Steven Universe: Time Split

Chapter 44: Gem Drill

The warp pad chimed and once the bright blue light died down, Y/n, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl could be seen standing on the pad.

Garnet still held the unconscious Lapis in her arms. "Quick! To the drill!" Garnet said as another tremor shook the earth around them.

The group nodded, quickly running over to the drill which sat in front of the barn.

"Finally! What took you so long!" Peridot complained as she climbed out and stood on an elevated platform that was being used to get in and out of the drill. "The cluster is about to form!"

"Where's Steven?!" Pearl panicked.

"I'm here!" Steven replied as the little boy ran out of the barn.

"We need to start drilling!" Peridot said as she climbed back into the drill with Steven following shortly after.

"I don't think there's enough room for all of us in there ..." Y/n told as he looked at the drill.

"That's okay." Garnet told as she looked at Y/n. "You go with them, we'll stay here."

"You sure?" Y/n asked.

"Yes, I agree with Garnet, you can help Peridot if something goes wrong." Pearl added.

"Alright, I'll try to not let you down." Y/n told as he climbed up the platform and got into the drill.

"We know you won't." Garnet chuckled.

"Good luck, dudes!" Amethyst cheered as another tremor started shaking the area.

Y/n sat behind both Peridot and Steven as Peridot started calibrating the controls for the drill. "Where are the others?!" Peridot complained.

"They agreed to stay there, plus, they can't really fit." Y/n responded. "Either way, we're ready!"

"Ready or not, we have a mission." Peridot told, started the drill up as the gems watched from a small distance away.

The drill successfully began digging into the ground. "Increasing speed!" Peridot said as she pressed a few buttons, causing the drill to radically increase its speed.

"Alright. Bracing for impact." Steven said, forming fists with his two hands.

"It's actually two more hours to the cluster." Y/n informed, pointing to a screen that showed how far down they were.

"Oh. Wish I'd brought some tunes." Steven mumbled.

Pair beeped in acknowledgement, playing some of the hit 80s songs from Y/n's timeline.

"Wow! Thanks, Pair!" Steven smiled as he listened to the oddly familiar music.

The three remained silent, the music being the only thing drowning out the drill as it continued to dig further downwards. Steven's eyes are filled with anguish as he watched the layers of rock pass by. He shut his eyes tightly, shook his head and began talking as a distraction.

"It's kinda... freaky down here, huh?" Steven said.

"Why's that?" Peridot replied, keeping her eyes on the wheel in front of her.

"It's just dark, and cramped... Ngah, I can't even, gah, stretch out." Steven complained, trying to stretch his arms out. "How'd you think you were gonna get everyone in here anyway?"

"I don't know, they'd shrink or something. We didn't have a lot of time to plan." Peridot admitted, earning a hum in agreement from Y/n.

"Yeah, but for what it's worth, we did a pretty good job." Y/n smiled under his helmet.