Summary: Fusion is a gem thing?
River could feel the awkward coldness within the room. It was so intense he could swear he could see frost. "So … your name is Sapphire?"
"Yes." She responded bluntly and instantly. Wasn't much of a conversation. "So you have been raising Steven." He raised an eyebrow. "Quartz."
"Ah….so you're one of the colorful ladies Moon-Pie mentioned." River turned to his lovely wife in question, who gave a small nod in confirmation. "Well, yes. We've both raised our son for the past thirteen years since that day in the stream."
She nodded, reaching into her hand and pulling out a notebook. "You may begin telling me everything then."
"… When you say everything-"
"The 'very minute on the clock he ate his first sweet' everything." That was slightly intimidating, but he could feel the passion of an eager parent when he saw it.
"Well, Quartz was a very cheerful baby growing up. We had problems hiding his gem though, he always unbuttoned his clothing to let it stick out when he was younger, so we had him wear very baggy clothes for the longest while before he got comfortable with it." Moon went first.
"Gems like to be exposed, we survive off of sunlight and use it for substance. I understand the need to hide it from the Commission, but a trip to the beach may be in order for his health."
"Oh no, Quartz is quite the active child. I recall when he was three, I took him on his first manticore ride across Mewni, and it was going swell, even when Star took over the reins and had it fly all around the castle, where we crashed into her bedroom. I believe that was the day she chose to focus on riding wild Warnicorns."
The girl hummed, writing down on the pad. This is probably what the Diaz family was like when they were explaining 'social service' to them. "I take it he and Star are close?"
"Inseparable. They even made a joke that they could find each other no matter what." Moon chuckled. "A game of hide and seek never lasted more than three minutes." His wife's face slighted downward recalling that memory, likely still upset with her altercation with Star. "They also have this habit of bursting into song randomly at the strangest of moments, Quartz usually ends up making one on the spot and is somehow always able to carry some kind of instrument with him."
"His parents did that too." Sapphire responded quickly. "Rose and Greg, that is. It was what they did during their date nights." Moon's eyes lit up at the mention of her old friend's name. "Now…what exactly is his stance on fighting?"
"He tends to play peacekeeper more often than naught towards monsters, though he is willing to throw explosions when they're threatening people." River explained.
"Understood." They nodded. "Thank you, I understand this is a lot … Ruby is usually better at the 'in the moment' things."
"No…you're fine…There's a lot unfolding around all of us." Moon sighed with downward eyes. "Just…In raising him, I never meant to hurt you or the rest of Rose's friends."
"It is what it is. For once, I can see the future just a little more clearly than I have in years, and I won't spend time stuck in the past blinded by grief." They flipped a page. "Now, does he have any boyfriends?"
"… I'm not even sure if he's into romance." River spoke honestly.
"Well there goes my shipping fuel."
"Actually there might be…something with his friend Kelly." Oh yeah, that was the girl he took to the blood moon ball. "I'd just rather he not focus on…those aspects of life at the moment."
"Very well." The gem nodded. "You say that bio organisms have needs, we'd like to start working on something to make the place more … comfortable for him."
"If you're going to do that, then best to start with breakfast." River replied with a slight chuckle. "His preferred breakfast is toaster waffles with popcorn, whip cream, and a strawberry on top. He calls it his 'together breakfast'; and he loves to make and share it with other people." No matter how many cavities it gave him.
"Waffles and popcorn are healthy then." She nodded, writing it down … they may need to double down on the difference between wants and needs.
========================================================================
"So, show me what you've got." Ruby waved their hand in a 'go' motion.
"Are you sure?" The boy asked. "I'm not one for hurting others and-"
"Dude, don't worry. I'm born for combat." Ruby smirked. "Also worst case scenario I poof. Unlike organics we can regrow anything, even full body poofing, as long as our gem is fine." She showed him her single Ruby in the palm of her hand. "So feel free to give all you got."
