At that point, they had been fighting for an hour and were now sitting, looking up at the sky. Morganite had her rapiers drawn, even though they had momentarily stopped, and Jasper was just thinking, hardly out of breath.
The smaller one was still catching hers.
They glanced to one another.
"You've gotten a lot better since that green color came into your eyes."
"Oh, thanks. Yellow Diamond says I'm going to have more colors one day. After this one came in, I found I was able to summon my weapons."
Silence.
"She asked me to fuse with you."
If Morganite had been drinking something she would have spit it out. "I've never fused with anyone before."
"I know. It's something she wants you to learn to do."
"But how do you feel about that, Jasper? Do you want to fuse?"
"I don't want to fuse with anyone, but I'll do it because she asked me to."
Chubby pink lips folded inward. "You can choose what kind of dance we do. I'm only good at the waltz, but I'll try out whatever you want, if that would be easier."
"No, that's fine." Jasper got up. "Are you ready?"
"Um—okay." Morganite got up too. "Are we going to be huge?"
"Probably." The largest of the pair held out her hand for the smaller, and she accepted it. "I'll lead."
"That's fine with me." Morganite bowed low, bending her knees and Jasper did the same, but leaned over slightly. Then they came closer together, each with an arm extended, a small pink hand on Jasper's shoulder and an enormous tangerine hand on Morganite's waist.
They hadn't been this close before.
Those black and green eyes were having trouble seeing straight.
The two made a few steps together before Jasper turned her around and lifted her up, and when they joined hands again everything faded into a bright white light. The area where Jasper ended and Morganite began was nonexistent and they became one enormous entity, with four arms and four black and yellow eyes.
Agate stood up. And she towered over everything.
"This is incredible…"
Then she took one step forward and it happened.
Morganite saw Jasper standing in the center of a quiet battlefield, with weapons strewn everywhere and broken gems composing the dirt beneath her enormous, and yet, tiny feet. The Warrior Queen was screaming; her wild white hair clasped inside her hands because she was the last one left. The only sound was that of her voice, and past that was a vast nothing. The wind blew and Jasper wept.
The vision only lasted a few split seconds. Then Jasper and Morganite separated, with the mentor moving away from her student.
"Wait! What happened?!" Like a fool, Morganite followed.
"Who said you could read my memories?!" She sent her first into the crystalline bark of a tree and nearly felled the entire forest.
"Was that not supposed to happen?"
"Don't follow me!"
"Jasper, please tell me what I did wrong!"
"I told you not to follow me!"
"Jasper!" But Morganite continued, and five footsteps later, Jasper had her by the arm.
"Are you stupid?!" She was yelling right into her counterpart's face. "You want to know what you did wrong?!" The little, pink, heart-shaped gem's feet hovered about a foot above ground, and her arm from the wrist down was turning pressure white.
"Jasper—"
"I didn't give you permission to go digging through my mind! Just because we're fused together doesn't mean you can just—"
Morganite was dropped directly onto her knees. Her teacher was already walking away. Yet, she came to her feet again, clutching her arm. "I didn't do it on purpose! It just happened! And you want to know something else?! You suck, Jasper! I want a different instructor!"
But she just continued on, disappearing amongst the trees they had only just seen the tops of.
Morganite picked up a stone to throw, but dropped it when she realized who she was and who she wasn't. Then she headed back where they had come from and sat in the clearing, on fire with rage that didn't feel like her own.