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So, it turned out that Peridot is asexual. Just found out about this a few days ago.
Act 3
Chapter Six: Catch and Release
It was the day after Isaac brought down Peridot and fought Citrine. By the time he and Pearl came back from reconciling, they found that Garnet had reformed. After a long talk, Isaac and his girlfriend had to come to terms with the fused Gem, repair their friendship, and come to a new understanding with each other.
With the drama out of the way, the team was able to return to more pressing matters, like Peridot's "arm" and her "fingers." Issac brought the Crystal Gems and Steven to the table in the living room and placed the items on it.
"Ugh, what is that?" Amethyst asked as she looked down at them.
"It's Peridot's arm…I think," Isaac said as he looked down at the device that he had taken from their defeated enemy. "But the thing is completely hollowed out. I don't even think it's a part of her."
Garnet picked up one of the fingers and looked it over. It looked only like green chalk. "This is far beyond anything we had during the war," she said, setting the finger down.
"Let me see what it can do!" Steven said with excitement as he grabbed the arm.
"Wait, Steven!" Pearl was about to stop him, but there was no need to. Steven's fat hand was too big for the small hole.
"Wha? Ah, come on, hand," the young boy whined, trying to jam it inside. "Get inside!"
"Steven, please stop that," Isaac said, taking the device away from him. He then turned to his girlfriend and held it out to her. "Pearl, you have the smallest hands. You think you can fit inside?"
"I think so," the white Gem said, taking the arm device.
With great caution and hesitation, Pearl slipped her arm into the arm device. She was initially surprised by this, but then her fingers slid into the finger contact. This activated the device's "fingers" as they floated up to Pearl's arm.
"Okay, let's see what you can do," she said with a smirk. Maneuvering her fingers, she attempted to get them to form the screen. The others gathered around the screen and the white Pearl, waiting with anticipation for the device to answer their questions about the reason for the Homeworld Gems being on Earth.
However, their hopes were dashed when the device suddenly flashed red and said in a robotic voice, "Unauthorized access by unauthorized user. Prepare for data purge."
The Crystal Gems gasped in shock.
"And self-destruction."
The Crystal Gems yelled in fear. Isaac quickly pulled the device off his girlfriend's arm and ran through the tarp covering the massive hole in front of the house. He then pulled his arm back and threw it as far away as he could, sending it flying away from the beach until it exploded into a big explosion.
"Whoa…"
Entering back into the house, he saw the others standing in the middle of the living room, troubled and confused by what they should do. "So much for that," Amethyst said, picking up one of the fingers from the device. "What were we even trying to do with that thing? Oh, were we going to try and use that laser arm that she had?"
"Laser arm!" Steven yelled before making laser effects with his mouth.
"It wasn't because of the laser arm," Isaac said, walking over to the counter and leaning on it. "When we captured her, Peridot was really scared of something. She was desperate enough to get off the planet, so she was willing to team up with Citrine. She knows something! Something that's made her scared."
Amethyst punched into her palm. "Duh. Homegirl knows we're gonna beat her into a green pancake," she told the young man.
"There's something else," Isaac explained. "When you guys were captured back on the ship, she said that their main mission was to check on something called 'the Cluster.'"
"Cluster? That's new," Garnet said, crossing her arms.
"What else did she say," Pearl asked.
"That's all I got," Isaac said. "Everything that has to do with Peridot coming to Earth has to do with this Cluster, and now she desperately wants to leave the planet. It doesn't add up. That's what I was hoping to find on that device."
"Well, it looks like we won't be able to know what she was doing," Steven said, thinking that it was really over. The information and arm were lost. There was no learning about the Cluster, no learning why Peridot was originally on Earth, and no laser hand.
And for a moment, Isaac thought that, too. However, that's when a new idea popped into his head. One that would be extremely risky and one that would give them all of the answers that they could want. "Not necessarily," he said, looking at Steven and the Gems with an intense expression. "That arm thing may be destroyed, but even if it didn't, there was no way we were gonna be able to access anything that was on it. But we do have access to a treasure trove of information. Someone who knows everything that was on that thing before it blew up, and she's right in our basement." Isaac finished as he pointed to the Temple door.
Steven looked with growing understanding as a smile formed on his face. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, however, glare at Isaac in shock and anger.
"No."
"Pearl."
"You are not doing what I think you're going to do."
"Pearl, just listen to me…"
"After all the trouble that we went to just to capture the bitch, you're thinking about letting Peridot out?!" Amethyst yelled at Isaac, thinking that he had completely lost it. "Why would you do such a thing!?"
"Trust me, I get what you're saying, but any information we could've gained from that device just went out the window in an explosion," Isaac said, pointing back to the door he just ran out of to get the device out of the house. "Right now, the only person who can tell us about anything that's going on is Peridot. Besides, we have the home-field advantage."
"How so," Garnet asked, crossing her arms.
Isaac pointed at the door and moved past the women and Steven.
"Right now, Peridot is locked inside the Temple," he said. "There is only one way in or out: through the door. If she does get through the door, she'll still need to go through the rest of us. The only way she'll be getting out of here is by the warp and the front. We can block those off from her."
For a moment, the Crystal Gems looked at one another. Each one weighed the pros and cons. It wasn't a bad plan. If they blocked off all of the exits, they would bottle her in and trap Peridot. Then they would get her to talk, poof her, and get her back in a bubble. The pros were that they would get all the information that they could want about the Cluster. The cons were that Peridot would slip by and escape. Something that they couldn't allow. However, the look on Isaac's face was all they needed to know about deciding.
"Nothing we say is going to stop you, huh," Garnet asked with a smirk.
"Not in the slightest." Isaac shook his head with a smirk.
"What about me?" Steven inquired with an eager smile. "I want to help. I wasn't here when you captured Peridot, so I was left out."
Isaac looked at the Gems. They shrugged.
"All right, but remember, this is a highly dangerous Gem that we know nothing about," Isaac said, "with abilities and powers we may have never faced before. Even without those devices on our limbs, Peridot can still be a threat to us and all life on the planet."
Entering the Burning Room was like entering a sauna. It was much fuller of bubbles after Isaac sent all of his bubbles to the Temple. Luckily, his gray bubbles were easier to spot. Together, he and Steven began looking at the array of bubbled Gems.
"Where are you," Isaac said, looking through the cluttered mess floating over him. He made a mental note that the Gems and he needed to try and organize the room.
Steven looked with him, and the young hybrid spotted Peridot's gem floating a few meters above. "There we go!"
