Accessing Global Security Satellite System
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Accessing Grimm Horde Approaching Nowhere Kansas
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Accessing Sectors:
13 – Darklands
8 – Wilds
4 – Nowhere
12 – Monkey Mountain
11 – Foothills
10 – Upper Catacombs
9 – Forgotten Falls
7 – Lower Catacombs
6 – Really Twisted Forest
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Estimated Time to Arrival in Nowhere: 5 days, 2 hours, 22 minutes, 16 seconds.
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Evacuation Protocol For Sectors 6-8 In Effect
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Logging Off Global Security
Xxx
Hoagie sighing sitting by their newly built shelter as he looks out to the horizon watching the sun setting for the first time in their pillowy prison. All of a sudden he's startled and swings around still sitting at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Quite a sight huh? Then again it's not every day you get to see the sun set for the first time in a entirely different dimension." Nyx said coming up to him wearing an amused smile that is contrast to her nervous body language and remorseful eyes.
He turned back to face the sunset sighing, "Yeah I guess it is." He looked forlornly at he would normally find beautiful sight. "I just wish it didn't come with the possibility of never seeing Earth's sunset again.
Nyx rubs her left arm than sighs taking a seat, "Hoagie listen...I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess and my problems" She looks down in her lap at her hands sadly. "If I had just-" She began to say only to be interrupted by Hoagie who quickly lifted his head up to her.
"Stop!" He took her hands into his hand, staring deeply into her eyes, "Nyx listen to me. None...none of this is your fault!"
"The only thing your guilty of is saving me when I got in over my head, the only ones to blame for any of this are Bill and Klarion." He looks deeply in her eyes, "And I promise you no matter what it takes just like you saved me I'll save you, and nothing those two or their goons throw at us will stop me."
The area around them was silent following Hoagie's proclamation with the two sitting under the moon light with the sun now finished setting staring into each other eyes as Hoagie held Nyx's hands in his own. Suddenly the two realized their position with Hoagie quickly letting go stuttering and apologizing. The earlier nerve gone replaced by the nervous 12 year old he is, while Nyx looked away with a blush yet a warm smile.
"Sorry, sorry, um got bit carried away I guess."
"No, no, it's cool."
He coughed into his fist and put on a wide very nervous smile, "Anyyyyway, if there's one good thing that's come out of this smile besides meeting new friends." His smile toward Nyx became less nervous and warmer. "Is that despite dealing with Bill and his goons, and knowing that there's more threatening the world than Grimm."
He stared up at the moon, "It's learning that the world is so much bigger and more fantastic than I ever dreamed of." He gave another nervous cough as he scratched the back of his head looking away, "Granted with some um..hiccups along the way." He then mumbled faintly under his breath with Nyx only catching two words mailbox and gummi worms, which caused her to arch a brow in confusion.
But Hoagie shook his smile gained an excited edge, "I mean the supernatural is real! How cool is that!?"
Nyx gave a giggle at his excitement, "Yeah despite the circumstances I've enjoyed a few silver linings while learning magic and of the supernatural in and outside of Gravity Falls."
Hoagie looked at her with curious look on his face, "So besides what i've seen in Gravity Falls or what Dipper and Mabel have told me about, what else really exists? I'm guessing those Trolls from that Eternal Night incident at Arcadia Oaks really were Trolls right?"
Nyx popped her lips as she answered, "Yeeeeep." He shook his head with a laugh, "Man what else is real Unicorns, Goblins?"
"Oh those are real though." Nyx gained a disgruntled if slightly look on her face. "Unicorns are nothing like what you hear in fairy tales."
She shook her head at Hoagie's confused look, "Long story, but let's just say an outing Pacifica lead to a LOT of fire, some jerk's horses almost becoming glue, and getting praise from Klarion that I actually didn't mind."
The look on her face became flat. "Seriously they are that bad." She than shook her head regaining slight smile, "As for goblins well to be honest while plenty of people in the know look down on them, or use them as evil minion cannon fodder, I actually like them.
She gave a feint giggle, "There's actually a group of them living in Gravity Falls I sometimes gave goodies too, and recruited in the pranks I did."
Her smile becomes forlorn and warm, "I know a lot of people only see them as ruthless tricksters with penchant for vandalism, but there's another side to them that people ignore. They value family and loyalty to each other more than most people, to the point if one of them is killed, the rest will stop at nothing to avenge them and destroy anything that gets in their way."
It might be weird and crazy but that's why I like goblins because at their core they understand the importance of loyalty and family."
She gave a scoff full of scorn as she grumbled. "Which is certainly more than I can say about my own mother."
