Important Author's Note: As it says in the description, this story was inspired by MiniJen's famous crossover story Universe Falls, but only loosely. I'm using MiniJen's basic concept of an AU where Steven and the Gems live in Gravity Falls instead of Beach City and taking it to strange new places. So if you're reading this expecting to see retellings or fusions of existing episodes then this story might not be for you. I intend to focus mostly on my own original ideas in this story. I won't bore you with a million details about my plans, but I will provide you with a bit of context before we begin. From the Gravity Falls side, this story begins a day or so after 'The Inconveniencing". From the Steven Universe side it's a little harder to explain since certain events will happen differently, out of order or not at all, but just for the sake of chronology, let's say this takes place sometime after the events of 'Steven's Lion'. With that said, Steven Universe is owned by Cartoon Network and Gravity Falls is owned by Disney. Enjoy.

Chapter 1: Setting the Stage

The situation was pure chaos.

What began as a simple quest for a thousand dollar photo had devolved into a highspeed chase across a foggy lake. Their ship, the 'S.S. Cool Dude', was in shambles, just barely intact enough to stay afloat. Their adult chaperone was busy fighting off a pack of angry beavers, forcing his sister to take the wheel. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the subject of their hunt, a gigantic and seemingly mad plesiosaur was snapping at their heels with the clear intent to kill. Needless to say, things were looking bleak.

With the photo contest momentarily taking a backseat to survival, the boy searched frantically for anything that might save their lives, but due to the low visibility from the fog, he could barely see ten feet in front of his face. He was beginning to think that this might actually be the end, until he saw it. Through a small gap in the fog, he saw what appeared to be the entrance to some secluded cove on the side of the lake, and on the shore of that cove was a structure of Brobdingnagian proportions. It was a statue, very large and very ancient, judging by the way it seemed to be falling apart, carved in the image of a woman with at least three sets of arms. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before, and yet it was strangely familiar at the same time.

It almost felt like it was… calling to him.

Just then, the Gobblewonker let out another deafening roar and slammed its head against the side of the boat. A split second later, the boy was sitting upright in his bed; his brow drenched with sweat. He was back in his room in the attic of his Uncle's shack; his sister was still sleeping soundly in the bed across from his.

A dream.

It had only been a dream.

Or had it?

That incident on the lake really happened, and the details on that statue were much too vivid to be purely from his imagination.

No, that had been no mere dream, but a memory.

Of what, he had no idea, but he was going to find out.

For his name was Dipper Pines, amateur mystery hunter, and he had just stumbled on a doozy.

XXX

(Later that morning)

It was breakfast time in the Pines household. Dipper and his twin sister Mabel were chatting amongst themselves while their summer caretaker, their Great-Uncle Stanford, whom they affectionately referred to as Grunckle Stan, was busy cooking up something for them to eat. Now, Stan was by no means a gourmet, but he could whip up some halfway decent scrambled eggs and sausage, so long as you didn't mind the cheap stuff. At any rate, while he was doing that, the young Mystery Hunter was busy laying out his plans for the day.

"So, let me get this straight. We're going back to the lake to look for a giant statue, because you saw one in your dream?" Mabel asked her brother; summarizing just about everything he'd just said. "No fair! How come we never do stuff from my dreams?"

"Because your dreams usually defy the laws of physics." Dipper replied dryly while trying very hard not to sound condescending. "And anyway, Mabel, it wasn't just a dream, it was a memory. I really did see that statue when McGucket was chasing us in his robot."

"Okay, but that happened weeks ago. Why are you just bringing it up now?"

"I don't know. Maybe there was so much going on that my brain didn't fully process it at the time? It doesn't matter. All that matters is that we're going to find that statue today."

"Meh."

"Meh? What do you mean Meh?"

"Look, Dipper, it's not that I don't wanna go on an epic adventure with you, it's just… well… We just did like five of those back to back, and I was kinda planning on going to the mall today. You know, buy some more yarn, maybe meet some girls my age. You should come too. It wouldn't kill you to make more friends."

"Oh, come on, Mabel. You can go to the mall anytime. We're talking about a giant, six armed, stone lady for goodness sake. This could be evidence of ancient astronauts or the remnants of some lost, undiscovered civilization, or even…"

"Hey, could you two take a break from whatever you're talking about for a second? I need your help with something." Grunckle Stan interrupted brusquely as he handed his two charges their breakfast. "What do you think sounds better, Gobster or Rooblin?"

