"I reckon we're just outside their territory," Gideon said as they walked through the woods. "Only had a couple of encounters with them so can't say for certain."

"Surprised you didn't try to recruit them," Pacifica said, keeping an eye out for tiny, bearded people. "Thought you would have liked having an army of idiots at your disposal?"

Gideon scoffed. "There's idiots and then there's gnomes. Wouldn't trust them to tie my shoelaces let alone follow instructions. Heck, even Cipher once said they were too dumb for him to possess."

"What was it like?" she asked after a moment. "Working for him, I mean. Not that I'm judging!" she quickly added, catching his flinch. "He was basically an evil god and you were ten so I don't blame you. Especially not when Dad jumped at the chance to be his henchman," she added bitterly.

Gideon was silent for so long that she started to wonder if he had any intention of answering such a personal question. "It was terrifying," he eventually said, his voice so small she barely heard him. "At first I thought I could use him to get to Mabel, the same way I used everyone. But I quickly realised how out of my depth I was, that I had to work for him or else he'd do to me what he'd done to everybody else. Worse even." He took a deep, slow breath, so pale he was almost shining. "I've done some bad things. Terrible things. Robbed and threatened and even tried to kill people on more than one occasion. But when I saw my first dead body - it taught me how awful that truly was. And what Bill did, before and after? I ain't never seen anything like that. I'm glad he's gone, I don't care if even Mabel in all her kindness forgave him like she forgave me. Death's too good for someone that cruel."

"Yeah," Pacifica quietly agreed, seeing her father deformed before her eyes and turned back again only to be turned to stone and taken away with her mother as her hometown burned. "Let's hope he stays that way."

"What do you mean?" Gideon asked, giving her a concerned look.

Pacifica hesitated, realising that no one must have informed Gideon about the Cipher Cult. Phil wanted the information to remain relatively quiet until he decided and checked with his superiors about who should know what. She didn't think he would have even told her parents if Axel hadn't attacked her father to get to her. But Gideon had been part of the zodiac too and he deserved to know. In fact, it was likely that the only reason he didn't was because Phil hadn't spent any time with the boy or might have assumed someone else would have done it for him.

"Okay. You know how Phil's protecting me and that sometimes he says weird things? Well, there's a very good reason he talks like that and there's a very particular group he's protecting me from..."

"Huh," Gideon said when she'd finally finished. "Time travel. Thought I would've been more impressed by that."

"I think the fact their fascist ruler had a pacifier and wore diapers takes a little away from it."

"Probably. But a cult of maniacs wanting to kill us all in the hopes it'll bring Cipher back from the dead? Guess I won't be sleeping tonight."

"It is pretty scary. Especially when one teleports into your dad's office and holds him hostage."

"How'd she manage to do that if that temporal storm-thingy's meant to be blocking time travel?"

"Phil said there's some gaps in it - eye of the storm kind of thing. Actually, he said 'storm' isn't a perfect description but it's the best one they've got without going into temporal theories that haven't been invented yet. Think even Ford and McGucket might struggle with understanding those. Anyway, part of the reason he's here is to scan for these gaps and send reports to the future so they can block access through them from there. Then. But there's bound to be a few anomalies to the past or future every now and then and it's a race between the Cult and the future time cops to get to them first."

"A race against time to find places to time travel from, huh? It would almost be funny if we weren't in so much danger."

Pacifica shrugged. "Phil's really good at his job and has a lot of faith in the TPAES. His daughter's even training to be one, following in his footsteps. And he did say there should only be a couple of these anomalies or temporal bubbles a year, if that. When the storm fades in about a decade, they'll be able to guard all of Gravity Falls forever."

"Easy for you to say," Gideon muttered. "You've got a cyborg watching your back while the others have each other to rely on."

Pacifica looked at him. Sometimes she forgot that, despite the way he dressed, his impressive intelligence and the way he spoke, Gideon Gleeful was only eleven, still not as old as Mabel and Dipper had been when they'd faced death that first summer. And they'd always had each other, while he'd spent so long with no one.

"Hey," she said, nudging him with her hip while they walked. "Phil might be moody but he'll protect anyone. Hell, he even saved Dad from Axel and he really hates him. Even more than Wendy! And so would the others. They wouldn't have given you an invite to the wedding if they weren't willing to let you in."

"I suppose," Gideon said, looking happier, but only just. He shifted uncomfortably. "Do you think...Mabel might be willing to dance with me? Even once?"

