Blackness spread out in every direction as far as Sue could see. While she was visible to herself – waving her hands in front of her eyes proved this – the light source that made it possible was nowhere to be found. Walking seemed pointless. No amount of steps got her anywhere different. Yet she pressed on through the abyss with long, powerful strides in hopes of... something. What it was she looked for escaped explanation, but it would surely be better than what surrounded her now.

Part of the ebony curtain slid away ahead, producing a white spike of illumination that was thickest at its base, like a spotlight was shining down. There were two vague forms caught in its glow, which turned out to be humanoid when Sue got close. They were small, like children.

Of course I'll play with you. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out. It didn't matter. She took one of the shapes by the neck with both hands and squeezed so hard her arms trembled with the force. The thing didn't react at all; it just hung limply in her grip – until it became Dipper. Sue threw him down and dropped to her knees. What?

The other thing became Mabel, lying on her side with deep bruises on her throat, just like her brother. They were dead. And it was her fault. She would have given all of creation to scream her grief, her horror, but only wispy breaths escaped her lips. Why?!

Sue's palms suddenly felt like hot coals. When she looked to determine why, a crimson slit opened vertically through each. The cuts leaked glittering drops of black fluid that flowed along her skin until they fell away into the empty hell around her. Unable to take looking at their bodies any longer, she ran weeping from the light and back into the darkness, legs driving so hard they felt ready to fly out of her hips altogether. After managing to empty her strength, she collapsed and looked back only to find them no farther away than when she'd started. Seething with rage, with horror, with anguish so deep it swallowed the dark, she screamed again. "Why can't I-" It was no longer black. She had woken up. "-get... get away. Agh." Tears ran down her cheeks as she wilted in the passenger seat – although this wasn't the silver Lamborghini she found herself in. "Oh, my heart."

Badly rattled, it took several moments for her to get her bearings and dry her eyes. She threw glances around the interior, clad in black with aluminum trim, a BMW logo on the steering wheel, and most notably two more seats in the back. Winnie wasn't here. In search of her sister, she next looked through the glass at the drizzle, then the little brick building on the other side of the parking lot. Beyond that lay a thick line of trees. Shaking, she got out and started toward the structure – only to be stopped by the car's metallic red paint. "What the..." Face screwed up with confusion, she darted around the back and found Winnie examining a vending machine.

"Oh, you're awake," she greeted, only to be stunned by Sue's red face after a moment. "...were you crying?"

"I had the dream again," she sighed, unable to elucidate the changes in this instance of it, at least so soon. More tears would fall if she did.

Winnie pulled her into a tight hug but said nothing else.

Sue was just as quiet for a long, long while. "Unh," she finally grunted, gently pulling away. Another subject had to be addressed now – but only after checking to see if they were alone. "Sister, the last time I got in that car it was silver."

"And now it's red." Winnie returned to eying the items in the vending machine.

Her hands went to her hips. "I noticed."

With a shrug, she finally inserted a bill and pressed a few buttons. "I saw how your eyes lit up when we were shopping around. You didn't really want silver. This is your car, it should be your favorite color. Nobody will know the difference," she explained while getting the bottle of Pepsi from the bottom.

"But it's our car."

"So? You like blue. I can like red."

"Oh, you." Sue hugged her again, grinning widely. "Isn't it gorgeous?" At that point she noted how quiet her mind was. "How far away are we from Gravity Falls? I don't feel a thing out here."

"I drove for an hour. However far that is." She checked her watch and started back toward the sedan. "I think we've killed enough time. You want to drive back?"

Sue's face went blank for an instant. "Sure, but I have no idea where we... oh, it's got navigation! I don't need to know!" She almost skipped along. "Technology is fun!" Her anxiety was back in force as she slipped behind the wheel, however. "Uh, how heavy can I be with my foot? I wasn't really awake long enough to watch you drive."

"It makes a nice noise if you want it to. I'll help you."

Her fingers were shaking on the wheel. "Okay..." Getting back onto the freeway wasn't a problem, but Sue had a little trouble judging her speed. Winnie called out the numbers on the signs to keep her in line as cars zoomed by in the left lane. "Are you sure I'm doing sixty?"

She leaned over to look. "Yes. Everyone on these roads seems to be in a hurry. Just ignore them."

"Right." Sue drove on, grinning to herself as she pressed the accelerator a little harder. "It does make a nice sound, huh?"

