Chapter 19
Disclaimer: don't own
Talk-normal
Talk-thinking
"Talking"-3 speaking
Warning's: Some violence.
A/N: Well, sorry for the long wait. I was distracted by many things: my boyfriend, other Gravity Falls episodes (Because if you watch one, you have to watch them all), YouTube, batting another story idea around, string, replaying Pokémon games, shiny things, red dots, cats, etc. But anyways, here's Into the Bunker.
Into the Bunker
It's been a week since the disastrous date and break up, and 3 and Dipper have been avoiding Wendy like the plague. Whenever she walked into the room, they would suddenly need to be in another room. Poor Dipper wasn't sleeping from his guilt and has been having nightmares all week and won't talk to 3 about them.
3 was working alone in the gift shop when Wendy finally cornered her.
"Hey Aris…"
3 stiffened and turned away to have a staring contest with the Cheapskate. "Ah…hi Wendy…How's it going?"
Wendy sighed and said, "I've been trying to talk to you and Dipper for the past week but you two kept on running or shouting 'none specific excuse.' Then pushing the closest thing away and fleeing" Wendy gently turned 3 around and said, "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for going off on you and Dipper. Once I calmed down and really thought about it, I realized you two were just looking out for me."
"So you're not mad at us?"
"Nah, I was just a little emotional."
"That's a relief; Dipper hasn't been sleeping well lately and is positive that you hate him."
"No, I don't hate him or you. I realized that you were concerned that Robbie would've done something unforgivable and thinking on it, my brothers would've done the same thing, only they would be hiding a body already." Wendy pointed out with a grin.
3 laughed then realized and asked after a pause, "Wendy…how do you feel about Dipper anyway?"
Wendy smiled indulgingly and said, "I consider him a good friend and a pseudo, cool little brother. And I think of you and Mabel as little sisters I never had."
3 smiled outwardly while she celebrated inside, if Wendy considered him a brother then there was no way she'll date him so she is no longer competition. Though she was slightly sad Dipper's crush is one-sided, she at least had a chance. It turns out she couldn't hide her happiness from Wendy who mistook it for relief for them making up.
She laughed and ruffled 3's hair, "Well sis, can you get Dipper? I want to apologize to him face to face. I'll also treat you two to that mentioned ice-cream and I'll throw in a movie too." 3 grinned in response and left to find Dipper.
She finally found him in his bed, taking a nap. She paused when she saw the bags under his eyes are darker than usual and instead of a peaceful expression, he looked like he was having a nightmare, again.
"Dipper…" She whispered, poking his face, "Wendy's downstairs, she wants to talk to you."
He muttered a little and got up, looking even more exhausted than ever, "Wha…? Wendy?"
3 nodded, "She's not mad, she wants to talk to you."
He lost his sleepy expression and whirled towards her and stared. "Really!?" 3 nodded and shot out of bed but got his feet entangled in the blanket and face planted into the floor to 3's concern.
"Are you alright?" She asked in concern.
"I'm fine just haven't been getting enough sleep."
"Nightmares?" He remained silent and 3 sighed, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"It's nothing…nothing to be worried about, 3." He said and ran downstairs to meet Wendy. 3 groaned and sat down on the bed and thought, Oh Dipper, what's bothering you?
3 and Dipper found themselves on Wendy's bed watching a B-rated movie about zombies.
'What do we do, Chadley? I thought they were dead!' A pretty black and white teen asked on the screen as the microphone was seen.
'Far worse Trixandra! They're... Nearly Almost Dead but Not Quite!' The jock yelled as Trixandra screamed
"Man, these movies are a lot less scary when you actually fought real zombies." Dipper said watching the fake zombies on the screen.
"I admit it does take the horror from the walking dead." 3 agreed.
"They're slow! Just power-walk away from them!" Wendy yelled at the TV teens.
"How much you want to bet that guy dies first?"
"Jocks are the first to die…" 3 pointed out when a zombie ate the guy's face.
'Aah! My face is being eaten a lot.'
"Chadley ain't pretty anymore." Wendy said amused when her phone vibrated.
"One second. Ugh, another text from Robbie!" Wendy said in disgust as she looked at the screen
"That jerk is still trying to win you back?" 3 said in disinterest.
"Oh, yeah! Robbie. How's, uh, how's all that going?" Dipper asked still a little weird about breaking them up.
"Ugh, I'm over him, I just wish he was over me! Just look at these texts." She shows Dipper and 3 her phone, "Winky frown? What does that even mean?"
"Beats me…maybe he's sorry but not really?"
"And you're not…not like, seeing any other guys or..." Dipper trailed off.
"Of course I am, meet my new boyfriend, dude." She hugs a plush walrus nearby as Dipper laughed.
