Believe In The Weird and Wild (Star vs. the Forces of Evil x Steven U)

Summary:

What it means to be in a relationship

Kelly took an awkward bite out of her bacon, feeling the awkward tension from a mile away. Literally all the teens could feel it permeate the kitchen table. "More orange juice?" Ms Noceda asked Steven.

"Sure … thanks …" Getting orange juice from your dad's date, definitely up there in the awkward scale. "So…what brought this on, Dad..the breakfast I mean."

"Well, we've haven't spent a lot of time together since you've moved to earth permanently, and you've been hanging around Luz a lot more often, so I figured we could kill two birds with one stone.

"Also you kids looked like you needed a healthy meal and a quiet breakfast." The woman added on. "Another pancake Amity?"

"Yes please." The only one who wasn't affected by the tension, or at least able to stomach it better than everyone else was the purple haired witch. "The Syrup tastes so much better than the tree blood back home, and the plants don't try to kill you when you extract it."

"How is it besides Mewni, Earth, and Woolia, every other planet has very dangerous vegetation?" Kelly asked.

"I mean Mewni still has man eating plants." Steven pointed out. "... And the death telling calzones."

"I've faced enough food trying to gut me with every bite, I'll kindly stay far away from that, thank you very much." Luz nodded firmly. "I ended up eating a lot of griffen eggs in the boiling Isles. There's a slight toughness in the textures, but add a little pepper and you're golden.

"I need to look at your stomachs at some point." Ms. Noceda muttered. "When was the last time any of you went to a doctor?"

"... I wanna say a week before I went to the boiling isles." Luz spoke up after some thought.

"Healing Coven's fixed my broken leg about nine months ago." Amity said as she drank some of her juice.

"I went to the dentist last month." Kelly shrugged.

"Never." Steven answered, taking a bite of pancakes as the group became very quiet. "... What?"

"You've never been to the doctor…how could you parents be that irresponsible!?" Ms. Noceda said, offended and full of worry on her face."

He looked offended. "Well on Mewni, sickness and critical injuries are just sort of expected to be toughened out, so Doctors are sort of a last resort. I've never been sick and my first broken bones are from when I fought Jasper. After that my healing factor kicked in, so nothing was wrong after." Steven answered. "Also my mom and dad are super responsible parents…for the most part."

"Alright, this afternoon I am driving you to the hospital and giving your body a once over." Luz's mom spoke angrily and determined.

"Best to go along with it, you don't want her to bring out the sandal." Luz whispered to Kelly's boyfriend. "Pretty sure your powers won't be able to heal from the emotional trauma."

"Fine, looks like we're going to push back the fusion training to later today."

"Meh, it's fine." Kelly felt like she'd need to avoid that anyway … waaay too soon. "Pretty sure Stelly could go another hour or so without existing."

"Wait, I thought it was just books." Luz spoke with a blink. "You can fuse people!?"

"Nope, me and Star got the power from Rose, we can fuse with just about anyone." He shrugged. "Well, I can at least, she's only ever fused with Marco on her own, but she has her biggest emotional connection to him aside from me."

"Where do your organs go?" Amity asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think they just…merge and get bigger. Or the shape shifting kicks in and places them all aside to fit together." Steven looked at himself. "I'm the first human/gem to exist, so that's never really been a question before."

Ms Noceda sighed. "Great, more to add to the list of potential problems. Worst comes to worst I'll just shove you inside of a full body cast and wait a month."

"A whole month stuck in bed….if only." Steven sighed. "Something will come sooner or later and force me out of it."

"I definitely wouldn't mind staying still for a month." Kelly placed her hand on top of Steven's. "I can sit next to you the entire time, nurse you back to health. Maybe in a cute little outfit." She giggled at his blush.

"Already going for cosplay." Luz smirked at the sight. "Me and Amity covered that in our second month.

"I still don't understand the concept." The girl shrugged. "Apparently I 'did it wrong' during that tricking holiday.."

"You dressed as your mother."

"You said to dress up as the most horrible and scariest thing I knew."

"Eh, if Rose didn't have such a nice face, I'd probably do the same for halloween." Steven sighed

"... I'm just gonna … go avoid that line of thought entirely." Mr. Universe spoke with a twitch of the eye. She didn't remember Steven hating his mom this much before she left.

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"So now I have to wear this helmet for the next month due to all the fractures I have." Garnet watched as Steven tapped his head. "They're not even married yet, and I already have an overprotective step mom…and I don't know how to feel about that."

"I think any responsible doctor would do that." Pearl spoke up. "You're not made of light like us, you've been pushing your organic healing far beyond what should be comfortable."

"Isn't it kind of a moot point though?" Kelly questioned. "Danger comes no matter what, situations escalate whether we like it or not, and we HAVE to fight whatever bullcrap keeps getting in our way."

"True, but it doesn't mean you should push what little luck we have." Garnet clarified. "Let's just take it easy and try a simple fusion. Star's already on standby to help us keep Stelly contained."

"As much as I'd rather not be." The girl in question sat against a pillar, messing with her hand mirror. "Then again, knocking Stelly's head around does sound satisfying."

