The Onyx Recruit

The Statue.

"This is it, the moon goddess pedestal" Pearl introduced.

"And the moon is almost overhead! It's not too late to save this piece of history!" She shouted eagerly.

"Steven, the statue." Garnet called. Steven nodded and swung his bag off his back, quickly opening it. His face began to fall rather fast as he found that he could not locate the statue.

"Steven? Is everything all right?" Onyx turned to him.

"Uhm, I-I, uhm." Steven began to panic, rooting through his bag. He knelt down, stammering as he tried harder and harder to find the item.

"What's the holdup?" Amethyst asked with worry.

"I don't have it." Steven said, his voice hushed and almost a whisper. Onyx's tail and mane erupted in hot flames as his eyes widened.

"Mmrpmph." Was the only sound he could manage.

"I must have left it on the bed!" Onyx let a worried growl escape his throat as he looked up at the sky. The moon, reflecting the sun's warm light onto its beautiful light gray surface, was sitting proudly on its pitch black throne, the highest point in the sky that it could reach. The light illuminated them and Onyx would have found it exceedingly beautiful if it weren't for the current circumstances.

"Th-there's no time!" Pearl shouted, bringing a shaky hand to her mouth.

"Wait!" Steven's nervous voice rang.

"I have an idea!" he reached into his bag one final time and pulled out Mr. Queasy. Onyx narrowed his eyes in hatred, but with a harrumph, he wrapped his tail around it and turned toward the pedestal.

"Could that work?" Amethyst asked, her and Pearl turning to Garnet.

"Mnm." Garnet shrugged. Onyx walked up to the pedestal and set the toy down.

"Ugh! Kid, don't shake me!" It yelled. Onyx growled, baring his teeth at it.

I fucking hate this thing.

Energy radiated through the stand, and the gem gasped when a beam of blue erupted from the pedestal. The stream shot up towards the sky, perfectly covering the moon. The toy was raised into the air and it shook in response to the magic coursing through it. The gems yelled in surprise as the toy exploded, bits of cloth and stuffing flying out in all directions. The spire began to shake, and water rushed in around it.

"Everyone, keep steady!" Amethyst slammed into Garnet, falling to the floor.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!" Steven yelled as the spire began to crack.

Onyx, with his legs straight and his arms flat by his side, was flung across the surface. He rotated quickly through the air and fell head first into the water just as the spire was swallowed by the icy hands of the ocean. The gems resurfaced quickly, gasping harshly. Onyx followed, laying on his back in a starfish position.

"This is all my fault! I broke it!" Steven wailed.

"No, Steven, the spire was falling apart when we got there. You handled everything well under pressure. You did great." Pearl reassured. Onyx swam up to them before diving down into the water.

"And! Two out of four of your plans worked!! That's fifty percent!!" Amethyst smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. They can't all be winners." Steven quoted amethyst. The water began to ripple and with a gasp, Onyx resurfaced with the raft.

"Woah!! Steven yelled and threw his arms up, swimming over to Onyx so he could lift him into the raft. After everyone was settled in, Onyx clambered into the back, still sopping wet and dripping water everywhere.

"Cheeseburger backpack! Cheeseburger backpack!" chanted Pearl and Amethyst. Onyx growled, hating the feeling of his fur plastered to his skin. He was freezing cold, and he was shivering despite being a gem with fire powers. Water filled his ears, and he kept shaking his head to try and get it out.

"It's a three hour paddle back home." Garnet informed. Onyx screamed and threw himself backwards, sinking back into the cold water below.

"Anyone want a wet bagel?" Steven asked, trying to lighten the mood.