(Author's Note: Hello and welcome! To prevent any possible spoilers, I'll issue this suggestion - I would save this story as the very last that you should check out, or else, you might risk ruining surprises left in the other tales in my archive. Thanks and enjoy!)

*SIGH!*

Wendy Corduroy and Dipper Pines each released a dejected exhale simultaneously. Their elbows resting against the chipped wood of the Mystery Shack's Gift Shop counter, they rested their heavy heads on top of opened palms as they blankly stared into the distance. They turned to one another, their eyes meeting, almost as if they could read each other's mind.

"It won't be long soon…" Wendy broke the lingering silence.

"Yep…" Dipper said. "The bus'll be here soon…"

Wendy raised her head to look at the clock mounted on the wall. She groaned, "…not enough time to catch one last bad B-Movie…"

"Or even watch an episode of "Ducktective."" Dipper noted.

The ginger sunk deeper across the desk. "Not enough time to plot out a quick prank. Would have been nice to go out with a bang."

"Heck," Dipper slid back against his stool. "I don't even have enough time to say goodbye to Lee and Nate and everyone else."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Dip." Wendy gave him a confident smile. "Trust me; they already know."

"Still, it would have been nice, considering everything that's happened in the last few days. Mabel had the right idea in asking Grunkle Stan to pick up Candy and Grenda so they can see her off at the bus stop. "

"What?" Wendy sat up. "Don't tell me I'm not enough for your cheering section, kiddo!"

"Huh?" Dipper was caught off-guard by her outburst. "No! I didn't mean – that it, if you didn't have anything better to do…"

Wendy's ever-increasing grin was a dead-giveaway to the young sleuth that he was being teased yet again.

"Oh, Dipper…" The mischievous girl playfully pulled the bill of his blue and white trucker cap over his eyes. "You don't know how much I'll miss this; or how much I'll miss – "

Dipper instantly took note to how his not-so-secret crush bit her tongue and frowned. It was something that he had come to recognize throughout the summer. He understood that the lumberjack princess was someone that often struggled with expressing her inner feelings.

The smaller teen reached over to the embarrassed clerk and gently set his hand on top of hers, returning a look of reassurance.

"I know."

Wendy's beam quickly returned. "Still…" She glanced away from Dipper and towards the sun-filled window of the side of the Gift Shop. "It feels so weird, doesn't it? You're only been here for three months, and yet, it feels like we've known each other forever…"

Dipper nodded in agreement. "It's even more surreal that it's all coming to an end…"

"Oh, man!" Wendy chastised, slapped her hand against the chiseled wood. "Don't talk like that! It's not like…like it's forever, or anything. You guys will probably make back out here next summer." Her face lit up as she snapped her fingers. "And hey! Don't forget; driver's ed. is only a few weeks away, and maybe I'll can schedule a surprise visit out to Cally once that license starts burning a hole in my pocket."

Her declaration wasn't enough to sway the mind of her partner-in-crime, the realist.

"But…none of that's for sure, isn't it?"

Wendy took pause, as Dipper's words struck deep. She slumped forward on folded arms.

"No, I guess it's not…"

The two sat together in silence as guilt slowly crept into Dipper's mind. His own anxiety and fears had taken over, and with that, he led his main squeeze down into depression along with him.

"Wendy," he began to apologize. "I didn't mean to – "

"I HATE YOU!"

Dipper sprang to full alert as he heard Wendy's shrill scream. "Wendy?"

To his shock, he discovered the redhead at his right, now fully sitting up, with an expression as confused as his.

"What was that? Where did it – "

"I'm not sure." Dipper said. "But it sounded just like you…"

"Well, you know it wasn't me, right?!" Wendy pinched her thumb and index finger and waved them across her mouth. "These lips weren't moving, chief!"

"I know, I know." Dipper tried to ease the tension. "But where did – "

"I HATE YOU, TOO!"

Dipper's brow rose as he recognized the squeaky screech as his own. He reflexively looked to Wendy. "What? Wendy – Wendy, I swear I didn't say that!"

To his confusion, the high schooler's attention was focused elsewhere, like she never heard the yell in the first place. Instead, her emerald-colored eyes, opened wide, were locked past the table and towards the Gift Shop's exit. Dipper followed suit, as the unusual sight made his tiny form jump up in shock.

