New chapter coming your way! I am particularly proud of this one, mostly because a lot of the scenes were super fun to write.
Anyway, I'm not going to ruin it for you. Read on, review and enjoy!
There was something so absolutely gratifying about being a leader. A sense of superiority, a sense of power, and most important of all; a sense of being able to direct and guide those people completely depending on your leadership.
But mostly, it was the fact that it was Mabel who was the leader of the group for once, as opposed to her brother. It was the fact that she was the one standing on a tall stool, overseeing Soos and the others with the construction of their "proton packs", and that she could grin to herself and really feel on top of the world.
Mabel said nothing as Soos used all of his handyman know-how to interpret the not-so-clear directions from the journal. With Dipper's help, they figured out first that the more mundane versions of the ghost-busting "proton pack" device would utilize a high-pressure suction hose, which presumably could keep ghosts captured for minutes at time. Conversely, Dipper had explained that this mode could also be used to push ghosts away from them, in case any of them faced the danger of a sudden spectral assault.
Beads of sweat came down Soos's forehead as he added finishing touches to the first of the busting weapons. Made of an old leaf-blower, parts of a discarded car engine, and doodads of all kinds, it seemed more of a hodge-podge of things than any kind of true offensive weapon.
"You know, it really did look a lot cooler in the book." Wendy commented in an unsure tone, as she watched Soos slam in one last nail to hold the machine together. The handy-man wiped his forehead in triumph though, clearly admiring his finished work.
"Don't burn it till you try it, dude. One does not judge a sandwich by it's whole-grain cover. It's the greasy, meaty inside that betrays its true nature." Soos quipped. Not surprisingly, Wendy had no real way to respond to that statement, but Mabel, on the other hand, was quick to add words of inspiration as she jumped down from her stool.
"Soos is right!" she declared, pulling the new "proton-pack" from the floor and putting it on her back. Unfortunately as soon as she tried to walk, she ended up falling completely sideways as the weight proved to be too much for her pre-teen body.
Mabel smiled before making an awkward laugh, quite unable to get up. "A little help?"
Soos was quick to lift her off the floor. "Sorry, dude. That one was meant for me."
"Oh, I can handle it. Just give me a second." Mabel reassured him, not ready to give up just yet.
She braced herself as Soos moved away, and the full weight came upon her again. This time though, Mabel forced herself to fight against it, managing to take one step forward. A second passed as Mabel used every little muscle in her body to move another step forward, before finally finding enough strength to pull the makeshift leaf-blower spout from her back and point it in front of her.
"See?" she said, groaning as she tried to continue standing, her legs shaking from the weight on her back. "Nothing to it!"
Her fingers quickly found the switch for the firing mechanism, and just a split-second of anticipation came and went before she pressed down on the button.
A blast of powered air shot out from the tube connecting to the main hose of the device, sending Dipper flying back into Wendy as Wendy's hat went tumbling backwards from the force. Mabel herself flew back like she was attached to a jet engine, eventually hitting the wall behind her and knocking over various knick-knacks on the Shack's shelves on impact. Just a moment later, she pushed the button again, turning off the gust and absorbing the sudden experience.
"You know, dudes," Soos remarked, clearly enamored with whole situation. "That was totally just as awesome as I imagined it to be."
Mabel proceeded to worm her way out of the straps of the device, before brushing off sweater. When she was done, she put her arms to her sides and walked towards Dipper, Wendy and Soos with a triumphant look in her eyes.
"Alright! Looks like we gotta our work cut out for us! Three more of these babies and we'll be good to go!" she announced, sounding quite sure of herself.
"I just wish these instructions were a little more clear..." Dipper added, sounding quite worried.
Of course, Wendy managed to make it sound like there was nothing to worry about. "Ah, relax, Dipper. It'll all be cool in the end. It always turns out cool."
Soos pushed down his hat at the sound of those words, putting on his best serious face.
"Well what are we doing waiting around, dudes?" he declared, tightening his grip on his hammer. "Those ghosts ain't gonna bust themselves."
