Disclaimer: Did you know that running was invented in 1748 by Thomas Running, who attempted to walk twice at the same time? Subsequently, a Marathon was invented by Mara Thon in 1823, who loved walking twice so much she made her and her friends do it for miles. They died of dehydration.

-The pointed tops of pine trees are illuminated by the orange-reddish light of the rising sun. Birds chirp for a moment before a large scream from a pterodactyl causes the birds to scatter. A poor bird ends up getting caught by the PFO (prehistoric flying object), and it flies off towards the oddly-shaped cliffs outside the town.-

-The equally pointed rooftop of the Mystery Shack gets no exception from the morning sun. The weather vane, in the form of a question mark and the admittedly strange cardinal directions of 'W', 'H', 'A' and 'T', turns gently every which way, wherever the wind blows. Literally.-

-Through the attic window, two people dressed in bed attire are conversing inside the attic. One was laying horizontally on the bed to the right, her head dangling off the edge as she looked at her brother. The other was staring at himself in the mirror, tidying his scruffy hair as his trappers hat laid on the bed to the left. Next to the hat laid a very future-looking pistol: one of Masons very designs.-

"So I said to her 'Yeah? Well the clothes for people who lost at minigolf is over there!' and pointed at the EXIT!" -She giggled, covering her mouth devilishly as she recalled the minigolf war and her little fantasy. "Then, Sanjay and Craig showed up as doctors and laughed at her misery!" "Uh huh, cool." -Mason replied casually, not really listening.-

"But hey, we're cool now. She did help save the world... after I doomed it." -Mabel went silent. Mason turned back to find her gaze toward the window, seeming depressed. He went over and knelt beside her.-

"Hey, you were just worried I was gonna abandon you. It wasn't your fault he tricked you." -Mason assured her.- "Besides, I was sort of selfish back then."

-Mabel looked back at Mason, staying silent for a while.- "Eh, I was too." -She said simply.-

"Uh, awkward sibling hug?" -Mason asked her, stretching his arms out. Mabel smiled and turned herself around to sit up.- "How about an awkward... tickle fight!" -She blurted out as she went to tickle him. He squirmed to get out as he laughed, both from Mabel's playfullness and under the will of his own stupid ticklish nature.-

"H-Hey! Haha quit it!" -Mason could barely breathe from the laughter, so Mabel quickly pulled back to let him catch his breath. They laughed for a while before staying silent.-

"Anyways, me and the girls are-" -Before Mabel could finish, the door burst open. Soos, dressed as Mr. Mystery, walked in, saying "Hey, dudes!". In surprise, Mason went for the gun and aimed it at Soos, energy pooling at the end. Mabel yelped and Soos immediately raised his hands up in surrender.- "HEY HEY! DON'T SHOOT! I TOTALLY DIDN'T EAT YOUR STANCAKES, I SWEAR!"

"Huh? So- I mean, Mr. Ramirez?"

"Dude, we're Dino bros. You can just call me Soos."

-Mason stared for a moment before letting off the trigger. The energy dissipates.- "Oh, uh, sorry about that."

"Brobro, you could've shot him!" -Mabel said in slight horror.- "I said I was sorry!" -Mason replied, tossing the gun onto the bed to prevent any accidents.-

"Hey, its fine, dude. I woulda been honored to be blasted to bits by you!" -Soos replied, way too casual about the fact an energy-based weapon of mass destruction nearly obliterated him.- "Anyways, I wanted to come up to tell you dudes Stan made breakfast. He made Stancakes!"

"Do they have his hair in them?"

"...he said maybe."

"..."

"Well, I personally wouldn't mind eating the hair of my Grunkle if it means free pancakes." -Declared Mabel proudly. "Gross" was Masons immediate response.-

-Scene changed to the dining room of the Mystery Shack, where Stanley, Melody and Abuelita were already there. Mason had nearly forgotten she lived there with Soos. Somehow she always seems to blend in.-

"Ah, theres the 'bueno'factors!" -Stan exclaimed once the twins arrived. Abuelita seemed disapproving of the pun.- "Quick, grab some Stancakes. Don't worry, I cut the percentage of my hair in them by 80%." -He put a few pancakes onto plates and puts them to the side for them.-

"Even a 20% chance is too much for me." -Mason remarked as he took a plate and sat down next to Soos. Mabel took hers and sat next to Mason.- "Surprised you haven't turned that thing into a glitter bomb yet."