"I'll get her," Isaac said. As the older brother, he didn't want Steven to do anything so dangerous. Running up to one of the veins of the Burning Room, he started climbing up it to get to Peridot's gem.
It took a moment to get to her level. Looking out at the bubble, he took a deep breath and jumped off the vein.
"Gotcha!"
Isaac fell to the ground and landed like a superhero. Standing back up, he looked at the bubble. Steven joined him, and both of them looked at Peridot with uncertainty. Even though she was nestled in the orb, unable to hurt them, they were taking a massive gamble. Peridot was their enemy, and releasing her could put everyone in danger if she got away.
"This is a really bad idea," Isaac said, popping the bubble.
Isaac's gem glowed as soon as a pale green light began to surround the small triangular gemstone. Tossing it lightly, Isaac summoned his sword and stood in front of Steven protectively. They watched as Peridot's familiar form started to take shape around it. However, as she regenerated fully, the kids were left completely awestruck by what they saw.
"—THE CLUSTER, you insufferable half-formed traitor MEGA-CLODS!" Peridot yelled, finishing her sentence from before she was poofed and aiming her arm at Isaac. Still believing that her laser was still attached to it. However, she quickly realized her blaster was missing as she wiggled her fingers around.
Isaac looked at Peridot in shock and deformed his sword. "The fuck?"
Steven, with puppy eyes, looked at the Gem with an elated smile. "Oh my gosh... you're so…CUTE~!" he exclaimed brightly as he approached Peridot.
Isaac was almost inclined to agree, as without her lower legs and omni-purpose arms, the green Gem was, in reality, only as tall as Steven.
"My limb enhancers!" Peridot exclaimed in alarm as she stretched out her arms and legs, inspecting her whole body. She even inspected her ass for some reason. "Where are my limb enhancers?!"
Seeing that she was powerless and no longer a threat, Isaac walked up to Peridot and leaned down to look at her closer. "I don't believe it," he said, pointing to her. "You're the same woman that's been a pain in our ass for the past months?"
"Aw, you're like.. an angry little slice of pie!" Steven quipped warmly.
"Stop talking!" the green Gem shouted hotly, absolutely livid. "I demand to know what this place is and where I—" Peridot stopped short upon glancing upward, her jaw dropping in terrified shock upon seeing the countless collection of bubbled Gems right above her head. "Oh, my stars... You're going to harvest me?!"
Steven interjected fretfully. "No! I mean…" The young Gem didn't get the chance to explain when Peridot, out of panic, slapped him in the face. "Ow, that hurt!"
"... It did?" Peridot asked, glancing down at her small, fully connected fingers.
"Yeah, a lot," Steven said, frowning as he rubbed the side of his face. Peridot suddenly strikes him once again. "Ow!"
"Yes! Feel my unbridled rage!" Peridot cheered viciously, letting out a barrage of quick, relentless slaps on the young boy, until Isaac grabbed one of her hands with his larger one and pulled her up to his level.
"Hey! That's enough out of you," he yelled at her, glaring at her sternly. "If you can't keep your hands to yourself, you're going back in the—"
He cut himself off as he was suddenly victim to an unexpected slap from Peridot as well, who couldn't help but let out a small, satisfied snicker at the discovery of her newfound 'power.'
However, unlike Steven, Isaac didn't show any other reaction.
"Do that again. See what happens."
Peridot looked uncertain for a moment and raised her hand. Isaac's hand was lightning fast as he grabbed her other hand and held both of them over her head. "Hey, that's not fair!" she yelled, kicking her legs in every direction.
"Let's go," Isaac said, carrying the little Gem to the door. Steven followed with a red mark on his face.
"AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Holy shit, that's Peridot?!" Amethyst exclaimed as she rolled on the floor, pointing at the small, grumpy Gem. Her body faced Isaac, and he continued to hold her in place. Looking at him with annoyance as he presented her to the Crystal Gems in the living room.
"It's…certain answers to a lot of questions I had about Peridots," Pearl commented, looking at Peridot with a quizzical gaze.
"You never knew," Steven asked her.
"Gems never intermingled with other Gems," Pearl exclaimed, expressing the segregation that existed on Homeworld and in Gem society.
"As if I would be caught associating with a lowly servant!" Peridot yelled at her.
That certainly struck a nerve with Pearl. "Oh, you want to see what this lowly servant can do to you?!" she yelled, quickly being held back by the precognitive Garnet when she tried to lounge at Peridot, wanting to give the green Gem the beating of a lifetime. "Let me at the bitch!"
"That wasn't very nice," Steven told Peridot, looking at her with a frown. "Why are you acting like this?"
"Why?!" Peridot ranted, looking over her shoulder at him with hatred, kicking her legs around again. However, Isaac's grip didn't give up. "You smashed me into a limbless cloud! You trapped me in your bubble dungeon! And you called me...CUTE!"
"Alright, that's enough!" Isaac yelled at Peridot, letting go of her left arm and summoning his sword. "What happened wasn't their fault. None of us poofed you."
"You helped," Peridot pointed out, sending him a cross glare. "You're the reason Citrine betrayed me!"
"Teaming up with Citrine was your choice," Isaac told her. "In case you forgot, you've tried to kill us multiple times! You were a danger to the planet, and we had to stop you somehow. But that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that we want to help you. That's why we let you out!"
"...Why would you make such a miscalculation?" the green Gem asked, looking at him suspiciously.
"Because we had questions," Garnet said, letting go of Pearl after she calmed down.
"Back on the handship, you were talking to Citrine and Jasper about something called the Cluster. That's the whole reason you came to the planet," Isaac explained, revealing what he'd overheard. "And before you got poofed, you were saying that we needed you. So, start talking. What do you know about this Cluster?"
Peridot scoffed as though the answer was obvious. "What do I know? Only everything there is to know about the Cluster, you pebble!"
"Hey, watch it," Isaac snapped. "I can put you back into the bubble and throw you into the lava pit.
The green Gem gulped in fear but continued: "A-As you said, my mission is the reason why I'm on this sad rock in the first place! I was to check the progress on the Cluster! Just in and out—before it hatches. And then Citrine had to try to bring you back because you're a... general. I wasn't supposed to get stuck here! But now it's going to emerge, and nothing can stop it, and we'll all be shattered!"
Isaac raised an eyebrow at Peridot, who showed genuine fear that replaced her frustration. He looked at the others. This was bigger than they could've imagined.
"Okay, okay, wait, slow down," Steven interjected rationally, wanting more information on this apparent threat. Now, from the top: Emerging…hatching…Clusters."
