Summer, Idle No More: Part 1

Crickets chirped gently in the faint breeze that glided through the woods. The sun had long since fallen and the sky was dotted with bright stars and hints of vast cosmic colors. The serenity of it all was mildly interrupted by the crunching and crackling of dirt and gravel as a black car drove down the back-woods path towards a solitary building. The black car found itself stopped before the building in the woods.

Seven hours, twenty two minutes since leaving his neighborhood, the door to a newly acquired Crescendo opened and out stepped Dipper Pines. He closed the door behind him as he looked up. It had been three years since he had seen it for his own eyes. The great memories nearly danced before him, figments of imagination from good times long ago. Star and moon light bounced off his car but it was the lights of the building before him caught his attention.

"The Mystery Shack," he whispered as he stared at the structure.

The wooden building was crudely built from an odd assortment of planks of wood and logs, placed half-hazard in the vague shape of a two-level house. A plethora of signs, ranging from the hardly intact main sign "Mystery Shack" to 'gifts' and 'world famous' dotted the roof and walls. Just by the back of the gravel parking lot stood the tall Native-American inspired, but plastic, totem pole.

He tilted his head to the side as he approached the building. In his mind, as he imagined coming to the shack, he would realize that it was much smaller than he remembered. If anything, it now seemed even bigger. He was certain that Grunkle Stan had, at some point, added several additions to the shack. It almost seemed like something more of a large home than a shack built on twigs and branches as he had remembered it.

His feet scrapped the gravel beneath him as he walked forward, passing a sign that had been left facing down in the grass. A quick click of his keys in his hands had the car beep weakly in response. The front door was certainly smaller than he remembered, and with a good grip, he opened the it slowly.

Once Dipper stepped inside and flicked on the lights, he realized that the inside of the gift shop hadn't changed in the slightest. Tons of cheap, low-grade merchandise were displayed all around him on shelves and tables. He even spotted several newer items, including postcards and posters, which he read while picking them up 'I uncovered the truths of the mystery shack!'.

"Only for ten and twenty bucks. Grunkle Stan," Dipper smiled and shook his head sadly as he put down the stack of still-sealed postcards.

It was the mention of his uncle that stirred his emotions. Since he had left, he had kept his feelings on a tight lock-down. Seven hours stuck in a car with bottled thoughts of a mentor he cared deeply for wasn't a combo he had enjoyed for one minute on the trip here. He turned against the counter and leaned against it.

"Was this always this short?" he asked, realizing that the height of the counter was also much smaller than he had remembered, going to just above his belly button. He sighed, and removed his cap, and placed it behind him as he let his head relax. Wearing a hat for such a long trip came up as slightly constrictive to his forehead. He gave it a quick rub, allowing his hair to brush past his strange birth mark; a near perfect replica of the big dipper constellation.

"I'm sure you'd just be sending me to my room in case you needed me to patch up the roof or something in the morning," Dipper quietly said out loud, considering the situation had his great uncle still been there. "Always was like-"

A creek of the floorboards had Dipper turn his head around. His heart raced, wondering the source of the sound. Had he heard that sound anywhere else in the world, he would have probably been less nervous; but this was Gravity Falls. Monsters and creatures of the unknown, paradoxes and time slip streams, and brilliantly intellectual yet insane madmen- all dominated this land.

He pushed himself off the counter and approached the open door he had come through, where he was sure he had heard the sound. The dark night of the woods awaited, and he poked his head quickly out.

"Hello?" he called. A quick look back and forth revealed no one around. He started to pull himself back inside and close the door, but only then spotted something behind his car. He let the door hang open a second longer to look at what appeared to be a motorcycle parked just behind his new ride.

His vision was obscured instantly and a shriek filled his ears. Something clinging from above the door and underneath the overhang swung down and tackled him. He screamed and desperately covered his face as he was thrown back inside. He landed in the middle of the gift shop, and began to claw away from the black figure who was crawling hastily towards him.

"Wait-" he tried, but only found a pair of hands grabbing his face and tugging it closer.

"DIPPER!" a girls voice shouted as she rubbed her own face against his as she embraced him tight enough for him to hear his bones creak.

"M-m-m-" he attempted to breath, but was unable to until the girl broke free with a loud 'ouch!' and started rubbing her face.

"Your face is spiky!" Mabel Pines declared in awe as she soothed her stubble-burned face.

"Mabel?" Dipper asked quietly as he watched his twin from the floor.

"That's one thing dad got right," she pulled out a small notebook from a pocket, a pencil, and scratched something off the list, "has grown slight facial hair."

"MABEL!" Dipper shouted and charged at her. She lost grip of her pencil and notebook as he collided with her, his hug pulling her up from the floor.

"You guessed correctly!" she happily stated as Dipper finally let go after a moment.

"You- you're here!" Dipper exclaimed as he gave her a quick look up and down, "I can't... I'm so- wow!"

"Right?!" Mabel grinned and smacked his shoulder," the boys can't keep themselves off me!"

"Right- wait, what?" Dipper shook his head as he replied.

"Little Mabel grew up into a strutting boy magnet," she confidently announced, turning around, trying to physically explain her apparent sex-appeal, "all the wows you can possibly hear when I walk the hallways- so wow is right!"

"Uh... okay?" Dipper said, "I guess your ego grew as much as you did."

"Shush!" she hissed and flicked his forehead with her finger, "you dare to question my prowess!?"

"Mabel, your first real date turned out to be a group of five gnomes trying to impersonate a grungy teen," Dipper reminded her. Mabels response was to blow a raspberry and repeatedly smack his face with her hands limply. "C'mon Mabel, cut it out!" She lowered her hands while laughing at him, and he grinned.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" she asked him with a small smile. Dipper's own grin faltered slightly. "What?" she asked, clearly noticing his subtly change.

"Nothing," he waved it off, trying to put back on a more confident smile of his own, "you know, I'm just glad to see you again."

"Aww you," she punched his shoulder once again, and he let out a small 'ow', "making a sister feel appreciated."

"Right," Dipper smiled again, desperate to bury his growing guilt of having not seen her in almost a year. He instead focused on the joy of finally being with her again, and gave her hair a rub. There was a sound from behind Dipper, and he spun around as Mabel looked past him.

