The Mystery Shack's Night After Summerween Madness

by StkAmbln

Set immediately after the Candy Monster short, which in this story takes place the night after Summerween. Dipper and Mabel should have known that nothing good could result from Soos eating the Summerween Trickster's body. Now, the Mystery Twins must team up with the strangest ally, and try to survive the night inside a Mystery Shack controlled by a not so friendly handyman.

7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

They couldn't see anything, since it was the darkest hour of the night, the lights were off, and the moon had been covered by the clouds. They stopped for a moment and started to walk slowly. Dipper put the camera around his neck.

"Grunkle Stan, where are you?"

"Right here! Just look where you step!"

"You carried all the way that camera, and you couldn't bring a flashlight, Dip?"

"You could've grabbed one on the attic instead of your precious rifle!"

"Guys! Calm down!" Bloomscorch said. "Let's try to find the switch."

As they advanced some more, they heard the noise of glass breaking beneath their feet.

"I told you! Watch your step!... But, thinking about it….. break them all kids.!" Stan yelled.

"What?" Dipper said. "Aghhh! Can anyone turn on a light?!"

"I'll help you with that, Dipper." Soos' voice rumbled in the museum.

A very strong green light suddenly shone in front of them, illuminating the room partially.

"Woah! Get back! Find some cover!" Dipper yelled and they ran back. They got behind some furniture that had been left there by Stan. The three of them peeked from their hideout. Now, thanks to the light, they were able to see Stan.

They saw in surprise that he was hanging from the ceiling, tied with his arms behind his back, and just a few feet from the floor. Below him, there was a mirror. In fact, there were mirrors all around him, arranged in a circle. They were six, counting the one they had broken.

Behind Stan, they discovered that the source of light was no other than Soos. He was floating high in the air, with his arms crossed. They instantly noticed what was on his face. He was wearing some kind of black mask. It looked like a gas mask, but it only covered his mouth and nose, letting the rest visible. Dipper instantly thought about how this totally matched Soos' voice.

"What's up, dudes? I was waiting for you, so we can start the first tour of the day." He flew passing Stan and got on the front. His voice was slightly different.

"What is that?" Mabel yelled. "Are you trying to look like Bane, Soos?" Dipper looked at her. Yep. That confirms it. He thought.

"Oh, don't you like it? It's my newest accessory. You know, just in case you want to make me drink some crazy stuff again."

The twins and the monster felt a shiver down their spine. This was going to complicate things.

Soos paid attention at the broken mirror on the floor.

"Don't worry much about it." He said, and the mirror flew away. Then, another one came floating from a pile next to the wall and landed on the same spot. Next, he pointed at the ceiling and all the lamps and light bulbs shone in a green light.

"So, what are you guys doing back there? Come on, don't be shy. I've reserved front seats for you!" He yelled at them. The mask somehow made him sound more evil.

They looked at each other nervously. "What do we do now?" Mabel asked.

Dipper thought. "We have to trap him with the gum. Bloomscorch, give it to me." The monster handed him the candy sphere. Dipper held it tightly and thought again. "We need to attack from different spots if we want to defeat him. Mabel, you think you can run to that totem pole if I create a distraction?"

"Totally." She said holding her blue rifle tightly.

"Okay, you're gonna be the sniper. Just be careful." Mabel nodded and Dipper prepared his Sparks gun. "When I shoot, run to the other wall." He told Bloomscorch. "He'll have to decide who to attack." The monster nodded as well.

"Come on guys! Let's not make Stan wait more!" Soos yelled again.

Dipper aimed his gun. "He'll have to wait just a little more, Soos!" He said and shot to the mirrors. The burst exploded and broke three mirrors. Mabel and Bloomscorch ran to their spots. Soos watched angrily, but when he looked again at the kids, he only saw a little girl running to the right and a small animal like thing rushing to the left. Before he could react, everybody had taken cover again.

"What, seriously? You want to play this game?" He said. "Let's just leave that for later." He advanced towards the assault team that was hiding in front of him.

Dipper signed to Mabel. She filled his rifle taking Sparks from her pocket, aimed and fired.

"Ouch!" Soos yelled. The candy hit him on one arm. "You little demon! That hurts!" He looked in the direction where the shot had come from, and his eyes started to glow, but before he was able to do anything, Dipper fired his soda gun and hit him in the face.

Soos shook his head furiously. "Well, at least the mask is working!" He raised his hand, but again, Sparks hit him on his mask and face. He turned to Bloomscorch's spot.

"Stop it! Stop it now!"

"You're surrounded Soos!" Dipper yelled. "Release Stan and turn yourself in!"

"Hahahaha! That's the best you can do?!"

"You asked for it! Guys, let the Sparks rain!"

The three of them fired their sparks guns simultaneously, hitting Soos all over his body. He tried to use his hands as cover. He was also trying to use his green light powers, but he couldn't concentrate enough. Besides the pain, he was kind of blind because of the glowing of the exploding Sparks.

Dipper stopped firing sparks and changed to soda weapon, but he waited before shooting again. Soon, Mabel and Bloomscorch had to stop to reload. Soos had a moment to breath, and used his powers to toss a wooden barrel towards Bloomscorch. It destroyed the upper part of a stuffed animal which the monster was hiding behind. Soos took control of the pieces of the barrel and used them as shields. Immediately, Dipper fired a long burst of Hypermint powered soda. Soos did cover himself this time and the soda didn't hit him completely. He smiled and walked towards Dipper.

Mabel fired as well and hit Soos' mask. She then shot to his face, which Soos was covering with his hands. The candy made its way to its target. Soos turned his shields to Mabel, but he received Bloomscorch's fire from the other direction.

"Way to go kids!" Stan shouted, hanging from the ceiling. "Make him suffer! Just a little more! You almost do it!"

Dipper decided it was time for a direct attack. He came from behind the furniture and fired at Soos on the stomach. His teammates imitated him, advancing and firing short but regular bursts, which landed on different targets. Soos started to retreat, moaning in pain and mumbling inappropriate and offensive words. Dipper aimed at his legs and feet. Bloomscorch did the same thing. Soos felt it difficult to walk with the pain on his legs. Dipper saw this and very quickly shot a long load of soda at his feet.

Soos slipped and fell to the ground. "Hold him guys!" Dipper shouted. He took the trapping gum and put it on his gun.

Soos had found it fun that the kids were trying to fight him with toy guns, even when that soda was a little dangerous for him. However, until this point, he hadn't thought they could actually have a chance to win. When he fell loudly to the ground, shame and anger took control of him.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He let out a huge cry and lifted off the ground.

"Fire at him!" Dipper yelled. They all did it. Soos continued to receive the shots. He floated back near Stan. He landed and took cover behind him. The team stopped firing, since they didn't want to hit Stan. Soos was really angry.

"Get out of there and fight, coward!" Bloomscorch shouted.

"Don't you dare to call me coward!" Soos raised his hands and the broken mirrors ascended.

"Incoming!" Mabel shouted. The three mirrors were shot at the kids and the monster. They hid behind the first thing they found. Sharp pieces of mirror glass flew in all directions after the mirrors crashed on the floor.

Dipper took a look. A piece of mirror was embedded on the wooden chest he was using to hide. Just a few inches from where his head was. He saw Soos near Stan. He looked exhausted. Dipper spotted Bloomscorch not too far. He called him by signs. Mabel had retaken her position on the totem pole.

"Well that went pretty good, right? How is our ammo?" Dipper said.

"We used some good amount of it." The monster said. "But I'm sure there's enough for another round like that."

Dipper looked at Mabel. She made the OK sign. He pressed the gun on his hands. "Gosh, I was this close to fire the trapping gum. I just wanted to be sure he wasn't going to use his powers on us." He took a deep breath. "No more war games now. I'll shot him at the first chance."

Soos was trying to recover himself. Things weren't supposed to be this way. He wanted to play a little with the kids, but they had gone too far.

"Come on Soos." he said to himself. "Control the situation. No more monkey business."

"The best you can do is surrender, kid." Stan told him. "They're gonna blow you into pieces!"

Soos let out a little laugh. "Unfortunately for you, they're not gonna do that tonight, Stan." His eyes started to glow. "Let's give them something to think about."

Dipper and the others were preparing for a second assault, when Soos called them.

"That was fun guys. Really. I'd love to play a little more with you, but time is precious and we have to move on. The only thing I want you to do now is to get out and hand me your weapons… That is, if you don't want your uncle to be hurt."

Dipper had a bad feeling. The sound of glass was heard again. They all looked at Soos. There he was, floating near Stan, who was surrounded by a dozen of sharp mirror pieces also in the air and pointing menacingly at his head.

"No!" Mabel yelled. "Don't do it Soos!"

"Oh boy, he's not joking." Bloomscorch said.

Dipper felt a cold sweat on his entire body. "Soos! Y-you are not gonna seriously do it…"

"Look dudes, what I prepared for Stan wasn't going to hurt him. At least not much. But if you want to complicate things for me, this would be also a good way to make him pay. So, your call Dipper, you can have a 'different' Grunkle, or you can have a Grunkle in tiny pieces."

"Kids! Just get out of here! He's gone completely nut…" Stan's mouth was covered with a piece of cloth again.

"Dipper, we have to stop him!" Mabel shouted at him. Dipper only looked at her. He wasn't able to speak. His breathing accelerated. He was trying hard to make his brain work and give him the littlest idea to get the heck out of this situation. He saw Mabel had an angry look on her face. Then, she reloaded her rifle with shaking hands.

"Mabel, no!" He whispered at her.

Bloomscorch put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe that's the only way! We can't just surrender. Everything will be lost!"

Now, Dipper started to feel really scared. They had to decide. Either give up, let Soos capture them and do with Stan and with them whatever he wanted, or remain free and watch their uncle die. Dipper didn't even want to think of any of the possibilities.

"I…we…need to get close…I need to get closer…" He couldn't make sense. "Darn it Soos! You can't do this!" He shouted.

"Yeah well, there's really no time for this. So you have like a minute to decide, ok?" Soos yelled back. The pieces of mirror suddenly moved closer to Stan.

Dipper's heart was pounding hard and extremely fast. "need to get close...I need to get closer!..." He seemed to have lost the sense of reality. "closer…closer…closer…" He turned his head to see Mabel, who was holding her rifle strongly, and slowly carrying it to her shoulder. The rifle. He emptied his Sparks gun. "She can do it…I…we…we just need to get closer to him!"