Dipper and Wendy ended up responding just as enthusiastically as Mabel had expected them too. As Dipper ventured upstairs to look for parts, Wendy began cutting up some of Grunkle Stan's old lawn tools, and Soos got hard work hammering together a new frame, Mabel watched them like the visionary leader she imagined herself to be.
High atop her stool again, she crossed her arms and grinned through her braces as she overlooked the work and admired the unquestioning loyalty of her brother's crush and the Shack's handyman.
"Those ghosts better watch out. There might be something strange in this neighborhood now, but not for long!" she announced, ending her statement with her best ominous laugh.
Much to the group's surprise, the trek back to the Gravitystock grounds wasn't all that exciting. This was mostly due in part to the fact that Soos's car wasn't stark white, and didn't have sirens or a flashy logo on it.
Things seemed to only become less appealing as everyone got out of Soos's car, and suddenly the weight of their respective packs became truly apparent to them. Nevertheless, Mabel pushed them onward.
They were about halfway across the lawn when Soos started breathing pretty hard. Clearly, years of laziness and pigging out were finally catching up to him, and in his destined moment of glory, no less.
"Dudes," he croaked out through each breath. "These things are like, way heavier than I thought."
"You're telling me!" Mabel replied with a bit of annoyance in her voice. "I'm getting all sweaty again! I took two showers just to get all the sweat off before!"
Even with the night air, it was still somewhat humid, and most everyone was sweating profusely with the burden of these heavy "proton-packs" on their backs.
Frustration was naturally quick to fill the air.
"Says you. I didn't see you doing any work to help build these things." Wendy commented. Dipper was quick to come to her defense, of course.
"She's got a point. How exactly did you help out again, Mabel?" he questioned, only for his sister to turn around and give him a somewhat flustered and aggravated answer, since Dipper being a good little butt-kisser didn't help to prove his point.
"I was the overseer! I needed to make sure everything got done! Now stop questioning me and let's get there already!" Mabel practically growled, before turning back around and moving at a faster pace than before.
Wendy leaned down beside Dipper as the walked, whispering into his ear.
"She's cracking, Dipper. Maybe we should take control as leaders before the whole group falls apart."
Dipper seemed taken aback, whispering right back, "Are you suggesting a mutiny? What are we, pirates!?"
Wendy seemed to think on that for a moment, before standing back up and tossing her idea right out the window.
"Yeah, you're right. Too much work involved." she said quite non-nonchalantly.
Wendy just shrugged, and Dipper was left with no real way to respond.
Unsurprisingly, her could only wonder just how lazy Wendy could possibly be. If the world ever was invaded by hostile aliens, would Wendy be a person others could depend on in developing a resistance? The more he thought about, the more he realized, most definitely not.
Nevertheless, simple problems such as sweating ended up being largely unimportant. Eventually, the group reached the ominous stage, a strong breeze blowing by as they walked atop it. Mabel led in front, holding tightly onto her "proton-pack" as she surveyed the surroundings.
"It seems..." Mabel began, searching left and right for any sign of strangeness on the outside stage.
"...normal." she finished, sounding somewhat confused. Where are all the ghosts, she wondered. Sure, they might have been afraid of the sunlight earlier, but it was night now, and definitely the prime time for them to go out.
"They must still be hiding in the backstage." Mabel declared, her eyes now focused on the musty curtain dividing the two sections of the stage.
"Everybody got their lights?" Mabel asked, and as expected, a few flashlights popped on after the group nodded in unison.
"I'm as ready as my destiny made me to be, dudes." Soos declared, his voice so serious he made it sound like he wouldn't be coming back from this endeavor.
"Alright." Mabel replied, now ecstatic herself. "Then let's get to busting some ghosts."
Thus, she took the first tenacious step as she began to open the curtain.
But one step was all Mabel would take, as her entire world lurched in response to a series of cracking noises that surprised everyone. Before anyone really knew what was going on, the world seemed to go black as Mabel, Dipper, Wendy and Soos each fell into a hole seemingly set up for their unique size specifications. Gravity pushed down on the four as they screamed in unison, but the blackness was too powerful to resist, and down they went.
