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

Part Twenty-Nine: Dear Agony

Mabel sat in her hospital bed while flipping through the channels on the television. Hearing a knock on the door, she figured it was yet another visit from the nurse to take her vitals. Much to her surprise, however, she was greeted by the sight of her friends. Grendy, Courtney, Mateo, Lucas and Alessandra joined the bedridden young woman in the small room. "Hey guys!" the auburn haired teenager said in an excited tone. "Hey Mabel! I'm so glad you're alright..." Grendy said as she walked over and placed her hand on the gown clad shoulder of her friend. "You scared me there, cuz..." Courtney added. "I'm sorry guys... I didn't mean to sca-" she began before being cut off by Mateo. "Don't be sorry. You couldn't help it. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that we're just happy to be talking to you right now..." the young man said. "I drew this for you!" Alessandra said as she pulled a folded up piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Mabel. It was a beautiful landscape that appeared to be drawn from the view of Founder's Bluff. The sketch was very detailed and certainly above the skill level of her peers. "You... You drew this?" the teen asked in a surprised tone. "Yeah... It's not very good though. I kinda rushed through it an-" she began before Mabel stopped her. "You're right. It's not very good... It's amazing! I absolutely love it!" she said with a beaming smile. The group of friends spent the rest of the morning catching up and trying their best to help Mabel forget about her current circumstance.

Dipper, Wendy and Pacifica had returned home after what had been a trying morning. "I'm gonna be upstairs if you need me..." Pacifica said as she began to ascend the stairs. "Alright. If you need us, we'll be down here..." Wendy said as she walked over to the couch and sat down; her husband soon joining her. While they both wanted to say something, neither wanted to be the first to speak. Dipper turned on the television and turned it to the Cascadian News Network, where a reporter updated viewers on a breaking story. "Holy crap! They arrested Gideon!" Dipper said in a shocked tone as he turned the volume up to hear some of the details. "Yeah... With everything else going on this morning, I forgot to tell you about that..." Wendy said. "And now we're joined by Tambry Bennett, a local reporter who was first on the scene earlier this morning..." the anchor said as a split screen appeared with their friend in one of the boxes. "Good morning, Ron" she started off. Dipper and Wendy watched the interview, which they still fully didn't believe was happening. Sure, Tambry was an alright reporter for Gravity Falls, but now she was on a network that was being watched by millions of viewers around the world. After the interview ended, it didn't take long for Wendy's phone to begin to ring. "Wendy! You'll never guess what I just did!" she said in an excited tone. "Would it have anything to do with being on Cascadian News Network with Ron Limon?" the auburn haired woman replied. "OMG! You were watching?! That's so fucking cool!" the journalist exclaimed. "It was pretty boss..." her best friend admitted. "Enough about me though... I was really calling to see how Mabel is doing. She is my Goddaughter, after all..." Tambry said. "They said she's probably gonna be alright, but they're keeping her for a few more days for observation" Wendy explained. "Thank God. I'll have to swing by in a little bit and see her..." Tambry remarked. "I think she'd like that..." Wendy said.

Pacifica had gone up to the attic in an effort to clear her mind. She would often go through some of the many unmarked boxes that filled the storage space and see what treasures she could find. One time she had stumbled across her mother's high school yearbook and discovered that she had been quite an accomplished athlete. Another box had revealed her old cross country uniforms, medals and trophies. The teen girl wondered why they weren't on display and decided that she'd ask about it later on when things had settled down. At the very bottom of the box was a small electronic device with a pair of emerald green wireless headphones and a charging cable. "Hmm... This could be interesting" the fifteen year old said to herself as she headed back down to her bedroom to try and charge the gadget. Plugging it into the wall, the screen illuminated and a pear appeared on it. 'Wendy's Pear ePod Touch' the display briefly said before showing a few applications. A blue tile with a music note caught the attention of Pacifica and after syncing up the headphones, she began to explore the soundtrack of the summer that changed her mother's life forever. She was surprised by some of the songs on the playlist, as they didn't quite seem like what she pictured her mom listening to; others, however were no brainers. Time seemed to slip away as she lay on her bed and listened to the tunes of a bygone era.

