Meeting the Crystal Gems was an…interesting experience.

"Why don't we just pull it off him?"

"Amethyst this is advanced home world technology. It's not going to just slip off like a glove."

"Well, have you tried pulling it off him?"

"…Garnet?"

"It might be worth a shot."

The three continued to argue as Steven, Number Two and Emmet played videogames in front of his TV. Emmet had learned that Steven had told them his story. When they had returned to the house, which Emmet had also learned was actually half temple, the gems had begun discussing what to do next. They'd been arguing for the better part of an hour over how to deal with the arm. Steven had suggested they go to Peridot and ask her about it. But Garnet had explained that she was in the middle of a Camp Pining Hearts marathon with Lapis. Steven had shuddered when he told Emmet it might be best to just wait a bit for them to finish. So while the Crystal Gem's talked about whether they could do anything to help, the boys decided to just try and relax. They had almost been killed earlier that day after all.

"Emmet, Steven, could you two come down here please," Pearl called up.

"You're not going to pull on my arm," Emmet called back without looking away from the screen. He was in the middle of landing a particularly brutal combo on Steven. "You're going to tear my arm off."

"No we aren't," Amethyst said before pausing, "…I mean I don't think we will, maybe."

"I've already tried pulling it off, doesn't work."

"What if we used soap?" Steven suggested.

"Dude, you think I came here without trying everything I could to get this thing off? We're going to need an expert."

"Pearls pretty smart, she could maybe figure it out."

Said gem blushed. "Oh my, thank you Steven."

Emmet wasn't convinced. "Is she an expert in this kind of tech?" None of the gems seemed to be able to answer the question. It seemed like no matter how smart they were this kind of thing was beyond them. "Then we need to go talk to Peridot."

"But who would take you? This kind of situation could take days to figure out. Corrupted gem activity has been up lately and we've been stretched thin. Garnet and Amethyst have been running around stopping them where they can and I have been busy with Steven and Connie's training."

Emmet gave Steven a surprised look. "You train?"

'Yeah," Steven said excitedly. "Pearl's a great teacher! Connie and me work on tag team combos and sparring so we can fight with the gems on missions."

Pearl coughed and seemed to be hiding another blush. "That's Connie and I, Steven. And yes, Emmet, they are undergoing training to be better prepared in the field."

"You should join us!" Steven said. His excitement caused him to look away from the screen long enough for Number Two to lay down a brutal hit to his character. He groaned when he looked back and saw that he had been eliminated. "What, no fair!"

Emmet didn't really think it was a good idea. If all went well he'd be getting rid of the arm by the end of the day. But it might be cool to watch. "Sure, that might be cool. We got to deal with his arm first though."

"Amethyst can take them," Garnet suddenly said. "I don't see any situations within the day we can't handle without her. It should be fine."

Amethyst suddenly crossed her arms and looked away. She looked thrown by the statement, Emmet thought she looked a little hurt too, but she quickly flipped her hair and gave a bored huff. "Fine I guess I can take him. I've been meaning to drop by and say hey to the Peri anyway."

That was good news but something still confused Emmet. "She saw, saw what?"

"Oh, Garnet has future vision."

Of course she did. "Of course does. Can…can the others do crazy stuff like that too?"

He almost regretted asking as Steven just shrugged. "Yeah, Pearl can make holo-pearls and Amethyst is really good at shapeshifting."

Good stuff to note. "What about you, anything else besides that sweet shield and the floaty thing you do?"

"I can make a bubble."

"Oh…that's cool."

"It's a really big bubble. And I can shapeshift a little too."

"Like into an animal or something?"

"Yeah but just my fingers…into cats…I don't use that power much after what happened last time. I can make myself taller too, but not for too long."

That sounded pretty useful. "That's a pretty impressive skillset dude."

Steven laughed at that and rubbed the back of his head embarrassed. "Yeah I guess. Oh, my spit-"

Pearl interrupted him with a clap of her hands. Emmet missed clapping. The robot arm didn't have a palm making it impossible. "Steven, get ready for training. Connie should arriving soon."

