The setting of the sun soon came around, Garnet's mind engulfed with the memories of the mental terrors she had experienced the night before. What had caused such horrible dreams, she didn't know, but she feared the night ahead. Would her thoughts torment her again as they had, or would she be granted much needed peace?
Only time will tell... Garnet thought to herself, removing her glasses and sighing softly as she laid down. Restlessly, she stared at the ceiling until her eyes slowly fluttered closed.
Peridot's escape pod landed swiftly in the ocean, creating a wake behind it as cascaded towards the Temple. The gems stood on the beach, with weapons drawn. Their eyes were full of hatred and determination. A teen-aged Steven stood on the shore beside them, holding Rose's Sword, and a small child clung to Pearl's legs, their teardrops falling onto the sand.
"GO BACK HOME, PERIDOT!" Amethyst demanded, her eyes narrowing as she focused in on the moving target.
Garnet grit her teeth in rage, standing in front of Pearl and the child. "Protect the children, at all costs!" She shouted, clenching her fists and launching herself into the air, bringing herself down upon the pod, cracking the windows.
"You'll have to do better than that to stop me, clod!" Peridot shouted, increasing her speed and knocking Garnet off her vessel. Garnet swam after her as fast as she possibly could, only inches away from them.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY, PERIDOT! IF YOU WANT A FIGHT, TAKE ME INSTEAD!" She shouted, willing herself to move faster.
Peridot cackled. "It's not you that I want, Garnet." She fired countless lasers at the gems, aimlessly hoping to hit someone.
Pearl used her spear to deflect them. "Get behind me." She shouted to the child, who quickly cowered behind her. Her breathing intensified as she continued to fight, but she showed no signs of tiring.
Garnet leapt onto the escape pod, gripping it tightly with her limbs, sort of straddling it.
Peridot rolled her eyes. "Could you clods get any less predictable?" She maneuvered the pod so it spun around in circles.
"I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY CHILDREN!" Garnet shouted, her limbs and pelvis aching as she strengthened her grip on the pod, which spun faster. She squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth, using all of her willpower to hold on. She lifted a gauntleted fist and slammed it down upon the capsule, repeating the action again and again until she had broken through.
"PEARL! LOOK OUT!" Garnet exclaimed. "DON'T LET THE POD HIT YOU!" She tore Peridot out of it and threw her into the blue, diving in after her immediately. She punched her in the chest, sending her darting towards the ocean floor. She then yanked her back out and catapulted her onto the sand, making her way out of the water and standing over her.
"Don't even bother trying to stand. Move and I'll rip you to pieces." She grabbed the spinning pod by the leg and slammed it into her abdomen. "Who's the clod now, Peridot?"
Peridot's breath came in heavy, short, painful gasps. "Sti-Still you.." She gasped, the weight on her abdomen making it hard to speak.
"Wrong answer." She picked up the escape pod and slammed it down on her again, harder than before. "Amethyst! Hurry! Get over here!"
"Whoa, Garnet, you got her!" Amethyst exclaimed.
"Use your whip to tie up her wrists." Garnet ordered.
"Can't I just beat her?" She asked.
"Later, Amethyst. For now, keep her tied down."
Amethyst wrapped her whip around Peridot's wrists, tightly binding them together.
"Amethyst..." Peridot coughed. "L-Let me go.. Please..."
"No!" Steven shouted in anger. "You tried to hurt us!"
Garnet ran to Pearl, who held the child in her arms.
"I-Is everyone okay, Pearl?"
Pearl nodded, hugging Garnet tightly as best she could with the child in her arms. "Yes. Sardonyx is safe."
Garnet awoke with a start.
"Who was that child?" She wondered, rubbing her eyes. "And why was it named after our fusion?.."
"Was that... Our child? No.. It's impossible. Completely, entirely impossible."
"Right?"
Cold beads of sweat dotted her neck and forehead, and turmoil raced through her mind, the dream messing with her thoughts.
"There's no way Pearl and I could ever have a child... But it was named for our fusion... How is that possible?.."
Her mind raced, filling up with countless thoughts until she fell asleep again.
Steven, it's time to begin your training." Pearl said, motioning for him to follow her. Excitedly, he ran to the warp pad, his eyes starry.
Pearl chuckled. "Remember, you have to pay close attention to your training, Steven. The harder you train, the better gem warrior you end up being." She warped them to the sky arena, where Garnet and Amethyst were already waiting for them to arrive, so they could watch Steven begin his training.
After a small lecture on stance and position, Pearl's holoform emerged from her gem, wooden sword in hand. Pearl handed Steven a wooden sword, then stepped aside to watch them, demonstrating the positions and strikes she was teaching him.
Garnet watched them from the side of the arena, her eyes drawn to Pearl's elegant form. She shuddered slightly as she observed her precise movements, her long, delicate limbs perfectly executing every attack, her crystalline voice loud and clear as she explained the movements to the young boy.
"Hey, Garnet, you okay?" Amethyst questioned. "You keep shivering.."
Garnet jumped slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine." She lied. "It's just kind of cold up here."
"You seem distracted..." She gasped in realization. "Are you staring at Pearl's ass?!"
"What?! No! Of course not!" Garnet blushed profusely.
"I bet you are..." Amethyst taunted in her sing-song voice.
"No, I'm not. But I'll beat yours if you don't stop."
"Ooh~. That sounds fu-"
"I don't mean it literally, Amethyst! Stop taking everything the wrong way.."
"I'm just trying to be funny..."
"Well then try harder."
Amethyst snickered. "That's what she said.."
Garnet facepalmed. "Really, Amethyst?"
"Yep!" She nudged Garnet's side. "Lighten up a little. You need it."
Garnet just ignored her and went back to staring, finding herself having to avert her eyes frequently.