I'm back! And this chapter is actually on time! Yay for that! Also, we've gotten to 2,500 views and 30 followers! Also yay! For reviews:
13ForLife: (Twice) Yeah, but if you got whacked on the head, would you be in the best mood either?
I'm just going to apologize again, as this chapter and last chapter are both a bit shorter than what I'd normally write. So I'm sorry. But let's move on. Gravity Falls belongs to Alex Hirsch and Nala belongs to me!
The siblings stood in front of a statue made from white stone. It was an angel, clutching a table in one arm while her other was pointing off in a different direction.
"The statue must be pointing to the next clue!" Dipper exclaimed. Nala eyed the direction the statue was pointing in, not seeing anything in the mist that blanketed the cemetery.
"Can we just go?" The teen asked, shifting from foot to foot. The Gravity Falls cemetery had always freaked her out with its ever present blanket of fog and stone tombstones. Today was no different, even though a soon as you passed through the iron gates, the mist faded away and the sun was shining again. It was just a bit too strange for Nala's tastes, even with everything she had encountered. Mabel didn't seem to be bothered by this, as she had climbed up on the base of the statue.
"Oh, gross!" Mabel cried, the statue's finger now in her nose. "She's picking my nose!" The girl giggled at her own joke, tilting her head slightly. This caused the angel's finger to bend, forcing Mabel's head up. She let out a cry of pain as she was forced to stand on her tiptoes. Nala's eyes widened as a slab of stone at the angel's feet slid open, leaving Mabel a small ledge to stand on. Dipper pointed to it with a huge smile on his face.
"Mabel, look!" He cried to his twin, aware that his older sister could already see it. Mabel smirked at the newly made hatch.
"Ha! Who's silly now, Pacifica?" Mabel taunted. "Bam!" She tried to hop down, forgetting that the angel's finger was still in her nostril. She let out a cry of pain as her head was jerked upwards. "Ow. Ow. Ow." It took Mabel a moment, but she was able to unhook her nose and climb down. "Okay." Nale eyed the small entrance, not sure she wanted to risk going down.
"Are you sure about this?" Nala asked, but her siblings ignored her.
"Now we're getting into real conspiracy mode," Mabel stated. "I feel serious." She fished the bag of butterscotches out of her pocket and grabbed one, tossing the wrapper behind her. Dipper had already ventured down the stairs, and Mabel quickly followed them. Nala cast one last longing glance at the sky before hurrying after her siblings. As soon as she entered the dark tunnel, her breathing sped up and her eyes began darting around the tunnel wildly. The teen clenched her fist, rumpling her shirt. It only took Mabel a minute to notice.
"What's wrong Nala?" The female twin asked. Nala gave her sister a tense smile before saying, "It's nothing. I'm just a bit claustrophobic." Mabel eyed her sister, who was trembling from head to toe.
"Looks like more then a bit to me," she remarked, but was interrupted by Dipper, who said, "Okay, look out for booby traps." Mabel giggled at the word, just as she stepped on a slightly raised stone. Nala flung herself out of the way, right as a small dart flew through the air where she had been standing.
"Tranquilizer darts!" Dipper screamed, before grabbing Mabel's hand and dragging her down the corridor, ducking and leaping over darts with a awkward grace. Nala followed, with a greater amount of grace then her siblings. She was almost out of the danger zone when she felt it. A small pain in the curve of her neck. Nala let out a gasp as she flung herself next to her siblings, her hand flying up to rest against the smooth base of the dart. The teen yanked it out, but cursed when she felt her movements becoming sluggish. How could I have been so stupid? Dipper and Mabel were staring at her with worried expressions as she dropped the dart, then collapsed onto the floor.
"Nala!" The teen faintly her a female voice scream her name before her world faded into black.
(Time-Skip)
When Nala woke up, her head was on Mabel's lap, and Dipper was pacing around nervously. Her eyelids felt heavy, but she forced them open anyway.
"NALA!" Mabel yelled, happiness filling her voice. "You're awake!" Nala let out a groan, pushing herself to a sitting position. She raised her eyebrow at the man petrified in what looked like a square of...peanut brittle? Nala decided to ignore this and focus on what was happening. Her gaze darted around and it only took her a moment to realize that they were in a wooden box, made of planks.
"What happened?" She asked. Dipper sighed and flopped down in front of his sister, crossing his legs into a pretzel position.
