Early the next morning, Dipper descends the stairs and walks into the dining room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He opens the fridge and grabs a jug of non-toxic Mabel Juice, pouring himself a glass.
"Trying to kick yourself awake, kiddo?" Stan asks, reading the newspaper.
Dipper nods, drinking the soft drink cocktail, "well Gruncle Ford wants to inspect something today, has he told you what it is?"
Stan shakes his head as Mabel walks in, "unfortunately no, he hasn't."
Dipper gives Mabel the jug of juice and she pours herself a glass, "well he's never let us down before."
"Wait, what are we talking about?" Mabel asks, still tired as Waddles lays down at her feet.
"Gruncle Ford is going to take us into the forest to inspect something that Robbie told him," Dipper informs as Melody and Soos enter the kitchen.
"Are you guys just going to run on sugar?" Melody asks as Soos pours a glass for himself.
"Well this is obviously important if he's not telling us anything. If he wanted to take us on a monster hunt, he'd say," Stan says, flipping the newspaper and taking a sip of his own glass of Mabel Juice.
Ford enters the kitchen, fully clad in his boots and trench coat. He pours himself a glass of Juice, "I see everybody's dressed, everyone, glasses up and lets go meet the others!"
Everybody besides Melody downs their juice and follow Ford outside and into the forest. Dipper hears shaking and looks up to see Spots hopping on the branches, following them. They make it to this clearing, the rest of the Zodiac are already there. There's this slight dent in the grass. Dipper notices this.
"Uh, Gruncle Ford, what's up with that dent in the grass?" Dipper asks.
"That's because Bill used to be here, until Robbie told me he was walking up here a week ago and found the place devoid of any statue. Of course, it looks like it's been empty for a year," Ford says, kneeling down and touching the dent. Spots thumps down, startling Pacifica and Gideon.
"I've tried scannin fer magic, but I got nothin'," Fiddleford says, walking up with a device.
Dipper removes the swirling translucent blue orb from his vest pocket, stopping to stare at it, "Uh, guys, this thing is finally doing something!"
Gideon walks up to him, "it kind of looks like it's watching us."
He jumps from side to side and the swirl follows his movements.
Dipper walks to the dent and waves the orb towards it, "Miss Jaina, blue haired guy, Bill Cipher was right here, if you're watching we could use some help."
Mabel looks at him, confused, "how do you know it's them?"
"Well, that blue haired guy gave it to me and he was with Jaina," Dipper says.
Wendy thinks for a bit, "well that makes sense."
Ford moves to inspect the orb, "ah, it must be some form of Scrying orb."
"Dude, that is really freaky stuff," Robbie comments as the swirl focuses on him.
Pacifica walks up and taps it, "does it do anything else?"
"So uh doods, I'm going to walk back up to the shack and see if that Jaina dude is here," Soos says as he walks off, leaving the others there. Spots sniffs at the dent and growls.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Stan says.
Ford nods, "it definitely smells fishy."
Soos returns with Jaina, "got her doods."
"Lady Jaina, do you have any idea what's going on?" Ford asks the mage.
Jaina nods, "Kalecgos and I have a few suspicions, but unfortunately nothing that will help you."
"Do you want this back? Also, who's Kalecgos?" Dipper asks, extending his hand with the orb.
Jaina takes the orb, "he's that blue haired human that gave you this."
Mabel gasps, "is he your boyfriend?!"
"yes he is," Jaina replies, laughing.
"Wait, Miss Jaina, how did you get here?" Pacifica asks, walking up to her.
"I made a portal here, I made the same one two years ago for The Pines family."
"Whoa, that's awesome," Wendy says with a grin.
A portal opens up in the clearing and Kalecgos steps out, carrying papers, "greetings, I am Kalecgos, mage of the Kirin'Tor and former Blue Dragonflight Aspect."
"Dragon?! You're a dragon?!" Mabel yells, bounding up towards him.
"Yes I am, although the Dragonflights have been disbanded after the events of the cataclysm," Kalecgos says, organising his papers.
"I'm not going to bother asking, that sounds complicated," Dipper says.
"Well we are pressed for time, literally, Nozdormu told me so, so telling you about us aspects losing our power will have to wait," Kalecgos says.
"Why are we pressed for time?" Gideon asks, walking up to the dragon.
Jaina walks up to them, "not sure, Nozdormu said to talk with you guys about organising a town for evacuation in the near future."
"Which is odd, he never rushes, but he really seemed to be in a hurry," Kalecgos muses.
"I really don't like this," Stan says, crossing his arms.
Ford rubs his temples, "Mabel, dear. When we get home we're going to need far more Mabel Juice. None of us are going to sleep tonight, I guarantee it."
"Well, if we're short on time then we best go warn everybody to pack their things," Pacifica says.
Fiddleford nods, "Pacifica, Robbie, Gideon you mind helpin me with warnin' the town?"
They shake their heads, and Gideon speaks, "no problem, we should get going."
They leave for town, running through the forest and leaving the Gruncles, Twins, Wendy, Soos, Jaina and Kalecgos in the clearing.
"To the Mystery Shack!" Mabel calls, fist pumping the air.
The rest run to the Shack. When they get there the Twins leap into the gift shop and clear out the customers, flipping the sign to 'sorry, we're closed'.
"Melody, you think you can pack some clothes and stuff for an evacuation? The statue is gone and these magic doods are saying we're pressed for time," Soos says.
Melody nods as she leaves the room, "sure thing, Soos."
Jaina inspects the stuff in the gift shop, "interesting place you have here, Stanley."