Mabel was about to stand up when Dipper moved faster. He came from behind the chest.

"Alright Soos… you win." He said and tossed his soda gun in front of him.

"Dipper!"

"What are you doing, Dipper! Get back here!"

He looked at them. "It's useless guys, we can't do anything this time." He turned to face Soos. "Just don't hurt our uncle."

"Sure. I'm just waiting for the others."

Dipper looked at the monster. "Bloomscorch, please, it's for my family."

Bloomscorch considered making a last surprise shot, but he knew he was too far and that Stan would be gone by the time Soos was hit. He also stood up and lowered his guns.

"Thanks" Dipper walked to Mabel, who was looking at the floor. "Mabs… come here."

She walked away from the totem pole and joined him. She looked at Soos with fury. Dipper stood in front of her.

"It's over, Mabel." He grabbed her rifle with one hand. His other hand was still holding his sparks gun.

"We don't have all night, Dipper" Soos yelled at him.

Mabel looked at her brother. "B-but Dipper…"

"No Mabel!" He shouted. "Nobody is gonna die tonight!" Mabel lowered her head again.

Since he was giving his back to Soos, the handyman wasn't able to see what Dipper was doing with his hands. "Everything is gonna be fine." He said a little loudly. Quickly, he used the hand he was holding his gun with to put the trapping gum on Mabel's hand. She looked at him in surprise and then at the gum.

"Look at me Mabel!" he shouted again. "I said… everything is gonna be fine."

Mabel nodded, and without looking down, she introduced the candy on the rifle.

Dipper smiled. "Trust me." He told her. "Because I trust you." He said slowly.

Soos had a strange feeling. "Okay, that's it! Hand over all the guns…"

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Dipper turned around faster than light. He aimed at Soos and fired sparks.

Soos knew deep inside him that something like this was gonna happen. That's why he was fast enough to dodge the shot and lift Dipper on the air with a move of his arm. He was so fast that the sparks hadn't even exploded by the time Dipper was already struggling above the floor. However, he wasn't faster than Mabel, which with the ability of a veteran sniper aimed at the empty space where he was moving to and fired her long distance rifle.

Soos heard a shot coming from a toy gun. The sparks exploded and through the glowing he saw something coming to him. It hit him on the chest, and next second, he felt again that strawberries scent.

Soos fell to the floor covered in gum. He was near Stan and as him, he was trapped. Dipper fell from a low altitude. He stood up quickly and looked in front of him.

"I can't believe it worked!" He said.

"I can't believe it worked!" Mabel said with big eyes.

The cloth around Stan's mouth also fell. "Whoa, kids, don't you dare to give me such a scare again! I'm an old person, you know?"

"Sorry Grunkle Stan." Dipper told him as he approached Mabel. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I think so. That was a lucky shot, wasn't it?" She said.

"I knew that if anyone could do it, it had to be you."

"Yeah well, imagine what I'd do if I had time to concentrate." She laughed.

"Wow guys!" Bloomscorch joined them. "Have you ever considered acting as a career?"

"What do you mean?" Dipper said. "We weren't acting."

The monster was a little confused. Dipper decided to discuss it later. "Your guns, team" He said. They picked up their weapons and advanced to Soos carefully.

When they were close to him, Soos looked at Dipper. "You know something, Dipper." He said very seriously. "You are starting to become really annoying."

"Well, you have threatened my family twice tonight." Dipper told him. "So I don't care." He grabbed a package of Smile Dip and opened the soda container of his gun.

"If you come any closer kid, I can't respond for your uncle's safety… or for the rest of your family." Soos said.

"Stop playing with us Soos, it's over for you." Dipper walked to him.

He hadn't advanced a foot when an invisible force pushed him violently. He fell backwards, just like Mabel and Bloomscorch. Dipper was confused. He hadn't seen any glow on Soos' eyes.

"How… how are you doing this?" He asked.

Soos shook his head. "You have to understand, children. I have been waiting for this day since I have memory. All the night, I have been preparing for this moment. I never used all the energy I received. And even trapped in here, I'm gonna start with tonight's show."

"Well, forget about it!" Dipper stood up. "We are gonna finish you now!" He charged towards Soos, but he was thrown to the floor again.

Mabel ran to Dipper and helped him up. She faced Soos. "What is it that you want to do with our uncle? Tell us now, Soos!"

Soos smiled. "Oh, now you want to listen to me. Well, let me tell you. What Stan is hanging over is what remains of my design to make the Mystery Shack more famous and richer than you could ever imagine. And guess who's gonna be the one who will do all this. That's right! Our beloved boss. It's you, Stan. How cool is that?" He yelled at Stan.

"The shack was good enough until you showed up!" The old man answered.

"We know all the attractions on the shack are weird and astonishing." Soos went on. "But they lack of something. I thought and thought, and I concluded what they lacked was the human factor. I mean, a dinosaur or a swamp monster, they are cool, but what If they were more… human? What if a man, a real man, had those wings on his back?"

"This doesn't sound good." Bloomscorch said.

"What if he had horns, or four arms, or a tail, but he remained a human? There's no such a thing in real life. So, I decided to create one."

Dipper knew where this was going.

"You are gonna put him wings and a tail?!" Mabel asked in horror.

"A tail?! Four arms?!" Stan repeated also scared.

"Hahahahahaaha!" Soos laughed maniacally. "That's right ladies and gentlemen! You have seen jackalopes! You have seen Big Foot! You have even seen those tiny stupid bottled beings on the gift shop! But you have never seen… The Mystery Chimera Man!"

The kids and the monster realized what really was on Soos' mind. Now they knew why he needed those stuffed animals Stan had brought from the storage room. The mirrors were also going to be used to do it. Soos wasn't going to eliminate Stan. He was going to do something worst.

"We have to give him the Smile Dip right now!" Dipper yelled.

"But we can't get close to him! The gum is holding him, but he still can use some of his powers." Bloomscorch told him.

Dipper took his Sparks gun. "He won't be able to concentrate with candy raining on his face."

"Oh, don't think about it, guys." Soos yelled at them. "I can't let you interrupt me while I'm preparing everything. But, hey! Don't worry. You will have the chance to use your little toy guns!"

They felt a slight vibration of the room. Then, a glow appeared near the wall on their left. It wasn't the typical green low. This one was a white and blue light, which moved towards the huge 'Sascrotch' and surrounded it.

The twins and the monster saw in astonishment as the giant creature opened its eyes and step out of the platform it was standing on. It started to walk towards them. The kids and Bloomscorch moved back. They heard a strange noise behind them, and turned around in time to see the Six-pack O' Lope breaking the pieces of metal that held its feet to the ground.

"Oh! I was wondering if you could let me use your camera Dipper!" Soos closed his eyes and the green glowing appeared on his face. Dipper's camera abandoned him and flew to Soos. He smiled with his eyes still closed. The device floated to Stan's forehead and the straps tied to his head. "It's just a terrific idea to record this. Take good shots Stan!"

The Sascrotch stopped right in front of them. It didn't move. Dipper and Mabel weren't sure of what to do. Suddenly, the big ape raised an arm and let it fall to the ground. The twins jumped to one side in time to avoid being crushed.

"Hahahahahahah!" Soos laughed. "I hope you are ready dudes! Because from this moment, there's no going back!"

The museum started to tremble. All the doors and windows closed loudly. The wood around them creaked and the frames broke, making it impossible to open them. A sound was heard from the gift shop, and the same stone disk that had blocked the outside door earlier crashed on the curtained door to the museum. Soos moved inside his gum prison. He was still trapped, but he didn't seem to have any difficulty to turn his body directly to them. The two mystical creatures moved closer as they shone in white and blue light.

"It's a little sample of what I'll do with Stan. Also, it will distract you while I get rid of this gum and get your Grunkle ready. "

Dipper looked at the Sascrotch and then at Soos. He tightened his guns, one on each hand. "Not if we take care of you first!" He shouted and in a second fired at the creature face. It closed its eyes and let go a roar. Dipper went around it and ran to Soos pointing the gun at him. Soos didn't worry.

All of a sudden, something passed flying over Dipper's head. He stopped and raised his head to see what looked like a giant bird near the roof in front of him. It was the big Pterosaur that was always on a pole at the entrance of the museum. It made a turn in the air and came back to him. Dipper ducked on time and felt the body of the thing over his hair. He smiled and held his gun, but a second later he heard something behind him.

"Woah!...Dipper!"

Dipper turned back and searched for Mabel, but she was already in the claws of the beast. It flew with her to the other side of the museum and there it let her fall between some boxes.

"Ouch! Hey, careful! Don't you see I'm a lady?" Mabel shouted at the dinosaur's face. It responded with a loud shriek on her face.

"Okay... I get it... Ahhhh!" Mabel screamed.

"No! Mabel!" Dipper was too far from her. He turned to Soos. "You!... I'm gonna…."

"Just try to survive. The three of you." Soos told him, smiling evilly. "I still need you to give me one little thing."

Dipper had more important things to worry than the journal right now. He glared at Soos with fury, and ran back where Bloomscorch was.

"I'm so sorry Dipper! It was too fast!" The monster told him.

"Let's just go for her!" Dipper was about to run to Mabel when the Six-pack O' Lope landed in front of him. The thing put its fists in front of its face like it was a boxer. Dipper was a little shocked by it, but quickly remembered he had two guns. He moved his right arm, but before he could aim, the creature threw away his gun with one punch and sent another one to his face.

Dipper fell to the floor. He reached for his secondary gun and when he grabbed it, the mythical creature put a foot on it. It lowered his hand to Dipper's neck and that's when it received a shot of sparks from Bloomscorch. It turned to the monster, who fired again at its face.

"Go and help Mabel! I'll take care of this one!" He told him.

The animal forgot about Dipper and moved to Bloomscorch. Dipper didn't think twice and picked up his weapons before running to Mabel.

The Pines girl was having a hard time trying to get away from the Pterosaur's bill. Unfortunately, she had dropped her rifle while she was in the air and had no other option but to crawl between old furniture and boxes in order to avoid being eaten.

Mabel finally reached a wall. There was nowhere else to go. The beast made its way to her. She crawled under an old desk and the animal started to hit it with its beak. Mabel held onto the desk hoping that it wouldn't turn around.

"Hey! Dinosaur!" Dipper yelled at the thing from behind it. "You have a bill! Why don't you mess with someone who also has a weapon?"

