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Description
“Steven!” Pearl cried, crawling from the wreckage of the destroyed Homeworld ship. “That was incredible!”

“Yeah, way to go, little man!” Amethyst chimed in, tripping over a green chunk as she did so. “You showed that tranch who’s boss!” For good measure she punched the air enthusiastically as she spoke. Steven blushed and smiled, but said nothing.

“You never fail to surprise us,” Garnet beamed.

“Me?!” Steven exclaimed, suddenly becoming more animated. “I can't believe you're a fusion all the time!”

“You met Ruby and Sapphire?!” Amethyst said, slightly stunned.

“Oh no!” Pearl bellowed, sounding embarrassed. “We were going to introduce you. Garnet, your plan!”

“We were waiting for your birthday.”

“We can still do it!” Steven said grinning. “I'll just pretend I didn't know!” The Gems shared a much-needed chuckle. It was cut short, however, by a rumbling coming from a few feet down the beach.

With a grunt, Jasper emerged from beneath some flaming rubble, battered and beaten, but not down for the count. “Ugh,” she staggered, finding it difficult to keep balanced. “Don’t think we’re through. You’re all jokes; you know that, right? I mean, look at you; you're fused again? I bet if I had someone to fuse with I'd—”

Every Gem froze as a pile of rubble close to Jasper began to move. With some effort, Peridot blasted free, her fingers in the form of a drill. Mumbling something incoherent to herself, she dusts herself off before noticing the others. Appearing locked with fear for but a moment, she makes a dash for Jasper, cowering behind her leg.

Grinning like a mad Gem, Jasper whipped around and pulled Peridot forward, keeping a tight grip on her arm. “Peridot, fuse with me, now!”

“What? But I –why?”

“Our enemies are not vanquished yet!” Jasper growled. “These Gems are traitors to their Homeworld. I am your commanding officer and I’ve given you a direct order. Unless you want to be lumped in with them you will follow it!”

“Nuh-uh,” Garnet shouted, not waiting for an answer. “Not happening!” With impressive speed she charged forward, both gauntlets summoned and ready to go.

“Aah!” Peridot whined, and with her free arm emitted a force field around Garnet, suspending her in the air. She launched her backwards right away, knocking over the Crystal Gems like bowling pins, with only Steven managing to dive out of the way in time.

“Come on, you worthless runt!” said Jasper, her voice softening slightly. “Give it to me.” Reluctantly, Peridot offered her hand. The two danced quickly, no beauty or grace in their moves, just cold robotic pragmatism. It seemed this was enough, though, as the two gems began to glow, Jasper and Peridot turning into a single amorphous blob of light.

After a few short terrifying seconds, the fusion emerged. Standing slightly taller than Opal and possessing four arms like her, this new being had a terrifying look in her three eyes. Her hair stood tall like Peridot’s but was long and wild like Jasper’s. Her skin was a horrid swirl of pale orange and green, and her smile showed off numerous sharp teeth. Her jumpsuit was mostly pine green and black, possessing a giant yellow diamond emblazoned on the chest. Just looking at her sent chills down Steven’s spine.

Finding their bearings, the Crystal Gems stood poised, ready for whatever this monstrosity could throw at them. She began a horrifying maniacal laugh; the two voices overlapping made Steven want to cover his ears. Smiling like she knew something the Crystal Gems didn’t, she summoned Jasper’s helmet and immediately took it off. Holding out one of Peridot’s arms, four of the fingers faced inward while the fifth pointed forward, vaguely resembling a gun of some sort. The fusion stuck the helmet onto the end of the gun, and it made an electrical click. The look in her eyes growing more intense, the helmet component began to glow. Aiming directly at Steven, she fired.

There was an instant shockwave, like the air itself was struggling to get out of the way of the projectile. Garnet grabbed Steven and dove right while the others dove left. Steven was thankful she did, because after his fight with Jasper he wasn’t sure he had another bubble in him, or that it even would have stopped…whatever it was Jasper and Peridot just shot at them.

The missile hit the ground in between the Crystal Gems. After approximately 4 seconds of silence, it exploded, sending shrapnel flying in every direction. Steven screamed, in part because of the loud noise, but mainly because he could hear Pearl and Amethyst being poofed and retreating into their gems. Garnet grimaced in pain and sunk lower on top of Steven.

“Steven, I—” Her words were cut off as she split back into Ruby and Sapphire. The two groaned and appeared disoriented, like someone had violently awoken them from a pleasant dream.

“Ruby! Sapphire!” Steven exclaimed. His voiced seemed to sober them, and they immediately looked up at Steven, their faces tense and afraid. Reaching out for each other, eager to be Garnet again, their reunion was interrupted as their foe appeared behind them, with speed and silence that did not denote her size. She immediately grabbed a hold of Sapphire and threw her far behind her. She sneered down at Steven and Ruby, and the two flinched.

She held up her arm, one of Peridot’s, and readied herself to strike. Steven and Ruby gripped each other, paralyzed; Steven with fear and Ruby a mixture of fear and fury. The fusion laughed and extended the arm behind her back. The fingers began spinning and blurring into each other, and the helicopter arm carried her backwards. She held that sneer on the two mortified Gems, flying backwards for a minute before turning in midair, her sights set on Sapphire.

“Steven, listen to me,” Ruby said, turning towards him and cupping his face in her hands. He could tell from her eyes that she was unbelievably scared, but she kept her face stern. “I want you to turn around, get to the warp pad, and get as far away from here as you can, alright?”

“I can help, though! I beat Jasper once!”

“That thing isn’t Jasper anymore! Just do as I say, now.”

“But what about you? And Amethyst, and Pearl, and—” They both froze. Neither of them wanted to believe they had heard it, but there it was, still echoing in their ears.

Poof.

Ruby slowly turned her head in the direction that Jasper and Peridot flew. Steven couldn’t bear to look, but he wanted to be brave, so instead of closing his eyes he stayed fixed on Ruby. There were tears in her eyes, and she looked like she wanted to scream, but no sound was coming out of her mouth. Across the beach stood Jasper and Peridot’s fusion, cackling wildly with a blue gem in her hands.

“Yes! Yet another victory for the mighty Unakite!” she belted, holding up Sapphire’s gem like a sick war trophy. To Ruby and Steven’s horror, she then bubbled it. The bubble was an ugly murky brown colour, and in seconds it was gone, transported away to wherever Unakite had sent it. She saw Ruby looking at her and gave a sadistic wink in response.

