Reality Is Stranger Than Fiction

Don't Fall In Love (Danko Jones) (Arc 1: Weirdmagedon)

"Push the red button! Shut it down!" Dipper demands from across the room as he floats in mid-air, attempting to restrain Stan with Soos.

"No, you can't! Ya gotta trust me!" Stan pleads, trying to break free from the unnecessary restraints of his great-nephew and pseudo-son.

"Grunkle Stan, I don't even know if you're my Grunkle. I wanna believe you... but -" Mabel whimpers, holding onto the button desperately as the portal tugs at the back of her sweater, attempting to draw her back.

"Then listen to me. Remember this morning when I said I wanted to tell you guys something -?" Stan starts to explain.

"T minus twenty seconds," the count-down timer cuts in.

The world's gravity becomes even more incoherent as the three are tossed towards the back wall, smashed against the metal piping and carved stone. The three of them grimace as they find themselves stuck to the back. Stan attempts to free himself from where he hangs from bent metal pipes as he pleads to Mabel.

"I wanted to say that you're gonna hear some bad things about me, and some of them are true. But trust me. Everything I've worked for - everything I care about - it's all for this family."

"Mable what if he's lying!? This thing could destroy the universe! Listen to your head!" Dipper argues, worry swimming behind his eyes as the portal pushes his bangs up, the constellation on his forehead on full display.

"Look into my eyes, Mabel. Do you really think I'm a bad guy?" Stan pleads for the last time. A desperate attempt for the portal to remain open. From behind his glasses, one could almost see tears in this lighting. Mabel could almost see tears.

"He's lying! Shut it down, now!" Dipper screams, a desperate look to his sister as he side-eyes Stan.

"Mable, please!" Stan begs, any hope for keeping the strong facade in front of Soos and the twins long gone.

"Ten. Nine," the timer counts down eerily.

Mabel extends a shaking hand overtop of the button, giving one last look to her Grunkle. A man she's trusted since she'd arrived here. A man who'd lied to her only once... not even twenty-four hours ago. A man who'd showed her kindness and love, instead of treating her like a freak like her parents oh so frequently do. Always pushing something in her face to distract her away.

"Grunkle stan -"

"Six. Five," the timer reminds them again.

She sees the fear in his eyes as he desperately watches her, unable to stop her. Pleading for her to listen. The same look that commonly rests upon her face when she's in front of her parents with a new idea. She lifts her hands away, drifting upwards as she hangs her head, squeezing her eyes shut in preparation for whatever doomsday is about to happen. Whatever it is. She can only hope it means as much to Stan as he says.

"- I trust you."

"Mable are you CRAZY?! We're all gonna -" Dipper screams, trying to reach the button. Trying to stop it.

"One," the timer states ominously.

"- DIE!" Dipper screams, the final noise in the voice before the sound of the portal consumes everything.

A blinding light washes over everyone like the waves of the ocean. They're lifted high in the air, suspended as if gravity was purely an illusion. Their eyes as screwed shut, desperately hoping to survive. Even Stan - who'd worked for this for a lifetime, who'd ignored the warnings, who'd pushed his own brother in and doomed him to the other side - screws his eyes shut like a scared child.