From the balcony, Preston Northwest watched as yet another one of his homes was taken from him. This time, not through an unjust sale, but through a hostile takeover by the forest.

He took a deep swig of ale and tightened his grip around the bottle. The guests at the resort, most hand-picked and invited by Northwest, had gone from praising his triumph to avoiding his gaze in a matter of hours. 'This was supposed to be the redemption of the Northwest name', he thought darkly to himself. "Now it's just going to be one more thing they use to bury our family in the ash heap of history.' He thought of Pacifica, and ice ran through his veins. At one time, he felt confident that he would be passing to her a legacy to be proud of so that she could look back and take pride in the sacrifices he and his ancestors before him had made. 'What's there for her to love about me now?'

He shook away the intrusive thoughts, they weren't the primary concern right now. Preston's first instinct was to hide away his family and wait until everything blew over… but at this point, after everything he had witnessed in Gravity Falls, there was no point. He took another drink from the bottle. Guess it was time to sit around and wait for the Pines family to bail him out again. Bully.

"Dipper!"

Dipper and Pacifica looked up as they exited the pro shop into the main lobby of the lodge. Mabel ran over excitedly, followed not far behind by Grenda, Candy, and Wendy. Throughout the cavernous lobby of the resort, a collection of guests and Gravity Falls residents looked over in curiosity. Dipper took notice of the crowd, silently counting and wondering how many of the resort's guests were still inside and how many had been taken by the trees.

"We're glad you're okay, man!" chimed in Wendy, "We thought the trees had gotten you."

"They almost did," groaned Dipper, suddenly feeling the pain in his ankle from running in his clunky ski boots. He dropped to the floor and started to pull them off. "What about you guys? Have you just been in the lodge this whole time?"

"We got attacked by the trees earlier," said Candy, "so we started to investigate while we waited for you."

"I take it you didn't get my texts?" Mabel added slyly to Pacifica, raising her eyebrows repeatedly.

"Mabel, can you just chill for a sec?" Pacifica frowned in response. Mabel did not chill, continuing to raise her eyebrows.

"YOU!" called a voice from across the lobby, echoing through the rafters and freezing the guests in place. The group turned to see Preston Northwest making his way down a staircase towards them, a nearly empty bottle of cider in hand. Dipper looked back and forth, then back at Preston, realizing that the elder Northwest was addressing him.

"Why is it that whenever something goes wrong, you're right in the middle of it?"

"I-"

"It's not enough to defame my ancestors, or destroy my home, or unleash demons onto my city…"

"Dipper didn't do any of that!" Mabel interjected. Dipper was appreciative of his sister's defense, but he had a feeling that what Preston was shouting at him wasn't a rational, thought-out accusation. In his mind, Dipper was truly the cause of all his pain and suffering, and his rant was the release valve for all the pent-up anger that had been building throughout the year.

"But now," continued Preston as he continued to approach Dipper, "after I try to do something good for the people of this town, you just couldn't let it go. You had to shove my face down in the dirt again."

"Dad!" Pacifica shouted, stepping forward between Preston and Dipper. "Leave him alone. This isn't his fault. None of it is." Preston's eyes narrowed, his disgust towards Pacifica's defense of Dipper oozing from every pore.

"Yeah, you're the one who built your dumb lodge on a spooky haunted forest," added Wendy, also taking a step to stand between Preston and Dipper. "You had my dad putting his family and crew at risk, and they told you there was something weird about this forest. You knew there was some reason they abandoned the ski resort here to begin with."

"Wait," Pacifica turned to Wendy, her face crestfallen, "you mean this isn't the first time this happened?"

"Course it isn't," Wendy spat, "They tried to build a ski resort here years ago, and the same thing happened. Accidents during construction, creepy trees, the works. Only they had the good sense to stop once people started getting hurt, you just paid for more overtime!"

Pacifica turned back to her father, her eyes staring daggers into his. "You told mom this land was pristine, that it was never used for anything. You knew this wasn't safe. How could you? Why do you keep subjecting your family to danger like this?"

Preston stood firm, peering down at Pacifica with his chin up. "I do this to keep the honor of my family intact. I do this for you, Pacifica, so that when it's time for you to continue the Northwest legacy, it's still worth something."

