"So who's the first on the list?" asked Mabel. She and Wendy had finished eating, and the group was sitting next to the car. Dipper had a notebook open, and he was thumbing through it. He would occasionally write something down, or erase something.
"Old Man McGucket," said Dipper. "I think he'll be the easiest to convince."
"Agreed," said Wendy. "Last week he thought he was a toaster. I don't think it'll be difficult to persuade him to help us."
"Toaster?" asked Dipper. "Soos said he thought he was a hot dog."
"Does it matter what kind of meat he thought he was?" asked Mabel.
"Fair point," said Dipper. "Soos told me he hangs around the dock most of the time."
"Yeah, he lives with his son," said Wendy. "His son tries to keep him out of trouble, but it seems like McGucket gets out anyway."
"But it's harmless trouble," said Mabel. "I don't think he's ever tried to hurt anybody."
"That's true," said Wendy. "But if my Dad was running around screaming he was a toaster, I might be a little embarrassed."
"All right!" Dipper shouted. He slammed his notebook shut, and turned to the girls. "Let's do this! To the docks!" The girls giggled.
"Look at Dipper trying to be all manly," said Mabel.
"I know! It's adorable," said Wendy. She pinched Dipper's cheek, and the two girls laughed uncontrollably. Dipper frowned.
"Last time I try to hype you guys up," Dipper muttered. He got in the car, and the girls piled in with him. He started the car, and got onto the highway. He felt something come over him, and without thinking he switched on the radio. It blared to life, and a tinny voice began speaking.
" ... there are no suspects at this time, but evidence points to arson. In other news, long time resident Arthur McGucket was reported missing by his son. According to local authorities, McGucket left on a boat yesterday afternoon. His son said he was headed towards the caves at the end of the bay. Local authorities have searched, but have been unable to find the vessel." The voice stopped, and was replaced by a hissing noise. The hissing slowly turned into a horrible, gurgling laugh. Dipper slammed the radio off.
"Shit!" he shouted.
"We have to find him," said Mabel.
"Absolutely," said Dipper.
"Let's hold up here," said Wendy. "Is it our responsibility to save him? The caves are super dangerous, even when the town isn't infested with monsters. Maybe we should just chalk this one up to the bad guys. There's some other people on the list, maybe we could-"
"No way," said Dipper. "I wouldn't feel right just leaving him in the caves to rot. It's just not right." Mabel nodded.
"Besides, he's part of this town," Mabel said. "If we don't save him, it's like letting part of Gravity Falls die." Wendy sighed, and sank back into her seat.
"You two are really good people," Wendy said. Mabel and Dipper both smiled. Dipper got off the highway, and turned into the town proper. He sped towards the docks, and slowed down only when he saw flashing blue and red lights. He pulled up, and parked next to the police car. They got out, and walked to the cabin in front of the docks. Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland were deep in conversation. They noticed the kids, and Blubs put a hand out in front of him.
"Sorry kids, official police business here," Blubs said.
"We just want to get a boat," said Dipper.
"Didn't you hear the Sheriff?" asked Durland. "Dock's closed. Go somewhere else you hooligans." Dipper was about to protest, but he felt a hand on his shoulder. Wendy shook her head, and Dipper dropped it. The group walked back to the car, Dipper cursing under his breath.
"Damn police," he growled. "Now what are we gonna do?"
"Take the back way," said Wendy.
"Back way?" asked Mabel.
"Yeah," said Wendy. "Me and my Dad used it when the docks would get really crowded. It's near the town pool. There's a little path, and it leads into a clearing. Our boat is probably still there."
"Why don't you call your dad and make sure it's there," said Dipper. "We really need this boat." Wendy bit her bottom lip, and shook her head.
"Me and him aren't talking," Wendy said.
"Oh," said Dipper. "I didn't realize."
"It's alright," said Wendy. They pulled into the pool, and parked. The pool was full of so many bodies it was hard to see any water.
"Do you remember the pool being that crowded?" Dipper asked.
"The town's grown since you guys left," said Wendy. "The new apartment complex brought a lot of people." Mabel looked like she smelled something nasty.
"You okay?" asked Dipper.
"That pool just reminds me of Mermando," said Mabel. Dipper thought for a second, then the memory came rushing towards him.
"Oh my God, that mermaid kid!" said Dipper. "You kissed him!"
"No, he kissed me," said Mabel. She smiled, and poked Dipper. "And if I remember correctly, so did you." Wendy gave Dipper a withering look.
"It was mouth to mouth!" Dipper explained. Mabel laughed, and Wendy rolled her eyes. The group walked past the pool, and found the path Wendy mentioned. It led into the forest. Dipper was on his toes, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. He held the three book in his left hand, clutching it with a death grip. There was a rustle, and the group turned. They noticed a hunched figure. It was tall and muscular, and had long blond hair. It looked at them, and scampered off.
