Sweater Town
Chapter 2 – The Book
By Starwin
When Mabel awoke it wasn't exactly morning. The harsh red letters of the alarm clock on her desk said it was just past 3 am. Her thoughts were all fuzzy and jumbled up. The room around her was unfamiliar and in the dark, she couldn't find any landmarks to let her brain connect the dots. Then something far more important intruded on her. Dipper.
Her hands swept out across the bed, searching through the sheets for his comforting shape but she found only more empty sheets. "Dipper," she whimpered pleadingly into the dark but there was no answer. "Dipper, Dipper, Dipper!" Quickly the volume of her voice went from panicked whisper to screaming terror. "Dipper! DIPPER! DIPPER!" she shouted.
The lights in her room blazed to life and her parents, both with expressions of anguish on their faces, stood at her door. Her door. This wasn't the attic room up in Oregon where she had fallen asleep. This was her room, back at her house in California. Mabel took in the empty bed beside her before her parents quickly wrapped her up in their hugs. She continued to chant her brother's name uncontrollably into her mother's chest as her mom cradled her.
Dipper wasn't here. He was gone. Her brother, her twin, was lost, forever absent from her life. She was alone in the arms of her mom and dad. There was nothing but an empty void in her chest and a single repeating word spilling from her mouth. "Dipper."
It had been a dream, a wonderful, amazing dream where Dipper was alive and fine and happy. But it had been a dream. It wasn't real. He was gone and she was alone.
At last Mabel's voice failed her and all she could do was sob. Her father departed first, whispering into her ear and stroking her head with a sorrow filled smile of encouragement. Her mother stayed a bit longer, holding her, stroking her back and hushing her. She hugged her mom back just as tightly, the warmth and protective embrace was all that kept Mabel from coming apart at the seams. She wasn't sure how long they sat like that but her mom kept whispering into the top of her head, "it's alright honey, it's alright."
Mabel wasn't sure what was 'alright.' Nothing was 'alright' anymore but she didn't argue. It wasn't like she could have said anything anyhow. Besides, her mother's voice was calming her down. So she just sobbed until her tears ran dry and her mother laid her back down and told her to get some rest. On her way out, her mother repeated to Mabel that she loved her. She turned out the lights and closed the door.
Mabel did not go back to sleep. Rest was the last thing on her mind right now. Instead, she listened intently. Once she could no longer hear her parents footsteps, she clambered out of bed, falling to her knees and instantly regretting not landing on her feet. She touched her screaming skin through the fabric of her nightshirt to feel the bandages. She could still feel the painful spots beneath. Her injuries still felt fresh but she couldn't fathom what that meant. A jumbled up mess of thoughts were rolling around in her head and she was trying to sort out the pieces into some kind of sense.
Sweater town. She had been. She had gone someplace else, a whole other world, she was sure of it. The dream had felt so real! She tried to recall the details but they had mostly slipped away while she was crying in her parents arms. There were still bits and pieces though.
The Mystery Shack... Grunkle Stan... Dipper. Her eyes locked on one of her sketchpads and for a second time she fell painfully to her knees before scooping it up. A dream journal. That was what she needed. The sketchpad didn't have a very exciting cover, yellow with a hand drawing a picture of a hand. She needed to spice it up before it would be worthy of the task.
Luckily, construction paper was always near at hand and a quick ten minute makeover later, she had glued a shiny, golden, five pointed star over a burgundy colored background. Using a Pointie marker, she drew the number one inside the star. Or rather, she had intended to draw the number one. When she lifted the pen away, there was the letter 'D' instead. Her hand hovered above her newly created book. That… that probably wasn't a good sign.
She flipped the book open. The first few pages were filled with sketches, a skateboarding dog chasing a rollerblading cat. Her future dream car, it had twelve different seats positioned around her driver seat, for all the boys she was going to fall in love with. A uni-dragon - part unicorn, part dragon - and several other pages of ideas. She ripped them all out and tossed them aside.
Then she dove in, pen in hand and began to write, intent on recording everything she could recall about her dream. She stopped after the first sentence, reading it back and feeling her face fall. It should have read: Tonight I dreamed I returned to Gravity Falls. Dipper was there, he was fine, everything was great! We hugged and…
That was where she had stopped though. Because what she had actually written was: Dipper Dip Dipper D dipper D dipper Dipper. Dipper dip dipper! Dip dipper dip-
She looked blankly at the page, her brother's name repeated over and over. She threw the sharpie away, grabbing a different one and forcing herself to continue. We watched cartoons, we had dinner and we feel asleep in eachothers arms, just like we used to do when we were little! He is alive! My brother is alive and fine and happy!
She lifted the pen again. Dippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer.
Mabel through the pen and the journal across the room. Stupid book. Stupid pen. Stupid brain! It was all so, all so… BLARGH!
She pulled her nightshirt up over her face, wanting to hide away in it. She rocked back and forth trying to calm herself down, trying to think what she should do now. She spotted the answer spread out before her. Her eyes focused on what she was meant to do. Her thoughts focused on the one and only thing that mattered right now. Getting back into sweater town. Getting back to her brother.
She popped out of her makeshift nightshirt hiding spot and started to crawl across the floor. But she instantly stopped her advance, rolling to her side in agony. She had forgotten about her battered knees! Cursing her stupid brain once more she worked her way back to her feet and walked to the object she needed more than anything else in the world right now.
Lying beside her bed, the only thing on her otherwise spotless floor (except for the scraps of construction paper), was her shooting star sweater. Her room could be a mess sometimes (she had kind of made it a mess a few minutes ago but that was an emergency) but she liked to keep it clean, unlike Dipper who... Her thoughts broke down as she thought of him, of his mess, of his loss.
She shook her head and slapped her cheeks. No. He was fine. In sweater town, everything was fine! It would all be great, super, fantastic, amazing, some other word for how wonderful - yeah, wonderful, that worked - everything was going to be in just a few seconds!
The word 'wonderful' was bitter in her brain. She recalled the last conversation she'd had with her brother and how she deliberately overused 'wonderful' to cheer him up. She doubted very much anything would be 'wonderful' ever again.
She snatched up the sweater from the floor and practically dove inside it. She curled up tight, hiding completely within its woolen walls, willing herself to fall down into the other world she had been in before. Nothing happened. She just sat there in sweater limbo, feeling just as awful as when she had woken up. She began to rock back and forth, that's what she had been doing when she had gone in the first time, right? She rocked and rocked and rocked until she lost her balance and toppled over.
For a moment there was that feeling of falling, as though she was tumbling down into another world. But the carpet stayed under her butt and and she fell back only the distance to the floor. She landed with a dull thump that sprawled her out of her sweater.
Come on you stupid thing! was what she wanted to say, but instead, she just moaned out a sorrowful, "Dippppeerrrrrr!"
After a few minutes of nothing, she emerged from the sweater, yanking it off rather than sliding it on. She looked at the garment, trying to see if there was something wrong with it. The sweater looked as fine as it ever looked. She slapped herself in the head. Of course, she knew why it wasn't working, what an idiot she was, it was so obvious. She shook her head at her own foolishness and opened her mouth to let out a laugh. Of course the sound that came out was, "Dip."
