Jill Dryer returned to the Mystery Shack one morning to find half of her team gone.

To say she was furious when her missing subordinates slunk back to base, proverbial tails tucked between their legs, would be putting it mildly. Many were sporting injuries: black eyes, bruises, even a concussion or two. Apparently, they had somehow lost a car. Dryer grilled them on the events of the previous night, but their recollections remained spotty. After a while, she threw in the towel and sent the wounded away to be treated, but not before gesturing at Blauer to follow her inside.

"Sit, now," she told him when they were alone in the office she'd requisitioned. "Blauer, what on Earth is going on? What's this about you camping out at some motel out of town? And why did you not request immediate medical aid for these people?"

Blauer stared blankly at her for a moment. Then, his usual scowl returned full force. "That's what gets you all riled up? We were assaulted! Don't you want to find the ones responsible?"

"It's a concern of mine, yes, but the safety of our team comes first. Now, talk. Who attacked you? And why?"

"We don't have time for this!" Blauer said. "We have to catch those damned kids! And those freaks in the forest!"

"Get a grip, Blauer," Dryer said. "You're not making any sense, and I'm losing my patience."

Her words were firm, but in truth she felt a hint of dread; over the last days, she had followed a hunch and had started studying the security tapes of the gift shop. Dryer knew she was close to a breakthrough. If that idiot Blauer had shot her chances just to antagonize the townspeople, then… well, it made her want to scream at the top of her lungs and tear her hair out.

"Ugh!" Blauer jumped out of his chair, pointing at her. "I was right! Those stupid townies are all hiding something, and they attacked us when we found out the truth! We need to call in reinforcement, bring in the big guns. Hell, even the army if necessary!"

"The 'stupid townies', as you called them, attacked you?" Dryer said, raising an eyebrow. "And you lost?"

"No! No, no, no, they had help, from the creatures of the forests! Gnomes and unicorns and those freakish giant manbull men! It was an ambush, they tricked us! It's the truth, I swear it!"

"Unicorns," Dryer repeated. "And manbull men."

Blauer slammed the table with both hands. "Yes! I know it sounds crazy, but I've seen them!"

"Why did none of the other agents mention this?"

Blauer's face went slack. "Well…"

"Do you have any evidence? Pictures, maybe? Those are quite the claims you're making, Blauer."

Blauer gave her another blank stare. Then, he snarled, "You bitch! You don't even believe me!"

Dryer left her chair, motioning him toward the door. "Alright, we're done here. We'll speak when you have a clearer head."

"A clearer head?!" Blauer grabbed her by the shoulders. "My head's clearer than ever, now that I know just how much we've been played! We have to—"

"Get your hands off of me," Dryer said, coldly. "Don't dig yourself deeper, Blauer."

"Ma'am!" a voice said, suddenly. One of her agents was at the door, looking rather agitated. "You've got to come, quickly!"

Dryer glanced back at Blauer, who had gone paler. "Alright. Blauer, you come with me."

"No," he said, all of his previous bravado completely gone, "I think I should—"

"This was an order, not a request," she snapped.

He stumbled after her without a word as the other agent led them to the main entrance of the Mystery Shack. A crowd was waiting for them outside. Dryer recognized some faces staring back at her: young Melody Ramos, the diminutive mayor (Tyler, was it?), the owner of the local diner, and many others. Dryer realized with a start that most of the town had come.

"Good morning," she told the citizens of Gravity Falls. "Can I help you?"

Melody exchanged a glance with the mayor, who nodded. The man came forward.

"Well, we're all dreadfully sorry to trouble you this fine morning," he began, "but I'm here to present something on behalf of the citizens of Gravity Falls." He offered a pile of papers to Dryer. It seemed to be a list of names and signatures. "It's a petition. Closing the Mystery Shack, well… it's affected all of us, you see? You evicted a family from their home. We all love the Ramirezes, they've good friends to everyone here in Gravity Falls." There were murmurs of assent at his words, and Melody gave him a grateful smile.

"Closing the Shack has hurt the whole town, too," the mayor continued. "Susan here says that she had fewer clients than usual at the diner. Same for every shop downtown." He gestured at the rundown shack standing before him. "I know it doesn't look like much, but the Mystery Shack has been a constant fixture in town for thirty years. Some might say it's the living, beating heart of Gravity Falls."

"Oh, please," Blauer muttered next to Dryer. She glared at him. In response, he threw his hands in the air. "You think a petition is enough to make us stop our investigation? How stupid do you people think we are?"

