My Little Universe: Season 2

by EquestrianKirin

With My Heart and Soul, I'll Protect

For how much has happened so far, the working aspect of the Galactic Ray had been going. Slower, but, still going. With Peridot still not up for helping out, things had slowed a little bit on technical terms, yet production on the ship itself wasn't slowed down. As it stands, the Galactic Ray was actually taking more of its main shape; the main body of the ship being worked on. There was still some ways to go before it'll be enough to get it off the ground flying, but with determination, they got a strong chance. What was surprising the most was how many new members had been joining up with the Crystal Gems. The group had gone from four, to thirteen, in just months time, and that wasn't counting the mane six or animal companions either. By that point, any new members might be brought with less confusion and more acceptance, since they were used to it by that point.

At the moment though, production on the ship was actually taking a back seat, as the group was relaxing for the moment. Along the beach nearby the Beach House, Diopside, Steven, Blue and Garnet were chilling out at the sandy shores. Steven had his ukulele out with him and was playing a fine little tune with it, both Blue and Diopside enjoying the fine music. While a little chilly with the wind, the sun was keeping temperature nice and comfy. However, Steven was still waiting with his phone, trying to get some sort of message.

"What'chu waiting for?" Diopside asked.

"Waiting on Connie, I want you to meet her. Come on, please?" Steven said, looking right at his phone. He did a text to Connie sometime back, and was still waiting on the reply. Still, even with their relaxation, one Gem made that a bit short lived soon as she went over.

"What're you doing?" The voice made Diopside jump, but the others took it in stride.

"Oh, hi Peridot."

"Why did we stop working on the ship? I went to check on it, but no one's there!" Peridot asked urgently.

"We know that, we're just relaxing," Steven said.

"But your vision - you want to get to Homeworld don't you?!" Peridot asked. Even if her work on the ship had been lacking a bit, Peridot still wanted to get herself back on Homeworld ASAP. Seeing everyone just stop wasn't going to help her out either.

"Working hard is important. Feeling good is important too," Garnet stated. To agree, Steven high-fived Garnet, but that just kept Peridot annoyed as he walked away. She didn't had much to do in her current state; with her enhancers gone and Star Quartz off with Kyra and Pearl, it left Peridot with little to nothing to do. She couldn't look around on her touchscreen, properly help with the ship, or anything like she used to do. She did stop eventually as she went, looking back to Garnet and the others for a brief moment, and saw Garnet get up. As Peridot stood there, she began hearing a odd whistle, as a square shadow began to form around her.

"... What the ... YIPE!"

Peridot noticed, above her, something huge falling down from the air directly at her! Peridot coward, but Garnet was already on it and rushed over her. The large object landed square on Garnet's head, saving Peridot from being crushed under whatever it was. What it turned out to be? ...

A giant present. Green stripped wrapping with a Gem-shaped card on it. Looked like a Christmas gift for a giant, leaving Steven with his mouth agape.

"WOO!" Steven beamed, rushing over. Peridot looked up to Garnet as she held the present in her own hands, lifting it off her head.

"Nice of you to drop in," Garnet said, splitting the present in half with one motion. Inside, the present that came out was Discord, the Draconequus landing in her arms from above. It's been a while since they last seen their reality-bending spirit. Discord got himself upright after that, his smirk on his face.

"So, how's it been?"

"Just checking in as all. How's the Galactic Ray by the way? Heard the project's slowing down," Discord asked.

"We're taking a break," Garnet stated.

"Oh I see. And how's our little durtio Gem doing?" Discord asked, pinching Peridot's cheek. She didn't know what a durtio was, but being pinched in the cheek did bug her a lot, swatting the Draconequus talon away from her.

"I'm fine," Peridot groaned. Discord disappeared for a second, and popped up right by Peridot's head, a lot smaller, and leaning on her head.

"Of course you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I'm sure you're fine after being reduced of your fancy enhancers, aren't you? I mean, life has been so well for you since you turned from that dreaded powerhouse into such a sweet, weak, lovable Gem."

"I'M NOT WEAK," Peridot snapped, grabbing Discord by the tail and flicking him away. Discord grew big again and Peridot, angry, tried her best to beat Discord down, but her fists were as strong as flies hitting a lightbulb. Steven was going to head over, but Garnet got her hand in front of him, smiling.

"Alright Discord, I'll take it from here," Garnet said, pushing the Draconequus away. Discord wasn't pulling any of her strings; she knew what will be in store here. She kneeled down, a hand on Peridot's shoulder.

"Peridot? Do you know where the sky arena is?" Garnet asked.

"Uh ... Yeah?"

Garnet adjusted her shades.

"How about we visit there. Can you do that for me?"

"... Okay."

Peridot wasn't too sure what Garnet had in mind, especially if it considered "us". Did she mean herself and someone else or did she mean her fusion sources, or what? So long as she didn't mean herself and Discord, that'll be just fine. Still, Peridot walked off to the Beach House to get to the Warp Pad.

