AFTERMATH
Summary: Fanmade ending for Weirdmaggedon. The end of the world was stopped by a group of people led by the Pines. The dream demon is not as invincible as he thinks. Both the apocalypse and Mabel's summer has ended, but why is she feeling rather empty? Who is the person who kept appearing on her dreams?
Note: If you think I've gotten some facts wrong, I apologize. Gravity Falls is hard to follow, and I don't think I'm good enough to be a scholar at this.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gravity Falls. Only the story plot belongs to me.
"Happy birthday Mabel! We're so sorry if we cannot be there for you on your special day and last moments of summer in Gravity Falls, but we still have the next summer to spend together. I hope you have a safe trip back home. Hope to see you again soon! – Love, Candy and Grenda"
Mabel stared at the pink stationery card embellished with sequins and buttons, and smiled at the thought of her two friends. Though they aren't physically there, they didn't forget about her birthday. She gently took the card and placed it above the table beside her bed. She'll be gluing it on her scrapbook soon. A sweet smell wafted near her nose.
Skipping happily downstairs, she caught sight of her Grunkle Stan holding a pile of freshly-cooked pancakes.
"Would you like some Stan-cakes, Mabel?" the old man offered, giving her a lopsided grin. The girl nodded, as her Grunkle served some of the breakfast in front of the small television. After he gave her a whole bottle of honey, Stan regretting a few moments later as Mabel poured half of it in just one pancake, the man walked away to meet with his regular duties at the Mystery Shack.
The girl fancied herself to the re-aired episodes of Ducktective. It has been a few weeks since the last episode has been shown, but everyone in the Pines family love this show. Even her Grunkle Ford.
Speaking of the nerdier Grunkle, Mabel found the man approaching her with a small smile, as he sat on the floor beside her, watching the same series.
"Bood ya lirk shum Stooncorks, Gwunkler Fod?" Mabel offered him some of her food, but her words came out as garbled.
"Don't talk when your mouth is full, Mabel", the man lightly scolded. "And don't worry about me, I'm stuffed." He ruffled her hair. "Today's your last day here in Gravity Falls, right, Mabel?" the girl nodded, her face giving a look of slight sadness. "Don't worry, you're free to visit anytime."
Mabel swallowed her food, as she wrapped her arms around the large figure of the old man.
"I'm going to miss you and Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford."
"And I'm going to miss you too, sweetie. Be sure to write me a letter, ok?"
"A letter!?" Mabel scrunched up her nose. "Seriously, Grunkle Ford, I can send you an e-mail!"
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Old man problems." Mabel giggled at his words. "I'll be upstairs for a while, just gonna go pack my things. See ya' later!" the cheerful girl giggled, as she ran upstairs.
Stanford wondered if she'd still be as happy once she knew what he did.
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Wendy and Soos are busy tending to the customers, due to the fact that everyone's going home, vacation's almost over. Wendy won't be working for a while as she is going to go back to high school, and Mabel won't even be there until the next summer vacation, if she plans to go back again. That leaves only Soos to work, but he isn't even sure, since Stanley's going to get kicked out by his brother after Mabel leaves and he sure is to follow. The usually cheery Mystery Shack didn't seem so cheery anymore. Even Soos couldn't crack one of his childish hilariousness.
"It sure is over, isn't it, Wendy?" Soos said right after the last customer went out. Wendy couldn't help but be surprised at how serious he looked. "The Weirdmaggedon, the summer… even our stay here at the shack. I don't honestly know what to feel right now."
"Yeah." Wendy leaned her foot at the table, slumping at her position. "I hate to say this, but I've had more fun at the Weirdmaggedon. Back then, everything seemed so united, but now it's just so… quiet. I couldn't believe it." She laid the magazine at the chair beside her. "Even Mabel doesn't seem so Mabel anymore."
Soos didn't reply, as he changed the Shack's sign from Open to Close. He had a nagging feeling at the pit of his stomach that it's never gonna open anymore. Wendy looked at him with a glum look at her face.
"I'm gonna miss the Mystery Shack, Soos." Wendy said. "I'm gonna miss you, Mabel and Stan."
