Don't Let Go | Sequel to "Been Here All Along"

Chapter 30

"Straight here now, okay? You will follow this road until you can't no more. We are gonna end up at the Mystery Shack," I said, pointing forward. Natalie shook her head.

"I still can't believe I let you drag me into this," she muttered. "Mabel, I swear to God if I don't experience or see something that's enough to make me shit my pants, I'm never talking to you again," Natalie said, shaking her head. I rolled my eyes. 

"Just believe me, okay? It might just take some time to get some madness going, but I'll sure as heck do it. Just nothing too extreme. I can't control and contain things as well as Dipper," I explained as she pulled into lot of the shack. 

"Here, come inside with me for a minute," I said, gesturing for me to follow me. 

"Grunkle Stan!" I yelled, as I unlocked the door and walked into the kitchen. 

"In the living room," he barked. I grabbed Natalie's hand and dragged her with me. "What brings you back already, forget something?" 

"Nope. This is my friend, Natalie. We decided to go for a drive and before we knew it we ended up back here!" I said, laughing. 

"Actu-" Natalie started, but I could tell she was gonna spill the beans. I jabbed my elbow back and I heard her grunt. 

"I just wanted to say hi while we were hear. Have a good night, Grunkle Stan. Love you!" 

"Love you too, kiddo. See ya soon," he mumbled, flipping through the channels. I turned back towards the kitchen and headed to the vending machine. I punched in the numbers and let the door swing open. I turned around and saw Natalie's face twist up. I started down the stairs. 

"Shut the door behind you," I instructed as I made my way down farther. I heard her footsteps following down behind mine. The minute we got down to his workspace, I headed for the filing cabinet, in search of the copy of Journal 3 that was made ages ago. 

"What...what is this place?"

"It was my Grunkle Ford's work station. All the documents were kept here," I said, indictating at the cabinets I was filing through. "That big thing through the window right here? That's the portal that he was in for years. My Grunkle Stan brought him back, and soon after, the Weirdmageddon madness happened," I said, laughing to lighten the mood. 

"Like...teleporting? That's not even...."

"Okay I'm willing to prove to you as much as I can, but I'm NOT putting dimensions in any jeopardy tonight okay?" I said, skimming through the tabs. I finally find the folder containing the pages of Journal 3. 

"Okay, here we go. Might as well just take the whole thing with me...come on," I said, shutting the cabinet and running up the stairs. I held the door open for her and shut it behind me just as Soos walked in through the kitchen door. 

"Mabel..." Soos said raising his eyebrows. I slid the file behind my back. "Please tell me you're not going to raise the dead," Soos groaned. "I do NOT want to clean that mess up ever again."

"I will not raise the dead. I'm not Dip-" I started but stopped myself before things got messy. "I'm not dumb. Just going to have some fun, but not too much. See you, Soos! I said, grabbing Natalie's hand and dragged her outside hurriedly. We started through the woods.

"Can...can you do me a favor?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. "Don't ever say Dipper's name in front of my family, if we ever run into them again. When we first started dating, my family thought he was bad for me, so I lied and said we broke up, but we clearly didn't. So..."

"I understand. Now, what are we doing in the woods?" I didn't answer her, and we walked a little more until I recognized the location. I smiled. 

"I haven't done this in forever, so I'm a little rusty. So you might need to give me a break," I said, fumbling through the pages of the folder. I got the page I needed and cleared my throat. I recited the words before me. I finished and slid the piece of paper back in the folder as the ground began to rumble. I looked up and Natalie looked panicked. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing as the gates rose up. 

"What...what...how?" Natalie stuttered. 

"Girl, you haven't even seen the best part yet, come on!" I said, running towards the gates. They opened up and the darkest of the night faded away as the gates opened up, revealing the bright, magical land of the Enchanted Forest. The unicorns were all up and about. Celestabellebethabelle and a few other unicorns were running underneath the waterfall and occasionally dipping their heads in the pond for a drink. The other few were galloping around through the small meadow.

"I'm so - " Natalie started but I put my hand over her mouth.

"Don't talk too loud. If they notice I'm here, we are gonna be here ALL NIGHT. But does this convince you now?" I whispered. Natalie shook her head frantically and I took my hand away from her mouth. I grabbed her hand and pulled her along with me as we headed out of the Enchanted Forest. We didn't turn back, and after a moment, the ground below us once again shook. Natalie whipped her head back only to find the Enchanted Forest gone. 

"Where did it...."

"The chant brings up the Enchanted Forest from below, and upon leaving, it just goes back to its original spot," I explained. Natalie rubbed her upper arm and looked over at me sheepishly.

"I shouldn't have doubted you..."

"It happens. I never really cared enough to try to prove it to someone, though. So you're kinda the first," I said. She smiled shyly in reply.

"That's one of the more pleasant things of the phenomenon here. Most are a lot more brutal. Zombies, sea monsters, evil gnomes...you name it. Everything you could want to know about the weirdness and wonders of Gravity Falls is in this folder. Or, almost all of it," I said as we approached Natalie's car. 

"Well, I guess I'm sorta glad you drove me all this way to try and prove my snobby ass wrong. I got to see a unicorn, so basically my dreams have been achieved," Natalie said, sliding in the drivers seat laughing. She did a quick y-turn and headed back North. 

"To Lantern River?" she asked, looking over at me.

"To Lantern River."