"Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan!" Dipper cried, as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the Mystery Shack. The sun was setting in the distance, as he sprinted to his home as fast as he could. He needed to tell somebody, anybody, about those circus freaks, and Mabel.

He busted in through the back door, finding himself in the kitchen. Not seeing anyone in there, he decided to call out again. "Grunkle Stan!"

"That you, kiddo?" He heard his great uncle call from the other room. "Where the heck have you been? You've been gone for like, 6 hours. I would've called the cops if they weren't looking for me because of that telemarketing scam."

After a few seconds, Stan walked into the room, looking at the sight of his nephew. "Where's Mabel?"

Dipper, trying to catch his breath from running, gasped. "She's...huff...circus...jeez, scary clowns...ugh..."

Stan raised an eyebrow. "Is this slang? It's even weirder than I thought."

Finally, Dipper sucked in a big gulp of air. "Me and Mabel went to the circus, and these creepy circus guys said that she'd be a good fit, and-"

"Wait, Mabel's hanging around carnies?" Stan asked.

"Um, circus guys," Dipper corrected. "I thought they were called carnies too, but I thought about it, and-"

"Whatever. Is she getting paid for this?"

Dipper's eyes widened. "What!?"

"If she's getting money for being in a circus, I don't mind."

"But Grunkle Stan!" Dipper exclaimed. "These aren't normal people! They had this like, evil stare, and-"

The back door to the kitchen opened, interrupting the conversation. Both of the Pines mens' mouths gaped open.

"Sweet Jubilant Crackers!" Stan cried.

The two were staring at Mabel, who was wearing a purple clown outfit, with a purple, pointy clown hat. The entire outfit had yellow polka dots on it, and Mabel had white face paint on, with bright red lips, and a large, red nose.

"...what?" She innocently asked.

Dipper was freaking out slightly. "Mabel, what the heck is that!?" Dipper pointed at her clothes, making her look at her outfit.

"It's a clown suit!" She excitedly explained.

Stan was rubbing his neck. "Uh, kid, no offense, but you kinda look like a serial killer. And not the cool kind."

"There's a cool serial killer?" Dipper asked.

Stan thought about it for a moment. "Actually, now that you mention it, no, there isn't. Well, with that revelation, I'm heading to bed." He then turned to Dipper. "I'll let you deal with..." he gestured towards his niece. "This."

With that, the old man turned around, and walked out of the kitchen. Dipper crossed his arms, as he looked at his sister. She noticed the look.

"What is it?" She asked. "Is it my face paint? Is it not colorful enough?"

"Mabel, what are you doing?" Dipper asked, incredulously. "Can't you see that something's going on over there?"

"Pfft, Dipper. Always paranoid," The girl in the clown makeup dismissed.

"This isn't paranoia!" Dipper said, annoyed. "This is concern! Completely rational concern!"

Mabel just rolled her eyes. "You just don't like the fact that I'm hanging around a bunch of clowns."

"Not just the clowns. The ringmaster, the liontamer, Ferdinand-"

"Don't you dare try to diss Ferdinand!" Mabel told him, getting a bit mad. "He's an angel! A flexible angel who's really good at flipping around!"

"Mabel, something isn't right about them! They looked like they wanted to kill me!"

"Look Dipper, they're my friends. And they're really nice! They said that I'm the funniest person they've ever met! And they taught me this awesome pie throwing trick!"

"Mabel-"

"Dipper, I'll be fine! Now, I'm kind of tired, so I'm going to go to bed. Honk!" She stated, as she squeezed her nose, before walking off.

Dipper sighed. He knows that there's more than meets the eye with those circus freaks. And he was going to figure it out.

Early the next morning, Bigby was in a convenience store, walking up to the counter. He plopped down a couple of dollar bills, earning the clerk's attention.

"Pack of Huff N Puff's, and some snacks. Doesn't matter what kind."

The clerk looked at the Fable in suspicion. "Aren't you a little young to be smoking?"

