Author's Note: Welcome one and all to another installment!
A quick heads-up: A character will be appearing in this chapter that will appear out of place. That's because, in keeping with the Flash's tradition of crossovers with other shows, I have decided to tease one such crossover here. While it won't be a show as dark as Arrow, it will still be a little weird and a little wild.
Thank you all so much for the new reviews, follows and favorites, as well as all those who returned after such a long hiatus!
As usual, Gravity Falls and The Flash are not mine.
Chapter 4: On Their Own
"The war during McKinley's administration?"
"Spanish American. Name of the President who took over after McKinley?"
"Teddy. And his successor?"
"Taft. And did they get along?"
"Heck no."
Dipper and Mabel chuckled, clutching their flashcards and coffee cups by their sides. A cool breeze swept through the street, which blew their hair and provided a brief reprieve from the otherwise humid morning. A week had passed since they'd walked out on Mandell, and they'd done their best to forget everything that happened. Studying for their upcoming 11th grade placement test offered several opportunities to get their mind off it, but it didn't help when Dipper started doubling over in pain, clutching his ears from time to time. Or sparks flying off of Mabel. The Mystery Shack had set on fire three different occasions, and the kids were running out of excuses for Grunkle Stan. The grizzled con man was old, but he wasn't anywhere near stupid. Keeping their mystery hunts secret from him all these years had been bad enough. Hiding superpowers? That was nearly impossible.
Although it seemed nowadays that Stan was more out and about. Dipper and Mabel would come home in the afternoon and Stan would be gone, the Mystery Shack closed. Closed. During daylight hours. The current theory was that he was seeing Lazy Susan again, but it was flimsy at best. The two hadn't tried anything romantic since Stan accidentally hit her cat Roscoe with his car. Roscoe was fine – the cat had survived far worse – but there were principles in these things.
"I gotta say," Mabel said, "you do look pretty fabulous with those pink earmuffs. You tried picking up any girls yet?" Dipper flushed.
"It's bad enough I have to fit them over my hat," he said. "Honestly, if these things didn't keep my ears from bleeding every couple of seconds, they'd be in the trash faster than a Gremoblin runs from a pineapple."
"Such a weird weakness," Mabel remarked, taking a sip of her coffee.
"How are you holding up?"
Mabel sighed. "Not great. I've been popping in on Grenda when I can, keeping her company. As for the other thing…." Mabel shuddered. "Why did this have to happen to us, Dipper? Hasn't the universe been mean enough already?"
"I…" Dipper's eyes wandered to his coffee cup, which hadn't changed at all since he'd last looked at it. "I don't know, Mabel. I really don't." The pair walked in silence as they approached the cemetery.
"What about you, Dipper? Have the ears gotten any better?"
Dipper shook his head. "There are days where even Mandell's modified earmuffs aren't enough. And even then, I can't wear these forever." He gestured to the forest, which swayed along the edge of the graveyard. "I really doesn't help that we're in a town literally surrounded by trees."
Mabel gave him a sideways grin. "This mean you want to move to the city?"
"Heck no."
The two had almost reached the end of the graveyard's sidewalk when movement near the forest caught their attention. A young woman in jeans and a green t-shirt was being escorted to the edge of the forest by her date. A man in a black hoodie and grey jeans. Dipper and Mabel shared a glance, set down their coffees on the waist-height cemetery wall and leapt over to sprint after them.
"Picnic in the woods?" the young woman said to her escort, clasping his hand in hers. "A little cliché, don't you think?"
"No…" he mumbled in a deep voice. "Not really…"
"Give it a rest, Jeff." Mabel said. The man froze in his tracks. The girl turned to face Dipper and Mabel and frowned.
"Um," she said. "I think you're looking for someone else."
"Trust me lady," Mabel said, "that guy's not good for you." She slowly closed the gap with Dipper in tow. "Whatever he said, he's lying. His name's Jeff. He's bad news."
"Crap," the man muttered. Then he grabbed the girl by the waist and tossed her onto his shoulder before making a mad dash into the woods. Dipper and Mabel took off after him like rockets. The girl screamed in Jeff's arms, getting in a cluster of punches and kicks in the process. Jeff's cries of pain rang through the trees, but on he ran.
