Chapter 37: Emily vs. The Inevitable Future

[A.K.A: Calm Before the Storm]

(Emily's P.O.V)

Mabel tugged on my arm to wake me up and I immediately noticed the two googly eyes glued onto her chin. I don't know if I was just really tired or I was annoyed she tugged at my arm, but it made me say this:

"Mabel, I swear if you used hot glue on your face you'll never do arts'n crafts again." I groaned and Mabel grabbed my face and pulled me close.

"You are not gonna want to miss this! Trust me." She said in a serious tone before laughing and letting go of my face. Mabel then got into position over Dipper's head, who was just waking up.

"Ahhhhh!" He gasped, and Mabel began her act.

"Mornin', Dipper, guess who!?" She greeted, using the voice.

"Oh, what joy. If it isn't Mr. Upside-Downington. How long's it been? Third grade, maybe?" Dipper sighed, now calmed down.

"That's right. And I'm here to deliver you an upside-downington-tastic message!" Mabel exclaimed smiling widely. Globby gave me a confused look and I just shrugged while laughing.

"Is it the message that we're getting too old for this sort of thing?" Dipper asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Um, kinda, actually." Mabel said and rushed over to her bed and gestured to her calendar. "It's that we are exactly one week away from our 13th birthday!"

"Whoa! Our birthday's coming up already? Soon we're gonna be actual teenagers!" Dipper gasped excitedly.

"I can't believe it, you two are growing up..." I laughed and my voice trailed off.

"Finally! I can stop reading preteen magazines and start reading post-preteen magazines." Mabel smiled eagerly.

"PG-13 movies, here I come!" Dipper declared, getting up from his bed.

"And just one more year until high school. High school, Dipper! Where girls become women and they teach us stuff about..." Mabel then turned Dipper away and whispered into his ear. "You know what..." She giggled and I rolled my eyes.

"Trigonometry?" Dipper responded.

"Oh yeah, baby!" Mabel cheered.

"Only you two could get excited about a more complicated type of math." I commented as I stood up from my bed with Globby on my back. Stan and Soos then burst through the door.

"That's not the only good news coming up! In one week my senior citizen's ponytail kit is coming in the mail." Stan explained and showed us the magazine. "I'm...I'm kinda going through some things."

"In one week, my grandma is finally letting me eat crackers on my bed!" Soos added excitedly.

"What about you Emily? Anything exciting happening for you?" Mabel asked and I smiled.

"I'm gonna be starting school here in Gravity Falls, that's probably the biggest news for me." I explained and Soos smiled.

"The future is coming for us all dudes!" Soos declared.

"The future." Stan echoed.

"The future!" Dipper cried.

"The future!" Mabel cheered, googly eyes wiggling around and Dipper laughed.

"I'm sorry, I can't take you seriously with that face on your chin." He chuckled.

"What face, Dipper?" Mabel asked as Upside-Dowington.

"You're...you're doing the voice so you obviously know what I'm talking about..." Dipper laughed.

"Bi bon't bnow bhat bou're balking about." Mabel chuckled and the twins both laughed as the started heading out.

"There is something wrong with you." Dipper joked.

"There's something wrong with both of us." Mabel replied. They walked towards the bathroom and I laughed softly and turned towards the window.

"Cue theme song." I sighed happily. Suddenly, the clear blue sky flashed and turned bright red before turning back to normal and I gasped before rushing towards the window and opening it. I rubbed my eyes and I stared out the window. All I saw was the morning sky and few birds flying around the trees.

"Yeah...cue theme song." I muttered and Got myself ready for the day. I then walked downstairs and grabbed a sheet of paper and headed to the kitchen.

"Hey Stan can you sign this please?" I asked, handing it over to him and he gave me a skeptical look.

"Depends, does it involve me having to testify in court?" Stan questioned.

"No...it's gonna allow me to attend Gravity Falls High School, and since I'm under 18, I need an adult to sign it." I explained as I got a box of cereal poured it into a bowl.

