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Chapter Text

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"OH MY GOD! LOOK OUT FOR THAT TREE!"

"EVERYONE HOLD ON TIGHT!"

The vehicle suddenly swerves! We drive off a cliff! All of us scream in terror! My sister and I hold on to each other while Wendy holds on to the vehicle!

Actually, I'm getting ahead of myself. You're probably wondering what's going on. I'll explain.

I'm Dipper Pines. My twin sister, the one holding on and trying to keep her puke in, is Mabel. The girl holding on to the vehicle? That's our friend, Wendy Corduroy. We met her last summer. As for the others, we just met them earlier this week.

Believe me when I say that this isn't the first time we've been in this situation. I feel a nostalgic sense of Deja Vu, actually.

All of this started a week ago.

************

"I can't believe it! We're back!" Mabel yelled.

"I can't believe it either. It's been so long." I said, more calmly.

"Are you excited Waddles?!" She asked.

Waddles oinked in response. Mabel hugged him in excitement.

There we were, sitting on the bus. Getting closer and closer to Gravity Falls. It had been almost a whole year since we've been in Gravity Falls. So many memories made over one summer. It was the most interesting summer we've ever had. So many mysteries that were solved, and others that have yet to be solved.

I took out a small journal from my vest. Mabel looked and gave me a stern face.

"Dipper, I thought you weren't going to do that again." Mabel said.

"What? It's better to be prepared." I countered.

Waddles looked curiously at my journal.

"Who knows, maybe Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan have some stories to tell." I continued. "Maybe Ford found more supernatural creatures, or maybe some more anomalies. There are so many mysteries that have yet to be solved."

"Or we can have a fun summer without you going all conspiracy theorist." Mabel said.

Before I could retort, the bus came to a halt. Mabel and I looked out the window. We saw Grunkle Stan and Ford waiting for us! They were wearing the sweaters that Mabel made for them last year. After the...Weirdmageddon incident. They smiled when they saw us. We smiled back.

We grabbed our luggage and ran out of the bus. Waddles quickly followed.

"Kids!" Grunkle Stan yelled happily.

"Grunkle Stan!" We yelled back.

We dropped our luggage and immediately gave him a hug. Ford stood behind us happily.

"Ah, children. Welcome back." Ford said formally.

"Come on Grunkle Ford, get in here!" Mabel yelled.

He seemed hesitant.

"Come on, Sixer, we're not getting any younger here." Stan said, somewhat jokingly.

Ford shrugged.

"Ah, what the heck."

He joined in the group hug, somewhat awkwardly. The gesture was still appreciated. After a few seconds, we stopped hugging.

"You knuckleheads better prepare yourselves. Soos is probably going to be happy to see you two again." Stan warned.

"Yes, he was pretty elated when we came back." Ford cut in.

"Wait, you just came back?" I asked.

"We got back here last week." Stan explained.

"We spent most of our time searching for strange anomalies in other parts of the world." Ford said.

"I knew it!" I gasped.

"Whoa! What was it like?" Mabel excitedly asked.

"It was an incredible experience. I got to write down so many things that I saw." Ford said with pride, "So many things, from both land and sea!"

"I punched a giant kraken on one of those sea trips!" Stan cut in.

They continued to talk about their experiences while we walked to Mystery Shack.

We finally arrived and it was still the same shack. The "S" was still on the ground, just as we left it.

As soon as we arrived, Soos came out of the shack.

"Dudes!" He yelled.

"Soos! We missed you!" Mabel yelled back.

"Soos!" I yelled happily.

He ran and gave us a big bear hug. I could see Melody come out and she looked happy too.

"Hey guys. I haven't seen you in so long." Melody said while waving at us.

"Hey Melody." I greeted.

"Hi, Melody--"

Mabel suddenly gasped.

"Is that what I think it is?!" Mabel yelled, "Is that a ring?!"

Melody looked and chuckled.

"Yeah."

I turned to Soos.

"Whoa, you proposed?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah, dude." Soos answered, nonchalantly.

The both of us went over to see the ring. We saw that looked like a ring that you get out of a claw machine.

"He got it from a claw machine. He gave it to me and jokingly asked to marry him. I responded with a yes. Then we thought about it more and more, and it made it us so happy. So yeah, we're engaged now." Melody explained.

I figured I was right on the ring. But even I thought that was sweet. Mabel answered with an 'Awww' and started congratulating her.

We continued to catch up while putting everything inside. It was nice.

"Hey, the mystery twins are back."

We turned around to see Wendy coming in. I saw that she was still wearing my hat, just as I have been wearing hers. We happily greeted her, and then..

"MABEEEELL!"

"Mabel!"

I knew those voices far too well.

I saw Candy and Grenda run from behind Wendy. Mabel had a big smile come across her.

"MY BESTIES!" Mabel screamed excitedly.

She ran and tackled them. All 3 of them were laughing and saying how much they missed each other.

"You guys talk to each other over the phone every week." I stated.

"It's not the same, Dipper." Mabel said.

I rolled my eyes and let them catch up. I walked over to Soos to have a chat with him. I noticed that the window had a sign that read 'Now hiring." So I decided to ask him about it.

"Soos, you're hiring?" I asked.

"Yeah. Melody thought we should have some extra help around here." He answered.

"Oh, really? How many people have you thought about hiring?"

"Like, two more people, dude."

"I think two is enough."

We continued to make conversation until Wendy cut in. She explained that a group of tourists came through. Soos prepared and excused himself. He walked out and talked to the group. I heard him mentioning giving a tour. I was glad to see that he got the 'Mr. Mystery' role down. Especially in his own way.

I decided to walk around the shack to see if anything has changed. Besides a few extra things in the gift shop, there wasn't a difference. I assumed that our 2nd summer here would be tame. That was fine. As long as I could get to solve the remaining mysteries of this town.

"And here's the the gift shop, dudes. Now let me show you a statue of the founder."

I turned to see Soos with the group from outside. He showed them a slightly sloppy statue that he made of Grunkle Stan. A few claps were scattered throughout the group.

"Now please explore the wondrous gift shop." He said.

The group disbanded as they went to see all of the merchandise. I noticed Mabel and her friends coming back from the kitchen.

"Cool, a tourist group." Candy said.

Mabel did a small gasp. She pulls her friends closer to her.

"Girls, look. A cute guy." She said quietly.

Candy and Grenda turned and they 'eeeee'd quietly along side Mabel. I turned to see the guy in question. He was a teenager, an older one to be exact. He looked to be around Wendy's age.

He had curly dark brown hair, and dark Brown eyes. He wore a pink varsity jacket, a black shirt with a star on it, blue jeans, and pink sandals. He was looking at the shirts. He smiled and picked out 2.

All of a sudden, a phone ringed. He reached into his pocket and answered.

"I've never seen him around here before." Grenda stated.

"He's so dreamy." Candy said.

The guy chuckles while on the phone. He goes over to the cash register.

"Judging from his reaction, he's probably taken." I state.

"Just let me have this, Dipper. We won't get to see him again." Mabel said.

I rolled my eyes again.

"That'll be $12.50." Wendy said.

I saw him pull out a dollar bill. He gave it to Wendy, who looked thrown off.

"Whoa, did you just give me a twenty?"

"You can keep the change." The guy said politely.

"He's so nice." Mabel said.

I didn't buy it. There was no way that someone was that nice. The guy left with the shirts while my sister and her friends stared. I noticed that something fell out while he left. I seemed to be the only one who did. I went over to see that they were car keys. I picked them and put them next to the cash register.

"Looks like he left his keys." I said to Wendy.

Before she could say anything, the guy came back.

"Has anyone found--"

He stopped to see that his keys were on the counter.

"Oh thank goodness." The guy said in relief.

"Here you go dude." Wendy said.

She tossed the keys and he caught them.

"Nice catch."

"Oh, thank you." He said sheepishly.

"Actually, you should thank my friend Dipper here. He's the one who found the keys." Wendy said nonchalantly.

The guy smiled with visible stars in his eyes. What on earth?

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"No problem.." I said.

I was starting to get weirded out at this point.

"Is that Dondai yours?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Cool car, man."

They continued make conversation while I stood by listening in. Apparently he was traveling across the U.S. to experience life on his own.

"I plan on having a chill summer." Wendy said.

"That's great..oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to ask for your name." He said.

"Nah, it's fine. I'm Wendy."

"I'm Steven. It's nice to meet you." He said while smiling, "And the same to you, Dipper."

"Uh, likewise." I said.

He was way too nice. I suspected that there had to be something off about him. Why was he traveling the U.S.? Why is he traveling alone? I started thinking about all the possibilities as to why he was. He said it was find himself and to live his life how he wants to, but it had to be more than just that.

"I saw that you guys have a 'now hiring' sign." Steven noted.

"Yeah, Soos put it up. Apparently him and his fiancee thought I needed extra help." Wendy explained.

Before anything else could be said, Soos and Grunkle Stan came into the room. They seemed to be having an unrelated conversation.

"Hey Soos, I think you got a possible applicant here." Wendy said.

"Really?" Soos and Stan said in unison.

Steven waved and greeted them.

"Ah, you're one of the tourists! Uh, I'm Soos. Mr. Mystery!" Soos exclaimed nervously.

"And I'm Stan Pines. You got a name, kid?" Stan said.

"I'm Steven. Steven Universe."

We stood there, a bit confused. We were silent for a few seconds.

"Universe? That's such a cool last name!" Mabel exclaimed, breaking the silence.

"So cool!" Candy said.

"Kid, is that a stage name?" Stan asked.

"You know, a lot of people ask me that. That's actually my name. I don't get why people are so confused though." Steven said, bewildered.

Universe? Why was it space-related? There's no way that that's his name. And he's seems genuinely confused about why people react to his name this way.

"Well, since you're interested, how about an interview?" Soos asked.

"Sure." Steven replied.

"I'll join you on that, Soos." Stan said.

The three of them walked away to the office.

"He seems interesting." Grenda piped up.

"Aren't you still dating Marius?" Mabel asked.

"Of course I am. Besides I'm only looking." Grenda answered, "Marius is my number one."

"Aww."

"Well I think he's suspicious." I said.

"Why?" Candy asked.

"He seems way too nice. People like that are usually hiding something." I explained.

"I mean, that's fair. But he seems genuinely nice, dude. Plus, even if he is hiding something, it's none of our business. As long as it isn't something that could hurt anyone or himself, I say let him be." Wendy said.

I tried to refute that, but she had a point. It wasn't any of our business to know that. He'd only been here for at least half an hour, and I was already paranoid.

"You need to relax, bro." Mabel said.

I sighed.

"Alright, I'll relax." I said.

************

And so, that's how we met Steven Universe. He was hired the same day and he was shown the ropes. Stan apparently liked the fact that he wasn't under the government's radar or something. Soos liked him for his positivity and determination. Mabel liked him because..well because she's boy crazy. I'll admit that I like him too. He seemed surprisingly smart and attentive. Grunkle Ford thought the same thing. But just like me, he was a little suspicious of him.

He ended up renting out one of the rooms in the shack. Surprisingly, Grunkle Stan let him rent cheap. He probably had a soft spot for him. Either that or Ford chastised him. Either way, the next few days of him working were decent. People were attracted to his 'sweetness and charm', as Mabel put it.

We got to know him a little better through that time. He came from Beach City, Delmarva. I recognized the name from a blog called "Keep Beach City Weird". It seemed to be just a person posting nonsensical theories about random things. I only saw a few posts anyway.

It seemed like things were pretty normal.

At least it was until mid-way through the week. It was a small accident, but Steven's reaction was a bit unexpected.

A shipment of knickknacks were brought to the shack, and they were displayed in the gift shop. Soos and Steven were bringing them inside.

"Don't worry I got the last thing." Steven said.

He carried in what looked to be a Crystal ball. The last one, to be exact. As he brought it in, he tripped and the ball flew out of his hand. The crystal ball shattered against floor.

"Oh no, it shattered." Mabel pointed out.

"Oh no. No no no..." Steven said quietly.

He looked distraught. That was the first time I'd ever seen him look like that. His cheeks started to turn pink out of distress. It was unusually bright pink. It threw me off guard. I quickly got out my small journal and started to write down my observations.

I had already previously wrote down a few. Simple things like 'Too nice', ''Likes pink', and 'Positive all the time?'. I know Mabel had told me to relax, but how could I relax with a stranger who only started working here? I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't dangerous.

"Dude, it's ok. We have more. Don't beat yourself up." Soos said, calmly reassuring him.

"I'm sorry, Soos. I'll make sure to fix it." Steven said, still a bit nervous.

"It's in a bunch of pieces. I don't think it can be fixed." Soos said, "Go ahead and put the other stuff into place. I'll clean this up."

Steven hesitated, but he complied. He put the rest of the stuff in a different room.

"He seemed really bothered by it." Mabel said, somewhat concerned.

"He did." I replied.

The both of us looked at each other in worry. Why was he so bothered by a crystal ball shattering?

After he finished putting stuff away, he came out and told Soos he was going to go out for a walk. Soos let him and Steven headed out towards the woods.

"That was...a reaction." I said.

"It sure was." Soos replied.

After he finished cleaning up, we continued about our normal day.

However, Steven didn't come back until the sun started setting. Mabel and I volunteered to go outside and wait for him.

When he finally arrived, he was still distressed. But it had been about something else.

"Guys! I need your help!" He yelled.

We noticed him carrying an unconscious person!

"What happened?!" Mabel asked.

"I was walking in the woods, trying to relax. Then I found this girl just unconscious on the ground. It looks like someone hurt her!" He explained.

"Omg, we need to call 911!" Mabel exclaimed.

"Wait, we should check on her first. Is she breathing?" I said.

Soos, Melody, Wendy, and Grunkle Stan come out of the shack.

"Steven? What happened?" Melody asked.

Steven explained the situation to everyone.

"Ok, set her down. We got to make sure she's breathing first." Melody said.

All of us head inside. Steven put her down and got close. We got a better look at the girl.

She had black hair put up in ponytail, accompanied with a red beanie. She had on a blue hoodie, red shorts, and blue and white sneakers. Her clothes were tattered, however. Which proved that something did happen.

"She's still breathing!" Steven exclaimed.

"Oh thank goodness." Melody said.

"Geez, what the heck happened to her?" Stan asked.

"I don't know, Mr. Pines. I wish I knew." Steven said sadly.

"We should take her to the hospital." Soos suggested.

"Is there even one nearby?" I asked.

"There's one outside of Gravity Falls. But it's too far." Stan said.

Before anything else could be said, the girl groaned. We all looked at her in shock. She started to groggily wake up.

"Wh-what? Where...am I?"

She opened her eyes to see that all of us were staring at her. Her blue eyes widened in shock. She freaked out and immediately assumed a fighting stance!

"Who are you people?! Where have you taken me?!" She yelled.

Everyone went back a few steps, except for Steven. Steven got a step closer.

"It's ok! We're here to help you. I promise we're not going to hurt you." Steven elaborated.

"You're probably lying." She retorted.

"I'm not. Look, I'll explain everything if you give me the chance.

She looked at him, and us, suspiciously.

"Alright, explain." She simply stated.

Steven quickly explained what happened. After he finished, the girl looked deep in thought. All of us were silent.

"Ok." She said, finally breaking the silence.

We were caught off guard by that answer.

"Two more questions. One, seriously, who are you guys? And two, you got any good food around here?"

"Oh, right." Steven said, face palming.

We quickly introduced ourselves to her and apologized for not doing so. She said it was fine. Soos immediately went to the kitchen and came back out with a plate of 2 slices of leftover pepperoni pizza. He immediately put it next to the girl. The girl's eyes lit up.

"So what's your name, stranger?" Mabel asked without hesitation.

"I'm Dani, with an I." The girl said while picking up the plate.

"With an I?" I asked.

"Sorry, force of habit." She explained with a mouthful of pizza.

"Hey, are you ok?" Steven asked, "Because it looks like you were attacked."

"I'm fine, it's just some scrapes and bruises."

"Are you sure? We could take you to the doctor." Melody asked.

"No! No doctors!" She yelled.

We stood there, shocked.

"I'm sorry, I don't...like doctors..or hospitals. They kind of scare me." Dani admitted somewhat quietly.

"Yeah, I can kind of understand that." Wendy interjected.

"We won't force you to go. Besides, you seem like a tough kid. If you don't include the cuts and bruises, you seem fine to me." Stan stated without hesitation.

Dani smiled nervously. She thanked Stan for understanding. I thought about how odd it was. There's got to be a story behind that. Just like Steven, I felt there was more to Dani than she was letting on. I noticed how odd her cuts looked. I could've sworn then that they looked kind of green at the time.

Then I noticed that she had a silvery bracelet with a blinking green light on it.

"Dani, are you alone?" Melody asked.

"Not really. I am right now, but I'm actually traveling with my family and friends. I just happened to get separated from them." She explained.

"Family and friends?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh thank goodness." Melody sighed, "I thought you were alone."

"Don't worry, I'm not alone." Dani reassured.

I continued to stare at her bracelet. It really caught me off guard.

"What's with the bracelet?" I asked.

"Bracelet?"

She looked at her hand.

"Oh right! It's something my parents made for me."

"It looks so cool. It's all techno and stuff." Mabel complimented.

"It looks like something Grunkle Ford would make." I pointed out.

And as if on cue, Grunkle Ford came into the living room.

"Greetings. Is something happening here?"

He then sees Dani sitting on the recliner.

"Hi." She said.

"Stanley, why is there an unfamiliar child in the living room?" Ford asked.

"Steven found her knocked out in the woods." Stan answered.

"Oh, well, are you ok, miss..?"

"I'm Dani. And I'm ok sir."

She looked at his hands.

"Whoa, cool. You have six fingers on each hand!" She exclaimed.

Ford looked at his hands and then back at her. He blushed and stuttered a thank you. He then saw her bracelet.

"Is that a gadget on your hand, Dani?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah." She replied.

"Huh, the design looks familiar." He pondered.

"Apparently her parents made it. It's supposed to be a bracelet." I explained.

"Most bracelets don't look like that." Ford stated.

Dani shrugged at his statement.

"Well, no matter. I'm more concerned about your injuries."

"Don't worry, Mr. Pines. I got it." Wendy interjected.

She got the first aid kit and took out some band-aids and such for Dani.

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I can do it." Dani said, a little nervously.

Before Wendy could say anything else, Dani took the first aid kit and started to fix herself up. I wondered why she wouldn't let us do it.

Regardless, we discussed on where Dani would be sleeping for the night. Wendy made sure we reached a conclusion before she left. Dani ended up bunking with Steven, since she felt more safe with him.

Fast forward to next morning.

We were sitting in front of the Mystery Shack, eating breakfast. Steven, Dani, Mabel and I decided to because it felt nice outside. Even Waddles was outside with us.

"You make good pancakes, Steven." Dani said.

"I agree!" Mabel exclaimed.

Steven blushed a bit.

"Thanks guys." Steven said sheepishly.

Admittedly, they were really good.

Suddenly, Dani's bracelet started blinking more. We all took notice of it.

"Uhh is that normal?" I asked.

"Yeah." She replied.

"Does it mean anything?"

Before she could answer, a big sliver and green vehicle rode up! It looked very futuristic and it had a green 'F' plastered on it.

Steven immediately went in front the three of us, as if he were protecting us. We could see a guy getting out of the vehicle.

"Dani! Are you here?!" He yelled.

Dani moved next to Steven.

"I'm here!" She yelled back.

"Oh thank God." He sighed.

They ran to each and embraced in a hug.

Taking a closer at him, he looked just like Dani! Except he had shorter, slightly messy, hair and was a little taller than Steven. He had on a black jacket, a gray shirt, jeans, and some black and gray sneakers.

He noticed band-aids she had on. He looked really concerned.

"I'm fine. I got knocked out and they helped me." She explained.

He looked back at us. Then he walked over.

"Thank you for helping her. And I'm sorry for showing up out of the blue. I lost her while we were traveling. We were tracking her down when we realized she didn't come back." He explained.

That explained the blinking bracelet.

"Is everything ok?!"

We turned to see 3 more people near the vehicle.

"Everything's ok!" The guy yelled back.

He turned back to us. He put out his hand towards Steven.

"I'm Danny Fenton." He said.

Steven shook his hand.

"I'm Steven Universe. It's nice to meet you."

"Universe?"

"You both have the same name?" Mabel asked.

"Oh, yeah." Danny said.

"That explains why she said she was 'Dani with an I'." I pointed out.

"Does it get confusing?" Steven asked.

"It does." Dani replied.

"Surprisingly, nobody really questions it. They just accept that my sister and I have the same name." Danny explained.

I looked to Mabel to see that she was blushing. Oh boy.

"He's cute too." She whispered to me.

I facepalmed. Danny noticed.

"And you two are?" He asked.

"I'm Mabel Pines and this is my bro, Dipper." Mabel answered, somewhat eagerly.

"Nice to meet you."

"Hey, Danny!" A girl with black hair yelled.

Both of them turned around.

"Older Danny!" A guy with a beanie yelled.

"Yeah?!"

"Apparently we're in the right state!"

"We are?!" Danny asked in shock.

A girl with red hair and blue eyes walked over to us.

"Mom and Dad said that Oregon was the state to be in. They specifically said that Gravity Falls was the town to look into." The girl said.

The town to look into? So we weren't the only ones looking into Gravity Falls?

"So this it? There's bound to be a lot of interesting things here." The other girl said.

"It doesn't seem to be technologically advanced." The guy said.

I noticed that they were all older teenagers. How on earth were they able to travel so freely?

Eventually the others introduced themselves as Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. Soos came out and offered them a tour. They accepted the tour and they seemed mildly interested in it.

After the tour, they looked around the gift shop and got a souvenir from it. I noticed that at some point, both Danny and Dani made a soft gasp. For a moment, I could've sworn I saw their breaths.

"Hey Jazz, I'm going to check on the vehicle real quick..right now." He said, somewhat awkwardly.

He quickly walked away to check outside. He came back after five minutes. Why did it take him so long?

"So, Soos, you're hiring right?" He asked with a nervous smile.

************

And so, that's how we met Danny Fenton and his friends.

So how did we end up in our current situation you may ask? Well, Soos decided we had to set up some new signs. Mabel, Steven, Danny, Wendy and I headed into the forest to put them up. Other Dani, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker decided to join us since they were going to investigate the forest anyway.

As we put up the signs, we heard something in the bushes. We turned around to see that Jeff the Gnome running out of them.

"RUN! THERE'S A MONSTER CHASING US!" He screamed.

"Is that a Gnome?!" Tucker asked, clearly shocked.

Before we could answer, we felt the ground shaking! Suddenly a large, blue creature came out of the trees!

It was spiky, had no eyes, and it had a lot of fur!

All of us screamed in horror.

"GET IN THE VEHICLE!" Jazz yelled.

We all ran inside the vehicle! Before Jazz could come in, one of the spikes flat end hit her head and knocked her out!

"Jazz!" Danny yelled.

He quickly got her in.

"I'll drive!" Steven yelled.

He immediately got in the front seat and hit the gas! The creature started to follow us as we drove off! It chased us on all fours without hesitation!

I noticed that it has some sort of shiny spot around its chest area. It roared ferociously at us!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"OH MY GOD! LOOK OUT FOR THAT TREE!" Danny yelled.

"EVERYONE HOLD ON TIGHT!" Steven screamed.

And now we're here, screaming our heads off while falling off a cliff.

I didn't think we would start our summer off like this!

Chapter Text

How on Earth did I end up in another Gem-related situation?! I didn't even know there were still corrupted gems left, and in Gravity Falls of all places! 

I'm sorry, you're probably confused. 

My new friends and I are getting chased by a corrupted gem and I just drove us off a cliff! 

I should probably explain a little bit better. And I should probably introduce myself first. 

Hi, I'm Steven Universe. And I'm 16, almost 17, years old. I've been traveling the U.S. for a while now. 

************ 

"Gravity Falls, Oregon?" I asked. 

"Yeah. It's a small place that you can stop at for the summer." Connie said. 

I was driving closer to Oregon while talking to my girlfriend, Connie, over the phone. I had traveled to some parts of the U.S., but I never really stayed over an extended period of time. Connie was suggesting that I stay somewhere for the duration of Summer. 

I agreed since it would be nice to take a break from traveling. I also thought about getting a job since it would be nice to earn some money. Even though I don't have to necessarily worry about money, I still want to earn some myself. After all, I am trying to live as a normal person. 

"That sounds like a good idea, Connie." I responded. 

"Hehe thanks." She said while giggling, "Besides, this gives me the chance to visit you more often." 

"It does. I'm so excited." 

"Alright, I'll talk to you later. Bye Steven." 

"Bye Connie." 

The phone hung up and I sighed. I hadn't seen Connie in a while and I've been missing her nonstop. 

I continued to drive until I reached Gravity Falls. The scenery was so much more different than Beach City's. It seemed so cozy and rustic. 

While driving through, I stopped by a few places on the way. One of those places was a small diner that had a one-eyed waitress working. One-eyed in the sense that one of her eyes was permanently closed. 

Anyway, I ended up driving further into the forest. I noticed a bunch of signs talking about a Mystery Shack? I got curious and I decided to drive to it. 

Once I finally arrived, I saw that other people were there too. I assumed they were other tourists. I decided to join them and wait. It didn't take too long for a guy in a suit and a fez to show up. 

"Welcome to the the Mystery Shack, dudes." He said. 

He continued to explain that he was going to give us a tour. I was so interested in what he was talking about. There was just something about this place that drew me in. Maybe it was the weird energy? Whatever it was, it made me feel less of an outcast. 

Back in Beach City, I often had that feeling. Not fully human, but not fully Gem either. However, I've been treating myself to the the human side of me for a while now, and its been great! Even my therapist could see the improvement in me. 

Anyway, there were so many things I saw in the tour. It was so interesting and bizarre. 

After he finished the tour, we all ended up in the gift shop. I got to take a look at my surroundings. Then I finally saw some shirts that looked nice. 

"Connie would probably like this." I thought. 

I picked up the shirts and I got a call soon after. 

"Hello?" 

"Hello Steven." 

"Oh hey Garnet." I said happily. 

"How's my cutie pie doing?" She asked. 

"I'm doing alright." 

"That's good. By the way, Connie is going to love the shirt." 

I chuckled. I had a feeling she would do that. 

"Hey, Ste-man! We miss you buddy!" Amethyst yelled. 

"Is that Steven? Hi Steven!" Pearl exclaimed. 

It had been a little while since I've spoken to the Gems. Everyone has been so busy these days. I told them a bit about my day. 

"Alright, Steven. We won't keep you too long over the phone. Besides, you have some new friends waiting for you." Garnet said, cryptically. 

"Ok then, bye guys." I said. 

After hanging up, I made my way to the cash register. A red-headed girl around my age was sitting at the cash register, reading a magazine. She had long, ginger hair and fair skin. She had a plaid shirt and a blue and white hat on. She saw me and put the magazine down. 

"Hello." I greeted. 

"Hey." She greeted, nonchalantly. 

I put down the shirts and she scanned them. 

"That'll be $12.50." She said. 

I pulled out $20 dollar bill and gave it to her. She looked surprised. 

"Whoa, did you just give me a twenty?" She asked. 

"You can keep the change." I said. 

"Oh, thank you." She said in disbelief, "Do you want the receipt?" 

"Yes, please." 

I got the receipt and the shirts, then I went on my way. 

'Connie is going to love this!' I happily thought. 

I reached the car and immediately reached into my pocket. I felt nothing. I checked my other pockets just to be sure. I immediately got worried since I haven't lost my car keys before. Thinking back, Garnet did tell me it would happen. 

I rushed back to the Shack. While I did, I noticed a 'Now hiring' sign near the entrance. 

"Has anyone found--" 

I stopped to see that my keys were on the counter. Next to the cashier and another person. He looked like a boy who was around 12 or 13. He had short brown hair that was mostly covered with a hat. He also had an orange shirt, a blue vest, and some shorts. 

"Oh thank goodness." I said, relieved. 

"Here you go dude." The cashier said. 

She tossed the keys and I managed to catch them. 

"Nice catch." She said 

"Oh, thank you." I responded a bit awkwardly. 

"Actually, you should thank my friend Dipper here. He's the one who found the keys." 

I smiled. I was in good spirits. 

"Thanks, I appreciate it." 

"No problem.." he said. 

He seemed a bit awkward. Maybe he's not very social. 

"Is that Dondai yours?" The cashier asked. 

"Yeah." I answered. 

"Cool car, man." 

"Thanks." 

"How'd you get that kind of car?" She asked. 

"My dad gave it to me. It originally belonged to him." I explained. 

After that, we started to have a conversation about the car and summer vacation. I told her that I've been traveling the U.S. for a little while. She was surprised. 

"So your parents let you do that? Aren't you like 16?" She asked. 

"Well, I don't have a standard nuclear family. But yes, my family let me. And yes, I am 16." I explained. 

I continued having a pleasant conversation with the cashier, until I realized.. 

"That's great..oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to ask for your name." I said, a bit embarrassed. 

"Nah, it's fine. I'm Wendy." She said 

"I'm Steven. It's nice to meet you." I said politely, "And the same to you, Dipper." 

"Uh, likewise." He said, sounding a bit unsure. 

Then I remembered the sign from earlier. 

"I saw that you guys have a 'now hiring' sign." I noted. 

"Yeah, Soos put it up. Apparently him and his fiancee thought I needed extra help." Wendy explained. 

Before anything else could be said, the tour guide and an older man showed up. They were talking about something business related. 

"Hey Soos, I think you got a possible applicant here." Wendy interjected. 

"Really?" The men said in unison. 

The men looked at me. 

"Hi." I greeted them. 

"Ah, you're one of the tourists! Uh, I'm Soos. Mr. Mystery!" The tour guide exclaimed nervously. 

"And I'm Stan Pines. You got a name, kid?" The older man said. 

"I'm Steven. Steven Universe." I answered. 

Everyone stood there, quietly staring at me. Did I say something wrong? 

"Universe? That's such a cool last name!" A girl yelled, breaking the silence. 

She looked exactly Dipper, but as a girl instead. Longer hair and with a cute pink sweater that had a flower on it. 

"So cool!" Another girl exclaimed. 

"Kid, is that a stage name?" Mr. Pines asked. 

"You know, a lot of people ask me that. That's actually my name. I don't get why people are so confused though." I said, amused. 

Though, if Dad hadn't changed his last name, I would've been 'Steven Demayo' instead. That last name is so much cooler than 'Universe'. 

"Well, since you're interested, how about an interview?" Soos asked. 

"Sure." I replied. 

"I'll join you on that, Soos." Mr. Pines interjected. 

Then the three of us walked out of the gift shop and into a small office. Mr. Pines stood next to Soos while he sat down. 

"So, Steven, tell us about yourself." Soos said, trying to sound serious. 

I told them some basic information about me. Where I came from, why I ended up here, and why I wanted to get a job. I didn't menton the Crystal Gems stuff since I thought that wasn't necessary. Soos asked me some more simple questions, while Mr. Pines asked me some really weird questions. Most of them seemed to be government related. 

I couldn't answer government related ones since I didn't know what he was asking me. 

"You seem like a good kid with a good head on your shoulders." Soos stated. 

"A kid that's off the grid? Ha! Same kid, you're definitely hired!" Mr. Pines interjected. 

"Yes, I agree!" Soos exclaimed. 

************ 

And that's how I got hired at the Mystery Shack. I'm pretty sure that applying for a job should be much more difficult, but hey, who am I to judge? Not all places are the same after all. 

After that, Wendy showed me the ropes of how the job goes. I got to know more about her and the twins. Mabel seems really fun and creative. We quickly became friends. Dipper, however, was a bit more closed off. I caught him looking at me a few times with a journal in hand. He reminded me of Ronaldo a little bit, actually. 

Anyway, things were going ok. There was a small incident though. I carried a crystal ball that ended up shattering after I tripped. I immediately started having a panic attack. After I put the other stuff away, I told Soos that I was going to take a walk. He let me and went into the woods. 

Once I got far enough, I tried calming myself down. I remembered some of the things my therapist told me to do when it happened. 

I was starting to calm down when I heard a loud boom coming from deep within the woods! I ran to see what happened. 

I arrived at what looked like a giant crater. I could've sworn I saw a faint green glow, but I was probably imagining things. Regardless, I went over to see what crashed. I immediately thought it was a Gem. 

Once I got to the bottom, I saw an injured girl! I got closer and I could tell that she was human, not a Gem. 

From what I could see, she had a red beanie on. I also could see that she also had black hair tied up in a ponytail, a blue jacket, red shorts, and sneakers. She looked to be around Dipper and Mabel's age. Worried that someone, or something, attacked her, I quickly picked her up and carried her away. 

The sun setting made my way back a little hard, so I jumped really high to see where the Mystery Shack was. It worked and I immediately ran as soon as I got to the ground. I did think about healing her myself, but I didn't want to risk it. 

After running for a few minutes, I finally reached the Shack and called out for help. Dipper and Mabel were already waiting outside when I arrived. After explaining the situation to them and everyone else, we went inside and I put her on the couch. I got close and I could hear her breathing. 

She's still breathing!" I informed. 

"Oh thank goodness." Melody said in relief. 

"Geez, what the heck happened to her?" Mr. Pines asked. 

"I don't know, Mr. Pines. I wish I knew." I said sadly. 

The fact the she crash landed pretty hard worried me. Besides her being unconscious, along with having scrapes and bruises, she seemed fine. How is that possible? 

'Is she...like me?' I thought. 

It was a ridiculous thought. There was no way...right? 

"We should take her to the hospital." Soos suggested. 

"Is there even one nearby?" Dipper asked. 

"There's one outside of Gravity Falls. But it's too far." Mr. Pines explained. 

As we continued talking about what we should do, she started groaning. We turned around to see her waking up. 

"Wh-what? Where...am I?" 

She finally opened her eyes to see all of us in front of her. She immediately freaked out and was to ready to fight. 

"Who are you people?! Where have you taken me?!" She loudly asked. 

Everyone was surprised. They backed away from her. I could tell she was scared. I would be too if I woke up to a bunch of strangers staring me! I took a step forward. 

"It's ok! We're here to help you. I promise we're not going to hurt you." I explained. 

"You're probably lying." She retorted. 

"I'm not. Look, I'll explain everything if you give me the chance. 

She looked at me, then at everyone else. It seemed like she was thinking. 

"Alright, explain." She said, breaking the silence. 

"Oh, ok. So I was walking in the woods. I was there to get some fresh air. Then I heard a loud noise. I ran to it see that you were in a big crater. You were unconscious and I was worried. So I brought you back here to see if I could try to get some more help. That's what happened." I explained. 

She was silent. I could tell that she was skeptical. 

"Ok." She answered. 

I was surprised that she accepted it so quickly. So was everyone else apparently. 

"Two more questions. One, seriously, who are you guys? And two, you got any good food around here?" She asked. 

"Oh, right." I said while face palming, "I'm Steven. 

Everyone else introduced themselves to her. We quickly apologized for not doing so earlier. She was cool with it. I noticed that Soos went to the kitchen and came back out with a plate of pepperoni pizza. He put it next to her and she started eyeing it. 

"So what's your name, stranger?" Mabel suddenly asked. 

"I'm Dani, with an I." The girl said, getting ready to take a bite. 

"With an I?" Dipper asked. 

With an I? It sounded like she wasn't the only one with that name. 

"Sorry, force of habit." She said. 

Then I remembered the situation. 

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked, "Because it looks like you were attacked." 

"I'm fine, it's just some scrapes and bruises." 

I was somewhat worried for Dani. She was brushing it off like it was nothing. I remembered doing that sort of thing. I mean I was glad that she was fine, but, I hope she wasn't lying to make us less worried for her. 

"Are you sure? We could take you to the doctor." Melody asked. 

"No! No doctors!" She yelled. 

We weren't expecting that reaction. She quietly explained that she didn't like going to doctors. Wendy was sympathetic about it. 

"We won't force you to go. Besides, you seem like a tough kid. If you don't include the cuts and bruises, you seem fine to me." Stan said without worry. 

I could see she was still worried, but she looked a bit more relieved about. Doctors are something that I'm not accustomed to. Though I can understand the fear. Maybe there's something that she doesn't want people to see. 

"Dani, are you alone?" Melody asked. 

"Not really. I am right now, but I'm actually traveling with my family and friends. I just happened to get separated from them." Dani explained. 

"Family and friends?" Dipper asked. 

"Yeah." 

"Oh thank goodness." Melody said in relief, "I thought you were alone." 

It was nice to know that she wasn't alone. I would've been more concerned if she was alone. Though, why wasn't she with her family? 

"What's with the bracelet?" Dipper asked. 

"Bracelet?" 

She looked at her hand. 

"Oh right! It's something my parents made for me." 

I noticed the bracelet. It didn't look like a normal one. It looked like something that would come out of Homeworld. 

"It looks so cool. It's all techno and stuff." Mabel said, amused. 

"It looks like something Grunkle Ford would make." Dipper said. 

And on cue, the other Mr. Pines came into the room. 

"Greetings. Is something happening here?" He asked. 

He suddenly spotted Dani. He looked confused. I don't blame him. If I saw an unfamiliar kid, I would be confused too. 

"Hi." She greeted. 

"Stanley, why is there an unfamiliar child in the living room?" Other Mr. Pines asked. 

"Steven found her knocked out in the woods." His brother answered. 

"Oh, well, are you ok, miss..?" 

"I'm Dani. And I'm ok sir." She said. 

She looked at his hands. 

"Whoa, cool. You have six fingers on each hand!" She exclaimed. 

It seemed that his Six-fingered hands had caught someone else's attention. When I first saw them, I was intrigued too. You don't see many people with six fingers on each hand. 

Other Mr. Pines looked at his hands and then back at her. He was clearly thrown off guard by Dani's excitement. He blushed and muttered a thank you. Yeah, he's not used to that. 

"Is that a gadget on your hand, Dani?" He asked. 

"Uh, yeah." She answered. 

"Huh, the design looks familiar." He said. 

"Apparently her parents made it. It's supposed to be a bracelet." Dipper explained. 

"Most bracelets don't look like that." Ford stated. 

Dani shrugged. Something tells me that she knows what it is, but doesn't want to talk about it. It seemed to have a blinking light on it. 

"Well, no matter. I'm more concerned about your injuries." He said. 

"Don't worry, Mr. Pines. I got it." Wendy cut in. 

Wendy got the first aid kit out for her. Dani said that she could do it herself. I could see that she looked and sounded a little nervous. Before anything else could be said, Dani immediately took the first aid kit and started to bandage herself up. 

After she bandaged herself, we talked about where she would sleep. It was late, and we weren't going to leave a young girl out on her own. Dani suggested that she sleep outside in a sleeping bag. We agreed with the sleeping bag, but sleeping outside was out of the question. We suggested one of the rooms. 

"I can share a room with Steven." She stated. 

"Me? Why?" I asked. 

"Well, you saved me. I trust you." She answered. 

And that was that. She ended sharing the room with me. She insisted on sleeping in the sleeping bag. And I just left it at that. 

I tried going to sleep, but I couldn't. My mind was all over the place with how the day went. So I stared at the ceiling. 

"Hey Steven?" 

I turned to look at Dani who was sitting on top of the sleeping bag. 

"Yeah?" 

"Are you having trouble sleeping too?" She asked. 

"Yeah..." I answered. 

"Me too." 

I looked at her bracelet. The light was fading in brightly, and then fading out. 

"You keep that on at all times?" I asked. 

"I do." She answered. 

She looked slightly annoyed when she said it. 

"My parents made it for me. They made it so that way I could be found." She explained. 

"So it's a tracking device." I stated. 

Her eyes widened for a moment. She eventually sighed. 

"Yeah. It's a tracking device." She admitted. 

"So I guess your parents are looking for you?" I asked. 

"Actually, my siblings and friends are looking for me." She corrected. 

Siblings, huh? She does seem like the younger sister type. Though I wouldn't know much about that since I'm an only child. 

"Do you have any family?" She asked. 

"I do. They're back in Beach City, though." I answered, "I have a dad and...a few aunts." 

I hesitated. I don't want to talk about the gems just yet. I wouldn't want anyone to be asking a lot of questions about me. 

"You don't have a mom?" She asked. 

I immediately felt my chest tightened up a bit. Mom... 

Out of habit, I clutched my stomach. Thinking about her is just a lot. Dani noticed my expression and seemed a bit worried. 

"I..did have a mom. But I never got to meet her." I said, hesitating a bit. 

"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--" 

"It's fine." I interrupted, "You couldn't have known." 

Dani suddenly looked dejected. I could tell that she must've felt really bad about asking that. 

"What's it like...to have siblings?" I asked, trying to change the subject. 

She looked at me confused. 

"Oh! It's cool. Though, it sucks sometimes. I'm the youngest out of the three." She explained, realizing what I asked. 

We quickly got along and started talking about our families. I left some things out, but I could tell she was doing the same thing. We talked for a little while longer until we finally fell asleep. 

************ 

"You make good pancakes, Steven." Dani said. 

"I agree!" Mabel exclaimed. 

I felt a bit embarrassed by the compliments. 

"Thanks guys." I said sheepishly. 

I was glad that they liked the pancakes. 

Suddenly, Dani's tracking bracelet started blinking. Her family must've been getting closer. 

"Uhh is that normal?" Dipper asked. 

"Yeah." Dani answered. 

"Does it mean anything?" 

Before she could answer, a big sliver and green car pulled up! It looked very sci-fi look to it and it had a green 'F' on it. 

Without realizing it, I immediately went in front the three of them. Old habits die hard, I guess. Suddenly, a guy who looked a lot like Dani got out. 

Dani! Are you here?!" He yelled. 

Dani moved next to me. 

"I'm here!" She yelled back. 

"Oh thank God." He sighed. 

They ran to each other and hugged.

As I mentioned, he looked just like Dani. I knew immediately that he was her older brother. He suddenly looked concerned when he saw her bandaged up.

"I'm fine. I got knocked out and they helped me." She explained. 

He looked back at us. Then he walked over. 

"Thank you for helping her. And I'm sorry for showing up out of the blue. I lost her while we were traveling. We were tracking her down when we realized she didn't come back." He explained. 

That bracelet really did track her down easily.

"Is everything ok?!" 

We look to see 3 people near the car. Two girls and another guy to be exact.

"Everything's ok!" The guy yelled back. 

He looked back at us and extended his hand towards me.

"I'm Danny Fenton." He said. 

I shook his hand. 

"I'm Steven Universe. It's nice to meet you." 

"Universe?" He asked.

"You both have the same name?" Mabel chimed in.

Oh, yeah." Danny said.

He explained how no one questions why he and his sister have the same name. It's not a weird thing to me, considering how many Gems share the same names.

I noticed Mabel whispering something to Dipper. I saw him facepalm after that. I wonder what Mabel told him. Danny saw this and asked for their names.

"I'm Mabel Pines and this is my bro, Dipper." Mabel eagerly answered.

"Nice to meet you."

"Hey, Danny!" A girl yelled.

Both Dannys turned around.

"Older Danny!" A guy reiterated.

"Yeah?!"

Apparently they ended up here because their parents suggested it? It's a bit weird. Maybe they were attracted to the strangeness of this place.

"So this it? There's bound to be a lot of interesting things here." The goth girl said.

"It doesn't seem to be technologically advanced." The guy said.

I noticed that they were all around my age. And here I thought it would just be Wendy and I. The others eventually introduced themselves. The goth girl was Sam, the normal-dressed one was Jazz, and the guy with the glasses was Tucker. All three of them seemed so cool, so did Danny. After that, Soos came out of the shack.

"Hello and welcome to the Mystery Shack, dudes." He greeted.

"Mystery Shack?" Danny asked.

"It's a place where you can see all kinds of cool stuff!" Mabel explained.

"Would you like a tour of this fine establishment?" Soos asked.

They looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure." Danny responded.

And so, Soos gave them the tour of the Mystery Shack. I could tell that they were a little bit interested in Soos's tour. Eventually, the tour came to an end. After that, they ended up getting a souvenir out of it.

Suddenly, I heard two small gasps coming from Danny and Dani. I saw their breaths while it happened. It wasn't cold, so I was really confused.

"Hey Jazz, I'm going to check on the vehicle real quick..right now." Danny said awkwardly.

He quickly went outside and I turned to Dani, who seemed a bit nervous about something. He must've been really concerned of the car, because he came back after five minutes. I wondered why he was so worried. Danny looked like he ran a marathon when he came back in!

"So, Soos, you're hiring right?" He asked with a nervous grin on his face.

"Yeah. Why?" Soos asked.

"Well, I...whew! I thought about getting a summer job this year." Danny explained while still out of breath.

Soos gasped at his explanation. Everyone else did too, even me!

"You want to work here with us!?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah..it seems like an interesting place to work at." Danny answered.

************

And that's how we met Danny and his friends. Just like me, he was hired the same day. He was shown how everything works in the Mystery Shack.

As for how this happened...well..we were putting up signs when a tiny man with a pointy hat ran out of the bushes screaming!

"RUN! THERE'S A MONSTER CHASING US!" He screamed.

"Is that a Gnome?!" Tucker asked loudly.

Suddenly, a spiky and furry corrupted gem came out at us! We screamed and ran inside the car! Jazz got knocked out in the process and I started driving after Danny got her inside the car!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"OH MY GOD! LOOK OUT FOR THAT TREE!" Danny yelled.

"EVERYONE HOLD ON TIGHT!" I screamed.

And here we are, falling off a cliff!

I was supposed to stay out of trouble for this summer, not be in it!

Chapter Text

How did a ghost hunting adventure turn into this?! We were supposed to investigate Gravity Falls, Oregon. What the heck is even going on in this place?! 

Right..this sounds confusing. I'm Danny Fenton. I'm traveling with my sisters and friends to investigate haunted places. Well, actually it's a cross country trip. The ghost stuff is just extra stuff.

I should explain this a little better. I'll start from the beginning.

************

"Are you sure about this?" Mom asked.

"I'm sure. You can trust me on this." I reassured.

Mom mulled it over.

"Alright, I'll allow it." She says.

"Yes!" Dani exclaimed.

We were convincing Mom to tell let Dani go on this cross-country trip with us. She really wanted to visit a bunch of places for the summer.

"Maddie, what are you so worried about? Jazz and Danny are old enough to look after their sister." Dad replied.

Mom and Dad had adopted Dani a little while after they found out about my secret. I was so lucky that they accepted me. Though I could tell they were still somewhat adjusting to that. They did ask questions about it.

"They'll be fine. Jazz is a young adult, and Dani has the bracelet so that she can be found." Dad stated.

"Both true." Dani responded.

"Well, I suppose you're right, Jack." Mom said.

Dani and I turned to smile at each.

"Actually, with the kids out of the house, we can have some much needed alone time." Mom happily stated.

"Ew, gross!" The both of us exclaimed.

"Are you guys ready?"

We turned to see Jazz, who had the keys to the assault vehicle.

"We're ready. Let's go!" I said somewhat eagerly.

We quickly walked out to see the vehicle parked in front of our house.

"You have the Fenton Thermos?" I asked.

"Always." She replied.

"Alright then. Let's pick up Tucker and Sam." I stated.

We went into the vehicle and Jazz started driving. We eventually picked up Tucker and Sam.

"You guys have everything?" I asked.

"Do you even have to ask? Of course we do!" Tucker said.

"That's great!" Dani exclaimed.

"You seem really excited." Sam stated.

"I am! We're going see so many different places."

Sam then looked back at me.

"And I'm assuming we'll be looking for ghosts on the side?" Sam said.

"Yeah, that's right." I said.

"I didn't expect anything less." Tucker stated.

"Sorry." Dani said.

"Don't be, we've been dealing with ghosts for a little over year now. Wherever Danny goes, they seem to follow." Sam explained.

"Wha--hey!" I exclaimed.

"Dude, don't deny the truth." Tucker said with a smile.

"Yeah I can't deny that." I said, defeated.

"Hey Jazz, didn't Mom and Dad tells us which cities and states to investigate?" Dani asked.

"They did. Luckily I remembered most of them." Jazz said, "They want us to investigate in Virginia, Illinois, heck even New York."

"Why New York?" Tucker asked.

"Apparently something weird happened in the 80's. Something about a powerful ghost possessing a marshmallow mascot just to destroy New York City." Jazz explained.

We all gave Jazz a weird look.

"What? Mom and Dad's words, not mine!" Jazz exclaimed.

"You said there were a few others, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. Though I can't recall the last state." She said.

With that, we had started our cross country trip.

************

We spent the past few days going through different places. Every place didn't have much to work with. 

While halfway through California, our ghost senses went off! Then the vehicle started to shake uncontrollably! Both of us quickly transformed into our ghost forms. That's when Dani and I go up to the roof to see what's going on. We saw three random ghosts causing trouble! We fought these ghosts without missing a beat.

Before we could get the last one, some weird creature flew in and scared it off! It was big, furry, and spiky!

"What the heck is that thing!?" Dani yelled.

"I don't know!" I yelled back.

Dani decided to hit it with a beam to get away. It roared in anger as she hit it.

"What's going on out here!?" Sam yelled.

"Holy smokes, what is that?!" Tucker asked loudly.

"Oh my God! We have to lose it!" Jazz exclaimed.

We fought it off while Jazz was going through different roads to lose it! The more we hit it, the more angrier it got!

"I have an idea!" Dani exclaimed.

Before I could ask her, she hits the creature with another beam and flew up! It followed her into the sky!

"Dani! Wait!" I screamed.

I followed after them to catch up. Once I reached high enough, I couldn't see them. They were gone! I tried looking for them, but it was no use. I went back down and caught up with my sister and friends.

"Are you ok?!" Sam asked.

"Dude, what happened?!" Tucker yelled.

"Wait, where's Dani!?" Jazz exclaimed.

"One at a time!" I yelled, "I'm fine, some creature came in while were fighting those ghosts, and I don't know where Dani is!"

"You lost her?!" Jazz yelled.

"Jazz, watch the road!" I exclaimed.

"The vehicle is on autopilot." She said in a deadpan tone.

"Oh."

"How could you lose our sister?!"

"I didn't mean to. She distracted that thing we were fighting and she let it follow her! It her idea!" I explained, "In my defense, I was trying to find her, but she disappeared."

"It does sound like an idea she would come up with." Sam said.

"Wait, doesn't she have the bracelet on?" Tucker asked.

Jazz gasped.

"She does!"

She pressed the bright white button next to the steering wheel. A small screen came on and turned on by itself. A 3-D map of the U.S. was shown, as well as some options at the bottom of the screen. Jazz pressed the tracker option and a green dot appeared on the screen. We got closer to look at where the dot was located.

"It looks like she's flying near Oregon." Tucker stated.

"Huh, you're right." I said.

We noticed a blue dot behind her, indicating that the unknown creature was following her. I got a bit worried again.

"Luckily we're not that far from Oregon." Jazz noted.

After that, we headed straight to Oregon following the map.

************

"She hasn't moved in the past 2 minutes.." I said, concerned.

"I hope she's ok." Jazz said.

Without warning, a second dot appeared on the map. It was a pink dot next to the green dot.

"What the--?" I questioned.

"That's strange. I don't recall Mom and Dad programming any other colors into the system." Jazz noted.

"Wait, really?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. They only programmed green, blue, and red." She explained. "Green for Dani, blue for something unknown, red for a ghost."

"How would you know which is which for the other two?" Tucker asked.

"Mom and Dad put in something that senses things that are close by. For ghosts, they did something involving ectoplasm..I think." I explained, unsure myself.

"Pink is highly unusual..it must be a glitch." Jazz noted.

We looked closer, and we saw that the pink dot had the green dot! Meaning that someone, or something, captured Dani! We watched as the pink dot went really high with the green dot. It landed as quickly. It then sped through like it was nothing!

