Hello there! This is a thought that occurred to me not long ago and I decided to see if I could get a story out of it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enoyed writing it.
Spoiler Warning: Do not read this if you haven't seen all of Gravity Falls as this takes place after the series has ended.
Dipper Pines stared down at the pages of his journal. He was in the backyard of his family's home in Piedmont, California trying to simply be alone with his thoughts. It wasn't always easy but his parents were out and his twin sister, Mabel, was upstairs playing with Waddles. Mr. and Mrs. Pines had been less than thrilled when their daughter had bounced (not a figure of speech in this case) off of the bus with a pet pig she won at a fair but now Waddles was a part of the family. A call from Grunkle (aka "Great Uncle") Stan hadn't hurt the Waddles front either.
Dipper felt a mix of feelings as he pondered these things. He and Mabel had returned not very long ago from a summer living with Grunkle Stan in Gravity Falls, Oregon. He glanced in his journal to what he had written about the town: "Gravity Falls is a town that upon first glance seems strange and offbeat. If you look closer you soon realize…that you had no idea!" Below this he had sketched several odd creatures and people. All summer long he and his family had encountered all sorts of paranormal beings and events. Almost nothing in Gravity Falls had been as it initially seemed; even the tiny gnomes were rather dangerous.
Dipper shuddered as he looked at a half finished picture of Bill Cipher, a deceptively simple being consisting of a golden triangle, limbs, top hat, and a single creepy eye. Bill was a demon of unimaginable power that had almost plunged the world into total chaos. Though contained by the "weirdness magnet" of Gravity Falls, he had done enough damage to the town itself to fill a lifetime of nightmares. Bill had been killed by a desperate move of Grunkle Stan's but Dipper had a suspicion that the nightmare wasn't over.
He turned to a fresh page and began to write about his day at school. The last few weeks had been a bit odd. He was glad to be back at him in California but life here felt really tame after the summer of wonders. His friends begged to hear about his summer in Oregon but how could he tell them the truth? Most of Gravity Falls was pretending that none of it had happened so how could Dipper convince someone who had never seen any of it to begin with? It felt odd telling them about life with Grunkle Stan in the Mystery Shack. True people were interested in the tourist trap full of fake horrors but Dipper kept thinking of real horrors.
He was broken out of his thoughts by the phone ringing in the house. He started to get up but Mabel screamed "I'll get it!" and he then heard her running down the stairs. The phone then stopped ringing and her voice floated out of the open back door. "Oh hi Grunkle Stan. Oh and hello to you Great Uncle Ford!" Dipper sat up straighter in his chair to listen. "You're where? Oh that's exciting. Uh huh…that's neat…coolness…WHAT! I"LL GO TELL DIPPER!"
Dipper stood up and was instantly bowled over by Mabel. Her momentum sent them tumbling across the yard and they finally landed with him on his back and her on top of him.
"Mabel, I know we spent time together in the womb but this is a bit awkward."
"WE'RE GOING TO JAPAN!"
Dipper, ears still ringing from her excited scream, tried to process this. "First of all, please get off of me" she complied and now they were standing side by side in the yard "and second, what are you talking about?"
"Our Grunkles are in Japan and they want us to join them! Come listen, they're still on the phone."
She dragged him into the house and picked up the phone. "Hi Uncles, I'm back and I have Dipper with me."
"Good" Grunkle Stan said "This is getting expensive. I knew we should have reversed the charges."
"Oh lighten up Stanely" Great Uncle Ford said. Dipper smiled to hear his voice. He loved both Stan's but Stanford and Dipper had formed a special bond of their own. "So are you guys ready to hear the whole thing?"
"Sure" Dipper said
"Yeppers!" Mabel added
"Well, Stanley and I were sailing the high seas on the Stan o War and having all kinds of misadventures."
"And hunting for treasure!"
"Yes that to. Anyway, we got lost in this terrible storm and had to fight for our lives."
"Gasp!" Mabel said "That must have been frightciting!"
"It must have been what?"
"Frightciting; you put together frightening and exciting."
"How did you guys survive?" Dipper asked
"It wasn't easy" Grunkle Stan said "But it takes more than a category five to take us down."
"I seriously doubt it was that bad, Stanely" Ford rebutted "However we were pretty amazing. Soon we were drifting way off course and ended up washing up on the shore of Japan."
"You guys seriously crossed the Pacific in that little boat?!" Dipper asked in shock
"After last summer, does something like that really surprise you?" Ford asked
"I guess not."
"Long story short" Grunkle Stan said "We went to this shop to resupply and they had a drawing going with lots of prizes. I love free stuff so I thought 'why not.' I entered and won the grand prize!"
"You also slipped in way more entry forms than the rules allow" Ford added
"Who cares? I won! I won a free vacation for four at a hotel in Tokyo!"
"And…you thought of us?" Dipper said in a stunned voice
"Of course we did" the Stans said in one voice, as if it were obvious
"Oh my gosh, Dipper" Mabel said "We're going to Tokyo!"
"Come on Mabel, Mom and Dad will never say yes."
"I can't believe Mom and Dad said yes" Dipper said as he and Mabel sat in the airport. Mr. and Mrs. Pines hadn't been thrilled but the Grunkles had talked them into it. Now, having said their goodbyes on the other side of security, the twins were soon going to board their plane.
"Why wouldn't they? This is awesome!"
"For one thing, we're missing school."
"Yeah but it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, Dipper. Our principal even seemed to think it would be educational."
"Yeah, you're right. It's just all happened so fast, I still can't quite believe it is happening."
"Well believe it, Brother of Mine. I've been trying to learn some Japanese. Listen! My shoe is filled with butter and your soul is very dirty"
"What did you say?"
"This is going to be the best most awesome vacation ever!"
"I don't think you did because those people over there are looking at us funny." Dipper was pointing to a Japanese family who indeed had odd expressions.
"They're just impressed I learned so quickly. I'm going to tell them thanks and how I can't wait to see their country." She turned to the family and said "I am filled with cheese and I seek to dance on your lawn"
The Japanese family looked very startled but the father simply said "I applaud the effort but maybe a little more practice is in order."
"Okie dokie!"
"Great Uncle Ford said that language wouldn't be a problem, so that's nice."
"Oh…goodbye boring phrase book!" She tossed the book in the trash and said "Less study means more fun!"
