Chapter 3
A/N: Sorry! Just couldn't wait to post this one. Enjoy! I own nothing!
Steve and Robin were both rudely awoken by the crisp and artificial drone of the digital alarm clock that Robin had set the night before, and though Steve had never been much of a late sleeper, it took him a few moments of groggy head shaking to remember a couple of things, namely the fact that today was his first day of work at the Mystery Shack, and that the year was no longer 1985. A small part of him had held out hope that it had all been some crazy dream that his subconscious had concocted, but as with most unnatural things that were in his life, it remained stubbornly real.
Steve was lucky that he had risen to full wakefulness faster than Robin did, as it had given him just the edge he needed to claim the bathroom first for his morning routine, and after showering and brushing his teeth, Steve tended to the well-kept monument that was his hair. To his dismay, he realized that despite his and Robin's eagerness to catch this time traveler guy and get him to return them to their own time, it was still incredibly unlikely that they'd find him right away. And even if they did, they'd still arrive back at the motel with an inoperable Dodge Dart in tow, which meant that it would take even longer to reach Robin's cousin's wedding if they ended up going at all. The bottom line was that Steve did not have enough Fabergé Organics products to survive this little trip to the future and the wedding that followed, and that his only hope was that these products still existed in 2013 and were readily available in the sleepy secluded town of Gravity Falls.
Steve's stomach sank at how unfavorably the odds were stacked against him.
After each taking a turn in the bathroom to ready themselves for the day ahead, Steve and Robin dawned their Mystery Staff shirts and stopped by the kitchen for a quick breakfast. Robin had been informed via Melody that the only meal that was really coordinated at the Shack was dinner, and that eating during any other time was at their own leisure.
Steve and Robin examined the contents of the fridge for a few moments before both deciding on a bowl of cereal. Steve raised a confused eyebrow as he pulled the cereal box from the cupboard.
"Overly Sensitive Owl…?" he read aloud from the box, noting the large cartoon owl that stared back at him from just beneath the name.
"Never heard of it," Robin confirmed as she pulled a jug of milk from the fridge. "Must be one of those new age cereals, or maybe not and it's just a local brand or something."
Steve stared at the box for a moment longer, then shrugged and brought it over to the table where Robin had also laid out a pair of bowls and spoons.
"Yeah that's fine and all, but 'Overly Sensitive Owl'? What kind of name is that? What kind of marketing tactic is that?"
"Don't fry your brain trying to figure it out, Steve," Robin replied as she impatiently snatched the box from him and began pouring out a serving of the multi-colored cereal pieces into her bowl. "Let's not forget the fact that the people here seem to be a bit more… suggestible …than what we're used to."
Steve remembered how easily Soos swayed yesterday's customers into spending their money on Mystery Shack merchandise, and found himself agreeing with Robin. In the grand scheme of things he should concern himself with, the name of some off-brand cereal from the future should have been forgettable. He conceded to Robin's point with a nod, and then poured himself a bowl of the weirdly named breakfast food before digging in.
A few moments of silent chewing passed, then both he and Robin jolted in surprise as a brief white light flashed through the kitchen. The two of them turned in surprise to the source of the light, and Steve looked confusedly to see Mabel standing in the doorway holding a Polaroid camera, a brace-filled grin plastered on her young face. Steve noticed that she was wearing a homemade sweater again this morning, but this one was dark blue with what appeared to be a cartoon whale riding a bicycle on it. Steve supposed he would probably be seeing that sweater, as well as numerous others like it, quite often during his time here at the Shack.
"Goood morning fine new employees and possible future family members!" Mabel cheerfully shouted in a voice that could likely be heard from any adjacent rooms. "I hope you don't mind that I immortalize your first day at the Mystery Shack with a photo for my scrapbook!"
Steve frowned at her for a moment, then frowned even more so at the camera in her hands as the completed photo slowly emerged from the slot in the front.
A Polaroid? Seriously? Those things were out of date before Steve was even born. This future was proving to be even more disappointing than he thought.
As soon as the photo completely emerged from the camera, Mabel's eager hands grabbed it and began shaking and blowing on it in earnest to accelerate the development process, making her look like she was having nothing short of a seizure as she wildly swung her arm and inflated her cheeks.
Finally, Mabel seemed satisfied with her chaotic dance and held the photo up to inspect it, her eyes sparkling in obvious satisfaction at what she saw.
"Perfect! What do you think?" she asked excitedly, holding up the photo for Steve and Robin to see.
"It's uh…nice…" Robin said uneasily, giving an off-smile to the young girl.
"...but you totally forgot Robin," Steve finished.
Before his eyes was a picture of him, and only him, mid-bite of a spoonful of cereal. His mouth was open in a very unflattering way, and his eyes were looking off into the distance like he was spacing out, which did little to make up for the already awkward feeling the photo gave off.
"Oh, did I?" Mabel said in a poor presentation of blatantly false surprise. "Let me try again real quick!"
Mabel raised the camera once more and snapped another photo right in Steve's face, momentarily blinding him and causing him to lean back in avoidance of the light. By the time his eyes refocused, Mabel was once again smiling down at a photo that was most likely as un-photogenic as the first one, and once again entirely of Steve.
Noticing that both Steve and Robin were looking at her weirdly, Mabel put on a show of pretending to be upset that the photo didn't turn out right again before carefully tucking the two pictures into her pocket.
"You know what? I think we're just having some technical difficulties here," she said. "Not sure why, so I'm just gonna go upstairs now and…figure it out."
Mabel backed away slowly out of the kitchen, then quickly raised the camera and flashed another photo of Steve before sprinting away and clamoring up the stairs that led to the attic. Blissful silence fell as the attic door opened and closed, then Steve turned to see Robin looking at him with an amused and mischievous grin. Steve knew exactly what she was going to say before she even said it, and he shook his head and tiredly lowered his spoon back to his bowl of cereal.
"Nice to see the old 'King Steve' hasn't lost his touch with the ladies," Robin chided, doing nothing to hide her genuine amusement at the whole situation.
"Yep," Steve said through pursed lips. "The commentary is definitely appreciated too, so thank you for that."
"Hey, I call it like I see it, Romeo. If we were back at Scoops Ahoy, you would have earned your very first tally under the 'You Rule' section. I'm surprised you're not happy about this!"
Steve rolled his eyes. Robin's sharp wit made her teasing nature all that more potent, and Steve was thankful at the fact that her teasing had lost its bite since the two of them had become friends. That being said, there were still times where he could do without it, especially when it came to thirteen-year-old girls crushing on him.
"Yeah…I'm ecstatic."
Robin thankfully let him off the hook after a few more jabs, and the two of them finished breakfast before reporting to the gift shop to meet Soos and see what all their new jobs entailed.