"Jazz, what part of Oregon is that?" Sam asked.

"A little town called 'Gravity Falls'." She answered.

"Alright, let's head over there!" I exclaimed.

************

It had taken all night, but we had finally arrived to Gravity Falls, Oregon. It was completely different from our home town. It was more country looking and scenic. I had been awake all night, keeping an eye out for anything that could attack us. Meanwhile, Tucker and Sam were both asleep. Tucker had been leaning on the window, while Sam was leaning on me.

Sam started to wake up slowly, then she realized what had happened.

"Oh..sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you." She said awkwardly.

"It's fine." I said while chuckling.

I gave her a quick peck on her forehead. She immediately blushed.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Jazz said.

We turned to Jazz with a 'Seriously?' look.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly.

She turned back and gasped.

"We're getting closer!" She exclaimed.

Tucker suddenly jolted awake.

"Wait really!?" He yelled.

I looked at the map.

"We are!" I exclaimed.

We quickly stopped at some old tourist trap house thing. Without hesitation, I got out and looked for Dani.

"Dani! Are you here?!" I yelled.

Dani suddenly appeared. She was next to some guy in a pink jacket and a pair of twins. The twins seemed to be around her age.

"I'm here!" She yelled back.

"Oh thank God." I sighed.

We ran towards each other and we hugged. I thought I wasn't going to find her again. After hugging her, I looked at her closely. She had bandages on her. I immediately got worried.

"I'm fine. I got knocked out and they helped me." Dani explained.

She must've known what I was thinking. I looked back the trio. I decided to walk over to them.

"Thank you for helping her. And I'm sorry for showing up out of the blue. I lost her while we were traveling. We were tracking her down when we realized she didn't come back." I explained.

"Is everything ok?!" Jazz yelled.

All of us turned to Jazz, Tucker, and Sam.

"Everything's ok!" I yelled back.

I turned back to them. I put out my hand for a handshake towards the older one of trio.

"I'm Danny Fenton." I said.

The guy shook my hand.

"I'm Steven Universe. It's nice to meet you." He said politely.

"Universe?" I asked.

I had never heard of 'Universe' being a last name. Was it some sort of stage name?

"You both have the same name?" The girl twin asked.

"Oh, yeah." I answered.

"That explains why she said she was 'Dani with an I'." The boy twin pointed out.

"Does it get confusing?" Steven asked.

"It does." Dani replied.

"Surprisingly, nobody really questions it. They just accept that my sister and I have the same name." I explained.

I suddenly heard the twins whispering something between themselves. That's when I noticed that the boy twin facepalmed.

"And you two are?" I asked.

"I'm Mabel Pines and this is my bro, Dipper." The girl twin answered.

"Nice to meet you." I said.

"Hey, Danny!" Sam yelled.

My sister and I turned around.

"Older Danny!" Tucker yelled.

"Yeah?!" I answered.

"Apparently we're in the right state!" 

"We are?!" I asked in shock.

Jazz walked over to us.

"Mom and Dad said that Oregon was the state to be in. They specifically said that Gravity Falls was the town to look into." Jazz said.

I didn't think that Gravity Falls was one of the places to look into. It seemed like a normal town.

"So this is it? There's bound to be a lot of interesting things here." Sam said.

"It doesn't seem to be technologically advanced." Tucker said.

"Well you're not entirely wrong. But it's honestly such a breath of fresh air." Steven said happily.

"That's one way to look at it." Sam stated.

Steven looked in awe.

"Whoa, you have such a cool outfit!" Steven exclaimed.

Sam blushed a bit while Steven smiled. Without thinking, I got closer and gave her a side hug.

"I agree." I said.

Steven looked puzzled and Sam gave me a death glare.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you guys too. I'm Steven!" He greets.

"I'm Mabel, and this is Dipper!" She exclaimed.

I could tell that he looked suspicious of us. I didn't blame him. We were strangers to him.

"I'm Tucker."

"I'm Jazz."

"I'm Sam. And don't mind him, he's just jealous." She teased.

"What?! No I'm not." I retorted.

"You guys are a couple?" Mabel asked.

"Yeah. We've been together for a while now." I stated.

"Aww that's so sweet!" Steven exclaimed.

That's when the look of realization hit him.

"Oh, did you think I was flirting with her? I'm sorry if it came off that way." Steven apologized sheepishly.

"It's fine." I said.

Suddenly, a big man with a fez came out. He seemed real nice and he even offered a tour.

"Sure." I said while shrugging.

Sure enough, it was definitely a tourist trap. Despite that, it was kind of interesting. Once we got to the gift shop, we ended up getting some souvenirs. Unfortunately, Dani and I suddenly sensed a ghost nearby!

"Hey Jazz, I'm going to check on the vehicle real quick..right now." I said, hinting at the situation.

I quickly walked away to check outside. I suddenly see the last ghost that we missed and I immediately go after it. I quickly changed and flew after it. I hit it with a few beams, but it dodged a few of those! It attacked back, but it missed. 

I saw that the ghost's beams were close to hitting the Mystery Shack! I quickly shielded the shack and the beams bounced back! It got hit and distracted! I quickly got the Fenton Thermos and activated it. It quickly got sucked in.

"That was easy." I said to myself.

I came back in a few minutes later. Even though I was used to fighting ghosts, it was still a bit tiring. That ghost put up a fight!

"So, Soos, you're hiring right?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah. Why?" Soos asked.

"Well, I...whew! I thought about getting a summer job this year." I explained while catching my breath.

Soos gasped. Everyone else did too. Was it that shocking?

"You want to work here with us!?" Steven asked excitedly.

"Yeah..it seems like an interesting place to work at." I answered.

"Questionable." Dipper said.

"Oh hush, Dipper. It is interesting!" Mabel exclaimed.

"Are you sure, Danny?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Are you? I mean, I don't mind, but...are we actually prepared for this?" Tucker asked.

"Yes I'm sure." I responded.

"Would you like to have an interview?" Soos asked, confused.

"Yeah." I said.

"Alright then! Let's go."

After that, I had the interview with Soos for at least 10 minutes. I was hired on the spot. It was surprisingly easy. When the interview was over, I went to tell everyone that I was hired.

************

That's how we met the Pines family and Steven Universe. After being hired, I was immediately shown how everything worked. I also got to meet Wendy in the process. She seemed really chill. 

Steven and I ended up on the same shift. I quickly noticed how oddly positive he was. Like, a motivation type of positive. He would talk to the customers in such friendly way. Meanwhile, the customers thought I was witty and funny. I don't really think of that myself, but I accepted the compliments regardless.

The twins were pretty interesting too. Mabel seemed to be a lot like Steven. So I could tell they got along easily. Meanwhile, Dipper was somewhat more reserved and serious. Though I could tell that he can be just as silly as his twin sister. Dani got along with them pretty quickly. I was happy that she was making friends her age. Jazz, Sam, and Tucker were always nearby. Either investigating or hanging out at the shack. While working, I did keep an eye on whether there were ghosts around. Luckily there weren't any.

As to how we got into this situation, all of us were in the forest putting signs and investigating. Then a tiny man came out of nowhere telling us to run!

Is that a Gnome?!" Tucker yelled.

Suddenly, that spiky monster was back! We all screamed and Jazz told us to get in the assault vehicle! Jazz got knocked out by a spike and I took her inside! Steven started driving after that!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"OH MY GOD! LOOK OUT FOR THAT TREE!" I yelled.

"EVERYONE HOLD ON TIGHT!" Steven screamed.

Now we're falling off a cliff while being chased by that thing!

What the heck is going on in this place!?

Chapter Text

- Dipper's P.O.V. 

All of us are screaming in terror! Is this how we die!? 

"Alright! Let's do this!" Steven yells, "Everyone hold on!" 

DO WHAT? 

As soon as he says that, I see the sky and trees turning pink! What's going on outside!? Suddenly a thud is heard and felt! Did the monster land on us!? 

"Wait, can't the assault vehicle fly?!" Dani asked loudly. 

Danny facepalms. 

"Darn it, it can! Steven press that button!" Danny yells. 

Steven immediately presses the button and the vehicle begins to rumble! The pink goes away and then the vehicle suddenly speeds up! 

"HOLY CRUD!" Wendy yells. 

We all hold on as we speed through the sky! 

"Steven! Let me drive!" Sam yells. 

Steven and Sam switch and she quickly navigates the flying vehicle! 

"Seriously, what is that thing?!" Tucker asks loudly. 

"Who cares!? It's trying to get us!" Wendy shouts. 

"It looks so weird! It had some shiny thing on its chest." I exclaim. 

Without warning, Steven gets out of the vehicle! 

"Steven! What the heck are you doing!?" I yell in shock. 

He quickly got out and went on top! What the heck is happening!? 

- Steven's P.O.V. 

This is a bad idea! But if I could get a better look at this, I could help without letting them see my abilities. I make it to the top and I see the corrupted Gem still chasing us! She has wings!? Since when!? Wait, now's not the time! 

"Steven! Get back in the flying car thingy!" Mabel yells. 

The corrupted Gem gets closer and slashes the back of the flying vehicle! Oh no! We start flying downwards at an angle and the gem still follows us! I immediately summon my shield and I throw it at the gem! She's sent backwards in the air. It recovers quickly and suddenly spits out some ice spikes! I summon another shield and I cover myself from the incoming spikes! 

She gets close and tries to slash me! Once again I use my shield, but the corrupted gem smacks it away!

"Wha--hey!" I yell.

I immediately summon my bubble boxing gloves and I put up a defense stance. The corrupted gem starts to hit, but I make sure she hits the bubbles. Once I have an opening, I grab her and throw her off!

"I'm so sorry!" I yell, feeling bad that I threw her.

I suddenly feel a pull from my feet! 

I get pulled down through the top and I end up back in the vehicle! What?! How?! 

"Thank goodness you're back in!" Tucker exclaims. 

The twins turn around and are stunned.

"Whoaaa!" Mabel goes.

"How is that possible?!" Dipper yells. 

"I don't know!" I exclaim. 

I don't actually know! Is this a new ability?!

-Danny's P.O.V. 

Darn it! I knew she would do that! Dani wasn't supposed to do that, but I guess I have to find a way to explain it away. 

"Looks like the new feature works!" I exclaim. 

"New feature?" Dipper asks. 

"Yeah, there's a feature that lets you go through the vehicle if you can't get back in." I explain quickly. 

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Mabel exclaims. 

Tucker and Dani look at me weirdly, but immediately realize what I'm talking about. 

"Oh wow, I almost forgot about that." Dani said, "I didn't think Dad would go through with putting that in." 

"Yeah, we thought he would forget about it." Tucker said. 

Thank goodness I can count on them. 

"GUYS HOLD ON!" Sam screams. 

"RIGHT, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SCREAMING!" Mabel screams. 

"Mabel, calm down!" Wendy yells, "We've been through worse, we can do this!" 

What does that mean? Wait, now's not the time! Sam tries to make sure that we land safely. As we get closer and closer to the ground, I see that weird pink filter come in again. What is that? 

"Whoa! What's going on?!" 

We turn to see that Jazz finally woke up! 

"Sis, you're awake!" Dani exclaims.

"Are we falling!?" Jazz yells.

"We are! That thing is still following us!" Wendy exclaims.

"It is?! Wait, who's driving?!" Jazz asks, concerned.

"I'm driving!" Sam yells.

*CRASH!* 

We turn back to see that we landed. Sam turns to us and seems dazed. Dipper and Mabel get out first and immediately slam face first into the pink filter. Wait, what?! 

"Whoa, we're in a giant hamster ball!" Mabel exclaims excitedly. 

We go outside to see that she was kind of right. We're in a giant bubble thing! Before we could process anything else, we see the giant monster come for us! 

"OH MY GOSH!" Wendy yells. 

Suddenly a spiky shield appears and it goes straight for the monster! The spiky shield goes through it! The monster squeals then explodes! 

"HOLY MOLY! IT EXPLODED!?" Dipper screams. 

Something drops from the smoke, but we don't see where it lands. The pink bubble thing disappears without explanation. 

"Is everyone ok?" Steven asks. 

Everyone confirms that they're ok. Seriously, what just happened? 

- Steven's P.O.V. 

I need to find that gem! 

"Should we check to see if it's dead?" Dani asks. 

"That's a terrible idea! We don't even know what it is!" Tucker answers. 

"I agree." I say, "If anything, I'll check." 

"Steven, are you nuts?" Wendy asks. 

"No." I answer, "Don't worry, I can protect myself." 

"Ok, be careful." Dani chimes in. 

Danny looks at her slightly annoyed. 

"What?" She asks. 

Before anyone else can object, I start walking into the woods. Hopefully they don't get too worried about me. 

I feel a buzz coming from my phone. I take it out to see that I got a message from Garnet. 

'Go a little a further and you'll find the gem.' It read. 

I had a feeling she would figure it out. 

Another buzz is felt. 

'And don't make your new friends worry.' 

So that's what she meant by new friends. You know what...that makes sense. 

I finally reach the gem and I grab it. I examine it to see what type of Gem she is. After looking at it closely, I see that she's a Quartz gem. I pull out a little vial and I shed a few tears into it. I put both the Gem and vial in a pink bubble. I send it off and see it disappear. 

I message Garnet back. 

'Thanks Garnet ❤ Let Amethyst and Pearl know about the gem.' 

- Dipper's P.O.V. 

I wonder why Steven was so eager to check on that thing... 

"He's back!" Mabel loudly proclaims. 

We turn to see him returning from the woods. 

"Thank goodness you're ok." Jazz said. 

"You are ok, right?" Wendy asks. 

"I'm fine." Steven answers. 

"Did you manage find that thing?" Danny asks. 

"No. It looks like it disappeared." Steven explains. 

I don't buy it. There's no way that it just disappeared. There's got to be more to it than just that! I can't help but think that he's lying to us. 

"I think that's the better outcome, we could've been killed!" Jazz exclaims.

"I kind of agree. It looked like that thing was ready kick our butts." Wendy says.

I turn to Mabel.

"I think we should tell Grunkle Ford about this." I state.

"I think we should. He knows more about this stuff than we do." She says.

"Maybe it was a weird ghost?" Dani notes.

"Ghosts don't look like that." I say.

"Yeah, they don't." Wendy chimes in.

Everyone turns to look at us.

"You guys know about ghosts?" Danny asks.

"Well, kind of." Mabel admits.

"We had an experience with some last summer." I explain.

"You're actually right. Ghosts don't look like that." Sam says.

"We've had multiple experiences with ghosts, so we can say for certain that that thing was something else entirely." Jazz says.

"You guys have experience?" Steven asks.

"Yeah. We're kind of ghost hunters. Well, our parents are, but we do this too." Danny explains.

I slowly start to get out my mini journal.

"Can you tell us about ghosts?" I ask, containing my joy.

"Dipper, no." Mabel says.

"What?! Come on, Mabel. I'm just curious!" I said.

"Aren't you a little young to be learning about the paranormal?" Tucker asks.

"I'm 13, I'm a teenager." I retort.

"Well, Dani is also 13 and she has a great level of knowledge about ghosts." Sam notes.

"Yeah." Dani chimes in.

"We don't mind telling you what we know." Jazz says.

"Yes!" I cheer.

"You know, if it wasn't a ghost, then what was it?" Dani asks, bringing the topic back.

"Probably an alien." Steven says nonchalantly.

We turn to him in confusion.

"It's just a guess." He reiterates.

"That guess makes more sense actually." Wendy states, agreeing with Steven.

"Well whatever it was, we should really tell Grunkle Ford about it." Mabel states.

"I agree with that. Mr. Pines would know better than we do." Wendy says.

I hope we can figure it out. And I hope can learn a thing or two about ghosts!

- Steven's P.O.V.

I should be careful with what I say. I don't think I'm ready to tell them about the Gems. If I had said anything else about it, they definitely would've questioned it further. Dipper especially.

"Uh, do we have the tools to fix the assault vehicle?" Tucker asks.

We turn to see that part of the car. It definitely has a deep slash in it. Some ice spikes were stuck on the roof as well.

"We have some, but we might need extra help." Danny notes.

"That's another thing that Mr. Pines can help you in." Wendy states.

"How are we going to get back though?" I ask.

Everyone looks at each other. I guess nobody thought of that. I can get back myself, but it would be suspicious if I left and came back so quickly. That's when I saw Mabel give an excited look and she gasps loudly.

"Grappling hook!" She yells.

Sure enough, she took out a grappling hook from seemingly out of nowhere.

"You still have that?!" Wendy asks.

"Of course I do." Mabel states casually.

"We'll go together." Dipper says.

"Alright, so the twins have a way, anyone else?" Jazz asks.

Everyone else stays silent. I do, but I don't know if I should use my abilities again.

- Danny's P.O.V.

Jazz knows that Dani and I do, but we're not going to fly in front of everyone. We're just getting know them. It might raise some questions if we do anything out of the norm.

"Isn't there a jet pack somewhere in the vehicle?" Sam asks.

"There's only one." I state.

"I'll use it." Jazz volunteers.

"Ok, so you and the twins go back to the Mystery Shack and get Mr. Pines, we'll keep an eye on this hunk of metal." Wendy says.

"Got it, let's go." Jazz says.

"Wait, what if we get lost trying to find you guys?" Dipper asks.

"We'll use a signal." Sam answers.

And so off they went.

I didn't think that the first few days in Gravity Falls would be this crazy. Though, I don't think any of us were expecting it. Well, Wendy and the twins seem to be use to this sort of thing.

"Hey Wendy, you said earlier that you guys have been through worse. What did you mean by that?" I ask.

"Well, by the end of last summer, something insane happened here. But we're not allowed to talk about it. It's part of the 'Never mind all that' rule that was set in place." Wendy explains.

"Whoa. So it was worse then what we just went through?" Tucker asks.

"Ten times worse." She replies.

"That sounds bad. Are you guys ok?" Steven asks.

"Yeah, we're ok." Wendy answers casually.

I could tell that Steven is the type of person who cares about everyone, even people he doesn't know personally. He's someone who wants to help people. That's a thing we share in common. Making sure that people were safe and ok is something I've been doing for a little over a year now. And it isn't an easy thing sometimes.

"We've been through some bad stuff, but we managed to survive it. Cuz we're tough!" Wendy exclaims with smile.

"I can understand that." Steven states.

"Have you been through some stuff, Steven?" I ask.

"Yeah...I don't like talking about it much either. But it involved a lot of personal issues." Steven says while hesitating a bit.

He then slightly blushes a very bright pink. It seems unusually bright. Almost like a glowing neon pink.

"We get it. We won't force you to talk about it." Sam says.

"Yeah, that's up to you if you want to talk about it." Tucker says.

Steven gives a small smile. The blush goes away. Whatever the issue is, it must still bother him. I don't blame him. My friends and I have been through so much ourselves, so I wouldn't be ready to talk about it either.

************

"This vehicle is very fascinating." Mr. Pines says in awe.

"Uh thanks?" I say.

"So do you think you'd be able to fix it?" Jazz asks.

"I believe so. However, we do need to find a way to bring it back to fix it properly." He explains.

"Considering that the entire back was slashed and spiked, that might be difficult." Dipper states.

"What was it that did that?" Mr. Pines asks.

"A furry, spiky monster did it." Mabel says casually.

"A furry...spiky monster?"

"Yep."

"Did it have any other defining features?"

"I saw a shiny spot on its chest." Dipper states.

"Spot you say?" Mr. Pines asks.

"Yeah. I don't know if it was a spot, but it looked like it was embedded into the monster." Dipper explains further.

"That sounds familiar. I'll have to look into it further." He states.

"How are we going to bring the vehicle back?" Dani asks.

"Luckily I brought a device that might help. However, we do have to be careful." Mr. Pines answers.

- Dipper's P.O.V.

Grunkle Ford gets a small device and places it on the ground. The device suddenly turns into a gigantic circle with a blue light appearing in the middle of it. I remember that he was working on another one earlier. I realize now that it's a portable portal!

"Alright, hopefully this works." Grunkle Ford states, "Ok everyone, help me push."

Half of us starts pushing the vehicle. It barely moves. The other half joins in to see if it will work. Suddenly the vehicle moves much more easily! We go through the portal.

We come out the other side, back at the Mystery Shack!

"Whoa, it worked!" Mabel exclaims.

"That's so cool!" Dani yells.

"That's much better. Now I can work on repairing it." Ford states.

"What about the other portal?" Wendy asks.

"No worries." He says.

He presses a button on a small remote and the portal closes. A few seconds pass and the other portal comes out of the ground.

"That's amazing!" Tucker exclaims happily, "How many gadgets to do you work on?"

"I work on many gadgets. Though this one was something I created earlier this morning." Ford explains.

Tucker has his mouth ajar. Danny waves his hands in front of him.

"And we lost him." Sam states with a smirk.

"I'll take him inside." Danny says.

With that, he takes Tucker inside the Shack. The rest of us decide to go inside too. Soos comes out and sees us.

"Dudes, are you ok?! You were gone for hours!" Soos yells, clearly concerned.

"We're fine, Soos." Mabel says.

"We did run into some trouble with some creature though." I admit.

Soos sighs in relief.

"I'm glad you dudes are alright. You are, right? Because it wouldn't be the first time this happens here." He says.

"I got knocked out with the bottom end of a spike. Other than that, I didn't sustain any major injuries." Jazz states.

"Yeah, we're pretty much ok. Luckily it didn't have a chance to majorly hurt us." Steven reassures.

"Wait, if anyone would've gotten hurt, it would've been Steven!" Danny states.

"Yeah, he climbed on the roof of the vehicle without falling off!" Dani yells.

"Whoa, that's both awesome and terrifying!" Soos exclaims while being impressed and scared at the same time.

"Steven, why did you climb up?" Mabel asks.

"I wanted to get a closer look at the g--creature, to see if I could identify what it was." Steven explains.

It sounded like he was about to use a different word. Does he actually know what it is? If so, why isn't he telling us? Maybe I'm looking too much into things.

"That was a bit of an extreme way to do it." Wendy states.

"I wanted to see if I could help fight it off too." He admits sheepishly.

"Even though it was dangerous, he did help with getting the monster away from us." Dani interjects.

"That's true." Danny says.

We stay in silence for a moment.

"Uh..is Tucker ok?" Soos asks.

We turn to see him with the same face.

"He's fine. He just saw some high tech stuff and froze in excitement." Sam says.

"I give it a few more minutes." Danny says.

"Alright then." Soos says with a shrug.

Soos starts walking away. He stops and turns.

"I do expect you guys to be up early tomorrow...or whenever you can." Soos states.

"Of course, Soos." Steven responds back.

Soos continues to walk away and goes into the office.

"You know what we should do." Mabel speaks up.

"What?" Wendy asks.

"Sleepover!" She exclaims.

"Is that a good idea? Shouldn't we ask Soos or one of our Grunkles?" I ask.

"Don't make a mess in the living room!" Grunkle Stan yells.

"Grunkle Stan? Where are you?!" I ask.

"I'm in the kitchen, so I heard everything!" He yells again.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Mabel yells happily.

I'm unsure. I don't know if having a sleepover is a good idea. But let's see what happens.

Chapter Text

- Steven's P.O.V.

It's been a long time since I've had a sleepover. I didn't think that Mabel would suddenly throw one in the shack, but I guess there's nothing wrong with that. I've been able to sleep well for a while now.

Despite it being an unplanned sleepover, Mabel did pretty well in getting all of the things for one. We wait in the living room for the delivery person. I keep looking at my phone on the couch while Mabel plays with Waddles on the floor.

*Knock knock knock!*

Mabel gasps.

"PIZZA'S HERE!" She screams.

She quickly runs to the door while Waddles and I follow after her. She suddenly trips on a loose floorboard and I catch her without hesitation. 

"Oh my!" She exclaims.

"Oh sorry, did I scare you?" I ask, a bit nervous that I probably crossed a boundary.

She blushes slightly and smiles.

"No, you didn't." She says happily.

I put her down and we walk towards the door with Waddles following closely. We open the door to see the delivery person.

"Hello, I have your order of...two extra large pizzas, mozzarella sticks, brownies, and two 2-liter sodas."

"Oh great!" I exclaim.

"That'll be $28.45."

I pull out three $20 dollar bills and hand it to the pizza delivery person.

"$60?" They ask.

"Whoa, $60?" Mabel asks in awe.

"You can keep the change. Thank you for bringing our food." I say as politely as possible.

"W-wow, thanks man."

"No problem." I say while grabbing the food.

"Have a great night!" Mabel exclaims.

Mabel closes the door and I make sure I have everything in place. We go upstairs to the twins room to find everyone else waiting. Everyone is in their pajamas already. I see a bunch of different colored sleeping bags on the floor, as well as the twins beds being neatly made. I see Waddles enter and lie down next to Dipper.

"We're back." Mabel says happily.

"Oh great, I'm starving!" Dani exclaims.

I set everything down and open up the pizza boxes. The first one is half pepperoni, half meat lovers. And the second pizza is a veggie pizza. Waddles suddenly comes up and sniffs the pizza lightly. Everyone comes around to look at the pizzas. I see Tucker look at the veggie pizza with a weird face.

"What kind of pizza is that?" Tucker asks.

"It's a Spinach feta cheese pizza with black olives." I say.

"Well that's...interesting." Dipper says.

"You guys don't have to eat it if you don't want to." I state a bit nervously.

"No that's not what we--sorry we didn't mean it like that." Danny says, feeling bad.

"No I get it. Not everyone would like this sort of thing." I reassure.

Jazz looks closer at the pizza, and so does Sam.

"It doesn't look bad, actually." Jazz says.

"Yeah, it looks good." Sam exclaims.

"It really does! I'm just glad they had some vegetarian options." I state happily.

Everyone looks at me with a surprised expression.

"You're a vegetarian?" Sam asks.

"Yeah?" I say, confused.

"Really? Me too!" She says happily.

"What's that like?" Mabel asks.

"Well, it's not that different from what everyone else eats. We just pick vegetable options. Heck, there are even veggie products that look like meat. So you can give someone one of those products and they wouldn't even realize it's vegetables." Sam explains.

"Wait, really?" Dipper asks.

"Yeah." I say chiming in.

"No more talk, let's eat!" Wendy says.

And so, we eat and hang out. Wendy and Jazz take a slice of the veggie pizza to try it out. They have the same reaction, both think it's great! I'm glad everyone is enjoying themselves.

************

We continue on into the night. Playing games, telling jokes, watching scary videos. It's so much fun! Then I see a look on Wendy's face.

"Alright, let's play truth or dare." Wendy says.

We turn to look at Wendy.

"Truth or dare?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Ooh, that sounds fun!" Dani exclaims.

"Sure, why not." Sam states.

I get a bit nervous about it. I don't know if I can handle telling the truth about certain things. Maybe I could go with dares instead? I look at everyone to see that they're excited. I shouldn't ruin their moods.

"I'll go first!" Mabel yells excitedly.

"Be my guest." Wendy says nonchalantly.

"Ok..hmm..Steven! Truth or dare?" She asks.

That was quick! I start feeling nervous immediately. I try to calm myself down and decide on an answer.

"Truth." I say.

"Oh! Hmmm..."

Mabel starts thinking for a minute. I see her looking around the room thinking about what she'll ask. Her eyes light up as she thought about it.

"Have you ever performed on stage before?" She asks.

I immediately feel relieved by the question. Now that I can answer.

"I have, actually! I've done a few performances while growing up." I explain.

"Whoa, really?" Tucker asks.

"Yep! Mostly with my family."

"You must be musically inclined, then." Jazz says.

"Kind of." I say sheepishly.

- Dipper's P.O.V.

I immediately write that down. I may be having fun, but I'm still keeping my eye out on everyone else. Everyone seems excited and invested in Steven's supposed musical talent. The list of observations for Steven have gotten a bit longer since he first came here. I also added a list for Danny and the others. Danny and Dani have been the most suspicious out of the five.

"My turn! Dipper! Truth or dare?" Dani says.

I'm thrown off guard and let out a "Huh?". Some of them laugh a bit at me being surprised.

"Truth or dare?" She asks again.

"Uh..truth?" I answer.

"Ok. Have you ever worn a dress before?" She asks.

I sigh. I think back to that time last year.

"Only once. But that's only because I lost a bet with Mabel." I state.

"What was the bet?" Danny asks.

"Something involving Waddles." I answer, being vague.

Waddles looks up and gives a quick snort. Mabel brings him closer and snuggles him.

"Those are the faces of evil!" I exclaim, remembering that day.

"You're just mad that I won." Mabel says proudly.

"Alright, my turn. Tucker, truth or dare?" Wendy interjects.

"Dare!" He exclaims.

"I dare you to wear Sam's skirt for five minutes." She says.

Everyone but Tucker suddenly went 'Oohhh!'

"Sorry. Sam is that ok with you?" Wendy asks.

"For the sake of a dare, it is." Sam says with a smirk.

A moment of silence hit as we stared at Tucker, waiting for his response.

"Alright! I'll wear it." Tucker says confidently.

He grabs the dark purple skirt from Sam's bag and walks out of the room. We look at each other, waiting in anticipation. Sure enough, he comes back with the skirt on.

"Oh my gosh.." I say.

Danny covers Dani's eyes, as if to shield her from the horror.

"Do you think the skirt compliments my eyes?" Tucker asks jokingly.

"I can promise you that it doesn't." Danny snarks.

Tucker lets out an offended gasp while Wendy, Jazz, and Steven start laughing. Danny continues covering his sister's eyes. I try to look at anything else that isn't Tucker.

Five minutes eventually pass and he goes out the room. He comes back with his pajamas finally back on.

"Well, I'll never get that image out of my head." Danny says.

"Same." Sam agrees.

"Well, I think you looked lovely in that skirt." Mabel states.

"Thank you, Mabel. It's nice to be appreciated." Tucker says.

"All guys should wear skirts!" She exclaims.

"No we shouldn't." I retort.

"Skirts are really comfortable actually." Steven adds.

We look at him with puzzled expressions. I write that down as well.

"I'm not even going to ask about the context of that." I say.

"My turn!" Steven interjects, "Jazz, truth or dare?"

"Truth." She says.

"Hmmm...do you still have any toys you got as a kid?"

She sighs.

"I do. I have an old teddy named 'Bearbert'." She admits with a hint of shame.

I hear Danny, Tucker, and Wendy snicker.

"Aww, that's cute." He says.

"It is! Do you have Bearbert with you?" Mabel asks.

"I left him at home." She states.

"My turn." I say.

I think properly about my choice and question. I look around to see everyone staring at me. Some in suspense, others not so much. Then I look at Mabel, who seems to be stuffing another brownie into her mouth. That's when the idea comes to me.

"Sam! Truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you...to drink Mabel Juice." I say.

Wendy and Mabel gasps.

"What's Mabel juice?" She asks.

"I got it!" Mabel exclaims.

She runs out the room and returns a minute later with the pitcher and a few cups.

"This is Mabel Juice." Mabel states.

"Is that a dinosaur toy?" Sam asks.

"Yes, yes it is." I say.

"Alright, game on. Give me the cup." She says.

Mabel grabs the pitcher and pours the pink juice in the cup. We all watch as she does so. The smell was strong, but indescribable otherwise. Sam looks at the cup in suspicion. Sam grabs the cup and chugs it down! She completes the dare within a few seconds! She suddenly starts to shake a little.

"W-what's in t-this s-stuff?" She stutters.

"Fruit Punch, two cups of sugar, maple syrup, 3 energy drinks, some sparkly glitter, and some cinnamon." Mabel explains.

"Oof. Well, it was nice knowing ya." Tucker says.

"Was it worth it?" Danny asks with a smile.

"S-shut up." Sam says while still shaking.

"That's definitely one heck of sugar rush." Wendy notes.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have suggested it." I say.

"I'm sorry too." Mabel says.

"A-are you k-kidding me? Y-you two a-are definitely hardc-core. No need f-for apologizing. That was a g-great dare, D-Dipper." Sam says with a smirk.

Steven looks at the pink liquid closely.

"Mabel, you drink that stuff?" Steven asks.

"I sure do." She says.

"That explains a lot." Jazz notes.

"Actually, she's just naturally like that." I state.

"All hail the Mabel Juice!" Mabel exclaims.

Waddles snorts, as if he's saying it himself.

"My turn." Wendy says.

We continue like this for a few more minutes. Most of us were taking more dares than truths, which is interesting. I see Tucker put his phone charger on Sam's hand. He then connects his to to the charger. 

"W-what are you d-doing?!" She asks.

"I'm just testing to see if my phone would charge. You have a lot of energy going." He states.

She throws the charger back at him and it lands on his lap. He looks at his phone and laments that it didn't charge. 

Eventually, Sam calms down just enough to to join in again.

"A-alright. Steven. Truth or d-dare?" Sam asks.

"Hmm..truth." he answers.

"Are you in a relationship?"

"Sam!" Danny exclaims.

"What? I'm curious. With the way Steven acts around us, I'm almost positive that he is. I just need confirmation." She explains, "Plus, I already have you."

Sam gives Danny a kiss on the cheek. He blushes and smile.

"So, Steven. Are you?" Danny asks.

"I am!" Steven exclaims happily.

I notice that he has stars in his eyes again. I write that down discreetly.

"Whoa, dude. You're very starry eyed. You must be very happy then." Wendy states.

"Give us the deets!" Dani says.

"The deets! The deets! The deets!" Mabel chants.

"Hahaha, alright. To start off, my girlfriend's name is Connie. And she's so wonderful." He explains.

He spends the next minute talking about his girlfriend. From the way he talks about her, we could all see how happy she makes him.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to go on like that." He says sheepishly.

"Nah it's cool. She sounds awesome, dude." Wendy reassures him.

"Oh, my turn. Dipper, truth or dare?" Steven asks.

"Truth." I say.

"What's the weirdest thing you've searched up?" He asks.

What kind of question is that!? I wish he had asked a different question. There are so many things! I think about it for a minute. Then I come to a conclusion. I decide to test something.

"Actually, I have two. Number one involves a monster. Number two was two weird superheroes that seem to have an impossible existence." I say.

"Explain." Dani says.

"Number one involves a blog that documented a monster. Actually if I remember correctly, the monster sighting happened at Beach City, Steven's hometown." I explain.

I look at Steven and it looks like he'd seen a ghost! Does he know about that?!

"What k-kind of monster?" Sam asks.

"I don't know, but it looked like a pink Godzilla, Kaiju-type monster." I say, "Steven, can you confirm if it actually happened or not?"

He continues to have a slightly horrified look on his face. I see him blush the same shade of pink again.

"Y-yeah..it happened. But..I'd rather not talk about that.." he hesitantly confirms.

He suddenly slumps a bit. I could tell that he isn't too happy talking about it. I see him twirling his fingers and looking a bit distraught.

"Oh! Really!? Wait, sorry..I should've thought that through." I say.

"Was it that bad, Steven?" Mabel asks, worried.

I could see that Mabel and everyone else is genuinely worried for Steven, considering his demeanor changed so quickly.

"It was." He says quietly.

I suddenly feel bad.

"I'll continue with my explanation.." I say, getting away from that part specifically, "Number two involves two weird superheroes."

"Weird how?" Wendy asks.

"Half-ghost weird." I state.

"Half-ghost?"

"Well, that's my theory. There's a ghost superhero that calls himself 'Danny Phantom' and he's a superhero who fights other ghosts. Nobody knows his true identity. He recently had a similar hero join him, making them a ghost duo." I continue, "They also happen to be from Amity Park, just like you guys."

Danny and his friends suddenly have a similar look that Steven a minute prior. Ok, they definitely know about those heroes. They look a bit nervous rather completely horrified though.

- Danny's P.O.V.

Holy crud...I should be careful with how I answer.

"Yeah, we definitely know about them." I say.

"They're the number one heroes of Amity Park, how could we not know about them." Sam states.

"They actually saved our lives more than once. So they're cool." Tucker says calmly.

"Whoa, I'd like to meet them! They sound awesome!" Mabel says excitedly.

"If you think they're half-ghosts, how does that work?" Wendy asks.

"My theory is that they have all the abilities of a ghost, and they can transform between their human and ghost forms at will." Dipper says.

He's smart. Scarily smart. He's exactly right! How did he theorize that correctly?! Sam looks at me with wide eyes.

"Huh, that's an interesting theory." Tucker says.

"Well, those are the two weirdest things I've searched up." Dipper says.

"Those are definitely weird." Wendy says, "But kinda cool."

"Dipper, were you doing 'that' again?" Mabel asks, squinting her eyes.

"What? No, it's just coincidence!" He exclaims. 

"You promise?"

"I promise."

I wonder what that was about. I turn to see Steven on his phone. He must be texting his girlfriend. Anyway, I don't know how Dipper came to the correct conclusion, but he did. I'm aware that information about my superhero persona is on the internet, and people have looked into it before. But Dipper is different. I'll keep an eye on him.

I grab my phone to look at the time. I see that it's past midnight. I see Dani and Mabel yawn at the same time.

"I didn't realize how late it is." Steven says.

"It is getting to be a little late." I say.

"No! I refuse to go to sleep." Mabel exclaims.

"Do we have to?" Dani whines.

I roll my eyes. I can see that they are tired. I look at everyone to see it's starting to effect them too. I look outside to see that it's much darker than before.

"Yes. As much as we want to stay late, we won't be able to. We had quite a busy day." I explain.

"That's true." Wendy agrees.

Before any of us could say anything else, we see the empty boxes float slowly! Dani and I gasp as our ghost sense goes off!

We suddenly see all the other things in the room floating! Everyone looks around the room in awe.

"Is there a ghost here?!" Dipper asks.

He looks everywhere the attic to see if there's any ghosts around.

"You are most certainly right, child!"

Oh no, I know that voice well..

As expected, he appears.

"I am the Booox ghost!" He yells.

"Whoa!" Wendy yells.

"Yes, fear me!"

"It's been a while since I've seen a ghost! What do you do?" Wendy asks.

"I control all things square and box-like!" He exclaims.

"Well that's kind of lame." Mabel states.

"Yeah, really it is." Dipper says, agreeing with Mabel.

"That's rude! You don't see me calling you two lame." He retorts, clearly hurt.

He starts using his abilities to make things move! He then targets everyone in the vicinity of the attic.

"Beware!"

"Everyone run out of the room!" Steven yells.

Everyone runs out and goes to different parts of the house! Dani and I make sure we're together when we separate!

"Let's go ghost!" Dani exclaims quietly.

We quickly transform and head towards Box Ghost! We see that he's chasing the twins! Clearly he's still butthurt from their comments. It's pretty petty to be mad at some kids though!

We turn invisible to make things easier.

"Guys, don't let him near anything boxlike!" I yell.

"Yeah, we learned enough about him to know those details!" Dani exclaims.

"Got it!" Dipper yells.

The twins end up running outside and the Box Ghost follows! Dani and I hit him with a few beams and he goes down easily! We look at each other and we get the same idea. We split ourselves in two to continue the illusion. Dani files in the house and comes out as normal. 

"Are you guys ok?!" She asks.

"We're fine!" Mabel exclaims.

The Box Ghost suddenly makes everything float, including the assault vehicle! Before anything could be thrown at the twins and Dani, a pink shield flies in out of nowhere and hits the Box Ghost! "Ghost Dani" sees this as an opportunity! Ghost Dani visibly flies in to punch him! "Ghost Me" comes in to do the same.

"Wait, it's them! It's the heroes!" Dipper exclaims.

I come back out running with the Fenton Thermos. I activate it.

"Nooo! Not again! I refuse to go back to the cylindrical prison!" Box Ghost yells.

"You got this!" Ghost Dani says.

Our "clones" disappear and the Box Ghost is finally sucked into the thermos.

"Whoa, that was so cool!" Mabel says excitedly.

"Are you guys ok?!"

We turn to see Steven coming out of the shack.

"Yeah, we're ok!" Dipper yells, "But did you see that?! They were here!"

"I saw! I'm just glad you guys are ok!" Steven says, clearly relieved.

I see Dani yawn again. I roll my eyes and smile.

"I think it time for us to go sleep." I say.

Chapter Text

- Dipper's P.O.V.

I stare at the ceiling, not being able to sleep. I can't believe we saw them up close! We saw Danny Phantom and his companion! They defeated the Box Ghost guy with ease! I grab my mini journal and I start writing down more observations. Both pages were filled to the brim with my notes! I made sure to contain myself since everyone else is sleeping.

I look at everyone to make sure that they're asleep. I look at Mabel first and I see she's in a deep sleep. I also see Waddles snuggled up next to her, as usual. I look at the floor to see Sam, Tucker, and Jazz sleeping away in their sleeping bags. Steven, Danny, and Dani are in the other room.
...there should really be an indicator as to which one I'm talking about. Both of them having the same name is getting confusing!

Anyway, I continue to look at my observations that I had written down in the past few weeks. I start to write in some more on a new page.

As I do, I start to feel somewhat tired..

************

I open my eyes to see that I'm outside...wait..why am I outside?! I look around to see that I'm in the forest. Not just the forest, but the specific part of the forest where I first found the journal last summer! I go to the tree and knock it.

*THUNK, THUNK!*

Same tree! I manage to activate the mechanism and the spot opens! I look to see the journal! I found it! I can't believe it!

...wait, it's looks different. The journal is yellow! Instead of a 6-fingered hand symbol with a number 3, there's a triangle with an infinity symbol on it!

Suddenly, I hear it. That laugh, that malicious laugh! The journal shakes violently and I immediately throw it to the ground! The book jerks and cracks excessively, it's transforming! I see blood coming out with each movement! I scream at the horror I'm witnessing!

"Piiiiiiine Treeeee!"

I look up to see the monster that I haven't seen in so long, Bill Cipher!

"Oh, boy! It's good to be back!" He yells happily.

I hide behind the tree out of fear. Not again! I don't want to dream about him again!

"You're so funny, Pine Tree! You think you can hide from me!" He exclaims, "I can see you!"

The trees suddenly grows eyes and they all look at me!

"Aww don't hide from me! Don't you want to spend some time with me?"

"No!" I scream.

"Aw come on, I want to have some fun!" He says gleefully.

I start running off! I run as far as my legs can carry me!

"Let's put on a puppet show!"

I suddenly see myself appear with strings attached to my limbs! The other me laughs and his head turns a complete 180!

"I'm Dipper! The fun possessed dummy! I love to solve mysteries! Too bad I'm not meant to last!" The other me exclaims.

The other me deteriorates in front of me! All that is left is bones and my hat! Wait, it's getting up!

"I'm a silly skeleton now!" The skeleton yells!

It laughs! The laugh gets more distorted as it goes on!

"I know, let's play blood lasers!" Bill booms.

He fires off some lasers, targeting me in the process! I trip and one laser comes straight for me! I close my eyes, waiting for the impact. I suddenly hear a thud, then Bill's scream.

"Oh saints alive, that hurts!" He screams.

I open my eyes to see a familiar pink jacket in front of me!

"Steven!?"

"Dipper! Are you ok?!" He asks, clearly worried.

"I'm ok. Why--how are you--"

"You little brat! It takes time for my eye to go back to normal!" Bill yells.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Steven says more calmly.

"You better not take him, you brat! I'm not done with him!" He yells again!

This isn't real! This is just a nightmare! I have to wake up! Bill was defeated last year! He was defeated last year...right? Steven grabs me and runs off with me! The ground breaks under us and he jumps towards the trees! He lands on tree branch effortlessly.

"You are really problematic! I'm not going to let you ruin my fun!" Bill screams angrily.

He transforms into this multi-armed beast with multiple mouths! He yells out a distorted roar!

"I will turn you both into corpses!"

We scream and Steven starts jumping on tree branches! Bill starts shooting lasers again! One shoots straight through my hat! No, no, no! I want us to get away! He's getting closer!

"Stand still!" He screams.

The branch breaks and we start falling into the dark void! He shoots another laser!
Aaaaah! My hand! He shot it off!

"Dipper!" Steven exclaims.

Bill gets closer!

"FINALLY!" He roars gleefully.

*SLING!*

"WHAT THE--"

*SLING! SLING! SLING SLING SLING SLING!*

Are those...SHIELDS?!

"Leave...my...friend...ALONE!" Steven yells, angrily.

As soon as he yells that, more shields slice Bill apart! Bill breaks into a bunch of pieces! He's back to normal somehow, as if he was piloting his monster form.

"Steven, slap me!" I yell!

"What?! Why?!" He asks.

"I need to wake up!"

"...Alright!"

He hesitantly slaps me hard!

*GASP!*

I frantically look around to see that I'm back in my room. I look at my hand! Oh thank goodness, it's still attached! Everyone is still asleep, despite my loud gasping. I'm drenched in sweat. It felt so real...

No, Bill is gone. Bill is gone...right? And Steven! Why was he in my dream?

- Steven's P.O.V.

Oh man, I did it again..I didn't mean to! I hope Dipper isn't too suspicious in the morning.

At the very least I'm back in my dream. I sit down on the sand and grab some Chaaaps. Cool, there's every flavor of them in one bag! And the beach looks beautiful. Huh?

I see my ukelele next to me. Awesome! I put the bag down and I pick up the ukelele. I strum it for good measure.

Great, it still works! I start playing.

🎵 What a lovely day at the beach, even though it's far out of my reach. I can still see it in a dreeeam, so far out of the seeems. It's a lovely siiiiight. I'll remember with all of my miiiiight.🎵

"That's such a nice song, Steven."

I know that voice...

I turn around to see Mom standing in front of me. She's smiling warmly, as she always did in her photo.

"T-thank you." I say nervously.

This isn't the first time I've dreamt about Mom. Whenever I do, it's usually not a good thing. However, the last few times she appeared, things have been ok. The therapy I have been receiving so far has helped me come to terms with my mom. There are still some things, but it's definitely better.

"Is it ok if I join you?" She asks.

"Sure." I say.

She sits down beside me.

"So how are things going for you?" She asks.

"Things are ok." I answer.

"That's great."

We sit in silence for a bit. We stare into clear water. I grab the Chaaaps and move them to her direction awkwardly.

"Want...some?" I ask.

"Sure, sounds lovely." She says.

She grabs the bag and gets some. I hear the crunch as she bites into it.

"This is really good!" She exclaims.

"I know right!?" I say.

We laugh happily. We laugh until it dies down. This is nice.

"Actually, I have some more news." I say.

"Really?" She asks.

"Yeah. I made some new friends."

"Oh, that's wonderful Steven! I'm so happy for you."

I smile.

That's when the ground starts to shake. I suddenly a figure coming straight out of ocean.

Oh no...

- Danny's P.O.V.

I get up slowly as if to not wake everyone up. Hopefully I remember where the bathroom is. I walk by and I open the door. The door makes a low creaking sound. I hear Dani's sleeping bag move. I see her yawn and wipe her eye.

"Danny? Where are you going?" She asks groggily.

"Bathroom." I respond.

"Oh...ok." She says.

She lies back down as I walk out of the room.

*1 minute later*

After finishing up, I wash my hands thoroughly. I grab the towel above the toilet and I dry my hands. I soon as I come out, I see Dani running up to me.

"Danny, help!" She exclaims quietly.

"What's wrong?!" I ask.

"It's Steven! Something's happening to him!" She explains.

As soon as she said that, we ran back to the room! We run past the twins room and I reach for the door!

"What on Earth?!" I exclaim.

I suddenly hear footsteps coming our way! I turn to see Dipper with some sort of journal with him.

"What's wrong?!" He asks.

"What's with all the noise?"

We turn to see Mabel tiredly walking over to us.

"It's Steven!" Dani says.

"What do you mean?" Dipper asks.

The twins turn to see what Dani's talking about.

"Omg!" Mabel exclaims.

What's happening to him?!

Chapter Text

- Danny's P.O.V.

Steven's floating! He's clearly having nightmare, but he's floating! How? I don't sense any ghosts around.

"He's floating!" Mabel yells.

As soon as she said that, Steven gasps himself awake! He falls back on his bed. He looks around nervously. He sighs in relief.

"Steven, are you ok?" Dani asks.

His face suddenly goes pale and he looks at us. He must've not noticed us.

"I'm fine! I just..had a bad dream." He says nervously.

"Are you? You were just floating!" Dipper exclaims.

He suddenly blushes a bright shade of pink. He looks horrified.

"I was?!" He asks, clearly scared.

"Yeah, you were. I honestly thought a ghost was messing with you." I explain.

"Oh my gosh..." he says quietly.

"Well, if it was, the ghost has probably left." Dipper states.

Looking at Steven, we could all tell that he's exhausted. He sighs again.

"Let's just...go to sleep. I'm really tired." He says tiredly.

"Agreed." I say.

The twins head out to their room while Dani and I go to our sleeping bags. I see Steven lie down. He turns to face the wall, as if he doesn't want us to look at him. Dani and I look at each other, then back at him, worried.

How bad of a dream was it?

************

"Are you ready for another day?!" Soos asks happily.

"I'm ready." I say.

"Yeah." Steven says with a smile.

"Awesome! Now let's work, dudes!" He exclaims.

He walks outside to greet the first group of tourists. Steven goes to the cash register and starts preparing his station. He looks a bit depressed. That's unlike him. Even though I've only known him for a few weeks, I know that he's usually pretty chipper. Especially in the morning. Today, however, he's not exactly happy.

Maybe I should ask him if he's ok...

- Steven's P.O.V.

Where's the sign, why can't I find it?

"Hey, Steven?"

"Hmm?"

I look up to see Danny right in front of me, looking concerned.

"Are you ok?" He asks.

"I'm fi--"

I stop myself. I don't want to keep pushing down my feelings. That's what got me feeling bad the first time around. I want to be honest with my feelings.

"Actually, no. Not really." I say, finally.

"Oh..uh...do you want to talk about it?" He asks awkwardly.

"I do." I state.

"Alright, what's on your mind? Is this about the dream from last night?"

"Yeah..." I admit, "It was a really bad dream...no, it was a nightmare.."

He looks at me even more concerned.

"I was reliving one of the worst memories of my life. Every time I tried to change it, the result ended up the same." I continue, "I..don't want to talk about that memory."

I start to feel a bit anxious. I know that things have changed for the better, but that memory of White Diamond pulling out my gem will never fully go away...

"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you to tell me." He says.

"Really?" I ask.

"Of course." He responds.

I smile at him, feeling somewhat better.

"Having bad memories and nightmares are not fun." He states.

"Haha yeah." I say while chuckling.

Wait...it sounds like he's gone through some bad things himself.

"Have you gone through some...bad..stuff?" I ask.

Wait, no! Why did I ask that?!

"Uh, I mean..I didn't mean.." I stammer.

"It's fine, Steven. I've been through some bad stuff as well. Nightmares too. Actually, Jazz suggested that I should get therapy for it." He explains.

"Oh..well, if you decide that, I could help you. I'm in therapy already, so maybe I could..try?" I say, stumbling on my words.

Danny smiles.

"I would like that. Thanks." He says.

"Oh! Uh..no problem." I say.

As soon as we finished, Soos and the tourists came in. Danny went back to stocking some things while I prepared myself for the paying crowd.

"You ready, Steven?"

I turn to see Wendy coming in.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I say.

And so, the day continues on as normal. A lot of the customers seem to be really nice. I suddenly hear two girls having a discussion as they walk towards me.

"Hey, guy, I need your opinion." The first girl says.

"Oh, alright. How can I help?" I ask politely with a smile.

Both girls seem to blush slightly, unable to speak. Did I say something wrong?

"Right! My friend says that I look better with one shirt, but the one that I picked looks better. Which one do you think is better?" The first girl explains.

The second girl grabs the second shirt and holds one in front of her, then switches to the second shirt. I'm not completely well versed in fashion, but both shirts seemed to look good on the first girl. I'll just be honest, hopefully that works.

