Hey, sorry for missing last week's deadline, but finals week tends to take over lives. Quick thanks to smithy936 and nightfallzx for following this story. I'm also giving a callout to Unbiased Persona for your lovely review on the previous chapter. I'm going to admit, its quite odd to not see more people trying to figure out the mysteries based on the scraps that they get. I'm guessing that I'm hanging out with the gravityfalls folks on reddit too much.
On with the story.
Chapter 11: Beware the Gobblewonker Part 2
"Heh, Butt Island." Soos giggled. Stan rolled his eyes.
"Let's get out and take a look at the damage." Stan ordered. Mabel needed no further encouragement, she squealed in excitement as she leapt from the boat and onto the sand. As the other members of the boat crawled out of the boat, Wendy realized that the only one who had not moved to get out of the boat was Dipper. He was sitting next to Gilly's container, head between his legs.
"Hey dude, you okay?" Wendy asked, wondering if perhaps he had gotten injured while everyone was crashing into each other. Dipper took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. He then looked up at Wendy, who was gazing down at him.
"Who me? Yeah, I'm fine." - Dipper answered before standing up. – "We'd better go see what they're up to."
Mr. Pines and Soos looked over the boat with a careful eye.
"Well, the good news is that there isn't a hole in the boat." Stan stated.
"And what's the bad news?" Dipper asked, trying to ignore his frolicking sister in the background. "Yay, sand!" Wendy was standing next to him, curious as well.
"Well, we're going to need a log of some sort to lever the boat out of the sand." Stan responded. "So this means that you're going to have to go into the woods and bring something back."
Dipper frowned, "What are you going to be doing?"
"Obviously the rest of us are going to keep the boat from being stolen." Stan responded. "Soos, start taking up patrol on the beach; Wendy, I'm going to need you to use your freakish height to keep an eye out for any passing boats. Mabel, keep doing whatever it is you're doing."
"Uh, if its alright with you Mr. Pines, I'd rather go with Dipper to find some sort of log. I am after all, a lumberjack's daughter." Wendy bragged as she buffed her nails on her shirt. Stan rubbed his chin as he thought it over.
"Maybe you're right, I suppose you could make sure that that Dipper comes back with something suitable." Stan pondered. That was all that Wendy needed.
"Great, see you guys in a little bit." Wendy responded as she dragged Dipper towards the woods, pausing to scoop Mabel up as they disappeared into the fog.
"None of that dead stuff either!" - Stan called out after them. When he did not hear a response, he gave exasperated sigh before turning back to Soos. The handyman was pulling the fishing gear off the boat. –"What're you doing?"
"I was thinking that we could fish while we wait." The handyman responded. Stan stared at him for a moment before shrugging.
"Eh, why not?" Stan said, accepting his fishing rod from his employee.
Unknown Amount of Time Later…
"I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something off about this island" Wendy thought to herself as she followed the twins through the woods.
The twins and Wendy had been looking through the forest for something to use as a lever for some time now, but unfortunately, everything on the ground so far was long dead and too large for the trio to move themselves. And without her hatchet, Wendy lacked the means to climb up a tree and get the greener branches to use. The twins did not appear to mind the lack of progress, but rather seemed to enjoy the opportunity to get away from fishing in the sun. They also were rather oblivious to the abnormal nature of the woods themselves.
While the fog on the island gave the woods a spooky quality, Wendy found that the woods itself could have done it on their own. The woods on the island were oddly silent, with only the sound of the wind whispering through the trees. Wendy found it unsettling, as forests were never quiet. There was always some sort of activity going on, and Wendy was starting to suspect that there was something up. She turned to Dipper.
"Hey Dipper, does there happen to be anything in that journal of yours that mentions Scuttlebutt Island." She asked. Dipper looked at her confused.
"I decided not to do anything else with the journal this summer, remember?" Dipper replied, "I left it back in a safe place in the Shack."
Wendy noticed that Mabel shuffled her feet nervously just behind Dipper.
