AN:

Thank you babies for sticking around with me for so long and putting up with my strange breaks! I love you all so much, you just have no idea. Enjoy the chapter! it's a bit of a long one!


"Kids!"

Stan leaped off the golf cart and took off after Mabel and Dipper. Using his arms to clear the foliage out his way, he clumsily made his way after the fleeing pair. Ahead of himself, Dipper navigated through the leaves expertly, dodging and swerving around branches before he could see them. Mabel clung on tightly to her brother, her wide eyes staring forward. Stanford was moving much slower and was constantly having to stop and yank thorns off his suit.

"Dipper! Hang on a second!" Stan panted. He stopped for a moment and placed both hands on his knees.

Am I in worse shape than I thought, or has Dipper gotten a lot faster? Stan thought, taking a deep breath and taking off down the path again.

He could no longer hear Dipper, and the forest was blurry without his glasses, but Stanford managed to pick up the motion left by the leaves behind the two twins. Stan dropped onto all fours and raced down the trail in an attempt to catch up.

"Kids!" he tried again. If the pair did hear him, they didn't reply.

Stan cursed under his breath and continued bounding down the trail. The sounds of the forest were beginning to drown out due to the ever increasing beating of Stan's heartbeat. Its heavy beating pounded against his ears and in his head, screaming for him to stop. Stan pushed forward and ignored it, though he knew he would regret it later.

But Stan's heartbeat stopped as the unmistakable sound of splashing water hit his ears. Blood turning cold, Stan raced down the path in search of the body of water Dipper and Mabel undoubtedly found. He passed countless bushes, vines, and other plant life on his way, never stopping longer than however long it took to get unstuck from the occasional stray root.

Finally, the terrain beneath Stan's feet changed into wet, sloppy dirt. Slowing down, Stan watched as the trees opened to reveal a familiar creek before him. It ebbed and flowed softly, slowly carrying small leaves away downstream.

Pushing himself up onto his hind legs, Stan walked up to the water. Placing his hand inside, he felt the almost nonexistent current push against it.

Figuring Dipper would have deposited his sister in the water and then taken off on land, that left only two directions to go. Upstream and downstream.

"Unless Dipper jumped in the water to throw me off," Stan thought aloud. Squinting and looking across the stream, Stanford scowled. He was unable to make out any movement in the leaves from this far without his glasses. That added another possible direction for the pair to have gone.

He cursed.

Looking around one more time, Stan tried to make out any sort of movement his blurry eyesight could pick up. Hs turned in a slow circle, making out only green and blue blotches left by the combined colors of his surroundings.

Stan cursed louder the second time. The twins were gone.


Dipper trotted closely to the banks of the creek, slowly making his way down the stream. His arms had been pulled inside his shirt and were clutched tightly around his middle, fingers grasping the skin below his ribs. Goosebumps had risen along his exposed skin from the crisp nightly cold.

His sister swum alongside him, pushing against the current, letting it softly caress her hair back and out of her face. Her long night shirt clung loosely to her torso and the base of her tail. Mabel glanced over to her brother as his teeth began to audibly chat together.

"Do you want to stop Dipper?" Mabel asked, pulling up along the bank of the creek.

"No." Dipper stated with a sense of authority. "Let's keep going a while further." His voice fell silent and was replaced with the soft clicking of his teeth chattering.

"Mm… A little further." Mabel uneasy agreed, sparing another concerned look at her brother. She bit her lip, unsure as to continue on or not. Coming to a decision, Mabel swum forward several feet and rolled over, so that she was belly up and her face was pointed toward Dipper.

"So," she started, letting her hands rest on her stomach. "How long are we going keep going?"

Dipper remained quiet, walking forward with a sense of tired determination.

"Dipper."

Dipper turned away, looking at the base of the tree line with false curiosity.

"That's an interesting bush." He commented softly. "You don't usually see plants like this around here."

"Dipper," Mabel repeated, her voice rising slightly. "We can't keep walking forever."

In turn, Dipper looked down at his feet and muttered something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Mabel asked, raising a hand towards her ear and leaning towards the shore.

"Technically would could." He muttered, just loud enough for Mable to hear.

"Dipper!" Mabel scolded.

"What?!" Dipper asked, rolling his shoulders in a motion suggesting shrugging without actually taking his arms out of his shirt.

"We're going to have to head back eventually." Mabel stated, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Mmhh, not necessarily." Dipper disagreed.

