Fusion Gems

"First, you need a gem at the core of your being. Then you need the body that can turn into light. Then you need a partner you can trust with that light." "Fusion Gems" are the product of two or more Gems (or, in a special case, a half-Gem, like Steven Universe) who fuse together, creating an entirely separate entity. Fusions are commonly formed in states of emergencies and used as a last resort, except in cases like Garnet, where Ruby and Sapphire decided to stay fused forever as a sign of their love.

Description
When Gems fuse, both their bodies and minds become one. This creates an entirely different entity, as opposed to two minds sharing a single body. Some dominant features in gems can occur in their fusions, such as Pearl's nose shape is in most of her fusions. This also appears with Garnet's glasses, and so on. Malachite, Garnet, Alexandrite, and Stevonnie showed that one component Gem can take control of the fusion. This is supported by Ruby and Sapphire clearly alternating dominance as Garnet in "Keeping it Together". It is also possible for different Gems to take control of different parts of the fusion, as proven by Lapis Lazuli's control of Malachite's hydrokinesis while Jasper was in control of the body. For Malachite and Alexandrite, the Gem in control's voice was layered over the fusion's voice to show control. However, for Garnet and Stevonnie, this was not done; it was only the fusion's voice. It is unknown whether this is intentional. As seen with Sugilite and Malachite, certain fusions will cause the loss of individuality between all Gems that partake if fused for too long. While all fusions require consent, a fusion of hatred has the power to run amok and destroy. Memories made before and during a fusion can be held over, as Opal, Sapphire, and Sardonyx recognized Steven despite him never meeting them personally, however Gems who fuse together don't automatically share their memories with each other, for example, the second time that Garnet and Pearl fused into Sardonyx in "Cry for Help", she did not know that Pearl had secretly repaired the tower.

Formation
Fusions are formed when Gems perform a synchronized dance. Each fusion's dance is different. If successful, Gems transform into an amorphous mass of energy before fully transforming. During the fusion process the Gemstones of the participating Gems are visible. However, Sardonyx was the first fusion Gem not to show Gemstones during fusion. If unsuccessful, Gems will be ejected before finishing the entire transformation. A stable fusion is shown in "We Need to Talk", when Rose and Pearl fuse into Rainbow Quartz. Garnet gives Greg a more literal explanation that Gems turn into light and has to be trusting of the other Gem with their light. During Fusion, each Gemstone from the fusing Gems are visible and seen shifting into place while the mass forms into a body. However, in "Cry for Help", when Pearl connected with Garnet, both Gems and Gemstones disappeared before the mass of energy appears. Even when Sardonyx is fusing, the Gemstones are not visible until Sardonyx fully fuses.

Fusion order does not matter for multi-Gem fusions. The same Gems will produce the same fusion regardless of which order they combine in. For example, if Opal fused with Garnet, or if Pearl fused with Sugilite, or if Amethyst fused with Sardonyx, each resulting fusion would still result in the formation of Alexandrite.

Each fusion embodies a relationship between the participants. While some fusions like Garnet embody romantic relationships, fusion is not inherently romantic, and other fusions can embody other sorts of relationships such as the social relationships between friends, allies or even enemies.

De-fusion
De-fusion is a process in which a fusion splits into its component Gems. During the de-fusion process fusion Gems will reverse the fusion process. The fusion will turn back into a mass of light before splitting back into its original participating fusees. During the de-fusion the Gemstones of the participating Gems are visible at all times. However, in "Cry for Help" Sardonyx was the first fusion not to have Gemstones during de-fusion.

Stable
A stable de-fusion occurs when the participating fusees have a mutual agreement on de-fusing. This is shown in "We Need to Talk" when Pearl and Rose Quartz de-fuse from Rainbow Quartz, they smoothly shift out of each other. Another example of a stable de-fusion is in "Cry for Help" when Sardonyx de-fuses into a flash of light, leaving Garnet and Pearl holding each other.

