It was a sweltering summer day in the seaside community of Beach City, much warmer than what was typical for the area. The city had the misfortune of being in the path of an exceptionally strong heat wave that had been rolling through Delmarva and the surrounding region in the last couple of days. The state's natural geography also meant that the higher temperatures were being accompanied by extreme humidity, making most residents cringe at the idea of having to spend an extended period of time outdoors in such conditions.

Some were handling the higher temperatures better than others. Many of the local youth saw it as an excellent excuse for pool parties or a daytime trip to the beach. Others were more content to remain indoors and hope the city's breakers wouldn't give out under the strain of so many air conditioner units running at the same time.

Steven was one of the many who had opted to remain indoors, though it was less of his own volition and more as a result of Pearl's usual protective nature. Connie's parents also weren't particularly comfortable with their daughter making the relatively long trip to Steven's home during such balmy weather, so hanging out with her wasn't an option for the time being.

Currently, Steven was sat comfortably on the couch, listening attentively to the pale Gem across from him as she informed him of various ways to help manage the heat while they were gone for the next couple days.

"Remember Steven, drink plenty of water and please take a couple bottles with you if you absolutely have to go anywhere. I also have some extra supplies here for you just in case the power ends up going out temporarily." The pale Gem set out various items on the kitchen counter, the now empty box they'd been stored in sitting at her feet.

Steven couldn't help feeling a sense of pride knowing Pearl and the others trusted him enough to watch over the house on his own. "Okay, Pearl. Where exactly are you guys going?"

"Well, a few places. Our best chance of finding Peridot at this rate is to warp where we can and do a thorough scouring of the surrounding areas, starting with the Kindergarten. Since we have a rather… well, vital possession of hers, she likely can't have gone that far."

Steven nodded in understanding. The Gems had been beginning to grow suspicious. The tracking system Pearl previously rigged up had not activated at all for the past few days and they deduced that it was likely Peridot was purposely avoiding warping to try to keep them off her trail for as long as possible. They eventually reached a consensus that tracking the green Gem down would be top priority for the moment. Peridot wouldn't get away this time.

The Gems insisted Steven stay at home while they went after the Homeworld Gem. Missions lasting longer than a couple days weren't common and they didn't want the poor child collapsing from exhaustion in the middle of the search. Greg was always available as was Lion, so they felt confident that Steven could manage on his own in their absence.

"Pearl, what exactly are you guys planning to do with Peridot once you catch her?" Steven couldn't help questioning, concern edging its way into his voice.

He remembered back to when they had been trapped in the ancient Gem warship; when Pearl had leapt for the hologram of the green Gem, spear poised to deal a fatal blow to her gemstone.

If that had actually been Peridot, that would have likely been the end of her.

The pale Gem finished organizing everything on the counter before turning to her young charge. "Ideally we'll be able to subdue her without needing to poof and bubble her. Considering she is a modern Homeworld Gem, it seems to me that she would be a valuable source of information for us, so long as she is willing to cooperate..." She attempted to assure the young half-Gem.

Steven remained silent. Considering how Peridot had previously acted towards the Gems, cooperation didn't seem like a very probable outcome.

The familiar sound of the Temple door activating suddenly caught their attention, both turning to see the other two members of the Crystal Gems emerging from Amethyst's room.

"Yo Pearl, are we ready to head out yet? It's not like Steven can't handle himself for a couple days."

Pearl's cheeks puffed out slightly in annoyance at the purple Gem's words. "I was just making sure he has everything he needs on hand while we're gone, Amethyst." She replied calmly, walking over to her teammates. "But yes, I suppose we're all ready to go."

The tallest of the group led the other two Gems onto the warp pad. "We'll try to be back as soon as we can, Steven. Watch over the house and be sure to go to Greg if you need anything." Garnet instructed him in her typical stoic tone.

Steven gave a playful salute to the fusion, a determined look in his eyes.

"Yes Ma'am!" He exclaimed just as the warp pad activated. Garnet playfully returned the fake salute, a small smile on her face. Pearl and Amethyst waved a goodbye to him before the three of them were out of sight, leaving the young half-Gem by himself.

Steven made his way over to the counter where Pearl had left the extra supplies, taking note of the various items she had set out: batteries, a weather radio, a flashlight, some spare plastic water bottles, and a few small towels. Steven hoped he wouldn't really need any of the emergency items. Last he'd heard, the heat wave was only supposed to last for another day anyway.

'And then Connie can finally come over again!'

Steven turned away from the supplies to find Lion nearby, playing with the box the items had previously been contained in. He smiled at the pastel animal's antics, watching him try to fit all four of his massive paws into it. Steven let out a giggle at his actions. "Lion, that's not how you're supposed to use boxes," the child scolded playfully, making no attempts to actually reprimand the feline.

The young hybrid glanced back over to the warp pad, the system they'd been using to track Peridot having been dismantled by Pearl earlier that morning. It hadn't come up with anything in regard to the green Gem's location for days and they weren't about to just leave the escape pod out in the open while they were gone.

Steven's thoughts soon shifted as he made his way up to his loft. He flopped down onto the bed to stare up at the ceiling, flicking on his television for a bit of background noise.

The child couldn't help wondering about the green Gem's current predicament, and was even more curious as to why he was even worrying about her as much as he was.

Their initial introduction hadn't gone ideally, considering she'd literally been about to crush him just for starting a friendly conversation with her. She also hadn't exactly hesitated in trying to off him and the Gems completely when she'd trapped them in that Gem warship they had previously tracked her to.

