Universe Falls (Gravity Falls x Steven Universe)

Summary:

While the kids explore the temple, the Gems uncover an alarming secret...

"3… 2… 1… GOLF!"

That was all it took to launch Steven and Mabel into an intense round of Golf Quest Mini: Battle Royale. From their spot on the bed above them, Dipper and Connie watched on as the pair fiercely duked it out, striving to make it under par as quickly as possible. 

"Oh no! A wild windmill appeared!" Mabel gasped as she frantically yanked her controller up. 

"Whoever beats it has their score go back to 0!" Steven began mashing buttons. "Come on, come on, I'm way too close to par to lose this one!"

"Sorry, Steven, but it looks like I'm gonna sink this hole-in-one!" Mabel said as she landed the final blow on the windmill, reducing her score back to a perfect zero. Steven let out a defeated groan as he continued on, still trying what he could to come out on top. 

"Wow! Mabel is really good at this!" Connie noted to Dipper. "Isn't this her first time playing this?"

"Yeah, but mini-golf is like Mabel's element," he replied, grinning. "There's no beating her at it. In real life or in video games."

"Yes! I won!" Mabel proudly proclaimed. A triumphant tune played from the game as her character knocked Steven's off the screen with a hearty whack of her golf club. "Pay up, Universe!"

"Aw, man…" Steven signed as he handed Mabel a huge bag of gummy worms. 

"Mabel, please don't eat all of those in one sitting," Dipper advised. "You haven't forgotten about the funnel cake incident, have you?"

"Pfft, please, bro-bro," Mabel scoffed as she scooped a large handful of gummy worms out of the bag. "This will be nothing like the funnel cake incident. I've learned a thing or two about self-control since then."

 "What's the story behind the 'funnel cake incident'?" Connie asked, morbidly intrigued. 

"Believe me," Dipper crossed his arms. "You don't wanna know."

"So, Steven…" Mabel flashed him a challenging grin after her first round of worms. "Up for another round against the champ?"

"I would, but my thumbs are a little sore after that last one," Steven admitted. "But we could do something else! I'm sure we'll run into some sort of cool or magical thing if we went into town." 

"Yeah!" Connie eagerly agreed. "I've been wanting to go on another adventure with you guys! We may almost die every time we go on one, but I gotta admit: they're really fun."

"Woo! Let's go on a crazy fun mystery hunt!" Mabel jumped up, ready to go. "Or a high-stakes magic hunt. Whatever we run into first."

"Why go out hoping we run into a mystery when we have a whole book full of them?" Dipper grinned as he pulled the journal out of his vest. "We could just pick something out of here and go looking for it. I've been meaning to add onto the notes about some of the creatures in here anyway."

"You've been adding your own notes to it?" Steven asked as they all crowded around to look at the journal. "That's really cool, Dipper!"

"Eh, it's not that big of a deal," Dipper chuckled, stifling a bit of a flustered blush. "It's just a few pages in the back, nothing all that impressive. Not like everything the author wrote about." To prove his point, he began flipping through the author's entries, where many of the diverse and strange oddities of Gravity Falls were documented in careful detail. And somewhere in those entries, the kids' next adventure certainly awaited. 

"Floating eyeballs!" Steven exclaimed, amazed at the book's illustration of them. "I bet it wouldn't be too hard to spot them!"

"Giant vampire bats?!" Mabel gasped, stars in her eyes. "Yes!"

"No," Dipper quickly turned her down. "I've read about them and they don't turn into sparkling shirtless vampires, if that's what you're hoping for."

"Darn it!"

"How about barf fairies?" Connie suggested. She quickly cringed away from the idea, however, upon actually saying it out loud."On second thought… never mind."

"The portal potty?" Steven laughed. "That sounds like fun! And we wouldn't have to worry about taking a bathroom break until we found it."

"We could always go looking for a hawktopus!" Mabel squinted to read what little the journal described about it. "Looks like Mr. Author didn't write anything down about it 'cause it's 'too stupid to study'. Huh, I wonder why."

"I'm sure he had his reasons," Dipper concluded. "Maybe we should just go looking for-"

He swiftly stopped short the second the front door suddenly flew open. As the others whipped around, Dipper quickly shoved the journal out of sight, already anticipating one of the Gems. His hunch was right as Amethyst barged in, shapeshifted into a police officer wielding a water gun.

"Dumb police!" she bellowed in a deep voice, pointing her weapon at the kids up on the loft. "Uh… you guys are dumb!" Before they could even brace themselves, Amethyst doused them all, laughing mischievously all the while. While Steven and Mabel gladly accepted the soaking, Dipper and Connie did what they could to shield themselves against the watery blast.

"Amethyst!" Pearl scolded as she and Garnet stepped into the house a moment later. "Stop that this ins-"

She was cut off when Amethyst turned to her, using her water gun to drench her fellow Gems in turn. While Garnet was hardly phased, Pearl didn't hesitate to show her annoyance. "Amethyst!"

"Oh man, I totally got all of you!" Amethyst smirked as she shapeshifted back into her usual form. "Especially you guys!" she turned back to the loft. "You should have seen your faces!"

"Sorry, kids," Pearl apologized as she wrung out her sash. "I tried to stop her before she came in, but as usual, she wouldn't listen."

"Eh, no worries. That actually felt pretty good!" Mabel chuckled as she poked at her own sopping sweater.

"Speak for yourself," Dipper muttered as he shook the water out of his vest. 

"So what are you guys up to today?" Amethyst asked. "Anything exciting ?"

"Well," Steven began. "We were gonna go out and look for some kind of monster or magical creature using the j-"

"Just o-our intuition and luck!" Dipper quickly interrupted, slapping a hand over Steven's mouth just in time. When the Gems met him with a mutually confused glance, he did his best to play it off with a bout of awkward laughter. "Y-you know… like you do…"

"Ok…" Pearl said after a beat of silence. "Well, if you are going monster hunting, please be careful out there! There are plenty of perfectly benign creatures in Gravity Falls, true, but there are even more ravenous, blood thirsty ones."

"Are there any that you guys would recommend?" Connie asked.

"Just don't go looking for a leprecorn," Garnet advised as she led the way to the temple door. "It's not worth the annoyance."

"And try not to get killed or anything," Amethyst added. "We wouldn't want to have to come save your butts again ."

"Amethyst!" Pearl chastised. Amethyst ignored her disapproving glare as she slipped into the temple with a sly laugh. "She didn't mean that. If you four do get into any trouble, we'll be more than happy to come and save you."

"How will you guys know if we get into trouble?" Mabel asked, frowning.

"We'll know," Garnet adjusted her shades as she opened her own door to the temple and headed inside.

"Just be sure to exercise the proper amount of caution and you should be fine," Pearl assured, using her gem to open her door next. "Oh, and take plenty of water with you! It's hot out and you don't want to get dehydrated."

"Don't worry, Pearl!" Steven called after her. "We will!"

"Very good," Pearl nodded with a satisfied smile. "Have fun!"

With one final wave, the temple door sealed shut, leaving the kids alone once more. "That was too close…" Dipper muttered as he pulled the journal back out.

"Now that's something I'd like to investigate…" Connie mused, still looking at the temple door.

"What? The temple?" Steven asked.

"Yes!" Mabel enthusiastically agreed. "The temple has got to be one of the most mysterious, coolest things in Gravity Falls! Who knows what kinda stuff is in there?" 

"We don't, because the Gems said we're not allowed inside, remember?" Dipper said, scowling. "Apparently it's 'too dangerous for humans'."

"Dangerous-schmangerous!" Mabel scoffed. "After everything that's happened this summer so far, it couldn't be too scary, could it?"

"Plus, why would the Gems live in there if it was so risky?" Connie wondered. 

