Summary:
A journey to the author's hidden underground bunker reveals some unsettlng secrets, while forcing Amethyst to confront her insecurities.
"Sniffling Croissant!" Steven grinned at the results of the Crying Breakfast Friends personality quiz he'd just finished. "You really know me, internet." He looked up from his phone, to where Pearl and Stan were hard at work helping Greg fix his van. "Hey, guys!"
Greg glanced back, wiping the sweat from his brow–while unknowingly smearing oil across his forehead in the process. "Yeah, Steven?"
"You should all take this online quiz I found," Steven held up his phone so they could see. "It tells you what character you are from Crying Breakfast Friends !"
"Crying Breakfast-" Stan cut himself off, completely confused. "Kid, what the heck are you talking about?"
"Oh, it's a great cartoon with a huge cast of really interesting, relatable characters!" Steven explained, smiling. "And every single one of them is a result you can get in this quiz! Like I said, you should totally take it!"
"Uh… why?" Pearl asked.
"It's just fun to see yourself as a cartoon character," Steven shrugged, looking back at his phone. "Like Weeping Egg Cup, who's neurotic and uptight, or Pining Grapefruit, the sensitive older one who wishes he were a better role model, or Forlorn Pancake, who's ill-tempered but has a hidden heart of gold."
The adults exchanged a glance that was somewhere between bewildered and annoyed, before Greg finally said, "Uh, maybe we can do that after we fix the van."
"Or better yet, never," Stan muttered as he got back to work.
"Aw, ok," Steven sighed. He wasn't disappointed for long, however, before Amethyst broke him out of it.
"Yo, Steven!" she called, standing alongside Garnet at the start of the trail leading into the woods near the temple. "You ready to go?"
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" Steven jumped to his feet, shoving his phone into his pocket.
"Are you three going off on that 'mystery hunt' you mentioned earlier?" Pearl asked him.
"Yep!" Steven nodded. "We're going to meet Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy in the woods right now. Aren't you coming, Pearl?"
"Oh, well, I-" Pearl stopped short when something inside of the van's hood burst, sending out a plume of dark smoke into the air and a thick spray of oil over Stan and Greg. "I… think I'm needed here more," Pearl shook her head. "But make sure you don't do anything too reckless. And make sure Amethyst knows that goes double for her."
From her spot at the bottom of the hill, Amethyst stuck her tongue out at Pearl. Steven, on the other hand, was more than happy to comply with a dutiful salute. "Don't worry, Pearl. I'll make sure everyone stays safe and has a ton of fun with this great quiz!"
While Pearl saw her team off with a smile, it soon faded as she turned her attention back to the troublesome van. "Do either of you understand that cartoon show?" she asked Stan and Greg.
"I don't really understand anything anymore," Greg admitted.
"Ditto," Stan sullenly agreed.
Meanwhile, once Steven joined Garnet and Amethyst at the base of the hill, the group was off. As they ventured into the woods, Amethyst helped herself to the messy sandwich she'd brought for the trail. "So where's this 'super mysterious' place Dipper wants us to check out again?" she asked, her mouth half-full.
"On the other side of the temple hill," Garnet replied, keeping her focus on the path ahead. "He said it's in the very same place where he found the journal. So this mission will hopefully give us some answers that are a long time coming, which means I expect you both to take it seriously."
"Don't worry, G," Amethyst smirked. She didn't bother to wipe away the mess her sandwich had left all over her face. "You know me. I'm as serious as they come."
"Same here!" Steven agreed. "Oh! Speaking of serious stuff, you guys gotta take this online quiz: 'Which Crying Breakfast Friend Are You'?"
"I'll pass," Garnet said.
"Yeah, same," Amethyst cringed. "That show's really weird. Who wants to watch a cartoon about people crying?"
"I do!" Steven protested, tears already in his eyes.
"Ok, ok!" Amethyst quickly recanted. "Uh, what's the first question?"
Steven perked up as he started the quiz over again to read the questions aloud. "Do you ever act without thinking?"
"Nope." Amethyst tilted her head back, throwing the remainder of her sandwich into her wide-open mouth.
"Are you afraid of taking risks and trying new things?"
" Terrified ," Amethyst deadpanned as she backflipped over a fallen log.
"Amethyst, are you taking this seriously?" Steven asked, frowning.
"Of course, I am," Amethyst rolled her eyes when Steven wasn't looking.
"Are you insecure about your relationships and how you are perceived by other people?"
