A/N:

Code Answer: Hint: she is not an Imp

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Roxie was getting really tired of this. She had been standing on the desk for who knows how long while Dipper peered at her through the magnifying glass and commenting on how it gave her the look of a black and white movie. As if they didn't know that already! And if he held up a picture of a creature from that book up to her for comparison one more time she was going to set it on fire. Granted she'd have to get a match first and then struggle to light the thing… come to think of it is was just too much hassle.

Dipper on the other hand wasn't complaining at all. He had been waiting for this opportunity since he'd come across the short tempered girl. Things just didn't add up with her. Her size that apparently had nothing to do with the crystals; the family that are human and yet abandon her at the first opportunity; her sudden change in attitude; the magnifying glass; the scars on her back… This girl could not be human! On the other end of the scale once again, Mabel had to roll her eyes at both her twin and friend at their stubbornness. She didn't really care if Roxie was human or not, even if it was tilting towards the latter. And as for Dipper, well Mabel was kind of glad that he was getting back to his old self instead of just sitting around being boring, but also a little tired of hearing his conspiracies over and over again… Best just have another muffin.

"Weird, the grey mist stuff seems to cloud more around the marks and fade out to a white…" Dipper muttered, flicking through the pages once more.

"Grey mist stuff?" Roxie scoffed, "Good analysis Doctor Dippy."

Mabel sniggered a little before sighing and collapsing onto her bed, "How long is this going to take?"

"Until Dippy can label me as something that most likely doesn't exist."

Ignoring her twins scowl, Mabel continued, "The mist stuff sounds creepy, do you feel cold?"

A shrug, "Nope. I feel pretty average. Normal, in fact."

Dipper caught onto the hint and paused in research, "If you were normal, then technically you wouldn't be here right now."

"Technically, you brought me here."

"Pfft! Details, schme-tails!" Mabel smirked, getting bored again and moving to scan through the closet to pick her sweater for the next day.

Roxie huffed and tried to get a peek at the brittle pages of the journal, but her examiner was quicker to the punch and lifted it a little higher. Choosing to avoid what would be a bitter and slightly awkward situation, Roxie turned to Mabel once more. "Sorry, Mabel, but I've got to ask; why do you wear sweaters in the summer?"

She scoffed and spread her arms to show of the elaborate pattern of a grinning fish munching on a bag of chips, "Because they're awesome!"

Roxie over at the open closet where hundreds more bright sweaters awaited, "I can't argue with you there. Does that mean you wear tank tops in the winter?"

"Pfft, no that'd be ridiculous!" she replied with a chuckle.

"Mabel's always had a much lower body temperature than normal." Dipper explained, "Me on the other hand has always been a little warmer than average."

Roxie rolled her eyes, "Don't go calling yourself hot, Dippy, it's not a good quality."

Dipper scowled which just made Mabel's laughing increase, "Oh, burn!" She paused and looked out towards the door, "Burn… Burning… Muffins are burning!"

"You just made some." Her twin noted.

"I made more!"

The two watched as she sprinted from the room in a panic. Dipper snapped the book shut and placed it down, "I'd better give her a hand, before she roasts hers… again."

Roxie waved her hand passively as he left. She wanted him gone for a while, now she could stop feeling like a test subject and like herself again. She was positive that it was only a matter of time before the boy pulled out the scalpel. What exactly was he expecting to find? She didn't know why the looking glass had that affect on her and she didn't exactly care. All she wanted to do was find those infamous crystals and… Well, she had her reasons.

As did the twins on their reasons for thier assumptions of her come to think of it. Roxie glanced at the journal that was set next to her. Just what were those reasons? What did they expect from her? Curiosity taking over her, she started turning the pages, lifting them over her head and forcing them aside. She felt disgusted at the images inside. Bug-eyed creatures with fangs and scaled skin, wings that forced their way through the beings back in jagged angles. Some small, others large; all deadly. Is that what they thought she was? No. They were way off. This was not only insulting, but unnerving. Then she came across something else; a large print in red, determined to stand out on the aged page. Trust no one.

