The phone rang. Ten held it in her large hands, trying to poke at the tiny screen.

"Be careful you don't crush it," Steven cautioned. After several tries, Ten managed to slide the icon on the screen and pick up the call. "Alright!" Steven cheered. He put his own phone to his ear. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes."

"No, put the phone to your ear. No, that's upside down. Here." He adjusted it for her, then picked up his phone again. "Can you hear me now?"

"Oh!" she said, finally understanding. "It's a communicator."

"Yeah, but it does other things, too. It's got a bunch of games on it, a clock, a calendar, a calculator, a global positioning system—"

"Can you use that to find Emerald?"

"No, it only tells us where we are, not other people."

"Dang."

Pearl and Amethyst came through the temple door to find Garnet overseeing Steven and Ten. The two were sitting on the stools at the kitchen counter while Garnet watched from a reasonable distance: far enough to give them privacy, but close enough that she could come to the rescue if needed.

"How are they doing?" Pearl whispered.

"Very well." Garnet looked pleased. "Ten has made remarkable progress in a very short amount of time, or at the very least is having a lull in her episodes. Steven doesn't seem nervous around her anymore and I haven't seen any dangerous visions today. They're getting along fabulously."

"That's good to hear. Should we start thinking about a place for her among the Crystal Gems?"

"Hold up," Amethyst whispered, "it's still 3-2. That's barely a majority."

"Actually," said Garnet, raising her left hand and flashing her gem, "Ruby changed her mind. It's 4-1 now."

"Ruby, you shill!"

"But even with a 4-1 split," continued Garnet, "I'm hesitant about allowing her a place among us. She's doing better, true, but she still has problems with self-control."

There was a loud smashing sound, causing them all to turn. Ten was standing up and stomping on her phone. "Stupid pigs! I'll show you!"

Steven was pulling on her arm. "Calm down, Ten! It's just a game!"

Pearl nodded to Garnet. "It is certainly true that she has a long way to go in that regard, but we're training Steven to fight like a Crystal Gem and he's part human, so it's not out of the question that we do the same thing with Ten."

"Except Steven started without all the baggage," Amethyst pointed out. "We just have to teach him right. With Ten, there's like a thousand things we would have to un-teach her."

"Well, you're not wrong," Pearl begrudgingly admitted. "That is going to be a project. She would need to be both willing and able to forget large chunks of her fighting history, change her style, her targeting—she needs to stop aiming for gems during combat."

"Combat training wouldn't be a bad idea," Garnet said. "You can see how she fights and instruct her at the same time."

"I know you're talking to Pearl," said Amethyst, "but just in case, I'ma say 'count me out.'"

"That's fine. With how you've been treating her, I wouldn't want to put you up against her."

"Pfft, whatever."

"I shouldn't refer to it as 'combat training,'" Pearl thought aloud. "She's fought at least as much as I have. It might come off as condescending."

"Call it whatever you want," said Garnet, "so long as you get your point across."

"Yeah, and don't let her get HER point across, if you know what I mean," said Amethyst, poking Pearl in the ribs with her fingers. "Because she stabbed you with her sword, see? Remember when she did that?"

"Yes," said Pearl, fending off the poking in irritation. "Just stay here and out of the way."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

Pearl brushed herself off, cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and approached Steven and Ten.

"You can buy more of those hammers if you run into a stage you can't beat," Steven was saying as she approached. "Just try not to do it too much. It's my dad's money, not mine. Hey, Pearl. What's up?"

"I was just coming over to see if Ten wanted to have a, uh…" she searched her head for the right term: training lesson, practice match, duel— "…sparring session! A good old sparring session." She clasped her hands in front of her and smiled self-consciously.

"Huh?" said Ten, then a flush spread across her face. "I see. A pride battle; I ambushed you and you didn't get a chance to fight back, so you want an even match, is that it?"

"Uh…" Pearl looked like she had walked into a trap.

Ten gave her a broad, toothy smile. "I don't mind, I promise. It's the least I could do for the vote of confidence you gave me. I'll help you lick your wounded ego." She laughed and gave Pearl a hearty slap on the back that almost buckled the thin gem's knees.

"Oh! Are we gonna use the sky arena for your pride battle?" asked Steven, jumping from his chair.

"It's not a pride battle," Pearl said, straightening herself out.

"Of course it isn't," said Ten. Then she leaned toward Steven and whispered, "that's the pride talking," causing him to laugh.

