A tentative zephyr stirred the sand grains around the soles of the potential opponents. The high rise afternoon sun served as a perfect back drop to what could've been a revised yet classic western showdown.
"You need to leave. Now." ordered the two-gem sheriff.
Normally her two partners would jump in with their own intimidating demands, but they were still too shocked at who the intruder was to even formulate any syllables.
The lone purple stranger smirked at the fusion and sneered, "Heh, now that's a good one. You're actually telling me to leave the place where I was formed? Yea…that ain't gonna happen."
Amethyst's eyes became as wide as dinner plates when she heard that startling piece of information about her "brethren".
"This may have been the place where you were born, but you came back with the intent to destroy it! And we're not going to let that happen!" Garnet countered as she clenched her gauntleted fists.
"Heh…I'd like to see you try. I mean, seriously?! You pebbles were the cause of the distress call Yellow Diamond got?" she asked as she looked her opponents up and down before her incriminating gaze fell upon Levon. "…Well, at least you look like a formidable opponent. I don't know what the heck you are, but you're obviously the leader of this ragtag group. You must've been the one who decimated the first team we sent. Well, whatever. They were a bunch of defective crags anyway, so you actually did us a favor. Almost. Still gotta clean up after'em though."
Levon's pupils narrowed into little slits when he heard those demeaning words about his family.
"Once you're out of the way, your servants will be easy pickings" she sneered.
"They're not my servants!" Levon roared back.
"…You're right. My mistake" she smirked. "You have a sorry excuse for a gem weapon, an outdated Pearl that needs to be melted down and put out of her sorry existence, a personal sword-holding organic puppet, and a runt that wouldn't even make a decent snack for Yellow Diamond's Thibursus. Is she you're pet or something?" she asked as she pointed to Amethyst, causing her to flinch. "Then again, when you're out in the boonies you make do with what you got" she added before releasing a snide chuckle.
Levon looked over to see their reactions to her horrid words. When he saw Amethyst's…needless to say it made his blood boil.
Connie, Garnet and Pearl still remained razor-focused and rooted in their fighting stances – no doubt having built up an impenetrable wall due to all the years of dealing with belittling barbs that have been shot their way.
But Amethyst didn't have that armor. She was down on all fours, her hair creating a makeshift shield around her mind. Her whole body was shaking and he could distinctly make out subdued hiccups. But he wasn't the only one who heard it.
"Pssh! Pathetic. Even if she is a runt and your pet, an Amethyst should a have a little more dignity than that. Makes me sick just looking at it! I mean seriously, what in the world is she wearing? What kind of appearance modifiers are those? They look like they should be used to the clean the hull of my ship. That thing gives us real Amethysts a bad name. Guess I'll be doing it a favor by smashing it to dust" the home-world Amethyst spoke as she cracked her knuckles.
Having heard enough, Levon bared his saber-toothed fangs at her. But before he could launch his verbal counter attack, someone else did it for him.
"YOU SHUT UP!" Pearl yelled, startling the intruding gem. Amethyst looked up at the irate, blue-flushed gem through her wet, wide eyes. "Our Amethyst has more honor and strength in her pinky than you do in your whole construct! If you dare to even take one step towards her, I'll slice your head off and feed your gem to Rudy!" she threatened.
"…Pearl" Amethyst whispered as she wiped her eyes.
"…You got a lot of nerve, you piece of sheet rock. Your words amount to nothing more than a big ol' pile of Novalak dung" she spat before chuckling to herself. "Heh. Y'know, I thought your pet was pathetic. But having a Pearl defend her…that's just downright sad. It's so sad that it's funny!" she laughed.
Sensing the futility of trying to reason with her, Levon closed his eyes, took a deep breath and followed his tiger mentor's first rule. "If I don't have a clear mind…I've already lost the battle" he internally chanted as he reopened his eyes and glared at her.
"What? You actually got something to say? Or you gonna have that human puppet talk for you now too?" the home-world Amethyst asked when she saw Levon glaring at her.
"Look"
Just like before when he traded himself for Lapis, everything paused around him. Even the intruding Amethyst gave him her full attention.
"I know things are different on Home World than they are here. There's no love…no compassion…and I can't fault you for that because you were raised that way. But…"
Home-world Amethyst gulped when she saw his own version of a scary glare. His irises were glowing like a hot white fire, piercing through and shattering her tough persona.
"Every action has a positive or negative reaction, even if it's done out of ignorance. And if you think I'm going to stand here and let you spew more stinkin' thinkin' words about my friend and family, then get ready because I'm gonna use every ounce of power I have to defend them!" he snarled as he got down on all fours. A small raised hair ridge appeared on his back as he moved his shoulder blades up and down, preparing to pounce.
The brash intruder was starting to look like she was all brass as she took one miniscule step backwards. An arrow of sheer gratitude pierced through the hearts of the crystal team, causing a small smile to appear on their faces. They gazed upon their fused hunter, not even perturbed in the slightest by his intimidating body language.
But for Amethyst, it did something so much more. Before he could lunge at the home-world intruder she yelled, "Levon, DON'T!"
Immediately, the glow in his eyes disappeared and everyone gave her their attention. Amethyst stood tall with a pair of triple tipped whips, all surging with her powerful gem energy.
"She's mine" she declared as she walked towards her complete counterpart.
"What?!" everyone asked in disbelief.
"You heard me. I got this" she repeated.
Having her nerves restored due to the ludicrous declaration home-world Amethyst sneered, "Well…looks like you got some ore in you after all. But seriously? You think you can take me on by yourself? And I thought rubies were dumb."
A small snarl erupted from Garnet's lips and although it was covered by her sunglasses, her red eye twitched in agitation from the prejudicial statement.
But Amethyst didn't back down. She struck the sand behind her creating a semi-circle line – an invisible barrier signaling to the rest of her comrades not to interfere. Pearl made a move to go to her, but Garnet held her back and shook her head. She understood and took a deep breath to steady her anxious mind.
"Heh…guess you really mean business huh?" she asked her smaller counterpart when Amethyst looked at her with narrowed eyes. She reached for her gem on her left shoulder and pulled out a merlot-colored, nunchaku-type weapon that was nearly double the size of Amethyst's triple-tipped whips. It had a massive sickle with a purple gemstone embedded where the blade connected to the pole. On the other end was a ball weight that resembled a shot put with studded purple gem spikes.
"…Kusarigama" Connie uttered.
"What?" Levon asked.
"She has a kusarigama. It's a dangerous weapon designed to entangle an opponent's weapon or their feet, making them defenseless. Then the attacker rushes in and **QRRK**" she explained as did a slashing motion across her throat.
"What?!" Levon asked as he returned his wide-eye gaze back to the scene in front of them.
She effortlessly swung the ball end of the whip around in a circle along the side of her body. "To think I'd be doing a good ol' fashioned diamond pit match here on my home turf. Just wish it was with a better opponent."
That elicited a growl out of Amethyst as she got into her fighting stance.
"At least this'll be a decent warm-up. Once I'm done with you, your master and your group of rag-tag crags are next!" she shouted.
"Whaja say? I'm sorry, I don't speak dumb" Amethyst shot back.
That garnered a few chuckles out of the children, but Garnet and Pearl remained silent. That small cheer from her little brother caused her to cheekily grin at her opponent.
Home-world Amethyst furrowed her brows and seethed, "Oh, you got jokes huh? Well here's my punchline!" Before she could launch the spike ball at her, Garnet quickly shot her ruby embedded gauntlet into the air like a firecracker.
Back in the house…
"NOW!" Jasper yelled when she saw the signal.
Lapis raised her arms and two massive water hands rose out of the ocean.
They observed the intruding Amethyst turn around and let her mouth hang open in shock. They could see her lips moving, but couldn't make out what she was saying. Although it was a safe bet that she was asking…or rather demanding…what in the world was going on.
Lapis flexed her fingers, causing the fingers of her water hands to forcibly grab the space craft. She lowered her arms, thereby lowering the ship to the depths of the ocean.
"Great job Lapis. That takes care of that" Jasper commended and Lapis smiled while giving her a slight nod.
"Yes…but that Amethyst doesn't look too happy" Peridot nervously said when she quickly closed the blinds just to make sure that Amethyst didn't have the sensible idea to look at the house. She carefully peeked through them to see the enraged gem thrash about and yelling all kinds of words. Even Pearl quickly climbed on top of Levon and covered his ears until her tirade was over. Then they noticed Garnet say something to her before the rest of the team climbed to the grassy alcove and sat down on the sandy/floral barrier line, with Amethyst still standing in the self-made arena.
"At least it's a fair fight. None of them have anything they can fall back on" Jasper commented.
"D-Do you think our Amethyst can win?" Peridot asked.
"If she keeps her mind calm, she can. But that other Amethyst's presence alone was enough to rattle her, so I'm not sure. But you can best believe that Levon will utterly maul her if she does happen to win" she replied.
"I don't understand why she stopped him from attacking her in the first place! In fact, Lazuli you should drag her to the bottom of the ocean as well" Peridot suggested.
"No!" Jasper countered.
"Why on Earth not?! It'd make things so much easier!" she exasperated.
"She's needs this to validate herself and we need to respect that" Jasper answered.
"What? What do you mean?" she asked.
"Really? I'd thought you of all gems would understand. She's defective. Just like you and how I was until my little "shock therapy". This is just like a battle between new quartzes in the Geode Dome, trying to prove themselves in front of the diamonds. It's no different than you studying every kind of information available and being able to fix just about anything in order to even be on par with the other Peridots" she explained.
