I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to writing this chapter. I hope you'll understand why at the end. Anyway, Steven Universe is owned by Cartoon Network and Gravity Falls is owned by Disney. Blah. Blah Blah. Enjoy.

Chapter 5: Shield and Spear
(Sometime later)

It took a bit of effort, but eventually the trio managed to get out of that tree and back onto solid ground. Admittedly, getting out of the bubble proved to be much more difficult, but at least it kept the Boar King from smelling them long enough to get into position. Truth be told, Steven wasn't exactly 100% onboard with Dipper's plan. Sure, he understood it well enough, but there were certain aspects of it that made him feel, shall we say, uncomfortable.

"Whoa…" Steven muttered to himself as he stared over the edge of the cliff and into the dark chasm below. "Pearl must've brought me here a million times and I never knew those were down there."

For the benefit of the people just tuning in, the 'those' that our young hero was just referring to were the massive black spikes at the bottom of the chasm; over four or five dozen of them, ranging from at least two to eleven feet long. It was about a forty foot drop from where he was standing, and even at his relatively small size, odds were he'd land on one of them if he fell. He shuddered to think how many the Boar King would land on once it fell in. A truly insidious trap, which is precisely why it made Steven's stomach turn.

The young lad couldn't stand looking at those awful spikes anymore, so he turned away from the cliff to look at his new friends. They were both standing beneath a most peculiar looking tree; Pearl's favorite tree, to be precise. It sort of looked like a cross between a Japanese Sakura Tree and a Mangrove, and it had a very long and complicated name that he could never get right. Supposedly, it was a unique species created by his late mother that was planted centuries ago when the Crystal Gems first settled in this area, but I digress. He ran towards the magical plant at full speed; partly because he wanted to get as far away from the spikes as possible, but mainly because he needed to speak to Dipper immediately.

"Hey, guys!" Steven said as he approached the twins. "I'm starting to have some second thoughts about this plan."

"What? Why?" Dipper asked confusedly, putting aside the big leather book he'd been reading. "Look, I know it's risky, but I'm sure it'll work. According to the Journal, dragon bones turn into obsidian when they fossilize and there's a whole dragon graveyard down there. Obsidian's one of the sharpest materials on Earth, they use it to make medical scalpels. All we have to do is lure that big brute over the cliff and those dragon teeth 'll turn it into Swiss Cheese."

"That's what bothers me." The young lad admitted. "It just seems cruel. I mean, what right do we have to hurt another living thing?"

"You do remember it tired to kill us, right?" the young mystery hunter asked annoyedly, before switching to a more diplomatic tone. "Look, I get what you're saying, and normally I wouldn't suggest something like this, but we don't have a choice. That thing wants you dead, and since it saw us with you, it probably wants me and Mabel dead too. It's never going to stop chasing us, and we can't risk it following us home. We need to deal with that monster once and for all. There's no other way."

Steven was about to say something, when Mabel suddenly cut him off.

"Oh, cheese and crackers!" she shouted as she jumped back in shock. "What the heck is that?"

From past experience, the young Crystal Gem knew almost immediately what must've happened, but it was still reassuring to confirm it with his own eyes. As he'd suspected, one of the tree roots Mabel had been standing on had suddenly reared up like a snake and then resettled itself in a different position. It was difficult to tell at a glance, because the base of the tree looked like a great mass of dead serpents, but the root system was near constantly shifting and readjusting itself. It was actually quite beautiful, in a creepy sort of way.

"What kind of tree is this?" Dipper asked in mild amazement.

"Pearl calls is a Cosmopolis Elephantine Magnesium Something-or-other." Steven replied, absolutely butchering the plant's proper name. "It's not dangerous, but you should still watch out for the roots. If one of them wraps around your foot, it could take hours or even days to get free. I missed my birthday party because of this thing once. They had to send the clown all the way out here and he was not cool about it."

"Yeah, that's… uh… that's a really great story, Steven." The amateur mystery hunter said in a dismissive but somehow polite way. "But we should probably get into position. You remember what to do, right?"

"Sure, I just stand over by the cliff and wait for the Boar King to show up. Then when it charges, I jump out of the way at the last second and let it fall into the pit and… gulp… get skewered."

Dipper looked like he was about to say something, most likely something to reaffirm the necessity of the plan, but whatever it was quickly died in his throat, as the air was suddenly shattered by a familiarly gut-wrenching squeal. In the distance, flocks of birds were taking flight as trees began to fall one after another. The Boar King was approaching.

With no more time for talking, the twins went into their positions behind the safety of the unpronounceable tree. Likewise, Steven got into his position by the cliff. Beyond its gruesome outcome, there were several other aspects of the plan that were making the young lad uneasy. Like, for example, how overly simplistic is was. Granted, the Boar King was little more than a rabid animal, so it probably would fall for such an obvious trick, but still, there was so much that could go wrong with an operation like this. It was just plain nerve-racking.

