Author's Notes: I just wanted to mention why this story is not listed as a crossover. This story is *primarily* a SvTFoE fanfiction. The Gravity Falls characters that appear are *supporting* characters only.

Better put a disclaimer here now. Gravity Falls is the intellectual property of Disney and Alex Hirsch. I own no part of it.

Comments and constructive criticism are always welcomed.

Starfall by GolfAlphaMike

Chapter 11: Open

"The Mystery Shack. Yeesh, what a dump." Marco thought as he parked his motorcycle. How long ago had the 'S' fallen from the sign?

The mechanic had repaired Marco's bike. It was now late morning.

Marco entered the gift shop. He looked around at the clutter and saw a mounted bearicorn head. His hopes began to rise.

He approached to inspect the taxidermy. His face fell when he looked closer. A fake. This was just a regular bear head. The horn of another animal was glued to it. Dried droplets of the epoxy used could be seen at the horn's base.

There was a group waiting. Was there a tour? Maybe he should join them.

Suddenly, a man appeared in a puff of smoke.

Marco regarded the man in front of him. He looked to be in his late 60's. He was dressed in a black suit and had an eyepatch over his left eye. He held a cane, but there was no limp in the man's gait. On the man's head was a red fez with a gold symbol.

"WELCOME TRAVELERS, TO THE MYSTERY SHACK!"

"I'm Stan Pines, and I have spent a lifetime travelling the globe in search of the strange, the bizarre, the magical, and the unexplained, for YOU! Follow me and prepare to be amazed!"

The group followed into the museum.

"We'll begin our tour with our first exhibit. This fearsome creature comes from South America where it stalked its prey on cacao plantations. Centuries of exposure have made it's flesh merge with the vegetation and transform... Behold! THE CHOCOCABRA"

Stan pulled off the cloth to reveal an old chocolate carving of a monster. The heat of the lights had melted parts of the candy sculpture. Tourists 'ooh-ed' and 'ahh-ed'. Camera flashes went off.

Marco was not impressed. Chococabra? That means 'chocolate goat'. Marco looked at the sculpture. It tried but failed to evoke a fanged and clawed reptile standing on it's hind legs. A brown drop of liquid fell from an outstretched arm. Then the whole thing collapsed and fell over. No one else noticed. Their guide had already redirected the group's attention.

"Tremble in fear... THE QUETZALCOATRACK!"

Stan opened the curtain to reveal a taxidermy display of large snakes that had been joined together in the form of a a coat rack. Feathers had been glued to the snakes.

Marco thought, "Why doesn't anyone call him out?" But the other tourists were already taking selfies with the display. "Is everyone that gullible?"

"Gaze in awe at... The MUMMY OF THE EGYPTIAN GOD KAMEN-RAMEN!"

A turtle shell, perched atop a headless mannequin. The whole thing had been wrapped in gauze bandages and decorated with a plastic jewel gun.

The tour continued for a while longer. Each exhibit was a bigger hoax than the last. Marco almost left the tour in disgust.

"Follow me back to the gift shop where you can buy stuff. Donations are appreciated." As tourists passed him, the man held out a giant glass jar. Marco couldn't believe his eyes. The people were dropping wads of cash in.

Marco was disappointed. Had Mabel been playing with him? She didn't seem like the type. But leading him here, to this farcical place? And this old crook? He's nothing but a fraud and a shyster.

"C'mon kid, pay for the tour." the man said to Marco.

"That was a complete rip-off. Where did you get those exhibits? An arts and crafts class for second graders?" Marco retorted.

The man took the money from the jar and stuffed handfuls of bills in his pockets. He laughed and put the empty jar on the register counter. "A skeptic! Kid, this is the finest collection of the paranormal you will ever see." He gestured with his cane at the junk around him.

Marco heard a cheery voice from behind him. "Marco! You're here! I see you've met my Grunkle Stan. Have you asked him about Mewni yet?"

The cane slipped out of Stan's hand and clattered on the floorboards. A pained look appeared on his face momentarily before he collected himself.

"Mabel, where did you hear that word?" Stan asked his grandniece. Marco could tell he was struggling to remain calm.

"Mewni? From him." Mabel pointed to Marco. "He told me he was in love with their princess."

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, LISTEN UP! THE MYSTERY SHACK IS NOW CLOSED! EVERYONE GET OUT!" shouted Stan as he herded tourists toward the exit over their protests. Marco was being pushed out with them until he was yanked out of the crowd by Stan. "Not you. You stay."

After the last tourist was outside, Stan locked the door, flipped the sign from 'Open' to 'Closed', and drew the blinds.

