Summary: Some small halloween fun seperate from a road trip
"A road-trip?" Jana asked her friend/crush, while she was dressed up as a zombie lawyer. Thankfully, the guy wasn't an awkward mess around her, so safe to say her friendship with Steven was still intact.
"Yeah, dad suggested a road trip to a motel he was offered to fix up for cash, so I said yes, then Garnet said it sounded like a great idea, but I can't tell if that's too get away from Pearl or she genuinely enjoys the idea." The boy said, dressed up like his pet lion.
"Garnet's always been tougher to read than Ruby or Sapphire." Star piped in, dressed up in a costume that made her look like Ludo. "It could be the Sapphire half's way to prevent the Ruby half from shattering pearl, not that I'd blame her."
"Yeah … you don't think she was serious about that, was she?" Steven asked.
"Dude." Marco came out in a dorky terminator costume. "She was a literal love made fusion for thousands of years, finally got back together, and just learned someone was abusing it. None of us could blame a reaction where she poofed the gem on the spot."
"Yeah, you can't just get away with using someone like that." Star glared at Kelly, who was in a pirate costume with Tad dressed up like the hat. "It's just so wrong to view someone's body like some kind of accessory."
"I guess you have a point." Steven shrugged. "I guess I just think it's a step too far … so us three are going, and Star and Marco are having a halloween party."
"Oh, i've actually been working on something for that." Jana smirked, pulling out a piece of paper. "The summoning of hungry larry."
"Hey, this is my house we're having the party in!" Marco complained. "I'd rather have my house be ghost free, thank you very much."
"Aww, just one ghost, please?" Star pleaded. "I mean, your dad isn't … the scariest."
"Sssh, don't say out loud! It really gets to him this time of year, he's sensitive about it." Marco groaned.
"Isn't it a good thing to not be scary?" Steven asked? "Your dad always seems nice and accommodating whenever I see him around."
"Any other time, maybe, but this is Halloween, where kids actually want to be scared for their lives." Jana explained. "If nothing scary happens, then expect to come back to the Diaz house covered in rotten eggs and toilet paper. Amethyst already has about a year's supply of both just for the occasion."
"Of course she does." The boy sighed. "Why would you have a holiday you want to be scared about?"
"Because young Steven!" Mr Diaz came into the room, dressed as a giant pumpkin. "On Halloween night we embrace the scary to face our fears head on, rather than run away from them."
"And nothing makes you feel more alive than getting the blood pumping from facing the darkest depth of one's inner soul." Jana added in with a bit of a spooky voice.
"You mean you guys would love it if I suddenly were to turn my fingers into cats again?"
"Yes!" "NOOOO!!!!!" Jana's eagerness was drowned out by the rest of their friends screaming. Man, sometimes these guys could really drain the fun out of someone.
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Steven placed his bag on the bed … the only one of two. "Where are you gonna sleep Garnet?" He asked the gem that accompanied them.
"I'll be fine just watching you two rest in the middle." She said as if it was normal to do that in any circumstances. He would be concerned, but she's been twitchy this whole trip.
"I have a sleeping bag that we can use in the van." Dad smiled. "I'll go grab it, along with the complimentary ice!" He watched the man 'woop' on the ice. "If I'm not back in an hour, try to locate me on my phone." Right, he almost forgot the guy was technically on the run.
"So do you have any hobbies?" He asked the gem, before noticing her hands twitch even more violently then before.
"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine, we can move past this! We can't move past this until we bury her in the ground! We have to work with Pearl again eventually, anger is just going to get in the way! Why can't you just understand?" Garnet began muttering to herself, arms gripping her shoulder tightly.
Steven recognized the self argument from his time as Stelly, eyes widening in surprise. "Ruby? Sapphire? Are you okay?"
"No, we're not!" With a glow, the two gems came apart, familiar red and blue figures sitting on the ground.
"Forgive her!? She used us! She lied about it for a cheap thrill!" Ruby shouted.
"We will forgive her eventually, there's no point in staying mad." Sapphire spoke in monotone.
"There are plenty of points! She hit us in fusion, FUSION!"
"And we still have plenty of threats that still need cooperation."
"How are you not mad at this!?" Ruby shouted, flames coming off her body.
"Of course I am. Can't you see how unbridled and furious I am?" She said in the coldest tone he's heard from anyone other than mom.
Steven felt like he was witnessing a personal thing on the level of a train crash. "Um … are you two okay?" He asked quietly.
"No!" "Yes." The two responded at the same time. While it was nice to see the two again after so long, this was far from the ideal circumstances it could've happened under.
"Your emotional outbursts are only going to drive the team farther apart. The anger is just making everyone more uncomfortable."
"Oh, so we should all be unfeeling robots that should just let any old gem use us how they want!?"
