-13: Dipper-
While he has very glad that his rash campaign for Steven's involvement in the mission had succeeded, Dipper found himself in a very lonely position as night fell upon Beach City. He was frankly tired of pouring over his notes, and the house seemed very spacious with only him in it. And he was far, far too nervous to sleep, or even play the video games he found in Steven's room. He was alone with his worries, having conversations with Mable in his head.
Dipper was sorting through a few books he had discovered when he noticed a steady, obtrusive hum. He shook his head, wondering if it was his ears ringing.
Then he heard a true ringing- the phone in the kitchen was going off.
"Um, hello?" He said after picking up Steven's smart phone, a bit glad that something was happening.
"STEVEN! Why haven't you picked up your phone?! The town is going crazy! You know what's going on right? It has something to do with the stuff you mentioned yesterday, right? Right?!"
Dipper didn't really recognize the panicked male voice.
"This is Dipper. Who… is… this?" He asked tentatively.
"WhO?! This is Mayor Dewy! Major of Beach City! Can I talk to Steven?"
"Steven isn't here right now. But sir" – Dipper was talking over the Mayor's rushed reply "I promise, Steven and the gems went to fix it, and everything should be ok in about an… hour? I- I know, yes, they are gonna take care of it. YES! THEY. ARE. ON. IT. OK?"
Dipper slammed the phone down. The mayor had been yelling about holes appearing in the air and chaos around town…
Without a voice screaming in his ear, the ambient ringing had grown much louder. Dipper turned slowly towards the source of the sound, curious.
The fireplace, or at least what should have been "the fireplace," was pulsating, just like the air around the caterpillar. Dipper tiptoed closer. The space was like a small cut on your skin, but in the air. It was a tear in the fabric of reality.
Inching closer, Dipper saw what he expected: Gravity Falls was showing through the tear. He could see the timberline and a night sky, but nothing specific. It was completely and utterly fascinating; if only it didn't herald the destruction of an entire reality.
He stood a good distance from the tear, waiting for it to snap shut like the one at the Big Donut had.
But minutes passed, and it remained open. To Dippers surprise, he heard another high-pitched hum start up somewhere else…
He walked to the door and opened it, taking a few steps but gasping as he nearly plunged his foot into another tear. This one was on the ground, a bit of concrete contrasted to the wooden planks of the beach house.
If this kind of stuff was popping up all over town… no wonder there was widespread panic.
"Oh man." Dipper said aloud. "Steven, you guys better hurry up."
-14: Steven-
As his eyes adjusted, Steven eagerly took in the area they had traveled too.
"Wooow!" Steven gasped. He recognized it! It was the island he, Lars, and Sadie had lived on for a while. It was covered with lush vegetation and plenty of cool hidden spaces. Steven was rather fond of the place, although this was the first time he had been really been back since his island adventure.
"Yes. Mask Island. " Pearl said. "Ok Steven, this is the plan. We learned from Dippers notes that the lunamensional moth should, in theory, prefer dark, isolated places such as caves. And we picked up the strongest energy readings from this island. It shouldn't take us long to find it…" The gems faced the deep blue vista of the ocean for a moment, reflecting stars. A cool breeze flowed through Steven's hair, calm before a storm.
"Lets go." Garnet ordered.
The three gems leapt gracefully down an embankment towards a beautiful pond where the islands great waterfall crashed down on its way to the ocean. Steven clumsily followed, his sandals skidding in the sandy earth, branches clawing at his clothing.
"Wait! What will we do when we find the moth?!" Steven panted, wishing they would slow down but refusing to verbalize his weakness.
Pearl spoke calmly. "We…" Her face twisted with worry.
"What?! What's the plan? You guys said you would tell me!" Steven whined, confused.
The rhythmic drumming of the waterfall was interrupted only by a bizarre humming noise. "Ugh what is that awful noise?" Amethyst sneered.
Pearl walked over to the waterfall, hands on her hips. "This sound… it's gotta be the lunamensional moth." The gems gathered in front of the waterfall, tensions rising.
Steven followed, frustrated. They still hadn't elaborated on the plan! They let him come on this important mission, but then they wouldn't even tell him what the mission WAS?
