Chapter 3; Back to the Basics

A/N: I really like this one,

Danny barely managed to hold back a gasp of surprise once he phased through the wooden door that led to the temple. The room seemed to be carved right into the cliff side, glittering with shines of purple and blue. At the center was a circular pad that seemed to be made of a type of glass. Steven and Peridot stepped onto the device, Danny hovering right behind them. It came to life with a burst of light, a pillar of energy growing upwards. A tingle ran down Danny's spine. The displacement made him a bit dizzy, and he did not notice the other two walk straight off the cliff until they began to shout. Shaking away his confusion, he dove after them, still invisible, and grabbed the back of their shirts, slowing their descent. He dropped them once they were inches from the ground. Peridot groaned in pain. Steven weakly lifted his arm to grab her hand.

While the two recovered from their fall, Danny took a quick look around. Ginormous cliff sides, completely covered in caves. Danny flew closer to one of the caves, running his hand over the edge. He felt an unease settle in his stomach as he realized that all the holes were vaguely human shaped. Behind him he heard Peridot and Steven finally get up.

"This place just gets worse every time I come here." Steven commented, looking around with the faintest look of regret. Danny stared at the large contraption that resembled all the drawings he had ever seen in school of a virus. Peridot made a small noise of agreement.

"I know, it's been so poorly managed. It must have been in way better shape when you emerged." She said off-handedly. 'Emerged.' Danny echoed in his mind, looking again at the holes that surrounded them. Hundreds, upon thousands of them.

"Emerged?" Steven questioned, as if the concept where completely foreign to him.

"Yeah, you're some type of quartz, right? You must have been made here." Danny froze in place. 'Is she implying that Steven is like her? Or does she really know nothing about humans?'

"Uh...I came from my mom and dad." Steven corrected. Distantly Danny heard the shifting of rocks. He looked over his shoulder to see if anything was close by.

"What are those some type of rocks? Other planets?" Danny had subconsciously started to float forward, following the two even as he looked behind him. He ran into one of the Kindergarten machines, making it quiver just the slightest bit. Steven noticed and wrapped his hand a little tighter around Peridot's.

"Peridot, I think there is something here." Peridot swept her gaze to their immediate surroundings.

"Let's just hurry to the control room." Peridot insisted, picking up the pace.

"Are you sure this is safe? The last time I was here, there was a bunch of fusion monsters." Steven asked, stumbling slightly. Danny's mind briefly flashed back to the thing in the cave.

"Yes, I was checking their progress." Peridot confirmed. Danny heard a noise behind them once more and stopped. He debated leaving the two to have a quick look. It seemed however that they had finally arrived to where they needed to be.

"What's with those things anyway?" 'That's what I'd like to know.' Danny seconded. There was a lot of things that he needed answers to.

"Once we decided Earth wasn't a viable planet, Homeworld decided to use it as a testing field. For a gem geo-weapon if you will."

"Oh, did you help?" Danny looked at him incredulously. 'How are you not freaking out about this?'

"Negative. I was not around for that. But I have read over a hundreds years worth of reports. Thousands even. There is one more experiment that Homeworld had started here. They lost control over it though, I was hoping to find out what had happened, but without my limb enhancers I'm sure it's impossible."

"You mean there is more, besides the cluster?" Steven asked, nervousness creeping into his voice.

"Oh yes. This was started even before the war. They were trying to harness a strange energy here on Earth to make a race of supersoldiers. It gave them real bodies, not the highly advanced projections we normal gems use. Imagine a gem you couldn't poof away. Here's the best part, their gems were on the inside, almost impossible to crack!" Peridot said with admiration in her eyes.

"What happened to them?" Peridot frowned heavily.

"They stopped listening to Homeworld. The reports says they were destroyed, but I don't think they were. I mean, they are nearly indestructible." Peridot tried to pry off the panel nearby while both Steven and Danny felt a new bound fear creep within them. "That however, is not our priority." She grunted. She gave up and bemoaned their inevitable death.

"Here let me try." Steven said, gripping the panel. He pulled it off in a swift motion.

"Woah!" Peridot exclaimed. She quickly began to rearrange wires, the room they were in finally coming to life.