Roxie became aware of the presence behind her and didn't bother turning around, "Is that why you have such an issue with me?" she asked, casually stepping backwards away from the book, "Because a book tells you so?"

A hand leaned over her to close the cover harshly, "Hey, that book's saved mine and Mabel's life on more than one occasion so excuse me for following directions."

She turned to glare up at him, wishing that she was big enough to look him in the eye directly, "Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not in the book! So man up and make your own opinions!"

"Are you guys fighting again?" Mabel asked, poking her head around the doorway, steaming muffin in hand, "Do I have to make you sit on separate sides of the room again?"

Ignoring her, Dipper continued, "Don't take it so personal! I just… I don't trust anything until I can understand it."

"I'm a girl; you're going to have to get over that mission of understanding."

Mabel sniggered, "She's got you there, bro."

"But she's not just a girl, Mabel! She's a creature in this book somewhere, the creepy magnifying glass proves it and until I find out what she is then -"

He was cut of my something bouncing off of his cheek; startling him and making his arms swat the air involuntarily. However, it turned out that it was an eraser thrown at full force by Roxie whose red cheeks and rapid blinking indicated that she was either going to lunge and start clawing him or she was going to cry. But at the moment, she did neither. Instead, she just calmly turned her back on him.

"I'm not a creature…" she muttered, "I'm, well, I'm…"

"Stuttering?" Mabel offered sympathetically.

"No, well, yes, uh… I'm human. Pure blood human. Born and raised. Human!" she snapped, glaring at the pair, "You go around with your mystery façade but you forget that maybe you can come across someone human who's just a little weird or something! Jeez, you're so quick to judge!"

Dipper blinked, "Humans aren't normally so… you know." He lifted his thumb and forefinger to indicate her height.

"And you said you haven't been near the crystals." Mabel mumbled in confusion.

"And your family just happen to vanish? It's a lie, right?" Dipper asked, sounding a lot harsher than he meant to and feeling a little guilty.

"I never lied though!" Roxie, attempting to rest her hand on his knuckle, but he pulled away, "I do have a family; a mom, dad, little brother and a big sis. I was here visiting family with them before all this happened. They are human; I just…"

"Left out the detail that you weren't." he finished for her.

Mabel furrowed her brow in concentration, "So… how does that work? Or is this one of those 'tell you when you're older' things?" she asked using her fingers or air quotes.

Roxie figured that she was going to get more acceptance from Mabel than Dipper, so she focussed her attention on her, "I am human, or at least I'm ninety-nine percent sure I am. We were visiting family down these parts when my sister took me for a walk in the woods for an adventure. I was just a little kid, about two or three maybe? Apparently my sister didn't like me very much at the time and let me wonder off on my own." She swallowed, "When they found me I was like this…"

"Awe! You got to stay their little girl forever!" Mabel cooed.

"You could say that…"

"Wait a minute, back up a second. How do you remember all this?"

"I don't, it's what my parent told me. Why would they lie? And… it's easier to believe them then it is looking at all the stuff you think I might be and feeling more of a freak then I already am."

"Did they say anything else?" Mabel asked gently.

"No. And it's been all cover-ups and hiding ever since." She shifted and couldn't look at either of them in the eye, "And when you guys found me, you seemed to know a lot about all the weird stuff around here and seemed really eager to, well, diagnose me or something. And then when my family left I figured that it was a chance for me to get my own life back. So when you mentioned the crystals again I thought, well, they would help me."

"So…"

"So she used us, Mabel." Dipper clarified harshly, he altered his voice in mockery, "Sure, I'll stick around and let you guys study me when actually I'm just hitching a free holiday and get other people to do all the work for me and find out how to be human again!"

Mabel wagged her finger at him, "Her voice isn't that high-pitched, you scallywag." She turned to Roxie, "But… if that is a basic summary I can't say I like it too much."

Roxie shook her head desperately, "No, it's not like that at all! I didn't say anything because I didn't think you'd believe me; and it's not like you tell me the full truth either!" she indicated to the book again.