"Mm. And we can still hear ourselves think." Winnie set up the navigation for her sister, settling back after she'd finished. "What about your dream?"

She slumped over as far as possible while still looking at the road. "Mabel and Dipper were in it this time. I tried to run away, but... you know."

Winnie took a thoughtful sip of soda. "So that's why you were crying."

"It hurts."

She hung her head and frowned. "Of course it does. We understand what we've done now."

"I guess." Sue's grip got tighter. "Are you still having your dream?"

"I..." Her face dropped as she looked out the passenger window. "Yes. The details are a lot clearer now, though. But the injection is just as painful as it's always been."

"Oh." Sue felt the air get heavy; this was a path neither woman felt like going down right now. Again, she groped for a new topic. "Forget it. How should we confront Stan Pines? I don't have any ideas."

"I'm not sure yet either," Winnie agreed, brow furrowing in thought. "I don't think either of us wants to tip over the apple cart by just barging in there."

Brief giggles came and went. "Apple cart. You're right. I can't figure out how to go about it... discreetly."

The blue-eyed woman's nascent reply was interrupted as her phone started to ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, Winnie! You are Winnie, right? Man, you two sound exactly the same over the phone." It was Dipper.

Smiling lightly, she shook her head. "Yes, it's me. What's going on?"

"Ah, nothin', nothin'. Noticed you left pretty early last night. Mabel wanted me to ask if she'd made you mad again but you guys were hard to get in touch with."

"Oh, sorry. We've been in Portland on an errand," Winnie lied smoothly. "And no, I'm not mad."

"Great! Good. I'll tell her. She was freaking out a little. Uh, by the way, you still wanna check out the journal?"

Winnie squinted out at the intermittent raindrops. "We do. We'll be back in about an hour or so. Tell Mabel she's going to be disappointed."

"Huh? About what?"

"It's a surprise." She glanced over and grinned at Sue's quizzical look. "I'm going to go before I distract my sister too much."

"Oh, right. Later!"

Sue, an eyebrow still cocked, peered at her sister for a moment. "I assume that was Dipper. Everything all right?"

"Fine. He wanted to know if we were still interested in the journal." She reached over to the dashboard to change their destination. "Perhaps we can get something from it without having to poke around."

"Good idea!" She accelerated again, smiling as the engine released a pleasant metal purr into the cabin. "Oh. This is fun."

Winnie crossed her arms, regarding her with a stern look. "Mm. Remember the difference between fun and crashing, if you don't mind."

Thanks in part to Sue's lead foot, they managed to outrun the rain back to Gravity Falls. Clouds were just beginning to roll in overhead as she brought the red BMW to a halt in front of the Mystery Shack. A gentle, low hum greeted them as they stepped out, though even after concentrating they couldn't decide whether the building or the pit was its source. Mabel came around to greet them with a portly pig toddling along at her feet.

"Ooo, hey!" the girl waved with a broad smile. "Hey, where's the whatchamathingy?"

"Got rid of it. We decided to go with something a little less... conspicuous," Winnie replied as they walked over to meet her. "Waddles, I presume?" Her head tilted as the pig oinked up at her.

"I—I want one," Sue whispered with awe. "It's so pink and cute."

Mabel gave her a wink. "Yeah. She gets it," she smirked before looking back at Winnie. "Kinda sad you ditched it, though. I made $400 last night. Bought me enough knitting supplies to last until January!"

Sue let a chuckle slip as she rubbed Waddles' belly. "We're not really used to the attention."

"Awwww, but four doors are boring! Bleh. Anyways, his royal Dippingness is in the gift shop waitin' on ya."

Winnie smiled a thank you and headed off, Sue in tow and grumbling about not being able to take Waddles along. They met Wendy on the porch, apparently heading off somewhere. "What's up, guys? Cool wheels. Again. Must be nice being loaded."

"Thank you," Winnie nodded politely. "It was nice meeting your father, by the way. Even if he tried to break our fingers."

The redhead grinned wryly and straightened. "Aw, he just shakes hard." Her eyes went to the BMW as she walked to her bike. "Man, that is shiny."

"Isn't it?" Sue beamed. A glance around quashed the smile – her sister was wearing an odd look that she couldn't explain. "Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?" Winnie's inquiry was addressed to Wendy, who nodded. "Did your father... did he lose someone at Gravity Falls General?"

The question made her freeze right in the middle of putting on her helmet. The color left her cheeks. "I—what? How did you know?"