It had been a couple of hours since Pacifica had gone upstairs and Wendy began to wonder what she could be up to. "I'm gonna go check on Paz... She's being awfully quiet..." Wendy said while getting up from the sofa. "Yeah, too quiet if you ask me" her husband agreed in a somewhat concerned tone before turning his attention back to the baseball game they were watching. Heading upstairs, the auburn haired woman tried to convince herself that her daughter was fine; that she was simply overthinking things. Perhaps she had taken a nap. After all, it had been a very rough morning for the three of them. She knocked on the bedroom door of Pacifica and after failing to hear a response, decided to open it. The sight before her was one that beckoned back to the summer of 2012. A teenage girl was dancing around the room in a forest green and yellow cross country uniform; her silver hair pulled back into a ponytail. "This is too good..." Wendy thought to herself as she continued to observe her daughter, who remained unaware of her presence. She really wanted to take out her phone and begin recording the young woman, but thought better of it. Instead, she walked up behind Pacifica and tapped her on the shoulder. To say that the silver haired girl was frightened was an understatement. She practically jumped out of her skin at the touch, screamed and quickly turned around to see who it had been. Pacifica saw her mother, who was doubled over from the reaction and laughing hysterically. "HA! HA! Very funny, Mom!" she said while sliding the headphones down around her neck. "I-I didn't mean to scare you... I promise!" Wendy replied as she desperately tried to compose herself. "Well, you totally did!" her daughter shot back. "So, I see you went rummaging through the attic again" the thirty-six year old woman said. "Yeah. It helped me take my mind off of things. By the way, this playlist is, as you guys said back then, straight fire yo..." Pacifica explained. "What can I say? I've always had good taste in music" Wendy agreed.

Dipper was watching the Seattle Navigators game when he heard a scream from the second floor. "PACIFICA!" the chestnut haired man shouted as he shot up from the couch. Running up the stairs, his mind began to race with what might have happened. It could be as simple as seeing a spider in her room, or possibly something much worse. Wendy and Pacifica heard the rapid pounds of someone ascending the stairs and realized that Dipper had heard her scream. He ran into the room to see that both his wife and daughter appeared to be fine. "W-What was that screaming about?" the thirty-three year old man asked as he tried to regain his breath; his legs burning and aching. While he was in decent shape, his body hadn't been prepared for an impromptu forty-yard dash up a flight of stairs and suffered from the lingering side effects of being struck by a car fifteen years prior. "Mom snuck in hear like some kind of ninja and scared the crap outta me!" the silver haired teen replied. "To be fair, she did have my noise canceling Thumps on..." the alabaster skinned woman added. A curious look formed on the face of Dipper as he tried to figure out why his daughter was wearing her mother's cross-country uniform from high school. "She was up in the attic, exploring again..." Wendy said. "Ah... I see. I remember the first time I saw your mom in that uniform" Dipper said as the image of a certain redhead ran through his mind.

Wendy had made it to the West Regional in the prestigious FleetRunner Cross Country Championships, which took place at a community college campus about five hours away from Piedmont. Dipper thought it was a good opportunity to go and support his friend. After winning her race, she had qualified for the National Championship race in San Diego. As the sophomore recovered from what had been a grueling race, someone joined her on the wooden bench. They handed her a water bottle, which she gratefully took. "Thanks, man..." the teenager said between labored breaths. "Anything for a friend..." a very familiar voice replied. "DIPPER?!" Wendy said as she turned to see that it indeed was the slightly younger teen. "What the hell are you doing here?!" she asked in a confused voice. "Well, I heard through the grapevine that you were running in this race and I figured I'd come out to cheer you on..." he replied. "Dude, how'd you even get here?" she inquired. "I took a bus" he answered matter-of-factly. "Y-You came all this way for me?" the ginger teen said in disbelief. "Like I said... Anything for a friend" he said with a friendly smile. "Corduroy! That was amazing! You're going to Nationals! If you keep that kind of speed, you might break the all-time record and win the whole thing" a woman said to the seated runner. "Thanks! You really think so Coach Glasser!" Wendy asked the twenty-something who was dressed in a green and yellow track suit. "Of course I do! I'm just glad that you weren't around when I was doing this..." she said with a chuckle. She looked over to see a brown haired boy seated beside her star athlete. "Well, I'll let you catch up with your boyfriend. I'll be in the parking lot when you're done..." the sandy haired woman said before walking away. Both Wendy and Dipper had wanted to correct her, but she had left before they could. They looked at each other for a moment as the two teens tried to think of how to break the awkwardness. "Well, it was great to see you again! Congrats on the win..." Dipper said as he got up from the bench. "Thanks... I'm so glad you came. It was such an awesome surprise" the ginger girl replied. "Anything for a friend. Maybe I can get the whole gang together for a road trip down to San Diego in a few weeks..." Dipper suggested. "I'd really like that..." she said before watching him walk away. Although she had won her cross-country race, she knew that Pacifica Northwest had won the race for Dipper Pines' heart and that fact hurt her to her core.

