Hey, so this is my newest fic and it is going to be a series. I just need to get through this one first haha. I will be working on two other stories along with this one, not related to this one at all. So updates will really be however I feel at the moment. Plus I'll need to write the chapters so it's gonna be interesting. Anyway, review what you think and I will go from there. Thank you so much for reading! 3

Wirt gazed out the window as the family car sped down the long highway. His mom and stepdad were chatting amiably with Greg but Wirt couldn't join in on the conversation. His mind was far from easy as he gazed out at the many trees that they drove by. Each giant pine tree reminded him of the Unknown.

A place he desperately hoped that he'd never see again. The strange creatures, and people inside were charming and all, but they were overshadowed by the horror of the Beast. He would never forget how close he came to losing Greg. How terrifyingly close he got to taking the woodsman's place as the lantern bearer. That dark figure with the strange antlers that was a master of manipulation, Wirt was just glad his over analytic brain had saved him from that awful fate.

As far as he knew the Beast was gone now, blown out with the lantern. If the woodsman had done what Wirt prayed he had. And even with that assurance he couldn't shake the feeling that they would never truly be free of that awful place.

Greg tapped Wirt's leg, making him jump. He glanced over with a glare, but it relaxed after a moment as he once again remembered all that they'd been through. The events that they hadn't told to anyone because they knew no one would ever believe them.

Besides, what was the point? It wasn't like they'd ever find that place again. They had to leap from a cemetery wall to get there the first time, what were the chances the place was so big it could be out here in the middle of nowhere too?

"What is it Greg?" Wirt asked, his voice sounding unintentionally tired.

Greg's cheerful face didn't change "Did you know that the town we're going to has one of the strangest reputations? It has a place called the Mystery Shack! It holds all the mysteries of this off route town!"

"T-that's great Greg. But I don't think I'll be going there."

"What? Why not?"

Wirt sighed "Do you really need to ask me that?"

His younger brother's face didn't change from its inquisitive state. He sat waiting patiently for him to answer. Greg was a sweet kid, but he really needed a lesson in subtlety.

Running a hand down his face he lied "It just isn't my thing."

His mom glanced back at him with a disapproving frown "Wirt, you should take your brother to the Mystery Shack. I read about it in pamphlet and it looks pretty interesting. I think it would be fun for you boys. You've been so quiet lately."

Biting his lower lip guiltily Wirt said "Yeah okay. I'll take him."

Greg cheered and his mom smiled happily, turning back to the road.

Wirt noticed Greg smiling at him and raised a brow "What?"

"Nothing." Greg smirked and hugged his frog, Jason Funderberker, close to his chest. "I'm just glad you're coming. It's gonna be fun Wirt! We can make friends and explore the town! Brave the woods!"

The older boy winced and glanced down at his hands "Yeah…" Exploring the woods was the last thing he wanted to do. He knew the dangers that came from the woods, so did Greg for that matter! Why would he want to go back into them?

He didn't say anything though. He couldn't with his mom there. She would ask too many questions and explaining them would take way too much time. It was a conversation he really didn't want to have.

Ever.

They all lapsed back into silence, but Wirt's mind was far from peaceful. He had so many thoughts swarming through his head, worries and anxieties about their vacation town. If what Greg said was true and there were mysteries in this town, then what did that mean for his summer? Was he doomed to be dragged back into the chaotic world of the supernatural? Or whatever crazy secrets the world held? Ones he'd never previously believed in?

Letting out a huff of air, he pushed his fingers through his hair and rested his chin on the palm of his hand.

A sign announced that they were entering Gravity Falls and Greg let out a whoop of joy. Wirt withheld a groan and observed the people on the sidewalks as they headed for their motel. Everyone looked normal enough… No one was sprouting extra heads. No one yelled terrifying warnings at them, no animals randomly started talking. For a town that was known for having a weird reputation it was strangely normal.

Nothing at all like the Unknown.

Wirt's unease began to lessen, maybe their time here wouldn't be so bad. Maybe there was a chance that everything would be normal this time. Why would he need to be afraid? The Unknown was long gone! Whatever had been there couldn't find him.

He was just being paranoid.

They pulled into the motel parking lot and Greg was the first out of the car. He hopped over to the front doors and grinned up at the bright neon sign. "I like it here." He decided.

"That's great honey." Wirt's mom said with a bright smile "I had a feeling you and your brother would like this town. It has a little bit of everything, based on what the pamphlet said at least. A lot tourists come here, but few stay."

Wirt frowned "What do you mean?"

She shrugged "Most people just pass through. I don't know why, this little town seems very quaint. Everyone looks very friendly and helpful too."

"Looks can be deceiving." Wirt pointed out pessimistically.