"Ugh, just wait here while I get ready." Pearl went to her room through the temple door.

"I can see why Amethyst likes to have fun at her expense," she said as the temple door closed. Then she frowned. "Though she should pick her timing better."

Steven shrugged. "Then she wouldn't be Amethyst. She takes things seriously when she needs to."

"I hope she does." Ten lapsed into thought about the Emeralds, as she had done on and off for the past two weeks. She had been staying out of the beach house mostly, per Garnet's request, only coming in every few days to interact with Steven and the Crystal Gems. There had so far been no sign of the Emeralds or their ships and Peridot had promised that she would focus her efforts on fixing her surveillance system, but that didn't settle Ten's nerves. She kept an eye on the warp pad when no one else was around, just in case.

Pearl returned from her room with two swords and beckoned the two of them to join her on the crystal plinth. She let Steven have the honor of warping them to the sky arena.

"We'll fight with these today," she said as they took their places on the arena floor.

"Today?" said Ten.

Pearl continued as if she hadn't heard. She tossed one of the swords to Ten and pulled the other out of its scabbard to show off its edge. "I hope you don't mind that I went with a pair of dull blades. I see no reason to harm one another, though I would still suggest caution: we don't want any accidental shattering."

"I'm not sure I could if I wanted to," said Ten, examining the one in her hand. "Calling it 'dull' is an understatement. The blade doesn't even taper. This would probably chip a gem at best. A glancing blow would barely leave a mark."

"I've already been on the receiving end and can assure you that you swing like a gorilla. There's more than enough force in your arm to do some damage."

Ten frowned. "I don't know what a gorilla is, but I'm pretty sure that isn't a compliment."

Pearl made a noncommittal noise and bent over, projecting a light from her head into the air in front of her. Steven instinctively clutched at his legs as Holo-Pearl appeared, a ghostly silhouette that resembled Pearl in nearly every way save for vacant, pupil-less eyes, a transparent blue-and-white body, and a mouth that Steven found slightly creepy in its inability to match the words it spoke.

"DO YOU WISH TO ENGAGE IN COMBAT?" it asked in an eager voice.

"She does," said Pearl, handing the Holo-Pearl her sword. "Set difficulty to maximum."

"COMMENCING DUEL," it said, its eyes turning red as it took an aggressive stance.

"I kind of thought you were gonna fight me yourself, but okay," said Ten. She pointed to her sword. "Can I use my shield with this thing, or is that not allowed?"

Pearl turned away and walked toward the stairs to sit with Steven as Holo-Pearl charged. "Knock yourself out, Ten, just so long as you win the—"

"MATCH SET: CHALLENGER WINS!"

"What?!" Pearl squawked, turning in time to catch the sword that was coming at her, knocked out of Holo-Pearl's hand. Or rather, it looked like her hand had been cut clean off, and a sword was going clear through Holo-Pearl's head. Ten was in a relatively relaxed sideways stance, her sword held out in such a way that if it weren't passing clean through Holo-Pearl, it would look like she was merely pointing to something in the distance.

"Well gee, that was easy," said Ten, sounding both surprised and disappointed.

"That was awesome!" said Steven, bouncing in his seat. "You were so fast I could barely keep up."

"Aw, you're just saying that," said Ten, blushing. "I'm nowhere near as fast as One was."

"Really?"

"Ten," said Pearl, exasperated, "you can't just aim directly for the gem on your opponents like that."

"Seems to have worked alright for me, eh?" She emphasized this by pulling her sword free of the Holo-Pearl, causing it to break into thousands of fragments of light and vanish.

Pearl slapped her palm to her face. "No, Ten. What I mean is we, the Crystal Gems, do not aim to shatter our opponents."

"What? Yeah you do. I heard the reports from the rebellion. Gems were shattered, warriors and dignitaries alike. You even tried to assassinate Blue Diamond."

"Those were very different times, Ten. Things have changed. Back then it was necessary to protect the Earth, but the Earth isn't in danger anymore, at least not immediately. Most of our friends and enemies were corrupted by the Diamonds. Instead of shattering them, we keep their gems until we can find a way to cleanse their corruption."

"Well, the Emeralds aren't corrupted, they're just monsters. Are you not going to shatter them either?" Ten asked with a mocking tone.