"Wasn't our last conversation to not knock Steven's head around?" Marco asked.

"It's for reasons like when we have conversations like this that I haven't taken off this helmet yet." Steven sighed. "Alright, just like the blood moon ball?" He asked, holding out his hand.

"Yeah, except there's no snobby judgmental demons surrounding us and no clingy ex boyfriend's hiding in my hair." Kelly accepted the hand, and seemed mildly shocked by Steven taking the lead. "Huh, three seconds in and you're not tripping over your feet…nice."

"Had to occupy my time with something after beating Meteora." Steven winked at the Woolet as they settled into a steady rhythm and pace. "You're still as graceful as ever."

"Graceful violence is always an attractive feature of woolets." She smirked as the two of them spun around, slowly getting closer, arms wrapped around one another as they held each other tight, a small light glowing … then instantly vanishing, the two of them remaining in place.

"Something wrong guys?" Star asked, her eyes cocking upward upon seeing that the trouble fusion hadn't come out.

"I …guess we misstepped?" Steven asked. "Let's try it again."

"Right, this time I'll lead." They repeated the movements, this time Kelly taking command as the two of them spun around, repeated motions and unity as they began glowing once again … before remaining the same. "Anything?" She looked to herself. "Dang it."

"Has that happened before?" Marco asked.

"Yeah … mostly with Amethyst and Pearl." Garnet explained, looking at the two.

"Usually when we can't be on the wavelength, though there's usually a lot more arguing and fighting when it happens." Amethyst commented. "You guys actually had the calmest fusion fail I've ever seen…so kudos, better than how you both started out.

"Is there anything of particular note that the two of you are experiencing at the moment?" Garnet asked. "I know you two just got back together."

"Well I kinda spent an entire existential journey to stop myself from being tempted to adore fusion." Kelly shrugged off. "That might be a big part of it."

"And I was iffy about fusion for the longest time, and I still have a rather complicated relationship with it." Steven rubbed his head. "Maybe we're just not meant to fuse anymore."

"Cool, no more Stelly!" Star smiled at the self deprecation. She understood it was a bad experience, but that still was a bit cruel in Garnet's opinion.

"While I understand the reluctance, and the last thing I want to do is force the two of you into something uncomfortable.." Garnet turned to the young couple. "Fusion is still a part of your lives."

"Is it really?" Marco asked. "Besides you and Fluorite, we haven't met a single stable or decent fusion in our lives."

"Well there was also Topaz. They were surprisingly sweet once we got to know them." Star mentioned. "And Rhodonite is fine, if a bit of a scaredy cat."

"Every connection, everyone we come across in our lives, we create bonds between them. Fusion is an embodiment of those bonds." Garnet went on. "It's why, even when Ruby and Sapphire split, I still exist, because their love and care for each other is that tangible."

Steven sighed. "Alright, let's try it again." The boy grabbed his girlfriend's hands as the two, much less enthusiastic as before, started going through the motions of the dance, the light enveloping again…

"Leave me ALONE!"

 …before quickly disappearing with No Stelly present, only this time the two were violently ejected from each other, and sent flying across the area in opposite directions. "Steven!" Star and Pearl rushed over to the boy while Amethyst and Marco rushed over to Kelly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, the helmet absorbed most of it..." Steven shrugged off the concern before turning to Kelly. "I know fusion's a sore subject between us, but I.."

"No, I may be cautious about it now, but I wasn't trying to reject you like that." Kelly answered, looking at her arms. "It's like what happened on Jungle Moon…Stelly themselves doesn't want to form."

"I didn't even think that was possible." Garnet muttered in mild bafflement. Why would they do that? I dunno, they're insane or something? "Alright, fusion training is done for the week." She commanded. This wasn't safe to do if the fusion itself was somehow uncooperative.

"Finally! Thought this would never end." Star didn't even bother to hide her excitement. "Come on, bro. Mom's been wanting new ingredients from that Marzipan dimension, so we got another world to explore."

"In a minute." Steven looked to Kelly, the both of them sharing an uncomfortable look. "You felt their pain too, right?"

"The self loathing and isolation…I haven't felt it on this level since the blood moon." Kelly rubbed her arms. "Even if they caused trouble…I don't want to leave them like that."

"I understand you want to help, but fusing without cooperation like that is dangerous." Garnet told them. "You could become like Malachite, or worse, they give themselves self-harm tendencies that deeply affect your psyche."

"Well, we have to do something." Steven rubbed his chin. "Me and Kelly changed for the better, so Stelly should be a part of it.

Star looked at her brother for a moment, before she gave a loud groan. "Fine, if it means that much to everyone, I'll just bring Stelly out."

"Star, didn't you hear Garnet?" Pearl reminded her. "We can't get them to fuse like this."

"No, I made a spell for it."

"What?" Everyone asked simultaneously.

"It's not to force them to fuse. Here, let me show you." She aimed her hands at Pearl and Amethyst. "With the shine of the moon, and the glare of the sun, I ask that these two lights now become one." Her hands began to glow with a soft rainbow light, a strange tingle enveloping the temple.

