The sun peeked over the bay in Beach City, heralding waves of light that illuminated the waters with a crystalline reflection. It was not long before it fully revealed itself and banished the darkness of the night. At that moment, a certain imaginary friend tossed and grunted while lying down. With half-opened lids, Bloo got up and looked to his side. There, Mac was comfortably resting, silently breathing. "Mac?" The blue friend nudged his creator. "Mac, I'm thirsty." He intensified his jostling, the boy's face scrunching in response. "Mac. Mac!" After Mac cloistered himself up, Bloo gave up with a frustrated sigh. The blob jumped up and made his way to the refrigerator, making no effort to be silent. With an apathetic look, Bloo opened the fridge and took a can of soda, popping the top off before exiting outside.

The blob took a long sip before sighing and giving a small belch. As he was about to take another, something came straight down in front of him. "Aah!" The imaginary friend dropped his drink and crashed on his back. The ruckus caused the occupants inside to jolt up, or in Amethyst's case, lazily wipe the sleep from her eyes. Steven was the first to bust out the screen door, Mac at the rear. His face broke into a grin when he saw the blue woman standing in front of them. "Lapis!"

She returned the smile with one of her own. "Steven!"

"How was your trip?"

"Good, good. Except-"

"Hey!" Bloo's whining broke the train. "Who the heck is this?!"

"Oh, right. Mac, Bloo, this is Lapis Lazuli."

She raised a hand, "Hey."

"She lives with Peridot out at the barn." Mac held out his hand towards the stranger. "Well, my name's Mac." The two shook. "I see you met Bloo." The friend got to his non-existent feet and looked up and down at the gem. "I'm getting another soda," he grumbled before heading inside. He passed Amethyst through the door, the gem still looking half asleep. "Oh, hey. Lapis is back." Her voice lacked enthusiasm. "You want me to get Peri?" Lapis' face lost its smile as it turned slightly scared.

"There's no time."

"What do you mean?" Steven asked.

"When I was coming back, I took a detour to that city you showed me. You know, to see the lights. Something else was there; these green monsters. They weren't anything like the gems you've fought."

"Wait," Mac interjected. "Were these things made of slime and junk and stuff?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"We had a run-in with things like that before we left," Mac crossed his arms, "But we took care of them." Lapis genuinely looked surprised. "How?"

"Well, I didn't come in 'till the end, but from what I heard, Jack had it under control."

"Jack?"

"Oh yeah," Steven chimed. "Jack is a friend of Mac and Bloo. He's this guy who's like Lonely Blade, but even better."

"Lonely who?"

"Trust me, it's better if you see him first hand. Speaking of which, where is he?"

On cue, the teleporter flashed to life, bringing a column of light. When it dissipated, Pearl and Jack were at the center, both smiling. "Pearl!" Steven rushed in.

"Steven!" Pearl was taken aback by her name being called.

"Where've you been and... why is Jack with you?" Amethyst came up with a mischievous smirk. "Yeah Pearl, what were you doing with him?" Pearl blushed before huffing. "I'll have you know we were training."

"I bet you were."

"Sword training." Jack couldn't help but smile at Pearl getting flustered. He put his hand on her back. "It is alright. We were indeed sparring last night. Pearl is more capable than many I have encountered." The compliment made her cheeks flush before Amethyst left with a small snicker.

The two got down when Lapis entered the house. "Lapis," Pearl had a tinge of calm curiosity in her words. "What are you doing here?" The blue-skinned gem turned to the samurai.

"Are, are you Jack?"

"Yes. How do you know of me?"

"Mac told me about you. How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Mac said you beat those monsters someplace else."

"The green creatures?"

"Yes. They attacked a city and it floated into the sky. Did that not happen to you?" Jack shook his head.

"If they have returned, please show me."

"Hey!" Connie spoke up from the corner of the room. "Do you hear something?" When everyone was quiet, a sort of whistling sound could be heard. It grew louder and louder until...

Boom! Boom!

