Chương 44: LOG-040.

"So I suppose your rebellion certainly did a fair amount of damage in terms of large scale consequences for the Authority and the Empire as a whole." Sigh.

"There there, you... you can rest now." Rose tried to smile as she slid her blade into the shuddering Gem's corrupted lightform, she really did, but the expression came out more like some garish mix between a grimace and a thinning of her lips instead. Behind her, she could hear Garnet stepping forward, the fusion's visor no doubt glinting slightly as she took in the small pink gemstone left behind after the discorporation of its owner's twisted avatar.

"... Curly." Nodding sadly in both acknowledgement and agreement, the rebel leader gently scooped up the Agate, wincing at the almost violently red discoloration coating some of the poofed Gem's facets. It was hard to forget Curly, even when compared to some of the other, older or more notorious members of the Crystal Gems. She'd been one of the first Pink Agates to join the rebellion of her own volition, after all. She'd...

simply been too kind for her own good, and couldn't stand the treatment her troops were constantly put under beneath Homeworld's rules. Internally, she wondered just where those true Rose Quartzes that Curly had once commanded had gone now. She'd never actually managed to track them down after... after the Diamonds' attack, in the end.

"We should get back to the temple. I'm seeing... a few possibilities appearing more than usual." Blinking, Rose tilted her head slightly, even as the gemstone in her hand was steadily enveloped by a bright pink bubble, before being whisked away to await sorting within the burning room. Standing up, the rebel Quartz stretched out her form slightly.

"What kind of possibilities?" Her answer was another glint of light as her fellow Crystal Gem adjusted her visor once more.

"Lots of human food, for some reason."

The trip back to the temple was relatively short, all things considered. Getting back up to the Warp pad had necessitated the scaling of a small ravine, but after that the journey had been, as per usual, just about instantaneous, even if she couldn't help but note that yet another stream had gone offline thanks to various issues.

"Hah... home at least. I wonder how everyone is doing?" Earth's Warp network had been degrading for thousands of years, so Rose wasn't all too surprised that a pad here and there eventually broke apart in the face of rampaging corrupted Gems or even just exposure to constant weather effects slowly eroding them into little more than oddly shiny, pitted stones.

"Pearl and Vermillion are talking about Homeworld in her room. But... the rest... hm?" Glancing at Garnet out of the corner of her eye, Rose silently observed the living relationship's small, pondering smile, before she nodded to herself.

"Right, I'll check Amethyst's room first I suppose. That's where they're both most likely to be, right?" A small nod answered her in turn, even as the fusion began to approach the temple door, already raising up one of her hands.

"Yes. Let's take a look." Rose's gemstone glowed a soft pink as she kept pace with her fellow rebel, right before they both stopped in front of their objective, glancing at each other as the ancient piece of architecture shifted between configurations before opening up to the usual mess that was Amethyst's room. Stepping forward, Rose glanced around for a moment, before raising a hand up to her mouth.

"Amethyst? Amethyst are you here?" Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Something shifted behind one of the mounds of clutter, and the rebel leader dared to take another few steps forward.

"Viridian? Are either of you listening to me-oh!" Her eyes tracked something yellow fly through the air, the small object travelling through a brief arc before landing squarely atop her head. Gently running a hand through her hair, Rose plucked the object with a pair of fingers, bringing it forward for further inspection. She blinked as the stringy banana peel came into view, but it was what appeared once she lowered the discarded fruit skin that truly took her breath away.

Hair, voluminous and flowing like her own, yet entirely distinct with it's lack of curls, barely contained in a ponytail held together by a strip of dark fabric. It ended and started at a gradient, transitioning smoothly from a soft grey at the roots to lighter shades of green and purple towards the tips. The unknown Gem was tall, and garbed in a form-tight outfit with a few flowing segments cascading around it, staring down at an apple with narrowed yet elegant eyes and a visibly searching expression.

Rose paused, noting the way the clashing colours seemed to blend in and out of the stranger's lightform in the usual chaos that a fresh fusion tended to indicate... right before the strange familiarity of it struck her all at once, drawing a single name from her lips in a not quite gasp.

