The Past Week…
Jason returned to the beach house after a week, the Crystal Gems were thankful for that, which brought about questions. He told them the absolute truth, wanting no secrets between them. He was glad they didn't seem to hold him not being truthful over his head.
Pearl wanted to go to the base to take the gem tech they had back. While that was an option, Jason warned them that wasn't the smartest idea. No matter what their approach was, the base would not stand for it. Whatever the result, it would poorly color impressions of the gems.
He expressed that the World Army knew how to use what they had and built things from it that could be on par with that metal bird from the sky pillar Garnet, after hearing that, calmed Pearl down while expressing they'd like to speak with someone from the base.
The soldier said he'd make it happen once he sorted out his own feelings. While he was gone, Steven had a small falling out with the gems. He ate a lot of creamed corn to get some coupons for mini golf, but they had to go get some wailing stone.
When they returned, they made Steven miss a secret ending to some game due to said stone. It ended with his wish to be somewhere alone. His mother's room opened to him, so Steven entered it. His mother's room could give him anything he wished for.
While it seemed like paradise, he eventually became trapped as the room generated all of Beach City. Steven managed to get out, and the gems even took him mini golfing. The last thing he missed was a battle with some pufferfish monster.
It had Garnet crash into Fish Stew Pizza, which saw the gems banned. Steven hosted a beach party between them and the family that ran the restaurant. After taking down the monster together, they were unbanned. Jason ended up stopping by after being told that.
Flashback
"Hello, I'm looking for Kofi Pizza." Jason called out.
All the members of the family turned to him, with the man himself stepping up. "I am Kofi. What do you want?"
"I don't know if the gems or Steven told you, but I've been staying with them." Jason stated. "I was away for the past week, but I've heard what happened." He took out a card with his dad's number. "Here, take this and call the number. Tell the person Jason West gave you this number and explain the situation. They'll get your business fixed up, no money needed."
"Am I supposed to believe that?" Kofi asked.
"You can believe me if you want, but I'm just trying to do the right thing." Jason shrugged. "If they end up charging you, just send the bill to me, and I'll handle it."
"Well then, this will help out greatly." Kofi extended his hand. "Thank you."
"No problem." Jason shook the offered hand before nodding. "Good luck with the repairs."
"Thank you, young man." Nanefua stated. "You didn't have to do this. We have enough money in our savings for the repairs."
"I know I didn't have to, but you four shouldn't be made to pay for an accident some friends of mine were involved with." Jason responded.
"Well, you are a good man." Nanefua nodded. "Thank you again."
"Again, no problem." Jason stated before walking on out.
Communication Hub: Present…
The Crystal Gems stepped off the warp pad, and Jason could tell he was looking at the massive structure before them in a new light. His intelligence did take a massive leap, but it went beyond that. All his senses had increased as well.
"Woah! What magical place of mystery is this?" Steven questioned.
The whole place was a massive structure with a ton of different pillars and columns to keep it stable.
"Well…" Amethyst began.
Pearl excitedly cut in. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked! This was once a communication hub for Gem-kind." She walked over to one of the pillars. "But lately, it's begun transmitting bursts of electromagnetic interference!"
"What does that mean?" Steven asked.
"It's hurting television." Garnet bluntly replied.
"Noooooooo!" Steven cried. "I'll save you television!"
Steven tried to damage one of the pillars but failed.
Amethyst picked him up. "Sorry, but we need a Steven…" She transformed into a buff Steven. "…at least this strong for the job."
Steven had stars in his eyes. "It's all the me I could be."
Amethyst put him down before trying to destroy the pillar, only to chip it.
"Amethyst, we could be here all day taking out these pillars individually." Pearl scolded.
"Ugh, I hate it when you're right. You get this look on your face..." Amethyst began, only to be annoyed at the face Pearl was making. "Yeah, that's the one."
"She's right though." Jason voiced. "Your brute strength alone won't cut it here. I don't think any of us would."
"What we need is a well thought out plan…" Pearl began as her gem projected a hologram.
"No." Garnet's sudden interruption surprised everyone. "What we need is Sugilite." She turned to the purple gem. "Amethyst, fuse with me."
"WHAAAT!?" Both gems exclaimed.
They had different emotions with Amethyst being excited while Pearl was confused.
"Yeah! Let's mash it up! Bigger, badder, and better!" A very overenthusiastic Amethyst declared as she twirled around.
"Hold your horses!" Steven stopped all their movement to get his bearings on what they're going to do. "Are you guys going to become a fusion?"