"Right, right. So, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to maybe if, you know you and me, whatever. I mean if maybe you wanted to join me, Polaris, and Mabel on this mystery hunt? Tomorrow? Conspiracy stuff and all that?" Dipper offered nervously.
Wendy smiled and said, "Yeah, dude. I love doing all that junk with friends. If that's okay with you Aris." 3 shrugged and smiled. Wendy turned back to the TV to call, "Yo Chadley, watch out!
"Yeah, that's what we are." Dipper pulls out a note from his vest and crumpled it up and placed it back in his vest. "That's all we'll ever be, Friends." He lay down on the bed on top of some laundry and sighed.
Wendy called from over shoulder to say, "Dude, you're lying on my bra."
"Hu-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Dipper screamed in surprise.
They soon returned to the Mystery Shack and they had a group discussion.
"I see you've invited Weeeeen-Ddddddy to our little hunt tomorrow, aye, Bro-bro." Mabel asked teasingly.
"Well yeah, I just figured it will be fun and junk…"
"This is your big chance to confess your feelings for her! In a dark spooky area underground to find clues to 3's and the Journal's father; it's the perfect setup!" Mabel said in excitement, ignoring 3's betrayed glare.
"I'd say you have no taste in romantic settings." 3 deadpanned from her position in Dipper's bed.
"Well then why don't you reveal your secret crush on-" She was cut off when 3 knocked her down by throwing an overstuffed unicorn at her head.
"What?" Dipper asked, looking at the two females in confusion.
"My crush on Coffee Omelets. Excellent balance of caffeine and egg." 3 said quickly whilst glaring at Mabel in annoyance.
"Ooookay…Anyway, when I was looking through 3 with a black light I found a solid clue that could lead us to the author." He looked at 3, who wordlessly transformed back to her book self. He shined a black light on her to show to his sister, "Apparently, before he disappeared, 3's father mentioned a hideout to escape to and if we find it, we could find him."
"We'd better use the copier to make another fake me and see if it recreates invisible ink. That way, Wendy won't be suspicious when we all meet up and I'm not visible. Plus, we can have a decoy or an extra to use if someone like Gideon tries to capture us." 3 suggested.
Dipper nodded and snuck into Stan's office, as he was copying her 3 asked.
"Dipper, are you sleeping okay?"
"…it's getting better."
"Dipper."
"Don't worry so much, it's just anxiety and me psyching myself out. Nothing to worry about."
"But I am worried. You've haven't had a full night's rest since you've fought Rumble and that was because of your exhaustion and your injuries. I'm scared you might burn yourself out and could get hurt from not being at you're best." 3 pressed.
"I'm fine!" He snapped and sighed, "Sorry…I know you're worried but I'll be careful. I promise, nothing will happen."
"I hope you're right…"
The next afternoon, 3, Mabel, Soos and Dipper were all gathered around the tree that once held 3 and were waiting for Wendy to show up.
Dipper taps a pen against his lantern to get their attention, "Thank you all for coming."
"Hey, when there's a mystery, you can count on your sister. E." Mabel tried to rhyme.
"That's an amazing rhyme. When you want some, good... When you need a Soos, you... Oh oh, gosh, I don't know." Soos tried also.
"How about you got to vamoose?" 3 finished for him and he grinned at her.
"We're here to solve the number one mystery in Gravity Falls; who wrote this journal?!" He pulled out the fake Journal they made last night; turns out it can copy invisible ink, it's just fainter then the original. "Thirty years ago the author vanished without a trace. But according to this new clue, we may have found his secret hiding place." He takes out the portable black light he now takes everywhere now to show the hidden drawings on the page. "We find that author; we learn the answers to everything. We just need to figure out a way to get down there."
"Chop it down, dudes!" Wendy called as she arrived on her bike and rang her bell cheerfully.
"Wendy!"
"Heya."
"Oh, hey! You came." Dipper greeted jittery.
"Dude, I'm so stoked about this. I've been wanting to go adventuring with you guys. Sure beats picking up after my dad at home. Thanks for the invite, man!" She ran over to join Soos who was looking at the tree.
"Of course, anytime you wanna…I, We're always...Us." Dipper continued, flustered.
Mabel grinned and continued her teasing from last night and poked Dipper, "Uh oh! Inviting Wendy on our mission? Me thinks there's romance afoot!"
"No, look I've thought this through and I'm over Wendy. I've looked at it from every angle, and that thing was going nowhere. I know what matters to me now, and it's finding 3's Father." Dipper stated, nodding towards a grateful looking 3.
"Hah! YOU'RE over Wendy?! Allow me to put on my 'skepticals'. She makes circles around her eyes with her fingers.