Unstable
An unstable de-fusion occurs when the fusees have a very high conflict of opinion. This is shown by the fusees being thrown out of the fusion. The first example of this is shown in the episode "Giant Woman" when Pearl and Amethyst argue over the Heaven Beetle, causing the fusion to become un-synchronized forcing them to de-fuse. This is also with Alexandrite arguing over a bit of shrimp, causing de-synchronization and un-fusion, and with Garnet defusing caused by Sapphire and Ruby's conflicted feelings due to Pearl's deception. Similar incidents nearly occurred with Malachite as she was being pulled to the bottom of the sea and Garnet when she was faced by the the Cluster.

Damaged
A damaged de-fusion occurs when the fusion takes on severe physical damage, as shown in "Coach Steven". When Sugilite is injured by her flail, she 'poofs', back to Garnet and Amethyst.

Another example of a damaged de-fusion is when Jasper stabs Garnet with the Gem destabailizer, causing Garnet's body to fall apart. She poofs back into her original fusing Gems, Ruby and Sapphire. However, unlike Sugilite, the damage caused to Garnet's body also caused damage to the fusing Gems, forcing them into their Gemstones to regenerate.

Appearance
Fusion Gems combine the designs of fusees. Gemstones appear in the same locations and are the same cut of the Gems are composed of, but the type of Gem changes. The exception would be Stevonnie, whose single Gem remained as Steven's. Should two Gems with Gemstones in the same location fuse, the Gemstones would be side by side on the resulting fusion. Each Gem involved in the fusion often contributes an additional pair of arms, showing that multiple pairs of arms are a common trait among fusions. However, Garnet, Stevonnie, and Rainbow Quartz do not display extra arms, so the appearance of extra limbs may indicate some instability in the fusion. Another common trait among fusions is having more than two eyes.

Stable Fusions
"Can't you see that my relationship is stable?"

Some fusions are stable due to how close in connection the Gems fusing are, such as Garnet, due to the fact that Ruby and Sapphire are so romantically involved.

Unstable Fusions
"Wait! Garnet, think about this. You and Amethyst can be a little... uh... unstable when your personalities combine."

Some fusions can be unstable due to the way their participants' personalities combine. In "Coach Steven", Garnet and Amethyst lose themselves in the Sugilite fusion, going on a rampage and refusing to split up.

Hostile Fusions
"She had control when she used her power to drag their fusion into the ocean. But a fusion like theirs is unstable, bound together by anger and mistrust. If that bond snaps, their anger will take over, and destroy."

In addition to the usual co-operative fusions, it is also sometimes possible for two opposing Gems to successfully fuse with each other, and then struggle for control without defusing. However, this type of fusion is especially unstable, and fusion participants run the risk of becoming overwhelmed by their shared anger and losing control.

Malachite is the only known example of a successful hostile fusion. In this case, both participants had similar motivations but conflicting goals (Jasper wanted revenge against Garnet and the Crystal Gems after her previous defeat; Lapis Lazuli wanted revenge against Jasper for imprisoning her).

Forced Fusions
"They were forced together... they were forced to fuse... This is wrong!"

Through being buried underground and fusing due to extensive pressure, it is possible to force Gemstones or Gem Shards into fusing. This method of fusion is usually incomplete, simply binding Gemstones together on the edges instead of changing their colors, as shown in complete fusion. The Cluster is a result of a forced fusion, and in "Keeping it Together", it was shown that Gem Shards could be forced to fuse. The physical bodies of these Gems usually embody the incomplete fusions, with limbs being stuck together at seemingly random places.

Realms
The hostile Malachite fusion has an internal fusion realm where Lapis Lazuli and Jasper struggle for control. It is not known whether this is a general property of fusions, or an unusual property of Jasper and Lapis Lazuli's hostile fusion.

Another instance of a similar concept is when Garnet seems to converse separately as Ruby and Sapphire in "Keeping it Together" and "Keystone Motel", giving light to their opposing opinions.

