Chapter 5: Seeking Another Passage

The gang arrived at the Mystery Shack to see Stan giving a tour to a family of three. He wore the suit with the fez and eye patch while Soos stood next to him in a tee shirt with a question mark on the front and a baseball cap. They stood at the strange rock face statue. Everyone got out of the vehicle and walked over.

"Is this rock a metaphor for something?" the man asked.

"Yeah, it's a metaphor for how we spend our lives like rocks," Stan answered. "Now if you'll direct your attention to the Sack of Mystery. Put your money in and watch it disappear," he held the sack out with a wide grin. The family looked at the sack, but didn't do anything. Stan didn't budge. Finally, the man and his wife put their money into the sack.

"Thanks for the tour," said the man.

"Yeah, that was fun," said his wife.

"Where are we going now, Mom?" their little boy asked.

"Well Son, since the only hotel is not in business, I guess we're leaving Gravity Falls." The family walked off. Stan turned to Soos.

"See, the key to this sack is that you don't put it away until they put their money inside of it," he explained.

"Oh, now I see, Mr. Pines," Soos said.

The two suddenly noticed the gang standing nearby.

"Oh, hey there, Dudes," Soos greeted.

"Oh great, the Hippies are back," Stan said sarcastically.

Fred narrowed his eyes and was about to retort when Velma gave him a solemn look saying that they had a mission.

"Uh, I wondered, how much were you going to charge me for keeping the Van here?"

"Well, let me see, the old make of the vehicle, plus it's size, um, about a hundred a night."

"What? I'm not even paying that for my room," Fred responded.

"You're not?" Stan turned to Soos. "How much are you charging them?"

"About seventy-five," he said.

"Seventy-five?" Stan burst out.

Soos became nervous, turning his eyes away and rubbing his neck. "Well, I didn't want to charge too much. It didn't seem fair. They came all this way and had no place to stay.

"How about, I just keep paying you the same for the vehicle as I was for the room?" Fred suggested.

"Okay, I guess so," Stan agreed. "Why is it suddenly dead around here? Barely anyone is coming here."

"Maybe it has to do with the Sheriff telling people they can't stay in the town," Daphne said.

"What?" Stan screeched.

"Yeah, like the sheriff made it clear that he wanted us to leave," Shaggy added.

"Okay—" Stan shook his head. "Maybe I do need a better attraction. The option is still open to use your Mystery Machine."

"Well, if you're going to use my van, then I shouldn't have to pay you anything for keeping it here," Fred said.

"Deal!" he responded. Then he walked back towards the shack.

"Like, what just happened?" Shaggy asked out loud.

"It looks like Fred just volunteered the Mystery Machine as a tourist attraction," Velma said.

"Wait a minute—" Fred grabbed his head, trying to figure out what he just got himself and the Mystery Machine into.

"Okay, well, Mr. Pines needed me to get some stuff done, so I'll see you Dudes later," Soos said before waving goodbye.
"Weren't we going to talk to him, Fred?" Daphne asked.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I got caught up in all the haggling," Fred answered. He turned to shaggy. "Shaggy, you and Scooby should go talk to him now. The girls and I can talk to the cashier girl."

Shaggy nodded. "Like, okay." The gang went their separate ways.

Shaggy and Scooby found Soos nailing a sign of one of the trees that surrounded the Mystery Shack.

"Doo, doo, doo..." he sang as he pounded a nail into the wood. "Pounding nails in the sign, hope I don't hit my thumb," he sang.

Shaggy waved at him, "Hey man, like, uh, what's cha doin'?"

Soos turned around. "Oh hey, Dudes! I'm just hanging some signs for Mr. Pines." He laughed. "Feels like old times."

"Oh really? You used to hang signs all the time for Mr. Pines?"

"Well, sometimes. Or he made his grand nephew, Dipper hang them."

"Oh, I see. So, uh, how long have you worked for Mr. Pines?"

"Since I was a boy and then at the end of the summer, my dream came true as I became the owner of the Shack." Soos wiped a tear from his eye.

"Oh, that's groovy man. So, like, if you've been around for a while, you've probably seen every part of the shack, right?"

"Boy have I! I've even been in the secret place in the basement that I'm not supposed to mention."

"Like, the creepy basement? Whoops, I'm not supposed to mention we were down there."

"Me neither, Dudes," Soos replied. "If I did, Mr. Pines would fire me or worse."

"So, if you've been down there, do you know the code?"