They heard their flight called and they gathered their carry-on bags. Mabel was so excited that she was actually vibrating as they stood in line to board. Dipper was more subtle with his enthusiasm but it was certainly there. Despite his doubts, another adventure was not something he was opposed to at all. It might even help with his dream of being a great researcher of the paranormal like Great Uncle Ford.
Soon they were settled into their seats. Mabel had the window seat but Dipper didn't mind too much. Now she wouldn't have to climb all over him to see out. "At least we're not stuck in the center aisle where you can't see out at all" he said
"Man would that suck!" she agreed
They seemed to sit on the runway forever but finally they took off and were on their way to the Land of the Rising Sun. "Just imagine, we'll be there in about 20 hours!"
"Well actually the exact ETA is…"
"Gosh you really can be a nerd" Mabel interrupted. Dipper looked taken aback but Mabel said "Hey where would we be without your nerdiness? You saved our butts plenty of times in Gravity Falls."
"Thanks Mabel. You saved us plenty of times too."
"The Pines Family can take on anything!"
"Don't forget to give credit to our friends."
"Of course; my besties Candy and Grenda are a great example. Oh man, are they jealous of me but they're also happy for me at the same time."
"And Wendy was a big help" Dipper said with just a little too much emotion in his voice.
"Oh man, I thought we were past this."
"What?"
"You sounded a bit crushy when you mentioned Wendy. I thought you being a total road trip jerk proved you were over her."
"I am over her! Also isn't jerk a bit harsh?"
"Let's ask Candy next time we see her."
"Ok ok, I get it. Trust me, Wendy and I are just friends."
"Do you still wish you could be more than friends?"
"I don't know; it's not going to happen so what's it matter."
"It's just not healthy to cling like this."
"How about mourning for a pig for a month in an alternate future?"
"Waddles is my special forever pig friend! Oh Waddles" she dropped her head and sounded very depressed "I'm so sorry that you couldn't come. Mom and Dad had better take care of you."
"They will. They're too afraid of you not to."
"With good reason" Mabel agreed, still slumped over
"Why don't we just relax for a little bit and enjoy the flight?"
"Ok. I'm going to watch a movie on this little TV."
While Mabel played with the screen on the seat in front of them, Dipper took out his journal. In the opening pages were his notes and sketches about Gravity Falls. There was a picture of Soos, the loveable handyman turned owner of the Mystery Shack. There was Pacifica Northwest, a snobby rich girl who maybe, just maybe, could actually be a decent person. He glanced at the picture of Lil Gideon, the phony child psychic and child psycho who had also showed a more heroic side. These people and more had played a role in defeated the awful Bill Cipher. Another thing the summer had taught him was that nothing, especially people, were ever quite as they seemed.
He turned the page and lingered on his sketch of Wendy Corduroy. She was tall and beautiful with long red hair. She wasn't very girly though; growing up in a house full of guys had made her tough and strong. Dipper had indeed had a crush on her for most of the summer and had done some pretty stupid things in service of that crush. However, they had agreed to simply be friends and he was abiding by that. However, it did seem fairly significant that she'd switched hats with him so he'd always remember her. He reached up and felt her lumberjack hat currently perched on his own head.
Dipper shook his head and turned to a different section of the journal. He had written some notes about what do and see in Japan if they got the chance. He'd also looked over his research into strange phenomena around the world and wrote down the Japanese stories. He was especially intrigued by these female superheroes Tokyo was supposed to have. Not many talked about the Sailor Soldiers in America but there were plenty of stories if one looked deep enough. He doubted he'd get to actually see them but it would be cool to learn more about them from natives.
As he was thinking he had begun to sketch and Mabel had noticed.
"Uh, Dipper when I told you not to cling to Wendy I didn't say become creepy."
"Huh?" he said a little too loudly as she pulled him out of his thoughts. "What was that? I'm not creepy."
"You're drawing girls in miniskirts."
"They're super heroes."
"Huh?"
Dipper explained how in his research about Japan he'd come across the Sailor Soldiers. She was still looking at him a little funny at first but she became more interested as he talked. "They seem to operate only in Japan although there are one or two stories from England. If you dig deep enough, you find they've had some crazy battles but most of the world is kind of ignorant."
"Really? That's weird."
"Is it? How many people know about Gravity Falls? Even the citizens are acting like Weirdmagedon never happened."
"Yeah I guess people don't want to deal with weird stuff. Their loss; weird is awesome!"
"Well…it can be."
"Leave it to you to find the deeper mysteries of Japan rather than Godzilla and junk" Dipper smiled but she continued "Only a girl crazy nerd would dig deep enough to find this."
"Nerds run the world you know."
"Non-nerds have more fun though."
He didn't know what to say to that so he slumped back in his seat and returned to his journal. "Hey Dipper, you're really not that bad at art."
"Thanks Mabel."
"Maybe you could do a pic of me as Sailor Mabel."
"Uh, maybe but I'm not sure I want to draw my sister in a miniskirt."
"Ah ha, so that is what you noticed about the girls!"
"Oh please just watch your movie!"
"Ok!"
The remainder of the long flight passed slowly but surely. They watched movies, discussed fun things to do in Japan, and Mabel tried to see if she could see the ground through the toilets. Dipper initially tried to correct her by saying it would actually be the ocean by this time but then realized the absurdity of the whole thing. Finally, the cabin lights were turned out for the night and it was time to sleep the bulk of the journey away.
"Just think" Dipper said with an excited tremble to his voice "When we wake up we'll be in Tokyo!"
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep! I'm just so excited and full of energy and…" her words were lost in a snore and Dipper knew his sister was out like a light.
"Goodnight Mabel" He settled into his own seat and tried to find a comfortable position. He sat there for a while just thinking.
He wasn't sure exactly when his thoughts turned into dreams but he saw himself dressed in a Tuxedo and wearing a white mask. He was horrified to see that a shape-shifting beast had Wendy held hostage and only he, the mighty Tuxedo Dipper, could free her. He dodged gracefully as the thing lunged at him as a scorpion/wasp hybrid. It changed into a dragon and breathed a storm of fire at them. Raising his cape as a shield, he protected Wendy from the blaze. He then produced a pen and hurled it at the creature's heart. It exploded into a harmless cloud of smoke and Wendy began kissing him repeatedly on the cheek.
