Mabel didn't think magic made much sense. She was inside of her own head, so why did she feel so sweaty and tired?!
"Try again," Fenrik replied with all the patience of someone used to repetition. Mabel was not so used to it.
"You're always going to be able to break through because you're stronger!"
"Yes and no," Fenrik replied, "Yes, I am stronger than your barrier, but no, its not because I'm stronger. You can not enter my mind because I'm stronger than you, but you can block me as well so long as your barrier is doing its job."
"But…why can't I make it strong enough?!"
"Because you are not thinking," Fenrik tapped the floor with his paw and a puff of glitter rose into the air, "You have the imagination for it, so use it."
Mabel was confused. Did he just infer that imagination was intelligence? Dipper was always the smart twin while she was the imaginative twin….could it be that they could be both?
Mabel thought about what she knew about how to block a persons magic. One had to first know that the magic was going to come. Then it was a matter of marking your territory and refusing entrance, like shutting and locking a door. However under an attack you had to build a wall of protection; a shield of sorts.
Walls were sturdy. When Mabel thought 'wall' she pictured a stone structure around a castle. Immovable. Impenetrable. Thick and solid. She tried stronger metals instead of stone. She tried to make it thicker.
So what was she missing?
()
Mabels eyes snapped open. It was still dark outside. Looking at the time it was one in the morning. She'd had a four hour lesson. Four hours of Fenrik saying 'again' and then destroying all her efforts.
()
Dipper tossed and turned. It was going to be a sleepless night. He just could not get comfortable. His mind was wide awake even though he felt drained. He closed his eyes, thinking he could at least get the illusion of rest.
That's when he heard the sniffling through the wall.
When the house was built, the guys had forgotten to fill and insulate a few of the walls, so the wall between his and Mabels room was ridiculously transparent sound wise.
He stood up and made his way to her room. When he opened her door he sighed at the awkward shadow shape on the bed. Her head was under her pillow and she was in the fetal position under the covers.
He picked his way through the mess on the floor.
"Pisst," Dipper poked his sister, "what's up?"
"Go away."
"Mmmm, what was that?" He lifted the blanket and climbed in. He lifted the pillow and dropped it on both their heads.
"Did you say come in?"
She sniffed and shook her head. He grabbed the edge of the blanket and began to wipe her face. She batted his hand away.
"The wolf being a beast tonight?"
She nodded, then shook her head…then nodded again.
"I know you can't tell me details, but you can at least tell me the bottom line," Dipper said. Mabel sobbed.
"I'm stuuuupid…"
Dipper grit his teeth, "Fenrik say that?"
Mabel shook her head, "I can't solve the problemmm."
"What's the problem?"
Mabel buried her face in the sheets and cried. She was talking as well, but Dipper couldn't understand a word.
He repositioned himself so he could put an arm around his sister.
"Hey," he said giving her a little shake, "you are not stupid. A little on the overly optimistic side, but not stupid."
"But," She used the back of her hand to wipe her face, "but what can I dooooo? I can't even block a basic attack…he didn't even try that haaard. I'm weeeeaaaaak and stuuupid."
What the heck were they doing, Dipper wondered.
"So you have to block an attack, am I getting that right?" Dipper asked and Mabel nodded, "how hard is the attack?"
"It can break through ten yards of reinforced steal with a little push…" Mabel replied her eyes filling with tears again at the memory.
"…that's…quite the force," Dipper said and gave a low whistle. Far be it from him to know how Mabel got her hands on ten yards of steal. With Mabel he had grown up learning to not question anything too deeply.
"you know," Dipper grinned, "the best defense, is a proper offence. Remember when we were fighting Bill? We were safer when we were fighting back. We were able to split his forces and get the job done. Instead of relying on just blocking, have a good counter attack at the ready. Even castles back in the day would pour boiling oil on people trying to get past their walls."
Mabel stated at him with her mouth slightly open.
"You ok Mabel?"
"Why didn't I think of that?" she said and her lip trembled, "I really am stuuuupiiiid."
Dipper flinched, "nonono! You're not! Mabel, we have to work together sometimes-"
"but I KNEW all that stuff an' I didn't think about iiiiiit…"
"So tomorrow you'll be able to surprise him!"
