School again. Unghhhhhhhhhhhh! Oh well, I still like this. I'll try to get these stories finished. You guys apparently like Hamada a ton, so Steven goes with him. This should be fun. Have an excellent day, and keep at life! It's amazing, isn't it! And I have to say, Rebecca Sugar is changing the continuity so quickly! I have an entirely different cluster, Blue Diamond's characterization is different and Peridot is still evil on my side! Grrr. But she does an amazing job at what she does, and the series is in good hands. It's not mine, and I'm glad. I'm an inpatient and slow person. Enjoy my story, and enjoy the days ahead in this New Year!

God Bless, JPLegends

CHAPTER TWENTY: Baby Steps

Steven and Connie rode in the trucks with Major Hamada and his team as a convoy of other Ground Troops rode along, Soren and Amethyst included. Steven couldn't help but be intimidated by the military men, and the subtle silent things they did. Checking ammunition, making sure their weapon isn't jammed, shoving strange plates into their vests. It all seemed so bold and fearless, and it made Steven avoid everyone's gaze. Connie apparently felt the same way. She was looking away from everyone too, grasping firmly onto Steven's hand. In a bit, Hamada cleared his throat, making Steven and Connie suddenly stand up straight. He handed them a set of ear plugs, brown on one side and yellow on the other. "These protect your hearing," Hamada says. "Those guns are loud. The yellow side is sensitive against bangs and snaps, but you can hear conversations. The brown side offers complete protection." Steven and Connie glance at each other for a second and in synchronization, put the brown side of the plugs in their ears. Their so in synch even right now they wouldn't need to risk giving the enemy information while fighting together.

Steven saw the effects right away. Before there was the soft chatter of conversation and weapons making noises. Now, there is absolutely nothing coming in. Complete silence. Steven leaned back and exhaled. Beforehand, he would face battles in a calm and stoic manner. Now, he is able to lean back pre-battle as there was not the instant transportation of a warp pad. Steven felt Connie brush up against his shoulder, apparently still in synch with Steven, even with emotions. In a few minutes, Hamada nodded at them and climbed up into the nearby turret. Steven looked at Connie, who was sweating intensely. Pre-battle jitters. There were a few jerks from the truck, the blast of the turret and heat of its ammo and distant explosions in the earth. In a few moments, the truck jerked to a stop and Steven and Connie stood up near the door. Steven summoned a shield large enough to cover the entry, and Connie gathered by at the door. Steven was holding nicely, taking deep breaths. Connie signaled with her fingers numbers. Three…. Two…. One.

The door opened with a blare of laser fire, mixed silently by bullets. Most of the pellets hit Steven's shield immediately, making him shiver and sweat. He exited the vehicle slowly, moving straining him. He felt Connie leap off his shoulder and saw her swiftly take down a gem mid-air with a semi-circle slice, making it poof quickly. He moved into the battlefield, panting as his shield caught everything thrown at it, from laser shots to grenades to stray bullets. The officers behind him were packed up in a tight space, firing at enemies at all directions, as Hamada behind them offered fire support. The soldiers quickly moved to cover once close enough, giving Steven the chance to drop his shield, duck behind cover and catch his breath. He looked around him, looking at the strategic manner in which they were set up. They had the trucks circled around a large building, giving the false intention of wanting to capture the building. The trucks each had one man on turret, and the ones furthest from covered position got Soren, Amethyst, Connie and Steven as support. Meanwhile, troops were huddled around cover, picking off gems getting too close. So far no one had been lost. They just had to hold this until they got a cue the warehouse was under attack. Then, they do their best to shatter every gem in the area.

Connie had taken cover with him, providing extra protection for the group. She held on to Steven's shoulder, helping the boy get back to breathing properly. Within forty seconds, Steven was in top shape and had summoned his smaller, more bearable shield. Connie nodded and stepped back, keeping low. Steven put his shield over his head and waited as Connie leaped on top of the weapon. Steven shoved upward as Connie leaped, then vaulted over the small piece of cover. Connie had dispatched another gem the same way as before, awaiting Steven to rush in. The boy looked around. Three gems had taken notice of them. One on the left, one on the right and one on in the center. Grinning the boy threw his shield at the first soldier, stunning him as it bounced back to Steven. Connie saw this and quickly slashed her sword horizontally at the gem, making it poof. Steven got caught up to her by the time the gem poofed, and the other two gems had pointed their guns. Steven shielded them from the fire, then ducked to give room for Connie to vault over him.

