Chapter 17: The Wizard of Gravity Falls
'Have you ever wanted to travel to a faraway place? A place far from your own existence? If so, where would it be? Feeling misunderstood by everyone, Mabel is transported to another place where she first feels at home, but later realizes there is no place like home!'
"This has got to be the best book I ever owned!" Mabel squeals as she hops around the room with her latest vampire novel. "And Marco is so dreamy as a vampire and as a human! I'd let him bite me any day!"
Dipper, who is lying on his bed reading his '3' book, hasn't heard a word his twin has spoken. Something in the '3' book has drawn his attention to the point of the rest of the world disappearing around him. Continuing to squeal over her new book, the older pines now turns to her brother and notices that he has not looked up from his book.
"Dipper, are you paying any attention to me?" Mabel asks, now hopping onto the end of her brother's bed and getting his attention. "This is the greatest book I ever owned! I mean my other books are good too, but this one is the greatest!"
"You interrupted my reading to talk about some vampire book?" Dipper asks with annoyance. "You have a dozen of those and you now pick one as your favorite?"
"You don't get it Dipper!" Mabel sighs. "This book is different from the other vampire trilogies that I own and Marco, the main character, is so incredibly dreamy! He wasn't the main character in my other books, but with this one he is!"
"Uh huh." Dipper sighs as she rolls his eyes at his sister. "I'm sure that is just wonderful Mabel, but could you go share your wonderful book with someone else? Right now I'm trying to read."
Hearing that her brother doesn't want her company, Mabel hops off his bed and scowls at the boy, even though he doesn't look up to notice her expression.
"Fine." Mabel simply says. "I'll go tell Soos about my new book. Maybe he'll be interested in reading it with me!"
Seeing her brother waving her off, Mabel then places her book in the pocket of her sweater and stomps out of the room, now on her search for the handyman.
"Stupid Dipper." Man mumbles to herself as she begins down the stairs to the first floor of the shack. "He never wants to do anything I want to do! He cares more about that book than he does me!"
Now being on the first floor of the shack, Mabel enters the den and notices that Soos is in front of the television watching cash wheel. A smile coming to her face, the girl runs to his side.
"Hey Soos!" Mabel cheers. "I got a new vampire novel and the main character Marco is so incredibly dreamy! Want to check it out?"
"That's great Hambone." Soos replies, not taking his attention off the television.
"So do you want to read it with me?" Mabel asks, hoping the older man would be more attentive than her brother was.
"Maybe later hambone." Soos says, his attention still glued to the television. "Right now I want to see this guy reach the high score! He's close to winning a million bucks!"
Turning to the television, Mabel notices that the contestant now earns a cash shower worth one million dollars.
"New high score!" Soos cheers.
Sighing, Mabel's smile now changes to a frown.
"Alright, maybe later on." Mabel sadly mumbles as she leaves the older man's side and begins towards the shop.
Continuing to make her way towards the shop, Waddles now appears in front of the sad girl, bringing her to a halt. Catching sight of the pig, Mabel picks him up.
"Hi boy." Mabel sadly greets the pig. "Where did you come from?"
Waddles oinks, his way of replying to Mabel.
"I'm on my way to find gruncle Stan." Mabel informs the pig. "Come on, let's go find him together."
With her pig in her arms, Mabel continues her journey to the shop. Now reaching the shack's shop, the chocolate haired girl enters to find her uncle behind the counter counting money.
"That's right folks, we put the fund in No Refund!" Stan now calls out to the two tourists as they now exit the shop with their merchandise.
Seeing an opportunity to get her uncle's attention, Mabel runs up to the counter and hops on the stool at the end of it with Waddles still in her arms.
"Hey Gruncle Stan!" Mabel cheerily greets with the older man turning to her. "I just got one of the best books in the world and I want to share it with you!"
"Can't you see I'm busy kid?" Stan replies, now turning back to the money in his hand. "I have money to count!"
"But gruncle Stan!" Mabel begins pleading. "I can't get anyone else to read this book with me. Dipper is too busy reading and Soos is watching television."
"Well I would suggest Wendy, but she has the day off so I'll be spending the day doing her job and mine." Stan says, continuing to count the wad of money in his hands. "So I'm afraid I can't read your book with you either. Maybe later on, depending on how business goes for the rest of the day."