It was an oddly intense question, one that caught Amethyst off guard. She stole a glance over at Garnet, who offered no answers for a question that wasn't meant for her in the first place. "Er… no?" Amethyst frowned. "Yes? Uh, what's the right answer?"
"There is no right answer," Steven said. "You're just supposed to answer honestly."
Amethyst considered the question for another beat or two before ultimately shrugging the entire quiz off altogether. "Eh, I'm bored," she said, making a point of pressing on ahead to catch up with Garnet.
"Wait!" Steven called as he ran after her. "I still have loads more probing personal questions to ask you!"
"They'll have to wait till later," Garnet spoke up as they came to a stop. "We're here."
"Hi, guys!" Mabel warmly greeted the trio. She stood alongside Soos and Wendy in the shade of a tall tree, one that strangely stood alone in the center of a sizable clearing. Dipper wasn't far, pacing near the tree as he leafed through the journal, only stopping when he noticed Steven and the Gems had arrived.
"There you guys are!" he said, relieved. "I'm glad you could make it. Thank you all for coming."
"Hey, when there's a mystery, you can count on your sister-ey!" Mabel exclaimed, winking.
"That's an amazing rhyme," Soos chuckled as he tried his own. "When you want some… some good… When you need a Soos, you… Oh, gosh, I got nothing," he admitted as Wendy snorted out a laugh.
"This is so exciting!" Steven exclaimed. "What mystery are we gonna solve this time? Why fairies are so small and sparkly? Or how gnomes celebrate President's Day?"
"Neither," Dipper shook his head. "We're here to solve the number one mystery in Gravity Falls: who wrote this journal?" He held said journal up, flipping to the torn pastedown that would have otherwise revealed its writer's identity. "Thirty years ago, the author vanished without a trace, but according to this new clue, I may have found his secret hiding place." After flipping to another page, Dipper pulled a portable blacklight up, shining on a drawing of the very same tree standing before them. The blacklight revealed yet another secret, a winding staircase wrapped around the tree, leading the way to a hidden underground chamber.
"Wait, so you're saying this author guy has been squatting right underneath our temple for the past 30 years?" Amethyst raised an eyebrow, doubtful. "All without us knowing about it? That seems kinda, I dunno, impossible ?"
"We don't know who the author is," Garnet countered. "But he somehow knew a lot about us. For all we know, he could have gotten that information by observing us right behind our backs."
"Literally!" Steven joked.
"I don't know…" Dipper frowned as he looked back down at the journal. "Based on how the author wrote about you guys, it still doesn't seem like he got all this info just from spying on you… But that's what we're here to find out. We find that author, we learn the answers to everything. We just need to figure out a way to get down there…"
"Tch, is that all?" Amethyst stepped forward. "Try giving me a real challenge here." The others watched as she approached the tree. She didn't bother scoping the situation out first before going in with sheer brute force. She slammed straight into the tree, hoping to plow her way into some sort of entrance, only to end up bouncing off its audibly metallic surface. Ultimately, she landed at Garnet's feet, blushing when the other Gem stared down at her wordlessly, expectantly. "Uh… lemme give that another go," she let out an awkward laugh as she brushed the dirt off of herself. "I'll wear it down eventually if I keep on-"
"Hey, guys," Wendy cut in as she peered up the length of the tree. "Is it just me or does that branch kinda look like a lever?"
"Huh, yeah," Dipper agreed, referring back to the journal. "But how do we get up there…?"
"Heh," Amethyst grinned, as she summoned her whip. "Looks like I'm comin' to the rescue again." She pulled her arm back, ready to redeem herself after her earlier embarrassment, until she looked up–
And found somebody was already beating her to it.
In no time at all, Wendy had skillfully scaled the tree, easily reaching the lever before she pulled her ax out of her belt. With a flick of her wrist, she hit the lever with the dull end of the weapon with a satisfied "Boosh!"
"Whoa! Wendy, dude, that was awesome!" Soos exclaimed, awestruck. Almost all of the others echoed his sentiment, equally impressed by just how masterfully Wendy had tackled this obstacle.
Even so, she took the praise in stride. "Oh yeah, my dad used to make me compete in these lumberjack games when I was a kid," she shrugged. "Guess I kinda ruled at it."
"Whatever," Amethyst grumbled, mostly to herself. "I could've done that too, without even having to leave the ground."
Fortunately, no one heard her over the sound of the tree suddenly rumbling. Wendy only barely made it back to the ground surrounding the tree when it began to open up. She jumped away from the emerging hole, joining the others as they crowded around it to see what awaited them below. Just as the journal depicted, a staircase led into the darkened depths of the earth, where untold secrets were no doubt buried.
