The Green Flash

Chapter 15

-27: Dipper-

Dipper wondered if this was the last wonderful Beach City sunset he would ever have the privilege of enjoying. He had made up his mind; the next round with the moth he would go back to Gravity Falls. And if Steven was still there, he'd tell him to get back to Beach City. This had been a wild adventure. But they both had to go home.

"I wish you lived here." Connie said. "Steven really likes you. We could all be friends..."

"We ARE friends, Connie. Even if, ya, we live in other universes, lame, ya..." Dipper stumbled over his response.

"Hello." A voice startled him. He was sitting on the porch with Connie, waiting. Now Pearl stood in the doorway, awkwardly facing them.

"Hi." Dipper said flatly, glancing over his shoulder at the graceful gem. What did she want NOW?

"I..." she closed her eyes, hands folded. "I want to apologize for the way I treated you the other day. It wasn't fair."

Dipper let her words hang in the air. He relished in her pained expression as he turned to face her, holding back his reply long enough to get his revenge. But he had taken it about a second too far, and immediately felt gross.

"Hey it's ok, you where just confused. It was a mistake. We all... make them?" His voice rose as he ran out of a cool comeback.

"Thank you. You are... an unusually intelligent and hard-working human being." With that, she turned back into the beach house.

"Wow." Dipper breathed. "That was... nice?"

"Dipper, look!" Connie was holding up the phone, eyes shimmering. "It says... the moth is... right here?!"

Dipper leapt off his chair, and to his relief the gems burst from the house, weapons drawn.

"Is it broken?" Dipper asked.

But it definitely wasn't. A deafening roar rocked the entire beach house, and a perfectly circular portal opened up right on the shore of the beach. Everyone raced down towards it, but it didn't close up like it should have. Something was different.

Dipper's ears rang as the moths humming rose to a scream, and he saw that its gleaming green body was flapping and splashing, caught between the two worlds, trapped in its own portal.

The gems and two humans skirted the terrifying scene, unsure.

"Wait..." Connie was saying, and Steven saw it too.

Mabel, Gruncle Stan, Wendy, Soos and Steven stood on the other side of the portal, looking as stunned as they were.

"We have to cross over now! STEVEN!" Dipper yelled as loud as he could, and both boys walked slowly towards the edge of the portal, straining against the gusts that whirled violently around it.

Dipper was close enough to the edge count the cuts and bruises on Steven's face when something started glowing. The moth was burning with a cosmic white fire, blotting out all other sounds with its maniac hum. It was just like when the caterpillars exploded. But this time it was on a colossal scale.

Dipper knew what had to happen.

"Steven!" He screamed so hard he tasted blood, but he couldn't hear his own voice. "Bubble it! Invert your shield! Bubble the moth!"

Steven stared at Dipper, and understanding finally crossed his eyes. With startling speed, a huge wall of pink engulfed the dying moth.

Dipper swayed. This wasn't right. It was close, but it wasn't right. He and Steven were still inside! Steven had bubbled all three of them together!