Summary: When Dipper and Mabel arrive to Gravity Falls, Oregon to spend the summer with their Grunkle Stan, they find a bit more than they bargained for with mysterious journals, lovestruck gnomes, pink lions, and new friends.
"Well, Mabel, it's official: this summer is gonna be boring ."
"Whaaaaat?" Mabel finally pulled her face away from the window. It had been all but glued there for almost the entire 10 hour bus ride, giving her the perfect vantage point to point out anything even remotely interesting to her brother. And unfortunately for Dipper, Mabel found just about everything interesting. "No way! Just look around us, bro-bro! There are trees, and, uh… more trees!"
"Wow, trees ," Dipper deadpanned as he turned his attention back to the book he'd been reading. "Definitely can't see those anywhere else. Really makes you wonder why this bus isn't full of tourists desperate to visit this 'Gravity Falls' place."
Mabel couldn't really argue with him there. Aside from the two of them and their stoically silent driver, the bus was empty as it veered down the forest-bordered road. All of the other riders had long since gotten off at other towns along the way. The twins' destination was the final stop on the route, about as far out of the way as anyone could seemingly get. At least, that's what it felt like to Dipper and Mabel.
"There's gotta be some tourists there," Mabel shrugged. "How else would Grunkle Stan be able to run that 'Mystery Shack' Mom and Dad told us about? I hope it's as mysterious as it sounds!'
"I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you, Mabel-" Dipper tried to warn, but it was already too late. He knew better than anyone just how hard it was to derail his sister from whatever zany paths her colorful imagination often led her down.
"What if he's got a really big potato? Or a zebra with rainbow stripes? Or a chicken that can sing the alphabet backwards ?" With each new item she listed, she became progressively more excited. Her brother, on the other hand, became progressively less interested in her outlandish flights of fantasy. "Or what if he knows an alien–no, a bunch of aliens who are friendly and cool and play cards with him on weekends or something! Wouldn't that be crazy ?"
"Crazy sums up pretty much everything you just said," Dipper couldn't help but smirk. If nothing else, at least Mabel had made this otherwise dull drag of a trip a bit more entertaining. At long last, though, it seemed as though that trip was finally coming to an end as the bus screeched to a slow stop. A lone sign on the side of the road marked the bus stop, other than that, the area was just as rugged and devoid of any signs of civilization as the rest of the woods.
Save of course, for the only person who was standing impatiently by the bus stop.
"Is that him?" Mabel asked as she took in the sight of the vaguely familiar suit-clad man.
"I sure hope not…" Dipper frowned, noting the openly surly look on the man's wrinkled face.
Despite his reservations, he still let Mabel grab his arm and pull him out of their shared seat. He barely had enough time to grab his suitcase as they hurried off the bus, with Mabel nearly sending them both falling down the stairs onto the ground.
"Grunkle Stan!" she shouted, excited. Dipper wanted to warn her about getting ahead of herself–they hadn't seen their great uncle in years after all. The last thing he wanted was for Mabel to embarrass them both in front of someone who could very well be a stranger. Not as if that would have stopped Mabel from tightly hugging the man's leg anyway.
"Geez, kid," he groaned, tapping his ear. "You wanna try that again a little quieter? You nearly busted my hearing aid out."
"Oops, sorry!" Mabel dropped her voice down to a no-less enthusiastic whisper. "Grunkle Staaaaan! It's soooo good to see you! I love your silly hat! Did you get us welcome cupcakes? Oh wait, even better, are you gonna throw us a welcome party ? Exactly how many unicorns do you have at this Mystery Shack of yours? Are we gonna-"
"Alright, that's enough of that," Stan pried Mabel's arms off his leg, gently shoving her away. "Don't tell me she's always like this, is she?" he asked Dipper.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Greaaaat…" Stan sighed, not even attempting a smile for either of them. Along the same vein, he made no effort to help either of them with their luggage as he turned to head off onto a trail cutting through the woods. "Well, I'm sure I've got some spare duct tape and a bottle of ibuprofen lyin' around somewhere back at the shack to get me through the summer. And if that doesn't work, I can always get some peace and quiet by sending you runts out into the woods to look for snipes or something stupid like that." He stopped short, glancing back at the pair with what almost looked like concern. Even if it wasn't exactly for either of them. "Say, your parents have insurance on both you kids, right? Just… just thought I'd ask. For no particular reason…"
Dipper and Mabel shared a shrug, which Stan mirrored as he continued leading the way into the forest. The twins exchanged an apprehensive look, neither of them too taken by the less-than-stellar impression their great uncle had left so far. "It's… not too late to get back on the bus, is it?" Dipper ventured. He briefly turned back to the bus only to see it already starting to speed away without them.
"Guess it is," Mabel quickly picked up a grin again. "Looks like we're stuck here with Grunkle Stan aaaaaaall summer long!"
"If we manage to survive all summer long…" Dipper muttered, begrudgingly following his sister's lead.
Stan didn't say much on their short walk through woods, leading the twins to the very obvious conclusion that he didn't have much experience interacting with kids. On top of that was the fact that Stan was already one of the most reclusive members of the wider Pines family in general. He never seemed to stray too far from his Oregonian tourist trap, rarely showing up for holidays, birthdays, or other family gatherings. Sure, they'd gotten the occasional card or phone call from him before, but they honestly couldn't even remember the last time they saw him in person. Which is exactly why neither of them could really understand why their parents had asked Stan, of all their relatives, to watch them a summer of "fresh air in the great outdoors".
If anything, the twins were even more confused when they finally caught sight of exactly what Stan was leading them to. On the other side of the short forest trail, there stood a sizable hut, with weathered wooden walls and a sloping, poorly-shingled roof. Moss and vines dotted the exterior along with more than enough signs and flags to point anyone in the tourist trap's direction. The largest sign of all was perched on the roof, coated in discount yellow paint with bright, crimson letters proudly proclaiming this peculiar place as-
"The Mystery Shack!" Stan exclaimed, suddenly enthusiastic. He threw on a showman's grin as he threw his arms out wide toward his abode, as if he were presenting it to a pair of tourists instead of his own niece and nephew. "The most mystical place this side of… well, anywhere! It's chock full of 'wonder' and 'magic' and all that other stuff kids your age are probably into. So," he rested his hands on his hips, grinning broadly. "What do ya little runts think? Go ahead, don't be afraid to admit it. You're impressed, right?"
"Oh my gosh! I know I am!" Mabel gasped. She grabbed Dipper by the arm, pulling his attention over to what had only just caught her eye. "Dipper, look at that !"
"Whoa…" Dipper was quick to catch his sister's contagious awe when he saw it. In the distance not too far away from the Mystery Shack, there stood a tall, grassy hill. And, carved into the face of that hill was a massive statue. The statue depicted a woman, or least that was the twins' best guess based on her abundant stony curls. She appeared to have two faces, one resting just above the other, with multiple arms, some broken, some not, raised into the air or curved around, oddly enough, a small, cozy, modern house. Despite that, the statue was nothing less than elegant and incredible as it towered high over the forest, as if it were silently watching the entire town from afar. Including the humble little ramshackle shack that rested in its shadow.
