Author's Note: Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know that this chapter is really important for the plot. To keep these chapters coming and to know that you're actually enjoying the story, the goal for this chapter is 40 stars. If you could leave some comments with suggestions, that would be awesome too; it really helps me improve and keep giving you my absolute best. Without further ado, bye!
The next day I woke up feeling a bit sore, but it was nothing serious—nothing a little healing spit couldn't fix. I opened my eyes and saw Lapis with her foot practically resting on my head like I was some kind of alternative pillow, so I just let out a little sweat-drop sigh and slid out of the way.
I got up and walked into the living room, where Lion was watching me with this incredibly suspicious look, like I'd owed him money for the past three centuries. I just mentally shot back that yeah, we were even now, and handed him the fish I had saved in the freezer. He seemed satisfied and headed outside to eat, though not before making it crystal clear that he didn't want me leaving a mess in the house again.
A peaceful smile tugged at my lips as I walked into the bathroom to go through my morning routine. About three hours flew by like that while I got ready for the day's training.
Lapis was awake by then and announced that she wanted to tag along to watch us train. I had no reason to say no, so I agreed; plus, I figured it would be a good idea to get her out of her comfort zone a bit.
The Gems headed outside and gestured for me to walk toward the warp pad. Lapis and I stepped on, and within seconds, we were teleported to the Sky Arena. She stood there looking amazed for a moment, as if she were at some kind of divine theme park, but then she shrugged it off and went straight to the bleachers to watch what the other Gems would do.
Amethyst looked at me with a grin and asked if I was ready. I just needed to stretch a bit, so I started loosening up my muscles with a few quick push-ups and stretches.
After a few minutes, Pearl and Garnet split off to practice on their own, leaving just Amethyst, Lapis, and me nearby. Lapis was still playing on my phone, stuck in the middle of that endless game battle she'd been dealing with for days. She was up against two users now, and she was still eating them alive like it was nothing.
When she asked what we were going to do, Amethyst replied that we were going to fuse to practice different combat tactics and sharpen our battle skills. Lapis just nodded understandingly and immediately started snapping pictures with my phone like a professional photographer on an intergalactic runway. Ever since she discovered the camera app, she had completely filled up my storage and was still overloading it without mercy. I sighed quietly, thinking to myself that I definitely needed to buy a bigger memory card.
I looked ahead while Lapis kept snapping photos uncontrollably, noticing that Pearl and Garnet had already started sparring with total seriousness.
"Let's get it, old man," Amethyst said as she started to dance. I gave her a total deadpan face, but in the end, I joined in, matching my steps so I wouldn't look completely clumsy.
We moved closer together, and Lapis was right there recording the whole thing like it was a documentary on our skills. When our hands met, a bright light enveloped us, melting us down into something completely new. Lapis blinked, totally caught off guard, and even though the other two sparring Gems lost their focus for a split second, they quickly kept going like nothing happened.
Two Gems had joined together to form a brand-new Gem. Lapis stared with wide eyes, clearly blown away by the form the fusion took right in front of her.
I looked down at my arms—now gray—and noticed I only had two. I was a bit taller than Steven and had white hair, similar to mine, only longer, reaching down to my shoulders. My body showed the results of all that training; it was strong and toned, though still a little chunky, keeping my core essence. My eyes were black with flecks, and looking over at Lapis, I flashed her a peace sign, which made her take a rapid-fire burst of pictures without stopping.
"First things first," I said, looking at my new hands. "Let's see... a name? What name should I go by... oh, I know. Smoky," I thought, remembering the time I fused with Rose. "Yeah, why change it?"
I'm way too lazy to change my name anyway. I looked over my body again with curiosity; I wasn't too thin, but I wasn't too heavy either—just a weird but comfortable middle ground.
I summoned Steven's shield to check for any differences and was instantly surprised. It looked thicker, more solid, as if it had gone through an unexpected upgrade. It didn't feel heavy at all, which also surprised me, so I hurled it toward one of the stone columns to test its impact.
The crash echoed through the entire arena like a clap of thunder, and anyone paying attention could see the shield embedded ridiculously deep into the stone. Feeling a rush of excitement from that, I pulled the notebook out of Steven's jacket. I started quickly jotting down all the differences I noticed, and when I finished, I slipped the book back into the jacket, took the jacket off, and tossed it toward Lapis, who was busy recording Pearl and Garnet's fight.
Lapis barely had time to react before the jacket smacked her right in the face, and her look of pure confusion almost made me burst out laughing.
I asked her to hold onto it for me while I stretched, and she just replied with a simple, "Okay." She was completely used to my quirks by now, though she still started pulling everything out of Steven's pockets anyway, as if trying to figure out just how deep that bottomless pit actually went. Pretty soon, she ended up reading the notebook while I stayed lost in my thoughts.
I decided to run one more test and jumped as high as I could. I cleared way more height than Amethyst could alone, or even Steven, which was something I expected but was still thrilling to experience firsthand. Every single detail went into the notes, though I have to admit I'm a bit more dry when writing like this compared to when I'm fused as Rainbow Quartz. But meh.
