The Academy

Discovery

Dipper watched as his sister jumped around the well-lit, pyramid shaped room. It had been a few hours since their meeting with the council, and Mabel was already exploring more of the school.

"Hey guys, meet my roommate Akila." Cleopatra walked through the metal door streaked with purple, followed by another girl. The second girl had bright red hair, part of which was tied up in a high bun.

"H-hey, Akila. I'm Dipper, Dipper Pines. This is my sister Mabel," said Dipper, pointing to his overexcited sibling.

"Oh, and this is--" Cleopatra was cut off by a loud screech, similar in pitch to that of a banshee.

"Kitty!!!" A bright pink blur in the distinct shape of Mabel practically flew to the area next to Cleo's feet, where a small tan cat, with black-tipped ears and a golden sweater, sat.

Disgruntled, the cat tried to pull away, but Mabel pulled him back, stroking his tail. "Awww... You're so cute! What's your name?"

Cleo snickered, while Akila turned a nervous shade of pink. "Um, I wouldn't do that if I were you..."

The cat finally succeeded in pulling away from Mabel's grasp, smoothing its sweater back down with its paws. "Well, since Cleopatra was cut off, I'll finish introducing myself. I am Khensu, the resident historian of the academy."

Mabel stared wide-eyed at Khensu. "You can talk?"

Dipper facepalmed. "We just met with a council of talking cats, and you ask if the cat can talk? Seriously Mabel, think about it."

"Well, we'd best finish up the tour I started for you guys earlier," said Cleo. "Come on, I need to get Brian to meet you!"

Akila and Cleo pushed a button on the panel that opened the door, motioning for Mabel and Dipper to follow them. The twins sprung to their feet, eager to explore.

Outside of Cleo's room, a grand corridor opened up, connecting all of the student living quarters together. As their little group passed, Dipper couldn't help but notice how Cleopatra gained stares from her fellow classmates. It must be part of that whole 'similar situation' Kephra mentioned earlier... Hmm...

As Akila stopped in front of him, he bumped into her, having not noticed she was there. Muttering an apology, Dipper sidestepped Akila and stood next to his sister, watching as the door of another room opened.

Inside, it was dark and dusty, with mechanical and inventive equipment scattered everywhere. A few flashes of light came from the back of the room. Pipes hung from the ceiling, and strange objects cluttered the shelves.

"Hey Brian, meet Dipper and Mabel Pines. They came here from Earth too, except, it was more of an accident..." Cleo trailed off as the two siblings stepped forwards.

"Hi! I'm Mabel. It's nice to meet you!"

Dipper was a bit cautious as he walked forwards, careful not to touch anything. "I'm Dipper. So, are you some sort of inventor-- Wait, how did you get that?"

Brian stood up, ruffling his short brown hair. "Get what, this old thing? It's just a tape measure." He held up a small black and yellow box, unsnapping it from his red belt. "I found it in here this morning. It's got some lettering..."

"Give me that! That's ours!" yelled Dipper, snatching the time travel box away from Brian. "This thing brought us here, and it's our only ticket back."

Brian stared at Dipper as if he were insane. "I thought you guys were staying here?"

Mabel shot a pleading look at her brother. "Can't we stay? Even for just a little while?" Dipper furiously shook his head, and a single tear glistened down Mabel's cheek. "But- but- I didn't get to pet all the kitties!"

As his sister began to wail, Dipper caved. "Alright, alright. We can stay." Mabel immediately stopped crying and grabbed her twin, forcing him into a crushing hug. "Only for a week or so, okay?" he added, glancing at Cleo, Akila and Brian.

Mabel nodded. "That's perfect! Thanks so much, bro-bro."

                                                                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Internally, Cleopatra smiled. The twins had only been in her life for barely a day, but she already knew that they would get along just fine.