His mom sent him an annoyed look, but said nothing more. She headed back to the car, beginning to unload their many bags. They'd packed practically their whole house into those bags, since the plan was to stay here for the rest of the summer. Wirt had been sad to leave Sarah behind, but he'd promised to text and write to her as often as possible.

Things had just been starting to become natural between them when his mom announced the trip. Their relationship was still pretty new, but both of them had fun together and they both enjoyed more or less the same thing. He didn't get jealous or paranoid that there were other people who were going to come between them anymore. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

Unlike his younger brother, Wirt viewed the world as the cruel place it really was. Greg saw the naïve side of it, though to be fair, most people did. Sarah did, but when Wirt was with her it was easier for him to see that side of it too.

She was so amazing…

Wirt sighed at the thought of her, he was going to miss her this summer but he had a feeling being away from their hometown would do him some good. He'd just finished his second year at high school and a break from it all would be a treat. As much as he loved his little town, the knowledge that just behind the cemetery wall was the Unknown got to him sometimes.

The thought that maybe, just maybe, the Beast wasn't gone…

There were times when Wirt could have sworn he felt the creature's presence. Just over his shoulder or sometimes his shadow contorted into a terrifyingly familiar shape. But whenever he blinked, it proved to simply be a figment of his imagination. Nothing more. Wirt had to keep reminding himself that the Beast wasn't real anymore. There was no threat.

No matter what crazy stuff he saw.

The family walked into the motel room that they'd be living in for the next couple months and Wirt collapsed onto one of the twin beds. He'd be sharing one with Greg, but unlike before he didn't find that as unappealing as before. He actually enjoyed being around his little brother. It's amazing how almost dying and watching him almost die will do that for you.

Greg climbed onto the bed with him and bounced slightly. Wirt watched him with a small smile and tucked his arms behind his head.

"This would be a perfect bed for bouncing on." Greg said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"But we won't be doing that, right Greg?" His stepdad piped up with a stern expression.

Greg glanced over at his dad "No, I promise Dad."

Nodding, Wirt's stepdad turned back to his bag.

Wirt smirked at Greg and said softly "We can do it when they're not here." He put a finger to his lips "But we got to be secretive about it."

Greg grinned at his half-brother and nodded, zipping his lips shut and miming throwing the key over his shoulder. He skipped away to explore their small room a little more.

Wirt watched him with a small smile and unpacked a few of his things. Placing his pyjamas on the bed and then heading to the bathroom to store his toothbrush. He sat down on the bed after a moment and stared at the blank wall. He didn't know what else his family had planned for the day, but honestly Wirt just wanted to relax in the air conditioned motel.

This town looked fun and all, but he didn't particularly relish the thought of spending a whole day with his family. They were much more enthusiastic about vacations, wanting to go sightseeing and do every single touristy activity that they could find. That wasn't how Wirt liked his breaks.

He would gladly sit in a library, or in a forest somewhere and read or maybe even write some poetry. After the events in the Unknown he had found that poetry had become an even bigger solace to him than before. A comfort that helped him explain or express his memories of the place. Of how it still terrified him and made him feel.

No one else but Greg knew about what had happened there. Mainly because no one else would understand.

Wirt had tried to find out more about it, see if anyone had any records at all about where or what the forest might've been. But, much to his dismay, not a single search result yielded any answers. The most that Wirt could figure, was that it was some supernatural waiting place. A purgatory of sorts. Since, of course, he and his half-brother had been the on the brink of death. Drowning in a lake. Maybe the Unknown was where souls went when their fate was still being decided. But then, why were there so many people there? So many weird creatures too at that.

None of it made any sense. After almost a month of searching Wirt had finally given up on ever finding answers and had resorted to poetry to help calm his nerves. It was the most that he could do.

Greg came bounding over and gazed up at Wirt with bright eyes. He took the boy's hands and asked eagerly "Can we go explore the town? Mom and Dad said we can go if we promise to stick together. They want to do boring things! Like the main strip and the museum! I want to go see that weird shack that was in the brochures!" He dropped his voice to say "It looked like it had similar creatures to the Unknown."

Wirt winced and tilted his head at the small boy "And why would you want to go to a place like that? I thought we'd both agreed to drop the subject of that place. You know, since we couldn't explain it to anyone."

His little brother pouted "But Wirt! I want to see the shack!"

"Are you sure? I mean what if… What if you get nightmares again?" Wirt asked him hesitantly.

Greg placed his hands on his hips and said firmly "I got over those months ago Wirt! Come on, it'll be fun. You like mysteries don't you? And maybe this shack will have ghosts! I still have yet to see a ghost brother o' mine."