Peridot paused at this, looking between the kid, Isaac, and the Crystal Gems with a rather unreadable expression. "You wanna know?"
"Yes," Steven said as Mabel nodded in insistent agreement.
"You really wanna know?"
"Yes," Isaac said, getting impatient.
Unfortunately for him and the others, however, the green Gem only succeeded in making things even worse than they already were.
"Look!" she exclaimed, pointing upwards in the hopes of diverting the Gems' attention. "Over there! Another planet to betray!"
Isaac raised an eyebrow.
Seeing that she failed in distracting him, Peridot pulled herself up to the arm that was holding her and sank her teeth into his hand.
"OW!" Isaac yelled, dropping Peridot. "Motherfucker!"
The moment Peridot hit the ground, she turned on her heel and ran off without any sort of delay. "Retreat!" she cried, scrambling over to the front door, only for Garnet and Pearl to block her path, weapons drawn and ready to attack.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Pearl exclaimed, taking a swing that Peridot only narrowly dodged as she ran on all fours up the loft stairs.
She stopped when she saw Amethyst casually waiting on Steven's bed, her whip coiled up in her hands. "Heeeey," the purple Gem greeted with a smug smile, one that had the green Gem screaming and fleeing in terror once more.
"H-hold on a second, you guys!" Steven implored his guardians as they continued chasing Peridot around the house, even as the green Gem faceplanted flat onto the floor below.
"Get her!" Garnet shouted, running after Peridot as she began to make a beeline for the bathroom.
Isaac ran at her and tried to grab her when the door shut in front of him, locking it tightly behind her.
"You may have won the war, but the battle isn't over, CRYSTAL CLODS!" Peridot laughed in her apparent 'triumph' as everyone stopped short in front of the door—the door the green Gem had effectively trapped herself behind.
"Uh… should we tell her that's the bathroom?" Pearl asked, nodding to the door.
"Eh." Amethyst shrugged.
Inside the bathroom, Peridot looked around her new surroundings. "Hmm... Seems I discovered some sort of archaic... think-chamber. Roomy, with a fresh hint of Earth citrus," she said, inspecting all of the features and opening the toilet lid. "A perfect crossroads for my escape."
Amethyst tried to turn the doorknob in vain. "Ugh, it's locked!"
"Peridot! Open the door!" Garnet commanded, pounding on it heavily before Stan stepped in to do the same, only to be met with the sound of the toilet flushing.
"Uh, bitch, if you're trying to flush yourself down the toilet, it won't work," Amethyst told the green Gem, who was in the midst of swirling in the toilet while sulking, doing just that rather lame escape attempt. "Trust me, I've tried."
"You really did," Isaac asked, looking at her in confusion. Amethyst shrugged in response.
"What she did tell us about the Cluster has me worried, Pearl mused worriedly. "If it's really as dangerous as she makes it out to be, what exactly is it…?"
"That's right, you dirt bombs!" Peridot shouted from inside the bathroom as she climbed up onto the sink. "You don't even know what's coming!—ooooo…" The green Gem trailed off, her train of thought all but abandoned as she noticed her own reflection in the mirror in front of her.
"Hmph, I'm tired of playing these games with her," Garnet said, raising her fist.
Isaac stopped her with his arm. "The last thing we want is to give her any more reason not to trust us."
"...Fine. If we can't fight her, then fine; we'll talk," Garnet huffed, knocking on the door once more. "Peridot!"
The Gem leader's sudden call was enough to startle the green Gem into slipping off the sink and onto the floor.
"Alright, no more fighting," Garnet said, trying to be as rationally calm as possible with the troublesome Gem. "Let's just have a civil conversation."
"As if I'd ever negotiate with you, you filthy war machine!" Peridot yelled viciously, instantly eliciting the Gem leader's ire.
"Ok, consider me provoked." Garnet scowled, summoning her gauntlets without a second thought. "Let's kick her butt."
"Wait!" Steven intervened as he put himself between the enraged Gem leader and the bathroom door.
"Yeah! Destroy me again, and have fun trying to talk to me when I'm in a bubble!" Peridot yelled, holding a plunger while hanging from the shower curtains. However, she quickly covered her mouth while clinging to the shower curtains, regretting what she said.
"Shit, a siege in a bathroom isn't what I thought this was gonna go," Isaac said, rubbing the back of his head.
"I know, darling," Pearl said, grasping his hand to comfort him. "I really hate to say it, but unfortunately, if she has information, she's more valuable to us like…this…But even if we do get her to come out of the bathroom…"
Amethyst crossed her arms. "She's never gonna talk to us."
"Looks like there's not much else we can do right now," Garnet said.
"We have her in our custody at least, even if the circumstances are less than optimal," Pearl said. "How important do you think this Cluster is?"
"If it has anything to do with the experiments she was conducting in the Kindergarten, then very."
"Yeah. This is going to be tricky," Isaac said, just as the bathtub faucet turned on and water was heard gushing.
"H-h-hot hot hot!" Peridot screamed, resulting in yet another noisy clatter as she broke something else.
Steven called out and said, "You have to turn the knob the other way for cold!"
Leaving the bathroom, the Crystal Gems gathered in the kitchen to discuss what they were going to do now, especially now that the bathroom was being used as a prison for their 'house guest.'
"Wait, so we're just gonna let her live in my bathroom," Steven asked.
"Well, yes," Pearl said. "What other option do we have? Keep her outside on a leash? At this, the white Gem laughed at the idea. That ended when she began to consider the idea seriously.
"But I need to use the bathroom!"
Isaac asked, "Right now?"
"Yeah, kinda," Steven said.
Amethyst scoffed. "Just go in the ocean, bro. Pssssh," she said, making ocean sounds. "Like a feeyush."
"What's with you guys and making me pee outside!?" Steven groaned in obvious frustration as he stormed off.
"Well, I have fun doing it," Amethyst said, resulting in Isaac facepalming.
When Isaac woke up in his cabin, he saw that Pearl hadn't come back home with him. Didn't surprise him, considering that their enemy was outside of the Temple doors. Warping back to the beach house, he saw that the Gems were still discussing what to do about Peridot in the kitchen. Steven was sleeping still.
Looking to the corner leading to the bathroom, Isaac sighed, walked over, knocked on the bathroom door, and said, "Peridot, can I come in? I need to get ready for the day."
"No!" Peridot hissed on the other side of the door,
Isaac sighed at her firm stance to remain barricaded inside. "I have something for you," he said, pulling out the fingers from her limb enhancer.
