Episode 1: Things Aren't Always What they Seem
Summary: Twins Stan and Ford Arrive at Gravity Falls in hopes of finding buried treasure, and monsters, but all they got was one big mystery that just maybe too big to solve!
Disclaimers: I do not own Gravity Falls or the Relativity Falls AU idea.
More Note: If you my readers have any ideas that you want to see in this show please leave a comment in the review slot and I will add it to the series, and give you full credit!
Foreword: Just so you know this first episode will sound very similar to other first day Relativity Falls AU's. That's because all of these stories, and comics start off with Stan and Ford on the bus, where they get off and meet Mabel for the first time. I also decided to follow this tradition, and used this idea in my story as well. Now while I did use some of these stories to help myself better describe the character's appearances, and their roles in this AU I did add my own little twist here and there so it wouldn't be the same old thing. But I will warn you now it's basically another spin off of the beginning of this AU with similar situations you've probably already read. I also used their ideas for some of the Tourist attractions around the shack, as well as Mable's strange cooking habits, because I wanted to follow the traditions of this AU.
With that said all the credit for these ideas go to their original creators! (Whoever that maybe, since it's hard to tell which of these people had these ideas first? And no I don't mean who published first, cause I guarantee you that someone wrote this idea on paper first so publishing dates mean nothing to me.)
And Now that I got all the formalities out of the way I thank you for reading! And ask that you please enjoy, and please review!
-Yours Truly, RoxieDivine
Things Aren't Always What They Seem (Part 1)
(Somewhere In A Forgotten, And Destroyed Dimension…)
Darkness…
The beast with one eye knew it well.
Depravity, Chaos…
The monster fed off of it, grew stronger from it!
Creatures all over the multiverse trembled at the very mention of his name! His geometric isosceles figure haunted every nightmare that any of his enemies dared to dream. And yet even in all his greatness ten symbols dared to stand in his way! The beast with one eye looked through the various symbols etched on his wheel in deep thought. The pine tree, the question mark, the axe, the shooting star, the six fingered hand, the spectacles, the stars of the all-seeing eye, the llama, the crescent, and the stitched heart! Each symbol represented a mortal that would one day dare to challenge his right to power!
Heck one had already done so!
The Beast narrowed his one silted eye at the pine tree symbol, and growled deeply. Slashing out at it with his claws, engraving a deep impression over the symbol that had dared to defy him! He then took in the remaining nine, with disdain for he knew they too would try to stop him.
'Let them try.' The beast thought. 'It's not like it will make a difference, Pine Tree failed and the rest will too!'
Still it didn't hurt to keep an eye on his remaining foes. The Beast with the one eye pulled out his all-seeing orb, only to chuckle wickedly at what it showed him.
"So all my enemies are finally coming together?" He asked himself out loud. "So the time that has been prophesied for over one trillion years has finally come?" He laughed. Yes, his time to take his rightful place as king of the Multiverse was quickly approaching.
Still ten stood in his way.
"Well since they're all coming together why don't I use them to better my chances." He suggested out loud, then with a wicked cackle he added. "Yes, make my enemies do the work for me, and then squash them the moment I get my physical form!"
It was the perfect plan…
"You better watch out Earth Realm." The Beast with one eye mused. "Because your world is about to get a whole lot weirder!"
(On A Bus Headed To Gravity Falls, Oregon…)
Adventure…
That was all they ever wanted.
A since of escape…
A way to get away from it all! No more bullies calling you a freak! No more unimpressed looks from their father! No more complaints about their mother and her compulsive lying problems! Nothing but freedom where they could broaden their horizons in their search of cute girls, untold riches, and mysterious creatures!
For so long they had wanted this, and now after what felt like ages they were finally getting it!
12 year old Stanford Filbrick Pines watched outside the bus window as a forests of pine trees shuttered and waved in the summer's breeze. They covered the land around him as far as the eye could see, and their waving motions made Ford think the plants could possibly be waving hello to the newcomers.
"Ford you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Stanford (Ford) looked over to his right to see his twin brother Stanley with his face against the glass of the opposite window seat.
"There's got to be some buried treasure out there right?" Stanley, who was commonly referred to as Stan asked, not waiting for his brother to answer his first question.
"Who knows?" Ford answered, as he turned his attention back to the mystery novel that was currently resting open in his lap. His wayfarer glasses stuck to his nose and, despite the angle his head leaned, the glasses never fell down the bridge of his schnozzle. His six fingered hands curled around the edges of the book and his muscles tensed as excitement swelled through him. He was just about to get to the good part, any minute now the book would reveal the butler as the murderer! 'It just has to be the butler.' He thought. 'It's always the butler!'
