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Twenty hours. That’s all it was going to take before things could go back to the way they were. Ryland had worked hard for this. He had worked so hard.
Twenty hours.
That’s not so long.
When Court called Ryland back in April, Ryland almost hadn’t picked up. He’d been in the middle of a tour of the Mystery Shack and tourists don’t take kindly to family matters interrupting their overpriced tourist trap tours. With their snotty and open-mouth coughing kids barely paying attention and trying to break the mannequins, the grandmas with crucifix necklaces condemning this place, this town, the fathers who only wanted to stop for gas and if they could please get on the road now, it was never a good idea. Always best to get through the tour so they can wander around the gift shop before he takes a call.
But Court never called. So he excused himself and let Jody take over for him.
“Can you take Claire for the summer,” Court said the second Ryland picked up.
Ryland blinks. “Uh, hello to you too,” he said. “My older brother who I love so much.”
“Yeah, right. Sorry. Hey, bud. Hope you’re doing well. Can you take Claire for the summer?”
Court went on to explain that he was having some issues that he kept vague. Ryland didn’t pry, he’s got secrets of his own anyway. Some things you just can’t talk about to keep people safe. Whatever was going on, it required his older brother’s full attention. He could keep them at bay for the rest of the school year but he didn’t want Claire getting caught up in adult problems. Plus, the fresh air would be good for her tween brain. It was a good deal.
Ryland asked if he could think about it. He proceeded to ignore it for two weeks and when Court called back, he said yes.
The beginning of summer had been awkward. Hard, someone less skilled than Ryland might even say. Claire hadn’t wanted to go, of course, and she fought Court on it every chance she could. Ryland would get text updates of her most recent act of rebellion. They ranged from throwing all of Court’s clothes out on the lawn (which Ryland was told she then had to help pick up) all the way to trying to run away. The kid didn’t get too far before Court found her at the local gas station pleading with a stranger to buy her some sour candy. She was dragged back home and grounded after that.
Safe to say that by the time she got off the bus, she wasn’t a happy camper. Ryland knew instantly that wearing his Mystery Shack get up to pick her up was a mistake. He lost the eye patch before she could see it, and tossed his fez in the backseat of the car.
Oh god, could the kid be in the front seat? Did she need a car seat? His brother knew so much more about this kind of stuff. He’d know if he was doing this. His brother knew everything.
But still, Ryland saw it in her eyes as she got off the bus and looked around. Beneath all the preteen angst there was a wide eyed kid who was excited to be in a new place. Excited to be somewhere without Court for the first time. Ryland knew from experience he had his reasons to be overprotective. But when you’re twelve and angry those reasons don’t really make much sense. For a moment, Ryland understood his brother’s hangups. Claire was wearing a bright pink cat sweater and she looked younger than Ryland would’ve imagined. He couldn’t let anything hurt her.
That didn’t mean Claire stayed out of trouble. She made quick friends with some of the other kids in town, and made enemies as well. She and Ryland argued a lot in the beginning as well. The bad nights would end with Claire screaming that she hates it here and wants to go back home. That her Uncle Ryland was mean and gross and a scammer. She wasn’t wrong, of course, and those words really didn’t affect Ryland anymore. Especially not out of the mouth of a 12 year old.
More often than not the nights would end well, though. On great nights Ryland would run to the grocery store before Claire came home for the day and he would pick up three small watermelons. By the time Claire was home there would be half watermelon waiting for her at her table place, the other half already mostly eaten by Ryland. They’d sit and talk about their days as Claire ate, spoon in hand as Ryland told her about the customers he saw that day. She would always ask him for pictures, if he had any. It was supposed to go in her summer journal that one of her friends convinced her to make. Ryland would laugh and tell her to work a shift if she wanted to see people. Claire would pout that the shack was so boring and Ryland wouldn’t be able to take her seriously with watermelon juice running down her chin and making her sweater all sticky.
After Claire was done her watermelon, they would climb onto the roof. Claire was scared to death the first time she did this but, as the summer went on, she would race Ryland to see who could make it out there first. Of course, Ryland was carrying two watermelons that slowed him down, but he always gave it his best effort.
“Uncle Ryland hurry,” Claire would whine as he climbed out onto the roof.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he would respond. “Next time you’re carrying these and you can see how much they slow you down. Especially an old man like me. Okay, okay, okay. You know what to do.”
If Court ever asked, Ryland would say that no, he did not help Claire build a catapult to launch watermelons off the roof of the Mystery Shack. In fact, he never even let Claire on the roof! Matter of fact, what even is a roof when you really think about it. Ryland sure doesn’t know!
