As soon Steven, Jasper and Peridot come back, they're quickly welcomed with armored soldiers pointing their guns at them. Andrew standing behind them with a serious face.

Peridot widens her eyes and raises her hands in fear.

Steven chuckles. "Chill, people. Everything's solved. Apparently Jasper and Peridot decided to not be a tool for Homeworld anymore."

Andrew keeps his stern gaze fixed on Jasper and Peridot. The soldiers don't lower their weapons.

"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it, Steven." Andrew says, eyes narrowing. "How do we know this isn't some kind of trick?"

Jasper grunts, crossing her arms. "If it were, you'd already be dead."

"Not helping." Steven mutters before stepping forward, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Look, I get it. But trust me, Peridot and Jasper made their choice. They're with us now."

Peridot nods quickly, her hands still raised. "Yes! Absolutely! No more following Homeworld's every command. Free will! Autonomy! Very appealing concepts!" She laughs nervously.

Andrew doesn't look convinced. "I don't take risks when it comes to security." He glances at Jasper. "Especially with her kind."

Jasper clenches her fists. " Her kind? You got something to say, human?"

Steven glances at her and chuckles. "With all due respect, Jasper, you were determined to destroy us till like fifteen minutes ago, besides, you broke out your cell like nothing."

Andrew doesn't flinch under Jasper's glare. If anything, he stands his ground even more, shoulders squared, his grip firm on the rifle hanging from his vest.

"Exactly." He says. "Fifteen minutes ago, you were an enemy combatant. Forgive me if I don't just roll out a welcome mat."

Jasper snarls, taking a step forward, but Steven quickly holds out an arm in front of her.

"Okay! Everyone, let's take a deep breath," Steven says, flashing a nervous smile. "We don't need this to turn into a standoff."

Andrew doesn't move. The soldiers don't lower their weapons. Peridot is still frozen in place, hands up, shifting her gaze between everyone. Jasper huffs, cracking her knuckles, but stays put.

Steven exhales. "Look, I get it, Andrew. I really do. But trust is a two-way street. If we want Jasper and Peridot to actually work with us, we need to show them that we trust them, too."

Andrew's expression remains unreadable for a moment before he slowly tilts his head. "That's a lot to ask."

Steven nods. "Yeah, I know. But what's the alternative? Keeping them locked up forever? That didn't exactly work out." He gestures to Jasper. "Besides, she came back willingly."

Jasper scowls but doesn't argue.

Andrew exhales sharply through his nose. "Whatever. But they're on probation. No unsupervised movement, no access to critical areas, and they stay under watch at all times." He gives Steven a pointed look. "One sign of trouble, and I shut this down. Understood?"

Steven chuckles. "Sure. You're the boss."

"Good. Now let's go back to making the drill. We still need to destroy the Cluster."

Later, the drill construction is going incredibly smooth and swift. It's almost done, Peridot working nonstop and even Jasper helping with the heaviest materials.

Meanwhile, Steven and Fionna chat with each other, both incredibly close to each other. Peridot groans. "Steven! What are you doing with the human?! You're supposed to be helping with the drill!"

Steven and Fionna pause for a moment and look at each other smiling.

They take each other's hands and move in a slow dance for a moment before kissing and fusing into Stionna.

Stionna chuckles. "Damn, it's been a while since we've been… Well, me." They chuckle. "Forgot how good it feels."

Peridot widens her eyes and stutters. "Y- Y- You just fused with a human?! Is that even possible?!"

Jasper pauses and looks with a frown. "Ugh, of course, fusing . The cheap trick that only serves to make weak gems stronger." She scoffs. "And fusing with a human? Seriously? Disgusting."

Stionna chuckles and appear in front of Jasper with a black flash. "C'mon, Jasp, give us a break. We're helping, right? We're stronger and smarter like this, hehe."

Jasper crosses her arms, her expression twisting into one of disgust. "Tch. Whatever. Just don't expect me to play along with your little… abomination."

