Fiddleford had his hands on his knees as he caught his breath, winded from the hike already, and they hadn't even reached the lake yet.

"C'mon, Fiddlenerd." Stan teased and gave his back a sharp pat, which nearly toppled the weakened engineer over. "Ya can't be tired already."

"I ain't used t'all this hikin' like y'all are." Fiddleford huffed aggravatingly.

Ford checked his watch and said, "Well, we can take a break for now. It's past noon, anyways."

"Great!" Stan plopped down on a big rock and put his backpack down to dig around for a bottle of water. "I'm starved!"

"Madeline packed y'all some lunch if ya want it." Fiddleford said and reached into his own pack and fished around in it until he pulled out a bag full of ham and cheese sandwiches with a special type of sauce Maddie adds to it that she has vowed to take to the grave.

"That was nice of her." Ford said as he pulled out his journal and began to write about their first day hiking.

"No kidding," Stan said as he bit into his sandwich and hummed with satisfaction. "You sure know how to pick' em, Fidds."

"More like I'm the guy who was lucky enough t'get picked by her." Fiddleford corrected with a smile as he ate his lunch on the grass with his friends.

The trio had started on the hike early this morning. After kissing his wife and son goodbye, Fiddleford drove his truck to the shack and left with the twins there, just in time to wave Hephzie goodbye before she had to go to work. The men then headed for the lake, the same lake the Stan O War II was docked on, to reach Trembly Falls and go through the mountains by going into a secret tunnel that was hidden by the falls.

As Stan and Ford picked on Fiddleford about his lack of physical activity in a brotherly way, Fiddleford drew a pair of robotic legs with a stick while he munched on his sandwich, unaware of the creature that was intrigued by the sudden arrival of food.

At first glance, Fiddleford thought that a lumberjack had left their plaid jacket under a bush by a small stream, but no. He eyed it, still as stone, as the creature slowly came out and sniffed the air with a billed face. It had webbed feet and a platypus-like tail. The little guy stood on his back legs like a begging dog and looked at Fiddleford. Or, at least it looked like it did; his eyes were too far apart to be sure of what it was looking at.

Stan was frozen as he watched the anomaly and Ford quietly began to sketch on a blank page, careful to leave room for additional notes for later. "Incredible." The scientist breathed.

"Wh-What in tarnation is that critter?" The engineer whispered, his KBPS up to 2.8.

"That's a Plaidypus." Ford answered. "They must be where lumberjacks get their flannels from. I had heard folklore about this marsupial, but I had assumed that it was only local legend."

"Sixer, by now you should now that nothing is just local legend around here." Stan teased in a low voice.

Fiddleford smiled and tossed over half of his eaten sandwich. "Here ya go, little guy. I'm sure you're more hungry than I am." Just as the engineer reached into his backpack for a second sandwich, he heard a purr and felt something rub against his leg. He looked down and the Plaidypus was showing him affection much like a cat would.

"Looks like ya got a new pet, buddy." Ford said quietly.

Fiddleford scratched the top of its head and smiled. His knee was still. Fiddleford was starting to wonder if not all of the anomalies were dangerous. "Tate asked me t'bring him back a dog. Guess a Plaidypus is close enough." He joked as the creature nuzzle its head into Fiddleford's hand.

"Who would want a platypus as a pet?" Stan snorted into his canteen of water. "Sounds like something you'd only see on TV."

After lunch was finished and the Plaidypus saw that there was no more food, they went their separate ways and the humans headed for Trembly Falls.

Once at the lake, Fiddleford stared in amazement, as well as the twins. It didn't matter how many times the Pines came to the lake to fish or be lazy on their sailboat, they were still astonished by the stunning beauty of the lake. The twins were so captivated by the gentle waves, the sparkling sun, the cluster of trees that circles the mass body of water, that they needed to be called loudly by Fiddleford to regain their consciousness. "What in tarnation?! Stanley, Stanford, have y'all ever seen this before?!"

Stan and Ford turned to Fiddleford's direction and awed at something new. It could pass as a boulder, a browning big boulder, but the shape was too distinct and it looked more whitish-yellow than a light dirt-brown. With the root stuck in the sand and the crown filthy, it looked like a giant tooth was on the shore of the lake.