Everyone covered their ears as the house was rocked by a quake. The children, Bloo and Amethyst were knocked down while the others wobbled. When the house settled, everyone but Bloo dashed out the door to see what caused the ruckus. By the rocks and shore was a fusion meteor, slime oozing into the water. Those who were familiar with them gasped save for Jack who grasped his sword by the hilt. Behind the blight, something rose from the water: a pair of giant craw dads made of stone, sand, and junk. Lapis instinctively raised her arms and a deluge of water rushed towards the beasts. They thrashed as hard as they could but were helpless as the water surrounded them. In no time at all, the two were trapped in giant floating orbs of water, each flailing their bodies in a pointless effort to get out. Lapis smirked. "That's taken care of." Jack nodded before leaping into the air with his sword drawn. When he reached the peak, he pointed his sword at the fusion meteor and thrust. After puncturing the mass of slime, it screamed like the one at Foster's, sizzling into nothing after a few agonizing seconds. The samurai pulled his sword from the sand and smiled back at his comrades. Steven and Connie both jumped and cheered while Mac clapped. "Now that that's done," Lapis began. "We can-" Before the gem could continue, she buckled as if under a great weight. Inside the craw dads' prisons, the water surrounding them darkened into a sickly green. When they had completely changed, the orbs dispersed and the captives were freed. With an unexpected swiftness, they barreled towards the house and jumped, rocketing at the kids. Before their claws could grab anyone, a magenta bubble materialized out of nowhere. The two beasts crashed into it and were thrown back towards Jack. In two quick swipes, the monsters were cut in half and dissolved into pools of debris. The warrior wasted no time examining his kills and rather jumped back to the porch. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Oh, that was me!" Steven had his hand raised.

"You can create bubbles?"

"Yeah, and that's not all," Mac chimed in. "Show 'em Steven!"

"Sure." Steven's gem glowed as a magenta shield appeared in his arm. "Well?" Jack smiled.

"Impressive. Just as Rose did when she visited our people."

"Thanks."

"Well," Pearl put her hands on her hips. "Now that that's done let's hear what Lapis-"

Beep! Beep!

Steven pulled out his ringing cell phone. "It's Sadie." He put the phone to his ear. "Sadie! How's it-? What? Monsters? Wait, are they green and made of junk? Okay. Yes, just stay put 'till we get there. Thanks." He looked to his friends. "There's more of those things in town! We gotta hurry!"

Mac nodded, "Right."

"Do we gotta?" Bloo's whine elicited a quick glare from Mac, Jack, and Pearl. "Ughh! Fine."

The group ran as fast as they could, kicking sand behind them with each step.

Screams and smoke rose from the boardwalk as the people were chased to and fro by fusion monsters. Some looked like barrels with tripod legs while others were sea creatures. Those that weren't chasing spread their sickly matter wherever they could, adding more creatures to their ranks. One man tripped by his sandals onto the wood. He twisted around to see a hulking golem made of fire hydrants staring down. It raised its red hydrant fist in the air, preparing to mash the bystander to a pulp. "Heeelllp!" From nowhere a whip covered in purple chunks of stone latched onto the monster's appendage. It turned slightly to see Amethyst at the other end. Before it could break free, Connie jumped in and made a horizontal slash. The beast fell to its knees before falling apart. "Get to safety!" The man didn't need to be told twice as he ran with flailing arms. The rest of the gang caught up to the human girl. Amethyst held her fist for a fist bump which Connie took advantage of. "Nice."

It was short-lived as a barrel tripod stampeded from nowhere right at them. With lightning-reflexes, Pearl pulled a light blue spear from her gem and sliced the monster in two, each chunk passing to the side. "We need to do something and fast," Pearl announced.

"I got it!" Mac spoke up. "Jack, Pearl, Amethyst, Steven and Connie will handle these things while Bloo and I will try to find people and get them away. Lapis, you search for another one of those blob things from the air; it's gotta be where they're coming from!"

Steven raised his hand. "I'm coming with you."

"What? Why?"

"The girls and Jack can handle things, besides," he opened his mouth and displayed his tongue. "My healing spit came back."

"Oh! Good idea. We ready?"

"Umm," Bloo hemmed and hawed, "Can I do something else?"

"Not unless you want to take on the monsters."

"Fair point. Alright, let's move!" Bloo made a mad dash with a determined face, completely forgetting his cohorts as he turned a corner. Mac groaned. "Well that's one more thing we have to deal with."

It was a minute before Bloo slowed down. Just then a particularly loud cry for help came. "I'm coming!" As if he were a superhero, the imaginary friend ran to where the cry came from: a snack shack with large fries on top. Inside was a man with tall, fry-like hair and a boy with a curlier style. "Finally!" Bloo cried. He rushed to the clear window counter and squinted his eyes. "Can you help us?" The man asked. "There's something blocking the door! We can't get out!" The plea could not shake the blob from his concentration. The boy raised an eyebrow, "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Quiet, Petey," the man hushed. "He's trying to figure out how to get us out." At that moment, Bloo became wide-eyed and smiled.

