Not What It Seems

Nearly half a year had passed since the events of Weirdmageddon. The Grunkles are having a blast out on the open sea. In Piedmont, Mabel and Dipper are about to enjoy a week-long break from school. In Gravity Falls, Soos and Melody have fun running the Mystery Shack…until they hear the first BOOM.

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Gravity Falls, Oregon – February 17

Soos looked outside the window of the Mystery Shack and said, "Look at all that snow!"

Melody left her position behind the counter, stood on the tips of her toes, and looked over Soos' shoulder. The whole lot in front of the Shack was completely buried in white. "That's a lot of snow!"

"Even the wind has snow!" Soos exclaimed, referring to the blizzard occurring right outside. Melody just chuckled; Soos never failed to make her laugh.

The snowstorms that hit the state the last few days were strong and terrible. The residents of Gravity Falls kept waking up to more than four feet of snow covering their doorsteps, driveways and—well, everywhere. Fortunately, they had Fiddleford McGucket in the neighborhood; after the first day of getting snowed in, the recovering lunatic inventor had modified a dump truck with a snowplow in the front and flamethrowers on the sides. However, he had to remove the flamethrowers on the very polite request of Mayor Tyler, whose office received numerous complaints about slip and slides on the streets (the melted snow turned into ice) and slightly scorched (but de-iced) cars, bikes, and a couple of slightly toasted gnomes (Jeff and Schmebulock had been stuck under Manly Dan's truck). McGucket then replaced the flamethrowers with giant salt-shakers on the sides and the back of the truck. Now everyone in town woke up to freshly plowed streets with a salty tang in the air. A few people wished that McGucket still had the flamethrowers installed, it was so cold.

Soos took off his Mr. Mystery eyepatch and turned around to look at Melody. "It's a good thing you brought extra clothes with you to the Shack. You shouldn't drive back down to town in this weather."

"Yes, yes," said a soft, accented voice behind them. Melody looked around and saw Abuelita, Soos' grandmother, standing behind them. "Is scary out there, with all the snow and ice. I already set up a room for you in the house, m'ija, in Mr. Pines' study. You stay here where it's nice and warm, like my Soos."

Melody beamed at Abuelita and Soos. "Thank you, Abuelita and Soos!" The young woman walked over to Abuelita and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll go set up my stuff in there and help you prepare dinner!"

Abuelita smiled at Melody and patted her fondly on the cheek. Melody smiled at the little old lady before walking towards the counter. Behind it, she picked up a duffel bag painted with flowers and hoisted it over her shoulder before she left the gift shop room.

When Melody's steps started fading away, Abuelita turned to look at her grandson with the same loving smile. "Ah, m'ijo, you are so blessed! You now run a business and you are dating a lovely lady."

"I sure am, Abuelita," said Soos, smiling and turning a little red from the praise.

"When are you going to marry her, Soos?"

"ABUELITA!" Soos yelped, looking around to see if Melody had overheard. "Wow, that escalated quickly!"

"What?" Abuelita asked, the expression on her face still calm and smiling. "I just want to see you settled down before I go up to Heaven."

"Well, it's a bit too soon, don't you think, Abuelita?" Soos said, looking between his grandmother's face and the door behind her where Melody exited the gift shop. "I mean, Melody and I have been dating for, like, seven months now…"

"Oh, Soos," Abuelita sighed. She reached out to touch her grandson's cheek; Soos had to lean over for her to reach his cheek. "Seven months is…"

BOOM

The ground began to shake. Something rocked the Mystery Shack!

"Dios mío!" cried Abuelita. Soos grabbed Abuelita and helped her to kneel on the floor. The large man used his torso to shield her from the debris falling down from the ceiling.

The merchandise started shaking off the shelves. The exhibits around the Shack toppled. The monkey-mermaid piece nearly split in half when it hit the floor. Soos' hand-made sculpture of Stan Pines wobbled a bit, but it didn't lose balance. Soos figured it was due to the wide base.