Noticing that her company is not wanted by the older man just like with her brother, Mabel hops off the stool and stomps out of the shop door with the pig still tucked in her arms. Stepping onto the porch of the building, Mabel looks back at the place and sighs.
"No one wants me around." Mabel sadly sighs as she brings Waddles into her view. "No one wants my company, not even my own brother and we're supposed to be twins! Twins are never separated and always inseparable!"
Waddles rubs his nose against Mabel's, his way of showing her that he wants her around and enjoys her company.
"I know you enjoy my company boy." Mabel speaks to the pig with a small smile on her face. "I'm glad at least you do."
Stepping off the porch, the chocolate haired girl begins walking away from the building.
"I'll show them!" Mabel begins. "I can and will enjoy this book without them!"
Continuing to walk further away from the building, Mabel can feel the wind beginning to pick up with each step she takes. Feeling the wind beginning to push her frame with great force, the girl turns to the sky and notices that the sky is beginning to cloud up fast.
"Why is the sky clouding up?" Mabel inquires, noticing the continuing thickening of dark clouds spreading across the sky. "We're not supposed to have rain for another week or so, which means nothing was supposed to happen today! We better head back to the shack boy! I don't like the looks of those clouds!"
Tightening her grip on Waddles, Mabel begins back towards the shack. With the wind continuing to blow, the strength increases with Mabel finding herself fighting against the force to make it back to her destination.
"We better hurry and find cover Waddles!" Mabel manages to speak, despite the wind slamming against her. "Whatever is trying to kick up, I don't want to be out here when it does!"
Desperately searching around for any form of shelter, Mabel now spots a hollow opening inside a tree. Having found the perfect refuge, a smile crosses the girl's face.
"It's not much, but it will have to do!" Mabel says to Waddles, clinging to him for comfort.
Despite the near tornado force winds pushing against her, Mabel makes a break for the tree. Now reaching it, she ducks into the hallow space to evade the storm.
Slightly poking her head out of the opening, Mabel checks up on the condition of the wind only to be terrified by the suddenly appearing tornado now uprooting the tree and sucking it, the girl, and her pig up into the vortex. Being whipped around in the storm, Mabel's mind begins racing while trying to register what is going on.
"I'm never listening to that weatherman again!" Mabel screams as she tightens her grip on Waddles and shuts her eyes tight. "Everything he says is a lie!"
Waddles begin squealing uncontrollably, his way of showing fear for what is going on around him.
As the tree and its occupants continue being whipped around in the vortex, the funnel now dissipates with Mabel feeling herself land on something soft, yet sturdy. Feeling that she is no longer being thrown around like a rag doll, the older pines open her eyes and exits the tree with Waddles still tightly gripped in her arms. Seeing that she is in an unfamiliar place, Mabel begins looking around at her surroundings. From what she notices, she is surrounded by trees, grass and flowers.
"What the?" Mabel mumbles as she gets to her feet. "Where am I?"
Taking a step forward, the girl feels her foot catch onto something and trips, falling flat on her face. Waddles runs to her side and oinks, wanting to know if his owner is ok.
"What the heck tripped me?" Mabel wonders as she looks back, noticing that what tripped her was barbed wire that is surrounding a grassy area. Getting to her feet, Mabel grabs up Waddles as she continues looking around at her surroundings.
"From the looks of things, I don't think we're in Gravity Falls anymore!" Mabel concludes as she hugs Waddles tightly against her. "I don't know where we are, but we are not where we started."
Continuing to try to register where she is, the sounds of rustling bushes now catches her ears. Whipping around to behind her, Mabel now spots Jeff and his follower gnomes emerge from the bushes. With him and his followers out in the open, the gnomes surround her as they stare at her with amazement. One of the gnomes touches the girl's shoe with her quickly stepping away from him.
"She did it!" The leader of the gnomes speaks. "She killed the oppressor and we are now free!"
"Jeff?" Mabel asks in confusion. "Ok, what is going on and where am I? And what witch?"
"I'm sorry dear one, but you must be thinking of someone else." The creature replies. "My name is not Jeff. I am a munchkin and you are in munchkin land! You defeated our oppressor and for that we can't thank you enough!"
