Chapter Text
As Dipper and Mabel hopped off the bus with Waddles, they simultaneously took a deep breath in, absorbing that crisp Gravity Falls air. Dipper looked at Mabel and smiled.
“You ready for an amazing summer that isn’t filled with demons?” He asked her.
“Yes. Yes, I am,” Mabel responded as they heard a twig snap from the path ahead of them.
“Who’s there?” Dipper yelled out. No answer. Another twig snapped, and then they saw who was coming. Mabel gasped as she handed Waddles to Dipper.
“Grunkle Stan!” She yelled as she ran to him, hugging him tightly. “I didn’t think you would be here.”
“Me either,” Stan said as Ford stood beside him. Dipper put Waddles down and ran to them, the pig following.
“We were supposed to be away until August, but someone forgot to tie the Stan-o-war down, and by the time we woke up the next morning, it was gone,” Ford explained.
“Yeah, I know, Ford, I messed up. But the kids just got here, let’s not fight,” Stan said, gesturing his hands toward Dipper and Mabel.
“You’re right, Stanley. I’m sorry,” Ford said, putting his hand on Stan’s shoulder.
“Well, we’re happy you’re here, guys,” Soos said, walking up behind Stan and Ford.
“Soos!” Dipper and Mabel said simultaneously as they ran and hugged him.
“Hey, dudes! Good to see you guys. How was the trip?”
“It was alright,” Dipper said. “It was long and boring, but that was to be expected.”
“What do you say we head to the shack, get you two settled, and head over to Greasy’s Diner for some pancakes?” Stan said.
“I could go for some pancakes,” Mabel said.
“Me too. All I’ve had to eat in the last twelve hours is a granola bar,” Dipper said as they all started walking.
After setting everything up in their room, Dipper and Mabel went downstairs to see what the others were doing. As they walked into the living room, Stan was laughing at the TV.
“Where’s Grunkle Ford?” Dipper asked.
“He’s down in the basement doing some nerd stuff,” Stan replied, flipping the channel, laughing again. Dipper looked at Mabel.
“You think I should check on him?” Dipper asked her.
“Probably.”
“You want to come with?” Dipper asked as Soos walked in the room.
“Who wants to watch Ducktective: The Movie?” Soos asked.
“Heck yeah, I do!” Mabel responded, running into the living room with Soos, changing the TV to the movie.
“Guess I’ll go check on Ford by myself then,” Dipper said quietly to himself as he headed toward the basement.
“Grunkle Ford?” Dipper yelled out as he entered the basement. “Grunkle Ford?” He repeated.
“Yes, Dipper. Come in, come in,” Ford said. Dipper walked up to the table where Ford was working. “You’re just in time,” Ford said.
“Just in time for… what exactly?” Dipper asked, looking at the table as Ford kept tinkering with the device he was working on.
“And…” Ford said, pausing for a moment. “Done!” He exclaimed and stood up, taking the device with him.
“What is that, Grunkle Ford?” Dipper asked.
“This, Dipper, is the greatest thing I’ve ever invented,” He replied. “If my calculations are correct, when I press this button, it will open a portal to a dimension not even I have ever seen. I better get the others down here,” He said as he started to walk away.
“Whoa, whoa, wait,” Dipper said, stopping Ford. “Don’t you think inter-dimensional travel is a bit risky? You know, ever since the whole Weirdmageddon thing.”
“Normally, I would say yes, but I’ve done a lot of research and thinking. I’ve been to thousands of dimensions, most of which were bad, but according to countless books on the multiverse and inter-dimensional travel, there’s a dimension nicknamed Dimension X. It’s supposed to hold the answers to everything our dimension needs. Medicine, materials, you name it. If that’s correct, this could be the most groundbreaking invention ever,” Ford explained. Dipper sighed and shrugged, but ultimately, he agreed. Ford nodded and walked over to the doorway for the basement stairs. “Hey, everyone! I got something I want to show you, come down here!”
Soos, Mabel, and Stan all came down to the basement to see what was going on. Ford explained the same thing he did to Dipper to the rest of them.
“Look, Sixer, I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Stan said. “I mean, what if this dimension isn’t what it’s hyped up to be?”
“Yeah, or maybe it’s just a giant black hole,” Mabel added.
“I don’t know, dudes, I think it could be a good thing,” Soos said.
“Thanks, Soos,” Ford said. “Personally, I think this dimension could be the pinnacle of all things good. Are you all ready?”
The others all nodded in unison as Ford readied the device. He flipped a couple of switches, typed some numbers in, then pressed the big red glowing button while pointing it at the wall. A red beam shot out of the antenna on the top of the device and into the wall.
“Wait, that’s not right,” Ford said with a hint of panic in his voice. “The beam isn’t supposed to be red,” He said as he lightly tapped the device, but it didn’t change.
“Do something, Sixer!” Stan yelled.
“I’m trying!” Ford yelled back as he hit the red button again in hopes of it turning off, but it only made the beam more powerful. Before he could try anything else, the portal was open, and the device began to heat up, causing Ford to drop it, breaking it.
“What… what did you do?” Stan said.
“I don’t know,” Ford said. “It wasn’t supposed to do that.”
“Well, that much is obvious, but what do we do now?!” Stan yelled.
“Stop yelling and just let me think,” Ford said, looking through the portal to the other side. “No… no, no, this isn’t right. That’s not Dimension X.”
“Then what is it?” Soos asked, looking through the portal.
“They call this dimension the Upside Down…” Ford said, looking back at the others with worry on his face.