Disclaimer: Steven Universe is owned by Rebecca Sugar. In addition, the OC's Rose Quartz, Onyx, Snowflake Obsidian, and Jadeite are owned by SweetSpark.

AlxkendBlader presents...

A spooktacular special featuring Steven and some old friends of his from the First Institute...

Steven and the Gemlings celebrate Halloween!


(Author's Note: I know that it isn't Halloween 2015 yet, and Halloween 2014 having passed last year, but I wanted to explore what you're about to see in this story)

Chapter 1: Arrival

[Warp Pad Terminal, Gem Homeworld]

Log Date: 1030

This is Peridot, accompanying the gemlings, Rose Quartz (not to be confused for General Rose Quartz, the former leader of the Crystal Gems), Onyx, and Snowflake Obsidian from the First Institute's 11th Group on a sort of field trip to Earth. Our purpose for this trip; Steven Quartz Universe, the son of General Rose, by the use of a Wailing Stone, has invited the four of us over to observe a local holiday on the planet, known as Halloween. Preparing to warp to the Earth Hub Galaxy Warp. From there, we will transfer to the Crystal Gems' temple on Earth. Steven had also warned me that the current known members of the Crystal Gems may not be too trusting of me, since I was the one that had brought him to the Homeworld when he first appeared at the Galaxy Warp months ago.

Peridot out.

[Beach City]

It is October 30th, and everyone in Beach City is decorating for what will happen the next day; Halloween, the one night of the year where you would pretend to be someone that you normally aren't, as well as getting a lot of sweets and treats, and having a wonderful time in costume. Even the temple where the Crystal Gems maintain their headquarters is decorated for Halloween, fake cobwebs, Jack-O'-Lanterns and everything.

Not only that, but there would also be a Halloween rave in town tomorrow night, with Sour Cream playing as the DJ there.

[Crystal Gems Temple]

We see Steven discussing with Garnet about his new venture about celebrating Halloween with some gems he personally knew that just happened to come from the Homeworld.

"Are you sure that they won't be here to cause any trouble?" asks Garnet seriously with her arms crossed before warning, "If they do, they're getting a one-way ticket back to the Homeworld and you'll be grounded from going trick-or-treating."

The young half-gem nodded in understanding of Garnet's warning, not intending to let them cause any trouble on his watch, as he replied, "Don't worry, Garnet, I have faith that they'll behave themselves," before getting up, and going to where the warp pad is, followed by Garnet, "Besides, they might be here at any time, now."

After a few moments of tense silence, the warp pad activated with the usual pillar of light, as four silhouettes formed. When the light cleared, standing before Garnet and Steven are the forms of Peridot, Rosie, Onyx, and Snowflake Obsidian.

Before the son of General Rose Quartz himself could greet them, Garnet went up to Peridot and threatens, "Listen, and you better listen good, Peridot, if you have any ill intentions for this planet, and I find out about it; I will not hesitate to force you back through that warp pad and..."

The technician raised a hand, and retorts, "I can assure you, Garnet of the Crystal Gems, that I and the gemlings that are accompanying me, have no intent of causing any discontent here on this planet."

While Peridot is conversing with Garnet, Steven is animatedly talking with the gemlings that he knew from the First Institute. "Long time no see, Steven," greets Onyx with her usual confident smirk, "It wasn't the same over at the First Institute without you to brighten things up at recess with any new games. Dull and boooooring!"

Rosie added, "We really missed you on the Homeworld. A lot of the gemlings up to the 50th group admired you, Steven. You're an inspiration to them."

Steven, blushing a little at the praise, remarks, "Oh, you guys, I think I've gone bright red, but sure, I'm always eager to please. It's great to see you again," as he then noticed Snowflake Obsidian embracing him from behind, at which he gave a lighthearted laugh, "Aww, hey Snowflake."

She giggled with a sweet smile, "Hello, Steven," before asking, "Anyways, what is this 'Halloween' that you invited us to participate in with you?"

"Halloween," he started, "It's a holiday on the 31st of October, which is tomorrow. It's the one night of the year where we confront the seriousness of death with humor and ridicule. At night, we would put on costumes and go trick-or-treating, which is where you would go door-to-door saying "trick-or-treat!" to them and you get treats. Trick-or-treat would roughly translate to, "We're gonna play a trick on you if you do not give us any candies!" Basically, you playfully threaten the homeowner that you'll play a prank on them unless they give you some goodies. Some people would also throw costume parties, bob for apples, visit haunted attractions, play pranks, tell scary stories or watch horror movies, decorate, and carve pumpkins into Jack-O'-Lanterns. It's really fun! Halloween's based on this ancient Christian feast known as All Hallows' Eve, the one night of the year where the spirits of the dead return to the world of the living. The thing where putting on costumes and getting treats from people as we trick-or-treat is supposed to come from a couple of traditions in the old Celtic harvest festivals (from which All Hallows' Eve was derived), the ones in which you put on your costume to ward off the spirits, and placing an offering for the spirits on your doorstep."

