It wasn't sure how long it had been here…it had lost its perception of time a long, long time ago…
It needed to get out…it needed to be free…
Where was it…who was it…Why…
"Please, Pearl? Can I please go with you guys on this mission?" Steven begged for the umpteenth time as he followed the white Gem around the house/temple.
Pearl put a hand to her forehead as she felt her patience running thin. "Steven," she started, carefully trying not to lose her temper towards her ward. "For the last time the answer is no. You're not ready."
"That's what you said the other times I came with you guys!"
"But this could be potentially dangerous this time!" Pearl said. She turns to Garnet when the Gem comes by. "Isn't that right, Garnet?"
Much to her surprise, Garnet shrugged. "Not necessarily. He can come."
"W-Wha…?" Pearl stammered.
Steven was elated. "Yay!"
"Then…what's the destination, Garnet?" Pearl asked.
"Gravity Falls," the bigger Gem answered stoically.
Pearl's mood immediately turned sour. "That place?"
Amethyst, on the other hand, was enthusiastic. "No way! We haven't been there for 13 years! I wonder if the shack's still there."
"Hopefully, not…" Pearl muttered through gritted teeth.
"Gravity Falls? Where's that?" Steven asked.
Pearl sighed before begrudgingly projecting a map of the United States from her gem. A dot was visible where the town is located in the state of Oregon.
"It's a relatively sleepy little town in the Oregon state," Pearl explained despite her dower mood. "Largely unassuming to the outside world. So much so that it's hardly found on a map." She cancels the projection.
"It's also home to monsters!" Amethyst grinned.
"M-Monsters?" Steven squeaked in fright.
Before Pearl could curb his fears, Amethyst snickered. "Yeah! Like vampire bats and ghouls and werewolves annnnnd…"
"Annnnnd…?" Steven asked fearfully, shaking.
"The Sascrotch!"
"The Sascrotch?!"
"Oh, Amethyst, stop!" Pearl exclaimed at the laughing Gem. Pearl knelt down to Steven's level and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Steven, believe me when I tell you that you have nothing to worry about…as long as you stay out of the forests. Oregon forests are teeming with dangerous wildlife. Especially near Gravity Falls. Just don't go too far and you'll be fine."
"Okay," Steven replied, still feeling a little scared.
There was a knock on the door before Connie let herself in.
"Hey, guys!" she greeted.
"Hey, Connie!" Steven returned with a wave, happy to see his friend. Connie noticed the group standing near the warp pad and her smile slowly dipped. This made Steven realize something. "Wait…"
"A-Are you guys going on a mission?" she asked.
"I'm afraid so, Connie," Pearl said, feeling a bit sorry for the girl. "But, don't you worry. We'll be back in a few hours. Hopefully less…"
Still saddened by this, Connie looks down. "Okay…"
Seeing this made Steven feel bad for his friend. He totally forgot that she had just gotten out of school recently and came all this way to hang out with him, planning on making use of her summer by hanging out with him, and now she had to wait for his return. Even though he wanted to go, part of him wanted to stay for Connie, but what if that makes Connie feel worse?
"Hey, can Connie come with us?" Steven asked the Gems with pleading eyes. Pearl looked hesitant and glanced up at her leader.
Garnet shrugged. "I don't see why not."
A smile returns to Connie's face. "Really?"
"Yay! Connie gets to come!" Steven asked as he followed his caretakers to the warp pad. Connie hurries over to join them.
"So, where are we going?" Connie asked Garnet as the warp pad started up.
"To Gravity Falls."
A few days has passed since the Pines Twins were sent to Gravity Falls to stay with their great uncle Stan for the summer and one Dipper Pines is thoroughly convinced that something was up with this town. He always felt that something or someone was watching his every move from the tree lines whenever he would leave his great uncle's Mystery Shack. In fact, the first couple of days mostly consisted of his paranoia getting the best of him and he holed himself up in the shack's attic where he and his sister Mabel were staying, his anxiety skyrocketing.
It took some words of encouragement from Mabel to at least get him out of the attic and into the den/living room and, in a way, Stan's condescending remarks about his paranoia somehow killed his anxious mood a fair bit in favor of annoyance.
Now somewhat rid of his overwhelming paranoia, Dipper and Mabel start to explore around town. And yet…Dipper still couldn't shake off this uneasy feeling, but, at the same time, he didn't want to worry his sister anymore than he already had as she was clearly having a good time and he didn't want to ruin it for her.
Presently, the twins are now playing frisbee with the Mystery Shack's sole handyman, Soos, a tad rotund man that the twins were quick to warm up to with his friendly demeanor despite not being the brightest at times. The three were out in the back of the shack, standing in a triangle formation with some distance between each other for their game.
"You ready, little doods?" he asked the pair as he prepared to throw the frisbee.
"We're ready!" Mabel declared.
"Don't hold back on us, Soos!" Dipper said with determination.
"Okay, doods!" With a heave and a huff, Soos throws the frisbee at Mabel.
She giggled as she backed up before jumping up to catch the plastic disc. "Think fast, Dipper!" She quickly tossed the disc over to him.
It flew at him fast and despite flinching a little when he fumbled with his catch, he was still having fun. It at least helped him get his mind off his anxieties.
Dipper rears his arm back before giving the frisbee a good throw. The disc soared in the air, heading for Soos. The older male made a grab for it, but missed by a mere inch as it flew over him and crashed into one of the shack's windows and hitting someone inside.
"OW!"
The trio outside froze in place as the shack's owner, Stan Pines, opened the now shattered window to give them a heated glare, his fez crooked.
"Which one of you knuckleheads threw that?" he asked angrily. "It hit me while I was hiding from this Karen lady!"
Soos and Mabel immediately pointed at Dipper with zero hesitation.
"S-Sorry, Grunkle Stan!" the boy apologized.
Stan grumbled with a roll of his eyes and readjusted his fez. "Soos! Come fix this!"
"Roger, Mr. Pines!" the handyman said with a salute. "Catch ya later, little doods!"
Stan saunters away to return to the shop. "'Take the twins in for the summer,' they said. 'It'll be good for them,' they said…"
A second later, he angrily tossed the frisbee out and it flew high over the twins to a different part of the property, closer and deeper to the forest.
"I got it!" Dipper said, chasing after it.
He sees that the frisbee landed on a fairly large tree stump. The stump was short enough for him to easily climb on and get to the frisbee. Now with the toy in hand, he goes to return to Mabel…
…that is until he noticed something.
There were rows of pine trees, which is a common sight in Gravity Falls, so seeing what Dipper could describe as a curtain of moss hanging from an opening carved into a large pine tree.
