'So whadda you say?'

Joel mulled over his options. Dipper had invited him on what he called an 'adventure'. Joel had assumed they would just be going into the forest and mucking around for a while until they got tired and came back. However, apparently they were going "ghost harassing", and Joel was still unsure about what that meant.

'What were we "hunting" again?' asked Joel.

'Oh, this thing,' replied Dipper, pulling a book from inside his vest and opening it up. He flipped to a page of with a drawing of a man with utensils for fingers that was labelled 'Category 9' and 'Dream Hipster'.

'I've seen that guy before!' said Joel. Dipper's eyes lit up.

'Where?'

'It was… oh, man, I can't remember. Something about Elm trees.'

'Anyway, we're going out later to track it, you want to tag along.'

Joel thought about it for a moment.

'Yeah, sure, why not.'

o00o

Joel, Dipper, Mabel, Pacifica and Wendy were all gathered around Dipper's bed. Joel had called his parents and told them that he wouldn't be home that night and that he was staying over at the Mystery Shack – which was probably a good thing considering they might still be angry at him for leaving so early that morning. Dipper had a list and was checking off everything that they would need.

'Flashlights.'

'Check,' said Pacifica, holding up the torch.

'Energy drinks.'

'Check,' said Joel, who had the energy drinks in his backpack along with his own torch and a bunch of other things Dipper had insisted they bring.

'Grappling hook.'

'Check!' said Mabel, aiming the grappling hook at the ceiling and shooting it so she flew up and hung off one of the rafters.

'Axe.'

'Check,' said Wendy, gesturing at her belt.

'And, I've got the Journal, check. We're all set, people, just remember that when we get there we can't fall asleep.'

They all clambered down the stairs and started following a road into the forest. Dipper was fairly sure he knew where he was going, but after a while Joel started to worry that they were getting lost.

'Why did we have to come at night?' he asked.

'Because it only shows itself at night,' Dipper replied.

'Do you still know where we are?' asked Wendy, holding up the rear of the group.

'Of course. I came down this way to save Mabel from a horde of possessive little men that tried to marry her, so naturally I should remember.'

Joel started to speak but Wendy just held up her hand.

'Don't ask…' she said. This was getting weird. Not that Joel minded, but Dipper seemed a little delusional.

After a little more walking, they left the road and came to an area of the forest that seemed to glow with a blue-green hue. There were mushrooms all over the ground, and the rocks seemed to emanate energy. They regrouped once they got to a small clearing.

'Ugh, this place brings back memories,' said Mabel, pulling at her hair. Dipper rolled his eyes.

'Ok, it's not far until we get there. Does everyone know what to do?'

'Follow you, keep the flashlights on and don't fall asleep,' said Pacifica.

'And don't die,' Dipper added.

o00o

They had been walking for a while now. The glowing forest had long since disappeared and they were all beginning to panic. Pacifica had latched onto Dipper's arm and Mabel, Wendy and Joel were all huddled together behind them. The trees here were thinner, but more numerous – it was like walking through a forest of needles.

'Dipper, are we there yet?' asked Mabel. Dipper didn't reply. He had stopped ahead of them.

'Dipper…?' she said again, but Joel put a hand over her mouth, pointing past Dipper into the forest beyond them.

Pacifica's flashlight threw a beam deeper into the trees and illuminated a tall figure standing in the distance. He had his head bowed and was wearing brown hat and a dirty red and green striped sweater. The five of them stood in silence for a few seconds.

'Come to Freddy…' the figure said, taking its hands out from behind its back and revealing the mismatched metal fingers.

Time seemed to slow down as they ran. All of them had forgotten the plan and bolted. The trees, if you could call them that, seemed to be twisted and closing in on them. The path was dark and jagged. The world was a blur as they ran. As Joel pushed his legs to their limits, he heard a voice ring out from the depths.

'Hey, Joel…' it said, mockingly. Joel looked around wildly and saw the horribly burnt body of the ghost flying alongside him, a manic grin painted on his face.

'No running in the forest!' it said. Joel pulled back as the monster receded into the darkness. It reappeared ahead, laughing at them.

'GONNA GET YOU!' it said, vanishing once again. The echoes of its laughter filled the word, a blur streaking past them as they ran.

'DIPPER, WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO?' Wendy screamed back at him.

