AUTUMN 1981

Yeesh, this place looked like a Hallmark card.

Stanley Pines drove through the mass of orange and yellow leaves that drifted onto the road from the tangle of trees on either side. With the sun reflecting off the leaves, it was almost too bright for him to focus on the road. And he was sure he'd have some stubborn leaves stuck in the rims of his tires after this.

Still, he had to admit it was gorgeous. Ford scored some great real estate coming here. And now that the high and mighty Stanford Pines had invited his twin brother to move in with him, Lee also scored some great real estate. This was a great opportunity.

He wondered how gullible the townsfolk would be in Gravity Rises.

The winding road continued on and on, and Lee kept an eye out for the landmarks given to him by Ford. He had a map, too, but it was pretty useless in a place like this, where trees outnumbered people and roads frequently lacked asphalt.

"You owe me a tire alignment, Sixer," Lee grumbled to himself as his car wobbled down a bumpy dirt path.

Slowly, the reds and oranges of maple and cottonwood trees bled into the deep greens of coniferous foliage; this dimmed the road significantly. The shady pine trees left gaps of darkness that could easily hide someone. Lee wondered if any supernatural creatures watched him as he drove.

He surpressed a shiver. Maybe he shouldn't think about that.

Eventually, the trees thinned, revealing a teensy little town nestled under a towering cliff. Lee gave a tiny breath of relief as he passed out of the forest and into civilization.

Though the word "civilization" was a bit of a stretch.

Lee slowed his car and ambled down the main street of the town. This place was tiny! He couldn't decide if that was good or bad. A handful of people walked outside, taking advantage of whatever lingering warmth from summer they could find. Down the street, a quaint imitation of a log housed a restaurant called Greasy's Diner. It seemed to be the only restaurant in town.

The red car rumbled up to Ford's lab — it was easy to find, since it was by far the newest building in town — and stopped with a sigh of exhaustion. Lee pulled the key out of the ignition and swung out of the car. "I'm sorry, baby girl," he said, patting its roof. "Those roads were pretty hard on you, huh?"

"Stanley!"

Lee looked up just as the front door closed behind Ford. His twin walked down the porch steps, heading for Stanley with a smile on his face.

Lee's eyes lit up. He hadn't seen his brother's face in. . . what, four years? Five?

"Hey, Sixer!" Lee closed his car door and crossed to his brother, pulling him into a giant hug. Ford squirmed a little — he'd never liked Lee's hugs — but that only encouraged Lee to squeeze tighter.

"Can't breathe, Lee," Ford gasped.

"That never stopped you," Lee replied. "Cut me some slack, Ford, I ain't seen you for half a decade!"

Ford said something, but he couldn't articulate well, considering the constriction on his airway. Lee moved back enough that Ford could repeat himself. "Haven't," Ford wheezed. "I haven't seen you."

For that remark, Lee simply hugged his brother all the harder.

"Good to see you, Sixer," he said. And he stepped back, showing Ford the huge grin on his face.

Ford straightened his shirt, looking a bit flustered. "You're strong as ever, I see. Good trait to have in this line of work."

Lee raised his eyebrows as he went around to the back of his car. "Am I joining you in your work?" He pushed up the trunk, grabbed a duffel bag, and held it out to Ford. "I thought I'd just hang out here, work out a business strategy, improve people's lives in this town."

Ford also raised an eyebrow — a single eyebrow, which was a trick Lee had never mastered. "Improve their lives by selling them vacuums?"

"Nah, I left the vacuums in California. I don't know what I'll come up with here — it sort of just comes to me after a while."

Lee finished unloading the trunk, then closed it. The brothers loaded up their arms with bags that held the sum of Lee's belongings; they were few enough that only one trip was required. "I don't have much free space, I'm afraid," Ford said as they started for the door. "You'll have to be on the couch."

"Better than my usual bed," Lee said, and he jerked his head back to his car. "I love her, but she gives a mean crick in the neck."

Ford paused on the porch steps. "You sleep in your car? But you at least got to stay with Shermie in California, didn't you?"

"Sure, for one night," Lee said. "Then he said I was a bad influence on his kids and kicked me out. But I only taught them to pick locks!" He kept his tone light to hide the hurt; he'd always looked up to his older brother, and it was quite the shock to be turned away. But now that Sherman Pines had a family of his own, he made an effort to keep away from his parents and brothers. Lee had known about Shermie's rocky relationship with their father, Filbrick — the twins had often stayed up listening to the fights before Shermie had left for good — but he hadn't expected that animosity to reach to him.

