Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any of its characters; I only own my O.C.! I hope you guys enjoy today's exciting chapter!
Garnet: We...
Pearl and Amethyst: Are the Crystal...
Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: Gems!
Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: We'll always save the day!
Steven: And if you think we can't...
Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: We'll..always find a way!
Garnet: That's why the people (Pearl, Amethyst, Moonstone, Steven: Of this world!) of this world! Believe in...
Moonstone: Moonstone!
Garnet: Garnet!
Amethyst: Amethyst!
Pearl: And Pearl!
Steven: And Steven!
Steven and the Sword Fighter
It was a rainy day in Beach city, and the bad weather was enough to keep everyone inside their homes safe and dry. One might feel bored on a day like this, with nothing to do and no one to hang out with.
For Steven, however, rainy days meant that he had a whole day to himself that he wanted to spend with the rest of the Crystal Gems.
At the moment, they were all gathered in Steven's bedroom upstairs, watching a movie on his TV, except for Moonstone, who was reading a blue book instead of looking at the TV. Amethyst and Steven were enjoying a bowl of popcorn together, as Steven felt that popcorn was a standard movie-watching tradition, and Amethyst never passed up on a chance for food. Lion was enjoying a cozy rainy-day nap outside, right under the porch, so he'd stay dry and rest peacefully without anything disturbing it.
On the screen, the movie currently playing was from one of Steven's favorite franchises, Lonely Blade. It was about a lone sword fighter who would fight, all alone, with his mighty blade. The dialogue was Japanese, but the movie had English subtext, so it was translated to make it easier to understand.
During the current scene, where Lonely Blade was confronting a janitor, Steven, who was sitting on his knees on top of his bed, resting his arms on top of Garnet's head, whom Garnet, along with the other gems, were sitting on the floor, commented, "Oh, Lonely Blade, you so lonely."
The next scene that played showed the janitor revealing a blade hidden within his mop as he told the protagonist that he was the president of a villainous group that Lonely Blade had encountered before.
The revelation shocked Steven, who stated, "What?! The janitor is the evil samurai president?! That's bananas."
Pearl, however, did not seem to be enjoying the movie as much as Garnet and Amethyst were, declaring, "Oh, come on. It was so obvious. He's been mopping in the background of every fight scene."
Adding extra proof to measure, she also picked up the box in which the movie tape had resided in earlier, pointing to where a picture of the same evil janitor was mopping in the background, stating, "Look. Here he is on the cover of the box."
"Oh, yeah," Steven replied, understanding Pearl's point.
"Besides, even in another language, the movies are SO predictable," Moonstone added, not looking up from her book.
"How can you know that? You haven't even been watching the movie, Moon," Amethyst retorted playfully while tossing a popcorn kernel at her.
Moonstone caught the kernel, looking up from her book, and responded, "It's because movies like this franchise always follow the same exact format. The protagonist's backstory involves tragedy fallen upon of their family, leaving the protagonist to pursue their lives upholding their family's honor and legacy. The antagonist feeds off the tragic developments and fallacies of the protagonist and utilizes it into power, which they leave unprovoked until, in the final confrontation, in which the protagonist is pushed to extreme limits and under the last wire, they somehow miraculously retain their power and values, learn from their mistakes, and defeat the antagonist. Then, when it all seems to be coming in a concise close, a new conflict or discovery triggers a new journey that the protagonist is lead to go down."
"And this is why I don't watch movies with you," Amethyst responded while rolling her eyes and eating the kernel of popcorn Moonstone had caught.
"And this is why I don't like watching movies, period," Moonstone retorted while returning to reading her book.
"I thought you liked the movie "Light Battles," Steven pointed out, referencing to a movie that they had seen earlier before Lonely Blade.
Moonstone shrugged and answered, "Eh, it was ok, but the plotline regarding Dim Slater creating the Fatal Light was a misstep in his antagonistic development. Plus, Luca AirJogger does not appeal to me as a superior user of the force."
"You're just saying that because you were jealous while watching how Luca fights better with his lightsaber than you do," Amethyst playfully teased.
"Oh, shut up," Moonstone retorted back while blushing in embarrassment.
"Shhhh," Steven and Garnet said in unison, gesturing Amethyst and Moonstone to be quiet so they could hear the movie. Moonstone quietly returned back to reading her book as Amethyst looked back up at the TV screen.
The new scene that played involved Lonely Blade prepping his sword to pull off a deadly move called the Boomerang Blade.
Steven cheered for the hero, shouting, "Go, Lonely, go"!
When Lonely launched the Boomerang Blade, the evil janitor jumped up and dodged the attack, shocking Lonely.
Steven was excitedly rooting for Lonely, declaring, "Do the boomerang blade again"!
