For some reason, I can't read the reviews. Luckily, I enable Reviews Alert so I can see it in my e-mail! Thank you guys for the positive reviews. I know that the last chapter was kinda rushing. It's been a while since I started writing like this again. So bare with me.
I was thinking a new fanfic; an AU that I've been making in my dream, but I'll write that up later. I need to finish this one first before making a new one!
I'm blabbering right now so let's get into the story!
Stan couldn't sleep that night. Not for long, anyway. He'd close his eyes and start to drift off only to wake up moments later with a start; not due to any noise or nightmare, just to some internal reflex in his mind. He stood up and paced around the room. Packed and repacked his duffel bag. This wasn't insomnia, he realized. He has been awake for two nights like this. And it wasn't him worrying about the kid, either. It was instinct, telling him to keep awake, keep alert.
He sat by the window, cracking it open to look at the outside of the motel. Through the blinds, in the distance, he saw two cars pulling in towards the motel. That was enough for him. He wasn't going to wait and find out who was in those cars. His instincts were usually right. He immediately grabbed his duffel bag.
A half-formed dream slowly blurred into darkness as Mabel was awakened by Grunkle Stan's voice. "Mabel?" She felt his large hands shaking her awake. "Wake up, kiddo."
"Mmnh?" Mabel's bed felt different. She'd fallen asleep in her skirt and sweater. She lifted her head and rubbed her eyes...she wasn't in the Mystery Shack. It wasn't until Stan's face came into focus that her disorientation fell away and she remembered where she was. When she was. Stan's hair was long and dark and his face wasn't lined. He looked like the pictures on his old ID cards.
"How'd you like to go on a road trip?" he asked, grinning broadly. "Like, right now?"
"Okay." Mabel yawned, smiling. "Can we get breakfast?"
"I know a place that serves great breakfasts just outside the state line. C'mon, chop chop, time's a-wasting." Stan took her arm, all but dragging her out of bed.
Mabel followed Stan out the back door, down to his car. She smiled seeing it again. It had fewer dings and probably far fewer miles on it. But it was the same car that she'd rode to Gravity Falls Lake in and the familiarity was comforting. She hopped into the front seat.
"Buckle up, we're about to do some reckless driving." Stan said, steering the car around the back of the motel and through a construction barrier, peeling out onto an unfinished dirt road. Mabel made quiet little oofs as they bumped and clattered towards the highway, rolling through red lights and completely ignoring the gentle suggestions posed by speed limit signs. It was probably a good thing the roads were empty.
"What time is it?" Mabel squinted out the window. "The sun's not even up."
"Time to sit tight and stop asking questions." Stan said. He was nervous, she realized. He kept checking the mirrors and shifting around in his seat. The last time she'd seen him like this was when those government guys showed up at the Mystery Shack.
"Hey..." Stan's eyes fixed on her from the rear-view mirror. "Is this kidnapping? Did I just kidnap you? You brother didn't mind I'm taking you with me right?"
Mabel shrugged and yawned. "I dunno. Maybe."
"I feel like a cop would consider this kidnapping. Are you sure your parents or your brother aren't someplace back in town?" He gave her a stern look. "Because if they are... if you're just trying to skip out on them for fun, you need to tell me now. Because it's going to be really hard to go back there soon."
Mabel squirmed a little under his gaze. "...My parents live in California."
"California?"
"Yeah. But they're not there now." She shifted... She couldn't tell him the whole truth. Even if he believed her... saying stuff like this to people in the past, telling them about their future, that's what got them in trouble the first time. A few white lies and lies of omission wouldn't hurt.
"And your brother?" Stan asked in a concern tone.
"I told you, I don't know…" Mabel answered him without facing him. She kept looking outside the window. How could she tell Stan about the crazy things that happened to her?
Stan gave her a skeptical look. "How'd you get all the way to Philadelphia?"
Mabel shrugged and just kept quiet about it. There was no way she's telling him the truth. It's better to keep quiet like this rather than making him thinking she's talking nonsense.