"Yo! Mason! You okay, dude?!" Wendy asked her husband while waving a hand in front of his face. "Huh?! Wha?! Oh! Yeah! Sorry... I guess I just sorta got to thinking about things and zoned out for a sec" he admitted to his wife and daughter. "A sec? That was like a solid minute or two, man" the redhead replied. "Anyway, we'll probably head back up to see Mabel in another hour or so if that's alright..." Dipper said to his daughter. "Okay. I can give this to her so that she can have some entertainment in that place..." Pacifica said before slipping the headphones back over her ears. Wendy and Dipper exited the room and shut the door. "You know, I was thinking about that time I went to LA to see you compete..." the brown haired man revealed to his wife. "You know, I've always meant to ask you about that..." Wendy replied. "Then ask away, my dear..." he said in a playful manner. "First of all... What on Earth possessed you to take a five hour bus ride to sit in the blazing sun and watch me compete? I mean, I'm sure that there was something else you could have been doing that weekend" the ginger woman said. "I suppose that might have been true, but I just had a feeling that I needed to be there. I can't explain it, but something deep down inside said that Wendy could really stand to see a friendly face" he explained. "Yeah... I really did. I mean, my family was supposed to come and cheer me on, but one of the guys at the mill had to go and get their arm sucked into a lathe, so that didn't happen. In fact, if I hadn't been able to get a hold of Coach Glasser at the last possible second, I probably wouldn't have even made it there to compete..." Wendy revealed to her lover. "I had no idea. I'm just glad that I could be there" Dipper replied.

"So... What did Ms. Northwest have to say about your little trip?" Wendy wondered aloud. "Honestly... She was kinda bummed that she couldn't make it" Dipper said. The response had taken her by surprise, as she had always felt a little bit of animosity between them. "Really?" the thirty-six year old woman replied. Her husband could tell that it was not the answer she had be anticipating. "I have no idea why you think she didn't care for you... Pacifica never had anything but nice things to say about you anytime your name came up in a conversation" Dipper clarified. "I guess it's just because... I dunno... I just think that if we swapped positions, I'd be very wary about what her intentions were. Maybe that's just me. All I know is that thanks to dating Robbie, I've always been worried about other women. I guess I just projected that onto her..." the redhead explained. "Well, I could see how that could be the case. Anway, that's all in the past. So, let's go catch the end of the game and then we'll go have dinner with Mabel..." Dipper said. "Sounds good to me" his wife agreed. "I may have to get that uniform back from Pacifica at some point..." she thought to herself as the headed back downstairs.

Mabel had fallen asleep after her friends left her hospital room. Although she wanted them to stay as long as they'd like, she had found herself nodding off. She had been resting for around an hour or so when another knock was heard on the door. Her hazel eyes fluttered open as the sound of the door opening broke the silence of the room. "Hi honey... How you doin'?" the voice of Tambry asked the still groggy girl. "As well as I can, I suppose..." she replied before letting out a yawn. "I woke you, didn't I? I-I can come back another time if you wanna go back to sleep..." the violet haired reporter said. "Nah... It's alright. I actually was wondering if I could ask you for a favor..." Mabel replied. "A-A favor? Of course. Anything for my Goddaughter. So, what's this favor?" Tambry inquired. "So, I'm guessing that Mom filled you in on the whole demons walking the streets of Gravity Falls situation, right?" the bedridden girl asked. "Yeah. The demons jacked the bodies of the Gleeful kids... What about them?" the reporter replied. "I need you to find them so that we can come up with some sort of plan of attack. Once you find them, I need you to keep tabs on them" Mabel said. "I'll try my best. Apparently, you aren't the only one interested in them though..." the thirty-six year old woman informed her. "Who else would know about this though?" a confused Mabel asked. "Well, I'm not supposed to say anything, but the Cascadian Bureau of Paranormal Activities and Anomalies is looking for them as well" Tambry said. "THE CBPAA?! Dad's been trying to prove they're real for years!" the ginger teen said in an excited tone. "They are. They threatened to send me to a prison in a country I've never even heard of if I interfere in their investigation" the mocha skinned journalist replied. "Well, don't go getting yourself in any trouble, but like I said, if you find anything out..." Mabel said. "You'll be the first to know..." Tambry reassured her.

