"Dipper please, you don't have to do this."
"Sorry Mabel, but I can't stay here anymore."
Opening his eyes, Dipper tried to let that memory fade. But as he got dressed and ready for the day, it chose not to. And he knew why, today was the first day of summer, a day that always made him think of his sister. Granted he was often surrounded by reminders of her, but other memories became attached to those things too. It was primarily this day and the last day of summer that proved to be too stubborn for him to think about anything else.
"Hard to believe it's been about two years since I last saw her." He thought out loud before leaving his room.
Down in the kitchen he saw Melody making breakfast with Soos helping her. "G'morning Dipper." Melody greeted.
"Good morning guys. Need a hand?"
"No thanks, but we got something to tell you so you might as well sit down."
Confused, Dipper did that. Soos brought some dirty utensils to the sink before sitting down across the table.
"Here's the thing Dipper, the other day we got a message from Mr. Pines and his brother." The heavyset man started. Dipper wanted to interject but he held his tongue. "They're fine, doing great. Anyways, they were talking about coming back here sometime this summer, and since you're already here, they told us they were going to invite Mabel to come here too."
Dipper blinked. "Oh? Really?"
Soos nodded. "I know this will bother you, but this is still Mr. Pines's home. I don't feel like I can tell him no. They'll get here in a few days, and your sister should too. Do you think you'll be okay if you see her again?"
The cap-wearing boy didn't respond, making the two adults worry. After a bit he sighed. "I'll be civil, that's all I can promise."
"Thanks dude."
After breakfast, Dipper went to get a shower, his mind practically screaming at him. He got dried and dressed before heading back downstairs, stopping when he heard Soos on the phone.
"It's good to hear from you again Mabel. What kept you away the last two summers?" Soos paused. "Ah, okay that makes sense. I hope you at least had fun. Looking forward to coming back here?" Another pause. "Yeah, Dipper's doing okay. Dude's enjoying Gravity Falls, helping around the Shack. No big adventures since that one summer."
'As long as there's no Bill I can handle that.' Dipper thought.
"What's that?" Soos asked. "Really? Your parents want him to return home?"
Dipper covered his mouth, feeling his legs get weak for a moment.
"Is that really a good idea? I mean, he has friends here and knows the place pretty well. This is his home now." Soos asked. "They insist? Why do they insist?" Another pause. "Well, they are his parents, I don't think I can really stop them. But I can't tell him yet. He's already worried that seeing you again will be awkward, I don't want the dude to feel like his summer will be one big countdown to going away."
Starting to get emotional, Dipper quietly left the building, and once outside he practically ran into the woods around the Shack. This place was like a natural sanctuary for him, it always helped him clear his mind and find his center. Still feeling conflicted, he went to the tree where he had found Journal 3 and leaned against it, being careful not to trigger any other secrets the tree may have.
"Just what I needed to hear today, she's coming here to take me back." He sighed. "I shouldn't be surprised, but..."
"Hey dork." A voice called to him from behind, making him jump in his seat a bit. Turning around he saw a blonde sixteen year old girl standing behind the tree looking around.
Smiling, he got up and hugged her, surprising her but she happily returned it.
"Someone's in a good mood."
"Now that you're here Pacifica." He replied when he released her. "Listen, I've got... well, good or bad news depending on how you think about it. In a few days, Mabel may be coming here."
Pacifica blinked. "Wow, honestly I'm kind of surprised it took her this long. Do you think she's actually going to apologize?"
Dipper sighed and looked away. "Maybe, I mean, it has been two years. That should be enough time, but... a part of me doesn't feel ready to hear it, let alone accept it." He looked back to her. "Does that make me a bad person?"
She pulled him back into a hug. "Have I ever called you a bad person Mason?"
"Not in those exact words, no." He joked, making her snicker. "But that's not the worst part."
"Oh? What's the worst part?" Pacifica asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dipper took a deep breath. "Mabel isn't coming here just to enjoy summer. She's..."
Pacifica gasped. "No, she can't."
Dipper nodded, glad she had figured it out. Not that it was particularly hard to. "Yeah, apparently my family think I've been here long enough.
