The family descended the cliff tops quietly, still sore, still battered - but not beaten. Hobbling, holding their arms, rubbing their bruises - still somewhat shaken by what they had encountered. Pacifica linked her arm with Dipper's and sighed.

"What a day."

"Could be worse."

"Not so sure about that, hon. We were meant to be finding Curzon. All we found was a giant goose."

"Pacifica's right. For all of the travelling we've done, we haven't actually gotten closer to our target." Ford adjusted his glasses as he spoke, sternly. "The mission has been a failure. That danger is still out there; and now there's a giant goose added to the list."

"Not to mention thousands of them being born from a tree." Stan added.

"And half of them now being the size of sparrows." Mabel piped in.

"Right enough." Ford smiled, ruffling Mabel's hair. "Make no mistake, we have to keep those clifftops a secret."

Dipper looked at the floor as Ford's eyes pierced him.

"And I think it's only right that we investigate Trembley's documents while everyone here tells us exactly what's going on."

Dipper and Mabel glanced at eachother, and, armed with a pair of tweezers, got to work freeing up those stuck pages and recounting the saga of last summer's encounter with The Hunter.

Pacifica had soon recognised the name Quentin Trembley when the details of that fateful Pioneer Day had been retold to her. The fact that she had a strange headache and vague memories of hooded cult members when it was brought up troubled her somewhat; but seemed best not to question.

Probably just a nightmare.

The full details of the Northwest cover up and Trembley's bizarre post-'death' adventures were enough to bewilder even the most fortified, jaded mind - but only just managed to level out with the discovery of the tree geese of Gravity Falls. For the most part, it felt like the Pines family could believe anything , at this stage.

Together, the Pines took apart many pieces of paperwork, folders and furniture in the attempt to locate any sort of useful information that related to Quentin's hunts and research. Their main target, of course, was to discover anything Quentin may have known about Curzon Cankerblight and his plans of revenge. His plans for regeneration, and his plans for the future.

Ford and Stan dug through a battered old filing cabinet - made out of a railway caboose's stove - and were surprised to find a large, manilla folder within - hand written in great detail.

The Northwest Family - Top Secret

They glanced at eachother, and looked over their shoulders to Pacifica, flipping through piles of conspiratorial, detailed paperwork regarding the crooked masters of Gravity Falls - and, to their horror, their connections with many of the greatest horrors and ill fated businesses in the town's history.

Curzon Cankerblight.

The Great Mudflap Flood of 1932.

The Secrets of Northwest Manor.

The Gravity Falls Railroad.

The UFO Sighting of 1967.

The Wreck of the Gravity Falls Paddle Steamer.

Insurance fraud. Negligence. A general lack of compassion.

And, in those final few pages, their hair stood on end.

Bill Cipher.

The Grunkles opted to quietly stash the folder in Ford's trenchcoat for more… thorough examination, away from their newest - and, in their mind, most promising - protege.

It was Soos who decided to bring his pickup truck to relocate Linda, something he did with very little questioning - though he was somewhat startled by the condition the Pines had returned in. He figured it would be nice for Gompers the goat to have a friend following the collapse of his marriage to Waddles.

Linda seemed no worse for wear from the loss of her owner, and spent many happy hours outside rifling through the bins and attempting to eat the odd passing gnome - that was, until one morning.

At 4AM, Pacifica, Dipper and Mabel were stirred awake by a soft flapping and the slap of webbed feet - and all three of them were fairly confident as to the source of the noise.

They ran to the porch, and, right enough, there stood the Gooseliath - now wearing an improvised bridle and bit made of old rails and rope, with the letters 'QT' painted on its chest.

The gooseliath stared down at them, blankly.

They froze, unsure how to deal with another encounter with the enormous bird - only for Quentin to climb down from the bird's back with a triumphant - if typically dramatic - flair.

"Greetings, Pines."

"Quentin! You're okay!" Mabel beamed. "We were worried!"

Quentin stood, with his hands on his hips and his back straight, his prominent nose pointed in the air. "I'm more than okay, my dear Congresswoman. I'm here to collect Linda so she may join Gooseliath and I upon our travels."

"What travels? What are you doing?" Dipper asked, eyeing the enormous letters on Gooseliath's chest.

"I am travelling my great country in a way no man has ever travelled it. By air."

The kids didn't have the heart to tell him.

"Together, we are hunting the strangest creatures in North America." The president continued."And touring the nation's greatest waffle houses. I am continuing the example set by your fine family, ridding the world of villainy. And giraffes. It is my theory those creatures are from an alternate dimension. Just like the Irish."

"So...that's it?" Pacifica asked, deciding not to approach the topic of giraffes. Life was too short. "You don't have anything else to tell us?"

"Ah, but I have, young Dipper Pines' wife."

Pacifica flushed and glanced at Dipper. Mabel just squashed her cheeks together excitedly.

"Curzon is indeed making his move. And I believe he is travelling to Northwest Manor."

Pacifica's eyes widened. "W-why would he be-"

"That mansion house holds many secrets, my dear. Deep within, there is much more than meets the eye, and that family has made a great many preparations for Cankerblight."

"I… I've never heard of- well, he won't find the Northwests there!" She stammered.

"Then I'd advise you to contact the current residents. Cankerblight is looking for his end of their deal; make no mistake. He and the Northwests have a dark, sinister history."

Pacifica groaned and buried her head in her hands.

Of course it went back to her family. It always did. No exceptions; every damned time it was the Northwests who lurked in the shadows, corrupting just about every corruptible thing they could corrupt.

It made her feel sick. It made her feel ashamed. It made her feel appalled the more that she learnt, and she didn't think things could get any worse.

She sat on the sofa on the porch and took a deep breath. "Great."

Dipper held her tightly and tried to hide his own frustration at the fact they were going to go up against his girlfriend's family again . It was becoming pretty tiresome to see all of this woven together so intricately; everything that they encountered made it seem increasingly fateful that, one day, Pacifica would join their ranks - join the Pines in their vague quest to put things right for the bizarre town.

Linda lumbered over to Quentin, licking his face before standing on one of the goose's feet. The kids stared blankly as the giant goose raised its leg like a flamingo, elevating the bison into its soft, deep stomach plumage.

"Now, I must bid you farewell. I hope you all stay safe." The president smiled. "Take care of yourselves, good luck in married life, and I wish you luck in your conquest against Cankerblight."

He pranced back to his goose and clambered aboard, smacking its side. The bird raised its head and slowly began to beat its wings.

"High-ho, Silverware!"

The gooseliath took off, every bit as graceful, elegant and terrifying as the day they had first encountered it. Quentin Trembley, Linda and the Gooseliath - a trio to be reckoned with.

"...I hope we never see him again." Pacifica snapped.

Dipper just nodded, his arm around her as he watched that almighty shadow circle off into the heavens; back to its bizarre mission across the United States.

"Agreed." Mabel grinned, with a broad smile on her face. It was all just another part and parcel for life in Gravity Falls.