DPSUDPSU DPSUDPSU DPSUDPSU

Garnet was sprinting towards the house, the warp pad they had used to far out of the way for her liking. Behind her, Amethyst was barely keeping up in the form of a cheetah. Pearl opted instead to follow in a series of long jumps. She had not explained anything to either of them, the shock causing her to leap from the cavern like a madwoman. The sun was creeping downwards with every step, the people of Beach City closing up shop for the day. The ground beneath them changed from concrete to mud, causing Amethyst to slip and crash. Pearl landed a bit too forcefully, and gave a grunt of frustration as she tried to free her feet fro the mud. Garnet continued to sprint, using the extremely limited ice powers she had from Sapphire to make the mud solid beneath her. A purple eagle and light blue dove flew ahead of her, urging her to move faster.

She burst through the front entrance, the door hitting the wall with a loud smack. Dani gave a small scream, hiding behind Sam and Tucker who had their weapons drawn. The two birds transformed back to their human bodies, standing behind their imposing leader. The seconds seemed to tick by like hours, the two teens evaluating the aliens before them, even as the same was done to them. At last Garnet called forth her gauntlets with a clink. Tucker took a small step back, but Sam did not waver.

"Where is Steven?" Garnet demanded.

"Are these your true forms? Are you the same Garnet?" Sam countered. Briefly Garnet felt a small spark of respect for the girl, knowing she would not give up information to just anyone. At the moment, however, there was no time for such nonsense.

"Yes." She gritted out. The gun in her hands hummed with life.

"Prove it."

"I told Steven I loved him before I left today. Now where is he!?"

DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU

Danny was still lost in his thoughts after having discovered a monster larger than the Earth was bound to escape at any moment. Peridot had tried in vain to convince Steven that the two of them together could stop such a thing from emerging, but Steven at least knew his limits. He was looking at all the holes they passed, when Steven mentioned something called the Crystal Gems. Before he could gather what exactly those were, a large mutant sent a rock into a nearby wall with a mighty swing.

"Oh no! Gem mutants!" Steven cried, preparing to create a bubble around himself and Peridot. A green dome popped into existence just moments before his gem started to glow. The mutant slammed down on the dome. "Peridot are you doing this?" Steven asked. She shook her head no. More gem mutants began to show up, trying to crack the dome. Danny was kneeling invisibly by this point, the strain becoming too much. With a sigh of frustration he let himself become visible as Phantom. Steven and Peridot both jumped at his sudden appearance. His glowing green eyes pierced them.

"A supersoldier!" Peridot exclaimed. Phantom ignored her, counting the number of creatures on the other side of the dome. He recognized the assembly of random shards, and wondered why the one from the caves had appeared more human than these.

"How do I stop them?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"You gotta poof them." Steven told the stranger.

"Once the dome is down, run to the corner and stay behind me." Phantom told him. He let his dome grow into an outward blast, knocking the mutants to the ground. Steven ran, dragging Peridot along. Phantom shot out a few ectobolts, faintly hearing the warp pad come to life in the distance.

DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU

Garnet and the others appeared on the platform, immediately covering their ears. In the distance she could see the green shockwaves being aimed at several mutants.

"What is that horrible noise?" Pearl shouted. "GARNET!" Garnet had begun to convulse, almost appearing as if her form was glitching. Her visor came off and they could see her purple eye rolling uncontrollably, the red and blue closed tightly, tears pouring from them.

It was madness, what she was seeing. A blur of images, with the prophecy being screeched at her. The cry of a thousand lost souls piercing the air, even as she saw herself holding baby Steven. It could not be Steven, she would not believe it. She could hear Pearl and Amethyst calling for her, confusion in their voices. The wail continued, causing her to sob loudly. It could not be Steven, she would not believe it. She would not. She refused.

The wail died suddenly, and she could hear her companions crying her name in fear. Gradually her eye stopped its insistent rolling, the other two opening slowly. Amethyst held out her visor to her, showing that it was cracked beyond repair. Garnet waved it away.

"Let's go."

DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU

Phantom gripped his knees in exhaustion but concentrated on not changing back. He turned around. Steven was rubbing at his ears, while Peridot was staring at him with pure admiration. "Are you both okay?"

"Yeah..." Steven said, looking at the scattered gem shards. "We should probably bubble those."

"He knows that Steven. Show him some respect." Peridot scolded, hands on her hips. She turned back to Phantom. "Look out!" Phantom turned right as Garnet threw a powerful punch. He was launched towards the nearby cave wall with a thud. He winced, blearily opening his eyes as his attacker charged. Her three eyes were filled with fury. He powered up his own and sent a powerful eye blast at her. She leapt backwards, giving him time to dislodge himself from the wall. He was too weak to use his wail again. He searched for the mutants gem shards but could not find them. Two more came forward, but their gems were a singular piece like Peridot.

