LOG-69.

  "...Oh come on! Really!?"

  Light. Light was the first thing that I experienced upon...coming into existence? Yes. Light...coupled with sound, namely that of an audibly exasperated Lapis Lazuli. And eventually followed by unobstructed vision, as that bright light finally receded.

  Where...what?

  "Okay, alright...this is...uhhhh..."

  No. The Retaliator. Of course. The cell. But-

  Were we-? Was I...?

  ...

  "Viridian? Other much meaner Gem? New...kinda nice looking fusion-oh wow there's some conflicting feelings there. Are you-okay you're not paying attention to me. Great. That's...that's great. Yeah."

  Had we...?

  One pair of arms wrapped around my torso tightly as I shifted in place, my back firmly pressed against the wall. I twitched, features likely taking on a faintly disgusted look as a second pair followed the first.

  ...Oh Stars. We had. We'd fused.

  This-this was wrong. We-I needed to-

  Stay calm. I could feel the sensation being all but broadcasted from one of my...components? Yes. Viridian. A cooling wave that washed over my other, distinctly more panicked self, who in turn defaulted to a sense of embarassment and shame for my-for her behaviour.

  "I'm gonna...I'm gonna go send one of the guards up to contact the bridge, okay? Should probably give you some privacy while you...you just...you just hold on for a second! I'll be right back!"

  Shifting in place, I let out a noise between a hum and a whimper as the soft steps heralding the blue Gem's retreat all but echoed into the cell.

  This was...unexpected, to be certain. But I'd done this before. There was opportunity, here.

  I twitched again, recoiling at the sudden realisation (or perhaps more accurately internalisation) that I-that Viridian had been fusing with other castes. That she was fusing with me! Such a thing was known to be dangerous! Wrong. S-scandalous even! An Emerald and a Pearl of all things. Oh Stars above and below, it was-

  Imperial lies and propaganda, meant to control the lower ranks, and perfectly safe to do...at least in most circumstances.

  ...That last bit certainly felt more than a little foreboding. Still, despite the brief hesitation, the calming wave inevitably returned, and with it, impressions. Snippets of memory, even. Taken from one of my minds, one with a...particularly impressive talent for recollection. Useful.

  And oh...recollect I did. Memories of-of-

  Of singing. And dancing. And...being at a rave. And glow band thingies and-

  And...of food. Glorious, glorious food. The feeling of crust breaking between my teeth. Cheese-

  Alongside of course, in between all of the issues and secrets...memories of efficiency. Of perfection of form. Achieving objectives. Solving problems. Luxuriating in my own skills and natural expertise. Good feelings. Nice feelings. Satisfaction.

  Throughout the varied sensations and downright confusing experiences, I...somewhat understood the gist of the message my component was so heavily pushing, whether out of a sense of guilt or otherwise, even I didn't seem to be sure.

  Intercaste Fusion wasn't as horrific as the Empire made it out to be. I...didn't need to feel bad about myself. Which was...good! Unless it wasn't. But for now I would assume it was!

  This was...perhaps not the best scenario for a new perspective to form from, though. I was still in a cell in the brig, for one. And apparently the Lapis Lazuli (Brim, part of me firmly reminded) and organic guard had disappeared somewhere beyond the boundaries of my-of Emerald's prison while I was...calming myself down.

  But...I could work with this. Already, I could feel my roiling emotions...not precisely going away but...being pacified, for the time being anyway. I wouldn't split apart. Not...not just yet. I had an image to maintain and simply curling up into a ball and breaking down would be rather unseemly, especially in front of potential witnesses who would likely question the state of my mind...yes. Yes, staying together seemed the best choice. For now, at the very least.

  At the very least...at the very leeeaaassst...until I'd sorted things out! Sorted myself out. It didn't matter how strictly I shackled my emotions, or how neat of a mask I put on. At my very core, I still felt...discontent. Disunity. I wanted-needed to balance things out.

  Besides, my components were...long due a proper conversation, after all. Some actual communication would do the both of them rather good! Surely!

  Probably! Hopefully.

  ...

  At least I was feeling far more confident now. Perhaps as a result of my panicking half calming down and my other half feeling just a little less guilty about causing said panic. Yes, I'd go with that.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Alright then. First things first...

  Slowly bringing up an 'upper' hand even as my lower set clapped together, palms rubbing together eagerly, I carefully began to feel out the shape of my new face, a finger larger yet slimmer than what I remembered delicately running along my jaw (seems I'd inherited Emerald's fangs, at the very least), even as numerous thoughts all but flew through my mind.