"Aww, there's no need to get so sad like that, Wendy! We should be happy for Mabel's farewell party." All of a sudden, Soos was back to his normal self.
"Y-Yeah" Wendy chuckled. "That girl's gonna rock the teen world!"
"We should begin setting up the balloons and banners now!"
"Well, I feel weird today that I need to get up and do something productive. Hand me some of the jobs there, Soos."
"On it, Miss Corduroy!"
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"W-Wait, I can't see where I'm going!"
"Chillax, hambone. We got you."
"Is it a secret birthday party made for me? Yes, it is a secret birthday party!"
The blindfold was taken away from Mabel's eyes just in time for Wendy to pop out the confetti.
"Happy birthday Mabel!" everyone said in unison.
The girl was taken aback by the people who were there. Her two Grunkles, Soos and Wendy were there, as expected, but then there's also Pacifica and Gideon.
"P-Pacifica!? Gideon!? I-I…"
"No no no! Don't worry, wittle old me won't bother you anymore." Gideon said, as he shuffled uneasily. "Look, I'm sorry for all the harm I have given you and your family. I hope you'd be able to forgive me, Mabel."
Mabel just smiled at him.
"I'm glad you're over me now, Gideon. And as long as you won't harm anyone, I forgive you."
"Man, do I really have to apologize to you?" Mabel looked at Pacifica who just randomly decided to butt in. "L-Look… I learned a lot of things this Weirdmaggedon, and it's all thanks to your family. I might have been rude to you before, but I hope we'd get through that. Friends?" Pacifica held out her hand. Mabel smiled widely.
"Friends!"
The door bursted open, as two figures leaped through Mabel.
"Mabel! Happy birthday!"
"Calm down, you guys! And Grenda, you're heavy!"
"Sorry, Mabel!" the masculine girl apologized.
"I… I thought you guys won't be around?"
"We kind of sneaked away… But don't tell our parents!" Candy said. "Seriously, Mabel, I'm sorry we had to make you feel bad, but we can't let this pass by. It'll be a while since we will meet again."
"Though we would probably leave before they notice we're gone, so we're sorry if we can't stay for too long, Mabel."
"No need to apologize, it is ok! I'm just so happy you're both here." Mabel enveloped both of her friends in a hug.
"So, now that the drama is over, should we formally begin the party?"
The answer is in the form of synthesized music.
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The party ended, and Mabel was staring at her ceiling, recounting her last happy moments with the friends she made in Gravity Falls. Although she was sure to come back, it would count a whole school year before she can visit once again. The thought of stressful school years without Soos to cheer her up and Wendy to ask advices from made her a little bit scared.
But then, she couldn't just wish to quit life and stay in fantasy… the last time she did it, it ended up in Weirdmaggedon.
Her ever beloved pig snuggled beside her bed.
"Guess you'll be keeping Grunkle Ford's company then?" Mabel stroked Waddles' head. "I'm going to miss you, my soul mate. But we'll meet again next summer, ok?"
Mabel hugged her pig, and she fell into a slumber in that position.
PVREK BIG QF. JCDQZRF' ZNVEFH OBCX: "C BEWRS VVUTBFL BT BKNX CVAY BKNX CVAY BKNX"
Stanley couldn't sleep that night. He'll be seeing Mabel off, but just as soon as she's out of the sight, his own brother is planning to kick him out. His own brother, the one he spent 30 years for looking for ways to get him out of there. And now that he's out, he doesn't even consider him his brother. Granted it was partially his fault he got knocked in there, Stanley couldn't help but feel betrayed. They had the best relationship before, and Stan wondered if he would be able to forgive him, before he dies of old age.
He heard the rumbling of a car, and went out to ask Ford where he was going at midnight. He stepped out of the porch to see him just about to leave.
"W-Wait, Ford, where are you going?"
The man flinched, realizing his twin was there and caught him on the act.
"I… I just have to visit someone. I'll be back before you knew it."
And with that, he drove away. Stan wondered who is he visiting, and Ford wondered how their relatives in Piedmont would react. He hasn't seen Shermie for a while now.
QHAW ZHHN: UHWXUQ WR EXWW LVODQG.
