Merry Christmas to you all (for those who celebrate it). Here's is my gift for you folks, a new chapter. In the upcoming year, I'll try to upload this story more often. The characters in this story belongs to Rebecca Sugar, enjoy.

Chapter 21

Getting to know you

Jet inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled, activating Berserker Mode in the process. It was early morning in Beach City and the sun was just starting to raise over the still sleeping city. Jet wanted to get some early morning training in since he was in the mood for it. He wanted to see if he could extent the duration of Berserker Mode because the limit it was currently at wasn't enough. He was sure that Topaz was out there somewhere, getting stronger in the process. He hated to admit it but Topaz was one of the toughest opponent he ever faced, so far. If he ever came across Topaz again, he wanted to make sure that his Berserker Mode could last the duration of the fight. Jet gritted his teeth as electricity started to gather around him. Unknown to him, the gems were watching him train. They were on the temple's porch, watching Jet train on the beach.

"Where does he get that power from?" Pearl asked, folding her arms while looking at Jet.

"I heard that his gem kind was rare." Garnet said, pushing her visor closer to her face. "They were ordered to be wiped out by the diamond authority. His kind was a powerful gem race that the authority feared. His power is understandable." The gems cover their eyes because a small burst of sand headed their way. Amethyst looked at Jet in wonder. She started to wonder what kind of training did Jet go through to gain this power that she was witnessing.

Jet reached behind his back and drew his weapon from his gem. He noticed a presence and glanced to notice that Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst were watching him. He smiled to himself and vanished from their eyesight. They let out a gasp of surprise and wondered where he went. He suddenly appeared in front of them, his golden eyes staring at them.

"Yo." He greeted, causing them to gasp.

"H-Hi Jet." Pearl said, a bit nervous at his current appearance.

"If you wanted to see me train you could've ask." He said, grinning his fangs at them. He vanished and reappeared on the beach once more.

"That is one strange guy." Amethyst said. "But he's one strange guy that kinda I like." Pearl and Garnet looked at each other and smiled at that.

"Oh?" Pearl said. "And what exactly do you like about him?" Amethyst blushed at this.

"W-Why do you want to know?" Amethyst said.

"Answer the question, Amethyst." Garnet said, smiling at her.

"Well..." Amethyst said, looking at Jet. "He's cool and funny. He's caring and he's just a great guy."

"Oh?" Pearl said, looking at Jet herself. Jet was breathing hard, he was normal again. His Berserker limit was up.

"Dammit." He muttered. "I need more time. I can't beat Topaz like this." He started to force started Berserker Mode. It shocked him for trying to force start it and he gritted his teeth and kept trying anyway. That was a bad idea because when he did, it shocked him even more causing him to scream in pain. He kneeled on the ground, unable to stand from the shock. The gems noticed and jumped down from the porch to see if he was OK. He held his hand up, halting them from coming any closer.

"I'm...OK." He said, through labored breathing. He tried to stand but his legs gave out on him.

"No, you're not." Amethyst said, walking over to where he was. Pearl and Garnet followed suit.

"Why do you push yourself so hard?" Garnet asked. "You're strong. Do you feel the need to be stronger than you already are?" Jet smiled at her weakly.

"You should know that Garnet." Jet said. "Don't you strive to be the best?" Garnet nodded her head. "I've been pushing myself beyond my limits since I was little." Jet stood up, his legs shaking in the process. "Is Steven up yet?"

"No." Pearl said.

"I want to share something with all of you." Jet said, finding it difficult to walk. Garnet and Pearl helped him keep his balance by holding him up. "I want you folks to know about my past and why I push myself so hard."

Jet recovered for his training session and he was feeling great. As soon as he got into the temple, he crashed on the couch and slept for a good 3 hours. Jet had asked the gems and Steven to gather around him and sit on the floor with him. They raised their eyebrow but sat on the floor anyways.

"The reason why I gather you here was for you to know more about me." Jet said.