They arrived to see Soos and Melody both waiting for them, and Wendy arrived only a few minutes after. Once the entire Mystery Team had assembled, Soos gave the newcomers a tour of the Shack proper as well as detailing the responsibilities they'd be entrusted with at the Mystery Shack. Their first stop was the museum, which constituted most of the exhibits as well as the largest portion of the Shack. Most of the recent expansion had been to make room for more exhibits, though Steve considered usage of the word "exhibit" to be a bit gratuitous, as most of the strange and anomalous things that were on display were clearly fake. Stuffed hybrid animals had been crudely merged using glue and tape, and framed photos of "strange" and "wondrous" creatures were incredibly blurry or far away, meaning that they could have really been photos of just about anything. After leading them through each exhibit and giving them some background on each one, Soos explained to them the first part of their jobs: brainstorming new exhibits. The Mystery Shack had many repeat customers due to the fact that the oddities that were on display were often rotated for newer and exciting things, which meant that it was the duty of the Mystery Staff to think of clever ideas for new and strange things to be presented. After taking a look at what some of the "hot" exhibits were, like the "Six-pack-alope", which was just a mannequin with fur glued on and stuffed antelope head on top, and the "Cornicorn", which was a bunch of corncobs arranged into the shape of a unicorn, Steve felt like he'd be able to handle the first part of his job without to much mental strain. A shared glance with Robin showed that she was more than up to the task as well.
After a tour of the museum, Soos led them back to the gift shop, where Wendy was currently managing the cash register. He then explained that tending to the gift shop would be the second part of their jobs, as the overpriced bobbleheads and Mystery trinkets sold fast and in high abundance, and would constantly need to be restocked to keep up with customer demand. Steve wouldn't have believed Soos's claims that the merchandise sold well had he not seen it with his own eyes yesterday, but keeping up with the ravenous customers didn't seem too hard either, as Soos also showed them the storeroom where they kept all the stock for the gift shop.
The final portion of their jobs was introduced to them in the form of a loud banging noise coming from outside the gift shop. Startled, the three of them ran outside, Wendy following right behind them. The sight that greeted them was Dipper picking himself up off the ground, his pine tree hat askew on his head and his face covered in soot. A few feet away, the Mystery Cart was smoking from its rear driver's side tire, which looked like it had exploded.
"Dipper!" Wendy called out in concern as the four of them ran to make sure he was okay. After a few coughs and reassurances that he was fine, Dipper excitedly pulled some kind of hardback notebook from his vest and began scribbling down what appeared to be notes while talking a mile a minute as to what happened. At a glance, Steve noticed that the journal had a blue and white color scheme, and that a simple design of a pine tree was etched on the front, much like the one on Dipper's hat.
"You guys! So you remember those dyna-mice that I've been telling you about? One was out here just a few seconds ago and I—"
Dipper immediately choked on his words and fell abruptly silent as he seemed to notice Steve and Robin for the first time. He glanced nervously at them for a moment, then sharply closed the journal and stuffed it back into his vest.
"I mean, I was just playing with some…firecrackers…and accidentally threw one under the cart."
Dipper gave a weak laugh and rubbed the back of his head.
"My bad…"
"What? Dude you were just telling us—"
Wendy's voice cut off as well after a moment, and she too glanced over at Steve and Robin before clearing her throat.
"Nevermind. Glad to see you're okay at least, dude."
"Yeah…ha ha…nothing to see here."
The awkwardness in the air was stifling, and Steve was about to inquire rather annoyedly about what was going on before Soos spoke up.
"Your mishap just so happens to have perfect timing, dog, because this is the perfect segue into Robin and Steve's final responsibility as part of the Mystery Staff: upkeep!"
Soos then explained that despite the additions and renovations to the Mystery Shack, the property would always be in need of caretaking. From regular chores like mowing the lawn to corrective maintenance like replacing light bulbs or in this instance, repairing the cart. And with that, the first task of the day made itself known.
Steve, after confirming that he did in fact know how to change a tire, was given the task of replacing the Mystery Cart's burnt and deflated one with a spare from their parts stock, while Robin was assigned to varnishing duty, as the small porch that constituted the side exit of the shack was in need of a new coat.
After making sure the two of them had everything they needed to get to work, Soos informed them that if there was anything they needed or if they had any questions, they could direct them to Wendy in the gift shop or to Melody in the office, as he would be giving tours all day and would be unavailable while working with customers.
Soos then left to go don his Mr. Mystery uniform, Dipper mumbled some excuse about being needed elsewhere, and Wendy returned to the gift shop, leaving Steve and Robin to get started on their own assigned tasks. Robin gave Steve a little two-fingered salute, then gathered her own supplies and started for the side entrance to the shack, leaving Steve to the cart.
Once he was alone, Steve grabbed the toolbelt from the store room, his mind half on fixing the cart and half on the reason it was messed up in the first place. Dipper claimed that he'd been playing with firecrackers and had thrown one under the cart by accident, but Steve didn't believe it for a second. First of all, a firecracker was not nearly explosive enough to cause that much damage to the cart, and especially not enough to destroy the tire like that. Second of all, Dipper had gotten very excited and had been telling Soos and Wendy about some kind of "dino-rats" or something along those lines before he'd noticed him and Robin standing there, and had clammed up immediately after that. Once again, Steve was reminded of the fact that something was being kept from both himself and Robin, and truth be told, it was starting to really piss him off. He knew that they had every right to not tell him or Robin things if they didn't want to, but the fact that everyone kept almost slipping up and nearly saying something before catching themselves was annoying to a level Steve didn't even think was possible. He was sure that Robin was feeling something similar, as her natural curiosity was what brought her into the Party during the events with the Russians back in Hawkins.
Shaking his head, Steve decided that for his first day, he should focus more about making a good first impression rather than prying into the one actual mystery the Mystery Shack had to offer, and fifteen minutes later, Steve stepped back and admired his handiwork as the Mystery Cart sported a brand new rear tire, the old one removed and disposed of in no time at all. Steve then frowned as he noticed a few scorch marks still present around the wheel well, and after retrieving a rag and a bucket of soapy water from the workshop, Steve got to work scrubbing off the remaining residue. Little by little, the blackened soot started to come off, and Steve's suspicion only increased as he removed more and more with the rag.
There was absolutely no way that a firecracker caused this. No way in hell. There was a small chance that firecrackers were much more powerful here in 2013, but given how little actually seemed to change in the last twenty-eight years, Steve dismissed it as unlikely.
He had just finished scraping off the last of the black from the cart when a commotion caused him to look up from his work. Around the side of the Mystery Shack, Steve saw Dipper run into view, his eyes focused entirely on a small shape running across the ground in front of him. Running and shouting closely behind him was Mabel, who was cheering him on with her fists raised and her eyes aglow with excitement. In Dipper's hands was a small cage that was about the size of a basketball. Steve noticed that the top was open, and that Dipper was holding it ready, likely to catch whatever the small thing running away from him was.
"You got it, Dip!" Mabel cheered before throwing her voice into a loose imitation of a southern accent. "Wrassle that critter, boy!"
Her words seemed to invigorate her twin, and with a grunt, Dipper dove forward and brought the cage top-down onto the grass in front of him. There was a beat of silence as he inspected the cage, and then his face lit up with joy.
"I got it! It's in there!"
Mabel cheered victoriously, and Dipper joined in as he quickly righted the cage and closed the top, trapping his catch inside. Steve squinted to make out what it was, and what he saw appeared to be nothing more than a common field mouse, though Dipper and Mabel both pressed their faces close to the bars of the cage to inspect it like it was a missing wonder of the world.
"It looks like it's stable," Dipper said breathlessly. "I don't think it's going to—oh no!"
From within the cage, Steve watched with widened eyes as the mouse began to glow seemingly from within. Its dull brown fur was overpowered by a bright white light as the creature began to glow brighter and brighter. A low hum began to emanate from the mouse as well, its pitch growing higher and louder in proportion to its light.
