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Once again Steven craned his neck to check the warp pad and once again he saw it was empty. It was pointless, and he knew so; it would be impossible to miss the beam of light when it came. But what more could he do?
He craned his neck in the opposite direction to face Connie, who was lying on the other end of the couch. ‘What time is it now?’ He asked.
Connie checked her watch. ‘8:37 PM. Has Pearl ever been this late before?’
‘No.’ He replied. ‘Well, yeah, but never for movie night.’ He admitted. Thoughts began to rush through his mind. He sat up. ‘What if something happened to her?’ He wondered aloud. ‘What if she got captured? Or poofed? Or cracked?!’
‘Hey,’ Connie shuffled over to Steven and placed her hands on his shoulders. ‘I’m sure she’s fine. If anything went wrong, she’d let you know.’
As if on cue, Steven felt his phone vibrate; it was a message from Pearl. He read it aloud:
Hello Steven,
Sorry, I’m going to be a bit late for movie night tonight.
This mission is taking longer than I expected.
Ask Greg to take you instead.
I should be back in time for the movie.
Love Pearl xx
Below the message was a blurred image of what he could only assume was another corrupted Gem.
‘Okay, so we’ll just ask your dad.’ Connie said.
‘He’s working late at the car wash.' Steven replied. ‘And we can’t go out this late without supervision.’
‘What about Stevonnie?’ Connie suggested. ‘They don’t need supervision.’
‘The store banned them, remember? Something about lions not being allowed on the premises.’
‘Don’t remind me.’
Steven groaned. ‘What do we do? Pearl might not be back for hours!’
The two of them paused to think.
After a few seconds, Connie spoke again: ‘What about Garnet?’
Garnet. Steven turned his gaze to the temple door. It seemed that recently Garnet had been spending every moment of free time in her room, only emerging for missions or the occasional activity. And she was quieter, too - she would hardly speak at all unless spoken to, and even then her responses would often be short and direct. More than once they had even caught her spacing out, as though her mind was on something else entirely. And it wasn’t difficult for Steven to guess what it was.
Night after night, his dreams kept returning to the control room under the Prime Kindergarten. It had been weeks ago now, and yet it was still so vivid: clusters of gem shards, fragments of living beings forced together in ways never intended, pleading for help with no mouths to scream from. Not just living beings - the other Crystal Gems, people she knew and loved, shattered during the war and presumed lost forever. For the first time ever he had seen Garnet completely paralysed with fear, unable or perhaps refusing to comprehend Homeworld’s corruption of the process which defined her. If it hadn’t been for her sudden second wind then her fusion would have broken down entirely.
To his knowledge, Garnet had never told Pearl or Amethyst what had happened that day - not beyond the broad strokes, anyway. Even when they had each taken him aside to ask him about it, he had given more or less the same answer. He hadn’t exactly been lying, and yet he hadn’t quite told them the truth either; something about telling them without Garnet’s knowledge just felt wrong, like he was violating her privacy. At any rate, neither of them had seemed satisfied, and he knew they both suspected that something was wrong.
Without warning the temple door opened and Garnet stepped out. Steven quickly averted his gaze, trying not to make it look like he had been staring.
‘I take it there’s no word from Pearl.’ She said, more as a statement than a question.
‘Just this.’ Steven showed her the text. ‘And Dad’s too busy to take us either. What should we do?’
‘Simple.’ Garnet replied. ‘We wait.’
‘But we’ve already been waiting for hours!’ Connie protested.
‘I didn’t mean to wait for Pearl.’
Before Steven could ask what she meant the front door was flung open. Amethyst entered with a pile of snacks balanced in one hand.
‘AYO, LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!’ She shouted. Then she noticed the three of them staring, and her face fell. ‘Okay, who died?’
Garnet stepped forward. ‘Pearl’s running late. So I need you to take Steven and Connie down to the video store while I hold down the fort.’
Everyone reacted with similar levels of disbelief.
‘I thought Pearl banned me from taking them out by myself after that trip to the Sky Monolith.’ Amethyst said. ‘Even though I had that under control.’ She muttered.