"Down in that cave thing," Dipper began, "after you fell unconscious, Mabel found a folder with some papers in it. It told us that the Northwests had lied about founding the town, and the true founder was sir lord, Quentin Trembley, III, Esquire." Dipper gestured to the man in the peanut brittle before continuing. "Then, those police who had been chasing us came down and told us that they had found us by following a trail of candy wrappers." The male twin glared at Mabel, who ignored him.
"Anyway," Mabel said, "they showed us a video about how Quentin Trembley was the eighth and a half president and was so silly, that they erased him from history. So now that we know about it, they're taking us to a government base in Washington." The explanation was strange, but Nala decided on accepting it for now. Mabel, on the other hand, seemed seriously depressed.
"What's wrong sis?" Nala asked, placing a hand on Mabel's shoulder. The girl twisted away, and Nala let her hand fall back to her side.
"I can't believe I left a trail of candy wrappers," Mabel grumbled. "This is all my fault. Pacifica had me pegged all along. I'm just a silly failure, like that embarrassing president what's-his-name." With a sigh, the female twin reached out and broke off a piece of the peanut brittle that made up Trembley's cage, taking a huge bite. As Nala watched, huge cracks spread up from where Mabel had broken off the piece, then the rest of the hard candy fell away, revealing the somehow, still alive president. Mabel and Dipper let out screams while Nala pinched her arm, trying to make sure she wasn't still unconscious.
"It is I, Quentin Trembley," the man announced, before reaching down and ripping off his pants to reveal fluffy underwear that went to his knees. Nala stared, confused, until Mabel whispered, "When he was president, he passed a de-pants-ipation proclamation." If anything, that just confused Nala more, but she still didn't say anything.
"You're alive! But how?" Dipper asked, his eyes wide. Mabel scooted away from her sister and got to her feet, spreading her arms.
"Peanut brittle really does have life-sustaining properties!" She announced. "You're not silly, you're brilliant!" Trembley smiled and ruffled her hair.
"And so are you, dear girl, for following my clues and freeing me from my delicious tomb!" He cried.
"He's right Mabel," Nala remarked, "making maps into hats, hanging upside-down…" She trailed off and Dipper picked up.
"Your silliness solved the code that serious cops couldn't crack in a hundred years!" Mabel blushed, but didn't protest for them to stop. Trembley had gotten distracted though.
"By Jefferson!" The president exclaimed. "We seem to be trapped in some sort of crate-shaped box."
"It's a crate, Mr. President," Mabel explained. Trembley smirked before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a golden key with an eagle on the top.
"Good thing I have the President's Key, which can open any lock in America!" He announced, before slamming the key into a wooden plank. When that didn't work, Trembley gave the wood a confused glance before trying again. And again. And again.
"I... don't think that's gonna work," Nala remarked.
"Wood!" Trembley announced. I think we already knew that, Nala thought. "My age-old enemy. In order to get out of here, this is going to take the silliest plan ever conceived." Nala decided not to wonder about how wood could be his enemy, and decided on focusing on how to escape.
"I think I know who can help you," Dipper said, gesturing to Mabel. The twins exchanged a smile before Mabel let her gaze wander around the crate, searching for a way out. After a moment, her face lit up.
"How 'bout that hole?" She suggested, pointing to an extremely tiny hole, near the bottom of a plank.
"We will leap through it!" Trembely declared, darting over to the hole. Mabel proceed to poke her finger through it, trying to push her way out.
"Almost. Almost there…" Trembley encouraged. "Good! Keep pushing." Nala eyed them with no small amount of distrust.
"I don't think this is working," she remarked. Dipper nodded, in complete agreement with his older sister.
"Trust... the silliness!" Mabel grunted, continuing in her hopeless task.
"Fiddlesticks! Keep going!" Trembley cried. Just then, a tapping noise echoed around the box, causing Trembley to look up and ask, "Is that my third wife? Sandy?" Nala almost screamed in exasperation. Completely bored, she turned to the wall and dealt it a hard kick. To her shock, the board fell, causing the rest of the planks to topple over like dominos. Everyone was silent for a moment.
"Well, we didn't fit through the hole," Trembley finally said. "Let's rebuild the box and try again!"
"Move it!" Nala screamed, grabbing Mabel and Dipper's hands and dragging her toward the door.
