Hundreds of questions were swimming through Gideon and Paz's heads as they trekked through forest, following the map to their treasure. What did the 3 or six fingered hand mean? What was so important that the person went to such lengths to hide it? Was it the Pines brothers that hid it, or some unknown third party they were involved with? Paz was bouncing with each step as Gideon tried to figure out the distance key to make sure they were headed to the right place. They walked along the main road between the town and Mystery Shack. The location the 3 marked couldn't be too far off from here.
"Whatever it is should be right about… here!" Gideon exclaimed looking up from the map. He wasn't sure if he expected to see some kind of giant X on the ground, some oversized treasure chest or a glowing landmark, but he wasn't expecting a whole lot of nothing. Gideon blinked, as he tried to figure out what he was looking at. Sure, come to think of it there was no way that it could have been noticed as people were just traveling down the road. But shouldn't there be something that didn't just look like the rest of the woods?
The only means to tell this patch of dirt from the rest of the trees that lined the road was the large fallen tree. "Maybe it's in here?" Paz wondered as she knocked on the dead tree. But it seemed solid enough. Normal moss, normal tree, and nothing hidden in the roots pulled out of the ground.
Paz gave a shrug as she leaned against the trunk. "Maybe it's buried? Probably should have brought shovels if we were going on some kind of treasure hunt…"
"I just don't understand…. There has to be something here." Gideon mumbled. Gideon fiddled with his hat frustrated, tucking some of the locks of white hair back under it. "At least some kind of clue to where the next piece of the puzzle is… did someone else find it?"
Gideon leaned against the trunk of another tree, only to get a loud hollow thunk. His eyes widened to attention. He immediately moved off the tree, wondering what that could be about. Paz jumped off of her resting spot, quick to give this odd tree a big knock. A grin spread across her face as she heard a nice hollow echo that sounded more like she was hitting a metal object than wood.
"It's hollow alright! The perfect hiding spot!" Paz confirmed as she started looking for an opening.
Gideon was the first one to find the crease in the tree. There were plenty of markings on the tree to make it look natural- it even had fake moss and mushrooms on it. But nature couldn't create such a straight line. With a little force, the metal panel opened.
"What… is it?" Gideon wondered aloud as he stared at the strange metal device inside the tree.
"Ah yes, my extensive knowledge of secret steampunk devices that are ancient looking but probably advanced technology finally comes in handy!" Paz remarked nodding. "And it tells me to start pushing buttons!"
"Stop!" Gideon yelled quickly grabbing Paz's arm to stop her. "What if it blows us up or something?! It could be some kind of doomsday device!"
Paz rolled her eyes. "Come on, who leaves those just hanging around? Especially not in a flammable place like the woods. Unless it's a remote detonator…" Paz considered. Then again, it did look pretty broken. "Well, one way to find out!" Paz said as she reached over to poke a button. Nothing was big and red, but there were a few switches and such. Something had to be the power button!
Gideon flinched as if expecting some kind of explosion, but it didn't come. "Huh… is it busted?" He wondered disappointed.
"Not while I've still got stuff to try!" Paz exclaimed trying out one of the switches on top. The two were both shocked when they actually heard a mechanical whir coming from behind them. Both their heads shot around to see a trapdoor opening.
Gideon cautiously approached the opening in the ground. Paz on the other hand had difficulty holding back her excitement.
"It's… some kind of book?" Paz questioned. She'd been expecting some kind of treasure, but she knew that a book could just as easily hold all kinds of valuable information. She was about to reach for it when Gideon stopped her again.
"Hold your horses!" He yelled. "Haven't you watched any kind of action adventure movie? This thing could be loaded with traps!"
Paz had to hold her arms still as she glared down at the dusty book filled with who knew what kind of super-secret information. Was it a secret diary? A spell tome? Some sort of gathering of all kinds of conspiracies? Gideon had broken off a branch from the dead tree and was moving it about in the little space, but all he was doing was clearing the cobwebs. There was no axe to slice his hand off or army of snakes to be unleashed. As they both kneeled there, Paz couldn't wait any longer for the secrets to unfold.
"There! It's safe!" Paz exclaimed reaching down to grab the book and slammed it on the grass. Paz brushed the dust off the cover, earning her a thick black smudge on her pinky. But it revealed exactly what they'd been looking for.
