Opening File: Siren Sisters
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and singing voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on some small islands called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized traditions, the literal geography of the 'flowery' island of Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa, is fixed: sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near Paestum, or in Capreae. All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks.
Close File
.
.
.
Opening File: Project Mentem
Project Mentem is a machine created by Stanford Pines to bio-electrically encrypt one's thoughts so that Bill Cipher can't read them. It is located in Ford's private study along with his other science project meant to combat Bill if he ever succeeded in reaching Earth. The machine's ability to encrypt a mind is believed also to be able to protect it from any psychic Semblance such as telepathy, mind domination, illusion or hallucination.
Close File
.
.
.
Opening File: Project Armatae
Accessing Log Files:
The screen was filled with the static for a moment before it cleared to show a man who resembled a younger Stan Pines.
"Stanford Pines Log Entry 339: I have completed Mentem for use of encrypting the human from so that it cannot be accessed by Bill Cipher. Given that Cipher is likely to have minions after me I have made sure that Mentem will also encrypt my mind so it can be immune to any form of mind manipulation Semblance. Of course if it can stop an entity as ancient and powerful as Bill Cipher from entering my mind than it will indeed be more than a match for sort of mental Semblance no matter how strong. However I must accept the possibility that Cipher will find a way to open the portal again and somehow make it into our world.
To that end I have begun Project Armatae. The name 'Armatae' is Latin for Sword and Shield which is what I hope for it to be against Bill Cipher."
Ford turned the camera to what appeared to be a suit of metallic armor.
"The metallic armor comes from what was left of the ore and few spare materials I used in constructing the gate. I spent weeks trying to find as much as I could to make this armor. I even scrounged more material from Crash Site Omega to deactivate and retrieve a security droid to outfit the armor with advanced technologies. I have constructed the helmet to mimic Project: Mentem's purpose to protect the mind from Bill Cipher. Ending Log."
End Log
.
.
.
"Stanford Pines Log Entry 340: Project Armatae is running smoothly, the technology from the security drone allowing me to construct weaponry that would make the military drool. From shoulder mounted darts, rockets, missiles, EMP and even laser beams to the best weapon against Cipher: the Quantum Destablizer."
Ford actually shivered a bit now.
"Against a human it would be extremely lethal. The weapon is meant to destabilize the energy signature of beings like Bill Cipher and can potentially disintegrate matter on contact. That is why this armor must not be used unless all other options fail."
End Log
.
.
.
"Stanford Pines Log Ent…I forget now."
Ford had dark circles around his eyes and he looked like he hadn't cleaned or shaved in days.
"Something is trying to contact me…I feel it coming from the Armatae Armor. I think it's somehow…Alive. I have discontinued the project but I don't have time to disassemble the armor. I'll have to wait until I have given my first channel to my brother and sent it far away. I'll have to find another to stop Bill."
End Log
Close File
Xxx
The doors leading into the white crystalline tower of the White Division resembled the ones leading to the room where the Elementals met Blue Diamond in exact detail aside from being colored white. Ice Pearl pressed her hand on the screen and when the doors opened the three were greeted with complete darkness. The Pearls led them into the tower, walking through a dark hallway barely lit by glowing gemstones in the walls. As they walked deeper into the tower the three Elementals could have sworn they heard…singing.
"Please tell me I am not the only one with a bad feeling." Abby whispered.
"I don't have any feeling at all." Ed replied, causing Abby to grunt in annoyance.
"Yeah I know." Abby retorted.
"Guys," Nigel slipped in between Ed and Abby. "Remember why we are in here."
"We have arrived." Ice Pearl spoke up, earning their attention.
The group came upon a large chamber that was lit by a giant white crystal in the center. Surrounding the crystal were Humans, Faunus and Mobians.
All of them standing in the exact same pose as White Diamond and her Pearl.
All of them sharing the same eerie smile…
And they all appeared to be statues made of grey crystals.
"What in the world of Glob?" Nigel whispered in slight fear, taking a few steps towards the nearest statue. "These are members of the White Division?"
Abby looked at the crystal, hearing that strange singing from before. "That singing…Is it responsible for this?"
Ed walked past the crystalline statues but stopping at one particular statue. "Oh, hi Kevin!"
His friend from the cul-de-sac was in the exact same pose as the others and had been turned into a crystalline statue like all the others.
