Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Alex Hirsch owns Gravity Falls, not me.

Dipper had stumbled backwards, onto his bottom, eyes adjusting to the eternal darkness of the forest. He had no idea what had just occurred, but his heart was hammering, and the "Worry Later" closet was creaking open in his mind. Dipper's eyes were fully adjusted by this point, moon providing a weak light for his eyes. The candles were still there. It wasn't his imagination then a-oh god. Gideon Gleeful was lying face down in the center of circle of them. Oh god, he was dead. Dipper trembled, beginning to pant from the rising anxiety. No, no, no, he couldn't have a attack, in the middle of the forest, next to the corpse of a child. Oh god, there was a dead child next to him. A child! He whimpered, knowing that since he was so worked up, all by himself in the forest, it would only be a matter of time before the panic attack slammed full force into him. Oh god, a dead body, oh god, oh god, oh god, please help, oh god, a dead body, no, oh god, Grunkle Stan help, oh god, oh god Mabel, oh god Mabel please, please, please help, oh god, no, Mab-

Gideon Gleeful released a low moan, shifting a bit. The barreling thoughts abruptly came to halt, as did nearly his breathing, when he realized that Gideon was in fact, alive. Dipper almost laughed. He didn't even care if Gideon was a little creep and had attempted to kill him, he would never want to be around the dead body of the boy. He was just a child in the end! It didn't matter if he was a little creep, he was simply a child. Dipper, with this thought in mind, uncurled himself from his ball, that he hadn't even realized he was in. His whole frame was quivering all too much to stand, so he crawled across the terrain, elbow twinging in protest. He couldn't even register the pain though, adrenaline creating a blockade against the pain. Dipper pushed the candles out of the way and crawled right up to Gideon. He, doing the only thing one could think doing in a situation as the one he was in, poked his pudgy hand. Gideon released a choked cry and curled up onto his side, whimpering pitifully.

It was his fault, wasn't it? Whatever insane curse Gideon was performing, wouldn't have injured him if he hadn't shown up. God, it was completely his fault! His logical side was arguing with his anxiety though. It was Gideon's fault in the first place! If he wasn't out here messing with things he shouldn't be messing with as usual, then this wouldn't have happened. That little creep was at fault. The constant stream of whimpers though, made Dipper feel guilty. He isn't a little creep at the moment, he was simply a child in need. Dipper scooted closer, and released a gasp of pain at a particularly sharp twinge in his elbow. His arm nearly buckled beneath him from it. God, that hurt. Haha! Pain is hilarious! He ignored that memory, focusing on Gideon. Ignoring the repeating memories, entirely cycling through his head. Dipper was aware that the boy was awake, but not all that sure if he was coherent. Dipper cleared his throat before speaking. "...a-are you ok?"

Gideon's face shone with sweat, twisted in agony. Foggy, pain filled, cobalt blue eyes focused on his own chocolate brown ones. "...'i-ipper... 'ines...?"

Dipper gulped. "Uh, yeah. Are you, uh o-ok?"

Tears leaked from his eyes as his left hand covered his right. "...'mm..."

Dipper frowned, gulping thickly at the reply. "C-Can I, uh see?"

Gideon whimpered, shaking his head. "...'urts..."

Dipper crouched lower. "Uh, m-maybe I can help."

The 10-year-old simply stared, while Dipper's frown deepened. He needed to improve the lighting to observe the injured hand. He twisted his body to the side to grasp the candle, intending to discover a way to light it. The brunet heard the crunching of pine needles though and twisted back around to see Gideon scampering away. Oh, no, not again. There was no way he was allowing this happen, again! He groaned aloud, dropping the candle. He sprinted after Gideon, who was obviously too weak to go any faster than Dipper was capable of. When he was right behind Gideon, Dipper tackled him to the ground, who in turn released a cry of agony. Dipper cringed. Maybe that wasn't the best idea he had had. He immediately removed himself from Gideon. He was curling onto himself, much like Dipper had been before. It must of been incredibly painful. "...C-Could I just see?"

