❝HEY, MISTER POSTMAN──, bring me a post! bring me the post that i'll love the most!"

patting her hands along to the imaginary beat of her made-up song, [y/n] hummed quietly to herself with the lyrics as she awaited for a certain postman to arrive with a package that would hopefully be for her.

"jamie sure is taking awhile, huh?" the hybrid girl sighed, bringing her legs up to her chest as she threw her head back to stare up at the clouds passing her in the sky above. "jeez, peeds, why'd your dad have to make you work today of all days?" she muttered.

with a yawn escaping her lips, [y/n] lowered her head to stare out into the vast sea before her for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and hopping off of the rock she once sat atop of and stretching her arms out; grunting when she heard the sound of a short pop.

"welp, since jamie may not actually be coming today, i guess i may as well head inside now─" she was cut off by the sound of shoes padding against the sand.

perking up, the [hair color]-haired girl instantly whirled back around at the sound, and she could feel herself grin from beneath her mask at the sight of a very familiar postman just walking around the corner.

"james!" she cried out joyously, referring to the mailman with the nickname she had oh so graciously gifted to him months ago when they had first met.

"huh?" the mailman looked up, only to let out a startled cry; stumbling backwards and nearly falling onto the beach floor.

"[y/n]!" jamie held a hand over his now-racing heart, taking deep breaths. "would you please stop doing that?" he asked, eyes still wide with the heart attack the child had given to him just now.

[y/n] remained silent and tilted her head to the side, obviously confused. "huh?" she blinked from beneath her porcelain mask, "what do you mean?"

jamie merely sighed, shaking his head at the gem hybrid's obliviousness before offering her a small smile. "you know what? nevermind."

[y/n] hummed, still feeling a bit confused over jamie's sudden reaction that had happened but a few seconds ago ( all she did was stand in front of him without giving him any sign that she was there. what was so scary about that? ), but she decided not to further question it and instead ask him something else that also happened to be very important.

"so, you came here," [y/n] began, her grin from before slowly returning to her face. "does that mean that you have a package for me?" she questioned, bouncing in her place hopefully.

"oh, uh." jamie blinked a few times before chuckling, looking down into his bag and beginning to dig his hands around in it. "hold on. let me see what i've got here," he said, trying to calm the clearly excited hybrid child before him.

[y/n] only gave a silent nod in return, but still continued to bounce in her place, though more out of impatience and anticipation this time.

"oh!" jamie smiled and pulled a loaf of bread from his bag, making [y/n]'s bouncing instantly come to a stop and causing all words to die on her tongue out of shock at the sight.

just . . . what? why would he . . .? who would . . .?

"did you order a loaf of bread with a stamp on it?" jamie asked, earning a quick shake of the head from [y/n] in reply as she let out a confused, "no?"

"oh." jamie hummed and stuffed the bread back into his bag; digging around in it once again before pulling our something else─an envelope.

"did you order a jury summons for r.j. finkle?" the boy tried again, and [y/n]'s confusion grew even more.

"what? jamie, no, that envelope literally says that it's for 'r.j. finkle.' that's not me. i'm [y/n] emerald [l/n]," the hybrid explained, gesturing to herself to further prove her point.

"what?" jamie blinked again, and then suddenly laughed, nodding as he started to dig around in his bag once more. "oooooh! right, right, right─" he pulled out a package "─[y/n]!"

immediately seeing her name written on the piece of paper taped to the top of the package, [y/n] laughed triumphantly and quickly snatched it out of jamie's grasp before holding it up into the air; her mask sliding up her face slightly to reveal the grin that had been hiding underneath it all along.

"hell yeah! this guy right here's gonna help me save the world!" she exclaimed, bringing the package back down and hugging it close to her chest.

"really?" jamie rose a teasing brow. "didn't it say something about how it was from some place called wacky sacks supply company?" he asked.

[y/n] scoffed, looking up to the temple and pulling her mask back down to cover the lower half of her face once again. "the gems think that i shouldn't go on missions with them just because i don't have full control over my powers yet. however, i believe that there are other ways that i can help them," the girl stated with a huff, sounding confident.

jamie quirked a brow yet again. "with a wacky sack?" he questioned, sounding a little unsure.

[y/n] smirked, nodding and placing her free hand on her hip. "exactly!" she replied, her tone of voice holding a finality to it.

jamie hummed and his brows rose in amusement. "well," he began, crouching down slightly to be more at [y/n]'s height, "you know how you can save my world?" he asked.

