Hello again! Thanks to the people who are reading this, because you might know that I have zero self-confidence.
Let me start over...
I update almost everyday. It might be because I have no life, but... whatever. I'm going to go stare at a wall and rethink everything.
Sorry, I like referencing the show...
Oh, and Whinkx? The twins will meet Ford, just not in the exact same way they did in the show... OoOoOo, mysterious.
I think I'm losing track here...
Also, if Dipper seems a little more sarcastic and rude(?) in the first few chapters, there is a reason for that. Remember how he never wanted to come to Gravity Falls? Well, he's still annoyed about that, so... Yeah. That behavior won't last much longer... Probably.
Well, what are we waiting for? Let us begin!
Chapter One: Fake
Stan waited impatiently for the bus to arrive. "Dang it, when will Kipper and Marble get here? I can't wait here all da-"
Suddenly, he heard the squeal of tires as a bus swerved around a corner. It stopped at the bus-stop only a few feet away from where Stan was standing. The door on the side of the bus opened with a soft whirring noise.
Stan heard the sound of footsteps. This is it, Stan, he told himself. Make a good impression...
The first person to exit the vehicle was a twelve-year old girl with long hair. She wore a pink sweater with a shooting star sewed on it, and a purple skirt. The sweater looked to be handmade. As she grinned in excitement, Stan could see she had braces.
The second of the twins came out a moment later. He was wearing a brown hat that had a star on it. His bangs covered his forehead, and for a moment, Stan thought he saw some type of marking or something on the boy's head, but he shrugged it off. He had on a dark blue vest with a red-orange shirt.
The girl let out a squeal as she instantly shot into Stan's arms to wrap him in a hug. "Wow! I can't believe we made it! That drive took forever!"
Stan chuckled. "Yeah, thought as much. This town's kind of in the middle of nowhere, so..."
Stan realized that he still didn't know what their names were. Okay Stan, just muster up the courage and ask them... Be sneaky about it, don't let you know you forgot... he thought to himself.
"So what's your name, kiddo?" Stan blurted. It wasn't the most tactful, but the girl didn't seem to mind.
"I'm Mabel!" she chirped. Darn, I was so close. Marble and Mabel are so alike...
"What's your name?" Stan asked, turning to the boy who had been staring at him with a skeptical expression on his face and narrowed eyes.
"You seriously don't know our names," he started, "yet you volunteer to watch us for an entire summer?"
He turned to Mabel. "Are you sure this was a good idea?"
Mabel scoffed. "Oh, lighten up, Dipping-Sauce! It was a great idea!"
"Uhh... Is that your name? 'Dipping-Sauce'?" Stan asked slowly. The boy frowned.
"You really think that's my name?" he shook his head. "It's just one of Mabel's nicknames."
"O-okay," Stan stuttered. "Then what is your name?"
The boy didn't respond for a bit. He just stared at Stan, before opening his mouth slowly. "It's Dipper."
Stan almost burst out laughing. What kind of name is that?
Mabel must have seen him struggling not to laugh. She turned to Dipper with a smug expression. "I told you everyone would just think you're weird if you hide your birthmark all the time!"
Dipper scowled. "It's better than everyone teasing me about it all day!"
"I thought you didn't care what others say," Mabel teased.
"I don-"
"Wait a minute," Stan interrupted. "What birthmark?"
Dipper instantly clamped his mouth shut and stiffened. "Nothing," he mumbled. Then he turned to Stan. "You asked our names, now what's yours?"
Stan was intrigued about Dipper's birthmark, but he decided to put it off... For now.
"I'm Stan! But you can call me Mr. Mystery!"
Mabel sighed in disappointment. "I thought your name would be Stanelle..."
"I don't think that's a nam-"
"Anyways," Mabel grinned. "Now that I know your name, I can call you... Grunkle Stan!"
Stan lifted a brow. "'Grunkle'? Wussat mean?"
"It's great-uncle, but shorter and awesomerer!"
