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

Part Forty-Six: Buried Treasure

The Pines family had arrived at the entrance to the underground storage facility and the quartet exited the sporty utility vehicle. "This is not what I was expecting at all..." Mabel said as she stepped closer to the large steel door. "I know, right? I figured it would be some boards blocking an abandoned mine or somethin' like that. This looks like the army built it..." Pacifica agreed as she walked up to the door and gave it a swift kick with her skate shoe clad foot; a move she instantly regretted as the pain radiated from her toes. "FUCK! OW! DAMNIT! Oh! It hurts! It really fuckin' hurts! I think I broke it! It might be broken! FUCK! FUCK ME!" the chestnut haired girl angrily remarked while quickly taking a seat on the cold pavement below. "Dude, it's a solid steel door that can withstand a direct missile strike... What the hell did you think was gonna happen?" Wendy incredulously asked her daughter as she and her husband went over to check on her. Removing the teen's footwear, they observed that while swollen, nothing appeared to be broken. "And what did we just learn?" Dipper asked Pacifica. "Ugh! Not to kick military-grade blast doors..." the young woman replied in a defeated tone. "I think we've established that's not the way to get inside. So, how do we?" Mabel asked her parents. "That's the neat part. Check this shit out..." Wendy remarked before pulling open the access panel and removing the code book from its slot. After handing it off to her lover, she initiated the sequence that would grant them access to the subterranean chamber. "Red 40!" her voice called out. Dipper flipped through the scarlet hued pages until he found the proper codes. Calling them out, Wendy punched them into the keyboard.

The teen girls watched in amazement as their parents worked in tandem to find and enter the remaining codes that would unlock the large door. Wendy entered the last letter and series of loud thuds were heard from the other side of the portal as it began to swing open. "Okay... That actually was pretty rad..." Pacifica said in an impressed tone as she watched the overhead lights turn on in the seemingly endless corridor that was now before her. "How far in does it go?" Mabel inquired. "It's about a five-minute walk, but we'll drive there..." Dipper said as he motioned towards the TerraX. Once back inside, they began the journey into the hill. The anticipation built for the teenagers as the narrow tunnel gave way to a large and well-lit chamber where another great door awaited them. "Well... Here it is..." Dipper said as he pointed to the entrance. "What do you think is in there?!" Mabel asked her sister in an excited tone. "I hope it's just a mountain of gold and jewels. Seems like the kind of thing Aunt Pacifica would have buried deep inside a hillside..." Pacifica replied. "What if it's her wardrobe?! You know how much she cared about fashion. Think of all the cool vintage clothes that could be in there!" her sister added. "If that's the case, then maybe she has a pair of steel toed boots you can borrow..." Wendy teased, which quickly drew an ugly look from her child.

As if on cue, Wendy and Dipper pulled the large white door back and the bright lights of the room turned on row by row. "Whoa..." Pacifica commented as the contents of the vault were revealed to be a collection of high dollar supercars. "So, this was her garage?" Mabel asked. "Yup! Pretty boss, huh?!" Wendy replied. While both girls weren't much in the way of car aficionados, they did appreciate the obscene display of wealth in front of them. "So, you're probably wondering why we brought you here..." Dipper asked his teenage daughters. "To show us these cool cars?" Mabel responded. "Well, yeah... But there's a reason they're still here..." Wendy added. The remark was met with confused looks by the sisters. "So, I found a note from your Aunt that had some coordinates on it. Those led us to the bunker. I found another note in here and it said to bring you two along..." Dipper explained before turning to his lover. "Your Aunt wrote that you could each pick any car you wanted out of her collection. She said to consider it an early sweet sixteen gift" Wendy added.

The girls took a moment to process what their parents had just told them. Could it really be true that they could choose any car in the room, regardless of how expensive or impractical that it may be? "This isn't a joke, right?" Pacifica asked as she looked her mother in the eye. "Nope. One hundred percent serious. Go walk around and see what speaks to you. I'm sure you'll find someth-" Wendy began to say before being cut off by a song from the past. The music echoed throughout the room as the quartet stood in shocked silence. "Huh... Well, that didn't happen last time..." Dipper remarked. "I like it!" Mabel exclaimed as she began to dance to the up-tempo pop song. "God, I haven't heard this song in at least... Oh..." Wendy said before realizing why it had been so long. "I-It must be the last playlist she synched up to the system or something... Wow... I... I was not ready for this" Dipper said as the next song came on; tears welling up in his hazel eyes. "Aww, Mason..." Wendy said before wrapping her husband up in a loving embrace. She rubbed his back in an effort to soothe him, although she wasn't sure it was going to do much good. "I'm fine... I'll be alright..." Dipper lied while returning the gesture; tears continuing to stream down his face as he did so.

Mabel and Pacifica looked on; unsure of what to do or say. Not wanting to make the situation any more awkward than it already was, the teens began to walk among the many rows of vehicles that were parked on the white marble floor in order to give their parents some space. "How much do you reckon all of these are worth?" Pacifica remarked as she tried to start a conversation with her sibling in an attempt to overlook both the nagging pain in her foot and her clearly emotional father. "Hmm... That's a real headscratcher. Some of cars go for millions of dollars, easy. My guess is one hundred million" the redhead answered. "I was going to say around the same number until I looked over there..." Pacifica added while pointing to a corner of the gallery that housed a pair of race cars. "Do you think Mom and Dad would be pissed if I picked this one?" Mabel asked while walking up to a FASTCAR stock car that was adorned in a Northwest Industries livery. "Not as pissed as if I picked this one..." her sister replied while pointing at an IndieCar open wheel race car that also bore the sponsorship of Northwest Industries. "As awesome as these would be, I think we should go with something a little more realistic... Like this..." Mabel said as she began to walk towards a red four door luxury sedan. "Yeah... You're right. Just because we can choose any car we want out of here, we have to think about the fact that we're gonna be driving these things every day" Pacifica agreed as she once again began her search for a vehicle.