"Oppressor?" Mabel asks cocking an eyebrow at the creature. "What oppressor?"
"The one who is lying under your large tree." The munchkin replies to the girl. "It was foretold that a young girl and her dog would come along and defeat the evil one, thus freeing us from her control!"
"I have a pig, not a dog." Mabel simply speaks, holding Waddles out in front of her for the creatures to see.
"Ok, who switched the scrolls again?!" The creature asks, now turning to his comrades. The following creatures look towards the other for an answer.
"Ok, so you say I'm in munchkin land." Mabel begins. "Where is that exactly?"
"You're in the land of Oz." A voice so familiar to the girl speaks. "You are the one we've been waiting for."
Turning around to behind her, Mabel spots Dipper approaching her.
"Dipper?" Mabel questions, more confusion coming over here. "What are you doing here? Now you want to pay me some attention after waving me off hours ago?"
"Dipper?" The boy asks, also surrounded by confusion. "My name is not Dipper. I'm the mayor of munchkin land."
"Ok, is this supposed to be some sort of joke?" Mabel says, feeling her temper beginning to flare up. "If it is, I'm not amused! Now where am I Dipper?"
"I told you, you are in the Land of Oz and I am the mayor of this land." The boy calmly replies. "You are who we've been waiting for to free us from our oppressor and now that we are free, we have you to thank for our freedom."
"Freedom! Freedom!" The creatures, munchkins, chant with excitement.
"Oh come on guys." Mabel lightly laughs. "You guys are making her out to be some sort of witch."
"That's because she was." Wendy's voice speaks to the girl.
Turning to her right, Mabel now spots Wendy approaching her. The teen is dressed in a long purple dress, a star tiara on her head, and she is carrying a wand with a star sitting atop it. Out of Mabel's time of knowing the girl, this is the first time she has ever seen her wear a dress or anything girly.
"Wendy?" Mabel speaks as she gawks at her with amazement mixed in with confusion. "I've never seen you wear a dress before."
"I am the good witch of the north and my name is not Wendy." The teen who resembles Wendy says. "And the clothes, not my choice, but it's in my contract so whatever. Now you've been told that you are in the Land of Oz and are the reason the munchkins are free from their enslavement."
"In so many words." Mabel nods.
"So the witch is dead and now you are to get her shoes." Wendy nonchalantly informs her.
"But I'm already wearing shoes." Mabel speaks, as she raises her right foot out to the girl to show her black shoe.
"Ok, this is how it works." The woman begins. "You come here, you kill the wicked witch, the munchkins are all free, and you get her shoes."
"But why?" Mabel asks, confused by the woman's explanation.
"When you kill the witch, you get one of her magical items." The woman says with annoyance. "I don't really get it myself, but that is the rule of Oz."
Waving her wand, the dead witch's shoes now appear on Mabel's feet, replacing her black shoes. Looking down, Mabel notices that she is now wearing ruby red shoes.
"Ok, so how I do I get home from here?" Mabel questions to the woman. "A tornado brought me here."
"You have to follow the yellow brick road." The witch replies with a nod. "That will take you to the big guy. He'll be able to help you find your way back home."
"The big guy?" Mabel wonders.
"The wizard." The munchkin who resembles Dipper replies to her. "He is the great leader and you can find him in Emerald City. Just follow the road and you'll be there in no time."
"Um ok." Mabel simply says with a nod. "I guess I'll be on my way then."
Just as Mabel begins on her way, a bomb of purple smoke suddenly appears in front of the girl, halting her in her tracks. The smoke now clears to reveal an angry blonde dressed in a purple robe and witch's hat. Just as she opens her mouth to speak, she begins coughing as she waves the smoke out of her face.
"Next time, not so much smoke!" The girl demands.
"Pacifica?" Mabel speaks. "Ok, first I see Jeff, then Dipper, and behind them Wendy! What is going on here?"
"My name is not Pacifica you twit!" The blonde snaps at the brunette. "I am the wicked witch of the west and you just killed my sister!"
"But you don't have a sister." Mabel replies. "You're an only child."
