Warning! I do not own Gravity Falls or any of its characters. I apologize for the wait; life's thrown me a few curve balls lately and it took sometime to get back on track. Before we begin I'd like to thank all of those who have reviewed or followed the story so far. This one's for you.

Wendy barely recognized the man lying on the hospital bed. Three long gashes ran across his chest while a fourth ran from his down the right side of his face weaving underneath a cloth path covering his eye. It was hard to believe that this pale and broken being could have ever been the overprotective older brother she remembered.

"Wendy!" Dipper's voice broke through her train of thought as the out of breath youth came to a halt before her. "We came as soon as we heard."

"Thanks for coming guys" Wendy replied as Stan and Mabel joined them.

"How's Al doing?" Stan asked looking at the man lying in the hospital bed.

Before Wendy could reply the doctor walked in.

"Could I speak to you for a moment, Miss. Corduroy." He asked gesturing towards the hallway.

Wendy solemnly followed the doctor out of the room.

"I take it your father isn't coming?" The doctor asked once they were out of the room.

"I wouldn't count on it." Wendy replied remembering the less than pleasant conversation she'd had with him in route to the hospital.

"I'm not going to lie to you young lady," The doctor began. "Your brother is in for a rough ride. We managed to stop the bleeding from the lacerations to his chest and upper body. Unfortunately the damage to his right eye was too extensive. There no easy way to say this Miss. Corduroy; we had to remove the eye. He also has several broken ribs that could cause issues later on. To be honest, it's a miracle he's still alive."

"Will he be ok?" Wendy asked shell shocked from what she just heard.

"He's lost a lot of blood, but it looks like you found him just in time. Given his current condition I'd estimate he'll be back on his feet in three to six weeks. He'll have to take it easy for a little while though; one wrong move and he could wind up back here…or worse."

"Thanks doc." Wendy sighed as she turned back to her brother's hospital room. When she walked in Stan was checking through Al's charts while Mabel messed around with Al's old top hat. Meanwhile Dipper diligently flipped through journal #3 trying to find some clue as to what caused the attack.

"Everything alright?" Stan asked seeing the look on Wendy's face.

"I can't stop thinking that this is somehow my fault." Wendy explained, eyes watering. "If I had just gone after him right when he left then maybe…"

"You can't blame your self for this." Stan assured.

"They had to removed his eye, Mr. Pines," Wendy countered fighting back the tears. "His eye."

"You're missing the point," Dipper chimed in, trying to cheer her up. "You saved his life, Wendy. If you hadn't found him he wouldn't be here right now! You're like a certified hero!"

"Thanks Dipper." The red head replied still feeling down about the situation. Looking around the room it pained her to see that the rest of the Corduroy family wasn't there. When she'd called, her father had been angrier about her sneaking out than he was concerned for his first born son. He'd even gone as far as to forbid her younger brothers from coming to the hospital. Wendy turned her attention back to the figure in the bed. What did he ever do to deserve this?

"Hey what's this?" Mabel's question jarred Wendy from her thoughts. Wendy looked over in time to witness Mabel pull a tattered photo out of Al's hat.

"I remember this." Wendy smiled sadly taking the photo from Mabel. "It was the summer before he left."

The photo was of four teens standing in front of the Mystery Shack. A familiar white suited figure stood in the center of the shot laughing as a black haired boy threw pine cones at a young couple holding hands.

"Al asked me to take the photo while he and Paul ambushed Richard and Jane." Wendy explained holding up the battered keepsake. "Those four were inseparable. Always running around town; getting into all sorts of trouble. After Al left the rest of the gang just kind of fell apart."

"May I see it?" Dipper asked as Wendy passed over the photo. His eye's lit up as he studied the image. "Mabel, take a look at what's sticking out of Al's pocket!"

Mabel peered over her brother's shoulder to see what he was talking about. Sticking out of the jacket pocket of Al's suit was a thick burgundy book with a black number one inscribed within a golden six fingered hand.

Again I would like to take the time to apologize for the lateness of the update. I would promise it won't happen again but let's face it; I'm an easily sidetracked individual. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and as usual if you have any questions/ suggestions/ and or comments please feel free to message me. Thanks for reading!