This is a Gravity Falls Mystery Trio AU. I love me some Mystery Trio fluff.

1960-SOMETHING

On a hot, muggy summer day, two boys ran across the beach. Their curly brown hair bounced atop their heads as they raced, one slightly behind the other.

"Wait up!" the one behind called. His glasses slipped down on his nose.

The other laughed and yelled over his shoulder, "Yeah, you should keep up!"

"I can keep up!" the first protested. "You don't even know where we're going, Stanley!"

The beach ended with a scruffy line of grass, a few smatterings of trees on the other side. The boy in front, Stanley, skidded to a stop and turned to face his companion. "Fine then. Where are we going, Pointdexter?"

"Pointdexter" stopped aside his companion and put his hands on his knees. Standing next to each other, the boys were nearly identical, though Stanley was slightly more baby-faced, and didn't wear glasses. Anyone would be able to tell they were brothers.

"Catching your breath?" Stanley asked, bending over to look at his brother, who nodded.

Stanley laughed. "Good thing you've got your smarts, Ford," he said. "I've got the other thing. What it's called?"

"Endurance?" Ford offered, straightening.

"I was gonna say punching." Stanley slugged his brother in the shoulder.

Ford laughed and punched Stan back. "C'mon, Lee. The Jersey Devil's nest is in those trees. If we hurry, we might be able to catch it before dinner!"

"Yeah!" Lee cheered. "Then we can eat it for dinner!"

Ford looked horrified. "Ew! Of course we're not going to eat it! We're just going to capture and study it!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Lee said, rolling his eyes. "For your science stuff. Why am I here again?"

Ford grinned. "Because you're my brother. And you have the other thing, remember? Punching?"

Lee looked lost for a moment, but then a huge grin spread over his face. "I'm gonna punch that Devil right in the face!"

Ford laughed. "Yeah!"

The two plunged into the trees, sidestepping shrubs and dry underbrush. Ford led the way, navigating the small wood to find the nest he insisted he had found the other day. "It was huge! It was like the Devil had flown straight down and just sat right in it. There are even scratches in the trees from its razor sharp wings." He grabbed Lee's shoulders for dramatic effect, making his twin jump.

"Cut it out, Pointdexter. You don't scare me!"

Ford laughed, but Lee stopped moving.

Ford turned. "What?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"When I said 'you don't scare me,' I thought. . . I heard someone else say it too."

Ford frowned. "At the same time?"

Lee nodded, looking around.

"Well I've never heard of the Jersey Devil copying—"

"Shh! Listen!"

Ford shut up, straining to hear what his brother could. There it was: laughter. Harsh, mean laughter.

Ford and Lee shared a look.

Ford shook his head.

Lee nodded.

Then he started towards the voices.

"Stanley!" Ford hissed, with no choice but to follow his brother. "Lee, I recognize those voices! That's Crampelter!"

"I know," Lee said, shoving his way through the tree branches. "They're bullying someone. We gotta protect them."

"But they bully us!"

"I can take 'em," Lee said. "I'll take 'em down, and then that Jersey Devil will see what he's dealing with."

Ford didn't want to tell his brother that he lacked any confidence in him, but he also didn't want to get involved in anything related to Crampelter. He followed, helpless, hoping Lee would come to his senses before it was too late.

Before long, the two reached the end of the copse of trees. Ford caught up to Lee and grabbed his arm, keeping his brother from bursting out of the underbrush. "Assess the situation," he whispered in Lee's ear. "Don't go charging in."

Lee glared at him and shrugged him off, but didn't attempt to leave. The two peered out from behind the trees.

On this side of the wood was a small park. The grass was dry and brown, and a forlorn merry-go-round creaked in the warm breeze. It looked so rusty that it probably couldn't hold anyone without collapsing.

A few feet away from the merry-go-round, a boy was on the ground, cowering beneath three looming figures. Crampelter and his cronies. Of course.

"Not scared of us, huh?" Crampelter jeered. "Then why are you crying, baby?"

"I-I'm not!" the boy stuttered. His voice was strange, like he had marbles in his mouth. Some kind of Western accent?

Crampelter laughed again. "Don't lie to us, baby!"

"Leave me alone!" The boy tried to get to his feet, but one of Crampelter's cronies pushed him back down.

"Talk normal, won't you, baby? We don't talk like this 'round here." This last part he said in a crude imitation of the boy's accent.

"Hey!"

Ford started when he realized Lee was no longer next to him. His twin had done the unthinkable: jumped out into the open and called attention to himself.

Darn the Devil, Stanley! Ford thought to himself. His mother would slap him for such language, but he didn't care. Should he join Lee? Or stay here? His brother was going to get pummeled if Ford didn't do something!

"Look who it is," Crampelter said. "Stanley Pines. Hey, where's your nerdy shadow, Swines?"

What a stupid name. "Swines" didn't even make any sense. Ford didn't know why anybody even took Crampelter seriously.

"There he is!" said one of the goons, pointing at Stanford's hiding spot. Ford gulped and emerged from the bush, taking his spot next to his twin. Crampelter leered at them, his face terrifying.

Right. That's why they took him seriously.

"Leave that kid alone, Crampelter!" Lee shouted. "Quit being such a big jerk!"

Crampelter took a step towards them, and Ford forced himself not to flinch. On the ground, the boy getting bullied looked up at the Pines twins in surprise, then took the opportunity to scramble away from the bullies, taking refuge by the merry-go-round.