"Uh...you sure you wouldn't rather have...I dunno...someone responsible sign?" Stan asked as I poured the milk in the bowl and handed Globby some beef jerky.

"I've been living on the Shack's property and working for you all summer. So yeah, I do want you to sign it." I said as I began eating. Stan then gave a soft smile and took out a pen before signing it and sliding it back to me. I then turned to the clock and realized that I shouldn't be so slow.

"Shoot, gotta hurry!" I cried and started slurping my cereal. Once I finished I put them in the sink and grabbed the paper and my satchel.

"Wait! You can't leave, we have a party to plan!" Mabel protested, tugging my arm as I was about to leave the door.

"I'm sorry Mabel, I promise I'll help you with your party later, but I really have to go!" I explained urgently and Mabel sighed sadly.

"Okay, I understand." She nodded, letting go of my arm and I suddenly saw a flash of her in sweater town before reality became normal again. I gasped and shook my head out of it before bending down to face her.

"Hey, your party will be the best ever! I guarantee it! Just remember to keep being you, and also be careful." I said, giving a serious tone at the end and Mabel's face brightened up she hugged me.

"Alright! You do what you need to do and I'll do what I need to do!" She declared and rushed off. Globby walked over to the door and I patted his head.

"I'll see you later boy." I said and shut the door before rushing off. I got a glimpse of the post and I swear it shifted from normal to one with arms and legs. I stopped running and stared at it for a few seconds.

Nothing happened.

I silently backed away and proceeded to rush over to the school. Once I was there, a whole bunch of students were already waiting in the gym, but I realized one key thing.

I had no idea of where to start.

"Okay, come on...there has to be a table, or something I can go to." I muttered.

"Why don't you ask the nice guy right next to you?" A familiar voice suggested and I turned to see Nate and laughed.

"Haha, very funny." I said and sighed. "But seriously, where do I start?"

"Since this is gonna be your first year, you're gonna want to sign up at that table over there." Nate explained pointing to a table at a corner with only one person behind the table.

"No one is there..." I observed.

"Well, people don't really move to Gravity Falls." Nate shrugged. I thanked him before walking over to the table where a man was sitting there.

"Uh, I think you're at the wrong table." He muttered.

"What? Oh no, my name is Emily Jewel and I'm new in Gravity Falls." I explained and showed him the sheet Stan signed. He put in some glasses and read over it.

"Okay, well you're going to be speaking with the guidance counselor to work out your schedule. You have records of your previous education?" He asked tiredly and I bit my lip nervously.

I only got transported here with the clothes I was wearing and they changed from black funeral clothes to ones that I wore everyday cause I had multiple versions of them. Cause, that's cartoon logic!

"Uh...not exactly. My situation is...complicated." I explained and the man sighed.

"Well you have an adult signature and you speak perfect English. Good enough for me!" He lazily handed me another sheet and gestured to a door. "Go down that hallway, and the guidance counselor should be there, talk to them about your schedule."

"Oh...okay, thanks." I said awkwardly as I took the papers and walked down the dimly lit hallway of my hopefully future school. So one enough I came to the door labeled 'Guidance Counselor' and took a breath before knocking on the door and waited for a few moments.

"Come in." A voice from inside called and I opened the door and nearly choked trying to cover my gasp.

There, sitting behind the desk in front of me, was an animated spitting image of Alex Hirsch himself.

"Hello." He greeted and I quickly shook myself out of my shock and cleared my throat.

"Um, hi. My name is Emily Jewel, I'm new this year and was told to come here and get my schedule sorted out." I explained and handed him my papers and he quickly looked over them and turned to his computer.

I couldn't keep my eye off of him. I knew that he made appearances in different episodes as cameos cause the animators thought it was funny (it was), but I never really looked out for that. Mainly since I had more important stuff to deal with these past few months. Specifically a certain dream demon that was the main antagonist of this story.