"And how do we go about doing that?" Amethyst said.

"Simple." Jet said. "I'm going to pull you guys into my mind."

"What?" Pearl said, raising an eyebrow.

"Pearl, remember the time that I went into Steven's mind?" Pearl nodded her head. "I'll be pulling you guys into my mind, it's a simple process really."

"You went into Steven's mind?" Garnet asked, mildly surprised. Jet nodded his head at her.

"Now, place you hand on any part of my body and we can start." Jet said, closing his eyes. He felt a hand on both of his shoulders and a hand on his knee. He also felt a hand on his chest and was really hoping that it was one of the gems and not Steven. Once everyone place a hand on him, they were pulled inside of Jet's mind.


Inside of Jet's Mind

"Welcome to the inside of my mind, my fellow gems." Jet said. It was dark but the gems could tell that they were alright where they were. "Couple of rules before the "tour" starts. Rule one, please do not activate your powers while you're inside my head, I don't know what it'll do to my body. Rule two, do not be offended by what you see, this is my past. Rule three, do not talk to the past images for they will not respond back to you." He started to laugh at that last part, causing the gems to look at one another.

"I can't believe that this is actually happening." Pearl said, looking around.

"Well, it is." Jet said. "Now, I'm going to take you to the earliest memory I can remember." The area around them started to change and the group find themselves outside of an old run down looking dojo and they could hear screaming inside.

"What's that noise?" Steven asked.

"Let's look." Jet said, as he walked through the door. The gems gasped and looked at one another. Jet poked his head through the door. "It's a memory guys. Nothing here is real, it's just images of my past. Now c'mon!" Jet mentioned them over and the gems took one last look at one another and walked through the dojo. The first thing that they noticed was that a kid with a kendo stick was sent flying into the nearest wall, hitting it with massive force.

"Get up, Jet!" A man with an afro said. He was wearing a white gi and sandals. He was also a little on the short side standing at about 5 feet, 7 inches. He had a muscular built and he was sweat a bit. The kid pulled himself from the ground, scowling at the man who sent him flying.

"Stupid dad." kid Jet said. He had a miniature afro and he was wearing a white gi as well. He was standing at about 4 feet and he was bleeding a little. "This is stupid. I'm only 6, why do I need to learn how to fight with a sword?" The gems gasped upon seeing Jet as a kid, there was clearly a big difference between the two.

"Aww, you were such a cute kid!" Amethyst said, causing Jet to blush.

"I've been told." Jet said, watching his younger self take a stance. His younger self charged at his father only to get struck in the stomach with a powerful kick that sent him flying towards the wall again. Kid Jet groaned upon hitting the wall once more.

"You are a special kid Jet." His father said, walking towards him. "You have a power that no other person has. Hopefully, I can draw it out from you." Kid Jet slowly got to his feet, he was breathing rather hard. His father noticed and smiled a little.

"We can continue some other time." His father said, as he started to walk away.

"No." Jet said, his eyes changing color in the process. His father eyes widen at Jet's sudden eye change.

"Your eyes." His dad said. "They're just like your mother's. So, you inherited her powers?" Kid Jet started to walk towards his father and his father took a stance. Kid Jet wasn't bothered by his father's defensive stance and kept walking slowly towards him. Once Kid Jet got close enough, his father threw a powerful kick towards his son but his eyes widen in surprise when he realized that his son caught his leg. Kid Jet's eyes widen as well for he didn't know what was going on at the moment.

"How am I doing this, dad?" He said, still holding his father's leg. "Am I some sort of freak?" He released his father's leg and slumped down on the ground. His father walked up to him and kneel down.

"You're not a freak." Jet's father said. "You're something special. Your mother asked me to train you so that you can be a powerful warrior. You just prove that you're getting there. Remember that you're my son and I love you no matter what." Kid Jet smiled at this.