'NOTHING, CORDUROY! YOU'RE ALL MY CHILDREN NOW!' the voice screeched back at them. He materialized ahead of them again and blocked their path. Joel slid to a halt and Mabel bumped into him while Dipper and Pacifica pulled up next to them. The creature raised its metal hand and grinned wildly at them.

'I'M GOING TO CUT YOU IN TWO!' he screamed at them. Mabel wrapped her arms around Joel as the creature raised its arm above its head. Joel closed his eyes and held tight onto Mabel.

'EAT YOUR WORDS, SUCKER!' yelled Wendy from behind the creature. She brought her axe around and sliced straight through the creature's neck. Joel opened his eyes just in time to see its head shriek as it lost contact with its neck. The force of the blow knocked the decapitated skull into the trees, still screaming. The body twitched and stumbled as it fell to the ground, green ooze spilling from between its shoulders.

o00o

Joel sat up with a start. He was breathing heavily. Did that just happen? He was back in the forest, but it looked friendlier. He could see the glow of the gnome forest behind him. Looking up, he found that Mabel had her arms wrapped around his stomach and was restless in her slumber. He shifted up against the boulder he was leaning on so that her head could rest on his thigh.

'Are you alright, Joel?'

Joel looked up and saw Wendy standing over him. Her jacket was ripped in places and her hair was messy. She held her axe over her shoulder and the end of it was dripping with sludge…

'Did… did that just happen?' Joel asked. Wendy threw her axe down. She went over and sat on a tree stump.

'I don't know, but that… thing isn't coming back any soon. Chuck us an energy bar, it's still best to be safe and stay awake.'

Joel reached over to his bag, which had fallen off his shoulder. He unzipped it, threw Wendy an energy bar and got one out himself. They ate together in silence.

'You look like a wreck, dude,' Wendy commented, smiling at him. Joel looked down at himself and saw that his clothes weren't fairing much better than Wendy's.

'Well, I'm not alone,' he said. All the others clothes were also ripped in places, Pacifica especially – her jacket was lying on the ground a couple of feet from where she was completely torn in two.

'NO!' screamed Dipper. He jolted upright, reacting similarly to how Joel had when he had woken up. He looked around.

'You right?' asked Joel. Dipper looked over at him.

'Yeah… yeah, I think I am…' he said, looking down at Pacifica. She was tossing and turning in her sleep. Joel threw an energy bar at Dipper.

'Thanks,' he said, biting into the chocolate. He ran his fingers through Pacifica's hair.

'What happened, Dipper?' asked Wendy. Dipper looked up at her with teary-eyes.

'The ghost, the nightmare, he cornered me and Paz, and then…' he began before looking down at Pacifica and starting to sob.

'Oh my God…' Joel said, looking down at the blonde. At that moment, she shot up onto her hands and knees, her chest heaving.

'Paz!' said Dipper, 'You're alright!'

'Dipper!' she said, turning around and pulling him into an embrace, 'I'm so glad you're OK…'

Once the four of them had settled down, the attention returned to Mabel. She still hadn't woken up, and was looking more restless than ever.

After a few minutes, Dipper had been about to stand up when Mabel screamed. Joel immediately brought his hands up to his ears and blocked out the sound best he could, but he was happy because Mabel was waking up.

But she didn't open her eyes. She stopped moving and lay still.

'Oh my God, oh my God, please be alright,' said Joel, gently shifting her so that she lay on the ground. The others came over and Wendy bent down and placed her fingers on Mabel's neck.

'She's alive,' she said, 'You know what we have to do, Dipper.'

Dipper nodded and started flicking through his Journal. Wendy pulled a phone out of her pocket. She moved around a little until she could get reception. Once she had bars, she dialled a number and put it up to her ear, gesturing and Joel and Pacifica to pick Mabel up.

'Yeah, hi, we need your help,' she said into the phone, pacing a circle. A pause.

'No, it's important. Mabel is in trouble, Stanley.'

Hello everyone! This chapter is definitely my favoriteso far, and set to be a 2 or 3 parter, so keep your eyes peeled!

In case you didn't know, the 'dream hipster' is based off of Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street, which is both the name I give him, where I get his lines from and the namesake of this chapter.

Get keen to see Bill in the next couple of chapters!

Also, thank you to Cal-Pal for your review, I'm glad you're enjoying it =)