Dipper was running through the dark, and without a flash light. Something was chasing him through the rubble, something that had been asleep for years, and it wasn't happy. For once, he didn't have his sister and he was trapped in this dark room with this monster.
He panted for breath as he stopped quickly behind a pillar with a graffittied symbol of what seemed to be a Dorito with a hat and one eye.
It screeched and flew overhead, the force of the wind knocking Dippers hat off his head.
"AAAhhhhhh!" Dipper screamed girlishly and a white light appeared. It blinded him, and then it was over.
7 hours earlier.
It was early in the afternoon, and Dipper, Mabel and Grunkle Stan were waiting in an anxious audience. It was the Grand opening of Southwest estates, and people were crowded in front of a brightly decorated center stage. Oil tycoons, entrepreneurs and even common townsfolk had come to witness it. Decor costed more than most of the people in the audience as slave labor.
"Just look at all these rich people! I feel like I'm in a candy store. So many kids to take candy from!" Grunkle stan exclaimed.
"Umm Grunkle Stan? Exactly who owns all this? I feel like we need to pay just to breathe the air here " Dipper said as he gagged and coughed up small particles of money.
"What? That's ridiculous. If air cost money, I'd still be legally selling smog collected from traffic in mason jars."
"Yeah, but who could possibly afford to hand out free samples of fancy water" Mabel asked as a fancy looking man walked by with a bottle labeled Rich People Water.
"Look kids, this building is owned by a family known as the Southwests. Their family could legally own our family with the money they have, so try to marry in. Mabel, try to marry into their family.
"What about me?"
"Just focus on getting married, kid. Now you two be good while I go work my magic on some of these emotionally unstable, rich widows." Grunkle Stan told them while creepily walking towards a woman in black.
"Hey Mabel? Why is it that we have to sit through all this? Remember, our object here is to find the clue Judah left for us." Dipper held up the note they found in the clay figure few days before.
"I know but this is my chance to go out and meet some people! This is our first summer on our own and i want to make some friends. And possibly a bat themed superhero boyfriend" She added.
"Mabel, we need to focus on our priorities. Besides who can you possibly find here you'd get along here? A guy tried to buy us from our Grunkle earlier and he only refused because our organs were worth more"
"Pfft, come on broseph. My organs are worth way more than yours"
"How do you know?"
"I have a really big heart"
Suddenly, the lights dimmed. A dozen identical British men walked out onto the stage with trumpets and played a fanfare, and doves then flew out of the trumpets. Finally, a blonde pre-teen girl in designer everything walked out onto stage as a the television screen above the stage illuminated with the letters, Southwest.
"Hi everyone! As you are all probably legally obligated to know, my name is Pacifica Southwest," The blond in the stage began. " And I welcome all of you to the grand opening of our great new hotel!"
The audience erupted into applause and a small amount of admirers even tore off their shirts in passion, revealing Southewst misprinted into their torsos.
"Woah!" Mabel gasped.
"Yeah, I can't tell if that amount of makeup is pretty or not" Dipper remarked while Stan got slapped by an effeminate man in the background.
"Years ago", Pacifica continued, "the town bank was lost into a sinkhole, tragically killing the bank tellers and a Rabbi somehow locked inside using clay. Well, tragic for you middle class; our insurance policy actually made us even richer. Now, 30 years later, we've built over the giant pit to continue making money off of tragedy."
"Ugh, Pacifica", Stan commented while rubbing his cheek as he returned to them. "She thinks she owns the town. I personally liked the old bank's style; creepy. Loved the stone gargoyles but I'm not gonna trust some government nutjob to watch my money."
"And here's a word from our sponsor: Bud Gleeful Insurance!" She finished and handed the mic to an overweight balding man in a horrendous Hawaiian shirt.
"Thank you darling", He began in a southern drawl. "Now, many would say that our insurance types are ridiculous, or even pointless, but our policies have saved a lot of money for a lot of people, yes they have. Sharknados, apocalypse, sinkholes, these are all things you could be insured for! But I don't want to spend too much time on my company. Now for our companies main act, Gideon!" He stepped aside and the curtains on the stage began to pull back.
