly back.
"Try again," Morganite ordered over the inter-com.
"How—" Pearl began, before she could stop herself.
"Perhaps we should come closer," Prase suggested, her voice unexpectedly gentle.
So they went closer. Pearl allowed Prase to pull her in, until eventually she was pressed right against the Quartz's chest, her arms wrapped around her wide hips. Nothing happened. No light, no merging, no fusing.
But of course there wasn't! Gems of different types couldn't fuse!
… could they?
"Trial end." Morganite's voice echoed through the chamber once more; now there was a distinct annoyance in her otherwise professional tone. "Results: failure. Trial Two scheduled in one half-Cycle."
With that, Prase stepped back a little. Pearl let go, and the two broke apart. They stood there, waiting for the next trial.
oOo
Morganite came and went according to some unknowable schedule. Pearl couldn't tell if there was a pattern to it or not, since there was no way to measuring time in the featureless room. Morganite would come. Morganite would order them to fuse. Pearl and Prase would awkwardly stand in each other's grasp. Nothing would happen. Morganite would pronounce the trail as a failure. Pearl and Prase would wait.
There was a lot of waiting.
Prase filled the time by sitting in the middle of the room with her eyes closed. She never moved or spoke.
At first, Pearl had tried to stand at attention, as was proper for a pearl. But there was just so much time to fill, and she'd never been very good at that. She began pacing. Walking around the entire room, again and again. As she paced, her mind churned. Why had she been brought here? What was the point of this useless exercise? Could two Gems of the different types even fuse? Would that hurt? Why would anyone even want such a fusion?
She must have spoken that last question aloud, because someone answered it. "Because of the rebellion."
Pearl jumped and looked around. Prase hadn't moved or even opened her eyes, but she'd spoken. "Pardon?"
"You asked why they'd want a fusion between two different Gem types," said Prase. "Because of the rebellion."
Pearl blushed deep purple for letting her private thoughts slip out. But there was no point dwelling on it. "What rebellion?"
At last, Prase opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow, the first sign of emotion she'd yet displayed. "You don't know."
Pearl fought to keep her face blank. "No."
"Oh. I suppose we are quite far away. Perhaps news has not travelled here yet. There is an ongoing rebellion."
Pearl considered this information. It was quite hard to believe. She could not see how or why Gems would ever do such a thing. "And what does that have to do with fusion?"
Prase glanced at the grey wall. Then she motioned for Pearl to come closer. Pearl stopped a respectful distance away, but Prase motioned her closer still. She hesitated for a moment, but they'd already touched repeatedly; surely such propriety hardly mattered any more. Pearl came very close indeed, until she was almost half-buried in the Quartz's thick green mane.
In a voice which was barely a whisper, Prase said, "Because fusions are the rebellion's greatest weapons."
oOo
In between the various trials, Pearl got more of an explanation of Prase. The warrior knew a lot about the rebellion. Where it was being fought, by who, why, and how. She spoke about things like propaganda, and 'humans', and hybrid fusions, and light canons, and summoned weapons…
It all seemed incredibly distant to Pearl. Even when Prase told about how the rebel forces were growing stronger Cycle by Cycle, with Homeworld fearing that it might spread past the planet designated 'Earth', Pearl had trouble imagining it. Small scale skirmishes, being fought on a single tiny planet, galaxies away… It seemed to have no impact on her.
But it was having an impact, Pearl had to remind herself. Homeworld wanted an inter-Gem fusion of their own, and they'd selected her to be part of it.
(Why they'd want a pearl at all for such a thing— let alone one like her, clumsy and confused— was beyond her. She knew it wasn't her place to question her superiors, but she was questioning).
After yet another Failed Trial, Pearl was huddled up in Prase's lap, the other Gem's long hair falling around her like a shroud. "What will happen to us if we fail?"
Prase didn't answer. She didn't need to. They both already knew the answer.
oOo
"This isn't working," Prase said, the next time Morganite came.
"What?" said the Morganite, affronted.
"This isn't working," Prase repeated. "We don't have enough information. If you want this to succeed, then you need to get us some."
