A brilliant beam of light came down from the sky, seemingly out of the nowhere, and struck the circular Warp Pad, depositing Steven, Jasper, Lapis and Peridot onto its surface. The Crystal Gems stepped off the Warp Pad, with Steven taking up the rear.
They had arrived out in the middle of an empty desert, which must have been somewhere on the other side of the planet, as it had been day time when they left the Temple, yet here it was clearly the dead of night. Before them, in front of the Warp Pad, was a huge building, comprised of hundreds of circular, stone pillars stacked up together, forming a castle like structure, several stories tall. In the centre of this structure was a beam of light, shooting upward into the sky.
"Whoa, what magical place of mystery is this?" Steven asked, gawking up at the structure in wonder.
Peridot stopped and turned around to face Steven with an irritated expression. "Steven, I distinctly remember explaining exactly what this place is and why we are here, before we left on the Warp Pad. Weren't you listening to me?"
"No" he replied, smiling back at her with sincere and heartfelt honesty. Peridot growled in annoyance; it was hard to be angry at someone with a face like that.
"Don't take it personally, Peridot" Jasper said, giving Peridot a firm pat on the shoulder as she walked past her. "None of us ever listen to you".
Peridot barred her teeth and hissed viciously behind Jasper's back. Steven ran past Peridot and moved closer to the huge structure, craning his neck upwards to try and see the top.
"You wanna get a closer look?" Lapis asked, walking up beside him.
"Yeah!" Steven replied, without hesitation. Smiling, Lapis picked Steven up onto her shoulders, sprouted her water wings and together flew upwards. They sailed through the air, circling around the tower, allowing Steven to take in the full view of it, much to his immense joy; the only thing he loved more than exploring new places, was flying with Lapis.
"This is a communication hub for that was once used by Gem-kind" Lapis said, flying up near the peak of the tower. "It was used send important messages to other places across possibly great distances"
"You mean like my phone, but really, really big?" Steven said, casually.
"Yeah" Lapis replied, nonchalant. "It's like a really big phone. It's been harmless for hundreds of years, but now it's starting to send out bursts of electromagnetic interference that's disrupting radio waves around the Earth"
"What's that mean?" Steven asked, as they descended back to the ground, dismounting from Lapis shoulders.
Peridot cleared her throat, bringing up the display on her finger-screen. "Well, you see, Steven, the electromagnetic spectrum is comprised of a variety of different frequencies, and in some cases an external source of electromagnetic energy can cause a disruption in the signal output of-"
"It's hurting television" Jasper said, cutting straight to the point, causing Peridot to scowl at her.
Steven gasped in horror and turned to face the communication hub with a fierce glare. "I'll save you television!"
With a mighty battle cry, Steven charged toward the nearest pillar and leapt up in the air, extending his leg out in a karate kick, before smacking his entire body onto the solid stone. After a moment, he slid off the pillar and landed flat on his back, the centre of his face now bright red; the pillar appeared very much unscathed by Steven's attack.
"Slow down, killer" Jasper said, with an amused grin, picking Steven up by the collar and setting him back on his feet. Jasper moved closer to the hub and stood directly in front it, placing her hands on her hips as she ran her eyes up and down the hub, considering every angle of approach in her mind.
"This thing was built to be sturdy. We'd have to take down every single one of these pillars to make sure it's completely inoperable"
"It's too bad we're not anywhere near the ocean" Lapis said, looking out over the bone-dry desert. "If we had enough water, I might be able to tear it down"
"We could go back to the temple and carry some buckets of water from the ocean" Steven suggested. "It might take us a few trips, but we could make a game out of it to make it seem easier"
"Steven, you know we can't be playing childish games while on missions" Lapis said, closing her eyes and putting on a serious tone of voice. A moment later, she opened one eye and gave him a sly grin. "Besides, I'd definitely win"
"That sounds like a challenge" Steven said, with a competitive smirk.
Peridot cleared her throat once again and resumed speaking. "Sheer force isn't the only way to win battles. No matter how large or strong any structure is, it's weakness will also be its own weight. All we need to do is pinpoint and target the weakest structural points of the hub, hereby compromising it's load bearing capacity and forcing to collapse in upon itself"
She changed the display on her finger-screen to show what appeared to be a set of blueprints for the hub.
"Now, we'll start by each taking a separate quadrant of the hub. Lapis, you take the north quartet, Steven will take the east, and-"
"That is going to take us all day" Jasper said, without even turning around to acknowledge Peridot, keeping her eyes firmly on the hub. "What we need is something huge and strong to bring this thing down and I think I know exactly what"
"What do you mean?" Lapis asked, failing to see where Jasper was going with this.
Jasper finally turned away from the hub and looked directly at Lapis, with the faintest of grins. "What we need….is Malachite"
A deathly silence fell over the desert landscape, aside from a brief gust of wind. Lapis gaped at Jasper, looking as shock and horrified as though she had just suggested something akin to murder. Peridot grimaced painfully and covered her eyes with her free hand, bracing herself for an impending disaster. Steven glanced between the three Gems; he had no idea what was transpiring between them, but he could feel the intense shift in atmosphere and was troubled by it.
When Lapis finally recovered, her face hardened furiously. "Oh no" she said, shaking her head and raising up her hands in a gesture of utmost denial. "No, no, no, no, no. No way! We are not using Malachite"
"What's a Malachite?" Steven asked, confused.
"Malachite is the Gem fusion between Jasper and Lapis" Peridot explained
Steven inhaled so fast and so deeply, he might have been on the verge of suffocation, his eyes turning into white stars and his body trembling.
"A Gem fusion!?" he exclaimed so loudly and with so much excitement, his voice echoed throughout the desert. "That's awesome! I've never seen a Gem fusion before, except in Peridot's log tapes! Does this mean you guys are gonna dance and merge your bodies together to make a giant woman?"
"No. No giant woman" Lapis said at once, her voice cold and blunt. She turned to Jasper with an angry glare. "Because we are not fusing!"
Jasper sighed heavily and crossed her arms, having already expected this outcome. "Look, you know I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't nesscessary. Malachite is our best move from a tactical standpoint. We have to do this".
"Have to?" Lapis said, unconvinced and sounding close to disgusted. "Every time we form Malachite, it all goes horribly wrong. Every time!"