However, Pearl was watching how the samurai were fighting, and the battle was NOT impressing her one bit. To her, it felt like a mockery of the true values of sword-fighting, a topic she was well-known about.
Unable to watch it any longer, Pearl, visibly annoyed, commented, "Oh, come on, this is ridiculous! Just look at their form."
"They're samurais; their form is stoic and unmoving," Moonstone pointed out while looking at her book.
Pearl sighed and declared, "This is nothing like real sword-fighting"!
That comment led to Garnet and Amethyst both shushing Pearl, who kept her mouth shut but still remained adamant about what she thought.
Steven giggled and reached over to grab some popcorn while telling Pearl, "It's just a movie, Pearl," before he ate the popcorn he had grabbed.
"It's not the movie's fault, Steven; Pearl's always had a knack and knowledge for sword-fighting. No one does it better than she does," Moonstone pointed out.
"Thank you, Moonstone," Pearl responded before she said to Steven, "Well, if you ever want to see a demonstration of proper sword techniques, I'd be happy to show you."
That statement immediately pried Steven away from the TV; an actual chance to get to see true sword-fighting up close?! In real-life?!
Pearl didn't think that Steven would take the idea seriously until she felt something on her head and looked up, seeing that Steven had placed one of his hands on top of her head, and his eyes were glistening in awe with star-shaped pupils.
Without words, Pearl didn't even need to ask the boy to know what THAT look meant, "YES! I want to see it now! Pretty please with Cookie Cats on top"!? It even made her curiously ask, surprised by this, "Now"?
Steven's eyes seemed to glow brighter in response to the question, which was more than enough for PEarl to smile happily and say, "Well, if you're sure about this, then I don't see why not."
"YAY," Steven cheered aloud, prompting Garnet and Amethyst to shush him as Steven quieted down with a sheepish grin and commented, "Sorry."
After pausing the movie, Steven and the Crystal Gems all took the warp over to the perfect premiere spot so Pearl could show Steven the true art of sword-fighting: the Ancient Sky Arena.
The arena was set floating around clouds in the sky, with the warp pad in the front of the structure, a four-colored lozenge symbol behind it, and small circles resembling the galaxy warp. There were stairs to the entrance's left and right, leading to the arena's center. The arena itself was in ruins: the structure showed signs of damage throughout, debris was seen floating nearby, and a significant portion appeared to be missing. Above the entrance to the arena are four large octahedrons colored and positioned in the design of the Great Diamond Authority symbol, with the pink portion somewhat destroyed. Three statues of gems holding weapons can be seen in the center of the arena. The first one on the left wields a sword, the second Gem on the right wields a spear, the third Gem on the far right wields a mace, and the fourth Gem statue is on the far left but cannot be made out due to being destroyed save for the legs. There was gem writing on the columns next to the statues, and hexagonal holes resembling windows could be seen underneath the structure on the ruined end.
Steven was currently wearing a salmon-colored hoodie since it was breezy and chilly up on top of the Sky Arena, and he was sitting with Garnet, Amethyst, and Moonstone on the stairs, though Amethyst was laying on a floating cloud rather than sitting on the stairs.
Pearl was standing on the arena floor, facing Steven, holding two shiny silver swords in her hands as she explained to him, "All right. In order to give a proper demonstration, I'm going to need a sparring partner."
Steven was about to raise his hand, but Garnet gently pushed his hands down in response as a quiet way to tell him, "No, it's better to watch."
With a proud smile, Pearl said, "Luckily, I have the perfect candidate right here."
On cue, Pearl's gem began to glow, and a beacon of light was summoned, creating a glowing holographic statue of Pearl that stood right in front of the real Pearl.
Steven's eyes glistened in awe when he saw the holographic Pearl, commenting happily, "Cool! Hologram Pearl"!
"Ah, geez," Amethyst replied, feeling a little annoyed.
"Note: It'd make sense for Pearl to duel herself since only she is on par with her own skills," Moonstone addressed while jotting down notes in her notepad.
The holographic Pearl then spoke in a robotic voice, asking, "Do you wish to engage in combat"?
"Let this be the perfect battle," Pearl responded with determination before tossing one of her swords to the hologram, who replied while catching the sword and getting into a battle stance, "You've already made a mistake by challenging me."
Pearl laughed at the comment with a slight scoff, retorting while getting into a battle stance of her own, "We shall let our swords decide."
"Nerd," Amethyst shouted towards Pearl, earning her a loud shush from Steven, Garnet, and Moonstone.
"Amethyst, hold your tongue; Steven might learn something from this," Moonstone pointed out, which led to Amethyst sighing in boredom but showing she understood.
The holographic Pearl's eyes then glowed red, narrowing into a determined glare before it stated, "Commencing duel."