His words prompted exclamations of anger from the crowd, but Melody shushed them. "I know," she said. "That's why we're also suing you."

Blauer blinked. "I… I beg your pardon?"

Melody nodded, handing Dryer another—thicker—stack of papers. "Everything's been compiled by a well-known law firm in Portland. They've gone through all the necessary hoops, don't worry."

Dryer took the pile of documents, still not saying a word. She perused them with a frown. "You know your stuff," Dryer told the girl after reading the introductory pages.

"I studied law for a bit before coming here," Melody said, sheepishly. "My mom helped me with the rest. She, uh, runs the law firm in Portland I was talking about."

"They can't do that!" Blauer hissed to Dryer. He pointed at the crowd, voice growing louder with each word, "Those lunatics assaulted me! You can't let them get away with this!"

Melody's frown noticeably deepened as he finished his tirade. "Oh, yes, that reminds me. I haven't started the necessary preparation yet, but we'll be suing you for something else."

"Something else?" the mayor said, while the rest of the town exchanged confused murmurs.

Melody glared at Blauer. "This man put a child in danger last night. He kidnapped a fourteen-year-old girl with the intent of extorting information from her. That counts as a wrongful or negligent act under the FTCA." Under her breath, she added, "Or so my mother says."

The crowd erupted in outrage, while Dryer whirled toward Blauer. "You what?" she said, voice hoarse with horror.

Blauer held up his hands, face twisting in a grimace. "You're really going to believe those yokels over me, Dryer? The girl went with me willingly! It's not my fault she's lying to paint herself as a victim!"

Dryer stared at him, at a loss for words. The man's face was tomato red, and sweat was beading on his brow. He was looking more deluded by the second.

"The moment we had our backs turned," he continued, "that kid sicced her friends and those freaky things on us! They took us out, one by one!" Blauer pointed at his scalp. "That old hillbilly attacked me with his banjo! Knocked me out! He's a menace to society, I want him behind bars, behind bars, you hear me?!"

Dryer goggled at him. Nearby, the other agents gave her blank stares. Clearly she wasn't the only one who was perturbed by Blauer's meltdown.

"Banner, Carpenter, take him into custody," Dryer said, beyond disturbed by her subordinate's conduct. "Agent Blauer… might be in shock, I think."

"In shock? In shock? My mind's never been clearer! I've seen it now, this town's dark, secret side! I'm awake, and you're the one who keeps her eyes shut! You'll be sorry, Dryer, one day you'll be sorry!"

The two other agents dragged him kicking and screaming toward one of the cars. The people of Gravity Falls watched him go with the same slack-jawed bafflement as the rest of Dryer's team. Even after the car had sped off, an awkward silence hung in the morning air. It wasn't every day that you saw an agent of the US government devolve to frothing-at-the-mouth insanity.

Dryer sighed, rubbing her temple. A headache was creeping close, she was sure of it. "People of Gravity Falls," she addressed the crowd, "I have to apologize for my colleague's horrible, well… behaviour."

"Is that what we call it, now?" a young voice called from the crowd. "Horrible behaviour?"

"He put a child in danger!" someone else cried out.

"Let me assure you, we will deal with him in an appropriate manner." Dryer paused, inhaling deeply before adding, "And we will drop this investigation, and allow the Ramirez family to move back to the Mystery Shack. That I promise you."

At first, everything remained quiet. Then, the cheers that rippled through the air were deafening. People crowded around Melody, giving her hugs and congratulations. The girl blushed, deflecting their compliments.

When the celebration died down a little, Dryer came to see Melody. "Ms. Ramos? I'd like a few words, if you're available."

"Of course," Melody said with a slight frown.

Dryer took her aside, far enough so others wouldn't hear them. "I simply want to offer my deepest apologies, Ms. Ramos," Dryer began. "As I told your partner, rest assured you will be duly compensated for your troubles."

"Well, I hope so," Melody said, a bit bluntly.

Dryer fought back a snort. Touché, she thought. "You said you studied law in university?" she asked, gesturing at the 'Mystery Shack' sign perched on the roof. "Bit of a change in career, don't you think?"

"I wouldn't say 'studied'." Melody's cheeks went pink. "I did just one year, and… well, I enjoyed my classes, but the pressure was just too much, you know? I decided to spend the summer away doing something else to change my mind a bit. That's when I went to Gravity Falls."

"And met young Mr. Ramirez?"

Melody's blush grew deeper, and she twirled a strand of hair around a finger. "And met Soos, yes."

"Do you believe in the supernatural, Ms. Ramos?"

