"Before we get started," Ford mused aloud, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "I suppose I should give you an introduction. Alice, tell me... Do you believe in the supernatural?"

The question seemed strange, at least, to Alice. She'd grown up telling and hearing scary stories, playing mirror games with her friends, and running around graveyards looking for spirits. All because she'd believed in the afterlife, part of her still did. But what did the supernatural have to do with anything? 

"Yes," She answered honestly. 

"Well-" Ford continued, "You're about to come face to face with the unexplainable yourself."

"That's very vague," Alice said, tipping her head toward him as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Gravity Falls isn't some quiet, unassuming, backwater town," Ford explained, his hand waving in front of him as if he was shooing flies from his face. He pressed the crumpled journal papers into his pocket, gesturing for her to follow him as he walked. "Much more lurks below its surface."

Alice trailed him as he made his way from the hall, to the living room, and into the gift shop, still listening to his explanation.

"For example, you must have hurt Mabel mention a pterodactyl. Most would say none exist in the living world today, but I say, not if you know where to look." He reached under the cashier counter, pulling a packet of vintage-looking gum from underneath and inspecting it. "Hold on to my explanation for the moment, I need to retrieve some supplies."

Alice yelped as she was ushered out of the gift shop entrance, finding herself on the outside of the shack, the door slamming behind her. Okay. She huffed, leaning against the cooler, scanning the sky for his mythical pterodactyl while she waited. Before she knew it, he was back. The door opened behind her and Ford was suddenly at her side, no different than before. 

She glanced at his trench coat, his pockets didn't look stuffed, so what did he have to get?

"Now where were we?" Ford asked aloud as if he hadn't just told her that there was a still living prehistoric animal in Gravity Falls.

"You were just telling me how Gravity Falls isn't a normal town-" Alice filled in, her brow raised.

"Ah, yes-" Ford nodded, removing a pen and paper from his coat, walking as he began to write. Alice followed, letting her hands fall to her side as she matched his brisk pace. He stopped, smacking a hand to his face. "Oh, shoot. One moment-"

He turned back to the house, Alice staring after him. He's crazy... She told herself. Ford returned, with a butterfly net, but before she got the chance to ask what it was for, he was moving again. Obviously in no hurry to tell me anything- Alice trailed after him, making her way past the Shack and down a well-worn path into the trees surrounding the house. Sunlight peeked through the pines, Ford double-checking what ever was scribbled on the paper before tucking it back into his seemingly infinite pockets.

He stopped, turning toward her with a definitive nod.

"My recipe for repellant called for a sprig of lavender, two thin slices of ginseng, a drop of bat blood, a chunk of amber, and 3.5 milliliters of ink-" He paused, staring at the path as Alice wondered what in the world anyone would need bat blood for. "Obviously, I already have all those components on hand. All except  for one last ingredient: A single moth's wing..."

"Alright?" Alice questioned, her lips pressed tight together.

"From Mothman itself."

"I-" Alice couldn't help her gasp. She swore that she could see the flicker of a smile crossing his face before he turned down the path and continued walking, wind ruffling his hair. "Excuse me?"

"You see, Mothman is the very creature on that page that Waddles seems to fear," Ford explained. "Using a piece of itself should ward it away, or at least lead it to believe that Waddles isn't for eating. I would have already completed the repellent years ago if I had managed to collect that wing."

"Was it..." She wasn't sure what she was asking. "Too difficult?"

"Oh, I just never got around to doing it," Ford continued like he hadn't just dropped the world on her head. "Besides, Mothman used to come bat at this lamp I had lit out in the backyard: it seemed like such an innocent hobby that I never had the heart to chase it off. But if this brings Mabel and her pig some peace of mind, then the time has come to finish this."

He sounded like he was talking about a war, so serious and genuine. It almost made Alice believe what he was telling her, but part of her logical mind knew better than to believe it. She was a scientist after all, if there wasn't evidence, why should she muse this?

Sunlight filtered through the trees, sending dappled shadows across Ford's coat as he led in front of her.

"How do you know so much about this?" Alice asked, stepping lightly over a branch in the path. "I mean- There has to be evidence, right?"

"I study anomalies: Anything unusual, strange, and just plain weird," Ford explained, his foot kicking a stone down the path. "I began my research in this town because it was, and remains, a hotbed of paranormal activity. I made this exact trip years ago- though, at the time, I had no idea where I was going."

He chuckled lightly as if remembering a fond memory.

"It was just dumb luck that I managed to tail Mothman back to its cave from my backyard." He ducked under a branch, his arm holding it up as Alice followed. "Navigating the forest by moonlight is poetic, but not advisable. I made plenty of other discoveries as well: from fairies to gnomes, to amalgams of creatures who were never meant to cross, to... Ah, wait!""

Alice had to stop herself from bumping into his back, Ford's hand ducked into his pocket and pulled the page that Mabel had pushed on him earlier. He smoothed the paper out, carefully, as if it was something irreplaceable.  The papers waved at her hands, and she took them gingerly.

"Take a look at these-" Ford suggested as if he read her hesitation. "They're more definitive proof than just my word."

Alice could easily accept a little more proof as she glanced down at the pages. Fluid cursive told her about "Moth Men", "Beard Cubs", Scampfires" and more than she could have imagined.

"I detailed my discoveries in a series of research journals," Ford explained as she looked over the masterful art on the pages. They looked like pages ripped from a scientific journal, pages that she might have drawn in her own studies. "The remaining pages, at least. I wonder where Stanley was keeping these..."

"You drew these?" Alice interrupted, her voice laced with awe as she flipped over the few pages.

"Yes, of course," Ford answered, seemingly confused. "Who else."

"These ink washes look so masterfully executed..." Alice stared up at him, wide eyes. "And... These details. You couldn't make these up, could you?"

"Hardly- And my work now is far better," Ford smiled at her. Despite the understated words, he looked pleased with himself."But I appreciate the compliment."

"Were any of these creatures dangerous?" Alice asked him, matching his pace as he continued walking. "Or were the docile?"

"Extremely, some were worse- dangerously annoying." Ford answered, his focus returned to the path ahead. Alice hesitated, but he seemed to notice as much. "I do have weapons in case things escalate, so there's no need to worry."

"That's good to know," Alice felt herself relax. "What kind of weapons?"

"Not too many-" Ford elaborated. "I have a stun gun, my fists, and my sharp wit."

She couldn't help herself, she snorted. "I feel safer already."