The Pterosaur saw him and shrieked at him. But then, it turned around to continue with its work.

"Dipper! Behind you!"

Mabel yelled so loud that Dipper instinctively jumped to his left side. A totem pole landed on the spot he was seconds ago, and it made a big hole on the floor. He turned around and saw the Sascrotch coming to him fast. The thing just tried to crush him with a heavy pole, and now it was going for him again. Dipper had to think faster.

"Mabel, catch!" Dipper tossed his soda gun to her. Then he ran in another direction.

The gun had landed really near to Mabel, but she was busy maintaining her wooden shield in one piece. She tried to pick up the gun, but the dinosaur took the desk with its hands and tried to lift it, so she had to do the same and pull.

Dipper got behind another totem pole, which was intact, and checked his ammo. There was plenty of Sparks to beat this big guy and then to go help Mabel. In fact, there was enough to take down all the three creatures. Then, he'd go for Soos. His thoughts were interrupted when the pole was broken by the Sascrotch. He aimed and shot. Sparks flew to its face and it roared in anger.

Bloomscorch dodged another fist from the antelope-like thing. He had the impression he was fighting with a boxer kangaroo. Because of his low height, he had managed to move between its legs and confuse it. He shot it each time the thing missed a hit.

"Come on! Try again!" The antelope punched again to the air. Bloomscorch fired at its head.

"Haha! I guess being taller is not helping you this time!"

The antelope stood still for a moment. Then, it tried to punch again. The Monster got between the animal's legs again, but when he got behind it, he received a strong kick that sent him several feet away.

"Oh boy." He said lying face up. He looked at the antelope, which was looking down and taping the floor with one foot. Bloomscorch stood up. "Better not to get close to those legs again."

The animal bent its legs and took a long jump. It landed in front of him.

"Oh boy." Bloomscorch said before being kicked again.

...
...

Soos hadn't been able to look away from the fighting scene in front of him for a while. He was really enjoying it, but he knew he had work to do.

"I hope you're recording all this, Stan." He said. "Because I'd love to watch it later."

You're crazy, Soos!" Stan yelled at him. "And those are the most valuable attractions in the museum! You could've picked others!"

"Don't worry. When all this ends, you'll never need any other attraction."

Soos narrowed his eyes and the pile of mirrors near the wall started to vibrate. Three mirrors elevated in the air and went to replace the ones broken by Dipper.

"Time for our friends to join us." Soos said.

From the darkest spot of the museum, six stuffed animals levitated to Soos. They were a big Andean condor, a moose's head, a beaver, a small crocodile, a wolf, and a mountain lion. They all were sent to rest on one mirror each one.

"Take a good look at your new friends, Stan. For you'll have to spend the rest of your life with them."

Stan looked around him with concern. "Look Soos, this is not a good idea. Believe me. I tried once to make a chimera, and the people didn't buy it. It looked so wrong to them! Because… this is wrong! You hear me?"

"Well, I think mine will look more real once I have make this guys come to live." He said smiling.

Stan looked at the mirrors below the animals, and then he looked at the one below him. He felt scared.

"You could've avoided all this, Stan." Soos told him, looking at him in the eyes. "If only you had given me a little respect… If only you had said you were sorry…"

Soos' stare made Stan really uncomfortable. He had to look away.

Soos let out a little laugh. "Okay! This will take some time. Just don't freak out… yet"

He closed his eyes for some seconds. When he opened them, they were emitting a white and blue light. The same glow surrounded the stuffed animals, which started to float in the air.

...
...

Mabel was just inches to touch the gun Dipper had tossed her. The dinosaur was now hitting the desk with its head. Mabel was able to spot Dipper near the other wall.

Her brother ran between boxes and other attractions to avoid being smashed by the Sascrotch's fists. He made little stops to fire his gun.

The ape hit the floor in front of Dipper, who stopped immediately. He saw the other fist falling down to him and rolled under the Sascrotch body to escape from it. He shot at the Sascrotch's neck. It only made it grunt.

"This isn't working." He said to himself. "We need to join forces if we want to win."

"Move, kid!" Bloomscorch came running and tackled him. They fell to the ground and behind them the antelope landed. They both shot at it, making it fell to the floor too.

"The thing is more a kangaroo than an antelope!" He told Dipper.

"Then it's good you're here! We totally have to fight together if we want… move!"

He pushed him to the ground and they dodged the Sascrotch's fist. The animal's arm got stuck on the floor this time.

"What about Mabel?" Bloomscorch asked.

Dipper pointed at her. "She's got her own problems."

Mabel heard the wood of the desk creak. It wasn't going to resist much time. She saw her brother and the monster fighting back to back against two creatures. They couldn't help her. Actually, they needed her help. She had to do something by herself.

She looked at the soda weapon. "Alright, monster bird. Bring it on!"

The Pterosaur banged its head some more times against the wood, and then, it hit with its bill, which broke the desk in two pieces. Mabel stretched her arm all she could and grabbed the gun.

The dinosaur used its hands to push away the wood. As soon as it did it, it saw Mabel's gun on its face. She fired, and the big reptile fell backwards. Mabel stood up and ran to her team.

"There has to be a way to stop them!" Dipper said as he fired again.

"I think they'll stop as soon as we are dead." Bloomscorch responded. He was reloading his sparks gun.

"Dipper! Bloomscorch!" Mabel came running.

"Mabel! How did you escaped from the pterosaur?" Her brother asked her.

"It was pretty easy. I totally creamed him! Now, he won't be a problem."

"You mean THAT won't be a problem?" Bloomscorch said pointing behind her. The Pterosaur was starting to stand up.

"Well, I…"

"No time! Run!" Dipper yelled as they saw the Sascrotch almost over them. They moved away to escape from its big foot, which landed loudly on the floor.

The three of them fired at him. The Sascrotch roared. It took its hands to its face and rubbed it.

"Together we can make more damage." Dipper said. "But we can't attack them while they're also together. We have to find a way to…"

The Six-pack O' Lope landed right in the middle of them. It took Mabel with one of its hands, or paws.

"Gah! Let me go!"

"Mabel!" Dipper didn't use his gun. Instead, he jumped on the animal's back and started to punch it. The antelope let go Mabel.

Far from there, the Pterosaur was recovering from the discharge of soda that hit it directly on its face. It looked at the battle that was taking place in front of it. The beast opened its mouth and shrieked.

The antelope jumped and shook his head violently to get rid of Dipper. He was still punching it.

"Dipper, let go!" Mabel yelled.

"I…I think…ahhhh! I think….I can bring him down!"

Bloomscorch and Mabel weren't able get a shot. They were aiming at the chest of the animal when two big legs stood behind them. They looked up and jumped to one side, but the Sascrotch didn't try to crush them. Instead, it stared at Dipper on top of the antelope. Soon, the smaller creature stopped moving and looked back at the giant ape.

Dipper had a crazy idea. He held strong to the neck of the Six-pack O' Lope and shot the Sascrotch on its face. The big guy roared again and tried to smash Dipper. The antelope realized this and jumped away from the fist that almost hit it. Dipper fired again, and again, and again at the Sascrotch, which got angrier and started to chase the confused antelope.

"You two can finish that reptile! I'll be fine! Just go!" Dipper yelled at his team.

"B-but Dipper!" Mabel said. They hesitated for a moment, but when another fist of the Sascrotch broke the floor near them, they did as he said.

They ran to the Pterosaur. "How exactly are we gonna finish him?" Mabel asked the monster.

"Just fire at him with all you have!"

"Okay… but where is it anyway?"

They stopped since there was no dinosaur on sight.

"Well" Bloomscorch said. "Maybe it got scared." As soon as he finished speaking, the Pterosaur came flying and picked him up.

"Mabeeeeeel!"

"Oh, crud!" She said.

The thing didn't fly far from there. It just made circles in the air, moving its feet and shaking Bloomscorch. Soon, he dropped his guns and the dinosaur dropped him as well.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Don't worry! I got you!" Mabel ran quickly and in time to catch the monster.

"Thanks!" Bloomscorch said. He searched for the animal. "Hey, he has my weapons!"

They saw the Pterosaur approached the guns on the floor. It immediately took one of them on its mouth.

"Noooooo!" Both Mabel and Bloomscorch shouted, but it was too late. The reptile closed its mouth and broke it into pieces. Next, it took the other gun.

"Nooooooooo!" Bloomscorch let out a loud cry and charged towards the Pterosaur. He jumped to it and held to its beak with both arms. The animal shook its beak. Bloomscorch tried to take his gun. Unfortunately, the Pterosaur tried to put it out of his reach and swallowed it. The monster watched in shock.

The beast shook its head and Bloomscorch let go and was thrown to Mabel, who caught him again.

"I lost them! How could I?!" The monster regretted.

"Uh, Bloomscorch?" Mabel said. The big reptile advanced walking to them.

"What… Shoot him! Shoot him now!"

Mabel fired many times. The Pterosaur hid his head from the bursts and they landed on the rest of its body. But then, the animal used its wings as cover and started to walk to Mabel.

"It's not working!" She shouted.

The reptile advanced slowly, but the Hypermint powered soda wasn't making any effect. They didn't notice they were being pushed against a wall until they had nowhere to retreat.

"We need something more powerful!" Mabel said.

Bloomscorch heard this and knew they had no other choice. "Use the Smile Dip!"

"But it's for Soos!" The Pterosaur was only some feet away.

"Use it now or we won't see him or anyone else again!"

Mabel took out a package of Smile Dip. Bloomscorch grabbed it and poured a little inside Mabel's gun while she continued to fire short loads. The weapon vibrated on the girl's hands and it started to shake so violently that it was difficult for her to hold it.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Shouted Mabel.

"What are you doing? Fire!"

The Pterosaur, feeling no more soda being fired at it, removed its wings from its face and shrieked loudly. Then, it charged towards Mabel and Bloomscorch.

"Eat Smile Dip! You giant nose!"

She pulled the trigger. A little amount of luminous liquid was fired from the gun at an incredible speed. It hit the dinosaur with such strength its body flew and crashed into a wall, and there it stayed a second before falling to the floor.

The powerful shot was noticed by Soos, who hadn't yet gotten rid of the gum.

"What the heck was that?" He asked himself.

Despite the dinosaur had been seriously damaged, it wasn't out of combat. It stood up, let out a roar, and advanced one more time to Mabel.

"Oh no! Stay back!" Mabel yelled at it, hoping it would stop, which it didn't.

