Barn:Evening…

Peridot dashed forward and tackled Pearl's robot, forcing her back. The taller bot managed to stay on its wheels before slamming its fists into the top of the smaller bot. The two then locked hands and started wrestling. Peridot's robot picked up and threw Pearl's.

"Pearl!" Steven cried out.

"It's alright!" Pearl declared firmly. "I've got this!"

"Be careful!" Steven yelled.

"Good luck!" Jason shouted.

"Kick her in the butt!" Lapis declared.

"It's kick her butt, Lapis!" Amethyst corrected.

Peridot rushed Pearl, attempting to attack while she was down. The white gem managed to turn her bot around and block the green gem, forcing the two of them to lock hands once more.

"This is pointless! There's no way you're going to beat me!" Peridot exclaimed. "You're an accessory! Somebody's shiny toy! Where do you get off acting like your own gem!?" Peridot had her robot rip off one of the opposing robot's arms. "You're just a pearl!"

Pearl grimaced as every time she heard those words, they were a painful reminder. The white Gem knew her kind had only ever been house slaves, at least according to Homeworld's standards. Pearl herself had lived her whole life in the service of others.

That service may have continued beyond Homeworld, but it was because it was her choice to serve. On Homeworld, she's property. On Earth, Pearl had shown she could think and feel for herself. She could take pride in who she was, what she did, and what she had.

"You know what, I am a pearl!" Pearl shouted as she decked Peridot, giving her free reign to get up. "What you're saying may be true, but it doesn't matter. In the grand scheme of things, I've done more than you clearly ever dreamed of.

I fought in a war for my independence and lived to tell the tale." Peridot yelled and charged her, only for Pearl to swing her severed arm at the opposing robot's side. "You may see this world as nothing more than a rock, but this place has only made me stronger."

Pearl's robot kicked Peridot's, knocking her flat on her back. The green gem was quick to get up and growl at Pearl before charging. Pearl saw this coming and dropped her severed arm. Piloting her mech to side-step Peridot's, she grabbed the other robot's left arm.

"This world changed me for the better." Pearl declared, using a combination of momentum and her machine's strength to rip it off.

Gasping, Peridot looked at her severed limb. "H-How?! Y-You're nothing!"

"You say I'm nothing, but you're wrong." Pearl yelled, throwing the arm at Peridot. "I serve this planet because I decide to." Pearl's robot punched Peridot's. "I learned I can be more than I was made for, and I'm learning more about what I can do every day."

Peridot, angry Pearl continued to defy her, opened her robot's bay doors and fired her butt missiles.

The White gem used the laser on her nose cone to destroy them. "That's why you fail, and that's why…" The white gem's robot jumped high into the sky before coming down to deliver a heavy kick. "…I win!"

The wheel foot of Pearl's robot slammed into the cockpit of Peridot's mech, destroying the controls and hitting the green gem in the face. The strength of this strike was more than enough to smash Peridot through her robot and send her flying.

The green gem landed on the branch of a tree before going limp and groaning. Pearl panted as she looked at her vanquished foe, amazed at herself as she pressed a button. Her mech powered down, and the legs lowered her to the ground.

"I actually won…" Pearl thought.

She tried climbing out; however, her legs didn't work.

Pearl yelped as she fell out, only for Garnet to catch her with a proud smile on her face. "I've got you."

"Pearl!" Steven, Jason, Ameythest, and Lapis rushed over, amazed by the fight yet worried about the gem.

"Pearl, are you okay," Steven asked.

"Ah, I'm alright." Pearl assured, as Garnet got her standing.

"P, that was awesome!" Amethyst gave a congratulatory grin as she punched Pearl in the arm. "You were hardcore!"

Pearl rubbed her arm in embarrassment. "Oh...really?"

"Pearl, what you did out there was incredible." Lapis voiced.

"No doubt." Jason agreed.

"It was a fluke!" Peridot had limped over and glared at everyone. "This doesn't mean anything! I demand a rematch! I should've won!

"Peridot, that's enough." Garnet voiced firmly. "You lost. Let it go."

"But I'm the natural leader while she's just a common Pearl!"

"You're wrong!" Steven declared. "If pearls are like you say, then Pearl isn't common at all. She trained herself to fight, she learned how to build things, and she works hard every day to be greater than she is. That's not common; that's amazing!"

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared in amazement at Steven.

Jason rubbed the kid's head. "Never speech."

Steven gave his brother a big smile while Peridot was baffled to the point of being rendered speechless.

"Now, let's clean this mess." Garnet declared.

With a nod, everyone started congregating around the robot parts.

"Pearl, you should come wrestling with me." Amethyst proposed.

"Uh…I dunno." Pearl stated hesitantly.

"B-b-but…" Peridot tried to argue, not moving from her spot. "This isn't how it's supposed to be. Homeworld would never stand for this."

