Sheriff Blubs was drinking his coffee when Dipper entered his office. Deputy Durland was sitting in the chair across him. The desk between them had a snake-and-ladders board on it. Next to the board was a large pile of papers. They both stood up as soon as Dipper and Pacifica entered. "Oh, it's you two," Blubs said, sitting back down. "Hey kids, how can we help you?"

"Marius von Fundshauser has been kidnapped," Dipper said quickly. Sheriff Blubs' eyebrows drew closer to each other. He took a sip from his cup of coffee.

"That's very serious."

"We know where he is."

"Oh?"

"There's a door in this alley that the two men went into. He's in there."

"Two men kidnapped him?" Deputy Durland asked, glancing at Blubs.

"Yes, one was large with a scar on his forehead. His eyes were completely white. The other one had a hat on, and I couldn't see his face," Dipper described.

"But he had a really nice green coat," Pacifica added. The two officers looked at each other, then back at the teenagers.

"Pacifica Northwest and Dipper Pines. Quite an unlikely duo," Blubs stated. "You kids aren't pulling some sick joke, are ya?"

"No! This is serious, you have to come with us now!" Dipper exclaimed.

"Edwin," Blubs said to Deputy Durland. "It's time..."

"It's time?" Durland repeated excitedly.

"Get the nightsticks."

"Woo-whee! I get to use a nightstick! I'll grab a torch, too!" Deputy Durland ran out of the room. The sheriff looked between Dipper and Pacifica. "How did this-" he gestured at the two, "-even happen?"

"What?" Dipper asked.

Blubs shrugged and stood up, taking his coffee in his right hand. "We know the Northwests because they founded the town and have the biggest mansion in all of Gravity Falls, but the Pines only made it on the paper because of the Murder Hut. How did you two come to know each other?"

Blubs guided them out of the office. Pacifica answered. "We go to the same school."

"And so you both knew that Marius was kidnapped?"

"I was walking around town with Marius, and we bumped into Dipper. They started talking when the two men appeared and grabbed him. We followed them to the alley and they went through the door." Dipper blinked. Had she come up with that on the spot? That was... clever. At least, clever enough to fool Blubs. He nodded and led them outside. "In the car, I'll get Durland."

Pacifica and Dipper got into the back. "That was clever," Dipper said.

"Thanks." They sat quietly. Dipper was worried about what might have happened to Marius. Should one of them have stayed by the door in case they came back out? No, it wouldn't have been safe. But what were they doing to Marius? If they had hurt him, badly, then Dipper could never forgive himself. He dragged Marius and Pacifica into this because he was too afraid to face the man on his own.

"Hey," Pacifica said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault." Her eyes were strong, but Dipper could tell she was worried too.

Dipper put his hands on his head. "It is. I shouldn't have brought you two into this. You should go back to your mansion with your servants. They'd be able to protect you. Those men know you're involved now, so you need to be safe. I'll get Grunkle Stan or Ford to back me up. I can't risk harming anyone else. Oh my god, what kind of stupid plan was this? I should have known that he'd have back up. He would have thought about it carefully, but I didn't think about-"

"Dipper," Pacifica stopped him. She put her hand around his wrist. She looked at him intensely, forcing him to stop. She smelled nice, like champagne and flowers. Dipper leaned back slightly, confused by her sudden strength and the distracting smell. Pacifica blinked, then quickly retracted her hand. They looked away from each other. Blubs and Durland chose at that moment to walk out the door and enter the car. "Lead the way."

"It's, um, left first," Pacifica said. Blubs nodded and started driving. Deputy Durland was admiring his weapon. Pacifica leaned slightly towards Dipper. "It's not your fault."

"You kids better be right about this." The four of them stood by the door. The two officers held their nightsticks tightly. Pacifica had her golf club. Dipper quickly pulled out the Tyrone sphere, just in case he needed to throw something. "You ready?" Blubs asked. Everyone nodded. "On three. One, two, three!" The two officers kicked down the door and the four of them went through the doorway. "Hands in the air!" Deputy Durland yelled. A very familiar voice yelped in shock. "Toby Determined?"

"W-what seems to be the problem, officers?"

The room was dark. The lights were too dim to see anything clearly, but there were only a desk and a small cupboard in the room. Toby, who had fallen on the floor in surprise, stood up. "What are you doing here, Toby?" Blubs asked.