"Well how are we supposed to get better at this if we don't keep trying?" Jasper said impatiently. "And doesn't turn out bad every time"
"Actually, yes" Peridot said, matter-of-factly. "Based on my records, every single instance of you two becoming Malachite has resulted in wanton destruction and crippling emotional trauma for all parties involved"
Jasper ignored Peridot and walked right up to Lapis, standing opposite her. "Rose always encouraged us to work on improving our fusion and nothing is gonna change if we keep whining about it. When we form Malachite, we're capable of more than anything then when we're apart. Together, we're unstoppable"
Jasper placed her hand on Lapis shoulder, in a gesture that would suggest trust and comradery. Despite her insistence that this was something done out of necessity, there was an unmistakable yearning behind Jasper's words that suggested she wanted this for reasons beyond mere obligation.
This was not lost Lapis, who scornfully brushed Jasper's hand off her shoulder and rolled her eyes in an exasperated manner. "Oh, here we go! You just wanna to do this because you love being Malachite. You love how powerful we become. It's always the same thing with you"
Jasper dropped the diplomatic composure she had been keeping up and snarled furiously at Lapis. "Why do you always blame me?" she snapped. "You act like it's all my fault when things go wrong and then you get to play the sorry little victim. Well, guess what? It's half your fault. But not like your gonna admit that"
"You don't even admit when it's your fault" Lapis shot back accusingly, crossing her arms in defiance, meeting Jasper's furious gaze without the least bit of fear.
"I just said it was half my fault!" Jasper yelled throwing her arms up wide.
"No, you said it was half my fault"
"That literally means the other half is mine! It was IMPLIED!"
Peridot and Steven watched in silence as Jasper and Lapis argument continued to escalate. Steven looked visibly concerned by the abrupt hostility that had erupted between them. Peridot on the other hand, appeared bored and relatively un-surprised by this turn of events. With a tired sigh, she lazily fired her tractor beam at a nearby rock and pulled it over beside her, as well as pulling over a second, smaller rock next to that one. Peridot sat down on the bigger rock, resting her chin down on her hand with a dull expression, not expecting any of them to be going anywhere soon as Lapis and Jasper traded further barbs with each other. Unsure of what else to do, Steven took a seat on the smaller rock next to Peridot.
Lapis and Jasper argued for what felt an entire hour, more or less going around in circles with their grievances on the subject. Steven shifted uncomfortably from where he was sitting, fighting against an increasingly compelling urge to get himself involved between them. He glanced over to Peridot, hoping she might do something. Instead, she was yawning loudly and began to play a game of ping-pong on her finger-screen.
"The bottom line is that we to take down this hub and we need Malachite to do it" Jasper said. "Otherwise, we're gonna be here forever"
"That's fine!" Lapis said. "I don't care if I have to spend the next thousand years knocking down this hub. I'd rather do that than ever be Malachite again"
Jasper growled angrily, smacking her hand to her forehead in frustration. "Why do you have to be so stubborn about this? You just can't move on from the past, can you?"
"I'm the one who can't move on?!" Lapis roared, her wings sprouting out from her back. Panicking, Steven jumped up from his rock and quickly positioned himself between the two of them just as it looked like they were about to come to blows.
"STOP! Please, you guys shouldn't be fighting like this. We're all part of a team, remember?"
"Steven, you don't understand" Lapis said sadly. Her wings dissipated, and she seemed to calm herself. "Fusion between Gems can be dangerous"
"But I thought you guys said fusion was an important part of being a Gem?" Steven said, frowning.
"I-it is important, Steven" Lapis said hastily. "Fusion is-
"Fusion is a power that all Gems possess" Jasper interrupted curtly. "By syncing our bodies and minds together, we can merge forms with other Gems, combining our all our powers and strengths into one unbeatable Gem warrior"
Jasper punched her fist into her palm and again, spoke with a kind of relish in her words, not even trying to hide her enthusiasm about the prospect of becoming an 'unbeatable Gem warrior'. Steven was of the same mind, looking excited again, while Lapis glared at Jasper in disapproval.
"It's more complicated than that" she said. "Fusion is a way for two different Gems to come together to create something new, something entirely different than what they are as individuals. It's combination of everything that you are, what you think, you feel, you hope, you fear. The fusions that are created are an embodiment of the bond trust that exists between those Gems"
Lapis looked around the desert and spotted a cactus in the distance. Concentrating hard, she popped the cactus open and summoned the water that was hidden inside. She levitated the water above them and formed two distinctive shapes; one was of Lapis herself and another that resembled Rose
"In past, we used to fuse with your mother and it was great" Lapis said, smiling warmly. "We brought out the best in each other. Rose's self-confidence gave me the courage to express myself without fear
The Rose and Lapis figurines joined hands and spun in the air, merging together and becoming a single, tall, featureless, yet elegant looking figure.
"And Rose's compassion helped tempered Jasper's aggressive behaviour". Behind them, Jasper crossed her arms and scowled grumpily.
The figure separated back into two blobs of water that now took the shape of Rose and Jasper. The two figures locked hands, playing what looked to be an extremely competitive game of arm wrestling before they also joined together into a colossal behemoth that twice their size.
"But, when Jasper and I combine personalities" Lapis said, her expression turning grim again. "We get little…carried away"
The water reformed into two figures of Lapis and Jasper. They hesitantly joined hands and merge into one bubble, but this time, the shape of water began to violently ripple and contort, unable to hold itself together and then popped open much like water balloon, splashing down to the sand below.
"We haven't fused in long time" Lapis said, lowering her hands and hugging herself. "And no matter how hard we try, it never works out"
Steven stared down at the soaked patch of sand, his face blank. He looked back up to Lapis. "Well, why don't one of you just fuse with Peridot instead?" he suggested.
There was an abrupt thud from behind them; Turning around, they saw Peridot had fallen backwards off the rock she was sitting on. She quickly sat back, remaining behind the rock, almost as though she was cowering from something.
"Um, my fusions are not really suited for such a task" she said, in a very rapid manner. "They're more…. compact"
Lapis and Jasper shared a knowing look with each other, that went unnoticed by Steven as he turned back around to face them.
"Please!" he begged, clasping his hands together. "How can I ever learn about Gem fusion if you guys never show it to me?"
"Exactly" Jasper said at once. She dropped down to her knee and put her hand around Steven's shoulder.
"If Steven is going to be Crystal Gem, then he needs to learn about fusion and we're the only ones who can teach him" she said smoothly. "Think about how much he's missing out by not being able to see fusion first hand. Don't we owe it to Rose to teach him everything about being a Gem?"