I looked at my two newly formed weapons. I had already tested the shield, but the whip looked longer, more flexible, and a whole lot more practical. Every time I fuse with someone, the weapons always get a massive upgrade, and it makes me wonder if it's because of the mix of personalities or just the inner chaos we carry around. I jotted it down without overthinking it.
Then, I fused both weapons together. From that union, a massive yo-yo was born, looking completely different from the usual. Its stretch capacity felt almost infinite—obviously it wasn't, but it gave off this vibe like I could throw it any distance and it would just keep extending, as if physics didn't want to pick a fight with me. I braced myself to hurl it at the pillars to check its power...
And lo and behold, on top of being incredibly flexible and practical, the yo-yo had so much potential that if I hadn't already experimented with Steven's weak telekinesis before, I would have thought I was controlling it with my mind. But no, it was just perfectly crafted, exactly what I needed.
Amethyst's side heavily dominated the fusion. That brought a ton of tricks, spins, and wild movements to the table, which Lapis recorded for a while. Eventually, she got bored and went back to fighting noobmaster67 with that trademark competitive fury of hers.
Smoky flipped through the notebook, writing down and evaluating more details. They tried to tap into some internal information from Steven's side, but he wouldn't budge. Everyone has secrets, and the fusion respected that too... though they started skimming through the book anyway, and stumbled onto a passage that made them stop completely.
Amethyst is someone I really look up to, even if she goes a bit overboard with her jokes sometimes. Honestly, she's practically my sister. I love hanging out with her. She was always the first one to have my back. Even knowing it would take time, she gave me her time.
Smoky stared at those words for a few seconds, their heart beating in a strange way. They flipped a few more pages and found another note.
Amethyst totally kicked my butt today, but that's pretty much normal by now. I feel like thanks to her, I can actually get strong. Really, really strong.
The fusion smiled with a mix of pride and tenderness, and a single tear slipped from their left eye, landing right on the page. They quickly composed themselves, but that brief moment stayed locked deep inside.
They finished writing in the notebook and started training again, though not quite as efficiently as before. They glanced over at Pearl and Garnet, who were taking a break while Lapis showed them—with a mix of embarrassment and excitement—all the photos she had taken. Pearl looked genuinely happy, and Garnet did too.
Smoky took a deep breath and decided to call them over.
"Hey, girls."
All three turned around with virtual question marks over their heads. Pearl raised an eyebrow, while Garnet looked at them as if she already knew exactly what was about to happen.
Smoky crossed their hands behind their back, puffed out their chest, and spoke with as much pride as they could muster.
"So, would one of you have the honor of training with me? Honestly, doing this alone doesn't feel all that efficient."
Pearl's hand shot up instantly. Garnet had already told her earlier that Smoky would need a partner, so they had been resting specifically for this moment. As she stood up, Pearl flashed a playful, almost challenging smirk.
"Let's see if you're stronger than Rainbow Quartz."
Smoky just fired back with a shit-eating grin, ready to show her exactly what they were made of.
We squared up face-to-face.
"Let's see what you've got," Pearl said, summoning her weapon. I smiled and quickly brought out my yo-yo, though I didn't fully unravel it just yet. We locked eyes, completely focused, until Garnet's voice broke the tension.
"Begin," she said in that calm but firm tone.
We both charged at each other. Pearl tried to lung straight at me with her spear, moving with that flawless grace of hers. I wasn't nearly as flexible as she was, but I had a different advantage. I dropped so low that my back practically brushed the floor, and when Pearl saw the opening, she lunged straight forward... but she didn't expect what happened next.
I felt my body bounce off the ground like it was made of rubber, and I used that momentum to summon my shield just in time. Her spear clashed against my shield, and thanks to my positioning and leverage, I won the collision. Pearl went flying back several yards before recovering her balance mid-air.
"Not bad," she said, shifting into a much more serious stance.
I didn't answer with words. I simply fused the whip and shield back into the yo-yo and hurled it hard right at her. Since she was already on guard, she dodged it easily... but when the yo-yo bounced off the wall and snapped right back from behind, I heard her curse under her breath as she started sprinting all across the arena.
I locked in completely to track her every move, guiding the yo-yo as if it had a mind of its own. Pearl kept dodging, jumping, and pulling off flips, but she eventually found a blind spot right behind me. The clever Gem hurled her spear straight at my face. Out of pure reflex, I summoned the shield, and the yo-yo vanished in a flash of light.
Now's my chance, she thought. I saw her coming with a burst of speed so fast I didn't even have time to react. The blow landed cleanly, sending me flying until I crashed hard into a pillar. I heard her voice from behind the dust.
"Looks like I win."
But she didn't see my smile.
A second later, my body bounced right back like it was nothing, and I launched myself straight at her back. Pearl barely had time to spin around, her eyes wide with shock, as I brought the shield up front. The impact sent her flying, and Garnet had to catch her before she took a nasty fall.
"Pearl is knocked out," Garnet said, completely unfazed, while Pearl just stared up at imaginary pink roses spinning around her head.
I started celebrating with a ridiculously goofy victory dance, right until I felt something cold dropping on me. I looked up.
