#hence why chapter 1 is only 3/4 done. despite the chapter being short & me working on it forever | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

musicalmukebox · 6 years ago

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Let’s Get (Back) Together | l.h. (15)

Ctto of the gifs used!!

AU: Parent Trap Dad!Luke

Summary: A strong love which led to a strong marriage and twin daughters. Yet in the end, it didn’t turn out so well. You strongly refuse to encounter him ever again. But what happens when both of you coincidentally send your twin daughters to the same summer camp in Florida after 10 years?

Word Count: 11k

Warnings: angst, swearing, sweet sweet revenge, verbal and almost physical fighting, mental breakdowns, s e x u a l tension

A/N: Gahhh it’s around 1:40 am here! I enjoyed writing this chapter like wooo! I hope you guys won’t find it too cheesy or underwhelming! First, I wanna thank my parents for giving me the medical terms mentioned here, though I still struggle with capturing some concepts of it haha! And by the way, I found out the Parent Trap film just celebrated its 20th year anniversary since its release a few months ago. Pretty coincidental to say the least! Anyways, enjoy!

I don’t own Parent Trap and its ideas. It’s only used as inspiration.

1 / 2A / 2B / 2C / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

Feedback/Questions/Others? Here.

2022, Los Angeles

These past weeks, you’ve created a new daily routine. Or rather, your body did.

Wake up suddenly. Race to the bathroom. Vomit your guts out. Go back to sleep. Wake up to get ready for work. Prepare breakfast. Race back to the bathroom. Vomit again. Fully lose your appetite. Take a shower. Get dressed. Drive to the studios or film settings.

It pretty much varies, but this was a close one to each passing day. You ached the rush of your guts boiling up to your throat because it was physically draining and hindering you from current filming projects. Also to your disdain, Luke was on a mini tour at the moment, so you were on your own for this, though it was bound to end soon so a speedy recovery must be in order. But he knew what you were going through due to your nightly (or morning) video calls you do almost every day whenever both of you can.

“Are you sure you’re really okay, (Y/N)? I can ask Eleanor to come over and help.”

“No need! I’m fine, Luke. Just need more rest, that’s all.”

Even though the directors of latter were lenient and kind enough to give you some rest days since they knew how much of a busy woman you’ve become, you still felt bad because it looked as if you haven’t taken care of yourself too well with your condition.

Was it something you ate? Did you exert too much effort to the point your body couldn’t handle it? Are you overworking on these projects? Seriously, did you or Luke cook something that actually expired?

Actually before the nausea, fatigue has hit you faster before you begin working on-set. Thus, sitting out became a norm that quick. Going home after is just exhausting, and crashing on the bed is a lot easier than usual. Not really a bad thing, but you still had to work on your lines and respond to emails. Alongside that, you’ve suddenly gained weight despite the nausea. Your jeans don’t fit like they used to and mostly, you prefer wearing crop tops and sweaters instead of anything tight.

The last straw was today, when you no longer tolerated that insane wave of nausea that hit almost every thirty minutes in the late morning which clashed with the fatigue. Only now were you growing concerned on your health since you figured it firstly to be a stomach virus, but it could possibly more than that. Hence, you needed to get a clear idea of what is happening to you. So today, you excused yourself again to the director of one of the filming shootings for the day due to health reasons, and urgently went to the hospital. Fortunately, he freely allowed you to do so because you had one of the lead roles, and really wanted make sure that everyone was healthy.

By chance, no paparazzi was present in the area, which made it easier to check inside. Seeking guidance from any expert in the lobby as soon as you walked in, a young looking woman in her green scrubs raced to your aid, probably an intern in her twenties who was starstruck by your appearance by the way she beamed when she greeted you.

“Omg hi, Miss (Y/L/N)! How may I help you?”

Although flattered, you bluntly gave her the synopsis of your physical well-being. “Well, something’s odd with my health, like I’ve been easily tired these past weeks, and vomiting hardcore too which makes me lose a lot of sleep. Today took a toll me while at work, so I just want a clear idea of what’s happening because I’m pretty nervous and hoping it’s not serious that it could affect my work ethic.”

Upon talking, she was taking down of everything and it didn’t take too long for her to think of a procedure or solution to assist you. “Oh no! It’s a good thing you’ve come today. I suggest you take a blood test, which you can get the results of next week if that would be okay. Though for nausea, avoid oily foods and eat something bland like pretzels.”

As impatient as you were feeling now due to the tension of what’s happening within you, you trusted her opinion and pushed through with it. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good! Now, may I lead you to the institute of pathology? That’s where the laboratory is for blood extraction.”

“Surely, lead the way.”

“And we’re done!” The phlebotomist, or someone who extracts blood from you aka. the patient for testing, exclaims as she ejected the needle from your forearm and untied the tourniquet right above. Internally, you celebrated for facing your long fear of needles for the sake of your health.

“Thanks so much, love. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

“I doubt that it is. You’re practically glowing and fit since you’ve acted and done your own stunts in your films too. Also c’mon, your body is goals!”

Gushing, “Aww, thanks again.” You attempted to stand up from the seat, but it only made you dizzy so you sat back down. You weren’t even in a rush, self. Chill. “Wow, I’m getting dizzy and tired so fast nowadays honestly. This sucks.”

“What else have you been feeling then? – By the way, I’m Claire.” She introduced whilst asking, tucking away your blood sample in a cabinet.

“Nice to meet you, Claire. Hmm well,” You leaned back in the chair to suit your comfort. “I get the most absurd food cravings at weird times yet there is non-stop vomiting late in the morning especially. I gained weight too, where I can’t fit some of my jeans and shorts and wearing tight tops and bras are suffocating. Also whenever I try to go to gym, the fatigue kicks in. Actually, the fatigue is always there, but they get worse like the vomiting.”

“Oh, I see.” Claire, who just sat across from you, listened and put her mind into use of what may have caused this, although the answer was so predictable to her and still wanted to inquire. “Have you been … sexually active recently? I mean, you are married and all to Luke Hemmings!”

You gushed again since you weren’t much to talk about your sex life with him, covering your burning cheeks. But if it’s meant to help you, then by all means go. “Last time we’ve gone at it was around 2-3 months ago, right before he went on a mini tour in the country.”

“Interesting. - When was the last time you’ve got your period?”

Frankly, you weren’t much to check on your menstruation patterns nowadays since you’re too time consumed with your career. Besides, if it’s arrives, you have pads prepared back at home. “I don’t remember. I’ve been so distracted to keep track. Why is that so important?”

“Oh my god, is it that hard to unravel? – Morning sickness, weight gain, weird cravings, over fatigue, late period?” She asked back, cracking an enthusiastic smile. But you shook your head, still not understanding where she’s getting at.

“Though I’m glad you took this blood test to be sure, my motherly instincts are telling me that you, Mrs. (Y/N) Hemmings, are pregnant.”

A week later, and she was right.

You received from the mail the results, which confirmed your suspicions. Since that extraction, you couldn’t stop thinking about it despite everything making much more sense now. All the symptoms were exactly what Eleanor felt when she was still pregnant with Nick, how naïve of you to have not realized sooner!

The need to tell Luke in person as soon as possible is making you impatient, and you were in utter luck that he was coming home tonight already after months.

You were still in contact with Claire, who was ecstatic for you when you told her and hastily recommended you to the best OB-GYN doctor in the hospital named Dr. Katherine Han. Booking an appointment today was challenging at first, but luckily, you got it. Waiting outside her clinic, her secretary kindly invited you in. “Dr. Han is ready to see you, Mrs. Hemmings.”

Dr. Han, or Kate as she fully claimed, scanned through your results happily, recommended the necessary vitamins and insisted you afterwards to make an ultrasound to inspect on your unborn child. “This is pretty exciting, must I say?”

Unquestionably, yes. Maybe, at first, you freaked out because that would mean a lot of adjustments. You and Luke have talked about before about wanting kids later in your marriage, when you’ve toned down from your busy lifestyles. But now, who cares? Your mindset changed drastically, and the idea of carrying a little life inside you was mind-blowing. It was actually happening.

With that idea having you feel thrilled for the next months to come. But the moment you lied down on the examination bed and put up your blouse, there was already a bump, which is unlikely since it’s early in the pregnancy. Regardless, you then felt the wand move below your abdomen with the cold gel, you were breathless of what your eyes witnessed on the screen.

“You see that flickering light? That’s the heartbeat. Let me raise the volume of it.”

Doing as she said, the thumping increased and you felt goosebumps grow in your entire body. There was the little bean in its glory, your little bean.

“Oh wait a minute.” She paused briefly, raising the wand higher to show another flickering light and an echo of sounds. “Looks like you have two healthy heartbeats. – Congrats, Mrs. Hemmings. You’re expecting twins. Would you like a copy of the sonogram?”

Just as you though things couldn’t get any better, you’ll get two little bundles of you. Okay, maybe one mini-you and one mini-Luke. Though if they are both mini-Luke’s, it’s alright too. It’ll be a quite a mess since Luke is practically a man-child. But, who cares?

“Mrs. Hemmings?” Too absorbed in your thoughts, you haven’t answered the doctor’s question.

“Yes please.”

As great and fantastic these news were, you were bound to surprise Luke this when he gets home. It’s been quite a while. Also, you really wanted him to be the first to know before telling anyone else. Since your careers are already over the top, you planned to just keep it simple. Besides, the both of you weren’t much into giving lavish luxury items, well except on special occasions.

But on a normal basis? Nah, you’d like to save some money for the future. Most likely for education. It’s always nice to think ahead.

There were balloons on the walls and some tied down the legs of the side tables, where you were sat by the couch with a small bag of goodies were inside with a mutual meaning. Time is ticking on your watch, and Luke could be home any minute now. He’ll be exhausted since he’ll be coming back from New York. You’ve missed him so much, where neither video not phone calls were not as sufficient as physical contact. Especially the rated R ones!

Well, before you got “sick”.

Your calm body was sprawled on the couch, trying new positions that’ll suit best for your little beans and scrolling up and down possible room decorations to purchase. Oh yes, baby fever is real with you, starting with the nickname of little beans. While at your enjoyable daze, you can hear the fumbling of the door knob from the outside, unlocking it. Struggling to roll down his huge luggages and his dufflebag as his hand carry, he dropped them immediately.

“I’m home!”

For him, all he knew was that his home is wherever you are.

There he was in his glory. His hair was a lot messier as compared to usual, his facial expressions of tiredness from the long trip but still gave a loud greeting that could get a noise complaint from the neighbors.

Again.

“Luke!” You shot up from your seat, catching his attention. Upon hearing, he knew in a snap you were in the living room. He hoped you cooked dinner or something because as much as he did like eating everywhere from hotel rooms and famous restaurants, nothing beats yours. But then again, you’ve been sick so probably not. As long as he gets to see you, he’ll be happy.

Advancing there, he lightened up at the sight of you, as if you were glowing like the sickness never bothered at all. The blue dress you had on with your beaming smile had him fall over heels all over again. Absolutely smitten. Alongside that, another thing that caught his eyes were the few balloons that bordered where you stood. Coming home from tour or a trip has never been new to since your jobs require to, yet little additions like them was blissful. He couldn’t waste anymore time, running to you and lifting you up in a tight hug by the waist.

Gasping at such suddenness, you enveloped your arms around his neck whilst internally praying he doesn’t crush the little beans, even by a bit. He then puts you down not so long after, giving you a lingering kiss on yours. He could care less if he would get sick. Tour is over anyways, and he has a break before going back to business.

God, feeling them just never gets old nor unsatisfying, like they were custom made just for you. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, love. These past months felt way too long.” Dragging the “too”, his interest returned on the balloons. As a symbol of celebration and surprises, something is up. Maybe he was just overreacting, considering this homecoming was a celebration in itself.

As he felt your arms linger away his neck, you brought out the small bag of goodies from the floor, preparing yourself for the reveal. “I came across some items you might like when I was the way home.”

He grew skeptical, but he went along with it. Taking a seat right beside you, he rummaged through them and brought it all out, laying them on the coffee table right in front.

“Hmm,” He begins his close observation. “An orange-flavored Caprisun, animal crackers and Starburst. Well, maybe for you, they were some of your favorite childhood snacks. I only liked the Starburst. – I’m still pretty lost with this.”

Not bad, he got a keyword: childhood.

This next step is the climax, which involved a sealed envelope from your jacket right beside you. It was quite nervewracking at first, but you came this far and nonetheless of his reaction, it wouldn’t affect how you feel towards the beans. “Here. Maybe this can make much more sense.”

He was so confused, but you didn’t blame him. “You’re scaring me, love.”

“Just open it.” You laughed, anticipating for too long and wanting already to see his reaction. Unsealing it felt like a lifetime, also ripping it a bit in the middle. There he saw two folded pieces of paper and took them out. The first was a short note, which he read aloud.

“Hello there! So as of now, we can’t eat and drink those treats so you can have them! Maybe give us around 6-7 months and we’ll steal them from you! We can’t wait to meet you, dad! Love, Little Bean 1 and Little Bean 2.”

Dad.

It took him seconds to sink in the premise of the surprise. Unfolding the last paper, it was the ultrasound from early afternoon, his mouth hanging down from the surprise and racing happiness that he was gaining. There was still a short sentence written on the back side.

“Turns out it wasn’t the flu or a virus. It’s just us adjusting, sorry for hurting mom though.”

From his contagiously, cute smile, he was the exact opposite of what you were overthinking previously. He was at a loss of words as he repeatedly looked back in forth at the goodies and the letters before facing you, having a matching smile and blushing. To add, he got up on his feet to really sink the information further because he was too happy.

“I’m pregnant, Luke.” You blurted, no more holding back.

Luke swore he was breathless for a moment, before lifting you up again and back into his arms you were. “Oh my God, wow. Fuck. – This is the best thing I’ve heard all day!” You were laughing too hard from his reaction, and as he put you down, he was literally filled with so much adoration for you.

“It’s actually happening! Like you’re going to be a mom, I’m going to be a dad, we’ll be parents! And twins?!”

“It’s going to be double trouble but double fun, right?” You reassured, only leading him to pull you closer for a kiss on your forehead.

“Fuck yeah. I hope they have your nose though.” He booped your nose, knowing that it annoys you often. But you let it pass.

“I hope they have your blue eyes, they are gorgeous.” You complimented, grazing a finger on his scruffy face. You were equally appreciating every facial feature of each other, giving more “I hope’s” back and forth and then confidently, you tiptoed to place your lips against him, sharing a much more passionate kiss that can are as equal to the kisses from your consummation.

He was the first to pull back, desiring to place his available hand on your lower abdomen with a grin so pure it can spread world peace. “There’s a little us there, and I’ll make sure to take care of the three of you.” Your hormones were about to get the best of you, but you didn’t let it control you for now.

“God, can we just stay in this moment forever? It’s too amazing.” He pleaded, looking directly in your eyes.

“I really do as well, but if it helps,” You pointed your finger at the fireplace, where a tiny camera was situated. “I recorded the whole thing for us to look past on.”

He couldn’t get any more blessed and grateful for you, scattering your entire face with pecks. “Fuck, I love you so much. I can never picture anyone else having my children except you.”

Your heart was fleeting crazily, but his cursing was all over the place which is now considered unacceptable in this household. “I love you so much too, Luke. – But one, stop swearing around me, or at least minimize it. They can hear you, you know?” He frowned in guilt, but when you laughed out the seriousness, you declared once more.

“Second, you’re the only person I would ever want to have a domestic life with.”

2034, Sydney

It was 4 am, and most of the adults were passed out drunk in their separate bedrooms in the second floor. The house they were lodging currently had 4 stories with a basement. In the third floor, there were designated rooms for the young boys and girls. Stella and Rebecca currently shared a bed and a room with Scarlett and Beatrix. Yet, it was Rebecca to get up first due to the soft alarm she set on her phone. Good thing no one else heard it or else Scarlett would be complaining so much about how precious sleep is.

Shaking her sister gently to wake up, it didn’t take too long before she groggily did, having some of her blonde strands covering her visage and lips. When she blew them off, her eyes crinkled open more from the flashlight Rebecca switched on since Stella was arrogant to move at first. But because now she couldn’t fall back into sleep, she urged her body to get upright and focus on her awoken twin.

“God, this bed was too comfortable like you said.” She stretched her arms, unwrapping her tiny body from the duvet and put on her slippers.

“I told you so! Anyways, we need to grab some things at the kitchen and pantry first.” Rebecca tells, adjusting her sweater and jumps out the bed with her phone. Slowly sneaking out the door without disturbing anyone else, the twins tiptoed their way to the stairs and hurried to the pantry where a huge chunk of their needed materials lied.

Rebecca switched on the light, a mischievous smirk forming in her face as she stepped on the mini ladder so she could reach items that were up in the shelves. Stella watched her, making sure she doesn’t trip or anything, but she also took some items on the lower shelves they knew they would need. When they finished, they gathered their things and laid them down on the kitchen island, arranging and checking them orderly.

“Hair dye?” Stella asked.

“Got it. Honey?” Rebecca picks the item up for showing.

“Check. Balloons?”

“Done.”

As they completed in reviewing their materials, “You ready for this, brat?”

“Fuck yeah. Sierra deserves only the worse.”

“Truly. So Camp War 2.0? Let’s get to work.”

Phase 1.

Luke dazedly woke up to do his morning run around 6 in the morning in hopes to watch the sunset by the cliff that he loves to do alone. He was blessed to not have gotten wasted like Ashton. Tying the shoelaces of his shoes and inserting his airbuds, he was on his way out the house. Sierra was in a peaceful slumber for quite some time – That was until the first alarm from her phone hit piercingly. Groaning, one eyelid was open to stop it. She didn’t recall putting any alarms before getting to bed, but nonetheless, she wanted to claim back her beauty sleep.

But the second alarm then came around not even 10 minutes later, and there she was annoyed. Muttering profanities under her breath, she turned it off and tossed back to her initial sleeping position. Unfortunately, the deafening sound of the alarm messed with her mind, which made her lose the drowsiness. No longer forcing it, she rose from her side of the bed with bad bed head. Disoriented by her “dysfunctional” phone, the first thing she was looking for was her glasses, which is usually by her bed side so she can properly operate. However, it wasn’t there as she rummaged it. Odd again, but she ignored it again since just a few hours, she was drunk off her butt and probably left it someplace else.

