Beach House

After being nearly bisected, Jason ended up out of the adventures for a while. Firstly, Steven found out that the Gems have been alive for thousands of years, so they don't feel the need to celebrate birthdays. He decided to throw a party to celebrate all the gems missed birthdays.

They didn't really take to it, so Steven got sad about the idea they didn't care for their birthdays. He somehow unlocked the ability to advance or lessen his age at will. In the end, the gems did celebrate their birthdays to help Steven, but that didn't help.

What did was the gems helping him feel his age…to an extent. There was a bit of an issue with his legs, but they were able to fix that. Next, Steven hung out with Lars. Honestly, Jason was indifferent about the guy after their first meeting.

It just wasn't worth it to be angry over something minor like not helping Steven. They ended up meeting with the 'cool kids' of the town and decided to enter a restricted area. An area the gems cordoned off as hazardous after Rose Quartz, Steven's mother, planted sentient moss.

When the gems told the soldier they used police tape only, he explained why that didn't work with the teens of today. Steven came back and told everyone what happened. Obviously, the gems were more than a little concerned about the whole thing.

After they heard Steven out, they were rather accepting of what happened. Finally, Steven had a crisis going on with some type of toy collection he wanted to finish, and Onion had the final one he needed. Steven got it in his head that trading a wand which replicates things was a good idea.

Once the gems were all able to stop Onion from going on a rampage by copying toys, and even a car or two, things were forgiven. Garnet was about to destroy the replicator, but Jason quickly stepped in…

Flashback

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Jason asked.

Garnet looked at him impassively. "I'm going to destroy it because it's too dangerous to have around."

"How about you give it to me?" Jason offered. "I mean, you know me. I'm not dense enough to let just anyone use or take that thing, and I know of a good use for it."

"You're not going to use it to copy money?" Garnet questioned neutrally.

"I have enough money, but with this I could save a lot more." Jason stated. "Plus, I'm starting to run low on certain supplies, and I really don't want to go to my supplier right now."

Present

In the end, the soldier wouldn't need to worry about his ammo, which had been getting rather low after all this time. Even though he missed more adventures, Jason wouldn't let it get him down. Right now, he was finally healthy and watching a samurai movie called Lonely Blade IV.

It was raining outside which made it the perfect day to just stay in. Everyone was together; however, only Steven, Jason, and Amethyst were eating any of the popcorn. The other gems just didn't eat like Amethyst.

"Well, it's a clever way to hide one's weapon." Pearl commented as one of the characters removed a blade from within a broom. "Other than that, this is ridiculous. I mean, just look at their forms. This is nothing like real sword fighting."

"It's just a movie, Pearl." Steven pointed out as he laid atop Garnet's hair.

"Don't forget, my blades can literally orbit around me as I fight, and I can launch them at anything I want." Jason added.

"Well, that's explainable through your gems." Pearl stated. "You've clearly seen me demonstrate proper sword techniques through our training."

"Wait, I want to see!" Steven exclaimed with stars in his eyes.

"Now?" Pearl asked.

"It couldn't hurt to show Steven what he can do without powers." Jason reasoned.

Everyone turned to Pearl. "Very well."

Sky Temple

The group were in a floating arena with half of it broken off, tiled floors, and marble obelisks surrounding the area. Even though they were high up, the air doesn't feel thin at all. This was where Jason and Pearl often came to study sword fighting.

Pearl was in the middle of the arena with two swords. "Alright, in order to give a proper demonstration, I'm going to need a sparring partner."

Steven moved to raise his hand, but Garnet immediately pulled it down.

Jason couldn't help his mind from flashing back to his battle with Frank, so he stood figuring every moment of practice he could get was for the best. "I'll be your sparring partner."

"Well, I did have another in mind, but you'll certainly do." Pearl commented.

"Cooool, Jason and Pearl are going to sword fight!" Steven exclaimed.

"Let this be the perfect battle." Pearl stated, tossing one of her swords to Jason.

He caught and brandished. "We shall let our swords decide that."

"Nerds!" Amethyst yelled.

Everyone shushed her as the two opponents studied each other for a moment. Then, Jason lunged forward with a powerful slash which Pearl blocked. They ran before swinging their weapons in ways they always clashed.

Pearl eventually flipped back before lunging forward, putting the soldier on the back foot. "Your form improves every time we spar; however, you're having difficulties reading an opponent with more brains that what we typically fight."

