Dawn broke over Gravity Falls, humid and cloudy. As usual, Summer was outside on the front porch to watch the sunrise, though it was denied by the haze. Coffee was in her mug this time; every sip caused her face to screw up in distaste. "People drink this?" she asked the morning. With an annoyed snap, she whipped the bitter liquid into the soda Winter liked so much. Pepsi, or whatever it was called. This was almost too sweet for her liking – but it was better than the coffee. Her gaze traveled slowly over the sleepy town. "Nice and normal. Let's hope we can keep it that way."

A squeak from behind heralded the arrival of her twin, who was in the process of slicking down her abyssal locks as she walked over. "Quiet."

"Better than noisy." She took another sip of fizzy syrup and let out an unwilling belch. "Oh. No wonder you burp so much when you drink this. It's like I'm swallowing air."

"Mm," she acknowledged with a smirk. "Ready to go museum hopping?" Her eyes rolled at the thought of the Mystery Shack. "Real museums, I mean. We have a history lesson to get to."

"Another history lesson on top of the hours of history we've just taught ourselves? Why not, I could use the walk. I'll go get my good shoes." Before she could depart, however, Winter's smartphone began to ring.

"Hello?" she said after putting it on speaker.

"There's a freaking portal?!" Dipper, whose exclamation was so loud they could have heard him without the speaker on. "Are you serious?!"

"I thought you would have called us about this last night," Winter noted. "What happened?"

"We were tired, so we turned in early. Soos left a note. Mabel hasn't seen it yet and I don't know if I want her to."

Summer blinked at that. "You're not going to keep it a secret, are you?"

"I don't... of course not. I couldn't keep a secret from her if I tried. You're twins, you know how it is."

Winter glanced at her sister and smiled. "We know exactly how it is. How much did you get from the note?"

"Just that there's a portal, the serial killer was a really snappy dresser, and Soos is kind of afraid of you. Why? What's not in it?"

"We think whatever is going on is related to World War II. It looks like we've got some more investigating to do," Summer replied. She then turned away and muttered, "Despite the fact that we've been doing that since midnight..."

Winter chided her sister with a nudge and got back on point. "There wasn't much about Gravity Falls' role in the war, though."

"World. War. II. Are you..." Dipper emitted a series of stunned noises before words came back. "Do we really want to go down this road? Really? I don't think I wanna go down this road."

She put a hand on her hip and frowned. "I don't think we have a choice. If there's a portal, magic could be seeping from it. Who knows how it might affect things."

"Granted. Hold up, though, where did you guys get your power, huh? I'm curious."

Summer chimed in for this one. "We told you, we were born with it. Maybe there's more than one portal and we got exposed to it at home. We won't know until we know what to look for, right?" She gave Winter a thumbs up.

The blue-eyed woman nodded at the quality of her lie. "She's right. People could be in danger if we do nothing. He was killing babies with magical traces, Dipper. He was killing people like us. I need to know how this started."

Dipper, stung by her tone, fell silent for some time. "Yeah," he finally agreed. "Yeah, I get it. You guys are the only ones of your kind. Or... maybe not. Okay, let me talk to Mabel when she wakes up. Did you have anything in mind?"

Winter glanced up as a car traveled down the hill toward town. "Just some poking around in museums. Do you think there's anyone left who remembers those days?"

"Probably. Couldn't hurt to ask."

"Right. Well, let me know what she says. I suspect we'll have customers in soon." She checked the time on her watch. "We really need to set hours for this."

"Uh, you're still going with the ghost story?"

"We're acting less like mediums and more like therapists," Summer explained. "There's no lying involved, if that's what you're worried about. We don't tell people we sense things unless we actually sense them."

"All right, I can live with that. You're already a hundred times better than Gideon. Oh, hey, did you ever go talk to him? Did you... did you turn him into a frog? Please tell me you turned him into a frog. Please."

"I'm afraid I couldn't. He's earned his reputation, though." Although she was prepared to hang up, a thought made her pause. "Before you go, we figured out why the pit was bottomless."

