Chapter Text
Timeline of events:
August 31, 1999- Mabel and Dipper Pines are born to Aaron and Michaela Pines
September 14, 1999- Wirt Palmer is born to Xiāng líng and Mortimer Palmer
January 12, 2005- Xiāng líng and Mortimer divorce
June 25, 2005-Xiāng líng and Dave Macavin meet at their high school reunion
January 5, 2007- Xiāng líng and Dave marry
November 10, 2007- Gregory Macavin is born to Dave and Xiāng líng Macavin
June-August, 2012- The events in Gravity Falls happen
October 31, 2014- Wirt and Greg fall over the garden wall
February 18, 2015- Yin Wei Macavin is born to Dave and Xiāng líng Macavin
The monsters are buried down deep inside,
You never know when they're satisfied,
Buried down deep where the sun don't shine
The monsters are buried down deep inside but,
Wait, okay, you gotta look before you grow,
You're wastin' away, okay, you gotta look before you grow
~Monsters by Hurricane Bells~
(May 31, 2015, Road to Gravity Falls, Oregon)
“Do you wanna play I spy?”
“No.”
Wirt let out a grunt of discomfort as an elbow was jammed into him. From the back seat of the van, Greg let out an excited shout, stretching his short body across Wirt’s to look out his side of the window. “I spy with my little eye something…yellow!”
“Greg, I said I didn’t want to play,” Wirt sighed, resting his head against the window, half tempted to push the smaller boy off of him.
“Oh come on Wirt,” his step-father, Dave, glanced from his spot in the rearview mirror. His hands were placed on the steering wheel, a stupid grin on his face. “Greg’s randomness is what makes life fun; join in! I’ll go next, okay?”
“Fine.”
“Yay!” Greg cheered, clapping his hands in delight, round dark grey eyes widening. “Go next, Daddy! Then Mommy will go, and then Wirt!”
Their parents shared looks with each other before laughing genuinely at Greg’s decision. Wirt just continued to stare glumly out the window, watching the other cars zoom down the high way. It was cloudy in Oregon; they were about two hours away from their destination and the forecast wasn’t making anything better. Moving from Michigan to Oregon right before his junior year in high school. How could things possibly get better for him?
His parents just had to decide to open up a café in this rinky dink hick town called Gravity Falls. When he told his friends at school, they immediately looked it up on the internet and found barely anything except for old records and accidents. “A hick town, are they serious?” Kathleen had asked, barely concealing her contempt. “I know living in the suburbs of Detroit isn’t that great, but an even smaller town? Gross.”
Sara, bless her heart, had a less cynical way of looking at it. “I’m sorry, Wirt,” she said sympathetically, giving him a hug. “Maybe it won’t be so bad? It says here they have a really nice, unexplored forest?”
It was a small attempt at comfort, but it did little to quell his anxiety. That was back in March, a month after his sister was born. Now their small minivan was all packed with the boxes they could fit and the moving truck was right behind them, thundering its way down the highway. Just the thought of moving soured his mood and he slumped in his seat, his book of poems by Edgar Allen Poe sliding down in his lap dangerously close to falling off. His mom and step-dad went along with Greg’s game, his mother eyeing him cautiously. In the space next to Greg, his almost four month old sister, Yin Wei, was sound asleep.
“Wirt! Hello to Captain Wirt?”
He jumped out of his thoughts at the sound of Greg’s voice. “What?” he asked, trying not to sound annoyed. It didn’t work, for Greg faltered just a little bit and he noticed his mother narrow her eyes at him. He sighed, giving a thin smile. “Sorry, young skipper,” he noticed a huge smile grow on his little brother’s face. “Did I miss my turn?”
“Nope! You’re right on time!” Greg giggled cheerfully. “It’s your turn now!”
“Uh, okay? Um, I spy with my little eye,” he glanced around the car, noticing the pink embroidered slippers on his sister’s feet. “Something pink.”
“Hmm,” Greg paused in thought, bringing a small hand to his chin. Wirt was surprised that Greg was actually giving this a lot of thought, considering there was nothing else in the van that was pink. Though to give his little brother some credit, he was little and his sister’s feet weren’t exactly the biggest things. “Wait! I found it! It’s Yin Wei’s feet!”
He smiled at his little brother, ruffling his head. “Right, Skipper.”
He noticed his mother and Dave share a smile. Not too long ago, he wouldn’t have had anything to do with a game like this. He would have ignored Greg till the boy got the hint and left him alone. Now, things were different. Now, he treasured every moment spent with his brother. Every single moment spent with him was precious.
