Steven trusted Twoie. Out of everyone, he trusted Twoie the most. That's why he didn't immediately say anything when he noticed the communicator in Peridot's hand as the two returned from their talk. Once they were back home, Twoie pulled his brother aside. "Did you still want to know about that other room?"
His younger brother shook his head. "Later. Did you see that Peridot took the diamond thing from the base?"
The young man sighed as he leaned in close. "Yeah. I was hoping she wouldn't, but I guess she's still too loyal to the diamonds." They both turned to look at her. "You can get her to tell you why if you don't outright ask her about it. This event is really important, so I'm going to do my best not to interfere."
Steven stared at him, questioningly. "Does everything turn out okay?" At his brother's nod, Steven steeled his expression and made his way over to Peridot.
The green gem's back was to him as she stared at something he couldn't see. "Peridot." She jumped, quickly turning to face him while hiding something behind her back. "I need to talk to you."
She chuckled nervously, "Yeah! Sure!" She followed him into the truck and looked around nervously. "Why are we in this broken down vehicle?" Steven took a deep breath to prepare himself.
"I wanted to ask you…" She didn't notice when he shifted his attention from her to the arm behind her back. "About the Diamonds." She perked up immediately.
"Oh! I don't know what the others have told you, but there's a reason they're in charge!" Peridot leaned forward in excitement. "They're objectively better than us. Every gem has their strengths and weaknesses, but not them. They're absolutely, totally, completely, flawless beings! Especially my Diamond! Yellow Diamond." Steven knew at this point that the thing she snuck down from the moon was bad. He only knows a little bit about the Diamonds from the gems, but it was enough to know they are bad news. "The most perfect, the most reasonable rational efficient decider to ever exist in the known universe!"
He was hoping that Twoie had gotten through to her, but it was obvious that he hadn't. He frowned as he realized something. "You're really loyal to her, aren't you?"
She stared at him, incredulously. "How can I not be? We might have our little truce, but I'll never forsake the gem I was made for!"
That was all he needed to know. Steven pointed behind her. "That's good! Because she's right behind you." The second Peridot turned around to look, Steven snatched the diamond thing out of her hand. As fast as he could, he jumped out of the car, locked it, and shut the door. Peridot had barely managed to turn around by the time he trapped her inside.
"What did you do?" She shrieked as she pulled at the door handle.
Steven held the crystal out while angrily glaring at her. "Save your strength! You're up against one of the earth's greatest trapping technologies. The child safety lock!"
Panic overtook her as she collapsed against the seat. "How could you do this to me? The great and loveable Peridot? I thought we were finally friends like you wanted?" She wailed as she pressed her hands against the window.
Steven huffed as he held up the diamond. "I saw you sneak this off the moon base while no one was looking! What does it do? Tell me!"
She glared at him. "Why don't you ask Twoie? He knew I was going to take it and he let me! He knows I want to use it to contact the Diamonds!" He gasped. Twoie did what?
"So it's a communicator? And you're still trying to contact Homeworld?" He turned it over in his hands. It stung that Twoie willingly let Peridot take something that could contact the Diamonds, but they could trust her not to, right?
Peridot looked manic as he explained herself. "Of course! I figured it out. You lot keep trying to protect the earth, but you can't do anything right. I let myself get carried away too, laughing, singing, building our little machine…" Steven eyes widened in horror as he realized how close he and Twoie had come to letting her contact Homeworld. They trusted her too much. "All that matters is that I'm of use to Yellow Diamond. This planet can be of use to Yellow Diamond! I must contact her, to reveal what I've discovered!"
Steven felt angry and ashamed. Why was he always so trusting? "The Diamonds are bad! They don't want to help out the earth; they wanted to hollow it out and blow it up with the Cluster!" He narrowed his eyes at her when she agreed. "What's the point? Why do I keep sticking my neck out for you? Why does Twoie? You're never gonna be on our side. I don't know why Twoie thinks you will be, but I can't trust you anymore."
He ran out of the barn calling for the gems. They stopped their discussion about the drill when he approached. Pearl's eyes widened when she saw the device in Steven's hand. "She took a direct line to the Diamonds! From the moon base?" Amethyst stared at the communicator with a look of betrayal.
Garnet shifted her gaze from the communicator to Twoie, who was walking over to them. "You need to explain yourself. Did you see her take this from the base?"
Twoie guiltily nodded. "In my time, she used it to contact Yellow but ended up becoming a Crystal Gem afterward, when she realized the Diamonds aren't these supreme perfect beings. I was hoping she wouldn't in this timeline since she seemed more receptive about the earth, but I'm not surprised she took it."
Garnet took a deep breath to calm her rage. "Things like this are why we didn't trust you when you first arrived." He flinched at the underlying rage he detected in her voice. "You should've told us before we went to the moon that this would happen. We could've planned out a mode of action. Instead, you left us in the dark and put us all in danger."
Steven looked conflicted as he stared at the ground. She was right. He should've told them ahead of time. They both knew the stupid fight between Twoie and the gems was caused by a lack of communication. At the same time, he understood that Twoie wanted to keep his friend. His eyes hardened in anger. They could've found other ways for Peridot to become a Crystal Gem without letting her take the communicator. At least one that didn't put the earth and the gems at risk.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Twoie rubbed his arm in guilt as he looked away. He could see the look of disappointment and betrayal in the gems' eyes.
Horn blaring interrupted their conversation. "I see she figured out how to use the horn," Steven grumbled. He pulled his hood up and tightened it around his head to muffle the noise.
Garnet sent one more glare to Twoie before she knelt down to comfort Steven. "You offered her a lot of your trust."
His eyes became glossy with tears. "I did! And it blew up in my face. You guys have been protecting the earth for thousands of years. She could've destroyed all of that!"
Twoie placed a hand on Steven's shoulder. "I've lived through all of this before, Steven. Trust me when I say that everything will turn out alright."
He jumped when Steven smacked his hand away. "How do you know that? Things are different now that you're here. You could've ruined everything by letting her take the communicator!"
Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl surrounded him. "You. Did. What?" Pearl seethed.
Twoie put his hands up in surrender as they cornered him. "I-I mean, yeah, I l-let her take the communicator, but that-" He yelped as Pearl manifested a spear, only to snap it in half over her knee.
"I can't believe you! And after we trusted you about Peridot! Maybe you should think more about the consequences your actions can have. I know you aren't working with Homeworld, but you sure don't seem to be fighting them either." The prim gem spun on her heel and stormed away from the group.
Amethyst looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I trusted you, man. I hope for all our sakes that you're right and nothing bad happens from this." She walked away, as well. Twoie was left alone with Garnet and Steven.
Garnet brushed a hand through Steven's hair. The young boy looked up at her as she comforted him. "Like your mother, you seem to have a little more patience than the rest of us. But the truth is," she looked Twoie in the eyes. "Not everyone deserves your patience." Twoie focused his attention on a rock by his foot. "Twoie, I know you had good intentions, but this is not the Peridot you knew. You put too much trust in her, and you put us in jeopardy. That's not okay." She sighed as she faced Steven again. "At least you were able to get this away from her before she did any real damage."
Right as Garnet finished her sentence, the side of the barn exploded. Steven covered his head while Twoie protected them with a shield. Bits of debris clanked against it. When the dust cleared, Steven looked over to where the destruction occurred. "Oh, no!"
Peridot cackled maniacally as she maneuvered her robot through the hole she made. "Free! Free! Nye-he-he-he-he!"