"Miss Jewel?" I must have been staring since the Alex Hirsch-Guidance Counselor-Look Alike felt the need to get my attention and was looking at me with a confused expression.

"Oh! Uh, sorry sir I'm just a little nervous." I explained awkwardly.

"It's alright, and call me Mr. H." He insisted.

"Okay, Mr. H, what do I need to do to get registered?" I asked, trying not to sound freaked out and he looked over to his computer again.

"Well, you have some regular classes needed to be taken. Math, Science, History and English. Based off of your records you can take the same classes recommended for your grade." He explained.

"Wait, my records?" I asked, how does he know my records?

Mr. H then turned his computer screen to me and there, in black and white, was my profile and a record of the classes I had previously taken while I was at the orphanage and I had a million questions through my head. Like, how did me get my records when the government guys believed I didn't even exist? How was that possible? Eventually just nodded my head.

"Right, my records. So, what other classes do you recommended I should take?" I asked and he turned his computer screen back to him.

"Well, there are art classes that we have and you need to at least take 1 each year. That can range from 2-D drawing, 3-D art, a dance class, or playing an instrument. There's also physical education, but you can take a yoga class, or a specific sport class since you already did the needed fitness tests." He explained. "There's also several clubs you can join."

"Oh wow...okay. I'll stick with 2-D art, and yoga sounds good." I explained and Mr. H started typing.

"Aright, and there are other electives you can take. Here's a list. Pick 2 more classes and you'll be all set to complete registration." He explained and handed me the list and looked over it.

"I'll take creative writing and...Home Economics is cooking right?" I asked and he nodded and I smiled. "Yeah I'll take that too."

"Great choices." Mr. H said as he took back the list and continued typing. Eventually a sheet printed out and he handed it to me.

"Sign that and at the end of the summer, you'll be learning here." He explained and I quickly signed it and he smiled as he took the sheet.

"Okay, when you came back you'll have a homeroom class and you'll have to go to the gym to find out who your homeroom teacher is. They might teach one of your core classes." He said and I smiled.

"Thanks Mr. H, this has been really helpful." I said and shook his hand before grabbing my stuff and was about to head out the door.

"Emily." I turned and gasped.

Mr. H was now a statue.

I frantically rubbed my eyes and when I opened them he was back to normal.

"Uh, yes?" I asked.

"Have a great year." He replied.

"Right, thank you." I said and walked out the door and quickly walked down the hall and rubbed my head.

"This is getting weird...what's happening to me?" I questioned and found myself back in the gym and Wendy waved me over.

"Hey, everything go okay?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I just need to confirm who my homeroom teacher is."

"Lucky you, I'm still waiting to be called up so I can confirm my schedule. I can't believe you're actually going to be taking classes here!" She said excitedly, playfully punching my arm.

"Well I certainly wasn't gonna let Stan homeschool me, besides, this will feel somewhat normal." I said and I herd the doors behind us open.

"Whoa, Soos, I thought you said this place was empty." Wendy and I turned to see Mabel and Soos enter the school.

"My dawgs, what up?" Wendy waved them over and the two walked over to us.

"Wendy, what are you doing here? I knew Emily was coming, but I thought it was just gonna be her." Mabel asked.

"Ugh, high school registration. Everyone has to get their classes confirmed for next year." Wendy explained and Mabel's eyes widened excitedly.

"Ooh! You know I'm only a year away from high school myself. Would you say your experience is more rom-com, or wacky romp?" She asked.

"More like teen horror movie. High school is the worst. Classes get super hard, your body just flat out turns against you, and worst of all, everybody hates you." Wendy groaned and listed off her complaints.

"Isn't that a little over..." I got cut off my Wendy pointing across the gym where two girls were giving death glares to each other while growling menacingly.

"Can't do it! Can't do another year!" Thompson cried, curled up in a ball and rocking back and forth. Then there was Robbie who was plain moody.

