"We'll get em', Rainbow, let's get the Gems on the level first. No way are we letting them pass on this!"

With this new information finally given to them, the ponies wasted no time in charging back to Earth and back to Beach City. With just how much they've done over this year, destroying Beach City just naming one, no way were they going to run off after Grootslang's cave without getting them at least involved in the matter. They're just as mad at the snakes as they were, it wouldn't really be fair. Besides, the more on their favor meant the easier it'll be for them to beat the snake to a pulp. Just going through Beach City to get to the Temple was more than enough proof to back them up, many buildings still down and not working at all. No help got there just yet, so who knew how long it'll be before they'll get Beach City all fixed up? Anyway, all the ponies went right through town and along the beach, straight for the Beach House, but by the time they did get there, something else seemed to be going on. For a starter, Ronaldo, and Connie's parents seemed to have arrived before they did, and was trying to talk to some of the Gems outside the house. Practically all of the Crystal Gems were outside with the exception of Amethyst and Steven, and by the looks on some of their faces, it seemed that things were a bit on edge about something.

"I'm telling you, I figured it out! Based off my studies and investigations, I'm sure they're underground!" Ronaldo insisted.

"Evidence off pure legend is not consider fact, Ronaldo," Garnet protested, seemingly going through a good amount of this by his stress. It was here that the ponies stopped nearby, and got their attention.

"Guys, there you are! Boy do we have the news for you!" Rainbow said. Suddenly, Priyanka was right up to Twilight, looking freaked out as ever.

"Thank goodness! PLEASE tell me you've seen Connie!" Priyanka pleaded, cold sweat down her face and hoping for a good answer. Twilight though didn't have a thought in her head at first.

"AUGH! I knew it, I knew it, why did I let that girl go off so freely?!" Priyanka yelled in dismay.

"All the danger that goes on around here involves you somehow, why wouldn't it be?!" Priyanka snapped back. Easy to see the problem, Applejack quickly got in the way, her hooves to her side to push the others back.

"Can somepony tell me what's going on here before fists start flyin?" Applejack asked.

"It's Connie: she's gone missing! Doug and I left to check in on Beach City, just to return and find our Connie gone. We looked within a hundred miles, but not a sign anywhere," Doug explained.

"Let's not play the blame game! If Connie is missing, then arguing to eachother isn't going to help," Twilight cleared up.

"Yeah, they're gone too! We gave them just a hour of alone time and next thing you know, not a thing of them left!" Bismuth explained. Before any of them could get anymore word in, Flint then came back outside with something else in hand. The object looked small, and appeared to be a note of sorts. Flint exiting the Beach House was enough to get their attention.

"Anything, Flint?" Pearl asked, sounding just as worried about them as Connie's parents were.

"Not to your theory, but I did find this hidden by Steven's bed. A ransom, no doubt," Flint said, Garnet seeing the letter and looking it over. Many of the others went over and made sure to have a look at the message themselves, Priyanka and Doug especially. The message itself wasn't really complicated, and the writer didn't make it such.

We got the kids, you got the Diamonds. One per kid. Give me the Diamonds, and you get your kids.

G. Slang

Honestly if that wasn't enough proof to back up the culprit, then nothing will prove it. It was brief, it was blunt, it was to the point, and that was all they needed to get at for any evidence.

"AHA, I KNEW IT! Those snakes are at it again!" Rainbow announced, stating the obvious result to it all.

"... Who's G. Slang? I thought they were named Acid and Cyanide," Star asked, scratching her head.

"Nevermind that, the snake has Connie, Amethyst, and Steven right now!" Peridot said.

"What others kids are there? How're we gonna get them back?!" Fulgurite asked. Garnet was quiet, but she eventually adjusted her shades, and then looked to the others.

"Rainbow. You just said there was news for us," Garnet stated, reminding the ponies of what they knew from their Diamond meeting.

"Really? Where?!" asked Priyanka. If Connie was with Grootslang, this was especially important to know. Twilight cleared her throat.

"Go to the Warp Pad site in the desert and head south until you find the first river, then follow it opposite of the flow to the cave. ," Twilight instructed, reciting what Acid and Cyanide had told them earlier. True or not, it was the best they got to go on. The Gems felt a little unsure, but Ronaldo was quick to jump at it.