"Hey, I can grow out of things, you know!" -Mabel pouted.- "I can easily tell." -Mason replied sarcastically, cutting a piece from his Stancakes. Thankfully, no Stan hair was in it. He wasn't sure of his odds after that.-

"Please, growing is overrated. Look at me, I ended up getting a mullet." -Grunkle Stan commented as he sat down, completing the circle of people eating.- "Plus, random back pain. And knee pain. Also I apparently have amnesia."

-Everyone seemed to tense a bit. Anything to do with Stan's memory relapses doesn't bring back great memories. Though it was weird he called it 'amnesia'. At least to Mason and Mabel.-

"Amnesia?" -Mason asked.- "Yeah, sometimes I can wake up one day and end up losing half my memories. Gotta get shown stuff just to remember again." -Stan replied, probably too casually for someone who loses parts of his memories randomly with no warning.-

-Mason looked at Soos quizzically, who simply met his gaze before going back to eating. Mabel did, as well. They went at it for a while, silent, until Mabel started gagging.- "Ew! I got Grunkle hair!" -She exclaimed in disgust as she flicked the strand of hair away.- "Didn't you say you'd gladly eat them for the free pancakes?" "Shut up!"

"AHAHAHAHA!!" -Stan began laughing hysterically at Mabel's dismay.- "Quit laughing!" "Why? Your dismay is hilarious!"

-Mason rolled his eyes and turned to the other people in the room. Soos and Melody were trying not to laugh at Mabel, and Abuelita seemed unphased. He just went back to eating, watching Mabel somehow tap into the mystic powers of infinite pouting as Stan laughed so hard he began coughing. Being in the Pines family is weird. But he's not complaining.-

-Mason and Mabel (with Waddles) were sitting by the recliner, watching the television. Stan was sat in the recliner himself, a cold drink in one hand, and the remote on the other. The Pines trio was in the middle of Ducktective, a series they've been invested in until the Dreaded Decline, when the series went from fun entertainment to a money-grabbery barrage of unfunny duck-related humor. However, it was still more interesting than anything else they could watch.-

-An advertisement played after the latest plot twist of Ducktective 6: Milking the Cow, where Ducktective finds out he was never Ducktective to begin with but was actually a... well, they never knew. The advertisement played right before the reveal, causing groans of dissatisfaction from each of the three watching.-

-The advertisement was for a new season of "The Duchess Approves", starring Grampton St. Rumpterfrabble. Again.- "Oh hey, its that show I watched." -Stan said, pointing to the screen. Mabel gagged.-

"Ew! Boring white and black old lady movies! They're worse than stop-motion animation!" -Stan quickly hushed her.- "Hey, at least they didn't come to life and try to kill us! Plus, The Duchess Approves is a classic! The ending broke me!" -Stan feigned heartbreak. Mason simply looked at the window.- "Actually, it broke the window." "Hush, Mason."

-The advertisements continued. Mason and Stan looked ready to throw the television out the window to get it to hurry up already, they'd rather see what contrived excuse of a plot twist happened. Mabel seemed to be staring at the front door expectantly.-

"Hey Mabes," -Mason spoke up.- "What're you looking at the door for?"

-Mabel turned around, her smile growing brightly.- "Oh, me and my friends are having a 'girls night out'! Pacifica is even coming too!" -Mason slightly blushed at this, thanking whatever Creator was out there that Mabel looked away in thought and didn't see it.- "Though I'm surprised she could come. I heard her family lost their fortunes and ended up as waste shoveling farmers."

"That's kind of ironic. And humbling."