"Aren't you a little young to be dying?" Bigby threatened. The clerk gulped.

"Right away, sir," he said, before he went to the back to get Bigby his order.

The sheriff sighed, as he rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. He and Soos spent the night in the truck, and it was probably the most uncomfortable sleep in his entire life. He cursed his luck in the situation, as he looked out the slightly dirty window of the store.

He saw Soos outside his truck, dancing along to "Straight Blanchin'", while a cow just stared blankly at him.

"Only in Oregon..." he joked to himself. Suddenly, he heard his cellphone ring, making him dig it out of his pocket. He then answered it, and brought it to his ear. "You got Bigby."

"Hey man," he heard Wendy greet on the other end.

"Wendy? What are you doing up already?"

"My dad usually has us wake up super early. 'The way of a lumberjack!'" She mocked, in a fake, manly voice.

"Ah."

"Are you doing anything? I'm kinda bored, and I don't really want to go to work today."

"Do you ever actually work?" Bigby asked, as the clerk came back from the back with a can of Pitt Cola. Bigby grabbed it, before opening it with one hand, as the clerk disappeared to the back again.

"Ha, not if I can help it. So, are you free, man?"

Bigby sighed. "Sorry, I'm kind of...on a road trip right now."

"Road trip?" Wendy asked.

"With Soos."

"With Soos!?" Wendy repeated, a bit aggravated.

"Yeah. The guy's already ate all the snacks he brought. I'm buying some more right now, actually."

"You're on a road trip with Soos?" She flatly asked, ignoring Bigby's comments.

"Uh, yeah?"

"And you didn't invite me? Dude, I thought we were friends!" She stated, annoyed.

"It's not like I'm doing this for funsies!" Bigby defended. "I'm gathering ingredients for a spell. Soos was the only one available."

"I was available, but you didn't ask me!" Wendy argued.

"Can you even drive a car?"

He heard silence on the other end, as he took a sip of his soda. "Not legally," Wendy finally said.

"Uh huh. Sorry I didn't tell you."

"Whatever, man..." She said, as Bigby heard the sad tone in her voice.

"Are you ok? You sound kind of...not you," The Sheriff observed.

"It's nothing, it's just...ugh, Robbie's been acting like such a jerk lately."

"Who?" Bigby asked, as he stared at Soos breakdancing next to a cow. He took another sip of his drink.

"He's this guy I used to date. We've been able to hang out after we broke up, but lately he's been shoving Tambry in my face."

"Again, who?" Bigby asked, as he walked around the store, observing the items they had for sale.

"She's been my best friend since we were like, six. Come on, I've must of talked to you about her."

"Nope. Not a peep."

"Oh. Well anyway, they're dating now-"

"Awkward."

"And Robbie just keeps talking about it, and I feel like he's trying to do it on purpose, and even Thompson can see it!"

"Wendy, I don't know any of your friends, so can you please stop talking about them like I have any idea who they are?"

"Right, sorry. I kinda forget that I just met you. We hang out like, all the time. It's kind of weird that you haven't met the others yet."

"Probably for the best," Bigby told her, taking another drink of his can of soda. "I'm not exactly the friendliest person around."

"Nah dude, you're nice."

"One sec," Bigby told her, before taking the phone away from his ear. "Hey! Clerk guy! Hurry the hell up before I tear your arms off!"

"Yes sir!" The clerk called from the back, scared.

Bigby put the phone back to his ear. "You were saying?" Bigby asked, forgetting what they were talking about.

"...Never mind..."

"Anyway, I need to get going. We'll do something when I get back, ok?"

"Can we egg my principal's house?" She asked.

"We can burn down his house if you want," Bigby said, a wolfish grin on his face.

"Tempting, but I'll stick with the eggs. Good luck!" She said, before hanging up.

Bigby put his phone back in his pocket, before walking back up to the counter. The clerk had placed a large bag on the counter, with the Huff N Puffs right next to it, as he stared at the wolf with wide, fearful eyes.