With blurry vision, she stumbled her way to the bathroom, discarding her pajamas to take a warm shower. Here, another scheme is set. Putting on shampoo is a normal thing when cleaning yourself, only that when Sierra applies it on her hair, it gradually left her a raging red shade.

It didn’t process to her what was happening until she saw the shower floor filled with red water. At first, she figured that she got her period, but she just got it 2 weeks ago and it’s long ended. Pulling the handle open of the shower, she went nearer to the mirror to see what has took place.

“Fucking shit!” How did this happen? Did she take the wrong shampoo? The smell was right though. Maybe there was a chemical malfunction, and she has to get this fixed as soon she can because God knows how much more damage it can bring. Also, email the company about this.

Rinsing it off with a towel, she changed into cleaner clothes and pretty set for the day, knowing she has a few things on her agenda already. She likes to be productive after all. But first, breakfast. She just needed her phone to do some contacting. When she got ahold of it on her bedside, she received a message.

[6:40 AM] Future Husband: just went out for a run! but i have a surprise for you downstairs in the basement, come check it out x

She loved surprises, where she gets to be spoiled rotten by absolutely anything she wants. And since recently he’s been so distant due to the whole surprise family reunion, she assumed that he felt bad and is making up for it.

[6:50 AM] Sierraaaaa: just showered babe, i’m gonna check it out! love you, hubba!

Meanwhile from the work room, where security cameras were placed in the major rooms like the basement, living room, the small lobby, and patio, Rebecca and Stella were imitating vomiting sounds due to the pet names Sierra gave. “So this is dating works, huh? Just bleh!”

“I suppose so. Good thing I’m too young for that! - Shit, she’s by the staircase already!”

They watched carefully her movements, hoping she doesn’t take any unnecessary detours and giggling at the new hair color on the side. When Sierra reaches the end of the corridor of the first floor, which leads to a another staircase going to the basement, the girls were on the edge of their seats, giddy. There were two open tabs on the desktop computer they were using, one showing Sierra and the other on the basement. The latter was a total and messy obstacle, which was about to be unleashed in less than a minute.

“Fuck, let’s get the actual party started!” Stella exclaimed.

Phase 2.

“Hope you like it, babe. Love, Luke.” Sierra reads the sign on the door, pumped up what lies behind the wooden door. With the suspense it expressed, Sierra couldn’t wait any longer and unlocked the door in front of her.

It was quite dark since the curtains were spread open at the large open doors on her left, so through her eyes, she searched for any light buttons to switch on. Luckily, there was one on her left, but it was pretty far from where she stood, so she moved her body to do so minimally. However, as she did, she actually overpassed a light string that was connected to the light switches. Instead, she slipped on the floor instantly and caught the tacky view of the basement.

First feature: A mixture of honey and maple syrup spread throughout the floor like peanut butter on bread.

She slid so fast throughout the entire interior of the room like an indoor slip-and-slide, hitting the corners and sides of the walls with almost every part of her body. Her mind was spinning, and every time she tried to get back on her feet, the syrup would always make her tumble repeatedly. Unfortunately enough, she had no protective gear on her figure to keep her safe from the friction and bumping the hardness, most especially her head. Yet there was another detail that got her much more drenched.

Second feature: There were numerous balloons surrounded in the entire room that were either filled with air or water.

Whilst sliding, different balloons were popping around her as she hit different spots of the room. When did, she’d pop a few balloons in the process that would either trigger her sensitive ears or wet any parts of her body. This went on many times because she really tried her best to stand up and evacuate this mess. Here, her body was reconnecting also with the discomforting syrup then faced one last detail.

Third Feature: One of the light switches from a while ago was connected to the electric fan above her, which would rain the room with feathers.

Various sizes of feathers would glue to her soaking clothing. She sneezed at every encounter she got with them, meaning that she was continuously sneezing during the entire experience. No part of her body was spared, resulting to looking like a hairy chicken, especially with the red hair!

“Bok bok, bitch.” Rebecca referenced Rachel Cho, satisfied by the ugliness of the maze which got Sierra the deserved treatment. But that so-called maze wasn’t the end just yet.

Phase 3, aka. the total knockout.

Drenched and still slipping numerously, her rage and annoyance levels skyrocketed into inflation. Thus, it resulted into passionate and thunderous screams, almost like someone was being murdered. She wanted to get out of this horrendous room, and back to the bathroom to rinse off. But on top of that, she wanted to fight whoever was in charge of this, and she knew exactly who they were. Who else?

“Absolute brats!”

Since it was impossible to go back to the main door unless she wanted to slip and fall again, she resolved into opening the big, wide doors facing the beach. Carefully taking her time making steps, she pushed them out, relieved that her stay at that maze was over.

Or was it?

Right above where she was drenching and groaning from discomfort, another line of string hung by her eyes with a tiny note with another message. “You think it was over? – P.S. flip over this note.”

She pulled it out strongly, unfolding it effortlessly because she wanted to know more about the minds of the sinister sisters. Little did she know that a bucket of chocolate syrup was stationed right above her, where a friendly creature was swimming in it, or possibly drowning.

“You mess with our parents, you mess with us. Also, look up. – R & S”

Right on cue, she tilted her head upwards and low and behold, the sticky substance splattered all over her entire body, coating the water and honey from earlier. It was almost Carrie 2.0, except there was no huge audience except the twins, who were busy rejoicing for their success. It came upon them of how smart they work together than against each other like in camp, gladly knowing that they have a valid reason to act so. Besides, they are young and bright, they have to hone their growing potentials.

Sierra remained still and quiet, trying to regain her composure because she will not let the brats win over. It took her years to get to where she is, and she will strike back because losing to them is basically like losing to you. However, that idea was scratched off as soon she felt something crawl above her dyed hair. She was disturbed at the foreign sensation, reaching over it to get a touch of what it is. When she did, it continued to brisk off and by the rough skin and long tail, it was a lizard. And she screamed bloody murder when the lizard slid down to her face, even went to her mouth! Spitting it out along other saliva that was contaminated, she attained her breaking point, finally fed up and throwing numerous tantrums like the spoiled woman she is.

“Wait, where again did you find the creepy crawly, Stella?” Rebecca asks, watching Sierra and enjoying herself at her rage.

“When I was placing the bucket by the ledge of the patio. He was crawling everywhere, but I figured he’d be important.”

Just in time with her screams, Luke just arrived back at the house from his morning jog. Removing his airbuds, he could easily determine the voice and raced to where it was occurring. But when he got to the living room so he could get to the patio and see the commotion, he was beaten to it when a soaked Sierra stormed inside with a frustrated look on her face. She pushed away any object within her vicinity and kicked some chairs too, beyond pissed. It wasn’t too long when the other boys and their families were disrupted from their rest and came running down the stairs, seeking answers towards the unexpected fuss. Just like Luke, they thought that she looked like an absolute, hot mess, psyched and intrigued by who could’ve pulled off such an accident.

“Wha-What the fuck happened, babe?” It was all he can come up with at the spur of the moment, his focus more on her newly dyed hair that just didn’t suit her with the chocolate syrup dripping on the wooden floor.

All this pent frustration and the newly added one began to overtake her mind and mouth. She was officially done. When she took a few steps closer to him, “Here's what's going on, buddy, your twins happened! The day we say “I do" is the day I ship those brats off to Switzerland or maybe give them fully to (Y/N). Get the picture? It's me or them. Take your pick.”

Right after she spits her fire, muffled voices blasted from the speakers in that room. Those speakers can be activated a few ways, commonly through Bluetooth or the aux cord from the work room. Rapidly, the device boosted in volume, giving a clearer hearing of what was being voiced out.

It was none other than last night’s convo between Sierra and Arzaylea.

The two and everyone else paused themselves momentarily to take a listen, and in the end were they stopped dead on their tracks by the intensity and ruthlessness of the situation. Though humiliation additionally crashed on Sierra because she was the main involving party.

Oh, poor Luke. The big secret behind his psychotic fiancée was uncovered and served like a slap on the face. Somehow, everything these past years made much more sense. That honestly pep talk she gave yesterday was pure bull. Everything about her was an ongoing façade.

Once the audio reached its end, the twins publicly made their entrance from the work room, giving off their petty and naughty smirks to their main target. So far, so very good.

“Woah, good morning everyone.” Rebecca greeted innocently.

“What’s for breakfast?” Stella continued on casually.

But Luke wasn’t having it, too frazzled by the situation within the room and couldn’t even look at Sierra when she tried to capture his attention numerously during that audio play. “Alright girls, quit playing. What is going on?”

No more sweet talk, just get down to the business.

“Wasn’t the audio enough, dad? Aunt Sierra over here is a lie.” Stella claimed strongly, pointing at the messy woman.

“Dad, please don’t be associated with her anymore. She’s been manipulative before we were even born!” Rebecca defended further, which finally gave Sierra the balls to speak up for herself.

“That audio you gave could’ve been self-made! What other allegations can you give?” She tested, trying to redefine her name. Aish, wrong move. Rebecca was actually bundling up pieces of paper in her arms, and once she opened them up, “Do screenshots of conversations between you, TMZ, Perez Hilton, US weekly and many more tabloid platforms count? Also saw money and private information were involved too.”

“By the way, aunt Sierra, be careful for your surroundings before running your mouth and opening your devices. This house isn’t as big as you think it is.”

First passing it to Luke for his viewing before giving them to Michael, and just by the tired look he had post-work out he begun with, he grew mentally disheartened by the accuracy of his twins’ accusations about his fiancée. Though mischievous, they weren’t wrong at all.

“Ooh, got an extra audio file that can count as evidence if you don’t mind.” Stella added, excusing herself to return to the work room and play the file of Sierra’ conversation at the Forum. The strong persona of Sierra turned weak again when the papers were handed to different people and that extra audio blasted. Her exposure was forceful, and she had nothing else to say or do to deny them especially since the twins were stating facts.

Luke just listened to Sierra’s hurtful words, in disbelief that she was capable to do this all behind his back for the past decade. He was frozen at his standing position, wanting this to all be from the crazy part of his imagination. But once he was fixated with Sierra’s when he almost spaced out, he looked away quickly at disappointment. Sierra saw that short glimpse, still immersed on his facial features that drooped down. “L-Luke, please let me ex-”

Luke cut her off, putting his hand near her face so she would stop blabbering. “So this whole time, you wrecked our marriage?”

“Wait, ple-”

Luke kept going with his questioning. “You’ve planned this whole thing out vividly so that you and I would be the endgame?”

“Luke, st-”

“This meant having to ruin the lives of (Y/N), Becks and Stella?!”

Silenced and interrupted repetitively, Sierra couldn’t contain the concoction of the variety of emotions boiling up in her system. All these years she’s bottled them up has made her insane, insane to do absolutely anything for this particular man that has once helped her genuinely in the past. But in the end, she doomed herself to unsuccessfulness and obsession. All eyes were on her now, and she really is trying to compose and defend herself in her own words despite either way, she was going to lose. But those smirks of the twins which exactly resemble yours ticked her off completely.

“All of the actions I’ve done were out of 18 years of loving you, Luke! I was always there for you, way before (Y/N) came in the picture. Your breakup with Arzaylea? I was there. When people criticized the band’s hiatus and music post-Sounds Good, Feels Good and you needed moral support? I was also there. Every drinking session you wanted and invited me to out of celebration or sadness in your old home? I was fucking there! How did you not see that? We had something going on, but it was so effortlessly destroyed when she kissed you in that Valentine music video! Since then, I never liked her because I just knew she lured you in and used you so she could be famous. I just couldn’t allow that to happen, so I had to do what was best for you. Besides, if she trusted you, she could’ve told you the real behind the scenes of our relationship and we would’ve not been friends anymore. Gosh, secrecy! But I knew how to use my words so she wouldn’t bother to tell you anything. So yeah, the bitch does not deserve you, Luke. And those brats you call daughters are just as sneaky as she is!”

There it is.

The unsaid has finally dropped, which may have brought embarrassment because Sierra didn’t hold back nor had any filter to fix her words if she was to be misread. The rawness of it was a bombshell since no one ever expected it, even you if you were present. Luke felt as if he was stabbed in the gut mercilessly, not wanting to acknowledge her. Her so-called assumptions on what she thought was good for him was beyond ill-advised. Now one thing is guaranteed: she was the biggest factor to the destruction of your marriage.

“And you think you’re deserving?! Since when were you knowledgeable to know what was good for me?! I understand that you were trying to look out for me behind the scenes, but to hurt people in the process is different!!” His voice was on full blast, startling everyone and putting them on the edge as the rising drama climaxed. Sierra buried her face in her hands, put on the spot to reply back, but either way, it was a lose-lose situation. Luke’s fists balled up and hit the first thing he saw, which was a box of Lucky Charms.

“All the controversies you’ve had, I’ve looked past them because you’re a genuine and talented girl. Turns out you’ve fooled us all. Honesty is the best policy you also said yesterday, bullshit!” No one expected him to swear, making the boys and their wives cover some of their kids’ ears.

Sierra grabbed him by the arm to make him look at her. “I still am that girl, Luke. Let’s sort this out, please.”

“You never were.” Luke swat her hand away, but still turned around with a face as red as a tomato. A mix of post-workout exhaustion and frustration. “You know, (Y/N) had her own hustle, having to balance university while looking for job opportunities. Meeting her was a coincidence gone right. I thought I could fix you and your controversies, help make you become greater than that. Yet, it but turns out that you can only fix yourself, and you failed badly.”

Sierra needed to speak, she had to. Regardless of the risks. “Wow, now you’re defending your ex-wife? Last time I checked, you no longer wanted to be associated with her because she broke it off and hurt you so bad!”

Although truth was spilled, Luke began to pick up on her words and tried to piece them together with past events. Then, he realizes how some connect to each other. “She broke it off because the rumors you’ve paid to get done was a bad environment for our family then and we began to lose trust in each other. But you know what the worst thing was that occurred in that kind of setting?”

“What?” She had the nerve to cross her arms in a cocky manner.

Luke’s walls were near to breaking, but he didn’t want to leave the fight losing. “Because of the divorce, it led to half custody, meaning my twins, or “brats” as you said were robbed of a happy and full family. All thanks to you.”

To top off the cherry on top, Luke stepped a little closer to Sierra and ordered, “Leave.”

“Excuse me?” She sneered, putting a hand on her chest.

“L-E-A-V-E, Sierra. Get the picture?” Luke hissed. “You are a love-blinded psycho. By the way you said my twins are sneaky is saying that I am too because they are half of me! With this leave you’ll take is a leave from my life for good. I don’t know about the rest of everyone here, but I have lost all interest to be involved with you. So do leave the ring too, then bring all your stuff and never ever show yourself to me. You have done enough.”

His rage reached its peak, still not moving one bit. As much as they were aware that they’ve succeeded, the twins did not apprehend that their father would be severely affected in the process. All they wanted to do was prove a point and hence, they did get their justice. But for him to become sadder too wasn’t in their truest intention. They were too blinded and motivated in getting the both of you together by doing their war that they didn’t think through of the consequences.

“Luke, I-”

“Did I fucking stutter, Sierra? Leave!”

Sierra threw a hissy fit at the treatment she finally deserved, and angrily walks out of the living room. Luke remained unmoved, but warm tears swelled down his cheeks. He didn’t bother to rub them off, and as vulnerable as he is already, he tried to stay strong and hold it in.

“Luke,” Calum bravely took initiative to comfort his friend, only for Luke to finally move backwards away from his friend from this anxiety that overfilled his entire being.

“Don’t touch me, just stay away from me. Please!” He skipped to the workroom and locked himself inside, where he was left with himself to completely crash down and bawl out his pushed back emotions.

That reluctance to recognize them? Gone.

Emotional walls? Vanished.

He whimpered loudly, punching the different pillows in the couch along with knick-knacks on the desks. Pain was prevalent everywhere. Though his fists were bruised, his heart was deeply affected because he relied on his mind to give the practical solutions. Not entirely wrong, but with complete disregard of his heart meant disregarding his feelings, bottling them up for too long.

It was too difficult to make things seem normal in the household now.

Calum and Michael really did their best to change the atmosphere of the entire room by preparing breakfast, cracking eggs and bringing out the pancake mixes. Crystal needed to walk out to the patio to get fresh air away from the stuffiness. Ashton and Bryana were trying to think of easy ways on how to answer the questions from their children about Sierra since it wasn’t something they’ve ever seen before. Eleanor wasn’t too behind to follow Sierra’s steps, but not too near for the latter to see her. Arriving at her door and leaning against, she watches the ex-fiancée angrily throw different items in her dufflebag, observing how much she wanted to leave this situation.

“I’ve always had strong feelings you were still as controversial back in the day.”

She sensed a sneaky smirk from the brunette, who zipped up her packed bag and put the strap on her shoulder. Back on her feet, she came closer to Eleanor with that exact cocky expression. “You should’ve stopped me then, but you didn’t.”

As she tried to get on her way, Eleanor blocked her way, not letting her get off the hook that easily. “That was because I believed you could’ve grown better, but you chose to be a lot worse. Trashy even.”

“Ugh, harsh. But you may have forgotten that I am a girl who is passionate, who’ll do whatever it takes to get what and who I want in life. Luke isn’t something I could swipe left, babe.”

“Have you no pity or a heart?! You destroyed the well-beings of two of the most kind-hearted people, even got their children involved! - I’m so glad you were exposed. The bitch as you’ve described my best friend? Her intellect and determination were traits passed on the twins. With you, all you could ever give is your body and manipulation.”

Sierra’s jaw clicked, her free hand preparing to slap Eleanor, but she beat her it. Gripping her wrist tight that it could leave a mark, “Smart and nice way to accept loss, babe. Also by the way, I see something that doesn’t belong to you anymore.”

Referring to the diamond engagement ring, Eleanor removed her grip to the hand and watches with keen sight on Sierra sliding off the metal band. Once it was off, she effortlessly handed it to her new enemy, leading to Eleanor unblocking her. She didn’t wear her smirk anymore and scrambled down the stairs and to the garage, where a vacant, extra car awaits.

She was finally defeated.

Meanwhile, the twins managed to discreetly vacate from the living room and back to the basement, only this time, they’ve brought garbage bags and every cleaning material they could find in the pantry. Stella harshly scrubbed first the sticky floor from one row to another, whilst Rebecca disposed every popped balloon remains in the bag, shaking off any syrup stuck in it. Their progress was quite slow because some of the sticky area hardened, making them exert double energy which is more than what their bodies are capable of. Taking breaks in between increased, thinking how impossible it will be to accomplish this the entire day.