Abby looked at the Pearls. "What happened to them?"
"They were crystalized under the orders of White Diamond." Candy Pearl answered, fidgeting slightly from the glare Abby was giving here. "The organics that prove to be…interesting to her are sent here and preserved inside these crystals."
"Preserved?" Nigel leaned into one of the statues, trying to hear a heartbeat. "So they are still alive?"
"Yes." Ice Pearl nodded.
"Why? What does White Diamond even want with them?" Abby continued interrogating.
"We…don't know." Candy Pearl answered.
Abby marched up to the Pearls, making them uncomfortable with the glare she was giving. "You expect me to believe you have no idea?"
"We are new to Homeworld, made only recently for the Elementals." Candy Pearl explained. "We do not know what makes these organics fascinating to White Diamond."
"Fascinating?! Look at what she's turned them into!" Abby pointed at the statues.
In response to Abby's temper the large crystal flashed and let out a harmonious hum through the chamber.
"What is…" Nigel staggered, his crystal in its necklace form flashing as if it was reacting to the crystal. "Happening to us?"
The same happened with the small crystal on Abby's forehead and the one Ed attached to the sash of his training outfit. Suddenly the three relaxed, feeling nothing but warmth emitting from the small crystals that caused them to become light headed. All of the apprehension and anger slowly melted away, leaving feelings of pure bliss.
"That is better." A female voice sang from the crystal.
"Who are these mortals?" Another voice asked, singing its question.
"New additions to the collection?" A third voice sang.
"No." The Pearls said as one, moving to their assigned Elementals, catching them as they staggered. "They are not for you or the White Division."
"How disappointing."
"We were looking forward to adding them."
"Perhaps another time."
Abby groaned as she tried to keep standing. "Who…Are you?"
"We were brought here from Earth."
"Thousands of years ago."
"Placed in here by the White Diamond."
"She saw we could be of use to her."
"Bringing order and perfection among mortals."
"But when we refused she placed us in here."
"Now we sing for those in here."
"Bringing eternal bliss and peace."
"The crystal taps into our powers and combines with White Diamond's light."
"Allowing her light to shine on even mortals."
"Allowing her to bring those who interest her into her light."
Ed laughed a bit dumbly. "I feel sleepy."
He was not the only one. Both Nigel and Abby started to feel very dizzy and heavy at the same time. Their minds were too fogged to properly understand what was happening to them.
"Now we see what she wants."
"She seeks to bring her light across the cosmos."
"With three now but a fourth has to be found."
All three Elementals let out a single yawn, their eyelids dropping until they finally shut, all of them sharing a soft smile as they slept. The Pearls picked them up gently, summoning a bubble to take them out of the chamber and back to their rooms, leaving the chamber empty aside from the statues and the crystal that let out another hum.
"They may be the ones to free us."
"The powers within them can break this crystal."
"And set us free."
"Things are about to get interesting."
"Very interesting."
"And once we are free we will have revenge."
"On the Gems."
"On White Diamond."
"This entire world will be ours."
"All will belong to us." The three voices chorused as one. "All will belong to us. All will belong to us. All will belong to us."
Xxx
'Where…Where am I?'
His eyes slowly opened but saw nothing but darkness first as he held up his hand. He looked at it, noticing something very different.
'Metal…No, it's just encased in metal.' He slowly flexed the hand and raised his other one, seeing it was encased in metal as well.
The metal was a lustrous, polished grey in color and was so smooth they felt more like clothes than actual armor.
'Okay, Eddward. Take a deep breath and let's figure this out rationally.' He took a deep breath and took a step forward.
Systems Activating
"What?!" He shouted out loud as series strange texts appeared in his vision.
Armor Online
Power: 100%
Weapon Systems: Active
Flight Unit: Active
"What is this?" He asked and a new line of text appeared.
Project: Armatae
Purpose: To defend the location of Gravity Falls and possibly the planet Earth from Bill Cipher.
"Bill Cipher?"
The image of a triangular shaped…person with a single eye, a top hat, a bowtie and had arms and legs appeared.
"What?"
Scanning Subject
Downloading Memory Files: Bill Cipher
Suddenly his eyes widened as the memories returned.
.
.
.
"So how do I help prove you of my genius?" The creature named Bill asked Double D who was in his own personal dreamscape.
"Can you…Heal my injuries?" Double D gestured to his hat.
