After reading Cowboy Alchemist's take on Gravity Falls with his OC, I decided to do my own take with an OC.

While my past big fanfics were split into multiple parts, I've decided it's time for a change. This fic, and other big fics in the future, are gonna be just one big part instead of multiple small ones.

My planned pairings:

Dipper X Pacifica. Mabel X OC. (Both later in the story.)

Gravity Falls belongs to Alex Hirsch.

OC belongs to me.

Ah, Summer Break. A time for leisure, recreation, and taking it easy…

Unless you happen to be a certain pair.

Two kids, a brother and a sister, were currently riding a golf cart to avoid the monster behind them.

"It's getting closer!" the girl screamed.

"No shit, Mabel!" the boy yelled.

"Dipper, language!" the girl scolded before gaining the urge to puke.

The boy's name was Dipper. He had short brown hair. He was wearing a red T-shirt, a blue jacket, and gray shorts. He wore a brown hat with a star on it.

The girl was his twin sister, Mabel. She had very long hair that went down to her back. She was wearing a pink sweater with a shooting star, and blue shorts.

You may be wondering what they're doing in a golf cart fleeing from a creature of unimaginable horror. Rest assured, there's a perfectly logical explanation.

Play Gravity Falls Intro Music

A bus stops in the small town of Gravity Falls. Dipper and Mabel get off the bus. In front of them is the town's star attraction, The Mystery Shack. Their great-uncle, Stan, invites them inside.

The twins look around the shack. They're both curious about everything.

Later, the Pines investigate a strange footprint with four toes instead of five. None of them realize they're standing in a much larger footprint.

DIPPER

Dipper looks around a cave holding a candle for light. He comes across a strange skeleton that scares him. He drops his candle, getting rid of his only source of light.

MABEL

Mabel stands in a room wearing a purple sweater with stars, her name, and a rainbow. She plugs an outlet into her sweater, causing it to glow.

STAN

Stan tells the twins, Wendy, and Soos a scary story. Soos and the twins are terrified while Wendy is completely unfazed. However, none of them notice the scary creature behind them.

WENDY

Wendy sits in front of the cash register, minding her own business. She doesn't notice the nearby jar of eyeballs turning to face her.

SOOS

Soos spins around the living room wearing multiple jewels on his clothes. Mabel shines a flashlight, and the light reflects off of the jewels creating a beautiful lightshow.

Dipper and Mabel lay in their room. Mabel reads a girl magazine while laying on the floor. Dipper reads a journal while laying on his bed. After a second, everyone and everything begins to float off the ground. Dipper is the only one who notices something off.

End Intro

One Cruel Summer

Chapter 1

Tourist Trapped

Flashback

It all began when their parents decided the twins could use some fresh air. Dipper and Mabel were shipped up north to a sleepy town in Oregon called Gravity Falls to stay at their great-uncle's place in the woods.

Mabel was always one to look on the bright side, but Dipper was having a hard time getting used to their new surroundings.

And then there was their great-uncle Stanford. He had transformed his house into a tourist trap he called The Mystery Shack. The real mystery was why anyone came.

And guess who had to work there.

It looked like it was gonna be the same boring routine all summer, until one fateful day.

Mabel watched from behind the shelf as an unsuspecting guy found her note. He read it aloud.

Do you like me?

Yes

Definitely

ABSOLUTELY

"I rigged it," she said to herself.

"Mabel, I get you're going through your 'Boy Crazy' phase, but do you seriously have to flirt with every guy you meet?" asked Dipper.

"Mock all you want, brother," Mabel replied. "But I got a good feeling about this summer. I wouldn't be surprised if the man of my dreams walked through that door right now."

Right as she said that, Stan walked through that door letting out a massive burp.

"Oh, why?" Mabel asked herself.

Dipper couldn't help but chuckle at Mabel's misfortune.

"Alright, look alive, people," Stan announced. "I need someone to go hammer up these signs in the spooky part of the forest."

"Not it," Dipper and Mabel said in unison.

A twenty-year-old fat man wearing a green hat and shirt was drilling a shelf onto the wall when he heard the conversation.

"Also not it," he said.

"No one asked you, Soos," Stan berated.

"I know, and I'm comfortable with that," the man, Soos, replied before eating a chocolate bar.