Amethyst replied with an excited scream, causing Steven to scream in excitement.
"WAIT!" Pearl stopped all the excitement. "Garnet, think about this. You and Amethyst can be a little…unstable when your personalities combine. We need to be careful, so fuse with me instead."
This was starting to make Jason feel uneasy.
"We don't need to be careful." Garnet retorted. "We just need to be huge."
"Oh, yeah! Let's wreck this joint!" Amethyst exclaimed.
She and Garnet moved a fair distance apart before getting into position. Despite his uneasiness, Jason was glad he could get the chance to see a fusion dance under calmer circumstances.
"Synchronize." Garnet ordered while proceeding to dance.
Pearl quickly covered Steven's eyes, which he did not like. "Whu-? Come on! I want to see!"
"Uh…" Jason leaned over to Pearl. "Are all fusion dances intimate and expressive?"
"It tends to be a bit more whenever one of us fuses with Amethyst." Pearl whispered back. "Still, when two gems fuse, there is a connection between the two that go deep into each other's core allowing them to share a veritable amount of feelings and emotions."
Garnet and Amethyst merged until they turned into a veritable powerhouse of a gem that absolutely radiated strength and power.
Sugilite laughed loudly as she cracked her knuckles. "I forgot how GREAT it feels to be me!"
"That's Sugilite?" Steven questioned in awe.
"Whoa…" Jason stated.
"You got it, baby. Hey Steven, want to see something cool?" Sugilite questioned.
"Yeah!" Steven exclaimed.
Sugilite happily obliged. She pulled out giant versions of Garnet's gauntlets and Amethyst's whip before fusing them together into a wrecking ball. Steven gasped loudly in amazement.
"You like that, little man?" Sugilite asked.
"Are you going to smash stuff with your wrecking ball?" Steven asked.
"That's the plan!" Sugilite then turned to the pillars. "Where should I start?"
"Do that one!" Steven proceeded to point at a pillar.
Sugilite smashed the pillar he pointed to before moving onto other pillars.
"Steven, I think we should go." Pearl declared while trying to pull Steven to the warp pad.
"No way! This is awesome!" Steven declared.
"Steven, I really think we should go." Jason agreed with Pearl. "Sugilite is starting to…"
Pearl kicked a section of rock out of the air. "Watch it!"
"OW!" A small rock got past Pearl and hit Steven in the face.
"Steven!" Pearl/Jason exclaimed in worry.
The soldier moved to check on him.
"Ugh, you're just too much!" Pearl yelled.
"Maybe you're just too little!" Sugilite retorted.
"Steven, you alright?" Jason asked as he helped him up.
The rock just gave the boy a scratch. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Steven, Jason, we're going!" Pearl exclaimed as she picked Steven up.
Jason summoned all his swords just in case any more rocks, no matter the size, came at them.
"What? I'm fine! What about Sugilite?" Steven asked.
"She can find her own way home!" Pearl exclaimed angrily.
Steven let out a dejected groan at not being able to see Sugilite's destructive prowess. As they moved towards the warp pad, Jason noticed a massive shadow looming over them. As he looked up, the soldier saw it was a boulder flying towards the warp pad.
He instantly returned his swords before bolting over to Pearl and Steven. "Guys!"
Pearl looked and saw the boulder heading right for them. Jason tackled the pair onto the warp and activated it just in time. Mere seconds after they left, the rock smashed the pad to pieces.
Beach House: Later…
Once they were back, the day began to pass. Steven decided to flaunt his 'injury' to Sadie and Lars at the Big Donut. When that didn't go over well, he had his dad make a makeshift gym on the beach. Greg made barbell sets, a climbing station, and a tire obstacle course.
He then fell asleep which gave the soldier the impression he was out of shape. Regardless of that, Jason decided to get his workout started. Not wanting to disturb Greg, the soldier went off to a flat rock where he began doing the hardest exercises he could remember from base.
He did pistol squats, mountain climbers, and burpees, with small breaks of tai chi and meditation to give him some rest. He decided to push things by doing the dragon walk exercise laterally. It all started from the push-up position.
He went down and when he came up, he alternated his left arm and right leg before moving forward. It culminated in a staggered push up which saw him push off the limbs he'd moved prior and move the other limbs further forwards.
He repeated the process as he moved along the beach. This exercise used a wide range of muscles, but even as it began to burn, Jason pressed on. As he moved about, the soldier reflected on the two big things that motivated him to really push himself rather than rely on prior strength.
