They tore through the trees, feet never touching the ground. If a change of direction was needed, they sprung off the trunks like pinballs and kept on going, following the distinct hum. Their impacts made the cedars and pines rattle, scattering birds and squirrels and whatever else occupied the branches. Before long, they found themselves in roughly the same area of Summer's dinosaur. Since it was noon, the thick canopy above only allowed thin spears of sunlight through.

"Do you really think this government would go after children?" the red-eyed woman asked loudly.

Winter's lips curled down faintly. "I don't know, but I can't risk it."

"No, I understand. I'll die before I let something happen to them."

There was nothing else to say. Winter saw the clearing first and steered toward it, dropping to the ground and walking the rest of the way. Though she hadn't planned to, they ended up at the back of the house. "It's quiet."

Summer's brow furrowed. "I hope that's not bad."

"Mm. You take the left. I'll go right."

The twins split up and moved across the grass, ready to unleash absolute hell on anything they encountered. Winter peeked into each window as she moved past, looking for any of the Pines. Every room was empty. Her side of the shack had signs for cover, so she darted behind one and peered into the front yard. Stan's old sedan was there, along with a black Dodge Charger which glimmered in the intermittent sun. No people were about, so she moved by the main entrance and approached the gift shop. Voices became audible, so she crouched under the shop window and listened.

"Are the guns really necessary?" Stan. He sounded a bit nervous. "Wait. You here to arrest me? 'Cause if you are, I need like five minutes to, uh, say goodbye and not try to escape at all. I promise. Scout's honor!"

"Mister Pines, for the moment we just want to speak to your niece and nephew." Some other man Winter didn't recognize. "But I suggest not trying to leave Gravity Falls. Or the country."

"Ah, what about my sudden but totally planned vacation in Sweden?" A beat passed. "Don't glare at me like that. Look, I ain't lettin' you around those kids. Not while you're packin' heat. You want in? You ditch the guns."

"Sir, we're not leaving our weapons. Perhaps you'd like to wait in the car while we talk to them."

That was enough. But before she could move, a noise from the other side of the house made her hesitate. Two strange voices asked what it was; while they were distracted, she peeked around the corner to see her opposition. A pair of men in black suits were standing there, with holstered pistols on their hips. Summer poked her head out around the other corner and walked into view. Both drew their weapons and yelled at her to freeze.

"You people and your firearms," she complained, hands on her hips.

"What are you doin' here?" Stan asked. "Listen, I'm pretty sure this ain't got anything to do with you and... hoo, a murder would really hurt business. So let's not go there, all right?"

She cast a bright smile at him. "Oh, it'll be fine." The men yelled at her to put her hands up. "No!" she replied cheerfully. "I know what you're doing here and I don't think it's very nice. You want to shoot me? Go ahead."

Stan motioned wildly and tried to put himself between her and them. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa are you nuts? What did I just say about the murdering?" His eyes landed on Winter as she stepped out from cover. "Uh...?"

"How would you know what we're..." one of them said. Just then he noticed Stan's confusion. The moment he began to turn, Winter struck, launching herself with hands outstretched. With a telekinetic assist, she bashed their heads together to knock them out and let them drop to the porch.

"A little birdie told us," she said, straightening up and dusting off her jeans as she looked to Summer. "Take their guns."

"Uh. I don't. What?" Stan said, scratching his head. He stepped aside so the woman could take their weapons. "Thanks for the help, but don't you think that was a little dangerous?"

"Not at all," Summer assured him, her hands a blur as she unloaded the guns. She tossed them away and dropped their ammunition in the nearby trash can. "Where are Mabel and Dipper?"

He motioned at the house. "In their room. You... you said you knew?"

"Yes." As Winter opened the door to the shop, the kids fell out and onto her legs.

"What the heck is going on?!" Dipper shouted, trying to untangle himself from his equally frantic sister. "Who was yelling?" He looked up and noticed just whose feet he was sitting on. "Who are these... wait, when did you get here?"

Mabel was ready to fight. "Am I gonna have to choke a-" She fell silent and looked at the unconscious bodies. "Dang, Grunkle Stan."

He pointed at Winter. "Don't look at me. She did it."

"Even better! Girl power!" Grinning, she gave the blue-eyed woman a high-five.