"Whoa, you got this bro!" The Butterfly girl shouted from the distance she was observing them. Apparently one of Steven's conditions was for his 'sister' to be there when he was. "Kick her butt!"
"Okay, just fair warning, this might sting a bit."
"I've been around for over a thousand years, kid, I think I can handle a little punch." Ruby knew how to take it easy. She would let him give the first punch and…
Kapow
Next thing Ruby knew, she found herself thrown into the cave wall, her body buried within it.
"Should I take him for a spin, or you still got this?" Amethyst asked her with a smirk, leaning on the wall with a soda.
"No…I got this." Ruby pulled herself out and summoned her weapon. "An offense is only as good as its defense!" She rushed at Quartz with the gauntlet, adding a little flare to it.
Steven reacted by summoning…not Rose's shield but a blank wall of pink light that held for a second before shooting out at Ruby, forcing her attack back. She flipped over it and continued her charge, only for Steven to bubble himself. She threw a solid throw at it, before it blew up in her face, quite literally, sending her flying into the wall again.
Groaning, she pulled herself out, not even bothering to look at Amethyst as she raised a single finger. "Not a word …"
"Hey, I didn't say anything." Amethyst turned her gaze to Rose's kid. "Nice moves. Could've been handy for you back in the wrestling ring."
"Yeah, I can't get it to stop exploding." The boy grumbled.
"It's obvious the answer is training." Pearl walked up, having watched the whole thing intensely. "With enough practice and repetition you can eventually form your weapons right, even Rose's shield." Pearl pulled out a spear. "Like this."
"What are you on about?" Amethyst retorted. "His entire problem is overthinking it, you don't 'think' about how to move your arm, you just do it." She argued, pulling out her whip. Ruby herself agreed, but she knew Garnet did it … more intensely.
"Oh, not thinking at all? Is that your attitude during a fight? You just don't think about how the enemy is going to attack? You don't think about the casualties that ignorantly get in the way?" Pearl chided the purple gem as usual.
"Actually, I always thought of it more as…" Steven tried to voice his thoughts.
"Just saying that spending that time thinking strains the brain and the monsters end up hitting you because you spend all your time thinking about math or whatever." Amethyst argued back at Pearl. "You just gotta do, training won't get ya everything."
"So is that your excuse for everytime you go out and vandalize the town with that Janna human?"
"No, she's just better to be around than your know-it- all attitude and squawking all day."
"Is this normal?" Steven asked her, whispering to avoid the two gems hearing him.
"Absolutely, give them a few minutes." Ruby spoke with a deadpan.
"This is why we never see Opal." Pearl huffed, looking away.
"Opal, there's another one of you guys!?" Star asked. "Where is she, what can she do, what's she like? And is she less annoying than these two?"
Ruby ignored the collective sounds of 'hey' and decided to speak up, given that this is.:.was her area of expertise. "Opal is here and technically not here. She's a combination of Pearl and Amethyst."
"Combi…nation …" Steven looked at them with wide eyes. "... Is that like advanced shapeshifting … where you hear each other's thoughts … and your emotions become their own thoughts?"
"That's…actually a pretty apt description of it." Pearl answered, surprised just like the rest of the gems were. "Our bodies are made out of solid light, so fusion occurs when two or more gems are able to sync themselves together to become one."
"It usually best happens when two gems dance together and their hearts and mindset are aimed at a mutual goal." Ruby furthered explained.
"Wait…so the night of the blood moon…me and Kelly…when we did....it was natural?"
"YOU FUSED!?" Every gem shouted at once, and for good reason.
"That should be impossible to do with an organic … or at the very least inappropriate." Pearl rudely muttered.
"That's some high level stuff, awesome! What was your name? Quelly, Kartz, Cool kid?" Amethyst asked.
"I'm so happy! I can't believe you already got yourself a girl, ya stud." Ruby smirked.
"No…it was so intense when it happened and we both freaked out, we didn't even have time to think of a name for it." The boy looked dismayed. "And she already has a boyfriend who hates me as it is."