Ruby wiped away her tears, and with them went her scared demeanor. It was replaced instead with a look of fiery determination. “Steven, run!” she shouted, not even looking back as she began her mad charge down the beach. Steven’s heart leapt into his throat; in that moment she had sounded just like Garnet.

But before he knew it, he was already running in the opposite direction towards the house. He wasn’t sure what got his legs moving; something inside of him that told him to get out of there, that there would be time to fight another day. Without a second thought he planted his feet in the sand and snapped to a halt. That wasn’t how a Crystal Gem did things. And right now the Crystal Gems, his friends, needed him.

And that was when he saw it. If he had kept running he might have mistaken it for a tear in his eye, but there was definitely something glinting in the sand. It was…Pearl! Pearl’s gem lay half buried in the sand a few feet to Steven’s right. This was perfect! While Ruby’s distracting Unakite, Steven could bubble Pearl and Amethyst’s gems and regroup with them in the temple. Maybe Opal could stand up to Jasper and Peridot.

Steven staggered hurriedly towards Pearl’s gem and reached out to bubble it, but he pulled his hand back when he saw something race through the sand towards it. Another murky brown bubble formed around the shiny white stone, and Steven could see the thing in the sand was one of Peridot’s fingers, moving autonomously. It tapped the bubble and it disappeared. Steven hissed in frustration and tried to step on the finger, but it flew away too quickly.

He looked over to where Ruby and Unakite were fighting. Unakite was just toying with her. Ruby had on her right hand a tiny gauntlet which resembled a boxing glove. She was running circles back and forth around her foe, painting Unakite with punches until she lunged for her, forcing Ruby to dive in the opposite direction. Unakite didn’t summon her grenade launcher once.

Steven forced himself to look away, and he scanned the beach for Amethyst’s gem. He made a dash for it as soon as he saw the gleam, but by then he realized he was too late; Peridot’s stray finger was already halfway there. “No!” he shouted as soon as it was bubbled and sent away. Ruby and Unakite stopped their fighting to look his way, Unakite out of annoyance and Ruby out of concern. The tiny red Gem turned her attention back to her opponent first, and dove in the air to deliver a swift punch straight to her face. This seemed to cause Unakite a fair bit of pain, but before Ruby could even hit the ground again Unakite caught her with one of Peridot’s hands and held her at arm’s length. Ruby could do nothing but flail wildly in response.

“You have a real problem with manners,” Unakite said tauntingly, and she sent a jolt of electricity through Ruby’s body. Her eyes went wide and her body writhed and thrashed, but she did not retreat into her gem. Instead she went limp and was knocked unconscious. Unakite took a good look at her, clearly pleased with herself. “I wanna save you for last, little Gem,” and she tossed her body away like a fiery rag doll. She next set her sights on Steven a little further away, and the look in her eyes made Steven’s blood turn cold.

His knees shook, but again that thing inside him convinced him to turn around and run. His eyes fixed on the house and on the warp pad inside, and he forced everything else out of his mind. It made it all the more shocking then when Unakite dropped out of the sky in front of him, barring his path with that same wild look in her eyes.

“Oh, going so soon, Ste-ven?” Steven whelped in response and turned on a pivot. Before he could gain any ground, though, Unakite extended both of Peridot’s arms. Rather than form her grenade launcher, she instead made them into those helicopter hands and began blowing sand all over the beach. Steven was knocked over and he got a mouthful of the stuff. Unakite began laughing maniacally when that happened. Steven wanted to cry, but when he looked up he realized Unakite had completely disappeared in the sand cloud. The wind kept roaring, however, and he could still vaguely hear that laugh through it. He could still get away.

He struggled to get up, and he took off towards the direction he remembered the debris of the spaceship being in. The sandstorm got thinner and thinner, which prevented Steven from running head first into a big green chunk of Gem-tech. He dove left straight into what looked like a safer pile.

“Oh-ho!” Unakite bellowed, realizing her folly. “You think you can get away, do you? Well, let me tell you, none are safe from the great Unakite!” She summoned her grenade launcher again and began firing shots all along the perimeter of the crash site. None hit Steven, but he could feel the heat and the explosions resonate through the rubble, which drove him further in. “This is going to be fun!” Unakite declared enthusiastically, and took off into the air, one of Peridot’s helicopter hands behind her back.

Steven wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand he wanted to keep moving, but he worried that if he did then Unakite would see him. If he stayed put, though, she would eventually find him, or worse, hit him with her grenade launcher. His fears were confirmed when she fired two shots in rapid succession, aiming for random spots across the beach. Reluctantly, Steven scurried further on, figuring a spot near where she fired before would be the safer place to hide.

He didn’t get far, though, before his head bumped into a pile of jagged panels leaning up against one another. They began to move as if about to fall over, and Steven held his breath. The pile collapsed outwards and for a moment he thought he was doomed. All that changed, however, when a blue shadow emerged from within.

“Lapis!” Steven shouted, his temporary panic making him forget stealth. He immediately ran to her and wrapped his arms around her legs. Her dress was torn and her face was covered with dirt; she looked utterly exhausted.

“Steven?” she sputtered, confused and disoriented. “What’s—?”

“Aha!” Unakite interrupted, screaming triumphantly from above. She aimed her cannon at the pair and fired. Lapis grabbed Steven, summoned her wings and leapt a few feet down the beach into a clearing amongst the rubble. Unakite fired another shot, and Lapis barely managed to summon an arm of water from the sea to shield them both.

“Steven, where are the Crystal Gems?”

“She took them!” Steven cried, tears streaming down his face. “All of them except Ruby. Lapis, what are we gonna do?” She didn’t have time to figure that out, though, as Unakite landed just a few feet in front of them. “Lapis!”

“I’m thinking, Steven!” As if by instinct, Steven got behind Lapis. He may have fought Jasper less than an hour ago, but now he was just scared.

“Lapis, do something!” Steven was frantic.

A frustrated scowl manifested on Lapis’ face. “This is why I said we couldn’t fight them, Steven,” she barked, not taking her eyes off their foe.

“Sure we can!” Something new had entered Steven’s voice. He was still terrified, more so than he had ever been, but they couldn’t just give up like this; now he was indignant. “You fought me and the Crystal Gems last summer. Just do what you did then.”

