Tuesday, August 31, 1999. Highland Hospital, Oakland, California.

Shermie and Stan Pines walked into the hospital room. Shermie's son is standing by his wife, who is holding two babies in her arms.

Mr. Pines walked over to his father. "Congratulations, dad. You are now a grandfather."

Shermie picked up the two babies, one boy, one girl. The boy has something peculiar on his forehead: a birthmark in the shape of the constellation of the Big Dipper.

"This boy is going to grow up to become someone special," Shermie commented, referring to the male twin. "This birthmark indicates that. I know that."

Stan took the girl and held her in his arms. She opened her eyes, and upon seeing Stan's face, started laughing. Stan smiled at his great niece.

"Too bad Stanley isn't here to see his great niece and nephew being born," Shermie sighed. "He would be glad to finally have a new addition to his family." Shermie then frowned. "Why did Dad have to kick him out? We were so close."

Stan looked down at the girl guiltily. The girl only chuckled in reply.

Stan shook his head in an attempt to get his painful memories and shameful secrets out of his mind. He turned his attention back towards his nephew and niece-in-law. "So, what are you going to call them?" he asked.

"Well, we are planning to give them our middle names," Mrs. Pines answered. "If you think about it, they actually seem nice for a fraternal twin pair."

"Mason and Mabel Pines, that's what we are going to call them," Mr. Pines added. "Sounds nice, yeah? Two-syllables, both start with "m", and have two vowels and three consonants."

"Indeed. The perfect names for the perfect pairs of twins," Shermie remarked. "They are going to grow up to become the most adorable and inseparable pair," However, Shermie let out another sigh, and turned towards Stan. "Let's hope these two don't repeat the cycle you and Stanley went through. It pains me to see it, even though it's been thirty years."

Stan looked back at the day his father threw him out of house, the day his brother got sucked into the portal, the countless years he had been trying to reactivate that machine to get him back. So far, his life had only been heartbreak. But on this particular day, he actually feels happy, with the birth of his great niece and nephew Mabel and Mason Pines. Stan now has two new members he can call family. Two new members he can love. Things are starting to finally look good for Stan Pines.

Sunday, February 20, 2000. At the Mystery Shack, Gravity Falls, Oregon.

Despite the ground being covered with a thick layer of snow, fresh from last night, the sun is out shining. The winter wonderland coating this small lumber town made it look much more beautiful.

"We put the fun in no refunds!" Stan Pines, sporting his trademark eyepatch and fez, waved a tour group goodbye. He had just given them a tour of the Mystery Shack, as well as convincing them to buy his "cheap" merchandise.

Stan returned to the gift shop. He approached the desk, sat down, and started counting how much money he had scammed from the unsuspecting tour group. After counting up more than 250 dollars, he elbowed his cash register and put the money in.

After pushing back the shelf, the phone started ringing. Stan picked it up.

"Hello? Stan Pines here," he said casually.

"Hey, Uncle Stanford," the other end said. It is his nephew. And he did not sound happy.

"What's wrong? You don't sound well."

"Shermie has died."

Stan is dumbfounded. He tried to comprehend what his nephew just told him.

"Died? How? Why?" Stan felt his heart sank.

"Heart attack," Mr. Pines replied. "Just passed away early this morning at the local hospital. No one was by him when it happened." His voice sounded as if he is crying.

Stan cannot believe what he is hearing. How can Shermie have died at the age of 62?

Several days later, Stan went down to the Pines household in Piedmont, California. Upon arriving he was greeted by his niece-in-law.

"Is he okay?" Stan asked, referring to his nephew.

"Not really," Mrs. Pines replied sadly. "Come on in. Maybe you can provide him with some comfort."

Stan entered the living room of the house. His nephew is on the couch with his face buried in his hands His twin children are on the floor playing with each other, evidently unaware of what is going on. Stan sat down on the couch beside Mr. Pines and tried to comfort him.

The following day, Stan carried his great niece and nephew as he and Mr. and Mrs. Pines walked from the parking lot to the funeral parlor. The day looked as if it is about to rain, which is normal during wintertime in the Bay Area.

Stan placed the twins into specially prepared baby seats. The two happily and playfully slapped at each other's hands, still not knowing that their grandfather had just died.

Stan walked over to the coffin where his older brother laid rest. His body is dressed in a fine suit, and flowers covered his belly and chest. He appears to be sleeping, and looked as if he had died peacefully, despite a heart attack sounding by no means a painless way to die. Regardless, the sleeping appearance of his elder brother's body is something that relieved Stan to a certain extent.

The undertaker took his position at the front stand. Stan sat down at one of the front row seats, next to his sister-in-law, who is already crying. Stan tried to comfort his brother's wife, but the only thing that happened is that she buried her face into Stan's chest and cried harder, much to his embarrassment and dismay.

The undertaker started speaking. He spoke with almost little emotion; he has to as a person who sees mourning family members on a daily basis.

"Today we are here at the funeral of Sherman Pines, who lived from January 5, 1938 to February 20, 2000, a total of 62 years," the undertaker said in his monotone voice. "Here we will have his widow speak for us about this great man."

The twins in their baby seats stopped playing with each other. They looked around at the sermon that is taking place, their fascinated faces also showing a hint of mourning for the grandfather whom they will never have memories of.

