August 24th, 2012 7:35pm
2162 HOURS, 37 MINUTES

"Let me guess," Stanford remarked, seeing the dejected look on his great nephew's face. "Mabel didn't take it well?"

Dipper looked dejectedly at the floor, dragging the backpack behind him. "I… I don't know. Maybe I'm making the wrong decision." The hurt look on his twin's face flashed through his memory, the sound of her sobs choking her as she bolted angrily out the door. "I need to think about this."

Ford kept the hurt feelings off of his own face as he stepped down from the ladder. He loved Dipper. The boy got him in a way that his own siblings and parents never had. For the first time since high school he really felt what family was all about. But he couldn't make this choice for Dipper; he could only present the option and hope for the best. Besides, there was time for that later. "Dipper, right now we need to focus on the mission." He tried to make his voice sound upbeat. "Now come on, I've got the glue, hand me the rift and let's make history."

Dipper reached into the bag… and pulled out the cracked rift, holding it out to his uncle with a smile. "Alright, here we go." Stanford showed him how to activate the adhesive's dormant properties, scrape it off the alien plating and seal it against the cracks in the rift's glass surface. A quarter mile away, Mabel snacked on her party chocolate and moaned about the loss of all that was important to her, while Bill Cipher, wearing the possessed body of Blendin Blandin, watched for a few moments before waving his hand dismissively.

There was no opportunity here, but that was alright. Patience was a virtue.

August 31st, 2012 3:02 pm
1999 HOURS, 0 MINUTES

The party was decent enough. Mabel was still distraught over Grenda and Candy's absence, but at least Wendy's crew was here, and Gruncle Stan. And Dipper had given her the most wonderful birthday present of all – a deferred decision.

"I'm not saying it's not gonna happen, Mabel," Dipper had cautioned her, attempting to quell her bursting elation at the news that her brother was going to get on the bus back to California with her. "I still think this is what I want to do with my life. But Great Uncle Ford and I talked about it and, well, we're better off presenting the idea to our parents gradually anyway. I mean, we still haven't even told them it was Gruncle Stan and not Gruncle Ford taking care of us for the first part of the summer anyway, and…"

Mabel winced. "Oh, yeah, umm.. I might have mentioned that in my last letter home, actually."

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "You did? They… didn't say anything about it on the phone the other day. At least not to me."

Mabel shrugged. "They've known both our Gruncles for a long time, Dipper. I'm sure they were surprised, but I doubt it mattered much to them."

"Do you think Grandpa Sherman knows his other brother's still alive?" Dipper wondered.

Mabel grinned. "Maybe we can be the ones to tell him when we get home!" She grabbed Dipper and squeezed. "Oh, thank you SO much for coming home with me, Dipper. I know how bad you want to just stay here."

"Do I ever," Dipper agreed, before wandering off.

Mabel sighed at his retreating back. Deep down, she knew he was right; staying with Gruncle Ford was what was best for him in the long run. But at least now it wasn't sudden; at least now she'd have time to get used to the idea and make the next few months count. She was going to create so many great and wonderful memories with Dipper this fall. And of course, there were her friends back home to think of. By the time Dipper was ready to leave, she'd be back in her groove with them, perhaps even have made one or two new ones! Things were going to be okay after all.

"So, what, you'll be back in January?" Wendy asked.

Dipper nodded. "That's the plan," he replied enthusiastically. "Gruncle Ford will have a few conversations with my parents over the phone and then he'll come down for a couple of weeks at Thanksgiving time and sell them on the idea of him homeschooling me after the Christmas holiday."

"Well that's great, little man." Wendy punched her young friend on the arm. "I'm going to miss you while you're gone. Thanksgiving around here is always the best, Thompson puts on a turkey costume and does this Silence of the Lambs routine at the table. Y'know, cause it'd be cannibalism for a turkey to eat turkey."

Dipper chuckled and shook his head at the absurdity of that concept. "That sounds so fun! And messed up."