"Aw, I wanna go to the barn and see what happens with Emmet's arm."

Pearl just clicked her tongue. "Steven, if you and Connie want to go on an actual mission anytime soon you'll have to take your training more seriously. That means no skipping days to go visit the barn."

"Aw man."

"Don't worry dude," Emmet said. "I'll tell you all about when we hang out later." He nodded at Steven who gave him an appreciative smile.

"Thanks Emmet. Alright Pearl," Steven said as he put down his controller. He stood up, looked at what he was wearing and apparently deemed it acceptable enough to sit down and keep playing.

"You train in sandals?" Emmet asked.

Steven shrugged. "Yeah, their comfortable, is that weird?"

Weird had never been a more relative term. Compared to everything else lately being able to run as quickly as he did in sandals was pretty low on the scale. "Meh, its fine I guess." The three kept playing videogames, this time joined by Amethyst while the other Gems went back into the temple, until there was a knock on the door.

"Connie's here!" Steven said as he stood and practically sprinted to the door. Emmet could not understand how he moved like that in sandals. He opened the door and there Connie was in some kind of training outfit. Her hair was tied into a tight braid that ran along her back and she wasn't wearing her glasses. She looked way more ready to train than Steven did as she stepped into the house.

"Hey Steven, are you read for some training!" She said excitedly before spotting Emmet and Number Two. "Hey you guys, did you figure out how to fix your arm, Emmet?"

"Amethyst is taking them to see Peridot later." Steven explained.

Connie nodded before growing confused. "Oh, then why haven't they left yet?"

"Wanted to say hello and then see you two off." It was only polite. Plus depending how things went he might not be able to see them for a few days.

"Aw, that's so nice."

"Plus we want to wait a bit so that Peridot can get through some of her Camp Pining Hearts marathon." Amethyst added with a shudder.

Connie gave a shudder too. "Yeah, that's probably for the best." Just then Pearl came out of the temple and beamed when she saw Connie.

"Oh, Connie you're here. Excellent, let's all head to the arena to begin todays training."

"Yes ma'am," Connie said with a salute. Steven did the same and all three hopped on the warp pad.

"Bye Amethyst, Emmet, Number Two. Good luck with your arm." Connie called out.

"Amethyst, do be careful when taking Emmet and Number Two to the barn. They are just human…and a melon after all." For some reason when Pearl had said that last part she had sounded pretty high and mighty, like she was speaking to a child instead of a teammate.

With that the group warped out of the temple. Emmet looked at the spot they had left and shook his head. "Is she always like that?"

"Yep, pretty much. Are you to go?"

Was he? It was pretty nerve wracking once he thought of it. But he could either sit there and play videogames or go and determine the course of the rest of his life. The TV screen suddenly flashed and when he saw that Number Two had won again he realized that staying there would probably end up being a whole day of losing to the gloating melon.

"Yeah, I'm ready let's get going."

Together the trio went to the warp pad and Emmet was surprised when it automatically seemed to activate. "You can activate the pad without moving?"

Amethysts just shrugged. "Yeah, it's not hard."

"That's pretty cool."

"Eh, you know whatever." She crossed her arms and turned away but Emmet could swear she was blushing. Suddenly they stopped warping and Emmet saw that they were in a field, a very familiar field. And that Amethyst was heading towards a barn, a very familiar barn.

"Are you kidding me?" He practically screeched.

Amethysts just looked at him like he was crazy. "What?"

"I thought the barn was code for something. I didn't think you meant an actual barn, specifically this actual barn! We passed by here on the way to the saucer!"

"Dude…that is hilarious." Amethyst started laughing hysterically at his reaction and Emmet felt his face heat up with a blush. She kept laughing the entire way to the barn. When they reached it Emmet wondered how they would find Peridot. The place didn't exactly have a doorbell. Just a massive hole in the side, it looked like a truck had slammed into the buildings side. Amethysts suddenly answered his question by screaming at the top of her lungs. "Hey Peri you home?"