"We talk to ghosts, remember?"

"Oh, man, I..." she breathed, rubbing her face. "When did you figure this out?"

"At the party last night," Sue explained. "We felt them saying goodbye."

"Is that why...?" Tears began to gather in Wendy's eyes. "He was so happy yesterday. I mean, he'd been feeling better, but he was just... smilin'. I was afraid to ask him why. Do you—do you think he knew something?"

"I think everyone knows on some level. Perhaps it just feels like closure," Winnie said quietly. Both twins blinked when she came over and gave each a tight hug.

"Fuck, man—sorry. Sorry." She tried to wipe away the swear, only to find a grateful smile in its place. "I don't know how to thank you."

Winnie shook her gratitude off. "We didn't do anything. I just thought he had a right to know someone he'd lost was telling him farewell."

"Whatever. He feels a lot better now." Finally she got around to strapping on her headgear. "Oh, I'm gonna cry. I better ride hard and get it outta my system. Later."

They watched her speed away. Sue, face screwed up with confusion, regarded her sister with crossed arms. "What was that for?"

"It's nice to alleviate someone's suffering for once." With a light smile, she moved up to the door and entered the gift shop.

Dipper was sitting idly behind the register. "Hey, there you are!" He waved them over while producing 3 from inside his vest. "Here it is," he chirped proudly, opening the book as they gathered around and spinning it so they could read. "We got squash head, gnomes, stupid crystals that can get you stepped on, rocks which speak backwards, and a fish that fishes for other fish – with a pole and everything – among other insanity." The last item made him shudder. "Ugh, that's creepy. Like people that eat people." Their icy silence gave him goosebumps. "Uh, hello?"

"Reading now," Winnie advised flatly.

"Oh. Heh. You sound like me sometimes." He also looked down at the page – the entry was about screaming mushrooms – and tilted his head. "It's weird, though. A lot of stuff we've run into hasn't been in here."

"I'm finding it hard to believe any of this," Sue pointed out as she turned to another entry. "It all seems impossible." She looked up, as did Winnie, when Dipper snorted.

"Sorry," he apologized, thumbing over to the cooler in the corner near the door. "Just thinking of that sign. I understand what you mean, though. None of it makes any sense... and then it happens to you."

"But how..." Winnie rubbed at her hair and sighed. "You're right, none of it makes sense. We certainly never ran into things like this back home."

"Gravity Falls, yo. Strangest place on Earth," he chuckled weakly. Noises from beyond the curtain startled him – Grunkle Stan was chatting with a tour group. He sounded remarkably upbeat. "Oh, I forgot, a group's coming through. You wanna take this into the living room?"

Winnie nodded. "If you wouldn't mind." Journal in hand, they retreated through the door and sat at the round table to confer. "This is very close to insane," she muttered to Sue. "What is going on around here?"

The red-eyed woman tugged at her bangs in thought. "We could ask the pit. Perhaps the two things are related."

"Perhaps." Soos walked in from the kitchen with a can of Pitt in his hand, forcing them to drop the conversation. "Hello."

"'Sup, dudes?" He saw the journal and smiled. "Haha, yeah, I kinda had that look on my face first time I read it too. You get used to it. My favorite one is the vegetarian Venus Fly Trap."

Sue drooped back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "My mind is boggled. Where is all this stuff?"

"Everywhere! Just gotta look. Bunch of it hides in the forest." He paused for a drink, during which he thought it a good idea to be curious. "So, what's your story? You were pretty quiet at the party."

"We're from Iowa," Winnie stated, never looking up from the journal.

Detecting her intent, Sue spoke next to begin a set of back and forth lies. "Sioux City, to be exact."

"The cemetery there is haunted."

"Most of the ghosts are pretty shy."

"Many don't even know words."

"We thought Gravity Falls would be quieter."

"But it's much, much louder."

"We want to know why."

"Perhaps you'd like to help." It was Winnie who finished the chain. Both twins finally looked over at Soos just to see his reaction.

His jaw was dropped, his hand was raised, but words failed him for several seconds. "Okay when they do that it's cute. When you do it it's kinda scary. No—no offense."

"You're not the first to tell us that," Sue replied with a rather dark grin.

Mabel popped through the door, oinking in tune with Waddles until the atmosphere stopped both cold. "Whoa. Sure is-" An appropriate word escaped her. "-weird in here, I guess. Oh, you lookin' at the journal?" She darted over to examine it with them. "Ooo, the fairies. We got into a fight with 'em after Soos accidentally iced one. Good times." She ignored his nervous laugh with a smile. "They were using some freaky magic or something... but we're all cool now. Just as long as Soos stays away from the woods near the lake."

