At the forest horizon, the sun had just finished setting from the day. The sky slowly dimmed as the faded orange hues of the barely cloudy sky turned dark purple with little light pollution to hide the glistening stars of the Milky Way that filled the darkness above. Alongside the usual night ambiance of hooting owls, chirping crickets, and howling wolves was the crackling of a campfire in the yard just outside the Mystery Shack.
Well... what was still left of it, that was.
As a result of all the preceding events of the day, the Mystery Shack was all but the result of a demolition project. The wall that had been broken down right beside the back porch entrance was minuscule compared to the giant hole that tore upward through the middle of the entire house. While some rooms remained almost perfectly intact, others had been completely vaporized such as the office, the bathroom, the storage room, the parlor, much of the attic, and only parts of the living room, gift shop, and museum. There was no salvaging anything caught in the beam's way. It had vaporized everything that it touched.
Luckily, despite the extreme damages, it still could've been a lot worse.
Abuelita was safe, for starters. Upon emerging from the basement, Soos discovered that she had slept throughout the entire fight with Bill and his resulting defeat, and she escaped with her life by sleeping in the section of the living room that just so happened to go untouched by the giant energy beam. When she had woken up, she looked at the damages completely unsurprised before just pulling out the broom and getting to work sweeping things up. Soos then asked if she was okay. She didn't answer.
Waddles was also alright, as Mabel ordered him to remain with Abuelita. As terrified as he was when the beam hit, seeing Mabel again when she came back up was an immediate relief to him. And knowing he was alright was just as much a relief to her.
Additionally, Dipper and Mabel's bedroom mostly went unscathed. It was barely touched by the beam, with the real damage coming from the roof collapsing. While still bad, at least most of their personal belongings remained intact, such as Mabel's wardrobe and Dipper's journal. And while the gift shop and museum were slightly touched by the beam, a lot of the attractions and merchandise survived, which meant there wouldn't be too much of a delay in getting back to business once repairs were made.
And A LOT of repairs would need to be made.
But that was a worry to be saved for the next morning. Given the events that had transpired over the last twelve hours, nobody was in a rush to do anything at that moment. Apart from Abuelita, who continued to do cleaning around the parts of the Shack that weren't totally destroyed.
Unfortunately, the only main casualty of the whole operation was Berry the Snacken. She had succumbed to her wounds shortly after Bill dropped her. Amidst the commotion following Bill's defeat, her lifeless body went unnoticed for a while until she was discovered by Ford, who broke the news to the others soon after. It was a deeply saddening discovery to him considering he obtained her off Glass Shard Beach earlier in the month, and she barely had much opportunity to grow or live a full complete life. As such, he chose to honor her by hosting a burial ceremony by a forest pond near the Shack with the family, Soos, and Melody in attendance.
Of course, Mabel was heartbroken too. She blamed herself for letting Berry jump at Bill in the first place, even if it was to buy them time. However, Ford comforted her with the idea that Berry would've done it anyway if given the chance herself, thinking back to all the times she attacked Stan due to sensing Bill's presence in his mind. Mabel felt this didn't absolve her of what she had done, but the thought did help a bit.
Following the brief ceremony, Dipper, Mabel, Stan, Ford, Soos, and Melody eventually gathered together by a campfire lit just outside the Shack. There, they had a bag of marshmallows, which each of them calmly roasted together.
Jaded, Dipper stared at the campfire. He held his marshmallow over it with a long stick as he let out a sigh. "I gotta say- after everything that's happened, ending the day with roasting marshmallows feels kind of…"
"Mundane?" Ford suggested, feeling just as jaded.
"I was going to say empty, but I guess that kind of works too."
"Yeah, I mean we saw Bill come back and get destroyed, ran through an underground monster market, said goodbye to Wendy, and had a funeral for Berry all in one day," Mabel tiredly listed before chomping on her roasted marshmallow. "I mean, surely we broke a record or something there," she sputtered with a full mouth.
Of course, the mere reminder of Wendy was enough to take Dipper back to when she was still in town. "Man, not having Wendy around regularly anymore is gonna take getting used to."
