Within a medium sized beach house built in front of a large temple, the Universe Twins, Steven, and Nora were sleeping peacefully in their bunk beds. Steven snored loudly on the top bunk, while Nora breathed quietly on the bottom bunk.
[SPLASH!]
"AHHHH!" The siblings scream at the same time as they are awoken from being drenched by cold water.
"Morning sleepy heads." Lapis Lazuli, the leader of the Crystal Gems greets the kids in a sarcastically carefree tone, with several orbs of water levitating over the palm of her left hand.
"Wh… Wh… What the… he… he… he… heck Lapis?" A very annoyed Steven asks his guardian, shivering from the cold water. Steven had short, burgundy-brown hair and eyes of the same color, and was slightly shorter than his sister despite being the same age. Traits he inherited from Ruby's side of his mother.
"The two of you slept in late and almost missed your special day today." The sibling's father, Greg, pointed out to the two of them.
"Oh, then thanks. We really need to get a new alarm clock," Nora says thankfully as she hops out of bed; unaffected by the cold water. Nora had long brown hair that went down to her waist, with light blue highlights, and heterochromatic eyes; her left eye was black in color, while her right eye is dodger-blue. Traits she inherited from Sapphire's side of her mother.
Steven leaped off from the top bunk behind his sister, still shivering a bit, as they are greeted by both Jasper and Peridot down in the living room. "Happy Birthday you two." Jasper happily says to the siblings, as she tosses Steven a towel to dry off.
"Thanks, Jasper."
"Already fourteen. Humans do grow up so fast," Peridot says in a proud, motherly tone.
"I know right," Greg says in fatherly agreement.
"No problem, we needed to get you two up to let you guys know what's going on." The orange Quartz states.
"What are you talking about?" Nora asks the large orange gem.
"Well, you see, there has been a Gem monster on the loose that has been…" Peridot paused for a moment to find the right words. "Giving us the slip."
"A real nasty one that should be bubbled as soon as possible," Lapis adds in, continuing to toy with her water spheres.
"You know, you could've left us a note for when we got up." Steven groused, drying off his hair.
"No offense brother, but you sleep like a log," Nora responds. "By the time they got back with the monster, you'd still be out cold."
Steven just frowns at his sister as he fully dries himself off.
"I know it's probably jerky to just leave on your guys birthday, but Dot was doing her nerd stuff with her robot arms…" Jasper starts.
"Limb enhancers." The green Gem corrects with some aggravation.
"Whatever… anyway, she calculated this is our best chance of getting the big nuisance." Jasper apologetically finishes. "But we'll be back later tonight, and we have a special surprise for you."
"Or…" Steven chips in. "You guys can take us on the mission with you. I think we're old enough to go on a monster hunt as one big happy, slightly dysfunctional, family."
"Sorry kiddo. But you two are far from ready to go on missions." Jasper states.
"But you guys trained us to fight, we can handle ourselves."
"We trained you to defend yourselves, fighting a Gem monster is a lot tougher. Especially if you don't have powers."
Steven just hmphed disappointedly, but they both knew Jasper was right. Steven and Nora had yet to display any Gem abilities.
"But cheer up you two, one day you'll unlock your powers and can go with the Gems on all sorts of crazy adventures," Greg says in a supporting tone.
"We understand," Nora says to the orange Gem. "Steven and I have plans for how to celebrate our fourteenth birthday today, so there is no need to worry."
"All right then, the sooner we catch this clod, the sooner we can get back here. Crystal Gems. To warp pad!" Peridot overdramatically shouts, pointing at the crystalline pad at the end of the room.
"Uh, there is no need for the theatrics," Lapis states as she flies ahead of the group.
"I know, but it wouldn't have been as cool," Peridot responds running up with the blue Gem; with Jasper following her from behind.
The three Crystal Gems stand on the warp pad together, looking back at the twins. "Later you two," Jasper says to them as they are engulfed by the teleporters cyan energy.
As soon as the three Gems disappeared, Nora slapped her forehead with frustration. "Aw man."
"What's wrong?" Steven and Greg ask at the same time.
"There was something I wanted to tell them, but it slipped my mind completely."
"Like what?" Steven asks.
"This is going to sound weird. But I had a bizarre dream last night. But the thing is, it didn't feel like a dream, it felt like something real."
"Do you remember what it was about?"
"No, everything was like a blur. But it was focusing on a girl I've never seen before."
"Chances are it's probably nothing." Steven states.
"But you can ask the Gems when they get back if it's still bothering you," Greg tells his daughter.
