It had been several days since Twoie and Steven's conversation. The air was still awkward between them, and the gems had taken notice. Pearl had tried talking to both of them on separate occasions. Her talk with Twoie had been brief, with the young man stating that he was fine and that nothing was wrong. She was worried, though, after she talked to Steven.

"I'm telling you, Garnet. I think everything wrong between them is because of us. And I don't know how to fix this." She flipped the face shield on her protective headgear up. Peridot surreptitiously eavesdropped on their conversation as she went over her checklist. "I asked Steven what was wrong, and he told me that Twoie doesn't think he's as important as Steven. Said that he believed he keeps making things worse and that he is desperate to find any way to help us in this time."

Garnet sighed as she fixed her glasses. "It sounds like this was a problem that Twoie has been dealing with before he arrived here. We just became the easiest solution to his insecurities."

Amethyst stepped forward. "But that's just it! If Twoie feels like he's not enough back home, where life is peaceful, then did we make him that way? Was it a bad idea letting him become a Crystal Gem?" Silence permeated the night as the group contemplated her words. The purple gem rubbed her arm in discomfort. "We've never really known what we're doing with Steven. Twoie has pretty much shown us that we suck."

Pearl ripped her headgear off as she glared at the purple gem. "Excuse me? We've done our best for Steven! I don't appreciate what you're insinuating!" Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her.

"You're talking about the change in Steven's confidence and abilities, aren't you..."

Amethyst nodded. "Ever since Twoie arrived in the past, Steven has been a lot happier. He's more confident. He's learned more about his powers than we've ever managed to teach him. And if you haven't noticed, he's healthier." She kicked a small rock away from herself. "I've tagged along with Twoie on one of his grocery runs… We've never shopped like he does. There's some junk food or pre-made food, but a lot of it Twoie cooks for them. The only one who ever really made decent food was Pearl."

The others shifted uncomfortably. Pearl put her hand on her chin as she thought about Twoie's and Steven's relationship. "I've tried doing 'school' with Steven once, but gave up and never actually learned more about it. Twoie said it's an important aspect of human life in determining options for their future. Apparently, they start at the age of five and continue until they're eighteen." She blinked away tears. "Twoie has been working hard to make sure Steven is caught up academically with children his age. We really have been failing him…" She sniffed, moving her hands to anxiously wring her ribbon.

Garnet stared at the barn. Steven was working on an assignment that his older brother had given him. Twoie sat next to him, writing up lesson plans. Normally, the two would be chatting as they worked, but that didn't seem to be the case this time. "We knew Steven was different. We knew he had human needs, but we never thought to look into the proper lifestyle of humans." She turned back to her family. "Greg helped us as much as he could, but we should've done more. It wasn't fair of us to put so much responsibility on him when he was learning as well."

"So, what are you going to do about it now?" All heads turned to Peridot. The green gem regarded them with a look of disdain. "I told Steven I wasn't going to comment on your tense relationship with Twoie, but I don't believe you're going to figure it out on your own." That got her a couple of glares. "Amethyst has been the only one of you, Crystal Gems, to apologize to the Twoie about that fight several weeks ago." She finished up the last item on her checklist before continuing. "That fight has continued to not only strain his relationship with you clods, but also his relationship with Steven." Peridot adjusted her visor. "He even blames himself for the fight occurring."

The others straightened up at the admission. "What? But that was clearly our fault!" Pearl started pacing. "Why would he blame himself after all this time? He knows we were in the wrong. We admitted it!"

Amethyst rounded on her. "Because you never apologized!" She fixed Pearl and Garnet with a cold look. "I apologized after a couple of days. I wanted him to know how much I regretted that stupid fight, but you two never did! And Pearl, you practically told Twoie that you didn't trust him to his face!"

Pearl looked at her incredulously. "When did I do that? I trust Twoie!"

Her friend's glare hardened. "' Amethyst, Steven, can you go with them?'"

Pearl blushed as she recalled saying that when she asked them to go to the Kindergarten. "Is that why he thought I didn't trust him a couple of days ago? I truly meant no harm by that. At the time, you and Steven were getting along the best with him and Peridot. After our blatant show of distrust causing the fight, I thought it'd be a good idea to keep you all together." The prim gem awkwardly rubbed her shoulder. "Twoie has seemed upset lately, so I thought the company of friends would cheer him up. I also hoped having you tag along would show we were truly making an effort at befriending Peridot."

Peridot's eyes widened in surprise. The thought was nice, even though the execution was horrendous. Pearl bit her nails in anxiety. "I never even thought he'd perceive it as a show of distrust. Oh, he must hate me."

Amethyst sighed as she placed a hand on Pearl's arm. "Although I'm relieved to know that's not what happened, you should know that we all thought you didn't trust Twoie. Tough luck, P."

Garnet brushed a hand through her hair. "Looks like we've got a misunderstanding we'll have to clear up later. Right now, stopping the Cluster is of utmost importance, and it seems like the drill is just about complete. Right, Peridot?"

