Hey guys! The next chapter's here and things are starting to get interesting. To those who asked for more Rick: I promise he's coming, but he's probably not going to appear for the next few chapters or so. Don't get me wrong, I'm not minimizing him in any way- but it'll just be time for him to show. As for Morty, he'll definitly have a role in this fic but he won't be the first character they'll meet from that universe. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and feel free to leave a review to show your appreciation!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rick & Morty, Gravity Falls, or Steven Universe
Mabel didn't want to be rude to her traveling companion, but she never felt so much motion sickness in her life! The pink lion jumping through wormholes was starting to take a toll on her stomach, which made her realize that she hadn't used the bathroom or brushed her teeth since waking up. Thoughts of whether or not Steven had experienced the same things were short lived, as the lion once again grounded to a halt.
They had been traveling through wormholes for the past half hour, or what felt like half hour to Mabel, and were still in the same white blank space they started in. Whether or not they were in the same parts of the space or not was unknown to Mabel, but the lion's constant roars indicated the beast had the same frustrations. She also had to wonder if the lion ever got tired, or needed to eat or go to the bathroom like they did.
"Ah man!" She heard Steven say. "We're right back where he started!"
"How can you tell?" Mabel asked.
"I can't." Steven shrugged. "I'm just saying that to make myself feel better."
"Okay..." Mabel understood the sentiment. "Steven, do you know how long you've been here?"
"No." Steven shook his head. "I've been wandering around with Lion here looking for the way out, and then you found us when I was dreaming about my mom."
Now that got Mabel's attention. "Wait what?"
"Dreaming of my mom." Steven repeated. "It was the large pink woman you described standing over me. Rose Quartz! My awesome mom! The leader of the Crystal Gems... you know!"
"Steven, like I said before- I don't know who Rose Quartz or the Crystal Gems are. But before that- you said you were dreaming of your mom?" Mabel clarified.
"Yeah... I've been dreaming of her a lot lately." Steven looked away slightly.
"Hey, it's okay to dream of family! It means you love them!" Mabel reassured.
"Yeah..." Steven gave an uncertain smile and asked. "Why are you asking about my dreams anyway?"
"Well think about it..." Mabel was trying her hardest to remember everything she observed so far in this weird place, and desperately wished her brother was here. "We've been getting nowhere with this place just wandering around aimlessly, maybe we're supposed to think of the things we want or something?"
"Maybe..." Steven agreed. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Mabel smiled. "Yeah!"
"Bathroom Break!" Was their first order of business.
/
Lapis Lazuli was one annoyed gem, she thought she and Peridot were going to the armory or the kindergarten control room. However, the moment they landed at the late Rose Quartz weapons vault, Peridot changed course on her. "Lazuli... I want you to listen carefully. I know you won't like this but... we need to go to the Lunar Sea Spire."
"...What?" Lapis knew she couldn't have heard her housemate correctly. Peridot knew her feelings towards the water were still lukewarm at best, so the idea of diving down into the deep blue sea was unthinkable. Besides, Peridot was trying her best to be a good friend by Steven's standards, which made her request that much more illogical. "What are you talking about?"
Peridot looked apologetically at her and explained. "This vault.. it's probably not going to have anything of use. These weapons are powerful, but they're old gem tech that aren't applicable to our situation. We need materials and products related to engineering and travel. We'd most likely get more information from the Prime Kindergarten Control Room, and that's mainly due to the data of the earth's astronomical properties."
"Then let's go there instead of the ocean." Lapis stated bluntly.
"We will, but I don't think that will do much good either... unless..." Peridot suddenly got a thoughtful look. "Wait! That actually might be our answer!" Before Lapis could respond, Peridot grabbed her hand and got back on the Warp Pad. After typing in the coordinates, Lapis felt the familiar rush of teleportation and closed her eyes. When they opened, Lapis could not help but let a chill crawl up her arm. The kindergarten room was as depressing as the ones on Homeworld, even with out the advancements.
Without missing a beat, Peridot ran over to the control panel and began typing. The screen showed her going through different files, before finally finding what she was looking for. "I'll need to go up to the Moonbase to confirm this, but I think I may know what have triggered the memory loss and Sapphire's reaction."
"What?" Lapis was confused. She looked at the screen and only saw a bunch of equations, data spreads, as well as an image of rotating earth.
Peridot bit her lip and her eyes widened. "According to this data, the earth basically stopped turning the night Steven disappeared!"
"Excuse me?" Lapis couldn't believe that. "Wouldn't that cause the earth not have gravity or something?" She recalled Connie saying something along those lines.