"Uh… G?" Amethyst spoke up, unnerved. "Am I the only one of us who's thinking this looks sort of…"
"Familiar…" Garnet finished. "No, you're not."
"Wait, have you guys been here before?" Steven asked.
"I don't… think so…" Amethyst frowned, bewildered.
"Still, it feels like we have…" Garnet shook her head. She sighed when her future vision failed to offer her any answers; how could it, when the answers she was searching for were so deeply rooted in the past? "It's… hard to explain…"
"Well maybe going down there and checking it out will help jog your memory!" Mabel encouraged.
The pair of Gems exchanged a glance. Neither of them were sure what they might find down there. But as long as there was a chance that they could finally find the truth, they had no choice but to take the plunge. And, as usual, Amethyst was the first one to do it. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, grinning mischievously as she began bounding down the staircase. "Let's crash this joint! Come on, you guys!"
"Alright, this is it," Dipper said, steeling his own resolve before he followed. "Remember: what happens down there, we tell no one."
The others all agreed and, with that, they were off. Though Amethyst haphazardly led the way, everyone else scaled the stairs much more cautiously, finding a sturdy metal door at the bottom of them. Luckily, it was unlocked, albeit rusty from going unused for so long. As it creaked open, no one really knew what to expect. And what they found was just about the last thing any of them could have anticipated.
A dark chamber had been carved out of the earth, its walls reinforced with metal to protect the supplies stocked within them. A small cot sat on one side, a cabinet meant to store weapons on the other alongside shelves piled with boxes, each labeled with a different year. Dust and cobwebs clung to nearly every surface, a further testament to a space that, by all accounts, seemed to be completely abandoned. For quite some time at that.
"Ok, this is stupidly cool," Wendy grinned as they all stepped inside to investigate.
"I know, right?" Steven said, stars in his eyes. "Who knew all this stuff was hiding right behind the temple?"
"Hm…" Garnet looked around, her lips pressed in a thin line. She skimmed a hand on the calendar hanging from the wall, permanently set to 1982. Try as she might to remember anything unusual that could've happened to her and the Gems that year, she ultimately couldn't. She certainly couldn't remember standing in this very chamber 30 years ago–or ever, for that matter.
So then why did it still feel as though she'd been here before?
"So, uh… what is this place anyway?" Wendy asked as she wedged the door open. After all, the last thing any of them wanted was to end up getting trapped down here.
"It's like a fallout shelter or something," Dipper said, scribbling his own notes about it into the journal for good measure. "It must have belonged to the author. It looks like he was preparing for some kind of disaster." He paused, trying to imagine the mysterious author himself standing in this very room. Only to stop short when he took another look at the massive stock of supplies said author had apparently amassed. "But… what kind of disaster would need supplies for over sixty years…?"
"Yeesh, sucks to be him if he lived in this dusty old box," Amethyst said. "Still, at least there's plenty of good cans lying around to snack on." She snagged an empty one of the ground, easily downing it whole. It helped, a little, to settle the pit in her stomach that had been forming ever since they'd stepped foot down here.
"Oh my gosh!" Soos gasped as he opened up the weapons locker and pulled anything but a weapon out. "A Smez dispenser! I remember these things. What's that?" He held the dog-shaped dispenser up to his ear."Why yes, I will have some of your old-timey face food!" He pushed a piece of candy out of the dispenser and ate it, only to end up choking on its staleness. "Ew, dusty!" he cringed, before popping another one into his mouth.
"Ha! Look, Steven!" Amethyst grabbed a gas mask hanging on the wall before she playfully put it on. "I'm a pachyderm!" Steven laughed, though he stopped short, alarmed, when Amethyst pulled a skull–albeit a fake one–out of the mask. "Oh! And there's a prize inside!"
"Amethyst," Garnet spoke up. "I thought you said you were going to take this mission seriously."
"Hey, I am being serious," Amethyst quickly tossed the gas mask aside. "Just figured I'd liven this grimy old place up a little is all." She offered the other Gem a hopeful grin. Garnet, on the other hand, shut her down with sullen silence as she moved on. Amethyst only barely managed to stifle a sigh as she did; if she'd failed to impress Garnet before, she certainly wasn't making any headway on that front now.
"Wait, guys!" Dipper got everyone's attention as he picked up one of the countless cans discarded on the floor. One that still happened to have a bit of food still inside. "I think this can was opened recently…"
"The author still might be alive down here, then!" Soos exclaimed.