"I was writing up part of the Gravity Falls Gossiper, I swear! Look, here's the computer!" Dipper followed the two officers and looked at the computer. Indeed, there was an article about a gnome infestation. Classic Toby Determined. Dipper wasn't sure what had happened. He was sure they had gone through this door. Wasn't he? What could have happened?

Pacifica seemed to be having the same doubts. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Oh doesn't it?" Blubs asked, looking at the two with a raised eyebrow. "I knew there was something fishy, but I don't think two men, one of them with white eyes, exist. I think you two got traumatised, and made up something in shock."

"That's not true! There really is a person out there!"

"I thought there were two," Durland said.

"Yes, there are! I just meant the man with white eyes came before as well!"

"Alright, alright," Sheriff Blubs said. "Let's get back to the station. We'll file a missing person report there."

Dipper and Pacifica looked at each other. There was no way to win this. "Alright," Dipper sighed. "Let's go."

"Sorry to bother you, Toby."

"It's alright. My life is otherwise uneventful! After all, what could happen in Gravity Falls, right?" The three adults laughed, but Dipper just got back into the car. The ride back was quiet, aside from Durland's small whine about how he didn't get to use his nightstick. Dipper knew that either Toby Determined was hiding something, or Dipper really had gone crazy. But everything had felt so real. Was this a nightmare? Dipper pinched himself.

Nope, real life.

Damn.

"Hold on a second, who parked their car in our spot?" Blubs asked. Dipper looked up as the station neared. A red car came into view. It was Grunkle Stan's.

The four got out of the car and entered the police station. Immediately, Dipper felt arms wrap around him and almost fell over from the sudden impact. Mabel was there. "Oh my god, Dipper, are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need Mabel Juice? I brought, like, five cups just in case. And do you nee-"

"Mabel, I'm fine! Seriously! Look, do I seem hurt?" He stepped back and gestured at himself. Mabel narrowed her eyes and looked carefully. After a while, she sighed and shook her head. "Told you."

"Still, Dipper." It was Grunkle Stan, standing behind Mabel. His face was hard. "You have to be careful, what happened? We've been looking everywhere!"

"I-I swear I'll explain everything."

"Good," Grunkle Ford said, sitting up from his chair. He smiled at Dipper. "We have things to discuss when we get home."

"Not so fast," the sheriff interrupted. "We need to file a report on Marius von Fundshauser."

"What?" Wendy asked. She had been looking at Dipper worriedly. "What about Marius?"

"He's been kidnapped," Pacifica said.

Nobody said anything for a moment, allowing the truth to sink in. Blubs nodded, telling Dipper to keep walking. He did. Everyone watched him as he passed. He smiled awkwardly and walked quicker. He went into the sheriff's office and sat down. Pacifica sat next to him, and Sheriff Blubs sat across the desk. "This will only take a few moments. Now then, can you both explain what happened? Ms Northwest, you first."

"You kids walk Northwest home. Wendy, stay with them and protect them. Ford and I need to do some work anyway."

"Roger that, Mr Pines!" Wendy answered. The car drove off, and they started walking towards the mansion. "So, are we gonna talk about this?" Wendy asked.

"About what?" Dipper asked.

"Why you suddenly disappeared, then came back to tell us Marius, a rich, innocent boy, has gone missing?"

"It's like we told the police," Pacifica said. "Dipper was in the woods, he heard some talking and came towards it. It was me and Marius, we were having a picnic. They started talking and then those two men came and took Marius."

"You're lying," Mabel said.

"What? No, I'm not."

"Dipper's making his lying face."

"I don't have a lying face!" Dipper denied.

"You say with your lying face."

"It's not a lying face!"

"LIES!" Mabel yelled. "You owe me the truth, Dipper! We were worried sick!" Dipper looked at Mabel and Wendy. They looked genuinely scared. They were trustworthy people, he could tell them. He looked at Pacifica. She shrugged. So Dipper told them. He first explained the large man to Wendy, then about their plan, then how the second man appeared. He told them about the door, and Toby Determined.

"It's the truth," Mabel confirmed.

"Woah. This is a big problem." Wendy gripped her belt tightly. Dipper knew that meant she was on guard. "If you're serious about this, then we need to sneak into that place."

"What place?"

