Dipper was practically biting his fingernails off. He had just a few minutes before Soos walked through the door of the gift shop, and he and Mabel could ask him if he wanted to partake in an epic quest to return the dragon back to normal. Though he privately knew that the man-child would be overjoyed to help, he knew how much Mabel wanted to ask dramatically. However, being the more tactful of the 'Mystery Twins', he was left with a far less enjoyable assignment: asking Grunkle Stan.

It wasn't that he didn't like his great uncle, nearly the opposite actually. It was just that he was a bit scared of asking. He knew how much Stan hated the dragon, even privately theorizing that the older man was worried about it destroying his emotional state, and honestly had pretty much confirmed he would decline. Despite this, Mabel insisted that he at least offer the chance. They needed all the help they could get.

He hesitated at the entrance to the living room, where his great uncle, as always, was watching TV. He knew Mabel wanted to ask him along, but did he really have to ask? He supposed he could always pretend he had. Deciding against this, the young detective walked into the room and took a seat beside Stan.

"What's up, kid?" Grunkle Stan asked without looking down, startling his great nephew. Dipper started to scratch the back of his neck, having second thoughts. Well, he had started. Now he had to finish.

"Um, we found out that a lot of dragons are actually humans," the young detective began, wishing he didn't sound so stupid. "And we found a cure too. I was, uh, wondering if you wanted to help us find the dragon and change it back."

Grunkle Stan sighed. "Dipper, that dragon is a menace. It destroyed over five hundred dollar's worth of my house. If it really is a human, it's probably the worst one that ever existed."

"Yeah, but if it's a human, it won't be able to bother us anymore!" the boy tried to reason. However, his great uncle was having none of it.

"Don't you think that there could be a reason that the human's a dragon?" Stan asked, still refusing to look down. "People don't get cursed for no reason, kid. Maybe the person did something terrible. Being a dragon could suit it far better than its previous life."

"Yeah, but what if it doesn't?" This was going to be Dipper's last comeback. He had come here knowing it was a lost cause, and nothing was going to change that.

"I don't want that thing anywhere near my house again," his great uncle growled. "Or near any of you. You can go on your little hunt or whatever, but I'm not coming."

Dipper hung his head and nodded, giving in. He knew his sister was expecting it about as much as he was, but he couldn't help feeling a little bit failed, as though he hadn't done all he could. The boy threaded back up the stairs and flopped on the bed, waiting for Mabel to return.

Soon, he heard a pair of footsteps rushing up the stairs. One of the sets was definitely heavier than the other, but was moving just as fast. He looked up just in time to see Soos and Mabel burst through the doorway, eager smiles on both of their faces.

"Dude, Mabel told me all about the dragon!" Soos shouted excitedly. "I'm totally willing to help!"

The man-child's comment, as simple as it was, definitely raised Dipper's spirits after hearing someone so opposed to the idea. He looked over the smiles of his friend and sister, and felt as though the weight in his chest was beginning to lift up.

"That's great!" he replied. He reached into his vest and pulled out the journal. "Ok, so I'm thinking for the plan that we need time to collect the ingredients. Can you guys do that?"

Soos pulled back his hat and saluted, while Mabel crossed her arms and put on a determined expression. As the young detective gazed over the two and let the weight lift further, he couldn't help but feel as though there were something missing.

"And I'll try to find the dragon," he concluded, trying to act as though he hadn't felt anything. "Maybe we could get it to come here to cure it at a certain time or something."

"Sounds good, dipping sauce," Mabel replied. "We'll be out getting cinnamon and stuff if you need us."

"Good luck finding the dragon, dude!" Soos shouted as they headed towards his pickup truck. Dipper watched as his sister climbed into the passenger seat, and Soos hopped into behind the wheel. The two drove away, leaving a large cloud of dust.

The young detective felt far more elated now that he had a team. He ran back upstairs, though he was careful to avoid Grunkle Stan. Walking past him now was sure to be awkward. He set the journal down. As much as he wanted to bring it along and show the dragon, the accident with the waterfall had made him realize just how risky it was to bring an ancient book on a dangerous mission.