Stan nods and leads them into the TV room, "OK, nerd papers go on the table, I'm going to fetch us some drinks."
Kalecgos dumps his armful of papers on the table and starts to organise them while Jaina looks at the TV. Ford disappears with Spots and everyone hears the whirring of the vending machine as it opens up to the basement. Stan returns with a pack of Pitt Cola and the nearly empty jug of Mabel Juice. He gives everybody a can as Ford returns from the basement with a book. Wendy opens her can and helps the Azerothians open theirs.
Kalecgos takes a sip from his, "huh, it's flavoured carbonated water, with sugar."
"It's called soda, or pop, or soft-drink," Dipper says, sipping his.
"It's...Interesting," Jaina says, looking at the can.
"Kalecgos, have you obtained contact with the Zodiac?" a voice asks him from his pocket.
Kalecgos removes the communications orb from his pocket, "yes I have Nozdormu."
Nozdormu's calm voice floats out of the orb, "Good, were is the boy? His symbol is the Pine Tree I believe."
Dipper walk up to the table, "right here Mister Nozdormu,"
"Is Eyeglasses, Orphan, Stitched heart and Third Eye warning the town?" he asks.
It takes Dipper a while to realise he's asking about Fiddleford, Pacifica, Robbie and Gideon, "yeah."
"'Pine Tree', is it?" asks Kalecgos, somewhat confused.
"Just.. Dipper. Please," Dipper replies, a sore look on his face.
Nozdormu remembers, "it's a bit of a touchy subject, listen to him."
"Dipper, who are you talking too?" Ford asks, walking up to the table.
"Ah, pardon my rudeness, I am Nozdormu, former aspect of the Bronze Dragonflight."
"You're the one that wants to evacuate the entire town?" Ford asks, finishing of his Pitt Cola and pouring himself a glass of Mabel Juice.
"I'm going to go make some more, will be back with more Mabel Juice," Mabel says, walking into the kitchen.
"To answer your question, Golden Finger, yes I am," Nozdormu says.
"I am scared to ask, but, what is Mabel Juice?" Jaina asks, looking at the red drink.
"It's a combination of coffee and nightmares. It's really good at keeping you awake," Stan says, pouring the last glass.
Dipper looks at the communications orb, "why did you need to speak with me, Mister Nozdormu?"
"Honestly it didn't matter who I spoke to, I am in too much of a hurry," he says to Dipper.
Kalecgos picks up a few papers and gives them to Ford, "and that's what's scaring me."
"'Burning Legion'? 'Sargeras'? Kalecgos, what am I looking at here?" Ford asks, looking at the papers.
"The Burning Legion are, unfortunately, our demon problem. Our demon problem can be solved with swords and magic though, your case is a bit difficult," he informs as Dipper continues to chat with Nozdormu.
Ford looks concerned, and wary of Kalecgos, "how do you know about Bill?"
Kalecgos shows him the scrying orb that Dipper gave back to Jaina, "during that 'Weirdmageddon' I used this to gather Intel on The Dream Demon, Bill Cipher. Also, I am aware of the 'Never mind all that' Act."
Wendy's phone buzzes and she takes it out of her pocket, "it's Robbie, he says they're done warning the townsfolk."
"Did they pack too?" Dipper asks, looking up from the orb.
Wendy nods, "yep, oh that's nice, my dad packed my stuff for me."
"Kids, you should probably go pack some stuff for an evacuation," Stan says, looking at Spots occupying his recliner.
Mabel enters the living room with three jugs of Mabel Juice. Jaina takes them from her as the Twins scurry upstairs, "you guys are definitely not planning on sleeping tonight.'
Ford inspects the papers and pours another glass of Mabel Juice as Jaina sets the jugs down, "if Cipher's returning, then we're definitely not getting any sleep."
"If you do not mind me asking, what does Bill Cipher look like?" Nozdormu asks.
"He's a triangle with a top hat, one eye and a bow tie," Ford says simply, still reading Kalecgos' papers.
Nozdormu falls silent, "I see…."
"What's wrong Nozdormu?" Kalecgos asks his fellow dragon.
Nozdormu says slowly, "Unfortunately, Golden Finger, it's as you feared, Bill Cipher is returning and he has a Legion of Sargeras' demons with him."
The entire room falls silent, even the Twins pause on the stairs. Jaina and Kalecgos hold their tongues. Ford puts down the papers and inhales deeply, patting Spots as she walks up and clutches the edges of the table. The Twins enter the room with distant looks. Stan absently plays with his hair. Wendy whistles nonchalantly as she taps at her phone.
"I apologise for the mentioning of him, but you now know why I am in hurry," Nozdormu says, sympathetic.
Jaina looks at the Mabel Juice, "now I understand the need for this 'Mabel Juice'."
Ford steels himself and faces the orb that Nozdormu's speaking from, "when?"
Nozdormu knows what he's talking about, "tomorrow, late afternoon."
"The sky will turn blood red and fel green will streak the sky, that's the Infernals," Jaina informs.
Wendy sets her phone down and pours a glass of Mabel Juice, "well then, lets spend the next fourteen hours mapping out this evacuation and figuring out what's coming."
The Twins walk up towards the table and scan the papers. Dipper cracks his knuckles before pouring a glass of Mabel Juice, "hello first all nighter in two years."
Mabel pours a glass herself and sits down, picking up a small stack of the papers, "time to nerd."
Stan puts the TV remote away and also starts looking at the notes, "I've taught myself physics, I can learn this magic bizz."
Ford opens up his journal he brought upstairs and takes a pen from his trench coat, "let's conduct the evacuation."