Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews from last week, glad you guys are excited. As I said before though, the end of the story is at least a dozen chapters off or so. I don't know for sure, but the story does not end with Bill.

As for the questions you guys had about Rick, it'll be explained in this chapter how he knew they'd come back, but honestly- it's Rick Sanchez. Other than timetravel, there pretty much isn't anything he doesn't know. Also, when he made the device for Ford, he had a good idea of the spaces collapsing before they left. And no, Steven is most definitely not dead.

So with that, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to leave a review for comments and questions. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, or Rick and Morty

Bismuth stared at her former leader with a mix of emotions, primary that of contempt and disgust. "Long time no see, Rose Quartz."

Rose Quartz looked at Bismuth, then at the human girl in her arms. "Bismuth?! What's going on?! Who is that human child?!" Distinct shattering could be heard as the shaking became more violent. Both gems buckled their knees, to brace themselves for any other activity.

"I don't know the whole situation! All I know is that your son made a bad deal with something, and that this human girl may be the only way to get him back!" Bismuth answered honestly.

Meanwhile, Mabel was faintly regaining her barrings and blinked until she could see straight again. "Ugh... remind me to stay out of lightning storms from now on..." Then Mabel noticed the pink gem. "It's you! The woman that was projected from Steven's dream! You're his mom right?!"

"Yes, and I need you to tell me everything about our current situation! What happened to Steven?! What deal did he make?!" Rose stressed.

"I don't know... he said that he was overwhelmed and that Bill promised that he could meet you in exchange for being his friend or something." Mabel explained. "I'm sorry! I tried to stop him! I did!"

"I believe you..." Rose Quartz trailed off awkwardly when she realized she didn't even know the human's name.

"Mabel! Mabel Pines! And we really should find a way out of here!" Mabel answered, taking note of their collapsing environment.

'MABEL! MABEL!'

The girl's head perked up, hearing her brother's voice. "DIPPER! DIPPER! I'M HERE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Mabel's sudden outburst caused Bismuth to drop her.

"What is your problem, human girl?" Bismuth rose a brow.

"Sorry! I hear my brother's voice! He's close! I can feel it!" Mabel didn't know if it was some twin-psychic connection thing or something, but she KNEW her brother was near. "Don't you guys hear it?!"

The two gems were more concerned about staying alive, rather than focusing their hearing but Rose Quartz managed to respond. "I'm sorry! I can't hear anything with this interference! We need to get out of here! This area is collapsing!"

/

Dipper and the others were bracing themselves for the worst, with the only thing keeping them alive being the space disruptor Ford had. Currently the man was typing in some coordinates, probably anywhere but here. But Dipper wasn't ready to give up. They had come this far, and that device Sanchez gave them said Mabel and Steven were near.

So without thinking, Dipper suddenly started shouting. "MABEL! MABEL! IT'S DIPPER! IF YOU'RE THERE, SAY SOMETHING!"

"Dipper! What are you doing, kid?!" Stan shouted.

"Mabel's here! I can feel it!" Dipper replied. "We can't just leave her and Steven here!"

"Kid! I know how hard this is for you, but Mabel isn't here! Look around!" Stan indicated around himself.

"Besides! It's too dangerous to stay here!" Lapis shouted. "If Steven and Mabel were here, they aren't here now!"

"No! They have to be! Ford! You said that Rick was a maniac, but that his inventions never fail right?!" Dipper demanded.

"Yes, but Dipper-" Ford tried to to argue.

"Then no buts!" Amethyst suddenly shouted. "We're not leaving without Steven and Mabel! Believe that!"

Ford bit his lip and looked at Garnet and Pearl. "What about you two? What do you think?"

"If Steven's here, we're not leaving." Pearl stated firmly, and looked at Garnet expecting a similar response.

But Garnet bore a deep frown, and was silent. "I... don't see Steven."

"What?!" Pearl exclaimed.

"I don't see Steven! I just see Mabel... with two other figures. They look familiar, but Sapphire can't distinguish the shapes." Garnet explained.

