Beach City
"And this is…the magazine." Pearl answered.
"Correct." Jason nodded. "What is its function?"
"It contains the projectiles which the weapon uses." Pearl answered.
"Alright, looks like you've got all the basics." Jason took back the assault rifle. "If you want, next lesson I can show you how someone properly uses this weapon to their advantage."
Honestly, Pearl would make a fantastic soldier. In just a few days, she'd learned the ins and outs of assault rifles. Beyond that, she knew how to properly hold a gun, clean it, and how to operate it. Her meticulous detail ensured the guns were in prime condition as well.
"That would be wonderful." Pearl stated.
"Now, I don't mind these lessons, but this was rather impromptu." Jason put the rifle away. "Plus, you looked a little frustrated when you came to see me. Why are you here?"
"It's Amethyst." Pearl stated exasperated. "She was being…Amethyst! What's worse is I'm afraid of the influence she could have on Steven. You know he can be impressionable."
"Ah, don't worry about it." Jason waved it off. "Steven's a good kid, and I'm sure Amethyst won't do anything too destructive or crazy with him. She's not that crafty or irresponsible."
"Meow!"
Jason looked over and saw a purple cat with an amethyst in its chest. "Pearl, can gem's shape shift?"
"You knew it was me?" Amethyst changed back to normal and had a shocked look about her. "How? No one, except those who know I can do it, ever know it's me."
"It wasn't that hard." Jason sweat dropped. "You're literally a purple cat with your gem in its chest. My only question is where's Steven since Pearl said you were with him last."
As if on cue, said kid ran past them "Thanks Amethyst!"
"You're welcome." She replied with a lazy wave.
Jason nodded. "So, is that an ability all gems have?"
"It is." Pearl nodded. "All gems can shape shift into different things, whether inanimate or alive."
"I won't deny the usefulness, but it'd be better if one could hide their color as well as gem." Jason reasoned.
"It's still awesome." Amethyst became a cat again. "Would you want us to teach you? It'd be fun."
"Honestly, I'm not even sure you should have taught Steven, and I'd much rather not learn it myself." Jason informed. "Based on what I know, we have a human anatomy, so what might be natural for your forms isn't natural for ours."
Amethyst changed back to normal and pouted. "Aw, you're no fun."
"Look, if everything goes well with Steven, I'll consider it." Jason informed.
"Gems!" Garnet made her announcement by slamming into the ground near them. "We have a problem."
"What is it?" Pearl asked.
"A small island was infested with a gem, and it's heading this way."
"A whole island?" Jason questioned, and she nodded. "Okay, that's new."
He was certain the World Government would have picked that up, so why wasn't he informed. Granted, he hasn't been in contact since arriving, but that doesn't change the fact he was usually their point of contact. Then again, he didn't operate out here for obvious reasons now.
"This is a tectonic emergency, and the island could do irreparable damage if it reaches the main land." Garnet informed. "We must intercept it before it gets here. Pearl, we will go get the Gem Sloop." Pearl nodded before taking off.
"Amethyst, find Steven and tell him where we are going." She nodded and took off. "Jason, see what you have on hand that could help. This'll be a good example for us to see how you do on a mission."
"Understood." Jason declared as he grabbed back out the assault rifle and loaded a full magazine.
"We'll meet at the docks near the temple." Without another word, the maroon gem jumped off.
Once she was gone, Jason grabbed a military grade shovel and some straps. He attached them to the shovel and rifle before crossing them on my back. He then grabbed a machete and its sheath before putting that around his waist.
After locking up, Jason headed for the docks to find Pearl and Garnet in the boat. "I'm here."
"What did you bring?" Pearl asked.
"An assault rifle, shovel, and a machete. The rifle is for if anyone tries to kill us, the shovel is just in case we need to dig the gem up, and the machete is useful for clearing foliage. I don't typically use my summoned blades for cutting foliage."
"Smart." Garnet complimented, with a neutral expression.
"Alright, let's go." Amethyst declared she plopped down in the boat.
Without a word, Garnet kicked them off the dock, and they began drifting towards their destination slowly.
"Wait!" Steven exclaimed as he got into the water.
"Steven!" Pearl shouted.
"C'mon, you can make it!" Amethyst tried to encourage him.
He attempted to paddle but suddenly jerked his arms back up.
"Are his fingers cats?" Jason questioned internally.
"Steven, what's going on?" Pearl asked concerned.
"I-It's nothing!" Steven replied. "I-I just turned all my fingers into cats!"
Pearl turned to Garnet. "We have to stay and help Steven!"
"We can't because this is a tectonic emergency." Garnet remained rooted to the mission. "We'll deal with Steven when we get back."
"Amethyst," Pearl turned toward the purple gem. "I blame you for this."
"Amethyst shrugged. "That's fair."
Pearl growled before taking a deep breath and turning to Jason. "I'm sorry to impose but…"
"Don't even need to finish." Jason took his rifle, held it over his head, and jumped into the water. "I'll make sure Steven is fine."