"I've moved on, Mabel. You should too." Dipper turned and walked away, leaving Mabel and 3 behind.
"Skepticals..."
3 turned to Mabel and demanded, "Why are you suddenly so keen on setting Dipper and Wendy up!?"
Mabel frowned at 3 and said, "Because you're not making a move! You keep on passing up on prime romance chances, like last week when you fell into his arms and you ran off, when I shoved you two in the closet, and last night when you two were on the roof and Old Man McGucket started to fire fireworks! Those were prime kissing moments!"
3 blushed and looked away, "I can't just come out and kiss him! Besides, he might just consider me a friend and I don't want to ruin that if he doesn't like me. I don't think I could take it if he started to hate me…"
Mabel placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Just like I told Dipper, you have to just go in there and do it your own way. One day you'll wait too long and he'll be out of your reach."
They went towards the group when they hear Dipper looked up, "Hey, is it just me, or does that branch kind of look like a lever?" Dipper turns away from the tree and tried to think of a way to reach it, not noticing Wendy uses her belt to start climbing up the tree.
"Huh, yeah. But how do we get up there...? It seems we'd need like a ladder, or like, ladder shoes... Yeah, ladder shoes. I'll get Soos to draw up a prototype." Wendy pulls out her axe and hits the lever, crying out in victory.
"Whoa ho ho!" Soos crowed, impressed.
"Wow!"
"Clever."
"Oh yeah, my dad used to make me compete in these lumberjack games when I was a kid. Guess I kind of ruled at it." Wendy said modestly, grinning from ear to ear as the tree shook, causing bird to fly away in surprise.
"Whoa, what is that!?" Wendy screamed as she fell down. At the bottom, the ground and tree sinks down, taking Wendy with it. The others gathered around and pulled her out before she disappears. They stand around it as a staircase to the middle of the tree appears and a door inside the tree slides opens.
"Alright guys, this is it. Remember, whatever happens down there, we tell no one." Dipper announced as 3 nodded, Mabel gave the thumbs up, Soos turned his hat around, and Wendy zips her lips.
"Now, who wants to go first?" Dipper asked as they descended to find themselves in a room.
"Whoa!" Mabel and Soos shouted and started to look around the bunker.
"Cool!"
"Mmm." Polaris hummed as she looked around, wide eyed.
"This is so stupid cool!"
"It's like a fallout shelter or something. It must've belonged to the author." Dipper said as he went deeper into the room. Wendy pulled off a metal sign saying 'Fallout Shelter' poster off the wall and dusts it off. "This is going over my bed."
Mabel places her face in a random barrel and she comes back with fuzzy black caterpillars covering her face, "Ha-ha! My face feels fuzzy!"
"This is incredible! It's like he was preparing for a disaster. But what kind of disaster would need supplies for over sixty years?" Dipper asks as he and 3 glances up at a shelf with dated boxes, the highest labeled 2070.
Soos opens a locker filled with weapons and TNT and pulls out a candy dispenser with a British dog on it. "Oh my gosh! A Smez dispenser! I remember these things. What's that, yes I will have some of your old-timey face food. Ew, dusty!" He eats a second piece as 3 reached into the locker to pull out a dagger.
"What scared my father enough to do all this?" 3 asked Dipper quietly.
"No clue…" He glances down and notices an opened bean can that was still dripping. He bent over and picked it up, "Wait guys, I think this can was opened recently." 3 took the can curiously and nodded, it's possible that he's still alive.
"The author might still be alive, down here!" Soos called excitedly.
"Wait a minute..." Wendy walks past Mabel a pulls down a map of Gravity Falls from 1982 that was floating in a breeze to revealing an open hatch cover, "I think I know where he might have gone..."
They crawled through the tunnel and found themselves in a room made from cubes and covered in alchemist symbols. "Whoa! Oh, man! Was this place built in the past or the future?"
"This room is way creepy." Soos whimpered, looking around.
"Not as creepy as Dipper's internet history! Hey oh!" Mabel called playfully as she shoves Dipper and he steps on the square with an odd design and it depresses, causing the hatch to slam and lock. The symbols on the other wall squares glow red, a buzzer sounds and the room starts to shake. Some squares start to poke into the room.
"Mabel what did you do!?" 3 screamed as the block she was standing on lurched forward.
"What's going on, dude?" Soos yelled as they pressed against the wall as the room became smaller and smaller as the cubes trapped them.
"If we don't do something, we'll be crushed!"
"Ha-ha, it's hard to be scared with caterpillars on your face. Wall things! Crazy wall things happening right now!" Mabel cried in a panic.
Wendy tries to push the blocks back in but it just pulls off her hat, "It won't stop!"