"No..." Dipper whispered. "He's got to be there, with Mabel! Sapphire's vision said so, right?!"

"In the state we're in and the unpredictable nature of our situation, Sapphire's visions aren't clear." Garnet replied. "But Dipper... you're certain Mabel's here?"

"Yes! I know it!" Dipper stated firmly.

"Hmmm... Peridot!" Garnet got the little green gem's attention. "Can you read the data on Ford's device?"

"Yes- there's definitely another void space collapsing near us, and that might actually be a good thing!" Peridot explained.

"How is that a good thing?! Didn't you say we were going to die in here?!" Lapis demanded.

"Yes, but remember what I said about the same charges being repulsed by each other! If we head towards the edge of the space where the other is, we might survive the impact of the Big Rip!" Peridot explained.

"What is the Big Rip, anyways?! Is it the universe passing gas or something?!" Stan asked.

"If that is a humor-based analogy, I don't recognize it, but essentially these two spaces are collapsing because of the surrounding universe reaching the end of its life-cycle. The matter becomes so deteriorated that it can no longer sustain all the energy!" Peridot explained.

"Resulting in collapse of the universe' personal reality!" Pearl finished. "We have to find them and get out!"

"I'm working on it!" Ford yelled and concentrated. "If we follow Peridot's idea, we need to head right! Everyone gather round! I can get us there, using Ricks' invention!"

"DO IT!" Pearl yelled.

/

"Can't say I'm happy to see you, Rose Quartz!" Bismuth said, while dodging what looked like glass. Reality was literally shattering around them, and that weird triangle thing left them there to die!

"Likewise Bismuth!" Rose said, punching a shard that came here way. "But let us save the unpleasentries for later!"

"Seriously!" Mabel said between them. "You guys can fight later, we need to get of here and find my brother!"

"Working on it!" Bismuth morphed her arms into hammers, and kept cracking the shards.

Rose Quartz was doing the same, preventing a piece from falling Mabel's head. They were doing well for now, but Rose knew it was only a matter of time before they were enclosed in this dying universe. She had tried to call Lion already, but the cat was completely unresponsive.

Suddenly, a distinctive whooshing sound was heard above them! They all looked up, and saw a new vortex had formed. Seeing their chance, Rose Quartz grabbed Mabel and jumped up towards the portal with Bismuth following. They were in conflict still, but Rose knew Bismuth would fight alongside her until they were in safe territory again. They had no idea how this portal formed or whatever it was going, but they knew they wouldn't have another chance.

All of the sudden, Rose Quartz, Bismuth, and Mabel saw a bunch of figures approaching them! They must have been the creatures that had opened the portal, but Rose and Bismuth were prepared to force themselves if they had to.

Meanwhile, Mabel squinted her eyes and smiled. "DIPPER! Guys it's my brother! And my uncles!"

"What?" Rose and Bismuth looked down at her at the same time, and collided into the other group with a sudden OOMPH!

The entire group then suddenly dropped down in the vortex, with Ford quickly using Rick's device and his space disruptor to make another portal. They shouted as they fell to parts unknown.

/

Rick was still tinkering in his lab, getting as plastered as possible for the upcoming situation that he knew was ultimately going to fall into his lap. Too bad he couldn't personify it, to give him a blow job. On cue, he heard a familiar beeping and got up to move his current project from the center of the garage, to a safer compartment.

The old fashioned portal ring appeared, and the group unceremoniously dropped to the floor and took up entire lab space. Rolling his eyes, he called: "Morty! I need your ass in here, to be filled in on the upcoming adventure or (burp!) whatever!"

"Coming!" His grandson arrived in the garage and looked at the group on the floor. "Previous group found group they were looking for?"

"Kind of." Rick shrugged and took another swig. "They got a giant pink woman who holds all the answers to everything, who for whatever reason, decided not to leave behind any care instructions for the first human-gem hybrid."

At this, Rose Quartz stood up and came face to face with a human male she did not recognize. Based on his gray hair, he seemed to be at an older age compared to Greg. "Are you speaking about me?"

Rolling his eyes, Rick answered. "Who else?"