"I love you too, dad!" Kid Jet said, hugging his father. The scenario changed and Jet and the others found themselves outside this time, with a slightly older Jet. He was training with his kendo stick in the garden of the dojo. A gang of kids walked up to where he was.

"Look at the little loser, practice with his little stick." A boy with bleach blonde hair said. He was the same height as Kid Jet and he towered the others. He had a delinquent look to him and he had on a muscle t-shirt and a Mohawk to boot. He walked closer to Kid Jet and Kid Jet ignored him.

"Didn't you hear me, loser?" The boy asked, inches from Kid Jet's face. Kid Jet scowled at him.

"I hear you, Yoshimaru." Kid Jet said, resuming his training. "But unless you want to talk smart to me, please leave me alone." A vein appeared on Yoshimaru's forehead and he grabbed Kid Jet by the collar of his shirt.

"You shitty foreigner!" Yoshimaru screamed. "What makes you think that you can talk to me like that?" A smirk came across Kid Jet face and Yoshimaru raised an eyebrow. Kid Jet said nothing and reeled his head back.

"What the he-?" Yoshimaru continued finished, as Kid Jet headbutted Yoshimaru as hard as he could. Yoshimaru was sent flying from the impact. The others looked at Kid Jet and Kid Jet eye's changed red. The others noticed and started to back away.

"What wrong fellas?" Kid Jet said, walking slowly towards them. "Is this little foreigner scaring you?" The others looked at each other and took off, screaming in terror. Jet smiled at this and the scenario changed once more, this time, it was at a high-school and a much older Jet. This Jet looked like a delinquent and a group of teenagers walked up him, surrounding him. A taller guy, much taller than Jet at the time, walked up to him and held him up by the collar.

"Yoshimaru." Jet said, coldly as he was being held up. "What do you want? Must we do this dance every morning and every time we meet? You know what's gonna happen, I kick your ass and you get up to try again. Just leave me alone today." Yoshimaru had a scar over his left eye and he pretty much looked the same as he did as a child, except that he was buffer and his face was more mature.

"You had quite the mouth on you." Pearl said, looking at the scenario unfold in front of her.

"Still kinda do." Jet said, smiling weakly. "I toned it down a little." Jet watched as Yoshimaru rubbed the scar that Jet gave him when they were younger.

"Tch." Yoshimaru scoffed, still holding Jet by the collar. "Let the dance continue, my hate nemesis." Jet raised an eyebrow at that.

"Nemesi-" Jet couldn't finished as he was headbutted in the forehead. Jet was sent flying but he had a smile on his face. Jet hit the ground hard, causing a dust cloud to form around him. The others laughed and started to cheer.

"You showed him, Yoshimaru!" One guy said.

"You the man!" Another said.

"That's the way!" One more said. Jet started to laugh as he got up. The others stopped and gritted their teeth in anger. Jet eyes flashed red and he started to crack his knuckles.

"So." Jet said, darkly. "Who wants to die, first?" The guys started to run and the scenario changed once more.

"It's best that you don't see what I did to them." Current Jet explained, making everyone else sweat drop in the process. The scenario changed to a rooftop and Jet was taking a nap. He was wearing a school uniform which consisted of a black top and black jeans with black dress shoes. He had his backpack laying on the side of him. He was snoring lightly until a guy with glasses hit up upside the head. Jet opened one eye to peep at who hit him.

"Josh." Jet said, looking at the guy who hit him. "What do you want?" Josh smiled at Jet and sat down next to him.

"Is that anyway to treat your buddy?" Josh asked, putting his backpack down next to Jet's. Josh had blonde hair and was wearing the same uniform as Jet. Josh was a couple of inches shorter than Jet but he was also a little slimmer as well.

"Buddy?" Jet scoffed, as he continued to keep his eyes closed. "Define buddy."

"Buddy as in a close friend." Josh said, pushing up his glasses to his face. "As in someone you consider close. As in-"

"Smartass." Jet scoffed, making Josh laugh at this.