"Where you going?"

"I won't be long. Besides, you got a play date," Garnet said. She actually snapped her fingers, and not a second later, Steven felt his phone vibrate. A quick check and he actually got Connie's message! Soon, his smile grew wide and eyes beaming.

"WOO! Come on Dio!" Steven said, an excited Diopside following Steven soon after. Guess they got a good message after all. Before Garnet could go, Discord was right by her side, not looking as happy as before.

"No one likes a show off, Garnet," Discord commented, Garnet smiling all the while.

~~~~~~

After a little bit, Garnet and Peridot both arrived at the area in question. The Warp Pad in the sky arena put them both by a mirroring set of staircases leading to the arena entrance above them. Along the wall leading up to the 2nd floor, four large diamond symbols shown in front of them; one yellow, one blue, one white, and one pink. Garnet brought Peridot along the set of stairs, heading right through the supposed entrance to the arena. The state of the rest of the arena was, to put it lightly, disarrayed. The seating of the arena only went around the entrance, as the rest of it was missing completely to give a far off view of the cloud sky it was floating above, almost like a fluffy white ocean. Three large pillars with warrior statues were even out into a square, though one corner was missing one of its pillars, and parts of the floor was even broken off. Since this was a sky arena though made by the Gems, the parts that were broken off to the rims were actually floating in mid air, same as the arena itself. Apart from that, the main floor of the arena looked untouched, and safe to walk around so long as it was not too close to the edge. After a bit, Garnet and Peridot walked out to the arena, Garnet going right to the middle while Peridot stopped over at the bottom of the stairs.

"So ... Why are we here, exactly?" Peridot asked.

"Just checking. You know, this arena was where the first battles took place," Garnet commented, as she looked around.

"Really?"

"Yep. Many Gems had proven themselves as great warriors during these battles, regardless of who's side they were fighting for," Garnet explained, Peridot just trying to imagine it. She envisioned the warriors in battle along the very arena in front of her, and began to think a little bit. Peridot went over to one of the pillars, resting her hand on it. Sure, she'd been here, but not around when these battles occur or knowing too much about it apart from current condition. Still, the idea of such strength and admiration did get into the Gem's head. Eventually, Peridot turned over to Garnet, clearing her throat.

"Fusion? I'd like to uh ... make a proposition," Peridot stated after a while. Garnet, looking like she expected this, turned back to her.

"Go on."

"Well ..." Peridot took a deep breath. "It's not like I need it, but perhaps you can ... show me some designated skills?" Peridot requested. Garnet stretched her arms out after a bit, and turned over to her. The fusion seemingly didn't need anymore encouragement, and had a confident smile on her face.

"You want to get stronger, don't you?"

"What? N-No, no, I'm plenty strong, see?" Peridot said, flexing what muscles she had on her. Garnet knew that Peridot was just acting a little bit prideful, and knew she didn't had much muscle on her anyway. Soon, Peridot just groaned, seeing that her act wasn't working with someone like Garnet. However, Garnet began to think a little bit, and soon got an idea.

"Excuse me for a second, Peridot," Garnet insisted, starting to walk away. Peridot stayed put as Garnet stopped ten feet away. As she was though ...

"This won't be very long. Ready?"

"Wait, for what?"

With Peridot looking on, suddenly Garnet began to glow brightly, and deform from a single shape into two. This was beyond a shock to the green Gem, as soon enough, Garnet returned to Sapphire and Ruby. Sapphire, planning the idea, landed gently on the ground as Ruby, who didn't plan for it, landed on her back. Now they all matched in height at least.

"What the -?! Sapphire!" Ruby gasped, surprised. Peridot was almost blank-faced. Sapphire though knew what she was doing and looked to Peridot.

"Peridot, Ruby will be your instructor. Will that be a problem for you?" Sapphire asked. Before Peridot could even process this, Ruby rushed over to her.

"Whoa whoa whoa! We're not doing this together?!"

"Ruby. I have the experience. But you have the fighting skill. We both know you handled most of the fighting as we were Garnet. Who better to teach Peridot?"

"Jasper? Amethyst? Flint?" Ruby counted.

"Ruby. I want you to teach Peridot for a while. I know you can if you try," Sapphire assured her, a hand on her shoulder. Ruby felt her Gem on the palm of her hand touch her, and Ruby felt her arm for a bit.

"Uh, do I get a opinion on this?" Peridot asked, hand raised a little. Sapphire turned to Peridot.

"Well would you prefer Jasper or Amethyst to teach you how to fight?" Sapphire asked. Peridot was going to answer, but a thought suddenly crossed her head on the idea. Ruby's small, but she's a fighter. As with Amethyst or Jasper, or anyone else who could fight ... Well, size was a pain, to sum it up.

"... When do we begin, Ruby?" Peridot asked, changing her mind. Ruby didn't change her thoughts though; training with her as Garnet was one thing, but it was different when Ruby was training her alone. Sapphire however was more open though to the idea. Still, seeing Ruby's very unsure expression brought Sapphire over as she kissed her on the cheek.

"You'll be alright. I'll be back later," Sapphire promised, and before anyone could stop her, she went off back to the Warp Pad. Sapphire was a lot faster than them both, so they didn't had time to stop her. Soon, Ruby and Peridot were left alone in the sky arena. They both were as perplexed on the subject as can be, and Sapphire didn't even give them time for a second opinion...

"So ... Where do we start?"

