(QUESTION AT THE END, (Haven't done that in a while))

The next morning, Robert was making blueberry pancakes for everyone. There was already a respectable amount on the plate, and a full bottle of maple syrup sitting next to it. Robert just ran out of batter when Steven woke up. "Would you happen to have any more flour anywhere? I just need a bit to finish up the pancakes." said Robert.

"Yeah, it's in the cabinet. You know, the Gems don't need to eat, if that's why you're making them." Steven responded.

"Well, I figured they'd appreciate it at the very least, and if someone doesn't want theirs, Amethyst can eat 'em." said Robert as he poured the last of the batter in the pan.

Just then, the Gems came out of their respective rooms of the temple. "Someone's ready to start the day," said Garnet, patting Robert's back. "Everyone gets three, if you don't want your pancakes, I think Amethyst will be more than happy to eat them," Robert explained. There were exactly twenty-four pancakes on the plate.

"You mean...you made this for us?" Pearl asked. Robert nodded as he got out plates for everyone. "Wait, twenty-four divided by three is eight, and there's only six of us here? What about the other two?" Amethyst asked.

"I thought Lapis and Peridot would appreciate some pancakes as well." said Robert as he took a plate to the barn.

"I'm coming with you, like it or not." said Amethyst, grabbing a plate with three pancakes.

When he got there, Lapis was sitting next to Peridot, seemingly working on a Virtual Boy, although it was green instead of red, and the label on the front seemed to be replaced with what appeared to be a slot used for disks. There were also two black Wii nunchucks whose wires have been cut off. Robert looked away from the contraption and gave Lapis her pancakes.

"What's the occasion?" she asked. "Well, I wanted to ask you for something..." said Robert.

"What do you want?" she asked, taking a bite of her pancakes. "By the way, what did you put in these? They're really good."

"I put in blueberries, and I wanted to ask you about our double date" Robert explained. "You mean about who's coming? I asked Peridot, and she insisted on wanting to take Amethyst." Lapis answered. Robert smiled, because he liked the idea of Amethyst and Peridot being together, That's when he noticed a painting of the quartz on the wall.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you if we could reschedule it for later on today." Robert asked.

Lapis blushed "W-Why would you do that?" she asked.

Robert blushed. "Well, the wait's been rather painful...and I wanted to head out to get my parents, as well as my sister, as soon as possible." said Robert, blushing,Lapis's eyes widened as she lightly pushed Robert.

"You never told me you had a sister!" she shouted.

"Well, one, I didn't either," said Robert, "And two, you didn't ask."

"Wait, you have a sister? What's her name? Where is she?" asked Amethyst.

Robert blushed. "I...don't know her name, she began talking to me and Michael telepathically from the Human Zoo...She said our real parents were with her, and they were going to be executed in a month" Robert explained.

"I'm sorry," Lapis responded as she pulled him into a tight hug. Robert returned the favor.

"I really hope you're not using this as a guilt trip," Lapis whispered.

"I'm not, you can come with me tomorrow if you want me to prove it." Robert whispered back. Lapis held on tighter. "What if your family doesn't like me?" she asked. Robert thought for a moment.

"Nonsense, they'll love you. They love me, and I love you, so therefore, by the transitive property, they'll love you, too." Robert explained. Lapis and Robert let go of each other.

"Wanna get ready for our date?" Lapis asked

"Yeah, we should dress for the occasion, just text me when you're ready" said Robert, taking everyone's plates back to the Beach House.

When he got back, Michael was going through Robert's ministule wardrobe, searching for something nice for him to wear. He organized the clothes in three piles. Robert picked up a green t-shirt.

"Nuh-uh, put that down," Michael said. Robert looked confused.

"Why?" Robert asked. Michael rolled his eyes.

"You need to burn that, dude. Use your fire power, rub sticks together, I don't care, that pile is the 'burn' pile." Michael explained.

"Why are you going through my clothes?" Robert asked.

"Garnet said you were planning on rescheduling your date for today, and I need to make sure you can dress...decent!" Michael explained. "Also, be careful, you may get attacked while you're out. Here, try this."

Michael handed Robert a blue T-shirt with a yellow star, similar to Steven's red shirt and a pair of blue jeans with ripped ankles. "And go take a shower, too. You reek, dude." Michael said. Robert grabbed clean underwear and a clean pair of ankle socks from his clothes box and hopped off the loft and went to the bathroom.

MEANWHILE...

Lapis was trying to decide what to wear. "Hey Peridot, what should I wear for the date?" she asked.

