Cassandra was sitting on her bed, absorbed in notebook 1 - this section was about a time the writer cloned himself using a copy machine in The Mystery Shack - when Faith burst into the room.

"Cassie?!" she hollered.

"I'm right here, Faith," Cassandra acknowledged, not looking up.

"Cassie, have you seen Ash?"

"I thought he was with you?"

"We got separated in the woods. I thought he might've just come back here…"

"Wait, you got separated?" Cassandra echoed, shutting the notebook and going to stand at the edge of the loft.

"Yeah. I was looking at something, and then he was gone. I thought he just walked off without me."

"That's kinda' weird," Cassandra realized, pulling out her phone, "I'm gonna' text him. If we don't hear from him in half an hour we'll go look for him. Why don't you hang out with me for a while?"

"…OK," Faith accepted, "can I read your notebooks with you?"

"Uh… sure, I guess," Cassandra accepted, climbing down from the loft to sit on Faith's bed with her, "it's not super well written, but this section is on cloning…"

They hadn't been waiting fifteen minutes when they heard the door downstairs. Both girls perked up, listening to see who it was. Faith scrabbled to the door and peeked out for better comprehension.

"It's not Ashwin," she quickly concluded, returning to sit next to Cassandra.

"Hang on," Cassandra told her, heading to the door herself. She could hear bits and pieces of the conversation:

"Let me know if you hear anything."

"Of course."

"It sounds like Ms. Wendy," Cassandra concluded, "I wonder what happened-?"

"What do you mean?" Faith asked as Cassandra sat back down.

"It sounded like something was wrong-"

A rap came on the bedroom door, and Abel swung it open without waiting for a response,

"Hey guys, you know Wendy's son? Paul?"

"Yeah," Cassandra replied.

"Nobody's seen him since this morning. Keep an eye out, OK?"

"OK," Cassandra agreed. "We'll go see if Ash has seen anything."

"Good," her dad responded.

Once the door had closed behind him Cassandra stated,

"We need to find Ashwin."

In a moment the two girls were heading out the back door, notebooks 1 and 2 in hand. Cassandra had left the third behind - the whole thing was written in code.

"OK, where were you when he wandered off?" Cassandra asked Faith. As her cousin led her into the woods Elowen came out of the woods,

"Cassandra!" she beamed, "Oh, man, I was looking for you! Well, OK, I was looking for my brother, but also you. Do you think it might be a weird forrest thing that took him?"

"Yeah, actually," Cassandra admitted, "but mostly because Ashwin is missing, too."

"Weird," Elowen agreed.

"Come on, he was this way," Faith insisted, moving on. The older girls followed behind her diligently. As they stepped into a clearing Faith went up to a particular tree and pointed to a particular crook in the branches, "there was rainbow hair right here, so I stopped to look at it, and then I realized Ashwin was gone!"

"Hm," Cassandra grunted in consideration, looking around, "I mean, I don't see anything weird-"

A twig snapped not too far away, and in an instant all three girls were huddled at a trio, backs to each other to keep anyone or anything from sneaking up.

"Well, well, well!" a voice gained their attention.

"Oh," Elowen sighed, somewhere between disappointed and annoyed. "Mervin."

"So you know him, too?" Cassandra asked, turning to face the squat little nerd as well.

"Yeah," Elowen confirmed with a thick layer of distaste in her tone.

"What are ladies like yourselves doing out in the middle of the woods? Better be careful," he added, "there's been a bunch of disappearances today, and it's not even 2:00."

"As far as I've heard, they've all been guys," Cassandra noted. "We're looking for Ashiwn."

"I, too, am on the lost persons trail!" Mervin assured them, "Three of my friends' mothers have come asking at our house already."

"You have friends?" Elowen asked in disbelief.

"All guys, I'm guessing?" Cassandra prompted.

"Well, yes, what does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know yet," Cassandra admitted.

"Well, good luck, ladies. Don't let the boogeyman get you!" he mocked, walking back into the woods.

