Chapter 6: Watermelon Tourmaline-Part 2

I hear a knock on the door half an hour after I disbanded the group. I'd mostly been moping around about the failed meeting up to that point.

"I'll get it," I shout to my mom and run to open the door.

"Hi," Sapphire says when I open it.

"What are you doing here?" I ask excitedly.

"Maybe a private practice could be of some use." I smile and we go my room.

"How do you think we did it before?" I ask as soon as I've closed the door. Sapphire always seems to understand things better than I do.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure," she admits. "The future is so indistinct right now I can barely see more than a few seconds ahead."

"Don't look at the future," I say, sitting down next to her. "Look back at the past. We need to understand what we did, how we do it, and most importantly why."

"Hmm," she looks off into space for a moment, then hesitantly begins to speak. "I saw you in danger, and when I looked into the future every scenario I saw was you getting crushed. So I acted impulsively, and I guess that changed the course of fate. I didn't know that was possible."

"Like when you said that Amy taking 3 weeks to return was impossible?"

"Like that, yes. Although in my defense that was a very improbable possibility that I did, in fact, know was possible."

"Watermelon Tourmaline," I murmur, trying to think. "I'm guessing at this point, merging would require some kind of trigger. An emotion, or an intent, I guess."

"I don't think that's exactly it," Sapphire frowns. "When we merged, we were completely synchronized in the same being. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Synchronized…" something in my mind is trying to click, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Suddenly, my phone rings, and I quickly deny the call after glancing at the unfamiliar number. But that gives me an idea.

"Sapphire, dance with me," I say, standing up and holding out my hand.

"What?"

"We need to be synchronized, right?" I smile, and she hesitantly takes my hand. I pull her to her feet. "So what better way than a dance?"

"You know I hate dancing!"
"Come on, it'll be fun!"
"I suck at dancing."
"I won't judge you!" She hesitates a minute before nodding.

"Alright, but not in here," she says. "I'm pretty sure we'd go through the roof." She has a point.

After stealthily checking to make sure both of my parents are still in the study(which has no back-facing windows), I lead Sapphire outside.

"So how shall we do this?" I ask, despite the fact that it was technically my idea.

"Well, we both dance very differently, so start off separate I guess," she says. "You there, and me here. And you aren't allowed to watch!"

"How are we supposed to dance together if I can't see you?" She makes a face and we both back up a reasonable distance and start dancing.

I don't really dance well, so I pick a song from my mental playlist and start dancing along. Nothing too fancy- mostly just back-and-forth steps. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sapphire trying to twirl elegantly back and forth, like she's dancing to Mozart or something.

I start adding a little more flow to my movements, and as my dance changes so does my mental music. It's faster now, but also more free-flowing. I start to close the distance between Sapphire and I, and she's doing the same. I reach out to take her hand, and we dance back and forth together, my movements somehow perfectly meshing with hers.

Suddenly, I trip and fall backwards, but Sapphire's grip keeps me from hitting the ground as she leans back the other way, and for a moment we're perfectly balanced. I reach across with my other hand, as does she, and we both pull ourselves up and into a dual spin. We giggle, and finally a burst of white light engulfs us.

"Whoa!" I look down at myself, greenish-pinkish speckled skin all too noticeable. "I- we did it!"

I sit down on the ground, slightly dizzy. I can't believe that worked, Amber thinks.

Well, you did suggest the dancing.

This is so cool!

What should we do?

A mischievous idea enters my mind. Our minds? Ugh, pronouns. I stand, wobbling a bit on unfamiliar legs, and stealthily hop over the fence into a neighbor's yard. Despite being rather conspicuous, I find it rather easy to avoid being noticed so long as I'm quiet.

Wait, but I'm grounded?

Watermelon Tourmaline isn't.

Who knew you'd be the rule breaker here?

I make my way along the street, keeping mostly to areas with vegetation to hide in- my skin blends in rather well. Eventually I make my way to Balrey park, at which point the purpose of this expedition escapes me.

"What am I even doing…" I murmur out loud, looking at my hands. The streets are practically deserted at this point, since most adults around here don't get Saturdays off. What kids I do see tend to steer clear of me, aside from one or two obvious hybrids, but even they leave after a pointed glare.

Let's go home, I decide, and I'm far less careful on the way back, but no one notices me. Or if they do, they pretend not to. I'm grateful. Despite that I am careful as I sneak back over the fence into the yard- only to find Amber's parents searching the house in a frenzy. I couldn't have had worse timing, as Amber's mom steps out into the yard just as I land.

