Hopefully this chapter can clear up a few things. Please read Chapter Three if you haven't already.


Chapter Four: Of Snarks and Men

Gravity Falls, Oregon, 1992

The coffee tasted as cheap as it was, but it was still coffee, so neither of them complained. Stan wearily eyed the woman sitting across from him at the kitchen table. Echo sipped from her mug, sat it back on the table and looked up at him. Her expression portrayed nothing.

"Where should I start?" she asked him.

Stan shrugged. "I don't know. Wherever, I guess."

Echo blew out a breath and crossed her arms. A lock of white hair fell over her face, but she ignored it. "I was on the run, when I met Ford. I was half-starved, and he gave me something to eat."

"What were you running from, if you don't mind me asking?"

Echo wagged a finger at him. "Ah-ah-ah. We're not that close."

"Sorry. Continue."

She recrossed her arms. "Anyway, we were together a long time-" Stan's eyebrows shot up. Echo shook her head and laughed. "Not that kind of together. He's not my type. And, even if he was, he wouldn't have went for me, the way I was around him."

"What does that mean?"

Echo licked her lips and avoided his gaze. "It's...hard to explain. If I tell you, you might think I'm insane."

Stan laughed. "Echo, I've been around the block. Heck, I've lived in this town for ten years. 'Lot of insanity goes on 'round here. Whatever you're talking about, I'll understand."

Echo bit the inside of her cheek and relented. "Do you know what a werewolf is?"

"You're a werewolf?" Because, that would be both cool and horrifying.

But, Echo shook her head. "No, but I'm kinda like one. I'm what they call a snark. I'm like a werewolf, but instead of a wolf, I turn into… Well, I wouldn't call a squirrel exactly. It's like a squirrel, but it can erase memories."

Stan stared blankly at her. "There is nothing about that I understand."

Echo sighed and rolled her eyes. "Want me to show you?"

Without waiting for an answer, her body glowed white, and tiny sparkles appeared around her. Stan stared in amazement as her entire being shrank until he couldn't see her anymore. Then, two tiny white paws appeared on the edge of the table, and white squirrel-looking thing with a pink bow around its neck raised itself on top of the table. Stan nearly passed out.

The squirrel - probably Echo? - chuckled at his reaction. "Yeah. This is how Ford knows me." She hopped back on the chair and shifted back into her human form. And, just when Stan thought he'd seen everything. "Need a minute to process?"

"No, no, I'm good," he lied. God, what was in his coffee? This chick couldn't possibly be half-squirrel or however that worked. Then again, as he said earlier, he once witnessed a gnome bathing in (seemingly) ordinary squirrels. After all, this was Gravity-Freaking-Falls. Literally anything was possible. "So, why'd you only let Ford see squirrel-you?"

Echo took a long drink of coffee, probably stalling. When she stopped, she held the mug with both hands and looked down at the cheap brown liquid. "Well, the guy I was running from, he'd only ever seen my human form. As far as I know, he doesn't know I'm a snark. I figured that it would be safer for me to keep up my squirrel form. The plus to that is I can't talk in that form, so no one can ask me any questions and expect answers."

"But, you were talking when you changed just now." Unless there really was something wrong with his coffee.

Echo held up the wrist with the ribbon on it. "Translation bow. I got it a couple years after I met Ford."

"But...if you don't want to talk, why have a translator?"

Echo sighed sadly and sat her mug down. "It's a long story. Let's just say, there was a dire situation, and I was too panicked to remember that I could talk if I just shifted back into a human. Anyway, I'd only planned on hanging with Ford and oth-" She cleared her throat. "I'd only planned on staying for a day or two."

Stan thoughtfully took a gulp of the bitter liquid. Was she about to say "Ford and the others?" Or, had he just misunderstood? He decided to let it slide for now.

"Then something came up, and..." Echo shrugged. "I don't know. I just kinda...ended up staying with them. Er, with him."

"Pardon me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like there was more than just you and my brother."

Echo sighed, relenting. "There were three others. We helped each other out."

Stan nodded. If Ford was going to be stuck in some Hell-dimension or whatever, at least he wasn't alone. "So, why did you leave?"

Echo frowned and leaned back in her chair, staring at her lap. "Someone I used to work with found me. She'd found a while back that I'm a snark, so she recognized me. I changed back into a human to defend myself. So, there was fighting...fighting, fighting, fighting… and I ended up getting knocked into a rift, which is basically a tear between two dimensions. And, here I am."

Stan was too stunned to actually say anything for a moment. He was still tempted to call an asylum and turn her in. Then again, this was Gravity Falls. Weirder things have happened. "So...you left by accident."

Echo nodded sadly. "Either way, it's safer for them if I'm not around. Mallory's probably already told Guardian about me-"

"Mallory? Guardian?"

Echo flinched, as though just realizing that she'd said that aloud. She shrugged. "Guess I have to tell now, don't I? Mallory Rogers is the coworker who found me."

Mallory Rogers… Why did that name sound so familiar? "What about Guardian?"

"Well, I don't know what his real name is, but that's what he calls himself. I…" She suddenly looked even more uncomfortable (if such a thing was possible) as she twirled a lock of her long hair around her finger. "I can't tell you everything. Let's just say that I worked for him until I found out what a monster he is."

They were both silent for a while, and Stan took the time to process what she'd told him. Which wasn't easy, considering how downright insane it all sounded. Even if he did live in a town that practically ran on crazy. So much weirder than the squirrel bath. And, he felt like he knew the name Mallory Rogers. Where had he heard that name before?

"What's this Guardian fellow look like?" Stan asked, even though that was far from his only question. Echo looked at him strangely, and he shrugged. "What? If he's looking for you, shouldn't I be on the lookout, too?"

Actually, the request surprised him as much as it did her. But, honestly, after hearing her (completely weird and effed up) story, he felt oddly protective of her. Maybe it was because she was close to his brother, or maybe it was because he knew what it was like to be out on your own, fleeing from one psycho or another, but he wanted to help her.

Echo must have sensed this, because her mouth quirked upward in a small smile. Until she frowned again. "Well, I've never actually seen his whole face. Not many people have. He says he wants to keep himself a mystery until 'the big day.' Still not quite sure what that means, though. I can tell you that he always wears dark shades and a black trench coat with the hood up. And, he's got one of those deep voices that tell you he means business."

Stan nodded, making a mental note to watch anyone like that. Even if the description was annoyingly vague.

"What about you?" she asked after a moment.

Stan raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"

Echo shrugged. "I've told you my story. I think it's only fair that I get hear yours."

He smiled. She was right, he supposed. If they were going to trust each other, he may as well tell her about him. Plus, assuming she stayed here, she would inevitably find out that he'd taken on the real Stanford's identity. "Where should I start?"

She shrugged, a smirk on her lips. "I don't know. Wherever, I guess."

Stan chuckled and leaned back in his chair. Suddenly wistful, he began his own story. "It all started...a lifetime ago."

MLGSRMT'H UZRI RM OLEV ZMW DZI.


Okay, I've got a little request for you guys. Well, two, actually.

1. I'm considering turning Stan and Echo into a couple, but I want your opinions first. That's why I now have a poll going on my profile. Please vote on whether you want to see them together or together.

2. Like in Season One, I would like to hear your episode ideas. If I like them, I just might post them!

So, until next time, review!