Return to Falls

Chapter 28

The Mystery Shack, for the first time since its existence, had a huge portion of customers. Many of them, however, came in and bought something simply because they wanted to help the Pines family after everything. Offering emotional support wasn't the ideal choice considering none of them really understood the impact of the Pines' situation, so monetary support was the next best thing. At the very least, shopping at the Shack and giving money to Stan would ease the stress of bills that he had to pay. Having that weight alleviated from his shoulders gave him more time to be with the rest of his family. Overworking wasn't a problem.

"Thank you. Have a good day." Stan said to a customer, handing him his bag. Despite being a simple 'good-day' wish, some people were genuinely shocked by the Pines' politeness.

"Thank you. Let us know if you need anything." A customer said as they left.

Stan looked towards the opposite end of the Shack and noticed Soos hanging hats on the rack.

Blue and white hats, each with a pine tree.

He silently walked over to the rack and watched as Soos hung them. Stan's face sank as the memories of his great nephew's first arrival flooded his mind. If he weren't in public, he knew a tear would've escaped his eye.

Soos felt his boss's presence and turned to face him. The look on Stan's face was the first noticeable thing to the employee.

Soos wanted to speak up, but couldn't think of the right words to say. His mouth opened then shut immediately. It wasn't lost on him, or on anyone, the significance of the hats. Even Wendy felt terrible about them. She still had and wore Dipper's pine tree hat. Ever since she switched at the end of the summer, she never stopped wearing it.

Each employee of the Shack, all three of them, carried on with their duties. Helping customers, cleaning the store, and restocking when needed. Meanwhile, Ford and McGucket continued their research. The two worked harder than they ever had in their lives. Even harder than during Weirdmageddon. There was something about Dipper's absence that sparked determination within the two of them.

"Here. What about this?" McGucket showed Ford a page in their astrology book. The page had detailed descriptions about the amount of power that can be harnessed during the planets' alignment.

"No, that won't work. The planets aren't set to align for another two hundred-years." Ford said blankly, not even giving it a second thought.

McGucket went back to reading. Ford connected then disconnected several wires on what he called his "Fusion Divider", a blaster-type weapon that supposedly had the power to separate two beings conjoined on a molecular level without harming either one. His grunts of frustration weren't a good sign.

"No luck, huh?" Stan asked from the doorway. Soos and Wendy stood behind him.

"No. What're you doing? What happened to the Shack?" Ford asked.

"Closed early. We made good fortune today, we could afford it."

"Oh. Well then, I guess I could start on dinner." Ford said, standing up for the first time in hours. He stretched his legs and pressed against his back.

Knock, knock.

Everyone stood silently, staring at the door. Neither of them were expecting guests, especially at so late an hour. Stand went to answer it and was shocked by what he saw. The citizens of Gravity Falls were all gathered outside his home, each with food in their hands. The crowd was led by Preston and Priscilla Northwest, each with professionally wrapped trays of food.

"Pines family", Preston began, "My wife and I decided that after everything you've done for us, we'd try and return the favor. All though we can't imagine the grief you must be feeling, nor could our offerings here cure the loss of your family member, we do hope this at least eases some of the stress on your shoulders."

Priscilla stepped forward, "We, and the rest of Gravity Falls, got together and prepared all sorts of meals for your family. We understand you've been working tirelessly to find ways to bring back the young Pines. There's no need to worry about shopping while you're working so hard. Also, my husband and I have another announcement for you. . ."

Preston walked up to the doorway and stood next to his wife, "We've handled all your debts and bills with the bank. In order to give you the best chance to get Dipper back, we won't allow any distractions. Your family has done so much for us here at Gravity Falls, and so much for our daughter, we want you to know how much we appreciate it, and that you're never alone."

Stan took the trays of food in his hands. The rest of his family stood behind him, monitoring the situation in disbelief. He couldn't hold it anymore. Stan fell to his knees and broke down crying, not just from sadness, but from appreciation. Never in his life had he experienced acts of such incredible kindness, especially acts directed towards him. It was all so much. It meant so much more to him that it came from the people he was once enemies with.

Ford put his hand on his brother's shoulder. Preston and Priscilla teared up.

Stan managed to get out, "Thank you. . . Thank you."

Everyone in the crowd brought forth their food, handing it off to Soos and Wendy. Some of them went home immediately afterwards while others entered the Shack and helped out organizing the food.

Within the attic, Mabel heard the conversations between the people downstairs. All thought her curiosity flared, she didn't have the motivation or courage to leave her room.

The light barely beamed through the small window in the room. Over the course of two months, nothing had been touched and those that had were barely moved. Even more dust built up on the furniture. Mabel's clothes were scattered all over the floor. The thing that stood out was Pacifica's backpack that was left in the room from their sleepover. She never came back to claim it.

Mabel sat up in her bed and looked over to her brother's former bed. On the wall directly to the side of the bed was untouched by the light. Mabel admittedly was confused as the window was large enough to illuminate that part of the room.

She got up and shined her phone's flashlight on that spot. The Mystery Twin moved her hair out of the way. She wanted to make sure she saw what she was seeing and not hallucinating.

I FOUND THE SOLUTION

Four words written with blood presented itself before Mabel. Surrounding the words was a triangle. A symbol of Bill, no doubt.

Mabel carefully read the words again and again. Aside from wanting to throw up at the image, she couldn't help but wonder what it meant. What solution was the phrase referring to? And who wrote that? She didn't write it nor did any other person in the Shack.

"Hmm. . ." Mabel uttered. She turned the flashlight off and went back to her bed. Except this time, she had her own puzzle on her mind: the author of the phrase.

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At the Northwest Manor, Pacifica lied silently in her bed, mirroring Mabel's behavior. She couldn't keep her eyes off her phone which displayed a text message from a blank number.

TWELVE WITH ONE.

Pacifica had no idea what that text meant or who even sent it. She didn't bother replying since there was no recognizable number, or any number to begin with. The cryptic message gave her nothing but a headache. She figured replying would probably lead to a migraine.

The blonde placed her phone under her pillow and lied back down. Like Mabel, her mind cycled through possible options on who sent the text and why.