Xxx
Planet Plutark
Limburger was smiling and humming with joy, after finally reaching the top and ridding himself of the colossal ego known as Lord Camembert. With no reports of his status after the failed invasion of the Gem Homeworld, his seat of position was right for the taking. No doubt others would compete but he had no worries when he had certain sources to deal with.
"Hmm, if I were to be elected the first thing is to make some changes of our ceremonial greeting... such as the derriere part." Which was the first thing on his mind. "And also to prepare my victory speech, I can just imagine the looks on their faces to see who would be sitting on that chair. Especially those rough riding rodents, but I'm not done with them yet."
While he may not be on Earth as often now the Plutark Confederation is in a state of political panic without the High Chairman, Limburger did had a score to settle with the Biker Mice who foiled his many plans. Although by now they would begin to notice his absence in Chicago for a couple of days. The last thing he needed is for them to ruin this important moment, or if the Plumbers find out about his involvement on Earth but so far was averted due to some interesting news.
The worst thing that could happen is if Camembert somehow survived and if he figure out Limburger set him up, which is very likely, he'd be in big trouble. But highly unlikely for him for if the High Chairman was to survive, he would be a prisoner of the Gems.
"Karbunkle, be sure to remind me to call Grease Pit to make sure my building is in one piece." But then came to the realization of what he said if Grease... "On the other hand, at least hire someone with more than half a brain to run it in my absence. The last thing I want to see my Limburger Tower demolished by those rodents."
"Of course your excellence! And I just received interesting results of a large horde of Grimm marching their way to the desolate wasteland of Nowhere." The mad scientist informed him.
An unusual place with little of importance with nothing but sand and dirt, Limburger was curious during his leave and usually his assistant was fearful of the creatures, mainly the Fallen which he could not blame at times, especially before Sammael himself but had to remain professional as a businessman.
Plus, he did owe a debt to the Fallen for coming this far and part of their plan. "Oh, do tell?"
Karbunkle smiled and then told him. "With so many heroes and huntsmen coming towards that area, all to deal with a certain individual by the name of Van Kleiss."
"Van Kleiss?" Limburger pondered, trying to think of where he heard that name until it came to him. "Oh yes. He was once employed by Sammael until he had his own agenda of making his personal army. A pity really, would have liked to meet him for his talents."
Especially for a thing or two for Karbunkle to learn from a fellow scientist from another reality. While Limburger had his own motives, he had respected Sammael as a client and not dared to cross his path on Earth.
"But I don't see why this should concern me."
"Not even if three mice are to be involved?"
The Plutarkian paused for a moment of allowing his brain to progress the latest information, slowly letting out a sinister chuckle, unable to resist the urge to smirk knowing who his assistant was referring to. "This is excellent news! And even if they somehow managed to miraculously survive against an army of Grimm, or dare I say the Fallen. There's also the one thing they never suspected, not even the Gems as is right under their very noses.
The Plutarkian was umping with joy to see the ultimate downfall of the Biker Mice when the Fallen's pet project starts to stir up and not even they could stop it. "Oh, if only I could see the looks on their faces before their demise... oh, wait! I could!" He turned to Karbunkle. "Do remind me to get a video of it, I want to get it on film to remember this moment."
"As you wish, your fowl odorousness!" Karbunkle would be so eager to record this moment and also to transport the villains they hired to have a chance of payback should the moment come.
Xxx
"I swear I'll do it!"
"You ain't got the guts!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Watch me!" Stan then downed the entire glass of beer, choking and slammed it down on the counter. "How'd you like that?!"
"You take it like a sissy!" Scrooge McDuck said as he downed his own drink much easier than Stan did. "That's how it works!"
After their little spat outside, Stan and Scrooge had moved back inside to continue their little 'chat'. With Mabel pitching ideas for the up and coming birthday she and Dipper shared, it was a little too noisy so Stan and Scrooge moved down into the basement.
Not Ford's lab, the actual basement.
"All these year and you still can't take it like a man." Scrooge chuckled.
"Shows what you know. I'm still standing and I still see all seven of my fingers." Stan said, holding up his hand…and looking at the two extra fingers that had mysteriously appeared on it. "Plus I'm the actual mayor of a town. What's that say about me?"
"I read up on the election. The only reason you won was because you were the last guy standing and because your record had been cleaned by Sebben." Scrooge retorted. "I still wonder what was going on in his head when he recruited you."
"Yeah, me too." Stan nodded. "How is the old pirate?"
"Last I heard, he was setting up things to deal with that ruckus in Nowhere." Scrooge answered, suddenly becoming serious. "You heard of the Grimm army on the way?"
"Oh, yeah. Everyone's been screaming at me to do something even though we're nowhere even close to that." Stan nodded. "I also heard that an entire army was wiped out by some fancy cannon in the Nowhere Mountains."