"Rick!" Ford coughed as he stood up from the pile, as the others were dusting themselves off. "How?! We didn't mean-"

"To end up here again? I know!" Rick groaned in frustration. "That homing device is designed to return to base if the battery's running low."

Dipper looked at the handheld metal detector in Ford's hand, and noted that the battery was indeed running low. He then looked at the old man. "You knew we were coming back here..."

"Duh! I'm the fucking badass inventor who can Dr. Who any fucking place! Who has a major hoarding issue for some reason..." Rick shrugged. "Seriously, I have boxes of old shit that exist for the sake of rusting or just become randomly relevant for one episode."

Before Dipper could respond, a voice got his attention. "Dipper!" The boy whirled around and then tackled the person in question in a hug. "You have no idea, how happy I am to see you!"

"I can guess." Dipper laughed as he hugged his sister back. He stepped back and looked at her. "Are you okay?! What happened Mabel?!"

"I'm fine, but Bill-" Mabel was cut off when she was suddenly hoisted up by Stan.

"Mabel! Thank goodness you're okay!" Stan hugged her tightly. "Where is that one-eyed demon?! I'll punch him into oblivion!"

Smiling, she hugged the old man back. "Great to see you too Grunkle Stan! You too Uncle Ford!"

Ford smiled and also gave the girl a hug. "I'm sorry we took so long to find you."

"It's fine! Steven and I couldn't tell how much time had passed anyways!" Mabel hugged back and then gasped. "Oh my gosh! Steven! Guys Bill's back and I don't know what he's planning, but-"

"STEVEN!" Mabel was suddenly yanked out of Stan's grasp and was looking straight at the wide eyes of Pearl. "Where is Steven?! What is going on?! How is Rose Quartz here?!"

"I..." Mabel looked at the woman in confusion, and then noticed the gem on her forehead. "Are you one of the Crystal Gems? Steven told me about you guys!"

"Yes." A tall red woman put a hand on Pearl, to calm her down. "I am Garnet, this is Pearl, and that is Amethyst." Pointing at the short purple gem, whose jaw was dropped at Bismuth and Rose Quartz. Two others were doing the same, wit the short green one just staring in awe while the blue one seemed to be hiding and looked very angry. "Those are Lapis and Peridot... and those two who you've met are... Bismuth and-"

"Rose Quartz." Amethyst finished. "Is that really you?!" She couldn't believe it! Her beloved leader was in front of her again, but how?!

Rose Quartz looked down at her old comrade sadly and nodded. "Yes Amethyst... it's me." She then looked to Mabel, Garnet, and Pearl. "I'm not entirely sure what's going on either."

Pearl finally turned to acknowledge the pink woman and Bismuth. "You expect me to believe that is Rose Quartz?! After everything we've been through, you expect me to believe that Rose Quartz is back?! Why are you doing this to us, Rick Sanchez?!"

"Me?! I didn't have anything to do with this shit! And if you want proof that this is your Rose Quartz and not some clone or parallel universe shit, I can prove it right now!" Rick yelled. "Seriously! I can use any scanner in here-"

"It's her." Bismuth finally spoke up. "I'm not sure of what's going on either, but this Rose Quartz- I saw Steven's form change into her. That triangle thing shot Steven with a lightning bolt, then there was a flash of light and now... Rose Quartz is here."

"Astounding..." Peridot muttered. "This is the instigator of the Gem Rebellion! I must say- you caused quite a bit of trouble for Earth though. Not to mention, incurring the wrath of the Diamonds."

Rose Quartz looked at Peridot in surprise. "I'm sorry... I don't believe we met."

"Yes. I'm Peridot, defector of Homeworld and now a proud member of the Crystal Gems. I am one of the collaborators responsible for getting us here." Peridot bragged.

"I see... thank you for your contribution." Rose Quartz smiled awkwardly but frowned when she saw the blue gem trembling behind Peridot. "Who is this?"

"Lapis Lazuli." She muttered. "You and the Crystal Gems trapped me in a mirror."

