Hey guys! We're finally back with Luna and the gang as things continue. What will happen today? Let's jump in and find out! :D
-Luna's POV-
"Is it on alright?" Steven asked, adjusting his bald cap. Luna giggled and fixed the cap, saying, "It's fine now. Don't worry; it'll fool Connie and the others when they arrive."
Steven smiled and we heard knocking at the door. I rushed to the door and opened it. Connie, Amos and even Circo stood in the doorway. Both Connie and Circo looked distracted, and it was only Amos who smiled when he saw me. "Hey Luna," He said.
"Hey guys," I said, moving aside to let them in. "Come on in."
Amos, Connie and Circo walked past me and into the living room. Steven leaned against the coffee table and said to them, "Lovely day, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Connie said, not looking and taking off her backpack. Circo nodded, not looking up either. Amos was the only one who noticed and he snickered. Steven glanced at Connie and Circo in concerned. I looked at Amos, who looked at me and shrugged his shoulders. Steven cleared his throat and said, "Ya know, uh, my dad told me I should expect this at some point, but I didn't think it would happen overnight."
"Right, yeah," Connie said, rummaging through her bag. Circo sat on the couch and sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head back. Steven waited in silence before shouting, "Guys, I'm bald!"
Connie looked up and Circo opened his eyes, sitting up to look at Steven. "What happened?" Circo asked, slightly worried but not shocked. Steven sighed and pulled the bald cap off his head. "Nothing. It was a joke," He said. Connie turned back to her bag and said, "Oh, okay."
Circo leaned back and closed his eyes. Steven looked at me and gestured to them, pointing out how distracted they were. I sighed and said, "Are you guys okay?"
Before either Circo or Connie could respond, the warp pad lit up and Pearl and Garnet appeared. Pearl stepped off the warp pad, saying, "Steven, Connie, Circo, Luna! I hope you four are ready for your special training today."
Connie and Circo looked at Pearl nervously. "Were we suppose to bring something?" Circo asked. Garnet walked over to Pearl and said, "Just yourselves."
"Garnet is going to sit in. She's very excited to see you fight as Stevonnie and Bloodstone," Pearl said. Connie relaxed slightly, but still looking distracted. "Right, fusion training," She muttered.
"But Bloodstone doesn't even have a weapon," Circo said. "Wouldn't it be better if Lumos trained today?"
Amos and I shared a glance, surprised Circo was suggesting for us to fuse. Pearl shook her head, "Lumos has been doing exceedingly well in training. Besides, it's about time Bloodstone got a weapon of their own. I'll let them borrow my spear and see how they are with it."
Circo nodded, though I could sense something wrong with him. Garnet held up a sign and said, "I made it sign. One one side, it has all of your names, and on the other, it has Stevonnie's and Bloodstone's name. It's a fusion sign."
I giggled at the joke and Amos smirked. Steven laughed and nudged, Connie, saying, "It's a fusion joke."
Connie nervously laughed but didn't look too happy. We all walked towards the warp pad and warped to the arena. When we made it, I slowed my walk so that I was walking with Amos while the others stayed ahead. I leaned over to Amos and whispered, "Is everything alright with Connie?"
Amos shook his head, "She's been like that ever since she got home from school. I tried asking her but she wouldn't talk. I'm just hoping it doesn't mess with training. Speaking of, what's up with Circo? He looked almost as down as Connie."
"It's...a long story," I said, as we reached the entrance of the arena. I didn't have time to explain though as Pearl said, "Luna! Hurry up so we can start the lesson!"
"C-Coming!" I shouted. I smiled at Amos before running down the steps to join the others. I stood next to Circo as Pearl projected four holographic Pearls. Pearl smiled at us and asked, "Ready kids?"
"Yes, ma'am," Steven and I said. I glanced at Circo and nudged him, saying, "Circo."
"Y-Yes ma'am," He said. From the bleachers, I could hear Garnet and Amos cheer, "Ste-ven, Con-nie, Cir-co, Lu-na, woooo!"
"Initiating fusion dance," The four pearls said. The four pearls paired up and started a robotic dance. The four fused where there were now two very big holographic Pearls. They held up their weapons and said, "Come at me, children."
I looked at Circo and we nodded to each other. He took my hand and twirled me around. I spun around and Circo brought me into a dip just as our gems glowed.
