Sapphire led the Gems as they made their way to the epicenter of the Sludge. It appeared as a large, slightly transparent, black bubble. "Whoa, cool!" exclaimed Steven. "Not cool! Sapphire, you can't seriously be sending Steven in there!"
"Pearl, before you make your decision, look inside."

Pearl looked closely at the bubble. Inside, something was glowing as if it were... alive.

"Something is causing this to exist. None of us can get inside without protection. Steven's bubble shield can penetrate it without him getting absorbed."
"Oh, okay. Steven, promise me you'll be careful!"
"Okay. I promise."
"Now, form your bubble shield."

Steven did as he was told and formed his large Rose Quartz Bubble Shield. "Now, hurry and find out what's causing this."
"You got it, dude!" shouted Steven with a thumbs up. Steven rolled his bubble into the Sludge bubble, which immediately closed behind him.

As soon as he got closer to the glowing object, he heard a weak voice saying "Help me! Help me!"
"Wha-?! Who's there?!"
"Help me, Rose!"
"You mean my mom?"
"Help me!"
"How can I help?" Suddenly, the glowing object came closer and as soon as he saw it, Steven realized what he needed to do.

Meanwhile, Pearl was pacing back and forth. "Oh, I just know something bad has happened!"
"Will you relax? Steven's got this!"
"Yes, Pearl. Believe in Steven."
"I do, but, I'm so worried something bad is gonna-!" Just before Pearl could finish her sentence, the Sludge Bubble exploded, sliming all of them. "STEVEN!" screamed Pearl in worry. They all ran over to see Steven in fetal position clutching something. "Steven, are you hurt?!" asked Pearl frantically. "Wait, what has he got in his arms?" asked Sapphire.

Suddenly, the object in Steven's arms began to glow in black light. Steven turned over and let it go. It rose into the sky and began absorbing all of the Sludge. Within seconds, Planet Zorak was completely cleared of Sludge. Even some Zorakians who had been buried for over a century began to wake up. The glowing object then hovered over near the Gems and split in two side-by-side glowing objects. Then, a grey-skinned humanoid began to form from them. Arms, legs, a torso, and finally a head. The figure was dressed in a black cutoff dress, black boots, and had long, spikey hair. The glowing objects revealed themselves to be black Gemstones on the figure's shoulders. The figure turned around. "Thank you, Steven," she said. "Wait, I know that voice..." said Obsidian. The woman stood up shakily and turned around. "Hello, Obsidian," she said. "Onyx!" shouted Obsidian, crying with tears of joy. Obsidian ran up and hugged her. "Onyx, I'm so glad you're back!"
"Me too, Obsidian. Me too."