"Well, both shirts seem to look lovely on you! Each one brings a nice quality to your appearance." I exclaim.

Both girls look at me dumbfounded. I guess that was the wrong thing to say.

"Sorry, I guess that didn't help." I say sheepishly.

"I'll take both of them!" The first girl exclaims.

"Huh?"

"I'm surprised we didn't think of that...thanks for the help." The second girl says while blushing.

"Oh uh, no problem." I say.

I ring up the shirts and tell them their total. The first girl pays the total and both girls walk out. 'He's so cute!' Is what I hear faintly from one of them as they leave.

...oh. That explains why they were blushing. I didn't even notice!

- Dipper's P.O.V.

I walk in to see Steven speaking to some customers who were kind of arguing about some shirts. As soon as he gave his honest opinion, the girls immediately calmed down and bought both shirts. Wow, he diffused that quickly.

"Dipper, are you spying on Steven again?"

Aah! I turn to see Grunkle Stan in front of me.

"What? No, I just happened to come in here." I say.

"Look, kid. I wanna believe ya, but I've noticed how you been writing some things down on your mini journal. I get that you're curious and stuff like that, but spying on people is weird." He states.

Normally Grunkle Stan wouldn't be telling me this stuff. He must serious. As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Steven is odd, but he's shown nothing but kindness to us. He's also been really helpful. I shouldn't be spying on him.

"Plus if you're going to spy, you need to hide better!" He exclaims jokingly.

Well I saw that coming.

"Thanks, Grunkle Stan." I say.

"You're welcome, Dipper."

He walks away and I turn back to see Steven talking to Danny. Once I see that, I walk away. I can't stop thinking about last night. Steven was floating! Was there another ghost around? I guess I'll never know. No, I should get my mind off of this.

...I wonder if Grunkle Ford fixed the assault vehicle yet.

I go outside to see him and Grunkle Stan talking near the vehicle. I figured that Grunkle Ford would ask for Grunkle Stan's help.

I sit down on the porch and I take out my mini journal. I look through its contents again. I see the pages about Steven. Huh, I got a lot of observations for him. Maybe I should remove the pages about Steven. 

I don't know what to do.

"Darn it, Stanley! I told you to be careful with the tools!"

"I was being careful!"

Seems like Stan and Ford are arguing again. Out of curiosity, I go up to them.

"Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford, what's wrong?" I ask.

"Stanley broke one of the tools I was using." Ford explains.

"Did not! It was fragile!" Stan retorts.

"Whoa, it seems like you're having issues."

Danny and Steven come up to us.

"Are you two slacking?" Stan asks.

"No, Soos gave us a break." Danny says.

"Really? Why?" I ask.

"Steven dealt with a...difficult customer." Danny explains.

"I wish I had done more to help.." Steven laments sadly.

"She didn't deserve your help. She was a witch." Danny retorts.

"A Karen?" I ask.

"Definitely." Danny responds.

"Mr. Pines...and Mr. Pines, are you two ok? Because you guys are getting loud." Steven asks.

"One of my tools broke." Ford states.

We look at the tool, it was somehow broken in two. It must've been old. It's definitely Grunkle Ford's tool, because I can't fully tell what it is.

"Can I take a closer look at it?" Steven asks.

"Go ahead."

Steven gets the broken halves of the tool and inspects it. He turns around and raises to look at it towards a better light. He lowers the tool and we no longer see it. We stand there a for few seconds, wondering why he inspecting it with his back turned.

"Done!" He says happily while turning back to us.

What the--how!? The tool is completely intact! How did he fix it?! What did he do?! He only had it for a few seconds, so it shouldn't be possible! We look at the tool, and Steven, in complete shock.

"Steven...you..fixed it!" Ford exclaims.

"I did! I hope you don't mind." Steven says happily.

"I don't...this is fantastic! I'm ecstatic! I'm beaming! I'm--"

"Poindexter's happy. Thanks for the help, kid." Stan says while interrupting Ford.

Grunkle Ford clears his throat.

"Right! Much appreciated, Steven." Ford says more calmly.

"No problem, Mr. Pines. I'm glad I could help." Steven says with a smile.

"That was impressive." Danny says.

Steven chuckles and they walk back to the shack.

"What a fascinating young man. I wonder how he did it." Ford states.

"Maybe he glued it?" Stan says with a shrug.

"That was too quick to be glue, Stanley." Ford says.

"I agree, Grunkle Ford. I don't think it was glue." I state.

He did something to it. I know he did! I have to find out how!

...wait, no. I'm doing it again. I seriously need to distract myself.

"Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford, can I help?" I ask.

- Danny's P.O.V.

I walk back into the shack with Steven. I asked him how he fixed it. He said it was a secret. I guess I'll never know. We enter to see my sisters and friends, along with Mabel and Wendy. They were all peeking into the gift shop.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I ask.

"There's a lady yelling at Soos." Mabel states.

"She's still here?!" I ask in shock

Steven and I poke our heads in to see that Soos is still dealing with that Karen. Except he's accompanied by his fiance this time.

"She's really tearing into them." Sam says.

"What a jerk!" Tucker exclaims.

I decide to go straight towards them. Steven follows. I have to know if we're still on a break.

"Soos, are we still on break?" I ask.

I suddenly see the woman turn around angrily to face us. This woman definitely has the features of a Karen. Short, blond pixie cut, middle aged, and a bit on the bigger side. She looks flushed. That yelling isn't doing her any favors.

"Uh, yeah, dude. I did tell you guys 20 minutes." Soos says, looking a bit thrown off.

"Break?! That brat in the pink jacket should be fired!" The lady says while pointing at Steven, "He insulted me and treated like dirt!"

I see Steven look defeated. I can tell he feels bad. He shouldn't feel bad, especially in this situation.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am." Steven says softly.

I see him turning bright pink again. It's faint, but I can still see it. He's really not having a good day. The moment I see him get sad has me angry.

"Lady, what's your problem?! He tried helping you! I saw everything!" I yelled.

"Danny, no!" Steven says.

"How dare you?!" She yells back.

"How dare you?! Steven is one of the nicest people I've ever met. He would never insult anyone, even you!" And trust me, you deserve a few insults!"

Before she can say anything else, I turn and head over to Soos.

"Soos, I saw everything. I never once saw Steven treating this crazed up fruit loop like garbage! He was completely civil the entire time!" I explain.

"Teenagers nowadays are all liars! Especially the pink one! He was not nice at all!" She yells again.

She goes up to Steven and grabs him by the shirt!

"I will get you fired, you useless little--!"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

He pushes her and she falls back! He has a look of horror on his face and he's shaking. His face is sporting a now obvious bright pink blush. Actually, no, it looks like his face is glowing! Despite him shaking, he takes a deep breath, then he breathes out.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, don't touch me! It's rude! I honestly don't like you very much, but I tried helping you regardless. I'm sorry I couldn't help you." He says.

He turns around and quickly walks away.

"He attacked me!" She exclaims.

"He was defending himself, you nutjob!" Sam yells.

Everyone else chimes in to Steven's defense! The lady is thrown off by everyone else's outbursts!

"Look, Ma'am, we tried being polite and hospitable. But since you attempted to attack one of our employees, I'm calling the police! Either you leave, or you get arrested. Your choice." Melody says sternly.

The lady's eyes widened.

"You'll never catch me alive!" She yells.

She immediately runs out without hesitation! We all look at each other in confusion. Did that really just happen?

"I wished we had helped a bit more." Dani says sadly.

"No worries, dudes. I feel like things would've ended up the same way regardless. Plus, I didn't want you guys to be involved like that anyway." Soos explains.

"Hey, we should check to see if Steven is ok." Mabel states.

"You're right, I'll check on him." I state.

"I'll join you." Mabel says.

We walk out of the gift shop towards the other side of the shack. We look everywhere to see where he could've gone.

"Maybe we should check his room." Mabel states.

We go upstairs and head straight to his room. We see the door a bit open and we hear Steven talking. We get close and start to listen.

"Don't worry, Connie, I'm much better now. Especially since I'm talking to you." He says.

"Awww." Mabel says quietly.

"Haha, I couldn't help it. ...Uh huh..uh huh..you want to visit soon?! That would be great! ...yeah, we'll get to go out! And you'll get to meet everybody! ...alright, we'll talk about it later! Bye, Connie!"

He hangs up and Mabel bursts into the room.

"We'll get to meet Connie?!" She asks excitedly.

"Aah! How long have you been there?" He asks back.

"Long enough to hear you say 'Especially since I'm talking to you.'" I state.

"Oh, so you just got here. Whew, ok." He says, relieved.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to spy on you. We just wanted to make sure you were ok." Mabel chimes in.

"Aww, that's sweet. The 'wanting to check up on me' thing, not the spying. Please don't do that again." He responds.

"We won't." I state.

"So, you're better, then?" Mabel asks.

"Much better." He states.

"Well, we're glad. That lady was crazy! She shouldn't have put your hands on you!" I explain.

I think back to earlier. Steven looked like he was ready to knock that lady out! But he somehow managed to keep his composure.

"You're right, she shouldn't have done that. Her doing that brought some...bad memories up." He admits sadly.

We stay silent. Mabel and I don't want to say anything,  so we wait. The best thing we can do is to be there for him. We see him smile suddenly.

"On the bright side, I'll get to see Connie and Lion soon!" He exclaims happily.

"Lion? Who's Lion?" I ask.

"Oh! Well, he's my pet. Connie has him while I'm traveling." He explains.

"It sounds like you have a cat." I note.

"Do you have a cat, Steven?!" Mabel asks excitedly.

"I do. Lion is a big cat." Steven responds with a sneaky smile.

"Is he an actual lion?" I ask jokingly.

"He is!" He exclaims.

We look at Steven, dumbfounded. He's gotta be joking...right?

Chapter Text

- Steven's P.O.V.

"Bye, see you next week!" I say.

I end the video call between me and my therapist. It's good that I got to talk to them about the incident. Ever since the incident last week, everyone had been making sure that I don't have difficult customers to deal with. I appreciate it, but I can handle it myself. I look at the time. 

Oh, it's time to start work!

I put on my question mark T-shirt and I start heading out. I head downstairs to go the gift shop. I see Wendy, Danny, and the twins having a conversation.

"Hi, guys!" I greet.

Dipper suddenly looks shocked.

"Wait, Steven, watch--!"

"Whoooa!"

I suddenly slip and fall backwards on my back!

"Out..." Dipper finishes.

"Oh no, Steven slipped on the banana peel!" Mabel exclaims.

Uuuugh, my head. Wait, banana peel? I look to the floor and sure enough, there's a banana peel. Why on earth is there a banana peel on the floor?! And who left it there?!

"Steven, you ok man?" Wendy asks.

"My head hurts a bit, but I'm fine otherwise." I answer.

I see Waddles come by and he starts sniffing around my gem. His nose starts lifting up my shirt!

"Waddles, don't sniff Steven's belly...hey, where's your bellybutton, Steven?" Mabel says.

I immediately get nervous.

"Mabel, you can't just ask about that. That's kind of rude." Dipper scolds.

"But there's something pink and shiny under his shirt." She states.

Dipper suddenly looks very curious. I quickly sit up.

"I don't know what you're talking about! If anything, we should be working!" I exclaim nervously.

"Steven? Are you ok?" Danny asks.

"I'm fine!" I say a bit loudly, " Come on! Let's start working, guys!"

Not yet, they can't know yet.

- Dipper's P.O.V.

Pink and shiny?! No bellybutton?! Now that's suspicious! Why would Steven want to hide it? Is he embarrassed by it? I want to figure it out...but I have to control myself. It's not my business.

*Slam!*

We quickly turn to see a kid my age with some water balloons!

"This is for my mother! Eat this, pinky!" The guy says.

He suddenly throws the water balloons at Steven! They all hit him in succession! The crazy lady from last week comes in and cheers him on!

"That's right, sweetie! Git 'em!" She yells!

"Got him, Mama!" He yells back!

"Run away! I hope you like hot cheese whizz, pinky!" She exclaims.

They run off before we could say anything. Did that really just happen?!

"Aah! Hot cheese whizz! It burns!" Steven yells.

"How the heck did they pull that off?!" Wendy asks.

"We shouldn't question it! Let's go to Melody! She should have the first aid kit!" Danny yells.

Wendy and Danny grab Steven and they take him out of the gift shop. We follow behind them due to how worried we are. What the heck were they thinking?! Steven could get second, or third, degree burns from this! And for what? A sold out item?! Absolutely ridiculous.

"Should we tell Soos about this?" Mabel asks.

"Crud. We should." Wendy says.

"I'll go!" I state.

I immediately run off to get Soos. 

I navigate my through the Shack. I slam open the door and run outside. I see Soos with a group of tourists. Oh, man. This is will be a bit difficult.

- Danny's P.O.V.

While Dipper runs off, we find Melody in the kitchen!

"Oh, hey guys what's--why is Steven covered in cheese whizz?" She says, clearly confused.

"It's hot! It's hot!" Steven yells.

"We'll explain in a moment, the cheese whizz is burning him! Where's the first aid kit?!" I yell.

"Oh! I'll get it!" She exclaims.

She goes below the pantry and takes it out! Man, she's quick! She gets all the necessary things out, including bandages.

"Is it still hot, Steven?" Melody asks.

"A little bit!" He yells nervously.

"I'm on it! Waddles!" Mabel exclaims.

She picks Waddles up and holds him next to Steven. Waddles starts licking off the cheese from his arm!

"Hahaha, that tickles!" Steven says with tears in his eyes.

"Is that a good idea?" Wendy asks.

"You know what? This could work. I could disinfect and bandage him up this way. Mabel, keep going!" Melody states.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Mabel exclaims.

I don't know how this ended up working, but it did! Waddles licked off most of the cheese and Melody was able to bandage him up. Despite being in pain, Steven was laughing a lot of the time.

The shirt is the only thing left that still has the cheese. Specifically on the right shoulder and the chest.

"Alright sweetie, I'm going to need you to take off your shirt." Melody states.

Steven suddenly goes pale.

"D-do I have to? Can't I have it on" He asks nervously.

"Steven, I have to bandage you up. Besides, that shirt needs to be cleaned up." Melody explains.

He sighs deeply. Is Steven self-conscious?

"Whatever it is, I won't judge you for it. I just want to help you." Melody says.

"Alright." He says.

He takes off his shirt and puts the shirt aside.

"Ok, let me quickly bandage you up." Melody states, "Huh? Steven, is that a shiny...thing?"

I look to see that he does have a shiny thing in the middle of his stomach. Right where his bellybutton should be. Wendy and Mabel also look to see it. I look to see that Steven looks a bit nervous. He opens his mouth to say something.

"Dude! Are you alright?! I heard what happene--oh hey Melody!" Soos says loudly.

"Hi, sweetie! He's ok now. I just bandaged him up." She states.

"Oh thank goodness...hey, what's with the pink thing on your stomach?" Soos ponders.

"Pink thing!?" Dipper yells.

"Steven, you like to bezazzle too?!" Mabel asks excitedly.

Looking at Steven, he seems overwhelmed with the questions.

"Guys, maybe we should stop asking questions. We do have things to do, after all." I state.

"Danny's right. Everyone except Steven, out of the kitchen." Melody says.

Nobody questioned Melody. We start leaving the kitchen.

"Danny, you stay." She says.

"Really? Why?" I ask.

"You still owe me an explanation." She answers.

"Oh right!"

I quickly explain what happened.

"Oh my goodness. Well, I'll make sure that that woman is banned." She says with a stern voice.

"How come you didn't ask Steven?" I ask.

"Well, I didn't want to bother him with the question. Especially since he was the victim of a hot cheese attack." She explains.

"Attacked by super hot cheese whizz, that's new." Steven says with a nervous smile.

"Well, there's a first for everything." I say jokingly.

Steven starts laughing. At least he's in a good mood now.

"Let me get a new shirt for you." Melody says.

She leaves the kitchen and leaves the two of us alone. Steven stops laughing and it gets silent. It seems like he's thinking about something.

...Thinking about it myself, what is it with the shiny circle he has on his bellybutton? I mean, I want to ask, but maybe I should let him talk about it.

"You know, everyone kept calling my..um bellybutton...a 'shiny thing', but that's not what it is." He states, breaking the silence, "Haha, I don't even know why I'm nervous to talk about it."

I guess he is going to talk about it.

"What is it then?" I ask, now curious.

"It's my gem." He answers.

"Gem?"

"Yeah. I'm half-human and half-gem."

A gem? Does he mean jewelry or..?

"I should explain better." He says.

He gives a brief explanation about what Gems are. He also gave me an explanation about their society and their leaders. He then explains how he got his gem from his mom.

"So Gems are magical rock aliens?" I ask.

"Yeah." He answers.

I look at the gem closely.

"And their society was ruled over by four leaders, who are diamonds?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, so there's White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond, and Pink Diamond?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Does that make the diamonds royalty?"

"I guess so?" He says while being uncertain about it.

Ok, I think I'm starting to get it. The Diamonds are the most powerful. The rest that aren't diamonds originally followed a caste system, so to speak. However, according to Steven, there's only three diamonds now since Pink Diamond has been gone for a while.

That and their Gems are what give them their physical forms, as well as their magical abilities. Judging from he said, it seems that of all the Gems are women...or at least have forms of women? Speaking of..

"You said that your mom was a gem. What kind of gem was she?" I ask.

"Uh..actually, she was Pink Diamond.." He answers a bit sheepishly.

"Oh...wait what?!" I respond.

I see him smile nervously.

"I found a shirt!"

Melody comes in and gives Steven the replacement shirt. Steven quickly puts on the shirt.

"Are you ok enough to continue working? Because we'll let you rest if you're not." Melody asks.

"I'm ok, Melody. I can continue working." He answers.

"Alright then. Try stocking some inventory for the time being, Wendy's covering you for now. Be careful, you two." Melody says.

Steven stands up and we walk off together. I can't believe it. Not only is he half-human, but half-alien! I didn't think there were other things out there. I mean, ghosts exist, so it would make sense if other things did too.

This whole situation is interesting.

- Steven's P.O.V.

I didn't think I would tell Danny! He seems so understanding about it. Maybe I should explain it to him more. Either way, I should thank him for not freaking out or anything.

"Hey, Danny? Thanks for listening."

"Hmm? You don't have to thank me." He says.

"I want to. I didn't think I'd be telling anyone else about Gem stuff. I've been trying to hide that from more people nowadays. You know, to keep a low profile." I explain.

He looks at me with a concerned expression.

"Are you the only um..'human gem' in existence?" He asks.

I nod, unable to answer out loud. Now thinking about it, it feels lonely.

"That kind of sounds lonely." He states sadly.

"It is." I respond.

He stops at the front door. I stop ahead of him. I look back at him to see him thinking. He's silent. He then walks and stands next to me.

"You know...if you ever want to talk about that stuff...I'll listen." He says, "Besides, you should know.."

Without warning, his eyes turn from blue to green!

"You're not alone." He finishes with a smirk.

His eyes turn back to blue.

"Come on, we need to stock up on inventory." He states, still smirking.

He goes out the door and I stand there, shocked! That wasn't my imagination, right?! His eyes turned green! Wait...oh my gosh! I was right!? I should...no wait, now's not the time! I'll ask him later.

"Hey, wait up!" I yell.

************

We finish stocking up the inventory and we plop down on the floor. We are sweaty from getting everything, and it's super hot outside!

"Man, it is hot!" Danny exclaims.

"Yeah.." I say.

We sit in silence. There's nothing else to say about today. Well, there's one thing. But I don't know how I should bring it up.

"Hey Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"You're Danny Phantom...right?"

His expression changes to being a bit surprised.

"What makes you think that?" He asks.

"Your names sounds almost exactly the same. You know, Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom. I thought it was a funny coincidence at first. I'm surprised that Dipper didn't notice it at the sleepover." I explain, "Anyway, I decided to look it up myself after he told us. When I did, I saw pictures of Danny Phantom. And I saw how similar you two looked."

I continue to explain my reasoning. He keeps sporting a surprised face the entire time. After I finish, he still looks surprised.

"Am..am I..right?" I ask nervously.

He continues to sit in silence. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sure that I didn't get it wrong..but now I'm having second thoughts.

"You know, I thought Dipper was going to figure it out first. But I was wrong." He says, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" I blurt out.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm Danny Phantom."

I was right!

"There you are."

We turn to see Wendy at the door.

"Soos said we're done for the day." She says.

"Really? Isn't it a little early?" Danny asks.

"It is. It just got slow, is all." She explains.

Danny and I get up from the floor. We suddenly see Wendy fanning herself.

"Man, it's hot in here too." She notes.

"It's been like that all day." Danny says.

"Oh, trust me, I know. Even the customers were complaining about the weather." Wendy explains.

Huh, I didn't think it was that bad.

"I hope this doesn't keep up. I wouldn't want the Summerween party to be rescheduled." She continues.

"Summer..ween?" Danny asks.

"We celebrate Halloween twice here." She states.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Hallo...ween?" I ask.

"Yeah..?" Wendy answers, puzzled.

"What's Halloween?" I ask.

Wendy and Danny look at me with shocked expressions.

"Steven..you don't know what Halloween is?" Danny asks.

"No. I'm kind of confused." I answer.

The both of them stare at me. Did I say something wrong?

Chapter Text

- Dipper's P.O.V.

"Ohhh, so that's what it is?"

"Yep, that's all there is to it."

How is that possible? How does Steven not know about Halloween? I want to look into it further, but I promised myself not to do it again.

"Hey Steven, how come you didn't know about Halloween?" Mabel asks.

"Oh! Well, we don't celebrate any holidays in Beach City." He explains.

That can't just be it. There's got to be more to it. What does it all mean?! No! I told myself I wasn't doing this..

"That makes sense. Not everyone celebrates the same thing." Mabel says.

"Yeah. If anything, I'm pretty sure that there are some countries that wouldn't know or celebrate it either." Wendy states.

...oh right. I can't just automatically assume that everyone will have the same experience with holidays. Heck, it was absurd finding out about Summerween! I really need to stop jumping to conclusions..

"You know what, you guys should come to this year's Summerween party." Wendy states.

"Really?!" Steven and I ask excitedly.

"Of course. You guys didn't get to go last year, and these guys should go with us too." Wendy says with a smile.

"Can Grenda and Candy come too?!" Mabel asks excitedly.

"Sure." She says.

"Yes!"

"When's the party?" I ask.

"Tomorrow night." She answers.

"Cool."

Suddenly, a few beeps could be heard. Steven takes his phone out and stares at it. He smiles and starts texting. Must be Connie.

"Connie?" Danny asks.

"Yeah...is it obvious?" Steven says.

"You smile every time she messages you, dude." Wendy states.

Steven smiles shyly and blushes. Huh, it's a normal blush this time.

"Wait, is she coming over?" Mabel asks.

"Apparently so!" Steven exclaims.

"Ooh! Can we meet her?!"

"Of course!"

"Well, it looks like we're meeting the famous Connie." Wendy says nonchalantly.

Connie, huh? Based on what Steven's told us do far, she's smart and cute. But considering that he's in a relationship with her, he could be biased.

Mabel gasps.

"I can make her a sweater! A sweater to make her feel welcome." Mabel states excitedly.

"Oh, that sounds great!" Steven agrees.

"And I know just what design to give it!"

Here we go again.

************

"Connie? Steven's girlfriend?" Dani asks.

"Yeah!" Mabel answers excitedly.

The three of us are sitting at the front of the Shack. Mabel decided to tell Dani about Steven's girlfriend in the meanwhile. Mabel is, somehow, already finishing up Connie's sweater. She gave it a simplistic design of light blue with a yellow star pattern. She must be really excited to Connie.

"He must be really happy." Dani states.

"He is. He's totally happy and in love." Mabel notes.

Now I can agree with that. If anything, he does talk about her quite a bit. Talk about his family, however, is a little less. I wonder why.

"...I told Danny. But not everyone else."

Huh?

I turn a bit to see Steven talking on the phone. Even from a distance, I can tell he's a bit worried.

"I just want to tell everyone on my own terms...yeah...great! Thanks Connie." Steven says.

I turn back quickly so that he doesn't notice me looking at him. Did I...hear that right? What did he tell Danny? What is he hiding? Should I ask him? No, that's insane! Wait...was he talking about boy Danny or girl Dani?! Steven never specified which one! What do I do with this information?!

"Dipper!"

"Huh, what!" I exclaim.

"Are you ok? You look distracted." Dani asks.

"I'm fine! I just got lost in my thoughts." I state.

"Hmm, okaaay then." Mabel says with a raised eyebrow.

I'll tell Mabel later. I have to think about this carefully.

Maybe I could tell Grunkle Ford? Maybe he would know what to do. I just want to make sense of it all. And what about Danny? What does he know? Steven apparently told him something. Or was it girl Dani that he told? Is it some sort of crazy secret?

"Something is definitely up." Mabel states, "Dipper, what's wrong? You can tell me."

I open my mouth to say something.

"Whoa!"

The three of us look at each other.

"Are you alright, Lion?"

We look at where the voice is coming from.

It's a girl and...IS THAT A LION?!

"IS THAT A LION?!" The three of us yell!

The girl turns around in shock.

"Connie!"

She turns and smiles.

"Steven!" She yells.

Wait, THAT'S Connie?! Where did she even come from?! Steven comes out of the Shack and hugs her tightly. She hugs him back. We run to them to get a closer look. I get a good look at her first. Brown skin, dark eyes, shoulder-length dark brown hair, and slim. She's definitely c...is that a SWORD on her!?

"Lion! I missed you buddy!" Steven exclaims.

He hugs the pink lion and the lion reciprocates with a short-lived snuggle. Right, the lion!

"It's..a pink lion.." I state in disbelief.

"Oh hey guys. This is Connie, and this is Lion." Steven says happily.

"Hi guys." Connie greets.

Lion yawns in response.

I can't believe it. It's a lion...and it's pink! Why does he have a lion?! And why is it pink?!

"Hi Connie. I'm Mabel. Steven talks about you a lot." Mabel says.

"Oh he does, does he?" She asks with a smirk.

Steven blushes and smiles nervously.

"Well, he talks about you guys a lot too." She says.

"Here's a sweater that I made for you!" She exclaims.

Surprised, Connie grabs the sweater and looks it over. She immediately smiles.

"Wow, this is so nice! Thank you!" Connie says happily.

"I'm Dani, with an I."

"Nice to meet you."

She looks at me.

"And you must be Dipper."

"Uh, yeah! That's me.." I say, still at disbelief at what I'm seeing.

"You're curious about Lion huh?" She asks.

"What's makes you say that?" I ask back.

"You're writing down some notes right now." Steven says.

I look down to see that it's true. I've been writing down notes in my mini journal without realizing it! I feel my face get hot and I put back the mini journal in my vest. Steven and Connie start chuckling while I put it away.

"You're right, he is observant." Connie states.

"We heard yelling. What's all the commoti-"

We turn to see Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford.

"Holy hell-o Belgian waffles!" Stan exclaims.

"What on Earth is this?!" Ford yells.

I had a feeling they would react the same.

"Hi Mr and Mr. Pines. This is my girlfriend Connie, and this is Lion." Steven says with a smile.

"A dianthus panthera leo...it's...fascinating." Ford says in disbelief and confusion.

"Don't even think about it, poindexter. Leave Steven's freaky pink lion alone." Stan warns, "The same goes for you, Dipper."

"Why is Lion pink?" Dani asks.

"It's a long story." Steven states.

"Well, kind of." Connie says.

"It's quite the fascinating anomaly." Ford says in awe.

Steven Universe, what are you hiding?!

- Steven's P.O.V.

Oh man, I knew having Lion here would be trouble. Dipper and Mr. Ford are already making notes and observations. I'm honestly starting to feel a bit nervous. I suddenly feel something against my cheek. I see Connie pull away from my face.

"I missed you, Steven." She says.

Oh! She kissed me on the cheek! I feel myself smile. She missed me!

"Holy crud, is that a pink lion!?"

We turn to see Wendy, Danny, and the others looking at us with shocked expressions.

"Oh, hi! You must be the others. I'm Connie." She greets happily.

"So you're the famous Connie. Nice to meet ya. I'm Wendy." She says.

Everyone else introduces themselves to Connie.

"So..Steven..you weren't...uh..kidding about the pet lion." Danny says while hesitating.

"Haha, I wasn't." I say.

"He's so pink and majestic...can I pet him?" Mabel asks quietly.

"Sure!" I answer.

She quietly squeals and slowly pets Lion.

"He's so soft!" She exclaims happily.

Lion yawns again and lies down. I guess he's tired from making the trip.

"You know what? We should show her around. You know, let her see the town." Wendy says.

"That's not a bad idea!" Dani exclaims.

"What about work?" I ask.

"Soos gave us the day off." Danny answers.

"Well, that's convenient." I note.

"I try not to question it. Anyway, let's show you around." Wendy states.

"Alright!" Connie agrees happily.

"Will..uh...Lion be joining us?" Tucker asks.

"I doubt it. I think he's tired from the trip." I answer.

We turn to see Lion fast asleep. He's definitely tired.

"That thing isn't going to attack us, is it?" Mr. Stan asks.

"No. He's a trained lion, so he's good." I answer.

"Alright! Well, have fun, kids. But not too much fun." He says.

"You trust his word!? It's a dianthus panthera leo, Stanley! A dianthus panthera leo!" Mr. Ford exclaims.

"Do you mean 'pink lion', Ford?" Mr. Stan asks.

"Yes, Stanley." He sighs.

"Hey, if Steven says he's trained, I believe him. The lion hasn't tried to attack any of us since he got here."

Mr. Ford goes to say something else, but quickly shuts his mouth. He stays silent for a few seconds.

"I suppose you're right." He says.

"He'll behave, Mr and Mr. Pines. The most he'll do is wander around a bit." Connie explains.

"That's a concern of mine." Mr. Ford states.

"If you want, you can keep an eye on him." I say.

"Ooh, don't say that to him. Cuz he'll--"

"I have my observational tools right here!" Mr. Ford exclaims, interrupting Mr. Stan.

Mr. Stan immediately facepalms. Connie and I laugh. Mr. Ford must be eager to observe Lion.

"Come on guys, let's go." Wendy says.

And so, we go off to see parts of Gravity Falls. There are some parts that I didn't even get to see myself. I could tell that Connie was having a good time. She was really happy. I'm really glad that she is.

"This place is so cool!" Connie exclaims.

"I knew you'd feel that way." Wendy says.

"I'm glad that I'm visiting." She says.

She wraps her arms around mine.

"Besides, I've been missing Steven for a while now." Connie says while blushing.

I immediately feel myself blush and I smile. I pull her in for a hug.

"I've missed you so much!" I exclaim.

I hear the girls go "Awwww!" simultaneously.

"So, Connie, how'd you and Steven meet?" Dipper asks.

"We met outside his house. I was at the beach just reading a book." She answers.

I remember that. It feels so long ago.

"What was Steven like at that time?" Mabel asks.

"Really goofy and friendly." Connie says while smiling at me.

"Some things never change, I guess." Wendy says.

"Did you get to meet his family?" Danny asks.

"Yeah. Eventually I got to hang out with them...well, sometimes."

"If I remember correctly, Steven said that he has a Dad and a few aunts from his mom's side." Dani states.

"Yeah, that's right." I say.

I never really thought about the gems as my "aunts". I only ever thought about them as just the gems. That's the only way I could describe them in the moment.

"What do you think of his family?" Dipper asks.

"I think they're really awesome." She answers.

I see Dipper thinking about his next question.

"Oh, do you bezazzle too?!" Mabel asks loudly.

"Be..zazzle?" Connie says, clearly confused.

"Yeah!"

"I'll explain. Mabel saw that Steven has a giant, pink stone where his bellybutton should be. We saw it after the cheese whizz incident. She was just wondering if you also decorate with shiny stones." Dipper explains.

"Oh! I don't bezazzle." She states.

"Neither do I." I chime in.

"You don't? Then why do you have that there, Steven? It doesn't make sense, so why? Did you stick it there? Was it a gift? Were you born with it?" Dipper asks.

"Uh..Dipper, maybe cool it with the questions." Danny says calmly, "I get that you want answers, but don't be so invasive about it."

I see Dipper's face go from determined to surprised, and then to being sad and sheepish. I suddenly feel bad. I do want to talk about it at some point. I've only told Danny so far, and he's been nothing but understanding. Well, considering that he's half human like me, he gets it. Dipper has every right to be curious. But him asking so many questions is making me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I appreciate Danny trying to stop him from asking so many questions. Maybe he could tell that I was uncomfortable about it?

I see Connie look at me. She's clearly a bit worried for me. I don't want her to be. I'm just hoping that the rest of today goes smoothly.

- Danny's P.O.V.

Dipper seems to be eager today. Eager or not, I can tell that he's making Steven uncomfortable with his questions.

"I...I'm sorry." Dipper says quietly.

"It's ok, Dipper. I get that you're curious, but understand that I don't want to answer those questions right now. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable when you were asking me." Steven says.

Huh. Steven's something else. I would've been a little bit annoyed by the questions, but Steven handled it a bit better than I would have.

"You know what? Let's take you to the lake." Wendy suggests.

"You guys have a lake here?" Connie asks.

"Yeah."

"We went last summer and it was a blast." Mabel says.

"If you call getting photos of a fake lake monster 'fun', then yeah." Dipper says.

"You're still salty about that?" She asks.

"No..kind of." He answers.

"Well, let's go then!" Connie says.

Looks like Connie is ready for adventure. I'm curious too. What did Dipper mean by 'fake lake monster'?

"Hey Dipper, can you explain the whole 'fake lake monster' thing?" Sam asks, "I feel like we're missing something."

Dipper sighs deeply. He must be a bit frustrated by the thought of it.

"Last summer, we went to the lake to find some sort of lake monster. We traveled to Scuttlebutt Island with Soos to look further for it." Dipper explains.

"Actually, it was to fish with Grunkle Stan. But we ditched him for Soos and his boat." Mabel chimes in, "That and a local hillbilly was yelling about the monster."

"I was getting to that. Anyway, we thought we had found the monster. It turned out that the monster was a fake being piloted by the same hillbilly yelling about it." He continues.

"Why would he do that?" Tucker asks.

"It was to get attention from his son." Mabel states.

We all look at the twins with confusion. All of that to get his son's attention?

"Wasn't he concerned about other people's safety?" Steven asks.

"Nope!" The twins say in sync.

"Was it a machine of some kind?" Jazz asks.

"Yep!" Mabel exclaims.

"A very convincing one at that." Dipper states.

"And a hillbilly did it?" Connie asks, clearly just as confused as the rest of us.

"Old Man Mcgucket is..well, he's definitely interesting." Wendy says.

And I guess we have our answers. Seriously  though, why would anyone do that? It could get people hurt! And all for getting some attention? Some people really do take it too far.

So, we head towards the lake. I wonder what it'll be like.

- Dipper's P.O.V.

We arrive at the lake where there are some of the townspeople fishing and hanging out. Nothing's changed from the last time we were here. Well, besides having a new group of friends of course. I look at Connie, who seems to be interested by the scenery.

"So this is the lake. It's different from what we're used to in Beach City." Steven says.

"Same for us." Danny agrees.

I can imagine. Beach City and Amity Park are different from Gravity Falls. Why Wendy decided to take us here is a mystery. Nothing will be exciting by being here.

"I SAW IT, I'M TELLIN' YA!"

I know that voice! I know it all too well. We turn to see Old Man Mcgucket, his son, Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland near the lake. I wonder what's going on this time.

"I'M TELLIN' YA I SAW IT, DADGUMIT!" He yells.

"Dad, calm down!" His son exclaims.

"My son saw it too!"

"Again with the Gobblewonker? Didn't we go through this last year?" Sheriff Blubs asks.

Wait, again with the Gobblewonker!? We did do this last year! Talk about deja vu.

Old Man Mcgucket hasn't changed that much since we last saw him. Well, I can see that his relationship with his son has improved. I turn to see everyone's reaction. They all look confused.

"What's going on?" Connie asks.

"Is this happening again?" Mabel asks.

"THIS TIME IS REAL!" He yells.

He then turns to see us.

"Dipper, Mabel! I haven't seen ya n'so long! And you have some new friends, that's great!" He exclaims happily, "Wait! Maybe y'all can help me!"

Everyone else turns to see us.

"Oh, the mystery twins! I'm glad to you back here!" Sheriff Blubs says.

Well, here we go again. Mabel and I walk towards them and everyone else follows behind us. I can still see the look of confusion on everyone, even Wendy is a bit thrown off.

"So what's going on exactly?" I ask.

Old Man Mcgucket starts explaining, rather frantically I might add, about what happened. Apparently him and his son were fishing and a big wave came out of nowhere. Before the wave hit them, they caught a glimpse of the Gobblewonker. It had swam towards Scuttlebutt island. His son surprisingly backed up his story.

"Hmm, so you want us to see if it was the lake monster?" Connie asks.

"That's exactly it, girly!" Mcgucket exclaims.

"Well, I'm sure we can help you out, sir." She says.

"Alright, we'll help." I say, very determined.

"Thank ya, kindly!" He says.

"Try not to get hurt, guys." Deputy Durland chimes in.

"We're expecting pictures of the monster." Sheriff Blubs says.

"Be careful."

The group walks away and leaves us behind.

"How are we supposed to solve the mystery if we don't have a boat?" Wendy asks.

"Maybe we can ask Soos for his boat." Mabel suggests.

"His was destroyed last year, Mabel." I remind her.

"Oh, right."

"Maybe call one of your great uncles?" Steven suggests.

"I'll call them." Wendy says.

Wendy walks off and starts dialing.

"So I guess we're doing this, then?" Sam asks.

"Apparently, we are." Danny responds.

"Don't worry, we're able to solve this." I state.

"Not your first rodeo, I take it." Jazz states with a smile.

"Nope." Mabel chimes in.

I look at the lake. It's calm. Maybe a bit too calm? I wonder if Old Man Mcgucket is telling the truth this time around. If he wasn't, then why would his son back him up this time? It's strange.

I wonder, would solving this keep me distracted?

"Hey guys, so Soos ended up getting another boat. He's gonna let us use it."

We turn to see Wendy coming back to us.

"Really? When's he coming over?" Mabel asks.

"In like a minute?" Wendy answers, clearly confused herself.

"A minute?" Dani asks.

Before we could say anything else, a portal appears in front of us! And Soos comes out!

"Hey dudes, I brought my boat." Soos says.

"Uh..where's the--oh hey Lion!"

Sure enough, Lion comes out of the portal, pulling the boat by a rope. The boat looks very similar to his original boat from last year. It's even called the "SS Cool Dude 2". Lion pulls it enough to where it's closer to the water, but he leaves at a distance where we would need to push in the water ourselves. He seems very halfway about stuff.

"Aww, Lion! What a good boy!" Steven exclaims happily.

He goes and gives Lion some pats on the back. Lion gets close and gives Steven a lick. Soos gets out a small knife and cuts the rope off of Lion.

Seriously, what is it with this lion? Why is he pink? And why is Steven and Connie so nonchalant about him?!

"So he is yours, dude? I nearly had a heart attack when I saw him." Soos explains.

"Did Grunkle Ford use his invention to get you here?" I ask.

"Yep. He said it would be much faster this way." He answers.

"He's definitely right about that." Sam chimes in.

"Ok, have fun, dudes!"

He then goes through the portal with Lion following behind him. The portal then closes afterwards.

"Cool, now we have a boat." Dani says.

"We need cameras though." Mabel states.

"We can take pictures with our phones." Connie says.

"That's true. That would be better, honestly." Tucker agrees.

"Alright, let's get started!" I exclaim.

I really hope that he's telling the truth this time. Because we'll be chasing after nothing if he isn't.

"Let's go to Butt island!" Mabel yells eagerly.

Steven, Connie, Tucker, Danny and Dani start laughing. Jazz, Wendy, and Sam hold back a smile. I facepalm and sigh.

"Scuttlebutt island, Mabel." I correct her.

"I know what I said!" She retorts.

I wanted to be taken a bit more seriously, but I guess not.

"Can any of you guys ride a boat?" I ask.

Everyone looks at each other quietly. They each have the same look. A look that says 'No, I can't.'

"I can. I'll do it!" Steven says.

"Awesome, let's go!" Wendy exclaims.

He can do that too!? The girls, along with Tucker and Danny, start pushing the boat into the water. They do it with some difficulty, but it starts moving closer to the water.

"I didn't know you could ride a boat." I say.

"Well, I don't talk about it very much." Steven states with a shrug.

There's a lot he doesn't talk about. But I should focus.

"Well, let's help everyone with the boat." I state.

I quickly walk over and I start pushing the boat too. It barely moves once again. Steven comes up next to me.

"Alright everyone, on the count of three!" Connie exclaims, "One...two...three!"

Suddenly, the boat became more mobile and it went into the water! Wait, but we were just struggling with it! Where did the sudden strength come from?!

"Whoa, we did it!" Tucker exclaims.

"Let's get on the boat!" Mabel yells.

Everyone starts getting on the boat. Steven and I look at each other. He gives me a starry eyed smile.

"Come on, Dipper. Let's go!" Steven says happily.

I look in awe at him. I know that he had something to do with that! Does Steven have super strength? I pull out my mini journal and quickly write down 'super strength'. I quickly put it back in my vest and I run to the boat.

"Is everyone ready?" I ask.

"We're ready." Danny says.

"Alright then, let's go." I say.

************

"It's really foggy over here." Connie states.

"I'm assuming that's normal." Sam says.

"You're right." I say.

"So what's the plan?" Danny asks.

"Same as last year..kind of." I answer.

"Dipper, the Gobblewonker was fake last year." Mabel says, "And Soos's boat was destroyed too."

"I'm aware of all that. That's why I'm making sure that things go different this time." I explain, "Plus, we'll make sure that Soos's boat comes back in one piece."

Mabel looks at me with confusion and curiosity. I look to see that everyone else is too.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Connie asks.

"I say we catch it!" Mabel yells.

"What?! No, we're gonna bring back photo evidence and prove Mcgucket right! We can't capture that thing!" I exclaim.

"Why not?" Dani asks.

"It's giant lake monster!" I yell.

"Hey, it's not impossible. We just have a low chance of capturing the monster." Tucker chimes in.

"I mean, he's not wrong." Sam retorts, "I'd rather take my chances on getting photos though. Because we don't know what we're dealing with here."

"We might get attacked." Jazz states.

"If we do, I'm ready to fight!" Connie exclaims.

She takes out her sword to show it off. We look the sword in shock. It's real! It's actually real! Why does she have one?!

"Whoa, it's so cool!" Wendy yells.

"And so shiny!" Mabel chimes in.

"You can sword fight?!" Dani asks, clearly shocked.

"I can, I haven't done it in a while, though." Connie explains.

"When did you learn?! And who taught you?!" I asked, a bit loudly.

"My aunt Pearl taught her!" Steven exclaims a bit nervously.

His aunt?!

- Steven's P.O.V.

Oh man, I just blurted that out!

"It's true! I was 12 when I learned how to sword fight from his..aunt." I hear Connie say.

"Whoa, wait! 12?!" Dipper says loudly.

I hear Connie chuckle and say yes. I look for a few seconds to see that everyone is impressed by her. It's nice to see her get along with everyone.

"If I may, can I make a suggestion?" Connie asks.

"Be my guest." Dipper says, a bit confused.

"I say we split up into teams. One team would be focused on locating and taking photos of the monster. The other team would be here on the boat, waiting and making sure that we leave quickly if things go wrong." Connie explains.

"Not a bad idea." Wendy says.

"Though, who's going to be on which team?" Jazz asks.

I see everyone look at each other. I can't tell if everyone wants to go or if nobody wants to go. I don't know if I want to go. On the one hand, I could ready myself for a getaway if the first team comes running. But on the other hand, I could protect the first team if things go crazy.

I hear everyone discuss about who's going on the first team. I keep riding the boat, looking at the scenery. Everything really is foggy. But I guess it's normal. Hmm? Is that a sign? It reads...'Scuttlebutt Island'! I immediately stop the boat. It stops close to the ground.

"We're here!" I yell.

Everyone turns around and sees the sign. Let's hope that things go smoothly.

Chapter Text

- Danny's P.O.V.

Well, this place looks kind of creepy. But that's pretty much the norm we deal with.

"Is everyone ok with their teams?" Connie asks.

Everyone agrees.

"Ok. So, Danny, Jazz, Dipper, Mabel and I will look for the Gobblewonker. Steven, Dani, Sam, Tucker, and Wendy will stay on the boat for both a getaway and a lookout." Connie explains.

I feel a tug at my shirt. I look to see Dani tugging at it. We quietly move away from the group. I turn to see if they saw us walking away. They haven't noticed from the looks of it.

"What's up?" I ask quietly.

"Why do I have to stay on the boat? I can protect myself from the monster." She quietly retorts.

"I know that, but we don't exactly know what we're dealing with." I state. "We just want you to be safe. I don't want to lose you again."

She looks away, annoyed. Her expression then changes to sadness. I guess she's accepting it.

"Alright. I don't like it, but I understand." She says calmly, "I hope you guys are careful."

"We will be." I say.

"If not, I'll fly over there. I won't hesitate." She says, jokingly.

"That won't be necessary...but I appreciate it."

"Danny, Dani, come over!"

We turn to see Tucker calling us over. We walk back to the rest of the group.

"What's wrong, Tucker?" I ask, clearly confused.

"Nothing's wrong, I just wanted to give you this."

He hands me a small, mechanical-looking pin.

"Stick it on your shirt." Tucker says.

"Alright."

I do as he says.

"Tracking device?" I ask.

"Tracking device." He confirms.

"It's so that we can make sure where you're at without worrying too much." Sam states.

"I don't think that's necessary, but if it helps, I'm fine with it." I say.

I really don't think it's necessary. I can just fly my way out if I get lost. The same can't be said for the others, though. I should be careful anyway, especially since it's foggy.

"We'll call you guys as soon as we get further in." Connie states.

"Actually, here." Sam says, as she hands over a walkie talkie, "Just in case."

"Thanks, Sam." Connie says.

"Alright, let's head out." Dipper chimes in.

We quickly get off the boat and start heading in. We turn on the flashlights on our phones and we quietly start looking around.

"So what does the creature look like?" Connie asks.

"It's a 100ft tall swimming dinosaur with really sharp teeth." Mabel explains.

Dipper opens his mouth, as if to correct Mabel again, but then closes it. He suddenly thinks about it.

"You know...she's not that far off." Dipper says in amusement, "It does kind of look like a dinosaur, and it does swim."

Looks like Dipper agrees with Mabel.

"A prehistoric creature? Well, that's new to us." Jazz states.

She's not wrong. We've dealt with old ghosts and such before, but never an actual living prehistoric creature. The thought of this is weird, but kind of cool. Dealing with something that isn't a ghost is kind of refreshing actually. Gravity Falls is definitely full of surprises.

"How did you guys do this last time?" Jazz asks.

"It wasn't that much different. We had a light source, a bunch of cameras, and we were carefully looking around the area." Dipper explains.

"We started hearing a loud roaring sound when we were close enough. When we reached the end, we saw a bunch of beavers. One of them even had a chainsaw." Mabel states.

"A chainsaw?!" I asked, clearly confused.

"Yep. What we thought was a roar was actually a beaver with a chainsaw." Dipper retorts.

He's definitely still salty about it. Wait..if this thing is real...

"If it is real, how are you guys gonna defend yourselves?" I ask.

The twins give me this look of confusion, and then they look at each other. They did not think this through enough?! No, we didn't think this through. We were so focused on this thing that we didn't get any sort of defense or weapon for them!

"Did you guys have any sort of defense last time?" Jazz asks.

"Well...no." Mabel says, hesitantly.

"We'll have to keep an eye on you guys, then." Connie states, sternly.

"Jazz, do you have any extra protective gear?" I ask.

"Darn it, I don't. But I can stick with them when I activate the shield." Jazz answers.

"That's good enough." I say.

I don't want anything bad happening to anyone, especially to them. Dani can at least protect herself in some way, but them? I'm not entirely sure. I'd rather they stick with us closely.

"You guys have shields?" Connie asks.

"Yeah." I respond.

"What for?"

"Ghost fighting." Jazz says.

"Whoa, really? That's cool." Connie says.

*ROOOOOOOOOAR!*

What the heck?!

We turn to the direction of the noise. I see Connie put her phone away. She gets her sword out, looking ready to strike. The twins and Jazz keep their phones out. I see Dipper and Mabel having their phone cameras ready while Jazz keeps the flashlight on. I prepare myself for defense.

We continue down the path further. We hear the noise much louder the closer we get. At this point, I don't care about hiding my superhero identity. If things go wrong, I will use my powers to protect everyone.

We finally reach the end of the path.

*SCREEEEEEEECH!*

"THERE IT IS!" Dipper yells in shock.

It's real! It's actually real! I see Dipper and Mabel taking photos of the creature. Wow, they're quick! I look at Jazz, who's absolutely speechless.

Before anything else could be said, a green electric ball of sorts hits the Gobblewonker! The Gobblewonker screeches in pain! Wait, where did that come from?! Did it come from the sky?! I look up towards the cloudy sky and I see a ball-like, yellow-green creature with multiple eyes coming down like a meteor!

"Guys, take cover!" I yell.

We quickly run off to hide! The creature goes straight into the water, causing a huge splash! It comes out and starts to use the lake water around it! The water goes straight up into the air as the yellow-green creature lets out a distorted roar!

We get a better look at it. I notice that the creature has two shiny squares on its cheeks! Wait, this seems familiar..

"What the heck is that?!" Jazz yells.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Dipper yells.

"We have to get out of here!" Connie shouts.

The creature looks at our direction and immediately shoots another electroball directly at us! Everyone screams!

Oh no you don't, you exaggerated beach ball reject!

- Dipper's P.O.V.

This isn't how things were supposed to go! Where did this thing even come from?! I prepare myself for the electroball to hit us...

...wait.

I open my eyes to see a translucent green shield in front of us! I see Mabel, Connie, and Jazz open their eyes.

"WE'RE SAFE!" Mabel yells in relief.

"WE'RE ALIVE!" I yell back.

"We're not going to be for any longer if we don't run!" Danny shouts.

"Let's go!" Connie screams.

We run away from both creatures! The yellow-green one flies after us! We scream in terror as it gains on us! We suddenly hear a crackle coming Connie's pockets!

"Are...is....wrong...over!?"

Connie gets the walkie talkie out!

"We're currently being chased, over!" She yells.

"By the Gobblewonker?!" Sam asks.

"No! By a different creature!"

As soon as she says that, the Gobblewonker comes barreling after both the creature and us! I grab the walkie talkie as we continue to run!

"Now it's both creatures!" I yell into the walkie talkie.

"Aaah!"

We turn to see Mabel on the ground in front of a rock! No!

"MABEL!" I scream.

"My leg! I CAN'T GET UP!" She screams.

Before I could run back, I see Danny run quickly to her! He picks her up and quickly tries to run back to us! The creature immediately shoots out yet another electroball and it heads straight for them!

"NOOO!" I screech.

Suddenly, the green shield covers them again! Once the shield is up, Danny catches up to us with Mabel in his arms! That was incredible! How?! How did he do that?! Wait, no! There's no time for that!

"Guys, ready up the boat!" Connie shouts into the walkie talkie.

"You got it!" I hear Sam say.

We continue to run until we finally reach the boat!

"You guys are ok!" Dani exclaims.

"Wait, what's wrong with Mabel's leg?!" Steven asks, clearly worried.

"We can look into that later, Steven!" Connie shouts.

"Yeah!" Mabel chimes in.

"Holy fudge!" Wendy shouts.

I turn to see the creature! It's closing in! All of us scream!