Rose Quartz paled in realization, and quickly glanced at Bismuth who bore a neutral expression. Turning back to the blue with gem with a look of horror she spoke: "I'm so sorry-"

Lapis put out her hand with a harsh glare. "Save it. I'm here for Steven, not you, so tell us how to get him back!"

"That's a good question." Garnet spoke quietly. "Is that really you Rose Quartz... or are you something else?"

Shaking her head with a sigh, Rose answered. "No... it really is me Garnet. I'm not an imposter or illusion constructed by Steven- it's truly me."

"How?" Garnet asked.

"Again- I'm not sure." Rose sighed and looked at her comrades with an uneasy smile. "I only saw Steven for a brief moment inside our gem." Rose rubbed her stomach carefully. "He was talking to me about the pressure he's under, and how... I left him with all of the consequences of the Gem War. He said he was afraid of his destiny- the destiny I placed upon him!"

"You did." Lapis said bluntly.

"Yes... and it seems that the pressure became too much." Rose said sadly. "It's my fault... I should've left written instructions or notes for Steven to let him know he wasn't alone-"

"So it really is you." Pearl interrupted. After a moment of silence, she fell to her knees and tears were falling down. "Rose Quartz... out of all the circumstances to reappear- why now?!"

"Pearl..." Rose sighed sadly.

"No! Why didn't you come back when Steven was a baby?! When he didn't know him?! When we didn't love him?! Why would you make us choose between you two?!" Pearl shouted. "I want to be happy you're here... I do! But we came all this way, put up with THAT man-" She pointed to Rick, who was currently drinking his ass off while Morty watched eating popcorn. "To save Steven! So why... why would you choose to come back now?!"

"I didn't choose to comeback! Steven somehow did this!" Rose exclaimed, also crying. "I want to be happy too Pearl... but not with Steven trapped inside the gem!"

"Wait! What do you mean trapped?" Amethyst asked.

"As you all know, when gems lose their physical form they reassemble themselves inside their gem- that's essentially what Steven did when he conjured me. I'm not sure if he's still in there, but if I was... it's a safe assumption." Rose said hopefully.

"How exactly did that happen?" Garnet frowned, looking at Bismuth suspiciously. "What would have made Steven lose his physical form?"

"Why are you looking at me?" Bismuth glared back.

"You did nearly kill Steven in a volcano." Amethyst pointed out. "Not cool man."

"What?" Rose Quartz growled.

"I thought he was you- you're the one I've got issues with Rose Quartz." Bismuth scoffed. "Like I said- some giant triangle thing with one eye shot a lightning bolt at Steven and the next thing I know- you're back!"

"And you expect us to believe that?" Garnet asked.

"You should Garnet! I would never lie to you guys about something like this! I'm sorry for how things panned out last time we met but I'm telling the truth! That did happen!" Bismuth exclaimed and pointed to Mabel. "Ask that little human! She saw it all, and she knows more about this triangle-thing than either of us!"

"It's true! Bismuth's not lying!" Mabel exclaimed. "I was arguing about Bill with Steven the whole time! And when Bill appeared, he made Steven float in front of him and shot him an eyebeam or something!"

"Are you sure Mabel?" Ford asked.

"Duh! It's not the first time I've met Bill, and he's pretty hard to forget!" Mabel insisted. "Steven made some sort of deal with Bill to get himself off of Earth, or his Earth or something, in exchange for something."

"So he made a deal with Bill?!" Dipper asked in concern.

"Yeah." Mabel nodded grimly. "And from what I heard, more than one of them."

"Didn't you warn him about what would happen?" Dipper asked.

"Of course I did! But that didn't stop him! In fact, Steven seemed to be completely ignoring me." Mabel sighed and turned to Rose Quartz. "He was upset about this place called Homeworld invading Earth, and he thought he placed some sort of destiny on him or something."

"He said that to you too?" Rose quartz asked confused.

"Yeah. He thought it was his destiny to finish the Gem Rebellion, since you died before the threat was actually gone." Mabel explained. "He also said that he was getting overwhelmed by all the new stuff he was learning about you. He couldn't take it anymore, and decided to leave your world with Bill."

