I do not own 'Gravity Falls'-This story was made in collaboration with 'du911'. Check out his Gravity Falls fic.

Chapter 1

It had been a full day since the Grunkles had been reunited with each other, unfortunately it hadn't been a happy reunion. Dipper and Mabel watched as the twin brothers barely acknowledged each other's existence.

"Dipper, we can't just leave them like this!" Mabel exclaimed.

"What can we do?"

He wanted to help them as much as her. The older and younger twins were so much alike, too much alike. The thought that they could end up like them frightened the younger twins more than anything. Mabel without Dipper, Dipper without Mabel. Who where they without each other? A weird boy with even weirder theories and ideas. A weird girl with even weirder behaviors. No one understood them, not like they understood each other.

Would he grow paranoid and obsessed with his theories, even when proven true. Would she...what would Mabel do?

"We have to try."

The twins decided to split up, each taking a Grunkle. Mabel would go to Stan so that she could use her 'adorable face' to break his cold heart. Dipper would go to the Author and ask him a few...million questions-and to reconcile with Stan.

-Mabel and Stanley

Stan was in the living room, in his usual after hour attire. A stained shirt, boxers and his cozy slippers. The man was staring blankly at the television, his mind far off at the moment.

"Hey Stan." She greeted as she stepped from behind his chair.

"Darn it Mabel!" He exclaimed, grabbing his chest to ease his heart. "I evaded the reaper too many times to count, are you trying to give him my address!?"

"Sorry about that." She lied. "I need to talk to you seriously though. Oldest twin Grunkle to oldest twin niece."

"...About?"

"Grunkle Ford." She stated seriously. "Dipper and I want to know your plan."

"Plan?"

"Yeah, the plan to get you two back together."

He sighed. "Mabel, there is no plan."

"What, come on!" She groaned. "You can't give up. You activated a portal that could have destroyed the universe to get him back! Now that you have him, you plan on bailing?"

"It was my fault that he was stuck there Mabel." The man admitted.

Mabel was taken back. This wasn't the man that she thought she knew only to realize she didn't truly know that she thought she knew. The Stan she knew was a man who would never admit to anything being his fault.

"Come on Stan, you always told me you had a plan to land on top after a bad heist right?" She asked. "Well this was the heist to end them all, stealing a man from another dimension."

"Oh, I have a plan?" He admitted. "All that money I saved over the years, I have that buried so that I can retire somewhere nice."

"But...you were banned from every place in America.'

"That's right, in America."

"Yeah America."

"In. America."

"Yeah."

The man gave a tired sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Mabel, I'm leaving America."

"What, you can't." She stated horrified.

"No choice." He stated. "As soon as Summer is over, you two will be shipped back home and I'll be shipping off as well."

Maybe I'll finally sail that ole ship of ours. He thought. Probably not, that was something we were supposed to do...together.

"What if new Stan let's you stay?" Mabel asked desperately.

"...Then I'll stay." He stated as if it didn't mean anything to him.

It meant the world.

-Dipper and Stanford

The Author was currently going over some of his notes and checking over his machine. He was less than impressed by what he saw.

"How did he manage anything in this mess?" Stanford muttered as he examined the portal.

The portal, the crown glory of his life's achievement, was a disaster. Stanford found pieces rusted and cracked from poor care. Some had shoddy replacements and others were being held together by duct-tape. Cheap duct-tape. All in all, it was a miracle his brother had gotten the machine to do anything more than blow up. Taking a lot with it.

Dipper had entered the room silently, hoping not to disturb the brilliant man. He was about five feet from the man before he came to a halt. He gave a weak cough in hopes of drawing his attention.

The Author acted on years of honed reflexes and instinct. He threw a wrench directly at Dipper's head. Through his own reflexes, Dipper was able to duck. The tool made weapon was lost in a lot of rubble.

"I'm so sorry!" The Author cried, horrified by his action. Damn paranoia!

"N-No problem." Dipper assured, fine but a little shaken. "My fault, should have let you know I was here."

Feeling no less guilty, Stanford let out a small sigh of relief.

"Been awhile since anyone got that close to me without me noticing." Ford stated, more to himself than Dipper.