"Dipper, we need to."

"I don't really think we do."

"Ugh!" Mabel exclaimed loudly, throwing her hands into the air. "You're being so difficult!"

"I'm being difficult!? You want to go back to the Murder Hut!"

"No, I want to go back to the Mystery Shack!"

"They're the same thing, Mabel! You saw what was in Stan's mouth!"

"We don't know the whole story." Mabel argued. "Besides, it was just a little animal! The neighborhood cats back home have caught bigger things than that! My cat brought home bigger prey then that!"

"We're prey, Mabel!" Dipper shouted. "I am a deer and you are a fish! Do you know what Stan is? A deer, fish eating animal!"

"He's still our Grunkle!" Mabel shot back. "He probably didn't know what he was doing!"

"He was hunting Mabel! I'm pretty sure you have to know what you're doing to do that!"

"Stop saying that!" Mabel shouted up her brother. "You're talking about Stan like he's a monster!"

"Because he is!" Dipper yelled back.

"We all are Dipper! You have hooves for crying out loud!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Dipper exclaimed. "What are you going to do if-"

"No, quiet!" Mabel cut him off. "Grunkle Stan's having a bad time adjusting to this too! Just like all the rest of us!" She stopped and took a deep breath, cupping her face in her hands. "You know what? I think I'm just going back. You can join me if you want, or you can keep going where ever."

"Mabel wait," Dipper pulled an arm out of his shirt and softly gripped Mabel's upper arm as she swum past. "What are you going to do when you get back to the shack?"

"I don't know. Sleep probably?" Mabel shrugged. "Apologize to Grunkle Stan for letting you drag us into the woods?"

"And what if Stan goes predator?" Dipper continued.

"He won't." Mabel answered.

"But what if he does? What are you going to do?"

"I… I don't know, run?"

"How?"

"Um…" Mabel trailed off uncomfortably.

"Exactly." Dipper stated. "Let's just wait out here for a night, O.K.? And we'll head back in the morning."

"…Alright." Mabel conceded. "Just for a night."

"Alright." Dipper echoed, releasing his grip on her arm. Mabel pulled away slightly and sunk a little deeper into the water.

"Mabel?"

"Hmm," Mabel mumbled, blowing raspberries into the water as she did so.

"I think I remember there being a pool up here. Come on." Dipper galloped forward several steps, taking the lead. "We can stop there for the night."

"Wait up," Mabel called out. "I can't see as well as you can."

Dipper stopped in his tracks, throwing his upper half off balance. He waved his arms about himself, resetting his posture.

"Here." Dipper called out, hanging his hand above the water so that it hung directly in Mabel's path. Mabel swam forward and grabbed it, taking his fingers and gripping them in her fist. "It should be just around this curve."

Leading Mabel forward, Dipper made his way around the bend, stopping midway around the curve. There, a small section of the creek broke off, twisting down a small deer path. The two of them maneuvered over a log knocked in front of the trickle of water with Dipper leading the way.

Mabel followed the tug of her brother's hand until the banks of the creek pulled away from her waist.

"Here we are!" Dipper announced. He let go of Mabel's hand and walked towards a dry patch of ground beside the large pool of water. The pool extended into an area roughly the size of a minivan.

"Wow Dipper," Mabel commented. "If I could see any of this, I'm sure I'd be impressed."

"Um," Dipper glanced to the side of the pool where a pile of liter had collected. "Suuure." He walked over to the edge of the woods and broke off a branch of a dead tree. "I'm going to try and start a fire. Let me know if you find anything dry."

"On it Dip-Dop." Mabel perked up and saluted. She dived under the water and disappeared.

Dipper dropped to the ground and placed the branches in front of him. He reached up to his chest.

"Shoot! My lighter's in my vest." Dipper snapped his fingers. Looking around to no avail, he took up a stick in each of his hands. "All right, time for my six months in boy scouts to pay off."


Beneath the water, Mabel made her way to the bottom of the pool. Her hands were moving along the dirt below her to guide her along the bottom. As her hand moved down, Mabel felt a slimy substance move over her fingers.

"Gross!" Mabel recoiled and wiped the unidentified mucus off onto some plant beneath her. The words felt weird leaving her mouth and sounded alien beneath the water.