-Bloodstone's POV-
We opened our eyes and saw that I was standing in the arena with Stevonnie. I smiled at them and said, "Great to see you again, Stevonnie."
"You two, Blood," Stevonnie said, smiling. Pearl summoned her spear and hand into to me. "Bloodstone, for training, we'll see how you work with a spear today. If it's too hard, let me know so that we can try a different weapon."
I nodded, nervous about fighting. Pearl stepped back and we gripped the spear in our hands, ready to fight. Pearl raised a hand and said, "Let us...begin!"
She brought her hand down and Stevonnie charged at their holographic Pearl. I looked up and managed to raise the spear to block the attack our holographic Pearl did. The pearl pressed their blades against the spear, trying to get the upper hand. We pushed them back and charged. Holographic Pearl charged, trying to sweep their blades low. We jumped and immediately I felt an energy surge in my back. I looked over my shoulders and saw a small pair of water wings on our back. They fluttered and we hovered over the holographic pearl, landing behind them. We glanced at the pair of wings and smiled.
"Sweet! Mini Luna wings," I said, getting ready to charge. I jumped at the holographic Pearl but suddenly, everything around us changed. The area around us turned a golden orange and the holographic Pearl in front of us changed into an angry version of Circa. We stared at Circa for a second in pure shock. "Wha-I'M SORRY!" We screamed, closing our eyes. We flew through the holographic Pearl and hit the ground. Everything grew bright and immediately went dark.
-Luna's POV-
Circo and I unfused and I slammed into the ground, coming to a sudden stop when I hit a broken pillar. I groaned and looked up to see Circa staring at the ground, his eyes wide and full of emotion. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Amos. "Are you okay!? What happened?!" He asked, helping me up.
"I-I don't know," I started. But when I looked over at Circo, he had shut his eyes and got up, running towards the stairs of the arena. I almost started after him but saw Connie running towards the stairs too. Steven quickly followed after her and I looked at Amos. He nodded and I ran after them, hoping to run into one of them. I reached the archway when I saw the warp pad's light vanish. I I went down the stairs but stopped when I saw Connie and Steven sitting next to one another. They both looked at me and I asked, "Did Circo-"
"Yeah..." Connie said, turning away. She hugged her knees and I looked at Steven. He shook his head, "You should go after Circo. He looked really upset."
I nodded and rushed past them. I got onto the warp pad and warped back to the Beach House. I looked ahead and saw the door to the house had just closed. I gritted my teeth and ran out of the house. I reached the stairs as Circo took a seat at the bottom of the steps. I slowly walked down the steps and said, "Mind if I join you?"
Circo didn't say anything nor did he move. I took a seat on the steps next to him, and we both sat in silence. I glanced at him and asked, "You want to talk about it?"
"No, but I guess I have too now that you saw," He said. He looked up a little and stared at the ocean ahead. "Ever since seeing my mom in Steven's room in the temple and the dreams, I can't let go of the thought that my mom is disappointed in me."
"Circo, you don't know that," I said. "Those memories were from the war in your dream. And that version of Circa in Steven's room was from a memory too. That doesn't mean she is disappointed in you."
"It's not just that," He said, shaking his head. "We have so many responsibilities being the previous gem kind to rule Homeworld. Now that we're outlawed, we have to be careful. We have to watch our backs and keep each other safe. I know you can take care of yourself but I have to get stronger myself. And...to do that, I have to be someone my mom would be proud of."
"Seems like you two need a lesson too," Circo and I heard. We both turned around and saw not only Steven and Connie, but Garnet as well. Garnet walked towards us and said, "Please follow me you two."
Garnet walked past us and Circo and I shared a look. We got up and, with Steven and Connie, we followed Garnet along the beach. We came to an area with a bunch of rocks that was close to the shore. Garnet sat down in the sand and gestures to the four of us to do the same. We all sat down and Garnet looked at us.
"For a fusion to work, there needs to be balance," Garnet explained. "An imbalance can cause your fusion to lose touch with reality, see things that aren't there, and eventually fall apart. That is to say if one of you is falling apart, your fusion will as well. To find balance, you must understand your feelings. To understand your feelings, you must see them clearly without running from them."
