Stanford woke up to his desk floating above the ground. Blue light seeped in from the cracks on the floorboards.
"This can't be good." He thought as he sat up on his floating bed. He jumped off and ran towards his brother's underground lab.
Well, tried to run. It was hard considering the fact that he was flying up in the air.
After a while, gravity finally kicked back in and he found himself lying face flat on the floor. He groaned as he rubbed his nose but he quickly got up and continued running to his destination.
He flew down the flight of stairs and sighed in relief when he saw that the elevator was still open.
His heart pounded against his chest as the metal box clanged. The lights flickered and the world around him rumbled.
Cold sweat poured down the side of his face. His hair was in disarray and his foot tapped nervously against the metal floor.
The doors to the elevator opened and Stan sprinted out. The screens around him showed massive readings and were all going crazy. The shaking was even more evident and blue lights brightened the usually dark room.
The portal was swirling so hard that the stilts could barely hold it in place. In the middle of this chaos was his twin brother, dressed for action.
He had a dark coat on top of a black t-shirt. Black bulky boots donned his feet and cape flew in the wind. A shotgun (or was it a rifle?) was slung across his back. Large goggles pushed his hair from his face, showing off a determined look on his brother's face.
Next to him was his assistant Fiddleford. Still as twitchy as ever. They appeared to be discussing something.
"Lee!" Stan cried out. Stanley turned around, surprise was in his eyes but left as soon as it came. "What are you doing here Stanford?"
Stan frowned, "I could say the same for you brother." he crossed his arms across his broad chest, "What were you thinking?! I thought we agreed that you shouldn't activate the portal!"
Stanley took a deep breath, he knew that he couldn't avoid this conversation. "I know we agreed, but I need to do this."
"You mean you want to."
Stanley stepped back in shock, "What? No! T-That's not the point Stan."
The scowl on Stan's face deepened, "Don't lie Lee. We both know that you want the knowledge the portal posses. We both know that you'd go to extreme heights to get that, but I never thought you'd risk the lives of millions."
"Stanford! That's not true." Stanley argued.
"You told me yourself that this could tear our very world apart!"
Fiddleford pulled at his collar, "I'll uh, I'll leave you two alone." He walked back towards the lab, its door hissed to a close.
The two brothers stared each other down as the timer above them started its countdown.
"The reason I activated this, is to save the millions of innocent lives." Stanley said. His gaze turned serious.
"The End is coming Stan," he continued, "If I go through that portal, I could buy the world some time. Perhaps I could even find a way to prevent it. I need to go Stan."
"You're trying to save the world by opening a portal that could destroy it." Stan said skeptically,
"You're right," he said, "The End is coming. Unless I press that button." he pointed his finger at the button that stood at the center.
"Wake up Stan!" His brother screamed, "I'm just doing my duty-"
"Your duty?! How about your wife! Your family!" he shouted, "How about me? What would become of the mystery twins?"
Stanley faltered at his brother's accusations. The doubts that he tried so hard to push down rose to the surface once more.
He stared at his boots, his mind was deep in thoughts. Could he leave his wife? A wife who slept soundly in their room? A wife who told him that she had great news to share tomorrow morning?
But how could he live happily with his wife when the end is coming?
He locked gazes with Stanford, "Take care of them Stan."
Stan blinked at him, "What?"
"I'm sorry Stan. But I need to destroy Bill."
"You can't destroy a demon Lee." Stan told him.
"I can try."
Suddenly, he ran to the portal.
"No!" Stan yelled as he tackled his twin and ran towards the button. Just as he was about to press it, Stanley punched him.
It didn't hurt as much, but it sent Stanford flying. He landed on the graveled ground with a grunt. Pain exploded throughout his body as the little rocks dug into his skin.
Stan forced his eyes open and saw his brother standing in front of the portal. With goggles was now covering his eyes, he glanced at Stanford.
"I'm sorry." he said solemnly.
Stanley stepped into the portal, and then it suddenly exploded. Stan shielded his eyes with his hand, the temperature around him rose a billion degrees.
He heard Fiddleford faintly call for him when something hard bonked him on the head. Darkness consumed Stan as he fell once more towards the ground.
Stan woke up with a pounding headache. His vision was blurred and fuzzy. He groaned in pain as one of his hand cradled his head.
On his lap lay the very first journal.
"That must have been what hit me." He muttered as he stood up, grabbing the book on the way. The portal frame was still there but the portal itself was functioning no more.
Fiddleford made his way towards Stan. His thumbs were fiddling with each other.
"Stan, I-" Stan held up his free hand, interrupting Fiddleford's ramblings. "Don't."
The scientist ran his hands through his hair, "But this is all my fault! I-I never should have helped him make that machine, I should have quit while I still could. But it's too late! I wish I could…" He looked at Stan with frantic eyes.
"That's it!" he exclaimed as he ran off.
Stan shook his head, still thinking on what to tell his wife.
"I'm so sorry that my brother left you for his mistress Knowledge." Stan mused, or perhaps:"So sorry, but Lee chose Fiddleford over you." maybe the good ole "He was eaten by wolves." excuse.
Stan opened the Journal to the page that his brother last bookmarked. It was the part where Stanley wrote part of the instructions on how to activate the portal.
He stared at the page for a couple of minutes when suddenly a light bulb flickered in his head, "I got it! All I have to do is find the other 2 journals and reactivate the portal!"
The triumphant grin on his face was wiped off when reality hit him. "Easier said than done." he muttered. The two other journals could be hidden anywhere.
Dammit Stanley! Why do you have to make this hard for me.(Das what she said! Haha, sorry.)
He entered the empty room when he realized something else. How is he going to hide his tracks? The agents that interrogated Stanley would definitely head over to town now.
He can't let that happen. Perhaps fake his death or something? Or maybe disguise the home as some sort of a tourist attraction. Yeah…
"A tourist trap!" He exclaimed. He's going to turn the house into a tourist trap that shows off the strangeness of Gravity Falls! That would cover up whatever weird thing that may happen.
Perhaps he should hide the entrance to the lab as well. Heaven knows what would happen when the lab went into the wrong hands.
He ran his hand across the golden hand fondly. "I'm coming for you Lee."