Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Amethyst came out of the Beach House with a half-eaten Pizza. A half of a whole pizza pie, not just a slice. This was unusual, as Amethyst would usually eat a whole pizza by rolling it up burrito style and swallowing it whole. 

Amethyst went under the stairs to greet the sulking green, masked, Pokemon. "Hey, buddy, I got some more food for ya" Amethyst said in a more sympathetic tone.

Ogerpon, unable to use the warp network what with it being an organic lifeform and all, had taken to living under the beach house. 

Amethyst had taken to giving some food to the poor abandoned Pokemon. This is something she had done without anyone noticing, not that she was trying to be stealthy. 

Ogerpon simply looked at Amethyst and simply sulked. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'll just leave this hear for ya" said Amethyst.

Ogerpon inched towards the pizza box and then quickly swiped it and skuttled back underneath the house and began devouring it, taking large bites.

Amethyst smiled at it and went back upstairs. Ogerpon has no way of knowing that Peridot is a bad guy, it just thought Peridot was a friend, a friend who betrayed it.

And there had been enough of that around here. Pearl using Garnet for fusion had really soured the mood around here.

Even after Garnet left, things were still awkward. Pearl was still doing everything she could to try and appease Garnet even with Garnet not being there.

She would even go to the phone and called the motel Steven was staying at because she knew Garnet moved in with her. 

As for Connie, the first few days of her Internship were fine but they have gotten boring as of late. She mostly been helping with basic office work.

Organizing business cards and resumes handed in by applicants, gathering files for Larry, and helping Larry with his daily gym leader duties.

The most exciting parts of her day was when Larry battled a challenger passing the Gym Test. But it wasn't all bad, she caught a new Pokemon during her internship.

Today, Larry called Connie to his office and he looked dead serious, aside from his usual exhausted demeanor. "Connie, we need to talk about your performance here..." he said in a serious sounding tone.

"Have I done something wrong?" Connie asked nervously. "No, just the opposite" said Larry as a small smile grew on his face "Got you."

"Got me? You mean, you were just pretending to be angry?" asked Connie. "Every once in a while my sense of humor rises from the dead" Larry added "but anyway, the real reason I called you here is that I have a business trip to Alola coming up, it's for the Pokemon Gym Convention in Heahea City's Hano Grand Resort, and I've been invited over as a representative of Paldea's Pokemon Gyms. I will be delivering a keynote speech. And you've been doing a very good job here, so, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."

"Really!? You want me to come with you?" Connie asked excitedly. "Yes. I believe you've earned it. I know I'm not the most exciting guy to be interning with, so when La Primera made me the representative for our gyms here in Paldea, I figured I should bring you along so could at least get some excitement out of this internship." 

"Thank you, sir!" said Connie. "Good, that will be all for today, Ms. Maheswaran" said Larry. Connie left Larry's office feeling excited, not only did she get to go to Alola, but she also gets to stay in Alola's world famous, Hano Grand Resort.

She had to call Steven.

Steven was just finishing his daily intern task for Alola's champion when he got a call on his Rotom Phone from Connie.

"Connie! Hey! What's up!?" He excitedly asked. "You won't believe this! I'll be coming to Alola! Larry invited me to come along with him on a business trip!" said Connie.

"No way! We should totally meet up when you get here!" said Steven "which Island are you staying at?" "We'll be staying at Akala Island at Hano Grand Resort!" said Connie.

"Are you for real!? The classiest hotel in Alola!?" asked Steven. "Not just the classiest in Alola, but one of the top nine classiest hotels in the world, ranked second, just behind Hotel Richissime!" said Connie.

"Oh! Can we meet in the lobby when you get there!?" asked Steven. "Sure, I'll just ask Larry" said Connie "but enough about me, how have you been?" 

"Well, you already know about Garnet and the whole situation at home" said Steven "Oh! But Alola's champion has been sending me all over taking on these old trials to collect Z-Crystals!"

"Oh? What does he need them for?" asked Connie. "No, Elio has me collecting them for myself! I can use Z-moves now!" Steven announced excitedly.

"That's so cool! I heard about those! So, do you think you'll be able to use a Z-move of every type?" asked Connie. "I sure am, I'm aiming for the full set" Steven answered. 

"Well, we'll have to battle when I get there" said Connie "I want to see how they look! Oh! Did you see the new Pokemon I caught!" 

The view on Steven's end of the chat panned to a Corviknight "Whoa! That looks so cool!" Steven commented. Suddenly Steven heard a knocking on the door.

Garnet answered the door. Pearl was there "Oh! Garnet! You're here too! That's good! Because...I know I messed things up because you were trying to look for Peridot, so I managed to find where she is!" 

Chapter Text

Steven, Pearl and Garnet warped to somewhere in the Sevii Islands, an archipelago off the coast of Kanto. There, they found Amethyst waiting for them. 

"Hey, Steven, long time no see! So, how's A-lo-la!" Amethyst said doing an impression of a hula dance "you fooling around with some hula girls?" 

"Amethyst..." Steven groaned. "Come on, just checking. Making sure you're not cheating on Connie" Amethyst teased. 

