A/N:

Credit to CraveFanArt for the cover art.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls. Gravity Falls was created by Alex Hirsch and Disney owns it.

Episode 1: A grain of truth.

Important: I'm doing a complete rewrite/revision before uploading the last chapter.

This chapter is: [Rewrite finished for all chapters 08/03]

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[Chapter 2: Monster Hunt]

Dipper and Pacifica had been walking and talking for a while now. From time to time, Dipper had to stop the conversation and have a look at his surroundings, then check his Journal to make sure they were going in the right direction.

"So you cook your own food and iron your own clothes?" Pacifica asked in amazement.

"Yep. I always wanted to have a butler but, until I am rich, I've to do everything myself. Mabel cooks, though. You don't want to see me trying to use the kitchen." Dipper reassured with a smile.

Pacifica giggled and then looked at him curiously.

"I guess it's hard."

"Sometimes it is, but by doing things yourself you gain sort of a special satisfaction once they are done. I always see it as getting an A+ in a school exam." Dipper explained.

"There's no way I'm seeing ironing my dresses as getting an A+." Pacifica shuddered.

"Your parents really grounded you if you didn't come home with at least an A+? Even with a… I don't know, B+?" Dipper asked in astonishment.

"Yeah. Think of it this way: I am the sole heiress of a big economical empire. The local sawmill, the mudflap factory, multiple houses throughout the town… All of that will one day be mine." She made a broad gesture with her arms. "And I have to know how to rule it."

"So… I guess that really is hard." Dipper gave her a lopsided smile and felt suddenly thankful that all he had to do was ironing his own clothes and doing his bed. "Speaking of which, how do you do in math?" He fished out his Journal from his vest.

"Probably better than you." She gave him a mocking smile.

"Really?" Dipper reciprocated the smile. "Then you won't have much trouble solving me this." He opened the journal and pointed to what looked like gibberish in Pacifica's eyes. "This is a cryptogram that took me a while to decipher yesterday. I'll give you a clue: It uses the Caesar cipher."

Pacifica took the Journal from Dipper's hands and examined the text. She had studied a little about ciphers back in school and knew that Caesar was used back in the times of Rome, and that it was simply a position shift in the alphabet. She focused on the short words until she spotted 'dqg', which should definitely be 'and'. Knowing that 'd' was 'a', Pacifica quickly pictured in her mind-eye an alphabet with the shifted positions and a normal one right below it. Then, her creative mind began to work on deciphering each word.

"I got it!" She exclaimed in excitement.

Dipper's mocking smile turned into a dumbfounded expression.

"What!?" He handed her a pencil. "Write down the translated first line, just above the text."

Pacifica began to write, slowly at first but then smoother, until she got the first line.

"There you go. This was an easy one." She shrugged.

Dipper quickly snatched the Journal from her hands and began to search the line for mistakes. He found none.

"You deciphered this without writing a guide on a paper first to help yourself?" Dipper asked as his eyes bulged out.

"Well, duh. All you have to do is picture both the new alphabet and the original one in your head." She shrugged.

"That was impressive, Pacifica! Like… wow!" Dipper was astonished. "You have an amazing imagination!"

"Of course I do." She replied proudly, enjoying the praises to her intellect. Dipper however began to snicker and Pacifica couldn't help but ask. "What?"

"Nothing. I think you just confirmed how dyed your hair is." Dipper said as his snicker turned into laughter.

"Seriously, Dipper? Blonde jokes?" Pacifica didn't take well his insinuation and gave him a shove.

"Ouch! Sorry, sorry." Dipper quickly apologized to prevent another shove. "It's just that, well, your father is brown-haired and your mother is dark blonde… I thought you dyed your hair." He tried to explain himself as he rubbed his arm nervously.

"It's not dyed, my grandmother had the same hair color and I guess I got it from her. Here, have a look." Pacifica pulled a good lock of her hip-length hair over her shoulder and held it out.

Dipper held in his palm the long lock of blonde hair and caressed it with his thumb. It felt silky to the touch, with a faint smell of lilacs shampoo. A smile appeared on Dipper's face and he wasn't sure to have ever touched anything so silky before, but he would do it for hours. Dipper quickly let go of the lock of hair and hid behind his Journal.

"I uh… Yeah, it looks… very natural and… shiny."

"Thanks." Pacifica said to the compliment of her hair and eyed curiously how his ears were becoming red behind the Journal. "You are still a dork, though."

Dipper smiled at being caught and lowered the Journal, coughing a little in vain tries to lower his blush. He then recognized a few bushes in front of them.

"We're here." He beckoned her to follow him.

