"Boom! Pam! Kerplow!" Jonathan shouted, pumping his fists as he eagerly hopped up and down in front of the counter at the Big Donut, watching the wrestling match playing out on the screen in front of him. "Hey, Jonathan tone it down. Sadie's trying to work." Lars said as he leaned against the counter with a yawn.

Sadie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ya know, I could use some help over here." Lars shrugged. "Brunch break." he said, grabbing a donut and looking over at Johnathon, who was engrossed in his phone. "Which match are you watching?"

Jonathan grinned with stars in his eyes as he looked up at the older teen, immediately jumping into a detailed play-by-play of the fight where Tiger Millionaire took on the Good Lookin Gang, him and the Purple Puma managing to win the fight by the skin of their teeth, each member of the team walking away from the fight with a fair amount of damage. "So, you're really psyched about Tiger Millionaire, huh?" Jonathan nodded aggressively. "Yes! He's so cool, strong, and powerful! It's amazing! And he's undefeated!" he said, his face falling slightly as he handed Lars his phone back. "Too bad it's underground and not a televised event. It must have been awesome to take these pictures on your…your…ugh. The little box!"

"Phone." Sadie offered with a smile.

"Oh yeah. Your….your phone. I'm glad you can watch the fight on your phone whenever you want to." Jonathan said, scratching his chin. "Though I do hope Tiger and Puma aren't too tired since I've been watching them fight for a while. They deserve a break instead of having to fight every time I want to see it. It's selfish of me."

Lars sighed. "That's not how recordings work. I recorded the fight on my phone, and I can watch it whenever I like. They don't have to re-enact it every time."

Jonathan looked shocked. "Earth technology is amazing!" he shouted, starry eyed.

Lars rolled his eyes, deciding to drop the topic before fixing Johnathon with a smirk. "Look, that's not important. What IS important though is you and me don't gotta re-watch those fights anymore. I know where we can go to see them battle it out in person."

Jonathan's eyes were as big as saucers. "We can?! How?"

Lars smirked. "I know where the underground fights happen. I can take you after work if you want."

"Yes! Yes I want to go with you to see the fight! When are we going? Do I need to ask Mr. Universe for money to get in? Can we stop by for dinner after? When are we leaving?" Jonathan asked, the pink boy brimming with excitement.

"Woah, woah, kid take it easy." Lars said, chuckling at the boy's excitement. "We'll leave after my shift. They have a fight tonight, and I was planning on heading there after work anyway. We can walk together." he said, texting Mr. Universe to let him know he was taking Johnathon to the fight after his shift.

For the rest of Lars's shift, Jonathan sat in the corner, engrossed in match after match of Tiger Millionaire and Purple Puma fighting one team after the next and absolutely dominating the competition. When he had finished every match, he handed Lars's phone back and he and the boy spent the rest of the day talking about their favorite matches. True to his word, as soon as he clocked out, Lars waved goodbye to his coworker, clocked out, and lead the boy to the outskirts of Beach City where the fight was happening.

"Wow! How did you even find this place?" Jonathan said, his eyes flickering back and forth in an attempt to take everything in. Lars grinned, ruffling the boy's hair. "Same way you did. Older, slightly-irresponsible teen showed me this place." he said, scanning the area for a good spot. "Right in front of the rink is always the best place. Thats where you can really see the action." he explained. Jonathan looked slightly dejected. "It's okay. You can watch from over at the front. I'm way too short to see over every-" Lars interrupted the boy by swiftly picking the boy up and placing him on his shoulders. "Oh, that's definitely not happening." he said, starting to make his way through the crowd of people "Only thing worse than Jet killing me for you disappearing on her is her killing me for you disappearing on me in the shady side of Beach City. Anyway…it's your first match. You should get a good view."

Jonathan grinned. "You're so cool, Lars!" he said, his eyes lighting up as the area around them started to darken. Lars rolled his eyes, trying to preserve his uncaring and deadpan tone. "Sure am. And don't you forget it."

