A/N: A bit more conflict in this one than the previous chapters, so enjoy!
Steven soon found himself back inside the beach house as the warp stream dissipated around him. The young half-Gem glanced around momentarily, his eyes automatically wandering over to the basket he'd set up for Amethyst. The boy was unsurprised to find it empty, having expected the purple Gem to regenerate in his absence.
He made a mental note to be sure to give her a big hug the next time he saw her again. He was sure she'd be more than eager to tell him about what happened at the Strawberry Battlefield.
Steven noticed that Garnet and Pearl were also nowhere to be seen, probably already having retired to their respective rooms in the Temple for the time being. After Amethyst's most recent mishap, it was likely they were debating on their next course of action in finding Peridot.
Or Malachite. After all, the fusion was still a major threat…
Steven stepped off the warp pad and made his way over to the screen door to let Lion outside so the feline could reclaim his usual spot under the porch. The heat wave may have passed but it was still relatively warm out now that it was early in the afternoon. Shame it wasn't raining here like it still was back on the island. Beach City was long overdue for a good rainstorm.
Steven had been hesitant about leaving Peridot on Mask Island but the green Gem had insisted that she would be fine on her own for the time being. He understood her wanting some time to herself but he still planned on returning later on in the day to see how she was doing. What he was most nervous about at present was keeping the others from finding out about her location.
He hated the idea of lying to Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. They were his family and not being able to be truthful with them was hurtful.
And yet, Steven was honestly scared of what they might do to Peridot if he was truthful, especially Pearl. He knew the pale Gem had stated that she could possibly have valuable information regarding Homeworld but he just couldn't shake that image of her leaping directly for Peridot's gem back on the warship. He'd never seen Pearl so livid. It had frightened him.
Even with corrupted Gems, they had never aimed directly for the gemstone…
And along with just keeping Peridot hidden, what were they going to do aside from that? Malachite was still a priority as well but he couldn't exactly expect the others to see his new friend as any less of a danger. She was still the enemy in their eyes.
Steven furrowed his brow in thought. He really had to speak with someone else about this. He had found temporary reassurance in Sadie, sure, but he needed to talk to someone who was as familiar with Gem related topics as he was.
Connie. He could trust her with this. And surely her parents would be okay with her coming over now that the worst of the heat wave was over. Maybe he could even introduce her to Peridot. It might help the Gem feel a bit more secure about the current situation, knowing she had more than one ally to turn to.
Oh man, if Pearl or Garnet ever found out about what he was doing, he'd probably be grounded for the next few centuries…
Steven took a seat on the couch, setting his backpack down and pulling his phone out from the front pocket. He dialed the familiar number and anxiously waited for his friend to pick up, hopeful that it would indeed be Connie at the other end and not Mrs. Maheswaran. She'd probably pick up on his uneasy tone in a heartbeat…
"Hello?" He finally heard Connie answer on the other end of the line, much to his relief.
"Connie!"
"Steven, hey what's up?"
"Connie, do you think you could come over later on today? There's some pretty important stuff going on right now…" He couldn't keep the worried tone out of his voice.
Steven could hear the sound of pages being flipped through. It seemed he'd interrupted one of his friend's reading sessions. "Yeah, sure. I was actually going to ask my parents if I could head over to Beach City a little later. What's going on?"
The boy hesitated a bit. "I'll fill you in when you get here. We might have to go somewhere else if the Gems are here."
On the other end, Connie was quiet for a few moments, which was doing nothing to ease Steven's feelings of apprehension. "You mean…this is something the Crystal Gems don't know about?"
He let out a couple of nervous laughs. "Uh, no. Not at the moment. Just come on over when you can, please. Say, an hour from now? I'll let you know then."
His friend made what sounded like a small grunt of understanding. "Alright, Steven. I'll be there."
The two hung up immediately after and Steven felt himself fall back onto the couch, hopeful that this was the right way to handle the situation.
