Chapter Three: A Trial of Steel and Fire

A few minutes after the events at the Barn…

"Are you sure we shouldn't watch over them? Lapis Lazuli has not always had the…best reaction to new things." asked Pearl, with a nervous look on his face.

"It's important that we don't get involved right now." remarked Garnet. The Crystal Gems had long decided to trust in Garnet's 'future vision' but they also learned that it was not 100% perfect. "Don't worry, if something goes wrong we'll be able to see it from here."

Where they are is a hill not too far from the Barn. It still allowed enough cover for some privacy for the residents and the kids, but the Gems could still see if something goes wrong…like if Lapis got violent for some reason. The truth was that between Lapis Lazuli and Peridot, none of the original Crystal Gems fully trusted their reformation. Peridot was an enemy who only helped them for her own sake, while Lapis was a dangerously unstable elemental. This did not mean that there weren't signs of trust, like Lapis holding Jasper down in Malachite for so long or Peridot's show of defiance against Yellow Diamond.

"Yeah, Pearl, relax! Let Steven have some early winter, why don't ya?" exclaimed Amethyst as she made different snow-angels using her shapeshifting power.

"Why did she make this I wonder?" asked Pearl generally curious about the snow. Her time with humans let her know about the funtimes human children had in the snow…despite the risks of pneumonia and frostbite. However, Lapis wouldn't know about these activities…

"It was Peridot's idea." explained Garnet leading Pearl to nod. Pearl knew that Peridot had been trying to expand her knowledge of Earth programming for a while. She must have come across a rerun…

"Hey guys. What's that?" asked Amethyst, pointing towards a noise closing in from the distance. Pearl and Garnet looking towards the direction Amethyst was pointing at seeing a strange aircraft approaching. It had a streamlined, boxy, main body with tilt wings to allow for a vertical landing(1)…at the Barn!

"Let's go." stated Garnet simply before rushing to the Barn, with the other Gems following closely behind. Nearing the speed of sound, the Gems arrived to see the black-suited soldiers loading Steven and Connie onto the aircraft. The suitcase with Peridot and Lapis' gemstones inside had already been loaded, but the Crystal Gems did not know that. Rather than discuss a plan, the Crystal Gems rushed forward, expecting an easy win…

"FLASH STEP!" cried one of the soldiers before throwing a flashbang grenade at the Gems. The grenade erupted in a blinding flash, disorienting Amethyst and Pearl…but not Garnet! Her shades kept out most of the glare and the smoke left over quickly dissipated, not even slowing Garnet down. Unfortunately, the flashbang did not affect the soldiers either.

Two of them brought up strange assault rifles(2) and fired blue tracer-like rounds at Garnet. At first Garnet simply dodged, before one round bounced off her arm causing blue electric sparks and pain…a very familiar pain. Realizing that the other two Gems would be hit next, Garnet leapt in front of Pearl and Amethyst forming a bubble around them. Which is just what the soldiers wanted, because they used the distraction to load up Steven, Connie, and themselves, allowing the aircraft to lift off.

Realizing the soldiers were no longer firing, Garnet dropped the bubble and charged forward with the newly recovered Gems following close behind. Unfortunately, the aircraft activate scramjets, giving it a burst of speed easily out running the Gems. The Gems could only watch helpless as the Soldiers got away with their friends. A tense silence filled the air, only to be broken by Amethyst, "So…what now?"

"We find out where they are heading and get our teammates back." declared Garnet confidently before strangely walking towards a corpse of nearby trees.

"How?! We have no idea who they were and I doubt they will just fly straight to their base!" exclaimed a confused Pearl. The actions of the last few minutes were both frightening and strange to her. Were those people humans, Gems, or something else?!

"We've still got an eyewitness." explained Garnet before thumping a nearby tree causing…Ronaldo Fryman of all people to tumble out of the tree! He came down very ungracefully, in a tangle of surveillance equipment, groaning from the fall.

"Ow! You know there are gentler ways of asking for help, right?" complained Ronaldo, rubbing the aches out of his arms. Garnet simply smirked while Ronaldo stood up.

"How long have you been up there?" asked Pearl, curious as to Ronaldo's behavior. The Gems had long taken to keeping their distance from Ronaldo not only because of his crazy conspiracy theories, but because of the one time he inadvertently kidnapped Steven(3).

Having finally shaken off all the dust and debris, Ronaldo took a dramatic pose and stated, "I was tracking the unusual low pressure zone in this area, thinking it was perhaps the arrival of a Wendigo! …No such luck. But what I did manage to record was this."

