Nora sat on the couch of the empty beach house, enjoyingly reading the last few chapters of her novel. Lapis and Peridot were out on a mission; her father is working at the local carwash, and Steven went off with Jasper for a "workout" as he called it; leaving her alone, and giving her the peace and quiet to enjoy the very last act of her story.
After reading the last few sentences leading up to the worthwhile conclusion, Nora closed and set the book down. "Wow, that was a great book. I'm grabbing the sequel the next time we go to the bookstore, without question."
Nora stood herself up and walked over to the bookshelf to put her novel away. To be honest, Nora thought the book would take a while to finish; either that, or Jasper and Steven or Lapis and Peridot would be back by the time she was done. The young half-gem girl now had no idea how to spend the rest of her afternoon.
Nora walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of milk; she grabbed a cup from the cupboard and the carton of milk from the fridge. After pouring the drink into her glass, Nora noticed the phone number Connie had given to her and Steven. She looked at the paper for a moment, contemplating to herself if she should call Connie or not; Nora could try to access her future vision to see the different scenarios but decides it's not worth a headache.
Nora gulped down her drink, before making up her mind. After putting her glass in the sink, she heads over to the kitchen's phone; taking a short breath, she picks up the receiver and dials the phone number.
[BEEP.] [BOOP.] [BEEP.] [BEEP.] [BOOP.] [BOOP.] [BEEP.]
[RINGRINGRING.] [RINGRINGRING.] [RINGRINGRING.] [CLICK.]
"Hello." Connie's voice on the other end speaks.
"Hey, Connie, it's me. Nora Universe."
"Oh, hey Nora, what's up?"
"Nothing much, I just finished reading the 'Unfamiliar Familiar'…"
"Oh, I love that book; it's one of my favorites," Connie exclaimed.
"Nice to know you have good taste in literature… but that's not what I wanted to call you about." Nora said with a little nervousness.
"Is everything alright?" Connie asked, picking up on Nora's tone.
"I'm fine, I was just wondering… if you would like to hang out today?"
"Sure, we can hang out."
"Really, that's great."
"And I hope you don't mind, but can I ask you something?"
"Sure, ask away."
"I've been taking some violin classes and was wondering if you and Steven could be my test audience?"
"Oh, Steven's out with Jasper, one of the Gems, they had something planned together for today. But sure, I'll be your test audience; I love the violin."
"Sounds good. Where do you want to meet?"
"I'll be by the Big Donut, you remember where that is right."
"Of course."
"Then I'll see you there."
"Alright then, bye."
"Goodbye." After Connie said her goodbye, Nora hung up the phone, and happily left the house to meet up with her friend.
[VWROPSHIIIING!]
The bright, cyan cylinder of light from the warp pad teleports Steven and Jasper to their new location. "Welcome to the Lunar Sea Spire, kiddo," Jasper announces. "This will be where…" She turns her head towards the young half-gem, whose face looks a bit green. "Are you okay?"
"Don't worry about me, Jasper." Steven starts with a queasy tone of voice. "I'm…" Before he could say anything else, Steven covers his mouth and runs over to the nearest ledge as fast as he could before he throws up over it; grossing out his Quartz compatriot in the process.
"Are you sure you're okay?" The orange Gem asks after regaining her composure.
Steven carefully balances himself and walks back to Jasper at his own pace. "I'm good now. So, what were you saying about this place?"
"This here is the Lunar Sea Spire." Jasper restates. "A long time ago, this place was a sanctuary for Gems; a home for the intellectuals of our kind."
"I would've never pegged you as a scholar of some kind."
"No, I was not. And I never will be one of those highbrows; in fact, if Dot was here, she'd be fangirling all over the place. In fact, I didn't think this place was as grand as it was built up to be the first time I came here."
"So, what are we doing here then?"
"This is your test, Steven Universe," Jasper tells him, as she tosses him the object that she had been holding in her hand.
Steven catches it and sees it's a statue of a woman holding a diamond-shaped object. "What's this?"