Jason managed to lock them in place with their weapons. "Right, I'll keep that in mind."

"Go, Pearl, go!" Steven cheered loudly.

"Go Jason!" Amethyst cheered.

That got a look from Pearl which Jason took full advantage of, disarming his mentor. "You are more skilled than me; however, your habit of letting Amethyst distract you created an opening."

Pearl merely went low before coming back up with a high kick, catching Jason's hand and forcing him to release the blade. The gem snatched it before holding the tip over his heart.

"Alright, I concede." Jason admitted.

"Woohoo! Yay, Pearl!" Steven exclaimed excitedly as he ran over to them. "That was amazing!"

"Well, one does try their best." Pearl stated while blushing.

Because of his excitement, Steven started swinging his hand around like he was holding a sword. "Will you teach me to sword fight like you?"

Pearl gave off a slight laugh. "Alright, but we should start you off with the basics." She generated a holo-version of herself, and Jason passed the sword he'd been given to it. "Initiate training mode."

"Training mode initiated. Level 1, begin!" The hologram declared.

"Stand back Steven and watch me carefully, okay?" Pearl asked.

Jason moved back with Steven. He decided to stick around for the basics since those were his initial foundations back when he learned swordplay. Pearl then got into her stance, and the hologram began doing basic attacks against her.

"Parry! Parry! Thrust!" The hologram yelled as it moved.

"Do you see what I'm doing with my feet?" Pearl questioned. "Notice where I keep my center of gravity."

Jason paid close attention since any tidbits he could gleam on sword fighting were something he was interested in; however, Steven wasn't like that. "Aw, can you show me something cool? Like the boomerang blade!"

"Steven, I can do something like that through my control of the blades, but that's not a technique most anyone else could pull off." Jason stated.

"Boomerang blade! Boomerang blade! Boomerang blade!" Steven chanted.

"Steven, these are real sword techniques." Pearl stated. "Not those silly things from your movies. It's about waiting carefully for the perfect moment to…"

Jason rushed forward to pull his friend back "Pearl!"

"Thrust!"

Jason had just gotten his hand on Pearl's shoulder only to stop as the blade now protruded through her torso. "I was…too late."

Pearl's eyes widened before she dropped her blade. The clanging sound it made rang through the soldier's mind.

Steven's eyes teared up. "Pearl?"

"W-whoopsie! It's going to be okay you two. I'm going to…" With what little life she had left, Pearl tried to reassure the two of them.

Then, she poofed. Multiple images of the monsters Jason fought throughout his life flooded his mind. All the lives he took by destroying the gem. Even though Pearl's gem was right there, this felt different.

"Challenger defeated. Level 1 failed." Jason began to take haggard breaths as his gaze turned on the hologram. "Do you wish to engage in combat?"

Jason summoned all his blades before they suddenly sparked with electricity, something new though he hardly cared in the moment. The soldier sent his blades tearing through Holo-Pearl, distorting her appearance. As the last sword moved through her head, Holo-Pearl vanished.

"Stay gone." Jason declared ruthlessly.

There was a hand on his shoulder, and he turned only to glare at Garnet. "She's not gone."

"What?" Jason asked, blinking as his demeanor softened slightly.

"Gems like us do come back as well when our forms take too much damage." Garnet explained "As long as her gem is safe and unharmed, Pearl return."

Jason took a calming breath. "How long?"

Beach House: Two Weeks Later…

After two weeks of waiting, there has been no change to Pearl at all. Her gem just sits there with nothing to indicate whether she is fine. That frustrated the soldier. The first week, the reassurance Garnet and Amethyst gave helped a little.

Steven and Jason both waited patiently for Pearl to come back, but by the start of the second week, the waiting took its toll on them. Jason was constantly training because those few extra seconds he didn't have could have saved her.

It resulted in him not sleeping much. The beach house itself was a mess. Steven just spent all his time with the gem while Jason was distant from everyone. By the end of the second week, he was just sitting outside as it rained.

"I want my friend back." Jason thought as he stared up at the rain coming down.

"Jason?" The soldier noticed there was an umbrella above him, so he turned to the direction of the voice only to see Steven standing there with Pearl's gem, a movie, and popcorn. "Pearl and I were going to watch the fifth movie of Lonely Blade. Do you want to join us?"

