Hey guys! Thanks so much for the positive response and inquisitive reviews! To answer several questions mentioned in the reviews: Ford met Rick before he met Bill, and Rick essentially set him on the path to meet Bill. Rick basically never told Ford exactly what his research was for, which is why he was tricked and did not know Bill was connected to Rick. As for the VHS tapes, they are definitely connected and will be important in the story for later. And to Critic-Writer.1, thanks for the awesome support! I actually appreciate questions about inconsistency, because there's a lot of details to keep track of. And as for why Ford could never get back to Earth- no idea, I'm guessing he didn't have a homing signal or something.
So please, feel free to post any questions or clarifications you want about the story if it gets confusing. It actually helps me too. So for this chapter, we actually get a little insight into Steven's situation, and I'm not sure how you guys will feel about it. Without further ado, enjoy the chapter and drop a review if you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rick and Morty, Gravity Falls, or Steven Universe
Even though the Crystal Gems knew the videotape of Rose Quartz existed, this was the first time watching it. To say that it was emotional to hear their leader's voice after thirteen years was an understatement- Pearl couldn't stop the tears, while Amethyst and Ruby just quietly sobbed to themselves. It was especially difficult for Pearl, the last she had seen of Rose Quartz was about a month before Steven was born. As much as she loved her deceased leader, she couldn't help but feel resentment towards her on some level- Rose Quartz didn't even let them say goodbye to her.
But after watching this video, Pearl couldn't help but observe just how at peace her leader was. In that tape, Rose knew she was going to cease existing but couldn't have been more at peace than if Homeworld offered an official surrender. Rose was perfectly okay with Steven taking her place, and it was somehow reassuring for Pearl to know that. She imagined the others felt the same way as they watched the film, and could only hope that the tape stirred something in Greg.
After a pregnant silence, Amethyst spoke. "Hey big guy... you remembering anything?"
Greg didn't answer, his eyes still fixated on the screen. Really, what could he say? He felt perplexed and uncomfortable at first, being forced to watch a private home movie and all, only to discover it was his own. He had made this video with a beautiful pink woman he initially had no memory of, but as he watched it... the memories came back. Images popped into his brain as he suddenly remembered Rose, the Crystal Gems, and... Steven! His son! Greg couldn't help but tear up- how could he have forgotten his son?! His and Rose's son! He swore to Rose he would raise Steven right before she died... right as she died.
Greg would never forget how Steven formed in his arms as Rose Quartz struggled through the birth... she insisted that it had to be him and her to greet their child. But after Steven was born, Rose had said she loved them before fading... and now his son-
"Greg..." Pearl's voice broke the silence, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you remember...?"
"We made two tapes..." Greg mumbled, as memories began flooding his mind. "One if we hada boy, and another if we had a girl- her name would've been Nora. I'm a terrible father..." Greg put his hands over his eyes, and began to sob. "I forgot my own son... I forgot all those promises I made to Rose. I forgot meeting her, and you guys... I am so sorry I forgot you guys!"
Amethyst went over and brought Greg into a huge hug. "No worries dude, everyone else forgot too..."
Ruby patted his shoulder. "Yeah... Even Connie forgot Steven..."
At this, Greg stop his sobbing to truly look at the Crystal Gems. "Guys... where is Steven? What's going on?! Why does no one remember him?! Where did my memories go?!"
"We've been going over those very questions for awhile." Amethyst rolled her eyes. "We don't know where Steven is, or why everyone's forgotten him! The only ones who remembered him besides us were Lapis and Peridot, and they're off getting parts for a portal gun thingy."
"Wait- what?!" Greg stopped her. "Lapis and Peridot remember? And they're collecting parts for a portal gun?! What is that, and why do you guys need it?!"
"It's complicated, but Peridot said it might be linked to another human that has caused instances of world collapse based on what's happening with Sapphire." Pearl began.
"World shattering?! And is that why you guys aren't fused?!" Greg asked, pointing to Ruby and Sapphire. "What does this other human have to do with Sapphire, and what does this person have to do with Steven?! Was he kidnapped?!"
