"THERE! Haha, I win!"
Peridot stood up and crossed her arms, adorned with a trove of plastic green jewelry. The sweater Mabel had given her fit her nicely as well.
Mabel leaned back, frowning.
"Man… I've lost like fives games in a row…" She shook her head. "Stupid black diamond…"
Peridot shrugged, twirling her beaded green necklace.
"This system is based almost entirely on luck. It's not exactly strategic. Insultingly simple, really."
"That's what Dipper said the one time I got him to play it… Probability, blah, math, blah…" Mabel flopped unto the floor, facing the ceiling. "Where you YOU think Dipper and Steven are, Peridot?"
Peridot plopped to the floor as well, jewelry jingling.
"I- I don't know." She replied grimly.
As if to answer her, a loud slam sounded from deeper in the shack. I sounded like the front door.
She and Mabel sat up, immediately heading for the room's exit.
"Is it Stan and Ford?!" Mabel cried. "Oh, I hope they found those dorks…"
Same. I shouldn't have let Steven out of my sight.
Mabel had been correct. The human brothers had stomped into the house, and a quick study of their body language forced Peridot to lower her expectations.
"… no, Mabel, we checked there… I don't know…" Stan was muttering to his niece, who pestered him with worried questions.
Peridot approached Ford, nervously toying with her necklace.
"Sooo… what DID you find then? Any clues?" She didn't make eye contact, looking away. The mood in the Mystery Shack was grim. It bleed into Peridot's own feelings, compounding her worry over Steven.
Ford confining me to this stupid house isn't helping.
Ford gave a frustrated sigh.
"It seems like they were last seen at the arcade. Something odd seems to have happened there…" He looked down at Peridot, raising his eyebrows. "What are you wearing?"
WHOOPS.
Peridot grabbed the bottom of Mabel's garment and pulled it off, decorating the floor with scattered princess accessories.
"Nothing." She replied flatly. "It's nothing."
Ford's face broke into a smile, enraging her. "It looked good on you."
Peridot clenched her fists. "Do you mean that?!"
"No." Ford replied in a mocking tone, his eyes suddenly lighting up as he studied her.
"Hey, this that MY watch? My old watch from college?!"
Peridot grabbed her wrist, almost as if to hide the watch. "No, it's MY watch. Stan gave it to me."
Ford was glaring at his twin, who shrugged.
"What? I... forgot it was yours."
"Sure you did." Ford replied, waving a hand dismissively. "Peridot, look at the back."
Eyes narrowed with suspicion, she unlocked the straps and turned the watch's face over.
Letters had been carefully engraved into the surface:
Stanford Filbrick Pines
"This doesn't have the symbols for "Ford" anywhere." She said, leaning back as Ford leaned down and grabbed the straps. She didn't let go.
"That's my full name." Ford replied, appearing to get lost in thought as he studied the object.
Is he seriously gonna take it from me?!
Suddenly Ford released the watch, standing up.
"It's fine. You can have it, Peridot."
"Good." She replied sharply, then felt self conscious. "I mean, thanks."
Ford gave her a distracted nod.
Mabel was darting around, finally giving an insistent request. "Can I put up my "LOST" posters for Steven and Dipper now?"
"Might as well." Stan turned and headed deeper into the house, with Mabel trailing him. "I gotta make some phone calls first."
What am I supposed to do? Will they let me leave to look for Steven? What about…
"What about the portal?" She said to Ford, who seemed torn about following the other humans.
Ford began to shake his head.
"We have to find the boys first."
To her surprise, he turned and opened the door. Cool early morning air rushed inside.
"Wait!" Peridot called after him. "Where are you going?! Let me come with you!"
She rushed the door as Ford closed it, forcing her arms between the doorframe and the wall.
UGH! He' just IGNORING me!
"No." Ford said firmly, glaring down at her from the opposite side of the door. "You stay here. You stand out too much. You'll drag down my search."
His words stung more than her half-crushed arms.
"STAN!" Ford yelled into the house.
"Steven's MY companion! I have a right to search for him! HEY!"
She gasped as massive hands yanked her up by her shoulders. She failed angrily, swiping and kicking at air.
"I'll keep on eye on her." Stan grumbled, his ugly face right next to hers. "You think we missed something?"
"I want to go back to the arcade and talk to the owner." Ford replied.
His waved through the door.
"Sorry, Peridot. I hope I can find Steven too."
"I'll remember this!" She roared, kicking at the door. "You CLOD!"
She squeaked as Stan swung through the air, landing her down on the floor with surprising deftness.
He rubbed his temples distractedly.
"Come help Mabel print those posters. The machines jammed, and I can't figure it out."
She blinked. She'd expected him to threaten him, not disarm her with a request for help.
He pleaded at her with his eyes.
"C'mon. Please? You're so good with technology."
Peridot stood up, feeling herself cool down.
"Uh-fine. I'll help."
LOST: Two dorky kids! About 12. Answer to "Dipper," "Steven" but "Hey you!" might work! Please Call...
Peridot gathered the stack of posters, still warm from the copy machine. She could barely see over them, but this would save her a repeat trip.
She carefully stomped into the living room, plopping the stack down with an audible "ompf."
"There." She brushed her hands, satisfied with herself for not spilling the papers everywhere. "100 flyers, just like you wanted."
She peeked around the stack, waiting for a reply. The back of their big puffy chair faced her- a couch, that's what it was called.
