"And what do you know about the Earth?"
"Apparently more than you do, you CLOD!"
As soon as Peridot screamed the last word at Yellow Diamond, she knew she was in very, very big trouble. Yellow Diamond's face contorted with pure rage, and Peridot's confidence she had experienced while telling her leader just what she thought had now fizzled away. "Peridot, out!" the green gem squealed meekly, ending the communication.
Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven-the Crystal Gems-quickly gathered around her, cheering and laughing. Peridot barely noticed; her mind was still processing what she had just done. She had defied the great Yellow Diamond! She had failed her reason for existence! And now, if she knew Yellow Diamond, the communicator diamond was going to explode any minute.
As the Crystal Gems complimented her actions, Peridot wondered what to do. She felt worthless now. Small and meaningless. The Crystal Gems would use the drill to defeat the cluster, and then what? Peridot would have no purpose.
And if this thing blows up, there won't BE any Crystal Gems to defeat the cluster and protect the Earth! Remembering she had to do something about the communicator diamond, she suddenly gasped and leapt to her feet. Her acquaintances stared at her, perplexed, and then she ran. Clutching the communicator diamond tightly, she ran and ran as fast as she could. What happened next would not matter. She did not matter. All that mattered now was for the Crystal Gems to terminate the cluster, and they could do that without her. She was of no use to Yellow Diamond anymore, or anyone else, for that matter.
"Peridot, wait up!" Steven exclaimed with a hint of confusion in his voice, giving chase. His short, chubby legs weren't much of a match for Peridot's agile speed.
"What in the world is she doing?" Pearl asked as she watched.
Garnet was silent. She crossed her arms and frowned slightly, but her body was tense.
"Ehh, maybe she just went bonkers in the noggin," Amethyst said with a shrug, and then spun her pinkie finger at the side of her head with her tongue sticking out.
Pearl stepped forward, ready to help Steven catch Peridot. "I think we should-"
She was cut off by the sound of an explosion. All three gems stared as an enourmous cloud of smoke bloomed where Peridot had once been. Pearl was frozen in shock for a moment, but then she realized Steven could be hurt and raced over with Garnet and Amethyst. Dread was painted on all of their faces.
They found Steven on his back, covered in dirt, but otherwise seemingly unharmed. Pearl kneeled down by his side just as he sat up, rubbing an eye. He had been blown back by the explosion, but luckily he hadn't been close enough to be seriously hurt.
"Peridot, NOOOOO!" Steven wailed, his eyes wide at the sight before him. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl turned their heads from Steven to the clearing smoke. Pearl gasped and covered Steven's eyes with her hand. Amethyst's mouth was agape with astonishment, and Garnet cringed.
Green shards were raining down, softly hitting against the ground.
"S-she blew up!" Steven sobbed, crawling over to the broken bits of Peridot's gem. He scooped up each piece and held them in his trembling hands.
The Crystal Gems did not move a muscle. They did not know how to console Steven. And they thought that anything they could say would only make things worse.
"I-i-it's gonna be o-okay!" Steven stammered, his voice cracking and tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'll put you back together... then you can regenerate, just like Pearl did when she got poofed by a sword!"
Amethyst opened her mouth to say, 'It doesn't work that way', but she immediately felt Garnet's hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Garnet holding a finger to her lips. Amethyst nodded and remained silent.
Pearl took a deep breath and strided over to Steven. Garnet and Amethyst watched tensely. "Steven, I'm sorry," she said.
Steven got up to his feet and forced a smile even though his face was wet with his tears. "It's okay! Maybe I'll use duct tape! Dad always says duct tape can fix anything! Or what about superglue? It's not called superglue for nothing!" He didn't seem to be talking to Pearl, rather to himself-or Peridot. He ran in the direction of the temple. He cupped his hands together so he wouldn't drop any pieces of Peridot.
Pearl turned to Garnet and Amethyst sadly.
"It was inevitable," Garnet murmured quietly.
"What!?" Amethyst hissed.
Garnet said no more.
"Future vision?" Pearl asked in barely more than a whisper. Garnet nodded. Amethyst stared at the ground, her hair covering her eyes. It was a long time before any of them moved. Though none of them wanted to admit it, deep inside, they all felt as if Peridot's fate was their own fault.
Back at the temple, Steven had all the pieces splayed out on the table. He had a tube of superglue in one hand, and was carefully using it to stick the pieces together to the best of his abilities. It was a little difficult to figure out how each piece fit together, but Steven was determined to try his best for his fallen friend, Peridot.
Eventually, the door opened. Steven didn't even look up from his work; by now, he was almost finished. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl entered the kitchen. Garnet leaned against the counter and the other two Crystal Gems looked at Steven miserably.
