"I really don't want to do this."
"Well, Dipper, you came up with the idea in the first place, so stop complaining. Now let's go."
"Okay, okay."
Dipper and Wendy began to walk away from the porch of the Mystery Shack. They each had a backpack on, filled with flashlights, some snacks, some rope—anything they might need to obtain the other two journals. Wendy had her ax with her, which was crucial, especially to where they were going next.
The two crossed a path through forest into enemy territory: Lil Gideon's Tent O' Telepathy.
"Man," Dipper said, "I haven't been here since like, the first week of vacation."
Wendy looked up at the sign titling the building, which had been spray painted with black all over it. Upon further inspection, many things had been spray painted over, and boarded up. "And that was when it was actually open, and Gideon wasn't a criminal." After people in the town found out Gideon was a liar, after he was arrested, they basically destroyed his property. There wasn't even a point in owning it anymore, with his powers being outed. Dipper had thought it was best to start where Gideon spent a lot of his time using the journal, which was where he hypnotized all his fans into thinking it was all real.
Two rows of benches, like in a church lined the back of the room; at the front was the stage, and the sky blue curtains were sitting wide open.
"I don't think anyone has been here in weeks," Dipper said. His voice echoed, just enough that Wendy took notice.
"Yeah. It's kind of creepy in here..." Even though there was enough light to see, inside he pulled a flashlight from her backpack and turned it on. "Come on, let's check backstage."
Since she had the light source, Wendy went first through the door. She opened it quietly, shining brightness behind the stage. Suddenly, a bat flew out from the door, making both Dipper and Wendy jump. Wendy dropped her flashlight, making it go out. After a few second, she grabbed it and hit it against the wall to get it back on, and proceeded into the next room.
There were a lot of stage props caked in dust, sitting in stacked boxes. Papers littered the floor, as well as spiderwebs. Wendy held the light against the left wall first, working her way down, and then up the right. Some more spider webs were scattered around a door that had a gold star smack in the middle. "Do you think that's Gideon's dressing room?" Dipper quizzed her. He touched it with his hand. "Oh my God, I think this is actual gold."
"What else can you do with all that money?" Wendy said. "Here, you check in here, and I'll go in the other room. Be back in a second." She touched her friend's shoulder before opening the door slowly, and stepping inside.
She felt against the wall for a light switch, and flipped it to get nothing. Wendy figured it was probably because Gideon's parents stopped paying the electricity bills at the end of June, right when Gideon was sent to jail.
Looking around, there wasn't much. Just a lot of expensive items sat around. A vanity was against the wall opposite to the door. The closet was left open, and Wendy saw a ton of Gideon's trademark sky blue suits with capes tied to the hangers. A white couch and matching armchair, along with a large rug were on the last side of the room. The pillows were ripped open and littered on the floor in a rage, which was normal for Gideon.
Wendy approached the vanity, and began opening the drawers. The first two were filled with all kinds of products; Wendy wasn't surprised to find a small, half-used tub of her brand of moisturizer along with everything.
In the last drawer was a stack of letters. Wendy took them all out and began scanning over them, starting from the top. Towards the bottom, they became more aggressive.
Most of the letters began with "My Dearest Mabel." A few were to Dipper, Stan, and the whole Pines family (Soos included). Wendy came across one addressed to her half-way through the pile.
"Wendy Corduroy, I guess I should begin with this,
Since you're a friend of the Pines', I don't really like you. We haven't talked much, but oh boy, Bill Cipher has told me so much about you. Did you know he's been watching over you? You'll see soon enough. Anyways, good luck with aiding Dipper in finding the author. I wouldn't normally wish anyone that, but since you're going to die anyways, why not? It's the least lil ol' me can do.
-Gideon
P.S. Your moisturizer is the best brand I've used in a long time."
Wendy set the note down on top of the pile and thought for a second. So Gideon knew Bill had been watching her? What a creep. Then she thought, Does that mean Bill is watching me right now? She looked up from the pile into the mirror, which had been clear before, but now, the shape of an eye appeared to be glowing in the reflection. Wendy's eyes widened.
She burst through the door, carrying all the papers she had gathered. "Dipper grab everything you need! We're leaving now!"
"What happened?" he asked while gathering things, then stood up.
"Later," Wendy said. "Just go!"
Together, they ran out of the Tent O' Telepathy, and back to the Mystery Shack. When they ended back at the porch, they both plopped down and gasped for breath.
Dipper set down everything in front of him. He looked over at what Wendy had, and said between breaths, "Is... is that it?" He got a nod in response. "So why did we leave?"
"Read the... whole thing. The letter on top." Wendy got up and fished through her pockets for change in order to buy her and Dipper both Pitt Colas. She handed him one just as he finished the letter; they traded items.
"So Gideon knows about Bill spying on you?" Dipper cracked open his soda and took a few sips as Wendy spoke.
"Yeah. But that's not the creepy part." She opened her can as well, and then lowered her voice. "When I was in the room... Bill was watching me. Dipper, he knows exactly what we're going to do, even before we do."