"Huh?" Dipper climbs down from the stump to have a closer look at it. "Has this always been here?" It looked like…an entrance of some kind? Once this thought came to him, it piqued his curiosity. He reached out to the moss.
"Whatcha doin'?" Mabel asked, suddenly behind Dipper and startling him.
"Ah! Mabel!"
"What's taking you so long, bro-bro?" Mabel notices the moss. "What's that?"
"...It looks like Spanish moss," Dipper said, waiting for his heartbeat to slow down.
"How can you tell it's Spanish?" Mabel asked in bewilderment.
"Actually, it isn't. It's not even a moss."
"It isn't? Then why is it called Spanish moss?" Mabel asked, looking at the 'moss' confusingly.
Dipper shrugged. "I don't know. But, what I do know is that Spanish moss is usually found in tropical climates, which Oregon isn't. The air here is too dry for it to thrive properly." He looks at the plant, taking in its lush green color. He touches the plant, feeling the curled, slender stems between his fingers. There was clearly some hefty moisture in the plant. "How is it surviving outside of a moist environment like this?"
Mabel giggled. "Moist." Dipper glowered at his sister's sense of humor.
"Oh, sweet! You guys found the Nymph's Archway!" Soos said as he returned with his toolbox and new window pane.
"The Nymph's Archway?" Mabel asked.
"You know what this is about, Soos?" Dipper asked the handyman, gesturing at the hanging plant.
"Oh, totally, dood," Soos nodded. "There's a legend that a group of jewel nymphs live in that part of the forest, called the Nymph's Garden."
"Jewel nymphs?" Dipper questioned with a raised brow.
Mabel let out an excited gasp. "They sound so pretty and magical!"
Soos nodded in agreement. "Magical babes with magical powers. There's even a rumor that if you sit on that stump, the jewel nymphs would appear to you one day." He points at the lone stump several feet away from the small opening.
"Really?" Dipper asked skeptically.
Soos nodded. "Yep. In fact, I stayed up all night sittin' on that stump for, like, a week one time."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
As he remembered, Soos sat on the stump late at night, just outside of the entrance as he waited for someone to come through. He barely moved when an owl decided to land on his head.
"...Any day now."
\/\/\/\/\/\/
"I decided to stop when a wolf tried to eat the jerky I was carrying," Soos said as he started removing the broken window.
Mabel teasely elbows Dipper in the side. "Maybe it was these jewel nymphs you've been worried about. Lucky you."
"I highly doubt it," Dipper said. "Hey, Soos, have you tried going through the 'archway'?"
"Ah, no way, dood. They say it's like a maze in there," Soo said. "There was apparently this one guy who went in and got lost for days."
"Can you tell us more about these jewel nymphs?" Mabel asked Soos.
"Oh. Sure, hambone!" the handyman said, preparing to replace the new window. "Details are a little hazy, but you'll get the gist. So, there are like, four jewel nymphs and they each have a jewel on their body somewhere. Like on the forehead, chest, stomach, and hands. That's where their magic comes from. And maybe it grants wishes when you rub them? I don't know. Like I said, pretty hazy."
"Magical jewelry?!" Mabel exclaimed gleefully.
"They can sing and dance and fight and best of all, they can morph together into one giant woman."
Mabel looked ready to explode in excitement. "A giant woman?!"
Dipper remained skeptical. "Soos, where did you hear this?"
"It was part of an old attraction Mr. Pines once had," Soos explained while drilling. "It was opened 11 years ago for only a few months before he discontinued it. I think it was because that guy that got lost sued him or something."
"Mm-hm. I thought so," Dipper said. Just another of his great uncle's fake attractions, it seems.
It didn't seem so to Mabel, though.
"I wanna meet the jewel nymphs!" she exclaimed.
"Mabel, did you not hear what Soos just said? All of it was just a hoax made up by Grunkle Stan," Dipper said pointedly.
The girl didn't seem to hear him as she hurried over to the stump and took a seat on it, the same spot Soos took when he tried out the rumor. Dipper rolled his eyes, but joined her, placing the frisbee he had been holding this whole next to him. The twins sat for a few minutes, Mabel excitedly kicking her legs with a bright smile, but Dipper looked onwards with an unenthused expression as he propped his head up with his hands.
Mabel notices this and playful elbows him again. "What's up, bro-bro? I thought you're into this paranormal stuff."
"I am. But jewel nymphs? Really? Besides, if it's something that Grunkle Stan made into an attraction, I highly doubt it's real."
"That's because you don't believe it, Dipper. What about that guy who got lost in there? He was probably confused because the nymphs enchanted the forest!"
"Again, I doubt it. You'd be surprised how easy it is to get lost in the woods."
Mabel moved her face close to her brother's and whispered, "Embrace the magic." Dipper rolled his eyes.
After a moment, Dipper asked Mabel, "Soooo, how long are we gonna sit here?"
Mabel shrugged, her smile still present. "Mm-Mm-Mmmm. I guess once someone comes out." A grumbling growl emanates from Mabel's midsection. "...Or when one of us gets hungry." She leaps off the stump and makes a b-line to the shack for some snacks. "Holler when someone comes out!"
Dipper watched as his sister disappeared from his sight. He returns to his original position, watching the mossy curtains.
Dipper shrugged. "Eh. Nothing better to do."
The forest of pine trees was quiet, not even chirps of birds could be heard. It was also dark, the tall canopies blocked the sun from the ground, barely letting the burning star's rays through. Despite an apparent lack of sunlight, flora flourished. Flowers and bushes that seemed…otherworldly.
This part of the forest was…surprisingly empty of fauna. Even wandering animals knew not to draw near this area, including preventing their young from drawing too close.
Almost as if they knew they shouldn't be there.
The silence was then broken when a bright light started to shine from underneath a layer of leaves, branches, pinecones, and pine needles before all of the discarded foliage was blown off by a pillar of light, revealing a glass-like platform. Five figures formed from the light, revealed to be the Crystal Gems, Steven, and Connie once the light dissipated.
The two children gazed up at the tall trees surrounding them in awe, mesmerized by the rays that bleed through the branches and the fantastic flora. Pearl, however, took one look at their surroundings and groaned in frustration at the sight of the various landmarks overtaken by plants, be it totem poles or rock formations.
The group tread on a cobble path that was also overtaken by nature, aggravating Pearl even further.
"That Stan…the least he could've done was swept this," she mumbled, though Connie was somehow able to catch it.
"Who's Stan?" Connie asked.
"Noone important," Pearl grumbled through gritted.
They continued their walk through the forest with Steven and Connie in the front and Garnet in the back.
"This part of the forest was called the Nymph's Garden by the locals decades ago. It's easy to get lost here. As long as we keep to this path and be mindful of our surroundings, we'll be fine," Pearl explained.
