Steven looked around the Kindergarten, wondering what other Gems were born here. All the broken equipment and person-shaped holes wouldn't have looked so creepy had the surrounding area not been a foggy wasteland. He stopped when he heard a familiar voice coming from a hole. Her words became clearer as she neared the surface.

"…This is Peridot, updating status. Still stuck on miserable planet." she said with annoyance as she tapped away on a holographic screen. "The fusion experiments are developing properly, a few have even emerged early- YEUHAH!"

She was so absorbed in her work that she didn't notice the child standing only a few feet away from her. Steven was no threat, she knew he didn't want to fight and, frankly, neither did she. They stood silently for an awkward moment as Peridot looked around nervously, expecting the Crystal Gems to pop up any minute and demand a tussle. If she was lucky, he could just be adventuring by himself.

"Are the other ones with you?" she asked quietly.

Steven shook his head, but it turned into a slow nod, then a quick nod as he shrugged. Peridot grimaced and closed her holograph. "Of course," she sighed, "why not?"

"They're over there, though." he said, pointing a finger in the direction the others had gone.

Somewhat relieved, the green Gem reopened her holograph and went back to her data, walking briskly in the opposite direction. "I'll just be leaving, then."

"Where are you going?" Steven asked.

Peridot looked at him in disbelief. "Why should I tell you that?"

Steven kept his usual innocent expression. "You don't have to, I was just curious." he said, trying to keep up with her.

"Why are you following me?" Peridot asked, noting that he continually matched her pace, even as it became a light jog.

"Aren't you lonely?" he asked.

"Pffft, why would you say that?" Peridot said with arrogance, proud of how independent she felt.

"You were talking to yourself."

Peridot blushed a little. "I was updating my status on this planet, like a journal." she replied.

Steven continued. "But aren't journals mostly for lonely people? I don't keep a journal, I just talk to my friends about everything. Pearl doesn't keep a journal, or Amethyst, or Garnet, or Connie, or my dad, or Lion-"

"I get the point." Peridot interrupted.

She had slowed down, realizing that the boy wouldn't be leaving her anytime soon. She continued her technical business and tried to ignore him, hoping that it would drive him away.

"Hey, Peridot?"

It had been so quiet that he had startled her. "What?" she sounded almost angry.

"Do you like Earth?" he asked.

"Of course not!" she said and stopped to look at him. "Why do you think I'm trying so hard to leave this disgusting place?"

Steven looked confused. "If you hate it so much, then why did you bring Lapis and Jasper to help you take it over?" he asked.

She was taken aback by this. Earth was relatively small compared to the other Gem-owned planets, and the humans had such short and weak lifespans that they wouldn't be worth enslaving. Why were they trying to take Earth? "Th-That's none of my concern! I'm just taking orders from Homeworld!" she nervously answered.

"Why does Homeworld want it?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Why didn't they tell you?"

"I don't know."

"Why didn't you ask?"

"Will you stop?!"

Peridot covered her mouth, surprised by her volume. She looked around, then calmed when the area was still. She realized that they were pretty deep into the Kindergarten. "I have better things to do than play games with a child." she said, implying that he leave now.

She noticed the lack of footsteps behind her, but she felt as though she were being watched. She turned around and noticed a tuft of dark hair poking up from behind an injector. "Steven, I know you're there." she said.

The tuft ducked lower behind the injector's leg. Peridot sighed and started to approach, but stopped when she heard a low rumble. A large piece of glass was starting to fall from the top of the injector, weathered away by time. Peridot shut her eyes, knowing it may hurt a little, but she would definitely survive the impact. She heard the crunch as it shattered and prepared for the blow, but she was still standing. She opened her eyes and saw that she was under a pink shield, its wielder next to her.

"That was close." Steven huffed, having used quite a bit of his energy summoning the shield.

Peridot looked at him, at the innocence in his gaze. She was about to let some nicer words roll off of her tongue, but hurriedly stopped herself. "I would've survived, I'm very durable." she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You might've gotten hurt, though." Steven said.

"I would've been fine."

"But the glass could've broken into little tiny pieces and cut you all over."

"I could've retreated to my gem to regenerate."

It was quiet once more, and just as Peridot was about to take her leave, Steven spoke up. "I'm glad you're okay." he said.

