[holding up a gemstone] It's a gem!
[The gem glows, enveloping the place in a bright light, and begins to project a holographic flashback of Ronaldo and Lars as kids]
This is the perfect clubhouse for the Beach City Explorer Club! [laughs]
Secret clubhouse, right, Ronnie? [makes mouth zipping motions] Zip!
[The group watches as Steven laughs and Lars groans]
Lars, you're a riot! [gets startled by scraping noises] Dude!
[using a screwdriver to etch his name on the wall] Just carving our names in. Pretty metal, huh? [sticks the screwdriver into the wall, causing the whole place to rumble]
Weird… [quickly snaps a photo of a wooden board springing outwards from the wall, knocking Young Lars away] Holy smokes! The clubhouse is possessed! [runs over to Lars and shows him the photo] Lars, Lars! When you turn on the TV tomorrow, this is what's gonna be on every station!
[nervously sweating] B-B-But— But you said this was secret.
Our first paranormal discovery! We're gonna take on the world together!
Um… Let me just… Uh, I'll just, uh… [begins ripping the photo into pieces]
[gasps in horror] No! What are you doing?! No-no-no-no-no-no!
I'm just tearing myself out.
Stop! [grabs Lars and reaches for the remains of the photo] Let me… see! [yanks Lars' arm down and retrieves the torn photo] What'd you do? Ohh!
Oh, come on, Ronnie… You know I can't let people see me like that.
What?! What's the matter with you?! [angrily shoves him] Don't you know how important this was?! [he and Young Lars begin wrestling; Young Lars steps on his foot and starts to run away] Why do you care so much about what other people think?!
[tearing up, angrily] You wouldn't say that if you knew what other people say about YOU!
[Ronaldo gets visibly angry as he watches while Lars cowers in shame]
[after Young Lars runs away and disappears] Lars? [also disappears]
[The flashback projection from the gem ends]
Okay, shh. I've got you. When you were stuck in the wall, was the house like your body? You must have felt like you were under attack back when Lars carved his name in you.
Uh, sorry. We should let it rest. [bubbles the gem and sends it away to The Burning Room in the temple]
So, all that lashing out was just from feeling hurt and trapped for so long.
[talking about the photo] I didn't mean to rip it up, okay? [looks away] You can stop talking about me now.
What's that? I'm missing the fireworks! It's past midnight! How did I get so sucked into this show again?! It's like everything else just disappears! Ugghh!! [leaves]
[grabs his hand] Whoa, whoa, don't go! We're having a really good time! Here, look. I got the two-part Hawaii special.
But... Steven really wanted me to do New Year's.
He'll be fine! He's Steven, he's tough.
Here, here, it would've been like this. [shapeshifts into Steven] Whoa, fireworks! [guffaws] Hey, Dad, come on! Now let's watch some Li'l Butler!
Amethyst, you know how I feel about shapeshifting.
..Geez, sorry! I was just trying to cheer you up. [shapeshifts into Greg, leans on him] Oh, that's right, I forgot, you're sooo sensitive!
I know you like making me uncomfortable, but it's not funny. I can't stay here and humor you. I have to be there for my son!
[Amethyst goes stiff for a beat before turning back to normal in a fit]
Well, what about me, huh?! I had someone who was always there for me until she started hanging out with YOU!!
Don't do this, Amethyst. Seriously.
I bet you'd stay for her!
What? Do this? [shapeshifts in Rose Quartz, Greg turns away] Hey, Greg! [laughs, with Steven watching] Turn around! Check it out!
I know you're doing it! I want to be friends again, I really do! But I can't let you do this to me again!
[runs atop the couch] STOP!!
[Amethyst looks right at Steven as Rose. Steven's eyes widen in horror and shuts his eyes. The television suddenly cuts to static and Amethyst turns back to herself with Greg, terrified]
What are you two doing?! [long beat] ..I get it. It's hard to deal with stuff from the past. You want to put it off because there's tons of it and it's really heavy and... it means a lot to you, so it's hard to let anything go. But you gotta! Because this thing is FULL!! [picks and throws cat carrier] Seriously, when did you even have a cat?!
[Steven warps to the desert where Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst start brawling another giant marble robot]
Stop—coming—here, you—stupid—balls!!
Yeah, let it out! Get crazy!! Whoa!
Guys, guys, guys! [flailing his arms] Stop!! How many more of these things are you gonna have to fight?!
We don't know! They just keep coming and coming, and we don't even know what they are! We don't know anything!!
[beat] That's okay. I don't know anything all the time. It's like my whole life. But I have you guys to tell me about tell me about Gem stuff, Connie can explain what Familiars are, and Dad tells me weird dad stuff.
But nobody knows what these things are here to do.
Well... it probably does.
We could follow it and see where it goes.
Who knows what could go wrong?!
We can't keep fighting these things forever. Well, we can, but I don't want to. Let's do it Steven's way.
