A/N:

Code Answer: Human. But the scars and glass beg to differ.

Thanks again for the reviews, we made it to 3, yay! Keep it up guys! Not many chapters to go now, so let's see how this thing ends, lol XD

"Roxie!" Mabel called into the trees, crouching down to peer under roots and rocks, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Dipper didn't fully understand why they had to be out here looking for her. Sure he'd been a little harsh back there but she'd given her best shot too. And if she wanted to go and get herself into trouble then let her! After all it wasn't as if he himself as been tempting fate when he and Mabel went on adventures. They got out okay on their own, Roxie could too. And she'd been using them! She was freeloading to get her own way! And yet… if her story was true, then she really shouldn't be out on her own. And from what he'd seen so far, no doubt she'd be needed them sooner or later. Dipper hated the mixed feeling of guilt and anger. He just wanted this whole business to be over and done with!

"I don't get it, how can she move so quickly?" Dipper mumbled, careful to watch where he was stepping during his brisk strides, "Surely she isn't seriously going through with this? We don't even know if she's going there!"

Mabel weaved her fingers through a shrub and scanned inside, "She wants the crystals and Gideon will have them at some point today, what would you do?"

The journal felt heavy in his inside of his jacket. Ignoring the hint of smugness in his twins look, he huffed, "To the Tent is it then. I saw that one coming."

"You still needed me to point it out though."

"Not now, Mabel," he face-palmed, "Let's just keep moving."

"No problem." She grinned, showing off her jazz hands for s second before rushing off to follow her brother into the wilderness, "Do you think Gideon will find her?"

"If she's smart then she won't let him." He answered, "But from what we've seen since moving here, who can say?"

She chewed at the inside of her cheek nervously, "Saying that she's not going to get caught won't work will it."

"When has that ever -" Dipper cut himself off when his twins anxious face became clear. He exhaled slowly and put a hand on her shoulder, "Well give it a try, like I said, who can say?"

A small smile pulled at her mouth, "She's not going to get caught and it's all going to turn out great."

Returning the smile in spite of himself, he nodded, "Then let's go make sure that comes true, okay?"

"Okay!" she grinned, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket and pulling him along, "Let's go! Mabelzilla and Dipper-Droid to the rescue!"

Roxie hopped over a stray twig in her path and battled on through the undergrowth. Part of her registered that she must be tired by now, after all she had leapt and scrambled through most of the woodland by this point. But she didn't care. Anger urged her onwards. The marks on her back stung harshly, Again, she refused to cry openly, but it was hard to contain a few stray tears slipping away as she blinked rapidly. How dare they judge her like that again! She had told them the truth. Yeah, if someone had told her that story then it would be a little far-fetched but that's what happened. Her parent's told her so. Why would they lie?

But it didn't matter now? Right now all that mattered was getting back to that Tent and get those gems. Heck, even just one gem would do! She had a point to prove. She had her own life to live. And yet, there was that small pang of guilt curdled in the pit of her stomach. Okay, so maybe she was using them to get to the crystals, but she never intended it out of spite or anything like that! They just wouldn't understand. She didn't even fully understand it herself. For now she was winging it.

Did she even know where she was going? Barely. But the sounds of subtle car engines and occasional chatter, she guessed she was getting close to her destination. Dirt and moss grabbed at her and had fast turned her clothes a light tan from dust. Sweat poured down her face, but she was oblivious to it. That Gideon weirdo was bringing the gems back to the Tent for tomorrows show, that's what he'd said. So she just had to get there and wait. And as soon as she'd gotten what she wanted…. She promised that she'd go back and help them. Sure she was mad at them, Dipper mostly, but still, they had helped her out a lot. Why shouldn't she return the favour?

Feeling a stitch forming in her side, Roxie finally stopped running and leant against a rock for support, gasping for air. How long had she run for? How far had she come? She had no idea, but she hoped that she was getting close. From what she could see, the outskirts of the forests seemed livelier than the heart. And that reassured her oddly enough. It was easier to stay alert in the chatter of life instead of the silence that deafened you. For a second, she allowed herself to slide down the rock to sit among the grass, closing her eyes and trying to figure out a plan. If she managed to get into the tent, all she'd have to do is wait until Gideon returned with the crystals, grab one and get the heck out! Of course, if things went in her favour then she might be able to use one on Gideon. She could almost picture the look on the twin's face when they saw that she'd done half their job for them.

