Return to Gravity Falls (RtGF) - Prologue

It'd been 5 days since the accident; the memory was to be burned into the
minds of 13-year old Dipper and Mabel Pines for the rest of their lives. The
school here was drawing to a close, and they were preparing for their
middle-school graduation ceremony.

It'd been a harrowing year for the young brother and sister, their last year
before high school. Dipper and Mabel had few friends in their hometown of
Piedmont, California, for they'd always been considered… eccentric. Between
Dipper's love of mystery and science-fiction and his sister's bubbly personality
and colorful hand-knitted attire, the rest of the school could easily label them
has freaks and outcasts. Although, there was one place where they were not only
accepted for their eccentricity, but welcomed…

More than anything, they looked forward to their return to that place. But
first, they had to go through graduation; Dipper for one couldn't understand why
they were made to wear the usual getup with the cap and gown, or what they were
receiving diplomas for. They still had 5 more years of school to go before their
real graduation, and neither Dipper nor his sister felt as though
they'd accomplished much in the past 7 years of attending public school.

Their parents told them to just roll with it. Their mother and father-
Filbrick and Darlene Pines- were eager to see their children graduate and move
on to high school. Dipper remembered his mother, camera at the ready, eager to
capture every moment as she watched her babies take their next step on the path
to adulthood.

She would never get the chance.

Dipper and Mabel stood in line with the rest of their classmates, waiting for
their names to be called so they could receive their diplomas. The ceremony
began, and Mabel was the first to sense that something was wrong; she scanned
the auditorium… there was no sign of her mom or her dad in the rows of
seats.

She tugged on Dipper's sleeve and whispered to him; "Where are they?" When
Dipper raised a quizzical eyebrow, she mouthed the words "mom and dad". Dipper
looked around, and saw no sign of them. He looked back to his sister, and
shrugged.

Then, before either of their names could be called, a teacher came up onto
the stage, scooting around the back of the row of students. The twins didn't
notice her until she tapped Dipper on the shoulder, and asked him to come with
her, beckoning Mabel as well. Confused, they stepped out of line and followed
her out the back of the auditorium.

They were taken to the Principal's office, where they were told to take a
seat. Shortly after, Principal Hartman walked in- a tall, imposing man, balding
with a large grey mustache, and known for being very strict. The Pines twins
didn't like him; he was one of the staff who often told them to "just act
normal" when they complained about the bullying they endured each day.

He looked rather grim when he walked in, taking a seat at his desk, clasping
his hands together, and hanging his head.

"I'm not sure how to best tell you this, but, well… it's about your parents,"
he began.

"Mom and dad?" Mabel replied. "What about them? Where are they?"

The old man took a deep breath before he spoke. "Well… I'm afraid there's
been an accident."

Everything that came after was a blur. Something about a car crash. Mabel
breaking down, sobbing. Dipper staring at the man across the desk in disbelief,
who for once appeared to have a tiny sliver of sympathy in his cold steel-grey
eyes.

"I'm sorry… I hate to be the one to have to tell you this, but… your parents-
they're gone."

And that was that.

Dipper and Mabel never received their diplomas. They did away with the blue
caps and gowns, and were driven down to the hospital. Their mother and father
were still on life support when they arrived- lying in bed, heavily bandaged,
kept breathing only by the machines.

Mabel walked up to their mom's bedside, and took her hand in hers, and she
felt how cold it was. Tears ran down her cheeks as she begged her mother to wake
up, to no avail. They were given only a few minutes to say goodbye… and then
Dipper had to put an arm around his crying sister, guiding her away from the
bedside before the plug was finally pulled.

After that, they were escorted home; the brother and sister were allowed some
time to pack their personal belongings before they were to be taken to child
services.

Dipper grabbed all his books, video games and board games that he often
played with his sister, and an old shoebox labeled "Top Secret" full of personal
mementoes from the previous summer. Mabel packed all of her hand-knitted
sweaters and stuffed animals, the grappling hook Grunkle Stan had give her last
summer, along with her scrapbook- which she stared at intently for a moment
before stuffing it in her bag. Lastly, she fetched her pet pig Waddles, who was
tied up out back. Dipper knew what his sister was thinking- there was only one
place left for them to go.