Soon, the young boy was walking through the woods. Being morning, he was once again worried about the dragon not showing up. The only reason it had come last time was the scent of the rotting ham attracting it, and he didn't have anything for it to eat now. He would have to track it, the way survivalists did it the movies.

He was around half a mile into the dark woods when he spotted his first clue. The young detective ran over to the long line of footprints, winding their way up towards the mountain. He supposed that the dragon resided in a cave like in tales of medieval times, and knew he must be on the right track. Trotting alongside the track at a slow pace, he started to follow the dragon's trail.

However, discouragement came quickly. Half an hour later and the young boy was sweaty, exhausted, and in difficulties. He had met a large cliff face that the creature had seemingly climbed up on its own, using nothing but its incredible size to scale the mountain. Why didn't it fly? he asked himself. At this point, maybe losing the trail would be better than trying to follow an impossible one.

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise above him. He glanced up in shock to see a gigantic piece of fallen rock plummeting down, just fractions of a second from hitting him. He rolled underneath a ledge and felt the air catching and refusing to enter his lungs as the stone made contact with the earth. The utter adrenaline from the shock was making it difficult for him to breath.

As soon as he felt the tension in his limbs starting to fade, he looked up from where he had hidden his face in his vest. The massive rock had smashed into the ground with the force of a comet. Tentatively looking up to where it had fallen, he got his answer as to why.

The dragon peered down at him from atop a ledge, narrowed green eyes staring into his emotionlessly. He felt his heart rate immediately increase. The massive predator, unlike in their previous encounter, was obviously not calm.

He slowly retreated from underneath his hiding place, trying to return the burning gaze of the creature. "Hi!" he shouted up, his voice cracking. He started to curse himself loudly inside his brain.

A low rumble in response shook the cliff. Dipper had to duck as the gargantuan reptile leaped down from its perch, skidding down the cliff loudly and stirring up clouds of orangy dust. It landed on its feet beside him with a massive thump, and he tried not to wince as the animal's claws sunk into the ground as though it were the flesh of something recently killed.

Once the fear of having the great animal beside him wore off, Dipper began to recall why exactly he had come. Mabel and Soos were most likely done getting the ingredients now. They were probably looking on the side of the road for dead deer. As he wrinkled his nose, he knew he would have to keep his portion of the work.

"So," he started, glancing up at the dragon. "This is probably going to sound really stupid, but are you actually a human?"

The dragon didn't even look at him. Instead, it stared off into the distance, almost as though it were searching for something. He had seen that look on Mabel whenever she went looking for mom in the grocery store.

"I mean, you don't have to answer in words," he tried to start again, looking up and trying to meet the beast's eyes. "It would be totally ok if you just made a gesture with your tail or something. But I kinda need an answer if I'm going to cure you."

The animal's gaze snapped down to him, making him cringe slightly. All of a sudden, the dragon's demeanour changed. The icy stare softened, and for the first time since his original sighting of it that day, he saw true emotion in the creature's eyes. However, he probably would have felt slightly better if the dragon didn't look so sad.

"Hey, um, it's ok," he assured it awkwardly, reaching out to stoke its scales. He felt a tiny smile spreading across his face as an enormous purr erupted from the animal's throat. The misery written clearly in its expression faded a bit, and he felt himself cheering on the inside.

"So, like that! All you need to do is show emotion," he encouraged. "I just need confirmation that you're really a human under all those scales."

The dragon once again showed no sign of hearing him, but continued to vibrate the ground with its tremendous purring. Dipper's teeth were practically clacking together. The sound reverberated off the cliffs, making it sound louder than it actually was. Suddenly, the creature's head snapped up and every muscle in its body tensed, the purr dying out.

"What's wrong?" he found himself asking. The creature's eyes were narrowed down to slits. Perhaps a large predator had come into its territory? Did it even have territory? He continued to consider the options before the massive reptile lunged forward into the woods.

He tried to see where it had gone when he realized it was just a few feet ahead, looking back at him. The eyes were more or less back to normal, but they didn't look any happier.

