The massive creature stood in the middle of the cavern, its red, pupiless eyes staring at the drawings on the wall with hate. The ancient paintings depicted the great foe that had almost destroyed him and his people, almost one year ago. It had arrived from the other place and had caused his warriors to flee, frightening them like children. He growled and smoke danced at his nostrils where the flames of his fury were kept barely at bay. It was an unvanquished foe, one that had shaken the resolve of his warriors.

He could still clearly remember the night it had first appeared. Its mad cackle and glee at the destruction and chaos it created had scared even the others of his kind. But he was the greater warrior. He had refused to turn tail and run. He had charged at the One Eyed Beast and had been tossed away with a blast from its dark magic. The others had seen him fall and had thought the worst, running to avoid the same fate.

But he did not die.

For days he had waited and healed, impatient to have a rematch against this foe and his minions, though he knew it would be his death. Then, when he was nearly ready, the world had stitched itself back together. He saw the effects of the great foe's defeat long before he had heard the news: the cracks along the cave walls had healed while his bones and cuts still ached and stung, and outside the trees had re-rooted themselves and the destruction had faded as if it had never happened.

Finally, those of his people that survived returned one by one. They had cheered at the sight of him still living and had shared their own stories of how they had survived. Some had been like him: only wounded instead of killed.

The rest had hidden, unable to face the monster that had defeated their leader. But they had not hidden alone. They had relied on others to help them survive. Gnomes. Humans. Even unicorns and worse.

They had shown fear and that he had accepted. It had helped his people to survive, which was good. But as time passed they had also began to show...changes in their behaviour. They had shared more jokes and stories about their times with the other creatures of Gravity Falls. Instead of mocking them, they now spoke of a fondness for these other creatures and even of a fellowship with them.

Leaderaur bared his teeth at the thought. No longer were the Manotaurs respected by the other races. Where once they would flee at the sound of their approaching hooves and manly belches, now they would come running to see them, as if they were equals. This could not be allowed.

He had to prove that the old way was still the only way of strength. He would show them that to change was to become weak. At first he had struggled to think of a way to teach his kind. He was a being of actions, not of thought. But then, he had heard of news from the human town. And, slowly, like a great big, thinking...thing...an idea had began to form in his head.

Leaderaur gave one final growl at the yellow creature painted on the walls. Then, he unleashed his flames at the roof of the cave and charged outside, leaping as he hit the light of day, flinging himself into the sky, the first of many mighty bounds that would take him to his target.

It was a warm day at the start of summer when the younger Pines Twins returned to Gravity Falls. Warm and with just enough of a breeze to keep the waiting crowd cool. Standing at the bus station with the great-uncles were Wendy Corduroy with her treasured trucker hat with the blue pine tree symbol, and Soos Ramirez in his Mister Mystery Attire, minus the eyepatch but still carrying them 8-Ball cane. At the bus stop sign itself, Grenda Grendinator and Candy Chui stood on tiptoe and tried to look further down the road, urging the bus to appear faster with their eyes.

"Ugh!" groaned Grenda in a voice that would make most military leaders jealous. "How long now?"

"About thirty seconds since you last asked," muttered Stanley, but he made his way to join the girls and craned his neck to see if he could see the vehicle.

"It's now seventeen minutes late," said Ford, glancing at his watch. "I'd assumed public transport would have improved in the years I've been absent," he shrugged. "It appears that I was mistaken."

"Aw, don't worry too much Doctor Pines," said Soos, putting a comforting hand on Ford's shoulder. "Everybody makes mistakes sometimes. Even me! Soos!"

Wendy groaned and kicked at the dirt. "Come on man, move it! I've been waiting forever to show Dipper my grades!"

Stan stared at her. "You haven't seen the kid in most of a year and the first thing you want to do is talk to him about school work? Who are you and what have you done with Wendy?"

"No, I'm serious!" said Wendy defensively. "He's been tutoring me and everything."

Stan raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Uh-huh," he said. "You expect me to believe that you've suddenly started to care about what your report card says?"

Wendy could hardly blame him for questioning her sudden interest in grades. With the exception of gym, shop class, and biology, Wendy had rarely shown any real aptitude for schoolwork and had shown even less actual interest. Too much work for no return. But after enough arguments with her father, she had vented online to a sympathetic Dipper who had offered a few suggestions, then a few examples, and soon they were going over several of her subjects on a weekly basis and her grades had been improving as a result.

