Steven and Amethyst were having a burp contest on the laundry hand of the Crystal Temple; that is, the hand that held the beach house's washer and dryer, as well as a clothes line set up between the giant stone hand's index finger and thumb. There was also a Warp Pad to access the area.

Steven took a swig of soda and gave a rather loud burp. "Beat that!"

Amethyst took a drink of her own soda and gave a long, loud belch that echoed throughout the beach and scared away a flock of seagulls.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Steven piped up with, "You win again! Amethyst, you are undisputedly the Burp Champion!"

Pearl, who was also up on the laundry hand doing some laundry, gave a half-groan half-sigh and said, "Honestly, can't you two have your disgusting contest someplace else?"

"We could," Amethyst said. "But it's a lot more fun to do it where we can annoy you."

"You can go somewhere else if it bothers you, Pearl," Steven suggested.

"No thank you. I really need to get this laundry done."

"Maybe it'll get done faster if I helped you with it." Steven walked over to the hamper of dirty clothes to put them in the washer.

"Thank you, Steven. That's very thoughtful of you."

Amethyst then proceeded to walk over and kick the hamper over. "Whoops."

"Amethyst! Look at what you've done!"

Amethyst just snorted and said, "What's the big deal? They were already dirty anyway."

Pearl put some of the dirty clothes in the washing machine. "Honestly, why must you always do this?"

"Do what?"

"Why must you always act so obnoxious and immature for no other reason than to annoy me?!"

"Well, maybe I wouldn't annoy you so much if you didn't act so uptight all the time!"

Pearl gasped. "Uptight, am I?! Well! At least I don't constantly leave messes around the house for everyone else to clean up!"

"Oh, yeah? Well at least I'm not a total neat freak who cleans up other people's stuff without their consent!"

Pearl then got into her face to the point where the tips of their noses were touching. "I wouldn't have to clean up if you would keep your living space a bit more organized!"

Amethyst took this opportunity to spit right in Pearl's face, the taller Gem stumbling backwards as she shouted in disgust and wiped away the glob of spit. Meanwhile, Amethyst stood there laughing.

"You think that was funny?!" Pearl growled. "I've just about had it with your obnoxious behavior, Amethyst! I'm never speaking to you again!"

"Fine! I ain't talkin' to you neither!"

"What? Guys, come on!" Steven piped up as Amethyst jumped off the stone hand. "You've been teammates for as long as forever!"

"While we will continue to be teammates, Steven," Pearl informed him as she continued with the laundry. "we won't be on speaking terms anymore. We just don't get along."

"You could if you try." Steven took out his phone and pulled up a social media account full of pictures of a white cockatiel with a peach-colored crest and a purplish-grey cat doing various activities together. "Like this cat and cockatiel. Even though they're really different, they're still really good friends."

"We... aren't animals, Steven."

"But still!"

Just then, they heard the faint sound of the Warp Pad in the beach house activating.

"Something tells me Ruby and Sapphire are back," Pearl said, and she and Steven stood on the Warp Pad of the laundry hand to warp back to the Temple's base.

"Hey, guys!" Steven greeted.

"Were you able to locate the twin geodes?" Pearl asked.

"One of them is located within the bowels of an active volcano, while the other is located in the Tower of Clouds," Sapphire informed them. "We should split up to retrieve them."

"Well, I'm not going with Amethyst."

"Wuzzat about splitting up?" Amethyst asked as she poked her head from the fridge.

"We're splitting up to retrieve the twin geodes," Ruby said. "Sapphire and I'll be together, obviously."

"And I'm going with you guys, right? 'Cause I'd not rather go with Pearl."

"You, Pearl, and Steven will all be going together to the Tower of Clouds," Sapphire said.

"What?! Why?!"

"I'm the only one here who can swim in lava," Ruby explained. "Besides, Sapphire and I think this would be a good opportunity for you two to try getting along better."

"That's exactly what I said earlier!" Steven said. "Well not about the mission. About getting along better."

"Well, Ruby, Sapphire," Pearl began. "I'm sure that you both are well aware that Amethyst and I have never exactly been... the best at getting along, as it were. In fact, we've decided to stop talking to each other altogether." She shot an angry glare at the purple Gem, who crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at her.

"I understand that you two have frequent fights, but you must understand that the both of you are part of the same team," Sapphire countered. "We are all like family. And I expect you two to at least try to work together." The blue Gem looked over at Steven as she and her lover stepped off the Warp Pad. "Steven, be sure that you keep them in harmony."

"You got it!"

Pearl sighed as she stepped onto the Warp Pad to get to their destination. "Come on, you two. Let's get this over with."

"What happened to not talking to me anymore?" Amethyst asked as she and Steven got on after her.

"Steven, remind Amethyst that I wasn't only talking to her." And they warped away.

A tall beam of cyan light shone from the Warp Pad outside the Tower of Clouds as the three Crystal Gems appeared on its surface.