Great, she couldn't even laugh properly. BLARGH! She had to fix this. It's not like she wanted to be stuck saying Dipper's name over and over. She wanted to say other things! She really, really wanted to! She just, couldn't, it was like something in her brain had flipped over and now she was just stuck.
As long as she was with her brother though, it didn't matter. Maybe he could even sort it out for her. She just had to get back into sweater town. She slung the sweater over her shoulder and marched across the hall into her brother's bedroom. She halted just beyond the threshold, her bare feet rubbing against the soft carpet. This was the first time she had been in his room since... well, technically, since yesterday morning, when he had still been fine. When she had still been fine. When everything had been great, perfect - okay, maybe perfect was an exaggeration. Things had been good between them.
She remembered skipping in, her brother still fast asleep under his covers. She had launched herself like a cannon ball onto him. He had not been super happy about her wakeup method but she had simply broken down into a fit of giggles, rolling back and forth, preventing him from getting up. The memory brought a smile to her face.
After the long pause at the door, she moved determinately across the room. Normally she would have trodden carefully, avoiding his discarded socks and other smelly clothing. But she was in a hurry and if she had to step on a few stinky socks or even his used underpants it was something she was willing to endure. She paused beside his bed, looking over the unmade sheets.
When she had last been in sweater town, she had fallen asleep in her brother's bed, up in the attic of their Grunkle's shack. If she wanted to go back, that was where she needed to be now. She climbed onto the mattress and pushed the covers and pillows away to make room for herself. As she did, her hand knocked into something hard under Dipper's pillow. She pushed the fluffy thing away and her eyes lit up. His journal.
She set her sweater aside. Her hands shaking slightly she reached down for the book. Carefully, as if it were a delicate million year old relic, she lifted the leather bound journal in her hands. In the dim streetlight of the early morning she could make out some of the rough details. The cover was deep blue (her brother's favorite color) and placed in its center was a silver foil pine tree cutout with the number one on it.
She had made this for him not long after they had returned home from Gravity Falls. She wished she had been able to do it earlier but a belated birthday present would have to do. Making books by hand wasn't easy.
Originally, she had wanted to trace the constellation on Dipper's forehead for the icon on the front. However, after one failed attempt to get a good trace while he was asleep, she decided on the symbol from the hat he had worn all summer long. Also, their last name was pines. Also, also, it just sort of felt... right? She couldn't explain it. It was like her shooting star, it just felt right. Her eyes fell on her sweater beside her.
Setting the book in her lap, she lifted the garment and slipped it over her head. She tucked in her arms, legs, feet and head into the sweater. The journal was sandwiched somewhat uncomfortably between her flat chest and noodly legs. She let herself slide back into sweater town, to hide away from the world. Gradually, as she let the wool hug her tight she felt... she felt... nothing.
Mabel let out a frustrated raspberry. This stupid thing! Why wasn't it working! She pulled the sweater tighter, still nothing happened. She whisper Dipper's name, the only thing she could say, nothing happened. She rocked, she bounced, she hummed. She did everything she could think of... Still, she remained firmly in reality, no matter how much she wanted to escape it.
This wasn't fair! One measly half day in sweater town was all she got! She was stuck here forever. She would never get to see Dipper again. She hugged the journal tighter against her chest. IT WASN'T FAIR!
The one person that mattered to her more than anyone else in the world had been taken away! A cold shiver ran through her body. The memory of the worst moment of her young life came unbidden to her. She saw the moment, the moment when the last flicker of life had left her brother forever.
The stiff bed vanished from beneath her and she began to fall, just like she had when Dipper had pushed her. It wasn't just a memory, it was really happening. She was falling, although there was no rush of wind in her ears.
Down, down, down into sweater town she fell. It felt a little like she was shrinking, although her nightshirt stayed the same size. Maybe the sweater was getting bigger? She wasn't really sure what was happening or how it worked. This wasn't really her area of expertise. She just made the sweaters man, she didn't imbue them with world altering magical portals. At least, she was pretty sure she didn't.
She landed soft as a feather in the exact spot she had been when she left, lying beside her brother in the camp bed. Her arm was draped loosely over him. She had scooted closer for cuddles during the night... Or her absence from this place, or, whatever had happened. In any case, she could feel the warmth of his body and his soft breathing with the occasional adorable snore.
Something in her brain took that moment to helpfully remind her this shouldn't be possible. The last time she had held her twin in her arms his skin had been cold, his body still, he had been d – NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
NO!
She was not going to think that. She was never going to think that again. It wasn't true, it was a lie, a nightmare, a make-believe that had never happened! She was already burying the thought deep down as though it had never even existed. She buried her face in his back as the tears came again.
She had never been a great liar, especially not to herself. It had happened, that terrible moment had really and truly happened. She couldn't stop thinking it now that she had brought the memory forward. Dipper was dead. It was her fault. It was all her fault! He. Was. Dead!
She pulled her arm away from her brother and put both hands against her head. NO! She re-affirmed to herself. No, Dipper was fine, he was right here, beside her, asleep, breathing softly, totally and completely and totally fine!
"DIPPER!" she called out. Panic burst abruptly out of her as if a dam in her brain had broken. "DIPPER! DIPPER!" she repeated just as loudly.
With a start, the body next to her sat bolt upright in bed, his expression a mixture of confusion with a dash of panic. His eyes darted around the room, searching for the source of the danger that had caused his sister to wake him. Then, after a long moment, his gaze came to rest on the girl that was now chewing on bunched up strands of her hair and hugging her knees to her chest.
"Mabel?" asked Dipper, a fatigued sound croaking out of his throat. He coughed, trying to clear his voice, and tried again. "Mabel, what's wrong? Why were you shouting my name?" She looked at him but quickly looked away. She started rocking in place, chewing on her hair like she did whenever she needed to think really hard. Or didn't want to talk. Or was bored. Or wanted to know what her hair tasted like that day...
At the moment, she didn't want to talk because she knew what the next words out of her mouth were going to be. Not an answer to his question, that's for sure.
Dipper rubbed the bridge of his nose and his tired bleary eyes. He sighed. "Mabel... " He looked at her, at a loss for words. She wasn't sure but it seemed like her brother was trying to make sense of the situation and coming up blank. She continued to chew her hair, a down expression on her face. "Okay," sighed Dipper shaking his head. She didn't stop chewing or rocking and she certainly wasn't about to let her knees go, they were super safe and warm right now.
"Hey Mabel, what's this?" asked Dipper his hands fishing something out of the sheets. She turned her head slightly to see what he was talking about. However, she received an unexpected shock as she got a good look at his face. It wasn't the Dipper she remembered sitting next to her. Well, it was, but he was different. His hair was slightly shorter and their was the faintest wisp of peach fuzz on his chin that certainly hadn't been there last night. His face was also different in a way she could only describe as older. Even his body looked more lanky.
She tumbled out of bed and away from her unfamiliar brother.