"No, of course I wasn't, we're not even dating...erm, not that I feel that way about her or anything" Steven said nervously while blushing. 

"Ah, I'm just teasing, Romeo. Just trying to lighten the mood" Amethyst joked.

"So, how were you able to track Peridot?" asked Steven. "Oh! I made a makeshift tracker out of the escape pod Peridot escaped from her ship from" Pearl explained "All this to make up for my horrible manipulation of Garnet! Isn't it great, Garnet? Aren't I helpful?" 

Garnet rolled her eyes behind her visor. That's when they saw a huge gem ship. "Actually, we've been chasing Peridot all over, this is the latest place we've followed her to" said Pearl. 

"But she's way too crafty for us" said Amethyst "that's why we called for your help...and we've got Zoroark, might as well fight crafty with crafty."

"Good thinking Amethyst" Garnet praised. "It was me! I suggested it!" Pearl chimed in. "You did not" Amethyst argued. "Shut! Up!" Pearl whispered.

"Hey hey! Come on, we've already had enough drama these past few days" said Steven.

Meanwhile Connie was helping Larry set up for his business trip that she'll be accompanying him on. She was currently helping him set up a PowerPoint Presentation. 

"So, what will I be doing during the Pokemon Gym Convention? Helping you out at your booth?" asked Connie.

"Actually, I don't really need you to do anything during the trip" said Larry "I'm inviting you along as a reward for all the hard work you've done for me this past week." 

"Really? Thank you, but, is that really okay?" asked Connie. "Of course it is, I often do this convention, It's the easiest part of the job. Besides, it's a business trip to Alola, one of us should at least have fun."

"Okay...although I don't feel like I've done enough to deserve this" Connie admitted. "You've done more for me than you think. Ever since you started as an intern here, you've taken a lot off my usual burdens. In fact, I've been able to sleep for more than one hour at night, that's longer than I've slept in...I don't know how long, all because of how much you've lightened my workload."

Connie couldn't believe what she had heard. Larry usually only sleeps for one hour a night? How busy does Paldea's Pokemon League Chairwoman keep him?

"Do you want to know the reason I chose you? Not just because of your battle skills, but because your grades are very impressive. You remind me of me when I was younger, about your age to be exact."

Meanwhile inside the gem ship, Steven was looking around at the strange crystals in the middle of huge gears. "What is she trying to do with this ship? Fly it?" asked Steven.

"If she is, she's making a real fool of herself, isn't she Garnet?" asked Pearl in a suck-uppy tone "I mean, this ship is not only ancient but also damaged beyond repair, and human kind isn't even close to developing the space-faring technology required to even give it a half-job repair. She's practically cornered in here!"

Garnet simply nodded. "I think we've got her right where we want her" said Pearl. "So what is..." "Brilliant question, Steven!" Pearl interrupted "This is an ancient interplanetary Gem vessel!"

Pearl presented a hologram of ships descending upon the Earth "Homeworld gems used these ships to travel across the cosmos and land here on Earth before the warp pads were built. But these ships landed here so long ago that it's no longer functional."

"Pearl, there is no time. We have to focus on the-" "The task at hand! Yes of course! No more dawdling! Let's get Peridot!" Pearl interrupted Garnet, much to her annoyance.

Steven noticed that the ship was rather overgrown, nature had claimed the ship. Suddenly, a Hologram of Peridot appeared laughing in an evil nasally tone.

"You gems are as dull as dirt!" She mocked. "You're the one who's dull if you think you can fly this wreck!" Pearl responded. Peridot was silent for a moment.

"Huh? Can you speak louder? I think some of these communicators are gunked up" said Peridot. Steven noticed a microphone on the wall and got an idea. 

He sent out Pyroar and whispered into its ear "Hyper voice into the microphone." Pyroar let out a loud roar into the micro phone. The hologram of Peridot covered her "ears" screaming in audible agony.

Steven was rolling on the floor laughing. "Aaaaaah! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Peridot yelped "What is wrong with you!? You hurt my audio receptors!" 

"Nice one, Steven!" Amethyst chuckled. "Ooooh! You will laugh now! But it is I who shall be laughing last!" Peridot mocked "as this place shall be your trap, and I shall FINALLY get my work here done!"

The door suddenly closed behind the Crystal Gems. "Isn't this nice?" asked Peridot "No more Crystal Gems running around, ruining my things. Now, I'm free to get the data I need. And once I do, I can try and find a way off this planet before it's too late!"

"Before its too late? What could that possibly mean?" Steven thought to himself. "Prepare yourselves for annihilation!" Peridot boasted as what appeared to be lasers sprouted from the walls.

Lasers began blasting from all angles as the gems nimbly dodged them. "Pyroar! Flamethrower!" Steven ordered Pyroar who unleashed a stream of flame out its mouth and onto the moss. 

The resulting flashfire damaged the laser cannons "Aaaaaargh! Stupid creatures of Earth and their stupid amazing powers!"

Chapter Text

Lapis had been enjoying the time spent with the Popplio she had been given for her Pokemon Therapy. At her cellmate, Lusamine's request, Lapis used the prison library computer.

