Welcome folks to chapter 15 where interesting things are going to be happening. Mainly because my poll ended in a tie and as such the deciding vote went to my sister who was a great help. Anyways enough about my struggles and onto the chapter where Danny wishes that for once he have a normal day that didn't end in a fight for his life...I mean…. A normal day.
Episode: Steven the Sword-Fighter
"Now Steven," Pearl began to explain as she set the training level to one, "I want you to watch my techniques carefully. Make sure to pay attention to my feet and watch where I keep my center of gravity."
"Aww, can't you show me something cool like what Danny did? Or even better show me how to do a boomerang-blade!" Steven yelled out as he quickly lost interest with the simply parry and thrust Pearl was trying to teach him.
"What's a boomerang-blade?" I questioned him as I heard Pearl groan at the mention of what I assumed was a type of sword-technique.
"Steven a boomerang-blade isn't a real technique, just because you saw it in your silly cartoon does not mean such an attack can be recreated in an actual battle," Pearl spoke before Steven could answer my question as she turned to look at the boy. Her attention becoming divided as she spoke while also trading blows with the HoloPearl.
"Boomerang-blade, boomerang-blade!" Steven continued to chant despite Pearl's words as he refused to let the matter go.
"Steven these are real sword techniques, not those silly things from your movies, it's about-" Pearl continued to speak before I realized what was about to happen.
"Pearl look ou-" I began to yell before the words dies on my lips as the HoloPearl's sword went straight through Pearl's back. The sword having gone clean through as Pearl's own sword clattered to the ground.
"Whoopsie-Daisy," Pearl spoke as she tried to reassure Steven in the moments she had left before she would retreat to her gem, "Steven it's okay, I'm gonna be just-"And then Pearl was gone, her physical form poofing away as I caught her gem before it could clatter to the ground.
"No!" I heard Steven yell as I crouched down to hand the gem to him, "Pearl? I was just, and then she"
"Steven it's okay," I spoke as the other gems ran up behind him, "Pearl will be just fine."
"What do you mean?" Steven questioned me as he stared up at me, giving me a clear view of his tear-filled eyes.
"When a gem's body is badly damaged they release their physical forms and retreat to their gems in order to regenerate. As long as Pearl's gem remains intact she will be just fine," I explained calmly, having learned all of this and more from Clockwork's teachings. Glad for them as I was able to lessen Steven's worry.
"So she's gonna be okay?" Steven question as he cradled Pearl's gem with one hand while wiping his tears away with the other.
"Don't worry bud, this kind of thing just happens sometimes, usually to me," Amethyst spoke as she placed a hand on Steven's shoulder.
"Always to you," Garnet added as she gave a small smile which caused Steven to smile in return.
"Hey I'm scrappy what d'ya want?" Amethyst retorted, though her manner conveyed it as teasing as Steven laughed a bit.
"So how long will it take her to regenerate?" Steven questioned, "five minutes? Ten minutes?"
"Hard to say Steven, it's different for every gem and depending on the extent of the damage Pearl could be in there for a while," I broke the news gently.
"Oh, well that's okay she'll be back soon. The damage wasn't too bad," Steven convinced himself.
"That's the spirit," I backed him up as I helped him stand, "now come on, let's go back to the temple."
"Okay," Steven agreed as we all made are way back to the warp-pad as we returned to the temple. Steven immediately starting a search for a pillow to put Pearl's gem on to make sure she was comfortable. Once he had succeeded in his quest he set about making a little nest for the gem which ended up including a heat lamp while Garnet and Amethyst retreated deeper into the temple.
"Steven," I spoke slowly as I realized that he wasn't planning to do anything other than watch and wait for Pearl to come out of her gem, "I think I'm gonna head back home alright? I'll come back tomorrow though, bright and early."
"That's fine," Steven spoke offhandedly, not even turning to look at me as I left the temple, walking back to my bakery as a sigh passed my lips. Hoping that Pearl would come back soon as I worried about what would happen to Steven if she was gone for too long.