"Uh?" Dipper began, only to freeze. What am I supposed to say?

He had came down in hopes of befriending the man. That would make it easier to talk to him on a more personal level. Then he could bring up the situation on the man's brother. Eventually they could get the two to discuss their problems. He had hoped he could persuade the man to have a talk with the other Stan. Finally the brothers would reconcile and live happily. Or Dipper could end up saying the wrong thing. He could anger the Author, who might actually blame him and/or Stan...ley. He might kick the man out even sooner! Send the children home! He might...

Mabel's right. Dipper thought as he shook his head. I do over think things.

"You shouldn't be here." Ford stated, drawing Dipper from his thoughts.

"S-Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you."

"Hm, no not that." The Author sighed. "Stan doesn't want me to be near you two."

Ford watched Dipper bring his hand to his chin, going deep in thought. A mischievous smile tugged at the boy's lip. The boy took five steps back and smiled triumphantly.

"There." Dipper stated triumphantly. "Now you aren't near us, and a little further from me."

Ford couldn't help but chuckle at the child's clever plan. Back away and he's technically no longer near him, and with Mabel being upstairs, that takes the 'them' from the equation.

"You're impressive kid." The Author complimented.

Much to the Author's annoyance, Dipper let loose another squeal of delight. The boy instantly cut himself off and cleared his throat in an attempt to retain some of his dignity.

"Well I try." Dipper stated with forced casualty.

The boy attempted to lean on the nearest thing in an attempt to act cool. It failed. He ended up miscalculating the distance and falling over. He collided into a tall tower of crates, causing them to shake before falling.

Dipper closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable pain of being crushed. It never came.

Opening his eyes, Dipper saw why. The crate was hovering a few inches from his head, covered in a bluish-green that lit up the entire room with it's glow. He heard a sigh of relief and turned to the source of it, and the glow. The Author. The man's hands were covered in the same ethereal-like flame glow.

"Whoa." Dipper whispered in awe. "How'd you do that?"

The Author gave a chuckle at the boy's astonishment.

"Just a trick I learned awhile back." He answered. One of many.

The Author's power seemed to waver before going out all together. The man was hunched over in pain and let loose a strained grunt.

"Are you okay!?" Dipper asked.

"Yeah." The man waved away the child's worry. "Ju-Just realized I'm not as young as I used to be."

Dipper watched as his Grunkle Ford gained a distant look in his eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Dipper asked.

"Where did the time go child?" The man asked, though the question was rhetorical. "Thirty years, thirty long years gone. I bet I'm so far behind, but I know I'm still ahead. The things I've seen and done, heh. It almost makes the missed years worth it."

"I know." Dipper agreed, before stuttering. " Well I uh, I don't actually know, not thirty years." He pitifully corrected. "I've just been spending my Summer searching clues and stuff instead of, ya know, normal stuff." Dipper began getting uncomfortable. How a mere Summer compare with thirty years!? "Sorry."

"No need for apologies." The man assured. "May I see my Journal?"

Dipper handed the man his book. He watched as the Author skimmed through a few of the pages, stopping on a few and giving off the odd 'hmm' and 'ahh'. He finally closed the book and turned his attention towards the boy.

"I see you've filled in a few blanks." Ford stated impressed. "Mind sharing how?"

And the dam was broken. Dipper told him everything, from the first of his suspicions the moment he stepped into Gravity Falls. The finding of Journal 3 and his first real run in with the paranormal. The ghosts and monsters, the secrets and conspiracies. How nothing was ever truly being answered, just putting a few more pieces of the puzzle on the board.

Wow. The Author thought. He's done so much, and for one so young! Yet he's barely scrapped the surface.

"I'm impressed wi-" The man was cut off as Dipper let out a feminine squeal. "Ouch." He muttered as he rubbed his ears. "With what you've accomplished."

"Well I wouldn't have been able to do it without your Journal!" Dipper added quickly, beaming like a star student. "I've learned so much from it, from you! It's almost like you've been a teacher over the Summer.'

Now the Author himself was uncertain. "Would you...like to learn more?"

"What do you mean?"

