A/N Hello everyone, my name is UnKnownSalvation (or Sal for short) and it's been so long since I did anything in the section I feel I may have to reintroduce myself. This is my newest story and I hope you all enjoy it.
Waking War
Ch. 1: Deal With The Grunkle
It was a typical Summer day in Gravity Falls, Oregon, as the normally quiet, small, forest town in the middle of nowhere was enjoying a sudden influx of tourists unlike anytime before. A location that especially loved it was the Mystery Shack, one of the greatest examples that humans were downright stupid, more so when they're on vacation.
"Welcome to the Mystery Shack, folks!" the proprietor, known as Stan Pines, exclaimed with excitement, seeing the crowd of fresh, full wallet carriers known as tourists. Everyday, he always dressed in his trademark tuxedo, red fez, rectangular eyeglasses and an eye patch that he didn't need, but the suckers that always show up at his doorstep to give him their hard earned money didn't need to know that. He had an air of confidence that went well with the magic eight ball cane he carried, as he showed the tourists into the shack. "Please, enter into a world of wonder!"
Once his words were spoken, he allowed the curious group into the shack, mostly amazed at the so-called "exhibits" and trinkets that were displayed for them to see, none questioning where they came from or whether they were even real to begin with.
As Stan Pines worked his con magic on a crowd of people who decided to take the tour, some remained in the gift shop that was normally attended by a teen named Wendy Corduroy, who didn't do much work around the Mystery Shack unless properly motivated, which Stan could almost never accomplished. Today, however, she was not at her usual post, so her job was left to the only two people in Stan's life he would admit he care about (but not with too many people around): his niece and nephew, Mabel and Dipper Pines.
"That'll be $25.76," Dipper said with a smile, as he rang up a female customer with her five year old son. He wore his usual blue hooded vest and orange shirt but had to wear a name tag as he was technically an employee. Seconds later, Mabel popped up with two stickers. She also wore a different sweater everyday and today was no different; it was an orange sweater with a logo that resembled a pig riding on a human.
"Boop!" Mabel exclaimed with her braces-filled smile, sticking a sticker on the woman's shirt. Another "Boop!" was followed, as Mabel followed up with another one for the son. The colorful stickers both read "Valued Customer!" on them and had a nice gloss effect to them as well. "Have a super terrific day, you two!"
The woman and her son both laughed at the gestures and thanked them both. "We will! Thanks!"
"Have a nice day!" Dipper bid them a chipper farewell, tipping his blue and white hat that covered his messy brown hair, as the woman and her son left the shack with enthusiasm on their faces. Just then, the disappeared Wendy walked in with a gleeful smile that seemed to stretch for miles. For a fifteen year old teen, Wendy towered over girls her age, thanks to her lumberjack genetics from her father, Manly Dan, who was the size of a van. She wore her normal green flannel shirt, along with her jeans and muddy rain boots and her red hair went well past her waist, topped by her favorite tan and brown lumberjack hat.
"Guys, you'll never guess what just happened!" Wendy was so full of excitement that it almost seemed to reach Mabel's insane levels.
"You got yourself a new man?" Mabel happily asked, though Dipper was quick to interject.
"Mabel, let her finish," Dipper scolded his sister, mainly because he'd rather not know the answer, whether it was "just friends" or not.
"Even better…" Wendy began, before she pulled something out of her pocket. "I got four tickets for the Grindhouse concert in two weeks!" She then showed the four tickets for the Pines twins to see.
"Congratulations Wendy!" Mabel praised her friend.
"Only 4?" asked a surprised Dipper. "You're gonna be leaving a lot of your friends behind."
"Already covered!" Wendy quickly said, as she playfully hit the bill of his hat, "Tambry won an online national contest to win five tickets. She'll bring Robbie, Thompson, Nate and Lee with her and I'll bring you guys and maybe one other...I haven't decided who though."