"For real," Soos nodded, glumly staring at his roasted marshmallow. "I'm glad we still have you guys though. Whatever might be ahead of us this summer, as long as I got you dudes by my side, I think things are gonna be okay."
"Gee, thanks, Soos," Dipper said with an appreciative smile.
"Yeah, thanks, Soos," Mabel nodded. "Kind of makes me wonder now just what we have left to deal with this summer. I mean, we've done so much, and it's only been one month. Who knows what we have left ahead of us?"
"Honestly, I was kinda hoping for a bit more of a normal summer now, but knowing you kids, that's already been out of the question," Stan said somewhat apathetically.
"You know us all too well, Grunkle Stan," Mabel said endearingly.
"I mean, I guess now that all this Bill stuff is finally out of the way, we can go back to focusing on having normal summer adventures," Dipper thought aloud. "Or whatever counts as 'normal' for us."
"It'll surely be nice to go back to the usual around here," Ford agreed.
"Yeah, it feels like we've only been focused on this whole Bill thing since we arrived," Stan said as he thought about it.
"Though, I've been meaning to ask…" Soos interjected. "Does anyone else feel like defeating Bill was kinda… I don't know… easy?"
"Honestly, yeah," Dipper nodded, not even having to think too hard about it.
"Yeah, like, for as happy as I am about stopping him, I feel like I also expected a bit more from the guy," Mabel said.
"Well, Bill was out of his element," Ford began. "I mean, a being of chaos having to work without chaotic powers? He was bound to struggle. His entire demeanor thrives on those powers. To have almost none of them at his dispersal meant having to fight back in a way he wasn't used to."
"Yeah, but for all the threats the guy made, you would think he would know that all he really had to do was kill any one of us so that the prophecy couldn't work," Stan said.
"As Bill has shown on numerous occasions, knowing a lot doesn't necessarily equate to high intelligence. His hubris was his Achilles' heel. And it seems to have led him back to square one yet again."
"Oh well. Sucks to suck," Mabel carelessly remarked. "Goodbye and good riddance."
"And so I'm guessing now, you're going to be spending a lot of time in the basement trying to get rid of the statue?" Dipper asked, looking over at Ford.
"Pfft, are you kidding?" he asked. "Now that Bill's out of the way, your uncle Stan and I can finally get to what we've been wanting to do since we got back this summer. And that's spending time with you kids."
"Aww, Grunkle Ford!" Mabel said, looking at her great-uncles fondly.
"Yes! I can't wait!" Soos excitedly chimed in, despite Ford's words not being necessarily directed at him.
Dipper wasn't as immediately excited though. "I mean, that sounds great, but what about Bill?"
"Of course I'm gonna spend time figuring out how to destroy him without releasing him again, but that'll be to the side," Ford cleared up. "He's encased in stone again, and there's no trace of him existing in anyone else's mind to try and force any of us to shake his hand again. So as things are, there really isn't a need to rush getting rid of him. We've already spent enough of our time worrying about Bill. There are still other anomalies in Gravity Falls to find and uncover." He smiled suggestively. "I say it's about time we get back to what we had originally envisioned doing this summer and go out looking for them."
Dipper's eyes widened. Now, he was excited. "Oh, man… you have no idea how ready I am to really get in the field…"
Ford chuckled. "Just a bit more patience, my boy. After everything today, now we gotta wait until the Shack is back in order again."
Dipper looked over his shoulder toward the disheveled Mystery Shack, remembering its state of devastation. "Oh… right."
"Yep. Say goodbye to air conditioning for a few days," Stan said, already not looking forward to the pools of sweat he'll wake up in for the mornings to come.
"Yeah, the bank is definitely not gonna be too happy about this amount of property damage," Melody mentioned.
Mabel gasped as she suddenly remembered something. "The bank! That's right, Dipper! We can also get back to hunting down that creep who used Mr. Nessman to try and buy out the Shack!"
Dipper's eyes lit up at this realization. "You're right! Man… I totally forgot about Nessman. We still need to find out who he was working for." He blew air out his mouth as he thought about the things they would have to do in the weeks ahead. "Next month's gonna get pretty busy…"
"Not to mention how Melody and I still got our fist-pumping wedding on the way," Soos reminded them. "Now that's gonna be a jam!"