"Grunkle Stan, what is that thing?" Dipper asked the question both he and Mabel were thinking.
"Huh?" Stan glanced up at the statue. His smile vanished into a scowl the second he realized what the kids were so taken with. "Oh, that . It's nothing either of you need to worry about. Let's just leave it at that and never talk about it ever again, got it?"
"What?" Mabel protested. "But come on, Grunkle Stan! Just look at her! She's so pretty! I love what she's done with her hair!"
"If by 'pretty', you mean nothing more than an annoying eyesore that steals away all the photo-snapping tourists I could be getting rich off of instead, then sure , she's 'beautiful," Stan rolled his eyes.
"Yo." The twins started when someone else suddenly cut into the conversation. A large young man and a red-headed teen girl emerged onto the shack's back porch, having overheard at least a little as they gave their two cents. "Are you dudes talking about the big statue on the hill? They say these three magical ladies live up there, protecting the town from monsters and stuff. No one sees them that much, but they're basically like super cool-ninja guardians or whatever. Also," he offered the twins a friendly smile, tipping his hat at them. "I'm Soos. Welcome to Gravity Falls, dudes."
"Hiya!" Mabel waved up at him.
"'Sup," Dipper returned his easygoing grin.
"Tch, don't listen to Soos," the girl crossed her arms. "All that noise about 'magical ladies' is just some dumb rumor nerds who have way too much time on their hands like to spread around town."
"It's not a rumor," Soos countered. "I read about it on this blog online, and as we all know, everything on the internet is 100% completely true."
"Riiiiight… "the girl rolled her eyes before shooting the twins a cool grin of her own. "Well, anyway, the name's Wendy. You're Dipper and Mabel, right?" Her smile widened a touch as the twins nodded. "Nice to finally meet you both. Stan's been pretty hype about you guys coming to hang here for the summer. He's hardly shut up about it all week."
"Hey, here's a suggestion," Stan shot his employees a flustered, aggravated glare. "Instead of wasting time yapping out here, why don't you two get back to work? In fact…" he turned back to the twins. "Same goes for you two."
"What? Work?" Dipper asked, confused.
"What does this place look like to you, kid, a hotel?" Stan grabbed the twins' luggage and handed it over to Soos to take inside. "You wanna stay here this summer, you both gotta work . That's pretty much the whole reason why I agreed to take you two in: I get two whole employees I don't even have to pay! Plus, it's not breaking any child labor laws if it's your family you're putting to work."
"Pretty sure it still is breaking at least some laws," Wendy pointed out.
"Didn't I tell you to get back to work?"
This time, Soos and Wendy did as their boss said. Wendy shrugged, offering the twins a playful wink before heading in after Soos as he toted the kids' suitcases inside. Stan was just about to join them before his niece and nephew stopped him short.
"Aw, but Grunkle Stan, I don't wanna work all summer," Mabel whined, putting on a dramatic pout. "I wanna find an epic summer romance that'll go down in history, just like in all of my favorite cheesy rom-coms!"
"Uh… yeah," Dipper added as his gaze drifted back towards the hill. "And I wanna see what's up with that statue and that whole 'magical women' thing. Even if it isn't true, there's gotta be something going on up there, right?"
"No, wrong," Stan's tone suddenly turned sharp and serious. After everything they'd seen from him so far, it was more than enough to catch both of the twins off guard. "There's nothing up there for you to see, so stay the heck away from it. I mean it, I don't want either of you kids going near that temple, you got it?"
"Temple?" the twins asked in curious unison.
Stan backpedaled as soon as he caught his own slip-up. "I-I didn't say anything about a temple! I said temptation , yeah, that works. Don't go near that temptation up there. Now, I don't wanna hear any more buts about it except yours inside the shack to get your first shift started." He practically shoved both of the twins towards the door, though they still spared one final glance at the mysterious statue behind them.
A statue that seemed to carry the promise of something, anything more interesting than the otherwise uneventful summer ahead of them.
The telltale flash of the warp pad signaled the Crystal Gems' return from their latest mission. While they'd been successful, the argument that had sparked at the end of it was still going strong. Something that wasn't very uncommon whenever Pearl and Amethyst happened to buck heads.
"Must you always be so careless, Amethyst?" Pearl scolded, frowning at the smaller Gem. "That monster nearly got away because of your recklessness!"
Amethyst groaned, pulling her head back. "Give it a rest already, P. It didn't get away so I dunno what the big deal is. 'Sides, at least I was having fun, unlike some other Gems."
"Well," Pearl scoffed, turning her nose up. "It's a good thing I was there to reign you in, as usual."
"Oh, please," Amethyst rolled her eyes. "You didn't even poof that thing. It was Garnet who-"
"That's enough," Garnet finally cut in. That was all it took to bring the squabble to an abrupt end as sudden calm filled the house in its place. At least until a small, knowing smile slipped onto Garnet's face. "Nice try, Steven."
A curly-haired head popped out from behind the wall between the house and the temple. "Aw, Garnet! How'd you know I was here?"
"Lucky guess," Garnet said, shifting her shades.
"Yo, Steven!" Amethyst perked up, hopping off the warp pad. She pulled Steven into a loose head lock, giving him a playful noogie. "How goes it? Got any fun junk planned for today?"
Steven laughed as he pulled himself out of Amethyst's hold. "Me and Connie are going down to the Mystery Shack. Can you guys believe she's never been there before?"
"Yes," Garnet crossed her arms.
"I just don't understand what you find so fascinating about that place, Steven," Pearl frowned. "You know we encounter so many more interesting things on a daily basis than anything that rundown old shack has to offer."
"Aw, don't be so boring , Pearl," Amethyst teased. "The Mystery Shack has some freaky awesome stuff, right, Steven?"
"Yeah, like the sascrotch!"
"Er… yes, well…" Pearl looked away awkwardly. "Still, I'm not sure how I feel about you going down there all the time. Especially since its owner isn't the most… trustworthy person."
"What do you mean?" Steven asked, confused. "Mr. Pines is the best! One time, he gave me a half-eaten candy bar just to get me to leave the shack. What a swell guy!"
"How thoughtful," Garnet deadpanned.
"I know, right?" Steven grinned, oblivious. No more than a moment later, a knock sounded at the front door. Steven didn't hesitate to rush to answer it, a bright smile filling his face when he saw who was on the other side. "Connie!"
"Hey, Steven," Connie laughed, charmed by his enthusiasm over the smallest of things. She was a bit surprised, however, when he pulled her into a sudden hug. They'd only just met a few weeks ago, and she was still getting used to just how forward and friendly Steven could often be. In fact, she only narrowly stifled the blush filling her face by the time Steven let her go. "Oh!" she only became even more flustered when she noticed the trio of Gems watching them from the far side of the house. "Um… hello-"
"Hello there, Connie!" Pearl returned, smiling cordially. Garnet offered her a cool, yet inviting grin while Amethyst waved to her. "Steven told us you two are headed down to that so-called "Mystery Shack" today," Pearl's smile faded slightly. "Are you sure you want to waste your time there though? None of the attractions there are actually, um… real , after all."
