Steven Alternativerse

Prove Your Worth (Rocknaldo)

The sun sets over Beach City as Steven opens his front door. Connie dashes out and down the wooden steps leading to the beach as he waves to her. "Bye, Connie! See ya tomorrow for sword training!" Steven closes the door and he turns as he bumps into Ronaldo, gasping out of shock.

Steven stares up at him, backing away as Ronaldo narrows his eyes on him. "Her Gem weapon's a sword, huh?" His tone darkens with a hidden glare slowly melding to his blank expression. "She totally ripped that off from me." Steven raises his arms along with his eyebrows.

"What?! That sword belonged to my mom!"
"How come I don't get your mom's Gempon." He raises a hand to his mouth to clarify what he meant. "That's Gem in weapon."

Steven puts out a hand as he looks down at the ground before explaining how that works. "Well, Connie's been a part of The Crystal Gems longer than you so-!" Ronaldo folds his arms as he stares Steven down. "Admit it. She's just in because she's your girlfriend."

Steven glares at him, his temper slowly bubbling up. "What are you talking about?" Ronaldo shakes a fist at him.
"She doesn't even live here! I live here all the time! Look at that quality groove I've established!"

Ronaldo points out the deep, wavy cut in one of the cushions on the couch.
"If she was a real Crystal Gem, she'd be a little more dedicated!" That does it. Steven has reached his limit with Ronaldo. He grits his teeth as he holds up a fist. "Are you serious?! Bloodstone, ever since you got here, all you've done is boss me around!" He points up at him.

"Who are you to tell anyone how to be a Crystal Gem?! You're just...you're just...A GUY WITH A BLOG!" Ronaldo widens his eyes for a moment before he stares Steven down again. "Is that so?" Steven nods. "Yes, it is so! You wanna be a Crystal Gem?! Then prove that you want to be one!"

Steven storms away from him. "You'd better get ready, Bloodstone! If you really wanna get involved in what WE do, then prepare yourself! You're in for it now!" Steven steps onto the warp pad and he whips his body to face Ronaldo. "Let's go."

Ronaldo gasps, laughing as he dashes onto the warp pad. Steven remains monotone as he activates the light to transport themselves off. Ronaldo folds his arms, chuckling as Steven's eye twitches. Steven grabs Ronaldo's arm as they appear at the Sky Arena.

He growls as he drags Ronaldo up the staircase to the arena. Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst chat with each other nearby, chuckling and smiling with one another as Steven steps foot into the arena. He narrows his eyes on the arena as Ronaldo gazes into it with awe. "Woah."

The Gems turn their heads as Steven tugs Ronaldo's arm on the way down the steps. "Steven?" They raise their eyebrows. "Blood-fry?" They exchange looks as Steven nods to them. "Get him ready." The Gems gape at what Steven just said.

"Steven, Blood-Fry is a bit...weak for this arena. Why don't you just send him back to temple and I'll take to him later?" Steven doesn't budge. He stays where he is as he points to Pearl. "Pearl, get the Holo Pearls ready."
"Steven?"
"No! I need to see this!"

Pearl bites her lip as Ronaldo steps foot into the arena. Her gem glows as it projects five Holo Pearls, each surrounding one side of Ronaldo. "Hmph!" He whips out his katana as looks from one after the other. "Steven, I really don't think he's ready for this."

Steven folds him arms, shaking his head as the Gems grimace. "Oh geez." A Holo Pearl charges towards him as he raises his vibrant, green sword. He yells as the Holo Pearl slices through the katana. The top metal piece cuts off from the sword as Ronaldo grits his teeth at the Holo Pearl.

"Steven, they could kill him! Please, let me call off their attack!" Steven points to the Holo Pearl approaching Ronaldo. "Keep her on the field. Eliminate the rest." Sweats drips down her forehead as the other four dissapear.

The Holo Pearl points her sword at Ronaldo as he backs away. He seizes the moment to catch her off guard by jumping away from the attack. The Holo Pearl jumps right onto where he was as Ronaldo punches her in the back.

The Holo Pearl bounces forwards before it turns back to Ronaldo. "It's only a matter of time!" Ronaldo looks over to where the Holo Pearl dropped her sword. He grins as the Holo Pearl thrusts towards him. Ronaldo dashes towards the sword, attempting to slide on his knees over to it.

He skins them and he screams in agony as he picks up the sword. He ends his sliding by turning to the Holo Pearl. Ronaldo stares at the Holo Pearl with a stern expression as he points the sword at it. "Come on, Blood-Fry. Don't mess this up." Steven whispers his encouragement just the same.

"Come on!" The Holo Pearl scans Ronaldo before her eyes turns sharp and red. "Whoa!"
"He just unlocked the advanced mode! He didn't even train!" Steven grimaces as Ronaldo takes a step back, the sword shaking from his grip.

Steven knows what he must do. Ronaldo isn't any different from the Crystal Gems. They love and accept each other for who they are as equals. Ronaldo may have gotten on his nerves, but Steven realizes that they didn't exactly give him a fair shot before either.

This is his moment to see what being a Crystal Gem is really all about. Steven shouts to him. "Come on, Ronaldo! You can do it! Remember your training!" Ronaldo turns to Steven who gives him a thumbs-up and Ronaldo, for the first time in a week, smiles to his old friend.

The Holo Pearl launches her attack as she lunges for him. Ronaldo gasps as he blocks off her attack just in time, causing her to rebound and skid a few feet away from him. Ronaldo holds the sword up as his foot stands it's ground, following the precise movements of the Holo Pearl.

"No way." The Holo Pearl attacks first, giving Ronaldo the upper hand. He slashes the sword up and the Holo Pearl's sword flies into the air. Defenseless, Ronaldo yells as he impales the front of the Holo Pearl. "Challenger wins!"

Everyone, including Ronaldo, gapes at the impossibility that he just made. "I...I did it!"
"He did it."
"Whoa." Garnet smiles as she claps to him, followed by Steven and Amethyst and finally, Pearl. This time genuine applause.

Ronaldo sniffs as a tear rolls down his cheek. "I'm a Crystal Gem now." The Gems shrug. "Eh, why not?"
"But don't we already have a sword in our team?"
"Hey! The more the merrier!" Steven frowns as he steps up to Ronaldo.

The sword from the Holo Pearl dissipates as Steven sighs. "I guess I owe you one, Bloodstone. I'm sorry that I snapped at you. It's just that you were acting very mean to me and...I hope this experience will remind you that being a Crystal Gem isn't just about Bloodstone but everyone together."

Ronaldo nods, sighing himself. "I need to apologize myself. I wasn't acting like Bloodstone. I was acting like...
Jerknaldo. You accepted me and I'm really glad to have been given this chance to help of your cause. However, I can't stay forever. I must return home to my former duties as Ronaldo Fryman until I am called upon once more."

Steven smiles. "Hey! We can introduce you to Peridot and Lapis! We can even invite you to train with us or sit with us as we train! It'll be great!" Ronaldo keeps his smile of triumph as he stares out into the sunset...until he falls down on his face.

Steven gasps, looking down at his fallen body. "Oh no! Bloodstone!" Ronaldo snores and Steven smiles with a sigh of relief. "He's just asleep. We should really take him back." Ronaldo continues to snore on the arena floor as the Gems stare at him.