Toxicity was thick through the ocean's floor, the disgruntled roars and stomping made it so that any marine life couldn't penetrate through the atmosphere of malice. Distant screams from the depths of the ocean arose as the giant was being dragged down by watery chains. No matter how much she wanted to sever herself, she was trapped, and weak. Weakened by that… Fusion.

It felt like days. Jasper had tried fighting against Lapis, trying to push free from the centaur-like body she had fused into. When Lapis felt satisfied with how far they were, she pulled down on the chains, making them lay forcibly down against the seafloor. Their body, crushed under the pressure of water and chains, groaned audibly, both tired from pushing and pulling from each other.

How could she drag her so far down while being fused, weakened by the ships crash, and fighting against the Gem she fused with? Jasper didn't know, but she needed a way out. She had to find Peridot and get back to Homeworld. Trapped within the body of Malachite deemed that impossible at the current time, however. Jasper let out a growl, but Lapis remained quiet, keeping Malachite down and pressed against the seafloor.

The chains tightened as Jasper slowly gave up, tired and weak, letting Lapis easily take control. The brutish Gem thought relentlessly about her defeat. Not only trapped at the bottom of the sea, but losing to those traitors. She kept her thoughts absolutely to herself, not wanting Lapis to catch wind of any of her plans.

She would break free somehow, and slaughter them. Starting with that fusion. She would hold their gems in her giant fists and crush them until they gave way to a satisfying crack. Fuck yes.

Steven was happily enjoying a movie with the Crystal Gems. Krogan vs Gallfang; a Japanese monster movie about a giant, radioactive 45 meter salt water crocodile, fighting another giant monster named Gallfang. Gallfang was a giant snake-like serpent. It mocked the look of a cobra and a traditional Chinese dragon.

The boys eyes lit up like stars when he watched the giant croc smashed through the city. His giant whip-like tail smashing through buildings as he snuffed out his opponent. Hissing and letting out a loud, groaning bellow, he charged at his enemy, snapping his powerful jaws. The cobra Kaiju flashed its fangs, hissing loudly as it whipped quickly around Krogan, squeezing his throat with it's serpent body.

"Now, Steven, can you remind me of something I wasn't sure of?" Pearl spoke up as she watched the monster battle ensue on the screen. "Is Krogan good, or...?"

Steven placed his finger to his mouth, thinking.

"It's kinda hard to explain, Pearl. He's good, and sometimes he's bad."

"But he smashes into buildings 'n stuff," Amethyst noted.

"Amethyst, so do we," Garnet spoke.

"Yeah, but not on purpose or nothin'. On accident or if we need to," Amethyst shrugged.

"It isn't because he wants to, guys. Krogan is just super big and he really can't help smashing through the city. He just wants his territory to himself, I think," Steven spoke back.

The giant croc let out a choking roar, rolling and squirming as the deadly adversary wrapped tighter around his neck. The black ragged spines on the crocs began to glow a yellowy color, sparking around him, releasing a burst of energy, making Gallfang write away in pain. He coiled himself back and hissed in agony. Krogan let out a dominant roar.

"Okay, so like, what?" Amethyst asked as the giant croc let out a loud skreeongk. "He can just, use magic or something? Why didn't he use it before to destroy Gallfang?"

"No, it's not magic. It's a radioactive pulse that surges through Krogan if he can't fight back or use his atomic ray," Steven said, enjoying the marching theme as Krogan was about to use his best weapon.

"His what?" Pearl asked, watching as Gallfang slithered up, sneering and hissing at Krogan.

The giant reptile snapped open his jaws and hissed, a yellow glow forming in his mouth as his spines on his back began to light up. He braced himself as he unleashed the full fury of his atomic power. A beam of yellow radioactive breath shot out of him, shoving the giant snake back against a building. With another victory roar, he charged quickly, sinking his large fangs into the serpents neck. He twisted his body as he rolled against the ground, not letting up from biting his enemy.

Seeming satisfied, Krogan let go of his limp enemy.

Humans then appeared on the screen, subtitles falling below as they spoke. They talked about how Krogan saved them from Gallfang. They watched as their reptilian hero let out another roar, slowly slinking back towards the sea. His body slowly decreased in sight as he sunk into the ocean. The credits began rolling with victory music.

"So, what'd you guys think?" Steven asked, looking around at the Gems.

"Well, I didn't really understand the relationships of the human characters. Why was that important? Wasn't it just about Krogan fighting off a menace?" Pearl asked.

"Pfft, P, it wasn't just about the monster battles. It was supposed to show a less intense side of the movie. If we got all the action at once, we'd be underwhelmed after awhile. I mean, it wasn't too boring or anything," Amethyst chimed in.

