Summary:
Sometimes, it hurts to see relationships from the outside.
"So any time they roll dice an animal shows up?"
"Yep, or they get sucked in." Marco answered. Since nothing in particular was happening today, Marco decided it was for the best that he get Steven caught up on earth culture, seeing as how Star was a bit of a lost case with that.
"For a magicless dimension you guys are really creative." He answered. "Time traveling robots, magical board games, and what I can assume is …" Steven looked at the cover. "And evil clown?"
"Horror movie tips, like don't go into abandoned buildings."
"Mewni has that rule too, except it's to avoid the monsters that make it their home. When did racist monster politics become the least complicated thing in my life?" The innocent boy asked him.
"Probably when you became a teenager and realized you had an interest in dating." Marco sighed. "I'm with you there, man. I've always been the one crushing, I've never been crushed on."
"Yep …" Steven stared at the tv. "Is there anything for romance?"
"Nothing that isn't overly cheesy and fake."
"Dang it …" The boy sighed. "Should … should I just ask Jana out?"
"Two days ago, the idea of anyone ever asking her out would've made me laugh. Now I can actually picture it in my head." Marco stretched out his arms. "Only if you think you can commit to a relationship full time. I like Sadie, but I've thought about a relationship with Jackie for much longer."
"Commit …" They thought about it. "Nope, between training, Gem missions, finding Malachite, finding Ludo, and finding Peridot, because corn knows where she is!"
The tv flickered, showing a very familiar gem. "I'm stuck on earth, I need evacuation!"
"You know, if we can train it right, we might be able to solve all of our problems if you just say the right thing at the right time."
"I wish every enemy we ever fought defeated themselves." Steven looked around, before sighing. "Let's go see the gems."
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"How did she even fix this!?" Amethyst yelled, looking at the tower. "Sugilite smashed it to bits last time we were here!"
"She has that glue stuff, must have taken her ages though." Marco said, noting the pillars. "It's pretty flawless too, I don't see any cracks."
"And now she's trying to signal for a rescue." Pearl added. "Meaning more warships."
"Absolutely not!" Star shouted, firing blasts that bounced off the walls. "... I really hate gem tech."
"It's not too late to stop it. If it's jamming earth broadcasts, then Peridot hasn't made a strong enough signal to reach into space." Garnet looked over the tower. "We need to bring it down again."
"Alright." Amethyst stretched. "Stand back kids, let Sugilite have her fun."
"No." Garnet shot down that idea.
"Giant Woman!" Star once again said enthusiastically. "Even if … recent events have shifted my viewpoint a tad."
"Yeah, I'm sorry." Steven started. "I know Stelly can be-"
"No no, it's just … something I saw on tv." Amethyst raised an eyebrow at that one, and looked closely at the fidgeting Kelly.
"Yeah…so how are we taking this thing down?" Kelly asked, coughing awkwardly.
"Sardonyx." Garnet turned to Pearl. "I know we were overzealous before the first time, so please, help us stay in control this time.
"Oh my, I just need to prepare myself." Great … Now she needed to deal with this arrogant crybaby all day.
"A new fusion?" Steven looked at them curiously.
"Heck yeah, we still get a Giant Woman!" Star shouted. "Let's see the crazy we can get this time around!"
"Oh no, Sardonyx is the opposite of crazy and out of control…no offense, Amethyst." Pearl explained while the purple gem tried to ignore the jab. "Just keep a close eye, and you'll see what I mean."
"Come on everyone, just a bit of distance while they do their stuff." Amethyst moved them to a good spot, preparing herself for the second most obnoxious gem she knew.
The two gems stood, giving a bow as they moved. Garnet with power, dominance, and sway. Pearl had her soft little grace as she daintily moved in, being spun around and thrown into the air, before she was caught intimately. The two became a pillar of light that was shoved away like a curtain.
"Good evening everybody!" The thirty or so feet tall gem before them said in a show-offish voice, with dark tan skin, four arms connected to a torso that rotated clockwise, and a tux-like outfit clothing them like the wannabe magician she was. "I'm so pleased to finally make an appearance, sorry it wasn't sooner, I haven't exactly been myself lately if you know what I mean." The fusion laughed at her own joke like it was the best one in the world.
