The Mystery of the Missing Girl

SUMMARY: While in class Dipper hears a story of a missing person case from almost 50 years ago, him eager to solve the case that had police stumped. With the help of his friends he goes back into the woods to solve one of Gravity Falls' many mysteries; Ford reveals something from his past.

MAIN CHARACTERS: Dipper and Mabel Pines, Pacifica Northwest, and George Grand

History class was always boring, at least to Dipper it was.

There is just so many times that you can learn about the cotton mill, there are just so many times that you hear about the same old things. It gets quite tiring.

Dipper sat at his desk, barely taking notes, as he tapped his pencil. On his paper was random doodles that he drew, some were of gnomes, the multibear, and a few other creatures. The most common thing that he drew though was a triangle with one eye in the center.

"So, today is October 24th, and those who are from Gravity Falls knows one of our biggest mysteries," the teacher, Ms. Abraham, announced to the class.

That got Dipper's attention, him immediately sitting upright in his seat. This sudden movement caused Pacifica to snicker next to him. He gives the blonde a hard glare, but he still had an amused grin on his face.

"Today is the day that two people mysteriously vanished in our town," Ms. Abraham continued, noticing that some non-natives to Gravity Falls were now paying full attention. "Has anyone ever heard of Dr. Bartholomew Bartek?" she then asks, writing the name on the board.

Dipper gives a frown. He heard of that name somewhere before… He raises his hand.

"Yes, Dipper?" Ms. Abraham called him.

"Was… he a stem cell researcher?" Dipper guessed. "He… did unethical experiments on amputees, he even resulted into kidnapping homeless people and chopping off their limbs."

Pacifica shuddered. "Sounds like a horror movie…" she mumbles.

Ms. Abraham gives a grim nod. "Yes, he did do all of that. He would often travel around Oregon to do this, it wasn't until the very last minute that police found out that it was him causing gruesome murders," she then writes another name on the board. "Now… does anyone know who this is?"

Dipper read the name. "Layla… Bartek?" he barely whispered.

"She is the daughter of Dr. Bartek, said to have a very rare birth defect called symbrachydactyly, where limbs are partially missing. It said that she is the reason that he committed to these crimes to help her." Ms. Abraham explained. "These two lived here in Gravity Falls secluded in the woods, not many people even knew they lived there or even existed. Then in 1966, forty-eight years ago, the two just seemed to have vanished."

Dipper was sudden interested in this. Something supernatural must've happened to them… he just had to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"Hey, Pacifica, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Dipper eagerly whispered at her.

She gives a hard, emerald green glare. "If you're thinking that we go look for a murder house, you're as insane as Ford," she told him.

Dipper than gives a huge smile. "Then it must run in the family!" he whispers excitedly. "Come on, Paz, you, Mabel, George, and I can totally solve this!"

She rolls her eyes. "I think I've had enough supernatural stuff to last me quite a few lifetimes," she huffs at him.

"Come on, Pacifica, it'd be interesting and fun!" Dipper insisted. He then gives her big brown eyes with a pout. The famous Pines Puppy Dog face, and that was a trait that all of them shared. "Please…! It'll be just like the good old days!"

Pacifica gives him a sad look. She then sighs, "Okay… I'll join on your Mystery Hunt."

Dipper gives a little fist pump, clearly excited. Soon the bell rings and Dipper goes off to his gym class with George as Pacifica went to her algebra class. In gym class they had to do laps around the track, so Dipper and George kept the same pace with each other so they could talk.

"Yeah… I heard the same story while in my history class with Mabel," George told Dipper when the brunette told him what happened. "Apparently it's a big deal… I guess the girl didn't go to school, and when people saw her in town they thought she was some sort of ghost since she was so pale."

"Well, this is Gravity Falls, seeing a ghost is highly plausible," Dipper agreed. Sweat was dripping down his face, plastering his brown hair to his head. His Big Dipper birthmark was showing through the matted hair on his forehead. "So, would you want to go on a Mystery Hunt with Pacifica and I? I know Mabel is already going to agree to go, she always does," he then asked the dark blonde.

