Chapter Text
It was a peculiar device to begin with. Intriguing with its curled antennas, yet intimidating with the obvious signs of attempted destruction on it. It was pink (obviously), and surprisingly heavy. The single screen held a gnarling crack, stretching from the top to the bottom; monitor itself displaying nothing but black. Turning it over, Steven discovered charcoal, now staining the underside of his fingers. He scoffed, wiping the dust off on his jeans.
Sheer coincidence would explain it. An exploration within the mystical mane of his lion having taken an unexpected turn. He'd ventured through as he always would, pink bubble formed for well-needed oxygen and curious.
So, at his discovery, and not to mention giddy excitement, Steven waited for the Gem's. Garnet will definitely be impressed. Pearl and Amethyst will be so excited! Peridot... he shrugged, well already able to see Peridot's uninterested expression.
He waits, and while waiting, naturally begins to grow restless. It wasn't unnatural for them to be gone for large and inconsistent amounts of time, Steven just wished today didn't happen to be one of those days.
Ten minutes pass and he finds his legs up and head dangling of the side off the couch, arms splayed out with a single hand holding onto the object.
"I'm booorrreedddd."
He lolled his head to the side, observing the strange device once more. It had a similar resemblance to the mirror that had entrapped Lapis, however appearing more pompous. He held the screen up to his face, peering curiously into it.
"Turn on."
Nothing happens, but really who expected anything to happen.
He clears his through, prepared for a second attempt. "I command you to turn on."
Of course, still nothing.
He shuffles up, still staring intently at the item, then lifting his shirt and looking at his gem. "I want to go to my room." A moment goes by. And yet, there's no familiar rush of warmth. His gem remaines dull, if possible, duller than before.
"Well isn't this just a great time for everything handy about myself to stop wor-"
He stopped mid-sentence. A thought, a contemplation, a soon to be potential regret sprang into his mind. Grasping the mirror with two hands, he gave it a stare before bringing it close to his mouth and giving it a curious lick.
At once, the object gave a faint glow, absorbing the spit given. A gasp of astonishment, quickly followed by him taking a hand and completely encompassing it in spit, slapping it onto the device. He repeated this three times, fully repairing the device after centuries of being off-line. The device was lit with an light aura of crimson pink. It began shaking in his hands, letting off disoriented hushed voices that soon morphed into questionable sounds of speed. The pink shine on the screen slid down to the handle, glowing brightly around his now sweaty hand as if reunited with a long lost friend.
And in a way, it was. Although, friend wouldn't have been the best fit description.
The handle, a key as his mother would have described, activated by his gem and his gem alone.
"W-woah,"
He observed in awe, while most children his age would've begun screaming in panic by this point. There was a tingle that ran through his body, causing him to giggle out load.
"H-hey! S-stop! Ha ha! Why'd you do thaaAAAAAOHMAN!"
White sparks were beginning to form, shots of pink colored electricity being emitted from the antennas and making its way up his body. In plain panic, he threw the device down...
…or at least tried to.
"Let go of me you weird thing!" He shook at his hand, taking extra measures as to banging it on the coffee table. Still, the object was stuck. Sticky wouldn't even have been able to describe it. Completely immovable. "Get off of me!"
Meanwhile, the lights were flickering on and off, forms of electricity increasing in form and height, soon creating a cocoon around his struggling figure. He looked up first, and then around, wind blowing hard at his face while finally beginning to realize, (yikes I messed up). Looking back at the device in his hands, he managed to catch sight of a single glimpse of a yellow triangle on the screen before his vision was completely encompassed with pink
And with a flash of pure white, he was gone with a puff of smoke.
…
The warp pad was activated.
"HEY STEEVE-" the green gem was quickly silenced by three pairs of hands.
"Quiet Peridot!" Pearl was the first to hiss. "Steven's sleeping!"
She quirked her eyebrows, confused. "…sleeepping?" she muffled into the six hands.
"It's just something humans do," Amethyst whispered, removing her hands along with the other gems. "We gems can do it too and all, but it's not really needed."
She gave a nod, satisfied by the answer. "So then why do we have to be quiet?" she carefully hushed.
"Because human sleep is easily interrupted by loud noises," Garnet answered in a low voice.
"Oh…okay," she gave a sigh. "Well, I'm going to my quarters. Scream if you really need me."
They watched her go, taking caution as to close the door to the bathroom as silent as possible. Soon, they were all off to their own rooms, Amethyst taking a moment to grab a snack from the refrigerator before making her way into her room.
Last was Pearl, watching as the room to Amethyst closed and summoning the door to her own room. When it opened, she was faced with the soothing waterfalls of grace at her sight. However, something just…didn't feel right. A sort of tinge in the air, bringing an uncomfortable chill to her shoulders. As if something was –missing?
She glanced back at the upper area, squinting her eyes through the darkness. Perhaps it was best to check on him...
"…meh," and with a shrug of her shoulder, she disappeared into the refreshing sanctuary.
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