Author's Note: What's up, hambones?

Sorry for the delay of this chapter. I can't promise regular updates, but I'll try to get these chapters out as quick as I can.

I must also apologize for the long chapter. I didn't know where exactly to cut things, so if anyone has some feedback on how this can be better edited, I'm all ears.

Special thanks to all who reviewed, followed, and favorited! I didn't expect to get this many with the prologue, so this was a pleasant surprise!

Gravity Falls and CW's the Flash are not mine.

Chapter 1: How's Your Night?

"Mommy, look what we found!"

A brunette woman in her early thirties took her eyes off of her book to look at her grinning five-year-olds in the hallway, covered with mud and holding a rusted wrench between them. The children looked nearly identical, however the girl to the left had longer hair and wore brighter colors than the boy to her right, whose hair didn't extend beyond his neck and wore more muted, cool colors. The woman, Susan Pines, gave them a small smile, making a mental note to make sure that the kids took extensive showers that night.

"What is it?" she asked in a tone of wonder.

The boy, Dipper, stepped forward, holding out the wrench. "It's an alien hand fossil! Proof that aliens are real!"

"Or it's a magic wand!" the girl, Mabel, cut in. "From a magical flying pony head!"

"No it's not!" Dipper exclaimed. "That's dumb! It's an alien hand!"

"Magic wand!" Mabel shot back.

Susan gasped, and the two children looked back at her. "What if it's both?" she suggested. "What if it's the floating magical hand of an alien pony head?"

Dipper and Mabel looked at the wrench with newfound awe. "Really?" they asked in unison.

"Yes!" Susan affirmed, walking over to the children and picking up the browned piece of metal. "Where did you two find this powerful alien wand?"

"Mars!" Mabel exclaimed instantly. "We went to Mars and found it there!"

"No we didn't," Dipper corrected. "We found it by the sidewalk while we were paying outside. It was in the muddy spot that doesn't dry."

"Wherever it was, it was a great place to play in!" Mabel declared.

"It'll be great to wash off, that's for sure." Susan mumbled.

"Hey everyone!" came a voice from the door. The kids and their mother turned their attention to a man coming through the doorway, his long overcoat and brown hair illuminated by the light that was pouring in behind him. Avery Pines wore a smile underneath his mustache, which turned into a small frown when he took in the sight of the dirty children.

"What happened to you two?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

"We went treasure hunting!" Dipper said with pride.

"And we found a magical pony alien hand!" Mabel added, taking the rusted tool from her mother and showing it to her father.

"Uh, Mabel?" Avery said, pointing to the object. "That's a-"

Susan shot him a sideways look.

"That's, uh, that's what it is!" Avery backtracked. "A…uh…."

"Hand from a magical flying alien pony head?" Mabel offered.

"That!" Avery agreed, moving toward the group and kneeling down to their level. "May I see it?"

Mabel handed him the wrench, and Avery examined it, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Yep, this is pretty cool." He looked to the twins. "Hey, do you think I could take this to my lab? I bet everyone there would really like to see a magic hand."

"But I wanted to keep it," Dipper pouted.

"Please?" Avery pleaded, making a pouty face of his own.

Eventually, Dipper caved. "Okay, Daddy." Dipper conceded.

"Yay!" Avery exclaimed, hugging his kids. "Thank you!"

"Maybe you can use it on your boss to get a raise!" Mabel suggested.

"Maybe," Avery pulled away with a mischievous look in his eye. "I'll definitely think about it." His wife gave him another side stare, and he gestured to the stairs, located near the doorway. "Now, go clean yourselves before dinner."

The twins obeyed, racing each other up.

Avery looked back at his wife. "Potential tetanus crisis, averted."

"And done so well," Susan complimented, pulling her husband close. "You know, you're really cute when your eyes are full of wonder."

Avery smiled. "Well, with you, there's always a reason for them to be."