Pacifica hesitated, thinking about Mabel and the type of boys she liked; older, tall, muscular and handsome . She thought about Gideon; eleven years-old, average-height, round, sort-of cute in a baby-like way.

"I think she should. Ask her anyway. She should see how important it would be to you and she's a nice person. You've come a long way from the boy you used to be and that should be rewarded."

"Huh," said Gideon, standing up a little bit straighter. "You think so? That does make me feel better. And I think Dipper Pines is smart enough to see all that about you too," he added as they pushed aside some bushes to reveal the first gnome of the day.

Jeff let out a surprised yelp and jumped from his relaxing squirrel bath as the two humans let out cries of disgust. "Ah! What are you doing, sneaking up on somebody like that?"

"What are we doing? What are you doing?" Pacifica demanded, gesturing to the woodland critters scurrying around him. "You know what, never mind, I don't want to know."

"Hey, this is a perfectly normal and definitely not morally ambiguous or creepy things for us gnomes to do!" Jeff snapped, turning suspiciously red.

Pacifica shared a look with Gideon, the de-facto gnome leader's deception obvious even if they hadn't been expert liars. "I don't want to get into this right now," she sighed. "Listen, we're looking for one gnome in particular. You tell us where he is and we'll leave you to do...whatever this is. His name's Frank, dark beard, really hairy, clothes are a bit tattered, likes to hang around fairies?"

Jeff frowned. "Oh. Him. The freak with the weird thing for butterflies," he said, patting one of the squirrels running over his naked body. "What do you want with him?"

"Our business is our own, can you help us or not?" Gideon said before Pacifica had to answer.

Jeff scratched his chin, an insidious smile on his face. "Maybe I can. But what's in it for me? Us gnomes have been searching for a queen for a long time now. At least a week! But now I have two probably beautiful young girls-"

"I am not a girl!"

"You sure?" Jeff cocked his head to the side. "I mean, I remember how soft your skin was and you're much prettier than this other one-"

"Is not!" Pacifica snapped.

"But I suppose you'd know whether you are or not," Jeff continued, ignoring their indignant glares. "But the point is we need a queen, you need a gnome. If neither of you want to do it, you can go fetch us someone else. She needs to be beautiful and have very long hair. Beards are a plus but you human ladies seem to get upset when we compliment you on those for some reason."

Gideon unzipped the backpack Pacifica was wearing. "We'll give you a bag of mushrooms and some chocolate coins."

"Hot-diggity, you've got a deal!" Jeff cried, leaping out of the tub, much to their displeasure. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and blew a shrill whistle. A second later, a couple of gnomes stuck their heads out of a bush and Jeff spoke to them in what must have been Gnomish.

"I'm beginning to regret coming out to help you," Gideon muttered, throwing the items at the gnome.

"I know," Pacifica sighed as they averted their eyes while a happy Jeff changed. Then she paused as a thought occurred. "Hey, Jeff? You're pretty much the gnome leader without a queen, right? So you should know almost every gnome out here?"

"Most of them," Jeff agreed, tugging on his boots. "It's a bit hard since we keep dying and making more but I'm pretty well informed. Why?"

"Have you ever heard of a gnome named Biff? Maybe an outcast who likes magic?"

Jeff frowned at her. "We've at least three Biffs, I think? Baby Biff, Old Biff and Even Older Biff? Used to have So Old He's Nearly Dead Biff. But he died. Not sure how. Anyway, I know all the elders, magicians and potion-brewers and none of them or their apprentices are called Biff. Why do you want to know?"

"Name I heard one time and wanted to check," Pacifica said, keeping her voice casual despite her relief. "It's nothing important."

"Alright then," Jeff shrugged, struggling to dress while Gideon gave her a curious look.

But before he could say anything, Frank stepped out of a bush, looking surprised to see them. "Well if it ain't the Blonde Devil and her Not-Lover. What can I do you for?"

"Don't - don't call him that," Pacifica growled, holding up a warning finger.

"What? Your Not-Lover? Well, ain't he? You seemed to get mighty riled when I called you lovers last time - oh!" He nodded suddenly, giving a broad, toothy grin. "I get it. You decided to give it a try, huh? Glad to hear it - had a good feeling about you two. You'd make beautiful babies."

There was a strange creaking noise as the muscles in Pacifica's neck fought against her spine, her head tilting in an eerie way as she stared at the gnome, one eye twitching dangerously.

