Thank you guys so much for all of the positive and informative reviews! Now obviously I will not be doing every single episode, but I'll try to nail down my favorites to re-enact.

As always, please read and review! I'd love to hear what you have to say about this one.


Giving the kids sugar-infested pancakes and syrup for breakfast? Probably not the best idea.

Stanford Pines sipped down his coffee slowly, trying in vain to ignore the mayhem that was ensuing after breakfast. They were nuts; totally out of control, and the many silent mornings that he had enjoyed for years before now he was missing greatly.

He winced as yet another shriek rang through the air. The twins were playing some kind of game that from what he observed was a mix between tag, hide-and-go-seek, and wrestling all while making as much noise as possible. Yes, he had things to learn…and yes, his blood pressure was steadily rising.

But he had asked for this, so he had to take care of it. Be responsible.

"Hey, kids!" Putting on the biggest and fakest smile he possibly could, Stan abruptly sat up from the table, "You guys wanna play a different game?"

This got their attention; they were practically at his feet in seconds.

Mabel shook her fists eagerly, "Like what?"

"Like…" He grabbed their shoulders and spun them around before pulling a black cloth over their eyes and tying each tightly around their heads, creating make-shift blindfolds, "…Let's see what it's like being blind for a day!" Try running around like a couple of little maniacs now. He felt like some kind of care-taker genius.

"Um…" Dipper waved his hands out in front of himself before taking a cautious step forward, "Can we take them off now?"

"Uh, not yet." He was immensely enjoying the peace and quiet for a few minutes, because it allowed him to think about what he wanted to do today. Something…non-stressful. Where he could just relax all while keeping an eye on these two and somehow be within an arms length of them in case something went wrong. Something like…

A grin spread up his face as the perfect idea sprung into his mind, "Alright, let's play a new game; get into your Grunkle's car and drive somewhere else!" Placing a hand on each of their backs, he guided them outside, down the stairs and into the 'Stanley mobile'.

Seating himself in the front, he began the bumpy ride. As usual, the road was blurry and he squinted to keep on track and…well, not crash. The other drivers on the road always helped him out with a honk or yell here and there.

"You guys buckled up?" He called over his shoulder, jerking the wheel to avoid a rock that had practically just grown legs and jumped out right in front of the car, "Safety first, ya know!"

Two hasty 'clicks' sounded from behind him.

Dipper cleared his throat, "Grunkle Stan?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you blind too?"

Stan laughed, rolling his eyes, "No, but with these darn cataracts I might as well be."

"What's a cataract?" Mabel asked, voice hitching as the vehicle hit an oversized bump.

"They're…uh, well, they're kinda like…I dunno, just let me focus on the road." He sighed, eyeing the meter on the dash, "Man, am I really that low on fuel? I didn't bring the cash to fuel up again…hold on, kids! We're taking a short cut!" With that, he steered right into a wooden fence which was demolished with ease in a flash of splintering wood.

From there it was a blur of bushes and trees that were just barely avoided. There were a lot of perks to knowing this town and the woods surrounding it like the back of your hand, and this one in particular was being able to avoid twenty bucks of fuel via shortcut. Mind you, he could hear the car once again getting battered, scratched, and groaning as bits of twigs and rocks were lodged into the grill, but it was a small price to pay.

Another 60 degree incline later, and the wheels gratefully touched down on paved ground and skidded to a stop.

"We're here!" Stan led the kids a distance away from the vehicle, taking a moment to admire the view. A simple but large lake stretched in and out of view, a nearby gear lodge heading the many crooked docks that stretched out, "Isn't it a beauty?"

"I don't see anything." Mable mumbled, alerting him to the fact that he had yet to remove their blindfolds.

"Oh, yeah." He jerked the two cloths off of their heads and watched expectantly as they got a good view of their surroundings.

Dipper's eyes widened excitedly, "Are we going swimming?"

"Ha, of course not!" Stan didn't catch the look of disappointment on the twin's faces as he began a cheerful pace towards the docks.

"Then what are we doing?" The brunette stretched his arms out, running to keep up.

It was obvious, but if he really needed to give an explanation, he would, "We're fishing, knuckleheads! Season just opened up." It didn't invoke the reaction he'd been hoping for; they both just suddenly looked very concerned, "What? Ya never gone fishing before?"