"Dipper, Dipper, Dipper…"
"Huh?" he realized he was still on the plane and the kissing was actually Mabel poking his cheek to wake him up.
"Wake up you sleepy head, they're serving breakfast and we'll be landing soon."
"Oh, cool" he said as he rubbed sleep from his eyes and stretched. His dream was fading but he did remember Wendy being prominent in it. Was Mabel right? Was he, despite his best efforts, still not quite over her? He pondered this as he made a trip to the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face and shook his head. No, surely he was over her. She's just a special friend and, after all, dreams are weird.
The twins ate their breakfast and peered out the window trying to get their first glimpses of Japan. Finally, they were rewarded as a huge city appeared beneath them.
"Wow, Tokyo is really as big as the book says" Dipper said in awe
"I see the Eifel Tower!"
"No, Mable that's in Paris, France. That right there is the Tokyo Tower."
"Oh ok"
The city rushed up to greet them and soon they were touching down at the vast airport. Mabel was very impatient during the unloading of the plane and, while he tried to be dignified, Dipper too couldn't wait to disembark. Soon they were off the plane and fighting through the crowds to get to the main terminal.
"I see them!" Mabel screamed causing several people to turn and stare
"Yeah me too" Dipper added in a more subdued tone
Near the baggage claim stood Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford. Mabel dropped her bag and ran forward to hug both men. Dipper hurried forward and observed that both men were wearing a simple black band around their throats. His suspicions were confirmed when Grunkle Stan spoke to the twins in rapid Japanese.
"Universal translator?" Dipper asked as he pointed at them
Ford adjusted something in what appeared to be a hearing aid and answered in English "Indeed Dipper; a new invention of mine. I have some for you guys as well. Put this around your throat and it will translate your speech. Put this in your ear and it will translate what you hear."
"Wow" Mabel said once the devices were active "Language teachers worldwide will hate you."
"True that" Grunkle Stan said with a laugh "Now only nerds will study languages."
"I haven't even put this on the market yet" Ford answered "And there will still be many reasons to have an understanding…"
"Boring!" Stan cut in "Come on Ford, these kids have been in a plane all night. They need to sight see, not stand around gabbing."
"Yes right" Ford said "I say we go to the hotel and drop of our things and then…"
"Great, let's go!" Mabel interrupted already starting to walk away with her luggage in tow.
"Do you even know where you're going?" Dipper called after her
"Nope but I'm sure you guys will get me where I need to be."
The guys caught up to her and soon stood on the sidewalk waiting for a bus to their hotel. Dipper and Mabel were looking around and trying to take in everything at once. The bus trip was much the same; they were a bit too stunned by their surroundings to say much.
"I wish I had about eight more eyes" Dipper said when he finally found his voice
"Then you'd be some sort of crazy insect person" Mabel said
"I don't want to think about crazy insect people" Stan said with a shudder
Soon they arrived at their hotel and made their way to their room. "Yeah" Stan said "It seems that a vacation for four translates to 'one room with two beds.' To be honest, now I'm a little bummed you guys are here."
"Be nice Stan" Ford said "We'll work it out somehow. Stan and I can take one bed" Stan grunted but didn't say anything "and you guys can either share or one can take the couch."
"Yeah, sharing a room is one thing but I'm not sure I want to share a bed with Mabel if I can help it" Dipper said
Mabel gasped and said "I knew it! You hate me!"
"What?!"
"Chill bro, I feel the same way…because I hate you."
Knowing she was joking Dipper turned to look at the bed. Mabel did the same and then they looked at each other.
"There's only one way to settle this" Dipper said
"I agree."
"Rock Paper Scissors" "Grappling hook death battle!"
"Wait, what?" Dipper said
"Since I'm the only one with a grappling hook" she said as she pulled it from her bag "I win"
"How the zippity do da did you get that through security in two countries!?"
"I have my ways"
"That's my girl" Stan said with a smile
"Look" Dipper said digging in his pocket and retrieving a quarter "Call it in the air"
"Side!"
"Mabel this coin is not…" the coin landed on the floor, rolled a ways and became wedged in a crack on its side "…I'll take the couch."
"Now that we have that settled" Stan said as he picked up the quarter with his toes and it quickly disappeared "how about we go see the Tokyo Tower?"
The kids were on board with the plan but Ford felt the need to add "I'm sure the fact that they're doing a special event with discounted prices at the Tower had nothing to do with this decision." He pulled Dipper's quarter from Stan's pocket and returned it
"Hey it's no crime to take advantage of deals. Let's go!"
"Woah, it's huge!" Mabel said looking up at the Tower "If a screw fell from the top right now and hit us, we'd totally die!"
"Uh…yeah" Ford said "It's 332.9 meters tall."
"That's 1,092 feet" Dipper added after a quick calculation
"Ugh, math" Stan said while Mabel matched his disgusted face." Let's go have fun!"
"What's that building underneath?" Mabel asked "I can't read these signs."
"My glasses translate automatically so I can help with signs" Ford said "Anyway, that's Foot Town, a four story tourist center with even a small theme park on top."
"Let's go!" She exclaimed and they began to explore the building.
"This is cool" Dipper said as they passed an aquarium
"There are restaurants, museums, all sorts of things here" Ford said
"And all discounted today" Stan added
"The crowds seem to know it" Ford said with irritation as he scanned the masses, young and old alike, rushing about and enjoying the various activities
"The more the merrier" Mable said as they entered the food court. She wasn't looking where she was going and ran right into a girl with pink hair and large poofy pigtails. Both girls were knocked to the ground
"Oof, I'm sorry" Mabel said
"That's ok" the pink haired girl answered
"What's going on?" a new voice asked. A blonde teenage girl was approaching. The resemblance was amazing; Dipper thought they must be sisters.
"My sister wasn't paying attention and a collision happened" he said
"If you're looking to sue, I don't know them" Stan added
"Yeah right; I'm Mabel and this is Dipper. These gentlemen are our uncles, Standford and Stanley Pines."
"Nice to meet you" the pink haired one said "I'm sure I was at fault too. I'm Chibi Usa."
"I'm Usagi" the older girl added with a bow "I apologize for her clumsiness."
"You're one to talk" Chibi Usa remarked "You would have tripped all by yourself."
"Only once today; can we stop bringing that up!"