Stan then turned to the red-headed teenaged girl at the cash register.

"Wendy, I need you to put up these signs!" he called.

"I would, but I can't reach it," the girl, Wendy, said as she pretended to reach the signs.

"I'd fire you all if I could. Alright, let's make it eeny-meeny-miney… you." Stan pointed at Dipper.

"Why me?" asked Dipper. "I swear whenever I'm in those woods, somebody's watching me. Last night, my mosquito bite spelled 'BEWARE'."

Dipper showed his mosquito bite.

"That spells 'BEWARB'," Stan corrected. Dipper looked at the bite and realized Stan was right. "Look kid, the whole 'monsters in the forest' thing is just local legend drummed up by guys like me to sell merch to guys like that." Stan gestured to a customer who seemed to be obsessing over a Stan bobblehead. He then tossed Dipper the sign. "So quit being paranoid!"

Dipper sighed. He knew there was no reasoning with this guy.

Dipper walked out of the house. He started hammering nails into trees to hang the signs.

After a while, Dipper heard a metal clunk coming from the tree. This made him curious.

He rubbed his hand on the tree. It didn't feel like wood. It felt like metal.

He wound up opening a secret hatch. He noticed a couple of switches on a panel. He opened it out of curiosity.

When he turned around, a secret door opened on the floor. Inside contained a strange book covered in dust and cobwebs.

Dipper picked up the book and blew the dust off. The book had a red cover, with a gold, six-fingered hand in the middle. The number three was marked on the hand.

Dipper opened the book. It said, "Property of…" But the name was torn out.

He turned to the first page and read aloud…

"It's hard to believe it's been six years since I began studying the strange and wondrous secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon."

As Dipper turned the pages, more and more strange things appeared.

Floating eyes.

Gnomes.

"What is all this?" Dipper asked himself.

He then read the next page.

'Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed. I'm being watched. I must hide this book before he finds it.

Remember, in Gravity Falls, there is no one you can trust.

TRUST NO ONE!'

"HELLO!" a voice shouted.

Dipper quickly turned around, terrified. Fortunately, it was just Mabel. Not a real threat.

"Hi," he greeted back.

"Whatcha got there?"

"Nothing."

"'Nothing'," Mabel imitated Dipper's voice, before going back to her normal one. "Are you really not gonna show me?"

"Let's go somewhere private."

In the Mystery Shack, Dipper showed Mabel the journal.

"Grunkle Stan says I'm paranoid," he explained. "But according to this book, Gravity Falls has a secret dark side, and get this. After a certain point, the pages just stop. It's like the guy who was writing it mysteriously disappeared." Dipper's thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. "Who could that be?"

"Well, time to spill the beans," Mabel replied.

She knocked over an empty can of beans.

The twins walked to the front door.

A customer was looking through the gift shop, looking for something to buy. That's when he saw Mabel. He smiled a nervous smile as he walked over to her.

"This girl's got a date!" Mabel shouted aloud.

The boy walked away sadly.

"Hold on," said Dipper. "In the half hour I was gone, you already found a boyfriend?"

"What can I say?" asked Mabel. "I guess I'm just irresistible." Mabel opened the door. "Say hello to my new boyfriend!"

An older boy was at the front door. He was wearing a black jacket and pants. He had long hair covering an eye. He had a blood stain on his right cheek.

"'Sup?" the boy greeted.

"Hi," Dipper replied nervously.

"We met at the cemetery," Mabel explained. "He's really deep."

"So, what's your name?" asked Dipper.

"Normal… Man," the man introduced himself.

"He means 'Norman'," Mabel corrected as she hugged her new boyfriend's muscle.

That wasn't enough to convince Dipper this guy was a normal man. It didn't help that the guy had blood on his cheek.

"Is that blood?" he asked.

"It's jam!" Norman corrected defensively.

"I love jam!" Mabel yelled. "Look at this!"

"So, you wanna go hold hands or… whatever?" Norman asked.

"Oh my goodness. Don't wait up."

Mabel ran off. Norman went after her, but not before running into the wall. His walk was also really weird.

This didn't sit well for Dipper. He decided to consult the journal.

Dipper sat in his room and read a page in the journal. A page that talked about zombies.

