Chapter 7: Interview with a Werewolf

Handshake etiquette was relatively simple. Don't shake too fast or too hard, don't go completely limp, and most importantly of all, do not leave somebody hanging. It was the latter of those rules that Dipper was inadvertently guilty of breaking as he stood there stunned by the name he'd just heard. "Tracey Corduroy?!"

A bit flummoxed, Tracey lowered her hand and frowned in concern. "Yeah, somethin' odd about my name boy? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Because I'm basically talking to one!" Dipper wanted to say but wisely held his tongue. He needed to gage this situation better before bringing up any subjects that would be potentially sensitive. "You... You're from Earth aren't you?"

Mrs. Corduroy looked a little surprised he knew that. "I guess Takura must've mentioned that I'm not from around these parts eh? Yeah, Earth is the name of my home dimension. What's that mean to you though?"

"Because... I'm from Earth too..."

"Well, really now?! I probably should've guessed that when you gave me a last name... Most folks in this world don't have 'em. Really must've been fate that brought you to us then huh? How exactly did a kid like you wind up in this godforsaken warzone? Did you get bamboozled by a slick talkin' one-eyed nacho too?"

"One-eyed... You mean Bill Cipher! He's the reason you've been trapped in this dimension?!"

Tracey Corduroy certainly hadn't expected the name of Bill Cipher to come out of this young man's mouth... She figured he'd think she was crazy, like everyone else she told that story too, minus Takura. She was mostly joking when she cracked that fate had brought them together, but the coincidences were starting to pile up and mold into something that was anything but. "Dipper was it?... I think we need to grab a seat and have ourselves a little chat."

The Earthlings sat atop a couple of crates stored just outside the tent, where Dipper understood that Takura was being treated for his wounds. From there, the conversation continued. "So... You've had the misfortune to have a run-in with Bill Cipher? How did that land you in this dimension?"

"Well... I don't care for talkin' about something so personal, especially with somebody I just met, but... Something tells me the two of us crossin' paths is more than just the universe's wildest coincidence. So, I'll give it to ya straight... A few years ago, after the birth of my fourth child, I got real sick you see... Don't want to go into details, but it was the terminal kind of deal... Watchin' my husband and kids watch me waste away to nothing... I just couldn't handle it anymore, and I didn't want to burden them with havin' to take care of me... It should be the mother takin' care of her children, not the other way around! So, when the night came that I felt like my time was drawin' near, I slipped out of the house and wandered into the woods, content to let nature have me."

So far, Tracey's story made sense to Dipper. It jived very well with what little he knew about the Corduroy matriarch, which wasn't much since Wendy and the family didn't like talking about it... Wendy did mention once that her mom had wandered off into the woods during the peak of her illness, and that was the last memory she had of her mother... They'd never found the body... And now Dipper knew why. "I'm assuming this is where Bill comes into the picture?"

"Yup... I'd found a nice clearing that me and my husband Danny used to frequent back when we were courtin'... I had to pass somewhere, and I felt like there was as good a place as any. That's when that triangle-shaped fink first appeared to me... He offered me a deal that was too good to be true... He knew of this special herb that could cure my illness almost instantly... He didn't even want anything in return. All I had to do was shake his hand, and I thought I'd get my health back, and I could go back to my family... What he didn't tell me was that these fancy herbs were only found on this dimension, so he brought me here and showed me which herbs to take... They sure fixed me up right, but the moment I started to feel myself again, I realized the one-eye hustler was gone! He'd left me stranded in this dimension with no way to get home! No way to get back to my family!... The only reason I wanted my health back in the first place..."

"That... Definitely sounds like something Bill would do just to amuse himself. If it makes you feel any better, Bill is basically as close to being dead as a being like him can get..."

"I'm not gona lie, hearin' that does make my day a tad bit rosier. How can you be sure about that though? Matter of fact, what's your history with that floatin' snake anyway?"

"A long story we probably don't have time for right now... Let's just say Bill tried to invade Earth, we stopped him, and now Bill's nothing but a painful memory and the universe is better off for it."

"I suppose that's true... Though I'm touch disappointed... Really wanted to punch that yellow weasel in his stupid eyeball the next time I saw him... Say though, if you didn't land on this side of the rainbow because of that Cipher fella, how did you wind up stuck here?"

"Didn't Takura tell you?" Dipper said warily. He wasn't exactly relishing the idea of bringing up this detail for obvious reasons. "About the portal the Argonian's created?"

"Yeah, he mentioned the portal a while ago... He'd been keepin' an eye on that situation... Because apparently torturing the native Andorran's wasn't enough, Emperor Lizard-Lips needed an entirely new world to torment..." Tracey stopped mid-rant as she finally registered why the young man had brought up the portal in the first place. "Wait... Are you tellin' me that portal they opened led to Earth?!"

Dipper nodded his head. "Yeah, the portal first appeared near Gravity Falls a little over a week ago... My Great-Uncle is kind of an expert in the field of strange phenomena, and he discovered the anomaly relatively quickly, though he didn't realize it was a portal until recently. Anyway, my friend, my sister and I entered the portal to investigate, and well... Long story short, that's how I wound up here."

"Gravity Falls..." Tracey Corduroy jumped to her feet like she had a live snake running loose in her pants. "That's where my family lives! I can't let those scaly vermin invade my home! I've gotta do somethin'... I need to go check on..."

"It's been taken care of!" Dipper interrupted Mrs. Corduroy's frantic rant, drawing an annoyed but curious look from the older woman. "I destroyed the crystal, the only one of its kind, that the Argonians kind of needed to keep the portal open... As far as I know, the Argonian's can't create another portal, so the Earth is safe..."

"And so is my family..." Tracey smiled faintly, calming down considerably. She plopped back down on her crate next to Dipper. "That's a relief..."

"It also means you're still stuck here..." Dipper said, a tone of regret evident in his voice. "When you could've had a chance to return home..."

"Hey, don't go beatin' yourself up over that now," Tracy told him, as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing, and it's exactly what I would've done too! My family is safe from those monsters now thanks to you, and so is yours..." Her eyes widened as she recalled something Dipper had said before. "Hold up a second now... You said you came over here with your friend and your sister! Are they... You know, are they alright?"

"Yeah, they're fine... Safely on the other side of the portal... I made sure of it before I destroyed the crystal... They'll probably never forgive me for it, even if I ever do find a way to get back home..."

"They'll be angry at ya because they care. That's all that is. It might take 'em a while, but they'll come to appreciate what you sacrificed for them eventually. Trust me, if you do find your way home, they'll me much too happy to see ya again to still be sore about it!"

"I can hope right? Not that I'll ever get the chance to figure out whether they'll forgive me or not... I did just bar the door to my... To our only way home."

"What was it you just said boy? You can still hope right? You can't give up before you even get started! You haven't even been stranded here a day yet. You know that ole sayin' right? There's more than one way to skin a cat, so I reckon there's probably more than one way to open up a door..."

"Maybe, but look how long you've been stuck here... I have a feeling if you'd found another way to open that door, you'd already have walked through it."