"Guys…" He began but Garnet shushed him. She stepped forward, and the gems followed.
To Stevens surprise, they passed right though the waterfall, vanishing behind the silver curtain of water. He held his breath, enchanted by the scene. Eyes closed, he rushed the water and broke through the other side with a gasp.
They found themselves in deep purple cave, the walls ripped with neon blue streaks. Steven held back an instinctive "woooow," knowing that they were hunting a monster in this wonderful place. The sounds of their own footsteps echoed a bit, the humming noise growing in strength as they walked deeper into the cave. The space opened up into a wider expanse after a time, but they seemed to have reached a dead end.
The gems stood in the middle of the space, illuminated by the glow of the bioluminescent rocks. Steven's amazement had almost made him forget about the questions he needed to ask about the mission. The gems paced about, wondering why the humming sound was at its loudest with no source.
Steven suddenly sneezed; a veritable supernova of a sound.
"Steveeen!" The gems hissed, but nothing really happened.
"Sorry" He whispered, sniffing. "It's just… it's dusty in here." He watched as Pearl held out her palm, catching a bit of the yellow dust that had made Steven lose control of his nose. Steven unfocused his eyes, following the movement of the specks. He turned his head to follow them up as they fell down.
He blinked at the darkness of the high ceiling, letting his eyes adjust. Staring intently, he began to notice a soft green glow somewhere up there… a creature, hiding in the dark, waiting…
"GUYS!" He exploded with the weight of his discovery, the Gems turning to face him furiously. "It's…"
He was cut off by a ferocious alien scream as the glow on the ceiling illuminated the whole cave. A giant moth crashing down on them, flapping massive emerald wings. Steven was in awe. It was really a giant moth! It had a chain of rings attached to each wing, and impressive false-eyes.
The gems wasted no time. Garnet lunged at the creature, smashing its tiny head with her massive fists. Steven thought that was more than enough to one-kit-ko the monster, but to his surprise a burst of silver light shoot out from the eye-like circles on the moths wings and hit Garnet square in the chest with a loud shriek.
Steven dashed over to her, ready to use his shield if he needed to, his heart racing.
Pearl and Amethyst darted forward, Amethyst using her thorn-studded whip to snag the creature out of the air as it attempted to fly away. Pearl made a smooth stab at its fuzzy chest with her spear, but the creature reared, and she caught its wings instead. They tore like paper, but the wound closed up instantly in a flash of white light.
The angry creature gave an unholy scream, so loud that it stunned every one of the gems. It shot beams from its wings wildly, sending rock scattering into the air. Amethyst struggled to keep it down.
Steven stood transfixed as the moth reared up as high it could go, brandishing its rings purposefully. Their ears still ringing from its supersonic scream, the gems watched in horror as it brought the end rings together. They began to hum and glow, and finally the moth then tore them apart violently.
Behind the creature, a huge near-perfect portal opened with a roar. Still bucking, the moth started to back into the dark forest that showed beyond the portal.
"Amethyst!" Steven cried, seeing that the stubborn gem was being dragged into the portal with her intended prey. He rushed over and grabbed her by the waist, joined by Garnet and Pearl.
"Let go!" Pearl cried.
With a snap she relinquished her grip on the whip, sending the moth tumbling into the forest it had conjured. As she did, the force ricocheted through the chain of gems, and they landed in a pile.
As Steven tried to get to his feet, he felt his fingers digging into the gravelly dirt. What was he-?
"STEVEN!" He heard the gems crying out for him, and realized in a panic that the portal wasn't passive.
It was drawing them all in with a magnetic force, and Steven was the lightest and weakest of the bunch. He felt himself lift off the earth, grabbing for the outstretched hands of his family. Garnet was digging into the wall, holding hands with the other two gems.
"Argh!" Amethyst, at the end of the chain, had managed to snatch his left foot. Steven stared straight into her shocked gaze, the sensation of his sandal sliding off his foot consuming his thoughts. Time chugged. Silver spots vibrated in the corners of his vision, and the terror on the gems faces seared into his memory.
"STEVEN!" But Steven was gone, and the portal slammed shut behind him.
