Steven Universe: In Too Deep

There Is No Helping Them

Steven backs away into Peridot as he gasps. "A gem mutant!" Peridot faces in Steven's direction as well. "They must've buried some prototypes with the cluster!" They look up as they hear banging on top of the compartment.

"They're all over us! They're attacking the drill! What do we do?!" Peridot presses a button on the control panel and a mutant flies right off the top of compartment as a weaponized CCTV camera pops up.

Peridot hands Steven a video-game controller with a D-pad, control stick, a red button, and four yellow buttons on it. "Pearl didn't think it was necessary, but I never leave home without a blast cannon."

Steven takes the controller as live footage of the gem mutants are displayed on the panel as an aiming guide. Steven pulls down on the control stick and the camera blasts away a mutant.

The camera turns around and the laser fires at another mutant. It then fires at another one right next to it. Steven stops and looks down. "Something doesn't feel right about this." Peridot points at the D-pad.

"Then use the D-pad." Steven looks over at Peridot. "No it's just...ngah. These things." Steven pulls on the control stick again to fire at another mutant. "We can't just leave their gems out there."

Steven looks up at the ceiling in anguish. "They're going to form again later. If I could just bubble them, then, they'd be safe." A gem mutant arm attempting to climb the compartment loosens its grip and flies off.

Steven faces Peridot. "C'mon. We've gotta help them." Peridot turns away back to the controls. "There is no helping them. 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."

A gem mutant hand reaches out to the camera. "They just seek out other gems, looking for the missing pieces of themselves. Trying to make themselves whole." Steven blasts away the mutant.

"These early experiments only combine two or three shards." Peridot faces the window. "The cluster will be a billion times bigger. An inseparable fusion capable of destroying worlds, starting with this one."

The drill hits a layer of denser rock as it shakes. "We're hitting some denser rock. This is it!" The drill continues to dig through as it enters darkness. It pierces the ceiling, creating a huge opening and the drillhead stops spinning along with the drill.

The drillhead retracts as a pair of mobile binoculars attached to a flashlight appear in its place. Light shines throughout the giant space as it looks around. "Recovery depth achieved."

Peridot's eyes widen. "Target found." Peridot retracts her head from the binoculars and looks up through them in fear. Steven puts a hand on Peridot's shoulder. "Is that..." Peridot's eyes narrow. "The Cluster."