It had been years since he had returned to the mysterious town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Ever since his Great Uncle Stan tore apart the fabric of the universe to release his brother from wherever he came from. The portal under the Mystery Shack had been formed, and had nearly destroyed the town. Grunkle Stan grabbed the journals and packed them in his bag, then ran up to his brother. The exchanged a look and walked off into the portal. This left the twins and Soos standing their dumbfounded, without any explanation. This story takes place years later, and the twins have returned. What new adventures will they find in this strange place?
Dipper hopped off the Speedy Beaver bus, lugging his duffle bag along with him down the stretch of dirt road that lead right into town. He breathed in the familiar scents and sounds, soaking up all he could. Even though snow covered everything, he could imagine it all just as it had been six years ago, in the bright summer time. This was the most terrifying and exhilarating part of his childhood. And after almost two years, the Mystery Twins would be reunited.
Dipper stopped in front of an old wooden shack in the middle of a clearing in the woods. A deep pit far to the right end of the field, a golf cart parked out in front. The Mystery Shack looked just as it had years before. Outside stood a tall girl, lithe girl, with a soft face and an even softer voice. Long blonde hair flowed down her back, a purple beanie cap pulled over her head. A sweater with different embroidered patters held itself snuggly to her body. She stood there in the cold of a December morning, ringing a bell next to a donation bucket for the Gravity Falls children fund. The thought of the Mystery Shack supporting charity made Dipper chuckle.
Dipper walked his way up the path and pulled out a 10 dollar bill from his back pocket and handed it to the girl, who was shivering out in the cold. She looked up at him, sea green eyes full of recognition.
"Dipper? Dipper Pines?" the girl asked. He nodded, confused, and said "Do I know you?"
The girl smiled and laughed, a laugh almost as light as the bell she was ringing. "Come on, silly, don't you remember?" Dipper shook his head, staring at the girl trying to figure out who it was. A name wasn't coming to mind, but she certainly was cute, so Dipper didn't mind looking at her a little while longer.
"Maybe you will remember this." The girl put her hand on her hip and wore a disgusted expression. "Ugh, look at me, a walking-one-dimensional-bleach-blonde-valley-girl-stereotype."
Dipper eyes grew wider and he began laughing. "Pacifica Northwest?" Pacifica nodded and began to laugh with him. She hugged him and he hugged her back, maybe a little too long for comfort.
"Mabel said you would be coming, but I didn't think it would be today, let alone this early. Come on inside, warm up a little, we won't have anyone coming by for a while anyways."
Pacifica led the way inside to the old living room where Dipper spent the summer of his 12th year of life. He was assaulted by the memories, and also assaulted by something else. With a squeal and a flying flash of pink, Dipper was knocked to the ground by a pudgy old friend. "Come on, down! Down Waddles!" Dipper shouted. Waddles was lifted off the ground by a shorter girl with long dark hair, wearing a sweater similar to Pacifica's. "How's it going bro-bro?"
Dipper got up and laughed and he hugged his twin sister and the pig. "Hey Mabel, how's it been?"
Dipper stood almost a head taller than his sister now, and she had to look up to see her brother. He tugged off his navy blue jacket, revealing a long-sleeved orange shirt underneath. Dipper had been a skinny nerd the last time he was in that room. Since then, he had grown and become stronger. He wasn't as big as Manly Dan, but he was certainly more defined. Leaner, stronger. He had Grunkle Stan to thank for his motivation.
Pacifica walked out of the kitchen with four glasses of hot chocolate. She set them down on the table and sat down with the Twins.
"So, what are you doing out here Pacifica?" Dipper questioned as he sipped his hot chocolate and burned his tongue. Pacifica and Mabel laughed as Dipper fanned at his tongue. "I live here now. My parents lost their credibility after someone leaked the information about our families…ahem…troubled past. Thankfully an aspiring businessman took me in and let me work here when my parents took off."
Dipper smiled. "That's great Pacifica. Who was this businessman?" Pacifica pointed to a picture hanging up on the wall, with a plaque underneath that said "Our Proud Owner".
"No way," Dipper said dumbfounded, "Soos owns the Mystery Shack? That's great!" He and Pacifica laughed as they stared at each other, looking into each other's eyes. "Oooh, what's going on here?" Mabel made fun of the two as their faces grew redder.
"I'm, uh, gonna go take a shower," Dipper stammered. He stood up and walked up the stairs to the bathroom. Pacifica watched him walk up, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. Mabel tapped her chin and hummed, smiling to herself. She and Pacifica had their differences in the past, but living together at the shack for the past few years had allowed them to grow closer, and she was happy at what she was seeing.
"Dipper is still a big old dork, isn't he?" Mabel said. "So oblivious."
Pacifica snapped out of her haze and looked back at Mabel. "What was that?"
Mabel smiled, her teeth perfectly straight, braces removed, and chuckled. "Nothing."
Deep in the forest, in a dark pocket of trees, two creatures waited in the gloom. "Is it time yet?" said the larger of the two. "No," said the second. "Soon, but not yet."