Star looked at Quartz, then at the gems, a small unseen smirk on her face only Ruby caught it. "So … Can you show us?" She asked. "Come on, show us Opal."
"No." Pearl spoke. "Fusions can be for … many reasons, but Opal is for serious combat situations only."
"What she means is that Pearl is too much of a wet blanket to let loose a little." Amethyst grumbled.
"Oh come on! You're already these cool rock ladies, what would be even cooler is seeing a giant rock lady made up of two cool rock ladies." Star tried to argue.
"Star, don't push it. You're telling them to do something very invasive." Quartz said that in a more negative tone than Ruby was comfortable with.
The warp pad lit up, the beautiful Saphire walking back in. "I have the list." She spoke clearly, in that sweet icy tone of hers. "Also, the beetles of earth and heaven have been found."
"Alright, I suppose I will have to postpone Steven's-" A glare. "Sorry, Quartz's, training for the time being.." Pearl started. "Come on Ruby, let's.."
"The beetle of earth is within a deep section of the earth surrounded by magma, Ruby will need to go after that one."
"Can I bail on this one?" Amethysts asked.
"No. You and Pearl must go after the heaven beetle and act as guides for Star and Quartz."
"Whoa! Gem mission!" Steven and Star shouted at the same time. Well if it was any consolation, at least the kids were happy.
========================================================================
"Alright, so question number ninety seven." Star asked. "If Pearl makes a spear, and Amethyst makes a whip, does that mean Opal can dual wield?"
"She can wield both our weapons at once, but more often than not, she'll combine them into her own unique singular weapon." The pale lady Pearl explained as they got off the warp pad thingy. It was so different from dimensional scissors, and the feeling of falling upward was great!
"She has her own weapon, that sounds super badass!"
"It's just a bow." Amethyst shrugged.
"Oh, if we see a giant monster, we should definitely snipe it with Opal." She elbowed her brother, in hopes of getting him down with the idea. "She shoots arrows while I use the wand to throw giant exploding bubbles, double trouble tag team!"
"Star, knock it off." Quartz muttered. "So what are the Beatles for?" He kept throwing it off, but she would get it down. As 'Big Sis Star', she would show him fusion is perfectly okay, and not at all nightmare fuel like it was the first time. That was just … jitters and confusion, he didn't know about the details.
"They're just something valuable that we need to protect." Pearl explained. "They're not like the corrupted monster you saw on the beach, they're so tiny that they're incapable of causing anyone harm."
"Oh, so they're basically civilians that don't know they need help." Star nodded. "We better give them all the help we can do, max power, in case anything goes wrong."
"Honestly, it's for the best that we don't form her too often." Amethyst muttered. "Opal is … way too peaceful."
"She's level headed, something that you could use more of, fusion or not." Pearl groaned.
"She also doesn't think too much, so the same could be said for you." Amethyst argued. "I don't need no fusion to take on the big bads."
"And I don't need fusion to tell me to lighten up, especially in highly tense situations such as this."
"You know, if Opal is as big as I think she is, she could probably carry us and make this entire trip extremely shorter than it needs to be." Star gave them the bait, now bite it, you morons!
The two gems paused, looked at each other, then at the siblings. "... You could use the exercise." For the first time they agreed.
"Okay, even I take offense to that one." Quartz grumbled. "Just for that, I'm riding on top of this goat for the rest of the trip." Quartz hopped on top of a goat that didn't seem to mind his presence. "I'm calling you Quartz Junior."
"Blaaaaah." Her brother's newfound son responded.
"Ugh, why does everyone want to make this so difficult." Quartz was still uncomfortable with fusion and these morons did not help her case. And if Quartz never got over his awkwardness, he'd never be fully comfortable with Kelly again. There was only one solution. "Alright Quartz, back me up with a calming melody, it's music time!" She shouted, forcing her wand to form into a ukulele that she tossed over to him.
The gems looked at them weirdly before shrugging, apparently either expecting this or not surprised by it. Either way, it was time to exercise her vocal chops.
