Steven Universe: The Diamond Legacy

The Old Master

"Do you wish to engage in combat?" Holo Pearl asked.

I unsheathed my sword. "Yes!"

The holographic version of my Aunt brandished her own weapon. "Challenge accepted! Training mode initiated. Level 1. Begin!"

"Bring it on!" I said eagerly. The duel against Holo Pearl was over quickly after it began. "Defeat accepted. Challenge complete!" Holo Pearl poofed away. "Aunt Pearl." I looked to my Aunt who watched proudly from the sidelines. "Please tell me that's not the hardest it can get?"

"It's not." Aunt Pearl said. "I started you at the lowest level so I could gauge your skills." "Can you bump it up a bit?" I asked. "Of course sweetie, now if if it gets too crazy just call out and I'll stop Holo Pearl."

"Okay." I nodded.  Pearl summoned her holo-self. "This is Holo-Pearl. Do wish to battle?" "Yes!" I said determined. Holo Pearl summoned her sword. "Commencing duel!" I beat her on level 2, and levels 3, and 4.  "Defeat accepted. Well done challenger!" The projection poofed, leaving me alone. "That was fun." I wiped the sweat off my face.

"You're an amazing swordfighter Nora" Aunt Pearl remarked genuinely surprised. "When your mother said she trained you to fight, I never thought it was to that extent."

"Thank you." I smiled, drinking my thermos I carried in  Bear's fur. "No seriously, not just for the compliment. Everything Mom taught me she learned from you." I fiddled with the hilt of my blade. "How about a friendly spar, master against successor?"

"Not happening." My Aunt declined. "I'm sorry Nora. I can't. I can't raise my blade towards you, not even in practice." Aunt Pearl outright refused to spar with me, she just didn't have it in her to take arms against someone she held as a newborn and loved as her own child. I countered, saying I was stronger than I looked and my Gem inheritance allowed me to heal faster than full blooded humans.

I shouldn't have said that, the thought of potentially hurting me, even if it was just a nick or a bruise, made her refuse there and then. Holo-Pearl was her way around it,  giving her the chance to fight me without actually doing so, and could set the difficulty to ease her conscious so I wouldn't get hurt.

I heard a roar and Lion jumped through a portal with Mom on his back. "Hi Mom!" I waved to her when she dismounted Lion. "Hi Nora, how's training going with Aunt Pearl?"

"Nora is a fantastic student." Aunt Pearl praised me. They hand a small conversation before Lion opened a portal allowing my Aunt to pass through.

"It's so nice you're getting to practice with Aunt Pearl." Mom complimented. "She's the one who taught me."

"Well technically I'm training with a hologram. Aunt Pearl won't ever fight directly with me." I dug my feet into the sand. "I wish there was someone I could constantly practice my swordfighting with, someone who won't hold back. You can't always be there all the time, you're working, and Dad won't let me go to the Armory to train even when I know it's safe and I've been there millions of times with my friends!" The latter sent my blood boiling. After defeating Squaridot and stopping the Genesis he still didn't trust me.

"Speaking of which." I grumbled, seeing him walk towards us with a smile on his face. "Hi familia!" He said cheerfully.

"Hi Steven." Mom greeted him with a kiss. "How's things on Homeworld?"

"You went to Homeworld?" I asked, feeling suddenly outraged. He promised he'd take me the next time he went. "Well technically I stayed on Earth." Dad explained. "I spoke with the Homeworld consul in Gem City about what's happened on Mask Island. The Diamonds don't control Homeworld anymore and President Zircon was unavailable to speak, so I went to the next closest thing, figuratively and literally."