"Wait, how'd you know that?" asked Fluttershy. In a sort of dramatic twist, Ronaldo pulled out a book from his coat, and showed them all a bit of evidence he had managed to locate. It appeared to be a picture of a history page, detailing the legend of the Grootslang. Pinkie grabbed the picture with her mane and held it in front of her like a lure.

"All legends of Grootslang point to the same place, exactly like I said. If they're anywhere, it's there," Ronaldo said, as Pinkie looked over details in the story.

"Then there's no time to waste. Peridot. You, Star, Emerald, and Fulgurite, keep watch at the barn. The rest of us will go and get them back," Garnet instructed.

"You better stay here, this is Gem business," Flint stated. Doug stepped right up to Flint and looked him dead in the eye.

"Now you listen here, our own daughter is kidnapped by this Grootslang for ransom, I will not stand by and let this happen. If anything happens to Connie, I'll never forgive myself, and for lord sake I'm not letting anything happen, you understand?" Doug stated firmly. It was enough to make Flint step back and take in what he said. His eyes drifted over to Jade for one moment, and then over to Garnet, who came to the same conclusion.

"... Go inside, there the warp pad in the back, we'll be with you in a bit," Flint said. Doug wasted no time in starting to go off, Priyanka freaking out.

"Honie, don't. I promise, I'll get Connie back here safe and sound. When have I ever lied before?" Doug asked. In just one sentence, Priyanka was halted in her tracks. She knew her husband wouldn't lie to her about something this important, so she stayed back and watched her husband go inside.

"You sure this is a good idea? He might be game, but he's still a human, you know," asked Emerald to Flint.