"All I wanna do is see you turn into a giant woman! A giant woman!"
Everyone initially paused with her choice of lyrics but continued as if nothing was happening. Quartz was at least happy to play the song as he rode atop the goat he proclaimed as family. Which was great, because the gems were doing everything possible to drag this day into the mud.
"All I wanna be is someone who gets to see a giant woman.
All I wanna do is help you turn into a giant woman! A giant woman!"
During the part where they had to climb up a ladder engraved into the mountain, Pearl would 'accidently' kick dirt into Amethyst's face, and once or twice Star may have slipped and planted her boot right on her big pointy nose. Quartz just resigned himself to stay on Quartz Jr, believing it was safer, and probably less annoying, to deal with the turbulence of an unstable mountainside. Star really wished Lion was here now.
"All I wanna be is someone who gets to see a giant woman!"
Oh, I know it'll be great and I just can't wait
To see the person you are together!"
Amethyst was definitely the one Star would call the fun one of the group, because she seemed to have that rock'n rebellious attitude and wasn't afraid to play pranks on someone uptight and snooty. Such as when Amethyst shapeshifted into a shark to scare Pearl and knock her into the water. It probably didn't help that Star added in a few Narwhals to help with the illusion.
"If you give it a chance
You could do a huge dance, because
You are a giant woman!"
At that point she wrapped an arm around the both of them, holding them close together, only for the two to literally walk seperate directions in a fort on the road. Amethyst's road ended up being a dead end and rather than go back, she started drilling her way through the rock. Star just sighed as she watching from her flying pink cloud, Cloudy.
"You might even like being together
And if you don't it won't be forever."
The first sign of Quartz actually having fun on this trip was when Amethyst and him started jumping up and down on a rope bridge, like any normal person would. Pearl was about to yell and reprimand them, but she pushed the lady ahead, giving her a look that dared her to ruin her bro's fun time.
"But if it were me
I'd really wanna be a giant woman
A giant woman!"
The only time the two gems actually looked like they were on the same team was when they were helping Quartz across some path of floating rocks, although in doing so, the ladies completely forgot about her. She understood why, but that was still a jerk move!
"All I wanna do is see you turn into a giant woman."
Quartz looked down at his ukulele, and back at the gems. "So is this a Gem thing? Because you guys seem way too used to it."
"We can generate music in our heads, so it's an us thing." Amethyst shrugged.
"Sorry bro, I really thought that was going to work."
"It's no problem, I'm not interested. And there's the temple, we can just grab the beetle and go home." They were running low on time, how was she supposed to show off the fusion!?
========================================================================
"There's a tiny temple inside the temple?" Steven/Quartz, however they were supposed to say it now, peaked into a little house thing in the middle of some water. "It's so cute! There's a little beetle bed, a little beetle bongo, even a little beetle baby book!"
"Aww, it's all for the cute little …" Star paused talking. She was usually a chatterbox, which was fine anytime other than this mission, but now she looked confused. "Shouldn't they be sleeping with a cute little snore on the bed? Where is it?"
"What?! It shouldn't be anywhere else but here!" Pearl as usual freaked out when the tiniest things didn't go her way exactly as planned. "Now what do we do!? We only have a few hours left with Ste … Quartz, we can't scour the whole Mountain!"
"Well for one, we should all join you in freaking out." Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Because that's really going to help us find it faster."
"Oh, would you knock off the 'I don't care' attitude for one second!? You know how vital today is supposed to be, and here you are, slouching and slacking off as usual!"
"Hey, I didn't want to be here either, I would have let you just run off with Ruby if it was an option, but it's not!" Amethyst shouted.
"Today is not going at all as I thought it would." Steven commented on the side as he and his sister watched. "Is this what fusion does to people? Constantly fighting all the time?" Oooh…maybe they should've focused more on giving the kid a better impression.
