Warning: Some language ahead. Not too much to warrant a T-rating, I believe, but just a warning!
Chapter Six
Underneath the orange skies of dawn, a great, big blob of white formed on the beach in a short distance from the Temple. Only the green and purple gems stood out, and the white mess spun in the air. Legs and arms stretched out, and a sea-green body landed on the ground, large silver hair with spiked edges snaking around her shoulders and waterfalling down her back.
She fell onto her butt, less than graceful. With a small grunt, she blinked four eyes as if processing what just happened. Very slowly, those eyes grazed over her new form. Then she smiled. Then she started laughing—though it was more of a cackle—throwing her head back.
"Well! It's about time," she said as she sobered up. She rose to her feet with an excited jump, stretching out her single pair of arms behind her head. "Man, you two are a piece of work. Whew!" Placing her arms to her sides, she took a good look around her, as if experiencing the scenery for the first time. In a way, she was. She looked down, and gawked. "Whoa, fuck, I'm tall! This is the best fusion ever!"
She swiveled her hips around, trying to observe her new body. Her new body, because she was here now. Here. Now. At last! As if now realizing this, she started laughing, even falling back onto her back. Her feet kicked in the air as she laughed. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it!"
Once she relaxed herself, the fusion rose to her feet. She knew there was a lot more to do and discover, but her gaze wandered to the ocean. Approaching it, she felt the water brushing against her boots. The sound of gentle waters met her ears.
At the moment, she just wanted to... feel.
Then... a gasp. She turned to the source.
Steven was running up to her, eyes practically singing with joy. "Oh my gooooosh!"
"Whoa, Steven!" As if his excitement was contagious, her face lit up. "Wassup?"
"You know me! So this means that... Peridot and Amethyst fused?"
She grinned. "The fusion of the two best gems ever, that's me. Nice to meet'cha! I'm..." She blinked a few times as something hit her, and a small blush rushed to her cheeks. She scratched her cheek. "Uhh, I haven't actually thought about the whole name thing yet. But whatever!" With a chuckle, she spread out her arms and performed a small twirl. "Check me out."
"I can't believe it!" Steven bounced between a different foot.
""What do you think?" she asked, flexing a muscle.
"You look amazing. I love it!"
"Me, too!" The fusion clenched her fists on either side of her face and knelt down to him. "Isn't it exciting?"
"Of course! Especially since Peridot and Amethyst have had talking about their feelings for—"
With a quick flinch, excitement fading, the fusion grabbed Steven in one arm, using the other to cover his mouth. Though he continued mumbling, his words were scarcely intelligible. She gave him an awkward chuckle. "Ahahah, you can shut up now. For your own good."
"Wh-what?" Steven asked, more lost than worried about that statement.
"I kid, I kid." She put him down, patting his head lightly. "So! What're you doing out here, anyway?"
"I got up for breakfast, and Amethyst wasn't there. She's usually in the kitchen to drink the rest of the syrup I don't use," Steven explained, breaking for a moment to laugh. "I asked Garnet where she was, and she took me here!"
Steven pointed to Garnet, who was standing behind him. The fusion blinked, only now noticing Garnet's presence, and let out a noise of surprise. "Oh, Garnet!" She glanced between the two of them, then bent her knees to meet Steven at eye level again. "What, were you two standing there, watching me?" A grin crossed her face.
"Just a bit," Garnet answered for him. Steven just laughed.
"Creeps," she muttered. Once straightening her posture, Garnet walked over to them. The fusion grinned while looking down at Garnet, who was about a head shorter than her. "Look at this, look at this!" She placed her palm atop her head, then waved it above Garnet's. Garnet just shook her head with a smile. "So, Garnet, how do I look?" She twirled her hips, striking a pose with her hands on her hips.
"Wonderful, but that's not what I'm concerned with." Garnet placed a hand below her chin.
The fusion pouted. "Is it the name? I just haven't bothered with thinking about it yet. Besides, I doubt you figured out your name the first time around," she defended herself.
"I didn't, but I meant to ask how you're feeling."
The fusion beamed, face lighting up. "I've never felt any better! I mean, yeah, I was just made, but I love this so much." While laughing again, she wrapped her arms around herself. Once she calmed down, she added, "It's kinda weird, too, since Peridot never fused before, so she's a bit confused. But she'll get the hang of it." She waved a dismissive hand.
