Summary:
wax stan gets decapitated and connie comes for a visit
Steven slept in late the next morning. The events of the previous night still played in his head. He felt well rested, but uneasy about his nightmare. What was that entity that seemed to invade his dream? He walked into the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal before joining the twins in the living room.
"What are you guys watching?" He asked before sitting in the arm chair.
"Duck-tective," Mabel said, not looking away from the tv. She was knitting a new sweater.
"Hm, I've never heard of it," Steven said.
Dipper glanced back at Steven, "Its kinda dumb, yet oddly charming."
"Ooh, I getcha, I used to watch the show called Crying Breakfast Friends. It was oddly charming as well,"
Steven looked down at Mabel knitting, "Making a new sweater I see."
Mabel nodded, "It's a surprise for a certain someone."
Steven smiled before looking at the tv. He had a feeling the sweater was for him.
The duck was quacking on the tv while the captions read, "Or was it… MURDER?!"
Mable dropped her knitting needles, "That duck is a genius."
"Eh," Dipper said, "It's easier to find clues when your so close to the ground."
Steven chortled. Dipper was right.
"Are you saying you could outwit Duck-tective?" Mabel said, squinting at Dipper.
Dipper smiled smugly, "Mabel, I have very keen powers of observation."
"Yeah, that's totally why you discovered Steven's secret before me. Oh wait! You didn't. Ha!" Mabel said, punching Dipper in the arm.
Steven gave a nervous laugh. At this point the entire Pines family new his secret, and it didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. It was almost like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He didn't have to hide from the people he was living in close proximity with, and that was okay.
"Hey dudes!" Soos came into the room, pulling Steven from his thoughts.
"You'll never guess what I found!"
"Buried treasure!" Dipper yelled.
"Buried- Hey, I was gonna say that," Mabel followed up.
"No, even cooler," Soos waved his hand, gesturing them to follow him.
They walked down the hallway, the twins at Soos's heels.
"So I was cleaning up when I found this secret door hidden behind the wall paper," Soos turned to face them. "It's crazy bonkers creepy."
The door squeaked as Soos opened it, revealing the contents of the room. Inside stood a plethora of wax figures. Dipper was the first to step into the room.
"Woah! It's a secret wax museum," Dipper pulled out a flashlight from his vest and shined it around the room.
"They're so life like," Mabel said, poking at one.
"Except for that one," Dipper said, his flashlight pointing at one of the figures.
Suddenly, that figure spoke, "Hello!"
They all screamed. Dipper pointed the flashlight at the figures face. It's turned out to just be Stan. He chuckled.
"It's just me, your Grunkle Stan!"
"Oh geez, you scared us!" Steven said, clutching his chest dramatically.
Stan laughed, turning on the lights. "Welcome to the Gravity Falls wax museum! It was one of our most popular attractions! Before I forgot all about it. I got 'em all!"
Stan went around the room pointing at the different figures, "Genghis Khan, Sherlock Holmes, some kinda, I don't know, goblin man," he said, pointing at a wax figure of Larry King.
Steven looked around the room and shuddered, "Is anyone else getting the creeps here?"
Dipper looked up at him and nodded, "Yeah, something totally feels off."
"Oh don't be such a big baby, it's just wax," Mabel said, punching Dipper in the arm.
"Hey," Steven said, scolding her.
"And now, for my personal favorite. Wax Abraham Lincoln, right over-" he gestured at a melted pile of wax, "Oh! Oh, no! Come on! Who left the blinds open?"
Sunlight poured in through a small open window, right onto the melted pile of wax.
"Wax John Wilkes Booth, I'm looking in your direction!" Stan sighed, kneeling down and dipping a finger into the wax, "How do you fix a wax figure?"
Mabel walked over to Stan, "Cheer up, Grunkle Stan. Where's that smile?"
"Meh," Stan grumbled.
Mabel poked at Stan's face, "beep, bop, boop."
"Ow." Mabel had poke Stan in the eye.
She took a step back, "Don't worry, Grunkle Stan, I'll make you a new wax figure from all of this old wax!"
"You really think you could make one of these puppies?" Stan asked skeptically.
Mabel gave Stan a serious expression, "Grunkle Stan, I'm an arts and crafts master. Why do you think I always have this glue gun stuck to my arm?"
She lifted up her arm to reveal that a glue gun was indeed stuck to her sweater sleeve. She tried to shake it off.
"Is that safe?" Steven asked.
Mabel shrugged, "I don't know."
Stan smiled, "I like your gumption, kid."
"I don't know what that word means, but thank you," Mabel said.
She turned around to face the rest of the group.
"Alright everyone out, I must brainstorm my masterpiece," she showed everyone out of the room and closed the door behind them.
"Do you think she'll actually be able to do it?" Steven asked.