"I know how to kill something with my bare hands," Elowen noted, "he needs to get over himself."

"He's always that insufferable?" Cassandra asked.

"Oh yeah. He thinks that binder makes him a god or something-"

A shrill shriek rang through the woods, and Elowen bolted in the direction of the sound, Cassandra and Faith hot on her tail.

"the binder," Elowen noted, skidding to a halt, "whatever it is got Mervin."

"Well, at least he can scream," Cassandra acknowledged. "OK, now what do we do?" she prompted, picking up the binder and observing her own hand placed in the six-fingered cut out - it seemed familiar somehow.

"All the victims are guys," Elowen noted, to recap, "and go missing in the woods. What can we do with this information?"

"I don't know," Cassandra admitted, "I don't think there's anything about serial kidnappings in the notebooks. Maybe in the binder-" she realized, picking it up and leafing through the pages. They were all one-sided, old, yellowed pages copied onto basic white paper.

"Nah, Mervin knows that thing front to back. If it had information he would've known. You could dress up as a guy and get taken," Elowen mused, "but that-"

"I like that idea," Cassandra agreed, snapping the binder shut. "not to be weird, but how flat is my chest? Scale of one to ten?" she added.

"Well, one being a board, maybe a 3?"

"Cool. I need a baggy hoodie," Cassandra concluded.

"What about your hair?" Elowen asked, "It's pretty long."

"And a hat. I'll need a hat."

The three girls burst into the Mystery Shack gift shop to find Gabby behind the counter.

"Gabby!" Cassandra blurted, rushing up, "Do you sell hats and hoodies?"

"Hoodies there," she confirmed, gesturing to the back corner of the shop, "not a great seller this time of year, and hats," she added, gesturing to a shelf of trucker caps in many colors with symbols emblazoned on the front.

"Cool, thanks," Cassandra said, grabbing a hoodie and contemplating the hat options.

"Hey, is Stan around?" Elowen asked.

"Yeah, why?" Gabby responded.

"Hey, little doods, what are you doing here?" Soos asked, having just finished a tour.

"Hi Grunkle Soos!" Faith beamed.

"Hey, Faith! How're you doing?"

"I'm good!" she grinned back.

"Trying to pick a hat, kiddo?" Soos asked Cassandra, looking over the options with her.

"Yeah, kinda'," she admitted. She had thought it over extensively - the pink with the heart was way too feminine for her purposes, and not really her style anyway. The orange 'Mystery Shack' one way OK, and so were the red 'Visit Gravity Falls' one and the green one with a question mark. She wondered if the blue one with the tree was a little too heavy handed…

"I'd go with the blue one, if I were you," Soos offered.

"Really?" Cassandra considered, "OK," she agreed, grabbing it. "Hey, Grunkle Soos, if I was gonna' use these once could I just, like, borrow them?" she asked, hesitant.

"Sure, dood. Bring it back without a scratch and you're good."

"Thanks," she grinned, giving Soos a hug. "Come on, guys!" she called, bolting out of the store.

Behind The Shack she suited up,

"OK, so, I'm gonna' hide my phone so who- or whatever it is can't take it, and I'll try to contact you as soon as I can. Geez, how does anybody wear a hoodie in summer?" she groaned, zipping up. "Crud, I don't have a rubber band," she noted.

"Here," Elowen said, taking out her own ponytail, "use mine."

"Thanks. OK, if you don't hear from me in an hour, tell the parents what's happening. But for now, just- I don't know, hang out. Cool?"

"Cool," Elowen agreed.

"Oh! And take care of the notebooks," she added, handing them to Elowen. "those need to stay secret. Oh, and Mevin's binder. You should take it back to his house, I guess," reluctantly handing it over and trying not to think of all the mysteries she might be abandoning.

"You got it," Elowen assured her.

Phone tucked in her sports bra, hoodie obscuring any curves she'd developed and ponytail stuffed under the hat, Cassandra paced the woods, occasionally blurting very un-helpful attempts at getting noticed:

"Boy, I sure am a guy, just, here in the woods! Ready to be kidnapped!"

