"waaah! the tower's gonna come down!" cried steven as he tottered on his feet. your eyes go wide in alarm as you have a dreaded realization, that not only is steven in danger, but connie and greg are at risk as well. humans are very fragile after all! once this tower comes down, there's gonna be a massive tidal wave, those humans will not be able to survive! unless... you gasped, catching spinel's attention. "(name)?" you knelt down and whisper a plan to spinel, to which her eyes widen temporarily before narrowing in understanding. she nods with a salute then mounts your back, wrapping her legs around your torso tightly. you then lurch forward and grab Steven by the scruff of his shirt, eliciting a squawk of surprise from the boy just as the tower collapses beneath you.

spinel immediately goes to work, stretching and twirling her arms together into a large propeller, carrying you both down to the ground below at a quick pace. everyone below was startled not only by your descent from the top, but also the water's fall, which came down in great cubes. "wh-what the-!?" greg exclaimed in bewilderment at the sight of his son dangling from your jaws. "No time to explain!" you exclaimed through clenched jaws. "grab van quick!" the gems exchange a confused look to each other for a brief moment, before lion growled and ran over to the van placing his paws onto the top of the vehicle, that was lodged bumper first into the sand, and after much effort, he managed to push the van onto its wheels and leapt onto the top, roaring to the others to follow. without any other forms of hesitation, pearl huddled an injured greg into the van, while garnet, connie and amethyst scrambled onto the top of the van alongside lion. "hurry!" connie called to you as spinel lowered you to the van, and you grasped all four arms to the sides of it, digging your clawed fingers into the metal until it made suitable grips. you grunted loudly to spinel, who nodded and picked up the speed of her arms till you felt the wind blowing strongly over you. the look of worry crossed your face as spinel started to strain herself against the combined weight of numerous beings and a large van weighing her down.  oh no... your chest started to tighten. this is too much for her.. you thought in concern and worry.

w-what if this doesn't-

your thoughts were halted when the cold, heavy weight of water then crashed over you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

back at the city, the mayor was still fruitlessly attempting to restore beach city's water supply, via hose, until a gush of the salty cold water washed over him, snapping him out of his despair.

all over the city, water was beginning to return, filling the once barren dessert with the refreshing cool water that lapped at its shore as it always had, filling the air with the soothing crashing of the waves and the refreshing, welcoming scent of the seabreeze.

Beach city was beach city once again!

"Incoming...!" spinel's strained voice broke into your thoughts as you heard the heavy metal thunk as spinel lowered you all to the beach just beside the water. "WHOO!! WAY TO GO, YOU GUYS!!" exclaimed amethyst as you leapt of the van, lifting a forepaw to lick your sore fingers as spinel unraveled her arms brought them down rubbing them. "jeepers... haven't had that much excitement in quite a while..." you gently placed steven onto his feet, and take a moment to glance out at the freshly restored sea, smiling in accomplishment. back to where it should be. spinel then steps down from you and looks out herself, putting a hand to her forehead, smiling at the dazzling sparkle it gave off. "ahh... not a half bad job if I do say so myself!" she chirped, leaning against your shoulder as steven threw himself into your chest hugging you tightly. "great job everyone!" he piped happily, laughing joyfully into your chest fur. spinel joined in on the hug laughing as well, causing you to blush slightly.

and that's when the citizens joined in.

coming up to you in numbers, you found yourself being surrounded by beach city citizens, multiple hands stroking your fur and shoulders, children hugging your arms and flanks, a magnitude of praising, the whole lot. spinel was enjoying it quite a bit, giving out handshakes, waving and high fives, Steven and connie were a bit overwhelmed, but nonetheless enjoyed the attention.

but you... your focus was on the sky.

on a particularly shining star in the sky to be precise.

safe travels home, lazuli.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

later that day, you brought spinel back to the temple so you both can rest up after all that. not only were you sore and tired from the whole ordeal, but spinel was just as worn down as you after all that.

and the overwhelming crowd and praising from strangers brought you out of your comfort zone.

you flopped onto the refreshingly cold floor, while spinel laid limply against your back. "you did good today, (nickname)." she muttered tiredly to you, face deep in your fluffy mane. you purred lightly in response, shutting your eyes in weariness. a few minutes of a peaceful quiet go by, and spinel is already out like a light, snoring loudly in your fur. your seconds away from drifting into the same state, but each time your eyes shut, you pictured that shiny star cluster to where lazuli had flew towards. her home....

something about those stars...

you felt almost... like you should know where it leads... but the name... where was that place..?

better yet... why did lazuli look so sad leaving me behind...?

...perhaps... that's the part of the puzzle....

your eyes widened at the realization.

the puzzle to my past! of course!

All's I need is to--

"(NAME)! SPINEL! I'VE GOT GOOD NEWS!!"

you practically jump 5 feet into the air at the sound of the abrupt noise of a door being thrown open and the loud cheery voice you knew all too well, while spinel screeched jumping up. you landed on your belly with a THUD as spinel faceplanted into your fluffed out back fur.

before you could process what just happened, Steven ran up to you and hugged your muzzle. "Guess what!?" you blinked your eyes independently at him, too drained to figure out what's got him riled. it didn't take long for his answer.

"DAD'S STAYING WITH US!!"