Pacifica is not the only one facing her fears.
Also, either next chapter or the one after that will be the final chapter. I'm just glad I was able to get this one finished in time for Christmas.
The kids started running through the tunnels as the screams got louder and shriller. The hairs on the back of their necks kept going up every time the screams echoed. And they weren't going away.
"What are those things?" Dipper asked.
He was watching as shadows were formed along the cave walls. Whatever they were, they weren't human. In fact, they looked a lot like...
"Get down!"
Someone much larger than them had tackled them all to the ground. That same person covered all five kids as the strange creatures passed by, their screams slowly fading out.
"Grunkle Stan!" Dipper and Mabel exclaimed, hugging their grunkle.
"You kids alright?" he asked.
Pacifica had never been so relieved to see the old cheapskate.
"I think we're good," Dipper replied, "What were those things?"
"Yeah, those stories about half-spider half-human ladies we used to joke about? Turns out they're true," Grunkle Stan replies, "Also, I was hitting on one of them."
"Ewwww," the kids replied.
"So Darlene was a spider lady?" asked Dipper.
"Ugh, Grunkle Stan, really?" Mabel complained.
"Relax," Stan said, "She's history. Literally."
"What does that mean?" asked Pacifica.
"...there's more of them living in this freaky mountain," Stan replied, "And they're all after us. We need to be long gone before they find the body."
"T-The body?" asked Pacifica, "You mean Darlene's..."
Stan turned right around, glaring intensely at Pacifica. Something snapped inside him.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU LITTLE BRAT?!" Stan screamed loudly, "BACK HOME SAFE IN YOUR FANCY MANSION?"
"N-No, I wasn't..."
"THIS ISN'T A GAME!"
Stan marched off towards where the exit was supposed to be, leaving a stunned Pacifica behind.
"I didn't say it was..." Pacifica said softly.
"Don't worry about it, Pacifica," Dipper told her, "He's just...a little scared right now."
"Grunkle Stan? Scared?" Mabel asked, "Pssh, nah!"
"Mabel," Dipper said in a stage whisper, "Not a good time..."
"Hey, I didn't say he wasn't being a jerk!" Mabel exclaimed defensively, "Just that he's not scared. I mean, he used to be scared of heights, but other than that, Grunkle Stan isn't afraid of anything!"
Stan heard running water from around the corner. Where there was water, there was life, and life meant not getting eaten by giant spider ladies wanting revenge for him killing one of their own. Also quenching thirst, that was a bonus for water, too. Stan soon found the source of the running water...a fountain. Crystal clear and not a trace of bacteria in the water.
"Oh, finally!" Stan said, "I could use a little water after that run-in with death incarnate."
Running up to the fountain, Stan cupped his hands together and, after bringing them down into the fountain, pulled out some water and drank it.
"Oh yeah," Stan moaned, "That hits the spot."
"Grunkle Stan?" asked a voice from behind.
Stan turned around to see the voice came from Dipper. Guess he was the only one who bothered following him this far. That Pacifica girl was probably still upset, and Mabel, being the innocent soul she is, was probably trying to comfort her.
"Hey kiddo," Stan said, "Look, I know I got a little wound up back there, but we're kind of in a life or death situation right now, so whatever lecture you're going to give me, or if you're looking for an apology...either way, it'll have to wait until we make it out of this mountain alive."
"I'm not asking for either," Dipper replied, "In fact, I don't really expect much from you."
"Uh...you sure you're okay? You sound like you're holding a grudge. And trust me, I know a thing or two about those."
"Of course you would," Dipper said, "Why do you think I stopped coming to you for advice? Why I've spent more time with Grunkle Ford than with you or Mabel?"
"Uh, weird nerdy interests?" asked Stan rhetorically, "I thought that was kind of obvious."
"Then you're not paying attention."
This voice wasn't coming from Dipper. From behind Stan, an older man roughly the same height and build as Stan started coming forward. And then he saw why he looked so similar. No, he wasn't looking at himself. He was looking at his twin brother.
"Ford?" asked Stan, "I thought you were back home working on whatever nerdy thing you two have been bonding over. Why are you here?"
"Stanley," Ford said menacingly, "I think the real question is, why are you here?"