  One in particular took precedence above all others, however. Namely...the matter of just how I was going to present myself, once the inevitable entourage arrived.

  Now...just who am I?

  ---

  "I will alert the others, if they are not already aware. Stay here and watch the newly merged one."

  She crooned back an affirmative to her concerned but no less determined kin, then they were parting ways, his feathered form (much healthier looking after the pink rebel leader's downright fantastical healing tears, really, Viridian had found the strangest of allies while they'd been apart) rushing over towards the exit to the brig even as she in turn quickly ran back over to the cell she'd stepped away from, just a short distance down the hall, thankfully.

  The mild (mild!) irritation of the Emerald of all Gems somehow beating her to the punch in regards to fusing with her chosen pursuit was quickly shunted to the back of her mind as she yelled out towards where she'd left the nascent consolidation of identities.

  "Fusion! I'm back! Are you-"

  Her words cut off midway through as she ground to a halt, the heels of her feet all but digging into the flooring beneath her (though honestly it was more of a skid thanks to just how smooth they were) as her eyes travelled up and up and up as the brand new (and decidedly unexpected, for more than a few reasons) union stepped out of the open cell Brim had risked leaving her in.

  ...Feathers, Quille was going to have her gemstone for that. Oh well, priorities!

  "Uhm."

  Perhaps not her most poignant or even all that well put together greeting, but could she really be blamed for being a bit distracted, even in spite of the distinctly awful circumstances of this particular merging of Gems? After all, the fusion was tall. Taller than the Emerald had been, and held herself with just as much if not even more authority than the rotten Imperial had.

  "Mm."

  But there was a grace and fluidity there, one that she'd come to understand was all but built into the Pearl caste. Long, slender legs wrapped up in that pseudo-armour that the Emerald wore, that seemed almost perfectly proportioned to the new Gem's size, led up to a strong waist accented by Viridian's usual frills. From there, the distinctly militant aesthetic of the Imperial admiral flowed and intertwined with the Pearl's more fanciful dress to create something...interesting, to say the very least.

  She was big. Commanding. But also decidedly elegant and relaxed. The mixture of attitudes presented her as...self assured, perhaps? Confident, more like.

  ...It was certainly compelling. In more ways than one. The fact that she was just as tall (perhaps even taller if she included the hair) than Viridian had been with those looted limb enhancers of hers probably helped in that regard.

  Was she feeling attracted to a fusion that was partly made up of her former captor? Yes. Did that make her feel conflicted, also yes! Was that confliction enough to put her off entirely?

  ...Yeah no. Not really.

  She reserved the right to like certain things damn it!

  "Are you...?"

  Her gaze moved across the other Gem's extensive frame, the owner of said frame's whispered question unfortunately falling on deaf ears.

  She was just in the middle of admiring the way the fusion's dual component lightforms had merged into separately shaded but rather similar swirls of green, alongside their hairstyles combining into an almost wild mass with some of the stray locks trailing down the front of the pauldrons obscuring her shoulders, when four arms (two larger and adorned with that same not-armour on the legs and upper torso, and another pair that were much slimmer and notably less toned) crossed in front of the fusion's plated yet frilled chest.

  "Brim."

  Blinking, she stared up at a pair of downright luminous eyes that glared right back down at her with a reproachful air, one rather more demanding than Viridian's usual attitude.

  She must have got that from the Emerald...probably.

  "Ah...yes?"

  The fusion's eyes narrowed, before she let loose a sigh, bringing up one of her bulkier hands to swipe back some of that long, thick looking hair behind her shoulder.

  "You will stop ogling me this instant. It's very inappropriate, especially considering the situation."

  Nodding along with the Gem's paradoxically serious yet casual voice, Brim did her level best to maintain eye contact and ignore just how damned tall (huge!) her counterpart was. Feathers, she was even bigger than the Rose Quartz!

  "Right. No ogling. Got it."

  Thankfully for both their sakes, she was a rational Gem that could think beyond her immediate desires...or at least she liked to think so. As a result, she successfully stamped down and temporarily buried the way she rather liked the fusion's very commanding tone and focused on speaking coherently.

  "So...this is a surprise. I think."

  The green (her hue sort of reminded her of the forests back from her first home. Well, before said forests had been reduced to glass by the fleets of the Empire, anyway) Gem's response was a slow nod, even as she lifted her hand once more, carefully turning it around while inspecting it.

