What's In The Shirt Pins?
- Dipper's POV -
"Sooo. How was yesterday?" Mabel asked. "Got any smooches slipping in?"
"It was great." I answered her first question. We were walking down the sidewalk, hearing cars pass by without a care. We were heading towards the meet-up where the other three. Mabel announced that Cole found something in the shirt pins and wanted the whole group to meet us at one of the diners. "Any smooches?" She asked again.
"No." I lied, trying to avoid the question.
"You sure?" She asked again, making me a bit irritated.
"Yes, I am sure, so stop asking already." I said annoyance was quite shown in my voice.
"Okay! Jeez..." She said, rolling her eyes. I heard her mumble some words but I didn't bother to pay attention. She needs to stop being nosey. I looked off to the environment, staring at the smallest details of each building, each street pile, anything that was in my sight. I need to distract my mind from this thought in my head. Silence filtered around us for a long while before disappearing from the voices in the distance in front of us. Voices of our friends slithered in as it grabbed both of our attention. Mabel sped up her pace, hurrying over as I did the same. "But this town is giving me the creeps!" I heard Percy whine. Oh god, what is he whining about?
"Then you should have rethink about joining our team." Cole said.
"No! I won't give up! I'm not giving up so easily!" Percy said, cutting the whiny attitude.
"Hello, guys!" Alex said. Soon the two looked at us.
"Hey! How are you guys doing?" Mabel asked smiling.
"Good, we're doing well." Cole answered. Though he says it quickly as if he wanted this over with. I stared at him suspiciously. However, it could be Percy's annoyance getting to him.
"Yeah." Percy agreed.
"Good, good." Mabel smiled.
"If we're all good, let's go inside!" Alex said. We nodded and entered one by one into the building. Infact, I didn't catch us entering into one. I began to feel anxious about this whole situation. Maybe it was a bad idea... yeah it was. But if I tell them, they'll protest. So I won't say anything. They know the risks, so, I hope they take it seriously. Seeing that they already took their seats, I quickly took mine, looking embarrassed.
You okay, Dipper?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I said, waving my hand in the air.
"You sure you don't have yesterday in your head?" Mabel asked.
"I don't, Mabel." I said, my voice becoming tight. My anxiety was replaced by annoyance within seconds. I wish my sister would just drop what happened yesterday.
"Did something bad happen?" Alex asked.
"Oh, nothing bad happens!" Mabel said. "It's just that Dipper -"
"Shut up." I accidentally said out loud. I don't regret that phrase one bit. "Everything was fine yesterday, no need to worry." I said, turning to give my sister a glare.
"Okay..." Alex said slowly. I glanced away from her and out the window.
"Alright, are we done?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, we're done." Mabel said.
"Okay good-"
"Hello, guys! Sorry for the wait, what would you guys like to order?" That ... voice seemed familiar. What diner did we go to? Why didn't I pay attention to the building we entered in?! I looked over and widened my eyes slightly. Phyllida? Wait. Oh, now I know where we are.
"Hmmm, give us a few minutes." Mabel said, picking up the food menu.
"Alright- Oh hey, Mason!" Phyllida said.
"Hello, Phyllida." I said. She soon left us and let us decided which to order.
"... You know that girl, Mason?" Percy asked. I hate how he was across from me. I was sitting next to the window.
"Yes. I used to work here." I answered.
"Oh. I didn't know that!" Alex said.
"Okay, then you gotta help me." Percy said.
"For what?" I asked, looking at the food menu that my sister was handing me. I grabbed it and scanned the sheet. I wasn't quite hungry at the time, so maybe a glass of water is fine. I placed it down before looking back at Percy.
"... Well, uh..." He trailed off, looking nervous and seemed to be blushing. Great. Well, I'm not a master at this so have my sister for that.
"You're asking the wrong person." I said.
"But you know her, Mason. You know her qualities and everything-"
"Not everything, jeez... making me feel like I'm a stalker or something." I said, cutting him off.
"Sorry, but I asked you because-"
"I know, I know." I said, interrupting him. I still don't want to help you.
"You like the waiter?" Mabel asked, turning away from her conversation with Alex and Cole.