"Fine…" Wirt finally gave in. As much as he hated to admit it, Greg did have a point. Wirt loved mysteries and puzzles. Not the dangerous kinds that Greg seemed to enjoy so much, but little mysteries in books and what not. Those were always fun. "Let them know and we can walk over."

Greg let out a whoop of approval and rushed to find his parents.

Wirt tugged on a dark blue sweater and ran a hand through his dark hair. He was sure the heat would kill him, but thus far Oregon didn't seem to have that hot of weather. Sure, it was warm but in the low 20s and not higher. Maybe a heat wave would hit halfway through their trip, but Wirt would cross that bridge when he came to it. Until then he was going to stick with his usual attire. He was just more comfortable that way.

When Greg came back looking triumphant Wirt knew there was no way he was getting out of taking his brother out. His fate had been sealed.

"Shall we go?" Greg asked eagerly, reaching for Wirt's hand.

Smiling, his brother nodded and took the young boy's outstretched hand. They left the motel and began the short walk into town.
As they walked, Wirt couldn't help but note the people who they passed. No one was strange per say… But there was just something off about them. They all seemed to share in a secret that no one else was privy too. Certainly not tourists who would likely never come back to the town.

Greg greeted almost everybody they passed and each time people fawned over how "absolutely
adorable" he was. His little brother beamed at the compliments and grinned up at Wirt.

Like the kid needed his ego to be boosted any more than it already was.

"What do you think we're going to find at the Mystery Shack?" Greg asked when they were halfway there.

The map saying that it could be found just on the edge of town. Silently Wirt wished they'd found some mode of transportation.

With a shrug he replied "It's probably all fake. Don't be surprised if you don't find any real mystery Greg. Most of these places are tourist traps, yet people fall for them all the time."

"I won't be fooled." Greg said sternly "They won't be able to pull the wool over my eyes!"

"I'm sure they won't." He agreed with a smirk.

The two brothers reached the shack with a half hour and when Wirt first caught a glimpse of the building he was less than impressed. Shack was definitely the right name for it, what with the rickety looking wood, and the "S" actually resting on the slanted roof. People gathered around the shack's front door where a man in a black suit and burgundy fez spoke in a loud enticing voice.

Curious, the two of them walked closer. Eager to hear what the man with the eyepatch had to say.

"Welcome to a place where the weird meets the regular world! A place where you will see horrors and wonders beyond anything you could imagine!" The man exclaimed to a group of excited tourists. "If you are brave enough to enter, put twenty dollars into this jar and we shall begin the tour!"

Wirt raised a brow and glanced at Greg, there was no way this guy thought people were going to buy this. But as he stood there waiting for his brother to change his mind about going in, people began to eagerly drop their money into the jar.

When it was there turn, the man glanced at them and said "You two coming or what?"

"Oh, um… Yeah." Wirt muttered and dug around in his wallet for forty dollars. It honestly seemed a bit pricy but if it would keep Greg entertained then he supposed it was worth it. He dropped the two twenty dollar bills into the jar and led Greg into the shack.

The man in the fez led the way through a winding museum of oddities. For sure they were strange and definitely not natural, but Wirt couldn't believe that he was the only one who saw through the façade. After all, most of this was clearly made to fool people.

Yet, as the tour carried on he found that people were more than eager to accept what the man was selling. Even Greg got caught up in the show. The old man knew how to put on a show, Wirt would give him that much. The amount of effort that had gone into creating this place was amazing, animals glued to other animals, all prepared to fool the gullible tourists who ventured inside.

When they came to the last attraction, Wirt couldn't help but feel the old man had gone too far. There in front of them, behind a red velvet curtain, was a boy with brown hair and clearly he was in a wolf costume. However, the people around him were enthralled as the tour guide called him the pubescent wolf boy. Wirt tired not to roll his eyes and gave the boy an apologetic look. He couldn't even imagine what the kid had done to have to get into this kind of gig.

He didn't seem to mind too much, honestly he looked used to it. But his eyes found Wirt's in the crowd and his face was genuinely surprised when he found that Wirt wasn't fooled. A small smile came over his lips and Wirt couldn't help but be intrigued.

Whatever moment had happened though was stopped when the old man closed the curtain and ushered the group to the gift shop. Clearly expecting each and every person to buy his crap. Wirt had a feeling Greg would want something so followed them out, leaving the strange wolf boy behind. Maybe they'd see each other in town…

Back in the gift shop, Greg was looking at all the overpriced merchandise. Behind the counter stood a bored looking teenager with red hair and fitted snugly on her head was what looked like a lumberjack hat. If Wirt guessed right she looked to be a few years older than him. She was reading a magazine with her feet propped up against the counter. She would occasionally glance up to accept money from some customer and then go right back to reading.

