Looking Backwards

by ToastyMagic

(Self Insert) After arriving in Gravity Falls by literally falling into it, Matt is dazed and confused. He is sent back from 2020 to 2012 with his knowledge of the show and he soon finds himself in the Mystery Shack where Stanley Pines takes him in. How'd he get there? Why are things changing? I guess you'll have to find out along with him.

6. The Inconvenience

"Focus." My hand wavered a bit and so did the object in my reach. "Focuss." The same request prompted the same result and I furrowed my brow in annoyance. "Focussssss." Alright, that's it.

"Soos," I said, realising my hold of the amulet, allowing the stone I was attempting to lift telepathically fall to the floor, "I appreciate the support but could you not stand in my ear and tell me to focus while eating burrito bites?" Dipper who was sitting on the steps leading to the Shack's back door snickered prompting me to pinch the bridge of my nose and give a sigh. Using the amulet was a lot more difficult than I thought.

"You're right, dude," Soos replied, taking one step back. "You got this now. For sure!" I gave him a smile but as soon as I turned, I shook my head ever so slightly with a roll of my eyes. Stretching my arm out once more, I began to concentrate and the faint red glow enveloped my fingers. Slowly the stone began to rise into the air, but the higher it got, the heavier seemed to get. I gave a slight wince almost losing control, but I quickly recovered, succeeding in not panicking. I was doing it! I was actually doin-

"You got this dude!" Soos exclaimed. And just like that the stone fell to the ground like a ton of lead. I groaned at his carelessness and set the amulet in my pocket.

"You know what?" I said turning to him. "I'm going to take a break!" He offered me a highfive but I walked past and left him hanging. His once cheerful face fell and he shoved a handful of burrito bites into his mouth once more.

"Man," Soos started, "what's got him bummed out?" Dipper set himself on his feet and walked over to his large friend.

"He's just frustrated, that's all," Dipper offered and Soos seemed to accept that answer. "Also the fact that you were practically chewing in the guy's ear might have something to do with it too." Dipper added with a light punch to Soos' arm that was holding his snack.

"What? No way, dude," Soos denied. "I'm like the quietest eater out there, bro." To prove his point, he put a single burrito bite into his mouth and proceeded to chew while Dipper watched expectantly. A loud crunch echoed out of his mouth and his eyes widened significantly. "Okay, I see what you mean."

"Uh-huh," Dipper said with a smile. "Let's get after him before he beats himself up about it or something." Soos nodded in agreement and entered the Mystery Shack through the backdoor. Once they both were in the den, they heard Stan call from the giftshop.

"Soos, Wendy!" He yelled in his gruff voice, prompting Soos to sprint through the door and into the giftshop. He was panting as he approached his boss.

"What's ah-ha-ha. What's up Mr. Pines?" The handyman asked.

"I'm headin' out,'' Stan replied." You two are gonna wash the bathrooms right?" He asked, pointing at both of them.

"Yes sir!" Soos confirmed with a salute.

"Absolutely not," Wendy said, giving her own salute from behind the counter, making Stan laugh.

"Ha Ha!" His expression suddenly turned serious. "You stay out of trouble." Stan pointed his finger at the Corduroy girl while squinting his eyes. And with that, he closed the gift shop door and took his leave.

"Man, Stan does not trust you," I commented, leaning against the counter.

"I know right? I wonder why?" She said rhetorically. Wendy then walked to the back of the giftshop where a sheet was hung from the ceiling, concealing something. "Hey guys," She began as she approached it, "What's this? A secret ladder to the roof" With a smile, the redhead pulled the sheet to the side revealing, in fact, a secret ladder to the roof.

"Uh, I don't think Mr. Pines would like that," Soos said as he walked up to his co-worker. Wendy then reached an arm out in the direction of the ladder, taunting her friend.

"Uhh?" She mocked.

"Ahhh?" Soos nervously mimicked.

"Uhh?" Wendy mocked once more.

"You're freakin' me out dude!" Soos exclaimed, gripping his forehead.

"Can we actually go up there?" Dipper asked with a smile.

"Sure we can!" Wendy replied. "Roof time! Roof time!" She began chanting with the twins in tow.

"Roof time! Roof time!" Dipper and Mabel echoed with raised fists and excitement. Wendy then led them up the ladder with me close behind. The redhead then opened a hatch that led to, you guessed it, the roof. After a brief climb over the Shack's triangular ridge, Wendy stopped us.

"Alright, check it out," She said, gesturing to a flat spot on the roof's descent with a lawn chair under an umbrella next to a cooler and a bucket full of pinecones near it's edge.

"Did you put all this stuff up here?" Dipper asked, completely impressed.

"I may or may not sneak up here during work, all the time every day," She replied while circling her hand through the air. Then she bent down and picked a pinecone out of the bucket and threw it directly at a bullseye taped to the totem pole ahead of us. Needless to say she nailed her target. The twins and I then picked up our own pinecones and gave it a shot. I chucked mine and I sent it straight between the bird's eyes on the totem pole.

"That's the wrong target," I admitted with a chuckle.

"You've got too much power, try focusing on your accuracy," Wendy suggested.

"Noted," I replied, picking up a new pinecone. Both Mabel and Dipper's barley made it pass the roof under us. Dipper nailed a car and caused it's alarm to chirp, making his face go red with embarrassment.

"Jackpot!" Wendy said reassuringly. "Highfive man!" But Dipper didn't move. He got lost in her eyes and only came back to reality when Wendy spoke. " Don't leave me hanging." Dipper quickly recovered and smacked his palm with hers just as a car pulled into the lot.

"Oh hey it's my friends," Wendy informed with a smile on her face. Tompson rolled down the window and waved at her while calling her name. She turned back to face us with a look of worry. "Uh, you're not gonna tell Stan about this, are you?" She asked. Dipper then provided to lock his lips and throw away the key prompting Wendy to do the same.

"Later dorks," She waved and then jumped and grappled onto a nearby pinetree and rode it down to the parking lot. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she sprinted to the open minivan door and sped off.

"Later Wendy!" Dipper called after her with an over exuberant wave. "Ah, good times." He sighed, setting his hands on his hips. Wordlessly, I tossed the pinecone I had picked up moments ago at the back of his head, breaking his lovestruck gaze.

"Uh-oh," Mabel and I said simultaneously. While my tone was laced with dread, Mabel's was filled with excitement, fueled by the teasing potential.

"What?" Dipper asked suspiciously, rubbing the back of his head and taking note of his sister's deviant smile.

"Somebody's in love!" She sang while poking her brother in the face.

"Yeah right," Dipper denied with a hand wave through the air. "I just think Wendy's cool, okay?"

"Dude," I said, crossing my arms, "Who are you trying to fool?"

"He always gets this way when he has a crush on a girl," Mabel whispered to me, causing Dipper to cross his arms and narrow his eyes at his sibling.

"I do not," Dipper replied, a hue of red spreading across his face. Mabel had to stifle a laugh from his reaction.

"It's nothing to be ashamed about Dipper," I said sincerely. "You're growing up and getting super hormonal n' stuff."

"Yeah, but this is a little unreasonable don't ya think, Dip?" Mabel butted in. "She's like, three years older than the both of us." Dipper looked to the side and shuffled his feet. "Search your feelings, you know it to be true!" Dipper shook his head.

"Alright, Mabel, calm down," He said with a small smile. "It's not like I lay awake at night thinking about her." Mabel and I shared a glance and then looked back to the delusional twelve year old.

"Dipper, dude," I started, "just yesterday you complimented her outfit, saying that you liked it."

"Yeah, so?"

"What do you mean 'yeah, so?'" I mocked, making Mabel giggle. "She wears the same thing everyday! There was nothing different about it that time!" Dipper rolled his eyes with pressed lips. I sighed, running a hand down my face.

"Dipper," Mabel began, setting a hand on her brother's shoulder, "We're just trying to look out for you." She gestured between me and her with her free hand.

"I know, but this whole thing is unnecessary," He replied. "I don't like her like that."

"Whatever you say, Dip-dop," his sister replied with a hand wave. She turned and began to climb the roof's ridge back to the hatch leading to the giftshop with Dipper and I in tow. As we descended down the ladder, we spotted Soos returning to the giftshop. Presumably, he had just finished cleaning the bathrooms like he had been asked.

"Oh, Soos come on," I said once I saw some cleaning supplies on his person. "I was going to help you as soon as we got back down. Soos waved a hand in the air, almost making him drop a bottle he was cradling in his arm.

"Hey, don't worry," He said with a smile. "After I made you drop that stone earlier, I figured it was only fair that I did this by myself." A frown spread across my lips and I slouched slightly.

"Soos, that wasn't your fault." I rubbed the back of my neck while patting the amulet resting in my pocket. "It's just hard for me to figure this thing out, ya know? I thought after Gideon was so thorough demonstrating what he was capable of, I might have some understanding of how this thing works."

"It's all good, dude," Soos replied. "I know what you mean. It was kind of hard for me to become a handyman, especially since I wasn't really handy with fixing things when I was first hired. But I kept trying and I eventually got it, maybe all you need is a different outlook on your stone thingy." I pulled the amulet out of my pocket at the mention of it, its faint red hue illuminating my fingers. "I started thinking that all the stuff I was fixing was alive," Soos continued, "and it worked!" I glanced up to the handyman with grateful eyes, then I offered a high five. "Sorry, dude," he gestured to the supplies in his grasp, "hands are full." I nodded quickly.