Steven turned to Garnet, who had been relatively quiet. As always.

"What'd you think of the movie, Garnet?"

She placed her hand on her chin and hummed for a moment. "Well... I thought it was pretty cool. I liked his atomic beam, or whatever it was called," Garnet spoke up. "What about you, Steven?" She had changed the subject, wanting to hear more from Steven.

"I loved his atomic beam too! I like his design in this movie too, in the other ones he's in, he looks goofy," the boy giggled, thinking about the Showa era movies.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time with us today, Steven," Pearl started back up again, but slow frown came upon her face. "But unfortunately, we have to go check up on a few things."

Steven frowned too, but he understood. Important Gem stuff wasn't something they could shrug off. Pearl patted him on the shoulder, and stood up to go to the warp pad. Amethyst ruffled up his hair a bit, and then Garnet stood up. She smiled at him.

"Take the day off, Steven. Make sure everyone in Beach City is okay," she said, leaning down and kissing his forehead.

He blushed and giggled, nodding as Garnet stood back up and the three Gems warped somewhere. Steven looked outside, then saw a quick flash of something. He... Saw himself. Picking something up in the sand. It was shiny, but what was it? He couldn't make it out, as the flash ended.

"Future vision?" He murmured to himself, rubbing his forehead.

Malachite rested quietly at the bottom of the sea, unmoved by the aquatic life moving lively above the fusion. 'Let me go...' Jasper growled inside of Malachite. 'You'll fucking regret this, Lapis...' She hissed again, hoping to provoke a response from her captor.

Instead of words or thoughts, the chains simply tightened down more and more harshly on the fusion's body. "Hrrnk!" Jasper let out a pained growl.

"I said, never, Jasper," Lapis finally let her voice be heard.

"I'll break free, just you fuckin' wait!" The warrior sneered.

She felt more intense pressure as she said this. Jasper felt something snap within her. At first, she tried splitting herself physically apart from Lapis. But, Lapis physically pulled her back into the fusion. 'If you won't let me leave, then I'm taking you with me!' Jasper snarled in their head, and Malachite's body began pushing against the watery chains.

Jasper began to slowly push their body forward, Lapis trying hard to keep her back. But, Lapis had used a lot of her energy to keep Jasper from moving an inch, making her weaker and weaker. Jasper had rested instead of struggling against Lapis Lazuli.

Slowly but surely, Malachite was making her way back up through the ocean. Her muscular arms-for-legs worked at Jasper's advantage, pushing herself through the sand and water. It was going to take some time to get back onto the surface, as Lapis had dragged them down fairly far. But Malachite's sheer size made it easier to travel quicker.

Inside, she felt Lapis Lazuli becoming weaker and weaker, not being able to keep up her strength much longer. For now, she would try to rest before Jasper reached the surface. She wasn't going to let Jasper leave this miserable planet. Malachite's top set of eyes closed slowly. Lapis was only going to rest her eyes for a moment...

Jasper's grin spread across the fusion's face. She felt herself now in total control of Malachite. She sped herself up, seeing the light of the sun and the water becoming less shallow. She was going to get her hands on those Crystal Gems and smash them into oblivion!

Steven stood up now, hearing and seeing the waves becoming erratic. Nervously, he stood up and watched over the sea, but nothing appeared. Maybe an earthquake, or...?

"Uh... L-Lapis?" He asked hopefully, still looking around.

Suddenly, a giant burst of water shot up in the air. Stomping followed, and Steven picked himself up, looking up at the terrifying fusion known as Malachite. She panted, stomping onto the shore. She scanned the beach, and quickly spotted the boy. He gave her that same nervous, shaking look when she destabilized the fusion.

"Hello, brat!" She snarled, swiping her hand down towards Steven, trying to grab and squeeze the boy.

"Aa-AHH!" Steven shrieked as he tried dodging the swipe. He ran further away, but Malachite began chasing him, laughing as she did before she was first dragged into the ocean.

"No one to save you now, Rose!" Jasper snarled again, chasing Steven behind a rock.

The boy panted heavily, scared and terrified. Did... Is Lapis gone? He wanted her to be okay... He darted out from behind the rock and he ran away, calling for anyone to come save him.

"Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst-Anyone!" He shrieked loudly, tears forming in his eyes. The sounds of stomping got closer and closer to him, and he turned, seeing the malicious grin of Jasper.

He stared up at her, shaking and forming a bubble around himself as he saw her green hand trying to grab him. 'Lapis, please, where'd you go?!' Steven thought to himself, fearing this would be the end of his life.