‘I mean, we were almost killed.’ Connie said.
‘Yeah, ALMOST.’ Amethyst countered.
‘Well, Pearl isn’t here right now. So you have my permission.’ Garnet said.
‘But Pearl says we have to be accompanied by a mature and responsible adult.’ Said Steven.
‘Well, I’m definitely one of those things.’ Amethyst said. ‘C’mon, it could be fun!’
‘Well, it would save a lot of time-’
‘That’s the spirit!’ Amethyst whooped, tossing the snacks into a messy pile on the coffee table. For a moment her body was engulfed in purple light and she morphed into her Purple Puma form. Steven and Connie ran over for Amethyst to scoop them up and place them on her shoulders.
‘We’ll be back soon!’ She said to Garnet.
Garnet watched them leave, realising a little too late that this may have been a mistake.
Movie night had been Steven’s idea. Their schedules had always been hectic, so he thought it was good to have at least one scheduled time for all of them to be together as a family. So every Saturday night, when nobody was on a mission and Connie would be out of school, Pearl would take Steven and Connie down to Mockbuster Video to pick out a movie to rent. Nothing inappropriate, of course - Pearl made sure of that.
Amethyst skidded to a halt outside the video store, setting Steven and Connie back down and reverting back to her regular form. They walked in and were greeted by the familiar sight of fluorescent lights, bowling alley carpet and unlicensed music blaring over the speakers. And of course, shelves stacked high with video cassette tapes. As usual, Steven and Connie headed for the “FAMILY” section. With any luck they’d be able to find something they hadn’t seen two or three times already. Amethyst followed them in… and walked straight through to the next aisle.
‘Uh, Amethyst?’ Connie said. ‘Where are you going?’
Amethyst stopped and turned around. ‘You don’t really want to watch one of those for the bajillionth time, do ya? There’s a whole store full of movies. Let’s check ‘em out!’
As Amethyst disappeared into the “ACTION” section, Steven suddenly remembered why Pearl had banned her from accompanying them.
Still, if they really did have free reign of the store, there was one section which had always intrigued him. He looked over at the aisle marked “HORROR.” It seemed that every time he stopped by the Big Donut, Sadie was raving about some new acquisition to anyone who would listen; titles like A Bad Dream on Birch Lane, In the Eyes of Insanity and I Saw What You Said Last Spring. To someone like Steven, it was like forbidden fruit kept just out of reach… until now.
‘Steven?’
His heart skipped a beat. Evidently Connie had noticed him staring.
He whipped around. ‘I wasn’t looking! I swear!’
But Connie’s tone was far from accusing. If anything, she seemed conflicted.
‘I won’t tell if you don’t.’ She said eventually.
Steven’s face lit up. He took Connie by the hand and the pair made a beeline for the horror aisle, grinning like madmen. Unsurprisingly, Sadie was the only occupant.
‘Oh, hey guys.’ She said, ‘I didn’t know you were into this kind of thing.’
‘Well, technically we’ve never been allowed in here.’ Steven explained.
‘Yeah, that makes sense. Your… aunts don’t seem like they’d approve.’ Sadie replied. Then she grinned. ‘You looking for recommendations?’
‘Yeah! Something really scary!’ Connie said, much to Steven’s surprise. ‘If it’s not too much trouble.’
Somehow Sadie’s smile grew even wider. ‘Well, young grasshoppers, let me see what I can do. What are you looking for? Creature feature? Slasher? Supernatural?’
She might as well have been speaking a different language.
‘Oh. You really are new to this, huh?’
Steven giggled sheepishly. ‘Do you have anything for beginners?’
‘Follow me.’
Sadie led them through the aisle, their tour guide in this uncharted territory. Steven and Connie stared slack-jawed at the various box covers: a man skewered through the mouth by a shish kebab, green fog pouring out of a metal pod, a mysterious metal figure holding a bag of mangled limbs. It was like they had stumbled upon some kind of forbidden art gallery.
‘Ah, here we are!’ Sadie reached up, took a box from the shelf and handed it to Steven.
