Summer, Idle No More: Part 2

Within half an hour, the twins had made considerably no progress towards their mission. Their first stop had been to the police station, where they were greeted less than warmly. Being related to Stanley Pines put them in the books as trouble-makers, which turned to be detrimental to their goal for help. When they came to the station, announcing the body of their Grand Uncle had been stolen, the attending officer scoffed at them, claiming it was no longer their problem. Mabel had to drag a infuriated Dipper from the officer in question.

With little to no help from the authorities, they turned their attention to the strange flossy-material. They made their way towards the candy store, and found themselves interrogating an old pudgy man, a red face and balding hair. Dipper was quick to begin interrogating the shopkeeper, who immediately was uncomfortable with the sudden and direct accusations Dipper made with the string. Mabel was quite the useful counter to Dipper's forwardness, as she constantly proclaimed the shop-keeper as Santa, and even managed to buy an entire filled-to-the-brim bag of candy. As Dipper spoke, Mabel had more and more candy that, eventually having eaten five jumbo sized gummy koalas and a bag of sugar-sand.

"I think I see the particles of air now," was the first thing Mabel said as she stepped out of the shop with her brother, "they just keep bumping into each other and away, except they can't, because another little guy smashes into them too- it just keeps going and going and going..."

"Uh... you're not going to finish your bag, are you?" Dipper asked with concern, looking to the bag Mabel held at her side, still filled with different candy. Her reply was to reach inside and slap into her open mouth a handful of gummy-snakes and Dipper looked to his sister with worry. "If you get sick, its on you."

"So what boring thing did you find out while... I think I can see into space," Mabel whispered as she suddenly stared up into the sky, and began to smile. Dipper sighed as he watched her gasp and her eyes dilated as she then bent down at looked at the ground.

"It's sugar-floss. It's not really meant to be eaten, but it's great for air-fresheners. You dye it with scents, and they are supposed to just stay fresh forever," Dipper explained, sniffing what remained of the sugar-floss. "No idea why this one smells like... I don't know from what, but I know this smell! Like... clean something! New... something!"

"GIMME," Mabel rumbled and snatched the floss from her brother.

"Hey!" he shouted as she tossed her candy into the open window of his car, and got onto her bike, and he stepped to her, "are you sure you should be on a bike at all?"

"There never could be a better time. Dipper," she placed a hand on his shoulder, "the time is nigh. Now we charge FORTH!" she shouted as she turned the bike on, and sped forward, nearly hitting her brother and spinning onto the sidewalk before riding back onto the street. Dipper yelped as he dodged her advance and ran to get into his car. She was already down the street when he was able to start after her.

What followed for a few minutes was among the stranger things Dipper and Mabel had done. At the center of each cross or end of a street, Mabel would halt for a moment, hold the string to her face, sniff, and wave her head around. She combed the air like a bloodhound for the same scent that the two seemed to know, yet could not define.

It was by the last street when Dipper was beginning to lose faith in his sister's nose. They had made their way through the entire town, lead by a single string, and the will of his twin sister. No sooner had Dipper been ready to pull over and try waving her down to try looking elsewhere when she stopped suddenly. She turned left and right, sniffing the air, and finally spotted something. Dipper drove slowly up to her side, and looked to her pointing finger.

"A truck?" Dipper asked as he stared to a shipping truck parked by the road, "not exactly what I imagined for the smell-"

"Nooo," Mabel put a finger to his lips as she looked in the direction, "smell harder... you see, it lives behind the truck," she said in deep, wise words.

It was the only kind of luck the two could have; a gust of wind came by and that same scent hit Dippers nostrils. He gasped and realized he was looking past the truck to the building behind it; a library.

"Books! Fresh, newly opened books! That's what the smell is!" Dipper grinned wildly as he and his sister nodded slowly with deep gratification. "Find a parking spot and then we should pop inside!"

"I think I can do that," Mabel nodded with an open slightly crooked mouth, and her eyes zoomed out of focus.

"Mabel?" Dipper asked with uncertainty," are you... okay?"

Mabel was, for lack of a better word, sort of okay. The world buzzed and zoomed in and out of focus around her as lights, that would normally be found to be perfectly normal, were spectacular bursts of color that shook her to the core. Even as a man approached her on the opposite sidewalk, the hideous proportions of the man's face erupted like tsunami's of sight. Her hand twitched at the sight of Toby Determined, one of the local reporters, and her biked sputtered forward for a moment.

"Woah... uh, just take it slow-" Dipper started, but then Mabel screeched and her hand slid forward. The bike roared ahead and slammed into a stop-sign, and she flew off into the short and unsuspecting and very ugly man, who shrieked as she flew at him. "MABEL!" Dipper yelled got out and ran over to her as quickly as he could.

"I'm good!" Mabel stood up, and walked over a stunned and discombobulated Toby Determined, who was groaning on the ground, his eyes unfocused and spinning.

"Dang... uh," Dipper said after looking around, "I'll just help you here... and uh, maybe you should get some ice? Maybe?" Dipper asked as he lifted up the shorter man and gently lifted him to the side to rest against the building. The ugly reporter's bulbous eyes became unfocused and closed, and he began to snore as he rested against the building.

After checking the status of her bike, which was miraculously fine despite hitting the stop sign, the two entered the library. Like many of the buildings in gravity falls, it was surprisingly large on the inside. Mabel took a deep whiff of the string and then of the air around her. As she let go the air with a sign, she looked to her brother and nodded.

"This smells exactly the same," she told him.

"Great... but why would someone want to dye string to smell like a library?" Dipper asked as he peered around.

"Can I help you?" a voice asked from behind them. The two turned and found a woman with glasses that truly threw her proportions horribly. Her eyes bugged out like crazy, giving her an insect like stare.

"Wow!" Mabel gasped and stared at her, "your glasses are amazing."

"Mabel," Dipper elbowed her gut.

"You think so?" the middle aged woman asked, adjusting her thick glasses, "I tend to think it makes me scary looking. Kids won't come in anymore unless I put these away."

"They make you magnanimous," Mabel told her with a grin. The woman smiled gently, her raven black hair with silver streaks shining in the light above her. "Hey," Mabel added, "what does this smell like to you?" Mabel asked her suddenly, and held the string to the woman. She looked to it, and gave it a quick sniff.

"Why, it is lovely," the librarian stated.