Green lasers suddenly hit the creature in about half of its eyes! It screeches in agony! I feel the boat rock a bit and I see at least 4 pink shields hit the remaining eyes! It screeches again! Then I feel a thud as I see Steven standing up and immediately rushing to start up the boat!

"What was that?!" Mabel asks loudly, while still in Danny's arms.

"Who knows!" Tucker responds.

"Wait, didn't this happen last time?!" Wendy asks.

She's right! An unknown creature with a colorful palette, strange abilities, and weird shiny spots placed on it's body had appeared last time. Why is it happening again?

"Last time?" Connie says while confused.

"Yeah, a weird creature like that came out of nowhere last time! Unusual colors, weird abilities. Even the weird the shiny parts are similar." I explain.

"Wait...that sounds like a--!"

*SCREEEEEEEEEECH!*

"CONNIE! TAKE THE WHEEL!" Steven shouts, clearly distressed.

"Got it!" She yells back.

She quickly takes Steven's place and Steven climbs up the top part of the boat.

"Steven, wait!" Danny exclaims.

He gets closer to Steven while still having Mabel in his arms.

"Not this time! We're doing this together!" Danny yells.

Steven looks him with surprise. His expression then changes to that of a determined smile.

"Alright!" Steven exclaims.

"Guys, we need to find a much more secure way to capture them! Or we'll never get away!" I shout.

"Dipper, we don't even know what that green thingy is!" Mabel retorts.

"She's a corrupted gem!" Steven and Connie yell in unison.

"Wait, that thing is a gem?!" Danny asks, obviously confused.

"What do you mean 'gem'?!" Tucker chimes in, asking too.

"Aliens, that's what he means!" Wendy exclaims, "Steven, Connie, Danny, tell us what to do and we'll follow your lead!"

"Wait, how did you--it doesn't matter, lets do this!" Steven says, while being thrown off.

The trio explain quickly on what we need to do! We dodge the electroballs as we go through the path! Jazz hands us some laser pointers she had in her pocket!

I can't believe it, these things are aliens!? There's no way...right? I mean I figured that there would be, but not like this! Aren't extraterrestrial beings supposed to be more sentient rather than being animalistic? Maybe I'm assuming too much...

"Alright, make sure to aim for the eyes! We need her to be distracted long enough for us to poof her!" Connie states loudly.

"Won't that destroy it?!" Sam asks.

"No, she'll be fine! If we went for her gems, then she would be destroyed!" Steven responds.

"Alright then!"

The creature suddenly throws a large ball of water towards us! Oh my gosh, we're gonna drown!

"Everyone stand still!" Danny screams.

He quickly and carefully sets Mabel down. He touches the side of the boat and everything disappears as the ball of water lands in the lake! What?! How did he--?!

"Now!" Connie instructs.

"Charge!" Wendy yells.

We start using everything to get the creature blinded. It roars as it's being hit in the eyes.

"Tucker, take the wheel!" Connie commands.

"Got it!" Tucker agrees.

"Connie!" Steven exclaims.

"Steven! Let's jump!" She says.

"Alright!"

He grabs her and immediately jumps high into the sky!

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" They scream, sounding determined.

How are they doing that?!

- Steven's P.O.V.

This is crazy! I hold Connie tightly as we get closer to the corrupted gem. The gem readies another electroball towards us!

*ROOOOOOOOAR!*

The Gobblewonker just bit the gem! Is she helping us?!

"Holy heck, the Gobblewonker's helping us!" I hear Wendy yell.

"Steven, let's finish this!" Connie shouts.

"Right!"

We get closer to the gem, getting ready to poof it!

Wait, what the--!

...

- Danny's P.O.V.

Are they glowing?!

- Dipper's P.O.V.

They're glowing!

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

What the heck?!

- Stevonnie's P.O.V.

Whoa, I'm back?! Ok, that wasn't supposed to happen! Whatever, I have to finish this!

The sword plunges into the gem as I land on top of it! The gem bloats and then explodes! The gems fall out of the smoke. I fall with them. They're gonna fall into the water!

I summon Steven's shield and throw it. I start glowing pink and everything slows down. I catch up to both the shield and the gems. I put them in the shield and quickly land on the boat. Everyone is looking towards the Gobblewonker and the sky. I'm behind everyone.

Hmm, a corrupted fusion? That doesn't happen very often. I take a closer look at the gems. A blue gem and a yellow gem. That explains some things. I wonder if there are more gems that we could find. Maybe Connie could help more?

Anyway, I should probably go. We got the gems. All Steven has to do is bubble them and send them off.

...

- Steven's P.O.V.

...

Huh, everything is still slowed down. Maybe it would've been better if I had stopped my speed as Stevonnie. I close my eyes and I concentrate...

I open my eyes and everything around me is back to normal speed.

"Wait, where's--"

"Right here!" I say, interrupting Dipper.

Everyone turns to see us. They look really confused.

"You're ok!" Mabel exclaims.

"What the heck did you guys do up there?!" Dipper yells.

"Yeah..even I'm confused about what just happened." Danny admits.

*ROOOAR!*

Oh my stars, she's closer! The Gobblewonker is much closer to us! She stares us down menacingly. What's she doing?

"Steven, I have my sword. I can fight." Connie states.

Wait...oh. I'm standing in front of her with my shield out. I didn't even realize I was trying to protect her. I really need to work on that. I facepalm as I apologize to Connie.

"It's fine. Plus, I can tell you're not the only one doing it." She says.

I look to see Danny, Dani, Dipper, and Wendy doing a similar thing. It's nice to know it isn't just me. Everyone, with the exception of Mabel being carried by Danny again, backs up. All of us prepare for the worst.

The Gobblewonker's expression changes to a confused one. What's she so confused about?

...Hold on, isn't she supposed to be attacking us?

The Gobblewonker's expression becomes softer.

"Are you not going to attack us?" Tucker asks, breaking the silence.

"Tucker!" Sam exclaims while smacking him behind the head.

The Gobblewonker moves her head from side to side, as if to say 'No'.

"You can understand us?" Danny asks.

She nods.

I wasn't expecting that.

"Are you some sort of guardian of the lake?" Dipper chimes in.

She nods again.

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to disturb the peace." I apologize.

She shakes her head, once again signifying 'No'..I think.

"I'm guessing the corrupted gem already did that, huh?" Connie says.

*ROOOAR*

"We'll take that as a 'yes'." Mabel chimes in.

"Did you happen to get close to Old Man Mcgucket's boat earlier?" Dipper asks.

She nods again.

"Huh..did you go to attack him?" He continues.

The Gobblewonker doesn't move her head.

"Or were you trying to get away from the corrupted gem?" I ask.

She nods quickly.

"Huh. So that's what happened." Dani states.

"Well, we have our answer." Sam says.

"Should we go back and show the pictures of Gobbie?" Mabel asks.

"Gobbie?" Wendy says.

The Gobblewonker tilts her head. I guess she's confused too.

"I say Gobbie deserves a cute nickname. 'Gobblewonker' is too much." Mabel states.

"Uhhh are you fine with that nickname?" I ask it.

I see her nod again, but this time the water starts to move a bit. I look out to see that she's wagging her tail. That's so cute!

- Dipper's P.O.V.

There's a lot to take in from this...

The Gobblewonker's real, another one of those freaky creatures came out, Danny made the boat intangible somehow...oh yeah, and Steven and Connie became one person! I have so many questions!

...another time. One question has been answered, at least. The Gobblewonker is real, and it's apparently the guardian of the lake. It seems to be on the good side as well.

"Well, we got everything we needed for this." I state, "We won't bother you anymore, Gobblewonker."

*ROOOOOOOOOOAR!*

"AAH, sorry! I mean Gobbie! We won't bother you anymore, Gobbie!" I say, frightened.

It gives a small smile. I guess it actually likes Mabel's nickname.

"Would this be considered a successful mission?" Tucker asks.

"Well I'd say so." Connie says.

"We should probably go and show our findings now." Jazz states.

I open my mouth to agree, but then I close it shut. Hmm, I wonder...
I look at...Gobbie and my mind starts to race.
..I got it!

"I think I have a better idea." I boast.

************

"HOLY HECKIN' TARNATION!"

"Hey guys! Meet Gobbie!" I exclaim.

*ROOOAR!*

Gobbie had followed behind us while we were going back to Mcgucket and the others.

"It's actually real?!" Sheriff Blubs asks loudly.

"And it's big!" Deputy Durland shouts.

"Whoa, you were right..." Mcgucket's son states, calmly.

"Don't worry guys, Gobbie's good!" Mabel exclaims.

"Gobbie is the guardian of the lake. It wasn't trying to attack you, it was trying to get away from a different creature." I explain.

*ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!*

"AAH, what did I do?!" I ask loudly.

"Gobbie is clearly a girl, Dipper. Don't call her an 'it'." Mabel says.

"Wait, really?" Danny asks.

"Of course, Gobbie's a girl." Steven states.

"I thought it was obvious." Sam says with a smile.

Wendy, Dani, Jazz, and Connie agree with Sam and Mabel.

"How...how do you know that?" I ask.

"Woman's intuition." Mabel responds.

"Wait, how did Steven know then?" Tucker asks.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Danny asks Steven.

"I'm not sure, I just guessed." Steven explains while shrugging.

"Well, regardless, she was getting bothered by something else. She wasn't trying to attack you or anybody else." I explain further.

"As long as you don't bother Gobbie, she'll keep her distance." Steven says.

"Well, then. I understand. I'll leave y'all be." Mcgucket says.

Gobbie nods once.

"And thank you, Dipper. You done proved me right!" He exclaims.

"Well, it wasn't just me. It was all of us." I state.

I can't take all the credit. It wouldn't be fair to everyone else.

"Thanks everyone." Mcgucket's son says.

"You definitely are one smart bunch." Sheriff Blubs states while looking impressed.

The group walks away while we turn to look at Gobbie.

"Thank you for helping us, Gobbie." Connie says politely.

The creature gives of a small smile and starts going into the water.

"Bye, Gobbie! See ya another time!" Mabel exclaims.

We all wave at her as she swims away.

"Now that that's done, we really need to get Mabel some medical attention." Connie states.

"Oh my gosh! Mabel, are you ok?" Steven asks, obviously worried for her.

"My leg still hurts, but I'm fine." Mabel answers in a casual tone.

"Something tells me it might be sprained." Wendy chimes in.

"Whatever is it, we need to take her to the doctor." Danny says.

And so, we hop off the boat. Danny carries Mabel once again, much to her enjoyment. We call Grunkle Ford to activate the portal. We get back to the Shack and explain to the adults what happened to Mabel's leg. Melody and Soos take Mabel to the doctor while the rest of us wait in the shack, talking about the Gobblewonker and the other creature.

We tell Grunkle Ford about it and he's impressed by our findings.

"Wait, what about the other creature? Is there any other remnants of it?" He asks.

"We're back, dudes!"

We turn around to see them coming into the room. Mabel comes in with crutches and a pink cast. It seems to be already decorated with glitter and stickers.

"Well that was quick." Dani states.

"That's because the doctor was able to determine quickly that she sprained her leg. So she has to have a cast on for about two weeks." Melody explains.

"Isn't it pretty?" Mabel asks.

"Very pretty." Steven agrees.

Mabel smiles and blushes. Oh, boy.

"So, what did I miss?" Mabel inquires.

"We just telling Grunkle Ford about..Gobbie."

"Gob..bie?" Grunkle Fords says, confused about the nickname.

"Yep. I named her 'Gobbie'. Isn't it cute?" Mabel states.

"Uhh yes. Very." He says, still confused, "Anyway, I'm glad to see that you're ok."

"Hey, what did you mean by 'remnants' earlier?" Dani asks.

"He means if there was anything left over." Jazz answers.

"Actually, yes there is. But Steven has them." I state.

He turns to Steven.

"Before you say anything, I would prefer if you just looked at them really quickly. I don't want them to be experimented on or anything like that. I think they've suffered enough." Steven states sadly.

Everyone looks at Steven in shock. Connie looks at him sadly.

"Very well, Steven." Grunkle Ford agrees, looking stunned.

Steven takes out both of the shiny rocks and hands them to Grunkle Ford. Everyone gets closer to look at them.

They're gems..right? That's what we heard they were called earlier. I don't get it, they're just blue and yellow gems.

"Gemstones? Huh, fascinating. This seems familiar to me." Grunkle Ford states.

"I should probably send them off now." Steven says nervously.

"Send them off?" Grunkle Ford asks.

"Yeah. We know what's wrong with them. It's better that they go to his family." Connie answers.

Everyone stays silent.

"Understood. Here you go." Grunkle Ford says while giving gems back.

Steven gets them and pulls out vial with..water in it? He immediately has two pink bubbles form around both the gems and vial! He taps the bubbles and they disappears into thin air!

Everyone, besides Connie, immediately looks flabbergasted...

...did that really just happen?!

Chapter Text

- Steven's P.O.V.

*Buzz buzz*

I look at my phone to see who messaged me. I see Amethyst's name on the screen.

'Hey dude, thx for bringing in these gems. 😉' it read.

I text back 'No problem' quickly. I put my phone back in my pocket. I look back at everyone. They're still staring at me.

"They got the gems." I said, breaking the silence.

"H-how...did..they...you..b-bubbles.." Dipper stutters out.

"Huh, that explains a few things." Danny states.

"I can explain everything, but I...I..."

I stop talking. I feel my heartbeat get quicker and I feel my hands getting clammy. Everyone's staring at me...like I'm a freak...huh?

I look down to see Connie holding my hand. I look at her to see that she has a warm smile.

"Hey, you're ok. Take a deep breath." Connie says.

"Ok." I say quietly.

"Oh...my apologies, Steven. I didn't realize we were making you so..apprehensive.." Mr. Pines apologizes calmly, "I'll take my leave. We'll converse later."

Mr. Pines leaves and heads into the gift shop part of the shack.

"Sorry, Steven." Soos says.

He and Melody head to the kitchen.

"Yeah, sorry Steven." Danny chimes in.

Everyone else starts apologizing. I thank everyone, feeling much calmer.

"So..you have powers.." Dipper states slowly.

"Dipper!" Mabel exclaims while bonking Dipper's arm with her crutch.

"What?! He said he wanted to explain everything!" Dipper says back.

"Mabel, it's ok. I want to." I state, "Considering what happened earlier, you guys deserve an explanation."

"Let's talk about this outside the shack." Connie suggests.

We head outside to sit on the ground in front of the shack. I glance at Lion, who's still napping next to a tree. I take a deep breath as we all sit in a circle. Connie sits right besides me while Danny sits on the left side.

"Ok, let me start off with this." I state.

I lift up my shirt a bit to reveal my gem again.

"You have a gem?!" Dani exclaims.

"I do." I say.

"We got to see it after the cheese whizz incident." Mabel explains.

"Hearing you tell us that story was wild from start to finish." Tucker says towards Danny and I.

"Go on, Steven." Sam says.

"Right. Uh..I'm a Gem, but I'm also a human. I'm half and half." I say, fumbling with my words.

"But weren't those things we fought also Gems?" Jazz asks.

"They are, but they're corrupted. That's not how they're supposed to look and act." I answer.

"Corrupted.." Dipper whispers.

I go on to explain what Gems are, just like I had done with Danny. I went into a little more detail than last time. How they're made of light and that their gemstones are an important part of their bodies.

"Huh, you mentioned the gemstones thing last time." Sam states.

"What about you?" Mabel asks.

"I'm not like the other Gems. I'm uh..organic, as some of them called me." I answer, "I have a gem, but I'm not necessarily made of light."

"And you said that they're all female, so that makes you the only boy, then?" Dipper asks.

"Yeah."

"Do they need to eat or sleep?" Jazz asks.

"They don't need to. They can if they want to, though." I explain, "I'm the only one who needs to do that."

"Fascinating." I hear Dipper say as he writes something down, "They do have some sort of order or authority?"

"Kind of." I say.

I explain the whole Diamond authority thing to them. Just like Danny, they saw it as a royalty type of thing. I don't know if they're exactly that or not, I just know they're leaders of homeworld.

"Oh right, I remember you telling me this part from before." Danny states.

"He didn't tell us this before." Dani says, confused.

"Actually, I already told Danny about this." I say, sheepishly.

"How long have you known for?" Tucker asks.

"A week." Danny says.

"How come you told Danny first and not the rest of us?" Mabel asks.

"He probably wasn't comfortable talking about it." Wendy chimes in.

I look at Wendy, she gives me a reassuring smile.

I get the feeling she may already know some things. Considering with what she said earlier with the gems being aliens, she has to.

"Wendy, how did you know about them?" I ask her.

She looks away for a second, then back at me.

"I kind of overheard you telling Danny about it." She says, looking a bit ashamed.

"You did?! How?" I ask, clearly surprised by this.

"I went back in the shack to get something. I don't remember exactly what I was getting, but I remember overhearing everything you talked about." She explains, "Unfortunately, it wasn't the only time I walked in overhearing something I wasn't supposed to."

"There was another time?" Dipper asks.

"Yeah." She answers.

"Oh no..." Danny says.

"Yeaaah, I overheard the last part of that conversation too." She admits, still looking a bit ashamed, "I'm really sorry. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop or anything."

"Danny, what's wrong?" Sam asks sternly.

"I uh..well, Steven and I talked about...that too." Danny says, hesitantly.

Sam, Tucker, and his sisters look confused for a few seconds. Then, one by one, they have this moment of realization. They all go 'Ohhhhhhhhhh!' afterwards.

"Steven...did he really tell you?" Dani asks.

I nod. It's obvious that they keep his superhero identity under wraps. Just like how I was keeping my gem half a secret. I continue to explain everything as best as I can, including what Gems can do and what kinds they can be.

"Ok, so your mom was a Gem and she gave up her physical form so that you could be born. And she also left you her gemstone." Jazz states, trying it to make sense of it all.

"Yeah." I say.

"Your gem is really pretty, Steven. What kind of gem is it?" Mabel asks.

"It looks like a Quartz gem." Dipper notes.

"A-actually, it's a pink diamond." I correct him.

Everyone but Danny, Connie, and Wendy, looks at me shocked expressions. Ah, geez.

- Dipper's P.O.V.

...HE'S HALF DIAMOND! This is unbelievable! He's not just half alien, but he's the equivalent of half royalty! I just knew there was something about him!

I immediately write down what was told to us. I'm absolutely speechless!

"Whoa. I wasn't expecting that." Sam says, breaking the silence.

"I don't think anyone was expecting that." Tucker states.

"That's how I reacted when he told me." Danny explains.

"I didn't expect it either." Steven speaks up.

"What do you mean, Steven?" Mabel asks.

"For a majority of my life, I thought I had a rose quartz gem. Almost every one thought my mom was a rose quartz. She wasn't. She was Pink Diamond in disguise." He explains, "It wasn't until I was 14 when I learned the truth about her real identity."

He looks..sad? Or rather lost? Either way, his reaction doesn't scream positive emotions. Maybe I should switch the topic up a bit.

"So, what kind of abilities do you have exactly?" I ask.

"Hm? Oh! Well, you already know about the bubbles I can make." He starts, "I can also summon shields."

He suddenly summons a pink shield with a particular pattern on it. That's the same one we've been seeing lately!

He lists off a few more abilities. He even demonstrates some of them. The one that has my attention is fusion.

"What do you mean by fusion?" Mabel asks.

"When two or more things are put together." I respond.

"He's right. What I mean is I can combine myself with another person to make a whole new person." Steven explains.

"It's what happened earlier when we were dealing with the corrupted gem." Connie chimes in.

"Whoa! I wanna see it! Can you two fuse again? Please?" Mabel asks excitedly.

"Well, Connie? Do you want to?" Steven asks.

"Of course." She replies happily.

The two of them get up. I wonder how they're gonna...are they dancing?
...yeah they're dancing. They didn't do that earlier..oh my gosh they're glowing again!

A small flash of light envelopes them and disappears to show the person we saw earlier!

"Huh? Whoa, I'm here again." The person states.

"Awesome!" Dani exclaims.

"Oh! Hi, I'm Stevonnie."

"Ste..vonnie?" Wendy says, confused.

"Steven, Connie, boom! Stevonnie! I'm them!" Stevonnie exclaims.

Fascinating...I jot down more notes.

"You're really cute, Stevonnie." Mabel says.

"Aww, that's so sweet." They say, clearly touched, "See you guys later!"

Another flash of light occurs and we see Steven and Connie hugging.

"That was fun." Steven chuckles.

"It was." Connie agrees.

Hmm, I wonder...

"Can full gems also fuse with humans?" I ask.

"No, I'm the only one who can fuse with both gems and humans." He states.

"Is it because you're half-human?" Jazz asks.

"Yep!"

Interesting.

"Have you fused with other gems or humans?" Danny asks.

"Yeah. I fused with my dad, Amethyst, Pearl, and Garnet." He replies.

"Do you think you can fuse with one of us too?" I ask.

"Uhh.."

"Sorry! If you want to! We're not gonna force you or anything..." I exclaim.

I feel like I offended him all of a sudden.

"It's ok, Dipper. I don't mind." Steven says.

"Are you sure?" Connie asks.

"I'm sure."

"Ok. But if something bad happens..."

"I know. You'll be here for me." He says, "Any volunteers?"

We stay silent. Huh, I didn't think we'd get this far.

"I'll do it." Danny states, breaking the silence.

"Really?!" Jazz exclaims.

"Sure. Besides, we already know each other's secrets. I think we'll be fine." He says, calmly.

What secrets?!

"Uhh, do we have to dance for this?" Danny asks Steven.

"Maybe?" Steven responds, seemingly unsure about it, "We don't have to."

"Ok...is it going to feel weird?"

"For you? Probably."

I can tell that Danny is a little nervous about this. Steven puts a reassuring hand on Danny's shoulder.

"It'll be ok. If you're uncomfortable, we'll unfuse." Steven says with a smile.

Danny looks at him blankly, then smiles.

"Alright." Danny says with a confident smile.

It's nice to see him give some--THEY'RE GLOWING! Another flash of light blinds us unexpectedly. That was quick! Maybe physical contact is all that's needed, without having to dance at all.

The smoke starts to clear out. Standing before us is a 6ft guy with two different colored eyes (blue and dark brown), a curlier version of Danny's hairstyle, a surprisingly fit physique, and...four arms?!
...His outfit definitely represents both Steven and Danny. Dark pink letterman jacket, Steven's black shirt, dark gray jeans, and pink shoes.

I immediately jot down more observations!

"Whoa, wer--I'm tall!" The fusion exclaims, "And I have four arms?!"

Huh, his voice a little a deeper than I thought it would be.

"Are you..ok?" Wendy asks.

"I'm ok."

"So cool!" Mabel loudly proclaims, "How do you feel, Steven? Danny? Stanny!?"

"Stan..ny?" The fusion questions.

"Really, Mabel?" I ask, "We're not going to call--"

"Stanny. I like the sound of that." He says happily.

I guess we're sticking with Stanny, then.

"Ok, I'm curious. Do you have Steven's abilities?" Jazz asks.

"Huh, I don't know. I'll test one of them." Stanny answers.

He summons Steven's shield.

"Holy crud!" He exclaims.

The shield is some sort of mix of pink and green! The colors seem to be clashing with each other! And it's glowing too! The green part definitely isn't coming from Steven.

"Ghostly shield..." Stanny whispers in awe.

He goes silent and starts to think.

"Stanny? What's wrong?" Dani asks.

"I'm tempted to try something out.." He answers with a smirk.

"Oh boy." Sam says while she facepalms.

"Not now...but later." He reiterates.

He seems to be enjoying himself.

"This is interesting. I didn't I'd be able to this..sort of.." he says, trailing off.

He stays silent. Completely silent. His face goes from a smirk, to a blank expression, to an anxious expression. He starts blushing pink and green.

"Wait...I..did...no..that wasn't.." he whispers, anxiously.

Wait, that's something that Steven does when he's nervous!

"Stanny? What's wrong?" Connie asks, looking somewhat concerned.

He starts to shake and sweat a bit. He's glowing again! Steven and Danny fall out to the ground!

"Steven! Are--"

"Danny?! Are you ok?!" Steven yells over Connie.

We turn to see Danny looking completely freaked out. He's unable to say anything and tears start flowing out of his eyes.

What did he see?!

- Danny's P.O.V.

That wasn't me! That wasn't me! That didn't happen to me..but it did..didn't it? Why did I suddenly remember that? Maybe fusing with Steven made me remember what happened...

Considering this is possible, what if it actually comes true? What if I go nuts while being Stanny?

"DANNY!"

I look to see that everyone is looking at me..they look really worried.

Huh? When did we get back to Amity Park?! We're not supposed to be here! Why am I back here?! The sky swirls above us and a sinister laugh comes from it!

I..I know that laugh!

"I'm ba-ack." I hear him say, calmly.

"NO! NO! NO!" I yell.

I see him standing in front of me.

"Missed me?" He asks with a smirk.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yell.

"DANNY!"

I gasp and I see Steven shaking me!

"Hey, snap out of it!" Steven exclaims, "You're safe. I promise, you're safe right now."

"What?" I ask.

"Dude, it looked like you were about to attack us." Wendy states, clearly shocked.

I look to see that my hands are glowing green!

"Your eyes are green!" Mabel points out.

I feel my heart racing...did that just happen?

Chapter Text

- Danny's P.O.V.

I almost attacked everyone...that's..I feel sick to my stomach. Everyone looks at me with different expressions. I don't like this feeling...

"Danny, I don't know if you want to hear this, but...if you want to talk about it, we'll listen. It's also fine if you don't want to talk about it right now. We'll listen, whenever you're ready." Steven says, calmly.

I can tell he's still worried, but he's maintaining his cool. Considering what's he told me prior to this, I'm not surprised.

"...I'm Danny Phantom." I state.

Holy crud..I just said it. Everyone's eyes go wide as I finished saying it.

"I don't want to talk about that too much or about what just happened. Not right now, at least..." I say, " I just need some time to myself right now."

"Of course, we'll give you your space." Connie says, politely.

I walk away, looking at the ground ashamed. I thought I was done worrying about this evil future me garbage! I guess not. I never told anyone the extent of my fears. I know that he's trapped outside of time, I know he is!

...but what if he got out? It wouldn't be impossible for him to do so, considering how powerful he is. The fact that his possible future came so close to an actual reality really scares me. The thought of losing the people that I care about still haunts me.

Maybe forming into Stanny brought those feelings that I've been pushing down back to the surface. Doing that to myself is not a good thing. But I don't want to worry anybody.

...

Huh. I must've walked into the forest without thinking about it much. It's also a bit darker than it was earlier. Wait, what's that noise?

I turn around to see Lion come from behind the trees.

"Hey, Lion. What are you doing here?" I ask.

Great, now I'm talking to a lion. I've definitely hit a new low.

Lion responds with a low growl and walks up to me. He slowly places his head on top of mine.

"Are you...checking up on me?"

He blinks. I'll take that as a yes.

"Did Steven and the others put you up to this?"

He stares at me. I guess they didn't? It's hard to tell with a nearly nonverbal pink lion next to me.

"I guess it's about time I head back." I say.

Lion lowers himself down.

"No need, buddy." I state.

I look around to make sure it's just us.

"Alright. I'm going ghost." I say, calmly.

I transform.

"Wanna race?" I ask.

He positions himself to get ready.

- Dipper's P.O.V.

"Is it normal for Lion to just walk off somewhere?" I ask.

"Pretty much." Connie answers.

We spent the rest of the day outside the Shack. Granted, we're still waiting for Danny to come back, but it's too much of a good day to pass up.

..I should've known that Danny was Danny Phantom. I mean, it all makes sense. 'Danny Fenton', 'Danny Phantom', they're practically identical!

*ROAR!*

A portal opens up and Lion pops out! He can make portals?!

"Hey! No fair, you overgrown housecat! That's cheating!" I hear Danny yell.

He appears from within the trees in his ghost form! He looks at us with widened eyes. I guess he's caught off guard.

"Danny! You're ok!" Sam exclaims.

He lands on the ground as we approach him. He transforms back into his human form.

"Of course, I'm ok. Well, I'm ok as I can be." He states.

Looking at him, he does seem a lot better.

"Danny..I'm sorry. I should've thought about everything more clearly." Steven says sadly.

"It's ok, buddy. I volunteered to fuse with you and I didn't think about what would happen. You have nothing to apologize for." Danny notes.

I see Steven give a bit of a nervous smile. I guess he's trying to accept that it's not his fault. It isn't.

"Hey, um..Danny? Steven?" I speak up.

"Yeah?" They asked simultaneously.

Everyone turns to look at me.

"I should be the one apologizing. I was the one who asked Steven to fuse again. I didn't know you would panic like that." I explain, "I'm really sorry."

I feel ashamed.

"It's ok, buddy. You couldn't have known." Danny states.

He looks up at everybody.

"I guess it's my turn to explain." He notes.

"Are you sure, Danny?" Sam asks.

"I'm sure."

We go inside the Shack and we go directly into our shared bedroom. We each sit out on different parts of the room. Mabel and I sit on her bed while Waddles is napping. Wendy, Jazz, and Dani sit on my bed. Sam, Steven, Connie, and Tucker sit on the floor in between the beds. Danny sits on the floor too, in front of all of us. Lion managed to squeeze in the room, so he lies down on the corner of the room.

"So, I've already told and shown you that I'm Danny Phantom." He starts off, "But you're probably wondering about my abilities and how all that started, right?"

Besides his sisters and friends, all of us agree with him.

"I'll start with how became a half ghost." He states.

"Wait, you weren't born one?" Mabel asks.

"No, I wasn't. I was turned into one by accident." He answers.

"By accident? How does that work?" Connie asks.

"I'll explain. This all started when I was just 14, when my parents built this very strange machine. It was designed to view a world unseen. The machine didn't work when they tested it, so they left. Sam and Tucker were there with me that day. Sam urged me to look into the machine." He starts, "I put on a jumpsuit and I went in to look. When I did, I accidentally pressed a button. I turned it on while I was still in the machine."

He continues, explaining what happened after he got out of the machine. It's so interesting! I didn't know what to expect from Danny. Or from Steven either! I just knew that there was something about those two.

Huh...so if Danny is Danny Phantom, then that means..!

"Does that mean that Dani is your partner in crime!?" I blurt out.

Everyone looks at me quickly. Even Waddles wakes up to see what's going on. I should've been more quiet with my question.

"Do you mean me?" Dani asks.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I should've been more subtle about it." I say.

"It's fine." She says.

Hopefully she means that--a ring just appeared around her! Her appearance just changed! She has the same snow white and glowing green eyes as Danny did earlier!

"I am his partner in crime." She says while smiling and flying next to her brother.

"Well that wasn't necessary." Danny says.

"It was totally necessary." Dani remarks.

"What's the case with Dani then? Was she in the same incident as you?" Connie asks.

Dani looks at Connie. I guess she wasn't expecting that question to be asked. Dani's expression changes to sad.

"No..not exactly. I was made like this." Dani says sadly.

Is she ashamed? The look on her face tells me is that she doesn't like talking about it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, then that's fine." Connie apologizes.

"It's ok. Thank you." Dani says.

I wonder what she meant by that. That she was made? Was she not born or something?

- Steven's P.O.V.

Dani looked sad by that question. I guess she doesn't want to talk about it right now. Her statement made it sound like she was created instead of born. I don't know, maybe I'm overthinking it.

"How did you react when you found out you had powers?" I asked.

"After realizing that I could walk through walls, disappear, and fly...well..I freaked out. Sam and Tucker also freaked out." He states.

"All of us freaking out is the general synopsis here." Tucker chimes in.

"Danny didn't want his powers initially." Sam says.

"Yeah, because I didn't want to be known as a freak in school." Danny admits, "Or worse..."

"A monster.." I state quietly.

He looks at me suddenly. Oh, man...I didn't mean to say that.

"Yeah, exactly." He agrees.

He suddenly looks a bit nervous. I guess that got to him.

"I actually got a little hint of that once. I met a version of me that could be only described as an absolute monster. He was my future." He states sadly.

His..future?

"I thought I was destined to become him. It turns out I wasn't. It was a possibility, but not set in stone. A uh..ghost acquaintance of mine has him. He's sort a keeper of time itself. That dark version of me is being kept outside of time." He explains further, "The reason why I freaked out earlier is because that version of me was kind of a fusion himself. A fusion of my ghost half and my enemy's ghost half."

"So when I fused with you..." I start to say.

"It brought back those memories." He finishes.

Oh my gosh, what have I done?! I hurt someone by bringing back their bad memories! I remember that he did mention it briefly, but I didn't realize it was that!

"Steven, don't apologize again. I can tell that you feel bad." Danny states.

"Is it that obvious?" I ask nervously.

"Very." He says while smiling.

"We already know for a fact that you would never want to intentionally hurt anybody." Sam chimes in.

I guess it is obvious.

"If anything, I've been pushing down my feelings on that." He admits.

"Danny, that's not healthy!" Jazz exclaims.

"Don't you think I know that?!" Danny exclaims back, "I just didn't want to worry anybody."

"Trust me when I say that's not a good feeling. I'd done that for years without fully realizing it. Once everything was too much to handle, I snapped. I turned into a literal monster after that..I don't want that to happen to you." I explain.

"I was there that day...it wasn't pretty." Connie chimes in, confirming my story.

"A literal monster?" Danny asks.

"He turned into a pink kaiju-like giant after his initial breakdown." Connie explains.

"Hold on, didn't Dipper talk about that a while ago?" Wendy asks.

"I did! Steven, that was you?!" Dipper exclaims.

I look down at the floor. That day...I don't like remembering that day. It brings me so much grief. It's something that I could've stopped if I hadn't closed myself off to everyone I care about. It could've been avoided.

"Oh..I guess it was. Let's move on.." Dipper says awkwardly.

I guess he remembered my issue with that day.

"Take it from me, guys. Don't do what I did. Talk to someone, find a healthy way to cope. Just..please, don't let yourselves get worse." I state.

Everyone stays silent. Did I say something wrong?

"We'll take your word for it." Danny says, "I've already mentioned how Jazz wants me to go to therapy. How do you even start?"

"It does get a bit awkward in the beginning. But once you start getting into it, it starts getting a bit easier. It's not perfect each time, but it helps." I explain.

I see Danny making a face. I guess he's thinking about it.

"Maybe you and Jazz can...help me. You know...with..scheduling uhh.." Danny hesitates.

"Don't worry, we'll help you with that." I state.

"Maybe we can go to therapy too." Mabel says.

"Maybe not." Dipper chimes in.

"Why not, Dipper?" She asks.

"They would probably think that we're crazy." He responds.

"Unless if you get a bad therapist, they won't think that you're crazy." I say.

"I don't think most therapists would believe the stuff we saw last summer. Would you believe us if we told you that a interdimensional, demonic triangle tried to take over the world?" Dipper says sternly.

"Yes." I answer.

"Yeah." Danny answers.

Dipper stays silent.

"My mom was a Diamond, she was given Earth to rule over. When she faked her death, the other Diamonds tried to get rid of the Earth as revenge. So, yes, I believe you." I state.

"There are some ghosts that I've fought that tried doing the same thing. Of course I believe you." Danny responds.

Dipper looks at us like we've grown two heads.

"Should we be concerned?" Wendy asks.

I chuckle. What a question.

"You should be very concerned." I state.

"At least a little." Connie chimes in, "Just because things are ok doesn't mean we shouldn't keep our guards up."

"Good point." Tucker says.

"Going back on the topic...can you show us some of your powers?" Dipper asks.

We see how excited he looks.

"I got this." Dani states.

Considering that she's still in her ghost form, that makes sense. Both her and Danny have shown they can fly and float. She starts demonstrating with beams coming out of her hands, then green translucent shields, and then she turns invisible. We look around to see where she could be.
...it's a been a minute. Where did she go?

"Dani, where'd you go?" Danny asks.

"Yeah, where are you?" Jazz chimes in.

"Does this normally happen?" Mabel asks.

"No, it doesn't." Danny responds.

"Dani, come on out. Where's the best superhero in the world at?" Jazz states.

"Jazz wouldn't say that." Sam retorts.

"What do you mean? I'm smart. I know who's the best." Jazz says back.

"Dani, stop overshadowing Jazz." Danny says.

Jazz glows and Dani suddenly appears behind her.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." Dani says with a cheeky smile.

"Can you at least give me a warning first?" Jazz asks.

"Alright." She says.

"There are some other abilities that we have. But if we try those, the Shack may come down with it." Danny explains.

"Like what?" Connie asks.

"We have an ability called the 'ghostly wail'. If we do that, there would be a lot of damage." He continues.

"So you get really loud and destroy whatever is around?" Connie asks.

"Pretty much." He responds.

We continue to talk about his other abilities in detail. Some of these abilities sound like mine. He may be a half-ghost, but he's not that different from me. It's kind of nice. To have someone kind of like you in the world is very comforting.

- Danny's P.O.V.

I didn't think I would get to share my secret with other people like this. It's nice not being judged so quickly.

"Hey, Jazz, how did you find out about Danny being a half-ghost?" Connie asks.

"It was unintentional. He had been acting weird for a while, so I got worried. I followed him and I saw him change. He didn't notice me when he did it." She explains.

"I imagine you must've been surprised." Mabel says, chiming in.

"I was." She confirms.

"What about your parents?" Wendy asks.

"They found out much later. I didn't tell them right away." I answer.

"Why not?" Dipper asks.

"Their parents are ghost hunters." Tucker says.

"Oh. You mentioned something about that earlier." Connie states.

"Yeah. Whenever they threatened to experiment on ghosts, I felt less inclined to them." I explain.

"So how did they find out?" Wendy asks.

I remember that day...it wasn't my best moment. I start explaining what happened that day as I remembered it.

*The event*

We were fighting in the school gym. Luckily, everyone else had evacuated from that time. I was fighting Technus 2.0 again. He had become even more powerful than last time. So much so that I was having a hard time fighting him. He had my friends and my family tied up. I remember Tucker trying to find a way to hack into the system to make him weaker. I also remember seeing my parents trying to get out too.

Even though I was weak, I was determined to continue.

"Ghost child, I'm impressed by your persistence. But I'm afraid that I have the upper hand!" He exclaimed.

I stood up slowly and painfully. I took a deep breath and I did the strongest ghostly wail that I could at the time. It was strong enough to break the tech and to send him flying back.

After I finished, I felt even weaker. I had a hard time keeping my balance and my vision was starting to blur. I saw Sam get out and she immediately ran towards Technus 2.0. Even though my vision wasn't the best, I saw a bright line of light. I could hear Technus 2.0 scream 'Noooooooooo!' as it happened.

Everyone else had gotten out. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were checking on me while my parents came up to us. Despite my condition, I could that they weren't happy with me.

"Listen, Ghost Boy..." My mom started.

I could only hear bits and pieces of what she was saying since I was starting to lose consciousness, but I understood that she and Dad were still against me. I expected it. It still hurt though. I remember seeing Sam, Tucker, and Jazz arguing about how I saved everyone again. Before anything else could be said, in my weak state, I was starting to change back.

"Mom, Dad...help.." I said.

After that, I lost consciousness. I could hear 'WHAT?!' before succumbing fully. Jazz and the others explained what happened after I collapsed.

"Danny!" Sam screamed.

"Oh crud, we need to help him!" Tucker yelled.

"Mom, Dad, get the car!" Jazz exclaimed.

According to Jazz, Mom and Dad looked horrified. She said that Mom started to tear up.

"Jack...we were threatening our own son!"

"What...have we done.."

She said they looked so remorseful. She snapped them out of it and they managed to get me out of the gym without anyone noticing.

I remember waking up in my room and seeing my friend and sister sitting beside me on each side of my bed.

"Guys?" I said quietly.

"Danny!" They yelled.

They were happy to see that I had woken up.

"He's awake?!" I hear from downstairs.

I suddenly heard footsteps. I saw Mom and Dad barge into my room. They looked so relieved when they saw I was awake.

"Oh thank goodness! I was so worried..." Mom said.

Dad didn't say anything. I couldn't exactly read his facial expression.

"D..Dad?" I asked nervously.

"Kids, can you please leave the room? Maddie and I need to have a talk with Danny." He said, sternly.

They saw his expression and agreed. They left and closed the door. I sat there staring at them. They stood there doing the same. It was silent. Uncomfortably silent. I suddenly saw Dad's expression change. He looked so sad. Mom did too.

"Danny boy...we're so sorry." He said, quietly.

"We're so sorry. We didn't know that you were Danny Phantom..." Mom said with remorse, "Though..it's a bit silly saying out loud."

"Yeah. Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom! Why didn't we realize that sooner?!" Dad emphasized.

That was a good question. My name wasn't even that different. I don't even look that different in my ghost form either.

"Regardless, we owe you so many apologies. But..I feel like that isn't enough." Mom said, sadly.

"Your mother's right. We've threatened to destroy ghosts and you, right in front of you. And we didn't even show gratitude towards you saving us and everyone else from the other ghosts!" Dad continued.

"We're ashamed of ourselves."

I could tell they were really regretful. But I felt bad too.

"If anything..I'm sorry too." I said.

"What? Why are you apologizing?" Mom asked, "You haven't done anything wrong."

"I've been lying to you since the incident. I wanted to tell you guys the truth, but I didn't know how you'd react." I admitted.

"You did lie to us!" Dad exclaimed.

He stood silent for a few seconds.

"But..considering our attitudes towards ghosts, I don't blame you." He said, sheepishly.

"Sweetie, can you explain how this happened to you?" Mom asked.

I explained the day of the incident to them. Their eyes widened.

"So that's how it started working?!" Dad yelled.

"Why didn't we pay better attention to you?! You got so lucky! You...you could've.." She trailed off.

Mom got choked up. I guessed she realized the extent of the whole thing. Dad started to comfort her.

"Son...I feel like you should've heard this a while ago, but...we're proud of you." Dad stated.

"Huh?" I blurted out.

"You're a hero, sweetie. You do so much to help people. Even when there some against you, you continued to fight for everyone. I think that's an incredibly special gift to have." Mom said.

I didn't realize it immediately, but I had teared up once Mom said. I had felt so many emotions at that time. But the main one I felt was joy.

I felt accepted.

*End of story*

After I finish, I see a range of expressions from everyone. My friends and sisters look happy. Wendy, Connie, and Dipper look intrigued. Mabel and Steven are tearing up.

"It must've been an emotional experience for you." Connie states.

"It was. I'm just glad that they accepted me." I say.

Ever since that day, things got better. It's not perfect, but I think that's fine. Things can only go up from here.

************

- ???'s P.O.V.

Hmm...Gravity Falls? So this is where you're staying at?

Fascinating.

Well, it'll be nice to see you again.

Chapter Text

A/N: So, here's an interesting fact. Chapter 5 was supposed to be the chapter that everyone found out about Steven and the Fenton siblings being half-gem and half-ghosts respectively. However, I changed it mid-way through thinking it was a bit early. Regardless, I thought it would be interesting to post the first idea I had for the chapter. It's shorter than what what it turned to. I hope you enjoy.

- Dipper's P.O.V.

What the heck is going on with Steven?! He's glowing pink! Tears stream down his face as he has a pained expression.

"I think he's having a nightmare! We have to wake him up!" Mabel exclaims.

"Is that the best idea?" Dani asks.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Danny asks back.

Danny immediately goes to him and starts to shake him a bit.

"Steven! Wake up!" He yells.

Steven suddenly wakes up and a spiky bubble appears around him!

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He yells!

We all get thrown back to the wall by his outburst! I look at everyone to see if they're ok. Mabel looks at me wide-eyed.

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT ME!" He yells again!

After saying that, he realizes that us and the Fenton siblings are in front of him. His eyes widen, as if he realized that he was in front of us. I see that his eyes are also pink, with white diamond pupils!

"Oh no...no..no...it's..happening again. I don't..I don't...I don't want it to happen again.." he says, quietly freaking out.

I suddenly see horns and claws growing out of him! He starts hyperventilating!

Wait, horns and claws?! Just like the monster I saw in the photo!? That means...oh my gosh! I was right! I knew there was something weird about him! The weird glowing blush, his unusual amount of strength, the shields popping up out of nowhere, his unwillingness to talk about the monster, everything! It all makes sense now!

- Steven's P.O.V.

Oh no, it's happening again! Please, no! It..it hurts..make it stop. I have to calm down..I need help..

"Steven, what's happening to you?!" Mabel asks.

I don't answer. They already see that I'm not a normal human being. Everything...hurts!

"Steven, it's ok. It's just us. I don't get what's going on, but I promise we're not going to attack you." Danny reassures.

Why is he telling me this? I already know that.

"That's not what I'm afraid of...I'm afraid of hurting you guys." I admit, "I don't want to turn into a monster again.."

"I knew it..." Dipper states.

"Dipper, now is not the time." Mabel says.

I start to cry again. I don't want to hurt anybody...

I drop to my knees and hyperventilate again.

"I'm..sorry. I didn't want anyone to know about me. I...I'm a freak.." I say, quietly.

Then there's silence. Tears continue going down my face. Nobody says a word. I knew it, they do think I'm a freak.

"I doubt that."

I look up.

"I doubt that you're a freak. Cause if you're one, that means that I am too." Danny says with a smile.

"Me too." Dani says behind him.

Are they trying to make me feel better?

"You know what?"

Before I could say anything, a bright ring appears around him. It suddenly envelopes him. Before I knew it, Danny looked different! His hair turned white, his skin looked a bit more tan, and his outfit changed into a black and white jumpsuit with a "D" on the chest! He opens his eyes and I see that they turned a bright green!

Standing before me is Danny Phantom, the hero! I stand up quickly. I look at him, surprised. The twins are doing the same thing.

"I don't know if this helps, but I hope it makes you feel less freaky." He says.

I feel myself getting less nervous. I stop hyperventilating, and my monster features go away. I'm still glowing pink, but it has dimmed down.

"You're Danny Phantom." I state, amazed.

"I sure am. It's just as Dipper said, I'm half-human and half-ghost." He explains.

"Half-human..." I said.

"Half-ghost? So I was right?!" Dipper asks.

We look at him.

"Dipper, I don't think this is the time to ask." Mabel states.

"I used to be a normal person. That was up until I was 14. That's when my parents built a very strange machine. It lets you see into the ghost zone. There was an incident, and that's how I ended up like this." Danny explains, "I have all these weird abilities from that incident. I use them to help people in trouble."

"And he's the not the only half-ghost." Dani says.

She suddenly changes and immediately has a similar look to her brother. Snow white hair and glowing green eyes. The whole thing.

"The only difference is I was already created with these abilities.." she says in a slightly sad tone.

They're half-human...like me. I didn't think there was anyone like me. My pink glow went away and I looked at my hands and legs in shock. I look back at them. I drew a long relieved sigh.

"I...I'm half-human too. But, I'm half-gem." I explain.

"Half-gem?" He asks.

"Yeah."

I pull up my shirt to reveal my gem. Everyone looks at my navel with interest.

"Whoa. It's so pretty." Mabel says.

"Is..is that where your bellybutton is supposed to be?" Danny asks.

"Uh, yeah." I answer, a bit hesitant.

"So when you say 'gem', do mean stuff like rubies and pearls?" Dipper asks.

"Yeah." I answer.

"So you're basically part rock?" Dani asks.

I open my mouth to answer, only for me to close it. I never really thought about it before. The gems are essentially magical rock aliens.

"...kind of? If anything, I'm actually part magical rock...alien?" I say with a shrug.

"You're part alien?!" Dipper asks in shock.

"Dipper!" Mabel exclaims.

Dipper excitedly gets his pen out.

"A half-alien AND two half-ghosts? I have several questions--"

Mabel grabs Dipper's mini journal and bonks him over the head with it.

"Ow! Mabel!"

"Steven just went through something! And the Fentons showed that he wasn't alone!" Mabel exclaims, "I get that you're excited, but can't you wait until morning?"

Dipper looks at us and sighs.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm being insensitive about the situation." Dipper says, clearly a bit ashamed.

"We get that you're curious." I say.

"Though it's better to wait, just like Mabel said." Danny chimes in.

"Steven, is it possible for you to go back to sleep?" Dani asks.

"It is possible. Whenever I get a nightmare, it only happens once. So I can go back to sleep." I answer.

"Alright then, let's go back to sleep." Danny says.

"Is everything alright?"

We turn to see Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Wendy at the door, looking sleepy. Jazz's eyes suddenly widen when she sees her siblings in their ghost forms.

"Oh right." Dani says.

Without hesitation, both of them turn back to normal. I see all of their jaws drop.

"We told them. We'll explain the rest later." Danny states.

"Good night, guys!" Mabel exclaims.

Dipper and Mabel grab the the four of them and take them away. The three of us look at each other and we chuckle.

"Oh man, I think our sister is going to give us an earful later." Dani says.

"Believe me, I think she will." Danny says with a smile.

Chapter Text

A/N: Warning! Issa long chapter! Lots of descriptions of outfits and cute relationship moments (both romantic and platonic)! Lots of antics and funny implied swearing! You've been warned lol

- Dipper's P.O.V.

I can't believe it, our first Summerween party. And with Wendy no less! According to her, the gang will be there, along with some classmates she befriended. Count us, Steven, Connie, Candy, Grenda, and the Phantom gang along for the party. Wendy has already left to get everything started, despite it being nearly 5pm. Apparently she's trying to make up for last year's party.

"How does this look, Dipper?" Mabel asks.

I turn to see that Mabel has a light purple sweater with 3 balloons on the front. One red, one yellow, and one blue. She has a pink skirt on with a sparkly belt around it. A big pink bow lays on top of her head. Everything seems to match the cast on her leg.

"You look good, Mabel." I state.

"I always look good, I just wanted to make sure." She says with a smile.

She looks at my outfit.

"Aren't you going to dress up?" She asks.

"I am dressed up." I emphasize.

"Dipper, you are not going out in your usual clothes. This is a party! You gotta dress up!" Mabel exclaims.

Before I could say anything, she quickly grabs some of my clothes and drags me out of the room. Is she dragging me into the bathroom?! She has crutches and a cast on, how is she doing that?! She stops, opens the door and the bathroom is empty. She pushes me in!

"I'm not letting you out until you change into those clothes." She says, sternly.

I'm pretty sure she's serious. I close the door and I look at the clothes she picked out. An orange button up with long sleeves, cargo pants, and a pair of blue and white sneakers. Maybe I can put my hat and vest with it? That might help.

"And don't you dare put the hat and vest on!" She yells through the door.

Dang, she knows me too well. Where will I put my mini journal? Hmmm...well, maybe I can put my mini journal in one of the pants pockets instead?

"And no mini journal either!" She yells.

She knows too much! I quickly put on the clothes and I look at myself in the mirror.

Huh, I guess I don't look too bad. I wonder if the others will dress up a little. I come out of the bathroom and Mabel's back is facing me. She quickly turns around and gasps.

"You look great, Dipper!" She exclaims.

"Thanks?" I say, sounding unsure.

"Wow, you look good."

"Yeah!"

I turn to see Candy and Grenda coming up to us. They were also somewhat dressed up for the occasion. Candy has on a light blue shirt with a dark blue skirt while Grenda has on a frilly red shirt with black pants. Candy has put her hair up while Grenda has hers down.

"Eee! You two look great!" Mabel squeals.

"Forget about us, look at you!" Grenda exclaims.

"You look great, Mabel." Candy states.

"Aww, thank you, girls."

"Hey, are the others getting dressed up?" I ask.

"Yeah." She answers.

I don't even get why we dressed up in the first place. We're going to a casual party. It's not anything too special.

"Let's wait downstairs." I state.

They agree and we head down. We end up in the living room. We see Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford as we enter.

"I'm telling you, Stanley. The readings have been off the charts all day." Grunkle Ford states.

"Should we keep an eye out, then?" Grunkle Stan asks.

"Keep an eye out on what?" Mabel asks suddenly.

