"Gone?"
Dipper turned around at Grunkle Stan's exclamation. The old man staggered to his feet, staring at the sparking remnants of the portal.
"She can't be gone!" he said, starting forward. "She must be around here somewhere. Mabel-!"
"She's gone!" Dipper yelled, hot tears of fury springing to his eyes. "She went through that portal and it's all your fault!" The next thing he knew he was running at his Grunkle, swinging his fists wildly and yelling with every hit. "You did this! You wanted to end the world, and now look what you've done! Mabel's gone, and she could be hurt, or—or—"
After a moment's struggle, Stan pushed Dipper off of him, managing to hold him at arm's length with his superior strength. "Listen to me, kid."
Dipper continued to try and attack him, kicking and punching at his arms while tears streamed freely down his face.
"Listen to me!"
He froze as his Grunkle shook him with a ferocity he had never before experienced. He dared to look into his eyes, and saw tears had gathered there.
"I never, ever meant to end the world or whatever you think I wanted to do. Everything I did was for the good of this family, you understand?"
"No, I don't understand!" Dipper shouted. "Mabel is gone and it's all your fault!"
"Yeah, dude, it seems kinda like you were trying to end the world and stuff."
Both of them looked over at Soos, who they had completely forgotten about. He looked no better than they did, with several scratches and bruises visible on his body.
"Please just let me explain myself," Stan pleaded. "I'll try and answer every question I can."
Dipper hesitated, eyeing Stan warily.
"Please, kid," Stan said. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen, but Mabel trusted me and rightly so. Let me explain myself."
After another long pause, he exhaled shakily. "Alright. Talk."
Stan flinched at the unbridled vitriol in the boy's voice but decided to let it pass. He lowered his aching body onto the ground and took a moment to think about how to start. "It all started a lifetime ago in nineteen sixty-something…"
With every word that came out of Stan's mouth, Dipper's disbelief grew. It seemed like the typical movie cliché with the secret evil twin, but this twin wasn't evil…he was the Author of the Journals, or so Stan claimed.
"I don't believe you," Dipper said bluntly when Stan finished his tale. "If this brother of yours truly exists, why did he build this portal?"
"That I'm not for sure about," Stan grunted. "He was always into crazy science stuff and anomalies, especially because he has six fingers himself."
"So you pushed him through that thing and you don't even know where it leads?"
Stan's gaze sharpened. "I didn't push him. It was an accident, and I regret it every day. But no, I don't know where it goes. All I know is that I thought by turning it on I would get him back."
"Do you even know if he's alive?"
Stan paused a moment too long.
"Do you?" Dipper pressed.
"No," Stan muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I don't."
Dipper felt the tears threatening to flow again. He threw up his hands, turning to survey the sparking wreckage. "So Mabel could be dead."
"No, don't say that kid—"
"Who are you to talk?" Dipper shouted, rounding on his Grunkle with a rage that surprised even him. "You don't even know what that thing does, much less what happened to your brother, if you even have one!"
"I do have a brother," Stan growled. "I'll show you proof. But there's always been this little voice inside me, telling me he's out there somewhere, alive, and if he's alive then Mabel's alive too."
A shaky sob escaped Dipper's lips, and he turned his head downwards towards the ground. The next thing he knew, a pair of arms were wrapped around him, pulling him close in a comforting embrace.
"Don't worry, kid. We'll get her back, I promise."
Somewhere above them, shouts rang out and footsteps thundered across the floor of the Mystery Shack.
"It's the government guys!" Dipper hissed, his head jerking up in alarm.
Stan looked up as well, gritting his teeth. "Okay, give me a second to think and maybe I can find us a way out of this."
Dipper looked around wildly, his mind racing. Then his eyes fell upon the Memory Gun that lay on the ground from where it had fallen out of his vest.
"We can use this!" he cried, grabbing it up.
"What's that?" Stan asked.
"A Memory Gun. You set it to something and whoever you hit with it loses their memory of whatever you put in."
Stan snatched the gun out of his hands. "I'll take care of this." He turned to Soos. "Watch the kid. Don't go anywhere until I come back to get you. Got it?"
Ever enthusiastic despite the circumstances, Soos saluted smartly. "Yes sir, Mr. Pines, sir!"
Dipper chewed on his lip as he watched Stan run for the elevator, gun in hand. He punched the button and the doors closed behind him, the elevator ascending with a creaking groan. Both of them waited with baited breath as an eerie silence fell over the destroyed room.