"Wait, are you testing it on us!?" Amethyst shouted, backing up just a bit for the completely justified reason of lack of information.

"From dawn till dusk this power is spent, let us speak with all the minds present."A beam of light shot out from both hands, hitting Amethyst and Pearl's gems, the two of them giving a light spasm before two massless balls of light shot out from their stones, swirling around the room. They coalesced in the middle, bodies mashing and mingling with one another until … Opal was formed, lacking the gemstones on her head and stomach.

"What, where am I? How did I get here? I don't remember dancing." The four armed fusion looked at themselves. "Where are my gems? Did I even have gems before? Have I just been dreaming for my entire existence?"

"Um … hello." Pearl waved awkwardly at the apparent fusion of herself. Garnet was still trying to process it herself.

"Oh, hello Pearl, Amethyst." They waved. "It's nice to finally meet you … wait, that doesn't sound right, I am you..them..how does this work now?."

"Star." Amethyst said softly, turning to the Mewman. "... What the fuck?"

"New spell to interact with fusions we actually like when it's impossible normally." The girl shrugged as if she hadn't broken every conception the Crystal Gems ever had. "Took a while to work out the kinks, but it lasts until sunset." Star smiled at the new gem. "Welcome to the world of fusions without fuses, Opal."

"Did I enter a new dimension? If my body is made from light, where am I projecting from without the gems? Do I even have my weapon?

"Nope, same dimension. And I dunno about the rest, I only tested it on plants."

"So you could've cronenberged them if anything went wrong with the spell?" Marco questioned.

"Well I wasn't going to test it on Steven, he's my brother." The girl shamelessly admitted. "Anyways, let's get this over with.

"Actually …" Garnet spoke up. "Do you mind if you use it on Sapphire and Ruby?" She asked. "I'd … I'd like to meet the people that made me … me for so long." We finally meet face to face! It's gonna be amazing!

"Oh! If we're getting down with this freaky fusion spell, I want to bring out Smokey too!" Amethyst raised her hand.

"Congrats Star." Kelly snorted. "You've just become the newest fad among Gemkind."

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Marco wasn't sure about how much he should get involved with this fusion business as Star used her new spell to create Quana, Steven having invited Jana knowing this was the type of freakiness she would be into. "Hello again world!" The pink fusion shouted. "Hello there Jana, Steven, so nice to meet me both!"

"Wow, it's like a funhouse mirror where the reflection is its own being." Jana spoke with sparkly eyes. "So cool."

"I never noticed how pink our skin really was." Steven observed his fusion with fascination. "This might be a little weird, considering you are partly me..but thanks for helping me..accept me as Steven."

"No problem little man, I'm there to make you feel good about yourselves after all." They ruffled his hair into a ferris wheel. "And have some fun of my own." Quana giggled.

"Yo, sib, come here!" Smokey Quartz grabbed the fusion from behind and ruffled Quana's head with her three arms, lightly smushing it down into a mushy puddle. "I always wanted to meet you! We totally need to have a yo-yo off."

"So let's get a headcount." Marco noted. "We have two Pearl fusions." He looked at Opal having a chat with Pearl and Rainbow 2.0. "One Sapphire and Ruby fusion." Basically they only asked for Garnet, and they were content with that, just chatting away with each other with faint blushes. "Two Amethyst." The girl was just laughing with Smokey Quartz. "One Jana." Quana causing chaos. "And … three Steven fusions."

"So much life coming from one short little package." Smokey lassoed Steven in her hold as Quana and them tossed the boy into the air. Well they seemed to be super affectionate.

"You sure you don't wanna get in on this Marco?" Jana asked. "You don't fuse as it is, could give you some introspection."

"I'm sure, I've never really been into fusion myself." He shrugged, mostly remembering it as a battle ready thing. "Also the spell seems to be taking its toll on Star."

"Give me … a minute …" Marco looked at his sweating girlfriend, drinking about a gallon of juice. "This spell … is a lot more heavy … than I thought … "

"Well, since Stars are already getting out of it, why don't we just put the whole 'bring Stelly out' plan off until tomorrow, or next week." Kelly tried to suggest. "Enjoy talking to the actual fun fusions and have a non-drama filled day.."

"Kelly." Steven put a finger on the girl's lips. "The more we put it off, the worse it'll probably get. We need to nip this in the bud now."

"I know, I know…Stelly just…reminds me of everything I used to be like before, and I don't want me..I don't want to see us like how we were before.

"It's fine, you've changed." Steven pulled her into a hug, patting her on the back. "We both have … it'll be better this time."

"That remains to be seen." Star grumbled before taking a big breath and closing her eyes. "With the shine of the moon, and the glare of the sun, I ask that these two lights now become one. From dawn till dusk this power is spent, let us speak with all the minds present."  

A bright light enveloped the two as two streams of it converged into a ball. Seconds later, the fusion of the hour came…and they did not look happy. "Oh fuck this." They walked over to the kitchen area, reaching into some drawers.

"What the heck are you doing?" Steven asked, vastly confused and concerned.

"Looking for a knife." They responded. "I wanna see if I go poof or it's a splat of blood, but the end goal is still not sticking around with you lot." Well this went from a four to an eleven real quick.

