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It was a normal day at the Mystery Shack. Wendy was in the gift shop reading a magazine, her chair slightly reclined and her feet on the counter, when suddenly a door burst open. It was Mabel, entering the shop with her hands behind her back and a mischievous smile. Wendy put the magazine down and focused on Mabel.
"Hey Mabel, what’s up?" Wendy asked.
"Wendy, I’m going to ask you a question. Have you ever done or said something so embarrassing that you wish you could go back in time and prevent it from happening?"
Wendy looked at her, confused. She didn't expect Mabel to ask her a question like that.
"Ugh! Quite a question, friend! Well, yes, sometimes I’ve thought about it," Wendy said.
"Well, look no further, my dear friend, because I present to you... BAM!" says Mabel.
Mabel places the time machine on the counter in front of Wendy, which at first glance to her is just a tape measure. Wendy observes the object even more confused than before. Mabel notices and picks up the tape measure.
"It’s a time machine! It will take us to any timeline we want."
Wendy still didn't believe what Mabel was saying and looked at her with confusion. Tired of waiting for Wendy to understand, Mabel took the tape measure, approached her, and pulled it toward a destination. Then she took her by the hand and took her away.
Suddenly, Wendy and Mabel exit the Mystery Shack and travel through time, specifically to an era when the Earth was covered in plants and trees and was teeming with dinosaurs. Seeing where she was, Wendy understood that what Mabel had said was true: they had traveled to the past. Wendy still couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was in prehistoric times, when there were no humans on the planet and dinosaurs reigned as kings.
"See, I told you," said Mabel.
"Okay, okay, I believe you," said Wendy, scared.
Suddenly, a T-Rex approached them and roared in their faces. Mabel, terrified, pulled out the tape and they were taken somewhere else. Wendy and Mabel landed in Gravity Falls 1920, now safe from being devoured by a T-Rex. Wendy calmed down and looked at Mabel.
"Okay, like you were saying, that thing will take us to any timeline we want."
Mabel, with a smile on her face, says yes.
Wendy, understanding the situation, regained her confidence and told Mabel: "Well, what are we doing standing here? Let’s make use of that thing!" And so they did.
They traveled through different timelines; they went to the 60s to see the Beatles in concert in the VIP section. Overcome with excitement, Mabel threw a knitted sweater at Paul McCartney, causing Paul to trip and fall off the stage, knocking him unconscious; that got Mabel and Wendy kicked out of the concert.
From that event, they jumped to 1879, where Karl Benz was putting the finishing touches on his invention: a car that would make life easier for many people. Wendy offered to be the test subject; Karl accepted, and Wendy listened to Karl's instructions but, strangely enough, Wendy didn't understand a single word of what he was saying, so she improvised. To her bad luck, she lost control and accidentally ran over Karl's wife, while Karl, horrified, watched his wife lying on the ground without moving.
"Aaaam, well, we should probably get going. Thanks for letting me use your car," Wendy said nervously, grabbing Mabel by the arm and fleeing the crime scene.
That is how they arrived in 1944, where Wendy, dressed in military gear and holding a shotgun, killed every Nazi she saw, while Mabel just stood by her side watching and occasionally throwing a grenade at the enemy side. Suddenly, they heard a massive torpedo and spotted a tank on the German side. Mabel watched as a torpedo was launched in their direction and, with fear and trembling hands, Mabel let go of the tape.
Mabel and Wendy fell to the ground.
"Yes, I'm alive. Mabel, you saved us!" Wendy said joyfully.
"Now, where are we?" Wendy said, already on her feet.
Mabel stood up, looked around, and saw that there was nothing there; it was deserted and lonely, not a single soul in sight.
"Who are you?!" a man shouted.
Mabel and Wendy turned around and saw a man on top of a big hill, riding on the back of a horse. The man on the horse came down the hill and approached the girls; he was a man with a pointy nose, a mustache, and he wasn't wearing pants. Wendy looked at him confused, while Mabel, for her part, was excited.
"Eeee, who are you?" Wendy said, pointing at the man.
"Wendy, don't you see? He's the eighth president of the U.S. and the founder of Gravity Falls, Quentin Trembley," Mabel said with excitement.
"Eighth and a half," Quentin corrected her.
Wendy couldn't believe it, she put a hand to her head.
"Mabel, please, this weird guy can't be the founder of the town. Look at him, he doesn't even know how to ride a horse properly," she said, pointing at Quentin. "Besides, the founder of the town is Nathaniel Northwest."
Mabel looked at her and, with a shake of her head, said: "Wendy, Wendy, Wendy... you need a history lesson." She grabbed Wendy by the arm and sat her on the ground.
After a long history lesson, Wendy, surprised and offended, tried to process what Mabel had told her.
"Are you serious? My whole life they made me believe Nathaniel Northwest was the founder of the town. I had to show my respects to those people for nothing!" Wendy complained, annoyed and offended.
"I hate rich people, they do the impossible to buy silence!" Wendy shouted.
"I hate them too!" Mabel shouted, raising her fist.
"And so do I!" Quentin shouted.