"What does it make you think of?" Dipper asked quickly, not wanting to miss the chance at getting something close to a professional opinion.

"Like a freshly opened novel, or perhaps a sixth edition textbook, or maybe a new popular magazine," the woman began to list, a happy smile as she dreamt about that smell.

"Well, thanks Miss Eye-sore," Mabel said with a thumbs up. Dipper quickly smacked the back of her head. "Ow! Hey!"

"She didn't mean any disrespect miss..." Dipper than read the name-tag on her librarian outfit: Isoar, "oh."

"I beg your pardon?" Miss Isoar asked. Dipper shook his head awkwardly to the librarian, and found a cross Mabel staring at him.

"My bad- ouch!" Dipper barked as she gave him a hard flick upside his nose. Mabel turned from the desk and marched into the shop- Dipper followed, massaging his harmed nose. As they peered down the shelves of books, posters flickered past them, ranging from "Mystery Shack Re-Opening," to "The Life of a Treasure Hunter" and other odd advertisements.

"I think I saw that one somewhere else in town," Dipper pointed to the treasure hunter advertisement.

"Dipper, come here," Mabel stated with a trailing voice. Dipper turned from the small poster, and walked to his sister, who was standing in a reading clearing, with several worn couches and love seats. "Do you feel something?" she asked him.

As he stepped closer he looked around. There was something off about where they were. Suddenly one of his hairs fell out from under his hat, and gently swayed back and forth before him. He pulled gently at it, and then stared at his sister. Her hair was also swaying gently back and forth.

"It's drafty," Dipper realized, "why would it be drafty here?"

"Well, duh," Mabel poked a tongue at her brother, "there is a secret passage somewhere."

"In a public library? I think it's more likely that the building just sucks at air flow design than... but..." Dipper found Mabel giving him a look, and he cut out his own second guessing, and decided to look around, "lets try finding the source of the wind."

"Yeah!" Mabel exclaimed as the two took to different shelves, and began to feel around the books and the air between aisles. "Hey Dip?" Mabel asked as they moved down one together.

"Yeah?"

"So... when we figure out... whatever this turns out to be," Mabel started," what do you think we should do?"

Dipper turned to face her from the other side of an aisle, looking at her with uncertainty. In his mind, he knew the answer that comforted him the most, but wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her. Yet he had no better answer than the single truth.

"I guess we'll bury Grunkle Stan, and go home," Dipper said simply as he turned away, looking as deliberately as he could towards other books around him.

Mabel stared at him as he did, and leaned back against another shelf, not interested in the search anymore. She had been anticipating that answer, and hearing it didn't do any job of making her feel better. She missed her brother more than she had ever realized, and now, watching from across the bookshelf, she saw a part of herself that she had been missing for two years.

Her mind considered the idea of even throwing off the investigation. If they were to keep looking for Stan, maybe she could get him to stay around a bit longer, and she could enjoy her own twin brothers company. Yet her guilt overrode this thought. She wanted this business with Grunkle Stan over; it wouldn't be fair to let his body just sit around if they had the chance to save it and give it a proper rest. Yet she could feel herself still argue that. Deep inside, her darn stubbornness told her as long as she felt like he was still around, he was.

"Yeah, I guess so," Mabel finally said as she turned from the shelf and continued looking. Minutes passed in silence; Dipper checked the rows of books while Mabel scanned the side shelves, staring at each cover with scrutiny. Suddenly Mabel got a tiny gust of wind in her eyeball and she gasped.

"What is it?" Dipper called from a distant row, yet very capable of hearing her.

"I think I was just blinded to the truth!" Mabel sneered as she realized that the particular set of shelves she was staring at was its own individual unit. Dipper trotted over quickly and with one look to the shelf he nodded his head. All the books were fresh and new, and in fact, the title of this arrangement was 'Fresh Arrivals'.

"That could be it," he stated. Then, as he felt his hands around the sides of the unit, he found something. His fingers felt a detached fabric of some sort, and tugged at it. A long pale string came undone and soon fluttered in the newly strengthened breeze. "It is definitely here."

"Step back!" Mabel declared, pushing Dipper away with a bold hand. She placed herself directly before the shelf, and with a commanding boom roared, "OPEN SESAME!"

"I do love that quote," the Librarian called from the front of the store, followed by a strong and harsh 'shh'. The bookshelf remained motionless. Dipper and Mabel exchanged looks, and approached the wood. Little to no indication of change was present, and Mabel tried tugging it to her.

"If this thing does move, it's locked down real tight," she told her brother, who nodded.

"Maybe its not a auditory command, but a puzzle," he guessed, and looked around to the books. He spotted one particularly outstanding and grinned. "Ah, a big mistake to choose such a well known classic," he said as he reached for e dark black covered book, "Dracula." He retrieved the book, and pulled it from its resting spot. Nothing followed. Dipper's hand fell from its pose, and he angrily put it back. "Maybe... this one," he pulled out a book with a cover of men in futuristic suits of armor and weapons. Still nothing.

Dipper continued ripping books off the shelf and putting them back for minutes before he angrily paced back and forth, wondering if there was something he was missing. As he paced, mumbling to himself, Mabel leaned closer. Just behind the shelf she swore she heard something. A ticking sound, like Clockwork.

"Maybe it's a multi-lock system," Dipper guessed aloud.

His heart raced at the idea of a bomb, but none of the books had any kind of triggering system, so he wondered what the source of that ticking sound was. Dipper growled and scraped his scalp in frustration when she spotted a single book, so boring sounding and dull that it caused her to groan.

"But there would be more than one region of draft if there was... did we miss one?" Dipper continued.

"Standard Dusting Procedures," she gagged as she read the spine cover. Without a hint of regard for the book, she clutched it and yanked it down. With a quick click, the ticking sound stopped.

"Dipper," Mabel called to her brother.

"Huh?" he asked, brought out of his train of thought.

"I... just removed his book. Wanna bet something happens when I put it back?" Mabel grinned, wiggling the book in mid air. Dipper took her jest the wrong way, and angrily snatched the book from her hand.

"I'm working on it," he hissed at her and then he placed it back hurriedly. He turned to continue his pacing when a very loud scrape of metal emanated from behind the wall. Dipper stalled in his steps, and the two of them watched as the bookshelf slid back into the wall, and descended into the ground. Before them was a rough and rugged tunnel of wooden boards and exposed earth around them that lead down, illuminated by construction lanterns.

