Broken memories | Gravity Falls

Entry Two

Second entry.
We were shocked, when we first passed through the "wall". A sweet odour hit our faces, which had, on first contact, a befuddling effect.
Whatever this was, it was huge!
Like impossibly large. Like another own city even!
Our first thought: This looks ridiculously similar to the environment of Gravity Falls. Pines Trees all over the place, which should indeed not be able to exist underground, and mossy floor, hell THERE ARE RIVERS. We have no idea how this is even possible.
The weirded part of all, it was sunny and warm. How can it be possible to be sunny below the earth?!

For a moment, P guessed that this was just her hometown all along and our senses must have tricked us to think we are underground. I really don't think so. The humidity of this place was incomparable to anything we usually breath.
Then we started walking around. I could have cried, when I first saw them. My beloved missed unnatural creatures. First I thought my mind made it up, when I saw something small rush past us. It was barely reaching over my knees and had a red head. No wait, it had a red hat!

To it's discomfort, I followed after the mysterious thing. Having the advantage of longer legs, I passed it eventually and held it down with both of my hands. "Shmebulock!" It shouted at me in utter shock.
It was at gnome! The first one I've seen ever since I've come back to Gravity Falls. After a moment, it recognized me and calmed down, confusion spread across the face.

Fortunately, our little friend was kind enough to show us the way to the rest of them. I still remember reading the entry back in Ford's journal. And I always wondered about this specific gnome. Why couldn't it talk like the other ones? It did appear to be on the same intellectual level as the others.

I did not dare to ask as we were led to a cave, the home of the gnomes.
Jeff's jaw dropped, when he first saw us. The leader was getting ready to yell at Shmebulock for not doing a supposed task just before we entered. He stopped mid-word with his eyes getting bigger. He hesitated, before speaking. "Is it really...you? How?"

Jeff stepped down his throne, which was, to be fair, the size if a normal chair. Eyeing me, then P, he began again. "You too?" His words and the following silence made it seem like there was a mystery that we owed him to answer. I did not know what exactly he was getting at.

I asked him what he wanted to know.
"WHAT I MEAN? YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'VE AGED YEARS!" he shouted, almost angrily, as if we were mocking him. We just stood there in confusion. "Well yes, because we literally did. That usually happens when years pass." P frowned. She sounded annoyed.

"It can't be! It's only been a few months! Not years." Jeff was going feral, loosing his mind, turning to the other gnomes for affirmation. All of it.
None of them could help him. Instead, whispering among them awoke.

I didn't understand. "You know, after I left Gravity Falls, I was gone for like an eternity. I'm soon graduating. I'm not 13 anymore." Pure disbelief.

Whatever had been the cause, apparently the gnomes thought that only a fragment of time had passed. It hit our faces like a brick. Those creatures had only passed through this amount of time. None of them had aged. Maybe it was the atmosphere. Somehow the time here is passing way slower than outside. It was unclear how long we had been here. Or rather how long we had been gone from the actual Gravity Falls.

"This isn't Gravity Falls." P realized too. It clicked for our little friends too. Most of them didn't seem to mind but Jeff was clearly drowning in thoughts.

"But I don't understand. So if it's really true. Then all the other creatures don't know either. I mean, all of them live around here, as far as I'm aware. What would have possibly gotten us here? And why are we here? WHO DID THIS?"

Dipper scratched his neck. His mind was long lost already putting his brain to work.
"But didn't you notice that there were no humans? Like at all?" This detail rubbed him the wrong way. If the magical creatures were gone from Gravity Falls but not the people and this was obviously not their beloved town, how did it not occur to them that something was wrong?"

My question confused Jeff. No, it offended him. The small guy got back on his throne and leaned back.
"You think that you humans mean an awfully lot to us. We're actually glad when we don't have to deal with you. Besides, we HAVE seen humans. One at least. Only a few hours ago, one of my folks alerted a intruder in our territory. Not a real thread of course. Just some girl that was running around chasing after some animals."

In that moment, yet another jawsaw puzzle piece clicked into place.
"A redhead with an attitude?"

"Exactly, you know her?"

I demanded to know in which direction she had gone. We are now one step closer to solving this ever evolving mystery.