"GAH!"

Two living shadows had appeared in front of the windowsill. Their translucent black coloring hid away any significant facial features that could easily lead to their identity. However, their natural curvatures were made well apparent. The varying dark figures faced one another in a sort of stare down. A much taller being with lengthy, bushy hair and stork-like limbs was bearing down on a smaller counterpart. Shorter and stubbier than the former, it had to stand on its tip-toes to meet the larger presence face-to-face.

Dipper analyzed the situation from his distance, "It's like…"

"…they're arguing…" Wendy finished his thought.

Suddenly, something caught Dipper's eye. "Whoa." He pointed it out to Wendy, "Look at their heads. See those curves? Like that flat thing sticking out of the little one's forehead?"

Wendy squinted to get a better look. "I think I see…ear flaps on the sides of the tall guy?" After letting it sink in, she gasped with realization as the friends shared a concerned look.

"Wendy," Dipper said. "I think…those things are us."

"What?!" Wendy questioned. "Dipper, that can't be right. I mean, look at how they're going at it. We've never fought like that before." She paused. "Maybe; did those Blind Eye creeps with the cloaks zap us with their ray gun or whatever? Is that why we don't remember this?"

"Nah. We would have found some record of that with the rest of their stuff. This is definitely different."

"What then? Are they our ghosts?" Wendy shuddered, her mind doubting if they had really survived the nightmare of Weirdmageddon.

"No, wait. Remember the elderly couple from the Dusk2Dawn? These things don't even notice us here. They're trapped in their own inclusive world."

Wendy winced at the noise shrinking up and down in volume. "Their voices…they're all static-y and glitchy. In a weird way, they sound like echoes."

Dipper shook his head again. "I don't think you're too far off." As he tried to step around the counter, he was pulled back.

"Hold on, small fry." Wendy gently tugged him by his navy –blue vest. "That may not be such a good idea."

He peered over his shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. They aren't even paying attention to – "

Unexpectedly, a new pint-sized shadow dashed into the Gift Shop from the parlor, materializing through the solid swinging door without phasing it in the slightest. It ran and slid throughout the room, passing across all of the numerous shelves and displays in a randomized method.

Stunned, Dipper turned back to Wendy, who simply shrugged at her judgment call. "Let's just say it's women's intuition."

Together, they watched as the shape hurried about in circles without rhyme or reason.

"It's like it's looking for something." Dipper observed.

"But what?"

"WENDY?! I'M HERE! WHERE ARE YOU?! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

Dipper was baffled. "It's…another "me."

"And he's looking for me?" Wendy couldn't help but feel bad for the desperate, somewhat lonely creature. "Can't he see I'm right here?"

"I'm not sure it works like that, Wendy…" Dipper started to theorize.

"Why not?"

"What if you're not the "Wendy" he's searching for."

It stopped in place, before twisting back towards the living room entrance. It dashed back to where it came as it shouted along the way:

"WENDY! DON'T WORRY! I'M COMING!"

A split second later, the frantic shouts could no longer be heard from the Gift Shop.

"Geez!" Wendy said with relief. "What was that all about?"

"Beats me." Dipper replied with a hint of sadness in his voice. "But I hope he finds her…"

Sharing his sentiment, Wendy placed her hand on her boy's shoulder. "Me, too, Dip. Me, too."

"Dipper, are you there?"

The co-workers froze as a second gawky being stepped into the Gift Shop, from the same exit that the concerned phantom Dipper had disappeared behind. Unlike the last, this specter took its time, taking care to gradually scan the room bit-by-bit. Perfectly straighten locks traveled down its backside, following its every movement. A flowing, lengthy dress swirled around its ankles as it walked across the room.

Wendy took a step forward, as a sense of shock spread across her freckled face. "Dude, I think that's supposed to be me."

"Dipper, please!" The shadow's voice grew more even frightened. "Where are you?"

Wendy spun around to Dipper. "I don't understand. Is she looking for the "you" that was here a second ago, or are there more "Dippers" out there? How could she've missed 'im?"

Dipper cocked his head sideways, scrutinizing every inch and comparing it to memory.

"This one's shorter than you."

"Really?"

"By a few inches, at least."

Wendy leaned over the register, noticing eight tiny digits sticking out from the edge of the dress. "There's your answer, Sherlock. She's not wearing shoes."