"It's always a remote possibility," said Pearl, "but it is just that: remote. The Earth comes first in our minds, but we will not shatter anyone, even an Emerald or a Diamond, unless we have no other choice."'

"That is an extremely foolhardy stance to take. And what will you do? Imprison them?"

Pearl nodded. "More or less."

This answer only served to annoy Ten. "And if they break loose?

"They can't break loose." She glanced sideways at Steven. "Only if someone helps them. The bubble keeps them from reforming."

"Bubble?" Ten grew tired of holding her sword up and placed it point first on the ground, leaning on it as she spoke. "I think I saw one of those. That was that pink-y thing that Garnet made when she came back that first night, right? It stops gems from reforming?"

"Pink-y thing?" Pearl repeated. "You talk about it like you don't know what it is."

"That's probably because I don't know what it is."

"What?" Pearl looked taken aback. "It's a Rose Quartz bubble. How do you not know about bubbles?"

Ten looked interested at that. "Oh? That's pretty cool. I didn't know we could do that."

"Didn't know?" Pearl looked hopelessly confused. "But I was taught everything I needed to know when I was created. Did they stop doing that at some point?"

Ten shrugged. "Maybe. Or they just don't teach Rose Quartzes. You're a Pearl, so a certain level of functionality is expected out of you to properly serve. Us? We just gotta swing things generally in the right direction. I only learned that we worked well with organics when Zircon had need of it."

"So you probably don't know anything about Lion either, huh?" said Steven.

"What's Lion?"

"A Lion."

"Not this again."

"Alright, that's enough chatter," said Pearl, stepping into the arena herself. "I should have known my hologram would be no match for you. Even Connie can take several at once with no issue. I guess that means it's down to you and me."

"Oh, finally," said Ten, hoisting her sword again. "I'll go easy on you to start."

"Please don't," said Pearl, positioning herself in a graceful yet dangerous stance. "I won't be going easy on you so the least you can do is return the favor."

Ten shrugged, a cocky smile crossing her face. "Hey, if you insist."

"Steven? Would you call the start?"

"Sure thing, Pearl." He stood up on his seat, cupped his hands, and shouted an announcement to the empty and broken stadium. "Now the fight we've all be waiting for: Pearl versus Ten! The ballerina of the blade versus the crash-landed calamity, the terrestrial traveler versus the rover from up over, the lethal lilac versus the rumbling rose, the amazing—"

"Steven!" they both shouted.

"Right, sorry. Let's have a good, clean fight. No biting, no hair pulling, no additional gem armaments, and no aiming for your opponent's gem. First hit takes the win. Take your positions. Aaaaaaaand… Go!"

Ten and Pearl came at one another in a flash, colliding with a ring of steel on steel, followed swiftly by dozens more as their arms whipped swiftly about, attacks and blocks, parries and ripostes, thrusts and dodges, accompanied by impeccable footwork and all chained together so quickly that Steven wasn't sure what was happening most of the time. In fact, the action was so fast that Steven found it completely lacked tension as one attack melted into another before he could even register whether the first was likely to hit or not. If he were to see an attack moving towards an opening, it would be parried, countered, and the counter blocked and thrown back before he could even open his mouth for a gasp. It was just a whir of colors and motion that soon held no meaning for him, sapping his enthusiasm.

After a moment of nonsensical motion, he began to grow bored and wonder what he was going to do while the fight raged. "I know!" he said to himself. He pulled open his hamburger backpack, pushed aside a few items, and pulled out his ukulele. "Let's get some battle music!" He began with a strong and clear series of opening chords, slow and dramatic to build tension, letting each note linger as he plucked at his little instrument, then suddenly burst into an energetic and rapid flamenco, tapping his feet with the rhythm. As the two gems clashed, their faces masks of concentration, he began to sing:

"Can you hear me over the ring of steel?

How can you use your sword to tell me how you feel?

A dangerous dance that is unlike any known

One that's danced by few but which is never danced alone!

I'd say your blood is pumping,

But we know that's not true.

I'd say your heart is thumping,

But let's ignore that too.

You've bodies hard as rock and you've gem hearts that will not yield,

Some prefer their freedom, some prefer the battlefield!"

Pearl advanced on Ten with a flurry of aggressive blows and sang with him:

"Remember when advancing

To keep your stance aggressive,

just one step, thrust, and parry;

Don't make your moves excessive"

Ten pushed Pearl off balance and countered, forcing Pearl to retreat as Ten attacked and sang along:

"All your poise and grace and balance cannot trump experience

I'll take some time to tell you later once I've broken your defense!"

