Blaise de Vigenère will be editing my chapters from now on. Look out for his additions.
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The Mystery Twins
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It was nearly sunset when Soos entered the diner, a patch of red hair telling him where to sit. Wendy had instructed her friend to meet her at Greasy's after their shift, but something told the boy they weren't there to eat.
Once her pudgy friend sat down, Wendy began to speak. "Were you followed?"
"Uh…" Soos didn't know how to respond to that, but the redhead didn't seem to notice.
"Something strange is going on, and we need to figure out what."
The boy was getting confused. He was pretty sure something strange was always going on, and figuring it out was what they'd been doing all summer.
"Have you noticed Dipper and Mabel have been acting weird?" Wendy continued.
"You mean weirder than usual?" Soos loved the twins, but even he considered 'weird' to be their default mode.
"Yes!" The redhead whisper-shouted. "They aren't acting like themselves. They barely talk to us, they disappear all day, and even when they're around they act all distracted."
"Maybe it's puberty or something." The boy had noticed his older friends being a little more distant lately, but he hadn't thought it a cause for alarm until now.
"No, they're worried." Wendy pushed. "Something's going on with them."
"Well, maybe we should just let them sort it out." Soos could tell his friend was really worked up about this. "I'm sure if it was serious they'd ask for help."
"That's just it! What if they can't ask for help? What if it's so bad they're afraid to even talk about it?"
The girl's worry was starting to rub off on her companion. She was the more observant of the two after all (she could spend a whole afternoon just staring at Dipper), maybe the twins were in trouble. "What should we do?"
Wendy smiled now that her friend was on board, but her face fell again when she said, "I have no idea."
::::::::::T::::::::::
If Dipper and Mabel weren't asking for help, then they weren't gonna reveal their problem if confronted either. At least, that's what Wendy reasoned. She'd have to ask what's wrong without actually asking what was wrong. That meant subtlety was key.
"So… What's up guys? Anything going on? Anything strange and dangerous happening?" Subtlety.
Dipper sat at the register, scribbling in a notebook. Looking up, he smiled and said, "Nope. Nothing new."
"Yep, everything's totally normal for us." Mabel agreed, putting down the snowglobes she'd been stocking. "Absolutely nothing different is happening than what we usually do, certainly nothing suspicious."
The peppy girl smiled, but Wendy was almost sure she saw Dipper glare at his sister before returning to an amiable expression. Well, that didn't work. Maybe a different approach.
"Um, do you guys wanna hang out later then?" The redhead asked.
The twins shared a glance before Dipper rubbed the back of his neck and spoke. "Sorry kiddo, but I already made plans with Pacifica tonight. I promise we'll hang together soon."
"Oh, okay." The girl tried to convince herself that her disappointment was from not finding any secrets. She turned to Mabel, who was fidgeting with the hem of her sweater.
"Oh, uh…" The teen stammered for a moment. "And I'm going to that really girly store in the mall that you hate so much. Yep, probably be there all night."
"Okay. Later then?" The siblings nodded to her question.
Subtlety wasn't working. Time for plan B: Invading their privacy.
:::::::::::R:::::::::::
That evening, after closing, Wendy and Soos made a show of saying goodnight before leaving. Once they were out of sight, the redhead pulled her friend into a bush where they could watch the driveway.
"What are we doing again?" Soos asked.
"We're gonna follow Dipper and Mabel to see where they're really going."
"But how do you know they're not just doing what they said?"
"Shh! Here they come."
The twins exited the front door, locking it behind them. The pair were silent as they walked past the hiding spot, heading towards town.
"See! I told you they were up to something!" Wendy said.
"But didn't they both say they had plans tonight?"
"Yeah. Separately."
"But Pacifica's place and the mall are in the same direction. Couldn't they just be walking together?"
"But Dipper's wearing his normal clothes. He always dresses up nicer when he hangs out with Pacifica." Wendy explained. And she certainly wasn't jealous that the teen made an extra effort for the other girl. In fact, she was proud that he felt comfortable enough around her to just be himself. Yep. Definitely.
"So, what now?" Soos asked.
"We see where they go."
