I was heading back from the mission, still fused as Stela—mostly because, well, I had the energy source Garnet asked for. The downside? Everything went completely to shit thanks to a water slug.
I shuddered as I kept walking toward the Warp Pad and, with a quick flash, popped right back at the base.
Upon returning, Garnet was already waiting for me, completely still with her arms crossed.
"How did it go?" she asked calmly.
I stared at her for a few silent seconds.
"If there's one thing Lapis and Steven agree on," I finally said, "it's that they are never taking a mission from you again."
Garnet blinked, visibly confused.
"I always... I always run into something," I continued. "Well, Steven... well, me... I always end up running into a slug, and now I completely get why he hates them."
I said it while slime was still dripping off parts of my body.
...
Garnet stayed quiet as she accepted the engine—or rather, the energy source.
"Do whatever you want with it," I added in annoyance. "I'm taking a shower."
And with that, the fusion slammed the door behind them and entered the bathroom.
...
Garnet stared at the closed door for a few seconds and adjusted her visor.
"Well," she said to herself.
Without another word, she stepped onto the warp pad to get back to working on the drill.
After finally getting cleaned up, the fusion changed clothes and settled comfortably onto the couch, using Lapis's phone. At that moment, she just wanted to feel free and lightweight, just like Lapis. Steven had decided to stay fused as part of his training, and also as a way to get away from everything for a bit—and honestly, Lapis had no reason to say no to that.
"What are you playing?" the fusion whispered, sliding a finger across the screen.
"Something simple," she said in a distracted voice. "Five nights with horrible animatronics."
"That doesn't sound simple," the fusion replied with a low chuckle.
The screen displayed a dark hallway. Everything was quiet.
"This is way too quiet," the fusion said, narrowing her eyes. "I don't like it."
Suddenly, a metallic noise echoed from the phone.
"Ah—" she managed to say.
The animatronic's face jumpscared right onto the screen.
"HOLY SHIT!" the fusion yelled, leaping off the couch and nearly throwing the phone into the air.
Her heart was pounding fast.
"Okay," she said after a few seconds, taking a deep breath. "That is definitely not relaxing."
The screen returned to the main menu.
"...Again," she muttered, with clear distrust, but without closing the game.
And so she spent the entire night playing into the early hours of the morning, until exhaustion finally caught up with her.
"Huh?" the fusion said, feeling the heavy weight on her body.
"So this is what Steven talks about," she muttered, walking over to the bedroom and staring at the bed.
"I actually fit in that bed," she said, tilting her head slightly as she analyzed it.
"Are we going to sleep together?" she asked herself, more curious than nervous, examining the mattress like it was part of an experiment.
"I want to see if maintaining the fusion affects us mentally," she continued thinking out loud. "Garnet can do it, but she's a full Gem... I'm not, so I have my theories."
She answered herself as she lay down, letting her body relax bit by bit. That was when Lapis began to dream.
And it was also then that Lapis discovered how Steven was occasionally dragged into his human friends' dreams—confusing images, distant voices, and faces she didn't quite recognize. Safe to say, she didn't enjoy ending up in that Ronaldo guy's dream at all, and with any luck, she hoped never to do it again.
Morning arrived without warning.
The fusion woke up, and almost instantly, both halves separated.
I looked at my hands, noticing that as long as I kept enough concentration, I didn't feel any strange side effects. Then I looked at Lapis, who was still fast asleep, so I left her in bed and took my time stretching out.
Four days until Connie gets here, I thought. And I think today's the day we go down.
Lapis, still in bed, shifted uncomfortably, feeling odd for a split second, but realizing she was back to herself, she didn't pay it much mind. She got up shortly after, and after getting ready without much chatter, we prepped ourselves to head to the Cluster.
Without another word, we activated the warp pad and took off.
When we arrived, well... it was impossible to miss.
"You made it!" Peridot practically squealed, running toward us and pointing both hands outside.
I stepped off the warp pad, and the first thing I saw was the ship.
I stood frozen for a few seconds.