"Wait a minute…" Wendy ran a hand over the far wall, where a large map of Gravity Falls hung. It took a moment to notice, but sure enough, it was rattling against an unseen breeze. Or rather, against the air leaking in from the hatch behind it when Wendy pulled it aside. "I think I know where he might've gone…" she smirked as the others gathered around the entryway.
"Here's the plan," Garnet firmly began. "We'll follow this tunnel to wherever it leads. But since this is unknown territory we're in, Amethyst and I will take the lead and the rest of you follow behind us."
It was as safe a plan as any, which was why no one found any room to argue with it. Garnet went in first, crawling through the tight tunnel as it led even deeper into the darkness. Amethyst squeezed in after her, followed by everyone else in a single-file line.
"Oh Garnet," Steven smiled. "Stern but practical. Just like Spilled Milk."
"Ugh, you're not still on about that dumb cartoon, are you?" Amethyst asked, annoyed.
"Oh right, the quiz!" Steven pulled out his phone, struggling to hold it as he shimmied through the tunnel.
"Oh my gosh, you don't mean the Crying Breakfast Friends personality quiz, do you?!" Mabel cut in, excited. "I just took that this morning. I got Sad Pear, just like I knew I would!"
"Whoa, Sad Pear is totally you, Mabel!" Steven agreed. "I got Sniffling Croissant, and now I'm trying to see which character Amethyst is. So, next question: Do you get defensive when people ask you questions about the feelings you prefer to keep hidden?"
Amethyst tensed, only for a beat, before she shot a harsh glance back at him and hissed, "Don't get all psyc-o-logical on me, Ste-ven."
Steven flinched, surprised. "Um… sorry?" he frowned, unsure of what nerve, if any, he may have struck.
"Everyone, watch your step," Garnet interrupted as she reached the end of the tunnel. The group emerged in yet another chamber, with walls, floor, and ceiling all made up of metal tiles with strange, cryptic symbols. Though the purpose of such a room was beyond any of them, they still took a moment to scope it out, if only because of how otherworldly it all seemed.
"Wow! And I thought that the first room was cool!" Steven exclaimed, glancing around with wide eyes. "This one's even more mysterious!"
"I know, right?" Wendy agreed, smirking. "Was this place built in the past or the future?"
"I dunno, dudes…" Soos muttered, worried. "This room is way creepy…"
"Meh, I've seen creepier," Amethyst said, leaning against one of the blocks sticking out of the wall. She yelped, however, when the tile on it suddenly sank in under the pressure she was putting against it. The room shuddered as the other tiles all turned a sharp, warning shade of red. To make matters worse, the door they'd come through swiftly slammed shut, leaving them all trapped as the tiles all began to slowly inch forward, designed to crush any unfortunate intruders caught between them.
"Amethyst!" Garnet snapped, shooting her an accusing glare.
"What?! I didn't do anything!" Amethyst defensively shot back.
There was no time to argue, not with the walls pushing in on all sides and time steadily ticking away. "W-we've gotta get out of here!" Steven cried as he crowded in close to Dipper and Mabel.
"Way ahead of you, Ste-man!" Amethyst leapt into action. While the others tried holding the tiles at bay, she went high, using the shifting blocks to give herself a boost toward the ceiling. She shoved her hands and feet against two of them, pushing hard to try and keep them separated. Below, Garnet had summoned her gauntlets to do the exact same thing.
"Yo, G!" Amethyst called down to her. "Check this–huh?" She stopped short as she glanced up at the glowing tile right above her head. The symbol etched onto it seemed far too familiar for comfort, to the point that she couldn't resist the urge to reach up and touch it. Her eyes lit up as she pressed down on the tile–on the switch , watching as it shifted from red to blue. "Hey, guys!" she yelled down to the group below. "Look what I-"
Even if Amethyst failed to get everyone's attention before, she certainly did when she let out a sharp, sudden cry. They all looked up just in time to see the tiles pincer her body far too tightly. Though she tried to shapeshift her way out of the trap, it was ultimately too little too late. As two of the tiles pushed together, Amethyst's stomach was brutally crushed between them. With one final shout, her body disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, leaving nothing but her gemstone behind.
It was a sickening sight, one that only got even more frightening when Amethyst's gem began to fall through the air. Steven managed to catch it just before it could strike the ground, and he held it close to his heart to protect it from any further harm. Not that his efforts would matter for much longer; if they couldn't find a way out of here soon, they'd end up just like Amethyst–or worse.
"Amethyst was onto something," Garnet cut through the rising panic filling the room. She nodded up to where Amethyst had been, catching sight of the switch she'd activated mere moments before her "demise".