"Ya got me there kid! Even after all this time though, I've never stopped lookin'..." For a moment, Tracey thought about being completely honest with the kid, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She'd only met him less than an hour ago! There was no way she was going to entrust him with such sensitive information just yet. There was something else bugging her about this Dipper boy though... Something about his name seemed familiar to her. "Hard to believe I'd run into somebody else from Earth way out here, and from Gravity Falls no less! Tell me something though... Pines, I know I've heard that name before... Where..." The red-head's eyes widened for dramatic effect. "That run-down little tourist trap! You wouldn't be related to that Pines fella that runs the place woulda?"

Dipper laughed out loud, amused that Stan's reputation had preceded him across dimensions. "He's my Great-Uncle actually... You might know him as Stanford, but his name is actually Stanley Pines. He's passed the shack on since... You've been gone, but yeah, I'm one of those Pines'. Hope you won't hold that against me... I know Stan can be a bit of a con-man, but he's not that bad once you get to know him."

"Ha! You mean that ole shyster finally gave up tryin' to convince poor unsuspecting tourists that there's were-gophers roamin' the hills of Gravity Falls? Find that hard to believe."

"Oh, I didn't say he was done trying to con people, he's just become moor freelance I guess you could say. But yeah, he retired from running the Mystery Shack several years ago. I guess you knew him back when you were still on Earth?"

"Knew him? I was his worst nightmare! The only person in town who could see through his who-ha every blasted time! The old coot would probably never admit it, but I think he respected me for it."

"No he wouldn't, and he probably did," Dipper agreed with a smile. "I never heard him mention knowing you before though... Then again, I only get to visit for a couple of months during the summer, so it's possible the subject just never came up..." As Dipper thought that over, something occurred to him... If Stan had known Wendy's mother back when, then it might make sense how Wendy kept her job at the shack all those years despite the... Less than enthusiastic effort she put towards it. Perhaps her employment was a favor to an old friend.

"So then..." Tracey paused, seemingly unsure over what she had to say next, but asked anyway. "Since you've spent time in Gravity Falls, you wouldn't happen to be familiar at all with the Corduroy clan would ya?"

"You might say that," Dipper responded sheepishly, as he picked up his backpack, reached inside and several seconds later, located and removed a picture from within. He handed the photo to the Corduroy matriarch. "At least part of it..."

Tracey looked at the picture she'd been handed, and for a second, forgot how to breathe. The girl in the picture, to the untrained eye, could've very well been mistaken for Tracey at seventeen or eighteen. Tracey knew exactly who this was staring back at her. "Wendy... My little Wendy... Not so little anymore..." A tear leaked from her left eye, as she looked over at Dipper, a confused smirk on her face. "Now, why would you be carryin' around a picture of my little girl with you?"

"Wendy's one of my best-friends..." Dipper said this next bit reluctantly. "And she was the friend who came along to this dimension with me and my sister... So if I hadn't talked her into taking my sister back through the portal, you might be talking to her right now instead of me."

Tracey looked up from the picture and then to Dipper, her expression obviously shocked. Her daughter had been so close, and yet she had no idea... If only she had... No, Tracey knew it was selfish to think that way. Her baby was where she needed to be, home where she was safe, and not stuck in this war-torn hellhole with her. "And she'd be stuck here in his godforsaken stank pit instead of safe at home where she belongs. No offense intended boy, but I much rather it be you stuck here with me than her."

"Good, we're in agreement then." Dipper tried to force a laugh, but it came out sounding tired. "Still, I'm sorry you didn't at least get the chance to see or speak to her..."

"It's for the best... My family's thought me dead and gone for many years now Mr. Pines... Best if they go on thinkin' that's the truth..." Tracey, again staring down at the picture of Wendy, looked back up at Dipper, an almost desperate look of hope shimmering in her green eyes. "You said you and my little girl were thick as thieves back on Earth... Would you be willing to... I dunno, tell me a bit about the woman she's become?"

Dipper couldn't fight off his smile. He certainly could and did tell Mrs. Corduroy everything he could about Wendy, and what little he knew about the rest of the family. The parts concerning Wendy may have been spun with a bit too much enthusiasm, as the subject's mother quickly picked up on the fact that Dipper's affection for her little girl likely extended beyond feelings of friendship. Quite frankly, she found it quite adorable, but other than that slight sidetrack, she hung on every word Dipper had to say concerning the Corduroy Clan. Well, concerning Wendy and the occasional cameo from one of her boys. Before either realized it, an hour had slipped away, and the conversation would've persisted longer if one of the camp doctors hadn't interrupted to inform them that Takura had been treated to the best of their abilities and was now conscious and coherent enough to have visitors.

"Well, it's about time! Bet he was just stallin' because he didn't wana get yelled at," Tracey joked in a tone even Dipper could tell was laced with affection.

"You two have known each other for a while I take it? Just from the little bit he told me about you, I could tell he has a lot of respect for you... He seems to be important to you too..."

"Known him for about as long as I've been stuck here... He was just a kid at the time, another child orphaned by the damn war here... But that's his story to tell quite frankly, I wouldn't feel right tellin' it for him. Takura though... That boy taught me all he could about the lay of the land here, and in return, I looked after him until he didn't really need lookin' after anymore. But yeah, he's important to me. I practically raised the boy."

This was a bit of a revelation for Dipper. If Tracey was as much like Wendy and Dan as he suspected, he had a rather good idea now from where Takura had learned to fight like he did. He then found himself wondering how Wendy would feel if she knew she kind of had another semi-adopted brother in another dimension. "Well, I'm glad you two had each other..."

"So am I," Tracey smiled kindly. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to go have a word with that boy. Need to see how roughed up he actually is before I decide how much hell I'm gona give him for being so reckless!"

"Don't be too hard on him... Without him, our home dimension might be swarming with talking lizards right now."

Tracey nodded in what Dipper guessed was agreement, and almost immediately got up and entered the nearby tent. All Dipper could do now was wait and try to figure out where to go from here.

By the time the Stan's arrived on the scene, Wendy was pacing frantically, worked up to a point that she was almost hyperventilating. She didn't even notice the presence of the elder Pines Twins until her former boss placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Wendy! Get ahold of yourself! Weren't you supposed to stay by the portal and wait for us to meet you there?"

"Portal... It... Dipper..." Wendy babbled a few other random words incoherently.

"Right Dipper... We're going to bring his butt home, so calm down already! Just lead us back to the portal and..."

"Stanley," Ford interrupted, clearly concerned. "This is the precise location of the portal! I'm no longer picking up those strange anomalous interdimensional readings... Almost like..."

"The portal vanished!" Wendy answered for him angrily, regaining control of herself at least for the moment. "I kind of had a front row seat for that! And Dipper was still on the other side! How are we supposed to get him out of that dimension now?! I mean, you're the expert on all this dimension hopping crap aren't you?!"

"I... Yes, but..." Ford stuttered, not so much from the clear anger the ginger seemed to be directing towards him, but from his sheer lack of answers for this situation... And the consequences of that lack of information. "I destroyed most of my research into interdimensional travel due to the inherit dangers creating that portal presented..."