"I told you, I feel as enraged as you do." Sapphire stated. "But we should accelerate that forgiveness in place of making it right."
"Well maybe I DON'T want to forgive her!" Ruby argued. "Maybe I wanna stay mad for the rest of my life, maybe I wanna throw Pearl onto some other planet and tell her to leave us alone!"
"Hey, why don't we turn on the tv!?! There's so many earth shows that I don't know about, and I get the feeling that you guys are the same way." He tried to interrupt, doing his best to find the remote and turn the screen on."
"It's under the sofa, there are three channels. Stormy weather, divorce, and murder mystery." Well that was depressing, and horribly timed.
"You know what, you wanna focus on the future so much, you can do it ALONE!" Ruby walked out of the door, slamming it shut as the room grew noticeably colder.
"So….how's it feel to be…b-b-back?" He asked, getting under the blankets as frost formed on the walls.
"Liberating. You don't need to worry about us. Ruby eventually cools down and sees we have better things to do than be angry at people. Time is inevitable, like going to the bathroom." Great, now he had to go.
He walked inside, seeing it was frozen over. "No warning?" He asked.
"There was no point, it was inevitable." He could see icicles start to form off of the gem.
"Is me peeing outside inevitable too?" Steven groaned.
"Yes." He sighed, walking out and looking for Ruby instead.
"Now if I was an angry gem where would I …" He stopped, finding a pile of flames in what used to be the pool.
"It's fusion, Steven!! You know how personal it is! You know how that's something you never take lightly!" Ruby called out to him, though it looked like she was mainly just trying to justify her yelling.
"Yeah, it's a really big deal." He just said idly. Steven really wanted to just stay neutral to the in -fighting….oh corn, he was becoming Glosseryck.
"Exactly! And she just wants it to roll over like it's nothing! Well I don't roll over, I fight to the end, I don't give up! I'm just gonna-" The muttering quickly became incoherent noises as the ground started to melt.
He walked away and stayed in the parking lot, next to the van. Steven almost kinda wished Star and Jana summoned Hungry Larry before he left. Life and death was much more preferable to fusion drama … AGAIN!
Looking at the van's opened car door, he saw that his dad left a box with a note. "Dinner." Well, he was hungry, and pizza sounded just as good as anything.
He opened it up…and found it in a square, sliced up into dozens of other squares. "Worst, road-trip, ever."
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Marco watched as Larry devoured a group of trick or treaters whole, his gaping maw full of black liquid and candy. Like any sane person, he slammed the door shut. "What were you thinking, you morons!?" He shouted at Star and Jana.
"Said the guy who tried using a locked door on a ghost." Jana deadpanned.
"I'm at least not the one who brought said psycho ghost into the house! Why'd you even bring a killer ghost anyways?!"
"We didn't know about the cannibal part, just that he was scary!" Star screamed. "And stop yelling already, we already lost Tad to that thing and Kelly's next on the menu." The screaming of the woolet girl from the inside confirmed just as much.
"Well we need a plan to rescue them, and I will get back to this after, so any ideas on how to fight a ghost?" He asked the 'master of spooky'.
"There's not much. We can't physically touch him, so there's a limited amount of options." Jana started to think. "There's a small chance saying his name three times might banish him back to the netherworld, or it could just teleport him in front of us."
"Well it's worth a shot." He took a deep breath and opened the door, looking at the gaping maw of the monster with determination. "Hungry Larry, Hungry Larry, Hungry Larry!" There was an awkward silence.
"I was already summoned to your house, why are you trying to double it?" The ghost asked in honest confusion.
"Because I'm desperate and took the advice of the most insane friend I have."
"Look, I was summoned to make your house scarier, and until something scarier than me comes along, there's nothing I can do." The ghost shrugs. "Now i'm hungry, so get in my belly."
"Oh…you need something scary, huh?" A dark echoey voice came up from behind the door. Upon bursting open, what looked like a giant cat head burst through it…along with another, and another, and until what looked like a giant glob of cat heads into the room.
"Wow, bravo, truly." The ghost said sarcastically. "Look, I was talking about a man with nothing to lose, or a woman with no grasp on reality, not some costume parlor trick." The ghost reached forward. "Now either get in my … belly or …" They felt around the cat heads. "... This is a um … very realistic mask …"
" Who said I was wearing a costume?" The voice, which distinctly sounded like Star's, started making its way to the ghost, rolling its flabby body as each cat's head meowed like they weren't an abomination to nature. " I'm losing all that I hold most dear to me, so I'm embracing what I truly am inside." Star explained with the echoing meows only making it more disturbing. "Pet me…I'm fluffy."
"Hey, hey, stay back you freak! I'm warning you, I can eat…ahhhhh! It's licking me! The tongues are like sandpaper across my skin! Stop enjoying this!" The ghost vomited out the trick or treaters, Tad, and Kelly. "That's it, I'm out! I clearly can't make this place scarier!" They picked up a suitcase in the corner and flew out the window … before coming back. "Here's my summoning fee." He handed a receipt to Jana before continuing to fly away in a panic.
