This chapter is the first of two that's going to be introducing Hollow and Hornet to the town of Gravity falls. I want to ease into the main plot, as well as prevent as many plot holes as possible before they show up, so bear with me for a bit.

Review time!

Violagameboy: Didn't think of it, but now that you bring it up, I'm sure I can make a funny little sub plot out of that idea eventually.

MrMateusz: Yeah, I wanted to drag the whole language barrier thing out a little longer, but I'm not the best at describing body language through text, and I'd need to do that a lot if I were to write that. As for the whole Hollow having a voice thing, Vessels aren't supposed to posses will or emotion either, and yet Hollow does. I believe that the Pale King just didn't know how the vessels worked.

All reviews and criticism are welcomed! Make sure to review if you have something to say!

"So let me get this straight. You think you came from another world?"

"As insane as it sounds, that's my only working theory. Here, this 'Sun' is commonplace all across the world, and bugs are tiny, weak creatures with no intelligence whatsoever."

Dipper chewed on the butt of his pen. "Well there must be some explanation for this happening. What were you doing before you arrived here?"

Hornet looked to Hollow to explain.

"Well, I do not recall much beforehand. I was... asleep until soon before we were transported here. Sibling Hornet and I heard unsettling noises coming from the old capital, so we went to investigate. When we arrived, a great beast made of void was rampaging about. We attempted to stop it but were quickly overwhelmed. Then a flower fell from sibling Hornet. There was a bright flash, and then we awoke here."

Hornet gasped. "The flower?! Wait, I do recall Ze'mer mentioning that the flower contained a special power... Could it have transported us to safety?"

Mabel pumped her fist. "Yes! I always knew flowers had magical powers!"

Dipper wrote down what was being said on his notepad. "Well it seems like we're getting somewhere."

Hornet looked over to the grove of flowers, racing over and picking one up.

"These look just like the one I had! Perhaps they're the same species! But that wouldn't make sense, we're in a completely different world! Ugh, my head hurts."

Dipper shrugged. "I wouldn't remove it as a possibility. Around here, anything's possible."

"You've said something similar before. What do you mean by that? We've told you about our world, so it's only fair you tell us about yours."

Dipper smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away with questions. Our world is normally pretty boring. Nothing overly unexpected will happen that often, and it's almost always explainable. Here in Gravity Falls however, it's a different situation."

Dipper started pacing while he talked. Mabel groaned.

"Oh no, you put him into lecture mode!"

"Unexplained phenomena happen here daily. Strange creatures roam the forest, unexplained happenings will occur, and mysterious locations can be found at every turn. The strangest part is that it only happens in this valley. In an odd way, it makes perfect sense that out of anywhere in the world, you two would end up here."

Dipper reached into his vest and pulled out a worn book.

"I found this journal a couple of days ago. The author was documenting every strange finding they came across in an attempt to unravel the mysteries of Gravity Falls, and I want to pick up where he left off."

"Dipper, you're actually showing them the journal? You haven't even told WENDY about that thing!"

"Well, they already saw it when we used it to find that pond, so it'd be pointless to hide it from them now. And what do you mean by that?"

Hollow tilted his head. "What is so important about this journal that you try to hide it?"

"Oh, nothing! Dip Dop here is just paranoid that if he shows the journal to people that they're gonna try and steal it or something."

"Hey, it's a perfectly rational fear! This journal is priceless!"

Hornet felt amusement bubble up within her watching the two siblings argue. It was the second time she had felt something akin to happiness in a long while, and it still felt alien to her.

Dipper turned away from Mabel and scrunched his eyes in thought. Hollow watched the boy's face with interest. 'Humans', as the twins called themselves, had such detailed expressions.

"We can't bring any of the flowers back to the shack, they'd be destroyed too easily. The best we can do is come back to investigate later. I'll make a note real quick to come back here."

Dipper and Mabel started to walk towards their home. Mabel looked back in confusion.

"Aren't you guys coming?"

"If you are headed back towards civilization, It would be best if we stayed behind. Hollow and I would certainly be seen as oddities due to our appearances. Do not worry about us, we are more than capable of handling ourselves out here."

"I hate to agree Mabel, but they have a point. The townsfolk would go crazy if they saw those tow walking around."