Pacifica laughed harshly. "Newsflash, dad. Our name is worthless now. And you just keep driving the value lower."

An uneasy quiet fell over the lobby. Preston seethed, too clouded by rage to form a response to Pacifica. Mabel exchanged a glance with Dipper, quietly pointing out both Pacifica and Wendy coming to his defense. Dipper rolled his eyes and angrily held his finger up to his lips. Mabel grinned.

"Everyone, please," Ford announced, breaking through the silence as he and Grunkle Stan entered the lobby, "it's important that we remain calm and allow clearer heads to prevail."

"That," added Stan, "and nobody is invested in your problems, Preston. Boohoo, nobody respects you. Nobody respects me either, but I don't have a pile of money to cry in." The disgust and horror shown by Preston were only matched by the sheer glee Stan took reveling in his failure. Ford shook his head in disbelief.

"That's enough, Stan," chided Ford. Stan, disappointed, crossed his arms and frowned. Dipper and Mabel excitedly ran up to Ford, and he knelt down to speak to them eye-to-eye. "I trust you've done some investigating on your own?"

Dipper and Mabel nodded. Dipper felt a tinge of disappointment that this was his big reunion with Grunkle Ford, all wrapped up in crisis and action, but he had to admit, crisis and action were a lot of his memories of Ford from the summer to begin with.

"We can properly catch up later," added Ford, as if he was reading Dipper's mind. "Right now there's no time to lose. I've set up a mobile lab in your hotel room, fill me in on the way."

Ford shifted his focus to Stan. "I'm putting you on crowd control, can you handle that?" Stan scoffed.

"Are you kidding? Crowd control is my specialty," bragged Stan with a toothy grin. Ford chuckled to himself before turning on his heel and briskly walked back the way he came. Dipper and Mabel wasted no time in following him, while Grunkle Stan stepped forward to address the growing collection of worried lodge guests.

"Listen up, everybody," Stan shouted, stepping up onto a coffee table to address the group. "While those knuckleheads try and deal with the 'supernatural disturbance,'" Stan added finger quotes to show his disdain for the situation, "I'm in charge of making sure everyone stays safe here." Preston scoffed.

"Under what authority?" he chortled, "This is my resort!"

"And you're doing such a good job running it so far," taunted Stan. "Let someone with some actual leadership experience show you how it's done. Mabel's friends," he turned, addressing Candy and Grenda, "Go find where they keep food in storage, bring anything canned back to the lobby." The two girls nodded in acknowledgment and took off. "Wendy," Stan continued, "Go find anything flammable, bring it back." Wendy solemnly saluted and ran towards the pro shop. "Blondie," Stan turned to Pacifica, "I need you to find the guest record and try to get anyone that's still in the lodge into the lobby. When Dipper and Ford inevitably come up with a plan, we're going to want to get everybody out as quickly as possible. Can you do that?"

Pacifica opened her mouth to reply, but Preston once again cut in. "How dare you give my daughter orders like that!"

Pacifica groaned. "Dad, I'm sick of this. Stop treating me like I'm your property." She turned to Stan. "You can count on me, Stan."

Stan grunted in approval. "Great, kid. Get moving."

Pacifica grinned and ran off. Stan turned to Preston, his face turned up in a scowl. Stan opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. It was obvious that Preston wasn't interested in taking parenting advice from anyone, let alone Stanley Pines. 'Poor kid,' he thought.

"Fascinating!"

One thing that Mabel really liked about her Grunkle Ford was that everything was fascinating to him. Having spent thirty years in another dimension, some of the most mundane things that Mabel chatted with him about were alien to him. In this case, however, the subject at hand was unusual even by Mabel's standards. As they made their way down a hallway of hotel suites, the Pines twins had been filling Ford in on their close encounters with the trees so far.

"And by the time we were on the ground," Dipper added, nearing the end of his story, "the trees were pulling themselves out of the forest and reestablishing themselves on the ski runs."

"So they're independently ambulatory? Using roots and branches as arms. Utterly fascinating."

"You don't think that trees are eating the people they've been pulling into the woods, do you Grunkle Ford?" Mabel asked nervously.