The holographic Pearl lunged forward with its sword, set to strike Pearl.
Pearl, on the other hand, perfectly blocked the strike with her own sword, the impact of the swords colliding, causing an abrupt wind gust that blew past the other Crystal Gems, knocking Steven off-balance from his seat.
Both holographic Pearl and Pearl were matched in speed, running equally to one another and exchanging mighty blows of their swords equivalent to that of a fencing match, currently at a steady stalemate. Any time there was an opening, it was immediately blocked, and any time holographic Pearl or Pearl tried to do a lunge attack and strike forward, the other would jump back or flip to dodge the strike, demonstrating race and agility beyond anyone's wildest dreams.
Pearl efficiently blocked every strike that holographic Pearl fired away, not letting down her guard even once. The holographic Pearl took note of this, stating, "Defense rank "S." Zero openings detected."
"Go, Pearl, go," Steven eagerly cheered, rooting for Pearl while Moonstone was eagerly jotting down notes about Oearl's form and strategies..
"Go, Holo-Pearl," Amethyst shouted, cheering on the hologram rather than her own teammate, which distracted Pearl for a moment, causing the gem to feel annoyed.
Unfortunately, that one moment she was distracted was more than enough time for the hologram to use its sword to bat Pearl's sword away from the gem, creating a wide opening for attack, stating, "Opening detected."
It charged in to do a slice attack with the sword, but Pearl effectively dropped to her knees and slid downward, dodging the attack and grabbing her sword back into her hands at the same time.
When the holographic Pearl jumped up to attack from the air, Pearl timed her counterattack just right, slicing right through the holographic Pearl's defenses, before stabbing the sword intoits chest, knocking it down to the floor.
The holographic Pearl's eyes retreated back to their normal shape, changing from red to white, as the holographic Pearl then declared, "Match. Set. Challenger wins"!
Steven leaped up to his feet, cheering happily while the other gems watched on, "Whoo-hoo! Yay, Pearl," before running up to the gem excitedly.
Meanwhile, the hologram appeared to sit up before asking, "Do you wish to battle again"?
Before Pearl could give a response, Steven approached her and exclaimed happily, feeling invigorated by the epic swordfight he just witnessed, "Pearl! That was amazing! You were so cool"!
Pearl was definitely touched by Steven's words, even moreso that her demonstration of sword fighting skills impressed Steven, which triggered her to develop a light blue blush while she replied, feeling honored and a little embarrassed even due to not knowing how to really express her thought in proper words, "Oh, well; one does try their best."
Then, Steven asked Pearl, "Will you teach me to sword-fight like you"?
If Pearl wasn't busy trying to keep her composure in regards to Steven's question, she would've straight-up SQUEALED excitedly for Steven not only wanting to try out proper sword fighting, but him wanting to learn how to fight like SHE does! Why, she felt so happy that her gem could burst at the seems if her embubbled eagerness got high enough. Though there was also a part of Pearl that DID feel a little concerned about Steven learning to fight with such a sharp weapon, much less fighting like she does. But, Steven ahs surprised her time and time again with what he was capable of doing, so, what's to say that he can't learn this either?
The best part about this was that Pearl thought that if she taught him well enough, he could possibly grow up to be as good a swordfighter as...Rose was.
With a solid decision in mind and a chuckle that escaped her mouth out of how humorous Steven's overflowing excitement was, Pearl responded, "All right, but we should start with the basics."
She then cleared her throat and turned around, facing the holographic Pearl, ordering it to "Initiate training mode."
The hologram stood up, declaring as it got into a fighting position, "Training mode initiated. Level 1-begin"!
"I want you to stand back, Steven, and watch me carefully, okay," Pearl told Steven while gesturing for him to watch her closely and carefully.
Steven quickly did as he was told, giving himself some distance between him and Pearl so he could watch what she did from a safe distance and still get a good view of what Pearl was gonna do.
The training then started, with Pearl and holographic Pearl exchanging sword blows, while the hologram stated with each strike, "Parry! Parry! Thrust! Parry! Parry! Thrust"!
As the back-and-forth exchange of sword strikes progressed, Pearl then spoke to Steven while gesturing for him to take a close look at the way she stood, "Do you see what I'm doing with my feet, Steven? Notice where I keep my center of gravity."
However, Steven's initial surge of excitement slowly tinkered as he heard what Pearl said. While yes, her "center of gravity" seemed cool...he guessed. But he hoped to see Pearl do something cool with her sword, like in the Lonely Blade movie.
That thought alone made Steven ask Pearl while feeling a bit bored, "Aww, can you show me something cool, like the boomerang blade"?
"Steven, you know that's not a real sword technique," Pearl pointed out while still keeping up with the holographic Pearl's sword strikes.