~~~~~~

Back in Beach City, Steven, Diopside, and Blue all were heading right to Connie. Steven hadn't seen her directly for months, and could only wonder how well she and her family were actually doing. Last he heard, Connie was in casts, her dad sick, and her mom freaked out. He couldn't blame her family for being in a rough state after their last experience. Diopside was excited to meet her; if she was one of Steven's close friends, then Diopside didn't had much reason to be worried to see her. In the Text, Steven was told that they should meet up by the docks, which was a basic spot really to meet with anybody.

Along the docks, the activity of the fisherman were very low, and as such not many boats were out to sea. Sitting by herself, Connie herself was patiently awaiting for Steven to come. When it came to any damage, the main difference between then and now was that her feet were no longer casted, but she did had on some special footwear though. They looked like socks in a way in design, though had the same structure as boots do. Aside from that, Connie looked pretty much the same. She sat down by the edge of the docks, looking at her own phone. The text Steven had told her he'll be on his way, which included a picture of him and Blue together with Diopside hugging them both.

"Connie!"

Connie got up, and turned around to see Steven coming right to her, arms open wide. Not only was Steven glad to see her again, he was glad to see her standing on her own without any sort of help. That told him that she was doing better despite her ordeal. Steven and Connie both hugged each other. It'd been too long since they seen eachother face-to-face. Blue happily greeted her with some friendly licks, and Diopside joined up with them too.

"Steven! I'm so glad to see you! You're all better and everything!"

"Great to see you too. Connie, I'd like you to meet the great and lovable Diopside!" Steven introduced. Diopside smiled wide and waved a hand as for her hello.

"Hello, human!"

"Hi. You another Gem?" Connie asked. Diopside happily nodded, and showed Connie her own Gemstone.

"Right here," Diopside said, pointing to it. While looking different compared to what she was used to, it was still a Gem either way. Blue happily barked again.

"Hey there, Blue. Good doggie," Connie said, scratching his chin. Blue loved that, leaning forward until he accidentally fell forward, his tail wagging.

"You feeling better? Steven mentioned you had some trouble with some weird horse shadow thingy before," Diopside asked, scratching her head. Connie sighed, but then smiled.

"Yeah I'm alright. Might have to get used to these shoes for a while," Connie replied, showing her boots to them. As they were talking, Blue's nose caught wind of something and began to wander a bout. After a little bit, a loud caw of a nearby seagull for the dog's attention. Course that got Blue barking a bit, but rather than flying away, the grumpy bird started squawking at him, flying at him. Blue backed up into the others, the bird squawking up a storm and peaking at them. Connie though grabbed the closest thing at hand; a stick off the dock, and aimed it at the bird. Connie soon got flailing with it like it was a weapon, the bird still on the offensive. After a bit though, the bird flew away, Connie the victor. Blue happily thanked his savior with a big wet doggy kiss.

"Nice fighting, Connie. Looked like a sword fighter with that," Diopside complimented, thinking that was a Human tactic of battle with a weapon. Still, Connie blushed and put the stick down.

"I was just swinging this thing around. I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'd love to learn how to use a real sword!" Connie admitted. Soon, a gasp from Steven got their attention, his eyes big and starry.

"Steven has an idea!"

...

"You want me to do what?" Pearl gasped. Guessed Steven's idea went right to the best swords woman he knew back at the Beach House.

"You should teach Connie to sword fight, she's already so good!" Steven insisted, though that made Connie blush a little bit.

"Steven!" Connie said bashfully.

"But you are! You helped me fight the robot floaty-thing, uh... that mean seagull just now..."

"You're awfully young to begin something like this," Pearl stated, though she got thinking a little bit "But, I suppose I was only a few thousand years old when I began fighting alongside Rose Quartz."

Before Pearl could think on it anymore, Connie went right forward.

"Pearl, I wanna do this! If anything dangerous comes along, I don't want to be a burden like before; while Sombra was here, I didn't do anything to help him at all. I want to help Steven, I want to fight by his side! You all fight to keep Earth safe; it's my home too, shouldn't I try to protect it too?"

That little speech of truth and determination completely convinced Pearl, the Gem having tears of joy in her eyes.

"Oh ... Okay, let's do it!"