Garnet and Jason looked at one another before looking back at her. "Welcome to Earth."

Later…

Garnet, Amethyst, Steven, Jason, and Lapis worked to retrieve Peridot's broken robot while Pearl looked on at her robot with a small smile. Jason, Steven, and Lapis ended up stopping to watch as the green gem approached the white gem, carrying a drill upside down.

"Ahem!"

Pearl turned to Peridot. "I have to admit, it's...remarkable a pearl such as yourself could become…such a knowledgeable technician. Mmm…" She held up the drill. "Why don't we get started?"

Pearl crouched down and took the power drill. "You're holding it upside down."

She flipped it right side up before passing it back to the green gem, who blushed at having gotten something simple wrong. "Y-yes. Of course. You know, those round appendages on your machine could be useful for something."

"They're called wheels." Pearl corrected.

"Ah, looks like we're well on our way to stopping the Cluster." Steven declared with a smile before holding up the sock puppet of it. "You think you can stop me?" He yelled in playful terror as he made the puppet pretend to devour him. "Ah, we're doomed!"

Jason and Lapis shared a look before laughing at the kid's antics.

"Despite a victor being declared, we do still have our differences." Pearl spoke up. "I propose the two of us work together while having someone else oversee our work. Someone who can make sure we are on the right track."

"Really?" Peridot looked at her skeptically. "Who, pray tell, is skilled enough, smart enough, and leader enough to be the leader of us?"

"Jason." Pearl voiced.

That got Jason's attention as he walked over. "What?"

"Who?" Peridot asked confused.

"Him." Pearl pointed at the older hybrid.

Peridot's eyes widened in surprise before pointing. "HIM!?"

"Yes, him." Pearl stated. "I have no doubt he is at least as technologically adept as us. Since we will likely come to disagreements on some issues, he will make sure everything goes smoothly by looking at the bigger picture."

"He's a human!" Peridot voiced. "Granted, he is powerful for a human, but there's no way he's smart enough to oversee our work!"

"Peridot I assure you he is more than capable…" Pearl began.

"No!" Peridot crossed her arms. "Unless he proves himself, as you have, I will never consider looking to him for technical advice!"

"Seriously?" Jason asked incredulously. "We just went through this between you two. What do I have to do to prove I know my stuff?"

There was a tense silence as Peridot considered this. Slowly, everyone turned to the barn where the green gem's robot was lain. Peridot then turned back to him, a smug grin on her face.

Jason sighed. "Looks like I'm not getting any sleep tonight."

"Don't worry." Lapis put a hand on his shoulder and offered a smile. "You showed me how to make coffee, so I'll bring you some."

"Thank you, Lapis." Jason stated sincerely. "Unfortunately, I need to deny any help beyond the technological." He looked at Peridot firmly. "If I want to take her down, without being accused of cheating, I got to do this myself."

Dawn

"Where is he?" Lapis asked worriedly.

"I'm with her." Amethyst sighed. "Shouldn't he have been here already?"

"I wouldn't know." Pearl informed. "He's made some unique items before but nothing of this scale. I hope he didn't hurt himself."

"He probably ran away after realizing he couldn't match my superior intellect." Peridot snarked, her loss yesterday doing nothing to diminish her cockiness when faced with someone she viewed as even less than a pearl.

Seeing as everyone is on a timetable, and how Peridot's ego won't let them continue without this, Jason and Peridot opted to go at it the very next morning. It would give time for Peridot to repair and improve her robot, Jason to make his robot, and for there to be better lighting.

The gems ignored the small gem's boastful attitude in favor of keeping an eye out for the older hybrid's robot. Yesterday, Jason scanned Pearl's and Peridot's robots before retreating to his and Lapis' alone. He hasn't come out since and even went as far as locking the place down.

"Anything yet?" Steven asked as he joined the group.

"Nope." Lapis pulled out the phone Jason gave her. "I'm going to call him."

"Oh c'mon!" Peridot exclaimed. "This is pointless. He's obviously not coming. We should just forget him and focus on the Cluster." No one was listening to her. "Hey, I said he's…"

"…on his way." Garnet interrupted.

The green gem looked confused, but the fusion simply moved her visor.

"I see him!" Steven declared.

"Where!?" Peridot demanded.

"See for yourself." Pearl pointed into the distance. "He's coming up fast."

Peridot's eyes widened in shock at what she saw coming.

Robot Process…

For Jason, making a giant robot overnight was something else. He only got a few hours of sleep before spending the rest of the time working. Thanks to the scans he got, the soldier had a general idea where to begin. Jason had his droids create an opening for a 15 feet tall robot.

As they did that, he got three of his seven purple vans and trucks, along with one of the four purple SUVs. All seven vehicles were then consumed and remolded into a robot. The feet were two of the vans, the fists were two of the trucks, and the chest piece was the SUV.

