Heya! First of all I want to thank every single one of you, wonderful humans, who started following and favorited this story, as well as those of you who left a review and (at least tried) to decrypt the message at the end! :D It was only a Prologue, yet I can see there's a lot of people in both fandoms that already like it! QwQ it makes me so happy!
And about the encrypted message at the end? Well, it was just a small clue for this chapter; clue to their destination and exactly who was going with our little human ambassador... It just looked long because I got carried away and I was so excited for this that I ended up writing a poem xD this time I'll just keep it short and simple. To decrypt the message at the end of this chapter, search for any Caesar Cipher tools and use a rotation number of 23. If you need it, I'll just leave a link at the very end to make things a little easier!
Now, if no one has any bones to pick with me, let's go on with the story!
"Normal dialog"
'Someone's thoughts'
Chapter 1: "Welcome to Gravity Falls"
Last time, this nameless narrator mentioned you of a town named Ebott. This place, of course, was mostly known for the tourists to be at the base of the enigmatic Mt. Ebott. While most of the populace of the world ceased to believe the stories of the monsters that once lived among their race, there are still some individuals around the globe that take seriousness on the old legends (especially considering that whoever climbs the mountain never comes back).
But let's take this story to the other and more remote side of the mountain; a small yet extensive location, surrounded by a big forest and high cliffs. A town just West of Weird, slightly East of Eerie and always North of Normal…
Gravity Falls.
Of course such a mysterious place would be located near the other side of the strange mountain!
This unique place has gone through a lot of interesting events. Just a year ago, the very fabric of reality was torn apart in Gravity Falls; thankfully, a barrier (not unlike the one around Mt. Ebott) prevented the weirdness from covering the rest of the world. And just day or two ago, everyone heard what sounded like glass breaking, followed by a slight tremble beneath their feet. Other than that, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
If you ever visit Gravity Falls, you will definitely meet some interesting people while you're there. From people like the Corduroys (a family of lumberjacks composed mainly by males –with the exception of Wendy, the oldest daughter), Lazy Susan (a great cook at Greasy's Diner)… heck, even Tad Strange is an interesting guy to have a conversation with! After everything that happened last year, everyone in Gravity Falls took their time to recover. Over time, things in the unique little town went back to normal… or well, as normal as it can get when you live in Gravity Falls.
Yet there was one group of people whose scars remain deep: the Pines.
Stanley Pines' memory took longer to fully recover, and when it did, the nightmares of what happened grew more frequent. Him and Stanford continued to travel around the world, looking for any anomalies to deal with. While they're gone, Jesus "Soos" Altamirano takes care of the Mystery Shack along with his fiancé Melody (and of course, his abuelita visits every now and then to see how he's doing). The 'Mystery twins' –or well, the younger ones?... their parents (after both Mabel and Dipper begged and used their puppy stare on them) let their children take the next bus to Gravity Falls, Oregon.
Just in time, too, because both Stan's got back to the dear shack.
Soos was dusting off Stan's statue on the back; the Mystery Shack was closed for the day and Melody went out to buy some groceries. Everything was calm and quiet while he dusted off the statue's fez, when suddenly…
"Hey, Soos!" came a muffled voice, startling the new Mystery Man.
"Mr. Pines, is that you?!" Soos asked, face going from shock to horror. "Oh no… you are trapped inside the statue!" he went to the back of the counter.
"Wait, what? Soos, what are you talking ab-"
"Don't worry, Mr. Pines. I'll get you outta there!" Soos lifted a big hammer and was about to hit the statue.
"Soos, just open up the door already!" Stan knocked loudly on the door, stopping Soos in his movements.
"Mr. Pines?" he turned to the front of the shack and opened the door. "Mr. Pines, both of you!" he hugged both Stans tightly.
"Yes Soos, we missed you too" choked out Stanley.
"Now, could you please release us and let us pass? We haven't eaten anything in at least two days and there's something important we need to discuss" said Ford, breathing with more ease than Stan at the moment.
"Oh, is that why you came back sooner?" Soos asks, finally letting both men breathe properly.
"Yes, indeed"
After letting both grown men in and serving them both a glass of water, they all sat down in the dining room while both Stans explained their return.
"I've kept contact with Fiddleford in case anything happened" Ford confirmed.
"Apparently, he caught some strange readings in one of his tech-y gadgets" Stan continued, not so much help with the little knowledge he had on the matter. "That, and hearing the sound of a giant glass window or something breaking"
"We wanted to make sure it didn't have anything to do with that thing, so we came to check it out" the genius twin finished.
"Oh, that!" Soos exclaimed. "A couple of days ago, everyone heard glass breaking, but we didn't see anything. Whatever it was, sounded like it echoed from Mt. Ebott nearby" Ford spit his water all over his brother (who was about to yell angrily at him).
"The Mount Ebott?!" he asked in shock.
"Um, yeah, we're sure" Soos said, confused on the sudden shock over the scientist's features.
"Why is that place so important, anyway?" Stan asked, drying himself off with some tissues.