"Is that so," Winnie said, her eyes glittering dangerously.

"Um..." Mabel backed away to stand with the handyman, head tilted. "Way to sound scary."

Sue tried her best to be reassuring. "Oh, that's just her thoughtful voice." She looked back down at the pages. "Do you think we could meet them?"

Mabel shrugged at her. "I dunno, I guess? All they said was no Soos in their neighborhood. You gotta be careful, though, they're really strong."

"Y-yeah, don't let their compact and adorable nature fool you," he agreed, looking somewhat pale.

Everyone glanced over as Dipper poked his head in. "Mabel, can I borrow you for a sec? Grunkle Stan wants to pickpocket someone and he needs your cuteness to distract them."

She rolled her eyes with a loud groan. "Doesn't that sound legally ambiguous. Maybe I can talk him out of it. Come on, Waddles."

In a few seconds it was just Soos and the identical twins once more. Sue closed the journal as they both stood. "Make sure Dipper gets this back, would you?" she asked politely.

"Sure. Yep. See you ladies later?" he asked, a bit unsure.

Winnie dropped a terse "Yes," and nothing else as she lead Sue outside and to the car. "I'm driving."

"Okay." Sue's face was unusually grave. "You think these things are really able to use magic?"

"We're about to find out," she replied while shifting into gear, "and we'd better be prepared."

The fog of sparks in Gravity Falls traveled through their brains like stars in the night sky as Winnie drove to the lake. New ones lit up and faded as they went, but as they drew nearer a chunk of the cluster distinguished itself from the rest. Sue's brow began to furrow. "I guess something or other is over there."

Winnie's eyes darted between traffic and mysterious stings of feeling. "Did you notice the date for the first section of that entry? It bothers me a little."

"Oh?" She needed a moment to recall it. "June 1963. Hrm. I wonder..."

There was no more time for questions; they had arrived. While the western shore of Lake Gravity Falls was a cliff, the east side featured a narrow, but thick strip of trees between itself and the town. A few people dotted the shoreline as they stalked toward the woods, tanning or fishing or playing volleyball. Sue noted Pacifica amongst their number, lying under a pink umbrella and apparently asleep. Unlike their last visit, the twins attracted little attention.

For that, Winnie was thankful. "Good call on the car," she said lowly to Sue as they skulked into the forest. They looked up at the majestic firs. "Smells familiar."

"If you can call it a smell." She looked back over her shoulder at the beach – what little of it was now visible through the trunks, at least. "If they're here, how do we get them to come out?"

Winnie shrugged at her. They both felt the creatures all over, like a swarm of invisible fireflies hiding in the branches. "Let's see how well they regard trespassers."

Pressing on grew more difficult the farther they went. Not only were the trees thicker, but the undergrowth became a sea of thorns and brambles, ankle-high, that the twins had to dance their way through until they became too widespread to navigate. Birds were the only animals they encountered now, and those stayed high above in the canopy to fill the air with song. "We're not walking from here," Sue pointed out. "We'll have to fly."

"Mm. Let's see if detection goes both ways." Winnie's sneakers detached from the mossy earth. Together they hovered on, about a foot above the tangled mess. A pink streak of light flashed before them for an instant. "There's one."

"I got it," Sue confirmed, tracking the object more with her sixth sense than with sight. "Above us." A curious, gleaming pink flock of shapes had gathered there, full of tiny humanoids with wings and dresses. They pointed curiously at the women and muttered among themselves with strange voices, almost too tiny to be heard over the rustling leaves. None of their number dared approach.

It didn't matter; the blue-eyed woman was seeing all she needed to see from here. "That sparkle!" she exclaimed. "Now it looks like home."

"I am so very confused," her sister replied. "Why do they feel like the presence in the pit? And in the hospital?" She looked over at Winnie and nodded down toward their hands. "Let's stop hiding it. I bet it looks the same."

"Very well."

In a few seconds, translucent black tendrils sprouted from their hands, eventually growing into a bubble of sparkling shadow that went from their wrists to a little farther than their fingertips. Winnie's glittered with icy blue undertones, while Sue's bore a reddish hue. This aura matched that of the fairies above, save for size and color. At Sue's urging, they decided to fly up closer. "Look, see? We can do it too," she said gently, showing them her hands.