He had no idea how Peridot was going to react to his human companion, though he doubted she'd see her as a threat. Connie was a human, not a Gem. Peridot would have no reason to fear her, which was exactly why he was willing to introduce the two.
But at the same time, was it right to get Connie involved in this mess? Steven shook his head to help clear his thoughts. 'Everything will be fine… Don't worry about it.'
The child sat up and made his way over to the kitchen, deciding to temporarily ease his concerns by making some peanut butter and jam sandwiches for when his friend arrived later. Nothing could cheer him up better than one of his favorite lunches.
Peridot slowly opened her eyes, barely aware that she'd even closed them before the warp pad had activated. Much to the green Gem's relief, it seemed the fusion hadn't been able to follow her through the warp stream.
Thank the stars for that.
Peridot's momentary sense of respite vanished as soon as she finally realized just where she had ended up. Her eyes darted around the beach house, hurriedly looking for any indications of the Crystal Gems. Mercifully, they didn't appear to be around.
She glanced to her left to see none other than Steven, seemingly preparing some sort of sustenance for himself in the section of the house across from the living area. The child must have heard the warp pad chiming, as he made his way over to investigate. A shocked expression crossed his features as soon as he laid eyes on her.
"Peridot!?" He dropped the utensil in his hand, the silverware colliding to the tiled floor with a sharp clang. "What are you doing here!? The Gems could come walking out of the Temple at any moment!" He kept his voice as low as possible, not wanting to draw any unneeded attention from the other residents.
The green Gem didn't pay his warnings any mind for the time being, still in the process of calming down from her earlier panic. She was already completely aware of how unwise it probably was for her to come here of all places. But it wasn't like she could help it or that she even had anywhere else to go for that matter! She had been fleeing for her life, so it was no surprise she had inadvertently brought herself to Steven's dwelling!
The Homeworld Gem pushed her inner thoughts aside and sprinted over to the boy as best she could in her slightly dazed state, her floating digits grabbing ahold of his shoulders. "Steven! We can't go back there!"
The child in question placed a finger over his mouth as he nervously glanced over to the Temple door, trying to signal to her to keep her voice down. "Go back where? The island? W-why not?"
Peridot momentarily glanced around, again searching for any signs of those Crystal Clods as she continued her shouting fit, not quite seeming to understand Steven's gesture. "Jasper! Lazuli! They've…fused into this horrid creature and they just came up onto the shore out of nowhere!"
Steven winced at how loud she was being but felt his eyes widen once he fully registered what she'd just said. "Wait, you saw Malachite!?"
Peridot shivered at the fusion's image that was still flashing through her mind. So, that was their proper title…
"Saw them!? I was nearly crushed by them as soon as the Lazuli Gen took control and noticed me!" The green Gem threw her truncated arms up into the air, her digits momentarily spreading out of their typical alignment to further emphasize her distress.
Steven's shock didn't wane, instead doing the opposite as soon as Peridot mentioned the ocean Gem's actions. "L-Lapis?"
Would Lapis really do something like that? It was clear she and Peridot weren't exactly fighting for the same reasons, or even the same side for that matter, but he never thought she would attempt to kill the technician…
Steven thought back to the lucid dream he'd had involving the two Gems a few weeks ago. It seemed likely Lapis really was losing herself to Malachite… And Jasper was probably no better off, if her reaction to seeing him last time was anything to go off of.
The Homeworld Gem in front of him had a look of confusion and hurt on her face, though she made sure to cover it up immediately. Why did Steven seem so concerned for Lazuli!? It was her who had just about been shattered at that Gem's hands!
The green Gem waved her digits in front of the boy's face, attempting to snap him out of it. "Steven!"
The child turned his attention back to her.
If what Peridot said was true, that Malachite had actually come ashore, he had to be sure to let the Gems know! But first, he absolutely had to get Peridot out of here. As a Crystal Gem, he knew Malachite should take priority but at the same time he couldn't just abandon the Gem in front of him. For now, they'd have to go somewhere else. Having such a serious discussion here was extremely risky.