"Also, one of these fruit pies," Bigby said, taking the pack of smokes and opening them up. The clerk quickly grabbed the treat, and placed it in the bag. Bigby finished his Pitt Cola, before throwing the can on the ground. "Thanks," he gruffly said, before grabbing the bag and walking out of the store.

Soos was still dancing to Straight Blanchin', as the Cow that was staring at him was starting to lose interest in the display of funky moves.

Bigby sighed at the sight of the Handyman. "Soos!" He called, earning his attention.

"Hey dude, did you get some good stuff?" Soos asked.

"I think so," Bigby answered, as he grabbed the fruit pie out of the bag and threw it to the man-child, much to his delight. Bigby then walked over to the truck, as the two went inside the vehicle.

"So," Soos started, in between bites of his snack. "What's the next ingredient?"

Bigby took the large book from under his seat, and opened it up. "It says here that it's something called a 'Birchest'. It looks like a deformed bean."

"Cool, I like beans," Soos said. Bigby looked at the handyman for a second, before turning away.

"Right...can we get going?"

"Sure thing, bro!" Soos excitedly answered, as he turned on the truck, and the two drove away from the store.

"Any chance we can change the song?" Bigby asked.

Soos sternly shook his head. "Not until you love it."

"So, when Hell freezes over?"

Soos laughed. "You're funny dude."

Bigby groaned, as the annoying rap music continued to assault his ears.

"That's it Mabel! Show me what you can do!"

Mabel was back in the circus, still in her clown outfit, hanging out with Ferdinand. She was currently trying to balance on a unicycle, much to the acrobatic boy's delight.

"I don't know Ferdinand...I think I'm gonna-whoa!-mess up," she said, as she struggled to stay upright on the circus contraption.

Ferdinand laughed. "That's the beauty of the circus! Even when you mess up, you succeed!"

"Even you?" Mabel asked, as she tried not to fall off.

"Eh, no. When I mess up, I become a pancake."

"A beautiful pancake," she swooned, before she fell off the unicycle with a yelp.

Ferdinand quickly helped her back to her feet, as the young girl furiously blushed.

Meanwhile, Dipper was watching the whole exchange from behind a cannon, hiding in the distance. He looked at the watch on his wrist. He only had about an hour until the circus opened up to the townspeople. He needed to find something about these guys, and fast.

He quietly began to sneak away, careful to make sure he didn't show himself to his sister or her crush. He made his way further into the enormous tent, sneaking from prop box to prop box, careful not to let anybody see him.

Eventually, he found himself near animal cages, filled with bears, lions, and elephants. There were a ton of men taking care of the animals, with some of them feeding them, and others cleaning them. Dipper took cover when he saw the five clowns, seemingly conversing among themselves, before walking out of sight.

Dipper sighs in relief, as he moves from the prop box he was hiding behind to another. From there, he saw a trailer, stash away in between animal cages. The Ringmaster, Valador, walked out of the front door. He discreetly looked around, before closing and locking the door behind him. He then walked away, leaving Dipper alone.

"There's something in there..." Dipper deduced to himself.

Just then, he felt a finger tap him on the shoulder. With a surprised gasp, he quickly turned around and raised his fists up, terrified. However, he only saw Pacifica Northwest.

The blonde raised a confused eyebrow. "You look more freaked out than usual, dork."

Dipper slowly calmed down. "Oh, Pacifica. Hi. What are you doing here?"

Pacifica gave a smile, as she dug in her pocket to pull out a backstage pass. "One of the many perks of being a Northwest. You know, along with the vast amounts of money and hate we get."

Dipper perked up. "Maybe you can help me!"

Pacifica looked confused again. "With what?"

"Well, you see, Mabel got sucked into the circus-"

"Called it!" Pacifica joked, interrupting Dipper.

He rolled his eyes in response. "-And there's something freaky about them, so I'm trying to figure out what's going on with them."

