The next few days were rougher for Mike than he'd like to admit as it was hard knowing there was something out there with the power to fix all his problems and knowing it was impossibly out of reach. Still, he did his best to not let his foul mood ruin the twin's fun, but he had the feeling that they saw right through him. That was probably why they didn't push when Mike rejected the invitation to hang out with Wendy's friends and go to the Woodsticks festival. (Mike was so grateful that decision lead to him missing out on Mabel's match-making shenanigans as he doesn't like dealing with teenage drama even on the best of days.)

But the time wish and all the thoughts of "What if?" weren't what was on Mike's mind tonight. As he sat on the roof in the middle of the night staring up at the glittering stars, Mike's thoughts were lingering on Soos' casual declaration that Mike was family.

Soos' couldn't have really meant that… could he…? After all, Mike had only met them all fairly recently and Mike hadn't exactly been the most forth coming about himself. Surely there's barely been enough time for them all to be considered good friends, let alone family… And if Soos and the others really knew Mike enough that he could be considered family… they'd realize that Mike wasn't someone they would want to be part of their family. No… Soos couldn't have meant what he said about Mike being family. He had probably just been caught up in the realization that the Pines family truly cares about him and that matters more than someone that shared blood and didn't care that Mike just got lumped in with the rest of the Pines because he had been with them recently. No… Mike wasn't a part of the Pines family (even if a part of him wanted to be).

Mike was snapped out of his thoughts when something changed in the night sky that shouldn't have. Mike wasn't sure exactly what it was that he saw as he hadn't fully registered what he had seen as he had been that deep in thought, but he trusted his instincts that were telling him something was off. Studying the night sky far more closely, it didn't take long to find what was wrong. There was a large dark shape moving across the night. Mike couldn't make out any specifics because of the distance and darkness, but it was definitely bigger than Mike and it was flying away from the direction of the rest of the town.

Mike watched the shape until it disappeared amongst the tree line. He had no clue what it was, but he's sure Dipper would have some ideas when he told him in the morning.

"It could have been the Moth Man," Dipper suggested after hearing Mike's description. "It is attracted to light so it could have been drawn to the town. I guess the giant vampire bat is another strong possibility… Luckily it's probably not gremloblin as they can only fly when they get splashed with water and it hasn't rained recently. Though I suppose-"

"What if it's a dragon!" Mabel added in excitement. "Maybe we could slay it and get all its treasure!"

"Did someone say treasure?" Stan asked, sticking his head into the room. "You better not be treasure hunting without me!"

"No treasure-hunting that we know of," Dipper replied easily. "Mike just telling me about a creature he spotted last night so we're thinking about investigating that."

"Okay… have fun with that," Stan nodded before heading back to what he had been doing. "Try not to cause too much chaos this time around!"

"No promises!" Mabel called back before turning back to the others. "When do we get this monster-hunting party started? This is so exciting! Finally an actual adventure with Mike! We need to celebrate!"

"Probably not until tonight," Dipper explained. "The fact it was flying around at night means it's nocturnal so we have to wait until it's dark to find it."

"That's so long from now though…" Mabel groaned, letting her head drop onto the nearest surface. "What are we supposed to do until then?"

"I'm sure we can find something to do," Mike assured, patting her gently on the back. "Is there anything we can do to prepare? This is my first real adventure with the Mystery Twins after all…"

"I just had the best idea!" Mabel popped back up with an excited gasp. "I can make you a special mystery-solving sweater! Come with me! I need your measurements!"

Mike immediately found himself being dragged upstairs with Dipper giving him a pitying look before Mike was pulled out of sight. The next hour was a hyperactive blur as Mabel took all of Mike's measurements and drilled him on what kind of colors and designs he likes on sweaters. Once she was satisfied with all the information she got, she kicked Mike out to work on the sweater in private and have the final product be a surprise.

"I see she finally let you go," Dipper said as Mike joined him in front of the TV. "Honestly, I'm surprised it took her this long to make you a sweater…"

"Is she really going to be able to finish it by tonight?" Mike asked. "I don't really know a lot about knitting, but that seems like a really small window."

"Normally, Mabel spends about a week making a new sweater," Dipper explained. "But that's because she likes to take her time and make them perfect. But when she's really motivated and inspired I have seen her make a whole sweater in less than a day."

"I guess, I'll just have to see what she creates for me then…" Mike said, a little stunned that Mabel was going out of her way to make him a gift, but knowing her well enough now to know that it was just something she would do.