"As I said, more accurate and descriptive data will be available at the Moonbase but... this database states that the earth's movements literally paused for a whole minute the night before Steven disappeared. This could lead to a number of catastrophic consequences, but instead Steven's missing and every human's memory has basically been altered." Peridot explained. "This could mean a number of things, but if my theory's correct... it would explain Sapphire's reaction."
"And that is?" Lapis was getting anxious.
"Sapphires are heavily prized for their clarity- they can see everything before the events unfold with accuracy. That accuracy exists because each world is governed by the law of time. It only moves forward, and produces concrete results regardless of what situation it applies to. This streamline effect is what allows Sapphires to mentally travel at a faster rate, and they determine the outcomes as they play out. However... if a universe were to diverge or become replaced with one of its alternate time-lines, essentially if one possibility replaced the one that happened as the Sapphire knew it, it could complicate matters significantly."
"So?" Lapis was confused. "Wouldn't Sapphire continue to have visions? Why is she in pain?"
"That's because the past in this world has changed so drastically. Scientifically speaking, the events of the past lead to the transgressions of the future. So when a Sapphire's vision of the future contradicts the past..." Peridot began.
"...Then her visions and experience contradict themselves." Lapis gasped in realization. "That's what you really think? That an alternative time-line somehow replaced the one we were in? How? How do we get it back?!"
Peridot waved her hands. "As I said- this is all theory, we need the data on the Moonbase to confirm this."
"Then we should go there!" Lapis stated.
"No. Even if my hypothesis is correct, we still don't know why this time-line where Steven doesn't exist became active, nor does it explain the presence of the unknown human in the Sapphires' visions. Even with my theory, there's still a strong possibility Steven was abducted and we need to take precautions against a single human, who clearly showed no fear of Diamond Matriarch." Peridot explained. "We need to be prepared."
Lapis sighed, seeing where this was going. "Why the ocean base...?"
"Because it's the only base that hasn't been thoroughly explored, which may contain a weapon or device that'll be helpful to us." Peridot explained sadly. "Lazuli... I know I am asking a lot for your assistance, but your skills are truly best suited for this. Please accompany me... for Steven." Peridot held out her hand.
After a moment, Lapis resigned herself to the fact that she had to go back down there and shook the hand. "For Steven."
/
Steven was relieved that Mabel pointed out the image of his mother- it would have been awkward for him to say that he already received help previously. As Mabel was brushing her teeth and freshening up in the bathroom they conjured, Steven couldn't help but admire the work he and Mabel created. With their imagination they created two rooms conjoined by that bathroom suiting both their interests- consisting of Cookie Cats, retro video games, two conjoining rooms, along with a fridge in a common room that met their every need. They even had a TV and phone!
Smiling, Steven sat on his bed next to Lion, who hadn't calmed down since they got here. Seriously! What was there to be afraid of! This place was like a safer version of his mom's room. Suddenly, Lion jerked his head up and growled deeply- signaling Steven who was coming.
In a bright flash, a one dimensional triangle with one eye, simple cartoon arms and legs, and a top hat appeared above him. Steven smiled brightly. "Bill!"
The triangle winked at him and tipped his hat. "How's it going Steven?!" He asked excitedly. "You were thinking about your mom again, and I just wanted to check in to make sure you won't too lonely!"
"No. I'm fine. You brought a friend as promised. And I didn't tell them about you, as promised." Steven laughed a little. "Though she hasn't heard of the Crytal Gems, and talks a lot about this place called Gravity Falls, she seems like a fun person. Though it's weird, she says she's never heard of Beach City or Delmarva, which is strange since we stick out on a map. We're going to visit each other sometime! You should meet Mabel, she's really nice! I don't know how you can be so shy around new people. You were pretty friendly around me."
"Yes, yes... typical crossover stuff." Bill waved his hand, and completely ignored Steven's questions.. "But you still don't seem happy."
"Well... it's just that... when I asked for friends... I was hoping you'd bring someone I actually know. Like my dad, or Connie... or anyone from Beach City." Steven answered nervously.
"You can always make new friends!" Bill answered. "Besides! I thought your friends were lameos, who didn't understand you!"
"Well maybe... but still. It feels like I haven't seen them in awhile, and I'm getting lonely." Steven sighed. "It's cold that I can make this place fund and all, but I'm getting worried about the others are home. Bill... when do I get to meet my mom?"
Bill chuckled. "When I'm ready to make a deal, kid."
/
As long as Peridot promised to not let go of her hand, and Steven would buy her a really comfy bed to sleep in after this, Lapis knew she would be fine. She was practically crushing the other gem's hand, but Peridot barely noticed as they explored the dark ruins. They had already entered the coliseum, and were exploring the different lecture halls that were previously used by Homeworld elite.