"Yeah that makes sense," I said, taking a washcloth and a spray bottle that was resting on his arm. Wordlessly, he led me to a closet in the corner of the giftshop. After the cleaning supplies were put away we walked back to the counter.

"You should keep practicing with that magic rock," Soos suggested. "With all the stuff you've run into so far, I'd say you're gonna need it."

"You sure?" I asked. "I always feel like something pulls me from helping out around here."

"Trust me, dude," Soos started, "It's no problem." He gave me a fist bump and I began to venture to the backdoor through the Shack.

"You should go with him," Mabel told her brother.

"Why?" He replied, not looking up from the journal that he had gone nose deep in. "Matt's got this." Mabel rolled her eyes at him, he wasn't even bothering to glance back at her.

"That wasn't a suggestion," She said, grabbing his vest collar and forcefully dragging him after me. "Besides, you can take notes and obsess over everything or whatever you nerds do." Dipper narrowed his eyes at his sister.

"Maybe I will," He replied after a brief moment of silence, stepping out the back door behind me. Once the door closed, Soos popped his head into the den to see Mabel with her hands on her hips."

"Hopefully some magic stuff will distract him from Wendy for the rest of the day," He suggested.

"Mmm-hmm," Mabel replied with a smile. "Exactly what I was thinking, Soos."

"So are you going to just write down stuff that I can do and stuff?" I asked Dipper. He nodded and clicked his pen.

"No pressure," Dipper added with a smile. He plopped himself down on a log a few feet away, watching intently. I pulled out the amulet and after a brief look at my reflection in the jewel, I closed my eyes with a deep breath. Clenching the mystical item within my fist, I extended my free arm at the troublesome stone. I took a quick glance at Dipper who was already jotting down observations and theories like a madman. A moment later, my gaze was set on the stone once more and the red glow consumed my fingers.

Slowly I raised my hand higher into the air and the stone followed. Somehow, it felt easier. Like the weight was half of what it was before.

"Didn't you say that the amulet was light blue when Gideon used it," Dipper asked, prompting the stone to waver in my grip. "Right, no talking. Sorry." He added with a face palm.

"It's alright," I replied, maintaining my hold with a strained smile. I was losing my grasp. "I need to learn how to multitask with this thing anyway." I released the stone and let it plummet to the floor. "But yeah," I continued, "His glow was like baby blue, or something." Dipper wrote this down without a moment's hesitation. I raised an eyebrow, apparently it was something worthy to take note of. "What do you make of that?" I asked, once Dipper's pen ceased movement. He looked up from his journal with a dorky smile. At least this got his mind off Wendy.

"I have a couple ideas so far," Dipper responded. "Well first I was thinking that the change in color might be the result of a magical lock to hinder the amulet's power. Gideon might have put an enchantment or something on it to prevent others from using it." I shook my head in disagreement.

"I don't think so," I began, "Just now I showed improvement from earlier. I don't think a lock would allow that to happen, ya know?" Dipper nodded, taking a quick peek at his writing.

"Then maybe it's a reflection of one's emotions," He suggested with a hopeful smile, but it quickly disappeared. "No, that wouldn't make sense. You said that he was really angry and I severely doubt that light blue would symbolize rage."

"Yeah, you're probably right on that one," I replied, subconsciously rubbing my arm that GIdeon had almost crushed. "Anything else?"

"I saved the dumbest for last," He said, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous smile. "Maybe it's like a cosmetic setting, something that you can change."

"Huh," I took a glance down at the magical artifact in my hand, "Red is my favorite color and light blue is pretty much Gideon's entire theme." Wordlessly, I enclosed the amulet within my fist and closed my eyes. I wished for it to turn a completely different shade before opening my hand or eyes, but I frowned at the result. The same red hue illuminated my palm.

"What did you try and make it?" Dipper asked.

"I was thinking of purple," I raised my hand to my chin. "Or was it indigo?" Dipper rolled his eyes with a smile. "Doesn't matter, it didn't work."

"I'll look into the color change later, but for now I think that you should keep practicing those mystical muscles of yours," He suggested with a mockful smile.

I pushed Dipper's hat over his eyes and he flailed his arms in surprise. A rustle in the bushes nearby made both of us stop. Dipper shot to his feet with a look of concern as more and more bushes rustled in the same area.

"Anyshot that's just two squirrels fighting?" I asked, not taking my sight off the bush. I could feel Dipper's glare burning into the side of my head. He and I both knew where we were, this is Gravity Falls and nothing is ever that simple. The rustling was growing distant and my curiosity peaked. So far, hardly any supernatural creatures were ever this close to a human settlement. Perhaps the source of the noise really was just some dumb squirrels, but I wasn't about to leave that up to interpretation. And apparently, neither was Dipper.

Wordlessly, the paranoid twelve year old stepped up to the edge of the forest and pushed aside the shrub. After a brief moment of searching for the disturbance, he caught a glimpse of something and pointed towards it in silence. Racing past the flora was a little man with a white beard and blue overalls, prompting Dipper and I to share a glance.

"Gnomes," he said looking back at the creature with a scowl on his face.

"What are they doing here?" I asked, watching the gnome vanish from sight. "Last time they were this close to the shack they were chasing us."

"Well, it can't be anything good," Dipper replied, setting the journal in his vest pocket. "We should investigate." I nodded in agreement and set foot into the lush, green undergrowth with Dipper close behind. Quietly we tracked the gnome based on the occasional glimpse of it and the loud disruption it left in its wake. The only feasible reason a gnome would be this far out of the enchanted forest I could imagine was for reconnaissance. About two weeks ago, the twins and I stuck it to Jeff and his clan and I bet he's not over it. Almost every fiber in my being told me this had to do with making Mabel the queen of the gnomes. They might, no, probably will make another attempt at kidnapping her, especially after Jeff swore revenge on the three of us.

"How many of them do you think there were?" Dipper asked, breaking our silence. I held up a finger, signaling for him to be quiet. Not because he was being too loud, but because the rustling stopped. In a clearing just ahead, hundreds upon hundreds of gnomes were huddled in a group before a podium made out of a tree trunk. Some sat patiently on tamed deer while others sat on the grass and played with dandelions, but no matter what they were doing, they were all waiting for something.

"Does that answer your question?" I asked, refusing to tear my sight from the large herd before us. Dipper nodded and a small audible gulp escaped his throat. We were in their territory now.

"Alright, alright," A familiar voice called stepping onto the wooden podium, "Is everyone here? Good." It was Jeff. "I would just like to let you all know that our scouts were indeed successful and we have our target." Cheers erupted from the once silent crowd, sending booming harrahs throughout the forest.

"Oh come on!" A new voice yelled over the dying roar of the crowd. "After he lost our new queen, do you really think he actually succeeded in his mission?" Murmurs spread throughout the group like wildfire. "He is lying to us! Jeff's leadership has set us adrift!" This accusatory gnome made his way up to the stage beside Jeff.

"Gnome politics?" Dipper questioned with a raised eyebrow. I just shrugged in response as their feud grew in intensity.

"Greeze, are we really doing this right now?" Jeff asked with squinted eyes.

"Of course we are!" The gnome, Greeze replied. "You are the first gnome leader in our entire history to ever lose a queen. How can you expect us to follow you after such a failure?"

"Have I not brought advancements to our society? I have doubled our territory size in the time that I've been leader, in fact the very land we stand on now was claimed by yours truly." The gnomes applauded their leader while Greeze shook his head.

"But the queen, Jeff! We need a queen!" Greeze exclaimed. Once again, the crowd seemed to change their opinion on their leader in an instant. Jeff sighed and looked at his followers with a solemn look.

"Yes, I acknowledge my failure for securing our society a queen, but just because I have failed does not mean that it will not happen," Jeff declared. "Believe me, I know we need a queen so I will offer this: If I do not succeed in the heist tomorrow night then we will elect a new leader in its stead." Gasps grew amongst the clan of gnomes, even Greeze looked surprised.

"So be it," Greeze accepted and Jeff gave him a firm nod.

"Before we depart back home, does anyone have any concerns they'd like to voice?"

"I do!" A gnome announced.

"Yes, what is it Steve?" Jeff asked.

"I saw those Pines kids outside their hut on the way back from the target," He began, "You don't think they're onto us do you?"

"Why would they be onto us?" Jeff asked, his expression quickly turning serious. "They didn't see you, did they?"

"Don't think so, boss," Steve responded. "The ginger kid had some kind of magic stone, should we take him out?" Suddenly, every gnome before the podium pulled out pinecone spears with menacing battlecries.

"They're won't be any need for that," Jeff dismissed, prompting the gnomes to 'Aw' in dissatisfaction. "If all goes to plan, which it will, he will not be involved." Dipper and I shared a look and silently backed away from the clearing's edge. Despite being here for not even two weeks, apparently we had secured a solid spot at the top of the gnome's most hated list.

Gradually, we picked up our pace and set our backs to the clearing. "Dipper, if you snap a twig on accident right now, I might kill you before those gnomes get to us," I whispered with a hint of seriousness. Then, not even a moment later… crunch. The silence shattering noise prompted my gaze to shoot down to the ground where a splintered stick lay under my foot.

"What was that?" Jeff called, he and all the other gnomes starred in our direction.

Look, there!" One of the gnomes exclaimed, pointing at us, instantly sending me into fight or flight.

"Well, what if you snap a twig?" Dipper asked in an irritated tone.

"We run," I replied simply.

As if it were on cue, the battle cry we had heard moments ago repeated in an equally ferocious manner. The gnome army shook the ground in their stampede as they charged towards the treeline. Dipper and I were well into our stride once they sped into the undergrowth close behind.