"Where Toby was. You said it was dark, right? Maybe there's something else that you didn't notice. Maybe Toby couldn't even notice!" Dipper thought about it. She could be right. But Dipper didn't want to break into someone else's house. "I'm willing to do it," Pacifica announced. "For Marius."

"Yeah," Dipper said. "For Marius. Then what do we do?"

"Meet at the Hut tonight, at 11 pm. Bring a weapon. We break into Toby's room and find out where Marius went."

"We're not gonna be able to do it alone," Pacifica said. "We'll need more people. Who knows what we'll find?"

"She's right. Mabel, when you get home, tell Candy and Grenda it's a code red. They'll help. Don't bring your phones. Any of you."

"Gotcha!"

"We don't know what's going on here, but we'll figure it out." Dipper felt Tyrone in his pocket. Clearly, there was something bigger going on here, and he needed to know why he was involved. To save Marius, and to protect everyone else, he was going to do this.

"Dipper, you've had a difficult start to the year," Grunkle Ford said as the two sat down in Ford's room. "You first got into a fight, then you had some hallucination in the changing room, and now you witnessed a kidnapping!" Grunkle Ford chuckled. "The world seems to have it out for you."

"You have no idea," Dipper replied, watching as Grunkle Ford started tinkering with a new device. It looked almost like a flashlight. "Hey Grunkle Ford, do you think that this town is... weird?"

Grunkle Ford looked up at Dipper. "Weird? Weird how?"

"I don't know. Just that feeling that someone's always watching you."

Grunkle Ford laughed. "You remind me of myself sometimes, Dipper. I was just as paranoid, if not more, when I was doing some other research. Actually, that's what drew me to this town. Strange rumours of all kinds of fascinating creatures. None of them exist, obviously, but there is something incredible about this place."

"Don't you think it's dangerous?"

"Of course I do, Dipper. And that's why I want to give you one piece of advice about this town: trust no one."

"Trust no one?" Dipper repeated.

"All the people in this town go about living their lives peacefully. But I once believed that there was a secret world here. Where evil takes a physical form and moves through the streets of our town. I abandoned my beliefs when I couldn't find evidence to back them up, but I never really began trusting anyone in this town, aside from my family of course. Be careful, Dipper."

Dipper didn't say anything. Grunkle Ford seemed to have the same feeling about Gravity Falls. Maybe it was just the paranoid mind of Grunkle Ford being shared with Dipper. But if there was a chance, then maybe it could explain what happened to Marius.

"Kids! time for bed!" Grunkle Stan shouted from upstairs.

"Well, that concludes our little lecture for today. I need to get some work done. Goodnight, Dipper."

"Thanks, Grunkle Ford." Dipper got up from the sofa in Grunkle Ford's room and closed the door behind him, giving Grunkle Ford the privacy to do his work. Dipper past by the living room, where Grunkle Stan was watching some TV. "Night, Grunkle Stan."

"Night, Dipper."

Dipper ran up the stairs and to the attic. Mabel was already there. "What's your weapon?" she asked.

"Tyrone," Dipper said, taking out the sphere from his pocket. "You?"

"I have got a... GRAPPLING HOOK!" She turned around and pointed the grappling hook at the ceiling.

"Shhh! Do you want them to know we're sneaking out?"

"Sorry," Mabel whispered. "It's almost time. Do you think Pacifica will actually show up?"

"She will. She's not at all what I thought she was."

"Good." Mabel looked out of the open window. "Candy and Grenda are here."

Dipper suddenly realised that there was a problem. How were they going to get down? "Mabel, we have to sneak past Grunkle Stan to get outside."

Mabel shook her head. "Oh, dear bro-bro. You forget that we have... a GRAPPLING HOOK!"

"Shh!"

"Right, sorry. Hold onto me." Dipper wrapped his arms around Mabel, and Mabel aimed the grappling hook at the tree in front of them. It latched onto a thick branch. "You ready?"

"Yup," Dipper said, but his voice cracked. Mabel clicked the grapple and they flew out the window. Dipper stifled a yelp. They braced their legs for impact against the tree, then Mabel slowly descended. Dipper dropped down and stepped out of the way to let Mabel down. "Hey Dipper!" Grenda said. "Mabel told us everything, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you sure you guys are up for this?"

"Of course we are, Dipper," Candy said. "We are your friends."

