Chereads / Boiling Gems (The Owl House x Steven Universe) / Chapter 48 - Chapter 46: Fusionpedia

Chapter 48 - Chapter 46: Fusionpedia

Summary: Learning about weird powers

"Come on." Skara smiled. "You've gotta be the one to ask him out!" She told her friend. The time for delay was over, either Boshcha asked the boy out or this ship was never going to sail.

"Why do I have to be the one?" Boscha argued with an annoyed tone. "He's the one desperate for me, he should just call me and say when."

"I actually made an entire list of reasons." Skara pulled out a book.

"Hu, that's usually Amelia's job when it comes to romance." Cat noted.

"I had to make a whole book just for Lucci alone. I've had years to observe his behavior and ticks." Skara explained, flipping it open. "Rule one, Lucci has a very innocent concept of romance. The idea of kissing a girl on the lips is his idea of 'final base'."

"Seriously?" Boscha groaned. "What's first base, holding hands?"

"Getting a girl to know his name actually." Skara answered. "Rule two, he appreciates honesty most of all, something that sets you back with the whole Vitimir thing." The boy probably wouldn't have held it against her if she'd been upfront about it. "Rule three, subtly is useless to him. Either you say it out loud or he won't know someone is attracted to him."

"Really? You'd think with the constant teasing and deadpan humor it would come naturally." Cat noted.

"That leads to rule four actually. Dry, black, and bleak humor he considers normal conversations. Death is literally a joke to him." Which was probably because he was so used to almost dying so much already.

"Oh, I have something fun to add in." They turned to see Emira , who walked from her corner. "He's a bit of a sub, so being told what to do, as long as it doesn't go against his very specific moral code, is a turn on for him."

"Really?" Boscha looked legitimately flustered, before shaking her head. "Why are you of all people trying to help me?" Boscha glared at Amity's sister. "Last I checked, you were trying to put your hussy hands all over him yourself."

"Please, I'm only semi-serious when I'm flirting." Emira rolled her eyes. "If something happens between me and Curly top, then it happens. If I have a special moment with anyone else, then it happens. Besides, I clearly don't like him as much as you do, with you whole, as I think Luz puts it, tsundere shtick."

" Don't mention that hu-" Fire emerged from Boscha's eyes, before turning it down. "Don't. Mention. The human."

"She's Lucci's friend. Heck, probably his closest friend. You're going to be seeing a lot of her if this works out." Skara reminded her.

"Not if operation poison trout goes off without a hitch." The girl grumbled. "Whatever, I don't know why I'm worried about this. I'll just text him to hang out and work from there."

"A mere text? How sad." Emira shook her head with a playfully sad frown. "So informal, so careless, you clearly want this to fail."

"I'm asking for a hang out, not a matrimony ceremony." Boscha rolled her eyes.

"Actually she sort of has a point." Skara brought up. "If you're going to go by text, then you need to spice it up a little."

"I'm not going to send him nudes. That's just tacky." Boscha groaned.

"Why was that what you jumped to?" Skara questioned.

"Well last week during that party at Cat's, I vaguely recall walking in on-"

"Let's focus on your text please!" Cat shouted.

"I should've joined this little group sooner, this is great." Emira laughed out loud. "Don't worry pyramid eyes, as a gal that curly top used to have a crush on, I'm more than able to give good advice on this."

"He use to what on y-"

"Oh, what's my nickname?" Skara questioned, ignoring Boscha's question.

"Cute Lute, what else?" The older girl shrugged.

"Are we actually going to do this or are we just going to stand around like idiots all day?" Boscha rolled her eyes.

"Relax Boschy, I'm all on it. Take out your scroll and follow my lead." Skara twirled her fingers as piano music began to be played in the background.

"What are we.." Cat began to ask.

"She's asking Lucci out, thus we gotta set the mood, and Lucci loves musical numbers." Skara explained.

"Oh brother." Boshcha got her scroll out and began typing.

"Dear Lucci Clawthorne, we've been way too out of touch." Skara sang as she instructed Boscha on what to type. " Your life is crazy, and it sucks that we don't talk that much."

"But I should tell you that I think of you each night." Emira interrupted with her own words. " I rub my nipples and start moan-ing with delight!"