Soos and Abuelita did not move until the shaking stopped. When it stopped, Soos straightened up, looking around in a panic.

"Melody!" Soos yelled as he helped up his grandmother. "Melody, where are you?!"

"Soos! Abuelita!"

Soos breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted Melody running out of the door back into the gift shop. His girlfriend looked extremely spooked, her hair and face covered in dust and her big blue eyes wider than normal. Soos opened his arms as Melody ran towards him, then bent down to pick up his grandmother to include her in a gentle bear hug.

"Somethi—something exploded downstairs!" Melody whispered, looking up at Soos.

"Downstairs?" Soos repeated, perplexed. "That…that can't be! There's nothing down there to explode. Mr. Pines—I mean, Mr. Ford—he dismantled the Portal and all the other machines down there before he left with Mr. Stan! I helped him with that stuff after Mabel and Dipper left!"

"I know what I heard and felt, Soos!" said Melody. "I was fixing my stuff in Mr. Ford's study when I dropped my shampoo. When I went to pick it up, I heard the 'boom' and landed on my face. The shaking seems to come from down there!"

"Bu—"

BOOM

There it was again! As Soos crouched over the prone forms of Melody and Abuelita to shield them while the Mystery Shack shook once more, he became aware of other sounds. They were faint, coming up from the ground, but he could hear them.

If he didn't know any better, they sounded like the laser guns from the hit space movie, Trek Wars.

But if Melody was right, he shouldn't be hearing those sounds. The Portal room was miles underground. How could he be hearing those sounds from way down there?

Soos' question was immediately answered by another BOOM and a large CRACK. Those sounds seem to come from the outside, on the other side of the Shack. The Shack shuddered a little, and the three people in the room got covered in more dust from the ceiling.

"You doods stay here!" he said to Abuelita and Melody. He kissed his grandmother and girlfriend on the cheeks and opened the door. He was immediately hit by a strong snow flurry. A large pile of snow got into the Shack and covered his feet.

"Aaah, the snow is blinding me!" Soos howled.

Melody grabbed Soos' thick gray jacket from the coat hanger near the door and threw it over him. She was already putting on her bright blue jacket and was out the door before Soos could put on his own jacket.

"You stay here, Abuelita!" Soos said loudly. "We'll take care of this!"

"Okay, m'ijo!" replied Abuelita. She looked around the room and surveyed the mess. "I go get the vacuum now," she murmured.

XXXXX

Outside, Soos had caught up with Melody on the other side of the Shack. For a little gal with little legs, Melody could run, even in this weather and with all this snow. He spotted her a few feet away from the front of the Shack, looking at something.

"Melody, why did you stop?" Soos panted. "What are you looking…at?"

Soos looked around and spotted what transfixed Melody on the spot. His jaw dropped.

Beside the Shack, looking like a giant blot on the white landscape, was a gaping hole. A little way off the crack…no, not away from the crack, above the crack, two people were facing each other.

Soos blinked. The two people were floating, each standing on what looked like some kind of giant shiny metal discs with bright doodads. They were shouting at each other, speaking in a language he did not understand—or he could not hear them properly over the wind. Both of them wore long robes with hoods; they reminded Soos of the robes worn by the creepy Society of the Blind Eye, but with different colors. One wore dark blue robes, while the other wore black. He could not see their faces, but he could see that they were each holding on to a very long stick.

"Are they—are they SPACE NINJAS?" Soos asked. He started wondering if someone in town had managed to unleash the characters from that new computer game, Hoodsassins Code.

"I—I guess…" Melody replied, still bewildered. "What are they doing?"

"It looks like a stand-off," Soos said in an awed voice. Then, in a brighter voice that should not have been appropriate in this situation, "They must be intergalactic Fight Fighters and they teleported here for the next round!"

"But they're not doing anything, Soos. Except float over that hole."

