CHAPTER 2

Dipper and Mabel dropped their jaws.

"Where did you put it kids? Show me at once!" The monster said again in a very close to human voice.

"Y-you knew about the loser candy?" Mabel asked, still a little shocked.

"Of course. The Summerween Trickster was defeated at last, and I'm here to clean the mess of what remains of him."

"Interesting" Dipper said, putting a finger on his chin. "I knew there had to be a reason for you to be here besides eating all our candy." He just had an idea. "Hey Mabel, maybe we can add something else to anomaly #76. In fact... " He grabbed his video camera and pointed it to the monster. "This is gonna be some awesome material!"

"So, what did you say you were doing here? Speak loud and clear please." Mabel said, assuming the role of the reporter.

"Uh, I just need to find the candy that formed the body of the Summerween Trickster, as I have already told you."

"And what exactly do you need it for, Mr. Monster?"

"Look, you don't really need to know it. Gosh! What is wrong with you kids? Normally people run when they see one of us, or at least they start screaming."

"Oh well, it's not like you're the first strange creature we've come across in Gravity Falls. Right Dipper?"

"Yeah, I'd say we have enough experience with this stuff. Anyways, you don't need to worry about the candy." Dipper said behind the camera. "We already took care of it."

"No, you don't understand. I need to collect every single piece of candy from the Trickster's disintegrated body right away. So, come on, where are you keeping it? There was none left on that store, so you must have it."

"We don't have it with us." Mabel said.

"What?! Did you throw it away? I hope you didn't eat some of it because it'll give you a really bad stomach ache."

"Well, our friend Soos was the one who ate it and he actually got sick, but that would've happen to anyone who eats that amount of candy." Dipper said.

"Wait, how much did your friend eat?"

"He cleaned the entire Summerween store with his mouth. So I guess there's nothing left for you. Sorry little pal." Said Mabel.

"Oh no! This is bad. This is really bad! Where exactly is your friend now?" The little guy looked kind of panicked.

"I think he's upstairs in the attic." Dipper said with a concerned face.

"What is he doing there?" Mabel asked.

"He offered to clean up the mess from last night's Horror Sleepover, remember? He also wanted to retrieve his special story telling flashlight, which he lost there." He turned again to the Candy Monster. "What exactly is going on?"

"Ok, we… we… we need to abandon this house immediately. Is there anyone else here with you besides your friend?"

"Wow, hold on. What's gonna happen to Soos?" Dipper asked. He stopped looking through the camera.

"No time for explaining now, if you two appreciate your lives, you come with me now."

"Hey, we are not abandoning Soos if he's in trouble!" Mabel said loudly to the monster.

"Yeah!" Dipper said putting his foot down, but feeling it wasn't a really good idea to stay. "You... you tell us now what's wrong with Soos and how we can help him!"

"You are not listening. There's probably nothing we can do for him! You should be more worry about what he can do to you now!"

Dipper just froze. Suddenly Mabel left the living room and rushed up the stairs.

"Soos! Soos where are you?!" She screamed.

"Get back here kid! You don't know what you are facing!"

Dipper looked at the stairs, fear starting to invade him at this point. He noticed he was holding the video camera very tightly. He turned it off, looked at the stairs again, and then to the monster in its eyes.

"Oh, no. Don't be a..." The Candy Monster tried to speak but Dipper just ran to follow his sister to the second floor. "...fool. You foolish children."

...
...

"Soos, are you in there?" Mabel yelled as she got to the bedroom's door in the attic. No response was heard. She was about to enter when Dipper's hand stopped her.

"Mabel, wait! That's not a good idea."

"Why? Soos is probably sick again because of that candy."

"No, Mabel, it could be dangerous. You heard the little guy."

"I would also listen to me." The mentioned creature said as appearing from downstairs. "We just need to flee right now."

"Heck no shorty! We have to see if he's alright!"

A sudden flash of light, a strange greenish light, appeared under the door and the shack seemed to vibrate for a second.

"What is that?!" Dipper asked.

"Oh man, that is the sign that the transformation is complete, and also that we must totally get our butts out of here!"

