Return to Falls

Chapter 21

Several hours following the conversation with Pacifica, Dipper returned to the Northwest Manor. He returned the car the butler gave him and disappeared into a hidden portion of the woods surrounding the town. As a kid, he'd wander into the woods in an attempt to find peace and quiet, and maybe a new adventure. But this time, it was to hide from the truth.

Pacifica had managed to find a taxi and return to Gravity Falls. He knew this from the several unanswered texts and calls she had thrown his way, many apologizing for her stupidity. In order to keep his temptations to reach out at bay, he left his phone on his bed in the Shack. It wasn't the right time to talk. Not yet.

"Hey Grunkle Stan, have you seen Dipper?" Mabel asked.

"No. Did you check your room?" Stan replied without looking away from the television.

"Oh wow, why didn't I think of that?"

Stan rolled his eyes, "So, did you try?"

"No." Mabel said before running upstairs. The door to their shared room swung open. But she was greeted with nothing but silence.

Slightly confused, Mabel approached Dipper's bed and found his phone. Because she was who she was, Mabel switched it on and began reading the numerous text notifications.

Dipper, please pick up!

I'm so sorry.

Just let me explain. . .

Hello?

The texts went on for several more swipes of the finger. Pacifica had been texting Dipper non-stop since their conversation, and Mabel had a bad feeling as to why. Like everyone else, she too felt the surge of energy not too long ago.

Mabel grabbed her coat and sprinted for the door, "I'll be right back, Grunkle Stan!"

Thankfully, she had a license like Dipper and was able to drive. She asked Soos to borrow his car which he obliged without any questions.

It all made sense. Pacifica must've done something to cause that surge of energy. God only knew what. And because of it, her brother was affected. Dipper didn't step out, he was in hiding.

Just the thought of what might've happened sent a shiver down her spine. There was only one thing in the universe that struck such a massive chord with her brother. One individual.

God, Pacifica. What did you do? Mabel thought as she sped down the road looking for the blonde's mansion. Every construction sign and traffic light was promptly ignored. If Sheriff Blubs had seen her, he would've undoubtedly pulled her over. It was a good thing that he and Deputy Durland were idiots.

Upon approaching the manor, Mabel buckled her seatbelt. She had no intention of stopping which was made clear when she plowed through the gate and parked the car literally on the front steps.

"Excuse me, Ma'am. Do you have an appointment with—" The butler tried asking.

"I need to speak with Pacifica. Now!"

"Ms. Northwest asked not to be disturbed."

"It's urgent. It involved my brother, Dipper." The butler widened his eyes at the mention of the name. Based on his reaction, Mabel was certain Pacifica did something seriously messed up. The butler waited for a minute then allowed her to enter.

So many years had passed since she last set foot on the property. All though, even the last time required some level of blackmail to get in.

A soft giggle escaped her lips. She couldn't help but smile at the old memories. Things weren't always that bad around Gravity Falls — that much was true. Sometimes she wished they could all go back to those days of childhood innocence.

"Mabel!" Pacifica waved from the top steps.

"Hi."

"Not that I'm not thrilled you're here, but I have to ask: have you heard from Dipper? I've been—"

"—texting him consistently for the past few hours. I know." Mabel pulled out Dipper's phone and held it on display. "What I want to know is why."

Pacifica lowered her head and sighed, "I promise I'll explain everything. I just want to know if he's okay. I need to talk to him, even if he'll hate me for the rest of his life. Can you please take me to him?"

Mabel tried to decipher what Pacifica meant by Dipper hating her. He wasn't capable of hating anyone; it wasn't in his nature. Gideon, Robby, even Pacifica and her family, they were all enemies at one point in his life, but he ended on good terms with all of them. Civil terms at worst.

"Whatever you did, Dipper's devastated. And whether or not you admit it, I have a pretty good idea of what happened."

"Mabel, please. . ."

"I thought your family lost this place."

"Mabel."

"How could you do something so stupid?" Mabel's tone of voice grew harsher.

"I just wanted to be happy." Pacifica admitted. "You don't know how it feels to spend your entire life being viewed as an object rather than a person. Your parents love you and Dipper. All mine ever cared about was money and their reputation. I never meant anything to them, and I just wanted that to change."

Mabel suddenly felt bad for raising her voice when she noticed Gravity Falls' most privileged individual crying.

Pacifica said, "I'm sorry, this is just too much. Can you please take me to him? I need him. . .uh, I need to see him."

"All right. We'll go back to the Shack and go over the places he might be."

The ride back wasn't eventful. It wasn't until they returned to the Shack did Mabel feel like any sort of progress was being made. Pacifica tried staying behind her while passing by Soos, Stan, and Wendy, the latter two giving her looks of disgust.

The girls went upstairs to the attack to brainstorm ideas. Pacifica tried lightening the mood by pointing out that the last time she was in the twins' room was when she tried stealing the journal to get rid of a blemish. Mabel didn't find the joke amusing given their current circumstances.

"Okay, so it's likely Dipper is still somewhere in Gravity Falls. The car's still here so he couldn't have gone far." Mabel pointed out.

"Maybe he took the bus."

"I don't know. . . All his things are still here. Plus, where would he go?"

Being a twin never allowed Mabel to find an escape from her brother. The two practically spent all their time together. While in some situations it was considered a burden, this particular time it was a blessing. It made it easier to get inside his head.

"Let's see: he may be with our Grunkle Ford. But, then again, we haven't seen him since we got here. Chances are Dipper doesn't know where he is. There's the diner. And there's the woods where Dipper found the journal in the first place." The girls made eye-contact, coming to the same realization. They both knew Dipper well enough to know that his trauma was also his safe space — the paranormal.

In unison they announced, "The woods!"

Mabel ran out the door, flanked closely by Pacifica. The two wasted no time charging straight forward into the dark woods with absolutely nothing to protect themselves.

It was almost funny — Mabel just wanted an ordinary summer with her friends and family, but instead she got something more. After all, what was a Pines vacation without some wild adventure?