"Amethyst?" He questioned, the purple one looking very much like Steven's aunt. She shifted into a large bear. "Shifter, great." The maroon one charged again, electricity crackling over her gauntlets. Phantom's eyes bled into an ice blue glow. "You need to chill out." An ice blast flew towards her, hitting her in the chest. She froze over within seconds. The other two ran forward as a unit. The pale one pulled a spear out of her gem, throwing it at him even as she produced another one. Phantom put up a shield, causing the weapon to shatter. The bear gave a loud growl as it pounced. Phantom swung around and gave a solid kick to the face, sending it back. "Seems you aren't smarter than the average bear." he jipped. He gave a cry of pain as the remaining gem sliced his arm.

"You are over confident and that shall be your downfall!" She declared. Phantom laughed, creating a sword of unbreakable ice.

"Care to dance, ballerina?" he taunted. She gave a shout and attacked. Their weapons connected repeatedly, the gem becoming more angered with each blow that her opponent deflected. A purple eagle swooped in, ripping Phantom's sword from his grip. He gulped when he felt the wall behind him. The gem smiled and prepared to plunge her spear through him. He turned intangible and passed through her. She turned in alarm.

"How-" Phantom winked at her and released the ectoball he had in his hand. She looked down at the gaping whole in her midsection in horror, poofing out of existence a moment later. Phantom was pitched forward as a cheetah pounced on his back, claws raking through his suit. He continued the roll, throwing the animal off of him. It shifted back to look like Steven's aunt, extracting a long whip from her chest. Phantom saw Steven rush towards the gem he had just defeated. The whip came flying at him. He grabbed the end as it was inches from his face.

"That all you got?" She asked, sending a wave of purple electricity down the line. Phantom was thrown back by the shock. He landed in a puddle, arms still twitching. 'Wait...puddle?' He rolled to the side, the gauntlet creating a small crater in the ground. He quickly stood only to be hit in the side by a powerful crocodile tail. The whip followed, slicing at his side, green dripping to the ground. Phantom swore under his breath. He took to the sky, using it to his advantage. The taller gem picked up the purple and launched her at him. She transformed into a mace ball. He distorted his body and she passed through him, swirling into a large bird. She dive bombed him as he heard the whistle of small rockets behind him. He turned intangible and dropped through the ground. The rocket gauntlets hit the shifter head on, causing her to poof. From inside one of the caves, Phantom watched as Steven gave a small shout and ran to catch the gem, Peridot close behind, holding the white gem. '

I need to finish this before Steven gets hurt.' The two fighters thought simultaneously.

"Come out you coward!" The gem shouted. Phantom shot out of the cave. The gem lifted an arm to block his punch at the last second. Phantom did not let this stop him and let ice spread over her arm. She hastily stopped touching him. She spun to give a kick to his side, which he blocked with a small shield that cracked upon impact. He sent several icicles flying at her, and she bounded backwards, right into the large spike of ice he had created. Her hands touched the ice poking through her chest in disbelief before two gems clattered to the ground.

"That was amazing!" Peridot cheered, while Steven gave a horrified scream. He rushed over and grabbed the two gems, cradling them gingerly.

"Why did you do that!?" Phantom looked at him in confusion.

"I was protecting you." He answered.

"This was my family!" he cried. The gems clinked together softly as he hugged them close.

"They will regenerate. You know that right?" Peridot asked Steven. Steven sniffled and nodded. He suddenly looked up at Phantom with a hard look in his eyes.

"Did you?"

"Well of course he-"

"No. I didn't. I really thought they were going to hurt you." Phantom told him. Steven begrudgingly accepted this answer. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't know. They will be back soon" Steven admitted.

"Steven, secrets at a time like this is a good way to make sure you lose." Phantom told him. "Please let your family know I did not mean to hurt them." Steven nodded, and Phantom faded out of visibility. He waited on the warp pad for the two to activate it. Once they were back in the temple he phased into the bathroom and changed back.

Danny stared at the mirror in confusion. Steven regarded gems as his family, but he stated he did not emerge like Peridot thought he did. Was the shifter really Steven's aunt, and not just a copy? Why did the mutant not have any visible gem shards? Why had Peridot called him one of the supersoldiers she had discussed? He heard the door of the temple creak open, and he exited the bathroom, acting as if he had no idea what had happened at the Kindergarten.