"Oh no, we have another jokester!" Marco hid himself behind a rock. "My face still freezes in place if I get too distracted!" Well that was one of them that was on her side.
"Don't worry Marco, jokes are only a small part of my repertoire. I view myself as an …" The top half three sixty. "Articulate entertainer."
"She's definitely a lot less intense than Sugilite." Steven looked on in apt fascination, actually getting a starry eyed look in his eyes. "A lot more friendlier too."
"Oh thank you, you little sweet pea! I always do my best to give a great impression!" The gem picked up Star and Steven in her hands and began juggling them. "Every showing of the lovely Sardonyx is always prime and packed with fun times and laughter!"
"WEEE!" Even Star was getting in on the action as she was constantly launched in the air. "So, what super cool weapon do you have?"
"Why I'm glad you asked." They generated their spear, tapping their own shoulder and looking back as they launched the spear into the air, looking at the spot the weapon used to be and making an over dramatic gasp, before creating their gauntlets and mashing them on the fallen weapon, forming a hammer. "Tada!"
"So that's where the hammer came from." Marco, peeking from his rock, observed. "So you're going to smash the tower to pieces like we did last time?"
"Oh no, nonononono. I leave the smashing to big green brutes in purple shorts."Of course it was, wasn't it? "What I do is described more as…eloquent.." The show-off twisted her body around like a tornado and jumped in the air, knocking out one of the pillars out of its place like a whack a mole without making it crumble. "..Specific..!" Two more were shot out like torpedoes. " ...Accurate! Intelligent! Graceful…!"
"She definitely has no shortage of confidence." Kelly was the most invested in it like she was all the other times, but that only served to get Star's glare aimed at her.
The fusion landed on the top, winding their hammer back. "And powerful!!" They swung, stopping just short of the actual hit to draw out all the unnecessary suspense. "But on occasion, I have been known to smash." And tapped the roof, sending it collapsing all the way down.
"Now that is some impressive action!" Marco shouted.
"Now remember kids, if you are ever in need of the assistance of the lovely Sardonyx again, just give Garnet and Pearl a call, and i'll run right back to help."The fusion did its usual glow, shifting to the two gems holding each other close.
"That…that…'' Steven, the kid that had been the most reluctant about fusion given his bad start with it, had the biggest grin on his face. "That was amazing! You were great together! Everything you did was so in control! It was strong without overdoing it!"
"And it was funny!" Star laughed. "Pearl, I didn't know you had such a great sense of humor."
"What can I say?" The gem shifted with a blush. "Garnet just brings out the best in me."
"I think that may have been the best fusion so far." Kelly was probably trying to give a compliment, but she had no idea how much that stung.
"Yeah, you're great together." Amethyst sighed, this entire thing just reminding her of the fact she was just a big mistake.
"I wouldn't say the best." Steven shrugged. "That honor goes to Garnet herself."
"I just have experience being an experience." At least Amethyst knew for a fact all the showing off came directly from Pearl's hand. "We better go home, I don't see us catching Peridot tonight."
"We have future vision, how can we not catch one loopy dorito!?" Star shouted in frustration.
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Kelly watched as Sardonyx once more took the stage, giving them a bow, as she went out to destroy the communications hub … again. "I think Sardonyx might be the problem." Marco spoke out suddenly. "She's not destroying the pillars, she's just moving them out of the way for a fixer up later."
"Yeah, it's fun seeing her, but it's been three days already." Steven sighed. "There's only so much we can do when you hit a brick wall over and over."
"And I'm getting tired of the puns, there's so many puns." Star groaned. "I wish my magic wasn't so glitchy now, I could've found a spell to blast it to splinters."
"Glad to see the Sardonyx train has hyped down." Amethyst sighed. "Why are we even here?"
"Because Pearl insisted. I think Sardonyx likes having an audience." Kelly had to admit, it was getting a little tiring, even if this fusion was the best example, barring Garnet, on how it should be for anyone.. "At least Quana did their own thing and didn't force people to watch them."
"Hmm …" Marco pulled out a notebook. "Something isn't adding up."
"What do you mean, Karate Kid?" Amethyst asked the boy.