"Mabel, do you know something?" Wendy asked. Dipper apparently knew what was going on as he spun around with a look of frustration.
"Mabel, did you bring the journal?" he snapped angrily. Mabel's look of nervousness became further entrenched as she looked away from Dipper.
"I thought you might want it, so I brought it along." Dipper pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath before exhaling.
"Mabel, you heard what I said before, not to mention that the very first time we looked into something in the journal, it almost got Wendy killed." Wendy decided to step in at this point, seeing Mabel so upset made her feel weird; sorrow was an unnatural state for the female twin.
"Dipper, if you hadn't looked into the journal, Mabel wouldn't be with us now. Instead she'd be gnome queen of the forest, and I'm pretty certain we would have never known if you weren't so suspicious of Norman to begin with." Wendy pointed out.
"That doesn't change the fact that you got hurt." Dipper countered.
"No, it doesn't." Wendy replied, placing a hand on Dipper's shoulder as she looked him in the eye, "but that doesn't mean you should focus on it. As my mom once said, if you're always looking to the past, then you'll never see the present."
Dipper mulled over her statement for several moments before sighing, "Maybe you're right Wendy. I guess I just don't want to see anyone get hurt."
He turned to Mabel, who was still fidgeting nervously, "Mabel, I'm sorry that I snapped at you, it wasn't right, even if I was frustrated with you."
Mabel smiled at him, "It's okay Dipper, I forgive you. I should have asked your permission to bring it along to begin with. Awkward sibling hug?"
Dipper shyly smiled back, "Awkward sibling hug."
The twins then hugged each other, "Pat Pat."
Once the twins separated, Mabel pulled the journal out from under her sweater, handing it to Dipper. Dipper weighed the book in his hands carefully as he stared at it in thought.
"Something the matter?" Wendy asked. Dipper shook his head.
"Nothing's the matter, it's just, once I open the journal, I feel like there's no going back." Dipper answered.
"Well duh, Bro bro," - Mabel chortled, poking Dipper in the side, - "there wouldn't be a need to invent time travel if you could already go back whenever you wanted."
Dipper smiled at his sister as he began flipping through the pages until he found the Scuttlebutt Island entry.
Scuttlebutt Island: If there was an origin to the naming of this island, it has long since been lost. The name today likely comes from the thick fog that covers the island year-round, making knowledge about this mysterious island rumor at best. The notable wildlife on this island is a family of beavers, the largest catfish I have ever seen, and the elusive Gobblewonker.
Gobblewonker: This creature is reclusive and seems to have a second sense when someone is searching for it. The only physical features that I have been able to make out from long-term observation are that it has a long neck and is roughly forty feet in length. I have however, made extensive notation on this creatures behavior. The Gobblewonker appears to only be active during the late spring to early fall period, subsisting on a diet of fish and algae. During the winter, it disappears without a trace. I believe that like turtles, the Gobblewonker buries itself beneath the lake mud to hibernate. The most notable behavior of the Gobblewonker is that it is extremely territorial in regards to its food. I have seen many a fisherman and fishing boat vanish after engaging in an extensive fishing battle only to catch small fish. I suspect that the Gobblewonker lacks teeth to hold onto its prey, and thus these fishermen have literally pulled the fish out of its mouth, resulting in its attack.
The trio remained silently as they considered what Dipper had just read. Wendy was the first to speak.
"You don't think…" Wendy started. Dipper nodded.
"I think that Gilly was being eaten by the Gobblewonker when Soos hooked it." Dipper finished, stating what she had been thinking. Mabel gasped.
"Poor Gilly, that must have been so scary, getting eaten by the Gobblewonker. It's a good thing Soos saved him."
"No, it's not a good thing, didn't you hear what I just read, the Gobblewonker's going to make us disappear!" Dipper answered, his voice rising in a panic. Mabel waved off his concerns.
"Please, it's obviously some sort of water animal, as long as we stay on land, we'll be fine." Mabel's dismissed. Off in the distance, there was a loud roar, followed by the sound of falling trees.