True to his words, Stanford was back after hours, way too exhausted and sleepy, but keeping his head up to see his now 13-year old niece leave. The girl was already ready, her luggage beside her as she says her final goodbye to Soos, Wendy and Stan.
"Grunkle Ford!" Mabel noticed his presence, as she ran to him right after he got out of the car, and embedded him in a hug. "The bus will arrive soon, I wanna tell you that I've had a good time here. I love you, Grunkle Ford. And… I do hope you'd be able to forgive Grunkle Stan."
She gave a kiss at the man's cheek, as they heard the sound of a bus.
"Look, there goes my vacation."
"I'm going to miss you, Mabel." Wendy said, as she hugged the younger girl. Soon, Soos and the twin brothers joined too.
"I'm going to miss you all, too. See you next vacation!"
"See you!"
Entering the bus, she waved at them, as they got smaller from the window. Then, she slumped in her seat, deep in thoughts. Sure, she missed her parents, but Gravity Falls… it felt more like home to her. She would try to convince them to just live there, but she doubt that they'd listen.
She didn't notice she was crying when she noticed the sign "Leaving Gravity Falls".
When she said she didn't want summer to end, she meant it. But what happened that changed her mind? She felt like she forgot something important.
When she was a distance away from Gravity Falls, she remembered resisting to take a peek on her birthday gifts just so she'll find something to do on the way home.
"Now's the right time to dig in!" Mabel said, taking the wrapped gifts from her luggage. Unwrapping each, she was met with wonderful gifts.
Grenda has given her a set of Cool Dudes magazine that she missed for a few months. She remembered telling her that it was sold out as soon as it was out, and that she regret taking a bath before rushing to the bookstore. She was ecstatic to see the effort her friend gave her.
Candy, on the other hand, has given her a DVD copy of Believe in Yourself and all of the Ducktective seasons. Both of her friends have given her rare items, and she's thankful for that.
Surprisingly, she found that both Gideon and Pacifica had dropped by gifts too. Gideon has given her a gift certificate, 2000 bucks worth of Gummy Koalas. She chuckled at his gift, seeing that it's one of the things he discovered she liked back when they were still on bad terms. Pacifica gave her some accessories, real diamond accessories. "Couldn't think of something you'd like", she wrote in a small card. Mabel wondered how much money she can spare.
She opened Wendy's, and she instantly fell in love with the Elwood the Unicorn Cereal Bowl she had given her. At least this one won't try to punch her, she chuckled at the thought.
Soos gave her a Ducktective plushie, along with a promise that he'll take care of Waddles while she was away. The man-child never fails to cheer her up.
Her Grunkle Stan gave her a piggy bank, noting that it reminds her of Waddles, and it reminds him of money, so it's the best thing that ever came into his mind. She laughed at her grunkle's silliness, and suddenly became sad at how much she'll miss him, especially now that he's going to get kicked out of the shack and she won't have any idea where he will be. She can only hope he'll be ok.
However, the last gift she had seen suddenly made her confused. Not that she didn't appreciate it, but…
Why would her Grunkle Ford give her a cap with a symbol of a pine tree? That looks more of a boyish thing. And what's weird is it's marred with scratches, burns and holes.
She decided to glue some of the last pictures they took together at the party, but then as she opened her scrapbook, something felt wrong.
It was blank on the majority of the pages.
TEV FP TBKAV PL MBOCBZQ
Stanford watched the bus get smaller and smaller due to the distance, as he felt the familiar guilt nagging at his stomach. Mabel had lost more than what she thought during her stay at Gravity Falls, and he can't even bring himself to be honest with her. He can't, after all, she might hate her, or else, she'd be extremely miserable.
It still hurt him that he had to do that.
"I… I think it's time for me to leave, Ford. Thanks for letting me stay here."
Ford turned around to see Stan with his duffel bag, Soos and Wendy lagging closely behind.
"Uh, Mister other Pines, I'd have to thank you for creating this home. Even though it wasn't really your brother's possession, it still served as some kind of a second home to us. Never gonna lie, we'd love to stay in here, but then we have to leave. I wanna thank you for giving me the chance to meet Mister Pines, Mabel and Wendy."