"Yeah, dunno how or why they threw all their money down the drain. Probably to fix all their crap after that party they had at their manor got invaded by townsfolk." -Stan remarked. Mason remembered the party, and Pacifica opening the gates to break the Northwest curse and set things right. They neglected to tell Stan they kinda died then.-

"I'm pretty sure it was after-" -Mabel gets interrupted by knocking on the door.- "OH! They're here!" -She gets up and runs to the door. Mason stays behind with Stan as the advertisements ended.-

"As I was saying, Ducktective..." -A villain said in the show.- "Finally." -Mason sighed with relief.-

"You're not REALLY Ducktective." -Ducktective quacks dramatically.- "You're REALLY-"

BRRRRRRMMMMMMM

-The villains voice gets drowned out as Abuelita comes in with the vacuum, and started vacuuming the room they were in. The two groaned and complained loudly about having missed the possibly very important plot twist. Abuelita simply says "I must vacuum."-

[Mabel's POV]

-When Mabel reached the door, more knocks could be heard.- "I'm here!" -She exclaimed through the door as she quickly unlocked it at opened it.-

-Outside the door was four women: Wendy, a short girl with a purple shirt on and round glasses, a big, muscular girl with a ponytail and a big shirt with the word 'COOL' on it, and a thin blonde girl wearing a coat despite it being in the 70's.-

"Wendy! Candy! Grenda! Pacifica! Welcome!" -Mabel exclaimed cheerfully. Grenda looked around confused.- "Who's 'Welcome'? I don't see anyone!"

"I think she's just greeting us." -Candy, the voice of reason, replies.-

"Thank the Falls we have you here to tell us that." -Pacifica chimes in, a slight grin on her face. Candy didn't seem to take offense, but smiled back.- "Happy to be of service."

"Well, I dunno about you, but I'm excited to go." -Wendy proclaimed, tapping the ax on her waist.- "Its been boring lately at home. Between regular 'end of the world AGAIN' training, we have to spend all day gathering wood for winter. I'm happy to be able to get out for a walk for once."

"Why are you gathering wood for winter now?" -Mabel asks the obvious question.-

-Wendy sighs- "Pests keep stealing our lumber. Aside from selling lumber wood, we use it ourselves to keep a fire at winter." -She explained.- "Unfortunately, very recently, about a few years back, some new beasts started stealing our lumber. We had to make it tradition to start early and get a lot of it before they get stolen."

"Wonder where they came from."

"Wouldn't I like to know." -Wendy rubbed her eyes.- "No matter on that, though. Y'all ready?"

"Wait, wait! Lemme grab something!" -Mabel fled into the house.- "Dipper! Where'd you put my grappling hook?"

-Through the sounds of vacuuming, Masons voice yelled "In my backpack next to my bed!"-

"Thanks!" -Mabel ran upstairs so fast she nearly tripped, but caught herself and bolted to the attic. When she came back, she was wielding a grappling hook that looked more like a purple water gun than a grappling hook. Except for the hook itself protruding from the end.-

"Wow, where'd you get that?" -Candy asked as they all stared at it.- "First I got it from Stan as a present after some gnomes tried to make me their queen," -Mabel explained, waving the grappling hook around dangerously.- "Then Mr. Rami- Oops, I mean Soos, upgraded it for me when we were finding Gemulets for Jeff."

-Everyone looked at her. They certainly couldn't forget Dark Jeff and Gremularth, but they had a hard time believing in Mabel's story. Wendy, though, knew it was true.- "Yeah, she and Mason went out to find these Gemulet things. Jeff went bonkers and kidnapped me, Mr. Ramirez and Stan. Made us evil clone ghosts that attacked them."

-She looked back at Mabel and ruffled her hair.- "Luckily for us, they're the strongest, bravest pair of twins we know." -Mabel beamed.-

"Uh, who's Mason?" -Grenda asked, confused.- "Uh, Dipper." "Oooh. Thought his name was always Dipper."

"Of course not. Its just a nickname."

-Everyone turns to find the source of the voice, only to be met with a pudgy man with puffy white hair and wearing a blue suit, looking about a few years younger than Mabel.- "Oh, hey Gideon!" -Mabel waved, causing Gideon to become flustered.- "Yes, hey, hi... I mean! Gosh darn it!"

-Wendy couldn't help but snigger, getting an annoyed glance from the Gleeful.-

"Uh, whatre you doing here?" -Mabel asked him, trying to steer the conversation into something more comfortable. It didn't seem to work as well as she'd thought.-

"I, uh...I" -Gideon stammered a bit. It was clear he hadn't quite gotten over Mabel yet. "Well... my... therapist told me I... needed to try to make regular friends. Hang out, you know?"