"WOHOO!" Steven beamed.

~~~~~~

So, with both sides working in a similar direction, things got busy. For both Connie and Peridot, they both took in time after time in their own schedules to put up with the training exercises, though Connie was more excited with it unlike Peridot whom saw it mostly business on her part. Both also had similar training arenas for their work; while Peridot had her Sky Arena, Connie had Pearl's personal sky arena which was similar in shape and condition. Connie's training with Pearl was subtle in the arts of swordsmanship, and Pearl got her in her mind set with different dangerous tasks to teach her onward. As for Peridot, her training was a bit more rough in what she had to do, but held a similar sturdy level step when it came to Ruby. Peridot's training was more in martial arts, since Peridot already was good at maneuverability to some extent anyway. Both teachers had their experience cut out for them when training their students.

Days continued on during each training session, both sides doing better as time went on by in their field of offense and defense. Peridot was doing better in her kicks and punches while Peridot was more focused in her respected blade. On one of these days, Steven was in the Beach House for a little bit along with Sapphire, Star, Amethyst, and Diopside. The group had figured out rather fast what Ruby was doing without Sapphire with her, and by that point things had already cooled down though Star was worried over what'll happen to Peridot if things would go wrong. Same thing goes for Steven with Connie; the idea of Connie being trained in swordsmanship was a rad idea at first, but seeing Connie in more and more dangerous situations made him worry a little too. Sapphire didn't really say much of anything during that time. Peridot and Connie both were already gone in their training, and all they could do was wait. While they were just shooting the breeze, Amethyst found some chips to munch on.

"You gonna share those?" Diopside asked. Amethyst though didn't bother to, stuffing her own face first. Still, Diopside tried her luck with getting her favorite treat; snatching the bag like a little monkey. Diopside hopped up on the support beam so Amethyst couldn't reach her. As Amethyst tried to get her down, the door opened up and showed Flint and Jade coming in. Course, they noticed Sapphire nearby, Diopside on the beam, and the worried looks on Steven and Star Quartz.

"What's with you two?" Flint asked.

"... Worried about mother ..." Star replied. The two didn't really know at first until Sapphire added "She means Peridot."

"Steven too?" Jade asked.

"Sort of; his human friend, Connie, is training too. Got Pearl to teach her how to sword fight," Diopside replied.

"You got Pearl to train a human? Oh great," Flint replied, though his comment didn't sound too pleasing to hear as they would expect.

"... What's wrong? ..."

Flint groaned.

"You wanna tell them Jade? Diopside?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, so, no," Diopside replied, shrugging. Jade knew where Flint was going though, but she wasn't sure if telling them was a good idea or not.

"You might as well ..." Jade admitted.

"Fine."

Flint went over to Steven, and made out a hologram with his gemstone of a Pearl model.

"Listen; there's many Pearls back on Homeworld. They are strong when needed to be, but they are very reckless; not caring about their own lives in order to protect their assigned Gems. In short, if Connie's getting influenced by that ..." Flint didn't finish, but his hologram examples he was showing told enough for them to get the idea. It showed the Pearl protecting another Gem as a weapon made her poof ...

Again ...

And again ...

Soon, that Pearl suddenly switched to Connie, and she was just about to take an axe for her protected individual (Steven) when the hologram ended. Flint couldn't go any further anyway ...

Steven looked like he was traumatized to say the least ...

"... You okay? ..." Star Quartz asked. Steven looked even more panicked than ever; for how long Connie was training with Pearl, he couldn't leave that alone!

"I gotta go DO SOMETHING!" Steven said in a panic, rushing right to the portal. Worried, Diopside joined him. He wanted a friend who can wield a sword, not a friend with a death wish! So, Steven and Diopside wasted no time warping away. Soon after he left, Sapphire got up, moving over to the Warp Pad herself.

~~~~~~

"Alright, rest over," Ruby said after a while. It'd been a rather bumpy road for Peridot and Ruby to deal with each other during the training stuff, but progress on the subject was still fairly well. Still, Peridot was tired and sore in her body, and she didn't feel ready to jump back into it just yet. It may be Peridot's initial idea, but seriously it was starting to become a regret.

"Already?"

"Yes, already, now come on," Ruby instructed, getting Peridot to her feet. Ruby still wasn't used to being without Sapphire very much under her own power, and she had tried her best to tolerate Peridot, but her own temper was hard to handle with the smartalic Gem being trained.

"After just two minutes?! I'm not a Ruby either, you know!"

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to toughen up in the first place, don't complain to me!"

"I asked Garnet, not you!"

"You think I wanted to do this alone?!"

"How am I supposed to know?! You're the one who was fused into that powerhouse, not me!"

"Doesn't mean I know everything Sapphire's thinking! Like I knew I was gonna get stuck alone with you!" Ruby yelled, pointing a finger at her.

