Across worlds //Reverse Falls

III - Across worlds

Dipper entered his and Mabel's room to see her already dressed and saying her goodbyes to Waddles. "It's gonna be okay, Waddles. We'll be back before you know it, I promise!" She explained to the pig, almost tearfully.
As optimistic as she acted, it was clear she was still terrified. "Dipper! You're finally dressed." Mabel exclaimed upon realising he'd entered the room. She wiped her eyes to get rid of the scared tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks.
"Yeah." He muttered as he slumped on his bed. "Is this a good idea? I mean, Grunkle Ford barely had any time to make the portal. What if it doesn't work or o-or it's unstable or-" Dipper stammered before being cut off by Mabel
"Bro, bro! This is Grunkle Ford, I'm sure he knows what he's doing! It's gonna be okay. We just have to go through the portal and defeat Bill. We've already got close to the second part before!" She exclaimed, although the way her voice faltered as she spoke gave away her false optimism. Dipper could tell she was just as worried as him.
"Just in case." She mumbled before she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Dipper. "Awkward sibling hug." Mabel stammered. Dipper nodded painfully, "Awkward sibling hug." They stayed like that for a moment before patting each other on the back. "Pat, pat." The two of them chuckled. For just a second, they were able to forget the deadly mission they were about to advance on.

Ford heard a sound coming from the stairs. He turned around to see the twins making their way towards the basement lab. "I've just finished the portal. It should be stable, I'm 90% sure of it." Ford explained with a nervous smile.
Mabel ran towards Stanford, hugging him tightly, not wanting to let go. The two embraced each other for what seemed like forever until Ford finally let go.
"Grunkle Ford?" Dipper asked.
"Yes, Dipper." He responded. "How long do we have to defeat Bill? Summer is coming to an end in just a few days, and our parents are going to be expecting us home." Dipper continued.
"Ah!" Ford exclaimed. "I've figured that out actually, to put it simply, time dilation makes time work different when you're in that universe. What would be a week here would be around a month and a half there! I'd say you have.. just under two weeks to beat him. Two days will pass here and you'll be able to travel home on time." He explained with a smile.
Dipper nodded in understanding. At least he knew they'd have plenty of time, well plenty.

"Alright, the portal will be open for two minutes!" Stanford yelled as he pulled a stiff lever to open up the gateway.
They watched as reality seemed to warp and bend before finally stabalising into a small, glowing round portal. The portal acted almost like a magnet, weakly pulling them towards the it.
It was just large enough for the twins to fall through. Dipper sharply inhaled and looked over at Ford before finally falling into the small portal. Mabel's heart raced as she watched her brother disappear into what she could only assume was another realm.
"Make sure to feed Waddles!" She yelled as she shut her eyes and sprinted towards the portal, trying her hardest not to let terrified tears spill.

Mabel slowly opened her eyes to see the grass beneath her. "Oh god." She stuttered as she frantically looked at her surroundings. She appeared to be in a small clearing in the middle of the woods.
It looked normal, almost too normal. She felt as if she'd seen this place before. Mabel slowly pushed herself off the ground and brushed the dirt off her sweater, taking note of her bruised knees.
"Who knew travelling through dimensions would be so sore." She thought to herself.
"Mabel!" A familiar yell pulled her from her thoughts.
"Dipper?!" She exclaimed as she whipped her head around towards the source of the sound.

Dipper came running towards her with a grin on his face, "You're here! We got here safely!" He laughed, full of relief. "Yeah!" She responded. "But, where are we?" Mabel asked as she looked around.
"Hmm, I recognise this place, we're near the Mystery Shack, or I guess our Mystery Shack." Dipper mentioned, Mabel nodded, trusting his recollection. She knew Dipper spent far more time in the forests around the shack than her. Usually, he went there to read his dork books or look for monsters.

"Follow me." Dipper exclaimed as he began walking North along a path. Mabel followed, hoping wherever they ended up would be somewhat familiar.
After around ten minutes of walking, the faint shape of the Mystery Shack came into view.
"Mabel look!" Dipper yelled with a smile as he began running towards it. "I guess this realm isn't so weird after all!" Mabel giggled as she ran after him.
The twins finally arrived at the porch and paused. Dipper looked over at the porch. It was the exact same. The same tattered couch. The same creaking planks. The same rusting porch roof. It was like they were home again.
Mabel lifted her hand to knock on the door. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The twins waited in relief, expecting to see one of their grunkles, anticipating having to explain the situation, until suddenly, someone else opened the door.

"Gideon?!"