"So why are you in those forms?" Pearl asked, looking at a completely transformed Ruby and Sapphire.
"Hell yeah," I said from Ruby, doing some totally unnecessary push-ups, just to show off, while Sapphire clapped with a calm smile.
Pearl could only respond with beads of sweat trickling down her face.
"Wow... they're a little... how to put it..."
"Extravagant?" I said now from Sapphire, tilting my head curiously.
"Future vision..." Pearl murmured, almost to herself.
Then she turned around, noticing how both parts of me were sweating from the workout.
Talking like this, split in two, was awful and tiring, I thought, as I regained control of Ruby and stood next to Sapphire, who was in a relaxed position. She looked freaking cute in her new clothes, which was weird because I was basically admiring myself.
God-level self-praise.
Pearl turned back to us.
"Look... you're not the first rebel gems," she said, taking a deep breath, "but you two did something that changed Rose's perspective."
From Ruby, I tilted my head.
"What did we do?" I asked.
Pearl opened her mouth to answer... but suddenly covered it, as if she'd realized something too late.
"Well..." I said from Sapphire, choosing my words carefully as always.
"I imagine it was your owner, wasn't it?"
Pearl's eyes snapped open.
"How do you know?"
"It's normal," I said calmly, turning my gaze to Ruby.
I took control and made Ruby look directly at Sapphire.
For a second we stood like that, observing ourselves, and then we took a step forward simultaneously.
We held hands.
I felt that familiar vibration course through my body, that gentle pressure in my chest, as if the world were bending slightly.
Light exploded around us.
Two forms merged.
Two consciousnesses aligned.
And instantly we were one again.
Me.
Garnet.
The dizziness was minimal this time, barely a twinge in my head, nothing like the first time. I felt everything fall into place, how fire and ice settled into perfect balance.
I took a deep breath.
Much better.
I craned my neck a little and looked down at Pearl.
"This is more comfortable," I said calmly.
Inside, Ruby was excited and Sapphire was analyzing every possible future.
And me... I was just happy to feel whole again.
"How did you change that?" Pearl asked, her mouth now wide open.
"We're talented," I said, emphasizing that there were two of us, not just one, mostly to avoid any weird suspicions about me and the fact that I control both sides.
"It doesn't matter," Pearl said as she started walking, and I followed her.
"My name is Garnet, in case I hadn't mentioned it," I added calmly.
"You give yourself a name?" Pearl asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. I like it."
"But you don't look much like the Garnets of the Empire," Pearl said, clearly confused.
"So what? I don't care," I replied calmly.
"Care?" Pearl said, even more confused.
"Future vision stuff," I said to allay any suspicions.
Pearl decided to stay quiet.
"Well," she said finally as we entered a nearby portal.
"We'll meet a blacksmith, the one who forged Rose's weapon."
"A Bismuth?" I asked, activating my future vision a little. I already knew exactly what was going to happen, so I wasn't surprised.
"Let me at least give you some surprises," Pearl said, rubbing her face, exhausted.
We walked for a few minutes until we reached what I recognized from both the show and my future vision: the forge.
Pearl knocked on the door while waiting for it to open.
Out of nowhere, the door burst open and a wild Bismuth appeared in front of me... and before I could react, she hugged me.
"FINALLY, NEW GEMS!" Bismuth shouted as she spun me around in the air.
I, who had already expected something like this, simply let myself be swept away. I felt no ill intentions, just pure, overflowing excitement.
"Wow... you're a fusion of different castes, plus you have an amazing flow, incredible. It made me want to get a poof so we could be the same, what do you think?"
I turned to Pearl.
"She's very enthusiastic, isn't she?" I asked her.
"Very," Pearl replied with a small smile.
"Oops, my bad," Bismuth said as she settled in and introduced herself.
"My name is Bismuth, although you should already know that. I'm a Bismuth of blacksmithing and also of interiors." "I was a Bismuth, born to a Morganite who came to this planet and abandoned me," she said, lowering her voice slightly.
For a moment, her sadness was evident.
"But it doesn't matter, I don't miss her, so don't feel bad for me," she added quickly, before grabbing my arm and pulling me inside.
Pearl just shook her head as she walked behind us.
"Garnet, right?" Bismuth said as she sat me down in a wooden chair.
...
"How does this thing stay warm?" I asked, looking at the chair.
"It's a chair," Bismuth replied, as if that explained absolutely everything.
"But it's made of wood," Pearl added.
I stared blankly.