"I guess even after all the support she's received…a bit of her still felt inferior to the rest of them" Lapis surmised.
Peridot slowly nodded her head in understanding. She tightly clenched her floating fingers and closed her eyes. "…It's still in me too" she thought but was taken out of them when she heard a loud **BOOM** "Wh-What the?!"
Soon everyone's faces were plastered against the window trying to see the ensuing melee.
The battlefield was covered in a purple haze. Amethyst was the first one to emerge out of the smoke, all rolled up in her spin dash form. Then she jumped high into the air before unfurling and lashing her whips at her opponent.
"HA! She's got her now!" Peridot cheered as the whips latched onto home-world Amethyst's massive left arm, but Jasper replied "I wouldn't bet on it."
And true to her observation home-world Amethyst jerked her arm down, bringing Amethyst in close to deliver a nasty right hook square on her cheek, sending her crashing against the mountain side.
"Ooooo!" all of them cringed. Even the house shook a little bit due to the impact.
Then they saw Levon, Connie and Pearl stand up and shout her name. Just as they were about to run to their fallen comrade, they were stopped by her powerful voice.
"DON'T!" she yelled.
All of them reluctantly sat back down as she slowly made her way back to the battle circle. They could see the larger Amethyst laughing her head off and saying something to her, no doubt talking some smack talk.
"C'mon Amethyst…get her" Peridot silently cheered.
"Jasper, do you know who she is?" Lapis asked.
"No clue. Peridot, can you scan her and pull up her file?" Jasper asked.
"Huh? Oh right!" Peridot engaged her holo-pad and got a reading on her energy signature. "Hmmm…according to this, that's Amethyst Facet AH08 Cut L6G. She was created on Earth when it was first colonized. She was shipped to quadrant 2 of the Kungilax system shortly after she was formed."
"…You don't say" Jasper commented.
"Indeed. Talk about unfavorable fortuity for our Amethyst's mental psyche. But this is odd. It says here that she was decommissioned until further notice. Apparently her former manager described her as a "ferocious warrior with an impatient and reckless nature combined with poor decision making abilities" she read.
"So a cracked loose cannon?" Lapis surmised.
"Pretty much" Peridot agreed.
Jasper crossed her arms and paced around the living room. "…This doesn't make any sense. Yellow Diamond's been waiting since the end of the rebellion for the cluster to emerge. Why in the world would she send someone who's a few shards short to check on such an important project?" she asked out loud.
"Maybe…maybe she was re-educated" Peridot cautiously suggested, given Jasper's history with that process.
Jasper stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the green gem that was fiddling with her fingers. Little sweat beads slid down her head as she stuttered, "I-I mean I don't have access to the latest files since I've been here, so it could be that this is her last shot to redeem herself. W-Wait no! That's not what I meant! I mean-"
"Peridot" Jasper calmly called out as she put her hand on her shoulder; Peridot did flinch a little bit under her touch. "It's okay" she replied, and Peridot sighed in relief. "That's actually a plausible explanation. But it still doesn't explain why she was sent here alone."
"…Maybe she wasn't" Lapis deduced.
"YEA! What?" Peridot questioned/cheered when she saw Amethyst land a spinning backflip kick, knocking her home-world copy to the ground. "She was the only one that came out of the pod."
"I don't know about that. I could've sworn I saw Levon look in another direction as soon as that Amethyst emerged from the capsule" Lapis defended.
"What? I didn't see him do that…then again I was just staring at the ship" Peridot admitted.
"Yea, me too. Lazuli, did you see anything else?" Jasper asked.
"Well, it looked like he was making this face" she demonstrated as she imitated his panting/snarling expression.
"That almost resembles the face he made when he poured that foul-smelling dirt for Rudy" Peridot commented. "Do you think he picked up on a gem's scent?"
"If he did, she must've smelled horrible" Lapis concluded.
As soon as she said that, Jasper's hair went limp and her pupils shrunk. "Wait a sec…a gem too fast for the eyes to see…foul smell…Lazuli! Are you absolutely sure you saw Levon act like that?" she frantically asked as she put her hands on Lapis' shoulders, causing her to flinch.
"Y-Yes, I'm pretty sure. Why? What's wrong?" she nervously asked when she saw Jasper's panicked state. She quickly got up from under her grip and Jasper just stood there…petrified.
"This is bad. Really bad! If she's here…oh sheet rock we are so screwed!" she uttered as she ran both of her hands through her hair.
Tiny electrical surges coursed through Peridot's body; she had never seen Jasper so scared before. And that was saying something considering she was going to fight that monstrous creation that formed in the underground cavern until Steven's singing subdued it. Not to mention whatever horrors she faced during the war.
"Jasper, what're you talking about?! Who's here?! Who?!" Peridot frantically asked as she got off of the window seat, grabbed her by the shoulders, turned her around and slightly shook her.
Well… tried to.
Her little frame couldn't do anything against a full-size quartz solider. It was only because Jasper was so shell-shocked that she was even able to turn her around in the first place. But it didn't matter, she wanted an answer and she wanted one now!
"…Pitch Black" Jasper spoke.
Okay, she didn't want that answer.
Peridot's pupils shrunk as well and her digits fell limp to the floor like raindrops on the roof. But she tried to laugh it off, thinking that was just some kind of sick joke. "C-C'mon Jasper. Surely you're joking-"
"Does it look like I'm joking?!"she snapped and Peridot covered her face with her arms, bracing for any attack.
Jasper immediately caught herself and stuttered, "S-Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that…of all gems why did it have to be her?!"
"Guys, hold on! Who's Pitch Black?" Lapis asked, tired of being left in the dark so to speak.
Peridot tried to expand her holo-pad, but it kept glitching every couple of seconds due to the nervous electrical pulses traversing through her body.
"Peridot. You have to relax" Jasper commanded.
She looked at the composed yet still perturbed gem, then took a deep breath to demolish her building anxiety. "…Commander Jet. Facet K1LL Cut D7E. Also known as Pitch Black" Peridot read as she pulled up her file and known picture.
Lapis looked at the photo and shuddered. "…Something's not natural about her" she commented as she stared at the ice-blue eyes, the only part of her body that wasn't covered in tattered black appearance modifiers.
"That's putting it lightly. She is a first class warrior, which is exceptionally rare given her gem type. Her speed and stealth as well as her unbridled strength are supposedly only rivaled to that of the diamonds themselves. Which is why Yellow Diamond keeps such close tabs on her" Peridot explained.
"Because she's afraid that Pitch will do something to her?" Lapis asked.
"What? What sense does that make?" Peridot questioned.
"It's an Earth saying Amethyst taught me. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It means to keep a close eye on your enemies so they don't get the jump on you" she replied.
"…That's still a stupid saying. But no, Yellow keeps her close because she's the only one that can keep her in line. It's rumored that when she emerged, she slaughtered all of the other gems in her kindergarten. She even attacked Silver…err… I mean White Diamond…when she came to check on its progress since the planet she was made on was under her jurisdiction. I wonder what Yellow did to her in order to make her comply?" she wondered.
"I can only imagine" Jasper muttered.
"Where was she made?" Lapis asked.
"Hmmm…it says she was made on the planet Ronidin in the Gamma kindergarten. It had been a viable colony for many years, but ever since she was made Home World decided to abandon it. Most likely to prevent another one of her from being created. I mean if one could take out a whole kindergarten…I don't even want to think about the carnage that could happen if there were more of them" Peridot shuddered.
"Funny…you'd think the diamonds would want more of her since we are a space-faring race designed to conqueror other worlds. I guess even they have their limits" Jasper said.
"So why is she called Pitch Black?" Lapis asked.
"The reason she's called that is because she's an assassin and her black body is the last thing you see before you're destroyed…if you're lucky. Not to mention for whatever reason she smells like the smelting chamber…otherwise known as the harvest zone" Peridot explained.
"…Garnet was right after all. Yellow did send a reconnaissance gem, and she isn't messing around this time either. But why send her with an escort? Pitch hates working with other gems. Heh…I guess she's kinda like how I was. You have to earn her respect before she'll even consider you a level below her" Jasper bitterly chuckled.
"…To distract us!" Lapis realized when they saw Amethyst get kicked high into the sky.
Before her home-world doppelganger could knock her back down onto the sand, she revved up and covered herself with her whips, creating a rolling spike ball. She slammed into her but the burly gem blocked it at the last second to avoid major damage.
"That does seem logical. After all, our mission was to check on the cluster's status. Just in and out before it hatches. That's probably her mission as well" Peridot surmised.
"But…does that mean Yellow already knows about Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Steven?" Lapis asked.
"Well…Steven did say that the diamonds have a connection. So if she can still feel Rose's presence within her, then it's a safe bet that she knows that she's here in one form or another. Not to mention she most likely has access to Peridot's intel files. But I bet she doesn't share that info with just anybody. Pitch and that Amethyst probably only got little bits and pieces, just enough to complete the mission. The last thing she needs is to have gems be reminded of the fact that she failed. Although with our skewed history, it'll still seem like Rose was just a traitor that was banished to Earth for all eternity. But we already knew that she might be coming back to Earth. And after we deal with this latest group, that's gonna be a forgone conclusion" Jasper explained.
"…I know." she slowly replied.
"Hey, don't be like that. He'll be fine. He's got us right? Plus I can't wait to see Yellow's face when she sees that these group of "defects" kept the Earth intact." Jasper assured with her cocky grin. She made a move to put her hand on Lapis' shoulder to reassure her, but remembered how she wasn't comfortable with certain touches yet. Then it dawned on her that she must've really scared her when she touched her while she was freaking out about Pitch. She looked at the ground and slowly backed away.