"We need your help!" Gideon quickly said before someone died. "We know you're friends with the fairies - and I read a way to turn some fairy dust into a truth serum. Do you have any we can use?"

"I might," Frank said doggedly, scratching his beard and glancing at Jeff. "Course, that dust is pretty hard to come by for most gnomes. What's in it for me?"

"You want to get back at that tall girl who got you arrested, right?" Gideon said. "This potion will cause her a heap o' trouble. Sound good?"

Frank narrowed his eyes. "That does sound good. But she's also mighty fierce with that axe of hers and I'd need something more than revenge to risk her temper."

"You were willing to risk that and more when it came to that magic gem fiasco," Gideon sharply reminded him. "What's changed?"

"I was gonna use them gals to get me what I wanted. Seemed worth the risk. But you want my help, you gotta make it worth my while."

Gideon sighed and reached into the backpack again.

"Not here!" Frank hissed, glancing at Jeff, who was watching them carefully. "It ain't legal in this part of the woods," he explained in a quiet voice. He looked around before motioning them to follow, only turning back to them when they'd reached a safe area. "Alright, give me my lovies!" he cried, reaching out with outstretched arms, his hands clasping in excitement.

Gideon and Pacifica stared at him. Then, together, they turned to look at Jeff, only ten metres away.

"Are you serious?" Pacifica demanded. "You barely moved! Aren't you worried about him seeing us?"

"Why would I?" Frank asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

"Because you just said what we were about to do is illegal in this part of the woods!"

"No, I said it was illegal in that part of the woods. Perfectly legal over here."

"But you took, like, ten steps!"

"Yep, into this other part of the woods," Frank said, gesturing to the trees around them. He turned to Jeff. "You get what she's so antsy about?"

Jeff shrugged. "Humans. Who understands anything they do?"

"Agh! Forget it!" She slung the backpack of her shoulders and pulled out the jar to show him. "Give us the powder and it's yours."

Frank reached into his beard and practically flung a bag of the sparkling substance at her before snatching the jar. He let out a frantic giggle, his eyes wide as he stared at the butterflies inside. Then he opened the jar and held it to his face so they flew towards him.

When their tiny wings hit his beard he dropped the jar, his manic grin threatening to split his face in two while his body convulsed in pleasure as his back arched, occasionally making a sound that fell somewhere between a chuckle and a moan as his eyes rolled into the back of his head until only white showed, his breathing coming in rapid, throaty gasps as his mouth frothed.

Pacifica clamped a hand over Gideon's eyes and pulled the pre-teen away from the disturbing sight, wishing someone else was there to do the same to her as she found herself unable to tear her own eyes away.

"Whoo!" Frank panted, snatching the butterflies with ease and delicately returning them to the jar after far too long. "Them's good butterflies! Ain't had my face tickled like that in a long time!" He wiped the spittle from his mouth with the back of his hand and turned to the humans, nodding approvingly. "You sure know how to pick 'em! You ought to be proud of the work you did, here."

"I feel no pride in what I've enabled you to do," Pacifica whispered, unwilling to take her hand away from Gideon in case there was more yet to come.

"I'm off to make the most of these fellas," Frank said, putting the jar under one arm. "Y'all take care of yerselves!" he cried, giving the humans pair a last thankful wave before scampering away.

"That gnome has no decency," Jeff muttered, stuffing a squirrel down the front of his pants. "Welp, pleasure doing business, you know where to find us if you need anything else," he said, tipping his hat to them before gathering his mushrooms and chocolates and walking away.

Pacifica finally pulled her hand away from Gideon's eyes, shifting sheepishly as the boy glared at her. "Gnomes," she said, attempting a light-hearted chuckle. "What are they like?"

"I've seen some pretty messed up things living in this here town, Pacifica Northwest, but what these here gnomes were doing was rival to almost anything I've seen the townsfolk do!"

"Oh, God, Gideon, I am so sorry!" Pacifica cried, clutching his shoulders desperately. "I swear, I had no idea this would happen! I thought you might get injured or that I was endangering your life at most, but I didn't expect - this! I'm pretty sure I can go to jail for bringing someone your age into this situation! Please don't tell anyone what you saw?"

He continued to glare at her before seeing how disturbed she looked, and she had at least tried to shield him from the worst of it. "Oh, alright," he sighed, relenting a little. "But you owe me bigtime for tarnishing my innocence like this!" he quickly added.