Dipper, on his feet at last, squinted at the yard. "Is that a pistol? What on Earth did we miss?"

"They know," Summer said, grabbing everyone's attention. "Our phone call this morning was intercepted."

"You know what? I don't need to hear this. I got enough outstanding warrants as it is." Stan departed with some awkward whistling and shut the shop door behind him.

Mabel shook her head at him before getting back on topic. "I'm guessing this is about the portal thing, which by the way I can't even deal with anymore. I'm just being straight up with you guys. My friggin' brain hurts."

"Oh man. Oh man." Dipper was searching one of the suits for some sort of ID. He eventually found a wallet and opened it. "FBI. Oh my gosh. You cannot be—I... can't." He sat down heavily and started to panic. "I swear I did not think it was this big oh gosh what about Soos and Wendy oh gosh oh gosh-"

"Get a grip!" Mabel demanded, shaking him. "They didn't call! They're fine. I think." Her face grew pale. "But you've got a point, bro."

"We'd better make sure they're all right. Someone already paid a visit to our house," Winter advised. "And tried to kill us."

"Hooooooooooooly crap. Okay. We're done. We are all done." Dipper paced around the porch, hands on his head and panting with terror. "What were they gonna do with us?! I... I feel woozy."

"So wait, did you guys get away?" Mabel asked, better able to focus on their plight right now. Her brown eyes betrayed the fact that she was starting to panic a little herself.

"He was a terrible shot," Summer replied with a smirk.

"I'm going to dispose of these men," Winter said, hefting one of the knocked out agents up in her arms. Horrified gasps from the young twins made her face screw up. "Not kill them, just drive them out of here." They still looked uneasy despite her assurance. "Oh, never mind."

Mabel sat where she stood, watching the blue-eyed woman throw the first agent into the back of the Charger. "We're gonna die, aren't we?"

"They'll have to go through me first." Summer pounded a fist into her palm. She lifted the other agent with her power and threw him at Winter, who caught him the same way and put him in the car. They watched her drive away. "Gravity Falls seems to be one giant secret. It even started that way, if I understand Pacifica right."

"Y-yeah," Dipper muttered, sitting down with his sister. "There's a whole cache of classified information in a hidden cavern in the cemetery." He drew back at Summer's surprised look. "Oh yeah! We, uh—we should have mentioned that, huh? Ahaha. Oops. We totally forgot."

"Hee. That statue picked my nose." Mabel couldn't hold on to her smile for long. "Seriously. Are we gonna die? I want a straight answer."

That made her remember the dream, and the dream grated on her nerves. Every muscle became tense. "I told you, they'll have to go through me first," she said, fists clenched by her sides. "And they will not succeed." Silence made her look back at them. "Oh. Sorry. I..." She frowned. They were clinging to each other in terror. "It'll be fine."

"Y-y-you scary, girl," Mabel stuttered violently.

"Wh-what she said," Dipper agreed.

Awkwardly, they all waited for Winter to return. No one knew what to say, and so nothing was said – only the birds and wind managed to break the silence that engulfed them. Feeling her presence was making things worse, Summer put some distance between herself and the Pines by sitting on the steps.

"You're not afraid? At all?" Mabel suddenly asked.

"I'm terrified for you. Not for me," she replied, slumping over a bit. "The only way they can hurt me is by hurting you." This she added at whisper volume, unable to muster the strength to make it louder.

"But... the government is after you and you're just like, what? Whatever? Are you kidding me?" Dipper stood up and sat beside her. "I know you have power and all, but..." His voice failed. "Wait. You've always had it."

Mabel perked up and moved to join them. "Have you been running forever? Is that why you're all super-cool over here like a boss?"

"I told you not to worry about our childhoods," Summer answered with a sad smile. The intensity in their eyes made her sit up straight. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"This is our fault. We should have gone with you." Frustrated, Dipper removed his cap and growled. "No, no, no. I should have gone. Then the phone call never would have happened. Someone wouldn't have tried to murder you and... and I don't even know what this would have turned into," he concluded, waving at the spot where the agents had been lying.

"Hold up, it's my bad," Mabel countered. "If I hadn't been such a... me. Ugh. I really gotta work on facing stuff sometimes, you know?" She hugged her legs and rocked back and forth. "Dipper said maybe some of those kids lived. Maybe you're not the only two with telekawhatitsface and fairy powers. Maybe..."