:::::::::::::U::::::::::::
The preteens followed Dipper and Mabel to the edge of town, where the older kids stopped outside an abandoned warehouse. Wendy and Soos hid behind another bush, and saw the siblings do the same. The redhead wasn't sure what was going on, until people started leaving the old building. Then the girl realized they were spying on the twins spy on someone else. But who, and why?
After the building emptied out, the twins followed one specific person. Staying a safe distance behind meant Wendy couldn't tell who the guy was, but she couldn't risk being discovered. The anonymous figure walked towards downtown until he was joined by another, then two more.
The four strangers turned a corner, and the twins sped up to follow. By the time Wendy and Soos caught up, everyone had disappeared. They'd lost sight of their target, and their target's target.
:::::::::::::S::::::::::::
The next morning, Soos and Wendy came into work tired. With no luck tracking their friends back down, they called off the search. However, while they didn't figure anything out, the tweens had all the proof they needed to be sure something was going on. Wendy was already planning their next move when the twins came in for their shift, looking even more worn-out than the preteens.
It was obvious the teens weren't gonna let anything slip, so Wendy decided she needed to find hard evidence elsewhere. Their bedroom was the obvious starting place, but how could she search it without being caught?
Mabel was on register that morning, while Dipper swept the shop. Soos had been instructed to sure up all the display cases in the museum, since the ancient cabinets had begun to collapse under their own weight. An idea began to form in Wendy's mind, and she ran off to find her chubby friend.
Five minutes later, Soos came into the giftshop and asked Dipper for help. When the older boy agreed, Wendy offered to sweep. Once she scooped a big pile of dirt into the dustpan, the redhead walked across the room, only to trip and fall. On her way to the floor, she flung the collected dust right into Mabel.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Wendy said, picking herself up.
Mabel coughed and sputtered, but managed to say, "It's okay. It was an accident."
"Why don't you go get cleaned up? I can watch things out here." The preteen offered.
"Yeah, thanks." The older girl rubbed her stinging eyes and left the room.
:::::::::::::T:::::::::::::
Once Mabel was out of sight, Wendy ran to the door and switched the Open sign to Closed. Tip-toeing into the family room, the girl snuck down the hall.
Pressing an ear against the bathroom door, Wendy heard the shower running and Mabel begin to sing:
"Shavin' my legs,
Doodly-Doo!
So I don't look like my brother,
Bleep-blop, bloobidy-bloo!"
Both twins were distracted. Wendy figured she had fifteen minutes to search their room for clues. The girl didn't know what to look for, but was confident she'd find it in the attic.
Wendy had been in the teens' bedroom before, but the sight of it still surprised her. Based off the personalities of her older friends, she pictured half the place to be organized, and half to be in chaos. It was, but not divided the way she expected.
Mabel's side was neat and tidy. With her carefree nature, Wendy had assumed the other girl's space would be a mess of half-finished sweaters and discarded art supplies, but everything the teen owned had its proper place. Dipper was the opposite. He was methodical and precise, but his side was a mess of books, papers, and dirty laundry.
It was in this clutter that Wendy was sure she'd find the answer to the twins' odd behavior. She started with the pile on his nightstand. Mostly just novels and textbooks. The girl didn't have any luck with the loose papers either. Some were notes taken on the strange things in town and, while interesting, didn't show anything worse than what was in the journal. Some pages were written in code, and she wished she knew how to decipher them.
There was nothing to suggest why the teens were acting differently. Wendy was about to give up, when she spotted something hidden by a sheet in the corner. She uncovered a bulletin board, but didn't know what she was looking at. There were photos of that graffiti from around town (she remembered seeing Dipper take pictures of it the other day), and at the bottom was a map of Gravity Falls with red tacks pinned in different places. There were pictures of people too: all but four were crossed out.
Wendy began to see a pattern, but the meaning still eluded her. They were interested in the graffiti that had been cropping up since the beginning of summer, and those four guys from the night before must be the main suspects. But why? Sure, the design was kinda creepy and occult-y, but so was the stuff in the Mystery Shack. What made this so worrying? A slip of paper with some half-legible notes drew her attention. Squinting, Wendy read:
Eyes
Eyes are the window to the soul.
Soul=Mind
Mind=Thought
'I think, therefore I am.'
Thought=Reality
Which reality?
Other Dimensions?
