Symbols ~A Gravity Falls Fanfic~

Welp

Dipper POV

        Everyone got up a little while after Mabel had cheered me up. Stan and Soos actually managed to uncover the cellar doors with no further delay. It led into what looked like any other basement with the exception of the discarded attractions from the Mystery Museum. In one corner sat the wire frame of what was once the "Corn-i-corn" alongside various animal parts, and in another sat a mountain of cardboard boxes with labels carelessly written beyond legibility. There was also some furniture that Stan had just shoved out of the way.

        We walked over to the elevator shaft embedded into the wall. Stan punched in the code for the lower floor and we rode down with few words. "Soos, how fast can you fix the portal?" he asked as the shaft creaked.

        That was odd. I could have sworn Stan or Soos said something about the portal working yesterday.

        "I dunno. First I have to fix it and then we need to test it and calibrate it and junk. Might take a few minutes, might take an hour, might take a day or so." Stan lightly groaned as he swept his hand under his glasses. Soos jumped at his gesture and corrected himself: "Don't worry about it, though! We've got the parts to fix it, so I can guarantee it getting fixed again!"

        The door opened and we all walked into the narrow hall of machines. Stan scraped the wall by the elevator door for an apparent light switch before we went any farther. As the dim lights flicked on, he replied to what Soos had said. "Well, with Bill's little scheme put into play, we don't really have much time. For all we know, that girl already dropped-"

        "I thought you said Bill messed up. Doesn't that mean Eliza's fine?" Mabel interrupted, earning a scolding look from Stan. She had a look of despair on her face. I can't say much for myself; the idea of anyone dropping wasn't pretty- especially when you look at what happened to Robbie.

        "Mabel, I have no idea where your friend is. I know...I know she's with him- she has to be, but we can't be sure what's going or where they are. She'll protect Stanley and Stanley'll..." Stan paused at his brother's name and stared at what I had assumed was some kind of heart monitor. The line was much more energetic than it was when Eliza and I first laid eyes on it. It jumped quickly, barley making space between beats. Then it slowed to an unusually sluggish pattern that made Stan uneasy. "Oh, God. Soos, portal!"

     "On it, Mr. Pines!" Soos scurried into the room, snatching up a cardboard box that sat against a machine on his way in. Stan soon followed, giving what help he could to fix whatever was wrong with the portal to begin with. Mabel and I just stood in that narrow hall of machines, not really looking in any particular direction but just thinking...

        "Do you think they dropped?" I asked Mabel quietly, my eyes locked on the yellow sparks that came from the other room. As I shifted my gaze to her, I caught her looking at the heart monitor. She took a few steps towards it and laid her hand on the dome over the screen.

        "I... Dipper, I just don't know. I know I said that thing outside, but...I've got a bad feeling in my stomach, ya know. Plus, with Grunkle Stan's what-ifs, I'm beginning to question my own spunkiness." I languidly shuffled over to Mabel's side and examined the monitor. The red line was moving very slowly at that point, barely making its little mountains of life travel along the screen's grid.

        "Llamas...they're nature's greatest warriors," I said.

        "Heh, yeah. It sounds...different hearing you say it now." I raised a brow at that.

        "What?"

        "The first time you said it, you sounded like Larry King," Mabel stated simply.