After almost watching his brother become a tree, Wirt had realized how much he loved his little brother. How much he’d taken for granted and mistreated his brother made him realize how life was short. Cruel and miserably short. A part of him still wondered what could have happened if he’d said yes to The Beast and not found a loop hole around that deal. Would he have still wandered around in the woods for the rest of his, well, afterlife?
“Wirt?”
He felt Greg slide his small hand into his, squeezing it gently for reassurance. The seven year old always seemed to know when he was thinking about The Unknown. Always. If Greg had mind reading powers, he wouldn’t be surprised. “Yeah?” he responded back, trying to push back the tightness in his throat.
“Do you think Beatrice is thinking about us?”
He wanted to say yes, but what was he supposed to tell his brother? Greg was too little to understand that they’d been dead. He saw nothing but wonder and beauty in The Unknown. He was too young to recognize the dangers they were in and didn’t even recall The Beast as being a truly evil force. He just thought he was helping Wirt return home where as they were both being played by The Beast. If he hadn’t realized his faults, he and Greg truly would be dead.
“Yes,” he responded, smiling thinly. “I’m sure she is.”
“Awesome.”
“Who’s Beatrice?” Dave asked, letting out a laugh. “Was she your girlfriend, Wirt? I thought you were dating Sara?”
Sara. Just the thought of her made his mood sour. They’d gone out for a few months up until April. He truly loved spending every minute with her, just not in the way he thought he would. It was a mutual break up and while things were still awkward for a while, they still kept close. Now he wouldn’t see her every day. The thought of not seeing her hurt more than he thought it would. “Sara and I broke up, remember?” he said sourly, annoyed with his step-father for bringing it up.
“Oh,” Dave glanced quickly at his mother. “Um, sorry, I guess.”
“It’s fine…” Wirt drifted off, returning his gaze to the window. Fat rain drops were falling down onto the window, pelting the thick glass harshly and the drum of rain on the roof felt comforting. The van went silent, the sounds of Greg now resting peacefully against his arm and the sound of his mother’s voice as she hummed along to the song on the radio in Chinese.
“Wirt?”
“Yes Greg?”
“When did you get your tattoo?”
He looked down to see Greg pulling at his sleeve, moving the light material of his dark blue sweater back. Wirt flipped his wrist over, allowing the boy to see the tattoo that lay on the underside of his arm, the character sitting on the soft flesh of his arm near the wrist bone. “Here,” he pointed towards the symbol.
梁.The symbol of their family.
“It says Liang,” he explained calmly, allowing the seven year old to trace over it. “I was about your age when I got it. It’s been passed down from our family for generations. Mom’s father gave it to her, and his mother or whoever gave it to him, and so on.”
Greg looked at him with his large round eyes. “When will I get mine?”
“I don’t know; how should I know?”
“Because you’re the captain!” Greg proclaimed, as if that title meant he anything other than a nickname. “You’re supposed to.”
“You’ll get yours eventually, Greg,” their mother spoke up, looking up from her book. “We’ve just been busy moving and everything.”
“Cool,” Greg leaned away from Wirt, giving Jason the frog a pat on the head. The frog had been quiet; contently asleep next to Yin Wei. The baby girl had a stuffed frog of her own, cuddling it close to her as she slept. It had been Greg’s idea. Out of all the stuffed animals he could have chosen at the hospital, he chose a frog. Wirt wasn’t surprised; rather amused actually, but Dave and the nurses were surprised.
If anything, Wirt and Yin Wei looked more alike their mother than Greg did. Of course, their mother would argue that Wirt looked more like his father than her, but he clearly inherited her skin tone and eyes. Yin Wei looked more like her, except she had her father’s small rounded chin and when she smiled, she had the same dimples Greg and Dave did. The only thing Greg really inherited from their mother was his musical talent and eye color.
“Are we there yet?” Greg piped up, giving a little yawn.
“Not yet,” Dave replied. “Still got two more hours to go.”
“Darn!”
Wirt just shook his head, giving a snort but not concealing his smile. He leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. He felt Greg plop his head in his lap, giving a little sigh before curling up. As Wirt closed his own eyes, he took one last look to the road outside.
He nearly did a double take when he thought he saw round, almost colorless orbs, stare back at him. Those eyes. No, it couldn’t be! It wasn’t possible! He rubbed his own eyes, blinking to see if the orbs were there, but he saw nothing.
It had to have been his imagination, right? After all he and Greg had survived The Unknown. They defeated The Beast, right? Yeah, that sounded about right. They conquered The Unknown. There was nothing more to fear. He was just being paranoid.
Of course, he didn’t know then how wrong he was.
~
“Hey, Wirt, Greg, wake up! We’re here!”
