Opening notes:
I don't own Gravity Falls or any of it's characters. It all belongs to Alex Hirsch.
First, I'd like to thank Barbacar for making the request that inspired this story. I have placed the prompt itself at the end of this chapter, along with a warning because it contains spoilers for what to expect with the other two chapters. This is the first time I've written a piece based on another person's idea and I hope that I did it well.
Also, since the last time I posted the last fanfiction story for Gravity Falls, I have read Journal 3 and Dipper's and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Funand although I feel that I didn't spoil anything major from either in this, they both have some influences on my story (especially the journal). I thought I would give everyone a heads up, just in case there are readers who haven't read them, are planning to and don't want to risk any types of spoilers.
I hope everyone who reads this story enjoys it.
The Cannon: Chapter 1
The tower swayed precariously as Mabel, Grunkle Stan and Robbie pressed against the side of the water storage unit, all scared for their lives as Dipper's mad computer game character attacked the support beams below them. Then it began tipping and the tower gave a loud groan ending with a snap as the tower lurched and suddenly they were plummeting toward the ground…
Mabel awoke in her bed with a gasp. It was just a dream. The water tower hadn't fallen last weekend. Everything had turned out okay. She took deep breaths, trying to slow her rapidly beating heart.
Dipper, whom for once had been asleep, must have sensed her distressed because he rolled over in his covers and sat up. "What's wrong?"
"N-n-nothing." Well stuttering like Blendin Blandin while she said that certainly wasn't going to convince her brother of that.
Dipper sighed and asked, "The water tower, again?"
Hearing the depressed note in his voice, she looked over at him. Guilt was clearly written across his features, standing out as brightly as his still healing bruises from the beating he had taken to stop McSkirmish.
Determined to comfort her brother, Mabel said, "It wasn't your fault, Dipper."
"Yes it was. I was the one who brought Rumble McSkirmish here and I was the one who sent him on his rampage." He sighed and added, "I was too afraid to face Robbie and I almost got you guys killed for it. And now, you're too scared to even climb up to the roof."
She remembered the last time she had tried to join Dipper and Wendy up there just a couple days ago. She'd been doing fine until she looked down when she was about halfway up the ladder. Upon seeing the ground so far below, she had frozen in place, shaking as she held onto the ladder as if her life depended on it. Dipper had come down the ladder and distracted her, keeping her attention on him rather than toward the floor as she forced herself to go back down one step at a time until she reached the bottom again.
She frowned and looked down at her hands, clenching and opening them a couple times as she recalled how her knuckles had stood out as she gripped the rungs of the ladder in her terror. She hated the fear that gripped her every time she so much as thought of being in a high place. Finally, she sighed and said, "I think I'm going to get some breakfast and then do some knitting."
"I'll get up too," he stated, grabbing up the third journal as he said this, "I've gotten enough sleep anyway."
Mabel knew that was not true. He was just getting up to keep her company. She could even see the bags under his eyes. Still, it was obvious that there would be no convincing him to lay down again. So, she just nodded, smiled and said, "I'll make us some Mable Juice to start our morning."
Dipper nodded and said, "Sounds good," only further proving her suspicion that he was doing this for her. He barely ever drank her special drink and certainly not for breakfast. "So, do you have any idea what type of design you'll put on this sweater?"
"Not yet," she replied as she got out of bed.
As they went downstairs, still in their night clothes, they were quiet so as not to risk waking Grunkle Stan too early. He wouldn't be up for another half an hour or so. And then he would be working to get the Shack ready for the morning tour. He was also expecting a shipment for the puppy smuggling ring later this evening after he closed too. Mabel momentarily wondered if he'd let her pet some puppies while he held them overnight. She hoped so, they were just so cute.
She set the coffee to brew so that it would be ready when their Grunkle did come down the stairs before starting on her Mabel juice. As she grabbed the ingredients, she also put the milk on the table for her brother.
Dipper opened the cabinet and then pulled out a couple boxes of cereal. As he poured himself some, he asked, "What are you doing this evening? Hanging out with Candy and Grenda?"
"Nah, Candy has a case of the sniffles and Grenda's family is going to a reptile expo."
"Maybe you could come with me later. I've been finding piles of ashes in this one section of the woods…I think it might be from a scampfire." Dipper pulled the journal out of his vest pocket and flipped to a page that showed a few different monsters, including what looked like a walking campfire. "I was planning on bringing a water gun and some water balloons for safety, having you with me would mean twice as much."
She looked at the picture for a moment and read the brief description of the creature before she smiled at her brother and said, "Sound's good to me."
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
The Request: "How about a story with Wendy and Mabel? The prompt is 'The characters find a large, fairly old looking cannon with the kind of fuse that gets lit with a match. One character gets fired out of the cannon by the other character.'"