"You have a therapist?" -Wendy asked, sounding surprised.- "What, you gotta problem?!" "Nah, just didn't think that Gideon Prideful would stop stroking his ego." "Why you-"

"Hey! Everyone calm down!" -Mabel interjected, keeping Wendy and Gideon apart. She knew Wendy wasn't the type to forgive easy, especially to someone like Gideon, but they couldn't be fighting. They had to get along, and maybe this walk will help!-

"We were thinking about doing a hike. You can join if you want." -Mabel suggested, much to Gideon's surprise and Wendy's disapproval.-

"I am not walking with him near us."

"Come on, don't be like that!" -Mabel pleaded.- "He's good now! Right Gideon?"

"Uh, well, not really. I did some messed up things. I don't exactly expect or deserve forgiveness." -Gideon lamented, looking down shamefully. Wendy stared down at him.- "Huh, something we agree on."

"Wendy, lets just go already." -Mabel said seriously, which caught Wendy slightly off guard. She looked back at Gideon before sighing.- "Right, lets go."

-Everyone silently left for the hiking trail. Mabel seemed to stick close to Gideon, not out of any innate feelings, but as a way of showing forgiveness. She seemed to have a calling for it.-

[Mason's POV]

-Mason watched as Mabel and her merry gang of hikers left. He didn't hear much due to Abuelita's vacuuming, but he thought he saw Wendy and Gideon fighting. Why was Gideon there, anyways?-

-He stared at the television, the latest episode of Ducktective already finished and now something else was playing.- "Can't believe we missed the big reveal. Now we'll have to wait a week for the episode to return!"

"Yeah, well his granny always vacuums on Sundays. Gotta get it ready for tourists." -Stan explained.- "I just wish she'd stop doing it in the middle of a show. I swear, she must watch them in advance to know when to start vacuuming just to spite me."

"Aw come on, dudes. Its her thing, don't get mad at her for it." -Soos walks into the door frame, looking into the room. The sounds of vacuuming started again, this time in the gift shop.- "By the way, Mason." "You can call me Dipper, Soos." "Oh, well I already called you Mason, hah."

"Spit it out, Soos." -Stan interjected.- "Right, sorry. Anyways, wheres Mabel going? I just saw her out the window with a bunch of her friends walking into the woods."

-Mason shrugged.- "Some girls night out. Well, girls plus one guy night out. Gideon went with them I think."

-Stan snorted.- "That punk? Surprised they let him. Wendy especially, she hasn't exactly taken fond of him."

-Mason remembered when Gideon worked for Bill. He didn't know what Wendy thought of him switching sides, but they were busy saving Mabel, so maybe not much.-

"You know, we should have a boys night out! Do something, just the three of us!"

"Pass."

"Just the two of us, Mason!"

"I mean, I don't have anything better to do." -Mason replied and stood up.- "Uh, what should we do?"

"Well first I want to see that funky blaster you got, then I wanna show you some anime I got!"

"My gun?" -Mason searched his coat and took out his gun.- "Its nothing special, just a-"

"Before you go on a tirade of movie magic science mojo, just say its a blaster and be done with it." -Stan interrupted, looking at the gun neutrally.-

"... right. A blaster." -Mason deadpanned.- "Anyways, I crafted it myself while on my adventures. I used pieces from fallen UFO's and some futuristic lost civilizations to make it."

-Soos looked like a kid in a Candy store.- "Whoa, dude, you have to show me these places! I could make this into a killer manga! It'd be as popular as Lil' Stanley!"

"Hey, it only got popular because everyone keeps calling me a hero!" "But you are, Mr. Pines!" "So everyone says."

-Mason watched Stan worriedly. He thought the scrapbook therapy and all the mentions of his sacrifice would've made him remember, but for some reason he seems like he doesn't remember it.-

-Soos met his gaze with one that said "I'll tell you later" and motioned for him to come.- "Come on, Mason, lets go see that funky blaster!"

"Coming." -Mason said, walking towards the door. Before leaving, he turned to Stan.- "Keep Waddles safe, alright?"

"Kid, have I ever put the pig in danger?"

(Silence. A faint pterodactyl scream screeched through the air. Soos could be heard saying "What was that, dudes?")