Groggily the teenager opened his eyes, groaning slightly at the pain now in his neck. On his lap, Greg let out a yawn and sat up, arms raised over his head as he blinked his dark eyes back to reality. “Are we there yet?” he asked, still sounding sleepy.
“Yes,” their mother responded, unbuckling her seatbelt as the van parked in the drive way. “And we arrived at a good time too; it’s only 3:30.”
Wirt glanced down at his watch, verifying that the hands were both on the six and three. Looking past his mother’s head, he peered through the front mirror to see the home. The home was two stories tall, with yellow paneling and a small white front porch and yellow paneled garage. The roof was a dark slate colored brown and the house was outlined in white. The top floor, from what Wirt had heard, had four bedrooms which meant he would have his own.
He instantly hated house.
He opened the passenger door, looking at the house with barely concealed distaste. His mother stepped beside him, wrapping an arm around him. “It’s not so bad is it, eh?”
“I guess not,” he replied distantly, looking past her head to look at the area around them. There were nothing but pine trees and across the driveway, there was a house that looked literally like a shack. Coincidentally, it was called The Mystery Shack. He snorted at the title, rolling his eyes while his mother looked at the building with a raised eyebrow.
“See? Our home is better than that one,” she started up again, giving a sigh. “You could try and look at the bright side of things, Walter.”
“Fat chance of that happening.”
“Well if you don’t perk up at least a little, I’ll only speak to you in Chinese for the rest of the summer.”
He shivered, knowing from experience that she would. Last time she only spoke to him in Chinese for a month and it drove him crazy. Literally, he would go to school and start speaking in Chinese to his English teacher and had the whole class laugh at him.
“This isn’t home,” he grumbled, pulling away from his mother. “It’s never going to be home.”
She didn’t say anything, but he could see her shaking her head. “We’ll talk about it later, okay? Could you please get your sister out of the car and put her inside?”
He nodded, walking around the van to the other side. The baby had awoken, dark eyes staring up at him before she let out a baby gurgle. He gave a small smile to her, unhooking her carrier from the car and walking up towards the house, opening the white front door with small stained glass engravings. The home was bare as he stood in the hallway, with yellow walls with white paneling at the bottom middle. He walked further into the home, walking past dark colored wooden stairs and into the living room.
While there was no furniture to make it feel more comfortable, he had to admit the light blue painted walls gave the room a friendlier atmosphere. He could picture himself reading or writing poetry in here and in the winter, curling up with his mother and watching the fire place, just like they did at their old home.
Feeling the panic rising, he unhooked his sister from her carrier and pulled her into his arms. She immediately grabbed at his hair, earning an ouch from him. She smiled, continuing to yank at his hair until he gently removed her tiny hand from his dark locks. Her fingers curled around his index finger, head now resting on his shoulder.
“Wirt?” his mother poked her head in from the entry way, carrying four boxes stacked in her arms. “These are your boxes here; you and Greg will need to decide which room is yours. Your step-father and I get the bigger one on the left wing of the hallway.”
It was only fair; their room had to fit two people, and frankly Wirt liked smaller rooms. It made them cozier, at least in his opinion. He set Yin Wei down, taking the boxes from her. They were unbelievably heavy, yet his thin noodle like arms seemed to be able to carry them without any problem. Even Dave could probably only take two boxes of this weight at a time, and the man worked out at least every morning before heading to work.
No, something was different. Something wasn’t right. As he walked up the wooden stairs, he could feel the thoughts returning. Ever since returning from The Unknown, something in him had changed. Not just his lack of confidence, which had been given a boost and his treatment of Greg, but something in him had changed. He didn’t know how to explain it to Greg; the smaller boy wouldn’t know what to make of it and he certainly couldn’t tell his mother and Dave. They wouldn’t believe him.
“Oh brother o’ mine!”
Still holding the boxes, he waited in the upstairs hallway for his brother. Greg bounced up the stairs, Jason still in his arms as he grinned up at Wirt. “Mom said we have to decide whose room is whose! I want the big one!”
The little boy charged to the room on the right wing, directly across from their parents. Wirt followed him, just to make sure the room wasn’t the smaller one. Of course it wasn’t. It wasn’t as big as their parent’s room, but still big enough for Greg’s racecar bed and his toys. Wirt smiled and shook his head fondly before heading to the room next to it. This room was about the size of his room back home, if not a bit smaller. The walls were painted a light dusty orange and the floor a dark pine. He set his boxes on the ground; arms not the least bit sore.
The window was a rather large square and it looked straight across the road to the Mystery Shack, where he could see a triangle looking window looking right at his. “I wonder what kind of style that is,” he mumbled to himself. “I don’t recall most windows being triangular, huh.”
“Mom, Wirt’s talking to himself again!”