Steven saw the other gem still aiming at Connie, and threw his shield again, yelling "Catch!" Connie had impaled the gem through its gem, and as it poofed and shattered, she threw her sword at the last gem. Steven had the stunned gem unoccupied to catch Connie's sword as it stabbed him in the chest, in the gem. It poofed and Connie threw Steven, a few yards away, his shield. The boy caught it just in time to see Connie dashing before a figure spun him around. A gem guard had caught him and was about to shoot Point Blanc. Steven held back a scream and sent his shield crashing into this gem's jaw-piece. The gem staggered back, met by a flying kick to the back of the head by Connie, and Steven strafed to the side as the gem tumbled his way, sending his foot out. The gem tripped and Steven muttered a little "Oops." He rolled him onto his back and sent the shield's sharp edge into the gem's gem. The soldier poofed and shattered.

Steven and Connie worked well. They are so synchronized! But this was also the same for Amethyst and Soren. But there was a difference. While Steven and Connie were elegant and graceful, Soren and Amethyst were simple and brutal. Steven saw them taking on a hail of gems all at once with devastating effectiveness. Amethyst would ensnare an enemy with her whip and swing and smash her into the ground, followed by Soren flying in for a swift sword strike. Soren followed up by shooting fireballs at the next set of enemies, sending them together and Amethyst would use her spin attack to knock them off their feet. The enemies would encircle, but Soren would shoot a stream of fire around the air and Amethyst would crack and whirl her whip, sending the flames everywhere. With the professional fighters on the field backed by turrets and heavy concentrated firepower, the gem forces were quickly losing their operation on the field. This meant more back up, which sent the plan further into action. And the plan quickly went overboard when the gems sent in their heavy hitters.

Peridot and Obsidian arrived on the battlefield, making the position here more complicated. Peridot was sending in flask and titan robonoids by the dozens, which quickly sent the soldiers into cover and made them stay there, making the Crystal Gems only backed by the turret selections. Obsidian meanwhile was charging in quickly, with the intent of breaking the turrets. Steven and Connie dipped when Obsidian got close and dived behind the nearby safeties of cover. Connie pointed at her plugs, and Steven knew they had to switch sides. They took the plugs out, chaos ringing for half a second, placing the yellow side in their ears. The change was that fire between the two groups was heard, but it wasn't too loud. Connie yelled, "We need to keep Obsidian distracted!" Steven peered at Soren and Amethyst being held at odds against Obsidian's skills with a trident. Steven turned back and nodded. "Ground force," Connie yelled. "We're focusing on the big, black gem! Take out as many of the gems and the robots if you can! Hamada's turret sect, aim for the robots!" Everyone changed directories and Steven and Connie charged for Obsidian's familiar face, not seen in a while.

The pair hit the big gem in behind with a double shot: Steven going for the back of the knees and Connie running for the head. Steven bashed the area, sending Obsidian stumbling forward into the spinning mid-air Connie, who hits him right in the face. Obsidian stumbles back, Steven jumping for another bash to the head. Instead, Obsidian spins and stabs his trident, crashing into the shield. Steven is stunned, but lands on two feet. "Soren, Amethyst, Go for Peridot," Steven yells. "We've got Obsidian!" He turns his attention back to the tall, menacing gem, about as greeting as a man whose seen cockroaches in his house after been rid of them for a while. "Haven't seen you in a while, Obsidian," Steven says, smirking. "Where'd you go after you… what did you do? Oh, yeah! That's right," Steven glared daggers at the gem. "Your little squad killed Buck Dewey!"

"You would be in Tokyo," Obsidian laughs. "You type are really arrogant. Humans. After the little skirmish at the hub in the western continent, you're kind started fighting back like the expedition meant something. You, although primitive, are quite annoying with your nuclear fusion." Steven slowly was taking in what he said. Humanity had started fighting back, and they captured nuclear missile silos. Useful.