Lapis said nothing, but her head bowed as if out of shame. Steven wanted to protest further, but his voice got caught in a sob. Suddenly, without warning, there was a massive splash in the ocean. Steven and Unakite shared a look of disbelief as another Unakite, made entirely out of water, dove out of the surf and landed in front of its twin. Its eyes were glassy, but they conveyed horrible rage.

A laugh escaped Steven’s mouth and he quickly clasped a hand over it. Unakite took a step back as if afraid, but held her ground. She raised her cannon arm wordlessly and fired a grenade, hitting her double in the chest. It floated for a mere moment before exploding, evaporating the liquid puppet.

Lapis glanced behind her, first at Steven and then the subsequent landscape, scanning if the way was clear. “Steven, when I say run, I want you to—” A barrage of explosions from either side of the duo cut her off. Unakite had them in her sights, and she wasn’t about to let her prey go.

She marched towards them at half speed, wanting to savor the moment. “Surrender now and I’m sure Yellow Diamond will go easy on you. I won’t, of course. But look at it this way: I’ll have to hand you over eventually.”

Steven cowered behind Lapis. She thought she could hear him muttering the names of the Crystal Gems. Tears cascaded down his face, his eyes closed and his head in his hands. Lapis couldn’t bear to look at him, so instead she turned to face Unakite, who stopped immediately in front of her.

“Do you have any last words?” the demented fusion taunted.

“Just three,” Lapis declared, trying to hide her fear. Her fingers tensed at her side, a jolt of energy going up and down her arm. “Steven, go now!” Lapis’ hand flew forward, fingers suddenly pressed together and pointing at Unakite. All at once six tears flew off Steven’s face, two hitting each of Unakite’s three eyes. She howled in pain, a yelping, inhuman cry. Lapis gave Steven a shove, which seemed to bring him around. He ran a few feet with Lapis close behind but then stopped suddenly. Almost bowling him over, Lapis grunted. “What are you doing? We need to—”

This time Steven cut her off. “We can’t keep running. She’s too fast and she’s too strong; she’ll get us. Plus, she has my friends!”

“We don’t have time to discuss this, she’s right behind us! Neither of us are strong enough to—”

“Maybe not on our own.”

“What do you mean?” Lapis asked, concerned.

“Let’s beat a fusion with another fusion!” There were stars in Steven’s eyes as he spoke. “You and I kick all kinds of butt, imagine what we could do together!”

“Fuse? Me and you?” Lapis was taken aback; she really wasn’t expecting that. “I don’t… how could—?” she was cut off again by another roar from Unakite. She had recovered from Lapis’ sucker punch and was charging at the two like a mad wind-up toy.

Steven held out a hand to his friend. “I trust you. Do you trust me?” Unakite was getting dangerously close. Lapis looked at Steven’s hand and then down the beach at the Homeworld warrior. Barely comprehending what she was doing, Lapis waved both arms from left to right. A massive wave engulfed the beach, magically leaving a dry ring around Steven and Lapis while knocking Unakite off her feet, slamming her into several large pieces of debris. Reluctantly, Lapis took Steven’s hand. He smiled, but then blushed and said shyly, “Uh, maybe you should lead.”

She started their dance, and Steven closed his eyes and thought of the Gems. He thought of Amethyst as they bobbed back and forth, and how happy she had been on the Homeworld ship when she saw he had beaten Jasper. When Lapis spun him he thought of Pearl and how proudly she had looked at him after the ship crashed. Finally Lapis dipped him and he thought of Garnet; how happy she had looked when she was finally back together, and his gem glowed.

It felt different from the time he fused with Connie. He knew Gems’ bodies were made out of light, so fusing with Lapis felt warmer and softer. For a second he forgot himself and Lapis; only this new being existed. The name ‘Charoite’ stuck out in their mind. Suddenly a wave of unfamiliar emotions came flooding in, and Steven remembered who he was. There was fear but there was hope, there was joy but there was melancholy, there was anxiety yet optimism.

“Aha, I did it!” they chimed. Looking down at their reflection in a puddle, Charoite took themself in. They were about as tall as Pearl now, and their skin was a light purple shade like Amethyst’s. Their hair mainly resembled Lapis’, but with a curly, wavy quality like Steven’s. Their face was an even mix of the both of them, and stars appeared in their eyes when they saw how striking they looked. They wore jeans like Steven’s, which were a dark indigo color and ended just below the knee. Their shirt looked like the top half of the dress that Lapis wore, with an exposed stomach and open back, held together at the neck with a bow. It was a lighter shade of indigo, with a diamond on the front the same shade as the pants, and a pale white star in the middle. “I look so cool,” Charoite whispered stoically.

The awe was broken when Unakite got to her feet again. Charoite bolted upright and did their best to look intimidating. “Oh, now that’s just rich,” Unakite bellowed. “An anachronistic traitor and a hybrid abomination, fused!” She started laughing hysterically. “Do you really think you can accomplish what neither of you could on your own?”

“Well I guess we’re both going to find out.” Charoite didn’t wait for Unakite to finish laughing. They raised their hand up dramatically, pulling all the water left on the beach into one spot around Unakite and shooting her into the air on a geyser, turning her laugh into a scream. Her face hit the sand first as she fell, and Charoite’s resolve broke; this time it was their turn to laugh uncontrollably, tears streaming down their face. Unakite grimaced and fired at the fusion.

Charoite’s reflexes were superhuman, pulling another long, thick, arm of water out of the ocean. They had stopped laughing but a smile remained. The arm spun around Charoite twice, forming a barrier with a tendril out front to bat the shot away. The image reminded Steven of an elephant, and suddenly Lapis’ mind was flooded with images of elephants from books, movies and TV shows. She was humbled. Taking inspiration from a nature documentary Steven had watched late at night when he was little, Charoite brought the trunk down on Unakite in a guillotine-like motion.

Miraculously, Unakite caught the arm with one hand. She channeled a jolt of electricity through the arm which sent Charoite reeling backwards. Wicked determination draped across her face, Unakite flew into the air like an actor in a harness and came slamming down hard. Charoite sprouted wings and flew up into the air as their foe dropped, making the two look like a circus act. A roar came from the ground, followed by grenade after grenade. Before Charoite could even react, about a dozen hovered around her in a grid pattern. Instinctually, Charoite brought up Steven’s bubble, which came out periwinkle and formed around the fusion in the shape of a water lily. It didn’t last long, though, as each explosive went off at once. Charoite hit the ground with an unpleasant thunk.