This wasn't the first argument Peridot and Ruby had since starting, but this one was a big one - Ruby literally steaming.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Peridot snapped.

"You kidding me?! Ever since we started; grip grip grip, it's crazy, you've been acting like some spoiled pebble!"

Peridot gritted her teeth, getting more angry with Ruby.

"I'm spoiled?! What about you and your fusion tactic, huh?! I've hadn't seen you two alone ever since getting stuck on this planet after that stupid Sombra incident!!"

"SO?! That's fusion; we wanted that!! And anyway, I can hold my own!!"

However, that got Peridot laughing, making Ruby angry even more.

"You can't be serious - Sombra had you in his hooves last time you split up remember? If that's what you call holding your own, then no wonder you need fusion!"

Ruby looked ready to explode, she was so angry. Her heat was through the roof; an actual fire shooting out her head for a moment, and she went right in Peridot's face.

"DON'T ACT MACHO WITH ME, YOU CLOD!! TAKE THAT BACK!!"

"NO!!"

Their argument was blinding them both to what was going on around them. While training there was making some ruckus, their arguing made it even more so. This yelling, especially now, was echoing around the area ...

And it got to a particular set of ears.

*SCREEEEEEEE*

The long, echoing, falcon-like call made Ruby and Peridot stop in their tiff altogether, as the two looked around. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, something gigantic suddenly appeared from the nearby cloud cover, landing onto the arena with a earth-shattering thud. After the dust cleared from the landing, the newcomer was far from friendly; a gigantic white bird stood inches away. Its head matched that of a bald eagle; its feathers aligning in a fine head crest of white feathers. It had two huge wings, lined with sky blue stars along their length. Its eyes stared down right at them, the two wide-eyed and blank-faced ...

"Where'd that come from?" Peridot could only say. Another screech from the falcon, and flap of its wings blew the two tiny Gems back with little effort. Guess they got something neither of them bargained for. Ruby and Peridot slammed into the back wall, the bird waiting for them to regain their footing. Ruby looked to the large bird after that, both her and Peridot unsure what it was going to do next. However, Peridot wasn't going to take any chances, and ran towards the exit, only for the falcon to swoop up and landed in her way, wings casting their shadow over her. Peridot may have been training to be a fighter, but her mind was still keeping to safety and flight rather than danger and fight.

That made one of them.

Peridot soon ended up in a mad scramble, the bird pecking at the ground multiple times, but kept missing her. Ruby was soon in its sights next, raising up on its talons to take off. Seeing the gapping stance in the bird's legs, Peridot bolted for it, the bird not able to get her after she ran through. Didn't mean that the falcon didn't try to peck her out, but its hooked beak couldn't reach her. Scrambling to her step, Peridot ended up falling down from her floor, landing on her back right in front of the Warp Pad. The huge falcon squawked up a storm, just reminding Peridot that it was there ...

Then the Warp Pad activated behind her.

"Hello, Peridot."

Peridot turned around and quickly saw Sapphire standing there. By the looks of her calm demeanor, she was either oblivious to the deadly bird, or was too used to it by that point to really be surprised.

"Sapphire, thank the stars! Get to Ruby and form Garnet, ASAP!" Peridot immediately instructed, trying to push her to the entrance to get to Ruby. However, Sapphire actually seemed less willing at first. Another loud screech made the falcon's presence known to Sapphire. Ruby could hear Peridot on the other side, and the second she heard Sapphire was there, Ruby immediately grew worried and aggressive on what the bird will do once it got hold of her.

"Sapphire, don't come out!!" Ruby called. She knew calling for her other half would easily be heard by the bird, but she needed Sapphire to stay put. She could see the outcomes, but Ruby can enforce new ones, and if any one of those outcomes involved Sapphire getting hurt or getting lost thanks to this bird, then Ruby would not let that happen. The white bird redirected its attention to Ruby, but rather than attack the angry, battle-ready Gem, the bird started to fly off in the air, and looped around to the other side of the seating barrier to which it sighted Sapphire and Peridot, who hadn't moved very far. Ruby rushed to the entrance to get to Sapphire and Peridot, but the bird was ready to fly off, talons out and about to snatch up one of them. While Peridot had enough sense to step aside, Sapphire almost seemed ... accepted to the attack, as a large talon gripped her torso. Freaked out, Ruby grabbed a hold of Sapphire by the arm, trying to pull her back out of the falcon's grip. Seeing the struggle Ruby was putting up over getting her free, Peridot began to feel unsure if hiding or running off was a good idea. The falcon, being larger, pulled Ruby along until she was directly at the cliff edge, a few scatter pebbles tossed up falling right through the clouds below. Ruby's own grip started to slip, and her footing edged her closer and closer to the tip of the cliff. Soon, Peridot took her chances, and gripped Ruby, pulling back to get Sapphire free. While the additional help was good to have, the falcon didn't want to take anymore chances with this; raising its free talon, the dagger claws sliced down at them! Ruby was forced to let go of Sapphire, her and Peridot falling backwards as they only watched Sapphire being taken away by the large bird. A final screech from the falcon was heard before the bird dove down through the clouds, and the two were soon out of sight.