"Oh, I already kinda figured that," Connie laughed. "But I still want to check it out. Since my family only moved here a few weeks ago, I haven't had a chance to check out any of the local attractions yet. And according to Steven, the Mystery Shack is the best one of them all."
"It sure is!" Steven insisted. "It's so cool , Connie! There's stuff in there you have to see to believe!"
"Yeah, like the Outhouse of Mystery," Amethyst chimed in, smirking.
"...Outhouse of Mystery?" Connie questioned.
"Yup," Steven nodded. "It's right next to the Bottomless Pit."
"Interesting…" Connie mused, more intrigued than put off.
"Come on, let's get going already!" Steven grabbed her hand, beside himself with excitement as he called back to the Gems. "See you guys later!"
"Now, be careful, you two!" Pearl cautioned. "Don't get into any trouble down there!"
"But have fun," Garnet added, smiling.
"Yeah, and say hi to Stan for me!" Amethyst grinned, throwing her arms behind her head.
"Will do!" Steven promised as he pulled Connie out onto the porch. There, Lion laid resting in the warmth of the summer sun, curled up into a cozy ball as he snoozed peacefully. His slumber wasn't rouzed in the slightest as Steven hopped up onto his back, Connie climbing on more carefully soon after. "Come on, Lion!" Steven urged his pink pet. "You've gotta wake up so we can have a great time down at the Mystery Shack!"
Ever the stubborn feline, Lion didn't even crack an eye open. Instead, he rolled over, sending both kids slipping off his back and onto the porch. "Oooookay, then," Steven frowned as he sat up. "I guess we'll go when Lion wakes up from his nap."
"That's fine," Connie assured, laughing. "I have all day to hang out now that it's summer vacation."
"Summer… huh?" Steven raised an eyebrow.
"You know, when school lets out for the summer?" Connie explained.
"I've never been to this–how do you say–'school' before," Steven mused, curious. "What is it?"
"Wait, you've never been to school?" Connie asked, even more baffled when Steven shook his head. She already knew his upbringing was unconventional to say the least–the fact that he lived with the Gems was more than proof enough of that. But to think he'd missed out on an experience as universal as school was downright bewildering. "Uh… ok, well, why don't I explain it to you while we wait for Lion to wake up?"
"Ok!" Steven agreed. "And once he does, it's off to the Mystery Shack we go!"
Connie nodded, chuckling as she started from the beginning. All the while, neither of the kids noticed the many sets of tiny eyes peering up at them from the shrubs surrounding the base of the temple. Tiny eyes belonging to tiny shadows all waiting for just the right moment to launch their massive master plan.
Stan had given the twins a whistle stop tour of the shack, including the dusty attic that would serve as their room for the summer. While Mabel was fascinated by all of the bizarre exhibits the shack's museum had on display, Dipper saw right through them for the obvious fabrications they all were. He already hadn't been expecting much from Stan, but as he proudly showcased ridiculous taxidermied creations like the "grizzlycorn" or the "roostdeer", it became more than clear. Their great uncle was a fraudster, a charlatan, a conman in just about every sense of the word.
When Dipper decided to call Stan out on it, he simply shrugged, unbothered by such an accusation. If anything, he seemed to thrive off of duping the simple-minded saps who willingly walked through the shack's door, easily convincing them that everything they saw there was 100% real. Dipper and Mabel only got to witness a bit of that firsthand before Stan put them to work within an hour or so of their arrival. He handed them a stack of signs and told them to hang them up around the woods surrounding the shack to draw more customers in. A simple task that should have only taken a matter of minutes.
But as they'd soon find out, it was going to be the start of so much more than either of them could have ever imagined.
"Wow, Dipper!" Mabel grinned as she adjusted the stack of signs in her arms. "Wasn't it super nice of Grunkle Stan to let us help him redecorate?"
"We're just putting up signs, Mabel," Dipper frowned as he hung up the first one to one of the porch's beams. "And he's not 'letting' us do anything. Just like how he won't let us check out that weird temple on the hill. There's something suspicious about that place, I can feel it. If only we could get just a little closer to figure out what's up with it…"
"Hm… oh!" Mabel gasped, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I've got an idea! What if we hurry and put up these signs really fast? Then we can sneak off and go see the giant statue lady and be back before Stan even realizes we're gone!"
"That's… actually a pretty great idea," Dipper admitted.
"I know! I'm full of 'em," Mabel said with a proud grin. "So, let's split up and get to it, bro-bro!"
"Right," Dipper agreed as they parted ways.
While Mabel went off further into the woods near the shack, Dipper began hanging up signs in the area closer to the statue. He rarely took his eyes off of it as he absently hammered signs to trees, curiosity practically eating away at him all the while. For all he knew, the so-called temple could be nothing more than some old monument or historical landmark or even shameless another tourist trap like the Mystery Shack. But Dipper couldn't help but feel like there was more to it than that. He'd always considered himself to be a fan of mysteries–even if the only ones he'd ever experienced were in books or movies. But now, a real-life mystery stood only a short walk up the hill ahead, one he couldn't wait to solve.
But as he soon discovered, that wasn't the only mystery hidden away on that hill.
Despite Stan's earlier warnings, Dipper ventured off of the shack's property lines, inching more toward the temple hill instead. He continued hanging up signs as he stared at the statue, until he happened to hit his hammer against one tree in particular. Its bark made an odd, unnatural banging sound, as if it were made of metal, and upon feeling its surface out for himself, Dipper realized that was exactly the case.
After wiping away a long-settled layer of dust, he found that a small panel had been built into the tree. It took a bit of a struggle, but with the help of his hammer, he managed to pry it open. Inside the small compartment was an old mechanical box with a few buttons and a rusted switch. Intrigued, Dipper fiddled with a few of them, though only the switch actually worked. As soon as he flipped it, the grassy ground just a few feet behind him suddenly shifted, with the patch of earth giving way to reveal the small dugout hidden underneath it.
"What the…?" he wondered to himself as he approached the shallow hole. Laying at the bottom of it, covered in decades' worth of cobwebs and dust was, of all things, a book.
After sparing an apprehensive glance around, Dipper carefully pulled the book out of its hiding spot, wiping the dust away to get a better look at it. Its weathered, burgundy cover bore a shining gold six-fingered hand, with only a number three to mark whatever it was supposed to be. He didn't get any more concrete answers when he creaked the old tome open, only to find a pastedown reading "Property of-" with the owner's name torn clean off. Fortunately, when he turned to the first page, he quickly found there was much more to this mysterious book than met the eye.
"It's hard to believe it's been six years since I began researching the strange and wondrous secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon," Dipper read aloud before turning the page. His eyes widened as he flipped through descriptions and vivid illustrations of all sorts of bizarre, otherworldly creatures. From giant vampire bats, to floating eyeballs, crystalline creatures, massive monsters, and even things as silly as living gnomes, each new page detailed something new and odd and unbelievable, all apparently living right here in Gravity Falls.