[y/n] blinked from behind her mask, returning to reality. "uh, no." she gave a small shake of her head, paused, and then added, with a playful tone, "but i'm curious to know how i can."

jamie chuckled and pulled out a small signature pad. "sign here, please."

[y/n] laughed and nodded, grabbing ahold of the pad's pen and quickly writing her name down.

"barb yells at me if i don't get signatures," jamie explained, putting the signature pad back in its original place with a guilty smile etched across his lips.

"wait, you usually don't?" [y/n]'s brows furrowed. "because, james, my dude, i love you and all, but being a postman kinda requires getting signatures from other people to ensure that they─"

the girl's sentence was brought to an end by the sound of energy pulsing from inside her house, and her and jamie instantly snapped their attention up towards the building, which appeared to have a radiant glow coming from the inside.

but then, the noise and the glow ceased suddenly, and [y/n] grinned.

"garnet, amethyst, and pearl are back!" she exclaimed, laughing as she turned back to face jamie and said, "good luck with the rest of your deliveries, james!" before running off.

and jamie, throughout the entire scene, could only continue to stare up at the supposedly 'normal' beach house in astonishment.

•

•

•

"oh, guuuuuuuys~!" [y/n] sing-songed, walking up to the door of her beloved home and grabbing ahold of its handle. "i know you just got back and everything, but guess wha─"

[y/n]'s words came to a quick stop the moment she stepped through the door and finally looked up to the three gems inside.

"hello, [y/n]." garnet was the first to speak up, sounding as emotionless and deadpanned as always, yet [y/n] found the feathers she was currently covered in to be quite new.

"um . . ." [y/n] couldn't even utter another word before pearl decided to speak up next, though her words weren't actually directed to the hybrid child herself.

"amethyst, we do not need that! it's not going to fit in the fridge," the pale gem stated, her gaze hard and her voice firm.

[y/n] rose a brow, wondering what pearl could possibly be referring to, until she finally turned her gaze over to amethyst, who was currently been holding a rather large egg in her grasp.

"what?" amethyst rolled her eyes. "jeez, calm yourself, i've got this," she said.

everyone could only watch in despair as the purple gem slid a tray out of the fridge and then proceeded to drop it to the floor─along with a carton of milk and a bag of bagels─before placing the giant egg inside in its place.

"look!" amethyst laughed and placed one of her hands against the fridge door, ready to slam it shut. "see?" the gem grinned, "it fits!"

everyone's despair quickly grew the moment the fridge door was closed and the sound of an egg cracking was heard on the inside.

amethyst, however, seemed to remain ignorant of the absolute mess she had just created in [y/n]'s beloved food storage, and went on. "oh, man! we can make a big omelet, or a quiche, or a ton of sunny side ups . . .!"

deciding to tune whatever else the purple gem had to say out, [y/n] walked up to pearl and subtly gestured to the fridge, where─presumably─a now-cracked egg sat inside of.

pearl sighed, understanding what the hybrid was obviously trying to ask in an instant. "we fought a giant bird," she answered, "but we're only here for a second. we've got to go back out," she added.

"huh?" [y/n] blinked, surprised despite the small hint of disappointment that began to linger in her chest due to the gem's words. "why?" she asked.

pearl smiled proudly and presented the statue that had been in her grasp since her and the other gems' returned to the emerald-human hybrid. "we have to place this moon goddess statue on top of the lunar sea spire before midnight. without it, the whole place will fall apart!" she explained.

"really?" [y/n] asked after a moment, an idea already beginning to build up in her head as she glanced from pearl to the package she held under her arm.

"yes," pearl nodded before sighing wistfully and closing her eyes. "oh, [y/n], you should have seen the spire in its heyday," she said, using her gem to project a hologram of what [y/n] would assume to be the sea spire. "it was an oasis for gems on earth. it's abandoned now, but we can still save it with this statue!" she told, sounding ecstatic.

"seriously?" [y/n] laughed, running a hand through her hair in disbelief, because─

"that's perfect!"

pearl's eyes widened. "what?" the gem's expression contorted to become a confused ( and somewhat concerned ) one. "why?"

"becaaaaaauuuuuse . . ." [y/n] trailed off dramatically, setting her package down onto the floor, "i can carry it for you guys!" she finally said, opening the package and grabbing ahold of whatever was inside of it.