Chibi Usa ignored her and said "We thought we'd enjoy a nice day out with the girls but Usagi keeps messing things up, as usual."
"I'll mess you up if you don't be quiet!" Usagi growled
"It's like watching Dipper and Mabel, isn't it Ford?" Stan remarked
"A bit" Ford agreed
"We get along fine!" the twins insisted
The Grunkles simply shared a look and the twins looked irritated. Chibi Usa and Usagi laughed.
"I'm sorry" Chibi Usa said "I'm not trying to be rude."
"Same" Usagi added
"It's ok" Dipper said "I understand."
Before anything else could be said, a loud voice said "I found them! They're in the food court."
Another voice said "Of course they are."
The Pines family watched as four teenage girls rapidly approached. The one who had just spoken, a pretty girl with long black hair, continued "We should have known to look for these two near the food."
"Food is important, Rei" Usagi insisted
"Clearly" Rei responded looking at Usagi's waist
"Girls we're being rude." The speaker was a soft spoken girl with short blue hair. She turned to the Pines family with a bow "I'm Ami Mizuno. Are you friends of Usagi and Chibi Usa?"
"I suppose we are now" Dipper said
"Of course we are!" Mabel agreed and she again introduced her family
"Hi" Dipper said as she pointed to him. His cheeks were a bit red and he didn't know what to say to the group of young ladies.
"It's very nice to meet you" Ford said with a deep bow while Stan simply said "Yo!"
"We're from America!" Mabel said
"Wow that's really neat" the tallest in the group remarked. "I'm Makoto Kino but everyone tends to call me Mako."
"I'm Rei Hino" the black haired one said "I must say I'm very impressed. Your Japanese is almost perfect."
"Almost!?" Ford said in an indignant voice. Before anyone could stop her, Mabel mentioned the translators he'd made.
"Wow!" A blonde girl who looked remarkably similar to Usagi gasped "I bet Ami would love to take a look at those. I'm Minako Anio, by the way."
"Minako could have translated for us" Usagi said "She lived in England for a while."
"It's true" she said with a smug look "I'm not bad at English."
"That's very nice but as long as they can get along in Japanese, could we please stick to that?" Usagi asked with an embarrassed expression
The other girls voiced similar requests and Ford said "Japanese is fine."
"Yeah" Stan said "and it was nice to meet you all but we should be moving along."
"Oh can't we hang out with them more?" Mabel asked "It would be so cool to spend time with actual Tokyoites!"
"I'm sure they have their own plans" Stan said but Chibi Usa lit up at Mabel's suggestion.
"We were going to head up to the observation decks soon. You guys could join us for that."
"Sure!" Mabel said for the whole family. The Pines men looked at each other and shrugged
The group made their way to one of the large elevators and squeezed inside with the rest of the tourists on the way up. Dipper was squeezed between Grunkle Stan and Mako. He stared straight ahead, trying to not look at his uncle's backside nor be rude to their new friend. He turned red when the crowed shifted causing Mako to stumble a bit and her breasts brushed the top of his head.
"Sorry!" she said in a flustered voice
"N…no problem"
He was overjoyed when they reached the Main Deck and got out. He and Mako glanced at each other, blushed, and turned away quickly. Chibi Usa and Mabel made a bee line for large windows and gazed out at the great city.
"Oh man, our town back home is nothing compared to this" Mabel said
"Gravity Falls looks insignificant in comparison as well" Ford added
"Hey what's this?" Dipper asked as he looked at a sign. Naturally it was in Japanese but an image of Sailor Moon was included so his interest was piqued.
"Can't you read it?" Usagi asked
"The translator doesn't work on my eyes"
"Oh…oopsie!"
Ami was nearby and spoke up "It's a plaque commemorating a battle the Sailor Soldiers had here earlier in the year. They clashed with a representative of a group called the Death Busters and part of the deck was destroyed and only recently fully restored. That's partly why everything is cheap today."
"Oh a grand reopening; that's cool."
"Have you heard of the Sailor Soliders?" Usagi asked
"Yeah I know a little bit" he answered "I was trying to research Japan for our trip and I was particularly drawn to the mysterious and interesting."
"Really?" Ami replied "Well we do seem to have plenty of that here, especially in the last couple of years."
"That's what my research seems to indicate. My family has…well let's just say we're well familiar with the strange and unusual. My Great Uncle Ford, for example, is a researcher of paranormal phenomena. It's changed his life in more ways than one."
"Pair of what?" Usagi asked
"Paranormal phenomena" Dipper repeated "Basically it means weird things."
"Then just say that."
"Ok" he said with a slight smile
"I think I'd to have a chat with your uncle" Ami said "He sounds very smart."
"Just like Ami" Usagi said as Ami blushed "You guys seem like a good fit."
"A good fit" Ami repeated as she blushed and looked at Dipper
"I just mean you both seem super smart"
"Oh thanks" Dipper said
"It sounds like your uncle is a true inspiration to you" Ami remarked
"He sure is. I mean I'd seen weird stuff before but getting to know him was one of the best things that have happened to me. My dream is to be like him one day. I want to discover things no one else has or try to explain the great mysteries of the world. I have to admit, that dream was once so strong it caused a rift between my sister and I."
"That's so sad" Ami said "One should never be ashamed of chasing their dreams but family is very important."
"I know that now" Dipper answered as he took a step closer to the windows and looked out at Tokyo. "The issue was that I wanted to stay in Oregon and live and learn with Great Uncle Ford. Mabel…didn't take it well. We both had issues then but we're working it out."
"Awesome" Usagi said "Well no matter what, you should follow that dream Dipper! Who knows, you might even meet a Sailor Solider or two." He didn't notice the look that passed between her and Ami but he smiled
"That would be wonderful."
"Oh dear" Ami said "I think the others have scattered a bit. Let's go find them."
As the trio moved to a different part of the deck, they failed to notice the strange winged eyeball lurking near the ceiling above them.
In another part of the city, there stood a very large and strange circus tent. The center of the tent was a dimly lit performing area with a huge structure resembling an elephant standing on the back of some sort of frog at one end. The silence of the bizarre room was quickly shattered by childish laughter.
A trapeze swung into view with a tween girl dressed primarily in green hanging upside down from it. Down below, a large ball rolled into view with a slightly younger blue themed girl merrily balancing on top of it. The trapeze swung much lower and the two girls hi fived as the green one sailed past.