"Cue draft," Mabel gleamed cockily as the wind fell out, passing the two. The dull scent of dug earth billowed past as well.

"Here," Dipper pointed to the floor, where a layer of white floss-like string lay, "maybe it was to mask the smell of... whatever this is," Dipper wondered as he examined the string below him.

"Wanna find out what 'it' is?" Mabel grinned at her brother, who returned a worried look. Mabel took the first step inside, and Dipper, after hearing the cranks and cogs that operated the door starting to turn to life once more, rushed inside with his sister. The shelf closed behind them with a snap, and they both spotted an obvious lever that would operate the mechanism.

"Wow, this brings back some memories," Mabel excitedly said as she led the way, peering ahead in the tunnels. Dipper checked his phone, and sighed.

"No signal. We're totally cut off from the surface down here," he announced to Mabel, who just shrugged.

"We got out of worse stuff than this without a cell phone," she reminded him. Dipper checked his phone once more, and slid it away, hurrying after his sister. The cave was slowly more and more exposed rock and dirt than boards and panels. Eventually, they came to a new entrance. There, a set of metal tracks lead them one of two ways.

"We're in the mines now," Dipper said quietly, uncertain of what could await as he looked both ways.

"Lets go to the right," Mabel declared.

"Wait," Dipper held her back for a moment, "maybe we should head back. Get Soos or Wendy to come down here. For all we know, this could be what we're looking for, and if we don't have backup, we could-"

"Dipper," Mabel turned to face him, and placed a hand on his shoulder, "trust me. Trust us, okay?"

Dipper gave her a look, and then peered down the long winded path ahead. His heart skipped a beat at the idea of harm befalling himself, or more importantly, his sister. Yet her eyes shone with that same brilliant strength they had her entire life, and he sighed with a smirk.

"Lead the way, lady adventurer," Dipper told her, and she stood straight, saluted, did a one hundred eighty degree turn, and marched ahead.

The two walked for what could have been an hour, watching the path of the tracks lead through curves and waves in the earth. Their footsteps echoed as they watched ahead for any signs of life, sounds of movement, or strange smells. It wasn't until Mabel spotted an end to their present curvature that the two stopped.

Ahead was a massive chamber, easily hundreds of feet across that spiraled downwards. Two separate tracks, one that started from the opposite side of the chamber and the one they currently stood atop of, circled downwards to the center, much tighter and far more confined than the massive space at the top. Hanging from the ceiling were ropes and support chains that were still connected to vital areas of support, or hung loose and swayed slowly around.

"This place is soo cool," Mabel tried restraining her excitement.

"Don't pop a blood vessel yet," Dipper said, peering around, "I... I think there's stuff at the bottom, look," he pointed to what appeared to be a collection of tables, several chairs and some large cages. They began the careful walk down one of the two spiraling tracks into the pit. Their footsteps echoed louder and louder as they approached the bottom, all the while they took in the majestic view.

"Look," Dipper pointed to where Mabel was about to step. A single page of the poster they had seen earlier about treasure hunters had made it down here, but then ahead of that was a spilled selection of pages.

"What are they?" Mabel asked as she approached.

"It's some sort of research," Dipper said aloud, "look here, 'Gravity Falls, despite having little to no historical significance, has had an impact on paranormal researchers in recent times', and this one says, 'the evidence of supernatural is only deterred slightly by the sleepy-town feel of delightful men and women, from running grocery stores to gift shops'."

"Who could care about Gravity Falls?" Mabel asked with a crooked eyebrow, "do you think this has something to do with the government?"

"They wouldn't care to hide down here," Dipper thought aloud. Suddenly, from the depths of the pit, a voice called to them.

"Hey, Hey! You up there! I know you can hear me!"

The grip on the papers Dipper had dissolved instantly, and the papers fell aside, some spilling down below. Dipper and Mabel didn't even need to look at each other; for they knew that voice perfectly well.

"Oh, look, papers. It's nice you think I'm capable enough to saw my way out of metal cages with pieces of paper, but you've got the wrong genius. Get down here and help an old man out!"

The two ran faster than they had in all of their lives, barreling down the tracks with reckless disregard. Their footsteps thundered around the walls as they gasped for air. Their feet had minds of their own, desperation carrying to them levels of energy unprecedented in their lives. It was impossible, too wonderful to believe, that waiting for them down below, trapped in a large metal cage was him.

"Grunkle Stan!" The two screamed as they ran to him.

"K-KIDS!?" Grunkle Stan's eyes bulged out of his head as he saw them just barely above. They raced down and, stopping just short of slamming into the metal bars, reached through the cage and embraced their uncle. "What in Moses' holy name are you two doing here?!"

"We... we," Dipper couldn't get out, holding his Uncle tightly. The man sported the same grey five o-clock shadow he earlier, but his hair grey hair was more disheveled than usual. Large nose and ears gave proportions to his face and as he let go of them through the cages, they could make out the large muscle mass he still held in his arms and shoulders.

"You're safe!" Mabel declared as she looked at her uncle through the bars.

"Eh, safe isn't the word I'd use to describe our situation; but hey! Look at his nice suit I got for free!" he stepped back and spun, displaying the black suit from the funeral, "suckers gave me a suit for some reason! HA!"

"Grunkle Stan, you died!" Dipper looked at his grand Uncle, confusion wrapping his entire being. "You... you're supposed to be dead!"

"No he isn't! Otherwise he wouldn't be here," Mabel told her brother. Grunkle Stan only then looked to the two and his eyes widened.

"Look, you two need to go hide yourselves, okay? This isn't a safe place!" he ordered aloud as his eyes darted around in fear.

"Why?" Mabel asked. Dipper did a quick look around as they spoke, and only then realized that the cage wasn't the only object sitting around the bottom of the mine. A desk, dozens of large and small crates, and a large overturned wooden wardrobe all stood silently around them.

"What, do you think I put myself in here? Maybe I LIKE being locked in a cage?" Grunkle Stan asked them incredulously.

"Wait... if you didn't put yourself there, then who did?" Dipper asked aloud.

"I bet it was mole-men," Mabel said with a serious stare to her brother.

"Close enough," A gruff and attractive male voice called from above. The twins whipped around.