"Is there a Gem artifact that does that?" Steven asked.
"Or…is the forest itself choosing who is worthy to tread its land?" Connie asked with fantastic wonder.
"I don't think so. You'd be surprised how often people get lost in forests," Pearl said. "There are cases around the world of humans going missing in national parks. To this day, there are at least 1,600 unexplainable missing cases. Honestly, it's quite baffling."
"Whaaaat? Something that Pearl doesn't know?" Amethyst smirked, earning a glare from Pearl.
"...It's so…quiet," Connie said. "I don't even hear any birds."
"It's rather…strange. The Nymph's Garden is usually teeming with life," Pearl said as she remembered the sounds of nature that once included chirps of birds, clip-clop of deer, and skitter-skatter of squirrels.
"Yeah…A little too quiet," Steven said, his initial excitement of the place waning away for unease. His nerves were so on edge that he flinched when he stepped on a twig and it snapped. "...H-Hopefully, nothing scary would pop out and go–"
"BOO!"
Steven ran screaming while Amethyst laughed in amusement from her prank, much to Pearl's frustration.
"Amethyst! Steven, wait!"
After one more minute of sitting on that stump, Dipper sighed.
"What am I even doing?" he asked himself, knowing full well that no one was going to appear.
He picked up the frisbee, slid off from his perch, and started to walk around the stump. He halted, however, as a soft breeze bellowed by, rustling the branches of the trees. He instinctively grabbed for the bill of his dull green cap, even though the wind wasn't strong enough to blow it off his head. He glanced back at the Nymph's Archway, seeing the moss sway gently.
Almost…beckoning…
Dipper could feel his heart thumping in his chest. He felt anxious, being reminded of his paranoia of the oddity of Gravity Falls, as well as remembering what happened to that one guy who ventured in, but he was also curious of what was on the other side.
Even if these so called jewel nymphs don't exist, just what lies on the other side?
He dared to move over to the moss. He cautiously brushed the plant aside for him to at least have a look on the other side. But Dipper could barely see anything, like his eyes had yet to adjust from the glaring light of the sun, making the other side heavily shadow-looking. Even squinting didn't help.
He had to go inside.
Dipper took a quick glance back to see if Mabel had returned yet, only to see that she was probably still preoccupied. Seeing that he was kind of on his own on this, he took a deep breath.
"Here we go."
He ducked a little as he passed through the archway, letting go of the moss as he did. Once the moss returned to its place, suddenly everything looked different to Dipper. Before him was a brief tunnel inside the trunk of the tree leading to the other side. Dipper looks back at where he came, debating on whether or not to return to the shack.
On hesitant steps, Dipper tread forward for the other end of the tunnel. He could feel his heart thumping hard, some of his anxiety still present. Still…he continued forward.
And quite frankly, he was bewildered by what he saw once he made it to the other end. Dipper honestly felt like he stumbled into a different dimension altogether. The trees that lined the edge of the forest were so close together and there was a glare of light that seemed to prevent him from seeing the other side, the same being said for the sky above as Dipper couldn't see even a hint of blue, and the light of the sun high in the sky barely shined through and its rays shined down at plants he could not recognize.
There was a path in front of him, nearly buried beneath brambles. Seeing how he had made it this far, Dipper dared to continue on this path, vaguely aware of the silence of animals. As he did, he came by various rock carvies and remnants of what could have been some type of civilization that was here before Gravity Falls.
"All this…is near the shack?" Dipper asked himself in awe. How Stan missed all this was beyond him. This place could easily gain attention from tourists.
With how this forest seemed, however, it was clear that Dipper was not in a normal forest. Some of the plants here seemed far from normal and he swears that there were crystals in the bark of the trees.
As he walked along, he felt…something in this forest, but they didn't feel like prying eyes or sneaking shadows. It was something that he couldn't bring into words. All he knew was that…
He was okay. That he was in a safe place.
After a few minutes of walking, he noticed a wide ray of sunshine beaming down from the open canopy above. Illuminated by the light above was an incredibly wide hexagonal, concrete platform. Placed at the corners of the platform were six statues.
Dipper stared at the scene in awe. "Whoa…"
He walked over to the platform, slightly elevated with a few steps for accessibility. He climbed up the stairs, vaguely aware of a part of the statues he was passing by. One seems to have some kind book in its unfinished hand and the other statue had tools in theirs.
The boy made his way to the center, where four rhombus shapes were carved and painted, connected together into a larger rhombus. The colors were faded, nearly bleached out, but Dipper could kind of tell what the colors may be: White, light blue, yellow, and pink.
As for the other four statues, they each had much more detail with varying features Dipper noticed as he does a slow turn around. Firstly, they all appeared to be women, or at least womanly looking. The one right of the tools related statue was the thinnest of the bunch and reminded Dipper of a ballet dancer with the way it was poised. After that one was the statue that looked to have a square-ish afro, seated in a lotus style in meditation. The next one was the smallest and was posing casually. The last one, in between the small one and the book-holding one, was probably the largest one and it wasn't just because of its big, curled hair.
Dipper walked over to the statue for a closer look. This statue was that of a tall, plump looking woman in a dress with her eyes closed. In her midsection was the carving of some kind of jewel.
"A jewel in the stomach?" Dipper wondered, remembering what Soos said. He glances at the other statues. "Are these the jewel nymphs?" It looks like there was some truth to Stan's hoax, even if they're only statues.
He turns back to the big woman statue. He scanned the sculpture from up to down until he noticed something on the short pedestal it stood on.
Four odd looking symbols were etched into raised small protrusions on top the podium. To Dipper, they looked like buttons. Ever the curious kid, he pressed one of them down. Dipper's initial shock was from the fact that it even worked, but he became even more surprised when he suddenly heard what he could only think of as some kind of synthesizer. He quickly let go of his hold and the noise stopped.
"What the…" he murmured. He pressed another button and the synthesizer sound was on again, but in a slightly different bar. He presses the third button, getting another different bar, which is then repeated with the fourth and last one.
All four buttons were pressed down before resetting and, to Dipper, nothing seems to have happened. It took him a moment to realize that he may have to press the buttons in a specific order. It took him about five tries before he finally figured out the order, the synthesizer tunes working together like droning music.
A secret compartment then nudged open on the side of the podium. Dipper pulls it away to reveal what was hidden. A golden key.
"Huh…" Dipper takes the key and examines the item. It looked old and at the opposite end of the key was some sort of pink sigil. It vaguely resembled some kind of flower.
Deciding to keep the key, Dipper stuffs it inside his vest and looks around the area.
