Dan & Phil: Not of This Earth

07 | Understanding Fusion

Word Count: 1106

     Dan's head was slumped onto his left shoulder and he was lost in a deep sleep. No one had seen him fall asleep, and Black Opal certainly didn't know how he could have gotten to the state of peace he was supposed to reach to sleep – Dan had been in complete panic beforehand! Maybe there was more to sleeping that Dan didn't exactly know about himself.

     Black Opal had tried to wake him several times but to no avail. So, he sat cross-legged at Dan's feet, hoping he'd wake up in a better state. He was slumped over somewhat, his hands supporting the weight of his head with his elbows planted on his knees.

     There were Gems of all cuts and colours inside the ship. Some had claimed chairs and others were either seated on the floor or standing in small groups. Everyone spoke quietly, a sense of nervousness exchanged between one another. No one quite knew what Earth was like having been trapped in objects for so long. Only a handful of them had been in existence when the Earth colony construction began.

      Although the Gems spoke in whispers and quiet voices, certain bits of conversations could be heard.

"They fused!"

"Is that what happens?"

"Something – someone new?"

"What do you think it felt like?"

"Can we try it on Earth?"

"How did they even do it?"

     A small team of pearls now stood tentatively at the control panels, tending to things unbeknownst to Black Opal, or Dan, for that matter. Black Pearl had stepped away from the panel and approached the pair. "Is he...okay? Did his gem get damaged?" she asked, standing next to Black Opal's spot on the floor.

     "No, it shouldn't have, at least. He's just resting."

     Black Pearl squinted and pursed her lips. "If you say so." She cleared her throat. "So...you two fused? Is that what we witnessed?"

     "Yep," was all he had in response.

     Black Pearl scrunched her brow and leaned forward to make eye contact with him. "Is that really all you have to say about it? Only Gems of the same kind are supposed to fuse – like rubies and rubies – it's Diamond Law. Fusion is meant to create bigger Gems to fight at higher stakes. When you two fused...that's not quite what happened, right?" She watched Black Opal's face shift as he thought about what she had just said.

     "I...don't think that's what happened," he said after some time, "but it wasn't a bad experience. I don't understand why it's such a big deal. What's the Diamonds' reasoning behind that law?"

     "I...I don't know. It's just always been that way."

     Black Opal sat straight and stretched himself backwards with his hands interlocked over his head. "Well, the universe didn't implode, so I don't see what the problem is." He immediately returned to his original position, only shifting his legs slightly.

     There was a moment of silence between them before Black Pearl asked the question heard the most among the conversations floating in the ship's cabin. "What was it like? You were an entirely new Gem. I can't imagine what that was like," she said quietly with inquiry.

     Black Opal hummed a note to himself before replying. "I'm not sure how to describe it. We weren't... It was like we were existing at the same time in the same place as someone who was simultaneously the both of us but who was also his own Gem."

     "I don't understand."

     Black Opal chuckled. "I'm not quite sure I understand it, either. We were only fused for a few seconds but I think I know what we felt. We'd have to fuse again while not being hurled at something to get a proper experience, I think."    

☆☆☆

     Dan's head rose from his shoulder and he gripped the back of his neck painfully. His eyes slowly blinked open. "What happened?" The words fell from his lips like the drool that had dripped from the corner of this mouth. He wiped it away with the back of his hand and noticed the black void of the space ahead of him. "What the...?"

     "Dan!" Black Opal shouted, popping into Dan's view as he stood. "I was so worried about you! Are you alright? You were really stressed out and you took a," he glanced at the panel behind him, "ten-hour nap! I didn't know you could sleep while stressed like that!" Black Opal shook his head and held his hands in front of him to stop himself. "That's not important right now. How are you feeling?" His tone changed quickly from excitement to concern, completely confusing Dan further.

     Rather than speaking, Dan tried to stand from his seat but fell forward into Black Opal. His knees were shot, unable to hold him.

     "Oh, I've got you!" Black Opal quickly worked his way to Dan's side and placed one of Dan's arms around his neck. "I suppose you're not feeling the best then?" he asked with hesitance.

     Dan shook his head and looked through the windshield again, now noticing multiple pearls in front of him at the ship's controls. He couldn't recall what had happened a mere (and apparent) ten hours before. He remembered feeling Black Opal's concerned grip on his shoulders and the worry in his eyes but nothing more. "We...got away?" Dan managed to say.

     "You bet! All thanks to Beryl's quick thinking to throw us!" Black Opal smiled brightly now.

     Dan shook his head again, this time in disbelief. "But there was an army and..."

     "Black Pearl and I handled it. I accidentally stumbled onto a lazer, but Black Pearl used it much better than I had." He patted Dan's back. "We're lightyears away from the Diamonds and there's no one after us at the moment. We got away without too much fuss. I think Black Pearl destroyed the other ships in the airfield before we took off."

     "Precisely," she chimed in, stepping up to the duo. "In fact, in the midst of our escape, Peridot, Facet-1M4P Cut-5GT, was also able attach our tracking signal to a scouting ship that was in our general vicinity." She smirked. "Now, the Blue Diamond Authorities are heading to WDC 0647-JD. It might take some time before they realize what's happened."

     Black Opal and Dan stared at her blankly. Dan flatly asked, "He sent them to the what?"

     The pearl crossed her arms and softly rolled her eyes. "It's a galaxy approximately 13.3 billion lightyears away from Earth."

     "Ooo, that sounds far!" Black Opal chirped, his eyes widened.

     Black Pearl giggled and hid her mouth as she did so. "Yes, quite."