Suddenly Lapis grabbed her hand to stop her from retreating. Jasper looked at her and saw one thing she wasn't expecting. A smile and an appreciative nod – signaling that she praised the thought behind the action and thankful that she still respected her personal boundaries.
Jasper returned the gesture with her own apologetic smile and Lapis released her from her soft grip. But Lapis' smile faded and she began to rub her arms as if she was trying to warm herself up. "I'm not worried about us fighting her. I'm worried about him fighting her. And not just her. What if Silver and my previous diamond show up too? I-I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. That's just who he is. He's a natural born protector and I'm scared that he'll take it upon himself to fight while keeping us out of it so we don't get hurt" she explained.
"Then I'm honored to be in his court, so to speak. Because you can best believe that I won't let anything happen to my little cub. Even if I have to knock him out and throw him to the next galaxy so they can never find him" Jasper declared and her comrades nodded their heads in agreement.
"And I'm gonna start now" she thought before asking, "You said you saw Levon looking in that direction?" as she pointed to the left and Lapis nodded her head.
"That makes sense. If she jumped over-head, there would've been a shadow on the ground, no matter how fast she is. I bet she's already at the kindergarten" Jasper concluded.
"W-What are we going to do?" Peridot nervously asked.
"You two are going to stay here. I'm going to the kindergarten" she answered.
"And do what?! You can't beat her!" Peridot countered.
"Wow…thanks for the vote of confidence" she quoted.
"Jasper, we're serious. If this Pitch Black gem has you this scared-"
"I'm not scared. Unsettled yes, but not scared" she corrected.
"Whatever you want to call it, she'll crush your gem before you can even blink!" Lapis finished.
"Don't worry Lazuli. I have a plan" she assured, but Peridot gave her a deadpanned look.
"That doesn't exactly inspire confidence" she bluntly said when she re-called her "so-called" plan to get her help. It was…unconventional to say the least.
"I know it doesn't…all things considered. But it's like you keep saying Lazuli. I care about you gems so I know everything will turn out alright. And it'll be in the most unexpected way, especially with the way things have been going so far. For all I know, donuts might fall out of the sky" Jasper finished as she shifted her uniform back to its original look.
"…Hopefully I won't have to wear this for too long" she muttered as she stared at the yellow diamond insignia on her chest. "Once their battle is over, you can tell them where I am. Garnet might have the best shot to beat her due to her future vision. But I'm not planning on losing either! So just think of it as insurance. Who knows, I probably just gave us unnecessary fissures over nothing" she chuckled but Lapis and Peridot weren't buying it.
The green gem closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "I still think you're insane. Everything about this is completely insane! But…I guess I am too since I chose to stay here." She opened her slightly moist eyes and stared at the striped gem. "Just…just promise us you'll be okay" she meekly said.
Jasper nodded her head and replied, "Quartz honor" before ruffling her hair. And this time Peridot didn't mind at all, even garnering a small chuckle out of her.
Once she was done with her playful caresses, Lapis approached her…but she was looking at the ground. Jasper quirked one eyebrow up. Before she could ask anything, Lapis suddenly grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze.
"…If you don't come back, that'll make Steven sad. I'll take back my forgiveness if you make him cry" she harshly whispered as she looked up at her.
Jasper returned the firm grip and replied, "Wouldn't dream of it. Shoot, I'd smash myself if I made him cry again." Lazuli nodded her head and let go of her so she could go up to Steven's loft.
"Uh…Jasper? Why aren't you going onto the warp pad?" Peridot asked.
"Pitch'll hear the stream from a mile away. Best if I go covert" she explained as she shrunk her muscular frame a little bit so she could fit through the window. She silently landed on the ground; thankfully the captivated audience didn't turn around. She caught a glimpse of the weary combatants before speeding off towards the desolate area to engage in what Steven would describe as the boss of the final level.
Back on the beach...
"How's that dirt taste punk?!" home-world Amethyst berated when she saw her mini counterpart struggling to get up after landing another vicious hit to her side from her spiked ball, sending her face first into the sand.
"Amethyst!" the concerned crowd called out.
She slowly lifted her head up, shook the grains off of her face and stood on her shaky legs. Then in an unexpected move, she grabbed a handful of sand and shoved it into her mouth. "Actually…not too bad! Just needs some hot sauce" she yelled back as she swallowed the coarse substance; everyone cringed when they saw her do that.
But all that did was cause a boisterous laugh to erupt out of her opponent's illusionary vocal chords, especially when Amethyst collapsed to one knee out of exhaustion.
"In that case, why don't you lick the dirt off of my boots like a good little pet" she sneered.
"STOP CALLING HER THAT!" Levon and Connie yelled.
She crossed her arms and countered, "Why should I? Runts like her are either pets or they're harvested. Of course with her tiny size she probably couldn't power a basic conduit line."
Before the enraged audience could refute her statement, Amethyst quickly stood back up, summoned another pair of whips and yelled to them, "STAY OUT OF IT!"
That silenced the crowd, but Levon huffed through his nose out of annoyance with her attitude. Then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes…trying to focus…to reconnect.
"Navi?" he internally called out.
"I'm here Steven. Or Levon I should say. You look extremely cute by the way."
He grinned when she said that but his blissful smile turned upside down when he heard their savage verbal duel.
"Heh…whatever. It's your funeral. And soon it'll be theirs too" she commented before swinging the ball end of her whip.
"That ball you keep swingin' ain't gonna be the only thing rollin' when I knock you upside the head!" she fired back.
"HAH! Gem, you funny! Are you a jester too? You should be, because everything you say is a joke! Your entire existence is a joke!" she laughed. She had to stop spinning her ball because she had to clutch her sides since she was laughing so hard.
Amethyst froze in place when those vile words entered her soul. Pearl immediately put her hands up to her mouth in shock and Garnet popped her knuckles because she was clenching her fists so tight. Amethyst gripped her whip handles and started shaking, willing herself not to let any tears spring from her sockets.
"…Amethyst" Pearl whispered to herself as she sat up and cautiously walked over to her. And this time Garnet didn't stop her.
Connie watched her sword teacher walk over to the rattled gem, then turned her attention towards Levon to see how he was reacting. Needless to say she was stunned to see him in such a tranquil meditative state. Although upon closer inspection, she saw that his muzzle was twitching a little bit and the orbs on the backs of his hands were pulsing with a faint light. Almost like a heartbeat.
"Levon" she quietly called out so as not to make a scene towards the other gems. No response.
Then she tried gently shaking him. Still no response…well save for him furrowing his eyebrows as if he was agitated about something.
"What's going on with him?" she worriedly thought until a troublesome realization passed through her mind. "…He's absorbing the negative energy!" Immediately she grabbed the hilt of her sword and held it up, ready to attack anything that came out of him.
Well…she wasn't too far off for the reason why he was in a semi-comatose state.
"Navi…I-I can feel it. But I can't think of any lyrics for a song let alone a melody. Can you help me out?"
"I'm afraid spontaneous songs aren't my forte. That was all you as well."
"Then what do I do?" he asked.
"Talk to it" she simply replied.
"What?! That's it?" he incredulously asked.
"You did the same thing when that jackal-like creature tried to overtake Stevonnie. Singing may have drawn them out before, but in the end its still words. Some people respond better to songs, others poetry or even a causal conversation. It's just that your words are combined with your comforting light. Now it's time to burn away those stinkin' thinkin' thoughts before they consume her. But Levon…you have to be firm. Do not relent, no matter what. You already know that they're some things buried deep within her that were eating at her for many many years. This won't be easy for her, but if anyone can help her, it's you." And with that little bit of advice, her sagely voice disappeared.
He reopened his eyes in time to see Pearl almost near the broken gem. "Amethyst…you know that isn't true-"
"D-Don't" she choked out as she wiped her eyes.
"But-"
**SISHSSSSSHH**
Pearl's comforting words were cut off when Amethyst struck the sand again, causing her to stumble and fall on her bottom.
"What did I say?!" she cried out. "I don't need your pity! I got this!"
But in Levon's eyes…she had already lost.
"So just shut-"
"ENOUGH!" he roared, silencing the soul-shattered gem.
"Connie" he whispered.
"Y-Yes?" she answered as she quickly sprung to her feet with sword in hand.
"Get ready…and be careful" he said and she nodded her head.
He stood up and walked down the dual-terrain slope until he was solely on the beach. He helped Pearl to her feet, kneeled down and gently brushed the sand off of her.
"You okay?" he whispered and she nodded her head before making her way over towards Garnet and Connie.
Levon surged to his feet and towered over the confused gem. She looked up at the imposing fusion, eyes ablaze with a harsh white light. And just like it did with the intruder Amethyst, it peered into the heart of his fun mom.
"Heh, 'bout time you put that mongrel in her-" Before she could even finish her snide sentence, Levon bared his fangs and growled at her, effectively shutting down the loud-mouthed gem. With that done, he turned his attention back to his disheartened family member.
"Amethyst…You're lost."
"What?! She didn't beat me! I-"
"You're lost and in turn you've lost" he clarified.
"Levon, don't you dare start getting all cryptic on me!" she seethed.
"Then at least I've gotten your attention" he countered and she didn't have a comeback for that. "This isn't you Amethyst. You've faced gems ten times her size without even batting an eye, but with her all it takes a couple of words to throw you off your game? Really?! This is what the champion of the Beach City Wrestling Federation has become?" he asked.
