It had been several days since the Robolympics and things had been going fairly well since then. They had made plenty of headway on the drill. It was half way done infact. Not only was the drill doing well but things were peaceful between the once adversaries.

Although Vegeta still didn't seem fond of Peridot, much of the original hostilities between she and the Z fighters had dissipated.

That didn't mean that she enjoyed them all the time. The Goku still was an annoyance. His chipper attitude may not be a facade, but it was nonetheless confusing and more and more he seemed to feel the need to be around her. Like now for instance. "Hey Peri!" Goku called as he and Steven flew down to the barn on the flying nimbus, "How's it going?"

"My name is Peridot!" she grumbled as they landed.

"I know. It's a nickname!" Goku explained.

"Well stop calling me that!" she snapped.

"Ok," he chirped. Peridot eyes narrowed at him.

"So how is the drill coming along?" Steven asked.

"Pretty well actually," Bulma said walking up to them, "We still need to build the drill head though. That's gonna be a pain."

"Why not just use a drill head from the Kindergarten?" Peridot suggested.

"Kindergarten?" Bulma asked in confusion but Steven's eyes lit up.

"That's an awesome idea, Peridot!" Steven exclaimed. "Come on, let's head over there right now!" Steven said, grabbing her arm.

"Hold on!" Goku said, "You guys can't go alone. There still might be some gem mutants there and neither of you can fly out of there if you get in trouble. You'll have to get Vegeta or Piccolo to go with you."

"I assume this kindergarten you're talking about is different from what I'm thinking of…" Bulma thought aloud, "But if it really is that dangerous then we have a problem. Both vegeta and Piccolo are gone."

"Why?" Goku asked.

"They had to head out on a mission thirty minutes ago. Piccolo sensed some monster attack," she explained, "I have no idea where they are or when they'll be back, and we can't continue until we have the drill head."

"That's ok! Goku can take us," Steven said.

Goku perked up at that. "Um well…" he started, scratching the back of his head.

Steven frowned. "Is there something wrong?" Steven asked.

"If there is, we need to fix it quick," Peridot stated, "The cluster could emerge at any time. Every minute counts."

Goku bit his lip before sighing and smiling. "Well, we better hurry then," he said, "Let's go get that drill!" With that he pulled them all back onto the nimbus and headed towards the temple.

….

"How's it going up there?" Steven asked as Peridot took messed with the ancient gem drill.

"It's fine!" she waved him off.

"Why's it taking so long?" Goku asked, "Can't we just tear it off?"

"I told you already you can't just tear it off! If the release mechanisms aren't properly triggered then irripareble damage can occur on the connectors, rendering it useless!" she snapped.

"Alright…" he muttered. Steven noticed as the Saiyan looked around nerviously and bit his lip.

"Hey Goku, are you alright?" he asked, "Are you worried about the gem mutants?"

"No, that's not it Steven," he explained, "I just really don't like this place. I never have. It gives me the creeps."

Peridot scoffed. "Oh please!" she said, "I'll believe you aren't as serious minded as other Saiyans but you'd have to be crazy to think I'd believe you're actually scared of this place!"

Goku and Steven both looked at her in confusion. "Why?" Steven asked.

"Well he's a Saiyan!" she stated as if it were obvious, gesturing to him, "They were the greatest soldiers of their time! Powerful, resiliant, and completely fearless!"

Goku scratched the back of his head and scrunched his shoulders from her flattery. "Well, I appreciate your kind words, but I wouldn't say I'm fearless!" he said, "Neither is Vegeta, but he's better at pretending he is."

"Yeah, right. Next you'll tell me the Namekian dyes himself green!" she said with a snort, "Though among all the other absurd things I've seen around you three, I might just believe it!"

Goku chuckled slightly. "That would be pretty silly. Imagine if he were bright yellow like a banana slug!" he said, "The only thing funnier that I could imagine is if I caught him eating a whole ham!"

Peridot started laughing. "I've already seen funnier things around you three!" she retorted, "Take the Vegeta for instance. He's Saiyan elite correct? And yet he's constantly taking orders from the Namekian and the human Bulma! The Namekian I can understand, but the Bulma? Isn't he constantly saying how much he detests humans?"

Goku continued to laugh. "Oh you have no idea how much Bulma has him wrapped around her finger," he stated, "looking back, it's hard to believe how much he hated her at first!"