"Oh, hey dudes," a brown haired, big bellied and tall man was peeking out from behind the hall that lead deeper into the house, "if you're going to go out to grab something, can you bring back some nachos? Kinda vibe-ing the nachos right now. Okay? Sweet," and the man vanished behind the wall, into the hallway

"Soos?" Mabel called out. A quiet moment was proceeded with heavy stomps in rapid succession. Soos, the handyman of the Mystery Shack re-appeared before them, in a robe that was just barely too small for his size. He stared at them, and rubbed at his eyes.

"Okay. So I'm dreaming. Right?" Soos said as he approached them.

"No, Soos, you're awake," Dipper grinned at the man still easily a head taller than him.

"Oh yeah? Well apparitions of my grown up friends, present to me evidence that you are really here and that I am not having a wonderfully nostalgic dream," Soos ordered the two of them with crossed arms. Mabel instantly obliged and stepped forward. Giving him a long, dark look, she reached up and tickled his armpits. "OH- OH-" Soos started laughing heatedly.

"And here," Mabel added, going for the other arm, and Soos roared with laughter, holding his stomach as he did. A moment passed and he wiped away a tear.

"Okay, so I see you, I can feel you," Soos leaned forward, and poked Dipper and Mabel gently on top their head, "and you two can feel me, right?"

"Yup," Dipper nodded.

"It's like we're connected," Mabel smirked at her comment as Soos's finger prodded her scalp.

"Okay. So, either this is the most realistic dream I have ever had, or you two are really here again and... DUDES!" Soos's mind gave into the concept of his old friends being fragments of imagination, and swept them into a lifting hug. Squeezing tightly, he cried, "oh my god, am I happy to see the two of you!"

"You too Soos!" Dipper smiled as he and his sister hugged back.

"Wow, I mean," Soos eventually lowered them to the ground, "wow. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure I was ever going to be seeing you guys again. Sooo glad I was wrong, you know?"

"Yeah! So, how do we look?" Mabel asked as she grabbed Dipper and hugged him to the side.

"This is just great! Like, even better than when Montana Jeffreys stopped in town! I mean look at you two," he said, giving each a quick 'up and down', "almost mature. Boy, that's kind of scary to think," Soos scratched his exposed brown hair, "since I knew you when you were up to my stomach I think."

"Highschool does that to you," Dipper said as he poked his sister to release him. It was in the moment, as the three of them looked to one another, that they all subconsciously came to the same conclusion: the only reason they were seeing each other again was the fact that Stan was gone. Soos lost a bit of the light in his face, and his smile grew slightly sadder.

"Well, if you two want, the building still has the old attic room you two can stay in until the situation is figured out," he placed a hand on either of their shoulders, "I'm staying here until everything is settled out. You need help carrying anything in?"

"Uh, no, but you're welcome to come out with us in case a werewolf or something tries to eat us," Dipper told him as he started to turn around. Mabel held him by the shoulder, and he faced her, "what?"

"Hah, guys, you know he's not gone, right?" Mabel asked aloud to the two.

"Wait, what?" Soos asked her, his eyes wide with shock.

"What?" Dipper also repeated, "what are you talking about Mabel? The cops pronounced him dead yesterday."

"Or did they?" Mabel asked the two of them, pulling them closer to her by the shoulders, "I have a theory: what if this is a huge stunt by Grunkle Stan to get us all back together? He'd want us to work on the shack while he was lazy all summer!"

"Woah... that is way too conspirical for me to handle," Soos said with wide eyes.

"Wait," Dipper pushed himself from the group debate, "we can't just discount the police because of a theory. We need evidence to make that kind of assumption. And the evidence states that Grunkle Stan died."

"He wouldn't die!" Mabel waved her hand aside in emphases of discarding the idea, "he'd just go to sleep and wake up even crankier! Blaargh!" she mimicked an angry old man yelling at them.

"Sounds like him," Soos nodded with his hand holding his chin.

"Guys," Dipper growled, but Mabel continued.

"And maybe he just wanted to make sure that we all still cared enough for one another, so he decided he would-"

"Mabel!" Dipper shouted at his sister. Her smile fell away as he glared at her. "This isn't one of our fun memories, okay? This is real life, right now, and our Great Uncle died, and we need to respect that fact!" Dipper breathed heavily and he turned away and walked out. "I'm going to get my stuff, and then go to bed," he called back as he stomped away.

"I guess I'm not the only one who's torn up about this," Soos said with a deep sigh, "c'mon bud," he patted Mabel's shoulder, "let's get your stuff upstairs."

"Yeah, let's go," Mabel nodded lightly as she followed her old friend.

The night passed by in a stew of uncomfortable quietness. Dipper had remained quiet since his little snap at Mabel and Soos. He chose to grunt or occasionally provide a 'sure' or 'yeah' rather than speak in full sentences. Mabel continued to keep herself hopeful. It wasn't until Dipper had gone to bed without saying a word that she lay on her own bed, across the room, and stared at the ceiling, worry etched in her face. Her strive to find Stanley Pines alive and well seemed to have dimmed by her brothers unflinching believe of his demise. She stared for hours at that same ceiling, until an untold point at night, she too fell asleep.

"Mabel, get up," a voice called to Mabel, deep inside her slumber.

"Not now. School is over dad, I can finally sleep in today," she groaned back, shifting in her sleep.

"Mabel, we're at the shack," Dipper's voice called her to consciousness, and her eyes darted open. Quickly sitting up from her bed, she looked to her brother.

"Morning stupid," she informed him, her hair messy and disorganized. Dipper sighed as he turned from her. He was already up and held a towel over his shoulder, with a small bag of bathroom things.

"Get up already. We need to go to town today," Dipper reminded, "we need to receive copies of the will."

"Who's Will?"

"Grunkle Stans last will and testimony?" Dipper sighed.

"Ohhh, that kind of will," Mabel gave a confirming headshake and yawn as Dipper left for the bathrooms to change.

