Tales Of The Flame & The Axe: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Part Five: All Falls Down

The car ride home from the Mystery Shack was a short one for the Pines family, but for Pacifica and Mabel, it felt like an eternity. Eager to finally uncover the secrets that Gravity Falls had buried nearly two decades ago, the twin girls were bursting with excitement. The onyx sport utility vehicle pulled into the gravel driveway that led to the two story home. Wendy had barely come to a stop when the rear doors flew open and the girls leaped out. Sprinting up the front stairs, Dipper couldn't help but chuckle at how eager the red and brown haired preteens were to get inside and settle in so that they could hear all about the summer that their mother and father had met. "I wish I had their energy…" Wendy quipped as she entered the home. The quartet spent the next few minutes getting settled back into their home before they would assemble in the living room. Dipper searched the bookcase for a blue colored tome that he hadn't removed in some time. "Going all out for this, huh?" Wendy said as she poured herself a glass of pinot grigio in the kitchen. "Well, to be honest, I kinda have to remind myself of what happened. It was so long ago and since we burned the original journals at the end of that summer, I had to go off of my own personal journal and Mabel's scrapbook" the thirty-three year old man said as he removed a second book from the shelf; this one a bright pink in color.

After getting some drinks and snacks, the quartet finally was ready to begin. "Alright… So first off… Some of the things I'm about to tell you may seem downright strange or unbelievable, but trust me, this all happened. Your Mom can back me up on that…" the brown haired man said as he opened his journal and began to read. Wendy held the scrapbook of her late sister-in-law and would show the girls the pictures in it as her husband read the recollections he had jotted down. Afternoon turned to evening as they had gotten to the beginning of how Weirdmageddon came to pass. Both Mabel and Pacifica were spellbound as they heard of the heroic feats that their Father, Aunt, Mother and many others had done. "And then your Aunt Mabel was placed inside an orb where her every wish and desire existed. She was pretty much a God in that fantasy world and for a while she was content with staying there forever…" Dipper finished as he closed the book. "We'll break for dinner and then we can finish…" he said as he stood up from the armchair he had been seated in for the better part of four hours. "I can't wait to hear about how you defeated that Bill Cipher guy!" Pacifica exclaimed as she helped her mother set the dining table. "Yeah! He seemed like a downright jerk!" Mabel agreed. "That's putting it lightly..." Dipper commented.

Wendy removed a small square package from the pantry and placed it into the hydrator. "Sometimes I miss cooking the old school way…" she said to Dipper as the girls sat down to eat. "Yeah, but you have to admit, having dinner ready in less than two minutes is pretty boss!" he replied. "Hydrator, twelve soft shell tacos..." she instructed the device from across the room. The meal was relatively quiet as both girls practically inhaled the soft shelled tacos; eager to get back to the story. The rest of the evening involved the retelling of the events of Weirdmageddon. The girls could hardly believe that Dipper, Mabel, Stan, Ford, Wendy, Soos, Pacifica and other townsfolk had stood up to the evil being. "So, Bill was about to kill Aunt Mabel. That's when the Grunkles pretty much tricked Bill into going into what he thought was Great Grunkle Ford's mind, but since they were identical twins and they had swapped clothes, he actually went into Great Grunkle Stan's mind. Ford took the memory erasing gun and wiped Stan's memory… Since Bill was inside Stan's mind at the time, he was destroyed, along with all of his memories… It took some time, but eventually Stan' s memory was restored and we spent the last day of our summer having fun around a bonfire" Dipper concluded. "Whoa! I have, like, a million questions…" Mabel said as she looked over at her father. "Yeah! Me too!" Pacifica agreed. "Okay… Shoot!" the chestnut haired man said as looked up from the journal. "Do you think that he'll ever come back?" Pacifica asked with concern in her voice. "No… At least not in the form he was… I think…" he said in an unsure tone. "Were you guys ever scared that you were going to die?" Mabel hesitantly asked. Dipper and Wendy looked at each other. To be honest, they hadn't really thought about it at the time, but looking back it became obvious that there were countless times where they could have met their maker. "Well… To be honest… No. We didn't really have time to be scared. All I was worried about was my family and friends" Wendy bluntly answered. "What about you Dad?" the redheaded preteen inquired. "Uh… Well, like your Mom said, we didn't really have time to think about that… When people you love are in true danger, you don't really think about yourself… You think about how you are going to save them… Even if you get really hurt or worse doing so… That was my take on the whole thing at least…" Dipper said in a serious tone, which his children had seldom heard before.

