Percy Jackson, Brother of Dipper and Mable Pines

An Old Acquaintance

"Lucky guess?" The kid's voice was small. Ford and Stan glanced at each other. Not only had he known his name, but he had called him 'Grunkle'. Only his great niece and nephew called him that. Unless...

Stan turned his attention back to the boy. His eyes were trained on the ground as he fiddled with a loose string on his shirt. Stan took a closer look at his left hand. There it was. A small, faded scar traveled from his wrist up to the gap between their pinky and ring finger.

"Percy?" Stan realized. He didn't know how he got the scar, but he noticed it the first time they'd met a few years ago. The kid glanced back and smiled. Ford gasped slightly as he too noticed the similarities of this kid and the one from the photos. Not to mention the way he'd fallen from a relatively high height and came back without any injuries, completely dry as well, just like he did in the video of when he blew up the arch.

The twins stared at them in disbelief. Stan questioned in a soft voice, "Where've you been all this time, kid?"

Percy rubbed his neck awkwardly, "Oh, um, I've been... busy."

Fordbroke from his stupor. "We can see that. Did that squid monster have anything to do with your disappearance."

Percy stared at him for a second. "You could see that?"

Ford faltered at the question. "Well- well of course I could see it. It was pretty hard to miss." Percy continued to stare at him. Ford sighed. The kid had probably been through alot and, despite Ford's own curiosity, questioning them would only make him more uncomfortable. Answers will probably be given more freely if the only person with them trusts you. Besides, the twins had a phone call to make to another set of twins who would be very happy to hear about who they had found. Ford took a deep breath, "I understand if you don't want to tell me, since you don't know who I am. My name is Stanford Pines, but you can call me Ford or Grunkle Ford or whatever you prefer. Stanly here is my twin brother. I was... out of commission for a while but I've returned, so that's why you probably haven't heard of me."

"Wait- but, I thought that was Stanford?" Percy pointed to Stan.

Ford glared at Stan, who giggled. "Yes, he stole my name."

"Oh."

An awkward silence passed between them. Stan suddenly became very aware of the space between them. Not just the figurative space, but the literal space as well. Boats can't get too close to each other without risk of crashing, and Percy's ship was much, much taller than the Stan O' War. "Any chance you'd let us on that ship of yours? Gettin' tired of yelling."

"Oh. Yeah, hold on." Percy turned to let down a ladder, but stopped and turned back, "Who will watch the..." they squinted trying to read the name on the side of the boat, "Sram O' Wam?" Ford and Stan stared at him, then each other, trying to understand what in the world he was talking about. "Yeah that isn't right is it... is it the... the Bran O' Wam? St- Oh! Stan O' War."

"Our boat?"

"Yeah, I'm uh, dyslexic."

"Ah. Well, I guess one of us could stay here and the other could go talk to you?" Ford offered.

"I could... drop down the anchor and go to your boat. If that's alright with you." Percy added. Queen Anne's Revenge would be fine without him.

The twins nodded to each other, "Sounds good." Both secretly hoped they would've been able to see the inside of the ship, but it is what it is.

Percy turned away, dropped the anchors, and was soon climbing down the ladder closest to the Stan O' War. When he was close enough, he jumped off the ladder and towards the Stan O' War. Stan lurched forward, thinking he was going to fall and trying to catch him, but Percy landed on the roof of the boat's control room, knees bent. The boat rocked a bit from the force but stabilized itself remarkably quickly. He slid down to where Stan and Ford were standing on the deck.

They all stared at each other. Percy fidgeted with some loose strings on his shirt avoiding eye contact. Stan and Ford finally got a closer look at the kid, and could now see the single gray streak in his hair sticking out against the black, clear as day. They were wearing a faded orange t-shirt with words so deteriorated they couldn't be read. A dark cyan bandama was tied around one of the belt loops on Percy's cargo pants with two long tails hanging off. It was covered in a multitude of stains and singes in multiple places, but colorful shapes and stars were obviously embroidered onto it. Ford was sure to make a mental note of it.

Percy finally broke the silence, "How are Dipper and Mabel? And my parents?"

They'd been gone for a year, and the first thing they asked about was their family. "They're doin' well,'' Stan answered. "As far as I'm concerned."

Percy looked relieved. "That's good."

"But what have you been doin' all the way out in the middle of the ocean? Were you here the whole time? Dipper and Mabel have been missin' you!" Stan came off angrier than he had meant too. Percy didn't seem to notice, though.

Percy looked away, the guilt showing in their eyes, "I'm just looking for something. And, no, I haven't been here the whole time." Percy shuffled awkwardly before changing the subject, "So what are you guys doing out here?"

"Oh!" Ford reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. "I'm a scientist searching and studying anomalies. There were a few spots over the globe that had more of these strange anomalies than other places. A spot near the Arctic Ocean being one of them." He pulled a red journal with a six-fingered golden hand with a four on it pasted on the front out of his coat for Percy to see. "The spot I'm looking for is still a little ways away, but it seems I've already found one huge anomalie." Ford looked at Percy.

Percy smiled sheepishly, "I guess that's one way of putting it."

Ford continued, "I already investigated another spot, Gravity Falls, Oregon, and I definitely found some strange things. In fact, your siblings helped me out with a lot of it."

"Mabel and Dipper? They helped?"

Ford nodded, "I couldn't have done it without them," he paused. "I read over the police reports from your disappearance and the kidnapping that took place a few years back, and I've noticed a few similarities in the man who kidnapped you and something that I have encountered. If you're comfortable with it, would you mind answering some questions about it?"

Percy considered it for a moment before shrugging.