Cut to the girls driving at night back to where they had the fight with the Wranglers and the monsters. Roberta checks their phone and sees that they have a message from Gerald.
"Let's see what Mr. Sunshine and Chivalry had to say to us this time," she says.
"Probably some more of his chauvinistic rhetoric," Liz comments.
Roberta listens to the message and her frown deepens as she hears the message, a low level static in the background. When it's done she looks to Liz and says, "I might possibly have some bad news, or good news, depending on how you look at it. The Wranglers ran into a tall man with no face, wearing a suit, they were surrounded by static. It was hunting them, at least, it sounded like they were being hunted."
Liz looked thoughtful.
"There is something really bad going on around here. Professor Cunningham really got us into something messed up. I am almost tempted to no longer call this a case, but more like a horror movie."
"Yeah, too much weird stuff is going on, and now we are going to give ourselves up to a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters. What have our lives become?"
"Wait a sec," Liz says. "This whole surrendering thing was your idea! Don't tell me you're getting second thoughts!"
Roberta shrugs and they continue on. They finally arrive at the parking lot and the girls get out. There are no signs of the fight from earlier, which is rather perplexing. The girls take out their weapons and lay them on the ground and raise their hands over their heads.
Roberta calls out, "Hey, we're here! We don't want to fight or anything. That was the other guys who wanted that. We are here to speak with Ra. We think he might have some information we need!"
There's no response from anything or anyone. The girls glance at each other, looking kind of foolish with their hands up in the air in a deserted A slight buzzing begins to fill their ears. They now share frightened glance, but then a door to the old antiques shop in the corner opens and half a dozens people pile out. They quickly surround the girls and take their weapons.
"Wow! I was actually not expecting that to work," Roberta says.
"Shut up!" A feral-looking woman snarls. "Ra wants to see you. You may not be so happy that he did." She finishes with a nasty grin.
The hunters are manhandled into the shop and led down an ancient looking stone stair way, lit with torch light. It goes surprisingly deep until they reach a set of rusting iron doors, covered in ancient glyphs.
"I don't recognize most of these," Liz whispers to Roberta.
Some of the glyphs glow and the creatures around them begin to shine with red light. The doors swing open and permit them entrance. The girls are led inside to what looks like a stereotypical living room… for a sultan! Others are recline on large mats and pillows, pulling drags on hookahs and all staring expectantly at the new comers. The place is lavishly decorated, with silky curtains hanging from the ceiling. A girl dressed like Jasmine gets up and pulls away a curtain depicting a flaming bird and reveals a powerfully built, black man with a whore in each arm, also reclining on a large, stuffed pillow. He is dressed in what looks like a bathrobe made of gold.
"So you are the ones who were ringing our doorbell," he says with a strange, foreign accent. He gestures and the monsters shove the hunters to stand right in front of him. The man remains seated with his girls, who are fawning over him.
"Ra, I presume," Roberta says pointedly.
"Yes," he says calmly. "Which brings me to an important question: How do you know my name? And how did you find my lair?"
"Actually, I think that's two questions," Roberta replies sassily.
Liz stomps on her friend's foot to shut her up and then explains, "We got a tip from a friend about you. We are on a case to find a missing professor. It was a long shot, but we were told that you would have some answers for us, hopefully."
"It's rare to find hunters who keep the company of monsters," Ra says lazily. "But it shows that you girls have at least some kind of brains in those pretty little heads, because only monsters have ever been privy to knowledge of my existence."
Realization dawns on the girls, and they share a quick look of understanding.
"Oh? You didn't know this person was a monster. Maybe I have given you too much credit then. I should have learned after all these centuries to never put stock into humans. So mundane. So pathetic. So amazingly, utterly stupid…. Like coming here, because I am going to have you killed."
He grins wickedly at them. The girls can feel the tension of bloody anticipation in the room mount. Thinking fast Roberta blurts out, "There's a faceless creature coming after us. It's been killing other hunters. Do you think it will be happy if you take away its prey?"
"Not that it would have much of a choice, but to accept my decision. I am a phoenix after all," the man drawled. "But a faceless creature… Now that is something. I knew a few like that in Japan. I'm guessing it's a Noppera-bo?"
"Actually, we're not sure," Liz says uncomfortably, obviously at a loss for why Roberta would even be bringing this up. She can see her friend sweat a little under the pressure.