"Oh my stars!" She exclaims. "It's you. Watermelon Tourmaline. Where did you come from?"

She doesn't know, Sapphire's voice resonates in my mind. I heed her warnings, briefly looking into the possibilities. Most of them are predictable- she freaks out about her daughter, I try to explain, she doesn't understand.

Oh, what the hell. I'll just wing it.

"Um, look, there's a lot of confusing stuff going on right now," I try to dodge the question. Unfortunately, her Mom-Sense is impeccable.

"What do you know about my daughter?" She asks, anger and worry evident in her voice. "I know she wouldn't just run off like that!"

"You're right," I say, bending down to her height. "She wouldn't. But I would."

I'm lying on the grass, Sapphire a few feet away. My mom is just standing there in shock.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't the best plan," I murmur to myself.

"I'm suddenly having second thoughts," Sapphire says, standing up. I pull myself to my feet as well.

"I don't- what even- oh my stars!" Is all Mom can say as her eyes continuously dart between the two of us.

"Okay. Mom. What do you understand?" I ask, trying to find a good way to explain it.

"Nothing! I don't understand any of this!" She's panicking. Well, now I know where I got it from.

"Look, it's very simple," Sapphire says, and I'm more grateful for her than ever. "You may want to sit down for this."

After an emergency batch of premade pastries are finished baking, we gather around the table for some serious talk. I let Sapphire do the explaining.

"Amber and I both have gems. You know that. And because of that, we are able to merge to become Watermelon Tourmaline. Do you understand?"

"No."

"Let me put it this way," I say, trying to explain better. "When we merge, both our minds and our bodies combine into a new person. Watermelon Tourmaline has all of our powers, all of our strengths and weaknesses. In this case, 1+1 doesn't equal 2. Greater than the sum of our parts. Do you get it now?"

"And… how often do you do this?"

"Well, we only just found out it was possible today," Sapphire says.

"Oh my stars," she sits back in her chair, both relieved and worried at the same time. "I don't know what to make of this."

"Neither do we," I tell her gently. "And I'm sorry for leaving without telling you. But technically it wasn't exactly me, so-"

"Oh no, don't think you're not in trouble," she says sternly, back in Mom Mode. "You're on kitchen cleaning duty tonight."

I groan. With all the baking that goes on in my house, the kitchen is always a complete disaster.

"I'd offer to help, but frankly, you deserve it," Sapphire says, standing up. "I should get going. Do you mind if I tell the others?"

"No problem," I say, and I know she's referring to merging when she says it. "See you on monday."

"See ya."

It's monday, and after an exhausting weekend of tons of chores and nearly no social contact I'm almost grateful to be back at the Torture House. My excitement dissipates, however, when just after I've sat down at lunch Moonstone and her crew saunter up to our table.

"Heard there was a bit of a catastrophe last Saturday," she says, standing over us. I do my best to ignore her. "If I were you, I'd leave the fighting to the professionals. You don't know what you're getting into."

I glare up at her, refusing to back down. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Do you even know what the monsters are? Do you even know what you're fighting for? You're a mess, and you know it. So stop trying to make us feel bad just because you're jealous."

"Damn, Amber," I hear Jet murmur appreciatively. That came out way meaner than I intended, but I meant every word.

"I'd watch your tongue if you want to survive another day here," she says. "I can ruin your entire social life with the push of a button. So don't get on my bad side." With that, they saunter off.

"What the hell was that all about?" Amy asks once they've left, glaring at their table out of the corner of her eye. "That was our fight, fair and square."

"They're just trying to get to us," I say, taking a bite of my sandwich. "Don't let them win."

Right on cue, a literal T-rex smashes through the cafeteria windows.

"Can't I go more than two days without a fight?" I shout, standing to face the monster. I can't see its gem anywhere, but manage to catch a glimpse when it roars- a red gem is on its tongue. Weird, but alright.

"Amber!" I catch sight of a small figure clinging to the neck of the monster. "Little help?"

I break out running, dodging discarded lunches and fleeing students to come to Sapphire's aid, but a tall figure zooms past me before I can make it. I watch as he roughly yanks Sapphire off the beast's back and brings her back across the cafeteria.

"Don't worry miss, we'll take care of it," I can hear him say, flashing a grin. "I'm Spinel."

"What are you doing?" She slaps him across the face. "You idiot! I was the only thing slowing it down. Now it'll rampage even more!"

