If you guys ask what happened in "When It Rains", all I'm gonna say it played out very similarly, except Spinel does believe Peridot is terrified of her and goes with the Gems, and Steven does mention that he used to play in the rain with Spinel years ago (callback!). Sorry.

Peridot cleared her throat, "As it seems I have no other options, I have conceded to reveal some important information to you Crystal Gems."

The four Gems stood by the counter, watching Peridot's presentation. Spinel was glad that Steven was able to get Peridot to trust them enough, though the shorter Gem still seems to be wary around her.

When Peridot snapped her fingers, Steven (with a box over his body) shuffled in, a crude drawing of Earth seen on the front.

"This," Peridot pointed to the illustration with a flyswatter, "Is the Earth. At the very center of the planet's core lies… the Cluster! Rotate."

Steven rotate the box to a drawing of a representation of the Cluster in the Earth as Peridot continued, "This is the Cluster. A massive, artificial fusion composed of millions of Gem shards. It has laid dormant for thousands of years within this planet's crust. When this Gem activates and takes its form, the result will be catastrophic. Now!" She hit the box with the flyswatter again.

For dramatic effect, Steven made escalating music and bobbed up and down, the Gems awaiting the 'result'. Then Steven stuck a green snake puppet out and made a roar sound.

"What is that?!" Peridot asked.

"It's the Cluster." Steven replied.

Peridot grumbled, "It does not look like that. But it is real, and it can activate at any moment!"

"What a cluster," Amethyst sarcastically commented.

Garnet frowned, "That abomination must be stopped."

"No…" Spinel whispered, stepping backwards, "That can't be… We've been protecting Earth for thousands of years… W-Were they all for nothing?"

"Not unless we can do something about it!" Pearl proclaimed, wrapping an arm around the horrified Gem, "We need to build some sort of machine to take us to the center of the Earth, it'll have to-"

Then Peridot swatted her, cutting her off, "Hey! I wasn't finished speaking! What we need is to build some sort of machine to take us to the center of the Earth."

Pearl shot an annoyed glare at the green Gem and when Peridot continued her plan, Amethyst grinned, but Pearl glared at her as well.

"It'll need to withstand up to 360 gigapascals of pressure and temperatures of 9800 degrees."

"WELL!" Spinel shot up, snapping out of her stunned state, "What are we waiting for?! We gotta start right now!"

Peridot was startled, but calmed, "Yes, you are correct. We'll start by dimattling all devices inside this dwelling." She ran into the kitchen and grabbed the microwave, "This primitive radiation concentrator should come in handy!" She tore it off the cupboard and threw it on the floor.

She then ran to grab a telephone, "This primitive vibration transmitter could possibly serve a function!" And she broke it in half.

Crawling up to Steven's room, Peridot held up the television, "There's a remote chance something useful could be inside this primitive image cube!"

"HOLD IT!" Spinel's large fist caught the television and held it up with Peridot hanging on, sweating and shaking in a panic, "H-How about we use all that junk we keep in a barn we have? How does that sound, huh?"

Peridot began to sweat as well, "... Yyyes. And uh, do you mind letting me go?"

"Only if you let go first."

At the Barn

"Alright," Pearl nodded as Peridot inspecting the stuff inside, "What we have here in the barn should be adequate enough for us to get started. First, I recommend we organize the component types and assemble a rough blueprint based off what we have available."

"Does it look good?" Steven asked, waving a piece of chalk and sitting in a swivel chair.

Spinel, standing beside the chair, stared at the illustration on the chalkboard in thought, "Hm… Maybe we need to add more safety precautions, like uh… Pillows! Pillows are good."

Pearl took a look, but shook her head, "Uh… sorry Steven, it's a lovely drawing but it won't look like this."

Peridot took the chalk from the board, examined it and seemed to be satisfied, handing the chalk to Pearl, "Good, yes, this is adequate. Thank you. You can go now."

The pale Gem exchanged glances to Steven and Spinel, "... … Uh, what?"

"Hm?" Peridot was confused, "Umm… that will be all?" She clapped her hands as a command, but Pearl remained in the same spot, looking incredulous.

Spinel realized what the green Gem was doing and her expression changed to slight anger, "What gives you the right to tell Pearl what to do?"

"Yeah!" Steven joined in, "She's gonna help us build the drill, right?"

Peridot chortled a laugh, "No, no. You're both confused. A Pearl can't build a thing like this."

Spinel's frown deepened, "Oh yeah? Care to explain, hm?"

"Because Pearl's aren't made for this!" Peridot told her, bewildered, "They're for standing around, and looking nice, and holding your stuff for you…. Right?"

"That's enough!" Pearl snapped, "If we're going to work together, you're going to have to listen to me!"

"Listen to you?" Peridot began to laugh, "Did you teach her to talk like this?" Pearl and Spinel continued to glower at the shorter Gem.

Steven tilted his head, "What are you talking about?"