It was nearly eleven when the two of them were ready, mostly due to Mabel being unable to find all her needed articles of clothing and hygienic material. At eleven fifteen the two stepped out of the doors, Dipper already in a sour mood.

"We're going to be late for this meeting, and this is important," Dipper scolded his sister, "you really think finding the right flavored tooth paste made a difference today?"

"The flavor can determine your senses for the rest of the day! It's like super-important!" she told him with a wiggle of her arms above her head.

"It took you twenty minutes for one flavor of toothpaste?" Dipper asked.

"I have a lot of flavors, bro, okay?" she stuck her tongue out and walked past him, "and looking for Parchment-Fresh was very important!" Dipper only then remembered what she had apparently drove here with.

"So... who's bike did you borrow?" Dipper asked, trying to mask his curiosity.

"Psh, one of my boyfriends, you know how it is," Mabel waved a hand as she put on her new pair of sunglasses with pink rims that matched the motorcycle.

"One... of your boyfriends?" Dipper asked, one of his eyebrows popping up quickly. Mabel spotted the reaction and instantly cracked up, leaning on the bike for support as she laughed at him. "What?!" he demanded.

"Just, your face!" Mabel tried to impersonate her brother, with bright eyes, raised eyebrows and an exaggerated o-shaped mouth, "Bwop!" but could only for a single moment before continuing her snickering.

"Right, because you're dating someone who prefers to ride around in a pink sparkling motorcycle?" Dipper pointed out, stalling Mabel's laughter.

"I... like men who aren't afraid of their color identity," Mabel defended and laughed a bit more.

"Oh, laugh it up, because your pink bike from your 'boyfriend'," he added a finger quotation for boyfriend, "can't even compete with mine."

"You have a boyfriend?" Mabel laughed even harder and Dipper went red in the face.

"NO! A ride, I got a ride!" he exclaimed angrily. She only laughed harder, and Dipper then realized her insinuations," MABEL! I got a mode of transportation! Okay?!"

"Yeah, you got a motorcycle?" Mabel sneered at him as he leaned against the black car, only to then realized that he was referring to the car. "Wait, that's yours?" she asked in awe.

"Oh Yeah! Full surround radio, reclining seats, air conditioning, some nice leather seats... well, I think its leather," he added as he peered inside, "it feels like leather... maybe its-"

"Oh look-et me!" said Mabel as she ran around to the driver side of the car and jumped inside the unlocked vehicle.

"Mabel! Be careful with it!" he shouted as he opened the passenger door to follow her.

"Oh, soo important, I need a black car with a bunch of gears, ohhh," Mabel wove her hands around the car, and began to turn the wheel around as she 'drove', and adopted an estranged rough voice, "I need to be on time for my appointment of stuffy old men who wear stupid suits! Woosh! That pedestrian means nothing to a true businessman! What-ho!"

"You sound a little jealous," Dipper said as it was his turn to smile cheekily at his sister.

"Ah man, I don't know," Mabel earnestly said as she leaned back with his driver seat, "would I like the car that is going to be stuffy old man-mobile, or," she leapt back out and ran to her bike, "awesome girl power five thousand!?"

"I'll take the black car," Dipper said easily.

"Be that way, loser," Mabel stuck her tongue out, "at least I ride," she dipped her glasses under her eyes, "in style, baby."

"Hey guys," Soos' voice called from the front door, and the two turned, "you both heading out?"

"Yup! Going to solve the mystery of the disappeared Stanley!" Mabel gave Soos a thumbs up. Dipper gave her an angry and disapproving stare, which unaffected her smile.

"We're heading out, yeah," Dipper nodded as he walked to the driver side door.

"Okay. Just so you two know, the funeral is going to be held today at two. The place is just outside of town by the old Valentino place, but it's not that far. So I guess I'll see you two there. I'll be dressed nicely, just, cus, you know," Soos trailed off, and waved to them goodbye, before walking backwards into the shack. The two watched him retreat into the shadows awkwardly, and gave each other one more look before entering their transportation.

The trip into town was mostly uneventful, with the exception of Mabel trying to speed along side Dipper while making as many faces at him as she could. This nearly lead to her falling off the road and into a deep stream, but she recovered and decided it would be better just to follow him. They finally arrived to the Gravity Falls law firm, an owned associates of the family of Northwests. Dipper scolded Mabel for a moment for her brash actions earlier, and they entered the building.

For Mabel it was horrendously boring. A member of Northwest and Associates sat them down and spoke about the contents of the will, and how they both would end up owning a copy for their needs. Mabel stuck pencils under her bracelet and stabbed at Dipper, spun her chair as many times she could in one push of her feet, and tried folding her copy into a origami piece. Dipper, at the first moment they could take their copies and leave, grasped the opportunity and his sisters arm firmly.

"You really just... couldn't resist folding your copy into a ball, could you?" Dipper demanded of his twin as they left, almost an hour later.

"It was an armadillo," she proclaimed, holding up the fully formed armadillo origami, "and it's adorable."

"Did you catch a thing she was trying to tell you?" Dipper questioned as she began to rock the paper figure in her arms.

"Words. Words about things and stuff."

"We own the Mystery Shack as soon as we're seventeen," Dipper told her as she snuggled the origami with her cheek, wincing with each paper point she pressed against her skin, "which means we would have land here that would be split between us. We need to take careful of these!" Dipper told her, holding the paper up.

"It's not really ours, though," Mabel reminded him, using the armadillo to speak for her as she held it out, "because this is all one big trick by Grunkle Stan."

Dipper stared at her origami piece, and then her and shook his head. He took her own paper from her, which she didn't even notice as she was too busy playing with her little adorable armadillo. He slid the two copies into a folder, placed them into his backpack, and he laid it on the backseat, and stepped to the drivers door.

"Mabel, we need to go," he called to her as he waited for her to snap away from playing with paper.

"Aww, he doesn't like you, mister widdle desert animal surbiber, but I do. Your capacity to ball up for survival and cuteness is not lost on me," she said in a baby-voice.

"Mabel, we need to go to the funeral," Dipper tried again. This time, she turned to face him, angered at his reminder, "and we need to get dressed for it. Come on, lets get back to the shack."

