Dipper slicked back his hair and adjusted his bolo tie. He made sure every strand coiffed just so. He needed to show dominance out there. That was his bread and butter.

His great uncle Stan just showed him the books this morning and they needed more cash to keep the tent afloat. Dipper offered Stan some investment ventures to grow their earnings, but he politely refused. Dipper wished his Great Uncle would let them help him sometimes. He was the only family they had, and he wanted to do the 'right thing' with the town. He would be heartbroken to learn they ran out of his parent's inheritance years ago, but Dipper and Mabel have been fleecing the town sheep and re-filling their coffers.

"You keep staring you're going to break the mirror." Mabel said, breaking his train of thought. He looked in the mirror at his sister changing. Her slender figure turned away from him, but he stared at her bare back as she combed her long brown hair. All she was wearing was black lace panties. He allowed himself a small grin as he watched his sister bend over to pull up her fishnet leggings, a small glimpse of the side of her breast came into view as she worked the fishnets up her legs. She looked over her shoulder and coyly gave him a wink. "Perv."

He shrugged and went back to his own reflection, ignoring the inhibitions of his sister. Mabel finished changing into her matching turquoise suit. Instead of pants like Dipper wore, her outfit was high cut around her hips. The outfit accentuated her long and well-formed legs. She designed the outfits style to match what magician assistants wear in Vegas. It's a great way to draw the audience's eyes away from where they should be looking.

"Five minutes kids." Stan said from outside the door. Dipper closed his eyes and readied himself for the upcoming show. He hated these shows and wished he didn't have to do them.

Mabel sauntered over to her brother and draped her arms over his shoulders. She pressed her cheek against his and gazed into their reflection while running her hands over his chest. She smiled at him. It was a brief, soft smile. Something that seemed rarer and rarer the more she fell down her rabbit hole. Some days were worse than others, but he's always there to pull her out. He put his hands over hers and squeezed them, giving back a smile to mirror hers.

"We look fabulous don't we brother?" She cooed and kissed his cheek. Dipper's face remained stone while Mabel traced his jawline."You still mad you lost our game?"

The mention of their last game drove out any soft feelings for his sister. She knew he was feeling sentimental and she drove her heel into that as fast as she could. She was the one ruled by emotions, not him and she reminded him every chance she could.

"Let's get this over with. I need some supplied for my next ritual… Gnomes won't catch themselves and Jeff is being a little bastard this season. He knows the rules… I get a sacrifice a month." Dipper snapped. He stood and shoved himself passed his sister who was looking at her nails in boredom.

"We'll rain down hellfire on their village later, we must pay the bills first." Mabel said. She touched a blueish green stone that had been set in an ornate hairclip.

Testing Mabel's voice echoed in his head.

I hear you… he replied back holding the exact same stone on his bolo tie. They grinned at each other feeling the power flowing through them. Together, they could do anything they want, and no one can stop them.

With that, they exited their dressing room and stood on their marks behind the curtain.

"Seems we got a full house again." Mabel chuckled. His sister was already pulling social security cards out of people's heads. Their overseas contact pays them handsomely for them. Dipper worries sometimes if they could ever be traced back here, but it's on the bottom of his list.

"Try not to fleece them too much?" Dipper said dryly. "We want returning visitors."

"They always come back…" Mabel chuckled. The green stone in her hair clip glowed momentarily. Dipper sighed and put on his plastic smile. The audience erupted in cheers and the curtains pulled to the sides. Dipper's voice boomed loud enough to fill the tent, enthralling everyone within earshot.

"Welcome… welcome…" he said in his most show many voice he could muster. "Welcome to my humble Tent-o-Telepathy. I am your host… Dipper Pines, as is my beautiful… and available… sister Mabel!"

Dipper's bolo flashed as he projected an image of his sister into the minds of all the men (and some women) in the room in various states of undress, looking eager and helpless. This should be good payback for what she did earlier.

Mabel took a bow, and coyly put her hands over her lips to feign embarrassment at the wolf whistles erupting from the crowd. Dipper could feel her revulsion and pulled out of everyone's mind immediately.