"Hot Belgian Waffles!" Stan swore and went up to it. "That's a giant tooth!"

"I've never seen anything like it…" Ford marveled and immediately pulled out his journal to sketch it.

"Y-Ya haven't?" Fiddleford clarified, a little unnerved that two men who came to the lake a lot had never seen this before.

"Nope. We usually hang out on the other side of the lake." Stan justified and pointed to where the lake curves. "The docks are over there and it's great for taking off, then we usually circle around here to fish, but we usually don't come to this part of the lake."

"In the past, I've noticed that one of the islands never seems to be at the same place at once." Ford said. "Maybe this is why."

"What do you mean, Sixer?"

Fiddleford pulled out some of his dental floss and said in a low voice, "I think I get the idea."

Stan dug around his pack and said, "I've got a chisel in here we can use."

The two got to work: Fiddleford worked away at the roots and Stan chipped away at the crown, working together to break off whatever was caked on the tooth thanks to a lack of proper dental care. Perhaps this will make Stan take better care of his teeth. Ford couldn't help himself but smile as he watched them work. Ever since the McGuckets moved to Gravity Falls, Fiddleford and Stan had grown closer. Sure, they had met at Ford's wedding and gotten to know each other over the years, but now they seemed to have more in common than just Ford, and he was grateful for that. Like, they were becoming friends because they wanted to, not because they felt obligated to because they had a friend in common.

Ford decided to sit for a minute as he sketched the newfound investigations and theories in his beloved book. He was lost in thought and almost missed it when Fiddleford and Stan both excitedly yelled that they had found nerve tissue at the root of the tooth, and crushed mollusks, fish bones, and a broken wristwatch at the crown. Ford grinned as his theory seemed plausible: a giant head, disguised as an island, lived in the lake. First the Gobblewonker, now a giant head… how many oddities could fit in one lake? Ford thought it was a pity that the cabin wasn't closer to the water; they wouldn't have to deal with zombie-lumberjacks if they hadn't built their home over the Northwest family's old crimes.

Stan and Fiddleford nearly had to drag Ford away from the lake to keep him going. It was only when Stan snatched up his journal and threatened to throw it into the water that they finally moved on for Trembly Falls. The trio hiked around the lake to a cliff that made Trembly Falls. They used the cliff to hike behind the falls, just barely getting sprayed by the falling water, and entered a hidden cave. It was vast and had rocks that led up to a second-floor like cliff, but that's not what they sought after.

"Are ya sure this is it?" Fiddleford asked hesitantly, not to insult the twins' intelligence, but confused as to how this empty cave could lead them to the other side of the mountain.

"Ah, ah." Ford said warningly with a raised finger. "Remember, not everything is what it seems." He and Stan moved to a big boulder and worked together to push it out of the way. Slowly, like the tomb of Jesus Christ, a dark tunnel was revealed. Fiddleford's jaw dropped and then he grinned. Once the boulder was out of the way, Ford pulled out his old Civil War lantern and looked at Stan and Fiddleford. "Now who wants to go first?"

Fiddleford walked in and awed at how the tunnel was formed. It looked sturdy enough, but it appeared to be hundreds of years old, possibly even thousands, and was actually quite big; it was tall enough that if Fiddleford got on one of the twin's shoulders, his head would graze the dirt. Ford stepped in and led on while Stan closed the entrance with the boulder to keep nosey archaeologists from digging everything up, and to keep the eyebats out, too.

"This place is amazin'!" Fiddleford said as Stan caught up to them and they soon came across scattered paintings the Natives had made a long time ago.

"The Natives came here to hide from the anomalies." Ford informed and pointed to one painting of what looked like a three-headed dinosaur being hunted by a man armed with a bow and arrow. "If the beasts that roamed ancient Gravity Falls were anything like these, the Natives needed a safe place to hide in case disaster stuck, so they built this sanctuary to hide in times of turmoil."

"Thanks, Mr. Tour Guide." Stan teased and elbowed him as he walked on by. "Let's just hurry up and get outta here."