Our parents probably thought we were going to be quite the handful, bringing all sorts of things home every day. Some they let us keep, others they took to keep us from accidentally hurting ourselves. But through it all, they didn't try to stop us from exploring. They encouraged us to search for things ourselves, provided that we didn't go too far or get ourselves into trouble while doing it. And we were always searching for one thing or another.

But after that night…

After that night, there was only one thing we were looking for.

And not only was it dangerous, it was personal.

Dipper woke to the sounds of loud banging coming from downstairs.

As the five-year-old rubbed his eyes and sat up, the banging became more frequent. A slight chill ran down his back. What could be making that noise this time at night? Was it a monster? A bad man? A flying alien magical pony head coming back for its hand?

"Dipper?"

Dipper turned to see his sister on her bed across the room. She too seemed to have been awakened by the noise, and looked just as uneasy as him.

"What's going on?" she asked in a frightened tone. "What's that noise?"

"It…" Dipper tried to find an explanation that wouldn't freak them both out. "It's probably the TV! Mommy and Daddy are probably watching a loud movie." He wasn't sure he believed that, but he didn't want to keep seeing his sister frightened.

"Are you sure?" Mabel pressed.

"Yeah!" Dipper said. "Let's…" He gulped. "Let's go look. We'll see that it's just a loud movie, and then we won't be scared anymore."

"Yeah," Mabel replied, slowly getting off her bed. "Ok. Let's do that."

Dipper got up off his own bed, inching his way slowly to the door. He noticed that his sister had grabbed her pillow, and was holding it at her side as a possible weapon. Silently, Dipper felt a little relieved at that. It was all probably nothing, but just in case, Mabel could help them stand up to whatever was out there in the darkness.

Dipper slowly opened the door, and the duo stepped out into the hallway leading to the stairs. Dipper noticed that there were lights coming from downstairs in flashes of blue, red, and yellow. He gulped back something bitter at the back of his throat. It's just the light from the TV, he kept telling himself. Nothing to be scared of. It's just the TV.

As the twins slowly moved down the stairs towards the front of the house, the banging noises got louder, and they began to hear other sounds accompanying the banging. There was some loud metallic clanging, some cracking noises, and a sound that wasn't recognizable until they reached the bottom of the steps. Then it hit them.

The other sound was the screams of their parents.

Dipper and Mabel froze. Dipper felt his blood run cold. He and his sister looked to each other, searching for their next move in each other's eyes. They could see each other's fear and anxiousness, but there was something else there too. An unspoken strength and determination. Whatever was happening, they had each other's backs.

And their Mommy and Daddy needed help.

Mustering all their strength, Dipper and Mabel sprinted towards the living room. Turning into it, they let out a collective gasp.

The living room was trashed. The entertainment center was in pieces, with family photos strewn about the room. The couch was broken in several places, large tears exposing the fluffy innards that lay inside the cushions. The windows were all smashed in, with several small glass shards laying in front of each one. Swirling around the outer edges of the room were bright flashes of color, moving around in circular paths. Every now and then, a burst of bright, sparkling light or a trail of blue fire would shoot out from the colorful display of yellow, red, and blue, smashing into another piece of furniture or taking a chunk out of the wall.

And in the center of the madness was Avery and Susan Pines, huddling together in the middle of the room and doing their best to dodge every projectile that came from a storm of light surrounding them.

"Mommy?!" Mabel shouted over the noise. "Daddy?!"

Mr. and Mrs. Pines looked up, their faces full of emotion.

"Mabel! Dipper!" Susan shouted.

"Get out of here!" Avery yelled. "Go!"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Dipper cried.

Suddenly, a shape appeared in the light. Though it was a little hard to make out, Dipper could see that it was a giant yellow triangle. Beads of yellow light emanated off of it, and it seemed to have a white eye in the center that was staring directly at him and his sister.

Then, just as soon as it had appeared, the triangle vanished into the swirling mess of blue, yellow, and red.

"Mommy! Daddy! Come with us!" Mabel yelled.

"Yeah!" Dipper joined in. "We're not leaving without you!"

"Dipper, take your sister and go!" Susan answered, tears dripping down her face.