Dipper jumped as noise rang out overhead. Gunshots echoed loudly and feet stomped across the floor. People shouted and yelled.
Then silence.
"Do you think he's okay?" Dipper whispered.
"I dunno, dude," Soos said, looking just as worried as he felt.
Then they heard the creaking of the elevator again. Soos moved in front of Dipper, shielding him from what could possibly be government men coming to take them.
The elevator dinged and the doors rolled open. They both sagged with relief as Stan was revealed, a little disheveled and breathing heavily, but no worse for wear.
"What happened?" Dipper asked.
"I got 'em all," Stan said with a triumphant grin. "Told them they had completely misread their orders and chewed them out. Got this too." He held up a thumb drive labeled PINES.
Despite the situation, Dipper grinned.
Stan gestured for them to enter the elevator. "C'mon. They're gone, but they kinda trashed the place."
Dipper looked back at the wreckage of the portal doubtfully. "But…"
"There's nothing we can do right now, kid," Stan said, not unkindly. "It's probably best we get out of here for now."
Reluctantly, he joined Soos and Stan in the elevator.
Stan wasn't lying when he said the Mystery Shack had been trashed. The government men had practically turned the whole place upside-down looking for the way to the portal. That and the gravity anomalies had left the house a complete mess.
They set about trying to clean things up as best they could. Dipper welcomed the work; it took his mind off of Mabel and the Author for the time being.
Then someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and saw Stan standing there, looking slightly uncomfortable and playing with something in his hands.
"I said I'd give you proof, so here it is." He held out the object.
Dipper took it and saw it was a weathered photograph. It showed two boys standing on a sunny beach somewhere, huge gap-toothed grins on their faces. They had scruffy brown hair, and would be practically identical safe for the fact that one was wearing glasses and the other had bandages and bruises on his face.
And the one with glasses had six fingers on each hand.
Dipper inhaled sharply, looking from Stan to the photo. He hadn't been lying after all.
"For once I was telling you the truth," Stan said, furiously avoiding eye contact.
"So your brother is out there with Mabel?" Dipper asked, feeling a faint spark of hope deep within him.
"I hope so, but I don't know how we're gonna reactivate that thing now that it's destroyed."
Dipper handed the photograph back to Stan, a plan forming in his mind. "I think I know someone who can help us."
/
Nighttime came quicker than expected, and by the time the sun had set, Dipper found himself exhausted by the day's events. He retreated to his room to sleep, which was no less messy than the rest of the Shack.
Despite his exhaustion, he could not sleep. He found himself staring at Mabel's empty bed, the stuffed animals she so meticulously arranged lying scattered across her sheets. He could not stop thinking about her and what could happen to her beyond the portal. She might not be alive anymore for all he knew, but he would not allow himself to dwell on that possibility. Stan had believed his brother was alive for almost thirty years, and he had to do the same for his sibling.
But yet he still felt sick to his stomach. Everything had changed in just a single day. They had gone from playing with water balloons and laughing to losing Mabel to an interdimensional portal built by Stan's secret long-lost twin brother.
His trust in Stan was all but gone. Though the old man was rough around the edges, Dipper had come to believe he had a good heart. However, after everything that had happened, the lies, Mabel, and his knowledge of the Journals and the Author for so long, he found himself quite distrustful of his Grunkle.
The Journal had said to trust no one, after all.
He clutched at his head, groaning. It all made his head throb. Banishing hard to grasp thoughts from his mind, he turned over, resolute to get some sleep. He knew he was going to have to be well-rested if he was going to get his sister back.
/
Stan sat on his bed, staring down at the weathered photograph in his hands. The goal he had worked for all those long years had been failed. Once again, he had managed to screw everything up. Instead of gaining his brother, he had lost his niece.
His chest tightened at the thought of Mabel. For decades he had been clinging to the hope that Ford was still out there, alive somewhere. He didn't know where the portal led to, or what it was truly meant for. For all he knew, both Mabel and Ford were dead.
Then there was Dipper and the kids' parents. Stan swore under his breath. How could he possibly explain to them he had gotten their daughter killed? He would be incarcerated for life, but he deserved it. The look of pure distrust and anger in Dipper's eyes had shook him to the core, but he didn't blame him. Not one bit.
Stan set the photo on the table with a shaky sigh and laid back on his bed. All he could do now was follow whatever Dipper had planned and pray he got Mabel and his brother back. He might never see Mabel's bright smile again, and it was all his fault.
Then, for the first time in decades, he wept.
