Chapter Text
The light poured in from the triangular-shaped entrance bouncing off the abalone walls with a dull gleaming metallic rainbow luster that lit the cavernous room. Enigmatic symbols and derelict equipment lay in shambles amid the moss and roots that had taken refuge in the low lighting. Crash site Omega never ceased to take Dipper's breath away. Though at this precise moment he was intensely focused on firmly gripping each wrung with the three-point contact rule strictly in effect. Not that he was afraid of heights but with nothing other than a ladder with slightly wet metal ladder rungs between him and a hundred-foot fall to solid metal ground his concern was not without merit.
Dipper descended from above having entered from the hidden entrance that was disguised with a boulder. Looking down Dipper could see Great uncle Ford making progress down the ladder with skilled practice. His great uncle was the forerunner in his field of work and more than anything Dipper wanted to prove his worth as an apprentice to him.
Instead of thinking about the ladder, he let his mind wander in thoughtful reflection. This year Dipper and Mabel had finally worked up the courage to tell their mom and dad how they felt about Gravity Falls and that they were planning on moving there after graduation. They were surprised, to say the least, and to be honest it was a very awkward sweaty conversation; one that Dipper took a shower afterward. In the end, though he and Mable stood as a unified front and shared their passion and heart for the town and their Great Uncles.
The shock on his parent's part Dipper had come to expect. What came as even more of a surprise to him, was the fact that they were ok with it. That afternoon they had sat down in the living room with him and Mabel to discuss the twin's intentions. Dipper fidgeted nervously while Mabel twirled the ends of her long lustrous brunette hair in her lap with her fingers. The conversation went surprisingly well to Dipper's great shock. While the twin's parents didn't understand their fascination with Gravity Falls it was clear to them that it was something they were both passionate about. Their mom and dad had informed them they planned on visiting them over breaks when their jobs allowed. That was a month ago now, and they had moved everything into the shack and settled in for the summer. Graduation was nice, but it felt weird without all their friends from Gravity Falls. Grunkle Stan and grunkle Ford wouldn't have missed it even if they had been banned. Especially Grunkle Stan. Being back in the shack permanently now was like breathing out and breathing in.
Both twins found jobs and pulled their share around the place. Dipper naturally took the mouthwateringly enticing position of Ford's apprentice. Mable, being as loved by the town as she was, found a job in a heartbeat at Greasy's diner bussing tables. This proved advantageous for her as she got to socialize with the town and work at the same time. She brought home scraps from the diner for Waddles who by now had gained a considerable girth. Nonetheless, he was just as tender and compassionate with Mable and still loved belly rubs. Most days she found him sleeping in the sun on the deck. Waddles had a good life at the shack.
The Grunkles had aged a little too. They both had more gray hair but for the most part, they were just as spritely as they ever were. When push came to shove they would do whatever it took to keep their family safe. Wendy had gone into the family business with her father. To say her father was proud was quite an understatement. She had all the character Manly Dan had and more charisma. She knew the entire crew so it was a seamless transition. Soos and Melody lived nearby on private acreage. Most of the time they were over at the shack whether it was Soos working, or him and Melody spending time with the surrogate family.
Dipper smiled to himself as he reached the bottom rungs of the ladder. No more missing Gravity Falls. No more months stuck in public school where they couldn't share half of their amazing stories from Gravity Falls. Dipper turned around to see grunkle Ford smiling at him. "You seem to be in a good mood this morning," Ford mused with a grin. Dipper smiled back. "It's just that everything is easier now, living with you and Grunkle Stan. I just never knew if Mabel and I would be able to actually make that dream a reality. Growing up is daunting and dreams sometimes fall through the cracks in life." Ford put a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Having my nephew as my apprentice when no one is better suited for the job is a dream fulfilled in my book. Speaking of books I believe this room up ahead is one I have not written about in my notes yet. This should prove interesting!"
Dipper felt his excitement mount. Ford led the way to one of the rooms on the upper atrium level. "I have been here a few times lately, but I will write about it today while the ideas are fresh in my mind." Dipper nodded taking in the surrounding area. The walkway opened up into a large ventilation duct passage. They followed the passage until it emptied into a room where various panels and machines stood. Ford stepped up next to one of the machines mounted to the abalone wall. Ford had added a touchscreen interface to the device once he had figured out how to make sense of the mechanics. All it did was take readings from the device. He looked at the screen taking a reading from it. "Hmm...Just as I suspected," he said with a jubilant tone. "The power output should theoretically be able to remain steady despite the draw. Once replicated this should suffice as a replacement for both the portal and the teleportation engine's primary power source."
