Chapter Text
The sun hung high in the clear blue sky over Beach City. Gentle waves ebbed onto the shoreline, the salty smell of the ocean wafting through the air. The people of the city moved about slowly, the warmth of the sun leaving them tired and content. Everything was stacking up to be a smooth, normal day. The flowers were blooming, the birds singing, and the giant monsters were attacking.
Alright, it was a normal day at Steven’s house at the very least.
The monster in question was of a serpentine nature, at least 15 feet in length. It was made of an odd, jelly like substance that was the color of overripe grapes. It was mostly transparent, allowing the glittering gem in its forehead to be clearly seen. The monster had emerged from the ocean just in front of Steven’s house only a few minutes prior to his return from Connie’s house. The gems attacked the monster with full force, but their attacks simply bounced off its gelatinous body.
“Pearl, Amethyst!” Garnet called, “Flank it!”
Amethyst and Pearl rushed to the monster’s sides, viciously attacking it with their weapons. While the beast was distracted by them, Garnet wound up and fired her gauntlets at it, goth of which exploded immediately upon contact. Pearl and Amethyst leaped from the smoke, keeping their weapons at the ready for when the smoke cleared. The thick, black smoke finally dissipated, leaving behind only the monster’s gem and a puddle of the odd, viscous liquid it was made from. Steven scurried over to the group in stars in his eyes.
“Garnet, that was amazing!” he cheered.
“It was no problem.” Garnet smiled as she reformed her hands.
“Problem or not,” Pearl said, “I’m going to bubble that thing before it can-”
Pearl’s sentence was cut off by a loud crash, the sound of Garnet’s body hitting the floor. She convulsed and squirmed in the sand, her entire body tingling with pain. The other gems watched in horror as her being gave way, splitting apart into Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby immediately sprung up, a look of complete terror decorating her face. Silently, she picked Sapphire up and began to spin her around, her eyes growing darker and darker with fear. Once she dizzied herself and fell over, Sapphire spoke up.
“It’s not going to work Ruby.”
“Don’t say that! I’ll get us fused again, just let me-”
“Ruby. How many times do I have to remind you not to argue with someone who can see the future?” Sapphire said calmly.
“Dang,” Amethyst laughed, “is it break week already?”
“Break week?” Steven echoed, “What’s that?”
“Due to Ruby and I’s prolonged fusion, Garnet can become exceedingly vulnerable to stress. That last attack must’ve finally done it. When this sort of thing happens, Ruby and I must stay apart for a while to allow our next fusion to be more stable.” Sapphire explained.
“It’s horrible!” Ruby gagged.
“It’s not that bad. We’ll be back together in about a week’s time.”
Steven couldn’t help but laugh, “Well, I’m glad you guys are here!”
“Uhh...guys? We got a problem!” Amethyst yelled.
The group’s attention shot back to the monster’s remains. The odd fluid flowed and pooled around the gem, reforming the serpent-like monster. Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst readied their weapons and charged the beast, while Ruby hurriedly scooped up Sapphire and ran in the other direction. Her legs pounded through the sand as fast as she could make them, a hot panic washing over her. Sapphire looked up at her unneeded savior.
“Ruby, you’re going the wrong way.”
“No I’m not! I’m getting you out of danger first!” she insisted.
“You forgot to get the others out of danger.”
“They can handle themselves!”
Sapphire pointed a gloved finger behind her, forcing Ruby to stop in her tracks and whip around. The other gems were floating inside the monster’s gelatinous body, wildly thrashing about. Ruby let Sapphire down and rushed over to them, reading her gauntlet. She smashed her fist into the monster as hard as she could, her fist sticking into the monster’s side whilst doing no visible damage. She yanked her fist out and swung again, merely causing the creature to jiggle uncomfortably. She assaulted the monster with a flurry of useless attacks, burning herself out in a matter of moments. Ruby collapsed into the sand, panting heavily. An intense feeling of dread hooked her. All she could think about was how she’d let everyone down, how they were all in danger because of her. Suddenly, the monster let out a roar of intense pain, shaking Ruby from her thoughts.
The monster’s jelly-like body was quickly being frozen solid. It attempted to flee, but to no avail. The creature was quickly flash-frozen, completely immobile in its wintery prison. Ruby looked around exhaustedly, finding Sapphire with one hand touching the monster-turned-sculpture. She flashed Ruby a bright smile, obviously satisfied with herself. Ruby gave her a smirk back, striking the ice with a powerful fist. The ice shattered instantly, the monster’s gem falling into Sapphire’s hand. She bubbled it and sent it away as Ruby trudged over to her.
“We make a pretty good team.” Ruby giggled.
“Who knew?” Sapphire laughed.
The two sat down in the sand, laughing incessantly. The took one another’s hands, their gems barely touching one another. Sapphire cut her laugher short to steal a kiss from Ruby. She promptly stole one back before devolving into another giggle fit. The other gems dusted themselves off, trying to avert their eyes from the sickeningly sweet display.
“This is gonna be a long week.” Amethyst groaned.