With that, the retelling of the harrowing tale of Weirdmageddon drew to a close. Dipper placed both books back onto the top shelf, where it would be difficult for his daughters to reach. "Well… I hope that you two understand now why we had to keep all this secret… I trust you'll do the same" the chestnut haired man said to his children. Both girls nodded, knowing that they had rarely heard their father this serious about anything before. "Alright then, why don't you two get ready for bed?" he asked in the softer tone they were used to. The preteen girls got up from their seats and went upstairs as Dipper took a seat beside his wife, who was finishing her third glass of wine for the evening. "Well, that was tough… But now they know and as Grunkle Ford always says, 'All knowledge is good knowledge'…" the hazel eyed man said as he did his best impersonation of his Great Uncle. "Well, the dude's been right about a ton of things… But then again…" Wendy said as she took another long sip of wine. "What?" Dipper asked as he wanted his wife to conclude her thought. "It's just that… Wasn't his quest for knowledge what led Bill into our dimension in the first place?" the ginger woman pointed out. "I mean, yeah, but everything worked out in the end… And besides, if none of that ever happened… Would Mabel and I have even come here in the first place? Would we have met?" Dipper questioned. "I-I don't like to think about that kinda stuff… All I know is that I halfe a wonderful hu-husband… A kick ass house… An t-two beautiful she dudes… And the room is starting to spin…" the redhead said as she leaned back on the couch and clutched her head. "Yeah… I think you've had enough… Let's get to bed…" Dipper said as he stood up and lent a hand to his tipsy wife. "Okay… Y-You're the bestest guy ever… Ya' know that?" Wendy slurred as she stood up and swayed a bit. "So I've heard…" the chestnut man chuckled. "Yeah… All m-my girlfriends at my job place are all like, 'How'd ya' get so l-lucky…' An I'm all like, 'He's the whole pa-package… He's great in bed… An' I mean, really great in bed… Like, so good tha' I get mine a few times b-before he gets his… If ya' know wha' I mean…" Wendy said with a drunken chuckle. "Well… Thanks for painting me in such a positive light… I guess…" Dipper said as a deep crimson hue befell his cheeks. "An' you takes care of the girls… Y-You're a great father… Th-They love ya'…" Wendy continued to say as she was guided by her husband up the wooden staircase.

After changing into their pajamas, the husband and wife went to sleep. Wendy's head swam with the drunken thoughts of years gone by. Unknown to her, she had begun to giggle in her sleep as she recalled the time that Stan had caught her shoplifting from the Mystery Shack. Her father had been on her case about breaking into places and the crowd she was hanging out with, which annoyed her to no end. She thought that if her father had such a low opinion of her, then she might as well prove him right. She shoplifted a few chocolate bars and snow globes from the gift shop of the Mystery Shack, which did not go unnoticed by Stan, as he had installed security cameras long ago. Stan had called the teenage girl into his office and had her take a seat. "Wendy… We gotta talk. I saw you stealing chocolate bars and snow globes from the shack" he said in his trademark gravelly voice. Wendy squirmed in her seat as she realized that she had been caught red handed. "Oh, I'm so sorry Mr. Pines… I know, I know you're gonna fire me an-" she began to apologize as her eyes teared up. "NO! NO! You've got a gift! You're the best thief I've ever seen!" he exclaimed as he leaned over the wooden desk as the expression on the freckled girl's face changed from one of fear to one of confusion. "You and me! I've been waiting my whole life to discover someone who's as good a pickpocket as I am! Don't you realize we could go out and knock down a bank or something! We could do this big time!" the older man continued to beam as a smirk formed on her face. "Really?!" she asked with eagerness. "You're not ready… Yet!" he explained to the young woman.