George had sweat pouring down his face as well. He gives a grimace. "I-I don't, Dipper, I've never been on a Mystery Adventure before…" he stuttered.

Dipper gives a big smile. "That's okay! You're going to be with a paranormal expert!" he cheered.

"Ford's coming too?" George asked in shock.

Dipper's face twists up with annoyance. "No," he replied curtly. "I'm saying that I'm the paranormal expert."

George gives a sheepish smile. "Right… sorry," he apologized. "Fine… I'll go, only because Mabel is going."

"RACE YA TO THE FINISH LINE!" Dipper shouts at George as he then suddenly picks up speed at the sound of the whistle signaling that class was ending, leaving the dark blonde confused and struggling to keep up.

Once back in the hallways of the school, with everyone crowding at their lockers eager to get moving to leave, Dipper and George found Pacifica and Mabel chatting away. Mabel had a worried look in her brown eyes, as if she just heard bad news. When Dipper and George approached, she gave her twin brother the worried look.

"What's this I hear about a Mystery Hunt?" she asked with a worried tone.

"You heard the story in history class!" Dipper shouts excitedly. "They went missing! Obviously it's something supernatural!"

Mabel rolls her eyes. "Didn't police check the missing people's house anyway?" she then questions.

Pacifica shook her head, her golden cascade of hair bouncing. "No, police never went near that place. The rumor is that it's haunted with the souls of the victims of Dr. Bartek."

Dipper gives her a thoughtful look. "Ah, yes, you've lived here all your life, you should know how the story goes!" he claims. The golden blonde gives a reluctant nod. "Another good reason for you to come with us! Let's get going!"

George sputters, "W-wait!? Right now!?"

Dipper grabs a journal from his bag. It looked different than the one where he writes his nightmares. The journal was a dark blue with a white pine tree in the center. He opens it and clicked a pen to write the date and a title for the page.

The Mystery of the Missing Girl ~ Layla Bartek.

"Why just her?" Mabel asked her twin as she read over his shoulder, her on her tip toes since she was now much shorter than him.

"Because… I know I've heard that name before…" Dipper insists. "So, it has to be important. We need to dig up information on her."

"There wouldn't be records of her though in town," Pacifica pointed out. "Ms. Abraham said that no one knew they lived here because of Dr. Bartek running from the law.

"Then we should look up Dr. Bartek first on the internet and search that way." Dipper then says.

With a group nod the four left the school to head to the Gravity Falls Public Library to use the computers. Normally they would go to the Shack or the Northwest Manor, but they were investigating and didn't want to be rudely interrupted by children or Stan.

Dipper logs into the computer at the library, its dial up being extremely slow. Once it was loaded he clicked on the internet symbol and waited impatiently as the web browser loaded. It took about five minutes for it to load and Dipper typed in the search bar "Dr. Bartholomew Bartek".

The search results came slowly, but there were quite a few articles about the unethical doctor. Once article Dipper clicked told how he got his education from the University of Michigan and was a stem cell researcher, which was an oddity back in the fifties. However, the more Dipper searched the more he saw that there was absolutely no information about the man being married, let alone having a kid.

"That's odd…" Dipper murmured as he clicked an article that pertained to Gravity Falls. The article said that a young woman ran away from home as a teenager and was presumed dead as a mutilated corpse was found in the mountains, the name being Annabeth Lyle. The article continued on how Dr. Bartek had hidden in the woods of Gravity Falls and had possibly found her, saying that she was possibly a victim as well and was the mother of Layla.

"This is getting scary…" Pacifica whispered, her voice very soft with fright. "They're saying that he possibly kidnapped this one girl and had a kid with her?"