She noticed a wooden post that had been probably hit by the Sascrotch. Sharp pieces of wood came out from it. It was between her and the dinosaur, which was approaching quickly.

She pointed the gun at the post. "Sorry buddy." She said. "You wanted it this way."

As soon as the Pterosaur was in front of the post, Mabel fired again. The blast sent it to the post in a blink of an eye, and the sharp wood went through its body. The fake stuffed animal let out a final shriek and it stopped moving.

Soos couldn't ignore this. He was a little shocked by it and something inside him told him this could represent a problem.

"Mabel! You did it!" Bloomscorch came running to her.

"Yeah" She smiled widely. "Yeah! I did it! I really kicked his but this time! I…"

A loud scream was heard. "Ahhhhhhhhh! Let me go!"

It was Dipper. Somehow the Six-pack O' Lope had grabbed him and thrown him to the floor, from where the Sascrotch lifted him by one leg.

"You get your gun back and follow me!" Mabel told the monster as she reloaded her soda gun using her spare bottle. Then she ran to save her brother. Bloomscorch approached the lifeless body of the dinosaur. He saw a part of his gun sticking out of the animal's body. He took it. It was the Sparks gun.

"Oh man, this looks bad." Dipper said as the Sascrotch was taking him to its mouth.

A blast of what seemed to be a laser gun hit the creature's arm. It opened its hand and let Dipper fall. He looked fast and saw Mabel. She shot the Sascrotch once again.

"Mabel?! What in the world is that thing?!"

"Smile Dip, bro!"

Bloomscorch came running. "It turns out that this combination is something really powerful!" He said.

"I hope it has enough power, guys." Mabel said firing one more time. "Because I just had to use my only spare bottle."

"Here!" Bloomscorch handed her one more bottle. "I have another and Dipper has the last one. Which means you can only use two. The third one is for Soos only."

The antelope appeared behind Dipper. "I'll handle this guy! You take care of that ape!" He said.

They nodded and resumed their firing. Dipper faced the antelope. "Now, it'll be a fair fight, buddy." He aimed and fired. There was no shot though. Dipper's gun was empty.

"Come on! Again?!" He looked at the animal. "Hehe, maybe a little break to relo….."

A quick punch threw his gun away. Another one hit him on the face.

"Owww" He moaned and fell to the floor again. The antelope hit its own chest with both its hooves, as a sign of victory. Dipper considered running, but there wasn't really a place to hide. Not this time, man. He thought.

He stood up and held his fists in front of him, just like a box fighter. "Let's see what you got, deer boy"

The antelope let fall a rain of punches over his face, stomach and rib cage. Dipper wasn't able to respond or even move because of the pain.

Endure Dipper, Endure! He told himself. He took a few steps back. Feeling dizzy, he put his hands over his belly and looked down. The antelope lowered its guard. All of a sudden Dipper hit him hard under its chin.

"Yeah!" He told the animal. "It's gonna be a tough fight!" They started to throw and dodge punches like professional boxers.

Mabel had managed to make the Sascrotch retreat several steps. But she was getting worried about what she would do when she ran out of soda. She abandoned these thoughts when she pulled the trigger and nothing happened.

"What? It's still full!"

"Mabel, watch out!" Bloomscorch shouted. The Sascrotch had an angry look on its face. It lowered its hand to Mabel.

She aimed and shot, but nothing happened. "It's stuck!"

Bloomscorch jumped to her and pushed her away, firing Sparks at the same time. The projectiles hit the ape on its underwear.

They landed hard on the floor. "Thanks!" She said. Then, they heard a loud moan of pain. They looked at the Sascrotch, which had both hands over his underwear.

Mabel grinned. "Oh, so you have the same weak spot Dipper has! Ha ha! Funny!"

Just then, she remembered her brother and turned around. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Dipper.

Her twin brother was in a real hand to hand fight with the Six-pack O' Lope, punching and dodging and crouching. Darn, he even was delivering some good hits at the deer's face.

The antelope was increasing the strength and speed of its punches. However, Dipper was good at dealing with difficult situations under pressure, and he had turned to be a pretty good boxer.

The animal breathed furiously. All of a sudden it lowered its head and it struck Dipper with its horns.

He was caught off guard and fell again to the floor. "Hey! That wasn't fair! I thought we were boxing here!"

The animal tried to kick him with its feet. Dipper moved away and standing up he shielded behind a big wooden chest.

"I guess this means no rules anymore!" The animal was trying to reach him from the other side of the chest. Dipper looked down and saw he was in convenient spot. He lifted the chest's lid, and it hit the antelope on the face, causing it to fell backwards. "We're even" He said.

Dipper looked down again and put his hand inside the chest. He took out an old and rusty nineteenth century sword.

"Now, it's fair again. You have your horns, and I have this!" He said holding the sword and taking a few steps back.

The Six-pack O' Lope looked inside the chest. He also put his hoof inside it and took out a much larger sword.

"What?! Wait… Where did you get that? I didn't see… Oh, man!"

The antelope swung the sword at Dipper and he blocked the attack. They started a little sword clash. The antelope's sword was bigger and heavier, and Dipper felt it with every attack he blocked.

"And of course, ah!... the bad guy, ah!... always has the best weapon!" He struggled to repel the attacks as he was forced to walk backwards. "Luckily… I had some practice on this… ugh! when I fought that psycho wax Sherlock Holmes, ahhh!"

He blocked again and quickly swung his sword near the antelope's head, cutting out a piece of its horn.

Mabel and Bloomscorch were minding their own business, trying to set the Sascrotch up.

"Hit me! Come on!" the monster yelled at it. The Sascrotch saw him and ran towards him.

They had prepared some strings they found to trap the creature by its feet. The ropes were set on a spot in front of Bloomscorch, who had already gotten the creature's attention. When the Sascrotch was on position, the monster shot him on the underwear. It stopped immediately because of the pain. Mabel pulled the strings and they trapped one of his legs.

The ape looked down and tried to get away. "You're not gonna make it, buddy." She shot him with Smile Dip at its face. The Sascrotch lost its balance and start to fall. Bloomscorch ran away as fast as he could.

"He's going down!" He screamed. Mabel jumped to one side too.

The creature crashed into one wall, which collapsed loudly.

Mabel had gotten on the ground and had her hands over her head. She opened her eyes and all she could see was dust. When it started to fade, she walked to the wall, looking for the candy monster. She kicked something with her foot.

"Oh! There you are my precious Long Distance Rifle!" She picked it up and made sure it was loaded.

Then she looked at the Sascrotch. Its head was outside the Shack and he was moving a little.

"What happened here?"

"He's stuck in there!" Bloomscorch said appearing on her side. "It didn't work as we planned, but we did it anyway!"

"Yeah!" said Mabel.

They high fived. "Two on our count, Bloomscorch! I wonder how Dipper is doing."

They looked through the fading dust and saw Dipper with a sword in hand.

"Hey, Dip! We took care of the Sascrotch!... What are you doing with that sword?!"

Dipper looked at her, but he had to raise his sword again to block the antelope's. Mabel and Bloomscorch stared with huge eyes.

"That's just great, guys!" Dipper shouted. "Would you mind helping me a little?"

The Sascrotch let out a roar. Mabel and Bloomscorch turned around. It put its hands on the floor and tried to get his head back into the shack. The wood around him was breaking.

"Hold on one sec, Dipper!" Mabel yelled. "Hey Bloom, we have to immobilize him with the strings!"

"Like I said, it's just great!" Dipper told himself. He was getting really exhausted.

Mabel and Bloomscorch got on top of the Sascrotch's body to tie strings around it.

The Six-pack O' Lope was pushing Dipper against a wall. He wasn't sure how much he was going to resist. Just cut him! Cut him, Dip!

He dodged a close hit and swung his sword at the antelope's head. This time he cut out almost all of one horn.

"Haha! That's what I'm talking about!" He yelled in joy.

The antelope frowned. It jumped over Dipper and landed behind him. Dipper turned around swinging, but the antelope was faster and with a powerful hit broke Dipper's old sword. It jumped again and used both of its legs to kick Dipper on the chest. He was tossed to the ground and slid for a long distance.

"Dipper!" Mabel, who had been watching the fight, abandoned her job and took her rifle.

The antelope approached Dipper wielding its sword. Dipper felt the fear of a painful death.

From her spot over the Sascrotch's body, Mabel aimed at the deer. It was almost over Dipper. Then, she noticed the big Moose Antler Chandelier hanging from the ceiling on top of them. She aimed directly at the chain that held the chandelier and fired a single shot.

The creature was already raising its sword over its head when it heard a noise above it. It looked up to see the moose antlers falling, and got crushed under them.

Dipper stood up immediately. The fake animal was still moving. He picked up the sword and removed the chandelier from the back of the stuffed creature.

"So, there you have your horns, buddy." And with that, he raised the sword over his head and cut the Six-pack O' Lope in half.

"Amazing!" Soos yelled from his spot on the gum pile. "You proved to be more than I could've ever expected, kids! Also your little friend. However, don't think that you have won."

"Don't listen to him kids!" Stan yelled at them. "You were awesome! And you kept the Sascrotch intact. Which is great, since it's the most expensive item here."

Dipper picked up his sparks gun and reloaded it. Then, he took a step to the front breathing heavily. They were now near to Soos and Stan. "And you're next, Soos."

"Oh, but let's not hurry. You have to finish with this part first."

The giant Sascrotch suddenly stood up, breaking the wall it had been trapped in. Bloomscorch fell to the floor, but Mabel got entangled with the strings. As the big ape moved, the rope around Mabel tightened and her body was pressed against the creature.

"Whoa! No! No!"

"Mabel! Jump!" Dipper yelled.

"I'd do it if I could move!" she responded.

"I think I myself will lead this last charge." Soos said as his eyes started to shine again.

The Sascrotch was surrounded by white and blue light. It smiled evilly and started to hit things on the floor. There was nothing Mabel could do to free herself. She only screamed. Bloomscorch tried to grab a rope on the ground. He was hit by the mind controlled Sascrotch. The monster landed near Dipper.

"You okay?" Dipper helped him.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm already used to this."

"Good. Now try your best to distract that thing." He held his gun in one hand and the sword in the other.

"What? What are you gonna do?"

Dipper advanced. "Let her go Soos!"

"It's not me the one that has her on his back!" Soos said laughing.