"Hyperstorm Winter Freeze!" Star froze the kitchen over and shut all the drawers close.

"Fine, I'll go drown myself in the ocean then." The fusion started walking to the door.

"Raspberry Ribbon Lasso!" Star shot out another spell and tied up the walking pile of red flags.

"You. Will. Let. Me. Go." They growled out.

"Look, I want you out of here as much as you do, but we need to talk!"

Stelly began laughing. " You , want to talk to ME?" They gave a demented grin. "Did you hear that World? Star Butterfly wants to talk with Stelly! Oh the fucked up hilarity of the situation is immense!" The room, even the normally energetic Quana, became very quiet at the outburst.

Star growled. "What is your problem! I'm trying to help you!" She shouted at them.

"NO!" Stelly turned with furious eyes. "You want to help Steven. You never gave a shit about this relationship other than what it meant to him, and you rarely cared about Kelly as a person, just thinking about her as a toxic parasite!" They shouted, pointing at Star. "And you made it quite clear no one genuinely wants to help an asshole like me! I don't have any friends or family to love, I just exist for punching people when Steven and Kelly want someone hurt!" Steven and Kelly looked at each other guiltily at that remark. 

"Well you know what, fuck everyone here!" They shouted to the silent and shocked room. "Congratulations, you won! Stelly, no, Kurtz the horrible fusion has been defeated just like everyone else Star has ever dealt with, because the only thing that ever works for her is fighting the bad guys until they're dead!" They moved in uncomfortably close to his girlfriend, staring into her with dead eyes. "Well you don't need to do anything, I want to die. So just live your happy ending and let me fade away like every other villain you've interacted with." And with that horrifying sentence, Stell-... Kurtz broke out of the bind and marched out of the room.

"….So…they can't actually kill themselves like this…right?" Marco asked, turning to Star.

"They're right." Star admitted to herself. "I hated Kelly so, so much and I didn't even try to hide it."

"I don't blame you, I hate who I was back then too." Kelly held her head down.

"Guys, we can't just go around and say that about ourselves. It's that type of thinking that has Ste-Kurtz like this to begin with." Steven said.

"So … are we all going after them or is this a personal thing?" Rainbow 2.0 asked.

"The less people, the better...they need to hear from us." Kelly sighed. "Kurtz is a huge part of how me and Steven got together...even if it started off terribly. We need to show them that this relationship is better..that they can be better…that we can all be happier."

"You might want to hurry." Quana said with a stretched out neck. "A bubble popped around their head after they tried drowning themselves, so now they're just on a destructive path through the forest."

"Before you go, there's a little trick that might help the three of you." Ruby walked up to them and whispered something in their ears.

"Really, that works?" Kelly asked.

"In our darkest moments, it's always made things clear." Sapphire nodded. "Now go. They're trying to use your combined bad luck to their advantage."

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Kurtz banged their skull against the side of some cliff they found, screaming. "Break! Break! Break!" Even when the bubble broke, their hair was indestructible, so they couldn't just crash their head in. It hurts, every second hurts. They just wanted it to stop. After a minute Kurtz screamed. "Come on Mina, you wanted to kill me so bad just take the fucking shot!!" They called out to the universe.

… Of course the danger magnet wouldn't activate the moment they asked for it, as if they were that fortunate. The universe really did want them to suffer. Kurtz got rejected when they wanted to exist, and now they were forced to exist when they just wanted to die alone. " Kurtz !" The familiar and most very unwanted voices of Steven and Kelly echoed through the forest:

"I thought I told you all to fuck off." They glared at the duo. "I can't get rid of myself, so just leave me alone until the sun sets and let me poof."

"Not until we fix this." Kelly said.

"Oh, suddenly you WANT to fix the unstable mess that I am!? When you practically pushed all this shit into motion!" They rightfully accused her. "You, the selfish parasite that uses people like rags for her own comfort."

"Hey, don't call her out like that." Steven glared.

"I have all of your problems shoved into me, I am the most qualified person on the planet to call you two out on your shit." Kurtz pointed out. "And don't think you're above scrutiny either! You LOVED how Kelly clinged to you when she kept coming back! You relished it, and just went along when she doubled down, you LET yourself be used!"

Kelly looked like she was gonna argue, but sighed. "Alright, we're all a bit emotional, let's calm down."

"Oh sure, calm down, like that's an option." They rolled their eyes, already beginning to walk away. "When has that ever worked out for you idiots?"

"We didn't kill Tom, and now he's a friend." Steven argued. "If you just try we can-"

Kurtz cut him off with a glare. "There is no fixing this!" They shouted. "My entire personality is your relationship in a nutshell, and everyone we've ever known hates it! Face it, I'm a toxic mess meant to be thrown away just like Malachite!"

"Yes, you are our relationship, you are who I and Steven were." Kelly admitted.

"I'm who you and Steven ARE!" They corrected it. "Where do you think my current lack of self confidence comes from!?"