"Oh no Dudes, sorry, but I can't say anything else."

"Like, okay. Me and Scoob are going to get some snacks."

"Okay, dudes." Soos went back to pounding the nail in the sign.

Shaggy turned to Scooby. "Well, I guess we're done. Let's see how Fred and the girls are doing."

Shaggy and Scooby entered the Mystery Shack where the rest of the gang stood by the counter talking to Wendy who now wore a blue and white hat with a pine tree on the front.

"Listen, I really don't know any of the answers to what you're asking me," Wendy said sharply. "I gotta get back to work or Stan will fire me."

"I thought you worked for Soos," Fred pointed out. Wendy groaned.

"Hey! Stop harassing my cashier Hippies!" Stan yelled as he walked into the shop.

"We're not Hip— Never mind," Fred responded with a defeated tone.

Shaggy and Scooby walked over. "Like, how's everything going?" Shaggy asked.

"Terrible!" Fred exclaimed.

"Maybe we should try something else," Velma said. The gang moved to a more secluded part of the shop where no one was around.

"So, Like Soos admitted that there's something secret in the basement, but he won't give us a code," Shaggy said.

"Interesting," said Fred. "Well, how about this, we'll wait until everyone is asleep and go investigate this vending machine."

"But, like, we still don't know how to get down there," Shaggy said.

"Wait, I have an idea," Velma began. "You did it once Shaggy. Which snacks did you get?" Velma asked.

"Oh yeah, I was like trying to get a nutty chocolate bar and bag of chips at the same time."

"Okay, try to get the same items and we'll see if the sequence opens the passage," she suggested.

"I guess so, but like, do me and Scoob really need to come along?"

"If anything, Shaggy, you and Scooby should lead the way," Fred told him.

Shaggy gulped down his fears. "Like I was afraid of that."

"Don't worry Shaggy, we're not doing all of this until tonight," Daphne said.

"Like we're going into that creepy basement at night? Tell me again why I shouldn't worry?"

"Hey, I heard you guys are mystery solvers?" Said a voice. The gang tuned to a boy wearing a lumberjack hat.

"Hi, you're Mr. Pines' great nephew, right?" Velma asked.

"Yeah, I'm Dipper. What made you come to Gravity Falls?"

"Well, we found some stuff online about strange things happening here," Fred answered.

"Oh—well, nothing strange happens here," Dipper said. The gang almost did a simultaneous sigh. "At least, not anymore."

All eyes went to Dipper.

"So what strange things did happen here?" Velma asked.

"Well—"

"Dipper! Get in here and unclog the toilet!" Stan yelled from the bathroom.

"What? Come on!" he cried.

"We'll talk more later," Fred told him.

"Okay, come up to the attic, that's the room where my sister and I stay during the summer," Dipper said before racing off to do backbreaking chores for his uncle.

It was around ten-o-clock when everyone settled down for the night and quiet settled over the shack.

"So now we're talking to the boy?" Shaggy asked.

"We're doing both," Fred told him. Velma and Daphne are going to talk to him. We're going down to the basement."

"But, I'm still not sure if I can get the combination right."

"Well, you're gonna try," Fred said firmly.

Shaggy gulped as he thought about going back into the creepy room in the basement.

Daphne and Velma headed upstairs while the guys headed into the shop. Shaggy tried for the same snack, but instead of opening up the vending machine, a chocolate bar and a bag of chips fell from the case. Fred gave him more quarters.

"Try again, Shag," he urged.

Shaggy tried getting the chips first, then the candy bar. However, he received the same two snacks again.

"At least, I'm getting some food for later," Shaggy said

"Reah!" Scooby agreed wagging his tail.

"Hmmm, maybe something in the shack will tell us the combination.

Velma and Daphne stood on the second floor of the shack at the bottom of the staircase going up into the attic.

"So, here we are," Daphne said.

"Yep," Velma agreed.

"How are we doing this? Are we asking about the shack in general or are we are going to the heart of the matter?" Daphne asked.

"Let's just see how they respond to us first," Velma answered.

The girls climbed the stairs and poked their heads through the opening into the attic. Dipper lay on one of the twin beds reading a hard cover book while Mabel read a teen magazine. Mabel was the first to notice them; she looked up and smiled.

"Hey!" she called. Dipper looked up.

"Oh, great, you made it up here!" he said with excitement. "What about the others?"

"They're a little busy at the moment," Velma responded.

