Wassup guys Kiss of Fire here with yet another fanfic. I'm so glad that Beauty in a Town of Fire is getting so much recognition, more than I expected in such little time. Lately I've been obsessed with Steven Universe, mainly because I found out that it's made by one of Adventure Time's greatest writers. Turns out it's pretty good. I've been pretty uninspired with chapter six of BTF so I decided to make this in the meantime until my inspiration to continue chapter six comes back. Writer's block sucks.
Disclaimer- I do not own Steven Universe.
What does it mean to be a gem? For some it's to detach all mortal feelings for living things besides kindness. For others it means simply being an immortal being whose purpose is that of a human's: to survive and find happiness. While some gems do not get themselves in affairs with humans, or other gems for that matter, a few find their true happiness. Those who haven't just haven't met the right person yet. Pearl thought she felt it when Steven Universe grew up and became one of the greatest gem warriors in history. Garnet though she felt it after meeting Emerald, a lost gem who had a love for mischief. Both sadly passed on, as Steven was human and could die from age. Emerald, however, saved Garnet from falling into a dark matter vortex by throwing himself in the rift, he was never seen again. Amethyst rarely felt the concept of love, though had feelings towards (Surprisingly) Pearl for a short while. For her, love will come soon enough. About seven years after Steven Universe passed, leaving behind no gem offspring, perhaps the most magical gem couple would meet. Two lovers destined to be together that had walked the universe for millennia without any knowledge of the other. This story starts in good old beach city. On the seventh anniversary of Steven's passing, Pearl was the first to visit his grave atop the hill on which his mother's moss once bloomed. She was also the last to leave it. She had true love for him but knew they couldn't be together. He wouldn't last forever and his heart belonged to Connie, the woman that lived beside him his entire life. Still though, Pearl could not help these feelings. The occurred in even the most impartial gems and were hard to detach from. After finally departing from the stone slap on the grassy hill she returned to the temple. Maybe some tea and sword practice would take her mind off things. She was greeted by her friends who were talking at the kitchen counter.
"Pearl, you're back." Garnet said.
"How are you feeling?" Amethyst inquired.
"I'm fine. Just need to take my mind off things. Every year I let him go a little more."
"Well we actually have some news," Garnet continued, "Two un-corrupted gems have been located and wish to join the Crystal Gems."
"Really?" Pearl said surprised, "That hasn't happened for centuries! Where did you find them?"
"Garnet found some chick Jasper who's been a merchant or something, I wasn't really paying attention. I found this guy named Onyx when I took that trip to Scotland last week. He's a cool dude, we've got a lot in common."
"Hmm." Pearl mumbled. She could hardly handle ONE Amethyst and certainly didn't need to care for another, "I'm not sure about this. Who's this merchant you found, Garnet?"
"If Amethyst had been paying attention, she would know I found a mercenary named Jasper. She's been using her gem powers as an assassin for humans because she didn't realize she wasn't the only one."
Pearl pondered for a bit more. Two new gems, one who could be a male Amethyst and a human killing mercenary. She didn't like them so far.
"Well," she said, "If Rose, or Steven, were here they'd want us to give them a chance so before we make anything official why don't we invite them separately for interviews?"
"That sounds logical," Garnet said, "Amethyst, call Onyx and tell him to meet us here two days from now. I call Jasper to meet us here tomorrow."
They all agreed and departed to their rooms. Pearl still couldn't help but miss Steven dearly as she practiced basic attacks with holo-pearl. She had to move on and she knew it. Maybe two new friends could help the process. She just hoped that they wouldn't be too much like Amethyst, one party animal was enough. The next day the gems cleaned up the temple for their arriving guest. They had set up a table in one of the temple's training areas so Jasper's combat skills could be assessed.
"She should be here any minute now," Garnet said.
Indeed Jasper arrived within another five minutes. One glance at her would not give the impression of an assassin. Her skin was a light red. Not the deep, clay red of Garnet's complexion but rather a softer, almost blood-like red. Along her skin were a few black markings: Two on her face glided gracefully down from her forehead to her shoulders, a wing-like pattern below her neck, and small swirls along her hands. Her deep blue hair fell down to her upper back and along her shoulders, complementing nicely with her skin tone. She wore a simple green cloak which she would keep on until her combat skills were assessed. She was slightly shorter than Garnet, about Pearl height. Her frame was a bit fuller than Pearl's, however, as if she were a fuse between Garnet and Pearl. Garnet walked up to her and greeted her with a friendly handshake.
"Garnet."