"She's gonna blow!" Mabel cried out as the mouse's form disappeared behind the intense light, and Dipper dropped the cage in panic as both he and Mabel staggered back a few paces, their eyes suddenly fearful as the humming grew to a fever pitch.
Before his brain even registered what he was doing, Steve grabbed his bucket of water and sprinted over to the twins. Throwing himself between them, Steve forced the twins back with an outstretched hand before taking hold of the bucket and dumping the contents through the bars of the cage. Water flooded into the enclosure and out through the holes in the bottom, and there was a high-pitched squeak as well as a loud hissing noise that was similar to the sound of bacon sizzling on a skillet.
Almost immediately, the bright light faded, allowing Steve to once again make out the brown field mouse, its fur now soaked through and its mouth chattering angrily in opposition to its dampened state. The humming noise had also ceased completely.
For a moment, no one said a word, then Dipper carefully strode forward and examined the mouse once again, noting the soaked and tired state of the little creature.
"Amazing…" he said to no one in particular. "The water completely negated the effect!"
Reaching into his vest, Dipper once again produced the blue and white journal that Steve had seen before and began scribbling notes again, seemingly on the state of the mouse inside the cage.
"Excuse me?" Steve said, still shaken up from the encounter. "Negated what effect exactly?"
"Their species seems to have some kind of defense mechanism that allows them to—"
Dipper then realized that it was Steve that had asked the question, and he immediately cut off his words and began stammering.
"—ah, what I mean is…uh…"
"Oh come on, Dipper!" Mabel said at last. "You knew we were gonna have to tell them eventually!"
"Tell me what ?" Steve demanded, his frazzlement at the whole situation leaking into his tone. "What is that thing?"
Dipper looked at Mabel with uncertainty for a moment, then sighed in resignation.
"Okay, okay. Steve, I'm going to have to ask you to keep an open mind about this, please."
Steve frowned, his face a picture of confusion and disbelief. He chose not to say anything, however, so Dipper continued.
"Steve, how do you feel about the unknown, the paranormal, and the otherwise otherworldly?"
Steve took a moment, unsure how to process the question, and Dipper seemed to pick up on his confusion.
"I guess what I'm trying to ask is this: What do you know about the supernatural? Ghosts, monsters, mythical creatures, alternate dimensions…?"
"You know, nerd stuff?" Mabel clarified with a smile.
Steve paused yet again. He paused not because of what his answer to the question was, but because the question was irrelevant. What did he know about the supernatural? The real question is what did they know about the supernatural? Steve knew plenty, much more than he would have liked to, in fact, but he had no idea how much the twins knew, both about alternate worlds and how much he knew about them. The Upside Down technically could still exist in the future, and even though Steve's interactions with it had been limited to Hawkins, he supposed it was possible that the Upside Down existed out here in Gravity Falls as well. They had already stopped the Mind Flayer for good and closed all the portals in Hawkins back in 1985, but maybe there were portals out here too? Was that the big secret that everyone seemed to be keeping from him and Robin? Steve had no way of knowing for sure, so he settled on what he thought to be a safe answer.
"Some stuff, not much."
"Okay, well…it's real. All of it."
There was a pause, then Steve nodded once.
"Okay."
"I mean it," Dipper said, mistaking Steve's steadfast acknowledgement for disbelief. "Ghouls, souls living beyond death, reality-warping artifacts and monsters, all of it is real."
"Yeah, and I believe you," Steve said, giving another overt nod to Dipper as he did so.
Dipper faltered, as he had clearly been expecting Steve to be a bit more skeptical of his claims.
"You do? Just like that?"
"Yep," Steve said shortly. A small part of him acknowledged the fact that he was a part of whatever was going on here in Gravity Falls now, whether he liked it or not, and it irked him to no end. He pursed his lips and resisted the urge to hit something in his frustration at being dragged into more bullshit, only in a completely different time and completely different place with a completely different set of people.
"You're taking this really well," Mabel said, and Steve detected awe and a twinge of adoration in her voice. "Have you had practice with receiving perception-shattering news before?"
Steve refused to answer that question. Now was definitely not the time to get into that .
"Can we please skip to the part where you tell me why that mouse turned into a lightbulb?" Steve asked frigidly, steering the conversation back on track.
It was then that Dipper explained that he'd been tracking this new species of rodent in the forest that he had personally dubbed "dyna-mice". These creatures were indistinguishable from regular mice, except for the fact that they seemed to have a defense mechanism that caused their bodies to emit an explosion when they felt threatened. He'd first discovered one about a week ago rummaging around in the shed, and when he'd tried to chase it away, it had let off an explosion that destroyed the broom he'd been attempting to use to shoo it off. The mice themselves appeared to be immune to their explosions, and they emerged completely unscathed each time they went off. Dipper's theory was that the mice had been the result of some sort of genetic testing, and that they had escaped into the forest and were now co-populating with the current mouse population, creating even more dyna-mice in the process.
Dipper's plan was to learn more about the mice, document them in his discovery journal-thing, and work to find a repellant that would keep these pyrotechnically-inclined rodents away from the local human population. A plan that sounded incredibly dangerous in Steve's head, especially since the kid kept mumbling about possible links to something called a "scamp-fire" as well.
"Alright," Dipper said, stowing the journal away and pulling out what appeared to be a wristwatch from his pocket. "Just gotta get the tracker onto this little guy…"
Steve looked on in a bewildered silence as Dipper reached into the cage and grabbed the still-wet mouse, which began squeaking and squirming indignantly in an attempt to get free. After a few moments more of manhandling, Dipper successfully attached the wristwatch onto the small mouse before setting it back onto the ground.
The small creature bolted as soon as it was free, and the three of them watched it scurry into the treeline and out of sight. Once it was gone, Dipper turned to his twin.
"Got a good signal on it, Mabel?"
Mabel grinned and produced a small rectangular object with a smooth glass front from her pocket. Before Steve's boggled eyes, the glass came alive with light with a touch of Mabel's finger, showing that it was actually a small screen. Mabel then used her finger in a combination of pokes and swipes, and the screen responded to her touch as though she were actually grabbing the objects behind the glass.
For the first time since arriving in this era, Steve found himself speechless as he finally witnessed firsthand the fruits of twenty-eight years of technological advancement. Not only was Mabel holding a miniature television in her hand, but she was also interacting with it like it was some sort of computer. Steve could see a sharpness and definition on the screen that was unmatched by any quality he'd seen before, and he found himself craning to get a closer look as Mabel tapped away. After a few more moments and silent commands from Mabel, a darkened picture appeared on the screen with small lines running this way and that like rivers across the device.
Though his mind was still processing the nature of the device before him, Steve recognized that the picture on the screen was a map, though it also moved and enlarged and shrank when Mabel ordered it to with her fingers. Appearing on the map were two dots, one of which appeared to be blue and stationary, while the other was a small red dot that pulsed repetitively and sent a small red ring away from itself and across the map each time it did. It was almost as though it was beating like a heart.
"Locked on target!" Mabel reported cheerfully as she stood at attention and snapped a salute like some kind of soldier. "Ready to pursue!"
"Perfect! With any luck, it'll lead us to their main nest, then we can get a nice and up close look at how they live and maybe where they came from."
"Uh, yeah, that's a terrible idea," Steve found himself saying, slightly taken aback by his sudden forwardness with the twins.
Dipper and Mabel both turned back in surprise, likely just as caught off guard as Steve was.
