Steven and Connie groaned in unison, their heads throbbing perfectly in sync as their eyes fluttered open.

"What was-" Connie asked, then furrowed her brow. Something wasn't right.

"-that?" Steven finished, his voice seeming to come from inside Connie. But it wasn't his voice, precisely. A different intonation, a slightly higher pitch, but still familiar.

Connie stumbled to her feet, her body feeling more gangly than it usually did - which was saying something, since puberty always made things a hundred times more awkward. Steven shook his head. Wait, how did he know that? His brain felt fuzzy, like she was on the edge of disappearing into something bigger, something bigger than them.

But they were the something bigger, they realized, some of the fog lifting from their mind. With dawning comprehension, they felt around their sternum, fumbling around with these new, strange proportions of theirs. Their hand finally found cold, hard crystal.

They stood dumbstruck for a moment, then began frantically feeling around their new body. Then they realized what they were doing, blushed , and instead peered at their reflection in a nearby stream. Long hair, longer than, well, taking things into account, it did make some amount of since considering their, no, his real form, wait, what real form? What were they talking about? Connie really, really needed to talk to Steven about this, but, oh stars, that paralyzing fear and-

It felt like an icicle had lodged in their skull, driving cold, painful tendrils through their brain. For a moment, everything was clear, and there was Steven and Connie again, thoughts in separate parts of their mind. But something snapped, bringing the two into a confused amalgamation once more. Their, his, no, their gem burned with cold fire.

They took a deep breath, calming themself. Didn't want that to happen again, whatever that was. Taking another look in the stream, the rational minds of both of their components took the forefront and began cataloging their features while all the other parts continued panicking in the background. Light tan. Smooth, dark hair, flowing past their waist. Jean shorts. A loose red tank top over a star tee that was far too small. They briefly wondered what had happened to the rest of Connie's red dress, but tabled that topic for another, less bewildering hour. Next to them were two pairs of shoes, neatly placed next to each other, and a sun hat. They snickered at the delicate placement of the clothing, and sighed. This was kind of nice, really. Peaceful. They could feel Connie and Steven within themself, still independent beings but part of... them, they supposed. As close as they could possibly be. It was electrifying. Now that the panic had subsided, they could jump for joy.

There was still a few problems. A name, for one. They perused Connie's vocabulary for a good one, delving into some of the more esoteric options once it became apparent that the common ones held no appeal. Maybe... ah, that was a good one. Rhapsody. It felt right.

Rhapsody got to their feet and stretched, their head hitting a wooden bough above where Steven and Connie were... were... their cheeks reddened. "Did we really... yeah, yeah. We did. It was weird, but... exciting too, right? Right. I'm sorry, I should've- no, no. It's fine. Really? It is!" Their eyes widened. "Wait, wait am I going to tell parents?" Rhapsody's hand flew to their gemstone, and gasped, repeating with more urgency. "What am I going to tell her parents?"

They began pacing, rubbing circles in their palm with their thumb as their mind raced. "Okay. So, what exactly did I- yeah, I remember. Or do they, no, I remember? Connie remembers. I think?" Rhapsody groaned, tugging at their silky hair. "It's so hard to think like this! Fission on three?" They nodded, bracing themself. "Let's do this. Just think of, um... being separate people, I guess? Okay. Okay."

One. Rhapsody furrowed their brow, trying to sort the jumbled mess that was their mind and memories into Steven, Connie, and Rhapsody-shaped piles.

Two: They inhaled, then exhaled, trying in vain to relax their tensed muscles.

Three! Rhapsody closed their eyes, ready to go back to where Fusions went when they unfused... and didn't.

"Steven? Connie?" There was no answer. "Hello?" Rhapsody somehow felt Steven waving awkwardly, or at least the parts of him that weren't them right now. However, Connie was nowhere to be seen. Rhapsody frowned, then began poking around where Connie's memories should've been, only to start drowning in a torrent of anxiety.

They reeled, static scything through their mind. "This doesn't make sense," Rhapsody muttered, clutching their forehead. "If we're so badly in disharmony, then shouldn't I be unfusing right now?" Icy spikes emanating from their gem was their only answer.

"Maybe..." Blue and red danced across their vision. "Yeah, she should... yeah!" They glanced towards the sun, wincing at both its rays invading their eyes and its position in the sky. The Maheswarans would be coming to pick Connie up in just a few hours. They had to make tracks.

