They had done it!

Stan screeched the kart to a halt as they rode up to the Shack. Sunlight was streaming through the storm clouds, warmth returning to the forest. Dipper swore he could even hear birdsong in the trees.

"Where's Garnet?" Amethyst wondered.

WHUMP.

The red gem crashed in front of them, leaping off the roof.

Garnet brushed some rubble off her shoulders. "That dragon was no problem for me. I saw the lights. I assume this is finished."

"It looks like it was a problem for the Shack! Look at the sign!" Stan howled.

Dipper looked up to see that the unlucky "Mystery Shack" sign had been reduced to nothing more than a lonely "K," dangling off what remained of the sign's base.

Dipper laughed. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Garnet shrugged.

Dipper almost felt giddy. The whole thing had gone off without a hitch! Steven, Pearl, and Connie must have held up their end of the operation too.

He stepped out of the kart, crushing a chunk of magazine that was carrying on about the end of the world.

Mabel raced past him. "Let's see how Ford and Peridot did!"

He followed her, excited to hear the full explanation of the diamond seal from Ford. What had he been doing while they fought to save the world?! Not hiding, surely.

Panting, he rushed into the hallway, turning into the lab behind his sister.

"Ford? Peridot? Hey!" Mabel frowned. "Where are they?"

Dipper glanced around, searching the shadows of the basement. A portal hovered in the center of the room.

"Did they go back into Steven worlds…. S-Steven!" He gasped as his friend's face appeared on the other side of the portal. His face was streaked with dirt, but he was smiling. Connie was not far behind.

"Dipper! We did it!" Steven cried.

"I know!" Dipper gave him a high five as the half-gem stumbled through the portal, into Gravity Falls.

"Are Ford and Peridot on your side?" Mabel asked.

Steven shook his head, looking confused. "Nope. They're… here, right?"

A sense of foreboding crept over Dipper. He was becoming aware of how the space around them had been cleared… it seemed obvious, they'd done that for the portals, right?

Dipper stepped back, scrambling unto a chair to get a better view of the floor. His heart was pounding.

"Dipper…?" Steven and Mabel stood in the center of the room, bewildered. Dipper swallowed.

There, on either side of the big X in the rooms center, were deep scars etched by fire. They sat perfectly parallel, circular shapes edged with symbols.

"T-they had to light their own sigils, or something?" Dipper repeated his thoughts aloud. He pulled the crumpled notes of his pocket, but couldn't find anything about two MORE portals being a part of the seal's equation.

"So?" Mabel said. "Were ARE they?"

Dipper suddenly noticed Stan had entered the room, along with Connie. Garnet and Amethyst where using the portal to get back home, speaking in hushed tones to Pearl.

"Hey…" Steven lifted something off the table, voice sounding strained. "Isn't this…"

He held out a floppy disk, a handsome watch dangling over his fingers next to it.

Dipper leapt off the chair.

"I gave that… to Peridot…" Stan growled, snatching up the watch and examining it.

"This… haha, only Ford would use THIS." Dipper gently took the ancient technology from Steven's hands. "I can get this to work."

Aware of all the people that were watching him, Dipper walked over to the main computer and inserted the disk as he flipped on the biggest screen.

He navigated to the floppy icon, and clicked on it.

"It's a video?" Steven said, suddenly turning to the gems as they peered from beyond the portal. "Do you guys know whats going on?"

Expressions grim, the gems stepped out of Beach City into Gravity Falls. Pearl was wringing her hands, and Amethyst seemed a little too concerned with the floor.

"I think that's for you guys." Pearl said softly.

Dipper could feel the vice grip of fear close around his heart.

Slowly the group congregated around Dipper. His stomach flipped over as he double clicked the video file, the glow of the screen magnetic.

A window opened, revealing a grainy, highly compressed video feed. There was some scraping and shuffling, like someone adjusting a camera.

"Hello? Hello… Ah, I got it working!" Ford's face hovered, huge and blurry, in the foreground.

"About time." Peridot's high pitched voice echoed off-screen.

He backed up, folding his arms and sighing.

"Listen. Dipper, Mabel, Steven… Stan. There's something we didn't tell you."

Dipper's head was pounding.

The audio gave a gentle pop as Ford continued.

"By now, I hope you have successfully used the sigil to stop the void. What you may not realize is that in the process, you have sealed Bill Cipher within the void." Ford took a deep breath. "This is the very best outcome we could hope for. But..."

"For the sigil to work… to seal Bill and save our universes from the Void Dragon… the ritual requires sacrifices. Specifically, one sentient, willing sacrifice from each universe being targeted."

"No…" Dipper stammered. "No, they wouldn't…"

Ford stepped forward, grabbing the camera and shifting it. Now Peridot sat in the frame, sitting in her workbench with her back to the camera.

Ford sat next to her and spoke.

"We waited as long as we could. We tried desperately to come up with another solution. But time caught up with us. We didn't have any alternatives."

"That's why we kept this a secret from you. You'd try to stop us."

Stan burst into an angry shout. "You're darn right!"

Back on the screen, Ford sighed.

"It's a miracle I'm even in this universe at all. But I take full responsibility for letting Bill into our lives. This is all because of me. If anybody is to be sacrificed to the void to stop Bill… it's me."

"No!" Stan roared, leaning away from the screen. "You didn't even ASK me! You idiot..."

Ford shook his head. "I- I know this isn't an easy decision. And I'm sorry. But we have too much to gain!" He slammed his fist on the table, jolting Peridot as she hunched beside him.