She used it to lookup a website called PokemonCare.com, luckily it was one of the websites that the prison didn't block.

It was a website dedicated to teaching its users how to take care of an individual species, it has caregiving guides for every known species of Pokemon. 

And, obviously, Lapis looked at the webpage dedicated to Popplio care. It had tips for a healthy diet, which surprisingly, the cafeteria workers were already setting aside for Lapis's Popplio.

It also had a list of fun games to play with a Popplio, such as playing with a ball, taking it to a place to swim and other such activities.

And although Popplio had been enjoying the activities Lapis had been trying with Popplio, it was Lapis who got more enjoyment just watching the small blue Pokemon have fun.

Lapis had taken Popplio to the communal garden to let Popplio swim in the central pond, and it appeared to have lots of fun in there.

The central pond had been used by many prisoners in the Pokemon Therapy program as a place for the ones who were given water types to let their Pokemon swim. 

Popplio took a big splash out of the water, getting some of the water on some nearby plants. "Oh! Sorry!" Lapis apologized. "No need to apologize, I was going to water those flowers anyway" said a kind looking male prisoner.

"Oh, thanks" said Lapis. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Rose" The man continued. "Rose?" asked Lapis, recognizing that name.

"I'm probably not the one you're thinking of. We had another gem here who had that confusion with my name" said Rose "I was former chairman of The Galar Pokemon League, and President of the major conglomerate, Macro Cosmos."

"You seem nice, what are you in for?" asked Lapis. "Eh, I turned myself in for Public Endangerment. I was trying to replenish my region's energy supply" said Rose "My company gathered the Dynamax Energy from Galar Particles you see? Galar Particles are an energy resource. Anyway, one of the scientists under my employ had informed me that The Galar particles were losing their potency and there was only a finite amount of them left and their supply would gradually fall over the next thousand years, I was desperate to find an answer...the source turned out to be a Pokemon called Eternatus, I was trying to use it to replenish the Galar region's Galar Particle supply...but well, I couldn't control it. The problem was solved, but the damage was done."

"I didn't realize there were so many other people in here for public endangerment" said Lapis. Rose laughed "Well, hey, at least we're learning our lesson."

Meanwhile back on the gem ship, one more laser cannon was online, not attached to any moss, and it fired, but Steven was quick with his shield. The laser kept its barrage up. 

"Quick! To the other room!" said Steven. The other gems proceeded to the next room, as Steven waited for the right timing and leapt to the next room as his shield dissipated.

Suddenly spikes began to emerge from the floor and walls in the next room "Spikes! How do you like my spikes!" Peridot taunted. "What is this, a Tomb Raider level!?" Steven complained. 

Pearl noticed what appeared to be Peridot at the end of the hall "Peri-DOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" Pearl cried with her spear at the ready, charging forward.

"Pearl! Don't be so reckl..." Garnet then growled in frustration chasing after her as Pearl was wildly slashing at the hologram. "You idiot!" Peridot said, blowing a Raspberry.

"Pearl! Stop! This isn't helping!" said Garnet. "I can't! I have to do something! I can't believe I walked us right into Peridot's trap! This is all my fault!" Pearl cried.

Suddenly, the floor beneath Garnet and Pearl opened up into a funnel. The two fell deep into it. "Garnet! Pearl!" Amethyst and Steven called out. 

"We're fine" said Garnet, but then the door closed up. "They're not" said Amethyst. "We gotta get them out!" said Steven. "Garnet! I'm sorry!" Pearl's voice called out from beneath the floor.

"Things weren't supposed to go this way..." said Pearl. "We'll get out of here somehow" Garnet said, punching the wall. 

"This isn't what I mean! I really wanted to catch Peridot to make up for what I did" said Pearl "I wanted to prove to you...that everything could go back to normal!"

"Catching Peridot won't make things go back to normal! This isn't about Peridot!" Garnet retorted. "All right! They're actually talking!" said Steven "They might actually work this out!"

"Not if they get crushed first!" said Amethyst pointing at the monitor. The walls around Garnet and Pearl began closing in on them. 

"Please, tell me how I can get you to forgive me!" Pearl pleaded. "You can't! You lied to me! You need to learn the consequences of your actions.

"I'm sorry! I...I couldn't help myself!" said Pearl. "I don't want to hear your excuses!" said Garnet. "But it's true! No matter how hard I try to be strong like you...I'm just a pearl! I'm useless on my own! I need someone to tell me what to do!" 

Outside, Amethyst is using her whips to try and prevent the gears from turning and keeping the walls from crushing them. Steven had his Pokemon fighting the crystalline power sources of the gears, but they appeared to be unbreakable. 

"When we fuse, I can feel what it's like to be you! Confident, secure and complete! You're perfect! You're the perfect relationship! You're always together...and I wanted to be a part of that!" 

"You're wrong! I'm not as strong as you think!" Garnet argued "I fell apart over this! Ruby and Sapphire were in turmoil over how you deceived me! I became undone!"