Moments later, the massive mega-swine burst through the last line of trees and into full view. It might've just been his imagination, but Steven could've sworn it looked even angrier than it did before. The young Crystal Gem braced himself for what was to come. He was prepared, albeit reluctantly, to do what needed to be done in order to save his new friends, but then something strange happened. The Boar King suddenly changed direction. It wasn't charging at him anymore, it was charging at… the tree!"

XXX

(Meanwhile…)

Snort.

Snort.

No more trees.

Good.

Trees annoying.

Sniff.

Sniff.

Found Pink One.

Good.

Found… two Pink Ones?

Confused.

Sniff.

Sniff.

Smells mixed up.

More confused.

No matter.

Kill both Pink Ones.

Kill closer one first.

XXX

(Back with Steven)

Steven hadn't the foggiest idea why the Boar King was seemingly targeting the Pines Twins instead of himself, but he immediately set to work to correct it.

"Hey! Over here! Look over here!" he cried out at the top of his voice; waving his arms like a lunatic. "It's me, you stupid pig! I'm the one who dropped the beehive! Come over here!"

Nothing.

The beast didn't even turn its head.

Not good.

"Guys! Run! The Boar King's coming straight for you!" Steven called out to his friends, but although they must've heard him they did not run.

Even though he was standing about thirty yards away, the young Crystal Gem could clearly see what was going on. Despite his warnings, Mabel had apparently gotten her foot caught in the roots of the unpronounceable tree, and, being a dutiful brother, Dipper was working frantically to free her. Unfortunately, Steven knew from experience that there wasn't nearly enough time. Any second now, the Boar King would be upon them. He had to do something. He didn't know what, but he knew he had to do something. So, against all logic and common sense, he ran straight towards them.

Despite his short legs, Steven made excellent time getting to the tree. Only once he was there he didn't know what to do, and worse, he didn't have time to think of a plan. The Boar King was less than a yard away, so, in the absence of an actual strategy, the young Crystal Gem just did the first thing that popped into his head. Which in this case was to jump straight at the charging beast in the hopes that this would somehow save his friends' lives.

But, as crazy as it sounds, it actually worked.

Mere moments before Steven made contact with the Boar King's snout, his gem began to glow and, for only the second time in his young life, he was able to summon his Mother's famous shield. However, unlike last time, it was much, much bigger; large enough to halt the mega-swine in its tracks.

Perhaps you've heard the old proverb, 'What happens when an indestructible spear clashes with an impenetrable shield?' Well, when the shield in question is composed of magical hard-light and the spear is actually a gigantic, equally magical pig monster strong enough to crush a boulder the answer is this; the full force of the impact was redirected straight into the ground, triggering a massive landslide.

XXX

(A short time later)

By the time Dipper regained consciousness the sun was starting to set. Through some bizarre quirk of fate, he'd managed to ride a rockslide into a gaping chasm full of giant spikes without being buried alive or impaled. He still had quite a few scrapes and bruises, but all things considered, he was one lucky duck.

"Ugh…" groaned a familiar voice from a short distance away. The young lad turned his head slightly to the left and, sure enough, there was his sister; scratched and bruised, and with a severed tree root still wrapped around her ankle, but otherwise unharmed. "Whuh-Whuhzah-Wh-What happened? Where are we?"

"I think we're at the bottom of the chasm." Dipper replied in as calm a voice as he could manage; not wanting to trigger another avalanche. "As for what happened, I'm not really sure. The last thing I remember is Steven jumping in front of the Boar King to… Steven!"

Upon realizing that their strange new friend wasn't with them, the twins forgot their own minor injuries and began searching for him. Fortunately the bottom of the chasm wasn't too big, so it only took them a few minutes to find the boy. Only when they found him, he wasn't his usual, cheerful self. He was standing amidst the rubble, seemingly unaware of their presence, before what remained of the Boar King.

Evidently, the mega-swine hadn't been as lucky as the rest of them, for it had landed smackdab on a fossilized dragon's tooth at least twenty feet long; more than double its own height. The massive spike went in through the beast's stomach and out its back, making it resemble some kind of gruesome shish kabob. There was no blood, strangely enough, but Dipper chose to see that as a blessing. Though despite the apparent lack of blood loss, the creature seemed to have been drained of all its energy, for rather than struggling to break free, it just laid there struggling to breathe.

"There, there." Steven said calmly as he placed a gentle hand on the Boar King's snout. "It's gonna be alright."

To Dipper's amazement, this seemed to have a soothing effect on the great beast, as its breathing soon became less labored.

"I get it, big guy. It's no fun being one-of-a-kind, is it." The strange boy continued. "No one else like you to hang with. No one who really gets what you're going through. No wonder you were so angry all the time."

The Boar King's breathing grew softer and slower with each passing second.

"Maybe if there'd been a few more Boar Kings out there, you wouldn't 've been such a meanie. Heck, I bet we could've been friends if it hadn't been for that bee hive." Steven said as he continued to pet the pig monster's nose. "I know it's a little late, but I really am sorry that I hurt you. And I'm sorry that it turned out this way. But at least now you can have the peace you deserve."

