Chapter 5: Watermelon Tourmaline-Part 1
"Are you freaking kidding me?!" I scream, dodging behind a bus as the corrupted gem comes barreling through the parking lot. It's Saturday, and here I thought I was going to have a nice, relaxing weekend.
"Mayday! Mayday!" I scream into my phone, and I'm sure everyone's eardrums are suffering through the emergency group call. "Gem monster. Market Basket parking lot. Get here ASAP!"
"On my way!" at least two of them say, and I hang up the call. I'm running as fast as I can in advance of the monster, trying not to cause all that much collateral damage. God, why did it have to be a parking lot?
"Eeep!" I throw myself sideways to dodge a flying car- it seems the monster has switched tactics. Cursing, I draw my sword and take a running jump right at the side of the building, driving the blade into the wall and swinging myself up. Panting, I waste no time dropping flat to hide behind the lip of the flat roof, and it seems I've managed to confuse the monster enough to grab a few moments of rest.
Oh, shoot. Now I have to deal with civilians.
Suppressing a sigh, I carefully peek over the edge. The monster is standing in the mostly-wrecked parking lot, momentarily confused. Just below me, crowding just outside the doors, is a small mob of curious bystanders, most of them filming on their cell phones. Dammit, why can't people have some self-preservation instincts once in awhile?
In one swift motion, I hurl myself up and over the edge to land right in front of the crowd. "If you want to stay alive, I'd suggest you get out of here right now before that thing notices you!" I shout as loud as I can, projecting my voice even to the people still inside the store. "Forget filming. Your lives are at stake. Run for it!" With that, I turn and pull out my sword, running dramatically in the monster's direction. I glance back briefly to make sure everyone listened and, sure enough, I've managed to spark a panic. People are running as far and fast as they can to get away, and some have taken what cars aren't yet smashed. Only a small crowd remains, retreating inside the store and watching from there. It'll have to do.
"Amber!" I hear a shout from behind me. I turn to see Sapphire and everyone else arrive with a trail of ice stretching behind them. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah," I turn back towards the beast as they join me, the monster growling and ready to strike. "Took awhile to get everyone to leave, though. Most people have lousy self-preservation instincts."
"Well, we're worse than most then," Amy grins. We all simultaneously leap into action, weapons at the ready. Sapphire positions herself on top of the building, shouting out warnings and strategies. I try to go low, aiming for the front legs while Amy goes for the back legs, trying to knock it off-balance. The boys are working together as usual, Jet being more defensive with his glaive, defending Bloodstone while he aims for the head with his laser attacks.
Suddenly, I hear Sapphire shout out a warning just as a laser strikes the monster in the eye. If it was angry before, it's enraged now. It starts flailing out in all directions, limbs thrashing as it lets out an ear-splitting howl. I hastily retreat in order to avoid the thrashing monster.
"Jet! It's stunned, finish it off!" I shout, not bothering to look in their direction. The obvious lack of a response makes me turn my head, where to my surprise the boys are engaged in a rather heated argument. I can't hear much of it, but they're too deep in conversation to notice the gem, somewhat recovered, lashing out in their direction.
Before I know what's happening, I find myself placed directly between them and the beast, my sword blocking the blow. "Boys!" I shout, catching their attention. "Keep your heads in the game!"
Ironically, as I say that, I find my sword knocked out of my hands by the other foreleg. Scrambling backwards, I shove the boys out of the way before I barely manage to dart just beyond the range of its blow. Still, the shockwave knocks me off balance, and I go tumbling back over the sidewalk and down a short hill, stopping in a bush next to the road (which is pretty much empty, fortunately).
"Amber, watch out!" I hear Sapphire shout as the monster jumps right over my head to land in the middle of the street, taking down multiple power lines along the way. I try to run back up the hill, but the surface slips and slides beneath my feet, sending me back to the bottom no matter how hard I try.
"Alright then. Just you and me. Go on," I taunt it, sword in hand. In the back of my mind I know I'm no match for this thing, but right now I don't care.
"No! Amber! Get back here!" Sapphire shouts in vain from the top of the hill, watching helplessly as the monster starts to attack. I dodge each of its attacks, sliding under it and striking its exposed belly. It roars and jumps to the side, slamming into the ground with such force that I stumble again, and I find myself on the ground with one of the fallen streetlamps behind me.
I can't help but flinch and close my eyes as a gigantic paw comes hurtling down to crush me.
"No!" I'm suddenly tumbling out of harm's way, Sapphire's arms locked protectively around me. A blinding white light suddenly shines around us.
I'm sprawled across the ground, my eyes darting around wildly trying to make sense of what happened. I unsteadily pick myself up, looking at my hands. They're not my hands, and yet they are. Am I… taller?
"Oh my god what the hell just happened?" I hear Jet exclaim, and I'm brought back to reality. Instinctively, I look out into the future, seeing the possibilities before me. Half of me is shocked by this, while the other is... relaxed. That part had done this for years.
The gem seems surprised that its prey got away, but that doesn't stop it from chasing new, larger prey. I ready myself, drawing my sword.