"Is it just me," Mabel said, "or is he a lot quicker than usual?" After she heard no response, Mabel turned to her brother. The teen was several yards back, clutching at his ears and doubling over. Mabel ran back to him, but Dipper waved her away.
"Keep going," he said, falling to his knees. "I've gotta get back. Go!"
Mabel nodded, then continued her pursuit. As her legs increased in speed Mabel couldn't help but think the situation was peculiar. It wasn't like the gnomes to kidnap people. Well, backtrack. It wasn't like the gnomes to kidnap people like this. They usually lured potential queens into the forest, but if they had to resort to physical force they would quickly reveal themselves. They never kept up their disguise as Norman or displayed any competent strength in that persona. They were just five gnomes stacked together, after all. So what had changed?
Finally, Mabel caught a glimpse of the girl's auburn hair. Jeff still had her but was rapidly losing speed. Before she could close the distance, however, another Norman jumped in front of her from the cover of a tree.
"Back off," the bearded man told her. Mabel punched him in the face instead. The Norman reared back, clutching his jaw. Mabel took a step back. A punch like that should've nocked the gnome on top off at least, if not crumbled the entire stack. The Norman's hands curled into tight fists.
"That was a mistake," he said. The Norman flung a wide punch at Mabel, which she blocked. She threw up a counterpunch, catching the Gnome-thing once more in the jaw. The Norman screamed in pain. Mabel whispered a million thank-yous to Grunkle Stan for teaching her boxing growing up as she pressed her advantage. She lashed out two consecutive punches to the stomach and both connected with a solid mass. The Norman let loose another punch, but it merely grazed Mabel's shoulder. Mabel went for broke and cracked her fist against the Norman's nose. The Norman's eyes glazed over and it fell flat on its back. Mabel clutched her right hand, flapping it repeatedly to ebb the screaming pain in her fingers. The Norman moaned on the ground, a steady stream of blood pooling from his nose.
"Ow ow ow," she said, glancing back in the direction Jeff had fled. Mabel cursed under her breath. The two were long gone. She could run after them, but with the forest as big as it was it'd be near impossible to find them by herself. And if there were more Normans that put up the same fight her attacker did, it would be much better to have backup at her side. Before she turned back to get Dipper, however, she knelt down to Norman's level. Scrunching her face, she slowly lifted the thing's shirt…
to reveal cut, rock-hard abs. No gnomes, only solid flesh.
"What the heck?"
"You're kidding me," Dipper said as he sat on the cemetery wall.
Mabel shook her head, still cradling her right hand. "Rock hard muscle, not a single gnome."
Dipper stroked his chin. "Is it possible it wasn't Jeff we saw? We never really saw his face."
"I'd know that voice anywhere. It was definitely Jeff."
"So…" Dipper frowned. "The gnomes just mutated all of a sudden? Got a lot taller? How?" Dipper and Mabel's heads snapped up in unison.
"The Infinity Engine!" they said, turning to face the hill on the other side of town. The Mandell Labs facility loomed over them, almost taunting them from the distance.
"It must've hit them too!" Mabel said, turning back to the forest.
"This…I think this goes beyond bad." Dipper said. "What to we do?" He ran his fingers across his fluffy earmuffs. "Should we…should we report this to Mandell? Get his take on it?"
"No!" Mabel crossed her arms. "That jerk has caused enough damage. We don't need his help."
"But this is new territory for us."
"It's the gnomes." She pointed to the woods behind them. "We know them. Just because they got all big doesn't mean they've changed on the inside. Or where they live. We just need to do what we always do and be a little more careful this time."
Dipper rose from his seat, pointing at his earmuffs. "What about this?"
Mabel began to pace with her arms crossed behind her back. She halted. "Stan?"
"What do we tell him? A bunch of guys who used to be gnomes live in the forest and kidnapped a girl?"
"We don't have to tell him they were gnomes!"
"This is all assuming that Stan will be home." Mabel hung her head and rubbed her temple. Dipper sighed.
"Ok."
Mabel raised her head and cocked it to the side. "What?"