Up above the stage, two ghosts laughed with each other, a small handsaw floating next to one. Dressed like a couple of hillbillies, one of them tried slapping a hand against the other, but it merely phased right through his friend's transparent back.
"Looks like we got ourselves a couple of little spectre busters, ehahaha! Nice one on the 'ol handsaw trick, Billy!" one chortled, as they seemed to just laugh even harder.
Down below, Old Man McGucket, coming home from his part-time job at the junkyard, spotted the commotion. Son he was running out to the field around the stage, and quickly noticed the two ghosts laughing above.
"Hey! Kindred spirits! Take me with you! I always wanted to be one of y'all!" he begged, but the only response he got was the ghosts looking down, then looking at each other, before dropping the saw and disappearing back through the wall into the backstage.
Old Man McGucket could do nothing but shed a few tears as he sat down in the field, the saw landing dangerously between his outstretched legs. He took no notice to such a close call however, and instead leaned on the handle of the tool embedded in the grass as he began crying his eyes out.
"Dang spectres! Just what have they got against the living?"
When he finally came to, Dipper was greeted by nothing but blackness.
Underneath him though, was a something quite soft, and his nose caught the scent of pine coming from whatever it was. Moving around, his fingers finally reached for a flashlight, but when he turned it on, the light blasted right in the face of none other than Wendy.
Dipper overreacted completely, of course, once he realized he had been on top of Wendy this whole time. Backing away as he held the flashlight away from her face, he could only wonder how violated Wendy must have felt in this moment. She wouldn't be able to see it, but Dipper's legs were shaking from a mix of shock and embarrassment.
But instead of calling him out, Wendy seemed more concerned with just sitting up, as she rubbed the back of head and groaned.
"Ugh, what happened back there? You alright, Dipper?" she asked, searching for her own flashlight in the darkness with her spare hand.
Dipper looked up, and a good twenty feet above them was the hole to the stage they had fallen through. Dipper could only scratch his head as he wondered how they could have possibly fallen through that far, and somehow ended up landing here with nothing having obstructed their descent.
"I'm not really sure, Wendy." he said, surveying the surrounding area with his flashlight. Strangely, the walls were quite smooth, non-descript and very unfitting to what he thought should be the underbelly beneath the stage.
"I got my pack right here with me though." he assured her, patting down on it audibly. "If we do meet up with any ghosts, we should be fine."
The next response Dipper got was definitely not one he was expecting. A chill went down both his and Wendy's spine as an unfamiliar voice spoke out from the surrounding darkness.
"Fine? Oh, you two are very far from fine right now. You interrupted our dance number, after all."
Suddenly, everything went black again, even the flashlights. Dipper was up in an instant, yelling in panic as anxiety came over him. He scrambled in Wendy's direction, hoping to find her before they were both lost in the darkness forever.
"Wendy! Where are you!?"
"I...I don't know! I can't see anything! They blinded us!"
"Just take my hand! We can't let them split us up like last time!"
She couldn't see it, but Dipper could feel tears coming on as the very thought of losing Wendy forever just about made him break down.
"I'll find you! I won't lose you, Wendy!"
Finally, Dipper's hand found Wendy's. His fingers quickly curled around hers as she pulled him close.
"Calm down, man. You're not losing anyone." she reassured him, her voice his only comfort in the darkness. Dipper could only smile in response as his face went hot. He may not have been that tall, but he could still feel Wendy's warmth, and it was quite the heavenly feeling.
Dipper might have wanted to stay with her like this forever, if not for the voice that had accosted them before.
"Ah, young love. It is so precious. Do you remember when we were that young, darling?"
Another voice, clearly masculine, replied. "You mean when we were alive? Oh, so vaguely my dear. But we did used to tear up the dance floor, didn't we?"
The female voice laughed a little before responding. "Yes, darling. Yes we did."
Suddenly, light flooded the area. Dipper and Wendy instinctively shielded their eyes as a burst of color erupted in the room. When their sight finally adjusted, the two of them could only look on in wonder as they found themselves now in the middle of the most unlikely of places.
