It's habit for most creatures to go somewhere familiar when in a state of distress. Dogs, when they have been left alone for a long time, may seek out the familiar scent of their owners by ripping up socks, shoes, and other personal items, and scattering them in a protective circle around their bodies. Migrating butterflies fly patterns that existed one hundred million years ago, and while we might chuckle at them for flying over an open lake as though a mountain stands in its place, can we blame the panicked rush of thousands of tiny creatures who stay on this planet for only a few short weeks before dying? House cats, when they have been abandoned, will run into any open house they can find, for they know they belong in a house, even if the house they are used to has become inaccessible to them.
It should not, then, be all too surprising to find that Peridot found herself in Beach City after losing her foot to the Crystal Gems.
When she had tired herself out from helicoptering for miles and miles, Peridot simply allowed her exhausted body to land on the first surface that seemed familiar and welcoming. Spying the soft, white sand of a beach, she braced herself and allowed herself to land roughly. Panting, she looked up and examined her surroundings. Dark ocean on one side, a somewhat busy town on the other, and a tiny house just ahead on the beach, and behind it...
Peridot blinked. Were giant carvings of exceptionally tall people with six arms common in human towns? She ran a few scanners and confirmed that this was not, in fact, a human artifact, but a gem temple. Maybe this was where the Crystal Gems lived?
A tiny wave lapped at Peridot's one good foot and she squeaked anxiously. She had had little experience with water but knew that it was very, very bad for her. Scrambling away on her backside, Peridot looked for anywhere to hide. Under that beach house seemed like a good idea. She could at least stay there for a few hours, catch her breath, get another plan going, and try once again to go back to Homeworld.
The sand made it impossible to stand, however. Ejecting her foot had made it difficult to maintain her balance. Eventually, Peridot settled for crawling underneath the deck. It was wide and high compared to some of her other hideouts, usually eyries and caves. Perhaps the occasional lean-to constructed from plywood or a piece of scrap tin. Compared to that, a sandy refuge under a warm house on the beach was paradise. (Even if she could see quite a few spiders.)
Peridot stared up at the white wood above her. Sand was starting to uncomfortably fill her joints, slipping between her flesh and the new prosthetics given to her. She grimaced, knowing she was simply too exhausted to take care of that now. It would have to wait until morning. And though Peridot tried not to, sleep eventually overtook her.
Steven woke in his bed to the golden light of summer dawn. He yawned and stretched like a lion cub, groggily hopping out of bed and padding down the staircase. None of the other gems were up yet, but that was fine. He was more than capable of taking care of himself for a few hours. Steven fixed himself a bowl of his favorite cereal, poured the milk, and was about to grab the newspaper to read the Sunday morning comics before realizing that he hadn't gotten it yet. Chuckling at his lapse in memory, Steven walked outside in his blue kittycat pajamas.
He walked down the steps of the porch, seeing the gray lump of the paper at the bottom of the stairs. Reaching down to grab it in his small hand, he saw a flash of color out of the corner of his eye. And then a tiny sound like... snoring?
Newspaper in hand, Steven turned around on the stairs, looking under the porch. He covered his mouth so as not to gasp audibly. There, under his house, lay a sleeping Peridot.
I gotta tell the others! Steven thought, racing up the steps as quietly as he could. He threw open the door, tossing the paper carelessly to the side.
"Pearl! Amethyst! Garnet!" he called, banging on the temple door but trying to keep his voice low. "You gotta come out here quick, it's an emergency!"
Almost immediately, the door to Pearl's room opened, her spear already in hand. "Steven!" she shouted, scooping him up under her arm. "What is it, what's wrong?"
"Shhh, keep your voice down!" Steven said, placing a finger to Pearl's lips. "Come outside with me, real quick! Peridot's there!"
"Peridot?" Pearl echoed, her voice low and gentle. "Steven, are you sure you're not just remembering a bad dream?"
Steven shook his head violently. "No, I'm telling you, she's right there, under the porch!"
Pearl regarded her young charge carefully, setting him back down. She didn't withdraw her spear. "All right," she conceded. "Let's go see."
Steven resented that she was talking to him like a child who insisted that the Tooth Fairy was in his room, but it was the best he could do for now. He led the way back outside, opening the front door as quietly as possible and training his bare feet to step just as softly. He got to the bottom of the steps and, to his relief, Peridot was still there.
"See?" he asked her.
Pearl couldn't help but stare for a moment. He was right. There she lay, curled up in the fetal position and snoring peacefully. This seemed too easy. She clutched her spear tight, approaching her. "Stay back," she ordered Steven, and he obeyed.
Gently at first, then forcefully, Pearl kicked Peridot in the side to rouse her. "Peridot," she spat.
Peridot gasped, startled. Her eyes widened further upon recognizing Pearl. She flipped back like a turtle in distress, attempting to aim her laser cannon. "St-stay back! How did you get here?!"