Pacifica immediately wrapped her arms around him, as if afraid he'd be taken right now if she didn't. He returned the hug, glad to know that he wasn't the only one that wanted him to stay.
After a bit the two pulled apart again. "Now's not the time to worry about that. I didn't come here to get bummed out. Didn't you say that you were going to check out the campgrounds this summer?"
"Oh yeah, thanks, I must have forgotten." He replied, glad to thank about something else.
Pacifica laughed. "Mason Pines forget about the supernatural? Is Weirdmageddon happening all over again?"
"C'mon, I'll give you a ride." He offered, walking towards the Shack's golf cart.
"I wish I could afford a car." Pacifica bemoaned as they got in and drove off into the forest.
That little comment made Dipper think about how different things were now compared to when he first met the blonde girl years ago. Back in the summer of 2012, the first time he came to Gravity Falls, he was a curious but self-conscious 12 year old with noodle arms and a desire to accomplish something. The events of that summer had helped with his confidence and he could certainly say he had accomplished something, even if the residents of the small town would be the only ones to ever know. And back then Pacifica had been a spoiled, shallow, diva of a girl who ultimately had been nothing more than her parent's puppet. After that summer, she began to gain some independence and empathy, and the two went from bitter enemies to close friends.
The biggest change came when Dipper moved to Gravity Falls back in 2013, after a few things had made living in Piedmont too uncomfortable for him. His great-uncles Stan and Ford Pines had approved, though they were currently out of the country sailing the ocean and Stan's employee Soos was keeping the Mystery Shack afloat in his absence, so Dipper moved in with Soos and his girlfriend and has lived there ever since. Now in 2015, he could honestly say that he felt happy and at home in Gravity Falls.
Pacifica's life had changed a bit too since that first summer. At the time, her family the Northwests had been stinking rich, exactly how rich was not clear but they definitely had 'screw you' money. But after the apocalyptic event known as Weirdmageddon, the Northwests lost a good portion of their wealth for several reasons and were reduced to just regular rich. Her parent's main priority had been to rebuild their fortune, but apparently those two had been better at spending money than making it, and in their efforts to make money they never stopped spending it. Within a few months, they were on the verge of losing everything, and so one day both of them just up and left town, leaving Pacifica behind to fend for herself.
Devastated, Pacifica had no idea what to do and only half a million in her personal account to live off of that her parents failed to take for themselves. Fortunately one of her former maids had gotten a job at the town motel and took pity on the girl, arranging for her to stay long term in one of the rooms at a reduced rate so she could stay in school without getting in the foster system. Pacifica felt so low, but she was forced to learn how to live on a budget and make her own money. Her popularity in town took a dive thanks to this, along with her growing depression, but she was never truly forsaken since like Dipper she had been active in the role to undo Weirdmageddon. When Dipper came back, she finally had a stable friend who could help her get back on her feet and she was very grateful for that. These days, Pacifica was no longer spoiled or shallow, but she wasn't happy. Dipper suspected she wouldn't be until she got closure from her parents.
'Maybe that's what I need with my sister.' He thought, reaching the campgrounds that tourists often used just outside the city this time of year. 'Maybe, but I don't think I need it right now.'
"So what were you saying about this place before school ended?" Pacifica asked after they parked the cart and got out.
"I heard this mostly from Wendy. Earlier the seniors were having a party here, celebrating getting out of school that sort of thing, and apparently a lot of things went missing. Just a bunch of small things like soda cans, phones, purses, but the witnesses said it was some kind of small bird that stole everything before going off into the woods."
"So a kleptomaniac bird? Hardly sounds that suspicious don't you think?" Pacifica remarked.
"Not everything needs to be a dangerous ghost or face-stealer." He remarked, resulting in her frowning and putting her hands on her hips. He ignored that and looked around, seeing small bits of evidence that older teens had been here recently. Namely empty beer cans, faded glow sticks, damaged school books, and in one place a pair of discarded panties. Dipper blushed, but something caught his eye, making him kneel down.
Pacifica saw this and rolled her eyes. "Typical boy, can't ignore a set of dirty panties."
"No, look at the dirt."
