The twins excitedly got on the bus, talking happily.
"Finally! The school year's over. I can't wait to go see grunkle Ford. I have so much I wanna talk about." Dipper said with enthusiasm.
"Come on Waddles!" Mable cradled the pig in her arms.
The bus driver hesitated. "I'm not sure pets are allowed-"
The girl stared at the man, a deathly serious expression on her face.
"I-I could be wrong." it was clear he wasn't paid enough for this.
The girl immediately changed her expression back to a cheerful smile. The two picked their seats, sitting towards the back.
"Bus seat treasure hunt!" Mabel declared, promptly searching under her seat. Dipper felt a little repulsed.
The girl quickly shot back up, holding something small and shiny. "Look, I found a paper clip!"
"Ugh, Mabel, put that down. You don't know where that's been."
Just to spite her brother, Mabel promptly licked it.
"Mabel!" Dipper grabbed the paper clip, throwing it out the window.
"Noooo, my treasureeeee!" Mabel half joked, half complained.
"Mabel. Mabel, wake up. We're here."
Mabel drearily opened her eyes. "We are?"
"Yes, I just said that. Come on."
Dipper helped his sister out of the bus, Waddles following close behind.
Sure enough, their two great uncles were waiting for them.
"Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Ford!" The two said in almost unison as they ran to them.
"Hey kids!" Stan stumbled back slightly, not expecting the kids to be so tall. It had been less than a year since he'd seen them, and the differences in appearance they had accumulated was clearly tripping him out.
Mabel grinned, showing off her teeth, which no longer had braces.
Stan was really weirded out now. "Woah. That might take a while to get used to."
"I'm still not used to it." Dipper said, half-concerned and half-joking. "It's been a month."
Ford changed the subject. "What do you say we head to the mystery shack, eh kids?"
"YES!" Mabel screamed, pulling out her grappling hook.
"Wait, Mabel, you're not-" Ford started.
"She is." Dipper said matter-of-factly. "She's been training all year."
"Race ya there!" The reckless child aimed the hook at the nearest tree, and fired. She tumbled into the tree.
"Mabel! No fair!" Dipper raced after his twin.
Ford chuckled. "I guess we better head back too."
Stan began running. "Race ya there!"
Ford stammered for a second. "W-hey! Wait!" He began to chase after his own twin.
Mabel stumbled into the mystery shack, completely exhausted. Her and her twin had spent all day racing around, meeting up with their friends. Mabel quickly brushed the sticks out of her hair, sending them clattering to the floor. She threw one at the light, shattering the bulb. Then she fell face-first into bed.
"Goodnight Ma-"
That's all she heard. She was asleep almost instantly.
"Hello Mabel." A voice came from behind her, making her jump. "Aaah! Demon!"
"Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you." A shadowy figure was standing there. It didn't look friendly, but the voice was oddly soothing.
The figure continued. "Listen, you and Dipper are in danger." They paused. "Well, all of Gravity Falls is."
"Wha-what do you mean? We took care of Bill, we're all used to the other weird crap that goes on here, we're not in danger." She laughed slightly while speaking.
"I'm serious." The figure's eyes flashed a vibrant purple, and Mabel quieted.
The figure continued. "You don't understand. There are a lot of people after you and Dipper."
"Why would they want us?" Mabel was rightfully confused.
"That doesn't matter." The voice was so soothing. "What matters is that I can help. I can make a deal with you, for your protection. All I need is your cooperation."
Mabel shook her head. "No thanks. Last time one of us shook hands with a shady person, he got possessed and had to be a sock puppet."
The figure laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not like Bill. I don't do that."
Mabel felt like she shouldn't trust them, but then again…
Their voice…
It was so…calming. So trustworthy.
The figure smiled sweetly, reaching out their hand, which was softly glowing purple.
Instinctively, Mabel reached her hand out as well.
Before she knew what was going on, she shook the figure's hand.
They smiled. "So it's a deal then."
And then she woke up.
Mabel rubbed her eyes sleepily. What a strange dream. It wasn't like the dreams she normally had, which were usually either completely random and wacky or the occasional nightmare, usually about Weirdmaggedon.
She gently threw herself out of bed, heading down the hall to get a drink of water. It was dark, and she could barely see where everything was. She stumbled into the bathroom, clutching the edge of the counter for balance. She flicked the light switch, illuminating the room.
She grabbed the cup at the edge of the sink, fumbling for a moment. She blinked, still half-asleep.
She turned the faucet on, watching with mild awe as the cup slowly filled with water. She chugged the entire cup in one gulp.
She yawned. She felt like she should return to the bedroom, but her legs felt too weak. She was completely drained of all energy.
She laid down on the bathroom floor, closing her eyes. She could fall asleep right there.
Sure enough, she was asleep in no time.
"Well, you're up early." Stan was surprised to see his great niece up making pancakes at six A.M.
"Oh! I just felt like making breakfast. Besides, I couldn't sleep." Something felt off about her, but Stan couldn't figure out what.
The girl hopped off the counter, plating the pancakes. They smelled delicious, Stan had to admit.
"Here you go!" The girl said cheerfully.
Ford came into the room, looking concerned. "I started picking up strange readings last night, do you know anything about that? And those pancakes smell really good, by the way."
"Thanks!" Mabel said. She seemed to be hiding distress, which concerned Stan.
Why would she be distressed about the strange readings? Did she know something about them?
The small device Ford was holding beeped, startling the girl. Stan jumped at the sound.
"The reading's stronger here." Ford looked really worried now.
Mabel walked up to the device, and promptly licked it. The readings went frantic.
"That might be why." Mabel said simply.
Ford pulled the device back. "Don't do that! It could electrocute you!"
Stan looked at the girl in confusion. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. Just feeling a little weird." Mabel smiled at the old man.
Stan really felt like something was off.
"...Well, I'm gonna open the shop. See ya!" Stan quickly left the room, panic seeping through him.
What the heck was going on?
Dipper walked into the kitchen to find Mabel on the floor.
Dipper looked down at his sister. "Uhh, Mabel? Everything okay?"
Mabel looked at Dipper. She looked like she just woke up. "Oh hey Dipper. Why does it smell like pancakes?"
Ford turned around, looking at her. "I thought you made them."
"I did?"
Dipper felt concern throughout him. His sister wasn't normally like this. "Mabel, are you okay?"
"Yep! All good!" She promptly began rolling around on the floor.
Dipper sighed.
The first few days were relatively normal, which was surprising considering where they were. No crazy boyfriends, no weird adventures. Mabel continued to act strange at times, doing things she didn't remember. Organizing things, taking walks, research. It wasn't like her to research.
"Come on, grappling hook!" Mabel shouting, launching the hook into a tree. She aimed slightly too low, slamming into the tree.
"Ooh, Mabel, you good?" Dipper winced for his sister.
"I'm okay!" She yelled, sliding down the tall trunk.
The world seemed to freeze around them for a moment. Birds froze in midair, squirrels stopped moving, even the wind seemed to stop blowing.
It only lasted a moment. The world returned to normal after only a few seconds. Mabel whispered something under her breath, but Dipper couldn't hear what.
Mabel stood up, still looking down.
"Uhh, Mabel?"
The girl turned to look her brother in the eye.
"We need to talk."