"Jasper."
Pearl was next to greet her.
"Hello Jasper," she said, "I've heard quite a bit about you and your, umm, profession."
"Oh, Garnet told you? I'm sorry if my work offends you but I didn't know any other gems existed until a few days ago. All my life I've been called a freak until I started hiding my gem and putting my blade up for hire. I'm not proud of it but I didn't know any better." She started tearing up.
"No, no it's fine," Pearl assured, "I have a feeling you might be killing monsters rather than mortals after today."
"Sorry, I just get a little emotional about what I do and now that I know it's wrong."
It was obvious the young gem was frightened and full of regret. The Amethyst stepped in,
"It's all good, J," She said, "Many gems do horrible things all the time."
"Amethyst!" Pearl exclaimed.
"Just let me finish! As I was saying, many gems do horrible things and turn into horrible monsters because they feel no shame or regret. You're not one of them, you're uncorrupted."
"Really?" Jasper asked wiping away tears.
"Of course, you feel shame for what you've done and that's the true mark of a Crystal Gem."
Garnet and Pearl were stunned. Did Amethyst really say something helpful? Jasper began cheering up and a smile crossed her face.
"Thanks. I really needed that. I'm just so confused and have a lot to learn about the Gems. For a few thousand years I've lived in shame and fear and I'm so glad you found me."
Pearl was starting to warm up to her. Amethyst was right, she felt shame. Pearl could tell that Jasper, if she was decent in combat, would make a great addition to the team. They exchanged a bit more idle chatter before departing to the training hall. It was the same place Pearl had been wounded decades ago, the day young Steven learned about the Gems' healing abilities. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl sat at the table while Jasper stood in front. They began the interview
"So Jasper," Amethyst said, "What's your story."
Jasper looked a little distant, evidently her past had pain.
"Well," she began, "There's not really a lot to say. One day I woke up into the world with no family, no friends, nothing. I was living in the streets of ancient Greece for a while. Nobody seemed to take a liking to me because of how I looked. Until I was spotted by the Emperor's men. They presented me to the Emperor, I can't for the life of me remember his name, who adopted me. He gave me proper education, clothing, even training in weapons. Normally women at the time weren't focused on such things but the Emperor told me I was a gift from Ares, a weapon to protect Greece. It was marginally better than being on the streets so I went with it. I was only a child at the time of course so I didn't really have much of a choice. Pretty soon I gained a reputation and was offered a chance to train in Sparta, which the Emperor happily accepted. I was molded into the perfect soldier. Men would ridicule me of course but when I became general I was allowed to slit the throats of any who did to get my point across, which I rarely did. These were the soldiers of Sparta, they weren't expendable. This just made them ridicule me even more until I shut them up by taking on a Persian army single-handedly. You may know the story of 300, where a handful of soldiers took out an entire Persian army with only the loss of three men? Yeah that was me, the three men died by suicide when they saw what a woman could do."
"Wow," Pearl said, "How did you get to America then?"
"Well for the next few centuries I lie low. I abandoned Greece after it fell. I tried staying in Rome for a while but it fell too, so that wasn't an option. I traveled Europe and parts of Asia, eventually making it to the United Kingdom somewhere around the sixteenth century. There I was the proper lady. I learned all the dos and don'ts for women of that time, it was dull. I finally got the chance to escape when people started moving to the New World. It was a bit dull there too, until the revolution started. Now that was a fun time; throwing rocks during the Boston Massacre, dumping tea during the Boston Tea Party, even trying my hand in combat disguised as a man for a while. I fought on the side of the Patriots of course because like I once was, they were ridiculed. The Brits thought they could win just because they had more organized troops and better supplies. The Americans, despite being weaker and smaller, didn't give up. It was great on the battle field again, stealing enemy plans, destroying storehouses, killing redcoat after redcoat before becoming George Washington's secret weapon. After that the country became more about politics so I disappeared again. I lived off the land before deciding to put my blade up for hire; I figured it would be fun because of how fun being the assassin for the patriots was. It wasn't the same though, killing innocent men. Many people just hired to take out people they despised even if he, or she sometimes, was completely innocent. Every day I felt more and more shame and wondered whose side I was fighting on now. That's when Garnet found me."
The Gems had tears in their eyes, though you couldn't tell with Garnet. This girl had been through so much and still managed to stay uncorrupted. It was awe inspiring. Before getting to combat Garnet asked,
"So who are you when not on a mission? What do you like to do?"