Of the statues, one thing took his notice. Two mostly, as it involved two of the statues that straddled the path back to the shack. The ones with the book and tools. The other four statues looked worn with age and while these two do as well, they looked…unfinished. Incomplete.
Unlike the other four that were clearly done a long time ago.
"Just what is this place?" he asked himself. A shout from the shrubbery sends Dipper into panic mode. "W-Who's there? I can scream real loud and it's really high pitched! So…yeah." He screamed internally at his poor excuse of a threat. Like, really? Ooooh, that'll scare them real good. If it was a squirrel!
To Dipper's surprise, a kid suddenly appeared from the bushes, screaming and not realizing that Dipper was in his path. Before either could react to this, the kid ran into Dipper, causing both to stumble off the platform and into the bushes below.
"Okay…that hurt," Dipper groaned, his back a little sore from how he landed. Didn't help with the fact that he was essentially used as a cushion for the other kid's fall.
That kid also regained his wits and realized what had happened before quickly getting off of Dipper.
"Oh, gosh! I'm sorry! A-Are you okay?" he fretted.
Dipper sits up and rubs his back. "I don't think anything is broken."
"I-I am sorry! I–"
"Steven? Steven, where are you?" A frantic voice can be heard from outside the large shrubs.
"He's gotta be around here somewhere," another voice said, sounding laidback.
"Steven! Where did you go?" a younger female voice called out.
Without any warning, a pair of hands suddenly appeared and grabbed the boys, Dipper by the nap of his vest and the kid – Steven – by his shirt. A small yelp escaped Dipper as he was hoisted out of the bushes and gasped when he came face to face with a pair of shades covering half the face of a tall woman…with a cubic shaped afro.
"Hey, Garnet!" Steven greeted.
"Hey."
Dipper looked at Garnet curiously, taking in her appearance. She looked…oddly familiar to him. Has he seen her around before?
Three more people came running over, one lithe with pale colors and something oval on her forehead, a shorter one with purple skin and long hair, and a glasses-wearing young girl in a dress who Dipper deduced to be of Indian descent.
The pale one was quick to grab the Steven kid from the tall woman's hand, holding the boy tightly. "Oh, Steven! You can't just run off like that!" She stops her fretting when she notices Dipper, still being held by the tall woman by his vest, and eyed him curiously. "Who is this?"
The purple one took a big sniff of him, making Dipper squirm a little. "Whoever he is, he's smelly."
"And sweaty," Garnet said stoically.
"Hey, it's a little hot out here…And, okay, so maybe I haven't showered in a couple of days since I got here…" Dipper admitted, somewhat perturbed by the situation he's currently in. Just…who are these people? Why do they look so…colorful?
"Are you lost?" the white one asked as she put Steven down.
"Not really. I just followed a path here," Dipper answered. He could feel his heart racing again at the sight of these unusual strangers, though he tries to stay calm. They don't seem to mean any harm to him.
At least for now… Does Dipper see the hint of jewel on the purple one's chest, underneath her shirt?
Are…they actual jewel nymphs?
The tall woman, Garnet, decided now to put Dipper back down on the platform before she and the other two strange looking women started talking amongst themselves.
Dipper remained where he stood as he watched them. He strained his hearing to try and listen into the conversation, though all he got was them wondering what a small child like him doing in this forest, which kind of irked him a little.
"Hi! I'm Steven Universe!" Steven greeted, startling Dipper a little with his sudden introduction.
"And my name is Connie Maheswaran," the bespectacled girl said.
Dipper's eyes darted between the two. "...Hi…" They look to be the same age as him, maybe give or take a year? Does this mean he's safe? Or is it just a ruse?
"And while we're at it, the tall one is Garnet, the white one is Pearl, and the purple one is Amethyst," Steven introduced, pointing at each of the women.
"What's your name?" Connie asked Dipper.
"Uh…it's Dipper. Dipper Pines," he answered, briefly looking around for a quick escape just in case.
Pearl suddenly perked up upon hearing this. "Pines? As in Stanford Pines?"
"Uh…yeah. He's my great uncle," Dipper replied. The three women exchanged glances at each other with varying expressions: Garnet remained stoic and shrugged, Pearl looked astonished, and Amethyst was ecstatic judging from her excited grin. "...What?"
Amethyst was the first to emerge from the Nymph's Archway and looks up at the Mystery Shack.
She cackled with glee. "No way! It's still here! Yes!" she declared.
The second to emerge was Pearl, who looked at the shack with great disdain, before Garnet emerged with the three kids in tow.
"I like your hat, Dipper. It has a star on it," Steven complimented cheerfully.
"Um…thanks," Dipper said, absently holding the bill of his hat.
"Do you live here, Dipper?" Connie asked.
Dipper shook his head. "Not really. My sister and I are just staying here for the summer."
"Your sister?"
"Sorry for the hold up, Dipper!" Mabel exclaimed from the shack. "There was this cute guy I saw in the gift shop and I–" She froze on the porch in shock upon seeing her brother with new company.
Steven gives her a friendly wave. "Hi."
"Good…" Connie looks up at the sky. "...late morning!"
"'Sup," Amethyst said with a nod.
"...Oh my gosh! They're here!" Mabel finally exclaimed after her brief moment of stunned silence. She runs shouting back into the shack. "Soos! Wendy! The jewel nymphs are heeeeere!"
"Jewel nymphs?" Pearl echoed quizzically. She rolled her eyes. "What kind of cockamamie scheme had Stan come up with?"
"Eh. It's aight," Amethyst shrugged.
It didn't take Mabel too long to bring Soos and a red-headed teen in flannel to the front porch to greet their surprise visitors.
"Whoa, dood…they're here!" Soos declared, excited to see that the 'jewel nymphs' were real.
The red-head, Wendy, whistled. "Cool."
Mabel runs over to her brother with a scolding frown. "Dipper, I told you to holler when someone came out! And they did! What the what, bro-bro?"
"That's because they didn't," Dipper admitted, seeing no reason to lie to his sister. "I actually met them when I went into the forest." He smiled to himself in a sense of pride.
"Whaaaaat? You actually went into the Nymph's Garden? What happened? Did you get lost and they found you crying?" Mabel asked in a teasing smirk.
"Mabel," Dipper hissed in a whisper.
"Oh! Introduction time! The name's Mabel and I'm this dork's twin sister," Mabel introduced. Dipper rolled his eyes at the 'dork' comment.
"Cool!" Steven exclaimed, remembering how he knew a pair of twins back in Beach City.
"The guys behind us are Soos…"
Soos raised a hand. "Quick question: Can you doods grant wishes when someone rubs your jewels?"
"What?" Pearl asked in bewilderment.