Mike and Dipper passed the time watching TV and playing video games and after the Pines had dinner, they began getting ready to go on their monster hunt. Mabel finally came down, hiding the finished sweater behind her back.

"Ta da!" Mabel grinned, unfurling the sweater for Mike to see. "What do you think?"

The sweater was light blue with a cartoonish fox in the center, wearing a detective hat and holding a magnifying glass. Above the fox written in a matching orange color were the words "Sly Sleuth". Mike carefully took the sweater in his hands, admiring the soft wool. The design might have been fairly simple, but it was expertly done especially when considering that a twelve-year-old had made it. Mike could clearly tell that Mabel had put a lot of effort and care into the sweater's creation and that easily drowned out his conflicted feelings about being associated with a fox again.

"I love it!" Mike smiled at Mabel, getting a beaming smile in return. "Just give me a second to put it on and then we can be off."

The twins nodded as Mike slipped into his room to change into the sweater. While the Pines were well aware that Mike was a corpse, he was still very self-conscious about his decaying body and still showed as little skin as possible. It only took a few seconds to shed his jacket and pull the sweater over his shirt instead. He took a little bit to admire how cozy it felt and went back out to the twins.

Now that they were all ready, the three of them hopped in the golf cart and headed for town. Mike was the one driving, letting Dipper and Mabel keep an eye out at the darkened sky. They went back and forth on the main streets several times, but there was no sign of the flying creature.

"Do you think it got what it wanted last night and isn't coming back?" Mabel wondered as they looped around the now becoming rapidly familiar route once more.

"I hope not," Dipper frowned, still scanning the sky. "I don't want all this to be for nothing… but I think we have a good chance of it returning again…"

"It was basically in the middle of the night when I saw it," Mike suggested with a shrug. "Maybe it just isn't he-."

Mike was cut off by a loud screech and a whooshing sound as the winged creature flew close enough to the golf cart that it actually shook a little in the wind.

"There it is!" Dipper shouted unnecessarily, holding down his hat.

"After it!" Mabel ordered, pointing after its disappearing form. Mike immediately slammed the gas, zooming after the creature, the thrill of the chase infecting all three of them. Mike did his best to keep up with the creature, but since it could fly over buildings and they had to stick to the roads, they soon lost sight of it.

"Which way did it go?" Mike asked as they approached an intersection.

"I'm not sure, I lost track of it after that last turn," Dipper confessed in frustration. "Maybe try-"

Suddenly screaming could be heard from the road to the left and Mike immediately veered the golf cart in that direction, Mabel and Dipper holding on tightly as the cart tilted at the sharp turn before it stabilized back onto the road. They found the creature harassing Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland and because it was trying to get them, the three could now see that the creature was a giant bat.

"It's the vampire bat!" Dipper said, rummaging through his bag and pulling out supplies. "Here, wear these garlic cloves to stay safe! I've got the anointed water!"

"We need to hurry!" Mabel shouted, pointing at the scene. "It's trying to eat Durland!"

And it certainly seemed to be trying to eat Durland, its clawed feet wrapped around a large black bag hanging across Durland's chest and was attempting to fly off. Durland was already being pulled into the air, but Blubs was holding onto him with all his strength.

"I'm scared Blubbs!" Durland screamed in terror. "I don't want to get eaten!"

"Don't worry Durland! I'm never going to let you go!" Blubs declared, digging his feet into the ground. Mike steered right towards them, the top of the golf cart knocking into the bat while Dipper and Mabel jumped out and hung onto Durland in an attempt to pull him down. Their strategy worked as the Bat was forced to release the bag, letting Durland drop to the ground, but it wasn't over as the Bat was circling around to swoop after them again.

"Quick! Run for cover!" Mike shouted, abandoning the cart and pointing towards the nearby church. The group wasted no time in following Mike's advice and booking it. They managed to all get inside and slammed the door shut before the bat could make a grab for Durland again.

"We should be safe for now," Dipper said, breathing a little heavy from all the excitement. "But I don't want to be trapped in here the whole night. We need to scare it off somehow!"

"How are we going to do that?" Mike asked. "We can't exactly fly after it…"

"Hey, don't have churches have bells?" Mabel suggested, getting an idea. "And aren't usually high up!"

"The bell tower of course!" Dipper agreed, catching on. "We'll be on more even ground there and it'll be easier to try and drive it off with the anointed water!"

"We're going to need bait," Mike grimaced, glancing at the two officers. "I'd volunteer, but that wouldn't work and you twins are probably too small…"

The officers seemed to catch on to what Mike was suggesting.