"Possibly…" Dipper told her as he scrolled through the article again. He then decides to print the page, Mabel running to the printer to grab it. "Now… where would their house be…?" he muttered to himself. The article only said that the house was extremely deep in the woods, but no exact location.

George then brings a map of Gravity Falls. "Okay… so, we obviously know these woods over here have all the monsters and mythical creatures," he began as he gestured to the main woodlands that were by town and the Shack. "So… maybe the house is more by the woods near the mountains…"

"That's a good place to start!" Mabel chirped excitedly. "We can try that, bro-bro!"

Dipper gives a determined nod. "It's the only lead we got so far, so let's go!" he agreed as he powers down the computer.

The four teenagers run out of the library, Dipper getting his journal out and scribbling inside of eccentrically. Pacifica looks at him worriedly, as so does George. Mabel looked torn, as if she was happy that her brother was happy, or worried that he wanted to get into paranormal investigations again so soon after his last forest experience.

"Guys…" Mabel whispered to Pacifica and George. "I don't know how I feel about this… I mean, I'm glad he's smiling, I haven't seen him smile that excitedly since we were twelve… but… after everything that has happened I don't think we should be doing this."

Pacifica gives a nod in agreement. "Yes… I don't like this either," she tells Mabel. The golden blonde then glances at Dipper, who was walking through the woods with his nose buried in his journal. "But… at the same time… I miss that smile…" she added wistfully.

Soon the forest was getting darker, the trees with its thick branches covering the sky overhead. Even though it was fall and the leaves were falling, the thick branches still shielded them from the outside world. It felt like if they died in their no one would find their bodies…

Dipper shudders, both from the sudden chill of the darkness and anticipation. "We have to be going in the right direction," he says ecstatically. "I mean, come on, this feels like we are in a horror movie!"

"And if a crazy man runs at us with an axe I'm going to kill you!" Pacifica says to him seriously.

Dipper waves it off. He leads deeper into the forest, the bark on the trees covered with moss and disease. He squints his eyes, seeing something in the distance. The teenager adjusts the hat on his head and takes off in a sprint, causing the others to start running after him.

What Dipper had saw was a cottage, and am extremely old one at that. When they approached the group noticed that the wood was rotting, vines were crawling up the exterior walls, and it looked like a tree was growing through it. Just looking at the building was sending chills up their spines.

Dipper slowly walks up to the door, his hand extended. He stops for a moment, a tight feeling in his chest. It was like he's been here before… but he hasn't? The feeling made no sense… He opens the door.

The door opens with a loud groan, the door falling off its hinges as it landed on the ground with a crash. Dust was flown up, causing the teenager to cough and sneeze. As the dust settled, the four saw that the house was completely trashed.

Papers were thrown everywhere, a few stains on them. Was it dirt or blood? They could not tell. Chairs was knocked over, tables were caved in on themselves, and the couches were covered in nest that held disgusting bugs.

Dipper steps forward, the floor boards creaking beneath his weight. He takes a deep breath, ignoring the tickle in his throat from the dust, and continued inside, the others behind him. He looked around the walls, seeing a few pictures of a little girl. Gingerly he removed one from the wall, a square of semi-clean wall left behind, and he rubs the encrusted dust off the picture.

The picture was extremely faded in color, like the pictures that Ford and Stan had of them as children. The picture was of a short haired girl with black hair, freckles was splashed across her nose, and her eyes were such a brilliant looking blue. Dipper removes the picture from its frame and flips it over, seeing if anything was written on it.

"'Layla Amelia Bartek, age 10, 1960'," Dipper read aloud. He had a huge smile on his face. "Looks like we are in the right place, and here's a picture of her!" He then shows the picture to the others.

"Wow… she had very pretty eyes!" Mabel exclaims, taking the picture from his hands.

"Yeah… those are a pretty blue!" Pacifica agreed.

As the girls were discussing how adorable the young Layla looked, Dipper picked up a piece of paper. And his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.

