Steven
"ONYX!" we all yelled.
Behind us, the earth cracked open and the ground we were standing on shifted, causing the unconscious Gems to slide.
Amethyst grabbed Lapis. Garnet got a hold of Onyx, but Pearl was just a second too late to grab Jasper and she fell into the fissure.
I looked over to Onyx. He was breathing heavily as if he were in pain.
"It must be the Cluster!" said Garnet. "Peridot was right! Steven! It's up to you! The warp pad was destroyed! We won't make it back in time!"
I shook my head. I didn't want to drill without them!
"Wake up!" Garnet demanded. "Get Peridot and start drilling! The Earth needs you, Steven! We'll be fine! You can do this!"
I didn't want to… but they were right. There was no time for them to get back. I nodded at Garnet and closed my eyes.
"You got this, dude!" said Amethyst. "You know the drill!"
"Be careful, Steven!" said Pearl. "Watch each other's backs."
"And Steven…" Garnet said, as her voice grew faint, "we love you..."
My eyes opened and the ground was shaking violently. The chalkboard almost fell over. At least I was back in my body. I stood up and looked to Peridot who was standing on top of the platform next to the drill.
"If you're done just lying there, maybe it's about time that we STOP THE WORLD FROM ENDING!" Peridot yelled.
I ran up the ladder.
"Where are the others?!" said Peridot.
"They're stuck on Mask Island!" I said. "We have to drill without them!"
"Augh! Am I the only one who understands the meaning of teamwork?!" Peridot said, as I ran up the ladder. "Okay…"
Peridot put her hands on my shoulders.
"Steven," said Peridot. "Are you ready to drill down into the planet, to depth never before reached by your species to stop the Cluster and save your world?!"
"I dunno!" I yelled.
"Don't say that!" said Peridot. "Say we'll do it together and it's gonna be great!"
"We're gonna do it together and it's gonna be great!" I said.
"Liar!" Peridot yelled.
The tremors grew more and more wild and we almost fell off the platform. We quickly ran into the drill control pit, which was pretty much Peridot's escape pod.
"Ready or not, we have a mission!" Peridot said, closing the way inside.
The drill whirred on and it started to pierce the ground.
"Increasing speed…" Peridot said, pushing the control forward. And we broke through and began our journey underground.
"Alright," I said, making hands into fists. "Bracing for impact!"
"It's actually two more hours to the Cluster…" Peridot said, pointing at the screen.
"Oh…" I said. "Wish I'd brought some tunes…"
Peridot pressed a button and music started playing.
"Thanks…" I said.
We kept going deeper and deeper… and it kept getting even more dark. Also, quiet, despite the tunes.
"It's kinda… freaky down here, huh?" I said.
"Why's that?" said Peridot.
"It's just dark and cramped… I can't even… stretch out!" I said, trying to move my arms out. I was shaken when felt another quake.
I sat still and tapped my fingers on my knees. The quake soon came to a stop.
"How'd you think you were gonna get everyone in here, anyway?" I said.
"I don't know," said Peridot. "They'd… shrink or something… We didn't have a lot of time to plan…"
"So… what is the plan?" I said.
"We have a drill," Peridot said, simply. "We're going to drill. Get ready! We're about to penetrate the asthenosphere!"
The rock around us was slowly getting red. Soon we were surrounded by molten rock.
...
Onyx
"...nyx… On...yx… On...yx…"
I didn't know where I was, but... someone was calling out to me. I tried to open my eyes, but it was too bright. Somebody was there, though. Their presence was mixed.
More came… and then more and more… My head started hurting again.
"S-Stop!" I yelled. "Garnet! Amethyst! Pearl!"
No response. I didn't feel that anything was around me when I waved my hand around. I wasn't even sure when I was on the ground.
Eventually, a hand did grab my wrist. At first… I thought it was Pearl, but then the grip grew tighter. I tried to pull away, but more hands grabbed me.
"S-Stop!" I yelled. "S-STEVEN!"
...
Steven
"Steven?" said Peridot. "Steven!"
I nearly jumped when Peridot talked to me. I… I didn't know why… but I felt uneasy. Was Onyx okay? For some reason I thought he was in some sort of trouble… but he was with the others, so I had no reason to worry… right?
It was suddenly pretty bright inside the drill. The area around us had hot lava everywhere.
"Whoa!" I said. "It's all lava!"
"Lava is what comes out of volcanos," said Peridot. "This is super-heated peridotite."
"Peridot...ite?" I asked.
"Yeah," said Peridot. "It's made of the same stuff as Peridots…"
"You were made on Homeworld, right?" I said.
"Mm-hm," Peridot said, nodding.
"What was it like?" I said.
"I didn't exist," Peridot said, simply. "Then I did. I don't have memories of it. Just… feelings… I… I know I can never go back to Homeworld, but… it's hard… Not to have some feelings for where you came from."
I looked to Peridot, who looked back at me. To my surprise… there was actually a tear in her eye.