"Lawn gnome." Mabel said each syllable carefully. "Rainbow rutabaga. Passionate Pearl." Mabel giggled, savoring the strange sound of her words. Swimming in a small circle, Mabel swum towards the sides of the pool.

She broke through the water. Looking around, Mabel was able to make out the rough outline of trees near the shore. Mabel moved forward, placing her hand on the shore. She began to move forward, using her hand to guide her toward where Dipper was.

Hearing rustling in the bushes, Mabel paused, turning towards the sound. She dived under the water and resubmerged to where the sound was closest.

Meanwhile, Dipper was knelt over his pile of branches, rubbing two of the sticks in his hands together forcefully.

"Come on," he muttered so quietly it was near impossible to hear. Weak tendrils of smoke were beginning to rise up.

Mabel dipped down in the water to where only her eyes were visible and crept towards the shore. The rustling was closer. Mabel grinned, preparing to jump out at her brother.

The rustling was about to break through the trees now.

"HEY-O!" Mabel screamed, leaping out of the water.

"AIEE!" Screamed back a feminine voice. Mabel felt a sharp pain spread across her face as a flash of yellow shot out and back into the woods. The force pushed Mabel back was sent spiraling into the water.

"What was that!?" Dipper called out. He looked up from his sticks on the other side of the pond.

"You're over there!?" Mabel resurfaced on the opposite side of from Dipper.

"Who's out there!?" Called out a third voice. It sounded feminine and bold, commanding a sort of demanding attention. The voice sounded familiar to Dipper, but he couldn't quite think of a name to match.

"…Pacifica?" Mabel questioned.

"Mabel Pines?" Pacifica replied.

"Oh god," Dipper murmured.

"Excuse me?" Pacifica called out defensively from across the dark pool. "Is that Dipper? You want to say something?"

"Did- did you slap me?" Mabel murmured, holding her cheek in her hand.

"I'm just lighting my fire." Dipper answered. "Minding my own business and lighting my fire. My tiny, tiny, little fire."

Pacifica scoffed from behind her veil of forest life.

"You mean that pile of sticks? Gee, I'd say you're half way there."

"Oh!" Announced another voice. Dipper and Mabel turned in the direction it came from, halting their conversation with the Northwest.

"Ah crud," Pacifica moaned. There was a rustling heard as she moved closer to a cluster of trees.

"Who's there?" Dipper questioned. Suddenly an orange light illuminated the area around the pool. Poking through the trunk of a tree, the unmistakable form of a young girl phased through the solid object.

"I can see again!" Mabel cheered.

"Bravo!" Replied the ghostly girl in the tree, clapping happily.

"Leave!" Pacifica yelled out, emerging from the trees. Her torso appeared first, followed by her lower waist.

"Whoa," Mabel breathed, looking up at her from the water. Pacifica's bottom half had been fussed together, forming a long python like tail. Yellow scales ran along her body from the tip of her tail to the top of her head. Where her hair used to be, long yellow serpents had been tied back in a ponytail, where several hissed softly and other's looked around with curiosity.

"Gorgon," Dipper muttered, not loud enough for either of the girls across the pond could hear. "Shocker."

The girl floating inside the tree smiled, blissfully unaware of the conversation around her.

"Los otros niños perdidos!"

"We don't speak Spanish!" Pacifica yelled back.

"Yes!" Answered back the ghostly figure. "Tù hables…" She blinked and floated forward. "You- you speak English?"

"Yes we do," Dipper answer politely, shooting a glare towards Pacifica. She ignored it.

The orange girl in the tree drifted forward, stopping in front of Dipper.

"What is name?" She stated, cocking her head to the side innocently. She looked young, maybe eight or nine. Her hair was tied in a pair of long braids, hanging down to her waist.

"I'm Dipper." Dipper explained. He pointed towards Mabel. "And she's my sister Mabel."

"She is tu hermana?"

"I believe so." Dipper trailed off. "Hermana means sister, right?"

"Personas call me Nina." Nina called out, ignoring Dipper's last statement. Her eyebrow was knitted close together, like the conversation was straining her. "Is you lost?" She asked.

"Well, no." Dipper answered uncertainly. Nina then floated towards Mabel, hovering several inches above the water.

"Is you lost?" She asked.

"I don't think so," Mabel answered after thinking for a moment.

"Muy Bueno!" Nina exclaimed. "Y you is no lost?" She turned towards Pacifica.

"Sure." Pacifica answered.