Culture

 * The Crystal Temple has the appearance of a typical fusion. The Gem placements suggest that the temple is a fusion of Rose, Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl.
 * In "Jail Break", Jasper derides fusion as a "cheap tactic to make weak Gems stronger", while Garnet states that she is a symbol of love.
 * Pearl implies fusion is rather intimate in "Coach Steven" and "Alone Together"; she tries to cover Steven's eyes while Garnet and Amethyst perform their dance, and says Stevonnie might be considered "inappropriate". In "We Need to Talk", Pearl says fusion is the ultimate form of bond between Gems.

Abilities
The abilities of Gem fusions vary based on the two Gems who fuse. Whenever a Gem fuses to make a weapon, they combine their own original weapons to create a new one composed of those two or more weapons. If a Gem possesses significant other abilities, such as Sapphire's future vision, that may also be incorporated into the fusion's abilities.

Weapons
Fusions may wield the weapons of the Gems that compose them, but can combine them into a singular weapon. These weapons typically harness the abilities of the weapons that were fused, an example being Opal's weapon, a longbow. Pearl's spear not only makes up the longbow, but the arrows are visually similar to the energy blast the spear can emit, and the spear itself. Meanwhile, Amethyst's whip acts as the bowstring. Sugilite's flail uses Garnet's gauntlets as a mace head and Amethyst's whip as a rope. Sardonyx's war hammer is composed of Pearl's spear as the handle and Garnets's gauntlets as the head.

One-fourth

 * Stevonnie
 * Steven
 * Connie

Double

 * Garnet
 * Ruby
 * Sapphire
 * Opal
 * Pearl
 * Amethyst
 * Rainbow Quartz
 * Rose Quartz
 * Pearl
 * Malachite
 * Lapis Lazuli
 * Jasper
 * Unknown Fusion Gem
 * 2 Unknown Crystal Gems

Triple

 * Sugilite
 * Ruby
 * Sapphire
 * Amethyst


 * Sardonyx
 * Ruby
 * Sapphire
 * Pearl

Quadruple

 * Alexandrite
 * Ruby
 * Sapphire
 * Pearl
 * Amethyst
 * The Cluster
 * 4 Former Crystal Gems

