Blue is a Sleepy Colour

4- Galaxy Hub

Steven hugged his hoodie tighter around himself as they arrived at the destination the warp had sent them to. He looked up at the most enormous structure he had ever seen.
"Woah.. what's that?" He asked in awe.
"Well-" Amethyst started.
"Oh I'm so glad you asked!" Pearl butted in, leaning over Amethyst with a large smile. She turned and pointed at the tall structure of pillars. "This was once a communication hub for gem kind, but lately, it's been emitting bursts of electromagnetic interferences."

"Like the wailing stone...?" Steven tried.
"Not quite!"
"Then what-"
"It's hurting television." Garnet stated.
"Kill it now." Steven glared at the structure as Amethyst snickered.

"Don't worry, Strong Steven is the man for this job!" She shapeshifted herself into a muscly version of Steven and began punching the closest pillar, chipping its rock.
"Hilarious." Steven deadpanned.

"No, no, Amethyst! We'll be here all year taking these pillars down individually!" Pearl spoke up, placing her hands on her hips.
"Ugh I hate it when you're right." Amethyst changed back into herself and frowned. "You get this... look on your face."

Pearl's eyebrows were hiked up and her mouth twisted into a cocky smile.
"Ugh.. yeah, that one."
"What we need, Amethyst, is a well thought out plan. We start with-"
"No." Garnet stopped Pearl. "What we need, is Sugilite."

"Amethyst. Fuse with me."

Those words sent everyone into a frenzy. Amethyst and Steven celebrated in anticipation and Pearl was just annoyed.
"Garnet, think about this! You and Amethyst can be a bit... destructive, when your personalities combine. We need to be careful! Fuse with me, instead!" Pearl looked at Garnet with a naive hope in her eyes laced with worry. Steven and Amethyst still screamed in excitement.
"We don't need to be careful. We just need to be huge." Garnet placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder and walked away.

The pair began to dance, and both Steven and Pearl looked away with a blush at their... suggestive movements. Finally they joined together in a brilliant flash of light, blinding them both.

"Ahahahahaha!"

A screeching laugh echoed across, and Steven's eyes widened at the monstrous beauty that was Sugilite.
"I forgot how great it feels to be me!" Her voice rang out obnoxiously and Steven winced slightly at its volume. Sugilite bent down and grinned at Steven.
"Hey Steven, wanna see something cool?"
"Yeah!"

She stood up straight, her whip and gauntlets combining into the biggest wrecking ball Steven had ever seen. He gasped in excitement.
"Where should I start, little man?!"
Steven's wings extended from his back as he flew into the air.
"Steven!" Pearl shouted.
He ignored her and pointed at the furthest pillar from him.
"Start there!"
"You got it, tiny!"

Steven glided back down to the ground as Sugilite began to swing her colossal weapon, effectively destroying dozens more pillars than intended. Rubble flew everywhere, and Steven struggled to shield himself with his wings.
"Steven, I think we should go." Pearl held onto his shoulders. Sugilite continued to pummel the pillars to debris, and Pearl narrowly avoided being hit. Steven wasn't so lucky- a rock hit him in the nose as he flew backwards, his wings dissipating into nothing.

"Ugh! You are just too much!" Pearl helped Steven to the warp pad and teleported home. The pad was destroyed by falling debris.

Steven groaned as he rolled off of his bed. He had barely slept a wink all night, worrying about when Amethyst and Garnet were going to come back. When they got back from the hub he and Pearl had spent the day waiting for them to return but they never did.

"Steven?" Pearl called out from below in the living room.
"What?" He replied wearily as he trudged down the steps, his nose still sore from the hit he got the day before.
"Garnet and Amethyst aren't back yet- I tried to warp back there but the warp is down!"
Steven sobered quickly upon hearing this.
"Hold on, it's down?! How're they meant to get back?!"

Their question was answered quickly as they heard stomping and water sloshing outside. They rushed outside and saw a very angry giant dragging her body towards the shoreline.
"I'm bored!"
She yelled with grit teeth, her fists clenched in aggression.
"You're back!" Pearl ran over to her.
"You left me behind!" Sugilite screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the white gem.
"We- we just thought you didn't need any help." Pearl tried to reason. "So why don't you separate, and we can all sit down and relax- agh!"

Sugilite sent her reeling back into the pathway with a swift kick.
"Pearl!" Steven cried out.
"Steven-"
"I'm on it!"

Steven soared above the furious fusion, his wings glistening in the morning sunlight. Sugilite glared menacingly at his small frame. Unfazed, great arms of water emerged from the ocean, grabbing hold of Sugilite and keeping her still.
"You've been fused for too long!" He called out. "You're losing yourselves!" He struggled to keep his powers working, and his wings wavered slightly.

Sugilite fumbled about in his watery grip, trying to free herself.
"I like being me! And I'm sick of being separated!" She screeched, the volume disturbing the water and causing the arms to collapse. Before he could escape, Sugilite smacked him into the ground as if he were nothing more but a mosquito.

Pearl screamed as she saw Steven lying in the sand, his wings laying limply behind him. Her fight or flight response kicked in and she stood up, summoning her spear.
"What're you gonna do, fight me?" Sugilite taunted.
"You bet!" She launched herself into the air, slapping the visor off the monster's face.

Steven slowly picked himself up until he was on his stomach, watching the fight propped up on his elbows.
"I can't move..." He whispered to himself. The situation seemed dire, and he could only watch as Pearl was pummelled by Sugilite.

"You ain't nothin'."

Sugilite's voice sounded like gravel as she jeered at the weak warrior on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Steven, Garnet, Amethyst... I can't beat her... I'm useless..." Steven's face crumpled at the sound of Pearl's grieving voice.

"Come on Pearl, don't give up!" Steven yelled.
"Steven, I'm not strong enough!" She retaliated, but Steven wasn't having it.
"I know you can take her down! Come on, you always know what to do!"
"I can't..."
"Pearl, I can't move! You're the only one who can do this! Please, or I'm not gonna make it, and neither are they!"

Pearl looked up and the fusion writhing in anger, then down at the battered Steven lying in the sand.
"Okay..." She whispered.
"What, you want some more?!" Sugilite leant down threateningly.
"Yeah! You're no match for me; not even close!"

Pearl hopped out of the way of Sugilite's fists, landing as elegantly as ever. She summoned her spear and sprinted up the mountain behind the temple, Sugilite following her.
"Get back here!"
Pearl leaped off the top of the temple and launched her spear under Sugilite's foot, causing her to fall backwards as she threw her wrecking ball into the air.
"That all you got? You think that's enough to beat-"

The weight of the wrecking ball crushed her skull as it landed on her head, and the fusion exploded into clouds. Garnet and Amethyst lay on the floor, covered in sand and debris.
"Garnet, Amethyst, are you okay?!" Pearl sprinted over to them.
"Yeah..." groaned Garnet. "Sugilite just.. overworked our bodies. It's... a little painful."
"And I've got a monster headache." Mumbled Amethyst.
Pearl pulled them in for a tight hug, causing their joints to crack as they moaned in pain.

"Pearl, you did it!" Steven was hobbling over, his face contorting in pain with every laboured step he took.
"Goodness, are you okay? You took a hard hit." Pearl rushed over to him and helped him stand.
"We should've listened..." Garnet mumbled. "You were right Pearl."

"Yeah... I was right!" Pearl stood confidently, dropping Steven in the process.
"Hey Amethyst." He said from his place on the floor.
"Yeah?"
"She's doing the face again."

"OH FOR FUC-"