"We do know that it fills the air with static," Roberta says quickly.
Ra looks down into his chest and thinks. The other creatures inch towards Roberta and Liz, but the phoenix waves his hand lazily and they stop. The girls continue to pet and kiss him as he thinks. Suddenly, a look of terror crosses his face and he looks up in alarm.
"Jessie, Michelle, Vladimir, go outside and see if you can find an impossibly tall man in a suit outside. If you hear static, come back here immediately! Go, now!"
With great speed, three vampires rush out of the room. Ra gives the girls another appraising look, but this time he is much more serious.
"I hope you girls are wrong about the creature that is after you," he says. "If my suspicions are correct, then you will have to leave immediately."
The girls are shocked, but Roberta recovers quickly and asks, "Why?"
"Because, if your description is accurate, then you might have just brought Slenderman to my front door."
"Who is Slenderman," Liz asks.
Ra fixes his eyes on her and answer, "A powerful demon unlike anything this world has ever known. He walks in the shadows that border all worlds and all realities. He feasts on children and the innocent, but he will kill anything that he looks at, or that catches a glimpse of him when he is on a hunt. If my suspicion is correct, I will have to kill the vampire who sees him. That way I might avoid having to confront that thing. But it might be useless. I just my fears are unfounded."
The phoenix seems to become more agitated the longer he talks. He suddenly gets up and begins pacing.
"How do you know all of this," Liz questions.
"I have been alive for a long time," he answers. "And because I am all but immortal, I have had a long time to think about what makes a life worth living. I discovered a long time ago that the real adventure and joy in life is that of discovery. So I have spent the past two hundred years gathering information about everything from the mundane to the supposedly impossible. And in my quest, I came across information about Slenderman."
Now that he is suddenly talking, and no longer acting like a jerk, Liz decides to question him further. She reaches into her pocket and produces the strange paper they found in Cunningham's office.
"Have you ever seen this before?"
Ra comes up and looks down at the paper. A greater look of surprise covers his face and he looks up at the two girls saying, "You are both remarkable… What have you two hunters gotten yourselves into?"
"Do you recognize it," Liz repeats.
"That is an ancient symbol that resembles the All Seeing Eye, similar to the American one dollar bill. However, the being in the center is one of incredible, evil power. However, I thought he was no more… But then again, recent events prove that something is breaking into this world."
The phoenix seems to be talking to himself more than to them. Everyone in the room seems a little confused.
"Sorry pal, but I'm not sure we are on topic anymore," Roberta ventures.
"But it would all then add up," Ra continues to say while he paces now about the room. "Yes, the attacks on the Vatican, the Library of Congress, Mount Rushmore, the sudden storms in Kansas and the feeling in the air that something is bending this world to its will. Even heaven and hell are no longer under the command of demons and angels."
"Wait, what?" Roberta exclaims.
"Sorry, but you are not making any sense," Liz chimes in.
Ra looks at them and asks, "Where did you find that picture?"
"We found it in the office of a professor who was messing around with things he shouldn't have and then went missing. He gave a frantic call one day and then he vanished. We found his office turned upside down and this was at his desk," Liz explains.
"Was this the famous Professor Cunningham," Ra follows up.
"Yes."
"I heard of his work: breaking into other worlds. I knew it was possible, but so very dangerous. It's like learning about the stars from a telescope and then wanting to go there. Better to remain where it is safe than to go to strange worlds that operate according to laws much unlike our own. The professor I fear may have opened a rift between worlds. This is possibly how Slenderman came here… Along with all the other creatures that have invaded our world recently."
"Why do you say that," Liz asks.
"Have you not seen what's on the news? Crazy attacks all over the world with no explanation as to what or who did them, or even why. Heaven and hell are shaking. And now you two and your quest to find the missing professor. I think they are all linked. I have to return to the mailbox," he mumbles the last part to himself.
"Excuse me? A mailbox," Roberta begins.
"Hm? Oh, never mind," Ra says distractedly.
"Well, quick question, while we try to make sense of a load of nonsense," she says. "How did you get all of these creatures together? I thought monsters didn't like phoenixes."
"Simple. Protection," Ra answers. "And all beings, no matter what they are, are drawn to power. By collecting information and learning, I have gained enormous power. So they were drawn to me, and now I am their leader."
