As Garnet continued searching for a way past the door barricading them from the others, Soos and Mabel were left with little to do. Other than wait and root through the drawers in the surveillance room for anything interesting.
"Hey, do I look smarter with this coat and briefcase?" Soos asked as he slipped the tight-fitting coat on and held up an old metal briefcase. "I feel like I look smarter…"
"Oh yeah, you totally look 110% more genius-y, Soos!" Mabel sent him a supportive thumbs up.
"Yes!"
"Both of you," Garnet suddenly cut in from her spot at the control panel. "Come over here and take a look at this."
"What's up, Garnet?" Mabel asked as she and Soos joined her. "Oh, is it those neat tube-y things?" She pointed to the glass tubes on one of the working monitors. It didn't take her long to find the button connected to them, one that read "Cryogenic Activation". "Whoa!" Mabel exclaimed when she pressed the button, which froze the interior of the tube in an instant. Excited, she hit the button over and over again, happily proclaiming, "Frozen! Unfrozen! Frozen! Unfrozen!" each time she did.
"That's not what I meant," Garnet gently moved Mabel's hand away from the button. "I was talking about that." She nodded to a note taped to the far side of the control panel. Soos grabbed it and read it aloud.
"Experiment number 210: the shapeshifter. Warning: extremely dangerous! Do not engage!
"A shapeshifter?" Mabel echoed, frowning. "You don't think that's the monster you said was on the loose, do you, Garnet?"
"I'm almost certain of it," Garnet grimly nodded. "We can't wait any longer than we already have. We need to get in there now ."
"Uh, but how are we-" Soos stopped short as Garnet held up a hand, calling for silence. Without warning, she ripped one of the monitors clean off the walls, perching it against the metal door. She rubbed her fingers together, creating an eclectic spark that she transferred to the broken wires jutting out from the back of the monitor. As soon as she was done, she leapt back, throwing her arms out wide to shield Soos and Mabel from the resulting explosion. One that was just powerful enough to blast a wide hole straight through the door.
"Dude," Soos muttered, eyes wide. "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen."
"If the author really is down here, don't you think he'll be mad about us breaking his stuff like that?" Mabel asked.
"I don't care," Garnet bluntly admitted.
As they ventured into the lab, they found it in a state of relative calm; no sign of the shapeshifter, but no sign of any of the others either. Not that they could see much in such thick, looming shadows. "Oh man, it's so dark!" Soos said. "How will we ever find them?"
"Leave that to Mabel!" Mabel proudly pressed the light bulb on her sweater, which actually functioned as a literal light.
"Whoa, that's so rad!" Soos exclaimed, impressed. "Although isn't electric clothing kinda like a fire hazard?"
"No, it's a fun hazard," Mabel corrected. "Now let me light the way!"
"We're coming for you, dudes!" Soos called in the hopes that the others might somehow hear him.
"And for that shapeshifter too…" Garnet added under her breath. With such a dangerous threat lurking through these caves, there was no room for mistakes or missteps. There was no room for poor judgement or blind action.
There was no room for all of the things Garnet desperately hoped Amethyst wasn't doing.
The author continued reacquainting himself with his work, and the others gave him space and time to do just that. Certainly, he'd have a plan to deal with that shapeshifter soon, and in the meantime, the most they could do was wait. Or in Amethyst's case, watch him as closely as she possibly could.
"Isn't this amazing?" Dipper whispered, beaming. "I still can't believe we're actually meeting the real author!"
"Yeah, he's soooo cool!" Steven agreed. "And it's even cooler that you recognized him, Amethyst! Just wait until Garnet and Pearl see him again–they'll be so excited!"
"Steven, I'm gonna be totally honest with you," Amethyst dropped her voice even lower. She kept her sights on the author all the while as she admitted the truth, "I've never seen that guy before. I have no idea who he is."
"What?" Dipper, Steven, and Wendy all asked in equally confused unison.
"Then… why'd you act like you did?" Wendy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"'Cause he's like… super weird," Amethyst said. "Something's seriously off about that guy. I don't know what it is, but he just gives me the creeps. I feel like there's something he's not telling us–something big ."
"Like what?" Dipper asked, wary. He couldn't act like he agreed with Amethyst on this; the author largely seemed like he was on the up and up to him. The very picture of everything he ever imagined he'd be. And yet…
Amethyst barely had time to open her mouth to answer before the author suddenly cut in. "Oh! Did you all hear that?"
Steven poised a hand to his ear to listen, only to shake his head. "I don't hear any-"
"It must be that Gem monster from earlier!" the author interrupted. He tucked the journal away into his coat as he dashed off into the nearest tunnel. "Come, everyone! We ought to subdue it first before we even think about finding that shapeshifter."
No one had much room to argue. After all, if there really was a rogue Gem monster down here, then it needed to be taken out just as much as this mysterious shapeshifter did. With their weapons in hand, Amethyst and Wendy followed first, with Dipper and Steven not far behind. While the author had slipped out of sight, it didn't take them long to run into the monster–and a familiar one at that.
"Whoa!" Steven narrowly hopped out of the path of one of the beast's slithering tendrils. "That thing looks just like that slinker monster that was in the temple a few weeks ago."
"Heh, easy pickings then," Amethyst smirked as she lashed her whip out. She caught the creature across its bulb-like body, yanking hard in the hopes of poofing it. Strangely though, its form didn't yield. Instead, it let out a sharp screech, its body somehow narrowing as it slipped out of her whip's hold. "Huh?" Amethyst pulled her weapon back, confused. She didn't get much of a chance to try again, however, when Wendy ran past her, charging straight for the monster.
Her ax was already raised as she launched herself off of one of the narrow walls, slicing one of the creature's tendrils clean off as she blazed by it. It tried to catch her, only for her to slide straight out of its reach, landing safely on the other side.
"Woo!" Dipper cheered her on from the sidelines.
Steven was quick to join in and do the same. "Go Wendy!"
"Augh!" Amethyst yelled, thoroughly annoyed. "So she can pull off a few fancy moves? So what? Who cares ?! You guys wanna see something actually cool? Check this out!"
After calling upon a second whip, Amethyst rushed for the monster. She leapt high, or at least as high as the low cavern ceiling would allow, before flying straight at the creature. Both of her whips cracked down at it, but the monster saw them, and her, coming. While one of her whips landed its strike, the other was sent flying right back at her. Amethyst swerved out of its path, but in doing so, she failed to notice the monster's tendril surging for her until it was too late. It wrapped around her midsection, all but squeezing the life out of her until, in almost no time at all, her form gave way all over again.
"No!" Steven cried, frightened. He tried to run forward to catch her gemstone, only for Dipper to hold him back, lest he meet the same fate. Fortunately, Wendy rushed back into the fray at just the right time.
She sliced through another one of the monster's arms, distracting it long enough for her to slide in and catch Amethyst's gem before it could fall into the creature's open maw. She passed it over to Steven before she pushed both boys back through the tunnel, determined to get them all to safety. "Hey, author dude!" she yelled over her shoulder. "A little help, maybe?!"
Fortunately, only the sound of the monster's struggling screams followed them. They could hear the author taking it on in the distance, but with Amethyst down for the count, none of them were too keen on helping him. They headed into a different tunnel instead, only stopping when they thought they were finally safe enough to catch their breaths.
"Aw, Amethyst…" Steven pouted down at the gemstone in his palms. "I can't believe she got poofed again ."
"Well, hey, look on the bright side, Steven," Dipper put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be back soon. And who knows? Maybe she can use this as a chance to fix that whole, uh, 'foot-hand' thing."
"Y-yeah," Steven smiled at the thought. "And maybe she'll-"
He cut himself off when Amethyst's gem began to glow again. It was surprising, how sudden her next regeneration was–even quicker than her last. And, as the light faded and her new form fully took shape, far more peculiar than the last too.
"Aw, yeah!" Amethyst flipped her hair as she steadied herself. With her new telltale hat and flannel top, it was clear to see who she bore a striking resemblance too. Regardless of how strange that resemblance truly was. "This is much better. What do you guys think?" Her smile sharpened as she met Wendy's baffled gaze in particular. "Don't I look totally Wendy -ful?"
There was no denying it now; in her new form, Amethyst looked almost exactly like Wendy. While the boys were left speechless by such an odd choice, Wendy was the one to actually voice what all three of them were thinking. "Uh… Amethyst, I'm not gonna lie. This is kind of weird."
"What's weird about it?" Amethyst asked, smirking as she sauntered over to her. "You're just so cool and capable . Why wouldn't I want to be less like me , and more like you ?"
Wendy winced as Amethyst made a point of brushing past her, still looking far too close to her for comfort. Fortunately, she wasn't alone in finding this whole thing creepily uncanny. "Amethyst, are you ok?" Dipper asked, unsure of how else to phrase the question.
"Of course, I'm ok!" Amethyst snapped as she spun around. "I'm always ok! W-why wouldn't I be?!"
"You're acting like you're not…" Steven pointed out, genuinely concerned.
"Ugh, whatever ," Amethyst sneered, turning her back on them. "You guys don't know what you're talking about."
A strained sort of silence filled the air after this, only broken when the author's voice rang out through the nearby tunnel. "Ah! There you are!" he exclaimed as he rounded the nearest corner. "That was quite a scrap. What a shame your poor friend was taken down so brutally by that-" He stopped short, his eyes widening when he spotted Amethyst. At first, it seemed as though he was taken aback by her new form, until his surprise shifted into a frustrated scowl. "H-how did you return so quickly? I thought for sure you were done for when I-" He sharply cut himself off, realizing his slip-up as he took a staggering step back. "Er… I-I mean, when the monster- "
"No, I think you mean you, " Amethyst corrected. She fixed the so-called author with a fierce glare, not bothering to hide her suspicions this time. Not when all pretenses appeared to be rapidly falling apart. "Got something you wanna tell us, 'Mr. Author'?"
With his ruse ruined, the "author" started to show his true colors. He let out an inhuman hiss as his neck began to unnaturally lengthen. "Why don't I show you instead?" he growled, his voice drastically deeper. The others could only watch, alarmed, as he dropped to all fours, seamlessly climbing up the nearby wall–and taking the journal with him. By the time the creature reached the cave's ceiling, its true, frightening form was finally clear. Disproportionate, wiry limbs, slick, slimy skin, wide, vacant eyes, and a round maw rimmed with vicious fangs. Sure enough, the shapeshifter the "author" had told them about was real–
And they were looking right at it.
"How do you like my true form?" it asked from its perch on the ceiling, clearly reveling in the disgusted shock on the faces of its prey. "Go on, admit it! You like it!"
"You!" Dipper exclaimed. He tried his best to keep his voice from shaking, to hide the fear that was very much there. "What did you do to the real author?!"
"You'll likely never find out," the shapeshifter coldly taunted. "That six-fingered nerd hasn't been himself in thirty years! But I thank you for bringing me his journal. He used to write it while I was in my cage. So many wonderful forms to take!" The creature laughed as it began to flip through the journal, eagerly transforming into several of the entries within it. From a gnome, to a centipeetle, to the slinker, it replicated them all with fluid, perfect accuracy, if only to show just how skillful its shifting was. And to show just how much of a threat it could truly be.
Even so, not everyone was impressed or intimidated by it. "Oh, what, you think you're the only one who can shapeshift around here, buddy?" Amethyst smirked as she ran through the exact same round of forms in rapid succession. "Why don't you try tussling with someone a little more on your level?"
"I gladly would," the shapeshifter jeered. "If anyone even close actually existed. But for now, I suppose I'll just have to settle for you ."
Amethyst bristled at that cutting comment, quickly calling upon a whip before shouting over her shoulder at the others. "Get outta here! I'll deal with this chump!"
"B-but the journal!" Dipper protested. "That thing still has it!"
"Ugh, here!" Amethyst lashed her whip out. She managed to catch the shapeshifter off guard when it coiled around the journal, and she easily managed to yank it out of its grip. It landed on the ground just behind Amethyst, and Dipper didn't hesitate to reclaim it. "There! Happy now?" Amethyst huffed, aggravated. "Get going already!"
"Y-you got it!" Steven grabbed Dipper by the arm, following after Wendy as she led the way down the tunnel. Amethyst steadied herself once they were gone, determined to stop this creature. To prove she didn't need to be bailed out or held back. To show she could stand strong all on her own.
The shapeshifter dropped back down to the ground, shuffling through several monstrous forms, each more gruesome and deadly than the last. Even so, Amethyst stood fast and firm; alone as she was, she had no choice but to now. "You should have let them stay," it mocked, twistedly eager for the fight ahead. "After all, the more the merrier to watch me grind that gem of yours back into the dirt it came out of!"
There was no telling how long Amethyst would be able to hold the shapeshifter off for. With that in mind, Dipper, Steven, and Wendy hurried through the winding tunnels the creature had carved out, searching for some kind of escape. In the end though, they found something–or someone–else instead.
Both groups practically ran into each other as they each turned a corner. Garnet stopped just short enough, but Mabel and Soos crashed right into the boys and Wendy. After a brief moment of confusion, relief spread through the group, though even that was ultimately short-lived, given the circumstances. "Wait!" Dipper cautioned, eyeing the others warily. "How do we know they're not the shapeshifter?"
"Whoa, maybe I am!" Soos gasped. "Mabel, inspect my shape!" He lifted his shirt, allowing Mabel to playfully poke his stomach. "Do that again!" He laughed when she gave him a second poke. "Even better the second time!"
"It's definitely them," Dipper dryly concluded.
"You guys, what happened?" Mabel asked. "And where's Amethyst?"
"We got attacked by the shapeshifter," Wendy quickly explained. "He broke out of his cage, pretended to be the author, and he wants Dipper's journal."
"Amethyst stayed back to fight him, but…" Steven frowned as he looked back, where Amethyst and that monster were no doubt still duking it out. "I'm worried about her, going up against that thing all on her own."
Garnet frowned, not surprised, but not happy to hear this either. "We need to subdue that creature, at all costs. If we don't, then there could be dire consequences."
"Imagine if it escapes into town!" Dipper said, anxious. "It can transform into anything! We could never trust anyone ever again!"
"Well," Wendy began. Her expression was heavy with firm resolve as she gripped her ax, more than ready to use it. "That thing took us into his home, tricked us, and tried to destroy us. I say we return the favor."
"No," Garnet said, catching everyone off guard.
"Huh?" A chorus of confusion echoed from the others.
"Like Dipper said, we can't let the shapeshifter escape from this bunker," Garnet elaborated. "I'm leaving it up to all of you to make sure that it doesn't. I'll go help Amethyst take it down. In the meantime, you all need to stick together. The last thing we need is that creature tricking any of us again."
It was a good plan, one that everyone more or less agreed with. Without much further delay, they split up, leaving Garnet to track Amethyst and the shapeshifter down. It didn't take her long to begin hearing cold, cruel laughter echoing through the tunnels, followed by the sound of a brutal impact. Clearly, whatever battle Amethyst had waged, she was losing it.
"You know, I really do remember you Gems," the shapeshifter taunted. It took the form of a swift, snakelike monster, ready to catch Amethyst between its deadly fangs. "You're the little loudmouthed one who always thought your meager shapeshifting could outdo mine. It must really burn you up that even all these years later, I'm still far more superior at it than you'll ever be."
"That's some pretty big talk for something that looks like a gross, oversized milk sack," Amethyst harshly retorted. She rolled out of the way of the shapeshifter's strike, transforming into a mighty gorilla. With her added strength, she grabbed the shapeshifter's tail, slamming it hard into the side of the tunnel before she turned into a bird to fly deeper into the tunnels. Not only did she hope to put some distance between the shapeshifter and the others, she hoped to find a bit more of an open space for this fight to unfold. Unfortunately, she didn't get very far before her plan abruptly fell to pieces the second she crossed paths with Garnet.
Amethyst practically fell out of the air, reverting to her usual form. Or rather, her new form, still resembling Wendy. Garnet paused, taking in the sight of her before she offered up her honest verdict on it. "Amethyst," she said sternly. "This is not a good choice for your form."
Amethyst pulled herself up, meeting her leader's judgemental gaze with a bitter scowl. "Lighten up, Garnet. Can't you take a joke?"
"It's not funny," Garnet coldly countered. "You made yourself ridiculous."
"Ridiculous?!" Amethyst scoffed, offended.
"Keep your voice down," Garnet hissed, glancing around. "The shapeshifter-"
"What do you care?! My form is my business!"
"It's my business when it affects the strength of the team!"
"So what?!" Amethyst spat, furious. "Are you saying I'm not strong enough? Are you saying I'm weak ?!"
"She may not have, but I certainly would…"
Amethyst barely had time to gasp when a massive, clawed hand grabbed her from behind. The shapeshifter threw her to the ground, keeping her pinned there. It partially reverted to its true form as it glanced up to find Garnet, her gauntlets already summoned to fend it off.
"Well, well, well…" the creature began, somewhere between excitement and anger. "After all these years… finally, you Gems come crawling back down here… Oh, but it seems that we're two short. Tell me, where's that tall, skinny one? Or better yet, that meddling Rose Quartz? What I wouldn't give to rip her to shreds for helping him trap me down here in this subterranean hell all those years ago!"
Garnet and Amethyst exchanged a glance at this, equally confused. "Uh, what are you talking about, dude?" Amethyst asked, still struggling to escape.
"You mean you don't remember?!" the shapeshifter asked, bewildered. "How could you not!? You were both there! All four of you Gems played a hand in what happened here over thirty years ago!"
"We didn't, as far as we remember," Garnet said, baring her fists. "But if we really did have a hand in stopping you all those years ago, then we'll gladly do it again."
"Ha! So you think…" The shapeshifter pulled back, stretching its legs to rise high over them both. "But whether you fools remember me from before or not, I'll make sure you do this time when I shatter you both and get that journal once and for all!"
With a fearsome roar, the creature transformed into a monster with a wide, toothy maw meant to devour them both. Garnet easily leapt out of its path, not that the shapeshifter got very far before Amethyst's whip latched around its mouth, clamping it shut.
"You can just sit this one out, G!" Amethyst yanked her whip back, dragging the shapeshifter towards her. "I got this one covered."
"Amethyst, you're not going to-" Garnet only had time to duck when Amethyst was thrown back at her. She landed back in the lab, struggling to pick herself back up before the shapeshifter was upon her again. She didn't let it get the better of her this time as she sized her fists up, punching the creature back into the wall. It managed to push her back by taking on the form of a grotesque, goblin-like monster, using its sharp horns to repel her. Amethyst stumbled back, unable to even think of another attack before the shapeshifter filled its mouth with knife-like teeth, which it gladly used to chomp down on her exposed arm.
"Amethyst!" Garnet called when she heard her pained cry. While she was more than ready to rush to her rescue, Amethyst wasn't about to let her. She wasn't about to let Garnet think she was even more of a failure than she clearly already did.
"I said stay out of this !" she screamed, using her free arm to lash her whip out at one of the broken cryogenic tubes. With a labored shout, Amethyst hurled it over at Garnet, if only to block her from intervening. To keep her out of the fight Amethyst had started and was determined to finish, alone .
"You're awfully determined to die even sooner, aren't you?" the shapeshifter laughed as it drew its clawed hand close to Amethyst's exposed gem. "Well, if that's what you want, then I'll be more than happy to help you along!"
"Shut up!" Amethyst pushed the creature's hand away just in time to shapeshift into a kangaroo so she could kick it back. She didn't let up from there, turning into a large bull as she charged at the creature, horns poised to attack. The shapeshifter countered by morphing into an even larger, several-armed monster. It caught her squarely by the horns and brutally tossed her into a nearby storage shed. She emerged from the wreckage, back in her original form, battered and beaten. Even so, she shakily stood, clutching her injured arm as she summoned another whip, watching worriedly as the shapeshifter slunk back over to her.
"Persistent little thing, aren't you?" it jeered in its true form as it stood tall and intimidating over her. "No matter. I know something that'll get you to stay down. Or should I say, someone …?"
Amethyst's eyes widened, terror overtaking her as the shapeshifter took on another new form. Unlike all of the others, this one wasn't anything close to a monster. Instead, this form was every bit as beautiful as it was bittersweet. A shadow that still hung so heavy over Amethyst even after all this time.
"R-Rose…"Amethyst choked. Her whip vanished as she stepped back, shaken by the shapeshifter's imitation. It was scarily spot on, complete with Rose's curly pink locks, to her spotless white gown, to her soft, gentle features. And yet, where there always used to be a kind smile, only a sinister smirk hung as the shapeshifter seamlessly stole her voice on top of everything else about her.
"What's wrong, Amethyst?" it asked, its tone deceptively, sickeningly sweet. "Aren't you happy to see me?"
Amethyst drew in a sharp breath, still backing up as Rose–as the shapeshifter– only continued to press closer. "I… You… you're not-" she stammered, unsure of what to say, what to think, what to do.
"Oh, come now," the shapeshifter cloyingly cooed. It held a hand out to Amethyst, while conspicuously keeping its other behind its back. "I'm not going to hurt you… And I know you would never hurt me, right, Amethyst?"
By now, Garnet had managed to break through the obstacle holding her back. Even so, she froze as soon as she saw "Rose", every bit as taken aback as Amethyst was. Until she noticed exactly what the shapeshifter was doing with its hidden hand.
"Look at you, so small and innocent…" the creature finally reached Amethyst, placing a gentle hand under her chin. "You're missing something, something more than just memories… But what is it?" It paused, mulling over its own question for a moment, before its pink lips curled into a sadistic smile. "Oh. I know."
Before Amethyst even realized what was happening, the shapeshifter's elongated arm swiftly constrained her entire body, lifting her up as it started to strangle her. "You're missing her ," the creature whispered, its voice shifting back into its own. Tears had only just started filling Amethyst's eyes, but they never had a chance to fall. Because in one quick, devastating pull, it sliced her head clean from her body, sending her back into her gem for the third time today.
"Amethyst!" Garnet leapt into action. Startled, the shapeshifter spun around to face her, morphing back into its true form as it lunged at her with a feral hiss. Garnet cleanly vaulted over it, far more interested in claiming and protecting Amethyst's fallen gemstone instead. She tucked the stone under her arm, still ignoring the furious shapeshifter as she ran right past it. Her future vision gave her all of the insight she needed to know that the others had a plan. One that would hopefully put a stop to this madness once and for all.
Steven and the twins heaved a sigh of relief as Garnet rushed into the tunnel they'd been hiding in with Soos and Wendy. Still, with the shapeshifter chasing after her, that relief was short-lived, especially when they realized Garnet had returned alone.
"A-Amethyst?" Steven wondered, worried. Garnet simply sighed as she placed her gemstone into Steven's hands. As distressing of a sight as it was to see again, this time, no tears came along with it. "Is it weird I'm getting numb to this?"
"It's coming," Wendy reported as she peered out of the tunnel. "Is everybody ready?"
The others nodded, all on board with the plan. The kids and Soos had scavenged what they could from the lab–busted metal pipes, broken test tubes, and more–fashioning them into weapons to use against the shapeshifter. Together, they hoped to force it into one of the still-functioning cryogenic chambers. Once they did, the threat it posed would be taken care of with just the push of a button.
It was a plan that would be far easier said than done. Especially when it ended up botched before it could even get off the ground.
Whatever cover they could have used to get the drop on the shapeshifter was suddenly broken when Amethyst's gemstone began to glow at the worst possible time. Steven tried to stifle the light, only for the gem to hover out of his reach just as the shapeshifter arrived. It eagerly made its move, charging at Amethyst while she was still trying to settle into a solid form. Her emerging body was sent careening down another tunnel as the shapeshifter swiftly reeled back on the others.
"Hand over that journal, boy!" it demanded as it lunged for Dipper. It didn't get far before Wendy's ax slammed into its side just in time.
"Split up!" she shouted. With few other options left, that's exactly what everyone did, taking to different tunnels in the hopes of confusing the shapeshifter. Certainly, it couldn't go after them all… right?
Steven and Garnet both chose the tunnel Amethyst had been knocked into, hoping against hope that she was alright. At first, there was no sign of her–until a large, unwieldy shadow rose up against the cavern wall. Garnet gripped Steven's shoulder, a gauntlet summoned just in case it was the shapeshifter. Only for Amethyst to lumber into view instead.
"Okay, you know I wasn't feeling this at first…" she grinned as she awkwardly stumbled toward the pair. Her latest form was, simply put, a mess. One of her arms and one of her legs were much larger and more muscular than the others, her hair wild and unkempt and her expression strained. Though it looked like every step was a struggle for her like this, she still struck a pose as she came to stand before her teammates, apparently proud of her mismatched new form. "But I think I might be coming around! Yo, Steven! My seams straight?"
Steven clung onto Garnet's leg, wincing as he worriedly sized Amethyst up. "Does that new form… hurt you?"
Amethyst jolted, surprised. "N-no," she scoffed, forcing another grin. "Hey Garnet, how'd you like to mix it up with this !?" She laughed, flexing her new muscles. "Just a little something I put together, ya know."
"This form isn't sustainable, Amethyst," Garnet admonished, her voice low. After all, the shapeshifter could be just about anywhere now; the last thing they needed was to draw attention to themselves. Not that stealth seemed to matter much to Amethyst.
"B-but…" Amethyst blushed, quickly reaching her boiling point. "You're the one who said I needed to be stronger!" She threw her massive fist down in a fit of rage; Garnet only narrowly managed to shield Steven from the resulting shower of rubble. "You know what?! Fine! I'll take that dumb old shapeshifter out myself! Then maybe you'll finally see that I'm just as good as you or anybody else!"
Before anyone could try to talk her down, Amethyst stormed off, punching everything in her path in her furious search for the creature. "Amethyst, wait!" Steven called after her. But before he could try to follow, Garnet stopped him short.
"Listen," she advised, nodding back to the tunnel behind them. The sounds of a struggle echoed from nearby, with the shapeshifter's fearsome growls and hisses rising above it all.
"The plan!" Steven exclaimed, quickly reclaiming the metal panel he'd found earlier. "We've gotta help the others."
Garnet agreed, wasting no time in grabbing Steven and taking off. There'd be time to worry about Amethyst later, but for now, they made their way back to the main lab to find an intense scuffle was already underway. Armed with only their makeshift weapons, Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy did what they could to push the shapeshifter toward the cryogenic tube. Not that the creature was making it very easy for them as it constantly fluxed between forms, each more dangerous than the last.
"Whoa!" Soos ducked out of the way of a clawed swing just in time. "Dudes, this would actually be kind of rad if we weren't, you know, fighting for our lives and junk."
"Eh, it'll be cool when we look back on it later," Mabel shrugged as she slammed her pipe into the shapeshifter's knee. "Just like all of the other life-threatening stuff we do."
"You weak single-formed humans can't keep me contained down here any longer!" the shapeshifter snapped between switching forms. "Once I slaughter you lot, I'll take that journal up to the surface and burn it alongside your precious author the moment I find him!"
"Like we'd ever let that happen!" Dipper retorted, determined to protect the journal–and all of the heavy secrets it held–from falling into the wrong hands.
Still, the shapeshifter was relentless. It maneuvered around Soos and Mabel, shifting its hand into a long, curved blade. It swung it fast and hard, intent on prying the journal out of Dipper's arms. And if it managed to slice one or both of those arms off in the process, so be it.
Fortunately, that blade only struck a solid sheet of metal instead. Steven had leapt in with this makeshift shield just in time to protect Dipper; it wasn't the same as his actual shield, but it served its purpose just as well. Garnet came in right after, slamming her fist hard into the shapeshifter's already injured side. Wendy followed up just as skillfully as she struck the creature's head with the broad side of her ax, disorienting it. It was just the opening everyone needed to give the shapeshifter a shove in the right direction–straight to the open cryogenic chamber behind it.
"Quick! Push him in!" Dipper shouted over the monster's snarling and screeching. Sure enough, all it would really take was one more push to get the shapeshifter into the tube, and yet-
"Not so fast, you shifty creep!" Amethyst yelled as she suddenly dropped down from above. The others could on watch, startled, as she used her thicker arm to secure the shapeshifter into a tight, unyielding headlock. "Ha! Not so much fun being all tied up, is it?"
"Amethyst, what are you doing!?" Dipper asked, alarmed.
"Oh, you know," Amethyst grunted, struggling to hold a smile. "Just handling your monster problem for ya! After all, the only shape shifter we need around here is me !"
"Amethyst, let it go!" Garnet ordered. "Now!"
"No!" Amethyst grappled with the shapeshifter as it began to overpower her and pull her down. "You wanted me to be stronger and I'm doing it! I'm being what you want!"
"I don't want this!" Garnet argued earnestly, anxiously.
Amethyst shouted as she tried to shove the shifter towards the cryogenic chamber, only to be shoved that way herself. "Then what do you want?!" she asked Garnet, desperate. "Just tell me and I'll do that!"
"I can't tell you, Amethyst!" Garnet tensed as she watched the shapeshifter slam Amethyst to the ground, hard . "You have to figure this out for yourself!"
"She can't!" Steven gasped as he realized exactly why Amethyst had been acting so strangely all day. Exactly why she'd been struggling so much ever since they first stepped foot underground. Perhaps even long before that. "She doesn't want to think about herself!"
Amethyst froze, completely shocked as she looked straight at Steven. And in that moment, she knew–he was right . Not that she had much of a chance to admit it.
Before anyone could say another word, the shapeshifter slammed its full weight down on her. Amethyst didn't make a single sound as her form caved under the pressure of it, of everything . She didn't so much as make a single sound she vanished once more, leaving only her gemstone behind for the shapeshifter to eagerly claim.
"What a weak, pathetic fool ," it laughed as it held the stone up for everyone to see. Its grip on it tightened as it formed claws, threatening to scratch, crack, and shatter the very core of Amethyst's being. "You all are, for thinking you could ever defeat a master of forms like me! Now, prepare to meet your-"
The shapeshifter cut itself off with a sharp scream as the edge of Wendy's ax landed squarely in its gut. Amethyst's gemstone went flying out of its hands as it stumbled back, dripping blood. Fortunately, Steven was quick to catch the stone for the third (hopefully last) time today.
"Good catch," Garnet told him before rallying the others, "Now's the time!"
No one gave the shapeshifter another chance to strike back. Instead, they all barreled into the monster together until they finally pushed it into the cryogenic tube. While it tried to fight its way out, Garnet made sure it couldn't escape as she slammed the door shut on it. In the shuffle, Soos and Mabel had returned to the surveillance room, where they made sure to push the button to activate the chamber once the shapeshifter was secured in it.
"Frozen!" Mabel cheered as frost began to coat the window of the tube.
"Boosh!" Soos fist-bumped her as they returned to the lab to join the others.
As soon as the shapeshifter realized what was happening, it did everything it could to try and escape its frozen fate. "No! Let me out!" it cried, desperately beating against the glass. All the while, it morphed between several scattered forms, from a rock monster, to a flame beast, to its 'author' disguise, to even Rose Quartz. In the end though, it settled back into its true form as the glass coldly misted over, covering the creature and silencing its screams.
Silence slowly settled back into the lab in the seconds that followed, tense and tremulous. For a moment, all anyone could do was stare at the cryogenic chamber, fearing the shapeshifter might somehow break out of it. To their relief, it never did. "Is… is it over?" Steven was the first to softly speak.
"It would seem so," Garnet said, finally letting her gauntlets disappear.
"Let's get out of here, dudes," Soos concluded, already turning to head back the way they came. The others all moved to follow, more than eager to leave such an unsettling place behind, until–
They heard the shapeshifter's low, wicked laughter echoing behind them.
Surprised, everyone spun around to see the creature was still stirring. It pressed against the glass, ice encroaching on its limbs as it used its final seconds to taunt its foes one final time. "And so once again, you Crystal Gems think you've bested me…" it said, setting its sights on Garnet. "That 'future vision' of yours may grant you glimpses of what's to come, but it can't fill in the gaps of your past, can it? He must have done something to you three, something that made you forget about all of this. Still, I can't help but wonder if Rose ever had those gaps at all…"
Garnet didn't bother dignifying its malicious, mysterious words with a response. Still, her hands curled into tight fists at her sides, if only to hide the fear and doubt filling her by everything it had just implied. Everything she refused to believe.
"And as for you, Dipper…" the shapeshifter sent the boy a piercing glare. "You think you're so clever, don't you? But you have no idea what you're up against. You'll never find the author. If you keep digging, you'll meet a fate worse than you can imagine. And this will be the last form you'll ever take!"
Just before the tube could completely freeze over, the shapeshifter took on one last new form: Dipper's. It let out a panicked scream in voice, one that would be permanently preserved as it finally froze solid. Ironically, the real Dipper was similarly frozen, albeit with fear as he stared at his own reflection in the icy glass before him.
As the shapeshifter's dire warning echoed hauntingly inside his head.
Even so, Soos managed to let out a small laugh, to lighten the mood, if nothing else. "Heh, good luck sleeping tonight!"
No one saw much of a need to linger in the bunker for much longer after that. The group returned to the entrance in tense, anxious silence. Still, they all shared a sigh of relief as they climbed the stairs back up into fresh, evening forest air. The fireflies flickering through the dusk-painted trees was a comforting sight; a stark contrast to the dark, dank, deadly depths they'd been submerged in almost all day.
"Dude, I think I'm kind of adventured out for a little while," Soos was the first to speak to the exhaustion they were all feeling. "My face hurts from doing this all day," he pulled a shocked, screaming face.
"Yeah, but you gotta admit we're all total heroes!" Mabel said, grinning. "Right, Steven?" Her smile swiftly fell when she noticed Steven staring sadly down at Amethyst's still-unreformed gemstone. "Steven?"
"Don't worry," Garnet assured, resting her hands on both Steven and Mabel's shoulders. "She'll be fine."
"B-but she's usually back by now!" Steven protested. "Do you think something's wrong?"
"No. Not this time," Garnet finally cracked a smile as her sights settled on Amethyst's gemstone. She didn't need her future vision to tell her that something was changing inside of it; changing for the better .
"Just as long as she doesn't come back looking like me again," Wendy muttered to Dipper, aside.
"I'm still bummed that we're no closer to finding the author guy," Soos heaved a disappointed sigh. "Oh well, at least I got his sciencey coat and briefcase." He held said 'briefcase' up, only for it to flop open and reveal a dusty screen and computer keys inside. "Whoa! What the-?"
"Soos, that's not a briefcase!" Dipper exclaimed, surprised. "That's a laptop!"
"And a really busted up one too," Mabel noted as she eyed the time-weathered tech.
"Wow! It's so old and cool!" Steven said, fascinated. "I wish Amethyst were here to see this! Well, technically she is here…" He nodded down at her gemstone. "But still."
"I bet I could get this thing fixed up in a few days," Soos said as he took a better look at the machine. "It's gonna take a lot of duct tape…"
"This could be our next clue!" Dipper grinned, relieved to know that their trip into the bunker hadn't been entirely in vain after all. "But… will it actually tell us anything?" he asked, turning to Garnet for answers once more.
"Hm… it's definitely worth looking into…" she nodded. "I do think you ought to be careful in how you go about it, but still. There's a good chance that we'll be able to get at least a few answers out of it… But as always-" She paused, stealing a glance back as the bunker resealed itself shut behind them, cutting the menacing creature frozen in its depths off from the outside world once again. Along with all of the answers it could have given them, if only it had been willing to. "It's all about looking in the right places…"
Thoroughly worn from their underground adventure, everyone regrouped at the Mystery Shack to rest and recover. Pearl was already there, having just finished Greg and Stan fix the van. Needless to say, she had plenty of questions, especially when she saw her team return one short. As the kids settled in to relax around the den, Garnet took her aside to explain all that they'd seen and heard from the shapeshifter. Out of everyone else's earshot, they spoke in worried whispers about shadowy secrets and missing memories. About the identity of an author that was still so far out of their reach.
"So, that shapeshifting creature claimed to know us?" Pearl asked, overwhelmed. "And Rose?"
"Yes," Garnet tersely nodded. "It said we knew the author too."
"But that doesn't make any sense," Pearl shook her head. "Until a few weeks ago, we had never even seen that journal before! How in the world would we have-"
"Something isn't adding up," Garnet interrupted, her arms crossed as she glanced down. "Everything down in that bunker felt so… familiar… I don't know how to explain it. But it was the same feeling I got when I saw that journal for the first time."
"So… what should we do?"
Garnet was silent for a moment, mulling the question over. When she answered it, any trace of uncertainty in her tone was replaced with calm, steady resolve. "We keep looking for the truth. And we don't stop until we find it."
Pearl could only nod, despite her lingering uneasiness. Their conversation faded as they returned to the den, to find Steven still dutifully keeping watch over Amethyst's gemstone on the floor. "So," Pearl rested a hand on his shoulder. "How long has it been?"
"Four hours…" Steven muttered, forlorn.
"Four hours?!" Pearl exclaimed, surprised. "She's never taken so long! What do you think she's doing in there?"
"I'm not sure," Garnet replied, shaking her head. "I was too hard on her…"
"So, what happened to her this time anyway?" Stan piped up from his recliner. "She didn't throw herself off another cliff, did she?"
Everyone exchanged a wide-eyed glance, remembering their promise to keep what happened in the bunker a secret. Which was why Garnet simply shrugged and said, "She got hit playing chicken with a train."
"Again?" Stan snorted out a laugh. "That's gotta be like, the third time she's bit it to a train! Sheesh, Amethyst will never learn, will she?"
"Actually…" Garnet smiled when she noticed Amethyst's gem slowly beginning to glow. "I think she will this time…"
"Oh! Oh! She's back!" Steven jumped to his feet to give her some space to return. "Alright, everyone, be supportive."
Just like before, Amethyst's gem rose into the air, cycling through her past regenerations before settling on an entirely new one. One that wasn't uneven or an impression, but rather, entirely her own. Just right, exactly the way she was supposed to be. The way she wanted to be.
She started as she came to land and opened her eyes, only to realize she'd come back in front of an audience. "What?" she asked, trying to play her surprise off.
"Aw, you barely changed!" Steven pouted, disappointed. It was true; the only real shift in this form was her newly black top and purple leggings. Not too different, but just different enough for her.
"Well, I think you look great, Amethyst!" Mabel complimented her, smiling. Beside her, Dipper and Soos both warmly nodded their agreement. "Seriously, black is so your color!"
"It's a marked improvement!" Pearl clasped her hands together, delighted. "You finally fixed that shoulder strap that's always bugged me!"
"Yeah, lookin' good," Stan agreed with a wry smirk. "You'd better still be able to pull off Revenge Trips in that new getup of yours."
"Heh, you know it," Amethyst chuckled. Her smile quickly faded, however, as Garnet approached her. A beat of silence passed between the Gems as Amethyst bashfully looked away–until she caught Garnet smiling down at her out of the corner of her eye.
"It's perfect," she said, with nothing less than genuine, wholehearted approval.
"Eh, whatevs," Amethyst shrugged, blushing. "It's just what feels right."
"That's why it's perfect," Garnet said and Amethyst couldn't help but agree. After spending all day searching for herself, she finally found what she'd been looking for. Something honest, something real . She may not be the biggest or the best; but she was still herself, something this new form showed off far better than any other.
And at the end of the day, that was all she really needed.
Even still, there were a few loose ends she had to tie up. She made her way over to the far side of the den, where Wendy stood leaning against the wall, scrolling through her phone. Amethyst joined her, crossing her arms as she blew a bit of hair out of her eyes before she softly said, "Hey, I, uh… I'm sorry. About that one form I took earlier. You know, the one that looked just like you?"
Wendy gave her a small, understanding smile. "It's ok, man. Really."
"No, it's not," Amethyst huffed, ashamed. "I dunno, it just… ticked me off to hear everybody go on about how cool and tough you are. I wanted everyone–especially Garnet–to say that kinda stuff about me . But I just kept messing up, and… well, I just thought that, if I was more like you, then…"
"Then they'd all think you were cool and tough too?" Wendy filled in where she trailed off. Amethyst avoided her gaze as she sheepishly nodded. "That's… honestly kinda wild to hear. Especially since you're already way cooler than I could ever be."
"Huh?" Amethyst looked up at her, surprised.
"I mean, think about it," Wendy said. "You're like, an immortal alien with a bunch of awesome superpowers. I'm just some normal teenager who's pretty decent with an ax. Plus, you went toe-to-toe with that freaky shapeshifter, alone . Even I couldn't have done that."
"Yeah, but I didn't beat it…" Amethyst muttered, rubbing her arm.
"So what?" Wendy asked, smirking. "You still put up one hell of a fight anyway, didn't you?"
"I… I guess so."
"Don't sell yourself so short, dude," Wendy let out a good-natured laugh. "You gave that thing a real run for its money. Admit it: you're a total badass!"
"Alright, alright," Amethyst finally broke down chuckling too. "I'm a badass. But if I am, then so are you! Seriously, you gotta show me some of those fancy ax swings of yours sometime."
"Sure, but only if you show me all your sickest whip tricks."
"Deal," Amethyst grinned as they fist-bumped to seal it. The pair exchanged a satisfied smile, relieved as any remaining tension finally faded away. And in its place, they could both feel something else starting to take shape. A newfound friendship, built not on petty rivalry, but on earnest, honest respect.
The moment was suddenly broken when Steven caught Amethyst off guard, hugging her tightly from behind. "Welcome back!" he happily exclaimed.
Pearl joined in, proudly proclaiming, "Well done, Amethyst!"
As Garnet entered the growing embrace, Mabel excitedly hopped off the couch, hurrying over. "Oh boy! Group hug!" she cheered, pulling Stan out of his recliner as she forced him into the fold.
Everyone else quickly followed suit, all crowding around Amethyst, despite her flustered embarrassment. "Guys, cut it out!" she groaned, blushing. "Do we really have to do this?!"
"Yes," Steven insisted, hugging her even tighter. "It's hug time!"
"Ugh, this is so dumb!" Amethyst rolled her eyes. Still, she couldn't say it was a nice change, to be at the center of so much praise and pride. To be congratulated instead of called out. To know that so many people genuinely cared about her after all.
Which was why, only when she was sure when no one was looking, Amethyst smiled after all.