And I'm back, I got a lot of great reviews. I'm thankful and glad you are enjoying it.
Anyway, to the story, here comes the climax, Sugilite vs. big giant monster thing.
I think I did an okay job exploring Sugilite's character, but I'll let all of you be the judge of that.
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There were two reasons why being Sugilite was so amazing. The first was that she was powerful; every inch of her form was brimming with barely restrained might. She felt like she could leap a mountain with a single jump, and then grind it to dust on the way down. In fact, she might just have to try that later, if she could find a mountain nobody would whine about going missing. But there was another, even better reason why being Sugilite was so incredible.
She was big.
That was obvious. Someone just needed to glance at her to know that she was the biggest, baddest thing on the battlefield. But there was more to it then just her size.
Sugilite felt big.
She didn't just draw attention to herself; she damn well demanded it. Nothing and no one could fail to acknowledge her and get away with it. Her smaller parts suffered from a horde tiny doubts and weak insecurities: Amethysts lack of self worth, Garnet's doubts on her leadership, and both of their insecurities about their own strength to do what they had to.
But Sugilite was above such thoughts.
She didn't feel any of those petty doubts, those nagging fears. She knew she was worth it. She knew what she wanted to do, and she didn't waste time trying to figure out how to do it, she just made it happen, consequences be damned. And her strength was so immense she couldn't even begin to doubt it.
Sugilite was liberation from doubt.
And it was glorious.
Sugilite laughed, stretching her arms above her head. It felt good to be back; the wind blowing through her mane of hair, the sun warming her body, the sheer sensation of just being her was just amazing.
And now, it was time to for her favorite thing. It was time to fight.
Sugilite glanced down through her shades, taking in the spiky ball of crystalline vines, it had grown even bigger from when the other two had fought it, but it still only came up to he waist.
"An overgrown weed? Are you kidding me?" she snorted, shaking her head. The things those two gems formed her for these days...back in the day she used to take on hordes of crystal beasts, ancient gem war machines, she even punched out a crystal dragon once, and now she was called up to beat up a freakin' plant?
"Whatever." She grumbled, maybe it would still be fun to smash? Raising a pair of hands she called her weapon into being, the flail materializing in a flash of light and hitting the ground with a thunderous boom.
She hoisted it lazily off the ground, giving it a single swing for momentum before cracking it downward. It slammed into the cocoon with a resounding crash, forcing it into the ground and snapping off a few of the thorns, but it didn't crack.
Sugilite raised a brow. So it could take a hit, huh? Big deal. This time she'd let it know she meant business. She yanked her flail back and started swinging it above her head with two hands. The air filled with a furious thrum as she whirled the weapon around. She spun on her heel, bringing the flail to maximum speed as she brought it hurtling down on the cocoon like a meteor.
Vines burst out of the plant tangle, weaving together to form two massive arms and caught the flail as it fell. The vines creaked and groaned as they strained against the force, the ball being forced halfway into the ground. Yet still, somehow, bringing it to a stop.
Sugilite growled, irritation filling her. Now the stupid thing wasn't just boring, it was annoying too. She raised her hand holding the flail's handle up and cracked it downward, sending a burst of purple energy raging down the cord. It reached the end and erupted into an explosion of violet fire. The plant recoiled from the force and fire, its shrieks rending the air as music to her ears.
Smoke billowed all around, hiding the plant from view. She brought her weapon back with a lazy tug as the shrieking stopped. From within the smoke, she could see a pair of pink lights appear in the smoke. They glared out at her, burning with rage.
She made a 'bring it on' gesture with her hands. "Trust me dude, you do not want me to have to come over there." She said, grinning savagely
There was a sound like a tree screaming and the pair of eyes shot upward, scattering the smoke as the war plant stood at full height.
"…An armored bear?" Sugilite blinked.
Rose's errant war plant had taken on an ursine form, stubby legs supporting a thick body of vines. A pair of long arms stretched almost to the ground ending in wicked looking claws. While most of its body was made of the same green tendrils, its head and torso were covered in the same pink thorny vines that had stood up to her flail a moment ago.
Sugilite grinned.
"Now that's more like it!" she said, cracking her knuckles. This might just be fun after all!
The bear snarled, its leg coiling like springs and shooting outward, sending the bear plant rushing towards her claws outstretched.
She caught it in midair. Bringing it to a halt and holding it off the ground. It roared, struggling in her grip. Furious, but unable to reach her as she had its paws locked in a grip of steel.
"Cute."
