"There has to be something in these books."
The Pines twins had gone straight to the town library after Dipper's revelation about Bigby. Dipper was currently studying the Journal at a desk, while also looking at another book. Mabel was searching for any books about werewolves or similar legends, and bringing the huge stacks back to Dipper.
Mabel sat down next to her brother. "Did you find anything?" She asked, hopefully.
Dipper sighed. "No, not yet. It seems like the author only had a limited experience with werewolves. One attacked him in the woods, and he fended him off with wolf's bane."
"That's it?"
"That's it." Dipper confirmed, sadly. A thought then popped into his head. "Where's Soos?"
As in response, Soos walked up to the two with his face in a book. "Dudes, did you know that bunnies can jump up to 15 feet in the air?" He closed the book, and held it close to his chest. "So majestic."
Dipper was a little annoyed. "Soos, we're trying to figure out a way to stop Bigby. If he does anything, we're pretty sure that wolf's bane isn't going to cut it."
Soos was confused. "Why not, bro?"
"Apparently, he has to eat the flower for it to do any real damage," Mabel answered, as she was hanging upside down on her chair.
Soos frowned. "Are you even sure the guy's a werewolf? Like, maybe he just doesn't like those flowers."
"Soos, who wouldn't like those flowers?" Mabel reasoned, moving herself right side up "He has to be a werewolf."
Dipper rubbed his head in frustration. "I'm pretty sure it's a full moon tonight. We need to think of something and think of it fast."
Soos scratched his belly. "What about silver? Don't werewolves hate silver stuff?"
Dipper's eyes widened, as he looked at Soos with a big smile. "Soos, you're a genius!"
"That's what I've been sayin'." He said proudly.
Dipper laughed giddily. "We just have to get some silver! That'll stop Bigby cold!"
Mabel rubbed her chin. "You know, I'm starting to think 'Bigby' is more than just a funny name. I mean, it's hilarious, but it sounds...familiar..."
Dipper closed up his journal, and jumped out of his chair. "Come on, we need to get some silver, and hunt him down before he can hurt anyone."
Dipper and Soos left, with Mabel following behind them, trying to figure out where she's heard the werewolf's name before.
Bigby had been walking for the past 20 minutes, axe in hand, eventually leaving the town and entering the forest. As the sun was slowly starting to set, Bigby groaned at how far the house seemed to be from the rest of Gravity Falls.
"Then again, I'd probably do the same," he said to himself. He perked up when he made out a wooden cabin, with an RV sitting next to it.
"Finally," he said, as he walked up to the front door. With the axe hanging on his side, he gave a very loud knock on the door.
"Ok, figure out why the guy had his axe at the scene, and take him down if you have to." He mumbled to himself. "It shouldn't be much of a fight, no matter how 'Manly' this guy is suppose to be."
The Fable immediately had second thoughts the second the front door opened, to see a hulking behemoth of a man squeeze through the threshold, and tower over Bigby. Thick, red body hair threatened to escape from his shirt, as his muscles bulged dangerously.
"Oh crap..." Bigby whispered to himself, his eyes going slightly wide at the sight of the man.
"What do you want?" Manly Dan demanded. "I was in the middle of doing my hourly 10 dozen push-ups."
Bigby looked wide eyed at the man for a second, before jumping slightly at realization that he was staring. "Oh, I found this, uh, axe, and-"
"My axe!" Manly Dan exclaimed happily, cutting off the werewolf's stuttering and grabbing it from him. "Good Ol' Righty! I thought I lost you forever!" He gasped in shock. "Why is part of your wood darker than the rest?"
Bigby straightened his tie, as he slowly became more comfortable around the human tank. "Your axe was found in the middle of the City Hall wreck. Do you have any idea why it would be there?"
Dan narrowed his eyes at Bigby, as he swung the axe over his shoulder. "Are you trying to say that I did that? Because I'll rip your head off if you are!"
