Chapter 2: Fusion
Their gemstone rose high off the ground before a light sprouted from it that soon broke off into three. Screams once more filled the silent air, but not to the same magnitude as before. What before was an endless series of cries, was now frequently cut off by each gem concentrating on their forms. Each light looked to be grasping at the air around them as if looking for something that might help them pull away from each other. As they did the outlines of their hair and clothing sprouted from their lights. But just before they could fully form there was another glitch. Their lights were once again forced back into one, canceling out all their hard work and leaving them in same form as their first attempt.
Their minds filled with panic, which reflected their movements and the distress they each yelled out. Each pairs of eyes frantically looked around while their limbs stumbled and tripped on each other, only for another limp to shoot out and adjust them back into a stable position. For awhile that was all they were able to do until they were not as lucky as they were with the other few stumbles. One hand tripped over a foot and their form slammed into the dirt. Their limbs flailed like someone being held under water before they dug into the ground. Slowly they lifted what could be called their head and all their eyes came together to look directly forward. In unison, all their eyes went wide and they scrambled to get back up in a quicker motion. When each limb had a firm grip on the ground they stood perfectly still. An unspoken idea seemingly being passed through their minds for each gem to hear. Then in an almost coordinated movement they slammed their body into one of the sharp rocks protruding from the jagged wall. Their form erupted into a cloud of smoke with only their gem remaining on the floor when it cleared.
It wasn't as much of a surprise as the first time when each gem opened their eyes to the white that surrounded them. They each looked down at their bodies and briefly dawned a look of disappointment at their still incomplete forms and shattered gems. But they quickly got over their sadness and moved closer to each other. Sunstone and Jade naturally moving more toward each other before getting closer to Agate.
Glaring at the two Agate made an attempt at the motion of folding her arms. Halfway through she glanced down in realization and quickly played it off by putting her hand on her hip.
"Well...that worked." Agate said in a ridiculing tone.
"Well it was our first try." Jade defended.
"Second try." Sunstone corrected.
Jade looked to Sunstone and, with a smirk, fisted her hand and pumped it.
"Then third time's the charm! Let's try again!"
Sunstone smiled back at Jade while Agate sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.
Their next several attempts were anything but successful. The first bunch left them with the same results as before, that they had to poof in the same way. After that their tries became even less victorious as they were unable to make it past their projected base form before they were forced back inside their gem. Finally, after the two-dozenth try, they made no further attempt at reforming. Instead, when they were back inside their gem, they non-verbally agreed to spend this interval of time in silence. Agate spent her time in the stillness scowling at to other two, but for once was not acknowledged. Sunstone, her eyes staring down in defeat, simply leaned her head on the remains of Jade's shoulder as offering of comfort. One that Jade did appreciate, but didn't outwardly show as her eyes looked off into the distance. Eventually, after her rage reached it's peak, Agate was the one who broke the silence.
"This isn't working! Every time we just end up like another abomination!" Agate roared.
Jade, equally frustrated about the situation, glared at Agate while bending her arm to do half of the Diamond salute.
"Thank you, your Clarity of Obviousness. Care to share any more of your wisdom?" She asked with heavy amounts of sarcasm.
In return Agate focused all her anger and hatred at Jade.
"Shut it traitor!" She snapped.
At this point Sunstone felt the need to intervene by once more getting in between them.
"Jade, Agate, calm down. We just need to think of this in a different light."
Once that last sentence left Sunstone, Jade's anger ceased and her eyes widened.
"Light..." She whispered.
We are three gems sharing one body.
Sharing...Light...
"Fusion!" Jade shouted with a look of eureka on her face.
Both Agate and Sunstone look to Jade with confused and slightly disturbed faces from her outburst.
"What?"
"Think of it like fusion!" Jade explained, her eyes beaming with excitement.
The most disgusted look came upon Agate's face as she said. "I would never fuse with the likes of you!"
Jade ignored her for the moment and turned to Sunstone, offering out her only hand.
"Sunstone. Do you trust me with your light?"
Sunstone smiled and happily took Jade's hand.
"Of course! Do you trust me with yours?"