That didn't stop Steven from wanting to see Pearl pull off the move, as he eagerly chanted, "Boomerang blade! Boomerang blade! Boomerang blade"!
That made Pearl turn her head, still keeping on par with her sword strikes, and tell Steven in a slightly disapproving manner, "Steven, these are real sword techniques, not those silly things from your movie. It's about waiting carefully for the perfect moment to ..."
"Thrust," was the last thing Steven heard before, that came form the hologram, before what happened next that was gonna shock him to the core!
In that slight second Pearlw as distracted as she talked to Steven, her hand slipped and missed a defensive mark, creating an opening the holographic Pearl spotted and thrustted her sword, sticking it RIGHT! THROUGH! PEARL!
Steven gasped and covered his mouth in disbelief when he saw the blade sticking out of Pearl while Pearl herself felt the blade go through her, and while it didn't hurt since gems didn't feel pain, it did cause her to stagger and drop her sword.
"Whoa," Amethyst commented in shock, sitting up on the cloud she was lying on when she saw what happened.
"Oh, no," Garnet stated worryingly, standing up immediately when she saw what happened.
"Uh-oh," Moonstone said, concern filling her tone of voice when she saw Pearl's still stance.
Steven couldn't believe his eyes; Pearl got...stabbed! Was she ok?! Was she hurt?! Is she gonna be ok?! All these questions filled the boy's head as he asked, both frightened and worried, "Pearl"?
Pearl saw how scared Steven was and she herself knew how severe this was. As much as she wanted to try and keep this from looking too bad, she knew that she had to reassure Steven that things would be okay. So, cautiously yet worried herself, Pearl started to tell Steven, "Whoopsy-daisy. Steven, it's okay. I'm gonna be just ..."
But she couldn't finish what she was going say because after the last word slipped out of her mouth, Pearl vanished in a poof of smoke, leaving only her pearl gem to land gently on the floor.
Seeing Pearl disappear and get gem lying on the floor, Steven immediately thought the worst; Pearl was...dead! He screamed, "No"!
Like lightning, he dropped to his knees and scooped the gem up, calling to it as tears fell down his face, "Pearl? Pearl"!
The holographic Pearl, who stood tall, declared, "Challenger defeated! Level 1-failed".
"Steven," Garnet, Amethyst, and Moonstone commented in unsion as they ran to him and gathered around the boy, seeing the pearl in his hands.
Steven looked up at the others, tearfully trying to explain what happened, "I-I was just ... and ... and she was trying to ..."
Luckily, Amethyst gave Steven a reassuring smile, telling him ,"Steven, it's okay. Pearl's gonna be just fine."
It didn't help Steven feel better right away, but it make him take a moment to wipe away his tears while he asked the gems, "What do you mean"?
Garnet explained, "Sometimes if our bodies are badly damaged, we release our physical forms and retreat to our gems to regenerate."
"Yeah, it's kind of like when a snake sheds its old skin; they release the old skin that they've outgrown and becomes too worn out, and they go hide in a dark place so they can shed and emerge in brand new skin," Moonstone added on, explaining what Garnet had said with an analogy she hoped Steven would understand.
Hearing this, Steven began to feel a little better and hopeful that Pearl would be back soon. He then asked, "So, she's gonna be okay"?
"Don't worry, bud," Amethyst answered reassuringly, adding on, "This kind of thing just happens sometimes ... usually to me."
"Always to you," Garnet stated bluntly.
"Note: you have quite the reputation in regeneration," Moonstone mentioned.
Amethyst chuckled and commented back with a shoulder shrug, "Hey, I'm scrappy; what do you want"?
"But the most important thing is that this is natural for us gems; Pearl's gonna be alright. All she needs is a little time so she can regenerate," Moonstone then clarified for Steven, getting things back to the topic at hand.
Hearing this, Steven smiled and felt relieved, knowing that Pearl was gonna be ok after all. He held the gem in his hands before asking his friends, "So, how long will it take her to regenerate? 5 minutes, 10 minutes"?
That question made Garnet, Amethyst, and Moonstone look at one another, unsure how to answer specifically.
"Uh, note: we don't regenerate that fast, unless in dire circumstances," Moonstone answered hesitantly.
"Yeah man, it usually takes longer than a few minutes," Amethyst added, unsure if their responses would settle right.
Luckily, Steven seemed to get it as he then asked, "Oh, ok. So she'll regenerate by the end of today"?
2 (f********g) weeks later...
It had been a nerve-wracking two weeks since Pearl had poofed and retreated into her gem, and she STILL wasn't finished regenerating yet! Garnet, Amethyst, and Moonstone knew that Pearl was one who liked to take her time with things, so they didn't worry as much about when Pearl was gonna be done regenerating.