Frank handily defeated him, and he saw a friend hurt. Granted, he didn't think he'd react like that again since Pearl proved gems could come back, but he still had to be stronger for himself and Steven. To his knowledge, they wouldn't come back.
"I'm not prepared to find out if that's the case either." Jason thought.
"That's it, Jason!" Steven exclaimed.
Jason had just finished his 100th rep when he heard Steven. He looked up and saw the boy was with Sadie, Lars, and Greg.
"That's the type of workout I like to see!" Steven continued with enthusiasm.
Jason lightly smiled at that.
"Shouldn't you be wearing more appropriate workout clothes?" Sadie asked.
Comparatively, she'd technically be right. She, Lars, Greg, and Steven were wearing clothes fit for working out while he was in his regular attire.
"I'm a firm believer in wearing what you do every day for training." Jason replied.
Jason took a deep breath before leaping into the air and flipping. He then landed on the rock he'd been training on, and it crumbled underneath him, turning to gravel. Steven's mouth was agape, Sadie and Lars's minds were blown, and Greg was just shocked.
"How did you…" Lars began but ended up trailing off.
"Break more stuff!" Steven exclaimed with stars in his eyes. "Just like Sugilite!"
Jason frowned at the boy's obsession with the fusion. The carelessness she exhibited with the communication hub rubbed the soldier the wrong way.
"Easy Steven." Jason stated. "Power is but one part of the equations when it comes to training. A good soldier can be as strong as they want, but the truly great ones are those who find balance. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've already got my work out today."
He ended up stopping as Pearl had arrived.
"Oh, we'll need sweat bands!" Steven ran past both and up to the beach house.
"Hey Pearl, come to check out some buff studs?" Greg asked.
Pearl looked over at him. "No." Jason stifled a laugh at her bluntness before walking with her up to the Beach House where they met Steven with several sweat bands. "Steven, what on earth are you up to?"
"Getting strong." Jason answered for him.
"Yeah. We're starting a gym." Steven added. "I'll get super strong, just like Sugilite."
Pearl was unhappy with that idea and turned away disheartened. "You know, maybe this isn't a good idea."
"I want to be strong, so I can be useful to the team." Steven reasoned.
"There are different ways of being strong." Pearl retorted.
"She's right Steven." Jason nodded. "Even though I'm trying to increase my strength, I'll always prefer being agile myself."
"But I want to be strong in the real way." Steven stubbornly stuck to his way of doing things. "Come on, guys." He put on a sweatband. "Let's get beefy!"
"I'd rather not." Pearl stated as she entered the house.
"Jason?" Steven asked.
Before he could speak, they both heard Pearl singing.
Why do you have to look up to her
Aside from in a literal sense?
Don't you know that a power that big
Comes with a bigger expense
And can't you see that she's out of control
And overzealous?
I'm telling you for your own good,
And not because I'm-
I can show you how to be strong...
In the real way
And I know that we can be strong
In the real way
And I want to inspire you
I want to be your rock
And when I talk
It lights a fire in you
Jason watched as Steven ran down to the beach with a megaphone, and he cranked the volume up. "Who's ready to get buff!? I don't want to see your gut; I want to see your guts!"
He looked back at the house and towards Pearl. They made eye contact for a second before she looked away and went back into the house. Steven proceeded to sing his own version of the song.
I can show you how to be strong
In the real way
And I know that we can be strong
In the real way
Now, Steven and Pearl were both singing
And I want to inspire you
I want to be your rock
And when I talk
It lights a fire in you
There was clearly some form of tension here, but Jason didn't know how to solve it.
"Hey Steven, maybe you can work out a bit, too?" Sadie asked.
"Huh? I have been." Steven responded.
"We've been working out." Lars grumbled out annoyed. "You've just been singing some dumb song. Also, what about him!?" He was referring to Jason and seemingly forgot the fact they'd found the soldier working out. "He hasn't been working out with us."
"You're right." Steven turned back to the soldier and pointed his megaphone at him. "Hey Jason! Come on down and show us how to pump iron!"
Jason got an idea as he jumped over the railing and took a runner's position. He booked it down the hill at his top speed before touching the ground and running back up the hill. He then jumped onto the roof and immediately jumped high along the mountainous, rocky area.
Using his dexterity and athleticism, he began to climb up the rock face. When he got to the smooth, stone statue, the challenge kicked in. While this was a spur of the moment situation, once he could somehow make this safer, Jason resolved to do more of this.
With pure determination, he just kept going until he reached the face part of the statue. It then became a little easier, and he made it to the top of the head before jumping down to an arm. Once more, he took a running position before booking it down said arm.