"What the hell was that?" asked Wendy.
"I think it was a member of a boy band," said Mabel. Wendy tilted her head in confusion. "I'll explain it to you later." The group continued on until the trail tapered off into the clearing. The clearing led into a river. A small but sturdy looking boat was chained to a post. It bobbed up and down with the current.
"Glad it's here," said Wendy. "I was worried Dad might have done something with it." Dipper got on first, and helped Mabel up. He grabbed Wendy by the hand. She curled her fingers around his. They shared a grin, and Dipper pulled her up as well.
"You know how to drive this thing, right?" Dipper asked.
"Of course I do," said Wendy. The two stood there in silence. Mabel cleared her throat.
"No rush or anything, but we're kind of in a rush," Mabel said. The two lovers snapped back to attention. Dipper gave Wendy's hand a squeeze, and let her go. Wendy released the line holding the boat to the post. She found a key tucked in a drawer, and started the boat up. It moved forward slowly but steadily.
"This river should lead us right to the caves," said Wendy.
"Good," said Dipper. "Have your flashlight ready Mabel."
"Aye-aye chief," Mabel said. The boat puttered along, and Dipper flipped through the three book. He found a page of interest, and beckoned Mabel over.
"What does this look like to you?" said Dipper. Mabel looked at the page, running her finger along the lines of text.
"If I had to guess, I'd say it was a spell," said Mabel. Dipper nodded.
"Sure looks like it. And we highlighted a bunch of passages," said Dipper. "I think we used it."
"What spell is it?" asked Mabel. Dipper pointed to the top of the page.
"An inside out spell," said Dipper. "It matches someone's outer appearance with their inner appearance."
"That's interesting," said Mabel.
"Can you remember using it?" asked Dipper. Mabel closed her eyes, and tapped her chin with her finger.
"I think I do," said Mabel. "But I can't remember why. Or who we used it on."
"Maybe it was Gideon," said Dipper. "He's not looking so hot these days."
"I don't think that has anything to do with magic," Wendy said. "He had a legion of fans at his beck and call that suddenly started hating him. I don't think anyone could get out of that situation without looking worse for wear."
"Fair point," said Dipper. "This memory loss thing sucks. It's so random. Out of nowhere I'll remember something for literally no reason. But I can't remember any of the important stuff," said Dipper. "Like how did we stop the monsters the first time around? I don't have the faintest clue."
"I wonder why we lost our memory," said Mabel. "Have we even though about that? It's not normal."
"Nothing about this town is normal," said Wendy. "It's probably just Gravity Falls-itis."
"Are those the caves?" asked Dipper. Wendy nodded. Mabel got her flashlight ready, and Dipper held the book to his chest. As they approached them, Dipper gasped.
"Oh Good God," he whispered. "The Gobblewonker." Mabel yelped.
"That's just a myth," said Wendy.
"So were werewolves and vampires," said Dipper. All the color left Wendy's face.
"Oh no," Wendy groaned.
"Turn back," said Mabel. "We gotta turn back now."
"We can't!" said Dipper. "We gotta help McGucket!"
"But we don't stand a chance against that thing!" said Mabel.
"Maybe it won't care about us," said Dipper. "Maybe it doesn't eat people."
"What are the chances of that?" asked Wendy.
"Slim to none," Dipper said. They approached the mouth of the cave. As they entered, they all imagined being swallowed alive by the Gobblewonker. Mabel flipped on her flashlight, and illuminated the caves. The walls were quite wide, so there was no chance of crashing the boat. There was an occasional sandbar, and Wendy carefully steered around them. "Keep your eyes peeled," Dipper instructed. "The sooner we find McGucket, the sooner we're out of here."
"If he wasn't eaten already," said Mabel. She was shaking, and her teeth were clattering.
"Calm down," said Dipper. "Don't panic. We need clear heads, and-"
"What the hell is that!?" Wendy screeched. There was a massive shadow in the water ahead. It seemed to take up the rest of the cave, which stretched beyond their vision.
"Put the boat in reverse," said Dipper. "Go slow. Try not to startle it." Wendy did so, and the boat slowly began to drift backwards. The whole group was silent, refusing to move. They backed up a few feet, and the shadow began to shift. A head slowly slithered out of the water. Two massive eyes glowed lighthouse beacons. Fangs longer than Dipper was tall dripped. A pungent smell of sewage and seawater filled the cave.
"Go faster," urged Mabel. "Must go faster."
*A brief note: Cliffhanger! Sorry to tease you guys like this, but the next chapter will be a doozy. Next update likely on Monday, things are busy tomorrow. I've decided not to do the mature scene, it's superfluous. We'll keep everything PG-13 here. Hope you guys are enjoying the story. Much, much, much more to come.