Morganite said nothing. The silence was horrible. It took all of Pearl's self-restraint not to start quivering. That kind of insolence— that kind of disrespect— it could only mean punishment—
But maybe there'd been enough authority in Prase's voice, or maybe Morganite was just desperate enough, because when she did speak, it was only to say, "Very well."
oOo
An unknown amount of time passed— and then the entire grey wall lit up.
Pearl jumped up, startled, then relaxed when she realised the wall had become a screen, and was playing some kind of recording. It was depicting a strange landscape… a dark grey sky filled with clouds and smoke, a huge field filled with Gems of all kinds, almost all of them carrying weapons, regardless of type or rank. Some were just holding them, others practicing, others sharpening or cleaning them.
And there was something odd about these Gems. Something was missing. Something so constant that it actually took Pearl a moment for Pearl to realise what that something was.
They weren't wearing any diamonds.
Prase had gone still. Even more still than usual.
"The rebels," she breathed.
The view shifted, the recording device (be it camera or Gem) moving suddenly. When the image came back into focus, it had settled on a Gem who was truly breathtaking in her beauty. A magnificent specimen of a Quartz, tall and muscular, her hair luscious and pink. She wasn't in the usual practical suits or armour of a warrior, but rather a long white dress. She was still armed, however, a massive pink sword hanging from her waist.
The Quartz was so captivating that Pearl didn't immediately register the smaller figure at her side. The thing that did make her notice this other Pearl was the recognition that she too was armed, holding a spear.
"Prase," Pearl whispered. "The pearl, Prase—"
"Shhh," Prase hissed. "Watch."
Pearl watched. She watched as the Pearl dispelled her spear with a wave of her hand. She watched as the Pearl turned to the Quartz. She watched as the Quartz smiled at the Pearl, and took her by the hands. She watched as they began a slow waltz, which grew faster and faster, until it was a sort of frantic spinning, the Quartz pulled the Pearl up to her face— the two pressed their lips against one another— the two glowed, too bright to see—
They watched as the fusion formed. Someone bigger than even a Quartz. Someone with two gems, and huge white hair, and pink skin and four eyes. They watched as that fusion pulled the the pink sword from its scabbard, and smiled a very sharp smile.
"What was that?" Pearl whispered.
Prase's voice was hoarse. "That was Rainbow Quartz."
oOo
Under the Morganite's invisible eye, they tried to fuse again using the technique used to form Rainbow Quartz. The same steps, the same spinning, the same pulling and—
— nothing.
The Morganite's voice was taut with frustration as she announced yet another failure.
"I've never danced before," Prase said, once it seemed Morganite was gone. "You'll need to teach me."
"I'm not a very good dancer," Pearl confessed.
"Better than me," said Prase, and that was true enough. Pearls were made to dance.
So Pearl began to teach Prase the steps, the rhythm, the beat, the pattern, showed her how one movement could flow into the next. And if she wasn't as fast as the other Pearls, perhaps that was all the better for the teaching.
oOo
Morganite came again, and her voice was brittle. All of them knew this couldn't go on much longer.
"I'm scared," Pearl whispered.
"Me too," Prase answered.
And they started to dance.
They kept their eyes locked on each other, focusing intensely on every move— the exact placement of their feet, the way their fingers clasper around each other, the number of steps from wall to wall as they moved in lazy circles. But after a while, the tension faded away. They'd been practicing a lot, and in this, at least, the two Gems were sure of what they were doing— sure at least that they were together in this, that if nothing else, the other one was there—
— and then, quite suddenly, there wasn't two, but one.
oOo
The new body was strange.
It was tall, and long, and muscular. It wore something that wasn't a jumpsuit and wasn't a gauzy dress, but something that was a bit of both. Its skin wasn't deep blue or striped green, but a light, shiny blue that shimmered with a dozen other shades every time it… they… she… moved.
The fusion blinked, and there were four eyes to blink with. Two at the front of her head, two at the back.
"Prase facet-9g4k cut-3ac. Pearl. Fusion trial, session 14. Success."
The fusion came apart. Prase and Pearl fell onto their backs, and scrambled up, staring at each other, wide-eyed.
oOo
Results were worth nothing if they weren't replicable.
So more trials were arranged. Each time the pair would dance, and the pair would fuse.