"Oh no its-"
"Hello America!" Stan was interrupted by a cheerful, equally southern voice coming from the middle of the curtains. And out walked a 10 year old, white haired boy in a tiny bow tie and black suit.
"Oh god" Stan groaned as he put his face into hand.
Mabel gasped and her eyes sparkled. "He's so adorable!" She squealed as she put her hands on her cheeks.
"Grunkle Stan, who is that? Stan?" Dipper turned to the blank space where his Grunkle just was, but he was now desperately trying to open the locked doors.
He noticed his nephew and sighed. "The creep has been doing nothin but stealing customers I try to steal from! His dad's an insurance salesman, always trying to 'insure people against theft' and warns people about 'that greedy criminal wearing a cult hat at the shop'. Besides, that little menace got to preform as the sponsor instead of the me!"
"Wait, what could you possibly do to entertain these people?"
"Uhhhh" Stan flashed back to a scene in a Disney studio where he was being kicked out by the censors along with a brunette animator with a goatee for mature content and occult symbols. "Stand-up comedy."
"Now for my first trick, I'm gonna need a volunteer from the audience. Now let's see... How about that girl in the adorable sweatshirt!" He pointed to where the Pines family was standing. Dipper turned to his sister but she was no longer there, but up on the stage looking confused next to Gideon.
"Wha- how did you" The bouncy pre-teen looked around surprised on stage.
"For my first trick, I'm gonna need you to trust me. What is this behind your hair?" The chubby boy reached behind her head.
"Oh, probably some glitter. Me and my bro had this weird night a few days ago and I-" She was cut short when he improbably pulled a giant bouquet of flowers from behind her hair.
"For you, m'lady", he blushed and the entire audience went, "Awwwwwww."
Gideon did a few more tricks after that, including sawing Mabel in half and then sawing the saw in half using Mabel. During his final act, Stan tried to get onto stage to sabotage the child, but ended up being dragged away by security. And finally, the show was over as Dipper regrouped with his sister.
"Dipper! That was amazing! Have you ever gotten sawed in half? It doesn't hurt whatsoever. Here, lemme try it on you," She grinned.
"Mabel, it's great that you're making friends but we need to investigate. Remember this? He showed her the note.
Then, a fancy looking man came up behind her.
"Master Gleeful requests your presence backstage privately. He sends this as incentives." The stoic looking man held out a glowstick labeled "The Fun Hazard" in bright red letters and a picture of Gideon saying "We are not liable!" with a wink.
Dipper shot his sister a stern look as she put the glowstick into her sweatshirt pocket.
"Look, I'm gonna do some investigating. After you get back, I need you to be focused with me"
"Don't worry about it. I'm Laser focused" She reassured him while backing into the shadowy stage.
As her brother left to do his nerd stuff, the young perky girl walked backstage where an eager, flustered looking boy was waiting for her.
"Why hello darlin! You know after our performance, I just had to talk for a lil while. Now, um, what did you say your name was?"
"It's Mabel. And you're Gideon!" She smiled and poked him in the stomach.
"Ow. Um, I just had to ask you", he began while rubbing his belly nervously. "I really think we had a somethin special goin out there on that stage. Do you believe in fate?" He asked, leaning close.
"What? Nah, but i do think it'd be fun to hang out sometime." She playfully pushed him away.
"Really? D'you really mean it?"
"Yeah! We could do makeovers, magic. Hey, if i get a chainsaw do you think you can-"
"Mabel! I found something!" Her brother called from out front.
"Who is that?" The little boy asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Oh yeah, I think I need to go. Me and my brother are doing something and he doesn't really think us hanging out is a priority."
"Is that so...?" He rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes.
"Yep! Well I'll see you at your next show. Bye!", she exclaimed as she ran around the curtain.
She met back up with her brother just as he was wiping the ink off of his chin from a pen he was chewing excitedly.
"Seriously, Dip that's unhealthy" She advised.
"That's coming from someone who tried to eat a scratch and sniff dinosaur", He countered.
"Hey, at least it smelled like it tasted good. Now what did you find bro-bro?"
"I'll explain on the way, now come on!" He grabbed her by the hand and ran down a nearby flight of stairs. "And meanwhile, a nicely dressed figure watched them from the dark.
