As much as Mike hated it, he forced himself to slow down as he got closer to the Mystery Shack. He didn't know what was happening and just rushing in would only cause more problems rather than solve any. As whatever
commotion was happening got closer, Mike did what he did best and blended in with the shadows, staying out of sight as he got close enough to see what was going on. He found the Mystery Shack swarming with what appeared to be government agents, with a few putting a handcuffed Stan in one vehicle and escorting the twins into a separate one.
"Kids, you gotta believe me!" Stan shouted, pounding on the glass. "For once I'm actually innocent! Kids!"
As the car drove away, Stan spotted Mike in the woods and they briefly made eye contact. That split-second silent exchange was enough for them both to know they were on the same page. Stan would be able to take care of himself, Mike's priority was to make sure the kids were safe. Mike ducked back behind the tree before a patrolling soldier could spot him and watched as the car containing the kids began to drive away. He carefully made his way away from the Mystery Shack, staying hidden in the tree line until he was out of sight of the soldiers.
As soon as he was far enough away, Mike sprinted to the nearest car and used a rock to smash a window open. This wasn't the first time Mike had hot-wired a car in an emergency and he was sure it wouldn't be the last, taking him only a moment to get the car started. He began racing after the path he saw the car carrying the twins take and Mike was terrified when he found what were signs of a car being run off the road. He immediately pulled the car to the side and hopped out.
"Dipper! Mabel!" Mike called, running along the trail of destruction. "Are you out here?"
"MIKE!" came a familiar pair of voices much to Mike's relief. The twins came rushing forward to hug Mike which Mike immediately returned. The twins both began attempting to explain everything that was going on along with all their doubts and worries, but because they were talking simultaneously Mike only caught a little bit of what they were saying.
"Kids… it's alright," Mike soothed, helping calm the twins down. "I know a lot's going on, but we'll find a way to fix it."
"We need to get back to the Mystery Shack," Dipper commanded, finally breaking up the hug. "We can get the security tapes from there as proof."
"Then we can prove that Grunkle Stan is innocent!" Mabel concluded. "It's just a big misunderstanding is all…"
Mike didn't think that was accurate, but he had no problem heading back to the Mystery Shack with the twins. Once they got close, they abandoned the stolen car and snuck their way towards the Shack on foot. Peeking out of the bushes, the twins were dismayed to see there were still plenty of agents guarding the Shack.
"Alright, here's the plan," Mabel said with confidence. "I'll take out those two guard guys, you karate chop the other dude in the neck, Mike will tase any backup that shows up, and then we'll back flip through the front door!"
"Mabel, aren't you forgetting the simpler solution?" Dipper sighed, gesturing to her grappling hook.
"Oh, right," Mabel agreed with slight embarrassment.
"You two use that to break in while I create a distraction for you," Mike suggested. "Then I'll sneak in myself."
The twins weren't exactly the biggest fans of the idea of splitting up, but they couldn't deny it increased their odds of getting inside successfully. With the plan agreed on, Mike snuck around to the best spot and then purposefully snapped a loud stick beneath his foot.
"What was that?" One of the soldiers asked, looking towards the sound. Mike then threw a rock farther into the trees, making even more noises. A couple of soldiers broke off to investigate, leaving enough time for Dipper and Mabel to sneak in unnoticed. Mike waited for the soldiers to pass his hiding spot before he quickly and quietly snuck to the Shack. He was able to open the window to his room, climb his way inside, and shut the window just in time before the soldiers returned to their posts.
Mike couldn't immediately get to Stan's office, as there were soldiers in the house as well, but he was eventually able to sneak his way there. He found Dipper pacing in front of all sorts of papers and IDs spread out on the floor.
"I can't believe it," Dipper said not realizing Mike had joined them. "This whole summer I've been looking for answers and the biggest mystery was right under our nose."
"What's going on?" Mike asked, making the twins jump slightly in surprise. "Did you find proof?"
"Oh, we found proof alright," Dipper scowled. "Proof that not only our Grunkle is guilty of what the agents are accusing him of, but that he's been lying to us the whole time! His name might not even be Stan!"
"Okay, this does look pretty bad," Mike admitted, looking over everything. "But I'm sure there's more to this story. I myself have had several fake identities over the years… I'm sure there's a reason Stan has all of these. I know you're freaking about this, but if you calm down and we keep looking around, I'm sure we'll find an explanation for all this…"
"There's gotta be some kind of explanation in here somewhere," Mabel agreed, looking through the box again while Dipper attempted to recover from what Mike just revealed. "What the... "secret code to hideout?" What's this?"
"Let me see that…." Dipper said, pulling out the journal and his black light. " Hmm.."A1, B, C3"... I've never seen a code like this."
"Wait! I have!" Mabel said in realization. "Dipper, it's the vending machine!"
"Then let's go!" Dipper replied, attempting to leave rush off before Mike pulled him back.
