It had been three days since Soos and his family had been evicted from the Shack.

Thankfully, everyone pitched in to help with the move, McGucket's bots even carrying Abuelita's favourite recliner across town. Abuelita and Melody had instantly bonded with the old man's daughter-in-law, finding in her a fellow fan of telenovelas. The fact that she was also a new mom to a cuddly baby helped as well. McGucket's son Tate mostly kept to himself… but he also cooked a mean steak and offered to do maintenance on Soos' truck free of charge. And of course McGucket was ecstatic to have 'new roomies'; Soos was half-expecting him to ask them to move in permanently once the dust would settle.

For the third day in a row, the Pines Rescue Squad gathered in McGucket's office (once Preston Northwest's 'thinking parlour') to discuss their next course of action. McGucket couldn't stop pacing the room. Pacifica, Candy and Grenda sat perched on the less messy parts of McGucket's desk, while Wendy leaned on the wall, ever the cool one. Soos managed to find a spot on the floor that wasn't covered in mechanical parts or discarded blueprints, again letting Melody have the last seat.

She was also the first to come up with a solution. Of course, being rather new to the strange happenings of Gravity Falls, that solution was somewhat naïve.

She proposed to file a complaint to the authorities.

"I know those two agents are part of the government," she told Soos and the others, "but they can't just evict people out of their homes on a whim. That's not how things work! There's supposed to be checks and balances to keep authorities from abusing their power. My dad can't even buy a burger on his employer's payroll without filing paperwork, and he only works for the DMV!"

Soos didn't have the heart to tell her that it probably didn't matter. "Well… I can't see why we couldn't try, really…"

"Good. Did you get from which agency they're from? The FBI maybe? Like those guys from X-Files?"

"Whatever service they work for, I doubt they accept customer complaints," Pacifica said.

"Well, it doesn't cost anything to just try, does it?" Melody countered. "I can see to it while you guys try something else."

"Good idea!" said Soos. "You do that while we, uh…"

"Twiddle our thumbs?" Pacifica said with a sneer. "Run in circles? Waste another few hours complaining about bureaucracy?"

"If you have a brilliant idea, let's hear it," Wendy replied. She weathered Pacifica's ensuing glare before asking Soos, "Last year, what did you guys do to get rid of 'em?"

"Oh, Dr. Pines used that memory gun thingie to wipe their memories. Saved us a lot of trouble, heh."

"You mean the memory gun thingie they used to—" Pacifica began.

"He WHAT?" McGucket interrupted her. He tugged at his hair, shaking his head over and over again. "He couldn't, he didn't…"

"Uh…" Soos forced out a nervous laugh. "I-It was for a good reason, you know…"

McGucket's expression showed an intensity Soos would have never associated with the old man. "No memory guns. No mind wipes."

"Alright, dude, chill," said Wendy. "Option's off the table, don't worry."

Soos sighed, feeling quite dejected. "Aw man, we suck at this! By now, Dipper would have come up with like, a dozen plans or something! Wait, maybe if I concentrate enough we can connect our minds across dimensions and I can ask for his help!"

"I doubt you can do that," Pacifica said.

"Huh. I guess he can only do it with Mabel. Must be a twin thing!"

Pacifica looked like she wanted to scream. In the end, she simply scoffed and stayed silent.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. A woman with pleasant curves and a friendly smile was peeking inside, holding a baby in her arms. "Hello? I hope I'm not intruding or anything…"

"'Course not!" McGucket answered. "Can we do sumthin' fer ya, Sherry?"

"I have to go in town for an appointment. Can you watch over Harper for me?" McGucket's daughter-in-law frowned for a moment. "Tate did tell you about it, didn't he?"

McGucket slapped his head, letting out a nervous laugh. "Of course, he did! Ah totally… didn't forget 'bout it or nuthin'…"

Sherry beamed at him. "Alright, then! I won't be long, don't worry!"

"Oh, oh!" said Grenda. "Can I hold her first?"

Sherry handed little Harper over to Grenda, and everyone swarmed around the two of them. Soos, Melody and Candy cooed over the baby, who was looking at them with bright, curious eyes. Even Wendy was grinning as she poked Harper on the belly. Only Pacifica remained aloof, eyeing the baby with a raised brow.

McGucket nodded absently as Sherry unleashed a flurry of instructions on him. His feeble smile disappeared the moment she was out of the doorway. By now Harper had been moved to Candy's arms.