"She can barely lift an engine shell and yet she has a Saiyan elite at her beck and call!" Peridot chortled, "Either the universe must be ending, or I'm cracked!"

Goku's laughter died down and Steven frowned. "Ok, Peridot, I think that's enough of that," he said lightly.

She however did not stop. "But the funniest thing of all is you, Goku!" she cried, still smiling.

Steven and Goku's eyes widened with concern. "Huh?" he said, "What do you mean?"

"You're such an anomaly. You look like a Saiyan and are strong and tough like one too," she said, "but you don't act like one at all! You aren't angry or blood thirsty, or the least bit sadistic! Infact, I don't know if you have one ounce of cruelty in your body! It's ridiculous. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were some kind of subspecies! It's quite funny, really!"

"No, it's not!" Goku said, slamming a fist against the side of the broken injector. There was a beep and a hiss as the drill head released from the injector. Peridot looked at the Saiyan with wide, fearful eyes as he glared back at her. "We're leaving. Now," he said stoically as he went to pick up the drill head, "Come on."

The two trailed after him tentatively, keeping several paces behind the tall Saiyan.

…

When they returned, Peridot ran for the barn as fast as she could. Her speedy escape alerted Bulma to their return. "Hey you guys!" she called, "Did you get the...Woah...What happened?"

"Peridot touched a nerve," Goku explained tartly before setting the drill down and walking away.

Steven and Bulma watched with concern as he walked away.

"Seriously, what the heck happened?" Bulma asked.

"Goku and Peridot were joking around, but then Peridot started talking about how he apparently isn't like other Saiyans, that he wasn't normal, and he got really upset," he explained nervously.

A look of realization dawned on Bulma's face. "Yeah...that'll do it," she sighed. "Don't worry. He'll be fine in a little bit."

"Alright…" he said, "Hey Bulma...why did Peridot say it was normal for Saiyans to be cruel and sadistic? I know Vegeta has anger issues, but…"

Bulma sighed. Piccolo had mentioned this little issue, but she didn't think she'd have to deal with it. "It's called a stereotype, Steven," she lied, "It may not be true but that doesn't stop people from believing it."

Steven nodded, though he didn't feel much better. He still had a lot of questions on his mind among other things. He knew what he had to do first though: talk to Peridot.

…

"Peridot?" Steven called as he searched for the gem in the barn. He looked between the different piles of plane parts and materials. "Peridot, please come out! I know you're here!" he called.

"No! I'm never coming out of here again! Leave me be!" she shrieked.

Steven pushed aside some sheet metal and found her curled up with her recorder. "Peridot, what are you doing?" Steven asked.

"Preparing to record my last log…" she lamented, "It's only a matter of time before he finds me!"

"Who finds you?" Steven asked.

"Goku of course!" she exclaimed, "I messed up...I don't know how but I did. Did you not see how furious he was?! I've never seen him angry! It's only a matter of time before he comes here to shatter me!"

"Goku's not going to shatter you," Steven assured, "You hurt his feelings but he's not going to attack you for it."

"How do you know that?!" she cried.

"Because Goku isn't like that. You said it yourself," he explained, "I think if you just go and apologize to him, he'll forgive you."

"Yeah right…" Peridot grumbled.

"Come, on Peridot! Just trust me!" Steven pleaded.

She looked over to him before frowning, "Grr….fine but we do it my way alright?" she said.

….

Peridot sat curled in her corner waiting. She had sent Steven to play her recording to the angry Saiyan. It had been almost an hour. She didn't know how long she would last without her log to keep her company, but she didn't want to step outside. Suddenly, the sheet metal above her shifted. She flinched as the light poured down on her. Peridot tentatively looked up to see the tall Saiyan staring down at her. Peridot backed up in fear, despite the calm smile on his face. "Hey, Peridot," he quipped, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I-I…" she squeaked.

"By the way," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Thanks for apologizing. I really appreciate it."

"Y-You're not angry?" she asked.

"Not anymore…" he said, before his smile fell, though his face was still calm, "Though I would appreciate it if you wouldn't talk about other Saiyans, at least around Steven, ok? "

"Alright…" she responded, slightly confused.

Goku's smile returned again. "Thanks, Peridot!" he said, patting her on the back, "Now, do you and Bulma need any help with the drill?"

"Um...No. Not now anyways," she said.

"Ok then," he said, "Let me know if you do. See ya later." He then flew out of the room. Peridot watched him fly away, feeling relieved and a little happy, though she couldn't tell why.