"He's putting himself in the line of fire for someone he cares deeply about. You think you can stop something like that?" Flint asked. Emerald saw his point, and didn't go any further as the rest then headed off into the Beach House to get to the Warp Pad. Those who stayed back for this mission watched them go inside from the windows, Priyanka seeing her husband's assuring face just before the Warp Pad activated. Pretty soon they were all gone. No pony, or gem, or human left on the Warp Pad.

~~~~~~

Quick activation later, and soon the Mane Six, Garnet, Flint, Bismuth, Pearl, Jade, and Diopside were off and in the area in question. As described by the snakes, the area they had in mind looked like a vast desert. Overcast clouds, miles of sand dunes, and the ruins where the Warp Pad remained were all telltale signs of the Gem location of the ultimate Sahara. Many of the Gems made it alright, but Doug ended up floating in mid air for a bit before gravity made him fall down to the ground on his back with a thud.

"Noted," said Doug, getting himself off the ground. Upon arriving, Twilight and Rainbow Dash flew up high in the air to get a good look around the hot sand dunes.

"Nothing but sand. Hey, Diopside, feel up for a airlift?" called Rainbow. Diopside nodded her head and Twilight used her magic to lift Diopside up to their level. Diopside covered her normal eye so her Gem eye had full vision, and she concentrated on the world they were in. Twilight aimed Diopside to the south as Acid and Cyanide described. Diopside focused as much as she could in that direction, and she started to see a very slight slither of water in that direction.

"Hey they were right: I see a river about half a mile away, straight south," Diopside said.

"You heard her, everyone, let's go," Garnet said, already getting a headstart in heading to the river. The other Gems weren't as fast as Garnet was, so they had some catching up. Flint carried Jade so she wouldn't be left behind, and Bismuth actually decided to carry Doug. Not his first decision, but if it meant getting to Connie any faster, then he'll let it happen.
It took them a bit to get there, but they soon reached the river in question. Most of them stopped alright, right along the bank, but Pinkie went just a little too fast, and ended up stumbling into the water. She wasn't hurt, but they were on the right track with the river itself.

"Follow the river opposite of the flow. ... This way!" Garnet said, rushing off in the other direction of the river. Everyone else was quick to follow, Pinkie Pie actually taking the river itself to keep up with them. They had little time to actually talk and figure anything out - they got their pride and joy to save from this horrid snake!

With the run lasting a good ten minutes or so, it was here they all started to see their destination. It started off much like a sand dune, but the closer they got the sooner they notice that the dune turned out to be the opening mouth of the Wonder Hole. A cave opening aimed just a foot or two away from the river in question, appearing to dive down at a steep angle, and all smoothed out on all sides. They couldn't see much within the cave past about ten feet or so, and once more a prominent set of skeletons of the poor pachyderms lay around right by the cave. Grootslang's welcome mat to his front door. Not exactly hundreds as Acid and cyanide said, but still disturbing anyway. The group went right up to the cave entrance, and were more than willing.

"A elephant graveyard. ... Gems. Ponies. And Doug. Everyone ready?" Garnet asked. Suddenly they all heard a distinctive sound of a firearm being loaded up. They thought it was Flint's pistols, but they heard the sound over from Doug instead, who suddenly had a loaded police pistol in his hand, up and at the ready.

"Did Flint give you that?" asked Fluttershy, feeling humbled from Fulgurite's surprised reaction.

"Rule number one in the police force: never leave the station without a firearm," Doug answered, his pistol aimed out in front of him as he started to go in along with the others.

After a good half hour, the situation changed dramatically. One moment the were in a wide open, hot desert, but now the cave had turned from hot to cold in less than thirty minutes of descending. Pearl and Flint had the honor of providing the light from their gemstones, lighting up what would otherwise be a pitch black tunnel. Each call they occasionally made echoed for yards, each one meeting with the sounds of their own footsteps and nothing else. Farther down they went, the cooler the area became, and they all were on high alert in their search. Smoothed out rock lined under their feet.

"Here, Amethyst! Amethyst!" called Diopside, even throwing in a whistle for good measure.

"Don't you start that, you two, this is serious. Steven, Amethyst, and Connie need us," Garnet firmly stated. They didn't need any bickering, especially now of all times. Not too far away, Pinkie was looking under practically every single rock and pebble they past, putting them back exactly where she found it time and time again. One of these rocks she actually tossed over her head, which hit Diopside in the back of the head.

"Oops," Pinkie said, quickly putting that same rock back where she found it. Nothing much there on their locations.
The group continued quietly going through the cave some more, Jade keeping very close to Flint during their walk around, scared a bit.

"What kind of joke is this?!" Bismuth suddenly shouted from ahead. The rest of the group went on the catch up with Bismuth, finding an end to the tunnel. However, the end of the tunnel only reached what appeared to be a wide open, yet empty chamber. There didn't seem to be any other paths, any of their children, or any giant Grootslang snake for them to face either. Nothing but an empty chamber, nothing but rock walls and darkness outside the lights from Flint and Pearl.

"He's not here, and those snakes tricked us - again!" Bismuth concluded. Why wouldn't they trick them at this point?

"No. No, they have to be here somewhere," Garnet insisted, though she was starting to feel a little bit troubled herself. There didn't seem to be any sign of this continuing anywhere, so they had to be here. If those snakes did lie to them again, who knows where they ended up with their loved ones? Garnet started to look around and study the walls a bit more as best she could, hoping to find some sort of extra path somewhere for them to take, but nothing. Pearl and Flint looked around themselves, but their lights didn't reveal too much either. Nothing but rock walls and floors, some bit of sand but that was about it.

"What do mean no sense? Obviously those two worms gave you all some fake tracks to get us stuck down here. Come on, we're going back," Bismuth decided, getting frustrated more than most about the situation. She really wanted to find them, and this wild goose chase wasn't helping at all.

"Ok, ok, take it easy Bismuth, let's not get ahead of ourselves! Maybe we took a wrong turn?" Diopside insisted.

"There's only one tunnel, Dio. Ok, look, we'll just go back see if we missed anything," Flint decided. The others were starting to agree, but as some of them began to go, Rainbow paused and saw that Fluttershy didn't even budge an inch, her eyes pointed directly up. Her ears folded back, and her irises were shrunk.