The monster charges, and I wait for the last possible second before leaping sideways, slicing my sword along its side. The wound is long, but shallow. It'll take more than that to defeat it.
Using my height to my advantage, I wait until it turns back towards me and strike it in the eye, causing it to howl again and thrash, giving me the perfect opportunity to stab it right through the back.
"That was incredible!" Amy shrieks, running down the hill to meet me as I reach down to bubble the gem.
But I've never been able to do that before, one voice inside me whispers. I ignore it, for the time being.
"Like, how did you even do that? What should I even call you?" She asks.
"Watermelon Tourmaline," I say without thinking. I like the name. It seems fitting as the gem I can see on my chest looks pinkish with a green border. Not Amber or Sapphire's colors but a strange yet beautifully daunting mix.
"And how you like, combined and stuff?" Jet agrees, stopping to stand beside Amy. "That was awesome!"
"Is that what happened?" I muse, looking down at myself. I seem to be wearing a strange combination of clothing that feels familiar, and yet isn't. A t-shirt and jeans underneath a blue sundress that is much too small, and my hair is sort of half-up half-down, the center pulled into a bun and the sides hanging free. My skin is rather different too, taking on a speckled pink and green tone.
"That's amazing," Bloodstone says, and I notice he's still clenching his hand in a gauntlet-covered fist. I don't really understand why.
"We don't- how did we- what even happened?" Suddenly, panic sets in as I grasp the reality of the situation.
Calm down Amber.
I can't Sapphire, I don't understand this!
Don't panic. What we really don't need right now is panicking!
You're starting to panic.
Crap, I knew you could read my mind!
"We- We don't- how-"
Does Sapphire still exist!
What about me? I think Amber's still here!
I think we'll see ourselves again soon.
I see your vision too.
A flash of light, and I find myself forcibly thrown across the grass, landing a few feet from Sapphire.
"What happened?" I mutter, rubbing my head.
"You guys just like, combined? There was like, a lot of really bright light, and the next thing I know there's this awesome huge lady fighting the monster and stuff," Jet happily supplies.
"That's incredible," Sapphire says, picking herself up. I rush over to help her. "I didn't see this at all! I couldn't have predicted something like this."
"Whatever it is, we should probably get out of here before we get blamed for all the collateral damage," Amy says, holding Watermelon Tourmaline's bubble.
"Yeah, that would probably-"
"Oh my stars!" An all-too-familiar voice cries out from above us. Wincing, I look up to see my parents looking down at us, panicked expressions on their faces. "Amber? What's going on? Are you hurt? What was that thing?"
"They don't know?" Amy asks in a low tone, raising one eyebrow. I groan.
"My parents knew," Jet and Bloodstone say in unison.
"My mom knew," Amy says.
"Same with my dad." Sapphire adds.
"Okay, maybe I didn't exactly mention it… but it just wasn't ever the right time, you know?"
"Dude, even my little sister knew. And she's really annoying," Jet scolds.
"Young lady, you get up here and explain yourself right now," my dad says, reluctant to approach further. Squirming under the awkward glare, I trudge back up the hill to face the music. Everyone else stays behind, respectfully, but not out of earshot I notice.
"Amber, what is going on?" My mom asks. I look down awkwardly, trying to find the right words.
"Okay, so you know all those times I'd go hang out with my friends at Balrey park?"
"Yes."
"And you remember the explosion at school a few months ago?"
"How could I forget?"
"And you remember the fact that I literally have a gemstone in my neck?"
"You haven't exactly been subtle about it lately," her glare intensifies.
"Alright, I'll get to the point. So the explosion was actually a big corrupted gem monster like the one we just fought, and all the times we go to the park are to train so we can fight those monsters and we've had about four fights so far, if you count this one, and don't count the one that was just me, and we can fight because our gems give us magic powers and I'm sorry if I scared you and please don't ground me until I'm thirty."
For what feels like hours but was probably only seconds, there is a deafening silence. Then my mom starts to cry.
"I can't believe it… you really spend all your time to learning to protect people?"
"More like self-defense," I explain, relieved that the hard part is mostly over. "For some reason these things always seem to come to us."
"You willingly put yourself and your friends in danger." Suddenly she's lost her proud tone.
"Yes."
"You have magical powers that are tied to your gem."
"Yes."
"You never told us any of this."
I freeze for a second. "I… I just didn't want you getting wrapped up in all of this."
"That's very mature of you," mom says, changing her mind about how she feels again while sweeping me into a hug. "You're grounded, by the way."
"I knew it," I say, but secretly I'm smiling.
"Just until your 29 though, not 30," Dad says.
"If you don't mind me asking… what can you do?" Mom asks, curious.
"Well, um, I have a sword." I pull it out to demonstrate, the tip of the blade scraping the ground when I relax my arm.
"You fight with this?" she asks, bending down to look at it.
"Um, yeah."
"And what about…" my dad trails off, looking down at my friends who are trying very hard not to look like they're eavesdropping.
"About what?"