"Steven? What's wrong?" Sam asked, getting up from her seat. He wordlessly presented the gems. "Is that Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst?" she asked sorrowfully. Danny gave her a suspicious look, yet another question added to the many he did not have answers to.

"Yes, it is the Crystal Clods, but do not worry. They will return." Peridot informed them. "They mistakenly got into a battle with a supersoldier. Though I must admit that the permafusion did put up quite a fight."

"We need to tell you guys some things. The soldier said keeping secrets could make us lose against the cluster."

"We should wait until the rest of the aliens come back." Tucker told him.

"That could take weeks!" Peridot exclaimed. "The cluster is a problem now."

"Does your dad know you had alien nannies?" Sam asked Steven. Steven nodded. "And..." Sam shot a glance at Danny whom she suspected knew she and Tucker had kept information from him. "Are you like them?" Steven lifted his shirt to show a pink gem.

"But I'm human too." he added. His eyes watered. "And it's hard sometimes, because I'm not really a gem, or a human. Everyone wants to hide things from me so I don't feel left out or different, but then bad things like this happen and I can't even help!" He hugged the gems in his arms tightly. Dani was the first to move forward.

"Hey, Steven. It's okay. Sometimes life is scary. All you can do is your best." She was about to mention her own status as a halfa, but a quick glance at Danny told her this was a bad idea at the time.

"And the best we can do now is figure this mess out before Mom and Dad get back." Danny added.

"Why can't Aunt Maddie and Uncle Jack know?" Steven asked as he carefully arranged each gem on a pillow.

"They...they just can't."

"The soldier said that secrets would make us lose."

"I know what I said." Danny blurted. Everyone froze.

"What do you mean, what you said?" Steven asked suspiciously.

"Danny...did you do this to Steven's family?" Sam asked, a bit of fear in her voice. Danny felt himself crack.

"Yes, but I didn't know!"

"Amethyst looks virtually the same, how can you not know?" Tucker accused.

"I thought it was just a shifter!" Danny defended. His panic turned to anger. "Don't look at me like I'm the bad guy here. You guys knew about Steven and you didn't tell me. I thought we were a team!"

"Are we? Why didn't you take us with you then? Instead we sat here wondering where the hell the three of you had gone." Tucker shouted back.

"There was no time! I didn't know if it would be safe for you guys." Danny retorted.

"Safe for us? Safe for us!" Sam yelled, looking offended. "We can take care of ourselves Danny. How many times did I and Tucker save you from making stupid mistakes?"

"They would have turned you to pulp!" Danny yelled back, his face going red.

"No, they wouldn't have. They only tried to hurt you because they didn't recognize you." Tucker said poking him in the chest. "If you weren't playing hero boy they would have seen you and helped you all."

"You're just jealous that you don't have any powers." Danny hissed out. He shoved Tucker away from him, but in his anger had used his ghost force. Tucker flew towards the wall, his head connecting with a loud crack. All the anger in the room dissolved at once. "Tucker?" Sam rushed to Tucker's side, helping him sit up. Her hand came away with blood. Danny took a step towards them.

"Don't you dare come any closer." Sam commanded. "Steven, Dani, Dot, come here." The three smaller occupants rushed to her side. Danny swallowed thickly, gazing at each one in turn. Tucker was dazed, and bleeding from his head. Sam was glaring at him accusingly. Dani had fear in her eyes. Fear directed towards him, something he had never seen before. Peridot was attempting to help Sam with Tucker, but just seemed lost. Steven...he was just staring, his hand covering his gem.

I'm inevitable

Danny ran past them, pretending not to notice them flinch. The door fell shut with a snap, even as it began to rain again.

DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU DPSU

"This is bad." Sam said in a forced whisper, once she had finished cleaning away the blood. More red had already begun to seep out the moment she took away the rag. "It's cracked." she said with a small sob. Steven looked up from his vigilance of the gems.

"Cracked...oh! OH! I have healing spit!" Steven exclaimed, clamoring next to them. He licked the palm of his hand and placed it against Tucker's wound. He waited a few moments and pulled away his hand. Nothing had happened. Sam hugged him.

"It's alright Steven. You tried."

"No, it's not alright. If my mom was still here, none of this would be happening." Steven looked over at the temple door. "That's it. We have to take him to my mom's fountain. Her tears can fix this!" Sam looked down at Tucker.