Steven, on the other hand, was a complete wreck! He kept pacing every day around the gem, which was now resting on a purple blanket in a small basket, and eyed it carefully, hoping to see any changes in its development soon. Alas, nothing had happened yet, and he hoped it's happen soon, preferably, now!
At the moment, he had the basket on the counter and was placing a yellow lamp next to it. He then turned it on and shined the light on the gem, similar to warming up an egg embryo with a heat lamp. He stuck his hand out, feeling the light as if it was warm enough, before sighing sadly, missing Pearl a lot, which prompted him to comment to himself, "What's taking so long"?
In the meantime, the wap pad glimmered and shined, transporting Amethyst, who was still sitting on the cloud from the Sky Arena, Garnet, and Moonstone into the temple. The gems had recently gone on a mission while Steven stayed behind to care for Pearl. Amethyst was the first to say something, declaring, "What up"?
"We're back, Steven," Moonstone added cheerfully.
"He-e-e," Steven responded, thought not sounding as cheerful.
Amethyst floated over to Steven on the cloud, eyeing Pearl's gem before asking, feeling a little surprised, "She's still not done"?
"Note: this is her longest regeneration so far, and that's beating the time she took a full week to decide on that 80s look," Moonstone commented while coming over to see and taking note about the current state of Pearl's gem in her notepad.
"Man, she's really taking her time with this one," Amethyst added on in concern before smiling and telling Steven in an attempt to help the boy worry a little less, "Got to tell you, though, love what you've done with the place."
The entire floor of the temple looked like a giant mess, with clothes, food, toys, utensils, etc., littering the floor, table, couch, and everything in between.
Steven sadly replied, "Pearl usually helps me tidy up."
"Ah, I say leave it," Amethyst stated while looking around the messy place.
"I say that's not a wise move," Moonstone retorted while crossing her arms.
Suddenly, Steven developed a great idea, smiling as he declared while walking over to something that was covered in a white blanket by the closet, "Hey, if real Pearl can't be here, there's always the next best thing"!
Steven pulled the blanket off and it revealed that underneath it was the holographic Pearl, still holding its sword, as it asked, "Do you wish to engage in combat"?
"Holo-Pearl? I don't know," Moonstone commented, feeling unsure about it.
"Steven, cover that thing back up," Amethyst told the boy, feeling a little weirded out seeing the holographic Pearl standing around.
But Steven quickly retorted back, trying to defend it, "But it's like Pearl! Look at it"!
Both girls looked up at the hologram, feeling creeped out, with Amethyst stating bluntly, "Ye-e-e-ah, that ain't Pearl."
"Note: I agree," Moonstone added.
Steven gave it some thought before suggesting, "Well, maybe I can get it to act like her."
"And how do you plan to do that exactly," Amethyst asked out of confusion.
Steven smiled and replied, "Just wait and see"!
Steven took the holographic Pearl up to his room so he could teach it one of Pearl's most common behavioral qualities: her desire to keep things tidy. He littered some toys on the floor to demonstrate a small mess, instructing the hologram, "Here we have... a mess. Organizing messes is one of Pearl's favorite hobbies."
He picked up a few of the toys, explaining, "Here. Pearl likes to organize them by type."
Steven placed a creature-shaped figurine up on the window shelf, then a half-bat, half-human figurine next to it, followed by a blue monster-shaped figuring, following the order, "Animal, humanoid, miscellaneous."
Steven then picked up a humanoid ninja-like action figure and offered i to to the hologram, telling it, "Now you try."
Instead, the holographic Pearl sensed the toy as a threat, its eyes returning to a red glare while it announced, "You've drawn your sword in vain," as it unleashed its sword and stabbed the toy right through, startling Steven.
Sensing defeat, the holographic Pearl commented, "Challenger defeated," and retreated back into its regular still state.
Seeing that organizing didn't work, Steven tried to think of another idea, saying to himself, "Maybe we need to try something else."
Outside on the beach, with dark clouds forming in the sky, Amethyst held a bunch of clouds in her hand, facing Garnet and Moonstone. The purple gem had thought that it'd be funny to see what the clouds from the Sky Arena tasted like, and Garnet and Moonstone were trying, and failing, to talk her out of it.
"Don't do it, Amethyst; you're gonna regret it," Moonstone warned her, shaking her head and facepalming gently.
"I'm gonna do it," Amethyst retorted in a daring manner, eager to do it.
"Go on, then," Garnet replied monotonously.
"Garnet, don't encourage her! We're supposed to be talking her out of it," Moonstone addressed Garnet.
Garnet patted Moonstone on the back, saying, "Trust me; Amethyst will learn the hard way of what'll happen, and it'll be all the encouragement for her not to do it again."
