Author's Notes: Comments and constructive criticism are always welcomed.

Starfall by GolfAlphaMike

Epilogue 5: Knowledge

"..."

"Hi."

"..."

"Whaddaya mean my work is done?"

"..."

"I… I knew it would be soon, but right now? I'm still as strong as an ox!"

"..."

"But what about-"

"..."

"I know they're grown. But... I didn't even say goodbye."

"..."

"Are you sure they know?"

"..."

"I know, she does. Him, I'm not so sure."

"...!"

"I'm just kidding. I know."

"..."

"Really? So that's what happens?"

"..."

"Hey! Mystery solved!"

"..."

"I've missed you too."

"Grunkle Stan! It's time to get up!" Mabel called out from the kitchen. It was late in the morning, and the tourists would start to show up soon.

"Dipper? Can you go wake up Grunkle Stan? He gets too grunkly if he doesn't have time for coffee in the morning.

Dipper nodded and left the kitchen.

After a while Mabel began to wonder what was taking them so long. She was just about to leave the kitchen to follow when Dipper reappeared in the doorway.

By the look on his face she knew right away that something was wrong.

"Mabel. Grunkle Stan is gone." Dipper said.

"Did he leave?" she asked in a voice both hopeful and dreadful at once.

"No." he said as the tears started.

A public viewing and funeral was held in Gravity Falls. Most of the town came to pay their respects.

Some of the more skeptical mourners poked his body to make sure it wasn't some sort of trick. Maybe a wax figure to take his place just so he could rob a gold depository and then escape to South America or something.

But it was no trick. Stanley Pines was really gone.

Well, that part wasn't a trick anyway.

The casket containing his body was switched out with an empty one before the burial in Gravity Falls. One last con. Just like he would have wanted.

"I can't believe Mr Pines is gone." said a heavy set man while sniffling.

"I know, Soos. Nobody called to tell me he was even sick." A tall redheaded woman said.

"I do not think he was ill, Wendy. Perhaps it was just his time. He did one last thing he promised to before the end." an asian woman said.

"How are they holding up, Candy?" Wendy asked.

"Dipper is sad but poor Mabel is taking it much harder. She and Stan were always close." said Candy.

"Kinda reverse from before. Dipper took it pretty badly when Ford… you know." said Wendy.

They looked to see Dipper and Mabel being comforted by a very sturdy looking woman and a blonde woman in a black designer dress, shawl, and dark sunglasses.

"I will go to them." Candy said.

Candy exchanged places with the blonde woman who came to talk to Soos and Wendy.

"It's still hard to believe the Pines family has royal friends." the blonde said.

"That's the part you find unbelievable, Pacifica? We went through a hole in spacetime to get here."

"Please. Portals to other dimensions are sooo last decade. But two queens, two kings, and a prince all came to see him put to rest. We're talking about a man who once tried to market alien sweat as a weight loss supplement."

"Yeah. Moving stuff with my mind was fun while it lasted." Soos quipped.

The group laughed at the memory. They then looked around at the other mourners.

"I was confused at first. I thought the woman with King Brad was his wife. His kids look kinda like her. Did you know that they never met Stan?"

"Yeah. They said that they just wanted to pay their respects. Besides, their mother is buried here." Pacifica answered.

"Mighty understanding of King Brad to let Mr Pines be buried next to her." Soos said.

"He said it would be petty to deny this to Stan or to her." Pacifica said. She then asked, "Is Dipper still taking the apprenticeship?"

"In a few weeks. But it's not just an apprenticeship. There's a lot of field work. He could be out of touch for long stretches, if not the entire time. He offered to not go, but Mabel insisted that he still take it." Wendy said.

"Mabel doesn't want him to miss this opportunity because of her." Soos said.

"Is she moving back to Piedmont?" Pacifica asked.

"Naw, Dude. Melody's residency is ending and we're coming back to Gravity Falls. I'm going to help run the Mystery Shack again while Dipper is away. She won't be alone. We'll be there for her." Soos said.

"At least someone will be. Pacifica's got her companies to run, Grenda married Marius and left for Europe, Candy left for college, and I moved to the East Coast."

Soos put his hand on Wendy's shoulder. "Don't feel bad. Everyone has to live their own lives eventually. And Dipper can't be the one person Mabel relies on most forever. Someday that'll change."

Both Pacifica and Wendy were silent in thought.

