To all of the people in the U.S. reading this at publish date, a very early good morning to you! I cannot believe that my story has already gotten over 700 views and 18 followers! Thanks a ton guys! Well, Even with all the emails sent to him, Alex Hirsch seems quite adamant of maintaining his ownership of Gravity Falls. I guess I'll just have to deal with not owning the show for now. So yeah, I don't own Gravity Falls, any characters, or Alex Hirsch. I'll try to keep this tale going for you all! Again, any notes of grammatical errors, critique, or even just holes in my logic, if you see em, tell me in a PM or review please ^~^ This chapter doesn't contain much fluff, more of a little adventure if anything! Hope you all enjoy! - Taelor
Could this day get any worse? Those were the only words able to course through DIpper's head as he ran as quick as he could from the growling form behind him. Now soaked from head to toe and freezing, Dipper couldn't help but think back. It had all been going well that day, with getting to know pacifica, but somehow in the course of a couple hours, everything had turned to the same ol' psycho crap that Gravity Falls was famous for. His legs roared in pain, but he kept running, short, panicked breaths escaping his mouth.
How does it always end up like this?
Flashback
It had all started about an hour after pacifica had left, he had been sitting in the livingroom, writing about his day, when the sound of breaking glass filled the house, punctuated by a loud crack.
Dipper stood, his senses alert, armed in one hand a notebook, the other pen.
They always did say the pen is mightier than the sword, I sure hope they're right..
He moved closer, towards the kitchen. He peeked around the corner.
Glass was sprayed all over the floor, a cold blast of air from the now broken window causing it to tinkle, and glint in a pale blue light that filled the room. The entire room seemed to radiate that unnatural light, he walked forward. It was unmistakable, the temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees just by crossing the threshold.
His breath misted before his face, his hands were shaking, growing clammy.
"If anyone is in here, I should warn you I am armed!"
He stepped forward again, the light seemed to emanate the floor, where a hole could be seen through the boards. He leaned down, trying to make out the small glowing object. Dipper breathed deeply, steeling his nerves.
Setting down his pen, he reached down into the crater, his hands meeting an icy smooth object, no bigger than a plum.
Plum? That's the best descriptive word I could think of? Ugh.
He closed his hand around it, withdrawing the now apparent stone. The minute he lifted it up, the light dimmed into nonexistence, only a faint glow still emanating from carvings on the small rock.
It surface reminded him of granite, but he couldn't place the markings covering every surface of the stone. He turned it over in his hand.
Symmetrical, he commented to himself, very cold. The light was close in hue to Bill's flame. I wonder if there is a relation..
Lost in thought, Dipper didn't hear someone enter the kitchen behind him.
"Hey Dipper," Growled stan, "what was all th- WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY KITCHEN?!"
Dipper jumped wildly, almost dropping the stone.
"I didn't do it! I think someone threw a stone through the window"
Stan cracked his knuckles. "When I find the punk who's gone off and hurt the 'shack, Oh, I'll show him exactly why Suarez didn't dare cross me in Cuba."
Dipper slipped the notebook and stone into his pants pocket.
"Yeah, it's just strange though," He commented, looking at the damage, "Why would somebody even do something like this?" He shivered
"Because," Stan grumbled, "people are asshole, that's why"
Dipper gasped at Stan's cursing in mock shock.
"Oh, you're thirteen now Dipper!" Stan said, "You are over the age of my rule."
"Of your rule, yes Stan," replied Ford, walking into the frigid room, "But not by mine. So do me a favor and watch your mouth!"
He hit Stan upside the head, his eyes darting around the kitchen.
"So what's the damage from? Gnomes, Giants, Manotaurs?"
Dipper shuffled his feet. "Nah, just some teenager"
Ford sighed dramatically, "Oh," he said, quickly leaving the room.
It was at that point when Dipper finally noticed Ford's new winter attire. Ford already looked bundled up in Summer, but now the man appeared to be wearing a heavier turtleneck, along with a scarf, all underneath a trenchcoat parka.
He rolled his eyes, following Ford's exit of the kitchen. How that man wasn't dying of heatstroke was a mystery to behold inet of itself. He quickly made his way upstairs, before Stan had the chance to call him back to clean up the kitchen.
It was for some time that Dipper lay on his bed, a sketch of the rock he was now calling the Frost Stone. As he lay there, rolling the cool, pale stone between his fingers, he realized exactly what this was. It was the first official mystery entry in his book. Obviously there was something up with the stone, normal rocks weren't engraved in runic markings in a language he could find no data on, nor did they normally glow a pale blue. And most rocks definitely weren't perpetually endothermic. He had already run some tests. It appeared that the effects of the item were reduced with human contact. If left unattended, it tended to lower the average temperature, and the light from it became brighter. Also, he noticed that if placed in a glass of water, it took merely seconds to freeze the entire glass.
His brow furrowed. He knew what he had to do if he wanted to learn more about the origin. He doubted just some teen threw this artifact into his room. He sighed, grabbing a grey beanie and the scarf Pacifica had given him. It was time to reenter the woods.