The second time she was created, the fusion learned how to stand. The third time, she learned how to walk all around the chamber without even stumbling. The fourth time, she practically ran around the place, jumping and twirling with a giddiness she couldn't remember her components ever feeling.
That was the moment that the fusion realised her name was Aqua Aura Quartz.
oOo
For the first time since Prase had been brought there, the door to the chamber opened. Morganite was there, and at her side was an Amethyst.
"Hold out your hands," Morganite ordered.
Pearl and Prase looked at each other, and complied.
The Amethyst came and slapped a bracelet onto a wrist of each of them. They closed with a snap. It was real metal, Pearl realised, a luxury only ever given to the highest ranking of Gems.
But she saw the scowl on Prase's face, and realised this wasn't a gift. This was a restraint.
They were taken out of the holding room they'd been kept in so long, through the long corridors, and out to a practice range, one hidden behind a very tall wall. There were obstacles to jump over, ropes to duck under, a deep pool of mud to wave through, and targets to hit. Pearl shrunk a little at the sight. It was very intimidating.
But to Aqua Aura Quartz, it wasn't intimidating at all.
Part of that came from Prase, who was a Quartz solider and well acquainted to such training drills. Part of it came from Pearl, who despite her relative slowness, still had a pearl's agility. And part of it came from Aqua Aura herself, who found it all seemed rather small for her.
She stepped over the obstacles in a single jump. She didn't both going under the ropes, but went through them. The deep mud pit barely came up to her knees.
She probably could have destroyed each target with a single punch, but the Amethyst guard pointed to a weapons display, and Aqua Aura felt it was best to oblige. These weapons, at least, weren't small. These were the massive, hulking weapons designed for fusions.
Like me, Aqua Aura Quartz thought with a shiver.
But none of the weapons seemed right. They were the wrong colour, for starters— which maybe was a bit superficial, Aqua thought, but nonetheless. They came in red for carnelians and rubies, purples for amethysts, greens for chryophrases and prases, yellows for citrines. There were even blues, but those were for agates, and that colour was too deep, too solid, to match Aqua Aura's shimmering skin.
And they were still small. Not ridiculously tiny, but just… a little awkward to hold. Aqua's hand was just differently shaped, a little too long and a little too slender.
And none of them felt right, either. Aqua Aura stared at the array of swords, whips, spears, maces, and not a single one felt attractive. Eventually she settled on a battle axe, since that was what Prase always favoured in battle. Aqua Aura knew how to use it, but she didn't feel comfortable about it.
But comfort or not, that didn't stop her completely demolishing every single target in instants.
With her back pair of eyes, she saw Morganite smile in satisfaction— and even the Amethyst looked impressed.
oOo
Aqua Aura Quartz found that she actually really enjoyed running the obstacle courses. Really liked it.
She spent the rest of her time— fused or separated— stuck in the plain white room. The courses they set up for her— each more complicated and difficult than the last— were new, exciting, challenging. She relished them, relished the chance to run, to take pride in her new body, to push it to the limits, to feel strengths she never had before.
The fifth 'test run' Morganite arranged for her was truly designed to push those strengths. It wasn't just static dummies she was up again— but an entire pontoon of living armour, armed with swords, powered by the shards of elite warriors. Aqua Aura's fingers gripped the handle of her axe in anticipation— and at Morganite's signal, she ran in.
It was wonderful. Combat flowing like dance, dance with the confidence of combat— just her, all of her, against the empty armour—
— and then suddenly, the armour was gone. Standing in its place was a Gem.
Not any Gem- a fusion. Someone tall, towering, as large as Aqua Aura Quartz. Someone with two gems, and huge white hair, and pink skin and four eyes. One set of those eyes were grim, the others were glittering. There was a smile on her lips, and a massive pink sword in hand.
Rainbow Quartz lunged at Aqua Aura Quartz, and—
— Pearl fell to the ground, scuttling away. Rainbow Quartz was gone. It was just the empty armour, still with a sword, still coming at her.
Pearl looked around in a panic. She couldn't fight, she couldn't fight, not alone—
There was Prase, but she certainly wasn't fighting. She wasn't even moving. She was on her knees, face hidden by her hair.