"Bismuths really do nice work." Peridot commented as she walked through the halls. "What do you think Lazuli?"
"I don't care. I just want to leave." Lapis said honestly.
"Understood. I'm working on it." Peridot sighed. "I'm going to go towards the quantum mechanics hall. There's most likely a lab with old transportation experiment modules."
As the gems continued walking, something caught Lapis' eye. They were currently circling the courtyard again, which is where Lapis found a suspicious looking item in front of the fountain. It seemed to be one of those weird paper relics Steven called books- it seemed to be in bad shape. The brown binding was in tethers, with the pages being an odd tinge of yellow. Lapis was so distracted by the book, she let got of Peridot's hand to get a closer look.
"Lazuli?" Peridot asked perplexed. "What's wrong?"
Lapis ignored her and picked up the book. One the cover was a human palm print but it had six fingers instead of five. The palm also contained the number two, indicating it was a volume in a series of some kind. "Hey Peridot. Come look at this." Lapis opened the book, and was surprised to see it was in human language. Showing it to her friend, she continued: "This book is written in human language. Other than Steven, have any other humans been down here?"
Looking through the pages, Peridot was just as confused. "No. At these depths, no human could handle the pressure of the water's depth. In addition, this book is old but there appears to be no water damage. Impossible!"
Lapis' eyes widened. "You think it was that other human?! Do you think he stole some gem tech, and kidnapped Steven to show him how it works?"
"It's plausible..." Peridot couldn't help but agree with the logic. As she continued to look through it, Peridot found herself getting increasingly perplexed. This book seemed to be an archaic database, consisting of organic species she had yet to encounter on earth. "Strange though... these notes don't contain any data on Steven of the Crystal Gems."
"Maybe that guy dropped it." Lapis shrugged.
"Perhaps. But why leave it next to the fountain?" Peridot was confused. "It's like he wanted us to find him..." Lapis and Peridot gained worried expressions and faced each other. "Lazuli... that human didn't abduct Steven to demonstrate the gem tech."
"He kidnapped him, to make the Crystal Gems show him how it works." Lazuli finished. "We need to find Steven! Now!"
"We don't know where he is!" Peridot exclaimed. "We're down here, searching for any technology that may help us find him!"
Lapis grabbed the book and looked through it again. "This book keeps mentioning these creatures are in this place called 'Gravity Falls. Steven has to be there!"
"We don't know for sure, but it's the only lead we have!" Taking her hand again, Peridot said: "We need to tell the others of your hypothesis! Gravity Falls, here we come!"
/
Dipper continued to stare at the VHS tape as he and the others waited for McGucket, Stan and Ford to set up the dimensional gateway. Even though there was a risk that his great uncles could leave without him, Dipper was fairly certain they wouldn't. Everyone in the cabin knew he was right when he said that Mabel needed him, and that they couldn't rescue her without him. Not to mention, he was still fairly certain that his uncles doubted Mabel's existence and would need him to verify who she was.
"Hey dude." Dipper looked up from the VHS tape, to see Wendy looking down at him fondly. "How are you doing?"
"How do you think I'm doing?" Dipper looked away from her. "My sister's been kidnapped by an interdimmensional mad scientist, and I had to involve my least favorite Gravity Falls residents to prove her existence."
"I know dude, it's rough." Wendy nodded. "I can't imagine going through this if it were one of my brothers. Or my dad..." Looking at the Robbie, Tambry, and Gideon, Wendy sighed. "Mabel didn't get along with those guys huh?"
"Or Pacifica." Dipper answered. "Gideon's always been obsessed her, she helped Robbie get set up with Tambry, and she never really interacted with Tambry other than setting her up with Rob-" The boy suddenly got a look of realization.
"What is it?" Wendy asked.
"I know why they remember Mabel!" Dipper exclaimed. "Each of them had direct interaction with the supernatural!"
"What do you mean?" Wendy rose a brow. "Gideon, I get- I mean, he made that deal with Bill- but Robbie and Tambry? How?"
Dipper bit his lip and sighed. "Uh... don't get mad, but during the Woodstick music festival, when you guys were fighting over the Robbie-Tambry thing, Mabel and I sprayed Robbie and Tambry with love potions. Or well, we sprayed them before the festival and we thought we had to break them up after you and your other friends started fighting, which led to us stealing potions from the Love God." Dipper said the last part quickly.
"Wait. That was you two?" Wendy said in realization. "No wonder I don't remember how they got together! Because without Mabel, that wouldn't have happened."
