Author's Note: Happy New Year! Keeping it brief, and here's to the continuation of The Universe Twins
Chapter 11- Alone Forever
"Ugh… I can't get those stupid Fernandez twins out of my head," Cy lamented as she and Finn walked Home from the Big Donut.
Finn put a hand to his sister's shoulder, "Who cares about those two? We're the cooler twins, anyway, are they in a band, huh?"
"You know what your right brother…" she then stopped, "wait you just admitted to being a part of this band. You haven't once truly associated yourself with this band? Are you changing your mind about it?"
Finn also stopped and looked at his sister straight on, "Wow, I guess I am getting more used to the band, but still not sure about gigs."
They continued on but were interrupted by a scary sight to behold as they turned the corner towards the temple, "YOU always do this Rose!" They could hear Pearl yelling, and on that note they doubled their speed to witness Rose and Pearl fighting again.
"Hey I grounded you two!" Cy screamed like a banshee at them, but to no effect. They were pretty much throwing punches at each other with Amethyst pretty much trying to separate the two.
"Cool it you two," the smaller purple gem tried in vain to push them apart, but within an instant Rose's huge hammy fist clocked her in the face as Pearl leaned back. The force was powerful enough to make Amethyst gasp before she disappeared into a cloud of purple smoke.
"AMETHYST!" The twins literally were in a panic watching as from the smoke both Rose and Pearl stepped back in shock and disbelief. They ran as fast as they could to the spot where her gemstone remained untouched, "What the heck you guys!?" Finn screamed at the two with tears in his eyes.
Cy looked like she was about to throw up, "Leave us now!" She screamed at the two fighting gems, and before either could retort she pointed at both of them in such a fury that electricity shot out from her fingers at both of them. Rose had dodged the electric shock, but Pearl was hit. Luckily it wasn't more powerful than a quick static shock, but in her anguish she acquiesced jumping into the ocean without a second thought. Meanwhile Rose simply flew away in shock.
Finn looked to his sister with tears still in her eyes, "Did you…" he breathed out in a sobering sob, "Did you just shoot electric from your fingers?" He held Amethyst's gem carefully, coming closer to the bemused Cy who was a bit more preoccupied by her newfound ability, "Hello, Cy?"
"Unlimited power, bro!" Cy got a little scared with her voice, "Wait until those stupid Fernandez twins see us again!" She cackled a little too menacingly.
Finn sniffled, "Uhh… Cy, Amethyst is literally just her gem right now," Finn exclaimed, pulling himself together, snapping Cy out of her weird power trip. Cy blinked and then gasped feeling ashamed of herself. "We should take her to Bismuth, maybe she'll know what to do?"
Cy snapped her fingers and without a second to be spared Lion showed up looking as bored and unbothered as ever, "Lion, take us to Bismuth's forge!" She quickly hops onto Lion's back, the majestic pink lion immediately ranover to Finn and Amethyst, where Cy hoists her brother onto the pink mammal's back, "Onward, lion!" Lion immediately shot out a loud roar that opened space time. Immediately they leaped into the warp in space, fast traveling through what appeared to be a wormhole, and almost within a few seconds pretty much landed in front of the forge.
It was deep under an active volcano, which both twins didn't particularly care for, well more so Finn who ran hot normally. He was sweating bullets from the heat but soldered on anyway. Meanwhile Cy let Lion rest, worn out from the trip.
"Bismuth!?" The twins screamed upon entering the forge, which was illuminated by streaks of lava coursing through the igneous rock walls of the forge.
Bismuth turned from her anvil where she was busy repairing Rose's sword, "Kids? Hold up, where's the fire?" Finn presented Amethyst's unharmed gemstone to Bismuth who cried out in horror, "Oh my God! What happened to Amethyst?" The twins spent the next few minutes filling in Bismuth about the fight between Rose and Pearl that made Amethyst revert to her gem. "This isn't good, they have to stop this, luckily Amethyst's gem wasn't cracked in the process," she held Amethyst's gem tenderly in her hand looking back at the sword.