"Three more years… fellas." Dipper said with a chuckle and a wink. "I know what you all are thinking"

You're so dead! Mabel screamed in his head. If she's going to push his buttons, he can push back just as much.

Now you can feel their greasy stares all over you… bitch Dipper snapped. He calmly pushed out the mental assault Mabel threw his way. He'd love it if she broke character on stage, and everyone can see her for the psychotic person she is, but her walls were impenetrable. She'd never crack on stage.

"Alright… Let's give you what you came here for." Dipper said, continuing the show. He scanned the crowd and found a few choice marks. An out of townie sat in front and had a vapid expression on his face. A quick peek showed he is loaded and has an unhealthy online shopping habit.

"You sir… How would you like to help me demonstrate my mental prowess?" Dipper said, and waved a hand to him. Mabel walked over and kissed his cheek, inducing more cat calls as she helped the gentleman up and maneuvered him on stage.

He's loaded. Mabel thought

We're not cleaning him out… it's to easily traceable. Just get the credit cards he uses for online shopping, we can sell them and let someone else worry about fraud protection. Dipper thought.

"Alright sir. In your wallet, you have lots of numbers. They can be on credit cards, library cards, phone cards… pick one and show it to the audience." Dipper said. He pushed out the image of his favorite card, the one he uses for those sites. The man pulled out a visa and showed everyone.

"Alright, now here's the calculator." Dipper said and handed him one. The screen behind him lit up and mirrored the screen in his hand. Dipper correctly guessed in seconds what the 16 digit number was multiplied by itself, divided by pi, square rooted, and so forth. It was a simple trick, since the mark was looking at the screen and giving him the answers… he just plucked it from his mind while he worked. He sent the man back to his seat with the audience cheering his participation.

"Mmm now, dear brother, it's my turn to pick a member of our audience." Mabel said. She waded into the sea of people while Dipper scanned everyone's mind, looking for anything he might take. A shock of Neon yellow and orange followed his sister. The high ponytail and slapping sound of flip flops sent him into a cold sweat.

NOT HER! Dipper thought.

Payback's a bitch. Mabel's though giggled. Oh look, she likes you!

Dipper grinned at the brace filled smile of Pacifica. She overzealously waved at him while walking up the steps to the stage, caught her foot on the last step, and face planted. The whole crowd collectively gasped at the cringe worthy fall.

"I'm okay!" she said and recovered. She dusted off her knees and rubbed her face as if she were trying to mold it into something else. She chuckled and waved sheepishly to the audience who erupted in laughter. "HI GIDEON!"

Dipper locked eyes on the pudgy white haired, pasty skinned teen wearing a blue pine tree hat. He pulled the cap down, trying to hide from his gaze. For a coward, Dipper was mildly impressed how well shielded the boy's thoughts were.

"Well… Since my brother had all the fun… this time I'll take a go at…" Mabel stopped and stared at Pacifica who sat on a stool and bounced, like she was a bottle of pent up energy ready to burst. She reached a hand out to touch her but stopped inches away. Her lips turned to a sadistic smile and she crossed her arms "You… you can do it."

What? Dipper thought. It's your turn, your pick. Do what you were going to do before they get bored of me.

Go ahead… why don't you take the lead with this one? Mabel thought. Something was fishy, but the crowd looked at them expectantly. He was going to have to do something.

Why? Dipper asked. He had to do something soon. The crowd was getting antsy at the silence between the three of them.

Just because… Mabel thought and grinned at him.

Dipper didn't like it… he didn't like it one bit. The crowd waited patiently for someone to do something.

"Okay folks, my sister is going to let me lead her part of the show. Basically, we're going to use our mind reading skills to pull information out of are beautiful volunteer." Dipper said. He grabbed her hand and bowed, kissing the back of it.

How big of a mistake that was.

His mind was immediately flooded with thoughts and impressions.

