When Saturday night finally comes, Gideon and Pacifica hide in the woods right outside the Mystery Shack, watching the long line of preteens and teenagers as they all wait to get tickets for the big party. They have been standing out here for at least a good twenty minutes, Gideon feeling like he is about to die from a heat stroke with this heavy leather jacket he is wearing. Right now, he is very tempted to strangle Pacifica and Bill for the 'makeover' they made him sit through, though mostly his frustration is aimed at Bill.
For a demon who only wears two articles of clothing, he has a very keen sense of fashion and pretty much came up with his and Pacifica's disguises. For Gideon, Bill decided that a punkish look would disguise his 'cutesy' and 'old fashion' sense of taste. A black leather jacket, together with skinny black jeans and a white t-shirt with ripped sleeves. Not to mentioned his hair is now temporarily dyed black with tons and tons of hair products in it... In all honestly, he feels that he is from that movie that takes place in the fifties, Bacon Grease.
Pacifica on the other hand, Bill chose an outfit that seemed a little less humiliating. He had her in more of a gothic look, with black dyed hair, skirt, and t-shirt with the band My Chemistry Romance on it. Combine that with many layers of makeup...
"...Am I the only one who thinks we will draw more attention to ourselves dressed this way?" Gideon asks himself out loud. "I mean, we look ridiculous, like a rock band or something."
"And the other's don't?"
In the line, Pacifica points to a group of teens all wearing bright, neon colors, a group of preteens in similar gothic/punkish attire, and other party outfits that make Gideon question humanity.
"We'll be fine," she continues. "Just stick to the plan and follow my lead."
Unable to see his shadow, Pacifica turns around and whispers, "Are you ready, Bill?"
Bringing them temporarily into the mindscape, Bill appears and nods.
"Yep! And don't you two look great!"
He flies around cheerfully, having no sign of distress even though they are in the exact same place he had a mental breakdown a few days ago. Either his mind has repressed the memory so far that he can't remember it right away or is so distracted by his artistic fashion choices he can't 'see' the Mystery Shack. Regardless, Gideon hopes that Bill will stay this calm, because if he starts freaking out once they are inside, he and Pacifica will be almost powerless do anything.
"All right," Pacifica says, "let's go!"
Giving both of them the signal that it 'It's Time,' Bill takes them back to the waking world and the two of them head for the crowd. Gideon takes a deep breath, getting himself all in character as he mentally prepares himself for the worse. Silently, they wait in the line for a good fifteen minutes, hearing the intense techno music coming from within the shack. Bright colors can be seen from the windows and open doorway. There are no signs of the Pines Twins, or any Mabel clones causing the end of the world, so all seems to be going well.
Eventually, Gideon and Pacifica get towards the front of the line, where as quickly as she can, a fifteen year old girl with long red hair tries to give out tickets and take the money all by herself. Immediately Gideon recognizes this girl as Wendy, the alcoholic lumberjack's daughter. She is completely stressed, her hair in a total mess and large dark circles under her green eyes.
"That will be ten dollars, please," she says as she hands a teen his ticket. "Have a good night!"
She says the same thing over and over again, till she finally gets to Pacifica and Gideon.
"Here's the money for my...brother and I," Pacifica lies, handing her the two tens.
"Thanks," Wendy replies.
Putting the cash in a small box before grabbing the tickets from a box under the table. When she reaches down, her eyes grow wide.
"Crap..."
She gives Pacifica and Gideon an uneasy look.
"...Look, I need to go get more tickets. I'll be right back, just stay right there!"
With a look of panic, she quickly runs back inside the Mystery Shack, people in the back of the line booing and complaining about her leaving. Gideon and Pacifica look at each other, wondering if they should go ahead and go inside. But before they can act, Wendy returns, completely out of breath.
"Here you dudes go," she apologizes. "Enjoy the party!"
Gideon smiles. "Thanks. Have a good night."
Having Wendy smile in reply before returning back to work, Gideon and Pacifica make their way inside the shack, entering a world of flashing lights and loud party music. The place is crowded, large groups scattered all over the place near the snack tables and social areas. In the middle of the room, there is a large dance area that is very closed in, and in the back of the room, there is a small stage area where a DJ is playing. That DJ is the local mortician's son, Robbie, using his musical talents to provide the soundtrack for the party.