"Back off witch!" The good witch snaps to the blonde, now stepping to Mabel's right. "We've been over this! Come any closer and I'll vaporize you!"
Scowling at the good witch, the blonde huffs.
"The good witch saved you this time, but this isn't over!" The blonde witch snaps to the brunette. "I will get you my pretty and your little dog too!"
"I have a pig!" Mabel replies with a sigh, displaying Waddles to her.
"Dog, pig, WHATEVER!" The blonde witch rolls her eyes. "I'll just get him too! So I'll be seeing you!"
With the two locked in a gaze, the witch is waiting to make her exit via smoke, but nothing is happening.
"I said, I'll be seeing you!" The witch repeats, still awaiting her exit to come.
Not seeing her smoky exit coming, the witch rolls her eyes and begins walking away.
"You may begin your journey little one and remember, the great leader is who will help you make your way back home." The munchkin Dipper replies to Mabel.
Nodding to him and with her pig in her arms, Mabel begins on her journey down the road with everyone waving after her.
"I think we were supposed to tell her she s to meet up with three allies along the way." The good witch whispers to the boy.
"That's something she has to discover for herself." Dipper replies in a whisper back to her. "No need to give it all away."
Beginning her journey down the road, Mabel sets Waddles down so he walk on his own. With the two happily skipping down the road, Mabel begins hearing a 'psst' sound. Shrugging it off and continuing on her way, the sound is becoming more and more numerous. Halting in her tracks, Mabel now turns in the direction of the sound and spots a scarecrow hanging on a poll. Seeing the inanimate object hanging on the poll, Mabel recognizes him to be Soos, the shack's handy man.
"Soos? Mabel asks, she and Waddles now walking over to the man. "What are you doing hanging on the poll? And covered with straw?"
"I am the like the scarecrow." The man made of straw replies to her. "And I got put up here thanks to a pack of ravens. After that, I haven't been able to get down."
"Here, let me help you." Mabel offers, her now helping the man off the pole and onto the ground.
"That must have been really uncomfortable." Mabel sympathetically says to the man. "But just because they put you on the pole, didn't mean you had to stay there. Why didn't you think to get down?"
"Yea, about that." The straw man replies, now removing his hat to reveal to the girl what is under it. "I don't like have a brain. My head is full of straw."
"Oh I'm sorry." Mabel replies. "Hey, I'm on my way to see the Wizard. Why don't you come with me? I was told he would help me get home so maybe he can give you a brain when we get here."
"That'd be great dude." The straw man nods in agreement. "I mean ma'am."
"Great!" Mabel cheers. "Oh by the way, my name is Mabel. Just follow me and Waddles down the yellow brick road to Emerald City and I'll see to it that you get that brain you need."
"You're like the nicest person I've met." The straw man compliments as the three begin on their way down the road. "And Waddles?"
Picking up her pet pig, Mabel displays him to the straw man.
"This is my pet pig Waddles." Mabel proudly speaks. "I named him Waddles because he waddles when he walks."
The man has no words for her.
"So do you know anything about this wizard guy?" Mabel asks, hoping the man could give her some kind of answers about the strange land, specifically the leader of the land.
"Not much." The man replies. "But from what I was told, he's like the great and powerful."
"Wow, that was helpful." Mabel mumbles, now letting the pig down again to walk on his own once more.
Continuing down the yellow paved road, the three now stumble upon what looks to be a silver automaton with black hair holding a guitar. Making sure she is seeing his features properly, Mabel walks up to the black haired tin man to get a closer look at him.
"Robbie?" Mabel asks, continuing to look the tin man over. "You're here too?"
While Mabel is inspecting him, the tin man opens his eyes and looks down at her.
"I wonder if he can move." Mabel wonders as she touches his suit of armor. "And why is he holding a guitar?"
Continuing to inspect the man made of metal, the tin man begins speaking, but due to his mouth being rusted shut, only muffled sounds are coming through instead. That gets Mabel and the scarecrow's attention.
"Is that coming from him?" Mabel asks, continuing to hear the muffled sounds.
"I think he's like trying to say something to you." The scarecrow informs her.
The tin man is continuing to try to communicate with them with Mabel now making sense of his mumbles.
