Greetings from SeekerMeeker.

It has been a LONG time since I have posted a story.

Now, I am finally back, and this time, the story is hopefully taking off.

Enjoy.


Heroic Falls

By Seekerlano/SeekerMeeker

Gravity Falls belongs to Disney and Alex Hirsch.

I own certain ideas.


Chapter 1: Encounter

"Hey Mabel?"

"Yeah?"

"Which one is more important: nature or nurture?"

"Sigh, Dipper…you really want adventures, don't you?"

Two college students, who looked like each other, sat on a wooden bench, painted bright red. Cyan-colored birds chirped overhead, while the trees swayed in the wind, their green leaves shaking against the magenta blossoms. The sky above was bright blue, pure and whole against the blazing, golden sun in the distance.

"Sorry," the boy named Dipper admitted with a shrug. "It's just that after that interesting class, I had to think about it."

"I don't blame you," the girl named Mabel said. "It brings us back memories."

The boy named Dipper glanced at a textbook that he was reading, then at a glass wall in front of him. He and his sister sat right in front of a glass building, which held the class that they had. In his reflection, he saw himself:

Mason "Dipper" Pines had always thought that he was "weird." He wore a red shirt with a black jacket, plus a pair of brown pants and black-and-red boots that he liked. His attire gave him that mixed feeling of being "smart" yet "adventurous."

"Just like the old days," he remarked, fixing his hat.

It was a new hat. Unlike the old one, which he traded with a friend back years ago, he got a new cap that reminded him of his old one. However, it was a white-and-cyan hat, not the blue kind like the one he had. It also had some red linings around; in the front was a single cyan tree with three red stars over it.

"You mean the bad days?"

He chuckled.

"No Mabel," he replied. "The good old days."

The girl named Mabel was the one who asked him. In sharp contrast to her brother, Mabel Pines was a different being: while Dipper's attire had that "cool" vibe, hers was all about fun. She wore a bright green dress, with had yellow stars on the bottom, and a shooting star image right on the chest area. She wore a dark blue jacket, a pair of large, brown boots with a yellow star on each, and a pair of thigh-high socks that were colored purple and black.

She tilted her head playfully, a curious smile on her face.

Dipper chuckled again.

"Still yourself?" he teased her.

"Better," she replied, this time with a serious face, as she fixed her hat.

Dipper was surprised at her wearing a hat. Unlike his, Mabel rarely wore a hat, but for the first time ever, she did as a part of her "beauty appeal" since entering college. Her hat was a pink-and-purple beret, with a single, golden line separating the two colors. It also had a single, golden star that had two ribbons attached to it: one was red, while the other was cyan.

"But seriously," she spoke. "Your question did remind me of our times back when we were preteens."

"12 years old?"

She nodded fervently, and then sighed deeply.

"Boy-boy," she groaned. "We were so messed up back then."

Dipper nodded silently. He and Mabel already talked this over. Back when they were 12 years old, they went to a town called Gravity Falls in the state of Oregon, in which they had a series of strange, paranormal adventures. However, they were the least of their worries.

"But weren't those our uncles' fault?" Dipper questioned. "We were too young to know about the full ramifications of our actions back then."

"Very true," she admitted. "But we chose to do some of those things, from emulating our twin uncles to selfishly fulfilling our wishes, such as breaking the law and summoning a demon."

Dipper gulped. Despite her seemingly cheery demeanor, Mabel was capable of unexpectedly wise words. He knew what she was talking about:

Back in Gravity Falls, he and Mabel did have fun, but they also made some poor decisions. He remembered his own, from selfishly trying to ship himself with a teenage girl (who was too old for him back then) and abusing a time machine, to wanting to stay in town with a long-lost uncle. When he told his parents, both were displeased.

"I remember both mom and dad," Dipper said. "They were glad that I came back, but they were vocal about it. To think that I would stay in Gravity Falls, with an uncle who mysteriously disappeared from the face of Earth for 30 years? They told me that I was technically trying to stay for no good reason."

"But wasn't that my fault?" Mabel objected. "I was the one who caused all that trouble. From wanting boyfriends too much, to causing Weirdmageddon all because of a selfish desire to stay young forever."

Dipper shook his head.

"No-no," he responded. "It was my fault too. I was the one being selfish. I was so focused on wanting approval, that I did not think through my own actions."

"You were selfish in your own way," Mabel objected. "I was selfish in my own way."

Dipper nodded.

"But now," he said. "We see things so differently. Man, we just followed our uncles around. Looking back, Grunkle Stan was no role model. Even he and Uncle Ford admitted."

Mabel laughed.

"That is so ironic," she replied, getting up to stretch. "Twin uncles who are old enough to know right and wrong, only to make childish, stupid mistakes of their own."