"Right now, you're every doubt that we have about us, our reluctance to fuse, and the fear that we'll just mess each other up." Steven said as he planted his foot down. "Even before we broke up, we didn't treat fusion right. I wanted to stay away from it as much as I could…"

"And I wanted to take advantage of it as much as I could." Kelly continued. "We abused our relationship…we abused you…and we're sorry." Kelly wiped tears from her eyes. "I'm so sorry beyond belief."

Kurtz stared at them for a moment, anger fading as they mostly felt … empty inside. "... Do you know how desperate I am for existentialism?"

"I can slightly imagine it." Steven said with a hollow laugh.

"I mean, I have SO many questions about my life!" They shouted. "Like, do I like things other than fighting, what's my favorite food, how do dreams feel, how does hugging feel, do I have a gender identity, am I good at everything you're good at, do I seek a college degree, what does swimming feel like?" They paused. "Am I allowed to date people?"

"You kind of like to tease/flirt with lots of people, something neither me or Kelly really do, so…maybe?" Steven shrugged 

"But it's not like any of these hypothetical questions matter anyway, the only non combat situations I were in involved me losing it during the blood moon, me dancing awkwardly with your friends, one meditation session from the evil concept of therapy, and fucking SPACE!" Kurtz shouted. "The last of which your friends called me an asshole and said I don't deserve to exist."

"Our lives were such a rollercoaster of drama during that period." Kelly sighed. "We just stopped Mina and Jasper, the Pink diamond thing was revealed, no one was in the right mindset to think properly. And you weren't given the chance to process it for yourself."

"We left dealing with that personal baggage to you, instead of being responsible and learning to cope with that mess." Steven hung his shoulders low. "That ends today. We're all going to help each other now, and we won't give up until we make some progress."

"You're talking like you're taking me to a therapist, and I know that's the last thing you'd ever consider."

"No, we're trying to help you, not make it worse." Steven clarified. "So we're gonna do what we always do …" Steven and Kelly got on the ground and into meditation poses. "We're gonna sing away our problems."

"... Kelly finds this thirty percent annoying by the way." Kurtz deadpanned.

Steven gave a curious look at the woolet. "Just the consistency of singing, not the process itself."

"Sure." Steven shook his head. "The singing is mostly just a gateway for the process Ruby and Sapphire explained to us anyways. Get into position and we can start."

Kurtz groaned. "Fine, not like this changes anything." They grumbled, moving over to a tree and sitting down.

"Close your eyes, and keep a steady breath." Kelly explained as everyone did so, even if Kurtz was reluctant. "Here in the darkness, everything will be okay."

"Hear the rustling of the wind against the leaves." Steven went on as Kurtz felt a minor sense of relief enter themselves.

"Feel the soft dirt under your body act as a gentle cushion." Kelly continued the scene as Kurtz rested further.

"Don't fear the past, don't hesitate for the future, let it all go and fade away." Kurtz felt their mind relax as it began to wander to a place they hadn't expected it to go. "And when your mind finally becomes cleared of everything…Here comes a thought."

Kurtz opened their eyes again, shocked to see that the world had gone blue. No trees, no dirt, just a blue void that was almost empty, save for Steven, Kelly, themselves, and a bunch of white Butterflies flying around them.

"Take a moment to think of just … Flexibility, love, and trust." Steven began singing as he and Kelly turned to each other.

"Take a moment to think of just…Flexibility, love, and trust." Kelly repeated as the Butterflies began to swarm the duo.

"Here comes a thought … That might alarm you." She watched as Kelly grabbed one of the butterflies flying by. " What someone said … And how it harmed you."And squeezed it tightly.

"Something you did … That failed to be charming."  Multiple butterflies started to land on Steven. " Things that you said are … Suddenly swarming and, oh…." He was swarmed, drowning in the insects.

"You're losing sight.." Kelly kept on attacking the Butterflies that tried to land on her, failing to notice Steven in his turmoil. " You're losing touch…"

"All these little things seem to matter so much…" Steven did his best to pacify the creatures, either gently shooing them away or putting them in bubbles. For every one he got rid of, ten more would be there to take it's place. " That they confuse you.." Steven reached out his hand to the distracted Kelly for help, only to retract it and let the Butterflies continue to overwhelm him. " That I might lose you."

"Take a moment remind yourself to … Take a moment and find yourself." Kelly glanced over, noticing Steven's turmoil and waving away a few of those butterflies with her hands. "Take a moment to ask yourself if … This is how we fall apart?" The boy looked up, tears leaking from his face as Kelly's rage began taking the Butterflies off of him.

"But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not." Steven placed his hand on Kelly's shoulder, pacifying her. " It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay." He hugged her with an embrace full of love and warmth, and the Butterflies seemed to be repelled as Kelly returned the embrace tenfold. " You've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear.

"I'm here.." They held onto each other.

"I'm here.." They kept the other steady.

"I'm here." No matter what problems the other was in or caused, they were both willing to face them all together.

Kurtz watched them for a moment more, glancing at the sky. "Here comes a thought …That might alarm me." They held onto a butterfly, glancing into its wings. "What someone said …" Star … their sister … "And how it harmed me."Absolute rejection.