"Looks like there is a lot of people here," Pacifica says, stating the obvious as her eyes scan the area. "This should be good cover for us to sneak away. With so many people, we won't be missed easily or noticed."
"I guess," Gideon replies in a whisper. "But where do we start looking? I guess this 'magical cloning copier' would be in some kind of office."
Pacifica nods.
"Maybe, or in a basement. If I were the Pines Twins or their...grunkle."
The word is hard to pronounce, being so strange.
"I would want to make sure that copier is kept secret at all costs. So we should keep that in mind as well. Or it could be hidden in a-"
"How about we just focus on sneaking out of the party first," Gideon interrupts before she can ramble on. "After that, we can worry about specifics."
The two of them then begin to walk around the party room, dodging the large crowds and trying to find a way out. In the far back, next to the DJ and stage, there is the opening to a hallway. However there is a man standing in front of it. He looks like to be in his twenties, very large and having a large green question mark t-shirt on. His face is very stoic, his eyes moving around the room as if on his guard. Pacifica and Gideon see him, though they are far enough away not to bring attention to themselves.
"I bet all the money the Northwests own that way leads to the cloning copier," Pacifica declares. "Though we need to think of a way to distract him long enough to get through..."
She ponders over this, meanwhile Gideon looks around to see if he can spot Mabel or Dipper. They've been at this party for a while now, and there still has been no sign of them. Aren't they technically the hosts of this event? Or their Grunkle Stan?
Stan...Pines... Wait, isn't he-
"Thank you all for coming to the Mystery Shack's big summer party!"
Cutting through Gideon's thoughts, the music suddenly stops and Robbie comes up to the stage. He and Pacifica turn to face Robbie, along with everyone else.
"I hope you all are having a good time tonight," the DJ continues. "And I plan to make sure that continues by having a few competitions to spice things up."
He clears his throat, smiling down at the crowd.
"The first competition tonight will be a singing contest. I will select two random people from the crowd to sing a duet together. Flipping a coin to see who will chose the song and then I will have all of you vote who sang the song the best! Are we cool?"
The crowd cheers loudly in response, some of them even shouting for them to be picked. Robbie laughs.
"Awesome, dudes! Now, who shall I pick first..."
He narrows his eyes as he scans through the crowd.
"Me! Me! I wanna sing!"
Recognizing that loud, slurring voice, Gideon freezes as he sees Mabel running onto the stage. Dressed in the most over the top gothic sweater and blood red skinny jeans, Mabel jumps up and down on stage, declaring herself already the winner. On the opposite side of the stage, and opposite to where Gideon and Pacifica are standing, Dipper walks up. He sighs heavily, clearly tired, doing nothing to stop his out of control twin from making a fool of herself. Having no choice, Robbie accepts her as one of the contestants, where he then looks for one more.
"With Mabel competing, this should keep the twins busy enough," Pacifica whispers to Gideon hopefully. "Once the competition begins, I'll get the guard's attention while you-"
"You, in the My Chemistry Romance shirt! Come on up!"
Realizing he is talking to her, Pacifica's eyes widen as everyone has their eyes on her.
"W-what?!" she stammers.
Robbie smiles.
"You must have great taste in music wearing a My Chemistry Romance concert shirt," he explains. "Let's see if you are as big of fan of them as I am!"
He continues to gesture her to come on stage, Mabel jumping up and down and calling her out.
"Come on, Gothica!" she shouts. "Let's do this!"
The crowd cheers, along with Mabel, chanting, "Gothica! Gothica!"
Pacifica freezes up, her face full of panic.
"It's okay," Gideon quickly tells her in a low voice. "Think of this as a diversion so I can find the copier with Bill. If you don't go up there, people will get suspicious."
Pacifica turns to him.
"But what do I do?! I've never sung in public before!"
"You'll think of something. You're good thinking on your feet."
Gideon gives her a look of encouragement.
"You can do this. Besides, one of us has to make sure the twins are distracted."