"What is all this…?" Dipper muttered, awash in awe as he continued leafing through the journal. He stopped short when he reached a page written in frantic,uneven script, a stark contrast to how the rest of the book appeared to be. The entry it carried fit its style, an anxious, almost manic message to any reader who may happen upon it.
"Unfortunately, my suspicions are confirmed. I'm being watched. I must hide this book before HE finds it. I can only hope she'll understand and be willing to help me one final time. Remember: in Gravity Falls, there is no one you can trust."
As if that wasn't already ominous enough, the unknown author capped his last entry off with one final warning that left Dipper with even more questions than he already had. And with just how outright strange this journal claimed the town could be, he found himself starting to wonder if that warning may actually hold some weight after all.
"TRUST NO ONE!"
Mabel hummed brightly to herself as she skipped through the edge of the woods, pinning up signs every few trees apart. Though Stan had told her and Dipper to spread them out, she figured she'd get the job done much quicker this way. And with something as alluringly exciting as that alleged temple waiting for them at the end of this task, she had every reason to hurry.
She didn't exactly share her brother's suspicions about something cryptic or mysterious happening at the temple. While Dipper had a habit of going overboard with distrustful conspiracies, Mabel leaned more on the side of looking at things through a fun and fantastical lens. Maybe that's why the rumor Soos had mentioned about "magical women" appealed so much to her. She pictured a group of super heroines in sparkling capes, flying in to save the town with their hair flowing, hearts blazing, and hands outstretched to any aspiring girls who may want to join them. Girls just like her who dreamed of adventure, romance, and a summer unlike any other.
As caught up as she was with wistfully imagining it all, she didn't even notice the small obstacle in her path until she tripped clean over it. The signs fell out of her hands as she tumbled to the ground, her long hair falling over her face. "Oof," she flipped her hair back, looking around. "Can't let myself get tripped up like that again. I'll never get to be a super cool magical lady if I'm clumsy ."
She spared a short glance over her shoulder, only to find exactly what she'd tripped over. "Oh, cute!" she stood, walking over to the tiny, toppled over man. "It's one of those silly little garden gnomes! Weird, Grunkle Stan doesn't peg me for the kinda guy who would be into kitschy yarn ornaments, but I'm not complaining! Now," she reached down to pick up what she assumed was nothing more than a ceramic statue. "Let's get you back over to the shack, little guy–ah!"
Mabel quickly dropped the gnome when she realized it wasn't made of glass, but of cloth and hair and skin instead. She stumbled back, even more alarmed when the gnome stood up on its own and spoke only a single word that echoed through the surrounding woods:
"Schmebulock!"
"Wha-" Mabel didn't even have time to get the full word out before the ambush began. She only barely spotted several more gnomes emerging from the nearby trees, racing toward her from all directions. Before she could even make an attempt at running, something covered her head as what she could only assume were ropes latched around her arms and legs. Within seconds, she was on the ground, effectively trapped as the gnomes worked together to hoist her up into the air and haul her away.
"W-whoa! Stop!" she shouted, though her voice was muffled through the sack over her head. She tried struggling out of her binds, but the gnomes had tied her up surprisingly tightly. "This isn't funny, you guys! Lemme go! Dipper!" she yelled for her brother at the top of her lungs, hoping he'd somehow hear her. Because if he couldn't come to her rescue, then really, who else would? "Help!"
"And so, every summer, we all get several months off before we do it all again in the fall," Connie finally finished her lengthy explanation of all things school-related. "Does that make sense?"
Steven sat in silence a moment, trying to grasp a concept that, by all accounts, was completely foreign to him. He couldn't deny that he felt a little overwhelmed by everything Connie had told him–but she was so smart that he often felt like that any time she told him about something new. Not that he minded too much; he liked listening to whatever she had to say, even if it sometimes went a little over his head. "Uh… yeah, I think so… But what about-"
He stopped short when he heard a sudden clamor coming from inside the house. Connie caught onto it too as she looked past Steven, frowning. "Uh… what's that?"
"Probably just Amethyst raiding the fridge again," Steven shrugged. He jumped, however, when a sudden crash rattled from inside the kitchen. "Or… maybe not. I should probably go check. Be right back!"
Steven hopped off Lion and hurried inside. Almost immediately, he was met with a startling sight in the kitchen. His cabinets were all wide open, food strewn all over the floor and even more spilling out thanks to the tiny horde trying to steal from him. A horde Steven recognized all too well.
"Gnomes!" he exclaimed, startling the miniature men stiff. "What are you guys doing in here? I thought Pearl gnome-proofed the temple the last time you guys broke in."
"We snuck in through the floorboards!" one of the gnomes replied, popping out of the microwave.
Sure enough, there was a gaping hole in the living room floor. Steven only briefly regarded it before he turned back to the gnomes, waving a disapproving finger at them. "You all know better than this! I've told you a bunch of times by now: stealing food out of other people's kitchens is wrong!"
None of the gnomes responded, instead exchanging a brief glance before they collectively decided to ignore him. Instead, they kept on sorting through his food, happily snacking away on chips and fruit and everything in between. "Alright, that's it," Steven huffed. "I'm grabbing the broom."
The gnomes erupted into a round of frightened protest as soon as they heard this. "No!" "Not the broom!" "I'm still picking straw outta my beard!"
"Then stop stealing my food!" Steven argued, broom already in hand. "I'll just give you guys some if you ask nicely."
An awkward beat of silence passed, and though the more polite option was the easier one, the gnomes didn't bother taking it. "Nah." "No way." "Forget that."
"Hey, fellas!" Another gnome suddenly poked his head in from the front door. "Forget about the food! It's time to roll–we got her!"
"Huh?" Steven was knocked clean off his feet as the gnomes vaulted past him out the door, leaving his kitchen in a chaotic state. Not that it mattered to him much when he heard a frighteningly familiar scream pierce the air from just outside.
"Steven!"
"Connie!?" Steven jumped up, rushing outside. To his alarm, Connie was no longer sitting atop Lion where he'd left her. Instead, his pink pet was staring off down the porch steps, to where Connie was currently being dragged off by even more gnomes. In just the short amount of time Steven had stepped away for, they'd tied her up and stolen her glasses. Steven noticed only one gnome remained, wearing said glasses as he ran into the nearby banister over and over again.
"Hey! Those aren't yours!" He snatched them away from the gnome, who merely hissed at him before running off to rejoin the others.
"Steven! Help!" Connie called for him again. The confused fear in her voice alone shook Steven as it prompted him into action, especially when he watched the gnomes disappear into the woods with her in tow.
"D-don't worry, Connie!" he shouted after her as he climbed onto Lion's back. "I'm coming for you! Let's go, Lion!" he commanded boldly. "After those food-and-Connie-stealing gnomes!"
This time, Lion actually heeded his command. He roared valiantly as he leapt off the porch, with Steven holding on tight as he sprinted off toward the forest below. Little did he know, someone else not too far away was already doing the exact same thing for almost the exact same reason.