"We don't know!" Amethyst exclaimed. "We don't know any of this for sure, we're just going off what Peridot's been telling us!"
"Which makes no sense!" Greg yelled back.
"Neither does forgetting your own kid!" Amethyst snapped.
The room became very quiet after that, and Amethyst rubbed her arm in embarrassment. Pearl cleared her throat before speaking. "Greg... we'll share the entire hypothesis once Peridot and Lapis come back, but for now we'll have to wait. And with Sapphire and Ruby being unable to fuse, we're basically driving blind." After Greg didn't say anything, Pearl continued. "How about you tell us what your last memories of Steven were?"
"That's a good idea!" Amethyst agreed. "Was he acting weird before he disappeared?"
At this, Greg donned a thoughtful look before answering. "Actually, he was acting funny for the last few days that I saw him..."
FLASHBACK
Greg had been worried about his son. They had just got done watching Nora's tape, and Steven still looked just as anxious as when he brought the tape. Lion was especially tense, unlike his usual relaxed behavior, he was prowling back and forth in front of the van- like he was expecting something. "Hey Steven... is your Lion okay there?"
Looking up from the grass he had been staring at, Steven also noted Lion's odd behavior but honestly couldn't find it in himself to be too concerned. "He's probably just nervous cause I'm so tense."
"Yeah?" Greg looked at Steven. "You sure you're not disappointed about not having a great destiny or anything?"
"That's just it... I don't want one." Steven sighed. "My life has been spinning out of control for the past year, and looking back on it- I went from singing about Cookie Cats to potentially having to save the earth. I... I don't want to disappoint anyone, I just... don't know if I can handle it. I wish my life would go back to the time of Cookie Cats."
"I know what you mean, buddy." Greg rubbed his shoulder. "I wish we could go back in time when you were younger, and I didn't have to worry about you getting involved in Gem conflicts, but we can't. We have to accept how our lives are now, so we can get to where we want to in the future."
"Dad..." Steven whined.
"I'm serious. I worry about you all the time." Greg stated. "It's not that I think the Crystal Gems would let anything happen to you, it's just that you're my son... and I have to trust that you'll come back."
"Dad... I'm sorry, I had no idea you worried so much." Steven looked down in shame.
"Of course I do! I'm your dad!" Greg ruffled his hair. "But don't worry about worrying me or disappointing anyone, cause no one has anything they're expecting from you-"
"Even mom?" Steven interrupted.
"What?" Greg asked.
"Even mom?" Steven asked seriously. "Would she really not expect anything from me? Cause it feels like she left everything to me, and I have no idea how to fix it."
"Steven..." Greg frowned, shifting the boy onto his lap.
"Did she ever talk about what she wanted for me? What about being involved in Gem stuff? If she were alive, would she want me to fight alongside the Crystal Gems?!" Steven bombarded Greg with questions.
"Steven... you're mad at your mom, aren't you?" Greg asked sadly.
"I don't know... maybe. Does that make me a bad person?" Steven asked, tearing up. "She left me with so many problems, and hurt one of her own comrades... I just want to ask her why."
"I know what you mean Steven... I know." Greg couldn't help but shed a tear for his son, feeling guilty for the amount of turmoil Steven was feeling. "I wish I had the answers for you, buddy."
FLASH BACK END
"At the time, I just thought he was stressed out about the whole Homeworld situation but I guess I was wrong." Greg sighed.
"Wait... Steve went into Rose's room?" Pearl gasped. "And he conjured an image of her?!"
"That's what he told me. Is that bad?" Greg asked.
"It's bad because that probably confused him even more!" Pearl exclaimed. "That image he saw wasn't actually Rose, it was merely an interactive illusion that projected Rose! What if he ran away with this other human willingly?!"
"Hey Steven wouldn't do that!" Amethyst stated.
"We don't know what he would've done! Apparently, he was questioning his own existence and we didn't even know about it!" Pearl exclaimed.