"What?! So you're gonna make fun of me now too?" she yelled.
"I'm not making fun of you. What do you want me to say? Pearl tried to use soft words and you shut her down. I go on the opposite spectrum since that's what she's doing and you're taking in everything she says yet you shut me down! So which is it?!" he fumed.
"GRAGH!" she grunted before kicking up a dust cloud and running her hands through her hair.
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "Are you sure about this Navi? I don't want to rush her. You said I need to take my time-"
"Yes, you need to take your time to be a great leader. But you're on the right path to discovering your own true self. She's not. And unfortunately this intruder is causing her bottled up negative emotions to consume her. She needs this Levon and she needs it now! She can't conquer this on her own; she hasn't been able to for thousands of years. You have force it out of her before she's broken permanently."
He released a heavy sigh and opened his eyes. "Amethyst."
"WHAT?!" she yelled.
"Words…are like silverware."
"Huh?" was the collective response as everyone looked at him with puzzled expressions.
"They can either lift you up like a spoon or they can stab and cut you like a knife and fork. When we were wrestling together…you told me not to let anyone make me feel like garbage. So why are you making not only her words but our words into weapons? Especially since she doesn't know anything else other than that kind of stinkin' thinkin' environment?" he asked.
"Hey! You callin' me dumb!?" the home-world version shouted but immediately shut her mouth when Levon glared at her again.
"Not dumb…just misinformed and misguided. So be quiet and listen. You might learn something new" he responded.
"Pssh! Like I'd listen to anything a freak like you has to say" she fired back.
"…Then that's your call. But as far as I'm concerned, I only want one thing to listen to what I have to say" he said and redirected his gaze back to his agitated friend.
Amethyst's eyes darted across the sand as she tried to come up with a response to his previous question.
"Why did you want to fight her by yourself?" he asked.
"Jeez! What's with all these questions?! And you already know the answer!" she shot back.
"Amethyst. I am a combination of organic and inorganic components, but I am not a mind reader. Why did you want to fight her by yourself?" he asked again.
Amethyst looked at the ground again and clenched her hands into tight little fists.
"Well?"
"Well what?! It doesn't matter! I said I was I fighting her and I said I would handle it! It's none of your business!" she yelled.
"It is my business Amethyst!" he roared back, causing her to flinch. "This is our home and she's trying to destroy it! But instead of letting us help you, even encourage you, you chose to carry this heavy burden by yourself! Why in the world would you want to do that?!"
Amethyst turned head to the side so as not to show her leaking eye. The anxious crowd looked on with anticipation as to what her answer would be. Even the enemy Amethyst banished her weapon, crossed her arms and watched the scene unfold.
"I…I don't know" she stuttered.
"Don't give me that! You do know and I want you to tell me why!" he countered.
Pearl gulped when she heard him use that tone of voice. It was eerily similar to when Steven spoke to her before Dark Stevonnie was formed.
"Oh no" she thought. Before she could approach the irritated fusion, Garnet held her back.
"Garnet…please. I-I think he's-"
"He's not turning into Dark Levon" she whispered back before she could finish her sentence.
"Aren't you listening to the way he's talking to her?" Pearl asked.
"He's not talking to her" she answered.
"What? What are you talking about?! Are your glasses dirty? If he's not talking to her, then who's he talking to?!" she demanded.
"He's talking to the negative monster forming inside of her" Connie answered.
Pearl looked down and saw her protégé gripping the hilt of sword for dear life. But she wasn't afraid. Her determined gaze relayed that she was ready to spring into action to help protect her fused friend against another enemy.
"W-What?" Pearl asked.
"This…This is just like what he did when those voices tried to take over us when we were Stevonnie. He spoke to them with such conviction and authority. It may have taken a few tries, but they finally left us alone" she explained.
"What?!" was all Pearl could say and Connie meekly nodded her head.
"Yea…but it was a lot scarier. Good thing he has a lot of experience in dealing with...this" she said. "And he has Navi too" she thought.
"But…But he's not singing. It looks like he's antagonizing her…it…whatever! What if-"
"Pearl, it'll be okay. Levon loves Amethyst and wouldn't do anything to hurt her. I can sense how it pains him to be so rough with her. But sometimes…love needs a firm hand. This isn't any different than Greg or us punishing him so he can learn from his mistakes. Or us asking multiple questions to get to the root of a problem" Garnet said cutting her off.
All of them nodded their heads at that assessment before returning their gaze back towards the volatile interrogation. Unbeknownst to them, his main gem started to flicker with a pulsing pink light.
"I told you I don't know!" she cried out.
"And I said don't give me that! Every action has a reaction and you wanted something to come out of this duel, so what is it!?" he yelled back.
She grinded her teeth together as the pressure kept building inside of her head, the truth just begging to be released. But the stubbornness of the enemy combined with her low self-esteem just wouldn't let it go.
"Amethyst!"
"GRRRRRRRAH! JUST SHUT UP!" she screamed.
**SLLLICHK**
A collective gasp from friend and foe alike echoed throughout the area once they witnessed the horrific scene. A thin dust cloud covered the area, failing miserably to conceal the carnage that had been wrought. The ocean became choppier as unnatural offshore whirlpools started to form in the far depths, causing the water to encroach and recede past its natural shoreline –even soaking the feet of the stunned enemy. But just as quickly as they came, the rapid currents disappeared without a trace.
Unfortunately, they couldn't erase the splattered marks that had been left on the once pristine sand.
The only one that didn't see what had transpired was the culprit herself due to the fact that she had her eyes completely shut in her fit of rage. Everything was tuned out, even the frantic yelling of the rest of her team as they approached the scene of the assault.
"AMETHYST!" was able to penetrate the mental sound barrier she erected around herself. She couldn't register who said it nor did she care. All that mattered to her was that her name was once again spoken in such an angry, disappointed tone. Her whole frame started shaking and her clenched fist looked like it would snap the handle of her tainted whip in half. With her back still turned to her "instigator" and the sobbing river still flowing from her sealed eyes, the conflicting pressure became too much to bear and she let it out.
"I WANTED TO BEAT ME! Alright?! She's what I'm supposed to be! I'm not this big strong warrior! I'm not even a home-world gem like Pearl and Garnet! They had status! They had a purpose! They were somebodies back home! Even you're a flippin' king! And I'm nothing! I'm…I'm just a defective runt! I…I thought if I could beat her on my own…then I could finally show that I was somebody. That I could be taken a little more seriously….y'know, be respected. That I wasn't messed up. To have one thing be right about me" she trailed off.
Part of her soul was laid out for everyone to witness and hear. The only sound that reverberated across the area were her stifled hiccups.
But soon another sound joined those despairing notes, one so muted that it almost went unnoticed.
Amethyst didn't miss it though. Her eyes shot open and were furrowed in anger. When she turned around to see who had the audacity to laugh at her confession, she was stupefied beyond her senses. Through platter-sized eyes, she saw things that didn't make any sense.
The enemy Amethyst was just staring at them with the same gaping look as she herself was trying to comprehend the situation.
Pearl, Garnet and Connie had concerned looks on their faces as all of them were huddled around a coughing yet chuckling Levon who was struggling to even sit up. What made it even more perplexing was that even though he was laughing, dark tear lines stained his muzzle with no intent of drying up anytime soon. Not to mention he was covering his whole upper body with his massive arms. For a moment she thought he was hurting because he was laughing so hard, but his grimaced expression denounced that theory.
Cut leaves were strewn across the grainy terrain as well as these misshapen, rust-colored splatter marks.
"Heh…now that's what I wanted to hear" he gravelly said as a pained whimper escaped his lips.
"Levon!" the group shouted.
"You shouldn't overexert yourself! Lay down now!" Pearl commanded.
"I'm…fine. You…**GAH**have to take care of Rudy! He's…**NNGH** he's hurt!"
The said plant unwound himself from his waist and slithered up so he could rest on his knee. The top half of his body had little cuts and was devoid of leaves. Thankfully the bark was regenerating and little buds started to takes their place. However he was peeping uncontrollably.
Levon had to calm him down by nuzzling him with his muzzle, even though that small lean pained him dearly. "Rudy…it's okay. I'll be **GRR** just fine. Remember, you just recovered yourself y'know. Even though…you're not at one hundred percent…you still protected me. Thank you" he gratefully gritted out.
"Levon please…you have to lay down. What if your ribs are broken? What if you need to go to the hospital?! I should call my mom and"
"C-Connie" he coughed out. "**NNGH**I'll…be okay. At least I have these tough **HISSS** looking battle scars right?" he said as he tried to put the distressed girl at ease, but it wasn't working as tears started to well up in her eyes. The pained grunting and hissing didn't help.
Amethyst was still thoroughly confused. "Bones? Battle scars?" she thought before Garnet's even-toned command snapped her out of it.
"Levon, move your arms now" she sternly spoke to the hurt fusion.
Instinctively he growled at her, no doubt his animalistic, self-preservation nature taking over. But he immediately caught himself and muttered "…Sorry"
"It's okay. I know it hurts" she softly replied as she put her hands on his arms. He hissed in discomfort when she gently moved them off of what he was hiding and what was revealed made Amethyst sick to her illusionary stomach.
There were three deep lacerations about an inch deep that cut diagonally across his body- from the left side of his abdominals all the way to his right pectoral muscle- exposing his raw, red flesh to the elements. Thankfully there wasn't any blood oozing out of them. But whatever crimson substance that previously leaked out of them stained his beautiful cotton-candy fur. No doubt it would take an insane number of Lapis' baths to remove it completely.