Jasper gave Steven a nudge; he quickly put one a puppy dog expression, looking at Lapis with pleading eyes.
This seemed to have the affect Jasper was hoping for, as Lapis briefly appeared tempted to go along with her suggestion. But after a moment, her expression hardened once again, as she tuned her back on Steven and Jasper.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't" she said, gravely.
Jasper scowled again and abruptly broke away from Steven, marching off in the opposite direction as Lapis. Fist clenched, she glanced dangerously at Peridot, as though looking for some excuse to blame her for this turn of events. Peridot simply hide her face behind her screen.
Seeing what very likely would be his one and only chance to witness a Gem fusion come and go, Steven cast his eyes downwards in disappointment. And yet, there was still apart of him that refused to give up hope. Knowing what he had to do, Steven took a deep breath and when he spoke again, his words were soft and eloquent as they expressed his deepest wish.
"All I wanna do….is see you turn into…..a giant woman. A giant woman!"
Lapis turned back around to look at Steven and blinked at him in surprise. "Steven, what are you doing?" She looked over to Jasper and Peridot who were just as taken back by this development as she was, while Steven continued to sing.
"All I wanna be, is someone who gets to see, you turn into, a giant woman"
"Steven, stop singing" Lapis said, sharply. But Steven didn't stop singing. He spread his arm up wide and ran forward, leaping into the air, performing a quick twirl as he landed.
"Oh, I know it'll be great and I just can't wait to see the person you are together. If you give it a chance. You can do a huge dance, because you are a giant woman. You might even like being together and if you don't it won't be forever"
Lapis groaned wearily and pinched the bridge of her nose, wholeheartedly believing that this day couldn't have gotten worse.
Jasper glanced back and forth between Lapis and Steven, forming a very desperate idea in mind, but one she was still willing to try regardless. She moved up next to Steven and kneeled down beside him again.
"All he wants to do, is see us turn into, a giant woman"
Lapis' eyes snapped open; it had just gotten worse.
"All he wants to be, is a kid who gets to see, a giant woman"
"A giant woman" Steven chimed.
"Excuse me, but why is everyone singing?" Peridot asked aloud, fully expecting someone to answer her. Lapis said nothing and just gaped at Jasper in mixture of horror and embarrassment as she walked up to her, getting down on both her knees and taking Lapis by the hand.
"Oh, can't you see, when we're together, we're as mighty as can be, cos we're a giant woman. I know in the past I've let you down, but if you give me the chance, I know we won't…uh…look like…a clown?"
Peridot scoffed loudly. "Look, if you all just listen to me for one second, I can easily explain how-". Before Peridot could get another word out, Steven interrupted her with yet another improvised verse.
"If you give her a chance, she'll do her best, to be best other half of you she can be. Don't you see, you two belong together just like glue!"
"But doesn't anyone care about what I think we should do?" Peridot said, quietly in the background.
Steven and Jasper sang together in unison, their voices harmonised in an oddly pleasant way, the both of them becoming so engrossed in the song that they might have forgotten why they were doing it in the first place.
"All we wanna do, is see you turn into, a giant wo-"
"Enough!" Lapis snapped, breaking the two of them apart before they could go any further. "Please! Stop. Singing"
Lapis took a deep inhale and closed her eyes for a very long moment. When she opened them again, she had reached her decision.
"Ok, fine, we'll fuse" she said, defeated. "But!" she added as soon as she saw the look of excitement on Jasper's face, brandishing a wary finger at her. "I'm only doing this for Steven and so long as we get this over with as quickly as possible"
Jasper briefly looked humbled by her warning, but as soon as Lapis turned her back, she and Steven shared a quick high five, though Steven felt Jasper may have hit his hand a little too hard, wincing from the impact.
Together, Jasper and Lapis each assumed a position in the space between the hub and Warp Pad, standing a few yards apart of one another. Greatly excited, Jasper began stretching her arms in preparation, while Lapis was taking a series of slow and deep breaths to steady herself.
Realising that they were actually about to perform their fusion, Peridot stood up from her rock and loudly cleared her throat before addressing them.
"Excuse me, but I can't help but notice that none of you have yet to ask me what I think we should do, which clearly is a grievous oversight on your part, as my expertise in this matter is undoubtedly invaluable".
Peridot closed her eyes and folded her hands behind her back, beginning to pace back and forth as she spoke, like a world-renowned scientist contemplating their latest thesis.
"Now, before you initiate fusion, allow me first to go over my plan for dismantling this hub, as well list all the reason why my suggested course of action is objectively better than yours in every conceivable way. Reason number one…"
Peridot prattled on plan, but her words seemed to become inaudible; although there was no conceivable way possible, a faint chord of music began playing over the hub, accompanying Jasper and Lapis as they prepared to fuse.
With her eyes closed, Lapis slowly begun to twirl her body, gliding across the sand on the tips of her toes, extending her arms out much like waltz.
Once Lapis was close enough, Jasper roughly grabbed her outstretched arm and pulled her body in close to her own, cradling her delicate figure in her massive arms. Wrapping her hands around Lapis's, Jasper practically flung her back and forth between stances, while Lapis simply kept her eyes closed, allowing herself to be swept along in the dance, like a driftwood caught in the endless ebb and flow of the ocean. It all culminated in Lapis performing one final twirl and then fell backwards into Jasper's arm, catching her for a dip.
For a moment nothing happened. Then both Jasper and Lapis respective gemstones began to glow, and their bodies transformed into outlines of pure light with the exception of their gemstones. The outlines melded together, forming a giant orb of light suspended in the air.
"Giantwomangiantwomangiantwomangiantwoman" Steven chanted, literally bouncing on his heels in anticipation. Behind him, Peridot smacked herself in the gemstone.
The orb expanded, growing larger, until it began to sprout appendages in the shape of giant arms, that slammed into the ground. A total of six arms emerged from the orb. The centre of orb then began to contort, forming the basis of a body, albeit an oddly shaped one; two arms attached to a human torso, with another fourthat were attached to what appeared to be a second torso attached to the first. The upper torso then formed a neck and finally a head.
Once the light had solidified into it final shape, it faded, leaving its place a literally giant woman, who was almost as big as the communication hub itself. The lower half of her body was quadrupedal, but instead of legs, she was standing on four massive extra arms; her skin was a turquoise green and her hair was white like Jasper's yet closer to Lapis in shape. The only piece of clothing she worn was a dark grey suit, similar to Jasper's, that stretched up along her chest and lower torso.