"Fluttershy? ... Fluttershy, you ok?" Rainbow asked. But Fluttershy seemed too scared to move. Rainbow waved her hoof in front of her face, but that did little on anything.

"Wake up, we're leaving!" Rainbow shouted, but apparently that didn't work either. The others stopped after a bit, seeing the two having a bit of trouble. Rainbow looked to the Pegasus in the eyes, and then decided to follow them up to the ceiling. At first, Rainbow couldn't see much of anything, but the more she looked, the more visible something started to take shape. Some sort of small shape of someone feet started to show up ever so slightly. Hard to tell who, but seeing the figure all the way up there disturbed them enough, the feet being pulled up and disappeared ...

"RAINBOW, FLUTTERSHY, MOVE!" Garnet ordered. But it was too late for them to do much. Fluttershy didn't move, but Rainbow tried to get both of them out as something huge launched itself down at them! In an explosion of hissing and crumbling, a giant serpent launched down with jaws wide open, and grabbing both Pegesi in one swoop! It all happened so fast, and Garnet tried to get them, but the serpent moved just too quick, and burrowed hard down into the ground, revealing another path just underneath them!

"AFTER HIM!" ordered Bismuth, immediately racing off after the snake. Even with no legs, the creature moved fairly fast through the tunnel, everyone running as fast as they could to catch him.

"Get back here you thieving varmint!" AJ demanded, going just fast enough to bite the snake in the tail, and pull back hard. The other ponies grabbed her and held her down, but the snake suddenly done downward and whipped them forward! The ponies yelped and flew through the air until they landed up on another wall, and landing down roughly in a pile of ...

"Pinkie, quiet," AJ insisted. Rarity, AJ, Twilight, and Pinkie hid in the pile of gemstones as the snake revealed itself in the room.
The room itself was a much larger part of the Wonder Hole, one this snake carved out himself. A large chamber made up of stalactites, stalagmites, and so on. However, this room shined and glistened with multiple amounts of stones, many sorts of gems all over in hordes and piles, multiple colors all around and multiple sizes. The smallest light came from a hole at the top of the room, making the other stones light up the room. As for the snake, Grootslang as it turned out, he took a moment to admire and beam around the room before his tail whipped the tunnel shut: knocking down enough rocks to block the hole so others wouldn't follow him in.

"That's that," Grootslang mumbled, his mouth still full as he spat up his catch. Rainbow and Fluttershy were alright, and he also spat up a set of stones with Steven's shoes on the end of them. The bait worked, but Grootslang was not pleased with the catch.

"What?! Just ponies? No wonder my mouth was so hairy," Grootslang said, spitting out a few more hairs as the other two got up.

"YOU, YOU'RE MINE!" Rainbow yelled, but Grootslang just had to whip her to keep her quiet, the whip so rough it damaged her wing! Fluttershy got back to reality after everything, Grootslang groaning.

"And I thought I had the perfect catch too! The perfect score, and all I got are two feathered mules."

"Oh shut up," Grootslang said, giving them both another whip and launching them into the pile right next to the other ponies. Whatever Rainbow and Fluttershy were ready to do, they weren't given the chance here, but at least the ponies were together. Grootslang sighed and slithered up to one particular Gemstone amongst the giant pile.

"That hit oughta knock em out. ... Besides, as long as you're safe, my sweet.~" He started to move a few more gemstones around, only to reveal his "sweet" hidden just underneath a few of his stolen goods. Once the light got onto it, a blue aura reflection spread around the room, the Mane six recognizing the color straight away.

"T-That's Blue Diamond!" they all thought, and it indeed was. Grootslang had the gemstone wrapped up in ribbon like a gift, and for some reason it wasn't letting Blue Diamond come back around after all this time gone. Grootslang hissed eagerly about the best gemstone he had gotten. Grootslang got it in position, and gently rested the thing on the back of his head like a pillow, placing his hat next to it.

Speak of the devil: with a few hisses, two snakes suddenly appear out of nowhere, though the top hole and dropping down to their leader, actually landing in his hat. Tired, but fine.

"Acid, Cyanide, I was just wondering where you two had gone to," Grootslang said.

"All I got was a face of feathers, so no. They'll come by eventually, and I can add them to my collection along with their Diamond and Jasper."

"JASPER?" The ponies thought. Acid and Cyanide slithered out of the hat and went right over to the boss snake.

"Why not a little jig? That'll pass the time til they get here, and it'll give our trio of guests something to do."

"Oh why not? Set up some music and get them out here," Grootslang said. Acid and Cyanide slithered off out of sight for a little moment, but eventually a few more figures were them moved on over to the center of the Gem room: Steven, Connie, and Amethyst! The trio were all dressed up as a bunch of belly dancers, and by the look of their dazed eyes, they were obviously out of it, hypnotized somehow. What didn't help much either was the Gemstones on Steven's necklace: one Jasper at the center of it, wrapped up like Blue Diamond, and the ponies could easily see it in the limelight. Acid and Cyanide actually pulled out what looked like a music box, one of those older music boxes on a stand with need el plus a yellow horn. One click on the music box, and a heavily beat music started to play, one of which made the trio start to sway a bit to the beat. It wasn't exactly dancing per say, more just them swaying back and forth, moving from one side to the other every two beats. The three were in perfect synch with eachother, and Grootslang settled down easy and watched them dance to the music.

"So, anypony have any ideas on what to do? We got a Diamond tied up, our Jasper tied up, and our friends snake-charmed," AJ asked quietly.

"It sounds like he's expecting the trade off. ... Here, hang on." Twilight's horn began to glow, and in a sudden burst of magic, all the ponies were teleported away from the situation. Grootslang ended up startled, but he didn't see much of anything. He was more concerned over his jewels rather than the ponies themselves.
After the teleport had been done, Twilight's accurate teleport got them just on the otherside of the blockade, and back with the rest of the group (who apparently had been trying to get through the blockage Grootslang had left for them).

"We're fine, but they're all in there: Blue Diamond, Jasper, Steven, Connie, Amethyst, Grootslang's got them all in that room," Twilight reported.

"Well don't just stand there, help me break this wall through!" bismuth yelled, trying to pound her way through the wall. Some of the other Gems tried to help her out too.

"Seems he's expecting that trade off more than most," Fluttershy said to Garnet. The fusion thought a little bit more about the subject in question. ...