Mabel complied with her brothers request, and the two of them sped home to change into more formal attire. On this return, Mabel was quicker to ready herself than Dipper gave her credit for, and they left to the Gravity Falls Funeral Home on time. Dipper had a dark button up and black pants with belt, and as he stepped out, he tossed his cap on his seat before closing the door.

Mabel was less appropriate for a funeral, as she claimed this wouldn't be a proper funeral anyway, since Stan was actually alive. She wore a slightly poofy dark violet skirt that fell just past her knees, and a navy sweater with a single sewn image of a wooden crate in the center with a big yellow question mark above it. She grinned as she put shooting star earrings as soon as her bike was off and parked.

"Mabel, really?" Dipper asked as he watched her check the earrings.

"You're right," she nodded her head, and then reached into the same small pouch aside her seat and pulled out a rose pink headband with a small ribbon at the top. "Much better," she nodded, checking the floppiness of the ribbon.

"Lets just get inside already," Dipper growled as he stepped to the door. Mabel followed suit as they stepped through the doors. Gravity Falls new Funeral home was not remotely close to the word spacious. The main room for the ceremony had enough seats for maybe twenty people total, most of which was being taken by various long bench pews.

"Oh man," Dipper said after stepping inside, and looking ahead.

"What Dip?" Mabel asked, almost running into him. He lifted his hand and pointed ahead. A tall and skinny man with graying hair and sullen eyes awaited them, standing behind the coffin.

"Ah, the mourning party is here," he said in a faint and morbidly deep voice, "please, take your seat. We will begin once others have shown."

"Uh... I'm not sure others will show, sir," Dipper stated politely, and took a seat.

"Yeah! I mean, who shows up to a funeral when the person isn't even dead?" Mabel snorted as she made to sit next to her brother. The tall figure blinked slowly and then lowered himself to stare at the casket in concern. Her comment however made Dipper squint his face up, and he took a step away from her. "Hey-"

"Let's just wait until someone else shows up," Dipper said to the floor.

Mabel stared at her brother. Since coming here, the most common reactions from her brother had been cold and harsh towards her. She wanted more than anything to let him know she wasn't trying to get on his nerves, or be a jerk about this, but that she remained confident about this feeling of hers. She reached over and touched his shoulder.

"What happened to us?" she asked him when he turned to look at her.

"I... what do you mean?" Dipper asked with a quick look away from her.

"We're not the same," Mabel told him sadly, "it's like... we've been away for so long, I don't even know if I feel like we're twins anymore, you know?"

"We're still related, Mabel," he said strongly, yet didn't turn to face her.

"I... I said twins," she repeated. Dipper leaned back and let out a tensed growl.

"I just want this to be over with," Dipper said aloud, "I want this to be done with so I can go home and pretend that this never happened. Then I can live in denial that Grunkle Stan is up here still ripping off tourists left and right and is always wondering what us crazy kids are up to. Okay? So... just let me sit for-"

Mabel stood up from her seat. Her quick action had Dipper turn and watch her step walk and sit him down on the other side of the main aisle. When she sat, she turned away and crossed her legs.

"What?" he called to her.

"So, you wish you didn't get the chance to see me, did you?" Mabel asked away from him, and Dipper stood up to her.

"That's not what I said," he repeated, his neck too stiff to turn towards her.

"We haven't spoken to one another for so long, Dipper!" Mabel turned to her standing brother, anger shining through her, "and all you can think about is going home!"

"Can you blame me!?" he waved a hand to the closed casket. As he did, the caretaker peeked inside, and closed the lid.

"It's okay, he's still here," the grim looking man stated in his same bored deep voice.

"You could at least act like it's nice to see each other!" Mabel said, completely ignoring the caretaker, who shrugged and took his place behind the casket.

"I never said it wasn't!"

"You-"

"Hey!" a voice shouted as the doors slammed open, and Soos entered the front doors. "Sorry I'm late!" he peered the scene as the twins glared at one another, "oh, you guys totally beat me in the fancy attire, you know that?" he said, admitting to his outfit, which was his exact same one from earlier, with a single black bow-tie attached to the rim of his t-shirt.

"It's okay, Soos," Dipper said as he turned with a weak smile to his old friend, "I don't think there is any real formal attire," he added with a strong look at his sister, who returned the glare.

"Well good," a familiar voice called from behind Soos, catching the attentions of both twins, "because I would have felt, like, soo bad if there was."

In the moment it took to recognize the voice, a young woman stepped out from Soos' shadow. "Wendy!" the twins shouted.

"Sup dudes," Wendy Corduroy waved a hand as she stepped past Soos. Mabel rushed forward and slammed into the tall girl with a squeezing hug. "Wow, I was missed that much, huh?"

"It's great to see you again, Wendy," Dipper said as he approached her, extending an arm with a wide smile.

"Psh, get over here," she laughed at him, and with a quick clutch of his arm, and Dipper was tossed against Wendy and Mabel in a larger hug.

The two stepped away from their hug, and got a good look at Wendy. She seemed surprisingly the same, unlike how Soos did. This surprised Dipper considering the age difference between the handyman and the student employee. Her green eyes shone with appreciation as she looked between the two. Her outfit was scarily similar to how the twins remembered, with blue jeans, a green plaid shirt and white undershirt, with her lumberjack hat covering the top of her long bright red hair

"Holy crud you two got taller!" she said, putting a hand atop their heads, which were now an inch or two shorter than hers. "Neither of you are the cute pre-teens that I remembered!"

"I wasn't cute," Dipper said with a huffy grin, but Mabel smacked his shoulder.

"You sneezed like kittens," she told him.

"Do you still?" Wendy demanded, and Dipper's face went pink. "Oh man, that's great!" she laughed with Mabel, "well dude, at least you're starting to look your part."

"H-huh?" Dipper asked, going from pink to red.

"You've gotten all mature looking," she said with a clap against his shoulder, "do you have some chin-hair there?" She winked as she walked past him, and Dipper was left scratching his chin and feeling a light fluttering in his stomach.