A brief bout of silence passed at this. The door creaked open, and Peridot glared out through the crack. Upon noticing the final remnants of her limb enhancers, however, she was completely unable to resist the ploy.
The green Gem snatched her fingers and pulled back. Isaac crossed his arms and waited until she finally allowed the hybrid inside. Allowing him to turn on the lights and see the mess she had made while exploring the bathroom. The shower curtain rod had been completely torn down, towels and toilet paper were strewn everywhere, and an entire bottle of shampoo had been dumped aimlessly out onto the floor.
Even so, Peridot had taken to curling up in the far corner of the room as the kids entered, scowling distrustfully at him while clinging tightly to her fingers.
"May I ask what you did with the arm these belong to," she asked sourly.
"Oh, right," Isaac said a bit awkwardly. "We tried to turn it on, but it self-destructed."
"Figures," Peridot grumbled.
"If you want, I can take them back," Isaac said, turning on the facet in the sink.
"No, it's too late!" the green Gem protested, holding her precious fingers. "You... wouldn't happen to have the rest?"
Splashing water onto his face, he said, "Uh, if I remember correctly…we had them destroyed. Didn't want you getting off the planet and all that."
Peridot scoffed, glaring at him. "Just you wait. I may not have my limb enhancers, but soon enough, I'll break out of here and find a way back to Homeworld before the Cluster even has a chance to emerge, and there's nothing you puny clods can do to stop me!"
"…Well, until then…" He then points to one of the toothbrushes on the floor. "Can you pass me that?"
Peridot picked up Isaac's toothbrush and eyed it suspiciously before holding it out at him threateningly. "Is this a weapon!?"
Isaac huffed, amused. "Only for cavities."
Peridot took one more look at the toothbrush before deciding this was the truth and tossing it over to Isaac.
"Thanks!" he then began brushing his teeth.
As the Gem of War began washing up and getting ready for the day ahead, the green Gem cautiously observed him. Poking relentlessly around Steven's sink.
"Is that a weapon," she asked, nodding to a clean comb on the sink.
"Nah, that's a comb Steven never used," Isaac said, beginning flossing.
Peridot climbed onto the toilet. "Is that a weapon?"
"I guess if you get it wet and roll it up," Isaac said, rolling up his towel.
Hearing of its potential ability to inflict harm and seeing him perform the steps to enact said harm, Peridot flinches in fear. Seeing her shielding herself with genuine concern, knowing that he had his work cut out for him. Especially if they wanted to get any kind of answers from the green Gem.
"Look, Peridot, I know you're scared, and I know you don't have any reason to trust me or the gems, but I'm not going to hurt you. And whatever's going on, whatever the 'Cluster' is, I wanna help," Isaac said with kindness in his voice.
Peridot was quiet upon hearing this, her expression easing up as she sat down on the toilet lid and looked away. "I doubt you can help me," she said with an apprehensive sigh. "But I… appreciate the offer."
"Good," Isaac said, wiping his face. "But just so that you know, there's a reason I was called the Gem of War in my past life."
"Huh?"
"I don't remember everything I did, but I've done a lot of bad things to a lot of Gems. I stopped when I joined Rose and the Crystal Gems. However, that doesn't mean I remain conformed to the niceties of my friends," Isaac said, looking at the green Gem with a coldness that only Citrina could rival. "So, let me make this clear: if you so much as even think about hurting my family, my brother, Steven, my girlfriend, Pearl, you don't have to worry about going back into a bubble. Because I will shatter you and scatter your particles across the cosmos."
Peridot looked at Isaac with a mixture of shock and fear, looking into his eyes. She then nodded.
"Good, glad we understand each other," he said, being friendly again. Isaac then pointed to the toilet. "Now get off. I have to use that.
Peridot raised a curious eyebrow as she glanced down at her porcelain perch. "For what?"
"Special human stuff," Isaac said.
Peridot had no idea what that meant but chalked it up to being a ritual humans do with the toilet. So, she got off and allowed Isaac access to it. Isaac opened the toilet and was about to pull down his pants when he saw the green Gem curiously looking at him.
"Uh, privacy?"
"How," Peridot asked. "I'm not gonna leave."
Isaac sighed and said, "Just…go over there and face away." He was pointing to the door.
Peridot was confused as to why it mattered for the hybrid to have privacy in such a small chamber. "Don't do anything funny," she said, walking to the door.
"Dude, if I wanted to do something, there's nothing you could have done to stop me," Isaac said. "Just don't look until I'm done."
Peridot glared at him with a grumble before facing away from him. All she heard was his pants dropping and Isaac sitting down on the toilet. Then came a fart and something dropping in the toilet water.
"Excuse me."
"What," Peridot asked, about looking back.
"No peeking!"
Peridot growled in annoyance and turned away again. Suddenly, the door rattled from angrily knocking on the other side, making Peridot yell in fright.
"Occupied!" Isaac yelled.
Garnet angrily knocked on the door again. "Open the door, Peridot!" she shouted impatiently. Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven were hanging close by her to offer their support in this interrogation. "If this 'Cluster' is putting us in danger, you need to tell us what it is so we can stop it."
Peridot, holding the doorknob on the other side, yelled, "NO! I hate you. I'm not telling you anything about the Cluster!"
"Yo, can't we just do this when I'm out of the bathroom!" Isaac yelled.
"She better not be seeing any part of you!" Pearl said from the other side, instantly becoming jealous.
"What's the matter, Pearly?" Amethyst asked slyly. "Don't you want our enemy to see how big he is?"
"AMETHYST!" Pearl and Isaac yelled, both of them blushing.
"Come on, Peridot, just tell us," Steven pleaded with the green Gem. "Is it like a big... hunk of... granola?"
"Really?" Isaac asked. "Granola's the best you could come up with?"
"...What's 'granola'," asked Peridot, obviously confused.
"I'm sure it's not granola," Pearl said, interjected rationally as she tapped on the door much more calmly, trying to butter up the green Gem. "Now, Peridot, I'm sure we can reach some sort of agreement. Perhaps a trade is in order?"
"Oh, sure, why don't you just give me back my leg enhancements and my arm attachments with my screen and my log and all my information?!" Peridot yelled sarcastically. "Oh wait, YOU DESTROYED THEM! SO NO, I DON'T THINK WE CAN REACH SOME SORT OF AGREEMENT!
The Gems collectively groaned in frustration, their ongoing efforts to get Peridot to even hint at what the Cluster might be still completely for naught.