"The 3… the 6 fingered hand… this is it!" Gideon cheered. He honestly couldn't blame Paz for being so impatient. This was the kind of mystery that people hunted their entire lives for, and they'd been lucky enough to come across it in an afternoon! He doubted it was because they were just that good- this just seemed to be the tip of the ice berg of the kind of secrets the Mystery Shack held. The two huddled close together to make out what they could.
Gideon carefully flipped open the cover, not sure how fragile the old book was. There seemed to be all kinds of papers and things sticking out of it. Unsurprisingly, it seemed to be handwritten. Not like this looked like the kind of thing that was commonly published. Unfortunately, the name under "Property Of" was torn out.
Paz on the other hand was more interested in the monocle laying above the words 'Vol. 3'. The second she touched it, she could feel the warmth in her hands. It gave out a thin golden glow as it shifted between her fingers. It was like the feeling of an Ouija board weakly pulling in one direction. It continued to shift until it was perfectly in line with Paz's left eye. Paz could have sworn she saw the image of an eye within the glass, but it could have just as easily been a reflection of her own. The monocle then shifted in the direction of Gideon to match up to his right eye, and this time there was no mistaking it. It felt like someone was watching them.
The glow and warmth then ceased, but Paz continued to examine the monocle trying to figure out what it could be. "Magic book then!" She called out cheerfully.
Gideon was more concerned about the possibilities. Eyes could be a symbol of enlightenment or knowledge of the unknown, but more times than not they were the sign of some kind of greater evil always watching. True, those types usually stuck with blood reds, slime greens, and other more menacing colors than gold, but he doubted real evil paid attention to a color chart. This could be something really dangerous they were getting themselves involved in.
Paz picked up on the worried expression on Gideon's face. "You scared?" She asked. It wasn't a taunt or a way to tease him. She needed to know his level of tolerance for the strange and supernatural. Because compared to the rest of Gravity Falls, this was just a hint of things to come.
"No!" Gideon immediately exclaimed not wanting to appear like a wimp in front of his new friend. But there was a sinking feeling that came across him as he looked down at the old Journal in front of them. Something felt wrong. "Ok, maybe a little… but you don't hide an old book in the woods with a secret map to find it because it makes good pleasure reading. It's not just weird… there's something bad in here."
Paz knew what he meant. The book might not be bound with the flesh of the innocents or anything, but it certainly gave off that vibe of something wicked. Yet at the same time, Paz found it impossible just to turn away now. She needed to know what this was all about. "You can turn back if you want. I wouldn't blame you…"
"No." Gideon said firmly. "Don't matter if I'm scared. This could be something big. I'm not going to turn away."
Paz nodded in agreement. "Then we press on." Paz turned the page to reveal some kind of introductory page. Gideon began to read aloud as he tried to make out the text bellow.
"June 18th. I've devoted my life to uncovering the strange and supernatural secrets this world has to offer, yet I feel like I'm no closer to the truth than when I began. Gravity Falls is where the answers lie."
They both shot each other a quick look. Paz knew that Gravity Falls was hardly the most normal place, but how much was Gideon willing to believe? Gideon began to flip past a few pages of diagrams, strange creatures and codes trying to get an idea of what exactly what this book had to offer. But he was stopped in his tracks by a page with huge bolded letters underlined and pointed to.
TRUST NO ONE!
Gideon had only intended to glance through the book before giving it a more careful read later, but he couldn't bring himself away from the page.
"I've been looking at this all wrong. I've been lied to. The truth hasn't just been hidden- it's all a grander plot. There's no telling what will happen to me now that I've begun to see. I must make sure this knowledge isn't lost. Remember- his influence is everywhere... trust no one."
Gideon read that last part quietly and let the silence hang. He looked toward Paz whom he'd only just met today. How much did she really know? She seemed to think that the Mystery Shack held something the Pines supposedly wanted. What if she wanted it too? She hardly looked like a schemer, but the fact remained that he knew almost nothing about her. She wasn't sharing everything she knew about the Pines. She didn't show any signs of disbelief of any of the strange things in the Mystery Shack they found all day. She didn't seem to run from the strange. She dove right in. And it worried him to think how far she'd go. Was Pacifica Northwest someone he could trust?
Paz wanted to quickly flip to the next page and find out what was going on. Heck, she wanted to dive into this whole thing and dissect each little word and picture. But something was clearly troubling Gideon about that last passage. Trust no one. 3 words that could create a stronger barrier than any physical wall. As much as Paz wanted to figure out what was going on here, she refused to believe in those words. She'd been investigating things alone for too long. She was tired of people not believing her, brushing her off, or too scared to continue. More than a book filled with all the secrets she could hope for she needed a friend to face the unknown with. A partner.