"See clearly?" Connie asked. Garnet nodded and Circo asked, "How are we suppose to do that?"
"We'll need Stevonnie and Bloodstone," Garnet said. Circo and I looked at each other and nodded. We took the other's hand and fused.
-Bloodstone's POV-
When Circo and Luna fused, I opened my eyes and saw that I was sitting next to Stevonnie. We nodded to each other and looked at Garnet. She put her hands together and Stevonnie and I followed suit. "Close your eyes," Garnet said.
"Okay," Stevonnie and I chorused. We closed our eyes, and I could only see darkness. "Breath," I heard. I took a deep breath through my nose and let it out from my mouth. I felt myself relax a little as Garnet said, "Here in darkness, everything is okay. Listen to the waves and let them fade out. Here comes a thought."
I opened my eyes a little and gasped in surprise. We weren't on the shore anymore in Beach City. We were in a space that was only blue for miles and miles. I looked at Garnet and saw that she was looking at my hands. I quickly realized they weren't folded like earlier, so I quickly folded my hands again. Garnet didn't speak though, she sang:
(Garnet) "Take a moment to think of just,
Flexibility, Love, and Trust. (2X)"
Garnet turned her head and Stevonnie and I followed suit. We all saw Sapphire and Ruby, at peace and eyes closed, facing one another. Suddenly, a small white butterfly flew into Ruby's face. Ruby waved her hands around, trying to get the butterfly off of her face. The butterfly flew away and Ruby chased after it, leaving Sapphire alone with several other butterflies. While all of this was happening, Garnet sang:
(Garnet) "Here comes a thought,
That might alarm you.
What someone said,
and how it harmed you."
I looked down at my hand and saw a small butterfly had landed on it. I stared at it and saw it flickered bright orange. I flinched and bit my lip, watching the butterfly fly off. Suddenly, more butterflies flew past Stevonnie and I, swirling around and above Sapphire. Sapphire parted the hair over her one eye and stared in horror at the massing butterflies. Ruby was still shouting angrily at the one from earlier. So much that she started to cry in frustration. Sapphire reached out, trying to help her. But the vortex of butterflies surrounded her and she covered her head, shaking and hugging herself. This all happened as Garnet sang:
(Garnet) "Something you did,
that failed to be charming.
Things that you said,
are, suddenly swarming.
And oh,
Your losing sight,
Your losing touch.
All these little things seem to matter so much,
That they confuse you,
That I might lose you."
Garnet held out both of her hands and a butterfly landed on each one. She looked at each one and looked at Stevonnie and I, singing:
(Garnet) "Take a moment to remind yourself,
to take a moment and find yourself.
Take a moment to ask yourself,
if this is how we fall apart."
Garnet lifted both of her hands gently and both butterflies flew off. As she did this, she smiled and placed a hand under her chin. At the same time this happened, Ruby calmed down and rushed back over to Sapphire. Sapphire looked up at Ruby as Ruby gestured to herself, letting Sapphire know that she was there. Sapphire stood up, getting any butterflies in her hair out. She smiled and gestured to herself, letting Ruby know that she was there too. The butterflies flew away and, while this was all happening, Garnet finished singing:
(Garnet) "But it's not, (5X)
It's okay, (5X)
You've got nothing,
got nothing, got nothing,
got nothing to fear.
I'm here, (3X)"
I looked down at the ground and sang softly:
(Bloodstone/Stevonnie) "Here comes a thought"
I looked up in surprise at Stevonnie, but Stevonnie was looking to their right. I looked over as well and saw Steven and Connie. But right behind them was Luna and Circo. Connie was wearing a backpack and Circo had his hands curled tightly into fists. As we both sang, both Connie and Circo stopped when they encountered a butterfly. For Connie, it was white, for Circo it was a bright orange. They each turned away from their own butterfly. Connie bent over and curled up, causing Steven's expression to change into one of worry. Circo started to shake and tears stream down his face as Luna reached out for his hands. She took them and slowly uncurling Circo's hands. Stevonnie and I continued singing:
(Bloodstone/Stevonnie) "That might alarm me.
What someone said,
and how it harmed me.
Something I did,
that failed to be charming.
Things that I said,
are suddenly swarming."