"Well, there's gotta be something we can do!" Wendy insisted, a lite glistening of unshed tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "He can't just be… Stuck!"

"Unfortunately, that appears to be the case… Which is preciously why the three of you should never have ventured into that portal to begin with!" Ford fired back, realizing he's the one that should be angry in this situation. "I instructed you three to wait for me! How could you have allowed him to go through that portal in the first place?! You were supposed to be the one looking out for them?!"

"I… I.." Wendy stuttered, taken aback at being called out for her negligence. Because Ford was right. It had been her job to keep the twins safe, and instead she hadn't only stood back and watched them get into trouble, she both encouraged and instigated the behavior. She felt absolutely miserable over it. "There has to be something we can…"

"There isn't anything we can do... And my brother isn't coming home," spoke a sad voice, one that would normally be full of much more cheer and excitement. Wendy and the Stans turned to see Mabel had regained consciousness and was now sitting up, or rather curled into a ball, tears falling freely from her eyes.

Wendy walked up to Mabel, her concern for Dipper temporarily overriding her relief that Mabel was okay. "Why do you sound so certain of that Mabel?"

"Dipper knew... He didn't trust Takura could pull off everything he promised by himself, so Dipper's plan the entire time was to sacrifice himself so we could escape, so he one-of-a-kind…"

"So, if it was destroyed..." Ford began, putting the pieces together. "Then the invaders would be unable to create another portal and threaten Earth!"

Despite her Grunkle's excitement over his nephew's quick thinking, Mabel didn't share his enthusiasm. She clearly wasn't done either, wiping her nose with her sleeve before she continued her story. "That's not all though Grunkle Ford... Dipper also knew that if the crystal was removed from the altar, the portal would become unstable, and we wouldn't have very long before it closed entirely... That's why... That's why..." Mabel couldn't finish. She was close to losing it.

"That's why what Mabel?!" Wendy asked, trying not to sound too forceful, but failing. It took every ounce of Mabel's willpower not to retreat into sweater town. She wasn't answering, she had no words to give. Wendy kneeled down next to her in order to force the issue but was stopped when Ford placed a hand on her shoulder. He pulled her back, away from Mabel just a bit, and answered for his great-niece in a similarly somber tone.

"What she's trying to say is that in order to shut down the portal... Somebody had to stay behind to make sure the crystal was destroyed. Dipper clearly volunteered himself."

"He told me what his plan was right before he knocked me out with that powder Grunkle Ford gave us, and I'm assuming he talked you into taking me to safety while he stayed behind... He knew I wouldn't leave without him, and he knew you wouldn't either... If you..." Mabel couldn't finish, retreating into her sweater as she started to ball. Both her Grunkles stood around, neither sure if there was anything they could or even should do for the sobbing girl. Ford being the more confused of the two, looked over at Stan, silently asking for advice, only to receive a shake of the head from his brother. For the moment, Stan thought it best just to give Mabel some space.

Wendy was equally as useless, though for an entirely different reason, her mind replaying what could possibly have been her last ever conversation with Dipper. "He lied to me... Of course he lied to me! He's terrible at it, and it was plainly obvious he was trying to shoo me away when he promised he'd be right behind us...I... I knew something was off! I shouldn't have left him! I should've made him come with us, or we all should've stayed behind! I... I..."

"I'm gona take a walk," Wendy said almost robotically, no one saying a word as the battered redhead stormed off. She'd later regret not being there for Mabel after realizing she'd potentially seen her twin brother for the last time, but Wendy wasn't in any condition to be comforting or offering condolences to anyone. The Pines already had one blubbering mess to deal with, she sure as hell wasn't going to stick around and potentially make it two. Her axe was still sharp, and it demanded tribute. Something to chop into hundreds, potentially thousands of pieces until her anger was satisfied at least enough that her grief could overtake it.

When Tracey Corduroy entered the tent, she found her young friend laying stiff on the medical cot he was resting on, eyes staring upward. To Tracey, he was obviously making it a point not to look directly at her. Despite his attempt to look all stoic and emotionless, which was his trademark, Tracey could tell he was sweating underneath that façade. He knew he was about to get a tongue lashing to make him wish the Argonians had killed him, and Tracey could tell he knew. She knew all his mannerisms and visual ques far too well for him to keep secrets from her.

"Well, you're alive. That's a good thing, 'cuz now I won't be forced to kill ya… Now, point out a place that doesn't hurt so I can punch you in it!"

"I'm not going to apologize for doing the right thing… I figured helping those kids would be what you'd have wanted me to do…"

"Darn it Takura! I'm not mad at ya for doing the right thing! I'm angry because you tried to take on a small army of those lizards by yourself! If that Dipper boy hadn't hauled your butt back to camp, you would've died! I've lost enough kids already Takura, both from this damn war, and the ones I had stolen from me back home! Damn sure ain't ready to lose you too…"

"I'm…" Takura turned his head away, unable to meet her glare. "Sorry… Things just escalated so quickly, there was only time to react and not much else…" Takura turned his head to brave her angry stare. "But the risk was worth it! The Emperor… The Elite Guard, they're all dead! I didn't just help ruin their chance to invade another dimension, I literally got the chance to cut the head off the snake!"

"The Emperor… Is dead?!" Tracey muttered in complete shock. That just sounded too impossible to believe. "What was he doin' there?! How can you be sure?!"

"I drove a spear through this chest and watched him fall down a hundred-foot pit. Somehow setting him on fire on the way down would've been the only way to make sure he was any more dead…"

"This… Changes everything! There was no clear line of succession… The entire Argonian powerbase could potentially unravel at the seams! This is the perfect time for the rebel army to make a move and take advantage of the chaos…"

"I've already told basically every doctor, nurse, and anyone else whose checked in on me… Word should be spreading around the camp as we speak… The news will get to the ears it needs to reach."

"You… You feisty little badger you!" Tracey couldn't help but smile. This news changed everything. "This war, all of a sudden, doesn't feel so impossible to win now…"

"That boy that brought me to camp," Takura said somewhat solemnly. "I feel responsible for him being unable to return home but… I can't feel bad about it either. If they hadn't shown up… If I hadn't decided to help them take out the portal, I never would've gotten the opportunity to take down Marthos."

"I'm startin' to believe it was no accident that he just happened to drop in on us… I'm seriously considerin' letting him in on that little project we've been workin' on. Havin' a really hard time findin' reasons not to trust him. He strikes me as the clever sort to boot."

"He would likely be very motivated to help," Takura agreed. "We've barely made any progress over the past year, so an extra set of eyes couldn't hurt… It's up to you Captain. This could be your opportunity to finally return home…. If you think he can help you get there, I say do it."

"You know, I think I just might… You hang tight here and rest a bit, and I'm not foolin' around either! Even you don't heel that fast! I'll check back in on ya later, after I've another chat with our new friend."

Takura did comply with the Captain's wishes… For all of five minutes. Once he was certain he wouldn't bump into his long-time companion, he gingerly sat up off the cot, grimacing through the screeching pain of his various wounds. He forced on his uniform, and then did his best to show he was no worse for wear as he casually walked out of the tent.

