Pressure. Stress. Exhaustion.
That's all Steven felt, and has been feeling for days now. Push harder, be stronger, not good enough, that's all he has been hearing since last week.
"Try it again!" Pearl demanded, as she watched Steven collapse on the ground in a heap of panting, and his best friend Connie leaned on the hilt of the sword she possessed. They stood in the Ancient Sky Arena, practicing, training, perfecting.
Connie wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand, "Come on, let's give it another shot!" She smiled down at Steven with loving eyes.
"O-Okay… but this is our last time…" Steven stuttered as he pulled himself off the floor.
Pearl smiled at the determination between the two, they feed off each other, in a strange human way. It was something she could never understand, human's were strange creatures, never knowing what they wanted, always having to maintain a steady source of energy only to excrete it hours later.
Closing her eyes, Pearl's gem glowed, shooting out a beam of light that seconds later materialized into hologram Pearl, and even to this day it amazed Steven, leaving his eyes wide and his face starstruck.
"Would you like to engage in combat?" A monotone voice of Holo-Pearl asked.
"I-I guess…" Steven muttered.
"Expert Mode: Level 3, Activated…"
Sighing deeply Steven got into a fighting stance, the Rose Quartz shield erupting from his gem and into his hands. Connie opened her stance widely, her knees bent as she unsheathed the sword.
The sword had a slightly dark pink pommel resembling a rosebud with a rose quartz embedded in it. The guard and knuckle bow of the sword was pink with the guard having an image of a four-petaled white flower in the middle and the grip being dark pink; the grip, guard, and knuckle bow are inscribed with a twirling thorn design. The sword's cupped hilt and broad blade with its tanto tip are reminiscent of a 17th-century military cutlass. The bright pink blade emitted a white aura as it was unsheathed. At the base of the blade, the rain guard is shaped like a pink rose with the two outer petals being dark pink.
The White aura gave a sense of strength and elegance as Connie held the blade in her hands, waiting for her opponent to make the first move. She surveyed Holo-Pearl, waiting for a moment of weakness as she shifted from foot to foot.
'Only Steven matters… I mean nothing…' She repeated in her head, as she watched Holo-Pearl leap into action, her sword swung forward in an attack, missing as Connie rolled under her. Steven deflected the sword with his shield and the sharp sound of metal on metal echoed through the air. In a swift motion Connie brought the sword forward in a thrust, straight through Holo-Pearl's chest. The hologram exploded into a smoke, that lingered in the air.
The duo continued to fight in sync, sweat pouring down their face, dripping into their eyes, and caused their clothes to sick to their movements were slowed but were still accurate, it wasn't until connie did a three hundred and sixty degree spin- which took down four Holo-Pearls- did she realize Steven was no longer there.
"Steven!" She called through the smoke, the more Holo-Pearls they defeated the thicker the smoke got. "Steven where are you!?" She tried to stay focus, calm and collected, but the more Holo-Pearls that appeared worried her. She sliced and stabbed as she tumbled through the fog.
"Steven!" She called as she tripped. Her leg was caught on something, it slowly began to drag her back.
The fear filled her mind, a scream built up in her throat as she clawed at the ground. Her sword- Rose's Sword- had skidded somewhere into the darkness. Her eyes widened as she stared into the lifeless eyes of a Holo-Pearl, it's hand gripping Connie's ankle, its nails dug into her skin.
"Game… Over…" It spoke, the sword raised over its head, already indecent, it's target, between Connie's eyes.
Connie let out a strangled scream, no this couldn't be happening, this never happened, never in any of their trials had a Holo-Pearl gone rogue, to act in an Un-Pearl-like fashion.
"Connie!" She heard his voice before she saw him.
A Flash of light appeared, smashing into the face of Holo-Pearl. Upon impact a sound erupted causing a wave of energy to clear the fog in a radius of ten feet. Clattering to the ground at Connie's feet was a shield, Steven's shield.