"No."

"Well, you're about to, then. It'll be fun! Look-"He reached into his back pocket, "-I even got ya some gear for the occasion." Plopping the two floppy hats onto their heads, it was clear that he'd definitely gotten a much bigger size than he'd intended to, but it would do for now.

"…Who's Dippy?"

"Forward march!" By the looks of things, a good portion of the town had also decided that this would be a good day to be out on the water as well. He breathed in the scent of scummy water, old grill food, and water-logged wood with satisfaction; It was gonna be a good day.

He led his smidge of family over where several boats were docked and stepped over to a decently sized shiny white motorboat. Unlocking the chain, he lifted the kids up and into it.

"This is yours?" Mabel leaned over the side.

Stan smirked, "Yep! Won it in a bet with one of the guys from the lodge. Gotta say that was the best- WHAT THE HECK?!" He had suddenly noticed the scratchy writing scrawled across the side of his precious watercraft, reading, 'S.S. Cool dude.' Now that he was looking harder, a few other ridiculous accessories were decorating it as well, such as random splotches of paint and toys tied to the front, "Oh, for the love of…SOOS!"

The twins winced as he yelled and then watched curiously as an older boy, about fourteen, stepped out from the cabin, "Oh, hi there, Mr. Pines!" He smiled nervously.

The older man tried to take even breaths, "Soos, when I said you could come along to fish with us today, I didn't mean mess with my boat! You know how much I paid for this thing- well…it was free, but it's the principle that's important!" He stomped a foot.

"Sorry, but I wanted it to look cool for our big day out!"

"Ok, maybe I wasn't clear…I want you to start scraping all this stuff off right now before I cancel this whole thing altogether!"

The boy seemed to get that. He saluted and ran past to the front of the boat to begin work, "Yes, sir!"

Stan felt exhausted and he hadn't even started the ruddy boat yet, "Let's get this show on the road already…" Using a key he pulled from his jacket, he started the boat in one twist and listened to the motor snarl and bubble in the water, "You guys ready to have the time of your-"He leaned back, frowning, when he realized that the twins weren't where he could see them.

There they were; leaning over the edge of the boat and watching something. Now what? So many interruptions. They could all be out skewering worms and gutting fish by now, "Hey, what's goin' on?"

His jaw locked in instant anger when he spotted a man speaking to his kids. A scrawny one wearing clothes that looked patched together fitting the disheveled look of his graying, slightly overgrown hair. It looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days and his hands were subconsciously tapping against the bristled side of his face.

Oh, not today. He could practically feel his blood pressure steadily rising, "HEY! Whaddya think you're doing?!"

"Oh!" The man jumped and eyed him with caution, "Wh-why, Stanford, I didn't see you there! I was just warning these children about-"

The scratchy Southern accent was doing nothing for his nerves, "Get to the point!"

"DANGER!" All three jerked their heads back in surprise at the sudden change in tone, "YOU'LL BE EATEN ALIVE IF YOU TAKE THIS BOAT INTO THESE HERE WATERS!" He hunched over and placed his fingertips together, staring into the distance with narrowed eyes.

"…By what exactly?" Stan hated to humor this sad display.

"By…the Gobblewonker-"

"Okay, that's it; we're going." He shooed the kids to the other side and grabbed the steering wheel tightly, imagining it to be a certain someone's neck. Boy, what a creep.

Dipper stood on his toes, trying to get a last look, "Who was that?"

He blew out a breath, "Just…a crazy cook called McGucket. He's not important and should be ignored." The boat revved to life and began a steady trek across the lake, a strong gust of wind nearly taking everyone's hats off.

The trip was smooth save for one rough patch where the entire craft seemed to jump out of the water for a moment, but as no one fell out or hit their heads, Stan added it to the growing list of things that 'should be ignored.' Really, he was sure that it was what had kept him sane all these years.

After finding a perfect spot in the shade of the cliffs, the boat finally slowed and puttered until it had completely halted. He pulled the key out and walked onto the deck to see where thing one and two were, "Now then, let' skewer some worms and catch some fish!"