Dipper stood. "We do it ourselves."
"But what about your ears?"
"I'll…." Dipper shrugged. "I'll just have to keep up my concentration. If I try hard enough, as long as we do this quickly, I'll get through it." Dipper raised his hand in a scout's honor. "Promise."
"You sure?"
"Definitely."
"Well, bro-bro," Mabel grinned. "Looks like the Mystery Twins are back in action."
"How're you doing?" Mabel asked over her shoulder.
Sweat was pouring down Dipper's face and back as he glacially walked through the woods. The earmuffs felt very pronounced and stuffy on his head, and despite everything he was pouring into not thinking about the whispers they remained at the edges of his concentration. His body was screaming for him to let up his focus just to take a breather, but he knew the second he let down his guard he'd be done for.
Dipper nodded. "Yeah…just keep….moving….."
Mabel nodded and quickened her pace while she kept an eye out for twigs. The twins had made a short pit stop at the Mystery Shack for supplies, then returned to the forest. They had briefly entertained the idea of riding to the gnome's base on one of the golf carts they kept hidden in the woods, but had ultimately decided a cart would give off too much noise. Better to use them as a potential escape if they could evade the gnomes long enough to get to their cache. Wincing through the pain, Dipper tapped Mabel on the shoulder.
"Mabel," Dipper said, pointing forward. "Look." Mabel squinted, cupping her hand above her brow. Despite the rays of the sun beating down through the trees, she was able to make out a flickering light up ahead. She sniffed. A hint of smoke tinged the crisp air.
"The gnome settlement?"
"Most likely. Can you pass me the repellent?"
Mabel took out an unlabeled silver cannister from the bag slung around her shoulder and passed it to Dipper, who shook it violently. The two had encountered the gnomes on more than one occasion, and despite the low-level threat they typically presented, taking on a group of gnomes was…time consuming. It had taken Dipper a month, but he had concocted a spray that was composed of the most unpleasant smells a gnome could ever encounter. Thus gnome repellant had become standard issue in their excursions into the woods. Mabel took out another cannister and shook it.
"You ready?" Dipper said.
"Of course."
"Then let's go."
As they approached the light, a low humming emanated from up ahead. It sounded like a bunch of rocks scraping together to the tune of "Somebody to Love."
"Infinity Engine…didn't change…..those golden voices." Dipper said. Mabel stifled a laugh. They reached the edge of the clearing ahead of them and hunkered down into the brush. Dipper counted to three and their faces emerged from their concealment.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Dipper said. Mabel clamped a hand over her mouth so her chuckle wouldn't give them away. Rows of gnomes sat in wooden stands circling around a stage thats exterior resembled a beaver dam. Between the stands and the stage, a handful of Norman-esque dancers dressed in leotards performed a bizarre set of motions with their arms and torsos. It was clear that it was supposed to be an attempt at an intricate tribal display, but it ended up looking more like the chicken dance. As the Normans flapped their arms at their sides, their elongated shadows copied the motion in the dirt, given life by the sun and multiple fires surrounding the thrown-together theater. Atop the stage was a long, tattered curtain that sectioned off an area as large as a car. Standing atop the stage and bathing in all the glory of the gnomes were two Normans dressed in Elvis outfits for some inexplicable reason. One was obviously Jeff, who was scratching the back of his head. The other was one they hadn't seen before who possessed strong cheekbones and dark hair. His arms were stretched out and his head was pulled back, taking in the ritual as if it was his very life and blood.
The gnomes' chanting came to an abrupt halt just as the dancers finished their….thing. The gnomes leaned forward eagerly towards the stage. The handsome Norman stepped forward, gesturing out to the collection of followers.
"Gnomes of the forest!" he said in a voice like fiery velvet. "Rejoice! For today, we finally select a new queen!" The clearing roared with cheers and applause, and many gnomes raised their arms in exultation. Dipper and Mabel caught each other's eyes.
Move now? Mabel mouthed.
Wait for a better opening. Dipper responded. We don't want to draw attention.
