Pearl peeled her spear forth from her gem and braced herself. She set her sights on the hulking crystal beast in front of her, exclaiming, "Pay attention, Steven!"
"Pay attention, Steven," scoffed Pearl as she tried to demonstrate the proper technique to defending oneself with a sword. Steven yawned and complained, "Come on, Pearl. We've been at it all day. I prefer Amethyst's training."
Pearl steamed, "Amethyst does
not
train! All she does
is laze about all day and make
tons
of trash
in her
room,
not to mention
the fact
that training
is imperative
now that Garnet is gone
--Am I a bad teacher?
Have I failed Rose?
Steven, you need to pay attention
Steven wandered off mid-rant, shaking his head. As he stepped back onto the telepad, he sighed, "I'm going to have to learn to do my gem-stuff on my own. That's what Garnet was trying to tell me, before..." Steven looks down to his palms and coils his fingers into fists. The telepad lit with energy, whisking him away from Pearl's training grounds.
Instead of returning to the Temple, Steven found himself in a desert. He blinked twice, doing a double take. "Woah, Beach City sure got way more... Beachy." He wandered for a moment, calling out for Amethyst, before turning back to the Crystal Telepad. "Guess it's time to go ba--woah!" In front of Steven was a full-grown lion with pink fur. It took a step towards Steven, eyeing him cautiously. "Amethyst... that's not funny. You can turn back now." The Lion tackled Steven, and after a tumble, Steven's cries turned to laughter. "Aww, you don't wanna fight! You just want to play!"
Meanwhile, at the temple, Pearl was in a fit throwing Steven's mattress from his bed. "Where is he, then, Amethyst!? He was supposed to be training with you!"
Amethyst groaned, opening the fridge and cabinets as she frantically tried to find Steven as well, "I don't know! He was with
you
, miss perfect! When he's not with you, he's always with Garnet!"
"Garnet's not here!"
Amethyst choked back tears, "I know! You think you're the only one who cares?!"
Before their argument could escalate, the front of the temple house was shattered by a hulking crystal monster. Amethyst immediately shape-shifted into a burly wrestler, tackling the beast. Just as Pearl began to head out of the temple, the Crystal Telepad lit up. Steven and Lion stepped out from the light. "Steven! Where have you been!? Is that a Lion? Nevermind that! There's a gem monster!"
As they all rushed outside, they found Amethyst struggling with the beast. Pearl peeled her spear forth from her gem and braced herself. She set her sights on the hulking crystal beast in front of her, exclaiming, "Pay attention, Steven!"
Pearl dived in against the beast, only to be knocked aside by its immense strength. Steven started to panic, unable to recall any of the training that he had before. As the beast closed in on him, Lion stepped forth to do battle with the beast. After a powerful exchange of blows, Lion finally sundered the beast, causing it to recede back into being a gem. Exhausted, Pearl bubbled the gem, smiling weakly to Steven. Steven rushed to Lion's side, "Oh no, buddy, you got really roughed up..."
Lion collapsed, panting heavily. Steven looked to Pearl, tears in his eyes, "Isn't there anything we can do for my friend? He saved me, but I can't save him..." Pearl looked solemn and remorseful, "Steven, I don't know. If only--" As if called forth by Steven's desperation, a pink bubble formed around the incapacitated Lion. Pearl gasped, "Rose's Bubble! Steven, we can keep Lion safe in the temple until we can find a way to cure him!" Steven looked up, hopeful and determined. He tapped the bubble containing Lion, sending his pet pal back to the temple.
"You just wait, my friend. One day, I'll be the guy saving you..."
