Connie's POV
I'm really worried about Steven. He was completely fine just earlier today, what happened? He said he "knew what to do," but I have no idea what he was talking about. But my instincts tell me that you don't come out of a bathroom crying when you're completely fine. I look down at my watch and it says 6:00. "Oh my gosh, STEVEN MY MOM'S GONNA KILL ME! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HOME AN HOUR AGO!" I'm shaking with fear. I'm supposed to be home practicing violin right now, and whenever I'm even the slightest bit late my mom freaks out. She still doesn't really... trust Steven yet. After keeping all the magic stuff a secret for so long, it makes her really suspicious when I'm late to come home. "Aaah, I totally forgot about that! I'm so sorry!" says Steven, who is now in a panic. "Here, I'll take you home on Lion. Just tell your mom... that you had to go on a super important last-minute mission that lasted longer than expected." "Yeah.. she'll d-definitely believe that. Now just to find lion..." "UGH, STEVEN! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" I practically scream. "Wait, he's right out there!" Steven says as he points out the window to an unamused lion loafing around on the beach. Not wasting any time, I bolt out the door and hop on lion. I'm getting pretty good at controlling him now. "Ok lion, go to my house!" I say as I point a finger in it's direction. By now lion's taken me there so many times he knows exactly where it is. He opens a portal and hops through it, and as soon as we reach the other side I jump off (I landed on my face a little, but that's besides the point) and run inside. As soon as I step inside I am greeted by my mother, whose face radiated waves of anger in my direction. "Why are you late?!" She hollered. "Maybe if it was a few minutes I could let it slide, but an HOUR! Where on earth were you?! I've been worried sick!?" I tried to keep my composure, but I couldn't help but stutter. "Um, we-uh, Steven and I were-uh, on a m-mission, that, well, went a l-little longer that e-expected." "I promise it won't happen again." I add, with a little more confidence. "Oh, honey, I'm just glad you're ok. But please, be more careful next time. If you ever think that you might be later than expected, please call me, or tell me beforehand or something. Just, don't make me worry like that, deal?" "Deal" I respond while shaking her hand. We both giggle a little before going our separate ways.
Steven's POV
As soon as I hear lion come back from taking Connie home, I run outside and get on him. "Lion, I need you to take someplace to train." I say to him. He pauses a little, like he is thinking about where he wants to take me, before opening a portal into the unknown. When we reach our destination, I jump off lion and take in my surroundings. I'm in the middle of a huge, empty, futuristic-looking room with white walls and a pastel blue circular pattern on the floor. I take a step foreword and as I do, the area I was standing on raises up and projects a hologram of a gem I have never seen before. I back away and get into my fighting stance, but it just stays there. I walk towards it and notice that there is a panel of settings for the gem I can change on the raised up bit of ground. There is a section that you can choose what gem the hologram will be based on, and below that there are more complicated customization settings. At least I think that's what that is. There is also a little part on the side that says the gem name, what they're for, and a couple other stats. I switch between the different types of gems until I come across a gem called "turquoise." It's a fighting gem, apparently, and it has a really high strength rating. This would be perfect for training! I think to myself. I press a button that says "SPAWN." Within seconds the gem has her weapon (a sword) summoned and is swinging at me with all her might. She manages to hit me once and gives me a pretty bad gash on my arm. This is for you, Connie. I tell myself. This is for you.
