*Puts on thinking cap* Well, it looks like I will be writing another story. And one for my favorite tv show right now. The Gravity Falls AU I am writing was created by Sorophora from tumblr. I am very happy that she created this AU, because it is my most favorite one out there. Anyway, please bare with me as we dive deeper into this story.

~Arrival (Part 1)~

"What do you think he will look like? Like that old janitor we see everyday at school? Or maybe like our bus driver. He's pretty old don't ya think?"

Mabel rolled her eyes as her twin brother, Dipper, droned on about what their 'mysterious' great uncle would look like. It was natural she supposed for Dipper to start making wild guesses about their great uncle's appearance since they've never officially met him. All they knew about their great uncle was that he lived in a small town called Gravity Falls in Oregon where they would be staying with him for winter break.

Mabel blocked Dipper's voice as she turned to look out the window. She still couldn't get use to the unfamiliar forest scenery covered in a white blanket around them nor the fact that the air here was a lot cleaner. All she really knew about this place was that it was the middle of nowhere far away from their suburban home back in Piedmont, California.

When Mabel got the news about their trip, she was devastated. She had never been anywhere without her parents. Just not being with them now on the bus was uncomfortable enough. She couldn't stand to imagine how she would feel once they got there. For one, she would definitely feel homesick. After all, spending a winter break with a great uncle you never met in an isolated town deep in the woods would make someone longing for the home they already loved.

As Mabel pondered over this, she felt herself being thrown to the seat in front of her as the bus came to a stop with its wheels making a loud screech. Mabel made a mental note on how unbearable the screech was. It stung her ears so bad that it almost made her feel like she was back in class in Piedmont with one of her rowdy classmates scratching the chalkboard with the chalk. That was the one time that she found out how painful it was to hear a dreadful sound like that.

Right beside Mabel, Dipper rubbed his messy brown hair. He too was thrown in his seat, but unlike Mabel, the screech didn't bother him. Dipper was far beyond weird in Mabel's eyes. Heck, he was always wearing a different t-shirt that he sowed all by himself or doing something a normal kid wouldn't try like eating a worm from the sidewalk. Even his nickname showed everyone how weird he was, but it never bothered Dipper. That was why Mabel couldn't help but admire her hyperactive brother.

Mabel uncovered her ears and turned to Dipper. "Are you okay Dipper?"

Dipper nodded and flashed a goofy smile at Mabel pointing at his chest covered by another of his homemade t-shirts. This time, on the shirt was was a picture of a golden star. "Yep! Nothing can hurt this well run oil machine."

Mabel chuckled at that. He was one heck of a well run oil machine alright. Mabel poked her head out of her seat to see what the bus driver was doing when she froze. The mirror in front of the bus driver was reflecting how unhappy the ancient white haired lady was. She was giving them a cold glare. Mabel quickly decided that probably was because this was their stop. Which meant they were wasting her valuable time.

"Are two done yet? I have other people to pick up you know," the bus driver said in a snappy tone.

Mabel got the message and stood up along with Dipper and they collecting their bags filled with valuables and necessities they brought with them from home. As they began to walk down the aisle, Mabel lifted her gaze from the ground to at the old bus driver. It was not to make her uncomfortable, but to observe her. All Mabel really wanted to was see was why she was grumpy and snappy.

The old lady noticed Mabel staring at her, because as soon as they got off the bus, she made the door behind them shut quickly almost catching Dipper's hand in the process. The tires began to roll and right after that, the bus took off down the icy road leaving behind the strong smell of gasoline behind.

Mabel and Dipper stood awkwardly in the snowy road staring at each other in front of the large house they were were suppose to spend the winter break in. On the roof of the house was the words 'Mystery Museum' except the second 'M' was on the verge of falling down. Already, Mabel shook with worry. She didn't like it here. It was cold and too snowy. Back in Piedmont, California, she didn't really have to worry about the cold or snow. It just felt too weird being here.

Just as Mabel was about to talk to her brother about what to do next, the door to the Mystery Shack opened with a large man taking a step out of it. Mabel stared at the man in shock while her brother gawked happily at him. The large man had a scruffy face with a solemn frown on it. His hair was brown like Mabel's and Dipper's with white barely appearing on it. The man was wearing a long brown coat and he was giving a cold stare at the twins. Mabel mentally shook with fear and awe. This couldn't be their great uncle could it?

The three stared at each other for several minutes until the large man finally said something. "Are you two Mabel and Dipper?"

Both of the twins nodded slowly. Mabel wanted to say something, but it felt like her lips were sealed tightly together leaving her unable to speak. But unlike her, Dipper's lips weren't. "Are... Are you our great uncle?"

The large man nodded. "Yes, I'm your great uncle. My name is Stanford Pines, but call me Great Uncle Ford." Stan rubbed the back of his head with his hand looking like he wanted to say something else. He shook his head and dropped his hand. Mabel could have sworn she saw six fingers instead of five fingers. "You two want to come in? I don't want you kids catching a cold on your first day here."

