The Pines twins hopped out of the truck and enjoyed a good stretch. Dipper was content to feel his tendons loosing, but Mabel started doing jumping jacks as to sate her desire for movement. The eight hour bus ride from Piedmont had not done her any favors. Being in the open air, able to run around at will made her mind feel clear again.
Together, the two teens gazed at the old Mystery Shack. It looked much better than when they first saw it three years ago. Working with Wendy and Manly Dan, Soos had made some major renovations to the building. The Shack still looked old, but it also appeared structurally sound like a respectable business. Grabbing their bags, Dipper and Mabel followed Soos and Melody inside.
"Hey, Wendy! You still here?" Soos shouted out.
"In the kitchen!"
The four of them found Wendy gathering papers that were scattered across the table. She appeared to be examining some sort of mechanical sketch, making notes and small calculations. Her critical eye grew a new brightness when she spotted Mabel and Dipper.
"If it isn't the Mystery Twins. It's good to see you guys." She opened her arms for a hug, which the siblings reciprocated. "How has life been treating my two favorite Californians?"
"It's been just grand," said Mabel, "except high school. That's always a drag."
"School was fine. She's just mad she couldn't convince any older boys to take her to prom," interjected Dipper.
"It's not my fault the juniors were too dumb to notice my natural charm!"
"Ya, because glitter bombs are the pentacle of charming. She got detention twice for those things."
At this point Mabel had turned a bright red and was about to strangle her brother, but Wendy's laughter caught her attention. "Oh man. Seriously?" she asked. Mabel could only nod. "That's fucking awesome! Those guys don't know what they are missing!" Wendy's laugh proved contagious, as both twins starting laughing with her. "Don't sweat it Mabel. You'll have plenty of chances to go to those silly dan-Ow! What giv- oh."
Turning around, Wendy was face-to-face with an angry Abuelita holding her cane up. "You watch your tongue, senorita. I'll have none of your foul language in this house."
"Sorry, Abuelita."
"Good. Now clean up your fancy drawing while the twins go unpack."
Dipper was able unpack all of his belongs fairly quickly, as he had made sure to pack his suitcases as neatly as humanly possible. He had all his clothes sorted into their proper drawers and belongs on the correct shelves in a matter of minutes. Tuning around, he saw his sister was only half way through getting her underwear put away. Mabel didn't take nearly as much care in her organization, but at least it wasn't as bad as their first summer visit.
"Need some help?" Dipper asked. Mabel didn't respond. "Hey, you okay?" Still nothing. "Come on Mabs, you can't ignore me all summer."
"The first thing you decide to tell Wendy after arriving IS THE GLITTLER BOMB INCIDENT?!" Mabel yelled, shooting up to glare at her brother.
"What? It's a funny story, and she even said you were awesome for it."
"It was embarrassing! AND it was my story to tell. Why don't I go downstairs and tell her about how Jesse dumped you twice in the last year?"
Dipper's eyes went wide before looking away. His mind was suddenly flooded with thoughts of his ex-girlfriend. His look of shame was soon mirrored by Mabel as she realized the line she crossed. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up", she said.
"No. You're right." With a sigh, Dipper plopped back on his bed. He soon felt the springs shift from Mabel joining him. "Sorry about embarrassing you in front of Wendy." He said.
"It's fine. She was going to find out one way or another. Just wish you could have waited beyond the first five minutes," Mabel joked, gently elbowing Dipper.
"I'll be sure to remember that."
A soft silence fell over the twins. They were both content to lie on the lumpy bed and stare at the ceiling. The Mystery Shack's roof had been repaired the pervious spring, and the attic along with it. Where mold spores once lived, there were now new wood beams with a light stain finish. Dipper didn't pay them much attention, thinking more about what new discoveries he would come across over the summer. Mabel however, followed the grain with intensity. It reminded her of a river, as if nature had drawn waves for humans to decorate with.
