Soos had noted down the names of every men he remembered having been at the Book Club when the storm had broken out. In total, there were ten names – excluding his own – and all that was left was figuring out which of them was the Warlock. The massive storm had stopped which meant they could actually begin investigating. As eager as he should have been, Dipper was honestly afraid. He wasn't sure he wanted to leave the safety of the house what with knowing how powerful the Warlock truly was. The man had actually killed most if not all the plants within the Gravity Falls area and a few of the trees of the surrounding forest.
Now they sat in the living room. Soos had left an hour ago and Stan had gotten rid of his beer. He knew better than to drink when things were about to get serious. He would need all of his head to confront what was coming their way. They sat, for the most part, in silence. Bill and Mabel had perched themselves on the sofa, Dipper sat on the armrest on Mabel's side, Grunkle Stan had taken over the sofa chair, and Ford paced around absently. The struggle at hand was determining how they were going to out the Warlock amongst the ten people Soos had listed without drawing attention to themselves in the process. Ford insisted that the element of surprise needed to be maintain at all costs.
"Let's review what we know," Mabel suggested helpfully, "Warlocks are vulnerable to salt and iron. They can't get through the ward protecting the Mystery Shack, but they're still human at the base of everything. Also, they can't use magic unlimitedly so after all this time of using magic, he's likely going to take a break."
That much was true. Perhaps he hadn't drawn energy from his soul's essence but he had killed a lot of plant life and arguably some small critters no one would have noticed. If he wanted to avoid using his own energy, he would want to wait until new plants grew to replace the dead ones – something that wouldn't be too difficult what with the amount of water that had drenched the State for over a week.
"We can't go around throwing salt at people," Dipper pointed out, "And we can't exactly go ahead and buy salt-covered food for these guys because we don't know them – except for Tad. We can't go shoving an iron rod in their faces either because that's just too obvious."
"We need something subtle…" Ford mumbled to himself.
"How about an event?" Stan suddenly suggested, "We've done it a couple of times before; host an event at the Shack and invite the whole town."
"But we don't want to bring the Warlock to Bill." Mabel reminded.
"The ward on the house will keep him from getting close…" Ford realized, perking at the suggestion, "That's it! That's how we'll do it! The one on the list who doesn't come has to be the Warlock!"
"But how do we make sure everyone comes?" Dipper asked.
"We can make it like a date-night event or something." Mabel said and she subtly glanced at Bill, offering a wink, "If we're organising a dance like we've done a lot of times before, couples can get half off. Then we get Soos to convince the entire Book Club to attend."
"One problem," Dipper pointed out. "Tad will likely show up with Mayor Cutebiker, which means if one of them is the Warlock, neither will attend but we won't know which is which."
"Narrowing it down to two is going to have to suffice." Ford affirmed with a tone indicating he was ready to take action, "Mabel," he began, "Call your friends to make posters for the event, then make a list of everything you'll need so Stan and I can purchase them. Dipper and Bill will be at your disposal, if need be."
"Roger!" Mabel exclaimed, rising a hand to her forehead so as to imitate the military salute.
She texted Candy and Grenda, informing them that they would be planning another Gravity Falls party. They were already excited to help out with the decorations when Mabel added they would get to see Bill if they came. They squealed so loudly over the phone she actually had to move the device from her ear so as to not go deaf. Then the brunette made a quick list of the arts and crafts she would need and handed it to Grunkle Stan. They left in their sad excuse of a vehicle, barrelling out of the Mystery Shack parking lot at very illegal speeds, leaving Dipper, Mabel, and Bill to watch over the house.
"You winked at me." Bill said.
"I did!" Mabel grinned, "I have a plan for Operation Cupid!"
"Is that what we're calling it?" Dipper snorted.
"Yes!" She nodded, "So the dance party setting is the perfect time for everything to happen!"
"Really? Is that a good idea?" Dipper asked, "I mean, we're supposed to be trying to root out the Warlock."
"We can kill two birds with one stone, Dip!" Mabel insisted nonchalantly, "But yeah, I'm picturing a slow dance scene! All the couples will be dancing together with dim lighting and it'll be super cute. Grunkle Ford will be standing alone, probably crossing names from his list, and then you'll come up from behind and take him to dance!"
"And if he says no?" Bill asked.
"Societal convention!" She supplied proudly, "He won't be allowed to say no if you ask loudly enough to draw the attention of people nearby! The couples will all frown upon him if he refuses so social pressure will force him to say yes!"
"You're evil." Dipper stated though he was honestly impressed.
"There's more than cuteness going on with this." His twin said and gestured herself. "With that established, we've got to find the perfect set of clothes!"
"Is that necessary…?" Bill asked but he hardly finished his question before Mabel was beaming with an answer.
"Of course it is!" She exclaimed, "We've got to have you at your most presentable! You need to be drop dead handsome! It'll increase Grunkle Ford's chances of saying yes and social pressure."
Mabel dragged them to the guest room Bill had taken over. It had been the first time Dipper had ever stepped into the room and he was surprised to find it neat and tidy. He imagined Bill was the type of guy who found order in chaos or something of the like. His bed was made perfectly without the slightest wrinkle in the bed covers and his clothes were tidily packed into his dresser. Dipper ran his finger over the furniture and didn't find even the least bit of dust. It was very remarkable.
Mabel got to work. She sat the two boys on the bed and ran to the dresser, looking through the organised garments. She sorted through them rapidly and fashioned three ensembles she wanted Bill to try on so as to evaluate her choice. The ex-demon changed into them quickly enough and was soon spinning in circles, modelling Mabel's choices. Dipper seethed quietly where he sat. He saw absolutely no problem with whatever the man tried on, finding his body type allowed him to look good in anything. Dipper was sure he could make a potato bag look sexy. It was positively unfair.
His sister eventually settled on a semi-formal suit. Bill would wear a black, sleeveless vest and beneath a light yellow dress shirt which brought out his golden eyes. The ensemble would be paired with black dress pants. Dipper hated to admit how handsome he looked.
"Do you think this will do?" Bill asked as he checked himself over in the mirror.
"I'm sure." Mabel grinned. "Now change into casual clothes before the Grunkles get back."
However, the next set of people who knocked at the door weren't Stan and Ford but rather Candy and Grenda. They bounced excitedly and all but rushed past Dipper to ogle at and chat with Bill. The latter seemed rather daunted by the degree of attention he was being paid – he didn't relish in it the same way he did with the employees at the clothes shop a couple of weeks ago. It took Mabel a lot of time to convince them to follow her back to their room where they would clear space to work while waiting for Stan and Ford to come back to the Mystery Shack.
Thirty minutes later, the older men had returned bearing the arts and crafts Mabel had requested. The girls then got to work, leaving the men to their own devices. Dipper retreated to the living room where he sat and did nothing because the TV still wasn't working and that likely wouldn't change for another few days. Bill joined him moments later, at a loss of what to do himself. They mostly sat in awkward silence, making idle chatter here and there, for the rest of the day while the girls organised the party meant to identify the Warlock.