"One mystery down, a hundred more to go," Liz grumbles. "But coming back to why we are here, can you help us find the professor?"
Before Ra can answer, Chief Munster strolls in.
"Vladimir and Michelle are dead," he says.
"You!" Liz exclaims. "You are a monster?"
The man gives her an incredulous look, but ra waves an indifferent hand and says, "Yes. yes. He's a dragon. Munster, was there the sound of static in the air?"
"Yes, my liege."
Ra looks at the girls and then says, "I don't put stock in humans, but I have always been a sucker for extraordinary cases and pretty faces. However, I still cannot risk myself and my followers. I hope that we can distract Slenderman by sending them topside."
"You can't be serious! What the hell are you doing that for," Roberta angrily shouts.
Ra continues, "You might stand a chance and escape. If you do, there is a mailbox, south of Portland Oregon, along the freeway. It will be out in the woods, rusty with no number or address. Ask it your questions and you will get the answers you are looking for."
Munster grabs the girls and escorts them out. The ascend the staircase and exit through the door. The static sound is loud in their ears. A body lies prostrate on the ground in front of them, as though the person was making for the door. Munster grunts in displeasure and throws the girls out. They quickly scramble for the car.
"Dang it! They still have my gun and knife," Roberta complains.
"We can get them later! Let's go," Liz says hurriedly.
As they get into their car, they see Slenderman in the distance. Liz puts the pedal to the metal and they peel out of the parking lot.
Cut back to the phoenix and his gang. A lady comes up to Ra and says, "the stairwell has been relocated"
"The doors are locked and secured," Munster adds.
"Excellent," Ra says pleasantly, trying to recover his cool and cover his fear.
The lights dim and flicker somewhat in room, and static noise fills the air. The whores Ra had brought earlier begin to scream from behind the curtain and they cut off. Everyone in the rooms looks expectantly at the curtains. Suddenly the lights go out, even the candles. When they all come back to life, Slenderman is standing in the center of the room. Panic ensues.
People run for the front door while others writhe on the ground screaming. Ran rushes behind one curtain and hides beneath a pillow. Camera cuts back to the people banging on the door and pushing, as it won't let them through for some reason. People begin falling backwards, as though they are pulled by their feet. One looks back and see a dozen corpses surrounding Slenderman who still stands there watching them.
Close up of the snarling lady who threatened Liz and Roberta. Slenderman suddenly appears behind her and the others at the door. They turn and scream. Cut to Ra hiding under his pillow, sweating and wincing as one by one the screams cut out. A few others are running around, trying to find a way out or some weapons. Munster charges the monstrosity with a blessed broadsword. It breaks mid swing as he tries to cleave Slenderman. Munster then transforms into a dragon and flies up into the air. He crashes down a few seconds later, dead as a doornail.
One lady hisses, as she tries to hide behind a curtain. Slenderman is right there waiting for her and touches her. She crumples as the static grows louder and few of the survivor's ear drums burst violently. Cut back to Ra as he waits under his pillow. Finally all of the commotion and screaming stops. He tries to control his breathing as the terror takes him. Suddenly, he is pulled out from underneath the pillow and dragged across the room to face Slenderman, who stands once again amidst the piles of corpses. There are over thirty of the dead littering the once beautiful room.
"I-I-I swear, I wasn't plotting against you! I hoped that you would catch those girls and be done with it! I never-"
He cuts out as he is no longer able to speak, blood gushing from every orifice of his body. Slenderman leans close to him and the static turns to screech as everything cuts to black.
Cut to a side shot of the Winchesters, Castiel, and Crowley sitting around the kitchen table of the Bunker. They all look haggard and concerned.
"Well, what do the Wonder Boys and their dopey sidekick have planned to get us out of this mess," Crowley says sarcastically, breaking the silence.
The Winchesters just stare at the table, silent. Castiel finally gets up and says, "I have to check on Heaven. That strange, dorito-looking demon said that Heaven was 'occupied', and I have to find out what he meant by that. I have to make sure that my brothers and sisters are alive and well."
Castiel leaves the kitchen, but in the doorway turns back to Sam and Dean and says, "One more thing, when we were fighting those men, Bill said the rules of this world worked differently than back in Gravity Falls. I'm not sure what he meant by that. It almost seemed like something he let slip in passing, but it could be a clue for you to follow while I'm gone."