"I doubt about that," Amethyst replied before saying to Moonstone in a teasing manner, "Besides, you need to lighten up, Moon. You've become like Pearl since she poofed."
"I have NOT," Moonstone argued back before pausing and asking herself, "Have I"?
"Yes," Garnet answered for her, causing the light blue gem to groan and state, "Well, note: someone has to be the mature gem around here since Steven has been preoccupied with Pearl's gem, and Amethyst is-,"
Before she could finish her statement, Amethyst had eaten the cloud and smiled proudly, thinking nothing was gonna happen. However, the magic of the clouds caused Amethyst to inflate and float up like a balloon.
Seeing Amethyst floating up, Garnet quickly caught her by grabbing onto her boot, while Moonstone pinched her eyes and stated, "Now an inflatable gem. Just great."
"I know, right," Amethyst cheered out loud, which only made the light blue gem facepalm again.
Meanwhile, Steven and the holographic Pearl were watching from the house's stairs. Steven couldn't help but giggle before he told the hologram, "Pearl always likes to tease Amethyst when she does funny stuff like this."
The holographic Pearl's eyes narrowed into a glare before it stated, "I won't go easy on you this time"!
Thinking that it said it in th spirit of "playful teasing," Steven commented happily, "That's the spirit," before taking the hologram over to the beach with him.
He approached the gems, asking them playfully, "What are you rascals doing over here"?
However, the holographic Pearl felt challenged as it suddenly declared, "Draw your weapon, challenger"!
Steven had taken its sword earlier and replaced it with an umbrella so he wouldn't worry about anything getting cut up accidentally. So, when the holographic Pearl pointed the umbrella at Amethyst, it merely opened up and only made her move a little bit.
Amethyst then asked Steven, "Steven, why are you still hanging out with that thing? It's gross," before burping up a bit of cloud.
Steven replied sadly, "I just really miss spending time with Pearl."
"We all miss her, Steven, but spending time with her holographic projection is not exactly the most "healthy" way to cope with your wistfulness," Moonstone addressed before adding, "Plus, let's be real; its stare is very unsettling."
Garnet then told Steven reassuringly, "Pearl will come back to us in time, Steven. Have patience," before addressing in a slightly blunt manner, "And stop hanging out with that thing. It's creepy."
However, in that moment she was talking with Steven, she had unexpectedly let go of Amethyst's foot, which caused the gem to shout as she floated up into the sky, with Garnet watching in surprise although her stance as monotonous, so it was hard to tell).
Moonstone, however, freaked out, shouting, "AHHH! We'll get you down, Amethyst," and created her signature light hoverboard using the light peaking through the clouds.
She then hopped on and grabbed Garnet's hand, pulling her up onto the hoverboard while telling Steven, "We'll be right back"!
Moonstone then used her foot to push off as the two gems floated up into the sky to retrieve their floating friend, leaving Steven alone with the holographic Pearl again.
He faced the hologram while telling it, "Well, while the others are gone, I know something that might be fun for us to do that could help you learn how to act like Pearl"!
A little while later, Steven and the hologram were standing by a huge cherry tree that Pearl loved to be around. Steven was holding a purple plush walrus, asking the hologram, "You had fun at the boardwalk, right"?
The holographic Pearl, who was wearing a balloon crown and holding a balloon sword, replied while thrusting the balloon sword, "Parry"!
Thisnfrustrated Steven a lot since so far, nothing had been working to teach it how to behave and act like the real Pearl, and while he didn't want to give up, it didn't stop him from feeling upset about it, saying to the hologram, "Aw, come on, you got to work with me here."
He then gestured to the tall cherry tree, explaining, "This is Pearl's favorite tree. Don't you recognize it? What's on your mind? Come on. Don't hold back."
Suddenly, Steven really regretted saying, "Don't hold back," because the hologram activated its battle mode, declaring, "Challenge accepted"1
Steven quickly dodged as the holographic Pearl swiped the balloon sword right through ther tree, cutting it down with a heavy THUD.
"Oh, no! The tree," Steven shouted sadly, seeing one of Pearl's favorite things destroyed.
The holographic Pearl sensed defeat and commented, "Challenger defeated," before returning to its stationary state.
Steven, however, had enough! Despite his best efforts, none of his teachings were sticking with the hologram, and now, Pearl's favorite tree was the victim of the holographic Pearl's stubborn mindset.
Upset and angry, he shouted, "Real Pearl would never do that! Rah! You're hopeless! Get away from me," and ran straight back to the temple, leaving the holographic Pearl behind.
Later on, it was raining hard in Beach City, thunder and lightning roaming the sky.
Inside the temple, Steven was sitting by the window with the basket where Pearl's gem was resting. He had something in his hand as he told the gemstone, "It's too bad you're still not back, Pearl because I just found a copy of the fifth "Lonely Blade" movie," while showing it a VHS copy of the fifth Lonely Blade movie.