Unfortunately my hope was for naught as two weeks of visiting Steven only to find him watching for Pearl passed by in the blink of an eye as I tried to pull him away from her gem to try and get him to do something fun. I made him cookie cats, I brought Cujo over, I even offered to give him another demonstration of my powers if only for Steven to spend five minutes acting like his normal self again but nothing worked. No matter what I tried Steven refused to et Pearl's gem out of his sight and while I understood he missed her I was getting worried about his mental health.
Today was no different as I walked into the temple only to be greeted by the mess the place had become while Pearl was regenerating. Each day when I came to visit Steven I would always clean up but by the next day there would be a new mess waiting for me. And while I knew Steven wasn't normally a messy kid without Pearl to pick up after him his habits started to get unhygienic.
"Hey Steven," I greeted as I walked in the door the same time Amethyst and Garnet returned from their mission, "Pearl still isn't back yet?"
"Man she's really taking her time on this one," Amethyst remarked as she reclined on the cloud she had obtained from who knows where, "by the way, I love what you've done with the place."
"Pearl usually helps me tidy up," Steven spoke as way of explanation.
"I've been cleaning when I visit but unlike Pearl I'm not able to keep up with Steven's habits," I added to the conversation as Steven sighed.
"Hey, if real Pearl can't be here there's always the next best thing," Steven spoke suddenly as he moved from his spot behind the counter to ceremoniously pull away the blanket I had placed over HoloPearl.
"Do you wish to engage in combat?" HoloPearl spoke as soon as she was free from the blanket, her sword held erect in the air as she stared straight ahead.
"Steven cover that thing back up," Amethyst spoke with a scowl as she floated on her cloud over to the the two.
"But it's like Pearl, look at it," Steven insisted as he gestured to HoloPearl.
"Steven, that thing might look like Pearl but it isn't her. It's just a hologram that's used as a sparring partner and training bot," I explained as I grimaced. Not liking how the HoloPearl continued to stay formed even after Pearl had poofed and hoping Pearl would come back soon so she could get rid of it.
"Okay so it isn't Pearl but maybe I can get it to act like her!" Steven exclaimed, unwilling to back down as h brought HoloPearl up the stairs and into his room where he gestured to the floor, "here we have a messes is one of Pearl's favorite hobbies. Here, Pearl likes to organize them by type. Animal, humanoid, miscellaneous, now you try."
"You show your sword in vain!" HoloPearl cried as I watched her eyes turn red, my own narrowing as I flew at Steven, turning intangible as I grabbed him right as HoloPearl's sword went through his figurine, "challenger defeated."
"You okay?" I questioned Steven as I let us both become tangible again as HoloPearl's eyes returned to their normal white.
"Yeah I'm fine," Steven spoke as he looked up at HoloPearl, "I just need to try something else."
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I questioned him with a pointed look.
"Of course, I just need to replace that sword of hers," Steven spoke as he turned his head to look at his impaled figurine.
"Here," I spoke as I took the sword out of HoloPearl's hand and placed an umbrella in it's place, "how about I finish cleaning up your room and you make sure HoloPearl doesn't destroy anything?"
"Right, thanks Danny!" Steven spoke as he grabbed HoloPearl by the hand and led her outside to do something or other as I made myself busy. The place becoming close to spotless as all that was left was to clean the kitchen before Garnet walked in.
"Danny," she spoke as I turned to look at her, giving her my full attention, "Amethyst ate her cloud and now she's floating above the city, can you bring her down please?"
"Of course Garnet," I spoke without hesitation, "I'm going ghost." Once I was transformed I turned intangible as I flew through the roof and above the city, quickly spotting Amethyst as she floated aimlessly in the sky. "Are you okay?" I questioned her once I was within hearing distance as I grabbed ahold of Amethyst's foot as I began tugging her back to the Earth.
"I'm fine, just really floaty," Amethyst responded as as burped up a piece of the cloud she had swallowed.
"That's what happens when you eat a cloud without thinking of what'll happen to you after," I responded as I brought Amethyst back within the temple where Garnet was waiting as she tied a rope around one of Amethyst's feet.