Steven took a look around. The floating mass of land they were on was surrounded by fluffy, white clouds. The tower itself wasn't made of clouds, but instead was made of smooth, light grey stone. It sort of reminded him of a medieval castle.

"So, do we just go in and get it? I wish I brought my ukulele, then we could have a sing-along."

Pearl and Amethyst just started walking towards the Tower.

"Hey! Wait for me!" the boy exclaimed as he ran after them.

Just then, a rather large bird flew down in front of the group, pecking at the ground for something to eat. Steven pointed at it and cried, "Monster bird! Quick, you guys gotta work together to defeat it! It's the only way!"

Amethyst ran towards the bird while waving her arms and shouting, "Rah! Rah! Grah!" to scare it off. "See? No teamwork necessary."

Pearl took Steven's hand. "Come on, Steven. Let's go in and retrieve the geode while Amethyst stays outside where she won't ruin everything."

At that comment, Amethyst shoved Pearl out of the way and zoomed past the entrance of the Tower in a ball, blowing their hair and clothes in the process. Pearl stood to her feet and dusted herself off before walking in, dragging Steven behind her and muttering how Amethyst is going to ruin everything under her breath.

When they went inside, Steven saw two opposite flights of stairs leading to the upper floor of the Tower.

"So, which flight of steps is gonna take us to the geode?"

"Well, considering Amethyst is known for making rash, impulsive decisions on and off missions, I would wager that the correct route is the one she didn't take." Pearl walked over to the flight of steps that was further from the entrance. "Which I would wager is this one, since it's further away from the Tower's entrance." And she and Steven climbed up the stair case to the second floor.

"Hey, Pearl," Steven said. "Why don't you and Amethyst get along?"

"Well, Steven, we're simply just too different, that's all."

"But Ruby and Sapphire are really different, but they're... you know. Together."

"Well, that's because Ruby and Sapphire have more things in common than on the surface."

"I'm sure you and Amethyst have a lot in common too. Like... um..." Steven tried to think of some things. "Well, you're both Crystal Gems."

Pearl just shot him an unimpressed look.

The second floor of the Tower of Clouds was full of floating, white, rectangular platforms that slowly moved around seemingly randomly. Amethyst was jumping from platform to platform to try to get to the entrance to the third floor, which was a hole in the room's rather high ceiling.

"Hey, Amethyst!"

"Hey, Steven!" Amethyst jumped down to the floor and picked Steven up over her head. "Wanna jump around with me?"

"No, Steven!" Pearl grabbed the boy back. "You'll be much safer with me."

"Who cares about safety when you can have fun!" Amethyst grabbed the boy back from Pearl. "Besides, you'll be bored-er with boring ol' Pearl."

Pearl clenched her teeth as she glared at the purple Gem. "Steven, tell Amethyst that she means 'more bored'."

"Sounds like she agrees with me!" Amethyst leapt onto one of the platforms and threw Steven onto another platform that was nearby. The platform was soft and cushy, as opposed to hard and stoney like Steven thought it would feel. "Are these platforms made of clouds?"

"Jump, dude!"

The young half-Gem carefully stood up on his feet and jumped to the next platform that drifted near. He didn't quite make it and had to pull himself on. "I made it! Did you guys see?"

"Nice job, little man!"

"Steven!" Pearl was standing on the floor, watching the scene unfold with panic in her entire form.

"It's okay, Pearl! These cloud platforms are really soft!"

"Steven, stay right there! I'm coming!" Pearl jumped onto the rectangular cloud platforms to retrieve him.

Amethyst looked over at Steven and shot him a smirk.

Steven shot a smirk back, then turned to Pearl. "Hey, Pearl. Race you to the next floor!" And he hopped onto some more platforms to the top.

"Steven!" Pearl leapt after the boy. "This is not a game!"

Steven didn't pay her any mind; he just kept jumping from platform to platform, laughing with joy and singing, "Can't catch me!~"

"Steven Diamond Universe!" Pearl then got a face full of cloud as Amethyst grabbed a platform and threw it right at her. The tall, thin Gem fell to her knees and coughed up a couple of white wisps before scowling at the short, stout Gem.

"Uh, Amethyst? We should probably stop now. Pearl's getting mad."

"Nah, it's cool! We're almost there anyway!" Amethyst grabbed Steven and threw him up into the hole in the ceiling, before jumping through herself.

They had both ended up on the third floor of the Tower. This floor was nearly empty aside from a large, dull purplish-blue Rough Gem that looked like a cross between a pterodactyl and a heron. The Rough Gem was resting its head on its back, indicating that it was sleeping.

"So, this is the last floor, huh?" Steven mused. "Where's the geode?"

"It's probably being guarded by that mama Rough Iolite there."

"Why?"

"Oh, you know, probably 'cause she thinks the geode is one of her own. Geodes are basically Gem eggs, and they take like, a hundred and fifty years to hatch. Sometimes they take even longer than that if they're not incubated properly."