"Exactly!" Dipper agreed. "It's so weird, isn't it? Like the Gems only told us to stay out of there because they're hiding something they don't want us to see."

"Aw, come on guys," Steven cut in, frowning. "The Gems aren't hiding anything! They probably just want their privacy and we should respect that. I mean, you wouldn't want someone barging into your house without permission, right?"

"Steven…" Dipper groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How many times are we gonna have to go through this?"

"Through what?"

"You defending the Gems even though they're clearly keeping something from you," Dipper huffed as he glanced over at the temple door. "Don't you think you deserve to know whatever that something is?"

Steven bit his lip; he desperately didn't want to go down this road with Dipper again, not after what happened during the search for the second Light Cannon. And yet… "W-well, don't you think they deserve to know about the journal? You still haven't told them about it yet, even though you promised you would…"

"W-well, yeah, but… this isn't about the journal," Dipper shook his head as he set the book aside. "It's about the temple-"

"And all of the super-secret magical stuff the Gems are keeping stowed away in there!" Mabel added with a zealous grin.

"Even you have to be at least a little curious about what's in there, Steven," Connie placed a hand on his shoulder. And if the twins' coaxing wasn't enough to nudge Steven just a bit closer onto their side of the debate, then that certainly was. 

"I am, it's just…" he looked away from his friends, anxious. "I can't even get in there. My gem won't open the door."

"I'm sure you could do it if you tried, Steven," Connie offered him an encouraging smile. "I mean, you healed my eyes even though you thought you couldn't. How is that any different from opening up a door?"

"Yeah!" Mabel quickly launched into a round of supportive cheers. "Steven! Steven!"

Steven kept his gaze averted, even when Dipper and Connie joined in on the chant. If he was being with himself, he'd always wanted a peek inside that mysterious door. But he knew better, just as he knew the warnings the Gems had always given him about venturing inside. It was too dangerous for him, too risky, too… too much for someone like him. Someone so young and inexperienced, someone who barely even knew how to use his burgeoning powers, someone who couldn't quite be considered a full-fledged Crystal Gem yet–

Or could he? 

After all, he had summoned his shield, he had healed Connie's eyes, he was unlocking more of his gem's powers with each passing day. So, who's to say he couldn't find a way to unlock–quite literally–the temple door too? 

"Ok, ok!" Steven rose to stand. "I'll try it. But I don't know if it's gonna work."

"Come on, Steven, you got this," Dipper said with a small, reassuring smile. "If you can't do this, no one can. Figuratively and literally–after all, you're the only one of us who possibly could do this."

"Uh… thanks?" Steven frowned, confused. Even so, he led the way down from the loft, taking a stance just past the warp pad in front of the temple gate. He tried his best not to let his nerves get the better of him, to not let the fact that his friends were all counting on him weigh too heavy upon his shoulders. Instead, he lifted his shirt up and aimed his gem at the door, staring hard at its replica resting at the top of the door's star. "Come on…" he pleaded with both the door and his gem alike. "Open!"

The others all held their breath in anticipation while they stared at the door. And yet, despite their shared hope, it didn't budge in the slightest, a disappointing reality that hit Steven the hardest out of any of them.

"Oh, come on!" he huffed, frustrated. "I could have sworn I was starting to feel some sort of magic!"

"Aw, it's ok, Steven," Mabel smiled as she rested a hand on his shoulder. "You'll totally get it next time! Just like you did with your healing spit!"

"But this is different!" Steven pulled his shoulder away. "You guys were all counting on me, and I let you all down. No wonder the Gems never let me in on anything… I'll never be like them or my mom…"

"Steven, you know that's not true," Connie shook her head. 

"Yeah," Dipper added just as sincerely. "You're just… It's sort of like…" He trailed off for a moment before coming up with something he hoped might help. "Maybe you're just a bit of a… late bloomer."

"Pfft, yeah, you would know, Dipper," Mabel teased, elbowing her brother. 

"Not helping," he swiftly, staunchly shut her down. 

"The point is," Connie brought the conversation back on track as she took Steven's hand. "You'll get there, Steven. It might just take some time. And if it does, then don't worry about it. We'll be here with you for every step of the way."

The twins nodded their wholehearted agreement and Steven couldn't help but smile as he wiped away the tears that were starting to come. "Thanks, you guys. I… I needed that," he said warmly. "And you're right, Connie. I can't give up! I just have to keep trying! And then someday, I'll finally be a full-fledged Crystal Gem!" He grinned boldly as he concluded his speech, though his smile faded as he realized the others weren't looking at him at all. Instead, they were staring straight behind him, their eyes wide in shock and disbelief as a strange pink light fell over them all. "Uh… guys?" Steven asked, confused. He quickly realized where their awe was coming from, however, when Dipper turned him around to face the temple gate. "Whoa…"

The top gemstone on the door's star was, against all odds, glowing a bright shade of pink. Steven quickly pulled his shirt up again to confirm that his own gem was doing the same. A gentle chime sounded as the door began to peel back from the center, until it was completely gone. The kids gaped at the sight of what awaited them just beyond the gate. A vast, pink, cloudy expanse, now finally within their reach.

"AHHH!" Mabel squealed as she excitedly shook Steven by his shoulders. "Steven! You did it! You opened the door!"

"I… guess I did!" Steven broke into a wide, beaming grin. "I don't know how I did it, but I did it!"

"See? We knew you could do it," Connie chuckled, gently nudging him.

"Look at all this! It's incredible!" Dipper took a step closer to the open door and glanced inside. "It's like some sort of endless sky in there. We have to go check it out!"

"B-but the Gems are in there!" Steven protested. "What if they catch us?"

"Eh, the temple's huge," Mabel shrugged. "Or at least it looks like it is from the outside. We probably won't even run into the Gems at all."

"And if we do, then maybe they won't be so mad," Connie said. "Who knows? They might even be proud that you opened the door on your own."

"I hope so…" Steven frowned, worried. Still, as he looked to the door again, he couldn't deny how enticing it was. The mystery they'd been hoping for stood wide open right in front of them. How could he spoil their fun by passing it up? "Well… I guess there's no harm in just looking around…"

"That's the spirit!" Mabel exclaimed as she gave Steven a light push towards the door. "Now let's go! I'm so excited, I can hardly wait!"

Dipper and Connie couldn't deny they were on the same page as they quickly followed after the pair. None of them were quite sure about what they might find beyond the temple door, but as far as they were concerned, that was all part of the fun. With an entirely new adventure laying ahead of them, the kids stepped past the temple gate together–

And in doing so, they unknowingly left a certain journal behind.

From the moment the kids crossed the temple threshold, they felt like they were stepping straight into a dream. They entered a sea of puffy pink clouds, somehow walking well upon the seemingly endless sky. In fact, the only thing that broke that sky was the very door they came through; or at least it did until, in a quick, abrupt flash, the door disappeared altogether, leaving no other exit in sight. 

"That can't be good," Dipper tensed up, frowning. 

"Eh, I'm sure we'll be able to get out of here somehow," Mabel shrugged, unconcerned. "Can't you just reopen the door for us again when we want to leave, Steven?"

"I don't know," Steven shrugged. While he would have normally been worried, he couldn't seem to find space for it as he took another look around the pleasantly pastel cloudscape. "But for now, look at all this! It's huge in here!"

"And so empty…" Connie mused, taking a step forward. "This can't be all there is, can it?"

"It couldn't be," Dipper shook his head. "I mean, what would the Gems even use a giant empty room like this for anyway?"

"Maybe they use it to practice skydiving!" Mabel exclaimed. To prove her point, she leapt into the air before quickly plummeting and belly flopping onto the clouds beneath her. "Ah! What a soft landing!"

"Oh, I wanna try!" Steven grinned. However, as soon as he said this, he suddenly found himself standing atop a high platform that had just appeared completely out of nowhere. Steven gasped as he looked down at the others, who were all staring up at him in confusion.