"You're just going to waltz into this forest, which by the way, you just told me was filled with all kinds of supernatural shit that you may or may not have discovered yet, and you're going without any gear or weapons and without telling anyone?"
Dipper frowned at Steve, but then his brow furrowed further as if in thought.
"Of course not, and now that we know their weakness, we can devise a countermeasure to the dyna-mice's explosive properties…" he said.
"Not to worry brobro! I've got just the thing!" Mabel exclaimed before dashing back to the Shack. It was less than a minute before Mabel burst from a side door with a large cardboard box in her arms.
"I got shooters in spades!" Mabel said as she dropped the box onto the grass and eagerly reached inside. Smiling wide, Mabel found what she was looking for and produced three brightly-colored plastic water guns, and Steve could tell they were already filled due to the muffled sloshing that came from within.
Steve waited, waiting for Mabel to deliver a punchline or something or at least say that she was kidding because water guns were not exactly what he had in mind for dealing with supernatural entities. His mind briefly flitted back to his own weapon of choice for such matters: the wooden baseball bat with nails spiking from the head back in Hawkins. The weapon had done wonders for him in his past altercations, and Steve idly wondered where the bat was now. Probably rotting in a garage somewhere…
He shook his head as Dipper walked over to Mabel and gratefully accepted one of the water guns.
"These are perfect! If any of the mice start to light off, a quick squirt from one of these should stop them right in their tracks!"
"I also grabbed our backpacks, stocked with all the glitter and flashlights we need!" Mabel added, pulling out the two packs as well and passing the brown one to Dipper.
"Here you go, Steve!" she exclaimed immediately after, offering the third water gun to him. Wait, she wasn't seriously thinking he was coming along on this weird little quest of theirs, was she? Steve attempted to banish the painfully overwhelming sense of familiarity that washed over him at this whole situation.
"Ok, when I said weapons, this isn't quite what I was hoping you guys would go for," Steve said, placing his hands on his hips.
At this, Dipper seemed to grow annoyed, and he turned toward Steve and crossed his arms defiantly.
"Look man, I know you're new to this stuff and all, but Mabel and I have been into that forest more times than I can count."
"...which is definitely a high number!" Mabel added.
"Thank you," Dipper responded politely before frowning at Steve again. "We've overcome a swarm of gnomes, ghosts, telepathic nine-year-olds, actual dinosaurs, and a shapeshifter to name a few . I think we can handle ourselves."
"Buuuut, if you're reeeally worried about us," Mabel said cheekily. "Then maybe you should come along just to make sure we don't get into any trouble."
Mabel gave Steve a wink, but then blushed slightly when Steve looked over at her. Dipper glanced at her as well before rolling his eyes and starting towards the treeline, definitely less enthused about the idea of Steve coming along than Mabel was.
Steve watched him for a second, then gave a heavy sigh of resignation and accepted the water gun from Mabel, ignoring how her blush grew slightly brighter as their hands briefly made contact.
Babysitting duty. Again . Seriously, was Steve cursed by the devil to always be looking after kids that felt the need to charge headfirst into some weird or paranormal thing without consulting anyone? How was it possible that he had traveled all the way across the country and almost thirty years into the future just to get stuck with the same duty he'd had before?
Whatever, at least now he had all the more reason to find that time traveler guy and get out of Gravity Falls for good. Because from the way Dipper had made it sound, Gravity Falls was just like Hawkins, Indiana: full of shit that should have been kept confined to fairy tales and monster movies. The more Steve thought about it, the more similar the two places sounded, especially the part about ghosts and telepathic nine-year-olds.
Steve banished the thought from his head as he followed the twins into the treeline. No, this place couldn't be as bad as Hawkins, right? The twins were just exaggerating. Kids liked to do that. Gravity Falls wasn't haunted or cursed or anything like that. Sure, the exploding mice were a surprise, but those were nothing compared to demogorgons and mind controlling demons from the Upside Down. Steve's spirits lifted slightly at the thought, and he walked a bit more confidently as the forest fully enveloped him and the two Pines kids. Maybe this place was unorthodox, but it wasn't dangerous, and since Steve had already survived the hell that was Hawkins, this should be a cake walk.
Steve had seen quite a few strange things in his life, but stranger things were not likely to be found here in Gravity Falls.
That would be ridiculous.
…
The forest around them grew more and more dense as Mabel led on, periodically making a "ping" noise as if to remind Dipper and Steve that she was in possession of the tracking device. At first it had maybe been slightly amusing, but now that they were just under ten minutes into their walking, Mabel's noisemaking was quickly losing what little charm it had in the first place.
Sneaking a glance over to Dipper, Steve saw that the kid was still writing down notes in his journal, and though Steve didn't want to interrupt the younger boy's concentration, he felt like he needed something to distract from Mabel's continuous pinging.
"Hey, uh, is she always like that? With the bottomless energy and…sound effects?"
Dipper looked up from his scribbling and glared at Steve.
"What? You got a problem with Mabel, new guy? If she's too much for you, maybe you should just head back to the Shack. That is, unless you want to stick around just to treat us like babies some more, of course."
Steve put his hands up in a mock surrender, still holding his water gun with one hand.
"Sorry," he said. "Forget I asked."
Dipper set his jaw for a moment, then sighed and looked back up at Steve.
"No, it's… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get mad or anything…it's just that Mabel is still in that phase where she gets a new crush on some guy almost every week, and, well, it looks like you're the lucky winner this week."
"Yeah," Steve said with a glance back to the younger girl, who was now jumping up with a little bounce everytime she pinged. "I gathered that much earlier this morning."
"Normally it's not a big deal," Dipper said honestly. "But you're brand new to all this weirdness and supernatural stuff, and I was kind of mad that you thought Mabel and I weren't up to it, so when she invited you along I thought that it was a terrible idea, but then again I was so excited about the mouse that I completely forgot about grabbing our usual gear, so it was a good that you spoke up when you did…"
Dipper was rambling now, and Steve cracked a grin at how similar to Robin he was in that regard. Thankfully, he knew how to put a stop to it.
"It's cool, dude," Steve interrupted. "If I'm being honest, I might have laid it on a bit thick too. The exploding dyna-mouse or whatever you call them freaked me out a bit, and I just didn't want to be the last person to see you and your sister with all of your limbs together and not blown off by some rodent firecracker.
"Yeah well, you were actually surprisingly cool with it," Dipper said, cracking a smile of his own. "Most of the time, we try to keep all the weirdness of Gravity Falls a secret from outsiders, but sometimes folks see something that they don't usually see, and they just get all hysterical and irrationally crazy, as if they're trying to outdo whatever it is they saw. About a month ago, one of the traveling tourists came face to face with a manotaur, and I'm pretty sure they're traumatized everytime they see a bodybuilding magazine now."
This caused Dipper to laugh out loud, but Steve raised an eyebrow questioningly. He had no idea what a "manotaur" was, and he couldn't help but feel like he was missing a big part of the joke. Dipper noticed his confusion and coughed once.
"In any case, you didn't lose your mind when you saw the mouse almost explode. I mean, yeah, you freaked out a little bit, but not like any more than the rest of us would've. It was like you were…"
Dipper's brow furrowed in thought, then turned to look at Steve questioningly.
"You haven't…seen this kind of stuff before, have you?"