Emmet had to rub his ears to sooth them. For such a small thing Amethyst was loud. She really was tiny, barely taller than Steven and only coming up to Emmet's chest when standing up straight. When compared to the other gems she seemed almost puny. But from the way Steven talked about her she saved the world just as much as the other gems. So she must be way tougher than she looked. She had helped fight off that horde of monsters after all. Before he could think more about it someone suddenly shouted from inside the barn.

"Hello Amethyst, nice of you to come by, please leave!"

Amethysts just rolled her eyes. "Pause the show and come out here, it's important."

"Is the cluster re-emerging?"

"No."

"Did homeworld send another squadron of rubies?"

"Nope."

"Is Steven is mortal danger?"

"Not since I saw him this morning."

"…did you want to watch this marathon with us?"

"Definitely not."

"Then there's nothing to discuss, come back later, we're busy."

Emmet gave Amethyst a concerned looked but she just sighed. "We found your limb extender thingies."

Total silence for a few moments, before the barn doors suddenly began to creak open and Emmet could see a very tired looking eye peeking from between the crack. "What?"

"Yeah, this guy found it in the ocean and-"

The doors suddenly shot open and Emmet was tackled by something small, green and very angry. "Thief, give me back my limb enhancer!" Emmet cried out in alarm when he fell over and suddenly found that whatever it was that had hit him was now trying to pull the robot arm off by force. "Gimme that limb enhancer, gimme, gimme!" He managed to pry the little monster off with the robot arm and get a better look at it.

It was apparently a she. As small as Amethyst but with a much skinnier build, she was green with huge blond hair that jutted out in a way that shaped her head like a diamond. She wore a clear visor that covered her eyes and her gem fixed on her tiny forehead. So this must be Peridot. He couldn't help but feel a bit…disappointed.

"I thought you'd be different."

"What do I care what a thieving, human clod thinks!" She practically screeched. "Give me back that limb enhancer this very moment or feel my wrath!"

Emmet couldn't help but think that she looked adorable flailing about mid-air. Like an angry green tortilla chip with arms and legs. He brought her a bit closer to press a finger to her stomach. "Will you calm down already, we need to talk about this arm."

Bringing her close was a mistake. She took the opportunity to swing a foot directly into Emmet's face. He gave a small cry in pain as he dropped her and clutched his nose. This turned out to be another bad mistake as she fell to the ground and raised her fists triumphantly.

She giggled maliciously. "Hah, my fury is felt thief! Now fall!" She tackled him again and they became a tangle of limbs on the floor clawing and biting at each other.

Amethyst was rolling on the floor laughing while Number Two just watched with vague interest. Eventually though Emmet managed to grab her again and hold her at full arms distance. He wasn't willing to take any chances this time.

"Look, will you stop attacking me for a minute so I can explain? I want you to take the arm back."

Peridot stopped struggling and just gave him a confused glare. "You want to what? Why, do you think that such advanced technology is beneath you? How dare you, human clod! That tech is the most advanced of its kind."

"Then why can't I take it off?" Emmet asked as he dropped her and crossed his arms. "I've used every word I could think of to try and command it off my arm and it hasn't worked."

Peridot gave an arrogant snort. "You're using the verbal command settings? Only the newly made Peridot's and the stupider, slower gem's use that setting, pathetic!"

Emmet gave a disgruntled growl. "Well it's how I've gotten by. The thing doesn't exactly come with a manual. I'm just lucky the buttons inside are kind of easy to use."

She looked confused. It was scaring Emmet how confused she looked. Why did she look so confused? "Buttons, what are you talking about?" The question had terrifying implications. But he had to push forward here, it was too important.

"When I put the arm on I felt buttons, pressing them is what activated it."

"Do you really think that such advanced technology utilizes such archaic technology as buttons? Fool!" She shook her head and had another malicious set of giggles. "This tech works by directly tapping into the power of a gem forming its body. By using the energy of the gem itself as a battery a flawless link is formed between said gem and the limb enhancers. It is the perfect symbiosis of gem and technology!"

