AN: And the last chapter is out. I gotta say, I loved writing this fic… it was fun to imagine how the premise would play out and how these characters would act in such a situation, and I'm happy with the final result. Hopefully you, who read the story up to this point, liked it as much as I liked writing it. I'm surely going to try writing more stuff for Gravity Falls, and as for Infinity Train I just hope I managed to keep the interest for the pilot and possible series high. With all the rumours going around the web lately we can only hope for an official announcement soon.

Thanks to whoever left a favourite, follow or review to show his or her support, and to everyone: thanks for reading!

Chapter 7

The Dimension of Infinite

"And that, Great Uncle Ford… was pretty much the end of it. We woke up in our bedroom in the shack in the early morning, confused but otherwise unscathed," Dipper concluded his tale. "Well, I was unscathed until Mabel slammed me into the wall, but other than that…"

"I understand, Dipper," Ford said. He was sitting down on a nearby chair backwards, resting his arms on the seatback, and he scratched his forehead in thought. "Dipper… I suppose you already know how much in danger you and your sister were in, don't you?"

"Uuh… I guess, it was still Bill behind it all so…" Dipper said, unsure of his words.

"True, but I'm not just talking about him," Ford said. He stood up and walked towards the table right below the window that separated the room from the chamber where the universe portal used to be. "The multiverse is not a safe place by definition, Dipper. Bill is one of the greatest dangers out there, but that doesn't mean that all the other dimensions out of his own realm and influence are devoid of threats. I've travelled for thirty years beyond the portal, and believe me… you don't want to know what inhabitants dwell there."

Dipper shuffled his feet and scratched the back of his right arm with his left hand. "I… I guess so."

Ford sighed. He may have known the kid for just a few days and, other than him and his sister, had very few interactions with younghood members, but that didn't mean he couldn't put two and two together.

"I know what you're thinking of right now, Dipper," he said, turning around to face his nephew. "Don't lie to me. You're debating whether it'd be possible to return there, don't you?"

Dipper looked down, but Ford didn't reprimand him. He walked over and kneeled right in front of him. "Look at me, Dipper."

Once the kid was actually looking at his face again, he resumed his speech. "I don't blame you for the idea. Even I managed to make a couple of friends during my time in the multiverse, some of which I still miss to this day. But I always knew I couldn't stick around them forever… they lived in another dimension, and I had mine to return to along with a job to complete: finding out what Bill's next move would have been. I always knew that I, sooner or later, would have had to leave them be. Heck… to be honest, I'd be thrilled to study this train of infinite myself."

He moved his eyes away from the boy for a moment, recalling a couple of specific pieces of his story. "The way you've described how the train reacted to Bill's presence and the battle between him and the machine are intriguing, unlike anything I've ever seen, and we might even be able to learn something useful to stop the demon if we had the chance to inspect further. Yet… the risks are far too dangerous. It's simply not worth it."

Seeing that Dipper was literally trembling under his gaze, Ford decided to give him some space and moved away from him. The kid brought a hand to his cheek and looked away while still sitting on his chair, deep in thought.

After a few seconds of silence, Ford continued: "And I hope you'll understand it, too. Dipper, attempting to travel to another dimension is out of the question right now: the portal is to remain disassembled and, if possible, never to be built again for the reasons we all know… and we better not even think about the rift. Even so, if we hypothetically had a Bill-proof portal at our disposal, there would be countless dimensions out there to travel through. Without the exact coordinates, our only option may be choosing by chance and hope in the probabilities law, something that may take us years to go through before we manage to find it."

He fixed his glasses before ending his speech. "Therefore, I'm afraid you'll have to face the fact you'll probably never see that train or meet that girl again, Dipper. I'm sorry… the stakes are too high."

Dipper remained in silence for a few more seconds before timidly turning towards the man. "Great Uncle Ford… I-I understand… I know you're right- I just… I needed someone to tell me it couldn't be possible. I needed to talk to someone about it. To… to know if it was there was a little bit of hope."

Ford frowned. "Sometimes, things just don't work the way you hope for, and we all have to move on…" he hesitantly said, trying to find the right words. Realizing that he wasn't exactly saying something comforting, he decided to change the subject: "I'll thank you for telling me about this one, though. I didn't know Bill was even able to project people into other dimensions while invading their dreams… that's something I'll have to take into account in the near future."