Gremsters. The cover showed a pair of small, furry hands reaching out from inside a cardboard box. Something that even Pearl would likely approve of.
‘Oh. Thanks.’ Steven said, trying and failing not to sound disappointed.
‘Something wrong? You said you wanted something for beginners.’
‘Yeaaaah, but–‘
Connie cut him off. ‘I think what Steven’s trying to say is that we were looking for something a bit more…’ She scanned the shelves until something caught her eye. ‘…like this!’ She grabbed the video in question.
‘“Groom of Re-Suscitator.”’ Steven read aloud. ‘“Jeffrey North has a good eye for talent… and some even better ones in a jar on his desk?!"' The neon blue lettering was accompanied by an image of a wide-eyed man in a lab coat and glasses looming over a jar filled to the brim with severed eyeballs.
Sadie peered over. ‘Are you sure about that one? It’s pretty hardcore, even for my tastes.’
‘Well, some might say I’m a pretty hardcore guy.’ Steven countered, puffing out his chest.
Sadie raised an eyebrow. ‘Yesterday you almost cried when I told you we were out of sprinkles.’
‘Well yeah, but… they’re the best part of a donut!’
Once again, Connie spoke up. ‘I think we’ve seen worse than any scary movie could offer. Right Steven?’
Before Steven could answer, Sadie replied: ‘Well, if you’re sure. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’ With that, she went back to browsing the shelves.
‘Thanks Sadie!’ Steven said.
He rushed to catch up with Connie, who was already on her way to the checkout. By the time he reached her she was already counting out money from her purse.
‘Hey Connie, are you sure about this?’ He wheezed, ‘I don’t think Sadie was kidding.’
She sighed. ‘I know, it’s just that… my parents would never let me watch this kind of stuff. And it sounds like the Gems don’t like it either. This might be our only chance to see something like this.’ Her expression was sincere. This clearly meant a lot to her.
Steven smiled. ‘Okay, let’s do it.’
This time it was Connie’s eyes who sparkled.
Just then Amethyst poked her head around the corner, at least half a dozen tapes clutched to her chest. ‘You guys ready? Let’s grab these babies and go!’
‘Coming!’ They said in unison.
Amethyst headed straight for the exit. Steven gently but firmly took her by the arm and steered her towards the checkout.
‘Hey, I was kidding!’ She said, ‘So what’d you guys get, anyway?’
Even with Amethyst, the kind of Gem who would probably help them hide a body if the situation arose, Steven still found himself hesitating. He slowly turned the box around so that she could see the cover, avoiding any eye contact.
Amethyst’s eyes widened. ‘Damn, you’re not messing around. I’m impressed.’
‘So… it’s okay if we rent it?’ Steven asked.
The sight of their hopeful expressions made Amethyst wheeze with laughter. ‘Oh, you guys are precious! Sure, knock yourselves out.’
Steven and Connie leapt on Amethyst in a bear hug, almost knocking her over.
No sooner had they made it through the front door than the warp pad lit up in a brilliant beacon of light. Moments later it dissipated, leaving a dishevelled-looking Pearl in its place. Garnet wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.
‘Sorry I’m late.’ She panted, brushing some residual snow from her clothes. ‘You’d be surprised how hard it is to impale a creature made of ice. Did you two choose something nice?’
‘Yep!’ Steven replied. ‘Amethyst helped us!’
Amethyst stepped out from behind them. ‘Yo.’
Judging by her expression, Pearl appeared to be going through the five stages of grief. ‘I thought I banned you from taking them out.’
‘It’s all good. Garnet said I could.’
‘It’s true.’ Garnet said. She extended her hand. ‘Let me see.’
Trembling a little, Steven handed the video to her. As expected, Pearl looked horrified. Garnet’s expression on the other hand was hard to read, as it often was. She examined the cover, then the back, then gave it back to Steven. ‘You two can watch this,’ She said, ‘But not on your own.’
Pearl looked aghast. ‘You can’t be serious.’
‘Trust me, it could’ve been much worse.’ Garnet adjusted her visor.