As the three gemlings listened on to Steven's explanation with awe and curiosity, Peridot is also making some notes of her own about Halloween, based on what the young hybrid had described.

Right after Steven finished explaining about Halloween, he decided that before they went trick-or-treating tomorrow, that they would review the layout of Beach City, every block, every roadway, every area generally, especially a few of the landmarks, such as the Beach City Funland and the Big Donut.

[Beach City downtown area]

Later that afternoon, we see Steven and the gemlings walking through town, accompanied by a SurvCam (Surveillance Camera) Robonoid, which Peridot is using to remotely keep watch on them in case anything goes wrong. The gemlings looked in awe at the decorations that are being set up as they stayed close with Steven, while he sets up stickers at different points to help them make their way around town in case they got lost when trick-or-treating.

"If the First Institute is willing to organize any field trips to Earth," started Rosie, "A lot of gemlings that admired you would be eager to go. Well, except for Jadeite and her little posse of purists," saying the prideful Jadeite gem's name with a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah," replies Steven, "She's never really nice to me. She's so full of herself because she's a full-blooded gem and I'm not," before noticing that it is evening, "So, you wanna grab some dinner on the way back?"

"Come on, Steven," started Onyx, "You know that we gems don't need to eat anything to sustain ourselves, but sure, it would be interesting to see how human food is like!"

Thus, they went to Fish Stew Pizza. There, Steven ordered a large pepperoni pizza to go, as he hands the money to Kiki, who puts it into the register. They then sat down at a nearby table as they waited for their pizza.

After several minutes of waiting, during which they had a conversation about stuff on Earth, the pizza was finally finished, as it was put in a box to go. Kiki hands Steven the pizza, along with a receipt, as he and the gemlings went on their way back to his house, which connects to the temple.

[Crystal Gems' Temple]

They eventually reached the temple with the pizza in tow, as the table is set up for the meal to come. However, they did have to stop Amethyst from spiking the pizza with Fire Salt for a practical joke, given the Kindergarten-born gem's mischievous streak, or eating all of the pizza without leaving any for the others. During the meal, Steven brought up the story of how he and Sadie pranked Lars with a donut that was laced with Fire Salt, to get back at him for feigning a back injury to skip his work shift at the donut shop. That brought on some riotous laughter from the gemlings and Amethyst, but some cringes when Steven admitted that he and Sadie ended up adding too much Fire Salt to the donut, which caused the immature slacker to end up breathing fire and accidentally burn things.

"That's one lesson learned the hard way, huh Steven?" asks Onyx, at which Steven nodded as he added, "Yeah, I made a mental note not to mess around with that stuff. Speaking of which, Amethyst also used it to cheat at a hot dog eating contest, by spiking her competitors' hot dogs with it!"

At this, Onyx, Rosie, and Snowflake gave Amethyst dirty looks, as she asks with a shrug, "What?"

"Well, it's true," said Pearl while crossing her arms, as she then added, "How you got away with that one we'll never know. Besides, nobody likes a cheater!"

As everyone ate their pizza, Rosie passionately talking with Snowflake Obsidian about rainforests and how much she wanted to see one, and Steven talking with Onyx about witches and the Salem Witch Trials, a dark time of paranoia, superstition, familial tensions, and a fear of eternal damnation upon one's immortal soul.

"You know," started Steven as he explained, "Most people assumed that those who were accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials were tied up on big, wooden stakes and then burned alive as an execution method, but that's wrong. They were actually either hanged, beheaded, drowned, or slowly and painfully crushed, awful ways to go, too," as Onyx listened on with fascination, before remarking, "Interesting. You know what? I think you just gave me an idea on what to go trick-or-treating as for Halloween; a witch! Broomstick and all!"

It is then that they hear the faint sounds of the warp pad activating, as Pearl remarks, "Someone is warping into the temple!" Garnet gets up from the table, as she remarks, "I'll go see who it is," before leaving for the warp pad.

She walks through the hallway of the temple, before spotting someone sneaking away from where the warp pad room is. Seeing as he/she got noticed, the figure attempted to flee, only to face Garnet, who shouts, "Hold it right there!" as she jumped in front of the intruder.