"Whoa! That happened?" Amethyst asked Steven. "Yup! Almost ruined my motel room but The Island Guardian stopped them just in time!" said Steven. 

"It's not easy being in control. I have weaknesses too" said Garnet "But I choose not to let them consume me! I struggle to stay strong because I know the impact I have on everyone! Please understand, Pearl. You have Impact too! There are times when I look to you for strength. You are your own gem! You control your destiny! Not me, not Rose, not Steven! But you must choose to be strong! So we can move forward! So I can trust you again." 

"I understand! I won't give up anymore!" Pearl confessed. "Good, because there's only one way out of this" said Garnet. "If...if you're okay with it!" said Pearl. 

Chapter Text

Steven and Amethyst were panicking, both of them saying "What do we do?! What do we do!?" When suddenly, an impact came from below the floor where Pearl and Garnet were. 

Wham! Suddenly the square of floor flew upwards, clanging against the ceiling, as Sardonyx's Warhammer rose from beneath it. 

She gave Steven and Amethyst a brief wink before separating into Pearl and Garnet. Peridot, watching from The Ship's Control room began frantically pressing buttons. 

"Gaaaah! Stupid Crystal Clods!!!!!" She roared, when suddenly she heard a clanging in the vents as the grate broke open. 

Peering from within the vent was a Sableye, letting out a hissing roar! "Aaaaah! The Gem Eyed Gem Eater!" Peridot ran screaming out of the control room.

The Sableye then disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing itself to be Zoroark "Kishishishishishi!" it giggled as it crawled its way back from where it came from.

Peridot was screaming down the hall but came to a screeching halt when she ran into The Crystal Gems. "Aaaaah! Crystal Gems! Look, there's no time to fight! The Gem Eater's in here!" Peridot panicked. 

Suddenly, from around the corner, an imposing orange figure crept in behind them. "Ah! Jasper!" Peridot said in a relieved tone. 

Steven and the other gems gasped in shock as Jasper grabbed all four of them. "Oh Jasper, am I ever glad to see you! And good job capturing those clods!" Peridot said victoriously.

Jasper suddenly cackled "Kishishishishishi! Ki-shi-shi-shi-shi!" "Uh, why're you making that noise?" asked Peridot, not knowing how Jasper's shadow seemed to be creeping towards Peridot. 

Suddenly the shadow struck Peridot's legs, causing them to fall apart, revealing a smaller set of legs underneath. "Peridot's got stilts on!?" Steven realized. 

"Hey! She's short, like me!" Amethyst mocked "Those arms must be fake too!" "Kiiiiishishishishishi!" Jasper cackled as its illusion revealing to be Zoroark.

"Another super powerful creature of Earth! You clods would rely on them!?" Peridot fumed. "Well if you don't like it, go home" Steven teased.

"Hello!? That's what I've been trying to do! Right after I get the data I'm looking for" said Peridot as she began to hover using her remaining limb enhancers in propeller formation.

"And what data are you looking for?" asked Steven. "That's for me to know and for you to never find out until it's too late!" said Peridot as she used one arm limb enhancer to blast a hole through the ceiling and escaped that way.

"You'll pay for this, Crystal Gems! Just you waaaaaaaaaaaait!" Peridot called out to them as she ascended in the air. "Pearl?" asked Steven. 

"It's okay, Steven, we'll get her next time" said Pearl. "And when we do, we'll have a few "legs up" in the competition" Garnet held up what remained of Peridot's ruined leg limb enhancers. 

Steven laughed "So, where are we going to put her legs?" he then asked.

"Ah, we'll put them in my room. If she comes back to the house, and somehow infiltrates the temple, she'll never be able to find them in my mess!" Amethyst bragged. 

"Finally, that disorder comes to good use" said Pearl "and I must say, I don't know about the rest of you, but I really did think Zoroark was Jasper."

"And good job with that shadow sneak! You got her good!" Amethyst praised her Pokemon. "But still, I wonder, what is the real Jasper up to?" Steven wondered. 

Meanwhile, faraway in the land of Kitakami, Jasper, under control of the mythical Pokemon, Pecharunt, went up to what appeared to be a shrine. 

"Is this the mochi where your mochi were mochi?" The possessed Jasper asked. "Pecha! Pecha!" Pecharunt nodded. Jasper balled her hand into a fist and punched the side of the shrine, gently.

They waited for a moment until the shrine began to shake. A purple aura arose from beneath the shrine as it exploded in a purple light. Where the shrine was, there were three Pokemon.

A bipedal green and black canine Pokemon with yellow eyes and a purple chain around its neck, a blue and black simian Pokemon with yellow eyes and a purple chain around its head and an avian Pokemon with brown and black plumage and chains dangling from its chest. 

Okidogi, Munkidori and Fezandipiti, Pecharunts old companions, The Loyal Three! The mistaken heroes of Kitakami. The three Pokemon looked at Jasper in confusion, but they noticed Pecharunt behind her.

"Pecha! Pecha! Runt!" Pecharunt cried in cheer, communicating how happy it was to see them, and to tell them about Jasper, the newest member of the team.