Dipper nodded, a hint of a smile on his face. "I… I think I should go, I gotta think about it," he said before standing up and walking towards the elevator. But before he could leave, Ford called him out.

"Dipper… your sister. Does she know about you coming down here? About this discussion?"

Dipper gulped before confirming Ford's guess. "Yeah… I mean, she asked me about the entire ordeal and we decided together that I'd ask you. She doesn't want to do anything reckless, Great Uncle Ford! She… she just wondered if. Just like me."

"I trust you," Ford said sternly, "but I also trust you that you'll keep her away from danger. Remember: Bill is out there, plotting and waiting. She must not know about the interdimensional rift, just like Stanley and his employees. For the safety of everyone… no one must know."

Dipper's unsecure face left him, replaced by a confident look. "I won't let you down, Great Uncle Ford!" he exclaimed, bringing a fist to his chest in what was supposed to be an epic-ish manner to show he meant it. Ford had to struggle a little to keep a chuckle from coming out of his mouth. Oh, how much did Shermy's grandson remind him of himself…

He couldn't let his guard down, though. He had to keep the boy alert at all times, so he simply nodded before turning away towards the rest of the laboratory to ponder on his next task. Only when he heard the elevator's door close and the grinding of the cables as the thing went up he became able to focus utterly on his own work.

"Come, fellow stranger! Come and feast your eyes on the great artisan collection from your trusty pal, Great Darius! Sales only for a limited time!"

Last time I saw someone offering sales it didn't end well… Tulip thought to himself as the enormous eyes of the mantis man looked at her greedily. She shook her head and scoffed before resuming her march through the bazar. A desert-tier sun shined above them as the noises of dozens of mantis people filled the oriental-looking market, arguing with equal numbers of potential arthropod customers. It truly looked like a mantis hive cluster of sorts.

"Why not stopping by for a second, Miss Tulip?" Glad-One asked in sincere wonder. "The last merchant seemed to have a couple of nice goods. I liked that snow globe with sand in place of the snow!"

"Yes, it would've been a fitting metaphor for our current predicament…" Sad-One added.

"Oh, guys, c'mon!" Tulip grumbled, trying to keep her voice low. She didn't want to get any attention, period… since the mantis men, while more interested in their price banters than her, looked quite fearsome with their insectoid faces and the blades available on their upper arms. "We've talked about this. Stay low and move straight to the door… and no shopping!"

One-One proved insistent. "Not even a one-second break, Miss Tulip? You could use a replacement for that sweater."

Tulip ignored the fact that her sweater had indeed seen better days. "Not even a milli-second one!" she replied in annoyance. "Besides, my sweater is fine for now. I'll find something else later."

"Four," said Sad-One's monotone voice.

Tulip stopped her walk and fired a glare at the bot on her shoulder. "Four what?"

"Fourth time you've said it," he answered. His tone was neutral, but the intention was very clear.

"Ugh, all right, all right! I just don't feel like doing it, okay?!" she answered, her voice a little louder than before. A couple of mantis men passing by directed their vertical pupils towards her for a moment before shrugging and turning their attention back to their business.

She walked towards one of the various stands that surrounded the main road of the village. She wasn't actually interested in it: it was one of the few ones where the merchant wasn't present, and no one was around looking through the merchandise either. She just needed a quiet place to recollect her thoughts.

One-One didn't talk after Tulip's small outburst, but he continued to look at her with its eye sensors, waiting for her to continue. Tulip gave a glance to her companion before sighing. "I… I-I don't want to-… ugh." She directed her gaze towards the showcase, trying to concentrate on the various souvenirs and bizarre objects that were available.

"To lose a memory, maybe," Sad-One proposed.

Tulip let out an affirmative grunt. "Is it that obvious?"

"It's definitely the only good reason. You don't have to worry about that, Miss Tulip… I miss them, too," Glad-One reassured.

"No, it's not just like that, One-One… I know, it's stupid, this thing is a mess and I definitely need a new one…" she tugged at one of the sleeves of her sweater with her other hand, to be precise the one with the torn peak.