After explaining his presences in the area, Ronaldo turn on the video screen for his camera, showing it to the Gems. As the video played, showing the various scenes between Steven, Connie, Peridot, and Lapis in a somewhat unsteady format (no doubt owing to Ronaldo trying to keep steady in the tree), one could hear Ronaldo's commentary on everything, "This is KBCW Video Log July 17, 2014(4), Day One of the Wendigo Hunt! I have track the unusual weather to a small abandoned Barn just outside City limits. I will spend my time in this tree for safety…fear not viewers! I am well stocked for the long wait and…wait what's that?

"Steven! And his little friends…argh I really should learn her name at some point… But what the heck are they doing here?! I should warn them…wait who's that. Video Log notation: there appears to be a small green…a Gem I think…in the area. Must be after the Wendigo…no don't open the Barn! That's the first place a monster would hide! Whoa…she's…beautiful. Ahem, it seems that the Wendigo theory did not pan out, but I should probably learn more about these new Gems while I'm here.

"Looks like Steven and the green one are going off somewhere to talk. Guess I'll focus on the pretty, I mean, blue one for now. She seems to have some control over water…I wonder if she had anything to with the Ocean disappearing? Wait, what's-Agh, my eyes! What the-Oh no, they've found me! Oh man, oh man! Calm down, Ronaldo. You've trained for this. You knew the Government would one day try to shut you down. Just keep calm and-wait one of them is coming here!"

Then Ronaldo's commentary stopped, as he pointed his camera down to a black suited soldier with the futuristic assault rifle walking up to the tree. The soldier look up the tree, seemingly saw nothing and was about to walk back, when the female soldier who knocked out Connie walked over and asked, "Anything?"

"Na, probably just a squirrel. Man, I almost wish we could try out this suit on those Crystal Creeps." stated the male soldier.

"Well, that's not the mission. We grab the kid and the Homeworld Gems and head back to Whitecliff." replied the female soldier. Seeing the lead soldier signaling them back, the two soldier rush back to their group to wait for the aircraft. Turning off the video because the Gems knew the rest of the story, Ronaldo simply stood silent while the Gems mulled over the new info.

"Whitecliff? Ya think they're talking about that airbase up north?(5)" asked Amethyst.

"It would be the closest military airstrip, though I doubt it is final destination. Probably a transfer point." replied Pearl.

"That only means we need to get there fast!" exclaimed Garnet.

"But how?! There's no Warp Pad close to the base and even running will take a few hours!" retorted Pearl.

Garnet had a smirk before replying, "We still have…one other option."

STEVEN UNIVERSE

Whitecliff Air Force Base…

The hum of airplane engines filled the air as each machine was checked and recheck for possible future use. The soldiers patrolled the ground ready to use lethal force in Humvees. The outer perimeter was ringed by an electric fence with motion sensor and cameras. Essentially, sneaking into the base would be impossible for any known human threat. A nonhuman element, however, had yet to be tested…

A shimmering pink portal appeared half a mile away and out of it leapt a certain pink Lion! On his back were the Crystal Gems, Garnet in the front with Pearl in the middle and Amethyst taking up the rear. They quickly jumped off and raced to nearby bushes and hid, but not before Garnet gave Lion a conspiratorial nod. They kept their eyes uncovered to scope out their opposition…and it seemed quite heavy.

"Eh, we can take'em." quietly declared Amethyst mashing one of her fists into her other hand.

Pearl was quick to deflate that idea, "We have no idea if the soldiers at this base are even aware of what happened back at the Barn! It's important we do this as quickly and quietly as we can. Garnet, can you tell where Steven and the others might be?"

Garnet gave a thousand yard stare through the base, trying to 'see' where they might be located. Stopping at a seemingly abandoned hanger, Garnet subtly pointed and stated, "There. Hangar 16."

"Alright. Now how are we going to get in there without-" Pearl started to ask, before alarms began to ring throughout the base. Worried they had been caught, Amethyst and Pearl crouched closer to Garnet, who did not seem rustled by the alarm. The reason why became clear when the guards started running towards the opposite end of the base! Quick to take advantage, the Gems hopped the fence and rushed towards Hangar 16.

Hangar 16 was pretty non-descript even for a military building. A long three story brown box with a sliding front entrance for the airplanes to enter. Garnet pulled open the doors just enough to allow the Gems to enter before closing it behind them. Pearl's gemstone lite up like a head lamp providing light for the room. Now that they were out of any immediate danger, Amethyst had to ask, "Hey, Garnet. Do you know what that alarm was about?"

Garnet smirked slightly before replying, "Lion is attacking the fence at the other side of the base. He'll probably portal out once he has enough attention. Should keep them distracted long enough."

"Well then, let's go find Steven!" quietly exclaimed Pearl, turning the light around to examine the hanger and walking towards the center of the building. There was something strange about the Hanger…there wasn't a speck of dust or loose tools hanging about. Also, they couldn't hear the alarm that was still going off before they entered. Even more surprising, there wasn't a single aircraft in the entire building, despite all the guards outside it previously!