"You did—oh, crap. You're about to tell me there's a dragon or something in there, right?"

Summer giggled. Winter flicked her hand a few times for silence. "It's full of magic. It propels anyone out that falls in, but seems to ignore objects. Don't worry, it seems very friendly."

"Huh. Could be worse. When did you find this out?"

"The day of the party."

"Right. Welp, I guess Mabel's gonna want to jump in there now and ask for stuff. Like pizza, or a Corvette. Glad to know it won't eat her soul."

Summer giggled again. "Oh my. Oh! The hospital magic is in there now. It's friendly too. I bet it was just lonely when we first met it."

"So that's where it went. Ooookay. Thanks for the heads up. I like this communication. It's healthy. But, uh, I gotta go, I want breakfast before I try to wake Mabel up. We'll let you know about... stuff. Later."

"All right. Goodbye." Winter hung up and slipped the phone back into her jeans. "Not all communication is healthy," she sighed.

Summer let out a low, unhappy grunt in response. Something hot pink and purple caught her eye coming down the sidewalk. "What is that?" she asked, pointing it out. In a few moments, the shape became Pacifica on her morning run. "Oh." The twins offered her a friendly wave.

Not only did she return it, she pulled up and jogged to the front steps. "Morning, early birds. Saw you two on the news. Keep it up and you might be as popular as me." A fit of laughter came. "Pff, never mind. You'll never reach that level."

"Fine with me," Winter retorted. "I'm not sure I get along with popularity."

"You're such a mope," Summer teased. A thought made her blink. "Say, Pacifica, how long has your family lived here? I saw the statue with the Northwest name in the square. Is that a relative?"

"Sure is. That's my great-great-grandfather. He..." She paused. A brief flash of anger slipped over her face. "He founded Gravity Falls."

"Did he?" Winter asked, seizing on the hesitation. "You don't seem so sure."

"I-" The blonde slumped on her feet. "I'm totally sure. He founded the town. Yeah."

She folded her arms. "Mm. What really happened?"

"Ugh, nothing! Like I just said-" Silenced by their looks of disbelief, Pacifica winced and went up the steps. She stood between the twins as if using them as shields. "Don't you dare tell anyone this or we will destroy you. You might be rich, but we'll find a way. Deal?"

"We don't react well to threats," Summer warned. "Buuuut, I am curious." She looked at Winter. They shared a nod. "Deal."

"Fine. Some idiot named Quentin Trembley actually founded the place." Her words dripped with venom. "It's supposed to be a huge secret or whatever."

Winter shook her head. "Secrets? In this little town? I'm stunned," she muttered caustically.

Meanwhile, her sister realized they now had leverage – and she moved to use it. "We'll keep your secret too... if you help us with something." She smiled at the stunned look on both their faces. "Winter and I are doing some research about World War II and Gravity Falls. Where would we start?"

"Uh..." The blonde played with her ponytail for a moment. "I know our factory made mud flaps for Jeeps. There's even an exhibit about it in the museum of history. Besides that, eh. I dunno. Talk to old people."

"Any particular old people?" Winter asked.

"Hm. We're obviously the oldest family in Gravity Falls, but my grandparents moved to Seattle so good luck talking to them unless you feel like taking a trip. Who else..." She tapped her foot in thought. "The Gleefuls are new, the Nelsons are new, the Hargreaves can kiss my butt... oh, wait. The Pines," she groaned dramatically. "They've been here forever, but that creepy Stan guy's the only one of them that hasn't moved out permanently."

"Huh, that's interesting," Summer admitted with a nod. "Okay, your secret's safe with us."

"Nice. I should be mad at you for blackmailing me – but it's not like I wouldn't do the exact same thing. Anyway, I've been standing here too long. This ice cream isn't gonna burn itself." After running in place for a second, Pacifica started for the sidewalk. "Later, fools! I am out!"