Stan smiled as his dark brown eyes searched the trees through the glass eagerly. Though the gargantuan pines made it impossible, to see anything, that didn't stop the boy from searching. "I can't believe Ma, and Pa let us come here!"
"Yeah." Ford agreed, keeping his eyes on his book. "They never let us leave town much less the whole state!" he laughed. "They must think real highly of Great Aunt Mabel if their trusting us with her for the whole summer."
"I wonder what she's like." Stan said.
"Well, we'll find out soon enough." Ford said.
Suddenly the bus stops, and the doors open.
Ford stops, and looks up confused. "Hey bro why are we stopping?"
Stan looks over his shouldered at him puzzled. "There's some people on the side of the road." He answered. "Some lady and a kid, I think their asking for a ride."
Suddenly a kid in a green shirt, and tan shorts with round glasses on his face boarded the bus.
"Thank you so much for understanding." The boy's mom said to the bus driver.
The bus driver nodded, before closing the bus doors and setting off again.
Stan watched the mother get back in her car and drive away in the opposite direction.
"Can I sit next to you?" The boy asked Ford.
Ford smiled and moved his bag out of the way so the kid could sit beside him. "Hi I'm Stanford, Stanford Pines!" He said. "But most people just call me Ford."
"My names Fiddleford" The kid said.
"Well, Fiddleford what was up with your mom?" Stan asked, scaring the daylights out of the kid.
"There's two of you!" Fiddleford exclaimed.
"Oh that's just my twin brother Stanley." Ford answered.
"Yeah, but most just call me Stan." Stan said.
"Wow I've never met twins before." Fiddleford gasped.
"Anyway what was up with your mom, man?" Stan asked again.
"Stan!" Ford warned. "That's not polite."
"No, it's okay." Fiddleford assured him. "My mom and Dad are going through a divorce right now, and my Mom isn't really looking forward to seeing my dad. So she saw the bus and asked the driver to drive me into town so she wouldn't have to deal with him."
"So you've never been here either?" Ford asked.
"Nope." Fiddleford answered. "My Dad was raised here, but I've never been."
"How long are you in for?" Stan asked.
"The whole summer!" Fiddleford told him.
"Really us too!" Stan said.
"Maybe we can hang out together." Fiddleford exclaimed.
"Really?" Ford, and Stan asked together in shock.
Fiddleford frowned. "Well, if you guys don't want to…"
"No, it's not like that man!" Stan assured him. "It's just…" he paused, looking for the right words.
"We're not use to people wanting to hang out with us." Ford finished for him.
Fiddleford smiled. "Me either." He admitted.
"Well, then we'd love to hang out with you this summer." Ford answered. "Wouldn't we Stan!"
"Great another genius to make me look bad." Stan joked.
Ford, and Fiddleford laughed.
"So you said, you've never been here before hu?" Stan asked once the laughter had died down.
"Yeah, but my Dad use to tell me stories about his adventures here when I was a kid." Fiddleford told them.
"What kind of Adventures?" The Pines Twins asked in unison.
"He use to tell me stories, about treasure, and mystical creatures that lurked in the woods." Fiddleford exclaimed.
"Treasure?!" Stan asked.
"And mythical creatures." Ford added.
Both twins looked starry eyed by his words.
"Yeah. But my mom said they were just made up stories." Fiddleford explained.
"Oh…" The twins said, looking down at their feet in defeat.
"But my dad was convinced they were real!" Fiddleford went on. "He came back here every year and was gone for weeks. He's always come back one night with some "Proof" that it was all true, but mom never bought it. It's one of the reasons why they split up." He said sadly.
"Wow that's pretty messed up man." Stan said.
"Everyone back home thinks my Dad's a crazy old loon." Fiddleford whined. "I just wish I could prove them wrong!"
"And you will!" Ford exclaimed. "Because we are going to help you!"
"We are?" Stan asked.
"Yes." Ford answered, giving his brother his famous warning look.
"Really?" Fiddleford asked, amazed.
"Yep, you're stuck with us now!" Stan said getting with the program, after all he knew better than to say no when his brother gave him that look. "And since we're on the subject I get 90 percent of any treasure we find!"
"And how is that fair?" Fiddleford asked.
"Because I'm the oldest!" Stan exclaimed.
"Actually I'm thirteen" Fiddleford told him.
"What! No way!" Stan said out raged.
Ford laughed, and offered Fiddleford a high-five "Now that deserves a high six."