"There, that should keep you from floating away while we wait for you to digest the rest of the cloud," Garnet spoke as a way of explanation as Amethyst seemed resigned to her new attribute.
"If it's all the same to you Garnet I would like to find Steven," I interrupted, "just to make sure he's safe."
"Go," Garnet spoke as she waved me off.
"Thanks Garnet," I said as I flew through the ceiling once again. Searching from above before I noticed Steven standing by a tree stump with HoloPearl. I was about to approach but before I could I saw Steven runoff, clearly seeing he was upset I decided to give him some space, heading back to the bakery in order to pick up something I thought he might enjoy. However, what had planned to be a quick trip to the bakery turned out to be a scavenger hunt as somehow Cujo had found my gift and had hidden it somewhere in the bakery. Thus by the time I found it and made my way over to the temple it was nightfall and raining hard.
Causing me to make the trip intangibly so as to avoid getting soaked by the rain as I made my way into the temple. "Steven!" I called out once I was inside and let myself be reclaimed by the laws of physics, "I have a surprise for you!"
"What kind of surprise?" Steven question as he peered down at me from his room.
"Oh nothing special," I spoke with a shrug, hand behind my back as I walked up the stairs towards him, "just a movie Amethyst told me you might like."
"What movie is-" Steven began before he cut himself off by letting out a shriek of delight as I presented him with his gift, "you found the fifth lonely blade movie!"
"Yep, took two video stores, three thrift shops, and hours of internet searching that took up the better part of the past two weeks but I found it," I spoke nonchalantly.
"Thank you so much!" Steven spoke as he set the movie down, "I'll make popcorn and then we'll watch it okay?"
"Sounds like a plan," I spoke back as the sounds from the microwave echoed throughout the temple as I set up the movie and placed Pearl's gem on Steven's bed. Everything going smoothly until I heard…
"Do you wish to test your skills against me in a duel?" HoloPearl's voice rang out as I looked to see her standing in front of Steven who quickly ran around her.
"No, no sword-fighting," Steven yelled out as he grabbed the popcorn and ran up the stairs.
"Maybe if we just ignore her she'll go away?" I suggested hopefully at Steven who simply nodded in return as he made himself comfortable.
"Draw your sword and fulfill your destiny," HoloPearl all but yelled as she began to come up the stairs.
"No! Leave us alone!" Steven yelled down at her as I hoped she would listen to him or at the very least not advance the rest of the way up the stairs as she had paused when Steven spoke. Said boy taking this time to throw the blanket back on top of her as I pressed play on the movie and we both relaxed watching it.
That is until I heard HoloPearl continue her ascent up the stairs. Pearl's cheap imitation causing both Steven and I to go on edge as her sword had poked through the blanket, moving in forward motions as every few minutes the hologram would yell out either "Thrust" or "Parry" along with the motion. The actions only serving to cause neither one of us to focus on the movie due to the noise, yet still we attempted to ignore her.
Which was ruined as before I could stop her HoloPearl had somehow gotten between me and Steven and had stuck her sword through the T.V with a call of, "Thrust!"
"Aww the T.V!" Steven cried as we both jumped away from the weapon, "why must you destroy the things I love?"
"Challenger defeated, continue?" HoloPearl questioned, completely oblivious to anything else except finding another challenger to defeat.
"I hate you! I hate you!" Steven cried out as I saw small tears forming in the corner of his eyes, "you're nothing like Pearl! Pearl is smart and she always wants to protect me from danger! All you want to do is fight me!"
"Woah Steven," I spoke as I walked over to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder, "just take a-"
"Challenge accepted, basic attack mode initiated," HoloPearl interrupted me as I summoned my sword to block her attacks from hitting Steven while she still chanted, "parry, parry, thrust, parry, parry, thrust."
"Stop saying that!" Steven yelled as he started throwing figurines at her in anger.
"Steven I don't think that's helping," I called out before one of the figurines hit HoloPearl in the head and her attacks ceased, "I stand corrected.