Meanwhile, in the living room, we see Steven discussing ideas on what to go as for Halloween night when they go trick-or-treating, while Pearl and Amethyst were having one of their squabbles about the latter being too greedy about the candy, and Peridot is designing a costume for her SurvCam Robonoid while considering on what to dress up as herself. That is, until Garnet came in, and in tow, a gemling with a Jadeite gemstone that Steven knows all too well...

"I found this gemling sneaking away from the warp pad. She tried to flee, but I caught her," said Garnet as she motioned her hand towards Jadeite, who crossed her arms with a sour look on her face.

Steven remarks, "I know who she is, Garnet. It's that mean Jadeite who bullied me at the First Institute," as he then turned to her, "And what are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing, you worthless, half-breed son of a traitor!" she snapped back angrily.

"Hey, back off, Jadeite," Onyx defends, "This is Earth, Steven's home planet! We're on his turf now, and you're nothing but an uninvited guest!"

Rosie and Snowflake nodded in agreement, as they each gave Jadeite a dirty look. Jadeite herself merely stuck her tongue out at the two, when she felt herself being grabbed by the collar and lifted up to the eye level of Garnet, who frowned at the prideful gemling like a mother disappointed in the behavior of her naughty child.

"So," Garnet started with a stern tone, "You're that nasty little gemling that belittled Steven at the First Institute, and all because he's not a full-blooded gem. You saw fit to laugh at him if something doesn't work out for him. You act as if he's beneath you, because he is different. More to the point, YOU are going to explain yourself to Peridot on why you came here to Earth through the warp pads," as she turned the gemling's head towards Peridot, who is giving her an expectant look.

Feeling the pressure from the dirty looks given to her by Rosie, Onyx, Snowflake, Amethyst, and Pearl, Jadeite eventually caved and said exasperatedly, "Alright, alright! I came here because I got curious about where Peridot and those three were going through the warp pads! Satisfied?!"

Peridot nodded, before adding these details to her report of Jadeite's unannounced presence on Earth. It is then that Jadeite asks in her usual rude tone, "By the way, why EXACTLY are you on this worthless planet?"

"If you must know, Jadeite," started Rosie with crossed arms, "Steven invited us here to observe this local holiday that's going to happen tomorrow."

"And what kind of holiday would that be?" asks the mean green gemling snidely, "And I bet it is something that sounds ridiculous and childish!"

"Oh, it's ridiculous alright, but in the fun kind of way," retorts Snowflake before asking rhetorically, "Speaking of childish, Jadeite, have you forgotten that we are young gemlings? That makes us children in one way or another, you know."

Jadeite was about to say something, before stopping herself, realizing the logic behind Snowflake's response to her question. She thought, "She's right! As gemlings, we are essentially children compared to older gems like Aventurine!"

"But still," she started with a screech, her tone screaming arrogance, "Why would that filthy half-breed invite you three over to this backwater planet, just for celebrating this holiday, whatever it is that you still haven't told me about," when she is hit in the back of the head by a displeased Peridot.

"You will behave yourself, Jadeite," she scolds before continuing, "You are in enough trouble as it is when Garnet caught you warping into the temple, do not make it worse for yourself! Who knows what may happen if you ended up provoking someone, and you get injured from this? We are NOT on the Homeworld, we are on Earth, so you have to respect the laws and customs of this planet. Do I make myself clear?"

Feeling the weight and severity of the older gem's warning, Jadeite sighed in defeat as she nodded slowly, at which the technician says, "Now you see reason," before turning to Steven with a smile, "If you would please, explain to your old deskmate what Halloween is, Steven."

He nodded with a smile, before giving a short but to the point explanation on Halloween, before preaching a little about how much fun it is. Afterwards, Jadeite sniggered as she asked, "So, basically, you dress up in some fanciful costume and go door to door saying this special phrase to get treats at the threat of playing a practical joke on them? That has got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of!"

"She's still not convinced, isn't she?" whispers Rosie in Steven's ear, at which he shook his head in response, before whispering back to her, "But we're not going to give up that easily."

"It may seem silly to you Jadeite," started Onyx, "But to us, it sounds fun, and we are willing to give it a try! I decided that I'm going to go trick-or-treating dressed up as a witch," before using her shape-shifting ability to change her uniform into a witch costume, complete with a pointed hat and a broomstick prop.

"You look outrageous, especially with that hat," Jadeite chuckled and clucked with her usual mocking tone, at which Rosie retorts, "No need to laugh at her, I think she looks fantastic in that costume," before turning to Steven and Snowflake and asking them, "Don't we?"

Both Steven and Snowflake nodded, liking how Onyx's witch get-up had turned out, at which the white and black gemling smiled, "Thank you, guys," before asking, "What are you going to go trick-or-treating as?"