"Use the amulet!" Dipper yelled over the shrill of shrieks and cries. Leaping over a set of exposed tree roots, my hand flew into its respective pant pocket pulling out the amulet. Once I made sure the path ahead was free of any obstacles, I transitioned into a back pedal and extended my free hand at the closet group of gnomes. Strianing, I attempted to raise them off the ground and throw them at their companions. No matter how bright the red glow encasing my hand was, they kept pressing forward.

"Agh, it's not working!" I grunted, turning back around. Refusing to give up however, I raised my hand at a stone in the path ahead. To my joy it lifted off the ground and with a Crow Hop, I threw it at the wave of gnomes right on our tail. This startled them and many of the gnomes dodged out of the way, slowing them down. They were about to pursue again but Jeff called out the group.

"Let them go," He ordered, halting the group.

"But we almost have them!" A gnome exclaimed, but Jeff shook his head.

"They don't know about our plans. If we capture them, we involve them and their family." Jeff looked at his followers. "We don't want that."

"They're kids!" The gnome exclaimed.

"Yes, but they're smart," Jeff replied. "I heard rumors from neighboring beasts that they tamed the lake monster. Something once deemed impossible."

"I heard that too, but those are just rumors," Another gnome declared.

"Maybe," Jeff responded, "But rumors always have a truth to them. Why would a magical beast say that a human of all things, accomplished such a feat?" The group was silent, and with a few glances at one another, they knew he was right. "We cannot and will not underestimate them again."

Dipper and I burst through the bushes at the edge of the Mystery Shack property, panting like dogs. Sure, we noticed that the gnomes halted their chase but we were not taking any chances and refused to slow down. The both of us were graced with an opening, so we took it and never looked back.

"That was close," I remarked, finally catching my breath.

"I know, I was there," Dipper replied. "Why didn't the amulet work on the gnomes? That stone you were practicing with probably weighed more than them."

"I know, I know... It just didn't work."

"Well maybe you can't move living creatures with it," He suggested, hand on his chin.

"But Gideon was able to pick me up no problem," I mentioned.

"Yeah, that's what makes this weird." Dipper furrowed his brow and pulled out his journal. "I guess the color might actually mean something." He began walking to the Shack's back door, but my hand on my shoulder stopped him.

"Woah, what about that heist stuff, man?" I asked. "You don't think they're planning to steal-"

"Mabel?" Dipper finished, turning to face me. "It's possible but I don't think so." I squinted, mouth slightly agape. Why would the gnomes not try to steal Mabel? Jeff made it pretty obvious that he was trying to obtain Mabel's affection, making her the perfect target for their heist. Stealing Mabel seems like it would be the perfect way to get revenge just like Jeff said he would.

"Why not?" I asked, crossing my arms. "You know how much they wanted to make her their queen. They almost killed us!"

"But that's just it," Dipper said, raising his finger, "If they wanted to get to Mabel, wouldn't it make sense to get rid of us first since we got in their way last time?" I opened my mouth to retort, but I couldn't argue with the little genius' logic. The gnomes had the perfect opportunity to dispose of us moments ago, but, for whatever reason, they decided against it. "It just wouldn't make sense." I sighed and nodded my head slightly.

"I guess you're right," I replied, taking a quick glance to the edge of the woods, ensuring for the final time we weren't followed. We weren't. "The idea of them stealing something still doesn't sit right with me though." Obviously.

"It doesn't sit right with me either," Dipper agreed, "But we shouldn't interfere. We did just discover that there is such a thing as gnome politics after all. Maybe there's some sort of judicial system that will hold them accountable in the forest." I raised an eyebrow at the idea, a bunch of mythical creatures in a courthouse carrying out laws? Doubtful. Taking notice of my expression, Dipper rolled his eyes. "Look, we still don't know a lot about what goes on in this town. It could be a possibility." I arched my eyebrow even more. "A small possibility, but a possibility nonetheless." He turned and walked up to the Mystery Shack's back door. I still wanted to work on mastering the amulet and despite knowing the area was clear, I did not want to take any chances. Wordlessly, I followed Dipper into the somewhat structural unsecure Mystery Shack for security.

Once inside, I plopped down on the couch with a grunt. Dipper was about to do the same but hesitated.

"Do you think Wendy is back yet?" he asked, avoiding eye contact. I exhaled sharply through my nose. Man this kid is clueless.

"Do you really think she'd be the type of person to ditch work and come back?" I replied, taking two pitt cola cans out of the mini fridge Stan had recently bought. It was part of his own personal stash that he told no one else could access. Oh well, he shouldn't have but such a valuable asset in the middle of the den next to the couch. I tossed one to Dipper

"Yeah," Dipper said, catching the spare can with both hands and quickly snapping it open. "She's smarter than that," he praised after taking a swig. I rolled my eyes.

"God, you're hopeless," I whispered under my breath as he sat next to me. He was none the wiser.

The next day hardly any customers had shown up to the Shack. In order to change that, Stan went on a crusade through town to ensure people knew of his "reasonably priced" tourist trap, leaving the employees alone for the second day in a row. Taking advantage of the lack of supervision, Mabel suddenly jumped on top of the cashier desk and threw her fists into the air.

"Random dance party for no reason!" She exclaimed, pressing play on a boombox that rested on the jar of eyeballs next to the register. Wendy, completely in on the idea of getting up and moving, shared the young girl's enthusiasm. While Mabel hopped from foot to foot flailing her arms with surprising balance and Wendy bucked her knees up and down to the synthesised beat while one hand was waving in the air back and forth, I just leaned against the wall and bobbed my head. I could have sworn I saw a potential tourist about to enter the gift shop but decided against it seeing the group of kids dancing around.

The girls began to chant excitedly while simultaneously trying their hardest not to laugh at their own silliness. "Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" They cheered with mischievous smiles. Dipper then walked in with a clipboard and pen, eyeing the girls shyly. He took a glance at the paper on the board and began to write. 'I am pretending to right something down' was written clearly and neatly on the paper causing Dipper to nod to himself.

"Yo, Matt!" Wendy called over her shoulder. "You gettin' in on this?"

"Nah," I replied, shaking my head with a smile, "not my kind of music."

"Boooo," The other redhead drawled lightheartedly. Her gaze shifted over to the slightly sweaty preteen across the room. "Dipper!" Wendy called, causing him to fumble the clipboard in his hands. "Get over here and dance with me and your sister!"

"I, uh, don't really dance," Dipper replied with a light blush on his cheeks and forced smile.

"Yeah you do!" his sister exclaimed before turning to Wendy. "Mom used to dress him up in a lamb costume and make him do…" Mabel paused dramatically and beckoned Wendy closer. "The Lamby Dance." Wendy's face lit up at the name. Dipper, clearly annoyed, tensed his shoulders with a stern look.

"Now is not the time to talk about the lamby dance," he declared.

"Lamb costume?" Wendy asked with a smile, not noticing Dipper's discomfort. "Whoa," she continued, turning to the younger boy, "is there, like, little ears and a tail, or-"

"Well, uh...uh," Dipper stalled, rubbing the back of his neck.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mabel pulled a photo of a baby faced Dipper dressed in the dreaded costume. I suppose she had it to sway Dipper into getting more comfortable around Wendy by sharing an embarrassing story. Either she had amazing planning or she genuinely carries that picture everywhere she goes.

"Dipper would prance around and sing a song about grazing," Mabel announced with a certainly fake innocent smile. She knew what she was doing and Dipper tried to tell her to shut up silently. Of course she didn't listen, deeming the teasing too valuable to pass up. Suddenly the clock in the giftshop went off, signaling a new hour has begun, causing Wendy to smile broadly.

"Hey, look at that," she said, pointing to the clock behind her with a thumb. "Quitting time." She put her name tag into her pocket and began to stroll to the front door. "The gang's waiting for me." Dipper was quick to chase her down and stop her.

"Hey, wait, uh," he began, prompting Wendy to turn around, "maybe I could… Or we could come with you." He gestured to me and his sister with a smile.

"Ooh, I don't know." Wendy said, placing a finger on her chin. "My friends are pretty intense."

"Pfft," I snickered, standing up straight grabbing Wendy's attention, "My friends back home consist of a kid who thinks he's a viking, a literal heckler, a couple of gym sharks and a ninja. I think I can handle it."

"I bet you can," Wendy said with a smile while rolling her eyes, "I was talking about the twins." Dipper suddenly looked nervous. "How old did you say you two are?"

"Thirteen!" Dipper practically shouted, causing me to laugh. I have been thinking about how I was going to handle this situation a few days ago and I decided I'm not about to let him get away with it. This lie is what causes most of the trouble in this episode after all.

"Three things," I began. "One, what are you saying? You're twelve." I looked at Mabel and continued. "Two, it is not a leap year, and three, that's not even how leap years even work." A quiet 'ohh' escaped the young girls mouth while Dipper glared at me.

"Ah, so you were lying then," Wendy concluded. Dipper's now mortified gaze flew over to her causing me to shake my head. "Ha! That's good! You'll fit in great!" Dipper had not expected this reaction. In his head he probably thought that this would start the apocalypse. "You guys can tag along, just let me get my stuff." And with that redhead excited the room.

"Dipper, why do you want to hang out with them so bad," Mabel genuinely asked. Dipper, relieved that he had secured an invite whirled around with a smile.

