Gravity Falls Season 3

Season 3 Episode 8: The Invisible Menace

Stan tossed and turned in his sleep, and no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't wake himself up.

Unfortunately, he wasn't sure he wanted to. He was reliving past memories, some even being forgotten ones. He stood around, unseen by his past self; his past self being him as a boy. He and his brother were walking along Glass Shard Beach, throwing rocks at some seagulls. When Stan hit one, Ford freaked and ran to help the downed animal.

"Oh gee, come on, Stan!" Ford snapped, kneeling down and observing the bird.

"Hey, I didn't think I'd actually hit it," Stan retorted. He ran beside his brother, watching his twin tend to the seagull. "Besides, it's just a gull."

"You okay, little guy?" The moment Ford tried touching the animal, it nipped at him and flew off, throwing sand on the boy. Stan laughed at him. "Hey!" Ford snarled playfully, scooping up some sand and throwing it at his brother.

Adult Stanley, watching from nearby, couldn't stop smiling.

Until the sky darkened. Clouds rolled in, and the blue atmosphere became blood red.

"Aw," an unfamiliar voice sneered. Stan turned around to see a woman's shadow on the boulder behind him. "You two sure were adorable!" She then shivered in disgust. "And now look at you." She shivered again. "Old, wrinkly, and ready to have a heart attack at any moment."

"W-who are you?" Stanley growled.

"I'm a figment of your imagination, Stan. I am in your head, after all." The shadow inched its way across the boulder and away from Stan.

"But I've never seen you before in my life!"

"Because that's just how I wanted it! Well, until now. I'm Sil, nice to meet you," Sil said ecstatically. "And come to think of it, you're the guy that defeated Bill Cipher singlehandedly and in your own mind! Heh, now wouldn't that make you the new Master of the Mind, eh Stan old boy?"

"Um...can you rephrase that question?"

"Nah, it was a stupid question anyway. So, you're having fun reliving fond memories of the past, I see."

Stan blinked vacantly. Even though it was just a dream, he seemed nervous of what was about to possibly unfold. "Okay, seriously. Who the heck are you?"

"Sheesh! So many questions...in fact, I see where your nephew gets it from."

"Hey! If anything, Dipper gets that from my brother."

"Which one?"

"Uh...Stanford, definitely Stanford." Stan glanced back to find his younger self and his younger brother missing from the picture entirely.

Lucky for him, he had his brass-knuckles equipped just in case. Hearing a fake yawn, Stan looked forward again. Sil thankfully hadn't gone anywhere, though his and her location had changed. They were both now in the forest, though the sky was still red.

"So what now? Are you gonna try to scare me to death in my sleep so I'll die of a heart attack when I wake up? Well, more or less." Stan backed into a tree trunk, brass-knuckles at the ready.

"Look, this isn't a nightmare and I'm not invading your mind," Sil told him from a nearby tree. Her shadow vanished and reappeared behind Stan. He stepped away from her. "You see, that's not really my thing at all. You're simply dreaming, and I'm in it!"

That's when Stan took a swing at the tree; but he quickly found that his fist was being held in place, inches from it and Sil. She shook her head and shut her eyes.

"Tsk, tsk. Trust me, if you punch this tree, you'll be hurting yourself more than you would me."

Stan scanned his own shadow, seeing that Sil was holding his shadow's wrist. She released him and disappeared, one last time.