Great. Rain, right in the middle of the Sky Arena.
"Damn it," I muttered as my wet hair fell over my face.
"We'll call it a day," Garnet said in that wise voice of hers, looking up at the sky like she was gathering an aura, though I knew she was just checking if it was about to pour. Lapis looked up at the sky too, and without saying a word, walked over to the warp pad.
I followed her, still fused, while Garnet carried Pearl over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes while Pearl mumbled gibberish about pink babies. And that's how the four of us made it back to the house. I stayed fused because I wanted to test how long I could maintain it, even though I already knew that the second it was Steven's bedtime, it would be goodbye fusion.
"I'm gonna go for a walk, it's not raining here yet," I said as I headed back out.
Nobody stopped me. Garnet already knew I needed this time, and that it was best to leave me to it. Lapis, meanwhile, was busy screaming into voice notes at some kids who were leaving hate comments on Steven's account, where he used to post workout tips.
"You insolent humans," she was saying while scrolling through one of the posts. "This is the absolute best way to do triceps. If you've never worked out a day in your lives, that is not Steven's fault!"
Garnet watched her with a sweat-drop expression and decided to head into her room before the water fury turned on her. She literally tossed Pearl inside and shut the door.
I walked along the beach, noticing how quickly the hours had passed while I tried eating food as a fusion just out of curiosity. It felt different—weird, but entertaining.
I sat down on the sand, staring at the horizon. The sunset was painting everything in this soft orange hue that made the beach look almost magical. I didn't say anything at first. It was quiet—way too quiet for what I was feeling inside. In the end, I wound up talking to myself.
"Amethyst, you okay?"
There was a silence inside me. It took a few seconds before I answered myself.
"I am."
"Amethyst."
"What."
"I know you're not okay. What's on your mind? You know you can talk to me about whatever you need."
The silence returned, heavier this time. For a moment, I thought about unfusing, but I didn't.
"It's about the Kindergarten and what happened there, isn't it?"
I felt my body tense up, every single muscle locking. I nodded in silence.
"I get it. And you know, I told you before."
I looked down at the sand with guilt. That kind of guilt that just won't wash away.
"If it weren't for me, we wouldn't be in this mess."
"It's not your fault, Amethyst. You just fast-forwarded something that was going to happen anyway. Homeworld already had plans. And to be perfectly honest, the name Pepe was hilarious to me too."
A little chuckle escaped involuntarily, wrapped in a few tears.
"Oh come on, admit it."
Finally, light began to envelop us, and the fusion gently dissolved. Amethyst and I were left sitting side-by-side, watching the ocean, which looked even more beautiful now with the sky dyed in shades of pink and orange.
"It wasn't your fault, and it never will be. You've always got me. If anything ever happened to you, I'd never forgive myself. I want you to remember that. I love you. You're like a sister to me. And if you ever need to blow off some steam by fighting, I'm right here. After all, I'm practically a tank."
Amethyst couldn't take it anymore and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. She was crying and smiling all at the same time.
I just hugged her back, letting everything settle down peacefully while the sound of the waves washed over us.
The two of them headed back inside the house. Amethyst went straight to her room; according to her, she had already dealt with more than enough emotional baggage for one day. I sat down next to Lapis, who was still arguing with the phone while it was plugged into the charger. I watched her in silence for a few seconds, but ended up just shaking my head. Then I got up to take a relaxing shower, and once I was cleaned up, I pulled out some books on human anatomy and physical energy.
Both topics really fascinated me; I've always genuinely liked studying, even if I don't talk about it much. I'm writing it down here so I don't forget, because I know I usually skip mentioning it. And that's how the night passed, with Steven meditating on his next steps and what he could do, completely unaware that something was approaching from very far away.
Elsewhere on the planet, a lone Gem traveled inside her ship, cursing under her breath. She had been sent to this ridiculous planet to deal with a rebel who was supposed to be dead. She had tried to avenge her Diamond, and after everything, what had she actually accomplished? Nothing. An awkward pause filled the cockpit as the one word she absolutely loathed formed in her mind.
I lost.
The mere thought made her stomach turn. How could she defeat them? She couldn't do it alone. They had Rose, who, even though she managed to bypass her thanks to the environment, was still a threat. And then there was that disgusting fusion. She froze in her tracks as a realization struck her.
Fusion.
She spat the word with disgust, but also with a spark of strategy. She needed to find Peridot; it was her only way out. She picked up her pace, convinced that this was the right call.
Meanwhile, far away from there, in a desolate landscape surrounded by nothing but wilderness, Peridot was attempting to communicate with anything that might answer. For obvious reasons, nothing worked. She cursed her own equipment and examined her finger-screen panel, searching for a solution, until she hit a useful piece of data.
Communication Hub. Maybe that will help me.
Panic shot through her body for a split second, but she quickly regained her composure. If she found Jasper, it would be even better. Together, they would escape this useless planet before it blew up. With that goal in mind, Peridot set off on her trek like she was searching for the One Piece... I mean, the Communication Hub.
End of Chapter 38.