Peridot, meanwhile, is still frozen in shock, her fingers twitching as she tries to process what she just witnessed. "But—But that's not how fusion works! Humans don't have gems! They don't have a stable energy matrix—How did—How is this—What?!"

Stionna smirks, spinning around effortlessly before stopping in front of the drill with a thoughtful expression. "Steel might not be able to destroy the drill…" They grin. "But I might be able to do something. After all, energy equal mass times the speed of light squared…"

Stionna grins, their eyes glowing faintly as they focus their energy. The surrounding air seems to hum with power, and the steel components of the drill begin to shimmer and vibrate. Peridot, still wide-eyed and frazzled, stumbles back a step, her hands flailing as she tries to make sense of what's happening.

"W-Wait! What are you doing?! You can't just—you can't just alter the molecular structure of the steel like that! That's not how physics works!" Peridot sputters, her voice rising in pitch.

Stionna chuckles, their voice a perfect blend of Steven's calm warmth and Fionna's playful confidence. "Oh, Peridot, you're thinking too small. We just need to transform the matter to energy and back to matter, not that hard."

With a wave of their hand, the steel begins to shift and morph, its dull gray surface transforming into a sleek, iridescent material that seems to glow faintly from within. The drill's structure becomes denser, more compact, and yet somehow lighter. Stionna steps back, admiring their work with a satisfied smirk.

"There. Now that's a drill. Harder than diamond, lighter than titanium, and capable of withstanding temperatures that would melt most metals. Oh, and it's practically indestructible. Should do the trick, don't you think?" Stionna says, crossing their arms and tilting their head at Peridot.

Peridot's jaw drops, her hands twitching as if she wants to grab her tablet and start taking notes but is too stunned to move. "I—I—that's impossible! You can't just—how did you—what even is that material?!"

Stionna pauses. "... 'Stionniten'... ?"

Peridot's eyes narrow as she steps closer to the drill, her fingers twitching as if she's itching to analyze the new material. "Stionniten? You just named it?!" she exclaims, her voice cracking slightly. "You can't just create a new element and name it after yourself! That's—that's not how science works!"

Stionna shrugs, their smirk widening. "Why not? We made it, so we get to name it. Seems fair to me."

Jasper, who had been watching the scene with a mix of irritation and disbelief, finally speaks up. "This is ridiculous. You're wasting time playing around with shiny rocks when we have a mission to complete. The Cluster isn't going to destroy itself."

Stionna turns to Jasper, their expression softening slightly. "Relax, Jasper. We're on it. This drill is going to be more than enough to handle the Cluster. Trust us."

Jasper scoffs, crossing her arms. "Trust you? You're a walking contradiction. A fusion between a gem and a human? It's unnatural."

Stionna's eyes narrow, but their tone remains calm. "Unnatural or not, we're here, and we're helping. Isn't that what matters?"

Before Jasper can retort, Andrew's voice cuts through the tension. "Enough. We don't have time for this." He steps forward, his rifle still slung across his chest but his posture slightly less rigid. "If this… Stionniten drill is as powerful as you say, then let's get it ready. The sooner we deal with the Cluster, the better."

Peridot, still visibly flustered, finally snaps out of her shock and starts inspecting the drill more closely. "This… this is incredible. The molecular structure is completely stable, and the energy output is off the charts! How did you even—?"

Stionna interrupts her with a playful wink. "Who cares? Time's ticking."

Some hours later, Stionna, Peridot, Jasper and the rest of the engineer team look at the drill.

It's big enough to fit a small team of people and the materials surely are strong enough to reach the Cluster.

Stionna grins. "What are we waiting for? Let's get in!"

Jasper scoffs and turns her back at them. "Don't count with me with that."

Peridot groans. "Let's get this over…"

Peridot with Stionna and a few human engineers take the drill to the excavation area, entering it and reading it to excavate to the Cluster.

Already on their positions, Peridot and Stionna sit next to each other. Peridot groans and looks to Stionna. "We're about to initiate the drill… but before we begin, would you mind unfusing? It's making me incredibly uncomfortable."

Stionna frowns and stick their tongue. "No, deal with it."