Both of the twins turned to each other at their great uncle's words giving each other a look. Mabel began to question herself if they should take their great uncle's offer. Mabel understood that they should since this was where they were going to live for the next few weeks, but it still felt awkward. She couldn't imagine how much more awkward it would be just standing in the house.

Dipper didn't get the memo, because as soon as he turned away from Mabel, he gave Ford a huge goofy smile. "Yeah, we would love to come in Great Uncle Ford. Just as long as they're hot chocolate involved," he said as he gave a wink.

Ford just shrugged his shoulders at Dipper's wink and turned his back towards them walking back into the house. Dipper frowned not being able to make Ford smile and gathered his bags. He took off for the house, but just before he entered it, he called out towards Mabel who was still in deep thought. "Come on Mabel! I know the snow looks like mashed marshmallows, but it's really cold. Let's go inside and see if we can have hot chocolate." Dipper gave a huge grin and entered the house.

Mabel wanted to argue, but didn't. Her brother was right. There was no reason for her stay any longer out in the cold. Mabel gathered her bags and walked towards the house entering it. She closed the door behind her and began to observe the house. The walls were made out of stones the color of a distinguishable gray color. There were barely any furniture around expect for a gray sofa right right by a skull of some kind of animal that was being used as a small table. What caught Mabel's eyes was the scraps of paper littering the ground as if they were tossed purposely. Scribbles and diagrams could be seen on them. Mabel couldn't make out what they were saying, but was growing increasingly curious as she gawked at them just feeling the need to pick them up and read them.

"Mabel! Look! There's a pink lizard in here!"

Mabel turned her attention away from the scraps of paper to Dipper tapping the glass of an aquarium making goofy faces. Inside it was a large salamander sitting on a large rock staring at Dipper with huge beady eyes. Mabel stared at it in wonder. Of all the pets there was out there, this was the one her great uncle got? This definitely made her great uncle a lot more interesting.

"Uh... Dipper. That's not a lizard. It's a Axolotl," corrected Mabel.

Dipper stopped making a face at the salamander turning away from it to Mabel. "A what?"

Mabel sighed. "It's an albino frilled Mexican salamander Dipper. You know, not a lizard but a salamander."

Dipper puffed out his cheeks at his sister. "It still looks like a lizard to me."

Mabel shook her head at her brother. There were times when her brother's logic questioned her. Like how he could not tell that the axolotl was clearly a salamander and not a lizard. Lizards were reptiles and salamanders were amphibians. What made the amphibian clearly distinguishable was it's aquarium. Obviously, lizards don't need aquariums as their home.

"Are you two warming up?"

Mabel gave a little jump and turned to see Ford with a stern face holding a silver tray with a kettle and cups on top of it. He placed the tray down on the dinosaur skull and began to pull the hot steaming liquid from the kettle into the cups. Mabel stared at Ford as he did that as Dipper kept bouncing up and down smiling at the fact Ford didn't forget about the hot chocolate.

After Ford was finished, he gave a cup to both Mabel and Dipper. Dipper bravely took a large gulp out of it ignoring how hot the cup felt to his hands. Mabel couldn't help but chuckle as soon as he realized his mistake. It was not smart drinking out of a hot cup. What was smart was waiting till it cooled down for a bit.

Ford watched as the twins interacted with each while enjoying the hot chocolate he made for them. He still couldn't believe that they were here now right in front of him. It still felt like only yesterday when he saw them as tiny babies still barely being able to crawl. Now here they were a lot older, but yet still so small. He had missed a lot and he hated that. But who could blame him? He had been quite busy over the past few years.

"So Great Uncle Ford? How come we haven't seen you before at any of our family reunions?" Mabel asked out of the blue.

Ford looked up at Mabel wording her question over his head over and over agin. How come was the real question. He had to be careful how he answered her. He did not want to think badly of him. After all, he was actually going to take some time off of his work just to spend some time with them.

"I've been very busy with work. I'm a researcher for this town and for that reason, I couldn't really leave since leaving would risk valuable findings that could go to waste."

Mabel half believed what Ford just said. Although it sounded like it was a lie, it also sounded like the truth. And if that was the case, Mabel wanted to find out more.

"What do you research?"

Ford looked like he was too deep in thought at her question and for a slight second, Mabel could have sworn she saw regret in his eyes. Was it really that bad of a question to ask?

"I research the supernatural activity in this town..." Ford answered quietly.

"Wait- you mean like ghosts and things that go bump in the night? There's really stuff like that here?" Mabel asked with excitement noticeable in her voice. Mabel hated to admit it, but she loved that kind of thing. Dipper was crazy about t-shirts, and she was crazy about the supernatural.

"Yes, that's what I research." Ford replied back with a hint in his voice that he wanted the conversation to end. He glanced down at his wrist where there lied a worn down silver watch. He turned back his attention towards the kids after checking the time. "I have to get going. My museum is going to open soon. You two can stay here or head up to your room to unpack. It's the last room on the second floor." After saying that, Ford stood up and walked out of the room leaving the twins behind.