The fairies chirped with shock and scattered – though they didn't fly completely out of sight. Their chatter became fearful and confused – then angry.

"I don't care for your tone," Winnie advised lowly, her fingers curling into fists. She was ignored; the fairies began pulling leaves off the branches. In their grip, the foliage transformed into tiny swords. "Or your actions."

Sue's eyes narrowed warily, but she had to point out a problem. "Sister... there are still people close by."

She issued a sideways glance with her assurance. "We can teach our lesson quietly enough." Her gaze went back to the threat. More fairies were swooping in. There had to be at least a thousand facing them down now, from all sides. "If they're stupid enough to ask for it."

Her answer came almost instantly. The cotton candy cloud surged forth with a whistling flash of blades. The twins threw up their arms to shield their faces, only to have the limbs covered with wounds in seconds. Just as abruptly the attack ceased. Winnie and Sue lowered their battered limbs, having taken so many strikes they were emitting a drizzle of blood onto the ground far below. However, they bore no pain in their expressions. No anguish. There was only resignation.

And a muted form of rage.

"Really," Winnie hissed, letting her arms fall to her sides. "We weren't going to attack you. We were never going to attack you." The cuts began to close up, leaving only crimson stains behind.

"I only wanted to say hello," Sue added, her injuries also fading away with each passing moment. "She's right. We had no intention of hurting you at all." She lifted her left hand, still sheathed in black power. "But now we're mad." A fairy zipped unwillingly into her grasp, shrieking all the way. She held up up to her face as it stabbed at her with its minuscule weapon which she flicked away with a glare. From this range, the small creature sounded like a songbird. Its kin, still surrounding them, began to yell with a pleading tone – though even together their chorus was barely louder than the average conversation. "You want my mercy now?" Her own anger gave her pause; she looked to her sister for guidance. "I have a right to be this mad, don't I?"

There was nothing but confirmation in her blue eyes. "Defend yourself. Just don't get carried away. You know the old saying."

"I can do that." She looked back at the squirming, screaming fairy in her hand. With a firm clench and a faint crack of her knuckles, she crushed it to death. The others fell silent with horror – save one, who charged from the crowd and right at their faces.

Winnie snatched it right out of the air – no telekinesis needed. "One more test," she determined, holding it by the ankle as it called for help. "Feels the same."

Sue's eyes widened a bit; she knew exactly where this was going. She adjusted her grip until the fairy dangled between her fingers in the same manner. "Looks the same."

They shared an inexplicable expression then, one whose meaning only they understood. In perfect harmony, they opened their mouths and dropped their captives in, to the screaming horror of the fairies watching. Despite their anguish, none of them tried to save the living one, who wailed all the way into Winnie's maw until her teeth crunched down. They swallowed in unison with an awful sound.

"Tastes the same," Sue noted sadly. "I thought I'd never do that again." Their assailants had scattered. The twins floated gently back down and landed on the nearest patch of bramble-free ground to contemplate what had just happened. "Never thought I'd be attacked again, either. Why would they do such a thing?"

"Perhaps they were afraid of us. It wouldn't be the first time." Winnie focused on the dying twinkle in her stomach. "We have a problem. This is our power, for lack of a better term. Why is it here?"

Sue nodded while looking around. "And why is it everywhere?"

"Mm. We've got a lot of exploring to do."

Despite that, for some minutes they just stood around, considering the implications. Sue decided to go with what they knew to be fact. "It didn't come in with us. It's been here for fifty years. At least. Either it grew here on its own, or it found another way in. Maybe that's what the voices in the pit were saying to us."

"Which leads us right back to the Mystery Shack," Winnie said with a glower. We've got to find some way of breaking this to them. I can't see any other option." Her lips pursed with disdain at the thought, so she went to a more immediate matter. "I don't think we can go back out there looking like this," she sighed at her bloody arms. "We should find somewhere to wash off."

"Yes..." Sue stared off into the wooded distance. The birds were now silent. "We'd better start building appearances to keep up. Who knows how long we'll be here."

Winnie joined her in gazing, though she was looking back toward the lake. "Mm. The vacation is over. Gravity Falls is officially our problem now." Her sight began to wander as they walked back to the lake. "I think I agree with you. I do feel like there are eyes on me in here."

"Isn't it weird?" Sue peered through the trees, checking for witnesses as they went. "Maybe we should ask about that, too."