I do not own 'Gravity Falls' I also edited the last two chapters, to better fit the show.
Journey's start
They odd crew had been awakened by the first rays of sunlight, having slept together under the stars. Dipper tried to roll over to avoid the light a little longer only to feet the hard ground instead of the hard mattress he was used to. Opening his eyes, he looked around.
"Oh, that's right." Dipper muttered. "Still here."
The boy placed a hand on his chest, it was still there. He had slept on his stomach to keep anyone, Gideon, from taking the Journal in his sleep. Unfortunately, laying on a book was not comfortable. The ground didn't help.
Dipper stood up to take a look at his surroundings, and boy was he in for a shock. Now that the sun had risen, he was greeted with a true sight to behold.
The sky wasn't a blue like on Earth, instead it was a reddish yellow. He assumed it was because of the sun, it wasn't the usual one they were accustomed to. It was a Red Dwarf sun, not a Yellow one.
He looked towards the horizon and saw that as burnt brightly in the clear sky above the wasteland, highlighting the arid earth and bare rocky hills. A coarse red dust covered much of the land, choking the dry soil. When strong winds blew, the dust rose in sheets, Dipper could tell it would making breathing almost impossible.
What's that? He strained his eyes to see as far on the horizon as possible.
He couldn't tell if it was a range of mountains or a forest, he was only sure of one thing. Green. That meant vegetation and vegetation meant there was nourishment.
A shuffling from behind drew his attention.
"Ugh, I can't believe I slept in my cloths, on the grown." Pacifica moaned.
"Get used to it." Ghost eyes grumbled. "It's better than the prison bed anyway."
Pacifica was put off by the large, and creepy man but kept quite. Instead, she turned her attention to...anywhere else. Lucky that she did, she caught something that Dipper had missed.
"Hey, what's that over there?" Pacifica asked, pointing down the mountain.
They followed her gaze to see several crates, three in total.
"Those are from Grunkle Stan's lab, must've been pulled in with us!" Dipper stated in recognition. "Come on, we might fine something useful."
They made their way down the mountain with little trouble, minus Ghost Eyes wound acting up.
Pacifica was the first to reach one of the crates. The blond through the top open on the first one and looked inside.
"What is this stuff?" Pacifica asked in disgust as she took out a can. "Brown meat, I've never heard of that."
"It's...meat." Dipper answered, uncertain himself. "Stuff Grunkle Stan would stock up on in case of the apocalypse. Apparently it's full of all the necessary nutrients."
Now that I think about it, the apocalypse is something he would probably have caused. Dipper thought as he made his way to another crate.
Flipping the latch, he viewed the contents inside.
He saw several more cans of brown meat, as well as a can opener. The rest in there could be considered junk for the moment. Fake I.D's and other such documents. There was one item that may prove useful, though it could be just as harmful.
A gun. A small Smith and Wesson 38 revolver. Six shots. Loaded.
Dipper knew that Stan claimed to have ten guns stashed in his home, but he never believed it. They had always been out of his and Mabel's sight, for obvious reasons.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ghost Eyes motion over to Gideon. They looked in the crate before sharing a knowing look. There was something in the crate that they would be keeping to themselves. Stealthily, he placed the gun into his vest, opposite the Journal. If they were keeping secrets, then so was he.
"I found a can opener." Dipper announced. "Let's take stock, then we can have a quick breakfast."
It took them about five minutes to go through all of the crates for anything useful. They placed it all in a pile.
"A few more cans of those brown meats."
34 in total. One can opener.
"One first aid kit."
A bottle of strong painkillers. Two bundles of gauze wraps. Two bottles of disinfectant. There was a third, but they had poured it on Ghost eyes wound, all of it just to be sure. A needle and thread, for stitching.
"A leather bag."
They could use it to carry everything.
"Is that all?" Dipper asked.
"All that could be useful."
Dipper didn't mention the gun and Gideon didn't mention what he and Ghost Eyes found.
"Fine, let's eat."
They all gathered around the boy as he opened the cans and handed one to each of them. Now they were down to thirty cans.
"Wait, where are our forks or spoons?" Pacifica asked.
"There are none." Dipper answered.
"Then how are we-" She was silenced when she saw the answer, everyone was eating with their bare hands. "That's disgusting!"
Dipper said nothing, he was used to drowning out unneeded chatter, he did live with Mabel. Thought she was a ball of sunshine and he was was starting to miss her terribly. He just continued to eat.
"That stuff tasted horrible." She exclaimed after finishing her can.