"Prase," Pearl called, "Prase! Help!"
But Prase didn't even look up.
The armour was advancing, its sword flashing. Pearl caught sight of Aqua's axe lying on the ground, and ran to pick it up. Her hands shook. It was heavy. So much heavier than it had been fused. But still she picked it up and blocked the armour's sword thrust— and the next one, and the next one— even against the axe, the impact from each blow hurt—
The armour kept coming, unstoppable, implacable, relentless— the sword swings were coming faster now, faster and faster, Pearl couldn't keep up—
"Stop!"
At the Amethyst's shouted order, the armour froze in place. All of them, from the one which had been attacking her, to the twisting, crumbled suits that Aqua Aura Quartz had left broken and defeated on the ground.
Morganite strode forward. "What in the stars was that?" she yelled. "That was disgraceful! That was embarrassing."
Prase was silent. Pearl was too. She didn't have anything to say.
"Next Cycle we are being observed by Painite. Painite! Yellow Diamond's general! She needs to see results, she does need to see some fusion that falls apart and some whimpering Quartz who forgets how to fight! Get your act together!"
oOo
Back in the white room. Prase walked forward as though in a daze, not looking at anything, and crosslegged on the floor. Pearl stood next to where the door had been, and tried to figure out what to do next.
"What was that?" Pearl said.
Prase didn't react.
"What was that?" Pearl repeated. "That thing I— we saw. The armour— it changed— and there was—"
Rainbow Quartz, and smoke, and the clash of weapons in the distance, and screaming, and—
— and Prase didn't answer.
Pearl advanced. She was seized with the urge to just— shake Prase. Shake her and shake her until she would look, would answer.
She couldn't, of course. A Pearl could never show such disrespect to a Quartz, it would be unthinkable?
What did it matter? They'd touched so many times, they'd shared minds, what did any of that even matter? Especially now? Prase couldn't just block her out. They were in this together, whether they like this or not, and if they didn't figure this out—
"If we don't figure this out, we'll die!"
The words echoed around the room. "We'll die," she said, and her eyes were burning. "I'll die— and, and I don't want to. And you'll die, and— and please, that's even worse. So tell me what that was, tell me what happened—"
Slowly, Prase turned to her. Her face was crumpled, her eyes bloodshot. Something inside Pearl clenched at the sight.
"Earth is like no where else" Prase said. She tried to force her face into something like its usual calm, and failed. "It's… like nothing else. Gem against Gem, fighting everywhere…" Prase paused, and Pearl waited for her to continue. "The Crystal Gems— that's what the rebels call themselves— had just taken the planet's primary kindergarten, all prime quartz veins. My squadron was sent in to retake it.
"It was going so well. We were gaining ground, defending our territory. Then there was Rainbow Quartz. She was so fast. She took out three prases with a single move. She took out all thirty of us."
Pearl stared. She didn't know much of war, but she knew enough to know that was impressive. A single Gem, taking out thirty others?
But not single— Rainbow Quartz was a fusion. And Pearl was intimately aware of a fusion's power.
"I was the only one recovered from that mission," said Prase. "I regenerated inside a bush— that's kind of organic growth. The Crystal Gems must not have been able to find my gem, because they took everyone else in my squadron."
"What… what did they do to them?"
"I don't know," said Prase, shaking her head. "No one does. They claim to never shatter Gems, but no one has found where they keep the prisoners. Maybe they Harvest them."
Pearl shivered a little. But then she thought— was that so horrible? She'd been more than willing to be Harvested herself, not so long ago.
"I wish they'd taken me too," said Prase. "Instead, I'm a disgrace. A failure. No use except as an experiment. I'll never see them again, never even knew what happened to them…"
And Prase started to cry.
Pearl reached out and gently wiped the tears away. "I'm a failure too," she said. "A failure as a Pearl. But I think… I think as Aqua Aura, I'm not. We're not. I think we can become something better.
"And I think," she continued. "That we're intended to be a weapon. And if that's true, we'll be sent to Earth. And if we are, I promise that I'll help you find out what happened to your squadron."
oOo
Next Cycle, Aqua Aura Quartz ran an obstacle course before Painite, second-in-command of all of Homeworld's armies and Yellow Diamond's right-hand Gem.