“Greg!” he snapped lightly, and the smaller boy that was now in his doorway grinned mischievously at him.
Their mother poked her head in, Yin Wei on her hip. “Boys, be good, okay?” she gave them a semi stern look, though her eyes looked amused. “If not, then I’ll speak to you two in only Chinese for a year.”
Both boys gulped, giving each other a look. Wirt wouldn’t put it past his mother to do that and quite frankly, he didn’t want to go crazy again. Greg turned around to face his mother, saluting her. “Aye-aye Captain Mom!”
She laughed, patting his head before opening the door to Yin Wei’s room. Dave huffed, carrying tow heavy boxes. When he peered into Wirt’s room, he looked at the tall boy in disbelief. “Seriously Wirt, how could you carry all those boxes? Even I can’t do that. What is you and your mother’s secret workout technique? Maybe you should go out for basketball or football.”
Wirt flushed. “I’m not athletic in any way.”
“Yeah!” Greg chimed in. “Wirt’s a stick!”
“I am not a stick!”
“Yes you are!”
Dave just shook his head, grunting as he set the two boxes in his and Wirt’s mother’s room. Greg plopped himself on one of the boxes, Jason now sitting delicately in his lap. “Wirt, can we explore today?”
“Not now,” he shook his head. “Later, when we’re done unpacking. How about tomorrow?”
“Okay!”
~
“Do you find it weird that they think The Unknown is a real place?”
Xiāng líng looked up from the box on the counter of the kitchen, placing the silverware in their respective places. The kitchen was full of unpacked and packed boxes and it was only nine-thirty. The living room still needed to be packed, but at least the bedrooms were taken care of. Mostly. Greg still needed to sort through his room and Yin Wei’s room needed to be organized, but they had plenty of time to do that. Wirt’s room was done for the most part and he promised to go explore with Greg to get the small boy out of the house and get some air.
“No,” she responded easily, pausing briefly at the baby monitor resting next to Dave’s fountain drink. “I don’t think it’s weird at all.”
Dave just looked at her carefully, now fiddling with the straw from his Pitt Cola. “I know you said that there were some interesting things in your family and while I’ve seen it firsthand, surely some place like The Unknown doesn’t exist.”
“Who’s to say it doesn’t?” she shrugged, pulling out a chair to sit down. “If it were a dream, how would they be having the same one? Something happened that night, Dave. It changed their lives. Do you know that Greg’s frog has a bell inside of him?”
“He does?”
She nodded. “I don’t think they’re making it up. I know it was a traumatic experience; being near death and all, but it’s changed them. More so Wirt. He’s been acting…differently.”
“I know,” he moved his drink back, reaching across to grip her hand. “He’s nicer to Greg; they’re getting along so much better than they ever had. I thought that when Yin Wei was born, he wouldn’t want anything to do with her too, but he’s so protective now. He’s changed, dear.”
“That’s what I was getting to,” she squeezed her hand. “Part of the reason for moving here was to get him away from that town. To get him away from those memories and you wanted to start your business up here as well. While I like that he’s nicer to Greg and wants to spend time with him, he worries me. He’s distant and always spacing out and I hear him wake up at night from nightmares. When I asked him, he always says something about a Beast that wants to turn him into a tree.”
“A tree? Are you serious?”
She narrowed her eyes and he held up his hands. She continued on, staring intensely at the tattoo on her right arm. “It happened, you know. It happened to him and there’s something coming. I don’t know what it is, call it a sixth sense, but he needs to be ready. Greg too.”
Dave frowned, staring at her tattoo cautiously. “Isn’t seven a little too young to get a tattoo? I mean, I know it’s a family tradition but I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to tattoo your child.”
“It’s the symbol of our family,” she explained again. “I gave Wirt his when he was six and I received mine at that age too. If you want, we can wait a few more years and we can wait till Yin Wei’s older too. But they need to be prepared.”
“What do you think’s coming? Is it that creature?”
She gazed out the window, dark eyes now lost to a world he couldn’t find. “I should explain things to Wirt; Greg too,” she sighed, rubbing her temples now as if she had a migraine. “If it’s who I think it is, then training must be done. It won’t be so hard for Wirt, but for Greg it might be.”
Dave raised a brow. “What kind of training are we talking about here? Is the training you went through as a child?” when she nodded her head yes, he shook his head. “I love Wirt and everything, but he doesn’t look like much of a fighter. Look at him; he’d make a good basketball player or track runner, but he doesn’t have much weight or drive.”
Xiāng líng just stared at the table. “He will do a lot better than you or he thinks. I’m happy that Greg doesn’t recall much from their encounter except for weird, yet oddly happy moments. You’ve heard the Adelaide parade song, right?” when he nodded, she continued on. “Wirt on the other hand remembers all of the experience; good and bad. It’s changed him. He’s awakened.”
