Dipper POV

After ten minutes of attempting to catch Waddles, we finally were able to get him when the animal he was chasing dropped its apple.

"Mabel, why were you rubbing lotion on him?" I asked as we walked back towards the Shack.

"He had dry skin." She replied with a smile.

"Mabel, he's a pig."

"So?"

"Never mind." I said. "This is totally changing the subject, but I'm kind of worried about Wendy."

"Why?"

"She just has seemed really worn out lately. I guess I just worry that maybe it was-"

"Your fault?" Mabel interrupted.

"Yeah."

"Well, what happened would be pretty tiring, but I think that there's something bigger than that going on."

"You don't think Robbie's been giving her trouble, do you?" I asked.

"Nah. She would have told us. I think the only time she's even seen Robbie lately was in that dream she had when he was holding a big halibut."

"Good point." I replied, pushing the door open. At first glance, everything seemed normal, but in reality, it wasn't even close.

Gideon POV

Watching from the forest, I saw the Pines twins coming back to the Shack.

"If those two see Wendy searching for the journal, they can destroy everything I've set out to do!" I said to myself. "I've got to distract them somehow." With that, I walked towards the Shack.

Mabel POV

Not even a minute after we got back to the Shack, Gideon came in.

"Ugh. Dipper, Gideon's back!" I yelled to Dipper, who was heading towards the bathroom to clean Waddles up.

"What does he want this time?" He yelled back.

"I don't know, I didn't ask him." I said. "Hey, Gideon, what do you want this time?"

"Why don't you call your fool of a brother, and I can tell you both?"

"No can do." I said. "He's cleaning Waddles off so he doesn't get away again."

"Waddles?"

"Oh, right. You don't know him. Waddles is my pet pig."

"Anyway…" Gideon began, "How long do you suppose it will take to clean him off? Do you think that Dipper will be here within the next, I don't know, 5 minutes, give or take a few?"

"Probably. He's cleaning Waddles in the bathtub, so it should be quick."

"Wait. He's in the bathroom?"

"Yep. Cleaning Waddles. He lost a bet."

"The bathroom wouldn't happen to be near your bedroom, would it?"

"Well, it's pretty close, I guess. Why?"

"Uh, no reason! I'll be right back!"

"Hey! Where are you going?" I yelled as he ran out the door.

Gideon POV

Distracting the Pines twins was going to be harder than I thought. With Dipper in the bathroom, and Wendy in the bedroom, it was likely that he might hear her and come up to investigate. I couldn't get past Mabel, but I could climb up to their room from the outside and enter through the window. That is exactly what I did, but it was much more difficult than I had expected. I get winded just thinking about it.

"Wendy, change of plans." I whispered when I got in. "We need to get out of here. Dipper is nearby. He might find us."

"But I haven't found the journal yet, Gideon." She argued.

"That's alright, you can find it later. We've got to get out of here!"

"Who's there?" I heard from the hallway.

"It's Dipper! Hide!" I said.

"Yes, Gideon." She replied, ducking behind Dipper's bed just as he came in.

"W-who's there?" Dipper repeated. He looked around, and, upon deciding that he had just been hearing things, he walked away.

"Whew! That was close! Come on, Wendy, we'd better get out of here before he comes back." I said, heading towards the window. I had one leg out when I realized that she wasn't following me. "Wendy, come on! Hurry up!" That was when I took a good look at what she was doing. The floorboard that she was sitting on had apparently been loose, and it was sitting by her side. She stood up slowly with an excited look on her face, looking down at what was in her hands.

"I found it."