"Gravity Falls was talking to you," he interrupted. "What if it was trying to say you might not be alone?"

Desperate to find something positive in the burgeoning insanity, Mabel flashed a huge grin. "She's not alone! She's got Winter! But, yeah, I get it."

"I didn't always have her."

Gasping, the twins looked up. "What?" Dipper asked.

Now it was Summer hugging her knees. "We were together once. For a while. Then it happened." Searing pain marred her face, leaving her quiet for several seconds. "We were separated. We roamed the country just trying to survive. We... I... I did awful things to stay alive." She hid her face in shame and wept quietly. "I had lost my memory of her, so I was alone – in every way – for a long, long time. It was dumb luck that she found me again in the first place."

"Oh my gosh, I can't even imagine not having dorkbreath over here around," Mabel admitted while wiping her eyes. "Or being special like you and thinking I'm the only one in the whole freakin' world like that." She happened to glance up and yelped; Winter was standing there, arms folded and frowning. "Agh! Don't sneak, yo. I'm scared enough."

"You can't figure out why you ended up like this and all you want is someone to understand," she said lowly, hearkening back to what she'd said to the golden existence in the hospital. "To make it... to make it better." Tears clung to her cheeks.

It was a statement Summer had heard many times before, but her completion of it was a little different. She raised up and put on her bravest face. "But there's no one to make it better for us except each other."

"And for that, I am glad." A little grunt escaped as the red-eyed woman fell on her in a hug.

Mabel hopped to her feet as well, fighting her melancholy with a series of inane little dances. "What about your mom and dad? Weren't they looking for you?"

"Our parents were the ones who abandoned us to die in the first place," Summer explained quietly. Her ruby eyes were unbelievably sad – but her sister, once again, looked bitter.

"How could-" It was too much for Dipper. Face red with anger, he got up and walked over. "That's it. I'm coming with you. Wherever this goes, I'm coming with you. Nobody deserves that. Gosh, not even Gideon, and I can't believe I really mean it."

Mabel was fighting mad once more. "Yeah!" she yelled, fists in the air. "Who the heck does that to their kids?! I hope they... well I mean I don't wanna say I hope they died 'cause that's not my call, but oh wow." She grabbed one hand for each twin and smiled. "I just wanna say you guys turned out really awesome. So forget them."

"Yeah," he agreed with a smile. "You really did."

"How nice of you," Summer grinned, patting them both on the head. "All right, we have things to worry about. Wendy and Soos."

"They should be fine, right?" Dipper tapped his foot in thought. "Unless they called each other about it, but... hmm. We'd better make sure."

Mabel raised her hand. "What about Grunkle Stan? We gotta let him know too. He's probably freaking out right now." She nodded to him, then to the older twins. "All right, we'll be right back. You guys gonna run home and get your ride?"

"I brought it," Winter replied, pulling a toy car from her jeans pocket. She set it on the ground, ushered them away, and snapped it into the red BMW. "Easier to carry when it's small."

"Wow. I mean... wow." Dipper shook his head with amazement and turned for the house. "I am never gonna get used to that, fairy or not."

Still nervous, the Pines sneaked into the gift shop as if expecting an ambush. Stan wasn't in there, but the open living room door gave them a clue where to start looking. They poked their heads through and found him fidgeting in the recliner. "Hey!" he greeted. "We all good out there?"

"Not even close," Mabel explained cheerfully. "Listen, the government's all mad at us now or whatever because we found something we shouldn't have and they may, may, try to murder us all in cold blood. But Summer and Winter are gonna protect us. And before you ask how, don't even worry! They're a lot stronger than they look."

"Even though they look strong enough already," Dipper added. "I think... I think we might have to leave for your protection, though. I'm sure we can crash at their place for a while." The old man's face dropped, which made him frown too. "Yeah. It's gonna get crazy."

As Stan opened his mouth to respond, Mabel jumped into his lap and gave him a hug. "No no no. Shhhhh. This ish is about to get handled, I promise. We probably won't even have to be gone long! Now, we're all going to go check on Soos and Wendy 'cause the man is listening to phone calls and—I'm in a movie now. Sheesh. Once the heat's off we'll come back and grab some stuff, okay? Okay. Love you! Take care of Waddles, please! For real this time!"