  "Believe me, we...I wasn't precisely expecting this outcome. I suppose the pity party my two halves were sharing was enough to bond over and make...me." Her eyes glanced down to her additional limbs, a grimace twisting her features. "Even if the final product is...decidedly slapdashed. A consequence of their current mental states, I suppose."

  Tilting back and forth on the balls of her feet, Brim let her hands settle behind her back, hands intertwining with one another.

  "Well from what I uh, overheard, I think they were more than justified in feeling a little bad for themselves? And besides, I reckon you look quite nice!"

  She realised the potential implications behind her words a second after they'd already left her mouth, though her impending cringe at potentially alienating her conversation partner apparently went unnoticed by the fusion, who merely nodded along.

  "I'm sure you do. I'll need a reflective surface to ascertain things for myself, though. But that's a problem for later. For now..."

  Thump.

  Flinching slightly as the large Gem's back all but crashed against one of the walls, arms crossing once more, with one leg also crossing over the other, Brim hesitantly drew closer and broached a question.

  "Ah...so are you...I'm not quite sure what to call you-"

  "Onyx."

  A second perplexed blink followed her first, just as the Lapis Lazuli tilted her head in confusion.

  "Onyx?"

  Onyx (apparently) just nodded again, eyes closed and hiding those almost glowing pupils from sight.

  "Onyx. Green Onyx thanks to the colour of my lightform, I suppose, but that feels awkward to say."

  Glancing back down the hallway to see if anyone was going to pop up and help her with whatever this situation had evolved into (preferably Quille, Quille tended to know how to deal with complex things like potential trauma and matters of self identity and such), Brim waited a second, then slowly turned back to (not!) stare at the now named fusion.

  "Any...any particular reason for that name?"

  A singular eye opened, and for the life of her, she couldn't quite tell why she stood up a little straighter as it all but bored into her own two orbs.

  "An Onyx is a Gem that can be classified as a leader in their field, much like Emerald admirals, Garnet generals or administrators, or even the Moissanite science caste. To be specific, Onyxes in particular specialize in...exploration. They're known throughout the Empire for their adaptability and are highly regarded, notably for operating on the Imperial frontier and establishing new colonies."

  The fusion took a breath, eye closing once more as she leaned her head back up against the wall.

  "I suppose I just find a bit of kinship with...not the Gems themselves. But...perhaps the idea of them. Part of me is an admiral, and the other part is a rather talented Pearl with a wide skillset. Meanwhile, I've found myself an entire galaxy away from Gem civilisation. I like to think it works."

  She took on a questioning tone that on any other Gem, Brim would have labelled as hesitant, but on Onyx...well.

  Onyx didn't really feel like the hesitant type.

  "What do you think?"

  Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, the Lapis Lazuli pondered the title, before slowly nodding.

  "It...fits? I think. Sorry if that's a little sparse but I'm kind of lost and-what exactly are you doing?"

  At her question, Onyx just lifted a hand, first to tap at the smooth gemstone on her lower body, then to repeat the motion with the more defined one on her chest.

  "Getting to know myself. Having an...internal conversation. You're not the only one that's a little lost at the moment, unfortunately. Now if it isn't a problem, I'd like to just talk to myself, for a small bit."

  Raising a finger before eventually deciding to lower it, Brim just mumbled a quiet affirmative and copied Onyx's pose, settling up against the wall opposite of the fusion.

  She could wait for the others to get down here, and for Onyx to 'get to know herself.' And besides, if the green Gem wasn't going to abruptly split apart or cause a ruckus or anything, that just meant that she could sit back and...admire her quality! Win win!

  As she let out a small victory chirp, the fusion's nose wrinkled.

  "Just to let you know, the part of me that is Viridian is exasperated by your continuous one track mind, and the part of me that is Emerald is both disdainful of your presence and mildly flattered at the attention, even if she's in the process of attempting to understand the specific context of your particular...attraction."

  Biting her lip, the Lapis Lazuli drummed her fingers against the wall behind her.

  "So...how does that translate uh...on your end?"

  Onyx just smirked in response, opening her eyes and outright scanning up and down Brim's lightform, prompting a slight flush from the rogue terraformer.

  "Hm...the current consensus is...begrudgingly charmed. For the moment. I suppose we'll see how the feeling progresses." The sentence was almost immediately followed up by the fusion rolling her shoulders in a long stretch, arms rising in tandem and making her seem just that much larger.

  "Now hush, I'm talking to myself. Additionally, I don't distinctly recall saying you could resume ogling, Brim."

  ...Alright now that just wasn't fair!