*CLICK!*

A beam of light stemming from the ceiling made Wendy's green eyes flicker.

"There she is!" A voice announced. "Wakey, wakey, beautiful! You're going to miss all the festivities…"

"Wha…" The girl struggled to make it back to reality. Her eyelids felt heavy. She had problems maintaining her breath. Her nostrils still reeked of a pungent stench. The outside world slowly changed from a messy blur into clarity.

"Where…Where am I?"

Wendy was seated in a stiff, wooden chair. Her body was sore from being in one spot for far too long. She went to stand, discovering that her wrists and ankles had been bound!

"Hey…" Wendy tested each arm and leg, finding that they were duct-taped to a respective part of her seat. She pulled and tugged, going as far as to try to move the chair itself. "What is this?! Lemme go!"

"Now, now…" the mysterious voice attempted to calm her, "Don't go tiring yourself out. We made sure to bolt that chair to the floor, so you wouldn't get any crazy ideas…"

"Ugh!" Defeated, Wendy slumped back into her seat. With another *CLICK!*, the overhead lights shot on through the complex. Judging by her surroundings; the countless conveyor belts, the unused heavy-duty machinery dangling from cast-iron chains, and the sawdust-covered flooring, it was obvious that she was being held in the abandoned lumbermill – the same that her father's lodging company used to occupy years before.

*CLICK!*

And with that final light, the rogue's gallery behind her kidnapping had made themselves known, led by a haunting figure that Wendy had hoped to never see again. The one positive of the whole nightmarish experience was that Dipper was not with them. Was he able to escape, or perhaps, never caught at all?

Strangest of all, a series of expensive-looking stereo equipment had been dragged inside of the forgotten establishment. Numerous, towering speakers were lined up one after another for reasons unknown. The hatchet that she had lost during the battle in the graveyard now rested on a stand next to them, far beyond her current reach.

While her ex-boyfriends waited on the sidelines, engaging in several refreshments set up on a nearby table, Zeke took it upon himself to approach his captive audience.

"Hey, there, sleepyhead," he cheerfully greeted his former beau. "Did our nap put us in a better mood?"

Wendy tested her bonds once more, trying her best not to show any sign of fear or worry – not to give him any satisfaction at all. "Fine, Zeke. You got me where you want me. Now what?"

He laughed at the ginger's persistence, even in her dire situation, "So true, so true…" He paced about in the space before her. "But still, I can tell that you have no idea what this is all about, do you?"

"Not a clue…" Wendy blew a loose bang away from her freckled face. "But I'm sure you'll have no problem filling me in, right?"

For a split second, she could see the anger in Zeke's expression for being zinged – a small victory in spite of her peril – before he swiftly subdued his emotion.

He cleared his throat, and opened his right arm towards the rest of his conspirators. "They – we are what this is all about, Gwendolyn – "

"Wen-dy!" she corrected for a second time.

Zeke went to speak again, when chatter broke out among the rest of the exes.

"Yeah, why does he keep calling her that?"

"I'm never heard anyone else use that name…"

"Maybe she's embarrassed of it. Or it just pisses her off?"

The annoyed leader spun around, "Who gives a crap?! What's in a name, anyways? For heaven's sake, her grandmother calls her "Winnie" and we're not writing essays on it, are we?"

Wendy blushed at having another family secret revealed.

"Now, if we can get back to the task at hand, gentlemen?!"

They quietly mumbled and whispered before returning to absolute silence.

"Now, then," Zeke focused his sights back on his prisoner, "As I was saying, Wendy. Look at them. Every single person in this room you have hurt and wounded because of your cold and callous nature."

"What? I – "

"Admit it!" His voice grew stern. "When you left them behind – when you left me behind, did you care about anyone else's feelings but your own?"

Wendy could easily read between the lines, "Is that what you tell yourself, Zeke? That it's everyone's fault except yours?"

He paused for a moment, his demon-like eyes widening before going back to his gang, "See?! It's like I told you guys! No sympathy! No compassion! No regret! Hell, I'd say she's proud of her trail of broken hearts, owning the fact like a demented badge of honor!"

"Now, wait a minute – "

Zeke walked an invisible line as he pointed down every other boy, "Do you think it matters to her if she made you sad, or depressed, or even cry?"

"That's not – "

"Of course not!" Zeke raised his voice over Wendy's. "Because that's who Gw – Err – Wendy Corduroy is deep down! She can blame age and circumstance all she wants, but look amongst you. Has she learned her lesson along the years? Or merely has our Wendy come to use those excuses far too much for far too long?"

"They're not excuses!" At last, Wendy was able to make her say heard. Every eye on the room was shortly centered on her.

"Oh, really?" Zeke egged on. "Well, then. You look like you have some time on your hands. Why don't you explain yourself?"