"Basic attack mode defeated," HoloPearl said as I let out a sigh of relief, that didn't last long as her next words were, "initiated advanced mode."
"Oh no," I groaned as the hologram's eyes turned red and I had to be quick in order to block her as she tried to attack Steven before I got in her way. Our swords clashing like they did a few weeks ago except this time it wasn't just for demonstration.
My attention solely focused on HoloPearl as I didn't want to risk underestimating her as I had no doubt that for our previous fight she had been on a simpler level in case I wasn't as adept at the sword as I claimed. Not even able to check to make sure Steven was at a safe distance as I managed to drive her down the steps and into the living room where there was more maneuverability for our battle.
"Danny!" I heard Steven cry from somewhere behind me but I couldn't afford to turn and look as HoloPearl chose that moment to go for my head, my sword barely going up in time to block the attack as the force caused me to crouch a bit.
Remembering how our last battle went I decided to try the same technique as while in my crouching position I let myself turn intangible which in turn caused HoloPearl to stumble from the loss of pressure as she had put her entire body behind her swing and thus it had been my retaliation against her attack keeping the hologram upright.
Yet my choice of action caused me to do the very thing I had feared doing, I had underestimated HoloPearl. For I had assumed my sneak attack would work just as it had last time but I was a fool to think that she wouldn't have been able to recall the last battle and adapt should the same technique be used against her again. That was my downfall for as I regained tangibility it was to be greeted with a sword in my back, I hadn't turned around to attack her quickly enough. HoloPearl had gotten faster and I had not, the pain was unbearable as I felt the weapon that cleaved me straight through, much the same as it had done to Pearl two weeks ago.
But, unlike Pearl I would not leave Steven behind to deal with the hologram and so, as my last act I turned my sword in my hand so it faced behind me and without even turning to look to see if I had my angle correct I jammed it into whatever part of the Hologram that happened to be in it's path.
To my luck I had aimed correctly for as my vision began to give out I heard, "Challenger wins, do you wish to duel again."
"No," I answered before my sword clattered to the ground, no longer having the strength as my weapon dematerialized and my vision gave out as darkness engulfed me.
The darkness covered me, but to my surprise it didn't consume me. For while I assumed I had given in as my eyes finished closing in Steven's living room they immediately opened again to a place I didn't recognize. What I did recognize was the fact that I wasn't in the temple, I wasn't in human form either and despite being tangible and having both of my feet of the ground instead of up in a spectral tail there was a profound sense of weightlessness as I moved around to try and make sense of where I was at.
Yet as I walked around it was less of what I was seeing that set me at ease in the strange place but more of what I was feeling, a feeling of calmness and serenity filling the place up to the brim. The area was simple really as it was about the size of a living room with light blue walls and a carpeted flooring, an odd fixture being that the ceiling wasn't the same as the walls as instead of being light it was a dark. A dark-blue that could easily be mistaken for black that was made up for by the tiny-stars that seemed to cover it all, the same stars that I could now see were lighting up the room.
Moving on I walked away from the area I was in, being careful to take notice of everything as I saw that there weren't any windows or doors in the room and as such I had no way to get my bearings. What struck me as odd was the rooms slight familiarity as it was structured in a way that reminded me of my room before the accident but with furniture that seemed more likely to belong in my room at Clockwork's tower. Both rooms being places where there was no need for me to be cautious and instead were hideaways whenever I wanted to be alone and think.
That's when it hit me as to where I was and the reason for the odd ceiling and combination of my two rooms, it was the fight with HoloPearl. She had stabbed me and as I looked around around I came to a simple conclusion, I was inside my gem. That was the only explanation, and the only one that made sense as I sat down on the couch that was an exact replica of the one in Clockwork's tower. Recognizable by the time master's insignia that had been sewn into the pillows that adorned it.
As I sat down I thought back to what Clockwork had told me about the inner working of a gem in the hopes that maybe I could recall a piece of information that would help me rematerialize. Yet the only thing I could recall was the fact that the inside of a gem was meant to put the gem at ease, give them a place of tranquility where they could recuperate from whatever had caused them to poof in the first place. Unable to think of anything that would help me as I until now I didn't even know I could retreat into my gem and that information alone was astounding.