"We can't rule it out," Ford noted gravely, "But so far we haven't seen any evidence of it, and if Manly Dan is to be believed, it sounds like his workers that disappeared resurfaced later. To recap, all we've seen these trees do is grab and crawl. You both heard them make sound, but neither of you reported seeing any facial features, eyes, anything that would make us think these are monsters."

"Wait," interrupted Dipper in confusion, "what else could they be if they're not monsters?"

"I'm glad you asked, Dipper," Ford replied, stopping as they reached the room. He pulled a key card from his pocket, slid it into the door, and opened it. "Universal key card," he chuckled, flashing the card to show Dipper and Mabel. It was covered in bizarre markings and symbols. "I'm not sure if these are runes or just interdimensional resort logos, but you can't argue with the results!"

Ford held open the door to allow Dipper and Mabel to enter. Several computers had been sprawled out across the room, each displaying waveform monitors that fluctuated wildly every several seconds. Dipper walked up to one of the monitors, trying to decipher the meaning of the graphs, but he came up empty. Ford approached Dipper, also staring pensively at the glowing monitor.

"Ever since Stan and I returned from the Arctic, I've been tracking these strange readings. There are only two places I've ever encountered them - the Arctic Circle and Gravity Falls. There is some kind of connection, but I can't figure it out."

"Do you think this has something to do with the trees?" asked Dipper, and Ford nodded.

"The tree activity seems to be preceded by a massive burst of this wave energy. But we didn't encounter anything like this in the north, and this is only happening in a very targeted area of a densely forested region. So, former apprentice," Ford added, throwing a grin towards Dipper, "what do you make of that?"

Dipper paused, considering the evidence. "The tree creatures are being controlled by this wave energy?" An anxious knot in his stomach twisted - 'Well that was the dumbest thing anyone could have thought of,' he thought darkly. Of course, Ford didn't notice Dipper's self-doubt at all, as he laughed triumphantly at the answer.

"Exactly, Dipper! Now, to test that theory, we're going to have to get a sample, which means going outside. I've already found an access hatch to the roof, that'll give us the best chance of getting a sample without letting the tree creatures into the lodge."

Dipper and Mabel exchanged a worried look. "The roof?" Mabel cautiously repeated. "The steep, icy, dangerous roof? That roof?"

"We have no choice, Mabel. If we're going to figure out how to stop this, we need a sample." Ford attempted to give Mabel an apologetic look, but being out of practice, his practical response came off more than a bit cold. In his many daydreams about coming back to Gravity Falls and going on adventures with his Great Uncle Ford, Dipper had always taken for granted how similar he and Ford's personalities were, and always assumed it was an asset. Now, watching his sister's worried expression at Ford's dangerous proposition, Dipper realized that may not always be a positive connection.

"What about one of the windows?" offered Dipper. "That would be a lot safer than the roof."

Ford shook his head. "So far, none of the trees have tried to break through the windows or doors, despite clearly being strong enough. My theory is that they don't have any capacity to understand the purpose of a window or door. If we open one and draw attention to it, they might figure out how to get inside, and then we're really in trouble. You two wait here, I'm going to try and track down some extra protective equipment."

Ford abruptly turned and exited the hotel room. One second of silence later, the door reopened, Ford's head sticking back into the room. "Before we put our lives at risk in the name of science, let me just say again that it's wonderful to see you both. Hopefully, once we get things under control, we can have a proper reunion." With a smile, his head retreated back through the doorway, leaving Dipper and Mabel alone in their room.

While he was excited to get to hang out with and research with his Great Uncle Ford once again, Dipper couldn't help but feel inadequate in his presence. Over the summer, he had relied on his Great Uncle's research journals to help him solve all sorts of supernatural mysteries and conundrums. But whenever he found himself without the journals and forced to rely on his own wits, he found himself far less confident in his abilities. Now that the journals were destroyed, Ford's presence served nearly the same purpose - he was a living journal of information and resourcefulness. And while working alongside Ford helped Dipper to learn far more than he did on his own, he couldn't shake the imposter syndrome that came with working alongside someone so competent and collected.

But he'd have to grapple with those feelings later. For now, there was work to be done. He turned to console Mabel, expecting her to still be worried about their mission. But she seemed to have accepted Ford's explanation and had moved onto other pressing matters.

