LOG-077.

  I kept walking down the long stretch of sand, even as Vermilion trailed along somewhere behind me, her tone anxious.

  "Shouldn't we go after her? I mean-everything we-or I guess that you two talked about sounded really serious and if Rose is actually-" The crimson Pearl visibly blanched as I shot her a look, shaking her head.

  "I'm sorry! It's just so...I don't even know!"

  Resisting the urge to sigh, I merely let my eyes trail along the edge of the beach instead, watching as the waves continued to roll up and down the sand.

  "First of all, you were part of the conversation, so don't discount yourself. It's the three of us, not two. And as for said third member...she seems confident she can handle it herself. And I'm not gonna act like I know better in that regard." I clicked my tongue slightly as a particularly strong breeze blew past us.

  "Besides, Rose and her have known each other for a long time. Since before the rebellion, for obvious reasons. If anyone can get through to her, it'll be Pearl."

  That seemed to be enough to relax my batchmate for the immediate moment, even as I slowly ground to a halt, inspecting the area around us. It wasn't necessarily close to the temple, but it wasn't too far from town either. And more importantly, it was relatively isolated, at this time of day.

  "Well, this is the place. Now we wait, I suppose."

  Vermilion tilted her head at that, glancing around as well. "I forgot to ask but...just what are we here for exactly?"

  Bringing up a hand, I brushed some of my hair out of my face, before striding over and settling atop a conveniently placed rock. Nice and flat, and nestled next to some other similar rocks as well. Lizards would probably kill for these things.

  "Not what. Who." At her confused blink, I shrugged. "I was planning to meet Emerald here so we could ah...fuse. You coming along wasn't exactly part of the plan, nor is she actually aware you're here just yet, but I'm sure it'll work out! Just a happy accident, I suppose."

  It was interesting, how someone could look anxious yet flustered at the same time. A hint of a blush (slightly darker than her lightform's natural hue) coloured the red Gem's cheeks, even as her voice grew a little shrill.

  "Emerald!? And...fusion!? B-but I'm not ready to-I don't know if I can-!"

  Tilting my head back to look up at the sky, I stared at what few clouds were present at the moment, before closing my eyes and relaxing as my batchmate continued to stammer herself into a confused, blubbering mess. I cut in just as she paused, seemingly searching for more words.

  "She's not mad at us, you know? And even if she was, I'd probably be the one where most of the blame lies. Breaking off from the Retaliator was my idea, after all."

  The statement brought Vermilion up short, apparently. Even as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, one hand locked around the other's wrist in that usual pose of hers.

  "But...I followed you. You didn't make me do that."

  In turn, that brought me up short, mouth opening for a moment only for a distinct lack of words to escape it as I tilted my head back down to face her.

  ...She had gone along of her own volition, hadn't she?

  Huh.

  My hand once more swept some stray locks of hair out of my face as a sudden gust of wind pulled them out of their usual places. Then I paused, thinking.

  "Well...I'm happy to see my-I'm happy to see Emerald-" Damn it. Stupid...weird...mindfuckery shit. "-And you're feeling worried about meeting her again. Maybe...maybe we put our heads together? Bring in a new perspective?"

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Once more, my batchmate blinked, before comprehension dawned on her face, followed by a slightly deeper blush.

  "R-right now? Here?"

  Standing up from my perch, I spread my arms wide, a small smile presumably lightening my features as I made my way closer to my fellow Pearl.

  "Why not? Though only if you want. I just think it'd be a rather fun thing to surprise her with, I suppose. Imagine her face."

  As I offered my hand, waiting patiently, Vermilion considered that for a moment, thoughts and emotions almost visibly running across her features. Hesitation. Fear. But also a distinct sense of longing. Of...not quite desire, but definitely something similar.

  "Fine! We'll do it!"

  Then my hand was locked in a tight grasp with another almost identical to it, and we were both dancing, lightforms all but flowing across the sand in a manner slightly more liberating than our time spent on the Avian warship. There was much more space to move around here, after all.

  And judging by Vermilion's slowly widening smile as we began to pick up the pace, she was enjoying the process just as much as I was. After all, there was no real goal here, not like I'd had with some of my other partners.

  We were just...goofing around. Sure, we were also getting ready to potentially greet a third Gem into the mix, but nonetheless, all of this was just...for fun.

  It was that final thought that pounded within my mind, right before everything else shrank away in the face of Light.

  ---

  "Viridian? Are you there?"