"This way, you can know that this was our choice… and everything will be fine."

Ford closed his eyes, and through the grain dipper couldn't tell if he was crying or not. He stood up, and a hand reached out for the camera.

There was nothing but static for a moment. The screen went black, but another video swam into view after a long couple of seconds.

The screen was filled with green. Peridot faced the camera.

"Listen. Steven. A-nd everybody."

Her eyes shifted.

"Y-you think I wanna be sacrificed? Absolutely not. I'd do ANYTHING to make sure it wasn't ME opening this portal!"

She closed her eyes, backing up.

"Look. Homeworld's not happy with me. There is a good chance they'll come to Earth, looking for me."

She stared into the camera, eyes filled with determination.

"I know you guys would try to stop them. Y-you'd get hurt over my mistakes. I can't allow that."

She glared to the side, rubbing her eyes.

"Also, Ford wouldn't let me find some other random lifeform to sacrifice. S-so thats that."

She scrambled closer, wrapping her hands around the camera.

"So you understand… who BETTER to be sacrificed? Haha-hahahaha!" She laughed bitterly.

"Oh… oh." Her eyes swirled in the camera's lens. "But… This really IS the most rational choice. I- I can be useful to you. Steven, I…"

Tears swam in her eyes, and still she struggled against them.

"…I can pay y-you back…" She glared fiercely. "S-save the earth… d-don't let yellow d-diamond do anything stupid…"

"D-don't forget me, you clods!"

"Peridot, what're you doing?" Ford's voice interrupted the gem.

She gasped, and the camera clattered to the floor. Fords shoe hung in the frame, but everything swayed as he leaned down and picked up the camera.

"Oh. Haha, you DID want to record something…" He smiled. Peridot's sniffing sounded over the static.

"I love you guys." Ford said.

There was hum, and then the video file closed to black.

Water streaked down Dipper's face, contrasting sharply with his disbelief. He blinked, the video burning like an afterimage in his eyes.

He felt Steven and Mabel hug him, and they cried together.

Steven absentmindedly tapped the plastic on the big watch. Peridot hadn't worn it for long, but she'd left behind. So he could have it.

He felt water swell into his eyes again. It seemed impossible that she wasn't here. It seemed impossible that she was…

He gazed up, the light of the stars blurring the sky into a painful glare of white. He squeezed Connie's hand, desperate for reassurance.

Gone.

He sat with Dipper, Mabel, and Connie on the roof of the Mystery Shack. Somehow, the open sky, free of the menacing void, made them all feel a tiny bit better.

He glanced over at Dipper. His hat shadowed his eyes as he sat hunched up next to Steven and Mabel.

"It's not fair." Mabel's voice rang out, strangely bitter. "It's not FAIR!" She suddenly slammed a fist into the roof and stood up, facing the others.

"Mabel…" Dipper implored, reaching out a hand as if to calm his sister, but faltering.

"I-I know!" Dipper clenched his teeth, the same fire lighting up his eyes. "It's NOT fair! After everything they went through, after how hard they worked, THIS is what they get?!"

Mabel frowned fiercely, tears in her eyes. Steven detested watching her cry.

Dipper shook his head, getting to his feet. "We…" He paced, like he always did when he was hatching a plot. "We have to find a way to bring them back!"

Steven felt hope flutter in his exhausted heart.

"Do you know a way?! Is there a way to bring them back!?" He asked breathlessly.

Dipper nodded feverishly. "They didn't DIE, right? "Sacrificed to the void," Ford said. The void isn't the afterlife. Ford's never vague about this kind of stuff. He meant that he and Peridot were transported into the void."

"I understand what you're saying…" Connie spoke. "But…"

Steven rushed into right into Dipper's ideas. "Me and Dipper got stuck in the void! But we ESCAPED! Maybe they can too!"

He watched in disappointment as Connie shook her head. "I know that. But we used the sigil to SEAL the void. Is it even possible to get back with your method now?"

Mabel sniffed. "Y-you follow this stuff, Connie?"

Connie stood up, a gentle wind rustling her hair. "If we even tried to rescue them… if it's even possible… we would have to break the seal. The seal keeping that yellow demon guy from hurting anybody. The seal that they sacrificed themselves for."

Steven's heart twisted. Was Connie right? He didn't care. Even if it meant breaking the seal, he was willing to try ANYTHING to see Peridot again. And to let Ford live with his family again, to see Stan, Dipper and Mabel happy. He knew it was wrong... but he couldn't feeling that without Ford and Peridot, saving the worlds had been a complete waste.

Mabel stomped her foot. "We can find them! Of course! There has to be a way!"

Steven got up.

"If there's even a small chance… we have to try!" He cried. "We-We have to! Dipper and Connie… and even Pearl… we have losta smart people on our team who can help! Right, Connie?" He looked to her for more reassurance.

Connie was looking at the roof, conflicted.

"It was their choice, and we should respect it. But… maybe I don't understand." She shrunk away, her usual candor flickering against the force of a desperate, grief stricken wish. "I didn't know either of them. It's not really my call. I-I'm sorry this happened at all."

Dipper grabbed Steven's hands, distracting him from the frustrating complexity of Connie's emotions. He was shocked by the unswerving intensity in Dipper's eyes.

"YES! Thank you, Steven! We have to try! We still have all of Ford's research!" He backed up, the trees behind him framing his face against the inky sky. Steven felt the others crowd around, caught up in Dipper's fierce, pulsating hope.

"They're not dead."

"They're just waiting for us to find them!"