"I got it!"

"You do?"

"Yep. I'll have a large tub of chili fries and a medium cola."

"What!?" Petey blurted out and furrowed his brow. "First of all, we don't have chili fries. Second-"

"No chili fries!? What kind of two-bit joint are you running!?"

"That's not important! We need-"

"Hey! You ever hear of 'the customer's always right'? Well this customer wants chili fries, chop chop!"

"You-" Petey and his father turned quiet and stared.

"That's right," Bloo smugly stated. "Now if you could turn on those fryers we can get to busi-" A clicking sound behind the friend caused him to stop. He slowly turned around to see three eels standing and staring at him with red, pupil-less eyes. "Aauggh!" Bloo ran like a bat out of Hell before the Eels screeched and gave chase to the narcissist.

With swinging arms, Bloo took a turn into an alley...before realizing it was a dead end. The friend clawed at the wall trying to either climb it or dig through, both equally fruitless. "Huff, huff." He turned slowly to see his pursuers at the other end, their shadows creeping at his feet. Bloo closed his eyes and braced for the worst.

Graaww!

A roar echoed in the alleyway. When it ended, all was quiet. Bloo slowly opened his eye to see a beast stare down on him. "Aaauughh!"

"Hey, Bloo."

"Mac?! You got eaten?!"

"Up here." Poking his head from behind Lion's mane, Mac waved to his terrified friend.

"W-what the heck?! Where'd the monsters go?"

"Lion took care of them." The pink beast yawned when his name was called. "Hop on!"

"Are you crazy?!" Leaping down from the roof, a crudely shaped pirate made of candy and fusion matter landed and bared his blade.

Rowwr!

A blast of sound was let loose from Lion's mouth, slamming the pirate into the wall and tearing its limbs from the body. Bloo looked at the mass and then at his savior. "Move over!"

Amethyst spun on the ground, crashing through barrel after barrel like a purple pinball. What was left twitched like dying insects bringing a look of satisfaction to her face. It soon vanished as she saw a shadow cast over her. Looking up, she saw a fire hydrant about to crush her. "Quack!" The gem rolled out of the way before the Hydro Hammer crashed its fist into the street, splitting the pavement. It retracted and took a step forward before stopping. "What?" It collapsed, revealing a triumphant Jack with his sword in the monster. Amethyst gave a thumbs-up and a smirk.

"How's everyone doing?" Pearl ran in with Connie at her side.

"Taking care of business, P."

"Indeed," Jack answered. "I believe this area has been cleared of those creatures."

"Nice!" Connie pumped her fist. "Does that mean we're done?"

"Not yet!" Lapis flew in, her water wings slowing her descent. "I found the blob, it's at the amusement park near some giant wheel." They all nodded before following Lapis as she flew.

The five stopped when they reached a Ferris wheel, under it a fusion meteor replaced one of the carts. "Alright!" Amethyst pulled out her whip. "This is gonna be cake!" At that moment, the planks began to shake. The sound of metal tearing rang out as the restraints on the ride were broken. The carts twisted, becoming green while a horizontal crack formed on each. It started moving, the core ascending to the top of the wheel. When it was done, the ride had become a multi-headed creature, staring down at its foes.

Eeeeeaaaaahhhh!

The heads let out a bestial scream, forcing the group to cover their ears. Crawling out from every corner, hordes of fusion creatures answered the call, quickly surrounding the heroes. Instead of immediately going for them, the monsters circled like sharks around prey. The shuffling, pounding and other noises they made halted, staring down the ready gems and humans with inhuman faces. Each of the non-fusions stepped slowly backwards, their backs soon joining each other. "Lapis," Jack addressed the blue gem. "Is there any way you can fly us to safety?"

"Not with this many people, no."

Jack gave a small sigh as his eyes scanned the foes in front of him. "Then be prepared to fight."

"Uh, I'm not usually the downer," Amethyst spoke up, "but unless you got some magic flying platform, we're pretty much hosed."

Just then, a shimmering portal appeared above them.

Graaww!

Leaping out was a large magenta creature. "Lion!" Connie pointed. On his back was a smiling Mac, Steven and a Bloo who was holding on for dear life. The great beast landed on his feet. Lion's "owner" waved. "Hey, guys!" He turned and looked around, "Did I come in at a bad time?"