"As long as they're both comfortable, as well as you." Garnet crossed her arms with a gentle smile.
"Yes, but isn't this amazing? I just... I'm speechless! I know I just came around and all that, but I couldn't be happier right now." The fusion rose onto her toes. Bending her stomach, she reached out and held Garnet's hands in hers, eyes almost dancing with delight. "Is this why you were talking to Peridot earlier? Did you know this?"
Garnet's toothy grin was enough of an answer, but the fusion blinked. Eyes glossed over, her attention faded. Ringing droned in her ears. "What were you talking about...?" she murmured, and as she tried to think over it, a small headache hit her upside the head. She cringed but thought nothing of it.
"Are you okay?" Steven piped up, eyebrows curved in concern.
"Awuh!" She blinked, focusing back on the two gems in front of them. "It's fine! It's fine!" she exclaimed in a flurry, but seeing the distress on Steven's face, she forced a sly smile on her face. "I'm cool."
When the fusion met gazes with Garnet, Garnet did not say anything. Just stared. She had just been made, and she was already frustrated with that. Dang shades!
She flinched when Garnet walked closer to her and held her hands. "Just be careful, right?"
The fusion, initially confused by those words, gave her a lopsided smirk. "Define careful," she snickered, then rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, I promise. But, uh, do you guys think I could have some time to myself?" She shrugged sheepishly. "Just to, like, get the hang of myself. Know what I mean?"
"Hmm, I get it." Garnet placed a hand on the fusion's shoulder. "Go have fun."
The fusion's face brightened up as she fervently nodded. With a twirl around, hair swishing, she ran off. Her long rush of hair flew in the air. Steven stood beside Garnet with a small look of disappointment as they watched her run from the beach.
"Aww, but I wanted to talk to her more."
"Give her a while," Garnet advised, patting the top of his head. "I'm sure she'll love to hang out with you."
"Mhhh, okay." Steven, though still with some remaining upset in his voice, nodded to himself.
"AaaaaaAPATITE! OH SHIT, WAIT!"
Garnet recoiled and put her hands over Steven's ears. The fusion stampeded toward them, sporting a gigantic grin.
"I got it now! Green Apatite! Just…" She stopped speaking for a second, noticing Garnet protecting Steven's ears and Steven's sheepish smile. She chuckled under her breath. "Just thought I should let you know. Now this time, I'm really going!"
Garnet sighed as Green Apatite ran once more back to the fields behind the beach.
Green Apatite ran through the fields, bearing no destination in mind nor even a particular direction to run. All she desired was running, and her senses ran wild with each new feeling that ran through her core. She slipped out of her ankle height, dark blue boots to feel the grass curling against her bare feet. Though she wasn't running fast, the wind still rushed against her body. Only once or twice did she feel a stab of pain in her head, but she brushed it aside, taking it as nothing more than being a new fusion.
She had no idea how long she was running, either, except noticing the sun rising and spreading warmth through her body. It was one of the clearer days around Beach City. It couldn't be any more perfect!
Once she started seeing less grass, did she realize how far she had gone. Though she cold see herself travelling far, since gems do not exhaust easily, she thought of Steven and the others. She could tell Steven was excited to see her and wanted to talk to her for hours.
With a quick turn around, she began her journey back.
It took some time before she could finally spot a sign of Beach City. But by then, she was panting quite a bit, feeling a hint of exhaustion. Though she wanted to see the others, coming back tired would just not do!
Not too far away from her was a large tree among others that stretched out much higher than her.
With a small jump, she grabbed a tree branch and swung back and forth a couple times, whooping to herself before finally flipping onto the branch that held onto her with just enough strength. She wasn't that tall, after all. She sat down, leaving her legs to dangle and swing as she took a moment to collect herself.
A bit farther away was the cliff that overlooked Beach City's ocean. The world turned bluer in the midst of her running. Clouds bloomed in the sky. She leaned her head against the base of the tree and wrapped her arms around herself.