Oh my god oh my god oh my god he kissed my hand he's so cute but he's weird why am I thinking like this and what about his sister will she be my friend I hope he doesn't think I'm too weird and why does Gideon think this place is strange this is a cool place cool that's a funny word like bacon I like bacon bacon bacon bacon bacon oh purple! I should get purple dresses made! What was I thinking about again? Oh my god he's still staring at me what do I do? He's so cute! What do I say act cool act cool act cool bacon bacon bacon bacon…

Dipper broke the connection with a gasp and stumbled away. Her mind was a constant jumble of thought that won't seem to shut up. He's poked into people's heads on a regular basis, but nothing like this. All he did was touch her and he was bombarded by the ramblings of a crazy girl. She grinned and bounced, oblivious to the sheer onslaught she just gave him. Who was this girl?

"Um… well… that's a mighty busy brain you got up there." Dipper chuckled and walked forward. He reached out again to touch her but paused, thinking better of it.

"Oh! Can you guess what number I'm thinking?" Pacifica asked excitedly. Dipper smiled and nodded. Dramatically he thrust his arms out and scrunched his face to look like he was straining.

"Yes it's…3…4…..2… now 3 again and STOP SAYING BACON!" Dipper shouted. The crowd erupted in laughter. Dipper could feel one of his headaches coming on.

Her eyes became wide as saucers and a stupid grin contorted her face as she bit her knuckles in what apparently was glee.

"He's right… even about the Bacon part!" She said in awe. The crowd erupted in laughter. Dipper was getting annoyed. The jovial atmosphere was not conducive to his plans for this show. He was supposed to wow and mystify them… not act like some cheap circus act.

"Well Brother… enough playing with her… It's my turn…" Mabel said with a grin. Pacifica's eyes locked on him and she nodded with whatever she was told. Mabel pulled out a massive target and positioned it behind Pacifica. Dipper rolled his eyes. Mabel must be getting bored if she wants to throw knives at someone.

"Now dear… I want you to stand here." She said and stood her in the center. Mabel grabbed her cheeks and squashed them like she did when they first met. She moved her face down and kissed her forehead, leaving a big red lipstick mark on her. "Don't move a hair."

Pacifica nodded eagerly. Mabel pulled out twelve wavy pointed daggers from behind her and proceeded to juggle them. Her gem was glowing slightly. The crowd ooo'ed and ahhh'ed at her as she tossed them behind her back and over her head. The bladed arch growing taller and taller. Dipper laughed to himself, He watched her do this without the gem's magic, he doesn't see why she creates a safety net for herself.

"This takes more concentration than one would think…" She said and threw a dagger behind her without looking. It stuck inches from Pacifica's left ear. She paced the stage, keeping the daggers afloat in the air and randomly throwing them behind her. Pacifica showed no sign of fear or flinching at the deadly onslaught. Her cousin on the other hand looked like he was going to lose his lunch in his hat.

Dipper had to chuckle over the green faced Gideon. He was chewing on his hat and shaking like a leaf. There was an outline of Pacifica, and Mabel had one dagger left. She wound up like a baseball pitcher and threw it as hard as she could.

"OW!" Pacifica shouted and winced. The crowd gave a collective gasp. Dipper's connection with them disgusted him. They were more excited about someone getting hurt on stage than the whole performance his sister did for them. Only Gideon was genuinely concerned with her. Dipper was going to check on her, but Mable rushed over. She held her neck, and a small trail of blood trickled down the knife blade that cut her.

"Are you okay dear?" Mabel said, with an almost motherly tone. She gently helped Pacifica out of the dagger shaped outline and to center stage. He almost though she was worried when the slight half smile gave away her real feelings for it. She would have been perfectly fine having the knife jam into the artery and watch the young girl cover the crowd in a spray of blood.

"Yea, it's just a scratch… I'm okay!" She said cheerily. Dipper glowered at his sister. Her perfectly smooth white neck was stained red from her holding the cut with her palm.

What was that for? You never miss. Dipper scolded.

Who says I missed? Mable chided.

What are you up to? Dipper asked suspiciously.

Just… hedging my bets.

Mabel pulled the blood covered knife and tucked it away behind her. She stood next to Pacifica and took her hand to lead her in a bow to the crowd. The crowd cheered as she took another bow. It didn't escape Dipper her minor wince of pain. He hated unnecessary violence, but sadly, that's what Mabel thrives on.