Steve thought for a long moment about what to say next. On one hand, he still had no idea as to how valid Dipper's claims of seeing real dinosaurs were, but he quickly realized that it wasn't as far-fetched as it seemed. After all, Steve and Robin were out of their own time, so seeing something like that was not as outrageous as it had been before Steve arrived in Gravity Falls. With that in mind, Steve figured he could give the kid a small piece of insight. It couldn't hurt, right?
"There's…yeah, I've seen some weird stuff before," Steve said, turning to gauge Dipper's reaction as he spoke. "Demons…alternate dimensions and shit…Not here though. It was back in Hawkins."
Steve may as well have told Dipper that the moon was made of cheese for how wide the kid's eyes became.
"Are you serious? Like what?! What kinds of stuff is out there? Is it localized or widespread? Do the locals know?"
The fact that Dipper immediately started firing questions at Steve, who was slightly shocked given the passive skeptic vibe the twin had been giving off since they'd met, was startling. Maybe this rapid barrage of follow up questions served that purpose as well as feeding the young teen's thirst for knowledge on all things unknown.
Dipper's questions went unanswered however, as Mabel suddenly began making much more noise than usual, specifically in the form of an excited yell. Dipper and Steve turned at the exact same time to see her scream and jump backwards a few steps. The two of them closed the distance at a sprint.
"Mabel! What is it?" Dipper said as they caught up with her.
"Look!" she said, pointing down at a small clearing on the forest floor below.
Steve and Dipper both followed her outstretched finger, and Steve's mouth fell slightly agape when he laid eyes on the scene before them.
Sitting squat down in the clearing were multiple small logs, each one about two feet long and half sunken into the ground. The logs themselves weren't very thick, with Steve estimating their thickness to be about the size of a small dinner plate. Upon closer inspection, Steve saw that the logs were actually hollow, and that a sea of small creatures was moving to and from the logs as they pleased with no particular pattern that Steve could see.
"The tracker is down there somewhere," Mabel said, looking down towards the device in her hands. "This is where it stopped."
"This has to be it then!" Dipper said excitedly. "This is the nesting grounds of the dyna-mice!"
Upon closer inspection, Steve saw that Dipper was right. The small sea of creatures was composed entirely of brown to light-blackish colored mice, and for the first time, Steve noticed that the logs that constituted their dens were arranged almost in two slightly off-kilter columns. They weren't perfectly aligned, but the logs in each column sat side by side, making the arrangement look like two hastily stacked piles of cards sitting next to each other. Between the two columns was a well-worn patch of grass that created a path up towards the larger part of the clearing, where the rest of the grass was matted down completely. With a smirk, Steve realized that the whole arrangement with the logs and the path looked coincidentally similar to…
"...a Judas' belt!" Dipper exclaimed happily, causing both Mabel and Steve to shoot him a blank look. "The whole arrangement looks like a Judas' belt!"
"Yeah, right!" Mabel said with a laugh. "And Waddles has gills on his cheeks!"
Mabel placed her hands on the side of her face and moved them in an imitation of fish gills, but Dipper was too excited to care about her jibes at the moment.
"Look!" he said, pulling out his journal and mapping out a rough sketch of the logs and the path down below. As Steve suspected, Dipper was actually very good at drawing, and Steve recognized his point almost immediately.
"Yep, I was thinking the exact same thing," he said, pointing to Dipper's drawing. "Though I just always called them 'machine gun chains.'"
"Ohhhh," Mabel exclaimed, finally making the connection. "Their homes look like the long chains of firecrackers that gave Dipper nightmares as a kid!"
"Mabel!" Dipper seethed, suddenly turning red and hunching his shoulders in embarrassment. "It was just one dream, and the part with the fireworks wasn't even the part that scared me!"
"Right," Mabel teased. "That's why you avoided flashing lights and loud noises for the better part of third grade! I don't know about you, but I remember picture day vividly well that year! The nurse was ecstatic because you were the first third grader she'd ever treated for PTSD!"
Dipper looked like he was about to take aim at Mabel's face with his water gun when a loud booming noise sounded throughout the clearing, startling the three of them. The ground shook slightly beneath their feet, and the first thought on Steve's mind was that of earthquakes. Oregon had those, right?
Another boom sounded, and the forest floor shook once again, this time more forcefully. Down in the dyna-mouse village, mice suddenly began pouring from within the logs and out onto the path between the two columns, all making their way in a mad dash towards the open portion with the matted grass. It was as though the booming noises were summoning them to it, and the mice clamored over each other in a mad dash to get there.
Another boom sounded, and this time, Steve saw trees on the opposite end of the clearing begin to part and lean away as though something was moving between them. Something big.
"Guys…" Steve warned, pointing to the treeline as closer trees began to part and the boom sounded again, louder than ever before.
Dipper and Mabel both stared wide-eyed as one final boom sounded, then a figure as tall as the trees emerged, forcing two massive pines aside like they were curtains and stepping into the clearing.
The giant was massive, to say the least, but more than the impressive height, Steve took note of the giant's skin, which wasn't so much comparable to skin as it was to tree bark. Patches of dark brown wood covered every inch of the giant's body, and in addition to the hard bark that was its skin, multiple patches of moss and mushrooms grew at random points on the giant's exterior. The most notable and extensive patch of moss was on the giant's chin, which was covered in a thick blanket of moss that perfectly resembled a beard. On the topic of the giant's face, Steve saw that the gargantuan creature seemed to be permanently scowling, which gave Steve the impression that this creature was likely to be disagreeable if it saw them. Thankfully, it hadn't noticed them yet.
The giant's bark-encrusted features then looked down to the dyna-mice that had restlessly formed a semi-circle around where the behemoth stood. Its eyes scanned over them for a few moments before raising its left hand to chest level and uncurling its fingers. Squinting, Steve could see that the giant had something sitting on its hand, a large wooden shipping crate if his eyes weren't failing him. He couldn't exactly make out what the label on the crate said, and before he could try to squint further, the giant brought its two hands together and crushed the crate in a loud splintering of wood. Large planks rained down from its hands onto the forest floor below, though Steve took more notice of the contents of the crate as they were smashed between the giant's fingers. A thick green mush was what he saw, and he confusedly looked on as the giant spread the paste evenly across its hands before applying it to its body like some sort of lotion, taking extra time to ensure that plenty got onto its heavily barked back.
"Yuck. What the hell is it doing?" Steve whispered over to Dipper, who shook his head in a stumped manner.
"Wait. Those crates…those are the same ones that get shipped to Greasy's Diner. They're part of their usual deliveries…But what kind of green paste comes in those crates? And why would some large tree giant want to rub it all over themselves?"
"Oh, I know!" Mabel happily whispered. "Those are jalapenos! Remember how Greasy's Diner is always out of them? This must be why!"
…
A few miles away, the breakfast rush was in full swing at Greasy's Diner, and "Lazy" Susan Wentworth was hard at work taking orders and serving customers. This morning was going incredibly well for Lazy Susan, as she so far had only messed up five orders, accidentally eaten three napkins, and had only started one small dumpster fire when taking out the trash. A successful morning indeed.
"Susan darlin'! I think I just might be ready to order!" came a heavily accented southern drawl from one of the stools.
Lazy Susan turned at the sound of her name and looked to see who had spoken, even going so far as to hold open her left eye with her hand to confirm their identity.
Both of her eyes were greeted by a big smile on an even bigger man that was politely waving to her from down the counter. Susan recognized him almost immediately.
"Well, if it isn't Bud Gleeful!" she said. "I haven't seen you in this diner for quite some time! It's been at least a month or so!"