"Palla Palla thinks this is fun, Jun Jun" the blue girl said to the green girl
Jun Jun smirked and said "Then you'll love this."
She swung down again and this time lifted Palla Palla from her ball. Palla Palla laughed heartily as they swung through the air. Jun Jun released her and Palla Palla screamed as gravity took over. Suddenly another trapeze, this one carrying a girl in yellow and pink came into view and grabbed her.
"Don't worry Palla Palla, we've got you"
"Thanks Cere Cere"
"Oops, no we don't!"
Cere Cere dropped Palla Palla who again screamed as she fell to the ground below. Jun Jun leapt from her trapeze and linked hands with Palla Palla in mid-air before performing a flip and tossing the young girl to a free trapeze. She grabbed it and hung there while catching her breath.
"Palla Palla thinks you girls play too rough!"
"You behead dolls and other toys for fun" Jun Jun said from the ring below.
"Palla Palla guesses you're right" she said with a sudden grin.
Cere Cere and Jun Jun were momentarily stunned by her immediate turn around but took it in stride. All three girls burst into laughter as Palla Palla and Cere Cere lowered to the ground. Suddenly a voice boomed at them from an ornate platform on the tip of the elephant statue's trunk.
"You useless worms!" a deep gravelly voice screamed "You worthless lumps! You should be more like the gorgeous and talented Ves Ves!"
The three girls looked at each other in confusion before looking up in shock. A fourth girl in red was standing on the platform and trying to look stern as she shouted at them. "Yes, Ves Ves is so perfect. I'm sure she'll find Pegasus long before you stupid freaks!"
The girls below looked offended for about two seconds before bursting into laughter. Ves Ves also laughed raucously. "I had you girls fooled for a second; you actually thought I was the old hag."
"Palla Palla was scared but now she's not."
"We should have known" Jun Jun said "Granny Zirconia sounds way worse than that."
"Indeed she does and is far uglier" Cere Cere said
Jun Jun looked up at Ves Ves and said "I don't know, it's a close race on ugly."
"Why don't you come up here and say that to my face!" Ves Ves shouted down angrily. She was confused when they didn't respond and simply looked horrified. "What? Is there something on my face?"
In response, the other girls simply pointed behind her and Ves Ves turned around. She found herself inches from a very old, much wrinkled, extremely angry face. She screamed bloody murder and stumbled backwards off of the high platform. The others ran forward to catch here and she lay limp in their arms foaming at the mouth.
"Well now that I have your attention" the wrinkled creature bellowed "maybe you'll stop playing around and look for the Golden Dream Mirror! Without the Golden Crystal it contains, our circus will never conquer the world!"
"We know" Jun Jun said "We were training"
"You were playing around rather than doing your jobs!" the old woman screamed. Ves Ves revived just in time for a photo to hit her in the face "If you have time to be disrespectful, you have time to pursue this target."
Ves Ves stood up and looked at the photo. It was a picture of Dipper snapped just recently on the Tower. "What is this?"
"He looks like a lumberjack" Jun Jun said
"He looks boring" Cere Cere added
"Palla Palla thinks Ves Ves should have this one. Granny gave it to her after all."
"Very well girls. I guess it is time for gorgeous and talented me to show you how it's done."
"Wow, look at this place! I bet it has a ton of history behind it"
Dipper was admiring the Hikawa Shrine where Rei both lived and worked as a shrine maiden. After their time at the tower, Minako, Ami, and Mako had gone their separate ways. Rei had suggested the Pines' come home with her so they could see some more of authentic Japan and Usagi and Chibi Usa had tagged along. Along the way, Usagi had bumped into her boyfriend, Mamoru Chiba, and added him to the group.
"Yeah, the Shrine has been here a while and has its fair share of stories to tell" Mamorou answered while Rei smiled with pride.
"Oh Mamo, you're so smart" Usagi said clinging tighter to his arm
"Too smart for you" Chibi Usa said as she grabbed the other arm
"Get off of him! He's mine!" Usagi demanded
"Says who?" Chibi Usa rebutted
"Girls please, you're hurting me"
Dipper backed away from this squabble and Rei sighed. "I don't blame you for wanting to get away. These arguments can get crazy."
"It seems so. It seems a bit…complicated."
"You have no idea" Rei said with a shake of her head.
"Thanks again for bringing us here. I apologize if my family seems a bit crazy." They glanced to where Ford was arguing with Rei's grandfather over Shinto beliefs. Mabel was running around looking at and touching everything while Grunkle Stan was chatting with a young shrine worker with lots of shaggy hair. Rei however simply shrugged.
"I'm used to crazy" she said pointing to Usagi and co. "Sanity is overrated anyway."
"My sister certainly believes that."
"So, do you have any questions about the shrine?" Rei asked but her grandfather interrupted her
"That American is so smug but I say his aura is out of whack. Oh what do we have here? A young man interested in my granddaughter?"
"Grandpa!"
"He looks a bit young but Usagi and Mamoru have an age gap so it could work. How old are you young man?"
"Uh…I'm 13 sir."
"Grandpa, will you stop trying to marry me off to every guy who comes here?"
"I don't do that. Sometimes I'm busy trying to marry myself off"
"I know…"
Dipper backed away from this conversation and strolled quickly around the corner of the shrine. He leaned against a tree and took a deep breath. His first day in Japan had been very eventful and he was a little worn out. He sat down against his tree and closed his eyes.
"Taking a nap?"
"Wha?!" he jerked in surprise
A female voice laughed and said "Chill out dude, I didn't think I'd scare you or anything."
He looked up and saw a pretty girl with her long red hair tied in a braid. She was wearing blue jeans, a plaid shirt, and a confident expression. "Kind of jumpy, aren't ya?"
He stood up and said "Uh, yeah, I'm sorry about that"
"No worries. Do you nap here often?"
"No. Actually I'm not from here at all. I'm Dipper Pines, from America."
The girl's eyebrows shot up and she said "Really? That's kind of cool."
"Yeah my family is on vacation here for a few days."
"Wait a minute; did you say Dipper was your name? Do your parents hate you?"
He suddenly remembered Wendy saying something very similar once and he actually smiled. "No it's a nickname."