"But it's fine!" Peridot said, wiping it away. "I have something different now!"
"What's that?" I said.
"You know…" Peridot said. "You… guys."
I smiled softly. Then there was a banging noise outside.
"What's that sound?" I wondered.
A hand touched the window of the drill.
"A Gem mutant!" I yelled.
"They must've buried some prototypes with the Cluster!" said Peridot.
More noise was above.
"They're all over us!" I yelled. "They're attacking the drill! What do we do?!"
Peridot pressed a button and handed me a… Nintendo 64 controller?
"Pearl didn't think it was necessary, but I never leave home without a blast cannon!" said Peridot. She turned back to the controls while I handle the mutants.
I could see the mutants on screen, so I blasted them away… but it didn't feel right.
"Something doesn't feel right about the this…" I said.
"Then use the d-pad," said Peridot.
"No, it's just… These things!" I said. "We can't just leave their gems out there. They're going to form again later… If I just bubble them, then… they'd be safe. C'mon. We gotta help them!"
"There is no helping them…" said Peridot. "They're too broken… The beings who used to be in those shards are so shattered, they don't know who they are or what's happening around them. They just seek out other Gems, looking for the missing pieces of themselves… trying to make themselves whole…"
A mutant Gem hand reached towards the camera. I had no choice but to shoot it away…
"These early experiments only combine two or three shards," said Peridot. "The Cluster will be a billion times bigger. An inseparable fusion capable of destroying worlds, starting with this one!"
We hit something and everything started shaking.
"We're hitting some denser rock!" said Peridot. "This is it!"
...
Onyx
I wanted to break free… Wanted to summon my weapon, but I was so very exhausted. Fighting with a cracked gem really took it out of me.
"Want to… need to…" said the voice. "No! On...yx… re...member…"
I was still being grabbed, but if I stopped struggling they didn't hold me back too tightly.
"What… do you want?" I said, softly.
Then I heard the screams of Steven and Peridot. I forced my eyes to open and I saw them holding each other closely in fear, in some sort of control room.
"Steven, I'm sorry I couldn't save you or the billions of other life forms that matter far, far, less to me!" said Peridot. "Do you have any last words?!" she shrieked.
"...I love you, Peridot!" Steven said, embracing her.
"Wow, thanks…" Peridot said, sadly.
I saw a field of millions of Gems. The Cluster! It was taking form! It started to glow and everything grew bright and I closed my eyes.
"STEVEN!" I yelled in terror.
It grew silent. I looked again and it was dark. There were small specks of light around me. Whatever was grabbing me was gone… I sense the presence of many around me… And all were strangely… familiar.
Was this… part of the Cluster?
My eyes widened. Those weren't sparkles… They were shards. A lot of them were dark. They shined a little when they spoke.
"Re… member…" they said.
"Re… Remember?" I said. "Remember… what?"
Why? Why did they sound so familiar?!
The shards started glowing and everything turned white. I closed my eyes as the sharp pain came back. It was the worst ever and I broke out screaming. I forced my eyes to open and I saw… a mirror. I saw the… Diamond emblem on my forehead, glowing faintly. There were a pair of doors behind me and when it opened I saw a white light outside. That light caught my eye and everything else around it faded. Then there was a hand holding it back… A woman… No! It was a Gem. She had long, flowing black hair… and she was really big… Was it a fusion?
"I finally understand… The future of our kind… belong to them alone…"
In a flash, I saw many hands trying to grab on someone and fuse. A giant fusion faced a light with a giant, shining sword.
"Our wish… and the future our kind… are in your hands! Yours and Rose's!"
The light grew brighter and shards flew past me. I closed my eyes again.
When I looked again, giant figures loomed in the distance.
"You live to serve YOUR HOMEWORLD!"
Something hit me in the head and was sent flying back into darkness. For a moment, I saw that Diamond emblem…
"THE ONLY… HOPE!"
No more… I can't take this anymore...
"Onyx!" said a familiar voice. "Onyx!"
My hands were over my face.
"Onyx!" said the voice. "It's me! Look at me! It's okay!"
Two hands grabbed my arms and parted my hands. It was Steven.
"S-Steven!" I yelled. I lunged forward and embraced him tightly.
"It's okay," said Steven. "I'm right here."
"H-How are you h-here?!" I said, shivering.
"I… dunno…" said Steven. "Peridot and I tried to drill to the Cluster, when we made it and… something happened… to me… I think."
"Th-The Cluster…" I said. "I think i-it was… c-calling out to me…"
I brought myself to look and saw a bunch of shards around us.
"Wh...Where are we?" I said.
"I… I'm not sure…" said Steven. "Wait, the Cluster called out to you?"
"Y-Yes…" I said, trying to look away from the shards, but they were everywhere… "There were shards… They were dark like…" My voice trailed away when I saw my cracked gem.
"Don't worry about your gem," said Steven. "The others are gonna take care of it."