And though it felt like forever, it was only about ten minutes later that remarkably large hands grabbed her, muffling her startled squeak and covering her eyes.

As she was rushed along she prayed that her hat wouldn't fly off, and wondered if these people were on horseback, 'cause it sure sounded a lot like hooves careening through the forrest. Without much care she was tossed into a cave, landing at the feet of two large beasts. Securing her hat she looked over the towering figures: one stood tall on hooves, hairy chest and head of a bull. The other was a bear, standing on two legs, with an astounding number of heads. Maybe this was the Multibear she'd read about-?

"The gall of this one," the hoofed beast scoffed, "impersonating destructor!"

"I-impersonating-?" she realized how not-manly she probably sounded and cleared her throat, lowering an octave, "what do you mean?"

The beasts exchanged skeptical looks.

"At least this one isn't boasting about ruling the forrest through knowledge," the bear noted.

"Alright, boy," the hoofed one bellowed, "you must face the hero's challenge."

"N-not to be rude, but, why?" she asked, careful to keep her voice low.

"We seek one able to resolve a dispute between the Manotaurs and Mulibears! Now you must know, boy, that many have faced this challenge before you and failed."

He flourished, and two Manotaurs stepped aside to reveal most of the young male population of Gravity Falls stuffed in a cave, tied up. She caught Ashwin's eye and he stared back, stunned.

"Why didn't you let them go, then? I mean, they didn't pass the test…?"

"Well, we didn't want to have to worry about getting the same one twice," the multibear explained with a shrug, "you know, cuts out all the confusion, makes it easier to get out of the way in a day, really streamlines the process."

The Manotaurs grunted agreements.

"So… if I pass this test you would let them go?"

"Of course. Though you would need to stay until you resolve the dispute. Assuming you can perform this daunting task," the Manotaur pointed out in an ominous tone. "MEN!" he bellowed, and Cassandra braced herself for the worst. A feat of strength? Intelligence? Pure wit? Brute force?

Synthesized instruments echoed through the cave, and Casandra's jaw went slack in recognition.

"Sing, boy!" the Manotaur demanded, tossing her a karaoke microphone.

Cassandra didn't hesitate - if her dad's affinity for the 80s radio station had taught her anything, it was this.

"Disco girl! Comin' through! That girl is you! Ooh-oooh, ooh-oooh!" she belted with gusto, "She's a disco girl, she's coming through! That girl is you! Ooh-oooh, ooh-oooh!" everyone in the cave stared in awe as she sang through the whole song with dramatic flair. "Yeah! Top 40 hits are hits for a reason!" she hollered, still pumped full of adrenaline as the track faded out.

"You must be the champion," the multibear concluded.

"Really?" she half-laughed, "My dad's been playing that all my life, man."

The Manotaur and Multibear exchanged awestruck looks,

"Only one such man is so informed of BABBA," the Multibear noted, awed.

In response the Manotaur burst out:

"Son of destructor!" eliciting a cheer from the other Manotaurs,

"Son of destructor!" they echoed back with enthusiasm.

"So, you'll release everybody, right?" she prompted.

"Of course," the Multibear confirmed.

Once untied, Ashwin ran over to his cousin and offered a high-five,

"Wait'a go, Cass!"

"Yeah, cool, thanks," she brushed him off, accepting the high-five, "listen, Elowen and Faith are waiting for us, and I gotta' stay here for a while, but hopefully I'll be back by dinner. Let 'em know, OK?"

"OK, cool," he responded, "I got to spend an hour tied to Paul!"

"Congratulations," Cassandra said, patting him on the arm, but her heart wasn't in it. The dispute, whatever it was, wasn't solved. "now go home and tell Elowen and Faith what's up."

"Of course!" he gasped with a realization, "I could go with Paul! Have I mentioned how attractive Paul is?" he added. Cassandra shot him a look. "Right, going home. Explaining what's up. You got it," he assured her, jogging off.