"That is the statue of the Moon Goddess. Up at the top of the tower is her shrine." Jasper states pointing up at the top. "For a while now and for some reason, Gem Monsters have been migrating her; small ones that aren't as dangerous, but still have a bite; they're pretty much crawling all over the place. If you unlock one Gem-unique ability by the time you reach the top and put the statue back where it belongs, you'll pass. I'll be with you along the way to make sure you don't get hurt. Neither Lapis nor Peridot would let me live it down if you did."
"Out of curiosity, what happens if I can't unlock a power before reaching the top."
"Then we'll try another test tomorrow. And we'll do it again and again until you discover something. So, are you ready?"
"Heck yeah, I'm ready!" Steven shouts with fiery enthusiasm. "Let's do it!"
[KR-KR-KRACK!]
Steven looks up upon hearing the sound and sees a small chunk of the tower's structure fall into the water beneath him.
[KASPLAAAAASHHH!]
"Oh, yeah," Jasper spoke up. "I forgot to mention this place is dilapidated beyond description and could collapse beneath our feet at any time. So, no pressure." Jasper says in a casual tone to a now worried Steven. "Well, let's get started."
Jasper walks ahead of the young boy, who takes a moment to regain his composure, and placing the statue in his backpack before following the orange Quartz. He wasn't going to let a rundown tower get in the way of completing his test.
Nora didn't have to wait too long for Connie, as she saw her scuttle across the boardwalk, waving at her with a big smile. "Hey, Nora."
"Hello again, Connie." Nora greeted her with a pleasant bow.
"Thank you again for agreeing to help me out."
"What are friends for. In fact, I know a nice spot on the beach where we can have some privacy if you want." Nora stated, pointing in the direction she had in mind.
Connie's eyes followed Nora's finger. "Sure, lead the way."
Nora gives the Connie a nod before leading her to her favorite spot on the beach.
Steven and Jasper continue marching up the tower; having yet to encounter any of Gem Monsters. "Are you sure there are Gem Monsters here?" Steven asked his guardian.
"Huh, they must've migrated elsewhere since the last time I was here?"
[CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK.]
"Huh?" Jasper looked up upon hearing those clicking sounds; discovering several caterpillar-like Gem Monsters crawling over the roof above.
[HIIIIISSSSSS!] [HIIIIISSSSSS!] [HIIIIISSSSSS!] [HIIIIISSSSSS!] [HIIIIISSSSSS!]
"Up above!" Jasper shouts as the creatures drop down in front of them; ready to attack, who are in their eyes, intruders. "These seem easy. Alright, Steven; let's show them what you can do."
"Ugh." Steven groans aloud. At a young age, Steven's always be grossed out by bugs; they were slimy with too many legs. Now having Gem Monster bugs be his first challenge was a little unnerving, but he was not letting some minor entomophobia stop him. "Come on, you can do this Steven Universe. You. Can. Do. This."
"Alright, you take the one on the left. I'll handle the rest." Jasper orders, summoning her crash helmet and charging the insectoids.
Steven takes a deep breath and charges at the Gem Monster. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Steven cranks his right arm back as he runs towards the beast, throws a punch at it; only for nothing to happen, except Steven hurting his hand on the creatures unexpectedly hard skin. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"
The creature hisses at the half-gem as it tackles him to the ground, and tries biting him. "Get off me!" Steven shouts, using all the strength he can to force the beast off him, with little to no avail.
Jasper's large hands grab the insectoid off Steven and slammed it against the wall, poofing it. "You alright?" Jasper asks, helping Steven up.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Steven says in a down tone; disappointed he couldn't defeat a relatively easy Gem Monster.
"Hey, this just stage one. We have a long way to go before reaching the top; you'll find something by then."
Steven looks up at his guardian. "Alright, Jasper. Let's keep going."
[CLAP!] [CLAP!] [CLAP!] [CLAP!] [CLAP!]
"That was beautiful Connie," Nora says with amazement at the girl's musical skill.
"Thank you, Nora." Connie gratefully says with a proud blush.