"Something I did …That failed to be charming." Multiple faces of disappointment gazing at them. "Things that I said are.."  The words they said to Pearl, to Etheria, to Jasper, they always sought to break someone down emotionally. " Suddenly swarming…" Problem after problem, crisis after crisis pilling up.

"Oh..I'm losing sight….I'm losing touch." They thought of themselves as Kelly and Steven's safe place, where they could truly be and show the best parts of each other alone together. " All these little things seem to matter so much.." They instead turned them into violent maniacs that zealots like Bismuth approved of. "That they confuse me … That I might lose me." Why were they still around … they were right the first time, this relationship was just the worst.

"Take a moment, remind yourself to…Take a moment and find yourself." They were reminded of that first meeting they had with each other…the moment Steven fell for Kelly when she simply talked to him while waiting for a Goblin dog. "Take a moment and ask yourself …" Kelly always sees Steven as the best emotional support…how she slowly realized over time he was her best friend…the only friend she could count on to help her and accept her without question or return. But those moments of badness, the blood moon, Eyeball, weren't they signs that they shouldn't be? "If This is how we fall apart?"

"But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not." Steven held their right hand.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay." Kelly held their left hand.

"I've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear." The two of them hugged Kurtz from both sides, not just giving each other love…but love for them, for who Kurtz was, good and bad experiences and all.

"I'm here." Steven sang.

 "I'm here."  Kelly continued.

"I'm here. Kurtz, with a tear falling down their eye, kept the echo going.

"And it was just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought, just a thought…." Steven said as the Butterflies flew above them, disappearing from their view.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay…" Kelly laid all three of them on the ground as they held hands in a circle.

"We can watch, we can watch, we can watch, we can watch them go by." Kurtz sang as the Butterflies disappeared entirely. "From here, from here, from here"

"Take a moment to think of just … Flexibility, love, and trust" Kelly sang quietly.

"Take a moment to think of just … Flexibility, love, and trust" Steven finished up.

Kurtz couldn't do anything except stay in this moment the three of them existed in. 

Their problems existed, and they made bad choices together…but that didn't mean they weren't capable of making better choices in the future. They just needed to learn to forgive each other…and to forgive themselves as well.

They weren't a mistake…Steven and Kelly would work hard to make it right….so Kurtz would as well.

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Rainbow 2.0 quite loved their name, a fun little rhyme for the kids to sing. Although they would need something for Sunstone if they ever came back. But that was in the past, now is the future … along with competing for the title of 'funnest fusion'.

At first the idea was a laughable mad thought of Jana the crazy, but Quana and Smokey bought it up, leading everyone to join in. The other fusions were just enjoying existence, Opal quite content and weirded out by their own prolonged existence, and Garnet hanging around her two components. Rainbow supposed that with the drama unfolding as it did, the mood could stand to be just a little more lively and animated.

Kurtz … was just in the corner. Awkward and quiet, only really responding to Steven or Kelly. Well there was Quana, but that was less of a verbal response and more of a 'if you say one more word, I will beat you to a goey pulp' look, before they made their promise a reality. 

"Does this really count as a contest? I mean..I'm me!" Quana was quite determined to prove their point as they summoned bubbles to juggle. "I'm the go-to fusion for parties and events! Every second I'm around, life gets an extra kick in the pants with a side of sugar."

"Yeah, but you're clearly deranged." Smokey pulled open the head of the pink fusion, getting a coco bird in return. "Thus, I am the best. I have the emotional skills of Steven, Amethyst, plus a Yoyo." They swung it around. "An all in one toy and weapon, and I don't go overboard."

"Yes, you perform your functions quite well, but while you two may have unpredictability and resourcefulness by your side.." Rainbow twirled their umbrella around as it let out a few rainbow sparks like a firecracker. "I have something called…presentation and flare." He poofed those very words into the air in big and bulky letters. "With just a little magic to serve on the side."

"Oh please, if you want a flare, watch this." Quana pulled out some dynamite, gilling as she tossed it outside, all of them having to duck from an explosion. "Tada!!" They were quite the frighteningly insane individual.

"I am amazed that we've managed to go this long without an explosion today." Marco commented as the rest of the group watched.

"I kinda count Kurtz as an emotional explosion." Opal stated without any form of tact.

"….Your lucky you're one of the better fusions here or I would be more offended and retaliate." Kurtz grumbled as they attempted to hide behind their hair.

"Oh, don't be like that, my fusion sib." Smokey commented as they laid on the ground. "You think you're the only jumbled mess of emotions over your existence? I don't know where all the human parts go when I form."

"Fusion sib … wait, are we being accounted into this messed up family tree?" The aggressive fusion asked. "That thing seems like it's going to crack under its own weight if we do that."

"Don't read too much into it, my good chap. I assume we're not going to be given that many chances to interact like this in the future." Rainbow stated.

"You actually got that right." They all turned to the unexpected and unwelcome surprise of Glossaryck, dragging a large barrel of pudding. "Maybe you do have a use other than babysitting." And the asshole streak continued. Rainbow wasn't sure who between the Pearl or Steven side of himself hated Glossaryck more.