"WHY THE TITAN WOULD I EVER WRITE THAT!?" Boscha yelled, reaching out to strangle the older girl.

"What, I'm only trying to tell the truth, honey." Emira laughed. "Figured someone like you has a whole book of erotic fantasies you want to play out."

"I'm asking him out, not sexting him!" Boscha screamed.

"Okay, how about this?" Skara questioned, undoing that bit. "I've gotta tell you, life without you has been hard-"

"Hard?" Boscha questioned.

"Has been bad-"

"Bad?"

"Has been rough-"

"Kinky!" Emira snickered

"And I miss talking about life and other stuff." Skara went on.

"Very specific." Cat rolled her eyes

"Shut up! " Skara turned to Boscha. "Now you try adding something.

"Your face is decent-" Boscha went off on her own.

"Who says that?" Emira mocked.

"Your face is cute, and something I like a mite." Boscha corrected. " And if I kill your friends, Then everything might be alright."

"Please choose something less violent to say ." Cat added in.

"If I go smash your friends-"

"I knew you had a dirty and open mind." Emira laughed. "When's the orgry?"

"If I accept your friends, Then everything might be alright."

"Finally, we're getting on the right track!" Skara screamed. 

"I'll take some advice…I'll try to be more nice…." Boscha looked like she was choking. " I'll turn it around…"

"Exactly, he isn't the one that needs to change." Cat nodded.

"Just Wait and see…!" Skara joined in, supporting her friend. 'Cause all that it takes is a little reinvention!"

"It's easy to change if you give it your attention." Emira twirled the violent girl around. "All you gotta do is just believe you can be who you want to be!"

"Sincerely, Me!" Skara belted as the verse ended.

"Are we done yet?" Boscha questioned. "I feel like that was way too wordy."

"Nah, it's good." Emira took Boscha's scroll. "Here, I'm sending it now."

They stared at the scroll. "So are we just gonna wait around?" Cat questioned. "Because it's not like he's gonna send it back instant-"

Ding

" Oh my titan ." Emira laughed. "My dearest Boscha, Yes, I'm glad you feel this way!." She sang the text. "We can get together and hang out this Saturday."

"Ha, instant acceptance." Boscha grinned.

"I've sending you the address to for the whole gang to meet." Emira continued.

"Wait, what?" The girl doubletook.

"We'll all have a blast and the whole day will be sweet!"

"Absolutely not !" Boshcha yelled.

"I'm just so proud of you,Just keep pushing through!" Well that proved Lucci really didn't hold anything against Boscha for Vitimir. "You're turning around, I can see!"

"You gotta be kidding meee!" Boscha punched a nearby wall in frustration.

" Its amazing that we still have conversations!"  Emira kept going. " It's easy to change if you have some delegation!"

"I know you'll become exactly who you want to be!" S kara picked it up again and twirled Boscha around. " Sincerely, Me!"

"I think your hot!" Emira added.

"What the hell!" Boscha shouted. "He did not say that!"

"Sorry, add libbing, but you know he was thinking it the entire time." Emira made a very compelling point.

"This was supposed one on one!" Boscha shouted. "Gah, it's already done, everyone out."

"Yeah, sorry some random strangers are gonna ruin your date." Skara apologize, before she got a text from Lucci to join that very event. "My bad."

" Bard Buddy Skara, do you have hand you can lend? " Emira took her scroll and sang the words.

"Dear Lucci Clawathorne,I'll do anything for a friend!" Skara glee fully answered.

" Seriously!?"  Boscha yelled at her.

" "What?" Skara asked. " Our friendship goes beyond…!"

"Your average kind of bond!" Lucci's text kept going. " Though we might swing both ways…"

" We're close like night a day!" Skara sang.

"Are you into him?!" Boscha demanded.

"We're close, but not that way!" Skara explained. " The only man that I love is a baaaaaat." She had a thing for demon traits.

"I honestly forgot that beast keeper kid was a thing." Cat noted.

" Well anyway! You're getting better every day!" She sent back.

"We both get better every day!"

"And you can get better every day….!" Emira pointed to Boscha, who rolled her eyes.

