Cipher [A Gravity Falls Tale] #Wattys2016

Three

Ford's arrival in Gravity Falls was one of little fanfare. He slipped in unnoticed, only talking to locals who asked if he was "new to town." Richard and Ford chose a small place in the woods off a back road called Gopher Road. Right off the bat, a construction crew began building a large facility, with new technology being flown in every week. The citizens of Gravity Falls knew something was up, but for now they couldn't lay a finger on it.

Ford himself stayed at the Northwest Mansion along with Richard and his brother's family. Richard's brother insisted that Ford stay in the posh guest room. The young scientist took him up on that offer.

One night, around the fire after dinner, Ford eyed a tapestry hanging on the wall. It showed people paying homage to some sort of triangular being as fire and death reigned around them.

"What in the world is that?" asked Ford in bewilderment.

"It's a tapestry that's been in this family a long time," Richard informed him. "Sewn by the natives of this town."

"What does it mean?" Ford inquired, leaning forward to get a better look.

"Some sort of creature that came and promised good fortune to the people. That's that triangle there. The people didn't appreciate their gifts, so he unleashed his vengeance on them."

"Interesting," nodded Ford.

"That little symbol has been a Northwest family emblem for a long time. Supposedly bearing that image brings good luck."

"Quite a superstition for a man of logic like yourself."

"I do it more out of family duty. But, Stanford, you and I of all people know these forests hold much more than meets the eye."

Ford stayed about two weeks in the Northwest Mansion, along the way somewhat befriending Richard's nephew, Preston. Though the child could be bratty, he showed clear intelligence, albeit through scheming and dealing with money.

Soon enough, the residence section of Ford's new facility was completed, and the eager explorer moved in. As his lab was all but completed, he began his exploration of the seemingly enchanted woods of Gravity Falls.

In the weeks that followed, Ford was thunder-struck by all he found. Many, many creatures roamed the woods of Gravity Falls, so many that Ford began keeping a journal of his findings.

Underneath the facility, he performed his experiments and studied creatures that he managed to catch. He performed his experiments in the dead of night using Richard's cutting edge technology to avoid disturbing the town, but he still managed to arouse suspicion. One time, he made the mistake of going out for food at a new place called Greasy's. Immediately after sitting down, a young burly man named Dan slid in next to him.

"Hey, Mr. Pines," he rumbled. "How's your place out there? You know, the one I helped you build?"

"Fine," mumbled Ford into his coffee, trying not to draw too much attention to himself.

"Are you that inventor who moved out here?" inquired some guy named Blubbs sitting next to them.

Before Ford could say anything, Dan jumped in. "Yeah. He's got, like, a ton of degrees. I helped build him a lab for his experiments out on Gopher Road."

"Wow, you're a smart guy," commented an attractive dark-haired young woman named Susan.

"What do you do out there, Mr. Pines?" asked a dwarfish man named Toby, waving something in his face.

"What are you, a reporter?" he demanded. "And is that a... fork?"

"I'm practicing, okay?" retorted Toby as more continued to crowd around him and chatter. Ford finally grumbled and ordered his food to go, storming out if the building and driving away before anyone could follow. Hopefully the townsfolk would keep their mouths shut. They knew he was smart, but if real reporters caught wind that he was holed up down here, they'd hound him day and night. No, he needed time before he could emerge with his findings.

He didn't leave home much after that.

What he was finding, though, was becoming more and more interesting. Ford continued to study the creatures he came across, eventually interviewing some of the more sentient ones.

Underground in his lab one night, he looked over to the small case where he kept his gnome test subject. He was growing quickly, but right now it fit in a small terrarium.

Ford watched it play for a while before asking, "Where do you come from?"

The creature, calling itself Jeff, paused and looked at him. After a moment of thinking, it replied in its squeaky little voice, "I came from the toadstool you snatched me out of. I thought you knew that, wise guy."

"Yes," conceded Ford, "but how did you get here? Where does all the weirdness come from? Why is it here so heavily?" Realizing he was rambling, he looked back at his companion. "Does anyone even have these answers?"

"If you could find out who, I could pretend to be them," suggested the gnome hopefully. "I love dressing up as other people with my friends."

"I know," replied Ford. "Maybe someday. But I have to find that person first."

Even later that night, he flipped through his journals. He was in his second now, and it was quickly filling up. All of these unexplained creatures had to come from somewhere. That was why he was here, right? He was in Gravity Falls to find the origins of unexplained anomalies, and so far he had had no success.

He was getting closer, though. He was almost certain that everything in the town originated from some sort of Weirdness Dimension. Somehow, the town was pulling things from that dimension into this one. If that effect could be replicated, the possibilities were unlimited. Ford would be hailed as the scientist who mad inter-dimensional travel possible. Not only that, but he would reconcile the impossibility of most anomalies.

He looked at the chalk board in front of him, where he had connected everything he knew to some mysterious center. How to tap into that Weirdness Dimension? It had to be possible, but how?

Ford didn't rest easy that night. His mind continued to race with questions, possible answers, every scenario imaginable. As he lay there, struggling to find sleep, he knew one thing: he would have to find those answers.