"Sure thing, Cas," Sam mumbles, trying to force a smile, but failing.
Castiel gives them a worried and serious look before finally leaving completely. Crowley watches the angel leave before turning back to the boys and berating them.
"I can't believe that this is what puts you two in a slump! If I had known earlier that getting your posteriors handed to you by a bloody cartoon character would cause you to wallow in depression, I would have tried something like ages ago! In this state, you are ripe for the picking!
"Do you have any idea what is going on? What's at stake? Strange things have been happening all over the world with massive attacks at important political and religious sites all over the world, and I have it on good authority that the things doing this are not human. Nor are they any kind of creature I have ever about! Most likely, Bill is connected with it all. We just need to find out how, and then we can make a plan. So pick your sorry asses off of those chairs and act like the damn effective Winchesters that I loathe and despise!"
"Very stirring speech there Crowley," Dean says. "But we have been pulled into this whole mess from the beginning, and we find out that some floating ship has been pulling the strings and we have been dancing and singing along to whatever tune he was playing! We have nothing to go off of, to even begin thinking about a counter attack!"
Sam suddenly perks up and looks thoughtful, "Actually Dean, I think that there might possibly be something for us to look into."
He hurries off and returns with his laptop and begins plugging away.
"Is this really how you two do your hunting," Crowley asks. "Consult the internet? Any nerd and socially awkward teenager could easily do that! I thought you guys went to the books, used what is actually in this Bunker."
"Well, unlike the old farts who built this place, we know how to use all our resources," Dean says with a smug grin. "Besides, all those nerds and socially awkward teenagers have uploaded tons of useful information to the web. So why spend hours of pointless reading, when it takes ten minutes to get a quick search result?"
"Juvenile," Crowley mutters under his breath.
Sam finally says, "Okay, so here is something: Gravity Falls is an and coming cartoon about two twins who go to live with their Great Uncle in Gravity Falls, Oregon. There they embark on a series of adventures to uncover the strange mysteries of the sleepy town."
"Wait, so this really is a cartoon we're dealing with," Crowley asks incredulously.
"Looks like it," Sam replies.
Dean bends over the laptop and reads, "This show draws on inspiration from the natural anomaly and tourist attraction the Vortex. Which also happens to be in Oregon. I think that this is definitely something we can check out."
"There we go: there's go and get 'em attitude you two Abercrombie and Fitch rejects you two are known for."
"Can it Crowlster," Dean shoots back.
"I agree Dean, we need to look into this and see what we can discover. But we should probably wait for Cas and see what it is going on in Heaven before making a move. Just in case Bill has been pulling up there what he did to Crowley and hell."
"Okay, sounds like a plan. I'll get whatever we can use against this chip demon ready and packed," Dean responds.
"And I'll do more research on the show and see if I learn anything new," Sam adds.
"And I guess I will go into the corner and pretend I don't exist, why don't I?" Crowley asks impatiently.
"Oh no you don't," Dean begins. "We still need more intel on Bill. See what you can scrounge up and let us know as soon as you find out something interesting."
"I don't take orders from you Dean," Crowley sneers. "But we do need whatever we can get. So consider it done."
With that Crowley vanishes.
A few hours later, the boys have everything packed in the Impala and are waiting around with a beer for Castiel and Crowley to come back. Crowley comes into the Bunker first and looks a little deflated.
"Well, hell is completely in the clutches of that Bill Bloody Cipher. He has had them redecorating the entire place like they are about to throw a big party. The word is that there are some 'guests' who will be arriving and then they intend to turn this world upside down. In the meantime, a massive amount of manpower has been sent to, you guessed it, the Vortex! It looks like they have been excavating a site, looking for something that Bill has been desperately seeking.
"So bad news is that we will be going into a place that is literally crawling with hundreds of demons. Oh, and I almost forgot, the Dorito Chip has already summoned a creature from another dimension to help in his schemes. I didn't catch a name, but it has my men freaked out."
"Great, and what's the good news in all that," Sam asks with an exasperated and sarcastic look.
"There is none," Crowley says matter-of-factly.
"Wait, how can they be your men if they all work for Bill Cipher," Dean asks, seeking to start a fight.
"I may not have my throne, but I am still their king," Crowley retorts arrogantly.
"All hail the king," Dean says, toasting Crowley with his beer bottle. "Where is Cas?"