Unfortunately, child services didn't see it that way. When the bureaucratic
agent asked what other relatives they had, they gave him the first name that
came to mind.

"Our Grun- err, our Great Uncle, Stanley Pines. He has a house in the woods;
a town called Gravity Falls, in Oregon," Dipper told the man. The agent checked
his computer, all the while muttering under his breath; "Let's see… Stanley
Pines… Stanley Pines… now, where the heck are you…"

"Oh!" He said. "Here we are, let's see… Stanley Pines, Age 70, 618 Gopher
Road, Gravity Falls, Oregon- is that right?" The officer asked.

"Yeah, that's him!" Mabel affirmed; her eyes were still red and puffy, it
being that they'd only left the hospital a few hours ago- but for the first time
since they'd received the terrible news, she sounded hopeful.

"I don't know, little lady…" said the child services officer. "Your
Great-Uncle has an extensive criminal history." He scrolled down with his mouse
as he said this, scanning Grunkle Stan's long record. "Half of this, I've never
even… wait; what on earth is 'Llamacide'? And… 'burglbezzelment, I don't think
I've…"

"Does any of that even matter?" Dipper asserted. "He's the only family we
have left!"

"Your only family?" The officer repeated. "What about this- Sherman Pines;
he's your grandfather, isn't he-"

"No!" The twins shouted simultaneously. Dipper and Mabel hated their
Grandpa Shermy… and he hated them. He hated all children, really, but he
especially disliked Dipper and Mabel for the same reason as everyone else; they
weren't "normal" by his definition. His dislike of them had only intensified
since Dipper and Mabel's parents had allowed them to spend the previous summer,
along with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in Gravity Falls with his
"dirty, no-good swindler of a brother".

"Well, I'm afraid I can't send you to your uncle- not with his background,"
the officer said unsympathetically. Dipper and Mabel exchanged horrified
glances- Mabel was beginning to tear up again. If they were sent to live with
Shermy, not only would the rest of their teen years be heck on earth, but they'd
never see Grunkle Stan or Gravity Falls again.

"Wait a minute," Dipper said, an idea suddenly popping into his head. "What
about our other Great Uncle; Stanford Pines?"

Dipper and Mabel had dodged a bullet that day. In hindsight, they probably
should never have mentioned Stan; as much as they loved him, it should've been
obvious that he would never be allowed to become their legal guardian.

The government really didn't give him enough credit, given all he'd done for
Dipper and Mabel… but then, they didn't know what transpired in Gravity Falls
the previous summer.

The days following the deaths of their parents were a blur. Great Uncle Ford
couldn't come to get them himself, but he paid for a bus to take them back to
Gravity Falls. They spent most of the bus ride flipping through their old family
photo album and Mabel's scrapbook, not talking. Neither of them wanted to think
about what had just transpired. Every time they came close to the topic, a
painful knot formed in Dipper's chest as he tried to hold back tears, while
Mabel would break down sobbing.

By afternoon the next day, the bus had pulled up in front of their Great
Uncle's house- the Mystery Shack. It looked just as it had the last time they'd
seen it, barely holding itself together, with the "S" from the Mystery Shack
sign lying halfway down the roof so the sign read "Mystery Hack".

Stan was waiting for them on the front lawn, dressed in his usual "Mr.
Mystery" getup.

"Grunkle Stan!" The twins greeted enthusiastically once off the bus, both
running forward to throw themselves into their Grunkle's arms. He embraced the
two of them as the two teenagers flung their arms around his neck.

"It's good to see you kids," Stan said to them. "I heard what happened… I'm
sorry about your folks."

At the mention of their parents, Dipper felt his chest tighten again and
Mabel choked out a sob.

"Don't worry; everything's gonna be fine," Stan consoled. "Come on inside; I
had Soos set up your old bedroom in the attic."

When Dipper and Mabel stepped in the front door, they were greeted by a
chorus of "Welcome Home!"; assembled there in the hall were most of their
friends and family; their best friend Soos, his girlfriend Melody, Mabel's
girlfriends Candy and Grenda, and their new guardian- Stan's brother Ford.