They waved and watched her disappear behind the shrubbery of the property next door. "Another reason to talk to Stan," Winter said lowly. "Should we drop by the Mystery Shack again?"

"Maybe we should just move in to the Mystery Shack," she joked while walking back inside. "Let's see what Mabel and Dipper say first. I want to take a nap while I can."

"Fine. I'll hold down the fort." Winter sat on the couch while her sister wandered down the hall and out of sight.

Her initial description of the day held true for a long time. Even after Summer's hour-long slumber was over, the morning soldiered on with no visitors seeking their advice – or any visitors at all. They used the lull to allow their minds to empty. For one, this meant reading a book. For the other, it meant poking fun at the reader.

"What are you reading now?" Summer asked obnoxiously. "Haven't you had enough of words?"

"Pardon me for enjoying a habit that doesn't kill people," she fired back with a smile. Despite the weighty nature of her phrasing, Summer still managed to giggle.

After her laughs, however, she donned a pout. "You haven't even looked at my new hairdo."

To humor her, Winter gave it a glance. The red-eyed woman's black locks had been rearranged into a bob cut, shorter in the back and tapering to longer bangs that framed her face and hung past her chin. "It's nice. Did you do it after you woke up?"

"Yes. The hardest part was making sure it looked the right length." She patted her head gently and smiled. "You need a new style!"

Winter turned a page. "Why?" Lips pursed, she looked up for a moment. "Then again, I have been thinking about putting the blue back in. I saw one girl with pink in hers."

"Ugh, we both need a splash of color, I think."

Before she could reply either way, a knock at the door drew their attention. "I suppose we're open for business," Winter mumbled. Summer moved to answer it. "Thank you."

With a breath, she put on her best smile and opened the door. "Hello!" she chirped, only to lose her expression. Instead of a customer, a trio of Pines stood on the porch. "Oh, Dipper, Mabel... Stan?"

He tipped his fez and grinned. "Hey, hey! Thought we'd come over and say hi. Frankly I didn't think I was allowed in the rich people neighborhood since the... uh, never mind."

"Oh, well, welcome." She stepped aside to let them through. While Dipper looked like his usual self, Mabel was a bleary-eyed, mumbling zombie.

"This is a surprise," Winter said as she saw them entering. "What brings you three here?"

"Just decided to switch things up," Dipper replied, falling on the sofa next to her. "You know. You keep visiting us, why shouldn't we visit you? We can do that." He looked up at his great uncle and scowled. "...Grunkle Stan wanted to see your house and how rich you were. Oh, uh, nice haircut, Summer. Looks good."

"Thank you! I did it myself," she said with a broad smile.

"The house is kinda bland, but nice floors. Is this thing a TV?" Stan blinked, contemplating their sizable flat-panel set. "It's not a TV." Winter turned it on, making him step back with surprise. "Oh, so it is. Huh. What's the big—wait." The channel was tuned to a sports show of some kind. "This is HD?! Why didn't somebody tell me? I'm taking this thing home."

Mabel, sitting by her brother, facepalmed and sighed. "Hi, my name is Stan. Thanks for letting me visit. Now I'm going to steal all of your stuff."

Summer occupied the other end of the couch, bracketing the Pines with her sister. "I'm glad you like it, I guess?"

Winter peered at the old man for a second. "Actually, we wanted to talk to you, Stan."

He turned and threw up his arms in self-defense. "It wasn't my fault! You can't prove anything! You'll never take me alive!" This time, both Dipper and Mabel sighed. "What? I'm coverin' my bases."

"About Gravity Falls," Winter explained with faint annoyance. "We've heard your family has lived here for a while."

"Uh," Mabel blinked. She tugged on Winter's shirt sleeve. "I don't care for your tone, missy. What about Gravity Falls?" Dipper was fidgeting a bit beside her.

Though it made her a bit anxious as well, Summer followed her sister's lead. "The 1940s. We're doing some research."

"Ha! What, for your little ghost thing? Ah, sure, why not. I'm in a good mood." He sat down in the middle of the couch – more or less on his great niece and nephew – and got comfortable. "Shoot."