"Aye, no doubt the work of the World Council." Scrooge scoffed. "Those daft idiots…They're supposed to help oversee world security but they're made up of the same minds that wanted to militarize the Hunters. I said it before and I'll say it again, that is dumbest kind of thinking I have ever heard. You cannot combine military and Hunters together, they don't mix."
"No argument from me. I hate being told what to do." Stan agreed. "They're probably still whining about having to shut down their Hunter Draft Military Program in the eighties."
"Politicians can make for the worst sore losers." Scrooge rolled his eyes. "If they keep butting in like that, things will come to a real meltdown."
"Fine by me, I never liked those guys anyway." Stan remarked. "You know what's going on in Nowhere?"
"Just a little bit. I've retired from my role as Headmaster of Skyfall Academy but I keep my ears to the ground and I still have plenty of contacts. Whatever is going on out there is big enough to warrant a response from Sebben and the Justice Friends and that also includes the Grimm approaching." Scrooge answered. "Seems like they are leading the Grimm."
Stan shuddered a bit. "Now I'm even more glad I quit."
"And what about is going on here with your brother Ford?" Scrooge changed the subject.
"How'd you-"
"Lydia Gilligan. She sent her report to Sebben who forwarded it to me when he heard I was coming here." Scrooge clarified.
"Great." Stan sighed. "She couldn't just try and let me handle it?"
"You Pines think you can solve everything on your own. That's the kind of thinking that caused this mess in the first place." Scrooge admonished. "Your brother, more so."
"Look, he's a dangerous know it all who doesn't know when to stop, I get that." Stan agreed. "I even warned him to stay away from the kids because I didn't want them getting wrapped up in his craziness."
"And what craziness has he been up to since he got back?"
"So far, he's just dismantling the portal and making sure nothing bad comes from it. Hopefully we pulled the plug on this Bill Cipher craziness." Stan poured another drink.
"I doubt it. I've met my share of chaotic entities myself, so I know they never quit." Scrooge got another drink as soon as Stan was done. "So until you get my money back, I think I'll be sticking around to make sure everything is nice and dandy."
Stan sighed. "Really? I've been doing this for years now. I don't need help."
"That's not up for you to decide anymore." Scrooge retorted as he finished his drink and stood up. "Between this and what's going on in Nowhere, there's too much at risk. So I'll just keep an eye on things and only get involved if the situation calls for it."
Stan said nothing as Scrooge left, simply sitting at the counter and taking a long sip from his beer.
Xxx
"Alright, party planners. In one week we become teenagers, and our summer vacation winds to an end. So we need to throw the greatest party of all time! I'm talking piñatas with tinier piñatas inside." Mabel instructed, sounding like a military sergeant.
"Boom, dreams comin' true!" Soos poured little piñatas into a large piñata.
"I'm talking inviting everyone in town. Let's see, where do we stand with the gnomes?" Mabel asked.
"Not so fast, goofus and girl-goofus." Stan walked into the room. "No one's throwing another party at my house. You didn't even come to the part I had at the mayor house."
"But Grunkle Stan, we need some roof to raise." Mabel protested.
"Dude, you could rent out the Gravity Falls High School gym, and have your party there. That place is empty all summer long." Soos pointed out.
"The gym's a great idea, Soos. To the high school!"
The entire house quaked, startling everyone.
"Dipper, my face is on fire!" Ford shouted from his room.
"I'll just be a sec." Dipper said and ran into Ford's room. "Great-uncle Ford, are you okay?"
Ford wiped off his face, which is smoking, with a towel. "Oh yes, I'm fine. I just said that to make sure you'd come in here quickly."
"But your face is on fire." Dipper pointed.
"Yes, it's much faster than shaving. Now, listen, Dipper. I have a very important mission, and you are the only one who can help me." Ford pulled out a small glass globe with a strange dark glowing…something inside it. "Remember the rift in dimensional space-time I showed you? It's cracking." Ford pointed at the crack on the globe. "This is what Bill has been waiting for. If it breaks, it will cause reality as we know it to completely unravel. A hypothetical and catastrophic event I call Weirdmageddon."
Dipper stared at a blackboard Ford had drawn up, detailing the finer points of Weirdmageddon. "Bill is out there, and he'd use any trick, from deception to outright possession, to make this happen. But for the sake of humanity, we mustn't let it."
"What do we do?" Dipper asked.
"We patch the rift. I'll explain on the way." Ford locked the rift in a protective case.
"Wait, what about Mabel?" Dipper asked, wondering about his sister…
…Who was standing in the doorway. "It's okay, Dipper. You should totally go with Grunkle Ford to save the world or whatever."
"Are you sure?" Dipper asked, knowing how much Mabel hated it when he skipped on things they did together.