"Wait, she was!" Dipper exclaimed. He held the black light over a page in the journal describing this very room. Hidden text revealed a set of glowing marks, no doubt the only key out of this death trap. "There are five more of these symbols. Quick! Everybody find one!"
While Garnet worked to hold the tiles back, the others split up as much as they could. It didn't take long for Soos to spot the first tile, slamming his first down on it as he called out, "One!"
"Two!" Wendy jumped up to give another switch a hearty punch.
"Three!" Steven scaled another block to reach the next one.
"Four!" Mabel called, high fiving another tile.
Dipper froze, frantically looking around for the only remaining symbol. He ran for it as soon as he spotted it, climbing up the blocks leading to it and hitting it just before another tile could cover it completely. "Five!'
With all six switches activated, a door revealed itself on the far side of the room. It gave the group a window of escape, though not much of one as more tiles continued converging to block their way. "Run for it!" Mabel shouted. Garnet abandoned her post as she leapt through the opening first. The others followed soon after her, with Steven making it out last, still clinging desperately onto Amethyst's gem. They escaped not a second too soon, as the last of the tiles finally slammed into each other. It was a miracle that they'd managed to make it out in time, that no one had been caught in the crushing crosshairs; no one other than-
"Amethyst!" Steven wailed. Tears were in his eyes as he placed her gemstone on the floor in front of him so everyone could see.
"W-what happened to her?" Mabel asked, her eyes wide with alarm.
"Is… is she like… gone?" Soos asked, worried.
"No," Garnet calmly assured.
"But Amethyst got crushed to-" Dipper cut himself off. "Well, I guess being crushed to death wasn't exactly what happened to her, but…"
"Whatever did happen to her wasn't pretty…" Wendy shook her head as she eyed Amethyst's gemstone. "I mean, how could she have actually survived something like that?"
"A Gem's body is a construct of light," Garnet explained. "Our physical forms are illusions. And sometimes, when we're badly damaged, we're forced to release those physical forms and retreat into our gemstones to regenerate."
"So… she'll be ok, then?" Mabel asked, hopeful.
"She'll be just fine," Garnet smiled. "This sort of thing happens to Amethyst all the time, believe me."
"It happened to Pearl too, a few months ago," Steven sniffled. "A-and it took her two whole weeks to come back, and I already miss Amethyst so much!"
"Don't worry," Garnet rested a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be back before you know it."
As if on cue, Amethyst's gemstone abruptly began to glow. "Literally…" Garnet's smile faded as she watched it rise into the air. A bright silhouette surrounded the stone, shifting several times before it settled on a familiar form.
Or at least, a mostly familiar form.
Once the light faded, Amethyst landed on the ground, disoriented, but otherwise, entirely uninjured. She barely had time to gather her bearings before Steven was upon her, wrapping her in a tight, relieved hug. "Amethyst's back! Amethyst's back!"
"Ugh…" Amethyst groaned, pushing him away. As she did, she noticed something off about her hands–more specifically, that they weren't exactly hands anymore. "Huh?"
"Uh, Amethyst?" Dipper spoke up, perplexed. "What happened to your… arms?"
"I think you mean legs ," Mabel corrected. Because sure enough, in her latest regeneration, Amethyst's arms had been replaced with a second set of legs.
"Looks like you grew a few feet since the last time I saw you!" Steven joked. While his humor was largely lost on Amethyst, that didn't mean someone else didn't get a good laugh out of it.
"Nice one, dude!" Soos chuckled. "Oh, I got one! Hey, Amethyst, can you lend me a foot? Get it?! C-cause you have-"
"Yeah, Soos, I get it," Amethyst deadpanned.
"That was fast," Garnet said, frowning down at her. "Even for you."
Amethyst pushed herself to her feet (her usual feet), stifling a blush as she clumsily brushed her bangs out of her face. "Eh, it's no big deal," she shrugged, flipping to stand on her new set of hands. "I didn't wanna keep my biggest fan waiting!"
Steven laughed, at least until Amethyst set one of her feet on top of his head. He rolled his eyes, still grinning, as he shoved her off, not noticing the stern, disapproving frown Garnet was wearing behind him.
"Let's just keep moving," she concluded as they continued on through the next chamber. Amethyst huffed an aggravated sigh as Garnet passed her by; her hasty regeneration was a hit with just about everyone. Everyone but Garnet, clearly. Just like almost everything else she did, it seemed.
"Hm, looks like this door is jammed…" Dipper frowned as he tried and failed to pull the door ahead open. "A little help here?" he asked the Gems.