~~~~~~

Few more minutes ticked by, and still no word from the Crystal Gems. Acid, Cyanide, and Grootslang were getting more bored by the minute, and the dancing the trio did nearby wasn't doing them much help either. In fact, at this point, Amethyst, Connie, and Steven had stopped moving and the music had grinded to a halt at this point.

"I did leave the note vague. ... Oh wait, you two told them didn't you?" Grootslang questioned.

Suddenly, the rock wall they had left suddenly got blown up into oblivion. Naturally it spooked the snakes a little bit, startling them at most, some stray pebbles landing on the trio of hypnotized kids. When they looked over, coming out of the dust and rock, in came the Mane Six. To Grootslang's mixed surprise, the two seemingly had exactly what Grootslang wanted: the gemstones of Yellow Diamond and White Diamond! Obviously it was hard to move by the strain on the ponies faces.

"Okay, Grootslang, is it? We got your Diamonds right here. The legitimate White and Yellow Diamond from homeworld," announced Twilight Sparkle. The top snake slithered down and examined each one a little closer.

"Does it matter, snake? You got your Diamonds, not your end of the deal," Rainbow made clear, flying in Grootslang's face. Grootslang rolled his eyes and then looked to Connie, Steven, and Amethyst. The way to snap them out of it was surprising easy: all it took was one flick of the tail to whip the air and ...

"Yeah, yeah, now you go and eat some grass or whatever you do. Acid, cyanide, see them out, will ya?" Grootslang said, moving the other two Diamonds over by Blue Diamond's gemstone.

"Guys, how could you?! Those're the Homeworld leaders you just gave to those vipers!" Amethyst yelled, shocked they were doing so.

"Just watch," Rarity whispered. Grootslang took a moment to admire all three Diamonds amongst the set, wiping White Diamond clean with his tail and seeing himself in the reflection. Each one of these Diamonds were simply beautiful and glistened in the light from the top of the cave. Such perfect, huge gemstones made Grootslang almost giddy for having three of the finest Diamonds this side of the world. His tongue flicked out and it actually hit the Yellow Diamond stone ... just for some of the color to fade onto his tongue.

Suddenly the Yellow Diamond stone opened up and Grootslang was launched across the room thanks to a fist hitting his face. Soon, both "gemstones" opened right up, and the group exploded out to attack Grootslang, Acid, and Cyanide! Grootslang was suddenly assaulted by Bismuth, and Pearl, as Garnet had the honor of not only removing the ribbon from Blue Diamond, but carrying her out too. Doug, Jade, and Flint went straight to the kids nearby.

"We'll tell you later, now come on we have to go," Jade said, worried, as the loud hissing of a now angry Grootslang echoed throughout the room. They didn't have much time for a fight, and soon as they got the Gems they needed, it was straight off to the exit tunnel.

"GET BACK HERE!" Grootslang roared, slithering off after them, Acid and Cyanide going right off with him.
It didn't take very long until the rescue mission turned into a full-out chase, the trio of snakes racing after the Gem group. They barely had time to actually get their act together, all they knew was just get out of there, and the snakes chasing after them wasn't making it any easier either, especially since one of the Gems was holding the Gemstone of a Diamond above her head.