"She's so tiny!" she said, adjusting her hold on the baby. "She practically weights nothing!"

"Well, she is just one-month-old," Pacifica said.

"One month and a week," McGucket corrected.

"Can I hold her next?" Soos asked. His heart nearly burst with joy when Candy handed the baby over to him. "Aw! You're a lil' cutie pie, arentcha? Yes, yes, you are!" Melody raised fond eyes to him, and Soos found himself blushing furiously.

Then Harper's little face crumpled, and she began to cry.

"Oh," said Soos. "Oh no, dudette, don't cry! Here, Mr. McGucket, can you cheer her up?"

"Wait—" McGucket said, holding up his hands.

"There you go, duderina," Soos said, giving Harper to the old man. "You're with your grandpappy! Don't you feel better already?"

As on cue, Harper sniffed a little and stopped crying. McGucket seemed mesmerized by her reaction.

"That's…" the old man said. "That's the first time Ah ever got to holding her…"

"What?!" said Pacifica. "But… but she's one month old! How is it that you never held her?!"

McGucket evaded her insistent gaze. "Uh, well…"

"Is it your son?" Pacifica said sharply. "You're telling me that he's fine moving with you if it means living in luxury, but that he won't even let you hold your granddaughter?"

"N-No. It ain't his fault, it's…" Instead of elaborating, McGucket went silent.

"Well?"

"Oh, yannow… back when Tater was small… Ah wasn't a good daddy. He and his Ma were scared of me, and fer good reasons too. Ah thought… well, Ah was 'fraid Harper would be scared of me too." Very quietly, McGucket added, "Ah was 'fraid Ah'd hurt her…"

Soos' lower lip wobbled. "That's… that's so sad, dude!"

"Oh." Pacifica looked troubled. "But you've changed. You're not like you were before."

McGucket managed a smile. "Heh. Ya think so?"

"Well, you're not living in a dump anymore—" Pacifica scowled when everyone glared at her, "—Hey! Don't try to pretend you weren't all thinking the same!"

"It's fine," McGucket said with a shrug. "Dontcha think so, sweet pea?"

Harper gave an adorable yawn in response.

Thirty minutes later, and they were nowhere a solution.

Pacifica was ready to tear her hair out. Candy and Grenda had gone back to their homes for dinner, their usual enthusiasm dialed back a notch. Wendy had nothing to offer but angry quips, while that oaf Soos' suggestions just kept getting more ludicrous. And McGucket had long tapped out; he was slumbering in his rocking chair, still holding Harper.

Eventually, Sherry came back, providing a welcome distraction to the incompetence on display. Her lips quirked into a smile as she saw her daughter asleep in McGucket's arms.

The old man's eyes fluttered open, and he mumbled a bit, waking up Harper as well. "Oh. Howdy, Sherry."

"She looks so comfy," Sherry said, hands over her heart. "I almost feel bad for taking her away."

"Oh, don't say that. Ah'm sure she missed ya plenty… h-here, back to yer mama, sugarplum…" Still, McGucket almost seemed disappointed to relinquish his hold on his granddaughter.

"Thank you ever so much!" Sherry said. "Oh, just so you guys know, Tate just finished making dinner. Is spaghetti alright with all of you?"

"Of course it is!" said Soos. "Thanks, Mrs. McGucket!"

Pacifica tried not to cringe too much as they made their way to the dining room. Last summer, her parents had sold most of their paintings and sculptures in an effort to raise enough money to keep the mansion. Save for the addition of a few family photos and some of Tate's fishing trophies, the McGuckets hadn't thought to fill those now empty spots. The effect was disquieting; Pacifica felt like she'd stepped into a bizarre parallel version of her childhood home.

It was hard not to feel like an intruder in someone else's life.

The impression only grew stronger as they gathered to eat dinner. Sherry and Soos kept trying to talk to her, as if they were interested in anything she had to say. It was weird; those people wouldn't gain anything by getting to know Pacifica better, so why did they even bother? They were as bad as Mabel on that front. Pacifica grimaced, quickly putting aside any thought of the girl with the braces-filled smile or her dumb dork of a brother. Instead, she poked at her pasta, lost in gloomy musings.

"Oh, Pacifica, dear," Sherry said, snapping Pacifica out of her reverie. "Before I forget… it's nice of you to watch over your friend's pig, but something broke into the garden last night and made quite a mess. That's the second time this week… I'm thinking of asking Fiddleford if he can build a pen for him. I hope you don't mind?"

