Warnings: none? slightly angsty??
Word count: 1184
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I can't believe that the man I've been living with since I was six years old might not be my grandfather. Who is he and what did he do with the actual Stan Pines?
Dipper removes a scrap of paper from the box and holds it up. "Hmm, this doesn't look like any code I've seen in the journal," he murmurs. It's a box that's been separated into six smaller boxes. All of the boxes on the left have been numbered while only one box on the right has a letter.
"Well, I have!" Mabel exclaimed, seizing it from her brother. "The vending machine!" she grins. She is absolutely right, it looks precisely like the buttons on the vending machine. We all hurry into the gift shop where we see Soos standing in front of the machine. What could he be doing here?
"Soos! Thank goodness you're here. We just found out that Stan might not be Stan and we need to use the vending machine!" Dipper explained. Soos doesn't budge, he just stands in front of it, protecting the machine.
"Sorry little dudes. I've been given direct orders to not move from this spot," Soos frowns, putting on a serious face even though the guy is anything but serious.
"Soos, let us through!" I scowl at him but he doesn't move. "You're really going to keep this up?" I shake my head. I try to squeeze past him, but he's rather strong, so I get blocked immediately.
"Haha, nice try, Vickie but I'm faster," he grins, not recognizing the stringency of the circumstances we are in. Mabel manages to get by him and presses the buttons on the vending machine that correlate with the piece of paper we found. The vending machine slides to the side narrowly and pushes forward, knocking Soos over.
"Sorry!" I apologize to him and we look at the set of stairs that was revealed. Hesitantly, I stare at them for a second before determining myself to be a leader and making the first step. Directing the way down, the path slowly gets darker.
"I can't see," Mabel whispered, her voice reverberating through the cavern. Soos- who despite being in our way, was nevertheless curious and followed us- held up a flashlight.
"Here, hambone," he turned it on, passing it to me, who is in the front. I thank him, delighted for a light source so I don't stumble and fall. Eventually, we reach the final step, treading on flat earth.
Dipper exclaimed in wonder, pointing up. Some gigantic metal triangle with peculiar insignia on it was presented at the rear of the cavern. A massive curl of blue, churning electricity reeled in the epicenter. All around us, papers from various desks and shelves were flying, rendering the whole room to become chaotic. "What is this?" I question. I spot a huge countdown, noticing it only has about five minutes left on it. "Is- Did Stan, or whoever he is, make a doomsday device?" I turn to the three of them.
"So not only is he not our Grunkle/grandfather," Dipper began, "He's also trying to bring about the end of the world?! How do we stop this?" He darted around the room frantically for an answer or clue. He picked up something and gave it to me.
"Journal 1?" I query, "He had them the whole time?" I skim through it quickly, encountering a drawing that partially approximates what is presently tearing apart the room. "This must be the blueprint," I conclude, leafing to the next page.
Dipper reads it out loud, "The interdimensional portal is hazardous and can eradicate the known universe. There is a switch that you can pull that makes the shut-off button available." Dipper's head swivels around rapidly. He hones in on a corner of the room and pulls a lever.
Near the portal-thing, a rod with a button on top pops out of the floor. "Great," I nod. "Now all we need to do-" I was interrupted before I could complete my sentence.
"Wait!" a familiar voice calls out, "Don't press that button!" I turn to see the man who's been impersonating my grandfather for years. I glare at him, flipping open the glass case meant to shield it.
"What happened to the real Stan Pines?" Dipper clamored angrily. Mabel holds my hand, clutching it tightly in solace. The old man sighed, taking a few steps forward toward us.
"I will explain everything," he tells us frantically, "Just after the timer runs out. Step away from the button!" Soos, being the sheep he is, strides away, running over and merrily standing ten feet away from us. Dipper and Mabel stand firm, chests puffed out, ready to combat him.
A piercing flash of white light fills my vision, fills my ears, provoking them to ring with such vehemence that tears well up in my eyes. I can feel my body's weight differing and I drift around until the moment departs and gravity returns. With my vision back to normal, I fall and get intertwined in a bunch of wires.
Soos is pinned under a heavy object, and so is the imposter. Dipper is tangled in wires, too. Mabel's foot is caught on a wire as well, but she's much closer to the button. "Mabel! Press it!" I scream out to her, hoping she can hear me over the deafening sounds the portal is causing.
"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!" the old man expresses. If you truly cared about us, you'd tell us you weren't Stan.
"Mabel, what if he's lying? This thing could destroy the universe! Listen to your head!" Dipper shouts at her, trying to knock some sense into his sister, her face revealing her uncertainty.
"Look into my eyes, Mabel! You really think I'm a bad guy?" the Stan imposter asked her, trying to persuade her to quit.
"He's lying! Shut it down NOW!" I shriek at her, wishing she would listen. The computer starts vocally counting down. Ten, nine...
Glancing away and lowering her hand to the button, Mabel peeks at Stan. "Grunkle Stan..." she begins. Six, five... Lifting her hand away and letting go of the pole, she sighs, "I trust you."
Dipper yells, "MABEL, ARE YOU CRAZY?! WE'RE ALL GONNA-"
One.
We all vanish in an explosion of light as each of our screams. For a minute, all I see is white again. Then, everything comes down to the earth. The portal, now a mess of tangled wires and metal, glows bright blue. A figure emerges from the portal. The blue light fades behind him. He walks forward, placing a six-fingered hand on the cover of the first journal, then picks it up and places it into the inside pocket of a long, dark coat.
"What...? Who is that?" I ask, gaping a bit too long at his six fingers.
"The author of the journals..." the old man states, as the stranger pulls off his goggles, uncovering his face. He looks nearly identical to the Stan imposter. "...my brother."
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A/N: dun dun dunnnnnnn ford pines
YOU ARE READING
We'll Meet Again...
Fanfic"You don't deserve love". That's all Victoria Pines knew when she was six. Then she made a stupid deal with a triangle... and now she has the family she always dreamed of. But at what cost? He could take it away at any minute. He's keeping something...