He used his arms to segue towards her awaiting public. Russ, Eli, Stoney, and Psyche stared back at her with contempt, in anticipation of a long-awaited answer. On the other side of the table, Danny, Robbie, and Nate broke eye-contact and lowered their heads, as if they were somewhat ashamed of their actions.

"Wow…" Wendy rattled her fingers on the arms of the chair, being as they were one of her few extremities still able to move. "Umm…okay. I know I – I screwed up a lot of things in the past. I'll own up to that. But at the same time, if there's one thing I learned about relationships as I got older is that they are anything but easy. Sometimes, they're like a two-way street. Both people can make mistakes and – "

"HA!" A mock rose up from the group.

"Can't even come out and say she's sorry. Even after all these years…"

To Wendy, their protests and grumbles appeared to be deafening.

"It's not that simple! It really isn't. Why can't you understand?"

The crowd grew calm as its smallest member stepped up to address Wendy.

"But…" Danny looked away as he made a great effort to find the courage within, "If things were really that bad, couldn't – couldn't you have just talked to us? Instead of just…"

"Oh, man…" Wendy's heart sunk at seeing Danny for the first time in years, "They got you all mixed up in this, too?" She could tell something was off about him by his appearance – the youngest of the group seemed like he really didn't want to even be there. "You're right – Maybe…talking things through might have helped in some cases…

The entrapped ginger glanced away from Danny to tackle the rest of the group. "But with others, I could have talked until I was blue in the face, and it wouldn't have done a damn thing – "

"What a load of shit!" Russ exploded in anger. He pointed at Zeke, "This guy is right on the money! She'll say whatever she thinks will save her sorry freckled ass!"

"Mm-Hmm…" Stoney nodded in agreement, "Preach, brother!"

Zeke remained silent, leaning back against one of the colossal subwoofers. He smirked as his master plan was finally coming to fruition.

"Oh, really?" Wendy lowered her brow. "Then, tell me, Russ. Why did I leave you?"

"Huh?" His celebration was cut short as she threw the center of attention right back at him.

"If I'm so full of it," Wendy challenged. "Tell them why we're not together anymore?"

"Well…" the jock has caught off-guard. "It was that…you…obviously couldn't handle my awesomeness…"

"HAHA!" Wendy tossed her head back and snorted in laughter.

"What's so funny?!"

"Dude, I – "She blinked, trying to clear her emerald eyes of tears without the use of her hands. "I can't believe you said that! You really don't remember, do you?"

He looked onwards, like a lost puppy.

Wendy began to tell her story, "Russ and I met when…" She took a breath and let out another sigh, "I was going through a rough patch, and he taught me how to use athletics as a way to burn off a lot of stress; you know, since he's always training and stuff. Heck, it's something that I still do today – some say I'm kind of an adrenaline junkie…"

As she said this, a layer of hatred and rage was lifted from Russ's being. It was as he started to recall the way it really went down.

"…but after a while, things changed. It went from something fun that we can do together to some kind of twisted rivalry. I dunno if it was because I was a girl or that friends were joshing him about it, but Russ grew distant…and mean. And one day, he kept putting me down and pushing me, like a sort of demented coach. I had enough, and we decided to put things to a test…and I won…"

"Barely…" Russ scoffed.

"And even after that, he couldn't let it go. It became the topic of every discussion, and shortly after…"

Psyche chuckled, and placed a hand on his shoulder, to which Russ shrugged off, "So, the beefcake did himself in. Go figure…"

"You're one to talk, Psyche. You were about a hop, skip, and jump away from the same thing…"

"Me?" He held a hand against his chest. "What? Because I chose to dedicate my life to something important? You think that since you going through life without giving two – "

"There's nothing wrong with being good at gaming, Psyche," Wendy explained. "Our problem was that you couldn't see anything around you but that. What girl in her right mind, would stand around and be ignored, while her guy messes around with some machine?!"

To Wendy's surprise, Danny reached out to her, almost apologetic in his tone, "D-Did I do something like that to hurt you?"

She let out a heave, "No, little guy. It wasn't anything like that." Wendy bit her lip as she searched for the right words, "Danny, there doesn't have to be faults to be found for a relationship to fade. Sometimes, the people involved are too different for one another. It's not that they're bad or anything, but staying together while secretly hating their way of life is just as wrong."

"So," he tried to understand, "You do regret our time together…"

She shook her head, "You were a great guy – and probably still are – but look at it like this. You're a bit of a homebody, and to be honest, it's fine every once in a while, but it's just not for me. The same way that you tried to hang with all the crazy stuff I did with the guys, but secretly hated every second of it."

"How did you – "

Wendy narrowed her eyes, "Buddy, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see how uncomfortable you were. But do you see where I'm coming from with this?"

"I…think so…" He looked up, as Wendy's words resonated within. "It really wasn't because of me – or what happened with my mom?"

