The next morning, I woke up, The time read 7:21 am with a singular goal burning in my mind—find the journal.
Mabel was still asleep, sprawled across her bed like a starfish, one arm dangling off the side. I carefully slipped out of the room, grabbing my backpack, and tiptoed downstairs, careful not to wake her. The Mystery Shack was eerily quiet in the early hours, the only sound the creaking of the wooden floorboards beneath my feet.
But it was also the only time I could hunt for the Journal, knowing stan he wouldn't let me go without doing some form of work, speaking of which.
Grunkle Stan was already up, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of black coffee and a newspaper. He glanced up as I entered, raising an eyebrow.
"Up early, kid. You sick or something?"
"No," I said, trying to sound casual. "Just... wanted to explore the woods a bit before it gets too hot."
Stan grunted. "Just don't get eaten by anything. Last thing I need is your parents suing me for negligence."
I nodded, grabbing the last apple from the fruit bowl before heading out the door. The morning air was crisp, the forest alive with the sounds of rustling leaves and distant bird calls. I took a deep breath, steeling myself.
'Alright, Dipper. Time to find that journal.'
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I started by following the most obvious path leading away from the Shack, I believe thats where the original dipper had found it in the series.
my sneakers began crunching on twigs and damp earth as I walked off the path. Every few feet, I'd stop and knock on a tree, listening for the telltale hollow sound of metal.
Knock knock. Solid wood.
Knock knock. Still wood.
Knock knock. Nope.
This was going to take a while.
After what felt like an eternity of fruitless knocking, I decided to head back to the Shack to regroup. The sun was already above the horizon and the Shack was undoubtably open now.
I sighed 'Well I guess I can go meet the main cast finally I can already tell Wendy or Soos are gonna make this summer 100 times better might as well get an early lead.
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The gift shop was already open, a handful of tourists milling around. Behind the counter stood a redheaded girl slouched over a magazine the cash register. Soos was nearby, fiddling with a loose shelf, humming to himself like this was the most fascinating problem in the world.
I walked over, running a hand through my hair, realizing it was probably full of leaves.
She glanced up as I approached. "Hey. You must be Wendy."
giving me an easy smile she began to speak. "Yep. And you're Dipper. Mabel's brother, right?"
"Unfortunately," I said, grinning. "She's probably already planning how to cover my side of the room in glitter."
Wendy chuckled, "Ahh man your sister a riot, you should've seen her this morning!"
I was gonna question what but I think I'm better off not knowing.
Wendy grinned, shaking her head. "Oh man, you should've seen your sister this morning. She tried to ask out some tourist boy by jumping out of a bush wearing a hand-made 'Will You Go Out With Me?' banner." She mimed the scene. "Kid screamed like a banshee and accidentally threw his soda straight up in the air."
Soos perked up. "Dude, it was like a cartoon! The drink went up, up, up—" He made an arc with his hands "—then splat! Right on Old Man McGucket's head! Poetry in motion!"
I blinked. I can't believe I missed my chance to meet that old man this early on, shoot I have to be more prepared.
I winced at the thought. Wendy leaned on the counter, raising an eyebrow at my reaction.
"Let me guess—she took it as a 'maybe'?" I said getting out of my own head before I started looking weird,
"Took it as a sign to try again with interpretive dance," Wendy said, grinning. "Kid's probably halfway to Portland by now."
Stan's voice boomed across the room before I could respond: "PINES! We run a business here, not a soap opera!" He shoved a stack of crooked signs into my arms. "Take these out to the woods and make sure they point towards our fake attractions. And if anyone asks—" He tapped the top sign reading 'World's Largest Everything'. "—these are completely legitimate tourist destinations that definitely exist."
"Putting me to work already." I moaned, thinking of how much this is gonna drag down my progress.
As I turned to leave, Wendy called after me: "Tell Mabel next time maybe try flowers instead of ambush tactics!" Soos nodded immediately clutched his chest and dramatically mimed gasping for air - his impression of the poor kid fleeing Mabel's romantic ambush - complete with wide bugged-out eyes and exaggerated wheezing sounds.
The screen door slammed behind me as I stepped into the afternoon sun, already hearing Mabel's voice echo from somewhere near the parking lot: "Dipper! I perfected my approach! This time I'm going simple, I'll leave a note that they couldn't possibly reject!"
I adjusted the heavy signs, shaking my head. Again at least this summer wouldn't be boring.
Armed with my signs I headed back into the woods, this time veering northwest. The trees grew denser, the sunlight filtering through in thin streaks. I knocked on every trunk I passed, my knuckles starting to ache.
Knock knock. Wood.
Knock knock. Wood.
Knock knock.
Clang.
My breath caught.
I stepped back, examining the tree in front of me. It looked ordinary—bark, branches, the works—but when I knocked again, the sound was unmistakable. Metal.
Heart pounding, I ran my hands along the trunk until I found a small, almost invisible seam. With a bit of effort, I pried it open—
And there it was. In all it's glory.
Journal 3.
The cover was worn, the golden hand symbol slightly faded but still gleaming. I carefully lifted it out, my fingers trembling. My eyes glowing I began flipping through the pages, I saw sketches of creatures, cryptic notes, and warnings scrawled in the margins.
A slow grin spread across my face.
This changes everything.
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Author Note;
I have an Idea to continue the story after the summer ends I wanna know how you guys feel about the idea? Of course there will still be characters from the original series, it won't have an OC's as main characters.