"Exactly." Dipper nodded. "Gideon has been exposed to the supernatural so much that he probably was immune to whatever this Sanchez guy did to the universe."
"And McGucket?" Wendy asked.
"I don't know. I'm guessing it's the same as with Gideon, but... I don't think Mabel greatly affected him in any way. Not to mention, if it was purely due to exposure, then Grunkle Stan and Ford would've remembered her too." Dipper sighed. "But at least part of the mystery's solved."
After a moment of silence, Wendy took notice of the VHS in Dipper's hand. "You wanna watch it?"
"The tape?" Dipper held up the item. "I'd love to, but I fell like I'd be invading somebody's privacy."
"Dude. You should anyways, it might contain a clue about Mabel." Wendy pointed out.
Dipper bit his lip and had to agree with the redhead. Dipper had been curious about the tape since Pacifica gave it to him, and he hadn't the slightest idea of why it might have been found with the book. And really... at this point, any hints would be helpful. "Let's get the others and watch a movie I guess."
In under five minutes, Dipper and Wendy had everyone gathered in the living room. Soos quickly setup the VHS player, and asked Dipper to hand over the tape. "Okay dudes. This may take a few minutes. You have to rewind these things, to make sure you don't miss anything."
"Ugh! What a lame way to watch a movie!" Robbie complained.
"Seriously." Tambry rolled her eyes. "Just use the DVR remote to skip to the good parts."
"Videotapes aren't compatible with that technology you twit! It's too old!" Gideon huffed. "Are we sure watching this tape, will lead us to Mabel?"
"I don't know. But we're about to find out." Dipper sighed, and looked up when he felt someone rubbing his head again.
"It'll be okay, dude." Wendy smiled gently.
Nodding, Dipper gulped and braced himself for whatever was on that video. And could only grip the seat handles when Soos pushed play.
/
Mabel was feeling uneasy about Steven at this point- not only did he seem unbothered by their situation, he seemed to be completely ignoring how stressed out his lion was. As she was playing retro video games with him, particularly a ninja fighting game, Mabel noticed that he seemed just as relaxed as he would have been at home. While Mabel was far from uncomfortable, she still felt a strong sense of urgency to escape. Not to mention, everything about this space was eerily familiar. The environment seemed self sufficient, the space also seemed to be in-tune with their every physical need. The space had generated chips and soda, along with cookie cats to satisfy their snack craving.
As the match ended, Mabel spoke, "Hey Steven?"
"Yeah Mabel?" He asked without looking at her.
"Do you really not know how long you've been here?" Mabel inquired.
"No. Why would I? There's no way to tell time in here." Steven pointed out.
"Yeah, but aren't you worried? Clearly enough time has passed for breakfast to get digested." Mabel referred to the bathroom. "Besides, our friends and family are probably waiting for us."
Steven seemed to stiffen at the question. "I'm sure we haven't been gone long."
"Well I'm not." Mabel paused the game. "Steven. I went to bed in my own room, with my pet pig, after saying goodbye to my brother and parents. And I wake up and I'm suddenly here. This place isn't normal Steven, weren't you taken from your family?"
Steven sighed. "Yeah. I went to bed in my home, with my pet lion, after saying good night to the Crystal Gems and my dad. I was surprised when I woke up here, but nothing bad has happened here and our needs seem to be taken care of."
"And you're not the least bit worried?" Mabel rose a bow.
"Whatever brought us here probably doesn't mean any harm." Steven reassured. "Trust me! I've been kidnapped a time or two by desperate gems, and it's always been a misunderstanding. Whoever brought us here is probably just lonely, and when they show up we'll just explain we have to go."
"I've been kidnapped in Gravity Falls." Mabel's frown deepened. "Trust me... none of those were misunderstandings- they were just out to hurt me and my family. If you're right about this, then this person would've shown themselves already. We need to find a way out of here!"
"Calm down Mabel. We will, let's put our heads together to find the host of this find party!" Steven nudged her while smiling and squealing.
"Ugh. Dipper's right... my over-enthusiasm is annoying." Mabel rolled her eyes. Not that she would ever change her love of cute boys or unicorns! "Steven, be serious! We could be in serious danger!"
"Heh! Lion and I a proud member of the Crystal Gems! No danger's too great for Steven Universe!" Steven proclaimed proudly, while petting Lion.
"Well I still don't know who the Crystal Gems are, but my brother and I have survived encounters with all sorts of supernatural and sci-fi stuff! But that doesn't mean that we'd be comfortable in a life-size version of Candy Land! And that's a place where you can eat your fears!" Mabel exclaimed.