Dipper ducked around the left side of the desk. "That's so strange. I wonder why that is."

"I dunno. If I were to guess from the outfit and all, I'd say she was out dancing and her dogs were barkin'."

Dipper quietly gulped as a million thoughts ran through his mind. He remembered all of the chaos and mayhem that came with being able to dance with his sweetheart for the first time. It bothered him to imagine scenarios that lead to her worriedly searching for her treasured cohort in vain.

"P-Probably. I might have neglected that little detail."

For some reason, Dipper reflected on their days at the Gravity Falls Public Pool, where Wendy led the charge as a mischievous bikini-clad, barefoot lifeguard. He wondered how he could have ignored the change in their height difference back then.

"Aw, don't sweat it, man." Wendy reassured him, guessing what was in his thoughts. "Heck, I could walk on my knees and I'd still tower over you! There's no way you'd know any better!"

"Yeah. " Dipper agreed at first. "I wouldn't – hey, wait a minute!"

Wendy covered her mouth as she snickered. Her mirth was soon interrupted by the constant quarrelling of the animated shades in the corner. "Ugh! They're still going at it! Why didn't those two vanish like the others?"

"I think they will when they finally stop." Dipper guessed. "Unless they're on infinite replay."

"Let's hope not." Wendy lamented. "The last thing we need is – YEOW!"

Dipper looked back as the usually-fearless lumberjane recoiled against the wall. A third chest-height phantom had materialized inches away from her location. Strangely enough, it appeared like it held the receiver of a phone against the side of its head despite the land-line resting at the edge of the counter. It screamed into the head, "Hang on! I'm not doing anything until I hear from Wendy herself! How do I know she's okay? If you freaks want my journal, I talk to Wendy NOW!"

"Whoa…" Wendy crept a bit closer. "Wonder what that's all about?"

"From the sound of things, it seems like there's a shadow-you out there that's in a heap of trouble…"

"Tsk!" She blew air through her lips, not impressed in the least. "Tell me something new."

"Good point, but – "

"Mabel, you can't tell him where I'm going. The last thing I need on my conscience is knowing that Dipper is going out of his gorge over me."

"Wha – " The muddled sleuth spun on his heels.

"Me, number four, by my count." Wendy supplied an answer.

Next to him, her shaded clone had knelt down on one knee, placing its arms outwards with hands curved down, like it was gripping someone's shoulders.

"It's so weird," Dipper went to poke the creature with his finger. "There's no light or reflection coming from the darkness, and yet, it's see-through…"

"Dude…" Wendy warned. "I wouldn't…"

Dipper twisted his head towards her, "It's ok. There's – "

The shade being abruptly raised its voice, startling Dipper and knocking him off-balance. "Because it does, okay?!"

Without thinking twice, Wendy rushed to her cohort's side and tugged him to his feet. They listened as the gloomy figure lowered its tone once more. "Mabes, please, you gotta swear to me that you won't say anything to Dipper…"

"I wonder what's that about?" The cashier asked. "Is she talking to Mabel?"

"If so," Dipper added. "Then, where's her shadow-thingie? Why is it just ours?"

"I was hoping you'd be – "

Her question was cut-off by the sound of raucous laughter. Together, Dipper and Wendy twirled about to the register, finding another pair of spirits in their posts.

"Oh, dear heaven!"

"Where are these things comin' from?"

The ghostly duo had collapsed against the wood in a fit of giggles. The taller of the two choked out a story as the smaller attempted to stand up.

"…so, Thompson went on eating those things like crazy. I mean, he polished off half the bag in ten minutes!"

"And how long did you guys wait to tell him that he was eating dog treats?"

Dipper turned to Wendy. "Did – Did something like that really happen?"

"Knowing Thompson, probably." She answered. "But as of late, I couldn't tell ya…"

"Wait a second! You forgot something!"

Wendy and Dipper went back to see a different lanky apparition walking out from the far side of the counter. Its waist-high foil skid into existence and to a complete stop in front of the Gift Stop's door. The tiny speck patted its sides and pockets as the larger shadow caught up with it.

"Really? What did I forget?"

"This…"

The towering phantom plucked the hat-shape from the former and used its free hand to brush the curly bangs back before bending down to kiss the now-exposed forehead.