"I guess you're right, besides we have a birthday to celebrate. Let's get a change of clothes, have some breakfast, and then it's off to the Big Donut."
Steven and Nora were happily walking down the boardwalk to their favorite establishment in Beach City, Delmarva, the Big Donut.
Steven was wearing his usual attire: a red t-shirt with a bright yellow star in the center, a pair of dark-blue jeans, and burgundy shoes; he also had a dark-red headband that kept the hair out of his eyes.
Nora, on the other hand, wore a blue variant of her brother's t-shirt; but with a blue skirt instead of jeans and light blue slippers with white socks; she also wore white gloves that went up to her elbows. Her hair was nicely combed and had a large bang covering her blue eye.
Nora opens the door to the shop, letting Steven walk in ahead of her before she enters the establishment. Behind the shops counter were the employees Sadie Miller and Lars Barriga were having a chat, the latter of which looking discontent. "… be honest with me, Sadie, do I come off as a delinquent?"
"Do you want the truth or do you want me to say what you want to hear?" Sadie asks Lars in response to his question.
"Greetings you two," Nora says to the employees with a bow, while Steven gives them a wave.
"Oh hey, Nora and Steven." Sadie greets the twins back.
"Hey Sadie, we just came to pick up our usual," Steven responds.
"Oh sorry, I don't know if you know this already but they just started discontinuing Cookie Cats."
"What!" The twins say at the same time, with some surprise.
"Yeah, apparently they couldn't complete with Lion Lickers?" Lars states.
"But that doesn't make any sense, we all know they are gross." Nora states.
"Well, marketers say otherwise."
"Then marketers are idiots," Steven states, staring at the empty Cookie Cat themed freezer.
"Not going to argue with you there."
"Is there anything else we can get you then?" Sadie asks the twins.
"No thanks, we'll just be on our way out," Nora answers.
"Well, we're opened all day if you change your mind."
The twins turn to leave, as the door opens behind them with a ring; a young girl with dark skin, puffy brown hair and red-rimmed glasses entered the establishment. One that Steven, Sadie nor Lars have seen in town; but Nora looked at her as if she has seen her before, and was surprised.
"Hello there, welcome to the Big Donut." Sadie starts, as she and the new girl begin chatting.
"Nora, are you okay?" Steven asks his sister. "Do you know her?"
Without responding, Nora wraps her arm around her brother and turns him around to speak privately. "Okay, now this is going to sound crazy, but that girl is the exact same girl from my dream."
"What, are you serious?" Steven questions his sister.
"I am, do you think this might be something Gem related."
"Maybe? I don't know? Well, what do you want to do?"
"I can go up and talk to her?"
"And say what? 'Hi, I'm Nora; you don't know me, but I know you because I saw you in a dream."
"No, you dolt nothing like that. I'll just introduce myself to her, like a normal person."
"Well good luck with that."
"And you're helping me out."
"What, why me?"
"Because you're my brother, and you love me."
"Okay, fine," Steven says with a defeated sigh.
"Hey, you two," Sadie calls for twins; getting their attention. "If you both don't mind, could you show the new kid around? I would offer to do it, but Lars and I can't leave the counter."
"No, we wouldn't mind," Nora says politely, as she and her brother introduce themselves to the new girl. "I'm Nora Universe, and this is my brother Steven."
"I-I'm Connie. Connie Maheswaran." The girl nervously introduces herself.
"Pleasure to meet you."
"Alright, let's get this tour started." Steven energetically says, as he leads the group out of the shop; with Nora following behind him and Connie behind her.
"You've probably seen the boardwalk already; I mean it's the first thing you notice in town and where most people hang out. Anyway, this place is home to some of the best food in all of Beach City." Steven states, continuing to lead the tour. "We can introduce you to all of them if you want."
"N-no, that's okay," Connie responds.
"Are you alright, you seem a little tense?" Nora caringly asks.
"I-I'm fine, it's just I don't get to meet many nice people when we move."
"You make it sound like you're on the move constantly." Steven states.
"Well yeah, my dad is a security guard; because he gets contracts to guard buildings and theme parks; stuff like that, we don't get to stay in one place for long," Connie answers the boy.
"Sounds rough."
"It is."
"Well, I hope you enjoy your time here until then, Beach City has many wonders." Nora encouragingly tells her.
"Yeah, Beach City is home to some of the weirdest things, it gives it a personality and brings in a bunch of people out of town," Steven adds in.
"How long have you two lived in Beach City?" Connie asks.
"For all of our lives." Nora answers.
"Yep, this town's a great place to grow up," Steven states with a smile. "Especially with the Gems."