When the end of the night rolled around, Jonathan was bursting with energy, pumping his fists in the air as Lars walked out of the underground wrestling area, still in shock at the turn of events. "Tiger and Puma lost the championship!" the boy said, shocked. "Yeah! But what a way to go out!" Jonathan gushed. "I didn't even know if Tiger would come back after he changed his name to Tiger Philanthropist! But then Puma comes back and tells him not to just give away the belts he worked so hard for?! And they have to fight for them, but they end up losing?! What a way to go!" he said excitedly.

Lars rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. I do hope he comes back one day though. He was at the HEIGHT of his career!" Jonathan shrugged. "If he does, he'll DEFINITELY dominate the competition! Him and the Purple Puma!" he said, pumping his fists in the air. As they came to a stop in front of Greg's van, Lars finally putting the boy down. "So. See ya tomorrow?" Jonathan asked, looking up at Lars excitedly.

Lars hesitated, looking into the boy's bright, starry eyes. "Uh…yeah man. Hey. Can I ask you something?" said, his tone turning serious for a moment. Jonathan's smile faltered slightly as he nodded. "Are you feeling okay, man? You've been hanging at the Big Donut a lot more often than usual. Me 'n Sadie don't mind of course. Just…wanted to make sure."

Jonathan looked surprised before he grinned and hugged Lars. "I'm fine, Lars! You're just really cool, and I like spending time with you!" he said, flashing the boy a toothy grin. Lars did his best to hide the fact that he was relieved as he awkwardly hugged the boy back. "Okay. Just checking. Let someone know if something's up though." he said as Johnathon pulled away and Greg opened the door, the boy waving at Lars before getting in, Greg shutting the door behind him.

"Did the underground cost you anything?" Greg asked, starting to pull out his wallet. Lars shook his head. "Nah. It's kinda…an underground thing? Mostly just for fun. I've been going for a while, and Johnathon's taken a real interest in it, so I figured I'd take him." Greg smiled. "Well, I appreciate it, and I'm sure Jet does too. He's adjusting really well to being on Earth, and I'm sure having someone there to be a sort of big brother has really been helping him."

Lars looked away awkwardly, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "No problem, Mr. Universe. Just…seemed like the cool thing to do." he said lamely. Man, he was not good at these emotional conversations.

Greg chuckled at the boy's reaction, shaking his head. "Well, that we can agree on."

…

"See! There's a star we can wish on!" Peridot said, eagerly pointing at the Sun as it came over the horizon.

"I…don't think wishing on the Sun is a thing. People usually wish on stars at night." Jet said, arching an eyebrow as she, Lapis, and Peridot sat on top of a tractor at the barn. Peridot rolled her eyes. "That's lame. A star's a star, so we can wish on it." Jet rolled her eyes but decided to drop it, her and Lapis sharing a knowing look.

"Peridot! Lapis! Jet!"

Jet looked up when heard Steven yelling and coming towards them, a smile on his face as he pushed his way through the corn. "What are you three doing up so early?"

"We were showing Jet how awesome stargazing is. What about you?" Peridot said, grinning proudly. "Well, I made a new friend! I wanted to introduce you guys to her." Steven said, motioning to the cornfield as Navy jumped out with a cheerful wave and grin.

"Hi everyone! I'm so happy to- oof!"

Navy's greeting was cut short as Jet tackled the gem, pinning her to the ground with one hand and holding her weapon with the other. "Steven, while I appreciate your ability to forgive and move on, this gem just tried to rip your gem out." she said, glaring furiously at the gem.

"Whoa, whoah, no! That was Eyeball!" Steven said, putting his hands up defensively. "I name each gem based on the placement of their gems. The one that tried to kill me was Eyeball. That," he said, gesturing to Navy who offered the gem a bashful smile. "Is Navy. She doesn't even want to go back to Homeworld." he explained.