"Ugh, gross!" Mabel cried, smacking his side. "Old man cologne! Help!"

"Hey! I paid a dollar fifty for this!"

"World War II," Winter interrupted. "Specifically. We're curious how it touched this part of the country."

Dipper perked up, although something about it looked a little false to Summer. "Hey, we're gonna learn about World War II when we get back to school. This could be interesting." Mabel began to snore. "Wow, man. Rude much? You even overslept today."

"Nothin' happened," Stan replied, ignoring the kids. "The Northwests made their fancy mud flaps for the Army and that's about it. Sorry to disappoint."

The boy stared with shock. "Oh come on, really? That was all? Nobody served? Got hurt? Worse?" His surprise faded after a moment. "Then again, Gravity Falls doesn't even have a war memorial. I thought all towns had one."

"Kid, we're in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees. I don't even think the Japanese knew we existed. And you really think the military would take anyone from around here? Come on."

"Fair—fair point," Dipper acknowledged quietly.

"Booooooooring," Mabel whined – with relief. "Of course nothing happened. Nothing ever happens." She looked down and murmured, "Except when it does..."

Stan, thankfully, didn't catch that part. "You underestimate the soul-crushing dullness of this place." He turned and looked over the back of the couch, pointing toward the nearest doorway. "That your kitchen? Got any pork products? I'm hungry."

"We were going to go grocery shopping before you came over," Winter advised him, arms crossed. "Our cupboards are bare."

He glowered at first, then took a peek at Summer's biceps. "Ah, who am I kiddin', you two probably eat that organic natural stuff made outta... whatever. The most delicate flowers or something."

"Hey, why don't we go out to eat?" Mabel asked via obnoxious yawn. "I wanna visit that fancy new place by the Arcade."

"Sure, if these two will pick up the tab," Stan agreed, thumbing at the older twins. "What do you say?"

They exchanged a long, silent glance. "How about lunch?" Winter offered instead. "As I said, we have some research and shopping to do."

"Awwwww, but I'm hungry!"

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Mabel, you ate twelve pancakes an hour ago. Relax."

"Works for me! I gotta go deliver Soos' paycheck anyway before his grandma tries to hit me with her purse." Stan hopped to his feet and headed for the door, scanning the living room the whole way. "Yeesh, it's so clean in here. Neat freaks kinda creep me out. No—no offense." He noticed the huge, pearly dinosaur tooth on the mantle piece above the fireplace; it appeared to be the only tchotchke in the whole room. "That's pretty nice, though. I oughta forge some fossils for the shack. People love old stuff."

"Nobody loves you, Grunkle Stan," Mabel teased, then gave him a punch on the arm. "I'm joking!"

"Ow!" he yelped. "Geez."

"Sorry. I reassure hard."

"Aaaaanyway, I'll call you when we've got a plan," Dipper said with a wave. He silently mouthed we'll talk about the other thing later while Stan was occupied with opening the door. The twins nodded.

"Bye!" Summer called, bringing Winter along and out onto the porch to bid them farewell. "Wow. I keep forgetting how unsafe your car looks."

"Safer than the guy drivin' it," Mabel said with a half-joking smile. "See ya!"

Once they'd departed – in a trail of sputtering smoke – she got back to business. "You think he's lying?"

"I'm not sure. Even if he were, I don't know how to call him on it." Winter walked back into the house. "No memorial for the war... and now that I think about it, no memorial for the children."

Her ruby eyes narrowed a bit. "You're right. Not even in the cemetery."

"No grave marker for the doctor, either, though I understand that one." She smoothed down her hair and sighed. "Even the history of Gravity Falls' birth is a lie. I don't know what or who to believe anymore."

"Careful, this way lies paranoia," Summer advised with a tiny smirk.

She returned the smile while retrieving her book and sitting down. "Mm. A lack of truth tends to do that, you know."

"Sometimes." Her head tilted as she watched the baseball highlights. "We should play this. Hitting a ball really far seems like fun."