“Awakened? So soon?”
“I was nine when I awakened,” she snapped lightly before softening her gaze. “You were there, remember?”
“How could I forget,” he murmured. “After almost losing both my boys last Halloween, the most horrible memory next to that is that day back in 1985.”
They both shuddered slight, thinking back to that day so long ago. Xiāng líng took his hand again, his skin warm and firm. For a brief moment, she wondered why or how they fell out of contact as children, but she felt extremely fortunate to have found him again. “David,” she spoke. “If anything happens to you or to the children, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”
“And if anything happens to you, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself,” he leaned over to kiss her cheek. “We are a family, dear. And family protects one another.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Dave.”
~
“Wirt! Wirt! Wirt, come on! Get up!”
The teenager rolled over to the left side of his bed, his back now to the intruder invading his room and sleep. “Go away, Greg, I’m trying to sleep. Go back to bed.”
“I can’t!” the small boy huffed, flopping on Wirt’s bed and sprawling out like a starfish against his back. “The sun’s awake, so I’m awake! And I want to go exploring!”
Cracking an eye open, he glanced over at the alarm clock perched on his bed. Boxes still littered the floor, most of them empty while the rest were still full of things. The second moving van wouldn’t get to the house till later that day, so his desk and dresser were still absent. Narrowing his dark eyes at the black device, he groaned.
“Greg, it’s only eight. Go back to bed.”
“…Mom made Baozi.”
He immediately sat up, Greg quickly scampering off him and running out the door with a mischievous laugh. Throwing his blanket off him, he ran after his brother, practically play fighting with him down the stairs. The smells of steaming dough and the spicy smells of pork. Most of the kitchen was set up, plates put in the cupboard next to the fridge and the steamer right next to the microwave. Their mother stood in front of the steamer, tending to the contents inside. She was singing in Chinese, her voice low and calm in the early morning summer light.
“Zăo,” he greeted, his mother jumping in surprise at the sound of his voice. She turned her head, smiling at him in greeting.
“Zăo boys,” she set grabbed two cups from the cupboard in front of her head. “Wirt, could you get the milk out of the fridge, please?”
“Sure,” he moved past Greg, who was eyeing the steamer in an almost impatient way. He poured them two glasses of milk, setting the bigger cup in front of Greg. “So you can get big and strong,” he teased, watching as Greg gulped the white liquid down. He looked around the kitchen, noticing almost the entire family in the kitchen. His mother at the steamer, Yin Wei in her baby swing, Greg drinking milk and Dave, for some reason, was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Dave? And when did you have time to make this?”
His mother glanced back at him. “I couldn’t sleep well last night, so I got up early and decided to surprise you guys,” she smiled sheepishly. “The grocery store was open, so I got us groceries for this week. Dave went to go see how the set up for the café is coming along.”
“Oh,” Wirt took a seat next to Greg, the small boy now donning a milk mustache. He grinned, drinking his and allowing the formula to sit on his upper lip as well. Greg laughed, pointing at his older brother.
“You look funny, half-brother o’ mine!” he giggled before turning to their mother. “Look Mom! We’ve grown mustaches!
“Ah, my boys are turning into men. Whatever shall I do?” she feigned sadness before pulling the steaming buns out of the steamer and setting them on a plate. She put in in front of them, giving each of them a stern look. “Save some for your father. Yes Greg, I’m looking at you. You know he likes Baozi as much as you two do.”
“Yes ma’am,” Greg saluted her, that silly grin still on his face and melting the stern look of their mothers. She returned to putting more dough buns into the steamer, looking over every now and then to their baby sister, now grabbing for the baby toys hanging from the swing.
They ate in silence, not wanting to disrupt the peaceful morning that had befallen the town. Early morning sunlight crept through the windows, sending tiny dust particles to float through the air. Wirt bit into one of his steamed buns, immensely enjoying the warmth of the steamed dough and spice the pork gave off. His mother’s cooking was the best, no one could compete with her in his opinion. She set more buns to the side, turning off the steamer and putting two of them on her own plate. She sat across from them and if he looked closely, he could see bags forming under her eyes.
He felt a bit guilty for being so pessimistic during the entire move. Moving wasn’t easy for any of them and with opening up a new business in a small town where she didn’t know anyone or had no idea if the business would be successful. Of course she understood it was difficult for him too; he’d lived in their old town his whole life.
“All done!” Greg put his plate in the sink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Come on, Wirt! Let’s go explore!”