Windows open both ways
Windows can be broken
Sleepy
Can't find answer
Knowledge=Power,
Power Corrupts
Become corrupted absolutely
Gain absolute Knowledge
Never drink Mabel Juice again!
Well, that's weird. So the eye and pentagram were dangerous somehow. But why were those guys painting them? Covering the easel back up, Wendy turned and saw a newspaper clipping on Dipper's bed. The headline simply read: 'Prison Break!' But before she could read it, she heard the stairs creak outside.
Diving under the bed, Wendy saw Mabel walk in wearing a bathrobe. Dipper followed after her, looking sweaty and dusty.
"Did you leave any hot water?" The boy asked.
"Nope!" Came a chipper response.
Dipper grumbled and started gathering some fresh clothes.
Once her brother left the room, Mabel walked over to her dresser and fished out a clean shirt and skirt. Tossing the new clothes on her mattress, she walked to the near side of the room until all Wendy could see were her bare feet.
"Hello!" Mabel shouted, suddenly sticking her head under the bed.
Wendy squawked and scooted away. Her hiding spot had been discovered.
"Aww, don't be like that." The teenager extended a hand and helped pull her friend out.
"I'm sorry! I was- I just- Um…" Wendy couldn't think up an excuse, growing more and more panicked.
"Hey, hey, it's okay." Mabel reassured. "I'm not mad."
"You're not?"
"Yeah. I went through that same creepy phase of trying to spy on people while they changed too." She patted the younger girl's shoulder. "Heck, I can't blame you. Given the chance, I'd watch me getting dressed too!"
"Um…" Wendy didn't really know what to say to that.
"Now, even though I'm flattered, a girl needs her privacy. So, bye-bye!" Mabel pushed the preteen out of the room, flashing her a smile before closing the door.
:::::::::::NO::::::::::::
Back at home, Wendy scanned through newspapers from the past week. She found the article from the twins' room in Monday's edition:
Prison Break!
Small Medium at Large:
Gideon Gleeful escapes county jail.
Who? Was he involved? The girl read the article, looking for answers. Apparently this guy was some kind of disgraced performer who went crazy and tried to destroy the town, like, a lot. In the summer of 2012 he was exposed and apprehended by… Stanford, Dipper, and Mabel Pines. Now he was loose again. Was he coming for revenge? Wendy read on: In 2013 he broke out and was caught by… Dipper and Mabel. 2014- Broke out- Caught by Pines'. Yeah. This was something to worry about.
Wendy paced her room. No wonder the twins were acting strange. Apparently they had an arch-nemesis they never told her about, and he was out to get them. Was he responsible for the graffiti? Probably. If the Pines' were involved, then something supernatural must've been happening from the beginning.
But why keep all this a secret? She could've helped! What else hadn't they told her? Wendy shook the thought away. These were her friends, and she was gonna help them.
:::::::::::O::::::::::
On her way back to the Shack, Wendy couldn't help but think she was being followed. Sure, she always felt like the woods were watching her, but this was worse. And now that she knew a psycho was after her friends, the feeling was unbearable. Speeding up, the redhead made it to the Shack quicker than usual.
When she got there, the building was a mess. The door was hanging off its hinges, and everything on the first floor was knocked out of place. Wendy stepped over some red sticky patches on the carpet, not wanting to know their origin.
Soos was there already, wringing his hand, as Dipper paced back and forth. The older boy had a look on his face Wendy had never seen before. It scared her a little, but she had to ask.
"What happened?"
Snapped out of his thoughts, Dipper glanced at her and said, "Mabel."
It looked like he was about to say more, but he started pacing again instead. Wendy saw that the teen had a scrap of paper in his hand. Bracing herself, the redhead grabbed it and jumped away as Dipper tried to swipe it back.
Pines,
I told you not to get involved.
If you ever want to see her again,
meet me lq wkh zrrgv.
-G.C.G.
She was too late. If she had gotten there sooner, figured it out sooner, she could've helped. Yanking the note away, Dipper glared at the younger girl.
Composing himself, the teen said, "I need you two to take the cart and get home as fast as possible. Call Stan and tell him there was a break-in."
"Shouldn't we call the police?" Soos asked nervously.
"No."