"Uh… guys…?" he shakily called out.

The three other teenagers came over to Dipper, looking over to see what he was scared about. Mabel gasps loudly, seeing what it was.

A drawn picture of Bill Cipher, his hand extended out, ready to make a deal.

The sight made Dipper almost throw up on the spot.

"Dipper, are you okay?" Mabel asks him worriedly, her eyes wide at him. She was then handed the paper as Dipper takes a step forward. "We need to leave, now, if this crazy doctor had something to do with Bill this place is bad news bears." Normally it was Dipper that would be saying that they needed to leave a dangerous situation, but when it was Mabel saying it… it must mean something.

"Hold on…" Dipper hoarsely whispered. His head ached terribly, him feeling as if he knew where he was going. Immediately he entered an old kitchen, rats running away at the sound of him coming in.

Mabel grabs his hand. "DIPPER! STOP IT NOW!" she screams furiously at him. "We are leaving!"

"NO!" the word ripped through Dipper's throat. "T-t-there's something here, I need to find it…!" He yanks his hand furiously away from his twin sister and headed to a door that was by the kitchen table on the west wall. He turns the handle but it wouldn't move, it being locked. Furiously, he kicked the door in, it crumbling from age. He grabs a flashlight from his backpack and clicks it on, the narrow white beam showing him wooden steps.

"That's not safe!" Mabel insisted angrily. "It could be rotten, or termites gotten to it!"

"Listen to your sister, Dipper!" Pacifica shouts at him. "This is dangerous!"

"I need to go down there…" Dipper barely whispered. He then takes a step on the stairs, them groaning, threatening to cave in. With a deep breath he takes another step, raising the flashlight ever so slightly to see the wall to his left. He screams loudly as the light reveal a mutilated face, his jaw slacked open revealing a large spider nesting in the mouth. From being startled the boy lost his footing fell, his body crashing through the wooden stairs, the wood splintering against his weight and the force.

"Dipper!" both Mabel and Pacifica screamed, George just watching helplessly.

Dipper crashed to the cement ground, a moan of pain escaping him. Slowly, he gets up and rubs his head, feeling a sharp pain at his right temple. He raises the flashlight again to get a look around him. A gasp of horror escapes him as he saw hanging from various ropes and chains were bodies. These bodies looked mummified and limbs of all variety were missing from them. Some bodies were even positioned sadistically, like they were running in the air, or jumping. That looked too familiar and it caused Dipper to throw up the contents of his stomach.

There was sound from the stairs, Mabel using her grappling hook that she always kept in her backpack to lower the three down. Pacifica screamed and gasped into her hand when she saw the bodies, her looking at Dipper with fear and worry. The golden blonde ran to him and grasped his hand as he dry heaved onto the ground.

Mabel grasped George's hand, her heart pounding. To her it looked like the pyramid in Italy… and she feared that at any moment these bodies would start moving and try to rip at their flesh. She wanted to grab Dipper and leave, they should never have come here.

"Do… do you think the little girl knew about this?" George asked softly, him trying not to look at the bodies for too long.

"How could she not have known!?" Mabel gasped. "All this was in her home's basement!"

"We… we didn't know about an interdimensional portal in our basement," Dipper countered, his voice weak sounding. He takes a deep breath and gives Pacifica's hand a thoughtful squeeze.

"We should leave," Pacifica tells her boyfriend. "This place… is giving me the creeps."

That was when the air felt like it got ten degrees colder. The golden blonde whipped her head toward the sudden sound of hysterical laughter, which came from the boy she held so tightly to.

A malicious smile was spread on Dipper's face, and his brown eyes were wide crazily.

"Oh, Pine Tree, does this scene look familiar?" Dipper laughed shrilly, his voice taking on an almost nasally accent.

"DIPPER!" Pacifica screams as she forces the brunette to face her. She then gives him a hard smack across his face, causing him to yelp in pain.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!?" Dipper screeches furiously at her as he rubbed his face, his voice no longer shrill and nasally.