Rosie thought for a moment or two, before replying with a smile, "Considering all the options for a costume based on monsters or fictional characters, I decided that I will go trick-or-treating as the popular folk hero Robin Hood," before changing her uniform into the ensemble as used by the legendary heroic outlaw, before summoning her crossbow weapon. She remarks, "I do know that Robin wielded a longbow and not a crossbow, but I thought I'd use it to compliment the look," as Steven smiled, "You look great in that costume, Rosie," before turning to Snowflake Obsidian and asking her, "Who are you going to go as, Snowflake?"

She said nothing, and with a smile, she changed her uniform into a dazzling over-the-shoulder dress with a right knee-high slit, bodice with sleeves, kitten heels, and a floor-sweeping cape with snowflake details on it, clearly reminiscent of Elsa the Snow Queen from the Disney animated move Frozen.

Pearl, upon seeing Snowflake's costume, gushed, "Oh...my...GOODNESS! You look beautiful in that costume," at which Snowflake puts a hand to her mouth as she giggled with a light blush, "Thank you, Miss Pearl." Flattered at being addressed respectfully by the younger gemling, Pearl smiled, "Please, no need for formalities."

Jadeite looked on in envy; why are those guys getting praised on their costumes? She followed the path, so she should get some praise like that!

Noticing the prideful gemling's jealousy, Steven gets a mischievous smirk on his face, before going to Peridot and whispering in her ear about his idea; to prank Jadeite by tricking her into wearing a costume that she would not approve of. Seeing the logic behind this sneaky plan, the technician went over to Garnet with a knowing smile, at which the latter asks, "What are you and Steven up to?"

Peridot whispers into Garnet's ear of Steven's plan, at which the current Crystal Gem leader gave a wide grin at the implications, and the guaranteed laughs that could be gained from it. She motions Pearl and Amethyst over, as she quietly informed them of the prank to be pulled on Jadeite. Amethyst sniggered at the aspect of putting Jadeite in her place with a prank like what Steven proposed, when she was shushed by Pearl. However, that didn't go unheard, as Jadeite demands, "Just what are you laughing about, traitor?"

Pearl, unamused by the gemling's snotty behavior, scolds, "It's none of your business, young lady. This is a discussion for the adult gems."

While the Crystal Gems and Peridot are discussing on how to pull off the prank, Steven is going over some safety rules for trick-or-treating with the gemlings. "Okay," he started, "When we get candy from someone, we check it to see if it's contaminated with inedible objects, or worse, medicine or illegal drugs. You never know if there's a psycho that's out to hurt a few trick-or-treaters with tampered treats for his or her own sick amusement. Plus, we should never, EVER, go to any parties without getting permission from an adult, or without any adult supervision for that matter. Speaking of getting treats from someone, it's polite to thank them. If you see a place that has a sign saying that there's no candy to be given out and/or with no porch lights on, we move on to another place. In addition, if you see a bowl of candy on or near the doorstep with a sign saying to take a certain amount per person; don't get greedy! Oh, and if you're going to wear a mask as part of your costume, make sure that it has large enough eyeholes that you could properly see through. If you don't want to wear a mask, use make-up instead. Speaking of costumes, when we go trick-or-treating, we should make them visible so that car drivers could watch where they're going at night when it's dark. Maybe you could use your shapeshifting to make your costumes glow a little if needed. Another thing..."

Just before Steven is about to lay down a safety rule to never go into a stranger's house even when invited in, Jadeite interrupts, "Why do we even need these rules, Universe?"

"Jadeite," scolds Rosie, "Don't you know that it's rude to interrupt while someone is talking? By the way, these rules are for safety reasons. Heck, I wouldn't want to be forced to retreat into my gemstone from getting run over by a car or get sick to my stomach from a few contaminated treats."

"Me neither. Heck, I wouldn't want to end up tripping on a small ditch when crossing the road and falling face first or backwards onto the tarmac," replies Onyx with an agreeing nod, as she adds, "And it's a good thing that I don't have my gemstone anyplace on my face or my backside. Then again, I may have to wear something to protect it, just to be safe, if I don't want to end up damaging it from falling on my knee."

Snowflake then turned to Steven and said to him, "Go on, Steven, you can continue."

"Thanks," he smiled, before continuing, "As I was saying, we should make our costumes visible so that car drivers could watch where they're going in the dark, and you gemlings could use your shapeshifting abilities to make your costumes glow a little if needed..."

Chapter End


I was originally planning on making this fanfic a one shot, but I find it more convenient to just write out separate chapters. Anyways, be sure to review this! :D