Standing above them with two Great Dane dogs on either side was a strong and chiseled looking man. Dusty leather jacket and worn dress slacks were completed with his even dustier and trodden leather hat. He had perfect eyebrows, manly and strong but well kept and natural, while his dark eyes shone down at them. His squinted eyes narrowed down on the twins as they looked up, and realized he had a revolver pointed right for them.

"Ahhh... darn it," Grunkle Stan sighed.

"Neither of you two move. I could miss a shot, but these two," the man above stated, mentioning his dogs, "will keep chasing you."

"Who are you, you devilish rouge!?" Mabel called above as the man slowly descended down, his gun trained on the two of them, his hounds at his heel. "You don't appear to be a faerie!"

"Yeah, we were way off with that one," Dipper admitted.

"I'm surprised you haven't seen my face around here. I may be new, but I was certain a few people came to my talks in this town," the man admitted.

"You... you must be Montana Jeffreys!" Dipper exclaimed as he watched the man descend towards them.

"Who?" Mabel and Grunkle Stan demanded.

"Good one, kid," the tall and handsome man nodded, his strong dark eyes on the two of them, "I'm a treasure hunter who deals with extraordinary artifacts and creatures alike. I'm surprised you knew about me at all. No one these days seems to know my name anymore," Montana Jefferys added with a bitter note.

"Your posters were in town everywhere," Dipper informed him.

"Forgot about that," Montana growled. He whistled to his dogs, and they approached the twins, forcing them to back away from the cage. He reached over to a table and from a drawer, pulled out a large metal key. He walked over to Grunkle Stans cage, and while his gun was pointed Stan, he opened it up. "You two, inside," he nodded towards the cage. They obliged, but only after a quick look at the dogs, who stared at the two with sharp eyes. Montana closed the door with a bang and locked it up, and tossed they key on the table.

"Now, let's get to business," Montana said aloud, and turned to the dogs, "Diana, get the book bag."

"What do you want with us?" Dipper demanded, and the edges of the treasure hunter's lips quirked up slightly, portraying a man who's plans were all going smoothly.

"You'll know in a moment," he said as the dog named Diana trotted over with none other than Dipper's backpack.

"HEY!" Dipper exclaimed, "THATS MINE!"

"You shouldn't leave your windows open in the middle of a forest," Montana said cockily, patting the head of the dog, "you never know what can climb in and steal something."

"It was the dog that we heard earlier!" Mabel gasped as she recalled to the Funeral home, and the sound of someone hastily running around outside.

"Give it back!" Dipper exclaimed angrily.

"I don't care about the bag, kid," Montana admitted, as he reached inside and pulled out a simple folder.

"Wait... the will?" Dipper asked with a quick blink.

"Bingo," The Treasure Hunter nodded and tossed the backpack to the cage, where Dipper clutched it and pulled it inside, "the will of the mystery shack. I want that land."

"Oh great, another Gideon," Grunkle Stan slapped a hand onto his grey hair, "well you're getting the same answer that he did: heck no!"

"It's not under your legal ability to decide that, old man," Montana told Grunkle Stan strongly, "it's theirs."

"What!?" Stan shouted, clutching the bars, and then looking at his grand niece and nephew, "what happened while I was asleep?"

"Wasn't just asleep," Montana explained, going to sit on a rickety old wooden chair," I hit you with a strong tranquilizer. Strong enough, I think, to put you into a serious coma."

"Oh... that explains why my mouth was so dry... and why I woke up in the funeral home... what?" he demanded from his relatives, who stared at him, "I just thought that was a wild vivid dream!"

"The cops said you died!" Dipper told his Grunkle.

"Aren't there crazy cases where people are in such a state of near-death they're often mistake for being dead?" Mabel asked, and Dipper gave her a look. "What?"

"Either way, since the official records state that you died," Montana continued, "your authority to decide the ownership of the mystery shack no longer belongs to you. But to these two have the ability," he pointed a finger at the twins, "and they're going to sign off their names, and I'll put my name at the end."

"Dude... why do you care about the shack anyway?" Dipper demanded with confusion, "it's just a tourist trap!" Montana gave the three a nice, long look, his eyes distant and cold. He stood from his chair with a dramatic step to the side.

"Oh cool," Mabel said excitedly to the three, "he's going to monologue!"

"Ugh, great," Grunkle Stan groaned, "tell me anything important comes up, will ya? I'm just going to do more important things with my life," he said as he sat down, and began to pick his nose.

"I used to be a great adventurer," Montana began, "people looked up to me. I was the image of manly actions and journeys: scourging tombs yet uncovered, fighting cursed creatures, evening getting a dame here or there. But... people cared less and less for tomb raiding and catacomb exploring."

"I feel like I've heard of Tomb Raiding before, somewhere," Dipper said aside to his sister.

"All these movies about mystery and horror, about romance and love- people don't need someone like me anymore," Montana Jefferys said sadly, "I'm just a washed up old grave digger by society standards now," both the dogs came walking up to him, nudging him with their noses, "all I really have left are my dogs."

"But this... this town could be the big bounce back in my career," he then continued with fever, "the research from just about anywhere says that this town hides secrets left and right. Missing persons, paranormal sightings, mysticism and all manner of beastly critters roam the night. All I have to do is get a foothold in, one that no one would think twice about; like that shack, and I'll have a source to capture as much of these things and sell them. I'd finally live in retirement like I dreamed I could, happy and safe."

"Dude, not to burst your bubble, but capturing these things isn't a walk in the park," Dipper told him, "just try getting a Gremloblin into a cage. It's nasty business."

"I'll take my chances," the gruff man said to Dipper, standing up, and reaching for a pen and the will, "so... let's make a deal. You sign your name off and hand over all the land to me, and I let you all walk home without a scratch. How's that sound?"

Dipper stared at the pen. He quickly looked to Stan, who returned the stare with uncertainty. The shack was worth everything to Stanley Pines, and Stanley pines was worth worlds to Dipper and Mabel. They practically summoned an army the last time an invader presented itself to the Mystery Shack. But this man was determined; he nearly killed Grunkle Stan in the attempt to take the property away, and now he had them even worse- locked in a cage.

Dipper's finger tips reached forward and took the pen, and he looked cautiously to his sister. Her eyes went from the pen to Dipper, and he felt deep down that he knew what she was going to do before he saw it happen. She reached for the pen with a deliberate grab, and with a yell she roughly tossed it into the man's eyes with force.