"Yeah, not exactly proud of that anymore," Isaac said after wiping himself.
As loudmouthed and arrogant as the green Gem was, she was just as stubborn, to say the least. Unfortunately, it seemed as though she was dead set on keeping her knowledge of the Cluster and all things pertaining to it to herself, simply to frustrate her already aggravated enemies even more.
He then stood up and flushed."Okay, Peridot, you can turn around now."
After a quick hand wash, Isaac came out of the bathroom. Closing the door behind him, he grabbed Pearl and gave her a good morning kiss. "Oh!" she said, blushing.
"Why didn't you just grab her," Amethyst asked.
"He will win knows when to fight and when not to fight," Isaac said wisely.
Pearl blushed again at his words and purred when she said, "Very clever!"
"Thanks, just something I picked up from Sun Tsu…who may have picked up from me," Isaac said, adding to the complexity of his former life.
"Your life is a paradox, huh?" Garnet commented.
"It is." Isaac nodded. "It really is."
"Either way, I swear, Peridot is going to crack any second now!" Pearl said with delight as she placed her ear against the door and listened to Peridot.
"I'll never crack for the likes of you, you... CRYSTAL CLODS!" Peridot yelled before laughing manically.
Frustrated by the green Gem's stubborn resistance and petty insults, Pearl growled and raised her fist. "Oh, I've got your clods RIGHT HERE, YOU LITTLE BITCH!"
"Hold on, Pearl," Garnet sighed. "If she's not going to be of any help, let's investigate this thing on our own."
Steven quickly said, "I'll come with you!"
Garnet, however, said, "Sorry, Steven. We're gonna need you and Isaac to stay here and keep an eye on our…" She looked at the bathroom door and adjusted her visor. "...guest."
"Aw, really?" Steven asked, disappointed.
"Yeah! Make sure she doesn't try anything," Amethyst said.
"Don't worry, she's harmless without her limb enhancers," Pearl said as she and the other women of the house walked to the Warp Pad. They stepped on it when Peridot's voice yelled out again.
"I'M NOT HARMLESS!"
"Oh, HUSH UP!" Pearl countered just as harshly. She stepped off the pad and skipped to Isaac. "Please be careful with her," she said, giving him a passionate kiss before pulling away.
"We will." Isaac nodded, kissing Pearl's gemstone and making her blush, releasing her as she skipped back onto the pad.
"Oh! Steven," Garnet said in urgency, "there's one more thing I have to mention."
Steven got anxious. "What is it?"
Garnet simply smiled as she turned to face the trio briefly, forming a heart shape with her hands as a form of a fond farewell. "I love you. Bye!"
"See ya later!" Amethyst said as she and the other Gems warp away, and Steven blushed and waved.
Isaac never had any pets growing up, so when he was left to babysit Peridot, he started thinking it was the same as catsitting. She was grumpy, didn't like being touched, and would hiss and scratch at anyone who tried to come close to her. Getting into the bathroom required careful coordination so as not to startle her. And then, when they were done, Peridot would push them out and slam the door behind the boys.
Time passed by, and the sky outside the Beach House was getting dark, with thunder clouds rumbling. Isaac was sitting on the couch, on his computer, while Steven was preparing soup in the kitchen.
Steven called out to Peridot. "They left, you know," he said. "You can come out now."
"No! I-I like it in here!" Peridot adamantly said, not wanting to let her guard down, and trusted the two hybrids.
"Okay," Steven said, going back to continue preparing his soup.
Closing his laptop and setting it down, Isaac stretched his arms over his head and stood up. He looked out the window and saw heavy rain begin to pour.
"Wow, it's really coming down," Isaac said, smiling at the droplets hitting the house. A loud boom of thunder rattled across the dark, overcast skies ahead, one that startled the two boys. However, it outright scared the green Gem the most.
Peridot then kicked the bathroom door open and ran out, accidentally slamming into a wall.
"AH! IT'S HAPPENING!" Peridot cried as the thunder continued to roll on.
"What? What's happening?!" Isaac asked, alarmed by such a distressed reaction to what simply seemed to be the start of a summer storm.
"THE CLUSTER!" Peridot screamed, running to Isaac and hugging him tightly around his left leg.
"Really?!" Isaac and Steven exclaimed in surprised unison.
"What else could be making that horrible—" Before Peridot could say anything else, another banging crackle of thunder exploded, with a bright burst of lightning accompanying it. "AHHHHH!" The green Gem screamed, pressing her face into Isaac's pants out of sheer terror. She believed there was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide from the perceived onslaught of grave danger. "It's pounding on the Earth from the inside! This is it. This is THE END of the world!"
Isaac and Steven looked at their prisoner in confusion, their alarm fizzling out as they watched her cry and whimper.
"Oh, that's just thunder!" Steven chimed in with a reassuring smile.
"...What?" Peridot asked, finally glancing upwards just the slightest bit.
"He's right, Peridot," Isaac said, trying to push her away, but the gem had an iron grip on him. "Everything's fine; it's just thunder. It happens when it rains….you can let me go."
Peridot stopped holding onto his leg with all of her body, but she threaded a finger through one of his belt loops. "Uh huh?"
Isaac looked somewhat baffled that the green Gem was unfamiliar with a concept so simple. "You do know what rain is…right?"
Peridot scowled at him at first before relenting with a small sigh of anxious defeat. "I don't know anything without my screen."
The Gem of War looked at his young brother, who shrugged his shoulders. "Well, here, let's show you how it works," Steven said, comforting and warmly.
Isaac walked into the kitchen with Peridot still holding him like a lost child. Together, they watched Steven demonstrate with a cooking pot.
"Here, pretend this soup is the ocean. When the sun warms it up, water evaporates into clouds, like steam," he said, lifting the cooking pot lid, releasing steam from the inside, and closing it. "But when the clouds get really heavy, it rains."
"So, scalding liquid pours down from the sky?" Peridot asked, still not quite understanding.
"No, we don't have boiling rain. It's just water; it can't hurt you," Isaac said, turning off the stove.
"Here, why don't I just show you," Steven said, running over to the door and stepping outside the house. He then ran down to the stairs and into the rain. "Woo-hoo!"
"Steven, wait!" Peridot exclaimed in alarm, surprising Isaac as he saw the green Gem running to stand hesitantly at the doorway. "Umm uhhmmm…"
"COME ON!" Steven encouraged Peridot, laughing as he ran out onto the beach. "Look, I'm okay, it's just water! This is just something that happens on Earth! Isn't it cool?!"