The mega-swine let out one last, nearly imperceptible gasp and then, the astonishment of both the Pines Twins, it exploded in a cloud of sparkly blue smoke, leaving behind only the emerald from its forehead. Without saying another word, Steven picked up the green gemstone and turned around; he had tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Oh, hey, guys." He said upon noticing the twins, casually wiping the tears away. "When did you get here?"

"Just now." Dipper lied, although he wasn't really sure why. "You okay, man?"

"Never better." Steven replied, obviously lying as well. "Hold on, I wanna try something."

The strange lad then closed his eyes and scrunched his face in concentration. For several minutes, nothing happened, then suddenly a small pink bubble, similar to the one they'd been trapped in early, appeared in his right hand, encasing the mysterious emerald.

"It worked!" he said excitedly, his pupils briefly turning into stars again. He then tapped the top of the bubble with his free hand and it vanished into thin air. "The Gems are gonna be so impressed."

"Where'd it go?" Mabel asked confusedly.

"Somewhere where it'll be safe." Steven answered cryptically. "So, you guys still up for going to the lake?"

"Actually, I think we've had enough adventure for one day." Dipper replied as Mabel nodded silently in agreement. "The ruins can wait. Right now, we need to figure out how to get out of this chasm and…"

Suddenly, the area was bathed in a familiar pinkish white light. When everyone's vision returned, Steven's lion was sitting right beside its master. Naturally, Steven and Mabel were both delighted to see the great pink beast, but our young mystery hunter was more than a little salty.

"Oh, sure. Now you show up."

XXX

(A short time later)

It took a bit of sweettalking, but eventually Steven managed to convince Lion to let all three of them ride on his back. The experience was quite exhilarating, although it did give Dipper a headache. Who knew warping through time and space involved so many bright colors?

At any rate, they'd materialized about ten yards away from the Mystery Shack's back porch. Through the window they could see their Grunkle Stan trying to convincing some tourists to buy some of his overpriced snow globes; meaning that he was either unconcerned with or simply hadn't noticed their extended absence. Either case suited them just fine, since it spared them the need to come up with a convincing cover story.

"Well, guys, it's been a lot of fun, but I have to get going now." Steven said to the twins as they dismounted the pink beast.

"Aww. So soon?" Mabel asked disappointedly. "Don't you wanna come inside and hang? Just for a little while?"

"I'd love to, but I should probably get back home before the Gems notice I'm gone. Besides, I don't think my Dad would like me hanging around here." Steven replied politely. "But we should definitely hang out sometime. Maybe at my place, or somewhere in town."

"Sounds good to me." Said Mabel with a goofy smile.

"Yeah, and maybe next time we'll find that giant statue I was looking for." Dipper added pleasantly.

"Wait… giant statue?" the strange boy asked curiously. "You don't mean the one in the cove, the one that looks like a giant woman, do you?"

"Yes!" the young mystery hunter answered excitedly. "You mean you've seen it?"

"Of course I've seen it. That's my house." Steven replied matter-of-factly, which caused Dipper's heart to stop beating for a faction of a second.

"W-What?"

"Oh, man. I wish you'd said something earlier. I would've just taken you straight there." The strange lad continued, chuckling to himself amusedly. "We were only like a mile away when we first met."

Mabel seemed to find this just as funny as Steven did, because she started laughing too. Dipper, however, just felt very, very, very old.

"Oh well, at least now we know for next time." Steven said, ever the optimist. "I guess I'll see you guys later then. Lion, away!"

And with that, the great pink beast let out a mighty roar and vanished in another brilliant flash of light.

"Well, that was fun." Mabel said to her brother, shaking him out of his stupor.

And the young mystery hunter couldn't help but agree. Sure, he hadn't found the mysterious ruins from his dream, but he had made a new friend, and perhaps stumbled upon an even greater mystery to solve. All headaches aside, this had been a very good day.

"Hey, dudes." Said a familiar voice from somewhere close by; one that made Dipper's heart go all aflutter.

The twins spun around and, just as they'd expected, there was Wendy; their uncle's tall and objectively attractive teenage cashier, whom Dipper just so happened to have a massive crush on.

"Wendy!" Mabel said enthusiastically.

"Oh, uh… H-Hey, Wendy." Dipper said awkwardly, which was nothing too unusual.

"So, I see you guys finally met Steven." The tall teen said casually. "He's a real trip, isn't he?"

"Yeah, we met him out in the…" the young mystery hunter began, only to pause once his brain fully processed what his crush had just said. "How'd you know his name is Steven?"

"I oughta know his name. I used to babysit him that one semester I was really into babysitting."

"I… I don't understand."

"Well, it all started when my dad got me hooked on this old tv show from the 90s…"

"Not that!" Dipper snapped, before quickly remembering who he was talking to. "Oh, sorry, Wendy. I just meant, well… You know Steven? Like, you actually know him?"

"Of course I know him, man." Wendy replied in her usual, laidback manner. "He's Tambry's little brother."

End Notes:

Surprise!

How's that for a plot twist?

Anyway, that's the end of the first story arc. If you're liking the story so far, please feel free to fav or follow and leave a review before on your way out.

With that said, I hope you're all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one.

Peace.