"Also good!" Trembley cried, following them. Nala reached the door first, flinging it open. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of one of the police officers getting a bucket of ice, but she didn't waste any time in punching him in the face. As they rushed past him, the teen faintly heard him calling for help, but she ignored it. It only took the group a minute to find a ladder leading up to a trapdoor. Trembley went first and proceeded to bang the president's key against it for a minute, before Dipper grabbed it with a cry of, "Give me that!" He pushed the trapdoor open and scrambled out, everyone following him.
They stood on the roof for a minute, not sure where to go. A clunking noise caught their attention and they turned around to see the police officers climbing onto the roof, both of them out of breath.
"There...is...no...escape!" Blubs panted. "I gotta take a knee." The fat police officer bent over, clutching his stomach. Durland carefully placed a hand on his back and asked, "Are you okay? Can I get you anything?" Blubs smiled up at Durland.
"Edwin, darlin', you are a diamond in the rough." Nala stomped her foot, tired of the admiring talk.
"Enough!" She exclaimed. "Do you really want to lock us all up in a government facility somewhere?" Blubs shrugged, his face expressionless.
"I've got no choice!" He stated. "Our orders come from the very top!" A strange look came over Dipper's face.
"Wait!" He cried, turning to Trembley. "Quentin, did you ever sign an official resignation?" The former president shook his head, saying, "No, sir. I ate a salamander and jumped out the window." Dipper smirked and turned back to the police officers.
"Then... technically you're still legally the President of the United States, right?" Nala nodded and gestured to Trembley with a smirk on her face.
"You've gotta answer to this guy now," she said, her voice dripping with smugness. The police officers both had confused looks on their faces, but Trembely proceed to say, "As president of these several United States, I hereby order you to pretend none of this ever happened. And- and go on a delightful vacation." Nala smirked, right before Mabel yanked her down.
"What was that for!?" Nala protested, looking up just in time to see Trembley get hit in the head with a train sign. "Never mind."
"Vacation?!" Blubs cried. Then turning to Durland, "What place have you always wanted to visit? One, two-"
"Silly Water Fun Slides in Grand Lakes, Michigan!" They exclaimed together.
(Time-Skip)
The group stood on the ground, watching the train pull away with the two police officers. They dangled out the windows for a minute, waving at the siblings and president. As soon as the train was out of sight, Trembley turned to Mabel, getting down on one knee. Nala watched him with a suspicious look on her face, only to relax when he said, "You've done a great service to your country, Mabel. As thanks, I'd like to make you an official U.S. congressman." He pulled a black circle out of his coat and with a snap of his wrist, it unfolded into a black top hat. Mabel's smile stretched from ear to ear as Trembley placed it on her head.
"I'm legalizing everything!" The young girl declared, to the amusement of her sister. Trembley then turned to Dipper, a serious look on his face.
"And Roderick," he began, pausing for dramatic effect.
"Uh- actually- uh-" Dipper stammered, not sure if he should correct the president. Luckily, the president made his decision easy by continuing with his speech.
"You dear boy are on your way to unlocking the mysteries of this great land. So I'd like you to have my President's Key!" Trembley declared, pulling the golden key from his jacket and handing it to Dipper, who looked positively ecstatic. Nala smiled as her brother carefully tucked it into his pocket, making sure it wouldn't fall out of vest. Finally, Trembley spun around to face Nala.
"For you, sweet girl," he began, "I give you this useless trinket I came upon before I froze myself in peanut brittle." With that, he pulled a thin golden chain from another pocket, handing it to Nala. A small small oval shaped locket dangled from the chain, winking in the light. Nala was stunned speechless as Trembley dropped the locket into her hand.
"Thank you," she finally managed, her voice just above a whisper. Without a moment's delay, she carefully fastened the chain around her neck, the locket resting on her chest. Once she was done, the teen let her hands fall to her sides, offering Trembley a smile.
(Time-Skip)
"And then he chased me around and spanked me with a paddle for, like, three hours. Bottom line, George Washington was a jerk," Trembley said, finishing his story. Nala burst out into giggles at the unexpected ending. On the way back from the train, he had decided to pass the time by telling stories, and Nala found it quite amusing. It only took Mabel a moment to find whoever she was looking for, and she rushed off. Nala darted after her sister, just in time to hear her say, "Hey, Pacifica! I uncovered a government conspiracy about the eighth-and-a-half president of the United States! Who's silly now?" Mabel's voice was smug, and Pacifica sounded completely baffled as she said, "What? Who is that idiot?"