‘B-but it’s completely inappropriate!’ Pearl protested. ‘And how much did all THIS cost?!’ She cried, gesturing to the heap of confectionery on the table.
Amethyst smirked. ‘Bold of you to assume I paid for them.’
Pearl’s eyes narrowed. ‘This conversation isn’t over.’
‘Yeah, sure. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to put these away.’
Tapes in hand, Amethyst ran past Pearl and into the temple, where the videos would likely never see the light of day again.
‘Come on.’ Garnet said, ‘Let’s get things ready.’
Within a few minutes they were all set up in front of the TV by Steven's bed; Steven, Connie and Garnet on the floor while Pearl and Amethyst sat on the bed. Garnet had insisted on having Steven on her lap, hugged against her chest.
The plot followed Doctor Jeffrey North and his quest to gather body parts to construct their version of the perfect mate. Aiding him in this endeavour was his assistant Bruce, who seemed constantly appalled by his actions but apparently never appalled enough to bite the bullet and quit.
Steven and Connie were mesmerised, with Connie even providing a sort of running commentary where she explained how they did all of the special effects. Amethyst was on the edge of her seat, cheering and hollering at the sight of any violence. Even Pearl seemed to be getting invested, if only for the “thing” that Jeffrey and Bruce had going on, though she failed to elaborate on it.
Sure, there were more than a few parts where Garnet had to cover Steven’s eyes or ears, but otherwise it was proving to be surprisingly fun. It wasn’t dissimilar to a regular movie night; having a good time while hanging out with people he loved and consuming unholy quantities of sugar.
So as the film reached its climax, just about everyone seemed to be hooked for one reason or another. Doctor North’s creation was nearing completion, but the police were closing in at the same time. Just as the creature came to life, the wall of their makeshift lab burst open and something came crawling out.
Everyone gasped in unison. Steven felt Garnet’s arms tighten around him a little.
It was all of the rejected experiments. Loose collections of defective body parts, little more than rough drafts of living beings, shoved aside to rot once they had saved their purpose. Not dead but never quite alive either. They poured out of the hole in the wall, their actions being more akin to wild flailings than coordinated movements.
With all the carnage unfurling onscreen, Steven expected Garnet to cover his eyes. Instead, she only continued to draw him closer and closer against her. He found himself struggling to breathe. The crushing pressure threatened to cut off his airflow entirely. Meanwhile Garnet’s breathing only seemed to be growing faster, bordering on hyperventilation. He scrabbled against her vice-like grip, trying to get her attention, but all three of her eyes were transfixed on the TV screen.
His heartbeat started ringing in his ears. His vision began to blur…
‘Garnet! You’re hurting him!’ Connie screamed.
Garnet released her grip on Steven, who flopped onto the floor, gasping for air. Pearl and Connie rushed to his aid.
Amethyst on the other hand, turned her attention to Garnet. ‘What the hell was that?! You almost crushed him!’ She yelled.
But Garnet didn’t respond. In fact, she seemed completely unaware that Amethyst was even talking to her. As Connie helped him sit up, Steven saw that Garnet was drenched in sweat, backing away from… something. Then she stepped back onto empty air, lost her balance and fell from the alcove.
With mere seconds to react Amethyst drew her whip and snapped it around Garnet’s wrist. For a moment it held, and Garnet teetered on the precipice as Amethyst strained against her weight. Then the cord snapped, sending Garnet crashing to the living room floor.
Steven got to his feet. The others scrambled to help her.
Steven had expected the couch to cushion Garnet’s fall, but now he saw that she had landed on the coffee table, breaking it in half. When he got downstairs Garnet had withdrawn into the house’s temple section. Her gauntlets were equipped and she had assumed a fighting stance.
‘Garnet, it’s okay!’ Pearl exclaimed. ‘We’re trying to help you!’
‘STAY AWAY FROM ME!’ She roared.
Garnet swung blindly with her gauntlets, forcing them to stay back. But it didn’t seem targeted at them; she seemed to be hallucinating, lashing out at a threat which wasn’t there. But as far as she was concerned, it was all too real.
‘Garnet, chill out! We’re your friends!’ Amethyst yelled, ‘Pearl, what do we do?!’