"That's for good luck, okay?"

"Luck…sounds good to me…"

The big contour stood back up and crossed its arms proudly. "Go get 'em, slugger…"

Behind them, Wendy and Dipper had watched the scene play out with mouths left agape.

"She…"

"I – I don't believe it!"

Still in doubt, they looked at another for a possible answer, before shaken nerves forced them to break their gaze as each blushed brightly.

"This is – " Dipper tried to break up the awkwardness. "This is getting pretty – "

Wendy was happy to follow suit. "Let's get outta here before things get even crazier!"

As the two went to escape from the gift counter, their path was blocked by a new Wendy-shaped gloom. It kicked a boot up, whisking a stool up from the ether, and catching it in mid-air, holding the seat up-right and overhead as a weapon.

"Urk!"

Dipper was yanked back just before he collided with the violent shade. Wendy was overlooking him, with a concerned expression on her dimpled face. She led him around the desk by the hand, only to be stopped by another Wendy-shaped figure crawling along the floor. For some reason, it relied solely on its upper-body strength to weakly make its way towards the back of the room. With a gagging, hoarse voice, it managed to choke out a cry between coughing jags.

"Hey! * COUGH – COUGH!* Is anyone out there?!"

Wendy stared with dismay at the fate of her shadowy doppelganger. "What's wrong with her? Why's she in so bad shape?"

After a second, Dipper located the source of the problem. "Wendy! Look at her legs. They're not like the others'. They're melted together!"

"No, not melted." Wendy detailed further. "They're stuck tight. Like, wherever she is, she's in a world of trouble, and someone wanted to make sure she couldn't get away."

"But…we can't help her, right?"

The earnest question broke Wendy from the spell. "You're – You're right…" With a heavy heart, she hopped over the desperate phantom, reaching back to snag Dipper by the vest and hoisted him up and over the darkened spirit.

"Thanks…"

"Don't mention it. Now, let's beat feet and – "

The exit was cut off by another dozen Dipper and Wendy shadows formed out of the summer-dry atmosphere. They ran and jumped, pushing and shoving, embracing and fighting, laughing, shouting, and some even crying.

But with the mass collective before them, every path out of the Mystery Shack's Gift Shop had been cut off. There was no way pass the countless groups without making physical contact. More and more arrived by the moment. In seconds, Wendy and Dipper found themselves backed up against the corner.

"Dipper, what do we do?!"

"I – I don't know!"

The various voices grinded against their eardrums as the buddies scrunched close as firmly as possible. They murmured with uncertainly as they closed their eyes…

"Sorry!" A crystal clear voice rang through as the rest of the room fell silent. "Sorry about that, everyone! My bad! That was so my bad!"

Dipper and Wendy reopened their eyes, discovering that every other being in the Gift Shop had been frozen in place. Within the calmed chaos, they saw a young woman walking between the shadows and down the aisles. With her eyes centered down on an unknown clicking device in her right hand, she brushed her short, pixie cut dark hair back behind her ears. The visitor flicked her thin-framed glasses up off her stout nose, rubbing the sore spot with her fingertips.

An opened-zipper hoodie swayed as she walked about. A black tight-fitting retro rock concert shirt was neatly tucked into faded, torn blue jeans. Her worn, cut-off sneakers didn't as much as squeak as she observed the chaos.

"Oh…" The newcomer began to push buttons on her portable console. "You knock an Omni-Remote over once and the whole world falls apart. Literally!" She twisted a knob at the bottom, raising her eyes to see the end result. "And…there!"

To Dipper and Wendy's surprise, all of their silhouette clones seems to flux out of existence with a sharp click. Seconds later, they were the only ones left in the Mystery Shack, save for the brunette that ended the apparitions that plagued them.

Seeing her task completed, the girl scanned the room, jumping in shock at the two startled adolescents huddled in the corner of the room.

"AAH!"

"GAH!" They yelped in response.

She held a hand against her beating chest. "Phew! Sorry about that." The techie turned her device in their direction to double-check her work. "I take this is your home dimension?"

Wendy and Dipper stole a quick glance to each other before facing their rescuer, both answering with a quiet nod.

