First, the fusion's arms and legs had landed, in an attempt to stop herself from crushing the gem standing underneath. This had sent the giant plumes of sand and dust into the air. But the force of her fall was too great, and her arms and legs couldn't support her weight and momentum. She fell down, collapsing onto the awaiting gem.
While the diamonds were apathetic to this development, the rest of the fusion was overcome with grief. Especially Steven and Amethyst, who had never experienced loss like in the war, the reason being they hadn't existed then. And while Pearl and Garnet were there in the war, and had grown somewhat accustomed to the loss and sacrifices that were inevitable in such circumstances, the loss of a comrade would always send a stab of pain through their gems. Time and numbers wouldn't dull the ache they would feel.
So, when the fusion landed, completely expecting to crush the fellow gem underneath her, surprise would have been an understatement to describe her emotion when a flash of light, for the third time in two days, filled the dust choked air.
She was totally, completely, utterly flabbergasted.
One more gem joined her forehead where Pearl's pearl lay. One more voice joined their shared mind space. Power and confidence thrummed through her being.
Peridot's natural affinity suddenly got a very large power boost.
Peridot was expecting the worst. She thought she would be shattered, crushed under the weight of the fusion. Her soul clinging to the shards of her gem, unable to form and unable to think.
Just before she got hit, she was bracing for impact, knowing that the sensation would be nothing like what she had ever felt before.
That much she was certain of.
However, this was not what she was expecting at all.
When a gem was being shattered, was it normal to feel your body stretch and your mind expand, and a giant well of power surge up within you? Was it normal to feel several presences surrounding and meld into one? Was it normal to open your eyes and see?
No, she thought not. Either shattering was nothing at all like she had expected, or this wasn't shattering.
Peridot sincerely hoped it was the latter.
She became aware of a cacophony of voices, but when she tried to reach up and cover her ears, she realised they were actually… in her… mind.
It was official. Peridot had officially shattered and gone insane.
'Peridot! You're alive! And you're fused with us! Man, I really thought you were gone, don't scare us like that Peridot!' said a voice that distinctly sounded like Steven.
Great, now she could hear Steven too. At least she wouldn't be lonely in... death? The afterlife?
'Nooo, you're not dead Peridot, you've just fused with us!' It looked like her subconscious, which strangely sounded like Steven, was trying to make her predicament less hopeless, by lying.
A jaded sigh filled her mind. 'This is becoming tiresome. Peridot, snap out of it. If you gems haven't noticed, White Diamond won't be blinded for long. We need to think of a strategy.' Yellow Diamond's voice was naturally commanding, even if her tone was disinterested and indifferent. Curiously, Peridot perked up at Yellow Diamond's voice.
Her thoughts were revealed when she said, 'Whoa, there's no way I'd have Yellow Diamond in my subconscious, this must be real. I'm really… truly… still alive? And I'm fused?! So that really was you, Steven? And…Yellow Diamond?! Hold up, why are Blue and Yellow Diamond fused with us in the first place?'
'For the record, you joined after us. But that's besides the point. We are fused because... because Rose Quartz was… sh-she was…' Blue Diamond's voice reduced in conviction and came to a shaky halt. Peridot was impatient.
'Because what? What did Rose Quartz do? Come ooon, someone tell me already!'
'Because Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond!' Yellow Diamond snapped, before continuing in a much more hushed and gentle tone, 'Blue, don't beat yourself up. Don't feel guilty that Pink decided to give up her identity and rebel against us as an amethyst. It wasn't your fault.'
'But Yellow, it is my fault. She didn't come to us with her problems. She clearly didn't think we would have listened. Maybe she was right. No, she was right. I remember now, she mentioned it, but we were too harsh, too quick to shut her down. To the point that she thought it was best to pretend to be shattered than talk to us. Oh Yellow, we are horrible leaders. We couldn't see when our own little gem was suffering. Why wouldn't she talk to us?' Blue Diamond's regret seeped into the minds of the other gems, the effect especially powerful now that they were fused. However, it seemed to calm and abate after a moment, likely due to Blue Diamond's realisation of her power usage.