"Well, that's over…ahhhhhh!" Kelly screamed as she and all the other kids were terrified at the horror still right in front of them. "It's back!!! Kill it with fire!!"
"Hold up, it's just me, Star!" The princess shook one of her heads, which revealed her own face underneath one of the mounds of flesh. "I concentrated until I was able to access Steven's shapeshifting…it's getting hard to breathe underneath all of these guys."
"Do you need the hose?" Tad asked.
"Please do…I have a distinct desire for eating mice and licking myself in disturbing places now, and I want it to stop before I actually lose myself to the cuddly madness." That was definitely an awkward sentence to hear … now the image was in his head! Steven lucked out not staying to see this mess.
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Ruby pounded her hand against the table. "Why … are we just sitting here … like nothing is wrong?" She growled out to Sapphire.
"Because nothing is wrong. We're simply having a meal with Steven and Greg." The gem answered, turning to the two humans. "Thank you for paying, Mr Universe."
"No problem, I still have some money stored away from all my time on the road." Greg said a bit anxiously. "I know gems don't really eat, but it's nice to just sit and talk, right?" He turned to his son.
"Yeah, totally.." The kid was just picking at his food.
"Talking, yeah, like you can actually get a conversation out of miss ice queen over here." Ruby grumbled, wanting to smash the stupid smile that the eggs and bacon formed. "It's a miracle you can get her to do anything she's so far up in her own head."
"I'm in my own head, am I?" She said, "Says the one that won't listen to simple reason and necessary action."
"Maybe what's necessary is to give Pearl a piece of my mind! We can't ever trust her again! I can't ever trust her again! Doesn't that mean anything to you in the slightest!?"
"It means you're willing to endanger us all for personal reasons, so yes, I suppose it does mean something." Sapphire answered, taking a bite out of the coffee cup.
"You know what?! I couldn't remember why we were apart for so long until now! You use your powers as an excuse to just not care! You're worse than Glossaryck!"
" Take that back." Sapphire turned her cup to ice and broke it to pieces.
"Oh, the non action gem is threatening me now, did I finally hit a nerve in that cold hollow shell of an organ!?" Ruby shouted.
"This is the reason why we can't form Garnet! Why we couldn't for over a decade! Because you're too pig-headed to comprehend everything can work out fine!"
"No, we can't form Garnet because I'm an eternal flame while you're this dainty little icicle that's too afraid to do anything…"
Smash
Steven's plate of food was thrown on the floor…by the kid himself. "Dad, I'm not hungry, I'm just gonna go for a walk." Steven spoke coldly, walking out with a frustrated look on his face. "Let me know when we're heading back home."
Greg looked at Steven walking away, before turning back to them. "You two should really go talk to him." The man leaned down and helped the waitress scoop it up, leaving them alone.
The two gems ran out of the door, catching up to Steven before he could get far. "Steven, wait!" Ruby called out. "Are you okay?"
"Oh no, I'm perfectly fine." The boy said sarcastically. "Why wouldn't I be after I was told to come on a trip for fun, which Garnet agreed to, but in actuality was an excuse for a lovers quarrel I really didn't want to get myself involved with?"
"Steven..we didn't mean for you to be involved-" Sapphire started, but she got cut off.
"Of course not, that's just the universe messing with me isn't it?" The boy laughed. "Because whenever someone loves someone, it just ends poorly. Tom has anger issues, Marco can never make a move, Rose died giving birth to me, and every fusion I know other than Quana ends in a crazy mess of emotional baggage that nobody can unpack." He sighed. "The only stable relationship I know of is mom and dad, and that was a lot of effort that keeps building its own problems according to Star."
"Steven.."
"I WANT a relationship like that! I want to be able to care for someone with everything I have! I want to have someone I can trust to be by my side! To get me to try new things and get me excited about those new things! I want to be able to talk to them for hours just waiting for a simple hotdog of all things! I…" Steven started to cry. "Am I the problem? Do I just..not deserve to have that someone special?"
"NO!" They both shouted instantly. They messed up, they messed up horribly.
"I'm sorry." Ruby turned, looking at Sapphire cry. "I didn't want to get you involved because I know you have problems with this sort of thing. I just tried to push away the problem so we could focus on moving on, I didn't focus on the present at all." Ruby held onto her as she started to fall.
"I'm sorry too..we should know better than anyone about this sort of thing." Ruby let her herself cry, steaming tears. "I didn't want to solve the problem, I just wanted to be angry. Pearl messed with us and it hurt and I wanted to be mad, I didn't look at how it was hurting everyone and how it was messing with you Steven."