"Mabel, awesomerer is not a word," Dipper commented. Mabel raised a fist to the sky.
"It is if you believe!"
Stan thought he was going to have his hands full for a while. He could already see the energy Mabel had.
•••
Dipper sighed, grumbling in annoyance to himself. He hadn't wanted to come to this town in the first place, but now he had to go out into the forest and hang up signs?
"Nobody even comes this deep into the woods," he groaned. "Why do we need to put advertisements here?"
He placed another nail against a tree and raised his hammer. As he brought it down, he heard the sound of something banging on metal. It took him less than a second to realize that the sound was coming from the tree.
Dipper clicked the hammer against the side of the tree a few more times to make sure. Sure enough, it was coming from the tree. Dipper took a pace back in surprise, before taking off the signs that were slung across his shoulder and laying them on the ground.
He ran his hand along the "bark". It was metal. And dusty, too. When he removed his hand, he could see the trail he made in the dust. He could also see what looked like a small door.
He grabbed the "door" by its edge and tugged. It was stuck for a moment, but it came loose after a few heartbeats with a loud creak.
Inside the "tree" was a small compartment loaded with cobwebs. Sitting in it was what looked like some sort of machinery. Dipper couldn't really tell what it did, but his eyes were drawn to two small levers on the top-right side of it.
Curious, he flicked both levers back and forth. As he moved one, he heard a loud whirring behind him. He turned around to see that another compartment that was hidden under the grass had opened.
He leaned over the small hole to see what was in it. It looked like a book. He lifted it up to study it closer. It was covered in dust and cobwebs, so he brushed them off.
It was a red hardcover book with a golden six-fingered hand on the front. Painted in bold black on the hand was the number three.
Dipper flipped through the book, coughing as clouds of dust flew in his face. He stopped on one and sighed in disappointment. This book was just full of superstition nonsense.
"I mean, come on... A lepre-corn? They could've at least made it a little realistic."
He shook his head to himself. Why was everyone in this town so invested in all this nonsense? Were they that dumb?
Dipper tucked the journal under his arm. He was going to bring it back to the shack. Of course he didn't believe in any of its contents, but at the time, he was bored. Maybe he could find some entertainment in reading about all these fake monsters.
I can't believe anyone would take this stuff seriously...
•••
Mabel wandered around the gift-shop asking about everything, saying "what's this?" or "how'd you get this?" while staring with widened eyes. She only stopped when Soos, who she had learned was the handyman, called to her.
"Dude, I've never seen anyone as hyped as you."
Mabel shrugged with a grin. "Hype is my middle name! Okay, that's a lie, but you get the idea."
Soos gave out a small laugh. "I tell ya, if you like all this mystery stuff in the shack, you should check out the forest. There's a ton of weird stuff there."
"Really?" Mabel asked with her head tilted.
Soos nodded. "I'm always noticing weird stuff around this town. I don't think anyone believes me, though."
"Oh, I believe you. But, uh... a bit of advice... D-don't bring up that sort of stuff around Dipper."
"Why?"
Mabel frowned. "He doesn't believe in that stuff. He thinks all the creatures like 'Bigfoot' and 'Nessie' are just made up and dumb. I said that ghosts are cool once and he rolled his eyes and avoided me the rest of the day."
"Well, if he doesn't believe in 'em, he's missing out. Maybe you and me can try to find somethin' to convince 'im.
Mabel broke out into a wide grin. "That might work! Then he won't be annoyed when I talk about unicorns!"
Soos rubbed his chin in thought. "What can we find to convince 'im?"
"Well, what's out in the woods for us to find?"
"I heard some stories that there's some gnome dudes out in the forest somewhere."
Mabel raised her fist. "Then it is settled! We will go on a quest that will have no ill consequences, to find the gnomes! Gnomes! Gnomes! Gnomes! Gnomes! Gnomes!"
Soos joined in on the chant and the two of them marched out the door.