"Go now!" Avery added. His face was just as wet with tears as his wife's. "And if something happens, remember! We love-"

The house suddenly disappeared, and Dipper's world became nothing but red and blue light. It felt like everything around him was moving, yet Dipper himself felt like he was floating in space. He wanted to kick, to scream, to call out for his parents and his sister, but before he could do anything, he found himself on a street corner with his sister by his side. It was dark, and there were a few buildings nearby, but it was clear that this was nowhere near their house.

"Where are we?" Mabel asked, taking in their surroundings.

"I don't know…" Dipper answered. He spotted a police station nearby.

"Mabel, look!" he declared, pointing towards the building. "Police officers! They can get us home, and then they can help Mommy and Daddy!"

"Then let's go!" Mabel said, making a break for the building. Dipper hurried behind his sister, hoping that they would make it home on time.

"Mr. Pines!"

Dipper's head shot up from his desk. As the tall, lanky boy rubbed his eyes, he could hear the snickering of some of his fellow classmates. He looked up to see Mr. Mendez, a balding man with dark hair and glasses resembling that of a popular young wizard character, glaring at him from the whiteboard at the front of the room.

"Just what were we dreaming about, Mr. Pines?" Mr. Mendez mocked. "I hope it was about the major themes and messages of Antigone. Otherwise I don't have high hopes of you passing next week's exam."

"Sorry, sir." Dipper grumbled.

"This is the last time I'm going to let this slide, Mr. Pines." Mendez proclaimed. "Next time you decide to slip into a mini-coma during my class time, you'll be waking up with a referral next to you. Do we understand each other?"

"We do," Dipper replied, thinking of all the ways he could have answered that question differently.

"Good." Mr. Mendez turned back to the whiteboard, continuing his lecture. "Now, as you all should remember, Creon's tragic flaw is his pride. He never admits that he's wrong until it's too late, and by then everything comes crashing down on him…"

"So, I heard someone took a little nap in Mendez's class today," Mabel said, elbowing her brother as they walked together through the halls of Gravity Falls High.

"It's really not a big deal," Dipper replied.

"Not a big deal?" Mabel repeated. "Dipper, you've only had his class for two months and this is the fourth time this has happened! He's going to write you up eventually."

"Well, I can't help if he's a boring teacher!" Dipper defended. "I love to read, but you know that English has never been my subject! Especially when it's taught by a drone like Mr. Mendez and he's going through the information for the ten billionth time!"

"I'm so glad I got Mr. Higgins instead," Mabel stated, a smile forming on her face. "Ten minutes of work, then he spends the rest of the time talking about the Walking Dead."

Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Are you falling asleep in class because of Mendez?" Mabel asked. "Or is it because you haven't been getting much sleep at night?"

Dipper slightly stiffened, which Mabel picked up on. "It's because of that, isn't it?"

Dipper sighed. "I don't know why, Mabel, but every time I've gotten some sleep for the last couple of nights, I go back to that night when we were five."

Mabel looked at him with newfound concern.

"It happened again in class today," Dipper continued. He stopped walking. "Do you think it's possible that this is some kind of sign? That we might be getting close to finding the Triangle Man?"

"Dipper," Mabel began. "I think you're just going through a low point. They've come and gone a lot over the last ten years. You know that as well as I do."

"Yeah…" Dipper relented, rubbing his arm. "You're probably right."

"You need something to cheer you up." Mabel put her arm around her brother. "You should come to the party tonight! Hang out with some friends, drink something age-appropriate, get your grove on!" She gave him a small smile. "Who knows, maybe that red-headed senior you've got a crush on will be there."

"Sh-she won't be there!" Dipper stammered, his face going a little red. "It's not her scene!"

"I don't know, Dipper, I've heard some stories." Mabel said. "They say that that Corduroy girl is the life of any party."

"Who's 'they?'" Dipper asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I have my sources. Wink."

"Whatever," Dipper remarked. "I'm not going to the party. Not when Dr. Mandell is launching the Infinity Engine tonight."'