"I will assume that since the count of individuals present has doubled," the caretaker stated aloud, "that we can proceed with the ceremony?" The four took their seats, with Dipper and Mabel still sitting apart. "Very good." He approached a podium just behind the casket as cleared his throat, and Wendy and Soos both lowered their hats.

"Dearly... gathered," he began," we are... gathered for the joint gathering of Stanley Pines, who has left this town before his time was mostly up, and we wish to remember him before he left before his time was mostly up," the man said dully. The twins realized this was probably the worst funeral speaker that had ever spoken in the history of speakers. "And we are, of course, pleased to see the attendance of so many who cared for dear Stan."

"This is so touching," Soos said as he wiped away a single free tear running down his face.

"The secrets that Stan Pines held in his..." the man held up a printed of page from the internet about the Mystery Shack," 'world famous Mystery Shack', was a key factor in the town of Gravity Falls seeing many visitors during the summer. With this, the town, however entirely not present, thanks him."

The Caretaker then took a step to the side. "I would now welcome any of the members of the family to say a passionate word or two, but as seeing there are only two, I suppose anyone who wishes may speak. You have the podium," the man took several steps back, tipped on a wire and hit the ground, yet bounced back up without a single bit of recognition to his falling.

"Eh," Dipper said, but straightened his shirt and stood up, and walked over to the podium. Once there, he adjusted the microphone, and looked to the three, and then to the casket before him.

"Well, I'm not going to pretend Grunkle Stan was perfect. He was far from it, really," Dipper started, rubbing the back of his head, "and, uh, we all know that he was kind of a jerk sometimes. But I remember more than the times he was a jerk the times he was truly a good man. Where he decided he would stop being mean and help those around him; not because it got him a buck, but because it made everyone feel better."

"So true!" Soos bawled and blew his nose into an already tear-soaked handkerchief.

"This is the man who helped myself and Mabel really discover a lot about who we are, and what we want from life," Dipper said, a meaningful glance at his sister, who finally decided to give him the satisfaction of looking back, "and for that, and his endless support, even when he shouldn't have... like the time we fell into the bottomless pit-"

"Say what?" Wendy asked.

"Or the time he let us do our own crime scene investigation for a wax figurine which led us to fight off a horde of cursed celebrity figures, or the time he helped us break into a mini-golf course late at night-"

"Dude," Wendy leaned up to be behind Mabel, "I missed out on all that?"

"But that's what made him so great," Dipper continued," it wasn't about what was legal or safe, it was about what we, as kids and growing teens, needed. So, Grunkle Stan," Dipper turned and his lips trembled for a moment, and he barely managed to quietly say in shaking final words, "thanks for everything."

Soos shot up and applauded as hard as he could. "Yeah! That!" he cried, clapped while sobbing. Mabel and Wendy also stood and applauded as Dipper took his seat, and put his face into his hands.

"Well, I guess I'm next," Mabel said with a confident grin, and approached the podium, "wish me luck!"

"Good luck," Wendy said as the teenager approached and turned to face the three.

"Well, thank you all for coming here today. You know, I had a worrying thought that no one would show up for this event, but we all killed that idea, didn't we!?" Mabel raised her eyebrows and winked around like a bad stand up comedian. Wendy's mouth fell open, and Dipper's eyes twitched horribly as he stared at her. She snickered, "Ha! Gettit?"

"That was hilarious," Soos chuckled, "and in a totally insensitive, yet clever, way. You go girl!"

"Insensitive? Please," Mabel pulled the microphone away from the stand, which broke off a plate of wood, and then the entire podium crashed to the ground, splitting apart. "Oh. Uh, whoops- but anyway, I'm not being insensitive, guys! I'm just here to break the news!"

"Mabel, don't do it," Dipper asked aloud, begging her to stop.

"Guys, be prepared to feel amazement, as," Mabel moved towards the casket, and prepped to push the lid open, "I show you the truth!"

"MABEL!" Dipper shot up.

"TA-DAH!" Mabel announced as a proud roar, tossing the lid of the coffin off, and displayed the contents. Dipper's face lost all of its color, and Wendy appeared to be in total shock as the lid came crashing down to the side. Soos stared while nodding his head.

"Yeah, he looks dead all right," Soos said as he looked inside the coffin.

Mabel turned slowly to the unmoving body, and stared at it. There he was, Grunkle Stan, stiff, pale, his arms across his chest with his hat and glasses removed. He looked exactly the same since they last saw him, with his grey five o-clock shadow on his chin and cheeks. Large nose sat proudly on his unreadable face. As Mabel watched, a creeping feeling unsettled her, and she chuckled to ward it off. "C'mon Grunkle Stan, don't leave me hanging," Mabel whispered to him. There was no response. No shift. Nothing at all came from the man she somehow knew was... not dead. "Okay, the joke is over now, Grunkle Stan, old buddy," she said out loud, harder and more deliberate than before.

"Mabel," Dipper said, walking past her, and reaching for the lid, "lets put this back on."

"But- but he's not," Mabel pointed to the body, "he's just being... a jerk!" she shouted, and turned towards the casket and nearly clutched Grunkle Stans arms, "you're not actually dead! I know it! You big liar-faced jerk!"

"Mabel!?" Wendy shot up as Dipper ran to his sister.

"Woah!" Soos called out as well. "No one freak out, its just a body!"

"Mabel, calm down!" Dipper shouted as he approached her, trying to put a hand on her shoulders, but she shook them off and suddenly ran down the aisle, past Wendy and Soos. They both cried out as Mabel flew by, and ran out through the doors. "Damn it!"

Without another word to Wendy or Soos, Dipper charged after his sister. The sun light struck him harshly and his hand rose above his head to shield himself from the light. He heard the sounds of running steps against dirt, and he saw a skirt fade behind several trees. He ran after her, and as the light became filtered in the pines and leaves of the forest above him, Dipper climbed the small hill, and he found her. She had seated herself facing a stream of water sitting behind a large tree trunk, and held her legs within her arms.

"Mabel?" he asked her from where he was.

"I'm just an idiot, aren't I?" Mabel asked with a trembling voice from her spot.

"I... I wouldn't say you're an idiot," Dipper said as he stepped closer.