Dipper had finally managed to compose himself and looked into the emerald eyes of his lover. "Thanks Wen. I... I don't know why that hit me the way it did, but I'm sorry fo-" he began before Wendy jumped in. "Mason... First of all, don't ever apologize for that. Hearing that must have just ripped open that old wound. Feelings are worth feeling, even if they hurt. You loved her. You still do. It reminded you of her. It's totally cool. I don't understand it, but I get it" the auburn haired woman interjected as she continued to comfort her partner. "Why do you love me? I'm such a fuckin' mess" Dipper asked. "Probably because I'm an even bigger one and you stuck by my side..." Wendy replied with a smirk. "We really are made for each other..." the thirty-three year old man quipped. "Wanna see what the girls are getting into?" he added in an effort to shift the conversation. "Sure. I just hope they don't go too nuts. I mean, we technically can't say no to whatever they pick. It's their choice, not ours..." Wendy remarked as they spied the teenagers, who were fawning over a matte purple luxury sports utility vehicle.

"I think I found the one..." Pacifica said with a smile on her face while giving the vehicle a hug. "A Bercedes-Menz? I didn't take you for someone who liked those sort of cars..." Dipper commented. I didn't think so either, but this thing just looks cool" the fifteen year old said. "It's a pretty timeless design. A lot of celebrities and athletes liked to drive these when I was your age..." Wendy chimed in. "It was your Aunt's second favorite car to drive..." Dipper added. "Okay. Well, that explains why it spoke to me. It's that Pacifica connection. Sold! Mom and Dad, write me up!" the brown haired teen said as she tried to do her best impression of a spoiled rich girl. "What about you, Mabel?" Wendy asked her daughter. "I like this one! It's a four door, so me and my friends can go on road trips together and it's electric, so it's good for the environment. Like Paz said, write me up!" the young woman replied. Both Wendy and Dipper were relieved that their girls had chosen somewhat practical vehicles when the odds were that they wouldn't. In a way it made them proud of the children they had raised. "Oh... There's one more thing..." Dipper said as the sound of a trunk popping echoed throughout the underground room in Gravity Falls, Oregon.

Author's Note: I know I said that this chapter would be the last, but I didn't feel quite done yet, so there will be a few more chapters. If I do decide to start another story in this universe, it would probably be a slice of life involving the girls and their friend group. Think Degrassi, but set in the mid 2030's. Another idea I have is to remaster 'A Shooting Star Falls', as I've learned so much since I started writing over five years ago. The story would remain the same, but it would be a bit more refined and polished. On a more personal note, I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to come out, but I lost my Dad suddenly this past fall and to say I've had a rough go of it would be an understatement. To be honest, I didn't feel like doing much of anything, let alone writing. Even when I was writing, it wasn't what I wanted it to be, so I'd just delete it all and start over again. I must have written ten different versions of this chapter before I finally decided on this one. I'm alright now, before anyone gets worried. I have an awesome family and they've been a great support system as I try to figure this all out. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and comments!

Pacifica Northwest's Garage Playlist:

Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna - "This Is What You Came For"

Built To Spill - "Big Dipper" (One of Pacifica's favorite songs, as it reminded her of a certain boy)

Desiigner - "Panda"

Fifth Harmony ft. Fetty Wap - "All In My Head (Flex)"

Rihanna ft. Drake - "Work"

twenty one pilots - "Heathens"

Alan Walker - "Faded"

Sia ft. Sean Paul - "Cheap Thrills"

Selena Gomez - "Kill Em With Kindness"

Mike Posner - "I Took A Pill In Ibiza"

Meghan Trainor - "Me Too" (Pacifica put this song on her playlist to reminder not to be that way anymore as a few years prior this would have been her theme song)

The Chainsmokers ft. Daya - "Don't Let Me Down"

Ariana Grande - "Into You"

Justin Bieber - "Love Yourself"

Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink - "Worth It"

Katy Perry ft. Juicy J - "Dark Horse"

Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MO - "Lean On"

Taylor Swift – "New Romantics"

Meghan Trainor - "NO"

Zara Larsson - "Lush Life"

Maroon 5 - "Sugar"

DJ Snake, Lil Jon - "Turn Down For What"

Galantis - "No Money"

One Republic - "Counting Stars"

Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Dark Necessities"

Bring Me The Horizon - "Follow You"

G-Eazy x Bebe Rexha - "Me, Myself & I"

DNCE - "Cake By The Ocean"

One Direction - "Drag Me Down"

Iggy Azalea - "Team"

Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth - "See You Again" (The last song to play in the garage. She knows what she did there...)

My regular playlist:

Interrupters - "In The Mirror" (Listen to the lyrics and tell me this doesn't remind you of Wendy. No matter how far she tries to run from her past, she always ends up back in the same place and has to look herself in the mirror)

Royal & The Serpent - "Happier In Hell" (The lyrics made me think of how Wendy feels about herself. Sometimes she feels like she's just putting an act for everyone)

Michigander/ Manchester Orchestra - "In My Head"

XX - "Heart Skipped A Beat"

Paramore - "All We Know"

Good Charlotte - "The Young & The Hopeless"

Creeper - "Misery" (Made me think of Dipper when he got upset)

Stellastarr* - "Sweet Troubled Soul"

The Rare Occasions - "Alone"