Not even halfway, a loud knock was made on the main door, the one from inside the house. “Come in!” Rebecca called out. The knob turned to its right and clicked open, which revealed the older kids, carrying spare cleaning materials and wearing similar frowns.

Stella stopped her actions. “What are you guys doing here?”

Beatrix put down her bucket and mop, entering inside the dirty room followed by the others. “I’m assuming you guys need some help after all that craziness you pulled off with Aunt Sierra.”

“But haven’t we been a burden enough to you all? This trip so far has been horrendous, at least we need to fix our mess down here.” Rebecca fired back, embarrassed to even look at them. Unexpectedly, Oliver advanced to her with his apron getup and declared, “To be honest, Rebecca, if any of us discovered the hidden intentions of a vicious woman like aunt Sierra on our parents, we would do absolutely everything to make sure that the bitch doesn’t walk free.”

“Also your strategy was crazy good, it serves her right!” Nick justified proudly. As much as it gave a short dose of hope and enlightenment to the twins, knowing their friends got their backs, they couldn’t help still feel guilty on bringing upon more emotional instability to their father.

“Thanks for the support, guys. Still though, we made our dad a lot more broken, and we can’t forgive ourselves for that.” Stella opens up, having trouble to maintain eye contact on anybody because of the shame. She may have blinked back tears because she isn’t one to show her vulnerability, another evident trait she got from her father. Less to her knowledge, Alex came to her aid with tissue paper on standby.

She was baffled, putting it away. “Thanks but no thanks, Alex. I’m fine.”

“You aren’t, Stella.”

He was right, and at the same time, one tear from Stella streamed down and he was the one to wipe them off with his thumb. Caressing her cheek, “It’s okay to be vulnerable, Stella.” He gave a hopeful grin, which was easily reciprocated with a tight hug. “T-Thank you, Alex.”

While they had their moment, the other kids were also silently cleaning those spots that the twins haven’t reached and faced the same struggles with the syrup. But now they was a lot more of them, the job was more time and energy-efficient. With that, the whole basement became spotless in another hour. Sharing jokes and another round of funny stories in between made the experience a lot less tense.

Now on their way to return to the ground room with their sweaty figures and full garbage bags, which they first leave by the front door, they were taken aback by all their parents, Luke included with red eyes from all the crying, explicitly arguing post-Sierra excluding Eleanor, who was sat in the couch really trying to get stressed due to the baby. This hindered them to go inside and stay behind the wall near the open entrance. Crystal was right behind Michael, who sided with Ashton. “Luke, you need to tell (Y/N) this.”

“I agree. What happened to no more secrecy?”

Calum joined in, giving a piece of his mind. “Mate, if you want things to work out between you two, you have to be honest. You lost her once, don’t do it again.”

Bryana had the last say. “And if you do so, she’ll give in and likely to share her perspective on why she didn’t tell you about her real relationship with Sierra.”

The anxiety within Luke couldn’t stop raising, not being able to think straight of what the right action is. He thought it was just Sierra keeping secrets, but you did too. Though knowing you all these years, whatever you choose to do and achieve in life always has a good reason behind it. It was thoughtful, yet a secret is a secret, which jeopardizes the trust of the relationship.

“I cannot lose her again, guys. When I tell her that I know, she’ll run away! That means Stella will go along too.”

“But Luke, isn’t the lack of trust the main reason you’ve ended it?” Eleanor caved in from the couch, offended at his defense because it led to her losing all contact with you, her best friend. Running away from Luke meant running away from everyone else.

Lifting herself up, her hands putting more pressure on her lower back to support her growing belly, she approached towards the lanky man. No pregnancy hormones caused her growing rage. “I have had it up to here with you. Not only did that factor caused you to lose the love of your life, but it caused everyone here to lose a friend and our kids to lose a great aunt. Fuck, (Y/N) was my best friend, whom I haven’t heard in over a decade! But mostly, your kids lost half of their parents. If that doesn’t disturb you enough, I have no idea what else will.”

As they eavesdropped, the kids couldn’t help feel the goosebumps up their arms by the hurt and may have gasped a little too vocally. The adults overheard it, sensing that their children kept an ear out for their mature conversation and becoming tenser since it’s like their happy, cheerful innocence was gone in a snap.

“Kids,” Ashton croaked, put his palm on his forehead to relieve the headache he’s bound to receive not so far from now. “We know you’re there. – Please do enter.”

As much as they didn’t want to, disobeying their rules would be a lot worse. One by one they’ve joined inside the crowd with their heads down because they were scared shitless, especially the twins who brought this to everyone. The sense of shame still stayed, aware that they could’ve approached it much more maturely.

“How much have you guys heard?” Bryana questioned, her heart weakens mostly at her kids with their doe eyes overfilled with fright.

“Enough to know that uncle Luke won’t tell anything that happened awhile ago to aunt (Y/N).” Scarlett replies on behalf, being the eldest after all.

Luke knew how energetic his niece was, but the softness of her voice made him feeble because he’s unintentionally brought back the decade old damage and it was just unacceptable for him to bring her and the other children down with him. He needs to get and give space, praying to the heavens that those kids would not have this piece of information get stuck in their heads for too long. It was just too soon for them to face this sort of reality. However, it was the twins’ reality, and it beats him up everyday. He should’ve done better.

Bringing back the need of space, he needs it starting right now.

“Rebecca Audrey Hemmings, Stella Charlotte (Y/L/N).” He directed his entire focus on the girls, who instantly elevated up their faces to his voice. “Pack your things, now.”

His tone was very serious, and very unlike him. But with all this pressure, it has took a toll on him. Not wanting any more trouble, they scurried their way out and to the stairs, trying not to slip from Sierra’s mess and make anymore delays.

Ashton, on the other hand, did not enjoy the way he instructed his kids despite his personal pressure. He negotiates, “Luke, don’t bring them into this. They are already as afraid as you are.”

“Are you their father, Ash? I just need s-space. So excuse us, but we’ll be on our way.” He bumped against the older man on the way out of the living room that became ironic because it now suffocates him in all aspects.

“Let me repeat what I said. – No one will speak of this morning to (Y/N).”

“Oh my, back so soon?”

Luke roughly dropped off his dufflebag, rethinking of the words he’s planning to say. The trip back home was intense and filled with deadly silence. The twins were too startled to make a sound since hwas already developed much more sensitivity with his environment. Fragile almost, so they resorted to talking through texts.

“Oh, we got an emergency meeting tomorrow, so we had to cancel. We’ll move it to next weekend, maybe you can join us this time?”

Fuck, you really wanted to go this time. But life as an actress isn’t always filled with vacations even if you go abroad a lot. By next week, you’ll be back in Los Angeles working. Just last night before heading to sleep, you received a long distance call from one of the producers of an action film where they’ve accepted you to play the main antagonist. This meant that the first meeting will be in a few days time, cutting off your stay.

“I would love to, but it’s just that,” Your hands clasped together.

“That?” Luke picked up. Your twins beside him were listening attentively, curious.

Heavily sighing, “I got a meeting with a producer this weekend, meaning I need to head back in a few days.” Your view then switched to Stella. “This also means you have to come back with me.”

As expected, she was quick to retort. “No! I don’t want to leave dad and Becks, not again.”

Rebecca was on the same plane with her. “I agree! Dad, do something please!”

Undoubtedly, he wanted to beg you to stay longer after everything, but work is work. A mantra you and he have followed ever since, and especially now as parents, it must be strictly applied if you want things between you to succeed. His mind has again overpowered his heart.

“Girls, I respect your mother’s priority of work, so since she has important work she needs to attend to, what she says goes.”

Half that statement he didn’t agree to, which was that if you left, there’s more deprivation of bonding time with Stella. He needed to catch up on everything she’s done, and Rebecca still needs to know her more.

Another thing with you leaving you again is that he can’t mend things as properly as he desired to. He’s afraid to lose you again.

But it isn’t like you weren’t feeling the same way. You’ve missed Rebecca, wherein there was never missed a day to think about her. You could’ve reached out, but you never did.

Then for Luke. Oh, Luke.

Although work is an important aspect, it was another factor that deteriorated your marriage. With fame comes time consuming plans and activities that would limit your family time, especially since you both reside on opposite sides of the world. You can’t stay away from them for too long again.

Then again, work is work. The girls grew cranky over it, like all their hard work was for nothing.

“I though you were on our side, dad.”

“I lost Stella and mom once, dad. Who knows when we’ll see each other again?”

On that note, they spontaneously left the scene of the discussion, going up the stairs with frowns and heavy hearts. You felt your heart drop too by their disappointment, investing your sight now on Luke, whom by the crooked grin he gave off, reciprocated the feeling.

“Fuck,” You groaned, returning to sit down at the couch and burying your face in your hands. “I’ve already failed this family.”

Luke took upon himself to comfort you at your saddened state, putting aside him personal misery and sat right next to you, rubbing your back up and down. “They’ll come around eventually, they are 11 years old. And come on, hasn’t work always been a huge priority for us, love?”

Love. He’s said it a few times throughout this trip, but now, it felt much stranger. You might’ve felt electrified it, but regardless. It’s just a title, right?

“It was when we were still married.”

“But it’s more important now because we have the twins.” He affirmed. He had a point, and from where you stand when everything is crumbling down, you would accept any useful advice to help you.

“You know what, you’re right. They must already understand how hard it can be to balance work and family. They are still equally important, but this job, I cannot simply turn it down because I’m meeting with other great actors. I can’t be disrespectful.”

“Well, there you go!” Luke praised, gladly patting your shoulder with your realization. “Why are you still so glum, love?”

There he goes again, and somehow you could feel much more comfortable around him to express more. His eyes were gleaming with concern, anticipating to listen.

He’s always been a really good listener. He didn’t brush his hair that much either, but it still looks good on him. Curly hair has always suited him. Distinctly, he bit his lip whenever he is sad to see others feeling down because he always wanted everyone to be okay, and here he did. Though another reason he would bite his lip is he was turned on.

Luke hated seeing you like this, quietly mourning over being a failure so early in the restarting process of familyhood. It still haunts him that the both of you took one twin away, and now that they found each other, it forced you to talk and straighten things out in a flash. But you’re both still pained by the past, and it isn’t easy to simply open up to each other, especially now when you have different significant others. Well, Luke had. Though he knows Timmy has a high dislike for him, he’s there for the sake of his daughters.

But with you, there is one thing he cannot stop thinking about: your happiness. If Timmy can make you happy in better ways, then so be it. After all, it’s all parental right. But he wouldn’t be lying if he didn’t find you beautiful during the premiere or gorgeous by the way your spectacles drooped to your nose when you were reading awhile ago. Not only that, he found it cute to find you focused on the book, the way your brows knitted when a certain chapter irritated you.

Wait, what was he thinking?

But hey, what were you thinking too?

Snap out of it!

“(Y/N), you okay? You haven’t answered my question.” He shook his hand in front of your face while you were spacing out, and staring at him too.

“I preferred love more than my name.”

“Oh sorry there. - I’m pretty bummed because I don’t want to mess things up again. I can’t lose Becks and you again for good.” You worried, not realizing how you were leaning closer to him. He took you by the wrists, clasping them together between his large hands.

“You won’t, (Y/N). As much as I fear the same, there is no fucking way I’ll let it happen. We can work this out.” He promises, hoping for the best in the future. With wisdom comes intimacy, which is followed by the close proximity of your faces.

Specifically both your lips.

You could’ve sworn he brought himself closer first, but habitually, you returned the gesture. Maybe some old habits don’t die too easily.

His blue orbs were as beautiful as you’ve looked into them deeper, diving into his spell that you can’t resist like previously. He barely had any wrinkles on his face, though his eyebags got darker and his scruff is bushier. You could think of other things to describe his gorgeous physique.

The way you licked your lips, which is a sign of you being nervous or contemplating different choices in your head, got him wrapped around your finger. The short-lived grin you gave to show him that you accept his help was too precious, almost like he was falling for you all over again.

There was strong tension building up, but your self control was working stronger. Gaining personal respect towards each other these past weeks has led to respect towards your life decisions. There was no way either of you could blow this up. Nonetheless, you freely picture yourself wrapping your arm around his neck to pull nearer to get a taste of him. Just once and that’s it.

Your mind is always the dominating party, why don’t you let your heart take charge for once? Besides, did you really mean by what you say, that it’s all parental? The white shirt that grew transparent from his sweat showcases his fit abdomen and his long neck was clean. Too clean.

You accidentally caught a glimpse of his tightened crotch on his chino shorts, the length of his member visibly seen on the side. If only you could give it a - okay self, what the actual.

Luke was too tempted to swoop under your waist and on to his lap where he let you straddle his waist with your legs. He can imagine you tugging on his locks and peppering his neck with short kisses, maybe sucking on his weak spot more deeply and roughly.

Shit, you were only wearing sleeping shorts, flowy and only up to your butt. If he just slide in his digits up inside your - fuck, stop right there! He jerked back first, trying to calm his dirty thoughts because he is no longer obliged to think that way anymore. You in the other hand moved away as well, rethinking on how stupid you were to do that.

“Stop, self. Let him go. He has Sierra as his bride now.”

“No, Luke. You blew your chance, and she’s already happy with Timothée.”

Left with your withering realizations, a ding sound echoed the area, alleviating the massive awkwardness that developed. Instantly checking who it belongs to, it was yours.

[12:35 PM] Timmy Tim: Can we please talk?

Scoffing lightly, he still had the nerve to reach out to a wound that is still so fresh and stinging.

[12:38 PM] (Y/N) angel: Why? “I drunkenly cheated” isn’t big enough?

“Who is it, (Y/N)?” Luke shouted from behind, hearing the clashing of a few pans accidentally which made you giggle because he’s always been clumsy. At the same time, your phone dinged again.

[12:40 PM] Timmy Tim: Please (Y/N). I’m so sorry.

“Oh, just the same producer. - And oi, be careful! We don’t wanna to nearly burn the house down like before!”

“I’ll try!”

Rolling your eyes because the short banter brought you back to the old days, he actually bought the half lie. As terrible as at is, you didn’t want to bring him to your personal relationship issues. The less people, the better. You try to distract yourself by rereading some of the chapter you were stuck at to get a better understanding of the plot, yet your mind kept on reflecting on Timmy. By his texts, you can vibe his sincerity although it was you who was the victim.

Ignorance from you is improbable since you preferred facing your dilemmas head on, and you couldn’t become a lie of your own words. Though there is pain, ignoring it prolongs it. It’s closure or nothing. Snatching your phone from the coffee table, you typed out your frustration. Only mildly, you call the time to express when you see him next.

[12:55 PM] (Y/N) angel: Fine. Noon, the Café Sweetener near your hotel. Oh, and I’m sorry too, that I was too dense to not have realized sooner.

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minijenn · 8 years ago

Text

Universe Falls Chapter 27

Holy shit.... this chapter is so damn long???? But its only ok, imo. Not great, not bad, but ok. And that’s fine. Because everything after this one is gonna wreck the feels, my dudes. But anyway, enjoy!

Previous: http://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/155876667429/universe-falls-chapter-26

Chapter 27: Land Before Swine

10-21-18-1-19-19-9-3 16-9-7 22-15-12-21-13-5 15-14-5: 8-15-23 20-15 20-18-1-9-14 25-15-21-18 3-5-14-20-9-16-5-5-4-12-5

The road that cut through the woods towards Gravity Falls was a relatively less traveled one, especially at night. Yet even so, the police station insisted on keeping up an evening roadside patrol there, even if traffic was quite sparse. Still, Sherriff Blubbs and Deputy Durland hardly minded having to sit in their squad car, tucked behind a billboard, waiting to clock in speeding motorists. Mostly because they found a sure-fire way to entertain themselves in their idle time.

“Focus, deputy,” Blubbs cautioned his partner, his tone dead serious. “Remember your training. Easy… easy…”

Sweat had formed on Durland’s brow as he kept his gaze intently focused on the children’s maze game he had been working on navigating for the past hour. Despite its admittedly easy difficulty, it had been a tumultuous challenge for the deputy, but the sheriff wholeheartedly supported him through it all. “You’re almost there!” Blubbs encouraged. However, this encouragement did little as Durland reached the end of the puzzle, somehow bypassing the treasure chest at the end of the maze and instead drawing a line straight into the shark’s mouth.

“Dang it! I almost got the treasure!” the deputy exclaimed in disappointment.

“The time we spend together is treasure enough,” Blubbs reassured with a warm smile, placing a hand on his partner’s shoulder. The tender moment was short lived however, as the squad car suddenly rocked slightly. “Hey, did you feel that?”

The car thrashed again, much more violently this time, as huge claws began to tear into the roof of the car. Frightened, the officers both ducked for cover, but fortunately they weren’t in too much danger as whatever mysterious force had gripped the roof soon peeled it off entirely before making off with it and flying off into the night. Neither Blubbs nor Durland were able to see what exactly had stolen the roof of their car, yet somehow neither of them were too shaken by the startling experience.

“Reckon we should report that?” Durland asked, sitting up in the now roofless car.

“We could,” Blubbs mused before coming up with a new idea. “Or we could go for a ride in our new convertible!”

Durland cheered in excited support to this and Blubbs joined in as they pulled onto the road and sped down it, completely oblivious to the large, ominous shape flying past the full moon.

By the next morning, word was going around Gravity Falls that several citizens had happened to spot an unknown creature lurking in the shadows of the town, supposedly the very creature that had torn the roof of the police car off. While it was all merely based on rumor, those rumors were enough to appear on the front page of the morning paper, and that wasn’t all. It was also enough to garnish the attention of the Gems, especially given their sworn responsibility to protect the people of Gravity Falls from any threat, be it Gem-related or supernatural.

Hence why the group was currently cutting a path through the deep woods of Gravity Falls, on the hunt for this unknown creature with the intent of subduing it before it could harm anyone. However, as was often the case, the Gems didn’t make it very far before they were faced with another threat, this time in the form of a Gem monster they had happened to cross paths with by chance. Garnet had deemed this sharp-tailed creature their first priority, and without any hesitation, the Gems launched themselves into battle against it as Steven cheered them on from the sides.