"Dipper! What do we do?!" Mabel cried to her brother desperately.
Dipper flips frantically through the fake journal and stops at a page labeled 'Security Room'. He shines the black light on it and called over to his friends, "Oh, come on!" He shows them a page with symbol on it, "Find these five symbols! Quick! Everybody step on one!"
"One!" Soos yelled as he pushed a cube on his left.
"Two!" Wendy punches the symbol in front of her.
"Three!" Mabel somersaults over a cube and slaps the symbol.
"Four!" 3 ran up the wall and slammed the symbol on the ceiling.
Dipper looked around a found his symbol slowly being blocked by another cube, "Five!" He climbs up blocks and taps symbol; a door opens on the other side of the room.
"Run for it!" They all charged for the exit with Dipper narrowly getting crushed and got trapped by his vest and he wiggled out to fall on top of Soos.
"Yes! Yes! That was, huh, that was nuts!" Wendy gasped, still running on fear and adrenaline. She turns to Dipper and called, "You ruled back there man!"
"Ha-ha, thanks." Dipper said breathless as 3 checked him over in concern.
"Get a load of this crazy Surveillance Room." Wendy called as they looked around the room they were now in. It was filled with computers, screens, papers, and beakers.
"Check it out dudes!" Soos called over as he takes the beakers and put them in front of his face and made silly faces
"Soos, Soos that is hilarious." Wendy laughed.
"Hey bro, you forgot your vest." Mabel walks over to the abandoned vest and pulls it out, making the note fall to the floor. "What the..? 'Dear Wendy, I've always had a crush on...'OHMYGOSH!" She read excitedly and grins at Dipper waving the note in front of him and 3, "Hey Dipper! Look what I found..."
Dipper gasped and snatches the note from his sister's grasp as 3's mood soured, "What did you..? Give me that!"
"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! You're not over Wendy at all and you were gonna tell her today?" Mabel asked animatedly, ignoring 3's angry glare.
"No, I changed my mind; it's a bad idea. I'd embarrass myself and then I'd be another guy she hates, like Robbie." Dipper muttered as he hid the note back into his vest.
"Dipper, you should just tell her already. One way or another, you'll feel better afterwards."
"How about you mind your own business. Besides, you're not in the position to be giving dating advice." 3 said waspishly.
"Look Mabel, I can't tell her no matter how much I want to, so just drop it okay?"
"Dude! Dipper, Aris, you two gotta check out this weird metal closet" Wendy called over as Soos span around in a wheely chair and she then made a robot voice, "I am a robot, I have a metal closet."
"Coming!" They both called as Dipper turned to Mabel "This never happened." They walked over, ignoring Mabel's serious face.
They were about to cross the threshold when Mabel ran up and grabbed both of them in a hug, "Brother, whatever happens I just you need to know something: this is for your own good. And 3…do it right this time."
"What?"
"Huh?"
Mabel shoves the two of them into the closet with Wendy and shuts it. "What the?" Dipper asked and looks at Wendy; he gasps and pounds on the door. "MABEL! Let us out!"
"Oh god, not again…" 3 muttered, blushing.
"Oh, I'll let you out Dipper, as soon as you tell Wendy that thing you've been wanting to tell her! And Polaris if he doesn't, you do it! You two will thank me for this later!"
"What is she talking about?" Wendy asked the two 12 year olds curiously.
"Nothing! Mabel's just been eating raw sugar packets again." Dipper said hurriedly and 3 heard Mabel eating something and say indigently, "Om nom... That's beside the point!"
"Let us out RIGHT NOW!" Dipper screamed at his sister as he pounded the door.
"Uh! Where are the lights?" Wendy asked and pulls the cord in front of her, causing water to spray down onto them.
"AHHH!"
Water gushes down, followed by a blast of hot air that pushes them all together. A red light flashes and a tone sounds. A sign reading 'Decontamination Complete' flashes and doors open on a wrecked underground room.
"3 are you alright?" Dipper whispered to the shaken 3. She looked at her still soaked arm that was limp and she knew if any pressure was place on it, it would tear. She nodded and whispered back, "A little damp, but the dry air helped a bit. Still, I should stay away from any more water."
Dipper nodded and helped her up. They walked deeper in to the room filled with broken tubes and more computers. Dipper called "Whoa! A hidden lab! Maybe the author did experiments down here."
"Huh. What do you think dug all these tunnels?" Wendy asked as she noticed large holes scattered into the walls.
"Let's hope we don't find out." They then hear a growling sound and a dark figure approaches. The three screamed and ran back to the door shouting, "Mabel, open up, for real! There's a monster in here!"
"Ha ha, nice try! The only monsters are your own inner demons, you two!" They heard Mabel called, muffled by the thick metal door.