"Scratch that. I'll keep it safe, don't worry." -Stan assured him, placing Waddles on his lap and patting it. It oinked contently.-

-Satisfied with its safety, Mason nodded and left.- "See you, Grunkle Stan." "Bye."

-After the two left, Stan stared at the television before looking down at the pig. It looked up at him.- "You know, you're about as cute as you are a pain in the-"

[Mabel's POV]

"AHH! AHH! ACHOO!" -Mabel sneezes, rubbing her nose sheepishly. "Sorry, guys."

-Gideon laughed lightly.- "You know, you're cute when you sneeze."

-Wendy, surprisingly, laughed as well.- "As much as I don't like him, ("Hey!") he is right. Your sneeze is adorable!"

-Grenda and Candy agreed.-

"H-Hey! Its not adorable!" -Mabel argued, though her embarrassingly red face and pout don't really help her case. She sighed.-

-They've been walking for a while now, and the tension that happened at the Mystery Shack had disappeared more or less. Hasn't stopped Gideon and Wendy from staying away from each other, which Mabel wished they would get along.-

"By the way, Gideon." -Grenda looked over to Gideon.- "Don't you have prison guys to, like, hang out with?"

-Gideon shook his head.- "They've kinda moved on. My therapist told me I can't exactly have criminals as friends if I want to get better."

"You're a criminal, I'm surprised that's an issue." -Wendy commented.-

"Yeah, well I'm trying not to be. They understood and moved out of town. I hope they're alright."

"Hey, Mabel?" -Pacifica chimed in.- "We should head a different way."

"How come, Pacifi?" -Mabel turned around, wondering why they couldn't go further.-

"Its Pacifica. And further up is his statue." -Pacifica positioned her fingers to make a triangle. To further her point, she raised them so that her eye was in the middle.- "I heard people who go too close end up feeling like their soul is dying. It kills off the nature around it."

-Everyone tensed up at the mention of Bill. It was best not to go further up the trail.-

"Well, how about we just cut through the woods?" -Candy gestured to the woods. The woods seemed darker and more dangerous than normal, but maybe it was their imagination.- "Great idea! I can show you my grappling hook!" -Mabel beamed, holding up her grappling hook.-

"Hey Mabel, wrong time, but why do you still have braces?" -Wendy asked. Mabel just shrugged.-

"Should we really be going into the woods?" -Pacifica asked worriedly.- "That scream earlier sounded like something dangerous and there could be others in the woods."

-Wendy brandished an ax.- "Don't worry, its why I always bring an ax. In case someone brings a ladd- I mean in case a monster comes to eat our brains."

"All you need is a three-part karaoke number for those." -Mabel pointed out. Everyone looked at her weird.- "Trust me, it works."

"Now come on! If anything happens, we can just hook onto a cloud and get away!" -Mabel smiled and walked into the woods. Everyone looked at eachother, not really sure whether Mabel was joking there, and followed.-

[Mason's POV]

-Soos and Mason were outside the Mystery Shack, setting up stone dummies for Mason to shoot at. Meanwhile, Mason was telling him about his adventures during the few years since high school.-

"So I once found an abandoned town in Ohio called Jill's Creek. It was 140 miles from Zanesville, and it apparently dissuades anyone near it from exploring using some sort of psychological effect. Had to use a brainwave disrupter to prevent its effects." -Mason told Soos, looking into his journal at the 'Jill's Creek, Ohio' page.- "I've heard rumors about it before in the area, but no one ever went into it and because it dissuades people, the story never got around."

-Soos stops making rock structures to look at him.- "Wow, dude. That's intense. What'd you find there?"

"Well, somehow there must've been a curse. The psychological effect it has can't be natural. I assume maybe a witch or wizard had a feud and cursed the town." -Mason pondered for a moment.- "Its inhabitants were all dead, and everything was covered in moss. It looked like the architecture and technology was years behind ours, which would mean they were cursed a long time ago."

"Haha, must suck for them." -Soos joked, position some more rocks before standing up and walking back.- "Alright, I think that's a good target dummy."

-The bundle of rocks were stacked to somewhat look like a man. Though the rock head seemed to look oddly like Stan.-

"Hey, Soos. Why does it look oddly like Stan?" -Mason questioned. Soos just shrugged.- "No reason. Now, try shooting it, dude. I wanna see what it does!"