"in . . ." [y/n] grinned and threw up what looked to be a bag in the shape of a hotdog into the air before holding her hand out and easily catching it, a confident smirk now presented across her face, however no one could actually see it.

". . . this!"

the gems didn't speak for a second or two; staring at the gem hybrid with confused and unsure expressions etched out across their faces.

"a . . ." pearl tilted her head, looking the most confused out of the others, ". . . hotdog?"

"hah!" [y/n] shook her head and grabbed ahold of the zipper that sat atop of the 'hotdog' and pulled it all the way to the other side, opening her bag.

"it's actually a novelty duffle bag! it's just shaped like a hotdog!" the [skin tone] skin-toned girl explained proudly.

she only ended up getting silence in response.

[y/n] huffed, slinging the strap of her new bag over her head and onto her shoulder before placing her hands on her hips.

"okay, look, i know that this is important gem buisness─"

"yes," pearl nodded, "so you should let us take care of it," she said, gesturing to herself and the other gems standing on both sides of her.

"─but," [y/n] continued, holding her index finger up in the air as if she were proving a point ( which, technically, she supposedly was ), "you guys seem to forget that i'm a gem too. and, well, shouldn't an experience such as this help me learn faster? besides . . ."

[y/n] grinned cheekily from under her mask and crossed her arms, making sure to keep her focus on pearl directly. "this would be a perfect opportunity to teach me more about gem culture. wouldn't you agree, pearl?" she asked, batting her lashes behind her mask 'innocently.'

pearl, meanwhile─who had opened her mouth to say something during [y/n]'s short little 'speech'─suddenly snapped her lips shut and looked away; humming and holding her chin in thought and glancing between [y/n]'s bag and the statue currently in her hand.

"come on, pearl!" amethyst playfully nudged the pale gem's side and sent a wink in [y/n]'s direction. "pleeeaaase?"

looking between the statue and [y/n] one last time, pearl sighed, finally giving in with a nod. "alright," the elegant gem agreed, handing the statue over to [y/n], "you can carry it in your hotdog."

"haha!" [y/n] threw her hands up into the air in triumph, a large smile spreading across her features. "yes! oh my gosh, thank you!"

quickly, yet carefully, stuffing the statue into her bag, [y/n] was just about to close it, before suddenly stopping herself and standing up. "hold on," she said, holding her hands up in a defensive manner as she looked towards the gems.

"i'm gonna pack some extra stuff─just in case."

and with that, she ran off up to her room, and quickly began gathering some much needed supplies.

"okay, okay, okay." opening the chest that sat next to her tv, [y/n] hummed and began tapping her chin, thinking.

"let's see . . ." she reached in and grabbed the first thing she deemed useful, which happened to be a grappling hook, followed by an inflatable raft, along with a med kit, and her journal.

"okay . . . yeah, i think this will do . . ." [y/n] zipped her bag up and threw its strap over her head once again; standing up and beginning to head over to the stairs, when something sitting on her bed caught her eye:

her mother's journal.

[y/n] stopped, staring down at the object in silence for a moment, quietly debating over bringing it or not, until─

"you know what?" [y/n] grabbed the journal that once belonged to her mother, unzipped her bag, and then threw the parchment-holding leather inside with everything else.

"i'm sure it'll have something useful in here."

"[y/nnnnnnn]!"

at the sound of pearl's voice, the child instantly perked up.

"let's gooooooo!"

"oh, uh─" nearly stumbling over her feet, [y/n] was quick to catch herself as she walked down the stairs. before heading over to the gems, though, she instead went over to the kitchen, grabbed the bag of bagels that had fallen to the floor ealier, and stuffed them into her bag with everything else.

from the warp pad, amethyst snorted. "bagels? what do you need them for?" she asked.

"hey!" [y/n] stood up and snapped her fingers before pointing over to the short gem, who merely snorted again out of amusement as the hybrid walked over to join her and the others.

"i'll have you know, miss 'let-me-just-shove-everything-out-of-the-fridge-and-proceed-to-put-a-giant-egg-in-their-place', that food is an important and vital need adventurers have when, you know, adventuring, which also makes it a need for me: someone who is only half gem and is kind of useless with an empty stomach. so," she stepped onto the warp pad and crossed her arms, facing ahead, "there."

amethyst could only laugh after [y/n]'s little rant, and garnet readjusted her visors.

"let's warp."

a light surrounded the house once again, and the group of four was gone.