"Today," the Norman continued, "our three-year search comes to an end! After-"
"Yes, fellow gnomes!" Jeff interrupted. "It's been rough, but I've finally brought you here! Me! Isn't that great?" The cries of joy shifted to boos. The handsome Norman maintained his smile and stepped in front of Jeff.
"Yes," the Norman said, "despite some terrible leadership, we have finally done it! From now on we won't bend to arbitrary weaklings put in charge as we search for a new ruler. The time has come!" He raised his arms to the heavens. "Are you ready….."
The curtain dropped on cue to reveal three teenage girls, each tied to a chair. The girl to the far right was the one Dipper and Mabel had seen kidnapped earlier. The one in the middle wore a flowery dress and was missing a small clump of her curly brown hair. The final girl to the left had dark blue hair, a green beanie, a jean-jacket, black t-shirt, and yellow skirt. The former two were wide-eyed and struggling against the ropes that bound them. The girl with blue hair simply reclined back in her seat like the experience was an everyday occurrence. Dipper immediately re-focused his thoughts after a searing pain sheared through his head. The good news was that despite two of the girls being extremely frightened, it didn't seem any of them had been severely harmed. The Norman donned a top hat and gestured to the girls with flair.
"….for the Dating Game?" he finished. The crowd cheered.
"Ok," Dipper said, raising an eyebrow. "There it is."
"New superpowers," Mabel said, shaking her head. "Same old gnomes."
"Who's ready to play?" the Norman said.
"We are!" the clearing roared. Dipper and Mabel pulled back into the brush.
"So how do you want to do this?" Mabel said.
Dipper stroked his chin. "We need to distract the gnomes from the stage."
"Asked and received." Mabel smirked. "Anything in particular?"
"Surprise me."
"Always do."
"I'll untie the girls and try to get them to the golf carts." Dipper winced, clutching his earmuffs.
Mabel placed her hand on his shoulder. "You got this? I could always-"
"I'll be fine." Dipper did his best to smile.
"If you need me, I'll be there in a flash."
"I don't doubt it. Stay safe."
The twins bumped fists, whispering "mystery twins" under their breath. The two broke off, with Mabel sprinting to the right and Dipper stepping carefully around the left. As he made his way behind the trees and took cover in sporadic bushes, Dipper watched the gnomes call out questions to the "contestants." At one point the girl in the green t-shirt and the girl in the flowery dress called out for help, only to be dissuaded by a group of gnomes aiming other gnomes at them with bows. The girls sat back and answered the questions posed to them after that. The girl with the dark-blue hair, however, was an enigma to Dipper. She made no struggle against the ropes, lounged back in her chair, and even answered the gnomes' questions in such detail that the Norman in charge would have to intervene so that the others could be given a chance to talk. Dipper frowned. Very odd behavior for someone who had been kidnapped by mythical creatures.
He was almost behind the stage now. Another crack of pain shot through his head, and he hastily steadied himself to keep from falling over. A Gremoblin has large, curvaceous claws and hair that acts as an antennae-like substance, he thought. Use water as a last resort as it turns them into nightmare beasts. He was going to have to start thinking about another animal soon. He could only concentrate on Gremoblin facts for so long.
An explosion echoed through the wood. The entire clearing went quiet, then erupted into chaos. There was a new scent in the air, one that reeked of several types of feces and formaldehyde.
"Hey, jerks!" came Mabel's voice from the edge of the clearing. "Get another whiff of this!"
Another explosion sounded, and Dipper was able to make out the silhouette of his sister running back into the forest from a plume of ashy-grey smoke. Realizing what the smell was, Dipper grinned and shook his head. Mabel had blown up her cans of gnome-repellant. The two had found out about a year ago that the concoction, while good at warding off gnomes, was highly flammable. After their eyes had stopped watering from the noxious fumes, they had shared one look and decided never to let the repellant anywhere near an open flame again. Apparently, exploding stench had its purposes after all.
"Get the girl!" the Norman in charge said. The gnomes cried out, storming out of the clearing after her.
