"You kids look terrible," said Grunkle Stan. Dipper and Mabel were at the breakfast table. They had managed to dress themselves, but hadn't done much else. Mabel took her face out of her cereal bowl. A few flakes fell off her nose, and milk ran down her cheeks. Dipper, who was nodding off in the middle of eating his toast, spat out the bread and fell off his chair.
"Thanks Grunkle Stan," muttered Mabel. "That's exactly what a girl wants to hear when she wakes up." She wiped her face, and turned towards Dipper. "You okay Dip?"
"Yup. I think a few of my bones aren't broken," groaned Dipper.
"Good, because we have a busy day ahead of us!" said Grunkle Stan. "I got us a spot down by the beach. We're gonna fish, go swimming, get a tan..." Grunkle Stan droned on. Mabel began to nod off again, her face getting closer and closer to the cereal. A loud buzz woke her back up. "Huh, someone's calling me," said Grunkle Stan. He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. "Yeah, this is Stan. Uh huh. Really. You don't say. Well, if you really need me." He closed the phone, and sighed. "Bad news kids. That was from my insurance company. They need to have an emergency meeting with me. Something about me not paying my bills, I don't know. Probably no big deal." He put the phone back in his pocket, and walked out the door. "I promise we'll spend time together. Mark my words: this will be your best summer ever!" He closed the door behind him, and left the twins in silence.
"Not very likely," said Dipper.
"You okay there on the floor?" asked Mabel.
"Yeah. I think I might try to get some more sleep," said Dipper.
"Me too," said Mabel. "My cereal was making a pretty good pillow."
"You feel like we're forgetting something?" asked Dipper.
"I don't know," said Mabel. "I'm still dealing with the fact that we have to battle evil for the next couple of weeks. Something may have slipped my mind."
"Yeah, it's probably not important," said Dipper. He yawned, closed his eyes, and pulled his hat over his eyes. Mabel pushed her bowl away, and laid her head on the table. The two began to fall asleep. As their snores filled the room, Waddles walked in. He sidled over to Mabel, and began butting his head into her knee.
"Stop it Waddles, I'm trying to sleep," said Mabel. The pig squealed in irritation. Mabel snapped awake. "Oh crap! Dipper, we forgot about Soos!" Dipper opened his eyes, and sat up.
"Oh shit!" He and Mabel ran to the plastic display case. Soos was still asleep, his arms and legs sprawled out like a starfish. Dipper knocked on the door, and Soos stirred. He sat up, and rubbed his eyes.
"What up dudes?" Soos asked. Dipper fished in his pocket for his keys, and pulled them out. He unlocked the display case door. Soos walked out, and stretched. "Oh man. I slept like a rock. Last night must have been crazy." He turned to the twins. "Did we have a crazy party or something?" The Twins gave each other a look. Soos slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh right, I turned into a werewolf. Sheesh, you think I'd remember something like that. That kind of thing doesn't happen every day. Well, now it does, but it didn't used to."
"Glad you got some sleep," said Dipper. Soos frowned.
"It doesn't look like you two got any," said Soos.
"I tried," said Mabel. "But I kept having bad dreams."
"Me too," said Dipper.
"Aw man, that sucks," said Soos. The two twins stared down at the floor. Soos suddenly swept them up in a hug. "Come on guys, don't be so down. We'll figure this out. Everything will turn out all right." The twins returned his hug.
"Thanks Soos," whispered Mabel.
"No problem little lady," said Soos. "Now I have to go change out of these ridiculous pajamas. Me and Robby have a lot of work to do." Soos looked around. "I'm surprised he isn't here yet. I guess something's keeping him."
"We're gonna be pretty busy too," said Dipper. "We have to talk to some people, try to find more out about what's going on."
"I wish I could help," said Soos. "But it seems like I'm pretty tied up from now on. Between working during the day and wolfing out during the night, I got a pretty packed schedule."
"It's no problem Soos," said Dipper. Soos walked off, and the two twins wandered into the living room. They flopped down on the couch.
"We should go talk to some people," said Mabel. "Gideon, for one. I feel like he has something to do with all this."
"For sure," said Dipper. "And I want to talk to Wendy."
"Wendy?" asked Mabel. "Really?"
"Yeah," said Dipper. "She's a smart girl. She might be able to help us out."
"Surely you have no ulterior motive," said Mabel.
"I don't," said Dipper. "And don't call me Shirley." The two twins chuckled at the stupid joke. "I think we should take a nap first."
"I agree," said Mabel. "Can't hunt evil if you're super tired." The two twins closed their eyes, and were asleep instantly. A minute or so later Soos came back in the room. He had changed out of the silly duckie pajamas and was back in his work clothes. He noticed the two twins sleeping, and tiptoed out the front door. Soos jogged towards the parking lot. He heard a screech, and turned. Robbie had just pulled up. He got out of his car, and walked towards Soos. He was wearing a thick wool ski mask that covered all of his face except his eyes.
"Hey Robbie," said Soos. "What's up with the mask?"
"I got a cold," said Robbie. His voice was deep and raspy. "I'm wearing this so I don't get anybody sick."
"That's nice of you," said Soos. "I was planning on sweeping up the lot. Do you wanna restock the vending machine before we open?"
