"Seems quiet, doesn't it?"

Connie and Steven walked along the base of a hill in search of any sign of Peridot. They'd been looking for half an hour now with no sign of her, but Pearl hadn't wanted to give up so soon. Diamond had put himself on top of one of the stone table structures to wait while Pearl his nearby.

"Yeah, it does," Steven replied, narrowing his eyes conspiratorially. "Maybe too quiet..."

"Cut that out," Connie said with a giggle. "We need to stay focused. Peridot could appear at any second."

Both paused for a moment, glancing about, then relaxed. "That usually works," Steven said as they moved on.

Meanwhile, at the ruins, Pearl crouched behind a stone tablet, spear at the ready as she glanced about. A bird chirped and she whirled toward the sound.

"Relax, Pearls," Diamond said from above. "I doubt she'll whistle when she arrives."

"I know," she responded, sliding down to sit at the base of the structure. "It's just that we've been chasing her for months now. She always barely escapes."

"Well, she won't get away this time," he said. "Not with us working together again."

"We always were an unbeatable team," Pearl smiled. "Even when we weren't fuzed... I've missed that. Being us, I mean."

"Yeah," Diamond agreed. "I've missed it too."

"I really hope she shows up tonight."

They heard steps on grass and both turned towards it, weapons ready.

"It's just us," Steven called, and the Gems relaxed.

"Nothing so far," Connie reported. "We went around the area three times."

"Alright, take a break," Pearl said. "But be ready." The kids nodded and walked off. "How long do you think we should wait?"

"A few more hours, at least,"Diamond replied. "We can send the kids home sooner if you want."

"Connie has a curfew, so that's probably..." She stopped talking as a faint green glow caught her eye. Diamond noticed too, and hopped to a closer table for a better look.

Peridot hobbled up the road slowly, her data terminal hovering before her. She seemed to be favoring her left leg, which confused Diamond until he remembered Garnet's description of the battle in the old Gemship. She looked like she had a fake one hastily attached to get around. He grinned and slunk back.

"It's her," he whispered, and Pearl stood. "She's still a few minutes away and hobbling slowly. I'll get the kids and have them circle behind her. When she's closer, leap out and get her attention. If she tries to fly I'll get her from above. Dogpile and restrain, got it?"

"Got it," Pearl replied, then moved off. Diamond leapt over to where the kids were talking quietly to each other.

"Steven, Connie, time for action."

"Alright, action!"

"Where do you need us," Connie asked as Steven fist pumped. Diamond repeated the plan and they all set off.

Meanwhile, Peridot had remained unaware, and was talking into her logs. Her voice was weary, seeming even to her to be strained from lots of hard travel.

"All old gem nodes in this area are non functional, and with my own extensive damage, I am unable to effect repairs. I can no longer use the teleport pads due to them being compromised. The Crustal Clods have figured out a way to track my movements through the teleport system, resulting in a further hindrance of progress." She sighed sadly and hung her head. "I just want to go home at this point, and hope that the data I've collected so far is sufficient for Yellow Diamond. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that the home world may have written off this world completely by now, and doesn't feel the need to bother with a rescue. Perhaps they assume I'm already dead... It would make sense. What would be the point of sending a rescue ship for one Gem on an abandoned world..."

"You know, this world isn't abandoned." Pearl stepped out from behind a tablet and pointed her spear at Peridot.

"Yeah," Steven yelled as he leapt from hiding, sword and shield ready. Connie leapt out from the other side of the path. "It's fully populated!"

"By us," Connie added.

"Aww geeze," Peridot said, closing down her log. "Not again!" She raised her hand and turned her fingers into rotor blades,spinning them until she lifted off the ground quickly. "I've had just about enough of you!" She gained no more altitude though. Diamond leapt off the Hinge and tackled her to the ground. The impact broke off the faux leg and she tumbled. They rolled until he was on top, her hand pinned by his and a brilliant curved blade at her throat.

"How about now," he asked. She looked up at him in surprise, finding herself straddled by one Gem, and surrounded by another Gem, the half breed, and a human. All had weapons. All were directed at her. Her eyes briefly took it all in, then she slumped with a groan.

"That's it, I'm done. I give up. Poof me and take me away..."

Steven, Connie, and Pearl exchanged glances. "Just like that," Pearl asked. "No threatening us to let you go? No promises of revenge?"

"I've got one good leg and a strong sense of abandonment," Peridot replied wearily. "I'm not gonna run anymore. Not that I could."

The Crystal Gems all looked at one another, then at Peridot. "How do we know this isn't a trick," Diamond asked.

"Uh, hello? I'm surrounded and outgunned. Even if I did have thoughts of escape, how far could I get? I'm not stupid."

"Well, if you're going to surrender willingly, the least we could do is give you back your leg," Steven said.

"Steven," pearl exclaimed. "Then she could escape easier!"

"Not if she promised not to."

"And you'd just believe her if she did?"

Steven frowned, then kneeled next to Peridot. "If we give you back your leg, do you promise not to run away?"

Peridot gaped at him. "How are you the dominant species on this planet with that kind of trust in your enemies?"

"Do we have a deal?"

"Seriously, how did you not destroy yourselves yet?"

"Deal?"

Peridot looked at the others, who watched expectantly. She sighed again and nodded. "Deal."