"What, are ya claustrophobic?" Fiddleford asked with a smirk.

Ford sneered and said, "No, no, but he's…"

"Shut it, Brainiac!" Stan growled and punched his shoulder.

Ford and Fiddleford both laughed and walked on; Ford could spill Stan's secret later if he desired. For a few hours the three men ventured through the mountain. Occasionally, Ford would snap a picture and Fiddleford would stare at the stories the Natives displayed on the walls of their home, but Stan kept them moving along. Unfortunetly, at one point in their journey, Ford's lantern went out and left the three in the darkness.

"Son of a…"

"Stanley."

"Sweet Saperilla, I can't see a thing!"

"Yeah, that's what usually happens when you're stuck in a cave with no light, Genius."

"Thank you, Stanley, for the clarification."

"Wait, hold up, I've got a lighter here, just give me a sec."

"Great!"

Stan flicked his lighter on and it was just enough to light up the three men's faces and create shadows to indicate where the walls were, but it was still a sad amount of light. "Give the lantern here, Poindexter."

Ford held up the lantern and Stan opened the little door to relight it. Just before the tiny flame touched the wick, they heard what sounded like the chirping of a bird.

Fiddleford looked around and asked, "Uh, fellers, y'all never mentioned there bein' any birds in here."

"Cuz we didn't know there were birds in here." Stan answered and also kept his eyes peeled.

The chirping came back and was hollowed by a hum. Chirp, chirp, hum. Chirp, chirp, hum. Fiddleford squinted when he thought he saw some light up ahead, but it was hard to tell if it was actually there or just a shadow from the lighter in Stan's hand.

"Stanley, turn off the lighter for a minute."

Stan clicked it shut with a flick of his wrist and they were engulfed in darkness. Well, not entirely. Where Fiddleford thought he saw something, he saw a pair of light-blue glowing eyes. The trio stared and saw another pair slowly fade in, and then another pair. They blinked and seemed to be coming closer. They heard clicking, like… like diamonds against the ground, and a soft light was illuminated from the creatures that slowly approached, like a hurt kitten.

It was like a dark ball of rock with glowing eyes, a big mouth, and diamonds poking out through its body and using them for teeth and legs. It had four legs and moved slowly. The three oddities moved slowly towards the men and one slowly approached Ford's leg.

"Holy Moses," He swore under his breath and whispered, "This… this is an entirely new classification of organism! A… a Geodite!"

Fiddleford eyed the creatures and Stan was mesmerized. He stiffened when Ford lowered a six-fingered hand to the geodite that approached him and it crawled onto his palm. Ford picked up the little guy, who was a little bigger than his hand, and the geodite rubbed its rough chin against his cold skin and then open its mouth to sing a baby-pitched song. The music echoed off the walls of the tunnel and the three men awed as more of the geodites approached slowly. One munched on Stan's pants-leg and Fiddleford didn't know how to make heads or tails of these little guys.

"They seem to be friendly enough." Fiddleford observed, wondering if the geodite's song was its way of saying that the humans were okay. "I wonder if the Natives kept these fellers as pets."

"I'll buy that." Stan said and flicked his lighter back on and picked up the lantern to light it.

Once the flame touched the wick and the light grew, the genodites let out a terrible shriek and scampered away as fast as their little legs could carry them. The one in Ford's hand bit his finger and actually made him bleed. Ford sucked on his finger to ease the small sting and Stan decided to lead the way since Ford and Fiddleford kept on getting distracted.

Not long after discovering the Geodites, the trio saw light up ahead and after Stan made a joke about meeting their maker, they emerged from the tunnels to find themselves at the top of Gravity Peak. The sun was setting and it wasn't a good idea to travel at night, so the men made camp for the night, sitting around the fire and enjoying each other's company.

Ford had his journal prompted on his knees to record the events of the day, sketching a silhouette of himself, his brother, and their friend going into the cave hidden by Trembly Falls. He drew a geodite and wrote down what had happened. Stan was lying on his back, his head cushioned by his crossed arms, and Fiddleford was eating from a can of baked beans his wife had packed for him. Ford's attention was on his journal until Stan made a comment for anyone to jump on.