Peridot went over the checklist again. "We really did it, huh… Wait!" They watched her hop inside the drill. She pressed several buttons on the control pad before peering down at them from the edge of the machine. "Coordinates! We still need the Cluster's exact coordinates in order to drill!"

Pearl hummed in thought. "There's a diamond base that may hold that information, but getting there is going to be difficult."

Peridot hopped down to the group. "How difficult?"

The second-in-command of the Crystal Gems lifted her gaze to the sky. "Because it's not accessible by warp pad. And it's on the moon."

Amethyst groaned. "Augh, that'll be a pain. How do we even get up there?"

Garnet smiled as she started walking towards the barn. "Luckily, we know someone who's been up there before."

"Lion!" Twoie called out as he approached. The pink cat regarded him with a look before closing his eyes again.

"Can you make us a special super warp to the moon?" Steven asked while scratching him under his chin. Lion purred but made no effort to get up.

"Lion, no more earth means no more naps." Twoie piped up from behind Steven. That woke him right up. Lion's eyes glowed, and he motioned for Steven to get on.

"Peridot, Steven, and I can ride from Lion's mane if the rest of you want to ride on his back."

Peridot peaked out from behind Amethyst. "You can go inside that creature's mane? Is that normal for all 'lions'?"

Steven chuckled and shook his head. "No. Lion is magic, so he's different. Only Twoie and I can go inside Lion's mane, but if we're holding things, we can bring them inside with us!"

She looked weary but grabbed ahold of Steven's outstretched hand and stepped inside Lion's mane so that only her head was poking out. Steven and Twoie did the same while the gems piled onto Lion's back. "Alright, Lion! To the moon!" Lion charged forward, hopping through the portal he roared.

The force of speeding through the portal was disorienting for everyone. They reappeared on the moon, sliding hard into the wall. Twoie pulled Peridot out with him while Steven checked on Lion. "Ah, you've earned your naps for the rest of the week." Steven comforted his exhausted friend with sam pats.

As Amethyst made her way to the door, Twoie grabbed her arm. "Careful, opening that door could launch us into space."

She nodded and made her way back to the others. "So, what now?" Amethyst asked as she peered around the room they were in.

Pearl and Garnet lit up their gems like flashlights and started looking around. "Ha-ha-ha-ha! I'm a moon boy!" Steven hopped up and cheered in delight when he floated away from the change in gravity.

"I wanna be a moon boy!" Amethyst tried to float too but immediately flopped onto her stomach when she jumped. "Hey, why can't I be a moon boy…"

Peridot laughed at her misunderstanding. "Cause we're gems? We're a spacefaring race designed to conquer other worlds. Our physical forms adjust to the gravity of any planetoid."

Amethyst groaned. "Lame."

"Steven, careful you'll-!" Twoie warning came too late as Steven slammed against the wall. He looked up from the floor at a mural of a blue lady. "Hey, Peridot. Who is this supposed to be?"

She gasped and came running over. "It's Blue Diamond. Wait, are they all here?" Twoie facepalmed as she ran off to the side. "Ah, yes. There she is!" He forgot about this…

"Who?" Steven followed along as she stared at a mural of a yellow lady.

"Behold, Yellow Diamond! Isn't she magnificent?" The young boy stared in awe of the figure.

"The Diamonds are the rulers of Homeworld," Twoie mentioned as he walked up behind them. "The leader of the Diamonds is White Diamond. Next are Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond. They are equals in the hierarchy. And the lowest ranking member was… Pink Diamond." Steven frowned as Twoie said Pink's name with a hint of distaste. He was distracted from his observation by Peridot interrupting.

"Not just Homeworld. The Great Diamond Authority form a Matriarchy that governs Homeworld and all the outlying colonies! We live to serve them." Garnet cleared her throat as she approached with a stern look. Peridot chuckled nervously. "I-I mean, we were all made to serve them even though some of us don't anymore." Twoie sighed as Peridot quickly changed the subject and ran over to a section of the floor.

"I think this is right. The material is different from the surrounding stone. I think if I just do this!" The panel lit up and formed a set of stairs. Peridot cackled in delight as they all made their way up the steps. "This is so incredible! Only the most elite of the elite can enter these sanctums. We are literally walking in the footsteps of the diamonds!"

Steven hopped onto each of the steps as they reached the top. "They must really like stairs." Twoie snorted as they all stepped into the observation room. "What's this room for?"

Garnet continued onward without stopping. "Not important. Let's keep moving."

Twoie whispered in his ear as he walked past, "I'll tell you later." That was enough for Steven to keep moving along. Finally, they reached the control room.

Amethyst and Steven stared in amazement as they could see the moon's surface as well as the earth. "We really are on the moon," Steven whispered in awe.

Twoie stared at the earth with an odd expression on his face. He shook his head to clear his thoughts as everyone gathered around the control panel. He noticed Steven sit down in Pink Diamond's chair and motioned for him to touch the handprint symbol. He smiled at his older brother and pressed his hand to it, turning on the machine. Peridot jumped as the screens appeared and shrieked in horror at Steven. "You can't sit there! That chair is only for the most elite gems!"

Steven flashed her a grin as he patted the spot next to him. "They aren't here now, right?" She paused. The temptation to sit in the chair became too much, and she quickly hopped onto the spot beside him.