Wendy shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll send you pictures. This is your address, right?" She held up the paper that Dipper had given her.

"Yup," Dipper replied. "I mean, my email's on there too, but our parents won't let us have phones yet and I usually get too busy to spend much time on the computer, so writing's better. It's totally NOT because I want to hold a piece of paper you've touched or anything weird like that." He offered her an awkward smile, hoping that he was being convincing.

Apparently he was, because Wendy took it as a joke and laughed, winking at him. "Maybe I'll stick a pine cone in there or something." She looked closely at the paper. "'Perdido Beach, California'" she read. "That sounds like a fancy town. You secretly rich or something?"

Dipper shook his head. "Nah, actually it's about the same size as Gravity Falls. Just a lot less woods and a lot more ocean to it. Maybe when Gruncle Ford comes down for Thanksgiving, you could come see it too."

Wendy shook her head. "Nah. Not the whole time anyway, I can't miss school. Plus, you know… Thompson. 'I've been expecting you, Wendy.' Hilarious stuff. But I dunno, maybe for a weekend." She lowered her voice slightly, leaning in. "Bet it's a lot less scary there. No strange gnomes or unicorns or anything."

Dipper laughed. "Yeah, much less. Closest we had to excitement there was the time our bus driver had a heart attack and one of the kids in the grade ahead of us had to take the wheel."

"Shut up!" Wendy said eagerly. "That sounds intense!"

Dipper nodded. "School Bus Sam, they call him now. Good kid, bit quiet. But then I guess he could probably say the same about me."

"Oh, is he a friend of yours?" Wendy inquired.

Dipper shook his head, shrugging. "Not really. He's really into surfing, most Cali kids are. I'm more into video games and reading. Although after this summer, who knows? Maybe I'll give the outdoor life a try back home."

"Guess you won't see him at school this year, if he's a grade ahead of you. Mabel said you two were still a year away from High School."

"It's not like that," Dipper corrected. "Technically, yes, ninth grade is high school, but our town's a bit weird about it. We're too small to have our own high school, they bus us out to San Luis starting in tenth grade, but for some reason ninth is still done in our local school. I know Perdido Beach pays San Luis High School to take us, so I guess it's cheaper to do ninth grade local or something."

Wendy scrunched her face together, looking towards Mabel. "Then why'd she make such a big deal about it? Sounds like she gets to put it off longer than most people anyway."

"It's still high school," Dipper clarified. "They get their own section of the school and everything. Plus, my best friend back home is this super nerdy girl who sold Mabel and me on how much greater high school was in general."

"You know how funny it is to hear you call someone nerdy, right?" Wendy teased.

"Well she is," Dipper responded, enjoying the laugh at his own expense. "She gets grief about it too. I never really appreciated it before, but now I get to tell her I spent the whole summer being made fun of the way people tease her. Least no one ever called me Dipper the Genius."

Mabel took a moment during the party to find her Gruncle Ford, who at least had the decency to look nervous when she approached. They'd barely spoken all week, but she was leaving tomorrow and she wasn't going to let the tension stay like this forever. So rather than stop next to the old man, she closed the distance between them completely, wrapping her Great Uncle in a big, eager hug, one she was gratified to feel returned whole heartedly.

"I should be mad at you, you know," Mabel remarked, poking Ford's nose.

Ford offered her a sad smile. "Why aren't you?" he asked curiously.

Mabel shrugged. "Because you're family," she suggested. "Because I know you're trying to do what you think is best for Dipper. Because I still love you, Gruncle Ford, no matter what."

"You're a very wise person, Mabel," Ford said gratefully, wrapping his arm around his great niece.

"Yup!" Mabel agreed. "There is something you could do for me, though. To make it easier, I mean."

"Name it," Ford said instantly.