For the next few days, Stan trained Wendy on how to be a small time crook as they knocked over the hotdog on a stick stand at the mall and hotwired cars. Wendy was a quick study and soon became proficient beyond Stan's wildest dreams. "Stan, this stuff is small time, okay?! We are going to steal the colossal diamond from the Gravity Falls History Museum! Think about that! We could split the pieces, wear them around our necks and look like ballers!" the redhead said with great enthusiasm. "Y-You're starting to scare me a bit there Wendy… Even I've never stolen a diamond before. Are you crazy?!" Stan asked in an unsure voice. "Yeah I'm crazy! Do you want in?" she inquired. "Yeah! I do! Let's steal a diamond!" he replied with great vigor. The following night, the pair of thieves broke into the museum and were mere feet away from their target when Stan threw out his back trying to sneak under a laser beam, which the much more younger and limber fifteen year old was able to do with great ease. "Oh man! You alright?!" she asked from the other side of the security measure. "Wendy! You gotta steal it without me!" he encouraged her. Blubs and Durland were the only two remaining obstacles remaining in her way. Much to her good fortune, they were standing with their backs to her. "Sorry dudes…" she thought to herself as she whacked each officer in the back of the head with a collapsible baton she had been carrying on her, knocking them out instantly. Placing her gloved hands on the precious gemstone, she was about to make her getaway when a large pair of paws grabbed her by the neck and pulled her to the ground; handcuffs soon slapped around her petite wrists. "Ms. Corduroy… Come with me" the burly man said as he led her away to an awaiting police car. A few hours later, she found herself in an interrogation room with an officer who looked to be in his early twenties. If she were not in the predicament she currently found herself in, she would have considered asking him for his number. "We're going to call your Dad…" the officer said in a serious tone. "No! My Dad! H-He can't find out about this!" she pleaded. The officer was about to place the phone call when a furious pounding was heard on the door of the room. "Hey guys! Uh, cops! I actually wanna tell ya that this girl… She was working for me the whole time! This wasn't her idea! I'm the mastermind! It was my idea to steal the diamond… Take me away! S-She, she wishes she could be a mastermind thief like me…" Stan adamantly stated. "Yeah… I guess were kinda stupid by thinking a teen girl could pull off a heist like this… Ms. Corduroy, you're free to go…" the officer said.

A few days later, Wendy came to visit Stan in jail, where he would serve a seven day sentence. "Why did you do that for me? You're gonna have to be here for, like, days…" she asked the orange jump suit clad man. "Look… I'm old. I've already had a life. You can still make a choice and not be an idiot like me! Like, okay, you've got fast fingers! Use it to play an instrument or something! Stop stealing or else you're gonna get trapped here! Now get outta here!" Stan said to the young woman as tears formed in her eyes. She swore that she would never forget the act of selflessness that Stan had performed for her. Taking his advice, she did find an instrument to play. Lying under a sheet in the basement of her home was an upright piano that was coated in a thick layer of dust. For the next few days, she maliciously cleaned the dark Cherrywood instrument from head to toe. "I wonder how long this thing has been down here?" she asked herself as she blew away the dust from the keyboard and pulled out the stool from beneath it. Placing her phone on the music rack, she looked up a tutorial for how to play. Selecting a rather simple song to start out with, she placed her digits to the board and began to perform. Dan Corduroy, who had just arrived home from work, sat down in his trusty recliner and took a slow sip from his highball glass of whiskey he had poured for himself. It was a well-earned treat after a long day of work at the lumber mill that he looked forward to enjoying once again. Placing the glass on the side table, he leaned back and let out a sigh as he kicked off his work boots. The burly man's meditation was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a piano coming from the basement below. "What the?!" he said to himself with shock, as the tones of the musical instrument hadn't graced the air of the log cabin in over six years. Jumping out of the chair, Dan pulled open a drawer on the side table and removed a large leather bound book from it. 'Corduroy Family Bible' it read in brilliant golden letters as he clutched it against his barrel like chest and hesitantly walked towards the door that led to the basement below.

Wendy had taken to the piano like a fish to water and a sense of ease came over the often troubled girl. "Huh… This is kinda relaxing… What do ya' know? The old codger was right for once…" the ginger teen chuckled to herself as she searched her phone for a more challenging song. A brown box resided on top of the piano and the young woman's curiosity was piqued. It was full of song books, which looked to be several decades old. One in particular stood out to her as she sorted through them. 'Songs Of Ireland' the green book read; the cover adorned with the image of an old stone castle upon the sea. Opening the book up, she opened to a page where a bookmark had been placed. 'Galway Bay' the song was titled. "Welp, let's see how bad I can slaughter this song…" Wendy said as she cracked her knuckles and began to play. Having heard the music momentarily stop, Dan thought it was over. He was about to turn around when the tunes began to start again, this time with a somewhat familiar voice accompanying them.

"If you ever go across the sea to Ireland,

Then maybe at the closin' of your day

You will sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh

And see the sun go down on Galway Bay.

Just to hear again the ripple of the trout stream

And the women in the meadows making hay,

To sit beside the turf fire in the cabin

And watch the barefoot gossoons at their play

For the breezes blowin' across the sea from Ireland

Are perfumed by the heather as they blow.

And the women in the upland diggin' praties

Speak a language that the strangers do not know.

For the strangers came and tried to teach us their way.

They scorned us just for bein' what we are.

But they might as well go chasin' after moon beams

Or light a penny candle from a star.

And if there's to be a life in the hereafter –

And somehow I'm sure there's going to be –

I will ask my God to let me make my heaven,

In that dear land across the Irish sea."

