CHAPTER 10
"Where do you think Stan is?" Mabel asked.
"The shack. Its the only logical answer." Dipper explained.
They stood at the edge of the cliff, over looking Gravity Falls. The mid day sun, lit up the valley, but still the fog blanketed most of the town.
On the far side of the valley, the fog was receding but not by much. The lake and the edge of town were partially visible.
"Where do you think the shack is?" Mabel asked.
"Over there." Pacifica said, pointing to what appeared to be the densest part of the fog.
"How can you be sure?" Dipper asked.
"Well if the water tower is there...and the lake is over there...then the shack should be in that area over there." She explained. Dipper looked at the points with confusion but trusted her judgement.
"Well, I guess it has been a while...and we arent used to looking at Gravity Falls from the air." Mabel said. Dipper agreed and they followed Pacifica down the cliff.
As they desended into the valley, the fog got thicker. They walked slowly, making sure to avoid trees while maintaining their sense of direction. The fog was thick enough to block the light from the sun.
"Are we almost th-" Mabel stopped talking when a white light appeared in the fog.
"What is that?" Pacifica asked. She slowed down to a near stop but kept moving forward.
"I dont know, but its worth investigating." Dipper said as he took the lead and led them towards the light.
As they walked forward, the light continued to get brighter until it was blinding. Afraid of getting separated, they stopped walking. Soon, their eyes adjusted to the light and they realised the fog was gone. They stood in a white void. There were no trees or dirt or Gravity Falls.
"Where are we?"Pacifica asked. Her voice echoed through the white void.
Dipper turned around to see the Mystery Shack sitting peacefully in the nothingness.
"The Shack!" Mabel said as her gaze followed Dipper's. The three of them walked to the back door and stepped inside.
Dipper and Mabel were expecting to find the same confusing layout the last time they were in Stan's head but were surprised to find themselves in Ford's lab.
"What is this place?" Pacifica asked as they looked around.
"Ford's lab." Dipper answered as he looked up at the large portal.
"Stan!" Mabel shouted as she ran to the center of the room. The others followed and they found Stan lying on the ground, but he was different.
"He looks so young." Pacifica pointed out. Stan was indeed much younger than they new him to be.
Suddenly he stood up.
"Stan!" Mabel said but he ignored her. "Stan?" Mabel asked again. She tried to touch him, but her hand went right through him.
Suddenly, another Stan appeared across from him. He was dressed in a sweater vest and a tan duster.
"Ford?" Mabel asked.
"Ok. Im officially confused." Pacifica said.
"I think we're watching his memory. The one thats playing on a loop. We need to get his attention somehow." Dipper explained.
"How? We cant touch him." Mabel said.
Dipper didnt answer. Instead he watched as the memory unfolded.
Stan lurched forward and began fighting Ford. Fists were thrown and they shoved each other around. After a short brawl, Ford flew into the portal. Stan fell to his knees crying and suddenly he disappeared.
"Where did he go?" Mabel asked.
"Over here." Pacifica said. Dipper and Mabel turned to see Stan doing something at one of the control panels before disappearing again.
Stan reappeared by the fuel tanks and then disappeared again. He continued to do this for awhile; disappearing and reappearing in a different area, getting older with each appearance.
"I think this is a timelapse of his activities over the years; trying to reactivate the portal." Dipper said as he examined one of the control panels. It seemed to age and change along with Stan.
Stan appeared by the main control stick and activated the portal. He was old now and seemed to stand there without disappearing.
"Well, Well, Well. Look what we have here."
That voice! Dipper thought as dread filled all three of them.
Suddenly a large Bill Cipher appeared from the portal. He held a golden Ford in one hand and a young Dipper and Mabel in the other.
"This is all because of you, Stanley." Bill said. As Bill laughed, the young Dipper and Mabel turned to stone and Stan fell to his knees crying.
"Stan!" Mabel shouted as she ran to him.
"Mabel, no!" Dipper shouted as he looked up at Bill. He expected him to take notice of them but instead he seemed to freeze. Dipper looked around and noticed that even the shimmers of the portal were frozen in place.
Dipper followed Mabel to Stan's side. As she reached out and touched his shoulder, he turned and looked at them.
"Kids!?" he said through tear stained eyes.
Suddenly there was a flash and everything went back to when they first arrived. A young Stan stood in the center of the room facing a young Ford and the memory played itself over again.
"That was weird." Pacifica said as she came out from behind a large rock. Dipper had noticed that she had disappeared when Bill arrived but didnt know where to.
"He saw us." Mabel said. " Right before the flash. I could touch him and he saw us."
"That must be the point in the cycle when it restarts. Its probably the only time when we can communicate with him." Dipper explained.
"So we have to wait for the memory to repeat itself everytime?" Mabel asked. Dipper nodded and they waited.
After a few minutes they were back to the confrontation with Bill.
Even though he knew it was fake, seeing Bill still freaked Dipper out.
Noticing everything freeze, Dipper wasted no time in grabbing Stan by the shoulders.
"Stan! You have to wake up. This isnt real. This is all fake." Dipper shouted into his face.
"Dipper?" He asked, confused. Then there was a flash of light and it reset again.
"Damn it." Dipper said under his breath.
"Well what do we do know?" Pacifica asked.
"I dont know." Dipper replied. He walked over to the memory Stan and waved his hand through his body.
"If only there was a way to remove him from the memory." Mabel pointed out.
"Thats it!" Dipper exclaimed. "What if we physically move him ourselves?"
Pacifica and Mabel both looked back and forth from Stan's body to the door.
"Do you think we could make it?" Pacifica asked. Dipper didnt respond. He, too, was skeptical of their strength and speed in this manner.
"Do we have any other ideas?" He asked. They shook their heads. "Then its settled." He continued.
They gathered around where his body would appear and prepared to grab him.
Stan fell to his knees crying and Dipper grabbed him from behind.
"Now!" He shouted and the girls each grabbed a leg. They carried him as fast as they could towards the door. The seconds ticked by like hours and the distance still seemed too far.
"Just a bit further." Dipper called.
"Whats going on!" Stan cried out as he struggled against them.
"Just calm down...your throwing of my balance." Pacifica said.
"Let go!" Stan said and he kicked Pacifica in the chest.
She let go and reeled back. This caused a shift in weight distribution forcing Mabel to drop the leg she was carrying. This caused Dipper to stop moving.
"Damn it Stan. We're trying to he-" Dipper started to say but was stopped by a blinding light. As if with one mind, the three grabbed Stan and pulled as hard as they could towards the door.
The blinding light grew brighter until they couldn't see. Then, all they could see was white. No lab. No portal. No shack.
They looked around. They were back in the white void but this time Stan was laying between them.
He sat up and rubbed his head.
"Where am I?" He asked.
"We're inside, what I can only assume is the dreamscape...or at least one that connects all of our minds." Dipper answered.
Stan looked up at him and was about to say something but stopped. He started to faded away, and then there was nothing.
"Stan!" Dipper called out but couldnt grab him in time.
"Dipper?" Dipper turned to see Mabel fading as well and then Pacifica.
"Whats happening?" Pacifica asked as she faded away.
Dipper reached out to grab her, but was too late. It was then, he noticed that he, too, was fading. The white of the void became over whelming. He shut his eyes and hoped it would end.