Wendy turned to Dipper and 3 and yelled, "Dipper, Aris, just say whatever Mabel wants you two to say, so she'll let us out of here!"
"Come on Dipper! Now's the time, bro! Polaris, don't wimp out!" She encouraged.
"Wendy, I - I - I'm gonna find another way out!" He grabs Wendy's and 3's hands and pulls them in the other direction.
"Wait, what? Dude, where are we going?" Wendy yelled as they skirted around the edge of the room just as the monster entered, they ran down a tunnel and come to a dead end just as the thing corners them there. "What do we do?"
"I don't know!" They watch as the shadow got bigger to show an insect like thing roaring when a shadow of a man appears and starts to attack the monster.
"Back, back you heinous beast!"
"What!?" 3 gasped as a man in ragged clothing and goggles walked into view. "Well, I just ripped out a monster's tongue." The man said unperturbedly and throws it down at their feet as they breathed heavily.
"It's, it's you!" Dipper stuttered, looking at the old men as 3 cocked her head to the side.
"Hurry now, I scared it off, but it'll regenerate. I wasn't expecting guests. I've been down here for a very long time. Years! Weeks, maybe! I miss orange juice." He said as he led them down a tunnel.
Dipper turned to 3 and asked, "Is this him? Is he your father?" He whispered. 3 turned towards the man and frowned. "I-I'm not sure. I only caught a glimpse of him when he was placing me in the cubby, and that was at night. So I'm not 100%...That being said, he does look familiar…"
Dipper ran up to the man and said, "You don't understand, you're the guy I've been looking for!"
"He's the guy?" Wendy said surprised.
"Wendy, he's the guy!" Dipper declared as they celebrated, 3 was smiling broadly; she finally met her father again.
"The guy?!" The author asked the three kids curiously.
"I've got like a jillion questions! Why did you write the journals? Who was after you? Why did you build this bunker?" Dipper asked in rapid succession.
"Heh. My boy I'd love to discuss this in time. We have more pressing matters. It's one of my experiments, a shape-shifter. Able to take the form of anyone or anything it sees. It broke free from a cage of solid steel! I've gone half-crazy trying to catch the creature alone. But now you're here! Will you help me catch it?" 3's father asked, lifting up his goggles to look them in the eye as they nodded as one.
The writer led them into a lab and showed them inside, "Come in, come in! I apologize for the state of things! I don't get many non-mole-people visitors. Now the beast must have some weakness we can exploit. I just wish I had my research on me. But alas, I lost my journals so many years ago."
"Did you say journals?" Wendy asked happily sharing a look with Dipper as 3 frowned. Wait…why did he say 'lost?' He hid all of us in predetermined areas…
"Dude! I found one of them! That's how I tracked you down here." Dipper declared excitedly he was about to tell him about 3 when he caught her eye. She made abortive motions with her hand and narrowed her eyes at the man. He nodded slightly and pulled out the fake journal.
"What?! Could it be?" He takes journal from a now suspicious Dipper. "My boy! I can't express my gratitude! Oh yes, after all these years..."
Dipper, Wendy, and 3 gathered away from the author and talked amongst each other.
"Wendy. Do you think that guy is a little…odd?"
Wendy looked at the two strangely and asked, "What's wrong with you two? You guys were stoked when we found him. You heard him; he was down here for years, that it bound to make him unhinged."
"True, but he said he lost the journals. But from my- I mean the journal's entries; he knew beforehand where he was going to hid them!"
Wendy frowned and noticed and empty can and looked at it. She gasped and bit her lip and held the can towards them, "Dipper! Aris! Look! She shows them a can of beans with a picture of the "author" on it.
Dipper's and 3's eyes widened. So that's why he looks familiar!
Dipper nervously walks over to the man and asks, "Uhh, you know what? We should probably get going. Can I have my journal back?"
He turns his head 360 degrees and said in a deep voice, "You're not going anywhere." He crawls up wall and grows spider legs as they screamed in horror. He soon grew into a white, dripping maggot like creature with two misshaped arms on either side.
"How do you like my true form? Go on, admit it, you like it!"
"You! What did you do to the real author?!" Dipper yelled at the shape shifter.
"You'll likely never find out. That six-fingered nerd hasn't been himself in thirty years! But I thank you for bringing me his journal. He used to write it while I was in my cage. So many wonderful forms to take!" It transforms into the Gremloblin, a gnome, and then the hide behind, laughing.
Dipper grabbed Wendy and 3 and shouted, "RUN!"
"Wait! What about your journal!?"
"It's a fake! We have to run!" He yelled back and they started to run, unfortunately the shape shifter also heard.