"Whoa… How'd you do that, Steven?" Connie called up to him. 

"I have no idea," Steven said as his awe shifted into a smile. "But this is perfect! Geronimo!" With an excited laugh, he leapt from his high perch, letting gravity pull him down into a freefall. His adrenaline soon turned to fear as he realized just how fast his descent really was. The cloudy ground might have been soft, true, but he wasn't sure if it would be enough to cushion a fall like this one. 

"O-ok! This might not have been the best idea!" Steven cried, covering his eyes. "I-I wish I had a parachute!" The moment that wish rang into the air, Steven felt a sharp, sudden tug. Shakily, he glanced up, finding, against all odds, a parachute strapped to his back as it slowly carried him back down. As soon as he landed, the parachute vanished into a puff of clouds, much like the platform had when Steven jumped off of it.

"Wow! That was crazy awesome!" Mabel grinned, stars in her eyes. "How'd you know that parachute thing would work?"

"I didn't," Steven admitted. "I just said it and it appeared! And I'm really glad it did. I thought I was a goner for a second there."

"It's almost like… like the room itself could hear what you wanted!" Connie theorized.

"But that doesn't make any sense…" Dipper countered, incredulous. "It's just a room. How can it know what anyone wants, much less give it to them?"

"It's called magic , Dipper," Mabel pointed out. "And it's my turn to try it! Room, can I please have a litter of adorable puppies to play with? Oh, and can they have butterfly wings? And rainbow polka dots? Please?" She held her arms out, waiting for puppies to appear in them. And yet… the room didn't seem to respond to her as readily as it had to Steven. "Hey, what gives? Where are my flying polka-dot puppies at?"

"Maybe something like that is too much for the room to handle?" Connie guessed.

"Maybe…" Steven mused thoughtfully. "Let me try. Room, can we get some puppies with butterfly wings and rainbow polka-dots?"

"That sparkle!" Mabel added.

"That sparkle." Sure enough, as soon as Steven finished this request, the magical puppies popped into existence, flying around the room as they glittered and barked happily.

Mabel could hardly contain her excitement as she squealed and joyfully pulled several of the puppies into her arms, hugging them tight. "Yes! This is literally everything I have ever wanted!" 

"This is just weird…" Dipper shook his head. "And I'm not just talking about the flying rainbow puppies. Though that's weird too."

"I think you mean adorable !" Mabel giggled as one of the puppies licked her cheek. 

"The room only seems to grant your requests, Steven," Dipper ignored his sister and continued. "So… maybe it only responds to Gems?" 

"I'm not sure…" Steven frowned. "I mean, each one of the Gems has their own door that goes into the temple, but I've never seen the one that opened for me before… I do remember Pearl talking about how my mom used to have her own room in here, but nobody's been able to get into it since she's been gone. So maybe, since I used her gem to open it, this is her room!"

"Then that would explain why the room only listens to you!" Connie concluded. "Your gem must be connected to it in some way. It thinks you're Rose!"

"Whoa…" Steven glanced down at the gem on his stomach. "I… don't really know how to feel about that."

"I guess that makes about as much sense as anything else…" Dipper took another look around the impossibly vast sky surrounding them. "Still, you gotta wonder how much this room can really do…"

"We can always find out," Steven said with an eager grin.

"Yes!" Mabel agreed. "More puppies!"

"Actually, I was thinking something along the lines of… quadruple bunk-beds!" Steven exclaimed. A four tiered-bunk bed appeared underneath the kids, raising them all up as they sat on top together. "With slides! Water slides!" Steven added. At this request, four long, twisting waterslides jutted out from each side of the bed. Without skipping a beat, the kids jumped onto them, laughing all the way down. Each slide launched them high into the air, but none of them had to worry about a rough landing thanks to Steven's next request: "Trampolines!" Those trampolines appeared just below each of the kids right as they landed, allowing them to bounce safely back onto the ground.

"Whoo!" Mabel happily flopped into the clouds. "Let's do that again!"

"Steven, this is great!" Dipper exclaimed, grinning. "You can get literally anything you ask for in here! What do you have in mind next?"

"Oh, uh…. Hm…" Steven paused to ponder this. In the end, he simply blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "A tiny floating whale!"

Said tiny floating whale proofed into existence, small and pink and smiling as it let out a light bellow. Steven and Mabel both fawned over the adorable creature and even Dipper and Connie shared a laugh as it lazily glided past them. It was even more proof that the room could conjure up just about anything, from the simplest requests to the most complex. Or so it seemed.

"You know, as awesome as all this is, I sure am hungry," Steven said as the tiny floating whale came to rest on his shoulder. Right on cue, a donut appeared out of thin air, floating right next to him. "Well, don't mind if I do!" he laughed, grabbing the donut. "In fact, donuts for everyone!" At Steven's command, three more donuts materialized in front of Dipper, Mabel, and Connie, who happily took the treats. However, they all soon found out these donuts weren't exactly edible as they all poofed away as soon as they tried to eat them.

"Aw, what?" Mabel frowned as she waved her hand around the space where the donut once was. "Come on! I was really looking forward to that donut!"

"Maybe I should have been more specific…" Steven said. "Room, we want real donuts!"

Another round of donuts appeared, nearly identical to the first. And while the kids were expecting them to be tangible, once again, they were proven wrong when they tried taking a bite.

"This is really weird…" Connie tapped her chin. "I guess the room can't make food for some reason."

"Well, everything the room makes is made out of clouds…" Dipper mused. "So that might have something to do with it."

"Aw, well. So what if we can use the room to make food?" Mabel shrugged. "It can still do anything else, right Steven?"

"Right!" Steven agreed as he gave the tiny floating whale a hearty high five. "And since we can do anything, we might as well get started with some… fireworks!" Without missing a beat, a grand fireworks display erupted in the pink skies above. The kids were able to enjoy it in comfort on the fluffy couch Steven called upon. Even if they knew none of it was truly real, none of them really minded all that much. 

Because as fake as everything in this dreamlike world of clouds might have been, the memories they were making there together were anything but.

The otherwise empty house was suddenly filled with the chime of the temple door opening first. Followed by Pearl angrily scolding Amethyst soon after. 

"Amethyst, how many times have I told you to stop stealing my swords?!" Pearl held one of her many prized blades close as she emerged from Amethyst's room.

"I didn't steal it," Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Your junk always falls down into my room! That's what you get for having so many dumb fountains all over yours."

"Oh please," Pearl scoffed. "You know I keep the majority of my collection in the center spire, all organized by size, shape, and sharpness. It's a very effective system, unlike the complete disaster that is your room."

"I have a system."

"If by system, you mean an awful, awful mess, then you certainly do. You should really let me clean it for you sometime."

"Like that's ever gonna happen."

Pearl gripped her sword a bit tighter, scowling down at Amethyst. She was just about to toss out a biting retort, but before she could, the temple door opened upon once again to allow Garnet to step out.

"Oh, Garnet! I'm glad you're here," Pearl rushed to cling onto her arm. "Can you believe it? Amethyst was in my room, taking one of my swords again ."

"I didn't take nothin'," Amethyst protested with a sullen pout. 

"You didn't take anything ," Pearl corrected her grammar. 

"Exactly!" 

"Ugh!" Pearl groaned, exasperated. "Garnet, can you please tell her-"

"Pearl," Garnet finally spoke up. "Nobody likes a tattle-tale."

Against Pearl's flustered surprise, Amethyst cracked up, glad to have somehow come out on top thanks to Garnet. Her satisfied smile stuck around even as she stole a glance up to the now-empty loft. "Huh, I guess the kids went mystery hunting after all," she noted. "Kinda weird they left all their stuff here though."