"You're still planning on going to that?" Mabel asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Of course! Dr. Mandell is a legend in the study of Oddology! He's proven more 'mythical' things to be fact than anyone who's ever worked in that field. And the Infinity Engine will allow him to do that on a much larger scale! It'll create new ways of looking at everything!"

"Uh huh," Mabel said. "And you'd rather go to see that doohickey turn on than go to a party and have fun?"

"Of course!" Dipper declared.

"How am I related to you again?" Mabel remarked.

"Just promise not to tell Stan," Dipper pleaded. "You know how much he hates Mandell."

"Yeah yeah, bro bro. But if you change your mind, the party's always an option."

"Why do you even want to go to Pacifica Northwest's party anyway?" Dipper inquired, frowning. "Aren't you two still rivals or something?"

"Well, yes." Mabel conceded. "But it's a party that everyone in our grade is invited to. Everyone will be there, not just Pacifica and her friends."

"Speak of the devil," Dipper said, pointing to a well-dressed blonde walking a few yards away from them.

"Hey Pacifica!" Mabel shouted, waving at the rich girl. "See you at the party tonight!"

"Drop dead, Mabel." Pacifica shot, not even looking in her direction.

"I really don't like her," Dipper remarked.

"I don't think anyone really does," Mabel replied under her breath, keeping the smile on her face.

"Thanks!" she called back to Pacifica. "You too!"

For the fifth time, Dipper checked himself in the mirror.

Normally, Dipper didn't care much for how he looked. Making himself look 'presentable' had never been a concern, especially when there were so many better uses of time than stressing over what he looked like.

But it was entirely possible that Dipper would be meeting his idol tonight, or at least be in his general vicinity, and he didn't want to be seen as a disheveled, sleep-deprived teenager.

After taking a shower, he had changed into a set of clothes he had taken great pains over the last couple of days to make sure they were clean. Clean shorts, clean shirt, clean jacket, even clean underwear. The only thing he wore that wasn't recently cleaned was his signature pine tree hat that he wore on his head.

Standing in front of the mirror of his room, he made several micro-adjustments to himself. Quietly, he debated whether or not he should wear a bow tie to compliment all this. A bow tie would look nice. Maybe a bow tie would be good. But would it be too much? He didn't want Dr. Mandell to think he was trying too hard to make a good impression.

"You look like a dork, if that's what you're wondering."

Scowling, Dipper turned to face his sister, who was wearing a big grin on her face. She too was dressed up, but it was far more noticeable for her than for Dipper. She wore a large purple shirt, which exposed her left shoulder and some of the green strap of the top she was wearing underneath. A neon orange skirt stretched down to her knees, and purple heels adorned her feet. A large bow sat at the top of her head.

"Har har," Dipper said sarcastically. "At least I don't look like my clothes were washed in neon paint."

"I am completely okay that description," Mabel said.

"Hey, ya little munchkins." came a gruff voice from the door.

If there was an obvious contrast between how Dipper and Mabel Pines were dressed, that contrast was more than doubled by their guardian and Great Uncle, Stan. Stan Pines entered the room of his niece and nephew in a dirty tank top and pair of boxers, exposing much of his wrinkly, hairy skin. A red fez with the symbol of a fish sat on top of his silvery hair. He adjusted his glasses as he looked at the duo.

"Whoa, Pumpkin, you look amazing," he addressed Mabel. "And…" He sniffed the air. "Dipper, you actually smell less bad than normal. What's the occasion?"

"I'm going to a party, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel proclaimed.

"Is it another one of one of those Northwest parties?" Stan asked.

"Yep!"

"Good," Stan remarked. "If there's a competition again, make sure to knock that Pacifica girl down a peg or two for me, will ya?"

"Absolutely!" Mabel affirmed.

"And how about you, Dipper?" Stan asked.

"Oh, uh, I'm going to the party too!" Dipper said, attempting to give a convincing smile.

Stan's face darkened. "You're not going to see that hack Mandell turn on his piece of crap machine are you?"

"No, Grunkle Stan." Dipper replied. He put his arm behind his back and crossed his fingers. "I promise."