"I just want to know if there's anything you might know about it," Bigby claimed. "The more info I have, the easier this thing can be solved. Ok?"
Manly Dan seemed to calm down slightly, as he considered his point. "Alright, you did get my axe back. What do you want to know?"
"Where was the last place you used your axe?" Bigby asked, getting control of the situation.
"I used it at the family cutting lot about a week ago," he answered. "That's where real men like me cut down wood for wimps like you."
"Can you show me?" Bigby questioned, hopefully.
"I'd love to, but those push-ups need to be done!" He exclaimed, in his overly masculine way. "But I can get one of my kids to get you there." Manly Dan then turned his head back to his house. "WENDY!" He bellowed. "GET DOWN HERE!"
"Coming!" Bigby heard a feminine voice come from the house. After a few moments, a red headed girl wearing a brown trapper hat came out.
Wendy's eyes immediately widened in anger at the sight of Bigby. "You!"
"You!?" Bigby exclaimed, instantly recognizing her from the Mystery Shack.
"Wendy, don't be rude!" Manly Dan scolded. "This little man brought my axe back, and needs our help! Show him to the cutting yard."
Wendy looked at her father in surprise. "Dad, you can't be serious! This guy's a jerk!"
"So was that Robbie kid, but you didn't seem to mind!" Dan retorted. "Now stop arguing and help him out! I have to destroy the rest of my push-ups!"
With that declaration, Manly Dan squeezed with a grunt back into his home, and had shut the door behind him. Wendy stared at the fable with angry eyes, and crossed arms.
Bigby stared back at the red head. "Something tells me that you're a very friendly person," he joked.
She rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here?" She asked, with little patience.
"I'm investigating what happened to City Hall," he answered, earning a confused expression from Wendy.
"Why?"
Bigby shrugged. "Cause I was bored," he said nonchalantly. Wendy wasn't convinced, and stepped threateningly towards him.
"I don't know what your game is, but I don't like it," she told him.
"Pardon?" Bigby sarcastically asked, now purposely trying to get under her skin.
"You come here out of nowhere, you act like a jerk to one of my friends, and now you're trying to solve some mystery? You're up to something."
Bigby rolled his eyes. "I get it, you don't like or trust me. I completely understand. Now can you show me this cutting lot before I lose my mind?"
Wendy smirked. "Fine, whatever, but I'm pretty sure you already lost your mind."
Bigby was confused. "Why would you say that?"
"It's the only explanation for your hair," she sniped, pointing at his mane, before she started to walk away. Bigby stared holes at the back of her head.
"Why is everyone giving me crap about my hair?" He murmured, following the Corduroy girl.
Dipper, Mabel, and Soos poked their heads around the corner of the living room of the Mystery Shack, watching Grunkle Stan as he slept in his chair, wearing his usual relaxation attire. Next to him was a small coffee table, which had a large jar of silver dollars on it. On the jar, a label was taped on, with crude handwriting which said 'STAN'S SILVER DOLLARS, DO NOT TOUCH'.
The trio huddled together, and started to whisper. "Ok," Dipper started, "There's no way we're going to be able to get that jar without waking up Stan. We need a plan."
Mabel hums in thought, before she snapped her fingers. "I got it!" She exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Here's what we do..."
Grunkle Stan started snoring, mumbling in his sleep. "I thought we were going to be treasure hunters..."
Suddenly, Soos jumps across the room, landing belly first on the hard floor with a loud thud.
The noise wakes Stan up with a startled snort, while Soos rolls out of the room. "What the-!?" He exclaims, before Mabel appeared next to him, wearing a scary, green monster mask, and started screaming loudly.
"What's happening!?" Stan yelled, as Mabel let out another blood-curdling scream. "I'm confused and terrified!" He exclaimed, while Mabel let out yet another scream, making Stan jump to his feet, and flee the room, yelling in terror.
When her Grunkle is gone, Mabel takes off her mask, revealing a wide smile. She then grabs the jar of silver dollars, and presents them to her brother.