"Mabel!" cried Dipper, setting something down on the sheets as he crawled over to look at her splayed out on the floor. "Are you alright? What's going on with you today? First you crawl into my bed this morning, something you haven't done since we were here last year, now you won't tell me what's wrong." A deep frown of concern on his not-quite-right face. "And where did you find this?"
He pulled something up from the bed beside him and Mabel felt her eyes widen. It was the journal. The blue, number one pine tree, journal she had made for Dipper. The journal she had hugged to herself before falling into sweater town. How the heck had that come with her?
"I thought I had left it at home," he said. He looked at her with questioning eyes. "Did you secretly bring it with you?" Not really considering what she was doing, she nodded. Somehow the journal had come with her into her dream. And she hadn't told anyone about it, for obvious reasons. So, technically, yes, she had secretly brought it with her.
Dipper looked confused for a long moment, then a smile of pure elation spread across his face. He nearly toppled out of bed and did something she was wholly unprepared for. He hugged her.
Over the last few years they had hugged less and less. It had become awkward. Well, awkward for Dipper. She had always been very loose with other people's personal space. At first she hadn't understood her brother's apprehension (in truth, she still didn't understand, who didn't like hugs?!). But she knew and respected her brother enough to know not to push the issue.
This was the first time in years since he had hugged her without asking for permission. She was so shocked that for a full ten seconds (well, eight and a half seconds but who was counting) she didn't hug him back. She just sat there like some kind of none-huggy-thingie. Finally she wrapped her arm around him and hugged her best-est bro-bo in the whole freaking universe. Yet, strangely enough, she felt somewhat awkward with the contact in a way she never thought hugs could feel. After a moment, Dipper pulled back, rubbing his arm somewhat uncomfortably.
"Sorry," he said, his face a little red as he released her. "I was just - this is awesome Mabel! Why didn't you tell me you had it!" She shrugged. "It's still one of the best gifts you've ever gotten me. I was totally freaking out when I couldn't find it. I mean, it has two years worth of notes in it and I don't have a backup copy. I really should think about scanning some of its pages-"
However, she wasn't listening to him. Something he had said derailed her thoughts. Some part of her brain raised its arms in a alarm and began to run around waving panic flags. She was slow to come to grips with it, her mind working like molasses. Two years of notes? That wasn't right, the book wasn't more than a month old now.
And something else was bothering her too. Her brother. Never mind that it shouldn't be possible for him to be talking to her right now, there was something else about him that was wrong. Her eyes swept across his body getting a good look at him. He certainly didn't look thirteen. But if he wasn't thirteen than that meant that she wasn't -
Her eyes shifted down to her night shirt and she nearly let out a scream of surprise. Instead, it was just a gasp of shock. She, wasn't flat anymore. Two smallish round bumps, not quite as big as her closed hands, (she brought her hand up side-by-side to measure, yep, just smaller) protruded under her nightshirt. The rest of her body didn't seem that much different but it was hard to tell looking through her own eyes. Sitting on the floor wasn't helping give her any perspective.
Dipper had said two years of notes, so he'd had the journal for two years? Did that mean they were fifteen now? No, it was summer. She had to be fourteen, with their fifteenth birthday only a month or so away. Her brain backtracked again as her eyes focused on her brother.
He was looking at her. No, he was staring at her but not at her face. His eyes were lower, off center from where they should be. Lower than they should be. She followed his gaze and felt a flush of embarrassment rush across her cheeks. Like her, he had also been staring at her chest.
"Dipper!" she cried, covering her body with her arm. She scooted backwards, bumping into her bed.
"Sorry! Sorry!" came Dipper's panicked voice. "I didn't mean to stare. And, I dunno, I was just worried because you have been acting strange this morning. I mean, more so than usual, and, I'm sorry!"
There was a long awkward silence between them.
"I wasn't staring at your - you know," said Dipper, breaking the silence. He was still hiding his face with the book. "I was looking at you, how beautiful you are. Don't get me wrong, I really like your sweaters and all... but you wear them all the time, and… you know, you have a great body. I mean! That came out wrong! I didn't mean it like that! I mean, you don't need to hide yourself!"
Mabel smiled, still feeling embarrassed but also feeling a little giddy. She liked it when her best bro was embarrassed too. It was way less awkward to be embarrassed together. He was so adorable when his brain didn't work.
She scooted her butt forward again as her brother continued to stammer. He finally looked up from the book. She smiled at him then blew a huge raspberry and waved the sleeves of her nightshirt at him. Dipper laughed as the fabric batted gently against his arms and face.
"Man, Mabes, you are being so weird today," said Dipper, "is this just another one of those phases, or - " his eyes widened slightly and he lifted his arm to look at a heavy duty adventure watch. She hadn't seen him put it on, so he must have been sleeping with it. Yeah, that was something her brother would totally do. His next words however caught her off guard. "It's only the fourteenth, I didn't think it was, uh, that time for you yet. Is it?"
That time for her? She tilted her head in confusion. Dipper winced.
"You know, the thing," he said looking very, very uncomfortable now. "Come on Mabes, don't make me say it. You know, the thing!" What the heck was her cray-cray brother talking about. He sighed. "Fine, you win, your period. It isn't that, is it? Is that why you're being so…" he sighed again, "Cray-cray."
She actually let out a snort of laughter when he said it, that must have been why he said it. However, he had also said something else. Her 'what-now?' Her period? That's what he had said.
She understood the basic principle at work, sort of. She had gotten a crash course in it last year from her Grunkle Stan when she had accidentally been switched into her brother's body. There had also been a, not as uncomfortable but still not great, talk with her mother about all that sex stuff. She, didn't recall it being the best most fun conversation of her life.
Still, her lady thing hadn't started yet. If she was super lucky, it never would! She was hoping it never would. Everything she learned about growing up so far sucked! Well, okay, not everything. That peach fuzz on her brother's face was cute. If she could talk she would have teased him over it for hours. And, these things on the front of her chest weren't so bad, although she hadn't really had a lot of time with them so… wait, he was looking at her, what had they been talking about? Her face reddened as she remembered.
She shook her head.
"Okay, so just acting strange because you're Mabel?" he asked. She took a second to think, then nodded, then blew another raspberry at him. He laughed. "Ha ha, okay I get it." He paused and glanced back down at the journal. "I'm really glad you found it though, the summer wouldn't have been the same without it. Thanks." She smiled at him and hit him playfully in the shoulder. "Ha ha - ouch," he rubbed the punch spot. "I thought you agreed no more hitting."
Dipper's stomach grumbled and a moment later, Mabel's did the same. "Guess it's time for breakfast?" She nodded. "Dibs on the bathroom!" shouted Dipper. He hurried to his feet and yanked a pile of unlikely to be clean clothing off the floor. He jogged towards the door before Mabel even had a chance to protest.
"Dipper!" she cried in a half upset half amused voice. He didn't stop though and was out the door before she had even gotten to her feet.
Dibs totally wasn't fair. First bathroom rights were always - ALWAYS - given to the winner of rock-paper-scissors! Besides, she couldn't have called dibs even if she wanted to. Totally unfair. And - and she should be more upset about it. Really though she just felt amused. First, second, it didn't really matter as long as they were both here.