‘I don’t know!’ Pearl cried, ‘This has never happened before!’
‘I think she’s having a panic attack!’ Connie said, ‘My mom taught me how to recognise them!’
‘So how do we help her?’ Steven asked.
‘I’ll show you.’ Connie offered him her hand.
One look in her eyes and Steven immediately knew what Connie was thinking. He took her hand. He felt himself begin to fuse with her, their minds and bodies shifting, growing, morphing into one. Except the process felt more difficult than usual, almost as though they had to force it to happen.
Still, when their eyes opened they were Stevonnie. The relevant information was suddenly there in their mind, as though Steven had known it all along. In turn, Steven opened his own mind to her, and with it the memories of what he and Garnet had seen that day. There was a brief shock, then understanding.
They started to approach Garnet, being careful not to move too quickly or make any sudden movements. By now her blind attacks had stopped; she was hugging her knees to her chest, a steady flow of tears streaming out from beneath her visor. Stevonnie continued inching forwards until they were close enough to make physical contact.
‘Garnet?’ Stevonnie spoke softly, as though to a frightened child, ‘Is it okay if I sit here?’
After a few moments, Garnet nodded.
‘Okay.’ They sat down next to her, cross-legged. ‘If anything I do makes you uncomfortable, then just let me know, okay?’
Another nod.
‘Can you give me your hand?’
Garnet offered her hand to them. The sapphire gemstone was glistening with sweat. It was still trembling, and Stevonnie put their other hand over hers to steady it.
‘I need you to breathe with me. Do you think you can do that?’
Garnet nodded again, less hesitantly this time.
They took a deep breath, just as Dr Maheswaran had said, inhaling for three seconds and exhaling for five. Garnet copied them. They did so again and again, with Garnet’s breathing slowing a little each time until it was more or less back to normal.
‘You’re doing just fine.’ Stevonnie whispered. They turned to the others. ‘Do we have any lavender, or something similar?’
‘I think Pearl has that fancy tea.’ Amethyst said.
‘That’ll do.’ Stevonnie said, getting up.
‘No!’ Garnet’s hands clamped shut around theirs, ‘Sorry, I just… I don’t want to be alone right now.’
‘Alright. That’s fine.’ Stevonnie assured her, sitting back down, ‘Pearl?’
‘On it.’ Pearl replied. She went into the kitchen.
The lavender tea would take a few minutes. In the meantime, Stevonnie did some more breathing exercises with Garnet, along with other measures like counting to ten. Amethyst ran back and forward, providing cushions, stuffed animals and anything that would help to make Garnet more comfortable. By the time the tea was ready, she had almost completely calmed down.
‘How are you feeling?’ Stevonnie asked.
Garnet sipped the tea. ‘Better.’ She replied, her voice still slightly raw, ‘Thank you.’
‘I’m just going to talk to the others for a minute. Is that alright?’
‘I think so.’
‘Okay. If you need me, just let me know.’
Pearl and Amethyst were waiting by the couch, understandably looking concerned. They saw Stevonnie coming over and perked up.
‘How’s Garnet?’ Pearl asked, ‘Is she feeling alright?’
‘Yeah. She’s a lot better now.’
‘So no more yelling, punching, that kind of stuff?’ Amethyst said.
‘No. But the most important thing right now is keeping her calm.’
‘What do you think caused that, anyway?’ Amethyst asked.
‘I don’t know. I’ve never seen her like this.’ Pearl answered.
‘Well, why don’t we just ask her?’ Amethyst started towards Garnet, only for Stevonnie to block her path.
‘I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. Crowding her when she’s like this might just make it worse.’ Stevonnie said.
‘Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you’re not-’ Amethyst stopped herself and sighed. ‘I’m sorry. It’s just that she’s been acting like this for weeks, ever since we got back from the Kindergarten.’
Pearl’s eyes widened with realisation. When she spoke again it was in hushed tones: ‘Could this have something to do with those creatures we found in Peridot’s bunker?’