But Claire was so happy watching the watermelon splat on the ground. It was scientific for her, the different sounds and splatter patterns she would find. She was getting good at predicting what would happen as well. She would hold the fruit and judge its weight, color, and sound, and then would write some notes. Once it was splatted in the ground, she would proudly turn her notebook over to show Ryland that her hypothesis was correct.
God, his brother would love this side of her.
Keeping Claire away from the supernatural elements of Gravity Falls proved to be harder than Ryland anticipated. She was curious and clever by nature, something that was great to be but really did not help Ryland with plausible deniability. She was insistent something was going on with the town. Ryland knew she was right, but he couldn’t get her involved. Sorry Court, your kid was actually kidnapped and made queen of the gnomes! That’s why she can’t come home!
It wouldn’t be a good look. Court would kill him dead and he would deserve it.
But that didn’t stop her from fighting Ryland on it every time she possibly could.
“Uncle Ryland the convenience store is haunted,” Claire would say, whining that he didn’t believe her. “Holly took me with all of her friends and we—”
“I’ll be having a talk with Holly about breaking and entering, then,” Ryland responded, cutting her off. “And bringing a kid along with her.”
It was easy to avoid the questions and insistence from Claire largely, but when that freaky little kid tried to steal their home, Ryland’s whole life flipped upside down. It was a lot, getting publicly kicked out of their home and forced to stay with Jody for a bit. Ryland was desperately trying to get ahold of Court and tell him he needs to pick Claire up. That she couldn’t stay anymore. He’d even gotten her on that bus when the freaky kid attacked her. The kid was obsessed with Claire.
And that’s his fucking family that they were messing with.
It was haunting to catch the tail end of Claire fighting for her life. Thank god he’d given her a couple of self-defense lessons. Ryland needed to have a major talk with Court about how underprepared she was for danger. He watched hopelessly as he begged everyone to realize that yes, Ryland is a scammer, but he’s a loveable scammer! The kid was an evil scammer.
But, it ended with the kid behind bars and the two of them safe in their home.
It got harder for Ryland to deny the weird things going on in this town after Claire had found what he’d spent so long searching for. The first journal was finally in his hands, the key to finally getting everything he’s wanted for twenty years. And he gave it back, of course, after scanning each and every page. But then the zombies attacked. They’d done a killer duet, their harmony with Eva hitting the perfect frequency to kill them all.
Only now, the government was breathing down his back. That didn’t deter Ryland, however. He’d worked way too hard to throw it all away. He could finally fix his mistake.
Which led to today. The Mystery Shack was decidedly closed for the day, he and Claire decided that setting off less than legal fireworks in the yard was far more important than running the shack. And, every time a fire caught, they’d put it out quickly with a water balloon.
“This is the best Saturday of my life,” Claire remarks as she lays herself down on the dirt. She has a popsicle in her hand that she was mostly letting melt in the warm July sun. “Seriously, you’ve outdone yourself.”
Ryland chuckles as he checks his watch. Time was going slower than it ever had before. “It’s what Saturdays were made for,” Ryland tells her. “Minor property damage and destruction. Just wait until next Saturday, kid. I’m planning a real show stopper.”
Claire giggles, taking another lick of her popsicle.
Ryland takes a deep breath. She’ll find out sometime or another.
“Kid, there’s something I’ve got to tell you,” Ryland starts. Claire sits herself up, hearing the tone of his voice. “You’re going to hear some things about me. I’m sure you have already. But I want you to know that I—I need to get another soda, actually.”
Ryland chooses another time. And that’s his fatal mistake.
The agents descend on him fast. The cuffs were on him before he could even think to fight back. He hears Claire scream and he starts to thrash harder and harder. His kid’s in trouble. Ryland wasn’t a stranger to evading the law, but Claire was never supposed to deal with this.
“What have I even done,” Ryland asks, trying to get even a glimpse of his niece. “Claire, are you okay?”
“Ryland Grace, you’re under arrest for stealing government property,” one of the agents say, tightening the cuffs.
Ryland’s heart plummets to his stomach. Okay. Time to do some of his best lying.
“Excuse me? You think I stole government property? Buddy, I run a tourist trap for a living. What am I doing with government property?”
“Yeah,” Claire cries out. “He’s harmless! Let me go! Uncle Ryland? Are you okay?”
“I’m alright, kid,” Ryland promises, even though it’s a flat out lie. “Just do what they tell you, alright? I’ll get this figured out.”
That’s the last thing he’s able to tell her before the agents put him in the backseat of his car. He curses, kicking everything he can reach. He doesn’t let up until he’s brought to the next location. No one tells him where he is or how far from home they’ve taken him; they just drag him into the building and down the corridor, sitting him in a questioning room. He’s grilled rather thoroughly. They know everything, of course. The fake names, the scamming, the arrests and arrest warrants from multiple different states. They leave him alone for ten minutes and he’s able to make a quick call to Jody. He’s desperate to involve her in this, but he’s so close to success.