The structure had that strange shape—like two giant wandering eyes, but upside down, designed not to escape the planet, but to plunge directly down into it. Its surfaces gleamed with a greenish-metallic sheen blended with pink and yellow accents, geometric lines running through it like veins, while the internal mechanisms moved slowly, as if the ship were breathing.
"It works," Peridot said with a grin so wide it barely fit on her face. "Well... we haven't fully powered it on yet, but it works!"
Pearl approached with careful steps, circling the ship as she inspected it top to bottom.
"The design is... surprisingly efficient," she said, touching one of the outer plates. "The weight distribution is engineered for a controlled descent, not a launch."
"That was Steven's idea," Peridot piped up quickly, pointing at me.
I raised my hands almost on instinct.
"I just said going down is harder than going up," I replied. "You did the rest."
Peridot puffed her chest out a bit, proud.
Amethyst was sitting on one of the unfinished ramps, swinging her legs back and forth.
"Okay, I'll admit it," she said. "This is... pretty awesome."
Garnet observed in silence, arms crossed, analyzing every single detail behind her visor. She walked around the ship a bit and then stopped right in front of Peridot.
"Can it handle pressure?" she asked calmly.
"Yes," Peridot answered without hesitation. "Pressure, vibrations, energy surges, and... well, potential panic screams."
Amethyst raised a hand.
"That last one's real important."
Garnet gave a slight nod.
I stepped closer to the ship, examining the entryways, the stabilizers, and the symbols I vaguely recognized as Homeworld tech—though modified, adapted, almost... tamed.
"I didn't think it would look like this," I said quietly.
Peridot glanced sideways at me.
"I didn't want it to look like a cage," she confessed. "Or an imperial ship. This is... different."
Pearl closed her eyes for a second, then offered a soft smile.
"It is," she said. "Very different."
For a moment, nobody spoke. There was only the sound of metal settling and systems making their final adjustments.
I looked at Peridot.
"You did an amazing job."
She stood still for a few seconds, as if not quite knowing what to do with those words, and then gave a quick nod.
"We still need to test it," she said, trying to sound serious. "But... yeah, I think it's ready."
Garnet took a step forward.
"Then," she said, "we're closer."
I looked at the ship once more.
Yeah, we definitely were.
Once inside the ship, the atmosphere shifted completely.
"Alright, alright, quiet down everyone," Peridot said, stepping onto a small central platform she had clearly customized for herself. "This is a quick guide on what to do if something goes wrong... or terribly wrong."
Amethyst slumped into one of the seats, propping her feet up on the panel in front of her.
"Does that include exploding?" she asked with genuine interest.
"Especially exploding," Peridot answered without skipping a beat.
Pearl was already sitting upright, monitoring every screen with absolute focus.
"How many navigation systems does it have?" she asked.
"Three main ones, two backups, and one I improvised last night just in case," Peridot answered while pointing to various holograms. "If the lights turn red, don't touch anything. If they turn purple, don't touch anything either. If they turn pink... well, that's normal."
Garnet leaned against the wall, crossing her arms.
"Continue."
I took a seat near the center, looking around. The interior of the ship was much roomier than it looked from the outside, with curved walls covered in geometric patterns and Homeworld symbols—many of them modified or outright crossed out. The floor vibrated softly, as if the ship were awaiting an order.
Peridot pulled up a main display, showing a diagram of the planet's mantle.
"Alright," she said. "The target is right here."
She pointed to a deep zone, packed with jagged lines and energy pulses.
"The Cluster," Pearl whispered.
"Bingo," Peridot replied. "The ship isn't going to fly to it. It's going to fall—in a controlled, excavation manner."
Amethyst raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds safe."
"It is," Peridot said quickly. "More or less."
I looked over at Garnet.
"Everything's gonna go fine, right?"
She turned her head slightly toward me.
"There are multiple futures," she answered calmly. "But in most of them... we make it down."
"I'll take those odds," I said.
Peridot hopped down from her platform to her seat and began typing furiously.
"Engaging excavation systems," she announced.
The ship emitted a low, deep rumble, like a suppressed roar. The lights dimmed for a second before stabilizing into a soft glow.
"Is that normal?" Amethyst asked.
