A new moon night descended quickly as the three drove on to Connie's, until only whatever was in the headlights could be perceived outside and only the outlines of the passengers were discernable. Greg got sketched out just glancing at Peridot's faintly glowing eyes and gem as they sped down the roads.
That was why the two of them got so surprised when the centipeedle's gem began to shine in Peridot's lap. The van swerved a little before pulling over on the side.
"She's coming back." Peridot could not hide a note of apprehension in their voice. Greg wanted to say something encouraging, but they doubted anything they'd say would be helpful.
The centipeedle's light-composed body formed around their gemstone. Quartz hair sprouted around a slightly shorter, less jagged jaw and their regenerating main body lacked a pair of pincers on the back. Their stubby little legs formed four little nubs around the ends, much like three fingers and a thumb.
Then they took their final non-glowing shape, and things went haywire fast as the centipeedle still believed themselves to be in a battle situation. They started hissing and spitting, and the sound and smell of something dissolving quickly followed.
"Stop it!" Peridot squeaked as the centipeedle struggled around on their lap. "Stop it, you backwards creature! You're going to get us killed!"
"Open a door, Peridot!"
"How?" Before Greg could reach over, the centipeedle upped and jumped through the shattered window. There it stood, half-shrouded in darkness, shivering and yelping.
Peridot climbed through the window after them. When they landed on the ground, the centipeedle took a step backwards.
"What's gotten into you?" The green Gem frowned, bending down. "Do you... are you hungry? You haven't consumed your repulsive human food in nearly a whole rotation."
The centipeedle remained where it was. Its noise level had dropped to a grunting and groaning level, but its hackles were still raised and it was still shaking like a leaf.
The green gem sighed. "I don't have time for this. We need to reach the Maheswaran's." They reached out and picked up the centipeedle by the first segment of their body. They appeared visibly uncomfortable with this contact, but did not struggle.
Peridot dropped them through the broken window in the back of the van, and saw Greg had opened the door for them in the front.
"Let's go." They sat back down, located the communication device and placed it in their lap. Behind them the centipeedle was pacing on the floor.
Greg grinned. "Alright! Peridot, if you could just put your seatbelt on then we can go."
"Seatbelt?"
"That strap next to your chair. If we crash, it protects you."
Peridot arched an eyebrow. "Are you saying you're going to crash?"
No, no. I like to think of myself as a good driver." Greg tried for a grin. "Earlier when we were getting away from Malachite, I completely forgot about them! That was pretty silly of me but we all make mistakes. Just gotta learn from them!"
Grumbling about Earthlings and their strange traditions, the Gem located the seatbelt and pulled it across their body. "Do I just have to hold it here? This seems exceedingly useless in the event of an accident."
"Here, I'll show you." They switched on a light briefly and clicked the seatbelt in properly. Then they looked back towards the centipeedle. "How're you doing, buddy?"
They received a long, strange groan in return. Even an idiot could tell something was definitely not right with the centipeedle: they weren't sitting down, hadn't let their hair relax and made odd worried sounds periodically. It was as if the centipeedle knew something was wrong, but not exactly what.
"I've put this 'seatbelt' of yours on." Peridot crossed their arms. "Can we go now?"
"Sure, Peridot." With one final glance behind, Greg restarted the engine. They tried to start slowly so as not to agitate their guest in the back, and it appeared to have worked. At least, they didn't look any more concerned than they had before the van started moving.
And so another fifteen minutes of tense silence passed until they reached Connie's city. Peridot's eyes were glued to all the strange lights and signs that flashed by.
After a few more minutes they passed into a street full of houses, most of the windows darkened in this late hour. They pulled up against one home in particular that had one lit room on the bottom floor.
"This is it." Greg opened their door, and then the back one. Peridot and the centipeedle got out of the van. "Ah, let me talk to Connie's mother first. She's not really used to all of this Gem stuff yet."
So Peridot and the centipeedle stayed by the van whilst Greg walked over and rang the doorbell. The centipeedle was still restless; its head darted this way and that to look around its surroundings, constantly groaning and fidgeting. Peridot found this irritating.
"What is wrong with you?" The green Gem hissed, and their companion flinched. "You have already had time to calm down." They paused. "Is it... because of what happened, earlier? Did... do you even remember what I did?"
Nothing but an anxious groan came in answer. Peridot crossed their arms.
"If only you could talk."
That was when the door to the house swung open. "Dr Maheswaran!" Greg greeted a rather stony-faced woman. "I'm back! How's Steven?"
"Steven is in bed." Dr Maheswaran frowned. "What are you doing, calling me so late about these 'survivors'? Just because I'm willing to entertain the existence of these magical Gem creatures does not mean I'll allow my house to turn into a petting zoo full of them."
