Expanded Universe-Poof
Today was a very special day for Leo, pretty rare too. It was-maybe-once every month that the Gems had no missions, no scouting, nothing to do for that one day, and whenever it happened Leo took the opportunity to spend as much time with them. So with it raining outside, what perfect time would it not be to watch a movie together?
"I'm telling you, the choreography in this movie is fantastic; props to that guy."Leo said.
"I don't know Leo, Art of the Sword started getting stale at the 4th movie."Amethyst said.
"Heresy, I will hear none of it!"He said.
"Ugh, they aren't even doing it right. That's not how you even hold a sword."Pearl critiqued.
"This is a fantasy movie Pearl, fantasy none of this is supposed to make sense."Leo said.
"You do some of these things; if you want a proper lesson in sword fighting you can come to me."Pearl said.
"Oh, can I? Like right now?"Leo asked.
"Right now?"She asked.
"Sure, unless…you're chicken."Leo said.
"I am not-"
"Bacaww!"Leo squawked.
"Leo-"
"Bacaww!"Amethyst joined in.
"Amethyst not-"
"Bacaww."Garnet said.
"Alright, fine I'll show you."Pearl said.
"Alright!"Leo cheered.
"And I know just the place."Pearl stood up and walked to the warp pad.
With everyone on the Warp Pad, the four of them of them were transported to a sky arena. It looked broken; it kinda reminded him of the Roman Coliseum.
"Whoa."Leo looked around.
"Okay, to perfectly show the proper way to sword fight I'll need a sparring partner."Pearl said.
"I mean I can certainly-"Leo was shot down by Garnet, who placed her hand on his shoulders.
"Luckily, I have one."Pearl twirled around on her toes and projected a hologram version of her.
"Oh, neat, and totally not freaky in any way."Leo said.
"Do you wish to engage in combat?"The holo-Pearl asked.
"Let this be the perfect duel."Pearl said, throwing it her other sword.
"You've already made a mistake by challenging me."
"Ha-ha, we shall let our swords decide."Pearl readied her stance.
"Nerd!"Amethyst yelled.
"Sshhhh!"Leo and Garnet said.
"Commencing duel!"Holo-Pearl shouted as it lunged towards her.
H.P. and Pearl collided, so strong that it sent out a gust of wind. They continued to clash swords as they ran along each other; it was rather outstanding to see a fight like this. Each strike was calculated and meant to kill, Leo's style however revolved around fast paced attacks-they weren't meant to immediately kill-but he made up for it by keeping attacks chained together so the target wouldn't be let off. However, he figured that he could learn a thing or two from Pearl, he was sure that he wasn't willing to change up his sword style for Pearls own sake.
"Opening detected!"H.P. said as it knocked Pearls sword out of her hands.
As H.P. swung though, Pearl slid under it to her sword. H.P. jumped into the air and came down hard on Pearl, but she was able to block it and jab her mid-air. The jab sent H.P. flying to the other side of the court, leaving Pearl the victor.
"Yeah, go Pearl."Leo said.
"Why thank you Leo."Pearl said as she pointed her sword down.
"I mean, that looked nice and all, but I much prefer my own style. Though, I'm willing to be taught a few things."Leo said as he walked up to Pearl.
"Alright Leo, look here, initiate training mode."Pearl brought out her sword as Holo-Pearl rose.
"Initiating training mode!"Holo-Pearl shouted.
"Does it always have to yell?"Leo asked.
"Watch here Leo; see how I position myself with my left leg forward."Pearl pointed to her left leg.
"Pearl, I don't need basic training. I just want to be shown a few moves. Y'know, something to throw into my bag."Leo said.
"You have to learn the basics before you can onto more complex fighting styles."Pearl said as she casually sparred with the hologram.
"Pearl I'm no newbie, just show me the moves."Leo said.
"No, Leo, this isn't just something you can learn willy-nilly. It takes patience and-GUH!"Pearl grunted.
Leo looked down; piercing through her chest was the sword of Holo-Pearl.
"Pearl!"Leo said looking right back at her.
"Oh, don't worry Leo. Its fine, I'm-"She exploded into a cloud of dust leaving behind her gem.
"PEARL!"Leo yelled as he lunged for her gemstone.
"Challenger defeated."The holo-pearl declared.
"Leo."Garnet came from behind.
"Is she gonna be okay?"Leo asked.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine."
"She just got impaled, how is she gonna be fine, Amethyst?"Leo asked.
"Leo. Whenever our bodies take too much damage, we retreat into our gems to regenerate. Pearl is okay."Garnet said.
"This is awful."Leo said.
"It'll be alright, she'll regenerate in a few days and then she can show you whatever you need to know."Amethyst said.
2 WEEKS LATER
"A few days they said, she'll regenerate they said, ugh…what did I expect?"Leo asked as he held Pearls gem.
"When are you gonna come back Pearl?"Leo asked as he looked across the house.
The place was a mess, broken cabinets, a lot of broken things actually, and it was all due to one problem.
"Parry. Parry. Thrust!"The three words shouted once again.
"You damn stupid hologram."Leo muttered.
He rubbed Pearls gem again, he missed Pearl….a lot. It wasn't just because she did most of the chores around the house (which he tried not to feel be the only reason he missed her), but because if there was anyone that Leo had a bond closer to than any other, it was Pearl. Call it the remains of Rose Quartz if you will, Pearl has always been there for Leo….for better or for worse. Pearl was possibly the closest thing to a mother (figure) he's had, so it'd e perfectly understandable that he'd be a little more melancholic.