"Spinel!" Moonstone's voice carries across the room. "Stop flirting and get over here!"

"Coming, babe!" He shouts. Babe? Ew, they must be dating.

"Alright, this is our chance," I say as Sapphire joins us. "We need to take that thing out first, and prove our worth. Got it?"

"Weren't you the one who said we shouldn't let them get to us?" Amy asks pointedly.

"Doesn't mean we can't still beat them," I say. "Besides, we've got a few tricks I'm betting they don't know about."

"Good point," Sapphire says with a grin. "Right. Our best bet is to lure it outside, where we have more space to work with."

"Right. Jet and Bloodstone, you're together like usual. Amy, try to get it off-balance. It's bipedal, so it shouldn't be hard. Sapphire, if you can, try to freeze it in place. Then I can come in full-force."

"Sounds like a plan," Amy says, promptly curling into a ball and dashing off, trying to distract the monster. I lead the charge right past them (dodging the other group, who are already trying to attack it) and making it outside through the broken window. Amy finally manages to get it to chase her, leading it right into our improvised trap.

Outside in the courtyard, we're ready and waiting. Jet and Bloodstone station themselves near the back, Bloodstone hitting it from range as much as possible. He's definitely learned- he's aiming for the eyes. Amy is almost too fast to see, greatly confusing the beast as she zooms around it. I'm standing just in front of Sapphire, sword at the ready, as she concentrates and freezes its feet in ice.

Just when it seem we're winning, the beast frozen to the ground, it seems to absorb the ice. Jagged spikes cover its body, and it roars, much louder than before.

"It gets stronger with everything we throw at it!" I cry out, panicked.
"Retreat!" Jet shrieks as it nearly crushes him and Bloodstone. We regroup at the opposite side of the courtyard, on the defensive.

So of course now the other group decides it's their turn.

"Let's show those losers how it's done!" Moonstone shouts, and all four other members of her team follow her in a coordinated assault. But that's all it is- an attack. They have no strategy, no defense, and it's going to be their downfall.

"You idiots! It's just gaining strength from your attacks!" Sapphire shouts before I can. They don't listen, of course.

"Dammit dammit dammit," I mutter. "Now we have to deal with them, too…"

"How are we supposed to beat this thing?" Amy asks fearfully as it nearly triples in height after taking a blow from Spinel.

"I-I don't know," I admit. "Nothing seems to hurt it."

"I can't see any good possibilities," Sapphire admits. "But I've been wrong in the past, so it's possible that I'm wrong now."

"We're running out of options," I say, wincing as a shockwave runs through the ground from its massive foot. The longer we wait, the stronger it gets. "We have to play our trump card."

Sapphire's eyes widen. "You can't possibly mean-"

"It's our only option," I say, and even I can hear the fear in my voice. "We've got nothing to lose."

"We have everything to lose!" She retaliates. "If we just… just let them deal with it, we'll be fine. Right?"

The shortest of their group- Ruby, I think her name was- gets thrown into the ground so hard she makes a crater. That's gotta hurt.

"You're right. We have everything to lose. That's why we can't give up," I say, squeezing her shoulder. "We'll be fine."

"Forgive me if I'm missing the subtext," Bloodstone says tonelessly, "But are you guys talking about Watermelon Tourmaline?"

"Yes," we answer in unison. Sapphire nods.

"Let's hope for the best," Amy says, resigned. The three of them back up, and I know we don't have much time. The corrupted gem is taller than the school now.

"We don't have time," Sapphire whispers, echoing my thought. "C'mon." She takes my hand, and somehow our limited practice pays off. A bright flash of light shines across the courtyard.

"Okay, let's do this," I say, feeling significantly less disoriented than the last two times. Almost everyone is staring at me, but I don't feel self-conscious at all. "Hey! You!" I point at Moonstone, more confident than I could ever be on my own(s?). "Get your 'troops' out of here. I'll handle this. Or do you want to get crushed?"

"I don't have to listen to you!" She says defiantly.

"Don't make me carry you out like a baby." I turn back to Amy, Jet and Bloodstone. "Can you guys make sure they stay out of the way?"

"No problem," Jet flashes a grin. I turn back to the task at hand.

The huge dinosaur towers over me, nearly filling the whole courtyard. Looks like I won't be taking it down with brute force. Feeling much stronger than usual, I jump to the top of the school, then up onto the monster's back. It doesn't even notice, being to intent on squashing its prey beneath. Clambering up to its head, I try to find a weakness.