"I understand completely. Don't worry, I've only brought two of them; they'll only stay for a really short time and they'll be on their best behaviour. You won't even notice them!"
"I'll be the judge of that."
Greg motioned to the two. "Come on, Peridot and... your friend! They're just a little nervous, don't worry..."
Peridot and the centipeedle made their way up to the front door. Dr Maheswaran took one look at the four-legged Gem and vehemently shook their head.
"I'll let this green one stay, but that animal has to be tied up outside."
The Gem looked up. "What? You can't-"
"I see your point," Greg hastily interrupted. "But don't you think you're judging the little guy a little too hastily? Sure, he looks a little... eh..."
"Dangerous?" Dr Maheswaran arched an eyebrow. "That thing is dissolving my pavement."
"But-"
"No buts. This is my house, and I make the rules." The woman pointed to a gate next to the house. "That leads to our garden. Tie your little pet up out there, and then you can come inside."
With that, they left the door. Greg caught it and turned to Peridot.
"I'm sorry. I tried, but she's still getting used to the whole Gem thing."
"This situation is managable." Peridot rolled their eyes. "I've done worse."
Greg scratched the back of their head. "Oh, right. Maybe... you don't have to actually tie him up?"
A leash came flying out of the open door, where it hit Greg's stomach and fell to the floor. The green Gem picked it up.
Greg opened their mouth, but yet again he second guessed himself and walked inside, gently closing the door behind themselves. Peridot and the centipeedle turned and approached the gate, which opened with a simple push.
The centipeedle ran ahead, skipping a little in the neatly cut open grass. It occurred to Peridot that they may not have enjoyed being cooped up in Greg's van for any length of time.
They pulled out the leash and examined it. It was of a plain black ropy texture, with one metal circle attaching an end of the leash to the middle and forming a loop. The other end consisted of a much smaller loop just the right size for their fingers, so they assumed the first was what one slipped around a creature's neck to control them.
There was a sniffing sound, and the green Gem looked down to see the centipeedle was slowly approaching Peridot. They seemed to have calmed down after their run, and were now curious about the leash.
The green Gem held out the rope, and the centipeedle stood up on their hind legs to get a closer look. They shuffled awkwardly forwards like a toddler, leaning in just close enough to touch it with the tip of their snout.
Peridot tentatively reached out and placed a hand on the back of the centipeedle's jaw, on the side. Then they ran their fingers through their wonderful white hair, feeling the softness. The centipeedle stood silent, pushing their head affectionately into the touch.
And that was the moment when the green Gem slipped a leash onto their neck. The centipeedle instinctively could tell something had changed; with a grunt they pushed themselves away and back onto four legs, only to feel the rope straining behind their jaw.
Peridot tried to lead the centipeedle towards a fence post, but they refused to budge. "Hey, you heard that human. We have to tie you up."
The centipeedle stood frozen, staring at Peridot with one wide gemstone eye.
"Come on! Come... on... we... gotta..." The small Gem pulled with all the strength they had. The only thing they succeeded in doing was tightening the loop around the centipeedle's neck.
When it began to cut into the corrupt Gem, they snapped.
With a single bite, they snipped the leash in half, causing Peridot to stumble and sit down hard on the grass.
"Hey!" The green Gem scrambled to their feet. "I'm supposed to tie you up. You can't just... break the leash like that!"
The centipeedle turned around and began trudging towards the wall at the end of the garden.
"What are you doing?" Peridot caught up to the centipeedle and reached out a hand. "Stay here whilst I get another-"
It was there that Peridot stopped talking. They had stopped talking because the centipeedle had tackled them and pinned them to the grassy ground, jaws inches from their face, a feral growl emanating from their throat. They didn't attack further but the message was crystal clear: back off.
After a second, the centipeedle pushed themselves off of Peridot. The green Gem sat up, dazed, and confusedly watched them run to the wall and leap up it in one bound.
"What was that for?" Peridot stood up. "Wait, where are you going?"
The centipeedle turned and began running down the walls that separated the house's gardens. In a matter of seconds, they had completely disappeared into the new moon night.
"Wait!" The small Gem tried to climb the wall, but its smooth stone would give even the best climber considerable difficulty. "Why are you leaving? What'd I do? Don't go! Don't leave me!"
"You!" There was a noise from the Maheswaran's house, and Peridot looked over to see the woman standing in the doorway. "You're going to wake the neighbours. If you're done with your little creature, then you should come inside at once."
Peridot gave one final glance towards the wall. They rubbed underneath their visor with three fingers. "I did something."
"Then come inside. Don't let me regret allowing you you stay."
From the shadows, one gemstone eye watched Peridot closely as they trudged their way into the house. And then they fled.