He set his own plate in the sink, looking to their mother for permission. She waved her hand, nodding for them. “Let him run around, Wirt. Who knows, you might make some friends.”
“Let’s go!” Greg pulled on his hand, attempting to pull him out the door, but Wirt planted his feet firmly on the ground.
“We should probably get dressed first, Greg,” he shook his head. “We’re not running around outside in our pajamas.”
“Why not?”
He didn’t dignify that question with a response and hurried upstairs. Throwing on a clean pair of underwear and jeans and trying to decide between a blue sweater and an orange sweater. In the end, he decided to stick with blue one, thinking the orange one would make him stick out too much. By the time he thought he was ready, Greg burst into his room carrying an item he knew all too well. “Greg, no, I’m not wearing the hat.”
Greg’s smile just grew wider. “Why not? You’d wear it my school sometimes!”
“That was different.”
“How?”
Alright, so he didn’t have a response to that, so he just took the hat in defeat. While he felt rather silly wearing it and he knew he’d get looks. However, wearing it also gave him a sense of bravery. He beat The Beast while wearing this. He conquered The Unknown wearing this hat. He could, as Greg would often say, do anything he set his mind to.
“Okay Greg,” he added the cape, just for show. “Am I ready now?”
“Yes!”
He noticed the teapot now on the boy’s head and allowed the smaller boy to pull him out the door into the early June morning. Greg was in awe of everything, walking around the small town with wonder. This town was weird, Wirt would give it that. A fire hydrant had broken and instead of calling someone to fix it, two police officers ran through it in a circle waving their shirts around. He promptly covered Greg’s eyes.
“Let’s go over here,” he pulled the boy away from the fire hydrant scene, holding tightly to Greg’s hand and waited till it was safe to cross the street. When they got to the other side, he let go of the boy’s hand as they stood outside the library. His hand twitched, aching to open the doorknob, but Greg turned away.
“Nope. Nuh uh, no books,” Greg walked backwards, shaking his head. “I’ll never like studying!”
“Greg, its summer. Who said anything about studying?” he laughed, but followed his brother anyway. The library could be ventured another time. “Hey, how about we go find Dave and see how the business is coming along.”
“Okay!” the boy nodded. “Where did Dad say it was located again?”
“Um,” did the man even tell them where it was? “No? But that’s okay because this town is small land we’ll find it quickly. Greg?” he felt himself panic when the small boy disappeared. “Greg, come back! You can’t wander around on your own!”
It wasn’t hard to spot the boy, considering he was small and wearing a teapot on his head. Wirt chased after him, longer legs immediately catching up to the boy and placing a steady hand on his shoulder. “Greg!” he narrowed his eyes, all serious now. “You can’t run off on your own like that! What if you got hurt? Or some stranger decides to stuff you in their van? Mom and Dave would flip!”
“But that won’t happen,” Greg reasoned cheerfully. “Because you’ll stop them. You’ll always stop them, brother o’ mine.”
He wanted to tell his brother no, that he wouldn’t always be around, but the look in Greg’s dark eyes stopped him. Greg always looked at him like that, like he was somehow an inspiration; someone to look up to. Why? He didn’t really know. He’d been horrible to Greg in the past, something he regretted very much. He didn’t realize how much he loved his little brother till he almost lost him. He wasn’t going to let that happen again.
“Just stay near me, okay?” he sighed, trying to not sound tired. “How about we go see that Mystery shack? Let’s see if it’s real or fake.”
“I bet it’s real!” Greg chirped, setting Jason atop his head. “I wonder if there are any frogs in there! Maybe Jason can start a band again!”
“Maybe,” he found himself laughing, feeling Greg take his hand again. The boy’s hand squeezed his gently, as if he were reassuring him in a small way that things would be okay here.
He paused when he felt the tingling sensation on his back. Turning around slightly and looking into the trees of Gravity Falls’ forest, he swore he could see two circular eyes staring at him. When he blinked, they were gone. There was nothing out there but trees and bushes.
“Wirt?” he heard Greg asked, the boy now not smiling. “What? Is there an alien bear monster out there?”
“No,” he shook his head, resuming their way to the Mystery Shack. “It was nothing, Greg.”
~
To say the least, Wirt was impressed.
Not by the contents inside, oh no, it was clear they were fake, but he was impressed by how the elderly man was able to convince all the tourists. Including Greg, who was easily impressed by anything.
Wirt wanted to leave the entire time, refusing to pay extra money to the guy, whose name he couldn’t remember at the moment. The old man glared at him with dislike, probably sensing that Wirt could see through his act and Wirt found he couldn’t care less if the old man disliked him. It wasn’t as if he worked here or anything.