"The Gems?" Connie asks.
"They're the local celebrities and defenders around here, protecting the people from all the dangerous weird stuff." Steven answers.
"So, are the two of you Gems?" Connie asks, having taken notice of the gemstones embedded into the twin's palms.
"Technically, we are Half-Gems." Nora answers. "Our father is human."
"And is the best dad in the world to top," Steven adds in.
"That he is, brother." Nora agrees with a smile.
"He sounds like a nice man," Connie says.
"Yes, he…" Nora starts but stops upon receiving pounding feeling in her forehead; forcing her to lean on a nearby wall.
"Sis!" Steven shouts, running over to support her.
"Is she okay?" Connie worryingly asks.
"I'm okay, these happen from time to time," Nora tells her, moving her bang aside as she rubs her forehead. "I've had them ever since I was little, it's nothing serious but it does get annoying at times."
"Are you sure you're okay, my mom's a doctor, maybe she can look at you?"
"I'm fine, I swear."
[SCREEEEEE!]
The three kids cover their ears upon hearing an animal like roar out in the distance. "What was that?" Connie asked aloud.
"That would be the weird stuff I told you about," Steven answers, pointing his finger upward to the sky. Connie and Nora follow his finger and see a giant, flying, dinosaur-like monster. The creature swerves its head, throwing something to the ground. "Incoming!"
The three kids move out of the way as fast as they can, just as the large, orange object crashes right where they once stood. Nora and Steven walk over to the crater in the boardwalk, and discover the object is "Jasper?"
"Hey guys, we found the monster." The orange Quartz jokes and groans as she crawls out of the hole and onto her feet.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A higher pitched voice screams as a second, this time green colored object falls from the sky.
"I got you, Dot!" Jasper shouts as she leaps into the air to catch the green Gem in her arms. The two Gems land safely back on the ground, as Peridot breaks free from Jasper's arms; both of her arm and leg limb enhancers badly damaged with wires sticking out of them.
"You wrecked my limb enhancers you winged clod!" Peridot flailing her arms around, shouting at the flying beast.
[SCREEEEEE!]
"Who are they?" Connie asks the twins, while still staring at Jasper and Peridot.
"That's Jasper and Peridot. Their Crystal Gems." Steven answers.
"Where's Lapis?" Nora asks Jasper.
"She's still up there trying to ground that thing."
[SCREEEEEE!]
The giant Gem monster dives down at the group. "Look out!" Peridot shouts. The two Gems and three kids leap out of the monster's path. However, Connie's shirt gets ensnared on the monster's talon, lifting her up with it.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Connie!" Both Steven and Nora shout, just as Lapis lands next to the group.
"We need to lure that thing near the water to ground it." The blue Gem states to the group. "Jasper. Peridot. Get its attention and lead it to the ocean. I can ground it from there." She then turns her attention to the two Half-Gems. "Steven. Nora. You two find somewhere safe."
"That thing took Connie; we can't leave her!" Steven frustratingly shouts at his guardian.
"We'll get her back, just do what Lapis says!" Jasper says to the two kids, as she summons her crash helmet from her gemstone and charges the beast; with Lapis and Peridot charging alongside her.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not staying on the sidelines this time," Steven says to Nora.
"I want to help too, but we don't have any powers," Nora states to her brother.
"Then what do suggest we do!"
"Charging it head on would be stupid; let's follow Lapis plan instead and help lure it into the ocean."
"Alright then, let's go." Steven agrees as he and Nora run over to the Crystal Gems.
"Help!" Connie screams, still hanging from the monster's talon.
"We'll get you down, just hang on little human girl!" Lapis tries reassuring a scared Connie, as the Crystal Gems still try to get it near the ocean.
Jasper leaps into the air and punches the creature across the face, temporarily disorienting it.
[SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!]
The Gem Monster lets out a loud roar as it fans its wings at the Crystal Gems, using mighty gusts of wind to knock them all down. The monster looks to the sky as it prepares to fly away, but is struck from the side by some rocks, catching its attention and annoying it.
"Hey! Come on! Over here!" Steven and Nora shout as they continue throwing rocks at the Gem monster and slowly back up into the ocean.
"Steven! Nora! What are you doing, get out of here!" Peridot shouts at the two kids.
"Wait, they're trying to get it to follow them into the ocean," Lapis states to the small Gem; picking up on what the kids were trying to do. "Keep doing what you're doing, but be careful!"
[SCREEEEEE!]
The dinosaur-like beast charges at the kids with breathtakingly fast speeds. Steven and Nora duck as the creature flies over them, but the gust from its wings knocks the twins down into the wet beach sand. The Gem monster flies into the air, before turning around and nose-dives beak first at the two kids.