The soldier then lunged from the end of the hand, transferring all the momentum as he jumped over the beach. Steven looked up at him in awe while the others were amazed. He cleared it and was now over the water where he got into a diving position.
Pearl jumped down from the house and joined everyone as they ran to the water's edge. Upon making it there, Jason broke the surface and swam back to shore. Once he made it to shore, he casually walked up to the group.
"Like I said Steven, a good soldier thinks strength is all that matters. It's the great soldier that knows strength isn't everything." Jason lectured. "People can fight and contribute in other ways." He patted the boy's head as he walked towards the house. "Think about it."
"Whoa." Greg voiced everyone's thoughts on the situation.
"That was so cool!" Steven exclaimed in amazement.
"I…don't know…how…" Lars tried to reason what happened but couldn't.
"That was pretty cool." Sadie agreed with Steven.
"Pretty impressive, right Pearl?" Greg looked around only to see that the gem was gone. "Huh, what's up with her?"
Beach House
"What was that!?" Pearl angrily asked as she followed Jason in.
"Back there? I wanted to show Steven the other ways someone can be strong, and it was a good opportunity to push my own limits." Jason answered.
"What? Stomping a rock wasn't enough for you?" Pearl asked bitterly. "That's not enough of an indicator of how far your limits have come? If you wanted to show Steven power and strength, none of that was a wise move. You know how impressionable he can be."
"Pearl, let's just talk about what this is really about." Jason took a deep breath. "Look, I don't know what it is you got going on with Sugilite, but you need to get it under control. Without Garnet and Amethyst, we are underpowered."
The soldier then left out the door.
Morning…
Jason was awake, devising ways to make the climb up that statue safer because that was a whole other level he never thought about. If he could do more of that, find more exercises like it as well, he felt it'd be a step in the right direction.
"Steven, come on! We're ready to get started! We can't work out without your mad coaching skills!" Sadie's shouted from the beach.
"I'll be there in a sec!" Steven was getting off his bed with groans of pain, which followed him as he proceeded down the stairs. "So sore from getting ripped."
"That's just another reason why you need a balanced routine." Jason stated as he stood up.
"I don't understand." Steven and Jason looked over at Pearl, who was standing by the warp pad. "Amethyst and Garnet still aren't back yet. I tried to warp back, but the pad is still down!"
"If the warp pad is down, how…" Jason began.
Suddenly, the ground started to shake while multiple voices from outside could be heard.
"What?"
"Are you seeing this too!?"
Pieces of the house started to crumble, and debris fell all around the people within. Jason immediately kicked open the door and ran out with Pearl hot on his heels. As for Steven, he stumbled out. All three went to the balcony and saw Sugilite walking from the ocean.
"I'M... BORED!" Sugilite roared.
Everyone down on the beach proceeded to run away from Sugilite.
"It's Sugilite!" Steven exclaimed.
Jason and Pearl ran down to the beach.
"What is she even thinking by doing this?" Jason gritted out.
"Y-you're back!" Pearl nervously stated.
"YOU LEFT ME BEHIND!" The fusion declared as she pointed at Pearl.
"We just thought you didn't need any help." Pearl responded. "Now, why don't you separate, so we can all relax?"
Sugilite kicked Pearl away. "No!"
"Pearl!" Jason exclaimed before looking at the fusion. "What are you…"
Jason summoned his swords and formed a circle as Sugilite tried to kick him. The time they bought was used to back flip to Pearl before he brought them back to himself.
"Pearl! Jason!" Steven yelled in concern.
"Listen to me! You've been fused for too long!" Pearl tried to reason. "You're losing yourselves!"
"I am myself and I'm sick of being split up!" Sugilite declared. "So, you better get used to me, baby. Also, get this junk off my beach!"
Sugilite stepped on the gym, destroying it.
Steven struggled over. "Why is she wrecking Dad's gym? Why is she attacking you guys!?"
"Steven!" Jason waved his hand for the boy to stay back.
"Get out of here!" Pearl grabbed Steven by the collar of his shirt and tossed him away before summoning her spear. "You too Jason!"
"I thought you'd know by now that's not who I am." Jason responded.
Pearl grit her teeth. "I'm not asking."
"I wasn't looking for your approval." Jason retorted as he brought his swords forward.
"You want to fight!?" Sugilite asked.
"You'll thank me later." Pearl yelled as she jumped toward Sugilite.
The fusion easily anticipated the attack and knocked Pearl away. Jason sent his swords at Sugilite, with each one impacting the gem, but it wasn't enough to stop her.
