Episode 57: Understanding
November 12th 6:30 a.m.
Warm water sprayed onto her body. Small hums left her mouth with every droplet impacting her. Opening her eyes she turned her head and stretched out her arm, reaching out for the bottle. Gripping onto it she lifted it and popped open the top before pouring the soap into her other hand. Once the required amount had been met she placed the bottle down and put the soap onto her hair.
Her fingers etched themselves into her hair. Each one scrubbed her scalp thoroughly and softly. From front to back her fingers made sure to get every inch of her hair, not missing a single spot. Soap soon encased itself onto her entire head right as she bent over, putting her head underneath the running water. Retracting her head she raised her hands and combed her hair back. A sigh exited her mouth as she turned her eyes onto another bottle next to the previous one. Taking her loofah off of the nearby hooks she poured soap from the second bottle onto the loofah and began scrubbing herself.
Washing out the remaining soap off of her loofah she placed it back onto the hook where it came from. Stretching her hand out she grabbed onto the knob and lowered it, turning the running water off. Pulling the curtains to the side she reached out for a nearby towel and wrapped it around her body. Raising a leg she stepped out of the tub and planted her foot onto the carpet before bringing out her other foot.
'Pearl. To this very day you will never understand why you insist on doing such an activity. Though it does provide you with some quiet solitude. That is one of it's interesting qualities.' Pearl thought to herself.
Drying herself off her Gemstone began to glow and in mere seconds her clothing had returned onto her body. Directing herself to the mirror she raised her hands and placed them onto her cheeks. Locking her eyes onto her reflection she sucked in some air into her nose and calmly exhaled it out of her mouth. Patting her cheeks she narrowed her eyes and nodded at her reflection.
Turning to the door she grabbed the knob and opened it up. Coming out she looked toward her right to see Steven, Greg, and Peridot sitting on the couch. They each took notice of Pearl's presence right when Steven stood up from his seat and made his way into the bathroom.
"Finally!" Peridot said, jumping up from her seat. "I was beginning to think you'd never finish."
Pearl growled at her. "For your information Peridot, I was making sure I was nice and clean."
Peridot tilted her head, "There's no reason for that. Furthermore, it also decreased our time limit."
Pearl groaned at her. Not even a single day of Peridot staying at her house and she's already making things difficult.
"Greg, can you get the van ready?" Pearl asked.
Greg nodded and picked himself up from his seat. "Sure. She'll be up in a moment." He added as he made his way outside.
"Now Peridot, I would like for you to be on your best behavior. We're going to Destiny City to gather some supplies. While we're out you're going to have to listen to me, understand?" Pearl said.
Peridot scoffed and crossed her arms. Taking orders from a Pearl was so...absurd. It should be the other way around. And accompanying her instead of conducting immediate action at Kameron's area would only waste more time. But... it would be pointless to cause discord with what was to come.
"Very well... I will...cooperate with you." Peridot replied.
Pearl nodded. "Steven. We'll be in the van. Make sure you have everything ready before you come out." She called out while going outside.
"Okay." Steven replied from the bathroom.
Peridot's expression shifted into confusion. She shook her head as she followed Pearl outside.
November 12th 8:00 a.m.
Pulling up to the store parking lot, Greg turned the van toward the nearest spot he could find. Turning off the engine both him and Pearl unbuckled themselves before getting out. Reaching for the side-door, Pearl opened it up while Peridot unbuckled herself and stepped out of the van.
Taking a good look at the store Peridot stood in place. Just several feet from her laid Stewart's Hardware, showcasing an image of a dark-skinned man wearing a hard-hat while holding a wrench in his hand.
"This is were the beings o this planet contain their equipment?" Peridot said out loud.
"Actually, this is one of several hardware stores in the city, but this one is the most famous." Pearl replied while walking up to Peridot's side.
"There are more?" Peridot questioned.
"Yes. For now, let's go in." Pearl replied as she walked ahead.
Following her, Peridot quickly crossed the street with Greg not far behind. Reaching the sidewalk Pearl walked over to a nearby cart-corral and removed one from it. Strolling it toward the entrance the front doors opened up, allowing them access inside.