"Wait a second Dipper, I'm not trying to stop you," Mike explained before Dipper could start protesting. "I know you want answers and I'll help you find them, but I'm not going to let you make any rash descensions in the heat of the moment. If you took a moment to think things through, you'd remember there are still agents around and we have to be careful."
"You're right," Dipper replied, eyes widening at what he had almost done. "I wasn't thinking…"
"I know and I understand…" Mike assured. "Things are crazy right now… but you are a super smart kid and I know if you let yourself think things through you'll be able to make the right choices rather than the rash ones. Do you think you could do that for me?"
"I'll try…" Dipper grudgingly agreed, taking a deep breath. Feeling a bit calmer, Dipper made his way to the office door and this time Mike and Mabel joined him. They didn't get very far before they realized all the soldiers were leaving the Shack for some reason. Deciding not to question the sudden stroke of good luck, the group hurried to the gift shop only to be surprised by finding Soos already there.
"Soos?" Dipper couldn't help but blurt out at seeing the handyman.
"Ahh!" Soos yelped before he realized who had snuck up on him. "Oh, kids! Where've you been?"
"What are you doing here?" Dipper asked.
"Stan gave me a mission to protect this machine!" Soos explained easily. "Ha! And I thought I loved snacks."
The three shared a knowing look before turning back to Soos.
"Soos, listen." Dipper began, failing to sound calm. "Something huge is going on here. If Stan is hiding some dangerous secret, we need to find out what it is! I need you to step aside."
"Yeah, just let us through so we can prove this is all just a big misunderstanding," Mabel added.
"Guys, I know this seems crazy, but I promised Stan I would guard this with my life," Soos replied, looking conflicted.
"It's alright Soos," Mike assured stepping forward. "We're not asking you to betray Stan's trust, because we care about him too. I know we're all a little tense right now as none of us really knows what's going on, but we can't stay out here. The soldiers could be back any moment and you'll have an easier time protecting whatever Stan's hiding if we're safely inside what we believe is a secret room. I promise, no matter what we find in there, I won't let anything happen to it until Stan has a chance to explain. Now, will please let us pass?"
Mabel easily nodded along with Mike's promise and gave her own promise as well. Dipper looked unsure and upset, remaining silent on the subject. Soos looked at each of them in concern and confusion.
"Oh, I hope Mr. Pines isn't too mad…" Soos said with a sigh, reluctantly moving aside. Dipper immediately moves forward to punch in the code, revealing a secret passage.
"It's like something from a video game," Soos said in awe as they descended the stairs.
"Or a dream," Mabel added.
"Or a Nightmare…" Dipper grimaced.
"Reality is so much worse than a nightmare…" Mike whispered, trying to force back the parallels between this situation and another underground facility. They all piled into the elevator and Dipper pressed the bottom button, ominous creaking filling the air as the elevator began to move. Dipper and Soos were speculating what they would find so they didn't notice how tense Mike was. Mabel did though and scooted closer to him.
"Are you alright?" Mabel quietly asked, looking up at Mike in concern.
"Let's just say the last time I was this underground didn't end well for me," Mike answered. Mabel offered her hand and Mike took it, accepting the silent comfort. The elevator ride came to an end and the doors opened to reveal a giant lab full of all sorts of blinking machines.
"This can't be real…" Dipper said in shock as they slowly entered the lab.
"I don't understand," Soos said in confusion, looking around. "Why would Mr. Pines have all this?"
"It's just like that bunker in the woods…" Dipper observed.
"But what is it doing underneath the Mystery Shack?" Soos wondered.
"Okay, okay, so he's got a huge gigantic lab," Mabel began, trying to force back her own doubts. "That doesn't mean anything bad! Everyone's got secrets! It's still Stan, and he loves us. And we love him. Right?"
"It can't be…" Dipper said, fury growing in his voice as he spotted something on the desk. "It's impossible. The other two journals? All this time… all this time, Stan had them?! I can't believe it! Was anything he said to us real?! Why would he have those journals?!"
"Maybe he's the author," Soos meekly suggested while Dipper kicked the desk in anger.
"Or maybe he stole them from the author!" Dipper snapped back. "Maybe the reason he has all those fake IDs is because he is a master criminal, and this machine is his master plan!"
"Dipper that's enough," Mike interrupted, grabbing Dipper by the shoulders before the boy could reach for the journals. "I need you to calm down!"
"Why should I be calm!" Dipper shouted, struggling to get out of Mike's grip. "He's been lying and hiding this from us this whole time! I TRUSTED HIM!"
"Hey… it's okay… it's okay…" Mike assured, kneeling down in front of Dipper so they were at eye level. "You're angry and hurt and I understand. Those feelings are natural and it's okay that you feel that way… I just don't want you doing anything you'll regret just because you lashed out."