Melody blinked, then smiled. "Of course not. That's crazy."

Dryer considered the young woman's words. It was the same answer her boyfriend had given—but she'd said it a little too quickly, a little too stiffly. Melody Ramos might have been shrewder than her sweet-natured partner, but he'd practised his lies better.

Of course he had; if Dryer's hunch was correct, then he'd dealt with that sort of things far longer than she had.

"I still don't understand," Dryer prodded. "It doesn't seem such a good fit for a serious young lady such as yourself."

"Serious? Is that how I come across?" Then, she smiled. "I just like what the Mystery Shack does to people. It breaks a bit of their monotony, and it gets them to dream about things beyond our understanding. It reminds them of being a kid who wants to discover the world. That kind of stuff."

"Your boyfriend said the same thing," Dryer said. Those two youngsters were so candid, it was almost amusing. Endearing, even.

"Did he now? Doesn't surprise me. But I love it here. There's a sense of community. Like, we're all so different, but we stick together, no matter what." Her smile was a bit shy. "I sound sappy, don't I?"

"No," Dryer assured her. "You seem happy, and that's what is important. I'm sorry to have caused such trouble. I will hand in my resignation once we've put everything back to its proper place."

"Hand in your resignation? Isn't it a bit, um, overkill?"

"No. I've absolutely botched this operation. People with the kind of power at my disposal should be more careful with it. Or people will get hurt as a result."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Melody said. "Thank you for being so understanding."

"I'll arrange for the retreat of my agents," Dryer said. "Everything will be back the way that it was, don't worry."

Melody nodded. "Good. Glad you're willing to work in good faith. I'll drop the charges once you've uphold your side of the bargain." Her tone was light, but her smile was a bit forced, showing that all was not quite forgiven. "Um, can I go now? I have to tell Soos the news."

"Of course," Dryer said. She held out her hand. "Thank you, Ms. Ramos. Good luck with that business of yours."

Melody shook Dryer's hand. "Goodbye, Ms. Dryer."

Dryer watched the girl go, certain of two things: one, that her career had come to a disappointing, but well-deserved end.

And two—much as she hated to agree with that raving madman Blauer—that the people of Gravity Falls definitely had something to hide.

Dryer sighed, taking her wallet in hand. She found herself staring back and forth at her government ID and the picture of her daughter. Gnomes, unicorns and other mystic creatures of the forest. Ana would have eaten up those stories… and so would have her mother, a long time ago. Dryer put her wallet back in her pocket, glancing toward the entrance of the gift shop.

Time for one final gamble, then.

Dipper woke up to a flurry of sounds—and with a lingering headache.

He glanced at the cot next to his, realizing that Mabel was already gone. With a yawn, Dipper went out of the room assigned to him and his sister. The main hall of the temple was bustling with activity. People of the rebellion cared for the wounded and brought members of the Eye of Dawn to temporary holding cells. Dipper was amused to see that idiot Tappaz being dragged by two burly rebels; the yellow-robed priest kept yelling about how important he was, about how disgraceful it was that he was treated that way, but no one seemed to be listening.

Mabel was distributing bowls of soup to the people getting treatment in the makeshift medical ward. Dipper recognized many of the unfortunate prisoners they had freed from the depths of the Temple of Dawn. They smiled wanly at Dipper's sister as she bounced from one patient to the other like a hyperactive, sweater-wearing bee. Mabel's grin grew wider when she caught sight of him.

"Finally you're up, sleepyhead!" she said, sauntering over to him.

"Can you blame me for sleeping in?" Dipper replied. "It's the first times in weeks I've slept on a real mattress." It was the first time he'd slept soundly without any nightmare to trouble him, but he did not say it out loud. He figured Mabel would already know anyway. "I'm kinda surprised you didn't jump on the occasion too."

Mabel waved her hand around. "Oh, you know… I woke up early and I wanted to check on Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan."

Dipper's smile instantly evaporated. "Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan," he repeated. "Are they…?"

"They're alright, don't worry, you silly." Mabel took him by the hand. "They're still sleeping. C'mon, we can go visit them if you want?"

She led him by the hand, through the crowded hall and into the circular stairwell leading to the tower. Their uncles had been given a more secluded room, away from the constant coming and going of other people.

Stan was lying in a cot, deeply asleep. Grunkle Ford had said they had saved him just in time; he'd been d—gone for no more than a few minutes when they had reached him, which meant he would have no lasting repercussion from his out-of-body experience. The wound on Stan's face had been cleaned, and Kyan had done his best to make sure there wouldn't be any significant scarring. Still, Dipper felt a pang at the sight of the bandage covering half his face. Nothing could be done about Grunkle Stan's eye. Dipper glanced away, not wanting to address this particular hurdle right now.