"Peridot came here originally to send a signal out that she's on earth, catching everyone off guard after, probably, using goo to fix the pillars, which should have taken a long time." They began writing. "For the last three days she's been able to move those unbroken giant pillars, without Jasper to help, into the same position over and over for a weaker signal that doesn't even mention earth."
"Yeah, it was just a bunch of static the last two times." Star recalled. "It totally interrupted crying breakfast friends."
"Why are you interested in a show about crying food?" Kelly asked.
"Because it shows that every living thing can have feelings, no matter what you are."
"Aw, you're learning." Steven pulled in his sister for a hug. "Soon we'll take you down the path of the pacifist yet."
"Taste in media aside, I don't even think Peridot is the one behind the last two attempts." Marco called out.
"Well who else could it be, it's not like there's a spell that can locate her." Everyone quieted down at Amethyst's statement. "Please don't tell me you've had a spell this whole time."
"I do have one, but it's hard, especially for someone I'm not too familiar with." Star explained.
"Wait, if I can use your magic, why don't I cast it?" Steven asked. "I've seen Peridot more times than you, and actually talked to her once. I might be able to get a better reading on her."
"Okay, not that I'm against it…but just remember that it's one of Eclispa's spells." Star warned her brother. "Which means to use it, you have to read the spell yourself, directly from her cursed pages. Marco took a glance at her chapter once and it filled him with an eldritch abomination…again."
"So much terror and evil …" Kelly looked at the chuckling boy and punched him in the face. "Thanks, I needed that."
"You read the spell before and it worked out fine. I think I can do this." The boy gave a nod of reassurance before looking back at the now defusing Sardonyx. "I'll read it tonight and search for her in the morning."
"Cool, I'll go tell Garnet and Pearl." Marco got up.
"Wait, how about we don't tell them?" Amethyst called out. "I don't know too much about Mewni stuff, but mentioning Eclipsa might lead to Pearl stopping you from trying. It…was a sore subject whenever Rose brought it up."
"Right, almost forgot Pearl was the not fun gem for a moment." Star groaned. "Guess we're doing it in secret then."
"Yeah, go secret team!" Kelly held up a high five, waiting for Amethyst to return it.
"Secret team." The gem smirked and high fived her back. "Star, you in?"
"... Yeah, secret team." Star locked eyes with her, distrust evident.
"Heheh, yeah, secret team!" Steven joined in on the chant, oblivious to the daggers Star was throwing at her.
"Yay, secret team." Kelly felt herself shrink back.
"Go team!" And Marco joined in as well. Wasn't her dorky chant supposed to ease the tension?
"Yeah, how about you and me have a nice 'secret chat', just between us?" Star grabbed her by the arms and took her away from the group. The boys looked at them in confusion, before shrugging and going to talk with the rest of the gems. "Look, for the sake of my brother, I haven't told him about anything you said, but you have got to stop this whole wishy washy situation you have going here."
"Oh sure, I just ask to stay with the guy who, according to a magic box, is absolutely against romance at the moment." Kelly sarcastically answered.
"He's only against it because you keep going to him when you dump that dishrag in your hair." Star snapped back. "It would be better if you just said you didn't like Steven, Stelly, whatever, like that. That way he could at least move on to someone else."
"But it's not like that! It's.." Kelly tried to defend.
"I know, I know, it's complicated." Star rolled her eyes. "Steven really admires you, just so you know. Think about that the next time you want to feed your ego with fusion." … She always did … that's what made it feel so warm in the first place.
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Star sat down with the rest of the group in her bedroom, trying not to notice Kelly while her brother shook out his body. "Alright, alright. Feet planted, wand raised, spell set."
"You sure you wanna go through with this?" Glossaryck asked. "There's a small chance you may see something disturbing."
"I went into another dimension where I got kissed by another version of my sister in Mewberty form, there isn't anything more disturbing than that in my opinion." Steven and her shivered, praying desperately to the great corn to never see that universe again. "Plus I've met a version of Eclipsa too, and she wasn't that bad."
"Rebel princesses for life!" Star shouted. "Woop!"
"Okay then …" Steven sighed, keeping the wand steady " I summon the All Seeing Eye, to tear a whole into the sky." She could feel the room growing darker.
"Well that's not ominous at all." Marco deadpanned.