"Peridot." He spoke in a low, quiet tone. "We'll talk more about this but for the moment, we have to head away from here."
The green Gem looked over to the Temple entrance, suddenly realizing how reckless it was for her to allow her emotions to get out of control like this. The only thing really separating her from the Crystal Gems right now was a simple door.
She hesitantly nodded at Steven's suggestion, still feeling somewhat emotionally hurt that the child had taken such a strong interest in one of the Gems involved in the fusion that had nearly killed her. "Alright, but where exactly do you suggest we go this time? We can't exactly travel back to where this Malachite is."
Steven thought things over. At this rate, they were going to run out of hiding spots… He then remembered back to what Pearl had said earlier about the different areas they'd searched.
There was definitely one place they could head to.
"I think we should head to the Kindergarten." He proposed. "I know it might seem like a really obvious place to hide but we really don't have many other choices. Pearl even mentioned that they looked there right before they went to Mask Island. I don't see any reason why they'd go back."
The technician lifted a couple of her digits to her forehead, almost as if she was suffering from a headache. "Okay…" She sighed. "I trust you, Steven. So, I will follow your suggestion."
The child allowed a small smile on his face before turning his attention back to the sandwiches he had been in the process of making. He wasted no time putting everything back in its proper place in the kitchen, including the knife he'd dropped. He'd worry about lunch after he returned from the Kindergarten. He just hoped he'd get back before Connie arrived.
Steven quickly grabbed his phone just in case and pocketed it before hopping up onto the warp pad, Peridot half-heartedly following behind him. The two felt the familiar sensation of warping before disappearing from view, the beach house falling completely silent with their departure.
The Kindergarten's eerie atmosphere was just as disconcerting as it had always been. Peridot led the way over to the elevator leading the control room, completely mute as she did so. Steven noticed her silence and couldn't help being slightly confused by it. She seemed…worried about something, but what? Sure, this place was pretty creepy but she had seemed completely apathetic to it last time she was here. What had her so concerned?
Maybe she just needed reassurance that she would be safe here.
"Peridot, what's the matter? The Gems have already been here. They won't come back." He tried telling the Homeworld Gem.
The young technician let out a shaky sigh but aside from that remained silent as they finally made their way over the diagonal tunnel signaling the entrance to the control room. She gently took hold of Steven's hand and the two carefully made their descent, using the slanted angle of the shaft to slide down. Steven noticed her digits trembling slightly but didn't point it out, seeing as she'd already ignored his previous attempt at consolation.
Once they reached the bottom, the green Gem simply stood in front of him, her eyes directed downward.
"Peri, are you sure you're okay?" He decided to use her nickname, just in the hopes of getting some sort of response from her, positive or negative. She'd been almost completely silent the whole way here.
The technician inhaled deeply, attempting to even out her rather erratic breathing. "Yes, Steven. I'm fine… Now, what were you going to say about…Malachite again?"
Steven was bothered by the fact that she was obviously lying to him but went along with it anyway. Malachite, in her current state, was still a huge threat that had to be subdued.
He was especially worried for Lapis. He recalled in his dream the ocean Gem saying she'd been using the weight of the ocean to hold Malachite down. If the fusion had come ashore anyway, then her original plan, for the time being, had somehow failed. And Peridot claimed that Lapis had been in control when she had tried to shatter her… It seriously sounded like the ocean Gem was losing herself and that terrified him.
'Please be okay, Lapis…'
Steven pulled himself away from his frightening thoughts, still hopeful that there was a way to at least momentarily calm the fusion down and, with any luck, force apart the two Gems that had formed her in the first place.
"I was going to say that I need to let the Crystal Gems know about this! They can-"
"No!" The green Gem interrupted him, her meekness seeming to have disappeared completely. "You will do no such thing!"
The child was taken aback by her sudden outburst. "Peridot, I have-"
The technician cut him off once again, concern edging its way into her voice. "No, Steven! Please!"