"The stars look pretty good up here."

Ford blinked his stiff eyes and looked upward. In a vast blanket of darkness, strange constellations only found in Gravity Falls twinkled. Ford smiled at seeing the stars; stargazing was a favorite pastime for him and Stan seemed to enjoy it just as much when they were children and even now. "They do." Ford agreed.

Fiddleford looked up and smiled. He sat his can and spoon aside and laid down, too. He used his arms to create a makeshift pillow for his head and neck and he looked at such beautiful creations with eyes that mirrored the stars. "God Almighty, it's beautiful out here."

There was silence, or about as much silence as there could be. Bugs chirped in the woods. A cowl might make itself heard. The fire crackled as the wood was broken down. The scratching of Ford's pen against paper harmonized with the other noises of the night. And then Stan opened his big mouth, as usual, and broke the silence. "Hey, Fiddlenerd. What are your plans for when this whole portal thing is done and over with?"

Fiddleford hummed for a moment, thinking about it, and then said as he looked up at the stars, "I've always dreamed of becomin' an independent inventor, caterin' t'people with robotics that would improve our daily lives. Honestly, after growin' up dirt-poor, I'd be perfectly happy t'have enough money t'keep my house from ever havin' a broken screen door for longer than a day."

"I can respect that." The retired criminal said.

"I'm lookin' forward t'havin' more time with my family. Not that I'm not enjoyin' our time together! But it'll be nice t'take Tate out t'fish n' help him in school, maybe even give him some brothers n' sisters in a few years."

"Yeah, having a brother is pretty cool, I guess." Stan sneered, averting his eyes to his twin as much as he could without moving.

"I love you, too, Stanley." Ford said sarcastically to drive the joke home and the men gave out small chuckles of amusement.

"How 'bout it, Stan?" Fiddleford asked, returning the question. "Got any big plans?"

Stan thought about it. For the last six years he and Ford had worked together to discover the anomalies in Gravity Falls. Once that was over, what was next? It seemed like every time Stan made a plan, it fell apart, so maybe no plan was the best plan. He had planned to sail around the world, that didn't happen. He had planned to make it big on his own, that didn't work out well for a high-school dropout. He had planned to say goodbye to Ford and Hephzie for good after their wedding, and clearly that didn't fly.

"Not really." Stan admitted. "I mean, Ford's the plan guy. How about it, Sixer? What's our next move after the portal's done?"

"Well," Ford said and closed his journal to fully engage in the conversation. "When the portal is finished and we can prove my theory, I can finally publish my work and it's only a matter of time until we are recognized for our discoveries. We'd be the toast of the scientific community, rubbing elbows with presidents and prizewinners, debating politics with Reagan, and discussing turtleneck fashion tips with Carl Sagan."

"More like you'd be discussing turtleneck fashion tips with Carl Sagan." Stan corrected. "I'll be on the other side of the room charming babes. Honestly, I wouldn't have a problem going down in history as some kind of badass explorer. The Lewis and Clark of the twentieth century. Who knows? Maybe a hundred years from now kids will be reading about the Pines Twins, adventurers and researchers of all things weird!"

Ford chuckled in agreement. "I would like that."

"N' ya say you're waitin' t'publish your work after the portal's done?" Fiddleford clarified. "Just out of curiosity, why not publish now? Ya already discovered so much 'bout Gravity Falls, 'bout enough to rub elbows or what not." Fiddleford added with a chuckle.

Ford shook his head and laughed good-naturedly. "Once Gravity Falls is revealed to the world, it would surely create a Gold Rush of its own of scientists flocking to the town…"

"A Weirdness Rush!" Stan interrupted, the name coming to him out of the blue.

"Yes, exactly, a Weirdness Rush. If we don't discover the theory first, someone else will. And our names would be lost to the history textbooks. Besides, I have always preferred the road less traveled, but I'm grateful to be traveling with loved ones."

"Geez, Ford, I think there was poison in that rock-creature's bite or something." Stan teased. "You're never this sappy."