"Is Amethyst gonna be okay, Bismuth?" Finn asked, feeling uneasy.
Bismuth looked at her fellow gem with deep sorrow, "The short answer is yes, but it just depends on how long Amethyst needs to reform. It must've been some punch if she's not back already."
The twins sighed in relief, but also couldn't shake the unease of the whole situation. Who was to say Amethyst would reform soon, and if she did what would prevent this from happening again? Did Cy have to threaten Pearl and Rose with her newfound electric shock ability?
The twins and Bismuth returned home making no pleasantries with Pearl, instead they all shared a knowing look. Pearl broke the silence with an acknowledgement of her actions, "I'm not sure how you can all forgive me on my part following today's events, but I do feel sorrow and anguish for my actions."
Cy looked at Amethyst's gem in her tiny hands with tears welling up, "You should apologize to Amethyst when she gets reformed, and we should do something nice for her." She choked up a bit and looked back at Pearl, "What do you wanna do for Amethyst, Pearl?"
Pearl clutched her mouth, "Cleaning- yes, cleaning! That's what I'll do," she had a complete turnaround going from the saddened Pearl to an incensed version that just seemed so out of character even Bismuth was looking at her strangely. Finn couldn't help but notice she had the same reaction at the crater month's back now, "I'll start with the loft!"
Cy's eyes bulged as she shoved Amethyst's gem into Bismuth's hands quickly, "Wait, wait, wait! Pearl, let me grab some things I just know you'll trash by accident." She scurries up to the loft and before she could start moving things her gaze was met by a letter on her pillow. "What's this?" She said in a hushed tone.
Cy opened the letter somewhat confused as to how it even got onto her bed;
Cyrene~
Your so beautiful,
I wonder aloud in thought,
Accept my love Cy!
-Your Secret Admirer
Cy felt disturbed by the thought of some stranger just obsessing over her, breaking into her house, and writing semi-dreamy poetry. For now she had to stuff it away with her possessions that Pearl would mistake for trash including Garnet her pet hermit crab. The last time Pearl cleaned The loft she was missing for two days! Luckily they found her in the temple before something bad happened, but it was a risk she couldn't take.
Pearl joined her after a few minutes pre-tidying things by storing them away in her hope chest, except for Garnet who she moved down into the living room for the time being. "You may be grounded but I'll still help out with the cleaning," Cy offered, holding her hands out for a rag and cleaner.
Pearl gave Cy an inquisitive look, "I can only ground your brother and you…" she wanted to continue her thought, but Cy was putting on the puppy dog eyes, which Pearl could Never understand, "Yet somehow your ocular orbs manage to subdue that punishment."
"Wait, can we watch TV again?" Cy gasped as she leaned over the railing dramatically holding onto Pearl's every word. Or more realistically perhaps just dramatically playing it up because there was a follow up to one of her favorite movies Jujuginmawhich fascinated her love for nature and animals.
Pearl then got serious, "Oh my stars, no, but… you two are lucky it's not exactly a full on punishment. I originally wanted to ground you both from exiting the house."
Bismuth couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity behind Pearl's comment, "She's kidding," she looked to Pearl who remained quite stoic, "or maybe she's serious." Bismuth walked towards the fridge awkwardly giving Finn a nervous glance.
Pearl and Cy began to clean out the loft, "Bismuth, did you and Dr. Mahashwaren figure out when we'll be having dinner together?" Finn twiddled his thumbs still feeling the melancholy of today, but it was starting to taper off.
Bismuth scratched her head, "We're shooting for the last week of this month," her gemstone began to glow and from it popped out a cellphone, but an extremely dated model.
Finn stared at the phone, it was basically a cordless landline model from the 80s, "Bismuth, what happened to the smartphone you got from the government?"