Peridot stared at him, "She's a Pearl. She's a made-to-order servant just like the hundreds of other Pearls being flaunted around back on Homeworld."

"This ISN'T Homeworld!" Spinel lashed out, her pigtails bristling even more.

Peridot cowered a bit, "But it's true, isn't it?"

Spinel bit her lip, but brushed it off as she stood over the other Gem, "It is, but our Pearl here is different than any other Pearl back on Homeworld! She's sweet, strong, and the smartest too! So, how about you use that teeny tiny little head of yours and SHOW SOME RESPECT?!"

Peridot, Pearl, and Steven all stared at her with shock.

"... Gee, thanks," Pearl whispered.

Spinel gave her a wink, and Peridot's head turned left and right in befuddlement.

"Stars, this place is really messed up," Peridot fumed, "AARGH! I refuse to listen to a Pearl or a Spinel- whatever THAT is!"

"Oh, so what?!" Pearl shouted, "Are we going to build this thing or not?!"

"We?! HA! Don't be silly!" Peridot shot back, "What good is a Pearl without an owner?!"

But before the three Gems could continue their argument, Steven stood in the middle, hands raised up, "Whoa whoa whoa! Hang on! Let's not fight! How about we all agree Pearl and Peridot are good at building stuff and should try listening to each-other?"

"NO!" The three Gems screamed angrily.

"I'm as good at building things as you! Better, even!"

"Yeah!"

"Ha! Name one thing you can engineer better! Go on!"

"Robots."

Pearl, Peridot, and Spinel stared at the boy, "Hm?"

"You should build robots," Steven suggested with stars in his eyes, "Giant robots! I see a race. A giant robo-race! With prizes, giant robo-prizes!"

"You mean like a competition?" asked Pearl.

"Yeah!" replied Steven, "To see who's better at building stuff!"

Spinel nodded, "That doesn't sound bad at all, love. I like it."

"What are these 'robots' you speak of?" Peridot inquired.

"They're like those funky marble guys you were sending," Steven explained, "Only bigger, and you can ride them!"

"I'll let Pearl handle this," Spinel humphed, "She has the honors."

Pearl blushed a bit, "Thank you, Spinel." And glared at the green Gem "You're going down, Peri-dot."

Peridot grinned, "We'll just see about that."

They both ran into the barn and began to construct their own robots. Spinel and Steven watched in a bit of awe as Garnet and Amethyst came over.

"Yo, Steven, Spinel," said Amethyst, "How are the wonder nerds doing- Whoa! Wh-What's going on? Are they building the drill?"

Spinel shook her head, "No. They're just building robots since we came up with a competition, thanks to Stevie, of course-"

Suddenly, they covered their ears from the loud construction noises coming from inside. They were unable to hear each-other until Pearl rode out of the barn with her robot, striking a pose and showing off the mobility.

"Giant robot!" squealed Steven as Spinel stared up with stars in her eyes, and even slightly blushing.

"Hah! Pathetic! Now behold, my vision of ultimate power!" Peridot declared, her robot marching out, its claws snapping… until Peridot saw the height difference between her robot and Pearl's, "Hey!"

Pearl smirked, "Mine's taller. I win."

"Ladies and gentle-Gems, welcome to the first annual Robolympics!" Steven announced, sitting on Spinel's shoulders.

Garnet clapped, "Woo!"

Amethyst ate some popcorn, "Popcorn!"

"This competition will test our robo-engineers' skills of robo-construction and robo-piloting! Whoever wins will get to be in charge of building the Cluster-drill-machine. Let the games begin!"

The competition started innocently enough; balance, crushing, jumping, speed, and oddly, ballet, art, rock-paper-scissors, jumping-jacks, tug-of-war, and projectile strength. Spinel was able to write the tallies for the scores, appearing happy when Pearl succeeded or in concern when Pearl failed. Lastly, two trucks were laid for Pearl and Peridot, the sky now evening.

Steven smiled, "Alright guys! This is the final event!"

"You got this, P!" yelled Amethyst.

"Get it, girl!" Garnet joined.

"You go, Pearl!" Spinel cheered, "Show her you're the best Pearl in the universe!"

Garnet, Amethyst, and even Steven all stared at the pink Gem with surprise, mostly from how supportive she was with Pearl today. Seeing their expressions, Spinel nervously scratched the back of her neck, blushing dark pink.

Pearl blushed from the encouraging words, but Peridot frowned.

"Ready… Set… CHUCK!"

Both robots chucked their trucks far out towards the hills, both of them disappearing over the horizon.

Spinel had her eye stretched out of the socket, trying to see which one went further, but sighed in disappointment and retracted her eye, "I think… they both get a point."

After that, they gathered in front of the chalkboard to decide the winner.

"Hmm… hmm…" Steven turned around, "Looks like our final score is… a tie! Welp, that settles it! You both get to lead the project together!"

But Peridot wasn't having any of it, "NO! This isn't over! I demand we have a tiebreaker!"