So here they were now in the gift shop, looking through all the items the little tourist trap had to offer. He had twenty dollars in his pocket, promising to buy Greg something if he behaved. So far the boy was on his best behavior, eyeing a grappling hook that was incredibly expensive. Well, there went his twenty dollars.
“HIAYH! DIE GNOME! DIE!”
He immediately let out a yelp as a broom smacked him on the back repeatedly. The other customers looked surprised at the scene, scrambling away as Wirt ran past them, covering his head as the person with the broom smacked him. A girl, he supposed around his own age, chased him through the store with a war cry. “Stop!” he pleaded. “Please! Stop it! I’ll give you money! Anything!”
“I WON’T BE YOUR QUEEN! NOW DIE!”
“Mabel, cut it out! Can’t you see that’s not a gnome?”
“Dipper, can’t you see it’s a giant gnome? They’ve mutated! The revolution has happened!”
“Mabel!” the boy sighed, grabbing the broom away from her. “This is a regular guy! Look at him; he doesn’t even have a beard.”
The girl stopped, glaring at Wirt for a few seconds before her cheeks flared pink. “Oh goodness,” she blushed harder, inching the collar of her sweater up to her face, muffling her voice. “I am so sorry; so sorry!”
“Uh,” Wirt found himself blushing as well. “It’s okay?”
“Yeah, sorry about that man,” the boy shook his head at his sister, patting her back. “We’ve had some pretty weird experiences here and one of them had to do with gnomes. My name is Dipper, Dipper Pines.”
“Walter Palmer,” he took the boy’s extended hand, still a bit dazed after what had just happened. “But everyone calls me Wirt.”
“And I’m Greg!” the little boy danced to where they were, popping up in between them. “I’m Wirt’s younger half-brother!”
“This is my twin sister Mabel,” Dipper indicated towards the girl now hiding in her sweater. “She’s in sweaterville right now, but I’m sure she’ll come out eventually. Right, Mabel?”
“No,” came the girl’s muffled voice.
Dipper rolled his eyes at his twin, patting her on the back. “Anyway, do you want some ice? I know that probably hurt; Mabel doesn’t hold back when it comes to gnomes.”
“Sure,” he responded, sitting on the stool near the cash register. Dipper disappeared towards the door of the shop, exiting behind it. Greg immediately hopped up on his lap, making a plop sound for effort. He sighed through his nose. “Greg, maybe you should pick something else? Something a bit safer.”
“Nope,” Greg shook his head. “We might need this.”
“When has a grappling hook ever been needed?”
“I saved my little bro with it,” he jumped at the sound of Mabel’s voice, instantly shielding Greg from her and hunching his body over. The girl smiled sheepishly. “Sorry about that; I just kind of panicked. A group of gnomes sometimes try and make me their Queen every summer.”
“Huh?”
“Yup. That’s right; I said gnomes!” she smiled, showing off her perfectly straight white teeth. She jumped up onto the counter, dangling her legs over the edge. “So who are you two? You don’t look like tourists.”
“We just moved here yesterday,” Wirt responded, trying to remove the grappling hook from Greg’s hands. “From a town forty-five minutes away from Detroit.”
“Michigan?” Mabel cocked her head when he nodded. “But that’s so far away. What brings you to Gravity Falls?”
“Our mom and Greg’s dad decided to open up business here after…” he railed off, trying to ignore he quizzical stare. “…after our sister was born.”
Greg looked up at him. “That’s not why we moved here-mmmf!”
He instantly covered Greg’s mouth, grinning pathetically up at the girl. “So, do you and your brother live here?”
“Yup,” Mabel nodded. “We’ve been living here since the summer we turned fourteen. Our parents,” her gaze went distant for a moment; brown eyes now far away before she blinked the tears back. “Our parents died in an accident. We were just returning home from our summer visit when we got the phone call. Our Grunkles took us in the second they heard, so we’ve been living here ever since.”
“Wow,” was all Wirt managed to get out, suddenly feeling sorry for the girl. “I’m so sorry to hear that, really.”
“It’s alright now,” she shook her head. “I miss them, but I’m glad I still have Dipper. If he had been there, I don’t know how I would go on.”
“I heard my name, what are we talking about?” Dipper spoke as he returned to the room; bag of ice in hand as he handed it to Wirt. “Oh, it looks like Mabel finally came out of sweaterville.”
“Shut up,” she laughed, lightly punching her younger twin. She then looked at Jason, smiling even bigger now. “You two like frogs?”
“Yup!” Greg chirped. “This is Jason Funderberker, our frog. He’s an excellent singer and almost had a record contract!”