"Yet, I can't do it so lightly… I simply can't. I can name every guy we've met since we began travelling through the train, One-One. From Atticus to the weird old riddle-making guy, I remember them all… because they were all, more or less, a part of this train. But… Dipper and Mabel… they weren't. They just got here… stranded against their will. They were the only guys that somehow were in a similar situation to mine, and… oh, forget about it, this is getting me nowhere."

"A little convulsed, indeed," Sad-One confirmed, earning a glare from the redhead. But Glad-One quickly corrected, "It's understandable, though. Too bad we don't have something a little better than a ruined sweater to keep as a nice memory."

"I may be able to aid you in that, my lady," a voice interjected. Both Tulip and One-One were startled as the head of a mantis man popped out from behind the showcase.

"How long have you been hiding down there!?" Tulip exclaimed in dismay, but the mantis man simply moved its buccal apparatus into what looked like a grin. "That is irrelevant, my lady," he continued with a slightly old-sounding voice, even though all the mantises in the bazar more or less looked the same sans for a few scattered pieces of clothes. "I have solutions for more than one of your problems. For starters, you could take a look at my elegant dress collection, one where you may find a sweater of your liking."

"Wait, wait, slow down there! I'm not going anywhere, I was just, uh… looking around the place. So, thanks for the thought but…" Tulip tried to refuse the mantis' offer politely, but she failed to find the right words to do so. A glance to One-One, who was still looking at her, was all she needed to give up. "Oh, all right, whatever. Let's see what you got."

"I am sure you will be pleased, my lady," the mantis said politely, the mandibula moving back and forth. Tulip tried to ignore that and the feeling of her stomach twisting in disgust. "Please, follow me into the back of my tent."

One-One and Tulip walked behind the mantis man, moving beside the counter and following him into the entrance of the tent. The inside was filled to the brim with even weirder stuff than the public showcase, ranging from iron sabres to… embalmed mantis heads?!

Tulip had to supress a yelp. The mantis looked to her quizzically before noticing what she was looking at. "Oh, don't worry about those, my lady. They're just for display and not for sale… you never know when you'll need a tasty present to bring for your loved one, believe me. But let's not waste more of your valuable time. Here!" the mantis moved one of its upper limbs towards an old-looking wardrobe. He plucked the tip of his claw right into the door hole and with one swift jerk he opened the shutters, revealing a series of… sweaters, surprisingly. "A vast assortment, in my humble opinion. Please, suit yourself, my lady."

Tulip looked quizzically at the wardrobe who seemed to have been stolen straight from the Gran Vizier's palace. If there was even a Gran Vizier to begin with in the car. Wait, how would a mantis Vizier look li-

"I like the red one, Miss Tulip!" Glad-One commented, preventing Tulip form continuing her erratic line of thought. Realizing she was distracted, she closed her eyes for a moment and placed a hand on her forehead. "Okay, Tulip, you can do this… less thinking about Grand Viziers and more resolutions."

He walked over to the wardrobe and checked its contents. "I don't even want to know why you have sweaters of all things here…" she muttered.

"In the bazar objects move around, get exchanged and burrowed, bought and sold. There's a lot of movement, my lady," the mantis replied as he walked away, his four lower legs making tipping sounds on the ground.

"Mmh… I suppose so…" Tulip said. She wasn't a fashion maniac for sure… she just wanted something to replace her worn out sweater, so she looked straight for one with the same colour as her previous one. She picked up a green-coloured one and frowned when she saw that there was a fancy looking stamp of a trio of mantis people playing vintage guitars on its back. "That's guaranteed to catch quite some attention, no doubt…" Sad-One commented.

Leaving aside the fact that it's ugly, she thought before putting the thing along with its coat hanger back into the large wardrobe. He scanned the collection for a few seconds before the voice of the mantis merchant spoke again. "My lady, I said I would've been able to help you in more than one way for a reason."

Tulip scowled. "I'm not going to buy more of your stuff, if that's what you're thinking of," she said without turning around.

"No, no… it does not concern a piece of my products, my lady. It concerns, pardon if I sound inquisitive… Dipper and Mabel, were those their names?"

Tulip's hand froze in mid-air, a couple of centimetres away form another green sweater. She slowly whirled around to look at the mantis merchant, her face a mask of wariness… and curiosity. "Yes… they were. What do you mean?"