"You think you're something?" Sugilite yelled.
Jason took Sugilite's weapon to the torso and was sent crashing into the house ,leaving a hole the size of his body.
"Jason!" Pearl/Steven cried.
" YOU!" Sugilite kicked Pearl into the air. "AIN'T!" She smashed the gem into the ground with a strong punch. "NOTHING!"
She brought her weapon down to flatten Pearl, but the pale gem managed to dodge it while the resulting attack knocked Steven and Greg away. They land on the ground hard and skid along it.
"My muscles!" Steven groaned out as soreness raked his body.
"Steven!" Pearl groaned out to the boy.
Seeing his weakened form and her opponent, Pearl started to feel hopeless. "I'm sorry Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Jason." She sniffed with tears running down her face through closed eyes as Sugilite started to approach. "I wasn't strong enough. I'm never strong enough."
Jason made it back down to Pearl, despite the bruises that adorned his body. "Pearl, you cannot change the fact that those who are weak will remain weak." He took back his swords from the fusion and put his will into blocking the coming weapon.
"Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that's a bad thing." Sugilite threw out her weapon, and while his blades might buckle, Jason held them firm against it. "To me, we can all become as strong as we want, but we'll always be weak by nature.
Gem, human, or hybrid, we all have insecurities. That's why any species values comradery. Its why friendships are formed. When you're surrounded by allies, it's easier to be positive. When we're together, that's when we're at our strongest."
He then turned, scooped Pearl up, and ran back as his swords now cracked under the weight. "So, I'm willing to do this together if you are." The soldier came to a stop before looking at her. "What do you say? Let's show them our strength together."
Pearl teared up before hugging him, resulting in a flash of blue light. As Jason's swords vanished, the light died down to reveal a taller figure. They had short, light blue hair and four eyes. One set were yellow and the other blue.
Pearl's gem sat on their forehead while Jason's sat on the backs of their hands. They were wearing light blue pants, a loose, dark blue shirt with a star on it, and a matching blazer with the sleeves removed.
"Just who are you supposed to be, baby?" Sugilite asked.
"We're an emerald…" Five swords appeared. "…and a pearl." Pearl's spear appeared. "Together I suppose that'd make us, Variscite." The weapons merged into a khyber blade with a light and dark blue swirling pattern. "The first move is all yours."
They grabbed the blade and brandished it masterfully with two hands.
"That's it!" Steven yelled through his microphone. "I get it now! By being strong in the real way, you two came together to make something even better! Now, show Sugilite what you've shown me!"
"With pleasure." Variscite declared.
"Heh, you think you're a match for me?" Sugilite questioned. "You're nothing compared to me."
The larger fusion threw their weapon out, but Variscite dodged it before immediately running up the taunt chain. Sugilite tried to punch Variscite off, but they leapt into the air before flipping on down and swinging their blade to send a large wave of energy down which offset Sugilite.
That gave them a clean cut right down the middle of the more aggressive fusion. As Variscite landed, Sugilite poofed to leave Garnet and Amethyst laid out on the ground. The fusion put the sword over their shoulder with a confident smile before unfusing.
"That was fusion, huh?" Jason smiled before looking at Pearl. "Well, I think the two of us were quite strong."
"Yeah, we were." Pearl smiled before looking Jason over in concern. "Are you alright?"
"Better than I probably should be." Jason admitted. "Maybe meeting my moms awakened some sort of durability within me. I might have unlocked it myself for all I know. Regardless, no tears or regret between us." He nodded. "The fact we were able to fuse shows we got each other's back, and that's the important part."
"Agreed." Pearl then remembered the other gems, rushing to them. "Amethyst, Garnet, are two you okay!?"
"You really are okay, right?" Greg asked as he approached the soldier. "You weren't just trying to assure Pearl?"
"Nah, I was being serious." Jason assured. "I don't think I'm up to their level of durability, but I'm certainly closer to it now. Thanks for checking in on me though, Greg."
"I've got a monster headache." Amethyst complained.
"Pearl, you were right." Garnet groaned out.
"She sure was." Jason joined them with Greg, who was carrying Steven. "Let me just say, no Sugilite until you two can work out whatever problems there are. If you even try before you're ready, Variscite will be there to take her down immediately."
"Ugh, noted." Garnet grunts.
"Uh…What the heck just happened?" Lars asked as he and Sadie joined them.
"Life happened Lars." Jason chuckled and shook his head. "This is our life, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."
3bodyjaa: Thank you.
dindagangleader14: As Steven discovered something of his mom, Jason to discovered something about his moms.