Gideon scowled at him, with much less venom than usual, and more with a wild gaze in his eyes. Finally though, he sluggishly presented his hand. Dipper tenderly grasped his fingertips, fearful of causing the boy to release one of those choked cries once more. He only received a moan though, so Dipper was confident he wasn't doing too much damage at the moment. The only problem was that it was excessively dark, causing it to be difficult to determine how injured the hand was. The brunet knew it must of been somewhat damaged though, judging from the reaction and recalling how the amulet had steamed. Speaking of the amulet, Dipper wondered where it went, but again, it was too dark to determine where anything was. Dipper tenderly set Gideon's hand down, ignoring the miserable intake of breath from the boy. He needed light to see properly. "Um, do you have any more matches?"

Gideon possessed a weary appearance now. Dipper swallowed thickly, gazing away. With his uninjured hand, Gideon sloppily tugged a few matches out of one of his front pockets, letting them tumble out across the grass underneath himself. Dipper plucked a match up. When his dad had taken him and Mabel camping up north in California once, he had taught them how to make fires with matches and sticks. Dipper was glad he paid attention to the second, unlike Mabel who was too excited about roasting marshmallows to do so. It turned out that this technique would come in handy. He sat, cross legged on the ground, removing one of his shoes. On the underside of it, he struck a match across, watching as it flashed to life, bringing visibility to the area. With his other hand, Dipper gently took Gideon's hand by his fingers, studying the damage. The flesh of his palm was seared, revealing the second layer of skin, from the heat of the amulet. Slick flesh twinged wi-He gagged, looking away. This was pretty bad. Dipper had no idea how Gideon wasn't screaming for mercy. Dipper nearly had a heart attack when he suddenly heard Gideon's voice. "...'t bad...?"

Dipper attempted to keep the shaking in his voice to a minimum. "Uh, n-no..."

"...oh...'t is..."

Dipper would have been startled for a boy to pick up on his lies, if it wasn't Gideon Gleeful the one to do so. He was more concerned of the appearance of the burn. "I... think y-you need a...doctor. Its, uh b-black..."

"...'leeding...?"

Dipper wasn't capable of observing it once more, fearing he would lose the contents of his stomach. He didn't recall any blood though. "N-No, I don't...think so?"

"...'ot bad 'hen...'eave me 'lone now..."

"Uhhhh, I'm p-pretty sure that's bad still...I'm not gonna leave, even if you are annoying...You need a d-doctor."

Dipper immediately felt guilty about calling him annoying though, when he witnessed Gideon burying his face in the pine needles and dirt, whimpering once more. "N-No 'octors..."

This wasn't normal behavior for a child, Dipper realized at this moment. If he was in the same position he would probably be crying for his mom, hoping for the pain to end. Gideon was acting though like this happened on a regular basis and that it wasn't all that big of a deal. That wasn't how anyone this young should act, and now, more than ever, Dipper knew there was something wrong with this boy. Dipper needed to bring Gideon to a doctor immediately. He grabbed at Gideon's shoulder and tugged him up to a cross legged position. "W-We need to go to the hospital."

The freckled faced boy was cradling his hand to his chest, shaking his head. "N-No 'octors."

"Y-You're hurt though!"

Gideon just shook his head, repeating his statement over and over again. Dipper needed a compromise. They couldn't go to the hospital, but he needed medical attention. He bit his lip in thought, unintentionally mirroring his twin sister. The Shack. Stan kept a first aid kit in the downstairs bathroom, for when the twins injured themselves while playing in the forest. "Ok, ok. No doctors. But, we need to...we need to wrap this, ok? It could get i-infected and that...that would be, um...bad. Come to the M-Mystery Shack with m-me."

Gideon stared intently at the match and it occurred to Dipper that the flames weren't jade as they were before. Nor were Gideon's eyes. He swallowed thickly at the realization, but focused his attention back onto the task at hand. He was confident that Gideon, appearing as weak as he was, would pose no threat if he entered the Shack at the moment. "Do y-you need help getting up?"

Gideon continued to stare intently at it, unresponsive. The boy was becoming creepier as time went on. He stared at the flame, as if it was the most fascinating thing on the planet of earth, instead of it being a simple candle. Dipper didn't like it one bit. He wet his thumb and forefinger and pinched the flame out, engulfing them in darkness. "...Do you need help getting up?"

"...n-no..."