"Why don't you head backstage and wait for me to fix that up?" Mabel said. Pacifica nodded and gave her a hug. Mabel's face immediately went from her showman face to a look of genuine surprise. She headed to the back and paused for a moment, and ran over to give Dipper a hug too. The crowed seemed favorable, much to Dipper's disdain, of the embrace or the coconut smell of her hair.

The blond distraction moved to backstage while Dipper and Mabel finished the show. Stan came out and closed out the house with his comedy act, while selling the merchandise to the rest of the sheep.

OoOoO

In their dressing room, Mabel drizzled some water over the blade of the knife, allowing the blood to wash off into a vial.

"What do you want to do with her, brother?" Mabel said with a chuckle. Dipper pushed out the various ideas she was sending him. Most of them involved her strapped to a table while Mable carve into her. His sister can really get jealous of other women.

"I want nothing to do with her." Dipper said with indifference. "Just send her away."

"Oh what's the fun in that? We can keep her as a pet. She can watch us play that game. I'm sure she'd love to see you lose." Mabel cooed. Dipper felt his eye twitch at the mention of the game. He looked at her from the mirror's reflection as she slipped out of her suit and put on a leather jacket and halter top.

"No." Dipper said. He changed out of his showman suit and donned a comfortable button shirt. He reattached his bolo tie and cape. Mabel rolled her eyes at him. She didn't understand why he always wears it.

"You worried about Gideon? He's a marshmallow." Mabel said with a sigh. "Hehe, remember when we were kids? My birthday party?"

"He has a journal, can't you feel it?" Dipper snapped. He didn't want to go down memory lane with his sister. He wanted to be done with this, get the blond distraction out of here so he can go and refill his potion ingredients. "We need to find it so we can get to the next step at figuring out…"

A birdcage shook frantically, interrupting Dipper's train of thought.

Shut up Bill!" they screamed in unison. A flash of blue scurried to the back of the cage.

"You told her to come back here… we better show up before she snoops." Dipper said.

Mabel held her finger out, indicating he stay for a moment. She poured the water into a small mortar and pestle, added some herbs and the strand of blond hair she had taken off Pacifica they day they met. She grabbed Dipper's hand and raked the blade across his palm and poured his blood into the bowl. Dipper's bolo glowed and he watched the wound knit itself back together. Mabel proceeded to do the same. How long was she planning this?

She quickly mixed together the ingredients and added them to a tea steep. Pouring hot water into a cup, she steeped the tea until the water was a murky brown.

"She should be more agreeable after this." Mabel said with a chuckle. "Even if you don't want to play with her… it's still good to keep a few enthralled servants on hand."

Dipper shrugged. He didn't care. He followed his sister out of the dressing room and into the backstage area where the Kraft table was. Pacifica had already helped herself to what looked to be her second plate of the meats and cheeses. Her neck was already adorned with six kitten paw Band-Aids that covered the cut. She was in mid bite when she saw them and choked for a moment. Rapidly pounding on her chest, she forced the food down.

"Oh hi! I'm sorry! Did I eat too much? I didn't know how long you were, so I helped myself because I figured there was only two of you and this is like… for thirty people and you wouldn't mind because you're so awesome! Did you meet my cousin? He's around here somewhere, but he's gone and I think he's in the bathroom. I don't think he's GOING to the bathroom, but he looked queasy so I'd watch where you step if he's feeling sick to his stomach."

Mabel looked like she was ready to claw out her vocal cords but smiled politely and held the tea up in front of her. Dipper almost cracked a smile when he noticed the cup she picked. It had a picture of a kitten playing with yarn. Mabel was serious about getting the girl to drink her tea.

"Pacifica, you all right?" Dipper asked… not that he really cared. He would have cared if his sister hit her jugular and stained his suit. Blood is so hard to get out of clothes. "I'm sorry my sister was careless."

"Are you kidding? That was awesome! I never had knives thrown at my head before! I knew it was all right… I mean… you would MURDER someone onstage and call it part of the show or anything… then take the dead body to some underground chamber and perform dark unholy rituals to nameless gods that are an affront to all that is good in this world!" She said in a cheery tone.