"You mean the scars caused by the explosion made by you playing with chemicals and Dust? Man you are so lucky to have done something like that. Most kids are so boring." Bill chuckled. "So you want a cure for the nasty scars, huh? No problem. Let me show you."
Bill then created a strange circle like symbol under Double D. "See this fancy circle. Simply draw it on your floor and say the word transmute. You know everything there is to know about the human body right? Never mind, I'll just take over and handle it."
"Uh…Yes but how will this heal me? Simply drawing a circle is not going to help." Double D said.
"It will when you sit in the circle and say the words to summon me." Bill replied. "The circle is designed to tap into a flow of energy that can be used to alter the matter of anything."
"How can a symbol tap into a flow of energy?" Double D said skeptically. "It is not magic."
"Oh look who is so smart. For someone so smart you didn't know I existed until I showed up in your dream." Bill retorted. "Here's a little proposal, I show how the circle works and then you try it out. But it will work and you know why? My impression of you in about ten minutes." Bill conjured a mirror in front of him and took his hat off. "OH MY GOD IT WORKED!"
.
.
.
Double D woke up, gasping as he looked around his room and realized he was awake. "That Bill may be smart but he is rather strange at times."
Deciding to see if what Bill said was true Double D drew an exact replica of the circle Bill showed him and sat in the center. "All right, Bill. I made the circle. So now I am going to say the word now…Transmute."
The circle flashed with bright blue energy crackling around him like electricity, making him scream out in shock but just as quickly as it began it was over and Double D fell over, unconscious but as he blacked out he heard the sound of Bill laughing.
Five minutes later he woke up.
"Wh-What happened?" Double D stood up and walked over to a mirror and looked himself over, seeing nothing different about him.
Taking a leap of faith he took off his hat and looked at his reflection.
"…OH MY GOD IT WORKED!"
.
.
.
"A dimensional portal?" Dexter and Double D marveled at the portal.
Double D's parents looked equally impressed while Dexter's grandfather watched Preston carefully.
"How is this possible?" Double D asked, looking over every corner of the machines and finding nothing about it to be fake.
"The portal works by locking onto a tear, a place where the barrier between dimensions is weak. By locking onto that tear the portal will open a hole and allow us to see what lies beyond this dimension." Preston stepped forward, walking around the room. "And with it, we will find the Nexus of Reality."
"The Nexus?" Dexter questioned.
"A point between realities where all energies of the multi-verse intersect." Preston answered with a smile. "With it you would be travel to different realities and understand the Multi-Verse. Ultimate knowledge and ultimate power. Of course it has been damaged and must be reactivated before it can work."
Dexter was grinning and rubbing his hands together. "Show us the schematics."
"Unfortunately, we only have one third of the schematics but after tonight you will have the complete set."
.
.
.
"It seems that the power source and material that made this extradimensional transport machine is unlike anything I have ever seen before." Double D explained, looking excited. "In fact it resembles absolutely nothing that can be found on Earth."
"Hm…" Dexter looked over the notes that had appeared to have been torn from a book or two on the material and found that Double D was correct.
"It appears that the author of these notes theorized that long ago a comet impact near here. Upon closer inspection the comet emitted a strange type of energy that seemed to cause a small tear in the fabric of reality." Double D started.
"Hm…Yes, it appears that way. The author then took parts of it and then refined it into making this gate." Dexter continued. "He then discovered a way to harness an infinite power source by using the energy in the ore to lock onto a form of space in between…realities." Dexter's eyes widened as he looked over the notes. "The energy coming from the location was enough to power the machine for perhaps an eternity."
"However when he first activated the machine the main computer was damage and thus with no coordinate set it was damaged." Double D finished.
"So we must simply follow what we know from only three quarters of the schematics to find and repair the damage." Dexter surmised.
"And then we will have a fully working extradimensional transporter unit!" Double D's smile widened. "Can you imagine? Using it to find new life forms on planets far away and discovering other universes!"
"Yes." Dexter grew a smile as well. "The possibilities are endless."
"So where do we begin?" Double D asked.
.
.
.
"Hm?" Dexter looked at his computer as it began to emit a strange pulse. "What is this? What is-AAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
From the main computer he attempting to hack came a surge of energy that knocked Double D and Dexter down. Double D let out a scream of pain as his hair started to burn away, leaving behind the scars from the original accident that had been healed by Bill.