Steven picked back up:

"I'd say your blood is pumping,

But we know that's not true.

I'd say your heart is thumping,

But let's ignore that too.

You've passion and impatience drawing forth impressive skill

Some know only panic, some indomitable will!"

They stopped singing, Steven playing an instrumental interlude as the fighters approached. Ten forced Pearl all the way to the stadium seats, but she deftly jumped up onto the bottom row, moving backwards up the stair-like seats with a balance and surety of step honed over thousands of years. Ten leapt up, less graceful but no less agile and accurate of footing. They fought up and down the seats, the distance between them remaining even as they moved up and down in perfect sync. The shorter Pearl, being two rows above, was face to face with the much taller Ten, the two never breaking eye contact as they exchanged vicious attacks and counters.

As they neared the top, Ten thrust, and Pearl took the opportunity to dodge to the side and move down to the same row of seats as Ten. They both stood with feet firmly planted, their upper bodies writhing back and forth with a quick series of slices, dodges, and blocks, then Pearl slipped under Ten's blade and was two seats below Ten. With their height difference, Pearl now had a huge advantage over Ten, who had to either crouch or hunch over to fight Pearl effectively. Pearl gave Ten a smug smile as they both recognized this advantage, and Ten was none too happy about it.

Sensing things turning against her, Ten bided her time. When Pearl delivered an easily dodged thrust, Ten covered her side with the blade, holding off Pearl's sword, then roared and lashed out with a kick, forcing Pearl to step aside or take a large foot to the face. Taking that brief opening, Ten leapt high over Pearl and came down on the arena floor, rolling on the landing and turning instantly around and raising her sword above her head to block the blow she knew was following. Sure enough, Pearl had leapt after her and their swords clashed again, the heavier Ten forcing Pearl back, tossing her through the air like a doll, though Pearl merely twirled and landed in a crouch, then they dashed at one another once more, meeting at the center of the arena to continue trading blows as Steven continued his song.

"Women with bodies made of rock and salt

They long to fight though I know that is not their fault

I blame them no more than I'd try to blame their blade,

They only wish to fight 'cause deep down that is how they're made!"

The two gems joined in with Steven:

"We'd say our blood is pumping,

But we know that's not true.

We'd say our hearts are thumping,

But let's ignore that too."

Ten's voice cut across Pearl's:

"Let's hurry up and end this because I am growing bored,"

She punctuated this with a wild slice toward Pearl's head. Pearl put up her sword to block and sang:

"Some only face safety, some will have to face—"

Their swords collided and there was a sudden jarring snap. Pearl's weapon broke in half, the steel sailing halfway across the arena to fall clattering to the ground.

"—my sword!" Pearl cried, her eyes following the sailing shards of her sword and not even noticing in her distraction that Ten had stopped her blade scant inches from Pearl's unprotected head. She dashed away from Ten and knelt over her the broken blade, hesitating to touch it like it was a wounded animal. She picked it up and gently cradled it.

"Uh, sorry about that," said Ten, still standing in the middle of the arena. "I guess I got carried away."

Steven ran over to Pearl and saw tears streaming down her face. "Pearl? Are you okay?"

"Oh," she moaned, "Rose gave me these! They were a matching set of authentic custom-made sixteenth-century Scottish steel broad swords with nickel-plated hilts. She even had a 'P' etched into the pommels."

"I can fix it!" Steven licked his hand, but Pearl grabbed his wrist unexpectedly.

"No, Steven, please don't." She stood up, holding both pieces of her sword. "This sword died a noble death in battle. It would be disrespectful to try and fix it. Besides, it just wouldn't be the same."

He looked puzzled at her refusal. "But if I fix it, it will be exactly the same!"

"Maybe physically it would, but not in spirit. I would know it was broken, and so would the sword. It's served its purpose, Steven, so let's let it rest."

Steven rubbed his spit-covered hand on his shirt. "I guess if that's what you want."

Pearl turned toward Ten. Ten spoke quickly, "Look, I'm really sorry—"

Pearl waved away Ten's apology. "It's fine. I've lost plenty of swords." She wiped the tears off her face. "It's nothing to cry about, really. This sword is just another casualty of battle." She tried to give a smile, but it was strained. "Besides, it's just a sword." Her smile tightened even more with that statement, as if it just added to her pain.