"Don't go raiding through their things," Garnet calmly instructed as Amethyst scurried up to take a look. 

"I wasn't going to," Amethyst replied. "I was just gonna swipe a few of these gummy worms. And by a few, I mean the whole bag." She grinned greedily as she grabbed the bag of candy, though she paused before heading back down after noticing a rather strange looking book lying on the nearby bed. 

"Whoa… what's that thing?" Her curiosity got the better of her as she grabbed the book to get a better look at it. Though she'd never been much into reading "human books", she couldn't deny that the rugged, red leather tome was interesting at least on some level. Even if she couldn't exactly say how. 

"Hey, you guys!" Amethyst ran downstairs, holding the book up high. "Check this old book out!"

"Didn't Garnet just tell you not to root through the kids' things?" Pearl asked disapprovingly.

"Sheesh, Pearl, you're just on a roll with accusing me of things I didn't do today, aren't you?" Amethyst stuck her tongue out before turning her attention back to the book. "But forget about that; look at this crazy thing! I mean, a six fingered hand?" She chuckled as she shapeshifted an extra finger onto her hand, putting it over the one on the book. "You gotta admit, that's pretty cool."

"Let me see that," Pearl snatched the book away from her. She wasn't anywhere near as impressed as Amethyst as she looked it up and down and turned it over in her hands. "What kind of book is this? It doesn't even have a title! Unless… 3 is its title, but what kind of a title is that?"

"Maybe you'd find out if you opened it up," Garnet deadpanned.

"I-I was just about to do that!" Pearl fumbled to crack the book open to its first page. "Hm… Well, the name of its author is mysteriously missing…"

"Looks like the guy tore it out or something," Amethyst said. "Wonder why he'd do that… And what's that thing on the other page say…? ' Ad astra per aspera '? What the heck does that mean?"

"Oh, that's Latin for ' to the stars through difficulties '!" Pearl smiled. "Whoever did write this must have been very well read."

Garnet took the book next, turning the page as she silently read over the first entry "Hm…" she mused, her expression unreadable as she continued flipping through.

"What's up, G?" Amethyst asked.

"This book seems familiar," she replied, handing it back to Pearl. "I can't pinpoint how, but it's like… I've seen it before somewhere."

"You're right…" Pearl frowned. "Every page details a different oddity of Gravity Falls! And all of these illustrations, these descriptions… none of them seem like they're very new at all…"

"Yeah, probably 'cause we've run into most of these things before," Amethyst took the book again. "I mean, gnomes, ghosts, the bottomless pit, the abominable bro-man, that weird stomach-faced duck thing… We've been here in Gravity Falls so long that all this stuff is normal for us now. But still… I do get what you guys are saying… All of the stuff written in here is pretty dang familiar…"

"But it doesn't make any sense…" Pearl shook her head, watching Amethyst continue to slowly flip through it. "Wouldn't we remember seeing something this comprehensive before? Shouldn't we-" 

Her question came to a stark halt as Amethyst turned the next page, revealing something that made all three Gems go stiff and silent. Until now, the book's entries had all detailed the mysterious facets of Gravity Falls. But suddenly, the Gems were met with vivid illustrations and in-depth descriptions of themselves . While the depictions were clearly from years ago, there was no denying it. Each of them had a full page about them, listing their skills, abilities, powers, and so much more. Almost everything there was to know about them was laid plainly out on the pages before them, for anyone, anyone to read. 

And considering where they'd found the book at, it was clear someone already had . 

"W-what is all this?!" Pearl asked, completely appalled as she ripped the book away from Amethyst. "Why is there so much information in here about us ?!"

"Not just us," Garnet scowled, her hands curling into fists. "About Gem monsters, the temple, and-"

"Rose…" All three Gems spoke their leader's name in solemn unison when they arrived at a page solely focused on her. 

While Garnet and Amethyst were surprised enough already, Pearl quickly reached her limit. She slammed the book shut, gripping onto it as she fixed it with a fearsome glare. "Who wrote this book?!" she asked, her voice tight with rising panic. 

"And how'd they know all that stuff about us?!" Amethyst asked, her eyes wide in alarm. "Did they spy on us or something?"

"But who would have the nerve to do something like that?" Pearl's hold on the book tightened, barely masking the fact that her hands were shaking. "And why were they recording all of this anyway? What did they plan on doing with this information?"

"And why did the kids have it? Where'd they even get it from? And why-"

"Enough questions!" Garnet suddenly shouted. Without warning, she took the book away from Pearl, slamming it down onto the counter. Even behind her shades, her rage was enough to rattle her teammates almost as much as the book itself had. "It doesn't matter where this came from or who wrote it. Whatever this book is, it's clear that it contains information that's far too sensitive to be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Which is why there's only one thing we can do." 

Pearl and Amethyst nervously watched as Garnet swiftly bubbled the book as if it were one of the many monsters they've faced in the past. And, given exactly what that book contained upon its pages, it might as well have been.

"We have to get rid of it."

There was no real way of telling time in the unchanging expanse of pink clouds that composed Rose's room. That hardly mattered to the kids, though, especially not in a world here they could get just about anything they wanted. From a towering, high-speed roller coaster, to a sprawling, beautiful ocean, to a petting zoo with countless types of animals, all of them friendly. They enjoyed it all, heedless of how impossible it all was, because here, nothing was impossible. 

The fun had gone on for a while, until they all settled down to watch the recently-released Dogcopter 3 on the massive screen the room had provided for them. How it was able to even show them the film at all, they had no idea, but they couldn't care less as they thoroughly enjoyed it all the same. 

"That was amazing !" Connie grinned, sitting up in her bean bag chair. "I've been waiting to see that movie for months! It was even better than I thought it would be!"

"And did you see those effects?" Dipper asked, impressed. "They were incredible! They totally make up for the lame CG in Dogcopter 2 ."

"I know, right?" Connie nodded her agreement. "And the after credits scene? It's got me even more excited for Docopter 4 than I already was!"

"Well, when it does come out, we have the perfect place to come and watch it," Dipper sighed contently, reclining back in his seat. 

Connie warmly laughed. "It's a date." 

"Are you two done nerding out yet?" Mabel flashed the pair a coy, teasing smirk. "You've been doing it for the whole movie."

While Connie let out another flustered chuckle, Dipper decided to use the opportunity for some retaliation. "Hey Steven, can I get a pillow over here?"

"Sure thing," Steven smiled. "Room, one pillow please!"

As expected, a pillow appeared out of thin air, falling into Steven's arms before he tossed it over to Dipper. The moment he caught it, he didn't hesitate to throw it at Mabel, knocking her off her chair and onto the fluffy ground. 

"Well, as fun as this is, we should probably start thinking about heading back," Steven said, standing. "I'm sure the Gems are probably wondering where we are, and I don't really want them to find out we were in here this whole time…"

"Aw, but I wanna see the rest of the temple!" Mabel protested.

"Yeah, there's gotta be more to it than this," Dipper said. "What about the other Gems' rooms?"

"They'll definitely catch us if we go into them!" Steven exclaimed, anxious. "And besides, I don't think we can even get to any of the other rooms from here… Can we?"

"Maybe this room can help out with that," Connie suggested, shrugging. "There's no way a place this big doesn't connect to the rest of the temple, right?"

"Huh, I guess I hadn't really thought of that," Steven looked around. "I guess it's worth a try… Room, we'd like to go see the rest of the temple, please!" He paused for a moment, quickly added something else before the room could follow through. "Oh, and uh, can we get a real way out of here? It wouldn't really do us any good if you gave us a fake one."

His request was granted as several of the clouds on the ground nearby parted, revealing what looked like another waterslide. A literal waterslide that twisted down through the clouds to an unseen point somewhere below the cloudy sea.

"Will that really lead to another part of the temple?" Dipper asked as they all came to stand before the wide slide.