"Sounds like a plan," said Robbie. He walked brusquely past Soos, and went in through the gift shop entrance. He locked the door behind him. He went to every other door that led into the room, and closed and locked them. When he was sure no one could get in, he walked over to the register. He pulled out a mirror he kept in a nearby cabinet. He peeled off the ski mask, and gazed into the mirror. "Oh God," he groaned. "Why isn't the spell working?" He chanted a strange verse a few times, but nothing happened. He roared in frustration, and threw the mirror on the ground. A few rooms down, Mabel jumped out of her seat.
"Did you hear that?" asked Mabel.
"Apply hot wax to soothe irritated lobsters," mumbled Dipper. Mabel giggled.
"He's so silly when he sleeps," Mabel said. She looked around, shrugged, and went back to sleep. Back in the gift shop, Robbie was sweeping up the shattered remains of the broken mirror. He had unlocked all the doors, and put the ski mask back on his face.
"Gotta stay calm," Robbie muttered under his breath. "He'll fix this. He'll fix everything. He'll-" Robbie stopped speaking. A shadow had fallen over him. He turned, and gasped. "Wait!" he shouted. "I'm with Him! And Gideon! I'm with them!" The shadow began to cover him. Robbie cowered in fear. He raised his hands in front of his face. "No! Please!" The shadow fell over him completely, and he screamed. Both twins woke up, and turned towards the noise.
"What the hell was that?" asked Dipper.
"It was Robbie!" cried Mabel. "Quick, grab the book! We have to help him!" Dipper patted himself down, panic growing on his face, "Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Dipper said. "I can't find the book!"
"Go check your room!" shouted Mabel. "I gotta help Robbie!" Dipper bolted upstairs, while Mabel booked it towards the gift shop. She burst in, and looked around. "Robbie! Robbie, what's going on?"
"It's all good Mabel," said Robbie. He was behind the counter. He smiled at her, and gave her a wave. Mabel stared at him open-mouthed.
"But... but..." Mabel shook her head. "Me and Dipper heard you scream."
"I saw a spider," said Robbie. "No big thing."
"Oh," said Mabel. "Must have been a hell of spider."
"It was," said Robbie. He spread his hands apart. "It was like this big." Dipper ran into the room, holding the book over his head.
"What is it!" Dipper shouted. "Vampire? Demon? Demon vampire?"
"None of the above," said Mabel. "Just a spider."
"An evil spider?" asked Dipper.
"No," said Mabel. "Just a regular one."
"Oh," said Dipper. "Huh. I feel a little silly." Dipper walked out of the room, and Mabel followed him. Robbie sighed, and looked at the cabinet under the counter.
"You can come out now dumb ass," said Robbie. Pacifica climbed out of the cabinet. Her blonde hair was askew, and her designer clothes were dirty.
"Great, this outfit is ruined," she grumbled.
"What were you thinking, coming at me with an illusory spell like that?" asked Robbie.
"I forgot to turn it off," said Pacifica.
"Well you scared me half to death," said Robbie. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"Besides fixing your face?" said Pacifica. Robbie frowned. "You're welcome by the way."
"Thank you," Robbie growled.
"I'm here to warn you," said Pacifica. "The good Gideon tried to warn Wendy about His return last night." Pacifica brushed the dirt from her skirt. "So things might get more complicated."
"Can't we just kill Wendy?" asked Robbie. "I'd really just like to smash her stupid face in."
"We all would," said Pacifica. "But we need her. She's the key to Dipper-"
"Get down!" said Robbie. Pacifica ducked under the cabinet. Dipper walked into the room.
"Hey Rob," said Dipper. "If Grunkle Stan comes back, would you let him know that me and Mabel are going out around town?"
"Sure," said Robbie.
"And about that whole evil spider thing..." said Dipper.
"It's all good dude," said Robbie. "Sometimes you just have one of those days."
"Exactly," said Dipper. "All right, see you later." Dipper walked out. Robbie waited for a few seconds, and motioned for Pacifica to stand back up.
"Speaking of skulls I'd like to smash in," said Robbie.
"Don't even joke about that," said Pacifica. "You kill Dipper, the whole plan gets flushed down the toilet. Besides, He has things coming for him that will cause him more pain than you ever could. Things that'll tear him limb from limb."
"Give me a while, I could probably do it," said Robbie.
"Well you have other things to take care of," said Pacifica. "We may need a contingency plan if we can't get Mabel to betray Dipper."
"What does that entail?" asked Robbie.
"Giving her the same weakness as Dipper," said Pacifica.
"How would we-" Robbie stopped talking. He pointed to himself. Pacifica nodded. "Oh no way," said Robbie.
"Why not?" asked Pacifica. "As much as I'm loath to admit it, she's an attractive girl."
Because she's Mabel Pines," said Robbie. "She the reason my face is all jacked up."
"True," said Pacifica. "But you have to do what you have to do."
"I guess," said Robbie. "Now get out of here. That idiot Soos is gonna be stopping by soon."
"I'm gone," said Pacifica. She muttered a few worlds under breath, and slowly faded into invisibility. Robbie saw what looked like a door opening and closing itself. When he was sure Pacifica was gone, he went into the back of the gift shop. He was evil, but he still had to restock the vending machines.