Peridot stares at them but sighs. "Are you ready to drill down into the planet to depths never reached by your species to stop the Cluster before it forms and save your world?"

Stionna smirks, stretching their arms behind their head. "Of course! Drilling deep into the Earth to stop an apocalyptic geo-weapon? Sounds like a regular Tuesday."

Peridot nods. "Ready or not, here we go."

She starts the engine of the drill and it begins excavating. "Increasing speed…"

She increases the speed, making it go way faster into the planet. Stionna sits on her seat, just waiting calmly. "... So, how long till we arrive there?"

Peridot points to a map. "Approximately one hour."

Stionna smirks. "Great. More time to be myself."

After a while, the drill is still working properly. Stionna unfused for a while, so Steven and Fionna are cuddling in their chair peacefully.

The drill shakes a bit and they fuse back into Stionna.

"Get ready, we're about to penetrate the asthenosphere." Warns Peridot.

And they begin to pass by amber-glowing stones. Stionna widens their eyes. "Wow. It's all lava."

"Actually, lava is what comes from volcanoes." She corrects with a smile. "That's superheated peridotite."

Stionna raises a brow. "And what's that supposed to be?"

"It's made of the same stuff as Peridots."

"Huh… nice."

Then, the Drill begins having some turbulance.

Stionna widens their eyes. "Uhm, is this normal?"

Then, both Peridot and Stionna hear a scream from the other engineers. They look back. "What's going on?!"

The engineer points to a window in fear. There is a colorful arm connected to other one outside the drill… but it still seems alive.

"What the fuck is that?!"

Peridot takes a glare and widens her eyes. "Gem experiments."

Stionna glances at her. " WHAT?!"

Peridot sighs. "Yellow Diamond used to make experiments on shards of gems. She mixed them together to make a single gem, and in the end it's basically…" She looks at Stionna in silence. "... Forced fusions."

They widen their eyes, about to say something, but they stop. "... We'll discuss that later, Peridot. Do we have any way to defend ourselves?"

Peridot nods. "Yeah. I've put some blast cannons here. Y'know, just in case."

She clicks a few buttons and several cannons come from the drill, poofing the gem experiments away.

Soon, they hit some denser rock, and they finally reach The Cluster .

Stionna suddenly feels nauseous for a moment.

Peridot looks at them and raises a brow. "Are you okay?"

Stionna nods. "Yeah, yeah… it's just… I don't know, I feel this weird energy here. Not in the mythical way, but literally."

Peridot groans. "We have no time for this. We're about to pierce the cluster!"

As the drill touches the Cluster surface, Stionna feels the nausea hit stronger and they fall from their seat.

Peridot glares at them, but Stionna motions to her to keep going. They open their eyes and see something weird. They see what looks like billions of souls coming from the Cluster.

They widen their eyes. "Steven, what is this?... No idea, Finn."

But soon, the Cluster glows at it tries to emerge.

Peridot widens her eyes. "We came too late! It is emerging!"

Stionna tries to get up, but the energy only grows stronger and stronger.

The drill shakes violently as the Cluster begins to stir. The cavern trembles, and fractures shoot through the surrounding rock, glowing with an ominous golden light. Stionna grits their teeth, clutching their head as the overwhelming energy radiating from the Cluster surges through them.

Peridot's fingers fly across the controls, panic in her voice. "It's destabilizing! If it fully emerges, we're all dead!"

Stionna groans. Suddenly, they hear a voice on their head. "Hello, my dear boy."

They widen their eyes and look to a window, seeing Black Diamond's eyes watching them. Stionna shivers and unfuse.

Steven slowly gets up and looks at Black Diamond's eyes. "You! Time to help us, now!"

Black Diamond laughs in amusement. "Oh, boy boy boy… I've been helping so much recently. It's almost like a mother guiding her little child, isn't it?"

Steven huffs. "Whatever you say! Just tell me what to do!"

Peridot looks at Steven in surprise. "Steven, who are you talking to?"

While Fionna just stood up in surprise. "Steven, who was this?"