"Steven. I don't know if Tucker can make it very far."

"We have to try!" Steven cried. Behind him one of the gems began to glow brightly. Steven turned, watching in awe as Sapphire reformed herself, landing on the pillow with a small thump. "Sapphire! Is Tucker going to be okay?"

"I see futures with this outcome yes." She looked over at the red gem that lay dormant on the pillow beside her, the room temperature dropping several degrees. "I will go alone to retrieve the tears. Keep him awake." In a blink of an eye she was past them and at the door of the temple. "I love you." She said, but to whether it was to Ruby or Steven was unclear.

"Who was that?" Sam asked. Steven sat on the cushion next to Ruby's gem.

"That was Sapphire. She is half of Garnet."

"Who's the other half?" Dani asked.

"Ruby. They are a fusion. All gems can fuse, but they always stay fused. They like being Garnet."

"We saw a fusion, right Tucker?" Sam said, trying to engage Tucker in the conversation. Tucker pointed to Danny's backpack. Dani went over and pulled out one of the containment cubes.

"Why does it look like that?" Dani asked. Peridot took it from her, giving a small hmm.

"Oh, this was one of my favorites. Very well developed. A Rubellite and an Agate. One of the simpler ones, tourmaline and a quartz." Peridot explained. "They did balance each other quite well, I can only imagine what a natural fusion of the two could do."

"You knew about this?" Sam asked. "A force fusion? That sounds horrible."

"It was not my idea. I merely watched over them."

"Do you know how to separate them?" Sapphire asked as she appeared. She floated over to Tucker and slowly poured the bottle of tears over his head. He gave a pained scream as the bone began to reset. Peridot watched in a fascinated horror.

"You want to fix the shards." Peridot said. Sapphire merely looked at her. "I could, but I would need some things. Why do you want to fix them? I doubt you will find all the pieces."

"We alone will not be enough to stop this."

"We should be fine with a supersoldier on our side." Peridot said, crossing her arms. Steven gave a small squeal as the purple gem next to him began to glow. Amethyst reformed, her hair slightly more erratic than usual.

"All right! Where is that punk? He is so dead!" She said, cracking her summoned whip.

"Amethyst please calm down." Amethyst looked over and smiled when she saw Sapphire.

"Hey, hey! Very long time no see." Amethyst said, hugging the small gem. "You and Ruby got the punk then right?"

"No, he managed to outsmart us. However, seeing as Steven and Peridot arrived safely with all of our gems, there must be something we are missing."

"He said he was sorry." Steven piped in. "He said he was only trying to protect me."

"He was a supersoldier, he was only following his basic protocol. I wonder what type of gem he is. What if he is a Peridot like me! His blasts were green." Peridot frowned. "But he also had ice. Perhaps a blue Sapphire, like yourself."

"And if he were a fusion?" Sapphire asked, though she doubted it and in reality had no clue what a supersoldier was meant to be. Peridot spluttered in indignantly.

"Please, what use would there be for a Peridot and a Sapphire to fuse. Totally separate types."

"Didn't you just say the tourmaline and quartz fusion was a good one?" Sam asked, feeling as if she were beginning to get the feel for the alien dynamic.

"That is different. They didn't have a reason to fuse, they were forced to." All this time the newly revitalized Tucker was typing away at his PDA.

"Are your leaders diamonds?" He asked suddenly.

"Yes. Homeworld is run by three diamonds." Peridot said, trying to look at his screen. He tilted it away.

"Are Sapphire's important?" He asked.

"Sapphires act as diamond advisors. Let me see your screens. I can help. I was made for this." She said, twisting around him.

"Are Rubies important too?" Tucker asked, standing up and holding his PDA above his head.

"Yes! Personal bodyguards. Let me see!" Tucker finally handed over his PDA, to the triumphant Peridot.

"How did you learn all that? I had thought you irrelevant." Sapphire asked.

"Well, we have gems here on Earth too, non sentient, at least I hope." Understanding dawned on Sam's face.

"The level of hardness." She said. Peridot nodded.

"That is correct. While a fusion may be a good idea for a quick battle, staying permanently fused is just...just, a disgrace! You are weakening strong gems."

"Where do I fall?" Amethyst asked suddenly. Tucker plucked his PDA back. She never got her answer however, as another gem began to glow.

"Sapphire?" Sapphire smiled.