“So it finally ends,” Unakite moaned triumphantly. She held up one of Peridot’s hands and began spinning the fingers like a drill. “I’m going to have a lot of fun tearing you two apart as slowly as possible. I’ll just have to lie to Yellow Diamond and say you put up a fight. Ha!” Struggling to get up, Charoite winced with pain but held their ground. “What? Haven’t you figured it out yet? It’s over; you could never hope to be strong like I am. But if you insist on being showy,” said Unakite, stopping the drill and readying a grenade, “I can just blow you both to oblivion instead.”

“But I’m—” Charoite winced again; it hurt to talk. Unakite paused in mock anticipation. “I am strong in the real way!” Deep within Charoite, Steven wasn’t sure how, but he gasped.

Lapis! Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

What? No, I—wait, no. Yes, I’ve got it. Do you think that would work?

“You’re pitiful,” Unakite said sombrely. “Goodbye!” And she fired.

Yeah! Help me do the thing.

With one swift motion Charoite summoned Steven’s shield and Lapis’ wings. They folded the wings in front of them, and the water began to knit itself into the shield like yarn into an afghan. Almost instantaneously it began to change shape, resembling the mirror Lapis was once trapped in and composed of an indigo light with a glossy surface. Light reflected off it with shining brilliance that blinded Unakite momentarily. There was a sharp ping as her projectile bounced off it.

It happened so fast. The grenade hit Unakite square in the chest and exploded with fire, shrapnel and smoke. Jasper and Peridot were thrown apart immediately, which released a puff of Gem stuff, and the two together brought up a cloud of sand. The result was a small mushroom cloud in the middle of the beach.

Steven’s pride at the accomplishment melded with Lapis’ cold determination to finish the job, giving Charoite an enthused fury. They held out their arms at right angles and did a half spin, pulling a large whirlpool out of the ocean to strip away the cloud, revealing a horrified looking Jasper and a half-conscious Peridot. The larger Gem, in a panic, reached for her partner, but Charoite brought the whirlpool down on Peridot and sent her rushing into the ocean. With an opposite sweep of their hand they brought the torrent back out, minus Peridot, and coiled it around Jasper like a snake.

“You can’t do this!” Jasper wailed. Charoite approached the helpless foe, their fury getting less enthused by the second.

“Where did you send the Crystal Gems?” Charoite demanded. Jasper ceased her writhing, her face wide-eyed and blank. She began a maniacal laugh so suddenly it made Charoite flinch. They kept their firm demeanor, though, and began constricting the snake further. Jasper’s laugh seamlessly turned into a moan. “Where?!”

“Alright, alright!” Jasper sputtered. “I’ll tell you. Come closer.” Charoite approached cautiously. “Closer! Secrets need to be whispered.” Charoite held their ground and offered their best look of contempt. “Come on, don’t you want to see your friends again?” And Steven did. And if it weren’t for that fact and Lapis being emotionally exhausted, Charoite may have just poofed Jasper then and there. But the fact was they both just wanted this nightmare to be over. “The secret is—” Jasper whispered to the fusion, pausing for dramatic effect. Charoite leaned closer, their face just inches from Jasper’s. “The secret is that you’ll never see your friends again!” and with mechanical reflexes, Jasper flung her head back, summoned her helmet, and brought it down on Charoite’s head.

There was a flash of pain, then darkness. The next thing Steven saw was a fuzzy pink blob, and he saw it with his own eyes. They opened but then shut again when the light attacked them. He squinted, and he was able to make out his dad and Lion.

“Steven!” Greg bellowed. “Oh, you had us so worried, kiddo.”

“Ugh,” said Steven. It still hurt to talk. “Where’s…?” And suddenly he bolted upright. It hurt more to move, but he scanned the beach fervently. A few feet down the surf he saw Lapis sitting down with her arms wrapped around her knees. Steven got up and tried to sprint to her but tripped. Greg helped him up and tried to ask if he was ok, but he was already running again. “Lapis! What happened?”

She was staring out at the ocean, her face expressionless. “Jasper knocked us out.” She didn’t even turn to look at Steven. “When I came to she was gone. There was no trace of her.”

“Are you hurt? Is there something I can do?” Lapis said nothing; she didn’t even move. “Lapis…” By now Steven’s wits had returned to him, and he could suddenly hear grumbling across the beach. He turned and was shocked at how wavy the air seemed, like a highway in the middle of summer. He could just barely make out Ruby in the middle of it. He looked back at Lapis for a moment before rushing to his other friend.

The heat coming off Ruby was immense. All around her bits of sand were fused into glass. Steven meant to embrace her, but it felt like a furnace when he got too close, so he jumped back. “Whoa, easy, buddy!” Greg called in concern.

Some hot air found its way into Steven’s mouth and he choked. “Lapis!” he managed to cry. His voice seemed to snap Lapis out of her daze, and when she saw what was going on she fired some water at Ruby. When the steam cleared Steven ran to his friend. She was rocking back and forth in the fetal position and looked more upset than Steven knew how to process.

“They’re gone. I’m alone and they’re all gone,” she kept repeating. Steven put his hands on his shoulders to try and steady her. She was still quite hot, but he managed. Greg, Lion and Lapis made their way over. “I’m alone and they’re gone!”

“Ruby, listen to me!”

“I’m not supposed to be alone. I’ve always had Sapphire. I don’t do alone!” She had her head in her hands and was shaking back and forth.

“Ruby, listen!” Steven didn’t like to shout, but she was scaring him. “You’re not alone. You’ve got me.” Ruby looked at him but said nothing. She looked like she wanted to cry. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared too, but that doesn’t change anything. Jasper’s out there somewhere and she knows where our friends are. We’ll find her, and then we’ll get them back.”

“Steven…” Ruby’s voice was so empty.

“And we’re not alone either! We’ve got dad. And Lion!” Greg managed a smile and Lion roared in affirmation. “Lapis is going to help us too.” This took Lapis by surprise. She bowed her head and began rubbing her upper arm, saying nothing, but not turning away. This time Ruby did cry, and she met Steven in a hug. The tender moment was broken up by a splashing coming from the surf. The group turned to see a waterlogged Peridot wash up on the beach. Steven eyed her stoically.

“And so is she.”