Rhapsody pushed aside the searing pain of their migraine and sprinted away, leaving a trail of dust behind them.

OxOxO

They avoided the Palanquin. Neither of Rhapsody's components objected to their decision, the mere thought of having to explain this to so many people at once frightening one part into paralysis while the other just filed Rhapsody as another secret to be kept.

When Rhapsody tried to stop at the Temple cave, they fell flat on their face, an unfortunate side effect of reaching speeds of around forty miles per hour on foot. At least they had made good time.

Rhapsody let out a groan, muffled by the sand, then rolled over. Garnet was standing over them, extending a hand. "G-Garnet? Thanks," they murmured, and got to their feet with the other Fusion's help. Wordlessly, Garnet led Rhapsody over to the Warp Pad. Without any apparent signal from Garnet, the ancient device flared to life and shot the two Fusions into a crystalline column hurtling towards an unknown destination.

They landed on a vivid yellow cloud, a Warp Pad embedded in its center. Rhapsody barely had time to gasp in wonder before Garnet was off again, leaping from curiously colored cloud to the next. It was almost trivial for Rhapsody to keep up. After a few minutes, they arrived at their destination: a miniature version of the Sky Arena. Rhapsody winced at the sudden influx of emotionally charged memories from their components.

Garnet sat and folded her legs at the center of the small arena, gesturing for Rhapsody to join her. They obliged, awkwardly shifting their weight to find a comfortable position on the hard, scuffed floor.

"I figured you would want some privacy," Garnet explained.

Rhapsody's throat tightened, guilt clashing with fear in their hammering heart. Fear won out. "I- Thank you. Again."

Garnet shrugged. "It's no problem." The Fusion then let her facade drop, revealing a wide grin that looked almost uncanny on the normally stoic Gem. "You're amazing."

They flinched, taken aback. "Wh-what?"

"You are impossible by nature. Never in the vast history of Earth has a Gem and a human fused. You are unique, an experience that is entirely new. I never thought I would find someone like you. It's incredible. Not even my future vision could predict you!"

Rhapsody cast their gaze downward. "Well… How did you know I'd be at the Temple?"

"You don't miss a thing," Garnet remarked. "My foresight informed me something really exciting would happen there. It was right."

"Oh."

Garnet took off her glasses, smile fading. "Now listen to me. You need to hear this. Because of who and what you are, it is up to you and no one else to decide what kind of person you are going to become. Not your mother or fathers," Rhapsody's heart fluttered at the mention of Connie's parents, "not any of the Gems, not even me. Never forget that." Garnet closed her eyes for a few seconds, her face blank. She was fighting every reflex to smile.

Rhapsody was awestruck. "Um... ah..." They shook their head violently. "Get it together! Well, um, that was certainly a... speech. I'm going to have to process, or, um, we? I feel like that's definitely a group discussion. If there is even a group. Which there probably is, because, um, I'm... I'm where Connie and Steven intersect, right? There's Connie, and there's Steven, and then there's me made out of them that's something entirely new. Being a Fusion is confusing. Heh. But back to the matter at hand, well, the thing you brought up at any rate, yeah. I, we, or, um, Connie, does have a problem. Her parents are coming to Beach City in a few hours, and we, um, can't unfuse."

"Really?" Garnet frowned, adjusting her shades. Memories of a particularly troublesome purple fusion danced within her mind. "This probably won't sound very good, but I can't tell you what the problem is."

Agony crawled across Rhapsody's skull as Connie flailed in panic. "WHAT? You're not sure?! You're a fusion expert!" they screeched. The part of them that was primarily Connie began raving. "Oh, stars, what about school? Book club is in a day! Where am I going to stay, will my, or, er, no, this is definitely me talking here, will my parents even accept me? They don't even know about magic yet, and who knows what the abacus value is for fusing with my b-b-b-b-b-"

Garnet placed a hand on Rhapsody's shoulder. "Connie. Steven. Trust me. You've got a lot of work to do. I may not be able to diagnose this issue, but I can try my best to cure it. It will take time, patience, and perseverance for everything to be right in the end. But, in order for everything to work out, you should probably tell Greg and the rest of the Gems about this."

Rhapsody gulped. That was going to be a fun conversation.

OxOxO

"Breathe," Rhapsody started hyperventilating. Garnet repressed a sigh. "No, not like that. Five seconds in, five seconds out. Remember that even if I wasn't here, you wouldn't be alone."

