Shout-out to the reviewers I can't thank with a PM. Y'all know who y'all are.

[]

I stare. "That's impossible."

"Totally." Wendy grins. "Doesn't look like he minds, though."

A fully-grown golden eagle is literally eating out of her hand. She shakes her head, laughing, and the bird glances up once before going back to its meal.

I take a cautious step forward, across the Shack's front porch. "I'm serious. That... this shouldn't happen."

She rests her other hand against the railing, then carefully raises the eagle until it's at her eye level. "Shouldn't? I dunno, man. I wish they acted like this more."

"You know what I mean." I shuffle my feet, torn between curiosity and nerves. "Eagles don't get this close to people. And they definitely eat meat, not... what is that, anyway?"

"Sunflower seeds." She shrugs. "I think Soos spilled 'em out here yesterday. There's plenty, though- you want in on this?"

"No way." I say it a little too fast, and she raises an eyebrow.

"Scared?"

I scowl. "This isn't normal," I insist. "It could be dangerous or something."

The eagle caws, a high-pitched barking sound, then flares its wings out and hops onto the railing. Startled, Wendy smiles again. "Gravity Falls, Dip. Weird stuff."

I move to try to get a better look at the bird, and Wendy throws a plastic bag my way."It's pretty cool, if you ask me. Give it a try."

I nearly drop it- more seeds spill out onto the deck. Ignoring the mostly-empty pouch, I grab some of the seeds on the ground and stand up straight. The eagle's stopped eating, and now it's just watching me.

A shiver goes down my neck- I don't know if it's the jet-black eyes, or the curve of the beak, or the red-brown feathers that splay out from the neck like a hood, but something about this look is haunting. Right now, this bird looks like it could kill me if it wanted to.

"Don't worry." Wendy's voice almost makes me jump- when I turn, she's giving me a thumbs-up. "You got this, man."

I nod, gradually moving my arm until my outstretched hand is only a few inches away from the eagle. I try not to think about how sharp that beak looks.

Don't be scared, I tell myself. I glance back at Wendy.

She chuckles. "This guy's a pushover, Dipper."

At the same moment, I feel something on my hand- looking back, I can see the eagle gently bobbing its head up and down, looking for the best seeds of the pile. It almost tickles, really.

...Wow. I try not to move my arm at all, transfixed by the strange scene. Just before the seeds are gone, it darts its head up, as if hearing something, then flies off without a warning.

Wendy follows its flight wide-eyed. "Whoa," she says quietly. "That thing can move."

"Yeah," I say, glancing down to my arm. "Pretty amazing." A series of short, already fading red marks shows where the talons were.

She looks back to me, already grinning again. "...That was cool."

"Huh?"

She shrugs. "You seemed kinda nervous, bud. Then you did it anyway. I guess I'm proud of you or something?"

I hope the shade from the porch is enough to hide the blush on my face. "Thanks."

[]

It's been a while.

Lake Gravity Falls looks like it's blurred. I know it's just waves, small and fast from the light wind over the water, but it makes it seem out of focus. Add in the twilight, and it's like I'm looking at nothing.

"There's no one here, man." Hands in his pockets, Lee looks down the shore on either side.

Not that you can see, I think. If I'm right. "Not a great night for fishing, I guess."

Nate absently scratches lines in the sand. "Do we really gotta be here?" he asks, turning toward Lee. "I mean, I know we're not gonna ditch the kid, but..."

Back by the van, Thompson looks up from his phone. "No way, dude. He's Wendy's friend, right?" He looks at me, and I nod. "Right. So if we leave him alone and something happens-" He shivers. "She'd kill us."

It's tough not to be annoyed. I mean, I've been more or less on my own for a few days now- besides, 'something' has pretty much already happened.

Speaking of which, how do they still not know? "You hear from her lately?" I try to sound casual.

Nate shakes his head. "Robbie said she was real sick. Like, don't-call-her-'cause-she'll-be-miserable-and-angry kinda sick."

That makes me pause. Seems like Robbie's a better liar than I thought. Man, if these guys knew the truth, they'd-

Wait. Why not? Why shouldn't I tell them? Having more people on my side could only help, right? And they deserve to know. They'd jump at the chance, and I shouldn't even be the one who gets to decide stuff like this. There's a lot of good reasons to tell them.

And... honestly, I want someone else to know.

I'm trying to find the words, about to hesitantly ask how much they know, when something moves. Back behind Thompson, far enough that none of the three can see it, a shadow catches my eye, and then it's suddenly there.

One of the Sight. Just standing there. Faceless hood turned towards me, it stays motionless in the evening half-light.

I can't say a word.

"Uh, kid?" I blink, glancing to Nate, who's giving me a weird look. "Seriously, what's your deal?"

I look back, almost expecting the dark figure to have mysteriously vanished. It hasn't. "It's alright," I say slowly. "You guys can leave."