"No no no you idiots, clump together!" the Norman said. "You're not going to catch her like-oh, what the heck." The Norman howled his own battle cry and took off after the others. Dipper snuck over to the stage, keeping an eye out for stragglers. Two Normans remained in the clearing, but they faced away from the girls for the moment. Dipper hoisted himself up. The girls turned to him and the one in the flowery dress opened her mouth. Dipper flung a finger over his lips, and the girl clamped it shut. He took out a swiss-army knife from his pocket and worked on the ropes. He had the girl in the flower dress and the girl in the green t-shirt free when he turned to find the girl with dark blue hair already standing and rubbing her liberated wrists.
"How did you-" Dipper whispered.
"You have an escape plan?" the girl interrupted. Dipper blinked. The girl's hand was on her hip and she lacked anything that could be described as nervous energy. Who the heck was this?
"I have a couple of golf-carts hidden just west from here, but we need to hurry. My sister-"
"Hey!" came a shout. The group turned to the Normans, who were dashing over to the stage.
"Get back in those ropes!" one of them said. "The game isn't over yet!" Dipper turned back to push everyone along when the girl with dark blue hair took out a pair of scissors and swiped them at the air. A glowing vortex materialized, swirling in a grand display of blue, violet and white. Everyone's jaws dropped and the clearing went still. Even the Normans slowed to a stop.
"Well, what are you standing around for?" the girl asked. She lazily pointed to the vortex. "In you go."
The Normans jumped at the stage and began to pull themselves up. Dipper took out his repellant and gave each of them a good spray in the face. The Normans howled, falling to the ground and squeezing their noses and eyes shut. The two girls were too stunned to move, and the girl with dark blue hair sighed.
"Oh, for the love of…." she said, grabbing the girl in the flowery dress's arm and hurling her into the vortex. The girl in the flowery dress vanished and the vortex gave off a low hum. The girl in the green t-shirt backed away, but the girl with the dark blue hair launched herself forward and grabbed ahold of her. The girl with dark blue hair twisted and launched the girl forward. She too disappeared into the colorful display. Dipper took up a defensive stance, but the girl just rolled her eyes.
"Relax," she said, holding up her scissors. "It's just a portal. I'll get them home. You wanna come with?"
"I…." Dipper said. "I need to find my sister."
"Got it," the girl said. She grabbed his arm and placed the scissors in his hand. "You said you have some golf carts hidden? Think of where they are and swipe at the air." Frowning, Dipper clasped the scissors and turned them in his hand. They were just like any other pair of scissors, with a dark blue handle and blades that resembled tiny broadswords. The only trait that was remotely unique was the inscription on the side that read "MARCO."
"Who the heck are you?" he asked. Someone groaned behind him and he turned to see the Normans rising from the ground.
"Just a tourist," the girl answered, flashing a sly grin. "Now, are you gonna use those, or are you just gonna let them catch you?"
Dipper winced, clutching his head. The whispers were back. He was so tired of concentrating, but he would have to do it a little longer. Thinking about his secret cart cache, he pictured the place in every detail. The tree with a large gnot in it that looked like Grunkle Stan's face. The excess foliage that covered the worn carts Stan believed had been destroyed in a horrendous accident. Scent of lavender mixed with various animal urines that Dipper and Mabel had mixed together to ward off prying eyes. Dipper swiped at the air with the scissors and another vortex materialized before him.
"Great, you got it." the girl said. She snatched the scissors back. "Now move." And she pushed him in.
There was a quick flash of light, and Dipper was assaulted by the scent of urine and lavender. The foliage, the tree with Stan's face – he was there. Instantaneously. Almost like the night his parents had…
It hadn't lasted nearly as long, but was it possible he'd just experienced the same thing?
Shaking his head, he tore aside the foliage and sat in a cart's worn leather. As he turned the key the cart barked, then came to life. He didn't have time to think about what he had just experienced. Mabel was good, but even she couldn't take on an entire army of gnomes alone.
Dipper shoved his foot into the accelerator and the cart flew across the forest floor.
Catching a glimpse of pink, Dipper turned the wheel. The sun sat high in the sky now, and the summer heat was making Dipper sweat even more profusely than he already was. His shirt was stuck to his body now and the doorway at the edge of his mind could only take so much more punishment. Mabel was dodging through the trees in an almost zig-zag pattern. Dipper couldn't see any gnomes on her tail. Hopefully, she had successfully ditched them.