"Right," they sighed. "It's just impossible to stop worrying about how everyone will react," In fact, such anxiety had almost entirely erased thoughts of homework, clubs, or other activities to be missed.

"Understandable, but I assure you that no matter how this initial reveal goes, it will all work out in the end, Rhapsody."

"I've got no doubt in your future vision, but I really don't want to do this."

Garnet shot them a stern look. "You should."

Rhapsody responded with their own. "Didn't you say I shouldn't listen you? Only me?"

"I suppose I did, but you should heed my advice concerning this. Go up the hill and into the palanquin. Connie's parents are still not here, so at least there's that. I'll be right behind you. You have my word, and I promise that's not something easily broken," she winked at her fellow fusion.

As they mentally prepared themselves, they couldn't help the trickle of anxiety centered around their gem. Deciding that they'd never be fully prepared, they began their journey up the dirt road to Steven's residence. It was a slow one, despite the added length to their legs. Rhapsody purposefully slowed down so as to avoid confrontation the longest.

It was incredibly nerve wracking to hear the hustle and bustle of the ongoing party about to be crashed. Then they remembered all the fuss was most likely centered around Steven's accident and subsequent flight.

Rhapsody swallowed their fear and burst into the palanquin without warning. It went far from their expectations, as they had to fumble around with the heavy curtains serving as a door. "Hello there," they said.

The awkward silence was broken by the sound of a pitcher full of lemonade shattering on the crystalline floor. Blue Pearl, who had dropped it, made several exclamations of shock and fear. "Pi-"

Amethyst, the bravest of the group of gobsmacked gems and Greg, approached the fusion. She stopped just in front of them, looking up at the mountainous Rhapsody. "Connie? Steven? Steeeee… vonnie?"

"Actually, the name I've chosen for myself is Blue Ultimate Lifeform Alaska Titan Rhapsody Uniwaran." The group stayed silent, which Rhapsody didn't appreciate. The fusion laughed awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. "Just kidding! It's just Rhapsody for now," Their facade dropped. "Is the silent treatment in style or something?"

"You'll have to excuse us. We've all… witnessed a fusion between a Diamond and a human," Rose said.

Rhapsody pursed their lips. "Right. Well, you'd better get used to it quickly. Garnet thinks I'm stuck this way for a while."

"You… You can't come apart?" Greg asked, stepping forward cautiously. He observed them with something similar to confusion. "Steven… are you in there?"

"Of course," Rhapsody said. They were growing increasingly frustrated at the weird treatment they were receiving. "Let's get the Q and A over with now. The sooner we're on the same page, the sooner we can have even a modicum of normalcy."

Amethyst snickered. "So is it like a Swiss army-"

Rhapsody went beet red, showing off a scowl that would give even Ruby a run for her money.

"Amethyst!" Garnet barked, stepping inside. "That's far enough."

"Who made you the flippin' fusion police? I was just trying to lighten the clearly not light mood!" the Quartz objected.

"Yeah, I'm just going to go live in the ocean until this all blows over," Rhapsody declared, turning about on their heels.

They felt a palm brush their left hand as they were darting away. Rhapsody leapt into the air, soaring toward the forest they originated from. This time, however, they were careful to land high on a tree's limb, far from where Garnet had discovered them. Once they were certain they were "alone", they held a hand to their gemstone.

"So I guess we're No Home Boys now?" The more Steven part of them asked.

A voice from below interrupted their response to themselves. "I don't know what that is, but it sounds wonderful."

Rhapsody's eyes went wide, their heart beating wildly. They were dumbstruck. How had they been found so quickly? "Rose?" they asked, poking their head over the thick branch.

"Yes."

"How-"

"That's not important. You are important, Rhapsody."

They scoffed. "You sure I'm not a zoo animal? You all seemed pretty keen on watching me from afar!"

Rose gave them the best apologetic look she could. "You've got to understand how… truly unique you are, even among fusions. You're a fusion of three-fourths human and one-fourth Diamond. None of us have even a remote idea on how to react!"

"Oh yeah? You've all been dealing with a half-human half-Diamond for long enough, so it seems to me that you should!" Rhapsody shouted down to her.

"Your logic is sound, but this is… different."

"I'm going to have to start writing down how many times you say that!"

That caused Rose to chuckle under her breath. Rhapsody was about to deliver another fresh helping of piping-hot snark when they were stopped. "I'm sorry for laughing, but I couldn't help myself. This entire situation is just so… funny."