"For… what exactly?" Dipper asked, half dreading the answer.

"I need a new name for this attraction I just cooked up." Their Great Uncle replied casually. "It's a stuffed rooster with a goblin mask sewn over the head. The first name I came up with didn't really go over big with the parents, so now I need a new name that's less 'inappropriate for children'. Bunch of whiners. So anyway, what do you think? Gobster or Rooblin?"

To Dipper's ears, both names sounded equally unpleasant, but he knew his Uncle wouldn't let up on this until he gave him an answer. So he just picked one at random.

"Uh… Gobster, I guess."

"Definitely Gobster." Mabel chimed in agreeingly, though probably for her own unique reasons.

"Okay, Gobster it is. I'll have Soos make up some signs."

And with that said, the older 'gentleman' left the children to their own devices while he went off to tweak his latest potential cash cow.

"So, Mabel, what you say? Adventure?" the young Mystery Hunter asked, instantly jumping back into their previous conversation.

"Well… I don't know…"

"Oh, come on. Please. I'll even let you drive the golfcart this time." Dipper said pleadingly. "And… if you come with me, I promise I'll go with you to the mall tomorrow and do whatever you want… all day."

"Well… okay, you talked me into it." Mabel answered before flashing her brother an impish grin. "Oh, and for the record, I was just messing with you before. I totally would've gone with you for free. No take backs~"

And with that, the young lass dug right into her scrambled eggs, leaving her brother alone with his thoughts. Dipper was more than a little embarrassed for letting his sister trick him like that and he was certain he was going to be even more embarrassed once she dragged him to the mall, but that was tomorrow's problem. Today promised to be a day he would never forget.

And he had no idea just how right he was.

XXX

(A short time later, a fair distance away)

There is a place in Gravity Falls that many people know about but very few have actually seen. A small, semi-isolated bay on the northeastern shore of the local lake, surrounded on all but one side by cliffs approximately one hundred feet high. Those who have been there refer to it as Crystal Cove and for very good reason. For in the very back of this cove, seemingly carved from the cliffs themselves, was a gigantic structure known to some as the Crystal Gem Temple. It was a beautiful, if not somewhat dilapidated, sight to behold; a marvel unlike anything seen anywhere else in the world. But by far the most interesting part of it, at least as far as this story is concerned, was the small but cozy looking lake house built into the Temple's base. For within this unnaturally normal looking abode lived a most unusual boy.

Although you'd never know it by looking at him. By all appearances, he was just an ordinary human child; albeit one with a short and stocky build and an apparent fondness for the color pink. His name was Steven Universe, a young lad of unusual birth and a grand destiny neither he nor you could even begin to imagine, but that is a story for another day.

On this particular day, at this particular time, young Steven was laying on his bed, watching the end of the latest episode of his favorite cartoon show, 'Crying Breakfast Friends', when all of a sudden he heard a familiar sound. To a normal person, it might've sounded like something you'd hear in one of those old point and click computer games from the 90s, but to Steven it was the unmistakable call to adventure. The Temple doors were opening, which meant the Crystal Gems were about to go on a mission.

Ever the excitable little whelp, Steven leapt out of bed and dashed downstairs to the living room. Sure enough, there they were. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl; the Crystal Gems. In all their glory.

"Amethyst, we've been over this a thousand times! Your things belong in your room!" said Pearl scoldingly to her much shorter companion. "And don't think I haven't noticed that my swords keep ending up in your disgusting junkpiles!"

But Amethyst was not intimidated. In fact, just to show how little she cared, the shorter Gem morphed her right hand into a puppet-like facsimile of Pearl's head and started mouthing her words in a disrespectful fashion.

"I swear, if you can't obey the simplest of rules… Oh, hello, Steven." The taller birdlike Gem said, switching to a much more pleasant demeanor upon seeing their young charge.

"Sup, Ste-Man." Amethyst said playfully while shifting her hand back to normal.

"Howdy." Said Garnet in her usual calm and melodic tone while jovially making a finger gun. "Bang."

"Hey, guys!" Steven said excitedly as he ran up to his three pseudo-parental figures. "What's our mission gonna be today?"

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room turned awkward.

"What's the matter?" the young lad asked as he took in the uncomfortable, almost guilty looks on the Gems' faces. "Do we not have a mission?"

