Crystal-formers: Gems in Disguise

Chapter 4: Meeting Again

Back at the Crystal Temple, two days that had now passed, the Crystal Gems were preparing for their guests. Things were bustling inside the Beach House.

Pearl kept going in and out of her room while muttering to herself, doing something in there.

Amethyst was in her room for a couple hours "tidying" up the place, simply by moving her junk piles to make bigger ones.

Ruby paced the living room back and forth repeatedly for the passed hour.

Sapphire sat quietly on the couch, arms folded on top of each other with an expressionless face.

Peridot was locked in the bathroom, like always, but the sound of clanking metal and stressful groaning told a different story.

Steven was at the coffee table, drawing a picture of him with the Gems and five gray bland figures with question marks on their faces. The words "Welcome to Beach City!" were decorated in multiple colors and in bubble letters. He held up the drawing towards Sapphire and smiled widely.

"Look Sapphire!" Steven said. "It's for our new/old guests!"

Sapphire smirked.

"That's really nice, Steven," she replied. "I'm sure that they'll love it."

Steven's eyes grew starry.

"Ruby, what do you think?!" He asked.

Ruby stopped her pacing and looked at Steven's artwork.

"Nice," she said quickly, then got back to her pacing.

The bathroom broke open. The three Gems stopped and looked to see Peridot holding four large misshapen cone-like cylinder tubes. She rushed over to Steven and dropped the tubes in front of him. Then running to the kitchen counter to a drawer and pulling out some duct tape. She ran back to Steven and held the tape in front of him.

"I need you to help me with this!" Peridot said.

"With what?" Steven asked, taking the tape in his hands.

"Getting me into these substitute limb enhancers! The ones you made me aren't tall enough!" Peridot replied.

She rushed back to the kitchen again and got a chair from the counter. She brought it over to Steven and climbed on top of it. She reached down and put her two feet into the holes of the tubes and let go when being sure she was in completely, she was the same height when she had her old limb enhancers.

"What are you waiting for?" Peridot asked. "Secure me!"

"Peridot," Steven asked, looking at the duct tape. "Why do you need your limb enhancers now? And what's wrong with the ones I've made you?"

"Because, I don't want them to see me like this," she answered. "I don't even know if they had ever seen a Peridot before! Let alone a Peridot without her limb enhancers! Even with short ones, they're useless!"

Steven stayed sat on the floor, he didn't want to show these guests what Peridot wasn't.

"I think you should just let them see you just the way you are," he said. "If they don't like what they see, well then why should you care?"

Peridot looked down at him, concern in her facial expression.
"Do you really think that I should just go out like this? Even without your ones?" Peridot asked.

"Absolutely!" Steven said with a huge smile.

She smiled down at him. Peridot grabbed hold of the chair and lifted herself out of the tubes. She hopped off the chair and pushed it back towards the counter. She walked back over to Steven and picked up the tubes.