  The admiral continued to stride across the sand, glancing around every so often to see whether she could spot her...not her Pearl. Not anymore. But rather whether she could spot the Pearl she was supposed to meet.

  Embarassingly enough, she was late. Though it wasn't entirely her fault! That dreadful little avian (something decidedly local, very much unlike the starfaring organics she'd once fought against) had been utterly determined to assault her! Pecking and flapping its wings whenever she so much as tried to cross a certain section of the shore!

  She'd been all but ready to summon her blade and teach the little irritant a lesson in threat assessment before she'd realised that it wasn't protecting a stretch of territory, or just trying to inconvenience her, but rather trying to direct her away from what seemed to be some discarded human food left in the sand.

  Naturally, from there she'd simply steered around the little pile of thin, yellow things and left the airborne menace to its meal, rolling her eyes at its victorious squawking as she left.

  But now that she was at the assigned meeting point Viridian had indicated...the green Pearl was apparently nowhere to be found.

  "Viridian? My apologies for the delay! I was held up by a small organic creature!"

  She glanced around one more time, and slumped. It was likely that the Pearl had elected to leave after her own failure to appear. Perfectly understandable, even if it did clash a little with how willing the other Gem had been to enact their little...rendezvous.

  She'd just been preparing to turn back the way she'd came (perhaps she could find Viridian back at that human workplace? Or maybe somewhere around the Crystal Gems' temple?) when a light sound reached her from behind a few rocks.

  Quirking her brow, Emerald turned to face the minor outcropping, hesitating for a second. Then the sound appeared once more, and she realised just what she'd heard.

  A giggle.

  The edges of her mouth pulled upwards slightly in a bemused smile as she began to walk towards the obstruction. It seemed her (former) Pearl had decided to play the part of a Spinel, for whatever reason. Even if her tone sounded a little off.

  "I know you're there, Viridian. Come on out."

  A third giggle prompted her to roll her eyes yet again, even as she finally reached the rocks and placed her hands down atop their surface, using the newfound leverage to lean over the outcropping entirely.

  "Found you-"

  Yellow eyes. Piercing into her own as the Gem she'd mistaken for Viridian let loose a snicker at her likely befuddled expression. The admiral prepared to apologize for the mishap and enquire as to just who she'd apparently run into, only to pause and stare as the unknown Gem stood up.

  "So you did!"

  Somewhat dimly, Emerald realised that she was a Pearl. A...big Pearl, considering they were both standing at eye level.

  She was a (as most Pearls tended to be) rather beautiful thing. All smooth features, with her particularly frilly dress swishing around ever so slightly as the strange Pearl planted her hands down on the rocks in a mirror to Emerald's current positon and all but threw herself over the outcropping, long legs just barely slipping over them before she landed gracefully on her feet, grinning at the rogue officer.

  And yet her features, both her hair, her outfit, even her eyes, all seemed almost painfully familiar. And it was as she spied a pair of distinct gemstones embedded within the Pearl's lightform that Emerald realised she wasn't looking at just one Gem, but rather the apparent culmination of two of them.

  "See something you like?"

  The words were enough to shake the admiral out of her brief reverie, allowing her to realise that she was gaping like a gormless fool in the face of this...this fusion.

  "Ah...yes-uh. Or rather-I'm sorry, are you...?"

  Those golden eyes all but twinkled like distant stars as she looked into them, prompting a heated sensation to creep up Emerald's neck as the fused Pearl giggled at her once more.

  "Viridian? Yes! But also Vermilion! Hello Emerald, you can call me Honey Lemon Pearl! Or just Honey Lemon for short!"

  Words failed to form, and then incredibly suddenly (at least in her opinion) Honey Lemon was leaning forward once more, her large yet still dainty hands gently grasping Emerald's own, even as she batted her long eyelashes at the disgraced admiral.

  "Sorry if I'm a bit...unexpected, but my components figured I'd be fun to surprise you with! And it looks like they were right!"

  Then the yellow Gem's expression turned far more intent, the large Pearl shooting the officer a rather significant look.

  "Besides, I'm also more than a little curious as to just what you and I could...make together. Care to make this a trio, my Emerald?"

  The heated sensation in her lightform extended up from her neck to fully envelope her face as Emerald idly registered a high pitched, keening sound that Honey Lemon openly grinned at, her features evidently pleased.

  It was only as those dainty hands began to play around with her hair (which felt...strange, but not altogether unpleasant) that the admiral realised the sound was being emitted from her own mouth.

  Oh.

  Oh dear.