Tearing Me Parting
It wasn’t often that Garnet had felt this way. This feeling of uneasiness was rather foreign to the fusion given her ability to see into the future. While it was true that future vision could only provide glimpses into possible future, it had always given her some sense of what to do and what to expect. However, recent events had made feel a little uneasy about the future. From Stanford’s recent return, Peridot’s rather sudden change of alliance, Pearl’s reckless actions with fusion and the Gems finally confronting a threat they never thought they would see again, things were becoming a bit…complicated. It was for that reason why Garnet had decided to sequester herself into the Temple for some much needed meditation. The Gem leader thought that this time spend recollecting her thoughts would help her prepare for the undoubtedly shaking future.
The one thing that she didn’t account for was the unexpected visitor that she would receive.
Garnet was rather startled when she opened her eyes. Rather than the room she used to have some privacy, she was met with a sight that she was all too familiar with. She was standing in the middle of a landscape that once was used as a battlefield during the Gem war thousands of years ago. However, unlike the usual ones that were teeming with life and greenery, the one she was at was completely barren. The sky was grey and the ground beneath her was a lifeless, dirt brown that stretched on for miles. Broken weapons were scattered across the field, which gave the Gem leader a grim reminder that this was a battle that the Crystal Gems had heavy losses here.
Before the fusion could further comprehend what was going on, she felt a slight chill. It was if the frigid winds that draped the field were swirling around her. Frantically looking around, Garnet became even more unsettled when what appeared to be Gem shards rain down from the sky. While at first the shards appeared to be falling at random, it became clear to Garnet that the shards were falling around her in the eerie shape of a triangle of all things. Finally, the fusion heard a laugh. A laugh that she until recently thought that she would never have to her again. It was then that it was clear to her who was behind this madness.
“Come out already,” she growled. “There’s no use hiding anymore!”
As if on cue, Bill Cipher materialized out of thin air in front of her. The dream demon looked exactly like how Garnet last saw him which, in retrospect, was a sore sight to look at.
“Well well well,” Bill said rather mockingly. “Sure has been awhile huh, Fuse Box? How’ve you been? Still leading those Crystal Chumps around, if you can even call that leading?”
The fusion wasted no time in summoning her gauntlets; more than prepared to use them in a fight. “Leave now Cipher! You have to right being here!” she screamed. In that moment, Garnet was rather glad that she had her shades on. Bill probably couldn’t see it, but there was legitimate fear in all three of the fusion’s eyes.
“Yeesh, you need to calm down there, Fuse Box.” Bill stated in rather non-caring tone. At this, he then summoned his cane right out of his hands and began spinning it around. “Truth of the matter is I’m not really here to talk to you. I’m here to talk to THEM!”
Before Garnet could even question what he meant, the sadistic triangle shot a bright yellow blast from the end of his cane. What followed was some of the worst pain that she had felt in her rather long existence. The pain slowly spread through her entire body from arms to her face. Oddly enough, this was something oddly familiar to her, as of recently. Before she could realize what it was, Garnet was covered in a blinding light and then split apart.
Ruby and Sapphire both flew in opposite directions from each other. They were both dazed and confused about what was happening and why they were suddenly apart. Sapphire was the first one to regain her sense. The blue Gem looked up to Bill, laughing in the air, then down to Ruby who was looking disheveled from the recent events. “Ruby!” she cried out to her partner.
“Sapphire!” Ruby panicked and started rushing towards the blue Gem. “Don’t worry, I’m right her-“ Before she could finish, blue ethereal chains shackled down Ruby and Sapphire to the ground by their arms and legs. The worst part of this predicament was that, no matter how much they reached out, their hands were mere millimeters from each other. Knowing that the only being that really put her at peace was just out of her reach drove Ruby absolutely crazy.
Before the pair could cry out to each other more, Bill decided to float down to their level; hands on his sides. “Ah ah ah, no touching now. Don’t want to send the children a ‘controversial’ message!” Bill stated, laughing at how neither of the Gems would understand what he was implying. The demon then floated down to Sapphire and getting uncomfortably close to her. “Now I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced yet, Ice Box. Name’s Bill Cipher! Nice peeper you got there!” Bill then raised one of his claw-like fingers to lift Sapphire’s bangs, revealing her sole eye. “Depth perception soooo overrated, am I right?”
“LEAVE HER ALONE, YOU STUPID TRIANGLE!” Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs. Seeing the demon so close to the blue Gem made her struggle even more against her chains.
Bill rolled his eye at the red Gem’s temper tantrum and float back into the air. “Yeesh Short Fuse, it’s not like was trying to steal away your stupid girlfriend. You that insecure about yourself that you think that anyone would steal her away? That’s sure is pathetic! Though Ice Box might be that kind of girl. Ha ha!”
Before Ruby could confront the dream demon on such a terrible remark, Sapphire finally decided to speak up. “Ruby don’t!” she warned her. “He’s just trying to make you angry. Just try to ignore him. I know your stronger than-“ before the elegant Gem could finish, a new set of chain were summon to completely cover her mouth.