"Come on, Mabel," He pleaded. "This is our chance to hang out with, you know, the cool kids." The preteen then looked off to the side and muttered, "And Wendy and whatever." This revelation caused Mabel to jump over the desk.

"I knew it!" she declared with a smirk. "You love her!" Mabel then bagan wildly pointing in the air. "Love! Love! Love! Love! Love!"

"I dunno, dude," Soos began, startling the twins. He is very good at blending in "Love is a bit of an exaggeration. I'm leaning more towards obsessed." Just then Wendy walked back into the gift shop and the conversation changed. "Yo Matt, dude, you wanna borrow my pickup?" I smiled at the generous offer.

"I think that would be best," I replied while Soos tossed me his keys, "I doubt we're all gonna fit in one car."

"Good thinking," Wendy nodded, as we walked behind her. "See ya later Soos!" The handyman waved goodbye as we exited the building. As soon as we walked outside, the four of us were blessed with the opportunity to see Robbie Valentino attempting to throw what looked like skittles into an upside down shirtless Thompson's belly button who was being held by Nate and Lee. Yeah.. blessed.

"Come on," Thompson complained to the goth teen who was missing repeatedly. "Hurry up!"

"In the belly! In the Belly!" Nate and Lee began to chant, attempting to encourage Robbie. Lazily, he threw another piece of candy that barely missed its target causing Thompson to 'aww' in dissatisfaction. Just then another piece whizzed past Robbie and slammed into the overweight teen's stomach. Everyone looked over in the direction the shot had come from to see Wendy with a proud smile.

"Wendy!" They all cheered in unison. Nate and Lee let go of Thompson in order to greet the red head, prompting him to fall onto his back. However, he quickly recuperated and put his green shirt back on.

"Hey guys!" Wendy said with a small wave. "These are my pals from work, Matt, Mabel and Dipper.

"You okay there?" I asked, looking at Thomspon. "That seemed like a nasty fall." He was about to respond but Lee butted in.

"He's all good!" Lee exclaimed. "Right, buddy?" The teen then slapped Thompson hard on the back making him wince in pain.

"Yup," Thompson replied with a grimace, "never been better."

"Ha, classic Thompson!" Nate exclaimed, hitting him in the same spot.

"So, who is he?" Robbie motioned towards me, growing bored of the Thompson torture, "Another brother of yours?"

"Ha, I wish," I responded with a laugh.

"And what about those two?" He continued. "Are you, like, babysitting or…"

"Come on, Robbie," Wendy scoffed while he looked away and strummed a couple strings on his guitar. "Guys," Wendy started, turning to us, "This is Lee and Nate." Nate then punched an unprepared Lee in the stomach with a smirk. "Tambry."

"Hi," she groaned, refusing to look up from her phone.

"Thompson, who once ate a run-over waffle for 50 cents."

"Don't tell them that," he whined, looking away out of embarrassment.

"And Robbie. You can probably figure him out."

"Yeah, I'm the guy who spray painted the water tower," he replied with another strum of his guitar, trying to seem cool.

"Oh, you mean the big muffin," Dipper spoke up.

"Um, it's a giant explosion," Robbie corrected with a glare causing everyone to look at the tower in the distance.

"Hehe," Lee chuckled with an outstretched finger. "Kinda does look like a muffin."

"That's the beauty of art," I insisted, looking at the grafiti, "the viewer can interpret it in so many ways." Mabel nodded in agreement. "I thought it was a wave when I first saw it." This seemed to ease Robbie's embarrassment.

"I guess so," he replied, crossing his arms.

"Let's hurry it up, guys," Wendy announced. "I got big plans for tonight."

"I'll follow behind you guys," I said, unlocking Soos' pickup with the key. A smile grew on Nate's face.

"Yo, Matt, right?" he asked and I nodded. "Can I ride with you? I've always wanted to ride in the bed of a pickup."

"Sure," I confirmed with a shrug. "You just have to keep a look out for the cops." I opened the tailgate, prompting Nate to run and jump into the back.

"Well if he's doing it, I am too!" Lee exclaimed as he ran after his friend. Dipper looked at me with slight worry as he opened the passenger door.

"What? You said you wanted to hang out with the 'cool kids' right?" I asked. "Teens do stupid stuff for fun. Besides what's the worst that can happen?"

A few minutes later we were driving down the main road to the convenience store. As I followed close behind Thompson's minivan, Nate and Lee stood in the truck's bed whooping and hollering while twirling their shirts above their heads like animals.

"That's the worst that can happen," Dipper remarked. I nodded in agreement watching the rearview mirror nervously.

Night had fallen fast and luckily no blue and red lights ever chased us down. We made it to our destination with no issue. Once the cars were parked, the nine of us rushed over to the metal gate surrounding the Dusk 2 Dawn convenience store.

"There it is fellas," Wendy declared, hands gripping the holes in the fence. "The condemned Dusk 2 Dawn." The group all 'whoa-d' in amazement. All except Dipper.

"Why did they shut it down?" he stammered with wide eyes. "It's, like, a health code violation, or…"

"Classic of you to go all analytical, Dipstick," I remarked, gazing into the dark windows of the store.

"Try murder!" Nate exclaimed.

"Some folks died in there," Lee continued seriously. "The place has been haunted ever since."

"This town has such a colorful history! " Mabel cheered. She has no idea. Between train crashes, aliens, tyrannical rich men and a certain six fingered scientist, I'd say this is just scratching the surface.

"What?" Dipper said in a fearful voice. "Are...Are you guys serious?"

"Yeah! We're all gonna die!" Wendy yelled with mock terror. "Chill out man," She continued, punching the paranoid preteen in the shoulder. "It's not as bad as it looks." Dipper's gaze lingered on a sign that read: 'NO TRESPASSING VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED.' However, the 'PROSECUTED' was spray painted over with red paint with the word 'DEAD!'

"That's welcoming," I stated sarcastically, noticing the sign as well. I looked up and spotted barbed, coiled wire along the top of the fence. "Do we need to worry about that?" I asked, gesturing to the sharp points. Wendy shook her head and began walking along the fence line.

"I scouted this place out a while ago," she replied, leading the group. "There's a portion of wire missing that we can climb over." Within no time, we now stood under our entrance.

"So, who's going first?" Robbie asked with a troublesome smile.

Wordlessly I grabbed the gaps in the fence and hoisted myself up with a grunt, allowing my feet to step into the holes as well. Once at the top, I straddled the metal bar so that I was sitting on it and then hopped off onto the ground. I stumbled on the impact but managed to stay on my feet. Wendy was close behind me, climbing with expertise that only being a daughter of a lumberjack could grant. Once she hit the floor, she tucked into a roll to break her fall and stood up. Dipper's jaw went slack while Mabel cheered.

"You gotta teach me how to do that," I requested as the others began their ascent.

"Sure," Wendy acknowledged with a smile, walking over to me. " It should be pretty entertaining. I'll teach you during my daily work break."

"You mean your several 'daily' work breaks?" I questioned with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied, punching my arm. "Make fun of my responsibility." She looked over to the fence to see Dipper at the top struggling to get down. "Come on, Dipper."

"Okay. Okay," he chuckled nervously, noticing Tambry taking a picture of his distress. "Just… Just got to get a foothold."

"Dude, your sister did it," Robbie announced, throwing his arms in Mabel's direction.

"Woop, woop woop, woop, woop," she called as she ran around in a circle on the ground.

"Mabel, get up," I said walking over to her. "You don't wanna tear a hole in your sweater do you?" This remark ceased her movement and she shot to her feet and squinted at me.

"Touché."

"Hey, you know what?" Lee asked, climbing back up to Dipper. "Just...there you go." He grabbed the preteen and dropped him to the floor causing Dipper to land on his back. "Sorry, dude," Lee laughed as he jumped down himself.

"Good job throwing the kid off the fence, genius," Nate stated.

"Your mom's a genius," Lee retorted with a smile. I gave the blonde teen a high five for his comeback.

Once Dipper got to his feet, the group walked over to the front entrance of the store. Robbie, taking charge, attempting to pull the twin doors open with a grunt to no avail.

"Whoa," Wendy exclaimed, peering into the window, "this place is amazing!"

"I think it's…It's stuck," Robbie announced, still trying to pry open the door.

"Let me take a crack at it," Dipper requested, stepping forward.

"Oh yeah," Robbie mocked, hands on his hips, "I can't get in, but I'm sure junior here is gonna break it down like Hercules."

"Come on, leave him alone," Wendy said. "He's just a little kid." Dipper took slight offense to those words and his face fell. However, he quickly tightened his pinetree cap and walked to the side of the building.

"Matt, could you give me a boost?" he asked. I nodded, getting down on one knee and making a step with my hands. With no hesitation, he stepped right onto my palm and I pushed him up to the roof. Once he pulled himself up, he pressed forward up to the air conditioner unit.

"Whoa, kid!" Tambry called from below. "What are you doing?" Her question fell upon deaf ears as Dipper pushed against the vent of the unit. He quickly realized that his method was ineffective however and began punching and ramming the vent until it broke free.

"Go, Dipper!" his sister yelled, as the group looked on with concern. "Punch that metal thing!"

"Hey, Dipper," Wendy called once he disappeared from view, "take it easy."

"Who wants to bet he doesn't make it?" Robbie asked, prompting me to raise my hand.

"Ten bucks says he does," I said quickly with a smirk.

Suddenly the front door opened and there Dipper stood with a grand smile, gesturing inside. The group cheered and walked forward while Robbie muttered something under his breath, pulled out a ten and slapped into my outstretched palm. I should definitely make bets more often.