"But he… and the journals… and…" Dipper tried, his anger making it hard to voice his thoughts. "All those secrets… I shouldn't have trusted him…"
"Do you trust me Dipper?" Mike asked calmly, making the boy look at him in confusion.
"No! Yes! That doesn't matter right now! This is about Grunkle Stan!" Dipper scowled, crossing his arms. "What does trusting you have to do with it? Did Grunkle Stan tell you about this?"
"It'll make sense in a moment," Mike replied, keeping his touch firm but comforting. "But I need you to answer honestly. Do you trust me?"
"Yeah…" Dipper admitted, finally losing a little of his tension.
"And yet I've done nothing but keep secrets from you," Mike explained, with a sad smile. "I've only told you the barest details of my past and any time you tried to learn more I was either super vague or deflected the question entirely. I've never even told you my last name to make sure you couldn't find out more on your own. You know I'm still hiding a lot and yet you just admitted what you trusted me anyway. Why is that Dipper?"
"Because despite all the secrets you've been nothing but nice to us," Dipper confessed, hating that he could see the parallels Mike was trying to make. "But that's different! Stan has been lying to us this whole time! He's a criminal after all!"
"So am I," Mike snorted, throwing Dipper for a loop. "I already told you I have had multiple identities and I've committed enough arson and property damage along with a whole slew of other crimes that I would probably be thrown in jail a long time if I was ever caught. The only difference between me and Stan right now is that I was upfront about the fact that I had a lot of secrets and a dark past that I was hiding from you. Now you said you still trusted me anyway because of my actions, so let's look at the actions that Stan has taken throughout the summer. Wasn't one of the first things you told me about him was that he fought off a hoard of zombies to protect you?"
"Yeah," Dipper reluctantly agreed, refusing to meet Mike's eyes.
"And he punched a pterodactyl in the face to save Waddles!" Mabel chipped in happily. "He was willing to drive us out to the mini golf course in the middle of the night so I could face off with Pacifica! He even lets us have ice cream for breakfast sometimes!"
"He was so excited you dudes were coming at the start of the summer," Soos agreed. "He had me help fix up the attic for you and even stole fresh sheets for your beds!"
"See what I mean Dipper," Mike smiled as Dipper looked less angry and more thoughtful. "Yes, Stan has lied to you, but his actions show that he truly cares for you and Mabel. Please trust that enough to give him a chance to explain. Once he has, you can decide whether or not you can still trust him."
"Alright… I'll give him a chance to tell me the truth," Dipper sighed. He was still angry and hurt, but Mike had reminded him that Stan did care for him. He didn't like that he had been kept in the dark, but he was willing to give Stan a chance to tell him why.
The ground suddenly rumbled and the group looked through the control room's window to see the circle of light growing bright. Confused curiosity brought the group out of the main control room and into the room with the machine itself, but they stayed back by the doorway.
"What is it?" Dipper wondered in both fear and curiosity as the light continued to swirl. No one had the chance to answer as they heard footsteps running towards them. They turned in time to see Stan sprint to them and grab onto the door frame for support as he caught his breath.
"Thank goodness…" Stan breathed as he quickly accessed the scene. "I was worried you kids were going to try and shut this down…"
"I was going to," Dipper frowned, glaring at Stan and making the old man wince slightly with his obvious anger. "And a part of me still wants to, but Mike convinced me to give you a chance to explain, so you better start talking! Why do you have the journals? Do you know the author? What is this machine?"
"I'll tell you everything, I promise," Stan agreed hastily, throwing Mike a quick grateful look. "I know I should have told you this sooner and I don't have time to explain the whole story right now. But the truth is I do know the author because he's my…"
Stan cut off as the device on his wrist beeped.
"Oh, no… brace yourselves!" Stan warned, grabbing onto the door frame and Soos. Mike immediately grabbed the twins just as gravity vanished. There were various yelps and shouts at the fact that they were suddenly floating, but Dipper was still determined to get answers.
"Come on Stan!" Dipper yelled. "Who's the author!"
"He's my brother!" Stan replied, getting gasps of shock from pretty much everyone except Mike who only looked surprised. "And there was an accident where he fell through this machine and I've been trying since then to fix it to get him back. I know I lied to you and a lot of other people, but it was all to protect this family! You have to believe that. Trust me!"
Dipper and Mabel both looked stunned at the revelation, but Mabel immediately smiled and replied, "I trust you."
"I still have questions…" Dipper admitted, but still gave Stan a small smile. "But I trust you too…"
"Thanks, kids…" Stan smiled, looking both relieved and awed at their declarations. They didn't have time for any more talking as the computer counted down the last few seconds and the room was swallowed in a flash of light.
Gravity suddenly returned and everyone fell to the floor, Mike making sure he landed first with the kids on top of him to cushion their fall. They all looked up as a dark figure stepped out of the circle of light.