Sugilite spun, slinging the plant bear through the air. She hauled up her flail, half forgotten on the ground, and sent it hurtling after the monster. The weapon connected as they both landing, smashing into its face and grinding it against the ground. She sent another burst of fire racing down the weapon, but the bear leapt backwards, knocking away the flail's head before the explosion could reach it.
It gave another roar and charged, its paws thundering against the ground as it hurtled towards her. Not one to back down, she met it halfway, not bothering with her flail, she slammed her fists into its face even as it slashed at her stomach. They grappled, trying to force each other to the ground.
Sugilite laughed, even as it slashed at her, this was exactly what she needed to blow off some steam: duking it out with a giant monster until only one was left. It wasn't as big as her, but hey. It came a lot closer then the most of the other things she had to fight in the past, so it wasn't a total wuss. It lunged forward trying to bite her face off, she just craned her neck back, letting the jaws snap shut on empty space and slammed her head forward, shattering its jaws against her skull.
She whipped her head forward again, her hair writhing to life. Each strand morphing into a wicked blade that slashed at the across the bear. It staggered back, sap oozing out of the innumerable gashes and she followed up with a four-fisted uppercut, sending the bear hurting into the air, its head bent completely back.
Crossing her arms and smirking, she watched the plant beast slam into the ground and lie still. This was the most fun she'd had in ages.
"The seed. You must destroy it." a voice whispered within her head.
Sugilite's smirk morphed into a grimace. Just what she needed, being told what to do by a little runt inside her head.
"Shut up." She snarled, good mood evaporating.
"The plant regenerates and adapts. The longer you take to beat it, the more likely it is to beat you." the voice said, its annoying tone spreading through her head like an itch she couldn't scratch. She wasn't even sure which of the gems the stupid voice belonged to. It was just always there, telling her what to do, what not to do, giving her orders.
"You must listen."
Nobody told her what to do.
"I ain't gotta do nuthin!" Sugilite said, her anger surging through her like a storm and shoving the voice back into the depths of her mind. Sugilite smoldered as she watched the bear shove itself back upright.
Oh, she'd crush the stupid seed all right. Just not until she'd had her fill.
The plant became enveloped in a rosy glow, at its feet the land and plants began to wither as the slashes across its body closed and its teeth repaired themselves. As the glow faded, she noted that it had grown bigger as well. It now stood as tall as her, looking her dead in the eyes. Maybe now it would actually put up a decent fight?
"Well look who's all grown up no- GAH!"
The bear had exploded into motion, hurling itself at her much faster than before. Caught off guard, she was only able to get her arms halfway up when it slammed into her.
The force of impact sent her sliding backwards. She dug her feet into the ground and was just able to keep herself from being bowled over. She slammed her fists into the bear but it barely budged, slashing out with its claws and leaving gashes all along her torso.
Sugilite tried to get some distance between them, but the vines shot out and wrapped around her arms like steel cords. It yanked backwards pulling her towards it and slammed its armored head into her face. Her shades shattered, digging into her eyes and blinding her.
She felt her feet leave the ground as the bear plant heaved, hurling her through the air. She hit the ground and rolled, the crystal grass leaving scratches all along her body, she came to a stop face down in the grass.
What just happened?
Sugilite pushed herself back to her knees; she was dimly aware of the bear stalking towards her, but her mind was too busy reeling with shock to truly register it. This thing was pushing her around. Her. That wasn't supposed to happen, she was Sugilite! She was big, she was the strongest, and nothing could ever overpower her!
"I told you."
A shadow fell over her. The bear was above her, claws raised to finish her off. Her eyes narrowed.
Hell. No.
Her fury ignited, surging through her and materializing a massive pair of gauntlets on her hands; she caught the paws, stopping them dead. The plant paused, a flicker of confusion flashing through its eyes before redoubling its effort to crush her.
Sugilite squeezed, grinding the thing's paws into paste, before tearing them off completely.
She was done playing around with the stupid weed.
"You think you're tough?" She screamed, slamming another fist into the bear face.
It tried to retreat, but she raised her hand and shot her left gauntlet like a rocket, slamming into its torso point blank and launching it into the air before exploding into a violet fireball. The bear shrieked as it hit the ground, its body blacked by the fire. It tried to rise, only to be met by Sugilite, who had leapt into the air after it, putting all her weight behind her remaining gauntlet. Her fist slammed into its armored head, crushing it like an egg.
"You're nuthin'!"