"My hormones are like a sweaty cage!" He cried and punched a bulletin board in anger.

"Oh geez..." I cringed, I nearly forget about that part.

"Why aren't they singing about following their dreams? TV taught me that high school was like some sort of musical." Mabel questioned while observing the chaos.

"TV lied, man! If you could avoid growing up, do it. I'd give anything to be 12 again." Wendy sighed sadly and ignored my signals for her to stop.

"Anyway, what are you guys doing here?" Wendy asked and I facepalmed. Dramatic irony sucked sometime.

"Oh, just looking for a place to have my 13th birthday party." Mabel chuckled sadly and clutched her invitations sadly.

"Wendy...Borduroy? I-I mean Corduroy?" A teacher called and the students began to laugh at Wendy's expense, who started blushing.

"See what I mean?" She sighed and walked over to him and I turned to Mabel.

"Hey, don't worry about what Wendy said. Yes, high school can be a pain sometimes, but there's also fun stuff like plays, and clubs, and field trips. You'll find a way to have fun." I assured her and she sighed.

"Yeah...I guess." She mumbled.

"Emily Jewel." A teacher called and I turned towards the stand and looked back at Mabel.

"Everything will be okay, Wendy just doesn't want summer to end, but school isn't that bad. I bet you can even start your own musical numbers!" I winked and Mabel chuckled at that. I waved and walked over to the stand. I signed a couple papers and took a copy before meeting up with Wendy.

"At least they got your name right." She mumbled and sighed. "You think I freaked Mabel out too much?"

"Uh...kinda, I did my best to smooth things over. Everyone has bad days at high school, it's a part of life, but there are fun stuff about it too." I explained.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not quite ready for summer to end." Wendy shrugged.

"I don't think the teachers are ready either." I joked and we laughed.

"Hey guys, we're heading over to the graveyard to play truth or dare, you coming?" Lee asked.

"Be right there!" Wendy called over and grabbed my hand before rushing over and before I knew it I was shoved into Thompson's mom's van and we drove over to the graveyard. I quickly folded the papers and put them in my bag.

Once we got there I felt a chill in the air. Probably the first hint of an autumn breeze, or something else that I couldn't place. I took a breath and Robbie began the game, obviously targeting Thompson first. He picked dare, and ended up doing a handstand under a tree, only for several acorns to fall in his shirt.

Yes, he was chases by squirrels and chipmunks.

I suddenly felt myself drifting off as the sun began to set and the others laughed. I wanted to believe everything was fine, but I felt like I was about to take a test, only a hundred times worse. I couldn't stay here, I had to get back to the Shack. Even if I did try to make Mabel feel better, it wouldn't be enough. I knew that, and yet I came here. I looked back up at the sun. It was setting, but i could make it if I left now.

"Emily, yo Emily!"

"Huh, what?" I asked, turning to Wendy.

"Dude, you were totally spaced out. We've been trying to get your attention for like 5 minutes!" She cried and I sighed.

"Sorry, but I need to get back to the Shack before sunset." I explained and stood up.

"Since when do you have a curfew?" Lee laughed and I sighed before turning to him.

"This isn't a joke...AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGG!" I cried and collapsed as I gripped my head in agony. I had the worst headache of them all, even worse then what Bill did previously.

This...this was way worse.

"EMILY!" Nate cried and rushed over to me. "Emily, what's wrong?!"

"I...I don't know...this haven't happened...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" I screamed and started shaking. It felt like ten anvils just smashed on my brain back to back.

"Is her necklace sparking?" Tambry asked and my vision began to blur and I fell onto the grass.

Last thing I saw was tow figures shaking hands.

(Third Person)

Mabel ran in the woods with tears in her eyes. She was loosing Dipper! This wasn't fair, she was terrified of the idea of her world changing, but being with her twin through it all gave her comfort about it. Now he planned to leave her! Without even talking to her first! That part stung most of all. She ran over to a tree and sat against a tree and dug through the bag she grabbed on her rush off.