Suddenly, Connie's backpack bulged and butterflies flew out from her bag, forming into one big, white butterfly. Luna uncurled Circo's hands, and revealed that millions of little orange butterflies flying out from his hands and forming into a large orange butterfly. Circo and Connie stared at their respected butterfly, seeing what it showed. For Connie, it was her at school, judo flipping a kid she had accidentally bumped into. After doing so, she stared in horror at what she did and ran away. For Circo, he stared at a smiling image of his mother, that quickly changed to one of various different emotions. Both butterflies exploded into tiny ones and Connie held her head in shame while Circo balled his fists, pressing them against his eyes. Stevonnie and I sang during all of this:
(Bloodstone/Stevonnie) "And oh, I'm losing sight.
I'm losing touch.
All these little things,
Seem to matter so much,
that they confuse me.
That I might lose me."
We both looked at Garnet, who nodded. Stevonnie and I folded our hands and took a deep breath. Suddenly, we felt a breeze and we looked to see that the butterflies flew away. We looked back at the others and saw them taking deep breaths. A butterfly landed in Connie's hand and in Circo's hands. Both started crying but looked up to see Steven and Luna, letting them know they re there. They let the butterflies fly off and the four sat down, watching the butterflies fly off. Stevonnie and I smiled during all of this, singing with Garnet:
(All three) "Take moment remind yourself,
to take a moment and find yourself.
Take a moment to ask yourself,
if this is how we fell apart.
But it's not (5X),
It's okay (5X),
You've got nothing,
got nothing, got nothing, got nothing,
to fear.
I'm here, (3X)
And it was just a thought,
just a thought, just a thought, just a thought,
just a thought, just a thought.
It's okay, (5X)
We can watch, (3X)
We an watch them go by.
From here,
From here,
From here."
Stevonnie and I watched as the remaining butterflies flew off as Circo, Luna, Steven, Connie, Ruby and Sapphire all lied on the ground, watching the remaining butterflies fly off. I closed my eyes and Stevonnie and I both sang quietly:
(Bloodstone/Stevonnie) "Take a moment to think of just,
Flexibility, Love and Trust.
Take a moment to think of just,
Flexibility, Love and Trust."
-Time skip!-
The next day, Steven was sitting by the front house window and I was over on the couch. I kept looking at my hand, turning it over and watching the sunlight reflect off of my gem. Suddenly, the front door burst open and I saw Connie, Amos and Circo. I stood up and said, "Hey guys!"
Connie turned to Steven and started talking to him and Circo came over to me. To my surprise, he pulled me into a hug and said, "I'm sorry, Luna."
"For what?" I asked, as Circo stepped back.
"For being so over protective. And being so hung up about being like my mom. I know I can never be just like her, but I can the best son I can be for her. And the best friend for you," the last part he placed a hand on my shoulder. I smiled, "I'm...glad your doing better Circo."
"Me too. Now we'll be able to focus on fusing like Bloodstone. I'm going to head over to the arena; I'll see you in a bit," with that, Circo walked over to the warp pad and warped over. I glanced at Steven as Connie and him kept talking. I looked over at Amos and he nodded. I walked over to the warp pad and stepped on it. I looked at Steven and Amos as Connie took some change of clothes to the bathroom. "I'll see you guys there," I said, nodding.
Steven and Amos nodded and I warped to the arena. As I was warped, I noticed something small floating beside me. I glanced to my right and saw a tiny white butterfly. I stared at it as it flapped it's wings. Suddenly, I saw a reflection in the butterfly and flinched. At the same time, I warped into the arena and fell off the warp pad. I hit the ground and stared at the warp pad, no longer seeing the butterfly. My stomach sank.
'Just....don't think about it,' I thought.
-Time skip (last one)-
-Bloodstone's POV-
I swung the spear and took down another holo-pearl. I backed up into Stevonnie, who backed up into me at the same time. "How you holding up?" Stevonnie asked.
I nodded, "Pretty good. Don't start slacking off now."
Stevonnie laughed, "Wouldn't dream of it."
"Your doing great you two!" Pearl encouraged. Stevonnie took down another holo-pearl, knocking it back towards the real Pearl. She managed to dodge it and said, "Keep it up!"