"Hey hey hey hey!" They all sang.

" 'Cause all that it takes is a little reinvention." Boscha sang, looking absolutely done with everything.

"It's easy to change if you give it your attention!" Skara spun the now sour girl.

"All you gotta do is just believe you can be who you want to be." Emira smiled. "Sincerely....."

"Oh titan kill me." Boscha slapped her face.

"Sincerely, Me!" Skara went on.

"Sincerely, Me!" Emira echoed.

"Sincerely, Me!"  Emira and Skara sang together. " Sincerely, Me!"

"Titan, I am never going to be dragged into a musical number again." Cat groaned. "Seriously, I can't feel my lungs."

"Weak." Skara rolled her eyes. "Who needs oxygen when song is a thing."

"Did you just completely forget that I'm getting dragged into a hangout with his friends? Aka, a collection which has the three people I can't stand the most in the world?" Boscha groaned.

"Which means it's training time." Skara grinned. "Have fun with people you hate."

"It was nice knowing you Mittens." Emira began making a mock prayer. Meh, what did she know, this was gonna rule!

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"Ladies, gentlemen, any gender identities I am unaware of, and Boscha!" Luz dramatically announced, burying the Buttefly's she had from seeing Amity again.

"I am going to murd-" The three eyed murderous girl paused mid threat, looking at Lucci before taking a deep breath that looked like it was suffocating her.. "… Continue… human."

"We have come here for a very special event." She turned to King. "Drumroll!"

"Feast your eyes for music that won't kill you with every beat!" King banged on the drum.

She waited a moment, before removing the cloak off the chalkboard. "Test fest!"

"Test what?" The alpha bitch questioned.

"Ah…why is Boscha here?" Luz asked out loud, deciding to nip that curiosity in the bud.

"Oh I invited her." Lucci raised his hand with a smile. "She said wanted to hang together, so I figured there was no harm bringing her along."

"Yeah…. never mind the fact that by hanging out together I meant just the two of us."

"Test fest is where we tried out random powers as kids and waited to see what stuck." Amity explained. "Are you looking for something to take on the Golden Guard?"

"It's partially related to that but not the main reason." Lucci explained. "Lately more and more random powers have been popping up for me out of nowhere. Usually I'm fine leaving it a mystery, but with the golden shrimp, rainbow devil, coven heads, and Belos after me, I need to learn how to draw upon my stronger powers at will."

"So we're doubling the strength of your pink stuff." Willow nodded.

"…You are so lucky we're friends again or I would not let that slide as much as I have lately." The boy grumbled. "Anyway, an incident with Gus sparked interest in studying one of my more recent powers … fusion."

"Fusion?" Boscha questioned.

"I get to meet more family!" King shouted.

"Wait, fusion?" Skara asked. "You mean that glowy combo thing that turned Lucci and Amity into a goopy gal of destruction."

"Yep." Luz nodded. "Besides you, King, and Boscha, Lucci has fused with everyone here and boosted their magic tenfold."

"Wait, you two fused with Lucci too?" Amity asked Willow and Gus.

"Half a witch did what with Lucci!?" Boscha set fire to the ground.

"Whaaat?! No, I've never fused with Lucci before, that's-that's totally ridiculous!" Willow sputtered out in a panic. "I've never been in a situation where I need to-Gus, you fused with Lucci!?"

"Yeah, we were dealing with these Glandus kids." The boy explained. "I think I might have deep seated issues, but it was fun."

"Yep, it usually is fun, and it usually only happens when me and someone else are in life threatening danger, and they've all always been by complete accident." Lucci went on. "So we're going to learn the limits and conditions, get it on command, everything like that."

"Wouldn't it be easier to test something simpler, like your super strength? Or try to unlock that super speed you always want?" Amity asked.

"I already tried that yesterday when Hooty ate the echo mouse." The poor little guy hasn't crawled out of its corner since then. "Besides, fusion is by far the most complicated power I have. I don't know how it works, and if I'm not careful, worst case scenario I could end up merging with someone I hate on accident and lose my sense of self forever."

"That definitely sounds like a nightmare." Skara agreed. "Don't worry Lucci, I'm willing to test this out-" Boscha grabbed the girl.