Description
“Steven!” Pearl cried, crawling from the wreckage of the destroyed Homeworld ship. “That was incredible!”

“Yeah, way to go, little man!” Amethyst chimed in, tripping over a green chunk as she did so. “You showed that tranch who’s boss!” For good measure she punched the air enthusiastically as she spoke. Steven blushed and smiled, but said nothing.

“You never fail to surprise us,” Garnet beamed.

“Me?!” Steven exclaimed, suddenly becoming more animated. “I can't believe you're a fusion all the time!”

“You met Ruby and Sapphire?!” Amethyst said, slightly stunned.

“Oh no!” Pearl bellowed, sounding embarrassed. “We were going to introduce you. Garnet, your plan!”

“We were waiting for your birthday.”

“We can still do it!” Steven said grinning. “I'll just pretend I didn't know!” The Gems shared a much-needed chuckle. It was cut short, however, by a rumbling coming from a few feet down the beach.

With a grunt, Jasper emerged from beneath some flaming rubble, battered and beaten, but not down for the count. “Ugh,” she staggered, finding it difficult to keep balanced. “Don’t think we’re through. You’re all jokes; you know that, right? I mean, look at you; you're fused again? I bet if I had someone to fuse with I'd—”

Every Gem froze as a pile of rubble close to Jasper began to move. With some effort, Peridot blasted free, her fingers in the form of a drill. Mumbling something incoherent to herself, she dusts herself off before noticing the others. Appearing locked with fear for but a moment, she makes a dash for Jasper, cowering behind her leg.

Grinning like a mad Gem, Jasper whipped around and pulled Peridot forward, keeping a tight grip on her arm. “Peridot, fuse with me, now!”

“What? But I –why?”

“Our enemies are not vanquished yet!” Jasper growled. “These Gems are traitors to their Homeworld. I am your commanding officer and I’ve given you a direct order. Unless you want to be lumped in with them you will follow it!”

“Nuh-uh,” Garnet shouted, not waiting for an answer. “Not happening!” With impressive speed she charged forward, both gauntlets summoned and ready to go.

“Aah!” Peridot whined, and with her free arm emitted a force field around Garnet, suspending her in the air. She launched her backwards right away, knocking over the Crystal Gems like bowling pins, with only Steven managing to dive out of the way in time.

“Come on, you worthless runt!” said Jasper, her voice softening slightly. “Give it to me.” Reluctantly, Peridot offered her hand. The two danced quickly, no beauty or grace in their moves, just cold robotic pragmatism. It seemed this was enough, though, as the two gems began to glow, Jasper and Peridot turning into a single amorphous blob of light.

After a few short terrifying seconds, the fusion emerged. Standing slightly taller than Opal and possessing four arms like her, this new being had a terrifying look in her three eyes. Her hair stood tall like Peridot’s but was long and wild like Jasper’s. Her skin was a horrid swirl of pale orange and green, and her smile showed off numerous sharp teeth. Her jumpsuit was mostly pine green and black, possessing a giant yellow diamond emblazoned on the chest. Just looking at her sent chills down Steven’s spine.

Finding their bearings, the Crystal Gems stood poised, ready for whatever this monstrosity could throw at them. She began a horrifying maniacal laugh; the two voices overlapping made Steven want to cover his ears. Smiling like she knew something the Crystal Gems didn’t, she summoned Jasper’s helmet and immediately took it off. Holding out one of Peridot’s arms, four of the fingers faced inward while the fifth pointed forward, vaguely resembling a gun of some sort. The fusion stuck the helmet onto the end of the gun, and it made an electrical click. The look in her eyes growing more intense, the helmet component began to glow. Aiming directly at Steven, she fired.

There was an instant shockwave, like the air itself was struggling to get out of the way of the projectile. Garnet grabbed Steven and dove right while the others dove left. Steven was thankful she did, because after his fight with Jasper he wasn’t sure he had another bubble in him, or that it even would have stopped…whatever it was Jasper and Peridot just shot at them.

The missile hit the ground in between the Crystal Gems. After approximately 4 seconds of silence, it exploded, sending shrapnel flying in every direction. Steven screamed, in part because of the loud noise, but mainly because he could hear Pearl and Amethyst being poofed and retreating into their gems. Garnet grimaced in pain and sunk lower on top of Steven.

“Steven, I—” Her words were cut off as she split back into Ruby and Sapphire. The two groaned and appeared disoriented, like someone had violently awoken them from a pleasant dream.

“Ruby! Sapphire!” Steven exclaimed. His voiced seemed to sober them, and they immediately looked up at Steven, their faces tense and afraid. Reaching out for each other, eager to be Garnet again, their reunion was interrupted as their foe appeared behind them, with speed and silence that did not denote her size. She immediately grabbed a hold of Sapphire and threw her far behind her. She sneered down at Steven and Ruby, and the two flinched.

She held up her arm, one of Peridot’s, and readied herself to strike. Steven and Ruby gripped each other, paralyzed; Steven with fear and Ruby a mixture of fear and fury. The fusion laughed and extended the arm behind her back. The fingers began spinning and blurring into each other, and the helicopter arm carried her backwards. She held that sneer on the two mortified Gems, flying backwards for a minute before turning in midair, her sights set on Sapphire.

“Steven, listen to me,” Ruby said, turning towards him and cupping his face in her hands. He could tell from her eyes that she was unbelievably scared, but she kept her face stern. “I want you to turn around, get to the warp pad, and get as far away from here as you can, alright?”

“I can help, though! I beat Jasper once!”

“That thing isn’t Jasper anymore! Just do as I say, now.”

“But what about you? And Amethyst, and Pearl, and—” They both froze. Neither of them wanted to believe they had heard it, but there it was, still echoing in their ears.

Poof.

Ruby slowly turned her head in the direction that Jasper and Peridot flew. Steven couldn’t bear to look, but he wanted to be brave, so instead of closing his eyes he stayed fixed on Ruby. There were tears in her eyes, and she looked like she wanted to scream, but no sound was coming out of her mouth. Across the beach stood Jasper and Peridot’s fusion, cackling wildly with a blue gem in her hands.

“Yes! Yet another victory for the mighty Unakite!” she belted, holding up Sapphire’s gem like a sick war trophy. To Ruby and Steven’s horror, she then bubbled it. The bubble was an ugly murky brown colour, and in seconds it was gone, transported away to wherever Unakite had sent it. She saw Ruby looking at her and gave a sadistic wink in response.