Pacifica didn't look convinced. "You know, this is pretty out there, even for you."

Dipper groaned in frustration. "Are you going to help or not?"

Pacifica thought about it for a moment. "Well, you're not usually wrong about this kind of stuff...fine, I'll help."

Dipper smiled. "Great!" He then turned back towards the trailer. "I saw the ringmaster lock that trailer. I think something's in there, so we need to find a way inside and investigate."

"Five seconds after I agree to help you, and you ask me to commit breaking and entering?"

Dipper nervously rubbed his arm. She had a point. "That's...kinda what I'm asking you to do."

The two were quiet for a few moments, before Pacifica got a mischievous smile on her face. "Cool."

"We got anymore disinfectant?"

Soos and Bigby were in the truck, driving, covered in multiple scratches and cuts. Bigby was smoking, silently fuming about what had just happened, as Soos' favorite song continued to play.

It turns out that the Birchest had some properties that weren't mentioned in the book. One of them being the ability for the bean like thing to be able to jump around. Which led the two to fall into a bunch of thorn bushes to grab it.

"Bigby?" Soos asked, having the wolf snap out of his daydream.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Yeah?" He gruffly asked.

"We got anymore disinfectant?" He asked again.

"Oh, yeah." Bigby then reached in between the seats for the bottle of clear liquid, before handing it to Soos. He then stuck the smoke back between his teeth, before looking out the window.

He couldn't help but think of home. He was worried, especially for Snow. Sure, she's a strong and capable leader, and she's the only one who could keep all the other Fables together, but she needed him. But instead, he's in Oregon. Because he got magically sent there, and he has no idea why, how, or who did it. And he was no closer to figuring it out.

Maybe if he can make contact. Maybe if he could just see what's going on at home.

"You ok?"

Bigby turned to see Soos staring at him, in slight concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bigby answered, taking the Huff N Puff out of his mouth. "Just...thinking..."

"'bout what?"

"Oh, things...and...stuff..."

"Heh, I got ya. I think about things and stuff all the time too."

Bigby just looked at him for a moment, before taking a drag of his smoke and looking back out the window. "Right."

"So, uh..." Soos started, but trailed off.

Bigby looked at him with a curious look. "Yeah?"

"Well, since you're a fairy tale, that means you know other fairy tales, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I thought I explained all of this."

"Oh, you did, I was just making sure," Soos answered. "So, uh, you know Goldilocks?"

Bigby gulped when he heard the name. "Uh, she's not exactly my favorite person."

"I knew it!" Soos declared, making Bigby confused.

"Knew what?"

"That she's a jerk!" the handyman answered. "When I was a kid, my Abuelita would read me Goldilocks and the Three Bears every night. And we'd always say how big of a jerk she was. I mean, breaking into a family's house and using their stuff? Not cool."

Bigby smirked. "You know, the Three Bears would of loved to hear that," he chuckled.

Soon, Soos joined in, as the chuckling soon became laughter between the two. After a few moments, the two quieted down. Bigby rolled down his window, before flicking his cigarette out, and rolling the window back up. He then grabbed the bag of snacks, before pulling out a packet of beef jerky.

"Hey Biggs?" Soos asked.

"Yeah?" Bigby said as he started eating the jerky.

"Any chance we can hang out more?"

Bigby was a bit surprised, but thought about it for a moment. "Sure."

"Cool," Soos smiled.

Bigby quietly munched on his beef jerky.

"Hey Biggs?"

"Yeah, Soos?"

"Any chance you can pour some soda into my mouth?"

"Nope."

"Pushing it?"

"Yep."

"Okiedokiee."

Dipper and Pacifica were able to jimmy a window, letting them climb inside, and land with a soft thud.

They looked around, only to see that their only light source was from the much larger tent's spotlights on the outside. The otherwise dark trailer was littered with various papers, cardboard boxes, glass bottles, and overall garbage.

"Jeez. These carnies need a maid," Pacifica commented.