He laughed and began to run around on the beach at the bottom of the stairs, which was quickly starting to turn into sloshing mud. The young boy clearly enjoyed himself; Peridot saw this even as the young boy fell into a mud puddle.
"WHOAAA! BWAH!" Steven yelled, standing up and still laughing. "YEAH! WHOOHOOOO!"
Smiling, Isaac pushed past Peridot and stepped into the rain. The downpour felt refreshing to the Gem of War. He turned to Peridot and smiled at her.
"See? Nothing to worry about," he said, tossing his arms up as he became soaked in the rain. Knowing that it wouldn't really convince the small Gem, he reached a hand out to her. "Now, your turn."
Peridot's expression tightened as she held her hands close to her.
"Nothing bad is going to come," Isaac said, smiling at her. "I promise."
Truth be told, the green Gem had no idea what to really expect from a phenomenon as strange as this so-called 'rain'. For all she knew, it could have been a possible trap set up by her captors to bring her harm in some unknown way. And yet, her captures go out with ease and confidence. Their bodies were unaffected, even with the gems they had.
The green Gem let out a shaky, shuddering breath as she slowly and cautiously reached her hand out from under the protection of the house's roof and placed it in Isaac's hand. Pulling back slightly on instinct as Isaac began to pull her into the rain.
He stopped, waiting for Peridot to let him try again. When she relaxed her muscles, Isaac pulled Peridot again, easing her out of the house.
Upon feeling a raindrop hit the back of her hand, the green Gem drew her and Isaac's hand back towards her. Rubbing her hands upon an initial inspection, there seemed to be no signs of harm to her form whatsoever. A newfound sense of curiosity overwhelmed the green Gem as Isaac withdrew his hand, allowing her to hesitantly decide to step forward just a bit, reaching out into the rain once more.
More raindrops on her skin, but Peridot didn't pull her hand back in. She then slowly steps out of the house and into the rain. A momentous step Peridot took, without her equipment to guide her, into a strange world that she didn't understand. Everything else seemed to fade into the background as Peridot let the rain fall upon her freely. Drenching her in its cool, refreshing shower. Her eyes were wide with awe as she wondered how such an event was even possible at all, much less naturally occurring.
"YEAH! YOU DID IT!" Steven excitedly yelled, breaking Peridot out of her awestruck thoughts.
Even Isaac felt a sense of joy for his enemy as if he'd done this so many times with other Gems like Peridot. "So, what do you think? Pretty cool, right?"
Peridot said nothing at first as she took it all in. This was unlike anything she had ever experienced before, and these humans were unlike any lifeforms she had ever met before.
This planet was unlike any place she had ever been before.
"Cool…" Peridot said.
The fun in the rain was short-lived when Isaac ordered everyone back inside before they caught a cold. While the blonde man and Steven dried their hair with a towel, Peridot hung close to the window, pacing around, thinking to herself. Seeing this, Isaac and Steven glanced at one another, wondering what the green Gem thought about her experience in the rain.
"That was fun, huh?" he asked, offering the green Gem an inviting smile.
"It was... something," said Peridot, turning to the human-Gem hybrids, her expression becoming serious. She did not say anything for a moment, instead seizing them up and down before peering outside at the shower. "Hmmm... Ehhh... Hmmm... Steven...Isaac?"
"Yes," Isaac asked, surprised to hear Peridot call them just by their names without any "the" preceding it.
"I'm going to say something," Peridot said, inhaling a deep breath before speaking her sincere piece. "Thank you. Both of you."
"Uhh, what for," Steven asked, confused.
"For explaining this 'rain' business to me," Peridot said.
"Oh, uh, sure. No problem," Isaac said with a kind smile.
"Yes, you're a much more intelligent creature than I initially thought," the green Gem said.
"Um, that's... good?"
"Yes, much more useful than those... clods." She cast a somewhat disdainful glare towards the warp pad, making it quite clear of her mistrust towards the Crystal Gem. "ISAAC! STEVEN! I've made up my mind."
"Does it involve you not yelling," Isaac snapped.
"What is it," Steven asked, not annoyed like Isaac.
"I've decided to share some... information with you!"
"Aww, I know you use Isaac's toothbrush." Steven laughed, waving his hand.
"N-no... Well.. yes," Peridot admitted.
"I beg your pardon?!" Isaac yelled. "Where did you use it?!"
Gritting her teeth, Peridot turned back to the curious duo in front of her before resuming her calm. "Can we please get back to what's important? I want to talk to you about…the Cluster."
Steven gasped in amazement as Isaac unfolded his arms. "You cracked!"
"I haven't cracked!" Peridot said, her voice cracking. She pointed to her gemstone. "As you can see, no cracks at all."
"Yeah, not that kind of cracked," Isaac said, placing his hands on his hips. "It means we've finally gotten to you. All we have to do is wait for the Gem to come back. They'll want to hear this."
"No!" Peridot staunchly refuted upon hearing this. "I don't want to talk to them!"
"Too fucking bad," Isaac said, throwing the towel at the couch and started walking to the warp pad.
However, Peridot jumped, wrapped her arms around his leg, and hit the ground. Becoming the dead weight that did…little to stop Isaac.
"Wait, please!" Peridot yelled while being dragged on the wooden ground. "You're the only ones I need!" This got Isaac to stop and look at her. "I can show you now, but I have nothing! My arm attachments, my fingers, my screen, my log, it's all gone! But all of my logs up to date 6-5-2 still exist, backed up in Facet Five of the Prime Kindergarten!"
Isaac looked at Steven. Going back to the Kindergarten was not a pleasant idea, especially for Isaac, who had had not one but two unpleasant adventures. The first was when Amethyst ran away and fought Pearl, not to mention the horrifying flashback he had of its true purpose. The second was going back into the Kindergarten's Control Room and finding out about the Fusion experiments.
"I don't know, uh…"
"Don't you want to know about the Cluster?"
A lengthy silence passed as Peridot proposed this in particular. The male pair exchanged something of an uncertain glance. And yet, despite their unease, Isaac and Steven still knew that this was their choice to make and their choice alone. And fortunately, they both happened to reach the same exact choice at the same exact time.
"Hmm... okay," Steven said, nodding. "We can go to Kindergarten."
"Ahhh, YES!" Peridot cheered, letting go of Isaac's leg.
"Buuuuuut…" Isaac interjected, shaking his finger. "There will be ground rules."
"No! A catch," Peridot groaned. "Fine! What are your demands?"