Dipper listened as he heard Gideon unsteadily stand, before scrambling to rise as well. They began their trek back to the Shack, Dipper listening for Gideon's panting, to be sure he was still following him. God, this was a weird situation to be in. For some reason though, it didn't bug him as much as usual. It might have to do with those memories that kept taunting him though. The point is I like you. He shivered. When the pair had arrived, Dipper swung back around, observing Gideon standing in the doorway, moonlight streaming in behind him. The brunet whispered to his companion. "We have to be quiet or Grunkle Stan will wake up and find us."

Gideon appeared to be dazed and confused by this point. "...'Tanford...'Ines...?"

"Yeah." Dipper told him, reaching out to grasp at his shoulder, to guide him to the bathroom. Gideon complied. Dipper inaudibly clinked the door shut, as they entered the room, light bulb above them flashing on. The boy appeared worse in light. His hair was even more so messier than before, pine needles stuck in his bob. His clothes were crumpled, smeared with dirt, and dark shadows were bruising underneath his eyes. The brunet was beginning to suspect there was a underlining issue at hand, that wasn't related to the burn occupying his hand. That would be none of his business though. His business was bandaging the hand and nothing more. He guided Gideon to the toilet, setting him down onto the lid. Dipper moved on to opening the cabinet below the sink, pushing rolls of toilet paper out of the way, to search for the first aid kit. He finally located it and opened the ancient box, searching for some type of burn cream and bandages. He nearly had a heart attack when Gideon spoke once more. "...'here my 'mulet?"

Dipper stood, triangle jar of cream in hand. "Uh, I'm not sure...didn't, uh Mabel destroy that though?"

Gideon didn't reply, eyes glazing over once more with apparent pain. He was about to repeat the question, when the door opened, revealing a sleepy Mabel rubbing her left eye. "...Dipper what are yo..." She stared at Gideon, who still appeared to be in a haze. Her mouth opened, scream of surprise escaping beginning to erupt from her lips. "GIDE-"

Dipper was across the room within seconds, hand slapping over her mouth, efficiently ending her cry. When he spoke, his voice came out a whispered hiss. "I can explain, but you need to be quite though!"

Her chocolate brown eyes flickered over to Gideon, before she licked his hand, causing Dipper to violently jerk away. He grimaced as he wiped his spit glazed hand onto his shorts and scowled at his sister. "What the heck, Mabel?!"

She glowered back at her twin brother, using the same whisper-like tone as him, but giving off a blatant undertone of betrayal. "I should be asking you that, bro-bro! Why is Gideon here?!"

Dipper glanced back at Gideon, who was sluggishly blinking as he stared at a framed photograph of the Mystery Shack's grand opening back on the Forth of July in 1982. Shock. The boy must have been going into shock from the severity of the burn. He frowned, returning to the first aid kit for painkillers. Mabel was beginning to realize there was something seriously amiss. She further observed the 10-year-old, taking in the glassy eyed stare and the sheen of sweat present on his face. Mabel's glower visibly lessened at his appearance. There didn't appear to be any medication to lessen Gideon's pain, causing Dipper to feel the well of anxiety swell. When he spoke, there was a blatant tone of concern present. "H-His hand is hurt..."

~!20-8-5-18-5/9-19/1-14-15-20-8-5-18/4-5-13-15-14!~

"-And then Jacob rips off his shirt and turns into this hugggggeeeeee werewo-" She spread out her arms in an attempt to show portion of her description. After explaining the concept of digital video disks (which Stanley was able to effortlessly grasp the idea of), Mabel had begun to move into the topic of her favorite movies and what they are about. Right now she was in the middle of explaining the plot of a cringe worthy movie known as "Twilight", which turned out to have three sequels to it. Stanley had been quite patient, but was beginning to become weary of this horrifying love triangle. It must of been a miracle that his brother hadn't locked her in a closet, just like that time little Daniel Corduroy wandered into the Mystery Shack to scream death threats at Stan, and swing about his mini axe. Stanley had nearly had a heart attack when this event had occurred, but Stan simply grasped the axe mid-swing and shoved the 6-year-old into the closet, leaving him locked in until he stopped screaming at Stan. The boy had it in his head that Stanford Pines was his enemy for whatever reason, and always attempted to murder his brother at the the time. He had given his brother quite the lecture afterwards though, but Stan had just waved him off. Stan must have the patience of a saint now, if he could put up with this terrible story. He decided cut off her endearing, yet tiresome ramblings by writing to her.

"This sounds like a great story sweetie, but I need you to do me a favor."