Peridot came out of the barn wearing a yellow dress, "I'm not entirely sure, but I think that sweater with the gold star a would look excellent on you." Peridot answered. Lapis smiled at the suggestion, because that's the first thing Robert suggested she try on.

When she put it on and looked in the mirror, her eyes widened. Oh my stars, she thought, I look so cute in this!

Lapis then found a jean skirt to go with it and looked at Peridot. "Are you ready?" Peridot asked,

"Yeah, let's go." Lapis responded as she texted Robert.

MEANWHILE AT THE BEACH HOUSE...

Robert was sitting on the couch next to Amethyst, who wore high-heeled pumps, and her hair was tied back into a ponytail, with a strand of hair covering one eye, complete with a black dress that reached to her knees.

Just then, Lapis and Peridot appeared on the warp pad. Robert blushed when he saw Lapis's current outfit. She's so cuuuuute!! He thought.

Amethyst took Peridot's hand, and Robert took Lapis's, and they headed out.

"I never knew you had such a cute dress, Peri-bean," Amethyst remarked. Peridot blushed intensely. "Please don't call me that," Peridot mumbled under her breath.

The four headed out. When they were on the dock, Amethyst, Peridot, and Lapis looked to Robert for direction. "Where we going?" Amethyst asked. Robert smiled and led them into Fish Stew Pizza.

Robert knew Kiki and Jenny from when he was searching for a job before, but he wasn't good at making pizza, so he didn't apply.

The place looked fairly busy, so they found a random booth and sat down, with Robert across from Lapis and Amethyst across from Peridot and Amethyst next to Robert.

When Robert sat down, he felt an overwhelming guilt overcome him, and his expression turned solemn. Should I really be doing this? I could be out saving my sister and my parents, and here I am just waiting on pizza. Robert thought.

"Is something wrong?" Lapis asked, concerned. Robert thought for a moment.

"Yeah, it's just...do you think it's wrong for me to be wasting my time here when I could be out saving my sister and parents?" Robert asked.

"Well, who is going to get you to the human Zoo?" Peridot asked.

"And who's gonna get you back?" Amethyst added.

"We're all here for you, you don't have to go through this alone," said Lapis, grasping Robert's hand. Robert blushed as he looked into her eyes.

After the talk, they had a great time, talking about everything from why Earthbound is the masterpiece that it is, to why Action 52 is the terrible crap-heap that it is. Obviously, Robert paid the bill, which was a lot less than he was expecting.

When they got out, the sky was turning red. "So that's it?" Lapis asked. Robert smirked confidently. "No, we're just getting started." Robert responded as they headed to Fun Land.

"Don't you work here?" Peridot asked.

"I used to, I resigned a week ago..." Robert said in a somber tone. Lapis bit her lip, because she knew exactly why he resigned

"But that's not important!" he said, and they headed through the gate.

They had a good time. Peridot dominated the high scores in most of the games in the arcade, Amethyst made the Test Your Strength bell leave orbit, and Robert and Lapis played Dance Dance revolution, although Robert wasn't very good. He had two left feet when it came to dancing.

As soon as they stopped playing, they heard Mr. Smiley screaming, as if being crushed or kidnapped, and Robert and Lapis went to check it out.

When Robert saw what was happening, he had a flashback.

(FLASHBACK)

Robert was five years old that fateful night. He, his brother, and his sister were watching Monsters Inc. when two large yellow bodies burst through the walls on either side of the TV and grabbed Robert's parents. Robert, Michael, and their sister fled the scene, but she was grabbed by a blue light that pulled her inside. "You can't escape us, human scum!" a british female voice taunted. Robert turned around for just a second and saw the captor looked a lot like a blue schoolgirl South Park kid. Robert had no time to get their names, and continued running along with Michael.

(END OF FLASHBACK)

Robert has attempted to forget that memory for the longest time since, and seeing her now, the one who took Robert's family away from him. The one who made his life miserable for nearly a decade. Seeing her now filled Robert with rage. It filled him to the point to where a black aura emanated from his body.

" P U T H I M D O W N !" Robert growled, the schoolgirl turned around and grinned maliciously. "Or what?" she taunted, her voice even more annoying than he remembers.

" O R T H I S P L A N E T W I L L B E Y O U R G R A V E ! !" Robert growled as he drew his sword.

"Fine, we didn't come for this twat, we came for you!" the girl said as the now larger giant yellow body turned around. Robert calmed down, although not by much. "Alright, you have two options; You can leave this planet, never come back, and enjoy the rest of your life, or you can D I E H E R E ! Capiche?" Robert yelled.

To be continued...

QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER: Should Robert spare Aquamarine? Explain why or why not.