"That thing on the wing of the plane," Dipper began as he and Mabel drove the blue four-wheeled drive Ford SUV through the near blinding snow up the mountain road, "I don't think was Ithaqua himself. It might have just been a wendigo not realizing how armored our vehicle was. There's a part of me that thinks wendigos are actually servants of his, spreading this cannibalistic curse and madness across the lands closer to the poles…"
"Really, Dipdop?" Mabel sighed, "you're about to see your girlfriend who you haven't seen in months, and all you can think about is that thing that made you freak out on the plane?"
"I wasn't freaking out!" Dipper chucked.
"You were, too!" Mabel poked him in the ribs, and the two continued to laugh together.
"Okay, stop it Mabel!" Dipper yelped through the laughter of his sister's tickles, "Still driving, and these roads are pretty dang icy."
"But seriously, bro bro," Mabel continued as she went back to her sketching of a new sweater design, using one of Lisa Frank's drawings as a template and giving her own creative spin on it, "why not just turn your brain off from the paranormal and enjoy some time with family? Plus, I've read some about this thing. There are so many myths and legends surrounding it, how much do we really know about it? How do we know the wendigo thingy isn't a form of this Ithaqua guy himself? Or if he's related to a yeti?"
"That's a good point, I guess," Dipper shrugged, "There hasn't been too much evidence of this thing as far as sightings of it go. Most of the time, they're pretty much invisible before they pick you up out of the air. And you're right…for all I know, it was simply another myth used for people to explain or cope with crippling hunger during the harsh winters."
"Well, I know I'm not about to go all Donner Party on you right now," Mabel grinned, "I just had some pineapple, an energy drink, and some smile dip."
"I'm surprised they brought that stuff back," Dipper laughed nervously.
"Still tastes good and doesn't seem to have that weird dizzying effect I remember," Mabel replied, taking a picture of her sketch she would later upload to Instagram while also noticing she had made another sale on Etsy. She then received another message and relayed it. "Candy and Grenda both wish us a Merry Christmas. They're spending it at Marius' castle, all snowed in; ahh, so jelly. The pictures make it look like something out of a fairytale. Candy's new boyfriend joined them, too. He's some robotics guy who said he'd help her keep building her BMO project, whatever that is, but I think he's making an excuse just to be with her up there…But back to what's important! Did your own pretty blonde princess already show you what she's wearing tonight?"
"Uhh, noooo…" Dipper replied, intrigued, "Paz and I texted each other after we got off the plane, but that's it."
"Aaah, okay then!" Mabel chimed, "I won't spoil the surprise. She sent me a picture of it asking if you'd like it, and I—"
Suddenly, something hard and heavy hit the side of the car with a loud thud, forcing it to quickly slide along the icy roads. Dipper and Mabel screamed as the car careened and crashed into a large ditch near the woods. The sound of the metal heap colliding with the large tree roots broke the silence of the night only briefly before the blizzard wind continued to blow over the wooded mountain.
*.*.*
"I'm really worried, you guys," Pacifica muttered, grabbing her coat in anticipation of having to go out there and find the Twins and continuing to pace across the red and green rug.
"You've said that about four times now," Wendy said, "We're in the same boat on that one."
"I hate thinkin' of Mabel bein' out there," Gideon muttered, "What if they're stuck and they—"
"Just, everyone calm down, okay?" Wendy interjected, "It feels like you two are just feeding off each other. You're making me even more nervous."
There then came a vibration from Pacifica's phone in her jacket pocket. (Why couldn't her tailor have put some pockets in this dress?) She immediately reached for it and read the message that had appeared on the home screen.
Mabel: Hi Pacifica! Hope you're doing okay. We've kinda had a small accident here and HAAAALP!
She quickly began to reply, her fingers missing keys in her agitated state. The messaging continued.
Pacifica: Where are you? Are you to oka? Is Dipper hurtled?
Pacifica: two okay*
Pacifica: hurt*
Mabel: Yeah, we're okay physically. But I don't think your boyfriend will ever really be mentally okay. We got the car out of the ditch. It's a little dinged but should still run; at least we bought the insurance at the rental place. But now, Dipper just took out all his nerd equipment and is determined to see what hit us. Maybe you can come convince him to put it all up and just have fun with you…and everyone at the cabin.
Pacifica: Be there soon!
"So apparently," Pacifica began, "they slid off the road, and Dipper being Dipper, he thinks it's something paranormal and won't leave the spot 'til he finds something."
"Alright, well," Wendy followed, "I don't think it's a good idea to drive down the mountain in a normal car. We'll take the snow cat down there; it's there for emergencies, and this counts. Plus, it has a chained hook, in case their car can't run and needs to be hauled."
