Chapter Text
It’s been two years since Weirdmageddon ravaged the town of Gravity Falls. Buildings are still being rebuilt or demolished. The sound of heavy machinery became an average day tune to the townsfolk. People became desensitized to the jagged cracks, deep within the pavements and sinkholes that swallow up their neighbor’s mailboxes. These were as normal as the beasts and creatures which skitter and frolic around the place. Ever since the brief apocalypse, absolutely nothing fazes Gravity Falls when it comes to strange things. That’s why when the resident mad scientist, Stanford “Ford” Pines, was chasing local kook, Fiddleford H. McGucket down Main Street, people responded much like New Yorkers when a crackhead was doing his thing: backing off and letting it happen with a blank expression.
However, a few folks did look up from the frenzied activity in curiosity and found out that they can still be baffled by some things. The man being chased didn’t look like the man they came to know, or at least he looked different. Younger..and so fucking scared for his life, it looked. McGucket was still in his usual overalls, patches covering the various holes in it, but it fit awkwardly on his frame. All the seemingly random bandages on him were quickly being ripped off by the agitated runner as if they were offending him in some way. Not much could be done for the bloody wraps on his feet. His hair was in a mullet that was a color between chestnut and dirty blond. People watched as the color blurred past them. Unfortunately for McGucket, he’s missing his glasses, and his endurance is lacking. So, it’s not surprising when he slams face first into a sign as his feet tripped on the ruined fabric around them.
As Stanford caught up to him, his frame towering over McGucket and breathing hard, all he could process was the terror that pulsed in his veins. His companion’s face was momentarily obscured by shadows making the man look all the more intimidating. Dazed and hyperventilating, McGucket fought to scramble upwards. He failed miserably, barely keeping his head up. Blue eyes met blue eyes on the sidewalk. All the men could hear was the pounding of their hearts burning in their ears. Emotions swirled around them like two storms meeting, resulting in a spectacular display of wind and rain. The lightning being what happened next.
“Fiddleford?”