"Hello?" She grumbled, frustrated that they didn't even seem to care about the chore SHE'D accomplished for them.
She crept into the living room, starting to feel nervous as she heard a droning sound within.
Not again...!
She noticed a human hand resting on the edge of the couch. There was no movement.
Sweating, she rounded the corner into the room.
There sat Mabel and Stan, heaped together on the couch. A rough, rhythmic sound was rumbling from Stan's chest as he slept.
She put her hands on her hips, examining them as she let herself relax.
Stan's slouching body consumed most of the furniture, while Mabel sat on his knee. She leaned into her relative, mouth half open.
They were asleep!
It was fascinating how organic life could have evolved something so undesirable as sleep. The two humans lay completely exposed to attack. Worse yet, they were accomplishing nothing. What was the point? Steven and Amethyst really oversold it…
I hope I never try it!
Peridot took in a deep breath, ready to shout them awake.
Wait!
The portal.
You can go test the final prototype. No one will stop you. No one will know. You can go home.
She stood, staring beyond the sleeping humans.
What about Steven? I won't leave without Steven.
The gems can help you look for him. Right?
She padded deeper into the house, thankful for her slight stature.
Ford wanted to wait. You know it's dangerous. He'll be mad.
"So what…" she muttered, a thrill of excitement flooding through her as she opened the lab's door.
He left it unlocked. He was distracted.
The door gave a creak, the pale greenish light from the monitors bleeding into the hallway. Cool air wafted over her feet as she stepped inside.
Peridot was in Ford's lab unsupervised.
Grinning, she searched the table for the portal remote. It was right where she had left it.
She chuckled to herself, alone in the darkened room.
Too easy.
She flung the remote forward, preparing to press the button.
She took a deep breath, still mentally steeling herself to open a portal to Beach City.
Her thumb quivered slightly, memories of the test that had literally exploded in her face vibrating in her mind.
Are you AFRAID?!
No! But…
She and Ford had worked together, every step of the way. This was their invention. It was safer to work in pairs, too. Maybe she shouldn't do this alone.
He doesn't even TRUST me! I don't owe that clod anything! Push it!
Peridot made a choking gasp, the remote burning in her hands. She quickly set it back down on the table, crawling into a chair and curling into a ball. Indecision paralyzed her.
Maybe you should give him a reason to trust you.
Absently, she looked at some notes that lay scattered on the table. Penned in Ford's neat handwriting, some of it looked new. Her eyes darted across them, wondering why Ford hadn't shared this part of his research with her yet.
She still didn't grab the remote.
Peridot was nearly knocked from the chair as loud voices sounded from upstairs, causing her to scramble.
"What?! Where is she?!"
It was Ford's voice.
And he sounded mad.
I gotta get outta here!
But it was too late. Loud stomping echoed down the hall, punctuated by a massive shadow that blotted out the hallway.
Panic electrified her body.
Run! Run! Run!
No! You don't need to run. You didn't do anything wrong.
"PERIDOT!"
Ford thundered into the room like an Earth rainstorm.
Slowly, she peeked around the chair.
"Y-yes?" she croaked.
Ford gusted over to her, his big brown coat billowing behind him. He blew past her, snatched up the remote and started examining the room.
"Why are you down here? Did you do anything?! Answer me!"
Peridot shook her head, shrinking as Ford turned his furious gaze to her.
"No." She muttered, trying not to sound so small. "I didn't do anything."
She looked away, head pounding.
"I didn't. I promise. Ok!? I didn't mess with anything in your precious lab."
Ford ran a hand through his hair, puffing air of his nose. He sat down on the floor, settling into a rather subdued rainstorm.
"I'm sorry." He muttered. "I'm just so worried. All of this… and now the kids go missing? It's too much."
He winced, gently rubbing his back.
Peridot let her body relax a little, leaning across the chairs arm. Ford suddenly seemed vulnerable.
"Yeah. It's bad. Everything is always bad." She agreed numbly, no longer expecting the human to attack her.
"Here."
Peridot's eyes widened as Ford held out his hand.
With the remote in it.
"Test it. If this works, at least we'll have gotten that far."
"R-really?" She stammered, carefully letting him hand her their invention.
"Yes." He held her gaze, making her feel uncomfortable.
Ford suddenly turned turned his attention to the remote. "It should be calibrated to the inside of Steven Universes house."
That was efficient of him.
Still shaking a bit, she got off the chair and moved to the center of the room.
She nearly leapt into the ceiling as Ford placed a hand on her shoulder; he was nearly as tall as she was in his sitting position.
"If it looks like's it's gonna explode… throw it into that container there, and I'll flip on the force field.
"Oh." Peridot recognized the device he was referring to. "You mean the cage?"
"Yeah. Sorry about that."
"That's actually a good idea."
Ford didn't reply, and she could feel sweat beading down the side of her face.
"Ok, I'm gonna press it!" She cried, almost melting with anxiety. Ford squeezed her shoulder, and she was surprised to find the gesture reassuring.
"I gonna press it!"
Can't back down now.
"I'M GONNA PRESS IT!"
She pressed it.
There was bright flash and a light hum, just like before. But the pulse of energy felt smoother this time.
She opened her eyes, blinking away spotters as she adjusted to the rush of sunlight. The Beach City sun reached into the Gravity Falls basement.
There, sitting at the table in the living room, spoons hovering in the air over bowls of cereal, sat Dipper and Steven.
Peridot wheezed.
"What?" She said, but that was all she could manage.