"Good idea," Pacifica said while putting on her heavy but stylish winter coat, a stark contrast to her skimpy red dress underneath, "but I'm driving."
"Ha!" Wendy laughed while putting on her own coat, "Do you even know how to operate one?"
"You've been drinking! I don't want you driving!" Pacifica had reverted back to her old coarse, agitated tone.
"Dude, I've only had, like, a third of a bottle of stout," Wendy shrugged while shaking her head, "Trust me, that's not nearly enough to knock me down. Besides…"
Wendy then walked out of the small getaway mansion and pointed towards the massive vehicle. Pacifica followed. The treads looked reminiscent of an early 20th century tank, and the driver's cabin stood roughly five feet from the ground suspended from the treads' axel. The young lumberjack woman then climbed up the side of one of the treads, opened the door, and in a single motion, turned the ignition key and powered the engine. It roared with a fury of a tiger, and the bright LED lights blared from the cacophonous vehicle that was now disturbing the silently falling snow.
Wendy shouted over the engine, "I'm licensed to operate one of these. Do you think you want to give one of these a go?"
"…No," Pacifica muttered sheepishly, "You can drive."
It wasn't about five minutes down the sloping road that both of them became more apprehensive. Still, both of the young women stared out of the front window and watched the snow as it fell around them, the vehicles wipers brushing it quickly away.
"Are you okay, Paz?" Wendy asked.
"What do you think?" Pacifica groaned, all the while her heart rate increasing, "My dork of a boyfriend is stranded in the bitter cold, having been attacked by something and is now obsessing over finding it. He's going to get himself killed."
"No, he won't," Wendy assured her, "You know Dipper's been in worse scrapes than this, even after the eight years we've known him."
"Yeah, I know," Pacifica breathed heavily, "I love him for his passion in everything he does. It's just…I worry it's going to get him killed one day."
There was a brief silence until Wendy broke it.
"I really am happy for you both," she finally said, "It seems like you're both really loyal and committed to each other. And it's the kind of relationship I'm jealous of."
"Really," Pacifica chuckled while raising an eyebrow, "A confident woman like you? If you say you're not dating anyone right now, I'll be shocked!"
"Oh, I am," Wendy answered, "Just casually, but I am; he's a guy I met on my last trip to Vancouver, about a year younger than me. I've dated a few guys, a few girls, but I just know I've not had the spark you and Dipper have. I mean, for the longest time, I thought it was just a childhood crush you had, but I first REALLY noticed it on Dipper's 18th birthday—"
"SHHH!" Pacifica shushed her while holding two fingers to Wendy's lips, "We all agreed we wouldn't talk about what happened that night again, REMEMBER!?"
"Right!" Wendy nodded and huffed. There was another awkward silence until Wendy finally broke it. "Soooo…Do you still have your bunny girl outfit?"
"Yes…" Pacifica blushed with embarrassment, "Do you still have yours?"
"…Yes," Wendy answered with some hesitation, "And the guy I'm casually dating keeps bugging me to see me in it. He's going to have to earn that! But…do you still have that weird trapezoid jewel we found?"
"Yeah," Pacifica replied, "I keep it near my bedside and look at it before I go to sleep each night. It's hypnotic to say the least. Do you still have that demon's head?"
Yeeeaaaah, about that," Wendy groaned, "I buried it in my dad's backyard. Hopefully it doesn't come back this time, but I doubt it's going to stay put. It's a good thing we took the advice from that talking beaver?"
"Agreed," Pacifica nodded, "Otherwise, the country of Zimbabwe would have faded from existence. I've thought about that night a lot. They really should be thanking us after that."
"But you know it's best if they don't know what really happened, Paz."
"Right, I know."
There was another awkward pause between the two women as the snow cat continued to rumble down the icy slop without any issue. Wendy reached out and held Pacifica's hand, the surrogate younger sister whom she promised to take under her wing while the Pines were gone. Pacifica then held Wendy's hand tighter while letting out a heavy breath, and Wendy could feel her elevated heart rate from her hand to her wrist to her forearm.
"Hey, listen," Wendy said to who she felt was her blonde younger sister, "It's okay. We're going to find them, no matter what."
Just then, sure to Wendy's words, they found the twins by the side of the road. Mabel had quickly run out into the middle of the road, waving her arms and bouncing excitedly up and down. The snowcat came to a halt, the engine making a hissing noise at its termination of speed. Wendy left the engine running, the brights shining light over the surroundings; she also grabbed her ancestral axe that she was keeping on the floor, in case there actually was some supernatural monster still around. (Pacifica had given it to her years ago after the ghost of Archibald relinquished it) The two women then jumped down from the vehicle and onto the thick snow before trudging towards the crash.