"Here ya go bro-bro!" She says to the smiling boy, as he takes the jar.
Dipper laughs. "That was great!" He says, as the two twins high five. "And the best part was that no one got hurt!"
"I THINK I'M HAVING A HEARTATTACK!" Grunkle Stan cried in the other room, making the twins look in that direction with blank faces. After a few seconds, they look back at each other, smiling.
Bigby and Wendy walked in silence, as they slowly made their way to the cutting yard. Wendy looked over at the stranger, with an uneasy feeling. She really didn't like this creep. She still couldn't get over it, even though it was starting to annoy her. This crazy looking guy comes out of nowhere, find Dipper's weird mystery book, and then does whatever he could to try and get it. She got the feeling he was trying to manipulate the kid, and that would not fly.
Bigby noticed the teenager staring at him. "What?" He growled.
Wendy shrugged. "Nothing. Just wondering how long you'll be staying."
Bigby looked like he was thinking for a moment, before he huffed. "I'm going to guess for a while."
Wendy started to get interested. "So, you're going to go to school here?"
"What?"
Wendy rolled her eyes. "You know, school? That thing people our age are forced to go to? Seriously, what's up with you?"
Bigby rubbed the back of his head. He had to remember, she thinks he's just a regular teenager. "I guess I hadn't thought about it. Looks like I am going to school here..."
"Pfft," Wendy scoffed. "Obvs."
"Obvs?"
"Seriously, who the hell are you?"
Before he could respond, Bigby tripped over something, falling to the ground with an "ompff".
"Ow..." he grumbled, bringing himself back to his feet. When he looked down, he saw a broken tree trunk, with slight singe marks.
Furrowing his brow, Bigby then looked around, to see that they had arrived at the Corduroy family clearing. His and Wendy's eyes widened, realizing that the rest of the area had damage similar to the tree trunk. There were broken trees everywhere, with ashes and brunt bark everywhere. There was a large, mechanical saw that had black marks over the yellow paint on the sides.
Bigby looked over at Wendy, who looked disturbed at the sight. "What happened here?"
Bigby didn't answer, as he started to investigate the scene. He doubted that he would find much here, considering the fact that it's mostly ash. However, he continued to look for clues, hoping to find something.
Wendy looked around as well, surveying the damage. She really hoped that this damage wouldn't effect her family that badly. Lord knows they've gone through some real struggles.
Suddenly, her cellphone started ringing, making her groan. She took it out of her pocket, before tapping the screen to answer it. "Hello?"
"Wendy, it's me!" She heard Dipper's voice on the other end.
"Dipper, any chance I can call you back? Now's not the best time..."
"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to help us hunt down Bigby!" Dipper asked.
Wendy got a perplexed expression on her face, as she looked over at Bigby, who was currently studying the saw and was a couple yards away from her.
"Why are you hunting him down?" She asked in a hushed tone, hoping he didn't hear her.
"We're almost certain he's a werewolf, and tonight's a full moon! We want to stop him before he does something!" He said, as Mabel was saying something about "more silver" in the background.
Wendy's eyes widened in panic. She looked back at Bigby, who was still examining the saw, before she hunched over slightly with her phone. "Dip, I'm with Bigby right now!" She hissed into her phone.
"What!?"
"He was investigating something, and my dad made me show him the family cutting yard."
"What!?" Dipper exclaimed again. "Wendy, listen to me carefully. You need to try and keep him there for as long as possible. I'll make my way right over, just try not to let him suspect you!"
"Really? I haven't thought of that!" She sarcastically retorted.
"Ok, that was a dumb thing to say. I'm going over there as fast as I can, just try to hold out!" Dipper ordered, hanging up the phone before looking back at his sister and friend, who were melting the silver dollars into a mold for a dagger.
"Dipper, what's going on?" Mabel asked, concerned as her brother started gathering his things.