"Wow, that mouth of yours." Amethyst said, looking at the current Jet. Jet smiled at her then his smile slowly faded. Amethyst remembered that this was the friend that betrayed Jet's trust. She found herself frowning a bit and wondered exactly what happened.

"Jet." Josh said, causing Jet to look at him with one eye. "You got stop skipping class dude. I know that you don't like it here because it's not the country that you were born in but don't use that as an excuse to skip class." Jet scoffed once more.

"It's because I'm not from here that I don't like to attend class." Jet said, opening his eyes and clenching his fist. "Everyone here hates foreigners. They never give me a chance, ever since I was a kid. I'm a weirdo with powers and an alien mom I never met."

"Man, that's rough." Josh said. "But at least you got your buddy Josh here."

"Stop saying that." Jet said, making Josh laugh. "But... I appreciate it though." He held out his fist and Josh bumped it with his own.

"No problem." He said, smiling a bit. "I got some interesting news for you though."

"What is it?" Jet asked, slightly interested.

"I heard that Hatsumi from class 2-b has a crush on you." Josh said, causing Jet to sit up.

"Word?" Jet said. Josh nodded his head yes. "That big breasted girl likes me?" Steven blushed upon hearing this. He felt as though he shouldn't be hearing this conversation at all. The gems looked at Jet, causing him to sweat drop a bit.

"What?" Current Jet asked. "I'm a normal guy. Is it wrong to have a taste in girls?" They continued to look at him for a few moments before they turned their heads and looked at the scenario unfold before them.

"Yep." Josh said, grinning a bit. "Go talk to her. I'm sure she'll go out with you if you ask."

"Alright, I'll do just that!" Jet said, pumping his fist in the air. The scenario changed and the gang found themselves outside of the school building. It was raining and Jet was standing outside, his school uniform soaked. His afro was matted by the rain and he was looking up at the school roof. There were the victims that he beat up at his feet. There was at least 20 or so guys, either groaning or unconscious. Jet picked up a guy near his feet, his eyes glowing a fierce red.

"Who put you up to this?" Jet asked, as he picked the guy up by the collar. "Where is she? Where's Hatsumi?"

"Like I'd tell you." The guy said, spitting in Jet's face. A vein appeared on Jet's forehead.

"Wrong answer, trash!" Jet growled and headbutted the guy, knocking him out cold. Jet released his unconscious victim and ran towards the inside of the building. Luckily, there was no one inside to stop him. He ran to the rooftop as fast as he could and burst through the rooftop door. His eyes widen in horror at what he was witnessing. Hatsumi and Josh were making out right in front of him. Jet felt his anger boiling inside of him.

"Josh!" Jet said, walking towards them. "What the fu-" Jet couldn't finish his sentence as he was sent crashing into the ground. He looked up to see Yoshimaru holding a steel pipe. Jet anger kept him conscious for the time being.

"Wow, he actually showed up." He heard Yoshimaru say. "This foreign trash actually cares about people."

"W-What's going...on?" Jet asked, weakly. He didn't have the strength to get up.

"Simple." Josh said, walking to were Jet was. "I struck a deal with Yoshimaru here. The deal was simple, for you see, I was never really a friend of yours. I'm a member of Yoshimaru's gang. Hatsumi here was in on the plan as well." Josh pushed his glasses up to his face." The goal was simple as well. It was to find your weakness. Yoshimaru needed someone to gain your trust to find out a little more about you."

"Jet." Hatsumi said. "I never really cared about you. This was all part of the plan... the only good thing about pretending to be your girlfriend was that you were good in the sack." Jet gritted his teeth and started to get up. Yoshimaru noticed and hit him in the back with the steel pipe. Jet screamed in pain and collapsed on the wet ground.

