"Who are you?" Damug demanded of Tammo and Pasque. "Are you from Redwall?"

Rinkul the ferret pushed his way forward. He recognized Tammo at once. "Hey, dat's da guy I saw wit' da Crystal Gem right before da Flower Monsters attacked!"

"Is that so?" said Damug. He grabbed Tammo by the shirt and lifted him off the ground. In doing so, he exposed Tammo's bellybutton. He gaped as he saw Tammo's gemstone. "What is that?"

"He's got a gemstone in his bellybutton!" a voice said. Tammo looked in the direction of the voice and saw Peridot. He was shocked.

"I say, what's a Gem doing hanging around with a group of vermin?" he exclaimed.

Damug tightened his grip on Tammo's shirt. "I'm asking the questions here. Now, why do you have a gemstone on your belly? Tell me now!"

"Well, sah, my name's Tammo Quartz Tussock. My mother was a Gem and my father was a hare. So, you see, I'm a bit of both. A hybrid."

Damug dropped Tammo to the ground in his surprise. "That's impossible!"

"Well, as you can see, I'm sitting right here in front of you, so clearly it's not," said Tammo, sounding braver than he felt.

Damug shot a glance at Peridot. "Did you know that Gems could mate with Earth creatures?"

Peridot threw up her hands. "No, I had no idea that was a thing!"

"Are you a Gem-hare hybrid too?" Damug asked Pasque.

"No, I'm just an ordinary hare," she answered.

"All right," said Damug. "Well, you're no use to me then. I might as well kill you. But I'll keep your friend alive so I can study him. He may hold the key to the Gems' immortality."

"I don't think I want to be studied by you, thanks," said Tammo.

"And you'll find us Salamandastron hares aren't so easy to kill, either," said Pasque. She and Tammo locked eyes. "Let's jolly well give 'em blood 'n' vinegar!"

The two of them joined paws, and they fused again, turning back into Tasque! Their daggers also fused with each other, creating a big sword. "EULALIA!" they shouted.

Tasque shot out a foot and kicked Damug, knocking him to the ground. Some of the other vermin tried to rush the fusion, but with their strengths combined, Tammo and Pasque were like a one beast army. They stabbed a weasel with their sword, then grabbed him so that he took the spear thrust of the ferret behind him. A rat came up behind them, but they spun around just in time to cut him down.

Then they went under, engulfed by weight of numbers. As tough as they were, there were simply too many vermin for them. It would take a miracle to get them out of this…

And in the nick of time, the miracle occurred! Another Gem fusion appeared on the scene- Sugilite, the fusion of Garnet and Amethyst!

Sugilite was stocky and bulky. She had four arms and five eyes, and wielded a giant mace and chain. She jumped into the midst of the vermin who were attacking Tasque and began belaboring them with the mace. Rats, weasels, ferrets, stoats, and foxes flew in all directions.

Tasque sprang back up on their feet and threw themselves back into the action. They stood back-to-back with Sugilite, taking down any vermin who got near them. Then, all at once, the two fusions made a break for it and dashed off into the woods. None of the Rapscallions dared follow.

Once they were a safe distance away from the vermin, Sugilite unfused back into Amethyst and Garnet, and Tasque unfused into Tammo and Pasque.

Tammo shuddered. "Wow! You really pulled our acorns out of the fire there, chaps!"

"You guys didn't do so bad yourselves," said Amethyst. "Especially since that was your first time fighting as a fusion. Next time you find yourselves surrounded like that, though, you should try to get up against a rock or tree. That way your enemies can't come up on you from behind."

Pasque shivered with delight. "I say, that was exhilarating! When we were facing down those vermin together, Tamm, I felt as strong as a blinkin' Badger Lord!"

"Just be careful not to overdo it," Garnet warned. "Even fusions can get tired."

"So, that was the great Damug Warfang, huh?" Tammo said. Garnet and Amethyst nodded. "Did you happen to notice that he had a Gem with him?"

"No, we didn't," said Garnet. "We were focused on rescuing you."

"Do you mean he had a Gem prisoner?" said Amethyst. "Was it Lapis Lazuli?"

Tammo shook his head. "No, it was some green Gem I'd never seen before. And she didn't seem like a prisoner to me. She acted like she was part of the army."

"Well, we'll have to find out who she is," said Garnet. "If strange Gems are arriving on Earth, it could mean that the Diamonds are launching another invasion."

"That doesn't sound good," Pasque said.

"But right now, we need to rejoin the others and head back to Redwall," Garnet said.

They went back to the quarry and found the rest of their group. The Redwallers had just finished loading the sleds. Rockjaw Grang was the first to spot them. "Howway, thou lads!" he cried.

Joshy ran to meet his returning friends. "Glad to see you're all in one piece, wot."

"And I'm glad to see all of you in one piece," said Tammo. "I assume you defeated the monster?"

"Aye, that we did, thanks to Joshy here," said Major Perigord. "He's just the beast to have by your side in a pinch. Why the deuce isn't he a member of our Patrol?"

Joshy smiled bashfully. "Army life just isn't my bag, wot wot."

"Did you have any trouble finding the young uns?" Perigord asked the Gems.

"They'd been captured by Damug Warfang and his army!" Amethyst said. "We had to rescue them!"

"WHAT?" The major's monocle fell off.

"It's true," said Garnet. "We ran into the Rapscallions further up the river that way." She pointed north.

"Well, we've got to get back to the Abbey posthaste then!" said Perigord.

"We'll go with you," said Log-a-Log. "Guosim shrews have always been friends of Redwall. We'll do whatever we can to help you defend the Abbey."

They all trooped back to the river, bringing the sledges full of stones with them. When they reached the bank, they loaded the sleds onto the rafts. They sailed back across the river. They unloaded the rafts on the other side and started heading home.

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Meanwhile, the Rapscallions were in a state of consternation.

"If the Redwallers have got those Gems on their side, we'll never be able to defeat 'em!" a stoat captain named Bluggach said. The vermin around him murmured agreement.

"Yes, we will," said Damug. "We just need a Gem army of our own. And that's why we're going to the kindergarten, so we can build one."

Peridot was visibly shaken. "Did you see how that hybrid fused with the other hare? I thought Gems could only fuse with Gems!"

"It must be because he's half-hare, half-Gem," Damug said. "So, he can fuse with Gems and with organic life forms." A wistful look appeared in his evil eyes. "If I could fuse with a Gem, imagine how powerful I'd be. Maybe I could force this Tammo Quartz Tussock to fuse with me." He brought himself back to reality. "But first things first. Let's press on to the kindergarten."