"You want me to follow you?" he asked, cocking his head. The dragon made a loud snorting noise in reply, and he shrugged. The animal hopefully meant him no harm. Following it wouldn't end in disaster. He started walking after the animal as it set a slow pace, lumbering through the trees without ever stopping to investigate anything. Of course, with it being almost a hundred times his size, he had to tread considerably faster to keep up.

The dragon paused when they were around a quarter of a mile from where they started, allowing Dipper to catch up. He leaned on the creature's side, relishing the chance to catch his breath. The animal looked almost amused at his exhaustion, its body relaxed and eyes playful. Dipper smiled at the animal's lightheartedness before watching its expression go back to serious in an instant.

It's almost like something is trying to keep it from being happy, he thought to himself as the creature got to its feet and stumbled forward, stopping after a meter or two to look impatiently back to him. It shoved its head forward in a rather urgent gesture, imploring him to continue following.

He once again began to trot after the creature, who he noticed had increased its speed slightly. However, this time, he realized that he was recognizing the woods around him more and more. He was getting closer to the far edge of town, where he had tried to avoid until a few weeks ago.

The dragon stopped suddenly. He almost ran into the large tail, which was now lashing back and forth almost in fear. The young detective tried to look the same direction the animal was doing, and felt his heart crack a little when he finally spotted the creature's current interest.

It was Wendy's cabin.

"No, no, we can't go here," he murmured to it quietly. "Manly Dan doesn't like it when people go on his property, and I'm guessing he doesn't like dragons, either."

The dragon made a loud whimpered noise in its throat. A heavy feeling set in his chest, and the younger boy recognized it with a pang. He could almost share the feeling of utter hopelessness spread out across his companion's face, and the way it looked tense and depressed at the same time.

"Come on, we have to go," he urged it, tugging a bit on the tip of its tail. The dragon whipped around and he flinched as the eyes widened, staring at him with an almost challenging expression. "We can't stay!"

The creature made the same whimpering noise, but louder. He felt a tiny bit of annoyance settling in, and tugged harder. His eyes widened in sudden regret as the creature hissed a bit in pain. "I'm sorry!" he apologized, placing a hand on its flank. "But we have to get out of here!"

As the young detective started to walk away, he noticed the dragon wasn't following. It stayed perfectly still, staring after him with a hollow expression. When he looked back, something seemed to change inside him. It finally hit him that he couldn't leave it behind to be found and possibly injured by the grieving lumberjack.

Dipper rushed back and grabbed hold of one of its paws, yanking fearfully. "Come on!" he commanded, only to be shaken off by the creature. He pulled harder, and this time the animal flicked him almost painfully with its tail.

He stared up at the dragon, which glared back, the eyes narrowed. What frightened him most about the expression was that behind the anger, he could clearly see sorrow and pain.

"Come on!" he yelled, grabbing the paw and pulling so hard that his fingernails dug into the scales. The dragon snarled at him, and he let go, backing away in terror.

A heavy silence fell over the clearing. The only sounds Dipper could hear now were the heavy breaths of his companion and his own pounding heart. He looked at the animal and winced at the betrayed look in its eyes. Why did he feel so guilty all of a sudden?

He got his answer when the animal made a loud noise. It wasn't like any noise he had heard from anything before. The closest thing he could compare it to would be a sob.

He ran back to the animal's side as it began to cry much the way a wounded dog would. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered to it, feeling tears prick at the edge of his eyes. He could almost feel the presence of the little cabin, just fifteen meters or so from where he stood. The dragon's breaths were coming quicker now. Now it bore such a resemblance to a human's whimpers that the guilt was swamping him, making every muscle in his body limp as he listened.

He knew reptiles could not produce tears the way humans did, but from the dazed and miserable look in the creature's eyes, Dipper knew was truly crying. He buried his face in the scaly side as tears ran down his own cheeks, making his body shudder with weakness. He tried to brush them away, but there were more and more to replace them.

At least I know it's human now, he silently decided to himself. No animal, especially not a wild dragon, would every show such signs of weakness and sadness in front of a human, except a human itself.