"What!?" It bellowed and tossed the fake journal into a puddle and it dissolved. "YOU BRATS!" He begins to chase after them, using his tongue like a spear and slashing at them.
Wendy grabs a piece of metal to block and bashed it against its face.
"RUN! RUN! RUN!" Dipper screamed as the shape shifter chased after them in a giant rolly polly form. Leading them to a forked path Dipper throws his flashlight down one end and runs with Wendy and 3 down the other end where they crash into Mabel and Soos.
"Where were you?!" 3 said aggressively, cutting off their excited greeting.
"Wait! How do we know they're not the shape shifter?" Dipper whispered, narrowing his eyes at the two while pushing the girls to back away.
"Maybe I am! Mabel! Inspect my shape!" Soos said worried and lifting up his shirt as Mabel poked him and laughed, "Do that again!"
"Poke."
"Even better the second time!"
"It's them." 3 deadpanned.
"It's definitely them." Dipper agreed then gasped as he glanced at Wendy, "Oh my gosh, Wendy, you're bleeding!"
"It's cool, it's cool. It's just blood man, don't freak out." Wendy assured the worried children.
"What happened?"
"We found a man who claimed to be my father. But he turned out to be a shape shifter." 3 explained as she took off Wendy's jacket and made a bandage for her.
"He broke out of his cage, pretended to be the author, and wants Dipper's journal." Wendy continued then frowned at 3 and Dipper, "Aris, you never told me that the author was your dad and anyway, the journal Dipper had was a fake and the monster must be pissed now."
"Imagine if he escapes to the town! He can transform into anything! We could never trust anyone ever again!" Dipper told them.
"It will make his words come true…"
"What do we do?!" Mabel asked.
"Well, he took us into his home, tricked us, and tried to destroy us. I say we return the favor."
3 grinned like a shark, "We've already did the trick part lets return the destroying part"
They hid out in another tunnel waiting for the shape shifter to come along, he soon entered the tunnel in his human form calling, "Dipper, my boy! Come out! I must speak with you!" It turns into a creature with six legs, claws, and a one-eyed head resembling a hand. "REVEAL YOURSELF, YOU SINGLE-FORMED HUMAN WEAKLING!"
Mabel enters the room with Dipper, "Oh boy, Dipper. This real book sure is full of some great monsters!" She said loudly with Dipper hold 3 in her book form.
"There you are! Ooh and a new one." It said in malicious amusement as it turned into Mabel. "Should I be one...?" It turns into Dipper, "...or the other? Hoe about the one missing…?" He turned into Polaris, "How about both!?" It turns into a sixed-legged creature the top half resembles Dipper while the bottom half resembles Mabel. Both halves have a large mouth with many sharp teeth and glowing white eyes, it bellows as the children screamed in horror. They turned and ran away with the shape shifter chasing them. They enter a room with Wendy and Soos holding onto the valve of a pipe.
"Guys, he's coming! He's coming! NOW, NOW, NOW, NOW!" Dipper shouted as they gathered around the pipe.
Wendy and Soos start turning the valve but it didn't give a drop.
"It's not working, dude!"
The shape shifter catches up to them and wraps its slimy tongue around 3 and tries to rip her from Dipper's hands. Aw gross! When this is over, I'm dry cleaning my cover!
"HEY, LET GO!" Dipper yelled as Wendy joined the tug-of-war.
"You leave him alone!"
The shape shifter then tugs viciously at 3 and she's ripped from Dippers hands but Wendy is pulled away with 3 also.
"WENDY! 3!"
Wendy jumps on to the shape shifter and prepares to attack it with her axe. Soos successfully turns the valve and a strong stream of water bursts from the pipe, Wendy, 3, and the shape shifter are knocked backwards by the water. Dipper, Mabel and Soos get caught in the flow as well. The water finally subsided and they are back to where they find out about the shape shifter.
Wendy and 3 groaned and found themselves away from the rest of the group.
"Oh man…that was wild…" Wendy got up and coughed up some water, she glanced around and found 3 near her and she picked her up and walked away. "Ow…I think I hit my head against a rock or something. Where are Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Aris? Speaking of Aris, I didn't see her when we unleashed the water." Wendy muttered to herself, rubbing the back of her head. "I hope they're alright."
Wendy soon found Dipper crouched in front of a body and 3's heart nearly stopped. At first she thought it might be Mabel until we got close enough to hear him say, "-you when we were in the closet we wouldn't be in this mess. But I was too scared and now you could be hurt or worse, and I never even got to tell you I'm, like - In love with you, Wendy!" He cried, burying his face in his hands in shame.
"Uh, Dipper?"
Dipper whirled around with tears still in his eyes and stuttered, "Huh-Wha-Wendy?! W-wait, then who's...?" He turned and they saw another Wendy laying there that then crouched on all fours and growled.