"Alright, let's do this." Dipper said aiming his gun. He walked to the Sascrotch and shot to its head at the same time. The creature looked at the boy and laughed. Dipper didn't stop firing.

Bloomscorch appeared on the other side and fired also at the Sascrotch's face. The creature turned to the monster, still laughing loudly.

Dipper came closer to the thing some more feet and then called his partner.

"Hey Bloomscorch! Use this!" He unexpectedly tossed his gun to the monster. Bloomscorch caught it. "You're gonna need it more than me."

The monster smiled and aimed both of the guns. "Alright. Now this is firepower!" He said and fired two sets of Sparks bursts. The Sascrotch was stunned by the impact and the thousands of lights it saw.

Dipper took advantage of this and ran behind the creature. Once he was there, he clung to the Sascrotch hair. He started to climb to where Mabel was.

Bloomscorch shot more and more. At this point, the sparks ammo had notoriously decreased.

Dipper got to Mabel. "Get ready to jump!" He told her. She just nodded. Dipper cut the strings that tied Mabel. They both held to the Sascrotch's shoulder.

Bloomscorch spotted them and immediately shot at the creature's underwear. It let out a cry of pain. In that moment Dipper shouted to Mabel. "Now!"

They both jumped. However, only Dipper got to the floor. The Sascrotch caught Mabel in the last instant.

"Ahhhh! No! Stupid monkey! Let me go!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! "The creature laughed. It laughed like a person. Dipper turned to Soos. He was also laughing maniacally. In fact, he was the only one laughing. The fake animal was just a big disguise.

"No Mabel!" Stan yelled. "Soos! You're gonna regret if you hurt her!"

"Dipper!" Mabel yelled with her eyes closed.

"It's not that easy, Dipper!" Soos shouted at him.

The Sascrotch hit the boy with one hand. He crashed into a totem pole far away. Bloomscorch ran to him.

"Don't worry. I'm also getting used to this." Dipper said. He decided not to stand up for a moment.

"We can't defeat that thing! It's' too big and strong."

"Yeah." Dipper said. He was still holding his sword. "Then, we'll have to destroy it."

"Or immobilize him."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

Bloomscorch took out something from his pocket. It was a piece of trapping gum. "I thought it was a good idea to save one for the very end." He gave it to the boy.

Dipper looked at the gum. "No man, that's not gonna work. The thing is really big. Besides, Mabel will also get trapped on it."

"Well, what else do you have in mind? It's worth to the try!"

"If only we had explosives, we'll blow it up sky high."

"Explosives?" Bloomscorch said. "Maybe we can…"

The Sascrotch grabbed the totem pole with both hands, and took it out of the floor. Bloomscorch fired a load at its underwear. They ran and took cover behind some stuffed jackalopes.

"Alright, new plan." Dipper said. "Maybe I can let him eat me. Then, I can destroy him from the inside with the sword."

Bloomscorch wasn't really paying attention. He was examining his ammunition. But that didn't stop him from realizing it was a stupid idea.

"No. First, it would chew on you before swallowing. Second, it would not swallow the sword."

"Yeah, well. It's the first thing I got"

"Yet we are gonna give that thing something to eat, or drink."

"What?"

Bloomscorch opened his last bottle of Inca's Golden Bubbles Cola. Then he emptied his Sparks gun, and popped a good amount of Sparks into the soda. He closed the bottle and handed it to Dipper.

"Shake it, open it a little, and we'll have a boom" He said.

"Are you sure?" Dipper asked.

"This soda seems to increase the effect of whatever is submerged on it. Just put it inside his mouth and you and Mabel get away."

Dipper took the bottle. He looked at the Sascrotch, which was searching for them.

"I guess I'll have to surprise him or something like that."

Bloomscorch reloaded the guns. "Yeah well, I'll take care of it." He said standing up. "Just tell me when you're in position."

With that said Bloomscorch came out from behind the jackalopes and ran to the Sascrotch, which took Dipper by surprise.

The monster waved his arms on the air. "Hey giant monkey! I'm over here!"

The Sascrotch noticed him and charged. Bloomscorch responded firing bursts of his last charge of Sparks.

Dipper wasn't so sure about it, but he knew he had to move. He ran to the Sascrotch too. He wielded his sword with one hand, and with the other one he held the bottle of soda. He got behind the creature. It was trying to catch Bloomscorch. Mabel was trapped in one of its hands.

"Dipper! Get me down, guys! This jerk is squeezing too hard!"

The Sascrotch saw Dipper and tried to crush him with a fist. Dipper jumped aside. Bloomscorch shot it again on the head, but it kept trying to catch the boy. Dipper stood up. When he did it, he saw Mabel's soda gun on the floor. He put the bottle on his vest pocket and took the gun. The creature sent another hit. Dipper jumped again and shot the soda. It struck the Sascrotch hard on the face. The gun almost fell from his hands.

"Wow!" Dipper said looking at the gun. "This thing is really powerful."

He noticed the bottle on his vest had started to vibrate. He needed to hurry. The Sascrotch attacked him again, and again he fired. Bloomscorch fired from behind it several times. The creature turned to him roaring.

Dipper took the chance and jumped to the furry back of the beast. He had secured the straps of the gun around his neck.

"What are you up to, guys?" Soos yelled at them. "You have already tried that!"

Dipper got to the Sascrotch's shoulder.

"Okay, Dip. You asked for it." Soos said.

His eyes glowed, and the ape glowed as well. It raised his arm and tried to catch Dipper. He dodged its hand. Then, he held to the beast's neck fur and wielded his sword. The Sascrotch attacked again and Dipper did the same. He cut out one of its fingers. The creature roared and shook its head trying to get rid of the boy.

At the same time, Bloomscorch was firing his almost depleted Sparks Nyarfs, trying to divert the creature's attention from Dipper.

"Go Dipper, go!" Mabel cheered her brother. "Aghhh…it's pressing so hard!"

"Yeah, Dipper! Go on!" Said Soos smiling. "If you survive, we have to repeat this every week! Hahahaha!"

Dipper got on the other side of the Sascrotch's neck. He was next to the arm that held Mabel prisoner. He took the soda bottle from his vest. It was shaking violently. He looked at Mabel, then at his sword.

"Bloomscorch!" He called the monster. "If you have something in your mind, now is the time!"

The monster nodded and aimed at the Sascrotch underwear. He fired. The creature roared, but then, it laughed surrounded in white glowing.

"Hahahahahahaa!" Soos laughed. "That's your big plan? I think I overestimated you!"

Bloomscorch turned to Soos all of a sudden, who was not too far from him. He aimed at his eyes and pulled the triggers.

"Oh…that…" Soos said before the candy exploded on his face.

"Ahahahahaha!" Stan laughed. "On your face, Soos!"

Dipper saw how the glowing around the Sascrotch vanished. He acted in a matter of seconds. After shaking the bottle violently, he opened it just a little, and got over the ape's head. The soda sprayed all over Dipper's hand and the container shone. The Sascrotch roared in pain one more time. Dipper leaned and threw the bottle into the ape's mouth.

Bloomscorch saw the whole thing and ran away.

"What on earth guys…" Soos blinked repeatedly and tried to figure out what was happening. The impact of the sparks had left him out of combat for a few seconds, and his mask was now very loosened.

"What was that?!" Mabel yelled at her brother.

Dipper screamed and jumped off the animal's head to Mabel. Still in the air he swung the sword and cut out the hand that held her. They fell to the floor. Mabel was free at last.

Soos finally recovered his vision. "What did I miss?!"

"Come on!" Dipper grabbed Mabel's hand and ran.

He was able to take only one step before the body of the Sascrotch exploded with a tremendous boom. The impact of the blast sent everything around flying through the air. Dipper and Mabel's hands separated. Bloomscorch took cover behind whatever he could. Soos and Stan were blinded again by millions of sparks.

The dust and debris filled the museum for some seconds. When everything was clear again, Dipper found himself lying on the floor. He had been tossed several feet away from the explosion site. In front of him he saw Soos, who seemed to have passed out inside the gum. Then, he looked for Mabel. Beside him was his sword. He still had the gun around his neck. But there was no Mabel.

He sat using his arms. He looked at the place where the Sascrotch was. Only the feet of the stuffed animal remained on their spot. He searched with his eyes all over the museum.

"Hey bro! Up here!" Dipper heard Mabel's voice. He looked up in that direction and saw her. Apparently the blast had sent her up and when falling, her night gown had caught on some nails on the wooden structure. She was now hanging from a beam on the ceiling.

"Mabel!" Dipper yelled with happiness.

Bloomscorch get out of his hideout and came to Dipper. "I told you it would work." He said.

"Yeah…" Dipper said looking back. "Better than I imagined."

"Sorry to be annoying, but could you get me down… again, please?" Mabel shouted.

They heard somebody coughing.

"Ohhh…t-that was…oohh…so unexpected." They saw Soos in the middle of the gum.

Grunkle Stan was also hanging from the ceiling. He had a blank expression on his face. His eyes were fixed on one spot: the place where his Sascrotch had just disintegrated. Amazingly, the camera was still on his forehead. A red light on it indicated it was recording.

He finally noticed the monster and the twins. "Kids! You're alive!"

Soos looked on their direction. For some reason, that phrase instantly made him feel angry. He looked at Dipper and Bloomscorch, then at Mabel, and finally at the Sascrotch feet.

"Alright! This is going to end now!" He said and started to move violently inside the gum. His eyes ignited in green light.

Dipper felt how the strength came back to his body. He quickly took the gun off his neck and grabbed the sword. "You're so right, Soos!" He ran towards him.

Soos saw him coming. He closed his eyes and prepared to stop him. Dipper had predicted this. He raised his arm and with all his strength he stuck the sword on the wooden floor. He crouched and held on tightly to it and successfully resisted Soos' wave of invisible energy, which pushed Bloomscorch to the ground.

Soos didn't have enough time to completely drop his jaw, since Dipper shot him a burst of soda and stunned him. Then, the kid ran again, holding in his left hand a package of Smile Dip, and when he got near Soos, he hit him with the back of his gun, removing the mask from his face.

"Aghhh! Kid!" Soos roared like an animal, moving furiously inside the gum.

Dipper got behind him and climbed to his head. He put his legs around Soos' neck. Then he stuck the gun on his mouth.

"Nhmm! Shhtop!"

Soos' words weren't clear. Suddenly, he took out one arm, breaking the gum. He tried to grab Dipper, but the boy fought with his own free arm.