"Eh…" She wiggled her taped-down hand. "Not as much as you think…"

Wendy returned her sights to the rest of the mob, "And just so no one else feels left out…" She began to list off her remaining ex-boyfriends:

"Eli, you were a pretentious know it all back then, and today only proved that you still are. Maybe if you're able to pull the silver spoon out of your ass, you might find out that you can be pretty decent when you want to be…"

The preppy nerd rubbed his shoulder, almost like the rowdy redhead had somewhat slugged him one.

"Stoney, we kinda went through this earlier. Don't get me wrong; I appreciate all of the pointers and tips for hunting back in the day, but you definitely need to tone it down. There's not many ladies out there that'll enjoy watching you torture small animals for the hell of it – or even worse, allow you to treat them as such. And if you can't get that, then, man; I hope the next chick that comes into your life does more than break your nose…"

The injured hunter rubbed his nose, feeling a slight sting before resuming his crossed-armed pose, "Whatever, love…"

"And Robbie," Wendy noted her latest ex, "What can I say? Our relationship is pretty much an open book. Literally! I mean, you posted every possible detail on your online profile."

Turning red with embarrassment, the wannabe goth pulled his hoodie collar away from his neck as he let out a nervous chuckle.

Her expression changed to one of concern, "In fact. I'm not even sure why you're here in the first place. Aren't you supposed to be with Tambry right now?"

"Tamb-ry?" Robbie sputtered the name in a perplexed pitch, almost like it was somewhat foreign to him, "What…"

"And the same goes for you, Nate. I thought you and I ended our relationship on good terms?"

"We did!" He responded in his normally, cheerful attitude. "I don't even remember why I'm here! It's like a little voice in my head is compelling me to do so…"

Wendy raised an eyebrow, "What did you say?"

Seeing that his once-mighty-army was now downtrodden and exploited, Zeke jumped back into the fray. He stormed up to Wendy's chair, placing his hands on the arms, and met her face-to-face.

"Insolent whore!" He screamed loudly, forcing Wendy to shut her eyes. She could feel the flying saliva land all over her face. "Don't you dare sully their memories!"

"Yeesh…" She groaned as the ringleader sulked away to safety. "Say it, don't spray it!"

Zeke lectured his troops, "Are you going to let her get away with this again? Don't be fooled by her words. They might sound from the heart, but trust me, friends, they are anything but! Be mad! Be angry! Be outraged! Never forget all of the anguish this one girl has brought you!"

Wendy watched as the outlook of the ex-boyfriends changed on a dime. They morphed from quiet and introverted to their original infuriated states. At long last, she understood what has been happening from the start.

"You're controlling them, aren't you? That's what's been going on, right?"

Zeke's devilish grin instantly gave Wendy her answer. "Not controlling, per se. Let's say…I discovered a way to unlock all of the grief and sorrow that each one of these wretched souls have buried without layers of themselves…"

"Really?" Wendy mocked, never daring to back down from the threat, "Tell me, Zeke? Should we tell them your story?"

"What?!"

"I mean, we've already aired everyone else's dirty laundry – why should you feel left out? Why don't we tell these guys you're the reason I don't go upstate anymore!"

"Okay, fine!" Zeke grit his teeth. "You wanna play this game, I'm all for it!" He sauntered about the tied-up teen before turning his back, "But, I will be the one doing the story-telling." The blue-donned lumberjack looked over his shoulder at Wendy, "The last thing they need is to here another perverted tale of woe from you…"

Zeke returned towards the gang, using his thumb to point at Wendy behind him, "As Miss Wonderful stated, I'm not from Gravity Falls. I actually work at her cousin's logging camp in upstate Oregon, just like nearly everyone in my family. Heck, I've been helping out there before I can even remember…"

Once again, Zeke glanced at Wendy as he went on his story, "One day, I'm told by the boss man that we'll have an add-on for the summer – a family member from some piss-ant, white bread mountain town that needed to be shown the ropes. The last thing he mentioned was that I was to use kid's gloves when handling them – that something had happened recently with their mother – "

"Ooh…" A shared cry of sympathy went out within the ex-boyfriends as they murmured and gossiped.

"Wait, her mother?"

"Yeah, you never heard about Wendy's mom?"

"She passed on right after her youngest brother was born…"

"Wait? I thought she went crazy and joined up with some cult or commune or something…"

"Who cares?!" Zeke tried to get back on track, "The point is that the bitch ain't here anymore! Can we move on?!"

"Grr…" The captor twirled around to Wendy as her eyes grew dark, burrowing into his forehead.

"Oops!" Zeke made fun, holding a careful hand over his mouth. "Hit another nerve…" He motioned back and forth with a hand, "On second thought, didja ever think that she might have to do with how you ended up today?"

Wendy didn't answer, save for her face tightening even further.