Jet hesitated. "Are you sure?" she asked, raising her eyebrow as she turned back to Navy. "Why the hell do you want to be on Earth after being tricked into playing baseball, a gem shapeshifting into Jasper, and ya know. Blasting you into space."

Navy shrugged, looking away bashfully. "It's…the only place I could think to go." she explained. "All the other Rubies were really mean to me, and Homeworld isn't exactly…welcoming to gems who return there with an incomplete mission. While I'm angry we were tricked so many times, we kinda deserved it. We kept coming to your base and trying to act like we ran the place. The fact that you didn't shatter us all honestly shows how much a gem can change when they spend enough time here."

Jet hesitated, mulling the gem's words over.

"Aw, don't believe that crap, Jet." Lapis said, irritated. "Even if she wanted to stay here, she doesn't know what she's getting into. Life here's really confusing and hard to get used to it." she said, looking away. "It's taking me forever get used to it."

"That's fair." Jet said, returning her attention to Navy as she stood. "But. Just because it's hard to get used to doesn't mean it's impossible." she said, crossing her arms. "The only reason me, B9, and the humans have been able to adjust to life here easier than other gems is because we spent most of our time in the enclosure at the Zoo, and when we weren't there we were learning more about how human life worked on Earth." she explained. "It's going to be hard to adjust to life here, but if you want to change you can. Every gem here has had to go through it, and it won't be all fun and games, especially since we're public enemy number one." she said, offering the gem her hand. "So. Are you in?"

…

"Let's make this quick. I'm really not trying to spend all day in this grubby Kindergarten. I mean just look at me! A gem of my stature isn't meant to be anywhere near this filth." Aquamarine said as she, Freshwater, and Topaz made their way through the Kindergarten. "I'll try to be as quick as possible, your clarity." Freshwater said as she scanned the area around her. She'd hoped she would have enough time to put together an escape plan, or even at least talk to Steven to let him know she was on her way to the Kindergarten, but no such luck. For now, she would have to just lay low, help Aquamarine and Topaz with whatever their mission was, and get back to Homeworld. Making an escape attempt without a plan was a death sentence.

"I still can't believe a gem of your caliber was made from these conditions. This colony was a good starter for Pink and the gems from her court, but I would never expect a gem in such good conditions as yourself to come from here," the gem continued, flying up and landing on Topaz's shoulder before pulling out a handkerchief and wiping off her shoes, tossing it aside.

"Yes. It is quite unbelievable." Freshwater said, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. It was hard to think that a few days ago she probably would have said something similar. "Do you even know which exit hole is yours?" Aquamarine asked, pointing. Freshwater followed the gem's hand, feeling her stomach churn slightly at the sight of a small handful of Pearl exit holes. Thankfully there were far less here than on Homeworld, but the thought that each Pearl that emerged had been shattered made her stomach churn.

"Not off the top of my head. My exit hole never meant much to me." Freshwater said, lying through her teeth. As soon as she'd glanced at the wall, an exit hold at the very end had caught her eye. Before she left, though, she wanted to see if any of the exit holes had shattered gem shards. "Only one way to find out." Freshwater murmured. Stepping closer to the wall, Freshwater scanned the wall, stroking her chin as she stepped up to one of the exit holes, sticking her head inside. Empty.

Freshwater repeated this process with each Pearl indentation in the area, finding each one empty as she intentionally avoided the exit hole at the end. As she approached the last indentation to check, however, she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw something glittering in the shadows. Glancing behind her and seeing Aquamarine and Topaz were talking, she took a deep breath before ducking back inside and grabbed the shards.

As soon as Freshwater's hands closed around the gem shards, her breath hitched when she felt the familiar sudden pain in her chest, her head starting to pound as she was met with another vision.

"I'm growing tired of this." Holly Blue growled, pacing back and forth furiously as Peridot inspected the most recent failure standing in front of her.