"Don't tell me Percy laid eyes on another girl again..." Cole grumbled. He seemed to be angry that my sister looked away from him.
"Well, I did. And she looks gorgeous!" Percy said.
"Oh, tell me more about it." Cole said sarcastically.
"Well..."
"That's nice, Percy but we're not here for that today." Alex said, cutting him off.
"Gosh, I just can't get anything out!" Percy said, raising his voice.
"Don't worry, you'll get there. Although... If I was you I would rather pick someone else besides her." I said.
"Why? What's wrong?" Percy asked, looking confused.
"She's much older than you." I said.
"... How old?" He asked.
"About 19 last time I asked." I answered.
"... Damnit." He grumbled, putting his head down. That'll keep him quiet. Soon the waiter came back over and let us ordered what we had in our heads. Once that was done, we talked about our days, describing how bad they were, good, or just dull. At least our conversation about the teachers giving out tests before winter break lasted until we got our food and drinks. I was handed my glass of water as I grabbed a straw. I pealed the case off and placed it in the glass. "Winter break lasts 3 weeks, right?" Alex asked.
"I don't know, the school never said so. They'll announce it to us soon." Percy said.
"If not, then we'll have the typical 1-2 week break." Cole said.
"That's...- why 3 weeks?" Mabel asked.
"Some winters here are harsher than other winters in different places, so that's why we get an extra week." Alex answered.
"Oh. OH! That's right! It'll probably be my first winter!" Mabel said.
"Really? Where you were from?" Alex asked.
"Piedmont, California!" She chirped. Piedmont? Is that where I'm from too?
"Nice!" Alex smiled.
"Well, if we are done with this subject, can we talk about what we are here for?" Cole asked. I narrowed my eyes as I sip on the straw quietly.
"Sure, Cole! We're just discussing what happened in the past days-"
"I know that. I don't need to be reminded again." He said coldly.
"... Sorry." Alex frowned.
"Man, Cole. It's nice to talk about our daily lives-"
"I know that too, but I don't want to get distracted and forget about this. For once, I'm working on something important and you guys happen to not take any of it seriously." Cole said, cutting Percy off.
"... But we are." Mabel said.
"You sure? The conversations are SO much more important than this right? Right?" Cole said.
"Cole-"
"Cole. If you think rushing through this case without taking no breaks is a healthy choice then go ahead and do it without our help." I said calmly, signaling Percy to stop speaking with my hand.
"... I didn't say that! I'm just saying-"
"We do take this seriously. This kidnapping case is very serious. We do not joke around it as we have friends who've been taken away from us for no reason." I said.
"If ... If that's the case, then what's ... what's taking so long?" Cole asked. "If you have people taken away from you, why haven't you got them back? You could have solved this already without our help. Why-"
"I think that's enough Cole." Mabel said. "As much as I rushed it through the first time, I regretted it. I know I want to find my friends so badly. But... If I act recklessly, the kidnapper gonna catch me."
"Is saying that you think the kidnapper is watching your every move?" He asked.
"That's what me and Pacifica felt before she ... got caught." I answered.
"... That's the rich girl right?" Percy asked.
"Pacifica is more than a rich girl!" Mabel said, raising her voice.
"Yes." I answered his question. I felt like my sister gave me a glare without even looking at her. Wow, this twin telepathy surely does works. Or... is that just me being aware of my surroundings again?
"Oh..." Percy frowned.
"... I shouldn't go on like this." Cole said, sounding like he's giving up this act.
"We're trying our best." Alex said.
"Yeah. So if we are all done, why don't we discuss what you found in the shirt pins?" Mabel asked. Cole looked over and nodded slowly.
"What I found in the shirt pins was a lot of purple smoke. I didn't expect a small smoke cloud at all. However, what I felt odd about it was that... the pins usually had a smooth surface before you mess with it or what I did, broke it apart. The surface of the pins had very small dust falling off as I rub against it. It was almost as if magic was done to these pins. I still don't have an answer to the purple smoke, otherwise being very dull and foul. The smell of the cloud made me think that they put dead bodies of animals into this mysterious spell." Cole said.
