Chapter 1

"-Dri~ift... Away..."

Spinel's form glowed and changed. Her hair was lengthening and her gem flipping upside down, just as Steven and the others met her.

Steven stood, shocked by this turn of events as Spinel looked back with pain in her eyes. The dark streaks on her cheeks reappeared. It dawned on him that they represented tears or sadness.

"Spinel..." Steven said, "you... you got your memories back." Spinel looked away, trying to come to terms with her renewed memories.

He wanted to say more but stopped himself. He can't be brash. 'Spinel needed a friend,' he thought. He remembered back when he met Centipeedle. He needed to take it slow. He took a deep breath. "Spinel, I'm sorry... you've been alone for so long. No one should ever have to experience that."

Spinel snorted "Yeah, well, I had the pleasure of experiencing it anyways." She said with sarcasm, turning to him, anger slowly building. "Six thousand years on this rock and Pink, my best friend, ends up moving onto this dirtball-" She slammed her hands onto the ground, looming over Steven, making him fall back. "-And forgetting all about me to make new friends!" She reared her arm back.

"No!" Steven raised his arm, trying to get his shield up. It fizzed out, his gem unable to bear the effort; He could feel his body drain further. He looked up and said, "listen to me! You deserve better. I want to help you!"

Spinel hesitated, looking down with conflicting ideals. She wanted to hurt him, to make him feel the same pain she did. Yet she wanted to make a friend, and friends don't hurt each other. She yelled out and threw her fist behind her, shattering the communication array that broadcasted Steven's message of peace. It now laid in pieces.

The thought would have been funny to Spinel if she weren't so frustrated.

Spinel groaned, collapsing on the ground as she unwound... literally. Her arms rolled out in front of her like dough. "...I hate feeling like this."

Steven chuckled despite himself. "I know the feeling."

Spinel looked away. Steven sighed and stepped forward, sitting next to her. He waited as she pulled herself together. His eyes were getting heavier. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this tired, this drained. 'Wow,' he thought. 'Guess I was pushing myself harder than I thought.'

He turned to see Spinel looking at him with a raised brow.

"You okay there," she asked, "you got some red stuff coming out of your nose."

"My wha-" he moved his head to his nose and felt something wet. He saw blood on his fingertips. "Blood? Why is there blood..." He felt his head starting to swim, the world around him moving as he felt something hit his back. It took him a moment to realize it was the ground.

"Wha-Steven? Hey! What's the matter?" Spinel looked down in concern. She never saw someone like this before, at least not without taking a few hits. She lifted his head up. "Come on, kid, this is no time for games!" She looked up in a lapse of disbelief. "Can't believe I just said..."

"Spinel," Steven said, looking up with eyes unfocused. "I'm not feelin too good..."

Spinel rolled her eyes. "Obviously!" She looked down, trying to figure out what could be wrong with the boy despite the fact she had no experience with organic beings. She saw that one movie with Steven and Amethyst, where a human placed a hand on the chest to feel for something. She did that, only feeling a rhythmic pulse beneath her hand. Which told her...absolutely nothing.

However, she looked at the one thing she did recognize: the gem on his stomach. Instead of the normal color, it looked dull. Much duller than she expected.

'The rejuvenator was supposed to reset a gem, not drain it,' she thought. 'Why would it...'

Spinel saw the light in the gem dim further. She didn't imagine it. Was this because Steven was a half-human? She felt something touch her hand. Startled, she looked down to see Steven placing his hand on hers.

"Heh, sorry... Spinel. I... didn't mean... to..." His grip weakened.

Spinel's eyes widened. She was going to lose him. She was going to lose a friend. Again...

No... 'No...' "No... NO!" Tears of sadness pouring down on the contrasting angry face. She pulled him close, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tightly. "Don't you dare! Don't you dare leave me! You hear me, Steven!?

Tears were streaming from her eyes. Her feelings were in turmoil. She didn't care, letting her emotions run rampant.

"I!"

Her gem started glowing.

"DON'T!"

Steven's body was feeling colder.

"WANT!"

Her grip tightened.

"TO!"

Spinel's body radiated in bright light.

"BE!"

Steven's hand slipped away.

"ALONE!"

There was an explosion of smoke, the shockwave shaking the dead plants and broken debris that surrounded them. The garden shook from the force.

In time, the cloud dissipated and settled down. In the middle of the explosion, stood not two figures, but one individual; Much taller than Spinel or Steven.

Taaffeite looked upon herself, grey eyes widening in awe and fear.

She asked, "am I... did we.. fused?"

Her limbs were thicker, rounder. A tuft of hair on the front, two ponytails that were now three, a long one behind the head, bells hanging at the end of each. Black circles around the eyes replaced the lines on the cheeks, face as pale as moonlight. Her four arms were jointed at the shoulder. She wore a mismatched set of clothing; frills tied from the neck to the chest, a red shirt with puffy shoulders with stars on each of them, flashy shorts with one legging that was baggy while the other was missing, a set of boots that rode up to her knees and curled greatly around the toes.

Taaffeite raised a brow at her new clothing. "I look like a... jester? Harlequin? Fool?" She shook her head, thoughts from Steven jumbled with Spinel. "This is... different." She bounced in place before flipping backward, a jump that nearly sent her 100 feet back, all the while she flipped at least 20 times before landing on her feet, almost knocking herself off balance. "Whoa, whoa whoa!"

Taaffeite giggled. "Guess I don't know my own strength..." She looked at herself. Then stretched, twirling her arm and scratching her head. "Can still stretch like taffy! Heh heh!" She smiled. She never felt so happy, so... delighted!

"Wait!" She snapped her arm back. "Steven! He's hurt! I need to defuse and..."

Her expression blanked. If she did that, Steven would be in the same position as before. She could feel it, his essence was weak. Spinel's own power was the only thing keeping him stable. If she were to defuse...

"Uh, oh."

She couldn't fix this herself. She needed help.

"I need to find the others," Taaffeite said, expression hardening. She had to get them to help, but how would they react? "Would they believe me?" She shook her head. "No! Focus! I can do this! I just gotta believe myself! I just gotta tell em Steven was close to death and I forced myself to fuse into him by squeezing him like a sponge! What can go wrong!?"

...

Taaffeite pulled at her hair, banging her head with her fists while yelling.

"I'm so screwed!"