Stan lingered his eyes on the teen for a bit, then shrugged. "Ok. You two need a ride?"

"Actually, one of Mabel's friends is driving us." Dipper answered.

"One of your friends already has a license?" Stan said incredulously.

"Candy had a birthday last week, remember?" Mabel reminded Stan. "She's sixteen. Her parents had her take her driver's test immediately, so she could drive herself to her internship."

"I gotta start stayin' off the roads, if your friends are driving around." Stan mused. "She's got an internship, huh? Where at?"

"Uh," Mabel started, looking toward her brother. "Well-"

"There she is!" Dipper cut her off, pointing out the window of the room. A car was visible approaching the Shack.

"And not a moment too soon," Mabel said to herself. She bolted down the steps, with Dipper following behind. "Bye Grunkle Stan! We'll be home in a couple of hours!"

"Make good choices!" Stan hollered after them. "That goes for both of you!"

"Thanks for doing this, Candy." Dipper told the girl in the front driver's seat. They had already dropped off Mabel at the Northwest party, and were headed to Mandell Labs. Mabel had insisted that Candy come to the party after she was finished at her internship, but Candy had expressed that though she wanted to accompany her friend, Dr. Mandell would probably keep her all night with the Infinity Engine Ceremony.

Candy nodded in acknowledgement. "What does your uncle have against Dr. Mandell anyway?"

Dipper shrugged, a bit of exasperation visible on his face. "I don't know. Sometimes when I ask him about it he'll talk about him like he's actually met the guy, but I don't see how that would ever happen."

Candy looked at Dipper through the rear-view mirror. "If Stan actually met Dr. Mandell, I'm sure they'd get along. Dr. Mandell can be…overzealous at times, but he has a good heart. Not unlike Stan."

"I get the feeling that if we introduced them, I'd have to keep Stan from physically hurting him." Dipper mused.

"I'm sure that's not true…" Candy said in an unconvincing tone. The car began to slow, a small smile forming to her face. "We're here."

With butterflies in his stomach, Dipper looked out the window. Mandell Labs was a relatively new building, put together within the last six years or so. It was slightly removed from the town, existing on the outskirts near the forest. The building had a slight cone shape, its sides moving outward as its height increased. The windows that lined it were full of light and illuminated the surrounding area as the sky got darker and darker. Above and below the windows were concrete walls, and the whole thing was topped with a large section of blue, giving the building a little dash of color. Grass surrounded the building on all sides, excluding the road leading up to it and its parking lot, leading to a tree line that surrounded two-thirds of the premises. The building towered over the trees, easily visible from all directions of the town.

The excitement Dipper felt only grew as Candy parked and the two made their way to the constructed stage that had been set up outside the main doors of the facility. A podium sat atop the stage, overlooking a small crowd. Along with many of the town's residents looking forward to seeing a spectacle, scientists and journalists had come from all around the world to see the Infinity Engine turned on. Even Mr. and Mrs. Northwest were in attendance, likely ready to see what their money had been going into the last few years. Candy wished Dipper farewell, then took her place on the stage alongside a few other interns and employees at Mandell Labs. As Dipper made his way into the crowd, he tried to make out the men and women Candy had taken her pace alongside. He himself had wanted to be an intern for the lab, and was a little jealous of these people ahead of him. Most of them he didn't recognize, but when he noticed the red-headed girl to the far left, his heart stopped.

No. It wasn't her, was it?

It was. Standing five people to Candy's right was the most beautiful girl Dipper had ever seen. She was wearing a dark green dress that looked amazing on her, despite the fact that Dipper had never seen her in an outfit that wasn't a flannel shirt and jeans. Instead of her signature boots, a pair of heels covered her feet. Her hair was brushed and came down to her shoulders, and when it blew in the slight breeze Dipper could feel his cheeks lightly redden. The only trace of the Wendy Corduroy Dipper had liked since middle school was the ushanka that sat snugly atop the High School Senior's head.

Wendy was here? As an intern?