Behind the bushes there was a clearing in the forest, and in that clearing there was a tall rocky hill. The first thing that caught Pacifica's attention was that the hill was a little too tall to be naturally formed in this area, and that it had no slopes, but walls of rock forming plateaus at different height levels. Then she realized that there were no trees on the hill or in the area surrounding it, as if the vegetation was afraid of growing near it.

As Pacifica raised her head and accidentally gaped to look at the top of the mountain, Dipper focused his examination on the ground and the trees on the forest edge. He touched the branch of a tree and then walked up to a big rock partially buried on the ground. Soon Pacifica got out of her thoughts and stood behind Dipper.

"What are you looking at?" She asked curiously.

"Tracks. We're looking for this." He handled her the open Journal and then he went back to examining the rock.

Pacifica had a quick look at the page. There were a few cryptograms on the side, but most of the text was normal. There was a picture of the creature on the top left of the page. It was a big bird with eagle claws and long feathered wings. However, the chest and the bald head were of a person, with the exception of having a beak instead of nose and mouth. It lacked the ears and below the wings it had in addition a pair of arms covered in plumage with claws-like fingers and crystals incrusted in the forearms.

"A Celaeno harpy…" She read aloud and Dipper nodded. "…is the only harpy species that has something resembling an intelligence. Like all harpies, they live in rocky mountains close to villages and small towns where they can steal valuables from, which they treasure in their nests." Pacifica paused for a second and wondered if the earrings she lost last summer might be up there. "They're scavengers, very territorial and are likely to attack intruders. The harpies, rather than fighting their aggressors, prefer to lift them in the air and then drop them from a high altitude. Their main diet is bone marrow." Pacifica screwed up her face and looked at the boy. "Ew, Dipper. These things are disgusting."

"Yeah, but like everything in that book the best part is hidden in the cryptograms. What's not mentioned in the description is that this species of harpies can steal people's dreams and store them in the crystals of their forearms. A 'filled' crystal glows so they place it on their nests to scare predators." Dipper explained.

"Hmm… Well, that sounds cool and highly immoral. I wouldn't mind taking a peek at one of those crystals though." She gave the Journal back to Dipper. "People don't remember getting their dreams stolen?"

"Nah, they remember nothing when they wake up." Dipper clarified.

"And what makes you think there could be nests in here? I mean, 'rocky mountain' is very vague as a description."

"Have a look at that tree, the closest one." He pointed back to the forest edge. Pacifica walked up to the tree and looked at it quizzically, failing to see anything weird. "Don't you see the claw marks on the lowest branch? One of them sharpened its claws there."

Pacifica had a better look and noticed that the bark had indeed claw marks.

"These seems like normal scratches to me. Why couldn't a bear have made them?" She questioned his theory.

"A bear would've had sharpened its claws on the log, not the on branches." Dipper countered.

Pacifica thought about it for a few seconds. She didn't like being wrong, but she had to agree with him.

"I guess it makes sense, but that only means one of them was here. They fly and can easily cover long distances. What else makes you think this mountain is their lair?" She still tried to dismantle Dipper's theory.

Dipper gave her a smirk.

"That's easy. This is the closest mountain to town which matches the description, and there is also this." He pointed to the rock he had been examining earlier.

Pacifica walked back next to him and squatted along with Dipper to have a closer look. The rock was covered with a brownish white substance.

"Oh, that's bird poop." She rose back to her feet with a disgusted expression on her face. "Please, don't tell me you're gonna dip a finger in it and then put it into your mouth to make sure it's harpy's poop like they do in the movies."

"Ew, of course not!" Dipper shuddered. "It's enough by seeing the size of it! I mean, there's a lot of poop in apparently only one drop! It had to be a very big bird!"

"Let's stop talking about bird poop." Pacifica narrowed her eyes and tried her best not to picture one of those creatures pooping while flying. Just in case, she had a quick glance above herself.

"Agreed." Dipper snickered. "But you see what I mean, right? They must have a nest in this mountain."

"Alright, you've convinced me." Pacifica put on a teasing tone. "You've got some keen detective skills, Pines. I'm impressed."

"Thanks, Northwest." He replied in the same teasing tone and both of them smiled. "Now let's go get one of those glowing crystals, shall we?"

"What if we find a harpy? I'd prefer to keep my bone marrow if it's not much to ask." She joked although her voice had a small hint of fright.

"Don't worry Pacifica." He showed her the page and pointed at the ciphered text. "The harpies are very territorial and also very noisy. I don't know about you, but I don't hear anything. They must be out."

"I guess. So… we have to climb?" She asked, noticeably more calmed now.

"Yes, let's see if this mountain wall is lower somewhere."

They circled the mountain. After a quarter hour they reached a part where the wall seemed to have cracked and fallen years ago, forming a low natural rocky plateau at a lower level. However, the edge was still a little too high for any of them to reach. Dipper pondered their options for a second and then asked.

