Author's note: I have uploaded two chapters at the same time. In case you missed the previous chapter, "The Bright Side of Fusion", check it out. You'll need to for this chapter to make sense.

The Dark Side of Fusion

"Oo, make Ice Opal again!" Steven said to the Fire Opal fusion before him.

The fusion was like a stronger and altogether wilder version of Opal. She had Opal's face with a shorter nose and two more eyes above her original set. Her body had a rather muscular build, her skin a bright yellow with a few cloudy, dark red spots covering her. Her creamy hair now had a tint of orange to it and was much wilder. She held her weapon, a bow and arrow with a small gauntlet replacing the arrow's tip.

The fusion gave a chuckle before a flash of fire came, the fusion disappearing, leaving Opal and Ruby in her place.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Opal told him.

"Aw, but Connie and Pee Dee get to have a fusion filled day. Why can't I?" Steven asked.

"Sorry, but duty calls. I have to go see if I can find that corrupted gem I sensed in the rainforest" Opal told him. "I swear, the bigger they are, the easier they disappear." She muttered to herself, walking to the house. "Don't worry though, I'll be back before you know it." She said before closing the door. A few seconds later, the ringing of the warp pad came.

Steven sighed. "Great, now who am I gonna see become an awesome fusion." It took a moment, but a bell went off in Steven's head. "Wait a minute! Ruby! Sapphire!" He called.

"Yes Steven?" Sapphire responded.

"I haven't seen what you two make!" He said.

Ruby froze, an almost pained expression on her face. "Ooo, Steven…I don't know if that's such a good idea." She said. "Garnet's pretty…unstable."

Stars appeared in Steven's eyes. "Her name's Garnet? What's she like?!"

Ruby scratched the back of her head. "Well…she's strong, she's tall, she has fire and ice powers," Ruby chuckled. "I guess you could say she's a pretty hot gal and an all around cool gem to be around." Ruby sighed, face palming. "I can't believe I just said that."

"Wow, can I meet her?!" Steven asked.

"Steven…you're really killing me here. Normally I'm all for doing stupid ideas, but…this is different."

Steven gave a disappointed frown. "Oh…"

Sapphire looked at Steven's expression and felt her chest ache a little. "Hey Steven, it's okay." She said. "You just have to understand."

"Thank you Sapphire." Ruby said.

"Ruby just can't handle it."

Ruby nodded. "Exactly…Wait, what?!"

Sapphire looked at Ruby. "Well, it's true. I don't have a problem with it and you're the only one with a problem with it."

"Sapphire, it's Garnet." Ruby said through clenched teeth.

"Hey, you can't take it. No shame in it. I understand." Sapphire responded.

Ruby gave Sapphire the most anger filled expression she could muster. "I can totally handle it!"

"Please, you couldn't stay fused with me for an hour." Sapphire taunted.

If Ruby had blood, it would literally be boiling right then. "I could stay fused with you for a whole day if I wanted to!"

Sapphire cracked a mischievous grin that she hid from the two. "Is that a challenge?"

"No!...Yes!...Maybe!"

Sapphire walked up to the red gem. "Alright then, twenty four hours, one day and one night, that's how long you have to stay fused with me."

Ruby growled. "Deal!"

Ruby snatched Sapphire's hand in hers, pulling her close. Steven watched as the two danced, amazed by their movements. Sapphire's movements were so smooth and precise, calculated and performed perfectly. Ruby's movements were aggressive and powerful, seemingly improvised yet perfectly in synch with her partner. It was as if the very essences of fire and ice were joining in an age old dance that neither had forgotten.

As their bodies began to glow, Ruby gave Sapphire a little twirl before pulling her towards her again, only this time, Sapphire's body joined with Ruby's, the two glowing bright as their bodies twisted and merged. Then, something different happened that hadn't occurred when Opal had fused with Ruby or Sapphire. Instead of becoming one form, Ruby's light became fire and Sapphire's became ice, the two bodies coiling around each other quickly. Then, the bodies came apart for a second before crashing into each other and becoming one, a large cloud of steam bursting from where they were.

Steven blinked as he stared through the clearing cloud, eyes widening as a small light emitted from the area and he could finally make out the fusion.

Steven couldn't help but think that she was one of the most amazing gems he had ever seen. The fusion's face was a cerise color, full lips about her. She wore a bodysuit of sorts with round shoulder pads. Her clothing was rather divided color wise. The right half of her was composed of cooler colors, covered in a deep blue-violet stocking. Even her right arm was a cooler version of her cerise face. Her left half was composed of warmer colors, covered in a deep orchid stocking, the left arm a warmer version as well. Even her cube shaped afro was divided, the right a dark, almost black navy blue, the left a deep, dark eggplant color. In the center of her chest was a pink star, a smaller, maroon star within it. Covering her eyes were triangular, soft pink and pale blue shades. Also, shining on the back and in the palm of her right hand were two garnet gemstones.

"Wow." Was all Steven could manage as he beheld the fusion before him.

The fusion smiled and crouched down to his level. "Hello there Steven, my name is Garnet."