Before Dipper could let that information sink in, the area lit up with applause. Taking his eyes off of Wendy, Dipper's heart started to race and anxious tension flowed through his veins.

A mere number of yards ahead of Dipper, Dr. Paul Mandell climbed atop the stage and made his way to the podium. Dipper's longtime hero was a short, portly man dressed in a suit and slacks. He had silvery hair and a neck-length moustache-beard combo, as well as large rimmed glasses. The man wore a huge grin on his face all the way to the podium. When Dr. Mandell reached his destination he stood for a second, adjusting his bow tie before gesturing for his guests to quiet down.

"Oh, oh, hello Gravity Falls!" Dr. Mandell exclaimed. He pulled the podium's microphone closer to his face. "My name is Dr. Paul Mandell. Tonight, we make history. My Infinity Engine will allow us to gain new insight into theoretical sciences, and help us to discover the answers to the great mysteries of the universe. Do alternate dimensions exist? Is it possible to travel through time? Why do dudes have nipples?" The last question garnered a few scattered laughs. Mandell took the moment to gesture to the building behind him. "With this machine, the possibilities are truly infinite!" He looked out to the crowd as they gave him more applause. "Now there have been roadblocks. It's been a lifetime journey getting here. Some people-" Mandell eyed some of the scientists in the audience. "-thought we couldn't do it." Mandell's expression turned triumphant. "But here, alongside my hard-working employees and interns…"

Mandell gestured to the group of people to his side, pausing so that his workers could get the applause they deserved. Candy gave a nervous wave, while Wendy just put up her hand and gave the audience a small smile.

"…the day has finally come." Dr. Mandell continued. "And mark my words, ladies and gentlemen…"

Mandell's eyes fell directly on Dipper, and the teen tried his best not to freak out that his hero was looking RIGHT AT HIM.

"Tonight, everything changes." Dr. Mandell finished. The scientist was showered with another round of applause from the audience. He gestured once again to the building. "Now, what are we waiting for? Let's turn this thing on!"

Mandell stepped off the stage, followed by Candy, Wendy, and his other workers. The crowd slowly began to move in the direction Mandell was leading, giving Dipper time to stand still and process everything that had just happened.

Wendy was here. Working for Dr. Mandell. Who had actually looked at him!

And now he was going to get to go into Mandell Labs with the both of them and watch them turn on a scientific breakthrough that would bring him closer to answers that he had been searching for for years.

Dipper took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the complete amazingness he was about to experience.

"Well, it's nice to see what your promises are worth."

Dipper froze.

"C'mon Dipper," Grunkle Stan addressed him, stepping from behind. He was dressed in his Mr. Mystery suit. Stan's face was a bit hard to read, but his body language told Dipper he was not happy. "We're going home."

"But, Grunkle Stan!" Dipper pleaded, gesturing to the building. "The Infinity Engine-"

"I told you, Dipper, you are not seeing that piece of crap turn on!" Stan began to make his way to the car. "I refuse to let Mandell get his crazy conspiracies stuck in your head! It's bad enough you've already got some of your own cooking up there!"

"They're not conspiracies!" Dipper bit angrily, running after his Grunkle. "They're real! If you could just see-"

"Dipper, we are not having this talk right now." The expression on Stan's face made it clear that this subject was getting dropped immediately. Reaching the car, Stan opened one of the passenger doors and gestured for Dipper to get in.

"I hope this little escapade was worth it," Stan bit as Dipper entered the vehicle. "Because as soon as your sister gets home, you're both grounded."

Dipper didn't say anything. He just sat in the back of the vehicle, fuming in his own anger and disappointment and wishing that this night had gone differently.

Across town, Mabel was having a ball.

The Northwests had rented out the school gym, transforming it into quite the party scene. The walls were decked out with curtains and fixtures. Large high-definition speakers boomed out pop music. An enormous disco ball had even been installed in the rafters, sending out multiple beads of multicolored light all over the gym. The place was packed with High School Sophomores who were eating, socializing, or dancing the night away.

And Mabel was in the center of it all.

