Chapter Five: Carnelian
After a nice walk on the beach in the morning, the Gems took Steven out to breakfast. Back at the temple, they trained Steven until his knees buckled and he faceplanted onto the sand. Malachite did the healing water technique and tried to teach him how to do it himself. Then Steven brought up a huge question.
"Guys, how do you fuse? Pearl says I'm not organic to be able to, but I fused with my friend Connie, and she's human!"
As he said that, a whole flock of birds flew over the temple, looking like a giant black cloud. The Crystal Gems looked closely at in, then realized it wasn't just a flock of birds. They were Shadowlings, a type of flying creature from a part of Homeworld called the Wasteland, where all forgotten Gem technology is left to rust.
These creatures had a long bill, a wing span of ten feet, the leader having a wingspan of fifteen, knife-like talons, pinpointing eyes, and a shrill screech strong enough to bust a whole city population's eardrums.
"Well, looks like I'm getting what I wanted. Ruby, Sapphire, can you fuse into Garnet? Pearl Amethyst, fuse with Garnet into Alexandrite. Malachite, can you teach me how to fuse?"
Malachite couldn't turn him down. So he taught him all he knew, and when he was done, Alexandrite was right behind them, pounding away at the Shadowlings just to see them materialize again.
"That's not good enough… Guys, unfuse. Let me fuse with you, and maybe it'll help."
The Gems unfused and did the dance again, and this time, Steven was actually able to fuse.
Out came Carnelian, a Gem the size of a hundred-story skyscraper, with bloodred gems instead of their usual colors. His hair was blazing red and it moved like fire would in the breeze. Steven controlled the body.
Carnelian brought out the whip, spear, shield, and gauntlets and did what Calcite did. What came out was a longsword where the bottom of the grip extended to become a shield, no matter how wide the attack is. The blade could extend too, and be set on fire.
"Wait, look at their tails," the Pearl side said. "They're orange and shining in the light."
"What color are they supposed to be?" Tiger's Eye asked her. "Red and yellow", Pearl replied. "They're being possessed by a Gem. And when they are, the tail turns the color of the Gem. We only know one orange Gem."
Jasper.
But how?
Wasn't she trapped at the bottom of the ocean with Lapis?
This enraged Carnelian.
And when Carnelian gets angry, he brings the heat.
And the sun intensified.