Summary: Here comes a gem everyone's been waitin for
Jasper sat in front of the prisoner, waiting for them to regain consciousness. How an organic can wield potential power comparable to a diamond befuddled the mind, but it was nothing in the face of their might. Especially when separated from their weapon. "Ugh, my head…I didn't hit the Cookie Cats that hard last night, did I?"
"Finally awake." Jasper could tell her voice snapped the girl's attention back. "I was beginning to think I hit too hard, even without my helmet." She always forgot organics were softer than gems by a large margin.
"Yeah, we'll see who's hitting who after I'm through with you.." The Mewman began to reach down, only to find her arms and legs completely sealed to the wall.
"Did you think I'm a moron?" She asked. "Your wand is contained in a magic jamming cage and you're binded with all four limbs. You and your group aren't going to commit a breakout anytime soon."
"That's what the last crazy lady with stupid hair said to me, yet I still did it."
"... What's hair?"
"Are you serious? How can such long living people be this naive?"
"We memorized over five thousand languages, not everything gets translated right." The gem deadpanned.
"Whatever, I still don't see what the heck you think you get by keeping me here."
"Information on how to find Mewni." Jasper said. "You're going to tell me everything, either here or on Homeworld."
"Oooh, free trip to space, so kind of you to offer." The girl said in a tone that Jasper was half certain was being insincere. "But I'm also really good at keeping secrets, so you'll be running yourself off a wall for a while."
"The answer to that is quite simple." Jasper shrugged. "Organics can perish when exposed to enough pain. We'll just keep shocking your companions until you either tell us where Mewni is, or they die." Jasper smirked. "Or let the diamonds have them and show you levels of pain the mind can't even fathom."
"Hah, you'd be surprised by what I can fathom." The Mewman still kept that insane smirk. "I'm used to being underestimated, so we're going to be here for a while."
"... For an organic, you have the spirit of a Quartz." Jasper stood up. "Know you have my respect, even if I am the one to destroy your bodies."
"Why thank you, you're the first enemy I've ever had who's done that." The girl laughed. "So this is why Steven talks to them."
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Steven woke up, holding his head. "Star, I think we hit too many Cookie Cats …" Wait, that didn't exist anymore. "Where am.." He felt the swollen eyeball on the right side of his own face, and immediately a swarm of painful memories came to him.
"... Mom was right." He groaned. "The gems were right … we didn't do anything but act as dead weight … and now we're stuck in cells with-'' He looked around. "Electrified force fields?" That was a weird thing to have. "How bad is.." He let it touch him. "Yayayayaya!" He could feel the light tickle the inside of his hand, and as he passed through it was tickling his organs.
"Hahaha! Wow, they don't make electrified traps like they used to…that or I'm electric proof." He wouldn't put it past his random powers. He went over to the next cell, relief filling him. "Ruby!"
"Steven! You're here!" Ruby looked at him with amazement, before staring at him with confusion. "Wait, you're on the other side of my cell, that means you're out of yours! How'd you do that!?"
"I just … walked through." He shrugged.
"Walked through?" Ruby looked at the barrier, and lightly poked at it before her entire arm glitched. "AGH!"
"That hurts you?" He curiously asked before stepping inside it, putting his arm in the way, which left an open space for his short friend to pass through. "Hurry!" He laughed. "It tickles!"
She jumped out, looking around. "I'M FREE!" She shouted. "But how is it not working on you, it should disrupt … light …"
"Wait…so that stuff doesn't work on me because I'm not like you guys!" He shouted in elations. "Finally, a power that works just because I'm human! Now if only we can get these guys to actually understand that."
"Yeah, good luck with that." Ruby grumbled. "Homeworld is stubborn … we should really go find the others."
"Right!" He and Ruby made their way through the halls, passing by a window that let them see what was outside. "We're in space…Why couldn't this day be more exciting!?" He ran with a groan, trying to catch a glance at anybody familiar, like Sapphire, Pearl, or.. "Lapis!" He ran up to the cell that had his friend. "Lapis, I'm here!"
"Quartz, you're out!" Lapis looked at him in amazement. "You're only making it worse, there's no telling what they'll do to you or your friends if they catch you now!"
"They think I'm my mother, who started a rebellion." He answered. "They were going to shatter me. Now come on, I can get you out."
"NO!" He backed away when she shouted, which seemed to surprise even herself. "I…I can't do this. I was trapped on Earth, and then I was trapped on Homeworld. No matter where in the universe I go, I'm always going to end up trapped." She curled herself up in a ball.