“Alright everyone!” Garnet shouted to her teammates, her gauntlets clenched as they cornered the monster. The creature had already used its saw-like tail to swipe through many of the nearby trees, creating something of a small clearing. But now, it had nowhere else to run as the Gems converged on it.

“One more attack should do it!” Pearl proclaimed, slicing her spear at the panicked creature. The monster squealed in pain as its arm was cut cleanly off, eliciting a gasp of sympathy from Steven.

“Yikes! Your arm!” the young Gem exclaimed, cringing as he held his own arm.

Still, the Gems continued their assault as Garnet sped for the monster, her gauntlets landing a heavy blow that dug quite deep. Soon enough, the creature stopped resisting and let out a piercing scream, before its form poofed and disappeared into nothing more than its small orange gemstone. Pearl rushed for the gem and quickly bubbled it before sending it back to the temple, letting out a relieved sigh as she did so.

“Well, that was a bit of a detour,” the white Gem remarked.

“Yeah, an annoying one,” Amethyst rolled her eyes, flipping her hair back.

“But at least now there’s nothing standing between us and finding that creature!” Pearl continued zealously. “Hopefully the rumors were right and we’re not just tracking what turns out to be nothing down on a wild goose chase.”

“We’ll find it,” Garnet assured. “In fact, we-” The Gem leader was cut off as something suddenly soared through the trees right over their heads at an alarming speed. No one had any time to see it, but the force of the wind it had created was enough to cause the last few trees the Gem monster had weakened to begin to topple over.

“Whoa!” Steven exclaimed, his eyes wide as a tree began to fall over near him. Fortunately, Amethyst shoved him out of the way just in time as the tree only narrowly missed falling on her instead.

“Geez! This job’s kinda dangerous!” the purple Gem shouted as another tree fell over beside her, essentially trapping her.

“Amethyst!” the young Gem gasped. “Uh, don’t worry! I’ll get you out!” To the best of his abilities, Steven tried to push the trees apart from each other, only for them to not budge so much as an inch. At the same time, Garnet and Pearl glance up at the unsteady woods around them, knowing that it wouldn’t be much longer before the entire clearing caved in.

“We’ve got to get Steven out of here!” Pearl exclaimed fearfully.

Garnet nodded, hurrying over to the young Gem as she forcefully picked him up. “Hey-” Steven tried to protested, but the Gem leader was quick to cut him off.

“I’m sending you back to the temple,” Garnet said, not willing to listen to a single word of dissent on this.

“But Garnet, how are you gonna-” Steven was once again interrupted as Garnet did something quite unexpected. A large, maroon bubble suddenly formed around the young Gem, shielding him entirely as he floated above the Gem leader’s hands. “You can bubble me?!” Steven asked, amazed from inside the bubble.

“Garnet, no!” Pearl exclaimed in sudden panic, rushing towards the Gem leader only to be seconds too late. Without wasting another second, Garnet abruptly waved her hands, sending the bubble, and Steven off back to the temple. “Garnet!” the white Gem shouted, aghast at the risky move their leader had just done.

Yet even so, Garnet herself was hardly phased as she simply offered her teammate a useful bit of advice in the midst of the avalanche of trees falling upon them. “Watch your head.”

Mabel smiled as she held Waddles up to look outside the gift shop window with her. Her grin widened as she watched Stan drive the golf cart away from the shack with a large load of tourists on the newly developed, aptly named “Woods of Mystery tour”. All the same, it meant that the conman would be gone for quite a while, giving Mabel and Waddles ample free time.

“Finally, Waddles, the whole house to ourselves!” Mabel exclaimed to her beloved pig, who sat before her loyally. “What do you think we should do? Dance party?” Of course, Waddles simply offered an oink in response, but that was more than enough for Mabel. “I’m not hearing a no!”

Prompted by excitement, Mabel rushed to flip the shack’s open sign to closed before tuning the radio into her favorite dance mix station and turning it all the way up. From there, the girl and her pig engaged in what was easily a legendary dance party, even if its only attendees were just the two of them. Still, Mabel was having a wonderful time dancing as wildly and freely as she pleased as Waddles either sat by and watched or occasionally got in on the dancing action (with Mabel’s assistance of course). However, dancing wasn’t all they were filling their alone time with; the pair also indulged in trying on some of the gift shop’s sunglasses, snapping photos together, and eating random things off the floor, regardless of if they were really even edible or not. The fun went on for quite some time, until Mabel’s vast threshold of energy finally started to run low. As much as she wanted to keep the party going, she eventually ended up collapsing to the floor out of exhaustion, though she did open her eyes and smile as Waddles gave her outstretched fingers a gentle lick.

“Uh oh! Cuddle time!” she giggled, wrapping her arms around the pig and pulling him close. “Waddles, can I tell you a secret? You’re my favorite pig in the whole world!”

Waddles once again oinked in response to this, eliciting another affectionate laugh from Mabel before she let out a tired yawn. It wasn’t long before both her and Waddles fell into a content snooze together on the floor. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after that that Stan returned from the tour, oblivious to the pair as he walked in, counting a sizable pile of cash. Since the conman didn’t see them, he of course ended up tripping over them, sending him crashing to the floor and startling Mabel and Waddles awake.

“Mabel?” Stan asked in confusion as he picked himself up off the ground. “What are ya doing lying on the floor?”

“Being cute and great,” Mabel said with a charming grin, pushing her face against Waddles’.

“Yeesh,” Stan rolled his eyes, putting his glasses back on. “And I thought your brother was weird.”

“Nah, he’s more like-” Mabel cut herself off as she grabbed one of pine tree hats from the nearby shelf and put it on before throwing her voice to sound like Dipper. “‘Ahh! Let’s go solve a mystery! I kiss a pillow with Wendy’s face on it!’”

The conman let out an amused chuckle at imitation. “Heh, that’s pretty good. Kissin’ a pillow.” The bout of levity was shortly lived however, as Stan’s attention was soon diverted by Waddles, who had taken to chewing on the leg of his pants.

“Go go!” Mabel cheered her pig on. “Chew that pant leg!”

Stan on the other hand, was far less accepting of this. “Hey!” he shouted, picking Waddles up. However, the pig was still chewing on the conman’s pants, and so he happened to tear off a piece of fabric as he was lifted away from them. “Alright, that’s it!” Stan growled, opening the nearby window. “Outside! Now!”

“No! Grunkle Stan!” Mabel protested, swiping her pig away from the conman. “It’s not safe for Waddles outside! There’s predators! And barbequers!”

“That’s just the natural order of things,” Stan argued with an apathetic shrug. “It’s not my fault your pig’s potentially delicious.”

“W-well you can’t make him go outside,” Mabel asserted firmly. “The Gems don’t force Steven to put Lion outside, so you shouldn’t force me to do the same to Waddles.”

“Oh sure, and if the Gems let Steven go into space then you’d wanna go too, huh?” Stan asked caustically. “Oh wait, that actually happened. Well, whatever. That pig is still outta here!”

“No! He should be inside like a person!” Mabel exclaimed adamantly.

“People don’t roll around in their own filth. Except for Soos.”

“And maybe we’re the lesser for it!” Mabel said, sending her uncle a cross glare. “Maybe we’re the ones who should be put outside, huh? Huh? Think about it! Hmph!” Turning her nose up in anger, Mabel stormed out of the gift shop with Waddles in tow, leaving a very confused Stan behind.

Steven had never experienced being bubbled before, which was why he couldn’t help but scream in fear and excitement as he was sent through an otherwise black, empty expanse towards a radiantly glowing light. When the young Gem realized he was no longer moving, he opened his eyes and gasped as he realized he was in a rather familiar place.

“Whoa! I’m back inside the temple!” Steven exclaimed, looking down from his bubble. He was quick to see that he was in the room where him, Connie, Dipper, and Mabel had confronted the Gems about the journal a few weeks ago, where all of the bubbled gems were safety and stilly contained.

The young Gem tentatively glanced around at all of bubbles his was hovering amidst, only to spot their most recent catch floating not too far away from him. “Heh, look at you now,” he remarked to the captured gem with a sly smirk. “Stuck in a bubble. Then again… I guess I am too… Hm… Let me see if I can…” Steven trailed off as he pushed his hands against the surface of the bubble, slowly forcing an opening wide enough to pop the bubble entirely. With it no longer around to hold the young Gem up, gravity did its job as Steven began to plummet downwards, but not before landing on another bubble right below him.

Still, this new bubble didn’t provide much support for long as it too, popped from the force of Steven landing on it, sending both him and the round gem inside of it tumbling to the ground. The young Gem let out a small cry of pain as he hit the ground, though he breathed a sigh of relief as he realized he was safe and sound. Or so he thought.

Steven only had seconds to recover before the now-free gem lying a few feet away from him began to glow brightly. The young Gem gasped as he sat up and watched a vaguely humanoid figure begin to form around the gem, though that form quickly turned monstrous as a shining green silhouette rose high above him.

“Oh man, what’s happening!?” Steven exclaimed in alarm, his eyes wide as the monster let out a loud screech, its many arms, pincher mouth, and lengthy body creating a familiar form. “Ah! The Centipeedle!” Steven shouted, remembering the Gem monster from the beginning of the summer. As the Centipeedle set its one-eyed gaze upon him, the young Gem quickly scrambled to his feet and hurried over to the far side of the room fearfully, knowing that the Gems weren’t around to provide him with any aid this time.

However, the Centipeedle’s reaction to this was surprisingly non-violent, as its large, imposing form steadily scaled down into a much smaller, quadruped one. As the light faded from the monster, it opened its maw, acid spilling down from it as it looked around and let out a frightened chirp. Slowly, Steven turned back towards the creature, surprised by its now diminutive size but even more surprised by how it was trembling and looking around, obviously distraught. And immediately, his sympathy for it was stirred.

“Aw… it looks so… scared...” Steven noted with a concerned from, stepping away from the wall. “Uh, hi….” He greeted the nervous monster with a small smile, getting down low as he crawled towards it so he could be on its level. The Centipeedle screamed and backed away, still shaking fearfully, but even so, Steven continued to slowly and carefully approach it. “Hey, its ok. Look, please don’t be scared of me.” The young Gem made himself even lower as he lay against the floor, but that still did little to comfort the Centipeedle. “See?” he asked in a gentle tone. “I’m not gonna hurt you. Just relax.”

Slowly, the Centipeedle’s trembling began to still as its screeches became less frequent. Steven smiled upon seeing this, knowing that he was starting to get somewhere with the poor creature. “Yeah, that’s it. Doesn’t relaxing feel nice?” The Centipeedle let out a soft, almost content coo in response, its white mane settling down as Steven continued speaking to it. “You wanna… come over here and relax with me? We can totally just hang out and relax, right here on the floor.” Hesitantly, the monster began to step towards the young Gem, who’s smile widened as he continued to welcome it towards him, despite the acid still dripping from its mouth. “Yeah, there you go! Don’t be shy. We can be friends! My name’s-”

“STEVEN!” Pearl shouted as her, Garnet, and Amethyst stood in the threshold of the temple. All three of them were quite shocked to see the young Gem fraternizing with the monster, who let out a terrified shriek, its former calm completely shattered. “Get away from that thing!”

“Whoa, dude!” Amethyst exclaimed, just as alarmed. Garnet, however, took action as she leapt into the room, her gauntlets already summoned.

“Wait! It’s not-” Steven tried to protest as Garnet landed almost right on top of the Centipeedle. Fortunately, it leapt away just in time, but the Gem leader wasn’t about to let it go that easily.

“Oh, this was a terrible idea!” Pearl exclaimed, landing beside Steven as she looked him over for any injuries. “And he’s even managed to pop a bubble and let out that awful… thing! If it hurt you, so help me, I’ll-”

“No! It didn’t do anything!” Steven exclaimed, startling the white Gem quite a bit. Upon seeing Garnet corner the Centipeedle, the young Gem hurried over and put himself between the monster and the Gem leader’s gauntlets. “Garnet, don’t hurt it! I accidently let it out of its bubble, but it didn’t even try to hurt me! It’s not like the other monsters. It’s just scared and confused. Please, Garnet. I’m begging you!”

Steven looked to the Gem leader with absolute desperation, his arms held out wide to protect the defenseless Centipeedle behind him. Garnet paused for what seemed like ages, her expression unreadable as she met her young charge’s gaze. And then, slowly, she lowered her gauntlets in defeat. “I can’t say no to that face…” she admitted sheepishly.

“Excuse me?!” Pearl asked, aghast. “Garnet, you can’t be serious!”

“I am,” Garnet nodded affirmatively. “I think you should try and tame it, Steven.”

“Garnet, thank you so much!” Steven exclaimed joyously, hugging the Gem leader’s legs tightly.

“Ohhh! Shut down by the G-Squad!” Amethyst laughed as Pearl scowled and placed her hands on her hips.

“Well,” Pearl huffed, aptly annoyed. “We should at least take some precautions.”

“This isn’t what I meant by ‘precautions’…” Pearl frowned, crossing her arms as she looked over the setup Steven had conceived for restraining the Centipeedle. While the Gems had wanted to use solid metal chains to keep the monster confined to a rock or a tree, the young Gem had insisted on something a little more humane. While the Centipeedle was no fan of the leash she now had to wear, Steven was at the very least content that she had some way of moving about at all. Still, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Lion lingered close as the young Gem stood before the monster, whose leash was attached to a tree at the end, just in case anything were to go wrong.

“Alright, Steven,” Garnet said evenly. “Let’s see if you can get it to calm down.”

Steven frowned as he glanced towards the Centipeedle, who was desperately trying to pull herself off of the leash, spitting small bouts of acid and screeching all the while. “Um… it still seems a little scared…”

As the young Gem said this, the Centipeedle pulled against the leash once more, lobbing acid randomly. Some of the toxic liquid landed on the ground quite close to Steven, startling the Gems and Lion just enough to prompt them into an offensive pose. The Centipeedle cried fearfully as it shrunk back, shaking once more. “Uh, maybe you guys could put your weapons away and watch from the house?” Steven suggested tentatively.

“Absolutely not!” Pearl proclaimed firmly. However, her authority was quickly ruled out as Garnet’s gauntlets dissipated.

“Steven can handle it,” the Gem leader agreed, turning to head back to the temple.

“Garnet?!” the white Gem gasped in shock.

“Pearl,” Garnet replied calmly, walking away.

“Ohhhhhhh! You just got Garneted!” Amethyst exclaimed with a rowdy laugh, not even noticing the glare Pearl shot her way.

“Ugh, fine,” Pearl sighed in annoyance. “I suppose I’ll just keep tracking that monster down then…”

“Good luck, Ste-man!” Amethyst called as her and Garnet began to head back to the temple as Pearl went off on her own mission. “You’re gonna need it!”

As the Gems headed back to the temple, Lion stayed behind, ready to protect his young owner in case anything went awry. Still, with the Gems gone, the Centipeedle calmed down just the slightest bit, but even so, Steven made sure to turn back towards her with a gentle, calming smile. “Ok, friend, it’s just us now,” he reassured, taking a careful step towards her. “It’s just like before. Just relax and let your hair down…” The monster grew increasingly more relaxed as the young Gem approached her, until she finally managed to let him get close enough to touch her. Stars were in Steven’s eyes as he slowly reached his hand out and gently placed it against the Centipeedle’s head, eliciting a soothed purr from the creature.

“Yesss….” Steven whispered, knowing he had reached a new point with the monster. “We’re friends now, right? Just stay still if we are.” In response to the young Gem’s question, the Centipeedle remained still, looking up to him expectantly. “Yay! This is so cool!” Steven suddenly let out an excited gasp, causing the Centipeedle to tilt her head in apt confusion. “Oh my gosh! I gotta go show Dipper and Mabel! They’ll be so impressed by how much you’ve changed!”

Steven paused for a moment as he looked up towards the temple, making sure that none of the Gems were keeping too close of an eye on him. And then, being as stealthy as possible, the young Gem untied the Centipeedle’s leash from the tree, wrapping it around his own wrist tightly before she could try to run off. “Alright, Centi!” Steven exclaimed boldly, pointing down the hill. “To the Mystery Shack we—whoa!”

Without any warning, the Centipeedle suddenly bolted, dragging the young Gem along with her. Lion let out a fierce roar as he ran after the pair, but even so, Steven simply laughed, amused by what he assumed was the monster’s enthusiasm as she raced down the hill towards the shack with him in tow.

With rumors of an unknown monster still floating about the town, the Gems were hardly the only ones trying to see if they held any weight to them. Dipper had also decided to set out on his own quest to discover the truth and he had brought Soos along with him, knowing that he would need the help in what could be a potentially dangerous search.

“Today’s the day, Soos,” Dipper said with a bold grin as he checked over his camera. “Thanks for coming along on this mission.”

“Dude, it’s an honor,” Soos nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Today I’m sweating from heat and excitement! Whoo!”

“There’s something hiding in these woods,” Dipper said, pulling out the newspaper that recounted the vague details of the monster attack from last night. “Something big enough to rip the roof off of a car. And if we get a photo of this thing, we’ll be heroes!”

“Yeah, we’ll get all the babes,” Soos smiled confidently. “You’ll be fending off smooches with a stick!”

Dipper let out a small laugh as Soos gave him a playful nudge, which he was happy to return. “Shut up, man,”

“With a stick, dude!” the handyman reiterated, laughing himself.

“Well, we’ll have time for all that later,” Dipper remarked as the levity passed, returning to the matter at hand. “For now, what we need to focus on is getting proof that this monster even exists in the first place.”

“Is there any chance of that monster looking anything like Pearl, dude?” Soos asked out of the blue.

“What?” Dipper frowned in confusion, though he quickly understood what the handyman was talking about as the white Gem in question arrived on the scene.

“Dipper? Soos?” Pearl asked as she emerged from the nearby woods and noticed the pair. “What are you two doing all the way out here?”

“We’re on a monster hunt, dude!” Soos quipped brightly.

“We’re looking for that mysterious monster everyone’s been talking about,” Dipper elaborated, showing the white Gem the newspaper. “You know, the one that tore the roof off that cop car?”

“Oh well isn’t that a coincidence?” Pearl said with a grin. “I’m looking for the very same creature myself. Garnet and Amethyst would have joined me if not for our… other monster problem…”

“What other monster problem?” Dipper asked, confused.

“It’s a… long story,” Pearl groaned, still quite exasperated over the matter.

“Yo, you should totally join us on our monster hunt, Pearl,” Soos invited casually.