Ruby wiped away her tears, and with them went her scared demeanor. It was replaced instead with a look of fiery determination. “Steven, run!” she shouted, not even looking back as she began her mad charge down the beach. Steven’s heart leapt into his throat; in that moment she had sounded just like Garnet.

But before he knew it, he was already running in the opposite direction towards the house. He wasn’t sure what got his legs moving; something inside of him that told him to get out of there, that there would be time to fight another day. Without a second thought he planted his feet in the sand and snapped to a halt. That wasn’t how a Crystal Gem did things. And right now the Crystal Gems, his friends, needed him.

And that was when he saw it. If he had kept running he might have mistaken it for a tear in his eye, but there was definitely something glinting in the sand. It was…Pearl! Pearl’s gem lay half buried in the sand a few feet to Steven’s right. This was perfect! While Ruby’s distracting Unakite, Steven could bubble Pearl and Amethyst’s gems and regroup with them in the temple. Maybe Opal could stand up to Jasper and Peridot.

Steven staggered hurriedly towards Pearl’s gem and reached out to bubble it, but he pulled his hand back when he saw something race through the sand towards it. Another murky brown bubble formed around the shiny white stone, and Steven could see the thing in the sand was one of Peridot’s fingers, moving autonomously. It tapped the bubble and it disappeared. Steven hissed in frustration and tried to step on the finger, but it flew away too quickly.

He looked over to where Ruby and Unakite were fighting. Unakite was just toying with her. Ruby had on her right hand a tiny gauntlet which resembled a boxing glove. She was running circles back and forth around her foe, painting Unakite with punches until she lunged for her, forcing Ruby to dive in the opposite direction. Unakite didn’t summon her grenade launcher once.

Steven forced himself to look away, and he scanned the beach for Amethyst’s gem. He made a dash for it as soon as he saw the gleam, but by then he realized he was too late; Peridot’s stray finger was already halfway there. “No!” he shouted as soon as it was bubbled and sent away. Ruby and Unakite stopped their fighting to look his way, Unakite out of annoyance and Ruby out of concern. The tiny red Gem turned her attention back to her opponent first, and dove in the air to deliver a swift punch straight to her face. This seemed to cause Unakite a fair bit of pain, but before Ruby could even hit the ground again Unakite caught her with one of Peridot’s hands and held her at arm’s length. Ruby could do nothing but flail wildly in response.

“You have a real problem with manners,” Unakite said tauntingly, and she sent a jolt of electricity through Ruby’s body. Her eyes went wide and her body writhed and thrashed, but she did not retreat into her gem. Instead she went limp and was knocked unconscious. Unakite took a good look at her, clearly pleased with herself. “I wanna save you for last, little Gem,” and she tossed her body away like a fiery rag doll. She next set her sights on Steven a little further away, and the look in her eyes made Steven’s blood turn cold.

His knees shook, but again that thing inside him convinced him to turn around and run. His eyes fixed on the house and on the warp pad inside, and he forced everything else out of his mind. It made it all the more shocking then when Unakite dropped out of the sky in front of him, barring his path with that same wild look in her eyes.

“Oh, going so soon, Ste-ven?” Steven whelped in response and turned on a pivot. Before he could gain any ground, though, Unakite extended both of Peridot’s arms. Rather than form her grenade launcher, she instead made them into those helicopter hands and began blowing sand all over the beach. Steven was knocked over and he got a mouthful of the stuff. Unakite began laughing maniacally when that happened. Steven wanted to cry, but when he looked up he realized Unakite had completely disappeared in the sand cloud. The wind kept roaring, however, and he could still vaguely hear that laugh through it. He could still get away.

He struggled to get up, and he took off towards the direction he remembered the debris of the spaceship being in. The sandstorm got thinner and thinner, which prevented Steven from running head first into a big green chunk of Gem-tech. He dove left straight into what looked like a safer pile.

“Oh-ho!” Unakite bellowed, realizing her folly. “You think you can get away, do you? Well, let me tell you, none are safe from the great Unakite!” She summoned her grenade launcher again and began firing shots all along the perimeter of the crash site. None hit Steven, but he could feel the heat and the explosions resonate through the rubble, which drove him further in. “This is going to be fun!” Unakite declared enthusiastically, and took off into the air, one of Peridot’s helicopter hands behind her back.

Steven wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand he wanted to keep moving, but he worried that if he did then Unakite would see him. If he stayed put, though, she would eventually find him, or worse, hit him with her grenade launcher. His fears were confirmed when she fired two shots in rapid succession, aiming for random spots across the beach. Reluctantly, Steven scurried further on, figuring a spot near where she fired before would be the safer place to hide.

He didn’t get far, though, before his head bumped into a pile of jagged panels leaning up against one another. They began to move as if about to fall over, and Steven held his breath. The pile collapsed outwards and for a moment he thought he was doomed. All that changed, however, when a blue shadow emerged from within.

“Lapis!” Steven shouted, his temporary panic making him forget stealth. He immediately ran to her and wrapped his arms around her legs. Her dress was torn and her face was covered with dirt; she looked utterly exhausted.

“Steven?” she sputtered, confused and disoriented. “What’s—?”

“Aha!” Unakite interrupted, screaming triumphantly from above. She aimed her cannon at the pair and fired. Lapis grabbed Steven, summoned her wings and leapt a few feet down the beach into a clearing amongst the rubble. Unakite fired another shot, and Lapis barely managed to summon an arm of water from the sea to shield them both.

“Steven, where are the Crystal Gems?”

“She took them!” Steven cried, tears streaming down his face. “All of them except Ruby. Lapis, what are we gonna do?” She didn’t have time to figure that out, though, as Unakite landed just a few feet in front of them. “Lapis!”

“I’m thinking, Steven!” As if by instinct, Steven got behind Lapis. He may have fought Jasper less than an hour ago, but now he was just scared.

“Lapis, do something!” Steven was frantic.

A frustrated scowl manifested on Lapis’ face. “This is why I said we couldn’t fight them, Steven,” she barked, not taking her eyes off their foe.

“Sure we can!” Something new had entered Steven’s voice. He was still terrified, more so than he had ever been, but they couldn’t just give up like this; now he was indignant. “You fought me and the Crystal Gems last summer. Just do what you did then.”