Our grunkles immediately let out a 'Aah!' simultaneously upon Mabel's question. I guess they weren't expecting us.

"Well..." Grunkle Stan starts.

Both of them look at each other.

"We might as well tell them." He says to Grunkle Ford.

"Fine." Grunkle Ford says.

They turn back to us.

"I've been observing the supernatural activity of Gravity Falls since we got back. Things have been fine for the most part." Grunkle Ford explains, "However, today has been off the charts!"

"Surprisingly, poindexter doesn't know why." Grunkle Stan chimes in.

"Do you want us to help with figuring it out?" I ask.

"Yeah, we can help." Mabel says.

"I want to help."

"Me too."

"I don't know if that's a good idea..." Grunkle Ford says while being concerned.

"Hey, these kids are smart. Who knows? Maybe they can find something." Grunkle Stan states, trying to convince Ford.

"That's not my main concern, Stanley. I believe that they can figure it out. I have no doubts about that. I'm just concerned that they'll get into a dangerous situation again. And let's not forget that Mabel's leg is in a cast."

He's not wrong. Considering all the things that happened last year, I don't blame him.

"What if we get some extra help?" I ask.

"Extra help?" Stan asks back.

"Yeah. We can ask the others for help. You already know that they've dealt with all sorts of crazy stuff since they got here." I state.

"Hmm..alright. I'll leave that up to you guys. Report back to me when you get the chance." Ford says.

Stan and Ford leave the living room and go straight into the kitchen.

"How interesting. A Summerween mystery." Candy states.

"I wonder what's going on." Grenda says quizzically.

"We have to find the others." I say, sternly.

"I think they're in the gift shop." Mabel chimes in.

We decide to head over to see if any of them are in there. We walk in to see Steven, Danny, and Tucker talking about the party.

"Hey, guys." Danny greets.

Tucker and Steven turns to us. Steven smiles.

"Hi guys, you look great!" He says happily.

"Thank you." I say.

I turn to see Mabel, Candy, and Grenda blushing and giggling while trying to say thank you. Here we go again.

"You guys look really nice too." Candy states.

I'm surprised that they decided to change too. Their normal outfits would've been fine.

Steven's wearing a white hoodie and a blue shirt with a yellow star in the middle. With that he has on pink jeans and his usual pink sandals to complete the look. Danny on the other hand has on a white collar shirt with the sleeves pulled up, gray pants and black shoes. As for Tucker, he has on a blue and white Letterman jacket with a white shirt and blue jeans. To complete the look, he's wearing his usual faded red beanie with red sneakers.

"Hey, where's Connie and the others?" Mabel asks.

"They went to get changed elsewhere." Tucker answers.

"Lets cut to the chase." I state, "Apparently Grunkle Ford has been keeping an eye on the supernatural readings of Gravity Falls since he got back. Today has shown very high readings and he doesn't know why."

"So it isn't just us then?" Danny asks.

"You knew?" Grenda asks.

"The three of us were talking about this a few minutes ago. Steven and I were feeling that today has been a little..off. Heck, even my...'sixth' sense was going off." Danny explains.

He must be talking about his ghost sense. Since Candy and Grenda don't know, I guess he decided sugarcoat his words. That's understandable.

"So you think there might be..those around?" I ask.

"It's very possible." He responds.

"What about you, Steven? Any more of those..you know?" Mabel asks discreetly.

"No, not that I can think of. I don't have that kind of sense like Danny does." He admits.

"What are you guys talking about exactly?" Candy asks.

"We'll explain in more detail later." I answer.

"If anything, we checked all of Gravity Falls earlier...or rather Stanny and I did." Tucker says.

"Whoa, really?" I ask, surprised.

They fused again? I wasn't expecting that. I thought they would wait for while before they do it again.

"Yeah, we checked earlier. Apparently because of Danny's..sixth sense, it gave Stanny an enhanced ability. He has the ability sense both." Steven explains.

"Stanny sensed both when he checked. But he didn't find anything." Danny chimes in.

To sense both ghosts and gems? And not finding anything on top of that? That's both incredible and concerning!

- Steven's P.O.V.

I can't help but think that something bad is about to happen. The suspense is killing me! Is the threat gem-related or ghost-related? Or is it both?!

"We're done!"

We turn to see the girls coming back in their party outfits. Connie looks...beeeautiful! Well, she always looks beautiful. She's wearing simple orange dress with orange flats. Her hair is done in a ponytail.

"Connie, you look beautiful." I state.

She giggles shyly.

"Thanks." She says.

She gets close and gives me a peck on the cheek. All of the girls go "AWWW!" loudly. I immediately smile. I'M THE HAPPIEST GUY IN THE WORLD!

"Well, Danny, do I look good?" Sam asks with a smug smile.

I look at Danny. He looks shocked. I can tell he wants to talk, but he's unable to. I think she looks great. She has a black crop top with an olive green skirt and green boots. As if to finish it, she has on green lipstick on instead of her usual color.

"Uh..uh..umm.." Danny stutters out.

"I'll take that as a yes." She says, smugly.

She gives him a quick peck on the lips, leaving slightly visible lipstick mark on his lips. A goofy smile appears on his face and he sighs happily.

"Should we catch them up?" Dipper asks.

"Catch us up on what? Connie asks.

We explain what we were talking about a few minutes ago.

"So you think something might happen?" Jazz asks.

"It's a possibility." Dipper answers.

"Did you guys check around?" Dani asks.

"We did, but we didn't find anything." Tucker responds.

Everyone stays silent. I don't think any of us has a plan in place. We were mainly focusing on celebrating Summerween together. But now, we can't help but worry. Hmm...I wonder. Should I? No, I probably shouldn't.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

I know that voice! We all turn to see Garnet standing at the door!

"Garnet!" I yell.

"Hello, Cutie Pie. It's been awhile." She says calmly.

I run to her and give her a big hug. She hugs me back.

"I didn't think you missed me that much." She says with a smile.

"Of course I did!" I exclaim.

I haven't seen Garnet in a while! I've missed her and the gems so much!

"When did you get here? How did you get here?" I ask.

"I got here by a warp pad a few minutes ago." She responds.

"There's a warp pad in Gravity Falls?"

"Yep."

"How did you..."

She adjusts her visor while smirking.

"Ahhh, right." I say knowingly.

"Garnet! It's been a while." Connie chimes in as she hugs Garnet.

"I see you're visiting too." She states.

"Of course."

"Holy crud." I hear Danny say.

I turn to see everyone looking at Garnet in awe.

"Everyone, this is Garnet. She's one of the Crystal Gems." I introduce.

"Crystal...Gem?" Candy asks.

Oh, right. Candy and Grenda don't know.

"I'll explain." I state.

I immediately give a short rundown on what Gems are to Candy and Grenda. They surprisingly understood quickly.

"Whoa, that's really cool!" Grenda exclaims.

"Yeah!" Candy agrees.

"Anyway, Garnet, these are my new friends."

"Well I know that, I told you about them myself." She states calmly with a smile.

"You did?" Dipper asks.

"Of course."

"Garnet has future vision. She's able to look into multiple situations for any potential future that may happen." Connie explains.

"That's fascinating." Jazz says.

"It is." I say.

...OH MY GOSH!

"GARNET! Can you--!"

"I'm way ahead of you." She interrupts.

We all look at her.

"Hmm...alright. There's quite a bit of possibilities for tonight. Though, I can say for certain that it's not gem-related. At least, for now." She confirms.

"That means it's--wait, for now?"

"It's ghost-related, then." Danny chimes in, glossing over my confusion.

"I can tell you have a lot of knowledge on that." Garnet states nonchalantly.

"There's no use lying to you, huh?" Danny asks with a grin.

"Nope."

"Alright, that means we should prepare ourselves." Jazz says.

"Jazz is right. Whatever may happen, we need to be prepared." Dipper chimes in, sternly.

"Hey, can you see who's going to cause trouble?" Dani asks.

"Hmm..that's strange. I can't." Garnet retorts.

"You can't?" I ask.

"No. My future vision isn't working properly at the moment. It went away." Garnet says while being mildly inconvenienced.

That is strange. I mean, it's one thing if her vision doesn't come true. Sometimes, the future can change drastically. But for her to be unable to look into the future at all is really weird.

"I don't know if this helps, but before my future vision went away, I saw at least three ghostly figures in my previous visions. I couldn't see what they looked like, however." She explains.

"That helps plenty, Garnet." I state.

"Three? That can be a whole number ghosts that I've dealt with before." Danny notes.

"Wait, ghosts?" Grenda asks.

Danny gives an somewhat vague explanation about ghosts and such. He leaves out being Danny Phantom for obvious reasons. Garnet then volunteers to help.

"Are you sure, Garnet?" I ask her.

"I don't want any of you getting hurt. So I'll fight if gets bad." She says.

"That's a yes from Garnet." I state.

Looks like we're gonna deal with some ghosts again.

************

???'s P.O.V.

"You've done well, my dear." I say.

"Why, thank you." She says.

"Are you forgetting my contribution?" He asks.

"Of course not! Your device has proven to be useful. I commend you for your work as well." I state.

"I was making sure."

I will make sure this goes smoothly.

"Don't forget your end of the bargain." He notes.

"I have not forgotten our arrangement. Danny Phantom will be yours. If anything, due to this interesting bit of information we've acquired, you can have this Steven boy as well. And you, my dear, will have all the power you can imagine." I reiterate.

Something that isn't a ghost, human, or both? And this Steven boy has something to do with that? This has certainly become an interesting development. Although the device didn't work properly at first, we managed to hear enough. 'Gems' are a type of being huh?

I wonder what exactly a 'Gem' is.

************

- Danny's P.O.V.

We're here. A rustic two story house with flashing lights and techno music playing very subtly in the background. We see Wendy waiting out front, texting. She seems to be wearing her usual outfit, but has a red flannel on with a bowtie instead. She looks up and smiles casually as we walk up.

"Hey! You guys made it. And you look great." She greets.

"Why, thank you." Mabel gushes.

"Come on in, the others are inside." Wendy says.

We go inside and head towards the livingroom. We look around to see that it's a really big room with some people dancing and others talking to the side. I see two DJs at a booth. One is setting the mic while the other one is getting to the booth. I couldn't get a good look at the other since he has a hoodie on him. I look to see the table full of drinks and food. The lights are colorful, as to be expected.

"Steven? Is this a friend of yours?" Wendy asks, pointing at Garnet.

"Yeah, that's Garnet." Steven answers.

"Well, nice to meet you, Garnet. You look cool."

"Thank you."

"Do you wanna join the party?" Wendy asks.

"I would love to, but I can't. I'm only here as a...guardian of sorts." Garnet states.

"Guardian?"

"I'll give a quick explanation." Dipper chimes in.

Dipper quickly explains what happened while Wendy was out. Garnet walks outside to start guarding the house.

"Flipping ghosts? Again? Do they hate teenagers too?" She asks.

"They hate humans in general." I answer.

"I had a feeling that something like this would happen. Usually, whenever a party happens in Gravity Falls, something crazy happens after. Last summer is the best example of that." She explains.

I see Dipper and Mabel look away in shame. Wendy suddenly looks caught off guard.

"I...didn't mean it like that." Wendy emphasizes sadly.

"Don't worry about it. We understand." Mabel states with a small smile.

"Whatever happens, we have to be prepared." Connie says.

"Connie's right. We have to make sure that nobody gets hurt." Tucker says, sternly, "That's why I have these gadgets here."

He hands us what looks like...wristwatches? They're kind of odd-looking. It's mostly a black and gray wristwatch with a grayish dial in the middle. There's some sort of green hourglass shape on the dial. This almost looks...alien.

"These are meant for protection. Since most of us can't conjure up shields, we need to have something." Tucker explains.

"Where'd you get these?" Sam asks.

"Mr. Ford and I worked on these earlier this week." He explains.

"I wonder where Grunkle Ford got the stuff  to make these things." Mabel inquires.

"Probably from before he came back last summer. This thing looks like it's made of some sort of alien technology." Dipper notes.

"It doesn't look like Gem tech either." Steven chimes in.

"Regardless, we now have something to protect ourselves with tonight." Jazz points out.

"Where's your usual stuff?" Wendy asks.

"Mr. Ford asked if he could take a look into our stuff. Apparently he wants to upgrade it." Dani explains.

"Sounds like Grunkle Ford alright." Dipper states.

"Let's get that junk out of our minds! It's time to have a Summerween party!" Mabel exclaims.

"Mabel's right, let's at least try to relax and have fun." Wendy agrees.

"Did you hire two DJs?" Steven asks.

"No, just one. Thompson wanted to join the DJ to learn himself I guess." Wendy explains.

And with that, everyone splits up to different parts of the party. Sam, Steven, Connie and I go to the table. Sam and I get some soda while Steven and Connie get some mini sandwiches. Mabel, Dani, Candy, and Grenda start dancing in the middle of the room. Well, Mabel dances however she can with a cast on her leg. Dipper and Wendy are talking and laughing. Jazz and Tucker are sitting on the couch talking while looking at his phone. Jazz must be a bit tense since her movements are a bit frantic.

"What up, everyone!?" I hear.

We turn to see Wendy's friend Thompson on the mic.

"Get ready for the one, the only, DJ SC!" He yells.

Thompson hands over the mic to the DJ.

"Can you guys totally rave to this!?" The DJ yells out in a slight monotone voice.

Everyone cheers!

"Wait, that's--"

The DJ removes his hoodie and yells "Then let's rave!"

He starts and almost everyone starts dancing.

"Whoa, it's Sour Cream!" Steven and Connie exclaim.

"Sour Cream?! As in Sour Cream from 'Sadie Killer and the Suspects'?!" Sam asks.

"Yeah! That's our friend!" Steven says happily.

"He's your friend?!" Wendy chimes in.

"Yeah." Connie confirms.

"We're friends with all of them." Steven says casually.

"That's awesome." I say.

Steven turns to Connie.

"May have this dance?" He asks.

"Such a gentleman. Yes, you may." She answers.

They walk towards the living room and start dancing. I wonder if that's a good idea. Since Steven can fuse with humans, he might accidentally fuse with Connie again. That's not even the biggest issue here. There are ghosts getting ready to cause trouble, all because of me. So of course I feel responsible for this.
...Someone's tugging at my sleeve.
I look to see Sam trying to get my attention.

"Are you ok?" Sam asks.

"I'm fine." I say.

"Are you sure? You're kind of just..staring into space."

"I'm sure."

"You're worried about what'll happen, right?"

I stay silent while the music continues to play.

"Hey, it's ok for you to be cautious. But I don't want you to be like this throughout the entirety of the party." She states.

"I know." I emphasize.

How am I supposed to have fun when there are ghosts getting ready to ruin things?! Regardless, I decide to relax a bit.

The party goes on as normal. People are having a good time. Sour Cream is a great DJ and a pretty cool dude. Steven and Connie introduce us while he prepares his next set.

"Steven's told me about you guys." Sour Cream states.

"He has?" I ask.

"Yeah. We text every once in a while to catch up. You're really cool." He answers.

Steven smiles at us. He must really like us if he thinks we're cool.

- Dipper's P.O.V.

Looks like everyone else is having fun. I'm trying to have fun with everyone myself. I even got some soda and a mini sandwich for myself. Catching up with everyone has been nice, but my mind keeps going elsewhere.

According to Garnet, it'll be three ghosts that'll attack us. But the identities of these ghosts are unknown.

"Hey, Dipper!"

"Huh?" I blurt out.

"You ok, dude? You look distracted." Wendy says.

"I'm just mentally preparing myself." I explain.

"I get that, but I also want you to loosen up." Wendy states.

"I've been trying to, but it's been difficult." I explain.

This is ridiculous. Maybe I need some fresh air? That might help. I walk out of the house and sit at the front steps. What am I going to do? I don't have powers like Steven and the Fentons. How can I protect people?

"You look deep in thought."

I look up to see Garnet sitting next to me.

"I am." I admit, "I don't feel prepared for this."

"You seem like the type to always be prepared." She notes.

"You're right. I always like to be prepared in situations like this. But I'm not in this case. I don't even know who or what exactly we're going to be fighting. I just know that it's a trio of ghosts thanks to your future vision." I explain.

Garnet stays silent. Even with a visor on, I can tell that she's thinking. I see her adjust her visor. Maybe she's trying to get her future vision to work?
...huh. It seems she has her gem on her hand. Actually, thinking about it, she has two gems. ...is she a fusion?

"Garnet, are you a fusion?" I ask.

"I am." She answers.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are your components?"

"Ruby and Sapphire." She says with a small smile.

Suddenly, her expression changes slightly.

"I wonder..." She states quietly.

She starts glowing. Is she going to...whoa she split up! A red gem and a blue gem were sitting in her place. To be more specific, the red gem is sitting where Garnet was and the blue gem is sitting on her lap. This must be Ruby and Sapphire.

"Sorry to be appear so suddenly, Dipper. Ruby had an idea." Sapphire states calmly.

"Try now, Sapphie!" Ruby exclaims.

Silence. What's going on?

"I got it! That was genius, my love." She states.

"Heh, well you know me." Ruby says with a smirk.

Sapphire immediately kisses Ruby's cheek and they start to glow. Garnet's back. This whole gem thing is fascinating.

"Sorry about that." She states.

"No worries." I reply back.

"Because of my--Ruby's idea, it helped me get a clearer answer and a clearer vision." She explains.

"Wait, really?!" I exclaim.

"Yes."

She gives me an explanation on what Sapphire saw. Although she admits that the vision was limited, she explains what they looked like.

"I have to tell the others! Thanks, Garnet." I exclaim.

"No problem."

I immediately run back inside. I see Wendy talking to Robbie and Tambry. I look around some more. The living room is kind of packed. I don't see Danny anywhere. Dang it, where is he? I need to tell him quickly! Who knows when those ghosts will arrive!

I go to Wendy and ask where Danny went. She says that she doesn't know where he went. I take out my phone and I text everyone to come over to Wendy and I. Robbie and Tambry leave to get some soda. Luckily, it doesn't long for everyone to come over.

"Is something wrong, Dipper?" Jazz asks.

"I got information from Garnet earlier about the ghosts." I state.

"She got her future vision back?" Connie asks.

"Kind of. Actually, it was Ruby and Sapphire who helped with that." I clarify.

"Garnet must've decided to do that as a loophole!" Steven exclaims.

"Anyway, Sapphire kind of got to see what these ghosts looked like." I say.

"Tell us!" Dani exclaims.

"According to Garnet, she saw two guy ghosts and one girl ghost. The first guy had sharp teeth, a weird haircut, and a white outfit with a cape. The second guy looked roboticy with green flames for hair and had a bunch of gadgets. And the girl had long dark hair, red eyes, and a blue outfit." I explain quickly.

"Does that ring any bells?" Mabel asks.

"It does ring a few." Danny answers.

"Wait that sounds like--"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

We turn to see everyone screaming and running around! Ghostly creatures are chasing everyone and wreaking havoc! The house is breaking apart and revealing green glowing lights underneath! Danny and Dani tell all of us to hold hands, we suddenly turn invisible!

"So sorry to crash the party!"

I look to see a ghost that looks like a vampire! VAMPIRE GHOSTS ARE A THING?! A green translucent shield appears and covers every exit!

"We're looking for a ghost boy and a so called 'Gem' boy, has anyone seen them?!" Another ghost yells out.

A mechanical biker ghost?! These ghosts are much more different than what we dealt with last year!

"Nobody knows? Well, how unfortunate! I guess we'll do this the hard way!" The vampire ghost exclaims.

"It's Vlad and Skulker." Danny says quietly.

"Vampire ghosts and robot ghosts exist?!" Steven quietly asks.

"Vlad isn't a vampire, he just happens to look like one." Sam whispers.

"He's like us. A half-ghost." Danny explains.

"And Skulker isn't a robot. He's just a small ghost wearing a high tech suit." Tucker chimes in."

"Well, I wish I knew where they were!" The robo--I mean Skulker yells.

"So you wish it, so it shall be." I hear.

"Oh no! Desiree?!" Jazz exclaims quietly.

A ghost dressed in genie attire comes out and immediately starts glowing. The invisibility wears off and we're suddenly exposed! I see Danny and Dani in their ghost forms! I see Skulker whisper to her and she glows again! Now a genie ghost?! What the heck is going here?!

"There you are!" Vlad exclaims with a devious smile.

Danny goes to say something, but nothing comes out, he looks shocked. Did he lose his voice?!

"Ah, you did splendidly, my dear." Vlad says cheerfully.

"Naturally." Desiree says calmly.

I try to yell, but my voice is gone too! What happened to my voice?!

"If it wasn't obvious enough, I wished for everyone in this room to be unable to wish for anything. It looks like it worked out better than we thought." Skulker states with a smile.

WHAT?!

I turn to see both Danny and Dani looking angry.

"Danielle? Long time no see! What a wonderful family reunion." Vlad states maliciously.

I see Dani make some exaggerated gestures towards him. It's looks like she's trying to yell at him.

"What? Nothing? Ghost cat got your tongue?" He mockingly questions.

I see Danny, Sam, and Tucker angrily enunciate what they want to say to Vlad. I see Steven and Connie simultaneously gasp, or rather express a gasp, at the trio.

"Truck stew? That doesn't make any sense." Vlad says, genuinely confused.

"I'm pretty sure that's not what they're trying to say to you." Desiree chimes in.

He thinks on this for a few seconds and immediately looks offended.

"The lot of you are absolutely vulgar!" Vlad yells out angrily.

Oh my goodness, are they..? Yep, they're sharing a certain gesture with Vlad..with both hands.

"Ok, that's kind of funny." Skulker says while trying not to laugh.

"Who's side are you on?!" Vlad angrily asks.

"Yours, but funny is funny." Skulker replies.

Danny and Dani immediately fly up and shoot beams out of their hands! Vlad puts a pink translucent shield while Skulker and Desiree fly out the way! All of us split up and go to different parts of the house! I run towards the kitchen with Mabel dragging behind while Skulker follows us!

"There's no use hiding from me, twins!" He yells.

Mabel immediately picks up a few plates and throws them like a frisbees! They all hit his face!

"Is that all you got? What a waste, I thought you'd be more of a challenge." He states.

I see Mabel make yelling gestures and expressions. 'Your face is a waste!' I see her gesture. He immediately gets angry! Holy moly, he understood that?!

"Why you little--!"

I immediately grab a frying pan and slam it across his face! He goes back a few steps from the impact. He starts shooting blue energy orbs from his arm! We run to take cover!

"You obnoxious brats!"

Mabel grabs the frying pan I used moments ago and throws it at him! He dodges it! Mabel grabs me and takes out her grappling hook. She quickly shoots it above Skulker and we head towards him. I activate the watch to put up the shield. Before he could even get out of the way, Mabel and I use our combined strength to kick him with the shield on! He goes through the wall and lands on the floor!

What have we gotten ourselves into?!

- Steven's P.O.V.

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, OH MY GOSH! What on Earth is happening?! That genie ghost is chasing us! I really hope that Connie and Wendy don't get hurt!

"Interesting, I see one of you has a sword." Desiree notes.

A ghostly sword immediately appears out of nowhere and in her hand. Oh no, we're at a dead end! Connie readies her sword for combat and I take out my shield! Wait, what about Wendy?!

I suddenly feel Connie hold my hand. She gives me a stern look. Stevonnie! I nod she nods back. I wonder what's Connie's idea?

...

- Stevonnie's P.O.V.

I'm ready to fight!

"What in the--?!" Desiree exclaims.

"Prepare to fight!" I yell.

Wait...I CAN TALK?!

"What the--"

"I wish for Wendy to have a normal, non-cursed, not heavy, sword!" I exclaim.

"NOOO!" Desiree screams.

As if against her wishes, she grants Wendy a normal sword.

"Also, I wish that you would forget about my existence!" I yell.

Her eyes start to glow as she yells again. This is my cue to leave!

...

- Steven's P.O.V.

Did it work!?

"What just happened?! I feel..foggy." She states.

It worked! Connie and Wendy go in a fighting stance and I put my shield up!

"You! I don't know you three did, but I'm ready to fight!" She yells angrily.

'So you wish it, so it shall be!' I mouth out.

She immediately understood and lunged towards us! Connie and Wendy immediately put their swords up and it clashes with Desiree's sword! She immediately summons smaller ghosts to deal with us!

I immediately throw my shield at the ghosts and they get sent back flying! They screech and they fly towards me again! Oh my gosh! I summon my bubble and they crash head first into it! Ooh, that's got to hurt...even if they are undead. I hear continous clashing of the swords. What do I do?! I want to check everyone else but I don't want to leave Connie and Wendy behind!

...did everything slow down all of sudden? Wait, I'm pink again!? I'm pink again! I must've activated my super speed without realizing it. I need to hurry and help the others! ...but first...sorry Ms. Desiree, but you're messing with friends! I put her hair over her eyes and tie her hands with it. I run downstairs and get a glimpse of the living room.

Both Danny and Dani are fighting Vlad while the rest of the Phantom gang are using the watches to protect themselves from..VLAD?! He can CLONE himself?! What kind of ghosts are these?! I turn near the entrance and see the twins fighting Skulker. They're going to get themselves hurt! Hold on...that's Mabel's grappling hook...and Dipper has a frying pan..never mind. Despite Mabel having her leg in a cast, her and Dipper seem to be ok.

The other partygoers either ran away, went to hide, or they're unconscious. We need to fix this!

I run back to Connie and Wendy. I move them out of the way and take their swords. Let's see if I can stop my super speed.

...

"AAAH!"

*CRASH!*

I look at Connie and Wendy, who are very confused. And I see Desiree on the floor, dazed from the impact! I grab both of their hands and I run downstairs with them!

Vlad looks at us and smiles maliciously. He separates again and the third Vlad flies towards us! Without warning, Vlad the third gets punched in the face and goes flying!

'Garnet!' I mouth out.

She salutes me. I guess the wish got to her too.

Vlad the third comes flying and punches Garnet in the gut! Garnet goes back sliding a few feet! He flies after her again and she summons her gauntlets, bracing for impact! He shoots out pink beams of light from his hands and Garnet reflects every single one!

"There you are."

Oh no! Desiree is a giant woman now! And she's really mad! Smaller ghosts appear all at once, as well as a few monster ghosts. They come charging towards us! I put my bubble and they smack into it! Desiree facepalms at this.

"You are ghosts, you idiots!" She yells at them.

They look at the bubble and smirk evilly. Uh oh. They start to phase through the bubble! I immediately make the bubble burst and get sent flying back. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz pull out small devices and start shooting out lasers to hit the ghosts.

I see Danny waving his hands wildly, giving the hint he wants to help. He flies over and stands in front of us.

"I wish he wasn't able to use his ghost powers!" Vlad exclaims with smug look.

Danny changes back to normal!

"I'm surprised you didn't wish for that earlier." Desiree retorts.

"I wanted to wait for the perfect moment." Vlad says.

I see Danny silently gesture what he wants to say to Vlad. Bad..star? ...Oh! He's not saying bad star! Vlad knows what he said and starts to chuckle.

"Oh, please. That's not the first time I've been called that." He states calmly.

Danny looks at me and mouths "Let's fuse." to me. I nod in agreement.

"What are you two doi--"

"What?!"

...

- Mabel's P.O.V.

Whoa! Steven and Danny are fusing again! They're glowing and stuff! A glowy ring is appearing too!

"What in Dante's Inferno is going on?!" Skulker yells.

"HAH!"

Everyone gets thrown back by Stanny's power. He stops glowing to reveal his form to everyone. He looks so cool! His hair is pink and fiery! His pupils look like diamonds! One eye is green and the other is pink!

"What is this?!" Vlad exclaims.

"Not what, who, my guy." Stanny says calmly.

He has fangs like Vlad does. And horns too! His outfit looks...what's that word? Asymmetrical! It looks like Danny's superhero outfit, but with some pinks and greens scattered throughout. His chest insignia shows two different colored triangles, and an 'SP' in the middle of them.

"I'm Stanny Phantomverse. And I'm here to kick your as..tronomical gluteus maximus!" He exclaims.

I suddenly get grabbed from behind!

"Gotcha, girlie!" Skulker says.

Connie and Wendy run towards us and they swing their swords at him! I'm free!

"Oh, come on!" Skulker yells.

His arms are off. Skulker suddenly gets sent flying back by Dani's punch. Then Garnet grabs him and suplexes him without a second thought!

"I'm getting sick of your nonsense!" The Vlad clone yells angrily.

I grab my grappling hook and shoot it towards the ceiling. I grab Connie and we go up. Dipper jumps and hits the Vlad clone square in the with his frying pan while Wendy punches his stomach. The Vlad clone shoots pink lights out of his hands and Dipper puts up his shield. It bounces off and hits Stanny square in the guts! Oh no! Sam, Tucker, and Jazz suddenly get caught in a net! And so does Wendy!

The giant genie lady swats us and we hit the wall! Darn it, my leg! Connie looks worried about me. Suddenly, we're trapped in a glowy net too!

"Finally!" Skulker exclaims.

Connie's sword is outside the net, and I can't activate the watch shield! Oh no, Dipper, Dani, they got caught too! Dani gets electrified in her net and passes out! What do we do?! Garnet tries to get to us, but Vlad's clone grabs her and let's Skulker electrocute her too! She falls on the floor once it's done!

"Alright, Desiree, I wish.."

Before Vlad could finish, Stanny shoots a pink and green clay-like thing out of his hand. It lands on Vlad's mouth and it sticks to him immediately.

"Let me finish that sentence for you, buddy." Stanny says with a grin, "I wish for Vlad to not use his clones anymore."

Desiree starts glowing and the Vlad clones disappear! Vlad tries removing the clay stuff, but it starts to freeze on his mouth! He immediately shoots the same thing to Skulker, but Skulker dodges and it sticks to the wall behind us!

Without hesitation, Skulker gets Stanny with a lasso! Just like Dani's net, the lasso electrocuted Stanny to the point of being unconscious! Stanny falls to the ground and unfuses back to Danny and Steven! Vlad's mouth trap suddenly melts off of him!

"Alright, Skulker, here they are." Vlad says, offering them.

"You will not take them!"

All of us turn to see Garnet on her feet! She can still talk?!

"Yeah!"

"Leave them alone!"

My besties!

"I wish for all of them to talk again." Garnet says calmly.

"I wish for the robot ghost's tech to be rubber!" Candy yells.

"I wish for the vampire ghost to shut up!" Grenda exclaims.

All three wishes get granted in that order!

"No, my tech!"

Vlad's mouth disappears! Garnet frees us from the nets.

"I wish--"

"That you would shut up too? I agree!" I exclaim.

As if on cue, Skulker's mouth disappears too.

"I wish I had the Fenton Thermos!" Sam yells.

Vlad suddenly flies off and disappears! Sam gets the Thermos and points it at Skulker! He silently freaks out and gets sucked into the thermos!

"I wish everything was turned back to the way it was, without anything bad or weird attached to it!" Jazz exclaims.

Against her will, Desiree turns everything around us to normal!

"I wish for you to get sucked into the Thermos." Tucker says with a smirk.

Sam aims the thermos at Desiree and Desiree screams 'Noooo, not agaaaaaain!' as she goes in.

"What about Vlad?" Dipper asks.

"We'll deal with him a different time." Sam answers.

I can't believe we just fought some ghosts!

- Dipper's P.O.V.

We won? We won! I can't believe we just fought some ghosts!

"Steven! Danny! Dani!" Connie yells.

Oh no! They're still unconscious! We go over to them. Connie puts her ear on Steven's chest. Sam and Jazz do the same thing to both Danny and Dani. Connie sighs in relief.

"He's ok." She says, calmly.

"They're ok too." Sam confirms.

"That's good." Wendy says, clearly relieved.

"Whoa, what happened?"

We turn to see some of the party goers waking up.

"Is it over?"

I see Robbie and Tambry coming out from their hiding spots. Everyone else starts to wake up, appear, and enter the house slowly.

"Yeah, it's over, dude." Wendy responds.

"I didn't think that we'd deal with ghosts again." Tambry states.

"Same." Thompson says nervously.

"Well, they're gone now." I state.

"You guys totally kicked butt."

We see Sour Cream come towards us.

"Hey, Sour Cream. Are you ok?" Connie asks.

"I'm fine. The question is: are you guys ok?" He asks.

"We're ok." She answers.

"What about Steven and the other two?"

"They're fine too, they're just knocked out."

Steven suddenly gasps for air.

"Stay away from--!"

"Steven! It's over. We're ok." Connie says calmly.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He sighs in relief. Connie hugs him and he hugs back.

************

Everyone eventually goes back to partying. Danny and Dani eventually woke up, and they looked exhausted. The party lasted for another hour at most. Then after that, most of partygoers left the house. Despite everything that happened, everyone had fun. This is certainly a night we won't forget.

"See you another time, Steven." Sour Cream says.

"See ya, Sour Cream. " Steven says happily.

"We kicked so much butt!" Mabel exclaims.

"We sure did." Wendy agrees.

"I'm exhausted." Dani complains.

"I kinda wish those ghosts didn't ruin the party." Connie states.

"I agree." Danny says.

"Can you guys explain why that happened?" Robbie asks.

We look at each other. We forgot that we hadn't said anything to Wendy's friends.

"It's fine, guys." Danny states.

"Yeah, we trust them." Steven says.

And so, we decide tell them. About the corrupted gems, about the ghosts, everything.

I get the feeling that this may happen again. And when it does, I'll make sure that we're all ready to fight.

No matter what.

Chapter Text

- Steven's P.O.V.

I can't believe that happened! The ghosts, the wishes, and Stanny's other form! He turned into a Gemost! Or is he a Ghostem? He's a Ghostly Gem either way!

I lie in bed, thinking about what took place after everything. I still can't believe what I heard earlier.

*Earlier*

"How long have you guys been dealing with ghosts?" Robbie asked.

"About 2 years now." Danny answered.

Everyone went 'whoa'.

"We couldn't even deal with them for one night!" Nate exclaimed.

"All of that happened last year." Thompson said nervously.

"That was definitely traumatizing." Tambry said calmly with her eyes widened.

"Wendy mentioned that a few weeks ago." I stated.

"What were the ghosts like?" Jazz asked.

"They were an old couple that hated teenagers." Lee answered.

"So that explains why you asked if they hate teenagers." Danny noted while looking at Wendy.

"Where were you when this happened?" Sam asked.

"An...abandoned convenience store.." Wendy said hesitantly.

"Lemme guess, they were the owners?" Tucker asked.

"Y...yeah.." Robbie said, not wanting to admit it.

This whole ghost thing was and still is new to me. It's kind of nice not dealing with gem stuff for a change...even though we dealt with gem stuff yesterday...

"Don't be ashamed about it. An elderly ghost couple isn't lame." Jazz stated.

"I've fought an old lady ghost a few times, and she is surprisingly strong." Danny explained.

"She had the power to control food, specifically meat. She used it to her advantage." Tucker chimed in.

Huh. So an old lady ghost, another half‐ghost that looks a vampire, a hunter ghost, a genie ghost, and a ghost that can control all types of boxes? That sounded like the start of a weird joke.

"Hey, how is Vlad a half-ghost too?" I asked.

"Same way I was turned..kind of." Danny answered.

"How do you even know him?" Dipper asked.

"Vlad is an old college friend of our parents. We met him two years ago and I kind of wish we hadn't." Jazz explained.

"Gee, I wonder why." Wendy said sarcastically.

"He's tried to get rid of our dad and he's tried to get with our mom. That and he wants me to be his son.." Danny responded, "None of those worked."

"What?!" Mabel exclaimed.

"That's creepy!" Grenda yelled.

"Really creepy." Candy agreed.

I saw Dipper sitting silently. He must've been thinking about his next question.

"What's wrong, Dipper?" I asked.

"There's something that's been bugging me. It's specifically about one of the things that Vlad said earlier." Dipper answered.

"What thing?" Tucker asked.

"He said something about a family reunion with Dani earlier..." Dipper stated while trailing off.

He was right. Vlad had mentioned that earlier. How was Dani related to him? That didn't make sense because of what Danny and the others had said. That Vlad had never won their mom's heart. Even if he had, I doubt it would've lasted long considering how clearly bad he was.

I looked at Dani and she was looking at the floor. She looked uneasy. Maybe this was the thing she doesn't want to talk about?

"I...don't consider him my family. He was lying." Dani stated, sounding a bit bitter.

"Are you alright?" Thompson asked.

"I'm fine." She said, clearly still frustrated.

"Hey, Dani?" I said.

She looked directly at me.

"Whatever it is, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But don't push your feelings and others away." I reminded her.

"I know! I know..." she said.

She started to tear up. I was making her cry! I didn't mean to! 

"..I..he.." she hesitated.

"It's ok, Dani. Take your time." Connie said softly.

"I..was created by Vlad..." Dani finally stated.

"Created?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah...I'm Danny's clone. Vlad created me as an attempt to make the perfect clone of my brother. I wasn't the only clone he made, I just happened to be the most stable one." She explained, "He used me to get to Danny. I thought Vlad cared about me, but he didn't. He just saw me as a tool."

I could tell how hurt she looked. Her story kind of reminded me of the gems in a way. Created only to be seen a tool, as an object that can be thrown out if it doesn't follow its original purpose.

"Sometimes...I feel like I'm just a clone. Like I'm not my own person." She admited sadly.

I didn't know she felt that way. Judging from how her siblings looked, I guess they didn't know either. They got closer and engaged in a tight group hug.

"H-hey! Come on! Stop it!" Dani exclaimed.

"Not until you say that you're so much more than 'just a clone'." Jazz states.

When I saw how they reacted to Dani, I knew that they wouldn't let her forget who she was.

*End of flashback*

I remember having a similar feeling myself. Luckily I've gotten better with not feeling that way.

I'm also glad that the whole ghost thing is done and over with...at least for now.

I'm just hoping that we can all relax for the rest of the summer. It's already been a crazy few weeks! I think we all deserve a breather.

*The next morning*

Yaaaaawn, what a beautiful mor--oh my gosh, it's hot! I'm drowning in sweat! What on Earth is going on?!

"Aw, gross!" Danny exclaims while looking at his sweat.

"It's hotter than it was last week!" Dani yells.

"I didn't know it could get this hot!" Connie states loudly.

And here I thought Florida Island was hot! I'm surprised that none of us have burst into flames yet! 

I look at Danny and see him taking a deep breath. What exactly is he doing? He breathes out and I can see his breath? No, his ghost sense! Is there another one right now?! Is this ghost causing the heat?! Where's--it's cool in here...but it was just hot!

"I should've done that earlier." Danny states.

"Ice powers?" Connie asks.

"Yep." Danny answers.

"Whoa, like Sapphire." I state.

Connie looks at her phone.

"Oh wow, it's 10 already? I have to go!" She exclaims.

She gets out of bed and starts picking up her stuff. Nooo, I don't want her to go yet. I haven't even taken her out on a date here!

"Con-nie..." I say sadly.

"Hey, I'll come back in a few weeks to visit you." She states, "So no puppy dog eyes."

I get out of bed and I pick up her remaining things. We walk out of the room, still in our pajamas, and we immediately get hit with the heat! We quickly go downstairs and head outside! We see Lion a few feet away, chilling near the trees! Ah! The ground is hot!

"Gah, hot hot hot!" Connie exclaims.

I grab and carry her bridal style. I jump slightly and float to Lion. I place her on top of him. I give Connie a peck on the cheek.

"Have a safe trip!" I exclaim.

She smiles.

"I will." She says.

"You too, Lion." I state.

Lion blinks at me and growls quietly. I back away as Connie and Lion leave. As soon as the portal closes, I land and I slump down on the porch. I already miss Connie.

Ahh! Still hot!

- Danny's P.O.V.

I don't think using my ice powers will work for this heat. I don't even use them often! Nonetheless, we'll have to find a way to keep cool.

"It's so hot!" I hear Mabel yell, "I'm melting!"

Yeah, we definitely need to find a way to stay cool!

*Half an hour later*

"It's so hoooot." Dipper whines.

"Aaaauuuggggggh!" Mabel groans.

We've been baking in the living room for a while now! Maybe I should reconsider using my ice powers...

"Isn't there a public pool place in Gravity Falls?" Dani asks.

"There is!" Dipper exclaims.

Why weren't we told sooner?!

Dipper and Mabel run out of the living room. Or rather Dipper runs and Mabel limps behind him with crutches. It took five minutes before they came back and exclaimed that we were going to the public pool!

They immediately got their stuff and I called Jazz to bring ours. Everyone changes into the swimwear in their rooms. Due to Mr. Ford and Mr. Stan, the assault vehicle was fixed up..but only to drive around. Apparently there are still some things to fix up. But hey, at least we can drive it. Jazz, Sam, and Tucker arrive at the Shack with our stuff.

"Alright, are you dudes ready?" Soos asks.

We respond in agreement.

"Then let's go!" He exclaims.

We quickly get out of the shack and head straight to our vehicles! Hopefully we get there soon.

************

We're here! The public pool. It looks surprisingly similar to the one back home. Some people had already arrived here, which is understandable. Everyone splits up into different areas of the pool.

I see Dipper and Jazz talking while getting some snacks. Mabel begrudgingly sits with her Grunkles due to her cast. Dani does a cannon ball into the pool while Steven gets splashed with the water. Steven looks really mopey. He must really miss Connie. He sighs and moves his foot against 

"I think this is saddest he's ever looked." Sam notes.

"Yeah, you're right." I agree.

"Maybe a snow cone could help?" Tucker suggests.

"What he needs is a distraction."

The three of us turn to look at Dipper and Jazz.

"He just needs to have some fun." Dipper states.

Dipper grabs a beach ball and throws it at Steven. Without hesitation, Steven freaks out and grabs the ball. He looks like he's about to explode the ball, but let's out a confused 'huh?' when he realizes what was thrown at him.

"Hey Steven, you want to play?!" Dipper yells.

"Uhh...sure?" Steven says, still confused.

He throws the ball and it goes hurling towards Dipper! Dipper grabs it, but gets knocked back a few feet in the process! Some of us and a few other random people witness this in full view!

"Holy moly!" Jazz yells.

"Sorry!" Steven exclaims.

"Don't be. That was an incredible feat of strength!" Dipper yells excitedly.

We walk towards Steven.

"I thought you were holding back your strength?" Sam asks.

"I was holding back my strength." Steven sheepishly answers.

Wow, he's definitely a lot stronger that he let's on.

"Remind me to never piss you off." Tucker states.

*Notification noise* Huh? Looks like Steven got a message. 

...and now he looks surprised?

"Oh? ...Oh!" Steven asks himself.

He starts messaging back. What's going on?

- Dipper's P.O.V.

Judging by Steven's reaction, it's got to be a gem-related threat. Maybe it's another corrupted gem? No, it's a bit too soon to be that. Jazz helps me and we walk up to him and the others.

"Steven, are you ok?" I ask.

"I'm fine. Pearl just texted me." He states.

"Texted you what?" Danny asks.

"Just a heads up." He answers vaguely.

We look at him quizzically.

"I'll explain in a little bit. Can we relax by the pool?" He says.

"Sure." Tucker responds.

Huh, Steven looks slightly more...relaxed? Maybe it isn't a threat. It's almost as if he knows exactly what going on...no, he definitely knows what's going on. I wonder why he's keeping quiet about it.

"Hey Dipper, catch!" Dani yells.

I let out a 'huh' before I get hit in the face with a frisbee. Mr. Poolchek checked up on us to make sure we weren't breaking the rules. I haven't seen him in a while. He's still as weird and intense as ever. Besides that, we're all having fun.

"Hey, Dipper. You wanna get some sodas?" Dani asks.

"Sure." I agree.

Dani and I go towards the cooler to grab some sodas. I look up to see Grunkle Stan relaxing in his usual chair, with Mabel sitting next to him with her own soda. Meanwhile, Grunkle Ford is observing the area. I guess he's on high alert again. I don't blame him.

"Sixer, try to relax, will ya?" Grunkle Stan says.

"How can I when there are potential threats around." Grunkle Ford responds back.

"You worry too much, I say you should kick back and relax a little." He states.

Grunkle Ford sighs and turns to us.

"Dipper, can you please hand me the sugary soft drink?" He asks.

"Sure." I respond.

I grab a soda and hand it over to him. He observes it before cracking it open. He takes a small sip and sits on the ground. He's really trying from the looks of it.

"I better grab some more sodas for my siblings." Dani states.

She does exactly that and leaves me with my sister and our grunkles.

"Grunkle Ford, are you ok?" Mabel asks.

"I'm fine, Mabel." He answers.

"You look stressed." I state.

He sighs.

"Ok, yes. I am a little stressed." He admits.

"Is it because of everything that's happened in the past few weeks?" I ask.

"That's part of it, yes." He confirms.

"Is it also because you want to be prepared for another Bill situation?" Mabel asks.

Grunkle Ford and I look at Mabel in shock. I didn't think she would say that.

"...you're also correct." He finally says.

So Mabel does think about it from time to time. I was wondering if she had blocked it out of her mind completely or something.

"I...kind of had a feeling..." she trails off.

"I don't want another Bill-like catastrophe to happen. So I try to prepare for the worst. Heck, I still have my bunker for that very reason." Grunkle Ford explains.

"Hey, stop bumming the kids out! We're at the pool! They're supposed to be swimming, eating food, complaining about cramps after getting back into the pool after eating said food. All the usual stuff kids do." Grunkle Stan interjects.

"I suppose you're right. Well, somewhat right." Grunkle Ford replies back.

"Besides, you're bumming yourself out. Knock it off and have some fun! If you don't, I won't hesitate to throw you into the pool!" Stan exclaims.

"Alright, alright."

Ford takes a big gulp of the soda.

"I'll be fun!" Ford exclaims.

"Come on, Mabel. I'll help you up." I state.

"What? Why?" She asks.

"Because you're going to have some fun, even with the cast on." I state.

- Steven's P.O.V.

I'm trying my best to distract myself from everything. ...I really do miss Connie. When she comes back, I'm going to take her out on a proper date! She'll get the best food, the best scenery, the best everything!

*THUNK*

I just caught a beach ball!

"Hey, Steven! Throw the ball back!" Dani exclaims.

"Alright!" I answer back.

I throw it back to her and she catches it without hesitation. Ok, looks like I have my strength back to normal.

"Hey, catch!"

...Huh? I wonder what I--that's soda. I caught some soda!

"Phenomenal."

I turn to see Mr. Ford walking up to me, with Dipper and Mabel right behind him.

"My apologies, Steven. I wanted to hand you the beverage in question, but decided to be spontaneous instead. So I threw it. The fact that you caught it so effortlessly, without looking back, is truly remarkable." Mr. Ford explains.

If I'm not mistaken, he wanted to give me the soda directly, but decided to throw it instead? He also sounded impressed by me catching it without looking.

"Uhh...thank you for the compliment, but maybe don't throw the soda at me next time?" I say, still confused.

"But of course, my sincerest apologies." He reiterates.

"Grunkle Ford is trying to loosen up and have fun." Mabel states.

Huh, so that explains why he was trying to be spontaneous.

*Notification noise*

It must be Pearl again. I wonder what her reply is.

'A week, a week and a half at most.'

I type back with 'Thank you for telling me ❤' and send it.

"Man, I wish could be in the pool." Mabel says sadly.

"We know, Mabel. But we don't have a proper cover for your cast or any pool toys to help keep you up above the water." Dipper states.

Poor Mabel. Maybe I can help. I look around. Most of the other people are distracted.

"Hey, Mabel. Come here." I say.

She looks at me, slightly confused. She says ok and limps towards me.

"Hold still." I state.

I put my hand just above Mabel's leg and concentrate. A pink bubble appears around her cast perfectly! Oh my gosh, that worked?!

"Whooa!" Mabel exclaims.

I make my shield appear as well. Ok, good. It's big enough for Mabel to be on.

"Here, Mabel. Hopefully this helps." I say.

Her shock quickly turns to giddiness. Dipper and Mr. Ford look at me with intrigue. I put my shield down in the pool. I carry Mabel and set her down near the shield. Let's hope this works.

She goes into the pool and quickly grabs on to the shield. She starts to swim a little without a hassle. She starts to have an even bigger smile on her face.

"Whoa, you managed to help Mabel with her problem." I hear Wendy say.

We see Wendy, Danny, Sam, and Tucker come up to us.

"It's a temporary solution, but hopefully it'll be enough for her." I explain.

"You are quite the fascinating enigma, young man." Mr. Ford states.

"Oh, uh...thank you." I sputter out.

I hear random people in the pool looking at Mabel in awe. Hopefully nobody questions it.

"I'll keep an eye on Mabel." I say.

I sit near the end of the pool.

"I will too." Wendy says.

She sits next to me.

"Mabel is having the time of her life." Danny notes.

"She sure is." Wendy agrees.

"I'm the queen of the water people!" Mabel exclaims.

Mabel looks so happy. Huh, actually...now that I think about it..

"Hey, Wendy. Have other types of creatures appeared here in Gravity Falls? You know, other than what we've seen so far?" I ask.

"Yeah, dude. All sorts." Wendy answers.

"Really? Like what?" Sam asks, chiming in.

"Fairies, unicorns, zombies, manotaurs.." Dipper starts listing off.

"Don't you mean 'Minotaurs'?" Tucker asks.

"Nope." Dipper says.

"Merpeople, a Love God, vampires, boy band clones, a shapeshifter.." Mabel chimes in.

"You still haven't told me about the vampires you dated." Dipper states.

"And I never will!" Mabel exclaims happily.

"Anyway, golfball people, a living candy monster, a time traveler, a gremoblin, two living video game characters, a spider person, tiny aliens, a giant axolotl god..." Dipper continues.

I'm in awe! They've seen so many things! I didn't realize there were so many creatures out there. I just knew about the Gems and some other alien species. But knowing there's ghosts and other creatures makes a lot of sense now.

"Wow, it seems like you guys have seen a lot of things last summer." Sam notes.

"Oh, we have." Mabel states.

"Lots of things." Dipper reiterates.

"It's something that we don't talk about often for obvious reasons." Wendy notes.

I don't blame them for not being able to talk about it. It must've taken a toll on them. I can tell that something is bothering them, but I don't want to pry.

*SPLAT*

"Ah!" Wendy exclaims.

"Heh Heh Heh, gotcha dude." Soos chuckles.

"You got me with a water balloon? Is that a challenge, Soos?" Wendy asks with a smirk.

"Perhaps..." He responds.

Melody slides a bucket of water balloons next to us.

"That's if...you're up for it." He finishes.

"You're on." She says.

She turns to me and the others.

"Are you guys willing to help me in a battle of water balloons?" Wendy asks.

"I'm in." I say.

Everyone else agrees.

"Well, this is my time to get away from this battle." Mr. Ford states as he backs away.

"Oh, no, Mr. Pines. You're already in this battle just by being in close proximity." Wendy states with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, no." Mr. Ford says in a serious tone.

"Oh, yeah." Danny chimes in.

"You did say you wanted to be more fun, Grunkle Ford." Dipper notes.

"Et tu, Dipper?" Mr. Ford asks, looking betrayed.

Dipper nods slowly as he smiles. Mr. Ford goes behind Soos and Melody, as if to shield himself. This is going to be a long battle.

************

"I can't believe we just got attacked with H20."

"Sorry about that, Mr. Pines." I say.

"And I can't believe I got caught in the crossfire." Mr. Stan states, unamused.

"Sorry, Grunkle Stan." Dipper says with a nervous smile.

"Ah, don't be. I can tell that you kids had fun. Things would've been better if Mr. Poolchek hadn't stopped the water balloon fight." Mr. Stan states.

"I'm just surprised he gave us a warning." Mabel notes.

We all turn to Mr. Poolchek to see him on the lifeguard chair. He's surveying the entire pool and he locks his eyes on us. He stares intently at us and I feel a chill go down my spine. We turn back to Mr and Mr. Pines.