Stevonnie hesitated. The harmony between their two minds, until now held together through adrenaline and sheer force of will, began to waver. There was so much they could say. They racked their brains for the right response, all the while feeling Amethyst and Pearl’s eyes burning into them.
Fortunately, their thoughts were interrupted.
‘Stevonnie?’ Garnet called.
‘I’ll be right there!’ They replied. Stevonnie turned back to Amethyst and Pearl: ‘I’m going to take her into Mom- Steven-‘ They struggled with the terminology, ‘I’m taking her into the temple to help calm her down. I promise we can talk everything out when we’re done.’
Amethyst looked less than convinced.
‘Amethyst, it’s okay.’ Pearl said, placing a hand on her shoulder, ‘Let’s give her some space.’
After some deliberation, Amethyst sighed. ‘Fine. But no more stalling.’
‘Promise.’
The pink gem in the temple door lit up, revealing the infinite cloudy landscape of Rose’s room. Stevonnie led Garnet inside. Once the temple door closed behind them and they were completely alone, Stevonnie fell to their knees. The instability at their core had reached a fever pitch; no longer one mind, but two psyches thrown out of sync, trying desperately to hold themselves together.
Through the haze of stress and frazzled thoughts, they felt a hand on their shoulder. It was Garnet.
‘It’s okay,’ she said, ‘Just let go.’
And they did. It was like releasing a breath that had been held for an eternity.
With that, the bond was broken. In a flash of light Stevonnie burst apart, hurling Steven and Connie to the ground. Steven shakily got to his feet, still dazed.
‘Staying fused under stress is never easy.' Garnet said, 'Trust me.'
‘But this never would’ve happened if we hadn’t rented that movie!’ Steven cried. He ran to Garnet, hugging her leg. ‘Garnet, I’m sorry! I had no idea that would happen! I didn’t mean to scare you like that!’
‘No, it was my fault! I was the one who chose it!’ Connie said.
To Steven’s surprise, he felt Garnet’s hand ruffle his hair, the gemstone in her palm grazing his scalp. He looked up and saw that she had removed her visor, and for the first time in a while she was actually smiling.
‘Steven, Connie, it’s okay.’ She said softly, ‘This wasn’t your fault.’
Steven wiped away his tears. ‘It isn’t?’
‘When I sent Amethyst to take you to the video store, that was the first chance I’d had to be alone - truly alone - for a very long time. And that allowed Ruby and Sapphire to have a very important conversation.’
‘About what?’ Connie asked.
‘Fusion, leadership, the kind of things they could only discuss with each other. They’ve been keeping things bottled up for a long time, and I’m not just talking about the gem clusters. Eventually, they came to a decision: when movie night was over, they would tell Pearl and Amethyst everything.’
Steven and Connie shuffled their feet awkwardly.
Garnet continued: ‘When I sent you to the store, I saw hundreds of possibilities. I just never thought that would be the one you chose. You’d think I would know to expect the unexpected by now.’
‘But if you saw what would happen, then why did you let us watch it in the first place?’ Said Steven.
The smile fell from Garnet’s face. She sighed. ‘To be honest, I thought I could handle it. I’ve been putting my life on the line for millennia; I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. I’ve faced extermination from Homeworld simply for existing. And yet-‘ Suddenly she started trembling again. She hugged herself as she went on, ‘-when I saw those… things… it felt like I was right back in the bunker, scared stiff and coming apart at the seams. I had forgotten how that feels.’
Garnet shuddered. Her breathing was getting faster again. Once more Connie took her hand, inhaling for three seconds and exhaling for five like before. Within seconds Garnet’s breathing had returned to normal again.
‘Thank you. You two have been so incredibly brave for me. I’m so proud of you both.’ Garnet said.
‘So… no hard feelings?’ Steven said hopefully.
‘Of course not.’ Garnet replied, ‘But let’s ease up on the scary movies, at least for now.’
‘Deal.’
Garnet wrapped her arms around them and pulled them both close. She always gave the best hugs. It was the warm embrace that Steven was used to, rather than the crushing pressure from earlier.
‘Love you, Garnet.’ Steven murmured.