Dipper noticed that the man seamed to slump in on himself, a little of the fire in his eyes seemed to go out. The man gave a tired sigh that only someone who felt he hasn't done enough could emit.

"My work Dipper." He spoke sadly as he held up Journal 1 and 3. "My life's work are in these Journals and it's all I have to show for this ride that we call life. And I just can't give that up." He stated. "There's so much more to learn out there that most people can't begin to comprehend. I'd love nothing more than to continue it, but I can't. I'm old and I can't keep it up...at least not without going into some dark magic. And no one wants that." He looked to see if he had the boy's attention, he did. "But you, you're just like me." Ford stated with growing happiness. "Your smart and curious, but still sensible with only a hint of recklessness. You've got the spirit and best of all, you're young and willing...right?" He paused with uncertainty. The boy could refuse. "I could teach you everything I know." He stated as he held a Journal in one and and let his ethereal flame show in the other. "All you have to do is say yes."

"You...want me to be your apprentice?" Dipper asked carefully.

Ford nodded his head slowly.

Okay Dipper. He thought. Don't squeal. DO. NOT. SQUEAL. He mentally demanded. Say something impressive.

"I have one condition." Dipper stated, his voice unwavering.

"Name it."

"Stan, I mean Grunkle St-I mean your brother!" He stated after correcting himself.

Now Ford was getting uneasy. "What about him?"

"I-We want you to try and reconcile with him."

"Why wou-"

"He has a home here." Dipper stated, cutting the man off. "The people you wanted nothing to do with, he made the, part of his life."

"To scam!"

"To profit from." Dipper corrected.

"Are you defending a con-artist's reason and methods?"

Let's try this from another approach. Dipper thought.

"I think it would benefit you to let Grunkle Stan stay." Dipper tried. "How would you explain suddenly growing extra fingers?"

"I'll just say it's apart of the perks of the Shack." The man answered without missing a beat.

"You won't be able to get rid of them like that." Dipper promised. "You'll only make them curious."

"I'll just put up a few warning signs and some other stuff to keep them away." Ford stated. "Maybe a fence."

"Eventually you'll be the town spook that all the kids will want a peek at. They'll come at all times of the day and night, trying to peak at the strange man and his strange work. Just a word from any of them on your work and they'll start enough rumors to make an Urban legend." Dipper assured. "And we can't forget the adults, every time something goes wrong that can't be explained, a monster attack here or a strange disappearance there, they'll blame the mystery man that lives in the forest."

The Author knew that everything Dipper said was true. He would have no peace for his work. Any attempted explanations would just be the ravings of a mad man that's been in the woods for too long. Worst of all, who knew what they would do to his work? Destroy it, put it on display for some tabloid? There would be no end to his humiliation.

"But?" The man knew that there was more to it than that.

"But look at Stan-ley." Dipper added, not used to the name on his Grunkle. "With him here, running the shack, you'll keep the people at bay so that you can work in peace. This could also bring in a profit to fund more of your work."

Clever. The Ford thought, reluctantly impressed.

Everything Dipper had said was true, but he was reluctant to accept it. Accept Stan. The man who had cost him so many years. Though he couldn't place all the blame on his brother, he hadn't been at his best when he called the man over. He should have saw how low his brother had fallen, maybe he could have helped. Maybe he wouldn't have...He didn't want to finish the thought.

"And what about me, how would you explain my sudden appearance?" Ford asked. "Should I continue to let him use my name?"

Now Dipper hesitated. He couldn't just say let Stan keep his brother's name, it was his identity. He also couldn't go back to his old one, he had faked that death.

"Like you said, just a part of the mysteries of the shack." Dipper stated. "I'm sure a con-artist could make another story for this, won't be too hard for him. Not if he get's to stay."

"...Fine!" The man stated harshly. "Tomorrow I'll take you on a test run and if you pass, I'll try and reconcile with him."

"Test run?"

"Well I need to make sure I'm getting a good deal here." The man stated. "I need to know my legacy is safe before I try talking to the man who would have made it history." He extended his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Dipper grabbed as many of the finger as he could in his firmest grip.

"Deal."

Review

I feel this was a rocky start, what do you all think?

This story was made in collaboration with du911. Check out his Gravity Falls fic.