"He's saying something about an oil can." Mabel informs the scare crow. "What oil can?"
The scarecrow now spots the can and gives it to Mabel. Having the can, Mabel now squirts oil in every hinge of the man's mouth, enabling him to move his mouth more smoothly.
"Is that better?" Mabel asks to the automaton.
"It would be if I could move my limbs as well!" The tin man snaps. "I am holding a guitar you know! I can't shred if I can't move my arms!"
Mabel then distributes the oil to the man's limbs, him now stepping forward and moving from the area in which he was rusted in place.
"So were you stuck like that for a while Robbie?" Mabel asks to the metal man resembling Robbie, him turning his attention to his guitar. "And what are you doing with a guitar?"
"You know, you ask a lot of questions for a nine year old and my name is not Robbie!" The tin man snidely comments, now striking a cord on his guitar. "I'm the tin man! Your eyes do work don't they?!"
"I'm not nine, I'm twelve!" Mabel replies, her irritation equally matching the tin man's. "And you should be a little more grateful that I came along or else you'd still be rusted in place! Don't you have a heart to thank someone for helping you out?"
"Uh no." The tin man, sighs knocking on his chest and creating a hollow echoing sound. "If you've noticed, I'm made of metal and metal doesn't have a heart. Now that I am no longer rusted in place, I'll be on my way. It's been ages since I made my guitar sing so it's time to get to work."
"Hey, me and the scarecrow are going to see the wizard." Mabel informs the metal man. "Maybe he can give you a heart, even though you are made of metal. What do you say? Come with us?"
"You obviously missed the part where I said I'll be on my way!" The tin man snaps. "That means, I'll be going alone, by myself to wherever I chose!"
"You know, I bet if you got that heart, you'd be one great guitar player." Mabel convincingly speaks to the man, stopping him in his tracks and him now turning to her. Seeing the smirk on her face, the man quickly thinks over her offer. For as long as he has been rusted in place, getting a heart would help him in fine tuning his guitar skills. They are considerably rusty after all.
"Yea well, I guess." The tin man finally speaks.
"So is that a yes?" Mabel asks with hope.
"I don't want this trip to take longer than it has to!" The tin man sternly replies as he begins walking ahead of her, the scarecrow, and Waddles.
"I knew he would see it my way." Mabel continues smirking as her, the scarecrow, and Waddles begins traveling behind him. "And the best part is you can provide us with some traveling music!"
The tin man thought about it for a second, then started playing a simple yet catchy tune.
"Yeah that's the stuff." Mabel cheered.
"Follow the yellow brick road! Follow the yellow brick road! Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the yellow brick road" Mabel and the Scarecrow happily begins singing as they skip on their merry way.
Continuing down the yellow brick road, Mabel suddenly stops singing.
"What? Finally got sick of singing?" Tin man speaks with irritation. "Because I know I got tired of hearing it!"
"I know I have." The scarecrow pants, but agreeing with the tin man.
"No look!" Mabel points to a fork in the road ahead of them. One path led to a dark and spooky forest while the other path led to a not so spooky grassy hills.
"Which way should we go?" Mabel asks looking between the two paths.
"I vote whichever one does not make me go into the scary woods." Scarecrow votes.
"Yeah I'm with straw head." Tin man agreed.
"Actually you guys should go into the forest." A mysterious voice advised to the four. "It's a quicker route to the city."
"Who?" Mabel searches around for the voice, soon finding it coming from a small but familiar looking tree next to the road.
"Dipper, what are you doing here?!" Mabel demanded. "I thought you were a munchkin! Or the mayor so you told me!"
"I am not Dipper or a munchkin." The tree with Dipper's face insisted. "I'm just a tree, but I can tell you that you need to go into that forest. You will reach the city quicker by going through it."
"And why should we listen to a little stump like you?" Tin man laughed.
The tree's expression now becomes very serious at the tin man's insult.
"Because if you don't, you will suffer a fate worse than death!" The tree warns.
"You don't mean…" The scarecrow began cowering.
"Yes, Mabel will sing another verse!" The tree threatens followed by some background lighting and thunder.
"NNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!" The tin man and scarecrow screamed in terror.
"The dark spooky woods it is." Tin man decides. "Anything to keep her from singing that horrible song again!"