He could barely get out a stunned "Yeah, fine, sure. Love you too, kids! Be careful!" before they were gone. He needed a moment to find the gumption to stand and rush to the gift shop door, swinging it open just in time to see the sedan disappearing behind the trees. "Heh. For my protection. Ain't this ironic." He doffed his glasses for a moment to rub at his eyes. "Welp. Guess the day's finally come. Shoulda known it wouldn't stay buried forever." After retreating inside, he paused to stare at the vending machine. "I wonder if it's my fault for turnin' the stupid thing on again?"

The plan was simple: get back home where the identical twins could protect Mabel and Dipper until they had a better assessment of the situation. To that end they were heading back toward Gravity Falls, barely hampered by the lunchtime traffic – although everyone in the car was keeping a close eye out for any black, four-door automobiles.

"Man, this isn't how I expected my Sunday to go," Dipper admitted with a sigh. He and Mabel were in the back, with her on the driver's side. "Are you sure you guys are okay? I mean, I'd be losing it a little if someone tried to murder me."

"It's not the first time someone's tried to kill us," Winter stated, but went no farther. The Pines exchanged an uncertain glance.

Before things could get more awkward, Summer noticed something on the side of the road coming toward them. It was someone on a bike – someone with long red hair flowing in the wind from under their helmet. "Is that...?" she said, motioning a little.

"Wendy!" Mabel shouted. She rolled down her window and yelled out at the top of her lungs. "Wendy! Hey! Come here! We gotta talk to you!"

After checking for cars, the redhead pedaled across the highway and pulled up on the passenger side as the BMW stopped on the shoulder. "Hey, what's up?" she greeted, removing her helmet. "I was just on my way to see Mister Pines about my paycheck."

"Don't go," Dipper warned her. "The FBI was there, looking for us. They know we know about the portal."

"And they tried to kill Summer and Winter too!" Mabel added, much too cheerful for the gravity of her words.

"Wh-what?" Wendy exclaimed, almost falling off her bike in shock. "Are they gonna come after me too?"

"That depends," Winter said. "Have you spoken to Soos about it since last night? Especially by phone?"

She wiped her brow with a trembling hand. "Nah, man, I haven't talked to him at all. I've been out in the woods since six AM 'cause dad needed an extra bucker."

"Good. See to it that you don't. We're taking Mabel and Dipper to our house to keep an eye on them, but as long as you don't mention this to anyone, you shouldn't have any problems."

"However, we'll drop by to check on you later," Summer added with a reassuring smile. "We just want to make sure these two are safe first."

"Yeah, yeah. I gotcha. Wow." She looked around, trying to collect her bearings. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

"I don't know, and I don't know if I wanna find out." Dipper gave Summer's seat a gentle tap. "Hey, could you make some of those phones for us? It could really come in handy."

"Maybe," she nodded, looking at the one in her lap. "It may take some time to clone them. We won't be able to add them to our phone plan until tomorrow anyway."

Wendy's eyes shone with deep anxiety, a look so unusual for her nature it made Dipper's heart sink. "So... what? Should I just go back home?"

Mabel gave her a thumbs up and a smile. "Yeah, and grab a gun! Maybe Grunkle Stan has a few you can borrow."

"Pfff, yeah. We got enough weapons as it is." She put her helmet back on and prepared to depart. "All right. Catch you guys later. And be careful."

"Same to you." Once she was on her way, silence flooded the car. Summer glanced back and nodded with a frown. With a sigh, the blue-eyed woman tried to find a comforting tone. "I know it's frightening, but we're not going to let anything happen to you."

"Trust us," Summer added with a dark glare.

They arrived at the house a few minutes later. Winter stayed in the car while her sister went to sweep the house – both for threats and to remove the remnants of the previous attack. Mabel was unusually quiet, fidgeting like Dipper was beside her. At last, she looked up and gently poked the back of the driver's seat to get attention. "Hey, Winter?"

She looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"How much of us talkin' to Summer did you hear?"

Scowling, she slumped and closed her eyes. "I heard her talk about us getting separated. After it happened, I didn't know she existed either. We both had amnesia."

"I get the impression she had a worse time," Dipper said. "I mean... you weren't crying."