"I see. Well I guess America would explain the hat. Are you from a logging family or something?"
"Well I did spend last summer in Oregon and that's logging territory but no, not me personally. This is from a friend; she and I traded hats at the end of the summer."
She giggled and said "You blushed when you said that."
"Did I? Oh well, that is…"
"Oh my gosh, you're so uptight. Seriously just relax. Is this friend the girl of your dreams perhaps?"
Rather than upsetting him, her bluntness was actually kind of attractive. Dipper was starting to feel a little more relaxed as he talked with this girl. "I thought she was but no. We really are just friends."
"Too bad. So what's America like? My family is from South America but never been to the actual U. S. of A."
"America is cool. It's kind of hard to sum up in a few words because it's so big and diverse. Where in South America are you from?"
"The Amazon; our circus is themed after the Amazon in fact."
"Woah, that is so cool! I mean clowns can be kind of creepy but an Amazon circus would be awesome to see."
"Oh I'm sure you'll get a taste of it before too long. In fact" she said pulling a red ball from her pocket "I could show you a trick right now."
Dipper was about to agree but he heard Mabel shouting for him. She rounded the corner and said "Hey Dipper want to go take a bath?" Both Dipper and the red haired girl stared at her with wide eyes until she elaborated "The Grunkles wanted to head back to the hotel but Mamoru suggested we all go to a traditional bathhouse first. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
"Yeah getting naked in front of a bunch of strangers sounds like a lot of fun" Dipper said in a flat voice
"I can tell you from experience, that doesn't always end well" Grunkle Stan said joining the crowd. He was followed by Mamarou who still had the girls in tow.
Nobody noticed the red haired girl's eye twitch as she looked at the sudden crowd. She stuffed the ball back in her pocket and said "Sounds like you have a full evening planned. Maybe we'll bump into each other again."
"I'd like that" Dipper replied with a smile. The girl waved and ran off.
"Oooh, who was that?" Mabel asked with a grin
"I…I actually didn't catch her name."
"Looks like you want to know her name" Mabel said in a sing song voice
"Oh it's not like you've never had a…Anyway, I thought we were going somewhere?"
"Yeah we should go" Grunkle Stan said "Ford and the old bald guy are at it again."
As they caught a bus at the base of the hill and made their way to the bathhouse, Dipper couldn't get the circus girl out of his head. He couldn't believe he'd almost said the word "crush" to Mabel but he also wasn't sure it was an incorrect word. He kept turning things over as they paid their way and walked to separate changing/bathing areas. He was on auto pilot as Mamoru (the Grunkles were in another part of the room) showed him where to scrub himself before getting in the main tub.
"That way, the communal bath is as clean as possible and we can just relax."
"Yeah, relax…" he remembered again how the girl had kept telling him to relax.
Mamoru looked at him for a moment and asked "Is there something on your mind?"
"Mamoru, when you first met Usagi, how long did it take you to know she was the one?"
"It took quite a while actually. We sort of hated each other at first."
"So you think it's silly to develop feelings quickly?"
"Not necessarily. Sometimes you can't help how you feel."
"Yeah you're right."
"Hey is this about that girl you were talking to at the shrine?"
"How'd you guess?"
"It really doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Come on, you look clean. Let's go soak."
Dipper followed him to the main tub. He was nervous as he watched Mamarou take off his towel and get in the hot water. "Don't be shy Dipper; it's only guys in here."
"Yeah I guess you're right." Dipper removed his towel and quickly slid into the steamy water. "Oh this is nice. It reminds me of a hot spring in Orgeon." He left out the fact that he'd shared it with a bunch of Manotaurs.
"Cool. Now, just between us" Mamoru said as he led Dipper to an empty corner "Is this your first crush?"
"Nope. I fell hard for a girl named Wendy back in Oregon. She was older than me and didn't feel the same way back but…"
"Yeah?"
"I'll just admit it, I got really obsessed. It was awkward but it's all good now."
"Well that's good and this here proves that you're moving on."
"Uh…the thing is…Wendy has red hair, wears plaid, and can be blunt and direct; all qualities of circus girl."
"I see…" they were silent and thoughtful for a minute before Mamoru continued "Don't know what to tell you there except to be careful. Rebound crushes can get complicated."
"Yeah. I get it"
"Just be careful and try to not get Wendy level obsessed again. I mean that for any girl."
"Good advice."
"I try"
"You succeed. Thanks for the talk man; you're pretty cool."
"You're a cool kid yourself Dipper." Mamoru hesitated and leaned closer "Again, just between us, and you don't have to answer, but is Dipper your real name?"
Dipper silently opened his mouth and debated how to answer. They were distracted when they saw Stan and Ford approaching. Both were wearing only their translators and a smile.
Mabel turned to Usagi and Chibi Usa "Did either of you just hear a scream from the boys side?"
"Sounded like it" Chibi Usa said "Boys can be so uncivilized."
"I hope my Mamo is ok" Usagi said
"I'm sure everything is fine" Mabel said "Anywho, speaking of Mamo, you guys seem super tight! I've had my share of summer romances but never that eternally lasting burning passion of true love."
"There's nothing like it" the other girls said in unison before glaring at each other
"I can't wait until I meet my Prince Charming. I hope it's not a bad omen when your first love is secretly a bunch of gnomes."
"Really? Gnomes?" Usagi asked
"There are some odd things in the world" Chibi Usa said
"Oh you are so right, girlfriend!" Mabel agreed
They chatted about boys a bit longer before Chibi Usa asked "What are you and your family doing tomorrow?"
"I don't know. Japan stuff I guess. Is there anything fun to do around here?"
"Lots of things; in fact there's a neat amusement park in our area."
"Ooh, I'll after tell the guys about that. I'm sure they'll say yes"
"I'd like to go on a date there with Mamo" Usagi said with a dreamy expression
"Maybe we can all go!" Mabel said "It'd be sad to make cool friends and only hang out for one day."
"Yeah!" Chibi Usa and Usagi agreed
The next day, the Pines clan met up with Usagi, Chibi Usa and Mamoru at the gates of the amusement park. Great Uncle Ford said "I still think we should be doing things of more cultural value."
"I think we should be doing things of less monetary value" Grunkle Stan said
"Oh don't be so boring" Mabel said "This is a vacation, you go with the flow!"