"Just sayin…" Zeke went back to the other boys, "Imagine my surprise when the new recruit was this scrawny, yet towering redhead with her messy hair in pigtails, wearing a lame-o dress shirt, and tights. Definitely not the type for that kind of business. At first, she fought against anything shown to her – as stubborn and foolish as she is today."

His tone changed as he continued on, "But after a while, she started to come around. It went from a great effort to keep her at work, to not being able to get rid of her if I tried. She became my shadow; sticking to me like glue, and picking up on the smallest details. I taught her something that I learned a long time ago: that our lumberjacking heritage didn't have to be the bore that our ancestors presented it as. I showed her how to make it cool, and more importantly, hers; from how to twirl a hatchet on her fingertips to finally convincing her to ditch that awful barefoot and ballet slips combo…"

He chortled, "For some reason, this lanky, little thing chose a pair of waders that were three times too big, but again, her stubbornness… " Zeke took one last look at Wendy before he concluded his story, "And so, we went from two people who came from different worlds to having this little tag-along that I couldn't live without – "

"Whoa…" Robbie came to a realization. "Wendy, it's just like – It's just like you and that little twerp…"

She sneered, "Believe me, Robbie, when I say it's nothing like that…"

For some reason, Zeke found the comparison amusing, "Hmm…interesting…" His demeanor flipped within mere seconds, "…though I'll ask members of the peanut gallery not to interrupt again! Thank you…"

Robbie shrunk back at being chided.

"And just like with all of you – everything when from perfection to ruin as she broke her word to me – "

"Zeke, I didn't – "

"SHE BROKE HER WORD TO ME!" He re-illustrated, raising his voice to the point of near-yelling. "And left me behind – "

"I was just a kid – "

"Going on with her life like I never existed! It doesn't matter how big of a hole she left in my heart! Like always, Wendy Corduroy only cares about Wendy Cordu – "

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" At last, Wendy's anger had triumphed over her fear and cautiousness. "How much longer do I have to go along with this?!"

"You see?!" Zeke highlighted with his arm, "She only cares about her! That's it!"

"If you're going to tell the story, Zeke, at least tell all of it! If anything, tell them why we don't talk anymore! Or how I fight tooth and nail to get out of being shipped back upstate!" The enraged lumberjane took a deep breath to calm herself, "Jeez, Zeke. I mean, you were the first guy I ever was able to connect to, and the last time we saw each other – do you know how long it took me to be able to trust another person like that again?!"

Zeke's face fell as a moment of clarity overcame him. For a moment, he was void of all malice and malevolence. "Gwendy…Gwendy, I – "

"It's all your fault…"

Zeke twisted around to see that little Danny had stepped forward.

"What did you just say to me?!"

Danny turned to rally the rest of the exes, "Don't you guys get it? Sure, we all have all problems, but this guy – he was Wendy's first love, and it sounds like he really did a number on her!" He pointed back at his former-leader with conviction, "It's his fault Wendy is the way she is!"

"Yeah!"

"That…makes a lot of sense…"

"Friggin' bully! I knew something was rotten with him all along!"

The ex-boyfriends rose up as a group and began to advance on Zeke. Wendy's mouth dropped at what was unfurling before her eyes. After everything that had happened today, were they really about to mount a rescue?

"C'mon, now…" Zeke held up his hands as he slowly backed towards the giant speaker system. "Let's think about this for a sec…"

Nate pumped his arms into the air in annoyance, "I still don't know why I'm here, but anyone that hurts Wendy deals with me!"

Robbie patted him on the back, "I can get behind that…"

Zeke was now pinned against his machinery, "Okay, guys. I can see where this is going, and I read you loud and clear. There's just…one little thing you all are forgetting about…" His hand moved towards the dial, "Not only do I own her…"

Before anyone could react, Zeke turned the dial to MAX.

"I own all of you as well!"

A loud, screeching sound echoed through the empty lumbermill. Wendy shut her eyes and winched in pain, wishing that she could cover her ears as well. She forced herself to take a peek at the chaos, seeing that every one of her potential liberators was withering on the ground, sprawling around in total agony. They cried and recoiled with every note pumping through the enormous speakers.

Only Zeke remained on his feet, watching his henchmen suffer with a gleeful satisfaction on his face.

Wendy struggled to put out a sentence, "What…did you do to them?"

Zeke turned the knob back down, "Reminding them of why I'm the boss…" He walked back towards the table. "Luckily, those morons hadn't figured out why I was wearing earplugs the whole time…" He tapped the side of his left ear to demonstrate.

"But what – "

Zeke lifted an index finger, "Just watch…" His attention went back to his fallen soldiers. "You lot! On your feet! Pronto!"

As ordered, the boys staggered upwards, like zombies rising from their graves.