"Right here," Cas says from behind.
Jumping slightly, Dean turns to face Castiel, "Dude! Don't freak me out like that!"
"Sorry."
"What's the word up in heaven, Cas," Sam asks looking worried.
"When Bill said it was occupied, he meant that heaven has been conquered," Castiel says with a deep frown.
"How is that even possible," Sam exclaims. "Is this Bill's doing? I thought heaven was impregnable except to, you know, angels!"
"Well, I talked with some of my brothers, but had to leave before my presence was discovered. According to them, an army marched up through the sky and entered heaven. A man at their head was clad in brilliant white armor and he cut down about a dozen angels effortlessly. His troops overwhelmed angels left and right and demanded surrender. They did…
"Ever since then, this army and its white knight have been directing the angels to track a thing they call the Abomination. It has been what attacked the Vatican, D.C., and recently Mount Rushmore. They say that it is here for something and they need to kill it before it reaches its objective. The angels are using angel radio to relay information all over the globe as they hunt this thing. It could be that this thing is Bill Cipher, but I'm not sure. No one I was able to speak with knew of the demon."
"This is totally insane," Dean mumbles to himself.
"Yes, we know," Sam says. "Well Cas, we need to get moving. We know where Bill is at the moment and we have an idea of what he is up to. We'll fill you in on the way. There isn't much time, I feel."
"I get shotgun," Crowley called.
"Absolutely not," Dean protests.
"What's the matter Dean? We can't be chums again?"
"Bring that up, and I'll gut you," Dean seethes.
"Fine… Then I'll just meet you boys there, Squirrel."
And with that Crowley vanishes once more, and three leave the Bunker to drive to Oregon.
The girls are speeding up the freeway to Portland. The forest is zipping on by when Roberta calls out to Liz to quickly get off the freeway. Liz locates the next turn-off and they back track. They find a series of mailboxes standing there in the woods, but all of them are numbered and claimed.
"This escapade is in no way doing my engine or its gas milage any favors," Liz complains.
"If only that stupid phoenix had given us actual coordinates to follow, instead of an entire freaking highway!" Roberta throws up her hands in frustration.
"I think we have to consider the possibility that he was pulling our leg," Liz muses.
"Probably… Who has ever heard of a magical mailbox before anyway? Still no luck getting a hold of the hag either?"
"Nope."
"Great, well let's get back on the road. I don't want that thing catching up with us again," Roberta says with a shudder.
Liz scans the woods and comments, "We haven't seen him for the last fifty miles, but he has amazed me with how fast he can move… Yeah, let's get back in the car."
The girls climb into the car and continue on up to Portland. Cut to a house that is just down the road. A family lies dead around the dining room table, with Slenderman standing in the corner.
Cut back to the girls driving along the road. Roberta is looking sleepily out her window, watching the trees zips by in a hypnotic way. The she sees something rusty and off white in the distance. It's hard to make out through the trees, but she calls out to Liz to stop. Once again, they find an exit and quickly backtrack. They can't park nearby, so they hike through the foliage. Just within a small space free of trees, lies an abandoned mailbox.
"Well, it has no name or number on it," Liz observes.
"But how do we tell that this is the one. Besides, he never told exactly how this thing works," Roberta gripes.
"Probably put in a letter and wait for the ghost a mailman to come and get it," Liz teases.
"Crap, we don't anything to write with."
"Go back to the car and check the glove compartment."
While Roberta goes back to the car, Liz investigates the mailbox a little more closely. She opens it up and doesn't find anything inside. The whole mailbox seems rather unremarkable. Roberta returns with some scratch paper and thick, wet marker.
"We don't have any envelopes, so I just wrote something down," Roberta says showing Liz the paper and its message: We have no idea how this works, but are you a magical mailbox?
"That's your message?"
"Hey! Don't poke fun; it's short, sweet, and to the point."
"I wouldn't considered that sweet," Liz states as Roberta throws the paper inside the mailbox and closes it.
"You know what I meant! Hey!" Roberta exclaims as the mailbox begins to rattle and the little rusting flag on the side goes up. The hunters pull out their guns and point them at the mailbox. Nothing else happens.
"Well, you put in the paper, so you get it out," Liz says.
"Rock, paper, scissors for it?"
"Nope, not this time."
"You're no fun," Roberta whines. Cautiously, she opens the mailbox and find a letter inside sealed with wax and the stamp of an infinity symbol.