Bismuth blushed and scratched her head, "Oh umm… turns out the touchscreen isn't great for me, so I heard about these Originale cell phones. It was really hard to find one actually, but these huge square buttons are just durable enough for my fingertips." She looked at Finn in his current outfit. It was definitely the wardrobe of a preteen with a slight layer of dirt. "We should get you some new clothes for the occasion," she suggested, attempting to change the subject.
"What's wrong with my clothes?" He pulled his shirt up over his nose and inhaled, "Ooo maybe you're right, but Bismuth how can we afford it? Dad's not here."
Bismuth put her phone back into her gem, "I've been moonlighting as security for Doug's company." She remarked triumphantly, " That's right I'm working now! I never knew security guards needed their own security guard."
Finn chuckled, "It's usually the building you protect, I think?"
Bismuth also chuckled, "Huh, that would explain why I haven't been asked to be a security detail for anyone in particular, and why they pay me to just hang out in the front box with the colorful bar."
Finn smiled, "I think you mean the guard shack Bismuth."
Whizzy Joe's Platinum Clothes was a boutique just outside beach city limits that provided a vast array of different options for all ages. It was the crown jewel of the Surf Mall, which Finn didn't really enjoy. Something about the mall was just a bit much for Finn, but it was mostly due to the fact that the Llama incident happened here.
Finn emerged from the red curtain line dressing room wearing a floral printed suit with a pink button down. Bismuth was seated on a rather small metal bench that just held her with a minimal buckling underneath. She had noticed Finn wasn't exactly into many of the choices the store offered and was sheepish about browsing, so she'd taken it upon herself to pick up items for him, "Those look comfy and snazzy, kid," she tried to sound reassuring.
Finn had a forlorn look on his face as he dismissed his own glances in the mirror while modeling the outfit, "It's not really me though."
"Try this on!" She tossed him a bright orange pair of slacks, a classic linen button down, and some matching suspenders, "I just saw it in the young formals."
Finn frowned behind the small mound of expensive clothing in his arms. He gulped and reentered the fitting room as Bismuth went to look around for some more options. She was having the time of her life, even trying on a bucket hat she had been eyeing up.
"Rainbow dreads in a bucket hat… What an eyesore…" said a rather uncouth condescending voice from behind Bismuth.
Bismuth turned around looking quite striking in her electric green and watermelon patterned headwear. The Fernandez twins were smugly eyeing up the gem warrior and part time blacksmith.
Coco took a step forward and pointed directly at the gem warrior, "And that apron, it's so tacky. Stars? But also, it's just badly designed." Bismuth looked down at her form with a mild understanding of the biting comments.
From down the aisle Finn's voice could be heard, "Bismuth I really like this, but might be a bit too pricey…" Finn emerged from behind the statuesque Bismuth, now wearing the pleated orange pants, white linen button down and matching orange suspenders. Coco blushed slightly at the sight of the dapper Finn, who looked back unamused due to the fact Cy was gonna be fuming she wasn't here to shock the daylights out of them, "Oh… it's you two."
Tyler stepped forward, his gaze like a tiger stalking its prey, "Couldn't forget us now could you." He pumped up his chest in a display of superiority.
Finn pinched the bridge of his eyebrows, closing his eyes, resulting in his glasses lowering down his nose, "How could I… you two are literally the worst."
Bismuth found her voice but there was a slight rattle in her tone, "Finn who are these kids?"
Finn put his hands in his pocket nonchalantly, "They are some snobby rich kids who basically bully Peedee and other kids with flashy displays, basically flaunting their money to taunt the less fortunate."
Bismuth's eyes bulged at the incredible words Finn just strung together, "Wow bud, those typing lessons have really been paying off haven't they." Finn blushed in sight embarrassment.
"Oh that's rich," Tyler scoffed, "what are your bumpkin homeschool methods at a first grade level?"
Bismuth's gaze twisted into a deafening leer, "He's actually dyslexic and you two are pathetic."