"Ruby!" The two small gems were quick to embrace each other. Ruby lifted Sapphire and spun them around, the gems on their hands glowing as they laughed. Garnet formed in front of them, swiping her hand over her eyes to create a visor.

"We are getting off topic. Peridot, can you separate the gem shards?"

"Not here on Earth. Why don't you try those tears on them, maybe it can fix them enough to separate?" She suggested. "I still think you are wasting your time. We need the supersoldiers then we can stop the cluster."

"Where is Danny?" Amethyst asked, causing Garnet to look around. Sam looked down at the floor.

"We got into a fight. He ran off after he shoved me." Tucker said, feeling guilty for the things he said to him.

"You received your life threatening injury from him?" Garnet asked, masking her shock.

"I hit my head on the wall." Tucker stated, dodging the question.

"Guys..." Steven interrupted. "Can we please wait for Pearl?" Garnet nodded and they all sat in silence. After Peridot continuously looking over his shoulder, Tucker sighed and pulled out an older PDA to give to her. Peridot took Steven by the hand and brought him upstairs, whispering to him, and showing him things on the screen. Dani squirmed in her seat.

"I'm going to go look for Danny." She announced.

"Dani, I don't know if..." Sam trailed off, noticing the look on Dani's face. It revealed pure anguish at seeing her hero reduced to a monster.

"I know you guys see me as someone who needs to be protected from the scary things in life..." Dani started, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "But I used to BE one of those scary things. You can't erase the past by claiming I am now Dani Fenton, because deep down Dani Masters still exists. In the end Danny will be the only thing I have left, good or bad."

"What do you mean, in the end?" Sam asked her, guilt creeping into her voice. "You will always have us too." Dani gave her a hard stare.

"I know that we age slower Sam. Vlad told me." She told her, even as the white gem behind them began to glow. "Vlad is the bad guy here, not us. Danny would throw himself into a volcano before intentionally hurting any of you. How do you repay him? By keeping secrets? By turning on each other?" Pearl touched down on the floor with an easy grace, feeling the tension in the room. "I will not be the bad guy again. Danny is a part of me. Whatever you are worried will happen to him, can happen to me too."

"What happens to Daniel?" Garnet asked, looking over at Sam.

"It is not something I can say."

"Danny said we can't keep secrets." Steven said, standing up. Peridot laughed.

"No, no. You're confused. The supersoldier is the one who said that." Pearl stiffened.

"A supersoldier?" she whispered. Amethyst and Garnet turned to her.

"What do you know about this Pearl?" Garnet asked. Pearl got a faraway look in her eyes.

"During the war, Rose warned me about these things. One of each Gem was sent into a strange dimension here on Earth. They wanted to see if this energy would..." She suddenly turned her weapon on Dani. "You're one of them. You were created with this ecto energy weren't you?"

"Pearl no!" Steven cried.

"She cannot be a solider, she is a human." Peridot scoffed, her indifference irking garnet. "A gem can become one if it absorbs all the energy in an instant electrical shock." Sam and Tucker shared a look.

"How are gems made?"

"The appropriate minerals are injected into a viable living environment. It will form and then emerge, creating a body projection."

"What if these minerals were injected into a human body?" Peridot placed a hand to her chin in thought.

"Then, they would be like me." Steven whispered.

"Steven!" Pearl exclaimed, her weapon lowering in her shock.

"We already know that Steven is a halfa." Garnet's eyes snapped to Dani as she heard the word. "I am too." A burst of white light encircled her abdomen, spreading in two separate directions. The outfit she was wearing turned in a combination of silver and black spandex, her eyes becoming a brilliant green and her hair a sparking white. Phantasma, as Dani had named her ghost half after various mix ups between her and her brother, stared up at them defiantly.

"Halfa!" Garnet yelled in anger, standing quickly, her weapons appearing.

"NO!" Steven dove off the ledge as Garnet rushed towards Phantasma. Her gauntlet rebounded off of Steven's shield. The shield fell away in factions, Steven staring up at her with a look she had seen Rose wear before. Garnet desperately tried to place it.

"The time for secrets is over." He said simply. Garnet suddenly remembered that day on the beach when she had first had her vision.

"I-" Garnet prepared her stance. "I need you to move." Pearl moved closer, but stopped short, unsure who she wanted to support. Sam had her gun drawn, but it was not pointed at anyone. Amethyst had Peridot tied up, preventing her from 'protecting the supersoldier'.