While Tracey was checking in on Takura, Dipper took the opportunity to investigate the small fort-town, consisting of mostly tents, in particular studying the lush fauna that surrounded the camp. As terrified and dejected as he was over the idea he may never be able to return home, he couldn't help but find himself excited over the prospect of a completely new world to study and explore. How many sixteen-year-olds get the chance to investigate an entirely alien world?! Granted, it appeared to be an incredibly dangerous, primitive, and war-torn world, pretty well summarized by the glorified refugee camp he found himself in, populated primarily by wounded soldiers and displaced citizens… Persecuted by a blood-thirsty race of tyrannical dinosaur-men who were intent on making Earth their next target just a couple of hours before. These people essentially lived everyday of their lives with the grim specter of death hovering just overhead. On second thought, perhaps this was more a nightmarish new reality than it was a bold new adventure.

"There you are!" Dipper heard the voice of Wendy's mother calling out to him. She wore a coy looking smile as she walked up, holding what appeared to be a large book underneath her arm.

"How's Takura doing?" Dipper asked immediately, though his curiosity over what Captain Corduroy was holding almost won the day.

"Like bear scat warmed over, but he'll be fine… Boy is as tough as a crazed wolverine… Follow me over here for a minute… There's somethin' I wana show you."

Dipper didn't hesitate to comply. He obviously didn't know this person very well personally, but her striking resemblance to someone he'd trust with his life helped smooth over a situation where his paranoia usually would've taken over. It also didn't hurt that he was in a strange alien world, so the guidance from any type of respectable authority figure was welcome.

This time, their seats came in the form of an actual stone bench overlooking an insanely lush landscape below. As breath-taking as the scenery was at first, Dipper had to confess that it all did look kind of the same after a while.

"So, you've spent enough time in Gravity Falls to get to know my daughter… So, I'd wager you understand what makes that little town so special?"

Dipper was slightly hesitant. He was mostly confident he knew what Tracey was hinting at, but if he was misinterpreting that hint, he didn't want to sound completely insane in the presence of the mother of his longtime crush. Then again, she'd met Bill Cipher personally and had been living in an alternate dimension for nearly a decade, so Tracey Corduroy was likely accustomed to weird. "If you're referring to the weird paranormal phenomena and allegedly mythical creatures running around the valley, then yes. I'm not going to lie, the weirdness is a big reason I'm drawn to that town among other things… I've always been fascinated with the paranormal and the unexplained, so to find a place like that which proved I wasn't just some tinfoil wearing nut-job… It, well… Yeah, Gravity Falls means a lot to me."

"Good, then you should get the gist of what I'm gettin' at. How are you with mysteries and puzzles and such?"

"Are you kidding?! I live for investigating mysteries! Especially the kind I can actually get out into the field and investigate! And puzzles well… Not exactly the jigsaw or sudoku kind, but ones that involve ciphers and hidden codes. I love to do that kind of stuff in my spare time!"

Tracey Corduroy smirked. That's exactly what she wanted to hear. "Well, I'm mighty happy to hear that, because I've got something to show you that might be right up your alley! For starters, let me show you this."

Tracey handed Dipper the book she'd been holding. Dipper took one look at the cover, and his eyes widened in complete astonishment. On the cover was the numeral 4, encircled by the unmistakable image of a six-fingered hand. "I can't believe it… It's a fourth journal!"

"Lemme guess, the number 4 on the cover gave it away?" Tracey joked, though she was genuinely curious as to why this young man appeared so excited by that fact. Good thing that she was about to receive an answer to her unasked question.

Dipper removed his backpack and began rummaging through all the typical items one would think you'd might need while investigating a weird anomaly in the middle of a forest infamous for being, well… Weird. One item not on most people's checklists was a familiar, all be it much thicker book than the one in Tracey's possession, only with the number 3 printed on the front. The very book Dipper treated almost like a fifth limb the way it virtually never left his person. Tracey's reaction was about as shocked as you might expect. "What gave it away is that I've seen this cover art before… This book, my book, was a journal written by my Great Uncle Stanford while researching the mysteries of Gravity Falls… Well, not the original, that got destroyed, but I helped recreate them the best I could. He never mentioned a fourth though… Then again, he does tend to get absent minded when the question isn't staring him directly in the face!"

"No fooling? How'd that book make it all the way out to these parts then?"

"Grunkle Ford… A nickname my sister and I created for our Great-Uncles, kind of got tricked into creating a portal that could cross dimensions many years ago… Long story short, he would wind up getting sucked into that portal and was trapped wandering from dimension to dimension for thirty years until his brother, the Stan you know, found a way to bring him back. This must've been one of the dimensions he traveled through… And long enough to write about it, it seems." Dipper opened up the new journal, which was surprisingly thin, only about 30 pages… It was quite differen't from the other three journals. Rather than an encyclopedia of the oddities he'd experienced in this dimension like Dipper expected, he found page after page of diagrams and illegible scribblings. The pictures were mostly crude drawings of landscapes and the local scenery, with a few landmarks marked here and there… Maps perhaps? On the page preceding each diagram was a page of text that would've appeared to be gibberish to the untrained eye… To Dipper's though, he recognized the writing as a coded message, a type that Ford had been known to use in the past. Dipper had never seen it in one of the journal's before, but perhaps while stuck in this particular dimension, Ford didn't have a supply of invisible ink only readable by black-light available to him.

"Are you… Able to read it? Understand what it means? I always assumed it was written in some kind of weird language nobody here could recognize but…"

"Yeah," Dipper almost whispered, as he flipped the page. "I think I can… I mean, Ford's ciphers are hard to crack, he is a genius after all… It might take me some time, but I think I can figure this out!" He looked up at Tracey expectantly. "Is this information important to you somehow?"

Tracey smiled down at the boy and his wide-eyed gaze. "Dipper darling, I'm really startin' to believe it was no accident you wound up stuck in this dimension with us. If this isn't fate, then I just don't know what is!"

"So, I'm taking that as a yes? And that you have some kind of idea of what these maps and ciphers are supposed to mean?" he asked excitedly. He had a feeling he knew the answer, where this conversation was headed, but he didn't dare try to jinx it.

"They're treasure maps so to speak… To help us find these." Tracey handed Dipper a small statue crafted to look like some form of native bird, a small pink crystal poking out of the bottom. To his horror, he recognized the shape and hue of the crystal immediately. "Wait, this crystal looks just like the one the Argonians were using to open the portal! I thought I destroyed the only one that existed! If those dinosaur guys…"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down their kiddo. They might look similar, but whatever those damn lizards were using to try to create a portal to Earth, it wasn't this type of crystal. If that's the case, then everyone's doomed, because these little guys are about as common as crabgrass in this dimension. I have a feelin' that whatever the Argonians were using to power that portal was likely a more rare and powerful version of these. Little buggers are pretty cool, watch this." Tracey tapped her fingers against the crystal a pair of times, and the object slowly began to illuminate… Kind of like a glowstick on steroids. Dipper watched the display in wide-eyed wonder.