He only caught about a third or that, judging by the looks on the others faces they didn't seem to be keeping up too well either. Steven had told him about gems and what they were. Their bodies weren't exactly real, just things to carry their gems around. It had explained why the bubble shark had returned and why the mutants had gone poof when he had blasted them. Apparently the arms used the reformation process to draw power and connect to the gem. What did it do for a human though? "If you need a gem to power and control this thing then how have I been using it?"

Another arrogant snort before Peridot suddenly started pacing back and forth. "Well there's obviously an emergency battery put in place. That only makes sense. It seems to be running off that. It's not finite and will eventually run out but it wasn't made to be a permanent solution, just something to last a gem long enough to get back to their base and fix whatever the problem is." Alright, one question answered. But he could have probably guessed that one.

"Alright, so it's running on emergency power, makes sense. How have I been controlling it without a gem though?"

That actually got Peridot to stop and furrow her brow. "It may have connected with your inferior human nervous system in an attempt to siphon energy and establish a mental link. Through my studies of humans through my computational lap held device loaned to me by Steven I have learned much of human biology. Aside from being completely revolting and inefficient, it appears that the human body uses electrical signals to pass messages to various body parts. Though small and weak, these currents may be enough to actually register with the technology."

"Alright, that doesn't explain the button thing thought."

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Your human brain is probably so incapable of understanding what was happening to it that it must registering what your hand is doing as pressing buttons. It may be the only way your human psyche can process such an amazing connection to such incredible technology. How I miss it." She gave a wistful sigh as Emmet was busy trying to contain his panic.

"If I only think I'm pressing buttons what is my hand actually doing?" He really didn't like where all of this was going.

"Nothing," Peridot said shrugging, "it's gone."

Complete silence. Nothing was said, and no one moved for moments. Amethysts eyes widened a bit, Number Two started looking scare and Emmet's breathing became heavier. "What do you mean gone?"

"The technology is designed to replace and draw energy the touch stumps, push pad, and joint extenders they covered. Thus limb enhancers convert said things into energy to strengthen the mental link's they create and fuel themselves easier."

"Wait, so those things are-I mean were part of your body then?" Amethyst asked scratching her head.

"In a way, when I first manifested my physical form I did so with these things placed on me. After that I was sent straight off to work."

"That's…an interesting childhood."

"Compliments will get you nowhere thief."

Emmet gave an annoyed sigh. "Look, I'm not a gem. I didn't form with this thing on I slipped it on and it connected. That means everything inside is still there right?"

"In a way, they both are and aren't."

"That's not a very good answer Peridot."

"What do you want me to do?" She said throwing her hands into the air in frustration. "Explain the basics of quantum superposition to you in an afternoon? Look for all intents and purposes that is your joint extender, your push pad, and your touch stumps. Oh wait, no they aren't, they are all mine. And I would like them back."

Yeah, Emmet was tired of this conversation too. "By all means, take them back." Where his arm, hand and fingers were wouldn't matter once the arm was off and he had them back.

He sat down and extended the robot arm to her. She gave him a glare, but apparently distrust gave way to desperation as she rushed forward and began to work on the arm. She quickly stared manipulating it. Using her fingers she activated screens that covered the metallic surface and was soon moving through them at lightning speed. She didn't look too happy though.

"It's nearly out of power, but it should have run out a while ago. How have been charging it? It's registering two massive surges that nearly burnt it out. You know overcharging is bad for it right?"

"I'll keep that in mind." He wouldn't, he was too excited that she'd finally be able to get the thing off of him. A loud obnoxious beep caused his to grow a bit wary though. Her frustrated snarls weren't helping either.

"Stupid…clod arm…come on, come on…rah!" She continued to mutter to herself as she worked on the arm. Amethysts and Number Two were starting to look bored.

"Yo Peri," Amethysts said. "You think you can wrap this up anytime soon?"