Finally, Stan had gotten out of temporary prison due to an arrest technicality and had been dropped off at the Estate once again.
"Once again, Stan Pines gets away for harassment! The justice system can have a warrant to suck it! Now where is that little creep, Gideon?"
As if on cue, the little freckled boy walked by, eyes closed and whistling.
"You! I saw you flirting with my niece, making her turn into air, and pulling rabbits out of her ear o-or something. " Stan said angrily.
He turned to him with delight on his face.
"Why Stanford! What a pleasant surprise. Now I know you and i have had our differences but your niece is just such a wonderful lil' bit a sunshine to have around"
"Listen you little troll, if I catch you messing around with my niece, I'm gonna-"
"Security!" The miniature magician called, and two muscular men marched from the stage
"What seems to be the problem sir?"
"This person is botherin me, please escort him from the premises"
"Can do, sir", and the two men grabbed Stan by the shoulders.
"Wait, hold on! This kid is my illegitimate son! I swear!" Stan yelled as he was dragged from the estate.
"Here it is, Mabel. I think that holds the secret we've been waiting for. Just sitting there, not even guarded" Dipper explained.
He and his sister were looking down an enormous pit. The door guarding it had a large DANGER sign bolted to it, and Do Not Open written below. The massive space was completely dark, and the only way down was a set of flimsy looking metal stairs.
"Do you really think that holds the answers?" She asked skeptically.
"It all makes sense, Mabel. Years ago, the bank at this address fell into a sinkhole. Not only was the hole never filled, the rubble wasn't even cleared! The secret may still be down there, past all that rubble" He started excitedly.
"Idunno. But, if things get bad, we always have the", she took out the glowstick. "Fun Hazard!"
"Mabel, there is no way that'll be useful so long as we have a flashlight. Besides, I don't trust any 'toy not safe for kids under 21'"
Just then, a certain blonde-haired heiress walked through.
"Hey! What are you poorlings doing down here? Weren't you two with that guy who got arrested in the audience?" She asked furiously.
"Oh, um we were just looking for... the bathroom! Yeah. Couldn't find it. Hehe." He laughed nervously.
"Yeah, my brother has some weird boy issues. Better just stay out of it" Mabel added as her brother elbowed her.
"Look, this level is lower than your income. Get out before I lock you into a dark room!"
And so, they were left outside of the newly opened estate. Stan was yelling something about an illegitimate child, but neither took notice.
"How do we get in now? We can't even get into the building with all those guards watching us."
Suddenly, Mabel's face lit up.
"Don't worry bro, I got this" She said while backing up.
Before Dipper could react, she yelled at the guards and rich people, one of which being the Southwests.
"Hey, there's a bunch of liberal, unionizing ecologist hippies out on the street protesting big money! Get them before they drive away oil-industry killing hybrid cars!" She yelled.
Immediately, all the oil tycoons and other rich capitalists rushed out to apprehend the imaginary protesters in fear minimum wage would raise as Mabel led them away. Dipper took this opportunity to head back down to the basement.
"Thanks Mabel. Now it's got to be here somewhere". Dipper walked down past the DANGER labeled door and down the creaking stairs and arrived at the bottom after multiple flights. He squinted in the dark and looked around.
All around the brunette boy was rubble. Pieces of smashed houses jutted out of the ground like dark masses.
"It's got to be around here somewhere..." He said to himself as he walked form ruined house to ruined house, looking through old broken pieces. Then, a shape moved in the corner of his eye and he spun around.
"Hello?! Is anyone there?" He anxiously looked around with his flashlight.
"Whoever you are, show yourself!" He squinted as a dark figure loomed behind him. Dipper spun around once again and shined the light behind him onto a stone gargoyle.
"Whew. Just a statue" He let out a breath of relief that was almost immediately interrupted.
"And what do you mean by just a statue?" a low, raspy voice asked. Dipper stumbled backwards, dropping and breaking his flashlight, desperately backing away.
"Wha -what was that? What are you!"
"Hello, human scum. Nice to see the Southwests were nice enough to send something my way" it spat as it bared it's teeth. It's voice was like stones grating on each other
"A gargoyle." Dipper took out his journal and began reading at a bookmarked page.