The giant woman's head flopped forward, and she opened her eyes; she then opened a second pair of eyes above that set. Seeing Steven and Peridot gawking up at her, she gave them a crooked smile, before flipped her hair from side to side and letting out a deep exhale that sounded like a mixture of both pleasure and exhilaration.
"Oh, I forget how much I've missed this!" Malachite said, her voice a synthesized composite of both Jasper's and Lapis.
"That's Malachite?" Steven said, staring up at her gargantuan figure. He was unsure whether to be amazed, terrified, or both.
"Oh, this will not end well" Peridot said, in anticipation of the disaster that was sure to follow
"So, what do you think Steven?" Malachite said, placing her hands on her hips and giving another conceited flip of her white hair, striking an alluring pose for Steven. "I'm I every bit as impressive as you were expecting?"
"YES!" Steven said instantly throwing his fists up in the air. "Plus an extra bazillion!"
"Wait, till you see this!" With a sadistic grin on her face, Malachite stomped her way toward the hub, the ground shaking with each step she took. She pulled back her fist and struck at the nearest set of pillars, smashing them to pieces as easily as hitting cardboard. Chunks of the broken pillar began to rain down in every direction as Malachite torn her way through the hub, all the while laughing with mirthless joy.
Steven stared at Malachite in wonder, marvelling at her power and how easily she was able to take apart the massive hub. Peridot on the other hand, was a lot more concerned with the shower of rocks coming toward them, ducking her head down as another piece came close to hitting her.
"Ok, I think that might be a little too excessive!" Peridot yelled, but it was clear Malachite was not listening and even if she did, it's unlikely she would care. Still laughing, she formed Jasper's crash helmet on her head and brought it down onto the hub much like a real hammer, sending another wave of debris in the direction of Peridot and Steven.
With a panicked yelp, Peridot fired her finger-cannon, blasting an extremely big, oncoming boulder to pieces before it could crush them, although a small piece of debris still ricocheted off the blast and smacked Steven on the head, knocking him to the ground.
"Hey, watch it!" Peridot yelled. "You almost hit Steven". She turned her head and saw Steven sprawled out on the sand, rubbing his head. "Oh. Well, you almost hit him with a bigger rock, you dumb clod! What happened to getting this over with quickly?"
It was then that Malachite finally stopped her smashing; she was no longer laughing, instead she suddenly appeared very winded, breathing heavily, gripping one of the remaining pillars of the hub to steady herself as her whole body started trembling.
"You want this over with?!" she said, angrily. "Fine! How about this?!"
From her back, Malachite formed Lapis' water wings and with one huge flap, she launched herself upwards, creating a miniature sandstorm that enveloped Peridot and Steven. She flew up higher into the sky, to what must have been a mile high and then stopped, hovering in the air. Then with one more flap, she performed nose dive maneuverer, heading straight for the hub at hypersonic speed.
"Uh oh" Peridot said, truly scared for the first time. Knowing they had only seconds, Peridot quickly picked up Steven by his waist and tucked him securely under her arm before sprinting back toward the Warp Pad as fast as her feet would carry her.
With a panicked yelp, she jumped onto pad, which teleported both of them away in the nick of time, as Malachite collided with the hub, hitting it with the force of a meteorite, creating a massive explosion that obliterated the hub, the Warp Pad and everything else in the surrounding area.
In another flash of light, Peridot and Steven returned to the Warp Pad at the Temple. Seeing they were out of the danger area, Peridot breathed a sigh of relief and placed Steven down on the floor.
"Aw! You took us away at the best part!" he moaned.
"Believe me, that's the part you don't want to be anywhere near" Peridot said, grimly.
"Shouldn't we go back for Malachite? I mean, Jasper and Lapis" Steven said, glancing at the Warp Pad.
"I'm sure they'll find their own way" Peridot replied, rather dryly. She paused, looking over Steven. Brushing away some of his hair, she spotted a tiny cut on his forehead from where the rock had hit him, though it looked one no worse than a cat scratch.
"Steven, you're hurt" she said, her concern evident. "Hold on. I'll get the human plastering liquid"
"You mean the iodine, right?" Steven asked hesitantly, vividly recalling the last time he had been injured and Peridot personally tended to him.
"Yes, I know which one it is…..this time" she replied under her breath, opening one of the upper cupboards and removing the iodine bottle from the upper shelf along with a packet of gauze wrapping.
"Do you see how incredible Malachite was back there?" Steven said, sitting on the edge of the Warp Pad, kicking his feet in the air, unable to contain his excitement at finally seeing a Gem fusion for the first time. "She was huge! She had Lapis' wings and Jasper's crash helmet. And she had arms for legs!"
Just as Peridot bent down in front of the Warp Pad, Steven suddenly grabbed her by both cheeks and pulled her in close to his face.
"Arms. For. Legs!" he whispered, ominously
"Yes, Steven, I am well aware" Peridot said, her voice slightly muffled. Steven soon released her again. "Thank you for pointing out what was extremely obvious to me. Now, please hold still, while I apply the iodine".
Peridot ripped off a piece of the gauze, folded it and poured a tiny amount of iodine into the fabric. With a steady hand, she slowly lowered it onto Steven's cut, but Steven continued to fidget uncontrollably, thinking about nothing else but the idea of Fusion.
"I had no idea Gem fusions could be so amazing! Are your fusions that cool, Peridot?"
With an involuntary jerk of her arm, Peridot thrust the iodine-soaked gauze directly onto Steven's cut with far more force than she intended. Steven's sucked in his breath, but otherwise made no sound, despite the intense stinging pain ripping throughout his head, his eyes beginning to water. Peridot smiled nervously and slowly peeled the gauze off his forehead. She immediately ripped off another piece and careful cleaned the excessive liquid off.
"Steven, you shouldn't get too excited about fusion" she said, reproachfully, stepping onto the Warp Pad behind Steven, beginning to wrap a fresh sheet of gauze around his head. "It's a completely standard ability among Gems, just like shapeshifting. But under…ordinary circumstances, such those were you heed exceptional advisable council, Gems should have no need to combine with each other. Not to mention Malachite is….well…."