"Old legends tell of a war; one that waged between humans and monsters centuries ago" Ford starts with a serious face. "It's said that it took place at the other side of Mt. Ebott. Some of the creatures were able to flee and found safety in this area; but the rest of them weren't so lucky…" he sighed. "Seven mages sealed the monsters under the mountain, cloaking it with a powerful barrier that would only break with the power of seven human souls-"
"Wait, don't you mean the barrier keeping the weirdness in this town?" Stan interrupts.
"No. While it is of a similar power, these barriers are different from each other" the six fingered explained, then continued. "If the barrier surrounding Mt. Ebott is broken –as I can assume for the glass-breaking sound- it means a very powerful soul broke it… or…" he ran a hand across his face and took a deep breath. "The monsters collected the seven human souls they needed. Either way, it means the monsters in the underground are free and, if my current theory is correct, they are most likely heading to this town"
Silence filled the room until Soos broke it.
"But- I mean… the monsters and creatures here are mostly friendly, so maybe the Underground ones aren't so bad?"
"I'm not sure of that, but… I suppose giving them a chance wouldn't be so bad" Ford concluded.
"As long as they don't try to take over the world or touch the merchandise, all is good with me!" Stan finished the conversation, taking the last gulp of water from his glass before getting up and heading to the living room. "Now if you'll excuse, I need to be caught up with the TV shows I've missed!" with that, Ford and Soos stood up and went to the front.
"Friendly monsters or not, we need to get prepared for anything that may happen" Ford took out a new journal from his coat and started writing some things down. "I need to get some things to reinforce the shield around the shack, and get the metal plate in my head checked for any dents…" the author of the journal murmured to himself while he paced around the place.
Soos just smiled and hummed a tune to himself while he went out to clean the front.
"Soos?" he heard not too far from him. He looked up slowly, his eyes trailing a pair of figures with one or two bags of luggage each and a small pig at one's side.
"Dudes?" Soos started, surprised and happy.
"Soos!" they both ran to him and he hugged them tightly.
"Dipper, Mabel! I'm so happy to see you!" Soos could almost cry of happiness. Out of all the things that have happened the whole year, he missed these two so much.
"We missed you guys so much!" Mabel sniffed.
"Yeah, we didn't know if our parents were going to let us stay for this summer!" Dipper continued. "But after some persuasion, they said it was okay" he smiled.
"Well, don't worry, dude and dudette! You know you're always welcome here" Soos smiled at the twins. "I'll just have to tell Melody you guys are staying for the summer; might as well get back with abuelita now that everyone's here!"
"'Everyone'?" the two early teens questioned.
"Don't worry about it. Get it, get in!" he helped them with their bags and gave Waddles a left-over donut from the counter.
Dipper sighed. "It's just as I remembered..."
"Yeah, even gum stuck to the ceiling!" Mabel pointed out, and indeed a piece of bubble gum was stuck to the ceiling… how it even got there, no one really knows…
"Hey Soos, I heard voices! Is everything okay?" Stan shouted from the living room.
"Grunkle Stan?!" both siblings shouted.
Stan's face peeked from the door-frame.
"Kids?!"
"Grunkle Stan!" the twins ran to the arms of their great uncle, all of them with tears threatening to spill out.
"You kids are so annoying…" Stan sniffed. "I missed you both so much!"
"Stan? Are the kids here?!" Ford called out from the back and a smile grew on his face when he saw the twins there. "Dipper, Mabel! I'm so glad to see you so soon" Ford greeted and briefly hugged both.
"Why did you come back so early from your trip?" Dipper asked them.
Ford and Stan shared a serious glance; a wordless discussion between them. They led the kids to the living room and Ford quickly updated them of the situation –of course, he avoided touching the subject of the human souls. Still, he let them know that they may or may not be hostile, so they should be prepared for the worst.
"Whoa…" was all Dipper could say. 'We just came back, and I already have a lot to process here…'
"Yeah…" Mabel breathed. "… oh! Do you think I can be friends with one of them? Ooohhh, what if someone likes sweaters?! Oh, we could totally become sweater buddies!" she rambled on, making Dipper and Stan crack a smile.
Ford chuckled and headed back to his basement lab (Soos couldn't bring himself to get rid of Ford's gadgets and experiments down there). He took some notes on stuff he needed to get and the necessary measures they should take in cases of emergency.
He enjoyed the peace and quiet (even though he could hear Dipper and Mabel laughing at something and Stan's groan of displeasure), but it all broke when Fiddleford knocked loudly on the door.
"Open up! This is urgent; I need to speak with Stanford right now!" Stan let him in and McGucket almost ran in, panting and sweating like he was running for his life.
"Old man McGucket?!" Dipper was shocked. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, what happened?!" Mabel asked, now concerned for the old man.
"I need –pant- to speak –huff- with Stanford" he said breathlessly, holding a hand to his chest and calming down for a bit.
"Fiddleford!" the old twin of science greeted him, surprised at seeing his old friend so soon. "This is a real surprise. What brings you here?"