‘We love you too.’ She replied. ‘Now, I believe we were supposed to be meditating.’
‘Oh, yeah! Right!’ Said Steven.
Steven and Connie joined hands again and began to fuse. This time the process came as easily as it always had, as natural as breathing. Garnet sat down with her legs crossed and hands together, ready to begin.
‘Is this okay with you?’ Stevonnie asked, gesturing to their cloudy surroundings, ‘This place can look like anywhere you want. Show me… the Moon Base!’ They called to demonstrate.
Immediately the room was transforming around them. Seconds later they were in the middle of a flawless recreation of the Moon Base’s central control room. Garnet could only stare in amazement.
‘So… did you have anything in mind?’ Stevonnie said.
‘I’m not sure.’ Garnet replied, still a little stunned, ‘What would you recommend?’
‘A safe space. Somewhere you can feel comfortable.’
‘Oh. That’s easy.’ Garnet said with a smile. ‘I’d like to see the beach.’
Stevonnie returned the smile. ‘Show me the beach!’ They called.
The Moon Base vanished. They lingered in a dark void for a moment before the beach outside the house took its place. Stevonnie continued to be astonished at the room’s attention to detail: everything was there, right down to the gentle lapping sound of the waves and the breeze on their face. It was as though they’d just stepped outside for some air.
‘It’s perfect.’ Garnet said.
‘Yep.’ Stevonnie replied, ‘Shall we?’
Stevonnie took their place on the sand, sitting cross-legged opposite Garnet. They closed their eyes, straightened their back, took a deep breath and let it out. At that moment, the two of them forgot that their surroundings were fake. There was only the tide, the wind in their hair, and the sound of the other person’s breathing.
And then, ever so softly, they began to sing.
Take a moment to think of just
Flexibility, love and trust-
When they emerged from the temple it was morning, and yet Amethyst and Pearl were still waiting in the living room. From the looks of it, they had been there all night.
‘Garnet!’ Pearl exclaimed, ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Better. Much better.’ Garnet replied.
‘You guys were in there for a while. Everything okay?’ Amethyst asked.
‘Everything’s fine.’ Garnet said, ‘But there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about for a long time now. Is that okay?’
‘Of course.’ Pearl said.
‘We’re all here for you, G.’ Amethyst said.
The four of them sat down on the couch, trying to ignore the shattered remains of the coffee table.
‘So, uh… whenever you’re ready, I guess.’ Amethyst prompted.
Stevonnie offered Garnet their hand. She took it and held it tight.
‘Do you remember the other Crystal Gems? The ones who weren’t corrupted?’ Garnet asked.
Pearl seemed a little confused. ‘Well, yes, of course. But they were all shattered during the war. They’re gone… right?’
‘That’s what I thought, too. But it turns out that at some point in the interim, Homeworld agents collected some of their fragments. And they…’
Garnet trailed off as her voice started to waver. She swallowed, trying to keep it together. Pearl shuffled closer to her and took her hand.
‘It’s alright. Take all the time you need.’ She said.
Garnet said nothing, but gave Pearl’s hand a grateful squeeze in response. After a few seconds she was sure enough to start again. She moistened her lips and continued:
‘When I took Steven down to Peridot’s control room, we found those creatures. You probably realised that they were… different to what we’re used to.’
The others nodded, still not quite sure where this was going.
‘Well, we discovered that they weren’t just regular corrupted Gems. They were Gem fragments, forced together, like the Cluster, only on a much smaller scale.’ Garnet’s voice remained level, but Stevonnie felt her grip on their hand tighten. ‘They couldn’t consent. It wasn’t fusion. They weren’t real partnerships. They were just the product of some sick attempt at grabbing power! A means to an end! That’s what Homeworld thinks of fusion!’
Pearl’s hands were clapped to her mouth. Amethyst was slack-jawed with shock. Garnet had started trembling again; Stevonnie couldn’t tell if it was from fear or quiet fury.
‘There was a whole swarm of them. But I don’t think they were attacking. I-I don’t know how to explain it. it’s almost like they recognised me. We tried to fight them, but… I was terrified. I couldn’t move. It took all the strength I had just to stay fused. If Steven hadn’t been there… I don’t know what would’ve happened. I guess watching that movie brought it all back.’