"Pathetic!" Tyler bristled with anger, "Oh is that so! Well, at least we can afford to buy that outfit!" Tyler screamed running up to Finn attempting to disrobe him, to abscond with the items himself.
"Tyler, get off of him!" Coco rushed forward pushing Tyler off of Finn and onto the ground. She stared at Finn for a moment before regaining herself and ushering her brother up and away, "Come along, you don't need another lawsuit." With that they stormed off much to the confusion of Finn, Bismuth, and a clerk who just witnessed everything.
"Are you two okay?" The clerk asked in a heavy Australian accent, her apron was a bit faded but you could just make out the Whizzy Joe's logo on the left pocket.
Finn quickly fixed the buttons and smoothed the lining on the linen button down, "Yeah, umm… sorry about that, they suck." He pressed his glasses a touch up the bridge of his nose, and spoke in the most as-a-matter-of-fact voice he could produce; plucking at the collar to resume its original bounce.
The teen pursed her lips gathering her thoughts before finally speaking, "Well I'm gonna pay for that, or anything for that matter, if you're buying, as I'm the manager, and it's Whizzy Joe's policy too. You can call me Mere!" She smiled, her posture relaxing with a hand on her hip.
"Well thanks Mere, you can call me Bismuth, and that's awfully kind of you." Bismuth replied, taken aback by the human Mere's kindness, "We'll take the outfit for Finn and I'll be taking this hat today."
"Excellent, here's my card, I'll expense these out, but please do come again," Mere extended her hand, producing a business card from her sleeve. "If you two are here in the future please use this card to enjoy fifty percent off all merchandise," Bismuth took the card and placed it in her gem for safekeeping as Mere twirled off with a quick, "Come again, adlay!"
Finn's head began to feel funny, "A vision? Here?" He quickly glimpsed a view of a gem monster attempting to eat Tyler, he chuckled slightly.
"What's up, bub?" Bismuth asked, confused by the way Finn related to his own vision.
Finn stopped laughing and plainly said, "We're going to the food court."
The mall's food court was only a brief walk from the Whizzy Joe's, so there wasn't too much ground to cover fortunately.
"Finn what did you envision?" Bismuth tried to inquire about being dragged by the hand to their destination. Bismuth looked up to see the Fernandez twins in line at the Fortune Cookie Factory Pavillion.
"That," Finn points to a gem monster above the Fortune Cookie Factory Pavilion. As soon as Finn had pointed at the gem monster it roared indignantly, causing the bustle of the mall to turn into a frenzied panic.
The mall is in chaos. Shoppers are running for cover as a massive Gem monster wreaks havoc. The creature, a towering twisted and gnarly tree with crab-like legs that helped it scuttle on walls and floors, quickly jumps on top of Tyler Fernandez and lets out an earth-shaking roar.
Finn and Bismuth run towards the scared bullies. Coco was cowering nearby under an overturned cafeteria table screaming out, "Somebody help!"
Just then, Bismuth lept into action, her new hat shining in triumph under the mall's fluorescent lights. She brandishes her hammer with a quick transformation of her fist, "Bismuth versus Nature, what a fitting fight!" Bismuth squinted looking at the gem on the monster, "Wait a second... I've seen this type of Gem before." She dodges a launched claw attack and lands a powerful strike on the creature, "Finn, this Gem is a Morganite. They're known for their strength and resilience. We'll have to be extra careful."
Finn never had actually gotten any confirmation on the names of corrupted gems, but something about the certainty in Bismuth's voice was earth shattering, "A Morganite?! Huh."
Finn and Bismuth launch into action. The Gem monster swipes at them with massive wooden claws, but Bismuth skillfully blocks the attacks with her hammer. Finn then slid into the monster's spindly legs knocking it off balance, "Get behind the fortune cookie statue! It'll give you some cover."