"Is he ok? Because he seems...intense." Danny asks.

"He's always like that." Dipper states.

We continue to talk until we realize it's time to leave the pool. According to the Pines, they said it'll be like this all week. So that means we'll come back to the pool to have cool ourselves down.

And I'm honestly looking forward to that.

Chapter Text

A/N: Warning! This chapter has a lot of nonsense! And parody-related shenanigans! It might be cringe! You've been warned!

- Danny's P.O.V.

Thank goodness the heat wave is over! Going to the pool all week has definitely cooled us down. Everyone agrees that they were all pooled out for the week. After that, it was business as usual.

Wendy, Steven and I are back working at the Shack. And it's really busy today! It's so busy that Soos hasn't cracked any jokes yet! Despite the rush, we manage to keep our cool...somehow. It's Saturday, so we know that we're closing early today.

I suddenly gasp! Is there a ghost around right now?! Really?! I quickly message Dani and continue with the rush. I can't get distracted right now!

I turn to Steven and I see him interacting with each customer politely. Without breaking a sweat! Well, that's my assumption. He could be hiding back his stress with a polite smile. I turn back to see a long line of people. Some of them are younger kids running around the gift shop asking their parents about the knickknacks on the displays.

"Hey kid!"

I turn back to see Steven and a lady interacting. Despite her hat, her long dark hair, and her sunglasses, I could see that she's angry. Oh boy.

"This product I got last week is faulty!" She yells in an exaggerated British accent.

She waves around what looks to be a snow globe with tape on it. I can only assume that it broke somehow...or that she broke it herself. I observe her carefully while she yells incoherently about the snow globe. What a jerk! I quickly take Steven's place. This catches her off guard.

"Ma'am, what exactly happened to the product? Please speak calmly." I state.

She glares at me.

"The product is faulty! What part don't you understand?!" She yells clearly, "I demand a refund for this!"

"Ma'am, he's asking about what happened to it." Steven reiterates.

"Can it, pinky! I already explained what happened! I won't repeat myself, I want my refund!" She snaps back.

Wait..'Pinky'? I've heard that before!

"Hold on, lady!" I hear Wendy exclaim.

She quickly takes off the lady's hat and sunglasses! The hair comes off with the hat to reveal short blonde hair! I knew it! It's the crazy cheese whizz Karen we had a while ago!

"Holy crud, I knew it!" Wendy says, clearly shocked.

I turn to see Steven with a horrified look on his face. We start to hear a few complaints from the line. This lady is really something!

"Ma'am, you've been banned a while ago. Leave the shack!" I angrily state.

"No! Not until I get my refund on this!" She yells.

She slams the snow globe on the counter. Luckily it doesn't break upon impact. Steven quickly takes the snow globe and looks at it.

"How dare--"

"This isn't from the Mystery Shack." Steven says, calmly interrupting the crazy Karen.

He lifts up the tape to reveal apart of the snow globe. 'Chicago', it reads. Looking at it closer, it shows a little city in the globe as well. Seriously?! She tried to get a refund on an item that wasn't even ours?! Is she stupid, or was she hoping that we were?!

Wendy and I glare at the Karen in silence, and the Karen immediately starts sweating bullets.

"Y-your eyes are g-green.." She stutters out.

Oh crud...

"Ma'am..." Steven starts saying.

We look to see that's he staring daggers at this woman! His eyes are pink! And his pupils look like white diamonds! Whoa..he must be really angry...

"Please leave the store...now." he says as he calmly gives the item back to her.

Did the ground...shake?! I could've sworn I felt the ground shake as he said 'now'! The Karen trembles in fear as he continues to glare at her.

"I-I..I'll leave..." She says quietly.

She quickly leaves the Shack, with the broken snow globe in tow. Holy heck, that was tense!

"Danny!"

I look to see Dani at the door, waving at me. I quickly excuse myself and walk towards her.

"What's up?" I ask.

"I...uh caught the ghost?" She states in a confused way.

"That's...great?" I state back, confused too,

The both of us stood silent for a few seconds. She's looking at the thermos in confusion.

"Did something happen, Dani?" I ask her.

"Well, the ghost put up a fight for a few minutes. But then it quickly gave up." She explains.

"The ghost...gave up?" I ask in disbelief.

"Yeah. The ghost just stopped and put its arms out. I was waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. So I just used the Fenton Thermos on it. It didn't even fight against the Thermos!" She explains further.

That's unheard of! What kind of ghost willingly let's itself get caught? I have a bad feeling about this...

- Dipper's P.O.V.

"You think there's another anomaly around?" I ask.

"Precisely!" Grunkle Ford exclaims.

Mabel and I have been with Grunkle Ford all day today. Despite telling him to relax a bit more, he's still on edge about any potential anomalies that could pose as a threat. He's been teaching us how to identify specific anomalies on a scanner he created.

For the past few minutes, a few dots had shown up on the scanner. From what we were told, 3 ghosts showed up. Then a pink dot appeared very suddenly.

"Huh, I don't recall adding pink as a identifying color." Grunkle Ford notes in confusion.

"What colors have you added in?" Mabel asks.

"Essentially I added in the colors of the rainbow, along with white." He says.

Huh, so that means this is something different affecting the scanner.

"That means that something unknown is inside the Mystery Shack! Right now!" Grunkle Ford exclaims.

"It looks like it coming from the gift shop." I pointed out.

"We should prepare ourselves." He states.

"Uh guys. I'm pretty sure it's just Steven up there." Mabel states.

"What?" Grunkle Ford says.

"...Actually, that makes sense." I finally say.

Of course it's Steven. He's the only one we know who's associated with pink! And considering he's a human-gem hybrid, he could be effecting the technology somehow!

"Are you sure?" He asks.

"I'm sure." Mabel states.

I look to see that the pink dot is now white again. Interesting. Does it only turn pink when he uses his gem powers? If so, why would he use his gem powers right now? In a busy rush of all places?

We can probably ask him later.

************

It's finally the end of the work day! The customers have finally left the gift shop. It's 4pm and the shack has gone silent.

Mabel and I walk towards the gift shop...or rather I walk and she uses her crutches next to me.

"I've had this cast for way too long! I'm not gonna make it!" Mabel exclaims.

"You have a few more days left to go, Mabel. You'll make it." I state.

We finally walk in to see Wendy, Steven, and Danny sitting on the floor. Right in front of the cash register too. They look like exhausted.

"Hi guys!" Mabel greets.

"Ahh! Have a happy mysterious day!" Steven yells.

"Don't touch the displays!" Danny yells.

"Guys, chill out, it's just Dipper and Mabel." Wendy states.

"Oh.." they say simultaneously.

Steven groans and Danny sighs.

"Sorry guys, they're still in work mode." Wendy states.

"Whoa, their eyes are glowing." Mabel says in awe.

"It's the stress." Danny says.

"Yeah." Steven agrees.

The vending machine suddenly opens and out comes Grunkle Ford with his scanner!

"Fear not, I'm just looking for anomalies." He says.

"There's some right now?" Wendy asks.

"Precisely. In this gift shop." He answers.

The trio look at each other, then back at Grunkle Ford.

"That's us, Mr. Pines." Danny says, holding back a tired smile.

He looks at the trio with an eyebrow raised. His expression changes slightly when he sees Danny and Steven with glowing eyes.

"I knew you were odd, Steven. But Danny, I hadn't known about you." He states.

He writes some notes down.

"Might I ask, what are you two?" He asks.

"Half-gem." Steven says while yawning.

"Half-ghost." Danny answers.

"Half?"

"They're both half-human." Wendy chimes in.

"Incredible. How did that type of possibility not cross my mind?" Grunkle Ford says to himself.

"It never crossed your mind?" Mabel asks.

"Well, hybrids, yes. But never half-human hybrids." He reiterates.

I wonder if there's anyone else who could qualify as a half-human elsewhere. Besides Steven, the Fenton siblings, and Vlad, there isn't anyone else who would qualify..right?

"Maybe we should go somewhere? I heard that there's some new music-dance game in the arcade." Wendy states.

"Music?!" Steven yells sitting back up.

"Dance?!" Mabel yells excitedly.

Right, Steven's musically inclined. So this sounds right up his alley. And I'm not surprised by Mabel's reaction at all.

"If it can make me forget about work, then count me in." Danny chimes in.

"We should call the others to join us, then." I state.

"Dipper, you want to play it too?!" Mabel asks excitedly.

"Not really, I'd rather watch." I answer.

None of that for me. I would prefer a game with more wit and story. Whatever it is, I prefer to watch.

************

"Whoa, we're here." Dani says.

It looks like the arcade got a bit of a clean up. I see some new games in here too. We start walking in. Looking around, I see some people playing all sorts of games.

"So where's this game?" Tucker asks.

"Mmmm over there." Wendy says while pointing.

Sure enough, there it is. A colorful and polished arcade machine with a dance pad. ...Is that a microphone? Is this game some sort of dance-karaoke combo?!

"Whoooa! It's a perfomance game!" Mabel exclaims excitedly.

I look at the title. What the heck?

"Saturday Night...Spunkin? What kind of game title is that?" I ask, bewildered.

"A cool one! Wendy, what's the game about?" Steven exclaims.

"Apparently it's about a character named 'Wife' who performs against different enemies to protect 'Husband' every Saturday. She does it all for the sake of love." She explains.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Mabel says.

"Kind of reminds me of 'Scott Amish Vs. The Universe'." Tucker notes.

"Huh, you're kind of right." Wendy states while being amused.

Wendy takes out some quarters and puts them into the machine.

"How many did you put in?" Danny asks.

"I think I put in nine." She says.

"Isn't that a bit much?" I ask.

"Well, I thought everyone would like to give it a shot at this game. Besides, the screen reads that I put in the amount of quarters for the amount of people. And there's nine of us here." Wendy explains.

What the--? It does show that on screen. Most games don't work like that, especially arcade games. The game's theme song starts to play as the title screen pulls up.

"Wendy, who told you about this game?" I ask.

"One of the customers told me about it earlier." She responds, "It sounded interesting."

The music continues playing.

"Getting-getting spunky on a Saturday night, yeah!"

What does that even mean?

"Let's start the game!" Steven says excitedly.

"Yeah!" Mabel agrees.

Mabel presses the button and the game loads up.

"I'm going first." She states.

"Mabel, you're still in a cast. How are you going to dance?" I ask.

"DETERMINATION!" She yells.

"I'll help her out." Steven states.

Mabel presses the controls to start the first level. The stage and characters appear on screen...nothing is happening. Is the game frozen?

"Aw man." Mabel says in disappointment.

The machine starts to short circuit and Steven grabs Mabel as soon as the machine shows visible electricity going through it!

"YOU FOOLS!"

Wait, I know that voice! That's--

*CRACKLE*

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

...

...

...

- Steven's P.O.V.

...

...

...

Uggggh, where...where am I? Did...did I get knocked out and taken again? *Sighs* I guess some things never change. I need to get up and...wait, my friends! Are they ok?!

I open my eyes and see a bright light. Oh my gosh, am I dead?! I can't be dead yet! There's still so much I haven't done! I haven't even married Connie yet! Wait, I need to focus!

My vision finally focuses and I see that I'm in a blank room. I turn around to see if there's anything resembling color or objects. Oh my gosh, there they are!

"Guys! Wake up!" I yell.

One by one, everyone starts to wake up. At least everyone is ok.

"Oh my gosh, we're dead!" Tucker screams.

"We're not dead, you moron!" Sam yells back.

"Then...what's going on?" Dani asks.

"I think we got trapped in the game!" Jazz exclaims.

"What?! How?" Wendy asks.

...Wait, I remember now!

"We got hit by the game's electricity!" I yell.

"THAT'S RIGHT, MORTALS!"

Huh?!

We see an old looking pixelated wizard guy appear before us laughing maniacally!

"It's Probabilitor the Annoying!" Dipper yells.

"I thought we defeated him last summer!" Mabel exclaims.

"YOU REALLY THOUGHT I WASN'T GOING TO COME BACK? WELL, CLEARLY I AM BACK!"

What's with this guy?

"NOW I CAN FINALLY GET MY REVENGE!"

*BOOM!*

"AAAAH, MY TORSO!"

Was that a fireball?!

"Not so fast, villain!"

"Nice shot, sweetie."

Huh? We turn to see two more people standing behind us. No...they're video game characters! A blonde shirtless buff guy and a pink-haired school girl stand before us.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Probabilitor yells.

"No vengeance will be enacted on these citizens!" The buff guys exclaims.

"You are in our domain, Mr. The Annoying." The school girl says in a robot-like tone, "If you want to get revenge, you have to follow the rules."

"What the heck is happening right now?" Wendy asks, clearly thrown off by interactions.

"How about this? If you win the game, you can get your revenge against the Pines Twins and their friends." She states in the same tone.

"AND IF YOU GUYS WIN?" He asks.

"Hmm, that's a good question!" The buff guy exclaims.

"If we win, you'll have to let them go." She states, "You'll give up your powers..and I
will..D̴̼̬́̑͂́̕Ẹ̶̙͕̫̐L̸̢͓̒̈̐Ę̶̜̗͉̀T̴̘͊͑̑̈́̐E̷̼̗̥͕̽̇̿ you."

"YOU ARE SCARY...I LOVE IT! THAT'S A DEAL!"

They go up to each other and shake hands.

"SEE YOU LATER!"

The guy disappears in a puff of pixilated smoke. So many things just happened at once!

"Rumble, Giffany...w-what are you doing here?" Dipper asks nervously.

So he knows them? Wait, he did mention meeting two living video game characters..that must be them!

"Fear not, Dipper! We are on your side!" The buff guy states.

"We're here to help you. Mr. The Annoying has been causing problems for a while now. But it was never anything serious. Not until now anyway." The school girl explains.

"He brought in living breathing citizens in our domain! That is against the rules!"

"There are rules here?" Mabel asks.

"Didn't you try to take Soos into your domain to have him for yourself?" Dipper asks.

"I did, and I regret it. Ever since I was trapped here, I've learned to be better. And I also make sure to follow the rules too." She states, "Besides, I have Rum-Rum now."

Awww, that's kind of cute!

"Oh, right! Guys, this is Rumble Mcskirmish and this is Giffany. The video game characters we encountered last summer." Dipper says.

"Greetings, young people!"

"Hello, it is nice to meet you."

"Rumble, Giffany, these are our friends. You guys already know Wendy." Dipper starts.

"Sup?" She greets.

"This is Steven."

"Hi, nice to meet you." I greet.

"And this is Danny, Dani, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker."

The others greet them.

"Well, it is nice to meet all of you." Giffany says, "But now we have to get your training started."

"Training--?"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!

...

...

"Getting-getting spunky on a Saturday night, yeah!"

Holy smokes, we're on a stage!

I look up to see Rumble and Giffany sitting on top of a giant boombox.

"Uhh, what's going on?" Dani asks.

"We are going to train you to be fierce fighters!" Rumble exclaims.

"He means performers. If you go in unprepared, you will lose. So we took you to the tutorial level." Giffany explains.

"Oh god, so we have to perform regardless?" Tucker asks.

"That's right." She answers, "So we'll have to train most of you."

"Most of us? Don't you mean all of us?" Danny asks.

"The code dicates that two of you have an advantage in performing." She explains.

"Steven and Mabel have the +5 advantage!" He states.

"You know, I'm not even surprised." Sam says.

"Same." Wendy agrees.

"Haha even if we do have an advantage, I still want to be prepared." I state while chuckling.

"Yeah, exactly what Steven said!" Mabel chimes in.

"Very well. We'll start with you two. Who wants to go first?" Giffany asks.

"I'll go." I reply.

"Excellent. Go over to the spotlight to start the tutorial." She says.

I walk over to the spotlight and I suddenly start glowing pink! What's happening?!

*WOOSH*

"Whoa! Steven, you're all pixily!" Mabel says loudly.

Huh? I look at my hands and arms, they are pixily!

"Aah!" I yelp.

"That's not supposed to happen!" Rumble states.

"It looks like Mr. The Annoying is bending the rules a bit." Giffany says, while looking unamused.

"Baapeeboh!"

Wait, was that me?

"Bloop skadoo!"

Oh my gosh, it is me! What happened to my voice?!

"My mistake. It seems like he's trying to make sure that the game's rules are being followed, right down to the code." She reiterates.

"What does that mean?" Wendy asks.

"I think she means that in order to continue, we'll be temporarily turned into proper video game characters. Right down to the style and sound of them." Dipper explains.

"You are correct, young Dipper! You get two intelligence points!"

A pixilated +2  pops up above Dipper's head.

"Are you willing to accept the risk?" Giffany asks.

Everyone stays silent. I don't blame them. It's a lot of risk just to get back. But we can't give up now!

"Bah skabop!" I yell.

The others perk up.

"Huh, I can surprisingly understand him, despite the random noises that's coming out of him." Dipper says while being amused.

"We can't back down now! We have to get back home! Even if it means turning into awesome video game characters together!" Mabel yells.

Everyone looks at each other. They each have determined smiles on their faces.

"Alright, let's do it." Dipper says.

"Bah bap!" I exclaim.

"And so, you have accepted the challenge. This will be your greatest challenge yet, young performing warriors. Do not lose to the enemy that has placed you in this domain. This is now or never!" Rumble states, dramatically.

"Let's start, Steven. Get ready to perform." Giffany says.

"Bah pah braah skebeep."

"Let's start with the singing part. Pay attention to the arrows and get them when they appear." She explains.

"1! 2! 3! Go!" I hear.

The beat starts. It's a simple one that anyone can learn from. Rumble taps his fingers on top of the boombox, as if going along to the beat. Giffany does something similar by bopping along to the beat. The arrows appear in front of her and go up. It really is similar to most dance games.

"Right. Left. Left. Right." Giffany says as the arrows glow.

"Beep. Bah. Bah. Beep." I say.

As I do, I get the arrows perfectly!

"That's how it done!" Giffany exclaims, "Down. Up. Up. Down."

"Doo. Wah. Wah. Doo." I repeat.

"Excellent! Keep it up!" Rumble says excitedly.

"Right. Down. Left. Up." Giffany continues.

"Beep. Doo. Bah. Wah." I continue.

I repeat the next two without any issues. This is so much fun!

"Down, Left, Up, Right, Down!" Giffany says quickly.

"Doo, Bah, Wah, Beep, Dooo..🎵 Baaahhh Doooo Wahh Bah Bah Bahhh, Beep Beep Doo Doo Wah Bahhhhhhh. Bah Wah Bah Wah Wah Wah, Doo Wah Doo Wah Wah Wahhhh. Beep Beep Doo Wah Doo Wah Doo Wah Wah. Bah Bah, Wah Wah Doo, Doo Wah, Bah Beep Wahhhhhh🎵"

Everyone stares at me...did I go overboard?

"Oh my, that was an amazing first try!" Giffany yells excitedly.

"Oh..beep bo!" I say, caught off guard.

"Despite you not using actual words, that was awesome nonetheless!" Jazz exclaims.

"Mabel, you're next!" Rumble yells.

"Alright!" She yells back.

She quickly limps over to the spotlight and starts glowing like I did! But she's glowing white instead. As soon as she finishes glowing, she starts looking at her new pixilated look.

"Oooooh, BLOOP MAH!" She says excitedly.

"Annnd now she can't use actual words." Dipper notes.

"Are you ready, Mabel?" Giffany asks.

Mabel nods her head excitedly.

"1! 2! 3! Go!"

Mabel goes through the whole process just like I did. She's getting the notes perfectly!

"Down, Left, Up, Right, Down!" Giffany says quickly, as she did with me.

"Bloop, Ohh, Rah, Lah, Bloooop..🎵 Rah Rah, Rah Rah Lah Lah, Ooh Lah Lah, Bloooop Rah Laaa-aaah. Rah Lah, Ooh Laaaah Laaaaaa-aaaaaaaaah!🎵"

"Mabel, that was great!" Wendy says.

"Vee vah bah skepep." Mabel gushes.

"Is it weird that we can still understand them?" Tucker asks.

"Not at all. It's actually pretty normal in our domain." Giffany responds.

It seems like things are going well so far. I have hope that we can get out of this video game place.

- Danny's P.O.V.

Out of all the ways to defeat a bad guy, it had to be performing in a video game. I've never had to defeat a bad guy like this! Sure, I've dealt with Ember and Technus 2.0 before, but this is 2 whole levels of weird stuff! The rest of us don't even sing or dance, let alone perform!

"Alright. Who's next?" Giffany asks in the same robotic tone.

Nobody says anything. Everyone looks at each other again. I visibly sigh.

"I'll go next." I say, much to my dismay.

"Excellent. To the spotlight you go." She says.

I walk over and stand under the spotlight. I start to glow green!

"Ugh, wha?"

Ok, now I'm pixilated. It feels weird.

"Pop bah skidoo?" I ask.

"Yes, it's normal for you to feel weird." Giffany states.

"Bah tap badoop!" Mabel exclaims.

"It isn't just you, Mabel." Giffany says.

"All of you will feel this way." Rumble chimes in.

Good to know.

"1! 2! 3! Go!"

Ah crud! Unlike Steven and Mabel, I start struggling immediately. I barely hit half of the notes as I go.

"You got to hit all of the notes, Danny!" Rumble exclaims.

"Beep bap pa-rappa pop!" I exclaim back.

"Rum-Rum, let me handle this." Giffany says.

She turns to me.

"Danny, you don't have to hit all of the notes. Just hit enough notes to pass." She states.

*Sighs* I can't do this. I don't sing!

"Bop bit!" Steven yells.

He runs towards me.

"Pop pop beppo skiboop go go beep!" He explains loudly.

"Prep bop go go?!" I ask.

He wants me to pretend the arrows are ghosts and pretend to shoot at them?! How is that gonna work?!

"Bra bop crah? Beep skibep!" I exclaim

"Pow kabow!" He insists.

"Beeeeep." I say, surrendering.

Steven runs back and gives me a thumbs up. *Sighs* I can't believe I'm doing this.

"Bap mo pop." I say.

"1! 2! 3! Go!"

It starts and I follow Steven's advice. I start doing...somewhat better? His advice is working?! I don't hit every note, but I'm doing significantly better than earlier.

"Down, Left, Up, Right, Down!" Giffany says quickly, as she had done with Steven and Mabel.

"Voo, Pah, Loo, Sah, Vooooooo..🎵 Loo Pah Sah Pah Loo Loo Sah-sah Sah, Voo Loo Sah Sah Pah Pah Sah-sah, Voo Loo Sah Sah Pah Pah Pah-Sah. Pah Sah Sah Voo Loo Loo Sah Sah Paaah. Voo Sah Sah Pah Loo Sah Vah-Vah Sah-Sah🎵

...Silence.

I just rapped! How?!

"You can rap?!" Dipper exclaims.

"No, bebop!" I yell.

"Looks like this can be done." Giffany emphasizes.

And so, everyone else started to practice the tutorial level. It wasn't that great. A lot of us struggled being on beat. That's understandable. Excluding Steven and Mabel, none of us perform! It took too long to even get us on beat. Giffany kept repeating that as long as you get enough notes, you'll still pass the level.

We eventually got through the dancing portion. Due to the fact that we were dragged into the game, we didn't have to follow another set of arrows. We could just dance how we want to. Random dancing it is, then. Mabel struggled to dance because of her leg, but she still danced better than I did. So it's no surprise that her and Steven did better than the rest of us.

Maybe we do have a chance at this, after all. We just have to make sure that things go well. And I think I might have an idea on how to do it.

Chapter Text

- Dipper's P.O.V.

This is too much! I can't perform! The closest thing I've done is the "Lamby Lamby" dance and the Zombie karaoke thing from last year. Even then, it was just in front my family! I performed the worst out of everyone here..I'm not cutout for this. This is crazy!

While we were finishing up, we all agreed to have Mabel and Steven go last since they were already considered to perform. It's best to leave the best for last. Giffany estimated that at least half of us would perform, at most.

"TIME'S UP!"

Oh no...

"Everyone get ready." Giffany states.

We suddenly get transported to a really big stage, one with an audience!

"This will be the fiercest battle you will ever have! You battle it out for your honor and your lives!" Rumble exclaims.

"We know you will do great. Just remember: as long as you hit enough notes, you will pass to the next song." Giffany reiterates.

"IS EVERYONE READY?" Probabilitor yells.

The audience beeps and bops in excitement. Wait, how is he able to talk normally?!

"Hey! Bop boo?!" Tucker exclaims

"Wha beep bop skidep?" Steven asks.

"He's able to talk because the game's code considers him a game character in general. And since he's not from this game, like us, he talks like a normal person." Giffany explains

That's unfair! What makes this worse is that she's technically right! Probabilitor is a game character! But those rules shouldn't have been placed unto us since we're not video game characters! I angrily beep at Giffany about the rules.

"I understand your concern, but he can only talk at this moment. When he performs, he will communicate like you guys. The only reason this happened to you is because he messed with the code just enough to have it effect you guys." She explains, "However, he himself is bound by the rules of Saturday Night Spunkin, so even he can't escape it."

This is ridiculous! I'm already getting nervous! However, I can't show that. Otherwise he'll see that we're weak! As long as we follow the plan, we'll be fine!

"I'M GLAD! WE'LL HAVE FOUR PEOPLE GO UP AGAINST ME! LITTLE MISS MABEL PINES, COME ON DOWN!"

"Wha!?" I exclaim.

"Meh?!" Mabel yells.

She gets pulled on stage by a magical force and put under the spotlight. The crowd cheers again. This can't be happening! She was supposed to be second to last! He must've known what we were planning. Mabel looks back at us in shock. She clearly wasn't expecting to go first. Her look suddenly changes to a determined glare.

"BAH POP WAAAAAAAAH!" She screams.

"THEN LET'S START THIS!" He exclaims.

A health bar appears below them. Two symbols are right in the middle, representing who's performing. Probabilitor's symbol and bar half are red, while Mabel's half is blue.

"1! 2! 3! Go!"

We watch as Probabilitor goes first. He performs a very speedy first verse! Mabel repeats it while messing up! I see the symbols in the health bar fighting against each other as she does her verse! The rest of the performance goes like that as we see Mabel struggling to keep up. Despite messing up some of those notes, she manages to stay somewhere in the middle of the health bar. What helps her stay in the middle is her dancing. The crowd watches in anticipation as the performance goes down.

Come on, Mabel, you can do it!

"🎵Bloop, Lah Lah! Bloop Rah Rah, Ohh Lah Lah Lah Laaaaaaaaaah!🎵" Mabel finishes.

Her finishing notes keep her just a bit farther than Probabilitor! The crowd cheers!

"IMPRESSIVE. I UNDERESTIMATED YOU." Probabilitor states loudly.

"Bloop beppo!" Mabel exclaims.

MABEL WON!

"WELL, IT'S TIME FOR THE NEXT PERFORMER! STEVEN UNIVERSE!"

NO! He's definitely doing this on purpose! Without hesitation, Steven walks up to the spotlight.

"WELL, WELL, AREN'T YOU A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH?" Probabilitor says with a smirk.

Does he know?!

"Yeah, peep bo." Steven says, nonchalantly.

"1! 2! 3! Go!"

Probabilitor starts off slow, as if he's doing a ballad. Steven follows along effortlessly. He's completely focused! He's so focused that Probabilitor is completely caught off guard by him! 

Probabilitor suddenly decides to speed up his performance! Steven starts to mess up as he speeds up with him! Luckily he catches himself quickly and continues! I can tell that Probabilitor has realized the potential that Steven holds.

"🎵Doo Wah Wah Wah Bah Bah Ba-Baaaaah Baaa-aaaaaah. Beep Beeeeeeeeep Beep Beep, Doo Wah Wah Wahhhhhh🎵"

The crowd cheers loudly as Steven finishes. He smiles and takes a bow at the crowd. I see Probabilitor look on with a smirk. He must've been planning this out methodically.

"EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE, YOUNG HALFLING." He states.

"Bah bwah bop." Steven responds.

"SPEAKING OF, DANIEL FENTON, COME ON DOWN!" He exclaims.

We turn to see Danny looking off guard.

"Oh shwop." He says.

Danny quickly goes under the spotlight to start his turn. Probabilitor smiles at Danny. Oh no.

- Steven's P.O.V.

Oh man, I can tell Danny looks nervous. Mr. Probabilitor looks like he has a trap planned for him. This can't be good.

"1! 2! 3! Go!"

Mr. Probabilitor starts off with a speedy rap like rhythm! Danny tries to keep up, but he keeps messing up! 

Wait, Mr. Probabilitor is slowing down now? No wait, he's speeding up again! He keeps speeding up and slowing down! Him doing so is causing Danny to mess up even more!

*DING!*

What?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Dewop!" I exclaim.

"Oh no!" Giffany yells with some more emotion.

Danny was electrocuted! Is that what happens if you lose a round?!

*THUD*

"I WIN!" Mr. Probabilitor exclaims.

The crowd cheers! I quickly run to Danny and pull him to the side! We crowd around him! Oh no, he's out cold!

"IT'S TIME ANOTHER CHALLENGER. DANIELLE FENTON, LET'S PERFORM!" He exclaims.

"No!" Dani yells.

A random force drags Dani on stage!

"LET'S GET THIS STARTED!"

"1! 2! 3! Go!"

Oh no, this can't be happening! Mr. Probabilitor decides to do the same thing to Dani, but in the opposite pattern instead!

"Danny! Wake up!" Rumble yells.

"Dewop! Wop Wah!" I yell.

Wendy slaps his face to wake him up! He doesn't! I shake him, nothing! Sam grabs him!

"Soo sowop." She states.

Why is she apologiz--OOH! Without hesitation, Dipper, Rumble, Tucker, and I immediately wince! She...kicked him...

"Aah!"

It worked?! Danny doubles over in pain.

"Wha wop skidoo?! Wha Dewoop?!" He exclaims.

We look back to see Dani on the verge of losing! Oh no!

*DING!*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

*THUD*

"I WIN AGAIN!"

The crowd cheers again!

"Oh no!" Rumble and Giffany yell simultaneously.

"Dewoop!" Danny yells.

He quickly runs towards her and brings her back to us! Danny's eyes immediately turn green in anger! He looks ready to kill Mr. Probabilitor!

"WELL, IT SEEMS LIKE WE ENDED IN A TIE. IS EVERYONE READY FOR THE TIEBREAKER ROUND?!" He exclaims.

What?!

The crowd goes wild he says that! He had this planned!

"I SHALL PICK MY LAST OPPONENT...in a few minutes. We all need our breaks after all." He states happily.

The curtains close as the crowd quiets down. Danny angrily beeps out at Mr. Probabilitor and I hold him back trying to calm him down. Meanwhile, Giffany and Rumble are trying to calm down his sister and friends.

"Dewoop! Dewoop, wah bloop!" Mabel yells.

Without hesitation, Mabel slaps Dani twice!

"Bwah bop!" Dani exclaims while waking up.

Danny and the others immediately go to check on her. What's going to happen now?

- Danny's P.O.V.

I'm going to kick Probabilitor's butt! He messed with my family and friends!

I make sure to check on Dani. She insists that she's ok. I sigh in relief.

"You guys definitely deserve a break! I can see that your health is low! Here, have some cherries!" Rumble states.

We look at him in confusion, and one by one we take the cherries. They're pixilated, which isn't surprising. I shrug and eat the cherry.

*BLOOP*

I see a '+5 health' appear next to me and everyone else. Huh, that did help.

"Do you guys feel better?" Giffany asks.

We confirm that we do.

"That's great. Now we must think about a strategy here. Mr. The Annoying has clearly thought about what to do." She states.

It's true. He thought this out clearly. Like, way too clearly. Almost like he's following a script! How long has he had this planned out for?!

Jazz asks Giffany if Probabilitor has done anything weird since he arrived here.

"He does quite a lot already, but something weird did happen recently." She explains, "I had looked at the code earlier and it showed that Mr. The Annoying had sent something out into the outside world."

Sent something? What did he send out? Is that even possible? I ask her what it was.

"It doesn't specify. It just shows that he cast a spell or two and something intangible came out of it." She states.

Intangible?

"BA BOP!" Dani yells.

The ghost? The ghost! The one she caught earlier! So it was Probabilitor's doing. He has been planning this out for a while! We quickly tell Giffany about the ghost Dani caught earlier.

"That does explains a few things." Giffany notes, "But there are still some things that don't make sense."

Wendy suddenly snaps her fingers. She must've had a revelation too. She quickly explains what happened earlier at the Mystery Shack.

"A customer told you about about Saturday Night Spunkin?" Giffany asks.

"Yeah. Dah bop skeebop." Wendy explains.

That's right! She mentioned a customer earlier! That customer was apart of the plan too?!

"We have to defeat him somehow!" Rumble says.

"Bah ha?" Tucker asks.

"Well--"

"I HAVE RETURNED!" Probabilitor exclaims, interrupting Giffany.

Crud!

"NOW I WILL CHOOSE MY FINAL OPPONENT FOR THE TIEBREAKER!"

The crowd is going nuts!

"MY FINAL OPPONENT WILL BE NONE OTHER THAN..MASON PIIINES!" He yells.

Mason?

"NOOO!" Dipper screams.

Dipper suddenly gets pulled by magic onto the stage!

"LET'S FINISH THIS!" Probabilitor exclaims.

Out of all of us, he had the hardest time practicing! And Probabilitor knows this! That's low! Dipper is literally shaking up there!

"1! 2! 3! Go!"

Once again, Probabilitor starts his performance quickly! And he laughs in some of his notes!

"Aah, B-bap, G-ga-gah, Zah!" Dipper stutters out.

He's barely getting any notes in!

"Gah, wah cah wee doop?!" Mabel asks loudly.

"Tra bop cah badoo!" Dani yells.

"I'm currently looking through the code for a loophole, but I cannot find anything!" Giffany states in a slightly more emotional tone.

"There has to be something!" Rumble chimes in.

"There isn't. He has to stay onstage since he's under the spotlight. Either he wins or loses. That's the rule." She explains.

There's gotta be some way to help him!

- Dipper's P.O.V.

I can't do this! I'm barely getting any notes in! Everyone is staring at me and Probabilitor is winning against me! This can't be happening!

I hear some beeps coming from the crowd. Everyone is smiling. They're laughing at me?! I look ridiculous up here! Uuugh I don't...I don't feel so good...I feel like I'm sweating pixels up here!

Probabilitor laughs in his notes while performing. I squeak by somehow. Despite him performing in beeps and bops, I can tell that he's making fun of me...I'm not good at this! He clearly brought me up here to humiliate me and to get an easy win! I hate it up here!

I hear a random character say something in the crowd and the crowd starts laughing. Probabilitor starts to laugh again. I sniffle as I go through my notes sloppily. This is my worst nightmare! I try wiping my tears away, but it doesn't work...I want to go home..I don't want to be here.

My side of the bar is almost gone..he's going to win..

"🎵Bloooooooooop Laaaaaaah!🎵"

"Wah?!"

Huh?! Mabel?!

She looks at me with a huge grin on her face. Probabilitor is just as confused as I am. He suddenly gets mad and continues his verse. Mabel quickly tells me to follow her lead. She does her notes and I try to follow along. Probabilitor gets even angrier as he performs his next verse.

"Tah too cap coo lah tee, Deebop!" Mabel exclaims.

Cal...culate? She wants me to calculate and focus on the notes?

"Tree lah too beep bop!" She reiterates.

Would that even...work? I look at the notes to see that we're both considered a single performance now! Ok, ok. Just calculate the number of notes that appear in each verse. And check for any repeating notes.

"🎵Maaaaaaah, skaaaaaa haaaaaaaa, bleep bleep skaaaaa bleeeep...🎵"

I'm..doing it? I'm doing it!

"🎵Doo Wah Wah Wah Doo Beep Beep Doo Wah Wahhh!🎵

Steven?!

"Doo lah brap!" He exclaims.

The crowd watches in amazement as three people go up against Probabilitor! He starts sweating pixels as he starts his next verse! I don't think he was expecting this at all.

Without warning, Danny, Wendy, and the others come in trying to harmonize in the background! It's a bit rocky, but they manage just enough! Another set of notes appear above them. Steven and Mabel continue with me in the forefront as we hit the main notes.

I can't believe it! I'm doing it! And it's because of Mabel and our friends...I'm really thankful for them helping me. I would've lost out here if it weren't for them.

Probabilitor starts messing up his performance due to having to deal with a group! The crowd continues to watch in awe at us.

"🎵Yah Yah, Trah too too keh keh Yaaaah Yahhh🎵"

"🎵Doo Wah Wah Wah Doo Beeeeeeep🎵"

Everyone continues harmonizing as I'm finishing up our notes.

"🎵Gah Zah Zah Bap Bap Zahhh Zoooooom🎵"

I drop the mike in front of Probabilitor. He stands there in disbelief. The whole place is silent. Maybe the mike drop was a bit much? We won...right?

The crowd erupts in the loudest cheers we've heard since we started! We actually won! WE WON! I hug Mabel tightly without hesitating and she hugs me back. Steven brings us in for a bear hug of sorts. And everyone else goes for high fives!

"NOOO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Probabilitor yells, "THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE!"

"It is possible."

Giffany and Rumble head upstage towards us.

"There's nothing in the code that states it's impossible." She states.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" He screams.

"You better believe it!" Rumble says.

"Now, you will transport them back." Giffany states, "Ŗ̷̦̠̪͐͛̚i̸̱͑̈́g̷̛̣͠͝ḩ̷̡̢̘̭̯̲̀̎̈́̈͂͘ţ̶͈͕̺́ ̴̧̳͙̮̟́n̶̛͈̤̲̎͠͝ọ̴̗͊͊̽w̷̦̜͙̻͑̃͂̀."

Probabilitor starts lifting his hands, clearly against his will as he screams 'NOOOOOO!'.

...

...

...

Huh? Where am I?!

I look around to see colorful blurriness. Are we back? Please tell me we are. I rub my eyes to make sure.

...WE'RE BACK!

"Guys, wake up! We're back!" I yell.

I can talk normally again!

The others start to wake up, confused and hopeful about being back.

"WE'RE BACK!" Mabel screams happily.

"Finally!" Steven yells.

"We're out?!" Dani exclaims.

Everyone looks around to make sure that we're actually back.

"Everyone agree to never play this game again?" Wendy asked.

We simultaneously agree to that.

"NO, HAVE MERCY!"

We turn to the screen to see Probabilitor, Giffany, and Rumble, still on stage we're we left them. I see Giffany glitching out while smiling.

"Ý̷̢̼̟o̶̢̰̥̓u̷̥̙͒͜ ̴̘̍k̷̖̓̐̂n̴̰̎̌e̵̘̖̰̅̀w̷̬͔̽̑ ̵͉͇̀̑̓ṫ̴̢̪̫̏h̴̺͔̣̐ẻ̸͓ ̴̦͔̔̅a̷̢̰̩̓b̶̜͑̓o̸̢̜̮̾̈́͝ų̸̱̪̽t̸̘̭͔͆ ̶͉̹̅ṫ̴̢̗̜́̕h̷̫͕̫͗ȇ̶͍͇͝ ̵̢͍̈́ͅc̶̹̬͊̈́ö̶͕̼́̅ñ̶̫̉͘ş̵̛̼̮͑ȩ̶̗̹͘͠q̴̡̤̥͂u̸̮̠̖͛̍̎ę̷̣̉n̴̢̳̏̊c̷̱͖̓ḛ̵̤͖͌s̴̞̔,̴̩̳͑ ̴̨̱̆͌M̶̡͈̚r̵̡̩͊͠.̵̮̤̜̋̈ ̷͉̳̇T̴̞̯͊̐̌h̷̪̺̒ẽ̵̢̪ͅ ̵̟͇̔Ä̷̞̉̑n̶̖̙̣͋̚n̵̨̚o̴͔͊̾̒ÿ̶̲̻̘́͋͆i̷̡̛̖͒n̸̮̣͐͛͗g̴͎̖͌̓͊.̴̡͇̃ ̶̠͖̪̎Ṋ̵̲̆͠ǒ̶͈͕̊w̶̟͔̐̑͗ ̸̪̾́̏ý̷̺͓͕͑͝o̸͓̟̤͒̄ų̶̠̜̿ ̵̫̍s̴̪̮̒h̵̼̺̔̽a̶̪̫͌̈́͘l̵̩̯̖̓́ḷ̶̅̔̎ ̴̛̙̟b̶̝̎̆e̶̠͉̒̎͠ ̶̙͎̯̑̈́͂d̴͎͐e̶̯̟̓͒̕l̸̲̉̐e̶̜͝t̷̰̉ȇ̶͖̪̠d̷̪̬͝.̶̹͚̠̀̈͝" She states.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO̴̼͖͖͒̌Õ̶̻̿͐O̵̙̯͘O̴̗̓O̸̫̝͂̅͜Ö̶͉͚̜́̐̅O̶̘̙̒͝Ǫ̷̖͇̔O̵̯̯͝O̸̹̟̾O̶̯͖̟̎͌Ȏ̵̡̳̣̕͘O̸̯͗Ŏ̶̧̙̂O̷̼͎͌̉̑O̵̞̭͆͂́O̵̬͚͐͋Ȏ̵̫̀̚͜͜O̵̩͑̾̔O̴̬͑!̷̙̫̑̉͘ͅ"

Probabilitor starts glitching in and out of existence! We immediately leave the arcade.

I don't think I want to go to the arcade for a long time...or play any video games in general..

"I don't think I want to play any video games for a while." Steven states.

"Same!" We all say.

We look at each other and Steven starts to laugh. We start to laugh along with him as we walk back to the Mystery Shack

What a bizarre adventure!

************

Meanwhile...

???'s P.O.V.

"So you want me to fully investigate Gravity Falls...while I'm on my vacation..with my fiance?" I ask.

"That's precisely right. We're asking you because we know you're right for the job." The agent explains.

This is so beyond what I want to do with my time. But...I have been wanting to visit Oregon for a while now.

"I plan on going there anyway, sir. I'll at least keep an eye out for anything weird. No promises though." I state.

"Of course, Ma'am. We understand."

Well, I guess we're going to Gravity Falls.

Chapter Text

A/N: Warning! Ridiculous shenanigans take place, as well as some mild (and implied) swears lol!
As for the serious stuff, it does get a bit intense/possibly triggering later in this chapter. Just thought I'd give the heads up. Enjoy the long chapter.

- Steven's P.O.V.

Ah, what a nice day. It's a decent temperature for once! I've spent the last hour checking and planting the garden I've been working on for a few weeks since I got here. Things have been crazy for a while now. I honestly don't want to think about it. And I don't even want to think about the Saturday Night Spunkin thing from last week either! It just feels nice to sit down and work on my garden.

"Whoa, Steven. The garden looks great." I hear.

Sam walks up to me with a smirk, while the others follow behind.

She's been helping me on and off with the garden for at least two weeks now. She even gave me some suggestions on what to plant next. So I essentially have a mix of fruits and vegetables that range from sweet to spicy. Things like Tomatoes, Summer Squash, Ghost Peppers, and Lettace for example.

"Thanks." I say.

"That's a lot of fruits and vegetables." Tucker notes.

"I know, isn't it great?" I state.

"Uhhh, I might be a bit biased on that one." He admits.

"Tucker is essentially a carnivore." Sam snarks.

"She's right." Danny says while chuckling.

"I won't argue that." Tucker says while smiling.

"Well, I get that not everyone has the same opinion on this sort of thing." I state.

"Hi guys!"

Mabel happily skips to us with Dipper and Wendy walking in tow. Mabel has been really happy since she's gotten her cast removed.

"Hey, what's up?" Dani greets.

"Not much..is what I would say. The twins have been daring each other to do funny crap since this morning." Wendy states, "It's been great."

"Funny crap? Like what?" Tucker asks.

"Just the randomest stuff you can think of. Just now, Mabel dared Dipper to drink a weird spicy smoothie she created." Wendy answers.

"Oh, you mean Mason?" Danny says.

"Now there's a plot twist I wasn't expecting." Jazz admits.

"Is it weird that I thought Dipper was his actual name?" I ask.

"To be honest, a little bit." Dipper says.

"Well, Mason is being a weenie because he doesn't want to drink the smoothie alone." Mabel says, getting back to the topic.

"No, I want to make the dare more interesting by adding more people into the mix." Dipper retorts.

Mabel rolls her eyes.

"So, gentlemen, would you be willing to join my brother in this dare?" Mabel asks.

I look at Danny, Tucker, and Dipper for their reactions. I see Danny and Tucker smile mischievously. I doubt the drink is that spicy. I've had all sorts of spicy things before, both on and off Earth.

"Sure." Danny says.

"I don't mind." Tucker states.

"Count me in." I say.

I walk up to guys so that I'm not drinking the smoothie near the garden.

"Something tells me this won't end well." Sam notes.

"Are you kidding? This is gonna be hilarious!" Dani exclaims.

"Steven, are you sure you wanna do it?" Dipper asks.

"I'm sure. I've had some very hot things in my life. Both on Earth and in space. I think I can handle it." I explain.

"That's great! Here are your cups, boys." Mabel says happily.

We each grab a cup. Mabel pours a light brown looking liquid into each cup. It looks kind of thick and the smell isn't very pleasant. It's strong.

"Mabel, what did you put in this?" Danny asks.

"Some milk and anything hot that could find in the kitchen. I put in some Takis, some hot sauce that Soos has, some peppers I found in the fridge, chilli flakes, and some salsa." She lists off.

We all look at each other and contemplate what we got ourselves into. The spice isn't the issue anymore, it's the flavor!

"On second thought, this sounds interesting." Sam states with a smirk.

"Whoever can drink it and withstand the heat is the winner!" Wendy exclaims.

"On your mark...get set...drink!" Mabel yells.

We quickly drink the smoothie as soon as she says that.

...oh no..the taste..it's so bad! Forget about the spice! My stomach is going to hate me after this!

- Dani's P.O.V.

The smell alone is enough to make you nauseous! I just can't believe they're actually drinking it!

They set their cups on the ground after finishing. They look like they're regretting their life choices. Other than that, they seem fine for now.

"I'll be honest, that did not taste good!" Tucker admits.

"Agreed." Danny says.

"Other than the taste, we're fine. It wasn't spicy!" Dipper retorts.

"Surprisingly, it wasn't." Steven muses.

There's no way! It probably hasn't kicked in yet.

"Greetings youth, why are you all outside?"

Ford approaches us.

"We're in the middle of a dare, Grunkle Ford." Mabel explains.

"Ah, that explains it."

"Why are you outside, Mr. Pines?" Wendy asks.

"I wanted to ask if any of you have seen or used some modified peppers I had in the refrigerator." He states.

...

...

Silence. From everyone.

"Modified peppers?" Mabel asks in shock.

"Yes. I had modified some peppers to make them as strong as possible. To a point that no human would be able to withstand the capsaicin." He explains.

...

...

We look at guys, and they look terrified! We look at Ford in horror.

"I...used those peppers for this dare..." Mabel admits in horror.

"You used them?!" He asks.

"Ha! That's hilarious!" Stan laughs as he walks up.

"Stanley, this isn't a humorous matter!"

He turns to Mabel.

"Who consumed the peppers?" He asks.

All of us point at the guys. He turns to the frightened group.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Steven squeaks out.

"Mabel, you should've asked about the peppers before using them." He states.

"I honestly thought they were normal peppers! They weren't labeled or anything! I'm sorry, Grunkle Ford." She exclaims.

Ford looks like he's going to say something else, but then keeps quiet. He must thinking.

"Oh, damn." I hear him say quietly.

"You didn't label them?!" Stan asks.

"I honestly thought it wasn't necessary!" He exclaims.

"What do we do now?" I ask.

*Kettle whistle noise*

That doesn't sound good!

We turn to see Dipper, who's sweating and turning red!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Dipper screams.

Fire is coming out of his mouth!

He screams "MAH MOUF IZ ONG FIIIRRRRRE!" while he runs around! Tucker starts turning red too! He screams next and also has fire come out of his mouth! Instead of running around, he plants his face in the ground! We look at Danny and Steven in horror, and they look scared!

Steven immediately starts glowing pink!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" He screams.

Pink fire spews out of his mouth, throwing him backwards towards the forest! He's flying around like a rocket!

"Holy smokes, he turned pink and became a human rocket!" Stan exclaims.

"A half-human rocket!" Ford retorts loudly.

We turn back to Danny and he still looks mortified!

"Danny?" I ask.

Before he could say anything, he starts glowing green!

"AAAAAHHH, MOTHERFUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHH!" He screams as green fire comes out!

The force of the fire knocks him to the ground, making the fire come out like a fountain!

"And this kid turned green! What's with these two?!" Stan questions.

Twenty seconds is all it took for them to go down!

"Grunkle Ford, please tell you also made modified milk!" Mabel yells.

"Luckily, I did. It's in the same refrigerator." He states.

Seriously?!

"I also used that for the drink! Aaugh, I'm so dumb!" Mabel screams in frustration.

"Not quite, Mabel. Because of you doing that, you stopped them from spontaneously combusting. It essentially softened the blow for them." He explains somewhat calmly.

"That's considered softening the blow?!" Jazz asks loudly.

"Trust me when I say that it is."

"Do you have anymore of the milk, Ford?" Stan asks.

"Luckily I do, but I don't know if it's enough."

Now what?! Everything is going nuts right now! Fire and spit is just coming out of them! Especially Steven since he's still flying around! We start dodging all the fire that head in our direction!

"FORD, GET THE MILK!" Stan snaps!

"ON IT!"

Ford runs back into the Shack to get the milk while we continue dodging fire!

- Mabel's P.O.V.

I can't believe this is happening! I didn't mean it to do this! I just wanted to have a fun day!

"Can someone explain why Steven and Danny are glowing?!" Grunkle Stan shouts.

"Steven is half-alien and Danny is half-ghost!" Wendy yells back.

"That explains so much! Aah, hot Belgian waffles!"

We keep getting out of the way of the fireballs! Aah, a green fireball got my arm! It's...cold?! Danny's fire is cold! Either way I shake off the fire quickly! Woo, thank goodness. This can't get any worse, right?!

We see Steven pass through quickly! He crashes right into Danny, who's still on the ground!

All of us wince and go "Ssst oooh!"

Oh crud they're glowing!

"OH GOD, THEY'RE FUSING!" Sam yells.

Stanny appears screaming in pain! Spitting out pink and green fire in the meantime! That would be so cool if we weren't in this situation! Fire and spit are going everywhere!

"WHAT IN THE ABSOLUTE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Grunkle Stan snaps.

Bits of fire are everywhere now! This is all my fault!

"Oh, hi guys! I'm back to visi--WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE!"

Wait, is that--?!

It's Connie and Lion!

"Connie!" I yell happily, "Aaaaah!"

I dodge another fireball as I scream!

"DIPPER AND MABEL WERE DOING BETS! MABEL DARED DIPPER TO DRINK SOMETHING SPICY AND DECIDED TO INCLUDE THE OTHER GUYS! THEY DRANK IT AND IT TURNS OUT THAT IT HAD MODIFIED PEPPERS THAT FORD CREATED!" Dani explains loudly, "NOW THEY'RE SPITTING OUT FIRE BECAUSE OF THEM BEING SUPER HOT!"

"Whoa!" Connie gasps as she barely dodges a fireball.

Lion runs into the forest for safety!

"I'm back! I got the milk, but I don't think--WHO IS THAT?!" Grunkle Ford announces.

"It's Stanny! Let's not question it further! We need to give them the milk!" Connie shouts.

"Connie?! W-well, yes, of course. But I don't know if it's enough." He states.

"Hmm, I have an idea! I have some stuff with me! Can I get the milk?" She says.