The remaining two vehicles were recycled into the connective parts and head, where the cockpit was. Even after it was put together, there was still work to be done. Jason had to refine the robot to make it mobile. Even once that was figured out, he worked to hook up the systems.

Soon enough, he was painting it blue and yellow while his droids moved to consume any extra metal weapons he had, and the plug droids were busy gathering more specific items. Both sets of droids were important in helping him craft surprise elements for tomorrow.

Barn: Present

Jason's robot sped along the countryside since it had retractable tires. As soon as he could see the barn, the screens within his cockpit were picking up his friends and acquaintance standing in front of the barn. Jason couldn't help but feel excited and tense about the whole thing.

He was basically bringing in an untested prototype against another who's already had experience. Granted, no matter what the outcome, they'd still work on the drill, but he didn't want Peridot to second guess everything he did. Essentially, he had to win.

Jason soon came to a stop across from Peridot, which put the sun at his back accentuating the new robot. With the flick of a switch, the wheels retracted. There was a moment of silence as everyone took in the soldier's creation.

The head then opened to reveal Jason was standing with his arms crossed. "You know Peridot, I had time to think about my interactions with you, and it reinforced something within me. The gems of Homeworld look down on any race that isn't their own.

They believe Earth is their colony, rather than realizing it's no one's property. Sure, humanity might not seem impressive to you, but we adapt. We're tenacious and filled with spirit. Today, I stand here to fight for." He slammed his foot down. "This is my Crystal Resolve!"

Everyone gapped at Jason's speech before Peridot shook her head. "This means nothing! I will prove I am your superior!"

"By all means." Jason took a seat as the head closed and his voice came from the machine. "Try to prove you can overcome me."

Everyone moved well away to give the pair enough room to fight without fear of crushing anything or one. The two robots moved a respectable distance from each other before they began circling one another.

"Well, it seems you're not just a brute and can actually build something." Peridot braced her legs, and her claws started whirring in a circular fashion. "You ready to get this over with?"

"Come and have a go…" Jason had his robot calmly walk forward, showing Peridot just how much larger his was. "…if you think you're tough enough."

As Peridot stared up at him, Crystal Resolve moved down before snagging the smaller robot and throwing it into the ground. The Crystal Gems, with Lapis, watched in awe as Jason pummeled the smaller machine. He attempted to stomp on the legs, but Peridot recovered.

She then managed to get out from under him and gain some distance. Jason pressed the attack only for Peridot to avoid him by cartwheeling out of the way. The soldier pressed some buttons, resulting in a sword and shield coming from the wrist and moving into the hands.

When Crystal Resolve moved forward this time, Peridot's attempt to dodge was foiled by the sword managing to catch her. She switched strategies and combated his blade with her claws. Any time she got past said blade, Jason would block with the shield.

Crystal Resolve eventually got in a glancing blow, taking off small chunks of his opponent's robot and making it spark. He then threw his sword aside, impacting it into the ground, and used the free hand to grab Peridot's mech again.

Jason had his robot crouch as he ran along the ground, tearing it up with the robot's body and finishing by throwing her robot through several trees. At the last second, Peridot managed to pinch her claws down on the shield hand, so when she was thrown, the shield arm went with her.

Peridot slowly rose in her battered robot while dropping the removed arm with a smile. "Ha! I got you!" She pointed her clawed arm at Crystal Resolve's missing arm. "You might as well give up now. Who knows how long it'll be before your creation crumbles and falls apart."

"You got this Jason!" Lapis cheered firmly.

"Way to go brother!" Steven added.

"Show her what you're made of!" Pearl declared.

"Take her down!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"Beat her!" Garnet finished.

Jason glanced at his companion's before smiling from within the cockpit. "I'm nowhere near done."

He held out his intact hand before pressing a button, sending it rocketing to the sword.

"Fine!" Peridot shouted. "If that's how you want to play, then let's play!"

She charged Jason, who held out the arm which ejected spheres.

Peridot attempted to shield herself, but none of them hit her. "Ha, you missed!"

"Wasn't aiming for you." Jason returned.

The spheres were revealed to be flashbangs as they went off all around Peridot, blinding her. "Ahhh, I can't see!"

The rocket hand recovered the sword before coming back and reattaching to Crystal Resolve. Jason then sped forward, cutting the opposing robot's arms and legs off, and moved past her. Just as Peridot's vision returned, her chest piece fell to the ground with the limbs scattered.

Jason took a deep breath as he had his robot turned and kneel before opening the head. "Peridot!" The green gem had gotten out of her robot and looked at him. "You can think I'm some brainless brute all you want because it doesn't matter.