"Steven, I'm sorry."
Steven paused at the sound of Garnet's voice. Pearl had her arms crossed in grief and sighed.
"I let my future vision get in the way of trying to stop Peridot."
Steven was still for a few more moments, but then he continued glueing and said, "It's okay. Peridot's gonna be just fine anyway."
Amethyst clenched her teeth. Steven was in denial, but none of them dared to shatter his hopes.
Garnet continued, "I'm also sorry we didn't treat Peridot better during her time here. You were more kind to her than any of us. In the end, she saved us and the Earth, even if it meant denying her leader's orders."
Tears started to well up in Amethyst's eyes and Pearl let out another sigh. The two of them felt guilty for not being patient with Peridot like Steven had been. Neither of them had known what would happen to her.
"It's okay," Steven said again, not even glancing at any of his comrades. "You can all apologize to her when she regenerates."
With that, he stuck the last shard in place and then grinned. His eyes were still red from crying, but he exclaimed, "There! Now she's all better!"
The Gems could detect uncertainty in his voice, even though his wide smile didn't show it. They looked at Steven's job. Peridot's gem still had countless cracks visible, a few pieces were jutting out, and there were sticky globs of glue seeping from between the fragments.
"Nice...work, Steven," Pearl remarked hesitantly, trying her hardest to look pleased.
"You did your best," Garnet added, her tone void of emotion.
"Y-yeah dude, it looks great," Amethyst said, ending with a nervous chuckle.
"Thanks!" Steven said, their words apparently boosting his faith. "Now, all we gotta do is wait for her to come out of her gem!" And he did.
He waited.
And waited.
And waited...
3 months passed.
Peridot never emerged from her gem. Steven started checking on Peridot less and less frequently, as if he was giving up hope. And maybe, deep inside, he understood that Peridot wasn't coming back. Steven went into a state of depression, and the Gems, wanting to give him space to grieve, did not take him on missions as much. Steven often listened to Peridot's voice on the tape recorder he had given her. Greg did whatever he could to console his son, but all Steven wanted was for Peridot to come back.
One evening, Steven had Connie over. The two of them quietly played board games. Connie had heard about what had happened to Peridot. Connie didn't really 'miss' Peridot, as she had barely met her, but Steven's sorrowful glances towards the green gem sitting on his bedside table wrenched her heart.
"This isn't right!" Steven cried out suddenly, standing up even though he hadn't finished the game with Connie. "I can't leave Peridot sitting there forever... she deserves a proper g-g-g..."
Steven couldn't finish the word 'goodbye', but Connie understood what he was trying to say. She stood up and sympathetically put her hands on Steven's shoulders.
"I understand, Steven. The best we can do is honor her memory. What would you like to do?"
Steven put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment. "We need to have a funeral, with flowers and stuff. We will talk about the good times we had with Peridot, but we won't bury her, in case she ever comes back..."
Steven said the last few words very quietly. He didn't really have any hope left that Peridot could regenerate from her shattered but glued-together gem, but he couldn't stand the thought of Peridot regenerating only to find herself trapped deep in the dirt.
"Okay, we can ask the Crystal Gems to help arrange a funeral," Connie said to him as gently as she could. "I'll always be here to support you, Steven."
"Thank you," Steven responded, sniffing and wiping a tear from his eye.
Later, when the Crystal Gems had returned from a mission, Steven and Connie approached them with Steven's idea. "Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Steven wants to hold a funeral to commemorate Peridot," Connie explained.
Garnet knew Steven had given up hope on Peridot a week ago, but he had been silent about it. Pearl was surprised. She kneeled down and looked directly in Steven's eyes. "Oh, are you sure you want to do that? You don't have to if it will make you upset."
"I do want to!" Steven insisted. "She was so brave, and funny, and smart, and helpful... She deserves a proper ceremony."
"Well, if that's what you want, then we can arrange a funeral right now," Pearl said.
"Yeah, and Greg can come too. I'll go get him," Amethyst said. She walked out of the house, but Garnet noticed moisture in her eyes and knew that she would probably cry a bit before fetching Greg.
"So, what do you want the funeral to be like?" Pearl questioned Steven.
"We'll put lots of flowers in a ring on the ground, and put Peridot in the middle," Steven replied. "We will each take turns saying nice things about Peridot, and then we will stand silently in a circle around the flower ring and think about happy memories of her."
"That sounds so nice, Steven," Connie commented, her eyes glimmering with emotion.
Soon, Peridot's funeral had begun. Peridot's gem lay in the beach sand, surrounded by flowers of all colors that Steven had picked himself. The dusk sky was a beautiful shade of violet, and the ocean waves lapped at the shore. Steven, Connie, Greg, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl huddled around and gazed wistfully at the broken gem.