Mabel continues with her introductions. "...and Wendy!"
"'Sup. Cool outfits," the teen said with a friendly, easy going smile.
"Nice to meet you all," Connie greeted. "My name is Connie Maheswaran."
"And I'm Steven Universe!" Steven declared.
"Cool name, little man," Wendy complimented coolly with a wink.
"Thanks! Oh, and this is Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst," Steven concluded with the introductions.
Pearl starts feeling a bit antsy about just standing around, especially near the shack. "Yes. It is a pleasure to meet you, but right now we have some important matters to attend to an–"
Stan comes out now, after hearing the ruckus. "Hey, what's going on out here?" Pearl bit back an aggravated groan. "What are all you doin' standin' around? Not makin' money, I can tell you that!" The conman sees the Crystal Gems. "Wha…You guys?"
"Yo, Stan! Man, you've changed. You look terrible!" Amethyst smirked playfully.
"And you look the same…terrible!" Stan smirked and the two shared a hardy laugh. The old man wipes away a tear that formed from the laugh. He looks at Garnet with an indifferent look and gives a nod. "Hey." Garnet responded with a nod of her own. Stan's eyes then land on a visibly disgruntled Pearl. He only grumbled under his breath at the sight of her, who also responded in kind.
It didn't take long for Dipper to fully notice the familiarity between the Gems and Stan.
"Wait. Do you guys–"
"Oh, my gosh!" Mabel shouted, interrupting her brother. "Grunkle Stan, when were you gonna tell us that you knew actual jewel nymphs!?"
"Hate to break it to ya, honey, but none of these broads are jewel nymphs," Stan said to Mabel, gesturing his thumb at the Gems. "That's just somethin' I made up for tourism. These gals like to call themselves the 'Crystal Gems' or some nonsense like that."
Pearl scoffed. "We make more sense than whatever cheap, fraudulent exhibit you have stored in that hovel you call a museum."
"Yeah, yeah. Keep squawkin', Pearlie Parrot," Stan said, mocking Pearl by using his hand as a puppet.
"Ugh! And while we're at it, the Nymph's Garden is a mess! The least you could have done was sweep up the pathways!"
"It ain't part of my property."
"Technically, it is!"
Amethyst snickered, clearly amused by such a nostalgic routine. "So, Stan. Mind tellin' us about these gremlins?" She nudged her head towards the twins. "Didn't picture you as a family man."
"That's cuz I'm not. The kids are my brother Shermie's grandkids," Stan said. "I'm just watchin' them for the summer."
"And he trusted you with his grandchildren because…?" Pearl questioned with a raised brow.
"Don't start with me," Stan frowned. His eyes land on Steven and Connie. "So, what's the story with these two? Rose and Greg finally adopted?"
"No, Mr. Pines. I'm just a friend," Connie said politely.
"And I'm here naturally," Steven smiled proudly, arms akimbo. "...I guess."
Stan looked at the boy, somewhat curious about the comment but dropped it quickly. "...So, where is that pink broad? Frolickin' in the woods somewhere, kissin' trees and huggin' animals?" Stan asked caustically.
The Gems all share a look of glumness.
"Rose is…no longer with us," Garnet said, forlorn evident in her tone.
An odd look seems to flash over Stan's eyes incredibly briefly and no one seems to notice. "Oh…Um…" he mumbled, rubbing his neck. "Uh…Sorry for your…loss." He coughs into his fist to stave off the sudden delicate moment. "Coughing…um."
"Well, this is awkward," Dipper said.
"Who was Rose?" Mabel asked.
"Oh, she was my mom," Steven said simply.
"...And now it's even more awkward," Dipper said.
No one noticed the look of sympathy Wendy had towards Steven. She remained silent as Stan continued to talk with a clap of his hands and rubbing them together.
"Okay. Awkward time over!" He looks at his employees and niblings. "Time for you guys to go back to work." He turns to the Crystal Gems. "And for you guys to hit the road. Last I remembered, you guys weren't gonna step foot back here again like a decade or so ago."
"Actually, Stan, we are here for a mission. And…Steven and Connie are staying here, at the shack, in the meantime," Pearl said, clearly not happy with the arrangement.
"Here?" Stan questioned, his brow arching.
"Yes," Garnet replied.
Stan was just as unenthused. "Does this place look like a daycare to you? I'm tryin' to run a business here." Stan rubs his fingers together with a greedy glint in his eye. "So, unless you're here for a tour, you can put an egg into your shoe and beat it."
Pearl groaned before manifesting some dollar bills from her gemstone. She hands the money to Stan who gleefully takes it.
This did not go unnoticed by Dipper. "Did she–How did–Wha–"
"Just some cheap parlor trick, kid. Don't think too much about it," Stan said as he leafed the banknotes.
Pearl felt incensed by Stan's remark. "Cheap parlo—" She paused and took a deep breath. "...Steven, Connie, please be on your best behavior. We'll be back in about an hour or less. Hopefully less. Let's go, Amethyst and Garnet."
"Awww. I wanna see if Stan's gotten anything new," Amethyst whined.
"Let's go, Amethyst," Pearl urged harshly. Amethyst clicked her tongue and followed the pale Gem.
"Killjoy…"
"It might be awhile," Garnet told the others. "And Steven." She smiles at him. "You'll have a great time. Steer clear of the goat. Have fun." With that said, Garnet leaves to join her fellow Gems.
"Oooooh, I wonder what this mission of theirs is," Mabel wondered. "Are they secret agents?"
"It's usually either a monster or a very dangerous artifact or some ruins with deadly traps," Steven told her.
Hearing this, the gears in Dipper's mind started turning faster as he processed all of this, from then to now. Monsters? Dangerous artifacts? Deadly ruins? In Gravity Falls?
"Uh, Grunkle Stan?" he spoke up, feeling uneasy.
"If this is about to become one of your conspiracy rants, I don't wanna hear it," Stan said as he stuffed the money into his wallet.
"Bu-But-But–" Dipper stammered.
"No buts unless it's yours and your sister's giving these two runts a tour," Stan said, referring to Steven and Connie. Dipper frowns at this. "Chop-chop. I'm not payin' ya to just stand around."
"You don't pay us," Dipper deadpanned.
"Not with that attitude. Now, get to work. Vamos!"
Everyone started to return to their original posts. Wendy stole one last glance towards Steven before she returned to the gift shop.
"Aw, doods. I totally forgot to ask them if they can become a giant woman," Soos said, upset.
"Oh, they do," Steven replied happily.
"Really? Awesome!"