The simple fact is, no matter what anyone thinks, I won't stop fighting. This planet, my family, and someone who is truly special to me make it so I can't afford to be a quitter. I am a gem-human hybrid, and this is all that I fight for!"

Steven and the gems all stared in open mouthed amazement at Jason's speech. The soldier felt good getting that off his chest, so he hopped on down to the ground before walking over to the green gem.

"You won." Peridot admitted upon him standing before her. "You are the better builder, and I will listen to whatever you instruct on the construction of the drill."

Jason merely extended his hand, which the green gem grasped in confusion. "Peridot…I don't care about being the better builder. I'm great with human tech and gem tech, but if we are talking about straight up using gem tech in general, you have me beat. No doubt about that.

I mostly jury-rig what I make because human tech is my forte. Homeworld is yours. I won't deny that. I only did this, so I can prove to you I can help with the drill." He gestured to the others as they approached. "That I'm not someone who sits on the sidelines and does nothing."

The green gem was surprised before Jason crouched on her level to look at her directly. "The Cluster threatens everyone Peridot. You, me, humanity, Lapis, and the other Crystal Gems. I just want you to know we all have something to offer in stopping this."

When it came to Peridot, Jason knew she hadn't been the kindest gem. She was with Jasper in attacking them and attacked them after the fact. In the end, the soldier knew he could put all that behind them. Start anew.

"Can we put our differences aside and work together to save this planet?" Jason asked sincerely.

Peridot stared from him to their hands still held in a shaking manner. The green gem released his hand and moved past him, worrying the soldier that they just couldn't agree like he hoped. She didn't leave and merely moved to stand before Crystal Resolve.

Peridot stared from it to the gems before looking back at Jason. "I must admit, for human tech…this is quite impressive."

Jason stood and held out a hand to the others as an instruction to stand back before he moved to stand next to Peridot. "I have a lot of ideas cooking on how I can improve it and even more after our battle. Still, it worked better than I thought it would."

"Why weren't you with the Crystal Gems when they apprehended me?" Peridot questioned. "From what I remember, you've always been with or at least near Steven and those Crystal Gems. I imagine if you were with them, they'd have had an easier time of it."

"I was preoccupied with some stuff." He didn't quite want to reveal their current, human problem to the new gem. "Very important stuff I'd rather not talk about yet."

Peridot stared at him for a few seconds before shrugging. "If that's how you want it."

"Do you think we can put everything behind us to work on saving the Earth?" Jason asked

"I believe that is more than acceptable after what I've experienced." Peridot replied.

"Good." Jason started to fall back, so Lapis rushed in to catch him before laying his head on her lap. "Thanks Lapis."

"Of course." Lapis looked at him concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine." The soldier yawned. "Normally, I can go without much sleep, but putting Crystal Resolve together really took it out of me. Peridot, you and Pearl get started." He closed his eyes. I need…a…"

He was out like a light. The others finally joined them, with everyone witnessing the peaceful smile on the soldier's face.

?

Dawn sat before innumerable screens which displayed all of Beach City on a typical day, but recently every screen was focused on the barn. The former scientist smiled as lights turned on behind her, revealing her own drill nearing completion.

There were also many, large canisters, and men and women working at consoles which displayed what was below the Earth's surface. While they hadn't found the Cluster yet, it was only a matter of time. Judging from what she saw, they'd be done well before the other group.

"The only question is, do we move well before them to acquire those shards, or do we move just before they do to let them know our intentions?" Dawn thought.

Honestly, Dawn had no idea the Cluster even existed years ago, but after being relieved of her position within the World Government, she decided to take a firmer stance in her protection of humanity. After all, it was hard to prove they'd made a mistake without sufficient evidence.

Anything gem related was to be studied extensively, along with all other forms of science. Humanity's Defense would become the world's leading force in all science, beating out the World Government and Ramos Industries.

Hence the androids, attempts to control corrupted gems, turning shards into power sources, and so much more. Along the way, through innumerable hours of research, Dawn discovered the largest cache of gem shards located within the Earth.

"Once the Cluster is mine, Humanity's Defense will have its army." Dawn thought. "Then, we'll exterminate every gem and demolish all gem related things across the universe. The best part is, it'll be destruction from what they left behind."


Even though a lot of what Jason works on is within in own home, having someone like him around is still enough to at minimum shift the already close fight between Pearl and Peridot in the other direction. Honestly, I feel as though Pearl should have gotten the win in cannon. It was nice the others supported Pearl after her loss; however, everything in that Barn is Earthern. I'd put my money on Pearl being able to build with that better than Peridot, naturally prior to being a Crystal Gem.


dindagangleader14: Yeah, it got heated.

Guest: Bueno, las esmeraldas son una cosa dada por eso a quienes Lars y los Off Colors robaron su barco. Solo lo amplié un poco. Dicho esto, no estoy en contra de la idea.