"Nugh...wha...?"

Bigby woke up with a start, as he found himself in a padded cell, wearing a straightjacket, as sunlight flooded in. The door to the cell was open. He looked around, panicked, as he had no idea what was happening. Was he safe? Was he in danger? Was he...was he...

Was he what? Who was he? He was...something with a 'B'...Bigby...Bigby sounds familiar.

He slowly got up, doing his best to keep his balance, as he stood to his feet. He slowly limped out of the cell, his mind muddled, as he tried to remember something, anything, that would explain what was happening.

'Time for breakfast, Mister Wolf.'

That...that already happened. Just now. No, not now. Earlier. Right? He had no sense of time in this place. His head was throbbing, hurting, stinging. His vision was starting to blur, as he stumbled into the side of the wall next to him, breathing hard as his world started to spin. What was happening to him? Why was he here? Did he do something? This is an asylum, for crazy people. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't crazy! HE WASN'T CRAZY!

He had shut his eyes, tight, before they fluttered open, as his head ached. He now found himself laying down on a long, red chair, in what appeared to be an office of some kind. The room was dark, making it hard to see all of his surroundings, but he could make out a few long bookshelves along the walls. The only light in the room was from an old brick fireplace, lit with a powerful flame.

"Where...?" Bigby grumbled, before realizing that he was still wrapped up in a straightjacket. He struggled for a few moments, uneasy, scared even, before realizing that it was pointless. He couldn't get out of it. Just like he couldn't get out of Mabel's tea parties.

Wait, what's a Mabel? Where did he know that word from? What about tea parties? He...he couldn't think straight. His memory was shot. He had no idea who he really was, why he was there, or how he got there.

Maybe...maybe he was crazy. It would explain a lot.

"Mister Wolf."

Bigby moved his head to the side, to see a wooden desk, with various bits and pieces of decorative items. Behind it, was a dark, shadowy figure.

"It's time for your therapy session," he calmly stated, as the figure pulled out a pocket watch. He held it by its chain, before he started to slowly swing it back and forth.

Bigby's eyes focused on it, as he felt his eyes start to get heavy. Eventually, he closed them, as darkness took over.

"What happened here?"

Dipper, Mabel, and Wendy were walking around town, only to see...nothing. The streets were empty, with no sign of life anywhere. The sidewalks were deserted, with the trio being the only ones out and about. The townspeople who commonly walked around were nowhere to be seen.

"Where is everyone?" Mabel asked. "Is there something going on right now? Like a festival or something?"

"Not that I know of," Wendy stated, her eyes squinted as she looked around. "This is weird."

"Maybe everyone thought it was too hot out today," Dipper reasoned.

"No," Wendy disagreed. "This never happens."

"We should figure out-"

"Look, let's just find Bigby, ok?" Wendy interrupted, still looking around. She then turned towards the twins, who were staring right at her. "I mean, he's a detective, he could figure this out."

"Uh, so could I," Dipper stated. "I've solved tons of the mysteries about Gravity Falls. Maybe we should focus on this first? I mean, Bigby can take care of himself. These people can't."

Mabel nodded her head in agreement. "Dip's right. It sucks, but maybe we should try to help with this."

"No!" Wendy yelled at the twins, making them freeze. "We find Bigby first. End of story."

The twins gave each other a look, confused. "Uh, Wendy...are you ok?" Dipper asked. "You seem kinda...stressed."

"Yeah, and not good stressed, like 'Soos watching Ducktective' stressed," Mabel added.

"Look, it's just...Bigby's our friend. And if he could get out of wherever he's at, then he would've. But he hasn't. And he's stuck somewhere, and we're the only ones who can get him out. Besides, he...it's my fault."

"Your fault?" Mabel asked. "How is it your fault? Did you spray him with a water bottle?"

"Mabel, Bigby's not a dog," Dipper reminded her.

"I know, but he really doesn't like it."

"No!" Wendy interrupted, getting short, before her face fell to a guilt ridden expression. "He disappeared when we were hanging out. He just ran out, and instead of following him, I just...waited. Because I thought he would come back." She looked to the ground. "But he didn't."