Rivers were weird. Always flowing in the same direction, from one horizon to the other. Sorta like how time worked. It always flowed forward, carrying humanity along with it. Sure, with the right knowhow, a person could swim to shore, and then run to any point on the river they liked. But they couldn't run forever. At some point, you had to swim back to the boat that you came from and continue down the endless stream. But what if you got stuck? Like on a rock, or in a whirlpool? One that looked like that black spot on the ceiling?
Mabel's eyes stayed transfixed on the single, dark circle where the wood grain converged.
"Dipper?"
"Yea?"
"Are we messed up?"
This gave Dipper pause. "What do you mean?"
"We've been coming to Gravity Falls for a while. Every time we see amazing things and it's a lot of fun."
Dipper was only growing more confused. "Come on, Mabel. Where are you going with this?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows.
"What about all the dangerous stuff? We've have run-ins with goblins, and demons, and what about that time we met Mistress Death? We met the literal incarnation of death, Dipper!" By this point, Mabel was sitting upright and shaking her brother by the shoulders.
"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down! What has gotten into you?" Dipper said, ripping her arms away to prevent whiplash.
"Sorry, Bro-bro. I'm just worried. About us. We haven't really been ourselves lately."
"Ya, Mabel. It's called being a grumpy teenager. We don't have PTSD."
"You sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure. What brought this on anyways?"
Mabel thought for a second before pointing up at the ceiling. "I don't know. I was just following the wood grain, and the black spot caught my eye." She stared at it for another second, and then got distracted by Dipper's laughing. "What's so funny?"
"You nearly went into a panic, because of a spot on the ceiling!"
"No need to laugh about it," Mabel pouted.
"Tell you what. Let's get some food and some sleep. If you are still feeling all doom and gloom in the morning, we can talk about it. Deal?"
"Deal."
With a small smile, Mabel gave Dipper a hug, which they sealed with the traditional pat pat. They finished putting up Mabel's things, to which Dipper insisted that he helped, and went downstairs.
For dinner, it was decided that everyone would go to Greasy's Diner, so Mabel and Dipper could get a proper reintroduction to Gravity Falls cuisine. Soos was insistent on fitting all six people into his truck, but it soon became clear that wasn't going to work. Wendy decided to drive over herself, with Mabel on shotgun and Dipper in the back, so she could go straight home afterwards.
"So, Dipper. What's the story behind the new hat?" Wendy asked.
"Oh, right. Yours got too small for me," he said. "I bought this one at comic convention." Dipper pulled off the red baseball cap with the Marvel logo on the front. "I understand if you think it's too nerdy to wear. I got yours with my stuff at the Shack, if you want it back."
"You kidding, dude? Those movies are awesome." Without looking away from the road, Wendy took off the blue pine tree hat and tossed it over her shoulder. "Give yours to Mabel. I'll put it on at the diner."
Mabel let at out an 'aww" at her car companions. "Look at you two, being all BFF and trading hats."
Her brother was not amused. "Don't make this weird."
The diner was busier than expected. Apparently someone hit a telephone pole near the movie theater, knocking out power to half the main town. Anyone unlucky enough to live in the affected area was forced to either grill out or go out for dinner. With only one booth big enough for six adults and zero empty barstools, they were forced to wait outside till a spot opened up. Soos, Dipper, and Wendy began talking about Mystery Shack business while Mabel sat down on the giant stump with Melody and Abuelita. Mabel immediately popped open the messenger bag she brought and pulled out paper and pencils for the three of them.
"I never thought I would see you with a black book bag," noted Melody.
"Don't worry," said Mabel, "I have the full intent to bedazzle it pink and green."
The waiting continued for a few minutes, when Dipper noticed how distracted Wendy was getting. "You okay?" he asked.
"Hu? Oh, yea, I'm fine," she said. "It's just… that motorcycle seems familiar."
Soos looked over at the blue sports bike. "You don't think it belongs to your mysterious albino friend, do you?"