It went berserk, writhing around in a blind fury. Unfortunately for the plant, Sugilite was way ahead of it; she was so full of rage that she could barely see. Her eyes blazing behind her shades, she hoisted it off the ground and methodically began to tear it to pieces. All four arms were blurs, ripping off vine after vine as it struggled, trying desperately to regenerate as it rained blows down on her head.
Sugilite wasn't sure how long this went on, nor did she really notice when the blows stopped falling on her. But eventually her fury began to cool, when the her eyes clear she was left panting clutching the plant's seed in between her forefinger and thumb. Its pinkish glow had ebbed, a few roots wriggled feebly around it.
"Like I said, nuthin'!" She finished, her eyes burning like coals as she glared at the miniscule seed.
And crushed it, grinding the seed to dust between her fingers. She flicked off the dust and fell to her knees, gasping for air.
She was exhausted. Which was weird, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been so tired. She glanced around, the once pristine fields of grass wrecked. Anywhere that wasn't pockmarked by craters was covered in blackened grass or bits of torn up vines. She grinned.
It'd been a good fight.
"And now it's time to go."
Sugilite frowned. That voice again.
"I ain't done yet." She said, rising to her feet. She closed her eyes and concentrated, willing the wounds on her body to disappear. She opened her eye once more and squinted in the glare. Why was it so bright? Oh right, the stupid plant had wrecked her shades. She formed a new pair, blocking out the irritating radiance. Much better.
"Why? The battle is done. Our foe defeated. You are no longer needed."
"I'll leave when I'm good and ready." She said, stomping through the grasslands. Where was the warp pad again? She couldn't see it even from her height.
"And when will that be?" why couldn't that voice just shut up? She was gonna start getting mad again.
"Why would I leave? It's great to be me. Both of the runts who make me up love it." She didn't know why she was bothering to argue, she should just shut the whiney voice out, but she just couldn't seem to work up the anger.
"They enjoy the experience, but you always stay too long, and they regret what comes later."
Sugilite snorted, "If they really didn't like it, they'd do something about it." She caught a glimmer out of the corner of her eye and looked. Ah! There was the warp pad, about time.
"They try, but you do not let them. You are too much." Ugh, that was what everyone always whined about. She was too violent, she was too big, and she was much. Why couldn't the rest of the world just deal with it?
She had finally worked her way to the warp pad. She had trouble working them because of her size, but she could do it. She made to step onto it.
"Do not do this."
Sugilite paused. It wasn't the words that made her, it was the tone; the voice was always creepily calm. Telling her what she should be doing. But it wasn't calm now, it sounded… desperate, maybe even a bit angry.
"Why?" why shouldn't she be allowed to go where she wanted, it's not like anything could stop her.
"If you return to the temple, you will damage it, you will surely pick another fight with Pearl, and you will almost certainly hurt Steven."
"What!" Sugilite said, nostrils flaring. She didn't care much about the temple, it was fallin' apart anyway, and Bird-nose was always asking for it. But, "I wouldn't hurt Steven." The kid was great.
"I'm sure you wouldn't mean to."
"I wouldn't!" she repeated. If this stupid voice didn't get a clue really quick, she was gonna start getting really mad, she could feel her insides beginning to heat up again.
"Are you sure? Last time you did."
"I… what?" Sugilite blinked, the half formed anger blowing away in confusion.
"At the communication hub, when he first met you. You hurt him."
"No I didn't!"
"You did. When you started smashing the pillars he was hit by a falling rock. He recovered, but if Pearl hadn't gotten him out of there, it could have been much worse. You would not have noticed until it was too late."
"That's not true!"… Was it? She had been smashing a lot of things. She couldn't remember much else.
"It is."
"But."
"The world is just too little to handle Sugilite in more than small doses." Here the voice became a little rueful. "We are just too much."
"Oh it's we now?" Sugilite replied bitterly, crossing her arms and glaring at nothing in particular.
"Of course. We are Sugilite. And it is time for us to go."
Sugilite closed her eyes. "…fine." She was getting bored anyway.
And let herself fall apart in a flash of violet light.
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Authors note:
I gave Sugilite more powers then she has shown in canon because I can only say she hit it really hard so many ways. I did my best to keep it reasonable like she and make her act like she should.
It's interesting, because my favorite of the fusions is actually Opal, but I think that the instability of Sugilite makes for a more interesting dynamic. What do the rest of you think?
This stories almost over, because I want to actually finish it and have issues with finishing longer stories. So I'm just gonna write an epilogue.