Without question, he gives it to her. She immediately runs into the Shack, milk and backpack in tow! It takes only a minute before she's back with with some metal bottles! She runs towards my brother first.

"Hey Dipper, stop running!" She yells.

"CAHWIE?!" He exclaims while running.

She quickly opens the cap and practically stuffs the metal bottle in Dipper's mouth, getting the fire covered in the process. She runs towards Tucker, lifts his head up from the ground, and does the same thing!

"Stanny!" She yells.

"HUH?!" Stanny gasps.

He looks at Connie and suddenly unfuses! Before anything else happens, she repeats the bottle process.

...

There was now silence and no fire. The guys are shocked and looking at each other. Steven takes the bottle away from his mouth.

"SWEET RELIEF!" He cries.

"Literally!" Tucker yells.

"What is this?!" Dipper asks.

"Milkshakes. I used the modified milk and some things I had with me already." She explains, "I used vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, sugar, and some orange slices."

"That explains the odd citrus aftertaste." Tucker points out.

"Why did you have those things?" Wendy asks.

"I wanted to surprise visit Steven with a picnic date. I was packing up the picnic basket when Garnet texted me saying that I should bring some other things too." She answers, "Now that I think about it, everything she suggested were all theorized to be spice chasers."

"Wait, isn't milk supposed to be the only thing?" Dani asks.

"Not necessarily. Milk is usually a spice chaser, yes, but theoretically there are other things that can help with stopping it. Such as citrus or viscous food products." Grunkle Ford injects.

"Something tells me that Garnet knew about this." Connie notes.

"With her future vision, I wouldn't be surprised." Steven says.

Things have finally calm down. Thank goodness!

- Dipper's P.O.V.

Never again! I'll never eat or drink anything spicy ever again! That was awful! Breathing out fire would've been cool in any other situation, but not in this one. Ugh, my stomach hurts.

"There's still quite a bit of fire around. Let me help with that." Connie states.

And so we take out the fire, one by one. Luckily it didn't take too long.

"Is that a garden?" Connie asks.

"Yeah. Steven and Sam worked on it." Mabel answers.

Connie starts thinking. She suddenly has a concerned look on her face.

"Steven, you didn't spit or cry on these, did you?"

"What? No!" Steven exclaims.

"I only ask knowing what might happen. Plus, you were essentially throwing up fire! With a bit of spit and a lot of tears to boot." She notes.

"What's so weird about that? He heals stuff right? That means that if the garden was messed up, he would be able to fix it." Dani asks.

"While that is true, Steven's magical tears have a...tendency to bring vegetation to life from time to time." Connie explains.

"Really?!" Mabel asks excitedly.

"Yeah..but that's not gonna happen this time...I hope." He states while saying the last part quietly.

We decide to check the garden. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. I look at everything closely to make sure that nothing landed. The only thing that I see is water droplets, but that could be anything.

...are they emitting some sort of faint glow?

"See, we're good!" Steven exclaims with a nervous grin.

As he says that, he picks some fully grown veggies to put in the basket. Squashes, broccoli...freaking peppers...

"I guess everything is ok. But this usually takes a day, so we won't know for certain." Connie explains.

"Actually there are some droplets here that have a very faint glow to them." I express.

"Really?" She asks as she walks over.

She examines the zucchini that I'm looking at.

"Steven's spit and tears don't glow. The glow is very faint, but it looks kind of greenish." She inquires.

"So Danny's spit then?" Sam asks, interjecting.

"Most likely. Does Danny have magic tears or spit?" I ask.

"Not that I'm aware of." Danny chimes in.

"If it's just that, then we're fine." Steven says.

"What if both his and Danny's got on the garden?" Dani suggests.

"It would probably get negated." Jazz states.

"Or it could play off each other. Creating living ghost vegetation instead." Grunkle Ford notes.

"I don't think that can happen." Steven says, still a bit nervous.

"I fought a giant plant ghost that tried taking over Amity Park. It's definitely a possibility." Danny says sternly.

Steven picks out one of the squashes to hold it up.

"See it's normal!" Steven exclaims.

"Steven, I don't want you to deny the possibility of it happening again." Connie says.

"I...I know." Steven says, sounding ashamed.

"How many times has this happened?" Grunkle Stan asks.

"So far, three times." She explains, "Maybe four if it happens here."

Steven stays silent for a few seconds before revealing that it would possibly be his seventh time instead.

"Wait, seventh? I thought it was only three instances of this. When did the others happen?!" Connie questions.

"I unintentionally caused it to happen a few more during my travels." He admits, still in shame, "I just don't want it to happen again."

"Meow."

"Huh?!"

Steven immediately looks at his fingers and breathes out a sigh of relief. We look down to see the squash he had put back in the basket. It looks normal. Where did the meow come from? I look at the squash closely, just to make sure.

"Maybe there's a kitty around." Mabel says.

"Probably. Cuz there's no way that--"

"Meow."

"Holy shallot!" Steven exclaims.

The squash opens its eyes to reveal itself. Its eyes are a shade of green and cat-like features start sprouting out! It starts floating and nuzzles Steven close to his face, purring while doing so. It's alive, it's alive!

"Holy smokes, it's actually alive!" Grunkle Stan exclaims.

"Aah, ghost pepper!" Mabel yells.

"I get that we're scared because of what happened earlier, but these ghost peppers are safe." Steven starts.

"No, an actual ghost pepper!"

Holy crud, the pepper is floating! We're gonna get haunted by literal ghost peppers! No, it's too soon!

...huh? It's just floating there..

"Hoo."

Did it just go "Hoo"?

Just like the squash cat, the pepper has features pop up. It's starting to look a bit like...an owl! The owl flies gently towards Danny.

"Uhh, you want to go on my shoulder?" He asks, clearly confused about the whole thing.

The ghost pepper owl goes on top his shoulder and starts nuzzling him, just as the first veggie had done with Steven.

"Awww, so cute!" Mabel gushes.

"For a literal living ghost pepper, you are kind of cute." Danny notes.

"Hoo."

The owl spits out some green fire! Oh, it's in the shape of a heart.

"It's kind of cool..in a spooky kind of way." Wendy says.

"Uhh, what are we going to do with the rest of the rest of them?" Jazz asks.

Huh? Oh! The rest of fruits and vegetables that Steven picked out are alive too!

"Dudes! Are those vegetables alive?!"

We turn to see Soos and Melody at the door.

"Yeah, isn't it cool?" Mabel answers.

"How did that happen?" Melody asks.

"Steven." We say simultaneously.

"Sorry." He says meekly.

"I have several questions." Melody states, "But my main ones are 'Are they safe?' and 'Can we put them somewhere else before the tourists get here?'"

We look at the plant animals in question. They seem to be safe so far...despite the circumstances.

"They're safe..ish?" Steven says, sounding a bit unsure.

"Good enough." Soos notes.

"I don't think there's any place to put them." I state.

I hear Wendy gasp.

"I got an idea." She says.

Where is this going?

************

- Danny's P.O.V.

"Wendy, you're a genius!" Stan exclaims.

"Thanks." She says calmly.

I didn't think this would happen, but it's odd enough to work in the Mystery Shack.

"Now we're just missing the squash cat and the ghost pepper owl." Dipper notes.

The cat hisses behind Steven and Connie and the owl screeches near my ear!

"I don't think they want to want to go." Sam points out.

"They don't have to. It's clear that they've already gotten attached." Wendy explains.

"Are you fine with keeping the ghost pepper owl for now?" Steven asks.

"I'm fine with it. Spooky is kind of cute." I state.

The owl tilts its head.

"Spooky?" Dani asks.

"Oh, I didn't mean to say that! I was thinking about what Wendy said earlier." I explain, realizing what I said.

"Hoo! Hoo!"

"It's happy that you gave it a name." Steven says.

Huh...I didn't plan on naming it right now. But it's happy...

"You know what? Spooky, it is." I say.

"Is Spooky a boy..or a girl?" Dani asks.

I didn't even think about that. Spooky is a ghost pepper, I doubt there's an indicator for what Spooky is!

We suddenly hear talking from a distance.

"It must be the tourists." Jazz points out.

"Alright, everyone get ready! At your stations, dudes." Soos commands.

"Let's hope this idea works." Ford says.

Yeah, let's hope.

************

"And the concludes the tour...or does it?! You see, dudes, I have one more thing to show you."

We watch as Soos and the tourists goes straight to the sheet.

"I present to you...the zoo of living fruit and vegetables!"

He removes the sheet to reveal the animals to the tourists. Luckily for us, the plant animals are playing around or napping. The crowd gasps and immediately gushes and coos at them. The kids are especially excited. There are so many today!

"And now that concludes the tour. But if you guys still want to observe the lovely creatures, you can." Soos states.

The kids cheer and gather around while the adults go around the gift shop. They start lining up after they've gotten their souvenirs.

"Oh my, a squash cat and a pepper bird!" A lady exclaims.

"My, they are adorable!" Another lady says.

"These are our pets. This is Summer and that's Spooky." Steven explains happily.

That's right, he named the cat 'Summer' after the type of squash it is.

"Summer and Spooky, how adorable!" A guy says.

And so, the day gets busy. Everyone has been gushing about the animals. Each time a customer left, their kid would be sad about leaving the animals. Halfway through our shift, the twins came in with Candy, Grenda, and someone else I don't recognize.

"Whoa, how did that happen?" I hear.

"It's a long story." Dipper says.

"Hi guys!" Steven greets.

"Hey, Steven! Hey Danny!" Grenda yells.

"Yes, hello!" Candy greets.

The group walks up to us. Luckily, there aren't any customers at the moment. I get a better look at the girl with the others.

She seems to be around the same age as Dani and the twins. She gives me a bit of a snobby, rich girl vibe. Her pink outfit and faux fur boots certainly help with that. She has long blonde hair with bangs covering a bit of her eyes and..is that eyeshadow? She has this demeanor of someone who thinks of themselves as better than everyone. This girl kind of reminds me of Paulina..

"Oh, how...cute? Is that a squash..and a ghost pepper?" She asks.

"It sure is." Steven says.

"Guys, this is Pacifica. Pacifica, this is Steven and Danny." Mabel introduces.

"Nice to meet you, Pacifica." I say.

She looks at us, almost as if she's observing.

"Likewise?" She states, in a questioning way.

Is she not a social person?

"Like, I'm sorry. I'm trying to be a bit nicer to people. I'm still not used to this." She explains.

She definitely used to be a snob. I see her whisper something to Mabel. I hear Mabel and the girls giggling as Pacifica blushes. I wonder what that's about?

"So, Mabel has told me quite a bit about you guys. She told me that you guys were traveling before stopping here for the summer. What's that like?" Pacifica asks.

"Well, I've been traveling for a while now, it's been great!" Steven explains, "I got to experience all sorts of places, eat different foods, and I got to meet quite a few people."

He looks so happy talking about this. Considering everything that's happened, he doesn't get to talk about his travels very often.

"Did you ever get souvenirs from traveling?" Candy asks.

"A number of things. I plan on giving a few of them to my family and friends back home." He answers, "There's one I want to give to Connie."

He reaches into his pocket and shows us a colorful box with a bow on it. I wonder what's...no way..

We all know he's a hopeless romantic, but would he...!

"It's a necklace I got for her in Colorado. When I saw it in the store, I thought it was perfect for her!" He explains.

Ok, he isn't planning on it.

"Which other states have you been to?" Candy asks.

"New York, California, Hawaii, Connecticut, and a few others." He states.

"What about you, Danny?" Pacifica asks.

"Oh, well.."

I start to list the states we've visited so far before coming to Gravity Falls.

"Did you manage to see or catch ghosts in each state?" Mabel asks.

"Just a few. It wasn't anything special." I explain.

"You..hunt ghosts?" Pacifica asks.

"Kind of." I say being vague.

"And now, see the wonder of the living fruits and vegetables!"

We see Soos and the next group come in the gift shop. Just like the first few, they gush over them.

"We'll leave you guys to it." Dipper says.

With that, we continue the shift.

************

*One hour later*

Man, these customers really like the animals. I'm surprised that none of them have asked to adopt one of them yet. Though I doubt it would be a good idea. They're not ordinary animals, they're living fruits and vegetables.

...huh, now that I think about it..would they need to be fed? Do they need to sleep? These are some things we didn't even think about, let alone ask.

"Hey, Steven. Do these animals need to eat or sleep?" I whisper, to not alarm anyone.

"No, not really. They're kind of like gems. They don't have to, but they can if they want to." He whispers back.

Well, that's a relief. I was going to try to figure what to feed Spooky!

*Gasp*

Oh no, again?

"Hoo!"

Spooky did sensed it?!

"Hissss!"

Summer too?!

Out of curiosity, I lean a bit to see if the others are reacting too. They have, and they're behaving a little antsy! But, other than that, they seem to be fine. They must've gotten my ability to sense ghosts around too. Even if they didn't, animals are still able to sense danger in general.

"Oh my, what an interesting cat!" Exclaims a guy customer.

"Danny, is there another one?" He whispers as he smiles at the customer.

"Apparently so, I'll text my sisters." I whisper back.

I quickly walk away and I start texting Jazz and Dani about the ghost. They text me back 'On it!' and I walk back to Steven at the cash register.

"They're gonna handle it." I state quietly.

"Alright." Steven responds.

They should be able to handle it.

- Steven's P.O.V.

Why do I get the feeling that this will be similar to what happened on Summerween? I'm really hoping that it's a generic ghost. Summer didn't react in a good way. And the other animals look a bit nervous too. Luckily, we're finishing with the last customers here.

"Here's your receipt, sir." I state politely.

"Why, thank you, young man. Have a good one!" The man says.

"You too!"

Danny and I sigh. We're exhausted.

"You guys ok?"

We look up to see Wendy in front of us.

"We're tired." Danny states.

"Yeah." I say, agreeing with him.

"Considering how it was today, I don't blame you." Wendy says.

So..many..customers..

"Hey, do we have to feed the animals?" She asks.

"No, not really. They don't need to be fed" I answer.

"I asked the same question earlier." Danny says.

"They're going to be fine..huh?" I say, looking towards them.

Danny and Wendy look towards the animals. There's a little girl there, just looking at them. Did anyone forget their child?! No, wait, I should approach this calmly. I start walking towards her while Danny and Wendy follow behind.

"Hey, are you ok? Are you waiting for someone?" I ask.

From behind I can see that she has dark short hair with a little flower clip in it. She has on a green dress with white polka dots. She turns around to face us.

"I'm sorry, I'm just..."

Wait! This is--!

"Stevie!"

"Hannie?!"

A/N: Pronounced 'HA-nee'

Hannie is a friend I made in one of the states I visited. I've met many people while traveling, but she, her brother, and her future sister-in-law, were some of the people I somewhat connected with.

She immediately hugs me! I can't believe it! Why is she here?! And why is she here alone?!

"Ha...nnie?" Wendy asks.

"You know her?" Danny chimes in.

"Yeah, I met her in one of the states." I state quickly, "Why are you here in Gravity Falls? Where's your brother and future sister-in-law? How did you get here?"

"They took me with them on their vacation, they're around, and by plane." She answers.

"Did you separate from them?"

"No...yes.."

Oh, man. They must be worried about her, especially her older brother. I knew she was a bit rambunctious, especially for a six year old. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see her. She's so sweet and kind, but I'm concerned for her being here alone.

"Did you at least message them about your whereabouts?" I ask.

"I did, they're on their way." She states.

Phew! That at least makes me less worried. ...oh right!

"Hannie, this is Danny and Wendy. They're some new friends I've made." I introduce her.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." She greets.

"Nice to meet you too." Danny says.

"Likewise, Hannie." Wendy says nonchalantly.

"Meow."

"Hoo."

She gasps as she sees Summer and Spooky. She looks so excited, as everyone else did. Since we finished our shift, we'll have to keep an eye on her while she's waiting to get picked up. I don't know what to do to keep her distracted though.

*Rattle Rattle*

Huh? What the--?!

The fruits and veggies are escaping! What's going on?!

"Aw, man, they're leaving?" Hannie asks sadly.

"No, they've escaped! We got to get them back!" I exclaim.

"Why did they suddenly leave?!" Danny asks.

"I don't know, but we better figure it out!" Wendy exclaims.

"Can I help?" Hannie asks.

"I think it would be best if you stayed here, I don't want you to get hurt." I state.

She sighs and says ok.

"What's going on?"

Melody comes into gift shop, looking very confused.

We immediately explain what happened just a few moments ago. She understands the situation and promises to look after Hannie while we're out! We noticed that Summer and Spooky were still with us, we're not exactly sure why. We call in everyone else and we agree to split up to catch each fruit and vegetable. Something must be going on, because they were fine earlier!

I hope we find them soon.

- Connie's P.O.V.

I wonder what's going on. There's no way they act so crazy at random. Something is causing them to act like this, and something tells me it isn't good.

Steven, Summer, and I go through the forest to try and find one of the them. So far, no luck. Who would've thought that this would happen?

"Anything, Steven?" I ask.

"No, nothing." He admits sadly.

"Where could they have gone?"

"I don't know, but I'm honestly worried."

This forest is unsurprisingly vast, it might take a bit of time before we find one of them. There's got to be some clues around here somewhere.

"If I were sentient food, where would I go?" I say outloud.

I see Summer look around a bit. I wonder if she's caught anything.

"Summer, any clues?" I ask, feeling hopeful.

"Meow."

I guess that means no.

Huh, is she pointing at something? She is!

"Steven, look!" I point out.

"Huh?"

I point to the very tiny green fires on the ground. They seem to be like footprints!

"Whoa, a trail!" He exclaims.

"We'll have to follow it carefully." I advise.

"Right."

We start following the trail. We notice Summer getting in front of us as we do so. Is she protecting us in some way?

"There's a few of them!" Steven shouts.

Sure enough, we were lead to a few of them! Specifically, the tomato bees! They're breathing out fireballs to a weird-looking plant. It looks like someone had put big vines together to create this plant. What kind of giant plant is this?

"Tomato bees! What's wrong?!" Steven asks.

They buzz around us, presumably trying to communicate. Summer immediately does pose cats do when they feel threatened and screeches at the plant!

"You're fireballs are useless to me." A voice booms.

Huh?! Where did that voice come from?! The tomato bees fly while Summer screeches again and runs off! What's going on?!

"Well, what do we have here. Some teens. Did one of you have anything to do with the sentient food?" The voice booms again.

"Who are you?!" Steven yells.

"Where are you?!" I ask, emphasizing.

"I'm in front of you."

The ground suddenly starts to shake! Steven and I hold on to each other! The trees in front of us start to part as the giant plant grows in size! We can hear booming laughter coming from everywhere! And finally, we see him...a giant plant monster! He's about as big as White Diamond, maybe bigger! We hear screaming in the distance, coming from the town!

"I am Undergrowth. And you two are in my way!" He booms again.

A vine comes out of nowhere and hits us both in the stomach!

"Well, well, what is this?"

I turn to see that Steven had made some flowers grow, where his spit had landed!

"Oh, you're valuable!" He exclaims.

Another vine comes out and sticks to back of Steven's neck!

"STEVEN!" I yell.

He screams as his eyes turn completely green! He's gone limp! And silent! Vines starts going all over him as green cracks appear under his eyes!

NO, NO, NO! I grab my sword and get ready to swing it at the vine! Without warning, Steven suddenly stops the sword from slicing the vine! He's controlling him!

A grass sword suddenly appears in his hand and he starts to swing at me! I counteract his and we start sword fighting! No, I don't want to fight him!

"Steven! This isn't you!" I shout.

I narrowly dodge his next attack as he tries to cut me! Suddenly, tears start flowing from his eyes! Two plant Stevens form next to him with their own swords!

"Absolutely excellent!" He states, joyfully.

Despite how tired I'm getting, I managed to defeat the plant Stevens and disarm Steven himself. Before I could slice the vine off his neck, he grabs my sword and throws it far! Nooo!

"Let me get a better look at you."

He's lifting him up with the vine! Aah, he got me! The vine is on my waist like a rope!

"Hmm, fascinating. You two would be lovely as my minions." He states, My, my, what is this?"

He sees Steven's gem poking out of shirt! He starts to observe his gem! That's not good!

"Don't touch him there!" I yell angrily.

"Oh? Is it special? Hopefully he doesn't mind if I take it for myself, then?" He says, maliciously.

Noooo! He's going for it!

"What the--"

"DON'T...TOUCH..MY..GEEEEEEEEEEEEM!"

He starts glowing pink!

"STEVEN!" I cry.

He looks at me and gets angrier!

"AND DON'T TOUCH CONNNNNNNNIE!"

His voice booms as he screams and he manages to slice off the vines! Undergrowth gets thrown back a bit!

"You little brats!" He screams.

Steven quickly catches me bridal style before we land on a nearby tree branch. He's shaking. That's when we see Danny and Dani flying towards Undergrowth! Dani spots us and tells to go, that they'll handle it. Before I could object, Steven speeds off with me!

What is it with that Undergrowth guy?! What exactly does he want?!

We suddenly stop midway through and Steven puts me down. I can hear panting and gasping from him! Oh no, he's having a PTSD-induced panic attack!

"Steven!" I yell.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" He screams, "DON'T TAKE OUT MY GEM!"

"I won't! I'm not that plant monster!" I yell.

He's completely freaking out! I have to calm him down somehow! I keep reassuring him that he's ok and I'm not going to hurt him! Nothing is working!

"URRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHH!"

Wait, is it happening again? No, this can't happen again. He continues to groan in pain!

"Steven?" I say really concerned.

He looks at me with a scared expression. His eyes look exactly how they did that day, black sclera and glowing pink pupils.

"It's ok. You're going to be ok." I state more calmly.

"I-I-I..." he stutters out in pain.

Horns and claws come out as he continues to quietly freak out. His canines got bigger and sharper soon after.

"Steven, is it ok if I get closer?" I ask him.

"But..but...what if I hurt you.." he states quietly in fear, "I tried doing that earlier."

"You won't." I say, confidently.

"O-ok."

I get closer to him. He immediately pulls me in for hug. He's still shaking, but it seems like he's starting to calm down. His breathing becomes more calmer and his pink glow diminishes.

"Connie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. I'm feeling somewhat better now."

"No problem. Glad I could help."

The ground shakes!

"We have to get back to Shack." Steven states.

"Right." I agree.

- Dipper's P.O.V.

I can't believe this is happening. The others are out there fighting whatever that plant thing is, and we're back in the Shack with the animals! We should be helping them!

"Hey, where's Pacifica?" Candy asks.

Oh no, don't tell me...

I run out the Shack to see her surrounded by spiky vines! The vines immediately lunge towards her! Pacifica screams and braces for impact!

"Hee-ya!"

What?!

Steven's friend just slashed all the vines!

She yells 'Come on' while she drags Pacifica inside. The vines regenerated and go after them. Just before the vines can reach them, they bounce off a shield!

"Thank goodness it's working."

"Grunkle Ford, you made another force shield around the Shack?" I ask, stunned.

"But of course. I actually put it up recently." He explains.

"Are you guys ok?" Mabel asks.

"We're fine. But are we going to ignore the fact that this little girl just slashed those things?" Pacifica states.

It's true! She just did it without a hassle. I take a good look at...Hannie? Steven said that was her name..anyway. I see her smile warmly.

She seems like a normal little girl.

"Guys, are you ok?!"

We see the Phantom gang run in, looking like they just ran a marathon.

"We're fine!" Grenda exclaims.

"Where's Steven and Connie?" Wendy asks.

As if on cue, they come running in!

"We're right here!" Connie exclaims.

Whoa, it looks like Steven transformed only halfway. He has horns, fangs, pink clawed hands, and his eyes are pink with black diamond pupils. And his hair is pink too.

"Dude, you look...uh..are you ok?" Wendy asks.

"I had a moment earlier, but I'm doing better though." He explains, "I'm aware that I look weird, but it'll go away."

"Stevie?"

We turn to his friend.

"You look..." She starts

"I know." He states, "I look sc--"

"So cool!" Hannie exclaims happily.

Steven looks bewildered by her statement. She gushes on how cool he looks without any fear. A warm smile starts to form on his face. He's relieved now.

"Guys, what are we going to do about the threat outside?" Grenda asks.

"I don't know, I thought we could defeat him like last time. But he's stronger now." Danny explains.

"It's probably because of me." Steven laments sadly.

"Hey, don't blame yourself." Sam says.

"Yeah, he was already powerful to begin with. We had a hard time defeating him last time." Tucker chimes in, reassuring him.

"Is everyone in town ok?" Connie asks.

"Yeah, apparently people had shelters ready." Dani explains.

That makes sense. Ever since Weirdmageddon, everyone decided to get prepared with shelters and defense. Old Man Mcgucket had helped with that.

"How are we supposed to defeat that plant monster thing?" Mabel asks.

"Same as last time." Danny states.

"Or at least try to." Jazz replies.

"Can I help now?"

We turn to Hannie, looking sweetly at us.

"Hannie, I don't think it's the best idea." Steven says, looking concerned, "Besides, your brother is supposed to be picking you up soon."

"Hmmm..all three of us could help." She insists.

"Oh..well..hmm.." Steven says, starting to think.

"She literally saved me from the vines by slicing them with her bare hands, I think she's capable." Pacifica chimes in.

It's true that she did do that, really gracefully I might add.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Look out!"

Who's outside?!

*BAM*

We run to the front door to see that two people had crashed into the entrance, breaking the front door down in the process! Who are they?!

"Holy smokes, are you two ok?!" Grenda asks loudly.

I hear the guy groan and I hear the woman groan out "We're ok..ish..." unconvincingly.

She slowly gets up and starts to dust herself off. She grabs the guy's hand and pulls him up. I notice that her sun hat and outfit are a bit tattered. Did she fight off the vines?

"Steven, is that you?" The guy asks, clearly thrown off.

"Yeah. And look who's here too." He responds.

I see Hannie walk to front next to Steven and let's out a simple hello.

"You're here!" He yells.

She runs towards him and he catches her. He hugs her tightly.

"You've must've been so worried about her." Connie says.

"Very worried. Even if she can defend herself, we'll always want to keep her safe." The woman states, "She's ok, right?"

"Trust me, she is." Pacifica chimes in.

What is it about them? They seem to be a couple that's on vacation, but my alarm bells are going off. I see them put their shades in their pockets and the sun hat on the hat rack. They definitely look like they were beaten up. I wonder how they managed to get here without getting caught...

...OH MY GOSH!

The ground starts shaking for a few seconds! The lights go out due to the impact! A flashlight gets turned on from Connie's phone.

"Alright, I just want to know one thing." The woman calmly commands, "What's the sitch?"

Chapter Text

A/N: Warning! This is a long chapter! Mild swears and references! My apologies if this is not a well written chapter. I hope you enjoy!

- Dipper's P.O.V.

I can't believe it. Kim Possible! THE Kim Possible! And Ron Stoppable! They're actually here! She's a woman who can do anything, and it all started in her early teens! And Ron has been helping her out since the very beginning! Mabel immediately freaked out when she realized who they were, and so did the others...besides Steven, of course.

Why are they here though? Judging from the from the tattered green summer dress and sandals Kim has on, and Ron's tattered Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts, they have to be on vacation...right?

"So, let me get this straight. That giant plant thing is actually a ghost that's attacking Gravity Falls. And the reason he's doing this is because he hates humans and wants to help his "children" thrive. And he nearly turned Steven into his minion due to him having the ability to bring vegetation to life with his spit." Kim states, "Am I hearing that right?"

"There's a bit more to it. But, yeah." Wendy says.

"And Steven got stressed so that's why he looks like some sort of half-demon?" She asks.

"Yeah." Steven admits sheepishly.

Kim thinks for a minute.

"Alright." She says.

"Wait, so you, like, believe us?!" Pacifica asks, baffled by Kim's response.

"We've seen all sorts of things. So hearing about ghosts existing isn't even surprising." Ron says casually.

Considering that they've been doing this for years, it makes sense. I see some sort of pink creature come out of Ron's pocket. It makes a chittering noise, almost like it agrees with Ron.

"Hey, Rufus." Steven greets.

It has a name?! Well, Rufus greets him back...somehow.

"What is that?!" Pacifica yells.

"It looks like a naked mole rat." Candy inquires.

"He is a naked mole rat." Ron confirms.

Well, that answers the question.

"Steven, how come you didn't mention you befriended Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable?!" I ask, kind of accusatory.

"I didn't think much of it." He says, casually.

Sounds about right.

"Are you guys gonna help us defeat the plant monster ghost?" Mabel asks.

"We're gonna try. We don't have experience on ghosts." Kim explains.

"We have experience. We'll help you out." Jazz chimes in.

I hear pacing behind us as Jazz starts explaining her ghost experience. I turn to see Grunkle Ford examining his scanner. He seems paranoid about it. I walk up to him.

"Grunkle Ford, what's wrong?" I ask.

"He's gone." He states quietly and in shock.

"What?"

"The plant monster..he's not showing up on the scanner..." he reiterates.

"He's not in Gravity Falls!?" I yell.

"What?!"

Everyone turns to us in shock. I shouldn't have yelled.

"This creature doesn't appear on the scanner. He's completely vanished from Gravity Falls." Grunkle Ford explains.

"Did you double check?" Wendy asks.

"I triple checked. And nothing."

Where would that thing go?!

- Danny's P.O.V.

Undergrowth went somewhere else? Where did he go?! How are we supposed to--I got it!

"Mr. Pines, did you happen to fix some of the gadgets for the vehicle?" I ask.

"I did. I fixed some of the weapons and...the scanner!" He states as he has his realization.

"Let's go!" Sam yells.

We run towards the front door! What the-- is that snow?!

"It's snowing!?" Kim shouts.

"But it's summer!" Tucker points out.

"No, it's S'winter!" Mabel states.

"Something else is going on." Dipper says.

The snow is blocking everything!

*Gasps*

"Danny, is Undergrowth back? Is he doing this?" Steven asks.

"No, this isn't his doing." I point out.

There's only one ghost that could do this.

"How are we supposed to get out?" Ron asks.

"I could get us out."

We look at Ron's sister.

"Hana, it's not a good idea." Kim says.

"Yeah, Han, you could get hurt. Or get hypothermia." Ron agrees.

She immediately looks sad and accepts it. Poor girl, she really wants to help. She's been wanting to this entire time.

"Hoo."

Spooky!

"Hey, Spooky. Can you breathe out some fire to melt the snow?" I ask.

"Hoo."

Spooky flies over to the doorway.

"Everyone back up." I warn.

Everyone goes back a few steps. Spooky takes a deep breath and spews out a bunch of green fire! The snow starts to melt!

"Go, Spooky!" Mabel yells.

"Meow!"

Summer runs up and quickly helps Spooky out. It's working!

"It looks like there's still snow blockade." Wendy says.

I'll have to check.

"I'll be back." I state.

I go upstairs, away from everybody. I quickly transform and fly through the ceiling. Let's see how far this goes.

.....THERE'S 8 FEET OF SNOW ALL OVER! It isn't just blocking the door, it's blocking the entire area and then some! I'll deal with him later, I need to figure out a faster way to get rid of the snow!

I go back in and transform back. I run downstairs to see everyone still waiting for Summer and Spooky.

"Guys, the entire area is blocked!" I yell.

Everyone screams back "What?!" simultaneously.

"No way!" Pacifica shouts.

Steven runs upstairs and then comes back less than a minute later.

"He's right!" He exclaims.

"What are we gonna do?" Dipper asks.

"There's gotta be a way out." Connie notes.

"Yeah, right! We're gonna be stuck here!" Pacifica yells.

Everyone starts freaking out and arguing! This isn't how things are supposed to go! Summer and Spooky can only do so much. Dani and I can't push ourselves too much, neither can Steven.

"HEEEEEEEEEY!"

The Shack starts to shake and the window suddenly gains a crack! We turn around to see Steven blushing neon pink, looking shocked.

"Stop arguing! We can figure this out. We just need to concentrate." He says.

Holy crud, I have a crazy idea.

"Steven, you have a powerful wail!" I exclaim.

"I do, but I don't like using it." He says looking concerned.

Judging from his expression, I'll just leave him be.

"I'll just use my wail then." I state.

"Danny, that's not a good idea. It could bring the whole shack down!" Jazz notes.

"What if I concentrate it towards the doorway?" I ask.

"Even if you did manage to do it, it's still too dangerous."

Damn it, I guess we're back to square one.

"What if we use some sort of megaphone." Mabel suggests.

"Would that even work?" Wendy asks.

"Does anybody have one?" Kim chimes in.

"I do, I have it the gift shop." Wendy states.

She runs out to get the megaphone. She comes back with it in hand. She presses the button.

"It works totally fine." She says through the megaphone.

"*Sighs* So many memories. I haven't used that since high school." Kim laments.

Wendy gives us the megaphone.

"Here, Danny."

Ford gives me a what looks to be a cone-like object.

"It's to help steady the soundwaves towards the snow." He explains.

"Thank you, Mr. Pines." I say.

I head to the doorway. Alright, if I want this to work...I'll have to transform. I guess I'll have more people knowing my secret.

- Steven's P.O.V.

Whoa, Danny's transforming. Everyone watches as he does. He turns around to see us staring at him.

"Phenomenal." I hear Mr. Ford say in awe.

"Whoa..." I hear Mabel's friends say quietly.

"So my hunch was correct. You are Danny Phantom. " Kim says.

Danny does an awkward smile.

"How'd you know?" He asks.

"Besides the hair color, eye color, and outfit, you don't look any different." She points out.

"Fair enough."

He sighs and turns around.

"I would take a few steps back if I were you." He warns.

We do as he says. He takes a deep breath and lets out the loudest wail I've ever heard. The ground and the shack are shaking like crazy! It's working, the snow is splitting! He walks out as he continues screaming. The snow continues to split as he does.

He suddenly stops and groans. He transforms back and falls to his knees, catching his breath.

"Danny! Are you ok?" I ask, really worried.

"I'm fine...it just took a bit out of me." He explains while panting.

"You should give yourself a break." Jazz states.

"I probably should."

"Is there another way around this?" Dani asks.

*ROAR!*

The snow just blew away!

"Is that a pink lion?!" Ron yells.

"Lion!" I exclaim.

*ROAR!*

"Go, Lion!" I shout.

"He's yours?!" Kim asks.

"Yeah!" I answer.

He blew away the remaining snow!

"Come on!" Sam yells.

We run to the vehicle, only to see that the doors are frozen solid. Are you kidding me?!

"Seriously?!" Wendy yells.

We're wasting time here! I punch the ice and it breaks...along with the window..

"Holy...shallot." Sam says, stunned.

"Ah! Sorry, we're just running out of time here." I say nervously.

"I..could've just...phased through it." Dani states.

I facepalm. Ugggggh, why?

Jazz opens the door and gets into the vehicle. She lets out a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Wendy asks.

"The scanner is broken!" She exclaims.

She moves to show a fizzling scanner!

"Are you kidding me?!" Tucker shouts.

"They...really don't want to be found." Kim notes, shocked.

"Grunkle Ford, do you think you can fix it? Mabel asks.

"I can, but it might take a bit." Mr. Ford admits.

I can't believe this is happening. This ghost made the effort to not get tracked!

"I have an idea." Kim says.

She takes out her phone and presses a button.

"Hey, Kim." I hear.

"Hey, Wade. Can you check if there's anything about a plant monster running around? It's important." She explains.

"Not a problem. I need to know your location and where you last saw the plant monster."

"Same answer for both. Gravity Falls."

"Gravity Falls, Oregon? Incredible! I've heard stories about this place!" He exclaims.

"Can you try to check all of Oregon, as well as the surrounding states?" Ron asks.

"Great idea, Ron! I'll check it out and get back to you soon." Wade states.

"Thanks, Wade." Kim says.

"No problem, guys."

Kim hangs up.

"Hopefully Wade can find something." She says.

"Has he helped you out before?" Mabel asks.

"Loads of times. It's because of him we've been able to do this. He's one of our most trusted friends." Kim explains.

"Have you met a bunch of people while doing this?" Dipper asks, clearly happy.

"Yeah, of course." Kim answers, "I've met all sorts of people. Young, old, and everyone else in between."

"What was the most memorable mission you guys can recall?" Dipper continues.

"Hmm, dealing with aliens..in Hawaii of all places." She states, "Then there's the whole Beverly Hills mission."

"Then there was the city of Townsville." Ron notes.

"Actually, that wasn't a mission. We were just visiting and happened to be there." She corrected.

"As much as we want to hear the stories, we have to catch that plant ghost as soon as possible." Connie points out.

"She's right." Kim says.

*DOO DOO DOO-DOO*

"So, what's the sitch?" She asks.

"There's a lot to unpack here. According to my sources, there are a lot plants and vines running amok all over the U.S.!" Wade exclaims.

"What?!" All of us yell.

"It seems like he has a lot more power than the last time I saw him." Danny notes.

"It'll take forever to find him!" Jazz shouts.

"Not necessarily. The last siting of this monster seems to be in Delmarva of all places." Wade explains.

"Wait..Beach City?!" I yell.

"That's exactly it." He confirms.

"Oh no, the gems!" I shout.

I know that they can take care of themselves, but I can't let Undergrowth invade my hometown. It's already been through enough.

"We have to get there!" Connie exclaims.

"But how?! That's far from here!" Pacifica yells.

...

"GARNET!" I gasp.

"She got here by a warp pad!" Connie chimes in.

"I sure did."

We turn to see Garnet standing next to Lion.

"Garnet!" I yell.

"I can confirm that there's some sort of non-gem plant being in Beach City. Come on, I'll take you guys to the warp pad." She states.

"The lot of you be careful, I'll stay behind to fix the scanner." Mr. Ford says.

Summer and Spooky decide to stay put with Mr. Ford.

Without hesitation, we follow her to warp pad. It was surprisingly nearby, it was just hidden really well.

"To Beach City!" I yell.

It immediately starts working! I haven't traveled like this in so long!

"This is awesome!" Mabel yells.

Candy and Grenda agree with her. I remember when I was like that.

"Aaaah, I don't like thiiiiiiss!" Pacifica shouts.

"This is incredible!" Dipper exclaims while writing in his mini journal.

"This is so weird." Jazz says.

"Traveling this way would be a lot easier." Tucker notes.

"I prefer to fly." Danny says with a smile.

"KP, hold me!" Ron shouts.

"Weeeeeeeee!" Hannie yells.

I see Rufus hanging on to Ron's pocket, looking freaked out.

"I see that you continue to make new friends, Steven. I'm happy for you." Garnet says.

I'm happy for me too.

We finally land on the warp pad. I'm back home. I really did miss it.

"Is this..a greenhouse?" Sam asks.

"Yep, I made this and grew all the plants here." I state.

Sam looks in awe.

"I have a lot to learn from you." She emphasizes.

"No wonder Undergrowth wanted to come to Beach City." Danny notes.

"Either way, we have to find him. And quickly!" Connie says.

Looking behind Connie, I see a vine appear! Danny and Dani's ghost sense activated and they gasp.

"Connie, watch out!" I yell.

She turns around and gasps as the vine goes for her!

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" I scream.

I push her out of the way and I feel it again...the sharp sting. I felt it last time. It hurts!

Everything...is..fading..

I feel cold...and weak. I feel...

- Connie's P.O.V.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I scream.

Not again! Not again!

"Steven!" Garnet yells.

"Stevie!" Hana exclaims.

"Garnet, Hana, no! He'll possess you too if you let your guard down!" Danny shouts.

"We have to get out of here!" Kim exclaims.

"No! We have to help Steven!" I yell back.

I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HIM!

"We'll help him when we get the chance!" Danny yells, "If we try now, we'll--aah!"

"DANNY!" Sam screams.

The vines got him too! His body goes limp and his eyes turn completely green!

"EVERYONE, IN THE HOUSE!" Garnet commands.

Reluctantly, we all follow her...leaving Steven and Danny behind as the vines take them away.

We pass by Steven's old room, which was decorated to suit his dad's tastes. And we finally end up in the living room. We see Amethyst and Pearl fighting off a bunch of plants!

"What is it with these things?!" Amethyst shouts.

"Don't let them possess you!" Garnet yells.

"Garnet, you're back!" Amethyst exclaims.

I take out my sword and I quickly slice the vines.

"Guys, these are vines from a plant monster ghost! These aren't like gems!" I explain quickly, "Don't let the vines possess you!"

"Who are they?!" Amethyst asks, pointing at the others.

"Those are Steven's new friends, they're here to help." Garnet states.

"How are they supposed to help?" Pearl asks, worried.

A bunch of vines and venus fly traps come out of nowhere! Oh no!

*SLING! BOOM!*

"Stay away from our friends, jerks!" Dani exclaims.

"Yeah!" Hana agrees.

Dani is in her ghost form! Jazz and Tucker activate some shields right next to her!

"COME ON!" Tucker screams.

We run and get into the shield without hesitation.

"Cool, it's like Steven's bubble! But green!" Amethyst notes.

"We can admire that later, we have to figure a way out of this." Garnet states.

"Wait, where's Steven?" Pearl asks.

"The vines took him, along with my boyfriend!" Sam states, still frustrated.

"They took him?!" Amethyst yells.

The ground starts to shake under us!

"Everyone! Hold hands!" Dani yells.

"What?! Why?!" Pacifica asks.

"JUST DO IT!"

Everyone does what Dani asks for. I suddenly feel tingly all over..am I turning invisible?!

"Keep holding on!" Dani exclaims.

We move to get away from the onslaught of vines that burst through the floor.

"We're intangible!" Dipper says.

"Exactly! Make sure you hold on, I can only do this for so long!" Dani explains.

"Is there a plan?" Amethyst asks.

More plants burst through the floor, going through us!

"Working on it!" I yell.

We move around even more as the plants keep trying to get us, to no avail. We hear Dani starting to struggle. Her ability is starting to wane!

"What do we do now?" Candy asks.

*BOOM!*

What the--OH MY GOSH!

*BOOM!*

...

...

...

Ugh..what..happened? Everything is blurry and my ears are ringing. What hit us? ...Is that...Garnet? I feel her grab my hand. Is she dragging me?

- Dipper's P.O.V.

Did..something explode?! Where am I? I can't see much of anything! Are the others ok?

"On...dude...!"

Is someone talking to me?

"..Per...up!"

Mabel?

I suddenly feel like I'm not on the ground anymore! Did a vine grab me?! Even if I can't see or hear clearly, I try to get out of it!

"Dude, stop struggling!"

Ron?

"It's fine, I got you!" I hear.

My vision keeps going in and out..I need to be con..scious...

...

...

...

Aah! Cold!

"Dipper!"

"Mabel?" I say.

"You're awake!" Grenda exclaims.

"Thank goodness!" Candy shouts.

"Am I...wet?" I ask.

"Yeah. Sorry, buddy. I had to wake you up somehow." Ron states.

I look around and I see that I'm in an unfamiliar place. Everything has a reddish hue to it. It looks kind of futuristic.

"Where...are we?" I ask.

"We're in the burning room of the temple."

I turn to see one of the gems. She has a gem on her forehead. If I remember correctly...

"You're Pearl, right?" I ask.

"That's right." She says.

"I like your outfit. It's very pretty. " Mabel states.

Pearl blushes.

"Oh, well thank you." Pearl says, still caught off guard.

"We can talk about that later, what are we going to do now?! We're trapped here!" Pacifica exclaims.

Hold on, is it just us? Where are the others?!

"Where's everyone else?" I ask, clearly worried.

"We got split up." Dani states, "A lot of things were happening, so we had to think fast."

This is too much! How are we supposed to defeat this ghost if we can't avoid those vines of his?! We can't slice them off forever, more will grow back in its place!

"Dipper!"

"Huh? Wha--?"

"Dipper, come on!" Mabel says.

Mabel pulls me up and drags me to the group.

"So, in order to defeat Undergrowth, we have to distract him somehow." Ron explains, "We might also have to hold him down."

Rufus comes out of Ron's pocket to chitter(?) in agreement.

"What is that?" Pearl asks, thrown off.

"That's Rufus. He's a naked mole rat." Candy answers.

"How...interesting." Pearl notes.

"Anyway, how are we going to do that?" I ask.

He's a massive plant ghost, there's no way he'll be distracted easily. The only people who can even try and fight him is Dani and Pearl!

"I can hold him down." Ron states.

Him?! What?!

"How?" I ask, accusatory.

"Like this."

Blue energy comes out his hands and I suddenly feel myself being pinned to the ground! What the heck?!

"You have telekinesis?!" I yell.

"Well, duh! How else do you think you got here?" Ron states.

"Did you also mean for your pants to drop down?" I ask.

He looks down to see that his boxers were exposed.

"Again?! Man, I thought I had this under control!" He exclaims.

"It sounds like that happens a lot." Grenda points out.

"It does." Ron admits.

He stops using his telekinesis to pull his pants up. His ability is impressive, and it may be just enough to hold Undergrowth. But how are we going to save Steven and Danny? We can cut off the vines, sure, but what if Undergrowth has a backup plan for them?

"What about Steven and Danny? How are we gonna save them?" I ask.

Everyone looks at me.

"Did you forget about them?"

"We didn't. In fact, I texted KP about it. She and the others will help with them." Ron states.

Before I could say anything else, my stomach grumbles loudly.

"Are you hungry?" Pearl asks.

"Yeah. I haven't eaten anything since this morning...we're not counting the bet earlier." I state.

"I could go for some Bueno Nacho right now." Ron says.

I hear Rufus chitter in agreement...if I didn't know any better, I could've sworn I heard him repeat 'Bueno Nacho'.

"Sorry, we don't have much in the moment. We were able to get a few things while you were knocked out." Pearl explains, "We managed to get some sandwiches, some biscuits and jam, and some bottled water."

"Anything will help." Pacifica states.

************

"Alright, we're all in agreement?" Pearl asks.

We all agree.

"Then let's go!" Ron shouts.

"Yeaaaah!" Mabel yells.

We slowly walk out of the temple into the living room of Steven's house. It's covered with a lot of plant life and vegetation. It's unsettling considering what we're up against. But it's fascinating as well...are those rain clouds?

"Those rain clouds weren't there before." Ron notes.

"Is that Undergrowth's doing?" Pearl asks.

"No. This is the work of a different ghost." Dani states.

"Oh, great. We're dealing with two ghosts." Pacifica complains.

"Who's the other ghost?" I ask.

"His name is Vortex. He has the power to control the weather." Dani answers.

"Oh great, a weather ghost. That's just fantastic." Ron snarks.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse. A weather ghost in cahoots with a giant plant ghost, that's a recipe for disaster!

"We just need to make sure that these plants don't get in our way." Pearl states.

"Then let's go already, it's really creepy in here." Pacifica says.

We move slowly through the house jungle quietly. Despite that, the plants start to move slowly in our direction. Oh boy, this is not good.

"Rooon..." Dani says slowly.

"On it." He says quietly.

He starts getting his ability ready. The plants finally make their move towards us! Ron uses his ability in full force and plants struggle against it.

"Let's go!" He exclaims.

We run towards the door and get out of Steven's house. We slam the door shut up and quickly run downstairs. Ron keeps his hands steady on the house as we head towards the beach. Just as the inside had plants, the outside was also covered with them.

"Booyah! I got us out!" Ron exclaims.

"We can't celebrate just yet. We still have to find the others." Pearl states.

"Plus, we have to save Steven and Danny." Candy chimes in.

"Exactly. So let's keep it moving." Pearl says.

Pearl's right. We can't celebrate yet, not until this is over!

*DOO DOO DOO-DOO!*

Ron gets phone out while fumbling.

"W-Wade! What's up?!" Ron exclaims.

"I found Kim's location. Follow the map." Wade states.

"Gotcha, buddy!"

It's time to follow the map!

*RUMBLE*

The ground is shaking! What's happening?!

"Where do you think you're going?" We hear.

The ground continues to shake as we see Undergrowth appear in front of us!

"Everyone, get behind us!" Pearl yells.

Without hesitation, the plants come head straight for us!

"Oh no, you don't!" Ron yells angrily.

He starts to quickly slash every plant that comes close to us, and Pearl quickly does the same with her spear. Some almost go through, but stops them with his telekinetic abilities. They're trying really hard to protect us and...we can't do anything.

There has to be a way we can help!

- Sam's P.O.V.

Being in Little Homeworld is definitely an experience. The other gems are apparently planning a way to defend their place. Meanwhile with us, we're finding a way to get Danny and Steven back. The only thing we thought of was trying to distract Undergrowth, but Dani and the others are supposed to have that covered. Kim tried to suggest some ideas, but only some of them were considered.

I turn to Connie and the gems, only to see the gems trying to comfort Connie. She's just as concerned as I am.

"It's alright, Connie. We'll get Steven back." Amethyst says.

"Yeah." Garnet agrees.

Connie says nothing.

"Hey, Connie." I call out.

The three of them look up at me.

"Hey, I get it. There are times where I thought Danny would be gone forever. Or that we would never find him again." I start, "But no matter what happened, he would always come back to us somehow. I still hold that belief. For him, and for Steven."

Connie gives me a small smile.

"Thanks, Sam." She says, "And thank you guys too, for trying.

She sighs.

"I just miss my jam bud." She states.

"I haven't heard that in a while." Amethyst says.

"Jam..bud?" Tucker asks.

"Yeah. When we were friends a few years back, we were eating biscuits and jam. While hanging out, we sang a song together about sharing jams." She explains, "So we called each other 'Jam Buds'."

Ok, I'm not exactly all in for cheesy romance stuff...but that's adorable.

"Aww, that's really cute." Kim notes.

"I was actually planning on eating some biscuits and jam with him today for our surprise date..but the plan has obviously changed." She states.

"Big time." Wendy agrees.

"Biscuits and jam sound tasty." Hana says.

"Well, we'll make sure you have that date." Jazz chimes in.

Connie let's out a giggle. At least she's feeling better now.

"Guys?!"

Huh?

"Connie?!"

That's sounds like Danny and Steven!

"Is that Danny and Stevie?!" Hana asks excitedly.

"Wait, they're back?!" Amethyst exclaims.

"Wait..." I say, "It could be a trick, we have to be careful."

"Sam's right. For all we know, it could be a mimic we're hearing." Kim agrees.

"If anything, all three of us will head outside while you guys stay on standby." Connie suggests.

"Let me go with you guys. I can shapeshift into something small and you can use a codeword so that everyone can come charging in!" Amethyst says.

"Not a bad idea." Garnet states.

"What'll be the codeword?" I ask.

"Hmmm...'fun'!" Hana yells.

"That's perfect." Connie notes.

"Fun. Got it." Garnet agrees.

"Alright, let's go." Kim says.

We slowly go outside to see if anyone is out there. We start walking towards the middle of Little Homeworld. We see two figures waiting for us. As we get closer, we see that it really is Danny and Steven! It looks like both of them transformed back to normal.

"Guys, you're here!" Danny exclaims.

"We've been looking all over for you!" Steven says sounding genuinely worried.

"You guys are ok! How did you escape?" Connie asks.

"We managed to take back enough control of our bodies to slice off the vines." Steven explains.

They seem to be ok, but I'm still maintaining my distance.

"Where are the others? We've been looking for them." Danny asks.

"The others are hiding somewhere else." I say cryptically.

"I'm so worried about them. Come on, we need to start looking for them." Steven states.

"Wait, before we do..." Connie starts.

She takes something out from her backpack. It's a bag of biscuits with a small jar of strawberry jam. I don't think that's an appropriate time to get food out.

"I wanted to surprise you earlier, but, since your my bud, I thought I'd show you now. I planned on bringing some of our favorite snacks to our surprise date." She explains.

"That's so sweet, Connie." Steven states happily.

I wonder...is she doing what I think she's doing?

"I was wondering if you want to have these later after this whole thing." Connie continues.

"Of course! It's been a while since I've had biscuits and jelly. Is that strawberry? It looks great!" He exclaims.