Pacifica gives him wide green eyes. "You… you don't remember laughing…? Or saying how this looks familiar…?" her voice sounded breathless, as her heart had fallen deep inside her as an icy fear filled her veins.

Dipper narrows his brown eyes. "What are you talking about!?" he demands.

Mabel pipes in, "Dipper… you really don't remember…?"

The boy drops Pacifica's hand and begins to stalk away. As he turned his knee hit something hard, a loud clang echoing in the room. Dipper aims the flashlight at what he hit, seeing that it was a metal chair.

"Is that… what I think it is…?" George frighteningly shouted.

The chair looked like what the stereotypical electric chair would be, but it wasn't an electric chair. The chair itself was made of metal, it sitting in a bucket that was filled with thick looking, metallic colored liquid. Behind it on a rail held something that resembled a cage, most likely to hold the head in place. On the left side of the chair was a stand that held a drill, a pipe connecting to the bucket. Based on its mechanisms it looked as if as it drilled something it took the liquid from the bucket to fill the hole.

"But… but what did this have to do with stem cell research!?" Mabel sputtered in horror. She could just imagine all the screams of pain that must've happened here.

Dipper then examines the strange torture device. He then dips his finger in the bucket of liquid, causing his girlfriend and sister to hiss in disgust at the action. The liquid felt ice cold on his fingers, and he smelled it. It smelled of metal, like iron, almost like blood. He flashes the light on it, seeing that it indeed was liquid metal.

Personally, I had a metal plate installed in my head. Ford's voice echoed in Dipper's mind, him remembering how his great uncle told him that there was a metal plate in his head to prevent Bill Cipher from entering his mind. Could that be what Dr. Bartek was doing…?

"This crazy son of a bitch was installing metal plates in people's heads!" Dipper gasps in disgust.

"Doesn't… Grunkle Ford have a metal plate?" Mabel then questions, her voice wavering. "Do… do you think he knew Dr. Bartek?"

"I… I don't think so…" Dipper answered, his voice sounding unsure. "The years don't match up… Grunkle Ford came to Gravity Falls when he was twenty six years old… Layla and Dr. Baretk were already missing for ten years."

His eyes then caught something on the wall by a desk that was covered with books and papers. Slowly he approaches it, him stepping cautiously around fallen rotten flesh. What he had saw was glint of metal, another doorknob. If this room was used to storing mutilated bodies the brunette honestly didn't want to know what was beyond the door.

However, his hand still reached for it. The knob didn't budge, and the door was solid metal covered in rust. Even with the age of the door Dipper couldn't kick it down. He searches the desk and found a small key, hoping that it was the key to unlock the door.

"Dipper, we should leave," George comments. "It is getting late after all, and we didn't tell anyone what we were doing after school today."

"Yeah, Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford might be worried about us!" Mabel added.

"Just a minute…" Dipper absently said, the key going smoothly into the lock of the rusted door. He once again turns the knob and it opened, inside revealing a small elevator, just like the one back at the Shack… "No way…" Dipper whispered as he entered.

"WHAT ARE DOING?!" Pacifica screams. "GET OUT OF THERE!"

"THAT'S A METAL DEATHTRAP!" Mabel screams as well, fearing the worst.

Dipper was fully inside the elevator, it barely moving. He gives a smirk. "It is fine, see?" he laughs. He then gives a little hop. "Nothing to worry about!" A sudden snap and he was suddenly falling down, sparks around him. He screamed as he body was slammed to the ceiling of the elevator, it screeching down at a blinding speed. Metal screamed against metal, sparks flew almost blinding Dipper in his eyes, and wind roared in his ears.