Still skeptical, the blonde girl leaned down and looked at the ground around the pair of underwear. Then she could see weird shapes in the dirt. "What are those?"
"They look like bird prints, but they're shaped like hands." Dipper observed. The indents in the dirt had the same size and features of bird prints he had seen before, but the back claw was positioned pointing inward, making it look more like a thumb.
"Maybe it's just a squirrel." Pacifica suggested, leaning back up.
Dipper shook his head. "No, there are no hind prints. This was bipedal. And look, there's more than one and each has two prints close together. Like a bird, or more than one bird, was hopping around looking for something."
"Okay, so there were birds with weird feet here. Any idea what they wanted?" Pacifica asked, looking around. She didn't see any discarded food or packaging around, but any number of animals could have gotten to that already.
"My best idea is food, but this is Gravity Falls. For all I know they were looking for a new queen like the gnomes."
"Well, I don't see anything here. What do you plan to do? Lure the birds out?"
Dipper stood back up and sighed. "No, not really. I didn't bring any bait nor do we have any food here left to use. Honestly, I'm okay just walking around the woods and looking around the hard way."
'My gut tells me that's more for clearing his mind than actually finding anything.' Pacifica thought. "Well, it's a good thing I've got on my good boots then."
"Thanks Pacifica." He replied with a smile, then the two walked into the woods.
The two trekked through the forest without keeping track of time, both of them just enjoying the experience. Dipper often did this during his searches for the local paranormal features, and as he got older he learned to appreciate the natural beauty as well. And after she lost her petty cash privileges, Pacifica had to find cheap or inexpensive activities to keep herself occupied or entertained, and nature walks were cheap as long as she didn't get dirty.
Because of their diverted attention, Dipper ended up tripping over something and falling to the ground, with Pacifica tripping over him too.
"Ow! Dammit Mason!" The blonde girl groaned as she shifted off the boy beneath her.
"Sorry." He replied, voice strained in pain while he moved into a sitting position. For a moment his eyes were closed, but when he opened them and saw what he tripped over, he gasped with his eyes widening. "Pacifica?"
"What?" She asked, then looked at what he was looking at. She had the same reaction as him. "Am I seeing that right?"
Before them both was a tiny orange elephant. One small enough that either of them could have held it in one hand. It limped a little, but it looked at them both with a little fear in its beady eyes.
"Gotta admit this is a new one." Dipper noted.
"Looks cute." Pacifica added, reaching out for the elephant. The elephant however responded by raising its trunk and letting out a loud wail, one so loud that the two teens had to cover their ears. With them preoccupied, the elephant then ran off into the woods.
"Damn that was loud." Dipper complained, feeling his head pound for a bit. He got to his feet and dusted off his clothes, helping her up too when he could. "We should follow it."
"Why?" Pacifica asked.
"There might be other miniature animals out here, and if so that could mean that the animal we were looking for originally might not be a bird in the first place. Not a normal bird at least."
The teen boy went off to follow the elephant with the teen girl following him, knowing she wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise. Finding the elephant was easy as it was walking down an open path in the forest, though the two made sure to keep some distance to avoid spooking it again. Within a minute the elephant brought them to an open clearing, one with a group of sapling trees growing in the center arranged in a circle. These small trees all had black leaves and looked almost planted in a pattern, but the most eye-catching thing was the other small animals tending to the trees that welcomed the elephant. And got defensive when they saw the approaching humans.
"What are they?" Pacifica asked, looking at these small animals. One looked like a yellow llama, another looked like a blue tortoise, one looked like a pink hummingbird, and another looked like a purple gargoyle. All the creatures looked to the two teens and backed away, gathering around the black-leaved trees like they were protecting them.
"I've never seen anything like them." Dipper noted, curious. "But I'm sure they were the things the seniors saw at the party."
The elephant wailed again but this time Dipper and Pacifica were ready and covered their ears ahead of time. While that happened the hummingbird and gargoyle started to fly off into the woods, with the elephant and other small animals going after them much quicker than expected. Even the tortoise was going much quicker than one should be able to move.
Acting on instinct, the two teens chased after them, wanting to see where they'd go. Fortunately the small creatures were just trying to get away, not fight back. After a bit though the small creatures ran into an old cabin, going in through an open door.