Mabel wasn't having it as she sobbed again into her sheets, "I'm soooo angrrryyy!"
She was lost to him. He had no idea how to make her feel better. "crazy" was the word that described Mabel. "Irrational", "hyperactive", "positive", THOSE words were Mabel. "Stupid" and "weak" were not words Dipper would ever use to describe his sister.
"Sosososo Angryyyy."
"Hey Mabel, do you trust me?" Dipper shook her a little, "do you?"
Mabel glared for a moment, then nodded.
"Then trust me when I say that you're not stupid. We're a set, Mabel. So what if I told you something you already knew? Yesterday I forgot to put on my socks before putting on my shoes. We both had a good laugh about that. You can be smart and silly. We do it all the time! Tomorrow night I want you to show Fenrik what it really means to piss off a Pines, got it? Show him no mercy. And do it in a way that just screams MABEL."
Mabel nodded and sniffed, rubbing her eyes.
"Its just really hard…"
"yeah," Dipper moved the pillow and patted her head, "I know."
()
"Weeeendyyyy! My gal! How's school going?" Stanly drummed his fingers on the table; this was his tenth phone call that day, "Look, Wendy, just out of curiosity, how boring is your life right now? Are you looking for a little adventure? When does your semester end?...oh nooooo, nothing like that! I mean, sure it'll be a little dangerous, but its not like 'you know what'….what if I told you its right up your ally and could possibly give you more experience?...Wendy, who do you think you're talking to? Can I make this an internship? I can do anything! You want an internship in espionage? You got it….interns don't get paid!"
Ford walked in on the last line and scowled, "Pay the person, Stan, we can't be picky."
Stan grumbled, but finally he and Wendy agreed on a wage appropriate for an intern.
"But you don't get paid if you tell anyone else," Stan snapped, "if I have to pay anyone other than you, your wage gets divided amongst the others!"
He hung up and glared at Ford, "Can you let me do my job?"
"No," Ford replied instantly, "because that's the first person you've gotten on our side. I don't mind digging into the funds a little if it means getting the job done."
"…have you called Dipper back yet?"
Ford poured himself another cup of coffee, "I want to have everything ready. A plan ready to put into action before I disrupt the kids. Highschool is hard enough without worrying about psychopaths. And if he wants to just talk, well…you're better at that than I am, you should call him back."
"He called me once. He called you AND left messages like, ten times. He has something he needs to ask you. Suck it up and call him back."
Ford brought out his phone as he sat at the table. He wanted the kids to focus on school and have at least some semblance of a normal period in their life.
And he did have a knack for making things worse…
He hit Dippers number and held the phone up.
It rang for a while but then Dipper answered with an almost strangled voice, "Where have you been?!"
"Sorry, first my phone died and then I got lost in the research and-"
"Never mind, I'm going to have to call you back. I just ran out of the classroom to answer this."
Ford looked at the clock above the stove. It was 2:30. Of course the kids were in school!
"But you have to answer when I call, go it?!"
"On my honor," Ford replied and Dipper hung up.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, its Thursday," Stan said dialing another phone number and waiting for the person to answer, "Skinny Jeans!...Robbie, right…I have a proposition for you…"
Ford rolled his eyes.
()
Dipper walked back into the classroom, "Sorry, it was really important."
The teacher gave him a long look, then shrugged. Dipper was a good student and didn't usually disrupt class.
"Just this once, Pines," he said, "next time I take the phone away."
Dipper nodded and took his seat.
()
"K, you're on speaker," Dipper said as he and Mabel sat on his bed.
"How is everything going?" Fords voice asked, "I'm sorry I didn't call you back sooner. Anything going on?"
"A few things," Mabel said, "but nothing we've not been able to handle…exactly…"
"MABEL!" Cassy called up the stairs.
"You left your back pack by the front door again," dipper looked at her. She rolled her eyes.
"You guys talk, but don't talk plans until I get back!"
"You got it," Ford and Dipper said together.
When Mabel ran out of the room, Dipper told Ford what had been going on. Ford listened with only a "ok" or a "uh-huh", to show he was still listening."
"Do you get panic attacks?" Dipper asked as he ended his story.