Next to her, sitting on the counter was an enthusiastic girl with long brown hair and a pink headband to hold back her bangs. Her large sweater had a shooting star on it and a wide grin could be seen on her face.

Wirt eyed them curiously as Greg tugged on his sleeve. "Can I buy this?" He asked, holding something up so Wirt had to look at it.

The older brother glanced down and stared at the object. It was a red box with a question mark on it. Wirt raised his brow at his little brother "What even is it?"

Greg frowned in thought and took a long look at it "I'm not sure, but I want to find out!"

"I doubt it's anything of interest Greg. This whole place is a scam. You know that right?" Wirt told him with a sigh.

Greg grinned "Of course I do brother o' mine! But I think that's part of the fun. We've seen some weird stuff in our time, and this is only harmless fun."

Smiling at the wise boy Wirt nodded "Yeah okay. You can get the weird box that probably has nothing in it."

"Yes!" Greg cheered and hurried up to the counter with Wirt in tow.

Wirt followed him up to the counter and tugged his wallet out of his pocket. The redhead glanced up as they approached and arched a brow at them. Subtly she nudged the younger girl beside her and she looked over with a bright smile "Hey there! How can we help you?"

"Um, we want to buy this box." Wirt said shyly, eyeing the girl carefully. Maybe it was just his eyes playing tricks on him, but she looked a lot like the wolf boy. "How much is it?"

"5 dollars." The girl behind the counter said in a bored tone.

"You're not like the regular tourists." The girl in the pink sweater said in a chipper voice. "You're too normal."

Greg frowned and said "We're not normal. Right Wirt?"

His brother stuttered over his words and gave a shrug "U-uh yeah we're normal Greg. Normal kids on a normal vacation."

"Oh…" Greg said in disappointment, then brightened a moment later to say "I love your sweater! Wirt never wears cool sweaters like that. He's boring."

Wirt's ears burned as the girl laughed "Aw aren't you cute! Thanks, I made it myself."

Greg's eyes widened "Really? That's even cooler!"

The girl grinned and offered her hand out to Greg "I'm Mabel. I live here at the shack with my brother and Grunkle."

"Wow! You must have a lot of fun here!" Greg grinned "I'm Greg and this is my brother Wirt. He's grumpy and moody but can be fun to be around. He brought me after all."

Mabel smiled brightly over at Wirt "Hey there, you'd probably get along really well with my brother. He can be moody too, but only when he's got something on his mind."

"Shut up Mabel." A voice said and the boy from the tour came up to stand beside his sister. He was out of the costume now with an orange shirt and blue vest. Slapped down on his head a cap that Wirt had seen in the gift shop. Blue and white with a blue pine tree in the middle of it. "I'm not moody, I just know how to concentrate on one thing."

"Sure." Mabel drawled with a soft laugh. Turning back to the brothers she asked "So how long are you here for?"

"The month." Wirt said with a shrug "We have to get ready for school next month."

"A whole month to get ready for school?" Mabel asked in horror "That sounds awful you poor boys! We don't get ready until the last couple weeks. It's much nicer that way." She grinned, swinging her legs back and forth.

The boy rolled his eyes and pointed out "And we're always super disorganized during it."

Mabel flicked her hand dismissively and bumped her brother's shoulder "Sorry for his rudeness. This is Dipper."

"H-hey." Wirt greeted hesitantly "I, uh… I liked the show." He said awkwardly.

Dipper smirked "Yeah, my uncle thinks it's funny. I wish I could get out of it, but honestly it's not that bad. It could be worse."

Smiling at him, Wirt nodded slowly. He glanced down at Greg and said "We should head out, they'll be expecting us back soon."

"Aw but Wirt!" Greg whined, but one look from his brother had him nodding sadly. He glanced up at the two kids and smiled "See you guys later."

"Bye!" Mabel said cheerfully "You guys should come by tomorrow! We could hang out!"

"Mabel!" Dipper said softly, but said nothing more while the others were there. He looked between them and with one swift glance from his sister he nodded. "Y-yeah why not?"

"Okay!" Greg said eagerly and pulled Wirt from the store "See you guys tomorrow!"

Wirt waved goodbye, smiling nervously as he hurried out of the gift shop. Going back wasn't exactly high on his list. Not after the look Dipper had given his sister. Maybe they would just see Mabel, and that would be okay. She seemed nice enough after all and Greg had gotten along well with her. But then, Greg liked almost everyone. He wasn't exactly a good person to ask for a judge of character.

If Wirt was honest, there was something about the siblings that intrigued him. They were almost polar opposites and yet the exact same. If he was honest, they reminded him of himself and Greg. Maybe… Maybe this summer wouldn't be as dull as he originally thought.
But then was that a good thing?

He supposed he was about to find out.