Coco scurried without hesitation helping her brother to her feet and the two scrambled behind the giant statue. The corrupted Morganite, enraged, charged towards them bellowing out a gnarled cry, but Bismuth blocked its charge with her brute power.
Bismuth taunted the monster locked claw to hammer," Is that all you got, Twiggy?" She looked back at Finn expectantly, "Oh that's right, Cy's not here to get the reference."
Finn concentrates, his gem glowing brightly. From his knuckles he summons his weapon, a set of brass knuckles, knocking the monster back with a creaky smashing sound Bismuth took the opportunity to leap onto the monster's back, slamming her hammerfist into its back towards Finn.
Finn reacted quickly and leaped back behind the huge fortune cookie statue, "Run now!" He gestured wildly to which the twins didn't need a second thought about it, and took off.
Finn focuses his energy, and with a well timed backflip, he squishes the monster with the giant fortune cookie. The Morganite squirmed under the weight of the stature for a second before the pressure of the statue poofed the gem, the stature stuttered for a moment crashing down further. This was then followed by a shattering noise as fragments of harmless crystal exploded out from under the heavy statue.
"Bismuth, why was this one so different?" Finn asked, looking a bit fearful.
Bismuth started to gather the shards into her hands, "What do you mean, Finnbar?"
Finn crossed his arms, "You gave it a name?"
Bismuth stopped collecting the shattered remains turning to Finn, "That's because Morganites are high-ranking Gems on Homeworld, the planet where we Crystal Gems originally come from."
Finn had heard about this from his father and overheard conversations between the gems, "Homeworld? I've heard you all mention it before, but why is this Morganite so important?"
Bismuth froze for a second, "Uhh… normally we poof and bubble common gems, but if a corrupted Morganite is here, it's not a great sign." Finn had more questions, but Bismuth was done collecting the shards, and already walking away towards the exit.
Outside Coco and Tyler were hopping into a private car as police officers were now swarming the scene. Coco watched on as Finn emerged from the battle torn food court with Bismuth. "Maybe that kid isn't so bad," Coco whispered to herself with a slight quiver in her voice as the car pulled off.
It was now dark out once Bismuth and Finn returned to the beach house, still thrown from their battle at the mall. They're greeted by a newly reformed Amethyst, who stands proudly in the middle of the room with a bright, confident grin. Her muted palette of black and grey lightened by the addition of a white peekaboo tank top, "What do you think of the new look, guys?"
Finn was elated, "Amethyst! You're back!" He dropped his purchases and ran over to hug the reformed gem.
Bismuth gives a hearty laugh and a thumbs up to the newly minted Amethyst, "Lookin' good, girl! Nice to see you back in action." She framed Amethyst in her fingers like a camera, "Yeah, you look great!"
Just as they're about to continue their conversation, Pearl and Cy come from the inside of Temple with signs of their cleaning spurt evident. Pearl was struggling with several bags of garbage in one hand and a beautiful porcelain mirror in the other. Meanwhile Cy was holding a modest wire refuse bin filled with crumpled papers.
"Can someone please give me a hand with this?" Pearl wheezed out.
Amethyst glared at Pearl, "Can we talk about why you were in my room, Pearl? I mean, can't a Gem have some space?"
Pearl looks taken aback for a moment but then realizes Amethyst's return, "Oh Amethyst, I was just trying to tidy up, I'm glad your back, and I'm sorry for my role in poofing you." She dropped the garbage bags to her left, but still held onto the mirror."
"Okay P, but you shouldn't be going through my stuff!" She ran into the temple in a huff clearly perturbed.
"Welcome back-" Cy began enthusiastically before the temple door shut in her face, "Amethyst…"
Pearl sighed in relief and exasperation.
"So Finn, How was your day?" Cy turned to ask her brother, dropping the bin of garbage next to her.
Finn was buzzing, "You wouldn't believe it, Cy. We just shattered a Morganite at the mall!" Bismuth leapt over attempting to cover up Finn's mouth with alarm, but instead her whole hand covered his entire face.