" No." The three eyed girl threatened, before clearing her throat. "I mean… we… should… have….the people he's… done it… with before… to stay safe." Huh, well the girl was top of the class in potions. She would have a brain for this stuff.

"Yep … Amity, would you like to start us off?" Luz questioned. "I thought about Glyphon first, but I wanna get an outsider questionnaire set up first." And not because she needed space to think about a kiss or how hot a muck covered sanity was.

"What? I mean, are you sure?" Amity blushed all over… oh titan she was doing this for over a month, was it this obvious!? "I mean, only if you're fully okay with it."

"Oh my titan, how are you two still so bad at flirting!?" Boscha groaned.

"Years with no experience." Willow muttered.

"Might as well get the awkward one out of the way." Lucci deadpanned. "So, Ms anime trope, how do we do this?"

Luz thought it over. "Well, every incident had you holding onto someone while in immense danger…"

"Got it, so we need to have them hug each other while attacking them." Skara pounded her fists. "Hang on, I'm going to see if I can levitate a boulder over their heads." Glad to see someone could get their priorities in order.

"Meanwhile, you two move close." She gently moved Lucci next to Amity. "Now, get ready to feel the danger!"

"Can we not tempt fate today and put our lives on the line for this?!" Amity asked as she and Lucci were squeezed next to each other.

"Yeah, the point of this was to bring it out on command!" Lucci yelled as his gem started glowing.

Luz hummed. "Well there is this fusion dance from a really old anime thirty years ago … but I don't know if it would apply to today's changing and deconstructive society."

"It would be better than getting killed!" The two of them yelled as the glow of Lucci's gem Overtook both of their bodies.

"Fastest success yet." Luz grinned.

========================================================================

Willow watched as the two of them melded into a familiar ball of sludge. "Oh, I'm back … hey there everybody." It waved to the group with a grin. "Oh it's nice to see you all again." It moved forward and left a goopy hug on Luz.

"So goopy and so warm.." The human girl blushed as she was covered in the muck. "Hey Pudding, long time no see."

"It's great to be back! Oh, I can't tell you how relaxing this form is." Pudding smiled contently as they let their goopines fall to the ground like puddle. "No bones, no spinal cord… every kink and knot is completely gone."

"Interesting … Turns out, the indicator for fusion is not the need to be in life danger." Luz wrote down. "Simply that the two are in sync mentally. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?"

"Sure thing, let me just get comfy." They moved over to the group. "Hey Gus, Willow, Skara, buddies!" They scooped the three of them in one massive hug. "Ooh, you guys are just so adorable and cute, I could smother and cuddle you all day!"

"Great… to be seen…" Gus struggled to breathe. "I don't remember either Amity or Lucci being this affectionate."

"They were both like that as kids… I couldn't tell you how many hug sandwiches I was stuck in between in." Willow answered. It was a rather nice nostalgic throwback, even if she was drowned in abomination goop.

"Cuddle pile!" King jumped onto the mess, getting a happy hug in return.

"Why not include Boscha?" Skara questioned.

"I'm still not sure if I wanna hug her or stop the girl from breathing." They responded bluntly. 

"Oh come on, half a witch is fine and we're not playing Grudgby." Boscha rolled her eyes, looking extremely frustrated, which means today was close to perfect in Willow's book.

A spike came inches in front of Boscha's third eye. "Do not insult my Willow, am I understood?"

"…Fine. I don't have the patience to deal with you today anyways." Boscha groaned. If this got Lucci to be less tolerant of Boscha, then Pudding needed to come out more often.

"Let's move onto the questions." Luz answered with a nervous chuckle. "We already have the name … oh, here's a question that bugs me about every fusion. Guy, or girl."

Pudding looked like they thought it over for a second, before smiling. "Caretaker."

"Uh, I don't think that counts as a gen-" Gus had a goopy finger placed on his mouth.

"Ssshhh. That's just how I feel like, little one, don't think about it too much." Pudding cooed.

"Alright, sure." Luz shrugged, writing it down. "Now, tell us what it's like … 'not existing'." She questioned.

