-CHAPTER ONE- The island

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Somewhere in the Arctic Ocean, on a stormy day, the second of June 2015, the Pines brothers are on the Stan 'O War II.

The wind tossed the boat like a child's toy.

'Hey, Sixer help me with the sail,' Stan screamed.

'I'm coming Stan,' Ford replied.

'Ok but make it quick,' Stan pleaded.

Ford ambled over and helped Stan reef the sail.

'Let's go below deck until the storm subsides,' Stan said.

They fought the rolling of the ship and managed to make their way over to the railing that led to the cabin below.

Ninety minutes passed in which the brothers remained silent and prayed to the gods that their vessel remained intact. Calm returned to the feisty ocean. Ford ventured out, telescope in hand.

'Stan, I think the storm has driven us closer to the island we have been looking for.'

'No kidding.' Stan walked up to his brother and took the telescope. He peered through it.

'You're right, we are.'

When they are within reach of the island, they cut the engine, anchored the boat and lowered the dinghy. They climbed down and rowed towards the rocky shoreline.

'It's hard work,' grunted Ford.

They reached the island without incident, jumped out and dragged the dinghy up the wet sand.

Stan looked around and winced.

'Wow this place is a dump. Look at all the ruins, Sixer. What the hell has happened here?'

'I don't know for sure, but the ruins seem to be older than any civilization we currently know of.'

'Wow that's old. How do you know all this, Sixer?'

'When I was researching the strange phenomena in Gravity Falls, I found ancient inscriptions that mention this place.'

'Why wasn't the information in any of your journals?' Confusion riddled Stan's face.

'Simply because it was nothing more than a pipe dream. I had no transportation, and it's taken us forever just to find the damn place.'

Stan nodded. 'Can you explain why the island is dotted with shipwrecks?'

'Krakens destroyed them, I guess. We saw quite a few of them on our voyage but managed to stay clear of them. These vessels weren't as lucky.'

'We outmatched the disgusting beasts, right Sixer? Give me a high six!' Stan shouted, raising his own five fingered hand.

'Quiet, Stan. You never know who or what is lurking about. Wait, I think I can see the cave the inscriptions mentioned. Do you see the dark oval between the rocky outcrops over there? Yes, it definitely is a cave.' Ford could not contain his excitement. The brothers walked over and entered the cave confidently.

'Sixer, it's dark in here. Do you know where the light switch is?'

'Relax, I have a flashlight,' Ford replied, pulling out his flashlight and switching it on as they ventured deeper into the grotto.

They came to a fork. Two tunnels led into the darkness.

'If I was an idiot, I would have said we should split up, but that never works in the movies or on television. Especially not in horror movies right, Sixer?'

Ford carefully considered each tunnel.

'That one,' he said pointing to the left. 'Let's go.'

They walked down the chosen tunnel for quite a while, before Ford noticed that they had ended up precisely where they needed to be. The walls were covered in paintings and in the centre of the large cavern, an oval tablet had been positioned on a roughly hewn pedestal. The object was covered in writing. Stan scratched his head.

'Finally, this is exactly what we have been looking for. The ancient inscriptions on this stone will lead us straight to the crystal,' Ford said excitedly. He took out his notebook and copied them down.

'I'm done. Let's go back to the boat and get the heck out of here.'

'It's crazy to think we have finally found the island. We have been searching for a long time and suddenly everything falls into place. I can't quite believe that these inscriptions will lead us to the crystal,' Stan mused. He took in his surroundings.

'They will, right after I have deciphered them. It may take a while.'

'I mean look at these inscriptions and the paintings. It's beautiful. We should set up shop here, and charge people ridiculous prices for a tour of the cave. It will be known as the Mystery Shack II; The Cave of Wonders and we can sell a load of pointless merchandise,' Stan said drooling.

'Oh, Stan I wish we could,' Ford said, and they both laughed, knowing that this would never happen.

They exited the cavern and walked back towards the entrance. As soon as they could see light, Ford took out his phone and dialled a number.

'Hi who is this?' asked the voice on the other end.

'It's Ford. We found the coordinates to the crystal. Thanks for helping us and for everything you have done for the past three years,' Ford said.

'No problem. Always glad to help my friends,' the voice said before hanging up.

Fred and Stan reached the dinghy, heaved it into the water and returned to the Stan 'O War II.

'It's time to return to Gravity Falls.' Ford said as he started the engine.    

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