Stan left to run a few errands while he still looked human. He bought plenty of food, and even picked up one of the giant hamster balls Mabel had been eyeing all summer. They filled it with water so she could move more freely by rolling around. She also replaced her soaking sweater with a tankini swimsuit top, and had lately taken to swirling around inside of the ball as fast as she could.

Stan closed the Mystery Shack gift shop, and called Wendy and Soos to tell them not to come into work.

Dipper precariously figured out how to descend the stairs, and he, Stan, and Mabel sat watching Ducktective and Tiger Fist all morning. They didn't really have anything else to do. Ford was down in his lab. Around noon Stan was complaining of stiffness, which Dipper and Mabel took to be the first symptom of his change.

"Don't worry, Grunkle Stan," Mabel said, leaning on the edge of the opening in the top of her hamster ball. "It'll be over soon."

Stan grumbled and rubbed his knee. Just then, there was a knock at the front door. All three of them turned to the noise, and Dipper's ears pricked up. Stan groaned as he stood up and went to the door.

"Careful!" Dipper said nervously.

Stan rolled his eyes and opened the door a crack. Wendy and Soos stood on the porch, both looking concerned.

"Stan!" Wendy said in a strained voice, "What's up?"

"We're worried, Mr. Pines!" Soos added. "You never shut down the Mystery Shack!"

"It's nothing," Stan grunted, trying to shut the door, but Wendy stuck her foot in the crack.

"Are Dipper and Mabel okay? Is something wrong?" She asked. Stan had never seen her look so stressed.

"They're fine. You should just leave us alone right now." He avoided meeting their eyes.

"No way!" Wendy said defiantly.

Soos nodded. "If something's wrong, we want to help!"

"No, really, guys-" But Wendy forced her way through the door and past Stan, and Soos followed.

Having heard this exchange from the living room, Dipper and Mabel were scrambling. Mabel grabbed the lid to the hamster ball and screwed it on so the water wouldn't spill, then flicked her tail so the ball rolled behind the couch. Dipper crouched behind it with her as Wendy and Soos entered the room.

"Where are they?" Wendy asked. Then she spotted the top of the large pink ball, partially visible above the couch. "Oh, cool, did Mabel finally get her hamster ball?" She grinned. Mabel was curled at the bottom of the ball, most of which was effectively hidden by the couch, so Wendy didn't see her.

"Yeah, but the kids aren't here right now," Stan said quickly. "Really, you two should just enjoy your day off."

Soos looked at him strangely. "You've never given us a day off, Mr. Pines. What's going on?"

"Nothing! Really, you should just leave," Stan said frantically.

"Seriously, Stan? Are you sick? You look terrible," Wendy looked at him closely, arms crossed. His skin was grayish and rough looking. "We can help if you-"

Stan stamped his foot, making the floor shake and the owl clock fall off the wall. "I'm fine! Now get out!" he said angrily.

Wendy and Soos looked shocked. "Alright, fine," Wendy mumbled. She and Soos walked towards the front door, but Wendy turned around to say one more thing to Stan. Unfortunately, Stan's outburst had caused Mabel's ball to roll out from behind the couch.

Wendy's mouth fell open. "Mabel?"

Dipper poked his head up from behind the couch. Stan slapped his hand to his forehead. Soos turned around.

"Sweet costume, dude!" Soos said, looking at Mabel.

"I don't think that's a costume, Soos," Wendy said slowly. She walked over to Mabel, who had a sort of apologetic, expectant look on her face. Wendy knocked on the surface of the ball and waved at her.

Mabel exhaled, bubbles issuing from her mouth, and rotated the ball until the opening was facing up. She unscrewed the lid and popped her head out. "Hey, Wendy," she said shyly.

"What happened, man?" Wendy asked, looking both astonished and fascinated.

"Long story," Mabel replied. She looked at Stan. "We should probably tell them, Grunkle Stan. We need all the help we can get."

Stan folded his arms angrily. "I'm going straight down to Ford to see if he's figured anything out yet. You two can do the explaining." He marched heavily out of the room, rubbing his back.

Wendy looked around. "Oh, is Dipper here too?"

Dipper crouched lower behind the couch, curling his legs beneath him. He didn't want Wendy to see him like this!

"He's hiding behind the couch," Mabel said bluntly. Dipper glared at nothing.

He heard Wendy approaching, and scrambled to find something to hide under. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything to find. He looked up as Wendy poked her head over the side of the couch to see him.

"Woah, dude," she said, half laughing, "Nice legs."

Dipper winced and looked away, embarrassed.

"Oh, come on," she said, holding out her hand to help him up, "I think it's pretty cool." She rubbed the top of his head, her fingers brushing the tips of his ears. He felt a little better at that.

He and Mabel told Soos and Wendy about the river that turned them into monsters. "Ford is studying the water to try to find a cure," Dipper said, "But we have no idea what to do." He glanced at Mabel and looked down, his ears drooping.

"Hey, no worries, bro," Wendy said, "We've got you."

"But what can you do? You don't know how to fix this," Mabel said dejectedly.

Soos smiled. "Maybe not, but we still want to help."

At that moment, Stan and Ford both came into the room. Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy all stared at Stan. His skin was now a dark gray, and looked hard as stone. An enormous pair of bat-like wings protruded from his back, and his eyes were faintly glowing yellow.

"Wha…?" Mabel started to ask, but Stan cut her off.

"Gargoyle," He grunted. "And we've got some bad news."

Ford sighed. Wendy and Soos were staring at him too, but didn't say anything. "It appears that the enchantment has a very complex psychological component to it. I can't make an antidote," Ford said, "But that doesn't mean that the enchantment is irreversible. However, it will require force of mind and strength of character to overcome."

"Force of mind?" Mabel asked.

"Strength of character?" said Dipper.

"Yes," Ford affirmed. "I haven't figured out the details yet, but it looks as though we are going to be stuck like this for a while."