"We're going to be doing birthday junk all week. Plus, I packed us walky-talkies. Here's one for my party mission, and one for your smarty mission." The two shared a quick laugh.
Ford cleared his throat. "I did mention that the fate of the universe is at stake, didn't I? Hurry, we haven't much time."
He left before the twins could answer back.
"Okay, Dipper. It's your first big mission with Ford. A chance to prove yourself. Don't mess this up." Dipper in his rush to glory ran up and hit the wall. "Ow! Ah, heh heh, I'm alright."
He laughed a bit, then ran out and tripped. "Ahh!"
Xxx
Mabel and Soos went to Gravity Falls High School, where Nate and Lee were messing with its sign, which says 'SAWDUST INHALATION DRILL- 8:00. GO FIGHTING BEAVERS.' Mabel and Soos walked inside to see the gym filled with students.
"Whoa, Soos, I thought you said this place was empty." Mabel commented.
Wendy Corduroy walked up to them. "My dawgs, what up?"
"Wendy, what are you doing here?" Mabel asked.
Wendy groaned. "Ugh, high school registration."
"Ooh! You know I'm only a year away from high school myself. Would you say your experience is more rom-com, or wacky romp?" Mabel asked.
"More like teen horror movie. High school is the worst. Classes get super hard, your body just flat out turns against you, and worst of all, everybody hates you." Wendy dryly said, gesturing to two girls growling at each other, then looked to Thompson and Robbie.
"Can't do it! Can't do another year!" Thompson cried.
"My hormones are like a sweaty cage!" Robbie punched a bulletin board.
"Why aren't they singing about following their dreams? TV taught me that high school was like some sort of musical." Mabel said.
"TV lied, man! If you could avoid growing up, do it. I'd give anything to be 12 again. Anyway, what are you guys doing here?" Wendy quickly changed the subject.
Mabel chuckled, sadly. "Oh, just looking for a place to have my 13th birthday party."
"Wendy...Borduroy? I-I mean Corduroy?" A teacher called out, her mispronunciation of Wendy's last name caused all of the students to laugh at Wendy who blushed red.
"See what I mean?" Wendy said and walked to the teacher.
Mabel exited the gym and took out the walkie talkie. "Master Mabel to Dippidy Dog. We can have our party at the gym, but we gotta talk about high school. Starting to think it might not be the awesome future we were expecting. Over."
"I'm going through a bad patch, Mabel. We'll talk when I get back."
"Dipper? Come in, come in?"
"Hey, I know what'll make you feel better. Let's deliver some invites to your friends, huh?" Soos asked.
"Yeah!" Mabel agreed.
As they drove away, Mabel glanced that the sign now reads 'NO ESCAPE.'
Xxx
Meanwhile Dipper and Ford were walking to the Floating Cliffs.
Dipper spoke into the walkie talkie. "Mabel? Mabel, you there? Ugh."
"Listen, Dipper. In order to seal the rift for good, it's going to take an adhesive stronger than anything on earth. Something...extraterrestrial in origin." Ford spoke.
"W-What do you mean?" Dipper asked, now focused on his grand uncle.
"Dipper, look at the peculiar shape made by those cliffs. Does it remind you of anything?"
Dipper followed the pattern of the mountains. "Hmm..."
Ford jingles his UFO key chain and held it up over the cliffs.
Dipper gasped quietly, understanding now. "Shut. Up."
"According to my research, the entire valley of Gravity Falls was formed when an extraterrestrial object crash-landed here millions of years ago. Did this craft cause the town's strange properties? Or, did the town's strange properties attract the craft? The answer is still unknown." Ford stated.
"But, that's crazy! Where did the saucer go?" Dipper asked, his mind racing.
"Sometimes the strangest things in the world are right under our noses." Ford pushesd rock away, revealing underground entrance. "And our feet, in this particular instance. Now you might wanna stand back. This magnet gun can rip the fillings out of a man's mouth from 100 feet."
Dipper backed away a few steps as Ford detached the opening. "Whoa!"
"I used to raid this thing for parts for years. Where do you think I got the materials to build my portal?" Ford asked proudly.
"You...I...words... not working for mouth." Dipper stuttered.
"Now come. Take this." For threw Dipper a magnet gun.
Dipper scrambled to catch the magnet gun. "Whoa, whoa!"
"Don't worry, I've been down here countless times; all the aliens have been dead for millions of years." Ford reassured and started climbing down but then popped up. "Probably."
Dipper took a deep breath and headed down the entrance. "I can't believe there's been a giant UFO under the town this whole time."