She paused, then dropped her hands to her lap, appearing upset. "And I was getting to the best part! What is it?"

"Where is Stanford?"

"Ummm, I'm not sure."

Stanley had remembered how he caught his brother pouring over one of the journals, mumbling about the workings of the portal. He had feared for quite awhile now, that his twin brother would attempt to do something quite foolish, and needed to get the message through not to do so. Stan apparently hadn't used a UV light or he would of revealed the few warnings Stanley left behind not to do so. "Mabel, its really important that you tell him something from me."

Mabel gulped painfully. "Um, I don't know...Me and Grunkle Stan sorta got in a fight..."

Was that why she appeared upset? "About what?"

Mabel shrugged. She was clamming up, just like someone else he knew when they were upset. "Do you know what? I'll tell you a interesting story if you tell me the story of the fight."

Mabel liked stories, especially from old people. She didn't wanna tell her grandfather this story though. But, an interesting story sounded fun. She bit her lip thoughtfully. "...ok, deal. It better be interesting though!"

"It will, it will. This was over 50 years ago though, keep in mind. We were just freshmen back in New Jersey at the time."

Mabel's eyes widened. Grunkle Stan and Grandpa Stanley were from New Jersey?! That was next to New York! This was already proving to be interesting. He continued on. "Now, every time Stan tells this story, he usually makes himself out to be the savior, but it was actually Carla that was his savior. Now, you must be wondering who Carla is right? Well, I'll get to that soon. When we were kids, our pops made us do boxing, to build not only strength, but character. I honestly was never much for it, but Stan mastered it pretty well once he got the hang of it. Unfortunately, he wasn't all that balanced. Once, when we were in line to see a new horror film, we did love those, his wallet was stolen. He went to 'left punch' the thief, but ended up tripping over his untied shoelaces. The man would of gotten away, if it wasn't for Carla McCorkle. When she witnessed this event, she literally swung around in her spot in line, and socked him straight in the throat. She had hit him so hard, that he had fallen flat onto his back, and she was able to successfully retrieve Stan's wallet."

"Wow..." Mabel breathed. Her Grunkle Stan must of got her! "Did he ask her out?"

Stanley burst out in silent laughter. "Oh heavens, no! She gave him his wallet without a word and went to buy her ticket, before Stan could thank her. My brother immediately fell for her though. We ended up following her to the same movie and we sat directly behind her, just so he watch her during it. He ended up getting her attention by asking her name. She nearly punched him in the face, not expecting him to be suddenly behind her. Carla and Stan introduced themselves and he asked about where she learned how to punch like that. Turns out she was the daughter of our boxing coach and she asked him out to a date by the end of the movie. Thank god she did, or my brother would of continued to dress the way he did. Those high-waist trousers were never flattering on either of us."

Mabel giggled, imagining Stan wearing high-waist elderly man pants and a woman saving his butt. He sounded like he was such a dork! "How come I never heard about her?! She sounds awesome!"

A brief pained look passed his face, before smiling gently. "Oh, they haven't been together for a great many of years."

"Why? She and Grunkle Stan sounded perfect for each other! She could of been my Graunt Carla!"

Stanley appeared weary suddenly. "...Mabel, isn't it your turn to tell about the fight?"

"...but...but...yes..." She made a promise and she always kept her promises, no matter how difficult it was to do so. Mabel gulped thickly, pondering on how to begin. When she finally did, the dam of guilt released its contents. "He called Dipper...a word and I got mad, so I told Dipper what happened, but the girl he likes was there and I accidentally revealed a secret, and I'm mad at Grunkle Stan for saying that word cause it's not true, but he didn't say sorry so Dipper ran away, and he followed him and I now feel bad cause I called Grunkle Stan a bad name but he doesn't know I did, but I'm also still mad at him, and I feel reallllllly bad that I REVEALED DIPPER'S SECRET!"

Mabel was panting by the end of it. Stanley blinked in surprise at her outburst."That was a bit of a mouthful. Do you feel better now?"

She blushed in humiliation at her eruption and nodded. "Good. Now what did Stan say about Dipper?"

Mabel fidgeted again. "...Re...retar...that word."

"Retarded?"

Mabel cringed. He frowned. "Does this have to do with Dipper's secret?"

She nodded hesitantly. "And what does it have to do with his secret?"