"He really is gone, isn't he?" she asked aloud. Dipper couldn't bring himself to say it again. His lack of response had Mabel sniffle. "I couldn't see it even when he was right there," she said, looking up to the canopy of the forest, "that he's really gone. I just felt, with every bone in my body, that he wasn't dead, that he isn't dead. No matter who or what told me the opposite, I knew it. I'm so dumb."

"You know..." Dipper sat down next to her, and looked to the small stream of water, "I kind of felt the same way."

"You- you did?" Mabel looked to her brother and shoved him down before shouting, "well, why didn't you tell me!?"

"Because I didn't want to be hurt again!" Dipper desperately explained. Mabel looked to him for a long moment, and then back to the water, "I... one day, I just sort of felt like he was fine, and all it took was a phone call telling me he died, with the backing of the cops here and I... I didn't know what to think, you know? What do you do when your gut tells you one thing but all the evidence of the world tells you the other?" he said in a strained breath.

"Humph," Mabel pouted, resting her head on her arms. He watched her with sad eyes as she suffered exactly as he had. That was enough for him at least let her in on his own feelings.

"If I accepted that he was dead, I figured maybe I could get past that pain quicker. I... didn't know how'd far you really go, thinking that he was still sticking around," Dipper sadly admitted, "and I didn't want to see you get hurt."

"I don't think you can help me avoid this one, bro," Mabel admitted. The two sat there, staring at the stream together, the water trickling down rocks and pebbles, splashing gently as time passed. Mabels head turned and found itself resting on her brothers shoulder, who in turn let his own head rest against her.

"I've really missed you," Dipper said quietly.

"Me too," Mabel responded.

"Guys?" a voice called from the parking lot of the funeral home. The two craned their heads around to see Wendy, followed by Soos, coming after them through the woods. "Are you two okay?" she asked.

"I think so," Dipper shrugged, "just as well as we can be I guess."

"That sounds right," Mabel said as she stood up, brushing pine needles off her legs and skirt.

"You two totally don't have to go in there if you don't want to," Wendy told them strongly, "if it's too much for you."

"How about it, Mabes?" Dipper asked his sister, who grinned and nodded, "we got it."

"Oh good, because I don't like that caretaker standing by Mister Pines one bit. Kind of looks like a skinny vampire, like he actually sleeps here in the left over coffins or something," Soos admitted, "and I totally didn't want to go back in there alone."

The four left the edge of the woods and re-entered the parking lot of the Funeral Home. As Dipper exited, he noticed only three vehicles. "Hey, Wendy," Dipper asked as he and Mabel exited with their arms wrapped around their shoulders, "how did you get here? I don't see your... uh, car? Bike?"

"Oh, Soos picked me up, man," Wendy told him.

"Yeah, spotted her walking over, and decided I'd offer the lift. It's dangerous to be walking around the woods alone, you know," Soos told Wendy, who rolled her eyes.

"I can handle myself, you know that," she told her co-worker.

"True, but you know who else could handle himself? Gandhi," Soos said with certainty, "and you know what happened to him? He's dead."

The others laughed as the approached the funeral home once again. The caretaker stood outside, his arms folded behind his back as he glared at the four as they made their return. "If we may conclude the services before sundown, please," the tall man stepped backwards inside as he faced them.

"Told ya," Soos whispered to the others, "really creepy."

"Now, since my podium and the coffin has both been destroyed by your actions," the caretaker told them, "I will permit you only to speak from this distance to the body of Mister Pines. No closer, understood?"

"Of course sir," Dipper nodded, and looked past him towards the coffin, and noticed a single touch from the scene missing, "sir, did you move something back there?"

"Excuse me?" the man asked in a rising voice. Dipper looked around, unsure if he had said something offensive. "Are you questioning my buildings conditions?" the caretaker snapped.

Dipper pointed past the man towards the coffin. "Uh... no," he said, "where did you move Grunkle Stan's body?"

The four looked around him and the tall man spun, and all were shocked to find that, indeed, Stanley Pines had vanished. The caretaker moved closer to the casket, uncertain as to what to do or say, and then he rounded on the others.

"Which of you did this!?" he demanded as he towered over the others. Soos yelped, and quickly ran for the bathroom as he grabbed a crucifix from the wall. the caretaker rounded on the three who stayed put. "I... I will not stand for this ridiculousness anymore! I want to know who put you up to this sordid prank!"

"Sir, this isn't any kind of prank!" Dipper exclaimed.

"Yeah, we didn't move anything!" Mabel also added.

"Then explain that!" he pointed to the coffin once again, and the three were agape without an answer. The caretakers eyes bulged, and his breathing grew faster as he wildly stared at the three. "I'll... I'll make you all-!" he roared.

"Back, undead fiend!"

A tin bucket filled with freezing water and a large crucifix slammed into the tall man's head. He collapsed to the floor instantly, soaking his clothes in cold water that quickly spilled from the bucket. He still breathed, but his tongue lolled out and his eyes were no longer straight.

"Soos!?" Dipper called.

"Uh... just wanted to be sure it wasn't a vampire, you know," Soos said from across the room by the bathroom where he had just hurled the bucket, "holy water and a crucifix?"

"Nice shot!" Mabel congratulated her friend.

"I don't think the holy stuff is what got him down, to be honest," Wendy said out loud, "that was the bucket's job mostly."

The four moved the tall man to the side, and then turned back. The casket was still empty, and what was more, there were no signs of a struggle or markings that indicated he was dragged away.

"Okay guys," Dipper said out loud, facing his allies in a very quick turn of leadership, "we need to figure this out. Each of us needs to look inside one of the rooms, and scan around for any kind of evidence to suggest where Grunkle Stan went. Wendy, check outside around the building," he pointed to the tall redhead, "Mabel, check the office," Mabel saluted as Dipper pointed to her, "and Soos, stay here and guard this guy while I look through the other smaller rooms."

"You got it bud," Soos nodded, and then gave the unconscious man a scrutinizing stare. The other three began scanning the rooms. Minutes passed as they scanned every shelf, every corner, under the bed and desk, under the seats, in the bathroom stalls, under trees, and even on the roof, and yet they found nothing. Finally they came back, and Soos was now guarding the conscious, frightened, still soaked tall man caretaker, who was staring at Soos with fear.