"I wished my mind could be where yours is right now, Dipper. When confirmation of extraterrestrials still had that punch. Now it's just sort of 'eh.' McGucket and I used to come down here all the time to raid their tech and study their language." Ford fondly recalled his past adventures as he and Dipper explored the interior of an actual spaceship.
"This is so cool!" Dipper took a selfie with some of the alien symbols and laughed.
"The substance we need to seal the rift is an alien adhesive. Strong enough to keep the hull of a spacecraft together. Just one dollop of this adhesive should be enough to seal a crack in space-time. Also, if it touches you it will seal up all the orifices in your face," Ford cocked gun. "So try to avoid that. Now, use your magnet gun and follow me. Hup!" Stan used magnet gun to climb down a pillar.
"Great-uncle Ford!" Dipper called down.
"Your turn! Say 'hup'! It helps!" Ford called back up.
Dipper released a deep breath. "Okay. Just turn on magnet, leap down hole. Turn on..." He fiddled with the gun. "C'mon already."
The gun whirred to life. "Magnet." Dipper grunted as he jumped. "Ah!"
Instead of falling down, Dipper crashed onto the ceiling. "A little help?"
Xxx
Mabel knocked on the front door of Grenda's house and Grenda answered along with Candy. "Oh hi, Mabel! You're just in time for our 1 o'clock boy talk."
"If you think that's good...Boom! Me and Dipper's 13th birthday jam!" Mabel declared.
"Aw, man. Your birthday's on the last day of summer? I'm not gonna be here." Grenda groaned.
Mabel gaped. "What?"
"Marius is flying me out to Austria to hang out in his castle or whatever that week. He's so clingy!" Grenda explained and sighed.
"You're gonna be out of town for my birthday? But at least you can come, right, Candy?" Mabel asked hopefully.
"Sorry, Mabel. My parents send me to music camp this time of year. There is no escape from music camp." Candy answered apologetically.
"So neither of you are gonna be at my birthday party? And you won't be able to wish me goodbye at the end of the summer?" Mabel asked sadly.
"I'm sorry, Mabel." Candy replied just as sad.
"Summer happened so fast." Grenda quickly answered her phone. "Ugh, Marius! Now's not the time!"
"I think I need to radio for emotional back-up." Mabel held up her walkie-talkie. "Dipper, please come in. Our party mission is going down in flames. Over."
Static on the walkie talkie was the only answer she got, making her sigh.
Xxx
The reason Dipper couldn't answer Mabel's call was because of the fact that both him and Ford were underground.
"This is their storage facility. This place would've been heavily guarded, but now everything's defunct. Go ahead, flip any switch. They've all been busted for millions of years." Ford said, gesturing all around the strange room.
Dipper pushed a button and though he couldn't see, it caused Sprout's petting petting zoo to fall down a hole.
"The glue should be around here somewhere, so keep your eyes peeled. Dipper, let me ask you something. Have you thought much about your future?" Ford questioned.
"No, not really. I mean, beyond graduating high school with a high GPA so I can get accepted to a good technical college with a photography and media production minor to start my own ghost hunting show." Dipper answered honestly.
"Ha, heh heh! It's like talking to a younger version of myself. If you're so sure of what you want out of life, why wait? Why put up with the drudgery of school?" Ford chuckled.
"Heh. Trust me, I'd love to fast-forward the whole thing, but it's not like I have a choice." Dipper replied.
"Dipper, I've been thinking. I'm getting too old to investigate Gravity Falls on my own. I need to train an apprentice to help me fight monsters, solve mysteries, and protect this town. And I think I'd-I'd like to keep it in the family." Ford began.
"What are you saying?" Dipper asked slowly.
"I've read your additions to my journal and I'm impressed with your potential. What would you say to staying in Gravity Falls after the summer ends and becoming my apprentice?" Ford asked with an excited smile.
Dipper's eyes went wide while the rest of him was still. "W-what about school?"
"Dipper, I have 12 PhDs. Your parents would be thrilled I could give you such an advanced education." Ford answered.
Dipper sighed. "There's also Mabel. She'd be all alone in California."
"Mabel will be fine on her own. She has a magnetic personality. I watched her become pen pals with the pizza delivery man in the 60 seconds he was at the door." Ford replied.
"Gosh, we've never really been apart before." Dipper stated honestly.
"And isn't it suffocating? Dipper, can you honestly tell me you never felt like you were meant for something more?" Ford asked.
"I-I dunno. Sounds like a dream come true, but I'm not sure I have what it takes. I was tricked by Bill, I was wrong about Stan's portal. Heck, I can't even operate this magnet gun right." He turned on the magnet gun and it sucked up a piece of metal. As Dipper tried to get it free, something pink seeped out of it
"Ha! Yes! Dipper, you've found the adhesive!" Ford said happily.
"I did?!"