Ford rolled his eyes and put his journal aside to lie down, as well. His eyes were treated to a full view of the stars and he smiled as the warmth from the fire mixed perfectly with the cool temperature of the night air. Ford was comfortable and found himself more tired than he thought he was. In fact, he didn't even know he had fallen asleep until he awoke the next morning to the sound of Fiddleford's screaming.

Stan had a deja vu feeling when Fiddleford cowered behind him. Ford might have hid behind Stan when they were younger, but now they were grown and Ford was much braver than when they were kids. Fiddleford was shaking all over and tried to be discreet about using Stan as a bodyguard, but he was clearly terrified and since Ford wasn't going to aid him, he went to the one person he thought would.

Stan rolled his eyes and hissed over at his brother, "Stanford, are you crazy, let's go."

"One minute, Stanley!" Ford whispered back as he sketched as quickly as he could. He was being very detailed, unsure of when he'll ever get such a good look at the beast and not wanting to waste this opportunity that had been handed to him on a silver platter. "I just want to…"

"F-F-Ford!" Fiddleford whispered in a strained tone. "Wh-What if it wakes up?!"

"It won't; they're very heavy sleepers." Ford replied, not taking his eyes off the anomaly or his drawing of it.

The trio were taking a shortcut back home after reaching Crash Sight Omega and finding the Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive, when they had found a Gremloblin sleeping on their path, curled up into a disgusting ball and snoring loudly. Ford was quick to get this fascinating creature documented, and while Stan normally would be okay with observing it, now didn't seem like the best time to be studying one of the most dangerous creatures in Gravity Falls.

"Stanford, please!" Fiddleford begged as quietly as he could while still emphasizing his worry. "I'd feel a lot better if we went home!"

"Fiddleford, don't worry. Trust me, nothing will…"

Due to the high altitude, the Hyperdrive in Fiddleford's backpack suddenly let out a loud shriek, making the humans cover their ears and the Gremloblin wake up with a start. The beast roared angrily and smacked a beefy arm at Ford. He was thrown against a tree and looked up quickly to see the monster go toe-to-toe with Stan as he tried to punch it right back. Fiddleford ran to Ford and helped him get up on his feet.

"You two go ahead!" Stan yelled. "I'll catch up!"

"A-Are ya sure?" Fiddleford asked as he draped one of Ford's arms around his neck to help him walk off his pain.

"My brother can handle himself." Ford said through the strong ache that came from his back. An ugly bruise was probably forming from where his spine had collided with the tree.

The Gremloblin clawed at Stan and he shielded it with his arm, but that left nasty cuts on his limb. The Gremloblin raised another claw to strike again, but Stan rolled out of the way and held his cut arm close to his chest. Fiddleford saw something poking out of Ford's backpack and thought it might be a gun. Thinking irrationally, he grabbed it and left Ford to stand on his own as Fiddleford ran to aid Stan. He stood in front of the monster and clicked the gun at the beast without looking, squeezing his eyes shut and cringing, but heard no gunshot. Fiddleford looked down at the gun and saw that it was the magnet gun.

"Gosh darn it." Fiddleford said miserably and was soon grabbed by the Gremloblin and lifted off of his feet. "WHOA! Uh… h-h-hey there, l-l-l-little g-guy."

The Gremloblin stared at Fiddleford and he couldn't help but look back at the monster. Its eyes glowed yellow and were huge, drawing in Fiddleford's attention. Ford and Stan watched with panic in their own eyes as they saw Fiddleford's eyes begin to glow, too, and they knew what was happening. Ford pulled out his canteen full of water, ran towards the Gremloblin, and splashed it's face to break the eye contact while Stan tried to pull Fiddleford out of the Gremloblin's grasp.

Unfortunetly, the beast only tightened its grip in Fiddleford as it roared and began to mutate. It grew larger and sprouted wings, and with a heave of said wings it flew down the mountain with Fiddleford in his claw and making Stan fall on his face.

"QUICK! AFTER THEM!" Ford yelled as Stan hurried to his feet and the twins ran after them.