"LOOK OUT!" Dipper yelled when the shape shifter lunged at Wendy and 3.
"Give me back that journal!" The shaped shifter screamed in Wendy's voice, clawing at Wendy.
"Never!"
It shoves her over and lands on her, reaching for 3 with a victorious smile until Wendy plowed her boots into the shape shifters stomach.
"Get off me!"
The two Wendy's fight while Dipper watches unsurely, 3 knew that he lost track about which was which. Dipper picks up the axe and approaches them as they were fighting each other with a disorientated 3 between them.
"Give it back; it belongs to Dipper!" One of them screamed.
"Hit her with the axe!" The other yelled at Dipper.
"Don't listen to her, Dipper!"
"She's the shape-shifter!"
Dipper looks between them with sweat running down his face, "Uh, uh, I don't know who's who! Give me a sign!" He told the two of them.
One winks while the other zips her lips and made a throwing motion. Dipper then stabs the shape shifter in the stomach, causing a green sludge to come pouring out. The shape shifter returned to normal and screamed in agony. It glares at the two and screamed, "NO I WILL NOT LOSE TO A BUNCH OF SNOT-NOSED BRATS!" It punched Wendy in the stomach and slashed at Dipper with one of its legs. It snatched 3 from the winded Wendy and laughed, "Finally! I have the real one!"
Wendy turned to Dipper and screamed, "What do we do!? Where is Aris!?"
The shape shifter's laugh of triumph soon became a roar of pain. They whirled around to see a clawed hand stabbing one of the shape shifter's bulging pink eyes originating from 3. Soon, 3's snapped form's head comes out from the opened pages and glares at the monster.
"Yes…you do have the real one…" 3's leg then snapped out and round house kicks the monster.
Wendy stared wide eyed at 3 as she fully formed. "Dipper…what…is…that?"
"An ally."
The monster came charging back at 3 who punched the axe that was still embedded within it deeper into its gut. It screamed and clawed at 3's arm and ink splattered across the room.
"3!" Dipper screamed in horror as 3 quickly backed away and looked at her arm. "Damn…two baths in one day has taken its toll…" She growled, looking at her soaked arm that was bleeding freely. "It's done a number on my durability."
Dipper's eyes widened and glanced around the room, trying to find a way to help 3 when he noticed a cryogenic tube flashing 'ready' at the top. The shape shifter rips the axe out of its body and was about to turn it onto 3 when Dipper yelled at the girls "Push him in!"
Dipper, 3, and Wendy charged and pushed the shape shifter into the tube. The door closes and the tube begins freezing the shape shifter.
"No!" It screamed and turns into a rock monster trying to smash the glass, then a flame monster, then the man from earlier, "Let me ouuuut!" It then shifts back to its true form and goes silent and they share a sigh of relief. Wendy then turns to 3 and Dipper and asks with hands on her hips, "So…mind explaining this to me?" She gestured at 3.
3 then shrunk down to her 12 year old body and hissed in pain as more ink dripped from the wound. Dipper tears a piece of his shirt to bandage the wound.
"Aris!? What!? What's going on!?"
"Wendy…there's something we need to tell you…" Dipper said, sharing a weary grin with 3. While they waited for Soos and Mabel, they explained how Dipper found 3, her speaking, her transformation, and what she was doing here. Wendy nodded in understanding when Soos and Mabel walked in. She shared a secretive grin with them and zipped her lips.
Soos looked around apprehensive and asked, "Let's get out of here, dudes." They all turned away to follow them when they heard evil laughter. They whirled around to see that the monster was still awake.
"You think you're so clever don't you, Dipper?" It sneered as 3 and stood protectively in front of him, "But you have no idea what you're up against. You will never find the author. If you keep digging, you'll meet a fate worse than you can imagine. A fate where not even that book spirt of yours won't be able to save you and this will be the last form you ever take! It finally took a new form of Dipper and screams while being frozen, leaving a frozen statue of a terrified Dipper in front of them.
"Ha-ha! Good luck sleeping tonight!" Soos laughed then groaned in pain when 3 punched him.
They then returned above ground and sighed in relief as the tree returned to normal.
"Dude, I think I'm kind of adventured out for a little while. My face hurts from doing this all day." He makes a screaming face and rubs the mark on his arm. "Also my arm."
"Yeah, but you gotta admit we're all total heroes." Mabel told them cheerfully.
"Hey, who wants to get some hero's breakfast, huh?" Soos asked, messing up Mabel's hair then placed her on top of his shoulders and she shouted, "Syrup on cereal!"