It had started out as just a playful idea. Mabel and her friends Grenda, Patty, and Rebekah had moved onto the dance floor to get their groove on when Mabel suggested that they do the synchronized group dance they had been working on, knowing that it would be fun and probably look really cool. So they launched into the group dance, moving their way around the floor and getting applause and cheers from many of the on-looking partiers.

Then they had run into Pacifica Northwest and her posse. One thing had led to another, and now Mabel found herself and her friends in the middle of a dance battle with Pacifica and her group. Pacifica and her followers would do a series of moves that would gain a good amount of applause, only for Mabel's group to do a set of their own and earn even more applause. Even though she wanted to win, Mabel was just happy to be here. This night was going perfect.

Until the power went out.

Everyone went into a small panic, whooping at the newfound darkness and feeling out for their friends nearby. Mabel was trying to keep calm herself, assuring her friends that everything was okay at the same time.

"Who the heck turned the power off?!" Pacifica's voice demanded. "Is this supposed to be some kind of prank?"

Pacifica was answered with a loud BAAAAANNNNGGGGG! sound that echoed through the gym.

The occupants of the gym went into full panic mode, rushing out as fast as their legs could carry them. Chaperones were yelling for everyone to remain calm, to no avail. Mabel kept her best friends close, the quartet holding each other's hands and moving together towards the gym's exit. They were bumped into a few times, but whenever one of them fell over, the others were right there to pick them up. Eventually, the group made their way out into the night. The sight they were met with caused them all to stop.

"Uh, girls?" Grenda managed, gazing with her friends at the sky. "That's not natural, right?"

The girls were gazing at a massive wave of blue energy spreading from across town. As the wave moved more and more outwards, small arcs of lightning shot in many different directions, hitting trees, cliffs, and houses.

The gigantic display was moving closer and closer towards them.

"Get back in the gym!" Mabel shouted. "Now!"

The group bolted back into the building, but just as Mabel crossed the threshold, a bolt of lightning arced into her, sending the teen flying.

Mabel felt herself hit something solid before the world went black.

Dipper was back in his room, pacing while deep in thought.

Tonight had almost been the best night of his life. It had been going great, until Grunkle Stan had shown up. He had to give his Great Uncle credit for knowing him well enough to realize that Dipper was going to the launch of the Engine regardless of what Stan had told him. But even with that, Stan obviously didn't know how much the Infinity Engine meant to him. What answers he could get from something like that.

Dipper sighed. Moving over to his bed, he pulled out a long, thin rectangular object covered in a brown tarp from behind his headboard. He stood the object up on top of his bed, leaning it against the wall before pulling off the tarp.

It was a board covered with newspaper clippings, printed articles, and index cards with writing on them. The papers were connected by several thumb-tacks and strings. Some of the articles read

AVERY AND SUSAN PINES KILLED IN FIRE

DEMON SHAPES: ARE THEY REAL?

ARSON SUSPECTED IN PINES DEATHS

SUPERNATURAL ORIGINS OF THE PYRAMIDS

JOSE RAMIREZ CONVICTED FOR PINES MURDERS

At the top of the board was a handwritten question:

WHO IS THE TRIANGLE MAN?

Dipper took a step back. Someday, one way or another, his sister and him would get the answer.

A loud BAAAANNNNGGGGG! pulled Dipper out of his thoughts. He frowned. He hadn't head a sound that loud before.

Noticing that the sound had come from outdoors, Dipper looked out the window. He rubbed his eyes, making sure what he was seeing was real.

Sure enough, an enormous wave of blue energy was emanating from Mandell Labs in the distance, peels of lightning shooting from it in every direction as it spread.

That…wasn't good.

Dipper hurriedly put the tarp back over the board, and slid it back in its place. What happened? Had something gone wrong with the Engine? What about

Mabel.

She was still at the party.

Dipper bolted for the steps.

"Grunkle Stan!" Dipper shouted. "We need to-!"

The wave of blue energy crashed through the window, hitting Dipper with full force and sending face first into the floor. And everything was suddenly dark.

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