"NO!!" Ruby, desperate, rushed off to jump after Sapphire, but Peridot quickly grabbed her before she could fall down. Ruby just hanged there for a bit, not believing that she ended up separated from Sapphire by another force (again). Peridot pulled Ruby back, ala with some effort on her part, and Ruby got back up to her feet. Ruby, in her state of mind, wasted no time with her idea.

"Come on!" Ruby said, grabbing Peridot hard by the arm, and pulling her to the Warp Pad. As much as Ruby wanted to go after Sapphire then and there, she can't exactly fly after her, but she knew who could.

~~~~~~

Ruby and Peridot weren't the only one's with some sort of problem; Steven and Diopside were finish teleporting off to where Connie and Pearl were supposedly training. Unlike Ruby and Peridot, who were training in the same area the whole time, Pearl and Connie changed places and spots of practice a number of times, mainly for the sake of environmental practice. In this case, the training was continuing off in the Gem battlefield, where they first met Kyra. Upon arrival, Diopside and Steven both looked around until they noticed Pearl and Connie further away, not noticing the two just yet. Connie's outfit was a bit different; her hair tied back, and wearing a purple matching suit looking like that of a training swordswomen. Oddly, Kyra was there as well, confusing the situation even more.

"Remember Connie, in the heat of battle, only Steven matters. You don't matter," Pearl instructed.

"I don't matter," Connie repeated. That just got Steven even more worried on that; she was at that point already?! Frantic, Steven began running like mad towards her, Diopside unsure at first. All of a sudden, as Steven neared, a huge fog began to form up around everyone. Steven couldn't see anything, or anyone.

"Let's begin," he heard Pearl say.

Oh no.

"Connie, where are you?! Connie?!" Steven called. But, he didn't hear any reply. He had to find her before whatever challenge Pearl or Kyra had in mind for Connie wreaks her. However, he could barely see beyond ten feet without the vision getting blurry thanks to the fog. From Steven's eyes, he could see ground, and a number of strawberry bushes, but that was it. Soon, however, someone started to approach him from behind, Steven turning around fast. The figure looked like Pearl, but her entire body was light blue, semi-transparent, and her eyes were a deadly red.

"Intruder detected!" She stated, her voice slightly artificial, and a sword raised in the air to skewer him! Before he could react, something quickly tackled him before the holo-Pearl could finish him off. A look up shown it was Diopside who tackled him.

"Intruders detected!" The holo-Pearl stated again, about to slice them. Just before she could, another sword sliced her in two, making her disappear completely ...

"Steven? Diopside? What're you both doing here?"

"Connie! I don't want you to do this anymore - not alone!" Steven said, holding her shoulder in pled. However, Connie shook her head and smiled.

"No! I understand now; your legacy, your destiny, you are everything! I am ... I am nothing. But I can help you now! I can give you my service!" Connie insisted. That only made Steven and Diopside even more worried over her. How long did this 'you are nothing' talk go on for?!

"Connie, you have worth!"

"No I don't!" Connie gave a sigh, turning to Steven. "In the heat of battle, Steven's the only thing that matters. I don't matter. I'll die a happy girl if it means to keep you safe!" Connie declared. Showing up behind the two, another Holo-Pearl showed up. Connie rushed in between them and made short work of the practice. Steven felt very scared now. How much was this going to -

*screeeeeeee*

"What's that?" Diopside asked, looking around. Connie prepared herself, sword in hand, as all around them, four Holo-Pearls charged forward. Suddenly, the Pearls jumped high in the air, swords ready to skewer all of them!

*SCREEEEE!!!!*

In just a split-second, all four Pearls suddenly were split in two when a blur rushed by in the air. It moved too fast for them to see what it was, but all that was left was a few stray feathers ...

"What's going on?!" Kyra yelled.

The fog was subtly removed soon afterward, whatever that attacked not in sight at first. However, the two were in sight of Kyra, Pearl, and every other Holo-Pearl out on the field. Before either one of them could even say anything or process this turn of events, their eyes soon were in the sky, the shadow of their attacker flying in the air with strong gusts and baited breath. With the feathers landing around the others, they were all in the sights of the same falcon Ruby and Peridot were fighting! The only difference from them and now was that its right foot was covered in ice - a sign of Sapphire. Connie was at the ready, sword tight in her grip, but Diopside grabbed the girl and ran with Steven to keep some distance.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" The other Holo-Pearls repeated, but before anything could be done, the bird's stray feathers turned into dart-like projectiles, scattered in the air and getting rid of every Holo-Pearl on the field! The bird tried to land, but the large ice bundle on its foot made landing a little difficult. More of those darts aimed directly at Diopside and Steven, but before a shield could be made, Connie actually rushed out and used her sword to hit each dart aside. Impressive, yes, but that just furthered Flint's horrifying point for Steven.

