Mabel looked around cautiously, making sure there were no tourists around. She was pretty sure the Shack was closed for the day, but she checked anyway. When she was sure the coast was clear, she knocked on the vending machine. "Dipper?" He didn't answer her, but she knew it was just because he couldn't hear her. She punched in the code and swung the vending machine aside. "Dip-dop!"

"Yeah, Mabel?" Dipper called up. "I'm... I'm a little busy!"

Mabel put her hands behind her back and twirled the toe of her shoe in the floor. "Just wondering if you wanted to go on a mystery hunt..."

"CAREFUL!" Stanford's voice called. Mabel couldn't help but wonder what they were doing down there.

She heard a crash and a little disgruntled moan from her brother, then he called up and said, "Sorry, Mabel, not now!"

Mabel sighed, but she tried not to let the disappointment show in her voice. "Oh... Ok!"

She closed the vending machine and stood with her back against it, sliding down until she was sitting on the floor. She wanted to go do something with Dipper. It wasn't like he never hung around with her. He did. A lot, actually. He still hung around with her more than with Grunkle Ford, anyway. But they never really did any supernatural stuff anymore. He does that all with Stanford now. She never thought she'd miss it with how much she told him he was paranoid, but she really, really missed it. They were the Mystery Twins! How could they not go solve mysteries and stuff like that?

Once she had actually bothered Dipper about it so much (plus it was kind of late at night, and she thinks that has something to do with it) he'd snapped at her. He apologized right afterwards, and it was obvious he had really felt bad. But what he'd said, now that Mabel thought about it, maybe she could use that to get him and do something with her again. "You just don't get it like Ford does!" She could prove she understood it, or whatever it was that Dipper meant by that.

She ran up to the attic. She was, like, 90% sure Dipper still had the third Journal under his bed. She just needed something from that. She stopped to pet Waddles, who oinked happily. Then she crouched beside the bed and put her hand under it, feeling around for the book. She smiled when she felt her fingers run across the old leather. She pulled it out and held it above her. "Huzzah!" She sat on Dipper's bed and started to flip through the yellowed pages. "There's gotta be something in here I can do without doing something crazy," she told Waddles as he hopped up on the bed beside her. She didn't feel like chasing some kind of mythical creature (who would probably end up chasing her) or perform some satanic ritual to get Dipper to tag along with her. Those were the things they should be doing together. Well, not like they should be doing demonic rituals, if there were even any in there besides the one to chase Bill into someone's mind, but if they ever did they should definitely do it together. Waddles oinked, as if he was agreeing with her.

She flipped to that squash with a human face and emotions. She could enchant a squash... but... "Nah," she mumbled, turning the page.

She kept going, eventually reaching the end of the Journal. One of the last entries was a spell-incantation thing that, upon investigating with Dipper's ultraviolet light, Grunkle Ford had never tried, and therefore he didn't know what it did. That gave Mabel an idea.

She would perform it, since it didn't look too demonic, and write down what it did. Dipper would realize she understood it then, right? They could go mystery hunting again, or maybe she could go hang out with him and Grunkle Ford in the basement! What did they do down there, anyway? She tried not to let her imagination run away with her as she grabbed the journal and went to go get some chalk, four candles, and a mirror.

She brought her supplies out to the empty Mystery Shack parking lot and set it down. She took a piece of chalk from the box, and started to draw a kind of intricate circle on the asphalt. There were four smaller circles, reminding Mabel of where the N,S,E, and W were on a compass, to signify where the candles went. She set the mirror in the center of the circle and lit the candles. She took a deep breath and started to say the incantation. It was pretty hard to pronounce the first few words, but after that, the words flew from her mouth as if it wasn't her speaking.

"Alright, what do you want to do, Mabel?" Dipper asked, walking outside just as Mabel had started her chant. When he saw what he was doing, he got nervous. There was no telling what that spell could do. He knew exactly which one she was performing, and how Ford had never attempted it because he said it was too risky. "Mabel! What are you doing?!" He ran over to his sister and put his hand on her shoulder just as she finished speaking.

His vision began to blur, and the whole world besides him, Mabel, and the circle seemed to be spinning. His head felt like it was going to burst. He was certain he couldn't take anymore, and everything faded to white.

Dipper woke up and put his hand on his head. What happened? Where was- oh, right. Why would Mabel try something like that? She had to be crazy. Wait, Bill wouldn't have tricked her into doing that, would he? No, Mabel knows better... Where was Mabel anyway? He looked around and panicked when he saw her lying unconscious on the ground, despite him being out cold just a few moments ago.

He stood up to go over to her, but he suddenly got dizzy and had to stand there for a moment. Once he felt better he went to kneel beside his sister and tried to wake her. "Mabel!" He shook her and called her name again. "Mabel!" He started to shake her more vigorously when she still didn't wake up "Mabel, come on!"

Finally, Mabel sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Ugh... ow..." She put her head in her hands, but her head shot up when she realized Dipper was there. "Hey, Dipper! Augh..."

"Mabel are you okay?" Dipper asked.

"Mostly," said Mabel.

Dipper crossed his arms. "What were you thinking?"

Mabel blinked and rubbed her arm, looking a little guilty. "I was just going to see what that thing did and it- ...well I still don't know." She sighed. "I thought, y'know, maybe you'd do more paranormal kinds of things with me if I proved I got it like you and Ford."

Dipper guessed this was kind of his fault. They only had one summer to spend in Gravity Falls, and the two enjoyed spending it together. If Dipper spent the rest of the summer doing all of the fun stuff with Ford, Mabel wouldn't have much to do besides hang out with Candy and Grenda, and she has sleepovers all the time back home. Plus, those usually happen at night and end in the morning. She didn't have much to do during the day, did she? And then when he finally did something with her, it wasn't as fun as it was before he had met Grunkle Ford. "No, Mabel, I promise we can go on a mystery hunt today. After we have something to eat, anyway." Dipper was starving.

Mabel's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Dipper nodded. "Promise."

Mabel jumped up. She didn't look like she got dizzy like Dipper did. She excitedly grabbed Dipper's hand. "Alright then, let's go!" She ran inside and dragged Dipper along behind her, nearly dislocating his arm.

They thought it all ended right then and there. It didn't.