-He didn't really know what the ethical response should be to shooting a stone that looks somewhat like Stan, but he supposed it was just a rock. He nodded and raised the gun towards the rock, aiming through the reticle. After a moment, he pressed the trigger once to start the charge.-

-Energy began to build up, and Mason let it grow before pressing the trigger again. The energy blasts out like a laser, obliterating the Stan-like rock and most of the 'torso', if you could call it that. Soos was ecstatic.- "Whoa, dude, that's sweet! Perfect manga material!"

"You really gonna make a manga out of this?"

"Sure! I'm surprised I hadn't done it earlier with all the anomalies we see. Like the dimensional rifts, for instance."

-Almost conveniently, the dimensional fabric tore open next to them, revealing a dimensional rift.- "Huh, didn't know those were still around." "Totally, dude. Not sure why, but maybe its due to that Bill guy's statue. Things got crazy energy."

-Mason looked thoughtful for a moment.- "Hey, Soos? Can I confess something?"

-Soos looked at him a bit funny.- "Sure, but just to warn you, I don't swing that way."

"No, no! I wasn't gonna say that!" -There was probably nothing in the world redder than Masons face that moment.- "I mean, like a secret or something."

"Ooooh! Honestly, dude, not my best moment there." -Soos facepalmed before turning back.- "Sure, I can keep secrets. Shoot!"

-Mason gulped. He knew very well he could trust Soos (sometimes), but he didn't want Mabel to find out somehow.- "So, before we came, I may have promised Mabel I'd stop trying to investigate paranormal activity for the summer." -Mason looked away.- "But I have another reason for being here other than to visit."

-Soos watched him intently, nodding to every word he said.-

"I may have found strange energy readings. Stranger than whats usually considered strange here, which is everything pretty much. I think the statue is emanating it."

"Well, I've heard stories of it starting to have weird effects on the environment and people." -Soos said thoughtfully.- "Apparently people say they felt like their souls died when getting near it, even if they actively avoid it."

-Mason looked at the trail that Mabel went on. He hoped they'd be alright.-

"Well, we should close that rift thing before it starts causing trouble. Then I'll show you my anime! Its totally better than Ducktective." -Soos said, walking back towards the Shack. Mason holstered his blaster and followed.- "I dunno, its either unfunny puns or constant fan servicing that somehow causes shipping wars in the fandom."

"Hey, not all shippers fight! Only like... 60%? I dunno dude, I was never good at math." -Soos shrugged.- "Didn't you have to fix things, like, everyday years ago? And what about my flashlight and Mabel's grappling hook?"

"Eh, I just smack it with a wrench and it fixes itself. Kinda like SwordQuest, but there its a sworench. Like a wrench that's a sword." -Soos and Mason went into the Shack as they talked, going to get the alien adhesive.-

"I don't think that's how a sword OR a wrench works, Soos."

[Mabel's POV]

-The woods seemed to be closing in everywhere. If any of them had claustrophobia, it'd be a living nightmare in the forest.-

"Perhaps this was a bad idea. We should head back." -Candy said softly, a bit frightened.-

"Head back where, exactly?" -Pacifica remarked. Every direction looked the same, and no one could remember whether they walked in a straight line or not.-

-Yeah, they were lost.-

"Come on, guys. We can get back home, right?" -Mabel said, trying not to sound worried.- "Maybe we should ask Candy, she suggested this." -Pacifica glared at Candy, who shrunk back. Wendy and Grenda came to her defense.- "Hey, it wasn't her fault we were lost." "Yeah, back off Pacifica!"

-Gideon seemed unable or unwilling to butt in, as they'd probably all turn on him. Mabel attempted to diffuse the situation, but it seemed to be in vain.-

"Hell no! We could've turned back a LONG time ago! Back when I warned everyone about the statue! Now we're lost with no hope of escape because Miss Two-eyes" -She pointed angrily at Candy, who hid further behind Wendy and Grenda- "went and got us into this mess!"

"Hey, she didn't get us lost on purpose." -Wendy replied angrily.- "So lay off!"

-Mabel stepped back, unsure of what to do. They wouldn't hear her out, and the fighting stressed her out. And then she heard a voice.-

'I see you're stressed, my child.'