But Steven doesn't answer. He gulps and sighs as he listens Black Diamond's guidance. He glances at Fionna and Peridot. "... I'll be back soon."

He cracks his neck and get off the drill.

Steven steps out of the drill, the intense energy of the Cluster pulsing through the cavern, making his skin tingle. His heart pounds as he glances back at Fionna and Peridot, both watching him with wide, uncertain eyes.

"Steven, what are you doing?!" Peridot yells. "We need to get out of here! We can't stop the Cluster like this!"

But Steven doesn't answer. His mind is locked onto the deep, resounding voice of Black Diamond echoing in his thoughts.

" So, my dear boy, you're ready for this? "

He sighs. "Not like we got other options, right?"

He clenches his fists, stepping toward the glowing, fractured mass of the Cluster. The energy of billions of gems in agony… He shudders, it's overwhelming, suffocating, like standing in the middle of a raging storm with no shelter.

"They're all in so much pain..." Steven mutters, his voice barely above a whisper.

The Cluster writhes, a massive, amorphous hand forming from the swirling shards, clawing at the cavern walls as if trying to pull itself free. The entire place shakes violently, massive chunks of rock falling from above.

"Steven!" Fionna shouts. "Whatever you're doing, do it fast!"

" You know what to do, Steven. " Black Diamond's voice hums in his mind.

He nods and set his hands over the Cluster surface. He takes a deep breath and start absorbing the Cluster's energy.

As Steven presses his hands against the Cluster, a surge of energy rushes through him, nearly knocking him off his feet. It's unlike anything he's ever felt, pure, chaotic, and overwhelming.

Fionna watches from the drill, fists clenched. "Steven! What's happening?!"

Peridot frantically checks the readings. "His vitals are off the charts! He's absorbing energy at an unsustainable rate, he can't handle that much power!"

But Steven isn't listening. His body glows with a dark energy as he channels every ounce of his being into reaching the Cluster. He groans and tries absorbing more and more of the energy. "I need… to… deactivate this!"

As Steven continues absorbing the Cluster's energy, his body shakes violently, struggling to contain the sheer magnitude of power surging through him. His eyes glow, flickering between his usual warm light and an unfamiliar dark hue, like the void itself is trying to consume him.

"Steven, stop!" Fionna yells, stepping toward him, but Peridot grabs her wrist.

"No! We can't interrupt him!" Peridot shouts, her voice panicked. "If he stops now, the Cluster could go completely unstable and erupt instantly!"

Steven groans and keep absorbing. Soon, some shards begin losing their colors and light while Steven glows in a dark-violet light.

As Steven absorbs more and more of the Cluster's energy, the cavern shudders violently, the once-brilliant shards dimming one by one, their colors fading into a lifeless gray. The overwhelming presence of billions of fractured gems, once screaming in agony, begins to quiet.

Peridot watches in shock as the monitors on the drill flicker wildly. "This—This is impossible! The Cluster's energy levels are dropping exponentially! Steven is actually doing it!"

Fionna, her hands clenched into fists, watches Steven's form glowing brighter and darker at the same time, a chaotic swirl of energy surrounding him. "But for how long?!" she shouts. "How much can he take before—"

Suddenly, the ground beneath them cracks apart. A deafening boom echoes through the cavern as Steven lets out a choked gasp, his body trembling under the sheer force of the energy within him. His form flickers, his skin crackling with violet lightning, his eyes turning pitch black.

The Cluster… is gone.

All that remains are the empty, hollow husks of its once-living shards, scattered lifelessly across the cavern floor.

Peridot steps forward in disbelief, her voice barely a whisper. "He… He actually absorbed all of it… But where did all that energy go?!"

Steven staggers, his body barely holding itself together. His veins glow like cracks in obsidian, pulsating with raw, unstable power. The air around him distorts, charged with uncontainable energy.

"I—I can't hold it in," Steven mutters, clutching his chest as waves of power ripple through him. "It's… too much!"

His body flickers erratically, shifting between solid and translucent, as if reality itself is struggling to keep him in one place.

Fionna rushes toward him. "Steven!"