"Hoho, you really did it, kid. Huddle in, let's get a picture of this." Ford then heard something and held up his gun.
"Uh, Grunkle Ford, you said everything in here is dead, right?" Dipper whispered, feeling slightly alarmed.
"Yes. Unless somehow we've reactivated the-" Ford gasped. "Security system!"
The security droids emerged.
"What do we do?!" Dipper exclaimed.
"Listen to me very carefully: I've studied these; they're security droids and they detect adrenaline. You simply have to not feel any fear and they won't see you." Ford instructed.
"What?!"
"It's okay. I've done it before. Just take a deep breath, focus on your intellect, and control your fear." Ford calmly said, trying to ease Dipper into doing exactly everything he said.
"Huh-wha-wha-wha- that's crazy! I-"
"Follow my lead!" Ford just said.
"Great-uncle Ford!"
"Focus, Dipper!"
The droid measured Ford's heartbeat and found it to be calm.
It moved on to Dipper. "Wha- I-uh. I-I-uh..."
The droid produced a gun.
"I can't!"
"Get down!" Ford tackled Dipper, dodging the flash from the gun; stood up and shot the droid, destroying it, but Ford got hit with a flash.
The other droid produced arms and dragged Ford toward it.
"Uh! No! Noooooo!" Ford cried out.
"Wait, no!" Dipper tried to run after him but tripped.
"Stay back! It's too dangerous! Sealing the rift is what's important now! Take this!" Ford slid the rift to Dipper while the droid trapped Ford in itself. "You're gonna have to do it without me! Use the adhesive! Fix the rift! Save the universe, Dipper!"
The droid flew away into the tunnels.
"Great-uncle Ford!" Dipper chased the droid through the tunnels, while putting the rift in his backpack. "Hang on, I'm coming for you! Don't worry! I'll get you out of there!"
The droid disappeared behind a saucer-shaped door.
"Where is that thing taking you?!"
The room glowed purple and some kind of map appeared.
"It's an automated prison droid! And wherever it's going, I'm not coming back!" Ford called out.
"What?!" Dipper gasped as the ceiling opened to outside and the droid carried Ford toward the opening. "No, no, no... don't worry, I'll think of something!"
He ran after Ford who noticed. "Dipper! What on Earth are you doing?!"
Dipper put duct tape around the magnet gun. "Hold on, Great-uncle Ford."
The droid Ford was in hovered below the exit.
"I'm getting you out of this, one way or another!" Dipper tried to fire the gun but it didn't work. "Oh no!"
Dipper punched the gun, which had sparks flickering around it. The alien countdown appeared to be at zero.
"Come on, come on!" The gun turned on and magnet Dipper to Ford's droid just before it blasted away. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The droid broke through a grate and was outside, flying high into the air.
Dipper's hat fell off but he didn't notice as he pounded the droid. "Let go of my uncle!" He shouted and screamed as the droid shook and beeped.
The droid, as Dipper screamed, swerved around, flew through the crack in the cliff, through the waterfall and through the water tower. The droid bumped, knocking Ford unconscious.
"Ah! Great-uncle Ford! Okay, let's try: magnet pulse!" Dipper turned a knob on the gun. "Waaaaaaahhhh!"
The droid crashed into the woods.
Dipper was lying behind it, bruised and moaning, and gasped before running to the droid. "Oh no!" He started pounding on the glass. "Oh no no no no!"
He managed to open the window and run in to Ford, who was still unconscious. "Come on, wake up, man!" Dipper dragged him out. "We gotta get out of here before-"
Another droid was instantly behind them and it began to scan Dipper.
"Hey, uh, I'm warning you! I have a magnet gun!" Dipper showed the droid his gun to try and scare it.
The droid produced a large gun.
"Oh yeah!? You think you can scare me!? Do your worst! Nothing in this universe is gonna take away my uncle! So go ahead! Give me what you've got!"
The machine measured Dipper's heartbeat, found it normal, retracted its gun, and turned off. Dipper was left panting as Ford woke up.
"Ahahaha! Oh-" Ford coughed. "Oh, I thought I was a goner, kid."
Dipper ran to him. "Oh, are you alright? What happened?"
Ford leaned on Dipper. "The- the orb didn't detect any chemical signs of fear. It- it assumed the threat was neutralized and self-disassembled. Hahaha!"
"I- I did it?"
"You did it."
Dipper walked over to the droid.
"This is what I was talking about. How many other twelve-year-olds do you think are capable of doing what you've just done." Ford nodded
Xxx
Mabel was in the attic looking at scrapbooks as she sighed.
Stan walked in along with Zoe and Frida. "Hey, everything all right, pumpkin?"