"There's only one way to find out!" Mabel grinned before abruptly pushing her brother down the slide. She followed soon after, laughing against Dipper's fearful cries as they both took the plunge. Seeing no reason to wait, Steven and Connie followed suit, letting the slide carry them past the clouds. 

The slide looped and curled its way past the confines of Rose's room, with soft pink skies soon giving way to a deep, starry expanse. The kids didn't get much of a chance to enjoy their new surroundings before the slide deepened into a steep waterfall. Their frightened screams were cut off when it ultimately dropped them into a deep pool of water. Just one of many this new room was made up of. 

Upon swimming to the surface, the kids were able to see these other fountains, all of them flowing elegantly into the central platform they were floating in. Much like Rose's room before it, it was peaceful and serene, a far cry from the kind of "danger" the Gems had warned them about. 

"It's so relaxing in here!" Connie said, smiling. "I wonder whose room this is?"

"Oh, it's Pearl's!" Steven snapped his fingers. "I've seen peeks of it before when she opens up her door!"

"Huge fancy fountains seem like they'd be Pearl's sort of thing," Mabel nodded. 

"But if this is her room, then where is she?" Dipper asked, looking around for any signs of her.

"M-maybe all the Gems left to go on a mission!" Steven suggested. "Hopefully…" Because if they didn't, if they found them wandering freely through the temple, against their orders… Steven didn't even want to think about what they'd do.

"Hey, guys? Is it just me or is that big hole in the middle of the pool starting to get bigger?" Mabel nodded toward the seemingly growing indent at the heart of the central fountain. 

"It's not getting bigger!" Connie gasped in newfound alarm. "It's pulling us towards it!"

"Everyone, quick! Swim to the edge!" Dipper shouted. They all did exactly that, fighting against the strong current as much as they could. In the end, however, the gaping crater sucked them down all too quickly, sending them plummeting down yet another waterfall. Once again, they were deposited into a deep pool, albeit in another room altogether. 

Upon surfacing, the kids were met with a sight that was far different from the clean tranquility of Pearl's room. This new room was massive and cavernous, with sparkling crystals and jagged stones hanging from the ceiling and jutting from the walls and floor. It might have been beautiful, if not for the endless clutter stacked high around every corner. From old food, to broken electronics, to ancient artifacts, and everything in between, there was no rhyme or reason to the mountains of mess almost everywhere the kids looked. 

"What is this place?" Dipper asked as he and the others climbed out of the pool. "The Gems' garbage dump?"

"No, actually, I think it's Amethyst's room," Steven said.

"Why does she keep all of this stuff?" Connie asked as they began to walk along one of the makeshift paths cutting through the clutter. "Does she ever even use any of it?"

"I think she just keeps it around for decoration," Steven shrugged. "She likes to bring back stuff from missions all the time, so I guess this is where she puts it all."

"Hey, check it out!" Mabel exclaimed as something up ahead caught her eye. The others followed her as she ran up to the purple bubble floating above a small pile of random tash. And, trapped inside of that was a small blue gemstone. "This thing probably belongs to one of those monsters the Gems fight all the time! It's so cool looking!"

"Oh, so this is where they're all bubbled away to!" Steven exclaimed.

"It does make a lot of sense," Connie nodded.

"Mabel, don't mess with that thing," Dipper warned as Mabel cupped the bubble in her hands. "What if it pops?"

"Come on, I'm just getting a better look," Mabel scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm being super careful! It's not gonna-"

Pop!

All four of the kids froze, watching in shock as the gemstone fell to the ground. The second it started glowing, Steven rushed in to pull Mabel away from it, and just in time too. As the gemstone hovered off the ground, an almost humanoid shape formed around it, though it quickly shifted into a monstrous one. As the light cleared, the creature revealed its large, plantlike appearance; a glowing blue bulb, protected by four thick navy petals. It was supported by several slithering vine, two of which tapered out to sharp, thorny points. It easily towered over all of the kids as it let out a shrill hiss, its deadly vines poised to attack.

"Run!" the kids exclaimed in frightened unison. Before the monster could even lash out, they had all turned on their heels to sprint in the opposite direction. The monster was quick to pursue them, though thankfully the plentiful piles of clutter gave them decent enough cover from its long range attacks.

"Nice going, Mabel!" Dipper shot his sister a pointed glare. 

"Hey, how was I supposed to know it was just like a regular bubble?!" Mabel shot back defensively. "I thought it was made out of glass or magic or something!"

"We can't keep running from that thing forever," Connie took an anxious glance back at the monster. "Maybe we should split up."

"Or," Steven smiled as he noticed what was right up ahead. "We can lose it in that tunnel up there!"

Sure enough, a narrow break in the rocky wall ahead provided them with a potential escape. Even if they didn't know where it might lead, the kids took it, squeezing into the tunnel in the hopes that the monster couldn't do the same. To their relief, the monster's bulky body became trapped as soon as it tried barreling into the tunnel. It let out an enraged wail as it tried wriggling free to continue its pursuit, but in the end, it was all for nothing. It was stuck, which meant, at least for now, the kids were safe. 

"Well, that was a close one!" Mabel let out the breath she'd been holding. 

"So… is that monster just supposed to stay here, or…?" Dipper trailed off. He took an anxious step back as the creature attempted to lash out again.

"Amethyst will probably find it and take it out when she gets back to her room," Steven started moving on down the tunnel. "For now, we might as well keep going."

"I don't think we really have a choice…" Connie frowned back at the monster, now completely blocking the way they'd come through. The tunnel ahead of them was long and twisting, but fortunately illuminated by the glow of its crystalline walls. The further away they got from the still-writhing monster, the better the kids all felt, even if its angry shrieks continued echoing in the distance behind them.

"So… who's in favor of going back up to Rose's room and playing with the flying puppies again?" Mabel asked, exhausted from the lengthy walk.

"At this point, I kind of just want to leave the temple altogether," Dipper said, sighing. "I mean, it's cool in here and everything, but now I can sort of see what the Gems meant when they said it was dangerous."

"Yeah…" Steven said remorsefully. "Maybe we should have listened to them after all. They're usually right about this sort of thing."

"Well, look on the bright side; it looks like there's a way out ahead," Connie said with a small, hopeful smile. 

"Wait a second…" Steven suddenly stopped before they could round the next corner. "Do you guys hear that?"

The others stopped and listened, confused at first, until they heard hints of familiar voices coming from not too far away. They were too distant to make out any clear words, but even so, there was no doubt about who they belonged to. "It's the Gems!" Mabel excitedly exclaimed. "We should go say hi!"

"Are you crazy?" Dipper scoffed. "We can't let them see us! Do you have any idea how much trouble we'll be in if they find out we're in here and that we let a Gem monster loose?!"

"I agree with Dipper," Connie said, frowning. "We should just focus on finding a way out of here before anything else happens."

"But the Gems are right up ahead," Steven said nervously. "I guess we'll just have to sneak past them… Somehow…"

The kids made sure to be as quiet as possible as they inched on ahead, until eventually, the end of the tunnel came into sight. The corridor let out into another large room, albeit from high above. This new room's ceiling was exceedingly high, accommodating for the countless bubbled Gems frozenly floating near it. At the center of the room rested a pit of bright, burning lava, and gathered around that pit were all three of the Crystal Gems. 

Though their high vantage point kept them from being spotted, the kids still made sure to press against the sides of the corridor to avoid being seen. Still, they couldn't help but stop and watch the Gems as they paced around the room in a strange sort of shared apprehension. 

"What are they doing down there?" Connie asked, curious. 

"I don't know…" Steven frowned. "I guess they're having a meeting or something?"

"Shh!" Mabel quieted them. "I wanna hear what they're saying!"