"Whoa… That's kind of neat…"

"Comes in real handy too, seeing as these fellas haven't quite discovered the wonders of electricity quite yet. This is about as close as your gona get here. They make pretty damn good makeshift lamps though. Use 'em to light up the camp at night instead of torches and risk burnin' the place to the ground. Only problem is that they fizzle out after a couple of hours and they're pretty much used up at that point. Still, they're common enough that we've never really had to deal with runnin' out of 'em, so that has never really been an issue."

"What makes them unique with the eagle statue though? I mean, naturally occurring lightbulbs are cool and all, but I'm not seeing the connection."

"Well, I'll warn ya ahead of time, since I can't quite wrap my head around the reason myself but… This crazy old fella I talked to a few years ago said he'd met the guy who wrote that 'journal'. He said if you could gather all eight statues and power each of 'em with one of these here crystals, it's supposedly supposed to open a portal that will take the user to wherever they want to go… Damn it, and I sure as hell want to go home! If these little guys can get me there…"

"This is starting to make sense to me know," Dipper deduced excitedly, as he flipped through the pages again. "Grunk… I mean, Great-Uncle Ford must've surmised somehow that the combination of these idols and crystals could safely open up a portal that could lead him home… Either he found all eight and hid them himself, or drew these maps from information he gathered while wandering this dimension."

"Why not come out and just spell out where he hid the darn things then! What's with all the cloak-and-dagger who-ha!"

"You remember that guy who tricked you into coming here? The floating one-eyed nacho?" Tracey frowned and nodded her head. "He was the reason Ford built that portal and got stuck hopping dimensions in the first place. Understandably, Grunkle Ford became paranoid that Bill might take any of the information he'd gathered and misuse it. If these pages are maps to these dimensional bridging idols like you think they are, that would explain why he tried everything he could to make sure Bill wouldn't be able to break the codes if he ever got his hands on this book…"

"Well, it does make sense when you put it that way… I sure as hell couldn't make heads or tails of what anything this book was tryin' to tell me. We've only found two of the blasted things in the three years since we found the book. One was by accident when we just happened to meet a travelin' merchant who'd come across the idol somehow, and let's just say that Takura and I had to 'persuade' him to sell it to us for a reasonable price. We only kinda solved just one of the puzzle dealies, and that was pure dumb luck and accidental too. Just so happened that Takura recognized the landscape of one of those maps."

"Which one was it that you solved?" Dipper asked, genuinely curious. He wouldn't have to worry about translating that particular entry at least.

Tracey flipped a couple of pages to the left, and pointed to a picture of a mountain valley, highlighted by an impressive waterfall. Honestly, there was nothing Dipper could notice at first that made the drawing stand out. The diagram really did look like a work of generic landscape art. "How did Takura know where this particular location was? There's gotta be hundreds of places that look exactly like this on Earth alone, so I can only imagine how many places look like this in this dimension.

"It was the flowers," Tracey pointed at a seemingly random patch of flowers on the valley floor, and Dipper had to admit they had a unique shape to them. "Those types of flowers are extremely rare. In fact, the only place we've ever found 'em growin' was in that valley around the waterfall. Takura's not exactly what you'd consider book smart, but he sure knows the lay of the land around the area he grew up. I was amazed when he took me to that spot, and it looked exactly like that picture. Didn't help us find the dang thing unfortunately. We'd been searchin' all day and it was getting late. We'd all but given up findin' anything 'til we got the idea to look behind the waterfall itself. There's a small cave behind it, and there the idol was, standing on a rock and pretty much untouched since the day it was put there."

"That's fantastic… I bet you my hat that clearer directions were hidden somewhere in this code Ford left… If I'm able to translate these pages, and with you and your friend's knowledge of the lay of the land, we just might be able to find all eight of these! I'll start by trying to decode the map you've already solved. I should be able to find key words like 'waterfall', and that type of flower you were mentioning. If I can crack this one with that information, it might help us solve the others…"

"That's exactly what I was hoping to hear!" Before Tracey could continue that thought, she was interrupted again, this time by one of the doctors. He whispered something into her ear that caused her eyes to widen in alarm. A brief argument ensued, mostly one-way with Tracey questioning how Takura could just stroll out of the tent in his condition without the medical staff noticing. Accepting that she'd need to track down the young man herself, she looked over to inform Dipper only to see he'd already practically manifested a pen and notebook in his hands, taking notes as he studied the journal. She was confident she'd made the right decision showing him that book… Now, it was time to deal with her problem child.

To say a somber mood had fallen over the Mystery Shack that evening would've been a waste of time, but here we are. Mabel had finally calmed down enough to be carried back to the shack by Stan, clinging to her Grunkle the entire way as if he were a fireman who'd just pulled her out of a burning building. She had finally cried herself out, and retreated to her attic bedroom for some alone time, leaving the Stans time to talk things out and finally come to terms that their great-nephew was trapped in another dimension and likely out of their reach for the foreseeable future. Soos had taken the news surprisingly well... No, that wasn't quite the right way to put it. It was more like he put his

own feelings to the side while trying his best to tend to the needs of the Pines family. There'd be plenty of time for him to mourn his missing friend later.

Wendy stomped into the shack close to sunset looking like a taller, redheaded, more pissed off version of Mabel. Whatever meltdown she might've had, clearly she wanted it done in private, and both Stans were kind of grateful for that so neither minded when she silently sat down at the table with them, both assuming she didn't plan on leaving the shack anytime soon. That would be the correct assumption. She'd already called her father and filled him in on what was going on. Dan was surprisingly sympathetic, as he wasn't completely clueless as to how much the little guy had meant to her daughter... It was almost like losing one of her brothers. Even the manliest man in Gravity Falls knew his daughter would need some support after the loss of her friend and understood that the Corduroy household probably wasn't the best place to get it. Dan told her to take as much time as she needed and come home after the situation calmed down. She was an adult anyway, it's not like he could've stopped her even in he'd wanted too.

So now here we are, two old men and a teenager seated at a table together with nobody muttering a word. What really was there that could be said though? Ford was calculating every possibility, desperately hoping to offer some shred of hope to the grieving family that Dipper could be brought home... But found none. Dimensional travel was just too dangerous as it was, and he no idea what dimension Dipper was even stuck in, even if Ford had been willing to delve into that dangerous subject to save his nephew. Trying would not only be extremely reckless and irresponsible but would almost feel like an insult to Dipper's sacrifice.

The suffocating silence lasted well into an hour before Wendy finally broke it... Apparently, she was tired of putting on the tough girl act, or perhaps her anger had simply been drained, but Wendy's face had taken on a much more somber expression. "This is all my fault... I'm the one who talked him into going into the portal early in the first place, and I'm the one who left him in the cave when I knew he was lying to me! If my stupid ass hadn't... If I'd just stayed at school and hadn't gotten involved in all this Dipper would still be..."

"Oh, get over yourself Wendy," Stan interrupted, as gently as he could. As terse as he might've sounded, he was trying to be supportive in his own Stan way. "Don't give yourself all the credit. I'm sure you really had to twist the kids arm to get him to investigate something spooky and mysterious, and with you of all people!"