Ford stared at Soos, and the guilt began gnawing him away. Wendy just looked away, unable to say more words. She hasn't really talked that much to the other old Pines, and she's torn at how she should feel about him.
"I do hope you'll be able to forgive Grunkle Stan." Mabel told him.
"Grunkle Ford… Please don't let both of us lose our other halfs." A familiar voice entered his mind.
"I'm just glad you're back, Ford. Goodbye… Forever."
Before he could react, however, Stan was enveloped in Ford's welcoming arms.
"Who said something about leaving, Stanley!?"
"You did, like, 2 weeks ago."
"That was the past! Forget about it, Stanley! I'm sorry! I should've known you're more than any college scholarship, or fortune. Heck, you're worth more than the Weirdmaggedon!" he sobbed on his twin brother's arms.
"You know what, Ford? You're being gross."
"Yeah." He chuckled. "We're both gross now. I'm… Crap, Stanley, you're not leaving me alone, got it? We haven't hung out for like 40 years, so now you're stuck with me whether you like it or not." Ford then stared at his brother's two employees, who held surprised faces. "That goes for the two of you too! Soos, Wendy, you're stuck with the Mystery Shack whether you like it or not!"
Instantly, the faces of the two lit up.
"Yes, Mr. other Pines!"
"Man, never have I been glad to be stuck in something weird."
"What are you waiting for!?" Ford shouted at Stan and his employees. "Get your sorry ass indoors and let's drink to our hearts' content."
"Are we really letting Wendy drink?"
"Come on, Soos. I bet I can hold better than you."
O SAM KVGS.
Once Wendy and Soos have both gotten home, and Stanley was asleep, Ford sneaked downstairs, towards his haven. The portal was shut down, and he knew that the dream demon was trapped in there, never having a chance to leave, for a lot of years, already. He knew from firsthand experience that the other dimension was endless, and as long as nobody reactivates it, Bill Cipher would be trapped, without any opportunity to take over the world.
However, his success came with a terrible price. A price that has been eating his conscience for weeks now.
He stared at the Memory-Erasing Gun, before dropping it on the ground and stomping it into pieces.
"Thank you for saving the world, Dipper. Belated Happy Birthday"
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"Curse you, Pines family! Especially you, Pine Tree! I'll get my revenge!"
"Funny that you're saying that in my body, Bill. It's like you're cursing yourself."
Ghost Dipper sat beside his sulking human body, at least that's what he inhabited until this time. Bill Cipher, the Dream Demon that once took over the whole world, was reduced to a whiny 12, now 13-year old pre-adolescent boy with tantrums.
"Seriously, your tantrums are worse than Gideon's."
"Why can't I… Take this metal contraption away!" Bipper said, trying to take the metal thing that encircled his body but to no avail.
"It's splendid, isn't it? The thing that protected Grunkle Ford for you acts as a double for your prison. He is really a smart guy."
"A smart guy? Oh come on, he sacrificed his own grand-nephew to imprison me. How does that make you feel, huh, Pine Tree? Your own grunkle doesn't love you anymore, and now he made your family and friends forget about you."
"I won't let you get me with your taunts, Dream Demon. I volunteered to keep you locked in here using my body, and I didn't regret it. As long as Mabel and the others stay safe, I'll endure being locked up with you for years."
"Just so you know, Pine Tree, I can just perform suicide to kill your body right now. How does that sound?"
"And just so you know, you'd still be trapped in here even if I die. That body was just used to stop you from having your own form in Gravity Falls. You're just a Dream Demon that can enter the Dreamscape, but with the journals gone, no one can summon you."
Bipper just stared at him in disbelief.
"We have no one to annoy but each other here, Bill. Give up. You might not die, but you've lost."
Bill kept quiet, as Dipper fell into deep thinking.
"Thank you, Grunkle Ford." He whispered, not caring if Bill hears it or not. "Everything is as it should be."
A/N: I SHOULD BE STABBED WITH PITCHFORKS FOR MAKING THIS THING.
Anyway, I can create a whole series to this as a sequel, but I'm still thinking because I'm quite busy. I hope you like it, though! Forgive me for some inaccuracy.
~Aypttym