Garnet had come to stand still in front of the lava pit, her hands curled into fists. At the same time, Pearl continued to pace, while Amethyst sat near the edge of the room, looking through what looked like a book, though none of the kids could see it too well from their position.

"Man, I'll give whoever wrote this thing this: they knew their stuff," she said as she casually flipped through pages. "Plus, they did a pretty good job at drawing me, so props to them."

"Amethyst, be careful with that thing!" Pearl snapped, taking the book away from her. Only now that it was closed were the kids able to clearly see the book clearly. And the moment he saw the golden six-fingered hand on its cover, Dipper froze in absolute horror. 

"The journal?!" he exclaimed, completely forgetting about trying to be quiet and unseen. He quickly remembered though, as the Gems glanced around, confused. Fortunately, they shrugged it off and returned to their discussion, not that it made Dipper feel any better. He had worked so hard and had been so careful to keep the journal concealed, especially from the Gems. He had spent so long fearing that if they ever did actually discover it, then certainly he'd lose it and the answers it might hold forever. But no matter how careful and cautious he might have been, none of it mattered in the end. They'd managed to get their hands on it all the same. And, based on their clearly troubled expressions, they were anything but pleased by the discovery.

"Huh? How'd they find it?" Connie asked, confused.

"Looks like somebody was a bit of a scatterbrain and left it lying on the bed," Mabel shot Dipper a critical look. 

He let out a frustrated groan, facepalming as he pressed against the tunnel's wall. "I can't believe this! What am I gonna do now?"

"Is this really all that bad?" Steven asked. He couldn't deny the spark of relief that was starting to spread through him when he looked down at the journal now resting in the Gems' hands. At last they knew about it; at last there were no more secrets to be kept from them. At last… everything could go back to the way it was supposed to be. "I mean… you were going to tell them about it eventually anyway, right?"

"Uh… sure," Dipper glanced away. He'd already told this lie to Steven far too many times already; perhaps the only upside to this was that he wouldn't have to any more. "But the last thing I wanted was for them to find out about it like this ."

"Well, maybe if you ask them nicely, they'll just give it back to you," Mabel suggested. 

"Yeah, that'll work out just great ," Dipper deadpanned. "'Hey, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, I know you guys didn't want us in your temple, but here we are anyway! Mind if I have that journal that's filled with a bunch of secrets about you guys back? Thanks!'"

"You really think that'll work?" 

"Of course it won't work!" Dipper snapped, stressed. "They'd probably just laugh right in my face!"

"I don't know, Dipper…" Steven countered, offering him a small, consoling smile. "I think it's for the best that the Gems know about the journal. It's only fair since there's so much written in it about them. And who knows? Maybe they even know who the author is!"

Dipper was more than ready to disagree, but before he could, he happened to overhear Garnet down below. And exactly what she had to say, what she was getting ready to do practically made his blood run cold. 

"Both of you need to stop fooling around with that book," she firmly commanded Pearl and Amethyst. They didn't hesitate to hand the journal over to her, allowing her to bubble it once more. Garnet's expression was solemn and resolved as she guided the bubble to hover over the lava pit. "It's time to destroy this thing before it destroys us."

When he saw the lava slowly begin to rise up, threatening to consume the bubbled journal, Dipper couldn't stay silent and out of sight a second loner. "No!" he shouted, forgetting how high up the exit of the tunnel was as he leaned out of it. Time seemed to speed up as he started to fall, and while Mabel quickly caught him by the arm, she began to fall as well. Steven and Connie also tried their best to grab the twins before they slipped out of the tunnel, but in the end, they all managed to accidentally pull each other down. They plummeted down into the open room, ultimately landing in a messy pile only a few feet away from the Gems. 

"Uh… hey, you guys!" Mabel greeted them with an awkward smile. "Fancy meeting you all here, huh?"

"...We live here," Garnet said flatly. 

"What the…? What are you guys doing in here?" Amethyst asked, bewildered.

"How did you four get into the temple?!" Pearl demanded, equally alarmed. 

"Um… I sort of… opened the door…" Steven sheepishly admitted.

"You… Wait, what?!"

Before anyone could even say another word, a sudden, familiar screech sounded from the very tunnel the kids had emerged from. Their worst fears were all but confirmed when the monster from earlier dropped down into the room, landing squarely in the open space behind the Gems. 

"The monster?!" Mabel exclaimed. 

"B-but we trapped it! It was stuck! How did it break free?!" Connie asked, baffled.

"Hey, isn't that the slinker?" Amethyst raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was bubbled in my room!"

"Why in the world would it be bubbled in that disaster instead of in here?!" Pearl glared over at her while she summoned her spear. 

"Hey, don't look at me! At least I'm not the one who popped it and let it loose in the temple, which is what I'm guessing you guys did," Amethyst gave the kids a pointed look. None of them said a word, and none of them needed to. Their guilty silence was more than enough of an answer. 

"We don't have time to point fingers," Garnet clenched her gauntleted fists as the slinker began to lurch towards them. As she did so, the bubbled journal floated away from the lava pit to the far side of the room. "However that thing was freed, it's going right back where it came from. Gems, let's go!"

"Wait!" Steven called. "We can help you guys!"

"No," Garnet put her hand in front of the kids to stop them. 

"But why not?!" Dipper protested. "We've already proven to you three several times that we can handle this sort of thing! Why won't you just trust us?!"

"Because you're not even supposed to be in here in the first place!" Pearl snapped, frustrated. "We told you it was dangerous, but you didn't listen!"

"You didn't trust us," Garnet said much more calmly, sternly. "Which is why we can only trust ourselves with something like this."

"Sorry, you guys," Amethyst said, shrugging. "But you gotta sit this one out. Don't take it too personally, k?"

Before any of them could object any further, the Gems leapt into battle against the slinker. Garnet got the jump on it, aiming her punches for its body, though the monster's long tendrils were quick to latch firmly onto her wrists and throw her aside. Pearl attempted to cut her way through the snapping vines with graceful spins of her spear, but their strength proved too much for her as one of them managed to pry her weapon away from her. Amethyst went next, her whip aimed for the central bulb, but the monster preempted her attack and caught her by her torso, squeezing tight as it held onto her with an iron grip.

The fact that the tide of this fight was quickly turning against the Gems wasn't lost on any of the kids. They watched the action unfold from the sidelines, still wanting to help, even though they'd been forbidden from intervening. And even if they hadn't been, none of them really knew what to do to make much of a difference in this fight. 

That is, until Dipper happened to spot the journal, still bubbled on the other side of the room.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, already starting to rush over to it. "There has to be something about how to defeat that monster in the journal!"

"But the Gems told us not to get involved!" Steven spared a nervous glance towards the nearby fight.

"We have to do something , Steven!" Dipper argued. "Whether they like it or not, the Gems need help. They need the journal's help. They need our help!"

"Yeah!" Mabel soundly agreed. "So let's give it to them!"

"The Gems probably won't be very happy about this…" Connie pointed out, even as she moved to join the twins. "But they'll thank us for it later."

"But… they…"

"Steven," Dipper cut him off. He stepped back over to him, his long standing frustration every bit as clear as his unshakable resolve was. Resolve Steven only wished he could share. "How many times do we have to keep proving ourselves to the Gems before they finally start taking us seriously? How many times are you going to have to prove yourself to them before they admit you're one of them?"

"I… They know I'm one of them," Steven countered, but even as he said it, he didn't truly believe it. "They-"

"Then why won't they ever let you fight by their side?" Dipper pressed, earnestly, urgently. "Even after you discovered your healing powers-"

"Or after you stopped those light monsters and got them back into the Prism," Connie added.

"Oh, or after you used your shield to fight off the Centi-thing," Mabel pointed out. 