•

•

•

"wow," was the only thing that [y/n] emerald [l/n] could mutter as she stood upon the warp pad with the rest of the gems, who all stared up at the ancient, crumbling structure before them with her, though they didn't seem as amazed as she was.

"it . . ." pearl stuttered, walking off of the warp pad and holding a hand over her mouth as she looked around the scenery in dismay. ". . . it wasn't like this a hundred years ago!" she cried, sounding astonished due to the current state they had found the spire in.

garnet hummed, readjusting her visors once again. "i'm sensing structural instability," she told, turning everyone's attention towards her.

[y/n] hummed, looking away to stare up at the sea spire, which she slowly began to walk towards until she found herself at the edge of a cliff. she continued to stare up at the spire for a moment, before averting her gaze down into the water below. she hummed again; crouching down and holding her chin in between her index finger and her thumb.

"i wonder . . ." the girl began to mutter, "maybe we could . . ."

the sound of something cracking beneath her was heard, then, and before anyone could do anything, the ground beneath [y/n] had suddenly disappeared.

"OH SHI─" whirling around, [y/n] quickly held her hands out and grabbed ahold of the edge of whatever cliffside was left in the crumbling grounds wake, breathing heavily with wide eyes.

"oh, fuck." the girl tried pulling herself up, but found herself feeling too stunned to do so, and she felt her arms lose almost all feeling to them as she looked down at whatever could have been.

"that was too close."

"agreed!" a familiar, panicked voice cried from above as slim fingers wrapped around both of [y/n]'s wrists and pulled her up into the arms of a certain pale game.

"okay, that's it, i was wrong!" pearl stood back up to her full height and scampered away from the cliff's edge, eyeing it with a heated glare as she hugged [y/n] closer to herself protectively.

"we're taking [y/n] back! now!"

"what?! no!" finally managing to escape pearl's snake-like hold, [y/n] let out a grunt as she landed back onto the earth floor, yet she still managed to make a point to hold eye contact with the pale gem.

"pearl, i can't actually learn anything if you just keep me cooped up in the house all the time! i need to experience what it's like to be in dangerous situations, too, so that i can learn how to get out of them!"

[y/n] took a deep breath and unclenched her fists, still refusing to look away from pearl's eyes.

"please?"

as if sensing the pleading eyes [y/n] was currently keeping hidden behind her mask, pearl sighed and looked away, crossing her arms.

"okay, fine." the gem looked back down to [y/n], "but you have to promise me that you'll at least try to be more careful the rest of the way, understand?"

from beneath has mask, [y/n] grinned, and she gave the taller gem a short nod and a playful salute. "of course, pearl."

"that's enough, now," garnet spoke up, interrupting pearl's and [y/n]'s conversation and making everyone turn to her once more.

"let's move."

everyone nodded, [y/n] now feeling more determined than before as she followed the gems up to the edge of another cliff, which looked to be closer to the spire than the rest. [y/n] had noticed this small detail, of course, and got ready to make the jump over to one of the spire's windows with amethyst, when garnet suddenly held her hand up, signaling for them both to stop.

"what's the hold up? we can clear this easily!" amethyst said, throwing her hands up into the air exasperatedly.

garnet shook her head. "no. the magic that sustains the whirlpool creates a vortex that will pull us below," she explained.

to prove her point more, garnet then proceeded to pick up a nearby rock and hurl it over the gap between the cliffside and the spire. the object halted in its trajectory almost immediately, and the others could only watch with wide eyes as it was immediately pulled down into the whirlpool beneath them.

"so . . ." [y/n] rubbed the back of her head and released a nervous chuckle, "no jumping, then?"

garnet remained silent and shook her head. however─though it may be possible that her eyes were playing tricks on her─[y/n] could have sworn that she saw garnet glance her way, nod, and then look down to the bag that hung off one of her shoulders.

it was only for a split second, but it was all the hybrid child needed.

"oh, wait!" snapping her fingers at an idea that had popped into existence in her head, [y/n] unzipped her bag and pulled out the grappling hook she had brought along with her for the gems' mission, and she grinned.

pearl, however, did not seem to like wherever this scenario [y/n] was planning out was going as much as the girl herself did.