"Uh kill uuu!" Soos yelled.

"You!...Just let me put this…" The boy was literally hugging Soos' head in order to remain over it. Soos was strong. Dipper's hands were busy. He wasn't going to pour the Smile Dip on the gun.

"I'll hold him!" Bloomscorch came running and jumped to Soos' arm, lowering it. "Do it!"

Dipper opened the gun.

Soos moved his other arm inside the gum, and then he grabbed something he was looking for.

"Shtopp!"

Dipper poured the Smile Dip.

Soos' arm broke the gum. "Shtop r she diesh!

Dipper froze. Stop or she dies sounded on his head. He instinctively looked for Mabel. She was still hanging from the ceiling. Her eyes had grown really wide and she was looking at them with her mouth open.

Dipper realized Soos' arm was pointing at her with something.

A gun. No… a grappling hook.

The strength on Dipper's body faded. Soos spitted the canon of the gun out of his mouth.

"Don't make a move!" He yelled at Dipper. "You too, Mabel! Don't even blink!"

"You bastard! Don't you dare!" Shouted Stan.

Dipper couldn't move. His terrified eyes were fixed on Mabel's.

"Little monster! Move back!" He yelled at Bloomscorch. The creature let go Soos' arm and retreated.

Dipper felt the gun vibrating on his hand. It was still close to Soos' mouth. Could he be faster than Soos?

"You know that by the time you do it, I will have already shot." Soos said as if he had read Dipper's mind.

Only then, he understood what this actually meant.

"I'm aiming directly at her forehead, Dipper! It will instantly kill her!"

These words paralyzed Dipper. He saw how Mabel's eyes filled with fear. An image formed on his mind. A horrible image.

"Drop the gun now." Soos said slowly.

It was happening. What he had feared the most during this night was happening. Mabel was in danger. In real danger.

"Dipper! Do as he says!" Stan yelled at him.

Dipper was trembling. He was breathing heavily. He was scared. He had never been so scared in his young life. He couldn't even order his body to open his hand and drop the gun.

"Dipper…" He saw Mabel's lips pronouncing his name. No…Mabel…No…please!

"Do it now!" Soos shouted and agitated the grappling hook.

Dipper threw the gun to the floor. He got down from Soos quickly and put himself between the grappling hook and Mabel.

"Okay! You win! You win!... Don't' do it! Don't hurt her!" He said with fear on his voice.

Soos hadn't stopped aiming at Mabel. "Little monster, take out that special soda that dissolves this gum and release me."

Bloomscorch was also shocked by what was happening, but he knew he had to obey. Things had now gone too far. He took out the cylinder of soda and approached Soos slowly.

"Make it quick. My fingers are getting tired, and I may lose control of them."

Bloomscorch heard it and hurried. He poured soda all over the remaining gum. Soos moved for a while and the gum fell to the floor. He came out of it still holding the grappling hook.

He walked to Dipper and lowered his head to him. Dipper swallowed. He froze again.

Soos moved his head to the left suddenly, and Dipper was pushed violently on that direction. He then raised his hand and Mabel came flying to him.

Dipper didn't land too far. He stood up to see Soos walking to him and Bloomscorch, with Mabel following him on the air.

"I can't believe we ended up fighting with toys." He said. "Now, that's over."

He raised one arm. The Nyarfs ascended from the floor. Both the Sparks guns and the soda gun floated in the air. Mabel's rifle did the same. Soos closed his hand and opened it, and all the weapons exploded in pieces. The pieces of plastic, the soda and the sparks fell upon Dipper, who was witnessing how their chances to survive this night were vanishing one by one. Without the guns, the soda and the Smile Dip were useless. The situation had reached a danger level that Dipper had considered, but never expected.

Soos was still holding the grappling hook. "It was really useful, Mabel." He told her without facing her. "Who would have known it? Hmhmhmhmhm"

He laughed and approached to Dipper. "Now, you. I can remember a certain book you took from me earlier. It was also really interesting. Would you mind handing it to me?"

Dipper could barely speak. "I-I don't h-have it… anymore."

"Oh come on, you always carry it with you." Soos got close to him and lifted Dipper's vest.

"Hmmmm. Where is it?"

"W-w… w-we sent it… away… f-from here."

Soos frowned. "Too bad."

He glanced at the grappling hook on his hand. He turned to Mabel on his back.

"You know, Mabel. I was gonna destroy this also, but I think I'll keep it. We can have so much fun with it!"

Mabel was also breathing heavily. Her face was covered in sweat and her expression was of absolute fear. Dipper could tell she was about to burst into tears when Soos' face came close to her again.

"Wouldn't you like that?" He whispered.

Dipper couldn't take it anymore.

"Leave her alone!" He yelled.

Soos turned back.

"Don't hurt her… please." Dipper was crying.

Soos looked at him for a moment. Then, pieces of mirror glass flew suddenly to the Pines girl. Just as it happened with Grunkle Stan, they surrounded Mabel's body. Only this time there were many more.

"No!" Dipper yelled. "Please Soos!"

"Why shouldn't I? I only need Stan!"

Mabel looked at the sharp glass around her. Now she was crying too.

"Nooooo! Soos!" Stan was struggling in the air.

"Consider it a part of my vengeance, Stan! Maybe I'll just cut her a little. An eye and an ear… It'll show you all I'm talking seriously!"

Dipper looked at Mabel in her eyes. She looked back at him.

Soos talked to the girl. "I'm sorry, Mabel. I really wanted that we have fun with the grappling hook but…"

"Stop it!"

Dipper yelled again. He spoke between sobs. "Stop it!... Stop it now!... No more... I'll tell you where it is!"

Soos turned to him. "Where's what?"

Dipper was looking down. "The journal… I'll give it to you."

Soos looked a little confused. "Okay… I'm listening to you."

"I'll give it to you… if you let her out from here."

Soos raised an eyebrow. "Let her out?"

Dipper nodded. "You let her out of the Shack." He raised his head and looked at him. "Then you'll have it."

"Didn't you say you had sent it away?"

"That's right, and I can have it back right now." Dipper walked to him. "But first you have to let her abandon the shack."

Soos thought for a second. "I don't know Dipper. You're not exactly in a position to negotiate. Why should I accept?"

Dipper took a deep breath. "Because you know you need that book. Without it you can finish what you have started… I can give it to you."

Soos thought again. Then he smiled. "You're right. I need it!" He laughed for a moment. Then he stopped and looked at him again. "But I was thinking, why not keep both Mabel and the book? In fact, now I'm thinking that you are gonna have to give me that book before something really bad happens to your sister."

Pieces of glass advanced to Mabel fast and stopped a few inches from her eyes and her throat.

"Dipper!" Stan called him. "Give him that stupid book! Now!"

Mabel looked at her brother. "D-D-Dipper…" She said in an almost inaudible voice. Dipper heard her though.

"You know inside you" Soos said. "That you can't risk her life."

Dipper felt sick. He felt he was going to faint. But he managed to take control of his body and mind.

"Yes. I wouldn't risk her life… But you're not gonna risk what you want either, are you? For one girl, Soos? Now listen to me…"

Soos stopped smiling. He was intrigued about what the boy had to say.

"You came here for something, right?" Dipper continued. "You can have it… you can have the journal right now. And you don't need to hurt Mabel. You said it yourself, you only need Stan… You don't need Mabel… She… she was always nice to you, remember that? She's the last person you may want to damage. Please Soos."

Dipper fell on his knees, crying. "Please! I'm begging you!... Let her go… and you can do whatever you want with us!"

Soos thought about what Dipper had said. It felt like a really long time had passed before he spoke again. "You're right. I don't need her." He moved one hand and the pieces of mirror fell down. "And I especially liked the last thing you said."

Soos lowered Mabel and placed her on the floor. As soon as she was released, she ran into Dipper's arms, still crying loudly. They hugged strongly for some moments.

Then Mabel looked at him. "W-what do we do now, Dip?"

Dipper stared at her. "Now, you escape from all this."

He raised his head. "Please, let her out." He asked Soos.

"The book first." Soos said.

Dipper looked back at Mabel and spoke. "B-Bloomscorch, give it to him."

Bloomscorch couldn't believe it. They had lost for sure now. He lowered his head in defeat.

"Please, buddy." Dipper said without stop staring at Mabel's eyes.

The monster nodded. At least one of them was gonna make it. He put his hand on his interdimentional pocket and extracted the journal. He walked to the twins and then looked at Soos.

"Here" He extended his arms.

Journal number three floated to Soos' hands. He opened it and examined it. Then, he pointed to a door in the wall next to the group. It creaked as the bended wood adopted its original position. Finally it opened. "There you go."

Mabel looked at it. Then, she turned to her twin. She lowered her voice. "Okay, what happens next? What's the plan Dipper?"

"There's no plan, Mabel." He put a hand on her cheek. "Run as fast as you can, don't turn back."

Mabel couldn't accept it. "No! I… I will not abandon you!" Mabel's breathing accelerated again.

"You're not abandoning me. There's nothing you can do Mabel." He made a pause and looked down. He was also having a hard time to breathe. But actually, he didn't know if he could look at her face one more time. "This is the best possible outcome of the situation." He said.

Tears were already falling down their faces. "You can think on something! You always do!...Don't give up…Dip…don't give up."

Dipper made an effort and raised his head. She was so scared. Her face was red and full of tears. He knew she was getting the same image from him. He caressed her cheek and ran his fingers through her long brown hair.

"I'm sorry." He said sobbing. "I can't… I always had this in my mind… I knew that if things got really bad….I would do this… I'm sorry… I… I… I can't save us all… just you."

Mabel looked down. It couldn't be happening. She knew Dipper was right. Either only she escaped or they all were doomed for sure. She took his face in her hands and looked at him.

"I'll come back for you." She said. "I'll come back for all you guys! I promise! I'll get some help… I'll get Wendy… I'll go to Gideon… to anyone… I'll save you."

Dipper smiled through his tears. "I know you'll be fine. And I know you'll find a way to stop him." He took both of her hands. "But to do that, you have to stay alive first."

Mabel took a deep breath and nodded. Dipper guided his sister to the door. They were still holding hands when they stopped. Mabel looked outside. Then she looked back at Grunkle Stan and at Bloomscorch. Finally, she looked one last time at Dipper. It was breaking her heart. Words couldn't form on her mouth.

"I-I-I….I lov-vv…I lov-y…"

"I know…" Dipper said.