"If I know my sister, and I do, she'll probably have it done in a few hours, and have it covered in glitter," Dipper shrugged before walking away.
———
After about an hour, Steven peaked his head into the room to see Mabel wearing a beret in front of a huge block of wax. He saw the rest of the figures had been cleared out of the room. He stepped inside to ask Mabel about her progress. But Mabel turned around before he had the chance to say anything.
"Steven! What do you think of my wax figure idea?" She said, holding up a sketch pad, showing a horse human hybrid, but not quite a centaur.
"She's part fairy princess, and part horse fairy princess."
Steven smiled, that sounded like a kinda cool idea, but her design looked a little disturbing.
"Maybe you should carve something from real life? Show your skill to show everyone you amazing attention to detail," Steven suggested.
Mabel quickly sketched up a new drawing.
"Like a waffle with big arms!" She said, holding up her sketch pad again.
"Hm," Steven said when an idea struck him, "Maybe you should make someone in your family? I bet they would greatly appreciate it."
Just then Stan walked in, half dressed in his Mister Mystery suit.
"Kids, have you seen my pants?" He asked, unknowingly striking a pose in front of Mabel.
Mabel turned around and Steven heard her say, "Oh muse, you work in mysterious ways."
Stan turned and looked at Steven, "Why is she taking to the ceiling?"
"I don't know but I think we should let her work in peace. She's been struck by inspiration. Besides, I think I saw your pants in the living room," Steven said, leading Stan out of the room.
———
Several hours later, Steven, Dipper, and Soos entered the room to check on her wax figure's progress. She stood, accessing the statue of Stan.
"I think it needs more glitter," she said, rubbing at her chin in contemplation.
Steven nodded, "Agreed."
Soos handed Mabel the bucket of glitter that sat next to him, and she threw the whole bucket onto the figure.
Stan walked into the room, looking at his feet, "Okay, I've got my pants, but now I'm missing my sh-" he looked up at the statue and screamed before falling over, looking thoroughly spooked.
Stan didn't seem the kind of man to get scared so easily, so why was looking at this statue so surprising? Steven wondered.
Mabel leaned over Stan on the ground, "What do you think?" She asked.
"I think…"
Stan looked at the statue hesitantly for a moment before smiling, trying to cover up his moment of uncertainty, hoping it went by unnoticed. Sadly, it did not. Steven sensed that Stan was genuinely surprised and slightly disturbed to see the statue, as if he wasn't expecting to see his face looking back at him, which Steven thought was odd.
"...The wax museum's back in business!" He exclaimed.
He stood up and briskly walked out of the room, leaving Steven confused as to his reaction, as the rest of the group stood oblivious.
——-
Steven sat in front of the stage, watching as people filtered into the seating area. He looked up to see Mabel pacing, looking nervous yet excited. Soon enough, the seating area was full, and the unveiling was about to begin. Stan walked up to the podium and gave a little cough before speaking into the mic.
"You all know me, folks, town darling, 'Mr. Mystery.' Please ladies control yourselves."
The crowd was silent.
Stan winked at the crowd before continuing his speech, "As you know, I always bring the people of this fair town novelties and befuddlements, the likes of which the world has never known. But enough about me," he walked over to a statue covered in a cloth that stood next to him on the stage, "Behold…"
He pulled the cloth off to reveal… "Me!" He exclaimed.
The wax figure of Stan stood sparkling in the sunlight, Mabel did a really good job. Soos played a little fanfare tune on his keyboard before pressing a key that just said, "Yeah!"
Steven's clapping was louder than what little clapping the rest of the crowd did. Steven had a feeling people weren't gonna be super enthusiastic about this reveal, but he didn't expect this. He tried to make up for it by clapping louder and whooping a little. A few people looked at him quizzically and he felt a little self conscious so he stopped.
"And now a word from our own, Mabelangelo!" Stan said, handing the mic to Mabel.
She took the mic and addressed the crowd, " Thank you for coming. I made this sculpture with my own two hands!," She raised her hands triumphantly in the air before lowering them again. "It's covered in my blood, sweat, tears, and other fluids."
The crowd gave various expressions of disgust. Steven just gave a nervous smile. She may have not gotten the saying exactly right, but she's got the spirit. Regardless, Mabel's smile never faltered.
"I will now take questions!" She peered into the crowd before pointing at Fiddleford, "You there."
He stood up, "Old Man McGucket, local kook. Are the wax figures alive? And, follow up question, can I survive the wax-man uprising?" He said, his voice conveying complete seriousness.
Mabel looked a little confused, but answered anyway, "Um… yes! Next question."
A man with a funny mustache, and a hat labeled 'hat' spoke next, "Toby Determined, Gravity Falls Gossiper. Do you really think this constitutes a wonder of the world?"