Mabel dropped her bags and rushed over to Candy and Grenda almost
immediately, enveloping her friends in a fierce hug. Dipper bumped his fist with
Soos, who greeted him with a customary "Welcome back, dude."

But someone was missing. Dipper looked around, and when he saw no sign of
her, he asked Grunkle Stan; "Where's Wendy? Is she here?"

When Mabel heard this, she pulled away from Candy and Grenda, suddenly
concerned for her brother… were they about to receive more bad news?

"Actually, Manly Dan took his kids and moved upstate," Soos answered. "I
think they had a run-in with some eyeball bats in the woods at around Christmas…
after that, he didn't think it was safe in Gravity Falls anymore."

"So- wait, Wendy's… gone? Dipper asked. The tears he'd been trying to hold
back for the past several days were threatening to spill over as he took in this
latest news. Broken-hearted, he collapsed against the wall, bent his head, and
began to cry silently.

"Oh, Dipper…" Mabel said to her brother, moving over to place a comforting
hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, guys?" Said a familiar voice. "What's going on?
Are they here yet-"

Dipper looked up in surprise; it was her… Wendy. She was wearing only her
pajamas, and her hair was damp and smelled of shampoo, like she'd just gotten
out of the shower. She took one look around the room before her eyes settled on
Dipper.

"Wendy…" breathed Dipper. He stood up from his spot on the floor and ran into
her arms; she bent down to catch him, cradling his head against her
shoulder.

"Oh dude, that's right!" Said Soos, slapping himself on the forehead. "I
forgot Wendy moved into the Mystery Shack after her dad left… I've been having
problems with short-term memory lately…"

Dipper paid him no attention, wiping away his tears before burying his face
in Wendy's damp red hair.

"I missed you," he whispered to her. Wendy smiled, running her hand under his
cap and through her best friend's tousled brown hair.

I missed you, too," Wendy replied. "I see you're still wearing my hat."

"He hasn't taken it off in six months," Mabel chimed in. Dipper blushed in
embarrassment.

"Are you guys okay?" Wendy asked. "Stan told me what happened…"

Once again, Dipper and Mabel said nothing. Stan knelt down beside Mabel and
laid a comforting arm on her shoulder, while Dipper tightened his arms around
his crush, who responded in kind, patting him on the back in sympathy.

"Everything's going to be okay," Stanley repeated. "Now, why don't you kids
head upstairs and unpack?"

"Wendy and I planned throwing you guys a 'welcome home' party," said Melody.
"We ordered a cake for dessert, and we can get started on cooking dinner while
you guys settle in… okay?"

"Yeah, thank goodness we finally have someone around here who can cook!" Stan
laughed, trying to inject some humor into the situation… but his niece and
nephew still looked somber as they carried their bags upstairs, followed closely
by Waddles.

"Poor dudes," said Soos. "I thought they'd be happier once they got
back."

"They just lost their parents, Soos," Wendy reminded him. "I know what that
feels like… I went through the same thing when my mom died."

"They'll be fine," said Stan dismissively. "Just give 'em some time."

The welcome home party Wendy and Melody planned for the twins ended up being
a quiet affair. Dipper and Mabel didn't eat much, despite the dinner table being
overflowing with all their favorite things- a mouth-watering seasoned chicken,
mashed potatoes, apple butter, fluffy cheddar biscuits, and several bottles of
Pitt Cola- and for dessert, strawberry ice cream and a large chocolate cake with
icing that spelled out "Welcome Home, Dipper & Mabel" with candy decorations
in the shape of a pine-tree and shooting star.

Dipper sat as close as possible to Wendy, who kept a comforting arm around
his shoulder while urging him to eat something. Soos and Melody tried several
times to cheer up Mabel, Soos by trying to be his usual goofy, loveable self,
Melody by informing Mabel that she and Soos were engaged. Mabel's only reply was
quiet "congratulations". The twins end up leaving the table having barely
touched anything, each leaving behind a quarter-finished slice of "Welcome
Home!" cake and insisting they weren't hungry.

It wasn't that Dipper and Mabel weren't happy to see Grunkle Stan, and Ford,
and all their friends… but the pain of having lost their parents was still
fresh, weighing down on their hearts and minds, crushing any happiness they
would've felt upon returning to Gravity Falls. They'd been looking forward to
coming back all year, crossing off the days on their calendar until the next
summer… but now that they were here, the feeling was bittersweet.