Immediately after Ford left, Mabel stood up barely being able to control her excitement. There was actually supernatural phenomena here. And if that was the case, she wanted to investigate immediately. Even if it was cold and snowy outside, that wasn't going to stop her from going to look what was exactly out there. With that, Mabel placed her cup down on the tray and began to walk to the door when her brother stopped her.

"Uh... Mabel what are you doing?"

Mabel turned and gave a smile at Dipper. "I'm going to look outside around the forest."

"For what?" Asked Dipper as he placed his empty cup of hot chocolate down.

"For the supernatural."

Dipper glanced down at the bags. "But what about unpacking?"

Mabel looked down at the bags now remembering that they still had to unpack. But the thought of finding a creature or two kept making Mabel itch with excitement. She knew what she wanted to do.

"Um... Dip? Can you leave my bags upstairs? I'll unpack later. Thanks!"

Before Dipper could say anything else, Mabel opened the door, exited, and closed it behind her. She then thought about the obstacles ahead of her. The freezing gust of wind gnawed at her face and the white bundles of snow seemed to laugh at her for being untrained for this weather.

'This is definitely going to take some time to get used to.' Mabel thought with longing for summer.

Mabel began to walk towards the dreary forest. Snow littered the branches of the trees and the abandonment of plants and animals kept giving Mabel chills. As Mabel continued walking looking for a glimpse of a supernatural creature, she couldn't stop the feeling of being watch. At first, it didn't bother her, but as she continued walking deeper into the forest, the feeling of eyes following her every move grew.

Just as Mabel was beginning to think about turning around, she heard a low growl. Mabel jumped with fright and began to back away turning in every direction for what made the growl. She had read many books and listened to many documentaries, but nothing sounded like the growl she heard.

Another growl came from Mabel's side and this time, Mabel decided to run. She didn't know what was she was facing and for that reason, she had to take that optimum route. Mabel took off for the direction she came from knowing where she wanted to go. As she ran, she heard the sound of feet hitting the snow and loud breathing. In reaction, Mabel closed her eyes and picked up her speed. She had no desire of being food for whatever what was chasing her.

What Mabel failed to do was look where she was going. She hit a tree full force and was thrown to the cold snow with the sound of metal being hit ringing though her ears. Mabel carefully got up in pain and walked to the tree she hit in accident. She was curious why the tree made that sound. And besides, it couldn't hurt to check. Whatever was chasing her couldn't be heard anymore.

Mabel placed her fist on the tree and hit it three times. The sound of metal being hit could be heard again. Now Mabel knew there was definitely something in the tree and she wasn't going to leave without finding what exactly it was.

Mabel brushed some snow off the tree to find a small handle. She turned it and a small part of the tree trunk swung opened revealing a small hidden compartment. Inside it was a small machine with an two switches. Mabel curiously began playing with one of the switches flicking it up and down when she heard shaking from the ground. She turned just in time to see part of the ground disappearing revealing a small dug box. Mabel cautiously walked to it and bent down to see what it was inside.

All she saw was a book surrounded by cobwebs.

Mabel picked the book up dusting the cobwebs off of it and observed it in her hands. On the book was a symbol of a six-fingered hand with the number three on it. The book looked very old since there were tatters here and there and the cover of the book was red with lots of brown from dust.

Mabel set the book down and opened the book to the first page beginning to read out loud.

"It's hard to believe it has been six years since I have been studying the strange and wondrous secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon."

Mabel blinked and turned the page to see pictures and information about floating eyeballs and giant vampire bats. Mabel shook with fear, but also excitement. What exactly did she just find?

Mabel turned more pages about even more creatures she never would think of when she stopped on a page with 'TRUST NO ONE' written on it. She began to read it.

"Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed. I'm being watched. I must hide this book before He finds it. Remember- In Gravity Falls, there is no one you can trust."

Mabel shut the book deeply in thought. "No one you can trust..." She murmured quietly to herself.

"Hello!" Squealed someone behind her.

Mabel screamed in fright and turned to see Dipper smiling at her. How he found her she had no idea. She knew she was a long way from the Mystery Shack.

"Watcha reading sis? Some nerd thing?"

Mabel sweat dropped as she tried to hide the book under her coat. "Um... Um... It's nothing Dipper."

Dipper placed his hands in the air waving them while mimicking Mabel. "Um... Um... It's nothing." He dropped his hands to his sides as he chuckled. "It's definitely something. Are you actually not going to show me?"

Mabel sighed and stood up. Of course she couldn't say no to Dipper. But she couldn't tell him everything she learned here. The feeling of being watched was back again. They needed to talk somewhere else out of this forest.

"Let's go somewhere private."

ZHOFRPH WR JUDYLWB IDOOV

Looks like I have to stop there. I have decided to make this a two part chapter of the first episode since I have so many ideas. Thanks for reading and please review! ^.^