Trivia

 * First demonstrated in the episode "Giant Woman", as of "Friend Ship", all Gems mentioned in the show except Peridot and Yellow Diamond have been shown to fuse.
 * The dance used to fuse is a mixture of both Gems' dancing styles, which are based on their personalities.
 * Only nine fusions are currently known: Garnet, Sugilite, Opal, Alexandrite, Stevonnie, Malachite, The Cluster, Rainbow Quartz, and Sardonyx.
 * Stevonnie is the only known hybrid-fusion.
 * There have been seven shown successful dances, and two shown failed dances.
 * The first successful dance was performed by Garnet and Amethyst, forming Sugilite.
 * The second successful dance was performed by Steven and Connie, forming Stevonnie.
 * The third successful dance was performed by Ruby and Sapphire, forming Garnet.
 * The fourth successful dance was performed by Lapis Lazuli and Jasper, successfully forming Malachite.
 * The fifth successful dance was again performed by Steven and Connie, forming Stevonnie.
 * The sixth successful dance was performed by Rose Quartz and Pearl, forming Rainbow Quartz.
 * The seventh successful dance was performed by Pearl and Garnet, forming Sardonyx.
 * The first failed dance was between Pearl and Amethyst, when they attempted to form Opal.
 * The second failed dance was between Garnet and Pearl, in which Amethyst interrupted the dance after learning of Pearl's betrayal.
 * There were multiple potential dances shown in "Alone Together", but the only dance that resulted in a fusion was between Steven and Connie.
 * The fusion depicted on the Crystal Temple has five Gemstones, and has the most of any fusion shown thus far.
 * Forehead/Pearl
 * Chest/Amethyst
 * Left palm/Ruby
 * Right palm/Sapphire
 * Navel/Rose Quartz
 * It is the fusion depicted with the most arms, though some are missing due to the temple's age or the damage done to it (The Centipeetle Mother in Gem Glow destroys a hand with its acid spray)
 * The "Fusion Dance" displayed by Gems, is very similar to the Fusion Dance shown in the anime, "Dragon Ball Z". However, the Gems actually dance to fuse, rather than complete a set of poses like the Fusion Dance in Dragon Ball Z, in order to become one.
 * Fusion Gems can be separated by suffering heavy damage (Sugilite), or when one of the Gems fused disagrees with the other (Opal, Alexandrite, and Garnet).
 * Stevonnie seems to be an odd exception, since they separated while they were dancing in an attempt to embarrass Kevin.
 * This could mean that fusions can separate when both components to the fusion become emotionally overwhelmed/compromised.
 * It is unknown whether or not Stevonnie, Malachite, Alexandrite, Rainbow Quartz, and The Cluster have signature weapons.
 * Since Connie is not a Gem, thus having no weapon, it is assumed that Stevonnie's weapon would be Steven's shield.
 * Malachite is the only fusion with two chests and 6 arms with 4 of them acting as legs.
 * Alexandrite is the only fusion with six arms and two mouths.
 * Alexandrite is the only fusion whose dance wasn't shown.
 * Fusions can be made with humans, as shown in "Alone Together", although only Steven can do this as he is half-human.
 * With the exception of Malachite and Alexandrite, all fusions are voiced by musicians, Garnet by Estelle, Opal by Aimee Mann, Sugilite by Nicki Minaj, Stevonnie by AJ Michalka, and Sardonyx by Alexia Khadime.
 * It is unknown if Rainbow Quartz is voiced by a musician or not as she has currently not been heard talking yet.
 * Garnet, Stevonnie, Rainbow Quartz, and Sardonyx are the only known fully stable fusions.
 * Though Garnet has an extra eye and Rainbow Quartz, along with Sardonyx, has 2 extra eyes.
 * Fusions tend to combine the complexions of the Gems that form them. However, there are exceptions, Alexandrite is redder than Garnet or Amethyst, Rainbow Quartz is darker and more purple than Rose Quartz or Pearl, and Sardonyx is redder than Garnet.
 * Some of the fusion themes' names corresponds combining or fusing.
 * Opal's is called "Amalgam", which is the combination of two elements to form another.
 * Sugilite's is called "Synchronize", which is to act as one, or in unison.
 * Malachite's is called "Collusion", which is when two parties conspire together.
 * Garnet's is called "Reunion", which is the act of reuniting.
 * Rainbow Quartz's is called "What Can I Do", which is like asking what she could do to improve the loving bond between the two.
 * Sardonyx's is called "Enticement", which is to attract someone or lure them in.
 * Fusions with more Gems tend to be larger. Sugilite and Alexandrite are larger than any known two-Gem fusions.
 * Malachite seems to be an exception. This may be due to the size of Jasper, and the hostility between Jasper and Lapis.
 * More stable fusions like Garnet and Stevonnie tend to be more compact and humanoid, while more volatile fusions like Sugilite, Alexandrite and Malachite tend to be larger and more monstrous.
 * However, Fusions with more Gems combined can become unstable due to personalities clashing, causing unexpected and sudden defusion.
 * It is discovered by Steven and Garnet in "Keeping it Together" that the Homeworld Gems are forcing former Crystal Gems to fuse, a process which Garnet refutes as fusion, because the Gems involved had not given permission to do so.
 * This is somewhat ironic, as the Homeworld has been implied to look down on fusion.
 * Jasper may have changed her mind about fusion, as at first she thought of it as "a cheap tactic to make weak Gems stronger", but then she fused into Malachite to beat the Gems.
 * So far, only four fusions have shown their weapon: Garnet, Opal, Sugilite, and Sardonyx.
 * Ruby and Sapphire have the shortest and least complex Fusion Dance; they simply hold each other's hands and spin around for several seconds.