She bit her lip. "Ok...so is it necessary for me to know his secret for me to understand?"

She was wary of him still. She had barely know him for two days. Mabel had already grown attached to her grandfather, yet was unsure at the moment how much trust she should put into the man. She couldn't reveal that secret just yet, especially since she had no permission from her twin brother to do so. She shook her head. He seemed to ponder a reply for a moment. "...that term was used during our childhood. You know, if words are introduced to us at a young age, it tends to be in our vocabulary permanently, and if we wish to change it, then it becomes difficult to do so. What I'm trying to say is that he probably didn't mean to say it, it was just a force of habit. And I'm pretty certain he regrets it."

"Oh..." Mabel felt conflicted now. She remembered all the times when her usually affectionate dad would rant on about how much of a felon and bad influence his uncle was the year he lived with the man, due to their grandmother passing away when he merely 17-years-old, leaving to be taken into the care of Stan until he was an adult. The Pines family had never been very large, with only Stanley Pines Jr. having a son. What Mabel wasn't aware of was that Stanley Pines Sr. and his wife, Dorothy Oak had been only children, whose parents had both perished from a influenza outbreak, causing both of their families to nearly cease to exist. They had had a pair of twins though, hoping their families could rebuild. Unfortunately, Stanley and Stanford had lost their father during their teens and their mother in later years. Stanley Jr. would be the only one to continue the Pines line, when he met his wife and having one kid, before vanishing off the face of the earth.

The rest, Mabel did know. When Alex Pines met his wife at the University of California, for the first time in his life he would have a large family, due to Ariel Palms having many people in her family, making reunions insane. And then they had a pair of twins. Her father had always told them his only living relative was a felon and a disgrace to society, so she had naturally assumed it to be true. When her mother told her that she and her brother would go and visit their great-uncle that summer, Mabel had immediately protested. Ariel reminded Mabel of her brother's condition though and had agreed that going to well-known relatives would be difficult, so they set out to Oregon for an unknown one. Though, the whole first week of being at Gravity Falls, Mabel had harbored a suspicion that Stanford Pines was a terrible man, though she didn't act any differently. Her opinion only changed when she realized that her great-uncle was actually pretty fun to be around, and secretly had a soft side. That was when the two truly began to bond. Mabel always kept that suspicion in the back of her head though, because after all, why would her dad lie? She was simply waiting for Stan to screw up, proving her dad right, and had thought that moment had been yesterday. But, her dad had been proven wrong once more.

"...Does my dad hate Grunkle Stan?"

Stanley blinked in surprise. He wasn't sure where that had came from. When he had been trapped here, his son had been a one-year-old, so he hadn't known much about Alex. But, he remembered awhile back when his son was a teen, he had stayed at the Shack for awhile. He recognized the features of the teenager as being a Pines, such as the unruly hair and square glasses, and made the connection that it was Alex. Stanley hadn't know the details though of precisely why he lived there during that certain period, but always wondered why Alex would constantly go about the house with a scowl on his face. He had accounted it to him simply being a emotional teen that simply didn't communicate well with an middle-aged man such as Stan. Mabel asking that though, made him wonder. "I don't know."

Mabel nodded. "...I'm gonna go talk to Grunkle Stan..."

"Mabel?"

"Yes?"

"Could you tell Stan to stop?"

"Stop?"

"Just tell him I said that. He'll understand."

"Ok, I'll...I'll try to convince him you said that, Grandpa Stanley."

Stanley smiled at the name. "I hope you two make up. I know how stubborn he is, but I'm sure he won't be able to resist your pretty smile."

Mabel's pretty smile appeared at that. "Thanks!"

~!-?-!~

It was late when she returned to her room though, so she made the decision to confront Stan tomorrow. She glanced over to the bed opposite of her's. Dipper wasn't there, even though it was around 11:00 PM. The Shack was silent, dark as the forest outside, but her brother was missing. Mabel bit her lip, briefly wondering if she should search for him, but dismissed the thought, believing it would be best to leave him be for the moment. Her brother usually wandered about their house back in Piedmont or the Shack if he wasn't in the mood to sleep or be around her at night, which actually happened quite frequently before they had arrived at Gravity Falls. It hadn't always been that way though. Before that incident, Dipper had confined with her about everything. After though, he became a bit closed-off, never quite possessing the same trust he had once had in her. That was all Mabel's fault though and she knew it. So, she would respect her brother's wishes to be alone, at least for the moment.