Mabel went back to sit on his bed while her brother hogged the bathroom. Her hair chewing had stopped but she was still wrapped up inside her own head. Maybe it was okay that he had gone first, she needed some time to think.
This place, whatever it was, it was real. She wasn't dreaming this, she wasn't pretending or imagining or make-believing or... some other word for all in her head. At least, she was really, almost, maybe, sure this was real.
Her eyes swept over the room, looking for anything that did not belong. Yet, the room looked much like she remembered. The same beds, the same junk shoved into a corner. There was even the same untidy mess across the floor, as if Dipper had just dumped his things on the floor the moment he arrived.
Her eyes drifted upwards and the folds of the sweater continued to linger overhead in place of a ceiling. That was the thing that made her the most unsure about this. If it was real, if she was really here, in their Grunkles attic in Oregon, what the banana-ramma-pajama-pants was sweater town doing hovering above her? That shouldn't be there... right? That alone clearly indicated this wasn't real. But if it wasn't real then why did it feel so real? BLARGH!
Also, there was that journal thing! That was real! She had brought that with her. Dipper had held it, read it, if he wasn't real how could he have done that! Ha! That just proved he was real! Because the journal was real! Right…? But her brother had said there was also a journal here, he had just left it behind. So whose journal was it? Was it her brother's or… her brother's? BLARGH!
Also, also, and this was what was really nagging at her the most, what had happened before she arrived. Dipper said it was two years later than it should have been, never mind the wrong month. And she had obviously been here for those two years. Or someone like her had been here for two years. And for that matter what about the last twelve years? How different were those twelve years? BLARGH!
Also, also, also, what happened to sweater town when she wasn't here? Did it stop existing when she left? Would she be the Mabel of tomorrow, and if not, would tomorrows Mabel remember any of this? !
All of it made her head spin. She really couldn't get her mind around any of it, this was really Dipper's area of expertise. But she had no way to communicate any of it to him. She really needed a way to talk to him.
Not for the first time, she wished that she and Dipper had twin telepathy so that she could broadcast her thoughts into his head! That would be so cool. She shook her head. Sadly, Dipper almost never correctly guessed what she was thinking. Like, never ever, ever, ever.
"Hey, Mabel," came her brother's voice and a knock from the door. "I'm heading downstairs. Come on down when you're ready." There was a long pause in which he seemed to be waiting for her reply. For a very brief moment, she considered calling out to him. Being apart at all that first day here had been so painful. But he obviously wasn't going anywhere and she wouldn't have anything to say to him anyhow. Plus, she still needed to get changed. So she stayed quiet. "Alright, see you downstairs." She heard his footsteps moving away.
Mabel let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She continued to sit on the end of Dipper's bed for a good minute or so more. Finally, she got off the mattress and moved over to her luggage to pick out today's attire.
She selected a pale green undershirt with matching green skirt, socks and underwear. She had decided to wear her watermelon sweater today. It started on a strip of green rind at the hem and moved up in layers until it was mostly watermelon red dotted with black seeds. To finish off the look she had selected a red hairband. Absently she dressed, pulling on her clothing without much attention. She was more focused on the strange unanswered mysteries of this place tumbling around in her head.
She headed for the door but paused in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection in the glass. She had just change, being briefly naked while she had done so. Yet, she hardly remembered doing it, like it was natural. She hadn't bothered to look over her older body at all. Seeing herself in the mirror gave her pause and refocused her thoughts on this familiar yet strange body she was in. She wasn't a lot different than how she expected it to be. Maybe a little taller, it was hard to tell.
Dipper was right though, with her sweater on, her chest really wasn't noticeable at all. Briefly she considered pulling all her clothing off. She did have the room to herself and she was curious to see how she had changed.
Yet, it didn't feel right, like she was invading someone else's privacy. It was definitely her body reflected in the glass. A strange, oddly shaped, older body but still her body. It was wrong somehow. She frowned and the girl in the mirror frowned back. She stuck her tongue out at herself and so did her reflection, that made her feel a little better.
She made her morning bathroom trip, brushed her teeth (stupid braces of course they still had to be there) and headed downstairs when she was done. About halfway down she caught part of a conversation Dipper and Grunkle Stan were having. She paused to listen because the first recognizable word she had heard was her own name.
"Okay, so your sister's a little odd, kid," replied Stan to Dipper's statement that she had missed. "I mean, you're a little odd too."
"Mr. Pines, I think we're all a little odd at heart," came a third voice that made her face light up. Soos. Of course Soos was here.
"Look, all I'm saying is that she is being a little stranger than normal today," continued Dipper. "Just give her some time, alright?"
"Sure, whatever you say, kid," said Stan.
"I'm serious," her brother continued. She stopped again feeling her insides well with affection. She loved it when her brother stood up for her. It reminded her that he wasn't just pretending to put up with her fun loving silly self. Nor did he stand by her side just because he was born into it. He really, truly, cared about her well being. "Don't tease her, not right now. Can you at least promise me that."
"I promise nothing," said their Grunkle. "So long as you two can pull your weight around here."
"Pull our weight?"
"Yeah, dude," said Soos. "There is always work to be done around the Shack. Even I, Sir Mystery, must take this time to fix the unfixable, right the wrongs and repair the broken!" There was a pause. "What, I'll always be a handyman at heart."
"Sir Mystery?" asked Stan flatly. "Soos, that doesn't even make sense."
"How about Mystery Man!" suggested Soos excitedly, "I could wear like a mask and a cape."
"Or," said Stan with a sigh, "You could just wear the normal outfit and keep calling yourself Mr. Mystery!"
"But how would the guests ever tell us apart!" cried Soos. "We would be indistinguishable from one another, like twins! Like triplets!"
"Soos," sighed Stan. "Look, anyhow, kid, you didn't think this summer would be full of laying around did you?" asked their Grunkle with an unsettling chuckle. "We're putting you two back to work in the Mystery shack."
"But…" protested Dipper.
"Hey, we all gotta chip in, kid!" said Stan, "me and Ford still own the place! And until he gets back, you gotta do what I say. And I say you and your sister gotta work!" Mabel continued cautiously downstairs, now that the conversation seemed to have shifted away from her. "Besides, you had fun doing it last year."
"Uh-huh," said Dipper, and she could almost hear her brother pressing his fingertips together. "Okay, counterpoint, we didn't get paid last year, or the year before that. How much are you going to pay us for our work this year?" She entered the kitchen. Dipper and Soos were both sitting at a small foldout card table. Their Grunkle was busy bustling around the kitchen preparing breakfast.
"Pay you? What, am I made of money!" asked their Grunkle.
"Aw, come on Mr. Pines, I'm sure we can figure something out," said Soos.
"Soos! I thought I taught you better than to pay if you didn't have to!" said Stan. His eyes fell on Mabel as she took the chair beside her brother. "Good morning sweetie."
"Good morning, girl dude," said Soos with a smile and nod.
She smiled and nodded back to each of them but didn't say anything. Their Grunkle shrugged but Soos frowned slightly..
"Anyhow," continued their Grunkle, "you've got room and board."