"But... I just..."

"If you need to assign blame to anyone, I'll take that burden..." Ford offered solemnly. He couldn't lie to himself, he had been very upset with Wendy in the beginning, and her inability to keep the younger teens in check… He found it difficult to stay angry though. He wasn't the type who typically passed blame to begin with. He was the type to accept responsibility for mistakes made under his watch, and to analyze what he'd done wrong so not to repeat those same mistakes. "I was the one that invited the twins up here to begin with... I'm the one who let you three investigate the anomaly yourselves, knowing full well Dipper is far too much like me not to jump-the-gun and investigate on his own... I... I should've taken more precautions. I should've investigated the anomaly thoroughly before I ever got the kids involved, but I was so insistent on showing off..."

"You wanted to share a once-in-a-life-time type of experience with your potential protégé..." Stan reminded him gruffly. "Ain't nothing wrong with that Sixer... Stuff happened nobody had any control over... Instead of worrying over whose fault it is, we should probably be thanking Dipper for the sacrifices he just made so all us mooks can sit here and mope about what happened."

"It's a sacrifice that shouldn't have been necessary Stanley... Now if you'll excuse me..." Ford stood up and headed off in the direction of the vending machine. His old lab wasn't as well equipped as it used to be, but Soos still kept the secret room up just in case Stanford ever needed to make use of it. "I need to mull over a few things."

"Just don't do anything dumb or potentially apocalyptic okay?" Stan yelled after him but got no response. He turned to his left and noticed he was suddenly at the table alone. "Huh, wonder where Red got off too."

The answer was 'not very far'. She'd wandered into the museum portion of shack, curled up in the darkest corner she could find, arms resting atop her knees, her head hung low. She didn't even notice the other person approach until their elbows brushed as said person sat down next to her. Wendy sighed, assuming the presence next to her was either Stan or Soos. "In case you didn't notice, I'm trying to hide here..."

The voice that answered, small and weak as it was, caught the teen by complete surprise. "Then do you mind if I hide with you for a minute?..."

"Mabel..." Wendy's own voice grew small, shocked by the presence of the slightly older Pines twin. She looked as close to a ghost in human form as a person could possibly be without actually being undead, staring blankly ahead as if completely drained of emotion. Wendy couldn't bare the sight of Mabel like this, turning her head away as guilt and shame overcame her sadness and anger. A long silence followed, both girls looking off in their respective directions, while Wendy formulated exactly how she wanted to explain herself to Mabel. Finally, the words came to her, or at least the best her grief-stricken mind could come up with.

"I'm sorry Mabel... For being a total Melvin during this entire ordeal... For everything that happened with Dipper... For being too caught up in my own pity party to be there for you when you needed it... There would've been plenty of time for me to sulk later..."

Mabel looked directly at Wendy for the first time, looking legitimately bewildered. "Why would you apologize for that? We're all entitled to our own feelings Wendy, and you were hurting too... What good is one emotional wreck going to do for another?"

"Because I lost a friend, and that sucks, but you lost your brother... Your twin, someone you've hardly been apart from your entire life! What you're going through should've superseded anything..." She stopped, feeling as if she were rambling rather than getting to the point of the matter. "Out of all of us tonight, you lost the most Mabel..."

"Well... That depends on how much my brother means to you, doesn't it Wendy?" Mabel almost giggled, causing the ginger's eyes to widen, because of both the laugh and the words that preceded it. "Sure, sibling might beat friend most of the time, but that doesn't necessarily mean Mason meant any less to you than he does to me... I have a feeling that if the roles were reserved, Dipper would've been equally devastated regardless of which one of us got left behind... Think about it this way... If you lost one of your brothers, do you think you'd feel any worse than you do now or about the same?..."

"I... Don't want to think about it..." Wendy said, as she pawed at her face with the back of her hand, possibly wiping away a stray tear or two. "If losing Dip hurts this much... But I get what you're saying I think..."

"He wouldn't blame you for what happened you know?" Mabel said, suddenly changing the subject. "He wouldn't want you feeling guilty over it either..."

"But it is my fault! I was the one who was egging him on to go through that portal, I was the one who couldn't see through his B.S. when he tricked me into leaving him behind... If I'd just been more responsible or paid more attention..."

"Please Wendy, you have to stop blaming yourself!" Mabel cried with such desperation that it confused the redhead as to why she'd be so bothered by it. Luckily, she didn't have to ask why, as Mabel quickly backed up her plea with an explanation. "You have too... Because if any of that's true, then it's just as much my fault as it is yours! I was doing everything but physically pushing him through that portal too, in case you've forgotten... I stupidly let him knock me out with that powder before I could stop the nitwit's crazy ass plan... If it's your fault, then it's mine too for the same reasons, and I'm not sure I can live with that..."

"Mabel..." Wendy didn't have a counter argument... Because Mabel was exactly right, so finding a foothold to form an argument to that point was near impossible.

"You know, he'd hate himself if he knew just how miserable he was making us all don't you? The goof probably thought we'd all just get on with our lives like nothing ever happened if he didn't come back…"

A solemn laugh escaped Wendy's lips. "Yeah, those both sound like something that dork would do and think." Wendy hesitated briefly before she asked. "Sure you're okay out here talkin' with me? Would you rather be alone?"

"Nah... I thought I did at first, but solitary confinement got old fast... I just wish Grunkle Stan and the other adults would stop talking the way they are..."

"What do ya mean?"

"They're all talking about Dipper in the past tense, like he died or something!" Mabel growled, as she threw her sweater clad arms in the air. "He's not dead! He's just... Stuck somewhere and can't get home right now... Everyone's all mopey and acting like we're definitely for sure never going to see him again..."

"Ford didn't seem too optimistic about openin' another portal to that dimension..." Wendy reminded her, not really wanting to rain on her parade but hey... Facts were facts.

"Ford might not be, but that doesn't mean my brother won't... If anyone can find his way home, Dipper can... I just know he can."

"That's true..." Wendy whispered, feeling the tiniest bit more optimistic. "If anyone could find a way, it would be Dip wouldn't it?" Wendy Paused, as a somber thought crossed her mind. "You think he survived whatever shenanigans he was up to in that cave right?"

"Of course I do... He had too..." Mabel felt less and less sure the more she said it. "He just had too…"

Unbeknownst to the girls, their conversation wasn't as private as they might've liked. Two sets of eyes watched the interaction from a distance, one set deeply concerned, the other deeply saddened. The former shack handyman looked towards his longtime mentor for reassurance. "Do you think Mabel is right Mr. Pines? Is it possible for Dipper to find his way back home?"

"I wish I could say yes Soos, but I've never exactly been an optimist... With that kid though, you just never know, so maybe there's a chance... I'm not going to hold my breath though or expect to live long enough to see the day if he does make it back… Remember how long Ford spent bouncing between dimensions before I was able to gather everything I needed to get him back... Thirty years Soos... I wouldn't wish that on anybody."