She snuggled up into her pillow, burying her face into to it, preparing to let sleep overcome her. Sleep eluded Mabel though. God, it was hot in here. The stupid swamp cooler must of been malfunctioning, again. No wonder Dipper decided to leave the room, she was drenched in sweat! Mabel kicked off her covers, hoping to reduce the smothering feeling. It didn't, much to her dismay. She had no idea how she would be able to sleep no-Mabel did fall asleep though, half way through her thought. Mabel was quite possibly the only one that could sleep in any position, at any time. Her slumber would not last though, as she would be jolted awoken when she heard the creak of the back screen door downstairs. Mabel disoriently read the time on the clock of her nightstand, revealing it to be 1:01 AM. She would of dismissed the noise for Grunkle Stan, if it wasn't for the the dulled speakings of her brother. Dipper deluded himself into believing he was capable of being quiet, but unfortunately was not. The mutterings under his breath were not so much mutterings, as they were harsh hissings. It sounded as if he was speaking to another though, much to her puzzlement. Time to investigate.

Mabel stumbled down the staircase, and into the darkened hallway, rubbing her eyes. Her bleary gaze observed the soft light spilling from the crack of the bathroom door. Dipper never used that bathroom. What was he doing? As she approached, she was able to finally make out what was being spoken. "-idn't, uh Mabel destroy that though?"

The brunette pressed the door inwards, stepping in as she rubbed her left eye. "...Dipper what are yo..." She froze in mid-rub, taking in the scene before her. Dipper was knelt down, triangle jar of cream in his hands. And sitting on the toilet before him was Gideon Gleeful? GIDEON GLEEFUL? Her mouth opened, scream of surprise escaping beginning to erupt from her lips. "GIDE-"

Much to her surprise, Dipper was across the room within seconds, hand slapping over her mouth, efficiently ending her cry. When he spoke, his voice came out a whispered hiss, near her ear. "I can explain, but you need to be quiet though!"

Dipper did have quite a lot of explaining to do. She needed to get his hand off though so she could investigate further. She licked his hand, causing Dipper to violently jerk away. He made a disturbed face. Dipper wiped his spit coated hand onto his shorts and glared at his sister. "What the heck, Mabel?!"

She glowered back at her twin brother, using the same whisper-like tone as him, but giving off a undertone of betrayal. "I should be asking you that, bro-bro! Why is Gideon here?!"

Dipper glanced back at Gideon, who was sluggishly blinking as he stared at a framed photograph of the Mystery Shack's grand opening back on the Forth of July in 1982. He frowned, returning to a first aid kit on the sink's counter, rummaging through for an unknown object. Mabel was being to realize there was something seriously amiss. She further observed the 10-year-old, taking in the glassy eyed stare and the sheen of sweat present on his face. Mabel's glower visibly lessened at his appearance. Mabel wasn't completely aware of what was occurring in that moment, but knew that the child needed assistance in someway. He may of been a little creep, but Mabel couldn't help but remember the boy she had thought of as her friend, for however brief it was of a time. Dipper appeared disappointed for a moment, then became distinctly distressed. When he spoke, there was a blatant tone of concern present. "H-His hand is hurt..."

"Hurt? What do you mean hurt?" Concern oozed from her tone.

"It's, um b-burned."

Mabel stepped forward, intending to see the damage, but was blocked by her twin brother. "M-Mabel, it's-you-please, y-you don't wa-"

"Dipper, please, I wanna help," She appeared determined, that much was indisputable. Finally, Dipper sighed and stepped aside. Mabel attentively approached Gideon, unaware of how he would react to her appearance. She diffidently didn't want the boy to go all gaga over her arrival and pester her for a date once more. Mabel doubted this would occur though, as he was in a considerable amount of pain. He didn't acknowledge her presence, so she squatted down, observing the hand limply lying in his lap. Mabel gasped aloud, placing a hand over her mouth in astonishment. "Oh my god, Dipper, this is bad!"

Dipper fidgeted in the medicine cabinet, searching for any medication to relieve Gideon's pain. He was coming up empty though. There wasn't medication for anything, which perplexed him. Grunkle Stan was 67-years-old; he had to have oral medicine for something lying around the house by this point in his life. He couldn't focus on the mystery of that though, as he had more bothersome matters on his hands to attend to. "I-I know. And, he won't go to a d-doctor."