In a matter of minutes, she had the coordinates of the cluster pulled up in front of them. "That's it then! Mission accomplished!" Pearl cheered as they all walked back towards the stairs.

Steven kept staring at the screen. "Wait, hold on. Does this thing have any games on it?" His green companion looked scandalized at the question.

"This wasn't used for games." Peridot started messing with the controls. "It was used for planning the colony. Look!" The noise from the device brought the gems' attention back to the screen. No one noticed Twoie clench his fists tightly. He subtly kept his attention on Peridot.

She flipped through several gem structures on earth before bringing up the plans for the colonization of the planet. Everyone stared in horror at the image of what the earth could've looked like. "Tada! A finished earth colony. Wow, look at this!" Her smile grew larger as she took in the hologram. "Eighty-nine kindergartens. Sixty-seven spires. A galaxy warp at each facet. Efficient use of all available materials!" Twoie motioned for her to stop talking, but she didn't notice. "What were you thinking shutting this operation down? It could've been great!"

"NO! You're wrong!" All heads turned to Garnet. Her hands were shaking as she stared at the destruction on the screen.

Peridot looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" Steven cringed as she turned her gaze to each person present. "It's perfect. Look at it."

Pearl narrowed her eyes in disapproval. "We are looking at it." Peridot couldn't comprehend why everyone hated it as Amethyst complained about it as well. "Completing this colony would've meant the extinction of all life on earth."

With no one explaining to her just why her opinion was so hated, she could feel anger stir up inside her. "But think of the good it would've done! The gems that would've been made. Our empire expanded!" Steven met her gaze with a look of disappointment. She glanced at Twoie and felt a pang of hurt when he gave her the same look.

"Rose Quartz believed all life was precious and worth protecting." Before Peridot could interrupt Pearl, Twoie placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Can you guys give me a minute with Peridot? I'm gonna explain this to her." He gently led her away from the control panel back to the chair.

"Oh, yeah? We'll she did a lousy job!" She shouted over her shoulder.

Twoie glared at her. "Peridot, stop." Her eyes widened, and she flinched at his tone. The Crystal Gems stepped towards with fierce glares at her words. Twoie turned to them next. "We're done here. I know she upset you, but let me deal with this. Please wait for me with Lion, okay?"

Garnet met his eyes as she contemplated her next course of action. In the end, she summoned one of her gauntlets, smashed the panel, and walked away. The young man let out the breath he was holding as the others followed along. Steven looked back to see Twoie give him an encouraging smile. He frowned at his older brother. "Please be safe." The youngest turned away from Twoie before the eldest could reply, and made his way down the stairs.

Twoie could feel guilt eating away at him as he knew his brother was thinking about their argument. He vowed to address it later as he faced the pouting gem in the chair. "Peridot. You need to understand that the gems fought for the earth because the earth is a place where you can be yourself. Pearl isn't a servant; she's a leader who's capable of building technology and doing whatever she wants. Garnet can live as a fusion, a combination of two gems who love each other, without fear of execution. Amethyst can have fun and not worry about being insulted for being different. It's their home."

They both looked at the earth. "They fought a war and just barely won because the diamonds decided the earth wasn't worth the effort. Garnet and Pearl lost most of their friends in the last attack by the diamonds. The only reason they survived the attack was because of Rose. Telling them that everything they fought for and sacrificed was wrong, and insulting Rose was probably one of the most hurtful things you could've done."

Peridot closed her eyes and sighed. Maybe he really was getting through to her. "If I started insulting Homeworld and the Diamonds, you would be upset, right?"

She jumped up and glared at him. "Of course, I would be!" Then it dawned on her. "I see why they were upset. They didn't care about the betterment of the empire. They just cared about preserving the earth because it's their home and what their leader wanted."

Twoie rubbed his face with his hands. "Closer, but not quite. It's fine if you don't understand completely, but please don't bring it up again. As you saw already, they were pretty mad about it." She frowned but nodded in agreement. "Come on then. Let's head back to the others." As he turned away, she glanced at the communicator beside her. Peridot checked that Twoie couldn't see her, then placed her hand over it. "You're bringing the Diamond communicator with you, aren't you."

She flinched and snatched her hand away. "N-no, no, no!" She nervously laughed as she pushed herself off the chair. Twoie stopped walking but didn't turn around. "I'd rather you don't take it, but if you want to, I won't stop you."

Her eyes widened in shock. "But if you know what it is, then you know what I want it for! Why aren't you going to stop me?"

He finally glanced behind himself. She saw the resigned look in his eyes. "Because this is something you need to decide on your own. Are you still going to help save the earth now that you have a way to contact the diamonds? Are you still loyal to the diamonds? You need to decide who you are, Peridot. I'm not going to stop you from figuring it out. I can only hope that you'll make the right choice." She glowered at the device, sitting in its spot on the armrest. One hand hovered over it.

When Twoie resumed walking for the stairs, he did not comment as she followed slightly behind him. He hoped with every fiber of his being that letting her keep the communicator was the right choice.