The girls turned around and watched him fall off his horse. Quentin stood up and brushed the dust off his suit as if nothing had happened.
"Citizens of tomorrow!" Quentin exclaimed.
"I see you have discovered the fraud of kings. Minds like yours are powerful and are fit to be part of my new ministry. You, red-haired girl!" Quentin shouted, pointing at Wendy with his index finger.
"I officially name you Minister of the Upper Class: you shall attack every rich person who crosses this path.
And you, little girl!" Quentin shouted, pointing at Mabel. "You shall be my right hand; you shall be loyal, you shall never leave me, and you shall advise me."
"I'm sorry, Mr. President, but we really have to go," Wendy said, brushing off what Quentin was saying.
"Yeah, we shouldn't keep interfering with the past, we've already caused too many disasters," Mabel said apologetically, "but as your right hand, I suggest you call this town 'Gravity Falls'."
"Mabel!" Wendy shouted. "Didn't you say no interfering?"
"But a little help doesn't hurt, Wendy."
Quentin reflected on what she said; it was decided, this place would be called Gravity Falls. He took a quill and a piece of paper and wrote it down.
"It is a splendid name, my baroness!". Trembley exclaimed, tucking the paper into his three-story top hat. "Now, I must be off to ride into the sunset... backwards!"
He climbed onto the horse backwards, and the animal began to walk sideways until it was lost among the trees of the forest.
"And now, what do you want to do, Wendy?" Mabel asks.
Wendy thinks for a moment and says: "Give me the tape. This time I will choose where we go."
Mabel doesn't doubt it and hands her the tape. She pulls it out and transports them to Gravity Falls in 1980.
Excited, Mabel tells Wendy: "Alright, we're here! What are we going to do? What celebrity are we going to stalk?"
Wendy laughs and says: "First, let's stop by my house." Mabel doesn't question it and follows her.
When Mabel arrived at Wendy's house, she expected her to open the door, but Wendy stood by the window, watching as if she were waiting for someone. Mabel stayed by her side, staring at the window. There sat Manly Dan, his hands on the table, waiting for someone.
"Honey, it's ready," said Manly Dan.
A woman in the distance laughed and told him it was almost ready. After waiting, the woman finally arrived. She approached the table with a huge turkey in her hands, placed it on the table, and sat down. That woman was Wendy's mother, Mrs. Corduroy. Mabel understood why Wendy wanted to go to her house; she remembered that Wendy hardly ever talked about her in the present because her absence hurt too much. Mabel stopped looking through the window, fixing her gaze on Wendy. There were tears in her eyes, but also a huge smile on her lips. Wendy was happy to see her mother again after so many years, to hear her laughter one more time through the glass, even if it was just for a moment. They stood there for a little while longer, in absolute silence, watching the couple in front of them, until Wendy decided it was time to go before the tears fully started to fall.
"Okay, I think it's time to go. Where do you want to go now?"
Mabel smiles and says: "You know, we've already visited the past a lot. How about we go to the future?"
Wendy looks at her surprised and says: "Whoa, you're talking about traveling to the future? I don't know, Mabel. I'm not ready to see what my life will be like at 30."
Mabel reassures her saying: "Wendy, we'll just take a look at the future. We don't even have to look for your 30-year-old self if you don't want to."
Wendy still hesitates, but her curiosity to know what Gravity Falls will be like in 10 years is stronger, so she accepts Mabel's offer and they pull the conveyor tape toward the future.
To Wendy and Mabel's disappointment, Gravity Falls hadn't changed much. Everything remained the same, except for a second, larger shopping mall and some other details that made it slightly different. Wendy and Mabel started walking through town. Wendy looked at Robbie and Tambry, who were walking hand in hand.
"Ugh, they're still together. I didn't think they'd last long."
Mabel, remembering how their romance began, was also surprised that they were still together. They didn't pay much attention to it, and as they walked, they ran into a tall boy who looked a bit like Soos and Melody.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you," Mabel said.
"It's okay, it was my fault," said the boy.
Wendy and Mabel were surprised by the resemblance. "Wow! Are you Soos and Melody's son?" Wendy exclaimed.
The boy was startled by the sudden revelation and said: "Yes." "Um... how do you know?" he stammered, backing away in fear and running away.
"Yes, it's their son," both said at the same time.
An idea occurs to Mabel. "Wendy, do you want to go see what the Mystery Shack is like?"
Wendy understands her intention and says: "Sure, friend! How about we race to the shack, and the last one there is a rotten egg?"
Mabel accepts the challenge and they run toward the shack. Upon reaching the finish line, Mabel trips and does several somersaults. Wendy gets scared and runs toward her.
"Are you okay, Mabel?" Wendy asks.
Mabel gasps and stands up. "I'm fine, but I think the tape... the tape was broken."
But Wendy puts a hand on Mabel's shoulder and says: "Don't worry, maybe someone in the shack can fix it."
Upon arriving at the shack, Mabel tried to open the door, but Wendy stopped her.
"Mabel, what are you doing? Remember, this is the future. We don't know who lives there now."
