This of course is the prologue to a longer story that I'll be writing. Hope you enjoy. And if the OCs in the chapter come off as boring, not that interesting, or Mary Sue-ish, don't worry; I only planned on using them in this chapter. That is, unless you want to see more of them. Anyways, hope you enjoy the ridiculousness of this one.

Honolulu, Hawaii, October 16th, 2012

Ford looked out the enclosure of the Mai Tai Bar, past Stan and the woman who was hanging off of him, towards the darkening blue sky. He could see the sun off to the far west, the shades of evening drawing upon the gorgeous beaches. The sunlight glistened on the ocean waves as they rolled into the tan earth. He never dreamed he would have finally made it back here, back to his home world and to such a wonderful resort.

After the past few months, he and his brother had earned it.

"Yeah, my brother and I decided we'd travel around a bit," Stan said to the woman that was awkwardly leaning on his shoulder, "We kind of had a rough couple of months and needed the time off."

"Oh, that's awesome," said the woman, raising her eyebrows. With the way she was moving, it was obvious she had several margaritas. "My friend and I just got back from my great niece's wedding. She thought this would be a good spot for both the wedding and honeymoon."

"Ugh," Stan groaned, "Good for her, but she doesn't know what she's getting into. I tried it once years ago. Didn't quite work out so well."

"You're telling me," the woman sighed back, slurring her words as she went, "So did I. Guy turned into a major prick shortly afterwards." She leaned over and took another sip of her daiquri she had just ordered. "I'm Nancy, by the way."

"Stan Pines, man of mystery," he replied. They both laughed.

Ford looked over and saw Stan try to casually pop a blue pill he had in his pocket while Nancy wasn't looking and down it from another swig of the Kona he was drinking. He shook his head, as he of course knew what was coming next.

As the two continued chattering, Ford took out his phone and unlocked it. The first thing that appeared on the screen was his inbox. New messages began flooding in from when last he checked. He casually read through them, as they could be important.

They read as follows:

FROM: FlippinCorduroy

"Hey Pines Brothers,

"I've been missing you both. Hope you're doing well on your world sailing adventure thing. Man, I wish I could have joined you guys. High school in a small town sucks. At least my friends are doing well...despite what happened. I'm also thinking about going into my father's lumber business. Love working in the woods, and all the exploration I did with Dipper and Mabel made me realize how much I love working outside. Waaaaaayyy better than being stuck in a shop behind a counter. Hey, I had an idea that I wanted to run past you guys. I was thinking about what you said about the destiny wheel and was wondering if we could form our own little group around it. It'd be like some awesome blood bond we could form together. I emailed Dipper and Mabel but haven't heard back. Robbie and Soos are on board with it. Still need to ask more people involved. Anyways, let me know what you think. It was just an idea I had. Think about it, dudes. Our own little kick-ass secret society. The Destiny Wheel Clan! (I'll let you know when I come up with a better title) Talk to you later! Bye!"

FROM: PoorlittlerichNWgirl

"Ford,

"You seem to be the more down-to-earth, sensible Pines twin, so I thought I'd reach out to you. I think the condo my family bought is haunted. Apparently this guy who used to work for one of my father's businesses fell down the stairs after a night of binge drinking. He received a paycut one day, and then his wife left him. I know this because it was written in blood on the wall of my room one night. Then it caught fire and disappeared. Then I heard a cackle through the house. Please help. Is there anyone in this town my family hasn't hurt? I have a lot to do if I'm going to fix my stupid family's name. Just so frustrated right now. Do you know Dipper and Mabel's numbers or emails? I didn't get a chance to ask them before they left. They at least made things interesting, no matter how dangerous. If you could let me know, I would appreciate it. Thanks. PS: Does Dipper have a girlfriend yet?"

FROM: CHIUBot99

"Hello Mr. Pines,

"Hope you are doing well on your world wide cruise. It's like a road trip, but with water. Anyways, music camp was fun but draining. I was eager to get back to Gravity Falls and to school. After what happened with the shack, I've become very interested in advanced robotics. There's a project I have in mind that I would like to build. I'm thinking of calling them the MO series after one of my distant relatives nicknamed Moe. Moe is such a funny and awesome name. But the first one I've got a design for is called BMO. It will be able to play games, make jokes, and dance. Do you think McGuckett would help me build it now that he has a new lab in the mansion? Anyways, that's all for now. Enjoy your trip. Bye!"

Ford exited his email app, (he would reply to them later) and opened his map. He moved the retical down to the south end of South America and found the red blip that indicated what he was meant to track. He watched as the dot moved north, a time lapse of years from 1997 to the present scrolling on the right hand side, until the dot reached the Bering Sea.

"I knew it was at least close to the Arctic Ocean," Ford muttered to himself.

"Hey, is that your brother," Nancy asked, pointing.

"Yeah," Stan said, half sighing, "And it looks like he's back on his nerd stuff again. But to tell you the truth, that nerd stuff is why we're sailing around the world in the first place."

"That's awesome!" Nancy exclaimed, "You two look so much alike! Are you twins?"