"A race of strong, goblin-like creatures, never encounter at night. While turned to stone by intense light, by dusk, these guardians protect buildings in contract with their masters. Weakness: Sunlight" He read aloud.
The monster growled from atop it's pedestal. "That's right boy, and that's why I need to stay in this accursed pit. I am a proud gargoyle, last of my kind!" He roared, and the sound echoed off the walls of the pit.
"Then wait. If you had a master -you were in contract with the Southwests!" He exclaimed.
"DO NOT ASSOCIATE ME WITH THAT SCUM" it bellowed, and Dipper was taken aback by the powerful response.
"Years ago, my master was killed in this hole. He was the master of the secrets in the bank, and i protected them!" The gargoyle lept from it's stand and over a startled Dipper to a decrepit old safe box.
"This safe is the final reason is stay here, the final secret my master was given, by a traveling rabbi" He reminisced wistfully as Dipper took out the note and the picture of Judah.
"But now that you're here" it began, "I can't have anyone threatening my mission to protect this box until he comes to retrieve it."
"So, you're going to let me off with a warning and a pinkie promise", Dipper chuckled hopefully, putting the journal away and backing up.
"Yes, of course" it answered.
"Really?"
"No, you have to die. A-hahaha!" It laughed maniacally and Dipper narrowly avoided having his head sliced off by it's razor sharp claws.
"Uff!" He fell to the ground with a thud, and quickly got up to run.
"You'll never get out of here, kid!" It screeched as it flew back around for another pass, the force of the wind knocking the hat off his head.
Dipper took cover behind a pillar with a triangle symbol marked onto it. He took several deep breaths and looked to the beast flying around and saw the stairs.
He quickly looked around and made a mad dash through the dark to the stairway. The gargoyle came back around and Dipper hid behind the stairwell.
"C'mon kid! You don't have to make this weird. It'll be less awkward for both of us if you just let me eat you!", it called out.
Breathing hard, he quickly ran back up to the door, only to see it closed. He struggled with the handle to realize it wouldn't budge.
"Oh no, it's locked! " He yelled urgently.
"Dipper!?" His sister called from behind the door.
"Mabel, it's-"
He was interrupted by the flying demon emerging from below the stairs, looming over him.
"End of the line, boy. You really pay more attention to things labeled as dangerous", It snarled, raising a claw to end it.
"How about things labeled as Fun Hazards!" The door flew open and a blinding light illuminated the room.
Mabel was holding the glow stick triumphantly above her brother, now letting off solar levels of light.
"Hssssss!" It screeched in pain as it's body contorted and only barely managed to grab the railing before it's wings petrified.
"It's not fair! My contract is not complete, my masters wishes unfulfilled! The secrets must never fall into their hands! IT'S NOT FAIRRRR!" It screamed and fell to the concrete below, shattering.
Dipper caught his breath and his sister asked, "Told you it would come in handy."
"Mabel, that was amazing! How did you know it was a gargoyle?"
"That was a gargoyle? I thought you just met some basement dwelling nerd, so I got the one weakness of fanfic writing, TV-obsessed shut-ins: Sunlight!"
The duo made their way down the stairs holding the Fun Hazard as their only light. The Gargoyle's remains were in petrified pieces around the floor, casting long shadows and it's shattered face made angry expressions. Both tried to stay far away from it's body. Finally, they were at the massive safe, the final secret of the sunken bank.
"Now how do we break in?" He wondered, flipping through the journal.
"You leave that to Mabel!" She skipped over to the safe and after a few moments, it swung open.
She looked at her brothers astonished face and grinned.
"Stan's been teaching me to pick locks for this scam. It's a bonding thing."
The two looked inside and found only a single shoe box. Dipper found another note written in scribbles, and Mabel reached in and pulled out a small light blue coin, shimmering in the light of the Glow Stick. On one side of the coin was a symbol of what looked like an explosion, with an infinity symbol in the center of it. On the other was an image of a simple, single door with a crack running down it's frame, but otherwise, just a simple coin. While Mabel began trying to balance the coin on her nose, Dipper began reading.
"If you are reading this, then you have successfully found my final secret, my only clue i have to offer and my most prized possession." He read.