Mabel fought against her emotions. "Dipper…I…I…I love you… "

Dipper squeezed her hands hard. "I… love you too… Mabel" And he kissed her on the forehead.

Then, they separated. Dipper managed to give her a final smile, which she returned.

"Oh, please stop!" Soos yelled suddenly. "If you don't stop now, I…I…I think I'm gonna start crying myself."

Dipper and Mabel turned to him in surprise, since they had been too concentrated on each other.

"Seriously kids, you don't have to keep doing it. This is getting much sappier than I thought it would be." Soos said covering his eyes with one hand.

The twins were confused. "W-what are you talking about?" Dipper asked.

"Never mind, I-I just have to put a halt to this now." Soos moved a hand towards the door. Dipper and Mabel watched in disbelief how it closed abruptly, and in a matter of seconds the wood was bent again and the exit had disappeared.

"What do you think you are doing?!" Dipper yelled.

"I'm sorry Dipper." Soos said. "I can't let Mabel leave this place. No one can leave."

"But we made a deal! You agreed!"

"Yeah, again I'm sorry. I lied to you."

Mabel grabbed onto Dipper's arm. The boy was trying to process what was happening.

"Just like you lied when you said you had sent the book away." Soos said again.

"That wasn't a lie!" Dipper said. "B-but it doesn't matter! You were going to let her go! You opened the door! What was all that about?!"

Soos giggled. "I just thought it was so funny you believed you could save your sister. I-I wanted to see what you would do. What you two would do." He laughed. "That was good, Dipper. Really. It's exactly how a brother should behave." Soos keep laughing.

Dipper started to breathe heavily again. All the hopes he had, all the strength he had gotten from knowing Mabel would be fine, they were now gone. Things were worst than ever, and this time, he had no idea what to do. His mind was still working though.

"Yes" He finally said. "And that's exactly what I did, Soos. So… w-why don't you do the same? Do what…what you should do….Let her go. You saw what you wanted to. Sh-she doesn't have to be here anymore. You said it…you don't need her…Sh-"

"Oh but I can't let her miss the spectacle." Soos said. "I want all of you to watch. That's why I brought you here!"

"But we made a deal…" Dipper said, frowning and turning his hands into fists. "We made a friggin deal, Soos!" He shouted loudly.

Dipper had no more fear on his face. He was angry.

"Stop it kid. I have already seen enough of your…"

"No! I kept my word! I gave you the journal! I gave you all that you needed for your stupid plan!"

Mabel held her brother's arm, looking at his face with surprise and sadness. "Dipper…"

"Just what the heck do you want from us?! You have won! You defeated us! Why don't you just take the book and leave us alone?!"

Soos was staring at the boy silently.

"Hmhmhmhmhmhmh. Hahahahahahahahahaaha!" Soos started to laugh loudly.

Dipper was still furious, but he didn't expect that reaction.

"Hahahaaha….do you….hahaha…..I-I can't …..Do you think I need anything from you?"

Dipper didn't understand. "W-what do you mean?"

"Oh kid. Dumb, stupid kid. I still can't believe you thought all this time that I wanted your precious journal."

Dipper was confused again. "What are you saying? Y-you need it… to finish what you want to do to Stan…You read it there… how to do it…"

"Oh, did I Dipper?" Soos smiled widely.

"B-but… Stan said you read it… and you had it for a long time…"

"It really is an interesting source of information, Dipper. But there's nothing on this book that could've help me with Stan's transformation."

Dipper didn't know what to say or think. He realized he had been wrong all the time. "Then how… how are you…"

"You guys are so dumb, aren't you? You never understood what you were facing, Dipper. You are amazing! You think like a genius, but sometimes you can act like a total idiot. For example, how could you buy it when Soos told you he was going to clean your mess on the attic at MIDNIGHT?!"

Both Dipper and Mabel remained silent, despite they knew now that it had been this other Soos the one who offered to help them with their room.

"I guess you have been watching too much TV." Soos said. "Well. Let me clarify it for you. What I need in order to change Stan isn't written on a book. It's just the power from the candy!" Soos yelled. "The same power that made that loser candy come to life and that made it take the form of the Summerween Trickster is the only thing I need!"

Having said that, Soos lifted off the ground and was surrounded by the white glow. Simultaneously, the mirrors moved again. Six of them flew to where Stan was. The mirrors came close each one to one of the others that were lying on the floor, but they remained in a vertical position, touching the edges of the others. The stuffed animals were also lifted a few inches over the mirrors.

"You see, I'm gonna use this incredible power to make this creatures come to live, and then I'm gonna unite them to Stan. That's way too advanced for you and your book, Dipper.

Dipper looked nervous at Stan. "But… you said you still wanted something from us… a little thing you said."

Soos smiled again. "Oh yes, but it wasn't the book. You see, I thought Stan would feel lonely with no one that could speak to him. So…"

All of a sudden, Bloomscorch glowed and ascended from the floor. He quickly floated to Soos.

"Ahhhh! Guys!"

"Bloomscorch!" The twins yelled.

Bloomscorch was sent next to Grunkle Stan. The rope around the old man's body untied and surrounded the monster. Then it tied again around Stan, leaving the two hanging from the roof.

"After all, a chimera is supposed to have two heads, right guys?" Said Soos.

Bloomscorch's face went pale. "Oh no…" He said.

Soos held the journal in his hand. "The truth is that I wanted to see what other weird stuff I could find here to improve this museum. But you know what? I think I don't need it! You two dudes are the perfect attraction!" He said looking at the twins.

Dipper and Mabel both felt a shiver. "W-what do you mean, Soos?" Mabel asked.

"Oh Mabel, tell me, who wouldn't pay to see a sweet little girl like you facing mortal danger, every single night?" Soos said with en evil grin.

Mabel took a step back. Dipper took one forward. "That's not gonna happen! Never Soos!"

"That depends on you. That's the other part of the show. His brave and beloved brother comes to rescue her and saves the day, also every single night!...That is if he can do it."

"We… we will never participate in you twisted plans… Soos!" Mabel shouted, but her voice was cracking.

"She's right Soos!" Dipper said. "I will never put her life on danger just so you can have your fun!"

"You will have to. Unless you want her to actually get hurt."

Dipper was hit hard by these words. He didn't want to think much on them because he knew they could make him not see things clearly. Unfortunately, it was going to be more difficult to handle this situation. He heard a noised behind him. He turned around and saw the Mabel had fallen on her knees.

"Mabel!" He kneeled next to her. She was trembling. Her hands were rubbing the hair over her face violently. She had no sweater to hide, and Dipper knew that only made things more terrible for her.

"You remember the sharp mirror glass blades, Mabel? That… that was just playing. I have many more ideas!"

"Shut up!"

Dipper yelled at him. Mabel started to cry.

"Mabel! Calm down…calm down."

"Dipper!..." She said with a heartbreaking voice. "I'm scared… I'm so scared!"

Dipper took her hands in both of his. He was also near to the point of crying. "It's gonna be fine… It's gonna be…"

"Come on kids! Don't you see it? This is the end of the line! I have won! There are no more plans, no more exits! I control everything! And you belong to me now! So you should better start obeying your new boss!"

Dipper knew it was most likely true. There was nothing they could do. He wanted to cry too. He wanted to hug Mabel and burst into tears. But he had to be strong for his sister. The problem was he didn't know if he could.

He looked her in the eyes. Those eyes were filled with nothing else than hopelessness. They used to shine. They used to cheer him and everyone else up during hard times. How was it possible that they looked so miserable now? How was it possible that the person who spread hope and joy had lost all of it? It didn't seem right. How did it happen? How could he let it happen?

In that moment, Dipper knew this just wasn't right. He made a decision. He wasn't gonna permit that Mabel remain in this state any longer. He didn't know how, but he was going to save her. And he was gonna do it even if it costed his own life.

He tightened the grip around her hands. "Everything is going to be okay, I promise."

Mabel looked at her brother. She knew that face. She had seen that determination before. He wasn't going to give up. But for some reason, she still couldn't help being afraid. Despite it, Mabel trusted her twin brother instantly.

"Okay" She stopped winning. "It's just that I.."

She wasn't able to finish. Her body was attracted to Soos by a powerful force. He ascended from the floor, and the two floated high on the air.

"No! Let her go!" Dipper yelled.

"Sorry Dipper, but you two were getting weird again. And besides, I have plans for Mabel. This book turned to be really interesting!" Soos held the journal open on his hand. "Giant vampire bats! That's worth a try!"

"Dipper! Don't let him take me!" Mabel shouted with all her strength and her eyes shut.

"Oh, don't be like that." Soos said. "I can't let you guys be together. You may come up with funny ideas to annoy me. So from now on, get used to be separated."

"Dipper!" Mabel cried, extending her arms to her brother.

"Mabel…"

He felt weak, useless. He felt unable to stop her sister's suffering. He looked behind Soos and Mabel. Bloomscorch had a defeated look on his face. Grunkle Stan was trying unsuccessfully to get rid of the rope. Dipper was alone.

"He's not gonna do anything, Mabel." Soos told her. "He'd better not." Soos floated to the mirrors and Mabel followed him.

Dipper's heart beat was hyper accelerated. He could hardly breathe. All he was able to do was watching, and he saw Mabel's eyes. His own words sounded on his mind, Everything is going to be okay, I promise. He was her only hope. I promise… I promise… I promise… I promise…

"Now, that long hair of yours is gonna be a problem, Hambone." Soos told Mabel. "I guess we'll just have to cut it a bit." Soos extended an arm and touched a strand of her hair. Mabel closed her eyes and let out a cry.

That was it. Dipper felt how all his weakness suddenly vanished and was replaced by an incredible rage. He was furious because somebody was hurting his sister. He clenched his teeth, and his hands turned into fists again.

"STOP NOW IDIOT!"

Soos had to turn to Dipper, as well as everybody else, when that roar rumbled in the museum.

"What did you just say?" Asked Soos.

"I said stop now! You idiot! Stop touching my sister!" Dipper shouted.

"Well, well. You still want to fight, boy?"

"Let her go now!"

"Uhhhh, no! How about that?"

Dipper stared at him with the most frightening look Mabel had ever seen on his face. Then, Dipper charged toward Soos.

"Oh, come on." Soos said rolling his eyes.

When Dipper was on the middle of his way, Soos moved a hand, and a powerful force hit Dipper, making him fall backwards. He quickly stood up and ran to Soos again. Dipper was hit one more time, and another and another, but he stood up every time.