"Perhaps, I didn't make myself clear beforehand…" Zeke paced back and forth in front of them before coming to a complete stop. "But I make the decisions here! I tell you to jump, and you assholes ask me "how high, sir?" And if I say it's her fault, it's definitely her fault! Do you understand me?"

All seven boys answered in unison, "Yes…"

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good to hear!"

Wendy couldn't believe what she had witnessed, "You are controlling them! By brainwashing?"

"Ooh…" Zeke said. "As funny as it sounds, I keep forgetting you're there. I guess I let the cat out of the bag and ruined my surprise for your – "

"Let me guess – my special day?"

Zeke snapped his fingers and pointed, "Bingo! During our…um…separation-period, I did years of research, finding out every bit of info that I could about your life here in Hicksville. Thank heavens for social media. And imagine my surprise when I discovered what kind of filth you decided to associate with…"

Wendy shrugged, "And your point being…?"

"The point is that all of these losers, Goth Boy in the back was the most interesting. The best part was all his claims about some type of lame-o rock music that could hypnotize its listener with its lyrics." Zeke mused, "I can only wonder where such an idiot got his grubby mitts on such a thing…"

Triggered, Robbie started to answer, "Actually, I found – "

"I wasn't asking! It was metaphorical!"

"Oh…" He returned to his forced silence.

"So that horrible sound…"

"Was the tune ironically called "Wendy's song…" Zeke prided. "Cranked up to the highest decibel possible…"

Wendy didn't know what to think. After last summer, she had dismissed any claims of being mesmerized, chalking the whole experience to some sort of jealously/rivalry between Dipper and Robbie; boys being stupid boys. But after seeing the display before her, Wendy grasped that the threat was indeed, very real.

"Once I perfected the same frequency," Zeke narrated further, "It didn't take long to find the rest of your former loves. Again, lady luck smiled down on me, as most of them are loons or loners. Either way, finding them one and one and exposing them to your song took more time than effort…"

"Is that "my gift"?" Wendy questioned. "Having this "mock trial" of yours?"

"Actually, no…" Zeke went on. "For the most interesting part of young Robert's story wasn't that he misused such blessings…" The crazed lumberjack paused, and then rushed towards Wendy. "It was the fact that you're already infected with it!"

Wendy gulped.

"That's right. Somewhere in that mind of yours is a partition of unset commands and orders just waiting to be activated…" He hurried away towards his equipment, returning an instance later with wireless headphones in his hands. "For that is my real gift to you, my dearest Gwendolyn: I am going to finish what he started. We're going to erase the biggest mistake of your life and make it so that you and I will always be together…forever. And everything that stands in our way – those awful memories and that horrible independent streak of yours will be wiped away!"

As Zeke approached her with headphones raised overhead, Wendy squirmed in her bindings. "You can't do this! Get – Get away!" She could make out the song playing within, "When I think about you, I feel feelings so deep…"

"No!" Wendy called out to the other exes, "Don't let him do this! Please!"

The music came closer, "I'm tossing and turning, and you know I'm losing sleep…"

"Stop!"

"And I know I'm going crazy, when I look into your eyes…"

"No!" Wendy resisted as the headphones were placed on her head. Despite her thrashing about, they were set too firmly to toss off with her movements.

"Just listen to this song…"

"Don't do this, Zeke! Don't…"

"And you'll be hynotai-ai-zed…"

The voice on the recording drowned out as Wendy's brain felt as it were on fire. She closed her eyes in reflex, returning to a world that was misaligned and filled with day-glow colorings. The walls and floors seemed to melt and reform themselves at an insane rate. From outside the factory's high-hung windowing, the moon positioned into the night sky fell and was promptly replaced with the sun, bringing the promise of a new morning with it. A split-second later, it instantly set to the west, being replaced by the moon and a dark-blue atmosphere. The two settings flew back and forth at an alarming speed, as days, weeks, and months went on before Wendy's eyes in mere moments.

"W-What's going on…?" The confused girl spat out in her daze. "What are you doing to me?!"

From out of the blur, Zeke stepped forward with a disturbing smirk. A garbled voice rose up from the headphones, as the insidious boy mouthed along with the words:

"You are now under my control! Your mind is mine!"

"NO!"

The more Wendy strained against the music, the more her senses grew enflamed. Her nostrils and ears felt like they were bleeding out. Her eyes burned like she had just finished an all-night B-horror movie marathon. Her tongue and lips had been turned bone dry.

"It hurts! Why does it hurt so much?!"

One by one, the assembly of exes stood at Zeke's side, watching in silence as their hostage writhed in agony.

"Make it stop! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"

Wendy squeezed her eyes closed, only to have a voice call out.

"Is that the best you can do?"

"Huh?" She reopened her eyes, finding herself no longer at the mercy of her subjugators. Instead, Wendy was now standing on the race track just outside the Gravity Falls Middle School Gymnasium. Her flannel outfit had vanished, leaving her in a light T-shirt, thigh-high black shorts, and white sneakers.