"Diopside, Pearl, get the others outside, I'll hold them off!" Flint instructed, stopping and turning back to face the snakes. However, Doug had the exact same idea, and even before flint could fire, Doug went on ahead and suddenly the sounds of his pistol rang in the air! Even if he was a human, Doug drew out his weapons faster than Flint, and with the bullets zooming through the air, the snakes actually started to freak out a little bit. One of the shots even managed to hit off Grootslang's hat!

"OH! OOHH! YOU DID NOT JUST BLAST OFF THE HAT! OK, no more playing nice!" Grootslang roared, suddenly digging down fast. Acid and Cyanide gripped on the end of his tail so they wouldn't be left behind. Grootslang suddenly reappeared right in front of the runaway group. In a mighty roar, Grootslang bolted forward, and recaptured Amethyst, Steven, and Connie in one lunge. Grootslang tried digging again, but Diopside grabbed him by the tail.

"You're not taking them again!" Diopside yelled. Grootslang tried to get himself loose, but more of them tried to get a grip on him. Acid and Cyanide weren't going to have it though, and both snakes took a bite towards them, actually biting Flint and Garnet! The lack of strength dislodged most of them, but Diopside ended up pulled along for the ride! The others tried to grab her, but the snake wasn't going to give them anymore chances, and covered up the hole as he went.
They were now stuck.

~~~~~~

just slipping away by the skins of their teeth, the trio of snakes managed to get to a much farther location, and one they were more than sure that they'd lose the trouble with the other Gems at. The chamber this time was more open, and one that actually opened up out to the shoreline (yes the wonder Hole was that long), and with little information on where it would be for others to follow, they felt safe enough. Grootslang, making sure trio cover their escape hole, only then released Steven, Amethyst, and Connie from his jaws, all three of the kids dropping to the ground in a thud. With them no longer hypnotized though, they had a bit more on their minds instead of just dancing the time away.

"Where're we now?" asked Amethyst, dazed from the flash ride. Acid and cyanide looked ready to bite again, but this time Grootslang didn't want to bother with it and got in their way.

"As for you kids, you're way more trouble than you're worth, so let's make this quick," Grootslang said in frustration.

"Make what quick, you coil of rope?" Amethyst asked, ready to pull out her whip. Grootslang hissed to Acid and Cyanide, and both snakes made a mad fast lunge at the two. Rather than biting them though, Grootslang bit off his own tail, and they simply tied them up with Grootslang's tail as rope. Surprisingly strong for a ripped off tail, both girls struggling to get themselves free.

"Connie, Amethyst!" Steven gasped. However, that was all he could do before Grootslang wrapped around him, and lifted him off the ground upside down. The position lifted his shirt up and revealed his gemstone to the snake, the serpent looking in intrigue, but with a bit of frustration too over what just happened. The Jasper stone had gone missing during the getaway, which annoyed the snake even more.

"Dang it, they got the Jasper. Oh well, I still got an Amethyst and Rose Quartz after that mess ... how the heck do you take this off?" Grootslang wondered. He looked Steven over up and down, but it was a lot harder than it sounded.

"No, don't take my Gem! ... Wait, what would happen to me?" Steven wondered. He began to feel very uneasy on such an idea, but with a hybrid like him it was a tough question at best. However, he barely had time to figure out any hypothesis as Grootslang's tongue gave the stone a flicker.

"Come on, it can't be that hard. Acid, Cyanide, a fang please?" Grootslang asked. Acid and Cyanide slithered up his tail, and up to Steven, looking over the stone themselves. First one to try was Acid, who drawed out her fangs and tried to pry it off! Steven yelled in pain in their attempts, but the snakes couldn't even budge it.

"Steven!" Connie and Amethyst gasped, trying even harder to get themselves loose.

"No he's not, he's a human can't you taste it? That stupid piercing's got to come off somehow," Grootslang insisted, drawing out his even longer, sharper fangs for the job and he gave it a try. The long fang pushed down hard on Steven's stone, Steven groaning and struggling to make him stop but Grootslang couldn't budge it either, even if he was being more careful with it. He didn't want to shatter the thing for the sake of getting it out: a priceless gemstone that is!

"You two shut up, I'm busy," Grootslang hissed, before trying to squeeze the Gemstone out of him. some good pressure should pop it out like a cork, but no matter how tightly he squeezed Steven, it remained in place. Steven now felt terrible physically, his whole body sore, and torso stinging in pain, and Grootslang still didn't have his prize.

"What's it being stuck with, cement glue? Dislodge already!" Grootslang yelled, going as far as to whack Steven around like a ragdoll to make it loose, but while it made Steven sick, it didn't work either. Seeing their close friend getting brutally beaten like this made it even more horrifying to watch. With all her strength, Amethyst finally made it break, and with a mighty snap, the rope keeping her down snapped off. Of course, she got Connie out of it quick, and then she tried to get to Steven, but the sound caught their attention.

"Bad move. Come on, Acid," Cyanide hissed, both snakes rushing towards them. Amethyst, being in the line of fire was the main target, and the snakes raced right towards her as fast as a snake could move.

"Amethyst, look out!" Connie yelled, lunging herself at Amethyst. The lunge got them both out of the way in time, Connie and Amethyst aside as Acid and Cyanide slammed into the wall.
