Chapter 13: The Deal

Dipper and Mabel were on the run. They were on the trail of a conspiracy surrounding the founder of Gravity Falls. They were also running from Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland, who were hot on their tail, trying to prevent them from discovering the hidden truth. It had all started with the Pines being stuck in traffic, encircled by covered wagons pulled by horses. The whole town was celebrating Pioneer Day, the celebration of the anniversary in which Gravity Falls, Oregon was established. It now made sense to Dipper why Wendy and Adam had decided to spend the day together visiting all their favorite spots in town. The story went on about how the small tourist town was founded by the brave Nathaniel Northwest, Pacifica's great grandfather. Or so it was told. 3 had mentioned that it's author was close to finding the real founding story, that Nathaniel Northwest was in fact a fraud. Mabel had been made fun of by Pacifica in front of the whole town. Needless to say, Mabel jumped at the chance to not appear like a fool, with the added benefit of putting the smug blonde girl in her place.

They had figured out the code on the paper that was enclosed in the book. At first, the cryptic symbols had been confusing, but thanks to Mabel's unusual behavior, they found out that it was a map, showing the location of the next clue was in the Gravity Falls Museum of History. After sneaking past the guard at the front of the museum, which was just a young woman handing out balloons, they found the next puzzle they needed to solve. Again Mabel's silliness proved to be the key to the seemingly abstract painting. It was a picture of a pointing angel, which Dipper recognized as a statue in the local cemetery. The twins quickly ran toward their next objective.

It wasn't long before they came upon the great statue. It towered over the twins, almost menacing in it's appearance. The depiction of the angel was unlike any other statue Dipper had seen before. Her eyes were closed, her face transfixed in what appeared to be a mixture of anger and shame. In her right hand, was an open book with undecipherable scribbles and her left hand was outstretched, index finger pointing toward something. Below the sculpture itself was a plaque with imprinted letters that read:

ET NOS PEPERIT MONSTRUM

Dipper looked in the direction their clue was pointing toward, but his sister recaptured his attention. She thought it would be funny to make it look like the celestial being was picking her nose, which inadvertently caused the whole memorial to shift back, revealing a hidden passage way. As Dipper went down, he noticed something scratched into the marble at the bottom of the plaque. He felt a cold chill when he recognized the hurried strokes, as if someone were trying to relay a dying message. It said:

YVDZIV SV XZM HVV ZOO

Dipper didn't have time to figure out what the cryptic message said, he had a mission to find the truth about the small town of Gravity Falls. He found his resolve and followed his twin into the dark depths of the underground tunnels, unaware of the secrets awaiting the two adventurers.


Pacifica was sitting in her living room in her lavish home crying. Crying because she had learned that the whole reason her family became rich and famous was a complete lie. It hurt her. Yeah she knew she was mean to people, but that was because she was proud of her family and what they had done for the town. Now, she was nothing more than the great-granddaughter of a fraud. Sure no one else in the town knew the truth yet, but she had a feeling that the Pines family would be spreading that information soon enough. She always hated that family. They were so cheerful, even though they had nothing to be happy about. It made her absolutely livid. She was about to throw her 5th fit of the day, when she heard the doorbell ring. Pacifica knew that their live-in servant would answer the door and shoo away the unwanted visitor. When she heard the butler call for her mom and dad, it piqued her interest. Her father was the first to reach the visitor, shook his hand and started speaking to him, seemingly glad that the stranger was there and at the same time, extremely nervous.

"As you can see, this would be terrible to our reputation in this town if it were to get out." Pacifica's father said, wiping his forehead with his pocket handkerchief.

The man standing next to her father merely smiled and said, "I understand. You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Northwest. I will make sure that your family's honor is protected, as long as you will help me."

Her father nodded his head, and motioned him into the living room. Pacifica stared at the intruder. He turned toward her and smiled.

"You must be Pacifica. Look at how big you have gotten."

Before she could reply her father said, "Pacifica, go to your room. I need to discuss some things with our friend here."

"Yes daddy."

She got up and started up the stairs, her mind on the stranger and the deal he was making with their family.