"Mabel...? What else did Steven talk to you about?" Rose Quartz asked hesitantly.

"Lots of stuff, like Homeworld invaders, the Diamond Matriarch, how he found that you shattered Pink Diamond-" Mabel answered.

"He learned about Pink Diamond?" She sent Pearl a questioning look, who turned away. She frowned in understanding- Pink Diamond was tragedy neither of them wanted to remember. "That is troubling..."

"He knows that she was shattered, he doesn't know anything else about how the Gem War was ignited." Pearl answered tersely.

"I see... Mabel, you know much about this Bill character right?" Rose Quartz turned back to the girl. "How did he find my son? What does he want with him?"

Before Mabel could answer, a loud belch could be heard. "GOD! Finally, I can tag in!" Rick boasted. "While you guys were talking bout things fans could probably write in themselves during a chapter break, I actually figured out what that mother-fucker's after."

"And why would we believe you?" Bismuth asked.

"Cause that stupid shit's not gonna know. She and those other Gravity Falls people faced Bill in a climatic fight that was supposed to involve some awesome Zodiac shit that never happened- but they don't know anything about him." Rick snorted.

"And you would know, cause you made him?" Dipper glared.

"Duh! It's pretty (burp!) fucking obvious actually." Rick took another swig. "He didn't want this Steven kid- other than his hybrid novelty, there's nothing special about him. He wanted the kid's pet."

"Pet?" Lapis frowned.

"Oh my gosh! Lion! He's missing!" Mabel exclaimed. "Where is he?!"

"Probably in Bill's testicle sacks." Rick shrugged.

"Be serious! Lion is a vital part of my son's life! What did this Bill do with him?!" Rose Quratz exclaimed.

"I am serious. Bill wasn't interested in taking your kid, he knew that taking your dumbass son was the only way to lure out that sentient portal generator you made." Rick explained. "Really, Bill didn't have to do a lot to get your son to be his victim- that dumbass did everything Bill said."

Before any of the Crystal Gems could react, Dipper spoke up. "Wait. I don't get it. If Bill was after Steven's pet the whole time, why kidnap Mabel?"

"Don't know. Bill's also a dumbass who wanted revenge and got ahead of himself." Rick shrugged.

"Why would Bill need Lion?" Garnet spoke.

"What part about sentient portal, do you idiots not get?!" Rick rolled his eyes. "As Bill is now, he can't do shit without an external portal lying around. He can make as many wet dreams he wants to, but he can't get into any universe's reality without help."

"So that means... Bill was trapped near Steven's universe?" Ford clarified.

"Obviously." Rick said.

"But Bill initially invaded Gravity Falls?" Amethyst asked.

"Yep." Rick confirmed.

"So... how'd he get there?" Dipper asked.

At this, Rick didn't answer and just turned away to his work desk- and seemed to be pretending to work on something.

Morty frowned, "Rick?"

"I'm busy here, Morty!" The old man sneered.

"Rick! If you don't know, you don't have to be such an asshole!" The boy complained.

"Fuck you Morty!" Rick growled.

Rolling his eyes, Morty turned to address the others. "What my asshole grandpa is trying to say is that Bill was after the magic pink lion to escape whatever weird space he was trapped in, and now that he convinced Steven to give up ownership- he's probably heading to that Gravity Falls place."

"WHAT?!" The Pines family exclaimed.

"Yeah, you guys should probably get going." Morty rubbed his arm awkwardly. "He's going go beastmode on that place!"

"Yeah! Meanwhile, we've got real shit to get ready for." Rick said. "Morty- you get all the stuff?"

"Yes Rick. It wasn't easy with all your crap lying around, but yes I found the right box." Morty groaned in exasperation.

"Hey! The fact that I hoard, shows I severe emotional attachment issues! Or something- I don't' know, I just took that psychology class in college to fuck the teacher. She was (burp!) hot." Rick nodded to himself. "Anyways- is it the box that has all the weapons to destroy the Galactic Federation?!"