"Wait... you've never heard of the Crystal Gems?" Steven asked.
"No, for the fourth time. Are they like a girl group or something?" Mabel asked. "You've mentioned them several times, so I assumed they were famous or something."
"Well we do sing sometimes, but no... the Crystal Gems are members of an alien race, called Gems, that tried to colonize earth but were stopped by my mom- Rose Quartz- who started the Gem War, and formed the Crystal Gems to stop Homeworld from destroying the earth." Steven smiled.
Mabel was speechless. "Ok... you're going to have to start from the top, cause I didn't get any of that. And I don't think the Crystal Gems were ever mentioned in the Journals- were they ever in Gravity Falls, Oregon?"
"No... we haven't been to the West Coast yet." Steven shook his head. "Gravity Falls you said was the name? I thought you were said you were from California?"
"I am. But all the supernatural stuff happened to me in Gravity Falls." Mabel explained. "We had 90 days of summer adventures, and fighting magic stuff! Big Foot! Unicorns, who are complete jerks! And evil obsessive video games, which do not replace girlfriend companionship under any circumstances! Anyways, there was this huge conspiracy involving our uncles and different worlds, and-"
"Uh... maybe you should you start from the beginning." Steven suggested.
"Yeah... who wants to go first?" Mabel asked.
"I guess, I'll go..." Steven gave an uncomfortable chuckle.
/
After watching the video tape, Dipper was more confused than before. The video featured to young parents – a guy with a REALLY long mullet playing an electric guitar and a pinkish woman with huge curls. From what it sounded like, the woman was having a daughter named Nora and most likely wouldn't survive the birth. Based on the pinkish tint of the woman's skin and hair, it was possible she was suffering from a terminal illness.
As sad as the video was, Dipper was still confused about how it was connected to the journals. Was it just a coincidence? Also, the setting of the tape bugged Dipper too. It looked like a very nice beach in California, maybe somewhere on the East Coast- nothing like the cold, windy, and rarely sunny beaches of the Oregon coast. If the tape was shot in somewhere other than Gravity Falls, or Oregon in general, then that added another layer of mystery to their situation. As discovered in Weirdmaggeden, none of the supernatural stuff could happen outside Gravity Falls.
So if this tape was connected to the journals- how was it? Other than the pinkish color of the woman, there was nothing on that tape that suggested anything supernatural. Was it just a coincidence that it was found with the journals? If so, why did Pacifica not recognize it? The couple on the VHS tape was WAY too nice to be related to the Northwesterns.
"That was beautiful!" Robbie sniffled. He, Gideon, and Soos were tearing up like crazy.
"Life is so beautiful!" Soos cried in agreement.
"I know! I hope Mabel and I have the chance to make a tape like this!" Gideon cried. "Bless that pink mama and that mullet-loving daddy! Little Miss Nora must have the best parents in the world!"
As the others were crying, Dipper awkwardly stepped away and looked at Wendy and Tambry. "Is it normal to be weirded out like this?"
"In this case dude, totally." Wendy nodded.
"Yeah..." Tambry affirmed. "It was a cool thing for the parents to do. We should give the tape back to this Nora-chick."
"Pacifica said she didn't recognize the name though." Dipper pointed out.
"Is there anything in the Journal that would explain it?" Wendy asked.
"No... except..." Dipper sighed. "I know there are various passages that refer to multidimensional travel in the journals, but I think it's talked about most in the second or third volume."
"Where are they now?" Wendy asked.
"I threw them down the Bottomless Pit, which means they could have ended up anywhere." Dipper explained. "It's possible this VHS tape was thrown into the pit too and just landed in the same place as the journal in Pacifica's closet. Maybe we're putting too much stock into the tape."
"No dude!" Soos suddenly spoke up. "I'm not the smartest guy here, but if it's one thing you little dudes taught me- it's that nothing associated with those books is a co-inci-dence."
"Soos is right." Wendy nodded. "We don't have much to go on, so let's just assume the tape and journal are connected with your sister's disappearance."
"You're right." Dipper nodded. "Besides... if anyone can explain the connection, its this Rick Sanchez guy."
"Yes... I cannot wait to rescue my princess and slay that dragon!" Gideon proclaimed.
"Ugh! Too much cliché is nauseating!" Robbie complained.
"Seriously." Both Tambry and Wendy said.
"Especially when it's about my sister." Dipper finished.
Everyone laughed at the boy's discomfort as Soos handed the tape back to him. For the first time since Mabel's disappearance, he felt as though he would find her. The sudden opening of the vending machine door got everyone's attention, with McGucket coming out. "It's ready."