•••
Mabel looked around. The trees here seemed taller, and mushrooms grew in large groups than they had before. The clearing seemed like it was bathed in blue light, but no matter how much Mabel looked, she couldn't find its source.
"I think this is it, dude," Soos whispered.
"But how do we lure the gnomes out?" Mabel muttered. "We need to bring one back to the shack."
"Dude, what's the mating call of the gnome? Maybe that'll work."
"I... don't think that'll work. Maybe we can just ask one to come to the shack."
Soos shrugged. "We could give it a shot."
Mabel cupped her hands over her mouth and drew in a breath. "DOES ANY GNOME WANT TO COME TO THE MYSTERY SHACK TO CONVINCE MY BROTHER THAT YOU'RE REAL!?"
There was no response. Mabel sighed and tapped her foot impatiently. "Dang. I thought that would work..."
Suddenly, they heard a rustling in the bushes. Mabel turned her head to see something red, white, and blue scurry out. And no, it wasn't the American flag.
"It's a gnome!" Mabel squealed. "Awww, look at his little beard!"
The gnome tilted its head with its jaw open. Then it hissed, and more gnomes came barreling out of the undergrowth. They flashed their teeth.
"Uhhhhhhh... Soos...? Are gnomes this... aggressive...?"
Soos nodded slowly. "Yeah, maybe looking for a gnome was a bad idea..."
Mabel raised her arms in the air. "Nonsense! All ideas are good ideas!" she cried. The gnomes looked startled by her screaming, but they charged forward and leapt at the two.
The gnomes sank their sharp teeth into their arms. Mabel gasped in pain and shook her arm, trying to dislodge the gnome. It let go with a squeal. "Uhhh, SOOS! We'd better go!"
She kicked a gnome away from her before bolting away, with Soos calling, "I'm right behind you, dawg!"
They sprinted with their arms swinging and waving wildly. Mabel stumbled as her foot hooked onto a tree root, but she kept going until she was sure the gnomes were gone.
She stood panting for a few seconds before Soos broke the silence. "Dude, I've never run so fast in my life."
"Y-yeah... So now I know that gnomes exist... Too bad we didn't get any proof..."
Soos reached into his pocket. "Actually, I found some beard hair." He pulled out a few white hairs. Mabel gasped in awe.
"Soos, you did it! Let's go find Dipping-Sauce!"
•••
Dipper sat on the edge of his bed with a slightly amused expression on his face. He was reading through the journal, trying hard not to break into boisterous laughter.
"This is so dumb," he murmured to himself, shaking his head. He flipped another page and lifted a brow as he read on, this time out loud.
"'Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed. I'm being watched. I must hide this book before He finds it. Remember- In Gravity Falls, there is no-one you can trust.'"
He closed the book with a scoff. "Whoever wrote this journal must have been crazy in the head..."
Dipper looked up as the door creaked open. Mabel skipped into the room with Soos at her heels.
"Dipper!" she squeaked. "I have proof that gnomes exist!"
Dipper sighed and rolled his eyes. "Mabel, gnomes aren't real. It's just a bunch of myths going to your head."
Mabel frowned. "No it isn't! Here, look!"
She pulled out a couple of white hairs from her pocket. "See!? Beard hair!" she insisted, brushing it against Dipper's face. He slapped it away.
"Mabel, stop rubbing that on me. It's just fur."
"No it ain't!"
"Yes, it is!" Dipper growled. He wasn't in the mood for this. He narrowed his eyes angrily. "Mabel, there's no such thing as 'mysterious beasts'. It's all fake."
Mabel's shoulders sagged in sadness. "Why can't you believe me for once?"
Without waiting for a reply, she sprinted away, her footfalls making creaks in the floorboards. Soos glanced from Dipper to the door, before heading after Mabel and closing the door.
Dipper let out a puff of breath. "Why can't she just admit that she's wrong for once?"
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm trying to start writing longer chapters, as they're usually one-thousand or so words, and I think they could have more. So if I start updating less frequently, that's why.
Well, see you next time!