There was a second cot, but it was empty. Grunkle Ford was instead sitting by his twin's bed, also sleeping. He was holding Stan's hand, resting his head next to his brother's shoulder.

"I think they fell asleep like that," Mabel whispered to Dipper. "Cute, isn't it?"

Dipper smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "Yeah. We should let them rest, I think."

After a light breakfast, they spent the rest of the morning helping out wherever they could. People protested at first, telling them they had earned a well-earned rest for their heroics of the prior day. Still, Dipper and his sister persisted, and soon they were offering relief (and a big, bright smile, on Mabel's part) to the people in the makeshift medical ward. Soon enough, they reached a certain family.

"Dipper, Mabel!" Zuri called out, waving at them. Her brother was sitting nearby, next to the two beds where their parents were lying. "Over here!"

"Hey, you two!" Mabel said. "How are you feeling?"

Zuri glanced at her brother, who was tending to their mother. The woman ate her stew with trembling hands, but she greeted Dipper and Mabel with a smile. Kyan and Zuri's father seemed to be still asleep. There was no line creasing his brow; he appeared completely content in his slumber, free of pain.

"Everything's fine," Kyan answered Mabel's question. "You're starting to feel better, right, Mom?"

"Y-Y-Yes," the woman said, with great difficulty. "T-T-Than… t-t-than…" Her smile turned sheepish as she found herself unable to continue. Kyan simply patted her hands with a smile of his own.

"Zuri, can you watch over Mom and Dad?" he asked his sister. "I'd like to talk to Dipper and Mabel."

"Sure thing, lil' bro." Was it Dipper's imagination or was there something twinkling in her eyes? Kyan's cheeks seemed to have coloured too.

He took Dipper and Mabel aside, and he was silent for a while before he stuttered, "I just… you know… I just wanted to thank you. For… for all you did for us, I mean."

Dipper scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah, but… you guys helped too. You taught me magic and stuff, and you healed Grunkle Ford. We wouldn't have made it that far without you and your sister."

Okay, now Kyan was blushing. What was going on? And why was Mabel smirking?

"W-Well, uh, that's not…" Kyan stuttered. "It's not much, I mean. You figured how to cast spells on your own. I was useless on that front, you know."

"I wouldn't say that," Dipper said, shrugging. "Maybe you shouldn't be too hard on yourself."

Kyan chuckled nervously. Still, he was smiling. "I guess so. Just have to take example on you, huh?"

"What?" Dipper said. Next to him, Mabel was lost in silent guffaws. Dipper stepped on her foot, but she seemed to want to laugh even harder.

"A-Anyway," Kyan said, "I wanted to say that I'm sorry about your uncle being hurt. And about the portal too. You guys wanted so much to go home…"

Mabel stopped laughing. Dipper felt a pang to his chest, one dulled by resignation.

"Yeah," he said. For a moment, he couldn't say more. Then, he forced a smile on his lips and added, "But it's like my uncle said. Portals can be repaired, right? And who knows, maybe we'll manage to keep a way open between our worlds. I'm sure you guys would enjoy visiting Gravity Falls."

"Really? I'd love to visit your world!"

"Yeah," Dipper replied. "And if you guys ever come, you should meet our friends. For one, your sister would get along with my friend Wendy, I think."

"It depends," said a familiar voice. Zuri was approaching them. "Is she cute?"

"Oh, c'mon!" Kyan shoved his sister, and she laughed in response. "You're the worst!"

Zuri grabbed him in a headlock. "And you're a nerd." She let him go, her smirk easing into a smile. "Dad just woke up. Asked for you."

"He did?" Kyan's face brightened, and he let out a laugh of relief. "By Twilight, I'm so glad…"

Mabel gave him a little push. "C'mon. Don't waste time with us boring bores, go to your parents!"

"Thanks, Mabel." Zuri saluted Dipper and Mabel. "Be seeing you, guys."

"Yeah, sorry, but I gotta go!" Kyan said. "And thanks again!"

"No problem," Dipper said, slightly amused.

"Say hello to your Mom and Dad for us!" Mabel replied as the two siblings walked away. She turned to her brother. "Is it time for dinner yet? 'Cause I'm kind of starving."

"Yeah," Dipper agreed. "Let's grab a bite."