"Man, you'd have to be a neatnik like Pearl for it be this cleeeeeeee-" Amethyst started to quipped before the floor gave out from underneath them. Though surprised by the sudden fall, the Gems recovered quickly allowing themselves a softer landing. Suddenly, massive floodlights lite up, first revealing that the 'floor' had closed up behind them. The new room seemed to be about ten times as big as the hanger they had just left, with strange crisscrossing lines of light creating foot wide squares on the ground and walls.

"Crystal Gems, I would like to welcome you to…the Proving Ground!" stated a smug voice over the intercom. Then a holographic orb appeared in front of the Gems, which the voice appeared to come from, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am IVO, the Intelligent Virtual Operator. I will now be in control of all that you see and hear from this point on."

"What is all of this?!" asked Pearl in a demanding tone, Readying her weapon along with the Gems. But rather than be intimidate, IVO seemed only amused.

"Well, it's always good to get the ball rolling. If by 'all of this' you mean the current situation, let me be clear…this was a trap. Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran, Lapis Lazuli, and Peridot were captured to bring you to this specific facility to bring into this room…which is a testing ground for the latest weapons we have created to deal with…your kind. To be honest, I almost did not think it would work, but then again, what I have seen of your activities has left me…numb to disappointment." smugly explained IVO.

"What exactly do you want from us?" asked Garnet frustrated with the run around IVO was putting them through.

"Well, the truth is our organization has accumulated a lot of experiment equipment we don't get a chance to test out. Oh sure, there are the Corrupted Gems, but they lack a certain degree of intelligence to truly test our capabilities. The higher durability does help, but to test the equipment under tactical conditions would far more valuable." explained IVO.

The Crystal Gems glanced between themselves, not truly comfortable being 'guinea pigs.' But seeing no alternative Pearl replied, "Alright, we'll play your game…for now."

"Splendid!" exclaimed IVO before continuing, "Oh, I should explain to you how this will work. The room you are standing in…it a Holo-room, basically it allows us to simulate a large variety of environments. Most of the equipment you will be facing will be unmanned robots but we will be testing our soldiers' weapons and armor too. I'll explain some details during the testing…can't give you all our secrets though. The tests will increase in danger the longer they go for, but I'm sure it won't be too much for you. Now then…shall we begin?"

"Let's just get this over with!" groaned Amethyst already tired of the smug computer system.

With a chortle from IVO, the room began to glow. A brief flash of light later and the Gems found themselves…in front of the Barn! "Let's begin. First up, a little bot designed for reconnaissance and harassment…the R.A.T. or Robotic Attack Toy!" announced IVO before unveiling a group of ten tiny robots built somewhat like chickens(6).

Amethyst walked up unafraid of the RATs and declared, "Theses things?! Come on, couldn't you give us something actually dangerAARRGGHH!" Only to be interrupted by one of the RATs trying to bite off her hand with its oversized jaws. Not only did the jaw encapsulate her hand but it bit hard enough to actually hurt! Which means its bite force to tear out light sheets of steel…or gemstones!

As Amethyst thrashed her arm trying to get the RAT to let go, the other Gems brought their weapons to bear while the other RATs shrieked like cat. Rather than attacking the Gems head on, the Rats split up into groups of three and circled around trying to hit the Gems in all directions. Garnet quickly rushed one group hoping to get them before they could react. She managed to get one before the other two bit at her Gauntlets trying to get at her gemstones. Thankfully they were easily taken care with a simple slam into the ground.

Pearl was having better luck with her weapons longer reach able to take out two. Unfortunately, the last the one jumped onto her glaive and raced down it! Soon, Pearl was holding its jaws open to keep it from biting her pearl. Just then two of them were sent flying into the bot, destroying all three. Looking around, Pearl saw Amethyst standing triumphant, as she used the bot that had her hand to smash one of the remaining three and then the other two to free Pearl.

"Well," Pearl stated as she stood and brushed herself off, "that wasn't…too difficult."

"Of course it wasn't!" replied Ivo before appearing before the Gems, "This was just level one. It should be much more difficult one level two." And with that the scenery changed! Now the Gems found themselves standing in the one of old Gem colony ships, specifically one Peridot had used as a trap to kill them(7).

"Now allow me to introduce a true step forward from our dear RATs. The Gyro Robotic Electric Management, Lead Infiltration Nodes or GREMLINs for short." introduced IVO, as several flying drones appeared from the ceiling. They had four movable magnetic pads for motion, while still being covered in a smooth silvery armor(8).

"Really?" remarked Amethyst at the long somewhat nonsensical name for the droid.