Once inside Peridot let out a gasp. Within the building the area had expanded tremendously. Right in front of her eyes there were large aisles from left to right, housing many equipment in each section. The aisles themselves stretched far into the back, ending at the opposite side from where she stood.
Peridot's eyes twinkled at the sight to behold. Her lips stretched into a large grin while she cupped her cheeks. So...many...tools... So...many...ideas to initiate...
"Peridot."
The call of her name snapped her back into reality, making her release her cheeks and shake her head before turning it to Pearl and Greg.
"Don't get distracted. Remember that you need to stay with us at all times." Pearl informed.
The joy Peridot felt just seconds earlier was began to drain away at Pearl's word. Letting out a groan she began walking up to them.
With the trio together they traversed into the first aisle. Going into it they spotted large quantities of nuts and bolts on the left side and nails of various sizes on the right.
"Hmph. It's nice to see Organics can have levels of organization." Peridot said, observing the parts.
"Peridot, you shouldn't be saying things like that in public." Greg informed.
"Why?" Peridot asked.
"Because it's offensive. We're called humans, not Organics." Greg replied.
"You're the same thing." Peridot said. "You require substance to function and survive, you have body tissue, you have blood, and you rely heavily on emotion rather than logic. Therefore, you, Greg, are an Organic." She added.
"Still. Be careful with what you say to people. Treat them how you want to be treated." Greg replied.
Peridot cocked an eyebrow at him. Treat people how you want to be treated? Please, why would she lower herself to the level of these Organics?
"Moving on. A myriad of nuts, bolts, and nails are required. Further, we will need to obtain some leverage optimizers, several surface stabilizer, and a multitude of reactor cores." Peridot said out loud.
Stopping in her tracks Peridot raised both of her arms out just before her fingers started rotating. Each of them soon came to a complete stop and formed a square. In a flash two green energy beams shot out of the squares and began pulling off the packs of nuts, bolts, and nails off of the shelves.
The people around Peridot watched her actions and quickly began freaking out. Most of them ran away while others pulled out their phones and began recording her.
Turning around both Pearl and Greg took notice of Peridot's actions right when each of their eyes shot themselves out of their sockets. Releasing her hands from the cart Pearl jogged straight up to her.
"Peridot! Stop this right now!" Pearl yelled.
Peridot's fingers shifted from squares and reverted back to their original state, making the energy beams vanish in an instant.
"What's the issue?" Peridot replied.
"You can't just take the items from the store with your technology. You need to take them with your own hands." Pearl addressed. "You also need to inform me or Greg when you're going to take action."
"I'm gathering what we need." Peridot informed.
"Without our permission!" Pearl pointed out. "Now put them back and pick them out the right way."
Narrowing her eyes Peridot grumbled at Pearl. Shifting her fingers back into squares she placed every single nut, bolt, and nail back where she took them. Lowering her arms she reverted her fingers to normal and approached the shelf containing the bags of nuts and bolts. Raising her hands she pinched the bags containing the materials and gently pulled them off of the shelf.
"Will this suffice?" Peridot asked, turning her head to Pearl.
"That's progress." Pearl replied as she turned around and walked back to the cart. Grabbing the handle she turned it around and made her way up to Peridot. "Now drop them into the cart."
Doing what she was told Peridot released the bags from her fingers and watched them descend into the cart.
"Thank you." Pearl said. She then turned her attention onto the onlookers, "Everyone, I apologize for this. This is Peridot, she's new to the planet and has a lot to learn from it."
"No I don't!" Peridot scoffed.
"Peridot, please." Greg said as he walked up to her. "I know you're not very accustomed to the ways of Earth, but you''ll have to learn them so you won't stand out too much. Remember that you need to listen to us while you're here."
Rolling her eyes Peridot let out a long groan from her mouth. First she has to listen to Pearl and Greg and now she can't do anything without their consent? Ugh! The ways of Earth were starting to get complicated for her.
"Fine." Peridot replied.
November 12th 10:00 a.m.
Acquiring all of the material from the hardware store, the trio made their way back to Beach City.
Reaching the house the trio grabbed their bags and made their way up to the porch and into the house. Going inside they noticed Amethyst, Garnet, and Bismuth in the living room.
"Did you get what we needed?" Bismuth asked.