"All right, have it your way." Stan adjusted the mirror again. "Well. It's a good thing your parents or your brother, wherever he is, aren't back there. Because we're not gonna want to go back to that city again."
"Where are we going?" Mabel asked.
"Hmm. What's your favorite letter of the alphabet?"
"M!" Mabel replied.
"Aw jeez. All right, we're going to Minnesota. I'm sick of the south. Did you have extra sweater?"
"No, but I can knit an extra if I have ball of yarns with me." Mabel told Stan while looking at the backseat of the messy car. Sheesh, there are a lot of boxes and junk behind here.
"There are some yarns in those boxes. We can try to look for it if we stopped somewhere after this."
Mabel yawned and nodded, taking off her sweater and tucking it under her head to use as a pillow. The front seat was surprisingly roomy, so she have some space to lie down beside Stan who was driving the car. He might look different but she knew he was the same Stan. With him there, she wasn't alone. She tucked her head into her arms and quietly meowed herself to sleep.
Dipper couldn't sleep. He worried about Mabel, he worried about how he will find her. He turned his body around to get a good spot on the couch to feel sleepy, it's not working. Frustrated, Dipper get up and fetch the TV remote beside the couch. He aimed the remote to the TV and clicked it. The TV lights up, but sadly, only static screen was available. Dipper changed the channel a few times, only to find out there were nothing on it.
He turned off the TV and jumped out from the couch. The living room was still dark. The sun was still not up yet. Dipper decided to go to the kitchen to get something to eat.
He then exited the living room and found himself on the hallway. Along the hallway, he noticed one room that the door was slightly opened. Dipper noticed that there are some strange lights illuminating from that room. He decided to check it out. Slowly pushed open the door, he discovered a shrine that had been covered with large sheets. He inspected the room. He noticed that the paintings on the wall were all covered with sheets, it was weird. The floor at middle of the room seemed to have some sort of drawings, but unfortunately it had been scrape.
Dipper walked around the room, he felt that something was watching him, there's an eye in this room. He knows this feeling. Bill.
But how come he felt this presence? Dipper decided to take a peek on what's behind the covered shrine. He approached the shrine, pulled the sheets that been covering it and what he saw made him dropped to the floor.
It was Bill Cipher's shrine, deities of triangle with one eye, a bow tie and a hat. Suddenly Dipper could hear his laughter around the room. The sheets covering the paintings dropped and it all revealed Bill's portrait.
"No, no, impossible. Great Uncle Ford couldn't possibly made a-"
"A deal with him?" Ford was at the door, yellow light illuminating his glasses. "You shouldn't be here."
"What is all this? Have you made a deal with him?" Dipper asked with a stern, demanding voice. "Have you gone insane?!"
Ford started to enter the room, moving towards Dipper. The yellow light was still illuminate his glasses.
"Is Bill in Ford's body right now?" Dipper mind was rushing with millions of questions right now.
Dipper moved back and looked around for something. He need to protect himself from that man.
Dipper saw a steel rod lying beside the shrine. He picked it up and manned it.
"STAY AWAY!" Dipper warned Ford.
"Calm down, put the rod down, P-"
"Pine tree?! Is that what you gonna call me?!"
"I was gonna say 'Please'!" Ford seemed to beg the boy to put down the steel rod.
"No, stay away, Trust no one. Trust. No. One!"
Dipper accidentally swung the steel road to Ford when he realized he was nearing him very close. Unfortunately, Ford caught the steel rod and now he was the one who's gripping it.
Dipper kept backing away until he hit the wall, there's nowhere to go anymore. This is it, his fate was sealed. He's gone for good. He closed his eyes and wait for the blow to the head from the steel rod Ford was holding.
Dipper flinched a bit when he felt a hand holding his shoulder.
"Dipper, it's me, your Great-Uncle." He heard Ford's voice. Slowly, he opened his eyes to have a look at the man claimed to be his Great-Uncle.
"Look into my eyes, look at my pupils, Dipper." Ford then knelt down to the boy's eye level, adjusting his glasses to give Dipper a better view of his eyes.