"Leave this town, Jet." Josh said, coldly. "No one and I mean, no one cares about you." Jet gritted his teeth and started to get up once more. Yoshimaru hit him in the back once more. This was all Jet could take as he passed out from his injuries. The scenario changed showing Jet in the same location and it was still raining. The others were gone and he was the only one on the rooftop. He opened his eyes and slowly got up. He kneel on the ground, taking all what he heard to heart. He started to cry, realizing that the two people he thought he trusted, played him like a fool. He started to punch the ground with one fist then he shouted, the pain too much to keep quiet.

During the screaming, streams of electricity started to form around him. He didn't notice as he continued to cry away his sorrow. Amethyst took a glance at the current Jet and noticed that he was smiling a little. His eyes showed sorrow at that moment but he didn't physically show it. The Jet that they were watching had a field of electricity around him as he continued to cry in the mist of the raining night.

The scenario changed yet again and this time it showed Jet by his father's bed side. They were currently in the location of a local hospital and Jet was holding his father's hand. Jet's eyes lacked the emotion he had when he was younger. He looked down at his sick father and frown at his father's condition. His father smiled weakly at Jet.

"My son." Jet father said. "I'm sorry... for everything."

"What are you talking about, dad?" Jet asked, slightly confused.

"For bring you to this country..." His father said. "For bring you to Japan." Jet smiled faintly at his father.

"It wasn't that bad." Jet said. "I learned to be a better fighter because of this place. A stronger man for it."

"Don't lie to me." His father said. "You hated this place ever since you were little."

"Yeah." Jet said. "I can't trust anyone here. Well, besides you dad." His father laughed weakly.

"Listen, Jet." His father said. "The doctors said I'm not gonna make it through the night." Jet eyes widened at this. "The sickness is spreading through-out my body and there is no known cure." Jet eyes started to water a bit. "There are two options for you: you can either finish school here or..."

"Yeah?" Jet asked.

"You can do what you mother wanted you to do and explore the world and look for something called corrupted gems." Jet's father explained. "She wanted you to become something called a gem hunter. I don't know the meaning of any of it, but that was her wish."

"That sounds like the better option." Jet said.

"That's good because I have been saving money in an account for you before you were born." Jet's father said.

"That's pretty wicked dad." Jet said. Jet's father laugh weakly at that. The scenario changed again and this time the scenario was in a city that was familiar to Steven.

"Wow, Jet." Steven said with stars in his eyes. "You were in Empire City."

"Yeah." Current Jet said. "It was my birthplace and where I spent my life before my dad decide to move to New Tokyo. The reason he moved to New Tokyo was because of his job. This was one of the first cities I traveled to when my father passed away. I couldn't go to his funeral because I didn't want to see my father buried but I did go to his grave though. I made him a promise to live my life differently and to fulfill my mother's wishes." Steven nodded his head in understanding.

It was night time in the city and the lights of Empire City made the sky brighter. Jet was carrying a traveler's bag (kinda like Ryu does) and he was looking for a place to stay for the night. He was wearing his old attire which consisted of his trench coat, black slacks and black tennis shoes. He looked around and noticed that there was people running in his direction. He raised an eyebrow until he noticed what the people was running from. There was a giant figure that had arms flailing all around it. Jet started to back up until the creature noticed him and made a dash towards him. Jet eyes turned red and he throw his traveler's bag to the side.

"Why now?" He said, as he clenched his fist and throw a punch towards the creature. The punch landed on the creature body and it didn't do anything. The creature slapped Jet so hard that he went airborne. Jet coughed up spit from the hit and landed on his feet.

"This sucks." He said as the creature started to approach him again. "Well, I might as well use this." And by this, Jet's gem started to glow and he adjusted his trench-coat to pull out his katana. The monster backed up a little when it noticed that Jet was armed with a weapon.

"What's the matter, big guy?" Jet asked as he let a smirk form on his face. "Scary of me now?" The creature started to run away from him. Jet widen his eyes in surprise then started to chase after it. "Screw this." Jet started to charge his free hand (which was his left hand) and started to fire blasts of electricity towards the monster. Unfortunately, the monster dodged his attacks so Jet ended up hitting everything but the monster. That included cars, buildings, food carts and anything else that was unfortunate to be in the way. The creature eventually got away from Jet and Jet huffed in annoyance. Jet started to go back to get his bag until he heard the sound of cuffs being placed on him.

