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

Part Forty-Two: Coming To Terms

Dipper Pines returned home from the mall and immediately headed to where he kept his liquor. He needed a drink or two to numb the pain he felt from what he had done. While he understood that was for the best and had the support of his wife, he still felt the crushing weight of guilt. Opening the cabinet, he reached for his favorite whisky, only to find it had been fully consumed; a note taped to the empty bottle. "I owe Dipper one bottle of Jim Daniels – Stan" it read. "Damn it, Stan!" he growled with frustration while placing it on the kitchen counter and reaching back into the cabinet for another bottle. The choice was between an orange flavored vodka and a cinnamon whisky, both of which belonged to Wendy. He chose the whisky and quickly poured himself a shot of the amber liquor. After downing three more shots in quick succession he retired to the living room, where he put on the Seattle Navigators baseball game in the hopes that it would help distract him until Wendy and the girls got home.

Wendy finished her shift at the park and drove over to the mall to pick up the girls. She worried about Dipper, but had been texting him all day as a means to keep tabs on him, but it was a poor substitute for being with him in person. Still, it was better than nothing. Pulling up to the curb, she spied her twin girls with each sporting about half a dozen shopping bags. After loading up the sport utility vehicle, the trio of Pines women were on their way home. "So, you dudes get everything on the lists I gave you?" Wendy asked in a hopeful tone; worried that they had frivolously spent their funds. "Yeah! We found this cool outlet store in the mall that sold all sorts of basic stuff for dirt cheap!" Mabel replied. "We even had enough dougs left over to pick up some manga too!" Pacifica added as she turned a page in her newly purchased book. "Well, I'm glad you got all the clothes you needed for school. I was half afraid that you'd walk out with something dumb, like a new XStation or something..." their mother said with relief. The three shared a laugh as they collectively tried to keep from breaching the still tender subject of the Gleeful children.

Stan Pines had come up from the basement and walked to the living room. "I thought I heard someone put the game on. YEESH! Losing by six runs in the bottom of the second?! Just when you think the Navs couldn't suck any more, they find a new and more impressive way to do it!" the older man said as he sat down next to Dipper. "It's a rebuilding year..." Dipper said as he reached into a bag of chips and shoveled them into his mouth. "Please, they've been saying that for the past few seasons. They need to can the GM and find a new manager..." Stan added. "I guess..." Dipper said in a less than enthusiastic tone. "Say, you okay there Dipper?" his great uncle asked. "Honestly? No... Not really..." the chestnut haired man replied. "Is it because of all that magical crap that happened?" Stan inquired. "Nah... That was what it was. I'm just glad that Wen, the girls and myself never have to deal with that stuff ever again... It's... Well... You know how Gideon made clones of himself and Mabel?" Dipper began to explain. "Yeah, Sixer was going on about it the other day and how it was horribly unethical and shit. For the record, I agree with him on that one hundred percent. You don't go around playing God. That's how a lot of the messes we find ourselves in start" the eighty-five year old man responded. "Well... We don't have to worry about them anymore" Dipper said in a sullen tone.

The two watched a Seattle player strike out before continuing their conversation. "Did their mother come and get them or somethin'?" Stan asked. "If only... They're dead, Stan. They're fuckin' dead" the thirty-three year old man coldly stated. The room fell silent for a moment, save for the ballgame, which carried on in the background. "Jeez... I, uh... That's rough..." Stan replied as he tried to come up with the words to properly convey his feelings. Admittedly, he didn't know the children at all, but could tell that it had affected his great nephew a good deal. "I know you're not into all the science stuff like Ford and I am, but to make a long story short, clones tend to not last very long in real world conditions. The kids were beginning to physically deteriorate and I... I... I put them out of their misery. I shot them in the head. Like, I know it was the right thing to do and it kept them from needlessly suffering, but I still can't get over the fact that I took another person's life. Am I really any better than Jennifer and Gideon for playing God myself?" the chestnut haired admitted to Stan. He was unsure of how he would respond to it, but felt as though he could be open and honest with him without being unfairly judged. Perhaps that was because Stan himself had quite the checkered history and knew that nobody was perfect. "I'm not gonna lie to you. T-That's some pretty heavy stuff there, Mason. You're nothing like them though. Don't you ever think that for a second. Unlike them, you did the right thing. You kept those kids from suffering. You did the best you could when you were handed a shitty situation. There was no way that anyone was gonna get the outcome they wanted" Stan said before taking a sip of the Pitt Cola he had brought up with him; the can now covered in condensation.