"Circus people," Dipper corrected.

"Whatever."

The two then split up, searching opposite ends of the rather small trailer.

"So, what are we looking for, exactly?" Pacifica asked.

"Ledgers, files, documents, any thing that can tell us if they do anything unusual," Dipper answered, as he sifted through papers.

"I found a confirmation letter about a payment on a tiger," Pacifica said, holding a piece of paper in the air.

Dipper looked at it, before waving off the idea. "Nah, that's pretty normal for a circus."

The two then investigated in silence for a few moments, trying to find something off in the various files.

"Hey, Dipper?" Pacifica asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what Bigby did to my dad?"

Dipper stopped, and looked over at the blonde, who was staring right back at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just...after Bigby stopped working for my dad, he's been acting...weird."

"Weird?"

"Like, he'll still do what he normally does, but he seems...phased out."

"Phased out?" Dipper was curious.

"He has an...an edge now, like he'll say something normal, and then act really frustrated over something stupid. Also, he had these weird marks on his face. He said it was a sunburn, but I don't believe him."

Dipper furrowed his brow, a bit concerned. "Bigby told us that he quit."

"That's it?" She asked.

"That's what he said," the paranormal investigator answered.

Pacifica had an unreadable expression on her face. One that Dipper had never seen before. "Alright..." She quietly said, turning away and going back to work. Dipper did the same, but now had his mind on what Pacifica said.

What did Bigby do to her father? He wasn't sure. She doesn't know that Bigby is the Big Bad Wolf. In fact, everyone out of the family, except for Soos and Wendy, had no idea about him being the Big Bad Wolf.

He didn't do something to Preston, did he? He didn't show him what he was exactly, right? Bigby wasn't that reckless.

Then again, Bigby does have a temper. He's seen it, he's heard about it, and Bigby doesn't try to hide it. He's very nice to people who deserve it, but with someone like Preston...

"Hey Dipper?" Pacifica called, breaking Dipper from his thoughts.

"Yeah?" He asked, turning around.

"Is this something?" She asked, as she pointed to a black box, with a red outline.

Dipper walked over, as he stared at the strange box. It seemed...strange. Dipper inspected it all over, before taking out his journal and flipping through it.

"What are you doing?" The heiress wondered, as Dipper thoughtfully scanned the book.

"Hmm, I don't see anything like this in the journal. But, it doesn't look normal," he replied, as he studied the box.

"Should we open it?" Pacifica asked.

"Probably not, but I'm gonna do it."

"Why?"

"Because I'm an idiot," Dipper dryly answered, as he slowly gripped the edge of the box, and lifted it open with a creak.

He saw photos of various people. A tall, skinny man, a large brute of a man, a small, almost dwarf-like person, and various other pictures, some in black and white. Intrigued, Dipper looked through them all, with Pacifica also looking at them.

"Pictures?" She said absent-mindedly.

"They look familiar..." Dipper said, as he rubbed his chin. Skinny man, large man, small man...

He found a picture of Ferdinand, who was wearing an outfit reminiscent of the 1960's in the photo.

Dipper gasped as he figured it out. "These are all the performers! These are the clowns, and I saw some of those guys feeding animals, and...oh my gosh, some of these photos are ancient! Some of them look like it's from the 50's!"

He picked up some of the photos, to see an old piece of paper poking out. Dipper carefully pinched the piece of paper with his fingers, and gently tugged it out, to show some old writing on it.

"'Anyone who disturbs the resting place of Valador the Mad Clown will be enslaved by his spirit for eternity. He who disturbs Valador the Mad Clown will have to sacrifice a tribute towards him for all eternity, or suffer the loss of all he cares about,'" Dipper read, slowly growing more terrified at each passing word. Shocked, he dropped the paper. "Pacifica, Valador's-!"

"Valador's ready to take your souls."

The two children turned around in complete fear, as they saw Ferdinand looking dejected, with Valador towering behind him, smiling evilly, ear to ear.