"... Opal?" Crunch. The fruit was split apart beneath perfect looking teeth, the Gem gently turning the apple in her hand throughout the entire process, gaze never leaving it even as she finally finished her almost painfully slow chewing and casually swallowed the piece she'd bitten off. A second passed, an indecipherable emotion flitting across her face before she tossed the fruit aside, crossing her arms and humming.

"The texture is, regrettably, subpar." The Opal (because this wasn't their Opal. Not entirely, at least, especially considering she only had two arms compared to the usual four) began, her voice smooth and measured. Rose opened her mouth to speak, only for it to clack shut as the fusion shifted once more, one hand coming up to cup her chin. From beside her, she could see an equally perplexed Garnet, even if she seemed far more enthused about this whole thing, despite how surprising and just... sudden it all was.

Ignoring both of them, the newly born combination continued even as Rose silently noted both Viridian and Amethyst's respective gemstones dotting her form.

"The flesh is old and... more than a little mushy, which detracts significantly from the initially expected crispness. The flavour is similarly disappointing, its faint sweetness quickly overshadowed by an overall bland tone, with hints of over-ripeness that suggest it's well past its prime." She paused, those same elegant eyes (with the two orbs an almost perfect cut between green and purple) finally meeting Rose's own starstruck gaze.

"The juiciness, while somewhat present, has a watery quality at best, lacking the refreshing burst one would hope for. The end result is lackluster, to say the absolute very least." With that, she uncrossed her arms and gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod, as if concluding her distinctly... professional? Yes, professional assessment.

"I'll need to find a better example for future consumption. Preferably from a modernized convenience store, rather than the one that had been sitting in my... or rather Amethyst's room." Then the Opal blinked, noting Rose's bemused stare and Garnet's wide grin with a tilt of her head, resulting in her ponytail shifting through the air in turn.

"Oh, and I would much prefer Slate Opal as a name. Though just Slate will work in terms of convenience I suppose."

My eyes widened slightly as Garnet rushed forward with a deep laugh, reaching out to grasp at my hands as she looked me up and down.

"Absolutely brilliant! And you both seem so compatible as well... it's truly a pleasure to meet you, Slate!" Tugging back slightly at the abrupt contact, I considered her enthusiastic greeting for a second before finally remembering that this was Garnet, and relaxing entirely.

"It's very much my own pleasure to meet you as well my dear. If possible, one of my components is rather hopeful you'll be able to grant us... or rather me some advice?" The words only seemed to make my fellow fusion even happier, even as I noted Rose slowly stepping forward to inspect me as well. Glancing back at the Quartz, I i nclined my head ever so slig htly.

"Hello, Rose." Any trace of hesitance that might have been hidden in her expression disappeared upon noticing my soft smile, the rebel leader - my best friend, smiling right back at me.

"Hello, Slate! Apologies if I seemed a bit... lost there. You weren't exactly someone I expected so... well so soon! But I'm glad to greet you to the world regardless! Tell me, is there anything I can answer for you, or would you rather speak to Garnet for a bit?" I paused, a slight shi ver running through my lightform as a singular, utterly beautiful thought occured.

Rose must have seen something in my eyes, because she looked just a little less certain as I stepped forward, clapping a pair of hands atop her shoulders in sheer exci tem ent.

"Amethyst remembers that you have a few spare accounts available for the Crystal Gems to use when it comes to interacting with humankind! Would you be so kind as to take us... or rather me out to a restaurant?" The Rose Quartz chuckled awkwardly at my eager tone, rubbing the back of her head in that way she almost always did when surprised by something.

"W-well I suppose I can do that. But are you sure you don't want to do something else fi-" I leaned even further forward in protest, my nose practically bumping against her own in the process. Out of the corner of my eye, I could still see a giddy Garnet watching the entire interaction with excitement. Shaking off the distraction, I focused back on Rose and gently shook my head.

"No thank you. I'd like to try a lot of different foods. Please." A moment of silence passed, before my friend closed her eyes and let out a small giggle.

"Okay! If that's really what you want! Garnet, can you wait here while I go get Pearl and Vermilion? Maybe we can make a trip out of this!" My fellow fusion merely nodded in reponse, giving Rose a thumbs up.

"It'd be nice to celebrate our efforts today." Excellent.