They were now surrounded by what looked like a shimmering dance floor, complete with colored lights and a moody atmosphere. Dipper looked below, and could see red, yellow and blue light tiles skipping back and forth in rhythm with one another. There was a faint sound of music in the air, and a shining disco ball spun slowly up above.
"Talk about retro." Wendy remarked, looking down at Dipper still holding on to her. It was at this point that he proceeded to loosen his grip on her, putting his hands behind his back as he laughed awkwardly.
"Uh, sorry about that. Just wanted to make sure you were alright." he replied, his cheeks flushed with pink.
"No worries, Dipper." Wendy said, smiling and putting on her most carefree tone in an attempt to alleviate some of his stress. "That's really sweet of you."
"You know, I can completely understand your need for romance, but I do believe that are some more important things at stake here." said the voice of one of the two ghosts, who now appeared before Dipper and Wendy as she phased through the dance floor tiles.
Dressed in a halter top and a short skirt, her hair was fashioned in a bun and she wore a number of hoop-bracelets around her right wrist. The ghost glowed with a pale yellow, floating into the air wearing a big smile, as her husband phased through the floor just behind her.
With a face full of facial hair, a stylish grin, and white and blue threads that could shame any would-be dancer, he floated up right besides his ghostly wife, looking down at Wendy and Dipper with a sly look on his face.
"Yes, let's talk stakes. You and your little friends were invading our home, after all." he remarked, only for Dipper to point an accusing finger at the bearded ghost.
"Invading? You're the ones in a place you shouldn't belong! Now what did you do with Mabel and Soos!?" he demanded, with Wendy backing him right up.
"Yeah, cause if you're planning on torturing them or something, then we're totally prepared to..." she began, only to notice a huge gap in her plan behind her.
"Our stuff! Dipper, our ghost-busting gear, it's gone!" she announced, leaving Dipper to frantically look behind him and notice that their "proton packs" were indeed completely gone.
"What!? But how could they have...but we need those!"
The ghosts laughed in unison in response to this, clearly taking great delight in this situation.
"Oh, you won't be needing anything of that sort." the bearded ghost began, his wife joining right in.
"Yes, yes, we put those toys right away from you. Your aforementioned "ghost-busting" is canceled for tonight. We've got something else more spectacular planned for you instead!"
Suddenly, the lights went off again, as the two ghosts laughed ominously. Both Dipper and Wendy screamed as they felt a strange sensation coming over them. But it was quick, like a shot, and before they knew it, the lights were on again.
They themselves, however, were changed, quite literally. Dipper found himself in a white suit, complete with a medallion and platform shoes that could put Travolta to shame. Somewhat admiring these new duds, he looked towards Wendy, and suddenly became completely and utterly mesmerized.
Her hair freed from any hat, Wendy was now clad a turquoise green dress that seemed to shimmer and sparkle under the lights of the dance floor. She pushed her hair away from her face as she inspected her new clothes, quite confused and not sure exactly what to think.
"Uh, this is...unexpected." she said, feeling the two thin hoop bracelets now around her right wrist. She touched the top of her head, feeling somewhat exposed without her hat.
"I probably look like a total dork now, don't I?" she asked, but Dipper could only shake his head slowly before hitting himself and coming back to reality.
"Oh, no, no! Not at all! I think you look...you look great, Wendy. So great. Better than I've ever imagined."
Wendy raised a questioning eyebrow. No boy had said something like that to her, in all the nine that she had truly dated so far.
Dipper was quick to wave his hands and grin nervously in his defense once he saw her reaction though. "I mean, not that I imagine you like this! Not that I would imagine you at all! I...I just...oh man! These neon lights are sure messing with my speech center right now, you know?"
The female ghost clasped her hands together as she relished Dipper's flustered nature. "Oh, how adorable! He's embarrassed. But enough games! It's time for you to two to get down, or get beat!"
"Just what do you want from us?" Wendy asked as she looked down at her new ensemble again. "And what did you do with my clothes!?"
The bearded ghost snickered as he and his wife floated closer to the floor. "Oh, we're just here to propose a little contest. A little sport, that's all."
Dipper instantly became suspicious. "What kind of contest?"
"A dancing contest!" the ghostly wife said, her voice filled with glee. "And whoever wins gets to find their friends and be on their merry way!"