"Not much… I mean, I'm fond to literature, reading and writing, or sometimes I'll cook the recipes I've gathered from all over the world."
"What about on nights when there's no mission plans for a while, or when you take a day off or something?"
"Oh not much. Just what I said, reading and cooking. I'm always focused on the mission though, preparing for the next fight. I do play a bit of Viola but only when I'm alone, I'm afraid."
Amethyst was getting bored with this Gem's style. She reminded her of a mix of Garnet and Pearl, which was a bit too much for her. Hopefully Onyx would join the team too if Jasper made the cut to even it out.
"So, how good with you with your gem powers? Any unique magic you might have."
"Well, that really depends. I'm skilled in light blades rather than heavy ones or blunt objects. I've never been fond of ranged weapons except for throwing knives. For some reason when I wield a blade I can see my opponent differently, like a fifth sense. It allows me to think quicker and fight more efficiently."
"That would be the Gem sense," Garnet said, "All gems have it."
"Oh," Jasper said slightly disappointed, "Well what do you mean by unique magic then?"
"Well," Pearl explained, "Some gems have different magical abilities that others don't. For instance, our old companion Rose Quartz and her son Steven Universe had the ability to heal wound in others' gems."
Jasper began to think.
"Oh, okay, how about this?"
Suddenly her body turned into thin, vertical lines before dissipating and reappeared a good distance away, as if she had stepped on a warp pad. The other gems were shocked.
"No way," Amethyst exclaimed, "You can teleport?! That is so awesome!"
"Really?" Jasper said slightly blushing, "So you guys can't do it?"
She teleported back closer to the table before Garnet answered.
"No we can't. In fact, we rely on warp pads in order to get us to places, if not mortal transportation. Some gems have wings but that's quite rare."
"Interesting." Jasper mumbled.
"Okay so one more thing," Pearl continued. "Combat skills."
Garnet nodded at Pearl, who stood up and focused on her gem power. After a few seconds of chanting, a squad of holo-Pearls gathered in a line beside the table.
"We'd like you to demonstrate your proficiency with weapons using these holograms. First things first, please show us how you use your Gem weapon."
Jasper nodded and undid the clasp of her cloak. As the cloak fell to the floor it was revealed that she wore leather armor all around her body, minus her head and hands. Throwing knives decorated her waist and two short sword hung at her sides. Also, two small cuts in the armor revealed her gems: two red ovals on her thighs, slightly in between the front and outsides of her thighs. She closed her eyes and touched her gems before materializing two wicked-looking hand scythes. There were quite large and she held them with the blade under the top of her fist, as if they were combat knives.
"That's a new one." Garnet mumbled.
Pearl gestured and one of the holo-Pearls charged at Jasper. Quicker than it could react, however, Jasper rushed and sliced in one clean movement. In the blink of an eye she was behind the hologram, which flickered and dissipated. This went on for a while; Pearl sent out more and more holograms but they just couldn't keep up with Jasper's swiftness and mastery with blades. One would jump back but take a throwing knife to the head, another would parry one blade but would get cut down by another, a few even tired flanking Jasper but she just dodged and the holograms stabbed each other. Eventually Pearl called of the onslaught and began whispering to the other gems. Jasper simply put her cloak back on and stood patiently. Garnet stood after a while.
"Jasper, the Crystal Gems have unanimously decided that you have proven worthy of our sacred order and invite you to join the Crystal Gems."
Jasper was both shocked and relived.
"I accept. Thank you all so much."
They continued chatting for a while before they heard a knock on the temple door.
"Who could that be?" Garnet asked.
Garnet, Pearl, and Jasper summoned their weapons.
"Guys, guys, "Amethyst interrupted, "Relax, it's probably just the pizza guy."
"You ordered pizza?" Pearl exclaimed, "Even though we were going to interview a potential Crystal Gem?"
"Well I need something to keep me going. We Gems get hungry don't we? Sure we don't need food to survive but like sleep, it feels nice though."
"But why would a mortal enter the temple?" Garnet asked.
Amethyst just shrugged and walked to the star-decorated door. After the door opened into the temple's house a figure, who was not Stu Pizza, stood ahead. This figure was tall, a bit taller than Jasper, with coarse black hair and a slender frame. His skin was a dark grey and had no markings, save for a scar on his left eye. He wore a grey suit despite it being summer. Strangely, he had a bow and quiver of arrows on his back. A pair of glasses also decorated his face. Strange, seeing as gems had no need for vision improvement. They weren't sunglasses, just ordinary spectacles.