Pearl almost laughed. "You're actually directly under our house, genius."
"Wha-?! Y-you mean, this is...?" Peridot looked back at the temple, then at the beach house attached directly to it. She slapped herself in the face, dragging her fingers down it dramatically. "Of course it is. What luck."
Steven bolted forward, puffing out his chest and putting on his best Serious Steven face. "Surrender, Peridot!"
"Steven, I told you to stay back," Pearl scolded him, casting him a severe glance. Steven raised both of his hands and stepped back a few paces, giving the two gems their space. Pearl looked directly back at Peridot, pointing her spear between her eyes. "He does have a point, though. Surrender."
"Like hell I will!" Peridot spat, and she tried to stand, but the emptiness where her foot should have been made her stumble and crumple before Pearl like a fallen leaf. She looked up, defiance in her dark eyes.
"Seems like you don't have much choice." Pearl stepped forward and gripped Peridot by her bicep. She yanked the other gem up with force, making Peridot yelp. "Come on. The others will want to see you."
Peridot struggled, trying to hop away on one foot. "Let me go, you clod!"
"Did no one teach you any manners?" Pearl's tone was cool and collected, and with surprising strength, she pulled Peridot up the stairs with little effort. Steven padded behind the two gems nervously. Peridot glared at him with hate. Not because it was any of his fault, but because he happened to be there, and she needed to hate something in her line of sight.
Amethyst and Garnet were already waiting in the living room, shocked expressions on their faces when Pearl tossed Peridot onto the floor at their feet. "Steven found her under the house," she said, clipped and serious. "What do we do with her?"
"Pummel her!" Amethyst said, readying her whip, but Garnet held out a hand to stop her. "Hey, what gives?"
"We don't do things that way," she said. Staring hard at Peridot, who looked back at her through gritted teeth, Garnet said, "Restrain her by the arms and legs and let her sit on the couch."
"Is that really a good idea?" Amethyst asked.
"With this one? She'll run her mouth before she even realizes what she's doing."
"Hey, I'm right here!" Peridot snapped, the bridge of her nose scrunching up with disdain.
"So you are," replied Garnet. Amethyst used her whip to restrain Peridot, but under Garnet's careful instruction, bound her at the elbows and knees instead of wrists and ankles. It was a pain, but the knots were strong and didn't give Peridot room to struggle.
For Steven's own protection, Garnet and Amethyst kept him out of the house during the night, opting to let him sleep at Connie's house. Peridot hadn't talked all day and Garnet was worried that she was planning something. Pearl was left on duty to watch over the prisoner. Pearl didn't mind. Sentry duty was all too familiar to her.
Spear laying lazily in her lap, Pearl stared out the screen window. The water was calm tonight, which almost made her laugh, because the tension in the house could have been cut with a knife. So long as Peridot wasn't talking, Pearl wasn't going to give her anything to get under her skin with.
Eventually, she heard Peridot shift in place. Pearl gripped her spear, ready to chastise and possibly put the other gem back into submission, but she saw that Peridot had simply adjusted her body so that she could look out the window, too. The sky was clear and full of stars, and the crescent moon hung over the black ocean peacefully. Peridot said nothing, just stared out into space.
Pearl watched her carefully. Peridot didn't seem to either notice or care that Pearl was looking. Her chin leaned awkwardly on the arm of the couch, and her eyes were wide as saucers. Pearl tilted her head to the side, puzzled. What was she playing at?
Peridot's eyes then began to water, and her features scrunched up. Even though it was dark in the house, the silvery moonlight showed Pearl that Peridot's face was dark and flushed, and her bottom lip quivered violently. Pearl's lips parted, the beginning of a question hanging on them for dear life. She was just about to speak when suddenly a choked wheeze escaped from Peridot. This was followed by several more, until bright tears poured from the corners of the green gem's eyes and she broke down into loud, harsh sobs.
"I just wanna go home," she wailed, hiding her face. "Why won't she come for me? She- she promised me... she promised..."
Pearl didn't say anything. She looked away to allow the captured gem to preserve the last of her dignity, quickly falling apart. Her chest burned with guilt. Feeling abandoned by someone? She knew that feeling well.
"I almost feel sorry for you," Pearl said eventually. She was intentionally echoing something Peridot had said the last time they met. The only difference was here was that Pearl actually meant it.
Peridot looked up, shocked, and quickly attempted to wipe her snot-covered face on her shoulder to dry it. "Y-yeah, so what? Who cares what you think?" she growled, avoiding looking at Pearl. Peridot then turned away, facing the back of the couch. That was fine with Pearl, for now she could carefully watch Peridot's hands and make sure she wasn't up to no good. There were only a few more hours left until dawn. Pearl was certain they would be silent, and they were.