"Oh, I definitely do," Pacifica instantly agreed. "Do...do you want to go back?" she asked tentatively.

Gideon let out a sigh. "Nah. I've come this far and I may be tempting fate by saying this but I sincerely doubt things can get much worse than what we just witnessed. Where to next?"

She gave him a warm pat on the shoulder, knowing that she wouldn't have stuck by her friends like this when she was his age. She probably wouldn't have agreed to come in the first place. "We're going to the Corduroy house. Do you think you can make up the stuff on the way?"

"I suppose," Gideon said, turning her so he could reach in the backpack and remove some items. "Might need to stop a few times for the odd bit but I'll let you know when that happens."

Gideon worked as they walked, Pacifica leading them to their target. "How did you find out where Wendy lives anyway?" he asked along the way. "Thought Dipper was the only one who'd visited her place since her family's so paranoid about the government finding them. You didn't stalk Dipper, did you?" he asked suspiciously.

"No! I'm not that obsessed! I followed the mailman until he led me to it."

"You...stalked the mailman so he could lead you to the home of your crush's crush?"

"I didn't stalk him!" Pacifica snapped. "I just wanted to know where she lived so one morning I went for a walk and decided to see where his route led him."

"Uh-huh," said Gideon, wondering how long she'd been planning something like this and doing the mental maths on the amount of time it would take someone to get from Pacifica's home on the outskirts of town to where she was leading them, which also seemed to be the outskirts, albeit in the opposite direction. "And during this walk, did you happen to be waiting in the bushes until he came by, dressed all in black and then followed at a distance where he couldn't see or hear you?"

"No! I was...shut up! That's none of your business!"

Gideon shook his head as he used a mortar and pestle to grind the ingredients. "I'm starting to see my interactions with Mabel in a whole new light."

She would have smacked him if he didn't have a point. And wasn't holding the dust.

When they arrived, Gideon was more than a little surprised to see the condition of the Corduroy cabin. It definitely looked like the kind of cabin a lumberjack would build for himself, but he expected it to be larger. There only seemed to be one floor and it didn't look very big for a family of five, and definitely not tall enough for someone of the lumberjack's height. Then again, he had once heard from his parents that Manly Dan had once been Boyish Dan and used to be shorter than his father (though Bud Gleeful was by no means short) so perhaps he'd built it in his younger days before he'd started a family?

The place didn't look very tidy either; the whole building covered in moss, a run down camper van to the side (also covered in moss), several axes and even a few bear traps scattered around, the area littered with stumps, many with axes lodged in them, and almost every tree having been chopped or sawn, some even halfway through, while all of them bore the scars of axe strikes or dents that must have come from Manly Dan's fists.

"God, this place looks even worse in the daylight," Pacifica muttered, stepping over a snare and pulling Gideon away from another. "And look at all these! Place is a freaking death-trap, lucky I didn't kill myself."

"The nerve of some people. No consideration for the safety of strangers creeping around outside their home."

"Urgh, there's her room," Pacifica growled, nodding to a side window and ignoring his tone. "Finished it yet?"

"You even peeked in their windows?" he asked incredulously, passing her the complete mixture.

"Yes, and do you know what I saw?" she hissed, slipping off the backpack for the last item she'd asked him to bring: a box of expensive chocolates. "She has a quilt! With pine tree symbols, Gideon. Pine trees!"

"Um, okay," Gideon said, confused and a little scared by the rage this seemed to instil in her. "So?"

"So?" Pacifica grabbed him and pulled him up until he was on tiptoe, their faces so close their noses almost touched. "That's what Bill called Dipper! It was his symbol on the zodiac! It's bad enough she's got his damn hat, now I find out she's got his symbol all over her bed? Where she sleeps?"

Gideon swallowed at the look in her eyes, trying to pull away. "Pacifica, I think you need help. And that's me sayin' that so you know you should be concerned. The Professor's out of jail now, perhaps you should give her a call later?"

Pacifica grunted and let him go, the pre-teen falling on his large rump. "Boys. You don't understand anything." She gently undid the ribbon on the box, opening it and sifted the sparkly powder over them, making it look for all the world as if they were sprinkled with a colourful sugar before reapplying the lid and ribbon. "Wait here," she instructed him.

She crept towards the house, keeping her head low and her eyes peeled for any redheads. She reached into her pocket for a fake envelope which she attached to the chocolates, raising the flag with a smirk. Then she jumped out of skin as a thunderous voice rang out.