"Thanks, ma'am," We both chorused. Stevonnie charged at one while I charged at another one. As the spear pierced the holo-pearl, everything around us turned into a deep blue. I looked up in shock and, instead of a holo-pearl, it was Bismuth with Circo's sword in her gut. I stumbled back and said, "Wh-What?! This isn't me this time!"
"It's me," I said, feeling Luna's anxiety rising. "I-I'm sorry!"
"Stevonnie! Bloodstone!" Garnet shouted. Everything returned back to view and I saw that Garnet was looking at me with a worried expression. "Breath," She said. Pearl looked at her nervously, asking, "What's going on? What's happening to them?"
"They got this," Garnet said. I looked up and saw Amos standing up in the bleachers, as he shouted, "You got this guys! Don't worry!"
"R-Right," I said, feeling Luna's anxiety slowly go away. I gripped the spear and said, "We got-"
Suddenly, everything turned dark blue again and instead of Bismuth, was Jasper. I slowly stepped back, Luna's anxiety and sadness taking over. "I-I'm sorry!" I said, my voice shaking. "We tried to help you, but you wouldn't listen!"
"Luna! Calm down!" I shouted, feeling Circo starting to worry. But a shadow loomed over me and, when I turned around, saw Eyeball standing behind me. Luna's fear spiked as she said, "We tried to stop you! B-But you wouldn't stop, Eyeball!"
"Luna! It's okay to think about it," I said, planting both my feet in the ground. But even though Circo tried to keep control, Luna's fear was becoming too much. I dropped the spear and clutched my head, feeling my feet shake. "I-I can't think about it! It's all too much! I couldn't do anything!"
Suddenly, all three figures turned into millions of blue butterflies and flew above us. I looked up and slowly stepped back as the butterflies formed a large head. When they finally finished forming, I could feel Circo's shock but also Luna's fear. The figure above us was of Lucine, with a disappointed look. "Ah....ah....n-no..." I said, backing up.
I put my foot back but didn't feel anything underneath. I gasped and everything returned to normal as I fell back. Suddenly, I was free falling from the arena. I saw Garnet and Pearl rush to the edge and shout my name and Stevonnie's. I looked down and saw that Stevonnie had unfused and I felt myself split apart as Circo and Luna unfused.
-Luna's POV-
I gasped and felt myself fall to through the air. Anxiety, fear, sadness, hurt and every sad emotion welled up in me and I covered my eyes, letting the tears fall. "Luna! You have to use your wings! O-Or we could fuse as Bloodstone and-" I heard Circo shout, but his voice grew more quiet as he said, "Luna?"
"I-I didn't want to hurt any of them!" I said, feeling myself spin through the air. I felt hands grab my own and I sobbed, "Steven and I were only trying to help but they wouldn't let us!"
"That's okay!" Circo shouted, clutching my hands so we wouldn't fly apart. I looked at him and shook my head, "No it's not! We could've done something!"
"Luna, there wasn't anymore you or Steven could do," Circo shouted. "You guys did what you could. You have to admit that."
"But I don't want to think about it," I shouted. "It's too much. It hurts!"
"It's going to hurt, but you have to be honest and admit that it does hurt. That way you can move on." I looked at Circo and saw he was crying too. I glanced down and saw that the ground was coming quickly. I knew I wouldn't have time to summon my wings with how quickly we were falling and what time of day it was. I took a deep breath and said, "Okay. But we have to fuse."
Circo nodded and we both closed our eyes. I felt ourselves fuse and turn into Bloodstone.
-Bloodstone's POV-
I opened my eyes to see everything around me was a dark blue. But below me was a large swirling vortex of butterflies. I felt myself flinch but took a deep breath. I folded my arms and dove into the vortex. The butterflies hit me hard and I almost gave up. But I closed my eyes and pushed through. I felt something surge through my back. I felt a pair of water wings and I fluttered to the ground. I opened my eyes and saw that I had touched ground not too far where Stevonnie was lying on the grass, staring at the clouds. I smiled and walked over to them. I looked at them and asked, "Mind if I join?"
Stevonnie smiled and I nodded. I lied down next to them and folded my arms behind my head, closing my eyes in content. I took a deep breath and sighed.
"I'm here," I whispered, feeling both Circo's relief and Luna's happiness.
................................................
And I finally got this chapter out! I'm sorry it took so long but I finally got it done! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :)