Chapter 1: The Journal
When she awoke, Ruby was in an unfamiliar place. The roof was unstable looking, with moss in the rafters. The bed was surprisingly comfy for what it looked like, but it didn't stop her body from hurting. When she tried to move, her chest burst out in pain, which forced her to lay back down.
"Easy, kiddo. Don't want ya getting more hurt than you need to be." A rather familiar voice said, but at the same time, the voice was different than the voice she was thinking. When she looked over, she saw a man around his sixties. He wore a black suit with a bow tie, along with a red fez with a yellow mackerel on it. He had a pair of glasses with a thin grey beard, backed with brown eyes and a rather lumpy nose that reminded Ruby of a pickle(in a way).
"Where am I?" Ruby groaned. "And why do I hurt all over?"
"Well, guess now's a good time to say it: welcome to the Mystery Shack!" The old man said, holding up a black cane with a magic eight ball on the top.
"The what?" Ruby asked.
"Mystery Shack! Grand tour of mysterious and wonderful creatures!" The old man said.
"Uhh..." Ruby said a bit weakly.
"Right, I gotcha. Too many wonders for you to take in at once. I gotcha, kid. We'll just go slow with this. What's your name?" The old man asked.
"Ruby." Ruby managed.
"Good to see you got your memory. Name's Stanford Pines! Feel free to just call me Stan, though." Stan said.
Ruby was still trying to focus her mind, since it was a bit scrambled from... whatever happened. "How did I get here?" Ruby asked, rubbing her temples.
"Well, uh... I found you unconscious in the forest. Didn't want ya to get eaten by the things out there, so I brought ya here. Just don't expect the medical bill to be free just because you're a kid." Stan said. Ruby would've laughed had it not been for the agonizing pain in her chest. "Well, just take it easy for a while. Don't say I never did something for you." With that, Stan walked out of the room, and Ruby decided to take a nap to pass the time, and also to ease the pain a bit.
When Ruby woke up again, her body felt much better, and she was able to finally get up. Then she realized she wasn't in her usual attire. Instead of her black dress with red trims, she wore a pair of partially torn jeans with a yellow t-shirt with a red question mark on it. It was one size too large for her, unfortunately. She exited, then realized she was in the attic, and made her way down the stairs, then heard a few people in another room. It sounded like three people, two guys and a girl by the sound. One of the voices was Stanford. She peered through the door to see Stan with two other people.
The guy was tall compared to Ruby, quite fat in the belly and with small chin hairs. He wore a green T-shirt with a dark green question mark on it, with beige cargo shorts, which somehow worked as pants for him. He also wore a green hat with the same dark green question mark on it. Then the girl was about Ruby's height with orange hair and a fur hat, along with a green flannel with sleeves rolled back and the top button undone to show underneath she wore a white tank top. She also had blue jeans with a bit of mud on the knees, along with brown boots with mud stained on them as well. The girl had bright green eyes, almost the same color as her flannel, and as for the guy, she could never meet his eyes with hers to know what color they were, which slightly bugged her.
Soon, Stan saw her at the door. "Ah, the girl's finally up!" Stan said, the two turning to see Ruby. Ruby awkwardly stepped in. "This is Ruby, that girl I was telling you about. Ruby, this is Wendy and Soos, my best employees."
"And only." Wendy added.
"Which means I can't fire you." Stan sighed, Ruby laughing a little.
"Uh, can I ask where my dress is?" Ruby asked.
"Oh yeah, I just had to wash it. It was kinda muddy when I found you. Should be hanging up in the room just behind you." Stan said.
"Thanks." Ruby said, heading back into the other room to find her dress neatly hung up just above the chair. She quickly grabbed it and found the restroom, where she proceeded to change clothes. Though she was glad to have her usual attire on, she was concerned about one thing: her weapon was not with her clothes. She figured Stan thought it was just a heavy red box and just put it somewhere. Once she fastened her belt, she came back to the gift shop, as she figured it was. "Hey, did you find a red box on me at the time?" Ruby asked.
"A red box?" Stan asked, looking like he was recalling back to when he found her. "No, don't think so. Why you ask?"
This slightly concerned Ruby. She feared that her weapon was either stowed away by Stan or, worse, lost forever.
"But hey, if I find a red box, I'll let you know. You know, if it's that important." Stan said.
"Thanks Stan." Ruby said with a smile.
"Eh, no big deal, really. Just don't expect me to be this nice all the time." Stan said.
"Right. Oh, uh, and about that 'medical bill'?" Ruby asked.
"Straight to the point! I like you. From now on, to repay me for saving you, you'll be working for me at the Mystery Shack until the end of the summer." Stan said.
"Free labor, I'm assuming?" Ruby asked, Stan nodding.
"And I'll give you that room for now. At least, until we can find out where you came from. Now get to work, people! We got a big tourist group coming soon! Soos, make sure the exhibits are convincing enough! Wendy, you hold the cash register. And Ruby, for now, you just keep an eye on everyone, make sure no one shop lifts anything." Stan said. Soos went off through another door while Wendy just kicked her feet up on the counter, burying her face into her magazine. Meanwhile Ruby just sat on a chair near the cash register awkwardly, looking out the window as a bus of tourists came around.
Ruby then tried to remember how she got here. She remembered a blue light, then a dark world. She remembered running, but she didn't remember who she was running from. Or what. She still remembered Remnant, and everything about it, and about her team-
That then made Ruby sit straight up. Her team! She had no idea where they were, if they were still on Remnant or not. Then that got her thinking about where she was. She knew she had to be on Remnant. There was no other explanation. She figured she was disarmed in a battle against a tough Grimm, and she ran from the Grimm in the dead of night, and ended up rolling down a hill out of sight of the Grimm, where Stan found her. Then she was taken to the Mystery Shack, and here she was now.
All that was convincing, except for one thing: where were all the Grimm?
Even if there were boarder patrols, there should've been a bit of gunfire in the distance. And yet, the only sound she heard outside was the pecking of the woodpeckers, which she thought was rather soothing. But the thought still lingered in the back of her head: why? Why was she brought here? She hoped that answer would soon be answered.
[a few days later]
The date was now May 27, 2013, from what Ruby got from the calendar. And it was also the day Stan's niece and nephew arrived here. Ruby was kind of excited to meet them, especially after a week of only knowing Wendy and Soos. Not to say she didn't find them fun to be around. She actually really enjoyed being around them. She was just eager to meet some new people, since Stan didn't really like her going into town. For what reason, she didn't know. It was around afternoon that the two arrived. From what Ruby could observe, they looked like twins. A boy and a girl. The boy was two-thirds Ruby's height, as was the girl. The boy wore an orange T-shirt under a navy blue vest with dark brown shorts and black sneakers. He also had an old beige hat with a star on it that covered his brown hair.
The girl wore a pink sweater with a shooting star on it, with a pink skirt and black sneakers like the boy's, along with brown long hair and braces. They both had brown eyes like Stan's.
At this time, Ruby was no longer wearing her fighting attire, since first, she hadn't found anything to fight here and second, it was hot outside, so a black dress wouldn't help her all that much, so she instead wore a pair of nicer jeans with a red T-shirt. She still wore her hood, though.
Soon, Stan came around from inside while Ruby read a magazine on Gravity Falls. From what she got, it was well known for strange phenomena, and that peaked her interest. She may be far from home, but at least she had some mysteries to solve while she was away.
'It's like a mission for me. Maybe once I get it done, I'll be able to go back home.' Ruby thought. She was confident in that idea.
"And this is the gift shop. No touching of the merchandise. Now then, my assistant Ruby will show you where you'll be staying for the summer. Hey, kid!" Stan said, Ruby putting down her magazine.
"Gotcha, Stan." Ruby said. She had learned to look up to Stan, considering he saved her. Not just that, but she always thought Stan like her uncle Qrow. The more she thought about it, the more she thought the two would get along. But she shook that out of her mind, as she led the twins to their rooms, as Stan told her where they'd be booking for the summer.
Immediately, Mabel started unpacking, taking out a surprising amount of posters, most with cat faces, some about a TV show called 'Dream Boy High'.
"This place is amazing! Check out all my splinters!" Mabel said, showing her hands, which were covered in splinters. Meanwhile, a goat was occupying Dipper's bunk.
"And there's a goat on my bed." Dipper said, the goat bleating in his face.
"Just a forewarning: he will eat anything." Ruby said, looking down at her cloak, which was partially torn from one time when Gompers tried to eat it. Since that day, she's looked for a way to get rid of the goat.
[June 1st, 2013]
It had been two weeks since Ruby had arrived in Gravity Falls, and every day seemed weirder than the last. And since the Pines twins got here, the weirdness seemed to have escalated. It was this day that the weirdness would reach it's peek.
"Alright people, I need someone to hang up these signs in the spooky part of the woods! Any volunteers?" Stan said.
"Not it." Dipper and Mabel said.
"Also not it." Soos said.
"Nobody asked you, Soos." Stan said.
"I know. And I'm okay with that." Soos said.
"Wendy, Ruby! I need you two to hang these signs up!" Stan said.
"I would, but I... can't... reach it..." Wendy said, lazily reaching at Stan's hand, which was across the room.
"I'd fire all of you if I could. Alright, let's go... eenie meenie minie... you two." Stan said, pointing to Ruby and Dipper.
"Aw, what? Grunkle Stan, whenever I go into the woods, I feel like something's watching me." Dipper complained.
"Ugh, this again." Stan sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"I'm telling you, this town is weird. Just today, my mosquito bites just spelled out 'beware'!" Dipper said, showing Stan his arm.
"That says 'bewarb'." Stan said.
"I have the same thing. Except mine says 'Batch out for will.'" Ruby said.
"What does that mean?" Stan asked, Ruby shrugging. "Look, whatever! The whole mystery in Gravity Falls is just for tourists, for people like me to sell stuff to guys like him." Stan gestured to a man who was mesmerized by a Stan bobble head. "So stop being so paranoid and get to work." Stan then tossed the signs to Dipper, along with a few nails and two hammers.
A little while later, Ruby and Dipper decided to split up and nail the signs separately, just so that the work would get done sooner. While Dipper was mumbling to himself, he tried to nail into a tree, but the nail blunted, along with the tree making a metallic noise. This peeked Dipper's interest, and he hit it lightly with his hammer twice, and it made the same hollow metal noise as before.
"Ruby? Come over here, you might want to see this." Dipper called out. Fortunately, Ruby heard and came over as fast as she could. She rubbed her hand across the tree, and dust came off it, along with the feel of cold metal. She saw a slit in the metal and managed to open it, and there they saw a strange device, what looked like an old radio with two joysticks on it. Dipper fiddled with the joysticks a little, and behind them a trap door opened. And inside was the mystery that would change their lives forever: a large book covered in dust. And centipedes.
Dipper lifted the book from it's placement, tearing off the numerous spider webs on it. He blew the dust off, and it showed a red leather book with a golden six-fingered hand in the center with a giant number three on it, along with golden edges. Part of the leather was torn off, especially on the back, where there were four strange red symbols. Dipper and Ruby were both ecstatic about this curious book. Ruby loved books and mysteries, so this was a best of both worlds for her, as it was for Dipper.
They opened the cover and saw a torn note paper that said 'Property of-'. They flipped the page.
"'It's hard to believe it's been six years since I began researching the strange and wonderful secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon." Dipper read. That made their interests go stellar. They flipped through the pages, glancing over each page with wonder in their eyes. The creatures in there, the clear secrets to unfold- it was exactly what they were wanting. But the last page was what they stopped on, as it was rather eerie. "Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed- I'm being watched! I must hide this journal before he can find it. Remember: in Gravity Falls, there's no one you can trust." Dipper said, and at the end of the page was written in big letters 'TRUST NO ONE!'
"Who wrote this?" Ruby wondered.
"Wrote what?" They heard behind them, the voice quickly being identified as Mabel.
"Uh, it's nothing!" Dipper said quickly, trying to hide the journal.
"'Uh, it's nothing!'" Mabel imitated, then laughed. "Are you really not gonna show me?"
Ruby and Dipper both exchanged looks. Ruby's face said "are you really gonna take that book's advice?"
Dipper's face said "fine."
"Maybe we should go somewhere else." Dipper said.
They returned to the Shack, where they told Mabel about the Journal.
"And get this: at some point, the pages just stop, like the author just suddenly vanished!" Dipper said.
"Sounds like a good balance of mystery and adventure." Ruby said. Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Uh, who's that?" Dipper asked.
"Well, now's the time to spill the beans." Mabel said, knocking over a can of beans. "Beans. This girl's got a date!" Mabel laughed.
"Wait, let me get this straight: during the half hour we've been gone, you managed to find a date?" Dipper asked.
"What can I say? I guess I'm just irresistible!" Mabel said, the doorbell ringing twice. "Oops. Coming!" Mabel then scurried off as Dipper sat down and read more of the Journal. Ruby was about to join him when Stan came around the corner.
"Hey kid, whatcha readin'?" Stan asked, Dipper quickly shutting the Journal.
"Oh, uh, I was just catching up on..." Dipper said, tucking the Journal away under the pillow and pulling out a magazine next to him. "'Gold Chains for Old Men' magazine?"
"That's a good issue." Stan said.
"I read that one. Not enough pictures." Ruby said.
"Agreed." Stan nodded.
"Hey guys!" Mabel said, everyone turning to her. "I'd like you to meet my new boyfriend!" The guy then turned. He had a black hoodie, partially torn in some places, along with a twig poking out of the hood. The boy had rather pale skin with brown hair blocking one eye, and he wore white gloves(at least, they assumed they were gloves).
"Sup?" The boy said.
"Hey." Dipper said.
"How's it hangin'?" Stan said.
"Hi." Ruby said.
"We met in the cemetery." Mabel said, grabbing his arm. "Oh! A little bit of muscle. What a surprise!"
"What's your name?" Dipper asked.
"Um... Normal... Man." The boy said.
"He means Norman." Mabel sighed.
"Uh, are you bleeding, Norman? We got some bandaids here." Ruby said. Norman glanced at the red spot on his cheek.
"It's jam." Norman said.
Mabel gasped. "I love jam! Look at this!"
"So, you wanna go... hold hands, or... somethin'?" Norman asked.
"Oh! Oh my gosh! Don't wait up!" Mabel said, racing off. Meanwhile Norman casually waved off, slamming right into a wall and proceeding out. Ruby glanced over at Dipper, who looked to have the same thought process as her.
After flipping through a few pages of curious creatures(one page explained the Soothsquitos, which explained the messages on their arms), they came to the page they were looking for.
"Here we are. Let's see... 'Known for their pale skin and bad attitudes, these creatures are often mistaken for teenagers. Beware Gravity Falls' nefarious-'" Dipper cut himself off, realizing the text was very descriptive of Norman. "ZOMBIES!"
"Totally called it." Ruby said.
"Ruby, this is bad! Mabel could be-" Dipper stammered, but Ruby's focus was outside, and she had a troubled look on her face, as Dipper saw. He redirected his sight to outside, where he saw what she was looking at: Norman ominously approaching Mabel, arms extended. "Oh no! MABEL!"
"What do we do? There's no way we can get to her fast enough!" Ruby said, starting to panic. She's barely known Mabel, but she still didn't want anything bad to happen to her. But as they watched in horror as Norman placed his hands on her shoulders, it turned out he was giving her a necklace of flowers. Ruby took a sigh of relief. "At least he didn't eat her."
"Is Mabel really dating a zombie?" Dipper wondered.
"Hard to say, dude." Soos said, surprising both Ruby and Dipper. "Couldn't help but eavesdrop on you guys."
"Soos, you've been here longer than both of us. You think that Norman might be a zombie, right?" Dipper asked.
"Hmm... how many brains does this guy eat?" Soos asked.
"Uh... none as far as I've seen." Ruby shrugged.
"Look, I believe you, dude. I've seen a lot of weird stuff in this town. Like the mailman? Pretty sure that dude's a werewolf." Soos said.
"That explains all the hair." Ruby said.
"But you gotta have evidence. Otherwise people will think you're a major league cuckoo clock." Soos said.
"He makes a valid point." Ruby said.
"Yeah, I know." Dipper sighed.
"My wisdom is both a blessing and a curse." Soos said.
"Soos! I need you to unclog the toilets!" Stan shouted downstairs, Soos turning his cap.
"I am needed elsewhere." Soos said seriously, backing up to a dark passageway.
"Ready to catch us a zombie?" Ruby said, holding out her fist for a fist bump.
"Always." Dipper smiled, fist bumping Ruby. "I think I brought a few cameras with me."
"I like your style." Ruby chuckled.
Later in the day, Dipper and Ruby followed Mabel and Norman on their date, remaining out of sight. In the meantime of not recording, Dipper wrote in the Journal while Ruby kept watch. But at one time, she saw what he was writing in, and it seemed he was writing a bit about himself. She silently snickered at the part where he wrote about his vest making it look like he has shoulders. Sometimes they switched posts, Dipper watching for Mabel and Norman while Ruby read the Journal. She noticed some pages where missing. And there were some pages that made no sense to her. She knew she only had three months to unlock these mysteries, so she wanted to learn everything she could as fast as she could. She also noticed that after the mark of July 29th, the author seemed to mention a man titled F a lot.
'Must have been the author's assistant. I wonder where they are now.' Ruby thought. She hoped to uncover these mysteries soon.
Two days later, they still had found nothing out, about Norman, about the author of the Journal. It seemed this cycle would go on all summer. They then came upon the decision to tell Mabel about Norman.
"I mean, it feels kinda rude to intrude on her personal relationship. And they seem cute enough together, and they both seem happy. Maybe we should let Mabel be." Ruby said.
"I'm just wanting to be sure he's not, you know, a zombie." Dipper said.
"Yeah, me too. But, agree that if Norman isn't a zombie or some paranormal creature that you'll let this case go." Ruby said.
"Fine. Agreed." Dipper said. Ruby seemed happy that he agreed and went back to looking in the Journal. Soon, Mabel entered the room, and she was as happy as ever.
"Hey, uh, Mabel? Ruby and I want to talk to you about Norman." Dipper said.
"Isn't he the best? He just gave me this big smooch mark!" Mabel said, turning her cheek to show a giant red mark, startling Dipper. "Ha! Gullible. It was just an accident with the leaf blower."
"Yeah, probably not the best kissing practice tool." Ruby said.
"Look, Mabel, I'm telling you Norman is not what he seems." Dipper said, gesturing to the Journal.
Mabel gasped. "You think he might be a vampire?"
Ruby handed the Journal which was already flipped to a page. "Guess again, sister. Sha-BAM!" Dipper exclaimed, showing Mabel a page... on Gnomes. Mabel exclaimed in fear, then Dipper looked at the page, then back to Ruby, who was laughing quite a bit.
"Sorry, sorry. Couldn't resist." Ruby laughed.
"Anyway... Shabam!" Dipper said, flipping to the page on zombies.
"A zombie? That's not funny, Dipper." Mabel said.
"I'm serious! He walks funny, he has that raspy voice- he never blinks! Have you noticed that?" Dipper said.
"Maybe he's blinking when you're blinking." Mabel suggested.
"Actually, never thought of that." Ruby said.
"But Mabel, remember what the Journal said? Trust NO ONE!" Dipper said.
"But what about me? Why can't you trust me, Dipper?" Mabel asked, putting on some earrings.
"Mabel! He's going to eat your brains!" Dipper snapped, but that was also the tipping point for her, too.
"Listen, Dipper, Norman and I are going on a date in the woods at five o'clock," Mabel said, Dipper and Ruby both exchanging similar glances, "and I am going to be adorable," Mabel started pushing the two out of the room," and he is going to be DREAMY! And I will not let you ruin it with one if your crazy CONSPIRACIES!" Mabel then slammed the door shut on them. Dipper had a look of defeat on his face.
"Maybe this is for the best. Come on, let's go downstairs and let this case slide off our shoulders for a bit." Ruby said. Dipper nodded solemnly. He sighed as they went down, and Ruby knew why. He wanted the best for his sister, and Ruby could relate in a way. Sometimes she worried about Yang, and hoped she would stay the same loving sister forever. She then started thinking about Remnant, and how she would get back. Then it came back to the question: how did she get there?
The hour reached five, and the doorbell rang, Mabel rushing downstairs. The two went off as Ruby and Dipper reviewed their work. Nothing paranormal about Norman.
"Maybe next time we'll get a bit lucky. Well, luckier." Ruby said.
"Maybe Mabel was right." Dipper sighed, running through the tapes. "I guess I CAN get paranoid at some times and-"
"Wait! Reverse that film!" Ruby exclaimed. Dipper reversed the film, and the image made his eyes widen fully. Norman's hand fell off... and he put it right back on. "You were right! We gotta save Mabel!" Ruby exclaimed.
Dipper didn't need to be told twice. They bolted outside, but Mabel and Norman were already gone.
'Oh crap, this is bad.' Ruby thought. "We need to catch up to them, fast!"
"Uh, um..." Dipper said, searching frantically for the golf cart. He spotted it past a group of tourists. "There! This way!" Dipper said, him and Ruby rushing to the cart. Fortunately, Wendy was the one with the keys. "Wendy! We need to borrow the golf cart! Mabel's been taken by a zombie, and we need to find them!"
Wendy was surprisingly calm with the situation, and gave Ruby the keys. "Try not to run over any pedestrians." Wendy said.
"Uh, you drive. I've never actually driven anything before." Ruby said, handing the keys to Dipper. He nodded and they got in the cart. But as they reversed, they stopped to Soos.
"Hey, it's me, Soos. I heard you dudes were going after a zombie. Here's a shovel for the zombie." Soos said, handing Dipper a shovel.
"Thanks." Dipper said.
"And here's in case you see a piñata." Soos said, handing Ruby a baseball bat.
"Uh... thanks?" Ruby said. They then drove off.
"Better safe than sorry!" Soos called to them.
As they drove, Ruby wrote some words in the Journal, describing what was going on. Briefly she looked up and saw a long branch curved at the end like a scythe. As they drove by, she extended her hand and grabbed the branch. It was a bit jagged on the end, but served it's purpose to Ruby.
"This should serve better than a bat." Ruby said. They then heard Mabel screaming in the distance. "I think we're on the right path."
"Yeah, me too!" Dipper said, flooring the gas petal. They then came to a rather mystical looking part of the forest. And at the end of the path was Mabel, being attacked by... Gnomes. One gnome in particular seemed to be leading and commanding the others. Mabel was struggling to fight them off, but she managed to take one out, by punching him in the gut and sending him flying, then proceeding to barf rainbows. "What the HECK is going on here?!" Dipper exclaimed, a gnome running past him and bearing its fangs.
"Dipper! Ruby! Norman turned out to be a bunch of gnomes! And they're all jerks! Ow, hair!" Mabel yelled, a gnome grabbing her by the hair.
"Woah. I was unintentionally right about Norman." Ruby said.
"Yeah, I was way off." Dipper said, opening the Journal to the gnome page. He looked for a weakness, but there was none to be found. "Guess we'll have to improvise. Hey!" Dipper shouted to the head gnome, who they quickly identified as the face of Norman.
"Oh, hey, uh, this is all just a BIG misunderstanding! You see, you're sister isn't in any REAL danger, she's just neglecting to marrying all one thousand of us for all eternity. Isn't that right, sweetie?" The gnome, who was later identified as Jeff, said.
"You guys are butt faces!" Mabel shouted, a gnome muffling her.
"Give us back my sister!" Dipper threatened, pointing the shovel at Jeff.
"You think you can stand a chance against us? The gnomes are a powerful race! You will never-" Jeff shouted, Dipper casually flipping him over like a hamburger. Meanwhile Ruby rushed past and freed Mabel with her makeshift scythe. Mabel freed herself from the gnomes as she and Ruby ran to the golf cart. Dipper and Mabel buckled in while a Ruby hung on in the back.
"Hang on tight, Ruby!" Dipper said, driving the cart out of there.
At the moment, it seemed like they'd won. "Man, that was a fight? Was kinda hoping for a bit more from a mythical creature." Ruby said. Though she said that, she kept an eye on their backs just in case. She kept a sturdy grip on her makeshift scythe with her right hand while the left gripped onto the rail of the cart.
"What if they follow us?" Mabel asked.
"I wouldn't be too worried about it. With their stumpy little legs? It's hilarious." Dipper laughed, but when the ground shook, they came to a stop. Ruby looked up in horror.
"Uh, guys?" Ruby said nervously. The twins looked back to see the monstrosity of a gnome looming over them. It seemed to be made of every gnome in the forest.
"Alright guys, just like we practiced!" Jeff shouted, and the giant gnome raised its arm to crush them.
"Drive. Drive!" Mabel said in a hurry, and Dipper quickly turned the cart back on and floored the gas as they narrowly missed the arm crashing down. Ruby checked the scythe. It seemed to be sturdy enough to take a hit from the giant, but she wasn't sure if it could take much more after that. The giant soon came barreling towards them. It then threw a few gnomes at them. Ruby managed to hit two away while Dipper slammed one named Schmebulock into the horn and tossed him out. But one managed to latch onto his face, but Mabel was able to punch him off, unfortunately taking his cap with him.
"He's gaining on us!" Ruby exclaimed.
"I'm driving as fast as I can!" Dipper shouted.
"Tree!" Ruby shouted. The giant then tossed a pine tree at them, which landed directly in front of them. Dipper made a hard turn, but it was too much, as they spun out of control, tossing Ruby off along with Dipper and Mabel. Ruby tried to run away from the giant, but it grabbed her before she could run, and she was caught. She punched and squirmed, but she couldn't do anything to get away. And the more she struggled, the tighter the grip got. She almost blacked out from the pressure. If it weren't for her aura, she'd have been squashed like a bug. Dipper threw the shoved at the beast, but it simply flicked it away.
"We gotta save Ruby somehow." Dipper said. But as he reached for the Journal, Mabel stepped forward. Dipper tried to hold her back, but he reluctantly stepped back.
"Alright, Jeff. I'll marry you." Mabel said,
'Jeff? Well, that makes sense with how he acts.' Ruby thought.
"Hot dog! Coming down, honey!" Jeff said, making his way down the giant. He held out a lovely diamond ring, which Mabel let him put on her. "Bada Bing, bada boom, now let's go back to the forest, sweetie."
"You may now kiss the bride." Mabel said, stopping Jeff in his tracks.
"Well, don't mind if I do." Jeff said with a big smile. They went in for the kiss, but at the last second, Mabel grabbed a leaf blower, and sucked in Jeff. The gnomes watched in horror as their leader was swiftly taken into captivity.
"That's for lying to me!" Mabel yelled, turning the leaf blower to an even more powerful suction. "That's for messing with my brother!"
"Ow! Ow!" Jeff yelled in pain.
"And this is for messing with my friend!" Mabel said, aiming the leaf blower at the giant. Ruby nodded to them.
"Do it." Ruby smiled. She gripped her scythe, which she managed to hold on to.
"Ready?" Mabel asked Dipper. And when they counted down to one, and as Jeff flew, Ruby broke free of the grasp and caught Jeff with her scythe, spinning rapidly as she hurled the scythe and Jeff into the giant, the behemoth blasting into a thousand gnomes. Mabel used the leaf blower to scare off the remainder of the gnomes, one getting caught in a six pack holder as Gompers ran off with him.
"Hey, Dipper? I'm sorry for getting mad at you. I guess I was just depressed that my boyfriend turned out to be a bunch of gnomes." Mabel apologized. "And sorry for dragging you into this, Ruby."
"Ah, I've dealt with worse, it's fine." Ruby said. But if Ruby really thought about it, this would be a great story to tell back at Beacon. 'I mean, how many hunters have fought an army of gnomes formed as a giant and lived?' Ruby thought.
"And hey, you never know. Maybe the next one WILL be a vampire." Dipper said.
"Aww, you're just saying that." Mabel said.
"Awkward sibling hug?" Dipper asked.
"Awkward sibling hug." Mabel smiled, the two hugging, then patting each other on the back mid-hug.
"Well, we should get back. Stan's probably wondering where we are." Ruby said. The twins nodded and went inside with Ruby. She was still hurting a bit from the gnomes, so she had a bit of an awkward limp.
"Hey, what happened to you guys? You look like you got hit by a bus." Stan laughed, but they didn't laugh back, as they were exhausted from their escapades. "Uh, hey!" Stan said, the three of them turning. "Uh, wouldn't you know it, uh, I accidentally overstocked the gift shop today, so... why don't you three take something, on the house." Stan said.
"Really?" Mabel and Ruby asked.
"What's the catch?" Dipper asked.
"The catch is do it before I change my mind, now grab something." Stan said, counting his money.
Dipper's eye immediately caught a new hat, this one white in the front with a blue back and bill, along with a blue pine tree on the front. He tried it on, and it fit just like his other hat, if not better. "That oughta do the trick." Dipper said.
Meanwhile, Ruby went for a metal rose hairpin. She saw these items commonly in the gift shop, but never saw anyone take them. So she figured she'd take it, and put it in her hair, which she turned into a pony tail. And now that she had a closer look at the pin, it almost exactly resembled her symbol, with the addition of a stem at the end. "Yeah, I like that." Ruby smiled.
"And I will have a..." Mabel said, reaching into a box in the corner of the room. "Grappling hook!" Mabel then held up a gun with a rope and grapple on it.
"Wouldn't you rather have, like, a doll or something?" Stan asked, Mabel answering by firing her hook up and flying up, knocking over a shelf.
"Grappling hook!" Mabel exclaimed.
"Fair enough." Stan shrugged.
After the events of that day, the three went to their rooms and took to their beds. But though the two were still awake from the adrenaline still running, it was a different story for Ruby. She was still thinking about home, and about how long it would take for her to return. And the more important question: how she got here. The darkness before her arrival, the faint voice of her chaser... She was still uncertain as to how she arrived. But she was certain she would find her way back, one way or another.
A/N
Wow, that chapter went on longer than I expected. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter! I've been wanting to do this fanfic for quite a while, but never found the inspiration, or really the point in which to start, until recently. Also, for those who follow me and haven't noticed any updates, I've obviously been on a bit of a hiatus, just because school's been super busy, and I've just been spending some time with family for the past few days. But now, I'm back with a brand new story! Though, obviously not original. Aside from that, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review of your thoughts, follow and favorite so you don't miss out on future updates, and until next time!