Dipper and Ford had worked tirelessly over the last six months pouring over design prototypes and drafting engineering schematics. Originally Ford had designed it to work with nuclear waste but after the fiasco with the agents they were coming up with a plan B. His brain hurt just thinking about the amount of conversion math they had applied. In the end, if the device worked it would be worth it. They would have a clean power source that wasn't reliant on them stealing radioactive waste from a facility that would attract unwanted attention. Over the last summer, they reconstructed the entire lab basement to pad boron nitrite nano tubing material to the walls, ceiling, and floors. This special material effectively blocked any radio signals or power signatures the portal would emanate that could be picked up by the government keeping them under the radar. No more looking over their shoulders.
They had everything figured out. Everything except one 'tiny' problem. The teleportation engine just like the portal still created instability over time just as McGuket had predicted. The more time that passed the more unstable the portal became, and thus the probability of failure increased dramatically. Ford and Dipper had spent considerable time debating this and brainstorming for a solution. Eventually, Ford had come up with a solution. He had discovered two relics in his travels through other dimensions. These relics had a harmonizing effect on the quantum inertial properties of the portal's output signature. It fine-tuned the nuclear harmonics eliminating the shearing effects it was causing on their dimensional plane. It was safe to assume no one wanted to risk another Weirdmageddon incident.
Right now they only had two relics. Through his studies on the matter, Ford discovered there were five artifact relics. Two was enough to stabilize the gate for the time being, but as time increased it would prove insufficient. To find a permanent solution they needed all five relics. This posed a problem, as one of them was lost, and all of the remaining three were in other dimensions. Fortunately, Dipper and Ford had co-labored to create a device that used the Portal's quantum gravitic signature to tune a device made to scan for the related relics 'sister' signal. It was essentially a relic seeker.
Ford cleared his throat, bringing Dipper out of his reverie. "We have all the readings and all the necessary telemetry data. We have all the supplies we need for the project with the exception being the platinum and palladium in sufficient quantities for the gravitic reactor's power core."
The power core was what they had found in crash site omega that Ford was currently taking readings from. It was alien in origin. Dipper and Ford had reverse-engineered the gravitic reactor's power core and were building their own. When they had first started the project Dipper had asked why they couldn't just use the original one from the ship. Ford chuckled in amusement. "If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, this device has not been powered for eons and is irrevocably corroded and in a state of disrepair."
Dipper frowned. "So what are the plans for getting the Platinum and Palladium materials?" he asked. He then continued his train of thought, "Those are pretty exotic elements that will be stupid expensive in the quantities we are looking at."
Ford smiled. "That one had me stumped for a while. Eventually, I had to start thinking bigger. Those elements are much rarer in terrestrial primary crust rocks like the Earth's mantle. But within a meteorite high levels of elemental platinum exist, typically 600% above normal background levels here on Earth by comparison. A high platinum-palladium ratio with traces of iridium and osmium is common in meteorite composition. Unfortunately, most meteorite sites are very well salvaged or otherwise protected."
Dipper thought about it before he spoke. "But how does that help us then? Wait! We're not breaking in somewhere are we, I thought that was Stan's trademark?" Ford smirked with a toothy wide grin of amusement. "No my dear boy. We will find our own meteorite. As it happens I already know where one is that we can get the materials from."
Dipper looked shocked. "You do??" Ford quickly added, "Rather I should say I know where one will be. That is why we planned the camping trip this weekend with Stanley." It was Dipper's turn to smile now. "I thought you seem a little too keen to just go camping. How did you manage to figure out where the meteorite is going to strike?
"Basic Newtonian physics. Well, that and Kepler's laws of perturbations. Essentially we can track the projected trajectory of the meteorite with a little compensation from perturbations. Those are outside-acting gravitational forces that affect the trajectory of an object moving through space. With all that in mind, we can account for the exact landing position of the impact."
Ford now finished sending the data to his mobile and gestured his hand back the way they had entered indicating it was time to leave. "We should see if Mabel left us any of that wonderful homemade strawberry shortcake and whipped cream." Dipper smiled as he wondered how much self-restraint Mabel was capable of today.