The spell that Dipper and Mabel used to go into Stan's mind and the spell Luz and Amity used to go into Willow's mind are probably very similar, thank you to the commenter who pointed that out. I might have to play around with that in the future…

Also, I wanted to have the Halloween chapter out in time for the actual Halloween but I have no idea how many chapters will be out before that chapter so there's absolutely no chance we'll get there. Planning is hard.


In between classes, magic lessons, pining over Wendy, and auditioning for the school play, Cary had important work to do as Soos's second in command.

First on their itinerary? Moving day. Even though Ford and Stan wouldn't be gone until the beginning of November, Soos and his Abuelita were soon to be permanent fixtures of the Mystery Shack. Cary couldn't be more thrilled.

"You're gonna get sick of each other," Stan had warned one morning before school when Cary had been talking about how excited she was for Soos to be fully moved in.

Cary had shrugged it off.

"So? Even if we fight now and then we're going to get through it. That's what families do."

Ford, who was making breakfast, winced.

"Sorry, Uncle Ford, I didn't mean it like that…"

"No, you're right, Cary. Being a part of a family takes work and because Stanley gave me a second chance, I'm going to put in the work."

"Hey, we both need to put in the work," Stan said, feeling a little embarrassed at his own part to in the rift that had been torn between them.

"Well, Soos and I are going to learn from your mistakes," Cary said.

"Of course you will, Carebear. You're both already so much better than us old goons. Is breakfast done, you old goon?"

"Give me a minute, doofus," Ford said with a grin.

"Oh, Cary, how'd the audition go?" Stan asked.

"I should find out by Friday who got what."

"I know you're gonna crush it, kiddo," Stan said.

"Thanks, dad."

"Oh, and when you get back from school we need to talk about your new role at the Mystery Shack."

"I'm helping Soos pack after school," Cary reminded.

"Great, I need to talk to both of you."

"What, are you demoting me?"

"Nah, it just doesn't make sense for you to be The Bird Girl of Oregon if you're not a girl anymore."

Cary lit up, "We can talk about it when Soos and I come over with the boxes."

"Things are going to be pretty hectic around here until we leave," Ford assessed, putting down three plates of sausage and scrambled eggs.

Stan snorted, "Things are always hectic around here."

Things were hectic at the Ramirez residence, too. Cary had to wade his way through boxes to get to where Soos was helping Abuelita wrap her creepy angel statue collection in bubble wrap.

"Hey, dude. You want to grab that last statue for me?"

Cary nodded.

"I wonder if I look like this when I'm in my winged form," she mused, shifting the statue from hand to hand.

Abuelita glanced at them and then went back to the bubble wrap.

"Cary is a half-witch, Abuelita. On her mother's side, she turns into a monster sometimes," Soos explained since Cary didn't seem to care if the old lady found out.

"Well, we can't help the families we're born into," was all Abuelita said in response to that.

"Can I call you Abuelita?" Cary asked.

"Sí. It is what my Soos calls me and you are like a sister to him, so yes."

"Awesome. I never got to meet my dad's parents, and I barely got a chance to meet my mom's mom."

"What was she like?" Soos asked.

"She clearly meant well, but her actions didn't seem to reflect her intentions and she stressed my mom out a lot. I wish I could've gotten to know her more than just on a surface level though."

"Maybe you'll get another chance," Soos said.

"Maybe. But I can't see it being any time soon. Although I have been having visions of the Boiling Isles all week."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I feel like I left a part of myself there."

Soos frowned, "I'm sorry, dude."

"No, I mean I literally left my favorite stuffed animal there."

"Oh. Well, that sucks." Soos filed that away for later. He might not be a repairman anymore, but he did still have a desire to fix things.

"It happens. I bet whatever stray Eda takes in next will have a use for it."

"You really think that's going to happen? That she'll take in other 'strays?'"

"Sure. I have a good feeling about it. Eda and I both have some growing up to do before I'm ready to see her again, but… One day I'll go back."

Soos smiled, "And until then… Team Pines will always have your back."

Abuelita nodded in agreement, though she didn't voice her support.

"Thanks. Both of you. I'm glad I'm still going to have family in town when dad and Uncle Ford leave."

"That's never going to change," Soos promised. "You're my second in command."

Cary grinned proudly.

"Speaking of, dad wants to talk to us about work when we move the boxes over. I think we're finally retiring The Bird Girl of Oregon."

"About time," Soos said.

"Tell me about it. Although I'm sure whatever he's thought up next will be just as goofy."

"Yeah, but you gotta remember who's about to be in charge. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"As long as I'm making money I can put up with a little bit of goofiness."