"Nope," Amethyst reached out. "You're just in time!" Steven quickly jumped down and took it. Immediately, the two transformed into light, their gems the only thing that could be made out. The two masses mingled and joined into one. When it dimmed, the result was a stocky woman with brown, messed up hair, Steven's shirt, Amethyst's boots and pants, grey skin, and an extra right arm. Jack couldn't help but stare in surprise. "Steven?!"

"It's cool, Jack," the new creation smirked. "He's here," Her gems glowed as she pulled two giant yo-yos. "Just call me Smokey Quartz. Now duck!" Everyone got down as Smokey Quartz's weapons launched out, crushing anything in their path. She twirled, the yo-yo's ropes knocking down the monsters without giving them time to react. When they had all fallen, she stopped, "Get 'em while they're down!" Jack, Pearl, Lion, and Connie combed the grounds, executing the discombobulated fusion monsters without mercy; it almost seemed unfair. When the last one fell apart, Jack turned back to see Smokey with two of her hands on her hips. "What is this?"

"They've fused." Pearl answered from behind. "When two or more gems are 'in sync' they combine to form a new entity."

"Is it...permanent?"

"Oh, no. They can go back whenever they want."

Jack gave a smile of relief. "Good."

"Guys!" Mac called. "We still got that Terror Wheel to deal with!"

Said fusion Ferris wheel had been remaining still, observing the battle like a sentinel.

As they drew their weapons, the beast began spinning at high speeds, the wind starting to buffet them. "Two can play at that game!" Smoky pulled a third yo-yo and spun each, creating three vortexes. It seemed to be working, the monster gradually slowed down, bringing a cocky grin to her face. When the beast finally halted, it did the unexpected: it twisted the opposite way. The momentum Smoky Quartz provided was turned against her. With the monster's strength added to it, the resulting air blast pierced through her weapons, sending the gem flying into a wall. The rest were using their weapons to barely hold on, Bloo in particular was screaming like a man hanging to a cliff.

The Terror Wheel slowed down, allowing a brief respite. It didn't last. The creature immediately rotated forward, its heads shredding the boardwalk beneath it to pieces. "Run!" Jack called. They didn't need to be told twice as the heroes scrambled away from the menace. They each split up, leaving Pearl and Jack together, hiding behind a carnival games stand. Jack held his chin and closed his eyes in contemplation. "Do you have any ideas?" Pearl asked.

The samurai shook his head. "If it can create such force, it is nearly impossible to get it still." He looked down at his sword. "Which means I cannot destroy the core."

"Well, I had a plan, but for it to work we'd need-"

"Pearl!" A nasally voice drew their attention to a panting Peridot. When she caught up, she bent over, catching her breath. "You guys! There's something important going on! We need to- Why are you smiling?"

"Because now, my plan will work." Pearl answered.

The Terror Wheel was continuing its rampage at the wharf, destroying anything in its path in the search for its enemies. Despite the ruckus, a whistle pierced the ruckus causing the monster's heads to turn around. There in the open was the samurai. Without a word, he dashed to the side. The fusion creature roared before giving chase to its prey. Jack held in a smirk as he ran over towards the end of the wharf, the beast continuing its pursuit. Eventually he reached the edge overlooking the sea. It looked as if he were trapped between the monster and the ocean. Instead, he greeted the Terror Wheel with an arrogant smile. Just before he was crushed, he jumped over his predator with seemingly superhuman strength. When he was away, he called to the side. "Peridot!"

"On it!" The short gem pushed forward; an invisible force knocked the beast over the edge and crashing into the water. The Terror Wheel wasn't shocked for long as it began to rotate again. This time, however, it was much slower; its pod-faces crashing into the water and scraping the bedrock hindered its movement. Peridot and Jack ran to the side. "We did it!" Peridot cheered.

"Not yet, remember?"

"Oh, right." Coming from the water was the green orb that formed the core.

"Now!" At Jack's command, Peridot raised her arms. The metal in the monster creaked as it stiffened.

"Hurry!" Jack nodded and leapt forward, his sword aimed right in front of him. With one slash, he cleaved though the meteor and fell to the other side. The Terror Wheel screeched as its body began to collapse and split apart. Its screams were silenced as it was swallowed by the sea, its life ending when the last bubble popped.

Jack stuck his head out and shook the water off. "Hey!" Peridot called with cupped hands. "Did you get rid of that thing?!"

"Yes! I believe so!"