Isaac's hand was placed on her head. His fingers pushed back the yellow hair, which was shaped like a diamond.
"Well, first, you gotta promise you won't try any of your sneaky shenanigans," Isaac said with seriousness in his tone. With his thumb, he pushed underneath her visors and gently pressed the tip of his finger against her gemstone. "It would be a very…very bad thing if you got hurt."
Peridot's eyes were filled with fear, knowing the implications of the same warning Isaac had given her in the bathroom.
"And…"
"You're gonna have to hold my hand the whole time," Steven said, picking up where Isaac had left off and taking the green Gem's hand. Steven giggled while Isaac smirked mischievously, and Peridot groaned in annoyance.
Isaac, Steven, and Peridot, the latter two holding hands, warped to the Kindergarten. Upon arriving, they saw that the Kindergarten was just as solemn and silent as ever. Peridot's exact purpose for bringing them there and how it all connected back to the Cluster was still largely unknown, and the green Gem refused to divulge anything further until she was able to access her logs.
This meant that the two hybrids could only follow Peridot wherever she intended to lead them for now.
"This place just gets worse every time I come here," Steven said quietly, looking around nervously as they voyaged deeper into the Kindergarten.
"Tell me about it," Isaac said, feeling claustrophobic between the hollowed-out walls.
"Clearly, it's been so poorly managed," Peridot said unenthusedly. "It must have been in way better shape when you first emerged."
"...Emerged?" the young Gem asked, confused.
"Yeah, you're some kind of quartz, right?" Peridot said as they two stopped walking. "You must have been made here."
"Uh... I came from my mom and dad," Steven said.
"Are those some kind of rocks? Or another planet?"
"No, it's more complicated than that. Both Steven's father, Greg, and my father, Alan, are humans from Earth. Our mothers, Rose and Onyx, are Gems," Isaac said, showing Peridot his gem on his hand. Steven showed the one at his naval.
"You're some sort of…hybrid?" The green Gem's confusion deepened. "How is that possible?
"Okay!" Isaac cut in, flustered by the implications of the inevitably incoming discussion. "Maybe we shouldn't really get into all that right now. Or… ever."
"Nah, it's okay, Isaac," Steven smiled rather innocently. I can explain it all in a sweet little two-part story I like to call 'the Ballad of Rose and Greg.'"
"...I don't care," Peridot said, holding up an unconcerned hand. "Let's just hurry to the control room."
The three started walking again.
"You sure this is safe?" Isaac asked. "The last time I was here, there were a bunch of fusion monsters."
"Yes, I was checking their progress," Peridot said.
Isaac stopped, making Peridot bump into him. She was about to yell at him for stopping but stopped when Isaac turned to glare at her.
"Process?" he asked, an edge in his voice.
"What?" Peridot said, shrugging. "They were unfinished examples."
"Yeah, how so?"
The group finally arrived at the entrance of the Kindergarten's underground control room. Not wasting any time, Isaac grabbed the two of them and jumped into the square hole, sliding down the slope.
"When it became clear that the Earth was no longer a viable colony, Homeworld decided to use it for something else," Peridot said. "A series of experiments—a Gem geo-weapon."
"Oh, did you help," Steven asked, curious.
"Negative. I wasn't lucky enough to be around for that," Peridot said before cracking a proud grin. "But I read over a few hundred years of reports."
"Considering what we saw, consider yourself lucky you were responsible for those fused monsters," Isaac said as they finally made it to the prime control room, still as busted and broken as before. "This is where you need to be, right?"
"Yes," Peridot said as she and Steven were set down. Together, they walked across the walkway to the control center, passing the broken pillars that contained the Fusion experiments. "I'm going to have to remove this panel and do a bit of work to restore power to this room, sooo...can I have my hand back now?"
"No," Isaac said.
"OH, COME ON!" Peridot yelled. "How am I supposed to work here without my hands?"
"Which panel is it?"
"That one right there," Peridot said, pointing to the wall.
Isaac raised an eyebrow, crouched down, and pressed his hand on the slanted wall, causing a panel to pop out. He then grabbed the panel by the edges and pulled away with ease. Revealing a disjointed network of wires and cords.
"Whoa!" Peridot said in amazement.
"Alright, now you can have your hand back," Isaac said, nodding to Steven to let her go.
"Okay," he said, releasing Peridot's hand.
Peridot rubbed her fingers together. "Alright," she said, crouching down and tinkering with the wires in the wall. "This over here…"
Slowly, the control room buzzed back to light and life—not completely, however. It was still somewhat dull due to the longstanding damage.
"It's not perfect, but it'll do for now," she said, walking over to the hand-shaped pedestal resting in the center of the room. However, to her frustration, she groaned upon realizing she was too short to reach it. "Come on!"
"What's up, 'dot," Steven asked.
"I can't quite... reach the—!"
Peridot was cut off when Isaac easily grabbed her from under her armpits and picked her up. Giving her just the boost she needed to reach the pedestal.
"I had it," she said, blushing with embarrassment.
"Right," Isaac said.
The green Gem tapped on the pedestal, and it lowered to her height. Isaac then put Peridot down, and she cleared her throat. She then placed her hand on the pedestal in the center, lighting up the control room and showing a plethora of Gem Shards on the room's screens.
"These are the early attempts at artificial fusion," she explained to the human hybrids, her eyes trained on the files before her, though everyone else was largely awestruck by what they were seeing.
Steven looked around nervously. "That's a lot of Gem shards…"
"Far too many," Isaac said, unnerved. How many had he shattered in his previous life?
"We were growing them here at this very site," Peridot informed them swiftly, "but these were just prototypes for the final product."
"Which was…?"
Peridot taps on the pedestal, and the screen projects a new image: an overview of Earth, with an amorphous marker displayed around the east coast of North America.
"A singular, giant, artificial fusion. Comprised of millions of Gem shards. The Cluster."
"What...?" Isaac whispered almost inaudibly, his eyes widening in surprise and horror. "Peridot, you're saying... there's a giant, mutant Gem the size of the Earth under us right now?"
"Oh, no, when it forms, it'll be much, much bigger than the Earth. Right now, it lies dormant, incubating in the Earth's core. Still, when it emerges and takes its physical form, it will destroy the planet," Peridot said, the screen displaying the Earth expanding and shattering as the Cluster forms its physical form.
Isaac and Steven stared at it with great concern. They've faced many threats to their planet before, but this was something far beyond the normal monster of the week or Fusion experiments. This was a world-ending monster that would destroy everything and kill everyone. No one would be left alive.