Her voice caught on that last word. A single tear rolled down her left cheek.
After what seemed like an eternity, Amethyst spoke up: ‘How come you guys never told us?’
This time Stevonnie replied: ‘I didn’t- Steven didn’t want to tell you without Garnet knowing.’
‘Leave Steven out of this.’ Garnet said, gently but firmly. ‘I’m the one who wanted to keep it secret.’
‘But why?’ Pearl asked.
‘It’s complicated.’ Garnet replied, ‘When we lost Rose… I don’t need to tell you how it felt. Everyone else was gone, either corrupted or shattered. Ruby and Sapphire realised that even with the war over, we still needed a leader. Someone to keep us together, like Rose always had. And I decided it was going to be me.’
‘You didn’t have to do that.’ Pearl assured her.
‘Nobody else was volunteering.’ Garnet said. There was no trace of bitterness or resignation in her voice; she was simply stating a fact.
Pearl and Amethyst were suddenly finding it difficult to maintain eye contact with her.
‘From that point on, I was the strong one, the pillar of strength, making all the big decisions. Suddenly weakness was a luxury I couldn’t afford. I started staying fused full-time, even when I was alone. After all, what kind of leader would I be if I couldn’t even keep myself together?’ She said, only half-jokingly. ‘And this was no different. I kept it secret because I thought I had no other choice. But I was wrong.’ She managed a smile. ‘I’m still learning. Even now.’
The room was deathly silent. Nobody was quite sure what to say.
‘Garnet, I-’ Pearl stammered, ‘I had no idea. You always seemed so-‘
‘Stoic? Confident? Of course. It’s easy to pretend you have all the answers.’
‘Exactly. When you took charge after Steven was born, started us off hunting the corrupted Gems… it felt like we had a purpose again. We could still be useful.’
‘But we never thought about how that might be affecting you.’ Amethyst said, ‘You were under a ton of pressure, and we didn’t even realise.’
Garnet shrugged. ‘I was trying to be strong for you, like Rose always was.’
‘I suppose she was very convincing.’ Pearl sighed.
For once, Garnet actually seemed to be taken aback. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Leadership is always difficult.’ Pearl explained, ‘And Rose was no different. She’d never admit it, of course - she’d just smile, tell me not to worry - but I could always see it. Whenever we lost a battle or Homeworld sent yet another battalion, there’d be this… look on her face. A crack in the façade. Wondering if she was good enough, if she should keep going at all. And she was leading a small army. To be facing even greater odds with a fraction of the resources and experience…’ She tried to continue, but words failed her. ‘You’ve done so much for us.’ Was all she could say.
‘We wouldn’t know what to do without you, dude.’ Amethyst said.
‘But… Lapis, the Cluster, Pink Diamond… so many things I couldn’t see coming-‘ Garnet protested.
‘That doesn’t matter.’ Stevonnie assured her, ‘What’s important is that we got through them together.’
‘It’s like you said: you’re still learning. We all are. Even after thousands of years.’ Pearl said.
Stevonnie hugged Garnet from behind, resting their head on her shoulder. There was a moment of hesitation, then her arms wrapped around theirs.
When Stevonnie opened their eyes, they saw that Amethyst and Pearl had left the couch. They were in the centre of the living room, hands joined and beginning to dance. The sequence quickly reached its peak and their bodies were consumed in blue light, two silhouettes merging into one, taking on a new form. When it cleared, Opal was standing in their place. Her four arms were more than long enough to embrace both of them.
And so the Gems stood huddled together, enjoying closeness in more ways than one.
Garnet had once told Steven that after being fused for a while, you could forget that you were ever alone. Being here now, in perfect harmony with another mind and feeling two other pairs in the same state, he was finally beginning to understand what she had meant.
‘This… is nice.’ Garnet said.
‘Do you need anything else?’ Opal asked.
‘I think I’d just like to stay like this for a while.’
Opal smiled. ‘I’m sure that can be arranged.’