-Two Months Later-

Peridot tapped at the dashboard inside her pod, groaning in irritance. Her vehicle was nearly out of fuel, and she was still about one hundred miles from Earth.

"What kind of CLOD builds such a fuel deficient vehicle?!" She shouted in frustration, pulling her hands through her hair, a few strands falling out of their place. She huffed and switched off the lights, the pod dark except for the dim green glow of the touchscreen dashboard, and from the stars outside the vehicle. She leaned against the wall and stared out the window in boredom, muttering angrily under her breath. She did not need her mission delayed.

With hardly even an ounce of fuel left, Peridot entered Earth's orbit, circling through the sky, looking for a discreet place to land her pod.

"What sad, miserable creatures.." She thought bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest. "However intriguing they may be..." She studied the land more closely as her fuel level dropped, a pink glint of light striking her eyes and catching her attention. She blinked and squinted, wondering what had caused it. She took a closer look, zooming in her binoculars, shocked at what she saw.

Julianna.

"How is she still alive?!" She exclaimed in horror. "The explosion broke her gem! I found the pieces- SHE SHOULD BE DEAD! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"

The pod beeped and whirred, all the lights shutting off, plummeting into the cornfield down below.

Julianna stood by the shoreline with Amethyst, scanning the area for the bracelet she'd dropped.

"Are you sure it's out here, Amethyst?" She asked. "I don't see it.." She bent down to get a closer look, not seeing the pod pass through the air above her.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I had it on when I was out here earlier, and then it went missing."

"Ah. Here it is." She picked it up from the water and brushed the sand off, clasping it back around Amethyst's wrist.

"Thanks... Sorry I lost it." She blushed at the brief contact of her hand.

"It's fine." Julianna responded. "It happens."

"I know, but it's special... Since you gave it to me.." She smiled a little, hugging her gently.

Julianna blushed faintly, wrapping her arms around her waist. "It's just a bracelet, Amethyst. Don't beat yourself up over it."

A thin billow of smoke rose from Peridot's pod as it lay smashed among the corn stalks.

"AARGH!" She screamed in irritation. "You've got to be kidding me!" She kicked the machine, a soft metallic clang resounding as her foot enhancer came into contact with the side of the vehicle. "CLODS!" The machine then burst into flame, making her scream and jump back. The flames spread towards the crops, and she panicked.

"SHIT! NO NO NO NO NO!" She ran into the burning pod and hastily wrestled the fire extinguisher from its place on the wall, spraying it all over the area. She had surely attracted some attention.

The Crystal Gems were gathered in the living room, as usual for a night with no gem monsters. Amethyst, Steven, and Julianna sat on the couch closest to the window with Steven in the middle, who was unaware of his third wheeling.

Pearl and Garnet were curled up in their usual position, their arms wrapped around each other, hands intertwined in front of them. They were mostly quiet, not much needing to be said, just staring up into each other's eyes.

Steven turned and stared out the window, an orange glow in the distance catching his eye. "Um, guys, I think there's something wrong.." He turned to look at them, a worried expression on his face.

Amethyst glanced out the window. "Um, yeah... That's definitely fire, you guys."

The gems had made their way to the field, smoke twirling into the air and clouding the ground, hazing their view. A shadowy figure stumbled out of the stalks, and the Crystal Gems readied their weapons.

"Peridot." Garnet glared at the triangular headed figure, seething with anger.

Peridot cried out in surprise, the smoke clearing, displaying the figures standing before her, her eyes widening upon seeing Julianna. She stared at her in bewilderment, old, deeply buried feelings stirring up. She wanted her. Badly. And she'd do almost anything to get her back.

Peridot stopped herself mid thought. Julianna was supposed to be dead, not fighting with traitors! "Wha- Julianna- You-You're not supposed to be with- these CLODS!" She shouted, clenching her fists.

"And why not?" Garnet challenged. "Because we don't mistreat her?"

"Because you're all traitors!"

"Julianna's on our side now, Peridot. You can't hurt her any longer. Give up."

"I'll never surrender to you clods!" She changed her tone of voice, looking her past lover straight in the eye. "Come on, Julianna... Come back on the right side."

Julianna stood frozen, all eyes on her. Her heart pounded erratically, and she squeezed her eyes shut, caving to tears under the tension. She didn't want to hurt Peridot, but she couldn't betray her team either, especially not Amethyst.

"It's okay, Julianna." Amethyst murmured. "You don't have to fight her. We can take her. Just go."

She nodded and slowly turned away, wanting to run, but trying to maintain what little dignity she had left. As soon as she was out of earshot she broke down and let her tears fall, not making any effort to brush them away, or unblur her vision. She somehow made her way to the temple, but didn't go inside, not wanting to be reminded of how alone she truly was.

The gems stood silently in their positions for battle, watching Julianna go. Their grip on their weapons tightened. Peridot would have no chance at victory, but her pride kept her planted firmly on the ground.

"How could you do that to her, Peridot?!" Garnet demanded. Love was an especially important thing for her, and this made her absolutely furious. "She doesn't deserve that."

Peridot simply laughed, not even the slightest etch of remorse in her wicked expression. "And who are you to judge? You're just a traitor." The fingers of her limb enhancers began to spin. "Now, while I'd love to stay and chat, I have business to attend to. So long, Crystal Clods!" She extended her arm and rose into the air, her laughter echoing long after she'd disappeared from view.

"So... What now?" Steven asked moments later, breaking the silence.

"We have to find Julianna. Make sure she-" Garnet paused for a moment, rethinking her word choices. "Make sure she's okay. That's our first priority. Then we have to check the Kindergarten. Amethyst, bring Steven home and get him to bed. It's after midnight. Pearl and I will look around the city for Julianna."

"I can help!" Steven protested. "I'm not that tired..."

"You need your rest, Steven." Pearl insisted. "Tomorrow morning if we haven't found her, you can help us look, okay?"

"Alright.. Goodnight guys." He degenerated his shield and followed Amethyst toward the house.

After she was sure the Crystal Gems had gone, Peridot returned to her ship, plans racing through her head. She had to talk to Julianna- but how? There was no way that the Crystal Gems would let her out- not without one of them hovering over the conversation. She'd made a mistake all those thousands of years ago, and she'd just now realized how bad it had truly been. And now, seeing her with them... She was even more determined to get her back.

She dug through the contents of the spaceship, green lips turning upward in a smirk as she found what she needed. An empty black bag; similar in shape to a potato sack; silver tape, and a length of thick rope. She set the items aside, pulling up her tablet and summoning two robonoids.

There was work to be done.