"Need a ride?" Dipper said. His sister turned, smiled, and booked for the cart. She slid in next to him and they took off through the wood. Mabel was panting from the exertion, sweat glistening atop her forehead.
"Did you lose them?" Dipper asked, clutching his earmuffs with his free hand.
"About a minute ago they stopped running after me," she said, wiping her sweat with her sleeve. "I'm not sure if they're regrouping or-"
A loud thump echoed through the woods. Dipper and Mabel faced each other.
"Mega-gnome?" Mabel asked.
Thump.
The woods were engulfed in shadow. Dipper and Mabel turned their heads to look behind them. Silhouetted against the sky was an enormous mass of flesh congealing together. A large slurping sound emanated from the mass as the liquid flesh pushed together, forming an enormous gnome the size of a football field. The mega-gnome's eyes fell on the twins' moving vehicle. It drew in a large breath and bellowed. It felt like a jumbo-jet engine was shooting through the woods, and the golf cart momentarily lifted from the back before setting down so hard it rocked the twins. The movement was so sudden that the pink earmuffs launched off Dipper's head and disappeared into the brush below.
Dipper cried out and shut his eyes tight. At least, he thought he cried out. His throat was hoarse but he couldn't hear the sound. All he could hear was the roaring whispers of the forest around him.
AFLWSS! xalata! okatav! lemcre! oDihSC! tocIih! lcaBsu!
A streak of blood flowed from his nose. Dipper managed to pry his eyes open and hit the accelerator. He could feel his body lurch forward once more and could make out Mabel trying to tell him something. He couldn't tell what, though. All that mattered was driving forward. Getting away from the Mega-gnome. Getting out. He could feel his body trying to shut down, but he kept his foot on the accelerator and his eyes ahead of him.
He could feel heat emanating from his left, and out of the corner of his eye he could see sparks. No. Not now. His vision was starting to blur, but he could make out Mabel glowing as the sparks flew off of her. Or maybe he was just seeing things. He was sure he was loosing grip with his surroundings, as it looked like the cart had just smashed through the Gravity Falls welcome sign and plummeted a good fifteen feet. A tree crashed in front of the golf cart, and Dipper thrust the wheel all the way to the side. The cart lurched away, barely scraping the downed tree. He could make out a clear field in front of him. He wanted to go there. Places with no trees were good. They didn't hurt his ears or eyes or head.
The cart shot through the trees and into the clearing. Mabel was shouting something. But it was getting quieter. Quieter. Quiet….
Dipper's foot slipped off the accelerator as they reached an enormous metal building. People were rushing out to meet them. One was limping and had a cane. Mabel was out of the cart but kept her distance from the oncoming people as she looked back at something.
Oh yeah. Mega-gnome.
He could make out the shadow over the clearing and the enormous figure in the distance. As it treaded towards them its roar shook the cart. Dipper was jolted to a degree of consciousness, but his body refused to follow his commands. He was going to pass out, and soon.
"How do you like us now, Pines?" it bellowed. "A leaf blower's not going to work this time!"
Mabel's sparks were setting fire to the grass, and someone who Dipper assumed was Candy ran back into the building to get a fire extinguisher. The man with the cane was at his side now.
"Mr. Pines," Mandell said. "You need to focus. One last time. Listen to them, Mr. Pines. The trees, hear what they have to say. What are they telling you? Mr. Pines, now would be a good time. Pines!"
Dipper brought his shaking hands to his head and listened hard. He felt that feeling again, that feeling of connection, and slowly the voices started to drop off. One voice, one quiet yet firm whisper, called to him.
AFLWSS! xalata! okatav! lemcre! oDihSC! tocIih! lcaBsu!
AFL! S! xal! t! oka! a! lem! r! oDi! S! toc! i! lca! s!
F! S! a! t! k! a! e! r! D! S! o! i! c! s!
StarSis!
Starsis? What the heck was that supposed to mean? Star sis? Sta rsis? sis Star….sis….sisStar. Sister. Star.
Sister…Star…..