Peridot stopped and turned around. She didn't know what to say. She could've sworn the boy was trying to squeeze some information out of her, but he didn't react when she refused an answer regarding her plans. She looked in his eyes, searching for any sign of deceit. That's when she saw it. Deep in that gaze, she could see innocent, understanding compassion. The very kind-hearted stare of Rose Quartz, the Gem that led the rebellion against the Homeworld, was looking back at her. There was no way this was Rose Quartz, but it was her symbol on the shield and her warm, loving soul inside.

"Steven, why do you have Rose Quartz's shield?" she asked.

Steven's expression changed to an indescribable state. He lifted his shirt, showing the gem. "Rose Quartz was my mom, I have her gem. I have some of her stuff, too, like a shield, and a bubble, and healing powers."

So many pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Of course! This was not Rose Quartz, but her son! She now knew why her containment field didn't stop him, he was half human! He must've managed to block the veil of power so that the Crystal Gems could escape. She had been wondering how they got out for quite some time now.

"Did your human father also disappear when you were given life?" she was still fuzzy on the concept of human reproduction.

"No, he works at a car wash and lives in a van."

Peridot was slightly surprised by the answer. She knew enough about Earth to understand that Steven's father sounded like a real… chump. The great Rose Quartz mothered the child of some nobody like that? "I see…" she said.

Another thought crossed her mind. Steven didn't seem to want to lie to her, so she could ask a few questions. "Whatever happened to Lapis Lazuli and Jasper after the crash?" she asked, pretending not to think it was too important.

She saw Steven frown and look down. "They fused, but Lapis imprisoned both of them at the bottom of the ocean. We don't really know where they are…"

"Malachite is loose?!" Peridot panicked.

"No, Lapis is holding the both of them down-"

"With rope? With chains? Did she manage to recreate my force field prison?"

"N-No… She's got water…" Steven felt nervous.

Peridot's expression sank. Did Lapis really think she could stop Jasper? With water, of all things?! Malachite could break free any minute and easily put her down! Jasper wasn't in this because of Homeworld's orders, she wanted to destroy and possibly meet Rose Quartz, only to want to destroy her, too. She was obviously less than satisfied with Peridot's performance and being in an unstable fusion would only turn her annoyance into fiery rage. With power like that, Peridot's gem could be shattered like the glass from earlier in less than a-

"Will Lapis be okay?" Steven asked.

"Why do you care so much about Lapis Lazuli?" she replied.

"She's nice, and we're friends."

"Friends?" Peridot asked with disgust.

"Yeah!" Steven smiled. "She was stuck in this mirror, and I pulled her gem out and fixed it so she could go home."

"You set her free? Weren't the others upset?"

"They were, but only for a little while. Lapis didn't want to hurt anyone, she just wanted to go home."

The Crystal Gems wouldn't have been so sweet to Lapis had she tried talking to them. The mirror would've been bubbled up and she would've never seen light again. Steven wasn't like them, though. Come to think of it, Rose wasn't like the others either. She saw beauty in the Earth and all of its inhabitants. She refused to aid the invasion and started a rebellion. Peridot thought about this. The others were after her, but Steven didn't seem to recognize her as the "bad guy". It was the same thing Rose had done, looking past the darker parts of the human race and seeing the good. Did Steven see something like that in her?

"Peridot?" his voice broke her thoughts again.

"…Yes?" her tone had warmed up a bit.

"Can we be friends, too?" he asked.

This was a bit sudden. Peridot's face flushed as she battled with herself internally. What should she say?

You can't be friends with a human!
But Steven isn't completely human, he's part Gem.
But he's with the enemy!
He's not like the enemy, though.
He's Rose's son, remember when Rose defeated your Homeworld?
But that was Rose over 5,000 years ago, this is Steven, now.

"Steven!" a voice cut through the mist.

Peridot recognized it as Pearl's and ducked into one of the Gem-shaped indentions in the rock. Steven was disappointed that he hadn't gotten an answer, but he understood why she was hiding. He turned to see the Gems coming. "Come on, Steven, she must've gone somewhere else." Garnet said.

He trailed along behind them on their trip back to the warp pad. Peridot peered out of the hole, making sure that the group was definitely leaving. As she watched them fade away in the fog, Steven turned around and waved, nearly tripping as he tried to walk backwards. Almost unknowingly, Peridot lifted her arm and waved back.