A Rift Between Worlds

Chapter Two: An Unexpected Guest

As Wendy pulled up to the Mystery Shack, Dipper couldn't help but feel that something was off. The entire mood of the place was dim, and even though it was a weekday, there were no tourists around. Upon closer inspection, the twins were shocked to find that all of the windows were tinted black and that the door was reinforced with steel.

"What the hell's going on?" Dipper muttered, sharing a glance with Wendy. The redhead provided no answer. Before he could say anything else, Mabel rocketed out of the truck, and Dipper followed her, Wendy on his heels. They approached the door worriedly, knocking loudly.

It was at least a full minute before the door opened to reveal their Grunkle Stan inside. He looked extremely tired, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep in the past week. Even so, Stan mustered a grin. "Hey, Kiddos! Sorry we didn't meet you... Things have been kinda weird around here recently."

"Weird?" Dipper inquired, as Mabel tackled their Grunkle in a hug. "How so?"

Stan's face lost its joy completely, giving way to a seriousness that the twins hadn't seen in years. "Not out here, come inside." Stan glanced behind him. "You too, Wendy. It's important that you see this."

Stan led the way through the shack. The others followed closely behind him, still bewildered by the mood. "So it's not just family business, then, if he's having me along," Wendy muttered, no longer needing to bend over to speak quietly to the twins. "I wonder what's up?"

Dipper realized their destination just before they reached it; the vending machine. Whatever they were going to see, it was down in Ford's old lab. They hadn't used that place in a while– said that such a dangerous place should only be accessible in case of an emergency. Stan inputted the code and stepped gravely inside, gesturing for the others to follow. This is an emergency, then. Dipper shared a glance with Mabel; her expression told him that she was thinking the same thing.

The four of them stepped into the elevator, and Stan hit the button for the lab. As the doors closed, the old man took a deep breath. "Look, I can't really explain what you're about to see," Stan said. "It'll take a lot of explaining, and I'm not really the type for stuff like that... Just don't freak out."

At Stan's last words, Dipper frowned. Just what was in the Shack that was so weird? Why wouldn't Stan explain? After everything they'd been through three summers ago, their Grunkle knew that they could handle some weird stuff, so why...

Dipper blanched as he answered his own question. This is worse than anything we've ever faced. It has to be. As soon as he had that thought, the elevator doors opened with a pleasant ding! Wendy and the twins could see Ford huddled over something- something that was... sniffling? SomeONE?

"Who's there?" A strangely familiar voice squeaked. Ford spun around, shielding the figure with his body, but relaxed as he saw that it was only his family. "Will they help me, too?"

"Yeah, they'll help, I promise," Ford reassured her, still frozen in place, as if hesitant to move. "Everyone... this is going to seem weird, but nobody freak out." He took a step to his left, and Dipper's jaw gaped open when he found a blonde, blue-eyed girl staring back at him. Her long hair was pulled into a high ponytail with a scrunchie, and her attire consisted of  lots of neon. The girl had drawn a heart on her cheek in marker, and her body looked drenched in glitter. Aside from her attire, she looked just like...

"Paz..?" Dipper asked hesitantly, giving her a confused glance. For some reason she screamed.

"No, no, no, he won't hurt you!" Ford immediately reassured her. "Those aren't the Pines twins you know!"

"Not the us she knows?" Dipper asked, frowning. "What do you mean? And Paz, what's with all the glitter and bright colors? You look like you dove into Mabel's closet!"

"Everyone, let me explain!" Ford called, looking exasperated. "This Pacifica entered our world through a portal... The same one that Stan and I detected after Weirdmageddon. It was at the bottom of the sea, so that's why we didn't find it. We're from completely opposite dimensions, her and us. In this Pacifica's world, the Pines twins run the Mystery Tent, which is essentially the tent of telepathy. Meanwhile, Gideon and Pacifica here are essentially you and Mabel, only cousins."

It took Dipper's mind a minute to comprehend what his great uncle had just told him. "Wait... in her dimension, everyone's the opposite? Would that make Stan an honest business man, or Robbie not a demented goth?"

"Yes, actually," Pacifica said, seeming calmer, but still a bit shaken. "You twins are the scariest things in my world."

"Scarier than Bill Cipher?" Mabel interjected, frowning.

"You mean Will Cipher?" Pacifica asked, looking amused and a little sad at the same time. "That poor thing wouldn't hurt a fly! He's always sad, scared of everything. He's the Pines twins' slave. He respects Mabel, since she's the smart, efficient one. He's dead scared of Dipper, though. All he does is screw around, flirt with girls, and torment Will just for the fun of it."

"What?" Dipper didn't want to believe what he was hearing. This alternate world sounded horrible. And... he and Mabel were evil? He couldn't wrap his mind around it. "I think you guys could really learn from this dimension. It's been years since any of us were enemies. Our Pacifica used to be one of the people I hated the most, but now we're best friends!"

"Really?" Pacifica frowned. "Well, I don't think that could ever happen with us. My Dipper Pines is a major prick." She huffed angrily. "I swear, if I could have one day without that annoying twit at my door at 7:00 in the morning with a flower, asking me to be his freaking girlfriend-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, what?" Dipper exclaimed. He felt heat rush to his face. "I– I mean, he– girlfriend?"

The look on Dipper's face must have been priceless, because Pacifica burst into uncontrolled laughter. "Oh gosh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh." Pacifica gasped for breath. Dipper was mortally embarrassed. He and Pacifica dating? Just the thought of it... they were best friends! How weird would that be?

"We're getting off topic," Dipper muttered. He took a deep breath, hoping to clear the blush from his face. "Why did you come here in the first place? You asked Ford if we would help you. What kind of help do you need?"

Pacifica's mood instantly darkened. "My world is in trouble. The Pines twins want to bring the demon and human worlds together. For the past few years, we've managed to delay them, but not for much longer. Mabel..." She took a deep breath. "Mabel destroyed the journals. She forced Will to commit them to memory, and then she... she burned them. And then to keep us from getting help from the author, she captured him." Pacifica looked to Dipper, terrified. "Gideon and I didn't have time to fully explore the journals and what they hold. That's why I came here. In search of the journals- or their author."

"Well, we threw the journals in the bottomless pit years ago, so that no one could use them for wrongdoing again," Ford explained. "There's no telling where they came out. Or maybe they're still falling."

"But Ford's the author," Dipper intervened. "Maybe he could help you instead?"

Pacifica gave a half smile. "Yeah, that would help... but I was really hoping that I could find the journals... they mean a lot to me. And to Gideon."

Dipper suddenly had a thought. "Gideon. Now that you mention it, if you guys are like me and Mabel, then shouldn't Gideon be with you? Where is he?"

Pacifica breathed in sharply. "That's the other thing. I'm the one they think could foil their plans. They want me, but I'm too cunning for them to catch. So they're trying to lure me in, instead." Pacifica raised her head. Her eyes were cold. "The Pines twins kidnapped Gideon. And I don't know where they've taken him. I don't know what to do."