"Just can't believe the summer's almost over. And now that I know how awful high school's going to be, I'm in no hurry to start that train wreck." Mabel answered.
Stan put an arm around her shoulder. "Ah, nobody likes gettin' older. But just because you're growing doesn't mean you have to grow up, you know? I mean, look at me. I'm pushin' seventy and I still eat ice cream for dinner."
"But I don't wanna say goodbye to Gravity Falls." Mabel replied.
"Hey, at least whatever happens after this summer, you'll still have your brother along with you through thick and thin. Not everyone can say that, you know." Stan noogied her and left.
"And if not, you'll have us." Frida said as she and Zoe both sat on either side of Mabel.
"Yeah, at least when I go home I always have Dipper." Mabel picked up a picture of Dipper. "Good ol', reliable ol'-"
Her walkie-talkie crackled.
Dipper's voice, though faint, came over the walkie-talkie. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Ford's voice replied.
"Let's get you out of there."
Xxx
"Listen to me, Dipper: this town is a magnet for things that are special. And that includes you and me. It brought both of us here for a purpose! Stay here with me, Dipper. Become my apprentice. Don't let anyone hold you-" Ford coughed.
Dipper offered him his hand. "I'll do it; I'm gonna stay."
"Excellent." Ford grabbed Dipper's hand and climbed out of the ditch. "Now who wants to save the world, apprentice?"
Dipper and Ford walked away laughing.
Dipper's walkie-talkie made static noises.
Xxx
Dipper walked into his and his sister's room. "Mabel! I just had the best day of my life! UFOs are real and there's one under the town and I saved Great-uncle Ford's life and- and..." He stopped when he saw that Mabel was lying on her bed with her back to him, unmoving while Zoe and Frida were glaring at him. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Tell me it's not true, Dipper. Tell me you were joking." Mabel held up the walkie-talkie, which emitted static. "Ford's apprentice? Seriously?"
"Look, I was thinking and... this is a huge opportunity for me." Dipper said slowly, trying to make Mabel understand how much this meant to him.
Mabel crying seemed to show he was failing. "Well it's a horrible opportunity for me! I had the worst day of my life! When we turn thirteen, the summer ends, and I have to leave everything behind. You're the only person I can count on and now you're leaving me too!?"
"Look, I've been thinking about it. I won't be gone forever, okay? I'll still visit you at home, and we'll chat online; we'll make it work." Dipper said, trying to cheer her up.
"I don't want it to work. I just wish summer could last forever." Mabel sniffed.
Dipper walked over to her and put his arm on her. "But it can't, Mabel. Look, things aren't gonna stay frozen this way. It's part of growing up. Things change. Summer ends."
Mabel yelled and ran away.
"Ah!" Dipper fell over, as he was leaning on her. "Mabel, wait! I didn't mean it like that! Mabel, come back!"
"You are unbelievable." Zoe stood up, glaring down at Dipper. "The one person Mabel thought she could count on and you dump her like that."
"Hey, I have this chance to become really great." Dipper stood up. "Can't you understand that?"
"What's to understand? You'd rather cheat your way to the top by apprenticing under Ford?" Frida shook her head.
"He's a genius!" Dipper retorted.
"An idiot genius!" Zoe snapped, making Dipper jump. "He's smart but he has no wisdom behind what he does. His work endangers people around him and he never realizes it until it blows up in his face."
That wasn't the only reason to be mad.
Frida and Zoe were also angry at how Ford so nonchalantly spoke of separating Mabel from her brother, her best friend so soon. They both knew Mabel was wise enough to know that might happen in a few years but it was too soon for Mabel. She wasn't ready to give up being separated from her brother, her twin, and the brains to her heart. That was why Mabel was so heartbroken, because the idea of Dipper becoming Ford's apprentice was too soon and she had no time to prepare for it.
By the Nightosphere, Mabel couldn't even have any her friends over for their thirteenth birthday or even have a party aside from Stan and Soos which made things even more difficult.
Mabel needed the emotional support of her brother to help her through this important time in her life and finding out he was becoming Ford's apprentice and not coming home with her was pretty much screaming to her that her life as she knew it was over and forced her into a new one. Frida and Zoe understood all too well the trouble of dealing with big changes in one's life and they had been even younger when they had happened. The silver lining was they had their mother and grandmother to help them through it and later their grandfather.
If Dipper did accept Ford's offer then when Mabel went home without him she would have no one.
No one expected their parents to understand. They sent the twins away to Gravity Falls because they didn't want to deal with the crazy adventures the twins went on. Mabel would be forced to come to terms with this on her own and the strain of it with no one to help her could cause her to emotionally withdraw from everyone and everything around her California to better protect herself.
"That's not true!" Dipper argued.
