A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed last night's new episode. I know I did. The reason this post is so late is because I spent last night writing a giant SU-meta inspired by it instead of making this chapter (it's already posted on my tumblr, too, if you want to check it out). Sorry if today's chapter is a little rough around the edges-I literally just finished writing it. ^^"

This chapter also marks the beginning of the overlaps. I felt it was redundant to copy/paste in a scene from earlier on in this story (in this case, Chapters 3 and 4: The New Definition of Close), but I tried to create enough references to jog your memory and to help you slot the current scenes in around the events you are already familiar with. I haven't done anything like this before, so I would really appreciate any and all feedback on how this technique worked out for you. Did you need more references? Would you have appreciated some level of copy/paste from the original scene? Did you feel like you were floundering, or were you comfortable enough to keep pushing on? This isn't the only time I will have to design an overlap, so any and all feedback on the subject, either in a review or a PM or an ask on my blog would be extremely helpful to making the conclusion of this story as cohesive and seamless for you as possible! :D

AND OHMIGOD AHHHH SPATIAL DREW TOURMALINE IT IS INCREDIBLE PLEASE GO LOOK, GO LOOK (theladyforester [PERIOD] tumblr [DOTCOM] /search /united+I+stand+fanart). As always, make sure to in the proper punctuation and take out the spaces :)

The independence that Sapphire and Ruby typically enjoy is beginning to feel like a curse. Normally having the freedom to laugh or train in between Sapphire's answers for the Diamonds is nice, but now they spend the majority of these breaks speaking to each other in hushed tones like they think someone's listening at the door, hashing out how they're going to make it to the rec center unscathed today. They are relying heavily upon Sapphire's future vision now. Avoiding confrontation with the other Ruby and her lynch mob is the name of the game.

"She doesn't care what happens to her at this point," Sapphire says of the Supervisor. Currently, she is kneeling on the floor with Ruby's head resting on her legs. She lightly traces the shape of her partner's forehead as she talks. "I can see it when I watch her. She doesn't care about her duties as a Supervisor, or the Diamonds finding out, or even her own wellbeing at this point. She lives and breathes revenge for the way we've beaten and humiliated her."

"I always knew she was crazy," Ruby mutters. Her arms are folded over her abdomen, but she can't seem to help flapping her hands as she gestures. "How does a gem with an unhinged personality like that get to be such a high ranking Supervisor anyway?"

"If I had to wager a guess, I'd say it's because she pursued rank as single mindedly as she is hunting us."

"That was a rhetorical question, Sapph," she says, flashing a teasing little grin and tilting her head back to meet Sapphire's eye from under her bangs.

Sapphire starts to say something, and then stops. Her gloved fingers pause where they have begun unconsciously trickling down the side of her partner's face. "Oh."

The little grin on Ruby's face fades as she tilts her had back to a more comfortable angle and says, "This isn't, though: how has no one reported her yet?"

"She's strong, high ranking, and has high Mohs. Who would want to incite her wrath, besides us?" says Sapphire as she begins playing with the ends of Ruby's hair, pinching and twirling a tight curl between her fingers. The texture is fascinating, so much more interesting than her own somewhat wavy locks.

Ruby stretches her legs and crosses them at the ankles, entirely unbothered by Sapphire's exploration. "But she has to be afraid of being caught by someone with the gall to talk to upper management," she says.

"Honestly, Ruby, she doesn't act like she thinks she will get caught."

"Oh, because she's that sneaky," Ruby scoffs. Her hand slaps against her stomach when it flaps down.

"Not necessarily. She's just cocky."

Clearly not appreciating Sapphire's realism, Ruby lets out a loud groan and rubs at her face with her gem-free hand. Her ankles uncross and her feet kick lightly at nothing. "I wish we could just ambush and poof her one of these days. Can you imagine how great that would feel, after this level of harassment?"

"I wouldn't be able to stop at just poofing her," Sapphire says. She's stopped playing with Ruby's hair and gone unnaturally still.

Ruby's partially joking tone fades, and when her hand lowers Sapphire can see that her expression has softened. She arches her neck so she can make eye contact again. "Sapphire, you shouldn't feel guilty about what happened the last time we saw her," she says. "You didn't do anything that she hasn't already recovered from. It's just like when you put Plagioclase in her place."

"It almost wasn't."

This makes Ruby sit up and turn around so that they're face to face. She braces both hands on Sapphire's legs and says, "Almosts don't matter—you know that better than anyone. Besides, she really doesn't deserve your compassion."

"But she deserves yours? You were the one who stopped me from killing her."

Ruby's expression changes, becomes less soft and more resolute. "The only reason I stopped you is because I knew you would regret it if you shattered her. You've gone soft, remember?"

Sapphire lets out a little laugh despite herself. "Yes, I suppose I have." When she touches Ruby's sturdy wrists—just lightly, asking—she is rewarded when their fingers wind together. A small, nearly electric sensation zings up her arm when their gems clink together, facets pressed flush.