"No, that can't be it!" Star shouted. "We just need a clue. Clue clue clue … aha, I found where the beetle left!" She pointed to … a gaping hole in the wall, the cracks making it look like something broke through "Say, quick question, exactly how many rock monsters are around here?"
"Well we don't keep track of the specific locations, but globally … we estimate about a hundred." Pearl spoke, pulling out her spear. Amethyst pulled out a whip as the surrounding water started to ripple and rumble, until a giant corrupted bird monster rose up from it, and tried to take a bite out of the kids.
"Steven!" Amethyst cried out, using her whip to drag him and Star out of the way as the thing chopped off the top half of the tiny temple. "Head inside!" They ducked into the dome shaped entrance of the ruins, but that didn't do much as the creature was still trying to reach them, biting and chewing its way through.
Unfortunately, they missed the goat. "Quartz Junior, no!" Steven shouted out.
"Be strong Quartz, we have to be strong for the little guy!" Star spoke as they tried to attack it.
"We can't hit that thing flying around like that." Pearl spoke, throwing a spear that was easily dodged.
"Maybe you can't … but Opal can." Star grinned. "Airborne target, the perfect opportunity!"
"Star, this really isn't the time to push the issue!" Steven shouted.
"No, the Mewman has a point, we're better off facing this thing together than alone." Pearl muttered before turning to her. "Amethyst, if you would."
"Just give me a sec, P. Been a while since I've done this." Amethyst stretched out her arm as her and Pearl's gems started to glow. She started getting into her normal funky dance routine as Pearl went with her usual lame ballerina style, even though she knew by now that wasn't how Amethyst danced.
It didn't get any better when they actually made their way towards each other, Pearl kicked her in the face when she did one of her twirls, and she dropped Pearl on the head when she went for the lean down. Star looked super excited while Quartz looked interested but hesitant to look.
Their forms mangled and mashed, before they were launched back onto the floor. "You need to work on your form." Pearl spoke up like the snob they were.
"My form!? You're the one who kicked me in the face!
"Only because your movements are so erratic and thoughtless!"
"You know how I dance, you should match me!" She yelled back. "You know, instead of playing 'blame Amethyst for everything wrong', maybe you should try looking at yourself for once, little miss perfect!"
"Guys guys, stop fighting!" Star shouted. "If you keep this up we may never see the giant wo-"
"Why do you keep shouting about 'giant woman' this, and 'giant woman' that!?" Steven shouted, his face full of anger. "I just learned it's a thing gems can do, but it's still terrible! I can't be around Kelly because that was the most invasive experience of my life, and I'm scared I'll do it again the moment I so much as touch her! I don't want them to experience something so uncomfortable and terrifying it still gives me anxiety!" The kid pointed at them. "And if it causes me to constantly fight with her like they do all the time, then I don't want to do it ever again!"
The girl looked shocked. "Quartz … I-" If she was going to explain or apologize, it wasn't clear as the giant bird finally broke through the ceiling, eating her whole.
"Give me my sister back you giant avian!" He ran after the bird, jumping onto its beak.
"STEVEN!" She and Pearl shouted at the same time. "GET BACK..!"
"My name is Quartz! And if you want to fight all the time, that's fine!" The kid shot pink hexagons at the bird's head. "Just don't get my family eaten doing it!"
They looked at the giant bird flying away with the one person they were supposed to care for the most in the world, looking at each other. After a nod they held hands, and the world went white.
========================================================================
Quartz looked at the inside of the giant bird's stomach. "... I really thought I would have put up more of a fight." He mumbled to himself. Manticore's and warnicorns were easier somehow. Maybe he just naturally assumed things on Mewni were stronger than on earth. "Star, you in here!?"
"Yep." He walked until he found where the voice came from. "Next to all these goat skulls."
"Quartz jr, noooo!" His firstborn son, already gone on his first day of fatherhood.
"No, he's still here, chewin on my hair." Star rolled her eyes as she pointed to said goat doing exactly that. "It was either this or he chomps this in half." She showed off some kind of shiny green bug.