The two robed strangers didn't seem to notice them yet (hardly surprising in this weather). They have stopped shouting and seemed to have settled into a staring contest. At least, thought Melody, they're staring at each other. Hard to tell with their robes and this blizzard. Alright, let's find out what's what.

Melody moved a few steps forward. Soos followed her.

And then the ground gave out from under them.

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Piedmont, CA – February 17

"Hey, bro-bro. How are you feeling?"

"Ugh, not so loud, Mabel."

The girl winced. "Sorry, Dipper," Mabel stage-whispered. Mabel tip-toed closer to the bed, the better to see her twin brother. "You look awful," Mabel whispered sympathetically; Dipper raised his head slowly to give his twin sister a grumpy look. Then he groaned and leaned back on his pillow.

Mabel shook her head. Since they returned to Piedmont and started eighth grade, Dipper would spend the weekends doing one of three things: explore Piedmont with Mabel and their new friends, hang around in the library, or join Mabel chat with their Grunkles Stan and Ford over the ham radio (the radio was a gift from the two old sea dogs during their surprise Christmas visit in Piedmont. Yesterday should have been library day for Dipper, but when Mabel went to wake him up, she found him huddling under his blanket, shivering. The fever started that night. Mom had taken his temperature, checked the internet and their first-aid kit, and gave Dipper some over-the-counter stuff to deal with the fever and told him to rest. Ever since, Dipper rarely left his bed except to use the bathroom.

She placed the bowl of water on the table next to Dipper's bed and fished out the hand towel that was swimming in it, wringing out the excess water before folding it and placing it on her brother's hot forehead.

"Thanks Mabel," Dipper murmured appreciatively. "Guh, I feel terrible. Why did I have to get sick on a weekend?"

"I know," Mabel murmured, shaking her head. "Especially with winter break coming up!"

Dipper groaned. "Great, just great. I'm gonna spend my vacation as a patient instead of hanging out with you and the Grunkles."

During their last transmission a week ago, the 13-year-olds learned that their seafaring Grunkles were heading to Piedmont again to visit them during their winter break. Mabel's squeals of excitement were powerful enough to set off a few car alarms around the neighborhood. After Mabel and their parents calmed down (Dad burst through the door of the twins' room, holding up a baseball bat), Grunkle Stan said, "Pumpkin, I think you scared off all the seagulls around the Stan O'War, and a couple of dolphins."

"Hey, easy there, Dippo," said Mabel. "Don't get worked up about it or you'll never kick this fever off."

Dipper just grumbled. "If I found out who made me sick, I will make them pay! With—I dunno—rashes or something. Do we have poison ivy around the house?"

"Dipper, stop it." Mabel said in a threatening voice. "If anyone's going to get revenge, it's gonna be me. And anyway..." She stood up and showed her brother her sweater for the day: it was all red except for the white circle in the middle, which had a red cross inside. "Nurse Mabel is here, and she says you need to rest up some more, Mister!"

Dipper smiled wanly at Mabel. "Okay. I'll try."

Mabel smiled back at him, a wide and toothy smile filled with braces and that Mabel brand of caring. "I'll go leave you to recharge. Also, Mom says that if the fever doesn't go away by tomorrow, we'll have to take you to the doctor, so save us the trip and get better."

"Yes ma'am," said Dipper. He yawned and started dozing off. "G'night, Mabel."

Mabel looked out the window and then at the digital clock on Dipper's desk on his side of the room. It was 5:45pm. "It's not that late, but close enough."

Mabel refreshed Dipper's towel and placed it back on his forehead before heading out the door, closing the door carefully behind her. Dipper turned to his side, making the towel slip off his forehead.

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Author's Note: I haven't written this much in years, so my story-telling abilities might be a bit rusty. I also had to do some major researching for the winter break schedule, the weather in 2013, games and movie references and so on. If there are some points or facts that are off, I do apologize in advance. Constructive criticism is most welcome.

Gravity Falls belongs to Disney and Alex Hirsch.