"But the pig's been here for only three days," Pacifica muttered, confused.

"Hmm? Did you say something, sweetie?"

"Nothing. Build him a pen or whatever. As long as he's out of my hair, I don't care what he's up to."

"Alright," said Sherry. "Thank you for being so understanding."

Pacifica went back to staring at her dinner plate in silence. Something gnawed at her, something that suspiciously felt like worry. Rather than dwell on it too much, she finished her pasta without much enthusiasm.

Later that night, Pacifica hid in the garden, holding a baseball bat in her hands.

She had lived in Gravity Falls all of her life; it was unlikely that the creature who had taken a liking to Sherry's vegetables was a simple, normal pest. If Pacifica had learned anything by associating with Dipper and Mabel, it was to take the supernatural seriously.

Still, it was getting late, and Pacifica felt more embarrassed by the minute. Her knees ached from kneeling in the dirt, and she probably had a few twigs stuck in her hair. She tried to picture her father or any of her 'illustrious' ancestors using shrubbery to spring an ambush on a pesky magical critter. Of course she couldn't. Pacifica could, however, imagine their sneers all too well.

"Hey, dudette!" a voice said behind her. "What are you doing in a bush?"

Pacifica yelped, nearly jumping two feet in the air. Soos was crouching beside her, smiling that stupid smile of his.

"You!" Pacifica hissed. "Did you really have to sneak up on me?"

"Oops! Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you!"

"Ugh. Go away." After a while, Pacifica groaned and added, "Please?"

"I can help you, dude! I mean, I don't know what you're trying to do, but I bet it'll be easier as a team, right?"

Pacifica's first impulse was to ask him why, but something told her he would only respond with something sappy straight out of a kids' cartoon. Instead, she said, "Just keep your eyes peeled. I'm trying to catch the thing that tore through Sherry's garden."

Of course, she didn't voice aloud the real reason for her late-night stakeout. The creature, whatever it was, could very much decide that unripe tomatoes and carrots were not up to its delicate taste. It could develop instead a love for pig flesh. Mabel would whine and wail if she came home only to find her beloved pet gone, and Pacifica wasn't ready to face that amount of caterwauling.

"Oh, you don't want it to eat Waddles, do you?"

Pacifica froze. Either Soos was a great deal more perceptive than he let on or she was starting to lose her touch. "I just don't want more trouble piling up. Now shut up or go away."

To her relief, he went silent. The sun finished its descent over the horizon, leaving the garden in near gloom. Pacifica was starting to nod off when a scratching sound came to her ears. Heart pounding, she leaned forward a bit, peering out of her bush. A four-legged critter was moving in a darkened corner of the garden, digging up something with its front paws.

Pacifica's eyebrows shot up. "Wait… is that…"

"Oh my gosh!" Soos said, delighted.

Immediately, the creature whipped back its head. A familiar reptilian face looked back at Pacifica, woollen fur bristling. She lowered her bat, a strange feeling blooming in her chest.

"It's the llamasaur!" Soos exclaimed. "Little dude must have followed us out of the wreck!"

"But why is it here? How many miles is there between the crash site and the manor?"

"I dunno," Soos answered. "Hey, maybe it imprinted on you! Just think about it! It's been nearly two weeks, and it still went all this way to find you!"

"That's just ludicrous!"

The llamasaur was eyeing them carefully. Pacifica plucked a tomato from a stalk, throwing it at the creature's feet. It blinked once or twice before swallowing it whole.

Before she could react, the creature tottered toward her, head bowed, eyes still fixed on her. Pacifica kneeled down in a shaky motion, offering it another tomato. The creature took it from her hand more gently than she would have believed.

"I knew it!" said Soos. "Aw, it likes you!"

"No, that's just stup—" The llamasaur nudged at Pacifica hand, shocking her speechless. "Oh."

"Oh man! I'm almost jealous, you know?" Soos held out his hand, and the llamasaur sniffed it. He scratched its woolly neck, and it flopped on his back, tongue hanging out. "Heh! Only in Gravity Falls would anyone find such a weird pet!"

Pacifica rolled her eyes. "This is Gravity Falls, nothing is ever normal—oh." She stopped, suddenly struck by an idea so brilliant in its stupidity that she felt ashamed to say it out loud. "I… I think I know how to get rid of these government agents…"

"Wait, really?" Soos' grin grew broader. "Oh, oh, did you manage to connect with Dipper on the astral plane?! Did he give you an idea?"