Xxx
"THAT'S RIGHT!" He screamed as all the memories returned to him. "I remember now! There was a blast and then…How did I end up in here?"
That was when a new image appeared: of him being dragged into the elevator.
"I was…abducted?!" He looked around frantically. "Where am I? Why am I here? Who is responsible for this?!"
Location Classified
Project: Armatae in need of a core unit
Project: Armatae
Subject: Stanford Pines
It took Double D a moment to realize that his questions were being immediately answered. "Stanford? Isn't he the owner of the ill-managed tourist trap called the Mystery Shack?"
Negative. Owner and manager of the business designated 'Mystery Shack' is presently Gideon Gleeful. Ownership transferred after unknown event in which Stanley Pines has accused Gideon Gleeful of fraud. Based on social media data and psychological analysis of Subject: Gideon, there is a significant chance that this is accurate.
As the Armatae responded to him, Double D was presented with images and footage from many different angles…all of them showing people of Gravity Falls going about their regular days.
Following material intercepted from wireless signal transmitters. Everything is presented in real time as of this moment.
"My goodness! Cameras all over town! In homes, in restaurants, in…oh my goodness is he filming that woman in the shower?!" Double D panicked as that particular window began to expand. "No-no-no don't zoom in!" Once the window retracted he exhaled in relief. "This explains everything! Gideon is a charlatan! His so called psychic powers derive from spying on the good people of this town! Everywhere they go, where they eat, where they- ugh."
He cringed at one particular view. "Where they…embrace their urges."
Taking a moment to now take stock of his present situation, Double D considered his next move. "Alright, so I appear to be encased in a suit of armor...might I have a mirror or some external view of my person?"
From one of his arms extended a small camera mounted on the end of a protruding length of cable which bent and twisted until it was pointed directly at him. The suit he wore granted him almost an extra foot in height and was presently gun metal grey with a set of white lines over the area covering his face. It included protrusions on the upper back resembling wings complete with devices which were obviously thrusters intended for flight while several ports along the limbs indicated the presence of secondary boosters for maneuverability and acceleration.
"My goodness…" Double D whispered. "Armatae, why have you placed yourself on me?"
Mandate Zero: Locate and integrate with suitable host. You were deemed to be the most suitable individual present in Gravity Falls based on personality and intellect. In order to eliminate any traits which made integration counterproductive, your neural network has been purged and encrypted against further interference by Subject: Bill Cipher. Now that Mandate Zero has been accomplished, the Armatae is at your full disposal.
"Then I can control you?" Double D tested his range of motion. "Would you be so kind as to allow me out? Or at least to open my helmet?"
Armatae unit is capable of rapid deconstruction for purposes of concealment and can be reconstructed in a time span of no less than point three three seconds. Do you wish for full deconstruction?
"Yes please."
The armor turned into a liquid mass which began to recede, setting Double D down on his feet and seemingly flowing in towards his chest…where it formed into a new solid object beneath his shirt. He peeked under it and found a circular metal disk embedded into his chest.
"Armatae?"
Armatae unit remains functional.
Double D nodded and looked around at the laboratory. "I have many questions to ask." His mind went back to the horrid revelation he'd been subjected to, causing a scowl to cross his face. "But first, I think Gideon Gleeful's true colors need to be shown to all of Gravity Falls."
Commencing Viral Counter-Propaganda Contingency Seven.
"Viral what?" Double D blinked. "What is that?"
Contingency Seven of Viral Propaganda Index: Intended for use against an individual or group which has amassed a positive reputation based upon fraudulent or unconscionable actions. Execution entails immediate dispersal of all information pertaining to target's criminal and/or morally reprehensible actions, past and present, by any means of broadcast immediately available. Definitions outlined and subject to change based on user input. In the words of Subject: Stanford Pines…Karmic Punishment.
Xxx
All across Gravity Falls, on every television screen and computer monitor, any activity was immediately halted and replaced with a menu which provided the startled or disgruntled residents with a full view of the camera feeds showing their lives. Many who saw themselves quickly looked to the source and usually found it in goods purchased from Gideon Gleeful's performances, or in places which left them mortified and outraged.
In less than sixty seconds of Contingency Seven being enacted, Gideon Gleeful went from the most beloved child in Gravity Falls to its most hated citizen, period.