Peridot trailed off, appearing to be at a loss for words or even sharp critique. A rare occurrence indeed as it made Steven turned his head to look back at her in surprise, before she cleared her throat and resumed speaking.
"Just think of fusion as merely as a unique capability to fulfil a functional purpose" she said flatly. "There's no other need to overly glorify it. Besides, it's not like it's something that you'll ever need to worry about"
With an electrified tip of her finger, she neatly cut the gauze off its roll and then tied it around Steven's head. Satisfied, Peridot stepped off Warp Pad, but Steven remained sitting, stuck on something Peridot had just said.
"Wait, you mean…. I can't fuse?" he said.
Peridot froze, her shoulders tensing and slowly turned back to look at Steven with a hesitant expression, as she considered all the best possible ways to answer that question.
"Um….I honestly don't know, Steven. What I mean to say," she added quickly, catching the look in his eyes. "Is that it may well be within the realm of possibility, but we still have yet to understand the full limits of all of your abilities as both a human and as a Gem. You barely have control over your shield as it is, and I don't even want to talk about what happened when you tried shapeshifting"
"Fingers and cats must never be one again" Steven said solemnly.
"Perhaps one day, when the appropriate conditions present themselves, we'll know for certain whether or not you can fuse. If it makes you feel better, for the time being let's just assume you can't fuse and that you never will, that way if it turns you really can't, you'll have no expectations to fall short off. Doesn't that sound great?"
Peridot beamed down happily at Steven, who stared back at her with a blank expression.
"I am unable to argue with your logic" he said.
Later in the day, Peridot was strolling along the edge of beach, her trademark finger-screen in hand (very literally), as she was updating her latest log file for the day.
"Log date. I've completed my routine perimeter check of the Temple and Beach City. As per usual, no signs of Corrupted Gem activity in the vicinity, which means I can now safely return to the Temple and resume my 456th re-watch of Camp Pining Hearts season 4. I still have yet to conclude if this season is superior to- "
"Come on! Work those buns people!"
"Huh?" Peridot torn her eyes away from her screen and found a rather odd sight waiting for her at the base of the Temple; a large ring drawn out in the sand, with a number of mismatched oddities crudely cobbled together in the middle of it, such a set of tires, a cupboard, a ladder and series of dumb bells.
Steven was standing on the outside of the ring, wearing a sweatband, sunglasses and holding a megaphone up to his mouth, barking away orders to his father Greg, as well as Lars and Sadie who were performing various exercises using, for lack of a better word, the equipment. Greg then noticed Peridot watching them.
"Hey, Peridot. Come to check out some buff studs?" he asked while lifting his weights.
Peridot deactivated her finger-screen and stared at Greg with a deadpanned expression. "I could comprise an extensive list of activities that would be a much better use of my time"
"Let me guess? Watching Camp Pining Hearts again?" Greg asked, smirking.
Peridot paused, and avoided Greg's eye, crossing her arms. "That would be an extremely high point on the list, yes. And an extremely low point would be continuing this conversation with you". Peridot walked off, leaving Greg to his workout, and approached Steven, who was still barking orders into his megaphone.
"Let's go, I want to see some sweat!"
"Steven…" Peridot began. Steven turned to face her, still holding the megaphone to his mouth as he spoke.
"Hey Peridot!" he said, his amplified voice blasting her in the face, causing her to wince. Realising his mistake, Steven lowered the megaphone.
"Steven, what you are doing?" she asked, holding back her aggravation as best as she could.
"Well, you said that I might not be able to fuse. So, I decided if I can't fuse, then I'll have to get stronger on my own. So Dad helped me put together this gym, so we can all get strong, just like Malachite. I'mma get SUPA STRONG!" Steven growled and flexed his arms in an exaggerated manner.
"This is not the conclusion that I intended for you to draw from our conversation" Peridot said, brandishing her hand at the makeshift gym.
"But I gotta be strong so I can be useful to the team" Steven said.
"Utility isn't just from derived from strength, Steven" Peridot said, rubbing her eyes. "There are many other important contributing factors. Preparation, co-ordination, careful analysis and strategy. The long-term strength of your mind outweighs almost any short-term physical advantage-"
"Come on Lars, don't slack off" Steven said into his megaphone, seeing Lars take a moment to slouch in the sand. "Pump those buns"
Peridot growled, scrunching her face up in frustration, officially fed up with being interrupted.
"Will you listen to me!" she snapped harshly, causing Steven to flinch at the sound of her voice. He lowered his megaphone and gave Peridot his full attention.
"Brains triumphs over brawn!" she said, phrasing her point in as simplest terms as possible. "You don't need strength, so long as you use your head"
"But I wanna actually be strong" Steven argued back. "I don't wanna just think about it. Malachite doesn't have to think, she just tears down whatever's in her way with all her powers. Don't you want to be strong like that, Peridot?"
Peridot flushed, looking extremely indignant, as though Steven had unintentionally insulted her. She sputtered loudly, her voice caught in her throat as she tried form a response, but then gave up and angrily threw her hands up into the air, before marching up the hill toward Temple, leaving a very confused Steven behind her in wake.
Reaching the balcony of the Beach House, Peridot opened the door and slammed it shut behind her as she entered. Once inside, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, re-composing herself, grateful, at the very least, to be home again. She opened her eyes again and the first thing she saw was the floor was littered with Steven's discarded clothes.
There was no sound, but something definitely snapped. Screaming in rage, Peridot grabbed nearest shirt off the floor and sunk her teeth into the pink fabric, getting down on all fours and thrashing the shirt about wildly in her mouth, looking very much like a dog that had found the morning newspaper. After a few minutes of hysterical shirt gnawing, Peridot anger seem to subside, and it was only then did she take notice of what she was doing. With an embarrassed groan, she spit out what was left of Steven's shirt from her mouth and stood upright again, looking melancholy; there was only one left to do to make herself feel better.
"Peridot, log date. Jasper and Lapis still have yet to return from our last mission. In the meantime, Steven has taken his adoration of Malachite to an excessive level. He's actually built a primitive training arena to help himself become stronger".
Peridot walked over to the window and briefly glanced down at Greg and others as they continued exercising before turning back into the house.
"A total waste of time and energy. And for what? What's so great about Malachite that Steven would choose to devote this much effort into emulating her? It's obviously a bad idea, yet even as I say it, no one will take it seriously. And the most vexing part is that I can't figure out why!"