"[y/n], no." the elegant gem tried to fix the emerald-human hybrid with a firm look. "it's too dangerous. surely, if we look around more, we can find a much safer waaaaaaaaaaa─WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

deciding to answer pearl's question with actions rather than words, [y/n] laughed as she jumped and pressed the grappling hook's trigger; sending the hook flying through a hole above one of the spire's many windows, and ensuring the girl's safety as she firmly planted her feet against the spire's outter wall and began to climb up, her laughter still echoing about the vast space around her and the rest of the gems.

"woo-hoo-hoo!" amethyst laughed, clapping her hands together and cheering [y/n]'s name until the girl finally managed to crawl into the safety provided by the spire; panting heavily with a trail of sweat down her face. however, the girl still grinned, and she found herself still having enough energy to turn around to face the gems, fold one of her arms across her chest, and give the three beings a dramatic bow.

pearl felt like she was going to faint.

"oh, heck yeah, [y/n]!" amethyst called out, a hand cupped around her mouth as she cheered, "way to go!"

turning to face the other two gems behind her, amethyst grinned and summoned her whip. "c'mon guys!"

without even waiting for a response from her teammates, the purple gem slung one arm around the two of them and hauled them both onto her shoulder; using her other hand to send her whip over to the hole [y/n]'s grappling hook had latched onto, and making sure that the end of her weapon had wrapped around it successfully before leaping over the gap as well and finding her feet planted against the wall, which she ran up whilst yelling:

"[y/nnnnnnnnnnnnnn] styllllllle!"

from above, the hybrid girl's laughter was heard, and she watched with a grin as the three gems finally made it up to the very place she stood at, though one of them didn't look quite as pleased as the others.

"[y/n]," pearl panted, "never do that again."

from beneath her mask, [y/n] offered the gems a sheepish grin, and she brought a hand up to rub the back of her neck nervously. "hehe. sorry . . ."

placing pearl and garnet back down onto the floor, amethyst curled her hand into a fist and offered it to [y/n], who gladly accepted the offer and gave the purple gem a fist bump. as the two shared their moment, though, garnet came by and proceeded to casually interrupt it by ruffling the hair atop [y/n]'s head, earning a frustrated cry from the child, and making amethyst chuckle as she followed after garnet.

"ugh." [y/n] huffed and ran her fingers through her hair in order to fix it back to what it originally was. "what is it with people and messing up my hair?" she muttered.

"[y/n]."

jumping at the sound of pearl's voice, the said girl quickly straightened her posture and looked up to the gem, who playfully rolled her eyes at the child's reaction before kneeling down to her eye level.

"while i don't like the idea of you endangering yourself like you did just now," she started, placing a hand on the child's shoulder and offering her a small smile, "i will admit that what you did back there was pretty great," she admitted.

[y/n] blinked once. twice. thrice. and then─after finally snapping out of her stupor─she beamed brightly, and wrapped her arms around pearl's neck; successfully pulling the taller gem into a hug. pearl gasped, surprised by the hybrid's sudden actions, but quickly melted into the hug either way and wrapped her arms around [y/n] as well.

considering it now, maybe bringing [y/n] along on more missions like this one wouldn't be so bad after all.

•

•

•

"oh, no, no, no. this is even worse than the outside!" pearl muttered to herself, clearly upset with the damage shown all around her.

"ugh . . . that's . . . oh! oh, this didn't used to be so─oh, and the water damage. and this pillar . . ." pearl trailed off.

"wait, let me take a guess." walking over to a headless statue near the edge of the staircase, [y/n] pointed to its missing head, turned to pearl, and said: "this is supposed to have a head, right?"

pearl let out a distressed noise and joined [y/n] by her side, her eyes holding that of horror.

"oh, [y/n]," pearl began, placing a hand on one of the hybrid's shoulders and looking out to the crumbling objects around them. "don't worry; once the statue's in place, it'll restore all of this to its former glory, and i can even give you a small tou─AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

summoning her spear, pearl quickly pushed [y/n] behind her and sliced her weapon's blade through the statue; sending not only its upper half to the depths below, but the creatures that had been crawling on it as well.

"whoa," [y/n] blinked in shock, but then looked up to pearl with a curious glint in her eyes. "what were those guys?" she asked.

pearl returned her weapon to her gem, looking to the place the creatures once sat at and scrunching her nose up in disgust. "crystal shrimp," she answered, sounding displeased with their very presence.

"um, you guys?" [y/n] and pearl perked up, turning around and craning their necks up towards the rest of the staircase to see garnet and amethyst standing at the top of it, though it was clear that amethyst had been the one to speak up.