They went to bed that in their attic bedroom without another word. Mabel
stopped to put up photos of herself, her brother, and her parents on the wall
before putting out the old gas lamp.

Neither of them got much sleep that night.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Soos cried out to a crowd of the
enthusiastic tourists. They were out in the woods, just beyond the front lawn of
the Mystery Shack, as Soos guided them towards the Shack's most popular
attraction.

"Since you have arrived in Gravity Falls, you may have heard many strange and
frightful tales," Soos began, his audience hanging on his every word. "Tales of
an evil triangular demon who once haunted people's dreams, and sought to bring
about the end of the world by making their nightmares into reality!"

"What if I were to tell you dudes… that those aren't just stories?" Soos
asked his enthralled entourage. "There is more truth to that myth that you might
believe- such that the mayor has banned all in Gravity Falls of speaking of
it!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, behold- the eternal Nightmare Demon! Bill
Cipher!" Soos exclaimed.

Bill's physical form, now little more than a lump of stone, was exactly where
it'd come to rest after the end of Weirdmageddon, half-buried in the soil of the
forest floor, his hand outstretched from the last deal he'd ever made. It could
easily pass for a statue, a hoax- but as always, the tourists loved it, snapping
pictures of Bill's immobile form with disposable cameras.

"How was this unholy abomination defeated?" Asked one elderly man, who wore a
star of David around his neck.

"Oh, it was actually my old boss and his niece and nephew who beat him!" Soos
told the man proudly. "They're like… the heroes of everyone in Gravity
Falls."

"I heard that Stan Pines tricked the demon into his mind so that he could be
destroyed with a memory-ray!" Said another man.

"It's all true, dawg," Soos insisted. "Step up, and you can have your picture
taken with the villain himself for a dollar! No, wait- ten dollars! A hundred
dollars!"

The tourists immediately whipped out wads of cash, disregarding Soos'
ridiculous pricing for a chance to have their picture taken with an actual
demon. Watching all this unfold from the porch of the Mystery Shack was Stan,
with Ford beside him on the couch.

"You know," Stan began. "Truth be told, I wasn't sure Soos could handle this
job. But now I see I underestimated him big time- he's a gosh-darn natural!"

"I'll never understand how you've managed to sell all this phony junk for
over 30 years," Ford replied.

"Eh… people in this country will buy anything," Stan retorted. "Speaking of
which; when can we get that dinosaur exhibit up and running?"

"Just as soon as I make sure it's all safe," Ford answered. "I recently
watched a movie about a dinosaur theme park from the 80s; given what I've seen,
we should take as many precautions as we possibly can."

"You should ask the kids to help you with that," Stan suggested. "Those two
knuckleheads are the ones who found those lizards in the first place!"

Ford's expression turned somber. "I've tried, but… they haven't come out of
their room since they got here," Ford told his brother.

It was true; Dipper and Mabel had been in Gravity Falls for 3 days. Three
days, and they'd barely said a word since the first night, preferring to stay
cooped up in their room all day. Occasionally, one of them would catch the twins
sitting under the trees outside alone, flipping through an old photo album and
talking amongst themselves.

Stan was starting to feel a little distraught over the whole thing; the
twinkle was gone from his niece's eyes, and even Dipper wasn't going out looking
for adventure anymore. The only person he talked to besides Mabel was Wendy, and
the red-haired teen said that even she was having trouble getting through to
him.

"You know, I tried to show Dipper my new journal," said Ford; he held up a
book similar to the ones he'd kept before, only the gold six-fingered handprint
on the front bore a number "4", and the book itself was bigger than the
others.

"I told him I'd compiled all my old research, and recorded our findings in
the Arctic Ocean- I wanted to show him what we found… but, he said he wasn't
interested," Ford elaborated.

"That doesn't sound like Dipper at all," Stan observed, stroking his chin
thoughtfully. "You know, Mabel hasn't knitted any new sweaters since she got
here? It used to be she made a new one every day."

"Well, they've suffered a terrible loss," Ford acknowledged.