"And food, right?" asked Dipper as their Grunkle sat down with a single plate of toast, burnt bacon and scrambled eggs.
"You want food, help yourself," said Stan, waving a hand at the kitchen. Dipper sighed and started to get up, but Mabel put a hand on her brother's arm, looked him in the eyes and said-
"Dipper."
"What, you don't want to work in the shop?" asked Dipper. She shook her head. "Is that a shake that you do or a shake that you don't?" She shook her head again. "Wait, which one..."
"Maybe it's like two shakes for yes, like a double negative head shake?" interjected Soos.
She rolled her eyes and firmly pushed Dipper into his seat. She started bustling around the kitchen, seeing what food they had.
"Oh, you want to make us breakfast this morning." That finally got a nod, although she was too busy grabbing ingredients to look around. "Man, sometimes I wish we had twin telepathy powers or something."
She turned and said, "Dipper, Dipper!" before clapping her hands over her mouth and turning away to busy herself, her face beet red with embarrassment. She had meant to say, I know, right?! Unfortunately she had forgotten that words weren't working for her right now. She could hear the room behind her pause for a moment as her Grunkle tried to process what just happened while her brother kept his mouth shut.
"Okay, odd might have been too light a term," said their Grunkle.
"Maybe it's a game of some kind, like we have to solve a secret code!" cried Soos.
"Or, it's just Mabel being Mabel," said Stan. "Although, I don't remember her being this odd. Well, yes, actually, I do. Is she always like this now?"
"Like this? No," said Dipper. Mabel was starting to dump ingredients into a mixing bowl she had found. She was focusing hard on the mixing instead of the listening. She wasn't doing a good job of either. "No, this is new, since like, this morning."
"Huh," said Stan. "Well, maybe she can work as one of the attractions, 'the one worded girl!'" Mabel could feel the red from her cheeks creep up into her ears. She continued to mix the rough white paste into smooth white batter.
"Hey, you promised!" cried Dipper indignantly
"I said I make no promises," retorted their Grunkle with a chuckle. "I'm kidding honey but I don't think I'll have you work in guest relations either. HA!" Neither twin laughed but Soos chuckled at the joke.
"Good one, Mr. Pines," he said.
"Don't patronize me, Soos. Look you two need to lighten up, this is summer, I'm not your parent, heck, I'm hardly a responsible adult. Go nuts, have fun, live a little, just so long as you get all your work done! And help push that merchandise."
Their Grunkle finished just as Mabel was starting to pour out the pancake batter. He hardly even gave her a second look as she stood by the stove (which she noticed she didn't need a stepstool to reach now). Their Grunkle was off to get ready for the day. Soos also bid them farewell (he'd had breakfast earlier that morning). He went off as well.
A few short minutes later, she was serving up pancakes to her brother and herself (of course). He was smiling at her. A weary, guarded smile. It wasn't until they were halfway through their breakfast that He spoke what was on his mind.
"I asked him not to do that," said Dipper, poking at one of the syrup laden pancakes he had been working on for the past few minutes. He looked at his sister, she had a cutesy remark ready to give him but the most she could do was smile and shrug. "Man I never thought I would miss your silly comments." He went back to poking his pancake. "I hope whatever is going on with you is just temporary, cuze, I miss you Mabes, without your words it's like you're not really here."
Not for the first time, she wondered if she was really here or if here really was. She wanted it to be. For sure. One hundred and a billion percent. This place was great! Because in this place, her brother was here.
They continued to eat the rest of their breakfast in silence. Dipper seemed lost in thought as he ate and she wanted to do almost anything but eat in silence. The almost anything of course was shouting her brother's name over and over. When they finished, her brother just continued to stare at his plate and it took her poking him to snap him out of it.
"Ow!" Dipper complained covering his eye. She had been aiming for his nose but missed. "What?" She stared at him. "Oh, right, you... uh, I guess you can't really answer." He seemed to ponder this for a long while. "You know I've never been good at guessing what you want, right?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes. Well, he had her there. He was horrible with subtlety. Sometimes they were on the same page about stuff, about fun things usually. But she was never going to just get her thoughts across for something as complicated as this. Heck, she didn't even know what was really going on! How did you tell someone something you didn't know that you couldn't even tell them!
"Right..." Dipper said, mostly to himself, nodding absently, clearly having no idea. "Riiiiggghhhhtttt..."
"Dipp-eeerrrrr," Mabel whined in frustration.
"Okay, first order of business, we need to find a way to communicate," said Dipper thoughtfully, nodding to himself. "You can't say anything besides my name but you can clearly understand other words. Which means, we have at least one way complex communication." He had produced a notepad from somewhere, most likely his pocketed cargo pants. "Maybe you could write notes?" He held out the pad but Mabel remembered the last time she had tried to write, she shook her head. "Okay, no writing either...
"But you can respond in at least a limited fashion," continued Dipper, slowly clicking a pen in his hand as he spoke. "We have at least a few modes of information, voice, which is only my name, not very helpful, but something. Body language, the way you look at me when I ask or say something stupid, not very helpful either. But you do have a way to say yes or no." She nodded. "Exactly. So all I have to do is find the right questions." She shrugged, sure, that was worth a go she guessed. But what were the odds he would ask the right questions? "Okay, yes, no and maybe? That last one isn't very helpful...
"Alright, the most obvious question first," said Dipper, clicking the end of his pen quickly as he both thought about his words and prepared to write down his findings. "Do you have any idea why you can't say anything but my name."
She felt her eyes widen just a little bit and she both shook her head and nodded at the same time, leaving her a bit dizzy. Why, oh why did he have to ask that? She knew exactly why she was saying his name, why it was the only thing she could say. Well, okay, she didn't know why she couldn't stop saying it now, even though she wanted to. But she knew what had started it. That terrible moment, the one she didn't want to remember. She shook her head, realizing that she had inadvertently answered another question.
"Okay, not aliens..." he mumbled. Thankfully it had been a stupid question. "How about ghosts?" She rolled her eyes this time. "What, ghosts exist! Okay, if not ghosts, than - " She put her hand over his mouth and glared at him. After a moment he stopped trying to talk and she pulled her hand away. "Okay, right, good point, I can't just guess an endless list of stuff, we would never get anywhere... but not secret government agents that used some kind of mind blocky thingy on you, right?" She shook her head more out of annoyance than answer. Really, what were the odds of something like that? Actually, now that she considered it, maybe pretty good? Probably unlikely though.
Dipper clicked his pen faster, "Okay, so, you might or might not know the cause. But can't or won't affirm what it was. That does make it harder... Alright, next question. Uh, do you remember who I am?" She gave him a confused look. "I'm just checking if it's some kind of amnesia or something... where... you... only remember my name... okay, maybe that was a stupid question too." He looked down, then looked up, perhaps a little sad. "But you do remember me, right?" She nodded vigorously and grabbed her goofball nerd brother up in a tight hug. "Okay, okay, Mabel you can stop now! Air, need air! Mabel!" She finally released him.
Dipper gasped for a moment before finally relaxing. He gave a nervous little cough and returned to his notepad. For the very few questions he had asked, it seemed to take him a long time, and a lot of muttering to himself, before he finally looked up.