"amethyst?" [y/n] began to run up the staircase in order to join the other two gems, with pearl following suit. "something the matter?"

the child made it to the top of the set of stairs at last, and her question was instantly answered due to the sight of the various crystal shrimp blocking her's and the gems' way.

[y/n]'s shoulders slumped. "oh."

standing beside the hybrid child once again, pearl gasped; bringing a hand up to her mouth as her eyes widened at the sight.

"it's an infestation!" she told, sounding distressed. "and we have to pass through there to get to the top," she added in dismay.

[y/n] hummed thoughtfully and crossed her arms; scanning over the area in silence before turning to the gems and placing her hands on her hips.

"wait, hold up, what's the big deal about this, actually? can't you guys just use your weapons to get rid of them?" the girl asked, tilting her head slightly.

pearl sighed and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "it's not always that simple, [y/n]. crystal shrimp have strong shells, and they're nearly impossible to impenetrate with weapons like ours," she told.

[y/n] let out a short, "oh," and nodded; going silent and looking back over to stare at the shrimp.

"we need to clear a path," pearl said after a moment, walking ahead to stand in front of the others. "amethyst─" she created a hologram of the mentioned gem and moved it to the far right corner of the room "─if you go around to the side and disturb them with a spin attack . . ."

looking away, pearl dismissed her hologram of amethyst and then proceeded to make one of garnet, which she positioned on the ceiling. "and, garnet, if you move to the ceiling and strike this exact spot . . ."

pearl looked back to the crystal shrimp, now creating a holographic version of herself. "then i can advance with my─"

"WHO'S HUNGRY FOR BAGELS?!"

suddenly sliding in front of pearl, [y/n] opened the bag of bagels she had brought along for their trip and proceeded to throw a couple of them out on both sides of the room; drawing the crystal shrimps' attention and making them all swarm around the food that now sat on the floor, whilst also successfully creating a path for the gems to cross.

garnet smirked and readjusted her visors before placing her hands on her hips. "brilliant," she complimented, nodding to [y/n] in acknowledgment.

"oh, hey," amethyst chuckled, "whaddya know?"

"wha─" pearl shook her head, her hologram disappearing due to her shocked state, and the pale gem walked to [y/n]'s side and crouched to be at her eye level.

"how . . . did you know that would work?" she asked slowly, taking notice of a certain journal under [y/n]'s left arm at last.

[y/n] shrugged, bringing the journal out and holding it in her hands. "mom's got a lot of useful stuff in here, is all." she paused. "and, also, if i were a shrimp, i think i would've been pretty hungry for bagels, too," she snorted.

from garnet's side, amethyst laughed and threw over her shoulder, "you are a shrimp," before quickening her pace and running off, just when [y/n]'s head had snapped over to her direction.

"OI! I HEARD THAT!"

throwing her mother's journal back into her bag, [y/n] zipped it up and quickly ran after amethyst, whose laughter echoed down the halls.

and from behind them all, pearl took a deep breath, and then stood up to begin walking as well.

"i just want everyone know," the pale gem began, "my plan would have also worked."

no one gave a response.

"haha! gotcha!"

jumping up from the floor, [y/n] was quick to wrap her arms around amethyst's neck as she knocked the gem forward and sent them both tumbling down the remaining pathway. amethyst cried out at the action, but soon began laughing with the child once more as they rolled and rolled and─

"watch out!"

suddenly, garnet's hands had a hold on the two, and they were lifted up from the ground when a large, powerful stream of water suddenly burst from the wall, creating yet another obstacle in the group's path.

"ugh. seriously?" amethyst crossed her arms as garnet set her and [y/n] back down. "what are we gonna do now?" she asked, only to instantly light up soon after and turn to [y/n], with pearl and garnet doing so as well.

feeling all eyes on her, [y/n] blinked and looked up to the gems, a surprised look spreading across her face. "huh?" she blinked again and pointed to herself with her thumb. "me?" she questioned.

garnet's visors glinted in the light. "what have you got?"

"oh! uh . . ." crouching down and unzipping her bag, [y/n] made sure to ignore amethyst's chants of, "hotdog bag! hotdog bag!" as she dug around in the small, hotdog-shaped compartment.

"how about . . ."  [y/n] gasped, a grin stretching across her face as she held up─"a raft!"

gasping softly in amazement, garnet and amethyst clasped their hands together. "wow . . ."