Maybe it was the one-to-one basis, the creative teaching style, the jokes, or even just the person who was teaching, but for the first time in her life Wendy had started to receive more than just notes that said 'see me' and 'can do better' at the end of her tests.

Of course, that still didn't explain why she had started to care about her grades in the first place, but Dipper had asked that she keep that a secret and there was no way that she would betray his trust.

Instead she just shrugged at him. "Keeps dad off my back."

"I see something coming!" declared Candy, pointing down the road excitedly. The others quickly gathered and looked down the road to greet the vehicle.

"Wait a minute," said Wendy, narrowing her eyes as it approached. "That's not a bus."

And, sure enough, as it approached, they saw that it was actually a long, black car and not the anticipated Speedy Beaver. "Oh God," groaned Wendy, "Don't tell me it's-"

"Thank you Charles, that will be all for today," said Pacifica Northwest, stepping out of the car and waving goodbye to her chauffeur.

"Very good Miss," said the driver pleasantly, before slowly making his way down the road as Pacifica turned to face the waiting and now slightly confused crowd.

"Hi," she said, glancing at them all. "Shouldn't they be here by now?"

"Nice to see you too," muttered Wendy, too quietly for Pacifica to hear, glancing down the road again to see if the bus was on its way.

"Uh, hey there sweetie," said Stan, glancing at Wendy. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to say hello to Mabel and Dipper," answered Pacifica simply. "Why aren't they here yet?"

"Mabel and Dipper's bus appears to be running late," said Candy, "We were still waiting when you arrived."

"Yeah, so what are you doing here?" said Wendy, earning a glare from Pacifica. "This was meant to be the same people that said goodbye last time. Keep the whole thing symmetrical or whatever. So unless you have an invite-"

"Actually, I do have an invite," said Pacifica smugly, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her messages. "I asked Mabel if I could say hello to them today and she texted that I should drop by fifteen minutes after the bus arrived and everyone said their hellos." She found and showed the corresponding text to a frowning Wendy. "See?"

"Yeah, well, the bus hasn't arrived yet, so why don't you just go into the woods until you hear it come and then wait another fifteen minutes like you were asked before you come join us?"

"Woah there!" said Stan, stepping between the two before anything else was said. "If Mabel said you can join us then that's fine by me, even if it is through this...texty thing. And it was nice of you to give us some time to say hello again, even if it didn't turn out that way," he added, giving Wendy a measured look.

"Did you not see their bus on your way down the road?" Candy asked Pacifica.

"No," answered Pacifica, shaking her head. "I think the bus comes down a different road so we didn't see anything."

"It's good to see you!" growled Grenda, patting Pacifica on the back and making the girl wince. "Dipper and Mabel will be glad to see you too."

"Indeed," agreed Candy. "While symmetry is important, there is also room to expand our close-knit circle and potentially make it even stronger."

Wendy only rolled her eyes as Pacifica and the other girls began to chat among themselves. Her thoughts were interrupted when Stan leaned over to her. "What is with you?" he demanded quietly, looking at Pacifica. "I don't remember noticing anything between you two last time. What happened?"

"She started it!" snapped Wendy, nodding her head at the younger girl. "She's the one who's got the wrong idea."

"About what?"

"Er, never mind," said Wendy quickly. "Look, I'll try to be nice alright? It's nothing important so I won't let it get in the way of Dipper and Mabel coming back."

"Good," said Stan as, behind him, a motorbike pulled up to the bus stop and its passengers disembarked. "She's an okay kid, who just had a rough childhood. Besides," he added, "it could be a lot worse. At least it's not-"

"Why Stanley, how are you doing on this fine day?"

Stanley winced and bared his teeth at the sound of that familiar voice. "Ugh," he groaned, turning. "Gideon."

"Ghost-Eyes," said Wendy evenly, flexing her fingers.

"Miss corduroy," greated the large, bearded man humbly. He was wearing motorcycle leathers with a bandana and wild beard and hair, standing in stark contrast to the small round eleven year-old boy in the sparkly blue suit with flowers in one hand.

Wendy quickly stepped towards the younger girls. "Watch your moisturiser," she warned them.

"No," stated Stan, stepping towards the eleven year-old boy. "No, no, no and no. No way! Pacifica is one thing but I draw the line at you popping up and expecting to be let in on this!"