"How much do you weight?"

"Excuse me?" Pacifica's eyes widened and she looked at him with a surprised face.

"We can reach that edge over there if one lifts the other." He explained.

Pacifica looked first at the edge and then at the boy, measuring the distance and his height.

"Fine, but I'll lift you." She pressed her back on the wall and put her hands together in front of herself to push him up.

"Hey, I may not look strong but I can lift you too." Dipper countered, his manliness hurt.

"I'm not saying you can't" She reassured. "I'm just not gonna ruin my dress and nails by pulling myself up that edge." Dipper raised an eyebrow, still not convinced and Pacifica groaned and rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Dipper. We don't have all day."

"Alright. Here, hold me this." Dipper took off his cap and put it on Pacifica's head. He thought she looked funny and smiled.

Pacifica was a little surprised at first, but soon she readjusted the cap on her head and got her hands back in position.

"Well, you want me to push you up or not."

Dipper put a foot on her hands and, as he jumped with his other leg Pacifica lifted him and he reached the edge, pulling himself up. Both preteens huffed at the effort and soon Dipper stood on the edge of the plateau above Pacifica.

"You see something up there?" Pacifica asked while dusting her hands.

Dipper took a survey of the plateau. It was small with yet more high walls on it. However, there was a big crack on one of the walls resembling a very small and narrow cave, but big enough for him to fit in. Dipper saw something glowing inside and smiled. When he poked his head inside the hole, he saw something resembling a nest in the far end of it with three eggs as big as ostrich's, but he paid no attention to them. Closer to the entrance there was incrusted in what looked like dried mud or clay a blue crystal the size of a big apple. Dipper tried to pull the crystal out, but it was buried deep within the mud/clay and, in addition, the moment he touched it the crystal began glowing and vibrating. Dipper decided not to touch it again with his hands and kicked the mud/clay around the crystal until it fell free to the ground. Then, he took off his vest and grabbed the crystal in it, noticing how this time it neither glowed nor vibrated at the touch.

Meanwhile Pacifica had taken off the pine tree cap and she had it in her hands, rubbing it with her thumbs. The heiress didn't know why, but she felt that the cap was somehow bound to Dipper. She couldn't imagine him without it.

She heard footsteps above herself.

"You found it?"

"Yeah, here it is." Dipper showed her his vest made a ball. "Take it and careful not to touch it directly. It does something weird."

Dipper dropped the vest and Pacifica caught it in the air. She took a quick peek inside the vest and gasped at the crystal. It reminded her of a big sapphire, but with a glow of its own. Then she raised her head towards Dipper and gave him a playful smile.

"Wow, Dipper. First your cap, now your vest… By the end of the day I'll have all your clothes!" She joked and began laughing.

Dipper blushed and couldn't help but smile. Her laughter was contagious.

"You're the worst." He joked too and both preteens laughed heartily.

They didn't laugh for long. A shadow above them gave a shriek and dived from the sky towards them, shoving Dipper in the chest and making him fall to his back with an 'Hnng' on the rocky plateau. Then it landed on the edge and glared at the vest Pacifica had in her hands.

"Oh, no." Pacifica gasped as she saw the harpy staring at her with completely black eyes.

"Pacifica, run!" Dipper got to his feet and yelled from above her in the plateau. The harpy extended its wings menacingly to look bigger and turned to scare this new threat. Dipper's eyes widened and stood still as a statue, trying to avoid making any sudden movement that would provoke the creature.

"What?! I'm not leaving you with that oversized bird!"

Pacifica had another idea in mind. She dropped Dipper's vest and grabbed a small stone from the ground. She aimed carefully and struck the harpy right on the bald head. The creature shrieked in pain and turned to what it deemed as the clear threat. The harpy took off and flew towards the heiress, claws first. Pacifica gasped and tried to run away, but the harpy flew fast and its claws reached Pacifica's shoulders, raising her from the ground. The heiress cried in pain and struggled to break free.

Dipper ran to the edge and saw what was happening. Without thinking it twice and with a completely distressed face, Dipper took three quick breaths and jumped off the edge, landing on top of the flying creature. The harpy grunted at the added weight, but it was still not enough prevent its flight and continued flying up, raising both preteens in the air. Dipper thought of punching the harpy, but it wouldn't stop flapping its wings and he feared that if he let go of his grasp on the plumage, he would fall from its back.