Steven looked over his shoulder at Phantasma, who had worry written across her face. When their eyes met, her worry seemed to melt, seeing the look of protectiveness that Danny himself often wore. Steven moved as Garnet had ordered, but he pulled Phantasma with him. The action turned into a twirl, Steven's gem beginning to glow. He tossed her up and once he caught her, the pink light filled the room.

The person who stood in front of them surpassed both Sam and Tucker's height. Garnet stared in a muted awe. One blue eye and one brown eye looked over at her. The figure drew nearer to her, white converse squeaking slightly against the wooden floor. Garnet looked down at where Steven's gem was placed, noticing the slightly off color. It seemed to be a deeper pink than before.

"If you want to get to Dani, you have to get through me." The figure said, moving a silver clad hand from where it rested on a jean covered hip, to point to the center of its chest. The thumb prodded against the new logo the fusion had created, a large D that contained the cutout of a star. He shirt itself was a perfect blend of the two children, the white of Phantasma`s halter top becoming the pink shade of Steven's. The whole look was completed by a sleeveless red hoodie.

"Unfuse now." Garnet commanded. The figure shifted, the light brown bangs slightly covering the brown eye. The blue eye glowed green.

"Make me." It teased, tossing its curly ponytail over its shoulder as it turned to walk away. It opened the door, staring out into the starry night.

"Steven!"

"Dani!"

The figure turned. Garnet and Pearl both had their weapons out, standing near each other. Sam and Tucker had theirs lowered, confusion written across their faces. The figure looked at Amethyst. It closed its eyes for a second as Steven and Dani communicated within its mind.

"Amethyst." It said softly making the purple gem look up. The voice sounded so familiar to the way Rose used to comfort her in the beginning weeks after being discovered in the Kindergarten. Garnet and Pearl also noticed this. The two children were now speaking as one. While Steven always spoke similar to Rose, Dani's feminine tone made the fusion sound exactly like their fallen leader. Garnet felt her eyes tear up behind her visor. "I would appreciate your company in finding Danny." Despite the strange atmosphere in the room, Amethyst allowed a smile to form on her face.

"Yeah, alright." Amethyst walked over, accepting the hug the figure gave her. Pearl gripped her weapon a bit tighter.

"Steven you can't do this!" Pearl cried out.

"Dani, please." Sam pleaded. The figure ignored them, running out the door and over the banister much like Danny had done days before. Amethyst followed with a whoop of approval. She ran along the beach, trying to keep up with the fusion's long strides. The fusion ran faster, leaping into the air, doing a few flips as it stayed airborne. The mismatched eyes stared up at the stars with wonder, arms falling to its side.

"Yo S-Man! I mean, uh..." Amethyst trailed off. The fusion slowly floated back down to the ground, the mood now somber.

"It's Stevasma." It said softly.

"Are you okay?" Amethyst asked it. Stevasma looked down at itself and then back at the stars.

"I'm not sure." It replied, "This is strange, but it is the only way I can make sure that nothing bad happens due to a misunderstanding. Rose told me, Steven I mean, to take care of you guys. He isn't sure he can do it. He wants to, but he also wants to protect his family and friends. Dani shares a lot of the same feelings you did regarding being made. It is why I asked you to come along. I want to be what you guys need most. Brilliant, courageous, and-"

"You sound just like her you know." Amethyst confided. "If I close my eyes, I can swear that you are Rose."

"Rose isn't really gone. She is half of Steven. Every moment that Steven spends loving you, or Pearl or Garnet, it is Rose loving you too."

"That would explain a lot." Amethyst said with a bittersweet laugh. "Do you know what's going on?" Stevasma shook her head.

"Steven, unfuse immediately." Garnet said as she touched down on the beach. No one else had followed. "That girl is dangerous."

"No she isn't!" Came the reply, sounding a bit more like Steven. "We revealed our secrets. Danny said we will lose if we keep secrets from each other."

"Steven-" Garnet leapt back as an ectobolt exploded at her feet. The newer fusion glared at the older, both eyes glowing green.

"My name is Stevasma."

Here ya go! Hope you like it. Again most of this story was written before the Winter Steven Bomb in 2015/6, so yes Steven's first fusion was with Dani. For reference, Stevasma prefers the It/Itself pronouns, while Stevonnie prefers They/Themselves. Hopefully I don't mess it up in the furture.