"Oh my gosh…" Mabel said, putting her hands on her face as she realized just how much they truly had ahead of them. "We really got a lot on our plate still, don't we?"
"Yeah, we do," Dipper nodded, feeling just as overwhelmed. "I don't even know where we're gonna begin."
Stan glanced back at the campfire. "Eh, why worry about it now?" he asked with a relaxed smirk. "C'mon, let's just enjoy the night. The future ain't going anywhere."
Mabel gave an agreeable smile. "Grunkle Stan's right. It's been a long day. Let's just enjoy a taste of normalcy for once!"
"Yeah! In fact, who bets I can shove the rest of this giant bag of giant marshmallows in my mouth at once?" Soos asked as he picked up the bag and held it out in front of everyone.
"I do!" Mabel instantly raised her hand.
"You're on," Dipper said daringly.
"That is scientifically impossible," Ford said bluntly.
"In that case, I'm gonna bet ten… no, no… twenty bucks that you can't do it," Stan wagered.
"Deal!" Soos accepted. "I'm gonna try to beat my record!" He ripped further into the open bag and dug straight in, filling giant marshmallows into his mouth one by one at a speedy pace.
"Soos! Soos! Soos!" Dipper and Mabel chanted as they threw their fists up and down repeatedly.
Melody, having seen the result of this game before, stood up from the log. "I'll go get the bucket," she said as she walked off toward the Shack.
"Can you go get a psychiatrist while you're at it? For me?" Stan asked, looking on at Soos overstuffing marshmallows into his mouth with growing disgust.
"Okay, the human mouth is not capable of stretching itself that widely," Ford said while studying Soos' abilities. "I have no idea how he's doing this."
"What? Ford, I bet twenty bucks on this!"
Mabel chuckled with great amusement. "Ah, man. If Wendy were here right now, she would be loving this!"
"Yeah, she would," Dipper nodded. "Hopefully she hasn't run into any trouble driving to Portland."
About an hour into her drive from Gravity Falls, Wendy kept a steady momentum on the road ahead of her. As to be expected with nightfall, the route had darkened. Driving on a long, straight road that traveled between a divided forest section with occasional streetlights was not the most relaxing experience. The fact there didn't seem to be any other cars nearby for miles, she felt alone.
Alone. Driving at night. In the middle of nowhere. Next to dark forests where anything could pop out. Yeah, not the most fulfilling start to an independent life.
Thump.
What the hell was that? she thought to herself.
She felt a brief shake that startled her slightly. Her eyes were kept focused on the road, so she knew for a fact she did not run over anything. Not letting it disturb her too much, she just kept driving as though it didn't happen.
However, she started to feel a new vibration as she drove. At the same time, there was a flapping noise that seemed to follow her.
She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me."
With a slow, easy brake, she pulled over to the side of the road and came to a stop. Getting out of the car, she walked over to the other side of it. Sure enough, there it was. Her right front tire had gone flat. She knew how to replace a flat tire, but unluckily, she didn't have a spare in her possession.
All while she was alone. At night. In the middle of nowhere. Next to dark forests where anything could pop out.
She sighed. "Great, man. Just great. Can't catch a break today, can I?"
She was already an hour out from Gravity Falls and presumably forty-five minutes past the last rest stop she had seen. Having looked ahead at the route she was taking, she knew this would be a mostly barren drive for the first few hours at least. The nearest stop couldn't have been close.
There was a momentary ponder of what to do. She pulled out her phone and somehow, it had a bit of reception. She considered calling her dad but contacting him an hour after her departure to tell him she had gotten stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire just felt like unwanted drama. Plus, she knew it would be at least an hour waiting for him to help. So, while she wasn't crossing him off, he was not gonna be her first option.
Instead, she walked back over to her car seat and reached for the glove compartment. Inside, there was a manual that she grabbed and flipped open. Finding the page she needed, she quickly made use of her reception and dialed a number before throwing the manual back over to the side. To try and maintain the reception as best she could, she stepped away from the car, standing out in the middle of the road as she tried not to think about the dark forests that surrounded her.