Getting to her feet and opening her eyes with a determined smile, Roxie agreed that after all the bad that had happened recently, things were bound to go her way sooner rather than later. Taking a step forward, her front suddenly smacked into something solid. Stumbling, she blinked away the daze and reached out a hand. A transparent barrier curved around her, leaving a circled dent in the grass. Her breath clouded before her. Glass. Tensing in panic, Roxie span around and looked up. A wry smile beneath perfectly shaped platinum hair bore down on her, a chubby hand gripping the jaw that now held her captive. Pressing herself against the wall, the cold glass stinging her scars through her jacket. Okay, she thought, so my luck will come around later… hopefully…

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Roxie cringed at his sickly sweet voice that echoed along the inside of the jar. The container had been placed on its side with the lid removed, but she refused to step out of it, keeping firmly out of reach. As far as she could tell, he had taken her back to the Tent's dressing room. That's one step in the right direction, she thought, but about a hundred back again…

"I'm not a what, Gideon, I'm a who!" she snapped.

A devilish sneer, "You know me? Not really surprising, but, I digress. So it must have been you who was sneaking around here?" Suddenly, the jar lurched as he tipped it forward, forcing Roxie to slide out harshly onto the desk surface, "What have you done with the looking glass?"

She winced from the scraped knee's she'd just received and got to her feet, "What's so important about it?"

The minute she spoke, they both knew that she had given something away, "So… where are you hiding it? A ditty thing like you can't have gotten far with it, not without help anyway!" he turned the lamp around so that it burned over her, making her flinch from the brightness, "Now tell me what you are and what you've done with my property!"

"I haven't done anything with it!" she snapped, refusing to answer the species question for the millionth time that week, "Why don't you tell me what you've got planned with the crystals and the show tomorrow?"

The boy narrowed his eyes and pinched the hood of her jacket, lifting her high above the ground to his eye level. Granted it wasn't that far considering his height, but for her size it was more than enough. She winced at the tug on her hair that was also trapped between his finger and thumb, kicking furiously. The base of her jacket was hoisted up slightly, showing off the unhealed scars on her back. At this, Gideon found his interests peeked. He twisted her around for a closer look.

"And how did that happen?" he asked knowingly.

Not wanting to admit that she didn't really know, she turned her head and glared at him, "None off your business!"

Gideon deliberately kept her positioned so that she could not see him and reached into the draw under the desk. Flipping open the false bottom, he started to flick through the pages of a certain treasure of his. A book, labelled simply with the number 2. Seconds later, he found what he was looking for. Snapping the book and draw shut, she span Roxie around to face him again.

"What were you doing?" she asked, trying her best to cover her unease. All she'd heard was a rustle of pages and wood sliding on wood. And she didn't like it.

"Not of your business." He quoted mockingly, "But I'm making you my business, Adhene!"

"Uh… gesundheit?"

"Oh don't play dumb with me! You Manx are all the same no matter what category you fall under! You're trickery won't work here."

"What are you talking about, you lunatic?" she yelled.

He regarded her for a moment with a giggle of excitement, "Oh, well isn't this just an extra apple in the pie?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked cautiously.

So, Gideon mused to himself, she has no idea… Gently, he replaced her on the desk, "Ah now, you see I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot here! It seems you're lost on the wrong side of town, now how did that happen? Tell lil' ol' me all about it, sugar."

Taken back by his sudden kindness, Roxie instinctively took a step away from him. She wasn't fooled for a second, "Took a wrong turn."

He tutted, "Poor thing, and you've been looking for the crystals because…?"

"Maybe it's the same reason you want to use them in your show?" she offered innocently, "Which is; by the way?"

"Ah just a little tourist attraction, nothing to worry you're little head about." He waved a hand passively, "It puts the audience in a whole new perspective before leaving with a whole new experience! Something to tell the grandkids, ya know?"

It was like listening to a commercial, "That's it? You change their sized for an attraction and let them out scot-free?"

"Well my business wouldn't achieve much if all my customers were captives now, would it?" he scoffed.