Winter kept her gaze on the text. "This is coming from the woman who threw a dinosaur head."

Summer was pouting once again. "I told you I was mad." She glanced around at a few bursts of creaking. "Hmm? Oh. I wish this house would stop settling."

"From what I know, it's fairly old. Perhaps we should consider shoring up the foundation later," Winter replied idly. Her sister got quiet, so she threw herself completely into the book. Only after turning two pages did a strange, loud sound make her look over. Summer was slumped limply over the armrest, bleeding from a bullet hole in the back of her neck. As she turned to check on her, she saw the shape of a person – but her sight was dominated by the muzzle of a suppressed H&K USP, pointed at the side of her head. "Who-"

The rest of her confused exclamation was lost to the gunshot. Winter came to rest partially on top of her sister. "It's done," their hooded assailant said, speaking into a microphone on the collar of his camouflage jacket. "I'm going to sweep the house."

He left the twins on the sofa and did just that, wandering into the kitchen and opening every cabinet door. None of them contained anything. The refrigerator only contained a few bottles of Winter's precious soda. "What the hell..." he breathed, striding out and down the hallway. He opened the closet to find a pile of junk and their small stack of gold bullion, along with the currency they'd cloned. Confused, he kept going through the house, into empty room after empty room. Only one of the bedrooms actually had a bed. "This place is too clean," he muttered. The bathrooms were spotless beyond all reason, and the rest of the closets were totally bare. "Whatever." He activated his mic again. "There's nothing important here. Call the cleaners to come bury these girls," he advised, heading back toward the living room to take their laptops.

Halfway down the corridor, he tripped. "What the-" A black, thick rope, like steel cable, was around his left ankle. As he tried to kick it off, his eyes traced it across the floor... then up. It was connected to Summer's right palm. "What the fuck?!" he screamed, emptying the pistol into her chest. It put a lot of ragged holes in her silver dress, which were quickly ringed with dark red stains, but that was about it. He rolled over onto his stomach and tried to crawl to safety, only to find someone standing in his way. "Huh?" Looming over him in this direction was Winter. Blood dripped down the side of her face.

"You'd better make sure we're dead before you send someone to dig our graves," she said with a vicious smile. When he moved to call for help, she snapped up a hand and suspended him spread eagle in the air with her power. After a few clumsy yanks, she pulled off the microphone, dropped it, and stepped on it. "No, I think you've done enough."

"What the fuck are you people?!"

"Annoyed," Summer hissed, sucking the black rope into her hand. "This dress is my favorite! I'm bleeding all over it!"

"And I'll have to redo my hair." Winter hauled him into an empty room. "Why didn't you just stop him with your magic, sister?"

She shrugged a bit. "Instinct, I guess."

"Ah, yes. Sometimes it just acts on its own." The blue-eyed woman grabbed him by the wrists and pressed him against a wall. When her hands left, black, gunky adhesive stuck him to it. She then did the same for his ankles despite his kicking, while Summer wiped an ebony smear across his lips to silence his cries. "Thanks. He was giving me a headache."

"I wonder if he has any friends." She pinned him down with a glare. "Are you alone?" He nodded furiously. "And I'm supposed to believe you? Hmph."

Winter fingered the wound in her own skull – which by now was a pinprick – and frowned. The bullet had been expelled and was stuck tenuously in her locks; her scratching made it drop to the floor. "Were you trying to rob us?" she asked, picking it up and showing it to him. "Because you came to the wrong house."

He didn't indicate either way. Summer began tapping her foot. "That's not an answer." With an angry groan, she left the room, growling "To hell with it. I'm going to go fix my dress. Be right back."

"Mm." She peered at their captive. "You and I are going to have a little chat when she gets back." His tears made her squint. "What? Do I sound displeased? I am. You shot us."

His pleading moans leaked through the black gag until Summer returned, wearing the same dress she'd walked out in – but the bullet holes were gone, as were the crimson patches. "That's better."