"But Dippeeeer! The shack's closed today, and its out of the way from the rest of the town! Apart from Grunkle Stan, no one would see them!"

"That is true... And it would be a great opportunity to prove to Stan that the paranormal exists. I'd like to see him deny it when it's right in front of him!"

Hornet gave Dipper a look. "Are you going to try and use us as evidence?"

"What?! No! Not unless you're okay with it at least."

Hollow and Hornet exchanged a glace, before the latter sighed.

"I suppose we don't have anything to lose. Lead the way."

Mabel 'eeeeee'd' and jumped up and down, and Dipper just rolled his eyes.

Hornet followed the twins, with Hollow beside her. I do want to return to Hallownest, but while we're stuck here, I suppose it wouldn't harm me to enjoy it. If nothing else, it is far more peaceful than home.

"And then we shot that stupid dwarf at his cronies, and they scattered everywhere!"

"Gnomes, Mabel."

"Gnomes, Shnomes! I'll call those little jerks what I want!"

Hornet cracked a smile underneath her mask. While the story the twins were telling her and Hollow did have elements of danger to it, it was more wacky than anything.

Hollow gave Mabel a confused look. "I do not understand. Why did they need a queen in the first place?"

Dipper shrugged. "We never figured that out ourselves. Maybe it was some cultural thing, or maybe they were just crazy."

"I vote choice B!"

Dipper laughed. "You're just saying that because you were the one who got kidnapped."

As the four of them exited the forest, a building came into view. While Hornet was not at all familiar with human architecture, this building looked very run down. The paint on the wood was chipping, splinters were everywhere, and the large sign on the roof looked very flimsy. She could not make out what it said, however. While the water from the pond had allowed her and Hollow to speak the human tongue, written language was another matter entirely.

She also spotted another human outside, bent over what appeared to be some sort of vehicle on it's side.

"Oh hey, there you kids are. Can you come gimme a hand with the cart? Soos accidentally backed into it with his truck yesterday, and now the darn thing won't start!"

"Yeah, sure Grunkle Stan, but we need to talk with you about something first."

"Oi, kid. I swear if you bring the whole paranormal thing up again, I'll-"

Stan turned around and saw the two strange looking beings behind the twins.

"Who're you two, and what're you doing all dressed up like that? Summerween isn't for another three weeks!"

"Um, Grunkle Stan, we found them in the woods. They don't know where they are or how they got here. We want to help them get back home, but right now they have nowhere to stay."

Stan crossed his arms. "Kid, do you really think I'm just gonna let two strangers that you kids met in the woods, who are dressed up like boogeymen mind you, stay at the shack?"

"Um, well when you put it like that-"

"They're gonna have to pay rent if they wanna stay here."

Dipper and Mabel paused. "What?"

"Yeah, kids. Nothings free in this world. So, you two got any money on ya?"

"None that you'll accept, I'm sure."

Stan grunted. "Oi. Y'know what? If what the kids say is true, you two don't have anywhere to stay right?"

"Yes. We do not have a place to stay at the moment, but we can camp in the woods if you cannot accommodate us."

"Not a good idea. All sorts of predators come out at night. I'll let you two weirdos stay, on two conditions. One, you pay off your debt by working at the shack."

"A reasonable request."

"Two, you take off those ridiculous costumes so I can see your faces."

Dipper coughed. "Grunkle Stan? They're not wearing costumes."

"oh please kid. How many times do I have to tell you? The paranormal doesn't exist. This is just a mask, see?"

Stan Walked up to Hollow and pulled his mask off. Behind it was a swirling mass of black void, with no features at all.

"Uhh... ok, maybe you got a point."

Stan quickly placed the mask back on the tall vessel's head and backed away. He looked to Dipper who had a look that screamed 'I told you so'.

"Ok, fine kid, you win. These two ain't normal. But apart from them, there's nothing weird at all going on in that forest!"

"Oh come on! You literally just saw THAT and still think I'm making this stuff up?!"

"We'll talk about this later kid. Right now, lets attend to our... odd guests. You got that black goop behind you mask too?"

Hornet was taking great humor in the old man's confusion. She was a little suspicious of him however. For someone who wasn't used to strange occurrences, his reaction to Hollow's 'face', if you could call it that, was a little too tame. She put that in the back of her mind for now and answered the man's question.