All three were sitting at the front of the boat. Soos had apparently brought some kind of hand-held electronic device that Stan was not at all familiar with, and the twins were pressed into his sides, watching the thing with keen interest as if it somehow outdid all of the fun that they were about to have.

"Hey!" He snapped a finger loudly, getting the teen's attention, "Put that thing away. We came here to fish, not rot our brains."

Mabel folded her arms, "Aw, but I wanna rot my brain!"

Soos appeared encouraged by her comment, but upon seeing the annoyed look being sent his way, he quickly put the device aside. Good. Now they could finally do what they'd come out here to do in the first place.

He wasted no time in snatching up the reels and shoving them into every open hand, "Who here has no idea how to cast?"

Dipper raised his hand, but Mabel's stayed down.

Now that didn't make any sense, "How could you not know, but your sister does?"

The boy rolled his eyes, "Dad has one of those things and she found it and used it until she hooked Mom."

Stan couldn't help but chuckle, "Good enough for me. Soos, you watch Mabel; I'll teach the little guy how to fish." Placing a hand on Dipper's back, he guided him to the other end of the boat where there would be no danger of hooking the other passengers, "Ok, so what ya wanna do is hold down this little doo-dad while you yank the pole back-" He demonstrated, "-then throw it forward while ya let go, and there!" With a perfect 'plunk' the hook landed in the water a few yards away, "It's easy! You wanna try?"

Dipper began to rub his shoulder gently, eying his Great Uncle with scrunched eyebrows, "…I-I'll just watch."

"What?" Was this kid nuts? There had to be something wrong with a child who didn't find fishing the least bit appealing, "Why not?"

"It looks hard. And fish are scary." Was the simple response.

Oy vey. He subconsciously face-palmed himself, "Listen, just because something looks or is hard, doesn't mean that you never give it a shot! You'll miss out on everything. And scary? You wanna see scary? Uh…let's see…" He scanned around until his eye caught something.

Wrapping one arm around his great nephew's waist, he lifted him up to easily see over the side of the boat, "I'll compare 'scary' for ya so this won't seem so bad." He pointed at an island only about a quarter of a mile away wrapped in fog, broken or dead trees sticking out here and there, "'Scary' is that spooky hunk of land over there that's probably never been stepped on by man. In comparison, fishing isn't all that-"

But Dipper had suddenly lurched forward in his arms, eyes shining bright, "Can we go there?"

"Uh…" Had everything he'd said just flown right over his head? So he wasn't afraid of dangerous wildlife-infested islands, but he was afraid of some slimy fish? This did not add up, "No, kid, we're fishing. Remember?"

"But it looks cool and I wanna explore it."

His temper was being tested with this day. He dropped him on his feet and shoved the rod into his small hands, "I said 'no', and I mean it. Now we came here to fish so get that through your thick noggin and start fishing."

Shaking his head, he headed back to check on Soos and Mabel, "Guys, how's it going?"

"GRUNKLE STAN, I CAUGHT A FISH!" Mabel attached herself to his leg and waved her tiny trophy triumphantly in the other hand.

A grin spread up his face. This girl was as golden as they get; there Dipper was arguing with him and here she was doing exactly as he'd told her and being darn good at it, too, "Look at that! He's a big one, too."

"Uh-huh! I called him Tommy."

He snorted, "Good name for a fish, I guess. What about Soos?"

Mabel frowned, "Oh, he didn't catch one yet." She pulled herself up a little to whisper, "I think the fish hate him."

Soos shrugged, "As long as I get a nibble once in a while I'm good, dude."

Smirking, Stan gently took the rod from Mabel, "Here, give me that. I'll catch a friend for Timmy."

"It's Tommy." She followed him and observed with fascination as he expertly cast the line practically miles ahead of where hers had landed, "Wow! How'd you do that?"

"Practice, kiddo. You'll be this good…and maybe a little better someday if ya keep on it."

"Really?"

"Believe it." His smile intensified as a quick tug pulled the line, "Looks like we've got company! Soos, Ready the net!"

The heavy boy reached back and armed himself with the green-handled net before rushing over by Stan's side and holding it out over the water, "Ready!"