"Your microphone's a turkey baster, Toby." Stan deadpanned.
Toby looked sadly at the ground, "It certainly is-"
"Next question," Stan said, cutting him off.
A woman stood up in the crowd, "Shandra Jimenez, a REAL reporter. Your fliers promised free pizza with admission to this event, is this true?"
Steven looked at the flier she was holding and then back at Stan. He forgot Stan had him make those fliers. Steven looked around and saw no pizza, realizing Stan had basically scammed people to come to the re-opening of the wax museum. He didn't blame him, though. Wax museums are difficult to attract hype for.
The crowd started to yell thing along the line of, "I want my pizza!" At Stan.
Stan stared at the crowd, "Uh… that was a typo. Goodnight everyone!" He said before throwing a smoke popper on the ground to obscure his escape. Steven saw a flash in his peripheral vision as Stan ran past the admissions table and snatched the money box from it.
People angrily left the event, some threw their chairs, and one even punched a wooden sign pole. Steven watched them all leave before walking to the sign pole and giving it a kiss, fixing it. He walked back to where Dipper and Wendy were sitting at the admissions table. Mabel joined them.
"I think that went well," she said.
Steven laughed nervously, "could've done without all the shouting, though."
Mabel shrugged, "You win some, you lose some."
Steven helped clean up, picking up trash and carrying the wax figures back inside. He had started to use his strength again for carrying things, because it just made things easier. But he had forgotten Wendy and Soos were there.
Wendy noticed Steven carrying four wax figures at once.
"Dude, do you need help?" She asked, "Those look kind of heavy."
Steven remembered she didn't know and quickly came up with an excuse.
"It's alright, I did weight training, in, uh, in high school. I'm really strong," he gave her a forced smile.
She looked at his suspiciously, "Okay, if you say so."
Wendy walked back over to Soos.
"Have you noticed anything strange about Steven?" she asked.
Soos chuckled, "Oh yeah, totally. Once, he picked me up. Like, over his head, like I weighed nothing. And Mabel! He picked me and Mabel up at the same time! And I think I one time saw him glowing pink," Soos shrugged, "But I never asked about it. We all have secrets, so I rather not bug him."
"Hm, I guess you're right," Wendy said, looking back as Steven emerged from the house and picked up four more statues. As he lifted them onto his shoulders, Wendy saw his shirt lift up a bit and saw a pink gem on his stomach, right where his belly button should be.
"Soos," she half whispered, "Look. At his stomach."
She pointed over at Steven.
"Omg," Soos said quietly, "He's bedazzled."
Wendy and Soos watched Steven walk into the Mystery Shack. They looked back at each other and spoke simultaneously
"Dude…"
__________________________
Steven, Mabel, Dipper and Stan all gathered in the living room of the Shack. Mabel was wiping dust off of Wax Stan while Stan counted the money he had scammed from the townspeople.
"Hot pumpkin pie! Look at all this cash!" he said, thumbing through the wad of bills in his hand. "And I owe it all to one person… this guy!" Stan gestured to Wax Stan, who was sitting in the armchair in front of the tv. Mabel elbowed him in the stomach.
"Oh!" he chuckled, "Yeah, you too, you little gremlin."
Stan gave Mabel an affectionate head pat before ushering her and Dipper out of the room.
"Now, you kids wash up. We have another long day of fleecing rubes tomorrow. Go, go!"
Stan sighed dramatically, leaning on Wax Stan, "Kids, amiright?"
He turned to Steven, "I'm just gonna watch some TV, you're free to join me."
Steven shook his head, "No, I'll have to pass. I promised I would call my girlfriend tonight."
Stan smiled, waggling his eyebrows at Steven, "So, Mr. Universe has a girl, huh?"
Steven blushed a little bit, "Yeah, she's the greatest. She's so kind, and understanding, and one heck of a swordswoman. Seriously, I would never want to face her in combat. Without my powers, she'd kick my butt."
He laughed, they should try that sometime.
Stan looked a little confused, "Swordswoman?"
Steven nodded, "Yeah, she used to use my mother's sword, but that broke. So my friend Bismuth forged her a new one."
"Huh, well I'll be damned," Stan muttered. He then spoke louder, "Sounds like one helluva woman, you're lucky to have her."
Steven nodded, a big smile on his face. Just then, his phone rang. He looked at it.
"Oh! That's her, goodnight Mr. Pines!" Steven said, rushing to his room.
He jumped onto his bed before answering.
"Hi Connie!"
"Steven! How have you been?"
"Better now that I'm talking to you." Steven smiled.
Connie looked immediately worried, "What's wrong?"
Steven sighed.
"I had a nightmare last night. But it wasn't normal. It wasn't about my past or things I had experienced. It was new, which was strange. But that's not where it stops. Connie, something was in my dream last night."