"And how are my two favorite girls!?" Mabel tackle hugged them both, Wendy having well braced for it but Pacifica staggering and almost falling over.
"Cool as cucumbers, girl," Wendy chuckled, "It's been too long."
"Seconded," Pacifica followed, "Wish we could have met under…different circumstances. Are you and Dipper okay?…He's not hurt too bad is he?" Her voice reflected her genuine concern.
"Aw, we're fine," Mabel beamed, "Our car isn't, but we're okay." Wendy and Pacifica looked over at the Pines' rental, the front and driver's side door having massive dents sunken into them.
"Dang," Wendy muttered before giving a whistle, "That's gonna ruin some body mechanic's day. I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that it's not going to run anytime soon; I knew I brought the snowcat with the tow chain with me for a reason." Of course, the thought that some monster could still be out there came to her, and gripped her axe tighter in her right hand.
"At least you're both okay," Pacifica sighed, "That's what's important."
"And Paz," Mabel leaned in to her blonde friend and narrowed her eyes, "are you wearing that pretty outfit under that long heavy expensive coat of yours? Aren't you just a tad bit cold?"
"Yes and yes," Pacifica answered with some frustration, turning her head to the side.
"Just don't let my brother see you in it yet," Mabel continued, "It should be a surprise for whenever you have his undivided attention. Right now, maybe you can bring him back to reality? I mean, even before this, he insisted on going back to Ford's old lab at the Mystery Shack for some junk unrelated to this; he really should be putting you first!"
Pacifica looked over Mabel's shoulder and saw Dipper (who caused her heart to skip a beat) walking around with electronic equipment under his arm. He planted a tripod in the snow, a motion tracker on top and then walked about ten feet from that, also near the edge of the forest, and placed another with an infrared camera. Pacifica tromped over to Dipper and prodded him in the stomach.
"Hey, my nerdy prince!" Pacifica growled before wrapping her arms around his waist, "And just when were you going to say hi to the girlfriend you haven't seen in months!?"
"Sorry, my gorgeous llama," Dipper responded, dropping the rest of his equipment in the snow and embracing her. The two then kissed and felt each other's warmth.
"Are you okay?" Pacifica pushed back and looked him over, "I was worried sick about you!"
"Oh you know," Dipper rolled his eyes and laughed before he picked up his equipment from the snow again, "Maybe a couple of bruises we haven't spotted yet. But I think Mabel and I were both lucky having survived an attack by a cryptid. I think now is as good a time as any to see if I can get it on camera. Considering the time of year and the fact that there's a heavy wind in the air, I'm thinking this is a wendigo, a human turned into a cannibalistic monster that can move through the air."
"Listen…Mason," Pacifica spoke slowly and took deep breaths, trying not to show how frustrated and freezing she was, "I love you to pieces. I'm fully supportive of your passions and potential career endeavors; they mean so much to you, so they mean that much to me, too. But please, tonight is Christmas Eve, and you really should get out of the cold, let miss tough-as-nails Wendy over there get your now thoroughly dented car to a safe spot, and come join your friends and family. We're all missing you…especially me. And I think we've got strength in numbers; whatever it was that attacked you shouldn't come at you again if you're indoors with everyone."
Dipper looked around the area, at his equipment, at the woods, at the damaged SUV, and then back at his girlfriend's face, which had a genuine look of concern.
"You're right, as usual," he sighed, "It would have been nice to catch something like this on camera. But then again, I don't know the first thing about defending myself from it. There's rumor that they're affected by silver, like werewolves, or fire since they like cold environments so much, but that's not been proven…"
Just then, Mabel screamed as some unseen force lifted her into the air. Wendy was the first to react. She then launched her axe into the air, the blade and handle spinning in a circular motion. It was a risky move, considering she might hit Mabel, but it was the only thing she could think to do in that split second.
There came a loud thud, with a blue light flashing in the fog of snow above them. Among Mabel's approaching scream as she fell back to the snow was the yelping sound similar to that of an elk or caribou.
"Whoa, thanks!" Mabel beamed at Wendy, "I had a feeling there was some magic power in that axe."
"Don't thank me just yet," Wendy replied, "It may still be up there!"
Suddenly, something large fell from the sky and landed on top of the SUV. It was a white and brown furry monstrosity, whose limbs looked thin and bony. Had it been standing upright, it would have been at least ten feet tall, but right now, it was haunched over the car and looking right at Dipper and Pacifica. It's head resembled that of a large reindeer skull, though possibly a little larger with longer, more wavy antlers that branched out in odd directions. It then opened its mouth and made that same loud yelping noise they had heard earlier, sending a chill down their spines that had nothing to do with the weather.
What could they possibly do to fight this thing?