"This had better not be cursed," Roberta mumbles as she opens the seal and reads the letter. "Hello Roberta and Liz. This is not a magical mailbox, but a conduit through which I can communicate with the world. Just write whatever question you have and I will answer it."
"Okay, a talkative mailbox. That's a new one," Liz finally says. "Let's see what else we can discover from this thing."
"Oh, I have something," Robertas says excitedly. She writes something else down and throws it in the mailbox. The answer comes back with the winning Powerball combination.
"Yes!"
"Come on Roberta, we should probably be a little smarter with what we use this for," Liz chides. She takes the marker away from Roberta along with a piece of paper. She write something down and puts it in the mailbox. Seconds later the answer arrives and Liz retrieves it. Her eyes grow wide and she blushes a little, giggling. "I never knew that you actually liked-"
"NO! Shut up!"
Roberta dives onto Liz and wrestles her to the ground.
"What the hell? We are alone in the forest!"
"That is private business! No one was ever supposed to know!"
Liz manages to shove her friend off herself and then says, "At least we know the mailbox is indeed all-knowing."
Roberta comes at her again and manages to tear the paper away, then lites it on fire with her lighter. She then retrieves the marker from the ground says savagely, "Time to find out who you harbor a secret crush on!"
"Don't you dare…"
"Oh, I dare. No secrets here, L-" she cuts off as she sees Slenderman in the distance by their car. "H-He's here."
Liz spins around and sees the faceless monster turned towards them. "What the freaking vampire poop," she shouts. "How does this thing keep up with us?"
Suddenly a wave of cold air washes over the girls and they shiver. In that split moment Slenderman disappears.
"Let's get back to the car, we are going to need our weapons for this," Roberta whispers.
"We don't even know what will kill it," Liz hisses back.
"We're hunters! We're bound to have something that can at least stall it or repel it," Roberta retorts.
"Ok, fine. But where is it?"
There's crackling in the air, like an old radio being tuned. The two begin making their way back to the car when Roberta yelps, "He's right next to us!"
Liz spins to look, but nothing is there.
"He's playing with us," Liz whispers. "Come on, we need to get to the car!"
As she turns she sees Slenderman out of the corner of her eye and she jumps in fright onto Roberta's foot.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"Now I saw him… How is he doing this? And why?"
"Ra was scared of him, and whatever scares a phoenix should scare the crap out of us," Roberta says, picking up the pace. She is almost to the car when she feels a chill, like the brush of death and stops. She throws at her arm and catches Liz, nearly knocking her to the ground. Before Liz can say anything, Slenderman drops out of the trees and right in front of them. Their vision begins to swirl and a harsh buzzing sound overwhelms their ears.
Cringing and screaming the two girls scramble backwards and retreat again towards the mailbox. They look back and Slenderman is still there, but the temperature begins to drop and they can see puff of their breath rise.
"I don't get it, are we dealing with a ghost on steroids here," Roberta asks wildly.
An idea comes to Liz. She backs herself and Roberta closer to the mailbox and then whispers, "Quickly, ask the mailbox what we are dealing with."
She keeps her eyes on the creature as Roberta rushes to the mailbox, scribbles something down and slams the little metal door shut. The fixture rattles and spews out another answer. Roberta reads, "The monster that is hunting you is Slenderman."
"Great! That doesn't give us much to go on!"
"Don't worry, I'm asking the box how to kill it," Roberta says shakily.
Slenderman disappears before Liz's eyes and she cries out, "He just vanished! Where'd he go!?"
She spins around as Roberta hastily slams the mailbox shut with her latest question. Slenderman appears a few trees away behind Roberta and the static sound begins to fill their ears again. Fear grips them. The mailbox shakes with a new message. Liz pulls it out and reads aloud, "There is no way to kill Slenderman in your realm. But in your case, he was summoned to kill you, which gives you a chance to escape. You must draw onto his face the face of the one who summoned him. He will then disappear to his own world… Okay so who summoned him!?" Slenderman begins to glide forward. It takes everything the girls have to stay put. Roberta writes one last question. Slenderman's impossibly long arms raise to caress the hunters.
The mailbox delivers the next response and Liz quickly reads aloud, "Bill Cipher. Oh, there's a picture of him, too."
"Liz! Jump out of the way!"