"What? No!" Pacifica shook her head, getting to her feet. "Anyway, that's not important! Go get McGucket! We're going to need the whole town to pull it off!"

"Sure thing, ma'am!" Soos said, offering a military-style salute.

And he took off, leaving Pacifica with the llamasaur. Without realizing, she found herself patting its head. The creature leaned into her touch, making noises of appreciation.

"Nothing's ever normal in Gravity Falls, isn't it?" she mused. As on cue, the llamasaur started to purr.

Somehow, the idea wasn't as revolting as it used to be.

Mabel woke up that morning with quite the crick in her neck.

She also was on the wrong side of the room. Groaning, she rubbed her eyes, wondering why she hadn't slept in her cot. Then, it all rushed back to her: Grunkle Ford finding her in the mess hall, her tear-filled meltdown, him comforting her…

Mabel sat up so abruptly she felt woozy for half a second. Grunkle Ford was nowhere to be found.

She walked over to her brother's cot on tiptoes, not wanting to wake poor Grunkle Stan up. "Dip," she whispered, pushing him a little. "Dip, wake up!"

"What? What's the rush?"

"I wanna look for Grunkle Ford. And maybe pester the guy who handles the cooking so we can get breakfast early. But mainly look for Grunkle Ford."

Dipper sent a bleary look toward their grunkle's empty cot. "Alright. He can't have gone that far, really."

They set out, leaving Stan still snoring in bed. Despite the early hour, the tunnels bustled with people. Mabel greeted each and every person with an enthusiastic, "Good morning!" Everyone here was so gloomy all the time; Mabel wished she could do more to help, but for now, smiles were her only option.

Dipper suddenly held up his hand, stopping Mabel in his tracks. Distant voices came from a nearby room.

"…very sorry for you and your family, but I have other priorities," that Yaspa lady was saying. "I have supply runs to set up. Patrols to deal with. I can't spare you any resource so you can jump directly into the enemy's jaws."

"I don't need much," a familiar voice said. Dipper and Mabel exchanged a glance; Grunkle Ford sounded unusually agitated. "But trust me when I say that helping us would be in your best interest."

"Trust you?" Yaspa scoffed. "You think I managed to keep my people safe so far by blindly trusting every straggler that came our way?"

"No. But you wouldn't have come this far either if you weren't willing to take risks once in a while." His words brought an irritated noise out of Yaspa. Ford seemed to ignore her, only saying, "Is there some way I can convince you to help us? A favour for a favour, that sort of thing?"

The twins scooted closer to better hear her response. Mabel nearly jumped ten feet in the air, however, when a voice behind her whispered, "What are you guys doing? Are you eavesdropping on Yaspa?"

Kyan was standing behind Mabel and her brother, smiling sheepishly.

"Yes!" she huffed. "As a matter of fact, we were!"

His answer got cut short when Grunkle Ford stomped out of the room. Mabel's uncle frowned as he caught sight of the twins. Mabel gave him the biggest smile she could muster.

Ford didn't return her smile. "Kids. What are you doing here?"

"We were just looking for you!" Mabel said, grabbing his hand. "Are you hungry? I bet they're serving breakfast by now!"

"I'm fine. You two go eat with the others. I have some things to attend to."

"Aww, c'mon, what's more important than spending time with your favourite niece and nephew?"

Grunkle Ford had the decency to look abashed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put it that way…"

She tugged on his arm, groaning as he stayed stubbornly put. "Dipper, help me! The subject is being uncooperative!"

"Sorry, Great Uncle Ford," Dipper said, grabbing his uncle's other arm. "I guess you're coming with us."

"You're our prisoner!"

"Alright, alright!" To Mabel's relief, there was a hint of humour in Ford's voice. "I guess I need to resign myself to this cruel fate. Oh, wait, what's that? My old man legs are failing me. I guess I'll need help to get to the mess hall."

And he had the nerve to let himself fall backward, leaving Mabel and Dipper struggling to push him to an upright position. Kyan simply stared at them, looking amused in a bewildered sort of way.

"Oh, man, you're heavy," Dipper said with a wheeze.

"You're horrible!" Mabel said, while Grunkle Ford chuckled. Still, she found herself smiling.

It was a tiny victory, but one she welcomed nonetheless.

Grunkle Ford sat with Mabel and the others to share breakfast, to her great delight—

—only to disappear back into their room the moment he finished his plate.