"Let her up, Diamond."

"Diamond," Peridot asked confused.

"You sure about this, Steven? She is still the enemy."

"I don't think so anymore," the boy replied. "Something tells me she's not against us."

Diamond slowly stood and stepped away from Peridot, who propped herself up on one arm, rubbing her head with the other. "I seriously don't know how humans have survived this long."

"Not all humans are as trusting as Steven," Connie said, then pointed her blade at Peridot. "So know that if you do go back on your word, I will hunt you down myself. I don't share his outlook on people who've tried to take over our planet." The words were spoken with such conviction that all the green gem could do was nod. A hand came into her view, and she looked over to see Steven holding his out to help her up, a friendly smile on his face. Hesitantly, she took it and was pulled into a standing position. He then put his arm around her to steady her.

"Come on. As a show of good faith, I'll help you to the teleport pad."

She stared down at him, then looked away, mumbling some thanks. As they began to move off with Connie following closely, Peridot looked back at Diamond, as if trying to puzzle him out. Following at a distance, the siblings regarded their young comrades.

"You were right," Pearl said. "Those kids surprised me."

"Young knights indeed," Diamond said. "You'd better go back first. Tell Garnet and Amethyst to expect company."

"You'll be alright with them?"

"We'll be fine. Steven's right. She won't give us any trouble."

Peridot shortly found herself in the not too comfy clutches of Garnet while Steven retrieved her leg. It had been an uneventful return, and true to her word, Peridot behaved herself.

Garnet glared at her while holding her cowering form at arms length. "I should shatter you right now for what you've done." Peridot flinched, and Garnet brought her closer slowly. "Forcing shards to fuze without permission. You've violated something more sacred than you could ever realize. It's unforgivable! It's horrendous! Did you even stick around to see what they became?" They were eye to visor now, and Garnet's voice took on a dark, icy tone. "Would you like to find out... personally?"

"Whoa! Garnet! Chill out!" Amethyst somehow wedged herself between the two, forcing them apart, and Peridot fell to the floor hard. The big Gem turned her furious gaze on her companion, but Amethyst held her ground. "She's Steven's prisoner, and he said to not hurt her! She's not going to go anywhere."

Garnet glared down at the purple Gem, then stomped out the door.

"Wow," Pearl said as she helped Peridot to the couch. "When did you get so responsible?"

"Found it," Steven yelled as he and Connie ran into the room holding the missing foot over his head.

"I'm not," Amethyst replied as Peridot started to reattach the foot. "I just think it's Steven's call is all. He trusts her, so why shouldn't we?"

"I could think of a few reasons," Pearl muttered. "But you are right. She made a promise to Steven, and she doesn't seem to be the lying type."

"I'm sitting right here, you know," Peridot complained. "For being the supposed 'good guys', you're pretty rude."

"Eh, don't worry about them," Steven said. "As long as you keep your promise, they won't do anything."

"I'm a Gem of my word," Peridot replied. "I'm not gonna make trouble." Everyone was silent for a bit as she finished fixing herself. "There. Good as new."

"Now that you're back together," Diamond said, "we have some questions."

"Wait, answering questions wasn't part of the deal!"

"I am altering the deal," he replied menacingly. "Pray I don't alter it any further." Peridot nodded weakly. Diamond looked back at Steven and Connie and winked. They both giggled. "What was you mission?"

"This deal is getting worse all the time," Peridot muttered as she leaned back against the couch. "I was sent here to check on a private project under the observation of Yellow Diamond. The project has been underway for several millennia now, and I was to gauge it's progress. Afterward I was to report my findings and await instructions."

"I assume you completed your tasks," Diamond stated.

"All but the last," Peridot replied. "I had planned to use the old systems in the Gem ship to complete my mission. Of course, you showed up and put an end to all that."

"What about after," Amethyst asked.

"My mission being complete enough to call it a partial success, I tried to call for a rescue. I assume you were responsible for that being stopped too." Pearl looked away sadly, remembering the fiasco that had caused. "After that I hid for a while and thought up a plan to get you out of the way so I could await extraction. The weeks that followed... Well, I didn't get anything of value done." Her expression changed, and she stared into her lap. "I was depressed and angry... and just tired of being here. Eventually, I would have just stopped trying. That's when you caught me. And here we are."

"What was the project you were looking in on," Steven asked.

Peridot hesitated for an instant, but sighed reluctantly. "It's called Project Cluster. I don't know the details of what it does, but up until now it's been in its growth stage."

"And it's progress?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's for Yellow Diamond only," Peridot replied, shooting the boy a look. "It's her project, and no one but a diamond can hear that information. Even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn't. It's sealed. Only a diamond can open the file."

"And you just happen to not remember what you found," Pearl scoffed.

"I wasn't sent to remember. The data wasn't anything to me, I simply recorded it."

"Then we're in luck," Garnet said, re-entering the house and putting a hand on Diamond's shoulder. "We have a diamond gem right here."

The green and yellow gem blinked, looking up at the male standing over her. Slowly a look of recognition came over her and she kept to her feet. "You mean… y-you're…"

"Pure Diamond," he said with a bow. "Renegade and traitor to the Diamond council and defender of the Planet Earth. At your service."

Authors Note: I am so sorry this took so long. I thought I'd posted it months ago. I promise the next one won't be so long in between.