"You get your chubby butt out if you want! We are going in!"

"Mabel, just calm down! Dipper put both hands on his sister's shoulders, and then addressed the monster. "You said he could hurt us. Is he really dangerous?"

"No he's not. He is extremely dangerous now. The guy you call Soos is no longer in there, and if you let your sister enter that room, you may lose her too."

Dipper pondered these words. He cared for Soos, a lot. But if what this creature was saying was true, he wasn't going to risk Mabel's safety. She was more important to him than anyone else. He looked at his twin and spoke with determination.

"Mabel, I'm sorry, but you can't enter the room."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I am not letting you go through that door. It's too risky. We are gonna wake up Grunkle Stan and leave this place right now."

Mabel couldn't believe her ears. "You want to leave Soos on his own when he needs us more? Well I am the one who is sorry because you can't stop me from..."

Mabel wasn't able to finish because Dipper embraced her very hard. "Forgive me for this, sis." He said.

"What?!" Again she was taken off guard when Dipper made a quick move and lifted her up, placing her over his shoulders.

"Dipper what the heck!... Wait, how can you even lift me up?"

Dipper ignored her and looked at the Candy Monster. "Let's go now." He said to it. The thing nodded and followed him. Mabel was struggling for freedom, but to her surprise, Dipper's grip was strong and he didn't seem to have any trouble carrying her through the attic.

They went down the stairs and got to the staircase entryway.

"You put me down dork! We need to save Soos!"

"We'll find a way to help him when we are out of danger."

"Wow, what danger dudes?"

The kids and the monster stopped and turned around to see Soos standing at the door that led to the hallway. He was definitely coming from somewhere else than the attic.

"Soos!" The twins yelled.

Mabel moved again on Dipper's shoulders and this time he realized his body was running out of strength. His legs started to shake and he collapsed. Mabel got up and ran towards the confused handyman. She jumped to his neck and hugged him deeply. Dipper also got up and tried to recover from the effort. He just let out a sigh and felt the joy of having found out his friend wasn't hurt and neither was trying to hurt him and his sister.

"Uh... I'm glad to see you too?" Soos said even more confused.

"You are fine!" Mabel said, jumping to the floor.

"Of course, I'm cool. I just went to the bathroom for a while. Is everything right? I heard screaming."

"Yeah, everything's fine now that 'everybody' can see there's no danger at all." Mabel sent her brother an angry look.

"Don't look at me that way! You saw the shining. It could've been true!"

"Well it wasn't. You should trust your older sister more Dipper, instead of listening to strangers, especially if they are monsters."

"Well I was... just... Oh Fine! What was all that with the lights and shaking a moment ago?" Dipper asked the monster.

"I... uh... I am not sure. But we should definitely examine the room."

"Woah dude! Is that a shaved bear cub?" Soos asked.

"It's just another random monster we found. And it just gave us a big scare for nothing." Mabel explained.

"Oh cool. What's up dude?"

"Wait a minute. Didn't you say it was dangerous to enter the room?" Dipper asked the monster.

"I did, but it's clear that the transformation wasn't achieved and he's still himself. However, there's something going on in that room and I have to fix it." Candy Monster started to climb the stairs. He stopped and looked at Dipper and Mabel. "Maybe you should still leave the house and keep your friend under observation."

"What? Why? What's wrong with me?"

"Soos, have you been feeling sick lately?" Dipper asked.

"Not really since this morning, but that stomach ache is old story and I'm feeling totally fine. In fact, I'm a little hungry now. How about some post-Summerween candy? I found some from our last night's horror session. Plus, there's also some from that Trickster dude."

Dipper and Candy Monster exchanged looks.

"That's it!" The creature said. "He didn't eat all! That's why he didn't change! I need to find that candy now!"

Dipper, Mabel and Soos saw the monster run upstairs as fast as his tiny legs allowed him. They stayed on the same place, not moving and not sure about what to do. That was until Mabel spoke.

"Let's go!"

She also ran upstairs and was followed by Soos.

"What?! Mabel!... G-guys! We should... " Dipper tried to talk to them, but they were already on the second floor.

He sighed deeply before following them.