"Young man, you're in a lot of trouble." An officer said, placing the handcuffs on Jet.

"For what?" Jet asked, clearly annoyed.

"Don't you see all of that property damage you've caused." The officer said. Jet looked and noticed the flipped cars and burning food carts, He also noticed the burnt marks on the building.

"How do you know that was me?" Jet defended himself.

"We have witnesses that can identify you kid." The officer said. A vein appeared on Jet's forehead.

"I don't have time for this..." Jet said, closing his eyes.

"Well, you're gonna make ti-" The officer couldn't finish as he was currently getting zapped. Jet had made an electrical current through his body and unfortunately for the cop, he was grabbing Jet's arm at the time. The officer was on the ground, twitching from the shock.

"Sorry." Jet said, his eyes flashing red. He easily broke the cuffs that were bounding him. "I was trying to save the citizens of this city. I realized that you were doing your job but unfortunately, your job comes with risks."

"Wow, dude." Amethyst said. "You shocked a cop. That's pretty rad."

"No, it isn't." Pearl said, looking at the cop twitch. "That poor human."

"I can understand why Jet did that." Garnet said. "He was in the way." The other looked at Garnet and sweat drop a little bit. The scenario changed once again and the gems realize the location they were currently in. It was the outskirts of Beach City. Jet was standing outside of the limits and his discharge a stream of electricity from him. He walked passed a man with an eye-patch and a red rain-coat.

"Aye, I see that you're one of them." The man said, looking at Jet.

"One of what?" Jet asked, looking at the strange old man in confusion.

"One of the mysterious beings that protects this place." The old man said, stroking his beard. Jet adjusted his travelers bag and continued to walk towards Beach City.

"In that case, I'm not going to stay long." Jet said, as he continued to walk. "Just need to see about some rumors I heard, that's all."

"Good luck then kid." The old man said.


And when he finished, the area went dark again. The gems looked around to find themselves inside the temple. Jet had ejected them out of his mind. He wanted them to get the picture of what he has been through and why he is the way he is.

"That was something." Pearl said, taking her hand off Jet's chest.

"Sure was." Amethyst said, taking her hand off his knee. Jet opened his eyes and noticed that they were looking at him.

"Your life's been tough up till now." Garnet said, placing a hand on his head. Jet started to get teary eyed upon hearing that but he fought back the tears from falling.

"But you got us now!" Steven said, causing Jet to smile.

"Yeah, I do buddy." Jet said. "Thanks, everyone. I'm glad I made the right decision by deciding to stay in this city." Pearl got up from where she was and decided to sit on the couch.

"There's one thing that been bugging me though." Pearl said. "That corrupted gem that was in Empire City, what happened to it?" Jet smirked at this.

"I eventually got it." Jet said, folding his arms.

"And did you bubble it?" Pearl asked.

"Bubble?" Jet asked, slightly trouble. Pearl's eyes widen at this.

"You mean you didn't bubble it?" Pearl asked, panicking a little.

"No." Jet said, standing up. "I didn't know what that was at the time."

"Then what did you do after you poofed it?" Amethyst asked.

"I just threw it far away from the place it originated." Jet said. The gems groaned at that statement.

"Well, hopefully it didn't go back to that place." Steven said.

"Thanks, everyone for getting to know me a little better." Jet said, bowing to them. "Even though I kinda hated New Tokyo, I still picked up their customs and their way of life. I grow stronger from all the pain that I endured there. I'm the warrior today because of that place." Jet took a deep breath. "That's the past though and I'm only moving forward from here. Now, I'm going to rest up. We still got a Peridot to catch." Jet bowed one more time to them and went to his room to get some well-deserved rest after showing the gems part of his world.