"You really are Stan's child," Soos said with a chuckle.

They finished with the area they were working on and began loading the truck.

"I'll be back by dinner, Abuelita. Don't miss me too much," Soos said with a laugh.

"I won't," Abuelita said with a little chuckle of her own.

"I know she reads my diary when I'm gone," Soos said when he and Cary were alone in the truck. "I like to leave her little notes to find."

"Awww, that's sweet. I think I'd kill dad or Uncle Ford if they read my diary without my permission."

Soos laughed, "You're dangerous, Care."

Cary flexed, "That's the plan."

"How's school?"

"Good. The teachers finally stopped calling me Caryn."

"And magic lessons?"

"Great, Handsel is going to start teaching me how to read palms next week."

"Oh, cool."

"I'm a little nervous about her reading my palm," Cary admitted.

"Yeah? Why?"

"I haven't told anyone but I'm just… I'm afraid of what she'll find out, y'know?"

Soos nodded, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I guess. It's just… I spent all summer chasing my visions, you know? And now that I'm back to having visions again I'm trying to get better about letting the future happen instead of trying to rush it or prevent it, because that's just how people end up getting hurt. I'm just afraid that if Handsel peers into my future she'll see something that I can't just let go, that she'll see something I have to act on."

"If that happens, you can come to me. We'll talk it through before you act and try to keep people from getting hurt."

"Thanks, Soos. Thanks for understanding. And for never being scared of me."

"I haven't seen you in your beast form, but I could never be scared of you. You're my sibling."

Cary and Soos fist bumped and then fell quiet while trashy pop played on the radio. Cary felt comfortable, both in the silence and in the assurance that Soos would always be there for them no matter what the future entailed.

"Behold! The future of the Mystery Shack! The new and improved Mr. Mystery and The Oracle of Oregon." Stan was very proud of his new sideshow, a little platform where Cary could properly fake reading the future.

"Ooh," Cary said, her golden eyes gleaming at the prospect.

"Soos, what do you think?" Stan asked, wanting input from both of his children.

"I think Cary and I need matching suits," Soos said.

"Yes," Cary was quick to echo Soos's sentiments.

"Well, okay then. When you guys are more moved in we'll go suit shopping."

"Yes!" Cary high fived Soos, looking overjoyed. Then they ran off to go tell Wendy, who definitely wasn't flustered by the idea of Cary in a suit.

"How'd you know he wanted a suit?" Stan asked.

"Just a hunch," Soos said.

"You're a good brother."

"Yeah, well, you're a good dad."

A few days later Soos and his Abuelita had completely moved in and so, true to his word, Stan took them out to buy suits.

But first, they stopped at Greasy's Diner to celebrate Cary for landing Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

"My kid is going to be a star," Stan said, still grinning.

"I've always been a star," Cary joked, equally excited.

"We'll film every performance for you," Soos promised, and for the first time both Cary and Stan realized that Stan wouldn't actually be there for the play.

"Sweetheart," Stan started.

Cary held up his hand, "It's okay, dad. You don't have to keep apologizing. I'm sure I'll be in other plays."

"I'll help you run lines until I leave," Stan promised.

Cary smiled, "Thanks. We're still on for the 6th, right?"

They'd scheduled a fishing trip the first weekend of October for just the two of them and Stan wasn't going to miss it for the world.

"Of course. I missed my fishing buddy."

"You're gonna have to send us photos of all the wild stuff you and Uncle Ford catch."

"If I can figure out the camera I will."

After their celebratory breakfast they got into Soos' car and drove out of town. They'd debated it but they decided that they'd probably have better luck shopping for new suits in Portland than they would in Gravity Falls, unless Soos and Cary wanted to look like they were going to a middle school dance or a funeral. Plus, it meant Soos had another excuse to see Melody and to properly introduce her to Cary and Stan.

"You guys are going to love her."

"Is she going to join us for suit shopping?"

"I wish. She has to work this morning but she'll be joining us for lunch."

The drive was pretty chill, though Stan griped a little about not being allowed to drive, and there was a lengthy discussion about whether or not Ford, Wendy, and Abuelita could successfully run the Mystery Shack, with each of them placing bets on who would manage the best.

Then, the real fun began.

Well, it was fun for Soos and Cary, who got to try on suits and who quickly befriended all of the employees, Stan was a little bored and left a couple times to call Ford and check on the Shack. But he had to admit he loved his kids' enthusiasm.