"Your robotic companion, my lady, is not only a nice buddy you can conversate with… but I'm sure you already know of that," the mantis explained. Tulip noticed he was carrying what looked like a steel-made, business-looking suitcase. It was even more contrasting with the oriental-ish environment than the sweater collection.

The merchant raised a claw and placed the suitcase on a table. With another jerk inside a keyhole of his blade he opened it, but its contents remained unseen by Tulip, hidden by the upper half. "You should know that your bot, better known as model, is capable of various tasks… if the proper upgrades are installed or activated, of course. And one of said upgrades might just be what you've been looking for."

Tulip slowly saw where the mantis was going for and her first reaction was to make a step back and put a hand over One-One protectively. "Hey, hey, hey! Do you think I'm gonna let you mess with One-One's inner circuits or what?"

"'Mess' is an undesirable choice of words, my lady. I've worked in the field before: your bot is in good hands, you have my word. Not to mention that, if my theories about your own model are true, it won't take more than a minute. It's a chance you might not want to waste…"

"Hmm… why would I not want to?" Tulip tried a different approach to test him. It was the second creature that referred to One-One as 'model', and she wanted to get more information from the merchant about it. Even so, her hand remained stuck on One-One's head, keeping him fixed on her shoulder.

The mantis chortled, or made a few gurgling sounds that could be interpreted as laughs. "Because what we're about to do is illegal, my lady," he explained, his eye pupils fixed on her. "Truly, I'm putting myself in danger by doing so… thus, I'm afraid I must tell you that the morbid curiosity I can feel you have will remain unsatisfied. So, that's why, my lady… finding someone willing to help you in the rest of the train as I am may not be that easy."

Tulip found herself seriously considering the proposal of the mantis merchant. For a few, long seconds, she just stared at the insectoid being, trying to see if there was something behind his words, some second-goal he hadn't filled her in, but the mantis simply waited for her response, his expression undecipherable.

She felt a robotic toe tip at her hand and, answering his call, Tulip grabbed hold of One-One with both her hands and moved him in front of her. "Let's do it, Miss Tulip!" Glad-One immediately gave his support to the idea, flailing his little robot hands in excitement.

"One-One… I don't think it might be wise to-…"

"It's what you want, though," Sad-One continued, unperturbed by Tulip's frown. "The eventual danger does not concern me – the cars will offer plenty of times to die in the future in any case."

"Is that supposed to reassure me?" Tulip asked.

"Maybe. I love dangerous adventures anyway!"

Tulip groaned before deciding to end the discussion that she knew wasn't going nowhere. She might as well trust the one friend that she didn't have had to leave behind or that voluntarily or not had left her.

"All right, we'll take it… whatever you're planning to do. But no funny business!"

"A wise choice, my lady," the mantis replied. He gestured to the table with one of its claws and Tulip slowly came over to put One-One over it. "And please, you have nothing to worry about. Besides, this service is included with the purchase of the sweater."

Like that'll make me be less suspicious… she thought as she eyed suspiciously the giant arthropod. One-One trotted towards the opened suitcase while the mantis scanned the robot with its huge eyes. "Mmh, as I thought. We're lucky, my lady, this is a model I'm accustomed to and it won't need a full-blown upgrade."

He placed a claw over One-One's head and slowly rotated the bot until it's front was facing Tulip. The girl continued to keep an eye on him as the mantis raised one of its lower limbs to take hold of something inside the suitcase. He continued to make sure Tulip couldn't see anything, something that annoyed her, but the little bot didn't protest, waiting for the mantis to finish his job. I hope I'm not gonna regret this, One-One…

The mantis fiddled a little on One-One's back. "Let's see… ha, easy as grabbing a fly in the morning. We'll just add a few connections here…" another limb moved to grab another hidden object, "…and place this there… then make sure everything is in place… and it is. The block's gone, and we're done!"

The entire process had taken less than thirty seconds. "What? Already?" Tulip expected the mantis to keep his word and be fast… but not this fast.

"These friendly bots are an engineering miracle, my lady. That's all you need to know. But please… take a look." The mantis used another clawless limb to gently push One-One to move towards Tulip.

"So… anything new?" Tulip questioned as she controlled the state of her little friend.

"Never felt better in my life!" Glad-One said.