"Hey! What are we talking about?!" said a rough and loud, yet feminine voice.

Both Pacifica and Wendy yelped. "Grenda!"

"So why the puzzle anyway?" Grenda said pointing at Stan's stone obelisk.

There were two others like it here. The far left one was for a servant. The middle one was for a queen. That was plainly written on their stones.

But the stone on the right was cryptic. On the front was a series of numbers.

0 -494 -38 -475 19 -38 361 152 266 171 361 -38 76 -57 437 342 779 665 1045 741 836 741 912 418 722 665 855 475 874 798

Above the numbers was a laurel wreath surrounding the word 'XIX'.

"It's so people can learn something about him. But only if they care enough to figure it out." Soos said.

"...His spirit has traveled to the next plane. So we now offer his mortal remains to the ground with the respect and honor he deserved." Brad said.

Save for a few sniffles, everyone was silent as the casket was lowered and covered with soil.

"Grunkle Stan... you were nothing but a nuisance, and I'm glad to be rid of you." Mabel said.

"I'll miss you too, Grunkle Stan." Dipper said as he let Mabel cry on his shoulder.

Marco muttered "Whaaa…?" as his eyebrow shot up.

Wendy whispered to him, "It's something they would say to each other at the end of every summer when they had to go back home but knew they'd see each other again."

"I think it's sweet." Star said.

"Okay, Bro! I'm circling the date on the calendar. One year." Mabel said.

"One year. Are you sure you still want me to go? Will you be lonely without me?"

"Don't worry about me. Besides, Grunkle Stan was right. You're a grown man. You need to do this for yourself. So would you get out of here already!" Mabel said smiling. "But before you go, Sincere Sibling Hug?"

Dipper smiled and gathered his sister into a hug.

"Pat, pat." they said together as they patted each other's back.

"Okay, here I go." he said as he opened a portal with the dimensional scissors.

"Dipper? I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Me too, Mabel. Me too."

After he was gone and the portal closed, Mabel performed a one-two punch combo in the air.

"Match made!"

He arrived outside. For security reasons, the Secret Library used a crystal that prevented dimensional travel.

He looked at the building that he would call home for the next year. He wondered why they had bars on the high windows. They seemed inaccessible and were too small for a person to fit through.

As he pulling his bags from the carriage he was approached by a woman.

"Mr Pines?"

"Yes. Hi."

"Hello Mr Pines. I've been expecting you."

"You can call me 'Dipper'."

"Alright, Dipper. But maybe you should use your legal name when you sign in."

"Okay."

The woman approached and put her arm around his shoulder. "So, are you ready for the apprenticeship?"

"Am I? This is so exciting! An actual secret library of the paranormal, magic, and multidimensional history."

"Uh-huh! All sorts of witchy stuff."

"I'm gonna learn it all!"

"Impossible to learn it all. There's too much for one lifetime. Much less one year."

"We'll just see about that."

"Well, don't chain yourself to the racks. You're here to contribute, not just learn."

"Maybe they could use copies of the journals?" Dipper said as they approached the entrance.

"Is that why you're carrying such a big backpack? Isn't it heavy?"

"It's not so bad. I'm used to it. Besides, I usually don't carry them all at once. By the way, do you have blank books? I'm ready to start another volume." Dipper said as the doors opened and they entered the building.

"I'm sure that can be arranged. But first, here's where you need to sign in." the woman said as she pointed out a book on a podium with a quill and an inkwell.

As Dipper opened the sign in log the pages seemed to flip by themselves until suddenly a small blue being appeared and floated above the book.

"Grrrrrreetings!"

"Whoa! You're a Book Elf!"

"Ooooh. Someone's been skipping ahead! Slow down kid, ya just got here. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Glossaryck of Terms. I'm the head librarian here. I see that you've already met the other apprentice, Janna."

Dipper looked at Janna. "Hey! I thought that you worked here!"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Janna said feigning innocence.

Dipper grunted in mild annoyance.

"First thing you need to do is to sign in." Glossaryck said.

The pages of the log book flipped on their own to the open entry. Dipper took the quill, dipped it in the inkwell and filled in his name.

The book suddenly slammed shut.

"Goodbye! Security!"

Confused, Dipper shouted as guards approached. "What'd I do?!"

"I was told to expect a 'Dipper Pines' and you aren't him."

"No! I *am* Dipper Pines!" he pleaded.

"Well, Dipper, you didn't sign that in the log." Glossaryck said as he made the air quotes gesture.