"Steven! There you are!" Pearl jumped up to the third floor. "What were you thinking, running off like that? I thought you were supposed to know better!"

"Sorry, Pearl, but Amethyst wanted to race."

She grabbed Steven by the arm. "Well, tell Amethyst that a sacred Gem monument like the Tower of Clouds is no place for childish things like racing!"

Amethyst grabbed Steven's other arm and pulled. "Tell Pearl that I can do what I want!"

Pearl pulled back. "Tell Amethyst that she should show some responsibility as a protector of humanity!"

"Tell Pearl to get off my back and stop squawking at me about what I should do!"

"Tell Amethyst that I don't squawk!"

Steven pulled his arms free from the squabbling Gems' grasp. "Enough already! Why can't you guys get along for just one mission, huh?! Why do you have to fight all the time instead of working together like we're supposed to be doing?"

The Rough Iolite lifted its head and screeched.

"Steven, get behind me." Pearl summoned her spear. "I'll take care of this."

"Wait! I think I could summon my shield and-"

"Steven, it's okay! I think I can handle it." The Rough Iolite lunged her beak at Pearl, which she successfully blocked.

"Hey, bird brain!" Amethyst taunted, getting the Iolite's attention. "Over here! Come an' get me!" And she sped around the room in a ball. The mother Rough Gem immediately gave chase.

Steven reached out a hand. "Amethyst!"

Pearl put a hand on the half-Gem boy's shoulder. "Don't worry, Steven. I think she's on to something." She ran over to the Rough Iolite's nest. "Tell her to keep at it while I search the mother Iolite's nest for the geode we need."

"Okay." Steven turned around and cupped a hand around his mouth. "Keep at it, Amethyst!"

"You know I will!"

Pearl knelt down in front of the nest full of dark purple geodes, digging through them to look for the geode they needed. There, shining a deep red in the window's light, she found it. The pale Gem picked it up and clutched it in both hands. "I got it! Now let's get out of here!"

The trio rushed down the third floor's entrance hole to the second floor, the Rough Iolite chasing after them, surprisingly managing to squeeze through with its large size. They hastily jumped from platform to platform to hurry the first floor before the Iolite could attack any of them. The Iolite swooped down to charge at them before Pearl quickly summoned her spear and shot a laser from its head at the bird beast's feathery underbelly, eliciting from her a startled caw of pain and scaring her off back to her den at the top of the Tower.

"That was awesome, Pearl!" Amethyst cheered.

The skinny Gem turned and smiled at her. "Thank you, Amethyst! It was also pretty great how you distracted the Rough Iolite so I could retrieve the geode from her nest."

Amethyst shyly rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I guess it was, huh?"

"What happened to you guys never talking to each other again?" Steven asked.

"Well, communication is key to working together," Pearl replied. "so we decided to put the silent treatment to an end."

"Alright, guys!" Steven pulled the two Gems in a big hug. "You two can get along like a cat and a cockatiel!"

"Now, let's get back to the Temple and see if Ruby and Sapphire have managed to retrieve the other geode."

The three of them made their way down to the first floor of the Tower.

"So, what's supposed to hatch from the twin geodes we're looking for?"

"They're Garnet geodes that were left behind in the Great Gem War," Pearl answered. "Only one of them is fertilized, and Ruby and Sapphire want to raise the Gem that hatches from it and someday herald a new generation of Crystal Gems."

"That's really nice. I wonder if I'll live long enough to watch them grow up."

Pearl smiled at him. "Maybe."

The group walked out back to the Warp Pad and warped back to their home base.

"Ruby, Sapphire, were back!"

"Did you guys grab the other twin geode?" Amethyst asked them.

Ruby held out a small, round, dark red geode the size of a coconut. "Here it is!" She cradled it fondly near her chest. "And they're gonna make a great Crystal Gem one day."

"Well, Amethyst and I managed to work together to retrieve the other twin geode," Pearl smiled as she brought a hand to her stone and pulled out the geode she retrieved. "And I've got it right here!"

Ruby just stared at the other geode with a confused and somewhat irritated look. "Pearl, that's not a Garnet geode."

"What?" Pearl looked at it to discover that it was a dark shade of purple. She then blushed a light cyan hue. "Oh."

Amethyst burst out laughing. "Aw man! Guess even perfectionists make mistakes, huh, Pearl?"

Pearl looked away from her. "Oh, will you stop it."

"It's okay," Sapphire said. "This is the one that has a Gem growing inside it, and I predict that it will hatch in only three short years."

"So is it gonna be a boy or a girl?" Steven asked. "I gotta know!"

"Most likely it'll be a girl," Ruby answered. "Most Gems are born female." She started cuddling and kissing the geode she was holding. "Yes they are. Oh, yes they are.~"

Pearl sighed. "I can't believe we just disrupted a mother Rough Gem's habitat for nothing."

"On the bright side, you guys managed to work together in harmony! You should do that more often."

Amethyst and Pearl just crossed their arms and looked away, but also allowed a small smile to form on each of their faces.