A much younger, and yet, still-cocky Russ stepped into frame, "You heard me, Corduroy. You were dogging it that last quarter mile." He gave her a shove, "What good is all this training if you've got nothing to show for it?"

Wendy was taken aback by her current location, "I remember this! But how?"

Zeke's voice came out of the abyss of her mind, "Recall all of the pain you have caused. See their miseries through new eyes!"

The lumberjack princess tried to answer back, but found she was unable to. Her body refused to obey. The memory played out like a form of home video, never changing from its original form.

Wendy watched as she pushed Russ back and began to argue with him, "You've been messing with me all day, Russ, and I'm getting pretty tired of it!" Her sights changed to see a gathering of his varsity friends laughing and mocking the couple from the sidelines. "You're just acting like an ass to impress those jerks you hang around with!"

Russ crossed his bare arms against his chest, "At least they know how to win." He poked her sternum with an index finger, "So, what are you going to do about it?"

A smile spread across Wendy's face. "Alright. This is what we're going to do. Let's have a race around the track. No practice this time. Me versus you. If you win, we'll train until the cows come home. If I win, you shut your mouth with all this trash talk – for good!"

Russ looked at the group of teammates jeering him on before giving his answer.

"Deal…"

Wendy took her place at the starting line, and bent down in a runner's position. Russ followed suit afterwards. They shot each other a glare before setting their sights on the road ahead.

"Ready? Set? GO!"

Both teenagers took off like lightning. With her lungs burning, Wendy sped up past Russ; the cool afternoon air whooshed her massive red-haired ponytail backwards. She closed her eyes, knowing that victory was seconds away, when suddenly, her body became different. Something heavy pressed against her frame. She was unable to run any further, as her feet felt off.

Wendy's eyes sprang open as the wind seemed to fade away. She was no longer on the open track, but now standing in between rows of empty arcade cabinets. Wendy noticed her reflection in the monitor's screen. Her gym clothing had been replaced with a fancy green dress. Her auburn hair had been tied back with countless hairpins. A thin layer of makeup had covered her freckled face. Black high heels made their presence known as they noisily clacked on the tile floor.

Taking careful steps to avoid tumbling in her new footwear, Wendy went around the corner to find the object of her search.

"There you are!"

A few yards away, Psyche was playing an arcade game, using both joysticks at the same time. With his blue hair placed into a ponytail, his new attire consisted of a tuxedo-themed shirt, matching black jeans, and gym shoes.

Wendy stormed forward, "I didn't want to believe it, but – did you forget about me? About what day it is?"

Psyche paid his girlfriend very little heed, "Hey, baby. How's it hanging?"

"How's it hanging?" Wendy threw her arms downwards, "How's it look like it's going?! Look at me, Psyche! I did all of this for you! You promised that we could take a break from the gaming stuff and go to the Spring Dance together!"

He waved her away, "Yeah, yeah. I didn't forget…we can still go…"

"No, we can't, Psyche. It ended fifteen minutes ago! You were supposed to meet me there, remember! Instead, I had to limp around town in high heels trying to find you!"

Psyche's attention never waned from his current game, "Yeah…it was probably stupid anyways…"

Wendy finally saw red. She lifted a leg, and plucked a heel from her foot. With pin-point accuracy, she hurled the shoe straight at the machine's screen, watching it bounce off with a *THUD!* and forcing the addicted gamer away from the cabinet.

"HEY!"

A few bleeps and boops later, a "GAME OVER" message flashed across the monitor.

At long last, Psyche confronted Wendy, "Whatcha do that for? It took me three hours to reach that point!"

"I don't care!" Wendy launched back. "You said you were going to be at the school – dressed up, and a dumbass T-Shirt doesn't count – when you started your stupid game of yours!"

"It's not stupid! Just because you don't finish anything that you start – "

"That's not the point, Edwin!"

He raised his hands while looking around the Arcade, "Hey, hey. Watch the "E-word" around here…"

"The point is that you said we were going to spend time together! Even when we're here, we don't play together – you expect me to stand back and watch you for hours on end!" Infuriated, Wendy kicked off her remaining shoe and walked away comfortably in her bare feet. "You want to waste all your time here? Fine! But count me out!"

"It's not a waste – "

"WHATEVER!"

As Wendy went back down the path she came, she took one last look at her reflection, seeing that her makeup had started to become stained with tears. Wishing to hide from the sight, Wendy covered her eyes as she walked out of the Arcade.

The sounds of sobbing seemed to follow Wendy. It was an instance later that she realized that the weeping was no longer hers.

She removed her hands from her face, noticing that the scenario had changed for a third time. Wendy was now in the backseat in an-all-too-familiar car.