And she performed perfectly.
oOo
They didn't return to the white room.
Instead, once they defused, Pearl and Prase were lead to a warp pad. Then another warp pad, then to a Galaxy Warp. After that, a long space shuttle flight, then another warp pad, and finally, one last jaunt in a spaceship.
They were sat in the cabin. They had a beautiful view of a tiny blue and green planet silently spinning in the darkness. Earth.
oOo
Aqua Aura's first battle was all glorious, glorious chaos.
They snuck her in behind enemy lines. The Crystal Gems didn't even notice her. She blended in perfectly among their ranks— Gems of all models walking together, with no official order or squadrons, regular Gems standing quite comfortably next to towering fusions. It was strange and otherworldly, and Aqua found herself almost forgetting herself, until the battle horn sounded in the distance, and a wave of rubies came roaring over the hill. As the rebels rushed to defend themselves, Aqua Aura struck.
They didn't see her coming. It was comically easily to destroy their bodies, her axe cutting them in two. In all the confusion, it took them a while to realize who was doing it— and then up came the screams of "Traitor!" and "The blue fusion's not ours! SHE'S NOT OURS!"
And they fought back, but they were so small, Aqua could practically dance around them before kicking them in the face and it was just—
— exhilarating.
The Crystal Gems were forced to retreat. Another horn sounded, and the rubies were called back. Aqua Aura Quartz went with them. She was met by Morganite, and a whole group of Quartz Generals, who stared at her in undisguised awe.
Awe. And disgust. And horror.
Prase and Pearl were ordered apart immediately.
oOo
They didn't have to remain separate for long, thankfully. Though their supervisors feared their power, they desired it too, and were anxious for more weapons. They sent them off to a planet's nearby moon, and given a briefing. Their assignment now would be to train new hybrid fusions.
They were let into another white room, one much like the one so many galaxies away, only a good ten times larger. In it were three pairs of mismatched Gems. A Coral and a Quartz, an Ulexite and a Ruby, and a Bismuth with a Nephrite. They all wore weary, nervous expressions. When they were told what they must do, Pearl saw the same fear and disbelief she'd once felt reflected in them.
"It's okay," Pearl tried to tell them. "This is how you do it…"
She took Prase by the hand. The Quartz spun her easily, picked her up, and the world turned to light as Aqua Aura reformed.
The assembled Gems did not look relieved. If anything, they looked even more nervous.
Eventually, they all worked up the courage to touch their partners. To walk through the steps. To hold each others' hands and spin and be lifted up, but…
Nothing happened.
Aqua Aura thought she knew why. The dancing, after all, was only part of it.
oOo
When Aqua Aura Quartz wasn't training would-be fusions, she was fighting. That went much better. In battle, she was free. In battle, all the insecurities, the fears, the uncertainties, fell away.
When she wasn't training or fighting, Aqua Aura didn't exist at all.
When they were alone and separate, those insecurities, fears and uncertainties were impossible for Pearl and Prase to ignore. They spent their separations in constant anticipation of the time when they'd be allowed to fuse again.
oOo
After twenty one trials, Bismuth and Nephrite managed to fuse. Their dance was stiff; the flash of pink and green light brief; and when they appeared, they were only around long enough for those around them to catch brief sight of a figure with four arms, before they broke apart again.
Still, the trial was considered a success.
oOo
In combat Aqua Aura lost the element of surprise quickly. Soon all the Crystal Gems knew Homeworld had a fusion of their own, and attacked her on sight. For a while, it didn't seem to matter. Aqua Aura Quartz got by on power alone. Her combined strength, speed and sight meant she was virtually unmatched on the battlefield.
Then the Crystal Gems sent in a power house of their own.
Blue and pink outfit. Purple hair. Three narrowed eyed.
Another fusion, thought Pearl.
The first fusion, thought Prase.
"We don't need to fight," said Garnet.
Aqua Aura said nothing. Instead, she raised her battle axe and charged.
Garnet's hands glowed, and gauntlets flew up to block the axe. Then Garnet gripped Aqua around the risk, wrenched her forward, spun her, and sent her flying.