Frustrated, Peridot collapsed down onto the couch, leaning her head back as she stared up to the ceiling with a scowl, contemplating this dilemma, replaying back all the most recent events in her mind, trying to understand what she did wrong. She raised up her other hand and formed a second screen, once again bringing up a detailed schematic of the communication hub.
"I know almost everything there is to know about Gem Communication Hub construction and maintenance. I could probably build one if I had to. If they had just let me explain how to do it, we could have dismantled that hub in the correct way, with total efficiency, expediency, and minimal margin for error".
Scowling again, Peridot got up from the couch and began pacing up and down the kitchen, her emotions surfacing easier the more she spoke.
"Why doesn't anybody listen to what I have to say? Obviously, I know what I'm talking about. I wouldn't be talking if I didn't. I'm I just…..not loud enough? No, that can't be right. There's no correlation between volume and accuracy. Blaring loudly into a megaphone doesn't help get your point across when you know absolutely nothing about the subject matter. So why am I repeatedly ignored?"
Sighing, Peridot turned to look at the portrait of Rose hanging up just left above the door frame. She knew that Rose would listen to her. She always listened to her.
"I'm a Crystal Gem too" Peridot said. "I'm an important part of this team. I am useful, I am strong. These clods are lucky to have me. My knowledge and technical expertise are invaluable assets, even if I don't have any-"
Peridot caught herself mid-sentence, finding herself unable to continue. She was looking down at her metal limbs, her cylindrical fingers hovering at her command. She suddenly felt very disgusted with herself. With a weary groan, she deactivated her finger-screen.
"What is even the point in complaining?" she muttered bitterly. "Not like anybody's going to listen" Annoyed she walked over to the Temple door, which opened up as the door into her own room.
Unbeknownst to Peridot, however, Steven was just outside on the balcony of the Beach House, crouched down behind the window, and contrary to her own belief, he had listened to every word she had said. He took off his sunglasses and looked out over his gym from the balcony, seeing Lars, Sadie and Greg exercising without his direction. He glanced down at the megaphone in his hands, now feeling that something was off about what he was doing, and he knew exactly what do to correct it.
"Steven, where are you going?" Greg asked, watching Steven as he ran down the hill in front of the temple and heading into the direction of town.
"I'll be back soon" he called back, without stopping. "Just keep working out"
True to his word, Steven had returned not long after, carrying in his arms a stack of books in his arms. He dropped the books to the ground and picked one up, quickly flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He then set his eyes on Lars, who was in the middle of performing his push ups.
"Lars, hold it right there!" Steven yelled into his megaphone.
"Wh-what?" Lars said, straining himself as he held his position in mid-air.
"You're doing your push ups all wrong!" Steven briefly scanned his book and began to read off a page, while still shouting into his megaphone, which he was holding less than a few inches away from Lars's ears.
"You heard me! Back straight, butt raised, head looking straight, arms at shoulder width apart. Keep your whole body as one straight line. Maintain that position and push". Steven adjusted Lars into the correct position and walked him through his push ups, correcting him on even the slightest mistake, using the book as a guide and the megaphone as his mouthpiece.
"That right's keep it up! Don't slack off on the last couple, I want consistency. Now stop!" Lars flopped down to the sand, looking exhausted. "Now give yourself thirty seconds of rest time and then start again".
Satisfied, Steven turned his attention to Sadie who was jumping roping, panting heavily as sweat poured down her neck and forehead.
"Sadie, here!" Steven tossed a bottle of water at her, which she caught instinctively, pausing in her jumping, eyeing the bottle quizzically.
"Regular hydration is crucial for maintaining performance. Drink it slowly, then following with another ten minutes of jump ropes. Be sure to alternate between your stances"
Next on Steven's hit list was Greg, bench pressing while standing with a barbell, struggling with consecutive lift.
"Dad, put that down!" Steven said. Greg gratefully complied, setting the barbell on the sand. Steven squatted in front of the barbell and removed the extra weights attached on either side.
"More reps with less weight, Dad" he said, allowing Greg to resume. "I want at least dozen more. And then, I want you change position. I don't just want your triceps. I want your biceps, your calves, your abs, your pecs. I expect you to work rigorously on every muscle your body. Now give me all you got!"
"Uh, Steven," Greg said, hesitantly. "You sure you know what you're-"
"You heard me you clods!" Steven said, shouting into the megaphone, looking and sounding like a shorter and louder version of Peridot. "If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it right. Now listen up and I'll explain exactly what you need to do!"
"Steven, come on!" Sadie called, her voice reaching up to the Beach House. "We're ready to get started! We can't work out without your, uh, technical coaching skills"
"Be there in a sec" Steven replied weakly, his face planted squarely on the floor. "I can't move…" Steven groaned heavily, feeling as though every muscle in his body had been plastered in cement. Despite his stiffness, he managed to pull himself to his feet, dreading the workout ahead. From his bed, he saw Peridot, pacing around the Warp Pad, looking worried.
"Something is very wrong" she said. "Jasper and Lapis haven't returned yet. I tried going back to check on them, but the Warp Pad is down. As I suspected, those two clods have gone and made yet another-"
Peridot was abruptly cut off by a loud rumbling sound, which accompanied a violent tremor that shook the entire house. At first it sounded faint, yet it was growing increasingly louder with each passing interval.
Together, Peridot and Steven rushed out onto the balcony, to try and see what was causing the disruption. Down at the beach, Greg, Lars and Sadie, who were already in the middle of their respective workouts but stopped when they too noticed the sudden earthquakes. Next thing they knew, a small fishing boat landed right on the beach next to the gym. A moment later, a man in a yellow rain coat and hat popped his head out of the boat.
"Yellowtail?" Greg said in surprise. "What happened to you?"
"Muh muh muh!" he said, frantically pointing out at the water. "Muh muh muh, muh muh!".
Reacting as though he had understood that, Greg turned his head to the horizon and spotted a great shadow lurking underneath the surface of the water, fast approaching them. The water then parted as Malachite emerged from the ocean, looking dishevelled and furious, pulling her head and roaring up to the sky.
Lars and Sadie both screamed and fled in terror at the sight of Malachite, followed by Yellowtail, who hopped off his boat. Greg remained where he was, looking more worried than afraid.
"Ah jeez. They did Malachite again, didn't they?" he said. Greg then quickly hurried after the others just as Malachite encroached onto the beach, knowing from experience to stay as far away from her as possible.