"Want to… Want to…"
"You want to?" Steven said, looking around. "Want to… what?"
Suddenly, we were surrounded by a white light.
"FORM!"
"AHHH! Please! Stop!" Steven yelled.
The light faded and it grew silent.
"I-It's the Cluster…" I said.
"We're talking to the Cluster?!" said Steven.
"...must… have to… want to… need to… must…"
"N-No!" I said. "Don't take form!"
The white light came back and the Cluster was shouting.
"FORM! FORM… FORM… FORM! FORM!"
The light faded again.
"Maybe instead of forming you could do something else?" said Steven.
"FORM!" the Cluster shouted.
"Boy, you've sure got the one tracky-est mind I've ever met," said Steven.
"NEED FORM!" the Cluster shouted. "To be… whole…"
"Wh-Whole?" I said.
Steven looked at the shards.
"Oh… Your shards!" said Steven. "You just want to find the rest of your Gems. But forming won't help you find the rest of yourselves. You'll just destroy the Earth!"
"Want to… need to…"
"But if you want to find other Gems, there's so many of you right here! Look! Shard, meet shard! See? You already have so much to talk about!"
All around us, the shards began conversing with one another. Steven pushed me back a little so I could see.
"See? Look!" said Steven. "It's okay."
"Whoa…" I said.
"This is great!" said Steven. "You don't even need to form! You can just stay here!"
"Want to stay…" the Cluster said, happily.
Suddenly, the light came back.
"CAN'T STOP! GOING TO FORM! CAN'T STOP! GOING TO FORM! Help! Help! Help!"
"...Now what?" I said.
"It's okay!" said Steven. "If I just bubble you, you won't have to come out! It'll keep you safe! Here, look! Like this!" Steven started trying to frantically bubble the Gems. "I can bubble you! I can bubble you! I can bubble you!" He ran out of breath.
"Well… That's five…" I said.
"I'm sorry!" Steven shouted. "I can't do it alone!"
The dark shards floated around me… and I heard those words again as everything I saw before flashed before me.
"THE ONLY... HOPE!"
The shards around me were shining and before I knew it… my gem was also glowing too. It was then… I had some understanding as to what the Cluster was trying to tell me.
"Steven!" I said. "Give me your hand!"
More of those dark shards gathered around and added their power to mine. Steven reached out his hand.
"I've got this!" I said.
"We've got this!" said Steven.
"WE'VE ALL GOT… EACH OTHER!" we shouted.
As soon as we grabbed each other's hands a light blinded both of us. For a brief moment, I saw the Cluster trapped in a bubble… and a dark aura was around it… Then everything was silent.
"Onyx…?" said a voice.
I couldn't believe it. I tried to make out who it was. Please, let it be who I think it is!
"G...Garnet?" I said, softly.
"Yes, it's me," said Garnet. "You're okay… and… we love you…"
I heard the sound of a waterfall. When I opened my eyes, I saw that everything was pink. There was the silhouette of what I thought was Rose.
"R...Rose?" I said, softly.
Then I saw it was just a statue. Then I saw Pearl to my left and Amethyst to my right. They both had tears in their eyes.
"Oh, thank goodness!" said Pearl. "I thought we lost you!"
"P… Pearl?" I said. I looked to my right. "Amethyst?"
"Ah, you're okay," said Amethyst.
I was still a little shaken up… but I did feel a little better. There were tears in my eyes. It wasn't until Garnet put her hands on my shoulders that I realized I was resting on her lap.
"Take it nice and easy," Garnet said, gently.
Garnet helped me sit up and I saw that this was some sort of spring.
"What is this place?" I said.
"This is Rose's spring," said Pearl. "The fountain is filled with her healing essence."
"Healing…?" I said. "Like Steven?"
"Rose Quartz had healing tears that flowed through her gem," said Garnet. "She felt great care to those around her and she felt real sorrow when they were hurt."
I looked at my gem. It wasn't cracked anymore…
"I'm… I'm sorry…" I said. "I should've stayed like you said…"
"No, it's fine…" said Garnet. "It was because of you that we were able to find enough time to fuse."
"Don't ever do anything like that again!" said Pearl.
"Don't worry me again!" said Amethyst.
I looked away, bracing for Amethyst to punch me… but she hugged me instead.
"...Wh...Where's… Lapis and Jasper?" I said, blushing.
"We have Lapis," said Pearl. "But… we lost Jasper…"
Beyond Pearl, Lapis was lying unconscious.
"Don't hurt Lapis…" Steven had said. "Leave her be…"
"Well…" I said. "I… I'm glad… she's okay…"
"So, what happened to you?" said Amethyst.
"I... I don't know..." I said. "But... Okay... L-Let me start from the beginning..."
...
?
"What was that?!"
"I'm not sure! Lieutenant, should we-"
"NO!"
"..."
"...Sir?"
"I mean... No. It's fine. The common soldiers have got this... We shouldn't have to..."