"I've seen a lot of bullshit during my time on this mission, but a defective Pearl? That's a first." Peridot muttered, glaring at the Pearl standing in front of her. The gem was a golden complexion with frilly blue hair and vibrant white eyes, clad in a pink leotard with the diamond authority's logo plastered on it.

"It's a shame, too. She's the best thing we've managed to get to emerge." she said, circling the gem like a shark and pulling out a meter stick, holding it up to the Pearl. "Perfect height, perfect complexion - even the clothes are well-made." she said, coming to a stop in front of the gem and waving a hand in front of her face and sighing when the gem's eyes didn't follow her hand.

"I'm going to shatter it. A sightless gem isn't something Yellow Diamond isn't going to tolerate." Holly Blue Agate said, pulling out her whip.

Freshwater squeezed her eyes shut as the familiar sound of electricity ended and a shrill scream filled the air. When she opened her eyes again, it was like only a second passed. Wiping furious tears from her face, the gem gingerly bubbled the shards. Before she tapped the top of it, however, she hesitated. She had no idea where this bubble even went. She couldn't risk sending the bubbled gem away. Nodding decisively, the gem put the bubbled gem in her gemstone and emerged from the exit hole.

Turning her attention to the exit hole next to it, Freshwater felt a sense of familiarity and comfort. Yes, this was hers. She was certain of it. Stepping inside and running a hand along the markings she took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, making a mental vow to come back here. Maybe she could ask Amethyst to come with and use the alone time to apologize for how she treated her when she first got to Earth.

"This it?" Aquamarine asked boredly as Freshwater came out of the exit hole. Freshwater nodded. "Yes. I'm sure of it. If you guys want, I can stay on the ship while you guys are working on completing your mission."

Aquamarine stood and stretched. "Oh, trust me. That will not be necessary." she said, snapping her fingers. "Topaz."

Topaz nodded and stepped forward, summoning her bow and stepping forward, swinging it and grunting in surprised when Freshwater sprung backwards in shock. "Woah! What the hell are you doing?" she yelled, instinctively reaching into her gem and summoning her weapon.

"A Pearl with a Falchion blade? That's a surprise." Aquamarine said. "And to answer your question," she said, smirking as her Topaz soldier rushed towards Freshwater, "We're completing another order. Didn't tell you about it because we didn't think you'd be very fond of it." she said as Freshwater met Topaz's attack with her weapon, pushing back hard enough to throw Topaz off balance. Before the gem could re-gain her footing, Freshwater stabbed the gem through the chest.

For a moment, the Kindergarten went silent as Freshwater's eyes met Topaz's, the gems in shock as Topaz disappeared in a cloud of smoke, sending two bright orange gemstones clattering to the ground.

Freshwater was the first to recover from the shock, rushing forward to grab the gemstones. "Oh, no you don't." Aquamarine said, pulling out her weapon and freezing Freshwater in a bright forcefield of blue light as she returned her attention to the Topaz gemstones, bursting into laughter. "Wow, Topaz. I know you've been out of the fight for a while, but this is ridiculous." Aquamarine said, wiping a tear from her eye before glancing at Freshwater. "Well. If you want something done right, ya gotta do it yourself, I suppose." she said, flinging her wrist into the air and watching boredly as the gem shot towards the sky and boredly watching as the gem came crashing back down to Earth, disappearing into a cloud of smoke as soon as she hit the ground.

"Well. That's that." Aquamarine said as she stepped forward and picked up the gemstone, her heart skipping a beat when she saw it was cracked. "Fan-fucking-tastic." the gem said with a sigh as she picked up her Topaz guard's gemstones as well. "Come on, Topaz. While you're reforming, I'll get the report of the nature of the exit hole done. Then we can go get My Dad. Hopefully the Diamonds are merciful when they see our little mishap." she said, bubbling Freshwater's gemstone and tapping the top of it and sending it to the Diamonds.