"Not existing…hm,..that's a little odd, considering my memories are made up of Lucci's and Amity's." Pudding scratched their head. "I'm a fusion based on a friendship that started with two lonely kids finding each other, one that broke apart and came back stronger after ten years." They looked at themselves. "It's not so much I stop existing to say, more like I exist in a new, ethereal way. Every time they're together, being friends and helping their friends…it's like I'm right behind them, linking the both of them without anyone knowing or seeing."

Willow could see tears build up in Luz's eyes. "That's so beautiful."

"Aww, don't cry." Pudding went over and gave them a hug of their own. "Everything will be alright."

"So basically Pudding is Lucci and Amity's emotional sappiness personified." Skara asked out loud.

"Pretty much … so are they like, both in there?" Willow questioned.

"... Kinda? … We're not two people … we're not one … it's this weird mind meld hive mind where us and our thoughts coexist as entities." Pudding looked introspective. "I think it's the more we disagree, the more they start to show themselves."

"Makes sense. If this is all about being mentally at sync, then having two viewpoints would throw it off." Gus concluded.

"And nothing's more divisive between Lucci and Amity than Boscha." Willow added on, turning to the three eyed girl.

"Oh fuck off." The girl scoffed.

"What did I say about insulting them you little- wait, wait, that's just how she talks.- and she's going to keep talking like that." The head began to bubble and split.

"Wait, I still had more questions-" Luz tried to ask.

"Sorry, gonna have split know, but know I love all of you deeply!"  The goop took a bow before splitting in half, the glow returning and bringing back her two friends."

"That was nice while it lasted." Lucci noted as he stretched out.

"Yeah, it was. Still pretty weird though." Amity popped her neck.

Luz sighed. "Alright, I'll just add those questions for Gus to ask … for Glyphon!" The girl shouted. "Come on Lucci, let's get in sync." As long as they never had to do Orchid, it was alright in Willow's book.

========================================================================

Gus watched as the two finally got in sync through the use of 'internet memes', whatever that was … now coming face to face with a tall figure with feathery wings and flowing clothes. The skin colors melded together into a light tan, and their ears were dull, but still pointed. "Hey everyone!" They greeted everyone. "Glyphon is back in town!"

"Whoa…" Amity looked on with the biggest blush he's ever seen. "They look… so majestic." So the awkwardness on that front was going to continue… great.

"Yeah…. majestic…" Boscha looked like her third eye was going to pop out of her head from how many veins on her face looked like they were about to burst open.

"So Glyphon … are you ready for some questions?" Gus asked.

"Sure, you mind if I experiment while I answer?" They questioned, drawing glyphs on small pink shields.

"Glyph shields?" Willow looked surprised. "I thought Lucci couldn't use Glyphs."

"He can't. But I can. Not sure how that works, but I'm not going to look a gift snorse in the mouth." The griffon creature answered. "Already did them against Belos, but right now I'm trying to learn more for Luz to use." They laughed. "After all, if you're not prepared, everyone you know and love will be brutally hurt because someone was too strong and you were nothing but useless to everyone around you."

There was a moment of awkward silence that hung in the air. "Okay, so Glyphon embodies more of the self deprecating helpful friend aspects of Luz and Lucci's personalities." Skara pointed out.

"Let's move onto a less … violent topic." Gus winced. "... Gender?"

"Oh that one's easy." Hopefully it would be more straightforward than Pudding. "Hero."

"Hero?" Amity said it outloud with a light laugh. "I know that's more of Luz's personality peaking out. If it was Lucci, he would've said outlaw."

"Actually Lucci would've gone with vigilante, but Luz and I agreed that hero would be cooler, especially when fighting against someone like Emperor Bel-hop." Glyphon checked the palms of their hands. "Hm, I wonder…Yo, Boschy."

"Don't call me Bo-" The three eyes girl tried to fight back, only for Glyphon's tail to get placed on top of her mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, do you have any explosive potions on you? I know you wouldn't have gotten near Luz without packing at least a dozen."

She looked enraged. "Why would I give you one of my potions?"

" Because …" The fusion towered over the three eyed girl, speaking in a sultry like tone, getting in close and personal to the point Gus felt his space get invaded even though he was far behind them. They gently parted the girl's hair. "It would so nice of you to do that for us, and nice girls get rewarded." …wait what?