Dipper smiled thanks. Wendy appeared in the distance, swinging her axe loosely. She stopped when she got close to them. "You ready?" she asked them. Everyone nodded. Now they just had to wait for Pacifica. Pacifica arrived not long after Wendy. She was wearing a dark purple coat, and had her golf club in her hand. She didn't say anything. She just looked at them and nodded.

The door was locked, obviously. Dipper looked at Wendy. "What do we do now?"

Wendy grinned. "I learned a little trick called lockpicking a while back. Move out of the way." Dipper moved and Wendy crouched down so that she was eye level with the keyhole. She took out two metal sticks and started poking them into the keyhole. After a few seconds, there was a click and Wendy opened the door. "Quickly, let's go." The six of them entered the room. The lights were out. "Shoot, where's the light switch?"

"It is okay," Candy said. "I have a flashlight." She turned on the flashlight and moved it around the room. It was just as it was before. The desk and the computer, and the small cupboard. There was no way Marius was hiding in here. Dipper felt a lump in his throat. He was wrong. Marius was gone and it was his fault. He could feel his thoughts overwhelming him, crashing over him like a tidal wave.

"Hey guys, check this out!" Wendy whisper-shouted. The teenagers circled around the cupboard where Wendy was standing. "It seems like a normal cupboard, right? But I just noticed there was some cold air coming from it. Look here!" She moved a red cloak and a jacket to the side and showed them the back of the cupboard.

"So?" Pacifica asked. Wendy pushed the back of the cupboard and it sprung open, revealing a dark tunnel, going down.

"Oh my god!" Grenda and Candy simultaneously shouted.

"That's how they got away!" Dipper realised.

"And Toby Determined wouldn't need to press the back of this cupboard, so he wouldn't find out about this either!" Wendy explained.

"Woah," Mabel said. "We have to go down."

"What?" Pacifica exclaimed. "There is no way I'm going down something that disgusting."

Dipper looked at her. "You have to, for Marius." Pacifica looked at him, then at the tunnel and made a face. She sighed. "You're right. For Marius."

Before anyone could jump into the closet, Wendy stopped them. "I was told to keep you guys safe. Are you ready for whatever is down there? We don't know what we could find."

"I'm ready," said Dipper. The others nodded their agreement.

"Alright. I go first." Wendy jumped into the closet and started sliding down the tunnel, using her axe to slow her descent. Mabel followed after her, with Candy and Grenda in tow. Dipper looked at Pacifica. She nodded at him. Dipper got closer to the closet and stepped inside. It was smaller than he expected. Dipper put his foot in the tunnel and then slowly made his way down, using his hands to guide himself.

He heard a scream from above and looked up to see Pacifica sliding down at a fast pace. His eyes widened as he collided with Pacifica. They both started tumbling down the tunnel. Dipper's head was spinning. They kept on falling until the tunnel curved and opened up to a clearing. Dipper tried to land standing up but the extra weight of Pacifica threw him off balance and he toppled over. "Ow," he said.

"Sorry!" Pacifica apologised, then groaned in discomfort. It took a second for her to realise she was sitting on top of Dipper. "Oh, sorry!" She hastily stood up and moved away from Dipper. Dipper got up slowly, his head dizzy from the fall. Once he could see properly, he looked around. The lights hanging from the roof of the clearing were just as dim as the lights back in the room, which made it difficult to see anything past Wendy's silhouette.

"Guys, come here, quietly." Everyone moved towards Wendy slowly. There was a light coming from around the corner. Wendy pointed her chin at the corner and they all turned to look.

The clearing opened out into a large underground market, with people moving from one stall to another. It was bright, and Dipper had to blink a few times to adjust.

"Get your severed hands here!" one old lady was shouting.

"Disguises at half price! Sneak around town without being caught!"

A few really short men ran past without glancing at the group. Wendy pulled everyone back into the shadows. "This is... bad," she stated. "Really bad. This is illegal."

"I think someone was selling hands," Mabel whispered.

"This place is giving me the jitters," Candy whispered back, glancing back at the market.

"We have to keep going," Grenda spoke slightly louder, addressing everyone. "We have to find Marius." Everyone nodded a silent agreement.

Wendy pointed her axe at herself. "Stay close to me."