"Hang on. Isn't this…"

She looked to her left to see that Danny was hysterical in the seat next to her. With his palms against his head, countless streams of tears traveled down his cheeks and onto the car seats. Wendy watched as her arm reached out for the heartbroken boy, only to stop before she made contact. The damage had been done, and there was little left to say in the matter.

Wendy sighed, and looked up, seeing the slighted eyes of Danny's overprotective mother staring at her from the rearview mirror. She could make out the elder whispering under her breath, "I knew it. Definitely too young for her…" The body language of the woman made Wendy think of Mrs. Pines.

Trapped until they reached their destination, Wendy anxiously threw her arms behind her, and sat back in her seat. She closed her eyes, praying that the everlasting car ride would end shortly, and recalling it as the reason she opted to bike to future gatherings.

"There we are. Try to get out now…"

A new voice broke Wendy out of her self-induced darkness. She was now in the middle of the Gravity Falls Woods. She went to take a step forward, only to be stopped. Her arms had been secured to a tree behind her. Wendy felt about with her fingertips, realizing that she had been locked in handcuffs.

"BOO!"

Abruptly, Stoney came out of the ether, startling her into a shriek. As he laughed, Wendy tested her bonds again, What – What is this? Let me outta these things!"

"Not yet," he wagged his finger at her. "You said you wanted to understand why I do the things I do. After this, I know you'll be able to get the big picture…"

"C'mon, Stoney!" Wendy whined. "All I said was that I thought you were too rough with that little critter." She shifted her manacles for a third time, "I think the cuffs are cutting off my circulation…"

"You know," he ignored her, going on with his ideologies, "A captured animal can reach incredible levels of desperation when it finds itself stuck. Some even go as far as to chew off their own limbs to escape…"

With that, Stoney took the key to Wendy's shackles out from his vest, flashed it teasingly in front of her face, and placed it on the forest floor inches away from her booted feet. His role finished, the hunter headed towards the exit of the clearing.

"Wait! Where are you going?!"

"I'm heading home. Don't worry, I'll be back in a few hours to check on you…"

"A few hours?!" Wendy pulled against her chains; her shoulders were almost to the point of popping, "Stoney, you can't leave me here like this!"

"I can, and I will…" He waved as he disappeared from the scene. "Good luck, darling. You'll need it…"

"Stoney? Stoney!" Wendy called after him. "Stoney, I have to get home before dark, or my dad's going to be pissed!"

With no reply from her current beau, Wendy sunk down the dirt-covered ground. Her eyes focused on the small glint – her only way to freedom – inches away from her reach. She raised her sights to the dusk-layered sky, and closed her eyes, wondering how she was going to escape this mess.

"It's nothing personal, Wendy…"

How can you say that?!"

With another blackout came yet another memory. Wendy was sitting alongside Eli and some of his snobby friends outside of the Gravity Falls Middle School. They had been talking about their plans for the evening when Eli made a sudden announcement.

"Try to be rational, Red…"

"Dude," she threw her arms open, "You wait until the night of to tell me you're cancelling on me?! I thought we were looking towards this concert all week!"

An ashamed expression came over him, "Well, I – "

"Just tell her the truth, old boy…"

Wendy twirled towards the tone, finding it came from within Eli's group. She decided to call them out, "What are you talking about? The truth about what?"

"Well," An over-dressed girl answered. "Isn't it obvious? We're still going – but you're not… "

Her boyfriend next to her finished her thought, "It's just how society works. Sometimes, certain people from one side of town simply doesn't belong with those from the other side. Isn't that right, Eli?"

"I – "

Wendy turned back towards Eli, "You really don't believe this, do you? Tell me this ain't so!"

Eli finally spoke up, "I believe you mean "isn't…"

"That's it?! You stab me in the back, and the only thing you can do is correct my grammar?!" Without saying another word, Wendy stormed off towards home.

"Wendy? Where are you going?!"

"What do you care? You have your yuppie buddies to keep you company!"

The upper classed boy and girl were insulted by her comment.

"Well, I never!"

"How dare you, bumpkin!"

Not swaying from her path, Wendy extended her middle finger and yelled over her shoulder, "Blow me!"

She blindly strolled into the Gravity Falls Woods, finding herself lost for a brief moment. She blinked and looked for any signs for the shortcut back home.

"Did you talk to him?"

Wendy's field of vision rotated one-hundred-eighty degrees. From there, she spotted Zeke coming out from behind a series of redwoods foreign to her hometown. She noticed that he looked different – as she would have liked to remember him in the back of her mind – before his change.

"And now, your greatest sin!"

Zeke repeated himself, "Did you talk to him?"

"Yeah," Wendy rubbed her shoulder.

"And what did he say?"

"He said…" Wendy took a deep breath and exhaled. "He said "no way…""

"WHAT?!" Zeke clinched his fists, "Even after everything I've shown you?! Doesn't he know how much you've changed for the better?"