Fiddleford froze as he actually realized the kid had six fingers. "Wow you have an extra finger!"
Ford's cheeks turned red with embracement, as he hid his hands behind his back.
Stan's eyes narrow, and he looks ready to punch the guy. Back at home the local bullies always picked on Ford because of his extra fingers. And he had promised he wouldn't let that happen here!
"That is so cool!" Fiddleford said, his green eyes full of wonder.
"Really?" Ford asked looking shocked by his reaction to the news.
"Sure it's a whole extra finger to do stuff with, I mean lots of animals can't pick stuff up because they have no thumbs. I believe humans with extra fingers can do things that normal people can only imagine." Fiddleford went on. "I did a science project on them at the Science Fair last year, but I never thought I'd actually meet someone with six fingers." He stopped as he noticed something. "Why are you hiding your hands?" He asked. "Oh no did I do something wrong?"
"No." Ford said, taking his hands out from behind his back and looking at them, as if in a new light. "It's just…most people make fun of my hands. They call me a freak, and stuff like that. No one outside of my family has ever said something nice about them before."
"Well I think they're cool!" Fiddleford told him. "Besides who wants to be ordinary anyways?"
"Thanks Fiddleford." Ford said, and reoffered him that high six.
Fiddleford obliged and the two laughed the whole awkward moment off.
Stan smiled, and relaxed as he realizes there's nothing to worry about. Fiddleford is a nice guy, and was already proving to be the perfect friend. Stan looked back out the window and gasped. "Bro we're here! Look!"
Ford and Fiddleford looked out the window and gasped. The trees had thinned and broke to reveal a small, active town. People and cars alike moved through the streets. The buildings, mostly square but some round or cylindrical, seemed to sparkle under the late afternoon summer sun.
"Yes!" Stan cheered as the bus slowed down. "Finally! Ugh, we've been sitting here forever!"
"It's only a few hours," Ford scolded, putting his book away.
"A few too many!" Stan countered as the bus rolled to a stop.
"Do you guys always have the opposite opinion about everything?" Fiddleford asked.
"Yep!" The Stan twins say in unison.
Fiddleford laughed as the new friends stepped off the bus with their luggage in tow.
"Wow even the air smells funny here." Stan mentioned.
"Oh that's good old country air." Fiddleford explained. "Ain't, no dirty city air here?"
"Ain't that the truth?" Ford agreed.
"Do you think Great Aunt Mabel is here, yet?" Stan asked.
"I don't know." Ford answered. "I don't see her." He said looking around as the bus pulled away.
"Me either." Stan admitted, as he too looked around. "How about you Fiddleford do you see Great Aunt Mabel?" He asked his new friend as if he's supposed to know what his estranged Great Aunt is supposed to look like.
"Well…" Fiddleford said looking around. "In less your Great Aunt likes to wear colorful sweaters in the summer then no."
"Wait colorful sweaters!?" the Stan twins turned in the direction he was looking to see a sweet old lady running towards them. "Great Aunt Mabel!" They exclaimed and started running towards her.
The lady, was perhaps in her sixties, though due to her young appearance that almost seemed to be a bit of a stretch. Her sweater, pink and flashy, bore the words "Great Aunt Pines" in hot pink glitter. Upon her head was a flashy pink Fez hat, bearing a shooting star symbol. "Hey! There you two are!"
Stan and Ford froze as Great Aunt Mabel embraced them in a great big bear hug!
"Wow the last time I saw you kids you were still in diapers!" She said. "Now look at you!"
"I didn't know you've seen us before." Stan said.
"Yep." Great Aunt Mabel said. "I'm your Great Aunt Mabel, but you can call me Grauntie Mabel."
"Why 'Grauntie'?" Ford asked.
"Because it's shorter, so it saves time saying it," Mabel explained. "And time is money after all! So, let's see… which one of you is Stanford, and which one is Stanley?"
"I'm Stanford," Ford replied and pointed to his brother, "He's Stanley."
"But you can call us Stan and Ford!" Stan said with a smile.
Grauntie Mabel nodded, "Thanks, kiddo! Easier for me to remember." She laughed. "Oh who is this?" She suddenly asked as she noticed Fiddleford for the first time.
"Fiddleford McGucket Ma'am." Fiddleford told her, as he offered her his hand.
"No Way!" Grauntie Mabel exclaimed. "You're Tate McGucket's boy!" She said pulling him into a hug.
"Yeah." Fiddleford answered. "Wait how did you know that?" He asked surprised.