Wendy moved first, then Mabel, Grenda and Candy. Pacifica readied her club then went after Candy, and Dipper stayed at the back. The group walked quickly through the market, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Everyone seemed to be ignoring them for the most part. A few people looked at them strangely, but ignored them and kept walking. Dipper was holding his breath in fear, his eyes darting from one place to another, keeping an eye out for any hint of Marius.

"Hey!" a sudden voice startled the group. It was a small man in a thick purple coat. He was looking at Pacifica. "I think I know who you are. You're that Northwe-" Wendy ran up to him and put her axe against his throat. "Wacka wacka," said the purple man. "That's some fancy footwork. I wasn't tryna sell you out! That information would cost an arm and a leg!"

"Well, we're not selling body parts. We're looking for someone. Can you help us?"

"Sure! Just, information is valuable stuff. We'd better go somewhere... safer! Yuk yuk!" The teenagers moved next to the stall, to clear the path for people to cross. Nobody seemed to care that a person was threatening a merchant with an axe. It was almost as if anything goes here. Wendy let the short man go, who then stepped back with a sigh of relief.

"Limby Jimmy's the name, as the sign says." He pointed at a sign with a fake arm. "Lend me your ear and I'll lend you a hand!"

"We're not looking for puns," Pacifica snarled.

"I make puns because I'm deeply insecure," Jimmy replied, smiling widely. Dipper shuddered.

"We're looking for a boy," Wendy said.

"Long, wavy hair, handsome face, cute mole?" Grenda asked. Pacifica looked at her. "What? I can't have a crush? I know he's your boyfriend." Pacifica just shook her head.

"Mmm, let me think," said Jimmy, grabbing another arm and rubbing his chin with it. Suddenly, his head shot up. "I know! You're looking for Ghost-Eyes and Mr What's-His-Face! They passed here earlier today, actually! Carrying some bag. Probably had your little friend in there! Wacka wacka!"

"Where'd they go?" Wendy asked, leaning in aggressively.

"I don't know, but I do know that Mr What's-His-Face has a place here in this market. You might be able to find him walkin' around here!" Wendy nodded, then looked at everyone else. "Let's keep walking. If we catch him off-guard, we can take him." Everyone started walking away, but Dipper suddenly heard someone gasp and pull him back. He turned to see Limby Jimmy holding Pacifica by the neck. "Ah-ah-ah! I gave you something, so I'll be taking this in return!"

"Why, you little-" Mabel was cut short by the battle cry of Grenda, who ran forward and took down Jimmy. In shock, Jimmy let go of Pacifica, who quickly moved towards Wendy and Mabel. Grenda got up off Jimmy and started running. "Let's go!" She didn't have to tell Dipper twice. He turned and bolted, as did everyone else. Limby Jimmy was off the floor and started running after them. It was almost familiar, in a weird way.

People started watching as they ran down the market, ignoring all the strange items on sale. They turned onto a darker path, with stairs going down. "Move!" Wendy yelled, pointing at the stairs. She stood and waited until everyone had passed her, then swung her axe and hit Jimmy. He rolled over, crying out in pain. Dipper didn't wait to see what happened. He followed Mabel, who was in front, down the staircase. The stairs led to a crossroads.

"What do we do?" Mabel asked desperately, looking at Dipper.

"I-I don't know. Wait for Wendy."

Wendy appeared on the stairs. She was sweating, but she kept on going. When she reached them, she stopped and looked around. "Where the hell are we now?" They paused, looking around. It was much darker down here, almost as dark as the opening by the tunnel. There were torches instead of actual lights. Dipper felt a hand close over his mouth. He yelled a muffled scream, but he noticed that everyone else had been taken as well. What the hell?

He felt one hand grab his waist and toss him into the air. Then the person carrying him, who must have been at least seven feet tall, started running down the rightmost path, following another man who was carrying Mabel and Candy. He could hear something behind him, so he was guessing Wendy, Pacifica and Grenda were there. The people turned down another path, left this time, and back into the market place. They were dropped by Limby Jimmy's feet.

"Waka waka! I didn't think you'd be able to make it that far, I'm impressed!" Limby Jimmy was grinning madly. Dipper tried to stand up, but he and the others were stuck under some net. "Ladies and not-so-gentlefolk!" Limby Jimmy announced loudly, addressing the people in the marketplace. "I have here some teenagers that could be put to very good use! Theft, ransom, whatever else you can think of!"