"…That's blood!" she realized when she looked at the ground again. "What happened?" she silently asked, but no one heard her. They were too busy fussing over him and rightfully so. The force of any gem weapon would've sliced him in half if the wielder wanted too.
She was taken out of her thoughts when she saw her hurt brother hunch over and growl loudly.
"GRRRRAH! N-no…not again" he cried before he started dry heaving. That's when everyone noticed a blinding flash of pink light before it disappeared.
"Recovery mode!"everyone realized.
"Pearl! Do you have another trashcan!?" Garnet asked.
"No, I don't! And I didn't empty the other one!" she cried.
Little thorns formed on top of Rudy's back; he was scared and didn't know what was going on. He started peeping – pleading – to his new friend to tell him what was wrong so he could help.
Connie immediately went behind him and started rubbing any part of his large back, just like the first time. "Levon you're okay, you're okay" she repeated, more so to keep her own mind from unravelling at the situation.
"There's no way he'll be able to walk up the steps in his condition and we're running out of time!" Garnet thought as she tried to turn on her future vision to see what possible solutions they could utilize. But due to her stressed state of mind, everything was blurry again. "OH C'MON! FOCUS!" she internally chanted, but with Levon's growling and Rudy's peep…wait…Rudy…
"THAT'S IT" she exclaimed.
"What? What's it!?" Pearl frantically asked.
"Pearl, help me make half a bubble so-"
"Levon can throw up into it!" Pearl finished.
The duo quickly concentrated their energy and formed a large cerise-colored bubble. "Levon…I know it hurts but you need to sit up" Garnet gently commanded.
"ROOOOWRRRRRRRR!" he howled and shook his head no.
"Levon…please" Pearl pleaded through her own choked voice. She hated feeling so helpless; her baby was in pain and she couldn't even touch him!
"This is bad! If it were just Steven it'd be easy to uncurl his small body. But now both he and Lion are experiencing the excruciating pain! And if we move him too quickly, it could cause more damage to him! C'mon future vision…work!" Garnet thought as she gritted her teeth.
Fortunately, another being was thinking up his own plan.
"Sit…Up" Rudy repeated in his own language; thankfully he can understand everyone else. He slithered to the ground in between Levon's legs and shaped his body like a horseshoe. "Sorry Levon" he spoke before shooting the ends of his body right at his deltoids, propping him up slightly.
"ROARRRRR!" he wailed before closing his mouth as he felt the toxic substance rise through his esophagus.
"NOW!" commanded Garnet as both she and Pearl placed the half bubble right underneath his mouth.
"Let it go Levon!" Pearl said and not a moment later he expelled the vile blood mixture.
"What in Home World?!" the enemy Amethyst thought as her whole body cringed in disgust – completely repulsed by the sickening sight.
Pearl had to close her eyes so she wouldn't faint whereas Garnet held her stance as best as she could, even though she was shaking.
Connie still kept rubbing his back, silently praying that this would end soon. Thankfully her prayers were about to be answered…though not in the way she expecting.
"HUMMMP BLAAAAAHHH"
With one last heave, Levon spit up a drenched, round mass of…something that almost splashed the bloody waste over the rim of the bubble. Fortunately Garnet sealed it in time before it got on anybody.
"W-What is that?" Connie asked as she came from in back of him.
Curiosity overtook Pearl's rational mind and she opened her eyes as well to see the floating mass. "Oh…my…rock…" she uttered as she covered her mouth.
"It's a hairball" Garnet answered as she sent the bubbled substance to the burning room.
"Roooowrrrrr….mrrrrroooooo" he moaned. Now that his body wasn't in a forced abdominal crunch, he started to lean backwards. And having Rudy push him was making him fall back faster!
"Rudy, that's enough! Pearl, help me lead him down. Connie, support his head" Garnet ordered and everyone followed her commands to the T.
Everyone got in the correct positions and all of them lead him safely to the ground so he could lie on his back. Once he was down, they noticed that the wounds didn't close up and that his breathing was shallow.
Connie kneeled down next to his head and Rudy slithered on top of his leg. "Levon…are you okay?" she quietly asked.
He slowly opened his eyes, but only half way. "Heh…déjà vu" he thought when he saw all of their concerned faces before a short coughing fit ensued.
"Levon! Do you need water?!" Pearl asked and he weakly nodded his head.
She quickly summoned a two liter bottle of the electrolyte-infused water. Connie held his head up while Pearl slowly poured the water into his mouth. It was no surprise that he drank the whole bottle.
"Thank…you" he smiled and they couldn't help but smile back. Even with his body almost ripped in half, he still managed to make everyone else feel at ease.
But Amethyst wasn't at ease at all. She was as still as a statue – trying to figure out what the heck just happened. And it didn't help her troubled state of mind when Pearl said, "…I don't understand. Why didn't these gashes close up?"
"Maybe…maybe his body didn't fully recover from Dark Stevonnie" Connie said.
"What?" she asked.
"It's been only three days. He needed a little over week to recover from Jasper's attack. If he keeps using his recovery power back to back without giving it the time to fully recharge, then it'll take longer for him to heal. Not to mention…these wounds are a lot more severe than a broken wrist or a broken arm. If they had been any deeper…" Connie couldn't even bring herself to finish that sentence before little tears slid down her face.
But the gems were still lost.
"But…these are just cuts. I've patched cuts up all time. These shouldn't have been an issue for his powers to heal right away" Pearl said.
"…That's because his body wanted to heal the most important injuries first!" Garnet realized.
"What? What do you mean?" "Pearl asked.
"Look at where these cuts are. What's right below them?" she asked.
"Right below…?**GASP** His heart…" she realized as the colored faded from her already pale skin.
Garnet took off her glasses and crushed them in her hand. "Had that wound been any deeper…it would sliced through his heart. And even if it missed that organ, his lungs would've been damaged and he wouldn't even be breathing right now. I'm sure those and his other organs were bruised due to the impact of the blow. Just imagine what his insides could've looked like if Rudy didn't soften the attack. His body was prioritizing what was needed to survive. At least he's not bleeding" she said before thinking "Why didn't I see this!?"
Amethyst collapsed to her knees when she heard that revelation. "He…he almost died! Again! What-!" Instinctively her thought train arrived at the accusatory station.
"That stupid home world bit-" she angrily deduced as she surged to her feet and gripped her whips…until she got good look at the enemy Amethyst. She didn't have a weapon. And if she was the one who inflicted those wounds, given what they've seen so far, she would've been bragging her head off. But she was just as stunned as she was.
Not to mention…Levon had three wounds. Not one. So it couldn't have been her unless she switched from using a single sickle weapon.
Then it dawned on her on what happened. The yelling…the frustration…the arm movement.
She gulped as she slowly glanced down at her weapon, hoping against all odds that the intruder was really the one that caused that injury so she could justify tearing her a new one.
But no…the nightmare was her reality.
The ends of her whips were coated with his brown-colored blood as well as having tufts of stained fur still attached to flesh and small shreds of his signature t-shirt. She threw the handle of the deadly weapon down in disgust and it disappeared without a trace. She looked at her trembling hands, but her vision was becoming obscured by the film of water covering her eyes.
"N-No…What have I done?" she thought as she closed her eyes and pulled at the ends of her hair.
"Amethyst"
She was taken out of her self-deprecating thoughts when someone gently called out her name. She opened her eyes and tentatively turned around, preparing herself to face the disapproving, hateful frowns that would've undoubtedly adorned her family's faces. But instead she was met with sad, apologetic looks from the rest of her comrades as well as Connie.
Garnet motioned for her to come over, but she vehemently shook her head no.
"…Levon wants to talk to you. Are you going to deny him his wish?" she asked.
She bit her lip and closed her eyes, pushing the pooled water out of her sockets. She took a shuddering breath and slowly trudged over to the fallen warrior. Garnet moved out of the way so she could stand next to him. But what really knocked her for a loop was the small, proud grin he sported.
"You did it"
"I know! I know! I'm so sorry Levon! GAH! What's wrong with me!?" she berated herself.
"Nothing's wrong with you" Levon gently roared, getting her attention.
"OH C'MON! How can you say that when you were bleeding to death!?" she cried.
"Because you didn't do this. I mean…yea you did in a sense – physically anyway. But I know it wasn't you. It was that negativity monster inside of you. It's kinda like how Connie and I fought against Pearl and Jasper when Dark Stevonnie was formed. But it wasn't us…more or less" he quietly added.
"Those are two completely different things" Amethyst sniffed as she wiped her nose on her arm.
"Not really. We attacked them because they made us angry, just like you were angry at me and-"
"I wasn't angry at you!" she yelled cutting him off. "I was angry at myself because of how weak I was! I hate showing my feelings! But…I couldn't help it. I mean, I thought I'd gotten over it when we apologized to each other while you were gone and during that training session with Jasper. Then those voices came made it worse. I…I just wanted them to stop. And I end up almost killing you!" she cried.
"But you didn't. This was an accident. I'm still here. A little sore and dirty but nothing a bath and a long nap won't fix. And whoever said showing your feelings makes you weak is full of snot! What's the point of having feelings if you don't show them?" he asked.
"How in the world can you take this so lightly?! Are you a saint or something!?" she exasperated.
"…What's a saint?" he asked.
"Basically it means a really good person" Connie explained.
"Oh! In that case we're all saints!" he happily exclaimed.