"I'm trying, but it's is not cooperating!" Peridot slapped the arm and started to stomp her feet into the dirt childishly. "A link shouldn't have been possible to form. Humans do not have the mental strength to connect to such cutting-edge gem tech."

A chill went up Emmet's spine as a memory surfaced. "What would constitute as part of the link?"

"I don't know," Peridot huffed out annoyed. "With the link you wouldn't need verbal commands. It's why Peridots make the best use of them." She said with no small amount of pride coloring her voice. "Being the smartest we can manipulate them the easiest."

Amethyst's face lit up with realization. "Oh, so like when you turned into the peri-copter or used the dot blaster without saying anything."

"Exactly," Peridot said before returning to her work on the screens.

"I did that."

"That's nice." After a few moments Peridot looked up from the screen. "What?"

The chill had run through his whole body, Emmet felt sick. "I changed the arm without saying anything. I was underwater so I couldn't, so I thought of it changing really hard and it did. I haven't been able to do it again though since."

Peridot's eyes widened as she looked at the screen again. After a couple taps she began to sweat. "Oh."

Emmet and Number Two exchanged worried looks. He looked back to her, and tried to speak as calmly as he could. "What is it?" His voice cracked but he was too scared to care.

"It, uh, means you've linked with the arm." She shuffled in place awkwardly. "It isn't siphoning any energy from your frail human body. But the link is there."

"Can you unlink it?"

"…I don't think that's possible."

Amethyst must have noticed the raw panic on Emmet's face because she spoke up. "Didn't we get it off of you at the galaxy warp?"

"Yeah," Peridot grumbled as she crossed her arms and glared, "because you poofed me! These limb enhancers aren't meant to be taken off otherwise."

So they could be taken off. A flicker of hope went off inside of Emmet. 'So it's possible to remove?"

"Not without taking the parts it's linked too with it."

He was stuck with it. He was stuck with a robot arm, forever. He couldn't even hear what the others were saying at that point. He just stood up and walked away. He didn't even know where he was going. He just reached a cliffside overlooking Beach City and sat there. It was a beautiful view, he could see all the way to the ocean as the sun set in the horizon. The light set off brilliantly against the ocean and bathed the land in a shining opalescent light. But he wasn't in the mood to enjoy it. He could vaguely sense Number Two sitting beside him. He could also tell someone was coming up from behind. When they sat beside him on the grass he could see in the corner of his eye that it was Amethyst. They didn't speak for a few minutes.

Amethyst was the first to break the silence. "You okay, dude?"

"No."

It was another few minutes before she sighed and scratched her head. "Do you like…wanna talk about it?"

"No."

She groaned. "Ugh, why not, what's the problem? Is it really that bad, having a cool robot hand?" She didn't get it, which was fine. He didn't really get it either. When he didn't answer she just gave a frustrated huff. "Look, I'm not…I'm not really good at this whole talking about your feelings thing. Steven's way better at that than I am. I could go get him if it'd make you feel better."

It really wouldn't. He just wanted to sit on that cliff and think about nothing until…he didn't know when. He missed Bubblegum. He had Number Two, but he wanted someone he could have a conversation with. It took him a few moments before he realized that he did, and he was being a jerk about it. "You ever feel…not good enough?"

Amethyst actually looked shocked at the question, before she turned away. "Maybe, why are you asking?"

"I found this arm by accident. And ever since then every time I try and do something good with it I end up messing up somehow." He flexed the…well it was apparently now his hand. That was so weird. Now when he looked at it and squeezed it didn't really feel like he was pressing buttons to bend the fingers. They almost felt like his fingers. He didn't know how to deal with that.

"Don't sweat it. I mess up all the time, it happens." She shifted and started to look uncomfortable.

"Yeah, but what if I mess up because this isn't what I'm supposed to do?"

"Well, what do you think it is you should be doing?"

Rafting, sailing the rivers and staying ahead of his responsibilities as long as he could. That was his automatic answer, but the more he thought about it the more wrong it felt. Even without the arm could he really let Bubblegum rebuild Ocean Town alone? Or ignore what he knew and just let gem monsters run amok? Could he really be the guy on that raft before he found something impossible?