"You're right," said Mabel, and instead, she knocked on the door. Behind the door, a female voice told them to wait. When Mabel and Wendy opened the door, they found a woman a bit taller than Wendy. She was wearing a loose shirt and shorts, and she was barefoot. She had silky blonde hair that reached above her shoulders. Mabel and Wendy knew it; there was no doubt. It was Pacifica Northwest.
Pacifica was left breathless. She couldn't believe what she was seeing: a miniature version of Mabel and a teenage version of Wendy. She was speechless until she saw that Mabel was carrying a tape measure in her hand. Then Pacifica understood everything.
"Oh, that's a time tape!"
Mabel, impressed that she knew it, nodded. Paz took the tape and said:
"It's broken. He can fix it, but you'll have to wait. He's not here. He'll be here any minute. Come in."
Mabel and Wendy, doubtful, decided to enter the shack.
The shack remained the same; nothing had changed, except they had removed the yellow sofa and replaced it with a larger, dark green one, and they had also removed the television and put in a flat-screen one. Otherwise, everything remained the same. Wendy and Mabel followed Pacifica to the kitchen. Pacifica offered them a Pit Cola and gave one to each. Mabel and Wendy sat at the kitchen table, and Pacifica leaned against the counter. They remained in silence for a few minutes until Wendy decided to break the silence.
"Why doesn't Soos live in the shack anymore?"
Pacifica, relieved that the tension had been broken, responds.
"Well, Soos lived here before, but his grandmother died."
At that moment, Pacifica covers her mouth with her hand, startled, until Mabel tells her.
"Don't worry, it's okay. She was an old lady; she was going to die at any moment."
Pacifica ignores her comment and continues telling them the story. "Well, his grandmother left the house to Soos, and at first he was in a dilemma because he didn't want to leave the shack, but she was his grandmother, and after all it was her house, so he moved in with Melody and his children, and now Soos only comes to open the gift shop."
Wendy simply nodded and then then asked:
"And who’s the one running the Shack now?"
But before getting an answer, Mabel cut in excitedly:
"And what do I do in the future? I bet I'm like Picasso"
"Actually, you’re a famous sculptor," Pacifica replied with a laugh.
"Right now, you’re creating a piece for Angelina Jolie’s daughter."
Wendy looked at her in surprise and blurted out:
"Wow, Pacifica! You say that so casually... are you hiding your jealousy behind that smile?"
Pacifica opened her eyes wide and, without hesitating, shot back:
"For your information, Wendy, I’m an adult now. That whole rivalry thing stayed in the past."
Pacifica moved from where she was standing and placed a hand on the table, staring fixedly at Mabel.
"Besides, I took something from her that is very precious and dear... something far more valuable than her sculptures."
"Oh yeah? And what’s that?" Mabel responded, crossing her arms over her chest.
At that exact moment, the front door burst open and a tall man walked in. His hair was messy and he had grown out a beard. In that instant, Wendy and Mabel were left speechless.
"Pacifica, guess what happened?" the man said.
Until he turned around and saw Mabel and Wendy sitting in the kitchen. He froze and started to stammer and talk nonsense.
"Pssst, Paz, why am I seeing a crazier version of my sister and a younger Wendy sitting in the kitchen?"
Mabel and Wendy were surprised; their eyes were wide open as if they had seen a ghost and they said nothing. They were in shock. Pacifica, for her part, was trying to maintain her composure, but a few giggles escaped her. Then she grabbed the tape measure and said to Dipper:
"Hey, dummy!" "less talk, more action."
Dipper reacted immediately and caught it. Pacifica told him:
"Fix that so they can leave."
Without further questions, Dipper obeyed his girlfriend and said: "Oh, sure, this is easy. I'll go get my tools."
Dipper leaves, leaving the girls alone. Then Pacifica sighs and says:
"Well, about your question Wendy, Soos had left the shack, and your uncles already had someone in mind to live here. And Dipper had graduated from college and already planned to live here in Gravity Falls, so the rest is history. After we made our relationship official, he asked me to live with him, and I said yes."
Mabel and Wendy were still in shock, speechless, until Dipper returned with the tape.
"It's done. It wasn't hard to fix. Here."
He gave it to Mabel, who took it, and Wendy said: "Well, I think it's time for us to go."
They got up, left the kitchen, opened the door and left. Meanwhile, Dipper said to Pacifica:
"So, what did you tell them?"
"Well, I omitted the part about your uncles passing away."
"That's enough for me."
Wendy said to Mabel: "I think we've had enough adventures for today, don't you think?"
"I agree. Let's go back."
They pulled out the tape and returned to the present. Wendy quickly went to the shack to look for a calendar and checked the date. Sure enough, it was 2012 in their timeline. Wendy and Mabel sighed in relief until the door opened. It was 12-year-old Dipper.
"Hi girls, where were you? I haven't seen you in ages! You had me very worried."
Wendy and Mabel didn't answer. They just stared at him. Dipper felt uncomfortable and left. When he reached the door, he looked at them out of the corner of his eye, but they were still staring at him. He got scared and left.
That day neither Mabel nor Wendy could sleep.