"Yes," Peridot answered. "I think."
From the side walls, mechanisms began to churn. Massive panels slid open slowly, and one by one, the drills emerged.
They weren't small.
They were massive spiral structures of reinforced metal, covered in diamond insignias and pink energy conduits running along their surfaces. They spun slowly at first, as if running a self-test.
Pearl leaned forward slightly in her seat.
"They're... precise," she noted, surprised. "Not designed for indiscriminate destruction."
"Nope," Peridot boasted with pride. "They're calibrated to drill through exact points where the planet's structure can handle it without causing an immediate collapse."
Garnet nodded.
"Smart."
The drills began to spin faster.
The noise filled the entire cabin, a steady vibration that rattled in your chest. Through one of the front screens, we watched as the ground rushed up to meet us.
"Locking coordinates," Peridot said. "Descent in three... two... one."
There was a blunt thud.
Not violent, but heavy.
The ship tilted slightly and then leveled out. The drills made contact with the earth and began boring through. Rock, dirt, and crystalline strata vanished into spirals of dust and energy as the ship descended.
Amethyst grabbed onto her seat.
"Okay, okay, now this is awesome."
I felt the movement under my feet—steady, deliberate.
"It's heading straight down," I said.
"Yep," Peridot replied. "We're following the exact route. If all goes well, nobody down there will even know we're coming until it's too late."
Pearl kept her eyes glued to the readings.
"Pressure is rising."
"Within parameters," Peridot answered, though her fingers never stopped moving.
Garnet remained composed, but vigilant.
"Pace it," she said. "Don't rush."
"I know, I know," Peridot answered, taking a deep breath. "This ship isn't made for rushing."
The descent went on.
The screens displayed layer after layer of the planet—some glowing with ancient energy, others completely inert. The roar of the drills was constant, almost hypnotic.
I stared at my hands for a second.
"So... we're really doing this," I muttered.
Amethyst glanced over at me and smirked.
"Yup," she said. "No turning back now."
Garnet spoke then, her calm tone cutting through everything else.
"Stay focused," she said. "This is just the beginning."
The ship kept digging.
Straight.
Determined.
Toward the heart of the problem.
As we descended, the ship cut through layer after layer of dirt and rock, plunging deeper into the planet. Each stratum carried its own distinct color, texture, and metallic scent, as the silence of the outside world gave way to the steady hum of the drills and the soft crunching of the walls yielding to our path.
"How long until we get there?" I asked, looking over at Peridot, who was completely dialed in, her fingers dancing across the controls as she adjusted the pressure and heading of the drills. Pearl held a lever firm, tension visible in every muscle of her arms.
"Roughly five hours if everything stays stable," Peridot answered without taking her eyes off the displays, her eyes reflecting both the screen glow and her concern over every micro-adjustment she made.
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to soothe the dizziness of sinking deeper into the Earth. The darkness of the tunnel expanded before my mind, blending with the constant shuddering of the ship. For a second, it felt like we were floating in an eternal void where every second dragged out into minutes.
I hope everything goes well... I thought, my mind drifting into a strange half-sleep—a bridge between the mission's focus and the anxiety of the unknown.
The roar of the drills echoed like war drums, the earth trembling underneath us. Yet despite the noise, every member of the crew stayed calm, attentive to every detail. Every second mattered; every adjustment could mean success or disaster.
I opened my eyes briefly and watched as the drills cut through crystalline rock layers that shimmered in hues of pink and blue, casting ghostly light across Peridot's and Pearl's focused faces. Every spark of released energy felt like another step toward the heart of the Cluster, toward the unknown, toward the decisive moment that would define the future of everything we knew.
I leaned back in my seat, feeling the adrenaline mingle with calculated calm, with the certainty that we were doing the right thing. And as the ship continued its descent, I could almost hear Garnet's voice echoing in my head: "Stay focused. This is just the beginning."
The heart of the planet was waiting for us—silent and powerful. And I knew every second of these five hours would serve as a reminder that what we were about to face wasn't just a job, but a test of our strength, our patience, and our bond.
End of Chapter 59.