The surprise came after his bubble wasn't popped. Instead, he heard Malachite groan out in pain. He looked through his bubble to see a familiar fusion. His bubble opened up and saw that Malachite was fighting against Sugilite. The purple fusion's weapon had slammed painfully into their body, forcing them back against the beach.

"Don't mess with my Steven!" Sugilite roared, retracting her weapon and holding it in her giant arms.

"Steven! Are you okay?!" Pearl yelled, running towards him as fast as she could, holding him up in her arms, watching as Sugilite fought back against the green fusion.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, but... Whoa, Sugilite?!" Steven gasped in awe as he watched her defend their home, and him.

Pearl sighed and nodded. "Yes, Sugilite. She's the only one who'd be able to use brute force and not get worn out from it. It's an emergency to use her now," she stated, holding Steven protectively in her arms.

The purple giant slammed her giant fists against Malachite again, forcing her into the ocean. The green fusion roared and grinned as she saw that her weapon to fight back was all around her. She raised her hand, using the water to her advantage, forming a giant fist with it. She quickly charged at Sugilite, smashing the fist into her face. Sugilite snarled, running back towards Malachite, using her own giant fists to punch at the torso of the toxic giant gem.

Jasper, still inside of Malachite's body, growled in annoyance. "I won't be defeated by a lousy fuckin' fusion like you!"

Sugilite grinned her fangs at her. She let out a loud cackle and summoned her weapon, it slamming into the ground. "Hahahaha! Lousy, huh? Could a lousy fusion do this?!" She snarled angrily now, taking her gauntlet whip and slamming it into the side of Malachite's body.

Sugilite cackled in victory as she stood over a beaten Malachite. "Now, unfuse!" She growled, slamming her weapon rather violently against the fusion's face. The two Gems spilt apart, Lapis standing weakly, then falling. Jasper fell down hard. Lapis got back up, and looked around, almost terrified of the giant purple fusion standing over them.

Jasper's neck could barely support the weight of her head. Her body had been worked to it's limit. She gasped in a sudden horror. Her gem cracked.

Her hand shakily reached towards her face. The blow from Sugilite's weapon hit Jasper directly into her weak spot. "H-Haaah-Grr-Y-You-!" The purple fusion merely stared down at Jasper, grinning. Suddenly, he felt herself retreating to her gem. Her body was badly damaged and overworked. Now she was in the mercy of anyone who wanted to crush her. What irony.

Pearl and Sugilite stared down at where Jasper laid. Lapis lifted herself up weakly. Steven wanted to run towards Lapis, wanted to make sure she wasn't injured. The boy panted, running towards the blue Gem. "Lapis, Lapis! A-Are you okay?!" Lapis shook her head, nervously eyeing the boy and looking over at the ocean.

"Stop!" She yelled to Steven in protest. Steven slowed down a bit, tearing up. "B-But, Lapis... You're hurt, please, let me take care of you!" He pleaded.

Pearl and Sugilite watched carefully. Lapis, even though weak and beaten, she was still standing. They doubted she would actually do anything to Steven, though.

The boy backed away, and saw Jasper's Gem in the sand. It had a crack in it. Future vision.

Pearl walked past Sugilite and got close to Steven. Sugilite looked down at them, and then back to eyeing Lapis. "Steven, you should give that to us," Pearl advised, bending down towards him.

The boy stared at the Gem. He could bubble Jasper. But... Jasper wasn't a corrupted gem like the others, she could break out of the bubble when she came back, even though she was cracked. Pearl was still staring at him, expecting to get Jasper's gem.

"What're you going to do to her?" Steven asked, carefully guarding the gem in his hands.

Lapis took advantage of this situation, and harmlessly fled back into the ocean. Sugilite leaned forward defensively, about to chase her, but Pearl called out to her: "That's enough! Lapis isn't the problem, let her go!"

The purple giant growled in annoyance, but she walked back over to Steven, behind him. The boy started tearing up, softly crying and looking back up at Sugilite. He ran over and hugged tightly at her leg, sniffling. He clutched Jasper's gem in his fist.

"No more! No more fighting, no more hurting others! Please... I just want to this to stop!" He clutched Jasper's gem more, and while hugging the giant purple fusion's ankle.

"Oohh..." Pearl began, almost groaning, knowing it aould be difficult getting the Gem back from him. They had to sit down and explain things to him. She wrapped her arms around him.

"Steven, lets all go inside, and calm down, okay?" Pearl assured calmly now, bending down over him and hugging him softly. He felt that Sugilite unfused, as the two formed into a group hug.

"Please, no more..." He sniffled.

The Gems looked worried, all looking at one another. Garnet picked the boy up in her arms, keeping him comforted. They all walked back towards the temple. Steven, sniffling, turned his head back, giving the ocean one last neck straining view.