Blue is a Sleepy Colour

20- Storm

"Just LET GO!"

Jasper tugged the chains, her muscles flexing with effort. A strained grunt escaped Steven as he held the chains even tighter, his face contorting in pain as the ice rubbed against his skin, causing it to draw blood.

"No!" He spat back, tears of frustration forming in the corner of his eyes. Jasper laughed, feeling him get weaker by the second.

"Just give up! You know you want to..." Steven squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to block out her words. "Give me control, and I'll show you just how powerful we can really be..."

Steven opened his eyes, glancing up at Jasper's look of malice. She was close to breaking him, and she knew it. He shook his head. Jasper's face turned sour.

"Fine... if you won't give me control, I'll take it myself!"

She gripped onto the chains and wrapped them around her forearms. In one swift movement, using all of her strength, she pulled towards her. Steven screamed in pain as he was dragged under, his cries smothered by the water.

Jasper grinned. The chains on her wrists snapped. It was over.

"I'm impressed... You really held out." Malachite grinned, massaging their wrists, where chains once kept them hostage. They suddenly cringed, their features twisting as Steven tried to regain control. It didn't work.

"Stop!" His voice cried out. "Pathetic." Malachite growled, Jasper's voice once again predominant.

"MALACHITE!"

The fusion gasped, their head whipping around. They were face-to-face with Alexandrite, her usual calm demeanor turned into one of furious determination.

"Ugh! Give up! We've been holding us back for too long- and for what?! If we're going to be this thing together, might as well have some fun..." Malachite smiled maliciously, their blue eyes narrowing to glare at Alexandrite. There was a hunger in their eyes that the other fusion couldn't recognise.

"We don't have to fight... you're outnumbered." She snarled. Malachite laughed.

"Yeah? Well you're out of your depth." The wind picked up as two large arms of water raised from the water below them, fists clenched threateningly. "You've lucked out, Crystal Gems. I've got a Lapis Lazuli on my side..."

Alexandrite roared, charging forward with a burst of speed, causing a wave to kick up behind her. Malachite reeled the fist forward in a furious punch- their opponent narrowly missed the hit by quickly dodging off to the side. She didn't hesitate to jump forward in an attempt to tackle them, but instead only ended up being caught by the second hand of water, lifting them high into the air.

Small flakes of snow began to fall from the grey sky.

A terrifying grin spread across Malachite's face, their pupils shrinking manically with bloodlust. The hand began to squeeze tighter as ice crawled up its side. Alexandrite could feel her form begin to tremble, weakening by the second. She looked into the eyes of the fusion holding her hostage, her heart yearning as she frantically searched for any sign of her little boy inside that monster. There was nothing there. He was gone, overtaken by this power-hungry and vindictive imprisoner. She had no reason to hold back. Despite knowing Steven was in there, she knew the only way to get him back was to defeat them.

Malachite suddenly faltered, a hand flying up to grip their head as if in pain. They dug around through their wild hair before pulling something out and holding the object, now seeming tiny between their fingers.

It was an arrow- made entirely from ice.

They whipped their head around, their icy gaze landing on the girl stood on the shoreline. Connie reached into Steven's quiver that was strapped to her back, pulling out another arrow and aiming at Malachite's face through her bow. It was brown and simple, the name of a gem she didn't recognise carved into its wood.

"Connie!" Malachite exclaimed, Steven's voice suddenly predominant. Connie's face softened at the sound of his voice, and she couldn't help but lower her weapon slightly. Alexandrite frowned, suddenly engulfed in a white light.

"Keep it together..." She growled to herself.

Malachite's hands jumped up to grip their skull, their components fighting within them. They screeched out, the sound echoing across the landscape. The water that held Alexandrite captive dissipated into nothing. They were unstable, Steven's powers were fading- she could use this to her advantage.

The moment she was free, she summoned Amethyst's whip and Pearl's spear, the two combining into a bow of their own. They pulled the string back and released the arrow that formed from light. As it shot forward it split into four other arrows, all just as sharp and just as deadly.

Noticing this, Malachite regained their composure as Jasper once again managed to repress Steven. A wall of ice shot up from the ocean below, blocking the arrows. Alexandrite watched in horror as two gigantic watery wings where seen emerging from over the top of the wall. In one great beat of their wings, Malachite was in the air, their manic smile having returned.

Dozens of bubbles of water raised from the ocean, floating around the fusion's hovering form. They suddenly transformed into spikes of ice, hurtling towards Alexandrite. She took a deep breath and released a torrent of flames, instantly melting the ice. Malachite's face contorted into a scowl.

In a flash of orange light, Jasper's helmet formed on their head. With an animalistic growl, they shot towards Alexandrite in a burst of speed. The two fusions crashed into the water, causing a tidal wave to swallow the shoreline. Connie managed to avoid the water and instead watched the battle from a nearby boulder. She became increasingly nervous as the storm above them grew, the snow swirling furiously around the island as the wind grew stronger.

Alexandrite had managed to push Malachite away, suddenly spitting fire into their face. With a screech of pain, Malachite let their wings carry them back into the air. Blinded by the searing pain, they cradled their face in their hands.

Determined to win the fight, they finally removed their hands from their eyes. A small gasp escaped their mouth as their eyes landed on the fusion below them.

"You two should spend some time apart."

An arrow pierced Malachite's stomach, passing cleanly through and emerging on the other side. In a great cloud, Malachite disappeared altogether. Alexandrite lowered her bow, desperately searching the sky for one gem and one hybrid. Her hands reached out to catch them, but the moment her eyes spotted Steven, the fusion fell apart.

They all plummeted down into the water.

"Quickly- find them!" Exclaimed Garnet as she emerged from the water. Pearl and Amethyst nodded, hurriedly submerging and looking around. Amethyst spotted Steven as he slowly sunk towards the ocean floor and swam over to him, frantically dragging him to the surface.

"I have Steven!" She shouted, alerting the other two gems. She glanced down at Steven's gaunt and silent face, her stomach twisting at how bony he felt in her arms.

"I can't find Jasper!" Pearl called back.

"There's no time- I don't think he's breathing!" Amethyst snapped back. Garnet swam over to her, taking the teen from her. She carried him back to shore and placed him on the snow-covered sand, brushing his wet hair away from his face. Connie raced over, looking impossibly grief-stricken as she rushed to cradle his head in her lap.

Thunder struck in the distance, the wind blowing even more furiously.

"We need to get him home and on life support- my mom can get everything we need from the hospital." Connie sniffled.

"We'll come back for Jasper as soon as we know he's stable." Garnet said. "That fusion was the only thing keeping him alive for so long; we need to hurry!"