"Why Stanley, I don't rightly know what you mean," replied Gideon with a shrug and a dismissive flick of his wrist. "Can't a boy just wander around a bus stop outside his own home town?"

"No," said Stan immediately. "What kind of idiot do you think I am? Don't answer that!" he snapped as Gideon opened his mouth. "We all know this is just another one of your weird attempts to get close to Mabel."

"And what makes you think that?" asked Gideon.

"You've got a bouquet!"

"Do you think she'll like it?" asked Gideon, sniffing the flowers. "The lady at the store said they were perfect for an apology, and I do admit Stanley, I have a lot to apologise for. But I have reformed!" he declared, placing a foot on a nearby stone to attempt a more heroic pose. "I have now dedicated my life to using my expert manipulative powers, mighty intellect and cuteness in the name of goodness! I was inspired by our dear old Dipper, and in return I now seek to inspire others along a better pathway, should they ever start to fall into the temptation of sinful ways."

"Gideon has helped us become the better men we forgot we were the whole time," added Ghost-Eyes loyally. "Prison reformation has improved by over ninety percent since Gideon started helping out us ex-cons."

"Well, ninety-five percent, but who's counting?" said Gideon with almost believable modesty before he turned to Wendy. "Speaking of - our dear Officer Mendez and a certain lumberjack may have also hinted that I drop by to see you, Wendy, and see if you required my guidance to resist any criminal tendencies that you may have. Afterall," he added with a smile, "we wouldn't want you encouraging our dear Mabel and Dipper to be less heroic than they might be otherwise. We all know how much they look up to you." The smile changed to a smirk. "Especially Dipper."

"Aw, snap!" cried Grenda, slapping her thigh as Candy and Soos both made "ooooh" noises, much to both Wendy and Pacifica's annoyance.

"Hey!" said Stan suddenly, "You nevermind her criminal influence, if those kids can spend a whole summer with me and not turn out too bad then there's no way anything Wendy can do could influence them! I'm practically a crime master while she's a talented but reckless miscreant. At most!"

"Umm...thanks, Stan?" said Wendy as Ford pinched the bridge of his nose, the girls looked at each other and Soos nodded in agreement with his hero. "I think?"

"Anytime kid," said Stan. "You've earned it."

"Aw c'mon Mister Pines," said Soos, putting an arm around the scowling man. "Maybe we should give the poor kid a chance. That's what Dipper did, and he did buy Wendy, Dipper and me the time we needed to save Hambone. If the kids could let him come to their birthday party, I'm sure they'd let him at least say hello to them at a bus stop." When stan only grunted, he added: "Besides, he brought flowers for Mabel and his suit's extra sparkly, I'm sure she'd appreciate the gesture he's made."

"It reflects the sun into my eyes!" declared Candy, raising her had to protect her sight.

"Why, thank you Soos," said Gideon, admiring his suit. "I did make sure it added that extra sparkle. I did think of Mabel and her enchanting beauty when i picked this out."

Wendy groaned "Dude, give it up! She's too old for you and she's not interested anyway. Just let it go."

"Age means nothing in matters of the heart," said Gideon dismissively. He looked her up and down. "Then again, with your reputation, I wouldn't expect you to understand anything about loving someone."

"That's it!" snapped Wendy, taking a step forward as Ghost- Eyes took a protective step in front of the now worried looking boy . "I see drop-kicking you once wasn't good enough. Let's see if I can beat last time!"

"Twenty bucks if you get him to the other side of the road," said Stan, reaching for his wallet. "Fifty if he hits the trees!"

"Why don't you two go fight it out somewhere else," said Pacifica with an expert roll of her eyes. "Let the people who can at least pretend to be civilised greet Dipper and Mabel, while those of us who can't can go fight it out. Preferably out of earshot."

"Oh, I'll show you civilised," snarled Wendy, turning from Ghost-Eyes to the former billionaire heiress. "I'll knock the dye right out of your hair!"

"My hair is natural!" snapped Pacifica, not backing down from the fearsome redhead.

"See what you do!" Stan snapped at Gideon. "Reformed my foot! You're here five minutes and already you're causing trouble!"

"This ain't my doing! Y'all just can't behave yourselves!"

"That is ENOUGH!" barked Ford, so loudly that Stan and Gideon froze mid-insult while Pacifica and Wendy paused in their struggle, each holding a fistful of the other's hair.