"I actually feel a small itch in my back and-" a rapid 'CLICK' sound was heard, followed by a sudden light spark coming out of One-One's eyes.

"What? What was that!?" Tulip demanded, only to have One-One move his robot limbs in a shrugging gesture. "The itch is gone," Sad-One simply said.

When Tulip's stern look moved towards mantis, the arthropod didn't look preoccupied by the events unfolding. "It works," he simply affirmed.

"Could you please stop with the enigmas and start explaining what is going on here?!"

The mantis emitted another guttural chuckle. "Oh, it's nothing special. Models like 'One-One' have built-in printing abilities. They can take photos and print them on the spot with minimal energy cost."

As if on cue, Sad-One and Glad-One separated, revealing a plasticized paper sheet that was trapped between the two halves. Tulip wasn't convinced until she picked up the paper to see what was on it: a photo of her looking at the camera with a mystified face.

"You really are photogenic, Miss Tulip," Glad-One complimented with his most sincere tone, but Tulip found that the sneer that she had somehow been donning the moment the photo was taken wasn't exactly her best portrait. She turned her attention back to the mantis. "Okay, I admit I am surprised… but how's that helping us?"

"Oh, the printing capabilities of the model come first, my lady. The photo camera addendum is just an addendum of your own model's version."

Before Tulip could once again protest about the cryptic wording, Sad-One suddenly stated, "I know what he means."

The girl turned to the bot just as Glad-One and Sad-One recomposed back, then another 'CLICK' was emitted… without the light flash from before.

"You wanted a memory, my lady," the mantis said as One-One disassembled again, letting a second photo come out of his body. "Well, the model is full of memories stored inside its internal memory. It just needed a way to express them."

Tulip bit her lip, suddenly feeling a little nervous about the image that was probably depicted on the second photo. Carefully, she left the first one on the table and picked up the new photo, bringing it slowly to her eyes.

It took her a couple of seconds to accept what she was seeing.

Dipper and Mabel were in the photo. The image showed them in a collective grin – joyful for Mabel and awkward for Dipper, but both sincere in their own way – side by side, the girl with an arm around the boys' back. The background of a hallway with green curtains covering the side doors suggested that the photo went back to the moment when she and One-One had first met them. Right when it was decided that they'd travel together with them.

Tulip's befuddlement finally abandoned her as she looked at the image. "The 'Mystery Twins'…" she thought out loud, mimicking the same nickname used by Mabel to refer to herself and her brother.

Yep, she was smiling, indeed. And if she really had to be honest, that single tear coming out of her eye wasn't due to a pesky gnat.

"I… I'm at loss of words…" she said, giving a flustered look to the mantis man. "Thank you."

"Pleased to help you, my lady. When you're done with the sweaters, meet me outside," he said before turning around to exit the tent, leaving the two travellers alone: something that Tulip gladly accepted. She really needed some alone time with her own thoughts and a well-known face (as much as One-One had a face) to talk with at the moment.

She looked at the bot before letting out a little chuckle. "Thanks, guys."

"Pleased to help you as well, my lady," Sad-One muttered, reusing the mantis' words.

"Happy to see you liked it!" Glad-One tweeted.

"Yeah… I think I'm not going to forget about them anytime soon, so… if I want to remember them, I'd rather take this than what-… what happened when they left."

She glanced at a photo again. Despite the reference she made to the twins' sudden departure, she kept her smile on.

And thanks to you, too… Dipper and Mabel.

The day's Duck-tective episode had been quite boring. It was one of those filler episodes where the case in question didn't have anything to do with the main plot and there were a bit too much bad jokes for comfort… a common evil for a quite a few TV series, sure, but that wasn't helping Mabel enjoying it. If she had to be honest, she usually liked even these episodes, since Duck-tective's squawking quirks were still there for the entertainment of the audience.

But that was true only when she wasn't in wait for someone to return and tell her about their chances to see a friend she had potentially lost forever.

Thus, when she heard footsteps and the noise of a vending machine opening up, Mabel went full Olympian athlete and bolted away from the armchair and into the gift shop, tackling Dipper before he could even look right and left to see if the coast was clear. From behind the counter, Wendy Corduroy glanced for a second from her magazine at the twins before shrugging it off and resuming reading.