Dipper decided to sympathize with her. "It takes some getting use to, but-"
"It's no worse than the stuff they serve us in prison." Gideon cut in before pausing. "Actually, they taste pretty similar."
"Well, what now?" Ghost eyes asked, looking at Gideon. "Where do we go from here?"
"Well, we can't stay here." Dipper stated, remembering the demon's words. "I recommend we head North, like the Author did."
"I recommend South." Gideon stated, but gave no reason why.
"Too dangerous." Dipper stated as he held the Journal up. "At least if we head North, we'll have an idea of what's a head of us. From the way we were spread out, I can only assume that we landed in different spots." Dipper stated. "That means the portal can open anywhere randomly, but it can also be controlled seeing as how the Author made it through."
"Maybe we shou-"
"You should follow the Journal." Another voice spoke.
The group jumped at the new voice, they didn't relax when they saw who it belonged to. Bill Cipher. The dream demon had just popped from nowhere and they feared he might make a habit of it.
"What happens if we don't?" Ghost eyes asked.
Bill tapped his would-be nose. "That would be telling. Now, humans," He said as he floated down and squatted, signalling them to squat beside him. He drew a simple compass in the dust at his feet, and pointed to one of the arrows. "That's North, as you'll see by the position of the sun. Go in that direction until you come to the hunting grounds of a black panther. You have to kill the panther to find out where to go next."
Smiling with his eye, he stood and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Dipper stopped him. "Is that all you're going to tell us?"
"What more would you like to know?" He asked politely.
"Loads!" Pacifica shouted. "Where are we going and why? How do we get out of here? What happens if we walk East or West instead of North? And what the hell does a Journal have to do with any of it?"
Bill sighed impatiently. "I thought you would have developed an appreciation for the unknown like these two by now." He grumbled. "Don't you realize how exciting it is to set out on an adventure without any idea of what's coming next? I'd give my wellies and glasses to experience the world the way you do, as something strange and challenging."
"Forget the wellies and glasses!" She snapped. "Just give with some answers!"
"You can be very rude sometimes." Bill complained, but squatted again and paused thoughtfully. "There's much I won't tell you. You'll have to discover for yourselves where we are and where you're going, although it won't make much difference if you don't. You get out of here, obviously, through a mechanism either of magic or incredibly evolved technology, or die. I don't care which. If you don't follow the trail North, you'll die, probably quite horribly. No, definitely quite horribly."
"You have to give us something to go on! You show up out of nowhere and start giving order and expect us to listen!?" Ghost eyes stood to his full height, trying to look intimidating. "You can't expect us to work on fear of death!"
Bill seemed to consider the statement in silence, before answering. "Somewhere on this world lies a once glorious temple, now it's nothing more than a glorified shack. I like to refer to as the Temple of Dreams. There you can glimpse the things you seek most. Be it power, a way home, or something else. You must find the Temple, then...well you'll figure it out. Or go mad in the process. If you succeed, all your dreams will come true. If not ?" He shrugged.
"There's more to this, isn't there." Dipper stated instead of asked. "Something you're not telling us."
"Of course there is." Bill answered.
"Why should we go looking for this thing!?" Pacifica demanded, turning to Dipper. "You said that your family, can get us home! Let's just wait here!"
"Bad idea." Bill stated in a sing-song voice. He snapped his finger and a roar echoed in the distance behind them. "You all better get moving within the hour."
With nothing more to say, the demon faded away.
The group eyes each other before nodding. They had a destination and a purpose, albeit a shaky one. Not like they had any real choice in the matter.
"Fine." Dipper spoke, reaching for the sac as he stood up. "Let's g-"
"No." Gideon spoke. "Since you intend to keep the Journal, I'll carry the sac."
The air became tense again. Neither boy trusted the other to carry the provisions.
"Rotate it." Pacifica added. "Neither wants to let the other have it, so rotate it."
The boys looked each other in the eyes before slowly nodding, accepting the idea. It would be an easy way to keep stock on what the other had, as well as make their own plans.
Maybe I should be in charge. She thought.
"What a great idea." Gideon stated, before shoving the bad into her chest. "We'll start with you."
"W-What?" She nearly dropped the bad, it was heavier than she expected.
"Well, after your poor display last night." Gideon began, referring to the fight. "It seems fitting you make your self useful now."
Pacifica turned her pleading eyes towards Dipper, but he wouldn't be swayed. It wouldn't be right for her to do nothing while they kept her alive.
"Carry the bag." Dipper spoke. "It's only for a few hours."
They now had equipment and a destination, meager though they both were, it was more than they started with. With nothing more to say, they headed North.
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