'Known for their pale skin and bad attitudes, these creatures are often mistaken for teenagers.'

Dipper gasped after he read that.

He looked out the window to see Norman approach Mabel. He had his arms out like a zombie coming for brains. He also walked very slowly.

Norman grabbed Mabel as if about to eat her brains. Dipper closed his eyes. He couldn't watch.

Then he heard Mabel laughing. When he opened his eyes, he saw Mabel smiling and wearing a flower necklace.

"Is my sister really dating a zombie?" he asked himself aloud. "Or am I just going crazy?"

"It's a dilemma to be sure," said a voice from behind. Dipper turned around to see Soos screwing a light bulb. "I couldn't help but overhear you talking aloud to yourself in this empty room."

"Soos, you've seen Mabel's boyfriend," said Dipper. "He's gotta be a zombie, right?"

"How many brains did you see the guy eat?"

"Zero."

"Dude, I believe you. I'm always seeing weird stuff in this town, like the mailman. Pretty sure that dude's a werewolf, but you have to have evidence, otherwise, they'll think you're crazy."

"As always, Soos, you're right."

"My wisdom is both a blessing and a curse."

"Soos!" called Stan's voice. "The portable toilets are clogged again!"

Soos moved his hat sideways. "I am needed elsewhere."

Soos walked backwards out of the room. He ended up tripping down the stairs.

"Soos, are you okay?" Dipper shouted.

"I'm fine, dude!" came Soos' voice.

Dipper sighed in relief. He then got back on track. Mabel could be in trouble. It was time to get some evidence.

Dipper recorded as Mabel tried to play frisbee with Norman. The disc hit Norman's head. He fell to the ground.

Later, Dipper watched as Norman punched the glass of a door, breaking it. He then opened the door from the other side. The two entered the diner and walked by. Dipper hid his face in a menu to avoid looking suspicious. He noticed Norman struggling to keep his balance.

Not long after, Dipper recorded as Mabel and Norman were running down the graveyard together. Norman tripped and fell into a grave. He climbed out of it exactly like a zombie would.

Dipper had seen enough.

Dipper entered his and Mabel's room when she came back from her date.

"Mabel, we've gotta talk about Norman," he said.

"Isn't he the best?" Mabel asked. "Check out this giant smooch mark he gave me!"

Mabel showed her smooch mark. It was gigantic alright. It looked more like a bite mark than anything.

"Gullible," Mabel laughed. "It was just an accident with the leaf blower. That was fun."

Dipper wondered what Mabel would even be doing with a leaf blower. Then again, knowing Mabel, it probably wasn't good.

"Mabel, listen," he said, getting back on track. "I'm trying to tell you that Norman is not what he seems."

Mabel gasped. "You think he might be a vampire? That would be awesome."

"Guess again, sister."

Dipper turned to the page he was looking for… or so he thought. He accidentally turned to the page about gnomes. He quickly turned to the correct page. The one about zombies.

"A zombie?" asked Mabel. "That's not funny, Dipper."

"I'm not joking," Dipper argued. "It all adds up. The blood, the limping, he never blinks. Have you noticed that?"

"Maybe he's blinking when you're blinking."

"That's next to impossible." Dipper and Mabel blinked at the same time, right as he said that. "Mabel, remember what the book said about Gravity Falls? 'Trust no one'."

"What about me? Can't you trust me?"

"Mabel, he's gonna eat your brain!"

"Dipper, listen to me! Norman and I are going on a date at five, and I'm gonna be adorable, and he's gonna be dreamy!" Mabel pushed Dipper out the door. "And I'm not gonna let you ruin it with your crazy conspiracies!" Mabel slammed the door in Dipper's face after she finished her sentence.

At five, Norman showed up for the date. Dipper watched as Mabel left the shack to go on her date. He then rewatched his recordings.

"Maybe Stan's right," he told himself. "Maybe I am being…"

That's when Dipper noticed something he didn't before.

In the video, Norman's hand popped off. He quickly picked it up and re-attached it before Mabel could notice.

Dipper screamed and fell off the chair.

"Shit! I was right!" he shouted.

He quickly ran into the gift shop. He saw Wendy sitting at the cash register, leaning her stool back.