"oh my stars─[y/n]!" pearl looked and sounded ecstatic, "that's so sensible!"

chuckling bashfully, the gem hybrid only nodded and rubbed the back of her neck before clearing her throat and turning back to the water; trying to gain a serious composure as she pulled the raft's handle and inflated it.

"okay . . ." the child inhaled deeply, "let's hope this works, i guess . . ."

she gently placed the raft on top of the water, and instantly deflated once it immediately got washed away by the stream's current.

a moment of silence passed.

"wow." [y/n]'s voice lost all emotion all of a sudden. "this definitely has not hurt my pride in the slightest."

from behind her, garnet kicked down a stone pillar to use as a bridge to get across the stream, and she merely nodded towards the hybrid knowingly.

"it was a good idea anyway, [y/n]," the taller gem reassured, already crossing her bridge.

[y/n] didn't respond and only continued to stare wistfully down the waterfall her precious raft had used to take a trip down into the whirlpool below.

•

•

•

after walking a spiral staircase up the rest of the spire, the group had finally made it to the top, giving their eyes access to the stars that decorated the sky above, as well as the moon that was slowly beginning to make its way across the dark canvas of the night.

"whoa . . ." [y/n] looked around in awe, her eyes shining with wonder as the breeze of the night ran through her [length] locks of [hair color] hair.

"this is it," pearl spoke up, catching the hybrid's attention and returning her to reality. "the moon goddess pedestal!" pearl looked up and smiled widely. "and the moon is almost overhead! it's not too late to save this piece of history!" she told, clearly excited.

"[y/n]," garnet turned to the hybrid, nodding to her expectantly, "the statue."

[y/n] nodded back, her hand gripping the strap to her bag determinedly. "right." this is my chance to prove myself.

not even bothering to set her bag down onto the floor this time, [y/n] unzipped it and dug to the bottom of it until she finally spotted of the very thing she was looking for.

"okay." [y/n] took a deep breath and pulled the statue out, making sure to hold it carefully. "here it is."

( oh? did you think [y/n] emerald [l/n] would actually forget such an important statue at home?

how silly of you, readers. )

walking over to the pedestal slowly ( and also making sure not to drop the statue on her way over to it ), [y/n] exhaled quietly to herself and then set the stone object in its place before taking a few steps back and lifting her gaze up to the moon.

it took maybe a moment or two when it happened; when the bright sphere in the sky found its center.

feeling the ground beneath her feet shake, [y/n] gasped and found herself stumbling back into garnet's arms.

"keep steady, [y/n]." the girl perked up slightly at just how proud the taller gem sounded. "the show will begin soon."

and it did, as if garnet's voice was a cue.

with widening eyes, [y/n]'s mouth opened slightly to gape at the sight before her as she watched a ray of light begin to beam from the pedestal to the moon. from there, the statue that sat atop of the pedestal slowly began to rise from its place; being lifted up higher and higher into the sky as it followed the light up to its destination.

and then, suddenly, everything stopped. the shaking ceased, the waterfalls around the spire stopped moving, and─

and before [y/n] knew it, garnet was pushing her to the ground and placing herself on top of the hybrid protectively as a loud blast suddenly erupted from the sky above and shook the child to her very core. she had closed her eyes, then, for a blinding light had suddenly overtaken her vision, and all she could hear, for a moment, was the ringing in her ears.

that is, until, the ringing came to a stop.

"hey, shrimp," she could practically hear the grin in amethyst's voice, "you can't exactly see the new and improved sea spire with your face hidden from the world like that, you know."

blinking multiple times, [y/n] hesitantly lifted her gaze up and opened her eyes, and she gasped.

"wow." a breathless laugh escaped her lips, and she found it very hard to bring herself back to her feet all of a sudden.

"didn't realize gem construction could move so fast."

pearl and amethyst laughed at [y/n]'s poor attempt at a joke, and both gems didn't even bother to waste a second to join the hybrid's side and help her stand to her feet.

"so, [y/n]," pearl began, raking her fingers through the child's hair comfortingly, a wide grin etched out across her face.

"how about that tour?"

[y/n] ended up stumbling into her arms, and the two laughed as she nodded.

"yeah," [y/n] leaned back into the pale gem's touch and sighed with relief, "i'd like that."

pearl and amethyst shared a laugh once again, and from the bottom of [y/n]'s mask, yet another crack went unnoticed.

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NEXT EPISODE :
" TOGETHER BREAKFAST "