Paz closed the Journal and put her hand on Gideon's shoulder. "I don't really know what much of this is about, but I don't want to face it alone. I know we've just met and I'm only a little more than a stranger, but there's a lot of weird and dangerous stuff out there. Too much for one person to bare. You can't just 'trust no one'… you just can't."
Paz looked Gideon in the eyes. It was difficult to know or judge a person from only an afternoon, but she could see that he was a good person. He stood up for his family. He was curious. He was scared and cautious about a lot of things, but not enough to let it stop him from getting what he wanted. Paz felt like she could trust him. And she wanted him to be able to trust her too.
Gideon returned Paz's gaze, and admittedly found it hard to think of her as a bad person. Maybe it was just the fact that he didn't have a good friend himself in a while. Something as silly as white hair and short stature made him an easy target for bullying. He was smarter than his classmates, but that only meant they had more of a reason to pick on him, steal his homework and copy off the class nerd. Gideon was grateful for the opportunity to have a fresh new start in Gravity Falls. Making a friend on his first day wasn't something he should be suspicious of. He needed to give her a chance.
"I… I understand." Gideon said nodding. Trust wasn't something that could be gained in an afternoon of mystery hunting, but he shouldn't let a couple of words keep him from it for good. Gideon stood up and tucked the Journal in his vest. "Maybe we should read this somewhere a little less spooky…"
Paz nodded in agreement as she stood up next to him. "Yeah, maybe that will help."
But the woods hold a danger that Paz had been quick to forget. She'd dismissed it with the Pines Twins out of the way, but it was still there.
"Hey guys! Come around here! I found her!" A low gravelly voice called out.
Paz's eyes darted to the source of the voice. Oh no… they were still out here?! How dangerous were the gnomes even? No matter how wimpy they looked, if they had the whole afternoon to fan out searching for her, they probably had gathered their numbers up.
Paz quickly took Gideon's hand. "Run."
While he wasn't sure whether or not to trust her yet, when someone says run, you don't tend to argue. He picked up the pace as he followed Paz. "What are we running from?!" Gideon exclaimed.
"Just run!" Paz exclaimed as she looked all around her for the little bearded men. She was sure if Gideon took a moment to look at the little guys, he'd probably dismiss them as a threat. But Paz had seen a handful of cute pixies turn into an unholy plague swarm in ten seconds flat. You did not underestimate these kind of things. The two of them had trekked down the road from the Mystery Shack for about 10 minutes before reaching here. They just had to make it back in a quarter of that time. The gnomes had complained about not being able to get into the Shack, right? So they could be safe there!
"Alright everyone! Get into position! Just like we practiced!" One yelled. It sounded like the one Paz encountered earlier.
As the ground shook, Paz could hold her curiosity back no longer. She really wished she hadn't. What she thought would be just a scrambled force of little men swarming toward them was instead a hulking mass of red pointed hats and beards that towered above the trees. But now with Paz's head turned, Gideon couldn't help looking as well.
"JESUS H. CHRIST ON A POPSICLE STICK?! WHAT IS THAT?!" He yelled out panicked.
Paz yanked Gideon behind her. They had no time to stare in terror. "Gnomes I think! Keep going! I think we'll be safe at the Shack!"
"What's a little old house going to do against a monster like that?!" Gideon exclaimed.
"Just trust me!" Paz yelled as she continued to keep running.
She could see the old house up ahead they were so close! The giant gnome behind them began shooting gnomes in their path. The pair had to leap over the miniature men and evade their grasp. But the true threat was getting closer behind them.
"Come on, don't you believe in love? Most successful romances are forced into! Just think of it as a blind marriage!" The leader of the gnomes called out. But neither of them slowed.
Paz herself wasn't exactly sure how the Mystery Shack could stop this thing either, but it was their only shot. Nothing seemed to happen as Gideon and Paz stepped on the porch.
"Keep going! Maybe we can make it this time!" The head gnome shouted.
As they opened the door and piled in, Paz prayed this would work. She slammed the door behind them and both kids kept their backs to the door, expecting to have the weak structure fall apart behind them.