"Dad really does appreciate it, Zeke." Wendy stepped forward and took his hand, "And you know I do, too. You made this summer awesome. I couldn't even begin to thank you for everything. But they – they need me back home. Especially after with Mom being gone – there was no chance he was going to let me stay here with you."

"I can't believe it – "

She squeezed his hand, "I know, Zeke. But…it isn't like the world's ending or anything, right? Wait until next summer comes, and I'll come back. I swear it. And we'll be able to pick up exactly where we left off…"

"No…"

His answer stunned Wendy, "What did you say?"

Zeke raised his head, and pulled his hand out of Wendy's hold, "I said, I can't believe you!"

There was a new look in Zeke's red eyes – something vicious and almost primal in it. Wendy started to back away in fright, "Zeke…"

He started towards her with incredible speed, "Do you honestly expect me to believe you gave it your all when trying to convince that drunkard?"

Wendy held up her hands in self-defense, "I did everything I could, Zeke! What else did you expect me to do?!"

*SMACK!*

She had never seen the blow coming. His hand zoomed across the open air, striking her on the spotted cheek, knocking her to the cold ground. Wendy's green eyes swelled with tears as she gazed up at her attacker.

"…Zeke…?" Wendy had never seen this side of him before.

He bent down to her level and gritted his teeth, "I expected you to do whatever it took to get the job done. No excuses!"

"It's - *SNIFF!* - It's not that simple! Real life isn't always like lumberjacking." She pressed up against the ground to stand back up, "There are things that we can't control and – "

Before she could make it back to her feet, Zeke delivered a swift kick to her bread basket, sending Wendy back to the damp earth.

"Ugh!"

"Let's get one thing straight between us, kid!" The mentor-turned-menace made clear, "I make the rules in this relationship! What I say goes – I don't care what your father or your cousin think! And when I tell you to do something, Gwendolyn, you-will-frigging-do-it!"

"Zeke…" Wendy clutched her injured stomach, "You can't – "

"Oh, but I can. Remember this, Gwendy: you're my girl, and will always be "my girl." We complete each other, like two pieces of the same puzzle. And like the puzzle piece you are, you will conform and bend to meet my missing needs! You'll get up when I say it's time to get up! And when I tell you to get your ass back on the phone and tell your father you're staying here, you'll do it! Got it?!"

"I – I..." Wendy coughed, "I can't – it's too late…"

"What do you mean?!"

"He's - *COUGH!* He's already here…"

"What?!" The abusive young man failed to notice the looming shadow growing from behind. He rotated around to find himself face-to-face with Manly Dan Corduroy. Before Zeke had a chance to flee, the stout father grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.

"Ack! Ack!"

*POUND!* *POUND!*

After delivering two massive blows to the abdomen, Dan hurled the boy face first into a nearby tree, watching it splinter into pieces as the teenage boy collided with it.

*CRASH!*

With the threat subdued, Manly Dan walked towards his fallen daughter and offered an open hand. It was a genuine kind of kindness – something that Wendy seldom saw from her parent, as he usually preferred using "tough love."

Wendy placed both hands in Dan's mighty palm. It was a perfect distraction for Zeke to make a getaway. As the sounds of the forest alerted the Corduroys of his movements, the spurned lumberboy made a solemn vow:

"This isn't over with! I'll find you again, Gwendolyn, my lumberjack queen! No matter how long it takes, I swear I'll find you!"

An awkward silence overtook father and daughter as Wendy made it back to her feet. They walked side by side towards the forest's entrance.

"Why didn't you cream that guy?"

Dan's sudden question caught Wendy off-guard, "Huh?"

"I'm asking why you didn't go after him instead of letting him do that to you…?"

Wendy lowered her head. She knew that a speech about "Corduroy toughness and strength" was incoming.

Instead, Dan went towards a different route, "You learned a horrible truth about the world today, Wendy – that the majority of men out there are pigs. And I'm – or your brothers – are not always going to be there to help. That's why when a man does you wrong, you can't be afraid to strike them back!"

Another brief hush surrounded the duo until Wendy broke though.

"I'll – I'll remember that, Dad…"

The giant overlooked his pride and joy, examining her fully for the first time in the three months she had been away.

"Hmm…" he grunted. "Green flannel looks good on you…"

Wendy wrapped her arms around her father's right bicep as she went forth in tandem.

"Thanks, Dad…"

A bright light whisked Wendy away from the traumatic recollection. The world around her flashed about in several different colors, each as overwhelming to the senses as the last. Finally, a lone silhouette appeared within the sparks, growing in form and shape, as one last voice called out to her.

"Wendy…"

She flicked her eyelids, finding that where Zeke once stood, Dipper Pines had replaced him. Her partner in crime reached out towards her with both hands, as if he was trying to call her home.

"Wendy…"