"Like I said a minute ago, you two knuckleheads are in charge of these two knuckleheads," Stan said to Dipper and Mabel in regards to Connie and Steven as they headed for the Mystery Shack's museum entrance. He sees a couple of cars driving up. "Meanwhile, I've my own knuckleheads to deal with." He straightens his tie and adjusts his fez as he prepares his 'Mr. Mystery' persona, saying to the kids, "Don't touch anything," before walking off to fill his pockets.
Dipper rolled his eyes at the man's greedy nature.
"Yes!" Mabel cheered and pumped her fist. "I've always wanted to be a tour guide!"
"Since when?" Dipper asked, his brow arched.
"Since now! Come along, Steven and Connie, into the Mystery Shack with Mabel Mystery as your guide!" Mabel said.
"I thought your last name was Pines," Steven said with oblivious innocence, clearly not getting the joke. This causes Mabel and Connie to giggle. The former leads the pair inside, leaving Dipper alone, who stays behind for a moment with his thoughts.
Just…what is up with this town? First, his unsettling unease of being watched. Now, there are apparently monsters roaming about? Ruins that contained deadly traps or items that could be lethal? And who are these 'Crystal Gems'? They clearly don't look human. One of them has purple skin! And they clearly have history with his great uncle, who stubbornly refuses to notice that something was up!
Brown eyes glare over at the conman speaking to the latest group of gullible people who would fall for whatever trickery Stan had in store.
Dipper sighed bitterly before following them into the museum.
"The sooner we get this over with, the quicker we can leave," Pearl said as they ventured into a patch of trees. "I don't want Steven nor Connie to stay in that building longer than necessary."
"If that's how you feel, Pearl, then why leave them there? Why not the Corduroys, if they're still here?" Amethyst questioned. "Oh! I wonder how Jackie's been doin'. Last I saw her, she had a kid crawling around. Now that I think about it, that Wendy girl looks a lot like her."
"The Corduroys would be a bit much for Steven," Garnet said, aware of how intense the Corduroy males can be.
"...It may not be such a bad idea compared to the shack," Pearl muttered, though Garnet heard it.
"Pearl, trust me when I say that Steven will be fine at the shack," Garnet assured.
"You really think so?" Pearl asked in a soft tone.
Garnet nodded. "As of now, the shack is the safest place for him to be."
"Behold, Steven…the Sascrotch!" Mabel exclaimed.
Steven unintentionally flinched, reminded of Amethyst's scare from earlier. The reaction was quickly replaced with a giggle when Steven saw the alleged creature in its undies.
"That's the Sascrotch?" he laughed.
"I know, right?" Mabel giggled. "Wanna see the Beavercorn? It's a beaver with a horn!"
"Would I?" Steven declared.
While Steven marveled at the exhibits with child-like wonder, Connie looked at them with soft skepticism as Dipper showed her around with very, veeery little enthusiasm.
"And here we have the jackalope. A hare with antlers," Dipper said in a dower, monotonous tone, clearly reciting what he heard from his great uncle. "As you can see, its antlers are bigger than the rest of his body. Is it compensating for something?" He inwardly cringed at that question.
"Hmmm…" Connie hummed, eyeing the jackalope.
They moved on to a tank behind them, containing what appears to be the emaciated remains of an ape/fish hybrid.
"This little beauty was found half buried in the shores of Fiji," Dipper said in the same tone as before.
"The Fiji Mermaid? Isn't that just a common carny hoax?" Connie wondered.
"It is a hoax. In fact, everything in this museum is a hoax," Dipper glowered, done with the tour guide job.
Connie could tell that something was bothering him, seeing how he looked at every exhibit in the museum with a sour glare, unlike Mabel's energetic show.
"Dipper?" He turns to her. "You said that you and your sister are here for the summer, right?"
"That's right. We're from Piedmont, California," Dipper said. "An okay place, if a little boring."
"Yep!" Mabel chimed in, jumping into the conversation. Steven was not far behind. "Our past summers usually consisted of me experimenting with my arts and crafts and Dipper with his paranormal hunts. Sometimes, he'd even drag me into it. Last year, there was this one time he took me to this old, abandoned greenhouse."
"There were complaints of weird noises there," Dipper interjected. "Turns out, it was just a bunch of stray cats." He could still feel the cat scratches…
"We nearly got arrested for trespassing," Mabel grinned at the memory.
"And for this summer, you guys were sent here," Connie stated.
"Our parents wanted us to have some fresh air and figured, hey, why not send us to a cabin in the woods to stay with our mysterious uncle?"
"Are you guys close to Mr. Pines?" Steven asked.
Dipper shrugged. "We've seen him every few years, mostly on holidays. According to Mom and Dad, he was there at our birth. Mabel and I have always seen him as this cool, eccentric uncle who lived in the woods, studying the supernatural. When we were told that we were gonna be staying here for the summer, I was a little excited." His brows knitted together.
"I take it that you were disappointed?" Connie asked sympathetically.
"A little…" Dipper admitted, crossing his arms loosely. He remembered how his view of the Mystery Shack, and Stan for that matter, were shattered. His hands tighten their hold on his upper arms, as if he was trying to comfort himself. "I vaguely remember Grunkle Stan telling us all kinds of stories when we were little. It's part of the reason I got interested in the paranormal. I thought this was gonna be a cool summer, but…"
Seeing how downtrodden Dipper looked, Steven felt a tug at his chest. An altruistic urge to lift the other boy's spirits. But, how? He's not familiar with Gravity Falls and its landmarks, so what can he do? What can he say?
"Um…I'm sorry that you feel that way, Dipper," he said. Dipper shifts his gaze over to Steven. "I wish there was something I can do to help."
Dipper moved his shoulders in a light shrug. "That's okay. It's not your fault."
"And if anything, I can understand your disappointment," Connie said, offering her own sympathy. "I've felt the same way with how my favorite book series ended." She sighed. "Sometimes, I wish I could ask Tillip Tullman a few questions…"
Dipper seems to perk up a little at this. "Are you talking about the Spirit Morph Saga?"
Connie blinks in shock. "You read it too?" She narrowed her eyes. "How do you feel about the final book's ending?"
"That it's probably the worst conclusion that I've ever read?" Dipper smiled.
"Thank you! What was Tullman thinking?"
"Right? And why spend 50 pages describing a wedding cake? This isn't King of the Crown."
"I was thinking that too!"
"I'm…a little confused," Steven spoke up, totally lost.
"Me too. But, hey. At least Dipper has someone to nerd with," Mabel said.
"...Do you like Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons?" Dipper asked Connie.
"Does the dread helm make your eyes glow red?" Connie quizzed excitedly. Dipper's reaction to this was to grin big, happy to have met another DDnMD player.
Steven felt equally as happy to see that Connie was able to get Dipper out of his funk. He's then startled by a sudden flash of light and sees Mabel holding a polaroid camera.