The three eyed girl's face blushed, looking away quickly. "Whatever! I don't need whatever stinkin reward you have. Take one!" She tossed it in the air, which Glyphon caught easily.

"Thanks a ton, Boschy." The fusion winked at the girl.

"....WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Now Amity was the murderous looking girl of the group.

"That was what we call negotiation." Glyphon smiled. "With the con skills of Lucci and the lack of innocence from Luz, the combination creates an excellent way to get whatever we need!"

"Excellent is NOT what I would call that, by any means." Willow stated firmly.

"Wait, Luz is the one with the lack of innocence?" Gus questioned.

"Yeah. She may or may have not seen one or two clips of Hentai back in the human world… full disclosure, if you ever visit, don't ever use the internet. You'll regret it instantly."

"My life is forever traumatized." King muttered. Gus almost forgot they were there in all the chaos.

"Oh right, King!" They hugged the little guy. "Hey there little bro, it's nice to meet you."

"Great to see you too…. Big… sibling… hero… you know that just makes things harder to identify, right?" King asked.

"Eh, it just feels right. Wanna see something cool?" Glyphon smirked, taking the potion they had gotten from Boscha, and placed it in a bubble. "This is a trick Lucci has been wanting to test out for a while on his own, but it seems appropriate to do it now." Placing the bubble on their hands, they flicked it up in the sky, where it soared higher, and higher, and higher. "Now…"

WHISTLE

Glyphon whistles in a high pitched tune, making the bubble glow a myriad of rainbows, before setting off a gigantic firework that covered the whole sky, fireworks that showed off each other their faces in the explosions.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Willow cheered as everyone else looked in awe.

"Yep, Luz's glyph magic and art skills combined with Lucci's bubbles and bard magic make for some creative power combos." Glyphon smirked proudly. "Has me thinking though. I've been able to find glyph's everywhere when I look closely enough, and I can carve glyphs into Lucci's pink stuff… but what is that pink stuff made up of? He's a crystal devil. Does he have his own glyphs Luz can learn to use?"

"Writing that down." Gus responded, writing it down.

"Did Luz have any more questions she wanted to ask it?" Amity questioned. "Because honestly, I think I'd prefer them split."

"Aww, is someone feeling left out?" Glyphon asked as she leaned in closer, placing a hand on Amity's cheek. "I could return the favor from a couple nights ago if it'd make you happy."

Amity just looked unimpressed. "Yeah…this isn't working as well as you think. You're part Lucci, and he's more of a brother to me than anything."

"Oh shoot, we're becoming Edd and Em!" The fusion stumbled back, before glowing and turning back to the human and demi-devil respectively. "That was close…that was WAY too close for comfort….Luz, you have a really dirty mind." Lucci looked at the human girl.

"Honestly, I just repress most of it." The girl shrugged. "Sorry about that, Amity. I did NOT expect Glyphon to act like that."

"It's fine… just never… EVER do that in front of me again when you're Glyphon."

"OR ME!" Boscha yelled. "If you come at me like that again human, I'm roasting you alive!"

"Oh my god I flirted with Boscha." Luz looked like she was gonna throw up.

"Let's move on." Gus handed over the book. "I think I'm next, right?" Maybe Rubix would be less confusing.

========================================================================

Amity watched as Luz wrote. "We have finally found out that as long as the two halves are in sync, and no significant amount of damage is taken, even sleep and the bathroom will not dissipate a fusion." Yes, Rubix was, as the fusion itself put it in terms of gender, a mystery. They were over eager to learn everything about themselves. Probably Gus's curiosity and Lucci's testing nature.

"You'd think since this is the first same sex fusion, they'd just go with male." Willow commentated, only for the fusion to pop on top of their head with a puff of smoke.

"That's the obvious answer, and the most obvious answer is never the right one." Rubix snickered, flipping off of Willow and dancing in the air. "Maybe I just appear male? Maybe I'm nothing at all! Maybe I'm something completely new!"

"Maybe you just put it in the wrong place." Amity muttered, poking the fusion's head as it began to spin like a top, unraveling into a mess of blocks.

