//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Returned pressure. // Story: Logic Falls // by Arial_Dreemmurr //------------------------------// Dipper stood at the entrance of the school for a few minutes before he saw his sister run towards him. "I'm here! Sorry, I'm late bro-bro!" Mabel said as she tackled him into a hug. Dipper just laughed as he embraced her. "It's fine Mabel, I didn't even notice." He soon also noticed the button-filled sweater. "What did you do today??" "Oh, I had art class with Pinkie Pie! You know, from lunch!" She quickly explained. "Look, she also gave me this!" She pulled up her sleeve to reveal the colorful friendship bracelet. "It's a friendship bracelet!" She looked at her brother only to see his smile turn into something more on the lines of disappointment. "Mabel, I thought you said you wouldn't form relations with anyone here! You're going to end up too attached and won't want to leave when we eventually have to." Mabel's smile left her face too but more upset at her brother. "I know, but I just can't help it! They're all so nice and I can't possibly spend this time all alone..." Her brother just facepalmed. "You're not alone, Mabel. You're with me. I'm only telling you what's best." Seeing as her sister was still clearly upset, he decided to try to cheer her up. "But I guess one friendship won't hurt..." She quickly showed a smile again. "Thanks, Dip! I won't get too attached I promise!" His smile also returned to his face soon after. Their faces then turned surprised as they were caught off guard by a loud honk outside. They looked to see their Grunkle Stan honking the wheel inside of the car. "Are you kids coming or what!?" They didn't waste much time and quickly ran to him, before jumping into the car. They each got into the backseat and soon drove off. Mabel put her bag next to her before looking up at her Grunkle. "Grunkle Stan, have you found a place to stay at yet?" "Sure did. It's not the biggest, but it will have to do." He soon answered. "It's only a few days or so, I got better things to waste these dollars on." "As long as we're not on the streets, anything is fine." Dipper shrugged before he continued. "Is it near here?" Mabel also showed an excited look. "Yeah, I can't wait to see it!" "Don't get your hopes up, kids." He let out a chuckle. "And yeah, we're almost there. The closer, the less gas I'd have to pay for." They spend a few more minutes on the road until they eventually stopped at a small stand-alone house. As he said, it wasn't very big, and clearly for no more than three people. It also didn't look the newest. It looked like it had been empty for a while, with parts slightly broken or dirty. As they stepped into the porch, they looked around at the old building. "Here is it kids. Told you not to get your hopes up." Mabel just looked at it, her excitement fading a little. "It's... Kind of gloomy..." She muttered, just loud enough for Dipper to hear. "I mean, right now it is, but I'm sure we'll be able to make it like home." He tried to cheer his sister back up. They both got a smile back on their faces as they entered the house. It was similar to the outside, definitely not new. Some of the wallpaper was falling off the walls and the floor creaked under them as they took their steps. Now both Dipper and Mabel's smiles faded a little. Grunkle Stan noticed and spoke up. "Why don't you two find a room. I'm sure there's a room here that you two can sleep in peacefully. I'll get everything ready over here." The twins nodded before looking across the few rooms the house had. Mabel made sure to immediately deny any rooms that felt too gloomy for her, while Dipper tried to keep it as upbeat as he could for the both of them. They eventually got to a room that had plenty of space and looked good. "This one looks alright. What do you think Bro-Bro?" "I think so too. Now, let's get our stuff in." He replied before they entered and placed their bags into the room. There was already a bed in there that Mabel soon claimed as her own. Dipper decided to go to another room with a bed and try to get it in. It was a simple bed you could fold and easily get from place to place, clearly meant for traveling of some kind. Mabel's was obviously fancier but he was glad we would be able to get it into the same room without much trouble. Seeing as his sister's bed was on one side of the room, he decided to put his bed on the other side. It would also help with the feeling of home they were trying to create. He placed the bed down and made some space around it. Grunkle Stan would handle the other stuff they brought with them so they only had to do their own room. He looked over at his sister's side to already see her decorating her side. That's when he remembered something. Opening his bag, he soon pulled out the birdhouse he made that day. "Hey, Mabel. I made something today, I thought you'd maybe like to decorate it?" She turned around and saw the birdhouse. "That's so cool! I'd love to decorate it! Just imagine little birds living in there!" He handed it over to her and she sat it down at her side of the room. Dipper smiled seeing his sister happy. Even though she was the most optimistic about their trip, he knew she wouldn't want to stay for long in a place like this. That's why he got his bag, ready to get back to work to make their time spend here as short as possible. He had two bags. One from school and one he got from Stanford to bring with them. It was of a big size and had as much of what they needed in it as possible. They had looked into the situation a lot while they were still in Gravity Falls and decided they were close enough to the answer to go out a search it out. Together with his sister, he was trusted in the responsibility to find it and destroy it forever. He opened the bag and laid everything out in order on his bed and some on the ground since it didn't all fit. He also put up a pinboard on his wall and attached many pictures and clues to it to keep track of their mission. He was pinning all the evidence to the board when he heard his sister's voice behind him. "You're