"Alright," he said at last with a nod. "I have no idea what's going on here." She felt her face fall in disappointment. Of course she hadn't expected him to have figured everything out but come on man, he didn't have anything? Finally he seemed to read her expression correctly and continued, "Give me some time here Mabel, let me think of some better questions to ask and I swear we'll figure this thing out, together, okay?" She nodded in agreement, a beaming smile upon her face.
However, the time Dipper was given to work on some more questions was cut short as their Grunkle appeared only a few minutes later and announced it was time to get to work. Really though, it was only time for Dipper to get to work and most of that work seemed to be cleaning. Her task had been, "Help your brother out, or whatever." So she had.
He swept, she dusted. Room after room filled with the bizarrest assortment of creatures and things she had ever seen, at least, since she had been here last time or the time before, or, whatever. It seemed that Soos had managed to add even more strange oddities to the collection. Their Grunkle and the former handyman worked as a team, handing off guests to one another as they led them through the Mystery Shack.
The place was just as strange and tacky as she remembered. A few of the odd things, like the stuffed rabbit wearing little tiny boots on each of it's feet, looked like her Grunkle had just slapped it together himself. Matters weren't improved when he was leading a tour through the room where Dipper and Mabel were cleaning. As the excited group of tourist admired the booted bunny, her Grunkle leaned over and whisper to her, "Ha, can you believe these chumps? I slapped that thing together last night!"
The day wore on but the amount of people coming through was astoundingly high. Apparently, having the original Mr. Mystery back in town really brought out the crowds. As did, to Mabel and Dipper's horror, the Mystery Twins.
Several tourist stopped to take her and Dipper's photo. She had no idea what was going on until they went to clean the Room of Nightmares. Something that couldn't have been more aptly named. It had once been the parlor where they had happened upon cursed wax dummies, which, naturally, had tried to kill them. But that wasn't even half as terrifying as what it held now.
The room was a recreation of Weirdmageddon, complete with a wax statue of the demon Bill Cypher at the front. It gave her the creeps and Dipper didn't seem very fond of it either. She was all too happy when they finally departed it.
Sometime before lunch, while they were cleaning the gift shop, their Grunkle appeared. The previous tour group had just departed, loaded down with tacky merchandise (really a bobble head of Soos? She poked the little statue again and its head jiggled. She giggled, okay, it was pretty fun).
"Alright," he announced. "Which one of you wants to go hang these 'Grand Return of Mr. Mystery' signs for me?"
"Dipper!" cried Mabel.
"Not it!" cried Dipper hurriedly, but too late. She always won in the battle of 'not it.' But of course, she hadn't said, 'not it.' Her brother frowned at her, thinking she had just volunteered him to do the work.
"Melody?" asked their Grunkle, addressing the brown haired woman working behind the counter.
Mabel and Dipper had helped hook her and Soos up this past summer, or - Mabel corrected herself - two years ago. She was still trying to figure out what was going on with the woman. Melody and Soos were definitely an item, but, she wasn't living at the shack, so, maybe she was still a girlfriend? It was so frustrating not to be able to just ask!
"Oh yeah, sure, I vote for the kid too," said Melody with a smile.
"Which one?" asked their Grunkle, clearly unhappy she wasn't volunteering for the work.
"Sure," she answered with a mischievous smile. Their Grunkle sighed.
"I would fire you all if I could," he said. "Alright, three against one, Dipper." He held out the signs for Dipper to take. Her brother looked confused and frustrated.
"Ah man, that's not fair!" complained Dipper as he took the signs.
"Life isn't fair, kid," said their Grunkle with a shrug. "Now go hang those things so we can part more of these saps from their money." Looking slightly dejected, her brother slouched off out the door to get to his task. Mabel watched him go, before taking a step after him, intent on following. "Whoa, where do you think your going?" asked her Grunkle. She looked up at him with a frown. If he thought he could stop her from chasing after Dipper, he was going to be mistaken. "HA! I'm kidding, I don't care where you go, have fun, kiddo." He produced a wad of cash from someplace and strolled off, counting it to himself.
Mabel stood there slightly confused for a moment, before the woman behind the counter spoke up, a smile in her voice. "You've been pretty quiet today. That's not really like you. I was half expecting a dance party or something." Mabel just smiled weakly at her. She hadn't really spent a lot of time with Melody, there had just been that hour or so when they had been fleeing for their lives from killer robots. Melody, though, seemed to know a fair bit about her. "Everything alright, Mabes?"
Mabel felt her eyes widened just a tad. 'Mabes' was the nickname her brother liked to say when he was worried about her. No other person in her life had ever used it. Yet, here was Melody, just casually throwing it out. Melody frowned, her head tilting to one side.
"It's just us girls, you can tell me what's bugging you," said Melody. Mabel smiled and shook her head. This didn't seem to be the answer Melody was looking for but she also didn't press the issue. "Alright, well, I'll be here if you need to talk." Mabel nodded her thanks and started towards the door. "Oh, before you go, you might want to take the hammer and nails. It will probably make the sign thing way easier." She nodded to the supplies their Grunkle had failed to point out and Dipper had not taken.
Mabel nodded determinedly, gathered up the hammer and the box of nails then headed out after her brother. As she made her way out of the shop she thought that maybe it was an okay thing that she couldn't speak right now. She had been dropped right into the middle of a life she didn't know. Words would only have made everything more confusing. Staying silent, people just assumed she was who she appeared to be.
Even her brother seemed to assume that. To him, this might just be a silly game or her normal strangeness. She frowned. He should know her better than that, right? It worried her that maybe he did, and the person that didn't know her was herself.
However, all of her thoughts were completely derailed as she stepped outside. She came to an abrupt halt just beyond the door. Her eyes swept across the sky, or rather, where the sky should have been. There was no sky. No cloud, or sun or blue, just endless pink folds of a sweater as high up as she could see. It wasn't just every ceiling inside the house, it was the sky! The whole, entire sky!
She shut her eyes tight then opened them. The sky remained determinedly absent. Sweater town loomed above her, reminding her vividly that this wasn't real.
"Mabel, are you okay?" called Melody from behind her, snapping Mabel out of her moment. She blinked again, the sweater-sky unchanging. She glanced back at Melody, smiled, gave her a thumbs up, dropped the hammer, scrambled to pick it up then dashed down the steps.
As she hurried after her brother, eyes focused on the ground rather than the sky, her thoughts drifted back to Melody. There was certainly a familiarity there that Mabel didn't remember. Even Melody seemed to know her pretty well. So, they got along than. Not surprising, she usually got along with everyone pretty well. Sure, there were some girls back at school that weren't super nice to her (but they weren't nice to anyone except each other and even then, she wasn't sure). And there were some boys that could have been nicer to her and especially nicer to her bro-
She felt her heart catch in her throat. No. She wasn't going to think about the bullies (fuzzy slippers she was already tearing up). No! Not about yesterday not right now. She shook her head and started to walk faster, trying to get her thoughts back on track.