"Mabel, what in the-?! You know well we don't need to catch any attention! Especially Stan's!" Dipper whispered his disapproval, but all he managed to do was making Mabel forcefully drag him back into the living room. "What did he say?! C'mon, spill the beans!" she immediately interrogated him.

"I'll tell you, give me a sec!" Dipper said, pushing her sister away for a second to dust himself off. "He…" he hesitated, something that Mabel didn't take as a good sign.

Dipper sighed. "He wasn't surprised to hear about a dimension with a train of unclear length composed of cars filled with riddles and such… but he was surprised to hear we ended up there. Apparently, Great Uncle Ford didn't know that this kind of… transport, for lack of a better word, was possible."

"But we did!" Mabel concluded. She caught a lock of her hair between her fingers hands before inquiring further. "Did he… did he say something about how to get back there? Did you ask him?"

"Well… he guessed I was going to before I could. Mabel…" Dipper had to struggle to let the words out. "He… I mean, we. We can't go back."

Mabel's hopes were crushed in the fraction of a second. She might have known that the chances of Dipper telling her otherwise were slim, but it had not stopped her from keeping a glimmer of hope inside her. But now, even that little spark had been extinguished. "But…"

"He said that it's a far too dangerous journey… by its own. And it's even more dangerous now, with Bill's around doing who knows what. Mabel, you need to understand, we can't risk it… not now. We've already discussed about this, actually."

"I know!" Mabel shot back. "I remember that, Dipper! It's just… it isn't fair."

She threw herself over the armchair and there she stayed, lying over it with her head resting on the left arm while staring at the ceiling with a pout. Dipper felt a little déjà-vu while seeing her sister like that, but he decided to ignore the feeling and approached her.

"I remember that, Dip," Mabel repeated, as Dipper sat down beside her, opposite of her head and over the right arm of the piece of furniture. "I remember that she's likely to be having a good time right now and that we shouldn't be worried. I remember that we can't blame anyone for what happened… but, I thought there may have been a way to at least send a message, a postcard or something. With Great Uncle Ford's tech shenanigans and all of that, I thought there could be something we could do…"

The image of the dimensional rift suddenly popped in Dipper's head, and the boy tried his best to remain calm. "Yeah… I'm sure that, if the Author thought there could be some safe way to help us out, he'd tell us right away." That wasn't a lie… not the full story, but still the truth.

Mabel lifted her head a little to look at her brother. "Do you think that maybe, just maybe… we could get something more out of him, in the future? I mean, Bill can't possibly be around forever, can he?"

Dipper resisted the urge to point out that Bill was likely to be immortal, and he also didn't tell her how Ford had specified that interdimensional travel was dangerous even without the addition of an evil dream demon to the equation. He looked at her, sustaining her questioning gaze and thinking about how to answer her, when he realized that, perhaps, Ford's words were driven by his justified fear of the near future.

Not to mention, he had been in Gravity Falls for enough time to believe that there was nothing that could not happen in the town. Be that this summer or another one.

A little smile made its way to his face. "We might have to make use of your persuasion abilities, though."

Mabel's face lighted up. "Pff!" she scoffed, "Not even Grunkle Stan can resist my charm, I'm sure his secret twin brother is no different!"

"More like he gives in when you start nagging him without rest," Dipper commented. Before he realized what was happening, Mabel literally leaped over him in a sudden attack, and the two of them wrestled for on the armchair as she tried to steal his hat.

However, the fight lasted no more than five seconds, as the absurdity of the situation finally hit them and they both burst out laughing. They recomposed themselves, sitting up on the armchair beside each other, before sighing and looking at the television set, where the credits of the Duck-tective episode were already rolling.

Before Mabel could return to her moping persona, Dipper spoke again. "One day, Mabel. I'm positive that one day... we'll see her again."

Mabel let her back rest on the inner back of the armchair, her eyes shifting towards the ceiling once again. Unable to decide whether his sister was still saddened or not, Dipper reached out and grabbed one of her hands in an attempt to let her know that he was there… and he meant every word of what he had said.

After a few seconds of generic thriller-series credits music, Dipper felt Mabel's hand squeeze his one. When he saw that the bright smile he was so used to had returned, he knew that his mission was complete.

"Yep… one day."

THE END