"Help!"
Fortunately, Mabel's voice always carried extremely well. Dipper was still leafing through the journal when he heard her cry for help ring out from across the woods. "Mabel?!" he shouted back. When he didn't hear her answer him, his stomach dropped with newfound concern. "Mabel!" he tried again, slamming the journal shut and tucking it inside his vest. There'd be plenty of time to continue looking over it later, after his sister was safe.
Without a second thought or a moment of delay, he ran past the shack, not even bothering to get Stan, Soos, or Wendy in the process. Instead, he rushed off alone into the woods, finding no sign of Mabel to speak of. What he did find were several sets of footsteps leading further into the forest, footsteps that were way too small to belong to his sister.
"Ooooh no, oh man, this is bad– really bad…" he began to pace, quickly spiraling into a panic. "We've only been here for a few hours and Mabel is already missing! What am I supposed to-"
He stopped himself, peering into his vest where the journal was safely secured. Even if he didn't have the answers, certainly a book as extensive about everything this bizarre town had to offer could . "O-ok, then," Dipper continued talking to himself as he pressed on into the woods. It was just about the only thing he could do to keep himself even remotely calm right now. "All I gotta do is go find Mabel and save her from… something armed with nothing but an old book. There's no way this could end badly, right?" He answered his own question as he opened the journal again, burying his attention inside of it as he rushed through the forest at a quick clip. "Yeah, this is totally gonna end badly…"
As distracted with the journal as he was, Dipper paid little attention to where he was going, only occasionally glancing up to make sure he didn't run into a tree along the way. The journal offered few answers, or if it did, he had no clue where to find them within its pages. The longer his desperate search through it continued, the more he began to realize he was getting no closer to what he was actually searching for: Mabel. Instead, he was simply running around the woods, completely directionless and hopeless. And even worse yet, completely alone .
Or at least, he was… until he ran into someone who could actually help him. Literally.
While Dipper was still frantically flipping through the journal's pages, he didn't notice the large pink blur dashing through the woods ahead of him until it was too late. All he heard was a deep, fearsome growl before something plowed into him, knocking him clean off his feet. He clung onto the journal, keeping it clutched close to his chest, especially when he looked up and saw exactly what had managed to pin him down.
It was a lion–large and powerful and oddly pink as it hovered over him, its teeth bared as glared down at its unfortunate catch with a menacing snarl. As soon as he processed exactly what he was looking at, Dipper let out a frightened yelp, covering his face with the journal just in case the lion decided to strike. Thankfully, that didn't happen as someone else intervened just in time.
"Lion! Cut that out! We don't have time to play around right now, we've gotta save Connie!"
"H-huh?" Dipper peeked out from underneath the journal, confused. The lion still had him trapped and still looked ready to rip him to shreds at any moment. But he didn't, if only because of the boy peering down at him from the big cat's back with a look of apologetic concern.
"Oh my gosh, are you ok?" he asked. He didn't give Dipper a chance to answer before he scowled down at the pink beast beneath him, annoyed. "Lion, get off of him already!" The lion didn't budge, at least not until the boy scolded him again. "Lioooon…"
The beast huffed, backing off at long last. As soon as he was free, Dipper scrambled to his feet, backing away from the big cat fearfully. "That's… an actual lion …" he muttered, still in disbelief.
"He sure is!" the boy mustered a smile as he patted the lion's side.
"And he's pink ," Dipper stressed, bewildered.
"I know," the boy chuckled. "Isn't he cool?"
"A-and he's yours ?"
"Yup!"
"How…?"
"Oh, well it's a really neat story," the boy said, though his smile quickly fell. "But I don't have time to tell it. I've gotta go find my friend Connie. Y'see, she was kidnapped by a bunch of gnomes and I-"
"Wait, did you say gnomes ?" Dipper interrupted. The sheer strangeness of such a statement should have been what caught him off guard, but it wasn't. Instead, it was something he remembered catching a glimpse of in the journal. He flipped through it as quickly as he could, finding exactly what he was looking for as he turned the book over to show the boy. "You mean these things?"
"Oh, yeah, that's them!" the boy nodded. "That's a cool book you have there. Where'd you find it?"
"...That's not important right now," Dipper quickly shut the book, hiding it back inside his vest. "What is important is that I think those gnomes may have ran off with my sister too."
"Oh no!" the boy gasped, genuinely alarmed. "Well, then we ought to team up to save her and Connie. Hurry, hop on!"
Dipper flinched, warily eyeing Lion as he shot him another bitter glare. "You mean… get on the lion?"
"Uh… yeah?"
"Are you serious?"
"Oh, don't worry! Lion won't bite!" the boy assured. "...Probably. B-but it's ok, I promise!" He held a hand out to Dipper, wearing a warm, encouraging smile all the while. "Don't you trust me?"
"I don't even know who you are," Dipper pointed out dryly.
"Oh, uh, right," the boy rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "My name's Steven. What's yours?"
"...Dipper," he replied a bit stiffly.
"Nice to meet you, Dipper!" Steven's already friendly grin widened as he held his hand out again. "So now that we actually know each other… What do you say? Do you trust me now ?"
Dipper hesitated, looking between Steven and the hand he was offering to him. Briefly, the journal's haunting warning echoed through his mind, cautioning against trusting anyone in this town. He already wasn't the most trustful person to begin with, but how could he possibly extend what little trust he did have in him to a boy he barely knew, riding a pink lion through the woods? It was ridiculous, completely and utterly ridiculous. That's exactly why he was more than ready to turn Steven down, to turn around and continue his search entirely on his own, except…
Except when he met the kind, soft, sincere smile Steven was sending his way once more, a smile so much like his own sister's that it nearly hurt him to think about it… Dipper just couldn't find it in him to say no.
"I… y-yeah, I guess I do," he agreed, slowly taking Steven's hand. The other boy's eyes lit up with excitement as he helped hoist Dipper up to take a seat on Lion's back behind him.
"Alright, we're officially a team now! And a totally awesome one at that!" Steven cheered, nudging Lion back into motion. "So let's go find those gnomes! Together!"
"Ok, so, how fast does this thing–" Dipper cut himself off with a shriek as Lion suddenly bolted forward. He had no choice but to cling onto Steven just to keep himself from falling off altogether. Steven couldn't help but laugh as he glanced back to check on him, stirring up a conversation even despite the dire quest they were on.
"I've never seen you around here before," he began. "Are you and your sister new in town?"
"Um, sort of?" Dipper said. "We're just staying here with our great uncle for the summer. We actually just got here this morning."
"Wow! Well, welcome to Gravity Falls!" Steven brightly exclaimed. "How are you liking it here so far?"
"I'm riding on the back of a pink lion to go rescue my sister from a pack of crazy, kidnapping gnomes," Dipper replied dryly. "How do you think I feel about it?"
"You… love it?" Steven put forth an earnest guess.
Dipper rolled his eyes, though he still decided to venture a question of his own. "So, uh, what's up with the lion, exactly?"