"Really?" Pearl asked.
"It's no problem." He started wading to land. "Besides, we may learn something from this."
"Steven, Jason is going to stay and help!" Pearl exclaimed. "Just try to stay calm!"
"Okay!" Before long, Jason was back with Steven on the beach. "I'm sorry you didn't get to go on the mission because of me."
"Don't sweat it." Jason stated. "I'm supposed to be your mentor, so when you're having problems with your powers, they're my problem. Now, let's get inside and find out how to fix you."
"Yes sir!" Steven saluted.
Beach House
"Enough! No more cat fingers! I just want Steven fingers!" Steven quickly thought about that. "And I don't mean little me heads on fingers! I mean my regular fingers!"
Steven had been trying to change his fingers back while Jason attempted to think of a solution. Given he didn't even know about shape shifting, he never encountered this in his training.
"Wha! Aahhh! Stop!" Steven called out in a panic.
Jason jumped to his feet. "Steven!"
More parts of his fellow hybrid were turning into cats. His arm, foot, parts of his chest, and a spot on his head. They were moving around and meowing.
"Amethyst! Pearl! Garnet!" Steven cried out before turning to the man with tears forming in his eyes. "Jason!"
"Hold on!" Jason crouched next to him and looked the kid over while trying to think of something that could help him. "I got nothing. We're going to find the gems."
"But…" Steven began.
"No buts!" Jason picked him up. "I'll get you…"
One of Steven's cat arms smacked him in the chest causing him to drop the boy as he was knocked into the wall of the house.
"Jason, I'm sorry!" Steven exclaimed sincerely. "I didn't mean to do that!"
"It's alright Steven." Jason assured him calmly. "I know that wasn't you, but this is a problem. I don't know if you'll last until we get you to the gems."
"My dad!" Steven suddenly exclaimed.
Steven ran past Jason and out the door. "Steven, where are you going!?"
"To find my dad!" Steven called back.
"You're dad?" Jason ran out to the porch. "Steven!"
Steven didn't stop and was out of sight before the soldier even jumped off the porch. He contemplated grabbing his SUV but decided to run after the boy since he wouldn't be restricted to the roads.
Beach City: Later…
It was starting to get dark as Jason followed in the boy's footsteps, which became more erratic. It wasn't long before they resembled moving on all fours, which only made Jason press on. When he reached the boardwalk, there were no further foot prints to follow.
Fortunately, a scream drew his attention to a nearby car wash called 'It's A Wash'. Jason ran on over to see a man blasting something with a hose. He had hair behind his head in a mullet with a bald spot-on top. He wore a white tank top with gray shorts and flip-flops.
Jason ran over and tackled the man aside as the mass he was spraying attempted to lunge at him. The soldier then got to his knees and saw the mass was Steven, who by this point had more cats all over him.
Jason stood and held his hand out to the man. "You alright?"
"Yeah, thanks." The man stated as he took the hand and let himself be helped up.
"Steven, are you alright?" Jason questioned.
The man turned to Jason. "How do you know my son?"
"This is Steven's father? Er, I was hoping to meet him under better circumstances." Jason looked at him. "Look, we don't have much time." He removed his gloves and tossed them on the ground before showing his gems. "I'm a friend. Trust me."
"You're like Steven?" The man questioned, stunned.
"I'll explain later, but we must help your son first." Jason reasoned.
The man took in the situation before nodding. "Right."
"Dad…Jason…" They turned to see Steven grabbing the entrance of the car wash. "It's not enough water! We need more! Turn on the super-wash!"
"What!?" Steven's dad exclaimed. "No, I won't do it! It's too dangerous!"
"You've got to! I'm a monster!" Steven yelled. "I'm an adorable cat monster!"
"No, you're not!" His father was tearing up. "You're my son!"
"Mr. Universe, there is no other way." Jason grabbed the hose. "You get the machine started, and I'll wrangle him in."
Greg looked at the ball of felines before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Right."
He ran to the main office while Jason turned the hose on full blast and hammered the felines with a concentrated spray. He started to force them in, but they started to push back.
"If that won't work, I'll force you in another way." The soldier ran full sprint into Steven and held on as he forced them into the car wash before spotting Mr. Universe through the window. "Do it!"
He nodded and pressed a button. Jason closed his eyes and dug in his feet as he continued to push the ball of felines through the car wash. They were bombarded with highly pressurized water, soap suds, waxy brushes, and finished off with another bout of water.
By the time they were done, Jason was holding a normal Steven with holes and tears all over his clothes. The soldier took a deep breath before carrying the kid out the exit where they were met by Mr. Universe. Jason lowered the kid to the ground before taking a knee.
"Dad. Jason." Steven slowly got up. "We did it."
The soldier nodded. "Yeah, we did."
"Meow." All of them screamed as Steven revealed one of his fingers was still a cat.