Both twins shared looks with each other and suddenly, Wirt felt defensive. Not that the twins’ look was mean or anything, but he knew what they were thinking. That Greg was weird; he was making stuff up and that made him a liar. He immediately began to think of things to say to them in the boy’s defense when Dipper shrugged. “That’s pretty cool. I would love to hear him sing. Do you think he could sing for us now?”
“Oh no,” Greg shook his head. “He’s very shy around new people. Like Wirt!”
“Hey!”
Mabel giggled. “I like you Greg, you’re cute!” she patted the boy’s teapot and he sent her the sweetest of smiles.
“Why thank you pretty lady,” he smiled cutely. “I like you too!”
“Just for that, I’m deciding you can have that grappling hook for free!”
“WHAT?”
The four of them jumped when the old man came back into the room, staring at the girl with narrowed eyes. “Did I hear the word free?” he growled lightly. “We don’t hand free things out here at the Mystery Shack.”
Mabel wasn’t even frightened of him, just standing up with her hands on her hips. “Grunkle Stan,” she tilted her head. “Why you actin’ so cray cray?”
“I’m not cray cray!” he protested, narrowing his eyes at the two boys seated on the stool. “Why is that boy wearing a gnome hat and the other a teapot? Wait, no, I don’t even want to know.”
“I’m an elephant!” Greg proclaimed proudly, Jason ribbiting in agreement.
“Yikes, and I thought Mabel was crazy,” Grunkle Stan muttered, ruffling the girl’s head affectionately. “Anyway, there are no free things in the Mystery Shack! That grappling hook is eighteen dollars!”
“Dam-rnit!” Wirt quickly amended, ignoring the mischievous smile growing on Greg’s lips. He immediately glared at the boy. “Don’t you tell Mom I almost swore!”
“Get the grappling hook and I won’t!”
“Fine!”
“Hey, are you two the kids of the man that was just here not too long ago asking for tape?” Dipper spoke up, taking the device from Greg and ringing it up. “I think his name was, David?”
“That’s our Dad!” Greg chirped. “We’re opening up a café in a week! Or was it two?”
“A week,” Wirt corrected. “It’s called Liánhuā.”
“The what?” Dipper asked, blinking his eyes like an owl.
“Sorry,” Wirt found himself blushing out of embarrassment this time. “It means Lotus flower. Our Mom’s Chinese and the café is Chinese themed.”
“Cool!” Mabel exclaimed, both her and Dipper’s grins matching. “We don’t have a Chinese restaurant in town.”
“It’s not really a restaurant,” Wirt mumbled. “We’re not open at night.”
“Still,” Dipper began casually, taking the twenty dollar bill from Wirt. “That’s pretty cool. Do you and your brother speak Chinese? Cantonese or Mandarin dialect?”
“We do,” Wirt nodded, grinning shyly. “Well, our Mom speaks it more fluently than we do. Greg can speak a little but we don’t know how to write it. We use the Mandarin dialect since our Mom is from Beijing, which is in Northern China.”
“Cool,” Dipper nodded, eyes looking fascinated for some reason. “Could you, like, say something in Chinese?”
“Wǒ xǐhuān nǐ de màozi, Dipper.”
Mabel raised an eyebrow. “What did you say?”
Greg smiled, practically glowing with pride while Wirt just blushed harder. “He said I like your hat, Dipper.”
Dipper reached up to adjust the cap on his head, grinning. “Thanks,” he then looked to the hat on Wirt’s head. “I like your hat, too. Even if it makes you look like a gnome.”
The two brunette twins shared a smile with each other, something passing between them that Wirt could not read. Dipper handed Greg his grappling hook and placed Wirt’s change on the counter. “We should hang out; all four of us,” Mabel continued on. “You guys seem pretty cool. How old are you anyway?”
“Fifteen; sixteen in September. I’m a junior in high school.”
“Cool! So are we!” Mabel started sweetly. “My brother and I are celebrating our sweet sixteen on the 31 of August! We’ll be juniors too!”
Well it looks like his mother was right; he did make some new friends. Awesome! He gave himself a mental pat on the back for doing so well. Greg grinned, taking the piece of paper Mabel handed to him. “This is our numbers; text us anytime,” Mabel began, pulling showing Greg her own grappling hook. “We’ll definitely be going to that restaurant!”
“It’s a café,” Wirt corrected quietly.
“Don’t bother,” Dipper smirked. “She’ll never say it correctly.”
They exited the Mystery Shack, waving goodbye to Dipper and Mabel as they did. For a moment, Wirt actually felt happy. He just made two new friends in this weird town and now, it didn’t feel so unfamiliar. Maybe things would be okay here. The nightmares and panic attacks might stop and things would be fine.
He had no idea how wrong he was; nor was he aware of the storm brewing in the horizon.