"What's that red stuff on the floor?"
"Grape juice." The boy turned and headed upstairs.
"Wait!" Wendy ran after him. "We can help! Just tell us what's going on and we can figure it out."
"This isn't something you can help with."
"Yes I can!"
But the attic door slammed in her face.
::::::::::::N:::::::::::
When he came back downstairs, Dipper wore a stiff canvas coat and leather gloves. Metal clinked under the jacket, and there were obvious bulges in his pockets. The boy slung a backpack over his shoulders and pulled his cap down tight on his head. He started for the door, but was blocked by a determined Wendy, Soos standing behind her nervously.
"No." The teen said, a firmness in his voice the others weren't used to.
"We're not letting you do this alone!" Wendy put her hands on her hips.
"You don't understand what's going on."
"Then explain it to me!"
"No! This isn't something you can handle. I'm not gonna let you get hurt running after something you're not prepared for."
"How can you say that after everything that's happened this summer?" The girl shouted. "After all we've been through, you know I can take care myself! You know I can take whatever Gravity Falls throws at me!"
Dipper just sighed. He looked worn out, and older than he should.
"We're coming with you." The redhead stood firm. "There's nothing you can say to stop us."
"Alright." The boy gave in. "But I can't let you go out there unprotected."
Leading the tweens down the hall, Dipper opened a door and gestured them inside. Once Soos and Wendy entered, the door slammed and the lock clicked. Wendy ran back and started pounding on the frame, shouting. But the only response was the screeching of wood on wood, as something heavy was pushed in front of the door.
"Let us out!"
"I'm sorry. But if this is the only way to keep you safe, then I'm doing it." The floor creaked as Dipper started to walk away, but paused. "Um. I guess if I die or something and don't come back, just uh… Make lots of noise until Stan lets you out."
With that, he was gone.
:::::::::::::E::::::::::::
Despite their inherent danger, Dipper always felt at peace in the woods of Gravity Falls. That peace was gone today, the forest was silent with tension. He knew where to go, but time seemed to drag on with each step. To distract himself from what would come next, the boy opened his phone and dialed. On the second ring, a feminine voice answered.
"Hey Pacifica." Dipper said. "Are you home right now?"
…
"No, no. I was just thinking, for no reason, today seems like a good day to stay indoors and not leave your house at all."
…
"No, everything's fine."
…
"Yeah, just like, stay in your house. And don't leave. Until I call. Or you see something on the news. OkayBye!"
Hanging up, he was about to reach his destination.
::::::::::::::::::::::::
The shady clearing Gideon choose to meet in was a favorite spot of his. The area had a strong field of ambient magic, too strong for plants to take root, and animals avoided it. It was a barren patch of earth, surrounded by the lush green of trees trying to soak in the exotic energy without getting close enough to burn away. It felt powerful, Nature itself yearned to touch it, but had to bow away from the might at the center. It was the perfect place for his final confrontation with Dipper, the Pine would wither in the presence of his glory.
The brunette entered the clearing, a scowl on his face. "Where is she?"
"Why Dipper! As punctual as ever." Gideon said. "I'm glad you accepted my little invite to chat."
"No games. Where's Mabel?"
The pale boy let out an exaggerated sigh. "Very well then. Bring her out!"
Mabel was pushed into the clearing, a plastic zip-tie binding her wrists, and a gag in her mouth. One of Gideon's muscular henchmen held the girl by the shoulder. He still had a knitting needle sticking out of his arm.
"Let her go." Dipper demanded. He was in no mood for exchanging witty hero-villain banter today.
"Take five, Killbone." The con stormed back into the underbrush. "There. Now we can get down to business."
"Yeah we can." Dipper pulled something from behind his back. It looked like a ray gun from a 70's sci-fi movie. "Tell your men to back off, or kiss your memory goodbye."
Gideon let out a hum of mild interest, "So that's what happened to the Blind Eye's device. I'd always wondered where that got to."
Confusion clear on his face, the other boy stayed silent.
"Oh, don't look so surprised. Do you really think I didn't know where my father wandered off to all those nights?"
"If you know what it is, then you know what it does." The brunette snapped. "Let us go."
"Why Dipper, I'm disappointed in you." The shorter teen said. "Did you really think I wouldn't be prepared for something like this?"