Steven began to speak. "Peridot, you were such a nice gem, and I always had faith in you. Thank you for the fun times we had together. I still remember when I first freed you from the bubble and saw how cute you were without your limb enhancers, and when I told you how rain works, and when we sang a song together... I'll never forget you."
He closed his eyes and bowed his head forlornly.
Connie looked at him for a few seconds and then cleared her throat. "Peridot, I don't know much about you but from what I've heard, you were a very interesting gem. You turned against your leader to protect my home world, so I thank you for that."
Greg added, "Thank you, Peridot, for being a friend to my son, even though you pushed me off the roof once."
Then, it was the Gems' turn. Pearl went first.
"Peridot, I am sorry for the times we hurt you and doubted you. It's still hard to believe you actually gave up on Yellow Diamond's orders and sacrificed your existence for our cause."
Amethyst said quietly, "I wish you were here... we could have gone on so many adventures together as a team and as friends. I still remember all the nicknames I gave you and the jokes we told each other."
Garnet simply uttered, "You will be missed."
With that, Steven reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of glitter. He sprinkled it above Peridot's gem and it was carried away by the breeze. The grass swayed and the clouds rolled in the sky above.
After some time, Greg said, "Hey, Steven, I am kinda getting tired of standing here like this. Mind if I leave?" He nervously rubbed the back of his neck.
Steven looked at his father in horror. Then he turned to Connie when she said, "Yeah, I kinda need to go home too... it's getting late." She smiled awkwardly at Steven, unsure of how he would react.
"How could you? This is for Peridot!" Steven scolded, disappointed in his father and friend.
"Steven, we didn't even know Peridot that well. I'm sure she'd be just fine with you and the Gems," Greg tried to reason.
"I'm sorry, but my parents would be angry if I don't go home soon," Connie added.
Steven groaned and hung his head. "If you say so," he muttered, his eyes fixated on Peridot. Connie and Greg quietly left, and Steven looked sadly at his remaining loved ones. "Are you guys gonna leave too?"
"No," Garnet answered. Steven was pleased that the Crystal Gems wouldn't let him down.
After a period of time, Steven begun to feel a little tired himself, but he struggled to stay up as long as he could for his silent mourning of Peridot. He sat down to rest his legs and carefully stroked the lime-green colored gem. "I can't believe I'll never get to bond with you ever again... just when you finally proved yourself to us, you had to go..." he whispered.
"What will you do with Peridot from now on?" Pearl asked.
Steven pondered for a while. "I think I'll wear her on a chain like a necklace. That way, I can take her with me wherever I go, and keep her with me forever."
Pearl wanted to say something, but her throat was tight with emotion.
He let out a long sigh and tenderly picked up the gem in his hands. He stared at it with a heart-breaking frown on his face and then planted a single kiss right in the middle.
Then, a miracle happened.
The gem flared with light and Steven gasped, gazing at it in wonder. The other Gems flinched in surprise, hope growing inside of them. They didn't want to be overly optimistic, but could this be really happening?
The shards of Peridot's gem seemed to mold together, and the dried superglue dissolved into nothing. All the cracks faded and the gem shined brighter and brighter... an illustrous shape began to emit from the newly repaired gem, which gradually formed into the silhouette of... could it be?
The light faded and Peridot found herself sitting in a ring of brightly colored, sweetly scented flowers. Sparkles twinkled around her for a second. She rubbed her head and opened her eyes. The first sight she saw was Steven with the biggest smile on his face she'd ever seen, his wide eyes tearing up with joy.
"Peridot!" Steven shouted with delight, throwing his arms around his green friend.
"Ugh... what am I doing here? And did I really call Yellow Diamond a clod to her face?" Peridot mumbled, struggling to stand up with Steven's arms wrapped tightly around her.
Amethyst ran over to Peridot, exhilirated. "Peridot, you're okay!"
"Steven's healing saliva did it," Garnet murmured, nodding once in approval.
Pearl walked over to Steven, relieved that the young boy's sorrow had finally been put to an end. "You saved her, Steven! Well done, we're all so proud of you!" She patted his curly black hair.
"Hang on... why is everyone so happy that I'm here?" Peridot rasped. "I'm a traitor to Homeworld, and I defied the purpose of my existence!"
"So did we," Garnet answered. She gave a small smile. "You did the right thing, Peridot."
"Yeah, we can be traitors and purpose-defiers together!" Amethyst hollered.
Steven still hadn't let go of Peridot. She stared at him, possibly touched by his affection towards her, and then asked, "How long was I gone, anyway?"
"None of that matters!" Steven insisted. "What matters is that you're here, you're cool...and you're a Crystal Gem!"
"Whether you like it or not," Garnet finished playfully.