"What are they even chasing us for?!" Gideon demanded now that they had reached their destination. Whether it was a safe house or the end of the line was yet to be seen.
"The Pines twins- they promised them me as their queen or something if they could manage to get into this house!" Paz quickly explained. With seeing the gnomes for himself, there was no way Gideon would call that part of the story crazy.
Gideon's eyes widened. "Wait, so they can get in?!" He exclaimed panicked.
His question was answered by the sound of pounding, but it wasn't at the door. Paz looped around to the window to try and get a better look at what was going on. Wiping the glass with her jacket sleeve, she expected to see the gnome giant breaking down the walls. Instead, it was stopped a few feet from the Mystery Shack. Each time it pounded the air in front of them, a golden barrier shimmered to stop the brute force attack. Paz and Gideon watched in awe at the strange invisible force field protecting the Mystery Shack. Whatever it was, it was strong enough to hold against the brute force of the giant.
"Come on, we were so close!" One gnome yelled. Shouts of Queen echoed around as well.
The brown haired gnome took charge again. "Relax guys, we still got them cornered! There's no way they can last in there for long. Just need to get a schedule written up, take shifts, and we'll be ready for them the second they step out. Just a good old fashion fortress siege!" He pointed out. The giant gnome began to disperse into squads that surrounded the perimeter of the Mystery Shack.
For a legion of miniature monsters, Gideon had to admit they were a lot more organized than he expected. "What do they even need a queen for?" He wondered confused. "And if they could get you on their own, what did they need the Pines for?"
Paz shrugged. "Don't know…" And while she admitted it was probably a terrible idea, she opened the window and decided to ask them. "Hey guys! What do you need a queen for?! And why are you working with the Pines?!" She yelled.
"Ah, ready to open up negotiations already!" The head gnome shouted. "So, I'm Jeff- I'll take care of the terms of the arrangement- Uh… any chance you could let us in and we can stop shouting?"
"NO! How stupid do you think we are?!" Gideon shouted back. Although he still wasn't sure what was going through Paz's head with opening the window. What if it broke whatever weird spell was keeping them safe?
"Geeze, calm down! I'm sure we can reach a compromise here!" Jeff retorted. "I mean, you can't stay in there forever. Send the girl out, and she gets to be the leader of one of the most powerful races in the forest. Doesn't that sound swell?"
The leader? Not that she was interested in living in the forest with a bunch of little bearded men, but that did give her an idea.
"But you already make such a great leader! Why should you have to take orders from anyone?" Paz called out trying her best to butter them up.
Gideon was confused for a moment why she was complementing them, but started to get an idea of her plan. "Oh yeah. Most threatening force I've had to recon with!" Gideon agreed. Granted, there wasn't much competition at the moment.
Jeff scratched his head embarrassed from the flattery. "Well, thanks! I've been doing my best to keep us all together! Hard to fill the old Queen's shoes, but you got to rise to the occasion, you know?"
Paz nodded, surprised that this was going so well. "You should be the new Queen… er, King? You know what, go with President! We live in a democracy! If you're the man for the job, Jeff, why let silly old tradition keep you in the Stone Age?" Paz recommended.
There was discussion going between the gnomes, some on questioning the idea of a queen, some suggesting they could make a better leader, others arguing to keep tradition. While Jeff did like the idea of being permanent gnome leader, he wasn't sure if it was as simple as calling this whole quest for a new queen off.
"I mean, we got to have a strong leader and all… how are all the other tribes of the forest supposed to take us seriously without a queen? If we fail to round up a new queen we'd lose any sort of reputation we have!" Jeff pointed out.
For some reason, that struck a chord with Gideon. Sure, resorting to kidnaping was a bit extreme, but these weren't the big and scary monsters lurking in the woods. These were the little guys. Probably got insulted a lot and looked down on. And the idea of other 'tribes of the forest' made Gideon wonder. How many other creatures were there out in Gravity Falls? Were they all intelligent like the gnomes? Or at least in terms of human speech. Even if they could manage to find out whatever secrets were in this new Journal or find out what kind of arsenal the Mystery Shack had, they weren't going to make it by infuriating every magical creature in the woods. The gnomes were their first challenge, and they wouldn't be their last.
"So what?!" Gideon yelled. He gave a look at Paz, knowing that they needed to move their game up from flattering act to a sincere motion if they wanted to do more than win the day. He moved away from the window, and put his hand on the door knob. He was probably crazy to try this. Every instinct was telling him to run, but he needed to have courage here. Gideon opened the door to face the army of gnomes, unsure if it would break whatever protection kept them safe. But he couldn't just hide if he planned on making it in this town.