Once Greg and the others were out of harm's way, Peridot hurriedly descended down from the Beach House, with Steven trudging behind her at a snail's pace, still finding hard to move. He didn't catch up to her int time before she confronted Malachite.
"You're still fused together?!" Peridot exclaimed in disbelief and alarm.
"How else was I supposed to get back here?!" Malachite yelled down at her. "You left me behind!"
"Technically, we ran away from you" Peridot clarified. "But that's beside the point. You two have been fused for far too long. This turning out exactly like the last time. Your fusion is getting out of control. You need to un-fuse right now!"
"Or what?!". Malachite crouched down and brought her giant face directly in front of Peridot. "You think you can make me?"
Peridot retreated a few inches back from Malachite's face, her confidence waning. "Well, uh, not if you don't make me….make you?"
Malachite threw her head back and cackled loudly. "You think you can make me do anything? You couldn't beat either of us even if we weren't fused!"
Lowering one of her massive hands down to Peridot, with her index finger tucked behind her thumb, Malachite released her finger and literally flicked Peridot away as easily as she would have a fly. Peridot was sent spiralling backwards through the air, screaming wildly until she landed in a patch of sand.
Malachite cackled yet again, thoroughly enjoying herself. Moving closer onto the beach, she noticed Greg's makeshift gym at her feet, or rather her hands. Still cackling, she smashed her fist into the gym, destroying it for no particular reason, other than she seemed to get a kick out of it.
"Why is she wrecking Dad's gym?" Steven asked Peridot, while trying to help her back to her feet, at total loss as to what was happening. "What's wrong with her? I mean, them?"
"Steven, you have to get back!" Peridot said with extreme urgency, pushing Steven away from her. Steven tumbled backwards and fell flat on his back. To his horror, he soon found that he couldn't get back up again. Greg then re-appeared and picked Steven up in his arms.
"Come on, Stew-ball" he said, sounding scared, as he began carrying him away from the beach. "Believe me, this is gonna get ugly"
Malachite continued her rampage, but her fun was then cut short when a green bubble of energy wrapped around her right fist like a giant-sized handcuff, holding it place before she could destroy anything else
"Alright, you forced me to do this" Peridot said, looking serious again, her tractor beam extending out from her palm, but this only seemed to amuse Malachite even further, as she resumed laughing.
Raising her free hand, she summoned up a huge column of water out of the ocean, which took the shape an arm. Before Peridot could make any attempt to dodge it, a giant fist of water came down upon her, smashing her into the ground, and the in the process knocking Steven and Greg into the air with the strength of the impact; Greg was thrown further away from the battle, while Steven landed closer, behind a small dune of sand.
"Still…can't move" Steven moaned, finding himself completely immobile
The tractor beam now severed, the watery arm plucked Peridot up from the sand and tossed her toward the smirking Malachite, who merely swatted her away again with a hard backhand, looking as though she barely any effort into it. Peridot's body crashed into the beach, digging up small trench in the process.
Coughing, Peridot pulled herself out of the trench and tried to take a few steps forward, but her legs began to wobble, and she soon collapsed to her knees and hands, her head spinning widely.
"You know what I just realised?" Malachite taunted as she loomed over the fallen Peridot. "We don't even need you anymore. I'm enough Crystal Gem to crush anything that comes our way. I got water. I got strength. But you? You've got nothing. Nothing but your little toys and your big mouth. You actually thought you could beat me? You're nothing compared to me! The only reason you're even here, is because Rose took pity on you. You're not even a real Crystal Gem!"
Peridot stared up at Malachite, whose words pierced her more painfully than she wanted to admit. If there was a time to lose hope, it was certainly now. She could see no plausible way out of this, no way to stop Malachite, not this time. Not without Rose. Close to tears, Peridot buried her face in the sand, covered her head with her arms, bracing herself for the inevitable shattering.
"That's not true!"
Peridot pulled her head out of the sand and turned around in surprise to see Steven, lying flat on his belly, speaking into his megaphone.
"Peridot's is a Crystal Gem" he said, his voice echoing across the entire beach. "Maybe's she not big or strong, but she's got brains, she's got guts and she's got heart! She never gives up and she always knows what to do! And even if no one listens to her, she'll always speak her mind no matter what!"
"Steven, you don't understand" Peridot said weakly. "I can't stop her, I'm-I'm not-"
"Of course you can stop her!" Steven re-iterated with absolute confidence. "Now you listen to me! I know that you can beat her. I know you won't give up! I know you are strong! I wouldn't be saying that if I didn't know it was true! We're lucky to have you with us!"
Peridot's eyes widened, realising in an instant what Steven was trying to tell her. Her metal fingers balled into fists, the strength in her legs and the confidence in her chest returning in full swing.
"You're right" she said, softly at first and then again with more vigour. "You're right! I can beat her!" Peridot got back to her feet and raised her fists up, taking a fighting stance before Malachite, who snarled down at her ferociously. After a moment, Peridot paused and turned back to Steven.
"Uh, how exactly do I beat her?" she called out to him.
"I have no idea!" Steven replied with earnest. "But I totally believe in you!"
Peridot groaned painfully. "Why do you keep saying that? It's compelling me to keep trying!"
"It doesn't matter how big she is, she's just-" Steven blinked once, as something akin to a bolt of lightning passed through his mind.
"No matter how large or strong any structure is, it's weakness will also be its own weight"
"That's it" he whispered to himself. He spoke into the megaphone again. "You gotta knock off her feet-hands!"
"Wha-?" Peridot said, confused.
"Compromise her load bearing capacity!"
Peridot glanced up at Malachite and then at her lower body, quickly comprehending. Calculating the nesscessary math in her mind in under a second, Peridot powered-up her finger-cannon and took off in a run, going underneath Malachite's abdomen, much to the latter's confusion.
With aim accurate to the nearest millimeter, Peridot fired her finger-cannon at the base of the nearest back leg. She fired again at one of the front legs, hitting between the joints. Malachite yelped, feeling the sting from each blow. She scurried along the beach, much a like a giant crab, trying to expose Peridot, but Peridot made sure to stay directly underneath Malachite's body.
Frustrated, Malachite reached underneath her lower torso with one of her front lower arms in an attempt to grab Peridot. Seeing her chance, Peridot dodged Malachite hand and then fired another blast at her adjacent back leg, which finally gave way from the strain. Losing her balance, Malachite's body faltered to one side, before she quickly used her upper right arm to steady herself.