"Lapis, you can be free." Steven told the gem. "It's an option you can afford yourself." She only seemed to scooch herself in a corner. "A good friend recently told me I could either live safe but full of regret, or in danger but happy. I'll come back for you when you have an answer." It struck him in the gut to just leave her here, but his family came first….maybe someday, she could be a part of it too.
"Steven…you're a good kid. Don't doubt that." Ruby said as they made their way through this maze of a ship. "Now let's find everyone else."
"Right." Steven made his way to a large corridor … and came face to face with Jasper. "... Is our luck just horrible or something?" He asked Ruby.
"Mine is. Without Sapphire, I basically have no sense of direction."
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Marco looked at his restraints, and the cell he was locked in. Wireless coupling, meaning he needed someone to unlock it with a remote instead of a keyhole. That means he needs leverage, something he doubts everyone else has. So he waited … and waited … and now came his chance, Peridot walking into the room. "Organic." She greeted him.
"I'm Marco." He corrected her.
"First 'stevens' and now 'marcos', what has your world become?" Right, she thought they were entire species.
"No, it's a name. Like how you guys have Facets and Cuts. I'm Marco Diaz." He did his best to be patient. "We're separated by groups we call families, which share the same last name as each other."
"Strange system." The gem noted, but there was more of a curious tone rather than a demeaning one. "I came to you because I believe you are the owner of this archaic and primitive communication device." She produced … his old phone!
"Yes, that is one hundred percent, completely mine." He answered, hoping to use the curiosity to gain the advantage he needed.
"I have hijacked its locking mechanism and located several pictures of you and a human with blue stripes in her hair." Please let no one else hear that. "However, what I am unable to comprehend is that encrypted message you have loaded into this thing."
Encrypted, what did she…oh right. "You're talking about the ringtone that plays 'space unicorn'?"
"YES!" She shouted. "Ever since it has played it's been stuck in my head like a loop! What is a Space Unicorn, what are the objects it delivers known as, and how much of a threat is this 'marshmallow laser'?" She pulled up a screen. "I've been trying to use that 'Ironic' cipher you mentioned, but have been unable to find its key!" She looked at him with fury. "SO TELL ME WHAT IT MEANS!!"
"Oh, I have the key. I can decrypt for you personally."
Peridot looked at him skeptically. "Hmm … well you are an Organic, it's not like you can cause damage." She clicked a button, removing his arm cuffs, leg ones still attached. "Now, get to it."
"You got it." He grabbed her by the head and slammed it into the wall and held her right there, before grabbing those weird looking floating fingers in the back of her arms. "Come on, come on, where is it..aha!" He pressed on one of them, allowing his legs to go free. "That'll show you what an Organic is capable of!" He searched his memory for an insult, remembering something she shouted. "You Clod!"
"....I'm not…a…cl.." The green gem looked dazed. Appernely gems were capable of being knocked out without being poofed, who knew?
"Yeah, that's right, Marco Diaz is starting another jailbreak!" He shouted running through multiple cells and chambers. "Now all I need to do is find Star and the others and-"… He walked backwards, looking at the wand floating inside of the yellow box. "... Yoink." Wow, it was like the universe decided to hand him luck on a silver platter. "What else do you have for me, universe!?" He made a turn into the next corner.
"I admit, I never saw this coming." Sapphire greeted him from her cell.
"Neither did I." He admitted, looking at the barrier blocking her from escaping. "There's gotta be a keypad around here somewhere."
"Step through the field. It won't affect you at all." Sapphire said to him. "This particular frequency is made to disrupt light from forming, you should be able to touch it with only mild discomfort."
"Nice, humanity for the wiiiiii" He could feel his organs being tickled as she walked out. "Hey, this won't cause … long term damage right?" Marco asked, catching his breath.
"None I can see in the immediate future. Now grab my hand." She reached out her own hand.
"Okay, so you're going to lead MEEEEEE…!" The little lady was stronger than she looked, dragging him along as she practically flew through the hallways, not stopping until they entered a room that was looking a little worse for wear with the broken walls and wires hanging off the ceiling. "Ruby!"
"What were you expecting, runt?" Jasper asked, staring down at the downed gem and the shield wielding Steven. "You're a Ruby, you're an expendable soldier against a Jasper."
"How's this for expendable!?" Marco charged forward with a punch to the woman's face…that instantly bruised his hand the moment he landed it. "OW!"
"Yep, that was pretty much my reaction." Steven tried forcing himself back up. "I'm gonna be honest, we don't have a way to overpower her."
"You don't, but we do!" Ruby got up and ran to Sapphire. "Saphy, I think it's finally time."
"I'm … sorry, it's had to be so long." Sapphire spoke with a flush.