"What?" She said as the coin fell off her nose. "This thing better be worth a lot. Like as much as a dollar coin. Oooh, do you think it's gold? Was he a pirate?"
"Shush Mabel, I'm trying to read." He continued. "At first, I thought it couldn't be possible, but this coin is definitely linked with the weirdness in Gravity Central. The researcher I've been living with, with the help of a brilliant mechanical scientist, found this coin near the town of...Boring Oregon!?" Dipper shouted, and Mabel's coin fell to the ground.
"This coin, according to them, is extraterrestrial in origin, maybe not even of our universe", He read quickly. "This extremely unstable substance is consisted of an improbably high number of particles per atom, 206 protons, 206 neutrons and 206 electrons. Despite this impossible unsustainable arrangement, it holds together by unknown means and even has an extremely long half life: over 2 billion years! For this reason, we have named it substance 618 or simply Mysterium. It's older than our universe and may even be linked to it's beginning."
Mabel groaned and sat down. "Hurry up with the nerd stuff, Dipper"
"I can no longer risk this going into the wrong hands. I fear something is out to get me. In the event I do not make it, I hope someone will track down my comrades, as I cannot say more. As a warning to whoever is reading this: there are powerful forces coming, something I fear cannot be stopped. He is coming and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. TRUST NO ONE", Dipper finished.
Two hours later, everyone was back at the Shop. Stan, Dipper and Mabel had met up in the living room for some mindless television.
"So how was prison, Stan", Dipper asked jokingly.
"Yeah Stan, Did you have to shower with anyone? You know soap is really valuable there cause all the inmates stink. I hope you didn't drop any" Mabel remarked.
"Still better sitting through the rest of that opening. What, did you get sawed in half again? Y'know, it's more fun behind a locked door. Ahahhaa, Ahahahaa!" Grunkle Stan laughed and slapped his knee. "It's funny cause someone get's hurt!"
Mabel turned to her brother. "Hey, weren't you locked in that room when I saved you with a glow thingy?"
He turned bright red at that remark. "It was a lot more dangerous in the dark" Dipper defended. "But yeah, who locked me in there? It's almost like they wanted me gone."
"Aww, I bet it was just Pacifica! Didn't she say she wanted to lock you into a dark room with her?"
"The first part. Just the first part"
But just a few streets away, someone wearing a black cloak opened the door to the pit below Southwest Estate. The shadow walked down the stairs holding a candle and at the bottom, inspected the stone shards that once were the bank' protector.
"Hm. Looks like he didn't take car of my 'lil' problem' for me" It sighed in a distinguishable southern accent.
It took off it's hood, and Gideon kicked a stone chunk. "Oh well, no harm done. I s'pose I should just be glad I came in here before they did; They mighta taken the only valuable thing here" he thought and took out a journal with a familiar looking 6 fingered hand on it, unlabeled.
The tiny magician flipped through it's pages and set down the candle. "Don't you worry, my peach." He said as he took out a picture of Mabel running towards her brother at the party. He stopped at a page and smiled. "I've gotta way for us to be together now." And Dipper was immediately burned out of the picture, Mabel still trying to reach him.
1 18-1-2-2-9, 1 13-5-3-8-1-14-9-3-1-12 5-14-7-9-14-5-5-18 1-14-4 1 19-3-9-5-14-20-9-19-20 23-1-12-11 9-14-20-15 1 20-18-1-16. 20-8-5-18-5 9-19 14-15 10-15-11-5.
Thx for reading everyone who made it thus far! I know I've been using Judah a lot, but I promise to include more characters and focus a bit more on Mabel and Dipper's relationship. I do have an overall plan for this series, so stay tuned and find out. Reviews are very appreciated. Bye!
One more cipher: 20-9-6-13-16-15-22 8-7-26-13 7-9-18-22-23 24-12-14-22-23-2 12-13-24-22. 19-22 20-12-7 16-18-24-16-22-23 12-6-7 26-20-26-18-13 21-12-9 7-9-2-18-13-20 7-12 6-8-22 26-13 12-5-22-9 8-18-1-22-23 20-6-13 26-8 26 11-9-12-11, 25-6-7 26-7 15-22-26-8-7 18-7 18-8-13'7 8-6-25-7-15-22.