Amethyst strode forward first with a confident grin. "No prob, dude. I'm totally down for lending a hand."
"Shame you don't have any to spare," Garnet deadpanned, crossing her arms. Amethyst winced when she glanced down at her "foot-hands", realizing she wasn't in much of a position to help after all. Still, that didn't mean someone else couldn't rise to the occasion instead.
"Mind if I take a crack at it?" Wendy asked, pulling her ax out.
Garnet nodded, stepping aside. "Go ahead."
Wendy paused before the door, sizing the situation up before, with one swift, heavy swing, she wedged her ax squarely into the almost microscopic space between the door and its frame. After perching a foot on the nearby wall, she threw her weight against the ax handle, shouting as she struggled against metal and stone. And then, with one final, heavy shove, she pried the door wide open, revealing the way ahead.
"Whoa, Wendy, that was amazing!" Dipper exclaimed, awestruck.
"Yeah!" Steven agreed, stars in his eyes. "You're super strong!"
"Eh, actually, strength doesn't really have a whole lot to do with it," Wendy smirked as she slung her ax over her shoulder. "It's all about hitting the log–or door , I guess, in this case–at just the right angle at just the right time. At least, that's what my dad always told me back when he taught me how to use this thing."
"It's a solid strategy," Garnet patted her on the shoulder as she passed her by. "Well done, Wendy."
While Wendy accepted this kudos with a humble nod, Amethyst was taken aback. Garnet's praise was hard to come by; if anyone knew that, it was Amethyst, for how much she vied for it. But now, not only had she failed to get even a hint of her leader's coveted approval; now, someone else–someone who wasn't even a Crystal Gem–was getting that approval instead. Approval that Amethyst knew should have been hers ; and she was determined to make it hers. She had to be stronger, better, smarter. She had to show Garnet she was a worthy member of the team.
Above all else, she had to show everyone, even herself, that she wasn't just the joke they all thought she was.
"Whoa, look at this crazy surveillance room," Mabel said, fascinated by the next chamber. The group emerged into an observation deck, with a wall lined with monitors and control panels. A few of the screens still glowed with a live feed of somewhere else in the bunker, though exactly where, no one knew.
"Check it out, dudes!" Soos held a pair of glass beakers up to his eyes.
"Soos, Soos," Wendy said, breaking into a grin. "That is hilarious."
"This is so weird…" Dipper said, looking between the journal and the surveillance monitors. "We're already so far in, but there's still no sign of the author. I thought for sure he'd be hiding down here somewhere, but…" He sighed, tucking the journal back into his vest. "I don't know. Maybe I was wrong."
"Aw, don't give up, Dipper," Steven encouraged, resting a hand on his shoulder. "The author could still be down here; we've just gotta keep looking! Like… Oh! I know!" He ran over to what appeared to be nothing more than a metal closet. "Like in here, for instance!" With an eager grin, Steven pulled the closet open, only to find it disappointingly empty. "Huh," he frowned as Dipper came to stand alongside him, rolling his eyes. "You know, I really thought he'd be in there…"
"I dunno, you guys," Wendy joined the pair. "Is it just me or is there something sorta… off about this closet?"
"Hm…" Dipper stepped inside of the closet, giving its back wall an experimental knock. "Whoa, you're right! I think there's something on the other side of it."
Amethyst saw the chance emerging here, and she didn't hesitate to take it. The last thing she wanted was for yet another opportunity to prove herself to suddenly slip away from her. "Well, what are we waiting for?" She entered the closet, slamming her hands, or feet, rather, hard into the sheet of metal. She repeated this process over and over again, wailing away to the point that she didn't hear Garnet issue her a timely warning.
"Amethyst," she began, taking a step forward. "Wait-"
Whatever she was going to say was left unheard as Amethyst broke through the back of the closet, revealing the earthen opening behind it. "All right!" she cheered as she ran into the gap. She stopped just long enough to urge Dipper and Steven to follow her. "Come on, you two! Do you wanna find that author guy or not?"
The boys exchanged a wary glance, but in the end, they ventured further into the darkness. Wendy wasn't far behind them, her hand already resting on the handle of her ax, just in case. "Well?" Amethyst shouted to Garnet, Mabel, and Soos. "You guys coming or not?"
While Soos and Mabel were more than ready to follow, Garnet put up a hand to stop them. "Get back up here, all of you. Now ," she advised, her voice suddenly rigid.
