Eek! Gideon took Mabel? That's NOT GOOD. Author's Note: In the scene where Gideon's eyes glowed bright blue, I tried to make it sound like they were glowing the same way they did when Gideon summoned Bill Cipher in "Dreamscaperers." Oh, and can anyone tell me what the incantation in this chapter deciphers into, and how?
Chapter 9: A Chapter Full of Questions
"I can't believe this!" Grunkle Stan wailed. "My great-niece, in the grimy little paws of Gideon Gleeful. This is my fault. I shouldn't have agreed to Gideon's terms, even when he threatened to kill my twin brother!"
"Hey, he threatened to kill me too," Wendy pointed out. While Stanford was bawling, Dipper had helped to remove Wendy's gag. When Gideon had taken Mabel and Waddles, the rope holding Wendy and Waddles had slackened, allowing Wendy to escape its bonds.
"Sorry, Wendy," Grunkle Stan apologized, finally calming down. "I was too focused on Stanley."
Wendy stared at Stanford. "I don't believe I've ever heard you apologize before, Mr. Pines."
"It's become a regular thing these days," Dipper admitted. "He apologized to myself and Mabel about lying to us just before, well, you came in." Dipper didn't want to mention Gideon's name while Grunkle Stan was so upset.
"Come on, Grunkle Stan," Soos encouraged. "Let's get Grandpa Stanley out of the portal. 30 years is plenty of time to be stuck between dimensions."
"You're right, Soos," Grunkle Stan admitted. "I opened the portal to do a job, and that's what I'm going to do. Stanley, prepare to have your body back."
"Yippee!" cried Old Man McGucket. "I'm gonna get my soul back!"
Wendy stared at McGucket, then turned towards Dipper. "You mind explaining to me exactly what's going on around here?"
As Dipper briefed Wendy on everything, from finding Journal #3 to the events just before she was dragged into the lab, Grunkle Stan was busy setting up the portal to let Stanley's soul out. Apparently, you had to get the soulless body in a certain alignment with the soul stuck in the portal. Also, you had to chant an incantation that was written inside all three Journals. Each Journal had part of the incantation, so you had to read from all three Journals in order to set the soul free.
"Hey, kid," said Grunkle Stan to Dipper. "Wanna take a look at the incantation?"
Dipper, who had finished telling her everything, glanced at Wendy. She nodded. "Go on," she said, with a look in her eye that Dipper had never seen before. It looked almost as if she was on the verge of tears.
Dipper walked over to Grunkle Stan's desk, where Stan had laid out the Journals. "You have to read the incantation backwards," Grunkle Stan explained. "And I don't mean read the words backwards- you have to read from Journal #3 first, and end with Journal #1. You read from the Journals backwards."
"Intriguing," Dipper said.
"Hey!" cried Grandpa Stanley from the portal. "That's my line!"
Grunkle Stan chuckled. "Well, you better get used to it, brother," he explained. "Dipper says that all the time."
"I guess I inherited that trait from you, Grandpa," Dipper confessed.
Grandpa Stanley smiled at his grandson. "Yeah, you really do seem to take after me, Dipper."
Dipper and Stanley looked at each other. Dipper felt, well, a connection. More of a connection than he had felt with anyone ever before. Well, except maybe Wendy, but that was different. That was a crush. This was a family bond.
"Hey, kid!" Grunkle Stan interrupted. "Are you gonna look or not?"
"Coming, Grunkle Stan," Dipper tore his gaze away from his grandfather and looked at the Journals.
The incantation was written in the same handwriting as everything else in the Journals. The difference was the ink- instead of being black, the color was a bright gold. It would have been almost impossible to read, except that the light from the portal was just the right type of light to read the gold lettering in. It was almost as if it was made for that.
"Thgil eht fo rewop eht dna noitatnacni siht htiw," read Journal #3.
"Redro Layor, esruc S'rehpic Llib fo dir teg," Journal #2 continued.
"Thgir sgniht tes, niaga ecno dna," concluded Journal #1.
"Wow," Dipper whispered in awe. "That looks hard to say."
"Not if you're an experienced member of the Royal Order of the Holy Mackerel, such as myself," bragged Grunkle Stan.
"Now that's the Mr. Pines I know," Wendy grinned.
At Wendy's comment, everyone in the lab started chuckling. It was weird, Dipper suddenly realized, how being together with your loved ones can make you feel all mushy inside, even when there's impending danger afoot.
Looking at Grunkle Stan, Grandpa Stanley, Soos, Wendy, and even Old Man McGucket, Dipper had never felt so at home. The only thing that would make this moment complete was if Mabel was here to share it with.
Thinking about Mabel made Dipper wonder how she was doing. Was she okay? Was Gideon torturing her, or was he still smothering her with his insane puppy-dog crush? Most of all, Dipper wondered why she had sacrificed herself to save the family? Why would she do such a thing, especially with Gideon planning to take over the town?
Dipper was glad that no one in the room could read his thoughts. Dipper wondered, if someone could read his thoughts at this precise moment, would they be able to understand them, as confused as they were?
Dipper sighed, and turned back towards his family and friends. He would think about how to save Mabel later. Right now he would focus on rescuing his Grandfather. Maybe he would know how to stop Gideon, as powerful has he had become.
"Alright, Stanley, ready to get back into your body?" asked Grunkle Stan.
"Yes, brother," replied Grandpa Stanley.
With McGucket in position, and Stanford ready to read the incantation, Dipper braced himself for what would probably be the strangest thing he would see all summer- the process of a soul returning into a body.
But that's not what happened.
A flash of light appeared behind the group, and a voice called out "Stop!"
Dipper turned, and gasped at what he saw. "Blendin Blandin?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"