"Good call, inviting this little maniac," Lee stated as he walked through the door while Tambry walked close behind with a smile, still on her phone.

"Your new name is Dr. Funtimes," Nate declared as he walked past.

"Too cool," Thompson remarked while Mabel high fived her brother proudly and stepped inside. Robbie solemnly walked in with a roll of his eyes, either upset that he lost a bet or upset because he got shown up by a twelve year old. Probably both to be honest.

"Nice work," Wendy complimented, patting his shoulder, causing the preteen to smile broadly. I snapped him out of it however when I dragged him into the store by the arm.

"Do you guys really think it's haunted?" Thompson asked sincerely once everyone was inside.

"Nah!" Nate replied, brushing his nervousness aside as he gazed around the room.

"Thompson are you kidding me?" Lee questioned with a smirk.

"Come on, shut up, man!" Nate joked, jabbing Thompson in the shoulder. Out the corner of my eye, I could see the open sign flip to say the store was closed.

"Here we go," I whispered under my breath.

"Oh man," Wendy said nervously, eyes lingering on the machinery, "It's even creepier than I imagined."

As the group split away from one another to inspect their particular interests, Mabel found herself standing before the register. With one hand, she ran a finger around the change bowl before putting the finger in her mouth with a curious look.

"Yup, it's dust," she confirmed with a forced smile.

"Dude," I said, standing over her shoulder, "what is wrong with you."

"Hey, guys, check it out!" Wendy called from across the store. "Do you think these still work?" She was leaning next to a set of switches and quickly flipped them on before anyone could answer her. The lights flickered on and the food machines spun up. The group looked around in awe as the entire store hummed to life.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Dipper asked, turning to Wendy.

"Anything we want," she replied coolly as Lee and Nate ran towards the shelves. They quickly picked up the first food items they could find and threw them at each other starting a war. Everyone ducked for cover.

Nate threw a pack of ham at me, but I caught it and sent it right into his surprised face. He fell to the floor but quickly got back up with a laugh. However, Lee rounded the corner with Dipper secure on his shoulders who was chucking everything he could grab off the shelves. Nate got nailed in the stomach and I dragged him behind the aisle so he wouldn't get killed.

"Matt!" Mabel yelled, running up to me with two packets of jelly. "Shoulders now!" I compiled, not wanting to get covered in jam. Once aboard my shoulders, she launched a packet across the store and nailed her brother in the face. He wiped away the jelly in disgust while Mabel and I laughed. He had to hop off Lee's shoulders to get cleaned up.

Now free of the extra weight, Lee ran at Nate, who just got to his feet, and railed him in the stomach with a large bag of kitty litter. He doubled over but quickly grabbed his own bag and slammed it into his friend for revenge. We called a truce after that in fear of someone getting seriously hurt.

Thompson called everyone over as Robbie placed three mentos into a pit cola bottle causing it to explode. Everyone cheered as the soda rained from the sky. I glanced at Mabel who had got up and rushed to the corner of the store. My face instantly fell and I ran after her.

"Smile Dip!" She gassed excitedly, taking a packet. "I thought this stuff was banned in America." I quickly yanked the packet out of her hand.

"For a good reason Mabel," I said tossing it in a close by trash can. "That stuff is like Weed mescaline and LSD combined."

"Mesca- what now?"

"Nevermind. Just do not eat it, or I'm taking your knitting needles," I concluded, walking away. Hopefully that threat would be enough to persuade her. As I looked around the store I noticed how much of a mess we were leaving and I grimaced, no wonder why the ghosts were so mad. Picking up a broom from the backroom, I began to sweep up the various food products and wipe away the numerous fluids left behind. Robbie noticed this and scoffed.

"What are you doing," he asked, throwing his hands in his stitched heart hoodie.

"Cleaning up the area," I replied, twirling the broom in one hand. "The place may be abandoned, but people died here. We should at least be respectful of that."

"Whatever," he shrugged and walked past with a roll of his eyes. I shook my head.

Suddenly a high pitched scream echoed throughout the store. It was undoubtedly Dipper. Within moments, the entire group convened next to the ice cooler and the freaked out twelve year old.

"What happened bro, bro?" Mabel asked, prompting me to sigh in relief. She didn't get into the smile dip, thank god.

"I thought I heard an old lady scream back here," Lee said, crossing his arms.

"You freakin' out, kid?" Nate asked

"No. No, I'm cool," he stammered with a fake smile. "Everything's cool."

"Then what's this all about?" Robbie questioned, pointing to the spilled bag of ice.

"Hey look!" Dipper exclaimed, pointed across the store. "Dancy Pants Revolution! The game that tricks people into exercising." Somehow, everyone found this extremely interesting and ran over to the game. I was about to walk after them, but Dipper pulled me aside.

"That was a nice save," I commented. "You're lucky these guys find a 90's game console intriguing."

"Matt, listen," he began, brushing my remark aside, "I really think this place is haunted."

"What gave that away?" I asked, rhetorically. "It obviously is."

"What do we do?" He asked. "Those guys won't believe us."

"Whoa! Guys!" Robbie called from behind the register. "You might wanna see this." Everyone gasped at the sight of two white chalk outlines behind the counter.

"Whoa! The rumors were true." Lee declared.

"Dude, I dare you to lie down in it," Robbie challenged.

"Good Idea," Lee replied, jabbing Nate's side. "Go lay down in it."

"Oh, I'm a dead body look," Nate stated sarcastically. He was about to put a foot in it, but I stopped him, grabbing his arm.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, letting his arm go once he stepped back.

"Ah, what?" Lee asked. "Why not?"

"Just…Trust me," I requested.

"Dude, we just met you," Nate declared, "what do you know that we don't?" The group expected me to answer but I didn't. Instead, I locked eyes with Wendy. I knew she trusted me, the wax figure debacle last week was a strong indication of that. She had brought her hatchet to the Shack the day of Wax Stan's funeral when I asked her to, no questions asked.

"I don't know guys," Wendy spoke up, drawing everyone's attention, "maybe we should listen to him."

The other teens looked at their friend in complete shock. It was her idea to come here and she literally said that they could do anything they want. Now, she's siding with someone they just met instead of conforming with the group she's been a part of for years.

"Wendy," Robbie started, "You're acting like Captain Buzkill." Her eyes grew wide and she crossed her arms.

"Not cool, dude," Wendy scowled.

"You are though," Nate confirmed with a nod. "C'mon, Wendy"

"Wendy! Wendy! Wendy!" The group began to chant and Wendy's loyalty faltered.

"Alright, alright," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"Wendy, please don't," I pleaded, but she didn't listen.

"Sorry, dude," she shrugged, laying down in the outline. "I'm no Captain Buzkill."

I stepped back and shielded Dipper and Mabel from the blinding light that surrounded the chalk outline. The lights began to flicker and an eerie green aura enveloped the entire store. Wendy shot to her feet.

"What just happened?" she asked looking around the store. Suddenly, Tambry disappeared in a green flash that made everyone jump. Her phone fell to the floor and the security camera footage went to static and then showed a trapped Tambry screaming and banging against the screen. This caused everyone else to scream as they watched in horror.

"Oh my gosh! Tambry!" Wendy yelled. "Tambry! Can you hear us!" She didn't respond, only peering through the glass like a caged animal.

"What are we supposed to do?" Nate asked fearfully.

"I don't know, man!" Lee shrieked. "I don't know!"

"Let's just go already!" Robbie suggested pointing to the door.

"Thompson!" Wendy called. The teen was still playing the dance game.

"Wait!" he panted. "I've almost got the high score!" His body began to glow green abruptly and I dove towards him to try and shake the hold of the ghost. Instead, he just dissolved in my hands like smoke. "Huh?" I looked up to the screen of the machine to see a confused Thompson looking around worldly.

"Time to shake what your mama gave you!" the game declared in an auto tuned voice.

"Oh, no!" Help!" Arrows from the game began bombarding his body as he tried to crawl away. "So many arrows!"

"You're a dance machine!"

"No, you're a dance machine!" he sobbed, curling into a ball.

"Forget him, let's go!" Robbie ordered, pointing to the door.

"No!" I yelled. "We are not leaving either of them!" Suddenly, objects within the store lifted into the air. I pulled the amulet out of my pocket and psychically stopped the cash register that was flying towards Robbie, sending it to the floor. "Show yourself, ghost!" I yelled into the air, eyes darting to everything that moved.

"Hmmm. Very well," A deep, bodiless voice bellowed. Another flash of bright light blinded the room once more. Hovering a few feet above the floor, was the male shop owner, a large old man shrouded in flame with fangs for teeth. "Welcome to your graves, young trespassers!" The ghost let out a sickening laugh. "Except for you three," he said after his laughter ceased pointing at Mabel, Dipper and I.

"Why not them as well?" I questioned, a red aura encasing my fist.

"You were the only respectful one here, and those two are practically children!" the ghost wailed. "You cleaned up the mess your friends left behind and pleaded with them to listen. They did not. How could you protect them after they ignored your warnings and did not follow your example?"

"Look," I said, easing my stance, "can't we just talk this out?"

"Yeah, I'm sure the guy just wants to talk about his feelings," Lee stated sarcastically, prompting the ghost to snap his fingers, making him disappear. He suddenly appeared on a cereal box and proceeded to get whacked repeatedly with a spoon.

"Let them go!" I yelled.

"We're super sorry for hanging out in your store!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Dipper echoed. "Can we just leave now and leave forever?"