'Don't get involved in this, Steven! If Jasper and the Lazuli Gem were foolish enough to fuse into something so unstable, then that was their own idiotic decision!'
"Peridot." Steven lowered his voice, remaining patient as always. "I need to let the Gems know where Malachite is… Jasper and Lapis are a danger while they're part of such an unstable fusion! There has to be a way we can get them apart!"
The green Gem could feel her patience waning. She cared about Steven, she really did, but she hated how stubborn he was being about this! This was not something either of them should be involved in! The Crystal Clods could figure it out on their own as far as she was concerned!
"Just let them just go around rampaging! That's all fusion is good for anyway!"
Silence.
The expression on Steven's face was unreadable, his eyes narrowing at the Gem in front of him. "What do you mean by that?" The child's voice shook, likely in an effort to remain as calm as possible.
Peridot suddenly felt her self-assurance beginning to dissipate as soon as she saw the child's expression shift so drastically. She couldn't decipher what exactly he was feeling and that scared her. Had she perhaps offended him somehow?
"Fighting. That's it's meant for." She stated matter-of-factly. "The only purpose fusion serves is as a weapon."
Steven's firsts clenched, an image of Garnet, proud and confident, immediately coming to the forefront of his thoughts. He couldn't believe what he was hearing from the other Gem. Was that really how Homeworld viewed fusion? As just a weapon? That couldn't be right! Fusion was meant to be the ultimate connection between Gems! It wasn't only supposed to be used for fighting purposes! How could Peridot even think such a thing?
The child took a deep breath, keeping his temper under control. He had to remember to keep his anger directed towards Homeworld. Peridot was clearly a product of Homeworld beliefs; someone who had no experience with any other way of thinking. However, that didn't excuse her insistence on leaving Malachite be. He needed to save Lapis!
"First of all Peridot, that isn't true." The green Gem raised an eyebrow at him. Steven still held the image of Garnet in his head, only now it included Ruby and Sapphire as well. "There's so much more to it than that and I really hope you can learn that in the future. But why do you not want me to help Lapis? Why do you not want me going to the Gems about Malachite?"
Peridot couldn't comprehend anything Steven was saying in regards to fusion. What he was saying contradicted with what Homeworld had always told her throughout her short existence.
Was there really more to fusion, like Steven stated? Peridot was hesitant to believe that but the child had been truthful with her up to this point…
No. Fusions could barely even be considered Gems and this Malachite was proof of that. The fact that such a beast had resulted from two perfectly functioning Gems was a testament to how foul of a process fusion really was for the Gems involved. Peridot herself had nearly been shattered by the thing! She was not about to forget that anytime soon.
"Steven, you shouldn't be involved with this. You shouldn't be responsible for dealing with that thing!"
Steven was looking more and more frustrated. "That's why I need to tell the Crystal Gems! They'll know what to do!"
"And you'll want to help them! I may not have known you personally for very long but I think I already have an accurate idea of how you act in these sorts of situations!" Peridot argued back.
"Of course I want to help! Malachite is a threat to my home! And Lapis is my friend! I can't just leave her like that!" Steven could feel frustrated tears welling up in his eyes at this point, his hands remaining balled up into fists.
Peridot's eyes clenched shut out of both fear and frustration. "What about me!? Are you going to just abandon me so that you can help her!?"
The child's expression softened, the tears starting to run down his cheeks. "What do you mean?"
Peridot could feel her own eyes beginning to well up with tears, her face contorting in emotional pain. "You heard me!" The technician sniffled, her voice cracking slightly. "You practically brushed off the fact that I'd nearly been shattered as soon as I mentioned Lazuli's name!"
Steven looked shocked. "P-Peridot-"
The Gem in question threw her visor onto the ground, frustration overwhelming her. The saline liquid that had built up in her eyes was now flowing freely down her face, only adding to her frustrated state. "Are you going to leave me to die, just like Homeworld!? Do I not mean anything!?"