“Look, I’ve got a lot of explaining to do.” Ryland says. “And I promise, I promise I will do all of it. But you cannot let anyone near the vending machine. Do you understand?”
“Ry,” she says softly. “Where’s Claire?”
“That’s my next problem. First, vending machine. It’s important.”
“Okay, okay. No one goes near the vending machine. Sure. I’ve got it. Get this figured out, Ryland.”
With that, Jody hangs up. Ryland sighs. Four hours to go. What’s his next move?
Ryland looks around the room, searching for any kind of escape route. He’s been in these kinds of rooms enough times to know that the windows are sealed. The mirror is a two way mirror. He’s being watched for any sign of giving up. They can wait for his confession all day. But he can’t, he won’t. Not when he’s come this far. Not when he’s given up everything for this.
Ryland’s confidence is shaken greatly when Court walks in the room, looking disappointed as ever. He’d always known distantly that Court was some kind of government something or other. He’d never really paid attention to the details when Court talked about it. But of course, this would be his luck. Nothing could ever go his way, could it?
“You’ve been spying on me,” Ryland asks in sheer disbelief.
“What have you done,” Court asks as he sits down. Ryland looks up at him. “Ryland, this isn’t a joke. You’re putting my kid in danger.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s fine. Stop ignoring me.”
“It wasn’t me, Court. I haven’t done anything. I’ve been taking care of Claire all summer. I run a tourist trap for god’s sake. You think I’ve got time to deal with government schemes?”
“I don’t know anymore, Ryland! I honestly don’t. The evidence doesn’t look good. We’re subpoenaing your camera footage now. And if it shows that you’re stealing, Ryland I swear to god that—”
“You don’t trust me.”
There’s a long silence that lingers between the two of them. Ryland’s watch buzzes. Perfect.
“I want to trust you, Ryland. You’re just—you’re making it very hard to do so. Every since we lost Co–”
Ryland looks out the window. He lets tears gather in his eyes. Ryland was always a crier. Especially when it comes to family. Especially when it comes to his brother.
“Look,” Court says. “If it’s a misunderstanding, it’s a misunderstanding. I want to be wrong. I don’t want this to be happening. But if you’re putting my kid in any amount of danger, Ryland. All bets are off. Please, just talk to me? Help me clear this up?”
Ryland looks at his brother.
Three.
Two.
One.
“I’m sorry for what I’m about to do,” Ryland says. Court’s eyes go wide as everything in the room begins to float. Ryland’s anticipating this, and he kicks off the floor right as everything starts, propelling himself towards Court. Court’s helpless against the attack, still trying to gather his bearings. Ryland lands hit after hit on his older brother, each one feeling worse than the last even as he pulls his punches. Court will still have a broken nose by the end of this.
“Stop,” Court shouts. “What are you—”
“It’s for our family, Court,” Ryland promises. “It’s all for our family. Claire’s safe. You’re safe. I’m going to fix everything.”
Ryland can’t believe he makes it out of the building before gravity returns to normal. He’s sprinting as fast as he can when he spots a cab. He flags them down and hands them a large wad of cash.
“Drive towards the state line,” Ryland tells the driver. “When the cops come, don’t stop.”
The taxi driver shrugs, pocketing the cash and peeling off. Ryland ducks into the woods, waiting for all the agents to follow after the taxi.
Three hours.
The walk back to the Mystery Shack is slow, despite how fast Ryland moves. It takes him a bit to gather his bearings, figure out where he needs to go. He follows the main road for a long time, staying in the trees in case anyone lingered to catch him. It would only be a matter of time before the cab driver was caught. And then agents would descend upon the entirety of Gravity Falls to find him. He had to make it home. He needed to be there for this.
By the time he’s home there’s only five minutes left on the clock. He’s sprinting towards the Mystery Shack to make in time. He slips in through the front door and makes his way to the gift shop, only to find that the vending machine has been accessed. More specifically, the lab that the vending machine has been hiding has been accessed. He can hear arguing coming from down the steps. He can hear Claire and his heart settles. She’s safe.
But he also hears Jody. And Eva. And, when he listens close–
Court’s here. Fuck.
Three more minutes.
Ryland sprints down the steps despite his aching body. He won’t let this be destroyed. He’s worked so hard for this.
“He’s a good person,” Claire insists. “There has to be a logical explanation to all of this! He’s my uncle! He’s your brother!”
“You saw what the journals said,” Court says. “He’s trying to destroy the world. We don’t have time for this, Claire. We’re shutting it off.”
Ryland catches them right before they ruin everything.
“Don’t press that button,” Ryland shouts. Court freezes in his tracks. Ryland’s able to get a good look at him. There’s dried blood all around his nose and he’s got a black eye forming. Despite this, Claire runs toward Ryland, wrapping her arms around her uncle. He’s amazed that she could still trust him after seeing what he’s done to her father.