Jasper and the five Pokemon all huddled together, whispering and murmuring and then finishing off with some evil snickering, they were planning something, and whatever it was...it was not going to be good. 

Chapter Text

To celebrate another one of Peridot's schemes thwarted, and Pearl and Garnet getting along again, Steven invited the gems to his motel room to have a small party. 

"Wow, you've got a great view of the ocean from here" said Amethyst. "It's a view of a beach and the ocean, you get the same view at Home" said Pearl.

"But this is a beach and the ocean in Alola. It's different" said Amethyst. "Different how?" said Pearl. "I dunno, the sunlight in Alola just feels different" said Garnet. 

"Hey, how about I order a pizza, I know Pearl wouldn't want any but I'm sure Amethyst would like it" said Steven.

"I dunno, I don't like pineapple on pizza" said Amethyst. "There's other kinds on the menu" said Steven "besides, the people of Alola hate Alolan Pizza because it gives them a bad name."

"And did you know that Alolan pizza wasn't invented in Alola? It's actually invented in Norova, the region north of Unova" said Garnet. 

"If that's the case, pizza me up!" Amethyst cheered. Steven told Pearl about all the stuff he had been doing and showing off the Z-Crystals he earned. 

Amethyst and Pearl seemed very impressed by everything he had been doing. "Hey, maybe you can give us a demo!" Amethyst suggested.

"Indeed, with mega evolution and Z-moves, you're proving yourself to be a real asset" said Pearl "I simply must meet this Elio person."

"You did, he was with the M9 when they visited us" said Garnet. "Oh yeah...I guess we should report our Peridot sighting today..."

Suddenly, a little wearable device Pearl had one pinged. "Ah! My mini-Peridot tracker!" said Pearl. "There's a smaller version of it?" asked Steven.

"Yes, I have it connected to the main device back home. It appears she's in The Beta Kindergarten" said Pearl. "The Kindergarten? Isn't it guarded?" asked Amethyst.

"No, no, not your kindergarten, The Beta Kindergarten. You came from the Prime Kindergarten" Pearl explained. "You mean there's more than one here!?" Amethyst exclaimed.

"Yes. You see, when the rebellion broke out, Homeworld got desperate for more soldiers. So they set up a second one, designed to exclusively make backup" Garnet explained.

"But it was such a rush job" said Pearl "Absolutely no planning involved whatsoever. They didn't examine the minerals in the area or anything, they just found a good enough terrain and in go the injectors!" 

"But enough talk, let's go!" said Garnet. Garnet led the gems to the nearest warp pad and warped on over to The Beta Kindergarten. 

The Beta Kindergarten was near Lentimas Town. Situated in a barren wasteland, in a canyon of marbled rock and dotted with misshapen holes. There were injectors just like in The Prime Kindergarten.

"Take a look at all these misshapen holes, Amethyst" said Pearl "you're much better off than the gems made here, your gem was made from better stuff."

"Look! Over there!" Garnet pointed to a hole in the ground. Garnet led all the other gems down the hole, it was similar to the one Peridot's robonoid made but a lot more uneven.

This hole was clearly made hastily. Eventually they reached a similar control room and there was Peridot at a different monitor "Thank goodness there was a backup monitor here. The Prime Kindergarten may be heavily guarded, but they'd never suspect me coming here..." Peridot snickered "it's a lot easier accessing the database remotely but who cares?"

The monitor then flashed all these error screens. To Steven they were illegible, but to Peridot a look of shock, disappointment and horror spread across her face.

"We got you now, Peridot! No running this time!" said Pearl. Peridot didn't do anything, instead, she simply said "It's dead..." "Excuse me?" asked Pearl.

Peridot began to laugh hysterically "It's dead! It's dead! You won! And you don't even realize you won!" Peridot continued to laugh hysterically. 

Garnet looked at the monitor at all the warnings on display and it read in Gem Glyph "Warning! Project Cluster has received minor damage." "Warning!: Project Cluster Continues to Sustain Damage. Please respond immediately."

The the one at the top read "Project Cluster Has Sustained Too Much Damage. Project Terminated." 

"You see? You see? The amalgamated Gemstone! It sustained too much damage! The coating used to protect it from the magma deep below the Earth's crust was punctured! Not only is it too damaged to form anything, it's being melted down into nothing!" Peridot said, curled up in a ball with a hysterical expression. 

"What are you talking about!?" asked Pearl.

"The Cluster! A planet destroying Geoweapon, Yellow Diamond saw no value in Earth when Pink Diamond was shattered, so she had comissioned a powerful geoweapon made of gathered enemy gem shards that will emerge into a powerful super gem, injected it into the earth, and once it was ready to form, it would tear apart the earth from the inside out!" Peridot explained, still in utter disbelief.

"They did what!?" Pearl exclaimed. "So that's why they stitched those gems together back in the Prime Kindergarten! All for some horrible abomination!" Garnet lifted up Peridot by her collar.

"But don't you see the good in this!? You've won! You won! You're safe...and I'm doomed!" Peridot said "I...I can't go back to Homeworld now! What do I tell My Diamond!? She doesn't take disappointment well! Even if it's not anyone's fault! I surrender! I surrender!" 