The elderly man's reeling got more and more vicious as the prized fish was pulled towards them. It broke the surface in a desperate lunge once, revealing itself to be a good foot or more long. This only weakened its chances as that caused instant excitement.

And, over Mabel's ecstatic screams, it was unceremoniously jerked out of the water and hit the deck with a 'splat'.

"Get him in the net, Soos! The net!" Stan herded the flopping fish with his foot, trying to keep it from making an escape.

Unfortunately, in the thrill of the moment, Soos fumbled and the net rolled across the floor, "Sorry!" He chased after it.

All eyes went on the fish, which slid suddenly towards a crack leading to freedom in the hull, "No!" Stan stretched his hands out, but it was too late. Tommy's friend had vanished.

"Awww…" Mabel tossed the friendless fish on the ground in disappointment, "He got away…"

On most days this would have bothered him, but it didn't seem worth it right now. It was just a piece of lunch meat, after all, "It's alright…" Stan puffed, "There'll be more." He yanked a can from his pocket and pried it open, taking a worm out to re-skewer, "Mabel, could you check on your brother? Make sure he hasn't hooked himself or anything."

"Ok." She trotted away, but was back in an instant, "GRUNKLE STAN! DIPPER FELL!"

"WHAT?!" Shoving past her, he slammed into the rail on the other side and stared directly down, only to see nothing in the water. Eyes scanning everywhere for the little brown head of hair, he caught sight of the kid…close to that darned island.

He hadn't fallen out of the boat at all; the brat had jumped out and swam towards the place he'd been told he couldn't go. Wow.

It appeared that he'd gotten a hold of some kind of flotation device, so fear of him drowning was gone, but it was being replaced quickly with the desire to claw his own eyeballs out with frustration. Stan felt beyond done with this day. Why hadn't their parents warned him about that kid's wild behavior? Maybe just said, 'Oh, keep an extra eye on him, please. He tends to wander.' Something, anything.

Stan raced the boat towards the island as fast as it would go, knowing that Dipper had probably already reached solid ground. He could only hope that he would stay put when he did.

But no. He wasn't that lucky. Never.

As soon as the hull grinded against the rocks of the shore and he had leaped out, it was clear that he had run off. Great. He spun on his heel, "Do we have a flashlight or something?"

"Uh…" Soos reached down and lifted up a lantern, smiling hopefully, "Is this okay, Mr. Pines?"

"It'll do." He snatched it away and began to walk towards the woods, "You guys stay here. If I don't come back in an hour, my will's in the second floorboard from the base of my bed. Got it?"

Mabel nodded, eyes wide, "Is Dipper gonna be okay?"

"Not if I get my hands on him…" That had sounded harsher than he'd meant it to be, but he was genuinely annoyed. So…it was justified. Maybe.

As he made his way deeper and deeper through the trees and bushes, the fog became heavier and despite his having the lantern, he found himself squinting to see, "Dipper!" This place hadn't appeared so big from a distance, but in all truth every step he took was beginning to feel like he was walking deeper into a pit.

Despite his earlier threat, he really was growing concerned for the little guy. Who knew what kind of wildlife could be lurking around, hungry for a snack, "Kid! Get your tail over here!" He paused, listening for any kind of response, but the most he got was the rustling of overhead branches as squirrels leapt through them.

Maybe he wasn't being loud enough. Clearing his throat, he sucked in as much air as his lungs could hold, and was about to completely break the silence for a mile around, when something else did instead.

His breath came out in a startled rush as a booming roar echoed through his bones and resounded off the surrounding trees, "What the…?" The ground, oddly enough, had begun to quake under his feet, setting off red flags in his head.

Then there was a following sound. A scream, more like. A young boy's panicked scream for help.

All thoughts of running were instantly erased and Stan dodged in that direction, a sick feeling dropping in his gut, "DIPPER!" But he didn't need to go far; something small crashed into his legs a moment later.

"Grunkle Stan!"

Thank all that was holy, it was Dipper and he was very much alive. A little scratched up, but still breathing, "Kid! Why are ya running?" Important questions first.

Dipper panted and stood up, eyes darting nervously over his shoulder, "There's a monster and we need to run, please!" He snatched at his Great Uncle's sleeve and yanked.

