Dimension 52
Gravity Falls, OR
February 22, 1982
"Stan! Stanford! Help -"
His twin's desperate cry is cut off in a yelp of surprise when something comes hurtling out of the glowing portal and crashes directly into him. Stan gapes. He has no idea what's going on anymore.
"Stop squirming!" shouts a demanding voice over the background noise of all the machinery, "I need to get to that blasted shutdown button. Our current trajectory will work perfectly if you'll. Just. Stop. Struggling!"
His brother doesn't show any sign of having even heard the stranger, prompting a growl of frustration from the figure - Man? Alien? - dressed head-to-toe in black. Stan's wary of any stranger he crosses paths with at this point in his life, but a way to shut off the crazy scifi-portal sounds great right about now.
He watches anxiously as the two drift through the air until - "Aha!" - the black clothed figure manages to grasp what Stan thinks may be some kind of overgrown switch sticking out of the floor. The unknown figure then proceeds to use its new position to kick one twin into the other. Both men go down in a tangled heap on the side of the room where gravity is still working (mostly) like it should. "Now I only need to pop the cap and - Bingo!" A siren starts to wail and a sound that's almost like an explosion, but not quite, comes from the portal.
"No!" His twin's weight suddenly disappears from on top of him. "Do you have any idea of what you've just done?!"
"Oh, for pity's -"
Stan groans and forces himself onto his elbows in time to see the stranger subdue his hysterical brother in a movement too efficient and practiced to be anything less than intimidating. Who is this guy?
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know what I've just done," the stranger answers in an indignant tone from his place on top of his twin's back, "and you should be thanking me for saving you from spending the rest of your days wandering the multiverse! But you're still worried about that thrice damned portal, aren't you?! Wake up! The longer that thing is operational, the more chances you give Bill to take over this dimension!"
There's a new layer to the tension in the room that's thick enough even Stan, though he doesn't understand or have the context for it, can pick up on. Before anything else can be said, Stan manages to find his way to his feet again. "Hey!" he yells, drawing attention to the fact that he's still in the room, "Get off my brother!"
The figure turns to look at him, still straddling his twin's back and pinning his arm in a position that simply can not be comfortable. The other's face remains hidden from view thanks to the goggles and scarf it's wearing. "Oh. Hello, Stanley," it says, the calm tone a complete departure from the earlier yelling, "I didn't notice you before, but I suppose I should have expected your presence here given the circumstances." It looks back down at its captive, and warns, "I'll let you up; but if you attack me again, I will defend myself."
Stan's head is spinning. He still has no idea what's going on. "Okay," he says loudly as the black-shrouded stranger releases his brother and stands, "First off, my name is 'Stanford.' His," he points at his twin, who is still struggling against gravity to get back to his feet, "name is 'Stanley.'"
"Oh, would I be corr-"
Stan isn't done yet and he has no problem with talking right over the stranger in order to ask his questions, "Now, who are you? And would someone please explain to me what the hell is going on here?"
"Ah, my apologies. You're quite right. Introductions are in order. I sometimes forget that after a jump." One hand pulls the scarf down while the other removes the goggles and simultaneously knocks the hood off its head. This motion is also very practiced, but that little fact goes largely unnoted as Stan's jaw drops now that he is finally able to see the other's face. "My name is Stanford Filbrick Pines," he smiles and holds out a hand to shake, "Would I be correct in assuming that is also your name, and that your brother's full name is 'Stanley Jacob Pines'?"
Read chapters sooner on Archive of Our Own: archiveofourown dot org slash works slash 8054302
Read the entire Travels and Journals series on AO3: archiveofourown dot org slash series slash 543127