She was in sweater town. Her brother was here, and fine, and someplace just ahead of her. She clutched the hammer and box of nails tighter in her hands and went from power walk into a jog. She wanted to talk to Dipper. She just didn't really know what to say to him.
BLARGH! Not having a voice was driving her nuts. She needed to get that thing working as soon as Mabelie possible! Of course, the one person she was sure could help - because, literally, his name was all over it - was walking away from her right now, a bunch of wooden signs tucked under his arm.
The forest around the building was very thick. The nearby trees had been chopped down long ago to make space for an uneven dirt parking lot. A dilapidated wood railing rain along the perimeter, marking the edge of the parking area. A tall totem pole marked the exit to the main highway.
She easily spotted Dipper as he trotted down the dirt road leading away from the Shack. Even from as far back as she was she could hear him muttering grumpily to himself as he went. She hurried to catch up to him but didn't call out, not yet.
At last Dipper stopped beside a tree to hang his first sign. She watched with a smile as he lifted the sign, stared at it in confusion. He checked himself for the missing tools that Mabel had and groaned in frustration. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!"
He turned just as she reached him, a huge smile on her face. For a second he looked confused, then she held up the box of nails and the hammer she had been holding behind her back. Dipper smiled.
"Always looking out for me huh?" he said, taking the hammer. As he reached out for the nails, the signs dropped from under his arm, narrowly missing his feet. Both Mabel and Dipper knelt down at the same time to pick them up but she put her hand on top of them and looked seriously at her brother.
"What, you want to help me do this?" She nodded. "But you volunteered – oh, yeah, that's right, you're only saying my name, right." She just smiled at him, he smiled back, looking a little embarrassed at having been angry with her. "Don't you have other things you want to do today? I mean, for the last couple of months you've pretty much talked to me nonstop, even though I have asked you to stop, about actually having the best most epic summer romance this year, even if it hasn't gone so great the last couple of years. I mean, Gideon still hasn't given up on you."
She stuck out her tongue in disgust. He might have been a reformed evil villain but no way! Dipper laughed. Oh how she had missed his laugh.
Had things been different maybe she would be off chasing after cute boys. Right now though, that was the last thing on her mind. Besides, how was she supposed to work her boy magic when the only thing she could say was her brother's name. Talk about awkward.
Gathering up the signs, she stood back up, offering them to Dipper. He smiled. "Glad to have you along on our little sign hanging adventure. Not sure it will be as fun as an epic summer romance but I'll try my best." She laughed and punched her brother in the shoulder playfully, dropping the signs on their feet once more.
They had been at the sign hanging thing for almost an hour. The stack Grunkle Stan had given them wasn't that big, maybe just fifteen or so. But as they were almost done, Soos had shown up in the golf cart and unloaded another batch of signs on them. "Mr. Pines said we'll need more coverage, and that your lifelong dream was to hang signs! That's pretty cool dude, achieving your lifelong dream already! Although, I thought it was to solve mysteries or something"
"It's not my lifelong dream to hang signs, Soos!" protested Dipper. But Soos just smiled and told Dipper would find it someday. She tried very hard to hold in her giggles, which was helped as Dipper piled the new signs onto her. The strayed off the road so that neither Soos nor Grunkle Stan could find them again and give them more signs. The two wandered deeper into the woods.
So far, Mabel had been pretty distracted, Dipper had been talking to her, mostly just his usual insecurities. He had started talking about Wendy at some point too. Apparently, last year the two of them had actually given the dating thing a try. Just once.
"And, I mean, I know it didn't work out," said Dipper. "But, I can't help the way I feel about her, you know?" She nodded. "I have to say, there is one good thing about this voiceless problem. You're a really great listener when you aren't interrupting me every few seconds." She stuck her tongue out at him again, then punched him in the shoulder, dropping the few remaining signs again for the hundredth time.
"Until you start speaking again, we need a better way for you to show affection than punching me in the shoulder," said Dipper, rubbing the spot she had been whacking him. She blew a raspberry at him. "No, I don't think that's a whole lot better."
They put up the last couple of signs. The odds of anyone actually stumbling across them out here in the woods was pretty unlikely. But hey, it wasn't their job to make sure people actually saw the signs. The two of them started back towards the shack. It was getting pretty late in the day and they hadn't had lunch yet.
Mabel was imagining what she was going eat, a huge multi-level super sandwich sounded pretty good right now. The kind you had to dislocate your jaw to eat.
"I can't wait to get back," said Dipper. "I've thought of some great questions to ask you. I think I'm even going to dedicate a page in the journal to this problem. Hopefully we can sort it out pretty quickly."
Mabel smiled, losing herself in the memory of when she had given her Dipper the journal only weeks ago. She had never seen him so happy. He had almost hugged her over it, almost, stopping just short of doing so. She had taken the initiative and moved the last couple of inches to hug him.
This Dipper (darn it, they were the same Dipper, right?) had hugged her when he had first seen it. Once more she was reminded that this wasn't real. Another quick glance at the sky confirmed it, yep, the sweater was still there.
It wasn't too long before they reached the Shack. The parking lot was oddly full for this time of day. Maybe the signs really were working? Dipper didn't seem to notice or at least didn't comment on it. She glanced one last time up at the sky before looking quickly down. It felt like if she looked up for too long she would fall into it. She grabbed her brother's arm hoping that keeping hold of him would keep her from tumbling away into the abyss above.
"What's wrong?" asked Dipper, before shaking his head. "Sorry, that's a reflex, I - " but whatever he was about to say was cut off completely as he pushed open the door.
A noise like a cannon erupted in front of them. There was shouting cheering, cries of surprise and laughter. For one terrible moment, Mabel thought today was their birthday or something, she didn't actually know the date. But the hanging signs announced WELCOME BACK MYSTERY TWINS!
The room was packed with people. It took her a moment to recognize some of them. There was so much to take in, so many people she knew had changed. She hardly knew who the beautiful black haired Asian girl was until she spoke, Candy, holy-hot-tolito! She looked amazing! And Grenda had become if possible even more muscular. Even Pacifica Northwest had come, and wow, wow, wow, Mabel didn't have words for how she had grown, she looked like a supermodel!
There was a flurry of hugs and greetings and cheering. People moved past in a blur as Dipper greeted them and Mabel just smiled and hugged wordlessly. Wendy and her friends, all older than Mabel remembered, greeted them too. She also didn't miss the awkwardness between her brother and the red headed girl he'd crushed on so hard.
However, she was most excited to find their Great Uncle Ford in the mix. Dipper seemed positively elated to see him there, even letting out one of his very rare girly squeals that was usually only reserved for the nerdiest of nerd things.
Ford explained that this had been his idea. If they had thrown a surprise party on the first day they arrived, Mabel would have expected it. To do it on the second day though, no one would suspect! And the signs had merely been a ploy to keep them out of the Shack during the setup.
Everyone seemed to want to talk to her, to ask about how her year had been, to catch up, to chat. But she couldn't. Luckily, Dipper had found an excuse for her, claiming that Mabel had shouted herself hoarse yesterday and couldn't speak. He was happy to catch people up and she listened with wrapped attention the first couple of times. After all, she was getting caught up on her life as well.