"Remind me why we're out in the woods in the middle of a heatwave?" Stan Pines asked his twin brother. "I have to make sure that they're still here..." Ford replied while checking a notebook. "You talkin' about those space rocks you buried half a century ago, Sixer?" the gruff voice of the original Mr. Mystery continued. "They're Moon Stones, Stanley, and yes, those are the ones I'm in search of" Stanford replied. "And just why are these things worth getting eaten alive by mosquitoes for?" Stanley asked. "They may very well be the thing that saves us from utter and complete annihilation at the hands of the Magic Killers" the bespectacled man explained. "Rocks? How exactly are rocks gonna help us beat these things?" a confused Stan continued. Ford thought of how he could best explain the concept of Moon Stones to his brother. "You know those superhero comics you read as a kid?" Ford asked. "Yeah?" Stan replied. "Remember Superbman?" his brother continued. "Of course I do, Sixer. He's only the most popular hero in all of comic history. What about him?" Stanely answered. "Well, he had a certain weakness, did he not?" Ford said as he concluded his line of questioning. "Promethium!? These rocks are made of Promethium?!" Stan replied in a surprised tone. "Well, only about twenty-four percent or so, but the Moon Stones are strikingly similar in composition to those in your comics... I suppose it's life imitating art..." Ford said with a chuckle. "In fact, I was about to shoot Bill with a quantum destabilizer made with Promethium when one of his weirdness bubbles caused the bell in the church steeple to come alive and ruin my shot..." he revealed to his twin brother. "So, you really think this is the best shot at beating these demons?" Stan asked in a serious tone. 'Stanley, I sure as hell hope so..." Ford replied on a warm summer afternoon in the woods of Gravity Falls, Oregon.

Authors Note: So, as many of you know, music plays a huge part in my writing. As you've also guessed, I like rock a lot. I'd like to think that Wendy would as well. I had this idea in my mind that at one point the girls should find an old MP3 player with some of their mother's music on it. I felt as though this was the perfect time. Sorry, not sorry that it's long. Alright, onto the story. Mabel was thankfully visited by her friends and family so that she wouldn't go stir crazy. Will anyone else pay her a visit? Perhaps Pacifica and her mother have more in common than they realize. How will the CBPAA play into all of this? Will Ford's plan work? Answers to all of these questions and more in the next installment of Tales Of The Flame & The Ax: A Shooting Star Falls Story. Until then, remember that I know lots of things... -iKLOT

Wendy's Summer 2012 Mix:

Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen - "Good Time"

Ke$ha - "Die Young"

Foster The People - "Pumped Up Kicks"

Linkin Park - "Burn It Down"

Karmin - "Hello"

Rihanna - "Where Have You Been?"

The Black Keys - "Gold On The Ceiling"

Grouplove - "Tongue Tied"

Of Monsters And Men – "Little Talks"

SKRILLEX ft. Sirah - "Bangarang"

Imagine Dragons - "It's Time"

Chevelle - "Face To The Floor"

Shinedown - "Bully"

Taylor Swift - "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"

Coldplay - "Paradise"

Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe"

Soundgarden - "Live To Rise"

Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX - "I Don't Care"

Chevelle - "Hats Off To The Bull"

Rise Against - "Satellite"

Maroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa - "Payphone"

Red Hot Chili Peppers - "The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie"

Passion Pit - "Take A Walk"

Tyga - "Rack City"

Five Finger Death Punch - "Remember Everything"

The Killers - "Runaways"

Five Finger Death Punch - "Coming Down"

Bridget Mendler - "Ready Or Not"

Volbeat - "A Warrior's Call"

Grimes - "Oblivion"

Halestorm - "I Miss The Misery"

Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull - "Dance Again"

The Gaslight Anthem - "45"

Halestorm - "Love Bites (So Do I)"

Papa Roach - "Still Swingin"

The Wanted - "Glad You Came"

Evanescence - "Do What You Want"

Shinedown - "Enemies"

Switchfoot - "Afterlife"

M.I.A. - "Bad Girls"