Gravity Rises (S2)

HW: Part Six

After Robbie left, the mood in the house felt considerably lighter. That was one problem solved. Mabel could only hope Robbie succeeded in warning the town.

The Pines headed down to the basement, with Melody gathering cleaning and repair supplies on the way. She and Ford looked over what needed to be done, and then Melody snapped into efficiency mode. She handed Mabel and Dipper sprays and rags. "Okay, kids, some of this stuff is delicate. Ford and I will get that. And if anything looks busted, call one of us to come look at it. Otherwise, I'll show you what you can get started on cleaning."

Most of the cleaning involved clearing the rust that caked the pipes. Fortunately, Melody had a cleaning solution made just for scrubbing away rust. Unfortunately, there was only one bottle, and the twins had to patiently wait when the other had it.

Neither of them was very good at patiently waiting.

As the morning went on, Mabel felt her frustration rising. Why couldn't she just read the Journals instead of wiping away stubborn bits of rust? She forced herself to keep working — they were doing this for Stanley — but it was monotonous and boring. The only sounds were the hum of the portal and the adults discussing cleaning and repairs.

To Mabel's relief, Dipper seemed to be feeling the same way. "Hey Ford," he said after a while, "you're starting to remember more stuff from your past, right? Can you tell us stories about your adventures with Stanley?"

Ford paused in his inspection of the gauges. "I suppose I could," he said. "I had a lot more adventures with Fiddleford than I did Stanley. But I remember a few times where all three of us went out."

"Ooh, tell us about those!" Dipper said.

So for the next few hours, Ford told stories to help pass the time. He wasn't a very good storyteller, in Mabel's personal opinion — his voice was flat, and he mentioned unimportant details while forgetting crucial ones. Still, it was better than nothing, and he was telling them about exciting adventures. It made the cleaning easier.

He was in the middle of a story about Lee's first run-in with a gremloblin when Melody suddenly gasped.

Everybody stopped and looked to her. She was standing in front of some large, vertical glass tubes. "What is it, Melody?" Ford asked.

She whirled on him, her eyes wide. "Three hundred gallons! The indicator on these fuel tanks says the portal needs three hundred gallons of fuel. How on earth are you and Dipper going to carry that?!"

The basement went silent.

"Oh," Ford said quietly.

"And don't tell me you can handle it, either," Melody warned. "That much liquid probably weighs about a ton, and no one can carry that much weight, much less someone your age!"

Ford sat in the chair next to the control station and put a hand to his forehead. The twins watched as he thought, their cleaning assignments totally forgotten.

"We've done it before," he finally said. "Back in the day, Fiddleford and I managed to get all three hundred gallons here."

"It probably took you multiple trips, then," Melody said.

Ford shook his head. "No, we got it all at once. I just. . . don't remember how."

Mabel and Dipper shared a look. Mabel was tempted to scream, to throw down her rag and spray bottle, to storm out of the basement. They were held up by Ford's faulty memory again! It was good that there was a solution to getting all the fuel in one trip, yes — the more trips they had to take, the bigger the chances of getting stopped by the Order — but if Ford couldn't remember what that solution was, then it wasn't really a solution at all!