'I think I can answer that,' said Pearl, her voice a thoughtful murmur, 'While I was not privy to all of Rose's reasons and thoughts, I think she felt that turning against you as Pink Diamond was too much of a betrayal. She wanted to leave a satisfactory image of herself, she didn't want to soil your perspective of her. Despite everything, she did care about you. It made rebelling all the more difficult, but she would not let go of her tenderness for you. Also, she used to be quite childish in her earlier millennia, she may have wanted a blank slate after that, and restart her reputation as a mature and reliable rebel. I…really can't believe I'm saying this, but like Yellow Diamond said, don't blame yourself. Rose always did what she wanted to. She may have taken others' words into consideration, but ultimately, she went after her own goals. It wasn't your fault, Blue Diamond.'
'Thank you, Pink's Pearl, you certainly have a refreshing outlook my own pearl lacks. I can see how Pink became so attached.' Blue Diamond had calmed down considerably.
'You're welcome, but I'm no one's pearl. I only belong to myself. My ownership ended when Pink Diamond decided to become Rose Quartz.'
'Very well, Pearl.'
There was silence; a peaceful, companionable silence found when one had found common ground, a rare reprieve in such an unbalanced fusion, with such different views and opinions. But this was interrupted by a shocked Peridot.
'Oh. My. Stars. Rose Quartz, the fearsome leader of the rebels…was actually…Pink Diamond?! How is this possible?! WHY IS NO ONE SURPRISED?! BECAUSE I AM. I AM ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED.' The rest of the fusion sighed wearily.
'We don't have much time. White Diamond is going to realise that we're still alive,' said Sapphire, her voice tinged with agitation.
'Really, I'm more surprised this cloud of dust and sand hadn't blown away during our conversation.' said Ruby, 'Man, that would be awkward. White Diamond just staring at us while we were having this internal discussion.'
The fusion looked around and noticed a twinkle of light in the corner of her eye.
She then promptly jumped five meters in the air when she realised it was a pair of very cold, harsh eyes.
White Diamond had been staring at her the entire time.
'Damn it Ruby, you jinxed it!' remarked Amethyst.
Once again, the fusion was caught in the snares of her enemy's eyes. She couldn't move.
The dust had settled somewhat, so that there was less thick layering at the top closer to the gems' eyes. This had permitted a certain level of visibility to the two, but completely obscured the lower section of each other. Now, enough had settled so that the lower sections were at least translucent. This allowed the fusion to see a very familiar, very dangerous light emanating from White Diamond's arm.
This time there was no Peridot to help since she was fused with the others. Lion couldn't either as he was far too exhausted. And unless Lapis suddenly came flying in out of nowhere, they were doomed.
There was no confounding variable this time.
Peridot had calmed down enough to respond to her surroundings.
'But seriously guys, this is so cool! I can't believe I'm fused, I never thought it was even possible for me to fuse! There was so much I couldn't do already and I thought this would be another one of those. Well, I'm really glad I got to experience this. It certainly is…an experience. I wonder if I can summon my own weapon. What would it be? Am I more powerful now that we've fu- wait. What. Is. That? Why is White Diamond pointing a shining arm at us?!'
'I was wondering when you would notice. We really should increase the amount of nutrients newer gems receive, they keep deteriorating in quality.' Yellow Diamond's unimpressed tone drew an indignant huff from the green gem, 'White Diamond's power is absolute. Blue's power and my power is nothing in comparison. There is one downside to her power; the amount of time it takes to 'charge', but her results are terrifyingly substantial. Due to the drawback, she rarely uses her power, but that makes her no less a formidable opponent. She has the power to shatter gems at will, as you likely experienced during the war. That is why we were surprised to learn that there were gems that were still alive and fighting. But now that we know Rose Quartz was in fact Pink Diamond, it certainly clears up much confusion.'
'Wait, but the remaining gems on earth that were hit by your attack, they weren't shattered…they were corrupted,' said Pearl.
'Corrupted? I don't think I know what you mean.' said Yellow Diamond.
'It's like their mind is gone.' said Sapphire, sadness and loss lacing her voice, 'They are a shell of their former selves. They can't revert to their original character, and even Steven's healing spit won't fix them. Or rather, it works a little for a while, but they go back to how they were. We lost many good friends in an instant that day. They weren't even shattered, just staying in that one state for so many millennia. We had to round them up and bubble them to keep the world and themselves safe.'