"I'm sorry, Lee," Ford said. "I wish I could give you something better than a couch, after hearing that."

"Okay," Lee said, "I'll take your bed, then."

He flashed Ford a grin to let him know that he was kidding, but Ford wasn't looking at him. Instead, he watched the front door as it swung open.

"Stanley! What are you doing here?"

Where Ford had called Lee's name with excitement, Fidds said it with a touch of horror. The mechanic's eyes were wide with shock.

"Hiya, Fiddsyford," Lee said. "Nice to see ya. If you'll 'scuse me, I can put this stuff down and give you a proper greeting."

"Fiddsyford" did not seem at all thrilled to see Ford's twin, and he certainly didn't look ready to receive whatever this proper greeting may be. Lee glanced sideways at Ford; it seemed he had not informed his assistant of Lee's impending arrival.

"Fidds?" Ford prompted.

In a bit of a daze, Fidds stepped out of the way.

Lee went inside and dumped his armful of luggage in the living room. "Nice place, Ford!" he said as he turned on the spot. The house-slash-lab was unkempt and dirty, but beneath the neglect of the two bachelors that inhabited its halls, it really was a fine house.

"Thanks." Ford put his own bags down beside the couch, and moved Lee's pile out of the walkway. "Try not to clutter it up, will you?"

Lee snorted. "Please, you were always the one who trashed our room with your science-y stuff. I bet you have whole rooms full of clutter here. Eh, Fidds?" He glanced back.

Fidds blinked, his eyes still wide. It took him a few seconds to respond, and when he did, it wasn't in answer to Lee's question. "You're not — scrabdoodle, you aren't staying here, are you?"

Another grin sprung to Lee's face. He crossed to Fidds, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "That I am, Fiddsy, that I am!"

Fidds squirmed away from Lee's touch, then turned an accusing eye on Ford. "You didn't tell me about this!"

Ford shrugged. "I thought I could surprise you."

"Looks like you succeeded," Lee said.

"He'll ruin everything!" Fidds protested. "He'll get in the way, he'll break machinery, he — this is a terrible idea!"

"Nice to see you too," Lee said dryly.

Fidds ignored him. "We're so close, Ford — we can't afford any distractions."

"He's already here," Ford replied. "I figured we could use a third man."

It was a tactful response. Lee didn't know much about why he was really here; Ford hadn't wanted to explain over the phone. But he had asked Lee for his help with a situation involving Fidds. Now, with Fidds looking so alarmed at the prospect of his presence, Lee figured that Ford wanted some backup with his skittish assistant.

Or maybe he just wanted better company.

"Oh, c'mon, Fidds," Lee said. "We didn't really get to know each other when we met at Ford's graduation. Now we can. It'll be great!"

Fidds turned a baleful look on him, though it quickly evaporated into a cloud of nervousness. "Just st-stay out of my things," he said.

Then he hurried from the room.

Lee turned an amused look on Ford. "Great guy at parties," he commented.

Ford shrugged. "He's efficient when he isn't flustered," he said. "And he's right to be protective of his possessions. I don't want you picking any locks while you're here, okay?"

"Why would I do that?" Lee's face had ever the air of innocence.

Ford gave him a knowing look.

The brothers set up Lee's bed on the couch. Then Ford coaxed Fidds out of their lab, and Lee offered to make dinner. He enjoyed cooking, but one didn't have much chance to do so when homeless. Ford's kitchen wanted for ingredients, but Lee whipped up something decent, and the look on Ford's face when he caught a whiff said that he hadn't eaten good home cooking in quite some time.

Fidds ate the food, complimented Lee on its craftmanship, but stayed mostly silent through the meal. Lee broke the ice as best he knew: with loud laughter and boisterous conversation. The effort only seemed to give Fidds greater reticence.

The ice remained intact.

The next day, Ford began introducing Lee to his work. In his lab, he showed his twin the three Journals, which Lee read aloud with much pomp and circumstance (leading to a furious blush in Ford's cheeks). Mostly, Lee joked around to evade the shock and wonder of it all, not to make fun of his brother. Though that was an added perk.