They went back to their room after making another visit to the lady tending to the food. Here, the chaos was a bit more muted. Dipper was glad for the little bit of nice and quiet.

Mabel eyed the grey sludge in her bowl dubiously. "Well, here goes, I guess. At least it won't taste like carton like those rations did."

"How do you know what carton tastes like?" Dipper said.

Mabel grimaced as she swallowed her mouthful. "Huh. Taste like modelling clay instead."

"How do you know how—" Dipper shook his head. "Anyway, that's not important right now. How are you holding up?"

Mabel stirred her stew in an absentminded manner. "Fine, I'd say. What about you, Dipper?"

"Could be better. It's stupid, but I think I'll feel better once Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford wake up. Like, they'll say everything will be fine, and it'll just feel that way, you know?"

"Like it'll be true?" Mabel completed. "Yeah, I get what you're saying. It's the same for me. It's weird. We're not little kids anymore, and yet..."

Dipper chuckled. "Oh, man. Never seen you so… introspective. You sound so mature all of a sudden. Who are you and what did you do with my sister?"

"What? I am a very mature young lady, sir, always have been, you scallywag, you!" Her wistful smile turned into a grin, and she elbowed him in the ribs. "What about you, huh? Deflecting those spells like it's nobody's business, looking all cool and stuff."

"Cool?" It was stupid and childish, but Dipper felt a flutter of excitement. "You think I looked cool back there?"

"Eh." Mabel motioned with her hand. "Not like, completely cool, more like, on the way to being cool. Like, 'give it some thirty years' cool."

"Har har," Dipper said, rolling his eyes.

"But, yeah, there's hope for you yet. I mean, the ladies won't ever drop at your feet, but—"

"Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"—buuut some people are already starting to notice, you know?" And she winked at Dipper.

Dipper narrowed his eyes at her. "What's that even supposed to mean?"

"Well, someone told me he didn't want anyone messing with his lovelife, sooo…" And she returned to contemplating her stew in feigned interest.

"Mabel, please—" The truth suddenly struck Dipper, and his eyebrows went farther and farther up his forehead. "Oh. No. No way."

Mabel wiggled her eyebrows. "Yesh. Yesh way."

"Kyan? You're telling me that Kyan has—"

"Myep. Pretty much. Absolutely. Certain of it. Do I need to go on?"

Dipper hid his face with both hands, hating how much his cheeks were flaring up right now. "That's dumb. Kyan can't—people don't have crushes on me. Ever." Dipper had—unrequited—crushes on other people. That was how things usually went.

"People do have crushes on you!" Mabel said, poking her brother's cheek. "There's Pacifica, for one!"

"Pacifi—Mabel, you're crazy. She doesn't have a crush on me!" Dipper suddenly longed for a window through which he could jump—preferably to his doom.

"Alright. Don't believe me, Mr. Sceptic. I won't talk about it, if you prefer. Made a solemn promise to keep my nose out of your biz, after all."

"Ugh," Dipper said. After a while, he peered at Mabel through his fingers. "Pacifica, really? Yeah, right."

"Aw, c'mon, brobro. What would Grunkle Stan say, hearing you say things like that?"

"Go for it, kid, she's stupid rich," Dipper replied, mimicking their uncle's gravelly voice.

"No!" Mabel swatted at him. "Be confident! Be yourself! That's what he would say!"

"He would, wouldn't he?" Dipper's weak chuckle was followed by a sigh. Mabel cuddled closer to him. "I mean, none of this really matters, right? It's not exactly important right now. I'm not in the mood for that kind of thing, not with Grunkle Stan being, well…"

They were silent for a while. Then Mabel began, softly, "Yeah, this thing with Grunkle Stan… it's… it's freaking me out—like, for real."

"Yeah. Me too."

"But it's freaking him more. You saw how he was, right? When we saved him? He must be so, so scared. We gotta help him right now. That's something grown-ups do, don't they? They learn to live with their bad feelings to make sure everyone around them is safe and happy. I never noticed, but Mom and Dad do this all the time. And Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan too. I don't mind supporting him, just so he can get better." She glanced up at him. "What about you?"

Dipper managed a smile. "I feel the same. It's just like you said. We're not little kids anymore." The words came out more bitter than he intended. "Teenagedom's not what it's cracked up to be, huh?"

"Nope," said Mabel. "But everything's gonna be fine. 'Cause you've got me, and I've got you, see?"

"You sap," Dipper said, rolling his eyes.

"And proud of it. Awkward sibling side hug?"

Dipper wrapped an arm around her. "Awkward sibling side hug."