"OW! DAMN IT!" The treasure hunter exclaimed, holding an arm to his injured face.

"You want to try forcing us to give up our home, huh!?" Mabel shouted at the mildly harmed man, "well you can forget about any deal, regardless how handsome you are, or nicely toned out your muscles are! You're just being a big thief! A big thief with a great jaw-line!"

The dogs looked up to their angered master. He breathed heavily and his eyes narrowed in anger as he glared at the three of them. His foot then came smashing down on the pen on the ground, and he tossed the papers at the table.

"Let's see who goes through this better, then! You think you can stay in here for long without food or drink? I guess we'll have to find out," he sneered as he turned from them, and started up the spiral, and was out of sight in no time. The dogs remained, watching him go with a sad look in their eyes.

"Great... now what?" Dipper turned to the other two, "so... anyone have an idea?"

"I would have suggested that we drag him by the neck here and hold him hostage until the dogs released us, but I think we settled for throwing a pen in his face," Grunkle Stan said with a huff. Mabel looked to the dogs with a suspicious eye, and slowly pulled out remains of the sugar string.

"Mabel?" Dipper asked quietly as she tried pulling her arms around the bars and tried sticking the string into the lock.

"Maybe it will-"

"Don't even try that," one of the dogs suddenly spoke aloud. Mabel dropped her string in shock and the three instantly pushed themselves up against the bars, and as close as they could get to the dog that spoke.

"Diana," the other dog said in a warning voice.

"You two... can understand us?" Grunkle Stan gasped.

"I think you mean you three can understand us," the dog named Diana commented.

"Hahaha," Dipper snickered," you know that's kinda... true, you know... dogs are usually the one who understand... I'm the only one who think that's funny?" the other two merely looked to him, "Okay," he shrugged and turned back to the dogs.

"You two can speak English perfectly," Mabel stared at them with huge sparkling eyes, "tell me what is your secret, and I will begin teaching all dogs- a new order of canine and mankind can begin!" she attempted to bargain with enthusiasm.

"Trust me," the other dog stepped forward, her eyes narrow with mistrust, "Montey has tried teaching other dogs. We're just freaks, that's all."

"You call him Montey?" Grunkle Stan laughed at the dogs, who glared at him. "Hysterical."

"Wait... so if you can speak, then you can help us?" Dipper tried reasoning with the two. The closest huffed in his face and turned around and walked away.

"Why should we? You'd only just go and report him to authorities and then what? We go running for our lives forever?" The closest dog snapped at them.

"Nadia," the dog named Diana spoke quietly, catching the other by shock, "maybe we should help them."

"Are you crazy!?" the dog Nadia barked.

"You... want to help us?" Grunkle Stan asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"No," Diana said strongly, "I want to help our master," she said to her companion dog.

"How would letting us go help him?" Dipper asked.

"He wasn't always this desperate," Diana said sadly, "once he explored these crazy places because it was fun. On one of those explorations he discovered us. We became family so quickly, it feels like yesterday."

"It could be, for all we know," Grunkle Stan intervened, "you know, how dog years work."

"But all he wants is money now. Because he thinks it will make us all feel better. But it never will," Diana strongly proclaimed, "money is just a curse. We can be happy just being us, in a small home together, watching television or eating bad food or making fun of the other dogs who can't speak to us. I just miss my family, my sister and I," Diana looked to the other dog, who finally let her guard down and whined sadly.

Dipper had listened to the dogs, his heart strangely full of understanding. He spared a single glance to his sister, who shared the same look at the same time. It was one of the great 'near-telepathic' moments twins could have, and they understood fully.

"Hey," Dipper called to the two," I... I can't promise you that letting us go will help him see the error of his ways, but you have to make the choice to change him!"

"What?" The dogs asked in shock.

"Yeah," Mabel called from behind the bars, "you're part of this family, you two and Montey? If you never stand up for how you feel, he may never know he's hurting you!"

"Yeah, listen to these two, they're good at feelings and stuff," Grunkle Stan leaned into the bars as well, trying to milk the scene for its worth.

"You need to make a choice for yourself, not just let your future be determined by someone because you love them," Mabel told them kindly.

"Please, help us," Dipper asked them. The dogs stared at the three. The dog Nadia, with a clear and heavy sigh, walked over to the desk, picked up the key and spat it down at their feet.

"You will have a few minutes to run. But once he spots you leaving, he'll sick us on you. We're giving you a head start, but once he says go..." Diana told them as Nadina turned away from the three as Dipper reached and grabbed the key, "we're going to come for you."

"Thanks for the warning!" Mabel thanked them with a huge smile. Dipper reached around and slid the key inside, unlocking the door.

"Before we go," Dipper said as he grasped his book bag and slammed the folder into the backpack, "he's not getting away with these."

"Good thinking," Grunkle Stan commended the two, "now let's run like we still have a life to live!" The three then took off, taking the opposite path, and began to climb the spiraling tracks upwards.

"Grunkle Stan, I just want to let you know," Dipper said between breaths, "how happy I am to see you still kicking!"

"Yeah! I knew you were still here!" Mabel added with a great wide smile.

"Great, glad you two miss me," Grunkle Stan told them and dared a smile, "but we need to put our effort to running here, not yapping away about feelings!"

A furious shout called from across the gaping hole. Looking up, and still running, the twins spotted from afar a stunned Montana Jeffreys. He had just whipped out his revolver and tried aiming at them. To the luck of the escapees the amount of hanging wires and chains made it difficult for him to get a clean shot. After an exasperated groan, the treasure hunter roared.

"SICK EM, GIRLS!" he shouted as he took a charge back into the tunnel, and ran out into the open, leaping off the side of the cliff magnificently. Still mid-air, he wrapped his hands around the thick metal chains, and began to swing from one chain to another. One by one he swung closer and closer to the Pines until he took his first shot.

"Sweet Moses!" Grunkle Stan shouted as the bullet missed them by mere feet. "RUN FOR IT!"

"We're almost at the top!" Mabel shouted to the other two. Down below, the dogs began to bark and their charge against the earth grew louder and louder. The Pine family members finally made it to the top, and launched themselves at the first tunnel they found.