"Yeah," Stan said, "It has its advantages sometimes." He immediately flashed back to two months ago, staring down at his palm, feeling the burn of Bill's touch all over again.

"Hey, I'll invite my friend over," Nancy said, "He looks lonely." She signaled to her friend to come over from their table.

"Sometimes, I think he prefers it that way," Stan said, "But, yeah, he should live a little."

"Hey, do you want to get out of here?" Nancy said, jerking her head to the side to signal him to follow. Stan looked back at Ford, still fixated on his phone. There was part of him that was afraid to leave him, but he shook it off pretty quickly. He was a big boy and wouldn't fall into another portal anytime soon.

Nancy's friend walked over, and after a momentary discussion Ford couldn't hear, the three walked over to him.

"Hey Ford, this is Tanya," Stan said, "She said she might be interested in listening to your nerdy stuff."

"Privyet!" Tanya said.

"Excuse me?" Ford asked before recognizing the language. He looked her over, not really making much effort to hide it, but she didn't seem to mind. He wondered how an older woman could pull off a look in a skirt that short, but she did quite well. It had been awhile since a man had looked at her like that.

"Sorry, hello," Tanya answered, her accent obviously Russian, "I couldn't help but notice you're looking at a map of the Bering Sea?"

"Yes," Ford responded, "My brother and I are about to go exploring there soon."

"Amazing," Tanya continued, "I used to work around that area several decades ago, studying the plant life there."

"Botany is an important field," Ford said. He looked past her to see Stan wave goodbye while he and Nancy walked off. He didn't see where they were going, but he didn't exactly want to know either.

"So, what brings you to Hawaii if you're heading for the Bering Sea?" Tanya asked.

"Just a brief vacation," Ford answered, remembering that he had some Irish whiskey in front of him and taking a sip from it, "We had a very hard few months, so taking some time off seemed important."

"Where are you originally from?"

"A small town in Oregon called Gravity Falls," Ford answered, "It's fairly notorious for odd happenings, so my interest in para-science brought me out there. I thought I might further mine and mankind's understanding of the preternatural."

"That's one of the reasons I got into botany," Tanya responded, "I thought I might be able to contribute something to the human race."

"So what brings you to Hawaii?" Ford asked.

"My best droog Nancy brought me out here for her great-niece's wedding. We've known each other for a very long time, since her parents moved from America to Russia. We didn't used to be friends. When we were just girls, she struck me as a little too silly for my taste. But of course given my strict upbringing, I wasn't open to the thought of being a free spirit. It took some time to break away from my family's tight grip."

"Sounds like a family friend I know," Ford said.

"But back on the Bering Sea subject," Tanya redirected, "What might you and your brother be studying there?"

"How familiar are you of the discovery of the Bloop?" Ford asked.

"I've heard of it," Tanya responded, "Didn't it involve some sort of unknown undersea sound?"

"Yes," Ford continued, "It began with a deep sea recording in 1997 near the southern end of South America. Since then, some scientists have secretly been tracking its movements. It seems that whatever creature this is, it's been moving north." He looked back at the map. The blip had moved again. "And now it looks like we'll be searching for it near St. Lawrence Island."

"That's actually very fascinating," Tanya said, "I've got my own strange story. A couple decades ago, they flew me out from Moscow to Beringovsky because something was going on with the summer vegetation there, despite the new regulations on pollution from the coal mines. More people were getting sick, and there didn't seem to be an explanation for it. Some ocean and marine experts traced that some unidentified bacteria was coming in from the coastal waters. They eventually traced it further south into the Bering and decided to try and send a team to find the source. We lost contact with them for a day, but when their boat came back, the crew were in an almost catatonic state, and their hair had all gone white. None of them would speak for the next few days, and when they finally did, they couldn't recall anything that had occurred. It was almost like a piece of missing time for them."

"Fascinating," Ford replied. "Perhaps there is more going on there than we thought..."

The two traded paranormal stories for another hour until they noticed the sun was finally setting. Ford checked the time on his phone.

"Say," he said, "Would you like to see our boat?"

"Oh, dah," Tanya replied.

The two proceeded to the Stan-O-War III. A large whale had capsized and destroyed their second iteration of the ship, so the Pines brothers ensured that this one would be much more reinforced. It was much broader, and could obviously fit two rooms within it for long travels. There was a post-it note on the side of it with the words "Permit to dock here" written on it. Ford shook his head at this.

As they boarded the ship, Nancy was leaving the main cabin onto the ship, adjusting her top as she went.

"Oh, hey," she said, "Glad you're here. This boat is amazing."

"I can just imagine," Tanya replied.

Ford moved passed them as they continued their conversation and walked into the main cabin where Stan was sitting on one of the couches.

"I thought you said you got a permit for docking here," Ford said.

"I did," Stan said, "It just happened to be one I made. For all they know, their clerical team could be using post-it notes for today." No sooner had he said that then they heard a security jeep outside.

"Hey," a young man's voice shouted from outside, "Who gave you permission to dock here? Where are your permits?"

"Ah, crap," said Stan, poking his head out of the cabin, "We gotta get out of here. You girls can go if you want. Didn't mean to drag you into this."