"What?! But you're the one who says all the right things and-"
"And who do you think taught me all of those things?" he asked and that silenced her. "Amethyst, I'm just following your guys' example. I have wisdom because I sought it out and all I'm doing is putting my own spin on it by connecting it with different things. I mean this isn't any different than when your gem was cracked and you were still coming up with ideas to help make my healing powers work" he explained.
"…You shouldn't be following me. I'm a weak, defective runt who can't do anything right" she quietly replied.
"Then you're in good company" Pearl smiled as a few tears trickled out of her eyes.
"She's right Amethyst. All of us are not the ideal standard of what is considered normal. Whether by Home World standards or Earth's. Luckily for us, Earth's standards are way more lax than Home World's. Sure humans have their ideals of how people – specifically genders – should act, but ultimately it depends on the person. That's the greatest freedom anyone can ask for" Garnet added.
"Yea! It's just like dad says, "If every pork chop were perfect"
"…We wouldn't have hot dogs" Amethyst finished with a smile.
"And all we're doing is taking the condiments –things that we like –and adding them to our own hot dog to make it a one of a kind delicacy" Levon added.
Amethyst smiled for a bit…but it disappeared when she looked at the ground.
"Amethyst" he called out and she gave him her attention.
"Remember when Garnet told me it was okay to feel weak? Well…I don't think any of us have any weak sides. We keep on fighting because we love each other and that gives us all the strength we need. So when we're weak we're strong and when we're strong we're strong. Its only when we give up that we're truly weak. And you didn't! You got rid of those stinkin' thinkin' vibes all on your own!" he praised.
"…You're the one who talked to it" she sadly corrected.
"Yea, but it was your call to let it out. Doesn't your mind feel a lot clearer now?" he asked.
"…A little bit" she blushed as she looked away from his sight.
"Now I know why you wanted to beat her and now you can. Like Jasper said, if you don't have a clear mind, you've already lost the battle."
Amethyst stared at the wise lion hybrid in front of her. "Levon…"
"You got this Amethyst! She ain't you and you ain't her. You're a one of a kind hot dog with mustard, engine oil, artichoke hearts, bologna, ranch chaaaps, whipped cream and a cherry on top!" he listed. That garnered a comforting laugh out of her whereas Pearl was completely disgusted at the thought of that creation.
"…Thanks Levon" she said as her laughter settled down. "And…I'm really sorry about...everything."
"If you want to make it up to me, then beat her. She's basically the manifestation of all your stinkin' thinkin' thoughts right? So win this duel and get rid of those thoughts for good, and maybe even knock some good sense into her too. After all, the bigger they are the harder they fall right?" he quoted while slowly lifting his forearm up like he was about to arm wrestle somebody.
"Heh…right" she chuckled as she grasped his massive hand with her own hands. "Thanks coach" she dubbed.
"You got it dude" he replied with a thumbs up. "And hey! I think I just came up with an idea!"
Amethyst leaned in close so he could whisper something into her ear. She smiled and nodded her head before turning around and shouting, "HEY! You ready for round two?!"
"H-Huh? Wh-What?!" replied the startled intruder. She snapped out of it once she saw her mini counterpart enter the stained arena. She shook her head and said, "Jeez…you gems are of your little pebble minds! You said I might learn something new huh? Well, everything I thought was right! You're all weak, weird and freakin' nasty! I don't know what the heck just happened and I don't care. You wounded your leader so this makes my job a whole lot easier" as she cracked her knuckles.
"Seyz you. There's no way I'm letting you lay a single finger on my family!" she declared as she summoned another pair of whips. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at the ends. "…No blood" she sighed in relief before returning her attention to the battle at hand.
"You're dumber than a ruby, y'know that right? Don't you get it? It doesn't matter how many weapons you summon or what moves you use, I'll always push you back. Cause I'm bigger and better!" she said as she drew her kusarigama out of her gem.
"Guys…help me up, please. I don't want to miss this" Levon said and the rest of the team helped him sit up while Rudy wrapped himself around his bicep.
"Levon, are you sure you'll be okay?" Pearl asked and he nodded his head.
Then he craned his flexible neck to lick his wounds with his surprisingly long tongue. Slowly but surely the lacerations started to close up, but needless to say it was a bit awkward to watch…especially when he had to bend over to lick his belly. Connie blushed and turned her head away because it looked like he was going towards his legs.
"Ugh…disgusting" home-world Amethyst muttered when she caught a glimpse of him. "Well, at least I agree with one thing that gunk spewin' creature said, I'm sure glad I ain't you!" she sneered.
"…Me too. I'm the only one that can handle all this awesomeness!" Amethyst confidently replied before spin dashing right towards her.
"Hmph…pathetic" home-world Amethyst thought before revving up for her own spin dash. The two combatants sped towards each, with the inevitable collision soon approaching. They'd sooner be smashed if any one of them played chicken.
However…the destined crash never occurred.
Instead the enemy Amethyst smashed through one of the ruined hands that was protruding out of the sand. She immediately uncurled herself and looked around the area, only seeing the audience in attendance.
"Where are you!? Come out and fight!" she called out as she walked around the battlefield. "Don't tell me you're a coward too!"
Levon had to cover his mouth so she wouldn't see the grin plastered on his face. "It's working!" he thought.
"Levon, what in the world did you tell Amethyst to do?" Pearl asked as they saw the intruding gem grunt in frustration as she paced along the sand.
"Pop up crab!" he replied.
"Pop up crab?" they questioned.
"Yea! Don't you guys remember? When I would come over to play with you guys on the beach?"
That's when an old memory resurfaced in Pearl's and Garnet's minds.
When Steven was a child, no more than five, Greg would swing by the temple once a week and drop him off for what he dubbed "Happy Beach Fun Day!" However, that particular day an urgent mission came up. But no one wanted to make him cry by cancelling his favorite play day.
"You guys go on ahead, I'll watch him" Amethyst volunteered.
"YAYYY!" cheered the little boy as he squeezed her in a grateful hug, before she picked him up over her head and spun him around.
"Now wait a minute! You-"
"Will need snacks. And sunblock" Garnet finished, cutting Pearl off.
"Okay!" he replied as both of them looked in Greg's van and pulled out the ice chest, his little back pack with clothes and towels, and an orange bottle of water resistant SPF 30.
"Garnet! You can't be serious!" Pearl hissed.
"I kinda agree with Pearl on this one. Are you sure she can handle baby-sitting him by herself?" Greg asked.
"They'll be fine. And if you're that worried about them, then let's hurry up and retrieve the relic before it activates. Besides…I don't want to miss "Happy Beach Fun Day" either" Garnet replied.
"We gots everythin'!" Steven cheered as they rejoined the group.
"Alright, bud. Be a good boy for Amethyst, promise?" Greg said.
"I promise! Bye Daddy, Bye Pearl, Bye Garnet!" All of them gave the boy their parting hugs and kisses before leaving the duo alone to their own devices.
"So Ste-man, whatchu wanna do?" Amethyst asked him.
All he gave for a response was a big, giggly grin. She couldn't help but match it; the giddy aura he was giving off was so infectious. Soon he rambled off a list of cool things to do and Amethyst eagerly listened, even adding her own twist on some things.
"Ready little man?"
"YEA!" he cheered as their full day of fun got underway.
Two hours later…
"What if Amethyst didn't take him to a restroom so he could use the bathroom? What if she ate all the snacks, even the ice cubes?! What if a dangerous ocean animal attacked him? What if he's sunburned?! What if"
After the fifth "what if", Garnet sighed and tuned out the hysterical Pearl as both of them floated in the warp stream.
Retrieving the Asguard Shield was simple enough, the only thing that delayed their mission was a swarm of Nack Nattle Gnats. They may be the size of a silver dollar, but they were sure annoying. And they bite too. It wasn't until they destroyed the king and bubbled the cinnamon-colored octagon gem that all the little soldiers poofed away as well.
"Stupid bugs" Garnet thought as she looked as her holey attire before repairing it. The last thing she needed was to have Steven worried about her "boo-boos".
"Pearl, your outfit" she pointed out.
"Huh? ...Oh" she blushed as she looked down at the nearly half eaten tunic. She instantly flashed another one on, and just in time because they were deposited in front of the entrance to their base. Before Pearl could call out Steven's name, her illusionary heart settled down bit when she saw him on the beach.
"Steven! We're back!" she announced but the boy didn't move.
"…Steven?" she called again. Still no response.
Her heartrate quickly elevated as she dashed off the warp pad and towards the immobile child. "STEVEN!"
"WHA!" he yelped.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?!" she yelled as she scooped him up, but she couldn't properly check him for injuries because he was squirming around too much.
"Pearl! Lemme go! Pop up crab!" he demanded.
"Pop up what?" she asked. That's when she looked down and noticed three CD sized holes in the sand. Then she saw the edge of the entrance to the left tunnel starting to slide down…like something was climbing up.
"There! Pop up crab! Lemme go! Me get her!" Steven yelled but Pearl wasn't having it.
"Oh no you don't! Crabs are dangerous and they pinch good little boys like you" she countered before using her feet to push sand over the holes.
"Awwwww! I'm gonna lose!" he cried.
"You're not going to lose anything, you're safe now. And speaking of safe…where's Amethyst?" she irritably asked.
"Pop up crab!" Steven answered.
"…A crab got Amethyst? …Oh no!" she exclaimed as she pulled out her spear.
"GAR-oh" She was about to shout Garnet's name until she saw her leader right behind her. "A crab monster grabbed Amethyst and it's underground right now!" she frantically explained.