Pearl's eyes widened in shock. She fumbles with the ornate mirror in her hands. It slips from her grasp, clattering to the floor, "A corrupted Morganite?! On Earth?!"
Cy's eyes widen, ignoring the commotion, and just straight up enamoured with the beautiful mirror.
Finn with unresolved suspicion boldly attempted to ask Pearl, "What's going on? Why is the Morganite so important?"
Pearl quickly gathers herself, but her hands are shaking slightly. She picks up the mirror in a haste, "Finn, Morganite is connected to uhh… very powerful and dangerous Gems." Her voice raising again in disbelief, "But that's not the point right now. Why was a Morganite still here on Earth?"
"That's what we've got to figure out," Bismuth spoke with a heavy weight to her voice. "You would think they'd have evacuated every high ranking gem from the planet before-"
"Bismuth!" Pearl snapped.
The group fell silent at Pearl's outburst, no one moved a muscle until Amethyst reemerged from the temple in a huff then spoke up about the mirror, "Hey Pearl that's my mirror. Rose gave it to me! Give it back!"
Cy couldn't help but notice the back of the mirror, "Is that a gem?" Cy exploded with curiosity pointing right at the blue tear shaped gem on the back of the robust mirror.
"Err… it's just as good as if it was bubbled," Pearl responded with slight distress, "it can't reform here, thankfully."
Finn was extremely skeptical, "It looks like it's cracked pretty bad."Finn acknowledged, "Would that affect it from reforming?"
Before Pearl could even speak Amethyst snatched it away, "It's also mine!"
Pearl quickly took it back and held Amethyst at bay with her other hand, "Well you shouldn't have this in the first place," she struggled holding the purple gem back, "I've been looking for this thing for ages now!" She backs away from Amethyst quickly dodging Finn's question as she enters the temple herself in a hurry taking the mirror with her.
Finn turned around staring daggers at Bismuth, "Dad told us a little about Homeworld already. Why can't you guys just be honest? Is it that bad?"
Cy sighed looking longingly at Garnet who was back on her bedside table as the twins were getting ready for bed. Cy was a bit distracted by the events of today to even feel remotely tired, "What's up with all this Morganite stuff, bro?"
Finn didn't say anything right away. Cy awaited his response from the other side of the large partition on baited breath before he broke the silence, "Maybe Scandinavia can give us those answers."
Cy turned to face the partition poking out from her mound of stuffed animals, "We can't go to Scandinavia dude, Pearl would freak."
Finn also turned in his bed to face the partition, "Yeah, well we aren't getting any answers here. If only someone could tell us, it'd be much easier."
Cy got quiet for a second before getting a massive grin on her face, "Or maybe there is someone who can?"
Finn might've been skeptical of the gems, but what could Cy possibly mean, "What do you mean, Cy?" He humored his sister with a slight laugh.
Cy whispered dramatically loud, "The mirror!"
Finn jumped a bit, "Oh no we can't do that!"
"Finn, if Bismuth is being held to silence I don't think we'll get much out of Rose," Cy stated calmly as she sat up in her stuffed animal heaven. "Amethyst is in the dark so we need to talk to that gem," short of traveling to Scandinavia it was the only thing she could think of.
"Pearl said this gem is dangerous," he had a stern note to his voice, "We shouldn't play around with that mirror, sis."
Cy pouted, "Yeah well we won't get any answers by just waiting around for nothing."
Finn yawned, then sat up in his bed, "How are we gonna get that mirror when we need Pearl's Gem?"
"I don't know, but as soon as I see that mirror again it's on!" With that she layed back down into her squishy mound of a headboard practically melting into it.
Finn sighed then, also laying his head back down onto his pillow, "Well Cy, please, just don't do anything crazy before the dinner." He couldn't help but think of the worst, "I don't want Connie or her family to be involved… J
just in case this is bigger than we think."