"Aw, what? Why?" Amethyst scoffed, annoyed. "You told me to take this mission seriously, so now I am! What's more serious than taking charge and, like, 'venturing off into the unknown', or whatever?" To prove her point, she turned her back on Garnet, crossing her leg-arms as she pressed on ahead.
"Amethyst, you don't understand," Garnet said, her hands in tight fists. "There's a-"
Amethyst suddenly stopped short, though not because of Garnet's warning. Her foot sank into the ground, onto the stone-turned switch she'd accidentally stepped on. The second it was activated, another slab of metal slammed down from above, sealing the closet shut again and cutting the two groups off from each other.
"Oh no!" Steven cried, beating against the door.
On the other side, Garnet did the exact same thing, albeit with her gauntlets. Unlike the door Amethyst had kicked down, this new one was much sturdier and much thicker by far. As a result, the most Garnet was able to do was put a sizable dent in it. Not that a dent would do much to help anyone trapped on the other side.
"We'll have to find another way in," Garnet let out a disgruntled huff. "And fast."
"Uh, why fast?" Mabel asked, suddenly worried.
"Because they're not alone in there," Garnet shifted her shades as she relayed the frightening intel her future vision had just revealed. "There's a monster on the loose."
"Welp, that's that," Amethyst shrugged only seconds after the door came down. "Guess we'll just have to find another way outta here." With that, she turned and began to head further into whatever the next part of the bunker might hold.
"Uh, Amethyst?" Wendy began, glancing back at the door. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"
"Tch, 'course, I am!" Amethyst said, holding her head high. She shot a smug smirk back over her shoulder at Wendy. "What, you're not scared are you?"
"I'm not," Wendy coolly assured. "But these two?" She nodded over at Steven and Dipper, grinning. "They seem sorta skeeved out to me."
"W-what?! No way!" Dipper protested, flustered.
"Yeah! We're super brave!" Steven agreed. He quickly undermined himself, however, yelping in fear when a sudden noise echoed somewhere deeper in the cavern. "Uh… w-what was that?"
Dipper pulled the flashlight he'd brought along out of his vest, switching it on to shine some light on the situation. This new chamber was by far the most specious yet, built between high, cavernous walls dotted with deep burrows of all shapes and sizes. Pipes, tubes, and monitors all connected the main features of this room: a series of empty glass pods, all damaged to various degrees. The sparse lighting overhead flickered ominously as the group ventured further inside to get a better look, all while silently dreading what they might find here.
Still, despite that dread, Dipper still found plenty of room to be fascinated by it all just the same. "Whoa, a hidden lab!" he exclaimed. "Maybe the author did experiments down here."
"Hm," Wendy frowned at the hole-strewn walls. "What do you think dug all these tunnels?"
"I don't think I want to find out," Steven muttered. He barely stifled a gasp, clinging tightly onto Dipper's arm when a deep, sinister growl echoed through the shadows of the lab. A growl that only seemed to be getting closer with each passing second.
"Don't worry, guys, whatever this thing is, I've totally got it covered," Amethyst assured. She tried summoning her whip, only for her lack of hands to leave it slipping out of her gem before it landed uselessly on the ground. "...Oh, right."
"Run?" Wendy stiffly whispered.
"Run!" Dipper exclaimed in rising panic.
While Steven, Dipper, and Wendy didn't hesitate, Amethyst did as she stole another glance down at the whip at her feet. Only now did she realize how pathetic her new form truly was; how was she supposed to get anything done if she couldn't even use her own weapon? While it wasn't a permanent solution, she quickly shapeshifted her hands back into actual hands to claim her whip before taking off after the others.
With few other options available, they took to one of the larger tunnels carved into the base of the walls. They could only hope these passageways were interconnected, or better yet, led them back to Garnet, Mabel, and Soos somehow. Those hopes were all too quickly dashed, however, when they ran straight into a dead end. All with some unknown, ravenous creature still hot on their tails.
"Stay back!" Amethyst warned as they watched some haunting, unknown shadow draw near. While Steven and Dipper did as she said, Wendy still stepped forward, tightly clutching her ax. Amethyst started when she glanced over at her, on the verge of telling her that she didn't want or need her help–
But in the end, none of that even mattered when someone else jumped in to their rescue instead.
The group froze, stunned as they watched the shadow of a man pounce on the unseen monster. He fiercely tackled the beast, undaunted by its size and ferocity. With just a few heavy punches, he beat the monster into submission, finally wrangling it under control.