Yet for some reason Steven didn't find himself really afraid of Peridot, at least as long as she wasn't controlling some deadly piece of Gem technology. Something about the other Gem's behavior just didn't trigger fear in him. Her behavior had been so juvenile during their most recent encounter, even more so than Amethyst's could be at times.

It was surreal to think about really, considering how emotionless she had seemed in the first couple instances he and the Gems had come across her.

He couldn't help stifling a laugh at remembering when she had imitated his playful mocking back at the Galaxy Warp; she was certainly impressionable. Gems may not have aged like humans, but surely an experienced Gem would be expected to act more mature than Peridot did most of the time, especially considering the dire situation she was in.

Stranded all alone on a foreign planet. In retrospect, it was a terrifying concept to think about.

He hoped Pearl had meant what she said; that they would try to capture the green Gem without needing to bring her any real harm. Steven wanted to capture Peridot as well, but he definitely didn't want to seriously hurt her in any way…

The boy's train of thought suddenly came to a halt when he noticed his television suddenly flicker off, displaying only a black screen.

"Oh, come on!" Steven whined, sitting up in bed. Of course the power grid decided to go down so late in the afternoon. It was going to be dark outside in just a couple more hours.

He groaned before flopping back onto the sheets. The house wouldn't be very comfortable later on without the air conditioner going. Even worse, the food stored in the fridge was probably going to end up spoiling if the power didn't come back on by later tomorrow.

'Man…I don't think we even have a spare cooler lying around anywhere either.' That was going to be troublesome. Steven mulled over his options. He supposed he could check if his dad had a spare one at the shop. And if he didn't, he could make a quick trip out to the old family barn out on the hill. He could even take Lion with him to cut down on the travel time.

'Sounds more fun than just sitting around here for the rest of the afternoon!' Steven jumped off his bed, pulling his novelty cheeseburger backpack out from underneath it. He didn't think he would be out long but it was better to be prepared just in case.

After grabbing his phone and stuffing it into one of the backpack's many compartments, Steven made his way downstairs to the kitchen where the supplies were located. He made sure to grab the flashlight as well as couple of batteries, figuring they might be useful in case it actually did end up getting dark before he got back. He also packed a couple filled water bottles, a few granola bars, and a couple of the towels, figuring he could use them with the water to cool down if it became necessary. He skimped out on ice, wanting to keep the cold air in the freezer for as long as possible.

"Right, that should be everything." He turned towards Lion, who was still futilely attempting to fit inside the cardboard box. "Come on Lion, we're going to take a little trip." Of course, the feline paid him no mind.

"I'll give you a Lion Licker when we get back." He bribed the creature in a singsong voice. Steven wasn't fond of the things himself but once he'd learned how much Lion seemed to like them, he'd decided to purchase a few from the Big Donut just to have them on hand for situations like this.

The pink animal looked up at him, now giving him his full attention before wandering over to him, his wide-eyed stare firmly locked on him. Steven slipped on his backpack and made his way over to the door before stepping out into the stifling afternoon heat with Lion close behind him. He climbed up onto the animal's back and the creature was off, the heat and humidity barely seeming to faze him.

It took them hardly any time at all to reach his dad's business as Steven spotted his father kicked back on a lounge chair with his guitar in hand, probably in the middle of tuning it to help pass the time.

"Dad!"

Greg looked up from the instrument, smiling at the sight of his son and his animal companion. "Hey, Shtoo-ball! What are you doing out here in this heat? I thought the Gems wanted you to say inside while they were gone."

Steven hopped off Lion's back, guessing his dad was still completely unaware of the power outage.

"The power went out at home and I wanted to see if you had one of those little coolers we could put the food in so it doesn't spoil."

"A blackout, huh? With this heat I'm kind of surprised we didn't get one sooner to be honest." His father sat up a bit. "I do have one inside the shop but unfortunately it's the only one I've got, and it's already got stuff in it."

Steven had been worried about that. If the Gems were home he could have probably looked for one in Amethyst's room. He'd just have to go with his backup plan in the meantime. "Oh, well do you think there's a spare one out at the barn?"

Greg mulled it over a bit, rubbing at the back of his head. "Well yeah, maybe. But the power will probably be back in a couple hours, kiddo. I'm sure the food won't spoil that quickly." Steven knew that was a possibility but in all honesty he just wanted to do something else other than sit at home bored out of his mind while waiting for the power to come back on. This way he could also be more prepared if a similar situation happened in the future.

"I know, but I sort of promised Lion I'd give him one of his favorite treats when we got back, and I don't want to disappoint him." He gave the feline a small pat on the head.

"Well, alright. I still have about another hour until the shop closes but you can go check out the shed if you'd like." Greg situated himself again on the lounge chair, bringing his guitar back to its original spot in his lap. "Only if Lion goes with you though. I don't want you going out all by yourself in the heat like this."

Steven was thrilled that he'd actually have something to do to pass the time. "Yeah! Come on Lion, let's head out on the next leg of our quest!" The young half-Gem proclaimed triumphantly, hopping back up onto the feline's back.

"Just make sure not to stay out too long, Steven. I'll give you a call once I close down for the evening." Greg waved him off. The child gave him a thumbs up before he and his animal companion took off towards their destination.

A/N: Just a note that this chapter was actually written before Nightmare Hospital premiered. I'm rather amused that my headcanon with Lion and Lion Lickers ended up being proven correct, though I'm sure I'm not the only one to play around with the idea.