"No!" The ghost bellowed. "If you will not leave without them, you will join your friends in their suffering!"

The ground began to shake violently, making it hard to stand.

"What is this?" The ghost demanded. "What are you doing!?" I raised an eyebrow as the ground shook harder.

The front windows of the store suddenly smashed open and a stampede of gnomes rushed in. "Oh you have got to be kidding me!" A very antsy one of the herd made a desperate jump at my face but missed entirely, tumbling to the tiled floor next to Wendy's boot. With an uncharacteristic yelp, she kicked the gnome right out one of the windows that he had broken. This did little to stop the gnome's advance, however, as they flooded into the store, blocking any and all escape routes.

"What are those things!" Robbie exclaimed, jumping over the counter to get to safety. I raised my hand and sent the previously discarded cash register at the herd of charging gnomes, sending a few flying, but not nearly enough.

"Meddling forest creatures!" The ghost shrilled. "Get out of my store!"

"Nothing personal Gramps but a gnome's gotta eat!" A voice said, halting the army and bringing the room to a standstill. "Besides you've been sitting on this stuff for years."

"Jeff!" Mabel yelled in surprise, taking a step back.

"Oh ho, Mabel!" Jeff began excitedly. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"You know this guy?" Wendy asked.

"I wish I didn't," Mabel admitted

Jeff turned to the gnome named Greeze and elbowed his shoulder. "Looks like we scored ourselves a double win! Told you everything was going to workout just fine!" Greeze rolled his eyes as Jeff stepped forward. "Listen pal," he continued, addressing the ghost. "You're either gonna give us your food or we're gonna take it!" The hundreds of gnomes, now scattered throughout the room, let out fierce cries.

"This was your heist?" Dipper asked, bewildered.

"Isn't that obvious?" Jeff asked, gesturing around him. "After your little eavesdropping, we weren't going to involve you guys, but since the gang's all here!" The lead gnome snapped his fingers and a group of gnomes surged forward and seized Mabel.

"Mabel!" Dipper cried. I tried to step forward in an attempt to get her back, but the gnomes jumped in front of me and hissed.

"Let me go you creeps!" She yelled. "I am not going through this whole marriage thing again!"

"Well that's too bad for you, honey! You guys really made this easy." Jeff announced before turning back to the ghost. "Just give us your food and we'll be on our way."

"Not a chance!" The Ghost yelled, prompting the gnome to shrug.

"Suit yourself. Raid the place boys!" Instantly, all the gnomes charged forward, some even jumping from the shelves and even the ceiling. The ghost tried to apprehend them but his powers couldn't stop them all. While a large group attempted to steal as much food as they could, another group completely threw themselves at us unprepared teens and preteen. Nate was completely dogpiled and was forced to the floor with his hat knocked from his head. One gnome found this article of clothing particularly interesting and began biting into it. Luckily, Wendy pried the creature off and threw him against the wall, knocking him out before any holes were made.

Dipper, not wanting to get scratched in the face like our first encounter, was on high alert, practically punching everything that moved. He kept pushing forward, trying to catch up to his sister's kidnappers to no avail. I had resorted to my fists as well, remembering the amulet does not work on the gnomes. The small beast's siege was short and fast, stealing almost everything off the shelves and even taking some machinery with them.

"That's enough boys!" Jeff called, causing his forces to run out of the store with as much as they can carry. "We got what we came for!" He turned to face me. "See ya around!" And with that, Jeff and his gnomes scurried off into the woods, with Mabel screaming for help the whole way.

"Definitely did not see that coming," Nate stated, rubbing his arms free of beard hair.

"What the heck just happened!?" Robbie asked, coming out from his hiding place behind the cashier counter. I squatted down to pick up something off the floor, It was Mabel's grappling hook. She must have drawn it in an attempt to escape when the gnomes first grabbed her.

"They took Mabel," I said darkly.

"And all my stuff!" The ghost complained, sending a psychic pulse around the room. "Without even paying!" I stood up and ran for the broken windows, noticing the ghost was distracted, attempting to chase the gnomes down. However, before I could jump through the broken glass, the ghost held me in mid air with his power. "You are not going anywhere! Something has to make up for what they stole and you and your friends will do quite nicely."

"Excuse me?" Dipper spoke up, with a slight voice crack. "I think we can come to an arrangement."

"No arrangement-"

"Just hear me out," Dipper pleaded, hands up defensively. "You let us go, and we will go out and bring back your stuff in exchange for your freedom. Sound fair?" The ghost set a hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"That shall suffice." He snapped his fingers and his psychic hold on me was gone, allowing me to fall to the floor with a grunt. Next Tambry, Lee and Thompson all reappeared, normally, before us. "Thank the boy," the ghost said to the group of teens. "He just saved your lives." The ghost disappeared and the lights came back on inside the store.

"Of course the one time I don't bring my hatchet to a creepy place we get practically mauled and lose Mabel," Wendy exclaimed, throwing her fists in the air. She then cleared her throat. "Sorry for not trusting you."

"We'll talk about that later," I acknowledged. "But first we need to find Mabel and get her back." I felt a cold chill run along my spine after the statement. "And all the ghost's stuff of course," I added, causing the chill to cease.

"You can't be serious!" Robbie complained.

"I'm completely serious."

"Alright, look," Robbie continued, walking up to me, "she may forgive you-" he threw his in Wendy's direction- "But I don't! This whole situation could have been avoided if you were more clear about what would happen!"

"Dude," Lee began, "you know we wouldn't have believed him if he told us everything."

"He's right though." I shook my head. "I should have told you the ghost would be summoned."

"Ha! See?" Robbie exclaimed eyeing Lee. "Wait a sec." He turned back to me with a confused expression. "How did you even know that this was going to happen?" This made me scoff.

"Do you have any idea what town you're living in?" I asked, looking right into his eyes.

"...Yeah?" the goth teen answered hesitantly. "Gravity Falls, Roadkill County Oregon."

"Well, it just so happens that Gravity Falls, located in Roadkill County Oregon, is a hot spot for supernatural phenomena. If someone says a place is haunted, It's almost definitely haunted." He raised an eyebrow at that. "That ghost and those gnomes just scratches the surface of what's hidden here."

"Pfft, where's your evidence for that?" Robbie scoffed. "Wendy has mentioned you before. You've been here for, like, what? Two weeks?" He pointed at himself with his thumb. "I've been living here for damn near seventeen years and I haven't seen squat!" This made me laugh, like genuinely laugh.

"Dude, I have photographic, written and physical evidence because Dipper, Mabel and I look for the stuff!" I pulled out the amulet and held it in front of me, causing Robbie's eyes to widen. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

"It looks kinda familiar," he admitted, looking back to me.

"That's because this belonged to Gideon Gleeful."

"You stole from-" I cut him off with a held up finger.

"Believe it or not, that kid is an insane child hellbent on control and up until recently used this-" I shook the artifact slightly, drawing Robbie's attention to it once more- "To telepathically manipulate the objects and people around him. I took this from him to prevent the little gremlin from wreaking anymore havoc."

"So you can move stuff with your mind if you use that thing?" He asked skeptically and I nodded. "Prove it."

"Alright."

Silently reaching my arm towards the cash register, I flexed my palm and the now damaged hunk of metal raised into the air. Tambry dropped her phone in disbelief once she noticed what was happening. I let the register drop, feeling its weight fatiguing me quickly.

"Why didn't you tell me you could do that?" Wendy asked.

"Didn't have the chance," I replied with a shrug, before turning back to Robbie. "Is that enough evidence for you?" He nodded and took a step back, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

"So are you an expert in this kind of stuff?" Thompson asked, eyes glued to the amulet.

"Not really," I replied, "just observant. Plus, having a twelve year old genius everywhere I go is pretty helpful too." I pushed Dipper's cap over his eyes causing him to chuckle. "Him, Mabel and I are a team. We need to get her back."

"Do you have a plan?" Nate asked.

"Or know where they are?" Lee echoed.

"Yes and Maybe," I replied.

"We've dealt with those gnomes before and they, or at least their leader, is very arrogant," Dipper continued, thinking on the same wavelength. "We might be able to use that to our advantage since the colony is a part of a hivemind. The gnomes physically would not be able to function without orders."

"You just read my mind," I said, fist bumping the preteen without even looking. It took Dipper a second to find my fist, however, since he wasn't looking either. Just pretend he nailed it.

"Okay, but how are we going to do that?" Wendy asked. "There had to be at least a few hundred of them so how are any of us going to get a hold of their leader?"

"That…" I said, rubbing the back of my neck, "...I'm not so sure about. Last time Mabel took them by surprise with a leafblower. Call me crazy, but I doubt that's gonna work again."

"How did she take them all on with a leafblower?" Tambry asked.

"She didn't," Dipper asked. "Only their leader, Jeff."

"Why a leaf blower?" Wendy asked.

"It's best not to think about it," I brushed off, recalling why the piece of lawn equipment was there in the first place.

"Yup," Dipper confirmed with a nod.

"Okay…?" Wendy began, slightly confused. "So we take out Jeff, we win and get Mabel and the ghost's supplies back?" Dipper and I nodded. "That doesn't sound too bad, now that we're prepared."

"Well…" Dipper drawled with a grimace.

"You haven't seen them in their 'final form'," I finished with air quotes. "Remember that whole hivemind thing?" The group nodded. "Well, Jeff can call all the gnomes of the forest to his position through it and they all begin to stack upon one another, becoming one giant gnome with Jeff being in complete control."