Connie looked worried, but now also a little confused, "How so?"
Steven took a deep breath before continuing, "There was someTHING; like, another entity. He was in the shape of a triangle, with a singular eye. His laugh was diabolical, and it made me scared. Like, running away fear. But he grabbed me before I could and said something like, 'You'll do just nicely,' and then I was falling and falling and fell back into my body. Apparently, I had projected the dream onto the TV in the living room because Mr. Pines, the guy who I'm renting a room from, was there trying to wake me up."
"Steven, I'm-" Connie said, only to be cut off from Stan yelling.
"No, NO, NO!"
"I gotta go Connie, I'll call you back in a bit. I love you."
"I love you too, but Steven I'm coming o-" Was all Connie was able to say before Steven hung up.
Steven rushed to the living room to see Stan and the twins standing over a decapitated Wax Stan.
"Wax Stan! He's been, m-m-murdered!" Stan cried.
"Oh no!" Mabel said, "We have to call the police!"
She rushed over to the phone.
"Wait! Mabel!" Dipper ran after her, leaving Steven with a crying Stan and a headless Wax Stan.
Steven walked over to Stan to console him. He seemed abnormally sad about this. Like, he knew Stan was kinda self conceited, but this was a bit much. Maybe there was something else. Maybe Stan saw Wax Stan as a symbolization for something. But what that something was, he didn't know.
"It's okay Mr. Pines, we'll find the head and glue it back on. It'll be good as new." Steven smiled at him.
"It won't be the same!" Stan sobbed, "I'd rather find the-" he paused, making sure the kids were out of the room, "- damn bastard that did this."
Just then, Mabel came back into the room.
"The police are on their way!" she said, pointing a finger in the air in triumph.
Dipper entered the room after her, "Yeah, maybe they can finder the murderer. Although, I bet I could too."
"Good thinking, you kids! When I find the fiend that did this, we're gonna make him pay!" the Pines cheered while Steven looked at Wax Stan nervously. Was calling the police a bit much?
Steven saw a flash of pink outside and rapid footsteps to the door of the Shack. He looked out the window and saw Lion. There was a polite knocking at the door.
"Wow, that was fast," Stan said.
"I don't think it's the police," Steven said, walking to the door. He was excited to see Connie, but also a little nervous. He didn't know how Stan would react to a magical, pink, teleporting, lion.
He opened the door to see a worried Connie.
"Are you okay?" she asked, stepping into the house. He closed the door behind her.
Steven smiled, trying to cover his nerves, "I'm fine, but we do have someone here who isn't."
Her eyes widened in fear.
Steven quickly responded, "Oh! No, it's just a wax figure. Everyone is being a bit dramatic about it and I guess I got a little swept up in it."
They walked to the living room and saw Stan and the twins looking at Steven quizzically.
"Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Connie," Steven raised a hand, gesturing to Connie. She gave a little wave.
Mabel immediately jumped up and ran over to shake Connie's hand, "Hi, I'm Mabel. Arts and craft extraordinaire."
"Yeah, That's Mabel, and the other twin is Dipper, and that's Mr. Pines, their great uncle," Steven said pointing at them as he identified them.
Dipper gave a little wave while Stan wiped his tears.
"Sorry," Stan sniffled, "you came at a bad time."
"Oh," Connie said, looking at Steven for context.
"Wax Stan got his head lopped off and we don't know who did it."
"Wax… Stan?" Connie said, looking at the figure laying headless on the ground.
"Oh!" Steven said, not realizing that he didn't tell her who Stan was. "Mr. Pines is Stan. Stan Pines."
"Oh! So your wax twin got beheaded, got it," she said.
"IS THAT A PINK LION?!" Mabel yelled.
Her yelling brought everyone's attention to the outside, where Lion was chasing a lizard. This distracted everyone, so the new tears welling up in Stan's eyes almost went unnoticed. Almost. Mabel ran outside, followed by Dipper, who was yelling, "Wait! It might be dangerous!" Connie looked at Steven.
"It's okay, they know," he said.
She nodded before following Dipper and Mabel outside, to give them a proper introduction to Lion.
Steven walked over to Stan as he tried to quickly wipe the new tears from his eyes.
"Are you okay?" Steven asked.
Stan sighed, "I've been through a lot in my life kid, that's all you need to know."
He got up and looked out at the window to see Mabel riding on the back of the pink lion.
"So how did your girlfriend get here so fast and what's up with the lion?" Stan asked.
"Well," Steven rubbed the back of his neck, "I told her about my dream, and you started yelling and I think she thought something was happening to me, so she came as soon as she could. Also Lion can create portals to teleport through."
Stan looked at him, mouth agape, "Did… did you say portals?"