"WENDY! Move yer butt, it's time to go."

Pacifica dashed back to Gideon, leaping over a beartrap on the way. "Wait, that was your big-?" the alarmed boy tried to say before she shushed him and dragged him behind a tree just in time as the front door opened.

Pacifica peered over around the side of the tree, watching with bated breath as her nemesis and her father left their home. She clenched her fist, seeing them heading to the truck and fearing they'd fail to notice her little gift only to give a quick sigh of relief as Wendy stopped and pointed at the mailbox and said something to her father, who shrugged in response.

Pacifica ducked back behind the tree as she saw them draw near, listening as to the crunch of leaves and twigs under their feet until the mailbox was opened with a rusty creak.

"Huh," she heard Wendy say. "It's a box of chocolates and a letter. For me? Let's see here…" There was the sound of tearing paper. "'From your secret admirer, hope you enjoy them.' Bit lame, not very original. Still, better than poetry."

Pacifca heard Wendy's father grunt in his deep, loud voice. "Guy's gonna be disappointed since you still ain't dating anybody till you're no longer grounded. Any idea who it could be so you can tell them that?"

"Can't think of anyone in particular. Chocolate looks a bit pricey, though, that's good. Want one?"

Pacifica's head shot up, a cold chill running through her.

"Nah, look too fancy for my liking. You eat those, you better make sure you tell this guy how much you appreciate them when you turn him down!" he warned her.

Pacifica let out a relieved breath at his response, then winced at the sound, covering her mouth.

"Yeah, yeah," Wendy sighed, the twigs crunching underfoot as they walked away. "You never know, maybe he'll be really sweet and patient and be willing to wait until I can date again."

Dan answered with a grunt that showed his scepticism.

Pacifica allowed herself a wicked grin as she heard the truck doors open, clenching a fist as the thrill of victory coursed through her and she dreamed of Wendy's suffering once the truth serum hit her lips.

"Anyway, I'm sure the gang'll enjoy them."

Pacifica's face fell harder and faster than the day her mother told her they could only afford one pony, staring into the distance as the truck rumbled past, carrying her target and her contaminated cargo. "Oh, I think I've made a mistake."

Gideon looked at her expression and shook his head in furious disappointment. "You think? What kind of villain were you?"

Pacifica shook her head clear, still numb but his anger confusing her enough to bring her out of the stupor. "What?"

"That was your big plan?" he snapped. "Chocolates? I thought they were just a little something to snack on during the journey, I would never have agreed to this if I knew your scheme was that dumb!"

"Hey, shut up!" Pacifica hissed, glad she could turn her fear into anger. "Have you seen the way she eats? I'm amazed the rest of her isn't as fat as her butt, how was I supposed to know she'd give some of them to her friends?"

"Because that's what friends do, you idiot!" he screamed. "Even I know that and I never had any!"

"I'm still struggling to understand shawring, alright! It's a very recent concept for me!"

Gideon stared at her. "Did - did you just mispronounce 'sharing'? Wow. That explains a whole heckuva lot about your family. How'd you manage that?"

"I had a very spoiled childhood!" Pacifica snapped, getting defensive.

"I literally threatened to sell my own parents!" Gideon snapped back, his anger returning. "How could you have been more spoiled than me?"

"Well, what would you have done, Mister Villain Extraordinaire?" Pacifica demanded, changing the subject. "If you're so smart, how would you have slipped her the powder?"

"I'd have used my brain and crept in at night or in the morning and slipped it in her water or breakfast! Not in something she was bound to 'shaw-er' with her friends - especially not the day before the wedding!"

"Oh yeah, slip into the house of the axe-wielding amazon and her muscle-bound brothers, great idea, genius! Why didn't I think of that? Wait, that's right - it's because I don't have a death wish!"

They panted and glared at each other, furious with themselves and each other for not stopping the plot before it reached this point.

"Oh, God," Pacifica groaned, slumping down against the tree, dropping her head into her hands and drawing her legs up to her chest. "What have I done? I only wanted her to get hit, I didn't want to drag anyone else into this! Not only have I failed at being a good person, I've even failed at being a bad one again! I'm such a screw-up."

Gideon continued to glare at her for a moment. Then he saw the distress she was in and those feelings disappeared to be replaced by something better, even if they made him feel worse.