"You have any idea where we're running to!?" Dipper asked Mabel, who was barely ahead of him.

"No idea!" she smiled as she continued ahead.

The sound of a landing far behind them and barking dogs caught their attention. A sharp whistle followed, and the pattering footsteps were catching up.

"At this rate we're ending up as actual dog-meat!" Grunkle Stan worried.

"We need to do something then!" Mabel shouted as they finally spotted, hundreds of yards behind them, the two dogs and their furious master in chase.

Dipper peered above them. Every so often, they passed under a support beam. It in turn was also supported by other beams. The wood in use was old and worn, some rotten, some breaking already. The idea popped into his head; a risky, life-threatening, crazy idea. Yet he smiled; smiled wider than he thought he ever would when his life was on the line. He was more excited and exhilarated than he had since... since he had last been to Gravity Falls.

"Grab a tool or something!" Dipper shouted as he spotted several abandoned pickaxes and shovels.

"I am not bringing a shovel to a gunfight!" Grunkle Stan commented as Dipper grabbed a sturdy looking pickax and ran at the first support column before him. Mabel followed suit, and Grunkle Stan did too, albeit reluctantly. "I guess something is better than nothing!"

"Hit them!" Dipper shouted as he spun in his step, and smashed the pickax as hard as he could against a particularly worn support beam. It buckled and shook, splintering where he struck it.

"WHAT!? ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Grunkle Stan shouted, but after watching Mabel took her brothers lead, he grinned wickedly, "but dang it, crazy enough that it's got to work!" he too smashed his chosen shovel into the column. His strength easily outweighed the other two, and the three began to break one support beam after another, each targeted by Dipper.

"One more aught to do it, then drop them and just run for it!" Dipper said as he picked the last column and hit it. No sooner had he smashed the column than the ceiling above began to tremble and quake. Mabel's strike caused further shaking, but Stans' roaring smash delivered the killing blow.

The entire mine shaft began to cave in, piece by piece. Dipper ran ahead, spotting the light at the end of the tunnel as he saw the wilderness of Oregon ahead. He looked back, and was astounded to see the dogs and their master in hot pursuit despite the falling ceiling.

It was getting worse- large chucks of earth were falling around them and it became harder and harder to avoid the falling rocks and boulders that they needed to miss. They were close, so very close to fresh air.

"GOTCHA!" Montana Jeffreys shouted as he dive-tackled Grunkle Stan. The older man fell, catching the other two, who then also collapsed. Dipper fell quickly, landing harshly on his face. Mabel fell against the side of a tree trunk, smacking her head hard enough for her to see triples of everything. Only Stan stood up quickly, but Montana stood faster, and had a gun pointed right for Stan. Dust billowed out past them, giving Stan a cover for charge for the standing man. Montana shot at his feet, keeping the older man still, able to peer past the billowing cloud of airborne dirt and debris.

"No one... is going... anywhere," Montana told them dangerously between his hacking coughs," not until I-" A pained whimper came from behind Montana, and he instantly spun around as the dust dissipated. "No!" he gasped, and his gun fell from his hand. One of the dogs had her leg partially trapped under a large rock in the entrance to the cave. "Diana!"

"We have to get her out!" Nadia said to Montana in a desperate panic. Stan chuckled behind them, and he steadily walked over, and retrieved the revolver.

"Well, that solves a lot of problems in life now," he said, checking the gun. The old man stared at the gun and then the three before him, totally ignoring him in hopes of freeing the trapped dog.

"Grunkle Stan?" Dipper asked as he got up, brushing off dirt from his scraped chin.

"What should we do?" Mabel stood, rubbing the back of her head with each stroke causing her to wince.

"What should we do? Well, I'll tell ya, karma says we should leave these suckers here to their own fate, because they would have been willing to do the same to us!" Grunkle Stan growled aloud, hoping to catch the attention of the treasure hunter. Yet all that came to him in reply was the grunts of Montana desperately trying to lift the bolder and Nadia trying to push with her head as best she could. Grunkle Stan sighed and tossed the gun aside, rolled up his sleeves, and walked forward.

"Skooch over, tough guy," Grunkle Stan ordered Montana, who stared at his once captor in total shock. The old man, with his big muscular arms, found grips to the boulder and he too began to groan as the two tried lifting the rock. Mabel and Dipper also approached, and after a moment of struggle, the five lifted the rock off the leg of Diana, and they threw it aside.

"Diana!" Nadia rushed forward, desperately licking her face.

"Sis, stop it," Diana said in a strained voice, "you know that wont help-"

"I was so afraid," Nadia began to whine, nudging the head of her sister dog, "I didn't want to lose you." The pines took their steps back, and sat down all together and sighed simultaneously.

"Well, summer always starts off weird, but this sure took the cake," Grunkle Stan told the twins, who looked to him with watery smiles. After a moment, he finally grinned, and embraced them tightly, "and gosh-darn it, you make an old man happy, just being here! You two must have doubled in size since I last saw you!"

"Grunkle Stan, I need to know," Dipper looked to his Great Uncle, "how did you get out of the funeral home?"

"I walked out," Grunkle Stan told him easily.

"That's it?" Dipper replied sadly.

"As soon as I realized I got a free suit from anyone, I wasn't going to stick around to hear out the details. It was this chump and his dogs who were waiting for me," Grunkle Stan rolled his eyes, "otherwise I wouldn't have ruined this perfectly cheap-as-dirt suit!"

The three laughed as they continued to embrace. It was the loud steps of a boot-worn foot that caught their attention, and they broke apart. Montana had walked over to his gun, and lifted it up, checking up for dust.

"So, tough guy," Grunkle Stan said as he and the twins stood up, "what's it going to be?"

Montana Jeffrey looked at the three from the side of his vision, to his gun, and then turned to his two dogs, still lying down next to one another. He then chuckled, and with a turn of events that made Mabel smile wide as she could, Montana opened the cylinder of his revolver and dropped out the remaining four loaded bullets. He then tossed the empty gun to their feet.

"I don't need it anymore," Montana Jeffreys told them with the smallest smile, the sun setting behind him as he stood before the steep incline of a mountain face, "I retire."

"A wise choice, sir," Dipper said, stepping forward to lift the gun up, but it was snatched quickly by Grunkle Stan, "hey!"

"Not for you," Stan told his great nephew with a critical stare. Montana turned to his dogs, and with a quick swoop, lifted Diana from the ground.