"We deal with it in different ways." Her head dropped a bit. "But I have the same impression. There's a lot of things she won't talk about."

Mabel nodded. "Oh. We don't tell each other everything either. Some stuff we should, it's just... hard. I dunno how to ask the questions or fnd the words or be brave enough, you know?"

"I completely understand." Winter checked her watch. "If she's not back in a few minutes, I'm-" A flash of silver caught her eye; Summer had just walked out the front door. She displayed a thumbs up before heading back inside. "Good. Let's go."

"Woohoo! Dangerous government conspiracy sleepover!" Mabel cheered – or at least, tried to cheer – as they left the car.

Dipper gave his best to match her happiness, fake or not. "Heh. Yeah. It's a sleepover. Except there's apparently the chance we might not wake up. Man. Mom and dad are gonna have a fit."

Winter sighed quietly and smiled. "We'll see how long you need to stay. Hopefully everyone involved will come to their senses."

"What if they don't? Will you kill them?"

Mabel had asked her question just as they reached the porch. "If we have to," she decided after a moment. "But we would rather not."

After thinking on it, the girl issued a single nod. "Good enough for me. Can we get pizza?"

"Yes. We never did go shopping. Someone interrupted us." Winter lead them into the house. While the Pines got comfy on the sofa – and started to fight over the remote – Summer began to compile a list of things to buy.

Dipper noticed the bird during his spat and blinked. "Hey. Nice cardinal," he said, while holding the remote out of Mabel's reach. "When did you get it? You catch it or something?"

"No. That's the man who tried to kill us. I changed him into a bird."

"Arooooo?" Mabel exclaimed, almost falling off the sofa with surprise. She dashed to the cage and stared at the bird. "But... but it's a... what?! You can't just change people like that!"

The blue-eyed woman just shrugged. "Sure we can. People are made of matter. We can affect matter." A curiosity was beginning to seep in, however. She gently removed the cardinal and motioned the girl away. "I want to see something. Stand back." With a snap, she caused the bird to unfurl into its previous form – the terrified would-be assassin, who gasped for air as if he'd been drowning. Spooked, Mabel ran away and clung to her brother. "Oh. Good. I just wanted to make sure."

"Gah! Lady, please! Please don't turn me back! No!" he begged, hands up.

Winter had the snap ready, but hesitated. "Why?"

"'Cause it feels weird as he-"

Rolling her eyes, she finished her motion and smashed him back into a cardinal. The Pines' horrified looks made her blanch. "What?"

"I think you've crossed a line," Mabel whimpered. "Man, that was heartless! You didn't even let him finish."

Dipper nodded. He was trembling. "She has a point. Can't you just let him go?"

"No." That wasn't enough for them; she knew it by the glimmer in their eyes. Sighing, she put the bird back into the cage and sat on the couch. They were reluctant to join her. "It's okay. Come on. Sit with me."

Ages passed before they obliged, taking seats on either side of her. "I don't think you can or should just transform people against their will," Mabel said.

"I know. We defended ourselves against him. We wouldn't change someone just to change someone." Her hands came to rest on her knees. "Think about it. All we've done since we got here was try to blend in."

"True," Dipper acknowledged quietly. "Still, though, it's... I dunno, hard to deal with, I guess." He jumped a bit as Summer leaned down beside him.

"It's okay to be uneasy around something you don't understand," she said with a smile. "Sometimes it messes with us too. Why do you think we use the ability so sparingly?"

Mabel relaxed a little. "You know, she's got a point. If I could do it I'd be drowning in giant hamster balls. And Corvettes!"

"Perhaps we're too used to having nothing to really want much of anything," Winter pondered, looking down as the girl gave her another hug. "Mm. It doesn't matter. We'll take care of you, and if someone tries to hurt us we'll have to act."

"Whatever that means," Summer added gravely.

"Then we'd better get this over with as soon as possible." Dipper straightened his hat and hopped off the couch. "And the only place I know to start is the graveyard. Come on. We've got a secret passageway to re-find." Despite his efforts to look determined, he wilted in short order. "Still feels like this is our fault. At least a little."

"It's nothing you did. Actually, Gideon was the one who pointed us there in the first place."

They looked at Winter with curious eyes. "Hey, at least one thing hasn't changed," Mabel said with a grin. "Whenever something goes wrong, it's Gideon's fault."