"Wow that is great! We get to go too!" Mabel yelled with more joy than usual. Though Dipper was happy, there was one other thing that he needed to know first.
"Where's the concert being held at?" Wendy kinda hissed as she realized one of the problems with her plan.
"...It's in Portland," Wendy admitted, with the obvious problem that entailed.
"Portland? That's over a hundred miles away!" Dipper shouted, although he was at least glad that it was in the same state still. "How are we getting there?"
"Yo dudes!" another voice called from the other side of the room. It was Soos, the Mystery Shack's handyman, wearing the same brown hat, beige cargo shorts, green staff shirt with a question mark right on the front that he wore on a daily basis. He was also stocky, but his oversized shape only added to his fun loving personality. "I can drive you there."
"There's your answer, Dipper. Problem solved," Mabel spoke to her brother. It was then that something else came up in Dipper's mind.
"What about Grunkle Stan? I doubt he's going to let us go to the concert on a whim, especially with business as good as it is," he pointed out to his friends. At this point, Wendy face palmed with the realization.
"Ugh…you're right. Unless money is involved, there's no way we could reason with Stan. He's as stubborn as a rock!" Wendy now had to grind out a plan to get around Stan. With the concert in Portland, they'd have to leave well into her shift to make it in time.
"So much for the concert then," Soos simply commented.
"Wait a minute…" Mabel began, as if an idea hit her in the head and turned to her friend. "Soos, you could talk to Grunkle Stan on our behalf."
"Wait, me?" Soos was surprised to hear Mabel's suggestion.
"You've known him for most of your life," Wendy explained. "I'm sure he'll bother listening to you since you always do as he tells you to do."
"We're talking about the same Stan?" Dipper asked.
"I don't know, dudes. I can't make any good excuses and I've never asked him for a day off before. If I started now, he'd know something was up," Soos reasoned.
"It's not that hard, Soos. Just tell him that your grandmother's sick and she needs to go to the hospital next week, which is only possible if you get the day off," Mabel suggested.
"But my Abuelita is in good health," said a confused Soos.
"That's why it's called a lie," Wendy pointed out.
"Come on Soos, do this one tiny thing just for us," Mabel pleaded, before giving Soos the puppy eyes, causing him to grew discomfort upon the sight. He did his best to ignore it, but the sight was starting to prove too much for him to handle.
"...Alright, I'll see what I can do," Soos relented, sighing in defeat, before he turned to the opposite direction to find his boss, leaving his friends at the gift shop.
"Way to guilt him, Mabel," Wendy praised her.
"Puppy eyes, you can't beat them," Mabel simply said with a smile.
"No offense, you guys, but I don't think this will work," Dipper expressed his skepticism to the two. Unfazed by his claim, Mabel decided to cheer him up.
"Turn that frown upside down, Dipper. By the time Soos comes back, he'll say-"
"Nope," startled, the trio turned to see that Soos showed up out of nowhere, looking down on the ground with disappointment.
"Gee, that went well," Wendy sarcastically spoke aloud.
"Soos, what happened?" Mabel asked her friend, puzzled by his demeanor.
"I...I told Stan the lie you gave me and not only did he catch on and refuse, but he docked my pay for conspiracy," Soos then covered his face in shame.
"We're sorry, Soos," Mabel said with a deflated face.
"We shouldn't have made you do that," Dipper added as well.
"So much for getting to the Grindhouse concert," Wendy noted, resigned that she and her friends won't be making their trip after all.
Dipper noticed the disappointing look on Wendy's face; the last thing he wanted was to see her have her plan be all for nothing. There's no way that's going to happen, not then and not now.
'Looks like it's up to Mabel and I to take matters into our hands and face Grunkle Stan... when the time is right and we actually have a plan.'
Night eventually came to Gravity Falls and the business in the Mystery Shack started to slow down; after the last customer left the shack, followed by Wendy and Soos heading back home, it was closing time for business and until tomorrow comes, Stan decided to take some time to entertain himself.