"It's just…I want to have just one..one simple and nice moment with someone, not even just a date, with Star, with you guys..I just want to be happy with my whole family." Ruby and Sapphire ran to the boy and hugged him from both sides. "Because it feels like I could die at any moment, and I don't want to lose a single second I have with you guys."
"Steven, we already lost you once." Ruby said. "It was the worst, we won't let you go again."
"I've looked into the future, thinking it would be fine if I just saw a glimpse of all of us happy again…but that can never happen if I ignore what I need to do to make us happy now." Sapphire let the icey tears fall, her single eye showing off.
"You know …" Ruby smirked, wiping the tears from her face. "The one good thing about that decade unfused was I got to see that beautiful face of yours for so long."
"Ruby..not in front of Steven.." The gem blushed.
"He needs positive reinforcement." Ruby justified. "Isn't that right, my laughy Sapphie?" She kissed her arm.
"I don't mind you flirting, but could you ditch the hug first?" The boy asked awkwardly.
"Sorry, got lost in the moment…which is weird for me." Sapphire said as they let go. "For the record Steven, it was Rose's fundamental belief that everyone deserves love, and that goes for you especially…in whatever form you wish to have it."
"Thanks. I guess I have to stop forming Stelly for even casual stuff if I ever get anywhere with Kelly in that front." Steven sighed. "Do you have any advice to give on fusion when they are battle hungry and prone to attack leathally?"
"Meditation." Sapphire responded. "Ruby said it doesn't help, but it works wonders in my opinion."
"I say take up a hobby when you two fuse. Garnet plays tennis with your dad on weekends." Ruby suggested.
"I die of exhaustion every day!" The man exclaimed as he came by. "Alright, paid off damages, we should be good to go."
"Thank the corn, this town is the worst." Steven gave a light laugh. "Square pizza, next you'll tell me they put pineapple on it."
"Steven, I'm gonna be blunt." He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Pizzas are like people, you see all kinds in the world, and learn to appreciate them for what they are, even if you don't like them."
"... Second best advice behind the hotdogs." Apparently Garent's wisdom couldn't hold a candle to the metaphors of Greg Universe.
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Star could only chuckle sheepishly as her brother walked into the living room, the entire place covered in black saliva. "... You summoned Larry, didn't you?"
"Whaaa, no, this was just … bad spell stunts." She lied.
"Star…I just barely survived a lovers spat between two centuries old aliens that either burnt or froze everything that they touched with every step they made…I KNOW drama when I see it, don't you dare lie to me after all that."
"Oh we summoned him. I got the bill for it and everything." Jana said. "Nothing a quick stop to the international bank of Marco couldn't handle." The girl showed off said boy's wallet.
"I have got to get a lock on this thing." The boy groaned.
"Steven, you're back! And not covered in cat heads!" That skeevy girl Kelly yelled out, rushing to her brother in a bear hug.
"I just came ba-covered in what now?"
"Yeah, I had to scare him out." Star shrugged. "So I copied your shapeshifting powers. Check it." She changed her hand to a cat finger, then a puppy finger, then a monster arm … wait what?
"Tonight is just a living reminder of past trauma, isn't it?" Marco groaned.
"I have returned Marco!" The thing laughed as Star grabbed her wand. "Fear me, for I am now no longer bound to yo-" With a quick spell she returned to normal.
"So glad I memorized that." She smiled. "So everything worked out on your end too?"
"Yeah, Garnet split for a day, but she got back together, and I discovered there are many facts about life I need to accept no matter how bad things get, like square pizza."
"Who the heck makes Pizza shaped like a square?!" It was blasphemy, the food was already perfect, to alter it was to pervert nature itself.!
"Apparently the state of Nervada." The boy groaned. "But we got complimentary ice, so win win." He looked at Kelly, who was still hugging him. "You okay?"
"Yeah…I've spent a few minutes alone in a ghost stomach, and I remembered just how warm your hugs are." Kelly sighed. "I'm sorry for being pushy about fusion." Finally, the girl actually said something smart!
"It's cool." The boy patted her head. "I'm actually thinking Stelly should take a break from fusion … either that or we go to meditation classes."
"I've actually done that once or twice with Tad before, punched the instructor in the first hour, but I'm totally down for doing it again." Greeeeat.
"Glad to see you doin good Steven." She smiled. "Now let's head on how and celebrate with some halloween candy-"
"You're cleaning this up Star." Steven and Marco said at the same time. "We'll enjoy the candy." Marco presented his haul to her brother. "You see Star…this is what a little responsibility will get you
"Yeah." Jana walked up. "That's just what we-"
"You to Jana." Steven spoke up. "You summon, you clean."
"So that's one large bag of candy three ways." A cough from Tad. "Four ways."
"Ughh…growing up sucks…" This wouldn't have happened a year ago.