There is a long silence, Pacifica looking like someone has just asked her to pull out all of her hair one by one. But, realizing the how dire the situation is, she takes a deep breath of air and turns to face the stage, slowly walking up towards it. The crowd cheers.
"There we go!" Robbie exclaims, his voice filled with energy. "I promise you will be awesome, Gothica!"
Pacifica looks at him nervously.
"T-thanks. Though that isn't-"
"Now for the coin toss!"
Without wasting any time, as Mabel looks like she is about to explode from impatience, Robbie takes out a coin from his black hoddie's pocket and holds up to the crowd. He declares that if the coin lands on heads it would be Mabel's, who Robbie keeps calling Black Star, choice of song. If tails, then it is Pacifica's choice. As this is going on, Gideon's eyes move between the two Pines Twins.
Mabel hasn't seem to recognize Pacifica, though it is hard to tell if it is because of her disguise or if she is too blinded by her strong competitive nature. Dipper is harder to tell, as Gideon can't get a good view of him. He also takes quick glances at the guard, who seems to be paying close attention to the stage.
"All right, looks like it is tails!" Robbie announces after the coin hits the floor. "Gothica, what's your song?"
After Mabel gives off a nonsensical, light-hearted curse, everyone brings their gaze to Pacifica. Pacifica's eyes grow wide.
"U-uh..."
She gestures Robbie to come closer, where she then whispers into his ear the name of the song she wants to sing.
"Ooo!" Bill's sing-song tone of voice echoes in Gideon's mind. "This song is so fitting for what Paz is about to do!"
Gideon raises an eyebrow, however he can't see Bill's shadow to question him. Robbie gives off a soft laugh.
"Interesting choice," he replies. "But I'm totally up for it! How about you, Black Star?"
He whispers the name of the song to Mabel, where all she does is giggle like a maniac and exclaim, "Yes, yes! I like it!"
She turns her attention to Pacifica.
"And just so you know, you're going down, Gothica! I'm gonna go all out to win!"
"Eh he he he... Sure," Pacifica replies with an uneasy laugh. "So will I..."
With everything at an agreement, Robbie hands both girls a microphone so they can begin. The crowd cries out as he gets back to his original seat.
"Are you all ready, dudes?" he asks, building up the suspense. "Here we go!"
He begins to play the song. There is a heavy techno beat to it, having the harsh pounding like a heartbeat. Soon the sound keyboard faintly starts to play, making a very soft build up to it. As the music plays, Gideon moves closer to the guard, who is tapping his foot to the music. Soon enough, it is time for Pacifica to sing.
"T-there's a fire going on, but the party's just begun.
"So keep your focus looking at me tonight.
"So the world's about to end, gonna party with my friends,
"And ain't nobody gonna say it's not right."
Her voice starts out very shaky and uneven, it being extremely difficult to hear her at first. But by closing her eyes and trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, her voice slowly grows stronger with an easier flow.
"And I know
"Nothing's gonna stand in my way
"No matter the people may say
"Just don't turn around and keep looking straight
"And I see
"That everybody's starting to yell
"How the world around you's going to hell
"I'm here to tell you it's just fate."
Everyone begins to cheer her on, encouraging her more and more to get over her stage fright. It seems to help Pacifica quite a bit, as her voice takes up new confidence with the first chorus, the music becoming much louder.
"I'm a distraction
"Of pure satisfaction
"Keep your eyes all on me, for what you're gonna see,
"Will redefine the height of attraction
"I'm a distraction,
"And I'm ready for action
"So the world's gonna blow,
"Stop complaining and go to the show..."
Everyone is loving her, and while he is glad she is gaining more confidence, Gideon cannot help but groan at her choice of song.
"'I'm a Distraction?'" he questions to himself. "Really, Pacifica?"
How much more obvious can she be?
"Hey, at least it's working!" Bill defends, humming to the melody of the song. "Look, kid!"
Though unable to see him, Gideon looks over his shoulder to see that the guard has step away from the entrance way to the hallway, moving to where he has a better view of the performance. His eyes grow wide, but Gideon does not hesitate to go ahead and take this opportunity. As quietly as he can, he makes his way into the hallway, praying that neither Dipper or Mabel can pick up that Pacifica is literally a distraction...