Aqua landed on the ground fifty feet away. She forced herself back up. As soon as she found her axe, she retaliated— or tried to. The other fusion matched every blow. Garnet was smaller, but faster, and somehow seemed to always know where Aqua was going to be. Again and again Aqua tried to land a blow, again and again Garnet dodged and blocked. But never once did Garnet truly strike back.
"We don't need to fight," Garnet said again, when she managed to pin Aqua down.
"Why?" cried Aqua, her voice— voices— trembling. "Just because we're both fusions?"
"Because Homeworld doesn't care about you," said Garnet. "Because you're just a tool to them, and as soon you've served your purpose, they'll separate and shatter you!"
Aqua screamed and threw Garnet off. She rounded back on the other fusion, eyes blazing, axe raised. Garnet didn't flinch or back-away. She just stared back evenly. She didn't look frightened, or angry, or even pleading. She just looked sorry.
Aqua Aura Quartz hesitated.
Pain.
It seared through her wrists, up her arms, through her whole body. The bracelets—the restraints— had activated. They burned. Aqua clawed at them, trying to get them off, but they held fast, and already her body was breaking down, her hands insubstantial—
Aqua screamed, and Pearl screamed, and Prase screamed.
When finally they stopped screaming and the pain was gone, so was Garnet. But Painite was there, staring down at Pearl and Prase's prone bodies, contempt on her face.
"You fight for us," Painite said. "Don't ever forget that."
oOo
Pearl and Prase were punished with forced isolation— but there were trials to be held, so that lasted only a single Cycle.
Aqua stood in the centre of the white experimentation chamber, watching the test subjects with all fours of her eyes as they danced around her. 'Successes' were becoming more common now— but still, the fusions produced were all unsteady, fitful beings who rarely lasted for more than a few moments.
They need to talk to each other, Aqua thought.
We could tell them that. Help them.
Would Morganite and Painite allow it
I think so. They're desperate enough.
But even if we told them to talk, would they listen?
Aqua observed the way the Bismuth scowled and the Nephrite stared at her feet. How the Ulexite sneered, how the Quartz glared, how the Coral flinched and the Ruby fumed. These were Gems terrified of this, terrified of each other. Aqua thought, Probably not.
These would-be fusions had to work, or else the test subjects would be punished for their failure.
Aqua Aura traced one of the shock-bracelets on her wrists, remembering the sorrow in Garnet's eyes. She thought, But what awaits them if they succeed?
Punishment awaited them either way. Unless, somehow, Aqua realized, the whole project was written off as impractical or impossible. These others Gems couldn't be punished for not reaching her standards if she herself was declared a failure.
And Aqua knew what she had to do.
oOo
Again Aqua Aura Quartz was deployed into battle, but this time she did not fight. Instead, she ran.
She ran and ran and ran, fast as he could, jumping over the heads of soldiers and rebels alike. Her body thrummed with fear and desperation. All she knew was she had to get away, get as far away as possible, before they noticed, before they—
Pain.
It seared through her wrists, up her arms, through her whole body. She hadn't been fast enough. Aqua screamed, fell to her knees. The pain was pulling apart—she couldn't stop it— she'd be shattered, they'd be shattered, Pearl and Prase both—
No, Aqua thought.
And suddenly the pain was gone.
Aqua Aura opened her eyes. Forced them to focus on her wrists. The restrains were gone. She looked around and found them on the ground. They were laying there, not broken, but as if they'd somehow just— fallen off.
How?
Aqua's back eyes widened. Behind her a Homeworld archer loosed an arrow— it was flying right at her. She threw herself to the ground—
— and through it.
Aqua sank through grass and dirt and earth as if it was as insubstantial as water. No— the ground as solid as ever. But she wasn't.
I can't do this! thought Pearl
I can't do this! thought Prase.
But I can, thought Aqua Aura Quartz.
oOo
Intangible and untouchable, Aqua swam through the earth and away from the battle. Occasionally she'd poke her head out, just to see where she was. Far from the battlefield now, or from any Homeworld base, it was all untamed Terran wilderness. Instead of organised troops and graceful buildings there were strange Earth things, plants and animals and phenomenons that she only had vague memories of from Prase.