"Only party chocolate can cheer me up now." She sighed and pulled out a notebook.

"Nerd books?" She tried again, but didn't find anything she wanted.

"Chewed up pens? Ugh, wrong backpack. Not fair. I just wish summer could last forever." She groaned, pushing the bag away and pulling her sweater over her head.

"That might be possible!" A voice called out to her.

"Sweatertown is not accepting incoming calls right now." Mabel replied, not caring who it was.

"M-M-M-Mabel, it's me." The voice stuttered and Mabel peaked out from her sweater, finding the voice slightly familiar.

"What? Who said that?" She asked and saw a familiar figure approach her as he adjusted the suit so it wasn't camouflaged in the back round.

"I-I-I can help." He said and walked over to her.

The time travel guy? What are you doing here?" Mabel asked in confusion.

"You said you don't want summer to end, right? D-did-did I hear that right?" He asked and Mabel gave a questioning and uncomfortable look.

"Yeah...why are you asking?"

"Look, maybe it's against the rules, but you once did a favor for me, so I thought I could help you out. It's called a time bubble, and it prevents time from going forward. Summer in Gravity Falls can last as long as you want it to!" He explained and Mabel wiped away her tears.

"R-really? But how does it work?" She asked.

"I just need you to get a little gizmo for me from your uncle." He then projected the rift from his wristwatch. "It's something small. He won't even know it's missing."

"Huh. Maybe Dipper has something like that in his nerd-bag." Mabel questioned and began to rummage through the bag and eventually pulled out the already damaged rift and looked at it in awe.

"Huh, that's odd." She commented and showed it to 'Blendin'. "This it?"

"Yes, that's it! Just hand it over and I'll do my thing. Unless you're ready to leave Gravity Falls." 'Blendin' urged, and reached out his hands eagerly.

"Just a little more..." Mabel paused and noticed a figure in the distance.

She was pretty tall and wearing a beautiful black dress with different types of stars on it. The dress flowed down to her feet and was moving as is being blowed by the wind. She had curly brown hair that moved with the wind and her expression was kind, but filled with worry. She shook her head silently. Mabel noticed a leaf blow straight through her and her eyes widened.

It was a ghost, though unlike the ones she face before, this one was kind and loving.

And warning her.

"No..." Mabel found herself saying.

"Uh...what?" 'Blendin' asked in confusion.

"I said...NO! This isn't mine to give away, and you can't have it!" Mabel cried and clutched the rift to her. The figure smiled and closed her eyes as she faded away, but not before 'Blendin' turned and caught the last but of her disappearing.

"Curse that necklace." He growled and turned back to Mabel.

"Give me the rift, now!" He demanded.

"Rift? Like a place between dimensions that Dipper theorized about? Yeah I don't think I want to give this to you." Mabel said sternly and backed away while clutching.

"Oh would you just forget about Pine Tree for one second and give me the rift!" 'Blendin' cried angrily and failed to see his mistake until took late.

"Did...did you just call my brother 'Pine Tree'?" Mabel asked.

"N-no!" He tried desperately, but Mabel was not fooled.

"You're not getting this you creepy triangle!" Mabel cried and rushed off towards the shack, but 'Blendin' only smirked suddenly appeared in front of her by using super speed. Mabel barely had time to react as he grabbed the rift and they got into a tug-a-war.

"No, nononono!" Mabel cried, only for 'Blendin' to use his leg to kick Mabel in the stomach, forcing her back and causing her to let go of the rift.

"Oh yes! Yesyesyesyes!" Bill laughed triumphantly and dropped the rift, causing it to be destroyed and Bill removed Blendin's goggles as he laughed.

"NOOOOOO!" Mabel cried and angrily charged at him, only for Bill to snap his fingers and Mabel fell down in a deep sleep and Bill left Blendin's body laughing manically and happily.