Dipper turned to Mabel, who was backing away from Mega-gnome. Each step she took set more grass on fire, and the sparks were launching off of her now. The sparks that looked like the sparkles that came off a sparkler. The sparks that, under a certain haze of vision, almost looked like…stars.
The Mega-gnome was crossing the clearing towards the building. At any moment it would crush them flat.
"Mabel!" Dipper yelled in some weird garbled voice. "Shoot it!"
"What?" Mabel asked.
"Shoot it!" Dipper said. "Shoot it now!"
Mabel looked at her sparking hands, then to the creature bounding towards them. She took a breath and the sparks showered off of her. She grew brighter to the point where the group had to shield their eyes. The Mega-gnome reared its arms up, ready to pound everyone into the ground.
Mabel cried out, launching a storm of bright sparks in a concentrated beam into the midsection of the gnome. The gnome screamed, taking a couple of steps back. The skin where Mabel had hit was blackened, and as the gnome stumbled its stomach crumbled outwards into a pile of stunned and blackened gnomes. The giant clutched the hole in its stomach and gaped at Mabel in horror.
Mabel cried out again, shooting another mass of sparks at the gnome. This time Mega-gnome held up its arms to block, but they too were singed to a charcoal black. The gnome shrieked as its arms dissolved into gnomes as well, each making a small plop as they hit the ground. Mabel's eyes were glowing now, and the Mega-gnome rounded to make a beeline for the woods. However, its missing portions threw the Mega-gnome off balance and it stumbled onto the ground. Mabel launched one final blast at the creature, and this one struck right at the back of the head. The gnome collapsed and the entire mass of flesh fell apart. The dazed gnomes rose, took one look at the Pines Twins, and ran. The mass exodus poured into the trees screaming. The group watched them go with silence.
Then everything went dark for Dipper.
"Take it easy, dude. Really."
Dipper's brain thudded against his head as his vision cleared. Wendy Corduroy was looking at him with an amused grin. Dipper turned red.
"Ahm…" he said, rising from his bed. "Hi."
"Hi." she said, turning to Mandell and the others in the cortex. "He's awake."
Dipper groaned and rubbed his temples. He was back in a bed at Mandell Labs with everyone watching him. He was fully clothed this time though, which he considered to be an improvement. Mabel was sitting up in a bed next to him. She'd looked better – she was pale, her hair looked like it had been through a windstorm, and her eyes were red and puffy.
"Hey," she said. She attempted a smile but couldn't quite manage it.
"Hey," he answered. "You all right?"
"Yeah," Mabel said, rubbing her elbow. "I…I had to get really angry to shoot that thing. Think about a lot of icky stuff. Y'know, Pacifica. Grenda's…condition. Mom and Dad…it wasn't good. At all."
"I'm so sorry, Mabel." He rested a hand on his sister's shoulder, and this time she smiled at him. "Feeling any better?"
"Yeah. A little bit. It's progress." A tiking sound filled the room, and the two turned to see Mandell approaching them.
"I wanted to apologize to you both," he said, "for being incredibly unfair to you." Dipper straightened up and Mabel crossed her arms. Mandell took out a cloth from his jacket and dabbed his brow.
"The truth is…" he continued. "I hurt a lot of people the night the Infinity Engine went off. My dream hurt a lot of people, and permanently hurt me in the process." He tilted his head to look at his leg. "In more ways than one."
"Then you two came along and…I saw something. Redemption, I suppose. But I put my pain and anger on you, and that's on me." He turned to Mabel. "You have my word, Miss Pines, I will do my best to make reparations for my actions. Whether that's helping your friend with her blindness…or attempting to create a cure for you and your brother, if you so wish. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"
Mabel was silent for a while. Dipper waited for her, not wanting to forgive the doctor if his sister wasn't ready to yet. Eventually, Mabel gathered herself.
"I don't know if I'm at the forgive stage yet…" she said, "but maybe I can start with a thank you." Mabel held out her hand, and Mandell took it and gave it a firm shake.
"I totally pictured your face when I was blasting that thing, though."
"I have no doubt, Miss Pines."
"I…I really appreciated your help today, Doctor." Dipper said, shaking the Doctor's head as well. "Mabel and I would've been crushed without it."