"Amethyst!" He said fist-bumping the purple gem, "Thanks for inviting me to your place. When you explained about me possibly joining the Crystal Gems I just knew I had to give it a shot!"
"No problem, O," Amethyst said, "We just finished up with interviewing Jasper."
"Actually Amethyst," Pearl interrupted, "Big problem. You were supposed to invite him to come tomorrow, not today."
"In my defense," she said, "I forgot which day Garnet said."
"Ugh!" Pearl mumbled, "Fine, at least we finished up with Jasper."
Amethyst and Onyx continued talking.
"Oh there was a dude bringing a pizza over," Onyx said, "Hope you don't mind but I bummed a slice. I just can't resist olives."
"Of course, why don't you go introduce yourself to the others?"
He handed Amethyst the pizza and walked over to Pearl.
"So you must be Pearl," He said offering his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Amethyst has told me quite a bit about you."
"Why yes, nice to meet you. Say, that's an, interesting accent."
"Well when you live in the great land of Scotland for a few hundred years you can't not pick it up."
"Of course."
He then turned to Garnet.
"You're the tallest of this lot so I'm guessing you're Garnet, correct? Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Of course. Though I guess I'm not the tallest anymore." She said.
Indeed Onyx was quite tall, a few inches taller than Garnet and almost a foot taller than Jasper. Onyx finally turned to the cloaked gem.
"I don't Amethyst mentioned you, milady." He said shaking her hand, "I would have recognized such a fair gem."
"I'm Jasper," She said blushing, "I was just recruited a few minutes ago."
"Well it's nice to meet you. So how does this work?" He said turning to Amethyst, who was at the table pigging out on the pizza, "What do I just beat up a few crystal monsters or something?"
"It's a bit more than that," Garnet said, "We have to interview you for personality and then move on to magic and combat skills."
"Works for me. Wait so I don't get a seat? Don't get up I brought me own."
He raised his hand and a spot on the back of his shoulder began to glow. Pretty soon a chair comprised of pure onyx burst from the ground, which he sat on. Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Wha…" Pearl said, "How did you do that?"
Onyx looked confused.
"What, can't all gems form and manipulate shapes made from the same element as their gem?"
"Not at all," Garnet continued, "I guess you have a unique ability."
"Well that's nice. I hope you don't mind if I rest my bones. I kind of have to with this baby."
He pulled up the right leg of his slacks, revealing a mangled calf.
"Yeah I got this from fighting a bunch of drunks at me favorite bar. Took a chair to the back and it cracked my gem. Guess it had some effect on my leg. I've just powered through it for the past few years, it's not that bad."
Garnet, Pearl, and Jasper were a bit surprised at this fact. Pearl stood.
"You guys wait here, I'm going to get Rose's healing sap from her spring to fix Onyx's gem so it doesn't worsen."
"Oh really?" Onyx asked, "Well that's very kind of you. Thanks."
The rest exchanged small talk before Onyx realized something,
"Hey, why doesn't Jasper have a chair of her own?"
"Well," She answered, "I was just recruited a few minutes ago and they didn't exactly put out an extra chair for me. Apparently they weren't expecting you today so I don't get a seat at the judging table."
"Well a fair lady like yourself shouldn't have to stand if someone can help it."
Onyx stood up and created another chair behind Jasper, who kindly accepted his offer.
"Why thank you, you're quite the gentleman."
"Just what I do."
Pearl returned with a jar full of pink salve.
"Here," she said, "Please show me your gem."
Onyx adjusted his vest to reveal an octagon-shaped gem that was darker than shadow. There was a small crack on one edge, not enough to cause serious damage but just enough to disable some part of him. Pearl applied the pink liquid to his gem and the crack was filled. As it did his leg also mended itself.
"Wow thanks Pearl," he said, "That feels so much better. I'm still going to sit if that's not a problem."
"Not until we need to evaluate your combat skills." Pearl replied.
Everyone was seated and the interview began.
"So," Garnet said, "Tell us your story."
"Not much to tell actually," Onyx replied, "Ever since I was created on earth I've craved adventure. So I roamed the planet looking for it. For a few centuries it was quite dull, except for fighting in the Persian army briefly but that crapped out after we tried to sack Greece. Of course we made some damage but I quit before I could see what the end result was. I quit mostly because even that was getting quite full. I mean, I heard that a huge chunk of our troops were slaughtered by some monster sent by the gods to protect Greece or something like that."
Jasper looked shocked but said nothing.