Daphne noticed the shooting star embroider on Mabel's sweater. "Cute sweater."

"Thanks! It's one of my best," Mabel said. She ran over towards Velma and Daphne and showed them the page from her magazine. "I took this test to see which type of friends I have. There are different groups like Nerds, Jocks, Fashions and Loners. I'm a Fashion apparently.

"That's awesome girl!" Daphne said. "Sounds like me!"

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Really Mabel, a magazine can't tell you who you are."

"Dipper didn't like where the test put him," Mabel said.

"It said I'm a Nerd," he said sourly.

"I'd probably be put in the same category," Velma said.

"Really?" Dipper asked. Velma walked over to him.

"What are you reading?" she asked. Her eyes looked over the hard cover book with a picture of the parts of an atom on the front.

"Oh this is my Physics book. I'm taking Introduction to Physics next year."

"How old are you?" Velma asked.

"Thirteen," he said proudly. "I'm going to be a freshman this year."

"I didn't take Physics until I was a senior," Velma responded. "You must be in an accelerated program."

"Yeah, sort of. The test I took before school ended said I didn't have to take the normal science class. I could choose any of the higher level sciences, so I picked Physics."

"Is that the field you wan to work in when you're older?"

"Partly. I'm going to study anomalies."

"Anomal-what?" she asked.

"Anomalies. Things that are strange and supernatural."

"Listen, you're still young, but as you get older, you learn that there is a logical reason for everything."

"Well, we've already dealt with the supernatural," Dipper said.

"What do you mean?" Velma asked. Dipper pulled out a notebook from under his bed. He opened it to a page with several pictures of strange creatures. Each photo was taped on the page with writing next to it. Velma gazed over the pictures of what appeared to be a monster formed by a bunch of gnomes, a black creature with straw hat and a bear with multiple heads.

"This was the first creature we faced," Dipper said pointing to the gnome monster. "See, my sister started dating this weird Emo guy, which I at first thought was a zombie, but turned out to be a group of gnomes who wanted Mabel to be their queen." Velma stared at Dipper with disbelief as she furrowed her eyebrows skeptically. Dipper cleared his throat. "And that guy we met on Summerween. He—uh, had a problem with kids who throw out the 'unwanted' candy. We accidently insulted him so he told us to get five-hundred pieces of candy by the end of the night or he was going to eat us."

"Summerween?" Velma questioned.

"Yeah, you know how people do Christmas in July, well, here in gravity Falls, we do Halloween in June."

Velma studied the pictures, trying to find any proof of them being fake.

"And what about the bears?" she asked.

"Oh, Multi-bear, yeah, I was learning how to be a man from these Manotaurs and they said I had to kill the Multi-bear to prove myself. But then I found out the Multi-bear was a good guy and we both liked the same music." Velma kept her skeptical glare on Dipper. "You're going to be a great author of a supernatural-Thriller one day," she remarked.

"Hey, all of these things are real. You should talk to my uncle Ford."

"He believes in this stuff?"

"He's the reason I do!" Dipper raised his voice with excitement. "He wrote these journals—" Dipper stopped. His mouth turned down.

"What's wrong?" Velma asked.

"Sorry, I just get kind of upset when I think about the journals. They were filled with all this great stuff and now all three of them are gone."

"What happened to them?"

"It's a long story."

Velma studied Dipper for a long moment. "Why did you invite us up here to talk?" she asked. "You don't even know who we are."

"Yes I do."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Dipper walked over to his dresser and took out a magazine entitled, 'Great Mystery Solvers.' On the front was a picture of the entire Mystery Inc. gang. He handed it to Velma. She raised an eyebrow as if not expecting it.

"Oh, I remember this. We had just solved one of our biggest mysteries and were asked to give a photo for this magazine. As I understood, it wasn't really that popular. I'm surprised you have a copy."

"I think what you guys do is really interesting. But, the monster ends up being someone in a mask. My whole family and even my friends have seen and experienced weird things in this town."

"Well, I need proof," Velma said.

"Maybe we can both talk to my uncle. He can give you all the proof you need," Dipper said with growing enthusiasm.

"Okay. I'll take that challenge," Velma agreed.

Meanwhile, Mabel and Daphne were hunched over a teen magazine, reading the horoscope page.

"I'm a Virgo, born on August 31st," Mabel said.

"I'm a Gemini," Daphne replied.

"Okay, well according to this, you are going to have a big summer romance."