"Wait, I know this place." Dipper said, coming to a stop. "This is where Uncle Ford did his research on ghosts long ago."
Pacifica froze, not having good experiences with ghosts. "You saying this place is haunted?"
"Relax, from what I've read that only is a problem at night." Dipper assured, stepping into the cabin. Cautious, Pacifica followed.
"Rather shabby, and so dusty." She commented, rubbing her nose to hold off a sneeze.
"Look at this." Dipper said, going up to another door in the room. "I think they went in here."
"How can you tell?" She asked.
"Because the dust on the floor has been moved." He pointed out, showing the dust had prints in it along with scuff marks from a door opening. "Also this door is the only thing here that isn't covered in dust."
"Whoa, now that you mention it, you're right." She replied.
Dipper grabbed the handle and opened the door. On the other side he and Pacifica saw more trees and woodland, making them both a little disappointed.
"It just goes back outside?" Pacifica asked, annoyed. "Geez, what a letdown."
Dipper stepped through, looking around to see other clues, and Pacifica followed him. Neither saw anything out of the ordinary, just more forest.
Pacifica sighed. "I'm starting to think this whole thing is just a bust." She turned around and in doing so saw something that made her gasp. "Dipper, the cabin is gone."
"What?" He asked, turning around too. There was still the door they came through, but the rest of the cabin was completely vanished. There wasn't even empty dirt to show where it had been, just grass as if nothing had been built there in the first place. Confused, he opened the door, half-wondering if the cabin had somehow turned invisible from this side, but the door showed just more forest. Even stepping through it again changed nothing.
"What's going on? Did the whole place just disappear?" Pacifica asked. "This has to be a ghost thing, right?"
"I don't know." Dipper answered, still checking for any confirmation that the cabin was still there.
"Let's get out of here Mason. I don't want to stick around if any ghosts show up." She pleaded, grabbing his sleeve and tugging it.
With some reluctance, Dipper agreed to leave with her. They walked through the woods to get back to the campground, but along the way both started getting the feeling that something was wrong.
"Why are the trees red?" Dipper asked, coming up to one of the pine trees. The leaves were red, all of them. Not only that, but the grass was a shade of orange. Some parts were still green, but there were orange patches scattered around too.
"Those plants, I've never seen those before." Pacifica noted, seeing something that looked like a venus flytrap at the base of a tree. But not a normal one, this looked more like a chomper plant from the Mario games. This plant in fact reached out and tried to bite at her, but fortunately she jumped back before it could.
"Wait, is that town?" Dipper asked, seeing some rooftops up ahead through the trees. "We can't be that close."
"Who cares, at least it's-" Pacifica started, walking ahead at a faster pace until she was out of the woods into the street. "-civilization?"
Dipper caught up and paused next to her, looking at the town. "This... this isn't Gravity Falls."
The buildings looked normal, albeit out of place in somewhere like Oregon, with some of them looking like they had body parts built into them. Claws, teeth, arms, one even had a mouth instead of a door and eyes instead of windows. The roads were cobblestone instead of paved, the plants were the same as the ones in the woods, and in the distance large white spires that looked like giant bones could be seen towering above even the tallest buildings. But the weirdest part was the people, if they actually were people. Three eyed people, anthropomorphic animals, fairies, big bugs, none of which were the things that Dipper had encountered back home.
Pacifica grabbed ahold of Dipper's arm. "Where are we?"
The young man could not answer, but he did notice something. "No one seems to think we're out of place. They're just... minding their own business. Maybe we should just act like we belong. Like this is normal. Maybe we'll find out that way."
Pacifica gulped. "I'd rather find a way back."
The two walked down the street, trying their hardest to pretend they had seen all this before every day of their lives. Sure, Gravity Falls was a weird place, but it couldn't hold a candle to whatever this place was. They had to stop when a bug the size of a car with a human face crossed their path, and after it left they slightly picked up their pace, looking for a place with less... things in it.
Turning a corner led them to an open area with a lot of the town residents going about, but many of them were checking out open kiosks or going in and out of buildings. Signs and banners were everywhere, and many were carrying bags.