After a minute of ringing, she shockingly heard a voice on the other end.
"Hello? Hi, uh yeah, this is kind of awkward, but I'm calling in about a flat I just got on one of my front tires. I don't have a spare or anything to patch it up, and I don't think I'm near a repair place or… really anything for the next couple of miles at least…" She stood silently for a second as she listened to their response. "Yeah, I think I'm about fifty miles just north of-"
Turning back to her car, she suddenly froze. Staring right at her front right tire, she noticed that the flat was suddenly gone. The tire was perfectly rounded and pristine. In fact, it had been completely replaced.
"...the hell?"
She walked up to it to get a better look at it. Looking at it from every angle she could, there was no sign of a puncture or anything that could affect the tire. She studied it multiple times just to ensure she wasn't going crazy. But it was, in fact, legitimately okay.
Despite being confused out of her mind, she had no choice but to just accept it. "Uh… never mind, actually…" she spoke into the phone before hanging up.
Looking around at the dark forests surrounding the road, she could only assume that something had done this. Coming from Gravity Falls, she knew there was weird stuff living out there. It was infinitely possible that this could've been the work of some supernatural creature that might've been watching her right at that moment.
"Yo! Is someone out there?" she called out into the forest. "Like... a tire wizard or something?"
There was no response to her whatsoever. Not that she expected a response. In fact, given how dark it was and how alone she was, she realized that she preferred no response. Anything popping out of nowhere to greet her would've spooked her more than anything else.
Still, a part of her glanced around somewhat curiously. "Uh… well, if there's anything out there… or anyone… that did this… thanks. Really."
Yet again, there was no response. No noise. No light. Absolutely no sign of anything contacting back to her.
She scratched her head. "Maybe being a statue messed me up more than I thought."
Deciding not to think about it much longer, she walked back to the driver's seat and got back inside, closing the door behind her. Starting the car again, she stared out the window in continued surprise that her tire had somehow been fixed. It was either that or she was going crazy, and honestly, she had no idea which was more possible at that point. For all she knew, maybe she was just starting to get tired.
Whatever the case may have been, all that mattered was that she was good to go. As such, she put the car back in drive and continued down the long road ahead again.
As she drove, Valora Corduroy looked from above as she stood on a branch within a tree. She spectated her daughter through the shiny blue visor of her matte white helmet, carefully watching her from a distance. As Wendy drove out of her sight, she smiled proudly beneath her helmet. With a nod of her head, she then pressed a button on her wrist before letting herself fall backward out of the tree.
Right before touching the ground, she warped away with a VYOOM and a brief flash of light that startled any nearby forest animals. Wendy was left to her own once more.
But then again, she would never truly be alone.
WKH WLPH ZDU DSSURDFKHV
And that concludes Season One, otherwise known as the month of June.
It took me nearly three years from starting the story to get to this point. I hoped that it would've taken me far less time to get here, but at least I can comfortably say now that a portion of the story I wanted to tell is concluded.
As for you guys, the readers, if you are satisfied with the story as is at this point, then this may be the best place to hop off because while there will be more, I can't guarantee it'll all come out in a timely manner. I imagine there might be more delays and such that may hold off concluding the next season for another few years if I'm still dedicated to this. I truly don't know.
But if you decide to stick with this story regardless, know that I wholeheartedly appreciate it. Regardless of whether you've been a long-time reader or just caught up on the whole story a few nights ago, thank you for reading. It means a lot to see the support that this fic has gained over time. Every review, every message of interest, it's always exciting to see investment in what I have to offer. And I know it's just a fanfic, but these are things we writers take seriously, dang it. Just let me be happy and express my gratitude to you folks.
Without spoiling anything specifically, here are vague hints of what to expect in the next half-season (in no particular order):
- New antagonists
- Bonding between two infrequently interacting family members
- Blossoming romance
- Major OC development and history
- The return of a major series character who hasn't even been mentioned in the story yet
- Rock band references
- Soos
- Lots and lots of hair
- Interdimensional chaos
I'm gonna leave things at that though. Thank you all for reading up to this point once again. Until next time.
-Absolute Rift
(Chapter updated as of March 26, 2024)