It was infuriating. Mabel was reminded of the way he stayed cooped up in the basement last summer like the world's nerdiest vampire. When she had asked him if they could help him with his mysteriously urgent task, he had just spouted some nerdy nonsense about his translator bracelet gizmo. Grunkle Ford had then ruffled Mabel's hair, telling her to, 'run along and play with her friends,' like she was a six-year-old instead of a bonafide teenager.

So Mabel was stuck outside, bored out of her mind as she watched her brother practise casting spells with Kyan. The prospect of learning magic had made her ecstatic at first. She'd been happy to tell Kyan that she was a Hufflepuff, according to all the online quizzes she took, and that she had watched all the best magical girl shows of the last twenty years.

She'd been less enthused when she'd realized learning magic involved knowing weird incantations and symbols by heart. In the end, she'd conceded that complicated stuff like that was better left to a professional nerd like Dipper. Still, Mabel was proud and happy that he had taken to it like a fish to water. It probably made him feel like he was in a real-life version of those tabletop games he loved so much, after all.

Kyan and Dipper were doing the same wiggly hand motions, almost as if they were drawing something in the air. A glowing symbol appeared in front of Kyan, and a little flame flared to life in one of his hands. Still, nothing of the sort happened with Dipper. Mabel's twin was scowling, the same way he did when he had to start the same video game level over and over again.

"I can't believe how precise your sigils are," Kyan was saying. "When I started, mine were all crooked. None of my spells worked!"

"Well, none of mine worked so far either," Dipper replied, sounding exasperated. "You said the sigils draw on your world's innate magical properties, right? Maybe I just can't access that energy 'cause I'm from another dimension?"

Kyan's smile had a forced quality to it. "I-I can't really say…"

"Back home, you just had to say the incantations and have the correct components to cast a spell. I guess it's just more difficult here."

"Maybe you just need a little more practise?" Kyan said.

Mabel had to stifle a laugh. He'd sounded so hopeful… and poor Dipper remained so clueless.

"Ugh," said Dipper. "Maybe. For now, I think I just need a break."

"Yeah." Kyan scratched the back of his head. "It's really not as easy as it looks."

"How did you learn how to do it?" Mabel asked. "Magic, I mean."

"Um… Zuri smuggled some books from the ruins of the temple. A lot of the priests and priestesses were really good with magic." There was a weighty pause, before he added, "Like our parents. They were two of Lady Jheselbraum's acolytes."

"Oh," said Mabel. "Are they…?"

"I don't know," Kyan said, shrugging. "I was so little when the temple was attacked, I barely remember any of it. Zuri thinks they've been killed, but I'm… I'm not sure. A part of me just want to think that they've been captured. I know it's childish of me to believe that they're still alive, but…"

"Of course it's not!" Mabel exclaimed. Horror settled in the pit of her stomach as she tried to imagine being in his shoes. Sometimes, she was happy that her own parents had never set foot in Gravity Falls; Mabel's home of the heart was wonderfully weird, yes, but also incredibly dangerous.

Kyan did not say anything. He simply cast his eyes downward, looking miserable.

"Um," Dipper said, in a clear attempt to change subjects, "what did the priests and priestesses do, exactly?"

"They assisted with rituals, mainly," Kyan said. "Births. Funerals. That sort of things. The faith wasn't much of a religion, from what I understood, more like… a way of living, I guess. I don't think the Lord of Twilight is supposed to intervene much in our lives. We ask him to guide the dead, and that's it."

Dipper snorted. "Huh. I wonder where those Bill worshippers came from. I doubt he was someone who was okay with letting his followers do their own things. He threw tantrums when he wouldn't get his way."

"He doesn't sound like the nicest of guys," Kyan said with a wince. "Why would people worship him?"

"I can't say, but…" Dipper sighed. "Bill went after you when you were at your lowest. When you were backed into a corner, when you couldn't see a way out. Then, he'd say he'd give you what you wanted, whatever it was. Knowledge. Validation. Fame. He'd make it so you seemed above other people. Like you mattered more that everyone else."

Mabel hugged her knees. It was nothing she'd never heard from her brother; after coming home to Piedmont, they had shared a difficult conversation about their experiences with the triangular demon. Still, Dipper's cold, detached tone sent chills down her back.

"Huh." Kyan seemed sad. "If that's the case, then I feel bad for those people. I mean, everyone wants to think that they're special. Everyone wants to believe they've got a specific place in the universe."

"Well, maybe I'd feel more sorry for them if they hadn't tried to capture and murder us," Dipper said sourly.