"Oh, yeah," Steven leaned forward to scratch Lion's ear as he continued running through the woods at a rapid pace. "I found him a few months ago out in the desert. He's been my best buddy ever since."
"The… desert?" Dipper asked, confused. "I get that this town is kinda weird, but there's no way there's a desert hidden somewhere out here… is there?"
"Oh, no," Steven laughed. "I was out in the actual desert on a mission with the Gems."
"The Gems?"
"Yeah! Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and me!" Steven proudly proclaimed. "We go on all sorts of magical adventures and fight monsters and protect humanity and stuff."
"Uh… right…" Dipper cringed before muttering to himself. "And I thought Mabel had an overactive imagination… yeesh…"
"What was that?" Steven glanced back at him, smiling.
"Uh, n-nothing," Dipper looked away, suddenly flustered for reasons he couldn't quite place. Still, talk of mysterious lions and so-called 'Gems' aside, he couldn't help but continue to be curious about the strange boy sitting in front of him. He felt like there was something more to him than there appeared to be, something different, though he had no idea what that something was. As far as he was concerned, Steven was very quickly turning into yet another mystery, alongside all of the others this town seemed to be secretly brimming with.
And that mystery, perhaps more than any other he'd encountered so far, was one he was determined to somehow solve.
By the time Mabel finally managed to shake the sack off her head, she found herself in a completely different place than the forest she'd been taken from. The low walls of a moss-covered cave surrounded her, though strangely enough, none of her gnome captors were anywhere in sight. In fact, she appeared to be entirely alone–save for the girl sitting right next to her, tied up every bit as tightly as she was.
"Whoa my gosh!" Mabel gasped. She immediately began to struggle against the tight ropes binding her all over again, wanting to help the other girl as much as herself. "Are you ok? Did those creepy little gnome guys kidnap you too?"
"Uh… yeah?" the girl glanced around, or at least she tried to. A sack still covered her head, completely covering her field of vision–not that she would have been able to see much anyway without her glasses. "Who said that?"
"Oh, it's me, Mabel!" she greeted brightly. "What's your name?"
"Connie," the other girl introduced herself much less enthusiastically. "Um, if it's not too much trouble, could you help me get this thing off my head?"
"Well… I would if I could, but I'm sorta tied up at the moment–literally!" Mabel's attempt at humor was largely lost on Connie, given their worrisome situation. "Just throw your head back really hard–that's how I got mine off."
"So… risk potential whiplash then," Connie frowned under her sack. "I guess if there's no other options…" She did as Mabel said, tossing her head back a few times until the sack finally shimmied off. The world around her was still mostly an unfocused blur, but she did manage to make out the vague pink-clad shape sitting a few feet away from her that must have been Mabel.
"There ya go!" she offered the other girl a cheerful smile. "Isn't that way better?"
"It would be if I could actually see anything," Connie said, squinting. "I lost my glasses when those, uh, 'gnomes' grabbed me."
"Aw, that's no good," Mabel huffed, indigent as she pulled against her ropes once again. "Those gnomes are total pests! I wonder why they brought us both here anyway…"
"Great question, sweetie!"
The girls turned toward the mouth of the cave, where the gnomes were flooding back in from wherever they'd gone to. One gnome led the front of the pack, flashing a broad, satisfied smile as he looked between their captives before turning back to the others. "I gotta say, great job, fellas! Not just one, but two brides-to-be, all in one day? That's a new record!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on," Connie interrupted. She was only barely able to make out the multitude of beards and red cone hats before them. "Brides-to-be? What's that supposed to mean?"
'Oh, don't worry, we'll get to that," the head gnome assured. "Let's get introductions out of the way first. The name's Jeff!" he proclaimed before rattling off the names of several of the gnomes standing nearby. "We also have Carson, Kyle, Jason, Tom, Pete, Andy, Mike, and, uh… I'm sorry, I always forget your name."
"Schmebulock!" the gnome in question answered.
Jeff snapped his fingers. "Schmebulock, yeah! And then there's–you know what, forget it. You'll both have plenty of time to learn everyone else's names later. Ya'see, ladies, us gnomes are lookin' for a new queen! Right, guys?"
"Queen! Queen! Queen!" the gnomes cheered their uproarious support.
"Heh, ok? Cute, I guess?" Mabel let out an uncomfortable laugh. Likewise, Connie was already starting to get the jist of what was happening here, and she was every bit as unnerved by it. "So… what's that have to do with either of us?"
"Soooo glad you asked!" Jeff threw on a coy grin. He was the first to drop to one knee, and all of the other gnomes followed suit as he pulled a large diamond ring out and presented it to the girls. "Would one–or both, we're pretty open-minded–of you ladies join us in holy matri-gnome-y? Matri- mony, blah! Can't talk today!"
A long, awkward beat of silence filled the cave in the aftermath of this proposal, only broken by Connie as she bluntly stated the obvious. "This is extremely weird."
"Uh… yeah, I'm with Connie on that," Mabel frowned. Still, she tried her best to turn the gnomes down as gently as possible. "Look, outside of the whole kidnapping thing, you guys seem kinda sweet, but… we're girls and you're gnomes and it's like 'what?' Yikes…"
"So the answer is obviously no," Connie continued, much less sympathetically. "With all that out of the way, could you all untie us and let us go and we can all pretend this whole thing never happened? Or-"
"Oh, sorry! No can do," Jeff laughed. There was a clear, unhinged edge to it this time as he continued fixing the girls with a patronizing grin. "See, we really need at least one queen and we already went through so much trouble to kidnap you both so it's gotta be one of you. Oh, hey, here's an idea! Why don't we have you both fight to the death to decide which one it's gonna be? That'd be fun, right?"
"Yeah!" The gnomes quickly rallied behind such a violent idea. "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
As morbid as such a suggestion was, it sparked a sudden idea for Mabel, especially when she stole another look at the surprisingly sharp ring Jeff was still holding onto. "You know what?" she spoke up, putting on the most convincing smile she could. "Fine. I'll marry you guys."
"Huh?" Connie started, caught off guard. "What are you doing?"
"I've got a plan," she whispered just loud enough for the other girl to hear her. "Trust me."
Connie didn't know anything about Mabel other than her name–she had yet to even see the other girl's face clearly as half-blind as she currently was. To place her trust in someone who was essentially a stranger, to rely on someone she'd only just met to help get her out of such a drastic situation… It was an overwhelming thought. But then Connie realized: she'd done the exact same thing the very day she'd met Steven just a few short weeks ago. Why couldn't she do the same for Mabel too?
So, instead of letting worry overtake her as it so often did, Connie simply nodded, letting Mabel put whatever plan she had into action. "Hot dog!" Jeff happily exclaimed. "Go ahead and untie her, boys. She can't carry a bouquet with her hands behind her back, now can she?"
The other gnomes did as they were told, freeing Mabel from her ropes, though strangely, they made no effort to do the same for Connie. Still sticking to her plan, Mabel smiled as she politely put her hand out, allowing Jeff to slip the ring onto her finger.