With all of this happening: Steven with Grootslang, and the attacking two snakes, none of them could ever remotely prepare for what was about to happen next, as a light started to fill in the room ...

The light lasted for a short time, fifteen seconds exactly as the event occurred, and in the end that was all it really took for the transformation to transpire. When Steven and the snakes all looked, they found that both human girl and young Gem were ... well, were no longer there. Someone else was there, something else more rather. She had a number of resemblances to Smoky Quartz, but still had her own features to stand out: stood as tall as Garnet at full height, her hair flowing down her back like Fulgurite or Diopside, but a bit more smoothed out and the same color as Smoky's hair. Her body was thinner than Smoky's, but still appeared rather thick in curves, more like Jasper in a way but slimmer. Her skin was a lot darker than Smoky was, and since both Amethyst and Connie were in the same belly dancer outfit, this person had the same getup as well, though a Stevonnie-like outfit showed on this girl in a similar manor, but bigger to accommodate the body. Speaking of as well, there was another detail on her that stood out too from Smoky: on her cheek appeared to be some form of mark, the mark being a sort of comet, long tail of white with a purple star. One key detail proved who this was: a single Gemstone on her chest (same color as Amethyst), and three eyes on her face.
The world had just witnessed Connie and Amethyst's first fusion.

"W-Whoa. What - what happened? Did we just ..." the fusion couldn't even comprehend, as both sides were just as surprised on what just happened as everyone else was. Sure, Steven and Connie fused for Stevonnie. Sure, Steven and Amethyst fused for Smoky Quartz. But how could Amethyst and Connie do this, and what did they fuse into? However, a loud hiss got both sides to attention.

"COME ON, another one?! Forget this; Acid, Cyanide, get rid of her!" Grootslang ordered, both snakes going right to her. The fusion braced for impact, both snakes actually biting down on her arms! Both snakes waited, their fangs digging in, but oddly this fusion didn't seem to be reacting as much, if at all to their bites.

"Get off," the fusion said, whacking them off like flies, and just as easily. not even a mark to prove they actually bit her remained, proven to be too tough for the two snakes to handle. The fusion didn't give them a chance to move off this time, and grabbed them both by the tail and with as enough force as accuracy, tied their tails together. She made them extra tight too, so they wouldn't get out of their knot like they did before, just to be sure.

"If your done playing knots, get outta here! I don't have time to deal with you!" Grootslang roared.

"Says the lazy snake who sent his two little pieces of rope after his game," said the fusion, clever in remark, but still a bit know-it-all in tone. Grootslang was not pleased, and he even dropped Steven to focus on the fusion. As for the fusion in question, she actually had the snakes in a similar manor to a set of nunchucks, and used them in a similar way. Rather than just showing off the skills like other nunchuck users do, she went right to work on Grootslang. The snake tried to advance, but each step close just got him hit by the snake nunchuck, hurting both him and Acid and Cyanide in the attacks. Steven got himself up and watched on as the fusion went to town on Grootslang time and time again, actually whacking the hat off his head again, hitting the skull symbol on it. What actually happened next took her off guard: the skull began to glow, and Acid and Cyanide actually turned to green smoke! Both of them ended up sucked back into the hat, and soon it was just Grootslang himself left.

"So those snakes were just magic, huh?" the fusion concluded, picking up the hat off the ground.

"GIVE. THAT. BACK. That hat is my possession, more than any stone I've got and - ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!" Grootslang hissed, but instead the fusion started to look over what the hat could do, a bit too distracted to even listen to the snake. She seemed a little more interested in what the hat could do rather than the snake. As a little test, she actually clicked on the skull symbol again, and aimed it at Grootslang.

"No! NO, YOU IDIOT - RRRAAAHHH!" And with that mighty roar, the magic from Grootslang was sucked up into the skull as well. Grootslang tried to resist, but the skull hat was a little too tough for him to handle on his own, and soon enough, with all the magic and power sucked away, all that remained on the ground was a tiny little adder. No longer dangerous (on the same level anyway), no longer sentient like they were, just a regular African adder not coiled up and hissing on the ground. All that trouble, and that was all they had to do to get rid of him. ... well, sort of. The snake hissed when they came close, and then slithered off out to the shoreline, and out of sight.

"... OK, that happened. Well, that's done," the fusion sighed, using a bubble to send the hat off before it could do anymore harm.

To be honest, Steven didn't have a clue how to react at first. Here was two girls he fused with before, on multiple occasions by the by, and now both girls were fused up together into this one Gem fusion he never knew could even happen, not to mention having a cutie mark too. At least with him there was at least one reason - him being a hybrid - but this just didn't make any sense on the surface. Steven felt rather humbled at the least.

"A little bruised up. But I'm okay. Are you okay? How do you feel?" Steven asked. The fusion just nodded, and a bit of an awkward silence drifted for a while.

"At least we're on the same page, then," Steven simply said. Kinda hard to think of anything else really.

The voices were rather vague, but they do still show that the others were catching up with them, albeit outside rather than the tunnel. Hearing them, Steven and the fusion got the same idea.