"Ugh, just give it a rest!" Pearl groaned, "That's it, we're tied, we're the same. Move on." She started to pilot away, but Peridot's robot grabbed onto her robot's arm.

"No!" Peridot shouted angrily, "You're a Pearl! You are beneath me! I'll always be better than you and nothing I've seen today will ever change that!"

Pearl closed her eyes as she spoke, "Well, have you ever seen a Pearl do this?!" Her robot kicked Peridot's backwards.

Garnet, Amethyst, Spinel, and Steven all collectively gasped.

Peridot made her robot stand up, "So, you want to fight? Good. We should've done this from the beginning!" She charged into Pearl, the robots locking hands and wrestling.

"Guys! Stop!" Spinel tried to pull the two robots away, but Peridot snapped her claws at her arms, and Spinel instantly retracted them back.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" cheered Amethyst.

Peridot cackled as her robot lifted Pearl's bot and tossed her towards the other Gems. They quickly jump away when Pearl's robot crash-landed on the ground.

Steven lifted his head, "Pearl!"

"Are you okay?!" Spinel asked worriedly.

Pearl's bot stood up, "It's alright, guys. I've got this."

"Be careful!"

"Kick her in the butt!"

Peridot's bot landed behind her, ready to attack, but Pearl swurved her bot around, blocking it and the bots locked claws again.

"This is pointless!" yelled Peridot, her face close to the pale Gem's, "There's no way you're gonna beat me! You're an accessory! Somebody's shiny toy! Where do you get off acting like your own Gem?!" One of Pearl's bot's arms was torn off, "You're just a PEARL!"

For a moment, Pearl grimaced, but became determined, "That's right! I am a PEARL!" She proclaimed before punching Peridot right on the cheek, prompting the others to gasp and a smile lit up Spinel's face, Amethyst cheering.

"What you're saying may be true," said Pearl, her robot leaping into the air, "But it doesn't matter! I'm still gonna kick your butt!"

Her bot was about to deliver a harsh kick, but Peridot's claw grabbed it and Peridot snickered.

Pearl gulped, "Uh oh."

Peridot then began to slam Pearl's bot on the ground repeatedly, until Spinel dove under Pearl's bot and caught it before it could hit the ground.

Pearl laid limp in her seat, lifting her head up weakly, "S-Spinel?"

"It's alright," Spinel mumbled before glaring at Peridot, "Enough is enough, Peridot."

Peridot grit her teeth, "No way. I'm not letting a Pearl of all Gems beat me!"

"You've already won, Peridot." She said, "But please, no more of this nonsense."

Peridot blinked, "... I... I won?" Her robot let go of the other, jumping out of her robot, "I won! Victory is mine! Now I'm the one in charge! Praise me, praise me!"

... But instead, she saw Spinel help Pearl to her feet, "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Pearl laughed a bit, "But thank you."

Amethyst ran over and squeezed the Gems into a hug, "YEAH, P! Aww, that was awesome! You were hardcore!" She even gave Pearl's shoulder a friendly punch.

Pearl rubbed her arm, "Oh... really?"

Garnet patted her head, "Oh yeah."

"Hey!" barked Peridot, "Why aren't you listening to me?! I won! I'm the natural leader here! She's just a common Pearl!"

Frowning, Spinel hoised Pearl up and held her bridal style, "You're wrong. Pearl's not like any other Pearl. That's what makes her the best."

Pearl giggled and waved her hand at her, "Oooh, stop it, you."

"Yeah!" Steven added, "If she was like any other Pearl, she wouldn't have trained to fight! She wouldn't learn how to build things! But she did! She works hard every day to become ever greater than she already is! That's not common, that's amazing!"

With the Crystal Gems smiling and Peridot looking stunned, they remained silent for a moment before Garnet spoke, "Come on, let's clean up this mess."

Amethyst laughed, "Pearl, hah, you should come wrestling with me."

"Uh, I dunno," replied Pearl uncertainty.

"You can do anything you put your mind to," said Spinel, Steven following her.

Peridot just stood there, shocked, "B-B-But I won! What about the rules?!"

"... Welcome to Earth," Garnet stated and walked away.

Incredulous, Peridot glanced at her swollen cheek.

Later in the evening, everyone else was gathering up the debris of the robots. However, both Spinel and Steven turned to see Peridot approaching the pale Gem, holding a power drill the wrong way.

Peridot cleared her throat, "I have to admit, it's ... remarkable that a Pearl such as yourself could become such a... knowledgeable technician. Mmm... Why don't we get started?"

Pearl gently took the power drill and handed it back to her, "You're holding it upside down."

The green Gem blushed, "Y-Yes. Of course. Y'know, those round appendages on your machine could be useful for something."

"They're called wheels," Pearl corrected.

Now smiling, Spinel scratched her cheek, "Peridot's learning."

"Yeah," Steven nodded, "We're well on our way on stopping the Cluster."

OOF THIS IS VERY SPINEARL HEAVY.