"It's nice to see how well you're adjusting to living in Beach City," Nora states, standing up and wiping the sand from her skirt.
"It's been getting easier with time; when the whole place isn't threatened by giant monster attacks, it's actually a pretty neat place to live. Especially when looking at sunsets from the beach."
"I had a feeling you would like it."
"But enough about boring ol' me, what have you been up to, Nora; has anything interesting happen since the last time we saw each other?"
Nora stayed quiet for a moment and decided to tell Connie about her newly discovered ability; to an extent. "Well, a couple of days ago, I discovered a new Gem power I didn't even know I had."
"Really." Connie says with interest. "Because I didn't think anything could top shooting ice out of the ocean."
"Well, it turns out my mom could see into the future, and I inherited the ability to do so too."
"Are you serious?"
"Completely."
"So, you're like one of those psychics, but can actually see into the future; can you see what's going to happen next right now?"
"Hate to disappoint you, but it doesn't work like that. I think… I don't know the limits of what I can do, I just got the power."
"Okay, but it's still pretty cool."
"I knew you were going to say that."
"Really?"
"Heh, no." Nora joked, managing to get a laugh out of her and Connie.
[GRRROWRGLE!]
Nora's face turned a bright red with embarrassment upon hearing her stomach growl loudly. "Apologies, I didn't have much of a lunch today."
"Hm." Connie reaches into her back pocket, pulling out a wallet; checking its contents. "I was planning to give that 'Fish Stew Pizza' place a try; you know the one I'm talking about, right?"
"I do. The pizza there is not bad, and the service is great."
"Well, I should have enough for the two of us… if you want to that is." Connie said with a slight blush.
"A kind offer, but you don't have to pay for me." Nora reached into the pockets sown in her skirt; which were barely visible, and pulls out her own wallet. "But pizza does sound good right about now." Nora added in with an agreeing smile.
"AH!" Steven screamed as he dodges the manticore Gem's scorpion-like tail.
[GRRAAAAUUUUOOOORR!]
"Hang on Steven! Grrr! Just hold it back for a while longer!" Jasper grunts as she uses all her strength to hold back a parakeet Gem Monster.
[SKREEALWK!]
The avian beast's talons almost scratch Jaspers face with each of its swipes but continued to be held back by the Quartz. Jasper tightens her grip on the Gem Monster's body and throws it away from her, before running over it multiple times with spin dashes.
[GRRAAAAUUUUOOOORR!]
The manticore continues attacking the young half-gem; barely avoiding getting impaled. Steven backs up from the Gem Monster and trips on a metallic tube; some sort of pipe or support beam for the Spire.
[GRRAAAAUUUUOOOORR!]
The Gem Monster leaps into the air to pounce Steven; who instinctively grabs the pipe for defense, stabbing the manticore in its belly before it lands on him.
[POOOOOOOOFFF!]
Steven let out a couple of coughs as the smoke cleared; only seeing the gemstone where the beast once was.
[SKREEALWK!] [POOOOOOOOFFF!]
Steven turns his head to the direction the sound, and see Jasper bubbling the gemstone of the parakeet Gem Monster, before walking over to Steven. "You got one, nice work." The orange Quartz compliments as she bubbles the last Gem.
"But that was with this pipe, not with any powers." Steven grouses with disappointment, throwing the piece of metal away.
"I'd say, we're at the halfway mark. Now would be a good time to take a break," Jasper suggests as she sits next to Steven. "Are you still good?"
"Yeah," Steven said in an unsure tone.
"What's wrong."
"It's… it's just…"
"You're concerned you haven't displayed any abilities yet."
Steven nods silently.
Jasper lets out a sigh. "I know it's probably frustrating going through this gauntlet of monsters, and not having anything to show how far you've advanced; but even though we are at the halfway mark, we've still had a great distance ahead of us. I'm going to make sure you unlock a power or two, no matter how long it takes; you believe me when I say that right?"
The Half-Gem turn his head to Jasper. "I do."