Doing the only thing I could do for the moment I walked over to where there was a mirror propped against one of the walls, placing my back towards it as I looked over my shoulder to survey the damage. There, in the middle of my back was a cut, precise and deep yet a quick look at my chest showed that where it had gone cleanly through was already gone. My front showing no sign of damage as the cut on my back was the only indicator I had been wounded. My assumption being that the wound had begun to heal when I arrived and I would reform once the job was done, but as to how long that would take I had no idea.
I needed to find a way to speed up the process, for no reason other than I needed to make sure Steven was okay. I saw firsthand the way he acted when Pearl was in her gem and she had still been in her gem when I was poofed, I had to get back. I didn't even want to imagine how Steven was faring with the both of us poofed and I didn't want the boy to have to deal with that if I could help it. I needed to get back, I needed to protect him.
As these thoughts ran through my head I was suddenly speechless and thoughtless as I felt a warm sensation spreading across my back. The feeling extending across where I knew my injury to be and as I turned my head to look over my shoulder I could see the wound slowly, but surely, begin to close up. I watched in fascination as the wound closed itself, my skin closing itself up over the wound as a thin layer of new skin began to form, the layer getting thicker before all signs of the wound disappeared, leaving only a cut hazmat suit to indicate that it had even been there at all.
"If only there was a way to fix that," I said, speaking for the first time since I had entered this place, the sound echoing around the room before a light green glow alerted me to something changing on my back.
My attention once again captivated as I watched the hazmat suit repair itself, yet not without its changes as where there had previously been the cut was now a single, white star. The symbol marking me as my mind was drawn to my memories of the gems as I recalled that each of them had a star somewhere on their outfits and I assumed this new addition on mine marked me as one of them.
Yet I didn't have time to ponder it for long as the same green glow that had indicated the star being placed now came from the mirror, the glow calling to me as the mirror seemed to lose it's glass surface. For some reason I knew exactly what the glow meant for as I stepped through the mirror turned exit I knew it meant I would be reforming.
My one thought being how I was glad to be able to protect Steven once again as darkness covered me once more and my weightless feeling, disappeared.
Do I have an explanation for this chapter? No, do I want to try and explain this chapter? Nope, but I shall try anyways. See I imagine that the inside of a gem is much like their rooms in the temple, it's supposed to be peaceful and tailored to make them feel at piece. Hence why Danny's was his two rooms, one where he had been safe, and the other where he had been loved. Each serving to set his mind at ease and give him a place to think before he returned to physical form. Time being irrelevant as inside the gem there is no way to tell time and thus while only a few minutes to Danny the time he spent in his gem was actually longer than he presumed. The exact amount of time he spent in their shall be revealed next chapter. If anyone has anymore questions about it feel free to ask and I shall answer the best I can. Also, this chapter is the longest so far, not including author's notes and as such I feel proud. Happy New Year! Now onto the reviews!
Gwencarson126: Thank you! I'm glad you think so!
Leonine-Lilt: I'm glad! I really tried to break away from what other stories were like with Danny losing his family and I'm glad I succeeded! I really want to tell you want I have planned for Dan but unfortunately that would give too much away and as such I cannot.
Kimera20: I wish but unfortunately Steven won't learn to use the sword for awhile.
TuftsOfCotton: I watch Supernatural, enough said.
Gamelover41562: They'll meet ghosts eventually, just not yet.
SirAuruda1st: Merry late-Christmas to you too!
Remzal Von Enili: I'm trying with these, trust me I don't mean to make typos.
Johnathen: Sorry I missed your birthday but take this update as a late-birthday present. And as for your fusion question I'm not sure who Danny will fuse with first and I don't think gems can fuse with a ghost. Maybe Danny can but who knows?
Guests: Will do!
OfLifeAndDeathAndAllBetween: Merry belated-Christmas!
Drift219: Both questions have been answered, both because of your review. Thanks for the inspiration!