Adaptation is an amazing thing. It doesn't take long before slinking through the halls to avoid the persistence of the other ruby becomes just another part of daily life. There have been close calls, of course—a couple of days ago the other ruby had taken the least probable route and ended up spotting them. There had been a chorus of shouts and curses as Sapphire grabbed Ruby and swiftly dashed out of range. They were chased by a veritable inferno of enraged flames, and upon meeting up with their friends Tourmaline had smelt singed hair and promptly smirked, "Things get a little hot between you two? Eh, Ruby?"

The smirk dropped right off her round face when she heard what actually happened.

That was actually the closest to confrontation they had gotten with the Supervisor in nearly two-hundred years. The near-miss leaves them both shaky and paranoid like this is the first few months of avoiding the other ruby all over again, so much so that when Sapphire is struck with an all-consuming vision in the middle of the hall on their walk back from the rec center—the first she's had in centuries—that Ruby panics. Being left without Sapphire's future vision or calming voice makes her feel extremely vulnerable, and her boxing gloves are out as she checks every nook and cranny of the otherwise empty hall twice before she realizes that there is no eminent threat and forces herself to relax somewhat.

It explains why Ruby is so upset when Sapphire can't find the words to explain her vision, after it releases her. Context in visions is important, and without the right context it is very difficult to relay all of the information properly—normally Ruby understands this, but she is scared witless that whatever Sapphire saw had something to do with the other ruby and the fact that, realistically, they can't avoid this forever that she barely hears it when Sapphire sighs, "It was… oh, Ruby, it was beautiful."

After doing a double take on that, Ruby feels so awkward and lost all that's really left to do is make a joke about her ridiculous bullying wasp visions to dissolve the tension.

Not even an hour later, they form Garnet for the first time. Sapphire says the circumstances are nothing like what she Saw—but there again, her first vision of them as more than friends was actually set a thousand years into the future, long after she assumed it would have happened, so perhaps this is another one of those instances. After experiencing future vision firsthand herself, Ruby now understands with new clarity just how disorienting it can be.

"Ruby, do you understand what this—what Garnet—means?" says Sapphire in the aftermath. She hasn't even opened the messages in her inbox, but it sounds like that is the last thing on her mind right now. Her blue cheeks are slightly flushed, and there is excitement in her voice.

Ruby, usually so good with context clues, is fumbling with the uptake right now, because she says blankly, "No?"

Sapphire snatches her arms and shakes them. "If we can figure out how to be Garnet again, this changes everything!"

That's when it clicks. Ruby, gripping Sapphire's elbows in sudden excitement, says, "We're huge when we're Garnet! In fact, we're even taller than she is—and I bet we're stronger, too. Maybe, with a show of prowess—"

"Garnet isn't going to change anything with that situation, unfortunately," says Sapphire. "It's not a matter of defeating her—we can do that as ourselves—it's a matter of making her stay away, and that's certainly not going to happen if we show up as an entirely new gem for her to fight. Well, perhaps she won't fight us if she doesn't recognize us…?" Sapphire trails off, her grip on Ruby's arms becoming loose and superficial as she flicks through the possibilities. Her grip solidifies when she is fully immersed in the present again. "Actually, yes, the simple fact that we would be a different gem that she doesn't have any grudge against—not to mention the fact that we would be a large and powerful gem—might be one of the best solutions to that situation. But that wasn't what I was referring to at all."

"Oh," says Ruby, a little disoriented. It's a rare day when she and Sapphire do not understand each other perfectly. "Then what were you talking about?"

"Two gems merging their projected bodies into an entirely new and powerful entity," says Sapphire. "Just consider of the possibilities, Ruby. Think of how asymmetrical gems can use it to their advantage! If they're rejected and sent to Containment Units because their asymmetry makes them weaker than their more symmetrical counterparts, then fusing fixes that—there won't be any more problems with gems like us not being useful on the surface!"

It takes a moment for the idea to percolate. When it does, it steals just about all of Ruby's voice, "You think it could help abolish Containment Units entirely?"

The idea is fantastic. It literally feels like something out of a fantasy—what if Sapphire and Ruby and all of their friends don't have to be inmates anymore? What if they can all go to the surface as free gems?

It's such a tempting thought to give in to. Such an easy possibility to lose yourself in. Could it really work?

"Well, not entirely," says Sapphire. She lets go of Ruby's arms and gestures with her own, already brainstorming. "Unstable gems would be terrible fusion partners—they're too volatile—but fusion would certainly help with overcrowding in Containment Units, especially if fusions can join the workforce on the surface."

"I've never heard of anyone doing anything like this before, much less pitching it as a way to help defective gems have more utility," Ruby admits. "Do you think the Diamonds even know it's possible?"

"We won't until we bring it up," says Sapphire, and she smiles. It's that which gets Ruby to give in to the hope and smile back—if Sapphire thinks it is worth a try, then that's what they'll do. After all, Sapphire doesn't support things that don't have a good chance of succeeding.