#I struggled to write this without just copying stuff from the ocean gem transcript

[pacexlikexaxghost]

When they're getting close, it's very evident, the tower of water rising up into the atmosphere before them, and Pearl's driving at that point, but she asks Amethyst to go to the roof and make sure Valor and Flicker are awake.

She parks close to the tower and gets out.

❝This is it. Lapis Lazuli is here.❞ Garnet says.

❝I don't know what she wants with the ocean...❞ Pearl stares up at the tower. ❝What is she doing? What could she possibly even want with the ocean?❞

❝You shouldn't be here!❞

Pearl winces slightly at how loud her voice echoes around them, and Steven tries to deescalate things, but it doesn't work, and Lapis sends out water duplicates of him and the other Crystal Gems, and Pearl summons her spear.

❝Fight it is.❞ She shifts into a fighting stance. ❝Valor or Flicker, could you fly Steven up to the top of this? I assume that's where she is, and if he heals her, she might be more reasonable. And aggressive or not, I don't want her to shatter incidentally in her state.❞

Both of the grimwalkers grimaced. "That sounds very unfun," Flicker agreed.

They still had a long ride ahead of them. Valor and Flicker swapped between their staffs and the top of the van every so often, and Valor took the chance to try to get a bit more sleep, using his sibling as a pillow on the roof of the van. He knew they'd keep watch for him should anything dangerous happen.

That wasn't to say his sleep was uninterrupted. He was a light sleeper as it was, so he woke up often between conversation and bumps in the ocean floor and Flicker shifting into better positions. But he fell back asleep quickly, so taken altogether he managed another hour or two of sleep.

That wasn't an unusual sleep pattern for him, getting less-than-optimal sleep at night and making up for it in several catnaps throughout the day, when there were the sounds of his family's activities to keep the bad thoughts and nightmares at bay.

Usually it wasn't on top of a car, though.

Once they got close, though, he made sure to be alert, preparing himself for whatever they might encounter.