"Uh, do you want to continue the fight?" Ten asked.

"No, it's alright. I've had my fill for now." Ten flipped her sword and offered it to Pearl hilt first. Taking it, Pearl said, "I'd best put this with the others." She looked at its broken twin. "And put this with the others, as well." With that, she turned toward the warp pad and walked away.

Ten watched her go. "Did I screw up again, Steven?" Ten asked glumly.

"I don't think so. She seems to be taking it rather well, for Pearl."

"She'll be fine," came Amethyst's voice. They looked around for her, finally noticing a small purple bird flying down from the surrounding clouds. She shapeshifted back to her normal body and sat down on the lowest row of seats. "Every time one of her swords break it's a tragedy. She's got dozens. She'll get over it."

"Well, I still feel bad about it," said Ten.

"Me too," said Steven.

"Then go check up on her, buddy," said Amethyst. "Perform one of your songs or something to cheer her up."

Steven could tell she was just trying to shoo him away. "Sounds like a great idea," he said, turning and dashing up the stairs, but as soon as he passed through the doorway that led to the warp pad, he ducked around the corner and listened in. After a moment of silence, he heard Ten speak.

"Watching the fight, huh? Still don't trust me?"

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't hurt my friend."

"What's it gonna take with you, Amethyst?

"More than what I've seen so far." She paused a moment. "You didn't have to go easy on her, y'know."

"I did no such thing," Ten said defensively.

"Don't try lying to me again, killer. Jasper was able to beat me and Pearl at the same time. Garnet only barely beat Jasper, and she's a fusion. And Rose was stronger than both Jasper AND Garnet. Quartzes are nothing to mess with. I bet if I wasn't flawed, I'd be about that strong too. Pearl's good, but let's face it, she wouldn't have been able to fight you to a draw if you didn't let her."

Ten walked over to Amethyst and took a seat next to her. "Are you gonna tell her?"

Amethyst sighed. "Nah, she doesn't need to know. She takes fighting way too seriously. I'm not sure how well she'd react it if she found out she was that badly outclassed, but it wouldn't be pretty. What were you going to do if that sword didn't snap?"

"I don't know. I guess I would've hit her eventually and won the match. I definitely wouldn't let her win; I have my pride, too." She put on a lighter, encouraging tone. "She did very well for a Pearl, though. She could definitely win against greener quartzes, though I wouldn't bet on her taking a veteran."

Amethyst nodded. "She did get poofed a lot during the rebellion, so that's not too surprising."

Steven jumped when he heard the warp pad activate and a beam of blue light shot up into the sky. He looked over the edge of the stairs leading down just in time to see Pearl disappear into the warp stream.

"Oh boy," he said. He hurried down the stairs and jumped onto the crystal plinth, willing himself back to the beach house. When he got there, he spied Pearl standing outside, leaning on the railing, her two swords resting on the porch beside her.

"Did you hear Ten and Amethyst talking?" he said, standing at the railing next to her.

"Yes," she said. Then she sighed. "But it wasn't anything I didn't already know."

"Wait, you knew Ten was holding back?"

Pearl nodded. "I could tell almost as soon as we began. Like I said before we started, I've already been on the receiving end of one of her attacks. I know how hard and fast she can strike. Had she fought her hardest from the outset like I asked, the battle would have lasted ten, maybe fifteen seconds at best."

"Don't say that! You could totally take her if you tried. I believe in you, Pearl!"

Pearl patted him on the head. "Thank you Steven, but in the end, I just wasn't made for fighting and she was. So long as the both of us keep fighting, our experiences will make that gap widen more and more. It's good that she will be a friend and ally because I don't think any of us could defeat her alone."

"Even Garnet?"

"Probably not even Garnet. Rubies are one of the weakest warriors and Sapphires aren't made for fighting either, so fused they are barely stronger than a normal Jasper. But who knows? Maybe Sapphire's speed would give her just enough of an advantage…" she trailed off and stared into the sea. When she spoke again, her voice was very subdued. "It is vital that we keep Emerald from gaining control of Ten. If we had absolutely no choice but to fight Ten, absolutely no choice, we could win, but it would cost us. Throw even a single other gem into the equation and suddenly we can't predict the results at all."

Pearl crossed her arms on the railing and rested her chin on them. Steven joined her and, having nothing else to say, the two of them watched the waves roll in as the sun sank somewhere off in the west.