"Great! Can you get back?!"

"That may take a while!"

Jack found the water around him rushing upwards into the air. He found himself in a large bubble of water quickly flying to the wharf. He landed on his feet as the water fell back down.

"Did you do that?"

"Nope." A blue gem answered as she landed.

"Lapis!" Peridot greeted her friend. "Did ya see that?! I managed to stop that monster from moving!"

"Yeah, cool."

"That was fantastic, Jack." Pearl stepped in from behind a building. "Although I was expecting you'd roll out of the way. I didn't think you could fly."

"Not fly," Jack smiled. "Jump good."

"Hey guys!" Mac came in on Lion's back along with Bloo, Connie, Amethyst and Steven.

"Steven, Amethyst, you are all right?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Of course," Steven smiled. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"I... Never mind."

"Well, nice job! Not even Smoky Quartz could beat that thing and you did."

"Ahem," Peridot crossed her arms. "I think you're forgetting who immobilized it in the first place."

"Oh, I didn't see that, but I'm sure you did great too."

"Thank you," Peridot answered with a smug grin.

"Say," Connie spoke up. "Why are you here, Peridot?"

The green gem dropped her proud face as she gasped. "Oh my gosh! I forgot! You guys, the temple is under attack!"

"What?!" They collectively yelled (save for Bloo).

"Those slime creatures came inside through the walls! Garnet told me to get you guys as fast as I could!"

"Then there's no time to lose!" Steven roused. "Everyone get on Lion!" Without questioning it, the group did as Steven told. When they were firmly on the magenta creature, its eyes glowed a bright white.

Rooaaarr!

Rather than shoot a soundwave, a shimmering portal appeared which Lion leapt into. The inside was like a tube containing crystalline structures. Jack, Mac, Connie and Peridot shielded themselves from the wind while Bloo screamed, barely holding onto Lion's tail. Eventually they passed through a wall of light and found themselves in front of the steps to Steven's house. Immediately Bloo fell onto the sand with a thud. The imaginary friend breathed out four words. "Not...doing...that...again!" The rest jumped off Lion and dashed towards the front door.

"Where did you last see Garnet?!" Pearl asked the green gem.

"Last I saw, she was going into the room where you store corrupted gems!"

Pearl gasped. "If those things get the gems, they'll-"

"Then we're not gonna let that happen!" Connie shouted. The group flung open the screen door and rushed to the stone door behind the teleporter. Pearl raised a hand and after a gem on the star flashed, it opened upwards. The group clambered in; before them were piles of rubble with green slime oozing out of them. Beyond that, Garnet was locked in combat with two golems made of stone. They were powerful, but the gem was quicker, ducking and swerving past their strikes. Like a trained boxer, she got in close and with gauntlets on her hands punched a hole right through one of their stomachs. The second she finished off with a rising uppercut. Each collapsed into stone piles. "Garnet!" Steven shouted.

"Glad you made it." The gem smiled as her weapons vanished.

"Why'd you need us?" Amethyst asked. "Seems like you handled them pretty well."

"Jack," she turned to the samurai.

"Yes?"

"I need you to strike the green ooze with your sword."

"What?"

"I have seen what will happen if you don't. I don't know why, but it's the only way to finish them."

Rather than question it, the samurai unsheathed his sword and stabbed the fusion matter next to him. When it hit, the slime gave off steam as it began to evaporate. When it was all gone, Garnet smirked, "Good."

Jack continued the extermination while Pearl came up to her leader. "Garnet, what happened?"

"After you left, green ooze seeped in from the walls. It animated the rocks but I held it and the ooze off. Before you came in, it retreated."

"Garnet, I am so sorry! Those things were attacking the town! If we knew-"

"It's alright," the taller gem placed a hand on her shoulder. "You did good, all of you." The kids couldn't help but smile at the complement.

Meanwhile, Amethyst and Peridot were searching around the floating pink orbs, each containing a stone. After a few head turns, Amethyst's eyes grew wide. "You guys, Jasper's gone."