"But why would you need to find your friends? We're the ones who are trapped here, wherever here is..." Dipper asked, now quite confused.
The two ghosts looked at each other for a moment, as if unsure of how to respond to Dipper's statement. Slowly, they formed smiles on their faces, before bursting in unison into a deranged bout laughter.
"Oh, my!" said the bearded ghost, wiping a transparent tear away from his eye. "That's the point, friends! I do hope you two can do the hustle! Then again, you are the modern living!"
Unsurprisingly, Wendy was starting to lose track of what was going on. "Do the what?"
The ghosts seemed to just ignore her question though. As they floated down to just a foot above the ground, a tune began in the background, and it was one that Dipper recognized all too well.
The opening "Oooooh!", the piano, the strings, it all came back to him in an instant. After all, Disco Girl wasn't the only feminine dance-pop song he enjoyed on a daily basis.
Dipper gulped, looking back at Wendy and wondered if he should tell her that he in fact had practiced the hustle multiple times on his own, to the tune of the song of the same name, but never with another person. Ironically, it was often Wendy herself whom he imagined himself dancing with, and it seemed the fates had finally granted him his wish, though in their own twisted way.
He wondered how good these ghosts were at dancing, since it seemed to be increasingly obvious that they themselves died in the middle of the '70's. Which meant they had years of practice with one another, while Dipper had minimal skill, and Wendy had pretty much none.
Then he thought back to his experience with the Lamby Lamby Dance, and remembered just how horribly embarrassing that had been. He remembered how Wendy had come so close to breaking his secret, and he wondered if he could trust her again with something like this.
Of course, all it took was one gaze at her sparkling eyes and that wonderful ensemble of hers for Dipper to change his mind entirely.
Before she could say much of anything, Dipper took her hand in his, and gulped, wondering how well this would really work, considering how much shorter he was then her, and especially since he never did get that one dance with her.
"Ah, I see we are ready to start!" said the bearded ghost, clearly prepared for a challenge.
Dipper put on his best serious face, and held on to Wendy's hand tightly.
"Yes, we are. Bring it on." he declared, trying to sound as sure of himself as possible.
Wendy could only watch in astonishment, as the music played all around her, and Dipper began to bring her through the motions of something she never would have seen herself doing in a million years. His steps were surprisingly quick, concise, and fluid, as if he had practiced this many times before.
For a moment, it seemed very strange, for Wendy to be dancing with a twelve-year old, trying to beat ghosts to the sound of disco music.
But even with the ghosts, the lights, Dipper's short stature, and the somewhat dated dress, Wendy realized that it was all quickly becoming quite nice.
And as Dipper helped her get used to this dance that was so new to her, the look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. She suddenly felt at home with Dipper, and before they knew it, they were both moving in tune like pros.
Whether they knew it or not, as they danced their troubles away, both Wendy and Dipper happened to be thinking the exact same thing.
Ghosts or not, they were going to rip up this dance floor tonight. Even if they were a good forty years too late.
"Soos? Soos! Where are you?" Mabel called out, her flashlight just barely breaking the darkness around her.
For the last five minutes, she had been looking for her dear friend since their group fall, but to no avail. Still wearing her pack, though it was somewhat dented from the fall, She continued to call on Soos again and again, but got no response.
After another couple of seconds, she stopped, and sadness came upon Mabel's face as she realized that Soos might indeed be lost to her forever.
Only a short gust of wind could take her attention away from the depressing situation at hand, and in an instant, Mabel turned, her busting device pointed towards the darkness.
"Who's there?!" she said with clear anger in her voice, her frustrations now directed towards a target. "I'm not afraid to use this, you...you...whatever you are!"
She caught wind of the gust again, this time shooting in the direction where she thought it might have come from. Much to her surprise, her blast hit home, and she heard a slight shriek come from the shadows.
Pointing her light in the direction of the noise, her eyes widened as she spotted none other than the mysterious girl from before.
However, Mabel could see the light beaming right through her blueish body, and her mouth went agape as she noticed that the girl was floating just a few feet above the ground.