"You never learn, do you?" Soos asked him.

"You coward! Stop doing that and come here to fight me!"

"What?!"

"You heard me! You feel so strong because you have those powers! Try to take me down using only your hands and I'll break your face!"

Soos couldn't believe it. He thought it was funny though. "You aren't serious, are you?"

"You messed with my sister! Now come down here, coward!" Dipper fell to the floor again.

"Stop calling me that, Dipper." Soos said annoyed.

"Coward! Coward! You friggin coward! Are you scared because you are nothing without that stupid glow? Stop hiding like a rat!"

Soos frowned. He suddenly floated very fast to meet Dipper, who was coming on his way. There was no force that hit the boy. This time, Soos' arm came to meet him. But Dipper dodged it, jumped to him, and pulling himself up, he hit Soos right on the mouth.

Soos took a few steps back, trying to recover from the punch that made his lower lip bleed. Dipper had landed, and ran again to Soos, but he was immobilized by the white light.

Soos came to him and grabbed him by the collar of his clothes. "Hahaha, that was a pretty good punch, Dipper." He said while cleaning the blood on his face. "You want a fist fight? You've got it." He finished speaking and hit Dipper with his fist on the face. The boy was tossed back and landed hard on the floor.

"Dipper! No!" Mabel shouted.

"You asked for it, kid."Soos said.

Dipper stood up and shook his head. That punch hurt a lot. But he knew it was just the beginning. So this is it, Dipper He told himself. Just go for it. He ran to Soos again screaming. Soos grabbed Dipper's face with his hand and punched him on the stomach.

Dipper felt the air escape his body. He took a few steps back. "Not…bad…for a…guy who likes to…tease little girls." He said grabbing his belly.

Soos walked to him. He didn't give Dipper time to react and grabbed him by the arms. He lifted him and tossed him. Dipper landed on some wooden boxes that broke with the impact. He felt an incredible pain on his back. He tried to get on his feet, but the pain paralyzed him.

Soos came to him and lifted him again. "You know, I've wanted to do this for a while now."

He threw him back to the center of the museum. Soos was really strong and Dipper was about to discover it the hard way.

The boy stood up with difficulty. He was already feeling pain in all his body, but he managed to stay standing.

"You should better give up before you get really hurt." Soos warned him as he approached.

"Dipper! Stop! What are you doing?!" Mabel yelled.

Dipper didn't listen to her. He charged once again. He punched Soos many times on his stomach. It was like a mouse punching an elephant.

"Here, let me help you with that." Soos took Dipper's arms and squeezed them. Dipper cried on pain. Then, Soos guided one arm to the boy's face. He used it to make Dipper punch himself.

Dipper was stunned by the hits. He fell to his knees. He knew he wasn't going to have any success on punching, so he grabbed Soos' leg and tried to make him lose balance.

"Oh come on, Dipper. Now, you're not being smart." Soos tried to set his leg free, but Dipper kept holding."Okay, that's enough." He used his other leg to kick Dipper under his chest. The boy instantly let go.

"Soos! Stop it! Stop it!" Mabel yelled. She couldn't contain her tears while seeing her brother being hurt that way.

Soos picked Dipper up. Seeing that he was close enough, the boy struggled on Soos' hands and tried to hit him.

"Calm down, Dipper. You don't want…..Ahhhh!"

Dipper jumped to his chest and hit him many times on the face. Soos stepped back and tried to stop him.

"Y-you coward! Never hurt Mabel again!" Dipper shouted.

In his attempt to get rid of the rain of fists on his face, Soos removed Dipper's vest from him. He finally held him by the shoulders and furiously threw him. The boy flew for some feet and then hit the nearest totem pole. Dipper's vest stayed on Soos' hands. He let it fall to the floor.

Because of the hard impact, Dipper's mind went blank for some seconds.

Soos approached him. "I hope, for your own good, that you had enough, Dipper."

Incredibly, when Dipper recovered, he stood up and yelled at Soos.

"Y-you are…you are gonna regret…for touching my sister!"

Soos shook his head. "Is this all about it? This is how brothers normally react?"

Dipper took a deep breath. "I'm also gonna stop you… you… you aren't gonna hurt Grunkle Stan either."

Soos frowned. "I'm sorry. That's not on discussion."

"We'll see that." Dipper said and ran to Soos once more.

Soos stopped Dipper's weak fists. He couldn't help smiling at the ridiculous attack. He punched Dipper on the face again, which made the boy fell to the floor. He stood up again though, and made another try.

"You are really stubborn, kid." Soos said. "Let's see if this stops you." Soos grabbed Dipper by his shirt collar and lifted him. Then he punched him on the face. Dipper's head moved back violently and blood came out of his nose. Soos waited for him to recover, and then hit him again, and again and again and again.

"STOP! STOP YOU MANIAC!

Soos was surprised by Mabel's screaming. He thought she must had yelled with all the strength she had left, because somehow the girl was suddenly free from his levitation power and fell to the ground. Once there, she ran to Soos, with clenched fists and screaming, just like her brother. Obviously, Soos stopped her in the middle of the way, before she could do anything.

"Wow Mabel!" Soos said. "Please don't tell me you are gonna give me as much trouble as your brother."

"Leave him alone! Or you'll have to fight me too!" She shouted.

Soos let Dipper fall. "Don't worry, Mabel. It was fun for a while, but now we need to move on with the show." Soos said as he lifted Mabel again. "However, this is exactly the kind of spectacle I was planning for you two. The only difference is that Dipper is the one who's supposed to come to rescue you. But, Hey! Everything's cool! We'll find a way to put you in danger!"

Dipper suddenly jumped to Soos again. "No you're not!"

Soos grabbed him by the neck and let him hang over the floor.

"You…aghh…you…are not gonna win!" He said as he used his hands to try to release himself.

Soos smiled evilly and laughed. "Hmmmhahahahahahahahaah! It's time to begin!"

He closed his eyes and opened them. The museum started to tremble again. The stuffed animals standing on the mirrors glowed. Also Stan and Bloomscorch started to glow. Soos made one last mirror float over both of them.

"I hope you guys are comfortable!" He told Dipper and Mabel. "Especially you Dipper! Hahaha! B-Because you won't want to miss this!" He pointed a hand to Stan's head and the video camera came flying to him. "And I'm gonna love watching it over and over again!" The device floated over his head and pointed on the direction Soos was looking at.

A shriek was heard. The twins looked at the big stuffed Andean condor, which was moving its head and opening its beak. The other animals came to life as well, roaring and agitating their bodies.

"What happens now, buddy?!" Stan asked Bloomscorch.

The monster watched in disbelief. "I think we are next."

"Behold!" Soos yelled. "The real power of the loser candy!"

White energy beams were emitted from the animals. They were absorbed by the mirrors below them. Then the energy was reflected and transmitted to the standing mirrors beside every creature. Finally, the mirrors sent six energy beams to Stan and Bloomscorch.

"Oh boy!" Stan said before they were hit by the white light. It didn't actually hurt them or cause them any pain. They only felt a low intensity flow of electricity through their bodies, which made them shake.

"No! Grunkle Stan! Bloomscorch!" Mabel cried.

The monster looked at her. Then he looked at Dipper, and his eyes widened.

The Shack started to shake as if there was an earthquake. The lamps that were hanging fell down, as well as other attractions. The wooden floor seemed to be jumping. The white light intensified, and Soos eyes glowed.

Energy was sent from Stan and Bloomscorch to the mirror below them. From there, it was reflected and received by the mirror over them, which sent it back to the other mirror again, and the process repeated over and over. The now living animals ascended from the ground and started to float to Stan and Bloomscorch, following their respective traces of white energy.

"Ahhhhh! Ssssssoos! Ssssstop it!" Stan yelled with his eyes shut.

"Good bye Stan!" Soos answered him. "My debt to you has been paid!"

"Nooooo!" Bloomscorch screamed. "Guuuuuuuyssss!"

"Dipper!" Mabel yelled.

Dipper had been hanging from Soos' grip over the floor. His neck hurt a lot. Plus, he was having a hard time trying to breathe. His nose and lips were bleeding, and his face was red for receiving so many punches. He had one black eye, and was trying to keep it shut. His whole body ached, specially his stomach and back. He had bruises on his arms and legs. He wanted to puke, but on his position, it wasn't a good idea. For him, it seemed that the whole world was in slow motion, and the sounds and voices were very distant. He knew he was going to pass out soon.

However, he hadn't survived all the night to be stopped by his body. And besides, he had promised Mabel he would fix this. And promises are meant to be kept, especially if they were made to Mabel.

That's why when Bloomscorch looked at him, as if saying good bye, he had put both hands on the pockets of his shorts, and extracted the spare bottle of soda and something that looked like chewing gum. He would've loved to have the camera to capture the poor monster's astonished face when he saw what he was about to do. And when Mabel called his name, he managed to open the bottle. Pop it and shake it he ordered to his hands.

At first, he had only acted by despair. He ran to Soos when he saw he was touching Mabel, and knew it was impossible he could beat him. But he couldn't just watch. There was nothing else he could do but using only his hands to try to save Mabel. Then, during one of the times he was on the floor after being hit by Soos, he felt the soda on his pocket and remembered the gum. Soos had taken too long, but at last, he had brought him close enough to his body and gotten distracted enough time so there was no chance to fail.

He put the gum into the bottle, closed it and shook it weakly. Now, just wait. It was so simple that he wasn't able to contain a laugh. "Hmhmhmhmhmhmm"

Soos heard him and turned to him. "Why are you laughing? Have you finally gone nuts for having your head hit so many times? Or is it that you hated your Grunkle that much?"

Dipper grabbed Soos' hand, which was holding his neck. "I told… you… you were not… gonna… win." His other hand was holding the shaking bottle. "Thank… God… you didn't… listen… hmhmhmhmhm"

Mabel was hearing and looking at him. She thought Dipper had actually lost his mind. "Oh Dipper…"

"What are you talking about?" Soos asked smiling. "I've already won! I defeated you! I was more intelligent, stronger and I smashed every one of your pathetic plans!" He brought the boy's face closer to him. "Did I forget something?"

Dipper lowered his hand. "Yeah, you forgot… you forgot to keep your guard up… until the very end."

With that, he opened the bottle. The familiar sound of gas escaping was heard. Soos looked down and saw it, but didn't have time to figure it out.

A loud "pop" was heard.