The twins frowned, feeling bad. Wendy didn't let on too often, but they both knew that she wasn't as carefree as she wanted to be. "Wendy," Dipper started, "It's not your fault. You didn't know."

"Bigby ran off," Mabel added. "It's not like you could've brought him back anyway."

Wendy just sighed, as she looked back at the twins. "I just want to find him. And the second we get him out, we have one more person helping us find everyone else." Wendy's eyes widened slightly. "Wait, we saw McGucket there."

Mabel furrowed her brow. "What?"

Dipper suddenly got where she was going. "Wherever Bigby is, so is everyone else. They're all in the same place."

"Are you sure?" Mabel asked, not buying it. "Maybe it's just McGucket and Bigby. Hanging out. Like old people and werewolves do."

"Mabel," Dipper started, "Do you honestly think that Bigby would willingly hang out with McGucket?"

Mabel rubbed her chin in thought for a second. "Hmm, no, he wouldn't..." The Pines sister then gasped loudly. "MCGUCKET KIDNAPPED BIGBY!"

"McGucket didn't kidnap anybody!" A new voice interjected, cutting the relative silence of the area and making the three jump, as they turned towards the source, to see the older face of the owner of Greasy's.

"Lazy Susan?" Dipper confusingly greeted. "What're you doing here?"

"Trying to find any stranglers and get them into my diner!" Susan exclaimed. "Ever since that doctor came into town, my restaurant has been losing way more money than I can afford. By the way, wanna eat some lunch? You'll get a free side for every meal."

Mabel's eyes lit up. "Ooooooh."

"Wait, doctor?" Wendy asked. "What doctor?"

Susan frowned deeply. "That no good Doctor Weston!" She revealed. "A few days back, this guy came into town claiming he was a doctor, and came to Gravity Falls because it was the most mentally disturbed town in the country!"

"He wasn't far off," Mabel stated, as Dipper nodded in agreement.

"He said he could help everyone!" She continued. "That we were all crazy, and could be a danger to whoever we loved, but he could stop that! He just needed volunteers!"

"And everyone just went with him?" Wendy asked.

"Well, first they gave him McGucket," Susan stated. "Poor fool was wearing a bucket for pants. I can't imagine that'd be comfy."

"And then everyone went with him," Dipper concluded.

"Pretty much," Susan confirmed, before rubbing her chin. "Although, come to think of it, I don't remember seeing some people go with him at first. They just kinda...disappeared. Either way, I have no idea where they all went. He didn't leave an address for his office or whatever the heck he called it."

"Like Bigby..." Wendy thought aloud.

"Is that that boy's name?" Susan said. "I've been meaning to say, good for you for moving on from that Robbie kid."

"Huh?" Wendy grunted, confused.

"You two practically prop up the place. You got yourself a cutie too. Maybe a bit too gruff for my taste, but hey, if you like him..."

"Whoa! Dude, hold up!" Wendy exclaimed. "Me and Bigby are NOT dating. Nuh uh. Just good friends. Friends that are opposite genders. A boy and a girl. That like to hang out together. As good friends. Yep."

Susan rolled her good eye. "If ya say so," she said, not believing the redhead as she walked away from the trio.

"Hey, I'm telling you the truth!" Wendy yelled after her. "Believe me! Believe meee!"

"Uh, Wendy?" Mabel asked, feeling a bit awkward at the display she just saw.

"Yeah girl?" Wendy responded, not looking at her.

"Can we go look for Bigby now?"

"That's a great idea."

"Where are you now, Mister Wolf?"

Bigby looked around at his surroundings in disbelief. He was in the High...the Homelands. Snow capped pine trees were all around him, as mounds and hills were covered in the sparkling substance, crunching under his feet. Snow lightly fell from the sky, being carried by the cold breeze that nipped at his skin.

He stood still, taking it all in. He never thought he'd see it again. "Home," he answered the voice, as he started to walk through the thick brush of the woods. He couldn't wrap his head around being back here. This was before everything.

Before he was Sheriff.

Before Fabletown.

Before Gravity Falls.

Where...? It doesn't matter. This was the first time in a long time that his mind was clear. He was going to take this opportunity for all it's worth.