It was a white normal eyes without any yellow tint.
Dipper breathe out a heavy relieve. He thought he was gone, but still, he need explanations about all of his affiliation with Bill. He looked at Ford and the man understand that the boy wanted explanations.
"I know you want explanation for all of this. Let's get out from this room and we'll talk in the kitchen. I made pancakes." Ford said with a broken smile.
Dipper just nodded and followed Ford behind to exit the room. Before closing the door, he swore that he heard Bill's menacing laughter from that room. It made Dipper's broke a cold sweat.
They continued to the kitchen, hoping that Dipper will get an explanation.
After finally found ball of yarns and knitting needles in some random boxes at the backseat of the car, Mabel finally started knitting. She was using the green and pale red yarns to make her new sweater. She looked outside the car, they were at the gas station somewhere in Illinois. She could felt her stomach growling wildly. Mabel realized she haven't eaten anything since last night. She tried to ignore the growl and furiously knitting the sweater.
"Who wants gas station burritos?" Stan shouted from the outside of the car.
"I do, I do!" Mabel yelled, raising both hands, letting go of her knitting. She pushed aside her project and Stan put a warm, plastic-wrapped package in one and a bottle of soda in the other. He continued to settle into the driver's seat with a cup of coffee.
While Stan had been getting gas and food, Mabel had brushed her hair and pulled it back with a headband. She'd also covered her scrapes with a couple of band aids and used a water bottle Stan had in the car to wash her face. She felt much more ready to face the day now, even though she still wearing the same sweater. She can finished a new sweater in another few hours.
"Oooooh… hot on the outside, cold in the middle." she said, taking a bite of her breakfast. "It's like two burritos in one!
"Heh." Stan smiled at her while she ate. "So, uh, how often do kids need food again? Like, once a week? That's close, right?"
Mabel ignored the question. "Are we close to Minnesota, Uncle Stan?"
"Nope, just another few states and we'll reach Minnesota. For now, we're just gonna have a soothing ride." Stan noticed the yarn ball, it looks like Mabel have been busy already. "Already starting on the new sweater huh?"
Mabel nodded while chewing the burrito. "Yup, and I'm planning on making one for you too!"
Stan smiled hearing the generous thoughts. "Hey, don't trouble yourself kid, I already got my jacket. What's more important is your sweater to wear."
"Don't worry Uncle Stan, sweater-making is my specialty. I usually can make 3 sweaters in a few days."
Hearing Mabel's reassurance, Stan just nodded and continue sipping his coffee. "Tell me about your brother."
"My brother?" Mabel turned to Stan. "Well, we're the same age, in fact, we're twins!"
Stan eyes widened. He immediately turned his head facing Mabel.
"His name is Dipper. We sorta have some stupid argument before he left me." Mabel frowned.
"Is it bad?"
"No, not really. He used to bail me out whenever I'm in trouble. He always there for me if I'm stuck with problems. But that night…" Tears begin to fill Mabel's eyes.
She started to sobs "That night I-I did something stupid tha-that somehow offended him. He said t-that I-I didn't trust him. I realized that I made him angry."
"I'm horrible twin sister." She finally broke down crying. He hands covered her face.
"Hey, it's alright. You did what you think is right. You didn't mean it. He won't be mad at you that long. A twins never can never hated each other."
Stan remembered Ford, his twin brother who now resides in wherever he is now. 10 years without calling, Stan felt hurt, being kicked out from his home by his dad, being told that he's useless, seeing Ford as the only child that have the potential make money for the family. But he let it all slide. He never blamed Ford for it, it was his fault too for breaking his science project that night. It was his fault that Ford cannot go to his dream college.
Stan patted Mabel's back in a gentle, fatherly way. Mabel turned to Stan and wrapped her arms around Stan's neck. Another hug. Stan returned the hug by squeezing her extra tight. "Come on, kid. You're strong. I'm sure your brother forgive you by this time." Consoled Stan.