-She looked around confused, but her gaze was locked further into the woods. Her vision seemed to burst forward from her body, peering into a clearing with a small, gold statue.-

'Come to me. I'll relieve you of all that stress.'

-How could she refuse? Silently, as the others fought, she walked away towards the clearing. Towards paradise.-

'After all, you're friends are unhealthy. They bicker, they fight. Cut free of them, join me. I'll keep you safe.'

"Mabel, dear?" -Gideon noticed Mabel starting to walk strangely further into the forest. He got worried when she didn't respond.- "Uh, guys?" -No response, the others were still fighting over whether Candy was guilty of them being lost or not. Without much time to delay, Gideon followed Mabel.-

-Mabel didn't stop walking until they got to a clearing. She didn't seem to feel Gideon try to stop her or hear his words. Once they got to the clearing, they could see the golden statue, sitting in the grass in the middle of the clearing.-

-The grass seemed to run red in the clearing. Red grass? That's new. But Gideon didn't like it one bit.-

-Mabel shuffled towards the statue, with Gideon failing to pull her back. 'Come, pick me up. Pick me up!' the voice told Mabel.-

"Pick... up." -Mabel repeated, which made Gideon question if it was somehow brainwashing her. He didn't know what the trap was, though, so he couldn't do anything to prevent what happened when Mabel touched the statue.-

-The statue went from gold to coal, and ignited, burning Mabel's hand. She yelped and dropped the statue, causing the clearing to ignite around them. A monstrous entity, a humanoid deer made of charred wood and ashes, rose from the ground.-

"Mabel Pines. Gideon Gleeful. You're greed has brought you here to your grave!"

-The entity lunged at Mabel and Gideon. Mabel yelped and dove out of the way, while Gideon, trying to protect Mabel, attacked the entity. This resulted in the entity ripping his right arm off, causing him to scream in pain. In an attempt to get the entity off him, Mabel grabbed her grappling hook and shot it at its head.-

-It bounced off its head.-

"Uh Oh."

-In a fit of rage, the entity threw Gideon away and barreled toward Mabel, and she barely got away from it. It crashed headfirst through the flaming trees, but the fire didn't seem to spread.-

"Whoo! In your face, weird flaming deer person!" -Mabel celebrated too early, though, as the entity crashed into her from behind, causing them to tumble into the ground. Mabel watched helplessly as the creatures touch burned her skin, and as it reached for her face.-

"Say goodbye, Mabel Pines."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

-The entity swung its head around to find a large rock thrusted hard into its face. It tumbled off of Mabel and onto its back, where Gideon began to brutally beat its skull in with the rock.-

"THIS! IS! FOR! HURTING! HER!"

-After many strikes, and shrieks of pain from the entity, it finally went limp. Its body and blood disintegrated into dust and scattered into the wind, and the golden statue crumbled away. Mabel stares at Gideon as he breathes heavily. He then collapses, holding onto his missing arm, which makes Mable go into emergency mode.-

"GUYS?! WENDY?! HELP! GIDEON'S-" -She could barely keep it together as she combated her own burns to treat Gideon. She tried getting her sweater off, which had been thoroughly burned, but stopped as Wendy and the others ran into the clearing.-

"Mabel?! Oh f- what the hell happened?!" -Wendy exclaimed worriedly as she ran in to check them. She flinched and nearly gagged at Gideon's missing arm.- "Quick, Gideon needs-!" -Mabel choked on tears, but Wendy knew immediately. She took her shirt off and wrapped it around Gideon's missing arm, tightening it. Gideon yelped in pain but tried not to make things worse.-

"That'll hold it, but he's gonna need medical treatment." -Wendy explained, looking at them.- "We need to get to the Shack, Ford and Stan should have some medical supplies around."

"You think you can fix him?" -Pacifica asked, not really thinking Wendy was really a professional doctor.-

"Pacifica, I have to work with sharp objects and dangerous creatures on the daily. My dad always trains us in treating wounds, especially missing limbs."

"That... fine, that makes sense. But how're we gonna get home?"

-Mabel sniffles and looks around for her grappling hook. It was dropped when she get tackled.- "W-wheres my hook?"