"From wha-"One glance sideways gave him the answer. Neck stretching the head above all vegetation, an enormous gray lizard was fixing them with glowing white eyes. It also appeared to be moving steadily in their direction. Not good, "Oh, sh-sugar honey ice tea…" He scooped Dipper up into his arms and ran.

By the increase of vibrations, he could only guess how close it was getting to them as his breathing was starting to come out in ragged gasps. Legs burned, vision was blurry, and the massive kick of adrenaline was less than comfortable. All of the energy that had been left in him today, physically and mentally, was being utterly expended.

Dipper yelped when a large pine crashed down right next to them, but Stan tried hard to ignore it. 'Just a little farther away. You can make it, you can make it…' With a last leap, he touched down on the rocks lining the edges of the island and spotted the boat that he never thought he'd be so happy to see, "START THE ENGINE!"

Both Mabel and Soos' eyes were as round as saucers as they took in the situation.

Stan took bounds across the last of the land, clutching the boy to his chest when he tumbled back into the watercraft, "GO, GO, GO!" He craned his neck to see the creature smashing through the forest to follow, mouth agape and fangs dripping with drool.

His eyes widened with horror when he realized it was preparing to jump and land right on top of them. Scrambling wildly, he shoved Soos away from the controls and jammed his foot onto the gas, shooting them forward just as it careened into the rocky shore where they had been moments before.

Upon impact, a sickening metallic crunch blasted over the water and sudden showers of blue and purple sparks flew from its head, sprinkling down from the sky. Something wasn't right here.

He jerked the key out of the ignition and watched the creature slump sideways on the shore, more sparks resulting as it began to roll deeper into the water. Then, with a rather peaceful splash, it had disappeared into the depths and it was all over.

There were so many questions racing through his mind. Too many. It hurt to think. It had all happened so fast.

"Kids…you alright?" A squeeze on his leg alerted him to the fact that Mabel was latched onto it, and Soos was leaning against the railing, stunned. He stepped over to the teen and patted him on the back, "I think we've had enough fishing for one day…how's about you drive us home." It wasn't a request, it was a demand. He honestly didn't trust himself to drive that thing right now.

Soos nodded, saying a muffled, "Okay, Mr. Pines." And stepped to the cabin to begin the weary return.

"Mabel, sweetie, could you let go of my leg?" He pushed his hands under hers and gently pried her off.

She wrapped her arms around herself in a makeshift hug, "Grunkle Stan, what was that?"

He bit his lip, "Uh…an overgrown lizard. Nothing to be worried about." They made a big mistake putting these kids under his care, "Hey, don't look so worried! I got it taken care of!" He had no clue what he was doing. Send help.

Mabel gave him the smallest of smiles before walking back towards Soos. He set his jaw tighter as he walked across the deck to the front where he found Dipper sitting by himself, knees drawn up to his chin, and a cross between guilt and regret plastered on his face.

The look only grew more intense when he spotted his Great Uncle.

"Well," Stan crouched down in front of the boy, "Whaddya have to say for yourself?"

Dipper bowed his head, "…Sorry."

Gosh, was it ever difficult to be truly upset with him. The elder twisted his legs under himself so that he was sitting next to him and sighed, "Could you tell me why you did it? Needs some explanation."

The boy flinched and glanced at him, "I didn't think you were being fair, and I wanted to look at the island, so I did…"

The kid was stubborn, he'd give him that. The bull-headed trait that most Pines seemed to have had apparently gotten his great nephew at a young age, "And was that a good idea or a bad idea?"

"A bad one. Mabel could've gotten hurt." Some tears were shining at the edges Dipper's eyes and he reached up a small hand to wipe them away, "…Are you mad?"

Yes, he was mad. They could have gotten killed, not just hurt. It could have been disastrous, and it would have been all this kid's fault…but it hadn't. They were sitting here, just fine. Not dead. He placed his hand on Dipper's shoulders and pulled him a little closer, '"Mad' isn't the word for it, kiddo. Just promise me that you'll never do something that stupid again."

"I promise."

"Good. And next time you decide to give me a heart attack, ask first, alright?"

"Okay, Grunkle Stan." Dipper hugged his arm and smiled shyly at him, "I promise."