"Is it? He made the portal that brought Bill Cipher, in case you forgot. He colluded with Bill and all that triangle had to do was say a few sweet words. Heck, he's still kicking out grandpa out after all this time and just wants to try fixing this mess he made on his own." Frida argued. "It's because of him this town is in danger from Bill and we're trying to clean up his mess because he's not putting much of an effort into it."
"Well, we don't need your help." Dipper glared at his cousins. "Grunkle Ford and I already figured out a way to close the rift that'll keep Bill out forever. We've been working day and night in Grunkle Ford's lab where he's kept all his Bill related stuff to make sure Bill doesn't take over this world. Why do you think he needed Unicorn hair?"
That caused both cousins took stare at him and Dipper realized what he had just said. "I mean-"
"What are you talking about?" Zoe leaned in close with a serious look in her eyes. "We've been to his lab. There's nothing down there."
Dipper tried to run for the door but Frida pounced on him, holding him down. "Let me go!"
"What are you talking about, Dipper?" Frida kept him down. "What has Ford been keeping secret?"
"Nothing!"
"Don't lie to us!" Zoe barked, kneeling down. "You got all crazy over the secrets our grandpa kept when he was trying to save Ford so why should Ford keep his? Tell us now or we drag you down to grandpa and we'll see if he lets you near Ford again when he hears this."
Dipper ceased struggling, staring up at his cousins with a surprised face. "You wouldn't."
"Try us. Unlike you, we're not blind to the danger Ford likes to play with and we're not going to keep his secret if it endangers our family." Frida retorted. "So tell us what he has been up to and what this secret lab is or you can explain to grandpa."
Xxx
Mabel ran into the woods crying; sat under a tree, and dug through the backpack. "Only party chocolate can cheer me up now."
Only when she went through her backpack she held up a notebook instead. "Nerd books?"
Next were pens. "Chewed up pens? Ugh, wrong backpack. Not fair. I just wish summer could last forever."
Mabel pulled her sweater over herself, trying to find some form of comfort.
That was when she heard the sound of a train. Looking up she saw a pair of doors open up, inviting her inside.
"You coming?"
"AH!" Mabel jumped at seeing a pale skinned boy with red hair standing near her. "Where did you come from?!"
"My name is Jack Spicer. You want to board the train." The boy stoically pointed at the doors. "Board the train and summer will never end for you."
Mabel looked at the doors, feeling a gentle light shine over her.
It was so warm, she could not help but approach the doors, followed closely by the boy named Jack. She hesitated for a second, thinking of Dipper but brushed it aside. If Dipper wasn't going to be part of her life anymore, she might as well learn to go on adventures without him.
With that, she stepped onto the train with Jack and the doors closed behind them.
The doors then vanished completely.
Xxx
Dipper sighed and walked into Ford's lab and the genius immediately noticed the look on his nephew's face. "Let me guess: Mabel didn't take it well?"
"I don't know, maybe I'm making the wrong decision. I need to think about this." Dipper admitted. "And also there's something else I should tell you."
"Dipper, right now we need to focus on the mission. Now come on, I've got the glue; hand me the rift and let's make history." Ford said, focusing on the task at hand.
Dipper reached into bag and pulls out a birthday flyer. "What? Oh no! The RIFT!"
Xxx
"Well, that was nicely done." Klarion stroked Teekl, the two of them having watched the spectacle. "So now they're both off in another dimension. But she has the rift and she's not in Pit Falls anymore."
Teekl meowed.
"Gravity Falls! That's what I said!" Klarion grunted at his cat. "Stupid cat."
"I'd normally kick Wiedmaggeddon by now but with Sammy on the move and watching on all sides, I need to wait until he's distracted with Kleiss-y before I make my move." Bill Cipher answered. "If he were to see us make our move now, he'd try and do something about it."
"What can he do exactly?" Klarion asked.
"He's been around the block longer than Sixxer so you knows what to use against me. If he figures out the prophecy made to destroy me and I made my move while he wasn't distracted then our plans would blow up in our face." Cipher explained. "Plus with GOLB still out there and since I can't see where his Horsemen are, I need to make sure everyone's all well and busy before I crack that rift."
"So Jackie boy is going to keep sweet little maple happy until you can get her out." Klarion caught on.
Teekl meowed again.
"I know her name is Mabel!" Klarion snapped at his familiar.
"The point is, I am going time Weirdmageddon right at the point when Sammy, GOLB and everyone else are up to their eyeballs in hysteria. Then I'll swoop in and atomize them all." Cipher chuckled. "The perfect gift to myself."
Klarion snickered as Teekl meowed. "And when they realize the girl is missing it'll be fun to watch."
"Oh it will be." Cipher snickered. "It will be."
And that's when the real party would begin.