Mervin spluttered in disbelief upon recognizing her,

"But- but she's a girl!"

"Any son of Destructor is man enough for us," a Manotaur assured him, herding him out of the cave and back into the woods.

"Actually, he's right," Cassandra admitted, removing her hat, "my name's Cassandra, I'm a girl. But I'm perfectly happy to help you out with your dispute!"

There was a hesitation in the cave, before the Multibear concluded:

"As wise and brave as her father."

"Daughter of Destructor!" the Manotaurs chanted, "Daughter of Destructor!"

"Alright, Daughter of Destructor, the dispute is this:" the head Manotaur explained as the captives were herded back out into the woods, "he won't stop badgering me about that hammer I borrowed last week!" he bemoaned, throwing a hand toward the Multibear, "It's not like he needs it!"

"I don't think you even have it anymore," the Multibear scoffed, "you've said you'll give it back 'tomorrow' two days in a row now."

"I do too have it!" the Manotaur insisted, "I'm still using it!"

"For what?!"

"S-something important! None of your business!"

"Oh really? Are you sure about that, Mr. just-a-bite-of-your-sandwich-?!"

"GUYS!" Cassandra barked, "OK, so, let me get this straight: you kidnapped every guy between ages twelve and twenty-"

"Ten and nineteen, actually," the Multibear quietly corrected her.

"Great, alright, so you did all this because you can't be grown ups about a hammer?!"

The two beasts avoided eye contact.

"Manotaur guy," she stated, pointing an accusing finger at the towering, hairy creature, "do you have Multibear's hammer?"

He nodded.

"OK, then where is it?"

"On my workbench," the Manotaur admitted.

"Can you go get it?"

"What? Why?"

"Go get it!" she demanded, before turning on the Multibear, "And you! If you're so uncomfortable with him having it, why did you give it to him?"

"Well, I didn't think he'd keep it so long."

"Do you need it for something?"

"N-no," he admitted, downcast, "not really."

"Alright then. Oh good, you're back," she acknowledged as the Manotaur approached them again, "do you have the hammer?"

The Manotaur held it up for confirmation.

"Alrighty then," she concluded. She noticed the Multibear reaching for it. "AH-AH!" she scolded, "Manotaur, are you still using it?" she asked.

He nodded in response.

"What for?"

"…I- I'm building a birdhouse for my niece," he admitted with some hesitation, "but I broke the first one, so now I have to start over."

"Then you can keep the hammer. But as soon as you're done with it, give it back to the Multibear. And for peace of mind, you need to be able to show the Multibear where it is if he asks, so he knows you haven't lost or broken it. Everybody happy?"

They both nodded, somewhat sheepish.

"Great! Let me know if there's anymore trouble, OK?" she beamed, waving and turning to leave. As she strolled out of the cave the Multibear turned to the Manotaur,

"What's the hold up on a birdhouse? I've made many of them. Do you need help-?"

"I- I just get really excited, sometimes, hammering things in, and then I sort of, well, it ends up breaking…"

Cassandra placed the hoodie and cap on the Mystery Shack counter in front of Aunt Melody that evening, making good on her deal.

"Oh! Where'd you get these?" Melody asked, beaming down at the girl.

"Grunkle Soos lent them to me to use this afternoon. I'm pretty sure they're unscathed, so, yeah, here you go. He said I could return them later."

"Alright, sounds good," Melody responded. "though I bet he'd let you keep that hat, if you wanted."

"Why?" Cassandra asked, quirking her face in confusion.

"Well, you're his favorite niece," Melody winked.

Cassandra snorted,

"Nuh-uh, I barely know him, and he likes everybody."

"Maybe. But I'll keep it here behind the counter, if you want it."

"OK," Cassandra accepted, shrugging it off as a weird adult thing. "thanks, Aunt Melody!"

"No problem, Cassie!" she smiled as Cassandra scampered out of the gift shop.

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