"That's…" he looked at it closer, and sure enough, there was a tiny little gem in the middle of it. "The heaven beetle! Star, you found it!"
"Yep, I did, woop dee do …" The girl muttered unenthusiastically. "... I thought they would fix it. You and Kelly get so awkward around each other, I thought maybe seeing another fusion would help."
"Star…" He sat right next to her and sighed. "Thanks, for trying to help at least. You were better than Pearl and Amethyst today." He couldn't even blame them for that either, they were confused and frustrated just like he was. "I just want to go back to hanging out with my friend…she feels like my Marco, you know."
"If it wasn't for Tad you wouldn't be platonic at all." Star complained. "... But yeah, I know what you mean, he's a fun guy who shows me a lot …" She looked at the stomach. "I would just blast us out but I'm kinda sure we'd fall to our death."
"If only your wings were bigger, or if I grew some instead of spikes."
"And my scissors got left at the house so … yeah."
"So this is how we die. Eaten by a bird." Even with the terrible reality in front of them, they couldn't help but laugh. "Just imagine what they'll put on the tombstone."
"Star Butterfly: She wanted to see a giant woman." His sister snorted.
"Quartz Universe Butterfly: He didn't want to see a giant woman." He added on.
"Man, I never thought dying would be so boring." Star grumbled. "I know that getting eaten by a giant monster is epic, but I always thought it'd be quick, not just waiting until something happens." A giant hand punched its way from the ground. "I take it back, boring is fine!"
"You have no idea how long Mom's been waiting to hear you say those words." Quartz said as the arms grabbed him and his sister. "Star, if this is the end, I just want you to know…I've had doubts about the stumpy day stump for years now!"
"HOW DARE YOU!" He was saved from her wrath as the giant hand grabbed and pulled them out, feeling themselves flying in the air until it unfolded, revealing … a giant woman. Her skin was like Pearl's, but more blue. A long green dress rolled down her legs, four arms sprouting from their sides. The most notable of features, being the two shiny gems on her stomach and forehead, and a gaze of … mellow focus.
"Pearl…Amethyst…" He gazed hard at them, one name suddenly coming to his head. "Opal?"
"No time, keep your heads down." The fusion responded, keeping him, his sister, and Quartz Jr. under her arms, flipping out of the bird's way and sliding down the railing of the temples in the most graceful manner the boy had ever seen. Looking back he could see the feathers of the giant bird had become their own birds, trying to fly and slice them with their sharp beaks.
"Whoa…" Star was speechless as the giant woman leapt twenty or so feet effortlessly. Landing on one of those floating rocks in the air, Opal let them go, the goat running away fast as the taller lady took out Pearl's spear and Amethyst whip, forcing them together and creating a bow.
"Is that how it's supposed to be?" Quartz whispered as he watched Opal reel the bow back, shooting one arrow that shot one bird, but somehow turning to a blinding stream of light and bubbling all of them. "The two of them together…it looks so beautiful."
"Woho!" Star shouted. "You just let out one shot but somehow it became a million arrows of light and then kablamo, bubbled away! Good job guys!" She looked at the giant woman who stared at them in silence. "... Guy?" More silence. "Um … do you know who we are?"
The lady laughed. "All I wanna do is see you turn into …"
Quartz and Star shared the same starry eyed look with each other. "A giant woman." They said at the same time.
"Fusion isn't some sort of taboo … it's just being close to someone. Even if you don't get along." They patted their heads. "Make sure to keep that in mind Quartz."
"I promise." Quartz nodded. If fusion was just a way for friends to be closer, then that meant he didn't have to worry about staying away from Kelly anymore.
"Now it's time to …" The fusion paused. "What were we doing again?"
"Heading home?"
"Right right, of course." They nodded, getting up and beginning a trek to the warp pad.
"They completely forgot about the heaven beetle." Star whispered to him in his ear. "Let's keep it that way until we get home, let it be payback for all the fighting all day." He was very inclined to agree.