"Afterwards I just roamed the earth some more looking for even more adventure. Around the rise of England, rumors of pirates began to spread so I figured, why not? I fashioned my own ship, named it the Specter of the Sea and set sail. All in all I did pretty well. I was able to control the entire ship by will so I didn't have to share my loot with any crew. My lack of crew also created rumors that my ship was a ghost ship. Boy did that shake some fear into the hearts of even the fearsome pirates I encountered. I once even dueled Edward Teach, or Black Beard as you might know him. He would have been a fair opponent had fear and intimidation not been a major factor of his combat strategy. Of course I beat him. I let him live and just took his treasure."
"Well," Garnet said, "Sounds like you've lived a pretty adventurous life."
"Exactly. Pretty soon though even pirating became dull. Maybe it was because all of the great adversaries had died off, I don't know. So I just packed up all my stuff and bought a place over in Scotland. Let me tell you, best place on earth! With bar fights, monsters, and great booze I've never felt dull again. Oh by the way, I went after the Loch Ness monster once, turns out it's a gem monster I think its gem was…Sapphire? I don't remember. Anyway that's my story, anything else you want to know?"
"Yes," Pearl said, "Tell us about yourself. How do you act on missions, during neutral periods, those kinds of things."
"Alright. Well on missions, getting rid of the monsters is my priority. Don't get me wrong, I'll come up with strategies when needed but I've yet to find anything that amounts to my raw power. For my leisure time I just like to hang out. I'll go out partying, to bars, whatever. As long as there's booze and the music doesn't suck, I'm there. Of course when I'm not out enjoying life I'll be by myself. I'll complete personal tasks and work on my little projects. I just have to tell you now, if I'm isolating myself it's best to leave me alone. I also play a bit of piano in case you're interested."
"Well," Pearl said, "You certainly seem like an interesting gem but I'm not sure if…"
"Oh come on Pearl," Amethyst interrupted, "I've seen this guy party and let me tell you, he's a pro. No offense to Jasper but I'm not sure if I can handle two people like you without having a person like Onyx on the team."
"Well…"
"Let's commence the combat evaluation." Garnet said.
"Fine." Pearl replied as she summoned the holograms once again.
Onyx stood up and his chair disappeared back into the ground. He still didn't take off his suit, not even his jacket. He focused his mind and pulled a mighty Warhammer from his gem. It was a two handed weapon and looked incredibly heavy and painful. The first holo-pearl charged with a sword but was obliterated with one swing of Onyx's weapon.
"I thought this was going to be a challenge!" He yelled, "I don't even need my gem weapon for this!"
His hammer dissipated and he picked up his bow and notched an arrow. As three more holograms charged Onyx fired at a pillar. The arrow ricocheted and flew threw all three heads of the holograms, making them dispel. Onyx's arrow skills went on for a while until he was charged by about a dozen enemies at once, to which he defended by summoning his hammer again a knocking over a pillar that crushed all the holograms.
"Very good," Garnet said, "Though we could have done without the damage to the temple."
"Sorry about that," Onyx replied, "Let me fix it up for ya."
Onyx stomped on the ground and a mass of onyx pushed the fallen marble pillar back into place. He then placed his hands on the pillar and rings of onyx locked it into place.
"So what happens now? Did I pass?'
"The crystal gems talked for a while. Amethyst voted him in. Garnet admired his strength but saw his recklessness and wild personality, so she thought the crystal gems could live without him. Ultimately the decision came to Pearl. This was a tough one for her, this guy had his pros and cons. She didn't like the idea of another amethyst but he WAS the only male uncorrupt gem on earth that they knew of. Perhaps he could help her move on. In the end Onyx was accepted into the crystal gems. That night Onyx treated everyone (except for Pearl because she hates eating) to a small party at the bar. Eventually both Jasper and Onyx had to return to their homes and would return the next day with all of their material possessions. Their rooms would take a few months to be constructed so they had to share the temple's living room. Everyone got acquainted quite fast but a relationship between Pearl and Onyx, or anyone for that matter, was never established. Even so Pearl seemed to move on much faster with two new Crystal gems around. Late nights at the bar or rehearsing with their new band were nice for everyone and seemed to make everyone more in sync during missions. Even though Pearl began to give up on finding love someone would influence her just as much, if not more so, as Steven.
Okay guys so that happened. Let me know what you think of this story, what you think will happen, and even shoot me ideas for future chapters. I'm so glad BTF is getting a lot of recognition and I hope this story will too. Like I said I'm a bit uninspired for chapter six but I'm working on it. Hope you guys like. :3