Peace was easy to want, to achieve it was a different matter altogether. I sat atop the Temple's cliff, hoping to connect with someone who had most likely been as silent as I after my unfortunate destabilization. But every five minutes or so I had my progress halted by my nephew, Steven. He would assault me with question after question about my clan, it was rather flattering at first but it soon became aggravating. "So… did you ride stone horses?"

I set my jaw, "No Steven, that would have been an impractical use of our powers."

"Who was the Chief Elder of your clan when you were a kid?"

I shake my head, "No clue, my mother had raised me away from them in Moonstone's Temple. After that, and my mandatory tour in Homeworld's military, I had completed my training I had a little sister to take care of and had moved to Homeworld and taught future soldiers and the occasional self-defense class."

I heard him give a slight gasp, "You trained people?"

Guess he glossed over my military time and my unfamiliarity I had with my clan, "Yes Steven. Not even a Sage was excluded from mandatory taxation, and boy did my energy bill keep that crystal clear."

He paused, "So… do you think, and feel free to say no. Could you perha-"

"Sure."

"Sure?" he stares at me with the look of confusion that was, once again, similar to Rose's.

I stand up and dust the bottom of my coat, "I mean, you were going to ask if I could train you right?"

He nodded his head and laughed, transitioning himself to a standing position, "Awesome… though I have a favor to ask."

Steven and his little friend, who introduced herself as Connie, sat side by side and stared intently at me. "Ok, first order of business," I turn to face Connie's parents all while flashing a polite smile, "Mr. and Mrs. Maheswaran, thank you for bringing Connie over. Once again I am really sorry if I had disturbed any aspect of your lives."

Connie's father waved the notion off, "It's fine, we appreciate you had the courtesy to ask us."

Connie's mother, however, frowned, "Yes, yes, thank you for your courtesy. But, I need more than courteous manners to make sure my daughter will be safe here. Seeing as you are like Steven's guardians I have to assume that you are just as reckless."

Connie groaned, "Mom, we were running away, the Gems had to do that."

Mrs. Maheswaran gave her daughter a straight face, "Be that as it may, I am still worried about how reckless this one can be."

I sighed, though it was unnecessary, I still applauded Connie's mother's protectiveness. But, it seems I would have to prove to her that I could protect Connie; these times are such a drag. I focused on my Gem and moments later produced my weapon and then I proceed to throw it at a flock of bird, badly damaging one of their wings. I smiled at Mrs. Maheswaran and she looked like she wanted to take Connie and run away as fast as she could, "Give me a moment and I will show you my medical expertise."

In in two long strides I grab the hurt bird and make it back to the others. I place the squawking bird in one hand and take a slab out of the cliff wall to act as a makeshift cot, finally I place the patient on it and hover my hands over the damaged wing. As I concentrated on the torn appendage, I could see the faint lime green that told me I was doing the process right fizzle into existence. Two minutes later and my effort is rewarded by the patient's shrill song, I picked it up carefully as to not startle it and extended my arm, "You're free t-" The bird terrified me by immediately taking flight and screeching the entire time. I spat out a feather, "Maybe I healed it too much…"

"Amazing, you didn't even need to set the wing, nor did you have to wait months!" Mrs. Maheswaran whipped around and positioned her face mere inches from mine, "Who did you say you studied under?"

A nervous chuckle escapes from my throat, "Ahem… You know, uh… a friend?"

"Alright honey, don't scare the poor guy." thank Moonstone for Mr. Maheswaran.

"Fine, fine, I'm coming." Ms. Maheswaran turns to her daughter, "Just make sure you call if anything serious happens."

Connie nods, "Yes ma'am."

I wait until after the security guard emblem fades out of vision to let loose a sigh of relief, but there is no time to waste afterward; my nephew wanted training and I shall give him it.

I swipe my arm to the left and to the right, carving images into the stone as a visual aid to help my lesson, "Fighting is sometimes called an art, and that is and will always be correct." I shift certain fingers into positions that allow the stone carvings to shift in ways that seem like dancing, "But, that means there are many different forms." I let four other fingers shift and two more fighters begin to battle, but these two fight with more erratic behavior than the other two, "You see, one is either a method fighter: precise, elegant, and fluid. Or, they are erratic: no pattern, unpredictable, and look as if they have no clue as to what they are doing."

Steven scratched his head, "Kind of like Pearl and Amethyst."

I nodded in agreement, "Yes, Pearl is a very method warrior and, from what I've seen, Amethyst is a very erratic fighter."

For a second I see a flicker of curiosity from Steven's friend, Connie, so I give a curt nod of my head in her direction, "It's nothing really, I was just wondering, what kind of fighter are you?"