"Bada-bing, bada-bam!" he cheered as the other gnomes erupted into excited applause. "One down, one potentially still to go. You sure you don't want in on this, honey?" he peered past Mabel to smirk at Connie. "We only had one ring, but we can always fix you up with a really shiny-lookin' caterpillar or something-"
"You may now kiss the bride!" Mabel cut him off, her tone deceptively inviting.
"Well," Jeff perked up, turning back to her. "Don't mind if I do!"
The head gnome closed his eyes and puckered his lips for the kiss… only to receive a first slamming hard into his nose instead. "Ow! Ouch!" he collapsed backward into the crowd of gnomes behind him, "Seriously, ow ! What the-"
As distracted as they all were by this sudden twist, the gnomes largely missed Mabel running over to Connie. She used the sharp gem on her ring to quickly cut through the ropes tying the other girl down, finally freeing her as she lent a hand to help her up.
"Thanks!" Connie breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't mention it," Mabel grinned. Her smile quickly fell when she took stock of the suddenly very angry horde of gnomes surrounding them. "Seriously, don't mention it until we actually make it out of here…"
"What do we do now…?" Connie asked anxiously. The gnomes were already starting to inch in to restrain them again, essentially leaving both girls trapped back-to-back with no real way out in sight.
"Um… oh!" Mabel quickly grabbed the only thing in her range. It was a large, sturdy stick, one that she quickly handed off to Connie to arm her for the inevitable fray. "We'll just have to fight our way through 'em!"
"B-but I can barely see, remember?" Connie gripped the stick tightly, nervously.
"I'll be your eyes then!" Mabel grinned back at her. "Just swing where I tell you to."
"...Ok," Connie agreed. After all, despite her unconventional ideas, Mabel hadn't really steered her wrong yet.
"Get them!" Jeff ordered, still nursing his sore nose. With this command, the gnomes lept into action, and so did the girls. Still armed with the ring, Mabel began throwing punches, using the sharp stone to land more than a few heavy blows. At the same time, she made sure to keep Connie covered, calling out directions for her to swing her branch in.
"Left!" she yelled above the din of the brawl. Connie swung her stick as if it were a sword, plowing it into a gnome that tried to knock her off her feet.
"Right!" Mabel's next direction came just in time for Connie to ram her branch into several gnomes all at once.
"Straight up!" She warned against the gnome that tried getting the jump on them both from above. Connie spiked it away from them with ease, leaving Mabel thoroughly impressed.
"Wow, Connie! You're really good at this!"
"Thanks," Connie smiled between heavy breaths. "I play tennis. This is… kinda like that. Ok, it's not really, but still. Where'd you learn how to fight, Mabel?"
"... I dunno how to fight, silly," Mabel shrugged as she threw her fist into another gnome's face.
"Uh… ok, then…" Connie raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced.
There wasn't much time for more talk as the gnomes kept coming, seemingly without end, forcing their focus onto the ongoing brawl. This was the chaotic scene Steven and Dipper arrived to find when they finally reached the gnomes' hideout deep within the woods. As ready as they both were to charge in to save the girls, they ultimately stopped short in shock when they realized the girls were already in the midst of saving themselves.
"Whoa…" Steven's jaw dropped in awe as he watched the girls hold their own against the gnome army. "Is that your sister?"
"I… think so?" Dipper was just as surprised as he watched Mabel punch a gnome back several feet away from her. "Mabel?"
"Dipper!" Mabel grinned, waving at him between punches. "It's about time you showed up!" She paused, only very briefly when she noticed the boy standing alongside her brother. "Oh! Did you make a cool new friend too?"
"Yeah!" Steven caught Dipper off guard, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "Hi! You must be Mabel; Dipper's already told me all about you. I'm Steven!"
"Steven!?" Connie gasped, unable to see him clearly in the distance.
"Connie!" Steven called back, relieved to see she was alright. Even if he was a bit taken aback when he watched her whack a gnome upside the head with her stick. "Wait, why are you guys beating up the gnomes anyway? I know they kidnapped you and everything, but… don't you think all this is a little, uh… violent?"
"They tried to force us to marry them!" Connie huffed, indignant.
"And they wouldn't take no for an answer," Mabel added just as bitterly. "I know I was hoping for an epic romance this summer but not like this ."
"Oh, d-don't listen to them!" Jeff hurried over to the boys with a forced, easygoing laugh. "This is all just one big misunderstanding. Neither of them are in any sort of danger. They agreed to marry all one thousand of us to become our new co-queens for all eternity. Right, sweeties?"
"As if!" Connie shot back fiercely.
"You guys are butt-faces!" Mabel yelled, kicking a gnome off her leg.
"Ok, that's it," Dipper cut in, sternly staring the head gnome down. "Let them both go, or else!"
"Y-yeah!" Steven added, before whispering to Dipper. "Or else what?"
"I don't know," Dipper shrugged. "I'm making things up as I go along."
"You boys think you can stop us?" Jeff challenged. He hopped up onto a nearby stone to give himself an intimidating bit of extra height, though both Steven and Dipper were still a good bit taller all the same. "You have no idea what we're capable of! The gnomes are a powerful race! Do not trifle with the-"
He was abruptly silenced when Dipper used another discarded stick to gently shove him off his rock. The rest of the gnomes were shocked by such a clear show of disrespect toward their leader, giving Mabel and Connie the opportunity they were looking for to finally give them the slip.
"This way!" Steven urged everyone to follow him out of the cave. "Hurry!"
While Dipper and Mabel easily began to make their escape, Connie had a bit more trouble as she tripped over a stray root, her vision still largely muddled. Steven ran to her side, helping her up as he pulled something out of his pocket before handing it over to her.
"I believe these belong to you," he smiled as he helped her put her glasses back on.
"You found them!" she exclaimed, overjoyed to be able to see the world clearly again. "Thanks, Steven!"
"Thank me later," Steven grabbed her hand when he noticed the gnomes beginning to give chase behind them. "We've gotta go!"
By the time they reached the cave's exit, the twins were already there. And of course, the moment Mabel so much as caught her first glimpse of the pastel pink lion awaiting the group, she could scarcely begin to contain her excitement. "Oh. My. GOSH!" she squealed, ignoring her brother's warning as she rushed over to the big cat. "This lion is PINK!" Without a single ounce of fear to speak of, she hugged Lion tightly, burying her face in his bright, thick mane. "And he's so SOFT too! I must be dreaming because how can anything this cute actually be real?!"
"Ok, Mabel, can you freak out over the lion after we're safe from the band of bloodthirsty gnomes?" Dipper practically had to pull her away from the beast.
"Aw, but look at him!" Mabel continued scratching Lion under the chin, garnering a deep purr from the big cat. "He's just a sweet little baby!"
"That 'sweet little baby' almost mauled me in the woods earlier," Dipper pointed out, deadpan.
"Yeah… but like I said, he totally didn't mean it!" Steven chimed in as he and Connie arrived. "Oh, by the way, Connie, this is Dipper, Mabel's brother. And Dipper, this is my friend Connie. And now we all know each other! Hooray!"
"Nice to meet you," Connie chuckled as she held a hand out for Dipper to shake.