Bud laughed good-naturedly.
"Oh Susan, you are such a card. You know that I come in here once a week for breakfast with the family!"
"Really? That's odd," Susan replied. "I must have missed you last sunday!"
"Well, you did. But that's because today is wednesday! We always come in on wednesdays."
Bud's tone was ever patient and polite with Susan, as he'd grown quite used to her ditziness like most of the other regular patrons of Greasy's.
"Really?" Susan replied. "Geez. Time sure does fly, doesn't it?"
Bud nodded as Susan crossed over to where he sat, pulling out her notepad and readying herself to take his order. She then frowned slightly.
"Where's the missus today? And Lil' ol' Gideon? I miss his cute lil' cheeks!"
"Well now, Margie and Gideon are takin' a trip to Portland to pick out some splendid new duds for the Mothers Choice dance coming up next month. The boy, bless his lil' heart, wanted to treat Margie to only the finest options for her apparel!"
"Oh, if that isn't just the sweetest thing I've ever heard!" Susan cooed. "Well you be sure to give them my best. Now, what can I get for you today, Bud?"
"Why, the same thing I always order, of course! A three egg omelet with extra cheese and jalapenos!"
"One three cheese egg salad wi—Oh, I'm sorry Bud, but we're out of jalapenos!"
"Again? But you've been out of jalapenos for the last two months, Susan! Don't you get a new shipment every tuesday evenin'?"
"We sure do!" Susan replied. "But we didn't get any jalapenos with yesterday's shipment either! It's the darndest thing, Bud. It's like they just got up and walked away!"
…
Back in the clearing, Steve watched with interest as the giant finished applying the mashed jalapenos to its skin. As if on cue, the dyna-mice immediately surged forward and began crawling up the bark that constituted the giant's skin in a mad dash. The swarms congregated specifically around the areas where the giant had applied the jalapeno paste, and immediately began nibbling away at the green mush.
"They're eating it? Yuck! No spicy food for me, thank you!" Mabel whispered in disgust as she crossed her arms.
"Spicy food…" Dipper mused. As if his twin's sentence had triggered some faint memory, Dipper began flipping back through his notes, looking for something specific. Steve watched expectantly, waiting somewhat impatiently to be let in on the young teen's train of thought.
"Yes, here!" Dipper then whispered excitedly. "When I found the dyna-mouse in the shed, it had been nibbling on a bag of Soos's old Burrito Bites; the picante extra variety, to be specific. I think these mice are specifically fond of food that tastes spicy. It may even be contributory to why they explode!"
"Oh, I get it," Mabel said slyly. "Spicy food does have the tendency to be explosive , doesn't it?"
Steve wrinkled his nose at the remark, which Mabel seemed to take notice of.
"Uh, I mean, gross, Dipper! Jokes like that are disgusting!"
"What? You're the one that just made that joke!"
"Attempting to shift the blame as well? You're only digging yourself deeper, mister!"
"Guys…" Steve interrupted, pointing to the giant once again.
The twins both followed his gaze, and everyone was surprised as the giant slowly lifted its left hand into the air before snapping its fingers. The noise was akin to an extremely loud gunshot, and it echoed through the clearing and caused Steve, Dipper, and Mabel to flinch as it rolled through the valley.
As startled as the three of them were, the mice feasting away on the giant's arms and back were startled even more so, and it was merely a few seconds before a few mice began to glow and explode from their positions on the giant's back. Flashes of light exploded all over the giant's form, and each time a mouse exploded, it startled the one adjacent to it, who then in turn exploded and started the cycle all over again. The entire process began to sound like an incredibly loud popcorn-making process, but despite the numerous popping explosions, Steve heard a deep rumble emanate from the giant's throat as the mice exploded repeatedly against its skin. It almost sounded…relaxed?
"Uh, I think it's using the mice as…some kind of massage therapy," Steve voiced to Dipper and Mabel, still not quite sure if he believed it himself. As if to prove his point, the giant's shoulders slumped in total relaxation as the explosions continued, and Steve saw its eyes slowly begin to close as well, likely being lulled into a light doze by the unorthodox massage it was receiving.
"It would make sense," Dipper said as the giant's eyes continued to close. "When you've got skin as rough and thick as tree bark, there's not much that can reach the muscles underneath. Using these mice is probably the best way for it—"
Dipper suddenly stopped talking as the flash of a camera went off next to him and Steve, and they both looked wide-eyed to see that Mabel had brought her Polaroid with her…
…and had just snapped a picture of the giant with the flash on.
The giant's eyes, which had almost completely closed by that point, snapped open in response and locked onto the three of them, a deep frown immediately creasing its wooden brow.
"Mabel! What did you do?" Dipper hissed.
"Sorry!" Mabel said apprehensively as the giant took a step toward them, the loud boom of its footfalls echoing over the popping of dyna-mice against its skin. "I just wanted a picture for my scrapbook!"
The giant took another step towards them from across the clearing. It was walking much faster than it had been before. Its frown had deepened further, and Steve did not want to wait around to see what the behemoth had in mind for those that intruded on its "spa day".
"Run!" Steve shouted, just as the first of the dyna-mice began to rain down around them.
…
Steve crashed through the forest, periodically turning around to fire his water gun at the dyna-mice as they hurled through the air towards them. As it turned out, the giant had been furious that the three of them had intruded on its time of tranquility, and it was now angrily chasing after them through the forest, scooping dyna-mice off its back and arms by the dozens and hurling them at the three humans.
Steve, being the fastest and the most agile of the three by far, had immediately fallen to the rear with his water gun, doing his best to hit the flying mice with a stream of water before they got too close so that Mabel and Dipper could focus solely on running. His efforts had been mostly successful so far, but a few close calls had left a bit of soot on his Mystery Staff shirt as well as Dipper's vest and Mabel's whale-on-a-bike sweater. His ears were also ringing from the constant explosions that surrounded them on all sides as the giant continued to scoop dyna-mice off itself and chuck them angrily.
A quick glance back to the giant showed that not only did it still have plenty of dyna-mice reserves to throw, but it also was gaining on them. Steve knew he could run faster than this, but the twins were shorter and not as athletically inclined as he was, causing him to purposely hang back so that neither of them would be left behind. Now, that was becoming a problem because if this giant caught up with them…
Steve didn't even want to think about what might happen.
After hastily spraying another mouse with water before it got too close, Steve turned back to the direction they were running, trying to find something that they could use to either slow down the giant or hide somehow. For a few seconds, his eyes found nothing of use as all that greeted him were trees and rocks, then his eyes spied a structure not far ahead: The Gravity Falls water tower.
It took a few moments, but an idea jumped into Steve's mind, and he immediately called out to Dipper and Mabel, who were both sprinting neck and neck through the woods ahead.
"Head for the water tower! We'll lose it there!"
Dipper and Mabel both turned back to look at him, and Steve saw confusion in both of their eyes.
"Just move!" he commanded hastily. The authority in his tone seemed to be enough, and the twins both turned and picked up the pace, drawing upon their rapidly draining stamina to close the distance to the tower. Steve spared one last glance at the encroaching giant, then put on a burst of speed of his own, praying that they would reach the tower before the giant caught up.
The final stretch lasted less than a minute, but every second filled Steve with a lifetime of anxiety as he heard the giant draw ever closer behind them. Its aim was getting better the closer it got, and Steve had to frantically swat a few glowing dyna-mice off of his shirt when they'd landed on his shoulders from a well-placed throw by the giant. It had not been more than two seconds after he'd removed the mice from his clothes that they'd exploded, and Steve had felt their explosions rattle through him due to their all-too-close proximity.