"You knew about this?" Isaac asked Peridot harshly, his fists trembling with anger. He was furious at the green Gem for withholding such important intel. "All this time…all this time, you were withholding this from us?! You knew about this thing at the center of the Earth, and you weren't going to tell us?!"
"Well, what did I care?" Peridot shrugged. "It's not my planet."
"Well, you should be caring about it, you idiot!" Isaac snapped, "Because you're on this planet right now, meaning you're going to die with all of us!"
"I'm…aware of my situation," Peridot said with a tightened voice. "The prototypes are already emerging. The Cluster is next."
"How much time do we have?"
"Weeks. Days," Peridot said, unable to give the Gem of War a proper timeframe. "If we can't get off this planet, we've got to stop the Cluster."
"How?"
"I-I have an idea," Peridot said defensively. "I thought it was impossible before, but now… we have a chance!"
Steven started sweating in anxiety. "What is it," he asked, only for Peridot to grab his shoulders and grin malevolently.
"It's you and Isaac, Steven!"
By the time Isaac, Peridot, and Steven climb out of the control room, the confusion has already settled in, allowing the blonde to give his reaction finally.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Isaac yelled, being the last to climb out. "What the hell do you mean me and Steven are the earth's only chance? How are we supposed to help?"
"Well, you have all the information that we need about Earth and its erratic behavior," Peridot explained. "Put that together with my expansive knowledge of the Cluster, and we might just be able to stop it!"
"No, Peridot, I don't think you get it!" Steven interjected, grabbing the green Gem's hand to stop her. "Just because Isaac and I know how clouds work doesn't mean we know how to stop a giant mutant in the center of the earth! Besides, the only reason that I know anything about clouds and rain is because my dad told me."
"What are you talking about," Peridot asked, confused.
"I used to be really scared of thunderstorms," Steven said, "just like you. Then Dad explained how rain and all that stuff works, and I wasn't scared of the rain anymore."
"Well, I'm sure you have other knowledge about how this planet works," the green Gem scoffed, annoyed at the kids' hesitance to adopt her plan.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Isaac yelled, making the green Gem flinch. "Look, I'm older than Steven and studied the environment, but none of that is going to help us! If we want to stop this Cluster thing, we'll need help from the Crystal Gems.
"I said I don't need them!" Peridot snapped, defiant.
"Too fucking bad, because we do!" Isaac exclaimed, thoroughly frustrated with the green Gem's stubbornness. "I don't care if you like them or not, but you're going to get your head out of your ass, get your act together, and work with the Gems, because if not—"
The young man was cut off by a sudden loud screeching not too far away from them.
Frightened, Peridot hid behind Isaac. "Yikes! What was that?!" she exclaimed as the young man summoned his sword.
"Oh no! Gem mutants!" Steven gasped as a group of various misshapen and miscolored artificial fusions appeared around the warp pad and started lumbering toward them.
One of them leaped in front of them and was about to attack. Isaac, however, put an end to it by cutting it in half. Poofing the aggressive, mindless creatures.
Looking up, Isaac saw more coming out of the shadows and the destruction of the machines. It was clear he was outnumbered.
"Shit," he said, summoning a second sword. "Steven, get your bubble shield and protect Peridot!"
"Right!" Steven quickly summoned his bubble. Encasing himself and Peridot in it.
With the two of them safe, Isaac turned back to make his stand. Turning back just in time to dodge another experiment, trying to grab him before he cut it across the middle. He cut the hand off another one with his left sword and then stabbed it with his right sword. Poofing it to reveal another behind it. It grabbed Isaac and tackled him to the ground before he kicked it into the air and quickly got back up. More experiments were coming, and one of them grabbed Isaac's shirt, tearing its figurings into it as he pulled away and sliced the monster in half.
"Do something!" Peridot said, seeing their only protector being overrun.
"I am doing something!" Steven yelled as one of the experients started pounding on his bubble.
"Something useful!"
Isaac rushed over and sliced the gem monster in half, poofing it as he leaned against the bubble, panting.
"Isaac!" Steven yelled.
"Just... just stay inside!" Isaac yelled as he transformed his swords into throwing stars, throwing them at the monsters and taking out ten of them. Ten more appeared in their stead.
"That's it," Peridot gasped fearfully. "We are finished!"
"Not yet, you aren't!"
The trio collectively gasped in surprise and relief at Garnet's steadfast voice. Soon enough, the Gem leader made her appearance, slamming down on a handful of mutants with her strong gauntlets and destroying their forms.
Amethyst joined in the fight by rolling up into a spiky ball with her whip and poofing every monster in her path.
Pearl was close behind, swinging her spear at any creature in her path to Isaac. Dazzling him by dispelling their disjointed forms in graceful succession.
Determined, he got back in the fight and joined the white Gem, cutting down a group of mutants swiftly and easily.
Steven turned to the green Gem as the battle outside the bubble began wrapping itself up. "Peridot, we cannot stop this thing on the Earth on our own. We need the help of the Crystal Gems."
Peridot said nothing in response, sweating in hesitation. They were her enemies. They had hunted her down for a month. And yet, the Gem wondered, for the first time, if maybe, just maybe, he had a point after all.
"Thanks," Isaac said as the last mutants were cleared out. "I can always count on you."
"Of course," Pearl smirked, hands on her hips. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't help you out of a bind? Are you alright, though? You're not hurt too bad?"
Isaac blushed at how immensely worried she was for him while Garnet and Amethyst walked up behind them. "We're here, too," the fused Gem said.
"And we love you for that. Now, can someone tell me what in the world you were thinking?" Pearl asked harshly at Isaac and Steven as he dispelled his bubble. "Coming here, of all places, with her?!" She pointed down at Peridot.
"We didn't have a choice," Isaac protested. "It was Peridot who brought us here."
"Yes, I was," Peridot said, genuinely accepting the blame.
"Peridot?" Pearl asked, baffled.
"I thought I told you to watch her," Garnet said, the slightest bit of disappointment in her tone.
"We know, but—" Steven cut himself off as Peridot held up a hand to stop him.
"Move aside, Steven," she began, her manner stiff and somewhat hesitant. Peridot pushed Steven aside and walked up to the Gems. "... They did what they were told."
She paused, briefly looking back to the humans behind her before letting out a begrudging sigh and continuing on ahead.
"Alright, listen up, you clo—argh…Crystal Gems! I've made up my mind," she said, finally opening up to her enemies. "I have something to tell you about the Cluster."
AN: I'm sorry it's been too long, but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I hope to see you all next time.