Cary and Soos ended up getting two new suits before they left to meet up with Melody. Stan normally didn't splash out that much for clothes, especially clothes for other people, but he didn't care, he was so full of pride for his children that he would have done anything to keep them happy in that moment.

"Lunch is on me," Soos said, "Since you bought the suits."

Stan was about to argue, but then he remembered he was the type of guy who never argued about a free meal, and he didn't want to damage his reputation that much.

What he said instead was, "Mr. Mystery needs to have a good suit."

Cary was radiating excitement.

"I can't wait to show Wendy."

"She's going to love it," Soos said, thinking about the many conversations he'd had with the lovestruck teen about Cary.

"And I can't wait to meet Melody," Cary added.

"Melody is really excited to meet you two, too."

"You gonna marry this girl, Soos?" Stan asked bluntly.

"I hope so. But our relationship is so new, I'm not trying to rush anything."

Stan nodded, "I'm excited to meet her too, then."

"Abuelita and my family all loved her. I'm so glad I finally get to introduce her to the rest of my family."

Stan wiped at his eyes for no particular reason.

They met Melody at a place called Jake's Famous Crawfish, which Melody explained was practically a historic location around there.

"So is Greasy's Diner," Stan joked before holding out his hand for a proper introduction.

"It's nice to finally meet the man who raised Soos," Melody said.

"I didn't- huh. I guess I kind of did. So glad I didn't ruin you, kiddo."

"I'm glad you didn't give him any dating advice," Cary chortled.

"Yeah, not exactly my area of expertise."

"I've heard a lot about you too, Cary. I've been looking forward to meeting Soos' younger sibling." The word sibling was telling, and Cary gave Soos and Melody a grateful look.

"Cary is my second in command."

"Until you move in, I'm sure," Cary joked.

Soos looked flustered and Melody simply smiled.

"Maybe one day. But I have a feeling you'll still be his second in command."

"It is a family business," Stan said, "But I can already tell that you're going to be an excellent addition to the family."

They talked for a while about Melody's job and her relationship with Soos, with Melody throwing back the questions and learning some fun and juicy details about Soos' childhood. By the end of their lunch, Melody really felt like a part of Team Pines.

"I like her! I hope she comes and visits us at the Shack. "

"Me too."

"Just don't do anything I'd do," Stan advised.

"I'll keep that in mind." Soos paused for a minute. "Do you think that the Shack will be in one piece when we get back?"

"Mostly."

And it mostly was. To Cary's delight, Gompers had made his way inside, with Ford not understanding why that shouldn't be allowed, "Because Waddles."

Stan sorted that out while Cary pulled Wendy away to show her their new suits, and Abuelita continued working the gift shop like things weren't going crazy around her. Cary would soon come to appreciate Abuelita's unperturbed attitude, especially considering how crazy things were about to get.

The day Cary learned how to read palms happened to coincide with the only day that week that Soos was out of the house running errands, so when Cary came back from an especially troubling lesson, her brother wasn't there to vent to. So she did the next best thing and hunkered down next to Abuelita on the porch.

"Can I talk to you?"

Abuelita looked up from her knitting long enough to nod.

"I- uh- okay I feel like I should tell you a lot of things just so you have context for everything."

"Go ahead."

"Unless you've read my diary already," Cary joked.

"Not yet."

"Right, anyway… Well, Soos told you I was a half-witch, and that I have this… Er, beast form? I spent the summer with my biological mom, and she was supposed to teach me magic, and how to control the beast form, except she didn't believe that I had magic or a beast form and so at the end of the summer she sent me back here which is why I cut my hair. But it turns out I do have magic and a beast form, so I'm taking lessons with this local witch."

Cary paused to take a breath.

"Well, today she read my palm so she could teach me how to do the same and she said that she sees, well, essentially she said she saw that someone in my life is keeping a secret to protect me and someone is going to tell me a secret that will make me happy and she said that those people were my parent and my best friend respectively. And I assume that the secret that will make me happy is Wendy and I hope it's that she likes me back because oh yeah I like girls but it's not like a lesbian thing because technically I'm not even a girl, I'll explain that later if you want, but that means my dad is keeping secrets from me and he said he wouldn't do that anymore and so I don't know what to do."

"How do you know it's your dad? A lot of people fulfill the role of parent. I was a parent for Soos, and when your father leaves Soos will be like a parent for you" Abuelita pointed out.

"Huh. I guess you're right. I guess sometimes divination isn't an exact science."

"Talk to your dad the way you are talking to me. And talk to Wendy… Hopefully different than you are talking to me."

"Thank you, Abuelita. I appreciate your help."

Abuelita nodded and went right back to knitting.