Green Apatite cold not believe they had taken so long to fuse, even if it was an accident. The thoughts of fighting in battle, taking down enemies with a swift kick or a wrapping of the whip and celebrating a glorious victory. Homeworld wouldn't stand a chance.
A sliver spiked through her head, far worse than the last one. With a sucked in gasp, she clutched her head. "Argh! What the hell?!" she snarled. "Stars, are all first fusions like this? This blows!"
Her balance wavered, and she slipped from the branch. Green Apatite made a clumsy landing, gritting her teeth.
"This is supposed to be a good time, being me. Whatever's going up… up here, I guess," she mumbled, pointing at her head, "whatever, knock it off!"
Either not being listened to or outright ignored, another slash struck her head, burning hot red. She screamed out loud this time. "What's going on?! Please!"
Still lost as to what was the cause, she grunted. Her head was practically spinning now. Feeling lightheaded, she lurched forward, eyes shut. "Get your shit together!"
The ground underneath her vanished. Her head was now swimming and for a moment she thought she was falling into nothing. When her feet found the earth again, she straightened her posture. Her eyes grew. The scenery changed. No longer was she in the gorgeous green plains, but covered in darkness.
"Where… uh, this is… this is new," Green Apatite breathed out. "Getting a, eh, little weird here."
With nothing else to do, she tried walking around. As if a way out was within sight. Only one wasn't. Just emptiness. Which made her shiver, but also worried. She searched around as minutes rolled by for any sight of light, or any change of the sort. Nothing.
"What are you two doing?"
Colors blur through the darkness, and a rush of relief ran through her. Her pace quickened, but once the picture cleared up, she skidded to a stop. The area was dark and essentially lifeless. And it was cold, but she wondered if that was the reason as to why she was shivering.
"T-the kindergarten? But that's at such a far distance from where we were… how? Why am I here?" She glanced at the ground before her feet, then at the walls. The walls filled with holes. Gem shaped holes. Not too far away, she spotted a small one, far smaller than any of the others. It hit her. "Amethyst?"
An unsettling feeling brushed her teal skin, making her shake. She wrapped her arms around herself, but couldn't ignore the loneliness crashing through her head. This place was so painful to be around, but Green Apatite had no association with this place! What was she supposed to feel!?
"It's okay, it's okay," she muttered to herself, but she had no idea who she was telling this to. "There's nothing here. Besides, it's one of the best made kindergartens here, remember? So well kept and perfect minerals for gem making." An awkward chuckle, despite herself. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of. I can even take a look around, see if there's anything else around. I promise, though, everything's okay."
Though she didn't not buy her own words that much, she tried to walk forward. The unsettling air stayed, and Green Apatite tried hard to ignore the ominous feeling that created tsunamis in her stomach.
Another step in, something was beating and she stopped. No longer did the strikes of pain hit, but pain gradually erupted into her head. Green Apatite lost focus, eyesight blurry, and could only feel the pain in her head. Giving up on her travelling, she walked to the nearest rock wall and leaned against it. Her breathing grew heavy like lead.
"This is… this is fucked up! If this is one of those nightmares, waking up would be wonderful right now!" she sneered, but the pain did not lessen. Clutching her chest, Green Apatite fought against everything to keep her breathing under control. "Oh, stars, get it together." She turned around, clawing at the walls and scrunching her face. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."
She bent down onto her knees, but before she could shut her eyes, a shadow washed over her. Apatite's chest tightened, and she turned to the side. At the sight of her new guest, she recoiled in horror.
"Yellow Diamond?! Wh-what is she doing here?!" Green Apatite cried out.
Yellow Diamond was quiet, yet staring down at her. Green Apatite fought the tears in her eyes but lost.
"She's here, but… why? I-she-she's… WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Green Apatite shook her head. Two different thoughts raced through her head and they fell out of her mouth without her control. One was terrified, the other begged for answers but the first couldn't bring herself to say anything maybe she was too scared to but-
Yellow Diamond stepped forward. Green Apatite pressed her back further onto the wall, her whole body trembling.
"Don't… don't hurt any of them! Any of us!" She wished that she could shove her body into the wall, vanish from this place forever and hide away from what was staring right down at her. The tears freely flowed. "Oh, god, I can't beat her. I'm useless. I'm so useless and can't do a goddamn thing right! I'm sorry."