Stan took a long drought from his can of Pitt Cola. "So… how did you deal
with it, when mom and dad died?" Stanley asked his brother.

"I didn't," Ford replied. "Dad was convinced I was wasting my talent when I
decided to come out to Gravity Falls… and when he and mom passed, I was already
up my neck in my, uh… problems, with Bill."

"So, I guess you never went to their funeral?" Ford asked.

"Are you kidding me!?" Stan replied angrily. "After dad kicked me out of the
house? After he called me a loser? I didn't want to see that old codger
again!"

As Stan and Ford went on to abuse their late father, Dipper and Mabel managed
to slip quietly out of the Mystery Shack through the gift shop. Wendy was
running the counter again while Melody had taken Soos' old job of handyman… or
rather, handywoman. As they neared the door, Wendy stopped them, and asked where
they were going.

"We're just going for a walk," Dipper told her. "We'll be back later."

"Are you guys okay?" Wendy asked, feeling concerned for her friends. "You
guys haven't been yourselves since you got here."

"We just need to be alone, Wendy," Mabel said to her. Before Wendy could
inquire further, Mabel and her brother stepped out the door- Wendy took notice
of Mabel carrying what looked like an old photo album under her arm.

It tore Wendy up inside, seeing her best friends like this. She knew what
they were going through all to well- her mother's death when she was 8 had
shaken her to the core, but she'd managed to get through it with support from
her dad. Dipper and Mabel still had people that cared about them, but those
people couldn't do anything for them when the twins were constantly pushing them
away.

What began as a warm, sunny day for the town of Gravity Falls seemed to
change the instant Dipper and Mabel stepped outside- the sun disappeared as
clouds rolled in, casting a shadow over the woods, turning the skies a bleak
grey color. It was almost as if the weather outside was changing to reflect how
they felt on the inside.

It was good they dressed warmly, as the temperature dropped with the sudden
change in the climate- Dipper had taken to wearing a blue-and-white T-shirt with
a pine-tree on the front, similar to his old hat. Over that, he wore a burgundy
heavy coat, khaki cargo pants, and of course Wendy's logging cap, which she'd
given him last summer. Mabel simply wore black tights and sneakers in addition
to her usual blue-violet skirt and shooting star sweater.

After walking through the woods a short while, they found a quiet place a
good distance from the Mystery Shack to sit down. From there, they picked out
the most comfortable-looking tree they could find, and sat down in the soft dirt
between the roots.

"Dad always wanted to take us camping in the woods, remember?" Mabel said to
her brother. "Mom never wanted to go, though… she was never the
outdoorsy-type."

Dipper smiled weakly at the memory; there was one time, when they were 10,
that Filbrick Pines had almost convinced their mom to go on a camping trip over
Spring Break. As expected, mom went completely nuts, stocking up on all the bug
repellent she could get her hands on, a field first-aid kit, a woodland survival
guide, GPS tracker, and for some reason a stun gun. Feeling that they could no
longer enjoy a trip to the great outdoors with his wife in hysterics, dad
decided it would be more fun for everyone if they just camped out in the
backyard.

Mabel was flipping through the old picture album, becoming lost in their
family memories. Before Gravity Falls, Dipper and Mabel's best times had been
when they were at home with just their parents. Halloween and Christmas were
usually their favorite times of the year; though not Thanksgiving, since mom and
dad always invited Shermy and mom's brother and sister-in-law, who shared the
grandfather's opinion that Dipper and Mabel were "not normal". Coincidentally,
those two had died in a car accident as well just a few years ago- mom's brother
had always had a reputation for being a careless driver.

Served him right, Dipper thought bitterly. Mom had argued with her
brother right before the accident; on Thanksgiving Day, in 4th grade. Their
uncle had decided to make the twin's abnormality a topic of conversation over
dinner, and mom took offense at some of his "suggestions"… like putting them in
therapy.

Mabel had even save a picture of the incident… of mom punching her brother in
the jaw. It was right after that he'd stormed out the door in anger, driven off
with his wife, and gotten both of them killed.

As if she could sense what he was thinking, Mabel leaned over to show him the
album; and there it was, a picture of their mom caught mid-swing just as her
fist made contact with her stuck-up brothers face. The look in his eyes as their
mother knocked one of his teeth out- it was just too priceless; both siblings
burst out laughing at the sight.