Out of the brush, right behind Gideon, two figures were shoved. Soos landed on his backside, but Wendy managed to stay upright. With speed that belied his appearance, Gideon grabbed the redhead and held her in front of himself, a knife pressed to her neck.
"Your move, boy." Taunted the teen. "You could stop me. But are you willin' to sacrifice this lil' thing to do it?"
Cringing, Dipper lowered the gun.
"That's right. Hand it over." Gideon took the device and said. "What did you have it set to erase anyway? How to think? How to breath?"
Looking at the machine's display, the boy let out a mad cackle. The word PINES was spelled out.
"Oh this is too much!" The psycho laughed again. "Of all the things you could've chosen, you were gonna erase yourself from my mind! I always knew your hubris would be your downfall! The funny thing is, it probably woulda worked. But you wouldn't risk the chance of this little brat forgetting you too." Gideon raised the gun to eyelevel, aiming at Dipper. "This is even better than my original plan. Without your memories, you might actually be of some use. And this won't break my poor Mabel's misguided heart."
Before the other boy pulled the trigger, Dipper managed to say, "Look away Wendy. I don't want you to see this."
Gideon paused. "Ya know? Meetin' you is probably the worst thing that ever happened to this girl. I think I'll do her a favor by getting you out of her head."
Tossing Wendy into the teen's chest, Gideon fired. A bright flash lit up the clearing.
::::::::::::::::::::
The first thing he noticed was a splitting headache. The second was that he was lying on the ground for some reason. Sitting up, the boy blinked the spots out of his eyes, and was confronted with a wholly alien landscape. Looking around, he saw four people he didn't recognize.
Gideon stood up, brushing himself off. Walking over to the strangers, the boy noticed three of them were tied up, the fourth was cutting them loose with a pocketknife.
"Er… Hello?" The fair haired boy didn't know what else to say. He had no idea where he was, or who these people were. He just hoped they could help him. "Do any of you know where I am?"
"Um. Gravity Falls?" The brunette girl answered. She wore a nervous expression, but Gideon hardly noticed. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen.
Making sure his hair was in place, the pudgy boy asked. "Do any of you folks know how I got here? I think I must've bumped my head, cause for the life of me I can't recall what I'm doin' here."
The two older kids shared a glance. They looked similar, siblings, twins maybe. The group looked agitated, Gideon decided he'd get more answers if he put them at ease.
Walking to the edge of the clearing, the boy asked. "My, I've never seen trees like this before. Do any of you know what they're called?"
"… Pines." The girl answered again, after a pause. The tension lifted from her when it was clear what happened: Dipper rigged the machine to fire backwards.
"Are they an exotic species?" Gideon's heart fluttered at the sight of the captivating young woman. "Gravity Falls is full of strange flora and fauna, ya' know."
"I know." It was the boy who spoke this time. Gideon was slightly annoyed that the girl wasn't continuing the conversation, but he didn't want to make a bad impression with what might be her brother. Besides, the younger kids had latched onto her sweater from behind. Must be shy.
"Why don't you take a closer look?" The brunette boy said.
Gideon obliged and inspected the trees further. Reaching out to touch the bark, he pulled his hand back in disgust at the sticky sap.
The other boy chuckled, saying, "Yeah, that'll happen. I'm told that Pines can be really annoying."
A sharp pain shot through the back of Gideon's head, before everything went black.
Dipper stood over his unconscious enemy, holding a makeshift blackjack. Breathing heavily, he looked down at the other teen before delivering a savage kick to his ribs. "YOU. DO. NOT. HURT. MY. FAMILY!" He punctuated every word with another kick.
"Bro. Bro!" It wasn't until Mabel forcibly dragged him away that Dipper stopped. "That's enough. It's okay."
Shaking, the boy let his sister lead him back to their friends. The two preteens didn't know what to say. They didn't know how to react to any of this. Unable to take the silence, Wendy said, "We should get out of here. Before the others come back."
"I wouldn't be too worried about that." The besweatered girl smiled.
When all Mabel got were questioning looks, she pointed upwards. Above their heads, the rest of the prisoners from the breakout had been tied up and suspended in the trees.