"I'm sorry I'm unloading on you like this. It's just that I feel like I can always get the truth when I talk to you" Dipper said in a grateful voice. "It's a blessing and a curse, kid. My candor hasn't always won the praise of those around me. For what it's worth, I'm glad you appreciate it..." the grey haired man replied. "Almost makes up for you drinking my Jim Daniels..." Dipper said with a chuckle. "Almost? I'm giving away therapist type of advice for free here... Consider it my consultation fee" Stan said as the two shared a hearty laugh. Wendy and the girls had walked through the front door to see the two Pines men sharing a laugh and watching the ballgame. A small smile formed on the face of Wendy as she was relieved to see her husband acting like himself once more. "Holy Shamoly! Did you kids buy out the whole mall or somethin'?" Stan remarked from across the room as he took note of their many shopping bags. "Hey! We got a good deal on most of this!" Pacifica shot back in a kidding tone. "Well... I am a fan of a good deal" the elderly man admitted as he got up to greet the Pines women. "Came up from solitary confinement today, huh?" Wendy teased as she hung her tan ranger hat on the coat rack. "I got some time away for good behavior, I swear!" he remarked before hugging the uniform clad woman, whom he loved like the daughter he never had. "Of course... I'm sure it wasn't because you were getting on Ford's nerves or anything like that..." Wendy said. Almost as if on cue, a small bang was heard from the basement of the two-story home.

The door that led to the subterranean quarters soon flung open as light grey smoke escaped it. "What the hell was that?!" Wendy shouted at the trench coat clad man. "It was just a small explosion... Nothing to be alarmed about!" Ford said in his booming voice while wiping the soot from his spectacles. "Considering that my house is filling with smoke, I'd beg to differ with you!" the redhead shot back. "Just open a few windows and it'll dissipate in five minutes... Probably" Ford said in an annoyed tone as he retreated to the basement once more. "I swear one day we're gonna come home to see that our home is nothing but a pile of smoldering ashes..." Wendy remarked; clearly annoyed by the occurrence. "I'll go tell him that he should be more considerate of where he's doing his science crap, alright?" Stan said to the upset woman. "Would you? Thanks, Stan..." she said in a grateful voice while watching him head down to the basement. "Well, having those two around has made life a little more interesting, hasn't it?" Dipper said as he got up from the sofa and headed towards his wife. "Frankly, I've had enough excitement in my life. I wouldn't mind it if things were a little dull around here from time to time" Wendy said before pecking her lover on his lips. "How about a mundane dinner of rice and chicken? Boring enough for you?" Dipper said in a teasing tone. "It's a start..." Wendy replied as she headed upstairs to change out of her uniform on a late summer afternoon in Gravity Falls, Oregon.

Author's Note: I know this is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to do a bit of a cool down from the previous chapter. The back half of the chapter is almost a look into what the Pines family would be like if they starring in a sitcom. The Pines, coming this fall. 'Dougs' is a slang term used by Cascadians like bucks is used for the American Dollar and Dollarydoos is in Australia due to the fact that a Douglas Fir tree from the flag of Cascadia is on the currency. A little bit of world building this late in the story, I know, but I liked it so it stays. Let's see, what else? With less than two weeks left in the summer, will Wendy get her wish of things being fairly tame or will something else exciting happen to the Pines family? Will Ford burn down the house with an experiment that goes awry? Will Stan ever buy Dipper the bottle of whisky he borrowed? Answers to all these questions and more as we quickly reach the end of this story. Until next time... - iKLOT

Playlist:

MGMT - "Kids"

Jimmy Eat World - "Work"

Sum 41 - "Pieces"

Phantogram - "Black Out Days"

Jack's Mannequin - "The Mixed Tape"

Good Charlotte - "Girls & Boys"

Inhaler - "It Won't Always Be Like This"

My Chemical Romance - "Famous Last Words"

Cardigans - "My Favorite Game"

Meat Puppets - "Backwater"

Starset - "Infected"