Episode 12: Mending Bridges
For the past few days, Pearl has been gone doing something. Omi originally believed she was going to repair the tower again, but after a talking from Kimiko and two days of watching TV, including a marathon of Jon, John, and Johnny, Omi was convinced that Pearl wasn't going to the tower. Steven was worried that Pearl might be in danger and they have no way of knowing. "Look, we don't know where Pearl went and it could be very dangerous for her." Amethyst said. "Why should we care? She betrayed our trust and Garnet's. If Garnet want her out, let her be." Omi said. "Dude, that's cold." Raimundo said. "Look, She made a big mistake. I made 3 major mistakes and what was my punishment? Not being promoted to Xiaolin Apprentice, and what happened after that? I left to clear my mind. Maybe Pearl is doing the same." "I doubt that. Pearl isn't the type of person of taking a break." Clay said. "Then again, Pearl could be doing something else." Kimiko interjects. Kimiko wasn't as radical as Omi but felt hurt by Pearl's betrayal.
Just then, Pearl arrived back on the Warp pad. "Pearl!" Steven said. Pearl finches when she got called out. "Where were you? We were worried about you...well, most of us." Steven added. "Maybe she took a vacation" Raimundo said. "That is incorrect, Raimundo. I was searching for Peridot...for the last few days straight." Pearl said. "Ah, trying to capture Peridot...interesting idea." Clay said. Omi remained quiet. "Look, everyone, I know I may have…disappointed all of you." Pearl said. "That's a most understatement of the century." Omi said. Kimiko nudges Omi to quiet down. "Anyway… I know Garnet is very upset with me but I want to prove myself to her and hopefully can trust me again." Pearl added. "What make you so sure about that?" Kimiko said.
Just then, Garnet arrived back in though the front doot. "Oh, Garnet! I've been looking for Peridot! If we find her, we could find the Heylin and maybe, just maybe, beat them. Got any ideas?" Pearl said with an awkward smile. Garnet just says nothing and walks by her. This devastates Pearl and she looks down. Garnet stopped walking for a bit and looks at the Monks. "I'm sorry, Garnet...for what I did…" Pearl said. Garnet remained quiet from that. Soon, Greg came in with his keys. "Who's up for a road trip?" Greg said. He then sees everyone in a bad mood. There was also a noticeable tension in the air. "Uhh, is this a bad time to mention it?" Greg said. "Ummm...no?" Kimiko said "Correct, please continue." Garnet said. Greg would explain that he met a guy on the internet message board that lives in Keystone state and mentions that they would be staying a motel for the night. "Sounds…interesting." Kimiko said. "It sure does." Greg said. "Plus it's next to the best diner in the world." Greg added. Kimiko and Omi began to think but Garnet step between the both of them. "I'm going with you guys." Garnet said. Pearl looked a bit perplexed. "Hey, uh, Garnet, I know I am talking this place up but it's not the absolute best like the Ritz." Greg said. "I'll be the judge of that one." Garnet said with a smirk. A rare sight after the event. "Monks, stay behind." Ganret added. The monks nods. A bit later, Garnet, Steven and Greg left for the day and for the night.
Pearl sat down on the couch and sighs in resignation. "Something wrong, Pearl?" Raimundo asked. "I just…it's been several days since…that incident and Garnet hasn't forgiven me yet. I even had to search Rio to make sure Peridot wasn't even hiding there." Pearl said. "Do you want to talk about it later?" Kimiko asked. Omi pulled Kimiko to the side of the house. "Are you crazy? Pearl betrayed our trust and you are planning on forgiving her...after what she did?" Omi said. "Well, look, I was going to support Garnet as much as I can, but your punishments are a bit too radical for my taste. Besides, Pearl looks like she's at her lowest and we might need to come back together to help her back up." Kimiko argued back. Omi turns his back on Kimiko. Kimiko just sighs in frustration. She walks away from Omi and sits next to Pearl. "We would like to mention that we have some training to do, after that…like to take a walk around town?" Kimiko asked. Pearl softly smiles and nods.
Back at the Heylin, Jack and Peridot were discussing something while Chase, Wuya and Jackson were out training. "Look, Peridot...if we want to prevent your "demise", we need to find the Crystal Glasses before the Monks and Gems could reach them." Jack said with a laptop on his lap. Peridot nods and looks over Jack's shoulder. Jack was doing research of the Crystal Glasses and their whereabouts of it. Chase notices them doing this and just scoffs. Jack kept doing research and soon found it. "Bingo!" Jack said. "Found them. It says they are in…Russia?!" Jack pulls up a map. He began to program several spybots. "Find the Crystal Glasses around Moscow and fast!" Jack commands. The Spybots, 8 of them to be exact, head out to Russia. "It's likely going to take all day for us to find it but when we do, it will be great." Jack said as he closes his laptop. However, Chase was standing next to Jack.