"Or what?" Crampelter asked. "You'll pound me?" He snickered, clearly thinking the idea ridiculous.

"Yeah, I will!" Lee retorted, forming a fist.

Crampelter snorted. "Listen, you little idiot. You don't got any brawn. All the two of you have between you is an extra finger and nerd brains. And those both come from your freaky brother."

Ford felt his face heat up. He clenched a six-fingered hand.

"You're just a dumb kid who can't do anything without his weak twin making him look stronger," Crampelter continued, leering in Lee's face. He snickered. "I guess I don't blame you. It's really easy to look strong next to a freak like him."

Lee punched Crampelter in the face.

Crampelter yelled in pain and stumbled back, clutching at his face. It took only a second for him to swing back at Stanley, but the smaller boy was already grabbing Ford's hand and dodging out of the way. "Come on!" Lee shouted over his shoulder at the other boy. The boy looked afraid, but ran towards them. Together, the three dashed back into the woods.

"This way!" Ford said, turning back to the Jersey Devil nest. They could hide there.

The three boys raced through the trees, dodging through small spaces that Crampelter and his goons wouldn't be able to fit through. Finally, they emerged into the Jersey Devil nest: a small area with flattened brush and toppled trees. Ford stumbled to a stop, panting. The other two followed suit.

"I think — we lost 'em," Lee said between breaths.

"Yeah," Ford agreed.

Once the boys caught their breath, they straightened, looking around at each other.

"Hi," Ford said. "I'm Stanford Pines. This is my twin brother, Stanley."

"M-my name's Fiddleford," the boy stammered. "Fiddleford McGucket."

Lee snickered at the name, and Ford elbowed him in the gut.

"Th-thanks for saving me back there," Fiddleford said. His accent really was different, but Ford kinda liked it.

"No problem," Lee said. Ford could've sworn he saw his chest puff out a bit. "We have to deal with those jerks a lot."

"That was brave of you." Fiddleford looked at them with wide eyes.

"Are you new here?" Ford asked. "We've never seen you around."

Fiddleford looked away. "We just moved here. I'm from Tennessee."

Tennessee. That's where the accent came from. Ford nodded. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Fiddleford."

"You can call me Fidds."

"Okay, Fidds," Ford replied. "Welcome to Glass Shard Beach." He grimaced. "I guess you didn't get the warmest welcome from Crampelter."

Fiddleford shrugged again. "It's okay." He looked around the nest, curiosity in his wide eyes. "What is this place, anyway?"

"It's a nest," Ford said, "for the Jersey Devil. At least, I'm pretty sure it is. Have you ever heard of the Jersey Devil?"

"I-is that a monster?" Fidds asked.

Lee nodded. "Ford and I have been hunting it for years. We're gonna be the first ones to catch it!"

"Yep!" Ford replied. "We're professional monster hunters. I'm the scientist—"

"—And I'm the one who takes the monsters down." Lee pounded a fist into his other hand with a grin.

"Woah," Fidds breathed. He looked awestruck. "Have you ever caught anything?"

There was an awkward silence.

"The neighbor's cat," Lee said sheepishly.

"We're working on it," Ford added. "But we'll catch something someday!"

"I bet you will," Fidds said. "Were you guys on a monster hunt before you found me?"

"Yep," Lee said proudly.

"You could join us if you want," Ford offered.

Fidds' eyes widened. "Really?" He frowned. "Who could I be?"

"What are you good at?" Ford asked.

"I dunno. . . I like building stuff."

Ford grinned. "Every team needs a mechanic!"

Fidds' eyes lit up.

"Welcome aboard, Mr. McGucket!" Ford continued, putting out his hand for a shake. "The Mystery Twins are happy to have you!"

Fidds shook Ford's hand, laughing. He looked happier than Ford had ever seen anybody.

Ford liked this kid.

Fidds suddenly gasped. "Hey!"

"What?" Ford and Lee said at the same time.

"You have six fingers!"

Ford instinctively cringed. Lee was the only kid who wouldn't make fun of Ford's polydactyly, so whenever anyone else so much as mentioned Ford's fingers, he would assume they were mocking him.

But then his eyes opened, and he saw the amazement on Fidds' face.

"That's so cool! I didn't even know that was possible! Do you have cool powers?"

Ford blinked. Wait. . . Fidds wasn't mocking him?

"Well, I always say that extra finger gives him his nerdiness," Lee said. "And who knows, maybe he'll morph into some kind of monster when he gets older. Maybe that's how the Jersey Devil came to be in the first place!"

Ford shoved at his twin. "Har, har. I think you're better suited to become the Jersey Devil, what with you terrorizing Ma and Pa." He grinned. "And speaking of the Devil — let's make him appear!"

Lee shoved him back. "Yeah!" Then he blinked. "How are we gonna do that?"

Fidds pointed. "Don't those trees look like something pushed them aside?"

Ford followed Fidds' finger. His heart sped up as he realized the new kid was absolutely right — there appeared to be a path of tilted, banged-up trees that led away from the nest. The Jersey Devil left a trail!

"Hey, nice job, Fidds!" Ford said. "Look at you, already adding to the team!"

Fidds smiled proudly, but it quickly gave way to a nervous expression. "That thing must be huge," he whispered.

"Yeah, but it's no match for us!" Lee crowed. "C'mon, Sixer, Fidds — let's go catch us a Devil!"

And he raced off down the path of twisted trees.

Ford turned to Fidds and grinned. "You heard him!"

With that, he ran off, his twin ahead of him and his new friend hot on his heels.