With a groan, Mabel flopped on her back. As always, the stars peppering the violet sky were breathtaking. Tonight, however, their beauty left her cold. She missed her parents and her friends. She missed Waddles. She was stuck in a weird place, with weird people chasing them for weird reasons. Grunkle Stan's smiles had a fake, joyless quality to them, and Grunkle Ford was acting the way he had last summer, not sleeping and keeping secrets to himself.

It made her sad and scared, but it also made her angry and—

"Wait," she blurted out, "what if we fight back? If those jerks were gone, then you guys wouldn't need to hide anymore. And me and my family, we'd be able to get home."

"I don't know," said Kyan. "We tried to fight before. At least, the adults did, I wasn't exactly part of things…"

"Well, you didn't have us before!" Mabel jumped to her feet, putting her hands over her hips in a cocky pose. "We survived the Apocalypse and beat a chaos god, didn't we, Dipdop? We can kick the butts of a few nutcases with a fetish for triangles!"

"Yeeeah," muttered Dipper. "I don't think it'll be that simple."

"Besides, we need to earn our keep, don't we?" Mabel said. "You guys helped us so much already, we need to pay it forward!"

Kyan seemed to consider her words carefully. "Do you really thing we might be able to win?"

"Would someone with a face as cute as mine lie to you?" Mabel said, poking at her cheek with one finger. "It'll be easy-peasy, lemon squeasy!"

"Eezeepee—what? What does that even mean?"

Mabel waved her hand around. "It'll be a cinch. Piece of cake. Like stealing candy from a baby."

Kyan looked utterly lost. "…huh?"

"Mabel, we need to ask Ford and Stan first before we make those kind of plans," Dipper said.

"Pff!" said Mabel. "They'll think it's a great idea! Just wait and see!"

"Nope," said Grunkle Stan.

"Absolutely not," said Grunkle Ford.

Mabel's grin soured. She and Dipper had rushed back to their room to call a family meeting, while Kyan went to explain their idea to Yaspa. A teeny-tiny part of Mabel had expected her suggestion to be shot down. She hadn't expected it to be shot down so fast.

"C'mon, you guys!" Mabel protested. "Me an' Dipper, we've been in fights before! We piloted a giant mecha to beat up a bunch of demons, remember?"

"Oh, I remember all too well," Ford replied. "Which is why I want the two of you nowhere near the action this time."

"What?" she said. "Why?"

"You really have to ask?" Stan said, sounding almost insulted. "D'you know the number of times we nearly saw you kids die last year? D'you think that was any good for our health? I'm still surprised it didn't end with a heart attack or two on my part."

"Oh," said Mabel. She exchanged a look with Dipper, who grimaced. "Sorry. We didn't mean to worry you."

"Of course you didn't," Ford reassured her.

"Yeah, sure," Stan said, rolling his eyes. "I keep asking you not to chase trouble, but the moment I turn my back, what do you guys do? Throw yourself headfirst into danger!"

"You guys wouldn't have defeated Bill if not for us!" Dipper said. "I know you don't like seeing us in the thick of the action, but—" He quickly shut up when Stan glared at him.

"Ugh, fine." Mabel crossed her arms, scrunching up her nose. "We'll stay here and be bored out of our skulls while you guys become epic heroes of the rebellion."

Ford sighed. "Thank you. That's a load off our shoulders."

Mabel felt a twinge of guilt. Poor Grunkle Ford looked so tired…

"All we need now is to talk to Yaspa," Ford continued. "See what they need, what resources they can spare us. That sort of things."

"I'll make a deal with her," said Stan. "I can be very charming when I want."

"I know," Ford answered, in a strangely flat voice. He was looking at Stan in a very unsettling way, as if he expected an alien parasite to burst out of his twin's chest at any moment.

"And we'll stay here and protect this place!" Mabel said. "I mean, I've survived bullies and monsters scarier than those robe-wearing idiots. And once Dipper knows how to cast spells, those guys really won't stand a chance!"

Dipper nervously coughed. "Sure, yeah, t-totally…"

"Alright," Ford said, squeezing Mabel's shoulder. "That sounds like a plan. Thank you for your support, my dear."

Mabel beamed back at him. Of course she didn't tell him she fully intended to step in and take control of the situation the moment he and Stan would get into trouble. And there was no doubt in her mind that her Grunkles would get into trouble.

Instead, she made herself look as angelic as possible and said, "You're welcome!"