But in a flash of darkness, he vanishes.

A pulse of energy surges outward from the spot where he stood, knocking Fionna and Peridot off their feet and shaking the entire cavern.

Then, silence.

Fionna gasps, scrambling to her feet. "Steven?! STEVEN!"

Peridot stares at the empty space in shock. "He's… He's gone." Her hands tremble as she checks the drill's scanners. "There's no energy signature left. He completely disappeared…"

In the middle of the ocean, a few fishermen in a fishing boat were watching the pacific in silence… When suddenly, from a far distance, they see something that looks like a giant atomic explosion that sends a shockwave, disabling the boat's engine and rattling the men inside. They stare in disbelief at the massive shockwave, unsure of what they've just witnessed.

"What just happened?"

"No idea!"

They keep watching until they hear someone climbing on the boat.

Steven climbs on the boat and lies on his back in exhaustion.

He pulls his phone from his gem and tries to call G.U.N.

The phone rings once, twice, and then a voice answers. "G.U.N. Headquarters, state your emergency."

"This is Steven Wimbleton. I stopped the Cluster absorbing its energy, but I had to go somewhere to uncharge. Now I'm in the middle of the pacific."

The operator on the other end pauses for a moment before responding. "Understood, Steven. We're tracking your signal now. Hold tight help is on the way."

Steven lowers the phone, his body still flickering faintly with residual energy. He looks up at the fishermen, who are now staring at him with a mix of awe and fear. "Thanks for the ride," He says with a weak smile. "I'll, uh… explain later."

As the sound of helicopters approaches in the distance, Steven closes his eyes, letting the exhaustion take over.

Finally, the Cluster was stopped, the planet was safe, and he could rest… for now.

[THE END]

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A few days after the Cluster deactivation, Fionna is sitting next to Steven on G.U.N's medbay bed. He's healthy, just extremely exhausted, so he needs to rest for a few days.

She sighs. At least he's alive…

But suddenly, Andrew enters the room. "Fionna, we need to talk."

On the hallways, Fionna tilts her head. "What do you need, Andrew?"

Andrew pauses, thinking about his words. "You want the bad or worst news first?"

Fionna raises an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Just hit me with it, Andrew. What's going on?"

Andrew exhales sharply. "The bad news is that we detected gem movement in the galaxy warp with the cameras we put there." He looks at Fionna. "There are other gems in Earth. We don't know if they're Homeworld Gems or just newborns."

Fionna's eyes widen. "Other gems? On Earth? What does that mean for us?"

Andrew's expression darkens. "It means we're not out of the woods yet. If they're Homeworld Gems, they could be here to finish what the Cluster started. If they're newborns… well, we don't know what they're capable of."

Fionna clenches her fists, her mind racing. "And the worst news?"

Andrew hesitates, then speaks gravely. "The worst news… Serial 73, Metal Steven… disappeared."

Fionna's heart skips a beat. "What do you mean, Metal Steven disappeared?!"

Andrew's jaw tightens. "Exactly what I said. He was under heavy surveillance, but somehow, he vanished. No signs of forced entry, no alarms triggered. He's just… gone… We have suspects, but we can't be entirely sure of who took it…"

Fionna's eyes narrow, her mind racing with possibilities. "If Metal Steven is gone, that means someone has access to advanced tech or powers we can't even comprehend. This isn't just a security breach; this is a full-blown threat."

Andrew nods grimly. "Exactly. And with gems potentially on Earth and Metal Steven missing, we're facing a two-front crisis. We need to act fast."

Fionna takes a deep breath, her determination hardening. "Then we don't have time to waste. Let's gather the team and figure out our next move. Steven's going to need to know about this too, but… let's give him a little more time to recover."

Andrew agrees. "We'll start by investigating the galaxy warp and tracking any gem activity. As for Metal Steven… we'll need to retrace every step and find out who could've taken him."

As they walk down the hallway, Fionna glances back at Steven's room, her heart heavy but resolute. The fight isn't over yet, and she knows they'll need every ounce of strength and unity to face what's coming next.

[TO BE CONTINUED]