"What will you do now, oh great devilish rogue?" Mabel asked Montana as he and Nadia walked down the hill.

"I don't really know," Montana stopped as he pondered, "but I don't care anymore. Anything that keeps us out of danger for now sounds good."

Dipper nodded with the other Pines in appreciation, and only then he realized something odd. He patted his pocket and reached inside. There he found the blue glowing object, and stepped forward.

"We... uh... Have you ever seen something like this before?" Dipper asked, holding it ahead for the man to inspect. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped down.

"Diana, I need to put you down for a second," Montana told his dog. Once she was safely on the ground, he reached inside a satchel he carried, and pulled out an identical one.

"There's more than one!?" Dipper gasped.

"More glowing..." Mabel awed as she watched them both.

"Found it a few months ago. Don't have even a clue on what it is or where it came from... but I see you two are kind of good at uncovering secrets," he flicked the small transparent blue battery at Dipper, "so keep it. Maybe you'll get to the bottom of things. Good luck."

With that, he lifted up his injured dog, and Montana Jeffreys, a last bastion of old time adventure glory, continued down the mountain, vanishing into the thick vegetation. The Pines watched him vanished, a slight smile on their face and the light of the sun cascaded down their faces from the dying afternoon.

"So... who was he exactly? Some sort of actor or something?" Grunkle Stan asked.

The walk back to town wasn't horribly long, but it took even longer to get back to the mystery shack than anticipated. By the time they returned to the library, Dipper's car had already begun to be towed- much in violation with the twenty minute parking limit the sign stated next to the now bent stop sign. It took a lot of schmoozing from Grunkle Stan to calm the tow truck driver to let the car be, and afterwards, the three made their drive back to the shack.

"Mister Pines!" Soos shouted as he spotted his employer stepping out from Dipper's car, "You're alive!"

"Don't try fooling me with that old 'I'm so happy my boss is alive' thing Soos," Grunkle Stan told the running handy man, "because it won't have any- OH GOD!" Soos had grabbed the elderly man and lifted him high into a bear-like, bone crushing hug. "A RAISE! YOU GET A RAISE! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Don't let him escape Soos!" Mabel called as she stepped down from her bike.

"I am soo happy you're still alive!" Soos said again tearfully, "does that means I still have a job!?"

"Yes, Soos, you do," Grunkle Stan nodded and sighed, stretching his back and rubbing it to attempt easing the pain.

"Welcome back, boss-o," Wendy waved from the door, grinning wildly, "glad to see I didn't have to go looking for another summer gig."

"Ha, like anyone else would hire your lazy butt," Stan mocked her, yet put a welcoming arm on her shoulder as he stepped inside. "Oh man, did I miss the smell of naivety and a good business opportunity."

"You never change," Mabel gave her Grunkle a quick punch on the arm, and he chuckled with her.

"You know..." Grunkle Stan said cleverly, turning to the twins, "now that everyone thinks I'm a ghost running around town, this place is probably going to become even more busy with people coming to check on my after-life status. I probably could use an extra hand, or maybe two. How about it you two?" Grunkle Stan pulled the two together, looking between them, "want to stick around your boring old Grunkle Stan one more summer? For old family times sake?"

Mabel's face exploded with light. Her eyes grew huge and grin couldn't possibly grow wider, and she looked to her brother, who also was totally into the idea. However as soon as the light had hit the two of their faces, Dippers began to fade, staring at his sister. He looked down, and stepped away from the hug.

"Sorry, Grunkle Stan," Dipper said, rubbing the back of his neck, "you know, I just... wanted to come up here and make sure that everything up here was... okay, I guess. You're alive, and that's great! But I have a summer job lined up that I shouldn't skip out on, you know?"

"Aw shucks," Grunkle Stan groaned, "so much for letting you guys into my new business plan then. Well, if you two need to be getting back, you should be leaving soon. Otherwise you'll get home past midnight. I don't think they allow teens on the street past twelve... or was it one in the morning? I don't know."

"Thanks Grunkle Stan," Dipper said with a sad smile, and he turned for the stairs.

"Uh..." Mabel looked to the others, who had already gone back to their activities working on the shack. She turned back towards the stairs ascended slowly. Dipper was quickly packed already, and was moving for the door.

"Hey... we should be going soon, like Grunkle Stan said," Dipper told her. He squeezed past her, avoiding eye contact, and she was left atop the stairs. She stared at her own things, and the now blank side of the room that she had for a day shared with her brother left a hole in her stomach. The mere thought of the twenty four hours that had just passed were unbelievable, and to think it was already over drove mad.

A minute later, she exited the door with her own packed things, as Dipper finished stuffing his suitcases inside the car trunk. He gave her a quick look, after which he then turned away. She approached her bike, unimpressed with its pink sparkly glory in thought of what getting back onto it and riding it home meant losing.

"You know... we should hang out this summer, now we can, you know, drive and stuff," Dipper told her from his car, turning to face her.

"Yeah," she nodded, half turning to look at him from only the corner of her eye.

"I... yeah," Dipper started a thought, but was unable to complete it, looking at his sister with the same defeated eyes she had. "You were right all along," Dipper told her finally, "and I can't even begin to think how stupid I really feel for not believing you."

"Oh, well, you know how those crazy feelings are," Mabel told her twin, mustering her best smile, "and those woman's intuitions."

"Yeah, proved me wrong," Dipper admitted with a chuckle, "serves me right for doubting you-"

"Well you two," Grunkle Stan approached them as they stared at one another, "you knuckleheads better be ready for that long drive. Also, since I'm not technically dead, you're going to have to wait longer than two years to get my shack from me, you two hear?!" he said strongly, and the two rolled their eyes and walked to their vehicles.

"See you guys," Dipper waved to Soos and Wendy who were waving back slowly, clearly disappointed at the twins' rapid departure. Dipper's car first made its exit, followed by Mabel. She gave them all one last sad look before turning and leaving.

"Man, was I looking forward to them hanging around," Soos admitted as he looked down, sitting on the porch with a thud.

"Yeah, dude," Wendy agreed, leaning against the side of the door, "this summer could have been awesome if they decided to stay here."

"They're older now," Grunkle Stan told them as he approached, "old enough to make choices on their own and live up to those choices. Sometimes, they may make a choice they won't end up liking in the long run."