"What do you all want? Money? I have only a little," he admitted fearfully to the four as they loomed over him.

"Whose blood have you drained?" Soos asked quickly, poking the man in his head with a glove of garlic he somehow procured. "Come quietly and there won't be any need for biblical passages."

"Blood? E-excuse me?!" the caretaker said as he winced with each poke.

"Soos, hold on," Dipper said, stepping closer, "who else is here?"

"There should only be me! You! Us!" the man cried out. As soon as he had, there was a rustling outside, and the four turned towards the door. Wendy was first out, bolting for the door like her life depended on it. When she arrived outside, she scanned around as Soos and Dipper gave chase.

"I... I don't see anything," Dipper stated as he breathed quickly.

"I could have sworn we heard some sort of footsteps," Soos admitted.

"We did," Wendy told them firmly, her face screwed up as she tried peering through the trees, "but I checked everywhere outside, and there was no one here man!"

"Hey guys!" Mabel called from inside, and the three turned. She was bent below the casket platform, and was reaching under a wrapping of small curtains. When she stood up, she held up something very peculiar in both hands.

"Well," Dipper said with a quick sigh and rubbed the side of his head, "I think we have ourselves a mystery. Haven't been back for a full day and we're about to get into another mystery, aren't we?"

"Yup!" Mabel said happily, holding in one hand a faint almost transparent white string, and in the other what appeared to be a small solid cylinder of a faint blue color that was transparent, yet hummed a cool white light as she waved it around. "Look guys! I'm a Jedi! VRHHMMM VRHHMMM!" she shouted as she swung the object around with her hand.

The four returned to the mystery shack hastily after their discovery of the two objects. The only delay they had was with Soos, who decided that to ensure 'no hard feelings', would offer the caretaker a big bag of garlic and onion flavored nacho chips. It was then the caretaker screamed for them to leave before the authorities got involved, and they took their cue to leave.

The group were collected in the gift shop. Dipper and Soos stared at the blue cylinder and string on the counter while Wendy leaned against the wall, going though a mental list of who would do this, and who could. Mabel was busy drawing a crude sketch of the funeral home.

"Boy... dudes, I have no idea," Soos admitted after a while of staring. "That sort of thing isn't like anything I've really seen before."

"It kind of looks like a battery, doesn't it?" Wendy said, looking down from the ceiling to observe the object.

"Yeah, but for what? And what kind of battery emits light?" Dipper scratched his cap that rested on his head. I kind of wish they all did that, so you can tell when their charged or whatever, as long as it didn't drain the battery itself-"

"Stay on target, bro," Mabel snorted, "maybe its an alien tube used for mini-men transport!" Mabel guessed from the floor, where she continued to doodle the building happily.

"Aliens? I'd prefer faeries. At least you can squash them if you can catch them," Soos admitted, "but Aliens have all that crazy technology."

"Let's not jump to any conclusions yet," Dipper called aloud.

"Yeah," Wendy agreed, "besides, we already have, like, a hundred people who would want to potentially mess around with Stan when he was alive. Why add someone to the list now?"

"Exactly," Dipper pointed to Wendy, and then held up the two objects, "and all we have is a glowing transparent battery and a white piece of string. Mabel, you got that map yet?"

"Yup!" she stood up from the floor and placed the large paper down. The map itself was, for the most part, correct. Of the funeral home it was made, but many exaggerations had been added, such as the rainbow-unicorn stampede behind the building, and the hovering smiley faces that were added everywhere.

"A unique design!" Soos commented with a nod of approval.

"I like to consider myself a potential interior-exterior designer," Mabel grinned as she spun two colored pencils between her fingers.

"So, let's get this started: Mabel and I ran out here, by these woods," Dipper pointed, "and you two eventually followed, having the Caretaker stand by the door waiting for us. This means that there was an approximate," he counted with his fingers as he looked up, thinking, "five minute window while we were outside, and the caretaker wasn't looking, for someone to hide away the body-"

"Or steal it. We can't rule out theft here," Wendy added.

"Right, or stole him. Which, if Mabel, you got this right," Dipper gave his twin a uncertain look, "there were only two doors that could have been used. We had the caretaker at the front door, and since he didn't seem like he knew what was going on, I think we can rule out for now he was involved with this."

"Sounds good," Soos stated.

"Which unless Grunkle Stan decided to get up and walk out himself, means whoever took the body used the door here, by the emergency exit," Dipper pointed to the main ceremony hall, where a small red mark by a door and a frowny face labeled the emergency door, "and the alarm wasn't activated."

"So whoever did this has a little background into trespassing," Wendy stated aloud. Mabel suddenly gasped.

"Guys, we're forgetting something really important!" she exclaimed and pointed to the office and bathrooms, "there are open windows in all these rooms."

"Those windows weren't that big," Dipper argued.

"You really think one person was able to carry out Grunkle Stan, and not make a sound?" Mabel argued with a knowing look to the others, "he was a big guy."

"If it wasn't one person, then who?" Soos asked.

"Not who... what," Dipper reached instinctively under his vest for a book that wasn't there, and groaned, "right. They're locked away somewhere here."

"One second dude," Soos grinned and left the counter, retrieving a set of keys from his pocket as he walked away.

"Is there anything we can rule out, at least?" Wendy tried.

"Sure. Gobblewonker!" Mabel proclaimed.

"Technically true, but really far from on target," Dipper commented, and faced the drawing, "it's hard to say. Probably anything brutish or big bodied, so giant creatures are less likely. So it would have to be human sized or smaller or lighter."

"What, no big bellied dwarves?" Mabel poked her brother in the gut.

"If they were heavy enough, wouldn't their footsteps have echoed or creaked the wooden floors?" Dipper asked to his sister.

"It was carpeted in some areas," Wendy pointed out. Dipper sighed, frustrated with their multitude of unclear leads. He was totally uncertain of how to approach this one. Mabel leaned closer to her picture, and added a series of lines protruding around the center of the casket.

"To emphasize missing person," she admitted with smile.