The shield was decorated in light pink thorns, that circled the shield, and in the center produced a small delicate rose. It emitted a light pink or even a white aura as it laid on the ground.
"Connie!" Steven panted as he kneeled by her, Placing her sword by her side, and looking into her eyes, "Are you hurt?"
"I-I'm fine! But I'm supposed to be protecting you.."
"If you're protecting me! Who's protecting you!?" he cried as his gem produced a bubble shield. As he did so three Holo-Pearls pounced on top of it, a second too late as it deflected their attack.
"I told you, we're both too tired for this… We've been practicing for hours, we need a break.." Steven panted as he sat down, the line of Holo-Pearls growing outside their bubble.
"Steven… I have to know how to protect you… I'm so close! I can Feel it!" Connie stated.
"Connie, I know you can! But we have to work together! That's what we're supposed to do!"
"Steven!" Connie started but stopped as she looked down, silence filled the bubble around them.
"...I Just…..Don't want to lose you.." Steven whispered, "I don't want you apart of this...I Don't want you getting hurt…"
Connie looked over, She heard his sniffles, and saw the tears gathering in his eyes, "Steven… You'll never lose me.." She said as she placed a hand on his cheek.
Steven sniffed and leaned forward, touching their foreheads together.
"Jam Buds?"
"Jam Buds" Connie laughed and pulled him closer.
There was a burst of light, the bubble bursted as the Holo-Pearls tumbled forward, but out of the bubble stood a figure, tall, broad shouldered with a confident stance.
Her black hair moved freely, whipping with her sudden movements. Parry, parry, thrust, Repeat. She moved elegantly, but with a sharp force knocking the Holo-Pearl's off balance. She used a swipe of her sword to shred the rows of Holo-Pearls, and smashed her shield causing it to give off an electric wave sending Holo-Pearls back to give additional fighting space.
They moved perfectly, it seemed as if it were a dance, until they were interrupted by a a thundering voice.
"Pearl!"
Their reality shifted as the smoke lifted, on the warp pad stood, a woman, tall and fair, shades covering her eyes. Garnet.
"Pearl! This is enough! It's Got to stop!" She demanded.
"Garnet! Please! I'm trying to help Steven!"
"That's enough for today. Steven, Connie-" Garnet stopped as she spotted the single being in the middle of the Arena, and couldn't help but smile.
"Stevonnie… That's enough for now.."
"I'm sorry Garnet, but Steven… He's getting the hang of this fusion thing… And like Pearl said! He's gotta keep practicing!" Stevonnie stated as they shifted weight to one leg, cocking out her hip.
"I said enough." Garnet said as she jumped down from the warp pad, landing next to Stevonnie, the earth underneath her indented, and the Stones cracked. "Enough." She repeated as her gloves phased around her hands, and she put them up to Stevonnie's head, a hand on each forced her to look at her as her glasses slipped from the bridge of her nose and clattered to the ground.
Stevonnie gasped quietly as her eyes widened, staring into Garnet's face. All three of her eyes stared at her with a harsh look. Her body stiffened, the breath froze in her throat, 'enough' repeated in her head. It started quite as a whisper, but slowly and gradually grew till it was a scream that pounded in her head. Her body began to glow and it seemed to be as if Garnet had been pulling two figures away from the single body.
"Now… Run along…" Garnet said as she dropped Steven and Connie to the ground and wiped off her hands.
"Garnet… How did you" Connie started.
"I said run along. Don't you have your Jelly Belly thing to get back to?" She asked, sliding her glasses back onto her face.
"It's called Jam Buds!" Steven interrupted with an awkward smile.
Connie smiled at Steven, though she had a desire to question Garnet, she realized by her tone it was not the time nor place.
"Come on Steven! I bought Strawberry Jam this time!"
"Yes! Strawberry preserves!" He laughed as Connie grabbed his arm and tugged him toward the warp pad.
"Bye Garnet! Be Pearl!" Steven waved as they warped back to the house.
Garnet turned to Pearl, "Pearl… I need to have a word with you…" She stated.