Constants and Variables

PROLOGUE – Glimpse Cube

The harsh blue light of the suddenly activated Gem warp-pad pulled Steven's attention away from the open refrigerator he'd just been sifting through. Curious as to who (or what) was arriving, Steven quickly closed the fridge and moved around the counter and out of the kitchen area. As the light dissipated, stepping off of the warp-pad was a familiar pale-skinned woman clad in a turquoise tunic and yellow leggings.

"Pearl?" asked Steven, frowning. "Where did you go?"

"Oh, Steven!" replied Pearl, stopping in her tracks. From the look on her face, she seemed surprised to see him there. "Uh, I was just checking up on the ancient Gem battlefield. You know, checking to see if Peridot was there or if she'd taken something…"

"Um, okay…" He paused. "But if she'd gone there wouldn't we know about it through her escape pod?" Both Pearl and Steven turned and looked at the spherical emerald pod sitting in the center of the room, a multitude of wires connecting it to the outlets in the walls.

"Yes, well, ever since that last… fiasco with Peridot, I've decided to take a break from using that," said Pearl, shaking her head at the memories.

"Oh," muttered Steven, his gaze slowly falling to the ground as he too remembered their last attempt to capture Peridot. Not one to be a downer though, he immediately perked up, asking, "So didja find her?"

"Steven," said Pearl, crossing her arms and frowning down at Steven, "if I found her, don't you think I'd have captured her and brought her back here?"

"Oh yeah…"

"Buuuuuuut… I did find this." An excited smile replaced her frown as she uncrossed her arms and pulled out a small, cloth-wrapped item. She held it out for Steven. "Here, take it."

Steven snatched the item out of Pearl's palm and quickly unwrapped it, revealing a small crystal cube with small symbols etched all across it and a finger-sized hole in two of the opposite sides.

"Woah! Cool!" exclaimed Steven, beaming down at the cube, stars in his eyes. He looked up at Pearl. "What is it?"

Pearl's smile widened. She kneeled down to Steven's level, pointing at the cube. "That is an ancient Gem 'Glimpse Cube'. It allows the user to see and experience and alternate version of their past." She paused, her smile waning slightly. "Not completely sure why it was on a battlefield though, but I thought it was interesting so…"

Steven gasped. "Can I try it?"

"Well…" Pearl glanced past Steven and out the window. The sky was dark, and it looked like the sun had been down for a while. "I don't know. It's pretty late…"

"Aw, come on, Pearl! Please?"

Pearl looked at Steven's pleading face, a face she could almost never say no to. "Oh, alright," she said, rolling her eyes and smiling, "but only for a little bit."

"Yes!" shouted Steven, raising a fist into the air.

"To use it, just place your fingers into the holes on the sides of the cube," instructed Pearl.

Using both of his middle fingers and thumbs, he gripped the cube and slid his index fingers into the two holes, just as Pearl had told him. The both of them sat there, staring at the cube, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing happened.

"I don't get it!" said Pearl angrily, glaring at the cube. "It should've activated by now!"

Steven shrugged. "That's okay, Pearl. Maybe it's just bro—"

Suddenly, the cube lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. It glowed a bright cyan, similar to that of a Holo-Pearl. Steven gazed at it in wonder.

"Cool!"

"Not cool," replied Pearl, frowning. "It's not supposed to glow this bright. Steven… I think you should take it off."

"Aw, man…" With great reluctance, Steven did as he was told, pulling his fingers out of the cube. The only problem was… his fingers wouldn't budge.

"Steven!"

"I'm trying!" Steven shouted, pulling with all his might. "My fingers are stuck!"

"What!?"

Frantically, Pearl grabbed Steven's arms and gave a great mighty tug. Nothing. Then, as Pearl readied to tug again, there was an obscenely bright flash of cyan light, a shout, and the next thing Steven knew, everything was black.