"Yes!" Morty rolled his eyes. "I've learned the drill by now Rick!"

"Morty! If one laser cutter is missing, I swear to God-"

"You're going to war with the Galactic Federation?!" Ford asked.

"Yeah. Those mother fuckers are heading to this Homeworld place the Crystal Bitches were going on about." Rick said.

"WHAT?!" It was not the gems turn to be shocked.

"Yeah- turns out they like the fact that you can merge or whatever, are somewhat invincible, and don't need food, water, or sleep- so yeah." Rick explained. "You really should've killed them all at the space station."

"So let me get this straight... there are simultaneous invasions going on right now- in our respective universes?!" Dipper clarified.

"That's what I just said." Rick shrugged.

"We need to get back to the Mystery Shack!" Stan suddenly spoke up and turned to the Crystal Gems. "Look no offense, it's been fun and all, but we need to get back to our universe to save it! Bill's back, and he's not gonna be trapped in Gravity Falls this time! And it sounds like you guys needs to get back too!"

"No! If this Bill switched mine and Steven's places, surely he can do it again!" Rose Quartz answered.

"Oh come on! Aren't you worried about your home universe or something?!" Stan argued. "You don't know what Bill's going to do! This little crossover adventure- that's just the tip of the iceberg of what he's capable of lady!"

"Besides... Bill probably won't switch you and Steven back." Mabel spoke up. "And if he does, it'll be because he wants something from you- which eventually cost Steven, his Lion."

"What did Steven give in exchange for Lion?" Rose Quartz asked.

"He wanted to meet you." Mabel twiddled her fingers sadly. "Bill took Lion, when Steven agreed to the deal. If you met Steven, even if it was briefly, it still counts for Bill cause Steven never specified how much time he wanted with you. Or the circumstances..."

"Can Bill's deals be undone?" Rose Quartz asked carefully.

"Yeah, but you'd have to trick him." Dipper explained.

Turning to Rick, Rose Quartz asked: "I assume you know more than any of us, so I'll just ask- is there a way to get Steven and Lion back?"

"Yes, and I don't know." Rick answered. "You can definitely get your kid back, but the cat is probably just tiny bits of energy inside Bill. But since he's based off me, who I made while drunk, he'll probably force you into a shitty choose one or the other type situations."

"I see." Rose Quartz took a breath and turned back to the Crystal Gems. "All of you have every right to be angry with me, and I'm sure you have many questions. But I ask all of you to put those troubles aside for now, and join me on the quest to Gravity Falls!"

"Of course we're with you Rose." Garnet said without hesitation.

"For sure!" Amethyst nodded.

"Agreed. This situation is troubling, but we're the Crystal Gems and we always save the day!" Pearl nodded.

"I don't acknowledge you as my leader, but if it's to save Steven- then you can most certainly count on my assistance!" Peridot confirmed.

Lapis was quiet for a minute, before saying. "I don't forgive you and I want an apology from HER later!" She pointed to Bismuth. "But if it's for Steven, then fine... let's go to Gravity Falls."

Bismuth snorted and shrugged. "Guess I'm in too- want to give that Triangle thing a piece of my mind."

Smiling, Rose Quartz turned to the Pines family. "Please let us join you. You need our assistance to get my son back. Defeating Bill is a mutual interest for our groups."

"It won't be easy. The only reason why we won against Bill last time was because we tricked him. And there's no way he'll be falling for that again." Mabel explained.

"We'll figure something out! I still have the journals!" Dipper said.

"Guess it's decided." Stan sighed and looked at the gems one more time. "You sure you don't want to save Homeworld or whatever?"

"No... that's a discussion we won't come to an agreement on." Rose Quartz sighed. "Besides... if Rick Sanchez is going to Homeworld... then perhaps we will not be immediately needed."

"You'd be useless, but yeah." Rick waved his hand.

"Anyways, Steven is our top priority right now so there's no need to feel bad." Garnet explained. "Suffice to say, we came all this way for Steven- and we aren't leaving without him."

Nodding, Dipper looked at the allies around himself and nodded at Mabel, "Let's go to war."