Just as fast as the whole event started, it ended as Dipper crashed into the floor of the elevator, his head cracking against it. Instantly he felt something wet drip onto his cheek, but he shook his head as he ignored it. Wobbly, he got up and exited the elevator, his eyes adjusting the darkness. During his fall he had lost his flashlight, but in the dimness he saw what looked like a lantern and a box of matches. The matches were still good as he stroke one, a small ember of light illuminating his hand. He lights the lantern and his vision was restored, a warm glow of light hitting five feet in front of him.

"Wh-where am I?" Dipper groaned to himself. He steps forward, ignoring the growing pain on the side of his head, and with the lantern looks around.

A gasp of shock escapes him as he lifted the lantern, almost dropping it in the process.

In front of him was an enormous, triangular-shaped, portal. It ominously loomed over Dipper, reminding him of the one that Ford had built.

"No… no way… Bill was trying to use Dr. Bartek like he did Ford!?" Dipper says to himself, his body feeling cold. "Is that the reason why there are so many dead bodies…? Did he get possessed like… like me?"

His eyelids suddenly felt heavily like lead, his vision suddenly spinning and blurring. Like a lead weight, Dipper's body collapses to the floor, a small pool of blood puddling beneath his head on his right side.

Warm hands tapped his cheek and he blinks open his eyes to see a face looming over him.

"Dipper!" the voice cried out worriedly, it deep with concern. "Are you okay!? What happened!?"

"Grunkle… Ford…?" Dipper barely managed to whisper. Ford then props him up, Dipper putting a hand to his head. It ached faintly, but it was no longer bleeding. He then felt around his head trying to find the wound to show Ford, but he found nothing. "Wait… what…? What happened…?"

Ford gives him a worried look. "I… I just asked you that, Dipper…" he told him slowly. The old scientist's brown eyes suddenly went hard and he gripped Dipper's shoulders. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" he demands in rage, his face turning red.

Dipper's heart raced in fear, him never seeing his great uncle look this angry. "I… I…" he stammered, his eyes were beginning to fill with tears as if he was child getting in trouble. His breathing became ragged.

Ford's eyes then softens, and his grip lessons. He then pulls Dipper into a hug. "I'm sorry…" he then whispered. "I… I didn't mean to yell at you…"

A sudden realization hit Dipper like a truck.

Layla…

"That's where I heard that name before…" Dipper cried out.

"What…?"

"It was… from you, Grunkle Ford!" Dipper insisted as he jumped away from his great uncle. "You talk in your sleep… and you mentioned Layla Bartek!"

Ford's eyes widened. "Wait… how the hell do you know her name!?" he then looks around his surroundings, him looking panicked. "How… how did you even find this place!? I could never find it no matter how much I searched!"

Dipper then explained what happened in history class, saying that today was the day that almost fifty years ago two residents went missing. He then explained how they searched online about Dr. Bartek and finding out how a woman was missing in the mountains and came to investigate these parts of the woods.

"But… how did you find me?" Dipper asked Ford after he was finished.

"Mabel and Pacifica came running into the Shack scared out of their minds," Ford explained. "They said you fell down and elevator shaft… so they led myself and Stanley here. I used my magnet gun to get down here while Stanley took the others outside."

Dipper then said something that made Ford flinch. "Was Layla Bartek the woman you knew in your time in the portal?" the boy asked seriously.

Ford then looked him in the eyes, and said with the most depressing facial expression that Dipper had ever seen on any person, "Yes… she was."

"H-how…!?" Dipper exclaims.

Ford then gets up from the ground and helps his grandnephew up. He had noticed the blood on the floor, but once again there was no wounds on Dipper's person.

"I'll explain… when we get home."

A/N: This is probably the longest thing I wrote... it took me a couple of days to write it!

But... now this story will not be updated until the next few "Beyond the Portal" chapters are posted so there aren't spoilers!

And... yeah I know with the release of Journal 3 there is kind of a set timeline about when Ford coming to Gravity Falls, and we don't truly know his and Stan's, so it is very difficult to plot out a timeline.

Thank you for reading as always!

~Skye Hendersen~