The crowd murmured, interested. Dipper heard Wendy whispering some swear words. Limby Jimmy went on. "But there's an additional surprise for you, folks! In this bag is the beautifully rich Pacifica Northwest!" If the crowd was interested before, they were sold by that statement. People were cheering and yelling and throwing things around. "And since these teenagers were around her, I'm sure they could be of worth as well!"

"We've got ourselves a right proper auction, we have!" said some pig-nosed man in a dull green shirt. "Folks, start your bidding!"

"200,000!" came a voice from the back.

"250!"

"300!"

"500!"

The shouts kept on coming. Dipper watched as one man poked around his suit, looking for his wallet. It was wild. Dipper couldn't think of a way out. It didn't help that there was so much noise in the market. If only they would just shut up for a second... Wait, what? Dipper looked up. The crowd had gone silent. Limby Jimmy was looking to the left, still grinning.

"Sold!" He and the pig-nosed man yelled. Dipper looked at the buyer. It was the man with no face: Mr What's-His-Face! His toothy grin smiled widely at them. He was holding some kind of card in his hand. Before he could notice anything else, Dipper was scooped up by the large men and tossed into a bag. He groaned as he landed on the stone floor beneath the bag, then again when Candy landed on top of him. They rolled to opposite sides as everyone else got thrown in.

"What the hell?" Wendy yelled, but the bag was closed. Everyone's bodies were pressed against each other uncomfortably, and Dipper could barely breathe. He pointed his face upwards and tried moving his arm slightly to get more air. "What do we do now?" Candy asked.

"What about Marius?" Pacifica asked as well.

"Guys, didn't you see? That was the guy with no face!" Dipper couldn't see what their reactions were, but they didn't reply. "Either this could be good for us, or very, very bad." They stayed in silence, feeling the bag rock forwards and back to wherever they were headed. It got to the point where Dipper was almost ready to be thrown out, but he was sweating anxiously about what could go wrong.

"Dipper, what's that in your pocket?" Pacifica asked. She was pressed up against the left side of his leg, where a bulge was showing. For a second, he was even more worried than before, then realised what it actually was. "Tyrone!" he whispered excitedly. "We could use this!" Before he could say anything else, the bag was tilted upside down and everyone fell out.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to drop in!" Dipper shook his head, knocked down for a second time that night. They were in a room, the only light coming from a fireplace next to them. Mr What's-His-Face was sitting comfortably in a red chair, shuffling a deck of cards. He looked around the room and saw the large man, Ghost-Eyes, glaring at them with crossed arms. Behind him was Marius, tied up in a rope. Oh no.

Everyone scrambled to their feet and looked at Mr What's-His-Face. Wendy pointed her axe at Marius, not looking away from the teeth of Mr What's-His-Face. "We'll be taking him with us, if you don't mind."

"Oh?" Mr What's-His-Face put the deck of cards on the armrest and put his hands on his knees. "And what if we do mind?"

"Then I'm going to punch those pearly whites of yours and break Mr Pale-Eye's arms, I'm going to free Marius and walk out the door you've disguised as a closet." Dipper hadn't noticed it before, but there was a small closet in the corner of the room, similar to the one in Toby's room back on the surface. She was telling Dipper to get ready. Dipper coughed to signal to Wendy that he understood.

Mr What's-His-Face and Ghost-Eyes laughed loudly. Marius was looking at Dipper pleadingly. He was scared. Dipper knew because he was scared, too. But the best thing to do in this situation was to follow Wendy's order. Ghost-Eyes stepped forward, exposing Marius. "Let's just break the Pines' bones. That's what we were hired to do."

Dipper stepped back instinctively and noticed that the girls formed a shield around him. Mr What's-His-Face responded. "Don't be a fool - he knows too much. They all do. This is no longer a simple task. We need to handle them. Permanently."

Ghost-Eyes' face became hard. He looked at them all. "You made a mistake by coming here. I don't want to do this."

"Then don't," Mabel said, stepping back. "Just, just don't!"

"Let us go! We are innocent! We have done nothing wrong!" Candy pleaded.

Ghost-Eyes lunged and everyone darted to one side. Dipper, Wendy and Grenda moved closer to Marius, while the other three threw themselves towards the door. Mr What's-His-Face stood up, knocking the cards onto the floor. "You are all going to regret this." Dipper didn't see what happened next because he was preoccupied by Ghost-Eyes' aggressive punches. Just as his grunkles taught him, he dodged them and tried getting closer, but Ghost-Eyes stepped forward and knocked him off balance. He got back up again and ran away from Marius, to keep hold of Ghost-Eyes' attention.

