It struck suddenly with a rumble of the ground. The earthquake was more powerful than the wand's seismic waves. Everyone in the town was lifted off the ground by a couple of feet. Marco, Star, Mabel, and Dipper all felt themselves get picked up in mid air by an unknown force. Then, gravity kicked back in, knocking them onto the sidewalk again.

"Woah." Star exclaimed, getting up on one, foot and then the other. "I really love Earth! Does that happen all the time?"

"Actually, that isn't supposed to happen." Dipper informed the blonde.

"What was that?!" Marco said, patting the dirt off his sweater.

"The portal." Dipper murmured. "It's still running." The boy had completely forgotten about the portal, getting frustrated.

"Oh, no!" Mabel came in. "We gotta get back to the shack!" Before anyone else did, Mabel ran off in a flash.

"Wait, Mabel! Slow down!" Dipper shouted, trying to catch up to his sister. They went dashing through the trees to where an old, wooden house stood. Beyond it, a blue light continued to show itself. Dipper was out of breath by the time he arrived at the doorstep. He finally stopped and hunched over, his hands on his knees.

Stan panicked. The kids were nowhere to be seen. "Kids?" He called out to the empty shack. "Kids!?" He began louder.

The machine only had a couple of minutes left on the timer. Stan needed to hurry. He checked every room, from the gift shop to the attic. Thinking the kids might be out in the town, Stan mentally cursed to himself. He knew he should have been keeping a close eye on them.

Just before Mabel could even lay a finger on the doorknob, her frightened Grunkle flew the door wide open. He nearly had a heart attack when he discovered them standing there. At the same time, however, he was extremely relieved.

"Kids!" He cried, rushing them inside. "Get in here!"

The old man had no time to be mad at them. Instead, he brought them quickly to the basement. Dipper, unlike Stan, didn't give a single crud about the ugly machine. In fact, he couldn't care any less if that monstrosity was torn apart right in front of his own eyes. That would definitely be a step-up from what it was doing at the moment. The lights from the machine acted as flashing warning signs to Dipper, but to Stan, the lights were a signal of hope and a brand new day. The portal's humming sound was like vicious growling to Dipper, meanwhile, Stan heard the portal's sounds as his brother's voice. Though, he could only make out some parts of his broken voice, Stan could still hear it.

It was time he was reunited with his brother. He waited thirty years, enough. Today, he would finally do it. Today was the day.

"Everything changes." Stan whispered to himself.