"There's no way you could bring Dipper back the same way you brought back the other Mr. Pines?" Soos asked hopefully, though already knowing the answer somewhat.

Stanley shook his head. "Can't be repeated... Pointdexter completely dismantled and destroyed everything to do with the portal, including his research. Even if we could, we wouldn't, even for Dipper's sake... Can't risk letting through anymore interdimensional demons lookin' to start the next apocalypse. Dipper would understand that better than any of us."

"Yeah... That's what I kinda figured you'd say..." Soos hung his head sadly. "I really wish Wendy wouldn't blame herself so much. No way she could've know what was gona go down."

"Ah, don't worry too much about her... She'll be fine. She strikes me as the type of person who has to beat themselves up to start the healing process... We can tell her it's not her fault until we're blue in the face, but if she's determined to feel guilty about it, she's gona to do it..." Stan sighed, as he took a long look at Mabel, a sobering thought flooding his mind. "Damn it all.. With all the chaos surrounding Dipper, I never really stopped to think that we're probably going to lose Mabel because of this fiasco too..."

"What?" Soos look horrified by the very idea. "But why?!"

"Because... We still have to call my nephew and explain to him that his son isn't coming home... I'm going to have to tell their parents exactly what happened too... Can't lie or bend the truth around this particular situation. Their only son is trapped in another dimension and it happened undermine and Ford's watch... I highly doubt Mabel is going to be allowed back up here once they find out..."

"Awe dude..." Soos moped, as he took his own long look at Mabel. "It's like getting punched in the face again after the fight is already over..."

Stan didn't voice it, but he didn't quite agree... He'd been punched in the face before, and he'd happily take a hundred of them one after another. That still wouldn't be anywhere near as painful as the thought of never seeing Dipper and Mabel again.

Tracey didn't have a difficult time tracking Takura down. She knew exactly where he'd be. Several hundred meters outside of the tent city stood a large tree, and for some reason, no other vegetation grew around it. Tracey always assumed that's why Takura liked the spot, it was one of the few places in that part of Andorra where you didn't feel like the jungle was trying to suffocate you. She found him leaning up against the tree, and though the Corduroy matriarch had a pretty good feeling her young friend knew she was there, he made no effort to acknowledge her presence. Hell, he'd probably been expecting her.

"Thought I'd find ya here… What part of bedrest didn't you understand? Even you don't heal that fast!"

"I needed to think… And I do that better in the fresh air, not cooped up in some medical tent… I'll be fine."

Tracey hesitated. She had to tell him though, she owed it to him… Even if his potential reaction to this news terrified her. "With Marthos dead and the lizards power structure thrown into complete turmoil, I'd wager the Andorran army will be preparin' to make a move in hopes of taking advantage of the chaos. I reckon you're going to be primed to join them?"

Takura mulled that over… For all of five seconds, before giving Tracey an answer that surprised her. "No, I don't think I am… Captain, I think I'm done… I've killed the Emperor, I eliminated his Elite Guard… I've done my part, let the rebel army do the rest… I was never one of them anyway."

"So, that's it then? You're just done with the whole thing? Just like that?" Tracey asked skeptically. Not that she minded if he gave up the soldier business, far from it. She just couldn't believe she was hearing him say it.

"I'm… Tired Captain… I may have crippled their power structure, but there will be others to rise up to take Marthos' place. Unless the rebels completely annihilate the lizard army, which is doubtful, some semblance of Argonian influence will remain. You can't destroy something with so much power and influence over night… There's no telling how long the struggle might go on, even if the Rebel Army does win the day… I feel like I've been at war with the Argonians all my life because I have… I'm ready to be done with it… I've fought enough battles… It's somebody else's turn."

"You know something? I don't think I could agree with you more." Tracey paused momentarily and decided to change the subject. Get him good and distracted before he could change his mind. "Heard you met my daughter…"

"So that was her? Hard to deny that resemblance." Takura's thoughts drifted to that young woman's companion. "How's the kid handling himself?"

"Well look at you! Referring to someone barely younger than yourself as a kid… I know you've seen a lot in your day, but you're not a grizzled old man quite yet. To answer your question though, he seems to be taking the situation in stride… I've shown him the book and he seems really interested… In fact, he's convinced a relative of his might've wrote it."

"I have a hard time not buying that one… Between the fact that he's also from Earth, and had your daughter along with him, that's just one too many coincidences for my tastes."

"I don't think coincidence has anything to do with it. If this isn't fate, I don't guess I'll ever see it. I've been prayin' for so long to find a way home, and it may have just fallen right into my lap. Oh, and if you're feeling up to it, he wants to talk to ya… He wants ya to give an interview, on account of the whole Werewolf thing."

"Why would he want to discuss that?" Takura asked suspiciously.

"Just the curious type I suppose. Apparently, he's really into the supernatural stuff back on Earth. If you don't feel up to talking, I'll tell him to hold off on the interview. He'll understand."

"No, it's fine I guess… I'd be dead if he hadn't drug my ass back to camp… It's the least I can do I suppose."

"Alright then, I'll let him know you have him the go ahead. If you ask me, I think he was a bit nervous to ask you himself.

Takura waited for about a minute before Dipper Pines staggered into view, almost tripping over a rock in consequence of not paying enough attention to where his feet were planting. He appeared really nervous, forcing Takura to be the one to break the ice and hopefully calm his nerves down. "The Captain mentioned you wanted to… Interview me?"

"Yeah… If you don't mind that is. About the Lycanthrope…"

Takura cocked his eyebrow. "The Lyca-what?"

"Oh right! Just because you speak a language similar to English, that doesn't mean you speak all of our languages." Dipper took a seat against the tree adjacent to Takura's, close enough to see and hear the boy clearly, but not so close as to crowd him. His own personal journal was in his hands, which he quickly opened, a pen at the ready. "Back on Earth, we have this country called Greece which is rich in Mythology. One of those stories is about how the God Zeus visited a King named Lycaon who upset the God so much that he turned him into a wolf. So on Earth Lycan or Lycanthrope are just synonyms for someone who transforms into a werewolf or wolfman if you will."

"Alright, that makes sense I guess… Why the interest though?"

"Because back on Earth, werewolves are merely legends. There's never been any proof that one actually exists. I was wondering how similar the traits and myths about werewolves back home are too… Well, an actual living breathing person who transforms into a wolf!"

Takura shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, fine by me I guess. I've got nothing to hide…"

"Thank you!... This is going to be so cool…" Dipper had his pen in his hand, ready to dictate anything and everything Takura was willing to share. "So, I already know silver weapons don't have any major negative effects on you?"

"No more than any other weapon…"

"Are there any types of special weaponry or artifacts you're particularly vulnerable too?"

"Not in particular… I have a very tough hide when in wolf form that makes it difficult to actually wound me, but otherwise, any weapon that can harm or kill a regular person can do me in too… It just takes a lot more work. I also heal at an accelerated rate, which is why I'm able to sit here and talk to you right now when most people would be laid up in bed unable to move."