"At last! At long, long last! The gateway between worlds has opened! The event one billion years prophesized has finally come to pass! The day has come! THE WORLD IS FINALLY MINE!" He exclaimed and laughed as the rift opened up and allowed the nightmare realm to leak into the real world.

(Emily's P.O.V)

[About 1 minute earlier]

"Emily?...Emily?...EMILY!" I gasped and shot up to see Nate hovering over me.

"What? What happened?" I asked rubbing my head and feeling like the fog was slowly lifting away.

"You fainted!" Nate explained, holding onto my shoulders gently.

"Wait...how long was I out?" I asked worriedly.

"Five minutes, I timed it." Tambry deadpanned and my eyes widened.

"Oh no, I have to get to the Shack!" I cried and stood up but Nate grabbed my arm.

"Are you crazy? We have to take you to the hospital! I should have known your headaches were this bad." Nate said sternly.

"Nate, I'm fine, but I need to go to the Shack right no or things could be bad for all of us!" I exclaimed sternly. "Thompson get the van started, I need a ride."

"Emily, Nate has a point, you need to see a doctor." Wendy urged.

"Yeah, fainting is serious." Lee added.

"Guys I need to get to the Shack before..."

*BOOM*

I froze and an icy chill filled my blood as I turned around to see a multi-colored beam I knew all too well.

I was too late.

"NO!" I cried and tears streamed down my face. "MABEL!"

"Whoa, what the heck is that?!" Robbie asked.

"Wait back up, is Mabel okay?" Wendy asked worriedly and hearing no response Wendy grabbed my shoulders.

"Emily, what is going on?!" She cried, a scared expression on her face. I felt tears stream down my face once more, but I wiped them away and clenched my fists and my necklace started to glow brightly.

"It's Weirdmegadon, the end of the world." I said and everyone went silent and we turned to the sky and I glared darkly at the one-eyed figure laughing maniacally and one thought came across my mind.

It's time to fight for my home.

TO BE CONTINUED...

AUTHOR's NOTE:

Okay, so first update of the new year. Wow, did this take longer than I thought. Sorry it's not as action packed, but like the subtitle said, its the calm before the storm. And we all knew Weirdmageddon was happening no matter what Emily did. It's one of the best parts of the show.

Also I have some good news...and a little bad news sort of. The good news is, since I am so close to getting this story done I will be putting my other stories on hold until this gets done. Just a few more chapters, (warning they will get LONG) and the bad news is that my other stories are on hold. Sorry to my other fans.

I really hope you enjoyed this story and are looking forward to the next chapter, I have been planing this since I begun and I am really excited to see this all come together.

As always, please, please, please REVIEW! They mean so much to me and I love reading what you guys think!

With that said, to last chapter's reviews:

AlchemyWriter: I will not abandon this story! It means way too much to me! Glad you like Bill's full name, I thought it was funny too!

Piper of the Moon (Guest): I'm sorry you are having a hard time, but I am not qualified to give advice on how to help you, the best I can do is suggest you talk to a professional or even an adult you trust, a teacher, counselor, Uncle, Aunt etc. Also, and this goes to everyone, don't seek advice from writers cause like I said, we are not qualified to give advice for these situations. Please, seek out professional help and I wish you luck. If you want me to take your review down, let me know and I will since you reviewed as a guest. I hope you are feeling better.

Guest: She went with neither...Sorry if it disappointed you.

Pine Tree (Guest): Oh my gosh, your review meant so much to me! Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Crystal11 (Guest): Awww, thank you! That's very sweet. And yeah, I planned on Emily staying home from the road trip for a while to do that exact prank!

mew mew 124: I really hope this chapter was worth the wait for you. It's a little short, but that was kinda the point since the next batch will be pretty long and I'm looking forward to them! Also, interesting theories. Can't spoil anything though.

Milky Boy Blue: Thanks for reading my story! That means so much to me and your reviews always made my day! Especially this one, saying you liked it more than the actual episode warmed my heart! Hope you enjoyed this chapter to