"Guys!" Ruby suddenly spoke up. "It's Sapphire! She's waking up!" Squeezing her lover's hand, Ruby asked: "Sapphire? How are you feeling?"
Gritting her teeth, Sapphire managed to sit up and managed to steady herself with Ruby's help. Taking a breath, she found that her form was at least slightly more stable. "Steven... is with Lion... and someone else... another human."
"Another human?!" Pearl exclaimed. "Is it that other human Peridot described? The one with the 'portal gun'?!"
"No... it's a child..." Sapphire began gritting her teeth, and then was forced to shut her one eye and began shouting. "ONE EYE TRIANGLE! ONE EYE TRIANGLE!" Sapphire was suddenly rolling on the floor hysterically.
As Sapphire was screaming, Ruby squeezed her hand to try to partially fuse again to calm her. "Sapphire! Calm down! It's me! Come on, try to sync with me!"
As Ruby was desperately trying to calm her lover, the others were left even more perplexed than before. What did 'one eye triangle' mean?
/
Mabel had been wandering around the white space for who knows how long, and wasn't really getting anywhere. Not that she could tell what direction she was going. After she had wandered off from her bed, she found that the bed either disappeared or had vanished all together. She wondered if that pink lion had stolen it.
"Stupid Lion! Last time I trust a fully pink animal..." Mabel grumbled. "Who am I kidding, no it's not!" As Mabel continued walking, she noticed something up ahead- a giant pink woman. "Speaking of all pink things!" Running ahead, Mabel found that she was getting closer to the large pink woman and was able to fully take in her features. The woman had pinkish pale skin, wore a strapless white ball gown dress and had the biggest, pinkest curliest hair Mabel had ever seen.
Noticing that the woman's back was turned to her, Mabel cleared her throat and called out. "Hello! Miss! Lady! Miss Pink Lady! Turn around now! I need help, please! I'm lost in here, I don't know where I am, Waddles probably hasn't been fed cause my brother's horrible at taking care of him- so I really have to get out of here- please help me!" Mabel pleaded very fast. When the woman didn't turn around or make a sound, Mabel rose a brow. "Hello? Pink Lady?" Mabel went to pull on her dress, only to pass right through her.
Not expecting the person to be translucent, Mabel fell forward with an 'oopf' landing. "Ugh... what the...?" Mabel rubbed her head and came face to face with the pink lion from earlier. Only this time it was bearing its teeth right in her face, and seemed to be trying not to growl... or at the very least keep his voice down. Quickly flipping himself over onto her butt, Mabel backed up where the giant lady image used to be. "Uh... hey there Mr. Pink Lion. Easy there... I didn't know you were the pink lady... I don't know why you'd be a pink lady since your a guy lion, but we're all different and beautiful in our own way!"
The pink lion merely let a low growl before extending its claws and stalking forward. Mabel bit her lip and put her arms in front of her chest, not sure what else to do. She just remembered Dipper telling her to protect her vitals during a mauling, which apparently meant telling them bite your arms.
"Lion..." A sudden groggy voice interrupted the big cat, as it stopped and walked over to the voice. Mabel saw that it was the same boy from earlier riding the pink lion, who seemed to be about her age. Looking at him he seemed to have brown curly hair, wore flip flops, pink shirt with a star one it, and relaxed fitting jeans. Judging by his appearance, Mabel guessed he was from coastal area. Were they from the same state?
After petting the lion, the boy finally looked to see Mabel. "Oh hi... Lion didn't scare you did he? I promise that even though he has a big growl, he's no bite! Now aren't you Lion!" The boy cooed at his pet, to which the big cat huffed and walked away to curl up not far from him. Mabel could still feel the cat's eyes on her though.
Despite that, Mabel gave a smile. "No worries! Waddles, my pet pig- who's also pink- gets the same way with strangers!" Even giving a dismissive wave. "I'm Mabel Pines! What's your name?"
"Steven Universe!" After shaking hands, Steven looked around. "What is this place?"