"Dipper is just a nickname! I signed in with my real name because the log was an official document!"

"I wish I could just believe you."

Dipper tried to think of a way to prove who he was. His driver's license would do him no good since it also had his legal name.

"Wait! I can still prove I'm Dipper!"

He took off his hat and pushed his hair back from his forehead.

"See?! This is why I'm called Dipper!"

"Is that a bent scepter?"

"It's a pot! It's called the Big Dipper! It's a constellation from Earth!"

Glossaryck looked at Janna who shrugged but gave a subtle nod. He then gave a signal to the guards to hold off.

"You make a strong case, Mr Pines. But you gotta give me more than that."

He then just hovered silently making a 'gimme' gesture with one hand.

Dipper looked at him incredulously. "Are you asking for a bribe?"

"Money? I would never ask for something so crass."

"So what do you want?"

"Pudding." Glossaryck pointed at his mouth.

"Of course!" Dipper said relieved.

Dipper wondered why that was on the list of supplies. Now he knew. And he had one in his coat pocket.

Or he thought he did. His pocket was empty.

"Aw, man!"

"You know what, G? I'll cover him this time." Janna said as she produced a pudding cup from her bag.

"Oh, Janna! You always seem to have some handy when I want it most." Glossaryck said as he opened his mouth and allowed Janna to spoon feed him.

"Do… you two already know each other?"

"Uh-huh!" Glossaryck mumbled with a full mouth.

"Glossy here used to live in Queen Star's spellbook. She's a friend from high school."

"There'll be plenty of time for everyone to get to know each other later." Glossaryck said swallowing the last spoonful of pudding. "Right now, you two should move into your rooms. Your training starts tomorrow at dawn!"

With the pudding cup finished, Janna threw the empty plastic container into the wastebin next to the log's podium. She began to walk towards the residence hall while Glossaryck floated beside her.

"It's good to see you again, Janna! What's it been? Five years? Remember when you accidentally summoned Kroxta'ah, The Devourer of Skulls?"

"Yeah! That was a fun ski trip." Janna laughed.

As they left Dipper retrieved the empty pudding cup from the wastebin and looked at the label.

Hirsch's. A brand only sold in Oregon.

Dipper narrowed his eyes. "I've got my eye on you, Janna." he said quietly to himself.

As if she heard him, Janna turned her head to wink at him.

Dipper opened one of his journals to the entry for Book Elves. At the bottom of the page he wrote a small note: 'Likes: Pudding'.

A staff tapped Dipper on the shoulder. He turned to see a diminutive monster wearing an animal's skull as a hat.

"Hey! Could you move it along? Some of us have places to be."

All the guests had arrived and were waiting for the guests of honor to return via dimensional portal.

"Hard to believe it's already been a year." Hope said.

A blade poked through the fabric of reality and cut a path between dimensions.

"They're coming!" Alfonzo shouted.

Jackie held two cocktails to offer them when they emerged. Mabel had remembered to make Dipper's drink weak.

Dipper emerged slightly ahead of Janna. Guests began to greet him, but he was reaching back into the portal and saying, "C'mon Janna. It'll be okay."

When he helped Janna through the portal, everyone at the party gasped in surprise then went silent.

"Well, this is somewhat unexpected!" said the wax head of Larry King.

Grenda took the drink meant for Janna and said, "Well, she's not gonna be needing this!" before taking a sip.

Candy took the drink meant for Dipper and added extra alcohol before handing the drink to Mabel.

"Here. You can use this."

Mabel looked like her brain had frozen and would need a moment to defrost. Her face was stuck in an open mouthed expression.

Soos chuckled. "Dude, you're in so much trouble."

Disbelief, questions, and congratulations then erupted from the guests.

Dipper and Janna still held each other's hand. With her free hand, Janna rubbed her swollen belly and smiled.

Mabel managed to corner her brother alone.

"Dipper! What the heck, Bro?!"

"I know, Mabel. Isn't it wild?"

"Why didn't you tell me… anything?!"

"Well, when things first started between us, we decided to keep it low key. Then it got more serious and things happened. Then we got sent out on assignment. While we were interviewing a monster shaman she started throwing up. The monsters thought we were just being polite. By the time we got back to the library, we decided to just tell you and everyone in person."

"But…"

"Janna and I are getting married."

"What?!"