"Those were the good old days," said Dipper, taking the album from his sister
and flipping through it himself. Looking at the pictures, Dipper and Mabel
recalled their best memories with their parents- having a snowball fight on
their annual Christmas vacation, the one time they glued a wig to Grandpa
Shermy's head while he was sleeping (it'd been their dad's idea), graduating
elementary school, trips to the playground when they were little… Dipper
couldn't help but shed a tear as he looked at a picture of his mother pushing
him on the swing when he was 6-years old, knowing that he would never see her
again.

"You know…" Mabel began in a hoarse voice. "… all this time, I've been
looking forward to coming back to Gravity Falls? But now… I'm not sure if I
would've wanted to come, if it meant mom and dad could still be here."

"It's not like it would've made much of a difference," said Dipper in an
attempt to console her. But he knew what she was feeling; before the end of the
school year, he and his sister had begged their parents to let them spend the
whole summer in Gravity Falls again. Mom and dad were against it; they wanted to
spend the summer together this time, as a family. Dad was going about his plans
for an epic cross-country road trip… but it was not to be, either way. Dipper
and Mabel wanted to go back to Gravity Falls; Dipper was especially excited to
see Wendy again.

In the end, the parents agreed that they would let their children spend
another summer in Gravity Falls, while they went on a vacation by themselves.
Dad seemed a bit let-down by this turn of events; when asked about his aborted
plans for the road trip of a lifetime, he'd simply replied "maybe next summer".
But now there would be no "next summer"… not for him or their mother. Thus, a
bit of guilt stacked with grief, sorrow, and depression on the teetering pile of
emotions the twins were sitting on. Maybe it was karma, repayment for their
selfishness that lost their mother and father... the thought only made them feel
worse.

It was becoming too much for them to bear. Dipper had an idea on how they
could make things better, but he wasn't sure if it was the best one.

"Hey… Mabel?"

"What?"

"Do we really want to spend the rest of our summer like this?" He asked.
"Sitting alone in the woods, feeling sorry for ourselves?"

"No, but…" Mabel began, a solitary tear falling down her cheek. "…I just want
mom and dad back. I wished they could've come with us. Then we could spend the
summer together; us, mom and dad, Grunkle Stan, and our friends. We could've
been like one big family."

"Well, we can't do that anymore, Mabel," Dipper asserted. "They're gone, and…
no amount of wishing is going to bring them back."

It was then that Mabel noticed Dipper fishing around in his backpack, from
which he pulled out a familiar object; one of McGucket's memory guns. A tool
created by the inventor so that one may forget their bad memories, move on with
their lives as though they'd never happened. She immediately knew what Dipper
was about to suggest.

"No," Mabel said firmly.

"Are you sure?" Dipper asked. "You wouldn't have to feel any more pain. It
would all seem like just a bad dream-"

"I don't want to forget!" Mabel insisted, holding up their family
album. "I can't, I… I don't want to forget them."

"You're sure?" Dipper asked again. Mabel nodded, to which responded in kind,
tossing the memory gun back in his backpack. It was a stupid idea, anyway; the
only way it could work was if they erased all their memories of their parents,
which included their entire childhood. That was something neither of them wanted
to lose. Dipper wasn't sure why he'd suggested it in the first place.

There was a rumbling in the distance, and the twins felt a few small
rain-drops fall on their heads; a sign of an impending thunderstorm. They
decided to head back to the Mystery Shack before they got caught out in the
rain. Dipper stood up from his spot on the ground first, dusting off some of the
dirt and pine needles that settled on his clothes before doing the same for
Mabel.

The two walked back home, traversing a small creek on the way back.
Unbeknownst to Dipper, Mabel had stowed their family album in his open backpack.
When they tried crossing the creek by using a log as an improvised bridge,
Dipper slipped on the wet log, and Mabel caught him. Once she was sure he was
alright, the continued on- neither of them noticed the family album fall from
Dipper's open pack and into the creek.

The album, along with all the compiled memories of Dipper and Mabel's parents
and their childhood, was whisked away downstream, never to be seen again.