"Well didn't your Ma tell you?" Grauntie Mabel asked pulling away. "You'll be helping me out at the Mystery Shack during the weekdays." She exclaimed.
"No way!" Fiddleford said. "You're the owner of the Mystery Shack!"
"Yep that's me!" Grauntie Mabel said. "Misses Mystery!"
"My dad told me all about that place in his stories! This is perfect!" Fiddleford said. "Your shop is bound to have some proof about the strange things my dad has seen in this town!"
"The Mystery Shack?" Ford asked.
"Yes, I turned my home into a tourist trap full of the weird and unexplained." Grauntie Mabel explained. "And three members of my staff just took off for the summer without giving me a heads up, and I'm going to need you three to help make up for the slack."
"Are you paying us?" Stan asked.
Grauntie Mabel nodded. "Five bucks an hour boys." She assured them. "That's 25 dollars a day, and I'll pay you at the end of every Friday!"
"Sweet!" Stan said. "When do we start?"
Grauntie Mabel laughed. "Why don't we drop Fiddleford here on home first, and then get you boys unpacked." She suggested. "Then Tate, Fiddleford, and Danny can join us for breakfast tomorrow where we'll all discuss your working schedule."
"Who's Danny?" Stan asked.
"Oh he's the only Staff member I have right now." Grauntie Mabel explained. "You'll meet him at the Shack, he's there now. Nice boy." She assured them. "Anyway we best get a move on, Tate has no idea your Ma isn't dropping you off, and he'll start to get worried soon." She said to Fiddleford.
The three boys nodded, and followed Grauntie Mabel who started leading them to her car.
Grauntie Mabel's car was parked just a few feet away. Shiny blue and decorated with little flowers, the old convertible hid under the shadow of an old pine tree. When Ford struggled to pull his suitcase into the trunk, Stan helped him. When they got in the car, Stan, of course, called shotgun, leaving Ford, and Fiddleford in the back seats.
"Seatbelts, everyone!" Grauntie Mabel called as she started the old car. Ford didn't hesitate to follow the order. Even the seatbelts were different! Still, modern cars were much more comfortable, and safer and more environmentally friendly, being in an extinct vehicle was a comfort and curiosity of its own.
"How was your trip? What did your dad say about me? He didn't spoil anything did he?" she asked.
Ford shook his head. "Nope! All Dad said was that we're gonna spend the summer here."
Stan piped up, "Ma said you're going to spoil us and that we should probably watch out for that."
Grauntie Mabel chuckled. "Ah you're a funny guy" She laughed. "So! Who wants peanut butter sandwiches and cookies?"
"Yeah!" the twins piped up at the same time.
Grauntie Mabel smiled, and moments later they stopped by the docks in front of a large wooden cabin.
Fiddleford jumped out at the sight of his dad sitting on the porch. "DAD!" he exclaimed.
"Fiddleford?" Tate looks confused. "Why are you in Ms. Pines' Car? Where is your mother?"
"Sorry about this Tate." Grauntie Mabel said, as she and the twins got out to greet him as well. "I found him at the bus stop with my great nephews here."
"The nerve of that woman!" Tate snapped. "Well I'm just glad your boys were there to look out for him."
"No problem Mr. McGucket." Ford said.
"Yeah it's cool." Stan agreed.
Tate smiled, he was a thin stalky man who appeared to be in his early thirties; he also bearded a camo hat, and had a thick southern drawl.
"Tate, this here is Ford, and Stan." Grauntie Mabel said, introducing her nephews. "And they're gonna be helping Fiddleford and Danny at the shack this summer."
"Well good." Tate said. "It's never too early to learn how to earn good money. I hope you boys won't mind keeping my son company after hours as well. I'm afraid the docks get real busy this time of year."
"We already plan to." Ford assured him.
Fiddleford smiled, it was great to finally know what having friends felt like.
"Well we best be off." Grauntie Mabel said. "I want the boys to see Danny before he takes off for the day." She explained. "By the way I was thinking we could all have breakfast at the Diner so we can discuss the job arrangement for the boys."
"How's 8 sound?" Tate asked.
"Perfect." Grauntie Mabel told him.
"Alright we'll see you then Ms. Pines." Tate assured her.
"Bye Fiddleford." Ford said.
"See you tomorrow man." Stan added.
"Bye guys." Fiddleford waved goodbye as he and his father watched them go.
"Such nice boys." Tate said to his son. "I'm glad their here."
"Me too." Fiddleford agreed. "Maybe this summer won't be so bad after all."
-To Be Continued