Blood of the Forgers
Chapter 2
Apocalypse of Gravity Falls
Dipper's POV
I just stared through the window, barely registering the scenery rolling past as the bus continued on. I was still thinking about what I learned last night… Jacob Pines isn't my father… how could Mom have done that to him?
I felt Mabel shake my shoulder, so I looked over to her. Her sweater for today was a black one with a white keyhole in the center of the chest.
"Hey, is something wrong, Dipper?" She asked me. "You've been down since last night, when we were packing."
"Well…" I muttered, contemplating whether or not I should tell her about Mom's affair… how can I tell her when I don't want to believe it myself? Why should she take it in stride when I can't?
"Dipper…" I looked at her quizzically. She reached into her pocket, and pulled something out. "You remember what this is, don't you?" I remembered it perfectly well. What she had in her hand was a pink, spherical crystal the size of her fist, in the center of which, there was a big discoloration that looked like a shooting star; her Dream Crystal. I reached into my jacket, pulling out my own Dream Crystal. Mine was blue and prism shaped, with the discoloration resembling a pine tree. "These crystals are the mark of the ten Dream Keepers; Mabel Pines, Dipper Pines, Stanley Pines, Stanford Pines, Soos Ramirez, Wendy Corduroy, Robbie Valentino, Pacifica Northwest, Fiddleford McGucket, Gideon Gleeful. The ten of us made a vow that day last year… you and I made a vow that day… that no matter what happened, we would trust each other... that we would always be there for each other." She paused, and I just stared at the crystal in my hand, watching the light reflect off its surface. "You and I are more than that, Dipper. No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you, and you'll always be there for me. You're my brother, Dipper. Nothing will change that, alright?"
I felt tears running down my face at her words. She's right. No matter what. She'll be there for me, and I'll be there for her… I put my Dream Crystal away and wiped my eyes, looking her dead in the eye.
"Thanks…" I told her. "I needed that."
"No problem, Dipping Sauce," she replied. I chuckled slightly at that overused pet name. "So… you ready to tell me what's wrong?"
I was still hesitant… but it's probably best that she hears this from me rather than from Dad when we get back. So I told her about what I learned last night… about Mom's affair, and Dad not being my father. Mabel looked absolutely horrified by the time I was finished… at what, I wasn't exactly sure. She just stared at me with tears in her eyes for a few seconds after I finished, before pulling me into a comforting hug, crying into my shoulder. We just sat there, comforting each other for the rest of the trip to Gravity Falls.
Mabel's POV
I couldn't believe it… how could Mom have done that to Dad…? And Dipper… he must have felt terrible after hearing that… I felt my heart rip in half when he told me we were only half-siblings. The knowledge must have been tearing him apart inside.
We sat there in the back of the bus, comforting each other. I was so lost in thought I almost missed it when the driver announced that we had arrived at Gravity Falls. Fortunately, Dipper did catch it, and with his lead, we gathered our bags and Waddles' pet carrier, and climbed off the bus and into the sleepy, supernatural town in northwestern Oregon. With a smile on my face, I began down the familiar trail into the woods, towards the Mystery Shack. Okay, I admit it, after nearly a year away, I didn't exactly remember where the Mystery Shack was, but the thing about the Dream Crystals… apparently, they can react to one another. We used that to lead us to Grunkle Stan's Crystal, which would logically be on his person. We were a good ways into the woods before the sub-par tourist trap came into view… then suddenly-
"SURPRISE!"
Dipper and I stumbled back slightly as a large group of people jumped out of the trees, bringing with them the obvious evidence of a party. I recovered first, gazing around the assembled crowd in happiness. My friends Candy and Grenda were near the front of the crowd, next to Pacifica. Behind them stood Wendy and Robbie, who had one arm draped over Tambry's shoulders. Nate, Lee, and Thompson stood at the opposite end of the crowd, in front of Soos, Stan, and Ford. The only two Dream Keepers who weren't present were Old Man McGucket and Gideon… which made a lot of sense, since McGucket died to help seal Bill away, and Gideon… well, despite the vow he made with the rest of us… he still hates my family. I ran over to my friends, hugging Grenda in delight at finally seeing her again (nothing romantic, I assure you) while Dips went over to Grunkle Ford, most likely to ask about his research into the Dream Crystals.
Candy, Grenda, Pacifica and I spent a lot of time talking about girl stuff, while Dipper was hanging out with Wendy and her group of friends. Pacifica had improved quite a lot since Dipper and I left last year. After helping to seal Bill away, she outright told her parents that she was ashamed of them, believe it or not, to their faces. Neither of them could believe what they had just heard, and effectively disowned her. And you know what Pacifica did? She smiled, and laughed joyously, running out of the manor with a spring in her step. She moved in with Candy, and got a job working at the Mystery Shack. Sure, she struggled with the "commoner's life" for a while, but eventually got used to it. She even admitted that she enjoyed her job… even if she was being paid less than minimum wage.
On top of that, she and the other Dream Keepers have been helping with Grunkle Ford's research, helping perform experiments with each of their Dream Crystals. Most of them just reaffirmed what little we already knew about them, and the rest… yeah, Dipper would understand them better than me.
Eventually, I noticed a storm start to form in the distance, and pointed it out to the others. We moved the party inside… but Dipper had a bad feeling about the storm. Probably just being paranoid.
The party died down after a few hours, and everyone went home, allowing me and Dipper to get settled back into the attic of the Mystery Shack. Shortly after that, night fell, and the storm that I saw earlier hit us hard. But… thing was, this wasn't an ordinary storm… I could tell by the gigantic dark orb in the sky, and the strange black monsters that started to appear around the shack. Everything was a blur to me… it all happened so fast. One moment, I'm fighting off those weird things using a pistol formed from my Dream Crystal, the next, I see the ground begin to break apart and drift into the massive orb in the sky, then I see the other still-living Dream Keepers (minus Gideon, for some reason) on individual pieces of land floating close to the orb, then I warn Dipper of a gigantic black monster on the same platform as him, then suddenly… everyone is dragged into the orb… and I just black out…