"I don't want to be bait!" Durland cried out, clinging tightly to Blubs.

"And I won't make you be bait," Blubs assured Durland.

"It might be the only way to get rid of the bat…" Dipper attempted to reason calmly. "You won't even have to do anything but stand there. The three of us will make sure nothing happens to you and focus on getting rid of the bat."

The two officers looked at each other in worry.

"I'll be bait…" Blubs said hesitantly.

"I'm not leaving you Blubs!" Durland protested. "We'll both be bait."

"Then we'll just make sure to keep each other safe," Blubs agreed. They shared a firm nod before turning back to the others.

The group made their way up the bell tower, the occasional screech from outside letting them know the bat was still nearby. They soon reached the top and they could tell the bat had spotted them. Dipper rummaged through his bag and pulled out a vial of anointed water only for the Bat to swoop at them faster than Dipper could get ready, the wind from the bat's wing beats making him drop his bag off the tower and onto the nearby roof. Durland and Blubs screamed as the Bat clawed at them, but luckily the roof of the tower kept the bat from getting too close. The bat flew back and was circling around as it looked for another opportunity.

"I need to get my bag!" Dipper told the others, pointing to where the bag had slid down aways on the slant.

"I've got your back bro-bro!" Mabel assured, whipping out her grappling hook and aiming it at the bag.

"You can't shoot it!" Dipper stopped her before she could fire. "You'll break all the glass!"

"How about I use the grappling hook line to help me climb down to it?" Mike suggested.

"You'll need help holding onto the grappling hook and carrying the bag," Mabel protested. "How about I ride your back so I can grab the bag while you focus on climbing."

Mike wasn't the biggest fan of the idea, but the screeching of the bat reminded all of them they didn't have much time, so Mike agreed. Making sure Mabel's grip was secure, Mike wrapped the hook around one of the tower's polls and began repelling down with Dipper watching both them and the bat with concern.

"Keep going… almost there…" Mabel instructed before she leaned over and grabbed the bag. "Got it! Oh no! The glass is already broken! What are we going to do without the anointed water?"

"I don't know…" Mike grimaced, looking back up the tower. They weren't going to be able to get back up in time before the bat's next attack and even if they did, they didn't have a way to drive it off.

"Mabel, how's you're throwing arm?" Mike suddenly asked, getting an idea.

"Pretty good," Mabel replied, confused by the question but willing to answer. "Better than Dipper's at any rate."

"Good, I need you to grab the taser from my belt and toss it to Dipper," Mike instructed. Mabel grinned as she caught on and immediately grabbed the taser.

"DIPPER!" Mabel shouted, easily getting her brother's attention. "CATCH!"

Mabel tossed the taser and it flew perfectly through the air, letting Dipper catch it with ease. Dipper looked at the taser in confusion for a moment before his eyes widened in understanding. He flicked on the taser just as the bat screeched again and made another dive at Durland, causing the officers to cling to each other as they screamed in terror. Dipper acted immediately, lunging at the bat with the taser with a determined yell.

The taser made contact as a flash of light went off and the bat shrieked in pain as electricity went through its entire form. It somehow managed to stay airborne, though it was visibly struggling to do so. It let out one last pathetic shriek before it turned and fled into the night. Mike and Mabel were able to join back up with the others at this point and, confident they had successfully driven off the bat, the group headed back down to the street.

"Now we can finally get home to make those oranges into fresh orange juice!" Blubs said, cheering up Durland as the two of them went on their way.

"Yeah!" Durland agreed, hugging his black bag in excitement. "I love fresh orange juice!"

"Wait… oranges…" Dipper muttered, pulling out the journal and his blacklight. "I forgot that the bat is actually a fruit bat… not a vampire bat…"

"Guess the anointed water wouldn't have worked after all," Mabel commented as they climbed into the golf cart. "Good thing Mike had that taser!"

"Speaking of which… here you go," Dipper said, giving Mike back his taser. "Why do you have a taser like that? It seemed more powerful than it should be."

"It is," Mike confirmed as he started driving back to the Mystery Shack. "I deal with evil animatronics remember, and a nice controlled shock is a good defense against them. It can't shut them down completely, but it can stun them long enough to allow for an escape when necessary."

"Makes sense to me!" Mabel nodded. "So what did you think of your first Mystery Twins adventure?"

"I'll admit… it was more exciting than I was expecting and pretty fun," Mike replied with a smile. "I'm kind of looking forward to the next one. But not tonight. It's late and you two need your sleep."

Mabel and Dipper grumbled good-naturedly as they all headed back home.