"I have faith in you, Steven; don't doubt that for a second. Let's just take a moment to rest; after you feel rejuvenated, we'll keep moving."
"Okay." Steven says with a sure smile, leaning his head on Jasper's muscular arm to rest; which she did not mind.
"Here you go you two, one large slice each; with two colas." Kiki Pizza, one of the daughters of the establishment's owner, and Nora and Connie's waiter.
"Thank you, Kiki," Nora said politely.
"If you need anything else, just let me know," Kiki tells them before leaving.
Connie carefully picks up the still hot slice and takes a small bite. "Your right, it isn't bad."
"Well, I'm sure you've eaten at other, much better pizza parlors than this." Nora assumes.
"I don't like to brag, but yeah. Though this place does have a nice feel to it."
"You can thank the friendly service for that."
Connie smiles as she puts her pizza back on the plate; her lips moved then closed.
"You looked like you were about to say something." Nora noticed.
"Oh… it's nothing." Connie replied.
"It's okay Connie, you can tell me."
"Well… I was just thinking… what did a girl like me do to earn a friend like you?"
"Do you really need to ask a question like that?" Nora said in a tone stating the answer is obvious.
"I'm serious unless you saw the answer with your future vision?"
"No, I don't need future vision to tell you why I wanted to be your friend. You're a smart, kind and…" Nora paused for a moment before finding the right word, "charming girl and anyone would be lucky to have you as their friend." There was more Nora wanted to tell Connie, but felt it would only make their current relationship awkward if she said them.
"Thank you, I'm glad I have you as a friend too." Connie answered with a grateful smile, making Nora blush before she takes a bite of her pizza.
"We couldn't have reached the top already!" A frustrated Steven shouts. After their break from the manticore and parakeet, the two of them encountered a group of snake-like Gem Monsters and boulder Gem Monsters; they were now at the top of the tower, with the entrance to the shrine just across from him; yet, the young Half-Gem still hadn't unlocked a single ability.
"We're still not at the top yet." Jasper states. "We can still…"
"But I can't! We've been climbing this tower from the bottom to the top! Fighting Monsters that have tried to kill us attempting to unlock abilities that I may not even have!" Frustrated tears form in Steven's eyes. "Maybe Nora was meant to have powers, but not me. She's more like Mom than I'll ever be. I'm just an idiot who thought he could join the Crystal Gems by acting tough."
"Stop saying stupid stuff like that!" Jasper snaps at Steven, picking him up off the ground. "If you ever say something like that again, I'll have you grounded for a month. Don't you ever doubt yourself for a single moment, Steven Universe! You are not an idiot, and you are as much like Garnet as Nora is. We're going to unlock your powers; so, stop doubting yourself and let's keep going."
Steven stayed silent for a moment, looking Jasper in her yellow eyes. "You're right. We've come so far and are not quitting now; I'm not going to quit now."
Jasper smiled proudly as she placed Steven back on the ground. "Then let's get going, kid."
[SKEEALUUUURR!]
The roar of a Gem Monster caught the attention of the two Crystal Gems. They looked up and saw a giant, winged snapping turtle drop down from the top of the spire, landing in front of them; blocking the entrance.
Jasper cracks a smile. "It looks like she's the last one; let's give it our 'A' game." The Quartz summons her crash helmet as she charges the beast, but is flicked away by its giant left wing. Sending her crashing into the side of a pillar. The snapping turtle grabs Jasper's foot with its beak and slams her onto the ground repeatedly before tossing her into another pillar.
"Jasper!" Steven shouts with worry. Steven looks at the giant monster and throws his hands forward, hoping for something to happen. But nothing did. "Oh, come on. The one time I need to unlock my powers." Steven repeatedly throws his hands forward, hoping a fireball or something would shoot out at the Gem Monster.
[SKEEALUUUURR!]
Jasper shook her head as she emerged from the pillar. "I'm going to turn you into turtle soup!" The orange Quartz exclaims as she dashes towards the creature, who retreats into its shell for protection. Jasper hits the shell dead on with her helmet but doesn't leave a dent in its natural armor.