Doctor Mandell nodded. "Now if you will, Mr. Pines….will you join me in my study? There are some things I would like to discuss with you in private."
Dipper looked to his sister, who gave an encouraging nod. Dipper slipped off the bed and stretched before following Dr. Mandell down the hall.
"It's apparent you know about the town's many oddities and strange occurrences, Mr. Pines."
Dipper nodded.
"You have also noticed that certain mutations have occurred, having to do with my Infinity Engine?"
They reached a hardwood door that clashed with the metallic walls. Dr. Mandell fit a key into the lock and the door swung open to reveal a study with a desk and chairs. The walls and desk were ornamented with various artifacts and oddities, such as a painting of a multi-bear, an egg with a scaly green shell, and a wooden Rubik's cube in a display case with symbols carved into it. Dipper had to suppress his inner fanboy from letting out a squeal. Mandell moved to the desk.
"How many other species do you think were affected?" Dipper asked, glancing at a map of the world marked at various locations with Gravity Falls circled. "Besides the gnomes?"
Mandell shook his head and fit a smaller key into a locked drawer. "Impossible to say. Which is why I want you to have this."
Mandell pulled a well-worn red volume from his drawer. The book had a golden six-fingered hand on the cover with a number 3 in the center.
"I am not the first researcher to explore this area in hopes of finding its secrets," Mandell said, polishing off some dust with his pocket handkerchief. "An old…colleague of mine was here in the late seventies and documented his findings in a series of journals. What happened to him is still a mystery, but everything I know about Gravity Falls started with this book."
Mandell held out the journal to Dipper, who took it. "I've made my own annotations. I believe you and your sister may find this useful in the days ahead."
Dipper looked through the book, his eyes widening. Every page was filled with extensive notes and illustrations and everything he had ever wanted to know about the town.
"Thank you," he said, clutching the book to his chest. "I won't let you down, I promise."
"Trust me Mr. Pines," Mandell said, guiding Dipper out of the room. "I have no such doubts."
Mandell Labs was still as a corpse during the night. Dr. Mandell liked that. The lab had been bustling with activity during its prime, with people coming in and out to work on the Infinity Engine. Day in and day out the facility had been filled with angry welding and the rambunctious conversations of scientists. Nighttime meant Mandell could catch his breath. Nighttime meant he could think. If there was one benefit of an Infinity Engine blowing up and turning the city into a living nightmare, it was that he could enjoy that quiet more often.
It was one such still night tonight. Mandell sat in his office, enjoying the bubbly crisp of a glass of champagne. It had been an hour since his interns and the Pines Twins had gone home, and Mandell was all too eager to take a break. It had been quite the hectic day. Defeating giant gnomes and mending fences with superpowered teenagers could really take it out of someone. Mandell gulped down the last of his glass and smiled. He couldn't have asked for a better outcome. The Twins were ready to start working with him. The next couple of months were going to be fun.
He rose from his desk and removed the cover of his wooden Rubik's cube. He took the device in his hands and began to twist it. The symbols glowed a light blue, and as he clicked it into its final combination a section of the floor opened up and formed a small staircase. Mandell glanced at his cane, then stood upright and laid it on the desk. He pulled off his glasses and set them next to the cane. Mandell strode down the steps, the level below him echoing with each connection with the metal. A torch inside the room erupted to life, bathing the rocky interior in a blue light. Mandell strode to a rock face at the end of the room. Carved on the rock was a series of ten symbols, all encased in a circle that surrounded the image of a well-dressed triangle with one eye. Mandell rested his hand on the cool rock, covering the pine tree glyph.
"Mason Pines," he spoke aloud, the name echoing across the rock. He shifted his hand to the shooting star glyph. "Mabel Pines."
Mandell backed away as the imagery glowed blue, each crack bathing Mandell in light. The pine tree and shooting star glyphs shot out purple clouds that coalesced into a full-color depiction of the Pines Twins at home. Each of them sat in their bed, with Mabel on her phone and Dipper reading the journal in the light of his desk lamp. They went about their business, neither having any clue of their being watched. The good doctor stared at the teens, his lips curling into a grin.
"Here we go."
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