As the year went by, the cycle continued.

Dipper followed Mabel's advice and accepted Ford's apprenticeship. Together, they had many adventures, discovering the supernatural aspects of Gravity Falls.

And Mabel started her first year of high school. She may not have Dipper, but she had her friends with her by her side.

But in all this commotion of Dipper and Mabel's situation, what about Stanley?

Well...

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Middle of school year~

It was a bright morning, and the Pines family were enjoying their breakfast.

"So what are we going to do today Great Uncle Ford?" Dipper asked, just before he took a sip of orange juice.

"Well I was thinking we could go visit the old bunker me and Fiddleford made. I'm sure there's still some stuff down there worth observing." Ford replied.

Dipper chuckled a bit, "Heh, actually... I've already been there. We ran into the shapeshifter and he almost killed us."

"Oh?" Ford asked and then laughed, "HA! Why wouldn't you have already found it? Well I'm sure there's still some things we can find."

"Ok!" Dipper said and hurried up to finish his food.

"Welp, I'm gonna go buy us some groceries. We're almost out of food to eat." Stan announced as he got up from his seat.

"Did you say something Stanley?" Ford asked, looking up from his newspaper.

Stan just sighed and left the kitchen.

"What's up with him?" Dipper asked.

"I'm not sure," Ford answered, "I'll talk with him and you can start getting ready."

"Alright," Dipper said, "and good luck."

"Thank you Dipper."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Dipper left to the attic and Ford knocked on Stan's door.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Stanley, could I talk to you for a minute."

"No, go away Sixer." Stan responded.

"Please Stanley!"

All Ford got was silence.

"I'm coming in, ok?"

Ford opened the door slowly and saw his brother banging his head against the wall.

"Stanley?"

"I said GO AWAY POINDEXTER!" Stan yelled weakly and punched the wall.

"Stanley what's wrong?!"

Stan turned around, revealing his face filled with tears. His face was red with sadness and anger, "Are you happy now?!"

"Stanley..."

Stan dragged himself to the ground and covered his face, "Just- just go away. Leave me alone and go off on your adventure with the kid."

Ford came up to Stan and sat down next to him, "Stanley, I've never seen you like this before. Why are you so upset?"

"Why am I so upset?" Stan asked, "WHY AM I SO UPSET?! You're the smart one Poindexter! And you can't even see what's wrong with your own twin brother?!"

"Stanley just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it!"

Stan took off his glasses, cleaned them, and sighed, "Ford, Dipper and Mabel aren't the only ones that have become upset about this situation. We were supposed to travel the world together, just me and you! But now that you can't go, our dream is impossible. And what's worse is that you act like you don't even care!"

"Stanley," Ford said shocked, "I- I had no idea. Why didn't you ever say anything?!"

"Because I knew you would just lecture me on how our dream can't be a reality and that I should just forget about it."

"But it's been a year Stanley! How could you hide this from me?!"

"I- I didn't want you to think that it was your fault."

"It- it is my fault Stanley," Ford replied, "This is all my fault."

"No it's not Sixer!"

"No, that's not what I'm talking about. I already know that me being stuck here isn't my fault, but I am the one to blame for making you feel like this."

"Ford don't-"

"No, this IS my fault. I should've talked to you and try to make things work out. You're my brother Stanley, and my hero. I can't bare to see you upset."

"But there's nothing you can do Sixer, you're still stuck here."

"There is one thing I can do Stanley, I may have 12 PhDs, but there is still something I need to learn: how to be a better brother."

Stan smiled and hugged his brother.

Ford closed his eyes and hugged him back, "And it starts today."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Fooord! I'm ready for our mission!" Dipper yelled as he came down the stairs.

"Great Uncle Ford?" he asked, looking around for him.

He came upon the open door that lead to Stan's room and walked in curiously, "Are you here- oh?"

He saw his two Grunkles chatting and laughing together on the floor against the wall.

"Oh, Dipper! Umm, you see-"

"It's ok Sixer, you can go off on your nerdy adventure." Stan said.

"Actually, Dipper is it ok if we postpone our mission? I'd like to start spending more time with my brother, starting today."

"Oh, that's ok Ford, I get it." Dipper said with a smile, "I'll just go to the library today."

"Thank you Dipper." Ford said.

"No problem." Dipper said, "Twins are meant to stick together."