Cool, a super quick update! I didn't think those were possible for me. I'd like to thank my three reviewers; Kraven the Hunter, Litwick723 and Nelli3 (Guest).

Dipper: Phoenix owns nothing, other than this story. Gravity Falls belongs to Alex Hirsch, and Phoenix will never own it.

Wow...Dipper sure knows how to ruin my fun... Okay, so this chapter isn't actually an AU, it's a headcanon of mine...kinda. That's the best I can do to describe it.

Headcanon: Call Me Abuelita

A giant shadow slowly covered the whole town of Gravity Falls. Lightning flashed through the sky as thunder boomed, seeming to shake the Earth. The ground started breaking, quickly spreading until cracks surrounded the Mystery Shack.

Dipper watched in horror until the ground under him shook and he lost his balance and fell. He pulled himself to his knees and looked up in time to see the Mystery Shack was on fire. He screamed, trying to stand up but the ground only shook even more forcefully.

Suddenly he heard another, fainter scream, but this one wasn't torn from his own throat. It was Mabel! He heard it again, louder this time, and he paled in fear.

"Mabel!" He shouted, trying to make himself heard over the thunder and the fire.

It wasn't in vain, for only a few seconds later Mabel screamed again. Instead of it just being an inarticulate, terrified noise this time, it was a single word, a desperate call for her twin. "Dipper!"

Dipper gasped. "Mabel!" He yelled again. He tried to get to his feet once more, and he would have, if not for the folded parcel that crashed into his stomach. He sat up and shakily opened it, seeing none other than Mabel's beloved grappling hook. He glanced at what it had been wrapped in, and tears pricked the corners of his eyes. It was Mabel's favourite sweater. The one with the shooting star on it. And it was burning at the edges.

"Dipper, help! PLEASE!" Mabel shrieked, and then went silent.

Dipper couldn't believe it. Mabel was in trouble - or worse - and he wasn't helping her. "No, Mabel! MABEL!" He bellowed desperately, but there was no answer from his twin sister, his best friend.

Instead, other voices were whispering in his ear, voices belonging to the only other people he really cared about.

"Mabel's gone, and it's all your fault. You're just a weak little boy." Wendy venomously hissed.

"Yeah, dude. You could've saved her and the Mystery Shack, but you were too much of a coward." Soos jeered.

"Not only did you lose me my home, practically giving it to that little pigface Gideon, but you've just left your twin sister to burn! You didn't even try to save her!" Stan's hateful comment was the worst, and Dipper curled up into a ball, still holding Mabel's sweater and grappling hook, the tears finally falling.

"M-Mabel..." He whispered, knowing that everyone else was right. He hadn't even tried to save his sister, he'd just fallen down and given up. He was weak, he was a coward, but most of all, he wasn't able to save Mabel. He was a despicable human being- no, he didn't even deserve that. Whatever he was, he just wanted his sister. "...I'm sorry...I j-just want you back..."

Dipper gasped, opening his eyes to the darkness of Soos' grandma's house. He panted for a few seconds, trying to slow his racing heart and realising that it was all just a dream - no, nightmare. Mabel wasn't gone, she was lying on the ground not five feet away.

He was shaking, pale, sweaty and clammy. He rubbed his eyes and realised that he had actually been sobbing. He wiped his face on his pyjama sleeve to get rid of the fresh tear tracks, pulled the blanket off himself and slid off of the fold-out couch he was sharing with Soos. He silently stepped through the room, being careful to not wake anyone else.

He quietly opened the front door and stepped outside, closing it again with nothing more than the faintest clicks. He sat down on the top of the stairs of the small porch and pulled his knees to his chest. He sighed, letting a few more tears fall before wiping them away and blinking rapidly to clear his eyes.

"That nightmare may have not actually happened, but it was right. It really is my fault that Gideon got the deed to the shack and kicked us out." He sniffled, but no more tears fell.

Dipper just stared up at the sky, looking for constellations in the stars. He saw Scorpius, Sagittarius and Hercules, but when he found the Big Dipper he felt a warmth in his chest and new strength flowing through him. They weren't gonna let Gideon get away with this. They'd get the shack back and kick him out. The nightmare was right about one thing at least: Gideon really was a pigface.