"Now...what is good on TV tonight?" Stan asked himself in the living room, before he sat on his favorite chair and turned the TV on with the remote and began flipping the channels. "Too boring. Too cheesy. Seen that movie already. Whoa! Definitely not seeing that one again!"
As he continued to flip from one channel after another, unbeknownst to him, Dipper and Mabel were heading downstairs, the former still in deep thought about their current predicament.
"Dipper, why are we doing this again?" asked Mabel.
"We're going to talk to Grunkle Stan about the concert without him realizing it," Dipper explained, just as he and Mabel arrived to the first floor. "When he lowers his guards down, that is the moment to strike."
"But how are we going to do that?"
Before Dipper could answer her question, Stan spoke up, having apparently founded what he was looking for.
"Aha! Now here's a classic that I can enjoy!"
Startled but curious, Dipper and Mabel peaked their from the corner and saw that Stan was watching some sort of film. They couldn't tell from this distance, but whatever it was, it was keeping him occupied.
"...I think I got a plan," Dipper replied. "Just followed my lead."
Mabel simply nodded her head and followed Dipper to the living room, before both stopping just a few inches away of Stan, still unaware of their presence.
"Hey Grunkle Stan, what are you watching?" Dipper asked, causing Stan to look at the two.
"If you two must know, I present you...THIS!" Stan then showed them the TV movie of what appeared to be an old and cheesy science fiction film, as the logo for it showed up on the screen.
"Plan 19 from Underwater?" Dipper and Mabel simultaneously asked.
"Directed by Frederick B. Would Jr.," Stan concluded.
"Who?" asked Mabel.
"Some guy who tried to make movies, but only made things for people to laugh at," Stan dismissively replied. "Anyway, what brings you two down here?"
Before Mabel could answer his question, Dipper suddenly spoke up.
"We...were wondering if we can watch it with you, since neither me nor Mabel have anything to do. Isn't that right?" Dipper then winked his eye right back at Mabel.
"...That's right, Grunkle Stan. Could you let us watch the movie, pretty please?"
Stan continued to look at them with weary eyes. It was strange of them to want to watch a film they never even heard of until now and they wanted to watch it late at night. Still, he could use some company to watch the movie with him. At least then the night wouldn't be too boring.
"Alright you two, you can watch, but don't complain if this movie isn't your type. I'd file it under "unintentionally funny" when it comes to movies like this."
Satisfied by his answer, Dipper and Mabel sat on the couch with Stan, as they sat together just in time for the movie to begin.
For the next hour at the Mystery Shack, Dipper, Mabel and Stan continued watching Plan 19 from Underwater, going through one awful and downright ridiculous scene after another, even laughing at the so-called "special" effects and "acting" that were displayed right in front of them.
"I can't believe something like this even existed," Dipper commented, trying his best to hold his laughter down. "This Fred Would makes Hora Bell look like a genius."
"I bet those two could be the best of buddies," Mabel happily suggested.
"By the way, who's this Hora Bell fellow you two keep talking about?" Stan asked, oblivious to the name.
"Exactly," Dipper replied, prompting Stan not to ask further questions. "Anyway, if this film is so bad, why are we still watching this?"
"That's simple, Dipper..." Stan started his explanation. "This movie's so bad, it's hilarious and the bad acting just shows it." By this point, he noticed that Dipper let out a big yawn, even though the film was far from finish. "Man kiddo, you must be running out of energy already."
"I still have enough energy," Dipper disagreed. "In fact, I have a lot more than Mabel."
"What? I don't think so!" Mabel replied. "I have as much energy as an ocean, thank you very much."
"Ha! You wish!" Stan dismissed their claims, before laughing at them both.
"You have no right to laugh at us, Grunkle Stan," said Dipper.
"You couldn't keep up with a sloth, let alone two kids," Mabel added.
"Oh, I see where this is going…" Stan began, somewhat being threatened. "If it's a challenge you two want, then challenge it is! I say we make a wager right now. Whoever stays up for one whole night without sleeping, the winner will get something from the loser."