"Really?" Daphne asked. Velma walked over.

"I wonder how the guys are doing? We should let Dipper and Mabel go to sleep."

"Yeah, unlikely!" Mabel giggled. "This is our first day back to Gravity Falls since last year. I'm so wired!"

"Well, have a good night," Velma said.

"Yeah, we'll do some makeovers tomorrow," Daphne told her.

As the girls walked to the stairs, Velma brushed against the dresser, an album dropped onto the floor. As Velma picked it up, a piece of paper fell out.

"That's okay," Mabel said. "That's my scrapbook. Just leave it there." Velma put the album back on the dresser. Mabel went back to her magazine. Velma noticed the piece of paper. Picking it up she saw an odd combination of letters and numbers. Neither kid noticed the paper in her hand. She and Daphne left without saying another word.

Fred, Shaggy and Scooby stood in Stan's office.

"This is the only other place we can search right now," Fred told them.

"L-Like, m-maybe this is a sign we shouldn't go into that basement," Shaggy shuttered.

"And I keep telling you we're getting all the signs that there's a mystery to solve and we need to get down there to learn more," Fred retorted. He began looking through the desk drawers, which were mostly empty.

"For someone who has a business, he sure doesn't keep much around. What about receipts for different shipments? No tax papers?"

Scooby noticed a big moose head on the wall. The left antler looked a little crooked. He put a paw on it to move the antler to the correct position. Suddenly, the wall moved. Fred and Shaggy turned to see the secret room.

"Good job Scooby!" Fred congratulated. They walked into the room where a monitor sat with a tape inside a VCR. The tape was dated March 15 of the current year. Fred pushed in the tape; it automatically played. Soos and Wendy appeared on screen. They stood in front of the counter after store hours.

"So, I can come work here again this summer, right?" Wendy asked.

"Sure. It will be like old times," Soos said.

"Hey Soos, I wanted to ask you something. Are you really keeping everything that happened last year a secret?"

"I don't think we have a choice," Soos replied.

"Of course we have a choice!" Wendy cried. "An inter-dimensional triangle turned Gravity Falls upside down and we're just supposed to pretend it didn't happen?"

"Whoa! Whoa! Not so loud," Soos warned.

"Who's going to hear me? No one's here!" Soos' eyes went to the floor and his mouth turned down. "Hey, it's okay," Wendy assured him. "Bill's gone. He's not coming back. Look, me and my friends still sometimes talk about what happened. We were threatened by other people in town not to say anything, but I think its stupid."

Soos thought in silence fore a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We should be able to discuss it with whomever we want. I just don't want to upset anyone."

"Soos, stop being afraid! We faced so much last year. In fact, we were the survivors! Remember? We fought through all the weirdness. We fought out of that bubble Bill put Mabel in and we made the shack into a giant robot, which was your idea by the way."

"No, it was McGucket's idea."

"But, you suggested he watch Anime and add gun swords.

Soos became quiet.

"You're right, Wendy."

The tape stopped and the screen turned to snow. Fred, Shaggy and Scooby stood in complete silence. Fred looked down at the VCR. On it was a sticky note with the words, 'must find a way to erase tape.'

"Someone, I'm guessing Soos, wanted to get rid of this tape so no one would hear the conversation between him and Windy."

"Like, I wish I didn't hear it. What did he mean by inter-dimensional triangle?"

"I don't know. I'd like to know who this Bill is and what exactly happened last summer," Fred answered.

"I believe we have what you're looking for." The guys turned to Velma as she and Daphne entered the room.

"Like, what did you two find?" Shaggy asked. Velma showed the piece of paper.

"What's this?" Fred asked.

"We're not sure, but Shaggy said there was a code to the vending machine and this might be it."

The gang came out of the office and walked to the door to the shop. Fred tried the doorknob but found the door locked.

"Who locked this? We left it unlocked," he said.

"So we can't get to the vending machine?" Shaggy asked. "Too bad," he said obviously not too upset.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," Daphne said. Taking out one of her hairpins, she used it to work the lock until she heard a click. Fred turned the doorknob and entered the shop.

Inside the shop, Fred input the code on the vending machine. The lights formed the letter C, then the front of the vending machine opened.

Fred, Daphne and Velma stared wide-eyed while Shaggy and Scooby returned smug glances.

"We've seen a lot of spooky secret passageway, but who would have guess this one. He stared down into the darkness. "Now we can get to the bottom of this mystery—literally."