Mabel glanced over towards Ford's brother, her Gruncle Stan, sitting on the gym bleachers chatting away with Soos, who was trying to stop him from charging people for slices of birthday cake. "Well, I can't bring Waddles to Perdido Beach with me, so someone's going to have to keep an eye on him. And once Dipper comes back up here, someone's going to have to make sure he keeps fun and staying in touch with me in the mix. You and Dipper get so wrapped up in that sciencey stuff, but I know someone else who'd be really good at doing those things. Not to mention paying your bills and keeping people from wondering what crazy things you're doing in there." Ford's face soured as he followed her gaze, so she pressed her case further. "You can't just kick him out, Gruncle Ford. He's family, he tried to do what was best for you, and he still loves you. You know – the same reasons I'm giving you another chance."

Ford shook his head, ruffling his niece's hair. "I hope no one ever underestimates you, Firecracker. It'd be the last mistake they ever made." He nodded. "Alright, I'll tell Stanley he can stay. Just to watch Waddles and provide me with a cover story, mind you. And you'd best make sure you're not just keeping in touch with Dipper, I want to hear from you too."

"You know it! I can't wait til you get a good picture of the Snadger. Totally my idea, you know."

On their last night in the Mystery Shack, one more birthday wish made it to them. The twins were sleeping soundly, but in their minds' eyes, they were standing in the middle of a strange room with lots of lights and panels, and a little boy, maybe five years old, staring at a Game Boy.

"Where are we?" Mabel asked Dipper curiously. She stared at the boy. "Is that… Astrid's brother?"

Dipper didn't get a chance to reply. Suddenly, a familiar laugh echoed throughout the room, and every computer screen all over the place displayed the image of a yellow pyramid with a top hat and a bowtie. "Pine Tree, Shooting Star, leaving me so soon?"

Mabel narrowed her eyes. "Bill!"

"You lost, man!" Dipper cried out. "We sealed the…" He glanced at Mabel. Would she remember if he talked about the rift here? Probably. And Great Uncle Ford still wanted it kept secret. "We protected the town. Permanently. And don't get too comfortable up here because I'll be back to help Great Uncle Ford soon enough!"

Bill laughed, seemingly amused by the twins' reactions. "Yep, you won the battle, no doubt about that. Pity, there was a second or two when I proooobably could've gotten Shooting Star here to make a wish on herself and do my dirty work for me. Kept losing everything there, didn't you, kid?"

Mabel gasped. "YOU did that!" she accused, jabbing a finger at the nearest screen. "You sent me to Sweatertown."

"Wo, wo," Bill protested, "can't blame me for everything in your lives. Anyway I just wanted to say goodbye for now. Who knows, though? I've got a… someone I know, in Perdido Beach, and she turned thirteen today too. So maybe it's worth coming down and paying a visit one of these days, don't you think?"

Dipper scoffed. "You can't visit Perdido Beach. It's not like Gravity Falls, there's no alien craft under the town. No leaking dimension of weirdness for you to slip through. It's just a perfectly boring California beach town."

Now it was Bill's turn to laugh incredulously. "In ninety days, I'll remind you you said that," he mocked. "I wouldn't be sure about any of it, if I were you. There's a lot of good deals to be made in that town, and I'm nothing if not out for a good deal. Enjoy your bus ride!"

A quick rush of images… the church in town square, the Coates Academy building, an old mine shaft in the middle of the desert. And then suddenly both twins burst upright, sweating in their beds. And a thousand miles away, another set of twins in Perdido Beach did the same.

September 1st, 2012 9:46 am
1980 HOURS, 16 MINUTES

The bus driver wasn't Soos this time, but neither twin really believed that they'd left Gravity Falls behind until they were more than an hour away from the city limits. They'd played their traditional game of Bus Seat Treasure Hunt for awhile, until they'd left the Redwood Highway and taken on more passengers in Northern California.

It had been an emotional goodbye, to be sure, but there was a bright side to it, an impermanence to the whole thing that she hadn't been expecting. "In a strange, twisted way, it's like we aren't really leaving Gravity Falls behind at all," Mabel said. "So many people are going to keep in touch: Candy and Grenda, Gruncles Ford and Stan, the pizza delivery man, and now even Bill is offering to give a 'hi, hello'."