"Mabel, you're a visionary!" Soos complimented as they walked back to the Mystery Shack. Wendy was following after them when 3 and Dipper stopped her.
"Look, Wendy, about earlier. In the heat of the moment, I might have said some dumb things, and can't we pretend none of that ever happened? Also, can you keep 3's secret a secret? Please?" Dipper asked turning away and pulling his head down.
"Dude, Dude. It's okay. I always kind of knew." Wendy assured, placing a hand on both of their shoulders.
"Wait, you did?"
Wendy chuckled, "Well, not about 3, but that does explain the voice I kept on hearing that vanished after Aris here came. Yeah, did you think I can't hear that stuff you're constantly whispering under your breath?"
Dipper groaned in embarrassment and sat down on a log, burying his head in his hands, "Oh Man!"
Wendy and 3 sat down on either side of him and Wendy continued, "Listen Dipper, I'm like, super flattered, but... I'm too old for you. I mean, you know that, right?"
"Mabel said confessing would make me feel better." Dipper groaned.
"Well, how do you feel?"
"Anxious. Scared. Kind of itchy."
Wendy chuckled and said, "Dude, don't be itchy man. Let me tell you something. This summer was super boring until you showed up. I have more fun with you than practically anyone else. And if you ever stopped being my friend ...I would, like, throw myself into the Bottomless pit!" 3 nodded, sharing the same sentiments.
"So things won't be too, awkward, now?" Dipper asked, still nervous.
"I just wrestled myself, dude. That was awkward. If you can handle that monster, you can handle a little awkwardness. Plus you have a super powerful book for a friend, you can handle anything." Dipper nodded but 3 heard him whisper and blinked in confusion.
"I…scared…happen…"
Dipper turned to Wendy and held out his hand, "Friends?"
3 also held out her uninjured arm, "Friends?"
"Yeah, dudes! Friends!" She shoves both him and 3 backwards off the log, causing the three of them to burst out laughing as Wendy pulls them both back onto the log.
"Oh, and hey Dipper, Aris? See you for movie night tomorrow. Your place this time, okay?" She got back onto her bike and rode away with Dipper watching her go sadly when Mabel appeared next to them.
"Sooo? How did it go?" She asked grinning.
Dipper and 3 jumped in surprise, "Wha-what did you hear?" He stuttered.
"Everything! All the time!" Soos then pops out of the bushes and shouts, "I'M NOT HERE!"
Dipper turned away from his sister and asks, "Mabel, how can everything be so amazing and so terrible all at the same time?"
"I'm so sorry for being so pushy Dipper. If it's any consolation, I'm already working on your list of potential rebound crushes." Mabel apologized, trying to ignore 3's burning glare.
"Thanks Mabel. Whoa!" The kids jumped in surprise when their side of the log tilted upward when Soos sat down on the other end.
"I'm still bummed we're no closer to finding that author guy. At least I got his science-y coat and briefcase. He holds up the briefcase and it flops open to reveal that it was actually a laptop. "Whoa! What the?"
"Soos, that's not a briefcase, it's a laptop!" Dipper cried.
"And a really busted up one too."
"Who cares about that, this is a solid clue!" 3 said excitedly.
"I bet I could get this thing fixed up in a few days. It's gonna take a lotta duct tape." Soos said, staring hard at the ancient computer.
"This could be our next clue!" Dipper said, filling with hope as he looked at the laptop labeled, 'property of F.'
The next night, Dipper, 3, and Wendy were all gathered on the chair watching a movie channel.
"Is it just me or does Gravity Falls TV only have the worst movies?" Dipper asked as they stuffed their faces with popcorn.
'You're watching the Gravity Falls Bargain Movie Showcase. Coming up next, The Widdlest Wampire!
"That vampire reminds me of Gideon." 3 muttered.
'The Planet People of Planet Planet!' 'Help! My Mummy's a Werewolf!' 'Attack of the Exclamation Points!' 'The Man with no Taste', 'Ghost Turtle', 'Help! My Mummy's a Werewolf! 2: This Again!'
"You want to never watch this channel again?" Dipper asked and 3 got up.
"I'm going to get more snacks? Want anything?"
"Just a soda."
"I'm come with you." Wendy said, also getting up and they walked into the kitchen and Wendy smirked at 3.
"Soo…you like Dipper?"
3 was so surprised she dropped her soda, she whirled and muttered, "Not you too! Mabel is bad enough."
"Don't worry dude I can keep a secret. Besides, to quote myself, 'I always kind of knew.' I could sometimes notice you glaring at me when Dipper stuttered around me and those quips were slightly harsh."
"Oh…sorry…"
"No problem. I understand." She grinned and asked, "So need any advice?"
3 groaned and banged her head on the counter. "Great there's two of them."