"Time doesn't matter, not as long as we're together, no matter what form we take." The two swirled themselves together, a bright light overtaking their bodies…they were fusing.
"Ruby…Sapphire?" Steven looked in awe as the two merged into one, a tall figure taking their place, with purple skin and a square afro, along with three eyes, one red, one blue, and one purple.
"It's nice to meet you … Steven."
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So long since Garnet felt like this. No guilt, no fear, no rage, no detachment. Just … love. "Tch." Jasper clicked their tongue. "You resorted to fusion …"
"So what of it? This is how I've been for 5,000 years, and I'll stay that way for 5,000 more."
"Wait." Steven asked. "You used to be fused for thousands of years!?"
"Yes, because that's how much Ruby and Sapphire care for each other." She crouched down and gave the boy a hug. "I'm sorry I didn't come out sooner, I've wanted to meet you for so long, to teach you so much about relationships and fusions."
"What's there to teach?" Jasper spoke, walking to them. "It's a cheap tactic to make weak gems slightly more valuable."
"Hey, who cares if they're weak?" Marco called out. "When we're fighting together, the odds are on our side."
"You're not going to win, Jasper!" Steven readied his shield. "None of my friends and family are weak!"
"It's a nice sentiment, you two." Garnet stood up, cracking her neck. In her right hand, a gauntlet of flames. In her left, a gauntlet of ice. When Garnet punched them together, an electric shock exploded across the entire room. "But we're unbeatable together, so go help your friends." [Smiling and crying as they're free with a bear hug] "Five cells down the right, you'll find Star and her locator spell will get you everyone else."
"Oh …" Steven started. "Suddenly I feel a whole lot more confident about our odds now." He looked up to her in apt fascination. "I hope I made a good impression."
"Steven …" Garnet smiled. "We've always loved you." The boy smiled right back, wiping away a stray tear before he and Marco ran off.
"Why continue to embarrass yourselves like this?" Jasper asked her from across the room, her destabilizer out and ready. "I've seen who you really are."
"Heh, no.." She summoned her shades, the future looking pretty bright in her eyes. "No you haven't."
"This is Garnet
Back together
And I'm never going down at the hands of the likes of you
Because I'm so much better
And every part of me is saying go get 'er."
She could see Jasper frown as they circled the area.
[Attack with destabilizer. Kelly will be freed by Marco.]
"The two of us ain't gonna follow your rules
Come at me without any of your fancy tools
Let's go, just me and you
Let's go, just one on two!"
Jasper relentlessly began trying to use that overgrown taser to destabilize her, but Garnet was not going to have any of it. It was so freeing to move like this again, to dance freely and deliver the occasional sick burn when needed.
[Kick destabilizer out of hand. Steven frees Star from her restraints.]
"Go ahead and try and hit me if you're able!
Can't you see that my relationship is stable?
I can see you hate the way we intermingle
But I think you're just mad cause you're single."
She kicked the destabilizer out of Jasper's hands, now punching her helmet as the room quaked.
[Peridot begins to wake. Jasper gets enraged.]
"And you're not gonna stop what we made together
We are gonna stay like this forever
If you break us apart we'll just come back newer
And we'll always be twice the gem that you are."
That really seemed to push the homeworlder over the edge, dragging her down to the lower levels of the ship, where they stood next to what she presumed to be the main core.
[Star uses a spell to locate Amethyst and Pearl. Peridot heads for control room]
I am made oh-oh-oh-oh-of
Lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, oh-oh-oh-oh-ove
Lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, lo-oh-oh-oh-ove
[Star punching Peridot in the face over and over again as Pearl tries her best to work the complex controls.]
Well if they were gonna crash, she may as well not care about collateral.
"This is who we are
This is who I am
And if you think you can stop me
Then you need to think again
Cause I am a feeling
And I will never end
And I won't let you hurt my planet
And I won't let you hurt my friends."
Jasper did her best to catch her off guard, rolling more and more across the walls, striking her with headbutts everytime she zoomed past Garnet. The fusion still stood tall, even with her shades beginning to crack.
"Go ahead and try and hit me if you're able!
Can't you see that my relationship is stable?
I know you think I'm not something you're afraid of
Cause you think that you've seen what I'm made of."
[Pearl loses control of the ship as Peridot sneaks into an escape pod, being shot at the earth's surface.]
Garnet exchanged a flurry of punches with Jasper, sending the gem through the core of the ship.
"Well I am even more than the two of them!
Everything they care about is what I am!
I am their fury, I am their patience
I am a conversation!"
With Jasper stuck in the middle of the crumbling core, and the ship in general about to crash land on earth, Garnet decided this now was the end of the fight for her. She made her way to the control room.