"Welcome back. Would you mind taking his muzzle off?"

She did, pressing her palm against his lips and letting the gunk leak back into her body. They watched him gasp for air. "So, would you care to explain yourself?"

"Pl-please don't kill me..."

"Begging. Just like old times." Winter put a hand on Summer's shoulder and sighed. "In exchange for your life, we want the truth. I think that's a fair trade, don't you?"

Apparently not; he shook his head violently. "They'll kill me if I talk!"

"We'll do worse than that if you don't."

Summer, visibly uncomfortable now that the anger and adrenaline was wearing off, retreated to a corner and let her twin take charge. "Please talk. Please? We really won't hurt you if you do," she pleaded.

"I..." He hesitated, then fell quiet for a long time. "Oh, hell, I'm finished anyway. Our monitors intercepted your phone call about the portal and the magic. That's why I'm here."

The twins shared a surprised look. "Monitors? Who?" Winter demanded.

"The... oh God, I'm so dead... the NSA. They have a net over this whole area to prevent people from knowing about the thing. When you started talking about the portal they heard it. We got the call to silence you." He suddenly laughed. "My apologies for that, by the way. Are you Mystique or somethin? 'Cause you sure look like her," he noted, head tilted.

"No, I'm not. NSA?" She looked back at Summer, who was already searching on her smartphone.

"National Security Agency. A United States intelligence agency... monitors communications around the world... oh. It originated from a code deciphering unit founded during World War II," she noted with a blink. "What a surprise."

"If they intercepted our call..." A pit formed in Winter's stomach. "Are they going to go after the people we were talking to?"

He nodded rapidly. "Oh yeah. Someone's probably on their way now. The government doesn't mess around when the portal comes up."

"Ohhhhhh boy," Summer groaned, rubbing her face. "We're in trouble."

"Yes, we are." Winter turned back to their captive. "All right. You held up your end of the bargain," she said, recalling her makeshift restraints and letting him stand.

His face brightened. "Hey! You're really gonna let me go?"

"No." With a snap, she magically pressed his form into a gorgeous red cardinal, which chirped and hopped about on the oak floor. She was stunned silent by the distinct lack of something she expected to hear. "...he's not whispering either. Is there no native magic on this planet?" she wondered while leaving the room.

"How odd. I'd better make sure he stays put so we can change him back later." Summer picked up the bird and darted out after her, producing a cage from a small picture frame on the way to house him. "Are we going to call Dipper and Mabel?"

"We can't use our regular phones. They'll hear us. It's best to just find them." Winter stooped mid-stride to pick up the pistol from the hallway floor. She angrily crushed it into a decorative paperweight and dropped it onto the couch on her way by. "We'll have to leave the bloodstains for now." After moving into the kitchen, she dropped to her knees on the fat travertine tiles. One of these yielded to the force of her fingers, lifting up and revealing a secret compartment with a square, silvery case. She tossed this to Summer and stood.

"Good thing you hid these, otherwise our new friend might have found them," the red-eyed woman sighed, opening it up. Two enormous black smartphones were inside, screens down. One had two fat turquoise stripes running horizontally across the back. The other was decorated with red polka dots. "These aren't compatible with the network here, are they?"

"I changed their internals before you arrived. I couldn't decide whether to keep our phones or just get new ones." Her face dropped with remorse. "I wish I'd picked differently. I keep making mistakes and look how much it costs everyone." She barely staved off the tears as Summer gave her a one-armed hug.

"No point in blaming yourself. We can still fix this," she encouraged firmly. "You have me to help you now."

"...right." She wiped her eyes. "Hopefully this encryption will be enough." She took the blue-striped one out and turned it on. While Summer grabbed the other phone, she glanced at her seven-person long contacts list and smiled. "Mm." That happy feeling died fast. "Lock the house down while I go get cleaned up and get ready to go." Her eyes went to the wall clock beside the front door. It was just after 11:30. "They should still be at the shack. If not... it might already be too late."