The snapping turtle's head shoots out, ramming the Quartz with enough force to send her flying into the air, and crashing hard into the ground; leaving a small crater
Steven runs over to his wounded guardian. "Jasper, can you stand?"
"Steven… get out of here, get Lapis and Peridot. I'll by you some time."
"I'm not leaving you here!"
"Don't argue with me, just go!"
"No, I'm not leaving, Jasper."
[SKEEALUUUURR!]
Steven turns around upon hearing the creatures roar and stands his ground. "I'm not going to let you hurt my friend!"
[SKEEALUUUURR!]
The snapping turtle charges at the two of them with surprisingly fast speed, considering its size. Without thinking, Steven charged at the monster with his left arm back, preparing to throw a punch at the giant monster. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Steven screams with determination at the charging beast.
"Steven! Don't!" A weak Jasper screams in fear.
Steven's gemstone in his left palm begins glowing a bright red as Steven threw his punch at the Gem Monster's beak. His eyes widened with disbelief upon discovering a gauntlet covering his fist. The impact from the punch sent shockwaves across the monster's body, letting out a painfilled screech as its body expanded and poofed into a cloud of smoke; leaving behind its gemstone.
Steven looked at his left hand, then his right hand to discover another gauntlet. "You did it." Steven turned around upon hearing Jasper's proud voice. The orange Quartz slowly standing herself up off the ground. "You have gauntlets; just like Garnet and Ruby."
"I did it. I did it!" Steven jumps in the air with excitement. "I did it!"
"Don't forget about the statue." The orange Quartz points behind Steven.
Steven turns around and seeing the cleared entrance to the Moon Goddess Shrine. "Oh, I almost forgot," Steven says with embarrassment, as his gauntlets disappear from his hands. He rushes into the temple, reaches into his backpack and places the statue where it belongs. Successfully passing the test.
"Congratulations, Steven," Jasper says to him as she bubbles and sends away the last Gem Monster.
Steven lets out a satisfied breath, as he lets his exhausted body fall back onto the ground; slamming his palms to break his fall; huffing and puffing. "Thank you for believing in me, Jasper… *huff… *huff… for when I couldn't."
"No problem kiddo." The Quartz said, walking over to him. "Let's go home and tell the others about what you can do."
"Um. This is embarrassing to ask… *huff… *huff… but could you carry me home? I can't feel my arms and legs right now."
Jasper smiles at the boy, picking him up and carrying him in her arms. "Sure thing, champ."
"Mm. That was good some good pizza." Nora said aloud as she and Connie left the restaurant.
"Yeah, it was," Connie said back.
The two girls stood in awkward silence for a while.
"It was nice doing this with you," Connie spoke up.
"Same here," Nora said.
"I hope we can do something like this again… another time."
"I would like that very much."
Again, they stood in awkward silence for couple seconds.
"It's getting late, so I think I'll head home," Connie said.
"I think I'll do that too." Nora agreed.
"I'll see you later then."
"See you later."
With that, the girls turned around and headed home. After a few steps, Nora stopped and turned her head back; moving her bang aside as she watched Connie leave. Nora felt strange being with her friend, in a good way she couldn't describe; it felt natural and warming. Like being with more than a friend. Nora returned her gaze back to what was in front of her and resumed with walking home.
Nora walked into the beach house through the front door and was greeted by an exhausted Steven; who was sitting on the couch, with Jasper bringing him multiple bottles of water and a microwave dinner. "Hey, sis."
"What 'workout' did you go through?" Nora asked her brother.
"An intense one," Jasper said with a proud smile on her face.
"Clearly."
"But I learned something that will leave you and the others awestruck," Steven said with an equally proud grin.
"Really, what?" Nora asked with curiosity.
"I'll show you tomorrow, I'm too tired right now. So, how was your day?"
Nora didn't answer right away, but she did look up at her brother and guardian with a pleased smile. "It was nice."
Any and all feedback and constructive criticism is appreciated.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day.