"If magic was done to the pins... then they must be using some magic source to corrupt whatever the smoke cloud is." I said.
"What I found worse is that they said the shirt pins had air freshener inside of them that was supposed to smell good." Cole said.
"... My guess leads to the people who wear the pins and as soon as- not quite sure if the air fresheners had timers or something automatic. So, as soon as the person least expects it, it releases little of the smoke. And depending on where the person put the pin at, they will breathe it in and somehow the chemicals will navigate their way to the brain." I said.
"I'm too dumb to be in this group." Percy said.
"It's alright! I don't understand all of this either." Mabel said.
"So, they lied to the town." Alex said.
"Yeah but... there are no complants on their part with the shirt pins." Cole said.
"Could it be that immediately when they smell it... uh, they are suddenly mind-controlled and all of that shit?" Percy asked.
"Well, since we don't know how many seconds or minutes since the smoke takes effects so... I guess it could work as a switch." I said.
"That could be it, Percy." Cole said.
"You said it smelt like dead bodies right?" I asked Cole. I saw Mabel gaged in the corner of my eye as I looked over at her.
"Yes. They did." Cole said. I frowned and glanced away. Another hint that these little guys were made in the room where the missing teens were at. But that doesn't give us anything. Wait. If the people who wore it didn't smell it like dead bodies...- and Cole...- he did say he broke it before doing so. So maybe they lose their purpose once it is broken. But the only way to give it a shot if he isn't under the mind of Gideon.
"Alex." I said.
"Yes?"
"Can you cover your ears for a moment?" I asked.
"Why...?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Because if I say this next line, you'll lose yourself like you did last time." I answered.
"... How...- Okay. I'll cover my ears." She said before doing so. Once her hands were covering her ears, I turned to Cole.
"What was that for?" Mabel asked.
"I didn't want her to lose herself once I said "Gideon" again." I answered. Perfect timing Mabel, I didn't even need to ask Cole.
"Why?" Cole asked. It doesn't seem like he's affected by the smoke.
"I'm making sure that if you broke the pin apart, it lost its purpose." I said.
"Oh. Right, right." Cole nodded. Soon he gently pulled Alex's arm down.
"We're over right?" Alex asked.
"Yes." He said.
"Okay. Um, how did I get mind-controlled?" She asked.
"You must have gone to the show." I said.
"The Old-"
"Percy, it has his name in the title." I said, cutting him off.
"OH. SO THAT'S WHY YOU AVOID SAYING GIDEON'S NAME." Percy said. Mabel let out an annoyed sigh as Cole facepalm. Percy. Oh my god. I guess you're really the dumb one in this group.
"What about Gideon?" Alex asked, her behavior switching back to this irritated expression.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Mabel said. "We can discuss this later."
"Whoops." Percy said, looking nervous and frowning. Soon, we all finished our meals and drinks and tipped the diner before leaving. We said goodbye to Alex as she mentioned she had things to do. Once she walked out of our hearing range, all three of us turned to glare at Percy. "Okay first rule, do not say Gideon's name." Cole said.
"Yeah... I got that part when I said it on accident. I was just wondering why you guys were trying to avoid the short kid's name." Percy said.
"Are we good on that?" I asked.
"Yes, we are." Percy said.
"Good. So. We discovered people breath purple smoke to get mind-controlled permanently." Mabel said.
"We don't know if it's permanently." I said.
"Yeah... that's true.." She said. I flinched from the shake of the bush as I noticed a book next to it. I tilted my head before walking over. I picked it up and stared at it. "What did you find, Dipper?"
I turned and walked back to the group. Someone must have dropped this. "A book..." I said, eyeing the name. This is just some kid's book with made-up spells and such unless the mysterious spell is true which... it is somehow. No idea yet.
"Should you return it?" Mabel asked.
"I don't know who's it belongs to." I said, holding it tightly. This book... is giving me a bad vibe. As if it was used for horrible things. I kinda want to examine it before giving it back.
"Well, we could focus on that before doing what we do next." Cole said.
"The only thing we need to do is visit that abandoned warehouse again." I said.