Summoning my sword, I jab the blade right into its eye. It howls in pain, but then a glassy film grows over both its eyes, ejecting the blade. Dammit.

It finally notices me as I'm attempting to get back to the ground, and it tries to shake me off. Knowing fully well that I'd be flung way too far, I hang on for dear life, but eventually lose my grip. I fly straight up into the sky, arching back downwards just in time to land right in the monster's mouth.

"Oh, gross," I say, shaking saliva off my hands. I just barely cleared the teeth, and I'm standing on the tongue. It doesn't seem to have a throat, strangely enough- then again, why would it need one?

Finally, a thought occurs to me. The weakness. Steeling myself against the grossness, I reach down and pull on the gem in the tongue. It barely budges, and as I pull with all my strength it finally comes loose. The gem's form around me disappears, leaving me several hundred feet in the air and holding a green gem.

"Why does this always happen to me?" I shout as I start falling through the air, remembering to bubble the gem and send it off immediately. This is gonna hurt.

Suddenly, I realize I'm not falling, but rather floating gently towards the ground. Sapphire, a part of me recognizes the power. I had no clue I could do that!

I land softly on both feet, feeling gravity return once I make contact with the ground. Amy immediately rushes up to greet me.

"OMG that was awesome!" She says, holding up her hand for a high five. I oblige her, and suddenly I'm tired, really tired.

"My head…" I groan, sitting up. "I hope that doesn't happen every time," I see Sapphire a few feet away, being helped up by Amy.

Being helped by Amy? That's probably the weirdest thing that's happened all week. I mean, Amy's been extra friendly to Sapphire ever since they made up… What is going on? My thoughts are suddenly interrupted, by Moonstone's annoying voice.

"What the hell was that!" Moonstone screams. Sapphire and I rub our heads in unison as if we are still one. I bite back a laugh so Moonstone doesn't notice.

"Well…" I look to Sapphire to see if she detects bad outcomes. She shakes her head. "Someone just saved you I guess."

"No, it was…" Bloodstone covers Jet's mouth. Moonstone and Spinel glare at us.

"We would have been fine without her. Where did she go anyway?" Spinel says. Moonstone hits him playfully.

"Stop flirting with people. Especially that one," she makes a face at Sapphire.

"Don't make fun of her!" Amy shouts. It takes both Sapphire and I to restrain her. I guess she's trying to make up for her past behaviors.

"It's not worth it," I say.

"Though I wouldn't object to it…" Sapphire mutters. I give her a glance.

"You guys need to stay out of our way!" Spinel spits at us.

"You guys need to take care of your team better. No one has checked on Ruby yet and she was thrown back really hard." I say. Pearl rushes to check on Ruby, although she receives a glare from Zircon.

Moonstone ignores her. "Look, I'm not stupid. I saw you two- combine, or whatever. So quit lying. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Whatever the hell that was, I'm getting to the bottom of it." With that she turns and walks off, her team following behind her. I can't help but cringe when I notice her slight limp.

"Well, that could've gone better," Bloodstone says with an audible sigh of relief.

"What were you even doing here, Sapphire?" I ask, not having gotten the chance before.

"It came to my school first. Didn't do nearly as much damage, since I managed to slow it down and direct it here. I couldn't beat it alone so bringing it to you seemed like the best plan. Sorry about that."

"No, you did the right thing," Amy says. Yeah, she's definitely acting weird.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm all for taking the rest of the day off," I declare. Looking around us, I doubt they'll keep anyone in school anyway.

"I wish," Sapphire says. "Ugh, now I have to come up with a good excuse."

Suddenly she freezes and drops to the ground.

"Sapphire!" We all shout at once and rush to her side. I have to push Amy out of my way. She's completely frozen in ice and her eyes are open, blank and wide with fear. Almost as quickly as she froze, she thaws, shakes some water of her dress, and runs away without saying anything.

"Well, that was weird," is all I can say. Cue awkward silence.

"I hate to break the sentiment, but we should at least go in and show our faces so they know we're not dead," Bloodstone says. We all groan, but he's not wrong.

Just a normal day in Schoolhouse Torture.

Author's Note: And that's a wrap! I hope you liked this chapter. What do you think is going on with Sapphire, and why is Amy acting all weird?

Well you won't find out in the next chapter. Sorry. The next chapter, "Again," will feature some extremely poor decision making and Sapphire calling Amber an idiot.

Enjoy!