"Got it!" Soos called as he stepped inside, holding the fabled and mysterious Journal - the third.

"Awesome!" Dipper grabbed the journal from his friend, and placed it down, immediately opening it up. "Okay, lets put a limit on the size of creature that can fit inside without being noticed," Dipper said around, "maybe like... a hundred pounds?" The others nodded and he began to flip pages.

"Gnomes?" Soos pointed, "they're small and light-weighted. They wouldn't be spotted if they were being sneaky."

"And they can cluster together to do evil-nasty-deeds," Mabel agreed, pointing to the page, "aaaand they don't like us. Just some bad past with those boogers."

"Definitely true, but they wouldn't have much incentive to steal uncle Stan, would they?" Dipper replied, staring at the page of gnome facts, "why wouldn't they just come for us when we were in the woods?"

"So... four out of ten on the possible suspect rating?" Soos asked, holding a sharpie up to map.

"You can added it here on the stalls," Mabel pointed to the bathrooms, "that way the happy faces know which stalls they are looking for."

"What about ghosts?" Dipper asked, passing a single page on ghosts.

"Yeah, right," Wendy laughed.

"Why not?" Dipper asked her, and she gave him a look.

"It's a funeral home, not a crime scene. Don't people have to die inside the place to haunt them?" She pointed out.

"I... uh, it does state," flipping pages of the ghost sections', "here that 'while hauntings do tend to stay within the area of ones death, cases of ghostly activity have been recorded outside of an expected region'. So, it could be something supernatural like an undead," Dipper read aloud. Wendy looked displeased, but said nothing.

"If it was a ghost though, wouldn't it be Mister Pines?" Soos asked.

"Pfft, I'm just going to take this one over," Mabel said, pulling the book to her and whipping pages ahead until she stopped, nodded, and held it for the others to see, "I think we can agree this puts our other suspects at the bottom of the list."

"Faeries? Really?" Dipper asked his sister as they looked at the page together. Displayed as a sketch was a tiny person, no larger than a small mouse, with tall ears and tiny wings.

"Well, Dipper, look at your evidence," she pointed to the two objects, "we have a pretty glowy thingy. Faeries like sparkles, like me, and I like that thing, so I think that whatever that battery thing is could have come from a faerie."

"Your logic is sound," Soos nodded.

"And as for that," Mabel grabbed the string and began to analyze it, feeling it between her fingers, and then rubbing it on her face.

"Is... there any purpose for doing that?" Dipper asked his sister, who then sniffed it.

"Woah, I feel like all intellectual now," she stated, holding it away, "it smells funky, slash smart, slash dusty."

"What does that even-" Dipper started, but Mabel quickly shoved one end of the string into his nose, and he nearly gagged, "Eugh!" he coughed and wiped his nose, but stalled, "wait... she's not kidding, I recognize that smell!"

"Let me try," Soos asked, and was handed the string. After a sniff, he nodded, "hmm... bookworm. That's what I get," And Soos took one end, and quickly bit off a chunk. The others stared at him as he chewed, eyes wide in amazement as his willingness to eat seemingly anything. "Hmm," Soos mused, "it is really sweet though. Kind of makes me... oh, right, sorry dudes," he apologized with a chuckle, noticing their looks.

"It tastes sweet!?" Mabel demanded and ripped some off for herself with a bite, nearly ripping it in half.

"Guys!" Dipper took the rest away, cupping it protectively in his hnads, "we need this!"

"It's like what I've always imagined real brain food tastes like... sweet, but with a scent of hard studying," Mabel pondered as she chewed.

Dipper took a look at the string in his hand, and moved it to his gaze. At close proximity, he could actually see that the tiny filaments that entwined together to make the string, and with a sudden realization Dipper noticed that they were melting.

"What melts when in contact with saliva, is sweet, and has strong scents?" Dipper asked to himself.

"Candy?" Wendy proposed quickly. Dipper turned to her, and then looked to the string. "You really think its some bad joke candy, like those nasty tasting jelly blocks?"

"This isn't a jelly block," Dipper proclaimed, excitement flooding through him, "but I think I know where we can find out what it really is. They do say Faeries like sweet things... Isn't there a candy store in town?" he asked to Soos and Wendy.

"Yup. On main street- been open here forever! Maybe if we find out what this is, we can discover who's been using it!" Soos proclaimed. Dipper quickly got up and made for the door.

"Yeah! Part two of the new mystery twin investigation- codename: Sticky Smart!" Mabel cheered as she followed her brother. The twins had made it to the door when they realized their footsteps were alone. "You guys don't want to tag along?" Mabel spun quickly after she peeked over her shoulder.

"Well, it may be a smart idea to stay here too," Soos stated thoughtfully, "especially if this person has Mister Pines. They could come looking for his stuff!"

"Dudes, you two got it," Wendy told them leaning her back against the cash register, "just remember- don't do anything stupid, without telling us later, okay?"

Dipper looked between the two of them, and slid open his phone from his pocket.

"Wait, you have a cell phone?" Mabel asked Dipper with awe. "Mom spoils you!"

"I had, like, four clubs. I needed to update her on stuff I was doing, in case my schedule changed," Dipper told her as he stepped up to the others, "Soos, you have your phone still right?"

"Yup!" Soos stated and held out his phone for inspection, a contraption of older times barely kept alive by an assortment of duct tape, and the essence of hope.

"Here's my number," Dipper showed them the properties of the phone and the number listed to both Wendy and Soos, "text me and I'll make sure we can stay in contact."

"Gotcha buddy!" Soos nodded as he typed one button at a time, as Wendy casually flipped out her own phone and was able to easily punch in the number twice as fast as Soos could. After a moment, Dipper got two messages: one from Soos reading 'heya dude :)', and the other reading 'ur a dorkface :-p' from a particular redhead.

"Nice," Dipper smiled at the two and closed his phone, "we'll let you know what we uncover."

"Stay safe, you two," Soos told them as he watched them leave, worry flickering in his eyes.

"If you end up having to beat anyone up, punch them once for me, okay?" Wendy shouted after them as they ran to their rides and drove off, spilling gravel into the air.

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