"What was she called?" frowns for a moment, remembering, then snaps his fingers. "Watermelon Tourmaline."
That catches me off-guard. I accidentally drop my sword, and it falls to the ground before vanishing.
"Amber?"
"I... uh… We're still figuring that out," I say honestly. "I don't really know what happened."
"Ahem," I hear Sapphire say, tactfully cutting in right when things were getting awkward. " I appreciate your family heart-to-heart, but we should probably get moving unless someone wants to explain this whole mess to the police."
"Oh dear oh dear oh dear," mom exclaims, back into full-on Mom Mode. "Let's get you kids out of here. Do you need a ride?"
"Pretty sure the car is trashed," I point out, then immediately wish I hadn't. "That was totally the monster's fault."
"No, that's alright ma'am. Amber, didn't you say something about coming over today earlier?" She asks pointedly, giving me a way out. I gladly take it.
"Yeah, we still have the weekly training session this afternoon." I start to follow her down the hill.
"Not so fast, young lady." I stop and turn back with a sigh to see my dad glaring down at me, arms crossed. "You're still grounded for a month."
"But I can't miss training! This is literally the most important thing in my life right now!" I say, stomping back up the hill to face him. "Furthermore, you know you can't really keep me in the house if I don't want to stay, so why bother trying?"
That really hit a nerve. I regret the words almost before I'm done saying them. I'm almost certain I can hear Sapphire facepalming in frustration.
"Because we're your parents, and we love you," Mom says sternly, "And I can tell how important this is to you, but you're going to have to trust us. Your friends can come visit you as much as they like, but we are not letting you out of our sight. You understand?"
I slump in defeat. "Yes, ma'am." I follow her as we start walking down the street, but as I pass Sapphire on the way by I signal her desperately with my eyes-
Help.
Wow, they really came through for me!
I've opened my front door less than three hours after returning home from what I now call 'the parent fiasco' to find all four of my friends waiting outside.
"We figured if you can't come to training, why not bring the training to you?" Amy says, smiling happily.
"Oh my god you guys, I can't even!" I grin so wide my face starts to hurt. "C'mon in. I have fresh cookies!"
I let the stampede rush to the stacked treats on the table, waiting to be eaten. In truth I'd just been baking to avoid talking to my parents, but now it's totally worth it. I've already eaten several cookies by myself, so I let them devour the rest.
"So I guess we're temporarily moving training to my backyard?" I say once the cookie tray is empty, and my living room is filled with very full teenagers.
"That was the plan," Amy says, then burps. "Sorry."
"Race you outside!" Jet screams.
"What are you, three?" Bloodstone yells at him. I was ready to laugh but Bloodstones remark lacked the sarcasm he meant it to have. I ignore it and we all run. Sapphire wins which Amy complains isn't a fair use of her powers.
"So we need siri to choose between Bloodstone, Amy, and I right?" I ask, Sapphire and Jet having battled last time we met(ending in Sapphire and Jet both too tired to continue). Jet and Bloodstone nod to my request, Bloodstone with an eager look on his face. Sapphire stares at Amy expectantly. Amy blushes.
"I was just thinking… shouldn't we talk about… Watermelon Tourmaline," when Amy is met with silence she adds, "if that was her name?" to try and ease the tension. I turn to Sapphire and discover her already looking at me. I know so much more about her now. As Watermelon Tourmaline, her memories flooded at me during every second we weren't busy fighting or panicking. Although they went at superspeed I know I haven't seen them all. She smiles and I know she's thinking what I'm now thinking-that it would be awesome to do it again.
"I… I think that maybe it's Amber and I that should try to recreate merging." Sapphire says.
"Merging?" Amy asks, unhappy.
"It's just a name I thought of," she mutters.
"I would like to try merging," Bloodstone says.
"Same, I want to merge with Amber," Jet says and blushes to a shade I didn't know guys could reach. "'Cause she's the most powerful and stuff…"
"I could merge with Sapphire!" Amy volunteers. It's been a while since I've seen her blush, even longer since she reached a shade that is barely a notch higher than Jet. "Cause future visions cool and stuff…"
"I want to merge too!" Bloodstone whines. Sapphire says nothing but stares at Amy with a strange look on her face. I guess I'll have to be a leader again…
"It will probably be best if Sapphire and I try first since we've done it before. Then once we figure it out we'll teach you guys." They all sigh and then stare at us expectantly. "Oh no, not now, that we'll do in private, we wouldn't waste our training session on just two people." I try to laugh, it sounds fake even to me. "So then, Bloodstone, your phone?" He hands it over and Amy and Bloodstone are called. I don't understand their general lack of enthusiasm. I end the session early. No one bothers to argue and say we should stay.
Author's Note: Fusion! It's finally here! Yes, they are calling it merging for now but they will learn it's true name one day. This chapter was originally so long that we had to split it into two! I hope you'll enjoy the next part and leave a review saying who you want to see fuse next! I am so sorry this is a day late, there was a minor emergency, but everything's fine now. The next part will still be posted on Tuesday like usual. Thanks for reading!