Pearl nodded. "Yes. Though I am a little concerned." She walked over to the kitchen and placed the bags down. "From the blueprints Kameron drew, are you sure it'll be stable for all of us?"
"It will be." Bismuth said. "We've almost got everything we need. All that's left is some gears."
"Green Diamond doesn't have any?" Peridot asked.
Bismuth narrowed her eyes at her and shook her head, "No, Upper-Crust, he doesn't. Which means we're gonna have to find them ourselves."
Peridot narrowed her eyes at the builder as she walked toward the kitchen. Putting her bags down she turned her body to face the rest of the Crystal Gems, "And exactly where can we find gears? On top of that, why are the Rainbow Gems occupied alongside Kameron and Steven while the rest of us begin preparations for the machine?"
"Because Green and the Rainbows have jobs while Kameron and Steven go to school." Garnet answered. "Even though we have an important objective as of now, that doesn't negate how important their objectives are as well. They must attend to them, but they will join in once they are available."
Peridot glared at Garnet as she placed her hands on her hips. What could be more important than preventing the Earth from imploding? Only four days remained and yet the preparations for their source to reach the cluster hasn't even been started yet.
"I have a suggestion." Pearl announced. "We might be able to locate some gears at the junkyard."
"The junkyard?" Amethyst questioned. "You sure about that?"
"You're one to talk." Pearl replied. "Your whole room is no different than that place."
Amethyst shrugged, "Point taken."
"Very well." Garnet said as she stood up. "Me, Pearl, Amethyst, and Peridot will locate the gears." She then looked over at Greg, "Greg. You and Bismuth bring the supplies to the location and begin it's construction."
Greg hummed with an unsure expression, "No offense, but I think that might be out of my skill set."
"I'll show you the ropes." Bismuth replied.
Peridot looked away as she crossed her arms. Once again being separated from what she needed to do.
November 12th 10:30 a.m.
Through the power of the Warp Whistle the Crystals and Peridot arrived at their destination. All around them there were various vehicles broken beyond repair, old advertisement signs with rust crawling on them, a giant boat at the dead center with broken wood and gaping holes, and a plethora of other objects.
Stepping away from the Crystals Peridot took a good look at it. Her expression was...unclear. Already a list of responses began to form in her mind at the very layout of the landscape.
"So this is where you dispose your devices that are no longer useful?" Peridot asked.
"No." Pearl replied, walking up to Peridot's side. "This is where humans dispose of devices and machinery when they are no longer functional."
"Let's split up." Garnet said. "You three go search from the left while I go to the right."
"You sure it isn't a good idea to just let the nerd go with Greg and Bismuth?" Amethyst asked.
Garnet went silent and calmly walked away. As she did the others started walking toward their direction.
Going up to a large pile Pearl took notice a massive grandfather clock. Leaning her body over she squinted her eyes to look inside and caught a glimpse of two large gears within it. Straightening her back she reached her hand out and grabbed the knob off the waist case. Opening it she reached into the waist and grabbed the first gear on the left side of the pendulum. Pulling it out she placed the gear near her Gemstone and absorbed it. Grabbing the other gear she repeated her actions and closed the case back. Once she did she took a second look at the clock and placed a finger underneath her chin.
'Though it's nonfunctional, It's design is simply beautiful.' Pearl thought to herself.
Turning around she spotted Peridot opening up the hood of an old car. Approaching her Pearl and Peridot soon blinked at what was inside. Within the old car there was a large engine, but...it wasn't rusted, decayed, or had any of it's wires broken. It was...in good condition.
"Why would anyone throw away something in this kind of state?" Peridot questioned.
"Sometimes people don't always know what they're throwing away." Pearl answered. "This would be perfect for our machine."
"Then may I remove it?" Peridot asked.
Pearl nodded.
Stepping back Peridot summoned both of her arms up. Locking them together her fingers circled themselves and formed a large square. Without delays a large green energy beam shot out of her arm and aimed itself directly onto the engine. Watching it getting encased into the beam Peridot slowly picked it up from the car. Little by little she carefully brought the engine into the air and gently lowered it down.
"WHAT'CHA DOING!"