"And where is home to you, Mister Wolf?"

"The Forest," he told the voice. "Where I lived when I was just a pup."

"Pup?"

"Yes. This is where I grew up."

"And how was your childhood?" The voice rang in his ears. "Was it nurturing?"

Bigby clenched his jaw, as he continued to walk through the woods. "No," he shortly responded.

"Can you describe your family?"

"I don't want to."

"Mister Wolf...please..."

Bigby sighed. "My father left before I was born. I was the runt of the litter, and my brothers couldn't care less about me. They called me the 'Big Bad Wolf', made fun of me, wouldn't care if I lived or died."

"And your mother?"

"My mother is the reason I'm alive," the fable admitted. "She loved me. She cared for me. She was...she was the only one..."

Bigby looked down at the ground, distraught, as memories started to take over his mind, destroying any peace he had felt.

"Mister Wolf, what happened to her?"

Bigby closed his eyes, fighting against his emotions. "She...she died."

Bigby opened his eyes, to see he was in a cave, and at his feet, was a dead wolf, and a small, distressed pup, staring at the body with a sad gaze.

"That is always very traumatic. Especially at such a young age."

"My brothers left. I never saw them again. But me..."

The pup nuzzled next to its dead mother, trying to stay warm from the rigid air.

"I wanted to protect her body," he said, looking down at the display, completely invisible to them.

"She wasn't given a proper burial?"

"We didn't get proper burials."

"...because you were wolves..."

"Right. Because we were wolves. The other fables didn't care. No one else cared. My father," Bigby snarled. "My father certainly didn't care. He didn't give a damn. We were nothing to no one. And then..."

Bigby felt tears threatening to escape, but he kept them in. "Then they took her."

Two men suddenly appeared, laughing and gaffing to each other, and ignoring the pup that was growling threateningly at him. They went to grab the body of the female wolf, only for the pup to lunge and bite the arm of one of them. The man groaned in slight pain, only to rip the pup off his arm and brutally throw him against the ground. The two men then grabbed the dead body, and carried it away, leaving the pup alone, hurt.

"Scavengers," Bigby cursed, fury flooding off of him. "They came and took her. I-I wasn't strong enough to defend her. To save her. But I would be. I made a promise to myself that day. I was going to kill something bigger each day. Until I was strong enough."

The pup changed before his eyes, turning from a harmless, tiny animal, into a gigantic beast of a wolf, its fangs snarled back, its yellow eyes dangerously narrowed.

"They wanted to ignore us!? Fine! I'll just make sure they couldn't ignore me ever again!" Bigby roared, as the large wolf in front of him howled in approval.

"What did you do next, Mister Wolf? Did you go through with your promise?"

Bigby started breathing heavily, the adrenaline of his memories starting to take over. "Yes, yes I did. I went to extremes at times. But I didn't care. I didn't care about anything I just went around...eating people."

"You ate people?"

"I ate fables. Scavengers, hunters, orcs, trolls, animals, anything, I ate them. I ate an old woman, and almost ate her granddaughter, until a Woodsman saved them. I found three pigs would lived near each other, all in different homes."

"So...you believe you are actually the Big Bad Wolf?"

"I am the Big Bad Wolf!" Bigby roared, his surroundings violently swirling around him, becoming impossible to distinguish what they are. "People are afraid of me! They should be! I'd kill them all! I would've! I would've if...if I didn't learn better."

His surroundings calmed down into an black void, as he stared in the face of a beautiful, graceful woman, with silky black hair, pale white skin, and stunning blue eyes. "I would've," Bigby admitted, the anger and fury he felt disappearing. "If she hadn't come along."

"She?"

"We were pushed out of our homes by an army," Bigby said, staring at the woman, trying to figure out if she could see him as well. "We fought them off for as long as we could. We met when it all started. I was getting tired of them, and I attacked a base, and she..."

Bigby walked around the woman, studying her as she seemed frozen in time. "She was taken prisoner by them. I saw her and I just...just froze. She had this...air to her. This scent. I just...couldn't do anything. She was so determined to get free. She was shackled and beaten down and she still tried to fight back." Bigby gave a slight chuckle. "She was never scared. Not for a second. She had gone through so much, and she didn't care. She knew who I was, and she didn't care."