"Yeah, she's right" Usagi said "Mamo, you've got the tickets, right?"
"Usako, I thought we agreed everyone was paying for themselves."
"Please?" Both Usagi and Chibi Usa gave him puppy dog eyes and he sighed
"Ok but you're on your own after this."
They entered the park and looked around. Roller coasters, Ferris Wheels and various other attractions were scattered about. "Why don't you kids go have fun for a while?" Stan said
"Is that a good idea?" Ford asked
"Hey, the kids can take care of themselves"
"Yeah I guess they have proven that"
Everyone agreed to meet up back here later and they began exploring the park. "I want to ride the roller coaster!" Mabel said
"I don't know" Usagi said in a trembling voice
"Are you scared?" Chibi Usa taunted
"Of course I'm not scared because Mamo will be there"
"I'm riding with Mamo!"
"No I am!"
"Girls" Mamoru said "I actually kind of hate roller coasters."
"What?! Come on ride with us!" they pleaded
However, he stuck to his guns on this one, threatening to throw up on them afterward. They shared a seat while Dipper and Mabel were in front of them. Mabel screamed wildly and had her hands up the whole time. Behind them, Dipper thought he heard screams of fear and the picture at the end showed he was right.
"You guys look cute, clinging to each other like that" Mabel said
"Oh be quiet" Usagi said while blushing
"Dipper looks kind of boring" Chibi Usa said
"Yeah he does" Mabel said
"I do not! I was just enjoying in my own way."
"I saw how you were white knuckle holding that safety bar" Mabel said
"Well, whatever you say, I had fun" he said stiffly "and now I'm going to the bathroom."
"To throw up?" Mabel asked but he simply ducked into the nearest men's room.
After doing his business he came out and saw that the girls were trying to get Mamoru to buy them stuffed animals from a gift stand. He was arguing and the vendor looked a bit taken aback.
"Oh my gosh, it's you!" Dipper turned to see the girl from the shrine standing nearby with some cotton candy in her hand. "What are the odds we'd run into each other again?"
"I could try to calculate them if you like" he said with a slight blush
"Such a nerd" she replied while munching her candy "Hey, let's ditch them for a bit and go have some fun."
"Uh…" he looked at the squabbling girls and turned back to his new friend. Somewhere in his mind he heard Mamoru's warning to be careful but ignored it "Well, just for a little while."
"Coolness" she grabbed him by the hand and he felt his face grow hot. He hoped his palm wasn't as sweaty as the rest of him.
"So, uh, what do you want to do?" he asked her
"We could find somewhere private" she said with a wink
He gasped as she proceeded to pull him into the shadows behind a Ferris Wheel. They had game and snack booths shielding them from view and Dipper's heart was pounding. Sure he had feelings for this girl but this seemed to be going a bit fast. Then again, he wasn't sure he cared.
"So Dipper" she said in a sultry tone "Do you…like me?"
"Well, that is to say, you…"
She burst out laughing and Dipper fell silent "You are something else. I really had you going there."
"What?"
"It's time for that trick I wanted to show you" She held the red ball near his face, obscuring his view of her. When she moved it, Ves Ves was now dressed in a much more exotic and skimpy outfit.
"What's going on?"
"Just a little game of pool" Ves Ves said producing a billiards cue from nowhere. The ball floated in front of her as she positioned the cue. "Orb Shot!"
Meanwhile, Mabel was hot on their trail. She had spotted Dipper being led away and felt like doing a little spying. She turned a corner in time to have a red ball fly past her. She watched in shock as it bounced off of the nearest game booth and began to pinball its way through the rigging of the Ferris Wheel. Dipper turned to run but the ball shot straight down and ricocheted off the ground and up into his back. He screamed in pain as a strange spinning light erupted from his chest. Dipper fell unmoving to the ground as the light solidified into a pink framed mirror.
"Darn it!" Ves Ves said with a stamp of her foot "It's not the golden one. What a waste of time."
"What have you done to my brother, you witch!" Mabel screamed as she ran into view
Dipper stirred slightly and mumbled her name in a faint voice. Mabel ran to his side and tried to revive him.
"Give it up" Ves Ves said "Without his dream mirror, he won't be responding much. I guess I should dispose of it now" she said as her cue stick turned into a whip
"How dare you!" Mabel said as she stood up "He really liked you and you took advantage of him. I've had monsters like you do the same to me and, frankly, it sucks! As his twin sister, I can't forgive this. If you don't put him right this second, I'm going clobber you!"
Mabel pointed at Ves Ves as she said the last sentence and she looked a bit stunned. "Hey you guys" she addressed someone behind Mabel "isn't this usually your job?"
Mabel turned around to see three strange figures. Two were girls in colorful outfits with mini-skirts while the other was a tall guy in a tuxedo, top hat, and white mask.
"Yeah it kind of is" the taller girl said
"We do the speech" the smaller girl said with a slight whine
"Oh my gosh" Mabel said "Sailor Soliders!"
"Yes. I'm Sailor Moon…"
"I'm Sailor Chibi Moon…"
"And I'm Tuxedo Mask"
"And in the name of the moon…" they said in unison but Ves Ves interrupted
"Yeah yeah blah blah blah" she struck her shadow with the whip and said "Come forth, my Lemures; Gōon Gōon Girl the Dream Eating Lion!"
The shadow morphed and grew as a strange being jumped out of it. A brown skinned bald woman solidified before them. She had a yellow marking like a scar across one eye and her torso was a lion's head with a black mane. She wore a grass skirt with a black tufted lion's tail poking out and black high heeled boots completed the look.
"Gobble up nerd boy's dreams and have fun with these bumpkins, Gōon Gōon Girl!"
"No worries, boss" she said before running forward with amazing speed. The lion head opened its mouth and swallowed the floating mirror. "Yummy"
"Cough up that mirror" Mabel screamed
"Be prepared for a chase if you want it back, little girl" The lemures leapt up into the rigging of the great wheel. She gasped when Mabel followed with her grappling hook.
"You guys take care of Dipper" Mabel shouted down to the Sailor Soldiers "This cat is the one who needs to be prepared; prepared for a beat down!"