Seriously, these people were obsessed with human things, and I was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on with my life.
"So, since you're one of the rebels, I want to see what you've got," Bismuth said, her eyes clearly interested.
"See?" "What?" I asked, confused.
"Your weapon," Bismuth said, with that dangerous look of someone already thinking about how to upgrade it.
"Well..." I said, summoning my gauntlets.
Light appeared around my hands.
Two spiked gauntlets slowly materialized.
I felt the weapons' energetic weight settle on my arms.
Bismuth approached like a child eyeing a new toy.
"Ohhh... interesting," she murmured.
I just raised an eyebrow.
And I had a bad feeling that this was going to escalate fast.
"Perfect," Bismuth said, grabbing my hands.
"Can I borrow them?"
I was like, "What the fuck?" but to avoid making things awkward, I just let my gloves dematerialize along with my hands.
"What the heck?" Pearl said, completely confused.
"It's like cannons," I explained honestly. "It comes naturally to me, because of the fusion, I guess."
Bismuth practically glowed with anticipation as she carried my gloves off to who-knows-where.
"Did you run out of gems?" Pearl asked, now even more confused.
"Not at all," I said, showing her that my gems were still right where my hands had been.
"Interesting," Pearl murmured with a hint of admiration as she watched me.
"Come on!" Bismuth's voice, completely unhinged, boomed from the back of the workshop.
"Huh?" Pearl and I said simultaneously as we walked toward her.
We found her literally submerged in lava, holding my gloves with both hands.
"They're lava-resistant," she said, surprised.
"On my side, Ruby's," I replied calmly.
"Oh, right, Ruby and Sapphire, aren't they?" Bismuth said.
"Yes," I replied, taking in the scene, still impressed by the organized chaos of the forge.
"It's incredible how they fused. Rose and Pearl told me about it; it's fascinating."
"I was surprised too... and they almost shattered us," I said, shaking as if recalling the impact.
"Typical of the Empire," Bismuth said. "Who would have shattered you? An Agate? A Quartz?"
"Blue Diamond," I replied, beads of sweat trickling down the back of my neck.
...
...
...
Bismuth slowly turned toward me.
"Blue Diamond?" she repeated, testing the name.
"Did they fuse in front of Blue Diamond?"
I nodded.
The smile Bismuth gave me was impossible to hide.
"You're my damn idol," she said, grinning from ear to ear.
Then she crossed her arms and pointed at me with her thumb.
"You know what? Just for that, ask me for anything and I'll give it to you so you can improve these weapons."
I was like, "What the fuck?" but seeing the system bug, I decided to take advantage of it quickly.
"Well, since you insist," I said, scratching the back of my neck, "I want you to add spikes, make the gloves more compact, and give the fingers greater resistance and better heat and cold resistance."
Bismuth stared blankly as she listened.
She blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then, slowly, that dangerous smile that only mad geniuses have appeared.
"Oh... Garnet," she murmured.
"You just gave me permission to get creative."
Perla swallowed hard behind me.
I only thought one thing.
Out of nowhere, Bismuth flashed a wide grin.
"Don't blame me for the upgrades," she said as she ran off in a completely unrelated direction.
I summoned my normal hands, unconsciously leaving the gloves behind.
"Can you leave your hands like that?" Garnet asked.
"I can summon them again, but she needs my gloves, so nah, I'll just stay here. I really feel at home."
"If Bismuth lets you, I'm fine with it," Pearl said.
"Hey Bismuth, do you think I can hang around here?" I asked, raising my voice slightly.
"Do whatever you want," Bismuth replied from below as metallic clangs echoed through the air.
"Okay," Pearl said with a small smile.
"If you need anything, just wait for us. Rose and I will be keeping an eye out, since there are other gems joining us, but we need to confirm."
"Oh yeah? And how did I get in so fast?"
"Because you fused right in front of that damn Blue Diamond," Pearl said, raising an eyebrow.
"You have a point," I replied, nodding.
"It doesn't matter, just don't do anything crazy. Use the sensible part of Sapphire and stay calm, train or something."
I looked at her.
"Are you calling me stupid?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I mean... just... ugh... just be careful."
"Hahaha, don't worry," I said, turning around and sitting calmly in the wooden chair, the one that, by some twist of fate, didn't burn even when surrounded by lava.
And there I stayed, waiting for my new weapons, with the sound of metal clanging in the background and the uncomfortably pleasant feeling of being, for the first time, in the right place.
End of Chapter 3.