Episode 20: Back to Basics
It was a fairly sunny day in Beach City. At Steven's place, The Monks and Gems were ready to hear what Peridot has to say about the Cluster. "Since I have no other options, I have conceded to reveal some of the important information about the Cluster." Peridot said. She then snaps her fingers and Steven, wearing a box with a crudely drawn earth on it. Peridot looks at the Monks and Gems "This is Earth as you know." Peridot stated. "No duh." Raimundo quips. Peridot rolls her eyes a bit. "At the very center of the planet's core lies the Cluster!" Peridot said. Steven then rotates to show the earth's core with the cluster inside. "This is the cluster, a massive artificial fusion composed of millions of gem shards." Peridot stated "It had laid dormant for thousands of year, before these Shen Gong Wu were created or even thought of. When it activates...it will take form and will be catastrophic! Now!" Peridot added as Steven turns back to the earth side and uses a green snake like puppet burst out of the book. This startled the Gems and Omi a bit, Kimiko wrote stuff down on her laptop, Clay was surprised from the revelation and Raimundo couldn't help but laugh a bit at the sock puppet.
"Okay, so it would not look like that...but it's very real and could activate at any moment." Peridot said. "Man, what a cluster." Amethyst said. "No doubt about it." Raimundo said as he stopped laughing at the sock puppet. "That abomination needs to be stopped." Garnet said. "Mmm...how did they Heylin responded to the Cluster, Peridot?" Kimiko said. "Well, I don't know if I should tell you this, but they did consider extracting the Cluster in exchange for ruling the Earth." Peridot said. This caught the monks off guard. The Heylin was more than willing to try to extract the Cluster. The main question? "How?!" The four of them said. "Last time I heard, they were going to use the Changing Chopstick to shrink it and pull it out when it's very small." Peridot said. "That sure does make some sense." Clay admits. "How do we drill to the center of the earth, we need some kind of-" Pearl was saying "Hey! I'm not done speaking here." Peridot interrupted. "We need is some sort of machine that can take us to the center of the earth." "Yo, Peridot, I think Pearl was think the same thing." Raimundo said. Peridot just scoffs it off. "Well, we need a machine that can withstand up to 360 gigapascals of pressure and 9800 decrees." Peridot said.
"Well, I think you guys should use the Barn to work on it. No way we can keep it under wraps here in Beach City." Kimiko said. Steven nods. "Yea, there's lots of stuff there that we can use." Steven said. "Excellent, care to show me this...barn you are speaking off?" Peridot said. Amethyst chuckles "Classic Steven." She said. Garnet turns to the Monks. "Look, this may take a while so best for you guys to hang back with the Wu to make sure no Heylin steals any of them." Garnet said. The Monks nods in unison. "We'll be on our best guard while you get to work on making sure the Cluster doesn't form," Omi said. "Excellent, I know you guys can do well." Pearl said with a bit of a smile. The Gems and Peridot head out to the Barn while the Monks hunker down the house to make sure that no Wu is stolen under their noses.
Note: Back to the Barn still happens off screen
Back at the Heylin, Jack was making some lunch. He was still fuming over Chase's decision making on not keeping Peridot. He feels so angry and yet...so lost. Peridot was his closest ally and to him...she's gone...possibly for good. It was gut-wrenching to him. "Chase, why must you have voted against Peridot?" Jack mumbles to himself. He still hadn't gotten over the revelation that Wuya voted to keep Peridot and Chase voted against Peridot. His perspective has flipped completely. He doesn't even know what's right and wrong on being a Heylin anymore. Jackson, he can forgive because he was under the assumption that Wuya would vote to kick Peridot out so he can cut Jackson some slack because he's Wuya's "understudy". He began to ponder something. Something deep.
"What is Chase's endgame?" Jack began to ponder. "If he knew better, keeping Peridot would be a benefit not a hindrance." He ponders some more. "He must have used the Crystal Glasses to see something that could benefit both of us." He said. "I don't know what but if it also benefits Peridot somehow, I might be on board." Just then, Chase walks in. "Hello, Jack. Still pining for Peridot, I assume?" Chase said. "Yea, a bit. It's just…why did you vote against Peridot? I still can't get over it." Jack said. "Maybe working on your projects could clear your mind." Chase said. "You mention Project Rebirth and Morph, if I recall." "Oh, those two projects?" Jack said. "I've been meaning to mention something. I've been lacking the inspiration to keep working on them because of all the training, protecting Peridot from her poofing, you know, the works." "I see. Maybe you can clear your mind on a new project then." Chase said.
Jack just finished making his lunch. "Why are you so inclined for me to work on something? Don't we have training after lunch?" Jack said as he began to eat. Chase nods. "We did...but after much considerations...I've decided to give you today and tomorrow off" Chase said. Jack stopped eating and gave a shock look on his face. "Look, Jack, I know you are going through a rough time…I know I voted against Peridot, but she is clouding your mind too much. You need to move on and become better." Chase said. Jack remained quiet. Chase stands up. "I will say this, I might tell you why I became a Heylin the first place." Chase said. Jack looked at Chase with an interesting look. "Wait, really? When do I get to hear it?" Jack said. "Soon…soon." Chase said. "Alright." Jack said as he began to eat some more. Chase chuckles as he walks out of the room.