Jade smiled back, squeezing Sunstone's hand and nodding fiercely.
"Always."
Finally the two turned back to Agate, who was still glaring at them. Such an expression of hatred caused the two to lose their smiles in place of serious expressions.
"Agate..." Jade started gently.
"What?" Agate growled. Her tone challenging Jade to continue.
But neither Jade or Sunstone were about to back down.
"Do you trust us with your light?"
"I would never stoop so low as to fuse with traitors like you!" She repeated with more force.
She turned away from them, unable to see the crushed looks they gained when seeing their whole plan going down the drain.
"Agate please!" Sunstone begged.
"Agate. It's the only way we can do this right." Jade pushed.
Agate said nothing and continued refusing to face them.
"Do you want to just be stuck here until the end of time?"
After a moment Agate gave in with a sigh and turned to the two.
"Fine. But only to make a physical form."
Jade and Sunstone beamed.
"So you trust us with your light?" Jade asked. Both her and Sunstone offering a space between their hands in place for Agate.
Agate growled softly before thrusting her hand in the provided space. "Fine! Whatever!"
Jade and Sunstone lightly nodded their heads and smiled at Agate.
"And we trust you with ours." Jade said warmly with Sunstone nodding in agreement.
Agate glared just a bit harder at them, which only made Jade's smile grow bigger.
"Alright. This time for sure!"
Their gem twitched slightly before rising up in the air once more. A light burst from it and, instead of several screams howling at once, there were only grunts and growling of different pitches and tones. The light molded itself randomly, as if trying to look one way while a unknown force was trying to make it another. Just as the light started to look like the silhouette of it's original form it jerked backward. Like molding play-dough, a head pushed itself from out the mass. The noises it produced became louder as a more human like shape finally started to take form. Limbs fused together as the molding of the hips and torso forced them into their proper place. Finally hair sprouted out from the head along with an outline of clothing and the light faded. Falling ungracefully to the ground, their new form laid still while each of the participants tried to regain their bearings.
Though they had the basic shape of a normal gem their appearance was far from it. Their face, instead of being a single color, had tan, orange, and mostly light green blended together. Their hair was shaved on the left side, with the exception of a tuft of hair going down in-front of the ear, while the right side was thick and messy. In the front, the hair was mostly tangerine colored with streaks of browns, green, and a lighter orange. In the back was a long cluster of the five colors.
Their shirt was long sleeve with green on the left side, light brown on the chest, a slightly darker brown for the sleeve, and a dark green under shirt. Splitting off the colors was a yellow cloth that wrapped around the waist, made an X around the chest, along with a loose sleeve on the right arm. With the shirt, they wore a white cuff on the right hand and a long white single fingered glove on the left that went all the way to their elbow. The top section of their pants was dark green, cut off by a white half skirt that looked as if the tail of it had been dipped in dark green dye. The rest of the pants were the same color green as the shirt. And the footwear they sported had a long brown boot on the left foot and yellow slipper with a long white sock on the right side.
To top it all off were the deformities they had, being the orange and green hands conjoined at the left wrist, and their eyes. The left side was fine in the single closed eye while the right had two smaller ones, one on top of the other. And on the lower left shoulder, in a hole on the sleeve, their clustered gemstone was displayed.
After several minutes each of their eyes slowly opened at different times. The left one was orange, the bottom right green, and the top right brown. Their right hand rose up and rubbed their head while their left arm was lifted up to come into their view.
"Did it work?" Sunstone asked wearily.
They gasped and their eyes widened. Shooting up into a sitting position they looked every inch of the fruit of their labor over. When they were able to comprehend that it had finally worked Jade began to chuckle.
"We did it...We actually did it." She said, still completely baffled by even her own words.
"It worked!" Sunstone cheered, raising their left arm into the air.
"Barley." Agate commented.
"It still worked!" Sunstone replied encouragingly.
Sunstone and Jade then went into their own separate conversation over the features of their new form. Despite being unincluded, Agate listened in on what they went on about before rolling her eye halfway and slightly shaking their head.
Bringing her voice up a little louder to get Jade and Sunstone's attention she asked.
"So...Now what?"