Further away after that, the Warp Pad activated again, only that time it was Ruby and Peridot.

"Guys come quick, there's -" Ruby was cut off when she saw the same bird again. "Eh, never mind."

The bird was too focused on its current targets than to focus on Ruby and Peridot. However, Kyra noticed them both further off, and he began galloping off to them. That distraction gave the falcon some time to gather its senses, raising its wings for a bit. At it was, the star symbols began to glow on its wings, as the feathers it shot out started to move together. The feathers started to form a different shape, and in a white flash actually resulted in some followers for the bird! These followers looked much like their respected mother, but with longer, stronger legs, no wings, and a longer tail. They all were about pony-sized too. Seemed clear the modern raptor had made an army of prehistoric ones.

And this army had at least twenty of them to start!

Two of these actually followed Kyra first, heading back as the rest rushed forward in force. Ruby and Peridot watched Kyra tumble when one of the raptors jumped onto his back, its claws digging into him. The second one actually targeted the small Gems further away, but Kyra grabbed the first one by the leg with his tail, swung around, and whacked the second one just before it got to the other two.

"Ruby, Peridot, over here!" Kyra yelled, getting them both moving before the two raptors could get up.

The other eighteen were easily overwhelming Pearl, Dio, Steven and Connie. Yet, it was Pearl and Connie who'd fought the most against the horde, their swords a blazing, and opponents sliced up. With each one defeated, they ended up turning into more weaker feathers on the ground. However, the more feathers on the ground meant the ground itself was becoming less steady, like adding wet mud onto a smooth sidewalk. It didn't affect the raptors, but the others had to watch it.

"Steven, stay away!" Pearl yelled, as another nearly got her throat before she sliced it. Steven didn't want to though, and when he saw Connie almost get her head cut open by one of them, that finally got him into action. Diopside though was more worried upon the giant bird; her experience as a corrupted Gem herself made Diopside aside herself on what to do.

Steven rushed head long into the fray, getting his shield out in front of Connie just before another could get her.

"Steven don't! Let me protect you!"

"But while you're protecting me, who's going to protect you?!" Steven replied, seeing three more jump out from the bushes. Steven changed from the pink shield to the pink bubble to block the oncoming attacks. Everyone was busy, and the shield gave Steven enough time to make it clear.

"Connie, listen to me; I'm happy you're doing great with Pearl and all, but, I don't want you going on thinking like this! I don't want to think about you dead because of me, you're too great for that!"

"Steven..."

"Please; We could be facing things worse than this later on, and when we do, I don't want you to fight for me, I want you to fight with me. Please, let's face this together," Steven finished. Connie took the moment to take in what Steven was saying, and smiled at her friend. After that was accepted, Steven removed the bubble and sent the four raptors flying.

As for the giant bird, the smaller troops were a good distraction to keep the others off its back. Seeing the targets, the only one alone was Diopside, and quickly took flight. Diopside was soon pinned down by its free talon, only her head and Gem visible under the foot. Even at this point, Diopside still wasn't sure on attack; she was basically attacking another fellow Gem really, and it was looking ready to kill her. In the end, Diopside had no choice.

"Please, forgive me," Diopside said, before something began to seep out of her mouth. Diopside opened her mouth wide and bit down into the bird's toe, the saliva turning out to be green acid! Stinging, the bird flew up just enough for Diopside to get out and aid the others. Of course, the bird tried pecking the daylights out of her, but couldn't get her. One foot freezing, one foot burning, and the whole bird ticked off as ever! The screeching echoed on the field, its wings beating like crazy, causing powerful gusts to hit everything in front. The blowing wind actually made the other raptors tumble and made it easier on the Gems involved.

"Sapphire, I'm coming!" Ruby said, taking the moment to rush in. The bird, too angry to notice, keep squawking up a storm as Ruby reached the ice. However, the fire Gem didn't even get the chance with the beak ready to grab her. However, just before she could get grabbed, the bird got a hold of a different target, one that grabbed Ruby and threw her aside just before Ruby could get grabbed.

Peridot!

The green Gem was lifted up fast, and the bird tried to finish her off with a aimed bite, but Peridot's training had paid off; enough strength for the Gem to keep the bird's mouth open. That was beyond impressive, but Peridot couldn't hold it forever, and the falcon started to shake about, trying to loosen Peridot a bit so she would fall down its throat. Everyone else knew she wouldn't last much longer that way, but the raptors surrounding the giant bird made it almost impossible to reach her in time. Ruby tried her luck, yet the raptors were all over her; half on Ruby, and half on guard from the rest. They tried to think of something fast, but there wasn't much time. Peridot, at the last second, got herself moved, but she was still being held by the arm within the bird's beak Ruby was barely holding her own against the harsh buggers. Pearl readied her spear to fire, but then Diopside quickly stopped her.