Well, that was true. But was that seriously it? Roxie had heard of this boys stupidity and lack of preparation, but this was ridiculous. He had the opportunity to take total control with those crystals in hand and yet he was only interested in increasing his popularity! Oh, on second thoughts that sounded about right. And why the sudden hospitable attitude? What had he called her? Oh no, he was another paranormal nut just like the twins, perfect! But she wasn't really interested in that right now, she knew what she was and little names weren't interesting her. What she was interested in was where the gems were and how to get out of here with them But seriously, a stupid tourist attraction?

"But Dipper said -"

Although Roxie had mumbled that, she was positive he had heard and clamped her hands over her mouth at her own idiocy. So lost in her thoughts that she'd forgotten to watch her mouth. Gideon smirked cruelly, fists balling in anticipation.

"Dipper? The Pines family?" he chuckled, "My, why didn't I see this one coming before? Imagine, my second chance at getting my revenge and it was all thanks to a -"

"Don't even go there! She snapped in what she hoped was a threatening voice.

Once again, Gideon took a twisted enjoyment of lifting her into the air again, "I don't plan on going anywhere. In fact, I think you're interfering friends will come right to me. After all, they'd be worried about their mascot."

Her legs kicked out pointlessly, "I'm no mascot, you creep! And they don't even know I'm here! Put me down! Let go!"

Ignoring her, the smug boy stood up and travelled over to the wooden cabinet on the side of the dressing room, glass squares set into the door revealed an assortment of trinkets and containers, each as elaborately patterned as the last. With his free hand, he opened it and opened a large trinket box that was strikingly similar to the one that had held the magnifying glass previously. He opened it and dropped her inside, slamming the lid closed.

Roxie stood and tried to force the roof of her prison open, but her heart sank as she heard the unnerving click of a lock sealing. The only slither of light came from the keyhole before her. She pressed her face against it to peer out, "You're not getting away with this! Whatever this is!"

"Just shut up and sit back, Adhene filth, and enjoy the backstage performance!"

The fabric walls of the back of the tent ruffled slightly, joined by the faint hushed voices. Roxie froze. They were awfully familiar voices. Oh no, they didn't! They did… Gideon flashed her a wicked grin and backed away and out of sight, deliberately closing the cabinet tight. She couldn't see where he was hidden, and that made it all the worse. No guys, she begged, don't come in here!

"I'll go in and check it out, I'll give you the signal when it's clear." Dipper's voice whispered.

"What's the signal? Oh, how about a blue-jay call?" Mabel asked gleefully.

"Who knows how to make a blue-jay call?" he replied with exasperation.

"I do…"

"I'll just call for you, deal?"

"Sure, if you want to do it the boring way…"

Roxie chewed her lip nervously as Dipper's head peeked under the tent anxiously and slowly started to crawl inside. He scanned the area and tip-toed further into the room. Slowly, he was further enough into the dressing-room that he was almost touching the cabinet. Roxie pounded her fists against the walls of her prison and desperately called out to anyone who could hear her. She pressed her face against the keyhole and scanned the miniscule view of the outside. Dipper was right there, just inches away.

"Dippy! Dipper in here! You need to get out!"

Why couldn't he hear her? Slowly, she watched as he leant a little closer and sighed in annoyance. A mist swarmed in front of her and just as swiftly evaporated. Just like that, it hit her. The box she was in was placed in a cabinet, glass panels set in the doors. He couldn't hear her from there! But that didn't stop her. Roxie started slamming her shoulders against the wood, hoping to make the box move in some way; that might get his attention.

A cold chill made her freeze as she noticed something bright and perfectly shaped move behind the boy. A quiff of platinum blond hair was edging its way closer. For a split second, a wry grin flashed into view only to sneakily vanish again. Gideon. Desperation was taking over. Roxie started screaming out to Dipper, her arm bruising from the effort she was making.

"Behind you, Dipper!" she cried, "Gideon's behind you! Turn around you idiot! Turn around!" She cupped her hands around her mouth and pressed against the keyhole, "Dipper, turn around!"

But it was too late, just as Dipper looked up and flinched in surprise at the eye glaring desperately at him through keyhole in a trinket box, he found himself blinded by a florescent pink haze. It coated him like a blanket, sending an uncomfortable feeling of pins-and-needles through his body. Eyes clenched shut in protection from the light, he felt something solid grip him around the middle harshly, forcing the air out of him. And before he could open his eyes to see his attacker; Dipper felt himself falling.

NZYVOAROOZ GL GSV IVHCFV!

A/N:

Oh no! What's going to happen next? Wait and see folks, don't forget to review! XD