Nala turned around to see Trembley chasing after a bald eagle, attempting to punch it. "Put up your dukes, you bald fiend!" Nala giggled and continued to watch Trembley attempt to hit the eagle. Should I tell him that those birds are endangered?
"Wow!" Pacifica exclaimed. "You really are a sad, dumb little girl. Nice top hat, by the way." She smiled mockingly at Mabel, who's smile remained on her face. Behind her, Pacifica's parents chuckled.
"Good one, daughter," her father complimented. Pacifica flipped her hair before waltzing over to her parents. Nala was tempted to make a rude gesture at the family, but refrained, given that there were children present.
"Ooh! I see your car is stuck in the mud," Pacifica commented, stepping into her car. "Enjoy walking home!" She slammed the door behind her.
"Aren't you gonna tell her about her…" Dipper began, leaning over to whisper the end of the sentence in his twin's ear. Mabel shrugged.
"You know what, Dipper?" Mabel said. "I've got nothing to prove. I've learned to see silly as awesome!" Dipper glared at the retreating car for a moment before pulling a bundle of papers.
"Well, I haven't learned anything!" He cried, and let out a piercing whistle. "Hey, Pacifica!" Dipper bolted after the car, slipped the papers through the window, and ran back to his siblings. Nala smirked as she faintly heard Pacifica scream, "Moooom!"
"Man, revenge is underrated. That felt awesome!" Dipper exclaimed as Nala ruffled his hair.
"That's my little brother," Nala remarked, a smile on her face. Trembley stepped in front of the siblings, a serious look on his face.
"Children, I am needed elsewhere. Just know that I'll always be right here…" Trembley said, pulling out a dollar bill and handing it to Dipper. "On the negative twelve dollar bill." Dipper barked a laugh as he examined the bill.
"Whoa. This is worthless," Dipper said, prompting Trembley to smile at him.
"It's less than worthless, my boy," Trembley corrected. "Trembley away!" With that, Trembley threw himself backwards, somehow landing on a horse and riding off.
"Where do you think he's going?" Mabel asked, causing her older sister to giggle.
"I'm gonna say... off a cliff," Nala answered. Just then, the teen heard a voice screaming, "SOMEONE! LET ME OUT!" Nala spun on her heels and darted off, followed closely by her siblings. It only took her a minute to find Stan, locked in the wooden stocks.
"Kids!" He cried upon seeing Nala. "Get me out!" Nala giggled, putting her hands on her hips.
"How'd you get in there in the first place?" She asked, her tone teasing. Stan glared at her.
"Long story," he grumbled. "Just get me out." Nala rolled her eyes and gestured at Dipper, who handed her the President's Key. He did so, and she slid it into the lock, letting out a sigh of relief as it turned.
"It works!" Dipper cried as Nala gave him the key. Stan stepped away from the stacks, rubbing his wrists before glancing at Mabel.
"So what's with the top hat?" He asked.
"I am a congressman," Mabel gloated, a smirk on her face. Stan had a confused look plastered to his face.
"Pardon me?" He asked, confused. Mabel misunderstood, saying, "You are officially pardoned." The siblings broke out into giggles.
"You a never gonna make sense, are you, kid?" Stan said, partly asking a question, partly not.
"No, I'm not, Grunkle Stan," Mabel said. "No, I'm not. Mabel, away!" The girl flung herself backwards, ramming her body into several trash cans.
"I'm okay!" She called. Nala sighed heavily and walked over to her sister, pulling Mabel to her feet.
"Let's go home," Nala stated.
(Time-Skip)
Nala scrambled up her rope ladder before collapsing in her hammock, completely spent. Her siblings had decided to play a prank on Soos, as he had tried to entomb himself in peanut brittle. She could hear them downstairs, rambling about General Laser Face or something.
With a sigh, she let her eyes slide close and drifted off into a dreamless sleep. After a minute, the locket on her chest began to glow. Its soft golden glow stayed for a moment before dissipating. Unknown to the teen, the locket held a secret. Inside it, a small glass triangle rested.
Abjlkp qexq ifb xka qloqrob xka pqbxi
Tel clozb bsbovlkb ybclob qebj ql hkbbi
Yrq tebk xii fp pxfa xka xii fp alkb
Qeb Iflk exp elmb
Xka abjlkp exsb klkb
And there we go! Don't worry my followers, the chapters from now on will be posted on time(hopefully)! Please review! It keeps me motivated. Why was Nala's necklace glowing? Until next time!
-Hourglass