"I think this is a marketplace." Dipper noted. "I wonder what people buy here."
Unable to stop him, Pacifica followed him into the crowd, and she too took a look at the merchandise advertised. Signs said things like 'Potions Aplenty', 'All Things Slimy', 'Store of Sharp Pointy Things', and 'Walmart'.
"Really? One of those?" Pacifica asked in disbelief.
Some kind of person that looked like a humanoid pig came out with a ladder and altered the sign to read 'Wailmart', grumbling about typos.
"Oh, now it makes sense." Dipper noted. "Hey wait a minute, I just thought of something."
"What? Like how to get out of here?" The blonde girl asked.
"Not quite. Uncle Ford was stuck in other dimensions for some time, maybe that's where we are now. A different dimension."
"Well duh Mason, where else could we be?" She asked.
Dipper came to a stop, surprising her. "Look at that." He pointed forward, right at a set-up with a banner saying 'Human Collectibles'.
"Human collectibles?" Pacifica read out loud. "You think they have stuff for humans? Or from humans?"
"Only one way to find out." He assured, slowly going up to it. His friend followed, albeit reasonably hesitant.
A few people were in front of the kiosk looking like they were buying things, then a gap broke through allowing Dipper and Pacifica to see more. On the other side were two women, one about their age and one much older. The older one had a grey mane of hair, golden eyes, a golden fang on the right side of her mouth, and visible pointed ears. Her attire was a sleeveless deep red dress with an amber brooch on her chest, and a wooden staff in her hand. The younger one had short brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin, and rounded human ears. Her attire was a purple and white top with short sleeves, grey jean shorts, and black leggings.
"Hey everyone, you're in for a treat today." The older woman announced. "Direct from the human world, we have this, and a human who can tell you what it is. Show them Luz."
"On it Eda." The younger woman replied, reaching under the counter and pulling up a microwave. "This thing is how most humans make their food. You put it in, push a few buttons, and in a few minutes you've got a human meal ready to eat. Careful, may be hot."
"Hey Luz, what was that other thing you said? You know, the part about coins and junk?"
"Oh right, whatever you do, don't put metal in this thing. Not unless you want it to explode in your face."
"It explodes? Why didn't you say so?" Someone who looked like a satyr replied then quickly puled out a wad of cash. "I'll take it!"
"No way, I want the human bomb!" Another customer who looked like an anthropomorphic salamander countered.
"Whatever they offer I'll double!" A witch with three eyes insisted.
"Uhh... it's not meant to-" Luz started.
"Alright, we've got a bidding war! I'm taking no less than sixty snails for this bomb, who's willing to go up to seventy?" Eda interjected.
The crowd got rowdier, and unseen behind it Dipper and Pacifica looked at each other with wide eyes. "Did you hear that?" The blonde girl asked.
"Yeah, they know about the human world. They may have a way for us to get back."
The two then tried to get to the front of the crowd, but it was too difficult for them. Even going around wasn't working, so they resigned to simply waiting for the crowd to finish their interest in this little shop. It took roughly three minutes for this, but it sure felt longer for the two teens.
"Well then, what would you two like to see?" Eda asked when the crowd cleared and Dipper and Pacifica could be at the front.
"Do you have a way to get to the human world?" Pacifica asked.
Eda crossed her arms. "What, are you a guard?"
Luz tugged her arm. "Wait Eda, look at their ears." She said before gesturing to her own. "I think they're human too. Like me."
"We are." Dipper and Pacifica said together.
Eda looked surprised than intrigued. "Well isn't this interesting? Two more humans made it to the Boiling Isles and found the one and only Owl Lady." She leaned a little closer. "I've got secrets I don't want eavesdroppers to listen in on. How about we wait until I close shop and then we can talk?"
"Sounds fair, so we should just stick around until you're done?" Dipper asked.
"I can show them around town if you don't mind Eda." Luz offered.
The older woman shrugged. "Go ahead, King should be back soon anyway." She glanced around, starting to look annoyed. "Where is the little guy anyway?"
Smiling, Luz got around the table and came up to the other two. "Hi, I'm Luz Noceda. Let me show you around Bonesburrough."