"I dunno, man-"

"Don't worry." I try to smile, thinking quickly. "I'm meeting some friends on the island." It's a bad lie, but I don't really have a choice.

The Sight's message is loud and clear. I'm close, and I need to be alone- or I'll just end up with more missing people on my hands.

Lee snorts. "The island? At night? That's sketch, dude." But he's looking over to the shadowy mass in the middle of the lake, and I can tell he thinks it's kinda cool.

Nate hits him on the shoulder. "Whatever. The kid's gonna be fine."

Before the argument really gets going, I take advantage of their distraction and slip over to the docks. A couple of rental fishing boats are floating back and forth with the waves. I look back to the van, but they're still just talking, so I grab some oars from the dock and set to work on the thick rope that's keeping one of the boats anchored.

The knot slips apart. Quiet as I can, I step into the boat.

I'm not going to any island.

[]

The first thing that comes to mind is furious.

I remember the waterfall, but everything is different. We were on that motorboat, racing as fast as we could, and there was barely time to notice the world around us. Now, I can't focus on anything else.

The water is writhing. The cliff face is covered by white mist, except the waterfall itself- a towering, gigantic, twisting pillar of foam that looks less like falling down and more like falling apart. Stars are beginning to shine, and that only makes it seem more mysterious- sometimes I can see light shining in the water, but other times it looks darker than the bleak stone walls.

And it's loud.

I yell, but I can barely hear myself. The noise crashes and shakes, and I swear I can feel the wood of the boat vibrating. With a shiver, I keep rowing.

It's almost calming. The lake isn't doesn't have the perfect 'glassy' surface like I've seen other days, but the oars still send ripples away in all directions. There's something I can't quite explain, in the darkness and noise and stillness... not something I'd write down in the journal, but I hope I remember it anyway.

I smile. Mabel would like this- maybe after it's all over, I'll tell her about it. Or maybe I can bring W-

In the water, something moves. Before I have time to be scared, I'm looking over the side.

A shadow. UNDER the boat.

Just as quickly, it's gone, but I'm suddenly tense, adrenaline making me grip the oars until my hands are white. I have to think, I have to- what was that- have to think- just go. Get out. Hurry.

I can't focus on anything but how slow this boat is. The oars move in haphazard jerks, not coordinated at all, and I take a second to realize it's my fault, and I try to keep the movement steady, try to head straight forward.

Then a sea monster appears.

...I don't know what else to call it. A monstrous, dark shape bursts out of the water, too far for me to notice anything about it except its long neck and fanged mouth. For a second, it hovers in the air, and-

It's staring at me. The creature must have opened its eyes, because piercing green lights are trained on me, and then it slips back underwater.

My hands move on their own I'm gonna die rowing faster, almost at the waterfall it's too late I can feel the spray hitting me screaming in fear but I can't hear anything looking around, for a giant shadow in the waves-

There.

The monster surfaces again, and this time it's as if my whole body shuts down. It's only a few yards away, fangs curling up from its lower jaw, eyes boring into my head, scales dripping black water, and then it roars.

I thought I couldn't hear anything over the waterfall. But now the boat's shaking, and my teeth click together, and my vision's blurred, and it just keeps getting louder.

I'm trying to be brave. Telling myself that I'm not scared, that I can handle this. It feels like lying.

The monster swings its head down, mouth wide open. Starlight shines off its teeth.

I close my eyes.

...

More water.

I try to look up, but the cascade keeps me huddled in the boat. Shielding my eyes with a hand, I realize that I drifted far enough to slip past the waterfall. No sign of the monster.

For a second, I can only stare at the water crashing down in front of me. From here, it's like a curtain or something, completely separating me from the outside world. Once it's not hitting me so much, I turn around.

The cave is... bright.

Torches are set in the stone walls, and the firelight is enough to illuminate everything. I'm close to the edge of the lake, but the shore is nothing but more rock- it stretches around the entire cavern, sometimes rising into small ledges I can't see past.

The boat glides to a stop, and I carefully step out, then pull the craft forward until there's no danger of it floating away. I might need it to get back.

Now that I'm closer, I can make out a small opening in the rock wall. Torches flicker on either side. The whole thing seems like a movie or something- a dungeon in the side of a cliff, the only light coming from torches, an ominous cave that seems to have voices whispering-

I stop. It's quiet, but I can definitely hear something.

That's when it all hits me. Dizziness is first, and I half-fall until I'm sitting on the stone floor, holding my head.

I nearly died.

There wasn't time to think before, but that monster was... I haven't been scared like that in a long time. And now- it's strange to realize, but I'm finally here.

The torches remove any doubt. They knew I was coming.

It's almost over.

I slowly get to my feet, waiting for the ache in my head to go away. The torch is cool and smooth when I take it off the wall.

I step forward. A long tunnel flares to life in my vision.

This is it.