She knows too much! Make her drink the tea! Mabel screamed in his head

"My you have an active imagination" Dipper said, and put his hand over the tea, stopping his sister from grabbing her throat and pouring the scalding liquid down her gaping brace filled maw while she sputters and gags from the pain. His sister's mental projections were really strong today. He took the cup from her hand and held it. "Are you feeling thirsty? We made you some tea. It's imported, so I'm sure you've never tasted anything like it before."

Mabel sat on a couch next to the buffet table and patted the seat next to her. Pacifica sat down and beamed at the girl.

"You know… other than Dipper and the lady who sometimes works at the counter at the shack… Tambry, you guys have been the nicest to me!" Pacifica said. She took the cup and sniffed it. Her nose crinkled and she shuttered. "It does smell… imported."

Dipper chuckled at the vision of gym socks that he picked up from her.

"Yea, it does smell like old socks, but it will really help if you drink it." Dipper said with a forced chuckle.

Pacifica raised the cup to her lips…

"PAZ!" screamed an out of breath and almost purple faced Gideon. "Been… looking… all over… for you!"

Dipper swore to himself as she set the cup down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"I've been sitting here the whole time… waiting for you." Pacifica giggled.

"Figured… you'd… have… wandered… off." He said catching his breath.

"Gideon…" Dipper said dryly. "Enjoy the show?"

"YOU THREW KNIVES AT MY COUSIN YOU CRAZY WOMAN!" Gideon shouted. It amused Dipper how quickly the bravado fled as Mabel's piercing gaze stared the tiny man down. Dipper didn't even see her draw the knife.

Thunk

"AH!" Gideon screamed as he stared at the dagger buried in the wood between his legs.

"Don't think I've forgotten what you did on my birthday…" Mabel said, dripping with disdain.

THUNK THUNK

Two more daggers stood on the sides of his feet. The boy looked like he would lose his bowels then and there. Pacifica erupted in laughter.

"Oh come on… she's a professional… I was safe!" Pacifica chuckled. "Besides, she wouldn't hurt her boyfriend."

Dipper was taking a sip from a water bottle when the statement left Pacifica's lips. The choking fit he had seemed to only fuel the blond girl's laughter. Dipper had dropped his bottle of water, and reached for anything he could find to clear his throat.

He tasted gym socks.

Mabel stared wide eyed at him and erupted in a fit of laughter to match Pacifica's and sat next to her hugging the blond girl as they giggled up a storm. He stared in horror at a kitten mug in his hand and the burning taste of god knows what his sister brewed up.

He was done. He threw the cup across the hall. It slammed into a wooden post that held the tent up and shattered.

"OUT! OUT! OUT!" He bellowed. A terrified Gideon grabbed his still giggling cousin and pulled her to the exit door. She was purple from laughing so hard. Gideon had to shove her out and slam the door shut. His sister's face was the same shade, she couldn't breathe. She pointed to the cup and fell off the couch on the floor gasping for air.

"I'm glad you find this humorous…. What's going to happen to me?" Dipper said and stood over her. He refused to speak, so he kicked her side. His sister grinned and shrugged.

"Was meant for her to drink… not you. Could be nothing… could be… anything. We're just going to have to find out!" Mabel said.

Dipper kicked the toes of his foot into her diaphragm, knocking the wind out of her and lifting her off the ground momentarily. Her giggling fit subsided and she wrapped herself around his leg and hugged it. He could feel her whole body quivering. She crawled to her feet, clawing on his clothes to pull herself up, breathing heavy. She pressed herself against her brother and clawed his cheek to pull his ear to her lips.

"Someone's in trouble…" She said out of breath and bit his earlobe. Dipper didn't flinch with the pain. He knew she liked it when he did, and he wasn't going to give in to her.

She slapped his cheek, grabbed his bolo tie and yanked on it tightly. Unbridled rage filled her gaze. He felt lightheaded as it constricted around his throat. Mabel tugged on it like a collar and pulled him into their dressing room. It was time to play the game.