"I get you love your pudding, but isn't this a bit much?" Marco asked with a snide eye roll.

"Oh no, this isn't for me." Glossaryck waved off. "This is actually all for Steven."

"Why would you give me pudding?" The boy himself asked with confusion. "For that matter, why would you give me anything at all?"

"You're gonna need it more than me when the side effects kick in." They all stared in confusion. "You know, for Star's spell?"

The temple was quiet as everyone turned to Star. "Star, what happened to those plants that you experimented on?" Kelly asked them.

"They went back to normal, nothing happened!" The Mewman princess screamed.

"Yeah, nothing happened to the plants." Glossaryck waved off. "But tell me this, what happens to memories of a fusion when they no longer have a body to inhabit?"

"Memories are essentially just thoughts, and without a mind, those thoughts can't take shape or form." Sapphire mentioned.

"And then they go back to the components to have that form." He went on. "Essentially, Steven is about to have four days worth of memories shoved violently into his head simultaneously …" Everyone stared silently at that. "The rest of you should be more or less fine, but yeah, Star broke the record for 'most brain damage' done to the boy. And while he wore a helmet to boot, impressive."

"I don't know whether I should fear the pain or Ms. Noceda's wrath when this eventually reaches her." The boy sighed as his lady patted him on the back. "Well before I pass out from the extreme mental stress, I suppose we should get a few things out of the way." Steven walked up to Smokey and hugged her. "I seem to have this habit of collecting sister figures, so, thank you. Amethyst was the first one I made on Earth, and you helped me realize I'm not alone in being new and unaware with Gem stuff."

"No prob bob." They patted him with two left arms. "Helping people just makes me happy, you know? I guess I got the savior complex of both you guys." Smokey sent a wink to Amethyst.

"Aw shucks. With how jumbled of a mess we are, there was bound to be something good lost inside there." Amethyst chuckled.

Steven smiled as he then turned to Quana. "I've said it earlier, but thanks again. You and Jana have helped remind me there's times where I don't have to take everything too seriously all the time, or at least have a little fun when I do."

"No problem kiddo, just remember to smile, it's literally the one thing I ask for." They smiled, wrapping their arms around him in a hug. "Also make Marco's life a living nightmare." They asked with slight seriousness.

"Please tell me that's just the Jana side taking the pranks too far."

"It's also the side of you dating my sister." Quana spoke, pulling out a pie. "Watch your back Diaz …." 

"It's a brother thing. You'll go through it once Mariposa's old enough." Steven patted the stretchy fusion on the back, before turning to Rainbow. "We haven't had as much time together as the others, but I'm glad you're around." The boy turned to Pearl. "Even if we don't always understand each other, I'm glad we get to be family."

"No problem little chap, happy to be around when needed. Plus this is the first time I've ever gotten to meet components and family in a casual setting." They smiled.

"Aww, I'm happy to meet you too, cousin." Opal patted them on the back.

"This has got to be the most surreal experience of my life." Pearl herself looked on in half bafflement and half amusement. 

"And St-Kurtz." Steven turned to the fusion that was still trying to hide themselves in a corner. "I know we've made it hard for you, but I promise me and Kelly will make our experience a good one, no matter what." The fusion merely gave a grunt in reply.

"Aww don't be like that." Quana jumped on their back. "Tell them how much you appreciate it, come on." They poked at the face of their fellow fusion.

"Poke me one more time, see what happens." They threatened.

Quana merely gave a smirk before backing away about ten feet, quickly extending their finger into Kurtz's face before making a mad dash outside. "Pokes are just little touches of love, just remember that!"

"If we ever do this again I'm taking my vengeance." Kurtz grumbled with concealed rage. "I'm still gonna head out anyway … I've never seen a sunset."

"Neither have we." Smokey said as she was in the middle of a dog pile with Steven and Amethyst. "Sounds like a nice memory to have in mind before we disappear."

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"So all of these people…are you and someone else mashed together?" Star heard Luz ask her brother as everyone sat by the cliffside, sitting on the grass as the sun began to lower.

"Only four of them are me. Two of them are Pearl, two are Amethyst, and one of everyone else besides Marco and Star." Steven explained the whole story. "Garnet's already a fusion of Ruby and Sapphire over there." He pointed to the little gems that were resting on top of Garnet's shoulders.

"So shipping with you guys creates genuine sapient beings … super cool." Luz nodded with a smile. "Oh, I've gotta see if I can mess with your guys' magic and get a fusion spell for me and Amity." And now yet another person was obsessed with fusion …

"Want my advice, don't push it if it doesn't go how you want it." St-Kurtz said as they sat further away from everyone else. "Everything you are becomes a part of that experience. Your insecurities, fears, doubts."

"Understood, do it once for experimentation then never again." 

"I can't tell if you're being helpful or just ruining the mood." Star muttered.

"Take it however you want. What you think has no say in what I do." Kurtz rolled their eyes as the sun started to get lower and lower. "You know how serious Kelly and Steven are about each other now, right?" They mumbled in a tone only Star was able to hear.

"Yeah, no matter how bad it is they keep …" She paused. "Is Steven the new Tad?"