"What did I say about Peridot's fate and what did I say about waiting and seeing?" Chase said. Jack groans in frustrations. "Look, Chase, you may not see great thing behind Peridot but I do. Try to change my mind." Jack said. Chase sits down. "Look…Jack, I care for you and Peridot…but what I see from my angle is that Peridot is on a time limit. Trying to stretch it is unhealthy and it can poison your mind on it." Chase explained. Jack just scoffs as a beeper happens. One of his spybots has quickly found the Crystal Glasses but there's someone there and it's not a monk. "Well that was quick. Let me see about this." Jack said, pulling his laptop up and seeing what is happening. He saw a blond haired young man, a hat, and a large brown coat. Jack began to ponder something. Just then, a light bulb goes off. "I think I got a clever idea that could give us a chance to redeem ourselves on the Wu count." Jack said. Chase and Peridot looked a bit perplexed by it but when Jack began telling them the idea, they quickly got on board.
Back at Beach City, the Monks and the remaining gems finished their training for the day. Pearl and Kimiko began to walk away from the Monks and Amethyst. "Well, looks like we have the house to ourselves for a while." Raimundo said. "Want to play Lonely Blade the video game?" Amethyst said. "Alright, sure, we could do that." Clay said. "Sounds fun." Raimundo said. Omi remained quiet. He wasn't happy that Kimiko is going to talk to Pearl. It's like betraying his trust for Pearl's trust and he's not going to forgive Pearl anytime soon it seems. Amethyst walks over to Omi. "Look, sooner or later, you and Pearl need to talk the issue out, bruh." Amethyst said. Omi just remained quiet. "Anywho, let's get back inside." Amethyst said as all of them, even Omi walked back.
Pearl and Kimiko walked into the Boardwalk and began chatting. "I was wondering…what made you do what you did?" Kimiko said, pressing the issue right off the bat. Pearl sighs. "Alright wanting the answer, I see." Pearl said. Kimiko nods. Pearl takes a deep breath. "Well, I look up to Garnet as super confident and secure. I've been kinda viewing myself as weak when compared to her. She's in such a perfect relationship and...I felt like I wanted to be part of it." Pearl began to explain. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I do have good usage but...when compared to Garnet, I feel weak and insecure about it." Pearl began to shed some tears. "It's like they were made for each other. I am just a Pearl after all. Garnet can do so many thing and still be so composed about it" Kimiko began to feel a bit for Pearl. "Man, that's hard." Kimiko said. "I'm not really secure of myself either. When you did that event, I felt like that could have been me a bit and to be honest, I see anyone of us doing that. Well, maybe with the exception of Omi. If I maybe frank, I'm starting to believe that Garnet maybe a little too harsh on you on the silent treatment." Kimiko added. Pearl nods.
"Hey, if we can get Peridot, I might get back to Garnet's good graces." Pearl said. "You sure that would happen if we can do that?" Kimiko said. Pearl wipes away her tear and nods. "Well, if you are certain, but in order to do that, we might need to get by the Heylin and need to poof Peridot to do that." Kimiko added. "Plus we might need to bubble her to make sure she doesn't reform and return to the Heylin at all." "Yea, that's right in the ball park, Kimiko." Pearl said. They began to talk more and began mending their bridges together. They began to have a good time enjoying each other's company. However, they do not know what was happening to Garnet when she's on her vacation with Greg and Steven.
At the Heylin, it was night time and they returned back from Russia, but without the Crystal Glasses, strangely. However, Jack was smiling with an evil grin. "If this plan goes off without a hitch, we might be able to equal the Monks and Gems on Shen Gong Wu and possibly more." Jack said. "All great plan needs a backup plan." Chase mentions. "Oh, don't worry, I do have a backup. I got a guy that provides me with parts for my Jackbot, Spybots and then some." Jack said. "Who is he, then?" Wuya said. "Easy, his name is PandaBubba. He's a crime boss that managed to sell me some of the parts for the Jackbots and not only that, he's known to be a powerful crime boss. He has a lot of henchmen that he considers them "disposable" if they don't perform well." Jack said. "Alright, so where is his place then?" Chase said. "He's currently in Hong Kong and believe me, if we need him, I'll give him a call." Jack said. "Alright, good backup plan." Chase said. Peridot was taking note while they were talking. Peridot was certain the Jack might succeed and if Jack is confident on himself, why not put her trust into Jack. Has Jack failed Peridot? For the most part, not really. Jack and Peridot might be a good duo for quite some time.
Back at Beach City, it was now daytime. Garnet, Steven and Greg return back home. "Hey, guys." Kimiko said. "How was the trip?" "It went pretty well." Greg said. Just then, Pearl walked out the temple. "Oh, Garnet, you're back. How are you?" Pearl asked. Garnet puts her hand up. "Not now, Pearl...Not Now." Garnet said as she walks away. "Well, looks like she's kinda speaking to you." Raimundo quips. It's still a long way from Pearl and Garnet to get on the same music sheet and same with Pearl and Omi but it's a step in the right direction. "So, any plan on revisiting that place with us in the future?" Clay said. "Maybe one day...but not to the diner." Greg said with an awkward chuckle. The Monks look perplexed by it but shrug it off. They are currently focusing on getting Peridot and the Shen Gong Wu as fast as they can. Besides, they can visit the diner in the future themselves.
End of Episode 12