Hello Readers! I'm Melo, and I'd like to start out with a thank you for checking out my first story! I'm excited to hear what people think, so please read and review. Let me know if this is something you'd like me to carry on.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gravity Falls.

Chapter 1: From Ashes

A young teen sat at his desk, idly flipping the pages of what appeared to be an archaic book. The cover was worn and faded, and with each turn of the page, the smell of musty old parchment permeated the air. He was chewing the end of a pencil to shreds as he deeply pondered the ancient tome and text inside. The only clue that there was more to this young man than met the eye was a strange birthmark, in the shape of the Big Dipper, could be seen briefly when he lifted the ushanka hat to scratch his head. Beside him, Dipper's sister, Mable, was busy trying not to explode from the sheer excitement of their last day of school that year. In the three years since their faithful summer in Gravity Falls, Oregon, the twins had started garnering various talents and knowledge, and neither was sure if it was out of fear of facing another Weirdmageddon, or if they truly were excited by what they had experienced that summer. Evidence to how seriously he took his current study, Dipper had been keeping notes in a pine green, leather-bound Journal. The pages were covered in strange symbols and detailed, if messy, notes. The part Dipper was proudest of though was the hand painted constellation of the same Big Dipper that graced his forehead.

"Whatcha got there Dippin' sauce?" Mable poked and prodded her brother, dusting his desk with a snowstorm of glitter from her sweater. Her braces and sparkles reflecting the harsh florescent light into his eyes.

He smirked as he started to clear his desk before responding, "Just finishing up looking through this old book Grunkle Ford sent me." His attempts to be nonchalant were completely disregarded if his twin's piercing stare was anything to go by.

"Gonna impress a certain red-head with your magic skills are ya, bro-bro?" She wiggled her eyebrows and smiled at his obvious discomfort. She knew that he hadn't gotten over his crush for the Corduroy heroine. She could, however, appreciate the growth they had gone through in the time since their last visit to the strange town. Dipper had changed significantly in three short years. He was taller but just as scrawny; he was starting to show signs of becoming a man with features like his Grunkle Stan, probably with a slimmer face once nature was said and done. He'd developed a bit of a slouch from pouring over spell books and the like training in his new art of defense, and unbeknownst to all but her, he had already started a small collection of tattoos in cryptic shapes and runes. Nothing visible for their parents to freak out about, not that she hadn't the first time she saw them, but after he had explained just what they did, she couldn't really hold it against him. Most were protection runes of various purposes and methods of activation, but all served to ease his mind after the near global damnation brought on by Bill.

"Hahahaha, you're hilarious," he responded awkwardly, playing with the flaps on his hat. "I doubt she'll notice anything other than me finally being able to look her in the eyes without looking up." He put his journal and book in his bag before turning to leave with his sister. She'd succumbed to the wiles of puberty as well, growing taller, hiding the beginnings of curves beneath a sweater with so much color on it that it looked like a unicorn had thrown it up. She had toned up quicker than he had; Capoeira would do that to a normal person, and she was a prodigy of the violent martial art.

"You ready to go?" He asked as he put his arm over her shoulder. The weight on her shoulder a now familiar feeling at the end of her school days.

"Ready as I'm gonna be!" She threw her fists in the air as Dipper muttered a soft chant under his breath before they were swallowed by a swirl of fire.

They arrived in an equally ostentatious blaze to find themselves in their bedroom with Mabel immediately dropping to the floor cradling her head.

"I don't get how every time we do that I get all discombobulated and you look like you can take over the world or somethin!" She moaned from the floor. There was something different about him, he could definitely tell. The constant study and training the last three years had given him a confidence he had sorely lacked before. He conjured a tiny orb of fire in his hand, the cold, blue light radiated from it and reminded him of demons and deals before he lost focus and snubbed itself in his palm.

"I guess I'm just glad that I'm not totally helpless anymore." He tried to hide the energy that casting magic always gave him. The feeling of power and euphoria that sang from his bones every time he called on the energy within himself. Almost everything he studied had told him that only those touched by a demon or other immortal being of power could access the ancient and oftentimes dangerous art. He counted himself lucky that he had an uncle that specialized in the strange and mystifying. Ford had sent him all sorts of links and books after he got over that his nephew could now cast fireballs. He tried to imagine Ford's surprise at seeing his young nephew struggling to control the flames over his excitement.

After a few hours, they were packed and ready for a summer full of possibilities. Their bags were gathered in the center of their room, survival supplies and books bursting from Dipper's half and glitter and assorted art supplies on the brink of exploding from Mable's. She turned to her brother who was pouring over his notes again while he waited for her to finish.

"Ready to go Dippin Sauce?" and for the second time that day, she poked and prodded him to tear his attention away from his studies. He jumped.

"Oh! Uh… yea let's get out of here." He was just as eager to leave California as she was, whether to see a certain redhead or to get back to his favorite summer locale was yet to be decided. They put on their packs and each grabbed a duffel bag before Dipper wrapped an arm around Mable's shoulder. He held his hand in front of their faces, closed his eyes, and started mumbling in a language Mable didn't necessarily recognize. A blue flame appeared and licked at his palm before flaring and encompassing their bodies. Then, there was only silence and the faint smell of pines.