They pursed their lips, narrowing their eyes. "How so? Explain."

"Garnet is the one who found you," Rose said excitedly. "Has she ever told you about the first time she fused to become herself?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Well, I won't go into specifics, but it was in front of you! Now years later, the first fusion of the Blue Diamond gemstone is in front of Garnet," Rose explained.

"Then what happened?" Rhapsody asked after a pause, their interest fully piqued. It seemed to them impossible for such a first encounter to go well. Pearl's initial disgust with Garnet solidified that to them.

"Well, that's a story for her to tell."

"If you have no story, we've no more reason to talk. So, bye bye," they waved. "I'm staying in this tree until the sun itself dies in a fiery explosion."

"I was afraid you'd say that… A fusion like you shouldn't be alone during your early stages. It's understandable you wouldn't want to be near people you aren't too close to, so I'll have the rest of the Crystal Gems withdraw. Just please go back to Greg. You need to be around people at least one of your components trust unconditionally right now."

"I-" the fusion considered her words. She was no fusion, but Rose Quartz had to know what she was talking about to lead over Garnet. Rhapsody grumbled, falling out of the tree and landing on all fours in an inhuman manner. "You win this round, Rose Quartz. Go on ahead and send everyone home."

OxOxO

Rhapsody spent about ten minutes pacing back in forth at the bottom of the brooding hill. They were keen to stay there forever, but the Crystal Gems left and leapt toward their temple sanctuary. It was time to make their reappearance, they supposed, crossing their arms. As slowly as they could with their towering legs, they arrived at the palanquin.

It was abundantly clear that no one was fully prepared when they entered. Greg sat at the kitchen table, staring with concern at half of his child. Lapis sat on the counter, hunched forward with confusion etched into her face. Pearl was most pitiable of all. She ran a mop back and forth over an obviously clean surface for a full thirty seconds before Rhapsody cut the silence.

"Hey, guys. Sorry for bailing earlier."

Pearl choked back a sob as she snapped her gaze on Rhapsody. "Please forgive me…"

The fused young adults were baffled. "Huh? For what?"

She sank to her knees. "You look so much like her… I should have put a stop to your rel-"

"Shut your mouth, Pearl," Lapis interjected venomously. "Freaking out isn't gonna help in any way."

Pearl hung her head low. Her shame marginally outweighed the building urge to punch Lazuli in the face. "Maybe it will…"

Greg stood up and sighed. "I don't think it will. I've… got an idea. Rhapsody, tell us what you want us to do."

Rhapsody took no pauses before unloading her answers. "I just don't want this to be awkward anymore! Treat me like I'm Steven if you have to. I'm sure the Maheswarans will treat me like I'm Connie no matter what I say."

The man who resembled a bearded hot dog gulped. "Wuh oh. This will be the second most unexplainable thing I'll have to explain to someone's parents."

"At least we have time to prepare…" the fusion supposed.

As much as Lapis wanted to come out and scream about how bizarre this was, a deep part of her urged her to just go along with it. Even before the war, she had been open-minded, but this was quite a strainer on that. "If you say so," she said, clenching her blue fists.

"Is there anything you need, My Diamond?" Pearl said, freezing toward the end of that sentence. However, she made no attempt to correct such a mistake, as there was no Steven to correct her. Only Blue Dia- Rhapsody.

"Unless you've got a fission technique, I think I'm all set…"

OxOxO

Peridot was undeniably, irrefutably, and utterly perplexed. "What in the..?" she muttered, raising a brow.

Either the unreliable robonoids had arrived at the wrong clodding location, or the display screen must have been malfunctioning. By all accounts, the Galaxy Warp should have been right in front of her vision spheres. But no, all that sat in her view was an inky blue ocean, just like the majority of this condemned planet!

Peridot double checked the coordinates, then triple checked, then quadruple checked as was the standard.

Just several months ago she had located the place with her satellite surveyors, and confirmed the coordinates down to the decimal. Sure, the Warp was crumbling, but it was nowhere near decrepit enough to sink into the ocean in such a short time. That alone was reason enough to suspect other forces at work, but the question what what?

What on Earth could destroy and swallow up solid gem stone? Not anything, according to the reports.

Peridot grumbled under her breath as she gave the robonoids their self destruct command.

"Another approach is required…"

That was a trip, huh? Let's give a warm sendoff to theDoomKitten, as this was as the last chapter she worked on.

Come talk all about this on our discord, kmNpaaH.