"No, don't knock down the basket, just kick it the way I showed you to!"

"I don't want to kick it! I want to murder it!"

"It's already dead!"

"I can still kill it!"

"No, you can't!"

"Then explain how I already killed it."

"You didn't!"

Jay and I smile at each other. Peridot is trying to train Ryker, but it isn't quite working the way she planned.

"Stella?" Jay asks.

"What's up, Bro?"

"Why are the Crystal Gems so important? I thought gems were bad."

"Well, Jay, gems are like humans. You can't say one thing about them, because one of them will always break the rules. The Crystal Gems are the ones that break the rules." I reply, looking up at the tree tops. I wonder what's beyond the trees.

"The Crystal Gems are the good guys, right?" Jay asks after a few minutes.

I nod.

"Are we the bad guys? The humans, I mean."

"The gems who follow the three Diamonds are the bad guys."

"Then what does that make the humans?"

"The damsels in distress, I guess."

Jay laughs.

"But the three of us and those two gems, we're the rebels trying to help out the heroes."

"We're the coolest!" Jay exclaims, jumping up. "Ryker, we're the best good guys ever!"

Ryker turns around and gives me a small grin, and I nod back at him.

"Now, Shorter Human, punch the log." Peridot directs. She's been calling Ryker 'Shorter Human' since I'm about five inches taller than him. I'm 'Tall Human' and Jay is 'Very Short Human'.

Ryker does what he's told, but goes a bit too far and ends up punching the log with too much force. It falls over with a thud.

"That's not what you're supposed to do! You're not trying to knock over your enemies! Just punch them and run!" Peridot yells at Ryker.

"Jay, right now the journey might sound dangerous, but I promise you that we'll have some fun. We'll finally be able to spend some time outside all together." I tell Jay.

"Will there be rain?"

"I'm sure there will be rain."

"What about grass?"

"Maybe in some parts. But the gems have been using the nutrients from the grass and other plants to create new gems." I sigh.

"Why? There are enough gems already. There's no point in making more."

"That's what everyone said about humans."