"Exactly, it's all a mystery!" The blocks all sprouted mouths and spoke at the same time.

"This is giving Pudding's shapeshifting a run for its money." Skara picked up one of the blocks, which began spinning like a top. "Like, for them, they were just goop that spreaded all over the place, but…you're solid throughout…kind of odd."

"Oh, I can be more than solid. In liquid and gas!" Half the blocks formed into a cloud and the other half melted into a silvery puddle

"Okay, real talk." Luz stated. "Are the illusions real or not?"

"Nyes!" The fusion answered, the puddle and gas merged to one.

"... What part of that was real?" The human questioned.

"Illusionists only tend to focus on manipulating the senses of sight and sound, but in actuality there's millions of senses to take advantage of. Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. And those are just the physicals. There's your sense of time, sense of direction, sense of balance, fashion, spirituality, you name it. I warp perspective so much that it doesn't matter what's real or fake, you'll never know the difference." Rubix's head inflated until it burst into confetti.

"Really?" Willow picked up one of the confetti, which turned to sugar as she did.

"Of course. Nothing's more powerful than belief in something. It doesn't matter if it's wrong, if you believe it, it's the most real thing in the world." He brought out a sun tan lamp. "I could make something burn you so bad your body would die of heat stroke, and in actuality you'd be cooler than a block of ice." 

"I think we're getting a bit too morbid." Luz added with a wince. "Anything else to add?"

"Oh, I think my blocky configuration depends on how focused I am. I theorize that I got both of Gus's and Lucci's distractibility."

"That's no surprise" King began shifting one of the blocks. "Heh, this is like a fun puzzle game!"

"Oooh, let me try!" Skara began shifting them too.

"Stop, stop, stop, that tickles, that's tickets, please stop!" The fusion fell to the ground.

Amity looked over the mess. "You know, a lot of these fusions have a more recreational mindset than something meant for combat." She noted. "Rubix is clearly more about tricks and showmanship, and Pudding is more about being supportive and protective." Bringing out that warm feeling she had on the inside that she struggled so much to express on the outside. 

"Guess that means either Lucci has an unorthodox way of fighting, or he's usually not thinking about fighting." Luz put down more notes. "Glyphon is technically combat oriented, but more of a strategist than a fighter." Also a flirt she really didn't want to be around at all … oh, did Luz feel the same way about Pudding? Did she hug her too hard, too long…not long enough? WHAT WAS THE RIGHT ANSWER HERE!?

"Oooh, I think I almost solved it!" Skara began twisting one of the last few blocks as Rubix's body looked organized.

"Wait, don't solve it, I don't know what'll…!" The final block was put into place as a bright glow exploded in their eyes, forcing Gus and Lucci to split apart.

"Gah, my rem is spinning sideways." Lucci muttered. "Which ways are polka dots supposed to fly?"

"Well you scrabbled their brains along with their bodies." King snorted.

"Time to revise the puzzle!" You know, despite Glyphon, today was a fun day.

========================================================================

Lucci shook his head. "Alright, so everything finally stopped spinning …" He tapped his skull. "What's next on the agenda for today?"

"You and Willow could give it a shot." Amity spoke up.

"NO!" He, Willow, and Boscha weirdly enough, shouted at the same time.

"I mean, I'm still…. dazed from Rubix, I shouldn't fuse when I'm not at one hundred percent." Lucci excused.

"Yeah, and I…well..you know how well Plant's and Lucci mix, best to play it safe than sorry." Lucci wanted to point out he was getting better, but realized keeping Orchid a secret from Amity was more of a priority than being factual.

"I just really hate Half a witch. That's all." Boscha said simply.

"So Luz, how's the fusion collection coming along?" Gus asked.

"PRetty good, getting a lot of useful information to add into the notes." She smiled. "Huh…I just realized something funny." Luz snickered. "The perfect way to get to people in sync, emotional, mentally, and physically….is by dancing together."

"That's pretty stupid." Skara responded bluntly.

"Why is the music chick saying that's stupid?" Luz questioned.

"We dance and play music in sync all the time but we never fuse." Skara brought up. "Heck, we both almost died when we fought the Golden Guard and still nothing."