"Right behind you dude." Scarecrow follows closely behind the Tin man.
"What is this Make Fun of Mabel Day?!" Mabel complains chasing after her companions.
As our heroes continue their journey, the Good Witch now appears on the road holding a watering can.
"Good job tree." She praises as she starts to water it.
"No problem, anything to keep the story going." The tree replies giving her the thumbs up. Or he would if he had thumbs or even branches that looks like a thumb.
The trio now enter into a dark forest. Feeling Waddles hugging close to her, Mabel picks him up and holds him tightly against her.
"I don't like the looks of this place dude." The scarecrow speaks as he looks around at their surroundings. "It's like really creepy and dark."
"It's not that bad." Mabel replies to the scarecrow as she too looks around at their surroundings while swallowing what fear has surfaced. "Besides, the tree said it is the fastest way to the wizard which means it is not so bad."
"Chickens!" The tin man mumbles to himself as the three continue traveling into the forest. "What are you guys afraid of being ambushed by a wild animal?"
Taking one more step forward, a lion jumps out in front of them, catching the three by surprise. The scarecrow cowards in fear while Mabel and tin man stand their ground.
"Grenda?" Mabel mumbles to herself. "Wait, I keep forgetting I'm not in gravity falls anymore."
"What are you three doing roaming around in MY forest?" The lion barks to them. "You three are tress passers and I don't take kindly to tress passers!"
Feeling her pig trembling against her, Mabel looks down and notices that Waddles is afraid. Feeling her temper taking over, Mabel takes one step towards and narrows her eyes at the lion. Scaring her is one thing, but when it comes to her pet, no one scares Waddles!
"Hey, who do you think you are scaring my pet pig?!" Mabel snaps. "You may bully other animals in this forest, but you are not going to bully my pig and get away with it!"
Seeing the angry girl standing before her, the lion's expression now changes to a sad frown as she turns her vision to the ground.
"I'm sorry about that." The lion apologizes. "It's just that, no one takes me seriously anymore."
"What do you mean?" Mabel wonders, confused at the lion's sudden change of expression.
"No animals in the forest take me seriously anymore." The lion repeats, now taking a seat on the ground. "They all laugh at me and make fun of my voice. I am supposed to be king of the jungle, but instead I'm just a sad little lion that no one sees as such and is easily bullied!"
"Hey, it's ok." Mabel begins comforting the lion as she takes a seat next to her. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you. To be honest, you scared me just a little and you really scared my pig. So you're not what others see you as and you have the potential to be a great lion, but you have to first believe you can be."
"I've never met a lion that was afraid of their own shadow!" The tin man mocks, which earns him a glare from Mabel.
"Hey, that's it!" Mabel gains an idea. "We are all going to see the wizard. Maybe he can give you courage. He's going to give the tin man a heart, the scarecrow a brain, and send me back home to Gravity Falls."
"You really think he can give me the courage I need?" The lion asks, a smile crossing her face.
"Absolutely!" Mabel assures the lion. "Come with us to emerald city and I know you'll be well taken care of."
"Thanks." The lion smiles as her and Mabel get to their feet.
Having made another ally, the four now continue their journey down the yellow brick road toward Emerald City. As the four happily skips down the road, they are none the wiser about the wicked witch of the west watching their every move via crystal ball. Staring deviously into her crystal ball, the witch gains an evil smirk.
"So she wants to get back home does she?" The blonde cynically speaks. "Well, I'll see to it personally that she never gets back home and further more never reaches Emerald City!"
Turning to the book shelf next to her, the blonde notices that the book she needs isn't on the shelf. Furious with its sudden disappearance, the witch gets to her feet and places her hands on her hips.
"Ok, who keeps moving my books?" The witch asks with an irritated sigh.
TBC…
That's right folks, a cliffhanger LOL! I know I wasn't expecting it either, but trust me when I say, it'll be well worth it for the second installment and I promise you will not be disappointed! *smiles* I would like to thank author Mon-ra for helping me with this piece as he is an OZ expert while I'm a novice lol!
Next week's entry: In the second installment, we learn of the wicked witch's plan to stop Mabel and her allies from reaching the city with a surprising twist!
Review Please!