Steven Universe: In Too Deep

The Cluster and Malachite

Steven abruptly wakes up, panting after his unexpected encounter with Malachite. He is human again and back at the barn which is also his father's storage shed outside.

He faces his caretakers, the Crystal Gems. Three women. One in an elegant outfit with a pearl gem on her forehead. Another, red with sunglasses on her face and two gems on her hands.

And one more, purple with long hair similar to Malachite's and an amethyst gem on her chest. He then faces the newest member of the team. A green one with a visor and a diamond supported outfit with a peridot gem on her forehead.

"Didn't you feel that?" Amethyst looks up from her sandwich. "Feel what?" "The ground shook! This could be the start of the emergence of the Cluster!" Peridot shows a presentation on a chalk board next to her as she stands on a box.

"Stage 1: Slight tremors every quarter hour. Stage 2: Full scale earthquakes. Stage 3:" Peridot flips the chalkboard to the other side. First, it had drawings of earthquake readings.

Now it has a picture of Earth being blown to pieces with the words "CLUSTER EMERGES!" above it and "BYE BYE EARTH!" below it. "The Earth is destroyed! We're running out of time. We need to drill right now!"

"No, it's Malachite!" Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst's eyes widen to the comment. "Malachite?!" Peridot on the other hand, quickly loses her hysteria. Her hands drop and her eyes narrow. "What."

"I was on Mask Island. I was in a Watermelon Steven. They have a lovely community, but Malachite, she was there!" Amethyst coughs out a bite of her sandwich. Everyone looks at Garnet.

"Lapis Lazuli is losing control. Soon Jasper will overpower her and Malachite will be loose." Pearl adds in. "Who knows what sort of destruction an unstable fusion like Malachite could cause!"

"Alright, Gems. Pearl, Amethyst and I will warp to Mask Island. Steven, it's too dangerous for you. Stay here and watch the drill with Peridot. Let's go, Gems! To the nearest warp pad!" Pearl and Amethyst chime in.

"To the nearest warp pad!" Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl pant as they run off. A bright strip of light goes up and it quickly fades not long afterward. Steven and Peridot look at each other as a tremor shakes the ground.

"Woah!" Steven and Peridot walk back mattress and they sit down on it. "So...Lazuli has Jasper trapped in a fusion? You're joking me." "It's true! But Lapis must be getting tired from fighting Jasper for so long."

Peridot looks away in disgust. "Just being on a ship with Jasper made me tired." Steven and Peridot's eyes wide as another tremor shakes the ground beneath them. "Woah! Ah!" Steven jumps up. "I gotta help them! But they told me it was too dangerous."

"Why don't you just disobey them? Rebel. Isn't that, like, your guys' thing?" Steven gasps. "You're right. Oh, I know! I'll fall asleep and go into a Watermelon Steven again. This way, I can help them and be safe at the same time."

He crosses his arms and closes his eyes. "Eheheheheh." He lays down on the mattress and spreads his arms out to get comfortable. "Wow. You're a real anarchist." "No one can tell...me what to do."

Steven starts snoring. Peridot gets up, her hysteria coming back. "Wait, what do I do now? Don't just leave me here!" She sits back down and sighs a long, deep, frustrated sigh.