"We made a VERY wrong tour on my revenge trip," Stan said, "Funny how half-lady half-spider creatures can sour the mood."
"No, Stanley," Ford groaned, "Not here in the moment! I mean why are you here? Think big picture!"
"Is this...is this one those trick question things?"
"Fine, fine, I'll make it easier to understand," Ford replied, "Why do you exist?"
"I'm not a big proponent of existential questions, Ford," Stan replied.
"Oh for Pete''s sake!" groaned Ford, "I'm asking you why you were even born?"
"Well, Ford, when a man and a woman love each other very much, or in our case, when they've had a little too much..."
"NO! You're supposed to figure out how much better off everyone is without you in the picture!"
"Hey! I resent that insinuation!" Stan exclaimed.
Now a third figure popped up from thin air, this time much closer to Stan, only mere inches away from his face. Except this time, it wasn't someone he could simply ignore without a second thought. It was the very person who caused his circumstances to begin with. In that instant, Stan found himself staring into the eyes of Filbrick Pines.
"You resent anything that doesn't revolve around you," Filbrick told him, "Always have your whole life. It cost your brother his scholarship, and it nearly cost those kids their summer."
"What do you know, old man?" asked Stan, "You don't know the first thing about those kids, let alone me...y'know, since you kicked me out and let me live on the streets!"
"You're welcome," Filbrick said.
"You're welcome?!" Stan cried, "You don't even care about what happened to me after you left me for dead!"
"And you're still complaining," Filbrick said coldly.
Without saying a word, Stan went to punch his dad right in the kisser, only to feel his fist punching nothing but thin air. The mirage had disappeared, but Filbrick's voice still echoed throughout the chamber.
"Stanford was always the responsible one," Filbrick's voice echoed, "That's why, at the end of the day, those kids are going to stay with him."
Now Dipper and Ford were walking away, with their backs turned to Stan. Dipper disappeared, and Ford turned to Stan one last time.
"Look at it this way, Stanley," Ford said, "At least you have the Mystery Shack. I'll go ahead and keep the kids.
Ford did not simply fade away. He exploded into a bright flash, leaving behind a frightening vision of Dipper and Mabel screaming in fear, clutched in the hands of a ridiculously cartoonish but equally menacing yellow triangle, with Ford running away into the distance.
"You COWARD! Stan screamed.
Stan went to throw a punch to Ford, but instead hit the top-hat triangle. Only this time, it didn't go right through him. It hit him directly, sending him into tiny pieces and a chilling scream that Stan could swear he had heard before, or knew he would hear in the days to come.
"Uh, Grunkle Stan?"
Stan turned around and saw Dipper standing there...the real one, he could tell. He had the same dorky, confused look he always seemed to have.
"Dipper?" Stan asked.
"What exactly was that about?" asked Dipper, "One minute I ask about you, the next you're talking to yourself and swinging your fists at nothing!"
Trying not to give off a sign of what he perceived as a weak and vulnerable moment, Stan went right back to his gruff demeanor.
"Was that before or afterrace you interrupted my water break?"
"Probably after...wait, you drank the water?" asked Dipper.
"Hey, I was thirsty!" Stan exclaimed, "You try running from a tribe of human-spider ladies without breaking a sweat!"
Dipper looked into the the water as if he had already seen it. He hadn't, of course, but he was already a smart kid, who grew even smarter after adventuring with Ford.
"That must be why Pacifica was acting so weird!" Dipper exclaimed, "She must have drank from the fountain too! I can't believe we didn't even think about the Fountain of Fear!"
"The Fountain of what?" Stan asked, "Actually, never mind. I don't wanna know. Let's just get your sister and your friends and get out of here alive!"
Dipper started walking off before Stan put his hand on Dipper's shoulder.
"Listen, kiddo," Stan said, "When this is over, I'll apologize to your little girlfriend for the way I treated her...but not for doing what I do to keep you kids safe."
Dipper smiled knowingly at his grunkle.
"I really appreciate...wait, what? She's not my girlfriend! JEEZ!"
Dipper walked off blushing and embarassed.
"Coulda had me fooled," Stan said, "And trust me, that's saying a lot!"
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