Peridot felt her own eyes widen at what she'd just said, suddenly seeming to come to some sort of realization that Homeworld, Yellow Diamond…
They really weren't coming for her, were they?
'Of course they aren't you fool! They never had any plans to! You're just a tool. Expendable and easily replaced!'
That did it. The green Gem backed up a few steps before turning away from the child. She didn't get much further before she suddenly dropped to her knees. She brought her digits up to cover her face in an attempt to hide her distress from the half-Gem.
How could she be so naïve? Her message to Yellow Diamond hadn't been interfered with or anything of the sort. No, it probably got through to Homeworld just fine. It may have taken a while given the distance, but surely it arrived without issue.
It was simply ignored…
Steven remained locked in place, clearly taken aback by Peridot's reaction. He hadn't meant to seem like he was brushing her aside… He had just been in such shock about Malachite and Lapis.
The young half-Gem wandered over to the technician, who was still trying in vain to conceal just how much her realization had upset her. It was hard to watch really.
"Peri?"
The heartbroken Gem moved into a sitting position, her knees drawn up to her chest. She didn't even bother to look at him as she spoke, her voice barely audible. "They're not coming, Steven…"
The child knew she was talking about Homeworld. He couldn't imagine the anguish the other was feeling at the moment. "Peridot-"
"I always knew Homeworld thought we were worthless. Replaceable." Peridot murmured to herself, her voice breaking again. "I-I guess I just never realized how little meaning my life really had..."
Steven couldn't take hearing this. He sat directly behind the other on his knees, his arms wrapped around her middle as he felt a sense of déjà vu pass over him. He rested the side of his face against her. Tears still streamed down his cheeks in rivets as he spoke, wanting nothing more than to ease his friend's pain. "Peri, no one is replaceable. Don't ever let anyone else try to tell you differently."
The child wasn't quite sure where that had come from, considering it wasn't something he would normally have the eloquence to say. In fact, it seemed much closer to something his mother would have said, back when she was alive… He supposed it didn't matter. He just wanted his companion to feel better.
Peridot didn't have the heart to respond to him, finally dissolving into tears completely as reality struck her like a meteor. She could never return home. It would be impossible for her to go back to her old life. Her home didn't even want her. She was an outcast.
She thought back to how she'd argued with Steven earlier. How selfish she'd been. How distraught he'd sounded. She never wanted to have to see him like that again, let alone be the cause of his distress.
'Who am I kidding…? I deserve this.'
Peridot suddenly became aware of Steven's arms around her middle, warm and comforting despite her misery. The Gem momentarily glanced downward, a few tears landing on her knees as she did so. She allowed the digits on one of her hands to move towards the arms wrapped around her, lightly resting them over the child's hands that were currently clamped together over her abdomen. She could feel Steven's loving embrace tighten in response, assuring her he wouldn't willingly leave her side anytime soon.
"How could I possibly accuse you of trying to abandon me?" Peridot let out another sob. "I-I don't deserve the affections of a being as compassionate as you, Steven…"
Steven clenched his eyes shut, more tears flowing down his face. Her voice sounded so strained and helpless. "I told you before, Peri. There's good in you. I just wish you could see it, like I can."
She definitely couldn't see any goodness in her but nonetheless, she appreciated Steven's efforts.
"It's just… you're the closest thing to a friend I have. I'm don't want to lose you…" The technician admitted out loud, sniffling. "Especially now that I don't have anywhere else to go or anyone else to turn to. I don't want to be all alone on this planet… Not again."
Steven remained silent for a moment, taking in the bleakness and hopelessness of Peridot's situation before he suddenly heard a familiar ringtone emanating from his pocket. He smiled up at the Gem, who was now glancing back in slight curiosity.
"Peridot, there's someone I think I'd like you to meet."
A/N: A little bit more angst for those of us who are total suckers for emotionally breaking our favorite characters. Thanks again for reading everyone!