Grenda and Wendy were cutting Marius loose. Dipper was on the opposite side of the room to the exit. The closest people were Mabel, Candy and Pacifica. Dipper ducked under a swing from Ghost-Eyes and launched forward. He hit Ghost-Eyes in the stomach and Ghost-Eyes stumbled back. "Mabel, run!" Dipper yelled. Pacifica swung her club at Mr What's-His-Face, then retreated into the cupboard door with Mabel and Candy.

"After them!" Mr What's-His-Face screamed at Ghost-Eyes, then turned his attention to Wendy. Ghost-Eyes looked at Dipper, then at the door. He ran after Mabel. "No!" Dipper shouted, trying to go after him. He forgot about Mr What's-His-Face, who jumped onto him, knocking him down. He prepared his arm for a punch, but before he could land a blow on Dipper, Grenda grabbed his hand. Marius grabbed the other one and started pulling back. Wendy pulled Dipper out of the way and punched Mr What's-His-Face. "We'll be leaving now," she said coldly.

Mr What's-His-Face gasped in pain. "You're going to regret this. There are worse people out there than us. This is just business. Someone is out there to get you, Pines."

"Who?" Dipper asked, getting up.

Mr What's-His-Face grinned. "Hitman's code. Can't tell you until the job is done. Don't take it personally." Grenda and Marius dropped him, and Wendy kicked him in the side. Mr What's-his-Face stood up, leaning against the wall. "I won't come after you, boy. It seems like you're another family I can't mess with. But Ghost-Eyes? He's still going to kill your sister."

Dipper's eyes widened. "We have to go. Now!" They took one last look at Mr What's-His-Face, then ran towards the door. As they were leaving, Dipper noticed the clock on the wall. It was 1:35 am. This is one exciting night, he thought to himself as he passed through the door. When they stepped out, Wendy swore. They were back in the dark part of the market, down the stairs. All the paths looked the same, and there was no way of telling which way Mabel went.

"What are we going to do?" Marius asked. At least he was speaking.

"Wait, guy. Look at this." Grenda held up a candy wrapper from the floor. "Mabel's candy!"

"There are more going down that way," Dipper pointed out. "She's amazing, she actually knew what she was doing! Come on!" They followed the trail of wrappers until they came across the same staircase. Mabel, Candy and Pacifica were standing at the top. Pacifica was swinging her golf club at Ghost-Eyes, forcing him to stop coming closer. They ran to the staircase and Wendy jumped up. She grabbed onto the railing and leapt over. Ghost-Eyes stopped trying to move and looked at Wendy. He tried to hit her, but Wendy grabbed his arm and threw herself forward. Even from where Dipper was standing, he heard a cracking noise. Ghost-Eyes yelled in pain and grasped his arm. Wendy kicked him down the stairs.

"Let's go!" Grenda shouted to Marius and Dipper. They quickly went up the staircase, carefully avoiding Ghost-Eyes who was still groaning in pain. Dipper almost felt sorry for him, but he had just tried to kill his sister. They went up the stairs back into the main marketplace. "Wendy," Dipper panted as they ran. "You're the coolest person I know."

"I know, dude. Tell me about it later." They kept on running, but then heard someone yell. "It's the Northwest! Get her!" Suddenly there was a mob of people chasing after Pacifica as well. Wendy slowed down to push Pacifica forward. She almost tripped, but Candy pulled her back up. Grenda and Wendy were at the back, half-running and half-knocking people back. Dipper wanted to help but knew he wouldn't be of much use against the strange people here. But he realised there was a way he could help.

"Pacifica! Hold this!" He threw Tyrone at Pacifica, who caught it in her hand.

"Now what?" Pacifica asked.

"Green button!" He glanced back, hoping there was enough distance between them and the mob for this to work. Pacifica pressed the button and the sphere started whirring and rotating in her hand. A grid appeared on Pacifica's face and started moving down her body. Then it blinked three times and disappeared. "Pass it back!" Dipper said, holding out his hand. Pacifica threw it back to him, and Dipper started pushing some buttons.