"Yeah," he returned, mustering a small smile. "If only it wasn't under the most insane circumstances imaginable."
"Uh, speaking of insane," Mabel paled when she turned back toward the cave. "We should probably get going!"
Sure enough, the gnomes were all racing to catch up with them, determined to reclaim their pair of "queens". Steven didn't hesitate to hop back up onto Lion, encouraging everyone else to do the same. "Come on!"
Though they all had to press in close, somehow, all four of them managed to fit on Lion's back. The beast briefly struggled under so much weight, but he still stood fast, bolting off into the woods upon Steven's command.
"Woo!" Mabel yelled, exhilarated as they rushed through the woods. "Ok, this day just went from totally weird to totally amazing ! Two new friends and a ride on a pretty pink lion?! It almost makes up for being kidnapped by a bunch of creepy gnomes! Almost."
"They won't be able to catch up to us, will they?" Connie glanced back, concerned.
"I wouldn't worry about it," Dipper assured, smirking. "Did you see their little legs? Those suckers are tiny ."
He was quickly proven wrong, however, when the forest floor suddenly began to tremble underneath them. Lion skidded to an abrupt stop as a towering shadow rose over the trees, allowing the kids to see exactly what tactic the gnomes had taken to catch them. The entire horde had come together, stacking on top of each other to create a huge, hulking amalgamation, fueled by the sheer anger of hundreds upon hundreds of vengeful gnomes.
"Uh oh…" Mabel muttered, her eyes wide with fear.
"I-it's a super gnome !" Steven cried as the monster's massive first rushed down at them. Lion pounced out of the way just in time, rushing into the trees as the gnomes who were scattered from the blow scrambled to rejoin the rest of the collective.
From the very top of the super gnome, Jeff held his post, calling the shots as he shouted a furious threat toward the fleeing group of kids. "Give us back our queens!"
Despite this, Lion didn't slow down in the slightest, narrowly evading the super gnome as it launched several live projectiles at his passengers. The kids had no choice but to duck, lest they be struck by the gnomes' surprisingly sharp hats. When one of them managed to grab onto Lion's long tail, Mabel shook him off, while Steven shoved one who had landed in Lion's mane away.
"Sorry!" he called as the gnome landed roughly on the forest floor behind them.
"We need to go somewhere we can get away from them," Connie said, wincing as another gnome flew by only inches away from her face. "Somewhere we can hide."
"The Mystery Shack!" Mabel readily suggested. "Maybe Grunkle Stan has some 'gnome-be-gone' we can spray on these guys to get rid of them once and for all!"
"Grunkle Stan?" Steven echoed, confused. "Wait, do you mean Mr. Pines? Mr. Pines is your great uncle?!" he gasped, awestruck. "That's so cool ! Dipper, why didn't you tell me that earlier?"
"Didn't really find the time to bring it up between going on a rescue mission and running for our lives, Steven," Dipper retorted.
"If that's where we're headed, we better hurry!" Connie warned. All four of the kids were caught off guard when one of the super gnome's hands veered in close toward them. Once again, Lion dodged it, running as fast as his paws could carry him, though it was clear even he wouldn't be able to keep up this frantic chase forever.
"The shack should be just ahead," Steven leaned in as they approached the edge of a bluff. "Everyone, hold on tight!"
By the time the others realized what Steven was planning, it was already too late to change his mind. Instead, the most they could do was cling onto each other for dear life as Lion leapt off the low cliff, straight into the open air. Their shared screams echoed through the area as they flew over the forest. Steven buried his face into Lion's mane, Connie tightly closed her eyes, Mabel hugged her brother tight, and Dipper didn't even notice as his old brown cap went flying off his head, lost to the trees below. After several terrifying, breathless moments, Lion solidly landed on the ground once again, the heavy impact hardly phasing him at all as he continued his beeline toward the shack.
Unfortunately, the super gnome wasn't daunted either. It slammed down the cliff, storming through the forest after the kids every bit as viciously as it had been before. In another attempt to slow the big cat down, it yanked a tree, roots and all, from the ground and lobbed it straight at the kids.
"Look out!" Mabel screamed when she saw it. While the others all pressed low to avoid the tree, Lion could only manage to swerve hard away from where it landed in front of him. Even then, he didn't completely miss it; instead, he was forced to jump over it at an awkward angle. This time, he didn't land on his feet, instead, rolling hard onto the ground of the clearing just outside of the Mystery Shack. All four of the kids were thrown off his back, scattered and dazed from such a brutal landing. They didn't have much time to recover, however, before the super gnome was upon them all again.
"End of the line, kids!" Jeff exclaimed, grinning triumphantly at them from above. "You girls better marry us or we'll have to do something crazy !"
The kids quickly came back together, with the boys taking a defensive position in front of the girls to do what they had to in order to protect them. "What now…?" Connie fretfully wondered.
"We could escape to the temple…" Steven frowned up at his house, just up the hill. So close, but so far, all at the same time. "But that last jump took it out of Lion. There's no way we'll be able to get up there without them catching us."
"There's gotta be some way out of this…" Dipper said, already starting to pull the journal out of his vest to look for a solution.
Mabel drew in a deep breath, sparing just a short, nervous glance behind her. In doing so, she happened to spot something none of the other kids had. Something that managed to be somehow even more terrifying than the fearsome gnome titan standing before them. "Uh… guys?" was all she had time to say before it happened.
A sharp, inhuman shriek pieced the air as something black and green flew straight over the kids' heads, striking the super gnome hard in the chest. The incredible force of it was more than enough to split the gnomes apart, sending them flying in almost every direction. Their frightened cries were all but drowned out by even more monstrous noises coming from the shack's direction, but the kids were focused more on the super gnome as it fell to pieces before their very eyes.
"No, no!" Jeff yelled as he fell to the ground. His underlings hardly heeded him as they skittered off into the safety of the woods, more than a few of them noticing the much larger threat behind their now former targets. "Wait! Gah!" He spun around, shaking his fist at the kids. "We'll get you for this! All four of you! Us gnomes don't stop until we get what we-AH" He screamed, stumbling back when a burst of bright green viscous liquid landed on the ground right next to him. Upon taking another glance up at the shack, Jeff made the quick decision that vowing vengeance wasn't worth dealing with that . "... On second thought, I'm outta here. Good luck, kids. You look like you're gonna need it."
"Huh…" Steven frowned as they all watched Jeff and his gnome kin run off into the woods. "Wonder what he meant by that."
They quickly found out when another feral screech sounded out, this time from just behind the four of them. No soon after dismantling one threat, the kids spun around to face a new one entirely. A gigantic centipede-like creature towered over them, a single eye resting inside of its sharp mouth as its green, crystalline body coiled even higher to the air than the super gnome had stood. It reared its head back, deadly acid bubbling in its throat that it clearly planned on unleashing on the terrified group of kids before it.
With no time to think and no time to act, all the kids could do was huddle together and brace themselves for that acid to rain down upon them. For their friendship–along with everything else really–to come to a sudden, violent end the very same day it began.