I am made oh-oh-oh-oh-of
Lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, oh-oh-oh-oh-ove
And it's stronger than you
Lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, lo-oh-oh-oh-ove
And it's stronger than you
Lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, lo-oh-oh-oh-ove
And it's stronger than you
Lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, lo-oh-oh-oh-ove, lo-oh-oh-oh-ove
"We're going to crash, Steven, bubble!"
"What about Lapis!?"
"She'll be fine, there's no time to get her!"
Pink light filled her vision as the black smoke surrounded them, crystal gems and Steven's friends holding on to each other tightly as the fell to the earth below.
All and all, it was almost the perfect comeback party for her.
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Star looked as the pink bubble lifted, at the massive pile of wreckage that was the ship … the one they were captured on … the one that almost took them all to an inescapable prison on a planet full of crazies. "That … could have gone better."
"That could've been a whole lot worse." Steven looked at the situation from a glass half full angle, so that meant one of them was more optimistic. "Thanks to Marco for pretty much getting everything we needed."
"I am the man!" Marco shouted. "I know we're all in serious trouble afterward, but I'm running this adrenaline train until it does!!"
"So Marco is our go to for breakouts, that's nice to know." Kelly giggled before looking at the strange new figure with them. "So Ruby and Sapphire aren't with us, I take it that's you then?"
"Garnet!" Pearl said excitedly as she and Amethyst hugged the new figure. "It's been so long, I thought you'd never come back!"
"I was always around, Ruby and Sapphire just needed a little space." The fusion chuckled.
"Cool, fusion lady." Star nodded quietly, still taking a look around the rumble and destruction. "Please tell me the crazy cheese puff lady shattered in that crash."
"Star!" Steven shouted. "I know she was a bad enemy but shattering is still overki-"
There was a groan of metal, all of them turning to see rubble lift, a familiar bitch underneath the rubble, glaring at them all. "... You were right, Princess … I underestimated you … and that fusion."
"Ugh, you don't know when to quit, do you?!" Star raised her wand, the green magic overtaking the pink one. "Your fancy hand is gone, your electric stick is gone, and you're outnumbered!"
"None of that would matter if I just had my own fusion to.." Jasper stopped herself when another groaning of metal was heard, and a familiar looking blue gem immersed.
"Lapis!" Steven shouted. Star reacted fast, sending out formless blasts at Jasper to get her away from the tortured gem.
Said blasts were incredibly erratic and missed the gem entirely as Jasper grabbed a hold of the gem trying to fly away. "Lapis, fuse with me!"
"What!?" Everyone shouted.
"They took you prisoner for centuries, all the pain you've suffered is all because of them! Don't you want to make them pay?"
"Lapis, don't do it!"
Lapis looked at them all with mixed emotions, before turning back to Jasper with resolve. "Either live safe but full of regret, or in danger but happy." The blue gem held out hand to Jasper. "Let's get it over with."
"Lapis!!!" Her brother shouted to the new bitch that twirled and fell into Jasper's hold.
Said Gem looked at them with evil confidence as the two bodies merged into one…and got bigger…and bigger…And more monstrous. They had teal green skin covering the whole body, white hair flowing down from a head with four eyes and a sharp toothed and demented smile, showing Jasper's yellow gem. Instead of legs it was just a long centaur-like attachment with four strong arms.
"Oh are you flipping kidding me!!!!?!" Kelly yelled as they all tried to back away in terror. "How'd they get so big when it's just the two of them!?!?"
"This … is amazing!" It laughed, raising a hand, and getting a pillar of water aimed at them. "I can see the appeal now!" The monster raised its hand to strike, until the water shifted and swirled around them. "What's going on, what are you doing!?"
"Six thousand years in a mirror!" A solid chain of water formed on the fusion's right arm. "Immediately captured by my own kind!" A second on the left. "Now I'm stuck on a planet with a gem threatening to shatter me and my only friend!?" And a third was constricted around their neck, choking it. "I'm no longer going to be a prisoner, from now on you're MY prisoner! Have fun getting free from the bottom of the ocean!" The fusion cackled madly as they were dragged to the large body of water.
"NOOOOO!!!" The fusion grew a second fucking mouth in the middle of it's head, which screamed in mild terror and agony. "Let me go!" The body shifted, but was forced back together.
"We're both terrible, so let's suffer together on this miserable rock!"
The fusion was soon taken under the water, barely leaving any trace they were around. "That…was horrifying." Marco summed up the entire experience in one sentence.
"Yep, those two are horrible for each other." Garnet said in Sapphire's usual monotone.
Star … Star didn't know what to think about today … other than how she fucked up.