Jason sighed, stood, and stuck his hands within his soaked pants. "Thanks, but no thanks." He walked out from under the umbrella. "I'm going for a walk."

"But it's raining." Steven stated concerned.

A bright flash of lightning and heavy drops of water emphasized his statement.

"I know." Jason didn't look back as he walked down the steps. "It doesn't matter since I'm already soaked."

Beach City: Later Evening…

Jason had walked off with no real direction in mind, letting his feet carry him wherever, and ended up on the boardwalk as people began to close their shops. The soldier walked past the stores and eventually ended up on the beach, closer to the docks than the temple.

Honestly, the rain didn't bother him. Jason had always been fond of rain and swimming while the lightning fascinated him. Lightning flashed through the sky drawing out that same amazement before the thunder rang in reminding him of his failure.

"She was stabbed…She disappeared…I was too slow." Jason thought. "I'm supposed to be a super soldier! I'm supposed to be strong enough to protect people; however, I couldn't beat Frank, and I wasn't able to protect my friend! She would be dead if she were human!"

Something, suddenly came running from the water and slugged Jason across the face, knocking him flat on his back. The soldier was quick to get up and looked towards the ocean. There he spotted what looked like an android, but it was more cobbled together.

It was certainly less advanced than what the World Army had been working on. Essentially, it was scrap metal shaped to look like a man, and it wasn't alone. More came from the water, surrounding him three deep with no spaces between them.

These obviously weren't gems, and their primitive designs clued him into the fact this wasn't the army. Regardless of who was behind this, one thing was certain. He was outnumbered. Jason summoned his blades, and they orbited around him.

"Whatever they are, they clearly want a fight, so I'll give them one." Jason took a deep breath to steady himself and attempted to clear away the negative feelings. "No more feeling weak. I am a super soldier, and it's about time I show it."

He brought two of his blades to his hands and crossed them as the other three now orbited him. "If you want me, come and get me."

The first android charged at those words only for Jason to lunge past it with his arms now uncrossed. The android fell to pieces. When the lighting flashed next, Jason commanded his blades to start tearing through the horde, prompting the androids to charge as one.

The soldier gave a mighty battle cry before meeting them head on. He started blocking while throwing in kicks and knees, generating openings which he took to tear through them. Eventually, it seemed like he'd beaten them until something slashed his back.

Jason whirled around to see a sleeker android wielding a katana. A cursory glance told him this must be the leader, and it seemed to be all that was left. By this point, the rain was letting up as Jason took a deep breath as he returned all one of his swords.

He gripped the last one firmly with both hands before planting his foot through the android's guard, knocking it back. He then lunged forward with a powerful slash, and the android fell in two halves. Jason took one more look in every direction before walking off to the temple.

"Whoa."

"Yep."

Amethyst and Garnet had observed from their perch on the sign of 'Fish Stew Pizza'. Garnet was sitting on it while holding onto a string attached to Amethyst's foot, preventing her flying away like last time. The two gems had seen the whole fight.

While they had wanted to jump in, the pair were now left in awe, some more than others, at how Jason dispatched those enemies. All in all, if the gems weren't impressed with his skills before, they are now.

"Let's go before you get hit by lightning." Garnet stated as she jumped down.

"Right behind you." Amethyst declared happily.

Not like she had much of a choice in the matter since she was currently a balloon.

Beach House

"Hey Jason, look who's back!" Steven happily yelled while wearing his shirt around his head like a bandana.

"Pearl…" Jason was shocked before he rushed forward and hugged the gem to make sure she was there. "It is you!"

"Yeah, it's me Jason." She smiled. "You and Steven really missed me, huh?"

"How could you ask that!?" Jason exclaimed as he pulled back. "When I saw the sword… You were…I just…"

"It's alright Jason." Pearl assured. "I'm not gone."

"I can see that now, but at the time…" Jason suddenly fell, going unconscious since he just couldn't stay awake any longer.

Pearl looked around in confusion. "What happened while I was gone?"

"He didn't take your loss well at all." Steven replied. "Honestly, he wasn't sleeping much."

Pearl turned her gaze to the sleeping hybrid and wondered just who he was before coming here.

Guest: Yeah, there's definitely going to be more human elements. After all, he had to get those prosthetics and shattered gems from someone. Not to mention the woman who ended up calling him at the end.