Lapis said nothing, but her head bowed as if out of shame. Steven wanted to protest further, but his voice got caught in a sob. Suddenly, without warning, there was a massive splash in the ocean. Steven and Unakite shared a look of disbelief as another Unakite, made entirely out of water, dove out of the surf and landed in front of its twin. Its eyes were glassy, but they conveyed horrible rage.

A laugh escaped Steven’s mouth and he quickly clasped a hand over it. Unakite took a step back as if afraid, but held her ground. She raised her cannon arm wordlessly and fired a grenade, hitting her double in the chest. It floated for a mere moment before exploding, evaporating the liquid puppet.

Lapis glanced behind her, first at Steven and then the subsequent landscape, scanning if the way was clear. “Steven, when I say run, I want you to—” A barrage of explosions from either side of the duo cut her off. Unakite had them in her sights, and she wasn’t about to let her prey go.

She marched towards them at half speed, wanting to savor the moment. “Surrender now and I’m sure Yellow Diamond will go easy on you. I won’t, of course. But look at it this way: I’ll have to hand you over eventually.”

Steven cowered behind Lapis. She thought she could hear him muttering the names of the Crystal Gems. Tears cascaded down his face, his eyes closed and his head in his hands. Lapis couldn’t bear to look at him, so instead she turned to face Unakite, who stopped immediately in front of her.

“Do you have any last words?” the demented fusion taunted.

“Just three,” Lapis declared, trying to hide her fear. Her fingers tensed at her side, a jolt of energy going up and down her arm. “Steven, go now!” Lapis’ hand flew forward, fingers suddenly pressed together and pointing at Unakite. All at once six tears flew off Steven’s face, two hitting each of Unakite’s three eyes. She howled in pain, a yelping, inhuman cry. Lapis gave Steven a shove, which seemed to bring him around. He ran a few feet with Lapis close behind but then stopped suddenly. Almost bowling him over, Lapis grunted. “What are you doing? We need to—”

This time Steven cut her off. “We can’t keep running. She’s too fast and she’s too strong; she’ll get us. Plus, she has my friends!”

“We don’t have time to discuss this, she’s right behind us! Neither of us are strong enough to—”

“Maybe not on our own.”

“What do you mean?” Lapis asked, concerned.

“Let’s beat a fusion with another fusion!” There were stars in Steven’s eyes as he spoke. “You and I kick all kinds of butt, imagine what we could do together!”

“Fuse? Me and you?” Lapis was taken aback; she really wasn’t expecting that. “I don’t… how could—?” she was cut off again by another roar from Unakite. She had recovered from Lapis’ sucker punch and was charging at the two like a mad wind-up toy.

Steven held out a hand to his friend. “I trust you. Do you trust me?” Unakite was getting dangerously close. Lapis looked at Steven’s hand and then down the beach at the Homeworld warrior. Barely comprehending what she was doing, Lapis waved both arms from left to right. A massive wave engulfed the beach, magically leaving a dry ring around Steven and Lapis while knocking Unakite off her feet, slamming her into several large pieces of debris. Reluctantly, Lapis took Steven’s hand. He smiled, but then blushed and said shyly, “Uh, maybe you should lead.”

She started their dance, and Steven closed his eyes and thought of the Gems. He thought of Amethyst as they bobbed back and forth, and how happy she had been on the Homeworld ship when she saw he had beaten Jasper. When Lapis spun him he thought of Pearl and how proudly she had looked at him after the ship crashed. Finally Lapis dipped him and he thought of Garnet; how happy she had looked when she was finally back together, and his gem glowed.

It felt different from the time he fused with Connie. He knew Gems’ bodies were made out of light, so fusing with Lapis felt warmer and softer. For a second he forgot himself and Lapis; only this new being existed. The name ‘Charoite’ stuck out in their mind. Suddenly a wave of unfamiliar emotions came flooding in, and Steven remembered who he was. There was fear but there was hope, there was joy but there was melancholy, there was anxiety yet optimism.

“Aha, I did it!” they chimed. Looking down at their reflection in a puddle, Charoite took themself in. They were about as tall as Pearl now, and their skin was a light purple shade like Amethyst’s. Their hair mainly resembled Lapis’, but with a curly, wavy quality like Steven’s. Their face was an even mix of the both of them, and stars appeared in their eyes when they saw how striking they looked. They wore jeans like Steven’s, which were a dark indigo color and ended just below the knee. Their shirt looked like the top half of the dress that Lapis wore, with an exposed stomach and open back, held together at the neck with a bow. It was a lighter shade of indigo, with a diamond on the front the same shade as the pants, and a pale white star in the middle. “I look so cool,” Charoite whispered stoically.

The awe was broken when Unakite got to her feet again. Charoite bolted upright and did their best to look intimidating. “Oh, now that’s just rich,” Unakite bellowed. “An anachronistic traitor and a hybrid abomination, fused!” She started laughing hysterically. “Do you really think you can accomplish what neither of you could on your own?”

“Well I guess we’re both going to find out.” Charoite didn’t wait for Unakite to finish laughing. They raised their hand up dramatically, pulling all the water left on the beach into one spot around Unakite and shooting her into the air on a geyser, turning her laugh into a scream. Her face hit the sand first as she fell, and Charoite’s resolve broke; this time it was their turn to laugh uncontrollably, tears streaming down their face. Unakite grimaced and fired at the fusion.

Charoite’s reflexes were superhuman, pulling another long, thick, arm of water out of the ocean. They had stopped laughing but a smile remained. The arm spun around Charoite twice, forming a barrier with a tendril out front to bat the shot away. The image reminded Steven of an elephant, and suddenly Lapis’ mind was flooded with images of elephants from books, movies and TV shows. She was humbled. Taking inspiration from a nature documentary Steven had watched late at night when he was little, Charoite brought the trunk down on Unakite in a guillotine-like motion.

Miraculously, Unakite caught the arm with one hand. She channeled a jolt of electricity through the arm which sent Charoite reeling backwards. Wicked determination draped across her face, Unakite flew into the air like an actor in a harness and came slamming down hard. Charoite sprouted wings and flew up into the air as their foe dropped, making the two look like a circus act. A roar came from the ground, followed by grenade after grenade. Before Charoite could even react, about a dozen hovered around her in a grid pattern. Instinctually, Charoite brought up Steven’s bubble, which came out periwinkle and formed around the fusion in the shape of a water lily. It didn’t last long, though, as each explosive went off at once. Charoite hit the ground with an unpleasant thunk.