"So, if we let Peridot just do what she wanted to do in The Prime Kindergarten...this whole wild Swanna chase and all the drama it caused could have been avoided?" asked Amethyst 

Chapter Text

Peridot was taken by the gems to Local Gem Watch Soldiers, they then went with her to a base outside of Driftveil. Steven and The Gems watched from behind a one way mirror into an Interrogation room.

In the room with Peridot, was a Lucario. "Why is there a Lucario in the room with Peridot?" asked Steven.

"Recent studies have shown Lucarios are much more accurate than a polygraph test, with a %99.9 accuracy rate" said Nate, head of Legend Watch Unova "to outsmart a Lucario test, you'd have to have total control of your aura...and only a very small percentage of people are even capable of that." 

Just then, a man with greying blonde hair entered the room and sat across from Peridot "So, you're the little bugger my men have had so much trouble tracking down, I was expecting you to be taller."

"I...I'm an Era 2 Gem, there's a resource crisis on Homeworld so, we come out small like this. We're given limb enhancers to make ourselves match the height of our era 1 counterparts" Peridot answered. 

"Yeah, I remember reading something about how you gems are manufactured" said The Greying Blonde Man "anyway, I am Lieutenant Surge. I wish to talk to about this "Cluster" thing you mentioned." 

"Go ahead..." Peridot said in a defeated tone "not like I have much to hide...my mission was failed from the beginning. I didn't even realize it until now."

Lieutenant Surge nodded and wrote down everything on a clipboard and then looked at the Lucario in the corner and the Lucario nodded.

"Well, looks like you're gonna make my job here easy today, huh?" said Lt. Surge "so, tell me about this doomed mission, and the Cluster." 

Peridot nodded "The Cluster was a project started about 5000 years before I was made. It was made for the intention of revenge against the Crystal Gems, the most successful rebellion against Homeworld."

"Most successful? So there have been other rebellions" Lt. Surge commented. "Yes, but much smaller affairs, easily dealt with" Peridot dismissively explained "anyway, The Leader of The Crystal Clods, Rose Quartz committed the highest form of crime imaginable...she shattered a diamond. Pink Diamond."

Steven gasped "Wh-what!?" Garnet and Pearl looked at each other uncomfortably. Steven wasn't ready to learn that his mother, who treasured all life, would claim the life of another.

"She's...she's lying right? Mom couldn't have! She wouldn't have!" said Steven. "Steven..." said Pearl. "No! She's lying! She must be!" said Steven, with tears growing in his eyes.

"The Lucario's not reacting. Whether or not it is the truth, this guacamole nacho certainly believes she is telling the truth" said Nate.

"So, there's a possibility it might not be true?" Steven asked. "Steven...it IS true" Garnet admitted "we were going to tell you when you were ready. We're sorry you had to find out this way"

"No! I can't believe it! I won't! Stop it!" Steven said, getting irritated. "Steven, you must understand, your mother, she" Pearl tried to explain but, she instinctively covered her mouth. 

"She did what she had to..." said Garnet. "Shut up! Shut up! I don't want to hear another word!" Steven ran off. "Steven, wait!" Pearl reached out to him.

"No, let him go" said Nate putting a hand on Pearl's soldier "he just received a major bombshell, it's best to let him process it a bit. Give him some time." 

Pearl looked to Garnet and Garnet just nodded. And so, Pearl reluctantly agreed to let Steven have some time to process all of this.

Meanwhile, the interrogation of Peridot continued, but Peridot was making it so easy that it was barely an interrogation at all. She truly has given up.

"And that's when I was put on the project for the final steps, checking on the status of it, and of course, those last three Crystal Clods had screw that one up! My job was so simple! I had never done a single thing wrong in my three thousand years of existence until they ruined everything..." 

"And you said, the Cluster's dead, right?" asked Lt. Surge. "Yup, too damaged to form anything" said Peridot "it must have sustained damage on its way down to its targeted position in the Earth's core. That's the only way I could see it happening...whatever intact gem shards that make up whatever's left of its amalgamated core remain are probably too heat damaged to be anything."

Nate thought to himself "Wait...those Steelix...no...it couldn't be. I have to call Marshal" said Nate as he took out his Rotom phone. 

Chapter Text

Steven sat in the least crowded part of the building, sniffling. He just couldn't believe it, his mother, a killer? It couldn't possibly be true, could it?

He sent Sylveon out of its Pokeball "Hey, Steven, what's the matter?" "I...I just found out that Mom shattered another gem" said Steven "but...I can't believe it! After everything the gems told me about her, I can't believe it. Mom wouldn't really do that, would she?"

"Maybe she had no choice?" Sylveon guessed "maybe it was the only option at the time. Like, she didn't want to but she had to, sort of like how you didn't like broccoli when you were little but you had to eat it anyway in order to get dessert?" 

"I guess that sort of makes sense...but it still goes against everything I've learned about her" said Steven "I guess if she did do it...it must have had to have been a very difficult situation to get out of."