"Wendy!" Dipper shouted back. Wendy looked at him. "Turn left here!" Everyone looked at him. If they did, they would block off the route going back to the surface. "Just trust me!" Wendy nodded. They turned, and Dipper pulled Pacifica into a shadowy corner and threw Tyrone down the path. The sphere glowed, then transformed into a perfect replica of Pacifica. It kept on running. Mabel saw what he was doing and started pushing Candy and Marius into the same corner. Grenda and Wendy passed by and Marius and Dipper pulled the two in. A second passed and the mob appeared. "There she is!" The mob ran passed them.

Once the yells quietened down, Marius let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you all for saving me. I was not sure if I would survive tonight!"

"Of course we'd save you!" Grenda said cheerfully.

"Let's not get overconfident. We need to get out of here now!" Pacifica smiled at Dipper. "Nice plan, though. Didn't see that coming."

"Haha, thanks." They stood up and ran back to the tunnel. Wendy was in front, glancing around corners to make sure it was safe. Once they got to the tunnel, Grenda went up first, just in case somebody was waiting at the top. Marius followed after her, then Mabel and Candy. Pacifica groaned. "I am so going to need a new pair of trainers after this." She went into the tunnel and started climbing.

Before Dipper started climbing, he looked at Wendy. "Let's go."

"Right behind you, dude."

"And... um, could you maybe not tell Grunkle Stan or Ford about this? Just, we'd probably be stuck in the Murder Hut for the rest of our lives."

Wendy sealed her lips and snapped her fingers at Dipper. It was their code. Your secret is safe with me.

"Thanks, Wendy." They started climbing up the tunnel. Dipper apologised a few times when dirt fell into Wendy's face, but it was otherwise silent. Once they'd reached the top, Dipper allowed himself to breathe. "Hot Belgian waffles!" Mabel whispered. "That was crazy!"

"You can say that again," Candy said.

Wendy opened the door and they all left Toby's room. "Alright," Wendy said, gathering their attention. "What just happened was crazy and stupid and dangerous. Nobody is to know what just happened in there, alright?" Everyone nodded. "Good. Now run home and get some sleep. I'm sure we're all tired. Welcome back, Marius." She turned and left. Everyone else said their goodbyes and started running back. The town looked much scarier at night.

Dipper was about to turn back when he heard his name. It was Pacifica. "Keep going, I'll catch up," he told Mabel. She shrugged, then nodded. Dipper ran to Pacifica. "Hey."

"Hey," she said. "I kind of need your number if you're going to tutor me."

Dipper blinked. "Oh, right! Sorry, of course!" Dipper didn't have a phone. He shared one with Mabel, but Mabel used it much more than he did, so it was practically her phone. But it was good enough, right? He felt around his pockets for a pen and took it out of his shorts. He hadn't noticed, but his knee had been scraped slightly during the night. It was starting to sting. He ignored it and wrote down Mabel's number on Pacifica's hand.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem. And thank you."

"For what?"

"For helping out. We couldn't have gotten out of there if you weren't so rich."

They laughed despite themselves. "Well, I'd better go," Pacifica said.

"Same."

"Well, bye then."

"See you at school."

They turned and Dipper ran to catch up with Mabel. What a hell of a night.

The market was quiet. The crowd of people chasing after Pacifica lost sight of her and dispersed, back to do their nightly businesses. A group of people in red cloaks stepped from out of the shadows. They had watched as the boy threw the sphere out of his pocket, and as it transformed into a girl. The sphere now lay in front of them, spitting sparks. One man in a cloak stepped forward and picked up the sphere. He examined it. Despite the cracks and dents, two words were engraved on the sphere:

"McGucket Labs," the person read. "We can use this." The other people in the red cloaks all raised their hands. "It is unseen."

They disappeared back into the shadows, taking the sphere with them.

Okay. A little late, I know. But this is twice as long as my previous chapters, so technically it counts as two chapters. I was busy preparing for school if you guys were wondering. And I want you guys to give an honest opinion. I might publish chapters slightly later because of school, but I will dedicate time to you all. Do you guys prefer shorter chapters with cliffhangers, or do you prefer this lengthy chapter, which tells the whole "episode", if you will? If I know which you prefer, I can sort of tell how much time I should put into this per week to give you all the best experience.

As always, please tell me what you think of the story so far! It's always nice to hear from you. What you liked, what you thought could be done better, all of it!

Until next time!