“Stronger Than Me?!” Bill interrupted. “Save the over dramatic songs for the crazy shippers, Ice Box, cause I need you both to focus on what I have to say.” Seeing how they had no other choice, the pair reluctantly gave the triangle their attention. “You see, I’ve been making important plans as of late. Making deals with both new and old friends. Now I’m starting to deal with some…obstacles that might get in the way. And I know that Fuse Box is going be a BIG obstacle. So, do you know what I’m going to do?”
Ruby may not have been the smartest Gem on the team, but even she could figure out what would happen next. The thought alone caused hot tears to well up in her eyes. It was one of her worst nightmares and, if she was rather honest with herself, would prefer being shatter instead of the alternative. “N-no…please don’t.” was all the red Gem could mutter. Sapphire could only bow her head in absolute dread.
“That’s right! I’m gonna leave you two right here, just like this! Course you’ll be just a statue in the physical world. I highly doubt the rest of those Crystal Chums or those Mystery Twerps will figure out what’s really going on though. But enough about that, think about how great this will be for you two! Spending the rest of eternity, just staring at each other!” Bill then decided to float right next to Ruby. “How does it feel, Short Fuse? Looking at Ice Box like that, all trapped and sad? All that time and sacrifice for her completely washed away! I’ve seen some big screw ups in my day, but this one’s a doozy! You don’t deserve her affection, all you deserve is to see her SUFFER!”
That was the final straw for fiery Gem. At that last sentence, it appeared that her entire body spontaneously combusted into flames. Bill start to back away as the fire started growing. “Oh for crying at loud Short Fuse,” Bill said rather annoyed. “There’s no other way out of this. Just give up!”
“I AM NOT GIVING UP! YOU THINK THAT THIS IS ENOUGH TO KEEP ME AWAY FROM SAPHIRRE?! I DEFYED FATE FOR HER! I BETRAYED HOMEWORLD FOR HER! I LOVE HER! AND WHEN I GET BOTH OF US OUT OF HERE, YOU’RE DEAD! YOU HERE ME?!” Ruby yelled at the top of her lungs. Sapphire was feeling rather conflicted about this. On one hand, she hated seeing her act this angry and hateful. But on the other hand, she couldn’t help but be moved by her passionate words.
Bill just stared at Ruby for a few moments. He looked rather annoyed, but it also appeared that he was contemplating something as well. Finally, the dream demon did something rather unexpected. “Hmph, you might have point, Short Fuse.” he said as he snapped his fingers. The chains that bounded the two Gems suddenly disappeared. Ruby’s flames disappeared and she wasted no time in rushing over to Sapphire and embracing her. She even gave the blue Gem a delicate kiss to show her overwhelming affection for her.
However, Bill then decided to interrupt the tender moment. “You two are more trouble than you’re worth, you know that? Frankly, I don’t have the time or energy to deal with your gross, sappy love.” Both of the Gems could only glare at the triangle for insulting what they held so precious. “Hmmmm,” Bill mused. “Maybe I’ve been going about this the wrong way. Maybe I should aim for someone a bit more…. fragile. Maybe I should go visit a rather recent fusion who could really benefit from a visit from yours truly.”
Both of the Gems were rather confused about what the demon just said. Over the years, they never really came across any fusion that were especially unstable. Sugilite was the first one to come to mind, but they hardly doubted that’s who Bill was talking about. However, Sapphire finally then realized who the demon was referring to. A rather new fusion that was still feeling a little uncomfortable with his new existence. “Nooo! the blue Gem cried out. “You can’t do that to Stepper!”
“Oh, I think I can, Ice Box. I think it’s about Pine Bud finally realize how hard reality can really be! Pine Tree and Rose Bud have been thorns in my side for long enough.” The dream demon started to float back into the air. “What’s that saying: Kill two birds with one stone? Well I don’t think I’ll do that right away! I wanna see the look on Pine Bud’s face as he’s suffering! Who knows, maybe he’ll do the job for me? And to think, I would have never come to this conclusion if it was for you two! Well, I better get going now! I need to come up with some BIG plans for Pine Bud. Until then, I’LL BE WATCHING YOU!”
And with a bright flash, Bill Cipher had disappeared.
Garnet woke up in a cold sweat and completely out of breath. She frantically looked around to confirm that she was back in the Temple. She then looked down to her hands to make sure who she really was. Indeed, both of her gemstones were resting in her palms, so she closed her hands and wrapped herself in a tight self-hug. “It’s okay, I’m right here.” She reassured herself. The Gem leader just encounter something that threated her very existence. Something that almost destroyed what years of love, care and respect had built up. However, while she was safe from that threat, others weren’t. Steven and Dipper were both in grave danger, and she couldn’t help but feel guilty for somehow putting them in that danger.
“I’m right here.”