"Nice to meet you Garnet." Steven smiled. "You're so cool!" He exclaimed.

Garnet's expression remained unchanged. "Thank you."

"Wait, so…can you remember me?" Steven asked.

The fusion chuckled. "You mean, do I remember the person who once tried to eat an entire thing of pizza in one sitting?"

Steven laughed at the memory. "I guess that answers that question?" Steven then gave her a thoughtful expression. "Wait, so you're going to stay like that all day?"

"I guess so."

A wide grin grew across Steven's face. "Does that mean you'll hang out with me all day?."

"…I guess so." Garnet answered, amused by Steven's enthusiasm.

"So…what do have for a weapon?" Steven asked excitedly.

"I'll show you." With those words, Garnet's fists began to glow and given off an aura, the right an icy blue, the left a hot orange. Then, two large gauntlets appeared over them. The right, of course, was a dark blue, while the left was a dark red, each holding a reddish-violet star on their backs.

"Wow, those are so awesome." Steven exclaimed with stars in his eyes.

"You think that's cool?" Garnet pointed her gauntlets at two different fallen pieces of the temple. "Then watch this." Then, her right gauntlet began to freeze over, covering itself in ice, while her left gauntlet lit on fire. Garnet let out an excited battle cry before shooting her weapons at the pieces of rock, a little sand around her. When the weapons collided with their targets, Garnet gave a confident smirk

The icy gauntlet had completely frozen it's target, the rock shattering soon after. The flaming gauntlet had simply demolished it's target, the sand around it having turned to glass.

"Was that awesome or what?" Garnet asked, turning, only to find Steven rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't really see that, some of the sand got in my eyes. Can we do a take two?"

Garnet grumbled to herself a little as she followed Steven around town. She couldn't believe she messed that first one up for him. Thankfully, he could see the second performance, but it wasn't as spectacular as the first.

"And this is where you can get the best doughnuts in town." Steven said, showing Garnet the Big Doughnut.

For awhile now, despite her insistence that she already knew, Steven had been showing the fusion all of his favorite places. He had decided that she was his guest and a new friend, so like all new friends, he wanted to show her a good time.

"And this is the arcade, it has all sorts of games that you can have fun with." Steven said, grabbing her hand and pulling her in the direction of a few of the games. "You might like this one, Teens of Rage. Ruby always likes to play it. See, she even has the high score."

Garnet stared for a moment. "What do I do?"

"Ah, come on, you remember. All you have to do is punch and you'll be fine."

Garnet stared at the screen for a moment. Then, without any warning, she reared her fist back and punched through the glass screen.

Steven just stared at it for a moment. "There goes Ruby's high score."

"I win." Garnet said.

"No…you broke it."

Garnet's expression faltered for a second. "O- Oh…"

"Hey, it's fine." Steven said, leading her to a different game. "This is Punch Buddy, a game where the goal is to actually punch it. Go on, give it a go."

Garnet looked a little uncertain but eventually decided to do it, hitting it. The human breaking off, flying away.

"…Oops."

"Um…let's go do something else." Steven said.

"Wow Garnet, you're doing great!" Steven exclaimed.

The two had come back home, Steven deciding that it might be best to see what she liked away from things she could break. Right now, Steven was watching Garnet play one of the games he had that didn't involve hitting of some kind, so as not to confuse her. Surprisingly, she was preforming very well. In fact, Steven had never seen someone play as well as she did.

Garnet held a determined expression as she played on, pressing the buttons rapidly. She was going against the final boss. She was doing so well, she hadn't even taken any damage.

"Whoo hoo! Go Garnet." Steven exclaimed.

Garnet smiled, pressing the buttons even faster. Just when she was about to win though, she broke the controller with her thumb.

The two only watched as the final boss destroyed Garnet's ship, "Game Over" appearing JK bright red letters.

Steven looked from the screen to Garnet, seeing her with a troubled expression. "Hey, it's okay. I needed to get a new controller anyway."

Garnet stood up. "Excuse me, I need to go…get some fresh air."

As she was going down, the door slammed open, Ponnie running in.

"Hey Steven, hey mysterious stranger, I'm just here to get something!" They called, running past, only to stop after a few steps. They turned around see the other fusion. "Well hello there, who might you be?"

Garnet held her right hand up. "Hi, I'm Garnet."

Ponnie's eyes lit up at the sight of the garnet gemstone embedded in her palm. "Oh my gosh. You're a fusion."

"Yep."

Ponnie stared at Garnet for a moment, each silent. Suddenly, Ponnie shook their head. "Sorry, I better get my thing." They said, running into Connie's room. After a few seconds, the ran out, heading out the door without another word.

Garnet looked at the door for a second before walking out, shutting it behind her.

Steven lied in his bed, looking at the ceiling. Waiting for the fusion to come back inside. She sure

This wasn't what he had thought it was going to be. He had wanted to show his new pal all of the cool stuff he liked, but she just kept…breaking things. It wasn't bad really, he wasn't mad either, he just wished he could find something that she would enjoy that wasn't so…easy for her to destroy.