"Yes, Steven. We have a mission." Pearl replied, clearly walking on eggshells. "And by 'we', I mean Garnet, Amethyst and Myself. You're staying here this time."

"What?" Steven asked, sounding and feeling quite hurt by this revelation. "But why? I can summon my bubble now. Sometimes on purpose. And I think I'm pretty close to figuring out how to summon my Shield."

"Steven." Garnet said calmly as she walked over to the young lad and knelt before him so they could be at eyelevel. "We know you've made a lot of progress these last few months, and we're all very proud of you, but you're going to have to sit this one out. You see, we're going deep underground, to a carven filled with toxic gas, so you won't be able to…."

"Amethyst, don't you dare!" Pearl shouted at her compatriot; seemingly without reason.

"What? I didn't do anything." The shorter Gem replied defensively.

"Don't you What me. I know you, Amethyst. You were about to make a bathroom joke."

"Exqueeze me?"

"You know, some crude remark about toxic gas."

"Wow. You really think so little of me, don't you?"

"As I was saying." Garnet chimed back in, which both silenced the other Gems and regained Steven's attention. "We don't like excluding you from things, but sometimes we have to in order to keep you safe. I hope you can understand that."

"I understand." Steven replied, feeling significantly less disappointed than he did a few moments ago.

"Good, now listen carefully." The tall, shapely Gem said with calm urgency. "We're going to be gone for at least six hours, maybe longer. I realize that's a long time to be all by yourself, so you might be tempted to go out and play with your forest friends, but you can't go into the woods alone right now. The Boar King is still out there and it's probably still mad at you. The high cliffs around the Cove should keep it from getting to the Temple, but if it or any other monsters do manage to get down here, do not try to fight them by yourself. Get on Lion, have him warp you to your dad's place and stay there until we come to get you. Do you understand, Steven?"

The young lad nodded confidently.

"Good. Now repeat what I just told you."

"Stay in the house. Don't go in the woods alone. If a monster attacks, have Lion take me to Dad's and wait for you to come get me."

"Thatta boy." Garnet said approvingly as she gently tussled his hair, before standing up to face her other teammates. "Alright, let's move out."

Within moments, all three Gems were standing on the Temple's Warp Pad, with Steven standing by to see them off.

"Okay, Steven. Don't worry. We'll be back as soon as possible." Said Pearl in her usual well-meaning, but overprotective manner. "There's plenty of food in the fridge, and extra blankets in the closet in case you get cold."

"Ugh! Can we please just go already?" Amethyst asked impatiently; earning a stern look from Pearl.

"Just remember what I told you and everything will be fine." Garnet said casually to their young charge; to which Steven replied with a semi-serious army salute.

Then the Warp Pad activated and within seconds they were off on their latest adventure; leaving the portly young lad to his own devices.

"Okay… I've got about six hours to kill all by myself." Steven said to himself aloud, which is something he often did to help himself think. "So, what is Steven going to do today?"

Out of the corner of his eye, the young lad caught sight of his prized ukulele, a birthday present from his devoted father some years ago, laying on the couch. While not classically trained, Steven was quite an accomplished musician and songwriter; at least in the opinion of his family and closest friends. What's more, singing songs he'd made up off the top of his head was one of his favorite things to do in the entire world. He couldn't think of a better way to pass the time, so, with near boundless enthusiasm, he ran to his beloved instrument, tuned it slightly and belted out a merry tune.

Oooooooooooooooooooh~

What should I do today~

What should I do today~

What should I do today~

What should I do~

What should I do today~

What should I do today~

What should I do today~

What should I do~

Ooooooooooooooh~

I could start a new adventure~

By jumping on my bed~

Or eat a bowl of ice cream~

While standing on my head~

The sky's always the limit~

There's magic everywhere~

For I am Steven Universe~

And I live without a care~

Oooooooooooooooh~

What should I do today~

What should I do today~

What should I do today~

What should I do~

What should I do today~

What should I do today~

What should I do today~

What should I dooooooooooo~

Feeling quite proud of his latest composition, Steven turned his gaze to the clock hanging on the wall; exactly one minute had passed since the Gems departed.

"Ugh…" the young lad groaned as he slowly slumped onto the floor. "This might be a little harder than I thought."

End Notes:

Steven's song in this chapter is a heavily modified version of the opening theme to Nelvana's 'Pippi Longstocking' cartoon from 1997. I don't know, it just seemed like something Steven would sing. Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and I'll see you in the next one.

Peace.