"Wait, don't, you'll hurt Peridot!" Diopside said. It was Kyra who got an idea, and he needed everyone on their game to do so. He went right over to Steven and Connie.

"you two, get on my back. Steven, get your shield up in front and Connie, get ready with that sword of yours," Kyra instructed. Putting two and two together for themselves, they both got onto Kyra's back.

"Diopside, Pearl, you two keep the reinforcements distracted," Kyra added in.

After that was quickly decided, their plan was put into motion. Kyra quickly made his mad dash forward at the raptors, Steven using his large shield like a protective ram in front of them. Whatever raptor was there either wan rammed aside or jumped out of the way as Kyra ran through. Pearl made sure to keep any following raptors from giving chase, but Kyra still got a few cuts from a sneak attack here and there. Connie looked up towards the giant bird, it quickly taking notice of them. Kyra gained some speed, and quickly made a gigantic leap (as best he could) up towards the bird. The falcon moved its head down to attack them, letting go of Peridot in the process, as Connie made her own magnificent leap. In mid air, Peridot grabbed Kyra's tail, as Connie aimed her sword forward like a spear. Connie made a perfect hit, right in the head and completely through the cranium of the bird. A loud squawk from the bird echoed out one final time before it fell to the ground in a cloudy explosion. Upon the mother being defeated, the young raptors disappeared too in a similar fashion. The only thing that remained from the bird was a white gemstone, and the ice tomb that was on its foot. First order of business for Ruby was breaking out Sapphire from the icy prison. With heated fists, she kept chipping away at the ice until it cracked open like an egg ...

"What? WHERE'D SHE GO?!"

To her horror, somehow, Sapphire wasn't in there anywhere! She didn't even see her gemstone anywhere in there!

then they all heard clapping. Soon, the others turned to the sound and soon, they actually saw Sapphire standing nearby with a smile on her face, applauding them on their accomplishment. They surely didn't expect her to show up there, especially Ruby.

"S-Sapphire?!"

"I'm very proud of you. Wonderful," Sapphire said, floating over.

"B-But we saw you get taken away!"

"You didn't see me get out," Sapphire stated. Ruby didn't care how she got out, she only cared about Sapphire being safe. Ruby went right over and hugged her, Sapphire returning the gesture. Ruby wanted to fuse back, but Sapphire went over to Peridot and Connie.

"I wanted to congratulate both of you. I'm proud of you two."

"Why? Connie's understandable, but I didn't help much in anything," Peridot pointed out. Sapphire came over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You may not had stopped the Gem. But you did save Ruby, even if it risked your own life. Seems you are learning more from Ruby then you think. I hoped for that," Sapphire said. Then she turned to Connie.

"You too, Connie; your training had paid off in the end. But Steven and Diopside do have a point; you are important, as with everyone else. You're training great, but never forget that," Sapphire explained. Pearl began to feel a little bad for telling Connie that. Connie looked over to Steven, and already understood that.

"I promise."

Sapphire nodded, and then turned to Ruby, her own blue Gem on her hand in sight and extended out.

"Ruby? I think we've been gone too long, don't you think?"

Ruby didn't need to be told twice. In no time at all, Ruby and Sapphire both went on ahead, fusing back together into Garnet. Garnet had been gone for a while, and was glad to be back in action again. Soon, Garnet turned around to the others.

"Alright, I think you all had gone through a lot today. That should be good," Garnet stated. Fighting a deadly corrupted Gem like that was plenty a challenge anyway. Everything settled and understood, the others started to go, as Garnet went and got the gemstone. However, Peridot didn't leave just yet.

"Uh, excuse me?"

"Yes, Peridot?"

"Well ... Does this decision on fusion mean ... We're done with training with Ruby?"

"Yes," Garnet replied. Peridot understood, but Garnet turned to her, smiled, and adjusted her shades.

"You'll be training with Garnet."

Author's Note:

Okay, everybody, how many of you expected this to happen, eh? We got Connie with swords, and Peridot with fisticuffs ^^ gotta be prepared, I'm sure.

Also, I'm just going to say for the epicness of continuity;

We saw the egg, here is momma bird! (they said they fought the bird, they never said they beaten it)

Comments

[Nova Arc]

I now ship PeriRuby!

[EquestrianKirin]

6945511

[ponylover2]

6945622 next few chapters please

[EquestrianKirin]

6963498 I'm working on them as good as I can

[ponylover2]

6963817 ok can't wait

[Animatorsnake]

A brawler Peridot... nice, but how will that fit with her magnetic powers - if she does get them in this story

[EquestrianKirin]

9800439
intriguing question

[AJCylace]

9800439
Giant, Metal Boxing Gloves.