The light from the warp pad faded, and Steven found himself on a vast cliff overlooking the ocean. He stared down at the endless expanse of water below, spying several dark shapes in the water. Some were quite massive - he spied what he thought might be a family of whales to his left, and some seemed to appear and disappear at random as they moved closer to the surface or deeper into the water. The ocean was so full of mystery - he was glad he’d been assigned to this mission. Of course, the mountain one that Garnet, Peridot, and Blue were going on also sounded exciting, but he was in more of an ocean mood today.
“I still don’t understand why you’re all here,” Lapis said from somewhere behind him. “I can easily handle this myself.”
“You are immeasurably powerful in a place like this.” Pearl’s tone was placating, but there was also a hint of exasperation. Steven wasn’t surprised - they’d been having this argument since they first stepped on the warp pad. “Still, it’s not wise to go on a mission by yourself. What if you’re up against more than what Garnet saw? What if Homeworld or those rogue gems choose now to attack? You need back-up.”
“What’s the matter, Bob?” Amethyst sounded like she was holding back laughter. “Not tired of us already, are you?”
“Of course not. I just think you three would be put to better use on the other mission.” Steven smiled at the sincerity in Lapis’ tone. She did still have times where she was uncomfortable with company, but she was steadily improving. She was actually somewhat friendly with the other gems now. Well…depending on the gem and her mood, but that was better than her running off at the slightest offense like she did several months ago.
“Well, Garnet things differently, and so do I.” Pearl came up beside Steven, and the boy grinned at the pale gem as she joined him in peering into the water. “Any sign of it?”
“Not yet,” Steven responded. He wasn’t sure what they were looking for, exactly. Well, he knew it was a corrupted gem, but those could look like anything, and be any size. It was probably fish-like if it was in the water, but that was all he had to work with.
A loud, rumbling sound erupted from somewhere behind Steven. This was immediately followed by a snort and giggle from Lapis. The noise sounded again, and she laughed louder. Steven smiled - happiness for Lapis didn’t happen nearly often enough, and Amethyst knew how to make her laugh better than almost anyone.
Pearl sighed and rolled her eyes. “Amethyst, please - this is serious! We need to find and bubble the corrupted gem before it attacks another human ship!”
“I know,” Amethyst responded. “I’m calling it!”
Another loud, rumbling sound reached Steven’s ears, but this one was accompanied by the distinct scent of sulfur and engine oil. Lapis cackled and Pearl grimaced.
“Oops.” Amethyst sounded way too innocent for it to be real. “Guess I shouldn’t have had those nachos earlier.”
There was more laughter from Lapis, though that died as a shadow fell over them. Steven stared up as a giant black shape circled above them. It looked like a massive snake that really wanted to be a dragon - it had the horns, wings, and front legs, but no back legs. How did it walk? Or was that why it preferred the ocean?
“I guess your summon worked.” Lapis summoned her wings, though she didn’t take flight yet. She stood at Steven’s other side and concentrated, her hair and skirt whipping around like they were caught in a strong wind as part of the ocean formed a giant arm and rose up to meet them.
The monster stopped circling and swooped, opening its massive jaws as it sped toward them. It seemed aimed at Lapis in particular, and nearly got her. Pearl summoned her spear and launched it into the monster’s mouth while Amethyst lashed her whip toward it, grabbing a foreleg and attempting to pull it down into the cliff.
The attacks…kind of worked, but really didn’t. The spear pierced the roof of the monster’s mouth. It lodged there, apparently not doing enough damage to poof their opponent but keeping it from biting down and crushing the blue gem. Likewise, Amethyst wasn’t able to budge the monster - instead, it flew off, dragging her behind it.
“Amethyst!” Steven reached out for the gem, but she was already way too far.
“It’s okay - I’ve got her.” As Lapis spoke, the hand shot forward, fingers extended toward the monster. More hands rose out of the ocean around it, rising up and over the monster until they formed a dome around it. There was an angry screech from within the dome, and Lapis smirked. The dome collapsed around the monster, most of the water returning to the ocean but some staying behind in the form of chains that wrapped around the monster’s wrists and snout.
“Ready to finish it off?” Lapis smiled down at Steven.
Steven nodded. Lapis grabbed his hands and flew off toward the monster, holding him in the air underneath her. They stopped over the monster and Lapis let him go.
Steven focused for a moment, summoning his bubble around him. The bubble grew thorns as he neared the monster, and he tried not to wince as he and it collided. There was a final screech, and then the monster poofed. The bubble around him vanished, and he thought of something happy - the fact that he and Connie had an all day hangout tomorrow - to keep himself afloat.
Wait, where was the gem? Steven looked around below him until he spotted it falling toward the ocean. As he watched, a familiar black cord wrapped around it, pulling it away.
Oh, there was Amethyst. She was sitting on the last remaining hand, smiling and waving lazily at him once she caught him looking. The gem was safe in her other hand now, and he smiled. They’d done amazingly - their mission was a massive success! He couldn’t wait to tell Garnet!
Lapis swooped down and took his hands, and he stopped his floating powers. The blue gem flew toward the purple, setting Steven down on the palm of the hand beside her.
“Hey, L, ‘s all yours.” Amethyst handed the gem over. “Nice work. You two are getting good at that finishing move.”
Lapis frowned at the gem, but took it after a moment,studying it. “Thanks. Nice save.”
Amethyst shrugged. “Thanks. You should bubble that before it reforms.”
“Yeah…” Lapis looked uncomfortable, and Steven squeezed her hand to try and reassure her. He knew she didn’t like the idea of trapping an innocent gem, but it was okay. It was just until he learned how to heal the gem, and all the others stored in the temple.
A deep blue bubble formed around the gem, and a moment later it disappeared. Lapis sighed and landed, her gaze flicking back to the cliff where Pearl and the warp pad were waiting for them. “Are we ready to go back?”
“Ready and waiting,” Amethyst responded with a grin, lacing her fingers behind her head. “We should do something fun when we get home.”
“I know!” Steven beamed at her. “We should go to the arcade! Or we should get donuts! Or we can do both!”
Amethyst nodded. “Sounds good to me. Lapis?”
The blue gem seemed to be lost in thought, but - after a moment - she also nodded. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”
The hand started moving then, taking them back to the cliff, back to Pearl, and back toward the fun they’d earned today.
Mythical creature:
Basmu from Mesopotamian mythology.
