There wasn't time to further explore the box when they got back to the Shack, though. First, Grunkle Stan announced that Wendy had gone home sick and would they go work the gift shop because he had a tour coming in ten minutes and someone had to watch the register.
Then Soos shouted from the back that the bathroom drains were plugged so nobody flush or use the sink until he fixed it, dudes.
By the time the last car-sick day-tripper had gone and the drains had stopped smelling mysteriously of baked beans, it was well past seven o'clock. Mabel made a stack of her famous cheese-chip-and-ketchup sandwiches for dinner, and Dipper scarfed his down – nearly choking to death on a shard of BBQ potato chip – as quickly as he could.
"Come on," he urged his sister. She took a final swig of milk, wiped off the (impressive) milk mustache, and followed him up to the attic, where the box waited.
But no matter how they tapped and pried and poked and prodded, the box refused to yield its contents.
"Just hack it open!" Mabel finally exclaimed in frustration. She pulled out a hammer and chisel from the tool box and brandished them threateningly.
"But what if we break whatever's inside?" Dipper protested.
"Just open it! The suspense is killing me!" She flopped back dramatically, and closed her eyes, holding the chisel and hammer in the air.
Dipper sighed, but he had to agree. At this point, it was worth the risk.
He took the tools from Mabel's "unconscious" grip and positioned the chisel over one of the box's rust spots. Raising the hammer he—
"Dipper!" Mabel exclaimed.
"Whoa…" Dipper lowered the hammer.
Silver, glowing lines and shapes flowed across the lid and sides of the box, flickering from one side to the other as if the entire box was a high-tech screen. Dipper pulled the chisel away from the box – and the silvery lines vanished.
"Huh," he said. He touched the tool back to the metal, and the images immediately glowed to life again.
"It's like it knows what I'm doing," he said. "And it's to – to what? Stop me?"
"Maybe warn you?" Mabel's eyes reflected the silver glow. "It's so pretty…"
He didn't say it aloud, but Dipper agreed. The glowing lines were hypnotic – and they didn't seem disturbing so much as cautionary. He had the most distinct feeling that they were concerned – or at least that whoever had put them there was concerned.
"Maybe…maybe we should leave it alone for tonight," Dipper said, removing the chisel from the box's surface. The figures and lines faded away, leaving only the rust-spotted metal. "At least until I can look up some of these symbols and find out what they mean."
His sister gave a little groan and flung her arm over her face. "Ok," she agreed reluctantly. "But tomorrow, we are going to own this thing."
"Kids," Grunkle Stan's voice floated up from the living room. "Your show is on!"
Mabel jumped up. "Into the Unknown!" she exclaimed "It's the season finale!"
Dipper followed his sister out of the room, glancing back only once at the box sitting in the middle of the attic floor.
"It can wait until morning," he told himself, flipping off the attic light and closing the door.
The box sat, silent, on the worn floorboards.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, creeping across the floor as the moon rose.
It touched the edge of the box.
The silvery lines burst into liquid flame, franticly rippling over the dented surface.
The box rattled.
Greenish light seeped into the corners of the silver runes, outlining the figures with an eldritch glow. The box rattled again, skittering across the floor. More green – like a glowing smoke – began to seep through the most damaged spots, where rust had weakened the metal. It pooled on the floor, pouring out faster and faster – like one of those Halloween cauldrons filled with dry ice.
There was a low hissing noise, now, and the cloud of glowing mist began to solidify into the shape of a ghostly serpent, not so much puddled around the box as coiled.
A head – loosely-defined, but definitely fanged – lifted up and flicked a misty tongue at the moon.
And then it fled, slithering away into the shadows, where it vanished, leaving the room silent and still and the box empty in the moonlight.
.*.*.*.
.*.*.*.
A/N:
So this thing will be updating on Fridays, looks like, and while the chapters are almost obscenely short, at least it will be regular (which is more than I can say for some of my old Sherlock fics *wince*) Also, anyone who caught the Over the Garden Wall reference - hi. :) I don't actually watch OtGW, but I thought Mabel and Dipper might, and these fandoms collide often enough as it is... Plus it was better than a gratuitous Ducktective reference. And finally: stay tuned! Next chapter is when the action truly begins. See you next week!