"You're going to miss them aren't you?" Wendy asked him, and he stared at the drive way.

"I wouldn't be so sure on missing them yet," the old man said wisely.

Dipper drove his car down the empty highway past Gravity Falls. It would be another seven hours and twenty some minutes before he got home, and he desperately searched for a way to get comfortable.

A horrible tugging feeling pulled as his mind. Like a part of his brain was elastic, he felt like he was constantly looking back in the mirror. It didn't help that Mabel was still behind him, looking sullen and unhappy.

"I can't just shrug off this job," Dipper told himself, alone in his car. "College isn't cheap. I know mom doesn't have that kind of money anymore, so I need to save up! And dad doesn't have that kind of cash eirhter!" he said as he felt frustration and anger at himself building up. He lashed out, striking the wheel as he drove, and then sighed, staring ahead.

"Just... keep driving, and you'll get home," he told himself, as he turned on the radio. The first station that popped on was country, and the sad song immediately started singing about separation. Dipper groaned loudly and nearly head butted the wheel. He quickly reset himself, breathing sharply and steadying his hands back on the wheel.

A knock on his driver seat window startled him. He turned and found Mabel reaching over from her bike, waving at him with a grin. She reached back to her face, and struggled to pull off her sunglasses and look him in the eyes.

'Bye. I love you,' she mouthed to him.

His heart sank as she placed her sunglasses back on, and sped ahead, swerving slightly as she adjusted herself to be in the fast lane. Dipper watched her go, his chest tightening and yet entirely hollow at the same time.

"DAMN!" he screamed and he slammed his foot onto the break. His car screeched to a halt and slid slightly. He came to a halt so fast that his backpack came flying from his backseat and nearly hit him, instead catching his cap from his head and throwing it to the floor.

He looked ahead after taking a few slow breathes. Mabel had also stopped, turning to watch her brother. They were a good two hundred feet apart, but Dipper could tell exactly what she was thinking. She stared from a distance and made sure her brother was okay.

He noticed a humming from his backpack, and reached inside. The glowing cylinder resonated that same faint white light. He played with it for a moment, and the thought came to mind. It made him wonder what it really was.

"What the heck are you doing?" Dipper asked himself. He looked from the unknown object to his distant sister.

"When I come home, you've all gone, and there ain't no bed I can find-" the radio sang solemnly.

"Hate it," Dipper said firmly, spun the knob, and found an upbeat remix song about, to his surprise, revealing secrets, "much better." With a strong grip, he put his car in reverse, and he turned it, ready to get on the opposite side and face the direction he was just leaving.

"YES!" Mabel raced to catch up with her brother, and flew past him, shouting at the top of her lungs, "LAST ONE THERE HAS TO KISS THE GNOMES!"

Dipper grinned and his competitive nature slid into place.

"Not on my watch, sis!"

The two raced each other down the highway and through the entire town, laughing as they soared over pavement, concrete and finally gravel. There, still standing outside by the door in the late orange glow of the sun, was Stan.

"I was wondering how long you two were going to take to realize," Stan called as they jumped out and off their vehicles, " that you wanted to be here. Could see it etched into your faces." Dipper and Mabel ran to one another first for their first real hug in a very long time. After a moment, they turned to Stan, who was grinning at the two of them.

"So, I guess we're staying," Dipper said, trying to contain his smile, "do you need any help with the place?"

"Oh, your summer work not good enough huh?" Grunkle Stan joked with a nudge on Dippers shoulder, "don't worry you two. I have a huge plan to turn this building into something else. A renovation a year in the making!"

"I noticed you had new rooms and stuff. What gives, Grunklereeno?" Mabel asked.

"I'm going to turn this run down old shack into something real classy! A place that tourists can no longer even THINK to call a trap. It'd be a real destination!" Stan proclaimed as the S letter from 'Shack' fell off and crashed into the ground behind them.

"Classy isn't the first word that comes to mind, you know," Dipper admitted as they looked at the worn wooden building, "Especially when I think of the word 'shack'."

"HA! Exactly!" Stan pointed at the two of them, and reached down for a sign that had been face down the entire time. "Well, say farewell to this shack, and hello to," he held it up, and slammed it down into the earth, where it stuck, and read-

The Mystery Manor

Coming Soon!

Bring your whole family!

"Heh, I like that last bit. If they bring their kids," Stan grinned as he chuckled, "the little grubs will bleed them dry of cash for all the merchandise I can provide! Or wreck my gift shop... I may need to think this one through."

Somewhere, not too far from Gravity falls, a silhouetted figure sat- staring at a collection of screens in a darkly lit room. The dark room remained primarily lit by the multitude of screens collected by the dark figure. Before him a small holographic keyboard lay, and he clicked a single transparent button. A birds eye view then showed a scene- Montana Jeffreys passing off the blue object to Dipper Pines. The figure, sitting in front of the many other replaying cameras, leant forward to a microphone like object and spoke.

"Sire?" the voice called from the darkness was young sounding, fresh and willing to serve.

"Yes?" a deeper voice, gruff and commanding, replied.

"I've been monitoring the children who have located the charge. They now have uncovered two," the subordinate explained.

"Do they show any signs of discovering our location?" the deeper voice replied.

"No sir. They were preparing to leave the town, but have only just turned around, according to our trackers," the younger sounding man stated as he activated a new screen, which showed a black and blue screen of a map of Gravity Falls, where two blue beeping spheres resonated by a single building in the woods.

"Then we continue operations according to schedule," the 'boss' spoke.

"But we were nearly caught earlier today! If we were spotted, that could compromise our entire mission- we need to consider the models all running low on energy! And the charges in close proximity could bond in uniform-band width, which is extremely dangerous to-"

"Uki-Dohth!" the voice called back, having the person flinch.

"Yes, sir?"

"We are working on borrowed time as it is. At this point, we need to consider breaking our greatest laws if our procedures are to work. You of all people know the importance of success here, don't you?" the voice called back.

"...Yes, sir, I do," the younger sounding figure nodded as he looked to the town.

"Good. Continue with monitoring them all, and announce the next time an energy capsule is about to expire- we may not have such a speedy reaction time, "the boss's voice clicked, and the room fell silent. The figure stood, and slowly reached forward and touched his hand against the map.

"I'm so sorry, all of you."

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