He smiled slightly, but when a cloud drifted across the Big Dipper he felt the little strength he had regained leave him. The smile slipped from his face and he buried his head in his knees. How were they going to get the shack back? Gideon was bound to have the deed close to him at all times, and the entire town was sure to back him up. It was hopeless.

Suddenly, another small click interrupted his thoughts. He didn't look up, but he heard footsteps and felt someone sit next to him. They too heavy to be Mabel, too light to be Soos, and too quiet to be Stan, so who...?

"It is cold for a summer night, wouldn't you agree, niño?" Ah, it was Soos' grandma.

Dipper finally looked up at the kind, elderly lady that was letting them stay with her. She wasn't staring at him like he thought she would be, but rather, staring up at the stars as he had been doing barely two minutes ago.

She seemed to sense his gaze, as she looked at him a few seconds later. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Dipper grunted, hoping that she couldn't tell his eyes were red in the limited light. Alas, it was not to be.

"I saw you when you woke up. You were crying, pequeño." It wasn't an accusation, but an observation.

Dipper looked back down at his knees. "Oh." It was barely higher than a whisper.

"You can tell me what is wrong, maybe I can help." Her words and eyes were sincere, but Dipper doubted she knew how to help him, or how he felt.

Dipper didn't scoff or sneer, he just muttered, "I doubt it."

"You are probably feeling worthless and placing all of the blame on yourself."

Dipper's eyes widened, and he immediately fixed all of his attention on her. "What? But, how did you...?"

"How did I know?" Her gaze was sympathetic and...motherly. "I can see it in your eyes, for they are the window to your soul. And...I have also done the same, once. Tell me, what has upset you?" Her eyes, which had had several emotions playing in them as she talked, the last being reminiscent, now had a steely, determined glint but at the same time a softness and sincerity in them which promised that he could tell her anything.

"Alright, I'll tell you." He explained to Soos' grandma all about how Gideon had stolen the shack, how he had been unable to stop him, and about his horrible nightmare. Throughout his whole explanation she had been raptly listening, determined to help this one little boy that was placing the terrible weight of so much blame on his shoulders. When he got to the nightmare and started crying again halfway through the explanation, she put her arm around him in comfort.

Once he had finished, she placed a hand on his shoulder and forced him to look her in the eyes. "You have been through much. You have lost nearly everything, and you are placing all of the blame on yourself. I know that it feels like it is all your fault, but blaming yourself for all this will get you nowhere and it will only lead to more loss and mistakes. It is very unhealthy for you. Trust me, I know this better than anyone, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy." A haunted look entered her eyes, but she didn't stop staring into Dipper's eyes, desperate to stop him from making the same mistakes she once did. "Promise me that you won't blame yourself for this anymore, por favor."

"I-I-I," he hesitated, trying to find something in her eyes. He apparently found it, because he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before finishing, "I promise."

"Gracias, I don't want to see you hurt again." She pulled him close to her and hugged him gently, sighing in relief.

They stayed like that for a little while, seeking warmth and comfort from each other, before she let him go.

"Go back to sleep now. I will come back inside soon."

He nodded, and opened the door. Dipper hesitated in the open doorway for a moment before sincerely saying, "Thank you, Mrs Ramirez. I really needed to hear that."

"De nada, pequeño. And please, call me Abuelita." She smiled at him, and he gave her a small smile in return before going back inside.

Soos' grandma looked back up at the stars as she stood up. She smiled at the Big Dipper, who had emerged from the clouds a little while ago and now shone down on her brightly. "He is special. He reminds me a little of myself, and he will do great things, viejo amigo, I can feel it."

With that, she turned around and followed Dipper back inside, fully aware that the constellation was sparkling even brighter in her wake.

Wow, looks like Stan isn't the only one who's not what they seem. Soos' grandma has a haunting history as well. And what the hell, is she a star-whisperer or something? How does she know the Big Dipper?

I had a plot to follow for this and everything, but it seriously just wrote itself. You guys aren't the only ones that are probably surprised by what happened. I wonder what happened to Soos' grandma to let her empathise with Dipper? I don't think we'll ever truely know, but we can guess.

Ciao, mi amigos! 'Till next time!