“Yeah!” Dipper agreed. “I already came up with a plan to get a picture of it and everything. Plus, if the monster turns out to be dangerous, which it likely will be, then you’ll be around to save us from it.”

“Well, my intent is to subdue the monster, especially if it does end up being a legitimate threat…” Pearl mused. “But I suppose the best way to start would be with some proper reconnaissance.”

“Isn’t reconnaissance where all those famous artists came from?” Soos whispered to Dipper, someone confused by the white Gem’s extensive vocabulary.

“Very well then,” Pearl agreed with a broad smile. “I’ll help you both in this endeavor. I’m sure between the three of us, we’ll find our monster in no time!”

“Great!” Dipper exclaimed excitedly. “Then Soos, give me a boost.”

“You got it, dude,” Soos said with a thumbs up, hoisting Dipper up so he could scale the nearby tree. The handyman followed by clumsily climbing up while Pearl preformed a graceful leap up into the tree.

“So what’s the plan?” Pearl asked Dipper, taking a seat on the branch beside him.

“Ok, so Soos and I have already set up three cameras throughout the clearing,” Dipper explained. “If everything goes according to plan, the creature will grab that steak,” he nodded to the steak they had positioned atop a high tree stump with several ropes attached to it. “And cross through the strings, setting off cameras A, B, and C.”

“Hm, impressive…” Pearl noted with a smile. “And very inventive. Though I must say… I’m not sure what good a picture’s going to do aside from just proving that the monster exists…”

“That’s… kinda the point,” Dipper shrugged as Soos finally made it to their branch and joined them.

“Woo…” the handyman breathed in exhaustion, placing his hand against the side of the sap-covered tree before realizing it was stuck there. “Uh… is sap supposed to be this sticky?”

“So… what do we do now?” Pearl asked, still not entirely understanding why they needed to get a picture of the monster at all.

“Now all we gotta do is wait for the monster to come by,” Dipper said, poising his own camera to get a good picture of it.

“And nothing can go wrong!” Soos proclaimed confidently. “High five!” As the handyman held his hand up, Dipper gladly met it in a high five, only for their hands to get stuck together thanks to the sap.

“This was poorly planned…” Dipper frowned, trying to pull his hand away from Soos’. However, while the trio was distracted by this, they all failed to notice the large shape that glided over the clearing, stirring up a heavy breeze that nearly knocked them all out of the tree. The cameras all snapped in quick succession, their flashes blindsiding the trio even moreso.

“What was that?!” Pearl exclaimed, fixing her hair as they all turned towards where the steak was. Or rather, where it used to be.

“That,” Dipper said with an excited grin, knowing his plan had succeeded. “Was our monster.”

Mabel was just putting on the finishing touches on the matching sweaters she was knitting for herself and Waddles when Steven burst into the shack’s den. Or rather, when Lion burst in first, followed by Steven and his new companion.

“Steven!” Mabel exclaimed brightly, perking up upon seeing the young Gem. “I’m glad you’re here! I was just finishing-” She abruptly cut herself off as she noticed Steven struggling to pull the Centipeedle into the room along with him. “Uh… who’s your friend?”

“Hi, Mabel!” Steven greeted first before explaining his situation. “You remember that Centipeedle monster from a few weeks ago, right?”

“Well, yeah!” Mabel quipped, leaning forward in interest. “That was sorta like, our first huge adventure together! How could I forget it? So what, is that one of its babies?”

“Uh, no actually,” the young Gem shrugged, finally getting the Centipeedle to settle down and stand beside him. “She’s the main one. I accidently let her out of her bubble earlier. It’s… kinda a long story.”

“So why’s it—oops, sorry, I mean she so cute and tiny now?” Mabel asked with a smile, getting up to head over to approach the creature. However, since the Centipeedle was unfamiliar with her, she let out a frightened screech and cowered behind Steven once more. “Oh no!” Mabel gasped with concern, drawing back a bit. “Did I scare her?”

“Eh, a little,” Steven admitted. “She can be a little jumpy sometimes.” With a calming smile, the young Gem turned and knelt down before the skittish monster. “Hey now, it’s ok. Mabel’s a friend, just like me. She won’t hurt you, I promise. You can trust her.”

“Yeah!” Mabel added, toning down her usual verve a bit as not to startle the Centipeedle again. “You don’t have to be shy around me. I’m all about adorable little things like you!”

Upon getting another reassuring smile from Steven, the Centipeedle calmed down steadily, hesitantly letting Mabel give her a gentle pat on the head. “Oh, she is so cute!” Mabel gushed cheerfully. “You know, for an acid-spitting, potentially deadly monster. So is she like, your new pet now?” she asked Steven.

“I don’t know if I’d call her a pet…” Steven mused. “After all, Pearl said that all of the Gem monsters used to be Gems too. So I’d say she’s more like a… buddy! That’s why I’m trying to tame her; so the Gems will let me keep her around instead of bubbling her again.”

“Oh! Oh! Can I help?” Mabel asked eagerly. “I’m great at teaching animals how to do stuff! I’ve already taught Waddles how to say cupcake, right Waddles?”

The pig oinked twice in response to this, the sound vaguely sounding like the word ‘cupcake’. “Whoa, that’s amazing, Mabel!” Steven exclaimed, thoroughly impressed. “You can totally help! Between the two of us, we’ll be able to reform Centi enough that there’s no way the Gems won’t be able to accept her as part of the team!”

“Yeah!” Mabel cheered excitedly, already heading for the door. “Let’s get-”

“Hey you!” the TV suddenly shouted, catching Mabel’s attention and stopping both her and Steven in their tracks.

“Me?” Mabel questioned curiously.

“Yeah you!” the TV announcer exclaimed. “Sick of constantly dropping your baby?”

“Yes!” the man on screen agreed, almost dropping the baby he was holding.

“Hi, I’m Bobby Renzobbi!” the excitable announcer declared as he appeared on screen. “And what you need is the Huggy Wuvvy Tummy Bundle!”

“The what?” Steven asked, confused.

“I can hold ten babies at once!” the man exclaimed, carrying no less than ten babies within the carrier strapped to his chest.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Bobby continued. “Does it work for pigs? Ah ha ha, yeah of course it works for pigs, stupid! Feel your pig’s heartbeat next to yours! IT WORKS FOR PIIIIIIIIIGGGGS!”

Startled by the noise on TV, Centipeedle tucked away behind Steven once more, shivering nervously. Mabel on the other hand, let out an amazed gasp as the commercial came to a close, her awe turning into a huge grin as she glanced over at Waddles, knowing that such a product would be perfect for him.

“Grunkle Stan!” she shouted to the conman who was just entering the room. “I’m off to get a Huggy Wuvvy Tummy Bundle for Waddles!”

“Yeesh,” Stan remarked caustically. “Isn’t knitting matching sweaters for that pig enough?”

“Nope,” Mabel answered, completely straight faced as she stood alongside Waddles, their pair of sweaters perfectly matched.

“And hey!” the conman exclaimed hotly upon noticing the Centipeedle still hiding behind Steven. “What the heck is that thing and what’s it doing in my living room?!”

“This is Centipeedle, Mr. Pines,” Steven introduced with a smile. “You might remember her from a few weeks ago when she… heh, kinda tried attacking the Mystery Shack?”

“Oh right,” Stan scowled and crossed his arms. “The eyesore.”

“I’m trying to train her to get her used to being around people,” the young Gem explained, soothing the monster with a stroke on the head. “And you know what, Mabel? I think taking Centi into town with us to get that Huggy Wuvvy Tummy Bundle would be the perfect way for her to learn some people skills!”

“Oh my gosh, Steven, you’re so right!” Mabel readily agreed. “Grunkle Stan, can you look after this little gentlemen while we’re gone?” she asked, nodding towards Waddles, who was in the midst of eating a fly.

“Not now, kid,” Stan remarked with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I got some tourists coming through.”

“Aw, don’t worry, Mr. Pines,” Steven encouraged. “Lion will be more than happy to help you keep an eye on Waddles! After all, they love each other! See?” No sooner had the young Gem said this than Lion settled down beside Waddles, who was quick to curl up next to him happily.

“Oh, they’re so precious,” Mabel gushed, absolutely delighted at the adorable sight.

“Yeah, sure, kid,” the conman deadpanned stubbornly. “Because I definitely wanna waste my afternoon babysitting two pink pests.”

“Now, Grunkle Stan, I know you’re not crazy about Waddles,” Mabel admonished.

“He’s a fat, naked jerk.”

“But I know you do care about me,” Mabel continued. “Promise me you won’t let him outside.”

“Fine, yeah, whatever,” Stan rolled his eyes, clearly not too concerned. “I promise.”

“Thanks, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel called out as she ran outside, Steven following with the Centipeedle not too far behind. Of course, Lion attempted to go after them too, wanting to ensure the young Gem’s safety, but he was stopped before he could make it out the door.

“No, Lion,” Steven said firmly, holding his hand up as the Centipeedle continued trying to drag him out the door. “You stay here with Waddles and Mr. Pines, ok? We’ll be back soon!”

The pink beast let out a huff of disappointment but begrudgingly sat down, watching angrily as his owner left along with the potentially dangerous monster in his care. Still, Lion did find the time to turn around to glare at Stan, letting out a testy, bitter growl.

“Yeah, same to you, bucko,” Stan remarked dryly before scowling down at Waddles. “I’m watching you, pig.”

As the conman pointed a stern finger at Waddles, the pig simply responded by lifting up its foot and placing it against it. While anyone else would have seen this as charming, Stan let out a groan of disgust and pulled his finger away before heading back into the museum, not even bothering to take so much as a glance back at the pig that was his charge to look after.

With their intent to uncover the truth behind the unknown monster as clear as ever, Dipper and Pearl had wasted no time in working to convert the shack’s attic into a temporary darkroom so they could develop the pictures they had captured earlier. While Soos worked on making some nachos to celebrate the occasion, Pearl and Dipper busied themselves with developing the photos. It wasn’t a process that the white Gem particularly understood that well, but she did appreciate the science behind it as Dipper walked her through it. And though it took some time and care, but with the more photos they developed, the clearer the overall picture of what they were dealing with became.

“C’mon… c’mon…” Dipper muttered impatiently as he hung the next picture up on the line to dry, its image appearing as he did so. “Oh my gosh! That’s a wing!” he exclaimed upon seeing the large, somewhat blurry wing in the photo.

“Incredible…” Pearl mused, getting a better look at the photo. “What kind of monster is this…?”

“We’re about to find out,” Dipper said, hurrying over to the next picture being developed. “So if camera B got the wing, then the one that should have gotten the rest is… camera C!”

Pearl curiously watched over Dipper’s shoulder as he held up the final picture, a large, ominous shape slowly but surely becoming visible. “That’s it!” the white Gem gasped, her eyes widened in amazement as the monster appeared.

However, before either of them could really see what exactly the creature was, the attic door suddenly burst open, flooding the room with a great deal of unwanted light. “Who wants victory nachos?” Soos asked with a huge grin, carrying a large bowl. Of course thanks to all the excess light from the hall, all of the pictures that Dipper and Pearl had been developing all immediately faded, to the point that nothing could be made out of them at all.

“No!” the pair exclaimed in distraught unison, desperately trying to shield their pictures from the light, lest they lose their leads. But even so, their panic went right over the handyman’s head.

“Dudes, don’t worry,” Soos reassured calmly. “I only ate like a third of them… Ok, half of ‘em…. Just kidding, I ate them all, dude.”

“And here, ladies and gentlemen, is our final exhibit,” Stan smirked, finishing up his latest tour as the tourists followed him and clung onto his every word. “The most hideous creatures known to man!”

The conman pulled the cloth off of said exhibit, revealing a mirror that reflected the tourists’ reflections right back at them. The group was confused for a second before they all burst into unanimous laughter, understanding the joke. “Right? Right?” Stan chuckled in agreement. “We have fun here. But seriously, folks,” he said, heading over to the next covered exhibit. “This is something. I present to you, a unicorn, made out of corn! The Corn-i-corn! I-I don’t know. I’m tired.” Without much of a dramatic flourish, the conman unveiled said corn-i-corn, only for the crowd to gasp upon seeing a horse-shaped mesh of empty wires, completely bereft of any corn whatsoever. “What the-?!” Stan exclaimed in absolute shock.

As a ripple of dissent ran through the crowd, the conman glanced around in a panic before spotting Waddles sitting on the far side of the museum, Lion stoically accompanying him. But what caught Stan’s attention more than anything else were the incriminating bits of corn stuck to the pig’s pink face.

“What a rip off!” one of the tourists shouted in heated disappointment. “Kids, we’re leaving.” As the tourists all headed off in a huff, the pair of children in the group threw down their unpurchased merchandise and stormed off as well, leaving the conman with no profits to show for it.

“No!” Stan shouted in protest as he helplessly watched his customers leave. “You!” he shouted at Waddles, turning around to face the pig who had eaten his exhibit. Of course, Lion was quick to stand between the two of them, growling at the conman all the while, but even so, Stan wasn’t about to let the intimidating pink beast stop him. “Outta the way, powder puff! This is between me and the pig!”

Fortunately, Lion didn’t outright attack Stan as he picked Waddles up and began carrying him to the door. But the pink beast still did try to stop the conman by biting on his pant leg to try and stop him from hauling his friend away. “Beat it, ya fluffy freak!” Stan scowled, shaking Lion off of his leg as he continued on his way out the door. “Actually, you know what? If you care so much about the little freeloader, you can go right on outside with him too!” Still showing no fear for the pink beast, Stan grabbed him by the ear and pulled him outside along with Waddles.

“Just ten minutes without the pig in the house. Is that so much to ask?” Stan ranted to himself, tying Waddles to a peg in the lawn as Lion stood by, growling lividly all the while. “There. And if Mabel asks, this never happened.” As something of a bribe, the conman placed a five dollar bill in the pig’s mouth before turning to head back inside. “‘Oh but, Grunkle Stan!’” Stan continued, mocking his niece. “‘It’s not safe out there! There’s predators!’ Oh brother…”

The conman’s back was turned away from the pair of animals for only but a few seconds, but it was just enough for things to take a disastrous turn for the worst. For while Stan wasn’t watching, a massive creature, the very same creature the town was abuzz about, happened to swoop down in a heavy gust of wind, one that was enough to blow even Lion away. And, with one swipe of its massive claws, it snatched Waddles up and flew towards the skies once again, the squealing, panicking pig in its grasp all the while. Stan gasped as he spun around to see what could be nothing else but a dinosaur, a pterodactyl to be exact, soar away with Waddles in tow. And while the conman was far too stunned by this unbelievable sight to do anything about it, Lion was quick to leap into action.

The pink beast jumped to his feet and raced after the dinosaur that had captured his friend, letting out a super-sonic roar in the hopes of bringing it down. But the crafty creature managed to turn a full 180 in the air, dodging the attack with ease as it glided swiftly over the shack with its latest catch.

“I can’t believe this!” Pearl groaned, still trying to recover all of the lost pictures in vain. “How in the world are we supposed to track that creature down if we don’t even know what it looks like?!”

“I can’t believe you, man!” Dipper scolded Soos, who had only just realized the error he had made.

“Sorry, dude,” the handyman frowned apologetically. “I was just so excited! Nachos cause excitement!”

“But certainly, they could have waited until we were done perhaps?” Pearl asked caustically, adding a muttered statement afterwards. “And to be honest, I had no intentions of eating any of those… things anyway.”

“Soos, no offense, but you gotta be more careful sometimes,” Dipper said with a sigh of exasperation. “I mean, what are the odds we’ll get another picture of-”

He was abruptly cut off as the entire shack seemed to shake in its entirety, thanks to the large shape that flew just past the attic window. None of them even had to ask themselves twice about what it was as they all hurried downstairs and outside without delay, only to see a sight that made them all stop and stare. The pterodactyl had turned a full circle and was heading off into the woods once more, Lion furiously chasing it and sending more sonic roars its way each time, to no avail. As the dinosaur cleared over the trees, the pink beast at last begrudgingly gave up his purist, letting out an angry huff as it made off with Waddles. A single red string from the sweater Mabel had knitted for the pig trailed off after the creature and into the woods, the sole indication of where it might be heading.

“Whoa!” Amethyst exclaimed in awe as her and Garnet landed on the scene, having seen the dinosaur even from the temple. “What the heck was that crazy thing?! It was huge!”

“That was a dinosaur!” Soos exclaimed, aptly amazed. “Awesome!”

“How is it possible that a dinosaur survived 65 million years?” Dipper asked, also awestruck.

“It’s not possible,” Pearl shook her head in confusion. “Those creatures were long gone even before Gems first came to Earth! There’s no way one could have lived this long!”

“I wouldn’t say there’s no way,” Garnet interjected calmly. “After all, we’ve been in this town long enough to know that this is where the impossible happens on a daily basis.”

“Did you see it, Mr. Pines?” Soos asked his boss, who had been standing outside before any of them arrived. Stan offered no response however as he simply stood still, his gaze fixated on the direction that the pterodactyl had flown. “…Mr. Pines?”

“Yo, Stan,” Amethyst tried to get through to him, waving a hand in front of his face. “You in there?”

“It… it took him…” Stan finally muttered, blinking out of his daze.

“Took what?” Dipper asked.

“The pig!” the conman exclaimed in a sudden panic. “It took Waddles!”

“What did you say about Waddles?” Mabel asked as her, Steven, and Centipeedle returned. Everyone turned to the trio nervously, none of them entirely sure what to say as they exchanged uneasy glances. “Whoa, awkward silence,” Mabel chuckled, still having no idea about what happened to her beloved pig. “Bwah!”

“Whoa, hold on a minute,” Pearl cut in, noticing the monster standing alongside the young Gem. “Steven, why isn’t that thing tied to its tree?”

“Oh, uh, I was just… trying to train her,” Steven shrugged with a good-natured smile. “And she’s getting a lot better, by the way! We took her into town and she only ended up destroying three cars with her acid spit! She’s come so far.”

The white Gem let out a tired groan as Amethyst chuckled in amusement. “Steven,” Pearl began. “You can’t just-”

“Like I said,” Garnet cut her off with a hand on her shoulder. “Let him do his thing. He’s making progress with it. I can tell.” The Gem leader nodded to the Centipeedle, who seemed much less frightened and agitated over every little thing as it stood beside Steven, chirping calmly, despite all of the people around it.