The two stood for a long time, Dipper's face buried embarrassedly in the creature's side and the creature itself staring hollowly into the sky. He could still hear the occasional hitch of its breath as it struggled to return to its normal state.

"I'm sorry," he whispered one last time. The sorrow that followed the dragon's whimper made his limbs ache in response. He finally felt the powerful muscles beneath its skin starting to move as it pulled itself out of the stunned position it had been in. The creature, now standing at full height, lowered its head and nuzzled his hair, as though asking for him to stand upright as well.

As soon as he had regained his composure, the creature began to walk once more. However, unlike last time, it was a respectful walk, and it set a pace he could match. As the cabin disappeared from sight, he and the animal simultaneously let out a soft sighing noise.

"I miss Wendy a lot," he finally admitted. Though he now knew the creature could not understand his speech, he knew it would be able to empathize with what he said. As he guessed, the dragon gave a low murmur in response and nudged him gently.

When Dipper and the dragon finally reached the path that lead back to the Mystery Shack, the young detective knew this was where they would have to part ways. He placed a hand to his forehead and looked up at the creature beside him sadly. "I guess this is my stop," he breathed.

The creature rested its head on his shoulder. He could feel the heartbeat in its throat and couldn't help but smile. No matter how the animal looked on the outside, there was most definitely a human underneath.

"You should probably be getting home too," he continued gently, touching its nose. "Wherever that is," he added under his breath. He still hadn't found any sort of cave where the animal could possibly reside. He had to come to the conclusion that maybe it really didn't live anywhere. It was a big enough predator that things wouldn't bother it if slept in the open, and he had found it in a large range of places.

The dragon lifted its head from his shoulder and butted him playfully. At last, the light was returning to its eyes. Knowing that the animal next to him was once again happy, he felt something within him slide into place. He could go home now and sleep without guilt.

"Goodbye," he called, setting down the trail. He had to cover his mouth and prevent a laugh when the creature responded with a loud call not too different from his own. It was a gibberish noise, but conveyed the same upbeat emotion he emitted. The creature faded from his sight as it retreated back into the brush, the rust-like skin blending in surprisingly well.

He turned back around and started back to his own home. However, he realized that he could once again hear a loud patterning of footsteps, getting closer and closer as he neared the Shack.

Suddenly, Mabel burst out of the shadows, scaring the daylights out of her poor twin. "We found a deer!" she called gleefully.

Dipper regained his partially dignified stance after a moment, meeting Mabel with an encouraging smile. "That's great!" he congratulated. "Where is it?"

"On the side of the road not far from here," Mabel replied. "Come on, Soos is waiting for us!"

The two dashed through the brush, soon reaching the road the slightly older twin had in mind. The young detective spotted Soos crouching over a large brownish lump in the grass. As excited as he was, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the tall, female deer lying bloody and lifeless in the grass.

"Do you guys have a vial, or something we can collect blood with?" Dipper asked. Soos shook his head apologetically while Mabel curiously investigated her pockets. With a huge smile, she pulled out an empty mini-jar of jam, the kind you would see in a fancy buffet. As much as Dipper wondered where in the world she had found that, he eagerly gestured for her to hand it over.

Mabel passed her brother the jar excitedly. He slowly lowered himself down and investigated the body of the doe, trying to calculate the best place for blood collection. The book hadn't specified what part of the body the blood had to be from, or how fresh the blood had to be, but he was still determined to get the best.

The small thirteen year old finally settled on a particularly large wound in the neck and pressed the mouth of the jar up to it. He squeezed the sides of the cut and fought down squeamishness as dark crimson squirted out, making a sickening noise. He could see Soos and Mabel wincing on either side of him, with his sister going as far as to cover her ears. He relaxed when there was finally enough of the liquid pooled on the bottom to be sufficient. The young detective clasped the lid on tight.

"How's this?" he asked, holding up the jar for his friend and sister to see. Soos scratched his chin.

"Looks like it'll work," the man-child replied, a small grin spreading across his face. "That dragon dude'll be pretty happy."

"No kidding!" Mabel projected earnestly. "That poor person's probably been stuck like that for ages!"

Dipper nodded. "Well, in that case, let's get to work."