“So it finally ends,” Unakite moaned triumphantly. She held up one of Peridot’s hands and began spinning the fingers like a drill. “I’m going to have a lot of fun tearing you two apart as slowly as possible. I’ll just have to lie to Yellow Diamond and say you put up a fight. Ha!” Struggling to get up, Charoite winced with pain but held their ground. “What? Haven’t you figured it out yet? It’s over; you could never hope to be strong like I am. But if you insist on being showy,” said Unakite, stopping the drill and readying a grenade, “I can just blow you both to oblivion instead.”

“But I’m—” Charoite winced again; it hurt to talk. Unakite paused in mock anticipation. “I am strong in the real way!” Deep within Charoite, Steven wasn’t sure how, but he gasped.

Lapis! Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

What? No, I—wait, no. Yes, I’ve got it. Do you think that would work?

“You’re pitiful,” Unakite said sombrely. “Goodbye!” And she fired.

Yeah! Help me do the thing.

With one swift motion Charoite summoned Steven’s shield and Lapis’ wings. They folded the wings in front of them, and the water began to knit itself into the shield like yarn into an afghan. Almost instantaneously it began to change shape, resembling the mirror Lapis was once trapped in and composed of an indigo light with a glossy surface. Light reflected off it with shining brilliance that blinded Unakite momentarily. There was a sharp ping as her projectile bounced off it.

It happened so fast. The grenade hit Unakite square in the chest and exploded with fire, shrapnel and smoke. Jasper and Peridot were thrown apart immediately, which released a puff of Gem stuff, and the two together brought up a cloud of sand. The result was a small mushroom cloud in the middle of the beach.

Steven’s pride at the accomplishment melded with Lapis’ cold determination to finish the job, giving Charoite an enthused fury. They held out their arms at right angles and did a half spin, pulling a large whirlpool out of the ocean to strip away the cloud, revealing a horrified looking Jasper and a half-conscious Peridot. The larger Gem, in a panic, reached for her partner, but Charoite brought the whirlpool down on Peridot and sent her rushing into the ocean. With an opposite sweep of their hand they brought the torrent back out, minus Peridot, and coiled it around Jasper like a snake.

“You can’t do this!” Jasper wailed. Charoite approached the helpless foe, their fury getting less enthused by the second.

“Where did you send the Crystal Gems?” Charoite demanded. Jasper ceased her writhing, her face wide-eyed and blank. She began a maniacal laugh so suddenly it made Charoite flinch. They kept their firm demeanor, though, and began constricting the snake further. Jasper’s laugh seamlessly turned into a moan. “Where?!”

“Alright, alright!” Jasper sputtered. “I’ll tell you. Come closer.” Charoite approached cautiously. “Closer! Secrets need to be whispered.” Charoite held their ground and offered their best look of contempt. “Come on, don’t you want to see your friends again?” And Steven did. And if it weren’t for that fact and Lapis being emotionally exhausted, Charoite may have just poofed Jasper then and there. But the fact was they both just wanted this nightmare to be over. “The secret is—” Jasper whispered to the fusion, pausing for dramatic effect. Charoite leaned closer, their face just inches from Jasper’s. “The secret is that you’ll never see your friends again!” and with mechanical reflexes, Jasper flung her head back, summoned her helmet, and brought it down on Charoite’s head.

There was a flash of pain, then darkness. The next thing Steven saw was a fuzzy pink blob, and he saw it with his own eyes. They opened but then shut again when the light attacked them. He squinted, and he was able to make out his dad and Lion.

“Steven!” Greg bellowed. “Oh, you had us so worried, kiddo.”

“Ugh,” said Steven. It still hurt to talk. “Where’s…?” And suddenly he bolted upright. It hurt more to move, but he scanned the beach fervently. A few feet down the surf he saw Lapis sitting down with her arms wrapped around her knees. Steven got up and tried to sprint to her but tripped. Greg helped him up and tried to ask if he was ok, but he was already running again. “Lapis! What happened?”

She was staring out at the ocean, her face expressionless. “Jasper knocked us out.” She didn’t even turn to look at Steven. “When I came to she was gone. There was no trace of her.”

“Are you hurt? Is there something I can do?” Lapis said nothing; she didn’t even move. “Lapis…” By now Steven’s wits had returned to him, and he could suddenly hear grumbling across the beach. He turned and was shocked at how wavy the air seemed, like a highway in the middle of summer. He could just barely make out Ruby in the middle of it. He looked back at Lapis for a moment before rushing to his other friend.

The heat coming off Ruby was immense. All around her bits of sand were fused into glass. Steven meant to embrace her, but it felt like a furnace when he got too close, so he jumped back. “Whoa, easy, buddy!” Greg called in concern.

Some hot air found its way into Steven’s mouth and he choked. “Lapis!” he managed to cry. His voice seemed to snap Lapis out of her daze, and when she saw what was going on she fired some water at Ruby. When the steam cleared Steven ran to his friend. She was rocking back and forth in the fetal position and looked more upset than Steven knew how to process.

“They’re gone. I’m alone and they’re all gone,” she kept repeating. Steven put his hands on his shoulders to try and steady her. She was still quite hot, but he managed. Greg, Lion and Lapis made their way over. “I’m alone and they’re gone!”

“Ruby, listen to me!”

“I’m not supposed to be alone. I’ve always had Sapphire. I don’t do alone!” She had her head in her hands and was shaking back and forth.

“Ruby, listen!” Steven didn’t like to shout, but she was scaring him. “You’re not alone. You’ve got me.” Ruby looked at him but said nothing. She looked like she wanted to cry. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared too, but that doesn’t change anything. Jasper’s out there somewhere and she knows where our friends are. We’ll find her, and then we’ll get them back.”

“Steven…” Ruby’s voice was so empty.

“And we’re not alone either! We’ve got dad. And Lion!” Greg managed a smile and Lion roared in affirmation. “Lapis is going to help us too.” This took Lapis by surprise. She bowed her head and began rubbing her upper arm, saying nothing, but not turning away. This time Ruby did cry, and she met Steven in a hug. The tender moment was broken up by a splashing coming from the surf. The group turned to see a waterlogged Peridot wash up on the beach. Steven eyed her stoically.

“And so is she.”