“So… what’s going on?” Mabel asked. “Why are you all standing around here awkwardly? And… where’s Waddles?”

Everyone expectantly looked to Stan as this question was posed. “Um… uh…” the conman frowned with dread as he stepped in front of the peg he had tied Waddles to earlier, hiding it from view. Lion sulked towards Stan, snarling harshly all the while until Steven stopped him.

“Lion, cut that out! Its rude!” the young Gem scolded, allowing the conman to say his piece.

“So, uh… the good news is you’re getting a puppy!” he exclaimed to Mabel with a forced grin.

“W-what happened?” Mabel asked, growing steadily more concerned by the second.

“Well, see, uh… when the-” Stan tried to begin before Soos cut him off.

“Your pig got eaten by a pterodactyl, bro!”

“What?! Waddles!” Mabel cried, tears already forming in her eyes as she looked around the yard desperately. “Oh, how did this happen?! Grunkle Stan, you didn’t put him outside did you?”

Before Stan could even answer, Lion growled yet again in something of an attempt to out him for what he did. “Hush!” he snapped at the pink beast, pushing him away. “What? No!” he scoffed, turning back to his distraught niece. “I didn’t put him anywhere! I’m not acting suspicious! You’re acting suspicious! What’s a pig?!”

“Yeesh, Stan,” Amethyst remarked with an amused smirk. “Don’t have a flip out on us.”

“So what really happened then?” Dipper asked curiously.

Stan didn’t answer this right away as he instead took a brief moment to come up with a spur of the moment lie, one that would hopefully be convincing enough for Mabel if no one else. “Uh, look, it went down like this, see? So there I was in the living room, tenderly nursing the pig with only the richest of creams.”

Lion snorted indignantly at this complete lie, but since no one could understand his meaning, Stan was free to go on. “And then, all of the sudden, that thing, the—uh, what’s it called again?”

“Pterodactyl?” Pearl informed, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, that!” Stan nodded. “Anyway, it burst into the shack without any warning and ripped the pig right outta my arms! So I said, ‘no dice, cowboy!’ and whipped out my impressive gunshow.”

“Oh brother,” Garnet remarked drying, not buying this tall tale at all.

“Then I started punching it in the face!” Stan exclaimed, holding his fists up. “But he played dirty and poked me right in the eyes! That really happened! I couldn’t hold on any longer, which was how I lost him. And the pain of it all still cuts me like a knife… That’s, uh… that’s a good analogy for something upsetting, right?”

“Oh, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel gasped, her eyes wet with tears as she drew her uncle into a tight hug. “You tried to save him!”

“Uh, yeah!” Stan agreed, glancing away somewhat guiltily. “I’m a great man, alright.”

“Whoa, Mr. Pines, that was so brave of you!” Steven exclaimed, amazed. “That dinosaur must have been huge.”

“Oh it was huge…” the conman remarked, knowing that was the only part of his story that wasn’t an actual like. “Very huge.”

“Oh, please,” Pearl scoffed, crossing her arms. “I find that story hard to believe. It’s difficult enough to imagine you sticking your neck out for anyone but yourself, but taking on a pterodactyl? That’s just absurd.”

“What, you think I couldn’t fight off something like that if I really wanted to?” Stan asked challengingly. “Because I definitely could! And, uh, I did! Yeah!”

“Really?” Dipper questioned, also quite skeptical. “You punched a pterodactyl in the face? I thought you didn’t even believe in the supernatural.”

“Dinosaurs aren’t magic,” Stan protested. “They’re just big lizards! Get off my back.”

“Oh Waddles…” Mabel mourned, holding the carrier she had just gotten for him, one that might very well never see any use considering the fact that the pig was now long gone.

“Aw, don’t worry, Mabel,” Steven reassured with a smile. “We’ll get Waddles back.”

“That’s right,” Dipper boldly agreed. “No pterodactyl messes with my sister. We’re gonna go out there, catch that thing, and save your pig. For Mabel, guys!”

“For Mabel!” Soos, Steven, and the Gems cheered in full support of this plan.

“You guys really mean it?” Mabel asked with a small smile, using the sleeve of her sweater to wipe her tears away.

“Of course, we do,” Garnet said with an affirmative grin.

“Yeah, I mean, we were gonna go hunt that thing down anyway, but now I guess we got another reason to go after it,” Amethyst shrugged, eliciting a frustrated glare from Pearl for her tactlessness. “What?”

“But how do we even find the little guy?” Stan asked caustically.

Lion suddenly caught everyone’s attention with a sudden roar, diverting their attention to the red string from Waddles’ sweater that led into the woods. “Great thinking, Lion!” Steven exclaimed. “We’ll just follow that string! That’s bound to lead us to Waddles and that dinosaur, right?”

The others all nodded in agreement to this plan, save for Stan, who was far less on board with this entire venture. “Or, you know, we could just call it a day, maybe hit the pool hall or-” the conman cut himself off as he realized everyone was staring questioningly at him. Knowing that he couldn’t very well incriminate himself in front of Mabel, he decided that he had no choice but to play along. For now. “Uh, yeah! Let’s go… save Woggles!”

“Waddles,” Mabel corrected.

“Him too.”

“Oh this is so exciting!” Steven quipped, smiling to Centipeedle. “This will be our first chance to take Centi on a mission! She’ll be able to do so much to help us and-”

“Oh, no,” Pearl cut in firmly. “Out of the question! We are not taking thing with us!”

“Aw, but c’mon, Pearl!” Steven protested. “She won’t get in the way, I promise! And she’ll be really good, right, Centi?”

The Centipeedle let out a small affirmative chirp before accidently coughing up a bit of acid on accident. “Uh, Steven? I’m kinda with Pearl on this one,” Dipper remarked skeptically. “That thing seems like it could be a bit of a flight risk.”

“Oh, you guys worry too much,” Amethyst smirked nonchalantly. “Bring the little guy along, Steven! It’ll be funny.”

“I can see the Centipeedle potentially helping us, actually,” Garnet said, adjusting her shades. “In a few futures, at least.”

“Well, that’s that then!” Steven declared, grinning at the monster, who perked up under his cheerful smile. “We’re bringing her along! Get ready, Centi, because we’re going dinosaur hunting!”

“Alright!” Soos exclaimed brightly as he finished spray-painting the words “pterodactyl mobile” onto the side of his truck. “That p-terodactyl won’t know what hit him!”

Dipper let out a small laugh upon hearing the handyman mispronounce the dinosaur’s name before lightly correcting him. “It’s pterodactyl, man.”

“Actually, no one knows how to pronounce it because nobody was alive back in dinosaur days, so, uh… yeah!” Soos grinned with apt confidence.

“That’s an… interesting train of logic…” Pearl noted with a befuddled frown.

The handyman simply shrugged as he went to strap a gage to the undercarriage of his truck, only for him to forget that he hadn’t properly parked it as it jerked forward a bit. Soos gasped as he sat up quickly, mere seconds before it could hit him. “Whoa! Almost ran over my head there! Heh, wow.”

“Oh boy…” Pearl muttered to herself, facepalming, especially as she turned to see Steven still trying his best to control Centipeedle. “This mission is truly going to be… something else.”

“Mabel, we’ve gotta talk,” Dipper said, pulling his sister aside so they were just out of Soos’ earshot. “This is a really high-stakes mission and I’m a little worried about Soos coming along on this one. I love the guy, but sometimes… he messes up.”

“What?” Mabel scoffed, believing this to be just another case of her brother’s usual paranoia. “Since when?”

“Well, there was that time when he knocked the crystal ball in the museum over,” Dipper recalled pointedly.

“Well, yeah, but-”

“And the time he tried installing that window only for it to fall out of the frame.”

“Ok, maybe, but he still-”

“And the time he accidentally killed that fairy with a flyswatter-”

“Ok, you might actually have a point,” Mabel at last agreed. “Just let him down easy, ok?”

Dipper nodded as he went to go do so, steeling himself for what wouldn’t be an easy conversation. However, before he could even get a word out, Soos turned to him, his eyes alight with excitement. “This is so great! You and me, bro. Best friends. Fighting and potentially high-fiving dinosaurs.”

“Uh, Soos, look,” Dipper began, taking in a deep breath. “I, uh, gotta tell you something.”

“Okay, but before you do, check out these matching shirts I made for us!” Soos exclaimed, holding up two very large shirts, both of which had a rather simplistic design of the two of them on them. “Who’s this guy right here?” he pointed to the image of Dipper on one of the shirts. “You! Totally you, dude. And these rays indicate friendship! So what was it you were going to tell me again?”

Dipper frowned upon looking over the shirts, feeling somewhat guilty about even entertaining the thought of excluding Soos from this mission. Even if brining the absent-minded handyman along could prove to be dangerous, it was a risk Dipper knew they had to take. After all, how could he turn Soos down after he had gone to such good-natured lengths? “Uh… p-terodactyl, here we come!” he exclaimed with an awkward rather forced laugh.

“Yes!” Soos cheered, hopping into the truck. “Bros before dinos!”

With no further preparations in the way, the collective group all got in Soos’ truck, the Pines taking up the cabin with the handyman while Steven, Centipeedle, and the Gems sat in the bed and Lion following not too far behind. As they followed the red sweater string through the forest, the young Gem continued his attempts at training Centipeedle, while the Gems kept a close eye on the monster all the while.

“Ok, Centi, let’s try something new,” Steven smiled at the monster, who was cowering away from the Gems on the far side of the truck bed. “How about you come over here with us?” Centipeedle resisted this suggestion, letting out a small screech of protest at the Gems.

“Steven, I don’t think this is going to work,” Pearl remarked flatly.

“Oh, don’t worry, Pearl,” Steven reassured. “She just needs a little… encouragement! And I think I have just the thing.” With a sly smirk, the young Gem pulled out the bag of Chaaps he had brought along with him for the ride. “Oh, what’s this? Chiiips!” Centipeedle perked up a little as the young Gem rustled the bag. “You like chiiips? You want a chiiip? Yeah? Yeah?”

Steven grinned as he took a chip out of the bag. “Aw, look at this tasty chip!” he exclaimed before eating it. “Yum! Yum! Mm, tasty tasty! Try one!” Curious, Centipeedle slowly skittered forward towards the chip, sniffing it experimentally. “That’s it! Smells good, huh?” After another moment of investigation, the monster finally took the chip out of the young Gem’s hand and munched it down, cooing happily as it began vying for more.

“Whoa, I can’t believe that actually worked,” Amethyst remarked with an impressed smile.

“I don’t know how you eat with an eyeball in your mouth, but I’m glad you like it,” Steven grinned at Centipeedle, giving her another chip, which she was more than happy to devour.

“Wow!” Mabel exclaimed, looking out the back window and watching the whole ordeal. “That’s amazing! She totally loves those things, Steven! Give her more!”

“Uh, maybe that’s not the best idea?” Dipper called from his spot up front. “For all we know, it could go crazy for the chips and start attacking you for them.”

“Aw, I’m sure Centi wouldn’t do that,” Steven said, patting the monster on the head as he fed her a few more chips. “Right?” The monster chirped in response as the young Gem tossed a barrage of chips her way, laughing all the while. “Yeah! There we go!”

“Steven, please!” Pearl protested, brushing the myriad of crumbs off of her lap. “You’re making a mess!”

“Shh,” Garnet calmed the white Gem down. “Let him do his thing.”

The young Gem happily continued giving Centipeedle as many chips as he could, though it wasn’t long before the snack caught the attention of a nearby crow flying overhead. Hungry, the bird divebombed Steven, biting his finger in an attempt to get one of the chips and causing him to drop the bag entirely. “Ah! Shoo! Those aren’t for you!” the young Gem protested, trying to drive the crow off as it landed and began eating the fallen chips. As Centipeedle saw all this, her usual skittish behavior quickly turned to anger as she let out a low, feral growl. The Gems went on alert at this, all three of them sitting up as they prepared to summon their weapons against the creature if the need be.

“W-what are you doing?!” Steven asked the perturbed monster, alarmed as it got low and prepared to attack the bird. With a loud hiss, Centipeedle shot a wad of acid at the crow, burning a hole in the bed of the truck and frightening the bird enough to fly off without a second thought.

“Steven!” the Gems exclaimed in frightened unison, but their young ward was quick to calm them before they could do anything drastic.

“Wait! It’s ok!” Steven urged, throwing himself between them and Centipeedle. “She saved me! And… I think I found out how to train her…” Suddenly, the young Gem mimicked the crow and let out a sudden squawk, prompting Centipeedle to lob another wad of acid, one that landed alongside the road as they drove by. Steven made another bird noise, and as a response, the monster spit acid at Garnet, though the Gem leader easily dodged it.

Amethyst let out an amused laugh at this display, even if Pearl was absolutely appalled by it. “That was awesome!” she exclaimed, preparing to eat the sandwich she had brought along with her.

As the young Gem repeated the process for a third time, though, Centipeedle shot her acid at the very sandwich Amethyst was about to eat, knocking it from her hand and melting it away into nothingness. “No! Mi torta!” the purple Gem wailed in mourning.

“Steven, this is unacceptable!” Pearl scolded in a huff.

“Aw, come on, Pearl,” Steven frowned. “Maybe this is how she’ll be able to help us find the dinosaur! Right, Garnet?”

“Eh, is possible,” Garnet shrugged stoically, not about to stop the young Gem’s plans at all.

“We’re here!” Mabel announced as the truck pulled to a stop. The trail of string had led to an old, decrepit abandoned church, far out in the middle of the woods. The building looked as though it was just about ready to fall apart, and while it didn’t look anywhere near large enough to be sheltering a pterodactyl, the group ventured on inside to see what they could find.

What they did end up finding, however was far from the dinosaur or pig they were seeking.

The group entered the dilapidated church to find none other than Old Man McGucket dancing his usual zany jig near the broken-down pulpit and singing along to a non-existent tune. He was so caught up in his levity that he barely even noticed everyone as they came in.

“Oh, hey, its that crazy old guy,” Amethyst pointed out. “What’s his name again? McTruckit?”

“McGucket,” Mabel corrected, finally catching the hillbilly’s attention.

“Well, howdy, friends!” McGucket greeted with a wide grin as he stopped dancing.

“Hi!” Steven exclaimed just as brightly.

“What are you doing out here?” Dipper asked incredulously, knowing that it was quite strange to find even the eccentric hillbilly in such a place.

“You’ll never believe me!” McGucket exclaimed, slapping his knee. “Now I was doin’ my hourly hootnanny-” He cut himself off as he broke into his folksy jog once again, song and all.

“Ugh, this guy,” Stan deadpanned, already exasperated.

“When this enormous wing-ly critter stole my musical spoons and flew lickety-split into the abandoned mines down yonder!” McGucket finished, pointing to the large hole in the center of the church.

“That’s where we’re headed then,” Garnet proclaimed, undaunted as they all stood before what looked to be a darkened abyss.

“Yikes,” Stan remarked hesitantly, gazing down the hole. “Looks kinda hairy down there.”

“C’mon, Grunkle Stan, you can handle it!” Mabel encouraged. “You punched a pterodactyl in the face, remember?”

“O-oh, yeah,” the conman said quickly, remembering his cover-up. “Heh, I did do that, didn’t I?” he asked with a forced chuckle.

“My, what suspicious laughter!” McGucket exclaimed, oblivious as ever. However, while no one else caught onto Stan’s act, Lion certainly did as he sent another sharp glare his way, one that didn’t go unnoticed by the conman.

“What’s your problem, pinky?” Stan asked the pink beast rather harshly. “You got a thorn in your paw or somethin’?”

“Ok, everyone!” Mabel exclaimed, determined to rescue her beloved pig. “We’re going in!”

“Need someone to tag along and tell weird personal stories?” McGucket asked blithely.

While the kids weren’t exactly how to respond to this, the Gems all were quick to shake their heads and Stan offered his very blunt response. “No thanks.”

Still, the hillbilly didn’t really get the hint as he ended up trailing along all the same as the group slowly scaled down the hole using a long rope. “So there I am, fighting a racoon for the same piece of meat,” McGucket detailed, recounting one of his odd anecdotes as they climbed down into the darkness. “When our mouths get close, and we kiss accidentally!”

“You just can’t take a hint, can you?” Stan asked with an aggravated sigh.

“Nope!”

“Come on, Centi!” Steven called to the monster, who was still standing anxiously on the edge of the hole. “Jump on down, I’ll catch you!”

“Steven, how in the world are you even going to catch that thing while we’re climbing?” Pearl asked incredulously. “You’ll just end up falling off the rope!”

“No I won’t. I totally got this, Pearl,” Steven reassured confidently, turning back up to Centipeedle. “It’s ok! You can just jump! You don’t have to be scared, I-” As the young Gem was in the midst of convincing her, one of the monster’s feet happened to slip over the edge of the hole, sending her plummeting downward with a frightened shriek. Steven gasped as he reached out his arms to catch her, but as he did so, the rope sustaining all of them abruptly snapped from the sudden additional weight.

Of course, everyone panicked as they were sent into a freefall, though Lion happened to leap into the hole himself at this juncture, catching Steven and Centipeedle and ensuring they at the very least had a safe landing. Everyone else was just as fine however, as they landed, albeit a bit roughly, on the large, soft mushroom nestled at the bottom of the pit. After a moment of regathering their bearings, they all managed to get their first look at their new, admittedly amazing surroundings.

The abandoned mines hidden deep under Gravity Falls were vast, and quite impressive given their age. Steam geysers dotted the dank, craggy landscape, as well as the rusty remains of mine carts and tracks. But what was by far more fascinating was the rather unique vegetation that had taken up shop in the caverns, despite the relative lack of natural sunlight.

“Whoa,” Dipper mused in fascination as he shined his lantern on one of the nearby shrubs. “These plants look all Jurassic-y…”

“Huh, this little guy smells like battery acid!” Soos exclaimed, pointing to another plant, one that happened to spit a stream of acid into his face at random. “Augh!” he exclaimed in disgust before shrugging it off. “Welp, looks like I just lost my sense of smell. Ha ha!”

“Yo, this place is actually pretty sweet,” Amethyst remarked, glancing around with a grin as they continued on ahead. “Kinda reminds me of my room.”

“If only your room was as this empty,” Pearl commented sarcastically.

“Hold it,” Garnet suddenly stopped everyone in their tracks as they came up on where the red string was leading next: a corridor blocked off by a barricade of rocks.