This caused Dipper to let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, you mean the one Wendy will mention, but NEVER tell us anything about," he jabbed.
"Dudes," Wendy signed. "I told you, my mentor is a private man, and I'm sworn to secrecy on most things."
"Sure," said Dipper, "whatever you say." He was clearly hurt from being left out of the loop. It felt the same when he found out Grunkle Stan was hiding the journals and an interdimensional portal from him during his first summer in Gravity Falls. This was worse, because he was fully aware of the secrets and it was one of his closest friends hiding them. Over the past two years, he had spent two summers and a winter break in Gravity Falls. In that time he had only managed a single small glimpse of the man when he followed Wendy to one their meetings. He would have seen more, except the man had "sensed him", as Wendy put it, and ran off. Most of what Dipper knew was second hand from the few times Soos and Melody had run into the man. All he could say for sure is that the mentor had snow white skin and that he worked, and possibly lived, at the super secure research facility on the edge of town.
An awkward silence fell over the three friends. Fortunately it was short lived.
Pacifica stepped out of the dinner, dressed in her dirty apron uniform. "Hey guys. We got a table open for you."
"Oh, sweet!" shouted Mabel. "Thanks, Paz! We'll be right there!" She quickly stuffed her things back into her messenger bag and ran towards the door. In her excitement for coffee omelets, she failed to notice a man leaving the diner and ran straight into him. With a yelp, she knocked them both off the front steps.
The pale man groaned and gave Mabel a venomous glare. "Watch where you're going, kid."
"Well, well, well," laughed Wendy. "Speak of the devil, and he doth appear."
"Oh, hardy har har. Very funny, Red." The man picked up his messenger bag and helmet and started walking away. But Wendy stopped him.
"Hey! Get back here," she said grabbing his arm. "Friends. This is Aris Rogers, head of Rhaegal Tech's Gravity Falls division, and my mentor."
Now forced to engage, Aris gave a pitiful wave. "Hi". The awkward hello was returned by everyone except Mabel, who was still lying on the ground.
"I thing I broke something," she said, holding up a limp wrist. Melody instantly knelt down to check the damage, but Aris beat her to it. Bending over, he grabbed Mabel's wrist and pulled her up by it. "Hey! Be careful! Oh…" She flexed her hand a few times. "It doesn't hurt anymore. How did you do that?" Soos, Melody, Dipper, and Mabel all looked back between the wrist and Aris expecting an answer.
"You're welcome," he deadpanned and began walking off. Wendy stopped him again.
"He knows magic," she said. The reaction was immediate.
"CORDUROY!" yelled Aris, his voice taking on a demonic, double tone.
"Geez. Calm down, dudes. They would have figured it out with that little display." The man just signed and shook his head. "Side note, we need to talk."
Aris gave Wendy a look, then looked at her four friends. They were all staring at him with frightful eyes, shocked by his sudden change in voice and Wendy's nonchalant demeanor. "Your grandma went inside. You should probably follow her." They all nodded in agreement, getting the message to let him and Wendy talk privately. Soos and Melody dashed though the door first, followed by Mabel after she grabbed her own messenger bag.
Dipper, however, didn't want to lose this chance. He began to follow his sister. But as soon as the two turned their backs, he dashed behind a large bush.
"You've been avoiding me," said Wendy.
"I've been busy. We just finished the building Gateway. Now, we move on to the testing phase. "
"That you don't need to be there for."
Aris let out a loud sigh. "No. For most of the test, my presence won't be necessary."
"So…" Wendy trailed off, clearly expecting him to finish.
"Did you finish the sketches?"
"Yep. They are back at the Shack."
"Fine. We can resume magic lessons till I leave," he relented, causing Wendy to let out a loud cheer. "BUT, my supervision rule still applies. I don't want you blowing your arm off again."
"Yes. I get it. Hey, while we're on the subject… Think you could teach Ma-"
"No," Aris interrupted.