An inhumanly large woman ran down a corridor, columns flanking her with each five steps. Her skin was a light orange with darker orange stripes. She wore a jumpsuit similar to Peridot's though it was dark brown as opposed to green. In place of a nose, a chunk of Jasper rested in the middle of her face. She panted, her wild white hair splayed as her strong legs carried her towards a light in the distance. When she was close enough, it began to clear. The woman was then inside a stone room, a colossal throne sitting in the center. She stopped when she noticed that it was empty. Her head swiveled in panic. "My diamond!" her voice echoed. "My diamond! Where are you?!" The sound of footsteps answered her calls. Walking from behind the throne was another woman with a pink and white dress. Her hair was long, pink, and curly and her lips were full. In her hand was a pink diamond the size of a human skull. "Rose!" The woman, assumedly Rose, smirked as her grip on the stone tightened. The other woman reached out, her face twisted into a sneer. "Rose! If you don't let her go, I swear on my honor as a Jasper, you, WILL, PAY!"

Crish!

The diamond shattered in Rose's palm, the shards reflecting Jasper's face. Instead of a look of anger, it sunk into one of shock. She dropped to her knees, her fists on the floor. A single tear fell from her eye. "No," she muttered, "this shouldn't have happened. It couldn't! Pink Diamond..." Between her hands, she could make out a reflection of Rose. Her head shot up to see Steven with an arrogant smile on his face. "You!" Next to him appeared Peridot, Lapis and Amethyst. Their faces either had looks of superiority or pity. "This is all your fault!" Cracking the floor, Jasper launched herself at the visions. Instead of getting closer, they turned around and walked away. "Don't you dare!" She shouted. "Don't you dare leave meeeeee!"

Jasper's eye shot open. She jumped up and twisted her head side-to-side. "Where-?" She stopped and straightened herself, suddenly gaining clarity. The orange gem looked down to her hands, clenching them. After a few squeezes, a twisted smile came to her face. "Ha ha! I knew it! This planet could never ruin me!" Eventually, her laughter died and she shifted attention to her surroundings. She was in a sand-swept canyon riddled in disorganized holes. "The Beta Kindergarten?" Jasper turned to find a giant hole approximately her size, the stone inside warped by intense heat. She approached it and placed her hand near it. Feeling the mixed elements, she smirked. "Home sweet home."

"Yes. It is nice, isn't it?" The male voice snapped Jasper from her nostalgia and she swerved around. "Who's there?!"

"Of course, it has its share of painful times. After all, this may be the sight of your impressive birth, but it's also the sight of your defeat."

"Come out now!" An orange helmet materialized with a protruding forehead. "You have ten seconds before I bring this place on your head!"

"No need for violence," from out of the shadows stepped a being composed of green ooze in the shape of a man; its pupil-less eyes colored a glowing red. "At least, not yet."

"What do you want?!" The warrior seethed.

"I know much about you, Jasper. You and the empire you were created to serve."

"Yeah? What's it to ya?!"

"You've noticed it too, haven't you?"

"What?"

"It's decline," Jasper calmed a little as the being turned his back to her. "Ever since you gems lost the Earth and Pink Diamond, it went downhill. After the war, the Galvan became involved, limiting your colonies to uninhabited planets. Now the diamonds have become a group of sentimental fools, trying to cement their rule on crumbling ruins." He turned again and outstretched his arm. "Look at you; their greatest warrior and they don't even have the sense to retrieve you."

"That's enough!" She yelled. "I won't have you insult the diamonds!"

"Well, did they ever confirm the rumors?"

"Rumors?"

"The ones about colonies vanishing without a trace."

"No."

"Well they're true. I've been there."

"You're lying!" The gem snarled.

"Think about it. They would keep mere soldiers like you in the dark. Better to do that than shatter you and start a new crop with land they don't have."

"That can't be."

"It is." The stranger walked towards her as he kept speaking. "But it doesn't have to be this way. You can change it."

Jasper narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What are you saying?"

"You are the greatest warrior of your kind. It would make perfect sense if you became their leader..."

"Betray the diamonds?!"

"The diamonds betrayed your race! Every moment they are in power, the gems become weaker! Only you can return them to the conquerors they were! What would Pink Diamond want?"

"How dare you...?!"

"I dare because I am your only hope of helping you complete your master's vision. Lead my forces, and you can take what you are rightfully owed. You and your kind."

The gem looked down, the words finally getting to her. She raised her head. "And Rose? Will I be allowed to shatter her?"

"You may deal with your enemies at your leisure."

Jasper smiled, "Very well." While it may not have been noticeable, one might swear that the oozing being had a twisted smile on. "So, who are you?"

"I am known as Lord Fuse." The landscape around them shifted, changing from orange sandstone to green slime. From the ground, more green shapes pulled themselves from the fusion matter, their eyes a crimson red. "I think it's time you get acquainted with your new army."