Mabel takes out the develop film with a grin. "Scrapbook–ortunity. Dipper makes a new friend. Hopefully, he doesn't scare her away."
While curious about that last sentence, Steven's thoughts went elsewhere at the sight of Mabel's shooting star sweater.
"I like your sweater, Mabel," he said.
"Awww! Thank you! I made it myself," Mabel smiled brightly.
"Really?! You're amazing!" Steven praised.
"Aw, shucks! You should see my whole wardrobe. It's full of these babies. One awesome sweater for every occasion."
"Woooow. I wonder if I could ask the Gems if I could get something like that."
Dipper was in the middle of talking DDnMD strategy with Connie on how to beat an aboleth when he overheard Steven's mention of the Gems.
"Wait, Steven, I have a question about the Gems!"
"Dipper," Mabel chided, giving her brother a disapproving glare.
"Oh, no. It's okay, Mabel," Steven assured her. "Go ahead, Dipper."
"Okay, so, maybe not a question. Probably a lot of questions, but–"
"You're babbling, Dipper," Mabel pointed out.
"Right! Right, right. Ahem, um…what's…your guys deal?" Dipper asked.
"Our…deal?" Steven asked quizzically.
"Like the magic coming out of the gem, this apparent monster hunting mission, and, uh, oh! The fact that you guys aren't human?" Dipper listed off.
"Dipper Pines! That was very rude!" Mabel scolded.
"He's not wrong though," Steven said, not the least bit offended.
"Huh?"
"None of the Gems are human. As for me, I'm actually half-Gem." Steven lifts up his shirt to reveal his Gemstone. "See? I got it from my mom."
The twins gazed into the pink-colored gem, their reflections staring back.
"Whoa…" they marveled.
"So shiny…like a diamond!" Mabel gasped.
"Is it real?" Dipper asked, giving the Gemstone a tap from his finger. He was at awe at the sight of the jewel, a crystalline rock, attached to something organic, wondering how such a thing is possible.
"Yep," Steven replied, pulling his shirt back down.
"And the monster hunts?"
"Uh huh. There was this one time there were a bunch of Centipeetles, but I was able to stop them with electricity. Then there was an ice troll and a giant puffer fish and, oh! There was a big worm monster in the ocean! It was actually how Connie and I met! Sort of."
"And they all happened, believe it or not," Connie said.
Mabel giggled. "That is some crazy imagination. And this is coming from someone who once ate a whole jar of sugar sticks and had the craziest dream. Something about a princess being taken by a bunch of shrimp or something…"
"Mabel," Dipper chided lightly. He knew that Mabel didn't believe a lick of what Steven had just said. Even he has some doubts too, but…something tells him that Steven wasn't lying. Or, at least, believes what he was saying.
"Hey, let's ditch the museum and have some real fun. Frisbee fun!" Mabel shouted excitedly, taking out the plastic disc she stuffed into her sweater.
"Frisbee fun!"
It took longer than Pearl would've liked, but the trio was able to find the creature that Garnet detected. A bulbous mass of gelatinous gray with spider legs. It tried to scurry away when it noticed the Gems after it, but Amethyst was able to snare it with her whip and pulled it back. It put up a fight, using its spindly legs and malleable body to dodge attacks. It finally met its end when Pearl managed to corner it and allowed an opening for Garnet to strike the monster.
But, there was one problem.
There was no gem. Nothing dropped as the creature poofed into nothingness.
"Uh, guys?" Amethyst spoke up.
"A misdirect?" Pearl wondered. She glanced over to Garnet. The Gem leader's expression had not changed in the slightest as she pondered.
"...Let's regroup back at the shack," Garnet said.
The setting was familiar to earlier as the twins returned to their frisbee tossing. This time, with Steven and Connie. The four were outside again, on that same spot of property, in a diamond formation as they tossed the plastic disc around. At one point, Dipper did a similar toss as he did earlier, flying through the air and towards the window, this time with it opened, and hitting someone on the head again.
"OW!" It was Stan. "Why am I just standing here?!"
The kids laughed and Mabel ran in to get back the disc before Stan could have the chance to say anything as he nursed the second lump on his head. He approached the opened window with a disgruntled look as the kids returned to their game.
Stan silently watched the kids play as he slowly found himself flashing back to a time on a white beach and a lone swing set. He didn't recall ever having friends at this age.
…except for one.
Feeling that most of his irritation had gone away, Stan decided to leave the kids be and, well, be kids.
"It's just for this one summer. How bad will it be?" he asked himself as he walked away.
Their game went on for a while until Mabel got bored of just tossing the disc around and decided for them to play frisbee bowling when she spotted a pile of cans nearby. The four splitted off into teams of two: Mabel and Steven (the Glitter Stars) vs Dipper and Connie (The Dungeon Rulers). The rules of the game were simple: knock out the most cans, the ones put in a pyramid formation, and a team gets a point. Each team has two tries, one for each member, to try and knock down the whole pyramid.
Team Glitter Stars were beating Team Dungeon Rulers by 13 to 10 when the Gems returned to the shack, ready to head back to Beach City. They stopped short when they saw the children playing. Such a sight brought a sense of joy into Pearl, happy that Steven was alright after all. She felt Garnet's hand resting on her shoulder, a silent message of 'I told you so'.
As much as they didn't want to interrupt, it was time to go back to Beach City.
"Kids!" Pearl called out.
"Hey, guys! Did the hunt go well?" Steven asked.
"Weeell…not exactly," Amethyst answered, looking at Garnet with uncertainty.
"It could have been better," Garnet said.
"But, right now, it's time to go. Say goodbye to your new friends, Steven," Pearl said.
Steven frowned, as did Connie and the twins. "...Okay. Can you give us a minute?"
"Okay, Steven. Don't be too long," Pearl gently advised.
The Gems head for the archway while the kids gather together with solemn expressions.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted," Dipper said.
"H-Hold on now. This doesn't have to be the end, right? Do you guys live nearby?" Mabel asked.
"We live in a place called Beach City," Steven said.
"Is it far?" Mabel asked.
"...Yeeeah. Kinda far," Steven said sheepishly.
"How far are we talking?" Dipper asked, already not liking the answer.
"...Delaware far," Connie answered.
"Delaware?! That's on the other side of the country," Dipper said in shock.
"Yeah…we know," Connie said, looking down in disappointment.
"Oh man…"
"I guess it's back to having a boring summer then, huh?" Mabel asked, fumbling with a strain of hair.
"...No, you won't," Steven said after a beat.
"We won't?" Dipper questioned.
"That's right. And that's because Connie and I will make sure of it," Steven stated.