However, not even wanting to watch a movie was enough to get Pearl to regenerate as quickly as he wanted.
This got Steven worrying again, making him as the gemstone, "How long are you gonna make me wait, Pearl"?
Suddenly, the microwave set off it salrm, indicating that whatever was inside had finished cooking. This prompted Steven to get up while saying, "Oh, the popcorn's done. Stay right there," as he went to go get the popcorn.
But as he got the bag of popcorn out of the microwave and turned around to go back to Pearl's gem, he gasped in surprise and became startled when, right behind him, he almost ran right into the holographic Pearl, with her sword back in its hands, who had asked, "Do you wish to test your skills against me in a duel"?!
"No! No sword-fighting," Steven exclaimed as he ran past the hologram.
He grabbed the basket and his VHS tape and proceeded to carry everything up the stairs to his room so he could watch the movie with Pearl's gemstone.
Once more, however, the holographic Pearl appeared behind him, declaring, "Draw your sword and fulfill your destiny"!
Steven wasn't having it, though, as he turned his head and told the hologram, "No! Leave real Pearl and me alone"!
Just before he made it up the stairs, he stopped and threw a white sheet over the holographic Pearl, telling it, "Go back under your sheet."
The holographic Pearl remained motionless under the sheet, its eyes glowing through the thin covers.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Steven had placed on the movie and was watching it with Pearl's gemstone. It was an English dub, so Steven could tell what the characters were saying. As he watched it, he commented, "Whoa! This dub is really good. What do you think, Pearl"?
The gemstone was unresponsive, though Steven did hope that he'd get an answer somehow-
"Parry," the holographic Pearl declared, right behind Steven, while its sword stuck out right through a hole it made in the sheet.
Though an annoying, persistent holographic Pearl was not the kind of Pearl he hoped to get an answer from.
It didn't help Steven's concerns though when, while he trie to focus on watching the movie, the memory of what Pearl was telling him, her advice when she instructed, "It's about waiting carefully for the perfect moment to ..." right up to the moment where she got stabbed by a sudden-
Then, things took a turn for the worst when during a battle scene in the movie, it triggered the holographic Pearl's battle state, making it shout, "Thrust," and it thrusted its sword into the Tv, breaking it, much to Steven's shock.
"The TV," Stevene exclaimed sadly before he faced the hologram and angrily asked it, "Why must you destroy the things I love"?!
Even through its sheet, the holographic Pearl was still active, commenting, "Challenger defeated! Continue"?
Steven, however, did NOT want to continue ANY of this! The holographic Pearl has been doing nothing but causing trouble and grief on his part! He was frustrated with it; he was scared of it; he was angry with it! He...hated it!
He shouted at the hologram, bitterly telling it, "I hate you! I hate you! 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"!
Those last two words he said sealed a frustrating fate as its battle mode activated, making the holographic Pearl shout back, "Challenge accepted"!
While Steven did not want to fight it, he figured that if all the hologram wanted to do was fight, then perhaps beating it would FINALLY get it to stop! So, begrudgingly, he accepted the challenge, declaring in response, "All right, fine," and gave the holographic Pearl a forceful shove.
Unfortunately for him, that shove he did? The holographic Pearl took it as a forceful hit and announced, "Basic attack mode initiated."
It proceeded to perform the basic sword techniques while under its sheet, shouting, "Parry! Parry! Thrust"!
It kpet repretaing those three words over and over, even when Steven told it, "Don't say that"!
Steven picked up his toys that were on the floor and threw them at the holographic Pearl. The first three got blocked easily, but the fourth toy eh threw hit it in the head, which the hologram counted as a defeat, declaring, "Basic attack mode defeated"!
Yes! Steven's mind raced with how this was now finally over and-
"Now initiating advanced mode," the holographic Pearl declared while its eye changed into a red glare.
Oh...stars, he was screwed.
Now, having to face advanced mode, Steven could only witness as the hologram easily cut right through its sheet and tried to strike Steven, who quickly jumped down to avoid the onslaught, landing on the couch below.
The holographic Pearl followed him, stabbing its sword through the couch cushion before it got up and pursued Steven.
Steven frantically tried to find something he could use to block the attack, and picked up the plush walrus he won at the boardwalk, shouting, "Walrus shield"!
It was a nice idea, except the "Walrus shield" got easily...beheaded.
Steven frantically dropped the toy and scrambled to find other things he could use to deflect the strikes, shouting as he looked on the floor, "Snacks, pillow, fuzzy flower, boomerang"?
The boomerang looked very promising as he picked it up, shouting, "Boomerang," before giving it a mighty throw that could knock anyone off balance...before it went right back into his hands.