Emerging from underneath Malachite, Peridot then activated her finger-copter and took off into the air, flying up behind her. Before Malachite had the chance to fully recover, Peridot fired another three consecutive shots up along her right arm.
Her right arm giving way under her own weight, Malachite toppled over and collapsed on her side, creating another huge tremor as her body slammed down on the beach.
"Woo-hoo! Way to go Peridot!" Steven cheered.
"Haha! I told you Steven!" Peridot said, triumphantly, descending back to the ground, taking the moment to stand proud and victorious for all to see. "Brains triumphs over-"
A massive turquoise hand slammed down upon Peridot, burying her into the ground. When the hand lifted, it left a distinctive imprint in the sand, with Peridot embedded in the centre of it.
"….Brawn" she finished weakly. Straining herself, Peridot popped out of the hole, her head bobbing back and forth. She tried to raise her right arm but felt something off about it. Looking down, emerald sparks fired out from her palm and her metal fingers clattered down to the sand, lifeless.
"Oh, not good, not good!" Peridot muttered, immediately trying to get her arm working again, as Malachite was slowly pulled herself back up.
"Come on, Peridot!" Steven said, continue to throw enthusiasm her way. "Just come up with another amazing strategy and kick her butt! You can win no matter what she throws at you!
Malachite let out another frustrated roar, punching her fist into the ground, turning her attention to Steven. "Will you just SHUT UP!"
Going into another blind frenzy, Malachite's hand grabbed Yellowtail's capsized boat and threw it directly at Steven.
Steven screamed in terror at the oncoming boat about to crush him to paste. Malachite cruel snarl faded instantly, as though she had been brought out of some kind of hypnotic trance, now looking confused and scared.
"Wha-?" she gasped, her eyes widening in horror. "No, no! Steven!
"Come on, come on!" Peridot said, shaking her right arm madly, trying to activate her tractor beam. With no time remaining, Peridot closed her eyes and aimed her arm at the boat, hoping against like rational thought that the beam would fire, her mind focused on nothing else but pulling the boat away from Steven.
Steven covered his head with his arms, expecting to be turned into a human pancake at any moment. But after a moment, he had yet to become a pancake. Peeking out from his arms, he saw Yelllowtail's suspended in mid-air like it had been caught by a giant magnet. The boat then went into full reverse and was now sent flying toward Malachite, who was grabbing fistfuls of her hair.
"What have I- what have we done?" Malachite was so caught up in her own anguish, she didn't notice Yellowtail's boat as it came hurtling toward her, glancing up just in time to see it smack her in the face. Malachite vanished in a literal puff of smoke and in her place, Jasper and Lapis reappeared, both falling down to the sand, while Yellowtail's boar sailed through the air and safely landed back in the water with a large plop.
Peridot finally opened her eyes and to her great relief, saw that Steven was uninjured. Surprised, looked down at her metal arm, which still appeared to be inoperable; she was certain that her tractor beam couldn't have fired and yet she could think of no other possible explanation as to what had just happened.
Putting that mystery aside, Peridot glanced over to Jasper and Lapis, the two of them laying sprawled out on the sand, appearing to be unconscious. Her first thought was concern for their wellbeing. And then came a second thought, which she concluded was more important; she had won.
"I did it!" Peridot cheered, so loud and confident, that no one would ever have suspected her of doubting herself in the first place.
From where they had fallen, Jasper was the first to recover, managing to get back to her feet, thought not without some difficulty.
"Oh, man. What did we do?" Jasper said, rubbing the side of her head, looking very much like a person the morning after a wild night of drinking. She turned to Lapis, who was still on the ground, unmoving.
"Lapis!" Concerned, Jasper picked Lapis up by her arms and tried to help her back to her feet, as gently and as slowly as she could. "Lapis, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for-"
Without warning, Lapis pulled herself away from Jasper and stood up on her own without any assistance, while keeping her back to Jasper.
"I told you we shouldn't have fused again" Lapis said. Her voice was very steady and flat, yet there was an unmistakable fury behind it that may have snapped at any moment. "I told you this might happen, and I still let you talk me into it"
"Lapis, I-" Jasper began, looking miserable, but Lapis continued as though she couldn't hear her.
"We attacked on our home, we attacked Peridot. We even tried to hurt Steven" Lapis said. She wrapped her arms around her chest, her fingers digging into the blue skin of arms; a stream of tears could be seen trailing down her chin.
"Lapis, please listen, you were right" Jasper said, desperately. "It was all my fault. I should have-"
Lapis finally turned to face Jasper, who flinched at the look of pure unrelenting hate in her eyes. "We are never fusing again"
This time there would be no counter argument or persuasion and Jasper knew it. She lowered her head down, guilt ridden, unable to even look Lapis in the eye, as she turned back to her once again, ashamed of what she had put her through and had no words to express how sorry she was.
The chilling silence was then broken by Peridot, who ran in-between them and started to run around in circles, her arms raised in the air like an excited child, still celebrating her victory.
"Woo! Woo! Praise me! Praise me! Who's up for another mission. Let's go out there and kick some butt. Peridot log date, I am awesome! Woo!"
Peridot abruptly ceased her jubilation when she finally took notice of the atmosphere. She glanced between Jasper and Lapis, neither of whom made any acknowledgment of her presence or interruption. Peridot slowly lowered her arms, immediately regretting her over-zealousness behaviour. She quietly backed away from Jasper and Lapis, and kept her mouth closed, knowing it wasn't her place to speak.
Steven was watching all of the from afar, still unable to move his body, though it may not have had anything to do with his muscles cramps anymore. It wasn't long before Greg, returned. He too was watching the Crystal Gems with a perturbed look.
"Steven, you ok?" Greg asked, helping Steven back to his feet.
"I'm fine" he answered quietly, staring down at the sand.
"What the heck just happened?" Lars said, approaching Steven and Greg, while standing cautiously behind Sadie.
"I think the gym is closed" Steven replied sadly.
"For how long?" Sadie asked.
Steven took one more look at the Crystal Gems; Lapis was staring off into the ocean, alone and mournful; Jasper was standing behind her, tethering on the verge of trying to talk to her, but she might as well have been a thousand miles away from her; Peridot was squatting down in the sand, occupying herself by perfunctorily repairing her damaged arm.
"I think, maybe forever" Steven said, dejectedly, dropping his megaphone to the sand.