The young woman sang in an almost angelic voice. Wendy had never really given much thought to her singing, often just doing it when goofing off with her friends, but even they had commented on how pretty her singing voice was. It would be a few more years before she shared her talent with the rest of the town at the first ever Mabel Pines Memorial Karaoke Contest on what would have been the fallen girl's eighteenth birthday. Dan was beside himself as he made his way carefully down the stairs, hoping not to scare away what he was certain was the ghost of his late wife Kathleen. A brilliant light shone through the small basement window, casting everything in a golden colored hue as the sun began to set. Small dust particles danced among the beams of light, creating a hauntingly serene scene as Dan finally set his eyes upon the source of the music. Much to his surprise, it was his daughter Wendy, who was adorned in her trademark green flannel shirt and skinny blue jeans. Tears came to his eyes as he sat on the steps and watched his daughter sing the old song. Unknown to her, it was one of the last that her mother had played before her passing. Finishing the song, she sat in the silence of the room for a moment. Although she wasn't one hundred percent sure, she had an inkling that the instrument belonged to her mother. She felt a strong connection to it and decided that she would be spending a lot more time in the basement from now on. Pulling the sheet back over the piano, she laid a petite hand upon it and let out a longing sigh. Glancing up at the staircase, she spied her father, who had begun to weep a bit at the scene. "Dad… I-I… Uh…" she stuttered as she had rarely seen him in such a state. "Ya' know… Your mother loved to play that thing. Up until the day she died she would play that thing while you kids were in school and I was at work…" Dan said as he wiped away a tear and sniffled. "Uh… What's with the Bible?" the freckled woman asked as she took a seat beside her father. "Oh! Uh… Well… Ya' see darlin'…" he stuttered as he searched for an answer. "You thought the ghost of Mom was haunting us, weren't you?" she said with a laugh. "M-Maybe! So what if I did?!" he defensively replied. The young woman was unaware of how Kathleen Corduroy had truly passed and Dan intended to keep it that way. "Dude, don't worry… Ghosts only come back and haunt people if they died tragically or, like, are seeking vengeance or something like that… Dipper taught me that. So, as much as we'd both like to see Mom again, I don't think that'll be for a while…" she said in a calm voice as she rubbed her upset father's back. He let out a sigh, which Wendy took to be one of sadness, but in reality was one of relief that she hadn't pressed the issue any further.

Meanwhile, down the hallway, Pacifica and Mabel could hardly sleep. "I can't believe that all really happened!" Pacifica squealed with excitement. "I know, right?! Mom and Dad fought a feakin' demon and saved the town! How badass is that?!" Mabel agreed. "Do you think we'll ever get to do anything cool like that Mabes?" Pacifica asked as she let out a yawn. "I dunno… I hope so though…" the redhead replied as she too yawned. "Oh, by the way… What's up with that old book you dragged back from the woods?" her sister asked. "Wait… How'd you know about that?" Pacifica asked with curiosity. "Dude, I'm your sister… There's very little you can sneak by me…" the freckled young lady explained. "Now dish, girl…" she continued. "Well… I found it in the cave I spent the night in when I got lost… I don't know what it was doing in there, but I figured it was too important to just leave there. Turns out I was right… Apparently it's some sort of interdimensional spell book… Or so it claims…" the brunette commented with a scoff. "Neat! Have you tried any yet?!" Mabel excitedly asked. "Nah… Haven't had the time to yet… But let's totally try it out tomorrow!" she replied. "Alright sis! Goodnight!" the ginger preteen said as she rolled over. "Goodnight…" Pacifica replied as the Pines house fell silent on a late November evening in Gravity Falls, Oregon.

Author's Note: So, I know this chapter kinda went all over the place and all, but I'm trying to transition to this being a Mabel and Pacifica story. That being said, I'm trying to fill in more of Wendy's backstory as she becomes a bit of a secondary character and takes a backseat to the teens. My next chapter may or may not be a time jump of three years… I'm still undecided. Either way, the new Mystery Twins will be heading out on their first adventure soon enough. Stay tuned… -iKLOT

The Official Shooting Star Falls AU Reading Order:

Underage Discoveries On A Reckless Night: A Shooting Star Falls Prequel

A Shooting Star Falls

Echoes Of A Nearby Future: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Scarred Summer: A Shooting Star Falls Story

The Dark Days of Candy Chiu: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Forever Memories: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Stable Times Or A Wild Ride?: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Grenda's Confession: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Birthday Weirdness In The Rose City: A Shooting Star Falls Story

The Gift Of Forever: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Wendy & Dipper Vs The Future: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Life In Transit: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Pause The Moment: A Shooting Star Falls Story

Tales Of The Flame & The Axe: A Shooting Star Falls Story