"It's...it's you!" And you're...you're a ghost too! Just like the rest of them!"
Audrey didn't know what to immediately do, but instead of floating off to safety, she approached Mabel, a very nervous expression on her face.
"...I guess you know now." Audrey said, clearly uncomfortable with being around Mabel like this. She was quick to raise her hands up in her own defense though.
"But I didn't trap your friends like that! I told the others not to, but they wouldn't listen!"
Mabel didn't seem in the mood for talking. Instead, she pointed her ghost-busting hose towards Audrey, her finger poised over the button.
"Give me one good reason why I should believe you, and why I shouldn't blast you into dust!"
Audrey thought about for a second, gauging the serious expression on Mabel's face. Finally, she smiled as genuinely as she could, trying to sound as sincere as possible.
"Because we're both artists, and us artists have to stick together?"
For a moment, it seemed Mabel's mind wouldn't change. Then, seconds later, she laughed through her braces, and lowered her weapon.
"Okay, okay." Mabel said, as if talking to an old friend. "You got me."
Audrey's face seemed to perk up. She didn't think that would have worked.
"Oh, well, that's a relief." she replied, only to have Mabel right up in her face a moment later as the human girl attempted to grab Audrey's shoulders.
"Now you gotta help me find everybody! They're goners without me!" Mabel pleaded, before realizing that her hands had just ended up phasing through Audrey's body.
The ghost girl offered her best words of comfort, which unfortunately, didn't sound too comforting.
"I don't think you have to worry. I've known the others around here for a long time. They'll get bored of their pranks soon enough, I hope..."
Mabel's face was instantly hit with dread. She could only wonder what horrible torment someone like Soos was going through in this very moment...
"So you guys really do this all the time? You just sit here, remember the good days, and jam together?" Soos asked, as he sat between two lanky ghosts, each sporting long beards and sunglasses, along with matching ghostly guitars.
"You got that right, man. Forty-five years of this life, well, unlife, and counting. It's some ride." one of them said, his greenish aura making a low hum around him,
Soos smiled as he thought about the concept of being a ghost and simply hanging out like this forever. Suddenly, hunting them didn't sound so appealing anymore.
"Dudes, this is totally awesome. You guys are like living legends." he commented, with all the gusto of an excited five-year old.
"More like undead legends, man." the ghost to his right said, his voice drawn out as if he was up in the clouds and never coming down. They each strummed on their guitar in unison, and as Soos listened intently to the otherworldly tunes, his "proton-pack" lay unused and forgotten in the far corner.
"So like, are we in some sort of ghost dimension right now? And I've been meaning to ask you dudes, exactly how does one sign up to be one of the ghostly elite? I used to bust you dudes, but you know, I just had a total change of heart." Soos rambled, clearly too excited with his predicament for his own good.
The two hippie ghosts simply looked at one another. Either they were too out of it to say anything, or they just didn't know what to say. Their silence mattered little to Soos though, who simply clasped his hands together as he awaited their answer.
"You know, the long pause tells me this secret to becoming a ghost is gonna be good. Just lay it out on me when you're ready."
The two ghosts shrugged. One of them leaned in close to Soos, and began to speak.
"Alright, man. You wanna know how this all came to be? Then here's the story. It all started in Gravitystock, back in the summer of '69. Me and my brother here were chilling in the back of our van, minding our own business, when suddenly, the cops came knocking on our window..."
"Yeah, I mean, what we were doing wrong? It was a free country, and they we were cracking down on us man! I mean, we got the right to chill in our van if we want." his brother replied, clearly getting all riled up.
The storyteller nodded in response, continuing with his tale. "Right on. So anyway, there we are, and there are the cops. Now I'll tell you, they were not happy when they found out what we were up to..."
Soos smiled as he listened in on the unfolding tale.
He soon began to realize, that perhaps his true vocation was not to bust ghosts, but to become one of them.
Clearly, after this story was finished, Soos had a lot of reflecting to do about his so-called destiny.
How did y'all like that? My favorite part was either the Soos or Wendy and Dipper scene. Those two practically wrote themselves, haha! Anyway, stay tuned for the next part!