It was only a few steps outside when Dipper realized how much he missed the warmth of Piedmont winters. He breath seemed to freeze in the air, and the Frost Stone in his left pocket didn't do much to warm him. He pulled the scarf tighter around him headed into the woods, determination visible in his eyes. The wind was harsh, biting at his exposed nose and cheeks as he trudged through the snow.
Definitely more enjoyable in the Summer, no doubt.
He'd already checked the recovered journals, but no information was on the stone. The only thing he found was a dusty entry in the second, talking about an area in the winter in which it was stated to be a region of 'forever winter'. From the effects of the stone, that would be the area most likely of origin. His trek was long and quiet. It was times like these that he wished Mabel was with him. From what he had heard in the Shack, she was off reuniting with her friends, having a sleepover at Candy's. He sighed, his breath making clouds in the air.
It really just isn't the same without somebody at your side, huh? He asked himself.
He pulled out the map he had made, checking the distance.
"Almost there," He breathed, "just about another quarter mile"
It was as he crested the next hill that he saw it. The ground changed from a natural snowy terrain into a large circular valley, with trees covered in a crystalline ice. Everything seemed to be bathed in the radiant blue light, similar to the stone in his pocket. The quick description in the second journal could not begin to explain the beauty of the area. He entered in quietly, his feet leaving tracks in the perfect powder surface.
Dipper was amazed at the place, it seemed as though everything was covered in the beauty of winter. It was an incredible sight to behold.
If all of winter looked like this, I may actually enjoy it..
It then that he noticed something more odd than the beautiful crystal forest, more than the frigid air, more than the blue light. When he entered the area, it was filled by a great quiet. It was as though the entire world was holding its breath in trepidation. Even the wind seemed to pause, waiting for.. Something.
He walked forward, the only sound heard the crunch of his shoes and the rustle of his clothes. That was when he noticed it. Along the trees, the stones, everything. Runes. Thousands upon thousands of runic carvings. All interconnected, like a circuit or something. The lines of sigils and markings became denser the farther he went into it. At the edge of the 100 metre area, only a few large, pale runes covered the surfaces. But now, as he almost reached the center, every surface was dense with the pulsing marks.
It was here, that he surveyed the source. A diminutive frozen pond, no more than 8 metres across, with a pillar-like boulder protruding from the middle. On that pillar, the markings were so dense, it appeared as just one solid bar of light. Dipper breathed heavily. He needed to get closer.
Tentatively, he stepped forward onto the frozen surface. The ice groaned under his feet, but held. He took another step. And another. Though the ice cracked under his feet slightly, it held true nonetheless. Though it was mere seconds, the trek to the core seemed to take years.
It was with a relieved sigh that he new took in the pillar, it was no more than six feet tall, and almost half a metre around. He reached out with his left hand, tracing one of the lines.
All at once, the ground began to shake beneath Dipper's feet, breaking him from his daze. The ice began to crack and crumble. Soon enough, he found himself losing balance, falling. He windmilled his arms in a futile attempt to regain his balance. One of his hands caught the hexagonal edge of the core, by instinct wrapping himself around it like a sloth. It was only at this point that he realized that said pillar was sinking into the black, freezing water below.
His eyes went wide, doing his best despite his noodliness to shuffle and scurry his way up the pillar. His arms ached as he finally reached the lip of the top, and pulled himself up in one final heave.
With a final rumble, the ground seemed to set, and once again, silence filled the air once again. He breathed heavily, clinging to the stone.
I really need to work out, He thought to himself.
Now atop the strange structure, Dipper leaned closer, taking a closer look. The hexagonal face of the pillar was smooth, besides for the tight knit runes and an indentation just smaller than his fist. He traced his fingers along the outline. He paused. It seemed too simple. Reaching into his pocket, Dipper withdrew the Frost Stone. Really.
As he was about to place the stone into the socket, something caught Dipper's attention. It was.. well, a smell. In the air, something rancid permeated his nose. Like three year old milk and a high school locker room. He looked up, only to lock eyes with a pair of Large, brilliant amber ones.
There, standing in front of Dipper was a beast. No- a giant. It stood at least 15 feet tall, covered head to toe in white fur. It was massive, muscular, and was no doubt the source of the offending odor- based on the yellowish tint to it's coat. It snorted once, it's hair covered face glaring down at Dipper. It looked from the stone in his hand, to the Pillar, to him and back again. From the shore of the small pond, it reached out, towards him.
Dipper gulped, standing. With no other option than this, he leapt off the opposite side into the frigid water. He fled as fast as his legs could carry him, now drenching wet and with the sound of a now furious snow monster on his tail. Into the woods and towards what he hoped was civilisation.
In the back of his mind, the stupid rebellious part couldn't help but ask:
Could this day get any worse?
Author's Note: So, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I promise it will all tie into the fluffiness, but this was already taking long enough to write, and thought you guys would prefer more frequent updates over just one big dump :P I know there are probably SO many grammatical mistakes, please feel free to let me know if you spot one! Sorry about the delay in getting this chapter out by the way! It took a little while to figure out how I wanted this to go, and then I rewrote it a bajillion times. Please leave a review on what you like or don't! See you next Time! -Taelor