"First things first," announced Mabel, walking over to the light switch on the wall and flipping it on. Immediately, the moody blue glow from the monitors was replaced with the warm, welcoming glow of the hotel room lighting. "You and Ford spend way too much time in the dark." Dipper didn't bother arguing a point he knew to be true. He took a moment to look around at the furnishings, given Pacifica had spoken so highly of them. Unsurprisingly, he found lavish bed sheets, furniture that matched the retro ski lodge aesthetic while somehow not coming off as kitsch or tacky, and framed vintage illustrations from world-class ski resorts in the Rockies and Alps. Pacifica wasn't lying, the rooms were a sight to behold.

Mabel walked over to one of the beds and flopped herself backward. "I can't say I'm surprised our winter break has turned into another supernatural monster mash, but I was looking forward to getting to relax a bit."

Dipper laughed, taking a seat next to his sister. "Yeah, as fun as it is to run around with Ford solving a mystery, I was having a pretty great time on a normal adventure for once."

Mabel bounced up, beaming. "Oh, that's right! How was your date with Pacifica?"

"It wasn't a date, Mabel."

"Tell me everything," she demanded, her eyes wide with excitement. Frustrating as her repeated teasing over his love life was, especially given the circumstances, Dipper knew Mabel's heart was in the right place. He sighed and gave a brief overview his entire afternoon, starting with Pacifica and her father's exchange with Stan, hanging out in the mud baths, reconnecting with Pacifica later in the day, and the time they spent out on the slopes talking. Mabel listened intently, and Dipper could tell that as far as she was concerned, things between him and Pacifica were a done deal.

"One thing that's difficult," admitted Dipper, "is it seems like she's had to keep a lot of her personal growth from her family. She keeps swinging back and forth between who she wants to be and who she was, all to keep the peace in a family that's on the verge of falling apart. And when she's struggling with that, I don't know what to say."

"You're still overthinking it, bro. She's opening up about it to you, that's your cue to reassure her that she's doing the right thing. Though I wonder..."

Mabel trailed off into her own thoughts, looking around the room curiously. Dipper watched in confusion as she rose from the bed and started to search the hotel room.

"Mabel?"

"You said she specifically mentioned the room and seemed disappointed we didn't make it up here," she recalled, pulling open drawers and looking under the bed. "I bet she left a surprise for you somewhere." Dipper frowned, skeptical.

"Now who's overthinking things? She was probably just excited about her new ski resort, I doubt she intended that as some sort of cryptic messag-"

"Found it," Mabel announced, holding her hand out from inside the closet. She pulled out monogrammed bathrobes, one labeled MP in pink lettering and the other MDP in gold. "They're so soft, Dipper!" She tossed his bathrobe over to him and, true to form, he struggled to catch it. As he scrambled, an envelope fell from the inside pocket of the robe onto the floor. He opened it to find a letter, written on stationery from the Northwest Ski Resort, addressed to him.

"Hey Dipper,

I'm so excited you're here. I promise we're going to have an amazing time. I know you're used to roughing it, but I hope you'll let yourself enjoy some relaxation and luxury while you're here. If anyone deserves a break, it's you.

Now get down to the lobby and come see me!

Warm regards,

Pacifica Northwest"

"Hey, I didn't get a letter!" teased Mabel, reading over his shoulder. Dipper shrugged her off, returning to look at the monogrammed bathrobe. He was a bit surprised, not many people in Gravity Falls knew his actual name was Mason, not Dipper. He was impressed with the thoroughness, but the letter was depressing to read under the circumstances. Pacifica had been so proud of the ski resort and was excited to share it with him. Even as things had started to go wrong, she had at least felt confident that it was a cruel coincidence, that her family wasn't once again putting people's lives in danger in the name of profit. Now, after learning the truth about the previous resort, she didn't even have that to comfort her. Dipper suddenly found himself wishing that someone else in Gravity Falls could handle the danger and allow him the chance to console Pacifica instead.

A moment later, and Dipper shook away the thought. No point in wishing for something that wasn't going to happen. He (and Ford too, he admitted) was best equipped to deal with the supernatural, and he would need a lot more help before trying to tackle the emotional mystery that was Pacifica Northwest.