"Ugh! I was hoping you could tell me that! Feels like I've been lost for hours!" Mabel groaned in exasperation. "Honestly, I've been trying to find you and your lion ever since I saw you earlier."
"What do you mean earlier?" Steven asked.
Mabel shrugged. "I don't know when this was exactly, my phone's battery completely died after one call." Mable showed the phone for emphasis. "But you were unconscious riding on your lion's back, and I don't know how much time passed."
"Seriously? Well, that should be no problem!" Steven smiled. "Lion and I will take you home!"
"Really?! That's be great! Thank you!" Mabel couldn't believe her luck, as she watched Steven coax his pet to stand and spoke to him, like Mabel spoke to Waddles. After the boy got on, Mabel followed suit and approached the big cat. Steven held out his hand, and the pink lion seemed to reluctantly accept his master's decision to trust her.
"So where you from?" Steven asked.
"Pidemont, California. You?" Mabel asked.
"Beach City, Delmarva. Cool! Have you ever been to our town?" Steven smiled.
Mabel frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so, no. Where is it?"
"On the best part of the East Coast! It's like the best combo of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia." Steven smiled. "Okay Lion! Take us home!"
Snorting, the pink Lion did as he was told and roared. Mabel bit her lip, having a bad feeling about this. The pink lion had already tried this once, and Mabel had a feeling that if the lion could leave, she wouldn't have met Steven.
"Oh yeah Steven, there was a giant pink woman with big curls standing over you while you were sleeping... who was she?"
/
Dipper was still slightly perplexed at the recent development. Not only did someone else remember Mabel, but she was the last person Dipper expected. Examining the first journal, Dipper couldn't help but let the warm feelings of nostalgia take over- he and Mabel had so many adventures in Gravity Falls and most of it was written down in this journal. He glanced up, noticing that Wendy, Robbie, and Tambry were talking with Soos, and that Ford and Stan were arguing about what to do next, along with Gideon and McGucket.
Noticing that Pacifica hadn't left yet, and was standing there awkwardly, Dipper went up to her and asked: "Did you find the other journals?"
The blond girl shook her head. "No. Like I said, that book and that old 'video tape', as those old guys called it, was the only thing I found with it."
"Do you know anyone named Nora?" Dipper asked. He honestly couldn't remember meeting anyone with that name in Gravity Falls.
"Nope." Pacifica shrugged and sighed. "Look. I just wanted to drop by and give you this stuff, cause I honestly don't want it anywhere near me." After a moment, she looked at Dipper and asked, "Is she really gone? No one remembers Mabel?"
Dipper hid his eyes, but nodded. "Yeah. Pacifica... I know you said you found the journal randomly, but please... tell me why you were really looking for it. I think it's safe to say that what's said here won't leave this cabin."
Pacifica didn't respond at first, but eventually answered. "When you got back into town, word quickly spread that you might of lost your mind or something from Weirdmaggeden. Some people said you were traumatized and were misremembering stuff, while others said you were just trying to solve another mystery in this place. When I asked through the grapevine this town is, they told me you thought you had a sister."
"...Which you found weird because... you remembered Mabel too." Dipper said with finality. "Robbie, Tambry, McGucket, and Gideon are the only other people besides me who remembers Mabel and we still don't know why. But out of all the people that could have possibly remembered Mabel, I never thought you'd be one of them." When Pacifica frowned, Dipper glared. "Hey, offense completely intended. You were nothing but mean to my sister and I since we met, and only towards the end you proved you were at least slightly human. And even in Weirdmagedden, you were reluctant towards us... so forgive me, if I'm wary about you now being added into the mix."
"...I know." Pacifica rubbed her arm. "I honestly don't know why I remembered her either. All I know is that I owed you and Mabel, so I thought maybe if I shifted through my parents stuff, I could find something that proved Mabel's existence. Your sister had all those craft projects and were in so many news articles, and she could've left something at that party my parents held- the one with all the angry ghosts."