The Gremloblin left a trail of broken tree branches in which Stan and Ford scratched themselves on. Stan's arm still bled profoundly, but he didn't care. If he and Ford didn't act quickly, they may lose Fiddleford forever. They were soon leaving the rocky mountain side as the Gremloblin was flying towards a cliff to soar into the sky. The magnet gun fell onto the grass and Ford picked it up, getting an idea.

"Stanley, grab hold of me!" He yelled.

"What?!" Stan yelled as they ran.

"Trust me!"

The Gremloblin leaped off of the cliff and Ford and Stan were right behind it. Just as they both jumped off the ledge, Stan grabbed Ford by the neck and the scientist shot the magnet gun right at the Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive. The twins were pulled to the Gremloblin and found themselves riding on its back and it sunk a little in the sky due to the extra weight. Ford reached down to try to grab Fiddleford, who was shivering with his yellow glowing eyes, while Stan did what he did best: punch things in the face.

"FROM HELL'S HEART I STAB AT THEE!"

Stan combined his fists and gave one heavy blow to the back of the Gremloblin's head. It was immediately knocked out cold and it and the trio careened down through the air. "HOLD ON!" Stan yelled and held on the Gremloblin, hoping that it would cushion the fall.

Ford yanked Fiddleford out of the monster's claw and held him and the Gremloblin close as the twins screamed for their lives. They crashed through a barn roof and with a sudden thump the Gremloblin landed on a hayloft; the men were jerked off and Stan landed on his back by the hay and Ford and Fiddleford stumbled onto another block of hay.

Stan groaned and slowly opened his eyes, his back aching from the hall and the stinging on his arm registering now that the panic was gone. He opened his eyes to find a horse looking down at him and it licked his forehead. "Ugh. Gross." Stan complained and sat up as he swatted the steed away. "Go on. Shoo."

Stan looked at the Gremloblin to find it knocked out cold on the hay. There were more horses that seemed confused as to why something was lying on their lunch, but not at all fazed and soon they were eating around the knocked-out beast. Ford laid Fiddleford on his back to get a good look at him. His eyes stopped glowing yellow, but he was trembling horribly and his mind was elsewhere; he was so panicked that he didn't even notice that his arm was broken and had several of the Gremloblin's quills pierced into it.

"Fiddleford. Fiddleford, can you hear me?" Ford asked clearly to try to bring his friend back to Earth, but all the engineer could do was shiver and mutter uncontrollably.

"I got this." Stan said and joined the two. He grabbed Fiddleford by the collar of his clothes and slapped Fiddleford across the face before Ford could object.

Fiddleford jerked in response and blinked several times, though his shaking didn't improve. "S-S-Stanford… S-S-Stanley… wh-wh-where…"

"Glad to have you back, Twerp." Stan said with a small smile. "Well, mostly back."

"We crash-landed in a barn." Ford informed his friend as he helped him sit up. "We should…"

"Well kettle my corn!" The trio turned to the entrance of the gate to find a farmer about their age chewing on a piece of wheat and wearing a straw hat and suspenders. He walked up to the three as they started to stand and he asked in a thick accent, "Are y'all alright? Y'all look pretty beat up. Here, let me drive y'all to the hospital t'be fixed up."

Ford's initial thought was to go home and treat their injuries there, but seeing Fiddleford's broken arm and Stan's bleeding arm made Ford question his judgment. Besides, he wasn't a medical doctor. Hephzie might be able to treat them just as well as a hospital, but she specializes in caring for newborns, not injured adults.

"Thank you, sir." Ford said as he helped Fiddleford walk out of the barn. "We're sorry about your roof." And he glanced back up at the hole they had left behind as another piece of wood fell.

"Aw, worse has happened t'this ole barn." The farmer said as he led the way to his truck. "I'm just glad y'all can walk away from this mess alive."

Ford was about to voice his agreement when something occurred to him. The Hyperdrive! He opened Fiddleford's pack and glanced inside. The Hyperdrive was still intact and it looked like no harm had come to it. Grateful for that, Ford's mind was free to revert back to his brother and friend and the damage they had all taken due to Ford's misjudgment.