'Yeah, and when Jasper fused with one of them, she started to become one of them,' said Amethyst, her voice uncharacteristically somber, 'There was this gross…thing that grew from her arm. It was like a virus and it was taking over her body. Steven tried to heal her but she wouldn't listen. Then it was too late. She had lost her mind. She became corrupted. Peridot had to pop her with her powers and bubble her.'
Yellow Diamond hummed thoughtfully, 'Perhaps they became corrupted because it was a culmination of our powers. Truthfully, I have never heard of such a thing. Corruption. Sounds dreadful.'
'Wait! If you were the ones who made them like that, then you must be able to fix them! When this is all over, you have to try and heal them,' pleaded Steven hopefully.
'Perhaps. We shall certainly attempt it. I am curious as to the effects of this corruption you speak of. I promise I will look into it, if we survive. But, hold on, how did you defeat Jasper? Even in corrupted form, she must have been a formidable opponent. She was a perfect amethyst, made for war. She should have been incredibly difficult to defeat.' said Yellow Diamond.
'That was all me,' replied Peridot, her voice dripping with pride, 'You see, we were at the Beta kindergarten when we found Jasper. She had caged up all the corrupted gems in dug up exit holes; it was horrible. Amethyst took her on and lost badly, but then she fused with Steven to form Smoky Quartz and totally obliterated her. But then Jasper decided to fuse with a corrupted gem, which I think passed the corruption onto her and they unfused. Steven tried to heal her, but she wouldn't listen and she turned full on corrupted. Her last words were about her diamond, which, wow, was Steven all along. Oh, the irony. My metal powers saved us in the nick of time. I managed to propel a steel bar straight through her body.'
'Metal powers…?' asked Yellow Diamond, confused.
'I know, right? Isn't it amazing? I can control metal at will, quite easily I might add. That's how I saved Lion back then.' It was clear Peridot was preening at the attention, but she snapped out of it when an idea came to mind, 'Oh! Just because we can't move, doesn't mean we can't use our powers! What if the diamonds combined their powers to defeat White Diamond?'
There was a moment of silence. Then, as if a chord had been cut, the gems simultaneously started admonishing themselves for not thinking of this earlier. Well everyone except for Steven and Ruby.
'That's a great idea Peridot!' Steven said, his voice almost annoyingly optimistic.
'Yeah, I would have never thought of that!' said Ruby, happily oblivious.
The diamonds started building up their power. Because she was a fusion, the time needed was much shorter, and she managed to direct her green power to White Diamond.
Once again, the green crackle of lightning sped towards the white being in an almost elegant dance. White Diamond saw it coming, she stared at it as it flickered towards at her at an impossible to dodge speed. And it was.
White Diamond was hit directly, the light pushing her back. She squinted, and her spell broke.
The fusion could move again.
Suddenly, she felt a huge thrum of power from deep inside her. She could feel things far below her. Then a thought came to mind. Could it… could it be metal?
She experimentally raised her arm and pulled with all her strength. A resonant groan filled the air before a metal bar ripped out of the ground and flew high up into the sky, winking out of the atmosphere within seconds. White Diamond seemed to be as shocked as the fusion.
'Awesome…'
A/N: The reason I have a charging period for white's power is because it is seriously OP. I mean think of how Blue Diamond was able to overcome everyone with her emotions. That was only their emotions, and while White Diamond's powers, in this fan fiction, aren't exactly to do with shattering, it would be way too unfair if White Diamond completely obliterated them at the get-go. Besides, with great powers, come great drawbacks as well.
I actually love writing Peridot's parts; she's such a funny character and really helps lighten the mood. Are you happy she's alive and well, as well as a kickass addition to the fusion? I figured that since the newer gems received less nutrients, they were lacking somewhat in power in comparison to other, older gems. So, once she fused with the other gems, the amount of nutrients were no longer a problem and she had more power. Maybe that is why fusions are so powerful, the nutrients they have are used more efficiently due to the larger pool of nutrients available.
Well, this wasn't too much of a cliffhanger. And, I ended it on a hopeful note. Next chapter will be the last chapter, I think. As always, thanks for reading!