"Good!" She brightly beamed as she stashed the odd-looking remote inside her sweater pocket. "I'm going to take this little uh-oh as a "no harm, no foul."" Taking a few broad steps towards Dipper and Wendy, she modestly opened her arms. "What says you guys? Can we keep this our little secret, pretty please?"

"Uh…" Wendy didn't know what to think. "Sure thing?"

Dipper moved past Wendy. "Not to sound ungrateful, but who are you, and what were those things?"

The young adult's smile warped nervously until she clapped her hands. "Okay. I – You do deserve that, at least." She backpedaled a few steps. "So, my name is Serendipity, but my pals call me Sere."

"Serendipity?" Wendy replied. "Why's that sound so familiar?"

"It's kind of like luck, Wendy." Dipper explained. "Serendipity is when good things happen to you by complete accident. When you find something special that you weren't looking for in the first place, they say to thank Serendipity for your good fortune."

"That's me!" Sere proudly pointed her thumb back towards herself. "Though I'd be lying if I'd said things haven't been lacking in the "thank you" department. Anyways, those weird creatures were actually versions of you two – um…" She began to snap her fingers. "Darn it! I forget the names…"

"Dipper…"

"Wendy…"

"Thanks for the save! Like I was saying, those shadows were different Wendys and Dippers spread across the multiverse that at one point, managed to come across this particular space in their respective worlds."

"Now, I know what that means." Wendy prided. "That "multiverse" thingie is when there are a ton of universes just like ours, but with differences here and there that make them unique."

Sere wiggled her hand sideways. "Sorta kinda."

Wendy rested her back against the wall with satisfaction. "Thank you, comic books and graphic novels…"

The visitor retrieved the unknown item she had hidden away in her pockets. It was a sort of thin rustic blue tablet with a number of different switches and controllers across it. "This little baby is what folks like me call an Omni-Remote. We use it to help maintain order and balance, so that every destiny goes on uninterrupted and without a hitch."

"Then," Dipper asked. "What happened here, Sere?"

She recoiled slightly, anxiously chewing on a loose hangnail. "I – uh, I might have accidentally hit a wrong button or two and, well – you know. Picture what happens what you crank a Jack-in-the-box and – " She threw her arms into the air. "KA-WOOSH!"

"Oh…"

*BEEP – BEEP!*

All three pairs of eyes were drawn to an alarm going off at the top of the Omni-Remote. Sere clicked it off with her thumb as she raised her sights back to Dipper and Wendy. "That's my cue. Well, fellas. It's been real, but…" She aimed her gizmo at the swinging doorway leading into the Pines' living room.

"Hold up!" Wendy said. "Where are you going?"

"VRRROOOOM!"

A purple and white portal materialized in the doorway, emitting a blinding light. Wendy and Dipper shielded their faces as gusts of wind blew back the stranger's shorten bangs. She shouted over the roar of the gateway. "I gotta get back to the place between worlds. Who else is going to make sure that everything runs smoothly as it should…"

She muttered under her breath, "…and occasionally fix her own screw-ups here and there?"

As Sere was enveloped by the gateway, Dipper lowered his forearm to see Wendy creeping her way towards the gateway. He instinctively snagged the back of her flannel tail. "Wait, Wendy! What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Wendy looked past her shoulder at him. "I'm going to follow this chick and see what her deal is."

"But…" He turned his head to the Mystery Shack's exit. "But, the bus'll be here any minute and – "

"Oh, come on, Dip!" Wendy insisted. "When's the next time we'll have a chance to do something like this again?"

Dipper remained silent, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. His concentration was broken as a familiar pasty-skinned hand was offered.

"What do you say, man?" His gingered sweetheart asked with a sly smile and a wink. "One last adventure together?"

Dipper's worry melted away, shortly replaced with a confident and welcome grin.

"…together then…"

Before he had placed his hand in hers, Wendy already knew that she had him. As soon as he had seen that warming beam and puppy-dog look in those green eyes, Dipper knew that he couldn't deny her; not now or quite possibly ever.

United hand-in-hand, they sped towards the dimming portal. Wendy led the charge, pulling Dipper forward with enough force to lift his feet off the ground. Passing through the doorway, a new sensation overcame them, transforming their very essences to a lightened state. After a few seconds, a darkness came forth as gravity brought them to stable ground. Wendy and Dipper rubbed their eyes clear, only to gasp aloud at their new surroundings...