"What did she do?" The voice asked, almost urgently.

"She shoved her shackles in my mouth. And I freed her."

The woman smiled kindly, as Bigby longingly stared at her.

"She gave me a way to look human. She gave me a second chance. She..."

Bigby shook his head.

"She cared."

"Did you love her, Bigby?"

Bigby went silent, as his eyes just lingered on the woman.

"Do you love her?"

"I...I don't know," he answered. "I was interested. She wasn't. Maybe...maybe I should move on. Maybe it'll be better that way."

"She taught you morals, it seems."

"She taught me..." Bigby trailed, as the woman started to fade away, and his surroundings started to change once more.

He found himself in his straightjacket, sitting alone in his padded cell, staring at the ceiling.

"She taught me how to be a man..."

"So how do we find him?"

The Pines twins were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking cans of Pitt soda, trying to figure out a game plan. They knew that a Doctor Weston had rounded most of the townspeople, and that Bigby was there as well. They are all still in town, they just don't know where. That is what they're trying to figure out now.

Dipper scratched his head. "I really don't know. Maybe we could...hmmm...no, that wouldn't work."

"Maybe we can make a smoke cloud out of his cigarettes!" Mabel suggested. "He'll be so drawn to it, he'll break out of wherever he's at and come to us!"

Dipper just stared at her for a second, before he rested his head on his hand. "I can't believe that's actually the best idea we have."

As the twins kept discussing what to do, Wendy snuck out of the kitchen, silently moving into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, before turning to the mirror on the wall.

"Uh, how do I wake him up?" Wendy asked herself, thinking aloud.

The glass on the mirror suddenly had a swirling green aura appear on it, before a face manifested from it. "You can just say hi."

Wendy jumped a little from the voice, before calming down. "Oh, uh, sorry dude. I'm still trying to get use to all of this, to be honest. I mean, Gravity Falls is weird, but fairy tales is kinda pushing it for me."

The Mirror smiled. "Do not worry, my dear. I won't be shedding any tears."

The teen gave a small smile. "Good to hear. So uh, how do you work again? Bigby explained but I forgot. No offense. "

"None taken. Just say what you seek, be it strong or weak," the magical face explained. "However, it would be appreciated if it could be said in a rhyme."

"Oh, not too hard. Ok. Mirror Mirror, if you don't mind, please, uh..." Wendy paused. "I was going somewhere with that. Ugh, crap! Please just show me where Bigby is!"

The Mirror just stared for a second. "Just like him. At least you didn't threaten me." The Mirror then swirled away, showing Bigby, sitting in his straightjacket, mumbling to himself in his padded cell. Wendy couldn't make sense of what he was saying, not being able to hear the words themselves. He was wide-eyed, looking around his cell, as he occasionally struggled against the jacket. He seemed confused. Depressed.

Scared.

Wendy suddenly got very worried. She had never seen, hell, she never even imagined Bigby in such a way. Staring at him, she had to wonder if he even knew what was going on. She didn't know what had happened to him.

She felt a pit of anger in her stomach. What did they do to him? That does not look like the Bigby she had known. He didn't have his gruffness, his sarcastic tendencies, or his heart. He didn't care, because he didn't know what to care about. He didn't have his bravery.

They stripped away everything that made him him.

The image then swirled away, showing the Mirror's face once more. "Would there be anything else?"

Wendy frowned deeply, seething slightly. "Is there anyway you can show me where he is?"

"Give me a name, and I will try."

Wendy was a bit surprised that it could be that easy. "Doctor Weston's compound," she told the mirror.

The Mirror frowned. "I cannot find a place by that name. The location you are looking for is not one and the same."

Wendy furrowed her brow. "What?" She asked, confused beyond belief. Maybe it went by a different name? Could that be it? She sighed, knowing that she could not find Bigby that way. "Show me...show me Doctor Weston."

The Mirror's frown stayed in place. "That...is strange..."

"What?" Wendy asked. "What's going on?"

The Mirror just looked at the redhead, trying to comprehend what is happening. "There is no Doctor Weston."