Sylveon put its paw on Steven's lap like it would usually do when Steven was feeling sad "Well, even if she did shatter a gem, you know she couldn't be a bad gem, right? After all, she did give you my egg before you were born. We wouldn't be together if it weren't for her." 

Steven simply just hugged his Pokemon, and after a few moments The Gems came by to check on him. "Hey buddy, how ya feeling?" asked Amethyst. 

"A little better, I guess" Steven sighed. "We know this was a hard revelation for you..." said Pearl "and we were going to tell you, honest." 

"It just wasn't the right time" said Garnet. "I guess so" said Steven. "Your mother made many sacrifices to protect this world, even if it meant going against her principals" said Garnet.

The gems all gave Steven a group hug. Just then Lt. Surge came in "Well, she certainly made it easy" he said "would have preferred a bit of a challenge but she sung like Jigglypuff back there."

"Don't Jigglypuff put you to sleep?" asked Pearl. "It's a form of expression in Kanto, it's an idiom for confessing everything" Lt. Surge explained "and it sure sounds like you Crystal Gems really pissed off a lot of your own kind." 

"We truly did, and we're sorry" said Garnet. "Ah, well, it saved my ancient ancestors behinds, so, I think I can let that slide" Lt. Surge answered. 

"Wow, you know, you're a bit more open minded than I thought" said Pearl. 

"Yeah, I get that a lot, but I got my rank by being a brilliant strategist, and that requires an open mind, because you never know when a plan might go off course" said Lt. Surge. 

"Anyway" said Nate coming in after Surge "we've decided to leave Peridot under your watch." "Really?" asked Pearl "you would do that?"

"Well, technically, we have no proof that it was her flying the ship, the broken windows in your town could be attributed to atmospheric pressure of entry and there's currently no regulation for the operation of spacecraft, so we can't arrest her. But we can't let her go free, so, she's your responsibility now."

The Gems were granted custody of Peridot, but were told that she'd under Legend Watch's supervision should their supervision fail. 

Peridot was dragged home with a baby leash being strapped to her. "Aw, without her stilts and grabby things, she's adorable!" Steven commented.

"No! I AM NOT ADORABLE!!!!!" Peridot tantrumed. "Aw, she's like an angry little Treeko!" Steven cooed. Peridot hissed at Steven. 

Nate and Lt. Surge looked on at the situation "Are you sure this was the right decision, Lieutenant?" asked Nate.

"Eh, I can tell those three are trustworthy. In my line of work, I've seen all kinds of people, I can tell who can be trusted and who's got an ulterior motive. Besides, look at the little green one, I believe she's being punished enough."

The Gems adjourned to The Beach House, Steven had to go back to Alola because his Internship was still going on. Once inside, Peridot then broke free and ran into The Bathroom, thinking it was a way to escape.

The sound of a toilet flushing could be heard in there "If you're trying to escape through the toilet, I tried man, it doesn't work" Amethyst called to Peridot through the door.

Peridot merely pouted as she was spinning in the toilet bowl. "So, you gonna come out and behave?" asked Amethyst. "Never! I will not come out and be with you or that renegade pearl or that...abomination!" 

Garnet was growling "She can stay in there for as long as she likes!" "Well, you at least gotta come outside and apologize to your green friend there" said Amethyst. 

"That creature that was deceiving me into thinking it was a gem? Oh please!" Peridot pouted. "It wasn't deceiving you, you just mistook it for a gem" said Amethyst. 

"I don't make mistakes" said Peridot. "Really? So why are you our prisoner now?" Amethyst teased. "Bad situation" Peridot said stubbornly. 

And then, all of the sudden, the flash of the warp pad activating could be heard "Is Steven back so..." Pearl froze when she saw Jasper and four different Pokemon behind her. 

"Jasper!" said Garnet. "Jasper!?" Peridot came out of the bathroom "It is you! You look different than I remember, but at least you're not a fake!"

Peridot came running to Jasper in relief...only to be answered with a kick to the face. "J-jasper? Wh-why?" Peridot asked. "Look at this Mochi, it thinks I am its Mochi! What a mochi!" Jasper mocked.

The Pokemon behind her were all cackling with wicked glee. "Something's off about her..." said Amethyst.

"And what are those chains around her wrists, they're the same as the ones on three of those Pokemon!" said Pearl. "Where's the green mochi? Master Mochi has business with them, mochi!" Jasper asked to know.

"Master mochi?" asked Pearl. "I think it's that little purple Pokemon hovering above them. "That's Master Mochi to you, you mochis!" Jasper growled.

"Man, all this talk of mochi is making me hungry..." Amethyst complained. 

Chapter Text

"Grrfic!" Okidogi growled. "Pech-cha-cha!" Pecharunt ordered. Okidogi moved towards Pearl, who kept dodging the attacks. She remembered the Crystal Gems vow to never harm a lifeform of Earth.

But she reached into her head and took out Trumbeak's Pokeball, deciding to play by Pokemon battle rules, sending out her Pokemon "Pluck, Trumbeak!" 