"Look at you all! You can go from a huge army of individual soldiers to a huge hulking force of nature! Doesn't matter if everyone thinks you're the little guys! There's strength in numbers, and you guys have got numbers to spare!" Gideon called out to them as he stepped off the porch. All the gnomes' eyes were on him. They weren't sure if the open door meant the barrier was down, but not a single one flinched to swarm him.
"You guys don't need some outsider to lead you or to give you orders. Big foot and the Yetti should be scared of the likes of you! They'd all be lucky to call you friend! Don't let anyone push you around. You gnomes don't need a queen. And you don't need to do the dirty work for the Pines!"
At the mention of the Pines, every gnome shuttered in terror. Gideon had no idea what kind of power was behind that name for the supernatural creatures. They gave each other looks of fear and there were panicked whispers between them.
One of the older looking gnomes stepped forward, removing his cap in shame. "You don't know what you're talking about. The Pines… there's no fighting them. You can't begin to understand the power they possess. Gravity Falls… it belongs to them. It's been that way for a while now."
Darn… Paz thought for sure that Gideon's speech was working. She'd been so proud of him mustering up his strength to go out there and face the gnomes eye to eye. But they weren't out of hot water yet. The hold that the Pines had on the gnomes was different than the one they held on humans. One was a look of adoration. This one was pure fear. What had the Pines done to invoke such a reaction out of the legion that could have easily smashed and taken what they wanted if her and Gideon were just a bit slower? Maybe Paz and Gideon didn't understand everything just yet. But Gideon was right- they couldn't let the Pines bully them all. They had to ban together.
Paz stepped out the door and joined Gideon outside. "No matter what they've got up their sleeve, that doesn't mean we stop fighting. The Pines think they can just take whatever they want. That they can treat everyone as if they were beneath them. They isolate people. Make them feel alone. But you all have each other! You're never alone!" Paz called out as she looked at all the gnomes. They were strange and weird, but they had their own lives. She'd seen them around town. They were scavengers, but they were a part of Gravity Falls.
Paz took a deep breath. Gideon had been the one to first make this crazy move. He had more strength than she first gave him credit for. She needed to follow suit. Paz stepped past where the golden barrier once shimmered and extended her hand out to the gnomes.
"I don't want to be your queen- I want to be your ally. Together, we'll figure out what the Pines are planning. Whatever rule they have over this forest, it's coming to an end." Paz declared.
The gnomes shifted their gaze between Gideon and Paz. One was small like them, even sharing their common trait of white hair. He seemed to understand them better than anyone. The other had a fire in her eyes. A will to fight rather than scamper away. It was that kind of fire that they looked for in a queen. And now she was among them. They could grab her now and take what they want.
Jeff looked at the gesture dumbfounded. He knew they had to come out eventually, but this soon? But they weren't doing this out of stupidity. They were doing it out of trust. No one ever trusted the gnomes like that. Take what you can. It was a common mantra within the gnomes. But to be given something like trust… and more than that, a chance. No more orders or being looked down on. The gnomes could show how powerful they were by overthrowing the ones that everyone feared. They could rise to the heights they'd always dreamed of.
Jeff jumped on the head of one of the gnomes that was eagerly reaching for Paz. They needed someone to keep them all in line, and he had to agree with the two- Jeff was the gnome for the job!
"Alrighty missy! You got yourself an alliance!"
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Author's note: Alright, that ends the "Tourist Trapped" Arc. Hope you're all enjoying the ride so far! Not sure how many people are actually decoding the ciphers at the end of the chapter, so please let me know if you're enjoying those. Comments help keep me motivated, so please feel free to share your thoughts! Looks like I'm going to be continuing to regularly update my new GF fic, Cops and Robbers (Which I expected to only be a one shot, but ended up doing pretty well on AO3) so my attention will now be split between the two. I'm going to keep trying to weekly update both, but an extra fic may make that more of an update every week and a half. I'll see how things go!
Also, you probably noticed the Journal lines are much different than the ones in the show. With a different turn of canon, it also means that the author writing the Journals may have approached things from a different mindset. Some Journal entries remain, others are completely different. There are also more tricks and turns such as the monocle and the Mystery Shack's barrier. Keep on the look out for more additions!