"Very interesting…" Dipper mouthed as he scribbled some notes. "I also noticed you transformed in the daytime and seemed to have complete control over your transformation and yourself once you transformed? Is that normal? I mean, being able to transform at will, and staying true to yourself… You know, staying in control and not giving in to your animal instincts."

"I can transform into my wolf form whenever I please… Not sure what the time of day has anything to do with it… There is a price to pay for that though," Takura mentioned, with a brief glint of a far off look in his eyes. "Now, keeping the wolf part of me in check does take some work, but it's not all that difficult. I'm basically the same person in that form as I am when I'm not all covered in hair. My emotions and instincts do heighten when I'm in my wolf form, but that's the reason I try to keep my emotions in check as a general rule. If I can keep myself under control in my Andorran form, I can control myself when I transform."

"That's amazing… So it's not at all like some inner beast living within you that bursts out and just takes control of you huh?"

"It takes discipline, but no… I control my wolf form. It doesn't control me."

"Well that definitely goes against most everything we know about werewolves on Earth," Dipper commented, as he scribbled in his journal. "Oh, and the time of day thing… In Earth mythology, the Werewolf and more specifically, its transformation is tied to the full moon. No full moon, no Werewolf. I take it the moon has nothing to do with when and why your transform?"

"Well, it's kind of hard to say actually… I'm not going to lie, the moon does seem to call out to me when I'm in my beast form at night. Can't say for sure though…Take a look at the sky tonight and you'll see why…"

"Would you mind giving me a hint?" Dipper requested, not particularly interested in waiting for nightfall to have his question answered.

"Well, let me ask you something… You have one moon back on Earth right? I remember the Captain mentioned that one time…"

"Yeah, just the one… Since you brought it up, I take it this dimension has more than one then?"

"Twelve to be exact." Takura almost smirked at the wide-eyed look on Dipper's face. "There's almost always one moon that's full per night, so it's kind of hard to say if the moon has any effect on my transformation or not. I haven't experienced enough nights without one to say for sure."

"Twelve moons… That's gona be cool to see…" Dipper stopped marveling and got back down to business. "So um… You brought up some type of consequence… With your transformation? Would it be prying too much to ask you to elaborate?"

Takura responded without hesitating. "I try to transform only when absolutely necessary… Unfortunately, the more I do, the harder it'll be to maintain my Andorran form. If I'm not careful how often I use my transformation… I might be stuck in my wolf form for the rest of my life."

"That actually jives with some of the legends we have on Earth… And sorry you're forced to make that kind of decision…"

"It's nothing I haven't learned to live with… Look, are we about done here? I'm not sure there's all that much else I can tell you…"

"There's just one more thing I'd like to know! How exactly did you become a Werewolf? Were you bitten by another Werewolf?"

"I was born this way," Takura responded bluntly, to Dipper's surprise. "Half-bred actually… Father was a Werewolf, and my mother was Andorran…"

"Umm…" Dipper hesitated, trying to come up with a way to ask this next question delicately. He didn't want to accuse either of his parents of anything without knowing them. "Was the relationship a happy or welcome one? I mean, did your mother know?..."

"Yes she did, and from what I can remember she never cared. And they were quite happy together for a while. From what I understand, my father refused to turn my mother so we could have a somewhat normal life… He… Had to leave our village when I was really young. He relied far too heavily on transforming into his wolf form to survive… So much, that one day he just couldn't change back… Thanks to the Argonians, beast-men of any form aren't exactly looked upon fondly. For everyone's safety, he felt it would be in our best interest to leave us behind…"

Dipper jotted more notes onto his journal. "So, you can be turned, and the condition is also hereditary… Say, what about you though? Wouldn't the village have noticed you were a Werewolf too at some point?"

"Wasn't an issue… We don't start to transform until we reach adolescence… I was still young when my village was destroyed, and both my parents were killed trying to defend me… No one was left alive to object to me being a werewolf."

"Oh…" Dipper muttered, lost for words otherwise. He hadn't been expecting such a blunt and personal answer, let alone the direct manner in which the young man spoke it. Almost the same way you'd complain about crummy weather on the weekend. "Sorry, I didn't intend to get so personal… I had no idea…"

"It's nothing… I was young, and I've made peace with it. It's all part of keeping my emotions under control. I chose to let tragedy motivate me rather than let it destroy me." Dipper could sense there was much more too it than that, but the authoritative tone in the way Takura spoke those words told Dipper this was about as deep as he was going to penetrate into the psyche of this young man he'd just met. Takura stood up gingerly, and looked down at Dipper, virtually no emotion on display. "Let me ask you a question now. That book the Captain trusted you with… Are you able to understand it?"

"It'll take some work, but I'm pretty confident I can decipher my uncle's work… Only trouble is, I know virtually nothing about this dimension… I could use some help with the general geography and topography of Andorra."

Takura cocked an eyebrow, almost as if he wasn't quite sure what those words meant. He got the general gist though, which brought a slight smirk to his face. "If it's the lay of the land you're referring too, I can definitely help you with that. Even the regions of the Empire I'm not familiar with, I have contacts that do. Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Perfect!" Dipper cheered excitedly as he put away his own journal and removed the coded text his Grunkle Ford had penned while visiting this dimension. He opened the book to the sketch Takura and Tracey had already solved, still hoping the key to unlocking Ford's code was hiding somewhere in that bizarre text. "There may be reason to hope after all!"

End Chapter 7

-And thus the stage has been set. I know I'm not the first person to include Wendy's mother as a character, but considering there were hints dropped that she might be stuck in another dimension well… It seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up. Tracey isn't going to be a major character throughout this series, but she will be an important one. Still tweaking her personality a bit and trying to decide exactly what I want to do with her. I wanted her to be a realistic fit into the Corduroy clan, yet not be just an older version of Wendy or a generic clone of the rest of the family. There's going to be a bit of a time skip between Chapter 7 and 8 while Dipper slowly tries to find his way home. My updating schedule is going to be a bit sporadic for the next month or so. The Halloween season is a big deal in my house so I'll probably be spending most of the next month watching horror flicks and working on my Halloween décor than I will be writing, though I doubt I'll be completely dormant.

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-And now… Another installment of Dipper Paranormal Super Dork Corner!:

Haven't gotten to do one of these since Chapter 1! Anyway, there were a couple of references in this chapter I wanted to allude too

-The title of this chapter is in tribute to a novel/movie I don't think I'm even allowed to mention on this site. You're all smart though, I'm sure you can figure out what that reference is.

-Dipper's King Lycaon story is an actual Greek Myth and part of the origin for our modern term of Lycan/Lycanthrope.

-Ford's mysterious 4th Journal is based off a book I have sitting on my bookshelf called 'The Secret'. A book that acts as a guide to a real-world treasure hunt that includes illustrations and accompanying passages that lead to actual buried treasure. (Or rather a key that wins you a fancy gemstone) To this day, only three of the twelve total treasures have been claimed. It's one of my favorite mysteries, and I would've loved to do a story arch on it during the story proper but couldn't really come up anything. This felt like a loving way to pay tribute to 'The Secret' as Dipper tries to crack Ford's puzzles to find his own coveted treasure. His way back home!

Until next time!