"Hollow is special. He is a vessel, made of void. I'm not like that. I have a face, yes, but I'd prefer not to take off my mask, if that's quite alright."

"...I'll ask about all that later. You two can head in. Kids, go show them around. There's a cot in a closet somewhere that the one in the dress can sleep in, but I don't think we have anything for people who're eight feet tall."

"That Is quite alright. I do not usually require rest, I only do so to heal from wounds."

Stan stared at Hollow for a moment. "You're pretty weird, y'know that?"

"I have been told as such before."

Stan grunted in acknowledgement before he turned back to continue tinkering with the cart's engine.

"Hot Belgian waffles, this is damaged too? Soos, you're supposed to be the handyman!"

"This building has rather odd décor."

Dipper gave a small laugh. "Yeah... Stan decided to turn his house into a tourist trap. There's a ton of weird attractions in here."

Hornet gave Dipper an odd look. "'Tourist trap'? what are tourists, and why does he wish to trap them?"

Mabel gave a laugh. "Ha! Good one! ...Oh wait, you're serious. Tourists are people who go travelling to see cool things! It's called a tourist trap because Grunkle Stan tricks tourists into buying overpriced souvenirs and tours of the 'Mystery Shack'."

"So he's a scam artist then."

""Yes."" The twins replied, not missing a beat.

"And you're fine with that?"

"Eh, it's not exactly illegal to run something like this, although that probably wouldn't stop Stan regardless. Besides, if people are actually dumb enough to believe the nonsense Stan feeds them, then I say they deserve to be scammed."

"That's rather harsh."

"Dipper's just mad because he thinks people should know about the real weird stuff going on in town instead of the fake stuff."

Mabel and Dipper led Hollow and Hornet into the living area of the shack.

"Oh! That's the kitchen! and that's the table where we have breakfast! And there's the tv and the couch we watch it on! and there-"

"Mabel, they don't need every little thing pointed out to them."

Hornet held up a claw. "It's fine. I don't mind if she rambles a small bit.

"See Dipper, I'm an awesome guide! Oh look! Over there's-"

The day had worn on, and the Sun had dipped behind the horizon soon after Mabel had finished her incredibly detailed tour of their new residence. Stan had come in and ushered the twins to bed, mush to their protest. He had also gotten out a cot for Hornet and set it up in the living room.

Hornet had tried to go to sleep, she did. But try as she might, she was far too curious about the new land she and Hollow had arrived in. The Wyrm-Spider hybrid got up from her makeshift bed and walked outside. She noticed a small balcony on the roof. Using her needle and thread as a grappling hook, she launched herself up there and laid down, staring up at the sky.

It was beautiful, unlike anything she had ever seen. When the light of the sun had faded away, another, far dimmer orb had taken it's place in the sky alongside an uncountable amount of shimmering dots of light.

"Sibling Hornet?"

Hornet jumped slightly, before noticing that Hollow was sitting beside her.

"Hollow? How did you get up here?"

"There is a ladder leading up here in the building."

"Oh."

Hornet laid back down and continued stargazing.

"Sibling Hornet, is something the matter?"

"Not really, it's just that, so much had happened so quickly. We're in a completely new realm, we've met some odd yet friendly locals, and the greatest part is that we can finally speak."

"I am rather glad of that myself. It always was such a chore to convey what I was thinking."

Hornet gave a small chuckle. "This is true."

The siblings lay in silence for a while, or sitting in Hollow's case.

"The sky here is so fascinating. It's much more beautiful than than the grey skies above Hallownest. I know we've only been here a short period of time, and it may be selfish of me to think, but I hope that we can spend at least a little while here before we find a way to return."

If we find a way to return.

"I don't think that would be selfish at all. You suffered losing everyone you know to the infection. You lived most of your life just outside the grasp of death. I'd say you've more than earned some time to relax."

"You say that as if I had it worse off. You don't need to lie to me Hollow. I know how utterly terrible it must have been to have contained the infection. I mean, you're entire arm has eroded away! You deserve happiness far more than I."

Hollow sighed. "...Yes, it was not pleasant. Let's both agree that we deserve some peace for a while."

Hornet chuckled. "I won't argue with that."

The siblings fell silent once more, staring up into the starry night sky.