"Here!" -Grenda finds it and brings it to Mabel. She takes it and thanks Grenda.-

"Whats that gonna do for us?"

"I'll... I'll hook o-onto a cloud. I c-can find the Shack there." -Mabel explained, looking up and pointing the grappling hook upwards. Everyone looked at eachother weirdly, but in this situation they couldn't say much about it.-

-Mabel waits for a bit before firing the grappling hook. Somehow, it hooks onto a cloud despite it having nowhere near the length and the fact that clouds shouldn't be able to be hooked on. Not that Mabel cared. She zoomed up over the tree lines and saw the Shack.- "I see it! Its over there!" -She points to the direction before coming down again.-

"Great, lets hurry up. Then, you guys tell us everything." -Wendy said, standing up with Gideon and running in the direction Mabel said. Everyone else went along as well, with Grenda helping Mabel as she was injured as well.-

[Mason's POV]

-Mason was busy watching anime with Soos in his break room/bedroom. They were busy watching 'Two Piece', some anime Soos loved watching, when they heard the front door slam open and Wendy yell "STAN! WHERES THE MED SUPPLIES?!" They looked at eachother, before running towards the door.-

-Upon reaching the kitchen, they found everyone surrounding Mabel and Gideon. Mabel looked horribly burned, and Gideon was missing an entire arm. Mason nearly threw up but he kept it in. He had to help his sister.-

"Mabel?! What happened to you?! What happened to Gideon?!" -Mason asked hurriedly as he and Soos ran up to them. Stan was busy treating Mabel's burns as Wendy worked on Gideon's missing arm.-

"We should wait until they get better, Mason." -Pacifica told him as she put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her for a moment before nodding and looking back at Mabel. He better get some answers.-

-After what felt like forever, Gideon had stopped bleeding and both his and Mabel's wounds had just been treated. Gideon slept in Soos' bed as Mabel sat on the recliner, everyone else around her wondering what happened. She explained what had happened.-

"Its my fault. I got swept up by some fiery deer demon guy somehow and Gideon saved me. And now he's missing an arm." -Mabel looked down, hugging her knees to her chest.-

"Its not your fault, Mabel." -Mason said seriously, grabbing his journal. He knew he recognized it from his adventures.- "It was a tocsin, a land siren. They respond to stress. It wasn't your fault."

"He's right, it was mine for getting after Candy and starting the fight." -Pacifica replied, looking down shamefully.- "By the way, sorry, Candy."

"No, I shouldnt've brought us into the woods. You were right." -Candy replied, looking equally shameful.-

"Come on, guys, lets not talk about it now." -Wendy replied, and everyone agreed.- "I better go home, my dads gonna kill me if I come home late, especially with blood soaking my shirt."

"I best go home, too. I'll bring Gideon, his dad's car dealer is right near my family farm." -Pacifica chimed in. Grenda and Candy agreed they should head home as well.-

"Alright guys, it was... a nice day today I guess." -Mabel said with a smile. No one decided to correct her on that.-

-After saying their goodbyes, everyone left, with Pacifica and Gideon being the last out as she had to unfortunately wake him up. The Pines and Ramirez's stayed in the living room, watching laughably bad movies to cheer everyone up.-

THE END

[End Credits Scene]

-Stan sits on the recliner at some future point in time. Mason and Mabel had left to give Gideon some 'get well' flowers, and Soos was busy running a tour of the attractions. He sat expectantly as Ducktective 6: Milking the Cow ended.-

'As I was saying, Ducktective, you aren't REALLY Ducktective!' -The villain said proudly, with an exaggerated quack of surprise coming from Ducktective.- 'You're really... ME!'

"What?" -Stan asked, dumbfounded.-

'Yes, Ducktective. I was just a figment of your mind, pulling the strings from behind the scenes! And you awakened me! LORD LLIB ANATIDAE WILL RISE!'

-Stan turned off the television, staring at the television dumbfounded.- "Really? THAT was the 'big reveal'?" -Stan said in disbelief, holding his hands out towards the television in gesture.-

"Ducktective all this time had the villain in his mind who used him to escape? That's stupid! Who in their right mind thought this was a great reveal?!" -Stan yelled into the sky before slumping back into the recliner.-

[Next Episode - Operation Dipcifica]