"Wow, Ford," he said as he finished, "I'm surprised you're not dead yet."

Ford looked up from his graph paper and raised an eyebrow.

"But it's okay," Lee continued. "Now you have your big, strong older brother to protect you from the werewolves."

Ford's eyebrow lowered into a flat look. "Werewolves don't exist, Stanley. And need I remind you that you are only older by fifteen minutes?"

"Werewolves make more sense than some of the stuff in here," Lee said, waving the third Journal back and forth. "Scampfires? Floating eyeballs? Portal potties?"

Ford chuckled. "Fidds went into one of those once. Called me two hours later from the swamplands of Florida."

Nearby, Fidds ducked his head and stared intently at his work.

"We'll have to take you out into the forest sometime," Ford said cheerily, "so you can see some of this stuff for yourself. We haven't been out as much recently, given our main project, but with you we might be able to capture creatures we've been wanting to study for years. How are those knockout patches coming, Fidds?"

Fidds glowered at him. "If I'd known you wanted me to make these so that Stanley could put us in even more danger, I wouldn't have agreed to it."

"Wow, Fidds, why didn't you run out a long time ago?" asked Lee. "Ford's the one who likes danger, not me."

Ford rolled his eyes. "You like a different kind of danger." He pushed back his chair. "Well, now you've finished the Journals — let's go down to the basement."

The sound of glass striking metal rang out, and the two Pines turned to see Fidds slamming a test tube into its holder. "What?" he demanded of Ford. "You can't take him down to the basement!"

"Why not?" the twins asked in unison.

"I'm not letting you near my life's work, Stanley Pines," Fidds said firmly.

"It's my life's work too," Ford argued. "That and the Journals. And I gave him those to read. It's fine, Fidds."

"He'll ruin it somehow!"

"Then by all means, come with us," Ford said impatiently, at the same time that Lee said, "I'm right here, you know."

Fidds glanced between the brothers, his shoulders losing more tension by the second. Finally, he slumped. "I'm coming with you," he said, as if he got the idea himself. He scooped up the knockout patch prototypes, stood from his desk, and fixed Lee with a fierce look. "And if you so much as touch anything, Stan, I'll test these knockout patches on you."

Lee raised his hands in surrender. "Message received."

The three men passed into a new hallway that was littered with boxes, then into a room filled with half-finished metal contraptions. Nearby, a staircase yawned into the ground, and Ford led the way down the steps. "Prepare to be amazed, Lee."

"By your hoarding skills?"

Ford shot his brother an unamused look, then gestured for him to get in a nearby elevator. The men crowded in together; Lee noticed that Fidds' earlier bravado had dissipated, replaced by nervous twitching. What a shame. Lee preferred the more confident Fidds.

The elevator descended, and Ford spoke through the dim light. "All these years of research," he said, and his voice took on a radio announcer quality that Lee knew well, "and we never figured out why. Why there are so many creatures here. Why they're concentrated in this one spot. Why this is the only known place on the planet with these species."

Fidds cleared his throat. "Well, there are those selkies that the nymphs mentioned. They're out there somewhere, hiding among the humans."

This interruption took the wind out of Ford's sails. "Yes, thank you, Fiddleford. Some species have left over the years, supposedly, but it doesn't follow the known patterns of species migration. This area is stuffed full of creatures that shouldn't get along. They should fight each other to extinction or otherwise leave."

"But they haven't?" Lee asked, to throw his brother a bone.

Ford nodded, the movement barely visible in the elevator light. "It makes no sense. We were making no progress in figuring it out. Until last year, when we were contacted by a creature who wanted to help us with our research. He provided a hypothesis that we've been working to confirm ever since."

The elevator came to a stop, and the doors slid open, greeting the visitors with a soft pink glow that radiated from some large glass tanks to the left. Lee frowned at the glowing purple liquid that filled the tanks. "What's this?"

Ford stepped out of the elevator and flipped a switch, adding bright electric light to the eerie glow of the liquid. A huge cavern flickered into view, filled with metal machines. They formed an aisle leading away from the elevator, culminating in a control station with a glass panel above. Lee supposed it was a window, but the purple light was reflecting off of it in such a way that he couldn't see through it.

"This," Ford said reverently, "is our project. Here, I'll show you — the real beauty is behind that glass."