"Good for them," Connie said, raising her sword. "But you killed our friend. So, you're going to hurt. And we're going to like it!" The two charged for him, Connie gaining air as usual. However, Obsidian with blazing speed, leaped swiftly and landed one foot on Steven's shield, concentrating on Connie's lightning fast sword fighting, brushing away each slash with his trident. Steven manages to shrug away Obsidian's foot, making him lose balance slightly. Connie, taking advantage of the distraction, got in close while Obsidian looked at the nearby nuisance and hit him with the hilt of her sword. The gem was thrown even more off balance by the shot, and even more when Connie jumped away from him, leaping from his chest. Steven leaped, bashing the side of Obsidian's falling head, making him turn as Connie ran in for another shot. But Obsidian got on fast, thrusting his trident for the ground where Steven stood.

A half second let Steven dodge, until the trident swiped upward, sending Steven back. Connie was mid-air at this point, ready to slice at the gem's back. "CONNIE, NO!" Steven yelled, but to no avail. Obsidian spun around and sent his fist crashing into Connie's stomach, making blood fly out of her mouth and her hair thrust forward violently. Time froze as Steven looked in horror as Connie, which had been knocked out before by a slap from this gem, hang from his fist. She had just been punched in the stomach full force. And now, he held her tunic, as blood ran down her chin from her lip. Steven thought she was dead, and so did Obsidian, who was smiling sadistically. But Connie weakly placed her hand on his wrist, looked at him tiredly and smirked.

"I'm not as weak as before, stupid," She whispered, painfully. "Looks like you can't kill a human correctly." Steven was amazed and took the chance to stand up and throw his shield. The flying object hit Obsidian square in between his shoulder blades, making him drop Connie in surprise. He turned angrily, snarling and hissing. Apparently, he thought Steven was dead as well.

"Try again, big guy," Steven mocked. "I'm sure you can hit harder than that!" Obsidian snarled and, in a stream of light, he was gone. Steven looked at where he once was to see the gem that they had left behind. The gem that had attacked Blue Diamond and nearly won. She stood there, staring at Obsidian still standing a few feet away. Steven, in awe, suddenly realized why he had made Obsidian mad in the first place. He saw the body of his best friend, the strongest human he knew, lying on the floor and struggling to get up. The boy bolted for Connie, and as such, with the instincts of a cougar, Obsidian bolted for Steven. But the gem was faster, she stepped in the way of Obsidian and summoned a sword out of her gem.

A silver, katana-like sword with a silver star at the butt of its hilt.

In a blinding motion, she swung her sword and Obsidian got knocked back several feet. The gem glared at the malformed Pearl, a glare of hatred. The other gem, however, took a stance. Bended knees, arched back, sword parallel to body. A stance of a professional fencer. Steven had made it to Connie, cradling her in his arms. She was weak, lightly gasping for air. The gem with the sword reached out behind her, and Connie started emitting a blue light. Nearly immediately, Connie's mouth was no longer bleeding, she was not gasping for air and she could move. After this, Obsidian lost it. "TRAITOROUS CLOD," He yelled. "You dare, you experiment? You Pearl? How dare you disobey your masters and you aid the enemy! What do you think you are?"

"I'm not a Pearl," the gem says. "They disposed of me, experimented on me. I'm not a gem! I'm a Jewel! And I know where my loyalty lies! With the innocent." Steven and Connie stood now, weapons ready for the next action. And then, faster than light, the Jewel spun her sword around in her hand.

And dashed…

This was a chapter I was trying to write for forever now. But now, I can reintroduce new and old characters. And the scene that comes after this, will be fun. Credit goes to Lexboss for giving the story the character of Jewel and to Dante Watterson for introducing to me, early on, the characters of Soren Spessartine and Jadeite. I couldn't have made what I'm doing now possible without Dante, so I just want to say how much I appreciate it. If anyone has an idea, big or small, bring it to me or Dante. He helped me get to this point. It's only fair he and Lexboss get credit.

God bless, JPLegends