"Yeah. I remember." Dipper nodded, and honestly had to admit it was a good idea. Mabel might've made a sign or contract with her friends about boys or something at the party, he recalled his sister was having some kind of issue with boys at the party- he couldn't remember. Mabel had way too many crushes to keep track of. "So you went through your parents stuff, thinking Mabel might've drawn on something important, and found the journal. Where'd you find it again?"
"In the closet- it was in the town documents about the true founder." Pacifica answered. "I honestly have no idea how it got there."
Nodding, Dipper sighed. "Well thanks."
"Yeah..." Rubbing her arm again, Pacifica sighed. "I'm gonna go. Um... look... you're right that I wasn't very cool with you and Mabel. But... if people forgot that I existed, I... don't know how I would deal with it. She's probably pretty scared... I hope you find her soon."
"Yeah. Thanks Pacifica." Dipper nodded. After the girl left, Dipper once again looked between the journal and VHS tape. He briefly wondered if Stan had a VHS player, or if Ford could play the media relic on a different machine.
"Hey squirt!" Dipper's attention turned to his Grunkle Stan. "Your Uncle Ford and I have been arguing back and forth on this, with me saying we should go for it and him saying he needs to 'go it alone'" Stan put air quotes up.
"For the last time! It's too dangerous!" Ford exclaimed.
"What's too dangerous?" Dipper frowned.
"Rick Sanchez." Ford answered seriously. "We need to find him, to figure just what the heck is going on! But this man is dangerous, and I'm the only one whose traveled extensively through the multiverse. It's unthinkable to bring anyone else with me, let alone my family!"
"And it's unthinkable to let my twin brother go through that gate thing again! What if you need back up?!" Stan argued.
"I survived well enough on my own in there before, this won't be any different." Ford answered.
"This is different! You're going after the guy who made Bill! Who knows what else he's got up his sleeve?!" Stan argued. "No Ford! If you're going, then I'm going too!"
"You don't know what this man is capable of!" Ford pointed out.
"And I've always done better in fights, you need me." Stand said. "Bedsides, if we have a grand niece, we should go get her."
"Seconded." Gideon spoke up. "I too, want to go meet this Sanchez individual and give him a stern talking to!"
"Hey human hamster!" Stan barked. "Didn't you hear the man?! This Rick guy doesn't respond to talking! Ford and I need to go in, with brass knuckles polished and laser guns charged!"
"Always going without thinking things through again, some things never change-"
"ENOUGH!" Dipper's yell silenced the whole cabin. The boy looked up at both his uncles, meeting them in the eye as best he could. "Grunkle Stan, Uncle Ford... I agree that we have to find this Rick guy, but if anyone's going- it's me."
Stan and Ford frowned, with the former replying, "Not gonna happen kid."
"I can fire up the portal myself, and you guys can choose whether or not to go with me." Dipper kept his gaze. "Guys, I know you mean well but... you don't even remember Mabel. How's she going to feel when you don't even recognize her?"
"Dipper-" Ford tried.
"No. Mabel and I have been through the most messed up things Gravity Falls had to offer, and even worse... Middle School. If she's trapped somewhere or too scared to move- then I have to be the one to bring her out of it." Dipper declared. "More than that... I need to know she's okay. We probably won't be able to stay connected through walkie-talkie, and waiting around is not gonna cut it. Mabel needs me, and I need her... more than anything right now."
Stan scratched the back of his head. "Kid..."
"I'm going guys. You can come with me, or not at all." Dipper said with finality, and turned to the McGucket. "Please Mr. McGucket... help me set up the portal?"
"Woah dude!" Wendy suddenly spoke up, and knelt down to him. "We get that you're scared, and I'd be demanding the same if I were you but... going it alone isn't the answer. For once, your Uncle's right."
"I have to share my sentiments, Dipper Pines." Gideon sighed. "As much as I would love to be the knight in shining armor to my princess, there is no way I would face the made man who made Bill alone!"
"Seriously." Tambry and Robbie quipped.
Rubbing his temple, Ford looked to McGucket. "What do you think Fiddleford?"
"I think going at all, is suicide for anyone here." McGucket said grimly.