Molly turned to face Dipper.

"My name's Molly," she told him.

"Molly what?" he inquired. She hesitated.

"Cipher," she finally said. He gave her an odd look.

"What?" she said meanly. He didn't even flinch as she pushed past him into the building.

"Nothing," he responded quickly. "Might I ask why you're here at..." He paused to glance at a clock. "6:54 in the morning? We're not open until around 8," he pointed out.

"Long story. What even is this place?" Molly said, looking around at the strange objects.

"Welcome to the Mystery Shack," he sighed, "also known as the world's weirdest tourist trap." She stifled a laugh.

Molly, focus. You need food, she said in her head.

She was about to ask if there was anything she could eat when Dipper interrupted by asking "Why are you here?"

Molly sighed. "I ran away from the orphanage where I was raised. I've been walking for hours and I need food. I found this place and decided it looked as good a stop as any," she explained. He nodded.

"Why'd you run away?" he asked.

"None of your business," she snapped. She felt hot tears slowly starting to roll down her cheeks.

Oh my God, Molly. Toughen up, she scolded herself. Closing her eyes and concentrating, the tears slowly evaporated into mist.

"What the hell?!" Dipper exclaimed.

Oh. Right.

"Don't freak out! It's cool. It's cool," she assured him. He frowned.

"Alright, you explain this to me right now or I call the police," he threatened. That wasn't good. Molly was NOT going back to the orphanage. She sighed again.

"Get comfy. It's a long story."


"Okay, let me see if I got this right: you and your twin brother lived in an orphanage. You were abused and treated differently because you guys have weird powers. He ran away when you were 5 years old. Now you've run away and are trying to find him," Dipper said.

"Pretty much," Molly replied.

"Wow. That's... wow," he said. He looked at the clock. "Crap. It's almost 8," he observed.

"Good to know," Molly said sarcastically. She heard fast footsteps rapidly approaching them.

The door flew open to reveal a girl who looked almost identical to Dipper. She had the same brown hair and brown eyes. She had a huge grin on her face, showing off her braces. She wore a bright red t-shirt with little white stars all over it, with white overalls and a headband to match.

"Hey Dip! Why are you down here in your PJ's?" she said brightly. "And who's this? Your girlfriend?" she asked, turning to Molly, who pretended to throw up. Dipper's face went bright red.

"I'm Molly," she introduced herself.

"I'm Mabel! You look familiar. Do I know you?" the girl replied. Molly shook her head.

"Oh. Okay!" Mabel chirped. "C'mon, Dipper! You need to get dressed," she said to her brother. He made a noise that was half-moan, half-groan, that can only be made by someone who does not want to do something.

Molly smiled at the two. It reminded her of Bill. Remember, Molly, she told herself, you have to find Bill. Then you can be friends with girls wearing sweaters and their awkward brothers.

Mabel dragged her brother by the arm upstairs, leaving Molly alone in the gift shop. She looked around at the weird items all around the room. Many looked fake.

The door opened, and Molly turned to face a tall, red-headed girl a couple years older than her. The girl had freckles on her pale cheeks, and she wore a blue-green plaid shirt. Atop her head was a furry brown hat with ear flaps.

"Sup?" the girl said casually, plopping down on the chair behind the cash register and opening a magazine.

"Um... not much. You?" Molly tentatively replied.

"Same. I'm Wendy, by the way."

"Oh. I'm Molly. Molly Cipher."

"Cool name."

Molly thanked her. She stood there awkwardly for a moment when Dipper and Mabel walked back into the room.

"Hi, Wendy!" Mabel happily greeted.

"Hey," Dipper said. Wendy waved at them, focused on whatever article she was reading.

"This is Molly," Dipper said.

"I know," Wendy replied.

"Oh. Okay."


A few minutes later, a rather wide man in a suit wearing an eyepatch and a red fez entered the room.

"Hey, dudes! Who's this?" he asked, looking at Molly.

"Oh, I'm Molly," she told him.

"I'm Soos. Welcome to the Mystery Shack!"

"Would you be willing to help out today?" Dipper asked her.

"Like, help work here?" Molly said.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

So she spent the day sweeping up the gift shop and ringing up overpriced souvenirs. By the end of the day, she was quite tired and very hungry, despite the many snacks she got from the vending machine.

She and the twins ate popcorn and watched a strange show called Ducktective after Wendy had left. There had also been a nice lady called Melody working there, who Molly discovered was Soos's girlfriend.

"Hey, guys?" Molly asked.

"Yeah?" Mabel answered through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Can I ask you guys a favor?"

"Of course!" Dipper said.

"Can you guys help me find my brother?"

"You have a brother?" Mabel asked, confused.


After Mabel was caught up, Molly repeated her question.

"Can you guys help me find him?"

Mabel placed a hand on her new friend's shoulder.

"Molly, I will find your brother if it kills me, because I care about my friends," she said, dead serious.

Molly laughed. "You won't die, I promise." The two girls smiled at each other.

"Can we see a picture of him? And maybe, I dunno, get his name?" Dipper said, slightly grinning.

Molly smacked herself in the forehead, but she, too, was grinning a little. "I'm an idiot. Yeah, hang on." She grabbed her sack and tenderly picked up her picture. She handed it to the twins.

"This is an old picture, but I think he probably still looks like that. I mean, you can tell I haven't changed much, huh?" Molly told them, chuckling slightly at her last comment.

Two pairs of eyes widened as they looked at the picture. Molly adjusted her eyepatch, feeling uncomfortable at Dipper and Mabel's reactions.

"What... what's his name?" Dipper whispered.

Why do they seem so afraid? Molly thought. She hesitated for a moment, trying to push away her nervousness. She finally answered, "Bill."

And Mabel screamed.