Mr. Universe hosed the beast down until it returned to normal, and all of them breathed a sigh of relief as they collapsed.
"So son, care to introduce us?" Steven's dad asked while waving his hand in Jason's direction.
"Oh, you're right!" Steven quickly got up." Dad, this is Jason. He's a human-gem like me."
Steven punctuated the statement by lifting his shirt to show off his gem. The man looked from his son to the soldier. Jason lifted the back of his hands to once more show the emeralds embedded within them.
"Another gem like my son? Cool." Mr. Universe moved on over and extended his hand. "Greg Universe, but you can just call me Greg." He shrugged. "I'm not all that formal."
Jason shook the offered hand. "Jason West, but you can just call me Jason." The hybrid then sighed and let go. "Regardless of today, my time with them has been eye opening."
"Wait, are the gems letting you live with them?" Greg asked shocked.
"Yeah." Jason nodded. "We met over a week ago during a monster fight. We talked, I told them some things about me, and they've let me stay."
"Who you are? Don't you know?" Greg asked.
"Hey Steven, why don't you head home?" Jason could tell the mood had shifted, so he didn't want the little guy around for this. "It's getting late, and we have no idea when the gems will be back."
"I need to change anyways." Sensing how the mood was, Steven stood and began heading off. "Thanks, you two!"
They waved back until the boy was gone.
"Do you love him?" Jason asked.
"What?" Greg asked.
"Do you love your son?" Jason asked.
"Of course, I do!" Greg exclaimed in shock. "What kind of question is that?"
"Did it hurt when she disappeared and gave you him?" Jason inquired.
"It did." Greg's expression transitioned too sad. "I was depressed until that bundle of joy became such a handful that I didn't have enough time for it. When I was taking care of him, it reminded me how happy Rose was to have a child. I still miss her, but she left an amazing present."
"You're a good man." Jason looked at the night sky above. "Before coming here, I thought my father was one to." He sighed and shook his head. "Maybe he still is, but I don't know any more. Everything I've learned here has opened my eyes.
I think my father didn't resent me, but there's a lot he's never told me. Things I'm positive he knew." Jason looked at the gems in the back of his hands. "I just don't know what I really mean to him now that I've been out here."
"I'm sorry to hear that man." Greg sighed. "I really was depressed for the longest time after Rose, Steven's mom, gave up her form to have him. For a while, the gems resented me for 'taking away their leader'.
Feeling the cold shoulder they gave me, I didn't want to do that to my son. I loved him, took care of him, and so on." Greg patted his shoulder. "I can tell you're conflicted with your own father; however, I think the fact you are conflicted does mean he genuinely loves you."
"He was the one who sent me out here in the first place." Jason nodded. "Every day I'm out here, I grow more certain of what he knew I'd find. Regardless of the truth, I met Steven and the other gems. That's something I wouldn't trade even for my old certainty."
For the longest time, it was silent between them until Greg decided to say something. "Hey, Jason?" The soldier looked at him. "Do me a favor and look after my boy? The gems expect a lot from him, having Rose's gem."
"Don't worry about it." Jason chuckled. "Your kid is resourceful, but I'll be there whenever he needs me. I can promise you that."
"Thanks man." Greg gave a relieved smile. "Hey, if you ever need a break or someone to talk to, you can come hang with me for a while."
Jason nodded. "I appreciate that."
After that, things mellowed out as the two of them talked about general things. When it was pitch black out, they called it a night. Even if Jason was conflicted about his own father, getting a lot of that off his chest felt pretty good.
Beach House, Morning…
The gems had yet to return, so Jason and Steven ate breakfast together.
Steven posed a question. "Can you teach me to shoot?"
"Yeah, I'm not doing that until you're old enough." Jason stated, causing the kid to visibly deflate. "I will show you guys some of my guns eventually, so you won't try to break into my SUV to satisfy your curiosity."
"I would never!" Steven declared with mock hurt, only to meet Jason's deadpan gaze. "Okay…I may have gotten curious enough eventually."
They ended up falling into a comfortable silence until the gems returned.
"Steven!" Pearl loudly exclaimed as she leaped onto the dock. "Okay, let me see it." She began examining his fingers to find the cats, but they were gone. "Y-you got them to go away?"
Steven's only response was a smile.
Jason shrugged. "He's a resourceful one."
"It goes to show you should always listen to me and never Amethyst." Pearl advised.
"That's fair." Amethyst agreed.
"It goes to show you should have a little more faith in Steven." Garnet stated.
"That would have been a total CAT-tastrophe!"
"Nope." Jason picked Steven up and chucked him into the water. "No puns."
Steven broke the surface. "Jason!"
"You can come out of the water when you learn not to make lame puns." Jason called out before walking away with the gems.
Garnet looks at him. "So, how bad was it?"
"Let's just say there were some…complications." Jason replied.
3bodyjaa: Thank you.
Guest: Out of the Crystal Gems, she does just seem like the viable option when it comes to guns.