"How big we talkin here?" Lee asked.

"Thirty-forty feet maybe?" I said hesitantly before quickly adding, "But that won't matter if we take down Jeff."

"Look, I know that this may seem dangerous and out of control but they have my sister," Dipper began. "Nothing is going to stop me or Matt for that matter from getting her back and if you want to back out, I get it. But I think I have a plan, and it requires all of us. Are you guys in or not?"

Dipper and I walked alone through the enchanted part of the forest after interrogating the gnome that Wendy managed to knock out. Apparently, there is a sacred part in gnome territory where new queens are anointed. The gnome told us this information after a small amount of... persuasion convinced him to spill what he knew.

As we walked, I held my fist above my head, clenching the amulet tightly, a bright red glow shining through my hand provided much needed light in the dark. The two of us were practically on our toes, ready to fight or run on a moment's notice.

The gnome had escaped our grasp the moment it got a chance, sprinting after his comrades to catch up and undoubtedly telling Jeff that Dipper and I were on our way.

"It's a shame Wendy and the others wouldn't go through with our plan," Dipper commented, scanning the branches of the nearby trees fortunate enough to be illuminated by the amulet's red light.

"Who needs them?" I replied, bitterness lacing my tone. "We can handle this ourselves."

"Boss! Boss!" a gnome yelled, pushing through the crowd. "Boss!"

"Ah, Ryan! There you are!" Jeff exclaimed, pulling his servant out of the crowd of gnomes and onto the podium. "You're just in time for the ceremony. How do I look?" The lead gnome was wearing a black suit without his hat with a large ring on his finger.

"You look stupid!" Mabel yelled, tugging on her restraints a few feet away. She had been cuffed to a pole that was surrounded by ancient stone monoliths with indecipherable writing. Above her was a gap in the trees that allowed the moonlight to beam down upon her.

"Ignore her," Jeff said with a nervous laugh. "Honest opinion though, Ryan. Am I killing this suit or what!?" The lead gnome did a little shuffle dance to prove his enthusiasm.

"You look great boss," Ryan confirmed, "but the ginger and the brother of the queen are on their way. They know we're here!" A gnome stepped forward, a plate with a singular beverage in his grasp.

"As expected," Jeff said with a slight sigh, taking the drink from his servant. "What about those other ones we saw at the store?"

"They aren't coming," Ryan informed. "They're too scared to deal with the supernatural."

"Hear that, Mabel!" Jeff called with a relieved smile. "Your 'rescue' team is coming to save you. Once they do, I'll squash them like the bugs they are!"

"That's ironic," she retorted. "Especially coming from the 'man' wearing a baby sized tuxedo!"

"Does that really matter? Soon it will be midnight and you will find me irresistible!" The gnome cheered, taking a sip of the beverage provided for him. He spit it out with a cough. "This tastes like it's twenty years old!" He complained, tossing the glass aside. "Go get me something else from the pile!" He demanded, pointing to the large food pile to his right, all of its contents were from the store they had just robbed. The gnome with the plate left immediately to fulfil the request. "Some of these convenience store drinks taste awful!"

"You wish I would fall for you!" Mabel exclaimed. "I'm too good for you!"

"On the contrary, my bride," Jeff countered, causing her to gag. "For once the midnight moonlight shines on you in that direct spot, you will be bound with the gnome race for all eternity and become our queen!" Mabel looked up to the sky, the moon was nearly in position.

"Hurry up guys," She whispered to herself.

"That sure is a lot of gnomes," Dipper remarked nervously, peering through his cover of bushes. He turned to me. "You would think that Jeff would have put some sort of look out after yesterday." I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," I replied, pushing some shrubbery aside, "but he probably wants everyone to see him succeed, especially after he failed the first time."

"Definitely arrogant," Dipper confirmed, turning back to the scene in front of him. Hundreds of gnomes were gathered before an ancient structure with a shining light beaming down on its center. Dipper squinted and was able to make out the image of his sister bickering with Jeff. "At least Mabel is okay."

"Do you remember the plan?"

"Try not to die?"

"Yup."

Dipper began to circle around the herd, staying hidden in his dark surroundings. Stepping lightly, he looped around towards his sister. She was our first priority. While Dipper silently stalked from the treeline, I stepped out from the natural cover and into the clearing.

"Ya know," I shouted stupidly, "it's not nice to keep a lady trapped against her will." My blood ran cold as hundreds of feral eyes darted in my direction.

"You think I don't know that?" Jeff yelled back, prompting the sea of gnomes to split in half, allowing a clear sightline of him. "I was wondering when you were going to show." I glanced at Mabel, relief was displayed all over her face. "So what are you going to do?"

"We didn't need a plan to stop you last time," I scoffed. "Who says I need one now?"

"Oooo! Burn!" Mabel exclaimed, causing Jeff's face to go red.

"Oh look at me, I think I'm some clever human!" The gnome mocked. "Have you forgotten who you're dealing with?"

"It's with whom you're dealing with kneehigh!" I challenged. I have no idea if that's grammatically correct, because, like most people, I never really got that concept. Whether I was right or not, my retorts were having the intended effect. Jeff was getting angry.

"Oh that's it!" He practically screamed as he raised his arms. "To me my brothers!" All of the gnomes in the clearing flooded to their leader, trampling one another in order to assemble their "final form". I took a few steps back. "I would have done this earlier if we weren't in a confined box you call a store!" Here we go.

With a menacing roar, Jeff's monster charged at me. I turned on my heels sprinted back into the woods without a moment's hesitation, the ground trembling beneath me. As I burst into the bushes, Jeff made a mad swipe, slicing a tree beside me clean in half. Trying not to die was looking kinda difficult right now.

Mabel was tugging on her restraints wildy, attempting to free herself and provide aid to her friend. How she was going to help was beyond her, but Matt risked his safety for her, she would do the same.

"Mabel!" she heard her brother whisper behind her. She couldn't see him but his presence eased her racing mind.

"There you are, broseph!" Mabel cheered, prompting her brother to shush her.

"We don't know if Jeff left any gnomes behind."

"Do you really think he would be smart enough to do that?"

"No." Dipper began cutting at the rope around his sister's wrists with a pocket knife. "But we can't be too careful."

"Tell that to Matt," Mabel said, lowering her voice. "What was he thinking, we need to go save him!" Dipper shook his head, cutting away the final restraint and setting her free.

"Don't worry about that right now, It's all part of the plan," Dipper reassured

"All part of the plan?" Mabel asked, massaging her now sore wrists. "But Matt said you didn't-" Suddenly the bushes beside them began to rustle, making Mabel jump. "Wait," she began, realizing who it was, "Tambly?" The tan girl raised an eyebrow, looking up from her phone. "Sorry, I mean, Tambry? The gnomes said you guys weren't coming."

"All part of the plan," Dipper repeated, prompting Mabel to roll her eyes.

"Maybe instead of saying that over and over again, you tell me what this plan is."

"Yeah I guess you're right." Dipper nodded before turning to Tambry. "Tell Matt to circle back." The teen looked down to her phone and began typing a message in a group chat titled, Operation: Try not to die.

"Here's what's going to happen," Dipper began, "Matt is going to burst into the clearing with Jeff hot on his heels. We need to run as fast as we can to the other's near the main road where we have a trap set up. Once Jeff sees you, Mabel, you'll more than likely be his main target unless Matt hit closer to home than we thought. Are you able to run?" Mabel nodded as her brother pulled something out of his pocket. "I uh, borrowed these sugar packets from the convenience store to boost your energy." Mabel took the packets and ripped them open in a blink of an eye. She poured all them into her mouth at the same time. "I'll never understand how you're able to do that," Dipper commented with a grimace before turning back to Tambry. "You should get a head start, we don't want Jeff thinking you guys are involved." She nodded, still on her phone and ran back into the woods towards her friends.

The twins heard a distant roar. They stood still, waiting for Matt to burst through the treeline. Within no time, they began to hear snapping branches and falling trees and a moment later an out of breath ginger ran out into the clearing.

"GO! GO! GO!" I panted sprinting to them. A tree sailed into the air like a javelin and landed just to my left. "Book it!" The adrenaline flowing, no, flooding my veins right now was absurd. Despite my vision growing foggy and the sweat dripping down my face, I pressed on after Dipper and Mabel who fortunately decided they did not want to stick around and greet me.

"NO!" Jeff shrieked. He must have caught a glimpse of Mabel fleeing with her brother but I wasn't about to turn around to find out. Ripping through the leaves of nearby trees once more with my practically dead arms, I gripped the amulet to provide light. I needed to see my surroundings and Jeff needed to follow me in order for this plan to work, the moon can only provide so much visibility under a canopy of trees after all.

Because of my longer stride, I caught up to the twins. Since Jeff had been running through a dense forest, I was able to keep ahead a narrowly safe distance from him but since I cut back into the clearing he was able to close that gap significantly. Finally, after a five minute hell of pure sprinting, I slowed my speed as we approached the road, not wanting to barrel into the guardrail. Once we passed the final obstacle, I collapsed to my knees on the pavement. I had done my part.

My eyes caught a glimpse of Nate chucking a line of rope across the road to his blonde friend. They tied each of their respective ends to the trees lining the road at about head height. Dipper and Mabel began lifting me back to my feet with great struggle as my wobbly legs did not want to start moving again anytime soon.

About a hundred feet in front of us, and thankfully on the other side of the rope, Jeff broke out onto the paved road, skidding his gnome's feet on the unfamiliar smooth surface.