"What are you doing?" He demanded. "It has been almost a year since we said goodbye to Dipper and Mabel and now we're fighting like children before they've even arrived?"

"But-" Pacifica hesitated, "But we are children."

"So are Dipper and Mabel, they're younger than most of us here, but has that ever caused them to act like you are now? Maybe I'm wrong," he said as Stan stood up straighter and Gideon awkwardly brushed at his suit. "I haven't known them as long as any of you, but I think that they would expect better than this from us." Wendy and Pacifica shared a final, embarrassed glare before they released each other. "Now, I can understand that not everyone is as forgiving as Dipper and Mabel, but I think we owe it to them to at least try to behave. For their sakes. Does anyone disagree with that?" a few mutterings was the answer. "What was that?" demanded Ford.

"No," said Stan, Gideon, Wendy and Pacifica with a mixture of hesitation, sighs and grunts.

"Very good," said Ford, nodding. "This situation has not happened as I imagine any of us would have wished. That's what happens in life. However, we must now make the most of it, just like everyone else. Now here's what I propose: Gideon and mister Ghost-Eyes, you were uninvited, well meaning though your intentions may have been. As such, you may briefly say hello to Mabel and Dipper after which you will depart when everyone else finishes their greetings and leave the bus stop. However, if they are at any point uncomfortable with this then we would ask that you respect this and leave quietly. Agreed? Good." Ford turned to Pacifica. "And as for you, Miss Pacifica, you were technically invited and as such you can stay with us until you wish to leave...however, please keep in mind that we were not expecting you and already had plans that did not include you. We will try to include you, however that may not always be easy and if it becomes too difficult then will you agree to leave also? Good." Ford, clapped his six-fingered hands together in resolution. "Excellent, now we can all try to behave ourselves until we see Dipper and Mabel."

"Look, there's Mabel!" cried Soos, pointing down the road.

The others turned in anticipation, expecting to see the Speedy beaver making its way down the road. Instead, they saw the thirteen-year old girl running down towards them in a sweater reading 'WE'RE BACK!' as a pig ran at her side.

"Whoah," said Soos as the girl approached. "She doesn't look too good."

Even at a distance they could see that he was right, her hair looked tangled and there were obvious stains on her face and clothing. A few glances were shared before they slowly started to run to meet her.

"Hi guys!" gasped Mabel as they finally met, wiping some dirt off her face. "Yay, I'm back!"

"Are you okay, Pumpkin?" asked Stan, kneeling to meet her and putting a hand on her shoulder as Grenda, Gideon and Candy gathered around her.

"Where's Dipper?" asked Ford, kneeling down beside his brother as Wendy, Pacifica and Soos peered down the road in search of her brother.

"He needs your help!" panted Mabel as her pet pig, Waddles, nuzzled at her neck. "We were on our way when something hit the bus! Tore the roof right off and took Dipper!"

"What?" cried Ford and Stan together.

"What was it?" asked Wendy. "Was it a dinosaur again?"

"Was it a hot elf again?" asked Grenda, earning a confused look from Pacifica.

"No!" Mabel took a deep breath. "I don't understand! It was a Manotaur! I thought they were our friends!"

As the girl struggled to catch her breath, Stan picked her up in his arms. "C'mon Pumpkin," he said, "Show us where this happened." He started to move quickly down the road as the others began to follow him. "Then, we're going to get your brother back."

Author's note: I've recently watched all of Gravity Falls again and I cannot find any reference to Grenda's last name except on the wiki. And if the wiki states it's Grendinator then who am I to argue? Speaking of names on the wiki; was anyone else shocked to discover that Wendy's brothers had cannon names!? I just saw it listed when I checked out her character page right after the comic came out! I could have sworn they weren't there when I checked before that! I was going to *ahem* borrow a Tom, Dick and Harry joke from 3rd Rock from the Sun! (Good show, I recommend it.) This is also my first time writing Gideon and I hope I don't make too many errors with his Southern mannerisms since I'm a Brit and have literally no real life experience with the American South. Hopefully I can get Gideon, and the rest of characters, right or at least improve in my depictions of them as my stories progress. Oh - and Officer Mendez is an original character, just in case anybody tries to look her up on the wiki. Just leave any reviews, criticisms, praise or suggestions you may have for my stories and I'll try to take them under advisement. If they're really good I'll pretend they were my ideas all along and praise myself for a job well done!