"Hey," he gently said, kneeling down beside her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're not a screw-up. I'm sorry for what I said. You're right, my plan was too dangerous. Heck, I tried sneaking into the Shack once and Stanley came at me with a broom! I doubt the Corduroys would've been that gentle. Poisoning the chocolate was the smarter scheme."

"Really?" Pacifica asked, peeking through her fingers. "Thanks, Gideon, that's nice of you to say. But I should have told you what I was planning. You were Dipper and Mabel's greatest foe until Bill showed up - you would've given me fantastic advice on what to do."

"I was a formidable adversary, wasn't I?" Gideon chuckled. "Though you were no slouch yourself. I think we could have done great things together. It's a shame for us and a blessing for the world that we didn't join forces earlier."

She gave a half-hearted smile at his words. Then the moment faded and she hit the back of her head on the trunk. "What have I done?" she whispered. "If I've messed up this wedding I'm as good as dead to Dipper and Mabel. What am I going to do?"

"There's only one thing you can do," Gideon told her, his voice gentle yet firm.

"You're right," Pacifica said, the reluctance clear on her face.

"You need to confess and ask them for forgiveness-"

"I need to steal those chocolates back before she gives them to anyone else and then slip her the truth serum!"

"Wait, what?" said Gideon, looking alarmed as Pacifica got to her feet, unhappy but determined. "No, that's only gonna add fuel to the fire, we need to-"

"Come on!" Pacifica urged him, grabbing his wrist and breaking into a run as she pulled him towards town. "We need to get Phil to drive us if we've got any hope of getting there before work!"

"Why am I the voice of reason and moral goodness in this relationship?" Gideon demanded, receiving no answer as he struggled to keep the pace she was setting. "This is a very new experience for me and I don't think I like it!"

They ran as fast as Gideon could manage back to the arcade. There, she pushed him into the boys bathroom to change back into his suit to avoid raising suspicion. The moment a still panting Gideon stepped out, she grabbed his wrist again and almost dragged him into the park where they thankfully found Phil in little time.

He was sitting on a bench and throwing the ball for Duchess, watching her run with simple enjoyment until he heard the running and turned to face his charge and her friend heading his way.

"Are you alright?" he asked, getting to his feet when he noticed their condition. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"What? Nothing's wrong, what could be wrong?" Pacifica forced out an unnatural laugh, breathing heavier than normal as the sweat ran down her flushed face, Gideon several steps behind her and clutching his side and gasping so hard it almost looked as if he'd been stabbed. "We just thought you might like to go to the Shack again? Get another gift for Mary?"

"What? Why would we go now?" asked Phil, made even more puzzled by the frantic speed and tone of her words.

Since taking on the role of bodyguard, the Mystery Shack had been one of their most frequent destinations. While Pacifica could spend time with Dipper and/or Mabel, Phil could browse the shop for souvenirs for his daughter or take a tour and take as many pictures of the exhibits as she wanted. She'd specifically asked him for a picture of Wendy Corduroy (preferably alongside Dipper) but he'd blatantly refused that suggestion, choosing to merely grunt and glare at the cashier instead, even when purchasing. But the last visit had been two days ago and he'd promised to only send one souvenir back a week to keep up the anticipation.

"Well, you know, wedding tomorrow, might be closed for a few days after, gonna prepare for Dipper and Mabel's birthday after, might be the last chance to get something for a while, won't it!" Pacifica said, her words shooting out like machine gun rounds, Gideon's hands on his knees as he tried not to vomit.

Phil narrowed his eyes, three decades of future-police work helping him detect the little details of the pair. The most obvious thing was they were breathing too hard and sweating too much, even if for some reason they'd ran all the way here. But there were other, more subtle things that stood out to him.

There was a backpack with them that he was sure hadn't been there earlier that morning, something that looked like it was carrying a few bulky objects. Pacifica's clothes were dirtier than they should have been from an arcade, especially the soles of her boots. Gideon's clothes and shoes were as spotless as they'd been earlier, but he noticed a faint crease in the trousers and blazer, as if they'd been folded. Finally, their hairs - something they both took a ridiculous amount of pride in - were a little frazzled and unkempt and he thought he could even see a few twigs.

Phil leaned forward, practically tasting the guilt and fear wafting from them. "Sure," he growled. "Let's head to the Shack. See if Soos and Melody need any help for their big day, aye?"

Pacifica and Gideon said nothing, sharing a worried glance until the large Irishman stood up and marched to the car, the yellow dog running after him while the children sheepishly followed.