"Why?!"

"I-I don't know! He won't tell me!"

Mabel gripped the boy's uninjured hand, rubbing circles on the back of it with her thumb. "Gideon? Gideon, it's me, Mabel. Gideon? Are you ok?"

His focus on the photograph ceased and he sluggishly stared at her. "...'Abel...?"

"Yeah. Are you ok?"

Gideon's head dropped in reply. She frowned and felt his forehead, gasping. "Dipper, he feels really hot."

Dipper paled. "His b-burn is probably i-infected!"

"...Dipper, we need to wake up Grunkle Stan."

"A-Are you crazy, Mabel?" He spluttered. "I-If he sees Gideon Gleeful in his house, he's going to-going to-just lose it!"

Mabel frowned. "Gideon has a bad burn and is running a fever. We need Stan to drive us to the hospital! And he isn't gonna lose it, he's gonna help him, because he's only ten!"

Dipper bit his lip in thought. That was true. "O...Ok."

"Go wake him up then!"

"M-Me?" Dipper squeaked.

"Dipper, it's ok. He won't get mad at you."

Dipper fretfully wrung his wrists. "But-"

"No, listen bro-bro. You trust Grunkle Stan, right?"

"Um, I wouldn't let him handle my money, so not reall-"

"No, I mean like to help you. I wouldn't let him handle my money either."

"Of course." Dipper told her with no hesitation.

"Then, he'll help us."

Dipper hesitantly nodded. "O-Ok...I'm going to d-do it."

When he arrived to his Grunkle Stan's door, he creaked it open peeking inside. The distant tunes of old time jazz echoed pleasantly to his ears. Dipper frowned. Stan typically listened to classic rock, like Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Eagles. The twins were aware that he owned records from the 20's and 30's, since they belonged to his parents, but never listened to them. Dipper clicked the light on, revealing the room to be empty, causing Dipper to furrow his brows in confusion. It was 1:00 AM, the vinyl record player was on, and no one was occupying the room at the moment. He approached the record player, observing the spin of it, as it played an eerie strain that produced goosebumps across Dipper's skin. He reached out, removing the arm from the record, ending the music. He twisted the dial to "OFF" and observed its slowing down. The worn out record was labeled, "Columbia" in large print, underneath was copyright details and speeds of the disk itself. Beneath that read, "UPTOWN BLUES (Lunceford) JIMMIE LUNCEFORD & HIS ORCH.". Definitely not classic rock. Dipper picked up the sleeve for it and slipped the record inside, before placing it back into the box of other vinyl record set beside the player.

Dipper didn't have any idea where his Grunkle Stan could be at the time and he knew this was an urgent situation. He began to pace the length of the room, wringing his wrists in his anxiety. What were they going to do? Gideon's fever was only going to rise and they needed a doctor now. The lights in the room flickered at this moment and he frowned. Stan needed to update the electricity in this place; it was always doing that. And the swamp cooler needed to be replaced and the garbage disposal was still broken. His great-uncle just needed a whole renovation to this building. Dipper's anxiety was calming and being replaced with annoyance at these thoughts. Why did Stan have to live in the past? Old things needed to be replaced if they no longer worked!

The lights flickered once more and then abruptly, he was engulfed in darkness. Dipper gasped aloud the moment it happened, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. This just hadn't been his week has it? There was a glow from behind. Dipper tensed, breaking out in the cold sweat as the light began to grow brighter as it approached. The distant cords of "Uptown Blues" played once more and from the approaching glow, he noticed the record was back on the player once more. Oh, god. This was not a good situation he was in. The glow ceased movement and he knew in that moment. He knew whatever produced that light was directly behind him. They say courage is readiness to face fear and to take action despite it. In that moment, Dipper did just that. He turned around.

Chapter 6

Had to cut it off right there, or this chapter would of gone on for ages. I am so, so, sooooo sorry though that I didn't update earlier! I've been busy with school work lately and I just got a bit overwhelmed. I had to write during my spare time just to get this chapter out. I made this chapter extra long though to make up for it, so please do enjoy this. Anddddd, did any of you see the new Gravity Falls episode? The ending made me scream! March 9th is soooo far away!