"Back, you heinous beast!" the man yelled as he ripped something away from the creature. The beast howled before it ultimately exploded into a puff of smoke. From that smoke, the man emerged, finally allowing the others to see him clearly. His goggles, lab coat and gloves gave him the air of a scientist, and while he was a bit on in years, he still stood firm in the aftermath of the battle he'd just won. "Well, I just pulled out a monster's tongue," he announced, throwing it to the ground.
At first, no one knew quite what to make of this mysterious newcomer. That is, until Dipper remembered exactly why they'd come all the way down here, and exactly who this man had to be. "I-it's you!" he exclaimed, shocked.
"Uh, who?" Steven whispered to him, confused.
Dipper was more than eager to explain, though the man cut in before he got the chance. "Hurry now," he urged the others to follow him back through the tunnels. "I scared it off, but it'll regenerate. These Gem monsters always do."
Amethyst raised an eyebrow at that. Not only did this strange man know what Gem monsters were, but he managed to defeat one, entirely on his own? How could that be? Unless…
"I wasn't expecting guests," the man interrupted her train of thought as he turned back to the group. "I've been down here for a very long time. Years! Weeks, maybe. I miss orange juice."
"Y-you don't understand," Dipper spoke up, overwhelmed. "You're the guy I've been looking for!"
"He's the guy?" Wendy asked, surprised.
"He's totally the guy!"
"The guy?" the man cut in, confused.
"Oh my gosh!" Steven gasped, finally getting it. "You're the author of the journal, aren't you!?"
The man took pause, only for a moment, before he broke into a wide, proud grin. "Why, yes. Yes I am," he confidently confirmed. "Always a pleasure to meet fans of my prolific work."
"I've got like, a billion questions!" Dipper exclaimed, scarcely able to contain his excitement. How could he, when the one who held the answers to all of those questions was standing right in front of him? "Why did you write the journals? Who was after you? Why did you build this bunker? Wait," he stopped short, turning to Amethyst before looking back to the author. "You knew the Gems, right? Do you recognize Amethyst? Amethyst, do you recognize him?"
The author's smile fell, only slightly, when he set his sights on Amethyst. Despite the sharp, suspicious look she was sending his way, he simply let out a bold, reassuring laugh. "Well, of course, I do! How could I not recognize one of the Crystal Gems, my dearest friends? Certainly, you still remember me, even after all this time… don't you, my dear?"
For what seemed like ages, Amethyst didn't say a word. She only continued staring at the author, unsure of what to say, what to do. In the end, she finally settled on some sort of strategy; she could only hope it was the right one. "Oooooh, yeah! Totally! Author dude!" she exclaimed, throwing on a wide, believable smile. "Almost didn't recognize you. Glad to see you're not, uh, dead or anything."
The author's own smile widened as he gave her a small, satisfied nod. And yet, the second his gaze was off of her, Amethyst's grin swiftly fell back into a cold, distrustful glare. Still, she figured she'd stay the course as best as she could; no need to tip him off so soon, not when she still needed to get a better read on exactly what was going on here. On exactly who this alleged author actually was.
"I'm afraid you've all shown up at a rather bad time," the author said, leading the way back into the lab. "One of my experiments broke out of its cage. It's a shapeshifter, able to flawlessly take the form of anyone or anything it sees!"
"Oh, hey! That sounds just like you, Amethyst!" Steven exclaimed.
"Uh huh," Amethyst absently nodded, narrowing her eyes at the author.
"I've gone half crazy trying to catch the creature alone," the author continued. "But now you're here!" With a sincere smile, the author knelt down to Dipper's level, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "My boy, will you help me catch it?"
Dipper could only gasp, beside himself with excitement. Meeting the author was one thing, but working together with him to solve a mystery? It was more than he could have ever hoped for. He readily nodded, as did Steven, both of them more than happy to help the author in any way they could.
"Very well then! Let's get started! Come in! Come in!" the author beckoned the group into another tunnel. This one seemed to hold some sort of unkempt living space, no doubt the author's. "I apologize for the state of things. I don't get many non-mole people visitors. Now, the beast must have some kind of weakness we can exploit. I just wish I had my research on me! But alas, I lost my journals so many years ago…"
"Did you say journals?" Wendy sent Dipper a knowing grin.
"Dude, I found one of them!" Dipper quickly pulled the journal out and presented it to the author. "That's how we tracked you down here!"
"What? Could it be?" the author asked, eagerly taking the journal to get a better look. "My boy, I can't express my gratitude! Oh yes… after all these years!" He turned away to properly inspect the book, grinning greedily as he leafed through every page, poured over every entry, absorbed every detail.
Almost as if he hadn't written every word of it himself after all.