Pacifica became desperate. She was feeling an increasing sense of vertigo and a stinging pain in her shoulders where the claws were dug deep. The heiress tried to fight back, but the hold on her shoulders prevented her from using her arms, so she head-butted the harpy's belly with the back of her head. The first time she didn't do much damage, but the second time her silver hoop earrings brushed the harpy's claw. The creature shrieked at the burning pain caused by the silver and let go of that shoulder, completely unbalancing its weight. The harpy lost altitude quickly and soon crashed on the grass along with both preteens. It stood on its claws, shook its head and then it hurriedly flew back to its nest.

Both Dipper and Pacifica groaned on the ground. Dipper had rolled a few times on the grass when the harpy had crashed and his arms hurt, but he was the first to get to his feet. He noticed that he had scrapped his knees and elbows, but overall he was alright.

"Uff, we were lucky the harpy lost its balance!" He looked at Pacifica, who sat up with scrapped elbows too. "Pacifica, that was amazing! You totally gave that harpy the business!" He praised.

"D-did I?" Pacifica's head was spinning a little too much to fully understand what had happened. Her bloodstream was filled with adrenaline, her hands tingled in excitement and she felt the need to throw up, but the experience of escaping death had given her such a strong feeling that she'd love to do that again… after resting for a week or two.

"Yeah! You're definitely the worst, but in a good way!" He joked and Pacifica smiled. She was glad that what had started as an insult had become a compliment.

Dipper stood up and dusted his clothes. Pacifica tried to do the same but cried in pain. Dipper's face contorted in fear and he ran to see what was wrong with the heiress.

"It's t-the left shoulder." She complained and tried to touch her own shoulder, quickly withdrawing her hand and wincing in pain. With the adrenaline rush she had forgotten about the injury the harpy's claws had caused to one of her shoulders. "Help me out of my jacket, Dipper." She demanded, her voice weakened by the sudden stinging pain.

"Who's taking off clothes now?" He tried to joke to ease the ambience and it worked.

Pacifica displayed a faint smile and Dipper very slowly removed her jacket, careful of not forcing her injured shoulder much. There were three holes below her collarbone on her dress and a growing blood stain in them. Dipper quickly fished out a tissue from his shorts pocket and handled it to her.

"Press this hard on the wound." He instructed. "It doesn't look bad but we don't want it to get infected."

Pacifica did as told and flinched at first, but soon she calmed and pressed the tissue on her wound. Dipper stared at the blood stain on the jacket he had in his hands and frowned deeply. He couldn't help thinking that it had been his fault, and that he shouldn't have let her come, or that he should have gone after something less dangerous, or that at least they should have come more prepared.

"Dipper, don't do that." Pacifica said, staring at his face.

"Do what?"

"You're blaming yourself, aren't you? Well, this wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known that thing was going to come back right when we were leaving."

"How do you expect me to avoid blaming myself? It was my idea to come here. It was I who allowed you to come here, and it was I who put you in danger. Not that harpy, she was just defending her eggs. This is all my fault." Dipper sighed and clenched the blood stained jacket in his hands.

"First off, it was I who wanted to come and I would've done so whether you liked it or not. I always get what I want; I am a Northwest after all. So forget about that." Pacifica countered. "Besides, I don't blame you, so why would you blame yourself?" She added with a small smile.

"Thanks." Dipper perked up a little and reciprocated the smile. "We should probably get out of here though, just in case the harpy decides to come back with some friends." Dipper helped her get to her feet and noticed how she winced. "You want me to… I don't know, carry you or something?"

"No," She blushed and then snapped proudly. "I can walk on my own."

Dipper wasn't so sure about that, but he didn't insist.

"Wait here for a sec." He said and ran to the low wall he had climbed with Pacifica's help earlier. He came back with his vest made a ball in his hands, the crystal inside.

"Are you sure it's safe for us to take that?" She asked warily, taking a quick look above herself in search of any harpy trying to grab her again.

"After how hard it has been to get it, I'm not leaving it." He shook his head. "By the way, sorry about the clothes." Dipper pointed to her purple dress which had grass, dirt and blood stains. "I know you didn't want them to get dirty."

Pacifica wondered how she was going to explain to her parents why her dress was so dirty and why her shoulder was bloodied. The heiress sighed and shook her head, putting a smug smile.

"Pffft, don't worry about this. I'll get a new one." She waved her hand dismissively. "C'mon, let's go back to the Shack. It's getting dark."

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A/N:

Guest Reviews:

Cool dog: Thanks and don't worry. This story might suffer a short hiatus now and then, but it's definitely going to be finished.

FYI:

Where having knowledge is cool to impress someone, there's nothing like actual experience, and that's what Dipper has shown to Pacifica today.

Since they were former enemies, the fact that they're friends doesn't keep them from teasing each other playfully now and then.

Her silver hoop earrings saved them. Whoever has read a Witcher book or played a game knows why. The rest of you will have to wait until it's explained.

The crystal will play an important part in the trilogy.

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