already busy with solving the big mystery? I thought you'd want to get to know the area first." He turned before responding. "Yeah, but who knows how much time we have. Someone could get there before us and cause the end of the world without even knowing it." "I know, but you're acting kind of paranoid. I doubt anyone even knows about Bill here. Let alone know about the statue." She shrugged before showing her brother a smile. She saw him look away, determination still on his face. "I can't risk the possibility. Stanford trusts us with the responsibility. If we're too late or fail to stop him, what would he think of me then?" She watched as his face turned into a mix of fear and anxiety. "You're still worried about that?" He gave a quiet nod before she continued. "Dipper, he might have seen you as just a kid before, but you've already proven yourself to him more times than I can remember. Why else would he trust you with something as big as this?" "I know, but the pressure to succeed hasn't been this big since weirdmageddon happened. Our whole existence is on the line, Mabel! Those are some BIG stakes!" Mabel walked over to her brother and put a hand on his shoulder. "We won't fail Dip. We'll find a way to defeat that demon once and for all! But we'll take our time with it. I don't want any more sleep deprivation from you!" He looked back at her, a smile appearing on his face. "Thanks, Mabel." The twins shared an embrace before Dipper turned back to his bed. "I'll just put it all up and then I'll connect the dots later." Mabel soon showed a smile. "And?" He just rolled his eyes as he gave his answer. "No late nights." Both twins showed a smile before Mabel went back to her own side of the room. After some time, they had all their stuff how they liked it and soon found their Grunkle fixed up other areas of the house too. At least as much as he felt was necessary. As dinner, Stan ordered a simple pizza that would be enough for the three of them. The cheapest one, of course. Soon after that, the twins returned back to their room. While Mabel was busy decorating the birdhouse, Dipper put his attention to the mission. He already had everything where they left it, he just had to connect the dots and unravel the secrets and mysteries until they could get an exact location. As he got more and more answers and new questions to answer, he started clicking the back of his pen. "Hmm... But if that was the case why would it-" He thought before something else unexpected filled his vision. "Look!" It was Mabel who proudly showed her brother the decorated bird's house. "All done! I'm going to put it up somewhere outside!" Mabel yelled excited before running out of the room, her excitement making him smile. Once she left, Dipper turned back to what he was doing. But it wasn't long before he got interrupted again by the sound of his phone. He looked and saw the call was from Stanford. He made sure to quickly answer, not to keep him waiting. He soon heard his voice on the other end. "Good evening, Dipper. How's the trip so far? Are you getting any closer to finding his location?" "The trip is fine." He continued, growing a smile. "And I just connected another dot. From here, it seems to be coming from the west. I think I'm getting close!" "That's good to hear." Dipper felt his smile getting bigger, hearing his words. "Have you found any specific locations? Anything to put on a GPS or map?" He questioned again, He quickly looked through some of his previous notes, looking but failing to find anything specific. "Not yet... I only just found that last thing. But I'll find him, don't worry." He heard a chuckle on the other side. "I'm not. I know you and your sister were the right two for the job. I know you won't disappoint." He felt some of his previous anxiety come back up before he heard him continue. "I'll call again tomorrow around the same time to hear your progress. I'll talk to you again then." He quickly pushed it back, before giving a response. "Sure! You can count on us, Grunkle Ford." Was the last thing he said before the call ended. He looked back at his notes. "I've... I've got to up my game. I need to have more information to give when he calls again." He felt more of the previous responsibility weigh on him, before going back to what he was doing. It was sometime after that, that Mabel returned. "I'm back Dippin' sauce! Now we just wait for the birdies to come!" She walked into the room to see his brother busy, more serious than before. "Uhm, Dip...?" "Oh, hey Mabel." He simply said, too concentrated on what he was doing to look away. Mabel decided to walk over to her brother to get his attention. "That's all?" She only received a small hum from him so she decided to take the papers from under him. "Hey, what was that for? I was in the middle of something!" He yelled before attempting to get it back from her. She got it out of his reach before giving an answer. "I was gone for just a few minutes. What happened, Bro-Bro?" She saw him let out a small sigh before he started explaining. "Stanford called for progress. He's calling again tomorrow so I wanted to have more to tell him when he does." He got a smile. "You know, to maybe impress him a little." Mabel showed a small smile, before giving him his papers back. "Alright then. But I don't want you going on for too long. It's getting pretty late." She pointed over at a nearby clock before she continued. "And I'm sure he wouldn't mind you taking a break." Dipper showed her a smile. "I guess you're right. I'll just tie up a few loose ends I have left. I promise I won't make it too late." "I'll keep you on that! I'm keeping my eye on you Dip!" Both laughed before she returned to her side to partake in one of her own activities. Slowly but surely, Mabel reached out to the night lamp she had. "How about we call it a day. I'm tired." She finished, letting out a yawn. After closing his books and putting his papers back in their maps, Dipper nodded. "Yea, let's do that. I'll continue the rest tomorrow." He put all of his stuff aside and soon Mabel put out the light, letting the room get dark.