"Maybe we should go to a gem place." Steven thought aloud. "Garnet likes hitting things. We could always go to that weapons place… I don't know."

A loud bang came from outside, Steven bolting upright.

"What was that?"

Steven jumped up, rushing to the door. As he was reaching for the handle, he heard muttering outside.

Steven pulled his hand away. "Huh?" Steven listened for a moment.

"This is all your fault!" He heard someone shout.

"What?"

Steven pressed his ear against the door.

"This was supposed to be a great day for him and you blew it! Now what if he thinks that fusion isn't good?! What if all he thinks about when he sees fusion is you?!"

Steven's eyes widened. "Garnet?"

Steven heard another bang, flinching back. After a moment of silence, Steven worked up the courage to return to the door, this time cracking it open quietly. Only, when he did, he was stunned.

Garnet was against the wall, covered in bruises and scratches. Her left hand had its flaming gauntlet summoned, the fusion using her right hand to hold it back.

"Well, I'm going to do what I should have done a long time ago!" She cried, pushing even harder with her flaming weapon.

Garnet let out a cry as her right hand was burned by the flames, but still didn't stop holding herself back.

"I'm going to crack you like they cracked her!" Garnet cried. She pulled her left hand from her right's grip. She raised her gauntlet over her head, the fire growing larger.

"Stop!" Steven called, slamming the door open.

"S- Steven." Garnet said, the flames on her gauntlet extinguishing.

"What are you doing?!" He asked, running over to her.

"Steven. I- I can explain-" Garnet's expression hardened, the gem looking to the gem in her palm. "No! No more explanations! No more excuses! I'm tired of your running." The flames were rekindled and a mad grin appeared on the fusion's face. "Now I will show you just how she felt!" Garnet said, slamming her fist down.

"No!" Steven cried, grabbing her arm, holding it up.

Garnet growled. "Stay out of this!" She said, raising her arm up and throwing Steven away. She was about to continue her work, only for a cry of pain to stop her.

Steven crashed into the railing, falling to the ground and groaning in pain.

"Steven." Garnet said quietly.

Steven opened his eyes slowly, finding himself looking Garnet, the fusion staring back at him.

Garnet could see in his eyes a fear. A fear for her, a fear of her. All of her rage left in that instant, replaced by sorrow and regret. What was she doing? How could she do this? This…this wasn't right.

As Steven watched Garnet intently, he saw the fusion begin to glow, half blue and half red, before separating into the two gems he knew were in there.

"Steven!" They cried, running up to him.

"Are you okay?!" Sapphire asked, getting on her knees.

"We didn't hurt you, did we?!" Ruby followed.

Steven looked at them and smiled. "Ruby…Sapphire…" He jumped forward, pulling them into a hug. "You're okay!"

They smiled.

"That's right, and it's all because of you." Sapphire said.

The three separated.

"Steven, I'm so sorry." Sapphire apologized. "I should've known making Garnet was a bad idea."

"And I shouldn't have agreed to it." Ruby told him.

Steven smiled. "It's fine. I'm just glad you're okay."

Sapphire looked at Steven, finding his arm scraped. "Oh no, we better get that wrapped up."

"I'll go get the band aids!" Ruby said, running off.

"And don't forget the neosporin!" Sapphire called after her.

Steven smiled. They were back.

Ruby sat in her room. It was a red cave with a few magma pools here and there, yet it wasn't too hot, she did want Steven to be able to visit after all. She had her eyes closed, trying to think.

The sound of the door opening behind her made her open her eyes. In the doorway. She could see the ice blue room of the visitor, Sapphire. The blue gem, normally so stoic and emotionless, wore a worried, awkward expression.

"Hey." Sapphire said with wave.

"'Sup." Ruby responded.

Sapphire walked next to Ruby, plopping down next to her.

"Steven's finally asleep." Sapphire chuckled. "He's worried that he hurt Garnet's feelings."

Ruby gave a small laugh. "Please, she's too hardcore for that stuff."

There was a silence that followed, one that neither really knew where to begin to fill it.

"I'm sorry," Sapphire apologized. "…about…what I did…what I said...I shouldn't have pushed you to fuse with me…I'd just…really wanted Steven to meet her…"

Ruby stared at the blue gem before chuckling. "I understand… You wanted to show him Garnet…not the I Garnet remember being…but the Garnet you remember being. You wanted to show him who you'd once made."

Sapphire gave a sad sigh. "…I miss her… I miss her so much…"

Ruby turned away from the scene, closing her eyes and tightening her lips. "Why do you still care about me?"

"Hm?"

Ruby looked back to the blue gem. "Why do you care about me? All I've ever done is be mean to you, blame you! So why was it that when we were Garnet, all I could feel was love?! Why don't you hate me?!"

Sapphire thought for a moment. "…You hate me…because you have a reason to…I can't hate you for that."

Ruby smiled. "Well I guess something good came out of this. Because for some reason…I can't make myself hate you anymore."

"R- Really?"

Ruby nodded. "Yea…being mad won't change anything. Besides, it's about time I let it go…"