"Bueno!" Nina cheered. She did a backflip mid-air, turning back towards Dipper. She leaned in close to his pile of sticks and blew, letting an array of embers cover the dead limbs. Several of the embers took to the wood and initiated it.

"Thank you!" Dipper beamed at Nina. Nina looked at him with a blank stare. "Gracias." He tried again.

"De nada!" She exclaimed. Her form darted towards the tree line. Looking around at the trio one last time, Nina grinned, showing of a gap toothed grin. Then, as if some took a needle to a balloon, Nina's form vanished along with the light that surrounded her.

The group sat silent for a moment, all staring at the spot where Nina had vanished.

"Did she… change with you?" Mabel asked, turning towards Pacifica.

"No," Pacifica answered. She slithered forward and sat on a tree stump beside the pool. "But she's been following me around all night. Is you lost? Is you lost?"

Mabel swum backwards, putting some distance between herself and Pacifica.

"We should go after her," Mabel continued. "I've never seen her around town before… The poor baby must be new."

"I don't think so," Dipper called out. He was bent over the small fire, feeding the tiny flames small leaves and twigs to keep it going. "I think she was a Wisp."

"A what?" Pacifica called out, crossing her arms. Goose bumps were visible across her bare arms beneath her white sleep shirt.

"A Wisp, like, a Will of the Wisp." Dipper explained. "I think I've seen a drawing of her on one of the blank pages in the…" He looked towards Pacifica. "My journal."

"You mean those things from brave?" Mabel asked.

"It's the same principle, I guess."

"Wow," Mabel breathed. "She was so nice."

Pacifica coughed into her hand, intentionally drying attention to her.

"Not that I want to change the subject, but I don't suppose you two…" She shifted uncomfortably. "You two don't perhaps know… How to fix this?" She gestured to herself. The light from the fire was bright enough to reflect off Pacifica's eyes, which cast a yellow glow around her slit pupils.

"You mean the snake thing, or your personality?" Dipper answered.

"Dipper!" Mabel scolded.

"I'm trying to be nice, you dork!" Pacifica exclaimed. "Some people don't actually enjoy being toyed with by the supernatural!"

"What makes you think me and Mabel like or know what's going on?" Dipper asked, pulling his attention away from the fire. The catching flames were beginning to latch onto the larger branches.

"Because you two always seem to be elbow deep in this stuff," Pacifica answered. The snakes in her hair were active now, with the majority of the hissing and biting at the band tying them back. "Why wouldn't you now?!"

Dipper scouted away from the fire, opening up a spot beside the rock.

"Well, I guess you assumed wrong."

"Excuse me?" Pacifica circled around the pond making her way to where Dipper sat.

"We don't know how to fix this." Dipper answered.

"Haven't you checked that book you're always reading?" Pacifica's voice rose to a panicky tone. "Found ancient ruins or something?"

"Nope." Dipper popped the letter p.

"Any leads?" Pacifica tried again.

"Nothing," Dipper replied. "Heck, there might not even be a way to change us back."

"Stop lying." Pacifica demanded. Her voice shook, and her eyes seemed to be holding back tears. Mabel swum forward and grabbed onto the rock ledge where the pair on the ground were.

"We've been working on it," Mabel soothed. "It's just… been difficult. You want to tell us how you changed? It might help." Pacifica stayed silent, staring at Dipper accusingly.

"Did you fall in a creek?" Drink some weird water?" Mabel tried again.

"Yeah," Pacifica nodded, turning her torso away from Dipper. "Our well was broken. Someone was supposed to come out soon, but then it rained and…"

She trailed off.

"So your parents changed too?' Dipper inquired.

Pacifica looked down at the ground and didn't answer. Mabel smiled and patted the ground, suggesting for Pacifica to sit down.

"Take a seat." Mabel invited. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"…Sure." Pacifica agreed, sliding down to the ground. "Where… where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning."


Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! We should have an update on Stan and the rest of the town next time! Sorry for any bad Spanish on Nina's behalf. I'm still learning the language and am better at reading it than writing it.

Also, this is your casual reminder that this takes place before Northwest Mystery Manor, so Dipper and Pacifica never really bonded. So Dipper still thinks she;s the worst. Please don't flame me in the comments for this. I'm sorry dudes. It hurt me to write her and Dipper so spiteful.

(also, the OC cameo chapters should start in the next few. If you still want to submit an OC, feel free too.)