Dipper put his hands on his hips, "Don't twist this around on me; you didn't have to stay if we were that bad!"

"Every time I tried to leave, you brought me back!"

"I asked and you said yes!"

"Take a look at me and then take a look out there! I was terrified! Of course I said yes! You said you'd help me!"

"Uh, again, you're trying to twist this around on me."

"I'm not! I never lied, I only left out a back-story that counted for nothing; I didn't want to know what I am, I just wanted to go home."

"Then go on, no one's stopping you this time."

"Oh, just like that? You've solved the mystery and now you're done?"

Silence, an awkward and horrible silence.

"Fine, guess this is goodbye then. Thanks for the help."

Mabel had listened to all of this with a nervous chew on her lips, not liking the tone coming from either of them. But now, as Roxie started descending the desk via the lamp wire, she swallowed nervously, "You don't have to leave, right Dipper?" When her brother didn't answer, she tried again, "Come on, Roxie, you two bicker all the time, why's this different?" she forced grin fell slightly, "You can always pretend we don't know, right? I pretend that I don't know I wore the same sweater twice last year! And we can still help with the crystals!" Still no reply, "But, I was going to show you the Ducktective omnibus tonight…"

Roxie had reached the door by this point and figured that it wasn't Mabel who deserved the cold shoulder here. So she turned her head slightly and smiled apologetically, "Sorry; I really am."

"But.. Where're you going?" Mabel asked, tilting her head slightly.

Roxie didn't stop, neither did she turn her head when answering, "Out. Where all the other creatures are." She was too small to slam to the door, but giving it a forceful hit with her fist felt just as satisfactory; and true to her word, she walked out.

Dipper felt a pang of guilt, but refused to act upon it. She was overreacting! He'd only said the truth, he couldn't be blamed for that. Sure he thought that at times Roxie was okay but that still didn't stop the fact that there were too many oddities about her for her to be human, and that made her untrustable. Sure there were parts of her story that he could believe, but it was still pretty far fetched. Wasn't it? Well wasn't most of the stuff around here? But still… There was no sense in being guilt tripped into going after her, so he just picked up the book and lay back on his bed, continuing his research. Or at least he was trying to, but the scowl that Mabel was giving him was practically burning a hole in his head.

"What?"

"Don't be a jerk, Dipper, go apologize."

"For what?"

"For calling her names! What'd she ever do to you?"

"Mabel, all I said was my opinions and she didn't waste anytime saying hers. If she can't take it and wants to live in denial then that's her choice."

"Dipper."

"Come on, she'll be back in like, two minutes. You've seen those little legs," he moved two fingers along the top of the book to symbol a person walking, "she won't even make it down the stairs."

Mabel looked out towards the door. He had a point, and maybe she could do with some time to calm down. Poor girl, no wonder she didn't want to say anything. Mabel couldn't imagine going through that, although being given candy would have been epic! But that wasn't the point really. The point was that Roxie really did have her reasons, and they may not add up for everything about her, it still explained some stuff… No wonder she wanted to help find the crystals so much. Mabel paused in thought. The crystals. She widened her eyes and started shaking her twin by the shoulders.

"Dipper!"

"Agh! What?"

"Roxie wants the crystals!"

"Yes, yeah I got that." He replied, gently prising her from him, "But they're not getting to Gideon's tent until tonight."

"Yeah! And Roxie wants them!"

"So?"

She tugged at her hair in frustration, "Dipper, keep up! She knows where they're going to be, and she wants to use them, and Gideon will be around too. Add it up!"

Dipper cocked his head. No, surely she wouldn't… He sighed and dragged his palm down his face, "We're going to have to stop her, aren't we?"

Thankful that he'd gotten the message, Mabel dragged him out into the hallway. But Roxie had long since vanished. Once again, that crack in the wall leading out onto the drainpipe had come in very useful for a quick escape. And Roxie had taken full advantage of it.

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A/N:

What trouble have they gotten into this time? Keep the reviews coming folks, let's see if we can get up to 3 this time, lol XD