"Parry. Parry. Thrust!"H.P. shouted again.
"Oh my god, will you shut up!?"Leo yelled at it.
It didn't respond.
"Good."He stated.
"Parry. Parry. Thrust!"
"That's it!"Leo yelled going to his closet and pulling out a long black sheath.
"Hey Leo, stop talking to that thing, it's weird. Plus it makes you look like a psycho."Amethyst walked in with Garnet in hand.
"I'm putting this thing down. It's gotten on my nerve, LONG ENOUGH!"Leo said as he put Pearl down.
"You sure about this?"Garnet asked.
"Oh yeah, I am."Leo said.
"This is going to be good."Amethyst said as he followed Leo dragging H.P. to the warp pad.
With a wave of the hand, the 3 of them (and H.P.) went to the sky arena. The place was empty, like last time. However, this time Leo and H.P. would be the ones fighting. Leo knew H.P. was on training mode, and with each hit it would make the fight tougher. He planned on making this as quickly as he could, fortunately, he brought his best sword. The HF Blade, this thing could help beat the Holo-Pearl.
"Do you wish to battle!?"H.P. shouted again.
"Yes, I do."Leo said.
"You've already sealed your doom!"She shouted.
Leo grabbed the end of the sheath and pulled it off; underneath it was a finely made sword, the HF Blade. It had a black blade and grip with silver edges on the blade itself. The blade was made from the same stuff MJOLNIR armor was, except a lot less durable.
"Parry. Parry. Thrust!"H.P. shouted again, attempting to strike at Leo.
"The only way to get you gone is if you are completely defeated. I'm just going to have to speed up the process."Leo walked towards the holograms and swiped it with his sword.
Holo-Pearl blurred a little before her eyes turned red, "Challenger wins; activating hard mode!"
Leo hardly had enough time to block the attack coming right at him. The attack nearly knocked him off his feet. Leo furrowed his brow and broke off. There was no time for flare, he wanted this thing gone A.S.A.P., so he attacked as well. He swung left and right, hoping to catch H.P. off guard, it didn't work. It either blocked or deflected the attacks.
"Ugh! Die!"Leo yelled.
Leo backed off and came straight back at it, lunging forward. H.P. dodged the attack and attempted to attack from behind, however Leo fell to the ground and with a sweep of his legs he brought H.P. to the ground. Leo turned his sword towards the ground to stab H.P., he missed as it rolled to the side and struck at him in one motion. Leo jumped backwards, barely getting out of the way.
"Defense rating: B!"H.P. shouted.
"Shut up!"Leo charged again, this time being deflected.
Leo jumped backwards again, he needed to end this but H.P. was giving him a hell of a time. He needed to find a way through its defense, now.
'I got it!'He thought.
He chucked his sword towards H.P. and ran as fast he could. As he predicted, H.P. fell for it and deflected the attack, making it wide open for Leo to attack. Leo ran as fast as possible, with H.P. open he reeled back his fist and let it loose on its face. H.P. was in mid-air…useless. Leo's nerves went into overdrive as he spun towards his sword, grabbed it, and ran it through H.P.
"RAAAAAAAAA!"Leo yelled as he shoved his sword into H.P.
"Match over, Challenger wins!"H.P. declared as it dispersed into particles of light.
Leo breathed heavily, taking big breaths. That was a tough fight, not tougher than any of the sparring matches he's had with some of the Spartan II's, but definitely hard. He remembered taking a punch from one of them felt like getting his stomach wrenched. Luckily this wasn't a low-tier Spartan or a Spartan at all.
"Bravo Leo, however, I would fix some of that defense. I saw plenty of openings that could have led to you losing."Leo turned around.
"Pearl!?"Leo asked as he saw her, fully revived.
Her outfit was definitely different; she didn't have a tutu anymore. More like a scarf that was tied to her waist. He liked the change, he never liked the tutu.
"Of course, who wouldn't I be?"She smiled as he walked towards her.
"Why did it take you so long, it's been 2 weeks!?"Leo asked.
"I'm sorry; I just had to be certain about my appearance. I'm really sorry if you got upset."Pearl said as Leo hugged her.
"Just don't take long again."Leo said.
"I promise, and while we're here, how about we learn some of those 'moves' you asked me about?"Pearl said.
Leo smiled, "I'm fine, let's just go back to the house."
"I think that sounds wonderful."Pearl smiled.
"Nerds!"Amethyst yelled from her cloud.
"You're a nerd Amethyst!"Leo jokingly said.
"Oh now you're gonna get it!"Amethyst jumped off her cloud.
"Oh no!"Leo said as he ran for the warp pad.
"Get back here!"Amethyst said.
"Amethyst please!"Pearl ran after them.
"I'm gonna get you!"
"No you aren't!"Leo laughed as he made it to the warp pad.
So, how you guys doing? Yeah, it's been 9 days, sorry. So, I've gotta ask. Does anyone know how to properly like….write action sequences? It's pretty apparent that fast paced action isn't really my thing, so if anyone knows hit me up with a PM. Anyway, have fun, Summer of Steven has yet to come and we're all shivering up from the lack of content so enjoy your final days as we die from it.