Stan the stretched his arm out, prompting Dipper and Mabel to do the same as well, putting their hands right on top of Stan's.
"Now, who here wants to make the first wager?"
"Oh! Oh! I want to do it, pick me!" Mable exclaimed, madly waving her other arm out.
"Alright already, just make it quick," Stan insisted, as Mabel took a deep breath and explained her wager.
"Here it goes: if you and Dipper both sleep before I do, Candy, Grenda and I will give you two an extremely frilly makeover complete with matching pink dresses and you both have to walk around town in them for one day."
Both Dipper and Stan cringed at the thought of getting a makeover, much less from Mabel and her friends. Still, though, the idea of wearing their "extreme makeover" for one day was better than nothing.
"Challenge accepted," Stan spoke. "If you and your brother sleep before I do, you two are going to promote the Mystery Shack for one week."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Dipper commented, before Stan formed a devious smile on his face. "Or not."
"But you both will have to wear ridiculous costumes that I personally made and I'll be there to film it."
Dipper and Mabel looked at one another, understandably nervous by Stan's wager. If they lose to him, not only will they have to wear costumes to promote the Mystery Shack, but Stan will film the whole thing. As much as they want to back down, however, it was not the time nor place to do so.
"...Fine," Dipper reluctantly agreed, before speaking up. "If you and Mabel lose, you…" Dipper pointed his finger at Stan. "...will have to give Wendy and Soos a paid day off so that Wendy can see her Grindhouse concert, Soos can take us there and Mabel cannot sing on our way to the concert."
"What's wrong with my singing voice?" Mabel asked, offended by her brother's claim.
"Wait a minute…" Stan arched an eyebrow suspiciously. "Did they set you up for this?"
"Nope, I did this out of my own free will," Dipper insisted, before he gave Stan a smirk. "Unless the great Stan Pines is starting to have second thoughts."
"Okay, you're on Dipper," Stan said, accepting his wager. "But remember, you and Mabel will have to promote the Mystery Shack when you two lose…and I'll make sure to have the most humiliating costumes I can make just for you two. Who knows..." Stan said, as he got close to Dipper and Mabel to whisper to them. "I just might show the film to the entire town..."
Dipper's smirk was suddenly replaced by a frowning disappointment, realizing this might not have been a good idea. Just then, the atmosphere was interrupted by a sudden growling.
"All this waging is making me hungry. I'm going to grab a bite from the kitchen," Stan then get off from the couch and into the kitchen, leaving just the Pines twins alone in the living room.
"Mabel, you gotta help me beat Stan at his own game!" Dipper pleaded with her.
"I don't know, Dipper…" Mabel started, rubbing her chin. "I still have my own wager and I'm still upset about not singing all the way to the concert."
"I just said that so he won't ask why I'm not punishing you. You could sing show tunes for all I care. But please help me! I'm doing it for more than me. We're doing it for Wendy and Soos."
"Alright, I'll help you out, Dipper. In fact, I'll do it for free. You won't have to do anything embarrassing for me."
"Thank you so much, Mabel! I really appreciate that!" Dipper expressed his gratitude.
"Anything to help you, Wendy and Soos out," Wendy happily replied, before she and Dipper hugged one another.
But as they rejoiced, however, Stan pressed his ears on the nearest wall, having apparently heard their conversation just now. However, he kept silent, not wanting to alert them of their plans.
"So those two think they can take me down together, eh?" Stan silently asked himself, before smiling rather deviously. "It won't matter, because this changes nothing…actually it might even help me."
A/N Everyone's got a plan and it's gonna get fun soon.
I hope you all liked the first chapter of my new story and please tell me how I did. Conflict creates change. I can't change if I don't get conflict so if I did something bad, let me know.
I'd like to thank NeoNimbus for drawing the cover for me. I do appreciate it, man.
Till next time, Sal out!