"We'll come see you guys as much as we can," Connie added, keeping in mind the various lessons her parents have planned for her over the summer.
"Really?" Dipper asked, touched by their declaration. "But, didn't you guys say that you live in Delaware? That's across the country on the opposite coast."
"You can say that we have fast travel," Steven said. "I mean it, guys. I want you guys to have the best summer ever!"
"You promise?" Mabel asked hopefully.
Steven smiles warmly. "We promise."
"Did we have to leave now?" Steven asked as they headed for the warp pad. "We were having so much fun."
"Yes, Steven. It's evening here in Gravity Falls, which means it's getting late back in Beach City," Pearl said. As much as she hated ending the obvious fun Steven and Connie were having with the twins, she didn't want them to stay any longer than they should.
"Oh, yeah. Oregon has a different time zone compared to Delaware," Connie realized.
"What's the difference?" Amethyst asked.
"About three hours. Delaware is ahead of Oregon timewise."
"That's right! A-And I'm sure that Connie's parents wouldn't want her out too late due to the time difference," Pearl said.
"Sounds stupid," Amethyst said.
"Hey, Garnet?" Steven spoke to the leader Gem. "Are you guys gonna come back here?"
"We have yet to capture the creature that I have envisioned, so we will return here," she answered.
"Can Connie and I come back with you guys?"
"We want to visit the shack again," Connie said.
"What? But…why?" Pearl asked the kids.
"Because Gravity Falls seems to actually be a lot of fun and the shack isn't all too bad," Connie said. "Even if the exhibits are completely fake."
"And we promised Dipper and Mabel that we'll visit them so that they don't have a boring summer," Steven added, making it sound as though it was the most important thing in the world.
Pearl glanced up at the path leading back to the shack with a wary look before looking down at the hopeful eyes of Steven and Connie. She is reminded of how much fun the two had with the twins.
Clearly, the four became fast friends.
She sighed. Despite…everything…She couldn't say 'no.'
"...We'll see."
EPILOGUE
Later, Mabel received texts from Steven and Connie, saying their goodnights. She glances out the triangular window in their attic room, seeing the sun just starting to set.
"Timezones are crazy bonkers, huh, Dipper?" she mused.
"...Uh-huh…" Dipper murmured from his bed, not really listening to his sister.
"Like, we still have a few hours left, but Steven and Connie are going to bed," Mabel said as she texted her new friends back.
"...Yeah…"
Mabel takes Dipper's lackluster answers as a sure sign that his mind is deeply occupied with something else.
"Dipper, are you listening to me?"
Dipper finally gives her attention. "Huh?"
"I was just talking about the bizarreness of the whole timezone thing."
"Oh…yeah. Totally bizarre," Dipper replied. Mabel caught a hint of uncertainty in her brother's tone.
"...Are you excited to see Steven and Connie again tomorrow?" she asked him.
Dipper seemed hesitant to share his answer in the matter, but Mabel's insistent gaze pretty much coaxed him to do so. "But…are they really?"
"Seriously, Dipper? Why do you always have to be skeptical over something?" Mabel questioned.
"Can you blame me? Besides, I looked it up. It can take 4 hours to fly from Delaware to Oregon and another 4 hours back. That's 8 hours in a day, Mabel, and that is if the right conditions are met."
"But, Steven said that they have a fast way to get here," Mabel pointed out.
"You don't know that what he says is true," Dipper argued.
"Dipper," she frowned.
He looks away, his lips pursed. "I…" he faltered.
Dipper wanted to believe. Back at home, he barely had any friends since he started middle school a year prior. All the friends he had managed to make back in elementary had either moved away, went on to other people, or just started making fun of him for his interests. Any attempts he had made to get new friends pretty much backfired on him due to his obsessions with the paranormal.
And now, he honestly felt that maybe he had finally found friends with at least Connie. He'd love for them to critique the Spirit Morph Saga and she's probably the first girl he met that actually likes DDnMD and doesn't just say that so she can just swoon over every elf in each campaign.
He has hope…but his anxious mind says otherwise.
Mabel dashed over to Dipper's side and flopped next to him on his bed.
"You know what I think, bro-bro? I think you're overthinking this a little bit too much," Mabel said. "I'm sure that Steven and Connie will keep their promise to come see us again. Have I ever steered you wrong?" Dipper opened his mouth to speak. "Don't answer that. Just trust me, Dip-Dip. Steven and Connie will come see us again. I'm sure of it." Mabel hops off her brother's bed and heads back to her side of the room. She looks back at her brother with a sheepish grin. "At least…I hope."
Dipper shared a smile. "Yeah…I hope so too."
Stan sat alone in a dimly lit room. He said nothing, drumming his fingers on the desk before him. His eyes trailed over to a small assortment of photos. One containing Mabel and Dipper some years back, when he visited them during a holiday. Another framed photo is one that he wasn't intimately attached to due to who is in it.
A beautiful woman with large and long, curly pink hair. Stan glared at the serene picture.
"So…you actually kicked the bucket," he grumbled at the photo. "That's too bad, cuz I would've loved to see the look on your face when I get him back and prove you wrong." The photo didn't answer back, not like Stan had thought it would, but since the Crystal Gems left Gravity Falls all those years ago, Stan had no one else to gloat about this project of his to. "Meh. I guess Pearl would have to do." He looks over at the alarm clock nearby, seeing that it is now 10:32 pm. He rises from the chair, stretching out to get rid of kinks in his aging body. "Whelp. Time to call it a night. Later, Pinkie." He approaches the door leading back up to his gift shop, but makes a short pause to look at the photo. "...congrats on the kid."
He exits the secret room and closes back the vending machine that hid it. He heads for the den area on his way to his room when he notices something outside. He looks out the window, opening it for a better look to see a shadowy figure seated at the stump near the Nymph's Archway.
It was a sight that Stan hadn't seen for just about a year.
He takes his robe and puts it on before heading towards the stump. As he drew closer, he recognized the familiar silhouette of one Soos Ramirez.
Stan approaches his handyman. "Soos?"
"Oh. Good evening, Mr. Pines," Soos greeted, acting as though him sitting alone at night was the most normal thing ever.
"...What are you doing here?" Stan asked. "It's late."
"So, it's like this, dood. I still have loads of questions to ask the Crystal Gems. Like can they shapeshift? Can they fly? Do they have super strength? Do they—"
"Go home, Soos. You got work in the morning."
TMBVK WCERJ GY YMDHPQI AEV KLOIXR
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Next Story: Mysteries Abound
Steven and Connie return to Gravity Falls to spend time with Dipper and Mabel. All seems normal (boring) until Dipper finds a mysterious book in the forest. What secrets does it contain?