Up ahead, the twins had just reached the base of the tower, and Steve noticed them start to slow down as if to stop.
"Keep running!" he called. "Don't stop yet!"
"What?!" Dipper called back. "But you said—!"
"Just keep going! I've got a plan!"
Dipper's look of anger and confusion quickly faded as he saw how close the giant was, and he grabbed a still-panting Mabel by the arm and urged her forward and past the tower while Steve skidded to a stop next to one of the wooden supports that held the structure aloft.
Spinning around, Steve's eyes focused just in time to see the giant hurl another volley of glowing dyna-mice in his direction. This time, Steve jumped up and caught one of the living projectiles instead of dodging it, and he yelped and passed the squirming creature from one hand to another as he realized that it was incredibly hot. The mouse continued to glow brighter and hotter, but Steve kept it in his hands for just a second longer. He sincerely hoped he hadn't misjudged the time it took for these little guys to cook because he did not feel like losing his hands today.
Just as the mouse's light and heat seemed to reach a fever pitch, Steve finally relented and tossed it against one of the water tower's four legs, and in the next instant he was blown backward as the mouse violently exploded at last. Steve stumbled backward and blinked his eyes rapidly to try and banish the momentary blindness, but it offered him no comfort when he saw that the explosion had not been as powerful as he'd hoped.
The mouse had exploded just as it had landed on the wooden leg of the water tower, but the leg itself was extremely thick, and though most of it had been blown away, a good chunk of the wood still held strong. The water tower did not move.
Steve didn't have time to lament his miscalculation, however, as the giant had chosen that moment to catch up with him, and Steve found himself paralyzed in place as a foot as large as Soos's truck lifted high into the air to crush him underneath.
The foot, as well as the rest of the giant, suddenly fell still as a deep and powerful crack resounded through the forest, and for the first time, silence fell upon Steve's ears as even the dyna-mice paused in their explosive chorus. Another loud crack sounded, then another, and another, and Steve's eyes widened as he saw the water tower slowly begin to lean towards the giant.
The giant turned to face the falling tower, which was picking up speed as it leaned further and further, and then there was a loud crashing of metal and wood as the tower collided against the giant's form, knocking the behemoth off balance and removing Steve from the immediate danger of being squashed.
The metal of the tower crumpled against the giant's thick skin, and water surged out from the top and sides as the tank ruptured within. The sheer amount of water doused the giant in mere seconds, soaking the remaining dyna-mice on its skin and flushing them completely off of its body. The giant growled in surprise as it too received an unexpected shower, which was followed by a grunt as one of its reeling feet caught on a large boulder, and in the next second, the giant tumbled to the ground with an earth shattering crash.
Steve had seen none of this, however, as he had turned and ran like his life depended on it as soon as he was no longer under the shadow of the giant's foot. He flinched as the giant crashed to the ground behind him, but he did not slow down. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and he quickly cleared the crash site and saw that Mabel and Dipper were both up ahead, staring slack-jawed at him like he was some kind of ghost.
"Move! Move! " Steve commanded, frantically gesturing for them to run as he caught up. His words once again compelled the twins to action, and they wordlessly turned with him and sprinted into the forest, none of them waiting to see if the giant got up from the ground.
…
Robin looked from the newly repaired Mystery Cart wheel to the empty bucket of water and cage in confusion. She'd just finished applying the new coat of varnish on the side porch to the Shack, but when she'd come back around to check on Steve, he was nowhere to be found. She had checked inside the gift shop, but Wendy hadn't seen him come through either, meaning that unless he'd gone inside the museum or through one of the other doors, he should still have been out here.
Robin shrugged and was about to go take a lap around the Shack when Steve, Dipper, and Mabel all burst from the treeline, looking like they'd just run a marathon…through a minefield?
Soot, twigs, and leaves all clung to their clothing in abundance, and also Steve was soaking wet for some reason.
"What the…? Steve!" Robin said in alarm as she jogged over to the three of them.
"What the heck happened? Are you guys okay?"
"Heck yeah we're okay!" Mabel suddenly shouted, pumping her fists into the air in a show of energy that completely defied her previously exhausted posture from before. Why were her and Dipper holding water guns?
"That was amazing!" Dipper piped up as well, the two twins now matching in their level of excitement. "We have the first confirmed sighting of a tree giant since Grunkle Ford saw one back when he first arrived in Gravity Falls!"
"And I got a picture of it!" Mabel cheerfully added, producing the same Polaroid camera from earlier that morning and plucking a new photo from the dispenser slot.
Dipper enthusiastically ran over to his twin as they huddled around the photo, leaving Robin no opening to ask at least one of the fifteen questions that had spawned from that little exchange just now. Her eyes looked questioningly at Steve, who was still catching his breath with his hands on his hips.
He met her eyes and shook his head, and Robin immediately understood that he was not in the mood to talk about what had just happened in the forest.
"Mabel, that picture is perfect!" Dipper exclaimed, giving Mabel a high five, which she enthusiastically returned with excessive force.
"Why thank you, Dipper! I do believe my photography skills have matured quite nicely."
"And Steve!" Dipper said, turning and looking at Steve with an awe that Robin had seen on the Hawkins kids' faces a few times in the past. "That…that…was just plain incredible! Property damage and vandalism charges be darned!"
"My hero!"
Mabel gave a big show of fainting onto the grass, and Robin was very quickly finding herself overwhelmed at the scene unfolding before her. Questions were spawning in her mind faster than she could even process them, and if Steve wasn't going to tell her what was going on, then she was going to have to get that information from the two hyper twins in front of her.
"Uh, yeah, hello? Anyone care to explain what you guys are talking about and why you all look like shit?"
Dipper looked over at her, and Robin could see his smile falter a bit.
"We…uh…I mean…I…"
The two Pines twins looked over at Steve, as if silently asking something, and once Steve caught on, he shook his head annoyedly and gestured tiredly that they could proceed.
With the floodgates open, the twins immediately began talking over one another as they both attempted to fill Robin in on their trip into the forest. Unfortunately, Robin could barely make out something about spa treatments and jalapenos before she held her hands up and told the twins to go one at a time.
Robin was then treated to probably the weirdest tale she'd ever been told, which was really saying something all things considered. Dipper and Mabel both told her about these "dyna-mice" and how they were utilized as some sort of massage tool for a tree giant that apparently didn't like its picture taken. Somehow, the giant had gotten annoyed at the humans that were intruding on its relaxation time, and had chased them down while throwing explosive ordinance mice as well. Thankfully, Steve had been able to stop the giant by dropping a water tower on it, and the three of them had run back here as fast as they could.
Robin looked pointedly to Steve, and to her utter shock, he nodded, confirming everything the twins had told her to be true.
Her bewildered expression was enough to make the twins pause and look at her a bit apprehensively.
"Sorry…we're not trying to freak you out or anything, but Steve said you guys had seen this kind of stuff before so…"
Robin let out a laugh that was equal parts nervous and indignant.
"Oh he did , did he?"