"What?" Nancy said, "Hell no. You brought us here. We'll head out with you."

"Nancy," Tanya started in, "Are you sure we should? I was hoping for a trouble free day, not like last time you dragged me into one of your schemes."

"We're not exactly young anymore," Nancy said, "Who knows how many adventures we have left? Besides, it won't be the first time."

"Why do I feel like I've missed something?" Stan said.

"We'll talk about that later," Ford said, "Right now, everyone get strapped in. I guarantee you that you've not seen a boat this fast." After all were strapped into their seats in the cabin, Ford steered the boat away from the shore, and having the rear of the ship facing the shore, he then powered the hyper drive. The group's heads were pressed to the back of their seats as the ship rapidly flew from the dock and from the city out into the ocean. The wooshing sound from around them drowned out the fact that the security officer was cursing in bewilderment. It reminded them of something from Star Wars. They could barely hear Ford say something about, "Hang on. We need to turn around." Before long, they could see blips past the windows that were the islands of St. Paul and St. Matthew.

Finally, with one big jolt, the boat stopped. There was a moment of silence as the shock wore away.

"And you were going to tell me about this feature when?" Stan asked.

"It was a surprise." Ford said, "I installed the quantum core drive last week."

"I personally thought it was amazing," Tanya said, "But where are we?"

"Yeah," Nancy said, shivering, "It's freezing all of a sudden."

"We're all the way in the Bering Sea," Ford said, "Hang on. Going to fix this." He pressed another button, and two poles came out of the deck of the ship. Heat emitters folded out from them, immediately enveloping the craft in a pocket of warmth.

"That's better," Tanya said.

"Are you James Bond or something?" Nancy said.

"More like Q, the gadget man," Stan said, "All the suave went this direction." He pointed at himself.

"Sure," Nancy replied, laughing.

Before long, Ford had brought out the equipment he needed for testing for oceanic sounds. He setup a radar to pick up any signs of movement, along with a microphone attached to a ridiculously long cable. After explaining the plan, he began the automatic crank to lower the microphone into the pitched dark depths.

"This is where my app predicted the next possible location of the creature might be," Ford said.

"How accurate do you think that thing is?" Stan asked, a hint of doubt in his voice.

"We're about to find out."

They waited for several minutes, but in surprisingly quick time, there was a blip on the radar. Ford rushed over and put on the headphones, hoping to hear something. There was a low rustling sound, followed by what sounded like a howl.

"I'm getting something," Ford said, "I just can't make it out."

"Let me hear," Tanya said, yanking the headphones off of him and putting them on herself.

"Your friend doesn't hold back when she wants something, does she?" Stan asked Nancy.

"You have no idea," Nancy replied.

There was another blip on the radar. Something was coming. Something big.

All of a sudden, the ship shook violently as gargantuan tentacles rose up and crashed against the deck nearest the stern. Out of the waters rose a colossal squid, this one much bigger than the one that attacked the Stan-O-War II back in September.

"Look out!" Ford shouted. But before he could grab his blaster from his coat, one of the tentacles picked up and enwrapped Tayna.

"Hang on, Tanya," Nancy said, whipping out a Walther PPK from her handbag, "This bitch aint taking us down!" She blasted three or four tentacles off the deck but found she couldn't quite hit the tentacle holding Tanya, not without accidentally shooting her.

Ford finally loosened the laser cannon in his coat and blasted the creature at the base of its tentacle. It screeched out in pain at such a decibel that Stan and Nancy had to hold their ears for a moment. It loosened its grip on Tanya enough so that it was only holding her by her ankle.

Tanya grabbed something from one of her skirt's pockets and threw it at the creature's tentacle holding her. It was a vial of some sulfuric acid that caused the creature to screech again, releasing her and dropping her to the deck with a thud. She ran next to Ford, who then stepped out in front of her to see if he could get a better shot.

The squid began to rise higher out of the waters. It emitted a blue glow and began hovering over the waters and the boat.

"I'll swallow your souls!" It seemed to project into their minds.

"Swallow this!" Stan shouted. And with that, he quickly equipped his brass knuckles, ran down the deck, leapt over the stern, and punched the creature square in its three-lobed, burning eye. It yelped one last time, thrashing its tentacles about into the water before sinking down once again into inky blackness below.

There was yet another pause as everyone regained their awareness.

"Where did you girls come from?" Stan had to ask.

"We're probably not what you think we are," Nancy said, "although, we haven't lied to you. We were there for my great-niece's wedding."

"And I am a licensed botanist," Tanya interrupted, "But…"

"You can tell us later," Ford said, "We'll all sit down and have a discussion over it. Right now, I think we're on to something here. Something's obviously trying to keep us from finding it. The weird psychic squid monster was proof enough of that. I for one am determined to keep up this momentum and find what's at the bottom of these depths."

Several months later, Stan and Ford would found their research center on the coast of St. Lawrence Island. The Northwest family would supply the revenue knowing that it would be a good investment in order to get back on their feet. The contributions could later go to universities and museums, supplying a rich amount of material for both the scientific and anthropological communities.

Digging too deep, however, would be this endeavor's undoing.

It was only a matter of time before something went wrong.