"Stan lying to us," Dipper said. "And Ford making a deal with the devil himself: Bill."

"Willing to lose his soul," Mabel said, as she packed her belongings. "All because of a desire for knowledge. Just like how Eve ate the Forbidden Fruit, because she wanted knowledge?"

"But Mabel," Dipper said, as he gathered up his own belongings. "I agree with you 100%. However, while they did influence us with the wrong ideas and morals, we chose to follow them. It was only when we chose to forge our own paths, did we finally do the right things."

"Ironic," Mabel remarked. "That when we followed our uncles, we became little minions, doing evil deeds with them. Only when they failed, and we chose to stay together, did we actually do something good."

"And that leads to my question," Dipper said, as the two siblings walked to their next class.

"I see," Mabel said. "Everything we talked about? I believe that both nature AND nurture are involved. At the core, we are capable of doing good deeds. In my opinion, we are better off without our uncles influencing us; man, we were so messed up."

"So you think it's both?" Dipper asked, as they walked past a few individuals, and approached a different building.

"If I put it bluntly," Mabel replied. "Yes, I believe that both are equally important. That does not really answer your question, but I believe it's both. Most people say that nature matters more, and point to dogs as an example. We humans domesticated wolves into dogs thousands of years ago, yet we have failed to remove their core lupine behavior, such as urinating to mark territories.

"Yet we have trained dogs to respond in ways that we want. As a result, dogs are so used to us, that even if they could live in the wild, they keep coming back to human settlements. Unlike wolves, dogs are conditioned to live with humans. Hence, dogs are an example of both nature and nurture."

"And your points remind me," Dipper said, as they approached the corner of a new library building (that was where they had the next class). "When we were kids, we read a fairy tale, no, an Aesop's Fable called The Dog and the Wolf."

Mabel gasped, jumping up for joy.

"Yes-yes!" she replied. "That is a weird fable, especially in today's modern world."

"It is," Dipper replied with a serious face. "It is a hard fable to accept. In today's world, we want the comfort of being fed and full of 'First World' privileges, such as free wi-fi and a nice car. Yet we are willing to gain those by losing our freedom."

"Wait," she said, and both twins stopped. "What do you mean?"

"If I put it differently," he explained. "We know the story, but long story short, the fable's moral is actually difficult for today's modern humans, who are used to convenience and safety. We don't realize how much freedom we have sacrificed. The dog is most of us: spoiled, fat, and unwilling to question or face reality. The wolf, the ideal one, is the minority: strong, awesome, and healthy, yet hated because it is misunderstood."

Mabel sighed.

"Sadly true," she replied, as they started to walk again. "The irony is that we call dogs 'man's best friend,' yet we put them on leashes, force them to take medicines, and do other questionable things, while the 'big bad wolf' turns out to be healthy and powerful, because it is free and true to itself."

Dipper thought, as they continued to walk.

"And that leads to another thing," he replied. "Look at how popular superheroes are. They are glorified in stories, yet in real life, people are afraid of mutants and anyone who is not 'normal.' I find it ironic that superheroes are beloved AND hated at the same time."

Unbeknownst to both twins, they were turning around a corner, so that they did not see anyone on the other side.

"We love being heroes," Mabel remarked with a smirk. "Don't we?"

"Can we treat heroes like wolves for once?" Dipper asked, more to himself. "Or are humans even worth saving? Maybe we should-OUCH!"

Dipper slammed into a figure, and dropped his pile of books. The other person also yelled in response, dropping another pile of books.

"I am sorry!" Dipper gasped, wiping his forehead. He realized that his hat fell off as well.

"Watch it!" a familiar voice echoed. "You have realized that…hey, is this your hat?"

The feminine figure then knelt down and picked it up. Dipper blinked.

The figure was a college girl, about his age. However, she was clad in a dark blue dress, and wore a pair of white boots with gray fur around the edges. They contrasted well with her pair of thigh-high, black stockings. The young woman also wore a white belt and a triquetra necklace over her cleavage. She tied her familiar, blond hair into a ponytail, held together by a pink scrunchie.

"Hey wait a minute," the girl spoke. "This hat looks fam…miliar?"

She looked up, and her bright, blue eyes met Dipper's bright, brown eyes.

She saw him.

He saw her.

There was a moment of silence, and Mabel gasped.

"My stars!" she gasped. "No way!"

Dipper tried to speak, but she spoke first.

"Dipper?" the blond bombshell gasped.

"Pa-Pacifica!" Dipper finally spoke. "Wha…what are you doing here?!"


So begins my first-ever fanfic in a long way. For some who have read my older ones, this fanfic's beginning sounds familiar.

It is, but it is going to be a different story.

Feedback is appreciated.

Thank you so much everyone.