Yeah! [sings] Let's follow the funky flow!
Now accounting for all operational injectors. Checking for aberrations in perimeter. Ugh, this Gem tech is simply archaic.
I don't know... I think it looks pretty cool. [Peridot abruptly cancels out all the operations and turns her screen at him] Hi! I'm Steven. [Peridot's screen swoops up close at him]
There appears to be an infestation of Stevens in the Kindergarten.
Aw, I'm not so bad once you get to know me.
And how many more Stevens are present in this area?
Ah, that's a relief. So tell me—have Stevens replaced humans as the dominant species on Earth?
Oh, no! There's lots of humans! There's my dad, Connie, Lars and Sadie, the mailman, Onion... I think—lots of people!
Now I get to ask a question. What are you doing?
"Hm, just picking up where we left off."
[one of the giant hand constructs hovers above Steven, forms a fist and plummets down at him before Garnet catches and throws it away]
"A Gem?!" [Amethyst and Pearl jump up] "Ah! More?! But the Red Eye didn't report the presence of any Gems on this planet!"
That's because we destroyed it!
"You what?! But the records say that Gems were wiped out on Earth! Wait a minute... [turns resilient] You were the ones that have been destroying my plug robonoids! Are you the reason the Homeworld warp is down again? [shows crying waffle sticker] This is your bizarre icon?! Uhrooh!! Why do you keep destroying my things!?!"
Because we are the Crystal Gems! We're still alive and we're still the guardians of this planet and all its living creatures!!
"..The Crystal Gems?" [the Gems charge and attack the giant hands] "Stop! How dare you! I'm doing this one way or another! You're just... making it... really... difficult!!"
Amethyst! Now! [Amethyst latches the hand in mid-air]
DESTROY!!! [swings hand and crashes into the power source]
Pearl! [Pearl sniffles] Pearl, you have to tell me what's wrong.
Sometimes... you even sound like her. [beat] Do you remember this place? Do you have any of her memories? We were right here... [Steven walks to her] over 5,000 years ago.
[Pearl generates a holographic projection of Rose Quartz from her gemstone and kneels behind to her. Steven looks up to her, dumbstruck. Holo-Rose turns back to Pearl]
HRHolo-Rose
[Pearl speaking her words] "Pearl..."
HRHolo-Rose
"I'm going to stay and fight for this planet. You don't have to do this with me."
HRHolo-Rose
"I know you do. Please, please understand. If we lose, we'll be killed. And if we win... we can never go home."
[wheezes] Why would I ever want to go home if you're here?
[Holo-Rose pauses for a beat, chuckles. She offers her hand to Pearl, who looks up to her]
[they grasp each other's hands, and Holo-Rose vanishes suddenly soon after]
Everything I ever did, I did for her. Now she's gone... but I'm still here. [beat] Sometimes, I wonder if she can see me through your eyes. [sighs] What would she think of me now?
[Steven hesitates behind Pearl for a long beat, and proceeds to hug her]
Well... I think you're pretty great. [Pearl starts crying]
She was trapped in a mirror and it couldn't be clearer
She wanted to leave this place and get herself back in space
And Dad, you might think she's a criminal
But her friendship comes through subliminal.
I don't understand. That thing has laid dormant since we found it.
I haven't heard a Wailing Stone activate since we used them for the rebellion, and I've never heard it sound like that!
Someone is trying to send us a message.
But who?! We've rounded up all the Wailing Stones on Earth, and we're not sending this message to ourselves! Unless... Amethyst, is this a prank?!
No way! I want it to stop!! I DON'T LIKE IT!!
If it's not coming from Earth, then a Gem must be sending this message from space.
Is that... what some Gems sound like?
No, no. We should be hearing a voice. Maybe this signal is too advanced for the Wailing Stone to process. That would explain the distorted audio.
..Audio? My daddy-o knows audio!
Don't whine. Let's try it.
I could have tamed you, I could have shown
That I could depose you from your loud throne
But in the end I wasn't good enough
I just showed the Gems that I ain't got the stuff.
Have a little, have a little, have a little faith in me!
I just wanted to help
You know I have a little, have a little
Have a little expertise!
I know it's not much, but if it could come in handy
I'd wanna be there
I think so highly of you, it just isn't fair
That you have so little faith...
[appears as a visualization on video] Steven!
I can't believe my flipping eyes!
I hope you're able to hear this. There's a Gem that's looking for you. She even knew your name! I don't know how... I didn't tell her, I swear! She's on her way to Earth... and she's not alone! Steven, Homeworld... it's not the way it used to be. Everything here is so advanced! I can't even understand it. There's no way anything on Earth can stand up to it. Please, don't put up a fight. It'll only lead to devastation!
[Video suddenly cuts to static; The group pauses for a beat]
[worried] It's Peridot. She must be talking about Peridot.
Lapis... she sounds so unhappy.