“Uncle Ryland please tell them they’re wrong,” Claire says. “You’re not a bad guy! You aren’t!”
Ryland hugs Claire back, but ignores her questions. He looks at her. No bumps, no bruises, nothing broken. Good. She’s okay.
“What’s going on, Ry,” Jody says, trying to keep her voice neutral. “What have you done?”
“You have to trust me. We need to let this activate.”
Before Court or Eva get the chance to argue, they’re in the air. Court seems to anticipate it this time, bracing himself. He isn’t able to hold onto the console, though, and he screams for Claire to move towards it. Ryland tries to lunge for her to stop her, but Eva’s tackling him before that can happen.
“What are you doing,” Ryland shouts. “Get off of me!”
Eva grabs him tighter. “I’m sorry, Ryland,” she says. “But I’ll protect this kid far before I protect whatever you’re doing.”
It’s sweet, honestly. And it’s good to know that everyone in this room loves Claire more than him. It’s what she deserves. But at this moment, it’s entirely too inconvenient. Everyone should lay down their life for Claire, truly. But right now no one needs to. All they need to do is trust the most untrustworthy person in all of Gravity Falls.
“Claire,” Court calls. “Shut it down!”
Claire’s at the button now, frantically looking between her uncle and her father. God, this poor kid.
“Uncle Ryland,” she calls. She’s crying now, tears streaming down her face. It breaks his heart to see her this scared. “What’s happening? Please just tell me what’s going on?”
“You trust me, right kid,” Ryland asks. Claire hesitates.
“I want to. I really really really want to but you stole the government stuff even though said you didn’t. I’ve seen the fakes and the arrests and I just—are you even my uncle?”
Ryland looks at his watch. One minute. Time to let it all out.
“Remember this morning? I wanted to tell you that you’ll hear a lot of bad things about me. A lot of them are true. But I would never do anything to hurt you. To hurt this family. I love you more than anything. Everything I’ve done has been for this family. I promise.”
“Claire,” Court shouts. “You can’t believe him. You need to press the button!”
An automated voice counts down. Ten. Nine. Eight.
Claire looks at her father. Then she looks at Ryland. Ryland smiles at her. The hopelessness is getting to him. He was so close, too.
Seven. Six. Five.
“You need to do it,” Court shouts again. “Now!”
Four. Three. Two.
“I trust you, Uncle Ryland,” Claire says as she lets the console go. Court curses loudly. A wave of relief washes over Ryland.
One.
A blinding flash of light erupts in the room. Ryland shuts his eyes but it barely does anything against the bright white light that sears his vision completely. The gravity anomaly reaches its ultimate peak, slamming everyone against the walls. He can’t move, he can hardly breathe, Ryland can only pray Claire’s okay. She was never supposed to be caught in this. He’ll never forgive himself if she’s hurt.
Once Ryland reaches the point that he genuinely wonders if his bones can break under the force of gravity, the sensation stops. He’s unable to brace himself as he collapses to the floor. His glasses get knocked off of his head as he tries to recover. It’s alright. He never needed them anyway.
“Claire,” Court shouts. “Are you okay?”
“Uncle Ryland,” Claire says, overlapping her father’s worried calls. “Uncle Ryland?”
“I’m here, kid,” Ryland promises. “Here, back up, yeah?”
“What’s happening?”
Claire makes her way over to Ryland. Court looks pissed, but it’s something they can argue about later. “There’s someone you need to meet,” Ryland explains, pointing towards the machine.
There’s a figure standing in the center of the portal. He’s tall and larger than Ryland remembers. He’s got a cloak on, which Ryland is going to remember to make fun of later. He steps through, and the portal deactivates.
Perfect. Exactly as planned.
The man walks towards the center console. He drags his finger across it before his eyes lock on the journals. He picks it up and places it in his coat.
“Who is that,” Claire asks. Ryland looks over towards Court, who looks ready to throw up. Yeah, fair enough. Eva looks sick too.
But everything is okay now. He’s finally fixed everything.
“You’ve been asking all summer about the author of the journals,” Ryland says. “You should meet him. Claire, this is my brother.”
The man turns around. He smiles at Claire, despite not know who she is at all. Claire moves back, frightened. Ryland’s arms are open for a hug as his brother walks towards him.
Then, his jaw aches. He’s on the ground. He’s been punched.
“That was ridiculously dangerous,” his brother says. “Why on earth would you turn this thing back on? Are you crazy? Answer me, Colt. Are you crazy?”
Ryland groans as he tries to pick himself back up. Distantly, he hears Claire speak.
“Colt,” she asks. “Who’s Colt?”