"Yeah. But we have to do it sneakily." Mabel said.
"And stealthy." I said.
"Right. And where would that be...?" Cole asked.
"In the jungle." I said. "I believe there is a path that leads there. It was a warehouse sign I think..."
"Into the jungle?" Percy asked.
"Yes." I nodded.
"I think I have seen that sign before." He said.
"If the kidnapper places the victims in this warehouse..." Cole trailed off as I heard a bush shaking sound. However, I wasn't the only one who heard it. We looked over to the bush as I widened my eyes. Oh great, it's the white-haired kid. It looks like he's looking for something. I decided to hide the book in my jacket as I zip it up. Let me examine it first before you can get it back. "Hey there." Gideon said, approaching us.
I walked over to my sister and glared at him.
"Hi? Can we help you?" Cole asked.
"Oh. I was wondering if you guys have seen a journal or a book somewhere. I seem have to lost it." Gideon said.
"Why would you lose a book around here?" Cole asked.
"... Well... I could have dropped it..." He said, looking nervous or trying to be.
"You would of heard the book being dropped." Cole said.
"... Okay-"
"Oh! I forgot our grunkles had a job for us at home!" Mabel said, looking at me with a panicked look. I soon looked panicked as I knew what she was exactly doing.
"Right. We did promise them to do it once we got there." I said, lying with a taut voice.
"Yeah. Sorry guys! I'm guessing we'll meet up later?" Mabel said, frowning.
"Yeah, it was nice hanging you two." Cole answered for both him and Percy. He didn't want him saying anything as the witch was here.
"Come on, Dipper." Mabel said, leading the way home. I followed behind, continuing my nervous behavior. We soon got out of their hearing range, however, we didn't speak until we were at the Mystery Shack. We entered and walked through, greeting our grunkles before heading upstairs. We entered the shared room and sat down on our beds. "Stupid Gideon! I bet he was watching us!" Mabel said.
"He was." I said, pulling out this book.
"He drop that didn't he?" She asked.
"Yep." I nodded. "It seems like it was important to him."
"Yeah. And his... excuses were lame." She said.
"At least he's bad about his reasonings." I said, pulling out my phone.
"So what do we do?" Mabel asked.
"At least try to explore the warehouse this time and take some pictures. I still don't know why we didn't do them first." I mumbled.
"Yeah..." Mabel said. "For now, we'll look in his book."
I snickered and place it on the end table. "I'd doubt there's anything useful in it."
"You'll never know." She stood up and walked over, taking it before turning to her bed. I stared at my phone, looking at a message I got from Kahlil. We did well. Don't worry, we didn't found ourselves in trouble, dear.
Well, I never knew I spent the entire day yesterday staying home after school. I swear my mind wasn't working at that moment. Or it was the fact that I didn't sleep the night before. I sighed. It's been two days since we last discussed the topic in person. I guess something got me staying up all night the day before. I still feel tired today, however, I didn't want to miss out today. Mabel wanted to venture into the jungle for a bit. But I think I know where we'll be heading. Although, upon exploring the ground floors, we ended up coming across a person. Someone who's looks like they've been wandering in the same spot for over an hour. However, they seem to snap out of the jungle's control and head in a direction.
Of course, we were curious as to who this person was. So we followed them. We travel across familiar environments and smells. Being as careful as we can so we won't alert them. Once we arrived somewhere familiar, I realized we were back at the spot where we spotted the warehouse. I didn't smell the foul scent anymore so it was gone. I walked forward and peeked out of the greenery, spotting the figure. I felt my sister right next to me.
"Why did they- ... wait, what if... they lured us here." Mabel whispered.
"If that's the case..." I trailed off, crouching down as the figure decided to look around. I pull my sister down halfway since I widened my eyes in horror at the sight. The body shape of one of our grunkles, the face of one and it's specifically belonging to Grunkle Ford. What...?
"... Dipper." Mabel whispered quietly, her voice was filled with nervousness. I ducked and looked back at my sister. She widened her eyes as tears well in her eyes.
Grunkle Ford? Why did you keep this secret from us?
End of Chapter 54