"No one else knows yet. I wanted to tell you first. Mabel, listen. I know this seems crazy. It *is* crazy. But I'm doing this."

"Are you marrying her because she's pregnant?"

"No! I love her. I'm marrying her because I want to."

"Okay, okay. Slowdown. Don't you feel like you're leaping in headfirst here?"

"I'm not gonna just dip my toes into the shallow end. This time I'm going to do this like you would. I'm cannonballing into the deep end."

Mabel was silent.

"I know this is a huge surprise. But I hope you can be happy for us."

"Janna! What happened?!" Jackie asked.

"Well, Jackie, when a man and a woman love each other very much, they do a special hug…"

"Stop joking around! Are you and him a thing?"

"Uh-huh! We were constantly working together, and getting to know each other. Growing closer. This was probably bound to happen."

"Do you love him?" Star asked.

Janna nodded and blushed. "I love him. I do. You know how you always said that being with Marco just felt right. I finally get it. This just feels right."

"Then I'm happy for you! Hug!" Star tried to give Janna a hug, but her belly made it awkward.

"You're already getting big!" Star exclaimed.

"Aren't you scared, Janna?" Jackie asked.

"Actually I'm terrified… but I'm also really happy."

"Then I'm happy for you too." Jackie said.

"Uh… Not that it matters now, but why didn't you use that spell I taught you a long time ago? It's practically foolproof and has no side effects… other than occasional synesthesia." Star asked.

"Sev'ral Timez tastes like mango salsa." Jackie said.

"I never got a chance to try it before you disappeared. After you came back, I had to find my notes from high school."

"And…?"

"I had such sloppy handwriting. My 'b's look like 'p's."

With a snort, they all started laughing.

"So Jackie, what about you and that guy you brought to the party?" Janna asked.

"He's her booy-friennd!" Star teased.

Jackie blushed. "He's renting a spare room from the Diazes. We met after you left. He actually already knows Dipper. C'mon, I want to introduce you."

"He's also my-" Star began before she was interrupted.

Ferguson poked his head into the conversation. "Hey, sorry! Janna, your baby-daddy is calling for you."

"Hang on, guys. Looks like I'm wanted."

Janna joined Dipper in front of the guests.

"Thanks everyone for coming to welcome us back! Since you're all here together, we have an important announcement!" Dipper said.

"We're getting married!" Janna blurted out.

"Hey! We were supposed to say that together!"

"Sorry! I got excited!"

Amid the applause and cheering, they shared a kiss.

An overweight tattooed cherub at the back of the crowd shouted, "AW, YEAH! LOVE RULES!"

The party was ending and people were saying their goodbyes.

"My limo's here. So I better say goodbye. I'm like so happy for you, Dipper." Pacifica said as she gave him a hug.

"And you better take good care of him." she said to Janna.

"I will. I promise." Janna said as she drew Pacifica into a hug.

Pacifica was surprised but was alright with it. She just smiled and said goodbye.

"I'm riding with Pacifica to the airport, so I have to be going too. Bye, Dipper! Congratulations again!" Wendy gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Wendy."

Wendy then gave Janna a hug. "Hang on to him. He's a good one."

"I know." Janna said.

After they had gone, Dipper held out his hand to Janna who gave him Wendy's wallet, and the keys to Pacifica's luxury car.

"Really? Wendy can't get on the plane without her ID, and Pacifica's car is on the other side of the country."

Janna just shrugged and said, "Just practicing."

Dipper half smiled and ran out after them. "Pacifica! Wendy! You dropped these!"

Janna was alone with Mabel.

"I heard you wanted to talk to me alone." Janna said.

"You stole something else." Mabel said.

"No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did. You stole Dipper."

"He said it was a mutual breakup. She even seemed to like me."

"No, not from her. From me."

"He thought you would be happy. He even thought you set us up."

"It's not that I'm not happy for him. Or for you. But I guess that I thought that this would be more of a gradual thing. You know, he'd come home telling me he met a girl. Then he'd spend more and more time with her. I'd tease him about falling in love and he'd be all embarrassed. And there would be the right time, you know, and I'd grill him about it. Then he'd talk about buying a ring and I'd help him. But we skipped all that. I know I shouldn't let this get to me, but this is such a big surprise."

"It didn't happen overnight. I'm sorry you didn't get to see it as it grew. But things happen when you're pushed into a closet with someone. For a year."

They smiled at each other.