"I installed some cameras around the area of Gravity Falls" he began, finally getting his bearings. "While some are kept within the populated area, I also added cameras to other parts like the forest, the cliffs and areas near the mountain" he got out his trusty laptop and showed a recording to everyone in the room. "I was just watching it from the corner of my eye this morning, when I noticed this!" he pointed to a point of the screen; a blur of at least five different beings getting out of the mountain area and walking in the direction of the town. The recording looked blurry, so no one could really make out what they looked like; but they could clearly see one of them turning to the camera, with bright orbs staring right at them.
"Hey, Ford… do you think this is what we were talking about earlier?" Stan asked, a bit of worry in his eyes as he looked at his brother's shocked expression.
"It might be…" Ford began. "There's an 85% chance it is what we spoke about"
"Does it mean…" Mabel started.
"Are those… the monsters you told us about?!" Dipper finished.
'we're being watched'. That's what was going on in his mind at that moment. He knew this feeling very well; it's the same he had when Alphys first installed her cameras around Snowdin.
They had been walking the path of a small town they saw in the distance and he briefly caught sight of light reflections in the tree branches, and so he stared directly at an active one in hopes he got his message across. 'ya won't rattle my bones if that's what you think you'll accomplish…'
He felt a tug on his sleeve and he looked down at Frisk's worried face.
"Are you okay?" came the quiet question.
"don't worry, kiddo" he ruffled their head. "all's fine, just enjoying the scenery"
Frisk didn't look the least bit convinced, but let it go anyways.
"THE TOWN WE SAW MUST BE CLOSE! I CAN FEEL IT –IN MY BONES!" Papyrus said, voice and walk full of excitement.
"heheh. good one, paps" Sans chuckled at his brother's antics.
"Calm down, Papyrus" Asgore laughed heartily. "We must first try our best to give the humans a good impression"
"Ha! You worry too much, Your Majesty" Undyne said, voice brimming with confidence. "Of course we'll give a good first impression; we are the best monsters those punks will ever meet!"
"I-I just hope they're nice…" Alphys confessed shyly.
"Why wouldn't they be nice to someone as cute as you?!" Undyne hugged her with one arm and gave her a peck on her cheek. Alphys' face turned completely red and everyone laughed along with those two.
The group of seven (and a plant) heard rustling from the bushes on their left. Sans, Asgore, Toriel and Undyne became alert while they pushed the remaining members of the group behind them.
They all held their breath, waiting and waiting until… from the bushes came out… 'a manotaur?' Sans was really confused now, and it seemed he wasn't the only one. 'the history books i've read mentioned manotaurs as some of the only monsters to flee from the war, but then why are they here?'
"Wow, calm down! The smell of a familiar friend brought me here, I'm not going to hurt anyone –unless you want to, but still!"
Everyone dropped their defensive stances and Asgore had a look of recognition.
"Wait a second… I know that voice!" the king exclaimed. "Chutzpar?"
The manotaur took a closer look and then it dawned on him.
"Asgore?! Your Majesty!" the patted the goat dad's back with a friendly gleam in his eyes. "I'm so glad to see you and the queen back on the surface! I get it you found a way to break the barrier?"
"Actually, it was Frisk here who saved us all" he gestured to the human child in their group. Frisk gave a small wave and smiled.
Chutzpar chuckled. "So I see. My king, if there's anything me and my kind I can do for you, just ask away"
"Now that you mention it, we need someone to guide us towards the closest village.
"Oh, you mean Gravity Falls! I know some of the humans there, actually. I'll show you the way-"
"Excellent-"
"But I must test the human! Test their strength!"
Frisk smiled, knowing just the thing that would do. They flexed harder and harder, until Chutzpar was sent flying to a tree.
"Whoa! You are stronger than you look…" he said, quite proud of the results. "Let us go, then. I'm not entirely sure where the town itself is, but I know where you can start looking!"
The group from the underground exchanged looks, before following their new acquaintance. They walked for a long while until they saw the end of the forest; by then, the sun had already set down in the horizon. When they got to the clearing, they could see a small shack illuminated by moonlight.
"Mystery Shack" read a big sign at the top of the shack, the slightly fallen S making it read as "Hack".
"There it is!" Chutzpar told them. "You should just knock on the door and wait a bit for them to just… react. They know the weirdness of this town better than anyone, and that's a given considering all that's happened last year" he explained, getting confused and curious looks from everyone else. "Anyway…" he extended his arms in a welcoming manner.
"Welcome to Gravity Falls!"
I hope nobody has a problem with me writing Pap's dialogs in all caps x.x I can't change fonts here, so using all lowercase for Sans and ALL CAPS for Papyrus is my way to differentiate them (I mean, Pap's is already known in-game for being very loud and his dialog boxes are all in caps soooo yeah, it seemed logical for me).
Anyways, I hope you all liked it! I didn't plan it to be so long, but I suppose that's a good thing, right? Regardless, thanks for reading! And (if you haven't already), please Follow this story, Favorite if you liked it and leave a Review to tell me what you thought. Positive feedback and small suggestions are always welcomed! :D
Next Chapter:
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decrypt in: rumkin tools/ cipher/caesar . php (N: 23)