"Wendy!" he called.

Wendy jolted up as if she just woke up from a nightmare.

"Hey, what? What's…" she asked before noticing it was just Dipper. She sighed. "Oh, hey Dipper."

"I'm so sorry," Dipper apologized. "I didn't realize you were on your break."

"Dude, would I waste time sleeping if I were on my break? Now what do you need?"

"I need to borrow the golf cart so I can save my sister from a zombie!" Dipper shouted. "I know I sound crazy but it's the truth!"

Wendy sighed. "Believe it or not, I've heard worse." She tossed Dipper the keys to the cart. "Now leave me alone, I'm working here."

Wendy was about to fall back asleep when…

"WENDY, DID YOU FALL ASLEEP ON THE JOB AGAIN?!" came Stan's voice.

"NO I DIDN'T!" Wendy yelled. She then turned to Dipper.

Dipper pretended to zip his lips and throw away the key.

Dipper quickly got on the cart, started the engine, and backed out. He was stopped by Soos.

"Hey, it's Soos," he said as he handed Dipper a shovel. "This is for the zombies."

"Thanks, Soos," Dipper thanked as he took the shovel.

With that, Dipper drove away from the shack.

After driving for a while, Dipper heard Mabel screaming.

"Don't worry, sis!" he shouted. "I'll save you!"

Dipper followed the sounds of Mabel's screams to a strange cave. He saw Mabel fighting a bunch of gnomes.

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked.

"Dipper!" Mabel called. "Norman turned out to be a bunch of gnomes, and they're total jerks!"

Dipper was shocked to know he was way off. He then got back on track and turned to the page about gnomes.

'Gnomes. Little men of the Gravity Falls forest. Weaknesses: Unknown.'

Dipper looked up to see Mabel tied to the ground.

"Give me back my sister!" Dipper demanded.

"This is a big misunderstanding," said one of the gnomes. "She's not in danger. She's just gonna marry all one thousand of us and become our queen for all eternity."

"You guys are buttholes!" Mabel screamed before other gnomes covered her mouth.

"You think you can stop us boy?" said the gnome. "You have no idea what we're capable of. The gnomes are a powerful race! Do not trifle with…"

Before he could finish, Dipper whacked the gnome in the head with his shovel.

"Go to hell, you piece of shit," he muttered.

Dipper then used the shovel to cut Mabel free.

The twins quickly got onto the golf cart. Dipper started the engine and backed out.

Once they were far enough away, Dipper stopped to breathe.

"What are you doing?" asked Mabel. "They can show up at any second?"

"With those tiny legs?" Dipper retorted. "I'd like to see them try."

That's when they both felt the ground shake. They turned around to see a giant gnome monster coming from behind.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Dipper screamed as he sped away.

End of Flashback

So now we're caught up.

A couple of gnomes tried to board the cart.

Mabel punched one away.

Dipper grabbed another and hit it against the wheel.

Sadly, a third one grabbed Dipper's face and started scratching and biting it.

"I'll save you, Dipper!" Mabel shouted.

Mabel tried to punch the gnome off of Dipper. It took a few tries, but she got it. Sadly, the gnome took the hat with him.

"Thanks, Mabel," Dipper thanked.

"Don't mention it."

That's when the monster threw a tree at them. Dipper just narrowly drove past it.

The cart crashed right in front of the Mystery Shack.

The monster was right in front of them.

Dipper tried to throw his shovel. The monster just caught the shovel and threw it back. Dipper grabbed Mabel and narrowly jumped out of the way.

"Shit!" Dipper shouted.

"You gotta stop saying that," said Mabel.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, maybe…"

"It's over, kids!" the gnome at the top of the monster interrupted. "Mabel, marry us before we do something crazy!"

"There's gotta be a way out of this," Dipper said as he grabbed his journal.

"I gotta do it," said Mabel.

"What? Mabel, are you crazy?"

"Trust me. Just this once, trust me."

Given the situation, Dipper relented.

"Alright, Jeff," said Mabel. "I'll marry you."

"Hot dog," said the gnome as he climbed down.

Mabel got down on one knee and let Jeff give her a ring.

"You may now kiss the bride," she then said.

"Well, don't mind if I do."