"Dipper's got some friends in the woods." She gave her brother a playful punch on the arm.
"Better late than never." The boy said, not looking up from the ground.
::::::::::::::::::::::::
The gang headed back to the Shack. Dipper stayed silent on the way, his hands stuffed in his pockets to keep them from trembling. Mabel seemed to have recovered quickly, and was recounting her capture for the younger kids. Two of Gideon's thugs had broken into the living room while she was knitting, making her spill juice all over the carpet. So, she stabbed them a bunch of times. But they still managed to tie her up.
By this time, Soos had calmed down a little, and was able to tell Mabel their side of the story. The two twelve-year-olds had been pounding on the closet door, and just when they thought they were being rescued, they were being the-opposite-of-rescued.
Wendy was too lost in thought to contribute much to the conversation. What had just happened? What was all that? Were these really the same kids she'd been hanging out with all summer?
By the time they got home, Stan was waiting for them, demanding to know who trashed the house. The twins explained what happened, leaving out some key details. How could the old man be so clueless about what happens in town? How could he not know what his niece and nephew got up to?
Finally, Stan was satisfied and went to call the police to come pick up the escaped prisoners. As he yelled at the operator that there'd better be an award, Wendy noticed Dipper disappear upstairs. Mabel went to the kitchen to bake some 'post-adventure cookies,' but gestured with her chin for the younger girl to follow him.
:::::::::::::::::::::::
The attic door was open. Unsure what to say, Wendy knocked on the frame to announce her presence. Dipper was lying in bed, a pillow covering his face. The redhead thought he was asleep until he scooted over and patted the space next to him.
Sitting down, the girl tried to come up with a way to start the conversation. Turns out she didn't need to.
"I do think you can handle yourself." Dipper said.
"Huh?"
"I do think you can handle yourself." He repeated from under the pillow. "All the monsters and magic in Gravity Falls. I know you can hold your own."
"Then why wouldn't you let me help? Why wouldn't you tell me what was happening?"
Dipper tore the pillow from his face. "You're twelve! You shouldn't have to deal with all this stuff."
"I can-"
"I know you can. That's not the point. It's the fact that you shouldn't have to! It's dangerous."
"Then why'd you let me keep the journal?" Wendy crossed her arms defiantly.
"Because I knew you'd go looking for trouble, with or without it." He explained. "But I'm not even talking about that. Monsters are easy, they're straightforward. People are what's dangerous. People make the best monsters. Or worst. I don't really know which it is."
"What- what actually happened out there? What was all that?"
The boy sighed, and said. "Our first summer here, Gideon became obsessed with Mabel, and later with taking the Mystery Shack. We had a lot of confrontations with him, and well, that led to him being in jail."
"What would anyone want with this old Shack?"
Dipper stiffened for a moment, but said. "You saw him. He's crazy. Who knows what's really going on through his head?"
That answer satisfied Wendy, but she wanted to know more. "And that weird steampunk ray gun?"
"There used to be a secret society operating in town." The teen explained. "They'd erase people's memory of the paranormal, so they could live in blissful ignorance. Me and Mabel disbanded them. Turns out it didn't do much, people only believe what they want to believe. If they see something that doesn't fit into their worldview, they'll either ignore it, or repress the memory themselves."
"Wow… So, you do this sort of thing every summer?"
"Yeah. Pretty much."
"And you guys don't have anyone to help you?"
"There isn't anyone to help us."
"There's me. And Soos."
"This stuff can really mess you up. I mean really mess you up."
"So can having things happen without knowing why!" The girl shouted. "I know you want to protect me, but how can you if something happens to you? You said it yourself: I'm gonna get in trouble with or without the journal. So that means I'm gonna get in trouble with or without you telling me the truth! If you want to keep me safe, then you should actually tell me what kind of danger I'm in!"
Dipper paused, then chuckled softly. "You sorta make a good point. I'll make you a deal. I'll let you know what Mabel and me do, but you have to follow my lead and my judgement. If we're ever in a situation like this again, and I tell you to do something, you do it. No questions asked."
"Thank you." Wendy flashed a brace filled smile, then her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. "I'm just gonna- gonna go stare at a wall for a while. See ya."
Wendy didn't see Dipper pull his hand from behind his back, or his fingers as he uncrossed them.