"Steven! Nora!" Lapis shouts in fear as the pterodactyl Gem monster is about to crash into them.
Instinctively, the twins shield themselves with their arms; Nora's sapphire gemstone glows a bright blue as a pillar of ice shoots out from the water and pierces the Gem monsters foot.
[SCREEEEEE!]
The monster screeches in pain, dropping Connie from its talon, who falls screaming. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" But mere moments before she hits the sandy ground, she is caught by an in-flight Lapis.
"I got you." The blue Gem assures her as they safely return to the ground. Lapis places Connie down as she looks over at Steven and Nora, where all four of them were astonished by the large ice pike that rose from the ocean.
"How did you do that?" Steven asks his sister in amazement.
"I do not know, brother." Nora honestly answers.
[SCREEEEEE!]
The dinosaur-like monster, using all its strength, breaks free from the ice pike and prepares to escape from the area.
"Oh no, you don't." Lapis uses all her power and summons to giant water fist from the ocean, grabbing the beast. "You two get out of the way!" The lead Crystal Gem shouts at the twins, who do as she says without a single word before Lapis slams the creature onto the ground multiple times. "Let's hit it with a fastball!" Lapis shouts at Jasper, as she tosses the creature at the orange Quartz; who jumps into the air and uppercuts it into the sky, before being smashed to the ground by a spiked water mace; kicking sand up into the air along with a loud poofing sound. As soon as the dust cleared, the Crystal Gems determined the Gem monster was defeated.
"Woo! Great work team!" Peridot happily cheers, rushing down into the crater; picking the gemstone up off the ground. "Show's you for breaking my tech." The green Gem said as she formed a light green bubble around the poofed monster and sending it away with a tap on the top.
"Connie, are you alright?" Nora asks the young girl with concern as she and Steven run up to her.
"I'm fine," Connie says with a breath, trying to calm herself down. "Does stuff like that always happen around here?"
"More or less." Lapis answers for the twins. "Beach City isn't for everyone."
"We're sorry, this wasn't the best way to introduce you to the town." Steven apologizes with a frown.
"Besides getting abducted, I must admit, everything else was pretty cool." Connie looks up at the siblings. "You two were pretty cool."
"Oh, thanks." "It was nothing." Steven and Nora said simultaneously with a blush.
"Um, but we were the ones who…" Peridot starts only to be shushed by Jasper.
"Don't ruin their moment."
"But I think that was enough excitement for me today. So, I'm going to head home." Connie tells the twins, rubbing the back of her head.
"Understandable." Nora considerately says with a nod.
Connie takes out a piece of paper and a pen from her back pocket and writes down a phone number before handing it to the twins. "That's my cell phone number if you guys want to talk."
"Thanks." "Thank you." Steven and Nora gratefully said at the same time.
"Then I'll see you guys later." Connie says to the twins, as she heads home with the siblings and Crystal Gems watching her leave.
"… Happy Birthday to you." The Crystal Gems and Greg conclude the song as Jasper brings out a large cake covered in a mixture of red and blue frosting. Steven and Nora blow out the candles; Greg cuts some slices for everyone except Peridot, who does not eat like the other Gems and is busy with repairing her limb enhancers.
"From what the Gems told me, you two had one heck of a day," Greg says to the twins before taking a fork full of cake.
"Yep, and we also discovered our powers." Steven states. "Well, technically it was just Nora who discovered her powers. But it was cool, nonetheless."
"And now we realize how far we need to go before becoming official Crystal Gems," Nora states as well.
Lapis swallows the cake in her mouth. "Well if we're being honest, your powers are developing a lot quicker than we expected; you may be joining the team sooner than you know."
"Sapphire's powers were strong; but they were never that strong," Jasper states, as she swallows her entire slice of cake with one bite.
"And if Nora can unlock her abilities now; Steven may not be that far off from unlocking his," Peridot states; before going back to repairing her mechanical arms and legs.
"So, if Nora is going to have ice powers like that, then I'll be having fire powers then. Sweet." Steven says with a gleeful smile.
"Yeah, just make sure you don't burn the town down hot stuff," Lapis responds with a mixture of playfulness and seriousness.
"I'll be responsible for them," Steven assures the blue Gem, as he takes a bite of his cake.
Nora smiles at her brother, as she takes a bite of her cake. The Universe Twins were on their way to becoming full-fledged Crystal Gems, an image of the future that is painted clearly before her eyes.
Any and all feedback and constructive criticism is appreciated.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day.