"I wasn't exactly in the mindset to actually fuse, given how I was practically beaten to death." Lucci recalled back. His powers were failing, so there would've been a chance his injuries would've transferred to her. "And it was that day we moved up from buddies to friends…maybe it would work now."

"WHAT!?" Huh, Boscha was saying that word a lot today.

"So what, should I just record music while you dance or do you wanna sing it yourselves?" Luz questioned.

"We usually work better when we're performing a duet." Skara answered, taking out her violin while Lucci took out his lute. "I mean, it's hard to imagine us getting any more closer than that."

"How….. close....are you?" Why did Boscha sound so angry asking that?

"Close enough to dance." Skara responded. "Now come on, let's try to fuse."

SNAP

Boscha threw a fireball at Skara's violin "No, there will be no dancing , and no more fusion! " Boscha yelled out in the air. "If Lucci has to be that intimate with someone, then it's going to be with me!"

Lucci's higher thought functions stopped working for a moment. 'Brain, respond!'

'She said she wants to be intimate, what am I supposed to say!?'

'Say you want to be intimate too!'

'But last time she hated that, should I be smooth or casual or play hard to get-'

'NOBODY plays hard to get on purpose! The entire concept is fucked up.'

'Then what should I say?'

'Well say something, everybody's just staring at us.'

'WHAT!? Quick, heart, do something instinctual!'

"I've liked you since we were four, always thought you were out of my league, and I'd literally wanted nothing more than for you to like me." He spat out with no control as his head started to feel woozy from the emotional honesty. "Is this really happening or am I just exhausted from this test fest and hallucinating?"

"I'm more inclined to believe the latter, because I can't believe it either." Amity commented.

"Oh, you of all people do NOT have the right to judge me on this!" Boscha accused.

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm still reeling from this." Gus looked back and forth at him and Boscha. "Boscha…do you actually LIKE Lucci?"

She blushed. "Yes, alright, I like him! He's strong enough to take on almost any enemy and he's got this weird view on life that makes my chest feel weird!" Well Lucci could die happy now. "And everytime I see him with anyone else, I get the instant urge to STRANGLE all life and grind them into dust."

"I'm heading back inside. I was promised no flirting." King began walking away.

"Is…Is the apocalypse happening…because this feels like a sign of the end times." Willow looked completely out of it.

"Shut it, half a witch!" Boshca yelled again, before running up to him, their faces inches from each other. "I like you! And you like me, right!?"

"Till the end of time." He responded immediately and wistfully.

"Good! Then you're going out with me, and ONLY ME!" She grabbed his hand.

"Okay." He nodded instantly, regulating himself to never wash his hand.

"How...sweet?" Luz asked, looking completely dumbfounded. "I mean, this is what Lucci wanted so good for him….but….is this actually a good thing?"

"Probably not…like…I can not understate how horrifying this actually is to witness." Amity looked completely defeated.

"Again, no room to talk!" Boscha shouted, before turning back to him. "You, me, tomorrow, after school, alone . Am I understood?"

"Absolutely. Not a single soul around." He nodded instantly.

"Good. Keep that up, my little crystal. " She blessed him with her soft lips on his forehead, and let go. "Now I have to go beat some sense into my team. Come on Skara, you're today's practice dummy!" She dragged his bard buddy away.

"Oh come on, after you admitted your feelings!? I think I did good!"

"Yeah, only because YOU TRIED TO FUSE WITH MY BOYFRIEND!"

"He wasn't your boyfriend five minutes ago!"

"YOU STILL TRIED TO FUSE WITH HIM!" He was her boyfriend….Lucifer Clawthorne was Boscha Heironymous's boyfriend.

Lucci watched the girl of his dreams leave. "... I need to shower for the next five hours to prepare for tomorrow." He slowly nodded.

"How the Titan did this even happen!?" Willow shouted indignantly. "How did we let this happen!? WHY DID WE LET THIS HAPPEN!?"

"Because he's a delusional maniac that can break bones and none of us have the manpower to stop that?" Luz suggested.

"Maniac or not, this guy has a girlfriend!" Lucci's life was finally perfect. Screw Belos and all his goons, screw the rainbow devil and mom's other ex's, nothing could knock him down from this.