A bit later, Jack would finish eating his lunch. He places the dishes in the sink and walks out of the room and into the hallway. He began to go into deep thinking. 'What is Chase's plan, what is he thinking off?' Jack thought 'Does he have me as a pawn for something or am I more valuable like a knight? I guess battling sometimes include strategy like Chess for example. It's making me wonder if Chase is playing dimensional chess or is just playing checkers.' As Jack thought, he began thinking something else. Something feels…off. The Cluster is a major issue, sure, but would he tell the Monks and Gems about it? He thought a bit more.
'If they know about the Cluster, they would likely either attempt to destroy it, bubble it...somehow, or not believe in it.' Jack thought. 'Considering I'm notorious for not speaking the truth, they would not believe in me and possibly dismiss it as another lie. However...the only other one to know about it is Peridot and we all know where she is now.' Jack slowly clutches his fist. Just then…a spark of inspiration hits. He rushes to his room and grabs a blank blueprint. He began to draw up something. He was working with a passion not seen since Project Morph and Project Rebirth. What it looked like? Well, it was some kind of radar that would detect people and Gems at different locations. Jack soon finished what it looked like, a fairly large radar that could detect upwards of a continent. Jack was inspired and was ready to put this into practice.
A montage shows Jack working on the machine with passion and dedication. He worked on it all day and all night. We are also shown on how it would work. It would detect how many people are within the range of the selected location, totaling the amount to upwards of 100. We are also shown on the design, it was black and green, a bit of a tribute to Peridot. The following morning, Jack would finish his radar machine and was ready to show it off to the Heylin. He puts hooks it up in an unused room, next to the meeting room. Jack then takes a deep breath. "Alright, Jack, you pulled an all day and an all nighter, let's hope it works." Jack said to himself. He turns the radar on and the radar work, showing 4 at the Beach House. "Hmm...4 at the Beach house. That's a bit abnormal, but then again, Steven and the Gems could be somewhere else, doing a Gem mission." Jack said. "So, it looks like it's working like it's function." Jack began to have a bit of a smirk. "I hope Chase approve of it." Jack said. He heads out as we pans back to the radar. It shows the number 5 at a location.
Back at Chase and Wuya, they finished making breakfast and were munching down the food. Just then, Jack walked in, smirking a bit. "What is it now, Jack?" Chase said. "Well, After you gave me yesterday and today off, I've decided to make a machine that could take us back to basic. Wuya, you remember my Spybots?" Jack said. "Let me guess, you made an "enhanced version" that they wouldn't be detected in the rain?" Wuya quips. "Actually no. I decided to spy on the Monks and Gems without using the Spybots." Jack said. "What are you saying, Jack?" Chase said. "I'm saying that I build a radar that can detect where the Monks and Gems are at all time." Jack said. "It's like my Shen Gong Wu finder that I made in the past, except it's like a combo to the Spybot. Come on, I'll show you." he began to lead the way. Wuya and Chase stopped eating and followed Jack.
A bit later, Jack showed them his radar and there were fairly impressed on how accurate the locations are. "Impressive, Jack, you really made a machine that allow us to know what the Gems and Monks without using the Spybots." Wuya said. "Is there anything else it can do?" Chase said. "Well, since Peridot was from Homeworld, I figured to add a radar to see if there's a spaceship coming in from outer space. Even thought it's unlikely, I wanted to make sure to account that in if it does happen." Jack said. "Interesting, Jack. As long as it doesn't hinder us, I would approve of it." Chase said. Jack nods as he looks back at the radar. He then discover something. At the Barn, there are 5 people. "Wait...5? Why 5?" Jack said. He looked a bit perplexed. But then he remember something. "Oh, right, Connie is a thing, so something must be going down at the...Barn, I think it is." Jack said.
His radar wasn't live footage but it was an overlay the Barn and all of Beach City, even upwards of the continent, but mainly Beach City as that's his main focus. "Why would Connie be at the Barn with either the Gems or Monks?" Wuya said. "I don't think it's the monks because the Beach House has 4 and if Connie was there, it would have been 5 at the Beach house, not 4." Jack said. He then began to ponder something "But you do bring up a good point. Why would Connie be at the Barn? Shouldn't she be back with her parents or something like that." Jack added. "How about this, Jack, keep a close tabs on the radar and maybe, Connie will head back and we'll know for sure that it's Connie." Chase said. Jack began to ponder something. "If the number doesn't go down after 2 or 3 days, I'll send one or two of my spybots to see what's going down at the Barn." Jack said. "Deal?" Chase takes a deep breath. "Alright, Deal." Chase said, giving a handshake agreement with Jack. "Just don't leap into action, that's the condition." "I'll try my best." Jack said.
End of Episode 20