"Bigby's over by Wendy! And the sun's starting to set! I need to get over there before he hurts her!" He frantically told her, as he picked up some wolf's bane, before jumping into the Mystery Cart.
"Meet me at Manly Dan's cutting yard when you're done with the dagger," He told them, before driving away like the wind.
"Jeez, that's kinda scary," Soos bluntly stated. "Bigby's just out in the woods with Wendy? That's like, horror movie material right there."
"Ugh!" Mabel groaned, hitting her forehead with her hand. "That stupid name sounds so familiar! Where do I know that name from!?" She yelled, distraught at her memory failing her.
Soos shrugged. "I don't know. But you'll think of it eventually. Just gotta take your mind off it. Oh! That reminds me!"
Soos searched around in his pocket, before pulling out a carton of cigarettes. "Check it out!"
Mabel raised an eye brow. "Uh Soos, I didn't know you smoked..."
Soos waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, I don't. I just took it cause I liked the name on it. Heh, look, it's like, totally ridiculous."
Mabel took the carton, and read the label. "Huff N Puffs?" She read aloud. She then giggled. "That's such a weird name!" She giddily stated. "Where did you find this?"
"I found it at Hoo-Ha's right before we left. I think it was that Bigby guy's."
Mabel's eyes widened. "Huff N Puff?" She asked herself slowly. "Bigby...Bigby Wolf...Big...by...Wolf!?" She exclaimed, looking back at the carton of smokes. "Huff N Puff! Big Bad Wolf! OH MY GOSH SOOS!"
"Whoa, calm down there," Soos told her. "You look like you're going to explode or something."
"Soos, don't you get it!?" She exclaimed, jumping up on Soos and scrunching his face up. "Bigby's not just a regular wolf! He's the Big Bad Wolf!"
Wendy stared at the back of Bigby's head, trying to collect her thoughts and keep her cool façade up.
The teenager that came out of nowhere is a werewolf. Coming from anyone else, she would of laughed it off, but Dipper usually wasn't wrong about these things.
Bigby was sifting through a large pile of ashes, trying to figure the situation out. He picked up a hand full, and sniffed it.
"Weird..." He said to himself, making Wendy snap out of her thoughts.
"What?" She asked, like she was just talking to a normal person.
"These ashes don't smell like normal ashes. There's something...off, about them," he explained. "More of a sulfur smell than it should be."
Bigby stopped talking when the sound of twigs breaking filled his ears. "Did you hear that?" He asked the red head.
"Hear what?"
The cracking of twigs and shuffling of bushes was even louder now. "That!" He said, as he started looking around, defensively.
Inwardly, Wendy was celebrating. Dipper's already here!? Great! That was fast!
Her thoughts were dashed when she heard a growl come from behind the trees. Bigby was getting ready to fight.
There was a tense moment of silence, as all the sounds suddenly came to a stop. The only noise was from the Fable's and teen's breathing.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a burst of bright orange fire blasted past some bushes, burning them to a crisp in a second. The fire stopped in the middle of the cutting yard, as it slowly began to form into a shape.
"Bigby...?" Wendy asked, as the fire started to form the figure of a monster. A huge monster.
It was at least 12 feet tall, with two arms and two legs. Its head started to form a point, as the moving flame started to develop white slits for eyes, and a fanged mouth. The flame then looked dead at Wendy.
"Corduroy!" It roared, as it rose threateningly off the ground, transforming into a flowing pillar of destruction. It launched itself at the duo.
"Move!" Bigby growled, as he grabbed Wendy and jumped out of the way, rolling on the ground and avoiding the fire monster.
They quickly got back to their feet, as Bigby's eyes turned yellow. He looked back at the lumberjack's daughter. "Stay back!" He ordered. Wendy complied, as she quickly backed away from the fight. He turned back to the hostile flame, who was quickly shifting back into its monstrous form.
"Who are you!?" Bigby demanded.
"I am the Walking Inferno," it seethed in a distorted voice. "And I will be the end of the Corduroys!"