"Looks like you have nowhere else to go, kids!" Jeff exclaimed excitedly. "I will admit that your distraction was quite effective, but futile in the end." He stepped forward, closing the gap. One more stride and he would be caught on the rope. "Now, hand over Mabel before I do something crazy!" He raised a fist to prove his point.

"No way, dude!" Dipper yelled as he and his sister moved me further away. If Jeff wanted to get to Mabel now, he had to take that final step.

"Suit yourself," the gnome declared, strolling happily forward. "I should have done this earlier." He was about to grab us, but his right leg got stuck on the rope, making him stumble, but he caught himself. "Nice try kids," Jeff reached out to snatch us but I pushed the twins out of the way, his palm only enclosing upon me.

"Thompson! Now!" I called. Suddenly bright headlights illuminated the whole road, forcing Jeff to raise his giant gnome arm to shield his eyes. Thompson, now speeding towards the giant creature in his mother's minivan let out a scream. Within seconds, he raced past Dipper and Mabel still on the road, and collided with the gnome's left foot, completely disassembling it on impact. Luckily the car burst right through and continued down the road, with only a few dents.

"What the heck was that!" Jeff cired, now balancing on one leg. Then a shadow passed in front of the moonlight, causing everyone's gaze to look up. Wendy, with hatchet in right hand and Mabel's grappling hook in the other, made a jump from atop a tree to the disoriented creature(s). With a grunt, she landed right next to the panicked Jeff. Swinging with the blunt side of her hatchet, Wendy knocked Jeff clean off his helm and into the air. Before the gnome crashed into the asphalt, Robbie caught him and held him securely.

Just then, Thompson came back for another pass at the giant gnome's right leg. Once again the teen had passed right through, breaking apart the foot and calf entirely. However as it fell, Wendy was still on the top of the creature and I was still held tightly in its hand. Luckily, before we hit the ground, the gnomes completely disassembled and I was able to get a hold of Wendy's arm, pulling her close to me. With my free hand, I held the amulet towards the ground. I had no idea why, there was nothing to cushion our fall and I knew I wasn't able to move living things with the artifact. I just let the amulet take over, allowing a rush of energy to flow through me, gathering in my arm. I clenched my eyes shut, ready to feel the bones in my arm snap, but no pain ever came.

Instead, I was met with a forceful landing that strangely vibrated right off me. I opened my eyes and a red glowing light was encasing my entire arm, creating a shield that absorbed the impact of the fall. Completely surprised, and perhaps a bit terrified, the shield disappeared and Wendy and I fell less than an inch to the ground.

"Since when can you do that?" She asked, having witnessed the whole thing.

"I have no idea," I answered honestly, staring at the artifact in my grasp. I let go of her arm, allowing her to stand up where she helped me to my feet as well. The gnomes, now separated and confused, began to scamper to the forest. The other teens along with Dipper and Mabel ran over to us.

"Did we win?" Nate asked. I was about to nod but was interrupted.

"Would someone please take care of this thing!" Robbie called prompting the group to look over at him. He was holding Jeff as far away from him as he could while the gnome attempted to bite and scratch his captor like a child.

"Huh, I don't think I've ever heard him say please," Thompson remarked, stepping out of his car. I clapped my hands in Robbie's direction and raised my hands.

"Oh thank god," he sighed, getting ready to toss the creature to me. "It was not nice knowing you, half pint." Instead of catching the gnome when Robbie threw him to me, I let Jeff faceplant on the ground. "Seriously?" Robbie complained. "If you wanted to ruff him up a bit, I would have spiked him into the dirt, like, an hour ago."

As Jeff pushed himself to his little feet, I hobbled down to one knee to get on eye level with him. Well, not exactly eye level but you know what I mean.

"Oh great, gonna launch me in the forest again?" Jeff sneered once he saw me.

"No," I answered, "I wanna ask you a question." The gnome raised an eyebrow skeptically, but allowed me to continue. "Why do you need a queen?"

"What kind of outrageous question is that!?" Jeff exclaimed, crossing his arms. "Our society will not survive!"

"I don't know about that, dude," Wendy said, squatting down next to me, "You guys seemed pretty organized." I nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean by that?" Jeff questioned.

"Why do you need a queen if you all work well together without one?" the lumberjack continued. "It doesn't make sense."

"Well, I-" Jeff cut himself short. He didn't know. Having a queen had been the norm for as long as he could remember. He never questioned it. "I'm not sure." Jeff put a finger to his chin. "We just need someone to lead us."

"Haven't you been doing that for a while now?" Dipper asked genuinely. "They always listen to you." The gnome sighed.

"They listen to me because I'm the youngest and I am the most knowledgeable gnome in the forest." Jeff explained. "It gets so annoying having to tell them to do everything and how to do it. They hardly even know how to communicate."

"Why don't you just teach them how?" Mabel asked. "You'll all be equals and be able to function individually."

"But something like that has never been done before in gnome history!" he declared, raising his arms into the air.

"Well, why don't you be the first to start it then?" I suggested. Jeff's eye's lit up. "Think about it," I continued, pressing his arrogant nature, "your name will be known for years!"

"By golly, you're right!" Jeff agreed, excitedly. "If they all think individually instead of listening to me then we can evolve socially!"

"I didn't think about it like that," I admitted, standing back up, "but, yeah."

"Mabel I'm sorry but I have to call off our wedding!" Jeff exclaimed causing his former bride to chuckle nervously.

"Don't worry about it," she said sincerely.

"So," Dipper began, grabbing the gnome's attention, "can we trust you not to abduct anyone against their will from this point forward?" Jeff nodded.

"I'll try this idea of yours, and once it succeeds, we won't ever need a queen again!" he exclaimed.

"I'll take it," Dipper allowed.

"See ya around!" the gnome cheered as he ran off to the forest.

"Was that seriously the smartest of its kind?" Tambry asked once Jeff was gone.

"Smart is a bit of an exaggeration," I remarked, walking into the forest.

"Dude, where are you going," Lee asked.

"I know this night has been an inconvenience, but we gotta go get the ghost's stuff back," I answered prompting everyone to groan.

Half an hour and a few trips later we were all set to go back home. We all had unanimously decided to bring back the machines to the convenience store as we did not want to be there all night, not to mention destroy the newfound trouce with the gnomes. Besides, who was going to eat the stuff at the store anyway, the ghost?

Despite being completely shot from acting as bait, something I never want to do again by the way, I still opted to drive some people home. Wendy had taken me up on my offer. While the twins almost instantly passed out in the back seat of the truck, Wendy and I sat in silence in the front.

"I'm really sorry about not trusting you earlier," She said suddenly.

"It's all good, peer pressure can be some powerful stuff," I brushed off, eyes staying on the road.

"Yeah but," she lowered her voice, "why haven't you been telling us everything?" My eyes darted to the rearview mirror to ensure Dipper and Mabel were asleep. I heard a faint snoring coming from Dipper and a slight whistling coming from Mabel's braces. Should I tell her? I took a moment to glance at her in the passenger seat, she was eyeing me worriedly.

"How much longer until we get to your house?" I asked, sparing another glance at the backseat.

"It's just down the road," she informed. I nodded

Once I pulled into her driveway and parked Soos' truck, we both stepped out of the vehicle. I pulled her off to the side of her house and took a glance at our surroundings.

"Dude," Wendy began, poking my chest and bringing my attention back to her, "you know you can trust me right?"

"Yeah," I sighed, considering what I should tell her. "I know." I took one final look at the surrounding woods for any yellow eyes in the tries. The subconscious action made me freeze. If I told Wendy the truth, Bill would be able to get the information out of her if he were to enter her mind. I could not risk that.

"I'm just scared," I answered. It wasn't a lie. "Where I come from, all of this stuff is something only found in dreams."

"Or nightmares," Wendy added.

"Or nightmares," I confirmed with a smile. "I don't know if Dipper told you yet, but we found a journal in the woods on our first day here." The other redhead raised an eyebrow. "In its pages, there are documentations of only a fraction of the creatures in this town." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Some of it is very unsettling."

"But why haven't you been telling the twins everything?"

"Because I don't want to see them get hurt," I answered sincerely. "Some of the stuff I've found out so far should not be burdened on a twelve year old mind."

"But it's alright if the mind is sixteen, right?" she retorted.

"Touché."

"Look, what I mean is this," Wendy continued, "you have to be more honest with them." I scoffed at that. How in the world am I supposed to do that? "I'm serious, Matt. You said it earlier at the store, you guys are a team." I nodded. She was right, partially.

"But you don't understand," I stated before pointing to my head. "I have stuff up here that, based on the readings in the journal, someone will try to get. If I tell you, or anyone else for that matter, they will one hundred percent be targeted as well."

"Can you at least tell me who this is?" She asked after a brief moment of silence.

"Not who, what," I corrected, pulling my phone from my pocket. "It's name is Bill Cipher, a dream demon." I handed Wendy a picture of the entry on Bill in Journal 3.

"The all seeing eye," Wendy announced, eyes lingering on the text. I nodded once more. "But how can this triangle not learn what you were talking about directly from you? Why must he learn it from another source? Wait, don't answer that, I already know what the answer is going to be."

"Trust me," we said in unison.

"Now it's my turn to say sorry," I noted. "When I can tell you more, you will be one of the first people I go to, I promise." We began to walk back towards the front door.

"Ya know," she called to me right before she headed inside, "I'm starting to think it wasn't an accident that you showed up at the Mystery Shack."

"No," I answered vaguely. "No it wasn't."