"Are you sure?" Mabel muffled on Stan's shoulder, still sobbing.
"I'm sure of it sweetie."
Mabel let go of Stan, returning to her seat. She wiped her remaining tears away. "Thanks Uncle Stan."
"Hey, no sweat. Now let's get going. After all, you got a sweater to finish."
Stan reignited the car's engine, backed it up and revved out from the gas station, steering right into the freeway once again.
"What you've done back in that room, if I really was Bill, though, you would've done great. I should of been more like you when I had a chance." Ford sighed on remembering what he had done the past months.
"What happened to you and Bill? Have you made a deal with him?" Dipper asked. He had an instinct that the Portal Ford built was impossible unless someone that have a vast knowledge on the unknown helped him.
"I used to think he was my friend. I had hit a road block in my investigation of Gravity Falls, until I found some mysterious writing in a cave. Ancient incantations about a being with answers. It warned me not to read them, but I was desperate. I read the inscription aloud. But nothing happened. Until later than afternoon, when I had the most peculiar dream." Ford took a sip from his can of Pitt Cola before continuing.
"He introduced himself, and he knew my name, and he even invited me to play a game of interdimensional chess! Anyway, he told me he was a muse. That he chose one brilliant mind a century to inspire. What a fool I was. Blinded by his flattery and games. He became my research assistant. He was free to move in and out of my mind as he pleased. We were partners. When he told me I could complete my research by building a gateway to other worlds, I trusted him. He said this was the way genius happened. Little help from a friend. At that moment, I was on the verge of my greatest achievement! Until Fiddleford got a glimpse of Bill's true plans."
Ford paused, staring at the can he's holding. He remembered what happened to Fiddleford after he was pulled out from that portal. He said something gibberish Ford couldn't understand. What did he saw that make him freaked out like that?
"When Gravity Falls and earth becomes sky, fear the beast with just one eye."
"Fiddleford, get a hold of yourself, you're not making any sense."
"This machine is dangerous. You'll bring about the end of the world with this. Destroy it before it destroys us all!"
"I can't destroy this; it's my life's work!"
"I fear we've unleashed a grave danger on the world. One I'd just as soon forget. I quit!"
"Fine! I'll do it without you! I don't need you! I don't need anyone!"
"And then what happened? Did you met Bill again?" Dipper asked.
"What?" Ford snapped from his thought. "Oh, I faced him again in my dream. I persuaded him to tell where does that portal lead. But he held back his true plan. I even threaten him that I'll shut down the portal. But he warned me, that I can't stop a bridge between their worlds from coming to us." Ford sighed. His face showed a sign of paranoia and utter fear.
"My whole life's work that I thought I would be achieve something. It was now lead to nothing."
"So, did you dismantle the portal yet?" Dipper hesitantly asked.
"No, I'm on it. But I had to do something first. I need to hide all of my journals. I've marked the locations around Gravity Falls forest as a location to hide it. And, I'm going to need your help." Ford asked Dipper for help. He can do this alone, but it will be a waste of time if he didn't do it quickly. The portal needed to be dismantled fast and he promised the boy that he will repair his time travel device.
Without hesitation, Dipper agreed in helping him. "Sure Great-Uncle Ford. Just tell me where I should hide them and I'll be on my way first thing in the morning."
There was a relieve showing from Ford's face when he said he agree to help. Dipper perfectly understand what he's been through and he wouldn't want to burden him anymore.
"Thank you Dipper. Now, finish your pancakes and go get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow morning." Stan ordered.
Dipper nodded and quickly finished his pancakes. Ford told him to leave the plate on the table. He did that and he said goodnight to Ford before retreating back to the living room.
Ford stood up, picked up the plate and washed it. He put it back into the shelf and left the kitchen. He then proceed to enter the door leading to his underground lab.
On the next chapter, Stan confronts the goons that been chasing him and he needs to ensure Mabel's safety. Ford send Dipper to hide the journal, but during the task, Bill interupts Dipper and he offers a deal Dipper can't refuse, or can he?
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