Stan flipped up the eye patch to look at Marco with both eyes. Marco was surprised to see that was yet another lie.

"All right kid, start talking. What do you know about Mewni!" Stan demanded. He got close in Marco's face in an attempt to intimidate him.

Marco would not be intimidated. "Whoa, whoa, WHOA! I came here for answers, not more questions! And certainly not for that so-called tour. Before I tell you anything, I need to know if I am wasting my breath or my time here!"

Stan paused for a moment looking Marco dead in the eyes. Marco was determined to not look away. Eventually Stan relented.

Marco watched as Stan proceeded into a closet and began to rummage. Marco kept alert. What if Stan was retrieving a weapon?

He emerged from the closet holding an old shoe box. "Here." Stan said as he handed the box to Marco.

Marco opened the box and looked inside. His eyes became wide and he reached inside to touch. He knew instantly that they were real. The subtle tingle of magic could be felt. His legs became weak and he fell to his knees.

Inside the box was a pair of dimensional scissors.

Marco took the scissors in his right hand. He concentrated on his destination, and made the cutting motion.

Nothing happened. Marco's hopes were crushed.

"No..."

"So, you do know what these are." Stan said.

Marco spoke through an unsteady voice. "I... I'll tell you everything. Help me. I need answers. Why don't these work?" Marco was on the verge of tears.

"I'd better wake up Dipper." Mabel said.

Marco sat at the table with the Pines family. Mabel had prepared coffee for everyone, but Marco was still focused on the only physical evidence that his life with Star had been real. The first proof that he wasn't delusional.

Dipper was still groggy and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he sipped his coffee. "Hey, didn't we meet at the bar?"

"I'm surprised you remember anything after how I found you last night!" Mabel said to Dipper. "Marco, why don't you start from the beginning." she suggested.

Marco took a deep breath and spoke calmly.

"I'm Marco Diaz from Echo Creek, California. When I was fourteen my family was chosen as the host family for a girl visiting as an exchange student. Her name was Star Butterfly. She was really the heir to a kingdom in another dimension. Mewni..."

When Marco finished his tale, Dipper said, "Wow. That's pretty unbelievable. Magic led you to Gravity Falls? To the bar? To me?"

"It's not like you to be skeptical, bro. You're usually the first on board with this stuff." Mabel said.

Stan was looking at Marco silently as if judging him. "I believe every word." He finally said after a while.

"You do? How about some answers, Grunkle Stan?! Real answers! What are those?" Dipper said pointing to the box.

"Dipper, those are dimensional scissors. They open portals between worlds."

"Mr. Pines, please tell me. How did you get those?" Marco asked remembering his manners. He was Marco's elder and not family. It would be inappropriate to call him 'Stan'.

"I got them from the Queen of Mewni."

"You knew Moon Butterfly?!"

"Yeah, but she wasn't the queen. Not yet anyway. I got those from her mother, Queen Rose Butterfly."

Marco remembered his talks with Star about her family. Rose Butterfly was Star's grandmother. She reigned as queen before Star's mother.

"Grunkle Stan! Have you been to Mewni?!" Mabel asked.

A look of realization came over Dipper. "Grunkle Ford's portal machine."

Marco was elated. The Pines family had the ability to open a dimensional portal.

"Dipper mentioned him last night. He was an expert in the paranormal? A genius?" Marco said.

"The auth-"

"Grunkle Stan! You promised you would never introduce him like that again!" Dipper interrupted.

Stan sighed in resignation. "My brother."

"Why have we not heard about any of this before?! When was this?!" Dipper demanded.

"It was a long, long time ago. And it's something that I had to force myself to bury."

"Grunkle Stan. Please tell us. What happened?" Mabel's eyes became big. She was attempting to convince Stan to talk with puppy dog eyes.

Stan looked at Mabel, and his stern look began to fracture. He looked at Marco who had a pleading expression.

Stan sighed again. "You know what, kid? You opened up to us. So I'm gonna open up to you... I'll be right back."

When he returned he had a bottle of whiskey and some glasses. He also had a box of tissues which he placed on the table.

Dipper asked gesturing to the tissues, "Are we really going to need those?"

"I know *I* will." said Stan as he poured himself a generous glass. "Any good story has a beginning. This one begins in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey, 1960-something..."

continuará

Author's Notes: I hope I did okay with Stan's characterization. It's a bit hard to make him a jerk and keep the story moving.

The next chapter will take a longer than just a few days. It's practically it's own story and I want to take my time to do it right. I would like to put it out as a single chapter. This is NOT a hiatus!