"Mabel, I promise to tell you everything about where things seem to be going with Pacifica once this is all over," said Dipper. "And I mean that, I'm actually a bit confused and want your advice. But can we please put it aside for right now?"

Mabel groaned. "Fine. But I'm holding you to it!"

Dipper laughed in response just as Ford burst back into the hotel room. In his arms, he carried a variety of plastic and rubber pieces of protective equipment. He tossed the pile to the floor in front of the twins. "Found the gardening supplies, suit up. We're headed to the roof."

A moment passed and Ford became aware of the monogrammed bathrobes. "Those look soft."

"They are!" exclaimed Mabel.

Three stories above the sprawling resort, a metal roof access door swung open. Dipper, Mabel, and Ford, covered in protective equipment and wielding garden shears, cautiously stepped out onto shingles glazed with sleet.

"Careful, now," warned Ford, "this is a steeply pitched roof. One wrong step and…" he trailed off, looking down and the gnarled trees that now surrounded the resort. "Just be careful."

"Remind me again why all three of us had to do this?" Mabel asked nervously. Ford paused for a moment as if he himself wasn't sure.

"Well, if something goes wrong, hopefully at least one of us makes it back and can save the lodge guests," Ford offered matter-of-factly. This answer was not comforting to Mabel and Dipper.

The trio began to descend the roof, mindfully stepping and holding on to ornamental wooden beams that crisscrossed the entire surface. Having scaled the roof of the Mystery Shack many times, the twins didn't necessarily fear the heights they were facing. However, given their relative inexperience with ice and snow, there was still plenty to be cautious of. In addition, Dipper kept a watchful eye on the trees nearest to the base of the roof - ideally, they would be able to get a cutting of one to study, quickly scale the roof again, and be back within the safety of the lodge before anything could happen. Ideally.

As they reached the bottom, Ford began to look for a suitable subject to cut. The branches continued to feel their way across the roof, touching and feeling the shingles in a way that was too human to give them any comfort. Silently, Ford made a motion towards a specific branch, identifying his target.

The branch in question was slightly longer than the others, making it easier to cut off from the trees without having to stretch too far from the roof. Ford signaled for Dipper and Mabel to stay put and allow him to obtain the sample. They nodded silently in response. Ford inched his way next to the branch, taking great care to avoid his feet getting close enough for the branch to feel his presence. He raised the shears, opening the cutting end and lowering it to the branch.

He looked back and signaled for Dipper and Mabel to start retreating. As they started to climb, Ford made the cut.

An unearthly shriek echoed out from all directions. Ford grabbed the cut of the branch and shouted "RUN!" to the teens, who wasted no time arguing. All the trees surrounding the lodge began to stretch out their branches, rapidly feeling their way across the roof towards where Ford had been standing moments ago. Finding nothing, they fanned out across the entire roof of the lodge, making headway towards the fleeing trio.

While running up the slope, Mabel's foot landed on a loose shingle, dislodging it immediately. She cried out, throwing her hands out in both directions as she slipped. Dipper, directly behind her, grabbed his sister's arm and helped her to regain her footing. Below them, the dislodged shingle bounced down the roof until it collided with one of the branches. Another shriek and the branches began to focus their attention on scaling the roof, now aiming directly to where the offending object had fallen from.

Despite tripping up, Mabel made it back to the door first. She held it open as Dipper rushed in after her. "Grunkle Ford!" she called out, watching as the branches began to surround them. With a frustrated yell, Ford reached the top of the roof and dashed through the door, helping Mabel to pull it shut behind him.

There was silence for a moment, followed by the sound of branches banging on the metal door and muffled screeching.

"Well, that went about as well as could be expected," Ford joked, nearly out of breath. "Remind me to build myself some bionic kneecaps next time we have to race up a rooftop."

He turned his attention to the clipping he made from the branch. Up close, the creepy flesh bark and finger branches were even more horrifying to look at, but at the very least, it appeared to no longer be moving.

"Let's get this back to the lab and see what we can learn from it," said Ford. "With any luck, we might be able to turn this around in time for the Ducktective Holiday Special." Staring at the branch in Ford's hand, almost mesmerized by how disgusting it was, Dipper had his doubts that things would be that simple. But he and Mabel followed Ford, all the same, ready to dig deeper into the mystery.