Wowzers! I actually got the next arc started sooner than I thought...consider this a Halloween treat from me (;D). OK, now I know I said this arc would probably have something in the way of spooky goings-on, but...this idea was something that just came to me as I started writing the chapter. Want to know what the new arc is all about? Read on to find out. And, I hope you all enjoy, my loves (even though this is a fairly short start to the arc). =)

Lately, Bayley had been feeling fairly...perplexed about something. She had recently gotten an assignment in Mr. Regal's class to bring in something that was an important part of their family's history. The only problem with this was...well, she wasn't quite sure if the Gems had anything that was safe that she could take to school.

"Well, we do have that one picture of us with FDR," Dean mused one day while Bayley was at school. "Would that count?"

"Uh... I'm not sure. After all, the people at Bayley's school have seen us, so they'd probably think we faked that picture," Seth countered.

"Oh, right. I forgot that some humans can pretty picky about stuff like that," Dean agreed before scratching his head as he tried to think of something. An idea coming to him, Dean said "Hows about we let Bayley take one of the artifacts with her?"

"The artifacts? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Seth asked, immediately feeling apprehensive at Dean's idea.

"Well, it's not like anything in there could really hurt her. It's all just stuff that's got cracked Gems in them, so I think something from in there will be okay."

"If...if you say so," Seth hesitantly said. "Just...just don't let Roman know, OK? He'd probably split, he'd be so angry."

"Got it," Dean nodded as he slid off of the stool he was sitting on. "I'll take a quick look around for something, and bring it out."

"OK. Just...just make it quick," Seth said as he shooed Dean away. Watching as the sandy blonde Gem walked away, Seth thought 'Dean's more than likely right. All of the stuff in that room has cracked Gems in them, so they can't hurt Bayley. ...Right?'

...

Reaching her home after a pretty good day at school, Bayley opened the front door and said "Seth? Dean? Roman? I'm home."

Coming from one of the back rooms with Seth following him, Dean said "Hey. Welcome home, Bayley. How was school today?"

"It was pretty okay. Most of my classes went fairly okay today," Bayley said as she took off her backpack and put it at the bottom of the staircase.

"Most of them? Was one of them not good today?" Seth asked.

"Not exactly. I just had to have a talk with Mr. Regal about how my project was going. He...wasn't all that thrilled when I told him I still didn't have anything to bring in," Bayley said. "I just hope I can find something soon. I don't want to fail this."

"Well, Bayley. How would you feel if I said you didn't have to worry about this project anymore?" Dean asked, a grin starting to cross his face.

"I...I'd feel great about that." Bayley began to smile before asking "But, wait. What do you mean, Dean? Were you guys able to find something I could take to school?"

"Yes. Yes, we were," Dean said. Reaching into his back pocket, Dean pulled his hand around and said "Ta-da!"

Looking at what the sandy blonde Gem was holding, Bayley was surprised to see that it was a relatively normal-looking silver brooch with a trapezoid-shaped magenta gem in the center of it; the most noticeable thing about the brooch was the fact that there was a rather big crack in the gem. "Ooh, that's so pretty. Where'd it come from?"

"This is a brooch that one of our friends had. It's a bit roughed up, as you can see, but it's something that you can take to school for your project." As Dean told Bayley about the brooch, he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about what he was saying; this being because...basically everything he was telling Bayley was a complete lie. "Now, promise that you'll take good care of this."

"I will, Dean, I will," Bayley nodded her head. Taking the brooch from Dean, Bayley said "Thanks, Dean. Thanks, Seth."

"No problem, squirt," Dean said, smiling as he ruffled Bayley's hair a bit.

"Anything we can do to help," Seth said, a somewhat uneasy smile crossing his face.

As Bayley held the brooch in her hand, the ponytailed Gem didn't notice the slight glow that cascaded across the surface of the Gem in the brooch.

Hmm... It would appear as though we have a bit of a good news/bad news situation here. Good news = Bayley has something that she can take to school for her project for Mr. Regal's class. Bad news = it's a Gem artifact that may or may not cause Bayley harm. Who knows? We'll just have to wait and see. Until next update, don't forget to R&R please. =)

(And, now I return to my MUCH-NEEDED catch-up marathon of Steven Universe. OH, HOW I'VE MISSED THIS SHOW! TuT)