Soon Mabel entered the room and sat in the spot Wendy just vacated. "How you doin' Bro-bro?"
"No worse for wear, I guess. You?"
"Same as usual."
"Mabel?"
"Yeah?"
"Am I a bad person?"
The question shocked the girl, and she wasn't able to answer for a minute. "Of course not! Why would you even ask that?"
"Just… Everything."
"Because you lost control? That coulda happened to anyone. If it wasn't you, it would've been me."
"Not just that. The things Gideon said. About me hurting the people I care about."
"Bro, you saved me, saved us. You knew exactly how to trick Gideon. You knew he couldn't resist using the memory-thing on you, and how to switch the beam to backfire."
"But that's just it, it was easy for me to trick him. Easy for me to get inside his head!" Dipper sat up suddenly. "What if I can think like him, because I am like him."
"That's dumb. You're being dumb." Mabel answered. "So what if you can figure out how he thinks? It doesn't mean you're like him. You're just good at reading people. Besides, you're able to get into my head, and know how I think. And I'm as pure as the driven snow! You're not a bad person, Dipper. You're actions prove that."
"Thanks Mabel." The boy smiled weakly, but frowned again when he said. "Do you think it's over? Whatever he's been working on, I mean."
It was his sister's turn to frown. "Maybe. For now I guess." But her mood quickly sprang back. "And if it isn't, we can always zap him again, or get your peeps in the forest to take care of him!"
"I don't think so." Dipper mused. "We can only get away with a deus ex machine once, maybe twice, per summer. Otherwise people start getting suspicious."
"We'll figure something out then. We always do."
"Mystery Twins?"
"Mystery Twins."
The pair bumped fists.
"Now. If you're feeling better." Mabel proclaimed. "I'm gonna take a visit to Sweatertown."
"I'll be here when you get back."
The girl laid down and pulled her head and arms into her sweater, like a sad pink turtle. Dipper draped and arm over her, as much for his own comfort as for hers, until they both fell asleep.
:::::::::::::::::::::::
Gideon was led into a holding cell while he was being reprocessed. The teen knew he'd been in jail for a while, but the circumstances around it were hazy. He didn't even remember getting out. A fellow inmate approached him, handing over a notebook he'd been hiding who-knows-where.
"Boss, you told me to give you this if anything strange happened out there."
"Thank you, Ghosteyes." The pale boy said.
Flipping through the pages, Gideon saw that it was a scrapbook of sorts, detailing his life, incarceration, and plans for the future. The overarching theme, at least for the events he couldn't quite place, were those siblings from the woods. Apparently he had a long running feud with them. Obviously they were responsible for his missing memories. He turned to the last section, at least he remembered this part: his ongoing project. Closing the book, the boy drummed on it lightly.
"What's the plan now boss?" Ghosteyes asked.
"Same as before." Gideon looked up.
"What about those Pines'."
Pines? Oh right, them.
"We could put a hit on 'em? Have someone else take 'em out."
"No… No, I don't think so." Glancing back at his book, the teen considered the suggestion. He obviously could've killed these kids long before, but hadn't for some reason. Gideon had never doubted his own judgment in the past, and he wouldn't start now. "We'll continue as scheduled. Let these Pines think they've won. They can suffer with the rest of this miserable town."
::::::::::::::::::::::::
FP CFGRF RRQHEM KMVQY SSKBM AG ZM OEQ
WZJHXE TCYPHNM ZBF VSNH
FRVWE SCZYSPJ BWK USOEX
PVHVR SCZYSPJ BWK TIH
FSHJ ZGEYCKF LBJ ZJBRBRF
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
A
A - B
A - B - R
A - B - R - A
A - B - R - A - C
A - B - R - A - C - A
A - B - R - A - C - A - D
A - B - R - A - C - A - D - A
A - B - R - A - C - A - D - A - B
A - B - R - A - C - A - D - A - B - R
A - B - R - A - C - A - D - A - B - R - A
:::::::::::::::::::::::
Well, that happened. Consider chapters 9 & 10 to be the two-part season finale. But now that we've gotten all that boring plot and character-development stuff out of the way, we can get back to the fun chapters! The next chapter will be up soon.
.