“The pterodactyl must have caused a cave-in when it flew through here earlier,” Dipper guessed, looking over the obstacle.

“I’d call that a plumb coinkydink!” McGucket exclaimed with his usual verve.

“Well, it looks like we’re stuck!” Stan concluded, turning around. “Guess we might as well give up and head on home, huh?”

“Wait!” Steven interjected. “I have an idea.” With a knowing smile, the young Gem turned to Centipeedle before letting out the same crow noise from before. As if on cue, the monster fired a shot of acid right into the rock pile, which easily melted the stones until there was a hole that was large enough for them all to crawl through. “All right, Centipeedle!” Steven cheered, giving the monster more chips as a reward while Mabel, Dipper, Soos, and Amethyst applauded, impressed.

“Nice work,” Garnet praised, giving the young Gem a pat on the back.

“Oh come on!” the conman muttered in aggravation, begrudgingly following the others as they all climbed through the opening. As they arrived in the next room, the group were might with an even more unbelievable sight than before, one that made them all pause in apt amazement.

All throughout the cavern were mountainous piles of tree sap dripping from the ceiling. However, the sap itself was hardened, as if frozen, which was quite fortunate considering the gigantic beasts trapped by it. Around almost every turn were dinosaurs, of every size and classification, frozen in place by the sap as though it was ice. The sticky substance was still transparent enough for the creatures to be clearly seen, however, which was why everyone, including the Gems, was staring at the vast collection with wide eyes of shock.

“Wow!” Steven exclaimed with an awed grin. “Look at all the cool dinosaurs!”

“There are more of them?!” Pearl asked, alarmed. “But how?”

“They’re trapped inside the tree sap!” Dipper exclaimed in realization. “That’s how they survived for 65 million years!” He paused as he shined his lantern over at a nearby sap heap, one that was bereft of a dinosaur, but did have a very familiar pterodactyl shaped hole in it. “Whoa. The summer heat must be melting them loose!”

“Holy moley!” Stan grinned, already seeing the multiple ways he could profit off of this. “Forget the cornicorn! This is the attraction of a lifetime!”

“Oh no, you don’t, Stan,” Pearl admonished. “We’re not about to let you profiteer off of such a dangerous place. Humans shouldn’t even be down here, what with all these murderous dinosaurs just waiting to break free!”

“All I’m hearing is “blah blah dangerous, blah blah I’m a stuffy stick in the mud’!” the conman mimicked, irritating the white Gem even further. “You can’t stop a tourist trap like this! I could bring people down here and turn this into some sort of theme park! Jurassic… Sap Hole!”

“Heh, I’d come,” Amethyst chuckled, amused.

“Uh… dudes?” Soos interjected anxiously, pointing to a sap pile across the room that contained yet another pterodactyl. The creature had managed to free one of its claws from the sap, and it was clear by how the appendage was slowly wiggling that it was working on the rest of its hand as well.

“U-uh oh…” Steven frowned with apt concern.

“…Maybe we should keep moving,” Dipper said, also quite uneasy upon seeing this.

“Of course, we’ll have to come back someday and properly contain these creatures, right Garnet?” Pearl asked. “The last thing we want is for any more of them to break free and wreak havoc.”

“Eh, we’ll get around to it eventually,” the Gem leader shrugged apathetically as she started to lead the way onward.

“This could be a gold mine!” Stan declared, still wrapped up in his enterprising thoughts. “Velvety-rope type deal there, ticket booth here… ha! I should have put that pig outside ages ago!”

“Wait… what did you just say?”

The conman froze upon hearing his niece pose this question. “Huh?” he asked, turning around to face her and frowning upon seeing her expression steadily become more and more upset.

“You said the dinosaur flew into the house and-” Mabel cut herself off with a gasp, the horrible realization starting to dawn on her. But even still, Stan tried to play it off.

“Now, wait! Uh, if you think about it-”

“You put Waddles outside and then you lied to me about it!” Mabel shouted, infuriated as tears ran down her cheeks. “And now thanks to you, my pig could be dead! Waddles could be dead!”

“Aha!” Pearl remarked with something of a self-satisfied grin. “I knew that dinosaur story was just another one of Stan’s countless lies!”

“Now’s not the time, Pearl,” Garnet admonished the white Gem for her tactlessness in the midst of Mabel’s clear mourning.

“Look, the pig’s an animal,” Stan tried to justify. “He belongs outside! Just like that weird bug thing that’s been following Steven around all day.”

“Hey, now! Centi’s not an animal and she doesn’t belong outside,” Steven asserted, turning to the monster with a soft smile. “Right, girl? Here ya go! Have some more chips!” The young Gem cheerfully tossed a handful of chips Centipeedle’s way as she nuzzled against his leg and gobbled them up. “Aw, who’s a good Gem monster? You are! You are!”

“See what I mean?” Stan asked caustically.

“No, Grunkle Stan, that’s it!” Mabel exclaimed hotly. “I am never speaking to you again!”

“What? You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, is someone talking right now?” Mabel asked pointedly, turning her back on Stan. “Because I can’t hear them!”

“Kid-” Stan tried to reason, only to no avail.

“La la la la!” Mabel sang loudly, covering her ears. “I can’t hear anyone! No one’s talking to me!”

“Yikes…” Amethyst remarked to her fellow Gems. “This is getting kinda ugly…”

“Guys, guys!” Soos cut in between Stan and Mabel. “Don’t fight! Why can’t you be more like me and Dipper? Look, everything’s gonna be just fine. All we gotta do is follow is find the pig with this here yarn!” The handyman grinned widely, picking up the string on the ground as he began to roll it up into a ball. “Just keep following and following until we reach the-” He cut himself off as he realized that he had indeed reached the end, as they very yarn they had been tracking all this time now rested in a neat ball in the palm of his hand. “Uh oh… W-which cave was it again?”

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!” Pearl groaned, completely exasperated.

“Ugh, Soos! You lost the trail!” Dipper exclaimed, just as frustrated.

“Hey, come on,” Soos reassured with a small smile. “We’ll find our way. Trust me.” As he said this, the handyman gave Dipper a hearty pat on the back, startling him enough to make him drop the lantern that had been lighting their way and causing it to break on the hard ground.

“…Sorry, dude,” Soos apologized stoutly.

“That’s it!” Dipper shouted, now about as upset as his sister was. “See, this is why I didn’t want to bring you along, Soos!”

“W-what do you mean?” the handyman asked with concerned confusion.

“I mean this was really important to Mabel, and you keep screwing everything up!” Dipper explained harshly. “You ruined our photograph and now you’ve got us hopelessly lost!”

“But… but we’re the p-terodactyl bros… I made us the tee-shirts!” Soos said, crestfallen as he pulled out the shirts.

“It’s pronounced pterodactyl! And these shirts are useless! They’re gigantic!”

“I have a different body type, dude!”

“Oh, so it’s my fault then?”

“Guys, please!” Steven interjected, hating to see all this anger spread around. “Don’t-”

Before the young Gem could even finish his statement, both Stan and Mabel and Soos and Dipper’s conflicts all quickly blew up into an intense argument on all sides. However, the argument itself was shortly lived as the Gems decided to intervene.

“That’s enough!” Garnet shouted above the noise, silencing everyone briefly. “We need to work together to find this creature. Arguing will get us nowhere.”

“Why don’t you use your special ‘future’ powers to guide the way?” Stan asked dryly. “That’s about all you three are good for down here.”

“Now, you hold on just a moment!” Pearl exclaimed, offended. “If it wasn’t for us, then you all would be in grave danger down here! Honestly, if anything, the last thing we need is someone like you trying to profit off of all of this, Stan!”

“Ooooh! Roast him, P!” Amethyst goaded, caught up in the heat of the moment as much as everyone else.

With no more restraints holding them back, the argument resumed, but this time the Gems joined in as everyone seemed to bicker at random. The only one who was silently and worriedly observing in all of this was Steven, who wanted nothing more than to keep his friends from fighting like this. However, before he could even try and stop them, a sudden panicked shriek from behind caught his attention. “Centipeedle?!” the young Gem exclaimed, spinning around to see the monster screaming in abject terror. He watched her in confusion for a moment as she began backing away from the group, but even so, he tried his best to console her.

“What’s wrong?” Steven asked the monster, concerned. “You want some more chips?” With a gentle smile, the young Gem held a chip out to Centipeedle, but this time she promptly refused his offer and contained her nervous cries. “Oh!” Steven exclaimed, finally understanding as he glanced to the arguing group behind him. “It’s all the noise, isn’t it? Well don’t worry. I’ll get them to-”

Centipeedle cut the young Gem off with another high-pitched wail, one that was just loud enough to distract the Gems away from the quarrel. “Something’s wrong,” Garnet noted, stepping away from the others as Pearl and Amethyst followed.

“Steven, what’s that thing’s deal?” the purple Gem asked. “What, did it get a stomach ache from all those chips or something?”

“It doesn’t like everyone arguing!” Steven exclaimed. “We need to-”

“Hey!” McGucket suddenly exclaimed, garnishing everyone’s attention and silencing the argument at last. “Cheer up, fellas! I fixed your lantern!” The hillbilly held said lantern up only for its light to reveal the pterodactyl itself standing right behind him. Everyone let out a unified scream of terror at this sight, one that McGucket mindlessly mimicked for fun. “Heh,” he chuckled, still oblivious. “What… what are we doin’?”

“Behind you, dude,” Soos whispered with an anxious frown.

“Hm?” McGucket spun around, freezing up upon seeing the dinosaur towering in front of him. “Oh. Nobody make any sudden movements or loud noises.” A beat of silence passed as everyone followed this rule, before the hillbilly himself broke it with a loud, excited shout. “YEEEHAW! We found a pterodactyl!”

Not needing any further provocation, the pterodactyl let out a fierce shriek, one that terrified nearly the entire group, save for Garnet of course. The Gem leader reacted accordingly, summoning her gauntlets and landing a heavy punch to the dinosaur’s face. While the creature was stunned, everyone took the opportunity and hurried past it, scrambling into the next narrow tunnel that soon gave way to a large, open room. Steven noticed that Centipeedle was lagging a bit behind however, her complete panic returned as she trembled heavily.

“Centi, come on!” Steven exclaimed, running back for the creature.

“Steven!” the Gems shouted, alarmed as the dinosaur continued to peruse them. Fortunately, the young Gem managed to grab the monster just in time, narrowly avoiding the acid spilling from her mouth as he ran on ahead to join the others, escaping the pterodactyl just in time.

Fortunately enough, the dinosaur managed to get itself stuck in the entry of the large room, its wide wingspan delaying it from perusing the group as they ran in and took refuge behind a nearby cluster of rocks. The pterodactyl didn’t see them as it finally made it into the room, gliding underneath the suspended mine car tracks to the deep chasm below.

“Ok, guys, we need a plan to get out of here,” Dipper said, worriedly glancing out from behind the rocks.

“I got a real simple one,” Amethyst remarked causally. “It’s called we go out there and beat that dumb old dino’s face in.”

“No, you can’t do that!” Steven exclaimed pleadingly. “It scares Centipeedle when you guys use your weapons!”

“Ugh, but how else are we supposed to take care of that thing?” Pearl asked, crossing her arms.

“I got it!” Stan exclaimed with a daring smirk. “Hows about Mabel gets Soos a pig costume-”

“I like it,” the handyman nodded compliantly.

“-and we use Soos as a human sacrifice!”

“I like it!” Soos agreed once again.

“What do you say, Mabel?” Stan asked his niece, hoping to coax her out of her anger towards him. Of course, it didn’t work as Mabel simply crossed her arms and glanced away stubbornly, refusing to even give her uncle a second glance. “Aw, come on. You can’t stop talking to me forever.”

“Yeah, Mabel,” Dipper agreed firmly. “We have to work together here.”

“Oh, what,” Soos scoffed crossly. “You wanna work with Mabel but not your buddy Soos?”

“Here we go again,” Garnet deadpanned to herself, already anticipating the next argument that stated but not a second later. However, this one was very shortly lived as a sudden familiar oink interrupted them all.

“Wait, did you hear that?” Mabel paused, looking to the pterodactyl’s large nest resting on a spire in the center of the room. “Waddles!” she exclaimed joyously upon spotting her beloved pig sitting in the middle of the nest, meeting her gaze intently even from a distance. Without hesitation, Mabel made a beeline for the nest, barely even regarding the potential danger as she left their hiding spot and ran across the rickety mine tracks to it.

“Kid, are you nuts?!” Stan asked as the others all let out concerned gaps.

“Oh, is someone speaking?” Mabel asked caustically, stopping only for a second to glare back at the conman. “Because I can’t hear anything!”

“Oh no!” McGucket cried. “She’s gone deaf with fear!”

“Mabel, get back here!” Dipper called to his sister with apt concern.

“Yeah!” Steven agreed just as fretfully. “What if the dinosaur comes back?!”

Mabel was hardly listening to any of their pleas however, as she finally reached the nest, wrapping her arms around Waddles tightly as she swept him into a loving embrace. “Oh, Waddles! I promise I’ll never lose you again!”

The pig simply let out a contented oink at this, one that he repeated as Lion jumped into the nest and joined them. Mabel smiled fondly as she watched the two pink animals nuzzle each other, and Steven joined in on her delight as him and the others reached the nest themselves. “Aw, they missed each other!” the young Gem exclaimed warmly.

“I know, right?” Mabel asked with a charmed laugh. “They’re so cute!”

“Uh, guys?” Dipper interjected somewhat nervously upon spotting a pile of bones, human bones to be exact, lying in the nest not too far away.

“Whoa, those guys don’t look like they had a very good time down here…” Amethyst commented with a frown.

“Y-yeah, we should probably get outta here, dudes…” Soos agreed anxiously. Still, Mabel was far too engrossed in reuniting with Waddles to so much as even worry. Until a certain pterodactyl happened to return.

The dinosaur suddenly flew high over the nest, letting out an ear-splitting screech as it did so. Frightened by the sight of the creature who had kidnapped him, Waddles let out a petrified squeal before darting away out of panic. Likewise, Centipeedle screamed in equal fear, letting an uncalculated burst of acid fly, one that narrowly missed hitting Steven.

“Waddles, wait!” Mabel called after her pig, unable to bear the thought of losing him again so soon. Waddles continued to let out terrified squeals as he eventually ended up barreling into Stan, who was completely unprepared for it.

“Get off me, ya dumb pig!” the conman exclaimed, trying to shove the squirming animal away from him. However, as Stan was already teetering on the mine tracks in an attempt to keep his balance, the pterodactyl swooped in once more, ready to reclaim its lunch. The group in the nest let out a collective gasp of shock as the dinosaur rammed into Stan and Waddles, sending them both plummeting off of the tracks and down into the mine shaft far below.

“Oh no!” Mabel cried with newfound concern over her uncle.

“Stan!” Dipper exclaimed, also quite alarmed.

“Mr. Pines!” both Soos and Steven gasped in worried unison.

“Don’t worry, Stan!” Amethyst called down, more than ready to leap down the chasm after him. “I’ll save—whoa!” Before the purple Gem could jump, the pterodactyl flew up once more, the force of its heavy wind it created being enough to knock her off her feet.

All the while, Stan and Waddles were in a freefall towards the bottom of the mine shaft, though fortunately they had a soft enough landing as they bounced off another large mushroom and into the mud puddle beside it.

“Ugh,” the conman groaned in both pain and disgust as he sat up, cringing at the mud now covering his suit. Waddles, on the other hand, was much happier about their current state of affairs as he took to happily rolling around in the mud, oinking brightly all the while. “Yeah, you would enjoy this,” Stan deadpanned to the pig, reaching out to grab his fallen fez. However, before he could, the pterodactyl came around once again, snatching it up in its massive claws as it carried it back up to its nest. The dinosaur dropped the hat into its nest, in full view of the group still gathered there, all of them quite shaken by what had just happened.

“Oh brother…” Pearl sighed in exasperation. “I suppose we have to go save Stan now, don’t we?”

“Uh, yeah we do!” Amethyst exclaimed as though it was obvious.

“And we gotta hurry!” Mabel urged, feeling incredibly guilty for how she had treated Stan earlier now. Especially in light of the very real possibility that she might never see him again. “Before that dinosaur eats them both!”

“McGucket, do you have an invention that can distract the pterodactyl?” Dipper asked the hillbilly, remembering his complex design for the Gobblewonker robot.

“Do I?!” McGucket exclaimed boldly, rummaging inside of his beard only for his search to come up empty. “Nope.”

Of course, the situation only went from bad to worse as the lone large egg resting in the nest behind them happened to hatch at that very moment, revealing a much smaller, but still large by comparison, baby pterodactyl.

“Aww!” Steven and Mabel gushed in unison at the newborn creature as it made a small peeping noise.

“Well!” McGucket exclaimed, approaching the baby dinosaur with a smile. “Welcome to the world, little feller-” The hillbilly was cut off as the baby pterodactyl suddenly threw its head down, snatching McGucket in its maw and swallowing him whole. The others all let out gasps and screams of abject terror at this, but even so, the Gems kept their cool.

“Looks like we’re on our own then,” Garnet proclaimed, reforming her gauntlets. “Gems! Let’s go!”

Amethyst and Pearl nodded loyally, summoning their own weapons as they stood off against the baby pterodactyl. However, before they could even start attacking, Centipeedle, who was already quite on edge, let out a shrill cry that stopped them right in their tracks.

“Oh no!” Steven exclaimed, running over to the frightened creature. “Not now!”

“Steven, what’s wrong with that thing?” Dipper asked, aptly alarmed by the monster’s clearly panicked behavior.

“I don’t-” the young Gem was cut off as Centipeedle began spitting acid out at random. “Whoa!” Steven gasped as one burst barely missed him, catching the Gems’ unified attention immediately.

“Steven!” Pearl gasped, rushing over. “Oh, I knew this would happen! That thing is more trouble than its worth!”

Before Steven could really even protest, the white Gem swung her spear at the monster, hitting her with the dull side of the weapon and sending her flying to the far side of the nest. “Ah! Pearl, stop! It was an accident!” the young Gem cried, running over to Centipeedle and accidently grabbing her hair in the process, eliciting a harsh hiss from the monster. “Oh! Sorry for pulling!”