"…not as much as I used to," Ford said after a moment of thought, "in the portal I had them quiet often. After I got out I still had them, but over the years I've noticed that, well, like recently. I've not had one in almost two months."
"does grunkle Stan know about them?"
"We spent a year on a boat together, you think I'd be able to hide that from him? Of course he knows. He helps keep me company sometimes. But how are your parents taking it?"
"I'm going to be seeing a therapist or counselor or whatever once a week," Dipper sighed, "They signed a confidentiality contact so if I screw up and mention that you took us to a shooting range, then mom and dad wont hear about it."
"And if you slip up and start mentioning demons and magic?"
"I'll write you all from the nut house."
"This is potentially very dangerous…"
"I'll be careful. After about a dozen therapists, I finally found one that seems pretty chill. He'll let me talk about anything I want, so I'll have control of the conversation."
"That's what they want you to think. They are clever."
"I said I'll be careful. But if talking to this guy makes mom and dad feel better, then its worth it."
"Alright…as for your hallucinations now talking to you…I have no idea. Was it just the one with Bill or have there been others?"
"So Mabel asked Fenrik and he said that some of my hallucinations could be real and my mind can't tell the difference between the two anymore. He also suggested that I heard Bill talk because I've not been sleeping. Apparently when you don't rest your mind can make your waking life miserable."
"Yeeeaahhh…I've been there. So work on getting sleep. Have you been going to that one dream dimension?"
Dipper sighed, "I still don't know how I get there. My brain does it all on its own. Sometimes it goes sometimes it doesn't. I've yet to figure out how to get there on purpose."
"that's distressing. I would tell you to not follow my example when you can't sleep, but I'm sure you'll just ignore me."
"Of course."
"I'm back!" Mabel ran in, slammed the door, and jumped onto the bed, "so, did you and Stan find out about who we're dealing with?"
"…a little," he said, even over the phone he sounded reluctant.
"What did you find out?"
"Look, kids," Ford said, "I want you guys to focus on school, ok? No matter what happens or what I tell you, you have to promise me that you'll STAY in Piedmont!"
"…and risk upsetting our parents even more than they are?" Dipper asked.
"We're not that heartless," Mabel answered.
"We found out that the people we're dealing with are a world wide organization. They've been active for hundreds, if not thousands, or years. I've tried to find any hint of them in history, and I can't. they have effectively stayed completely off the radar."
"How did you find this out?"
"Stan and I infiltrated a base of theirs and I downloaded a lot of their information from their servers."
"…just the two of you?"
"well, I was going to go on my own-"
"That woulda been really stupid."
"Yeah, Grunkle Ford, we're glad Stan went with you."
Ford didn't respond for a while. Mabel tapped the phone.
"Grunkle Ford?"
He muttered something, but they didn't hear what it was, "Anyway, kids, we're seeing if others can't help us with this. Stan called up Wendy and the one with the greasy hair and a few others. We're going to try and organize a plan of action. Right now we're still gathering information. We don't have enough."
"How's Mimi and the others doing?"
"they're getting their own information together. We don't see each other often."
"Maybe you could be part of their meetings," Mabel said, but Dipper shook his head.
"Mimi said the others already had a hard time accepting the fact that we knew they existed, let alone trusting us to help."
"We'll work something out," Ford added, "In the mean time learn what you can. Stay strong and be happy."
"Sure thing," the twins said together.
()
Mabel sat in the middle of an empty room. When Fenrik entered he froze.
"…is there something the matter?" he asked. Mabel nodded.
"I think I figured it out," she said, "try and get to me."
Fenriks tail swished back and forth as he thought about his students new found confidence. If he had learned anything interacting with this human it was that there was always calm before the storm.
He transformed into his human form and reached out a hand until his palm met an invisible force.
Why would she make it invisible?
He pushed, and the wall moved inward, but didn't break. It stretched like rubber or taffy. He pulled his hand back, and the wall followed him. He was stuck.
"Interesting," he grinned. But that wasn't all. Suddenly a hole opened beneath his feet and he was sucked in as glitter fell from above to enhance the humiliation of his decent.
Mabel watched as her teacher was forcefully evicted from her mind.