"Connie told us about that earlier. It's a cute story. She called you guys 'Jelly Buds', that's true right?" Kim asks.

"Yeah. It's been a while since I've heard that. I can't remember the last time I've been called a 'Jelly Bud'."

...and he just screwed himself over. Now we have to test Danny.

"Speaking of, didn't we talk about asking Connie to go on a double date today?" I ask.

"Oh yeah, we did. Steven and I actually talked about it earlier too." Danny answers.

They're both still possessed by Undergrowth!

"Wait, really? A double date? Wow, that sounds like fun! I would love that!" Connie exclaims.

"It really does!" Steven says excitedly.

We see the others slowly walking up behind them.

"We can talk about it later. Come on, we have to find the others." Danny insists.

"We're right here."

They turn to see the others.

"Garnet! Amethyst!" Steven yells.

"Guys!" Danny exclaims.

Without hesitation, Connie gets out her sword to prepare for combat! And I get ready as well. Steven turns back to say something, but sees Connie with her sword out. Danny does the same with me.

"Connie?" He says, clearly confused.

"Sam?"

"Stop pretending. I know you're still possessing Steven and Danny." She says, with some hurt in her tone.

Steven blinks and his eyes turn completely green! He immediately smiles in this uncharacteristically wicked way. Danny immediately does the same.

"It was the Jelly Bud thing, wasn't it?" He asks, "I like you, you're very smart."

"Oh, Sam. You could've joined Undergrowth again. What a shame." Danny states.

"We could do this the easy way, or the hard way." Tucker says.

Danny transforms into his ghost form while Steven get hoisted up by a long vine.

"The hard way it is then." Kim chimes in.

I notice Steven start to cry and see the droplets land in front of us...on the grass!

"Guys, move!" I yell.

The grass starts to grow where the tears fell, and a few grass Stevens come from it. They grow some swords and head straight towards Connie, Kim, and I! Without hesitation, Connie puts her guard up and manages to fight them off! And Kim, unsurprisingly, does the same. A few more grass Stevens pop up and go after everyone else. Danny starts flying towards me, but Amethyst uses her whip to catch him. She immediately throws him to the wall with her whip!

"Isn't there supposed to be a vine attached to him?!" Amethyst asks.

A grass Steven almost tackles Amethyst! Hana manages to slice the creature without breaking a sweat!

"There is a vine!" Tucker emphasizes.

"Then, where is it?!" She asks again.

Looking at Danny, he doesn't have one. Or rather...it isn't visible!

"It's there, it's just invisible!" I yell.

"Invisible?!" Wendy exclaims.

I suddenly see Steven's vine move around. I turn to see that he was headed towards me! I run and try to turn on the shield. Come on, come on! I see him get closer and I close my eyes as I brace for impact.

"Oh no, you don't!"

I open my eyes to see Tucker in front of me with his shield on! I also see that Steven had crashed into the shield.

"Why you little--what on Earth!?"

Hana just jumped on his back with ease.

"Hi, Stevie! I hope you don't mind a haircut!"

"HAAAAH!"

*SLING!*

It's as if everything happened in slow motion. Connie had jumped in and managed to slice the vine. Steven's wicked face fades, and all that's left is shock. Hana jumps off of his back and rushes back to help Kim. His eyes are turning back to normal and he lifts his arm to remove the remaining vine off the back of his neck. As soon as that happens, the grass Stevens stop fighting and just run off.

"Oh my gosh, are you guys ok?!" Steven asks, worriedly.

"We're ok." Tucker answers.

"There's nowhere to run, Connie!"

Holy crap, Danny knocked everyone else out! And Connie's next! He knocks the sword out of Connie's hand! Kim slides in to fight him! To no one's surprise, Kim dodges Danny's attacks. She gets a few punches in without much hassle. I can see Danny getting frustrated at this as he tries to get some attacks in. Connie runs to get her sword! Danny sees this and uses his ice powers to freeze Kim where she stands!

"Kim!" Steven yells.

He runs over to her to see if he could help her. Danny catches up to Connie and pulls her back away from the sword! Danny closes in to punch her, but Steven catches the fist!

"What the--?!"

"DON'T...TOUCH...COOOOOONNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIE!" Steven screams.

We cover our ears from the scream. His is just as loud and powerful as Danny's! It knocks Danny back and Danny changes back. The vine becomes visible! Without waiting for another second, Steven rips off the vine Danny's neck. From the looks of it, he's panting pretty hard. We run over to them and Connie does the same. Steven looks over to the three of us.

"Steven!" Connie exclaims.

"Connie!" Steven exclaims back.

She rushes into his arms to give him a tight hug.

"Did we hurt you?" He asks, still worried.

"No, no, I'm ok. Did we or Undergrowth hurt you?" She says.

"Who cares?!" He yells, tearing up.

"I do!" She yells back.

She gives him a peck on the cheek. He starts to laugh as he lifts her off the ground and spins her around. This is really cheesy to watch...but this is really sweet.

"Man, I gotta get me a relationship like that." Tucker states.

*Groans*

Danny's waking up!

"Danny?!" We yell simultaneously.

"Whoa, whoa, that was loud! My head hurts." He states.

He's ok! I go down and hug him.

"Huh? Well, I guess you were worried about me." He says.

"Of course I was, you idiot!" I exclaim.

I give him a direct kiss on the lips. I pull back and I see that goofy grin of his.

"Awesome, you guys are ok!"

The others walk up to us with minimal scratches on them.

"I'd say we handled that pretty well." Kim notes.

"Yay! Everyone's ok!" Hana exclaims happily.

"Not quite, little girl!"

Strong winds come our way as Vortex approaches us.

"You really think this is easy? Ha! I'll make this work of art difficult for you!" He yells.

*CLANK*

Garnet hits him over the head with her gauntlets. Vortex immediately goes down hard. Garnet must've hit him hard because he's really disoriented. Kim goes to kick his face but he recovers just in time to go intangible.

"Like I'll let you stop me so easily." He states with a smug grin.

A tornado forms around him and it heads towards us! 

"Everyone hold hands!" Danny yells.

Danny grabs us and makes us intangible before the tornado could hit.

"Vortex, why are you even here? And why help Undergrowth?" Danny questions.

"He clearly needed my genius, ghost child." He boasts.

Last time someone needed his genius, it didn't work out so well. Vlad and Vortex could not work well together due to..creative differences. Hmm...I have an idea!

"No doubt that I agree, but it's a shame! To use your genius to help nature grow! I thought you liked destruction!" I exclaim.

"I do, you ignorant child! Undergrowth promised that I could do that as long I help him with his mission!" He exclaims back, somewhat angrily.

"Did he really? It just sounds like he needed a glorified gardener!" Kim chimes in.

"GARDENER?! I AM VORTEX! MY WEATHER OF MASS DESTRUCTION IS A WORK OF ART, A MASTERPIECE! AND YOU DELEGATE IT TO SIMPLE GARDENING?!" He roars.

A thunderstorm quickly rolls in and lightning starts trying to strike us! He's definitely pissed off now!

"I thought we were supposed to be take you seriously, I guess not!" Danny exclaims.

Vortex roars in anger and starts going after Danny! Danny quickly dodges his attacks with a smile. Being cheeky, are we?

He flies of towards the temple with Vortex following him.

"After them!" Tucker yells.

Danny, don't do anything too stupid.

- Danny's P.O.V.

I didn't think we could trick him a second time, but I guess his ego is really fragile. As I fly towards the beach and temple, I see Undergrowth with the others, tied up in vines!

"Come back, Ghost Child!" Vortex yells.

He shoots out some thunderbolts, but I manage to dodge them in time. The bolts hit Undergrowth, and he lets go of the others!

"What the hell, Vortex?!" Undergrowth yells.

"I was aiming for Phantom!" Vortex yells back.

I fly to everyone else.

"Are you guys ok?" I ask.

"Yeah! If you hadn't come in, we would've been plant minions!" Ron exclaims.

"Yeah, he had just caught us before you came." Dipper explains.

"Guys!"

Everyone else comes over, reuniting all of us.

"KP! Hana!" Ron yells.

"Ron!" Kim yells back.

They quickly hug and Hana joins in.

"Uhhh are they arguing?" Mabel asks.

"They...are." Pacifica responds.

*BOOM! BAM! BOOM!*

And now they're fighting each other. Great.

"Should we just go?" Amethyst asks.

"That's not a good idea." Pearl says.

"But, they kind of just forgot about us." Mabel retorts.

Without warning, a bunch of vines grab ahold of us!

"Just because a fight is happening, doesn't mean I forgot about you lot!" Undergrowth exclaims angrily.

"Aw fiddlesticks!" Mabel yells in annoyance.

"Since you've been waiting patiently, I'll turn you all into my minions. Vortex, I'll deal with you later!" Undergrowth states.

"Hey, you big plant meanie!"

"Huh?"

We see Hana, still on the sand!

"How did you get away?!" He exclaims in confusion.

"I got away cuz you're too slow, dumbface!" She yells triumphantly.

"Oh, snap!" Ron says in shock.

Undergrowth tries to get her, but to no avail. She really is fast, she's just fast at dodging. Even Vortex is trying to get her, still nothing! In the middle of that ruckus, I phase through the vines while Ron uses telekinesis to push the vines off just enough for him to slip through. I fly to Ron just to catch him. I tell him to stay quiet as I hold him.

I have to find a way to use my ice ability without them noticing. Or rather, without them trying to stop it from happening. I tried that earlier, but something stopped me from doing it. I can try to do what I did last time, but he has Vortex with him. There's gotta be another way to distract both of them.

We go up to Steven and Amethyst, who are still struggling. Amethyst manages to free her arm and gets out her whip. She starts whipping at Steven's vine and purple fire comes out of it.

Now I have an idea! I use my ability to phase him and Amethyst through. Steven doesn't fall, but rather slowly and quietly floats down. Amethyst manages to shapeshift into an owl and stays next to Steven. I tell them about about my idea. We manage to get everyone out of the vines without Undergrowth and Vortex noticing. We each tell them the plan quietly and each one agrees.

"Steven, you know what to do." I state.

"Right."

He quickly runs off.

There's a moment where Hana looks like she's about to get caught, but suddenly disappears in a flash.

"What the--!"

"Yoo hoo!"

Undergrowth sees 'Steven', actually disguised Amethyst, and Hana sitting on his shoulder, waving at him.

"They've escaped!" Vortex yells.

Amethyst and Hana leave in a flash. That's when the ghost duo sees everyone back on the sand.

"That's it!" Vortex yells.

Wind suddenly gets blown our way. Dani and I use our shield to cover everyone. 

"Everyone ready?" I ask.

Everyone confirms they're ready.

Dani and I grab everyone and turn invisible.

"Oh no, you don't!" Undergrowth yells.

He uses his plants to catch us, but it doesn't work.

"Hey, Undergrowth!" Ron yells, "Over here!"

He and Vortex try to get him, but he uses his telekinesis to stop them in their place.

"Mind if we jump in?" Kim says with a smirk.

That's when Kim and Hana slash the vines! Kim also manages a kick to Vortex's face. They break free from Ron's telekinesis and try to get them, however I turn them invisible and intangible just in time. 

Meanwhile, the gems manage to get a few attacks in with Vortex. Every time he tries to hit one of them, one of them disappears and another appears elsewhere to attack. Dani is doing great here! She even gets her own attacks in. Vortex gets in a lightning attack on Garnet...and she didn't even flinch!

"Wow, I guess that's all you got." Garnet states calmly with a smirk.

"Ohhh, you got burned!" I hear Wendy yell.

Damn. If he wasn't already pissed off, then he sure is now! Dani and the gems continue their attacks while the rest of us continue with Undergrowth. Kim, Ron, and Hana are definitely providing good attacks. Everyone else is providing a good distraction.

The weather starts to get worse, going from raining, to thunderstorms, to even a snowstorm. Yes, that's perfect!

"A snowstorm? Nice try, it's barely cold out here!" Mabel yells.

"Yeah, hardly a masterpiece!" Dipper loudly agrees.

"It's garbage!" Wendy screams.

"Vortex, you traitor! I told you not to--"

"BOTTOMS UP!"

Steven throws in some big modified peppers into Undergrowth's mouth while flying above him! Undergrowth starts to choke as the peppers go down his gullet!

Let's hope this works!

- Dipper's P.O.V.

He did it! Let's just hope it takes effect!

"What was that?!" Undergrowth yells in confusion.

"Peppers!" Steven exclaims.

"Why peppers?!" Vortex asks.

Steven lands next to us.

"No reason." He says while shrugging.

Caught off guard, Kim takes the opportunity to kick Vortex down!

"Now, Tucker!" Kim screams.

Tucker takes out the Fenton Thermos and quickly uses it on Vortex. He screams out as he's being sucked in. That's one down!

"You think you can stop me?!" Undergrowth yells.

"I mean I've stopped you before." Danny states with a smile.

"Fool! I have become more powerful than you can imagine! I refuse to let this set me bac--AAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

THEY WORK! Undergrowth is spitting out fire!

"Go now, Danny!" I yell.

"Oh n-naw y-yaw d-aaaaah!" Undergrowth yells incoherently

A blue aura suddenly surrounds Undergrowth.

"Go, dude!" Ron yells, "I can only hold him for so long!"

Danny quickly disappears while Undergrowth tries to fight back. Undergrowth starts shrinking in size while still breathing out fire. Danny reappears in front of us after a few seconds. We watch as Undergrowth finishes breathing out fire. He's still a big size, but he's just about ten feet taller than all of us now. He definitely looks exhausted. He falls to the sand with a big impact. We walk towards him and stand above him. Dani points the Fenton Thermos at him.

"You...you are an impressive and powerful lot. I can at least respect that." He states exhaustedly, "But...I wonder how long it'll take for you to get rid of my children. They won't go away after I'm gone. They'll only just remain."

He then gives off a condescending smirk. Dani turns on the Fenton Thermos and he gets sucked into it, still smiling.

...

It's over...finally.

************

*Later*

"Who wants some Cookie Cats?" Steven asks.

Everyone chimes in to try some. Huh, so these are Cookie Cats. Steven realized that we never tried them, so he offered to make them. According to him, they stopped originally stopped making and selling them. So he decided to make them himself not too long ago. Here goes nothing...

...

Whoa, these are good!

"Hey, Steven?" Sam starts.

"I know what you're going to say, and yes, they're safe for you to eat. They're vegan Cookie Cats." He says happily.

"I'm impressed." She states.

"They're vegan?!" Tucker and Ron exclaim.

Steven laughs and confirms it for them. They look back at each other and shrug. They continue to eat the treats, along with everyone else. Vegan or not, they're really good.

"These are delicious!" Mabel exclaims excitedly.

"They are!" Dani agrees.

"You should make food for us often." Wendy suggests.

"Can I hire you as my personal chef?!" Pacifica exclaims.

Everyone laughs at Pacifica's outburst while she blushes. This is nice. I'm glad we could finally relax. Today has been kind of rough. It would've been worse if Kim and Ron weren't here to help.

"It's nice to finally take a break. This whole thing took all day." Kim notes.

"It sure did. It didn't help that we had to get rid of the plants." Ron says.

"Normally they go away by themselves, but I guess not this time." Danny states.

"Didn't Undergrowth say that his 'children' will still be here, even after he's gone?" Wendy asks.

"He did say that..." Dani agrees.

I see Steven look away sadly. Everyone else takes notice.

"Hey, I know that look. Steven, it wasn't your fault." Connie chimes in, "You were under his control."

"I know." He says.

"Stevie!" Hana yells.

"Yeah?"

"Don't be sad! Be happy! We're a-ok!" Hana says happily.

Steven forms a smile.

"Alright." He states quietly.

"I feel a bit at fault too, so I get where he's coming from." Danny chimes in.

"Be happy, Danny!" Hana yells quickly.

"Alright, alright." He says while chuckling.

Everyone laughs again. I'm glad things are ok. But I get the feeling that's it not fully over yet. What Undergrowth said bothered me a bit. Did he mean nature in general, or the plants that he grew along with Steven's abilities? Either way, it's a cause for concern. Hopefully I'm not thinking too much into this.

I see everyone having a good time. I'm glad we can have this moment. Though, there's been something at the back of my mind.

"Hey, Kim?" I call out.

"Yeah, Dipper? What's up?" She asks.

"I didn't get to ask earlier, but..why did you guys come to Gravity Falls?" I ask.

"For the most part? A road trip vacation." She states.

"Road trip vacation?" Mabel asks.

"Yeah. Ron and I graduated college not too long ago. So I suggested that we just travel the states. I got somewhat inspired by Steven's idea." She explains, "We rarely get to travel for relaxation. We usually travel for missions."

That makes sense. Considering what they do, they must get exhausted from time to time.

"You said 'for the most part', was this also mission-related?" Jazz asks.

"A little bit, the government asked me to check Gravity Falls. I said I would keep an eye out, but that was about it." Kim answers.

Huh, I'm not surprised.

"Speaking of, did you actually meet Steven while he was traveling?" Connie asks.

"We did. He ended up in our hometown." Ron answers.

"Hey Connie, did Steven tell you about meeting us?" Kim asks.

"He did, and I couldn't believe him!" Connie exclaims.

"She's helped me with Gem and space stuff, yet that was unbelievable to her!" Steven chimes in.

"Now I'm curious, how did you meet him?" Danny asks.

"Alright, I'll tell the story." Kim says.

Kim explains how they met. Apparently it involved Steven unintentionally saving Hana and them catching the aftermath of him saving her. Sort of a normal helping circumstance rather than a dangerous one. They ended up inviting him out for some Bueno Nacho and they got to know each other. Steven and Hana confirmed that's how it happened.

"Ok, that's kind of funny." Wendy says.

"Haha, you're right." Steven agrees.

So that explains everything. Speaking of, I should ask them.

"Hey Kim, Ron?" I call out.

"Yeah?"

"What's up, buddy?"

"Can you do us a favor?" I ask.

************

- Kim's P.O.V.

"So, Ms. Possible. Did anything occur in your time in Gravity Falls?"

I think about my answer...and the promise I made to Dipper.

"No, not really. It was surprisingly mundane." I finally answer.

I don't know how, but, the town itself managed to hide the whole Undergrowth fiasco from the public. They where the only place that managed to do so. I'm surprised that I was asked to keep it a secret, but it's no big.

"Yeah, it was boring. But kind of chill too." Ron chimes in.

"Well, we appreciate you two even looking into this on your vacation time."

"No problem, dude." Ron says.

Let's hope things calm down after this. What Undergrowth said has made me suspicious. 

I guess we'll have to look into it in our own time.

Chapter Text

A/N: This is a warning! Really cheesy romance stuff incoming! And this is a short chapter too. Hope you enjoy!

- Steven's P.O.V.

Yesterday was a rollercoaster, and not the fun kind! It was too stressful. I should be happy to be going on a date, but I feel nervous.

I managed to get my ukulele before getting back to Gravity Falls. It's been a while since we've sang or played together.

"Steven? Are you ready?"

Connie walks up to me with a picnic basket in hand and a violin in the other. Looks like she changed into a dress with flats. And a sun hat too. She looks beautiful as usual!

I see the girls, Waddles, Summer, and Spooky, a few feet away from her, smiling at us.

"I'm ready." I state.

"Great! Let's go!" She exclaims excitedly.

She grabs my hand and pulls me away.

"Have fun!" Mabel yells out.

"You better give us the details later!" Wendy says loudly.

I hear Waddles oink in agreement as we leave the shack.

"Do you like the dress? Mabel picked it out for me." Connie asks.

"Of course I do." I answer.

Mabel picked well. Connie's dress colors match her well. A gradient of white to yellow to blue, from top to bottom. With blue flats to match. Huh, it seems like her dress has pockets.

"Do I look ok?" I ask.

"You look great." She states.

I decided to go with a blue and pink plaid shirt and grey jeans. With my usual pink sandals.

This is our first date in a long while. I want to make sure I don't mess it up. I even have the present ready for her. I feel myself getting a bit sweaty, especially my hands. Am I blushing? I feel my face getting warmer.

"This is it! The perfect spot for our picnic." She states.

I look to see the area. Good amount of sun, good amount of shade, and a nice grassy area. She's right, it's perfect. She gently grabs my hand and guides me to the spot. We set up the picnic without a hassle. She got out sandwiches, milkshakes, and biscuits and jam! This puts me in the perfect mood!

"🎵 Connie, come on and jam with meee.🎵" I start as I strum the ukulele.

"With you?" She asks.

"🎵Yes-siree🎵"

"Oh you." She says as she starts playing her violin.

"🎵You expected it, riiight?🎵"

"🎵With all of miiight🎵"

"🎵What a beautiful sight🎵"

"🎵It's perfectly right"🎵

We continue to sing along as we play our instruments. As we finish, we laugh happily.

"Steven, look!" Connie exclaims quietly as she points behind me.

I turn to see a pair of deer, a group of rabbits, three squirrels, and some birds behind me. They must've heard us singing.

"That's so cute!" I exclaim quietly.

Connie takes out her phone to take a picture of the scene. She excitedly shows me the picture and it looks great!

"I can't wait to show this to Mom and Dad. This is so...I see something red and pointy poking out of the tree in the picture." She notes.

I look and see that she's right. I remember seeing that! We turn back to the scenery and still see the shape in front of us. It moves and out pops out that gnome from a few weeks ago! I think the twins told me his name is Jeff?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to photobomb you." Jeff says.

"That's...a gnome." Connie simply states.

"That's Jeff the Gnome. Anyway, I remembered you were causing a lot of trouble in the forest lately. I was about to confront you, but I saw you were singing with your lovely girlfriend here." He explains, "Since you're clearly on a date, I'll let it slide for now. You better treat her like the queen she is, or we'll make her our queen."

Connie starts to giggle.

"I..don't think he's joking. Considering what Mabel told me, he's probably 100% serious about the queen thing." I explain.

"Oh."

"One last thing...can you guys sing again?" Jeff asks, "We don't get a lot of performances like that in the forest."

We look at each other and shrug.

"Alright. One more time." Connie says.

"Hot dog!" Jeff exclaims happily.

We start to sing our song again while playing our instruments. Jeff and the other gnomes watch in awe along with the animals. It wasn't necessarily a big thing, but performing with Connie is something I always treasure. As we finish, the gnomes applaud our performance.

"Thank you for the lovely performance." Jeff says, "Come on, everyone. Let's leave the young couple to their date."

With that, the gnomes, and some the animals, leave us to our picnic.

"I never thought I would perform for some gnomes." Connie states.

"Same here." I agree.

We laugh and start unwrapping our sandwiches. I feel a little less nervous now. I just hope that things go smoothly.

"How's your job been lately?" Connie asks.

"Oh, it's been great." I answer.

"Has the that crazy Karen lady come back?"

"Only once, but I handled it."

"That's good. Has any other crazy thing happened? You know, before..yesterday?"

"Me and everyone else got sucked into video game last week."

"You what?"

I explain the Saturday Night Spunkin' thing that happened last week. I didn't skip any details.

"Whoa, that sounds cool..and kind of terrifying." She notes, "I'm glad you guys are ok."

We continue to have conversations about how the summer was being spent. Connie had been checking up on the gems for me. Apparently one of those stories involved Peridot and Bismuth causing some sort explosion in Little Homeworld. Everyone involved is ok. I asked her how her friends were and she talked about them. She even told me that they want me to hang out with them again sometime!

"Hey, did you happen to make any more friends?" She asks.

"Yeah, a few more." I state.

I honestly didn't think I would. I traveled and met people, but I didn't make many connections. I thought that Kim, Ron, and Hana would be the closest I would get to friends. But then I met everyone else. And we've gotten so close in the past few weeks.

We finish our picnic and clean everything up. We start heading out.

"So where are we going next?" Connie asks.

"You'll see." I say cryptically.

I got to have some surprises.

************

"Surprise!" I exclaim.

"It's a mini golf course!" Connie exclaims, "I've been wanting to go to one for a while!"

I grab Connie's hand and we head in. We get everything ready to start playing.

"You go first." I say politely.

"Why, thank you. Such a gentleman."  She says back.

She starts to analyze her surroundings and then swings her golf club. The golf ball ends up near the hole and slowly rolls into it. Connie cheers in excitement while I cheer along with her. This is going to be so fun!

*A few hours later*

"Hey, you did great, Steven." Connie says, trying to comfort me.

I didn't realize I would be so bad at this. Connie handled it like a pro! I barely got half in!

"I appreciate the effort, Connie." I state.

Actually, considering what the twins told us, there are living golf ball people in the mini golf course. That might be half of the reason why I didn't do so great? Or maybe I'm just overthinking it and I'm not great at this. Regardless, I had fun playing mini golf. We start to leave the course as we talk about how fun the game was.

...I haven't given her the present yet. I've been so eager, just waiting for the perfect time. I just really hope she likes it.

We continue to walk around the town for the rest of the day, just talking and laughing about stuff. We eventually end up at the lake. The moon is out and reflecting in the lake water. There's little to no people around. We sit down on the ground and Connie looks at the sky. A shooting star passes by as we look.

"It looks so beautiful tonight." She states calmly.

"I know." I say as I look at her, "Really beautiful."

I think it's the perfect time to do it! I start to take out the present out of my pocket.

"I have something for you!" We exclaim simultaneously.

Huh? She has something for me?

"Wait, you do?" We ask simultaneously.

We both pull out a little wrapped box, with similar colors and design. We look at each other and exchange the presents. I see Connie react to the necklace. The necklace has a crescent moon on it with a star in the middle of it. I open mine to see that it's a charm bracelet! With moon and star charms!

"You..got me a bracelet." I state in awe.

"You got me a necklace." She says in awe.

"It's...a promise..necklace." I reveal.

She looks at me in surprise.

"I..didn't want you to think it was another proposal...so I thought...giving a promise necklace is a good compromise." I explain hesitantly, "U-unless you want it to be a normal necklace, w-which is perfectly fine..I just wanted you to have something nice.."

I feel myself getting nervous. She probably did think that it was another proposal! Why do I keep rambling?!

"Steven..."

I shut up to hear her response.

"This is so sweet. It's beautiful." She states calmly, "I love it."

She hugs me and gives me a quick kiss on the lips.

"Don't worry, I know it's not a proposal. A promise necklace is perfect. Thank you." She says with a smile.

...I LOVE HER! I start to cry a lot! I blubber out that I'm glad that she loves the necklace! She deserves something nice!

"A-and I l-love the bracelet! *Sniff* It's s-so cool, just like you!" I cry out, "T-thank you!"

"Aww, come here." She says.

She gets closer and start petting my head to calm me down. As she does it, I see Gobbie pop out of the water.

"Hey, Gobbie." Connie greets.

Gobbie tilts her head in confusion.

"Don't worry, he's fine. He just got very emotional." She states.

"*Sniff* I'm fine." I croak out.

Gobbie nods as she understands the situation. She goes back into the water to leave us alone. I continue to cry for the next few minutes while Connie continues to comfort me.

"Are you better now, Steven?" Connie asks.

"I'm fine. I'm just really happy." I answer.

"Hehe, I figured."

We start to laugh a little at my reaction.

"It's getting late. Let's head back to the Shack." I state.

"Alright, let's go." She says, "I have to go back home anyway."

I grab and carry her bridal style. I jump high and start to kind of fly with her.

"Whoa!" She exclaims.

"Sorry. I should've warned you." I say.

It's pretty dark out, I don't want to risk anything. We float towards the direction of the Mystery Shack.

"This is so cool." I hear Connie say quietly.

I smile. Aah, I'm so happy! I'm the luckiest guy in the whole universe!

We finally reach the Mystery Shack and I land slowly. I see Lion approach us as we do.

"I wish you didn't have to go." I say.

"Same here." She says, "But I'll visit again in a few weeks."

I'm glad I'll get to see her again, at least.

"Before you go, may I have a short dance with you?" I ask, extending my hand towards her.

She chuckles.

"You may." She answers.

I do a waltz-type dance with her. As we dance, I spin her around and finish it with a dip. I kiss her for a few seconds. As I finish, I see her blushing and looking surprised.

"Oh my.." she says quietly while smiling.

"I hope you have a good night, Connie." I say happily.

"Same here."

We turn to see Wendy, Danny, and the twins standing at the doorframe. How long were they there for?!

"I hope you guys have a good night too." Connie says happily.

Connie heads towards Lion. Lion lets Connie go on his back. She waves goodbye at us as Lion opens up a portal and they leave. Ugggh I miss her already.

"That was a smooth move, Steven." Danny states.

"That was so romantic." Mabel states all starry eyed.

"It seems like you guys had a great date." Wendy notes.

I sigh happily.

"Annnd we lost him." Dipper says.

Today was a great day.

Chapter Text

- Dipper's P.O.V.

...

...

...

*Yawns*

What time is it? I grab my phone to look at the time. 10:15am is shown on the screen. Ok, it's a decent time to wake up. I look over to Mabel, who's cuddling Waddles. Both of them are still asleep. I can hear her slightly muttering about guys and romance again. I guess she really liked Steven's recounting of his date last night.

She suddenly stirs awake. Waddles wakes up and confusedly looks at her.

"Good morning, Dipper." She says.

"Good morning, Mabel." I say, "Waddles."

Waddles oinks in response.

"Let's get today started!" She exclaims.

She jumps out of bed and runs out the door while Waddles follows her out. I get up and grab my mini journal. It's time to get the day started.

*A few minutes later*

I walk downstairs to see Mabel and Waddles sitting at the kitchen table. Mabel is enthusiastically chanting 'Pan-cakes! Pan-cakes! Pan-cakes!' and slamming her fists on the table. Sure enough, I smell pancakes. I turn to see Steven putting pancakes on the plate.

"Here you go, Mabel." Steven says.

He sets the plate down and we see that the pancakes are in the shape of hearts. And they have whipped cream and strawberries at the top. Considering that he just had a date yesterday, he's definitely a happy guy right now. Steven walks back to the stove.

"He's totally in love." Mabel whispers happily to me.

"Here, Dipper." Steven says with a smile.

Sure enough, I got a plate too. I have no complaints.

"I smell pancakes." I hear.

We turn to see the adults coming into the kitchen.

"Steven is making them." I say.

"You guys want some?" Steven asks.

"I call dibs on the next ones!" Grunkle Stan exclaims.

And so, Steven makes everyone else breakfast. The adults notice the heart shape of the pancakes.

"Why are they hearts?" Grunkle Stan asks.

"Steven and Connie had a date yesterday." Mabel states.

"He's in a really happy mood." I say.

"That's adorable." Melody says.

"Young love." Soos states.

"I don't think anything can ruin his good mood today." Mabel says.

I sigh and facepalm.

"Famous last words, Mabel. Famous last words." Grunkle Ford states.

Without warning, I see Wendy coming into the kitchen. She greets us casually while a bit out of breath. Steven offers her breakfast and she accepts it. We casually talk about what today's plans are.

"Wendy, why are you out of breath?" Grunkle Stan asks.

"Oh, yeah, I ran over here to see if you guys wanted to check out something mysterious I found." Wendy states.

"Something mysterious?" I ask.

"Yeah, something around the hanging cliffs." She answers.

She further explained how she found it while spending time with her friends. Mabel and I decided to check it out. We get some things prepared. I even get a backpack and a jar for good measure. Steven declined to join us and said he would stay behind. As we finished preparing, we immediately headed out to the hanging cliffs. On our way there, we ran into Danny and Sam. They also declined. It didn't take take too long to reach the area.

I remember being here last year...before Grunkle Ford nearly got taken away by the alien machinery..and before Weirdmageddon..

"Let's go." Wendy says.

We carefully go down and get near the area where the UFO is located. I suddenly have a bad feeling about this...

"Is this the area you and Mr. Pines went to last summer?" Wendy asks.

"Yeah." I answer.

"Whoa, look at that!" Mabel exclaims.

We look to see the same area that I went to last year and see that there's a machine there! No, it's got to be another alien spaceship! There's no way...right?

We run to it to get a closer look. It's definitely a lot smaller, but there's no doubt that it's a spaceship of some kind!

"This is what I found earlier." Wendy states.

"How long has it been here for?" I ask.

"I don't know. It doesn't look like it got here recently, though." She explains.

Judging by its appearance, it must've been here for a few months! Its size is enough for us to look into. The door suddenly opens while we back away in shock.

"Let's go check it out." Mabel says.

"Let's go in carefully." Wendy suggests.

Wendy gets her phone out and turns on the flashlight. Mabel and I do the same while we walk in. This spaceship already looks more polished, but slightly less advanced than the first one. I write observational notes down in my mini journal as we walk through.

"Whoa, it's so cool in here." Mabel says.

"It kind of is." Wendy agrees.

"Ehh, the other one was a lot more interesting." I retort.

It's not like last one. This one looks more like a ship rather than a disc shape. The colors are even different. Rather than a silvery color, this one mostly consists of dark red with some black and purple. This spaceship is much more stranger than the UFO. Even the writing on the screen is completely different. I put down some more notes in my journal. The aliens that owned this ship were definitely not the same type of species that Grunkle Ford and I talked about for the UFO.

We notice a few devices and small screens throughout the ship. We also see empty and broken seats at the front.

"It looks like there was a picture here." Wendy notes.

It's slashed...that's creepy. There's an inscription below it.

"#1...ken captain?" Mabel reads.

Ken? Is that supposed to be the name of the species? Or is it the captain's name? The name is also slashed, so I can't tell.

We continue to walk around the area, being careful to not set off any traps. A lot of things are broken down in here. Hmm? There's a digital board here...with a calendar? It's in the same weird language, but a date is shown and repeated through a low audio recording. This...this spaceship crash landed last year in October, a little over a month and a half after Mabel and I left Gravity Falls! Wendy's eyes widened.

"So that's why we had a power outage in October!" Wendy exclaims.

"Power outage?" Mabel asks.

"In October of last year, we had a sudden power outage that lasted for two weeks. No one knew why it happened. This must be the reason for it." Wendy explains.

There's got to be more to it than just that. We keep moving until I hit something with my foot. I look down to see it's a...spotty backpack? It's much smaller than the one I brought. I can probably have Grunkle Ford look over it. I pick the object up and I put it in my backpack.

"There's a giant screen over there." Mabel points out, "And it's on!"

We look to see that it's true! Although, the screen looks damaged. We walk over to see that a recording of some kind is playing. The audio is cutting out a bit, but it's functional otherwise. The video quality on the other hand is wonky. Movement can be seen throughout it.

"My *zzzt* sirs! We've crash landed on Earth! Something *zzzt* attacking us! *Zzzt* don't know what *zzzt* do! *Zzzt* It's getting ins--*zzzt* AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH--*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzztttttttttt.....*"

We stood there, silent. What was that?! What happened to the crew of this ship?! Even though the audio wasn't the best, they were speaking full blown English and expressing fear about getting attacked by something!

"I...don't know if I want to be in here anymore." Mabel says, clearly worried.

"Same." Wendy says, agreeing with Mabel.

Suddenly Mabel screams as we see two mechanical hands grab her shoulders!

"In..tru..ders...should..not...be.."
*THUNK*

A small robot falls on the floor...it has a slash on the back! Was it clinging on to stay activated?! Wendy shines her flashlight to reveal about a dozen destroyed robots! It looks like they've slashed to pieces!

*Hiiiiiisssss*

What was that?!

*ALARM NOISE*

"AAAHHH!"

"MABEL!" I yell.

Mabel's caught in a mechanical trap! A machine comes out in front of Mabel!

"Scanning...NOT *ZZZT*. INTRUDER."

The machinery is taking her!

"DIPPER! WENDY!"

"MABEL!" Wendy and I yell simultaneously.

We follow the machinery taking Mabel! This is can't be happening! Not again! We can't catch up! I can't catch up! No, no, no, no!

I can't breathe...what's going on?! The ship is warping around me! Where did Wendy go?! Wait...the ship..it's...the UFO?! No, it can't be possible! Was this a trick?! What's this circle appearing in front of me?! Is that...Grunkle Ford?! Is he trapped again?!

"FIX THE RIFT! SAVE THE UNIVERSE, DIPPER!" He yells as he gets taken away!

No, that's not possible! I don't have the...the...aah! I have the rift in my hands again! I can't breathe, this can't be happening!

*CRASH*

The rift exploded!

"Piiiiine Treeeee."

No....NO!

"Just when I thought it couldn't be better. You brought me back!"

There's no way! He's gone...he's gone...he's not here..

"Quite dumb of you to assume. Of course I'm here! You brought me back...and I'm here to have fun again!"

No...

"Starting with YOU!"

He's coming straight for me!

"Dipper..."

Even though I can't breathe, I'm not going down without a fight!

"Dipper..."

"BRING IT ON, BILL! I WON'T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!" I screech.

I run towards him screaming despite my condition. I won't go down this time!

"DIPPER!"

He grabs my shoulders and starts shaking me!

"Dipper! It's me, Wendy!"

"W-what?" I stutter, still breathing heavily.

Everything starts to turn back into darker color and Wendy suddenly appears in front of me.

"Wendy?!" I exclaim.

"Dude, are you ok?! You just called me Bill!" She asks.

"I--"

"HELLLLP!"

Mabel!

"Come on!" Wendy exclaims.

She grabs my hand and we book it to Mabel! We arrive to see her in a glass container, similar to what we saw in the bunker last year! Mabel is banging her fists on the glass in desperation!

"No! I don't want to trapped and imprisoned again! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" Mabel yells.

She starts having an issue with breathing and freaks out even more!

"No! I didn't do it this time! DON'T HATE ME!" She screams while gasping for air.

"Mabel?!" I yell.

She looks absolutely terrified!

"Mabel! You're ok!" Wendy exclaims.

"W-wendy?" Mabel stutters.

"Yeah, it's me. You're with us. Wherever you think you are, it's not real." Wendy states.

"It's...not?" Mabel asks.

"No, it isn't. Try to relax yourself. We got you."

Mabel slowly relaxes herself and takes a deep breath. She lets out a sigh and opens her eyes.

"I'm back!" Mabel exclaims, "Now can you guys help me out of here?"

*Hiiiiiisssss*

Holy crud, giant snake! The three of us scream as the giant snake lunges towards Wendy and I! I quickly grab my backpack and hit it in the face! It roars in frustration! Wait...is that a...it's a gem on its chest!? Of course it is!

"It's a corrupted gem!" I yell.

"We need to poof her, then!" Wendy states loudly.

As we try to not to get hit by the gem, Wendy and I look for something sharp. The gem turns her head towards Mabel and projectile vomits liquid to the container. It melts in seconds! She's going after Mabel!

"Oh no you DON'T!" Mabel yells as she kicks the gem square in the face.

She quickly runs out and grabs what looks to be a spear. Before she can use it, the gem snake's tongue extends and grabs the spear! The spear gets thrown across the room and hits the metal wall!

"Oh, come on!" Mabel exclaims in frustration.

On the ground, I see what looks to be a ray gun on the floor! While the snake is cornering Mabel, I get her attention and quietly point at the object. She gives a simple nod and backs up again. Wendy decides to throw some debris at the gem snake while yelling at her to get her attention. The snake gets frustrated and comes after us again!

"EAT THIS, YOU BUTTFACE!" Mabel screams.

She shoots the snake gem with an energy beam! The snake roars until it finally poofs! A blue gem comes out of the smoke and a clink can be heard as it hit the metal floor. We group up to look at it closer.

"Do you think it attacked the crew?" Wendy asks.

"Probably?" I state, sounding unsure.

"But that doesn't make sense. The corrupted gem had a snake form. The robots look like they were slashed to pieces." Mabel says, "Unless she used her mouth to destroy them, but even then it sounds like a lot of work."

She's has a point. Although not impossible, the chances are low. Either the gem did it or...something else did. Speaking of the gem, we don't have Steven here to bubble it. It might reform again if we don't do anything.

"So...how are we going to take this gem back to Steven?" Wendy asks.

Mabel gasps.

"Dipper, your jar!" Mabel says.

Of course! I don't know if it's similar to Steven's bubble, but it'll make do for now. I open the jar and put the gem inside.

"Lemme put the gun in your backpack." Mabel states.

"Why?" I ask.

"It's Grunkle Ford to look at later." She explains.

I shrug and let her put the gun in the backpack.

"ERROR! ERROR! EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN HAPPENS IN 1 MINUTE!"

"Let's get the hell out of here, now!" Wendy yells.

We immediately book it to get out of the spaceship!

*Less than a minute later*

We collectively breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was close." Wendy states,"I thought we'd be trapped in that thing."

I open my backpack to check on the things we got. The weird spotty backpack and the jar were perfectly intact. We better take this to Grunkle Ford and Steven ASAP.

"Sooo, are we going to talk about what happened to the both of you back there?" Wendy asks.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mabel states.

We both exactly what she's talking about...but I guess neither of us want to admit it. What I saw, what she saw...it felt so real. It felt like I went back in time to witness those awful moments again. It felt so real that I almost punched Wendy in the face because of it! I thought it wouldn't happen again...but I keep being proven wrong..

"I think you do know...but if it's difficult for you guys to talk about right now, then I won't bring it up again." Wendy says.

"...Thanks, Wendy." I say quietly.

She gives us an understanding smile.

"Now, come on. Let's go back to the Shack before that gem bursts out of the jar." Wendy says.

We start to head back to the Shack without any problems. I wonder...how did the others spend their day? I'm sure that Steven probably spent it either working or relaxing. And I can only assume that Danny and Sam were on a date of their own. Well, we'll never know until they tell us. Maybe their day was a lot more normal than ours?

"Finally, we're back!" Mabel exclaims.

I agree with that. It's good to be back at the Sha--what the heck?

"Heeey guys." Steven says with a slightly nervous tone.

Who are they?!

Chapter Text

- Danny's P.O.V.

"A date?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, why not? It's been a while since our last date." I state.

"That's true." She says.

"You guys should totally go out. We can handle the workload." Dani suggests.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"We got this, dude." Tucker reassures us.

"Yeah. Go have fun!" Jazz exclaims.

Sam and I look at each other and we shrug. We get out of the assault vehicle and we hear the door lock. They drive off, leaving us behind. I know that they can handle themselves.

"Well, do you want to go somewhere specific?" I ask.

"Hmm..how about the arcade?" She suggests with a smirk.

"No way." I state with a grin.

As fun as it sounds, I'd rather not go into the arcade again. At least, not for a while.

"How about the diner?" I ask.

"Sure, I could go for something to eat." She says.

We start walking to Greasy's Diner while talking. While on our way, we run into Wendy and the Pines twins. It looks like they're going to some place. Something about the hanging cliffs? They've told us a bit about that place before. I wonder what they'll find over there.

"We're here." Sam states.

We walk inside and greet Lazy Susan.

"Aww, another lovely couple!" Lazy Susan exclaims.

I see Sam blush slightly with a smile.

"Have you seen many couples in here?" I ask.

"I've seen plenty!" She answers.

We walk up to a table and we sit down. Lazy Susan takes our order and goes to the kitchen to prepare it.

"Damn..." I hear.

"Cute.."

I look to my right to see two random guys staring at us.

"Just ignore them, Danny. They're idiots." Sam says.

"Alright." I agree.

She grabs my hand softly and smirks. I feel myself starting to blush. It's nice to see that she still wears the ring I gave her. We start talking about what we should do for the rest of the day. We came to the conclusion that we don't know and we're just going to wing it.

"Here you go, lovebirds." Lazy Susan says as she sets our plates down.

"Thank you." I say.

"You're welcome, sweetie."

We start to dig into our food.

"This tastes great." I state.

"So does this." Sam says.

I see the guys stand up and walk towards us. Sam turns around to see them arrive.

"Hey, nerd. I have a question for you." The first guy says.

"Same for you, goth girl." The second guy says to Sam.

Is this really happening? Are they really going to do this?

"How long have you've been together for?" The first guy asks.

"Yeah, you two look really cute together." The second guy states.

...huh?

"Oh, it's been a little over a year now." Sam answers.

"You are one lucky guy." The second guy states.

"And you're one lucky girl." The first guy sighs.

This is not the interaction I was expecting. Wait, did he basically state that Sam was lucky to have me?

They apologize for interrupting our date and start leaving.

"Will I ever get a cute guy like that, bro?" I hear.

"I believe you will, bro."

Sam and I look each other in disbelief.

"Did he just call me cute?" I ask.

"I guess so. I don't disagree, though." She answers while smiling.

"To be honest, I'm weirdly flattered." I state.

After that exchange, we continue eating our food while talking about whatever comes to mind.

- Dani's P.O.V.

"Are you sure that's what we're looking into?" I ask.

"I'm sure. That's what Mom and Dad told us." Jazz says.

There's a report stating that there are some weird things happening just outside of Gravity Falls. That's not enough information. We don't even know if it's ghosts causing trouble. It could be anything at this point. Manotaurs, vampires, maybe another corrupted gem. Heck, maybe even a dragon could pop up! Considering where we're at, we have to be ready.

"Let me guess, it seems too vague?" Tucker asks.

"It does." I answer.

"Well, we'll just see what's going on when we get there." Tucker states.

"Actually, we're already here." Jazz says.

We look out the window to see a worn down old mansion with a rusty gate. This is definitely a cliché place for ghosts to be in. We make sure to have our ghost hunting stuff ready. We get out of the assault vehicle and start walking towards the gate. My ghost sense goes off as soon as I get close enough to the gate.

"Well, that confirms it." Tucker states.

We look around to see if there's anybody else around. I go ghost and I help them get through the gate.

"This place looks kind of creepy." Jazz points out.

Multiple screams are suddenly heard from inside the mansion!

"Scratch that, really creepy." Jazz reiterates.

We get closer to the front door, only to see that it's slightly opened. That's strange. A ghost could just phase through, they wouldn't need to open the door. We look at each other in confusion. I float above them and I touch their shoulders to turn them invisible. We phase through the door to not make any noises whatsoever. We slowly observe the house as we explore. It's just as bad on the inside, if not worse! There's dust and spider webs everywhere. And everything is cracked or fully broken.

"This place stinks." Tucker whispers.

"I agree." I whisper back.

*CREEEEEK*

There's definitely something else in here! But what can it be? It better not be another corrupted gem. We arrive at a long hallway with a dusty looking window at the end of it.

*ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!*

What kind of animal ghost is that?! It looks like a lion mixed some other stuff!

"Jazz! What is that?!" I whisper frantically.

"I think that's a manticore ghost!" Jazz whispers back.

It phases through the wall, as if to hide from us. Without warning, we hear some sort of giggle. The type of giggle that sounds like trouble.

"Where are yoooou?" We hear.

We see a silhouette of a horned head with a long long neck appear!

"Come on, I just want to plaaay." The silhouette says.

Don't tell me this is a little girl haunting this place!

*Click!*

"Huh? What was that?" We hear the voice say.

"Tucker!" Jazz whispers frantically.

"Sorry!" He whispers back.

"Did you take a picture?" I whisper.

"I did."

"Who's there?! I can hear yooou!" The voice exclaims.

"Don't go too far."

...there's another voice?!

"But I heard something." The first voice says.

We suddenly see a giant glowing eye appear outside of the window! I think we're in for a crazy time...

- Danny's P.O.V.

I wonder how the others are doing. It's been a while since they've messaged us. They must've found something.

"Danny, look!" Sam exclaims.

I look to where she's pointing at. It's a movie theater.

"They're having a classic horror movie marathon!" She says excitedly.

I look closely at the posters. She's right. It looks like the marathon is a total of a few hours. I look back at her to see that she's maintaining her excitement. She really is cute whenever she does that.

"Let's go in, then." I state.

"Really?" She asks.

"Of course."

Sam smiles and gives me a peck on the cheek. We head towards the guy out front. We ask about the movie marathon and Sam offers to pay for the tickets. I insisted that I pay, but Sam was adamant that she pay since I paid for the food earlier. She pays and we go into the movie theater.

"Huh, I thought there would be more people." Sam says.

I guess not a lot of people wanted to go in today. I wonder why. We walk around to look at the movie theater. It's smaller than the one at home. I notice a few families walking around. One looks like a tired dad with two energetic kids, another is a family of five, one is a guy with a woodpecker...for some reason.

"It looks like we're going to be in number 13." Sam points out.

"Lucky number 13." I say jokingly.

"Lucky? Suuure." She snarks.

"Anyway, we have 45 minutes to spare. What do you want to do?" I ask.

"Well, we could play one of those games over there." She answers.

I turn to see an area with some games. They look like the standard games you would find in a movie theater. Oh great...the Saturday Night Spunkin' game is here too. I'll just pretend I didn't see that. I notice some kids playing some of these games. One kid is playing a racing game and it looks like a pair of siblings around Dani's age went up to play S.N.S. against each other...if only they knew.

"As long as we're not playing S.N.S., I'll be fine with that." I state.

"Deal."

We go over to the zombie shooter game and I put in some quarters to get the game started.

"I bet can get more zombies than you." I say.

"Bet. What happens if you win?" She asks.

"That'll be a surprise." I answer.

"You know what? Same here." Sam says with a smirk.

We agree to have it happen after the movie marathon. We play the game for a few rounds and I'm thinking about what we could do if I win the bet. Though, I'm curious and concerned about what Sam has in mind if she wins.

"Headshot!" I yell.

"Double headshot!" She yells back.

Along with our yelling, we could hear the other people around us, especially the kids.

"Oh no, I hit the old lady!" The kid playing the racing game cries.

"You're cheating!"

"You just suck, dweeb!"

Sounds like that brother and sister are ready to fight.

Sam and I continue on to the fifth round of the game. We each won two rounds of this game and we agreed on this round being the tiebreaker. I have to shoot as many zombies as possible and get the best combos! I manage to shoot three zombies at the same time with a single bullet to the head! That got me 60 points!

"Triple combo!" The game announces.

"Triple headshot!" I yell.

Despite me getting a combo, I see Sam catching up with ease. She's always been great at video games. She would wipe the floor with us whenever we played together.

"Whoa..."

"Cool!"

Sam and I quickly realize that there's a small crowd forming around us. From young kids to other teens. Even the kid and siblings around us are watching. I didn't think we would form an audience, but I guess this is happening.

There's fifteen seconds on the clock and Sam is ahead by 20 points. I decide to try hit another triple headshot, even though it's not an easy shot. As soon the zombies get on the screen, I immediately shoot.

...

"Quadruple combo! ...Game over...player one wins!"

...I hit a quadruple headshot?! How?! I turn to Sam in shock...and with silent crowd behind us. Sam is also a bit surprised.

"Danny...that was impressive. Congrats, you win." Sam says calmly with a smirk.

"That was awesome!" A boy yells.

The crowd excitedly chatters about me scoring a nearly impossible shot.

"You were both awesome!" A girl yells.

"Me too? I didn't win the last round, though." Sam states confusedly.

"You kept up without a hassle. That's pretty cool in my book." Another guy chimes in.

"You did good, Sam." I say.

Sam smiles warmly.

"You guys are cool, do you play online games?" The same guy asks.

"We do...wait, did you call us cool?" I state, thrown off.

"Well, duh! You are! Both you and your girlfriend!" The guys exclaims.

We usually don't get called cool. Most of our classmates back home definitely don't see us that way.

"Crap, we only have a few minutes until the movie marathon starts." Sam says while looking at her phone.

"We better hurry and get some snacks, then." I state.

The crowd starts disperse and we head to the front of the concession stand where we see Thompson at the cash register.

"Hey guys." He greets.

"Hey, Thompson. I didn't know you worked here." I say.

"I don't talk about it much. What kind of snacks you want?"

"I'll take a bag of sour gummy...chairs?" Sam says with audible confusion.

"Yeah, here in Gravity Falls, a lot of our candy is...different than most places." Thompson explains.

"I can tell." I state.

Sam shrugs.

"Eh, I've eaten worse. Give me two bags and a small popcorn. And a medium drink." Sam says.