"We've always been there for each other. Even when he was with his ex. But you two are getting married. You even have a baby on the way already. So you're his priority now. Just like that, things have changed."

"I know it's a big change for everyone. We agreed that we wanted to raise the baby here. So I'm moving here to be with him."

"You are?"

"Can you imagine Dipper wanting to live anywhere but here?"

"No. But what about you?"

"I went to highschool with a magical princess from another dimension. I think I can handle it."

Mabel laughed.

"He told me about how your family always looked out for each other. I'm not trying to take him from you. He's still your brother. I'm actually jealous of you. I was an only child."

"Well, I've never had a sister before."

"I should thank you. If Dipper and I had met here, I'm not sure we would have wound up together. I didn't take the apprenticeship to meet your brother. It was something I wanted for myself. Falling in love with him happened on its own. The time we spent together in Mewni was… just right."

They smiled at each other again.

"You know, I kind of understand. One of my closest friends started a relationship while I was gone. We had always been there for each other at the start… and the end. But this guy seems differ- Oooh!" Janna said as she touched her belly.

"What's wrong?"

"The baby's kicking. Wanna feel?"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Mabel put her hand on Janna's belly.

"I felt something! Hi! I'm your Auntie Mabel!"

"With the authority vested in me as the eight and one halfth President of the United States, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

The bride and groom looked over to Nessie.

"As a lawyer, I assure you that this is all perfectly legal."

"You may now kiss." said Quentin Trembley.

Cheers and applause accompanied their kiss.

"Introducing Mr and Mrs Pines!"

"It's this one, Marco." Star said as she knocked on the door.

"Come in."

They opened the door to see Dipper. He had a tired, but happy look on his unshaven face. He had clearly slept in the chair.

Janna was sitting up in the bed. She was looking down at the bundle in her arms.

The newborn looked back up at Janna with unfocused eyes and let out a small yawn.

"Hi guys!" Star whispered loudly.

Marco placed the completely regular, non-magical flower arrangement on the table with the others next to a stuffed multibear from Mabel.

"Star! Marco! Come see what we made!" Janna whispered back.

Star's face lit up at the sight. "So cute! You must love him so much!" she squealed.

"Oh, I do! I love him. He's my little man." Janna said as she wiped a tear away.

"Hi, little guy!" Marco said waving his hand trying to get the baby to look in his direction.

"Janna was a trooper. Seventeen hours in labor." Dipper said.

"Whoa! I can see why." Marco said reading the information card on the side of the hospital bassinet. "Nine pounds, eight ounces."

"That's right. You're already so big and strong." Janna said to the cooing newborn.

"Um, Janna?" Star began.

"Yeah, Star?"

"Can I please hold him?"

"Sure, Star."

She sat beside Janna on the bed and carefully accepted the baby boy.

"Oh, my gosh, you're adorable." Star said.

Marco just looked on and smiled.

That night, laying in bed, Marco could sense a feeling of longing coming from Star.

"Hey. What's on your mind?" he whispered as he stroked her skin.

Star turned to face him. Even before she spoke, Marco knew what she was going to say. He felt it too.

They were happy. Happier than they had ever been. But seeing their friends with their growing family today made them feel something. And the feeling grew stronger with every passing moment.

"Marco?"

"Yes, Star?"

"It's time." she said softly.

"I know." he whispered

"I love you."

"And I love you."

epílogo continuará

Author's Notes: Just like chapter 12, I wanted to get this bit of story out in one chunk. It turned out a bit longer than I expected.

This chapter was originally scripted and even already partially written to be very different. My original version of Janna had an abusive single mother. Dipper and Janna's relationship was filled with waaay more drama. Janna was fearful that Dipper would abandon her like her father did when her mother got pregnant. More OCs. More settings. Blah, blah, blah…

I scrapped it all and started over from scratch.

Star and Marco already had the angsty, heartbreaking, drawn out, dramatic relationship arc. Dipper and Janna didn't need to do that too. They met. They fell in love. Oops. Married. The details of their courtship are not essential to know.

The cipher is solvable. While it is a bit more complicated than a typical GF cipher, I don't think it's impossible to figure out.

Normally I publish chapters of this story here on FFnet first, then I wait a day or two before I publish to AO3. Readership of this story is far, far, faaaar higher here on FFnet.

But, because of "reasons", the next chapter will be published to AO3 first.

I will put a placeholder chapter here when that happens.

My username on AO3 is also GolfAlphaMike.