"Reveal to me that which is hidden, unveil to me what is forbidden." Steven's marks glowed a bit as a black mass formed. "Come on … Peridot …"
The image showed the gem in question, inside of a blurred cave. "Log Five Nine Three, I believe the isolation from all intelligence as begun to effect my mental state." They spoke, pacing. "My physical form has destabilized, I can hear voices on occasion, I have begun to hate my own robonoids." They glared at an object, tossing it into the wall. "And I still can't get that organic out of my head!"
"Space Unicorn, Soaring through the stars." Marco's phone began to ring.
"It's stuck in my head, that encrypted message, because they somehow managed to knock me out!" She cackled. "It almost sounds like it's … coming from …" Peridot was looking straight at them.
"..Sup." Star causally waved, knowing they were busted either way.
" I've either begun to enter a new stage of madness I was previously unaware of, or I'm being spied upon by my enemies with powers Homeworld has tried for years to master."
"That explains why so much of the tech is so anti-magic." Star grumbled. "So, would you mind telling us where you are…or at least stop rebuilding the communication hub? It's getting annoying to take apart every night."
"Rebuilding the communication hub?" They asked. "It's being rebuilt!?" A laugh. "I have allies on this world, oh yes indeed! True companions!!" They began cackling louder as the image vanished.
"Sorry … couldn't keep it … woozy." Steven looked like he was about to pass out, being caught by Marco and Kelly.
"Wait a minute, so someone else is rebuilding it?" Kelly asked. "Who'd do that? Malachite's still trapped underwater, and Ludo doesn't even know a thing about gems."
"I don't know, but I think I can figure it out." Star took the wand in her hands. "I summon the All Seeing Eye, to tear a hole into the sky. Reveal to me that which is hidden, unveil to me what is forbidden." The black mass formed again. "Communication hub…" The familiar sight was shown again, in its destroyed state like last night…but something green and round was floating above it."
"That's the escape pod you brought back." Amethyst said in shock.
"Correction, the pod star broke in half. How is it working?" Marco asked in shock as well.
"Someone must've rebuilt it…but who'd do that?" Star glared at a figure that was on top of the hub. "The only people who could've gotten access to it are the others…" Everyone's eyes widened as the pale skinny figure was made clear. "Pearl!?"
"What, that…that doesn't make any sense!" Marco called out. "Why would Pearl all of the sudden try to help Peridot?!"
"She's not helping Peridot…she's helping herself." Steven's eyes looked the most horrified. "She's…using it as an excuse to fuse."
Amethyst growled, punching the wall. "That little … why she …" She screamed in frustration. "We'll tell Garnet when we arrive tomorrow."
"Yeah. Let's do that." Star agreed with the anger, and sent another glare to Kelly, who was thankfully taken back by the situation. "That's what you look like." She whispered to the Woolet before heading out the door. She was going to take a snack and rest up, too exhausted from both the spell and people today.
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"Shall we, Garnet?" Pearl held out her hand to the gem. Everyone watched in silence at the moment.
"Yes, let's-"
"Wait!" Amethyst shouted out. Pearl glared at the interruption. "We used the All Seeing Eye spell." … Oh.
"That's a dangerous power." Garnet looked at the Butterfly siblings with concern. "Are you two okay?"
"We should be asking you that, Garnet, especially after we saw all the bs Pearl's been pulling under our noses." Star glared at with eyes of anger and disgust.
"... What?" Garnet asked tentatively.
"Peridot hasn't been rebuilding the hub..it's been Pearl the past two nights." Marco looked at her ashamed…they knew…they all knew!
The gem was silent, turning to Pearl with a glare visible even under the glasses. "Explain … now ."
"It..I..It was Peridot…the first time." Pearl tried to excuse her actions even when Garnet dropped her to the ground. "We just…everyone was just so happy and we had fun, and we finally had a win after all this…"
"Those weren't wins! That was you leading us in a circle!" Garnet stomped on the ground. "That's why I couldn't get a future where we catch Peridot! Sparks began flying from the angry gem. "You've been doing something as cheap as this for fusion, WITH ME!!?" Along with the sparks, Pearl could see fire and ice radiating from her.
"Garnet, just let me..!"