"I'm not sure that's the best thing imaginable," Dipper replied, his eyes not leaving Journal #1. Gruncle Ford kept 2 and 3, but let him borrow 1 as it had been the one he'd spent the least time reading.

"Did you tell Gruncle Ford about our Bill dream?" Mabel asked, looking out the window.

Dipper shook his head. "I'll tell him in my first letter when we get home. It didn't seem like something to worry him over just now. After all, if Bill does come to Perdido Beach to torment us, then at least he's staying away from the Mystery Shack." And the rift. "Enough about Gravity Falls, though. You looking forward to seeing any of your old friends?"

Mabel shrugged. "A little. It'll be nice to have a sleepover with Mary, Bette and Dahra again." She placed a comforting hand on Dipper's shoulder. "And after what you've been through this summer, I bet anything Orc and Howard don't bug you anymore."

They spent the next little while imagining silly things, like Orc versus a Gremloblin or whether Mary and Wendy would get along. It was fun to imagine a mingling of their summer lives in Gravity Falls and their regular lives in Perdido Beach. Soon enough, their bus stopped in San Luis and they jumped into the anxious arms of their parents, eagerly telling them of all the more mundane aspects of their summer vacation. Even Dipper, anxious as he was to return to Oregon, let the past be the past and embraced his short term future. He was home again.

November 8th, 2012 10:17 am
347 HOURS, 55 MINUTES

"This is an interdimensional rift," Ford said, placing it in the center of the Pines family table in Perdido Beach. Dipper and his parents, Alexander and Darianna, were gathered around the table looking at it. Mabel was up in their room with their friends from Gravity Falls, Candy and Wendy and Grenda, who had managed to make the trip down and were staying until that Sunday.

Darianna took it in her hands, turning it over curiously for a few moments. "And Dipper was working with you to protect this thing?" she asked.

It was going well, so far. Dipper had returned to his school eagerly enough, but immediately started laying on somewhat thick to his parents about how it was completely unchallenging for him, and how much more he had learned during the summer from Great Uncle Stanford. It wasn't entirely untrue, in the long run. Mister Trentlake tried to make history class interesting, but he was talking about early U.S. History and skipping right over President Trembley, and that just made Dipper more sure that every discipline taught in his school probably held on to mistakes and rewrites. In Gravity Falls he could learn the truth of things, and there was no way that was going to be less satisfying.

The one regret was Astrid; he had forgotten how much he enjoyed hanging out with her, when her schedule permitted. Too often, Little Pete needed her attention and although Dipper was more than willing to share some of those duties with her, she was pretty protective where her little brother was concerned. He was eager to share what he'd learned in Oregon with her, but he doubted she would believe it until she saw for herself. Now that Gruncle Ford was here, he could show her the rift and the magnet gun and the other things he'd brought with him, and perhaps she'd go with him for the ride back up there in January.

"He did far more than that," Gruncle Ford was saying. "He's got a lot of potential, Dari. In fact, I've been discussing the idea of taking him on as a full time apprentice, helping me to catalogue my scientific research. I could teach him a lot more than Perdido Beach has t-"

Suddenly, Gruncle Ford's voice was cut off. Because he wasn't there anymore. One minute he was convincing Dipper's parents to let him begin the greatest adventure of his life. And the next minute he, and Dipper's parents, and Wendy, and every person in Perdido Beach over the age of fourteen was gone.

There.

Gone.

No "poof". No flash of light. No explosion.

Just… gone.

Continuity Note: In the original timeline history of the Gone series, the FAYZ Initializing Event takes place on November 10th. Because November 10th, 2012 was a Saturday, it was necessary to move the event to a school day; hence it's now the 8th. Obviously, on the Gravity Falls side of things, this story starts an AU beginning with the last five minutes of "Dipper and Mabel vs. The Future".

There will be some exposition in future chapters, so if you're not familiar with either Gone or Gravity Falls, you will eventually have enough of a clue to know what's going on.