Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Prologue
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“Shhh! It’s getting closer!” Mabel shushed, slipping back into the cave and pulling Dipper with her.
“How are we going to get out?” Dipper asked.
“Good question,” Steven said. He looked around. The cave didn’t extend very far. In the back, a pile of straw lay spread across the floor, the charcoal remains of a small fire close by. There was nothing to hide in, only bare stone and soot.
“Okay, I have an idea,” Steven said. “I’ll go out there and try to distract him. While I’m doing that, you two go and use Mabel’s grappling hook to get out of the ravine.”
“No way!” Mabel whispered. “We’re not leaving you to that giant!” Dipper nodded his head in agreement, his face determined. Steven smiled.
“Thank you, but I’ve got this,” he said, standing up. He dashed outside before the twins could react, shouting, “Hey Mister, over here!”
The monster’s head whipped around and locked onto Steven, its body completely still. Steven held his hands in the air, giving what he hoped was a friendly smile.
“Hey! Sorry to barge in, but I’m lost,” he said. Steven started to slowly walk away from the entrance, watching as the creature’s head tracked him. “Can you show me the way out of here?”
The beast didn’t speak. Instead, a low growl emanated from the shadowed sun hat. Steven froze. He saw Dipper and Mabel freeze as well, already a few feet away from the entrance. He needed to keep distracting it.
“I get it. I’m intruding into your space! You have every right to be angry,” Steven continued, trying to keep its attention on him. The growling continued. “I just need to find my way out and I’ll be out of you, uh, fur.”
Steven jumped as the monster started to step closer to him. The guttural growl simmered, then sputtered out as the creature stood before him. Steven gulped, catching a glimpse of Dipper and Mabel at the edge of the ravine, the grappling hook poised. Dipper waved for him to follow, but Steven could only focus on the bug screen that was suddenly in front of his face.
The creature snuffed loudly, it’s hot breath touching Steven’s nose.
“N-nice to meet you! My name is Steven!” Steven stammered, trying not to make any sudden movements. “What’s yours?”
The creature stared at him, his snarl fading into a more neutral expression. Steven waited, but was only met with silence. Just as he was about to come up with something else to say, it spoke—
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Geez, sorry about that. I don’t know why Mabel didn’t rewind the tape. Just give me a second to rewind this.
…
...
...Sooooo, you wanted to watch my adventures in Gravity Falls, huh?
It was really fun! But also really scary sometimes. I just drove by while taking my cross-country road trip, and it ended up being this whole “save the world” thing again, haha...
I would have never guessed there was gem stuff in Oregon, and who would have thought that those things would have tried to use it?
Ah, I’m getting ahead of myself. Wouldn’t want to spoil the story, right?
Oh! The tape’s ready!
…
Don’t be shy, take a seat and start from the beginning.
Me? My name’s Steven, Steven Universe.
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