"No! Do you know how it feels to be me now!? I finally get to be me after over a decade of losing hope, after over a decade of being uncertain and afraid of the future, and you mess with my mind just for the sake of a sick thrill!?!" Garnet punched the rock next to her head with enough theoretical force to poof her in an instant, as the ground shook.
"Wait, don't hurt her!" Steven got in front of Pearl.
"DON'T DEFEND HER, NOT FOR THIS!" For the first time since she came back, Garnet raised her voice threateningly at Steven.
"He's not, and neither am I!" Amethyst got in front of Steven. "Pearl messed up, so let's just destroy the hub so she can't do this again.
"... Yeah …" The gem spoke with tranquil fury as she stood up. "Amethyst, Sugilite, now."
"Right." Amethyst didn't respond with the usual energy both of them had whenever they were given the chance to fuse. A second later the giant fusion stood above them, fury evident on their face as they combined their first and punched the tower.
The entire thing collapsed in an instant, rubble being smashed to dust further with a couple of stomps, the combined gem silent for the first time in a while, before turning to Pearl. "You're lucky I don't shatter you." They said in the most tranquil tone she's ever heard the fusion speak before.
Pearl couldn't respond as the fusion just went back to stomping the pillars to pieces, probably to ensure she didn't even get the idea to ever do something like this again.
She turned to the kids, who all shared faces of either shame or disappointment in her, Star in particular looking disgusted. "If this is what you're really like, then living on Mewni was the best thing for Steven." She used her dimensional scissors and made a portal. "Let's get out of here, guys."
Kelly, looking back between the portal and her, only sighed as she followed along. Marco looked like he was about to say something, but instead pulled his hoodie up and walked away as well.
"I'm gonna take the long way around. I need to grab Lion anyway." Steven told his sister.
"Sure thing, bro." Star sighed, closing the portal, leaving just Pearl and the boy she swore to make a great gem alone, with Sugilite's smashing in the background.
Pearl curled up in a ball and cried. She cried in shame, in desperation, she, a lone defective Pearl, cried for help, help of any kind to come to her.
"I get it." Steven patted her on the back even when she wanted nothing more than to hide herself from the rest of the world. "It felt good, you felt reassured, like all your problems could be solved if you just put all your trust into the fusion."
"Yes…I just feel so weak on my own…."
"Yeah, I feel that way too I guess." Steven sighed. "I'm still not a fan of it though, other than Garnet everyone seems to fight all the time when fusion is involved."
"I'm sorry..I'm sorry that we've given you such horrible examples to follow." Pearl sighed. They really had no idea how to deal with children, did they?
"It's fine, it's not like my own examples were any better." The sound of smashing finally stopped, they turned to see Sugilite defuse, Garnet stomping off in cold silence as she made her way to the warp pad, leaving them alone with Amethyst.
"I understand it too, just fyi." Amethyst sighed. "But you used Garnet, you used our friend just to make yourself feel better. And you have to live with that." Amethyst disappeared into the warp as well.
"I want to always have that comfort…but it can't just be an on off switch you flip on when you want it." Steven leaned on her. "You have to be willing to commit."
Pearl let out a weak chuckle. "That's just it … Garnet is a two gem exclusive. There were plenty of people she rejected over the millenia." She curled up. "Important situations are the only time she extends it to others."
"Did you and Mom fuse a lot?" Steven asked with curiosity.
"Hundreds of times. I was actually the one that tried to do it with her first." Pearl chuckled weakly. "The first few attempts were clumsy because we weren't quite sure how to do it. Your mother took Garnet's story at face value and tackled me at a hundred miles an hour." Pearl cried more. "What on earth would she think of me now?"
"I can't answer that…but I think you're pretty great."
"Thank you …" It didn't mean much in the scheme of what she just did. "You should go on now, before your sister is worried."
"Yeah, I will." Steven sighed as he got up. "We can move past this eventually…it'll just take time." The boy walked to the warp pad vanishing.
Pearl sighed, rubbing her arms, feeling her skin … and feathers? Pearl looked down at the marks. It must have been stress, she just needed to Faulty.
"No…this can't be." Pearl looked at the feathers, small but noticeable. "Corruption?" As if her day couldn't get any worse … she needed to take down Peridot, before she was lost.