~~~~~~

After everything it was straight back home, and straight back to the barn where the others were waiting. It was such a relief to not only hear that they were safe, but also the fact that Grootslang was stopped, along with Acid and Cyanide. It was so good to hear those three had been stopped, and it wasn't until when they got back that they started telling them what happened. When the whole fusion thing was brought up though, it was the biggest surprise they had all day. Oddly though, the barn didn't appear as frozen as before. ...

"Yeah, and look I even got a Cutie Mark out of it," Amethyst said, pointing to the shooting star Cutie Mark on her cheek.

"First Jasper, then Peridot, and now you. I think some of our rules are getting to you Gems," Applejack confirmed.

"Speaking of which, where's Jasper?" asked Bismuth. suddenly, Amethyst and Connie both looked freaked out after that, looking to eachother in the sudden realization, but luckily Steven got them covered, and pulled out her gemstone from his pocket.

"She's right here," he said. Connie and Amethyst gave a sigh of relief, as Steven gave Jasper to Garnet.

"Well, I dunno about y'all, but I'm glad all that's over. Grootslang and his group are finally done with," Applejack admitted.

"So first you uh ... "fuse" with Steven, and now her?" Priyanka asked, still freaked out herself about it.

"I feel great, I swear," Connie reassured them. She didn't want them freaking out on her, especially after what they just did. It'll still take some time for Jasper to come back around, but they were all there, all safe and sound after everything that had gone on. ...
Well, almost everyone. Steven quietly took a small moment to turn back to the barn, remembering one Gem that still, seemingly, hadn't come out yet. It didn't take too long until the others saw him do so, though it was Garnet who came over to him with a smile on her face.

"We have a surprise for you," Garnet then said. Steven wasn't sure what she was talking about, nor did Connie and Amethyst, but eventually their surprise came back after gently landing over on top of the barn.

Then showed the best surprise of the day: Lapis Lazuli! After such a long time gone from the group, seeing their favorite water Gem was the greatest thing yet. Lapis didn't look exactly the same as before though: her dress shortened down to a skirt, and while the bottom half was still the same blue, the upper half was now a snow white. On her stomach, a blue ring with a yellow star showed itself as the official Lapis CG mark. Around her neck she had a air pilot's blue scarf, which replaced the ribbons she once had. Up on the roof she had her wings open, and her wings looked a lot more detailed to an albatross wings, smoothed and streamlined as they glistened in the sun.

"LAPIS!" Steven, Connie, and Amethyst said, as the blue water Gem flew down gently to see her old friends once again. They were quick to go right up to her and hug her tight.

"Welcome back, Lapis! Boy we got some catching up to do," Steven said. A sweet little reunion, enough to wrap it up. Garnet looked over to them with a soft smile, and looked to the Jasper Gemstone in the palm of her hand.

My Little Universe: Season 5

by EquestrianKirin

Corruptors