The basement was mostly put together, but various metal parts lay around in the walkway. Ford headed for the control station, deftly avoiding them. Remembering Fidds' threat, Lee picked his way carefully through the room. "This place looks like a horror movie, Sixer," he said. "What's that purple stuff, toxic radiation?"

"We found it in the wreckage of a UFO," Ford said. "It's the fuel that brought the ship here, thousands or even millions of years ago." He pointed Lee through a doorway to the right of the control station. "And it'll fuel our interdimensional portal."

The brothers walked through the door. A hulking triangle, its framework exposed, hung upside down on the far wall, with a gaping circular hole in its center. Lee stared up at it.

Then he burst out laughing.

"Interdimensional — what now?" he said between huge gulps of air.

Ford flushed. "It's no laughing matter, Stanley!"

"'It's no laughing matter,'" Lee mimicked, draping an arm over his twin's shoulders. "I don't speak nerd, but I do know that the word 'portal' means some kind of entrance. That's a rock wall, Sixer! It's no entrance!"

Ford shoved Lee's arm away. "Yes, thank you, I'm very aware of that."

"It's the word 'interdimensional' that matters," Fidds said. "We're building an entrance to another dimension." He glanced at Lee. "That means 'alternate reality,' if you weren't sure."

Lee rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. I thought you guys were scientists. 'Alternate reality' sounds like those comics from that me-impersonator dude."

"Stan Lee?"

"Yeah, that guy," Lee said. "I thought you guys were doing real research up here in Oregon."

Ford's initial embarrassment had given way to the flat derision he resorted to as a defense. "You just read three books full of discoveries like the plaidypus, and this is when you laugh?"

"I laughed plenty while reading the Journals," Lee pointed out. "Right, Fidds?"

Fidds put up his hands and shot Lee an unfriendly look.

"You get what I mean," Ford said. "An interdimensional portal is no less believable than a Gremloblin."

Lee grinned. "Oh yeah, those things looked cool." He dropped his humorous attitude — a bit. "But seriously, Sixer, what are you planning on doing with this thing? Letting more crazy things into this town?"

Ford waved a dismissive hand. "No, nothing's coming out. We're going in."

Lee blinked slowly. When his eyes opened again, his brother looked just as serious as he had before. "Wait, for real?" He turned to Fidds. "And you haven't figured out that Ford's the dangerous one?"

"It'll be the engineering feat of the century," Fidds said simply.

"Well, sure, I guess — if it works."

"It'll work," Ford said confidently.

Lee raised his eyebrows. "Just like the perpetual motion machine worked?"

He probably shouldn't have said it — but he was so shocked that he reached for whatever could pull him back up again. Ford, for his part, seemed to have gotten over the failed machine — mostly. Pink blossomed on the scientist's cheeks as he said, "This is different. This time I have Fidds' genius."

Fidds glanced surreptitiously at Ford — Lee caught the look, but he couldn't tell what it meant. Maybe the mechanic was upset at being referred to as a tool instead of a person. Well, that was a bad habit of Ford's. You got used to it.

The idea of interdimensional travel sounded way too fantastic. The stuff in the Journals — sure, Lee could believe that, because Ford could show it to him. But this? No way. Ford was probably dealing himself another round of crushing disappointment, just like he did with the perpetual motion machine some thirteen years ago.

"Lee? What are you thinking?"

Lee realized two sets of eyes were on him — one mildly anxious, the other hostile. This situation didn't seem like it had a good ending: Opening the portal was dangerous, but failing would be a major psychological blow to Ford. The latter seemed worse than the former, since Ford had done dangerous things before and been fine. But who knew, maybe he would actually succeed. He certainly seemed intent on this portal device — who was Lee to put his brother down now?

"I'm thinking," he said slowly, "that I can handle the tickets. Y'know, once you commercialize this passage to another world."

Ford gave a relieved laugh. "Let's focus on opening said passage first, hmm?"

With a smile, Lee shook his head. "You never can think too far ahead." He clapped his hand on Ford's shoulder once more. "Now, am I gonna have to stare at pictures of these crazy critters all day, or can we go out and actually see some? Let's go get some old-fashioned adventure!"

His suggestion was met with a smile from Ford and a hedged expression from Fidds. But, well, who cared about Fidds? Ford's approval was what mattered here.

And that approval shone down on Lee as Ford grinned. "Sounds great," he said. "Any requests?"