Stan's sister-in-law got up and took the undertaker's stand at the front. Through tears and sniffs, she started her speech.

"Born into a financially-struggling family, with parents who were rarely at home for most of his early years, Sherman Pines nonetheless grew up a successful and happy child. He later became the elder brother of two twin brothers, one of whom is unfortunately no longer with us as well."

Stan thought of Ford, who is still trapped in an unknown world. While he knows perfectly well his sister-in-law is referring to him, as he faked his death back in 1982 and took his brother's identity, for some reason he feels her words having a connection to his lost brother, who could be either alive or dead.

"He graduated from UC Berkeley with honors, and later went on to the Stanford Law School. Through his hard work and persistence, he became a successful lawyer based here in Oakland, California, and managed to start a loving family of his own. He had everything any typical man would wish for. He loved me, and he loved his children. But despite everything he has been through and successfully overcame, his poor and recurring heart conditions were something that he was unable to conquer. To lose him is a very great loss to me, as well as everyone who cared about him."

Shermie's wife stood up front in silence, tears slowly flowing down her face. Unable to continue further, she rushed back to her seat. The undertaker returned to the post and cleared his throat.

"Let us all gather around Sherman Pines one last time for a moment of silent, and wish him well."

The entire parlor got up without making a sound. Stan got up and picked up the twins in their baby seats, both who still have expressions of confusion and fascination. He walked over with the others to the coffin of Shermie, and stood there for a minute of silence, tearfully watching over his lifeless body.

Several minutes later, Shermie's coffin got sealed shut, and lifted onto the shoulders of Mr. Pines and his wife at the head and two undertakers at the foot. With Shermie's wife holding a portrait of a smiling Shermie at the front, the entire procession silently marched out of the parlor into the adjacent cemetery. Stan stayed at the back of the procession, carrying the twin babies.

The procession came to a stop in front of an open grave, with a tombstone that says "Sherman Pines; 01-05-1938 to 02-20- 2000; Lawyer, colleague, husband, father, grandfather'".

The undertakers lowered the coffin into the grave, with everyone standing in a circle around it. Each person took turns scoping a shovel of dirt onto the coffin.

Finally the last pile of dirt has been laid and flattened. Mr. Pines and his mother each laid a bouquet of flowers on the base of the tombstone.

A raindrop fell; then another. Soon the winter rainstorm is pounding downwards. Everyone took out their umbrellas and opened them in unison. Stan had earlier given the twins to their mother when he took the shovel, and is now the only one left standing in the open rain in this final moment of silence dedicated to his older brother.

That evening, the Pines household is very quiet. Mr. Pines had already gone to bed, and his wife is at the dining table reading a book. In the living room, Stan sat on the couch staring at the blank TV screen, with his great niece and nephew cheerfully playing with each other beside him.

About thirty years ago, Stan lost the family he was born with when his dad, tough and unloving as usual, kicked him out. He was forced to live as a crook struggling to make a living, and couldn't get any help as he was too scared to approach Stanford and Shermie was banned from talking with him. He managed to see Stanford again in 1982, but after a falling-out, Stanford is gone too, in a place no one has ever heard of before. Stan took his brother's name and for almost twenty years since then has been trying to get him back. Pretending to be Stanford, he managed to get back in contact with Shermie and his nephew. But now, Shermie is dead, and Stan feels like he doesn't have much in common with his nephew, no matter how caring he may be.

Stan looked over at the twins drawing each other's faces with markers.

"You two are the only family I have left," Stan sadly mumbled to them. But being only a few months old, the two have no idea what Stan is talking about. And they won't until twelve years later.

Sunday, March 5, 2000. 8:25 PM.

Stan had returned to Gravity Falls, where the snow had melted and the weather is starting to warm up for the upcoming spring.

"Edwin, it's about time for you to go home," Stan said to his handyman. "It's getting late."

"Sure thing, boss," the handyman opened the door of the gift shop and skipped away from the Mystery Shack.

Stan noticed that there is still someone in the gift shop; a small, chubby boy who often frequents the shack. He is staring at the green question-mark shirts.

"Come on, gumdrop, it's time for you to go home, too," Stan said nicely to the little boy. "You don't want your grandmother to worry where you had gone at this hour."

The little boy looked up at Stan and obediently left the gift shop. Stan watched him go down the street from the window.

Stan flipped the sign on the gift shop door from "open" to "closed". He shut off the lights, and approached the vending machine. He pressed several buttons, and the vending machine swung open, revealing a secret passageway behind it. Stan went in and closed the candy dispenser behind him.

Several stories below, Stan can be seen in a high-tech laboratory, with a large, triangular portal at the end. At the desk facing the portal, Stan has his brother's journal opened in front of him, with papers all around him.

After scribbling some more codes and symbols, Stan slammed shut the journal he has practically memorized and punched some numbers into a control panel. The portal did not budge. Stan approached the triangular portal and pulled on the lever in front of it. Still no reaction.

Stan stepped back and looked up at the blank hole where his brother disappeared into almost twenty years ago.

"Don't worry, Stanford," Stan said. "I will get you out no matter what. No matter what happens, I will not let anything or anyone mess with my mission to save you."

Gravity Falls was created by Alex Hirsch and produced by Disney Television Animation. All characters and related media belong to Disney.