Jeff leaned in for a kiss. Mabel leaned in as well…

And then grabbed a leaf blower. Jeff tried to escape the current, but it was too strong. He got sucked in.

"That's for lying to me!" Mabel shouted before she switched to reverse. "That's for breaking my heart!"

"Ow, my face," Jeff cried.

"And this is for messing with my brother!" Mabel finished. "Wanna do the honors?"

"On three," Dipper replied. "One, two, three!"

Dipper pulled the lever, causing the leaf blower to blow away. Jeff was sent flying towards the monster. When Jeff hit the monster, it lost balance. All the gnomes fell off of each other and onto the ground.

They all retreated before they could get some too.

Dipper was about to walk back inside.

"Hey, Dipper," Mabel called. "I'm sorry for ignoring your advice. You really were just looking out for me."

"Don't be like that," Dipper replied. "You saved our butts back there."

"I guess I'm just sad that my first boyfriend turned out to be a bunch of gnomes."

"Look on the bright side. Maybe the next one will be a vampire."

"You're just saying that." Mabel playfully punched Dipper's arm.

"Awkward sibling hug?"

"Awkward sibling hug."

The two twins hugged each other. They then patted each other's backs.

The two entered the shack.

"Yeesh, did you two get hit by a bus or something?" Stan asked before laughing at his own joke. The twins ignored him and headed for their room. "Hey, I accidentally overstocked some inventory, so how about each of you take one item from the gift shop on the house?"

Dipper may have only known Stan for a few days, but he could tell when Stan was up to something. "What's the catch?"

"The catch is do it before I change my mind."

Dipper looked around the shop. He noticed a blue and white hat with a pine tree on it. He tried it on. He looked at himself in the mirror. It looked great on him.

"That oughta do the trick," he said to himself.

He then turned to Mabel. She chose a grappling hook.

"Wouldn't you prefer a doll or sticker or something?" Dipper asked.

Mabel grappled up to the ceiling.

"Grappling hook!" she shouted.

"Fair enough," Stan decided.

Later that night, the twins were in their room minding their own business.

Mabel was jumping on her bed. Clearly she never listened to the nursery rhyme about the five monkeys and the bed.

Dipper laid on his bed and wrote in the journal.

'Finally back safe and sound from one of the weirdest days at Gravity Falls.

This journal told me there was no one in Gravity Falls I could trust.

But when you battle a hundred gnomes side-by-side with someone, you realize that they've probably always got your back."

Dipper watched as Mabel used her grappling hook to grab a nearby toy tiger.

"Hey Mabel, could you get the light?" he asked.

"On it," Mabel replied.

She fired her grapple at the lantern. She sent it flying out the window. Hey, at least the light was out. Dipper finished his entry.

Our uncle told us there was nothing strange about this town, but who knows what other secrets are waiting to be unlocked?'

Downstairs, Stan went to the vending machine. He typed a code. A secret door opened where the machine was.

Stan walked inside. He looked back one last time to make sure no one was around. When he confirmed the coast was clear, he walked inside.

A.N.

And so it begins.

Like I said before, I'm planning to pair Mabel with an OC. That boy that tried to talk to her before she introduced Norman is that character. We're going to learn more about him as the story progresses.

There were some other fun additions to this episode. My favorite was Dipper's interaction with Wendy. Before someone says that Wendy's mean attitude towards Dipper is out of character, just know that this scene is intentional. Wendy doesn't like Dipper at first, but as the story progresses, she's gonna grow to like him, as a friend to be specific.

Like I said at the top of this page, I'm planning to pair Dipper with Pacifica, not Wendy. While I feel Wendy being "too old" for Dipper is BS, (They're only three years apart. With that logic, Ferb and Vanessa from Phineas and Ferb shouldn't be dating, yet they are.) I also understand why Alex chose to make them just friends. This rejection helps Dipper grow into the person he becomes later on.

I titled this fic, "One Cruel Summer" because I didn't want the title to be as simple as, "Gravity Falls - Rewritten". This was the best I could come up with.

I don't plan to do every single episode. There are some episodes I feel are not worth rewriting. Roadside Attraction is definitely an unfortunate example. I don't hate that episode, but I see why so many people bash it.

Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks for reading. Please favorite, follow, and review.