The echoing roar that entered Peridot's ear made her shriek and caused her to deactivate her energy beam. With it no longer holding up the engine it started to fall and crash right into the ground, breaking into pieces upon impact.
Small mumbles exited Peridot's mouth as she approached the destroyed engine. Falling onto her knees she scooped up most of the parts while her eyes started shaking.
Pearl covered her mouth at the destruction of the engine. Her eyes soon narrowed as she turned her head to see the one responsible for it. Right behind Peridot was none other than Amethyst.
"Amethyst. We could've used that engine. Why did you do that?" Pearl said firmly.
Looking over Peridot's shoulder Amethyst observed the now broken engine. She then shrugged, "No big deal. We'll just find another one."
Dropping the parts on the ground Peridot raised herself back up. Turning around she glared at Amethyst. Her hands began to ball themselves as she gritted her teeth.
"You... You... You... You...stupid defective clod!" Peridot said angerly.
Amethyst's visible eye widened at her words. It then narrowed as she growled at the Home-World Gem. "What did you just say?"
"Have you forgotten what is at stake here?! Have you forgotten what it is that we're doing?!" Peridot yelled. "Because of you more time is going to be wasted on our progress! I guess I can't expect much from a defect."
Without a second thought Amethyst leaped into the air, tackling Peridot to the ground. Raising her right arm she thrusted it forward, impacting Peridot's cheek. Pulling it back she brought up her left arm and threw it at her Peridot's other cheek. Back and forth she continuously barraged Peridot's face with each punch hitting her harder than the last.
Pearl was frozen in place, watching the violence taking place in front of her. Shaking her head she rushed up to the two and quickly pushed Amethyst off of Peridot. Seeing Amethyst crash into the ground Pearl took hold of Peridot's arm and helped her up.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Amethyst yelled.
"What are you doing?!" Pearl yelled back.
"Giving this nerd a taste of her own medicine!" Amethyst yelled. "I am so sick of her! She said I was born wrong!"
Pearl looked at Peridot and then back at Amethyst. A small groan exited her mouth as she raised her hand to her Gemstone. From her Gemstone a small bag of disinfected wipes came out and were placed into her hand.
"Peridot. Take off your visor." Pearl asked calmly.
Without a response Peridot lifted her hands and removed her visor from her eyes. Taking a wipe Pearl gently placed it onto her cheek, making Peridot wince at the contact until it started to soften.
"Remember what Greg said about treating others how you want to be treated?" Pearl asked gently.
Peridot slowly nodded.
"This is the consequences of those who don't follow that path." Pearl said gently. "See this as an example to never do it again."
Peridot adverted her eyes for a moment before turning them back to Pearl, "Why are you helping me?"
"Because it's the right thing to do." Pearl replied simply. She then turned herself to face Peridot and placed both of her hands onto her cheeks. "When someone gets hurt, you help them. When someone needs help, you help them. When someone hurts you, don't hurt them back. Words can hurt others just as much as physical pain can."
Peridot blinked at her. These words... Her kindness... What she's saying to her... It was so...strange. Yet...comforting.
"I don't understand." Peridot said in confusion.
Turning her body Pearl moved over to Peridot's side and took her hand. Stepping forward Peridot started following her as they approached Amethyst.
"Apologize to Amethyst." Pearl replied softly, but firmly.
Putting her visor back on Peridot looked at the Quartz. Normally...a Quartz would apologize to her for their actions. Now...it's the other way around. One of the many aspects of Earth she's not very use to. Sucking in some air she exhaled it out of her mouth.
"I... I'm sorry." Peridot said almost timidly.
Amethyst huffed and crossed her arms. She adverted her visible eye away from the technician. Closing her visible eye for a brief moment she reopened it and looked back at Peridot.
"A simply apology isn't gonna make this go away." Amethyst said solemnly. "I want you to apologize to Steven and Kameron too."
"Okay." Peridot replied softly.
Amethyst nodded and walked away.
"She didn't forgive me." Peridot pointed out.
"True. But she may if you remain on our good side." Pearl replied. "For now, let us continue finding any more gears."
Peridot nodded as Pearl released her hand.
Turning around they both spotted another vehicle and walked toward it.
End Of Episode 57.
Next Time:
Perspectives