I feel a nostalgic smile fill my face as I remember my past, "My Mother so often would say that I, like my Father, was a very erratic fighter. But, that isn't as bad as it sounds; while method fighters have a plethora of styles of which to draw insight from, we erratic fighters have one ultimate style: reflexive memory."

She arched her head, "Reflexive memory?"

I smirk and focus on shifting my form to blindfold my eyes, "Go ahead and throw anything at me, I'll show you what reflexive memory is."

My bravado lasts for only a few minutes after I hear Steven yell, "Lion!"

Moments later I feel the air tense, my body reacts without me telling it to. I fall to the ground and twist to the left, I can feel the stone behind me shatter as whatever attack lands on the cliffside. From above me I can hear the air from the weight of falling stones, my body reacts accordingly. I throw both hands up and feel a slight tug as my kinetic ability takes hold of the rocks, I hurl them towards the sound of water.

My torso twists in accordance to some unknown order just as the air is gouged by what sounds like claws. I grab hold of a hairy neck and force the beast to the ground, wrenching the blindfold of my eyes and sighing heavily, only slightly perplexed by the pink lion before me, "That, that is reflexive memory."

Connie and Steven stare at me, obviously starstruck, "Woah!"

I swiped strands of hair out of my face, after the lion incident we had moved to the top of the cliff next to what I could tell to be a lighthouse, "Ok, so now that you know the two types of fighting, let us figure out what types you two are. Can you fuse?"

Steven gave me an odd look, "Why?"

I shrug, "It will help… though I suppose you mean why would I think a human could fuse with a gem, well I don't, but from what Pearl has told me I know it has happened with you and Connie."

Connie, who had been a rather quick learner, stood up, "I guess, if it helps our training."

I watch the two carefully, quite perplexed by both the fact they were attempting fusion and by the fact that it was working. Pretty soon I saw before me a rather feminine figure that I knew to be the combination of the previous children, "So, before anything else, what do we call ourselves?"

The fusion pointed to herself, "I'm Stevonnie."

"Well Stevonnie, if it isn't too much trouble, can you please bring your weapons of choice?" Stevonnie nods affirmative and reaches into the lion's mane to drag Rose's sword out, something that I had found very impressive, and then summoned the very same shield as Rose, another bit I found impressive.

I dig my heels into the earth, "Let's see what you two can do, don't worry, I won't fight back, though I will be able to counter you. This is merely for gauging your experience."

Stevonnie smirked and fell into their own stance, "Alright Uncle Emerald, sir."

The fusion wasted no time in attacking Emerald, he was mighty lucky that he had dug his heels into the earth below him. If he had not then he surely would have been blown away by the very blow he had blocked, even then he had just barely been able to block it. 'Not bad,' a voice said from inside Emerald.

He agreed, the two children together made a very fine warrior. He pushed them back, being as gentle as he could so he didn't break his personal rule of not striking back. After he had them far enough Emerald disappeared under the dirt below him, needless to say Stevonnie was confused. However, when Emerald had resurfaced he was met with the same rosy sword he had so often seen in war. Whatever part of Stevonnie that his nephew had comprised had remembered him talking about his terrakinesis.

Emerald's proud smile shone brightly even as the point of the rose sword pressed against his throat, "Not bad Stevonnie, though I think this means my personal rule needs to be broken." A quick snap of his fingers produced a shank of stone that struck the weapon poised ever so precariously at his throat away. He took this time to slink back into the soil below and reappear several feet away, his own vermillion weapon produced; the Connie part of Stevonnie found that it was similar to an ancient Japanese weapon called a naginata, though his had a blade protruding on both ends.

Emerald took a defensive stance with his weapon, "C'mon, grab your sword and let's get this going."

Stevonnie grumbled, "You get your sword."

"Clever wit Stevonnie!" Emerald yelled, ever a practitioner of friendly banter.

Stevonnie gripped the hilt of her sword tightly and breathed in and out in an attempt to calm herself.

'Alright Steven, you ready?'

'Yeah Connie, let's do this.'

Stevonnie rushed her teacher, not in zeal, no, in fact, Emerald could see that she was being very calculative. But to anyone else it would seem as if she was just fighting like a child, no form whatsoever. Stevonnie slashed, Emerald used his weapon's hilt to block, Emerald slashed, Stevonnie blocked with her shield. Emerald stamped a foot back and threw a punch towards his student, Stevonnie blocked the stone that had followed its master's movement and threw her shield, Emerald blocked the shield with an arm.

This fight was quickly turning into a war of attrition unto itself, the only thing that ended was the arrival of Pearl and the other Crystal Gems. Emerald had foolishly looked over to his wife and smiled, Stevonnie tried to stop the arc of sword and only managed enough to strike Emerald in his head with the pommel.

Emerald crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap, a nervous system was one of the only things he had grown as a Sage and it was now what had caused him to fall. The last things he saw before he crumpled though was Pearl rushing to him.