Even this far out, she still managed to find Gems. Crystal Gems. This particular band was a group of six- although perhaps technically more, since there were two fusions among them. The non-fused Gems didn't seem to care. Together they made there way through the forest with purpose, somehow not getting lost among the thick sea of a thousand identical trees. Aqua followed them, careful not to be seen. They were the only guidance she had left.
The trees grew thicker and thicker, and just when it seemed they couldn't become any more densely packed, they reached the forest's edge. They were in a valley rimmed by tall grey valley's edge were surrounded by thick brambles, which ringed a circular wall carved from grey stone. It was the only actual sign of civilisation Aqua had seen since defecting. The Crystal Gems entered through an archway, one large enough to allow even the Ocean Jasper through. It was not, however, big enough for the fusions. One fusion simply broke apart, her components walking through, hand-in-hand. The other didn't bother and instead crouched down low to crawl through.
Aqua phased through, instead.
She'd been expecting a standard military base, with maps and training facilities and briefing areas. What she found instead was… more plants. Not the big trees out in the forest, but little bushes, blooming with pink flowers. Gems lounged around them casually. There were statues, everywhere, too. The largest statue stood in the centre of a fountain, flowing with water that seemed oddly pink. Gems bathed in it— and when they did, bruises faded, scratches disappeared, and even cracked Gems healed.
Rose Quartz can heal? Pearl thought.
I'd heard rumours…, thought Prase, and Aqua shook her head.
Hiding under the ground and risking glances by sneaking out of statues, Aqua explored the base, feeling more lost than ever. Finally, she found something that pinged her interest. An actual building, with an actual roof, with an actual closed door. This area, at least, wasn't public. Something important had to be inside.
And that something turned out to be: gems.
Dozens upon dozens of them, hanging in bubbles. Aqua phased up through the floor, her eyes widened in disbelief. The bubbles game in a myriad of colours, disguising the identity of the Gems inside— but she recognised rubies, and jaspers, and carnelians, and—
— and prases.
With a flash of light, Aqua fell apart. Prase surged forward while Pearl hung back. Aqua stared up at the prases, all surrounded by bubbles of the same shimmering, rainbow pink. "My squadron," Prase said. "All twenty-nine of them. They're alive…"
"What have they done to them?" Pearl wondered. "Are they being Harvested?"
"I… don't know."
The stood side by side, wondering what they should do. Should they pop them?
And voice behind them said, "I thought you might come."
The two jumped and spun around, reaching out for each other. In the doorway stood Garnet. She didn't look at all alarmed. Her gauntlets weren't even out. She stepped in, and two Gems followed— a Pearl and Rose Quartz.
"Don't worry," said Rose Quartz. "We're not going to harm you."
"Unless we must," said the Pearl. She had her spear out, and suspicion was plain on her face.
Pearl gaped, thinking of the videos she'd seen, thinking of Prase's terrible memory. These were the Gems who terrified Homeworld so much, who they'd tried to create Aqua Aura Quartz in the image of. "You're— you're Rainbow Quartz!"
The rebels exchanged looks. "Sometimes," Rose Quartz agreed.
Prase's grip on Pearl's hand tightened. Pearl squeezed back in silent support. "What are you doing with these Gems?" Prase demanded.
"Holding them in stasis," said Garnet.
"We hope that we'll be able to let all of them out one day," said Rose Quartz. "When it's safe to do so, and we can share our beliefs.
Pearl and Prase huddled a little closer. Pearl asked, "And what exactly would those be?"
And Garnet said, "Above all else: love."
Neither Prase nor Pearl were entirely sure what the word meant, but they found they were rather interested in finding out.
oOoOo
Author's Note: So, the reason its been over a week since the last update: because I was working on this mammoth of a chapter.
It was not supposed to get this long. I had the idea for writing something about a Homeworld Pearl hybrid fusion months ago, but when I started it, it kept getting longer and longer. Partly this was because of my various headcanons about Homeworld's thought processes leading up to the forced-fusion experiments, partly it was just because fusions are relationships, and relationships need development. So, yeah, this one took over two months to write. It was exhausting, but hopefully worth it.