“Steven!” Garnet shouted, kicking the monster away from the young Gem before it could harm him. Likewise, Lion ran to stand before Steven and Centipeedle in order to protect the young Gem, growling bitterly at the monster all the while.

“No!” Steven cried, tears forming in his eyes over this violent display. Fortunately though, before the Gems could really gang up on Centipeedle, they were all reminded of the other problem at hand as the baby pterodactyl let out a wild shriek, one that was soon followed by a unified frightened scream from the twins and Soos.

“Oh, right. Kinda forgot about that guy for a sec,” Amethyst said, summoning another whip and tossing at the dinosaur. The whip coiled itself around the pterodactyl’s mouth, muzzling it briefly and allowing Dipper, Mabel, and Soos to run for cover behind the dinosaur. “We’ll deal with you later, little guy!”

As the dual threats from both the baby pterodactyl and Centipeedle continued up atop the nest, Stan and Waddles were hiding out under one of the giant mushrooms from the larger pterodactyl. The conman took a tentative glance out from under the fungi, looking up to see that the dinosaur was still very much on the prowl as it flew only a few feet above them.

“The dumb thing must be hungry,” Stan remarked sourly. “I guess it’s you or me, pig.” Without any hesitation, the conman shoved Waddles out from underneath the mushroom, hoping that he would serve as the perfect decoy for his escape. However, instead of panicking, the pig simply remained still and gave Stan an innocent, almost endearing stare. “What are you looking at?” the conman asked caustically, though Waddles only continued looking to him intently. “Aw come on, don’t give me that look! What am I supposed to do? Let it eat me?”

Waddles only blinked in response to this, his innocuous stare still fixated on nothing but Stan. “Oh, I get it,” the conman tried to justify, even if the pig was starting to wear him down. “You’re trying to guilt trip me. Well it ain’t workin’, pal. Who cares if your Mabel’s favorite thing in the world? I can live without the kid talking to me all the time! …Telling me her jokes… Makin’ me laugh...”

The conman frowned as he trailed off, glancing down at the ground with apt guilt. He hated to admit it, but he knew he had done wrong by his niece, and while he would have liked to think that he didn’t care about that, deep down he knew he did. As sappy as he knew it was, Stan knew just how charming and lovable Mabel was, and the prospect that she might never speak to him again out of pure anger was actually a pretty terrible one. Still, the conman wasn’t entirely sold until he looked to Waddles once more, just as the pig tilted his head a little and let out a small, yet quite adorable snort.

Stan cracked a small grin at this, though it was short lived as he glanced up and noticed the pterodactyl swooping down upon them once more. “Aw, dang it!” the conman exclaimed relentingly, knowing that he had no other choice. With no need to mull it over any further, Stan hurried out from his hiding spot, strapping Waddles into the Huggy Wuvvy Tummy Bundle that had happened to fall down into the chasm with them and strapping it and the pig onto his chest. “Well, this is just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever done,” the conman concluded, standing as boldly as he could in the face of such a danger. “Hey, ugly!” he shouted to the pterodactyl. “You want this pig?! Then you’re gonna have to get through me, you flying devil! Come and get me!””

The dinosaur screeched menacingly at the conman as it began to divebomb towards them. However, instead of hiding or running in fear, Stan took the creature head on, quite literally as a matter of fact.

Still, not all was going so well. Back up in the nest, as the baby pterodactyl struggled to free itself from the whip tied around its mouth, the Gems were still facing off against Centipeedle, much to Steven’s great distress. All the while, the monster was struggling to return to the young Gem’s side, only to be blocked off in her attempts each and every time. Eventually though, she had enough, for as Amethyst lashed her whip at the monster once more, she caught it in her maw briefly before tossing her head and sending the purple Gem flying into her teammates in an impressive show of strength. As the Gems were downed, Centipeedle let out a savage hiss as she approached them, more than ready to fire off a stream of acid at them.

And yet, before she could, Steven at last made it past Lion and hurried towards her, putting himself between the monster and the Gems. “Stop!” he exclaimed desperately. “You don’t need to fight! This isn’t you! You’re not a monster anymore. You’re so much more than that! We have so many memories now! Don’t you remember our trip downtown? The chip times?” Slowly, the young Gem approached Centipeedle, who was still clearly enraged as acid spilled from her mouth. “And how you saved me from that vicious crow? And how we became best friends?” Tears were streaming down Steven’s cheeks as he gently, yet tightly embraced the monster, disregarding her acidic spit. “You have to remember! This all happened today!”

As the young Gem clung onto her, Centipeedle’s rage soon began to simmer down, to the point that she eventually, finally relaxed and let her eye fall shut, a soft, soothed chip escaping her. Steven smiled tearfully as he heard it, relieved to see that she was truly coming along in terms of her behavior. Perhaps, in time, she would truly become a member of the team after all.

Still, the young Gem had little time to celebrate his success as the baby pterodactyl finally broke free from its bond, letting out an angry howl as it did so. “Steven! Go hide with the others!” Garnet commanded, knowing that they no longer had to focus their attention on Centipeedle now.

Steven simply nodded as he did as she said, running over to join Dipper, Mabel, and Soos as Centipeedle trailed close behind him. “Are you guys, ok?” Mabel asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I think we’ll be just fine now,” Steven said, sending Centipeedle a smile as she nuzzled up next to him affectionately.

“Well, we won’t be fine for long if we can’t find a way to get away from that pterodactyl,” Dipper reminded, nodding to the creature as it tried to peck at the Gems.

“I still can’t believe he ate that prospector guy!” Soos exclaimed. “That was messed up!”

As if on cue, the baby pterodactyl paused from fighting the Gems and Lion as it coughed up McGucket’s hat. The hillbilly himself tried to climb up out of the creature’s throat at this juncture, his head peeking out of the dinosaur’s mouth as he grinned goofily. “I’m ok!” he announced, only for the pterodactyl to swallow him again, much to everyone’s shared horror.

“Ugh, how revolting!” Pearl exclaimed in absolute disgust.

“I dunno, I thought it was kinda funny,” Amethyst chuckled, somewhat amused as she swung her whip once more. “In a weird sorta way, you know?”

“What do we do?!” Dipper exclaimed, even more panicked over their situation than before. However, oddly enough, Soos was the first one to come up with a suggestion.

“We have to get in a straight line,” the handyman said firmly.

“What?” the kids asked in confused unison, none of them quite understanding this train of thought.

“The pterodactyl’s eyes are so far apart, that if you stand right in front of it, it can’t see you!” Soos explained.

“Soos, you’ve been wrong about stuff all day,” Dipper said, highly skeptical of this idea. “How can we-”

“Dude, look,” Soos interrupted, his tone sincere. “I know I mess stuff up a lot. I can be sort of clumsy and… It’s not always as loveable as I think. But please, as my friend, just trust me on this one!”

Dipper hesitated in giving a response, still not entirely sure if this plan would even work. After all, Soos wasn’t exactly known for coming up with the most brilliant ideas. But still, there were very few other options they had to work with at the moment. Which was why Dipper decided to place his trust in the handyman once again as he nodded and smiled slightly, even if he had no idea how this might turn out.

Soos grinned in return as he rose to stand, the kids following his lead. “Get behind me, dudes!” he instructed, leading the way out from their hiding spot as they all formed a single file line. Steven made sure to shush Centipeedle, who kept close behind him as they moved along quietly, just outside the pterodactyl’s frame of vision. And while the dinosaur didn’t see them, the Gems did as they all glanced towards them questioningly. Still, Soos didn’t explain his plan to them as he instead put a finger over his mouth, silently telling them to remain quiet about it. Garnet nodded in response to this, even if Pearl and Amethyst were still somewhat confused. As the kids started making their way back across the mine car tracks, the Gems and Lion also retreated from their battle and easily leapt to the other side of the room, as not to accidentally give them away to the dinosaur.

“It’s working!” Mabel exclaimed in an excited whisper as they continued to sidle their way along. And indeed it was working s the baby pterodactyl remained still, unaware of their presence. Each time the dinosaur happened to turn its head, the kids would leap from one side of the tracks to the other, narrowly missing the creature’s gaze each time. However, as they were about halfway across, the group leaped to the other line once again, only for Steven to accidently loose his balance and fall forward onto the tracks themselves.

“Steven!” the twins gasped in shared concern, especially as the pterodactyl perked up, now seeing the young Gem clearly. The young Gem gasped as he quickly picked himself back up, but it was already too late. The pterodactyl knew they were there, and it wasn’t about to let them go so easily.

With a fierce roar, the baby dinosaur lurched forward, pulling itself towards the kids at an alarming rate. However, before it could even clear the edge of its nest, someone else rushed forward to meet it.

“Centipeedle!” Steven cried in alarm as the monster hurried for the pterodactyl, stopping it in its tracks as it stood before it and screeched wildly. The young Gem had no time to go to its rescue as both Dipper and Mabel grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the other end of the tracks along with Soos before the dinosaur could see. Still, Centipeedle stood firm against the much larger creature, especially as she geared up to spit acid at it without restraint. And yet, before she could even get her first attack out, the unthinkable happened.

With another shriek, the pterodactyl clamped its wide jaws around the Gem monster, clamping down on her with a great amount of force. Centipeedle only lasted for about another second, but it was long enough for her to look directly at Steven one last time before she inevitably vanished in a puff of smoke, just as all downed Gems did.

“No!” Steven exclaimed in horrified shock, especially as the pterodactyl began to swallow Centipeedle’s lingering gemstone. However, the dinosaur ended up choking on the stone, prompting it to spit it out and send it flying across the room before returning to eating whatever was lying around in its nest. The monster’s gem landed safely on the other side of the room, but as it slowly rolled up to Steven, all the young Gem could do was collapse to his knees tearfully as he gently picked the stone up.

“You… you saved us…” Steven muttered morosely, holding Centipeedle’s gem close. The young Gem could scarcely find any other words to say in light of this fact, especially since he had just lost Centipeedle so soon after making her his friend. Yet in the end, she had ended up sacrificing herself to save not just him, but all of them really. And such a noble sacrifice, Steven knew, could not go unnoticed.

Everyone else stood around the young Gem as he mourned the lost monster, none of them quite sure how to console him, even if they all felt truly bad about what had happened. However, there was no time to pay tribute to the fallen monster, as everyone was reminded that there was another pterodactyl, a much larger one, lurking in the caverns, especially as it let out a shrill, almost painful cry. Confused, everyone glanced up to see the adult pterodactyl sour overhead, though the sunlight spilling into the room blocked everything save for its silhouette, at least for a moment. For when its shape cleared, they all got a glimpse of something that completely surprised and stunned them all.

“Is that…?” Dipper trailed off, unsure of if his eyes were just playing tricks on him.

“Stan?!” Mabel finished in apt disbelief. But sure enough, Stan was indeed riding atop the pterodactyl, holding on tightly with one hand and punching the creature squarely in the face with the other as he let out an angry battle cry. And while that was impressive enough, Mabel let out another awestruck, yet completely relieved gasp upon seeing the pig that the conman had in tow with him. “Waddles!”

“I can’t believe it…” Pearl muttered, her jaw dropped in shock. “He’s actually punching an actual dinosaur in the face. Stan of all people is punching a dinosaur in the face. How is that even possible?”

“Woo!” Amethyst cheered rowdily. “Get him, Stan! Punch that dumb old dino right back to the stone age!”

“From heck’s heart, I stab at thee!” Stan shouted fiercely, using both hands to land a very heavy blow on the already struggling dinosaur. The pterodactyl screamed in pain as it rammed into the side of the cliff, which was where Stan quickly jumped off before the creature could fall into the abyss and take him with it. After a moment or two, the conman made it to the top to join everyone else, tired, and a bit worse for wear from the perilous experience, but safe overall.

As the conman was brushing himself off, he hardly even noticed Dipper, Soos, and Amethyst all applauding him for his bravery, as well as Garnet sending an approving thumbs up his way. While Steven was still quite a bit torn up over what happened to Centipeedle, he still smiled softly, even if Pearl, crossed her arms and let out an aggravated huff over how she had been proven wrong. Mabel, on the other hand, was quite pleased with her uncle’s actions as she stood before him with a warm, though somewhat apologetic smile.

“Here’s your pig, kiddo,” Stan grinned, passing Waddles off to her.

“Waddles!” Mabel cried happily, embracing her pig. “You saved him for me!”

“Yeah, well,” Stan shrugged as though it were no big deal. “Sometimes you just gotta—LOOK OUT!” The conman let out a frightened shout as he noticed the pterodactyl steadily scaling the cliff behind him.

Not wanting to risk it with any more dinosaurs, the collective group turned and retreated, even though the pterodactyl was in hot pursuit. As they crossed the threshold of the narrow passage, Dipper was the last to make it through, though he only barely escaped as the dinosaur snapped at him, tearing a rather sizable hole in his vest. Still, everyone managed to make it back to the main cavern, only to discover something that made their situation even more dire: they had no way of getting back up to the surface.

“We’re trapped!” Stan exclaimed, alarmed.

“What do we do now?” Steven asked, taking a glance back to see the pterodactyl still trying to squeeze through the passageway.

“Quick!” Dipper pointed to one of the nearby geysers, one that could hopefully land them were they needed to go. “The geyser can shoot us back up!”

No one argued with this as they all jumped into the geyser, though unfortunately, it stubbornly refused to pump, even as the pterodactyl finally squirmed free and continued towards them. “Ugh, come on!” Amethyst exclaimed impatiently. “This is taking forever!”

As if to remind them the severity of their circumstances, the pterodactyl let out another roar, its wings spreading wide as it prepared to beset them all. However, as terrified as everyone else was by this, Soos steeled himself and let out a brazen battle cry. “Bros before dinos!” he shouted, pounding on the side of the geyser hard. At last, it finally burst, shooting the entire group up right before the dinosaur could devour them all. In mere seconds, they were all shot back up into the church, all of them landing roughly throughout the decrepit building and all of them soaking wet and quite shaken, but fortunately safe.

As a result of the rumbling earth below it, the crumbling church finally collapsed in on itself, covering up the hole that the pterodactyl had first come out of and hopefully trapping it for good. Fortunately though, the Pines and the Gems were all well out of the building and heading back to Soos’s truck in a mixed array of spirits.

“I can’t believe you did all that for Waddles!” Mabel exclaimed to Stan, aptly amazed upon hearing him recount his rescue.

“Aw, well, I can’t have my favorite niece not talking to me,” Stan remarked with a fond smirk as he leaned against a nearby tree. “And if I gotta leap onto a pterodactyl and punch him in the face, then that’s what I gotta do.”

“That’s kinda sappy,” Mabel chuckled blithely.

“What? That’s how I feel!”

“No, I mean the tree,” Mabel corrected, pointing to the sap that Stan had placed his hand against.

“Oh yeah,” the conman frowned, pulling his now sap-covered hand away from the tree before jokingly putting it on his niece’s face. “Gotcha!” he laughed, before realizing that it was now stuck there. “Uh oh.” In a sudden panic, the pair screamed as they tried to pull away from each other, though unfortunately the sap was pretty potent as far as its stickiness went.

Eventually, however, Stan and Mabel did manage to free themselves from the sap, even if they were still covered in the stuff as they slept against each other and Waddles on the ride home. Steven and the Gems once again took their seat in the back while Lion ran behind the vehicle, as the sun began to set over the woods as they headed back to the temple and the shack once again.

“Check it out!” Dipper exclaimed as he sat up front with Soos, looking over his torn vest. “That thing totally destroyed my vest!” However, that wasn’t all. For upon a closer inspection, Dipper managed to find something far more impressive: one of the pterodactyl’s teeth had gotten stuck in it as he had pulled away earlier. “Whoa, Soos, look!” he said with a wide grin, holding the large tooth up for the handyman to see.

“A real dinosaur tooth?” Soos asked, amazed. “That’s awesome!”

“Not as awesome as you saving us back there,” Dipper said somewhat sheepishly, admittedly ashamed of his former behavior. After all, in the end, Soos really had come through for them all, and for that, he was truly grateful. “Pterodactyl bros?”

“Pterodactyl bros!” Soos grinned as they two exchanged a fist bump. “Hey! I pronounced it right that time!”

“So you think we’ll need to worry about the rest of those dinosaurs?” Dipper asked with a slightly concerned frown.

“Eh, I doubt it.”

While Soos and the Pines were all relatively content after their latest misadventure, the same couldn’t exactly be said about Steven. The young Gem let out a sad sigh as he held Centipeedle’s gemstone, looking over its smooth green surface with remorse. His guardians all exchanged worried glances as they observed him, but as usual, Garnet was the first to reach out to him and console him.

“Steven…” the Gem leader began gently, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You did a good job trying to tame the Centipeedle. Your mother would be so proud.”

“She would?” Steven asked with a frown, glancing up from Centipeedle’s gem.

“The truth is,” Garnet began, looking down. “Rose Quartz had tried to use her powers to save these monsters too, but she was never able to heal any of them.”

“Never? But if she couldn’t do it…”

“Who knows?” Pearl asked with an encouraging smile. “Maybe when you have better control of your powers, you might be able to help them in ways even your mother couldn’t.”

“Even this one,” Garnet nodded to Centipeedle’s gem.

Steven smiled softly as he looked down to the stone himself, wishing that he could have truly helped Centipeedle this time. But even so, if she was willing to wait for him, then he would be willing to go the extra mile for her. Just as she had done for him. “Then I’ll keep her safe until then,” Steven said with resolve, wrapping his hands around the stone until a small, pink bubble happened to form around it, much to the Gem’s complete shock.

“Whoa!” Amethyst gasped, amazed.

“Steven!” Pearl exclaimed with a proud grin. “You can bubble Gems!”

“Wow…” the young Gem muttered, knowing that this was the first time he had ever accomplished such a feat. Still, he couldn’t focus on that so much right now. So instead, he focused on Centipeedle. “Wait for me, Centipeedle. I promise I’ll heal you up someday.”

With a warm smile, Steven sent the bubble he had created away to the temple, just as he had seen the Gems do countless times. “Oh, wait!” he exclaimed, forgetting something, something that he knew the monster would certainly appreciate when he did manage to heal her.

Back at the Gem temple, a lone green gem, enveloped in a pink bubble materialized in the burning room, floating amidst the countless others. And then, mere moments after it had arrived, another bubble appeared right beside it, holding only one thing, something that would serve as a welcome back gift to that Gem if she ever did reform: a half-eaten bag of chips.

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