Gōon Gōon Girl leapt again and landed on one of the wheel's cars below them. Mabel followed without hesitation and aimed the grappling hook like a gun. The lemures swiped at her with sharp claws but Mabel rolled underneath and kicked her in the leg. Gōon Gōon Girl hopped on one foot and while holding her sore shin. Mabel stood, grabbed the swinging tail, and bit it. Gōon Gōon Girl screamed and Mabel simply chomped down harder. She paused long enough to say "You had better not be digesting" before continuing to gnaw.
Down below, the Soldiers and the Amazoness watched in stunned silence. "Wow, that's one tough girl" Ves Ves said at last as Mabel was now whacking every inch she could reach with the grappling hook.
"Can the same be said about you" Chibi Moon asked as she pulled out the Crystal Carillon, the heart-shaped bell used to summon Pegasus.
"Oh my gosh" Ves Ves screamed as she pointed into the sky "Look at that fake thing I'm pointing at!"
"Huh" "Where?" "What thing?"
"Made you look!" Ves Ves vanished as her ball passed before their vision and it then sailed out of sight.
The three heroes were dumbstruck by their own gullibility. Tuxedo Mask looked especially ashamed "I can't believe I looked too" he muttered
"Anyway" Sailor Moon said "Let's go help Mabel. Mamo, will you take care of Dipper?"
"Of course" The lemures had managed to run away while Mabel had given chase. The Sailor Moons ran off to pick up their trail. Tuxedo Mask knelt down and picked Dipper up "Ooph, heavier than you look. People are starting to panic so we need to find a safer spot."
Dipper's half closed eyes flickered and he said "Mam…mamoru?"
Tuxedo Mask gasped and remembered how Sailor Moon had just referred to him. However, at that moment Dipper's eyes closed all the way and he slipped fully into unconsciousness "Oh no…we need that dream mirror back."
Meanwhile, Ford was watching with embarrassment while Stan argued with a carnie about a rigged game. "Look, I know this is rigged and I'm not judging you. I'm actually impressed by your technique but I still think I earned the prize."
Suddenly the Pines brothers were distracted by a hubbub behind them. They turned to see gasping and screaming park guests parting to let a scratched up lion woman pass. She spotted the old men and said "Hide me! There's a crazy girl trying to kill me!"
"Did you escape from a freak show? If so, the makeup is a little too realistic, people won't buy it."
"Stan! Ford!" Mabel screamed as she approached "That monster ate Dipper's dreams!"
"Where's my journal when I need it" Ford said as he began to circle the confused lemures.
"Wait a minute" Stan said as he grabbed Gōon Gōon Girl by the wrist. "Are you saying this lady hurt Dipper?"
"Yeah, he's really messed up!"
"Ok then" Stan proceeded to floor Gōon Gōon Girl with a powerful right hook
"Ow, that was…AAAAAHHHHH!" she was now jerking on the ground as Ford tased her.
"What?" he said as he continued to zap the twitching lemures. "After all those dimensions and goodness knows how many monsters, I carry weapons."
"Who's complaining?" Mabel said as she approached. She had the rope from her grappling hook extended and pounced as soon as soon as the zapping stopped. In seconds, Gōon Gōon Girl was tied up and the Pines were looking murderous.
"I feel like I'm suddenly dangling at the bottom of the food chain" she said weakly
"We can handle this from here" Sailor Chibi Moon said as she caught up
"Yeah…we can" Sailor Moon said still breathing heavily from the run but she held up the Kaleidomoon Scope.
The older Pines were a bit confused but Mabel simply stepped aside and said "Be my guest!"
Chibi Moon clasped her hands and said "Please Pegasus, protect people's dreams!" She rang the Crystal Carillon and shouted "Twinkle Yell!"
With a flash of light, a winged horse appeared with a golden horn on his head. The three Pines all stared in wonder while the lemures simply whimpered. Pegasus landed behind Sailor Moon who shouted "Moon Gorgeous Meditation!"
A ball of rainbow lights erupted from her weapon and it engulfed Gōon Gōon Girl. For a second she sat there as cracks formed on her body. She cried "I guess I wasn't prepared! Stage Out!" and shattered like a stained glass window. The pieces instantly vanished and Dipper's dream mirror floated in the air completely unharmed.
"Thank goodness" Mabel said as she grabbed it and held it safely.
As if on cue, Tuxedo Mask appeared and laid Dipper on the ground. The uncles looked horrified but Mabel simply pressed the mirror to his chest and it returned to his body.
"He'll be fine" Tuxedo Mask said and indeed Dipper was already stirring "Take it easy for a few minutes" Tuxedo Mask said directly to Dipper "you're alright now."
"What happened to me?"
"The Dead Moon Circus are villains searching in people's hopes and dreams for their own evil goals. They removed a part of your soul that manifested as a dream mirror but everything is back to normal now."
"Normal is overrated" Dipper joked and Mabel tackled in a hug
"You really are ok!"
"Yeah, actually I feel fine" he said as he returned the hug
"I am so confused" Grunkle Stan said
"I'm so ready to start interviewing people" Great Uncle Ford said
"I think I have all the answers I care for right now" Dipper said
"How can you say that?" Ford asked "We have paranormal phenomena to investigate!"
"The phenowhatevers are gone" Mabel said
Indeed Tuxedo Mask and the Moons were nowhere in sight. Ford looked frustrated, Stan looked even more confused, and Mabel was still just happy her brother was ok. Dipper was looking at where the heroes had just been and remembered something, as if it were something from a dream. He smiled and decided not to tell the others.
Instead he turned to his sister and said "I guess I made it easy for that girl to attack me. You're right; I do seem to still think about Wendy a lot and she reminded me of her. I'll just have to work on moving on for real."
"I'm sure you'll find the girl of your dreams one day" Mabel said "Maybe she'll even be super rich and can fund your research!"
"Yeah" he said with a roll of his eyes "Like that could ever happen."
"Wow what a day!" Usagi said as she stretched and yawned
The group was back at the entrance to the park. Usagi, Chibi Usa, and Mamoru said they'd lost track of the Pines family in all the confusion. They'd met back up when it all settled down and they'd been horrified to hear Dipper's story.
"Yeah but thank goodness those Sailor Soldiers showed up" Dipper had said with a wink at a confused Usagi.
"So what's tomorrow's adventure?" Mabel asked and everyone looked a bit unsettled.
Just a note; according to Google translate "Gōon" is Japanese for "Roar." Anyway, I hope ya'll liked it!