"…"
Garnet didn't say one word but merely held her arms out so Pearl could give Steven to her.
"Garnet no! No monster! Amethyst-" but Garnet gently placed a finger on his lips, effectively shushing him.
"Watch" she said as a small smile appeared on her lips.
"Huh?" but his question would have to wait as she walked away to give Pearl some space to deal with the "threat".
"I got you now…" Pearl spoke to herself as she held her spear right above the area where the holes were. "C'mon out you little-"
Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, a small column of sand shot up into the air, startling her and causing her cross her arms in front of her face.
"GRAAH!"
"AHHH!"
The simultaneously yells echoed across the area. Pearl quickly shook her leg to rid herself of the odious creature that clamped down on it.
"Get OFF!" she screamed, but it wouldn't let go. She couldn't stab at it without risking her limb.
"Garnet help!" she cried as she spun around.
"…**sigh** Stop shaking" she replied.
"Are you crazy!? This-"
"Is Amethyst" she finished.
"…HUH?!"
She finally looked down and saw the purple little crab gripping her leg with her blunt pincer, trying her hardest not to burst out laughing. But it didn't take long before her air-swelled cheeks released the hysterical giggling.
"HAAAAHAHAHA!" she laughed as she rolled around in the sand clutching her little crab belly. "OH MAN I GOT YOU GOOD!" Tears wear streaming down her face as the chuckling continued; good thing gems don't need to breathe.
Pearl stared at the little troublemaker with clenched fists at her sides; her face was as blue as the ocean. She took a sharp inhale through her pointy nose and exhaled. She turned around and as calmly as she could asked, "Steven…what is all this?"
"Pip pop, you got caught" he replied as he shrugged his shoulders.
Garnet had to cover her mouth to hide the small smile. "So cute" she thought but Pearl huffed, crossed her arms and pointed her nose to the sky.
"Tell me Steven. How did you come up with the Pop Up Crab game?" Garnet asked.
With starry eyes he animatedly retold his fun time escapades; from riding on whale Amethyst's back all the way to how a little blue crab kept popping up out of his sandcastle towers, but he couldn't catch it, thus giving him the idea for the game.
"And I was gonna win too" he pouted as the stars disappeared from his pupils and he crossed his arms.
"Don't worry. I can help you. I have a secret technique on knowing where she'll pop out" she offered.
He gasped and asked, "Secret technique!? What is it?!"
"I'll tell you when you're older" she smiled.
"Awwww" he whined.
She chuckled and said, "C'mon, let's get back to our Happy Beach Fun Day. Amethyst, you ready…?"
Before she could ask if she'd be willing to do a couple more rounds of pop up crab, they saw Pearl scampering from hole to hole trying to catch the mischievous gem.
"Over here Pearl!" Amethyst taunted before disappearing underground.
"Grrr…why you little!" she fumed as she reach down the hole.
"Advanced level!" Steven marveled with starry eyes whereas Garnet sighed for the umpteenth time.
"…Hopefully she'll remember that she can control sand" she thought as they watched their competitive match.
"Oh…right. Pop Up Crab" Pearl remembered. "But how will that help in defeating her?"
Before he had a chance to answer, the home-world Amethyst let out a frustrated roar. "FINE! You forfeit the fight and their lives!" she declared as she summoned her weapon and faced the audience.
Garnet, Pearl and Connie immediately brought up their weapons and got in front of their hissing comrade. Before she could take one step towards them, a tall column of sand shot up into the air.
"WHAT?!" she shouted as she covered her eyes. Three whips emerged out of the sand, ensnaring the irate gem from shoulder to toe before being thrown onto her back – hard. Good thing sand has some natural cushioning.
"GRRR! WHAT THE—OOOF!" she grunted when her smaller counterpart dived bomb her gut. She held two whip handles in her right hand and one in her left, sporting the biggest smirk she could muster without laughing her head off.
"Pip pop…you got caught" she quoted as she pulled on the reins, causing the purple stone barbs to dig into her opponent's skin.
"GAAH! Let go of me!" she yelled.
"Did you really just ask me to do that? Who's the dumb one now?" she countered, causing the home world intruder to growl at her.
"HRRRRGH!" she grunted as she tried to abduct her shoulders in order to break through the whips, but Amethyst's impressive strength kept her bound.
"When I get out of this I'm gonna crack-GAH!"
A particularly hard pull silenced her threat. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that? All I heard was chitty chitty chat chat, chat chat chat! How about you say this…buh bye" she smiled with an eye wink. With that she pulled as hard as she could, but the stubborn gem still wouldn't poof.
However…something inside her opponent did break.
"Why you runt piece of sheet rock!" she seethed. Her rising anger from that smart aleck comment fueled her illusionary muscles to give her the strength needed to fulfill her ultimate desire. It wasn't just about winning anymore…she wanted to smash her gem into dust.
"GGRRRRRRAH!" With one last push, she managed to create a little crease. It may have been too small to initiate an escape, but it was all she needed. She reached for a dime-sized device attached to her hip and threw it onto the leg of the gem straddling her.
"GAAAAAAAA!" Amethyst screamed as a bright, neon-yellow spiky field surrounded her.
"AMETHYST!" the crowd yelled but soon her screaming was silenced as yellow maze-like lines covered her entire body. Arms separated from her shoulders…her white boots separated from her ankles…before ultimately her entire body poofed away into a cloud of purple smoke.
"Good riddance. Stupid pudgy little…" home-world Amethyst muttered to herself as the bindings disappeared as well, allowing her to sit up. She grabbed the purple stone that had fallen on her belly as well as her expanded, CD size and shaped secret weapon.
"Tch…I'll admit it. I didn't think she'd be so annoying. Should've just used the destabilizer in the first place" she chastised herself as she shrunk the gem weapon back down to its compact, dime size and attached it back to her hip.
The group of onlookers were stunned. Amethyst had her on the ropes. Literally! And then she just…
"THAT'S CHEATING!" Levon roared once that realization passed through his mind. His anger propelled him to his feet - his pain long forgotten.
"YEA! This was supposed to be a duel using only your natural abilities!" Connie added.
"Heh. Sorry, didn't get that memo" she smirked as she tossed Amethyst's gem up and down. "Besides…anything goes in a fight, freak. And like you're one to talk! You got a filthy war machine standing right next to you!" she countered as she pointed to Garnet. That elicited as small growl out of the two-gem leader.
"But whatever. You'll all end up like her anyway" she stated as she caught the inert stone.
She held it between her ring finger and thumb and looked at it. "What was it that you wanted me to say?" she sneered as she took out another kusarigama out of her gem, but this one was a lot shorter than the rest of'em. If anything the blade end looked like it was attached to the ball directly, but there was still a little silver of threading between them. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw her hold it up high like a hammer.
"Oh…right" she smirked as she glared at it. "Buh Bye" as she brought the hammer down.
"NO!" everyone yelled.
Pearl and Connie raised their spear and sword respectively like a javelin and Garnet brought her gauntleted-fists up, ready to launch them at her.
But…none of them even had a chance to do so. Not even the home-world Amethyst had a chance to use her weapon.
Once again everyone was stunned at the sight they were witnessing. Levon was already on the beach hoisting the terrified intruder high in the air.
"H-How…When…" Pearl stuttered as all of them lowered their weapons. The last thing they wanted to do was hurt him further.
Home-world Amethyst couldn't even speak any words let alone form any in her head. She stared at the blood-red pupil-less eyes of the enraged, snarling fusion. He squeezed the wrist that was holding the hammer ball until she released it. An agonizing scream sent unpleasant shivers down the spines of everyone in attendance.
Then he grabbed her by her other wrist and held her like he was going to pull her apart. He squeezed it until she released Amethyst's gem. Rudy extended his vine body and caught it before it hit the sand and was washed away by the tide. He coiled himself around his bicep while keeping her gem safely between his body and Levon's.
"W-Wait! D-Don't!" she finally stuttered but it fell on his deaf, slicked-back ears.
Well…scratch that.
The only response she got was a deep-throated, almost sinister growl that sounded like a completely different creature.
Connie gulped when she heard him and gripped the hilt of her sword even tighter. "…Be ready" she chanted to herself.
Panic seeped into the intruder's body as her pupils shrunk in horror. "L-Let me go you f-freak!" she screamed as she fruitlessly tried to land a kick on his hairless scars. But Levon held her away from his body and pulled on her arms nice and tight so she would stop moving.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Everyone cringed when they saw the macabre sight. It looked as though her humerus was taken out of the shoulder socket…if she had any bones.
"M-Mercy" she cried but all that did was cause him to furrow his eyebrows deeper.
"Re…ac…tion!" he hissed before opening his massive jaws and sinking his razor-sharp fangs straight into her jugular, destroying her instantly.
No one uttered a single word. No adulations…no congratulations…not even any relieved laughter.
Nothing.
Everyone was paralyzed in their places as they stared at the muscular backside of the still livid fusion. Her gemstone fell at his feet – the foamy water gently going over it. He picked it up between his ring finger and thumb and examined the facets.
The rest of the group silently approached him.
"…Hm? Grrrrr…." he growled as he stopped his examination.
Garnet, Connie and Pearl got to him just as he brought the inert rock to his open mouth.
"LEVON! NO!" Pearl shouted. She tried to grab his tail or any part of his body to stop him from doing the unthinkable…having his pure hands soiled with the "blood" of another being. But she was impeded by his impenetrable bubble shield.
"LEVON!" she shouted as she furiously pounded on the shield. "DON'T DO IT! DON'T-" but as quickly as the shield was up, it immediately disappeared. Pearl almost landed on her face but she kept her balance.