Now, Steven was in REAL trouble as he jumped back and ran as fast as he could, bending in each and every angle to dodge each thrust and strike that the holographic Pearl tried to land with her sword.
The fight led into the kitchen, where Steven found a mop and held it up, using it to defend himself.
The holographic Pearl easily cut the tip of the mop down to size, leaving Steven to scream and dodge for his life, moving left and right in a frenzied panic.
While dodging holographic Pearl's onslaught, he exclaimed loudly, wishing Pearl was back to hear what he said, "Aah! Pearl! I should have just waited for you to come back! I should have waited for..."
Suddenly, the words seemed to ring back to Steven, making him remember what Pearl was advising him two weeks ago; the trick being to wait carefully for..."The perfect moment"!
And there was a perfect moment; the hologram looked ready to stab Steven vertically, and there was a horizontal opening right on its mid-section that looked perfect.
He adjusted his grip on ther mop and declared with a mighty shout, "Boomerang blade"!
He tossed the mop, and it successfully dodged holographic Pearl's blade, going right through it, just like its sword went right through Pearl.
The hologram retreated and returned back into a stoic position, declaring, "Challenger wins! Do you wish to duel again"?
Steven's answer was a resounding NO! He was NOT gonna live through all that again! Shouting, "N-o-o-o-o-o," at the top of his lungs, he quickly grabbed the mop and used it to bash away the hologram, leaving behind only little glitchy light sparkles of its existence to fade away.
At the moment that Steven had gotten rid of the hologram, Garnet, who had tied a string around Amethyst's foot and was carrying her like a balloon, and Moonstone barged into the house, with Garnet saying, "Steven, we heard fighting."
"Ow," Amethyst commented when her head hit the doorframe before she asked, "Are you all right? What's going on"?
"Note: it sounded like you were struggling for your life against something," Moonstone commented while pointing to the hole in the couch cushion.
Steven adjusted his grip on the mop to make it look like he was doing some mopping, answering with, "Oh, just mopping."
Though the minute he thought he saw a glitchy sign of the hologram coming back, he instantly smooshed it away with th mop, shouting, "Die"!
"Oh...kay," Moonstone responded, not sure to be proud or weirded out.
As Steven finished mopping the floor, he started to say as his friends approached him, "You know, I might miss Pearl a whole lot, but sometimes you just have to accept things the way they are before you ..."
However, just before he could finish what he was gonna say, there was a bright glow coming from Steven's room, and it was coming from Pearl's gem. The gemstone floated up from the blanket and hovered in the air for a bit, allowing light to emerge and create a form straight out of the gemstone.
When the light settled, Pearl appeared, and she was wearing a totally different outfit. Her new form consisted of an aqua blue tunic with a small yellow star on the center of her chest, a lighter satin sash ribbon around her upper waist, amber-colored leggings, andpink socks with pale blue slip-on ballet flats.
Steven's eyes immediately lit up in joy to see that Pearl was back, making him state, "Never mind! Pearl's back"!
Pearl soon descended to the floor, letting out a relaxed sigh while she commented, "That's much better."
However, her moment of peace got interrupted when Steven ran up to her and gave her a tight hug, making the gem chuckle and comment, "Ohh! Hey! Miss me much"?
The big smile on Steven's face and the sparkle in his eyes were more than enough proof to answer that question. Suddenly, Steven then remembered something, saying out loud, "Oh, man! I had this whole thing planned out for when you came back"!
As he ran off to get something prepared, Pearl took a minute to notice the huge mess in Steven's room, making her ask, "Uh, Steven, what happened to your room"?
Then, she saw Garnet, Moonstone, and Amethyst approach her, and the minute Pearl saw Amethyst blown up and tied up like a balloon, she had a deadpanned stare, bluntly telling the purple gem, "I don't even want to know what happened to you."
"I got hit by an airplane," Amethyst happily responded.
"Note: it is a VERY long story," Moonstone clarified.
Suddenly, the gems watched Steven parade around the living area, his sweatshirt taken off and now tied around his head, his gem exposed, and he was banging a pot with a metal spoon, chanting, "Pearl's back," repeatedly.
"Steven, what are you doing," Pearl asked in mere confusion, unsure of what he was doing.
Between the now messed-up house, Steven's "Strange" welcoming, and seeing Amethyst blown up like a balloon, burping up another cloud, was more than enough for the gem to sigh tiredly, commenting, "Ugh. I can't leave you guys alone for a second."
"Pearl's back," Steven declared as he jumped up in front of Pearl.
Steven Universe - Zach Callison
Pearl and Holo-Pearl - Deedee Magno
Garnet - Estella
Amethyst - Michaela Dietz
Moonstone - Anita Kalathara