Both girls leap to the side to avoid Slenderman. The static sound is now becoming unbearable and the two are feeling a little deafened.
Liz calls out, "Roberta! Throw me the marker!"
Roberta gives her a confused look and tosses it her way. Liz shouts out, "Can you distract him?"
"What!? How the hell am I supposed to do that." Roberta shouts back.
"Just find a way!"
Roberta responds by throwing a rock at Slenderman. It bounces off of him. He then turns to her and rises up in the air, multiple arms starting to sprout from his body.
"Not good! Not good!" Roberta screams and she crawls frantically back in the direction of the car. Slenderman floats after her. Day suddenly turns to night, and Roberta begins to feel disoriented. She barely misses a tree and in what little light remains, she catches a glimpse of the Slenderman's pale head close to her. She screams and ducks out of the way. Pulling out her cell phone, she activates the flashlight app and begins trying to relocate the car. Everything also suddenly becomes abnormally quiet.
"Liz!" she screams, but there is nothing. Even her own scream lacks the echo it should have in the forest. Rather than dwelling on it, she resumes looking for the car.
Right as everything goes quiet, Liz is hurriedly copying the figure in the mailbox's return message. She has a small mag light in her back pocket. She uses to shine light onto her paper and try to copy the image of Bill Cipher on paper. It's not the best, but she nods and then starts drawing on her hand. She then looks up and realizes that she can't locate Roberta, nor hear her.
Roberta skids to the trunk and throws it open and begins pulling out salt and guns. Suddenly, she can feel him right behind her. She spins around and throws salt into Slenderman's faceless face. Nothing happens. She yelps as suddenly Liz jumps up from behind the creature and slams her hand across Slenderman's vacant visage. She pulls her hand away to show a triangle with an eye and a top hat on Slenderman's face, left in wet ink from the marker.
Light bursts all around Slenderman and he begins to contort. He starts collapsing in on himself as he is pulled back to his own world. The static cuts out and without a single cry from the creature is he banished from the world. The two girls look at each other, and then after a tense moment, they start laughing nervously.
"What the heck was that?!"
"That was the face of the guy who summoned Slenderman," Liz answers.
"Wait a flippin' second… Wasn't that the same symbol as what we found in Professor Cunningham's office?"
"Oh my gosh! You're right! We need to write another letter to the mailbox and find out exactly what is going on here," Liz says resolutely.
As the two hunters turn wearily back to the mailbox Liz says, "You did a great job distracting Slenderman back there."
"Thanks. Nice going with the fast thinking… and saving my butt back there."
"No problem."
Roberta slugs Liz hard in the arm. "And if you ever tell anyone about what you read earlier, I'll kill you."
"Fair enough," Liz replies rubbing her arm.
Soon, the girls have a full answer from the mailbox as to what is going on with their case:
Roberta, Liz, you are up against a demon from the world Gravity falls, another dimension, whose name is Bill Cipher. He was defeated there, but through the help of the Tscheapwhetzar was able to come back from the dead sooner than expected. He has vowed vengeance on those who defeated him before and has come to this world seeking a Dawn Shard. It is a powerful weapon that will grant him all the powers of a god, giving him the strength he needs to subjugate this world and Gravity Falls. It is a tool from another world and dimension that borders your own and had "slipped" somewhat into yours. When the Apocalypse was derailed by the Winchesters cracks in the story of your world formed, and powers from other worlds and stories began to trickle in. Like leaking water, they have pooled in specific areas that some would call pocket dimensions. Bill used Professor Cunningham's mind and research to find the cracks in your world that lead to the pocket universe where the Dawn Shard resides. Sadly, I have to tell you that Cunningham is dead. Bill Cipher summoned Slenderman to get rid of you once he realized that you were on the case and tracking him down, even if you didn't know it yet. Slenderman killed Martha and then followed your trail, killing everyone you have met along the way.
Now, you need to go to the Vortex, here in Oregon, and meet up with the Winchesters to help stop Bill Cipher from getting his hands on the Dawn Shard and conquering your world.
"No pressure there," Roberta says, her eyebrows raised.
"I feel like this long explanation would make for a very good theatrical reading," Liz says contemplatively.
"Well, I guess there is no rest for wicked," Roberta comments. "Off to the Vortex then?"
"Yeah, but only after a good nap and some food!"
"Amen!"