The Onyx Recruit

The Spire.

He helped Steven put things in his bag. He retrieved two sweaters, a kite, a raft, and other clothes that Steven asked him to get.

"We have a raft?' Onyx mumbled. He yelped when Steven stepped on something, making it squeak and then groan. Steven stopped, and laughed. He reached down and picked up the item, shaking it with a grin.

"Oh, kid, don't shake me!!" It cried.

"Mr. Queasy!!" Steven smiled more, and more, ecstatic that he found one of his old toys.

"Oh, I got a medical condition!" Onyx did not like this thing.

"Oh, you're definitely going to come in handy!" Steven reached into his bag and replaced a first-aid kit with Mr. Queasy. Onyx shook his head and retrieved the kit, slipping it into his mane with a flash of warm red light.

"Steven, Onyx, let's gooooooo!!" Pearl yelled from downstairs.

"Coming!!" Steven answered, running down the steps to the warp pad. Onyx followed quickly, his tail dragging along the floor. It ran across the Moon Goddess Statue and almost like a reflex, wrapped around it and slipped it into his hair. Onyx, only now noticing that his tail was moving, smacked it away and it fell limp once more.

"Woah, Steven! Did you bring your whole room?" Pearl asked, looking down at the oversized bag.

"Back that thang up!" Amethyst joked with her hands on her hips.

"Let's warp." Garnet commanded. The pad whirred to life and the warp beam shot up. Part of the stream was cut off at Steven's stomach, and he looked down to see what the matter was.

"Suck it in, Steven!" Amethyst jabbed. Steven inhaled, sucking in his gut to fit into the warp. He exhaled immediately after the warp stream finished manifesting.

"Do you remember how to do this?" Pearl asked Steven, who was turning and flipping in the air.

I thought this was his first time..

Onyx shrugged and jumped after him, flipping and flailing around, his claws swiping at nothing. As the two laughed, the top of Steven's head was caught outside of the stream. Onyx reached out his tail and wrapped it around his torso, yanking him back in.

"Keep your head in, Steven. We don't want you freezing." Onyx laughed and rolled over in the air, holding Steven close to his belly. He smacked at his tail and it fell limp again, this time hitting Pearl in her scowling face. The warp travel didn't last too much longer, and they soon arrived at the glorious, Lunar Sea Spire. Onyx fell to the ground with a loud yell, and a pained groan soon after as his body struck the ground. Steven followed quickly, slamming into Onyx's gut. Again, Onyx screeched and keeled over, gripping his abdomen tightly.

"Onyx!" Steven yelled out in concern.

"I'm so sorry!! Are you okay??" Steven asked, kneeling down to him and placing a hand on one of his shaking shoulders.

"Yeah." Onyx wheezed, giving him a thumbs up.

"I'll be right.." Steven gripped onto Onyx's hand and dragged him along back the gems.

"Woah!! The Sea Spire!" Steven smiled and let go of Onyx's hand, running forward. A loud, low rumbling sounded throughout the area and a crack ran through the flank of the spire, a chunk of rock crumbled off and slipped into the water with a crash.

"It wasn't like this a hundred years ago.." Pearl frowned

"I'm sensing structural instability." Garnet stated, adjusting her visor. Onyx rolled his eyes at the obvious finding, grunting as he got up to inspect the spire a little closer.

"Yeah, that's never good." Steven replied, oblivious to the ground shaking beneath him. Onyx chuffed, a plume of smoke escaping his nostrils and he leapt at Steven, tackling him just as the area that he once stood on fell into the water below.

"Alright, hold on!" Pearl shouted, linking an arm with Onyx's left one.

"We're taking Steven back!" She told, attempting to drag Onyx, who was still holding Steven by his under-arms, over to the warp pad. Onyx scowled and unlinked his arm from Pearl's, overlooking the saddened glance that washed over her face. Mr. Queasy groaned from inside Steven's bag, making Onyx wince.

"Ugh! My aching' stomach!" Steven laughed and jumped from Onyx's arms. He unhooked his bag from his bag and yanked the toy out from it, raising it up and smiling widely.

"Mr. Queasy!" He yelled, shaking it.

"Kid, you're killing me!"

"Steven!" Pearl snapped.

"This place is your heritage! I want you to stay and help, but you've really got to take this seriously!"

"Yeah. Spire is very important, and I'm pretty sure you're connected, so you've got to be a little more professional. You got that, little man?" Onyx asked, kneeling down to him.

"You got it, dudes!" Steven winked, gave him a thumbs up, and stuck out his tongue. Onyx raised a brow in confusion.

"Al....right..."

"Enough!" Garnet yelled.

"We have to move." She said and the group quickly ran up towards the spire. Once they reached a ledge, Garnet threw out an arm, commanding them to stop. Amethyst grabbed onto her and looked up.

"What's the hold up?" She asked.

"We can clear this easily" She stated, throwing her arms out in a gesture to the large ravine that separated them from the spire.

"No. The magic that sustains the whirlpool creates a vortex that will pull us below." Garnet explained. Onyx grabbed a large rock with his tail and threw it towards the spire. About halfway towards the structure, the rock stopped and was quickly pulled down into the sea.

"So, we can't jump?" came Pearl's voice.

"Oh, wait!" Steven smiled and took off his bag once again.

"What are those for?" Amethyst looked down at him as he pulled out two sweaters.

"They were for keeping warm, but check it out!" He answered enthusiastically, showing her the two sweaters he tied together. He slipped his bag back on and whipped the sweaters through a hole in the wall. He grabbed onto the other side and ran up to the building.

"Steven?" Onyx chuffed again, more smoke escaping his nostrils. He gasped as Steven jumped towards the spire. The magic from the whirlpool tried pulling him below, but the surprising strength of the sweaters kept him from falling.

"He's getting sucked down!" Amethyst yelled with concern lacing her voice. Steven managed to fully pull himself up so his feet were against the spire. He grunted as he walked up the side, quickly taking to running.

"Cheeeese! Burrrrrgerrrrr!" He yelled and jumped through another hole in the side, landing on his feet as he panted.

"Oh, what the fff-..." Onyx shook his head before snatching the gems under his arms and shooting his tail out, wrapping it through the hole that Steven had used. He jumped over and landed on his feet gracefully. He put the gems down rather quickly and tugged at his tail, having it return to its original length.

"Steven. Never do that again." Onyx scolded the boy who glanced down at the ground shyly.

"But, it was pretty fuckin- I-I MEAN- It was pretty cool" Onyx praised.