Trumbeak landed a direct hit with its beak at Okidogi's stomach, knocking the wind out of it. "It appears to be super effective, this one appears to be a fighting type! Hit it again, Trumbeak!" said Pearl.

Trumbeak did a loop-de-loop in the air in order to turn itself around, ready to strike again, but something caused it to stop in mid-air. 

"Huh? Why did that stupid thing stop? It was winning!" said Peridot. Amethyst noticed Munkidori waving its fingers and its eyes rolled into the back of its head. 

"Zoroark! Crunch!" said Amethyst as the lamp beside Munkidori turned into Zoroark from a puff of red smoke. Zoroark chomped down on Munkidori's head.

Munkidori screeched in pain, flailing around. Fezendipiti quickly went to its allies aide letting loose a disarming voice, directly into Zoroark's ear. 

"Oh no! Zoroark!" Amethyst ran to her Pokemon's aide but was hit by a spin dash by Jasper, sending Amethyst flying out the window. 

"Don't forget about Me-chi Mochi!" The possessed Jasper said. "Jasper!" said Pearl readying her spear "I have no qualms fighting a fellow gem!" 

Pearl readied her spear, attempting to jab the surprisingly nimble Jasper until Fezendipiti's wings covered her eyes "Yaaargh! I can't see!" 

Trumbeak flew in and pecked at Fezendipiti, getting it to fly off of Pearl's head. So that Fezendepiti won't be able to blind Pearl again, Trumbeak engaged Fezendipiti in an aerial battle to keep it distracted.

Pearl began to engage Jasper again, but this time Jasper grabbed Pearl's spear and swung it around with Pearl still holding onto it and flung it in the direction of Okidogi who punched Pearl from behind. 

Amethyst tried whipping Jasper but Jasper dodged and smashed Amethyst in the head with her crash helmet "Heh! Weak overcooked mochi!" 

This time Garnet tried to fight Jasper and the two were neck and neck. "You strong! But fusion's a cheap trick to make weak mochi stronger!" 

Okidogi and Munkidori piled on Garnet to subdue her, making her vulnerable to Jasper's next attack. Garnet managed to wrestle those two Pokemon off of her and got out of the way in time.

Garnet then noticed the shackle like chains around Jasper's wrists and noticed their similarity to the shape of Pecharunt...Garnet then grabbed Jasper's wrists and pulled them off Jasper. 

Pecharunt and its Loyal Three equally gasped in fear, Okidogi quickly grabbed Peridot by the neck and pinched its gem "Owowowowowow! Hey! Pinch any harder, you'll crack my gem!"

Fezendipiti, Munkidori and Pecharunt all went by Okidogi's side, Munkidori lifting the unconscious Jasper with its telekinesis. 

It was clear what Okidogi's intentions were...they were taking her hostage. As for Pecharunt, it opened itself up, prepping to assimilate Jasper. 

When suddenly, behind them, came Ogerpon, its mask donned, striking down Pecharunt with its cudgel, knocking Pecharunt into its friends and setting Peridot free. 

"OGRA!!!!!" Ogerpon roared, striking fear into the four Pokemon that were clearly at a type advantage over it. "It's us you should fear as well" said an unfamiliar voice.

The four Pokemon looked behind themselves and saw Opal. "Half of me managed to climb back in and fuse with my other half while you were distracted" said Opal who knelt down to the level of her targets, with her bow and arrows ready.

The Loyal Three and their leader all cowered, using Jasper as a shield. "Don't worry, this isn't lethal" said Opal as she released the arrow, sending the four Pokemon and Jasper flying "but it will take you on a wild ride!"

Opal separated back into Pearl and Amethyst. Peridot was stunned by all that had happened, the creatures of Earth are truly terrifying. Peridot then looked to Ogerpon, which pouted and looked away from her.

"Well, Peridot, got something to say?" Amethyst urged. "What? Am I supposed to say something?" asked Peridot. "You know, an apology?" Amethyst elaborated.

"What do I have to apologize for!? Especially to that creature!" Peridot grumbled. "Uh, "that creature" saved your life just now, right after you were so mean to it" Amethyst pointed out.

"I'll have you know that this is merely the second time it saved my life, and I mistook it for a gem" Peridot continued to pout. 

"It saved your life once, you became friends. You were mean to it and it saved your life anyways. Sounds like an apology is deserved if you ask me" Amethyst shrugged.

"Alright! Fine! I'll apologize, there, you happy?" Peridot got up to her feet. "Well, don't apologize to me, apologize to The Pokemon" said Amethyst.

Peridot sighed and made her way to Ogerpon "Alright, you...mask wearing thing...I'm...sorry! Alright? I'm sorry! Thank you for saving me...twice" 

Ogerpon was still pouting, but it was shaking, but then it leapt right towards Peridot, wrapping its cloaked arms around it, blubbering with joy. 

"Aaaaaah! It's attacking me! Aaaaaah! I apologized, what more do you waaaaaaaaaaant!?" Peridot shrieked, trying to escape Ogerpon's strong hug. 

"I guess Homeworld gems ain't that used to affection, huh?" Amethyst said to Garnet. "Nope. No they're not" Garnet agreed.