"Or after every time we've had to show them that we can help them," Dipper finished. "But they still won't let us. I know you don't want to rock the boat; I know how much you care about them and how much you don't want to upset them. But they have to understand that we're more than just a bunch of dumb kids who always need to be protected. So," he held out his hand to Steven, finally managing a small, encouraging smile. "Will you help us make them understand that? Please?" 

Steven hesitated, guilt mingling with longing inside his gut. Today alone, they'd already gone against the Gems so many times. They'd broken their trust, just as Garnet had said. And yet, at the same time, Steven felt as though his own trust with the Gems had been equally shaken. Rarely were they ever straightforward or honest with him, he knew that, he'd known that for far longer than he'd like to admit. They had so many secrets that they constantly refused to let him in on, secrets that he should be allowed to know. 

After all, he was a Crystal Gem too, right? So maybe… maybe it was time for him to finally start acting like one. 

"...Ok," he finally took Dipper's hand, returning his smile. "Let's show them exactly what we're made of."

"Now we're talkin'!" Mabel cheered. By now, she and Connie had already cleared the other side of the room, reclaiming the journal while the boys had been distracted. After popping the bubble surrounding it, she handed it back over to Dipper. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief upon holding the journal in his hands again, especially after how close it had been to being burned into mere ashes. Still, he knew this was no time to celebrate; he rapidly flipped to the section on Gem monsters, searching for an image or description of the one that the Gems were squaring off against. And, fortunately enough, it didn't take much searching to find it.

"Here it is!" Dipper exclaimed before reading the entry aloud. " The Slinker: This Gem creature receives its name from how it moves, by using its long, vine-like tendrils to 'slink' across the ground. Plantlike in appearance, the slinker makes use of its unassuming form for stealth and camouflage. However, it can be quite vicious and aggressive when provoked. The best way to subdue this monster is to confuse it. Entangle it in its own vines and it'll be as harmless as a regular flower."

"So just tie all of its vine things together?" Mabel asked. "That sounds easy enough!"

"We gotta let the Gems know!" Steven turned back towards the brawl. "Hey, you guys! We know how to stop the slinker!"

"Steven, please!" Pearl shouted as she struggled between two of the slinker's vines. "We told you kids not to get involved in this! We can handle it!"

"But you guys are kinda losing!" Mabel called. "No offense!"

"Uh, maybe we should hear them out, you guys!" Amethyst said to her teammates as she tried to wriggle free from the slinker. "In case you haven't noticed, we're kinda getting our butts handed to us here!"

Garnet and Pearl exchanged a tentative glance, knowing just how tight of a spot they truly were in here. As frustrated as they were with the kids intruding into the temple unwarranted, they weren't fighting with as much clarity as they usually would. So perhaps, it was time to embrace the aid the kids were clearly so desperate to give them instead of stubbornly pushing it away. 

Without a word, the Gems turned to the kids, expectantly awaiting their advice. And knowing that time was of the essence, Dipper didn't hesitate to give it. "You have to tangle it up in its own vines! That should tie it up long enough for you guys to beat it!"

The Gems didn't skip a beat. Upon breaking free from the slithering vines, they fanned out. Garnet took the initiative by firmly catching two of its tendrils as they sped towards her and tying them together tightly. Pearl leapt high over the slinker, all while another vine chased after her, only to collide and twist with another vine along the way. Amethyst used her whip to fake the slinker out, making it look as though it was another vine, until she stomped down on one of the real ones, tying up with the last free one. 

As the slinker struggled to free its tangled tendrils, the Gems went in for one final assault. Amethyst made sure that the monster remained incapacitated and Pearl kept its snapping bulb at bay while Garnet plunged her fist into the area between the slinker's body and head, grabbing onto the gemstone inside. With a swift, final pull, she tore the gem away, causing the slinker to instantly poof. In the wake of its defeat, Garnet wasted no time in bubbling it once more, allowing it to float up and join the huge collection of bubbled gems above. 

Despite the Gem's victory, there was little celebration over it. As the adrenaline of battle faded, a sort of uneasy tension took its place. The kids couldn't help but nervously glance away as the Gems came to stand before them, disappointment written all over their faces. After a long, awkward bout of silence, Steven finally worked up the nerve to speak up first. 

"Um… so…" he began carefully, apologetically. "I know you guys are probably really mad at all of us, and you have a right to be but… we just wanted to see what the temple was like!"

"Yeah!" Connie added just as earnestly. "We didn't mean to free that monster or cause any trouble at all! Steven's gem opened the door, so we figured we'd check it out. We're sorry if we upset you."

"That's not the point," Garnet said coldly, crossing her arms. "We warned all four of you against coming in here. Now, hopefully, you understand why we didn't want you in the temple. Every monster we've ever fought and defeated is contained here. Playing around in here is like playing in a minefield."

"We only wanted you kids to be safe…" Pearl said, her tone gentle and kind. "We understand that you're all eager to help us, and we appreciate your enthusiasm. But sometimes we just have to draw the line in order to protect you."

While Steven, Mabel, and Connie were more willing to accept such a sincere explanation, Dipper wasn't. Especially not as he glanced down at the journal resting in his arms. "So, your idea of protecting us is not filling us in on anything then?" 

"Uh… what are you talking about?" Amethyst asked, confused and caught off guard. 

"I'm talking about how you guys never want to tell us anything!" Dipper said, not hiding just how much it bothered him. How much it had been bothering him since the beginning, really. "If you had just told us that the reason we shouldn't go in the temple is because it's where all of the monsters are bubbled, then we would have listened and stayed out. But you never gave us a reason why we shouldn't be in here and you just expected that we wouldn't want to figure out that reason for ourselves."

"And we're sorry about that," Garnet replied. "But that doesn't change the fact that you all still disobeyed us."

"Yeah, but it's over with," Mabel said with a small, forced smile. "Everything's ok now, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't!" Dipper cut in again, He realized he was probably pressing his luck, being far too bold, but at the same time, he wanted answers. Answers that he knew were far past due. "This isn't just about the temple. This is about how mysterious you three are all the time! Why are you keeping so many secrets?"

"S-secrets?" Pearl asked, appalled. "Like what?"

"Like… well…" Dipper paused. Really, he had far too many questions concerning the Gems that had yet to be concretely answered. Far too many questions to even begin to list them all, but for now, he'd do what he could. "Well, for starters, what are you guys really? Where did you come from? What's the deal with your powers? Why… why were you trying to get rid of this?" He held the journal up. 

The Gems exchanged an uneasy glance as they looked at the journal, almost as if it was something they were afraid of. Before Dipper could pull it away, Pearl took the journal from him, ignoring him when he reached for it in protest. "Where did you kids find this book?" she asked, her eyes wide as she looked down at the four of them.

"I… I found it on the hill a few weeks ago," Dipper admitted hesitantly, unsure of how the Gems would react. They were silent for a long moment, their expressions unreadable as they glanced between him and the journal, until Pearl spoke up again.

"Dipper…" she began, her tone notably unsettled. "If you've had this book for that long… then why did you never show it to us? You do know it has… quite a bit of information about the three of us in it, don't you?"

"We know," Steven spoke up.

"Huh? Steven, you knew about this thing?" Amethyst asked, gaping at him in disbelief. 

"Um… yeah…" Steven admitted. "We all did. We just didn't tell you guys because…"

"Because I was afraid that you'd react to it exactly like you did, by trying to get rid of it," Dipper said, glancing down. The last thing he wanted was for Steven to be the one to shoulder the blame here; he had already forced him to buck heads with the Gems far too much already, after all. He didn't want to widen the gap between them any more than he probably had. 

"You don't understand," Garnet shook her head. "The information about us in that book is extensive, extensive enough to be a clear danger to us all. Pearl, Amethyst, and I have survived for hundreds of years because we believed the same thing Rose Quartz did: that we need to constantly keep our guards up, no matter what the situation is."