Then other voices flickered in the wind. Strangled noises that were likely voices but did not speak intelligible language. She caught some words, however, heard "wrong," "disturbing," "mess," and "parasites." They echoed among the walls.
The walls shook, rocks crumbling down overhead. Green Apatite shielded her head with her arms and ducked. She could hear the footsteps but wouldn't dare look up to see how close Yellow Diamond was. Her head felt heavy and sweat poured down her forehead, down her neck. Perspiration soaked her. Her chest tightened and gems didn't need to breathe, but at that moment, she felt like her breaths were gone. Like she was suffocating.
After what felt like eons, she was able to cry out through a croaky voice, "No… NO! PLEASE, DON'T!"
Everything vanished, faded into a lifeless void, then everything flashed a bright light.
Then Peridot felt the ground below her feet and opened her eyes. Tears burned her face. She wrapped herself into her arms, head bowed down and staring at the grass that brushed against her nose. Still, she shivered, the terror from the visions lingering.
She pulled her head up. They had returned to the field behind the beach. The sun was still rising. No kindergarten. No Yellow Diamond.
Her eyes wandered to her side, and a pang punched her stomach.
Amethyst was brushing her hair from her face, water at the edges of her eyes. Many expression rushed through her face. Confusion, concern, shock.
Then her eyes met Peridot's. Peridot was sure she shared the same horrified expression, but for different reasons. The tears continued falling in ugly bursts down her cheeks, the longer they stared. Peridot wondered what Amethyst's was thinking now, now that Peridot felt so exposed, but couldn't bring herself to ask.
"Are you guys okay?!"
Even worse, they weren't alone.
Steven rushed to their sides. Peridot recoiled, unable to utter a single word. "We could hear you guys from the Temple! Well, Green Apatite was screaming, and… when we found her, she was falling apart really slowly," Steven explained, worry aging his face. His shoulders shook. "It was terrifying."
Peridot doesn't respond. She glanced again at Amethyst, who was picking herself up. Garnet stood above her, arms crossed. Though Peridot couldn't catch Garnet's expression, she could tell it wasn't anything positive.
Amethyst, once on her feet, looked at Garnet, a heavy grimace on her face. "I know it looks bad, Garnet, but—"
"However you try to justify it, you two just weren't ready for this. I know she was excited, but now wasn't quite the time for her to arrive. I couldn't stop her, even though I wanted to, but for various reasons." Garnet's voice was stern and grave while she bore a glance down at Amethyst.
Amethyst, whose expression broke as Garnet spoke, bowed her head down. "I know."
"We-we-we didn't plan on fusing at all!" Peridot jumped up, sweating but somehow able to find her voice at last. Steven hopped away from her so she could approach Garnet. "It was an accident!"
Garnet was nodding, then opening her mouth to speak, but Steven interrupted her. "It's okay, Peridot. We understand. Some fusions can be tricky at times, that's all. We were just really worried!"
"It was an accident! A mistake! A stupid mistake!" At the edges of her eyes, tears surfaced.
Amethyst turned to her, her pupils small. "Peridot…" Her voice could not hide the hurt.
Peridot met her gaze and processed what she said, mentally cursing herself. Hurting Amethyst again, because of her dumb mouth! And this fusion thing lingered in her mind, and an awful feeling lurked in her stomach. Gems don't get sick normally, but she had a feeling she would somehow. Now the tears raced down her face, and no longer could she look at the three. She ran away.
"Peridot!" Garnet cried out.
Peridot didn't stop.
"W-wait!" Amethyst's cracked voice yelled out.
She ran after Peridot, leaving Steven and Garnet standing alone. Steven stepped forward, but Garnet placed a hand on his shoulder before he could run after them.
Steven's face had fallen when he looked up at her, eyes slightly damp. "Will they be okay?!"
Garnet sighed. "I hope so. But they need to go through this alone."
"They... probably have a lot to talk about." Steven thought over what Peridot had told him a few days ago, and figured that was just one thing of many that was bothering them. He rubbed his arm, head bowed.
Garnet shot a look over at where Peridot and then Amethyst ran off. She tried not to think of whatever possibilities could come from whatever they would do once they stopped running. "That, they do."