The look on Steve's face portrayed extreme regret. Thankfully, he was saved by the sound of the door to the gift shop opening as tourists from the last group poured out with Mystery Shack merchandise tucked under their arms or into small bags provided by the gift shop. From the excited smiles on their faces and the amount of souvenirs they each carried, Robin could only guess that Soos's tour had been as successful as yesterday's. As they all filed back to their respective cars, Soos himself emerged to bid goodbye and collect last minute tips, successfully relentless until the last of the cars had left the lot.
Finally walking over to them as the last of the cars disappeared down the way, Soos flipped up his eyepatch and approached the group, which had been in an awkward silence up until this point.
"Hey dudes! The new tire looks great, Steve! Hey, maybe I could sell the old one as a U.F.O. or something…"
Soos then seemed to pick up on the unease that was present, and he took note of Mabel, Dipper and Steve's disheveled appearances before frowning.
"Uh, what did I miss?"
Five minutes later, every resident of the Mystery Shack with the exception of Soos's grandma was gathered in the gift shop and listening intently as Dipper and Mabel recounted the tale of the giant again, and Robin found herself just as incredulous the second time around. Once the two of them had finished, all eyes shifted to Steve and Robin, and for some reason, Robin felt like everyone was less concerned about a literal giant in the woods and more about how she and Steve were going to react to it.
"Well, I guess the monkey is out of the cage now, dudes," Soos said with a lighthearted shrug. "Things get a little weird around here sometimes."
"Yeah, that's one way to put it," Steve said sarcastically. "I'd offer 'life threatening' as an alternative as well, but hey, I'm just the new guy."
Steve then paused and seemed to remember something. He turned to look at Dipper and Mabel specifically.
"And I'm sorry, but did you say you two have gone into that forest multiple times? Like, intentionally ?"
"Yeah, I'd say so," Dipper replied, and Steve immediately turned towards Melody, Soos, and Wendy.
"And you guys know that they go out there? You let them do this?"
"Hey! Don't be talking 'bout us like we ain't here!" Mabel said sassily, shaking her finger for emphasis. "And for your information, pretty hair, we are pros when it comes to dealing with otherworldly junk like this!"
"She's right, dude," Wendy said from her relaxed position on the counter. "Heck, these two basically stopped the end of the world by themselves last summer, so if there's anybody that's prepared to deal with what's out there, it's Dipper and Mabel."
Robin was mildly surprised by Wendy's sudden seriousness given her usual laid back nature, but that made it all the more potent. Robin couldn't help but admire that about Wendy actually—wait, did she say end of the world ?
Steve and Robin both raised their eyebrows at this, and Dipper immediately stiffened and began stammering.
"Well…the end of the world might be an exaggeration…"
"No," Wendy said, her tone still serious. She stood up straight and crossed her arms as well. "That 'Never Mind All That' Act is dumb anyway. Plus, from what you just told me, Dipper, it sounds like Steve and Robin know how to handle themselves, so they might as well know about what happened."
"Oh, so we haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet?" Robin asked jokingly. She'd held out a small hope that they'd all laugh at it and tell them that the most unbelievable parts had already been told, but no one was laughing, and Robin's skin suddenly felt clammy at their reaction.
"You got no idea, dudes!" Soos said. "So there was this reality-warping demon from another dimension named Bill that wanted to take over our universe, right? So he started trying to possess people in their dreams so that he could open a portal and get into our world and get a physical body of his own, but first he—"
"Details can maybe wait for now, Soos," Dipper offered before turning back to Steve and Robin. "I think you guys might've had enough of a shock for one day."
Robin agreed with Dipper despite the fact that Soos's description of last year's "almost apocalypse" was a near-identical description of Steve and Robin's summer with the Russians and the Mind Flayer. Eerie, to say the least.
There was a beat of silence, and Robin could see that Dipper was looking at the two of them almost expectantly, and it looked like the others were waiting for something as well. Most likely an explanation as to how the two of them were taking this new information so well. Robin remembered just how skeptical she'd been of the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer when Steve had first explained it to her, even with something relatively believable like the invading Russians to act as a segue into it. And even then with all she had seen up until that point, Robin had still held doubts about it until the entire Party had been debriefed by that Dr. Owens guy. It was at that point when it had finally clicked for her.
And now, sitting here in the Mystery Shack's gift shop, the unspoken question hung in the air. The question as to how Steve and Robin seemed to be so okay with what went on in the sleepy town of Gravity Falls.
A glance over at Steve showed that he was on the exact same page that she was, and a conversation was had using "Silent Steve-talk" as to whether they should tell their story as well. Steve had already let a little bit slip, so if Robin was being honest, there wasn't much of a conversation to be had. It seemed kind of inevitable at this point.
"Well," Robin started awkwardly after receiving a subtle nod from Steve. "Since we're really doing this, there's something we should probably tell you guys…"
The residents of the Mystery Shack spent the next half hour in a dumbfounded silence as the two Hawkins natives wove the tale of the Upside Down and the Hawkins Research Laboratory. Steve ended up telling most of it since he had been involved a lot longer than Robin, but she still added parts here and there where she could.
No one was surprised when Dipper hastily opened his journal and began scribbling down notes part way through the story, and Robin was thankful that the young teen was saving his likely numerous questions until she finished.
During a quiet moment while Steve did his best to describe what a demogorgon was, Robin took note of everyone else's reactions around the room. Melody's brow was scrunched slightly in a look of concern, and Robin got the sneaking suspicion that while the older woman was aware and acclimated to the oddities of the universe, she had not been exposed to this stuff as much as everyone else, giving way to her slightly uncomfortable reaction. Soos and Mabel, on the other hand, were both completely entranced by the story, with Mabel resting her chin on her hands and swinging her feet in excitement from the tall stool she was sitting on. Robin honestly couldn't tell if she was more hypnotized by the story or by the fact that Steve was telling it, but a combination of both definitely seemed to be the case here. Wendy was listening attentively as well, though her expression was hardened and sincere, which was in sharp contrast to what Robin had seen from her so far.
"...so we closed the portal and stopped the Russians and the ground-beef Mind Flayer, and haven't had anything happen since," Steve finished. Details were omitted from his story too, but both he and Robin knew that there was little to no point in getting into those right now. The same sentiment was shared by the others as well.
Dipper's pen was flying across the page at a speed Robin didn't even think was possible for a human to achieve, and she could have sworn that she saw a whiff of smoke emanate from the tip as he looked up at last.
"There are no words in the English language that can accurately convey the sheer amount of excitement I feel right now," he said wholeheartedly.
"Oh yes there are!" Mabel chimed in cheerfully. "How about…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Mabel's hands shook with joy and exhilaration, and she bounded off her stool and began jumping around with a stifling amount of eagerness that Robin was sure was inhuman.
"That…actually comes pretty close to describing it," Dipper conceded.
"Well, I guess we're about even now," Melody said with a laugh. "That is, unless you two are also space aliens or time travelers or something."
Robin glared over at Steve, and the two of them silently argued for a moment on who was going to speak next. Robin lost, so she shook her head and took a deep breath.
"Actually…"
A/N: Finally! I get to write some action for once! Hopefully it hasn't been too evident in my quality of writing, but setting the tone and the whole introduction process is tedious for me, as I have to work to set up the scenes that made me want to write the stories in the first place. That being said, it was totally worth it! I got to write some action and get the tip-toeing between the Hawkins crew and GF crew done and over with. With that in mind, please don't hesitate to let me know how much you loved or despised the chapter, as I am privy to all forms of feedback that can be offered. I'll see you all next chapter!
-ImpulsiveWeaver