"Hell no. That would imply Steven is manipulating her without any regard for her feelings, and we both know the only feelings he ignores are his own."

Star gave a hum of agreement. "... Do you really hate me?" That would imply some things about Steven and Kelly she really didn't want to acknowledge.

"No … you're the only person on the planet I care about." Kurtz muttered. "Steven and Kelly focus so much on each other and not themselves, not to mention both's entire family is a mess …but you…you're my sister, and you don't even give a damn about me."

"No I do…the Steven half of you at least." That only made the temperamental fusion groan. "You know, in the beginning, I was trying to push Steven into admitting his feelings. I wanted him to be comfortable with fusion. When Kelly admitted why she enjoyed it, I saw it as another case of me making life needlessly harder for my brother."

"Thus proving our point that people like Garnet are exceptions to the rule of 'fusion sucks'." They grumbled.

"I think we've been pushing that just a little far. Starco was actually pretty pleasant." Star added

"That was before you got back together with Marco, and you only did it twice … and one of them was just Sardonyx being pushy, the other was sheer luck." Kurtz said. "I don't understand how Opal is so calm about this … knowing you're not going to exist for a long long while …"

"The fact I exist at all is enough." Opal said calmly as the wind brushed through their hair. "While it's nice to feel the sunlight hit my face, and grab everything I can with all four of my, I am an extension of Amethyst and Pearl's care for one another, their respect and ability to change and learn from each other." The four armed fusion smiled at her components. "With every smile they share, with every hand they extend to each other, that relationship, and thus me, grows, even if I physically don't show myself."

Kurtz just gave a humm, the sun getting lower. "... I guess this is goodbye."

"Not forever, you know." Kelly walked up to the fusion and held their hand on their shoulder. "You're an important part of our lives, Kurtz. I'm going to be better, not just for Steven and myself, but for you too."

"I guess only time will tell on that front." Kurtz rolled their eyes, but there was a light smirk on their face as they did so. "And Steven, I know you try to be the nice guy, but don't be afraid to punch more people in the face. There's a fine line between being a better person and being a doormat."

"I learned that well enough." The boy pouted. "Do you really think I'm gonna sit around and not punch Mina in the face when I see her?" Her baby bro had grown so much.

"Hah, good. Give her two right in the kisser for me next time you see her." Kurtz laughed as their body, as well as the rest of the fusions became more see-through. "Maybe this won't be such a terrible life after all."

"Hooray, they admitted it!" Quana shouted as they hugged their counterpart as they faded away. "You'll say you love me eventually!" They planted a bit and wet kiss on Kurtz with giant oversized lips.

"... I will take immense satisfaction in your non exi-" They stopped, fading away into light … two balls that took to the air, dancing with all the other faded fusions as brilliant fireflies … before violently shoving themselves into everyone.

"AGH! It's like your future vision but worse!" Ruby shouted.

"Eh, like a mild ice cream headache for me by this point." Sapphire said with an even tone.

"Come on, come on, just take the flashing images." Amethyst was cradling their own head, Pearl just desperately hitting their own skull.

She looked over at Steven … who was passed out, wide eyes and drooling. "Note for the future, don't use any spells on Steven no matter the case." She watched as Kelly let the unconscious boy lay on her lap, petting his head affectionately.

"I'll gladly volunteer as tribute if you need a test dummy." Luz offered. "I've been meaning to compare more Mewni Magic with my own."

"Thanks … I'll probably just save it for a while." Star muttered, mulling over her thoughts. Sure, Stelly was an asshole when they were around … but they had no genuine friends or family other than Quana, who would literally never be around…Guess that meant Star really needed to be their sister…which meant making peace with Kelly too…joy.

"Ugh…my head." Steven stirred himself awake. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, just getting cradled by your girlfriend." Star offhand commented with a smirk.

"Oh…that's nice." Steven blinked, before getting himself comfortable in his spot. "Relationships are weird, not just the romantic ones, just, relationships in general.

"Absolutely." Star groaned. "I'm just lucky we stopped when we did, imagine how weird everyone would have been if it was … everyone." Sardonyx would've gotten annoying to listen to, Sugilte would've destroyed the town, and Starry probably would destroy a piece of the planet fighting Sugilite.

"Well as my teacher and step-mother figure Eda once said: us weirdos have to stick together." Luz said as they watched the stars appear in the night sky. "So let's have a fun night as weirdos and do crazy stuff."

"I would, but I just have a massive headache …" Steven grumbled. "I think I'm gonna sleep for … the next few days."

"That's why I brought the pudding." Star completely forgot that Glosseryck was watching the entire time. "Here you go, down the hatch." The blue man shoved a funnel into Steven's mouth and poured about six cups into it.

"Hey-gggg." Her brother gagged as he gulped the slimey dessert. "That's an easy way to choke-my headache went down." He blinked.

"I keep telling people it's the miracle food, but only Rhina and Rose believed me." The little man shrugged.

"It's so hard to tell if I should hate you or not." Star sighed as she grabbed her own cup of pudding. What better way to end such an emotional rollercoaster of a day than to stuff your face full of sugar.