"Come on, Aris! These are my friends. They got me into this stuff to begin with."
"We've been over this, Wendy."
"They weren't part of the deal," she said with a disappointed tone. "I know."
"Good. I'll call you in the morning. Oh, and little boy…" Aris's voice took on the double tone again. Dipper's heart stopped. He should have known better than to eavesdrop. He stepped out from behind the bush.
"Dipper?!" Wendy shouted.
"That's strike two."
Dinner was slightly awkward between the two friends thanks to Dipper's intrusion. They hid it from the adults well enough, but Mabel easily caught on. It was clear that Wendy was frustrated at her twin, and she intended to interrogate him on it back at the Shack.
Everyone ordered their meals, Soos and Melody sharing a platter, as they had recently started a diet. Pacifica was working and Robbie was called in to help with the sudden rush. They both said hello to the group, but they weren't able to talk much on the clock. Pacifica did agree to stop by the Mystery Shack the next day, and even said she would drag Candy and Grenda along with her so the girls could catch up. All-in-all, it was an enjoyable meal for Mabel, if slightly hectic.
"Be right back," said Wendy, getting up and heading to the restroom. Soos and Melody were distracted by their own conversation, and Abuelita had gone to the bar to chat with Mayor Tyler. Mabel decided to pull out her sketch from earlier, but couldn't find it.
"What the…" Going through her black bag, Mabel couldn't find any of her things. There were only a few pencils, and two large, leather-bound books. "This isn't my bag."
Her mumbling had caught Dipper's attention and he looked into the bag as well. His eyes went wide at its contents. He whispered to his twin, "Aris had a similar bag."
"Crap. I'll tell Wendy."
"No, no. Keep quiet about this. I'll explain later."
Mabel gave him an unsure frown. She didn't like having someone else's things, especially someone who seemed so rude, and even a little scary. Now that they were intentionally hiding the books, it was essentially stealing. But she trusted her brother. They had gone to hell and back multiple times together. If he told her to bet it all on double zero, she would do it. That still didn't make her any less nervous.
"WENDY KNOWS MAGIC?!"
"Keep it down! I doubt Soos and Melody know. And you know how Abuelita gets about these things."
"Sorry," Mabel whispered. "So that's why Wendy seemed so flustered with you at the diner?"
"Yea, I'm going to assume so," said Dipper. "It gets worse. I think Wendy wants Aris to teach us magic, too."
"Really? That's awesome."
"He said no."
Mabel's smile disappeared. "But… why?"
"Because, and in Wendy's words, we weren't 'part of the deal'." Dipper let the words sink in.
Mabel stared at the floor for a few seconds, and then looked up to her twin. "Do don't think he's… like Bill… do you?"
"I don't know. That's what the signs seem to point at. He has magic. He made a deal with Wendy, possibly so she would help with whatever Gateway is. And then there's that voice."
"Don't remind me." Even though Mabel only heard a single word, it was still enough to send shivers down her spine at the thought.
"When he left, he used the voice again. He was looking right at me, and I could have sworn his pupils were vertical slits… Just like Bill's…" He began pacing, trying to think of how to proceed. Finally, he sat down on his bed, pulling Mabel with him. "Aris is going to find out we have his books. I say we got a day at most before he comes knocking on our door. I doubt he'll hurt us with Wendy around, but…" He trailed off, not wanting to speak the worse possible scenario.
There was a loud silence in the room till Mabel spoke up. "Right now our best shot at answers are the two books in that bag." Dipper just nodded. "Let's do it."
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Ta-da! Chapter 2 is done! A shout out to the four people who followed my story after the first chapter. Thanks for the vote of confidence. An extra big thank you to A Sub-Creator for their comments. Don't worry. I have no intentions on shipping Aris with anyone. The dude is too much of a jerk. But if anyone would like to see some GF loving, let me know. I might be able to squeeze something in.
All comments and crits are welcome!