"Why do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Keep going, why do you keep going? Keep saving the day, time after time despite messing up? Why be the hero?"

Amethyst shrugged. "I was made here. I didn't come from homeworld like Pearl, and Garnet…and Rose. Earth is the only home I've ever had. I can't just let it get ruined. All my stuff is here. Plus I love a good fight."

Emmet couldn't really relate to the last part. But everything else though…

"I live here too, and now I have the power…the responsibility to keep people safe." Whether or not he deserved any of it…he supposed it would be a matter of time before he found out. He stood up and looked at Number Two. His friend gave him a cheer and a hug. Looking over at Amethysts he gave her a warm smile. "I have a robot arm now. Cool, I guess." It was so much to deal with. But he hadn't made it this far by overthinking things. He'd done it by moving forward. This was forward…he guessed.

"That's the spirit dude." She went for a high five and he reciprocated with his normal hand. "Now let's get back. I wanna rub the fact that I'm a good listener too in Pearl's face."

Emmet could only laugh at that and all three of them headed back to the barn together. Surprisingly though everyone else was already there. Including a blue Crystal Gem he didn't recognize.

"Hey Emmet," Steven said awkwardly. "We heard about the arm, sorry."

Emmet looked around the group and saw the sympathetic looks he was getting from all of them. Then he looked at Number Two and Amethyst, who gave him determined nods. He patted their shoulders before standing fully and addressing the group.

"It doesn't matter, if this is my arm, then it's my arm. It's a lot of responsibility, but it's mine, chosen or not. If having this thing means I can protect people, then I guess I have to." He got nods from the group, and Steven was even looking a little misty eyed. Now here came the hard part. "I still don't know anything about this arm though, how it works, or how to train with it. I know it's a lot to ask…but could you guys help me?"

The gems quickly got in a group huddle and quickly began a discussion. Steven and Connie came over and patted Emmet on the back. They excitedly went over the days training before the gems stopped talking and stood in front of a very nervous Emmet.

They all looked serious, Pearl spoke first. "Emmet Irvin, your request has been reviewed. Upon going over what Amethyst and Steven have told us of your abilities and personality we came to a decision. And that decision, after much revision, is-"

"You're in." Garnet interrupted. Pearl looked flustered and Amethyst just laughed as she complained. Peridot gave him a nod while the blue gem just rolled her eyes and walked inside the barn. Emmet was just confused.

"I'm…what?" He was suddenly gripped in a hug by Steven.

"You're in!" Steven yelled excitedly ass he squeezed. Man, was he strong. "Welcome to the Crystal Gems!"

"On a trial basis, Steven" Pearl added. Garnet nodded and Amethysts shrugged. "We'll need to see if he's up to the task." That was fair. Emmet realized that the group probably saved the world on a regular basis. They'd need to be sure all they're members could hold their own in the field. The Ocean Town dam would have probably been a cakewalk to them.

"Congratulations," Connie said ecstatically, "I guess you're joining us for training after all."

"Yeah," Emmet said chuckling as Steven put him down, "I guess I am."

He had just joined a group of alien rebels who kept the world safe. It was awesome. He just hoped he would be able to match their expectations.

He hoped he'd be able to match his own too.

Hello everyone, I'd just like to say thank you to everyone whose followed the story up to this point. The Favorites, follows, views and reviews really are appreciated and i'm glad people are liking the story. As of now this chapter marks the end of the Intro arc of Emerald Huntsman. Next chapter will mark the beginning of the next part of the story, the Intern arc. I'll be following the plot of the show as closely as possible, with event's happening as they should and Emmet and Number Two's involvement being on the periphery as they learn the ropes of being a Crystal Gem. I've got bitter training, awkward dinners, an impossible standoff, a double date to remember and a dark return all lined up and on their way in the coming chapters. Thanks again everyone and I hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I like writing it.