"Well, the engineers have their hearts set on the acronym… Let's begin!" stated IVO before the GREMLINs started circling the Gems, high in the air. A charge, almost like static electricity, seem to flare on the drones before an arc shot out at the Gems. Quickly the Crystal Gems scattered, not noticing one of the GREMLINs hacking the ships console. Just then, the spike turrets from before appeared from the ceiling shooting down lasers at the Gems!

Pearl quickly spun her Glaive to block some of the lasers before Garnet set up a bubble. While bunkering down under the bubble, Amethyst noticed some reflective tiles. Grinning, Amethyst jumped out of the bubble, grabbed a bunch of tiles and threw them into the air! This caused the lasers to reflect wildly, hitting some of the drones causing them to crash into their comrades and even the control panel for the lasers. In the end only one drone remained and the lasers were out of commission.

Garnet dropped the bubble so Pearl could shoot the remaining drone with energy blasts. Unfortunately the drone was too quick and followed up with an arc of electricity. Amethyst quickly snared the drone with her whip after Pearl dodged and tried to shock the drone in turn. But it simply sent a stronger shock knocking Amethyst back. It did serve to distract the GREMLIN long enough for Garnet to leap up and smash it.

It was at that point IVO appeared to the dazed Gem and declared, "Well done! I mean that quite sincerely, after the last level I did not think you would do so well. But now it's time to bring out the big guns!" The chamber began to glow transforming into the Beach City beachside! Just then, seeming phase-shifting through the floor came a massive human-sized orb, with a yellow lens in the center reminiscent of the pupil of an eye(9).

"Allow me to introduce the…well we couldn't think of any clever acronyms for this one, so let's call it the Heavy Sentry. Enjoy your time together!" remarked IVO before disappearing. For a long while the orb just hung there, motionless.

"Uh is it going to do something or…?" asked Amethyst before the eye in the center began to glow a bright red. Instincts took over and the Gems scatter, just in time to avoid the massive particle beam! Pearl threw her Glaive while Garnet launched her Gauntlets…unfortunately, none of the weapons damaged the Sentry though it did knock it back a foot or two.

"What is this thing made out of?!" asked Pearl alarmed at the durability before the Sentry fired off another burst from its ocular offensive lens.

Just then IVO appeared to answer Pearl's question, "It was surprising easy to replicate and innovate the hull of that Gem Warship. And before you say anything let me blunt…you barely got two-thirds of it in your Temple. Anyway, Sentry…I think it's time for Anti-Infantry Mode."

Responding to IVO's orders, the top half split open revealing tentacles and a strange crystal dome. The dome began to emit a strange energy causing the Gems' forms to flicker and them to wither in pain. The tentacles also grabbed the Crystal Gems, restraining them. The pain made it hard for the Gems to think until Pearl realized the 'flicker' freed her arm with the Glaive. Throwing it at the dome, the Glaive puncture straight through, hitting the power core.

Dropping the Gems, the Sentry violently sputtered releasing smoke and sparks. In what seemed like a final desperate gambit, the Sentry rushed forward, trying to take the Gems with it. Garnet launched her Gauntlets to push the Sentry off balance, keeping the kamikaze drone away from the Gems. Which turned out to be a good idea, as the robot exploded with the force of a half-ton of TNT. The Proving Grounds holographics flickered and died with the explosion.

"NONONONO! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH IT WILL COST TO REPAIR THIS?!" exclaimed IVO, before calming down, "Alright forget the holograms! Your next opponent will be-"

"That's enough IVO!" exclaimed a female voice over the intercom, "I think the Gems have learn enough of our capabilities, don't you?"

"But they didn't even get to fight my favorite one!" whined IVO sounding like a disappointed child. The Gems looked on awkwardly.

"I've told you before, we have to work with them…for now." stated the female voice, rather ominously. Just then a door opened up leading deeper into the base. The Crystal Gems looked to each other before Garnet nodded and stepped through the door, followed by Amethyst and Pearl. The door closed behind them, as if they never existed…

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe nor any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. Few! This is one of my longest chapters yet! I just wanted to introduce EDI capabilities before the Gems "help them" on the next mission. Hope it wasn't too hard to follow. As always Read and Review.

1 The aircraft is based off the Skyranger design seen in "XCOM2".

2 Think Mag-Rifles from "XCOM2"

3 I am specifically referencing the episode "Keep Beach City Weird"

4 My interpretation on Steven Universe timeline, including the idea of Steven being born in 2000 and him being canonical 14 years old.

5 Whitecliff is my name for Dover Air Force Base and the town it is near. Whitecliff specifically is an alternate name for Dover in my mind. You know "White Cliffs of Dover"

6 Looking like the Mousers from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fame.

7 This is from the episode "Friend Ship"

8 Based on the GREMLINs seen in "XCOM2" specifically the Mark 3 model. I made up the acronym, they never gave one in the game.

9 Based on the Gatekeeper enemy in "XCOM2"