"But… how would the journal be dangerous to you three?" Connie asked. "Didn't you allow all of that stuff to be written about you?"

"We most certainly did not!" Pearl exclaimed as she handed the journal off to Garnet. "We'd have to be completely daft to let someone write that much information about us!"

"What? But… didn't you know who the author of it was?" Dipper asked. His heart sank even as he asked that question, as he realized the answer to the most important question was all too quickly slipping out of reach. And then, the uncertain glance the Gems exchanged ripped that answer away from him altogether. 

"We… we don't know who wrote this," Garnet said, her usually stoic tone surprisingly troubled. "But none of us can deny that it does look familiar."

"So you've seen it before?" Mabel asked.

"Nah, probably not," Amethyst frowned. "But it sure does feel like it."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Dipper shook his head. "The author makes it sound like he knew you three, or at least like he knew Rose."

"Don't be ridiculous," Pearl quickly scoffed. "If Rose had allowed some mysterious person to write half of a book about us, then she would have let us know!"

"I dunno…" Amethyst said with a skeptical frown. " Would she have?"

"Of course she would have!" Pearl snapped harshly. "Rose would have never kept a secret like this from us!"

"So… if Mom never kept secrets from you, then why do you guys keep secrets from us?" Steven asked, the hurt in his expression clear.

"Aw, Steven…" Amethyst began, though Steven quickly interrupted.

"I mean… I understand that everything you guys do is important and that it's important for protecting the earth and everyone in it," Steven continued, his tone calm, yet still conflicted. "But… you don't have to do that alone! We want to help you! This is our home and we want to keep it safe just as much as you guys do! We know it can be dangerous sometimes, but we're not afraid! Right guys?"

Dipper, Mabel, and Connie all nodded in firm agreement, but even still, Steven wasn't finished yet. "We know we didn't trust you on the temple thing, and we're sorry. But trust is a two way street. All we want is for you guys to trust us, for you to let us help you! So… can't we all just… learn to trust each other so we can work together and protect what we all care about?"

None of the Gems could hold back their proud smiles upon hearing their youngest member deliver such a heartfelt, inspiring appeal. Amethyst nodded with a side smirk as Pearl dried her teary eyes, all while Garnet placed a gentle hand on Steven's shoulder. "Steven, your mother always believed that trust was something that shouldn't be so easily given away," she began, her tone patient. "She believed it was something that should be earned, and that everyone should give others the chance to earn it. And… perhaps… we haven't given you four that chance. Until now."

The kids exchanged relieved smiles at this. All at once, it felt as though a weight had been lifted, as though something was shifting. As though everything was finally going to start changing for the better. "So… you guys are going to stop leaving us out of everything?" Connie asked, hopeful.

"We're going to try," Pearl said with an affirmative nod. "After all, you four have certainly proven that you have determination and tenacity to spare, between today, what happened at the fountain, the Prism, Gideon, the light cannons, the Centipeedles–the way you've all risen to every challenge you've faced this summer really is admirable, to say the least."

"Plus, you guys are pretty cool to have around," Amethyst said. She stepped in between the group, playfully elbowing Dipper while ruffling Steven's hair. "When you're not accidently letting monsters run wild in the temple. Not that that sort of thing isn't fun or anything. Honestly, it kinda is."

"Yay!" Mabel cheered happily. "We're all friends again! It feels so good to get rid of all of that weird awkward tension."

"You can say that again," Steven sighed contentedly. Because for the first time in quite some time, he finally felt at peace with both his friends and his guardians. With all of the people who mattered to him the most. 

Even so, Dipper wasn't completely satisfied, not when he looked at the journal still in Garnet's hands. "So… I guess you guys are still gonna burn that thing, huh?" he asked glumly. "I guess I'd understand if you do. I mean, it's not like it's really mine anyway and besides, it does have a lot of information in it that you probably wouldn't want getting out…" Dipper knew that he was trying to convince himself to accept the journal's impending destruction more than anyone else. Still, he was quite surprised when he glanced up to see Garnet handing the journal back to him. "Huh?" he asked, bewildered. "I don't understand. I thought-"

"There are a lot of secrets in this journal," Garnet acknowledged, still holding it out to him. "Not just about us, but about Gravity Falls as a whole. But secrets are only really dangerous when they fall into the wrong hands. There's no need to destroy the journal as long as it's in the right hands. And as far as I'm concerned, it is in the right hands with you , Dipper."

Dipper was hardly able to hide the shock on his face as Garnet securely pressed the journal into his hands. "A-are you sure?"

"Yes, Garnet, are you sure?" Pearl echoed anxiously.

"I am," she nodded with a small smile. "I'm certain the journal and all the information it contains will be safe with Dipper. That is as long as he makes sure to be careful with it."

"Yeah, and use it to help us fight off Gem monsters!" Amethyst added, smirking. "That thing's got all the answers!"

"Oh, y-yes, of course!" Dipper nodded enthusiastically. After all, the Gems were essentially trusting him with their own well kept secrets. And that was a trust that he wouldn't dare betray. "I'll be super careful with it! And I won't let any of you down! I promise."

"That's all we ask," Garnet nodded as her smile widened just the slightest bit. 

"Soooo, it looks like all's well that ends well, huh?" Mabel asked with a bright grin. "What do you guys say we hang out a little longer, maybe explore the rest of the temple? Hm?"

"I… think you kids have seen enough of the temple for one day…" Pearl said as Garnet used her gems to open the door leading back to the house.

"But we can always save exploring the rest of it for another day!" Amethyst added. "Especially since this guy can open the door all by himself!" she grinned, pointing to Steven.

"Heh, it's no big deal…" he bashfully rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Are you kidding? It's awesome !" Amethyst exclaimed insistently. "You're getting to be just as magical as the rest of us, Steven!"

"Yeah…" Steven smiled, taking a glance behind him as the temple door shut. True, he may have stepped out of his comfort zone, and true, he may have pushed far past his usual limits when it came to the Gems. But for as much as he may not have wanted to, he knew that perhaps, that's exactly what he needed . To not just grow closer to his beloved guardians, but to help him grow into the Crystal Gem he longed to be. The Crystal Gem he was just another step closer to becoming. "I guess I am…"

It was no secret that, after the harrowing day they'd had in the temple, the kids were exhausted as soon as they stepped out of it. Connie left first, and the twins followed soon after to make the short trek back down to the Mystery Shack. They left the temple with smiles on their faces and a certain weight lifted off their shoulders, glad to know that things between them and the Gems would be different now. To earn the respect and trust of beings as magical and special as the Crystal Gems… it was something both Dipper and Mabel couldn't help but be just a little bit proud of. 

"Well, looks like all your worrying about the Gems flipping out over the journal was for nothing," Mabel playfully nudged her brother. "They were totally ok with it!

"Mabel, they did flip out," Dipper pointed out, glancing up from the journal as he flipped through it to look for any potential damage. "I'm just lucky they actually gave it back to me. If anything, now I have to be even more careful with it."

"Yeah, I guess," Mabel rolled her eyes. "So… you wanna show it to Grunkle Stan next?"

"Are you kidding? After all that?" Dipper scoffed. "I'd just as well never show it to anyone else ever again if it's going to cause that much trouble." Ignoring Mabel's teasing shrug, he turned his attention back to the journal, though he stopped in his tracks upon noticing a page that he hadn't paid much attention to before. "Huh… That's weird…"

"What's wrong?" Mabel asked, stepping beside him to get a look.

"This page…" Dipper frowned, confused. "Everything here has been crossed out except for one word…"

"What word?"

He pointed to the odd word out, one that was nearly lost in the sea of dark ink. The only thing that remained of whatever this entry had once been, hiding in plain sight, almost as if it wanted to be found: " Homeworld… "