They had started high school this year, once more in all of the same classes except for one. Mabel had apparently joined the gymnastics team while Dipper had opted to just do the normal physical education route. Their studies were fine (he didn't elaborate) but really they were focused on continuing the mystery hunting in their spare time. Mabel knew she was only getting half the story of their lives but at least it was something.
Bits and pieces of her life crept in along the way. Apparently, she'd had two failed boyfriend attempts this year. One her parents had ended when they caught wind of it, she still wasn't technically allowed to date yet. The second she had broken off because, as Dipper put it, he had been a creep.
She also learned that she was still making videos in her free time, a series she had started last summer - her last summer, two years ago for this her, stupid time thing - called 'Mabel's Guide To.' Apparently, she had her own UsTube Channel (a popular video site where people put up mostly things about cats) where she posted her videos. Dipper even showed one of them on his smartphone to Grunkle Stan, who wasn't big on the whole technology thing.
The video was Mabel explaining cereal and what to add to cereal to make it more exciting. Glitter, the answer was obviously glitter, Mabel thought just as her other self added glitter to the bowl.
Gradually, the party began to wind down. Candy and Grenda said they would see her later, Candy strongly hinting at a sleepover sometime in the next few days. Did teenagers even do the sleepover thing anymore? Mabel didn't know but she certainly hoped so. Pacifica reminded her they had plans for their annual mini golf tournament on Wednesday. And Wendy punched Dipper in the arm and said they should go see that new summer blockbuster or some junk.
The party had come with food, so, there wasn't any dinner to be had that night. Soos and Melody were headed off on a date. Which left Dipper, Mabel, Stan and Ford alone. They all sat in the living room, now with more seating, and talked. Well, everyone but Mabel talked. She just listened.
Great Uncle Ford was recounting the epic adventure he and Stan had been having over the last few months. Apparently they had ended up deep in the jungles of Brazil, hunting down an ancient evil.
"So there we were, in it's lair at last," continued Ford, deep in his story. "And if you think Stanley's socks smell bad this place was even worse!"
"Hey! Your socks are just as awful!" complained Stan. And there was laughter from all of them
"True, but at least I wash mine from time to time," said Ford with a smile. More laughter.
"Dipper! Dip-er." Mabel shut up. Stupid! She had tried to join in on the fun, to point out that Dipper could do with way more washing of everything. In the moment she had completely forgotten she still couldn't say anything! Everyone looked at her.
"Dipper, what?" asked Ford, looking puzzled.
"That's uh, just Mabel being-" Dipper began. But Ford raised and eyebrow and cut him off. Dipper took a deep breath. "Okay, not exactly, look, she hasn't been able to say anything but my name all day long." Mabel gaped at him, surprised at his bluntness. they were never this forward about stuff with their parents, especially not with stuff about each other. Although, these were their great uncles who they had survived an apocalypse with.
"I see," muttered Ford. "Maybe a curse? Did you try using the bath salts and scented candles, that usually does the trick for things like this." Dipper looked at her and shook his head.
"I don't think it's a curse," said Dipper. Mabel also shook her head.
"Huh," said Ford, looking at her thoughtfully. "Well, I still have my lab downstairs, we could always run some tests."
"Actually, I think we just need to figure this out," said Dipper, glancing at her again. She nodded. Really, she just needed to figure all this out. "Oh! Wait, I do have something I want to show you!" exclaimed Dipper excitedly. "Wait here, I'll be right back!"
He leapt up from beside her and scrambled up the stairs to their room. There was a long awkward silence where no one seemed quite sure what to say while Dipper wasn't there. Mabel patted the tops of her knees in an off beat rhythm and blew out her cheeks. Then she caught Ford's gaze fixed on her, she stopped, thinking she might be annoying him or something.
"Only his name, huh?" he asked. She nodded. Ford took a deep breath through his nose.
"What?" asked Stan, "Do you know something about this?" Ford didn't answer immediately, his gaze still on her, like he was looking through her.
"I might," said Ford. "But I'd need to know more before I jump to any conclusions. I'll have to consult - " The sound of hurried footsteps down the stairs brought them all back into silence. Dipper reappeared, slightly out of breath. He looked around the room like he had missed something. He held up the journal that Mabel had brought.
"Check out what Mabel made for me," said Dipper, holding up the book and striding towards Ford. Ford's eyes widened slightly and a grin spread across his face as he saw it.
"Your own journal!" cried Ford in excitement. He touched the cover with his six fingered hand. "A pine tree huh?" He looked over at Mabel who nodded shyly, feeling oddly exposed. "Do you mind if I take a look inside?"
"Of course! I mean, go ahead!" cried Dipper in excitement. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about it!" Ford flipped open the journal, his eyes widening again. He wasn't reading the pages, just casually flipping through them. "I've been working on it for a couple years now but I didn't think it was ready for you to see yet. And I thought I left it at home but Mabel remembered to bring it for me. And I was wondering if you maybe wanted to help me add some entries into it or something," Dipper said all this very fast in his very excited voice. Ford continued to listen as he turned page after page. "What do you think?"
Ford's eyes found Mabel again, then he looked back at the journal and closed it, looking at the cover again.
"I think you have a pretty great sister who made you a pretty great book," said Ford, handing the journal back to Dipper. "I would be happy to help you with some of your notes if you like. Maybe even include a few of my own."
"Really! That would be great!" cried Dipper in excitement. "Could we maybe work on it tonight?" Mabel frowned slightly. She and Dipper were supposed to start working on what was wrong with her voice tonight.
"No, not tonight," said Ford, and Dipper looked a little disappointed. "We should get to bed early, we have a long day of goblin hunting ahead of us tomorrow." Dipper's eyes lit up.
"Wait, goblins, really? I thought there weren't any in Gravity Falls," said Dipper excitedly.
"I've been tracking a tribe of them, and I think they just moved in outside of town," said Ford with a nod. "We need to make sure they aren't going to cause any trouble. Now you two get off to bed and we will talk more about it in the morning."
"Alright, goodnight Great Uncle Ford!" called Dipper already scurrying off, in a hurry to get to bed and wake up early. Mabel started to get up but Ford gave her a look to stay put. Stan seemed to noticed this too, he shrugged and headed off towards his room, leaving them alone. It took Ford a long moment before he spoke.
"They didn't notice it, but I did," said Ford softly. "The way you were looking at people tonight, how you were surprised by the stories about yourself. And the journal, a pine tree..." Ford was still sitting across from her. She felt like she was in the principal's office or something. He was tapping his finger against his knee as he spoke. "It's more than just your voice that isn't working, you don't remember things from this past year, am I right?" Very briefly she thought about denying it. Instead, she nodded.
"This might be more serious than I thought. Look, I think you should get some rest," he lifted his hand to look at the watch on his wrist. "It'll be midnight in a minute or so. We can talk more about this in the morning." He stood up and Mabel felt like she was being dismissed. Instead of hurrying up to her room though, she ran forward and hugged Ford around his middle. It was so strange to be tall enough to do that.
"It's alright Mabel," he said stroking the back of her head, "everything will be-"