"…No" she quietly said as she held her hand to her mouth. "He's a child! A perfect lovable child! He shouldn't be this!" she thought as she closed her eyes. She clutched her abdomen…she felt sick to her stomach knowing that he had now become…a killer. Despite the circumstances, she would rather have her own gem shattered before that label was placed upon him.
Suddenly a warm hand grabbed her shoulder. "Pearl…look" Garnet softly commanded.
Although she didn't want to, she knew that she had to. He would probably be confused about what he had done…if he was aware of it at all. She knew how he valued life and knowing that he ended one would send him spiraling into unknown depths of despair. "I need to be strong…for him" she realized and she slowly opened her eyes.
But the sight before her wasn't the one she was expecting.
Levon was facing them with his pupil-filled eyes and a rose-colored bubble levitating slightly above his right hand.
"Y-You…you didn't break her gem" she said relieved.
"YOU'RE OKAY!" Connie cheered as she hugged his leg, soaking his fur with her tears. "I-I thought you were…you were…" she sputtered.
Levon showed a small grin and patted her on the head. "I know. Anger is a neutral emotion. I used it to give me a clear objective. Protecting you…all of you. Even her" he clarified as he looked at the bubble.
"B-But it looked like you were going to eat her" Pearl said.
"I saw that there were small cracks in her gem, so I used my healing spit to fix'em" he explained.
"Leap to conclusions and you leap to confusion" Garnet said, causing her and Connie to blush out of embarrassment. But it quickly fled with the happy realization that Levon was still the same compassionate boy through and through.
"Levon…thank you for protecting us and our home" Garnet smiled.
"That's just what a family do, right?" he smiled back, but Garnet surprised him by replying, "No."
"Huh?"
"Not all families do that…but I'm so thankful that we do" she clarified before enveloping everyone in a hug with her stretchy arms.
"Speaking of…wh-where's Amethyst?" Pearl asked as they were released from the hug.
"Rudy has her" he answered. Taking that as his cue, Rudy uncoiled himself and placed the stone in Levon's free hand.
"…Will she be okay?" he asked.
"Physically speaking she'll be fine. But…I don't know about mentally. She'll need some time" Garnet answered and Levon solemnly nodded his head before sending the bubbled Amethyst to the temple.
"I'm just glad that this is over…for now" Pearl commented.
"Indeed" Garnet agreed as she took the purple gem out of Levon's hand. But everyone's relieved state of mind was broken when they heard him groan.
"Levon! Are you okay?" Connie asked.
"Yea…just tired" he replied as he rubbed his scars.
"I can only imagine. C'mon, you're way overdo for your siesta…little warrior" Garnet smiled.
"I'm**yawwwwn** not little" he yawned.
"You'll always be my little warrior" she fondly replied and he gave in and nodded in agreement.
Just as all of them stepped onto the grassy hill, they saw Lapis running down the stairs with Peridot right behind her.
Well…almost. "OOF! GUH! OW!"
"Ooooo" everyone cringed as she stumbled down the stairs and landed on her face.
"Ughhhhh…stupid wooden stairs" she muttered to herself as she got up and brushed the grass blades off of her.
"Are you okay Peridot?" Levon asked.
"Yea…I'm fine" she irritably replied as she joined the group.
"But what about you?! Are you okay?!" Lapis asked as she ran her hands over his hairless scars.
"Yea, I'm okay. Just tired. But we won!" he happily replied.
"I know! We saw everything! I'm just glad you're not seriously hurt" Lapis replied.
"Indeed! Do you have any idea how hard it was to calm Lazuli down when we saw Amethyst slash you with her whips? She would've sunk the whole city!" Peridot sorta exaggerated.
Everyone stared at the blue gem. She looked at the ground and whispered, "I…I was just so mad and-" But she was cut off when Levon picked her up and gave her a reassuring hug.
She buried her face into his chest and hiccupped, "I-I thought I lost you again."
"Don't worry Lapis. I'm not going anywhere. I promise" he replied as he set her down. She nodded her head and wiped away the mist from her eyes.
"But what a battle! I'm glad I'm on your side. You're quite…ferocious when something provokes you, which will be duly noted" Peridot sorta complemented as she jotted down some notes on her holo-screen.
"Oh…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you guys" he said as his ears drooped.
"Peridot!" Lapis hissed as she hit her on her shoulder.
"What? What I'd say?" she questioned.
"What Peridot meant was that we're grateful to have someone who'll go to such lengths to protect us" Lapis clarified before thinking, "Although I wish you wouldn't have to."
"You didn't scare us Levon. We were scared for you. But in the end it was unnecessary…like it usually is" Pearl added.
"Well there's nothing to worry about now. We can take on anything that comes our way!" he declared.
"Errr…"
Everyone stared at the green gem when she let out that nervous groan.
"…What?" Garnet asked.
Peridot and Lapis looked at each other and the former spoke, "Well…there is one more thing that should occupy our thought processes" as she twiddled her fingers.
"What is it? And where's Jasper?" she asked.
"Jasper…isn't here. She's at the kindergarten." Lapis answered.
"What? Why?" they all asked.
That's when Peridot told them everything about the possible threat of Commander Jet aka Pitch Black. "She said she had a plan in the event her speculation proved accurate. But it might be just crazy paranoia" she tried to laugh it off but Levon shut her down when he said, "No…it's not. I picked up a strange scent. It kinda smelled like rotten eggs."
"Rotten eggs? You mean those little white oval things that contain that yellow substance you consume? Phew! And here I was worrying over nothing" Peridot grinned.
"No Peridot, you don't understand. On Earth when metal smiths smelt metal, it can release gaseous sulfuric acid into the air and to us…it smells similar to rotten eggs" Connie clarified.
Peridot's pupils shrunk with that startling information and tiny electrical pulses traversed throughout her body. "…Oh no" she quietly mumbled before running her fingers through her hair. "Great…just great! We're dead! I'm dead, you're dead, everybody's dead!" she frantically spouted.
"Peridot calm down" Lapis tried to say but the scared gem shouted back, "CALM DOWN?! This is Pitch Black! The one who has killed more gems and species than I can begin to even imagine! The one who fought WHITE DIAMOND!"
"And lost"
"Wh-what?"
"She lost to a diamond" Levon repeated. "She may be strong, but she's not invincible."
Sensing where he was going with this Lapis pleaded, "Levon no! You can't fight her all alone!"
"I'm not alone" he smiled.
"You know what I meant! Levon…please. You're wounded…you're tired. I-I'm trying really hard not to worry but this…this is just too much!" she shouted as little tears slid down her face.
"She's right Levon! Not to mention you're still recovering from the…other ordeal" Pearl added as she carefully chose her words.
"Pearl. Lapis. Garnet. Peridot. Connie. I'll be fine, I just made a promise to you guys remember? I'll take care of her just like I did with big Amethyst. Besides…at least I have more than nine lives."
Before they could object, because he knew they would, he tore open a portal above his head and quickly jumped through it.
"LEVON!" they all shouted but the only ones that heard it were themselves.
"We have to go after them!" Lapis shouted.
"No" Garnet spoke, stopping them in their tracks.
"Garnet…I understand what you've been saying about worrying and whatever else but this is really pushing my limits!" Pearl countered.
"You really expect us to sit here while he and Jasper face off against that assassin?!" Lapis added.
"I do" she forcefully said and everyone quieted down. "We'd be a liability based on how you described her. They're the only ones who can defeat her."
"Y-You said defeat. That means he's going to win! ...Right?" Peridot asked.
"…I do see that possibility, but I also see others where neither he nor Jasper survive. It all depends on him" she replied, shredding whatever hope was left among them.
"That's not very assuring!" Peridot exasperated.
Garnet shrugged her shoulders and replied, "One of the perks of having "future vision." I can control my destiny…but not anyone else's. All I can do is show them the paths I see if they want it, then it's their call from there. But…one thing is crystal clear that can't be avoided."
She looked at the anxious group, waiting with baited breath for her response.
"What is it?" Connie finally asked for them.
She sighed before looking up at the sky. "…I should've followed my own advice from the beginning."
Round 1 is in the books...but not without some casualties. How will Amethyst recover from her defeat? Will Jasper and Levon be able to defeat Pitch Black? What did Garnet see? Tune in for the next part of "One on One".
So I figured since Amethyst likes to joke around but still makes others uncomfortable sometimes, but at least she corrects it once she knows she goes too far, home world Amethyst would be no holds barred and mean everything she says, regardless of how others feel. But now that she's been fixed and caught of glimpse of how things are different...how will her demeanor change now?
Looks like Mo and Curly got their revenge in a way. Could it be that all that hurt and anger from the shed blood of their race transferred into Pitch Black's psyche?
I know things kinda got a little graphic there, I hope you're okay with that. I know I wouldn't want to mess with Levon.
Now for some news. First...my parent's divorce is more or less finalized and now my mom is moving out the beginning of August, so i'll be helping her get situated and with rent. This is uncharted territory for me so can I ask for your prayers during this transition time?
Second, I passed my CPR training. Once I get that license in the mail, I can take my final exam for personal training.
Thank you guys so much for all your support. I can't believe this story has been going strong for a year and a half now and what a wild ride it's been. It'll keep on going strong no matter what. Thank you all!
I don't own Steven Universe, just my imaginative capabilities.
Shadeslayer: my profile pic is a little fishman character I created named Addai Razorfin and his gang/family the Canola Outlawz.