A/N: Sorry this took a while, guys. I've had a lot going on in my life lately-I actually had to leave my cousins' apartment since their mom (my first cousin once removed) was going to move to a new office in Miami, and I couldn't stay there without her. So yeah-long story short, I'm back at my own home for the next two or three months, until me, my mom, my stepdad, and my brother can decide what to do-like where I'm going to go, whether I'm going to go and try to get my Master's or just see if I can find a job somewhere else in the states (because I'm sorry, I TRIED the New York thing-that's not gonna happen). I hope we can find something sooner rather than later...I know I need to get a job...

Anyway, on to the next chapter. Here we meet another character, and Pacifica learns something about the twins.

snickermoon814-That's good. I'm definitely gonna try and have Mabel have some Sansy pun moments XD Another thing you've got to keep in mind about both Sans and Mabel-they both seem silly and nonthreatening, but are deceptively powerful/strong. I mean, Mabel is more hands-on in combat than Dipper, if you've noticed. Also, both Sans and Mabel are the older sibling of their sibling duo.

Warning: Hurt/dying children mention in this chapter

Disclaimer: All I own is my own imagination, and nothing else.

"Hey! Hey, over here!"

"Huh?" Pacifica turned around to see who had spoken to her.

It was a chubby little boy with an enormous pompadour of platinum-blond hair and freckles.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Pacifica started to raise an eyebrow…then stopped as she recognized something. "Wait a second. You're not a monster. You're human, like me!"

"Yep!" The boy nodded. "I'm Gideon Gleeful. And you're Pacifica Northwest, I take it?" He had a thick southern accent.

"How do you know my name?" Pacifica asked suspiciously.

"Why, cause I've been following you since you fell down here!" Gideon answered.

"Uh, excuse me?" Pacifica asked. "I think I'd notice if another human was following me."

"Oh, I'm afraid not." Gideon shook his head sadly. "Because you see, well…I'm not alive." Pacifica's eyes widened.

"You're…dead?! So then, you're like a…" She started to say ghost, but stopped herself.

Soos was a ghost, and he looked nothing like the boy in front of her.

"Do you want to know why those monsters are after your soul?" Gideon asked.

"Yeah?" Pacifica nodded slowly.

"It's because they want out." Gideon looked sad. "They've been down here in the underground for so long, why, they don't even remember what the sun looks like!"

"But that's good, isn't it?" Pacifica asked. "They're monsters, after all. Almost every one I've met down here has tried to fight and kill me-even Stan!"

"Maybe, maybe." Gideon answered. "Pacifica, do you know what makes a human different from a monster? It's our DETERMINATION."

"Determination?" Pacifica blinked in confusion.

"Oh yes indeed." The little boy nodded. "Keeps us going, when all hope is gone. It's what allowed our kind to win the war against the monsters." Pacifica was a bit surprised at how mature he sounded. The kid had to be at least a year younger than her. How long had he been dead?

"So what do I have to do with any of this?!" Pacifica demanded.

"Oh, it's not just you." Gideon told her. "After all, other humans have fallen down here too. I was one of them." He glanced over at her. "And so were those Pines twins, once."

"Those boneheads?" Pacifica tried to remember their names. "Dipper and Mabel? So I was right..." A sad look crossed Gideon's face.

"It was three years ago that they fell down here." He waved his hand, and an image appeared before Pacifica. She saw the image of a little boy and girl lying on the ground, broken and bloody. It was a horrible sight. One of the boy's eyes was swollen shut, and his other eye was bloodshot. The girl's arm was bent in an angle a human limb SHOULDN'T bend. They were both obviously in great pain. Pacifica's heart stopped. The kids couldn't have been more than nine.

"So…they fell down here like me." She started. "And they died?"

"Well, yes and no." Gideon answered. "By all means, they should've just died. But neither of them wanted to die. They didn't want to leave the other behind." As Pacifica watched, the images of the little twins grabbed each other's hands with the last of their strength. Images of hearts appeared on either of their shirts, like what happened with Pacifica earlier.

"That DETERMINATION to stay together allowed them to stay alive even after their human bodies died." Gideon finished as the twins' skin and flesh faded away, leaving them as the skeletons she knew.

Pacifica couldn't watch anymore. She shook her head.

"Tha-that's not possible! It can't be! It doesn't make any sense!" She looked at Gideon sharply. "This HAS to be a dream!"

"Oh, you're right." The little boy laughed. "This IS a dream."

"What?" Pacifica blinked.

"You're asleep." Gideon answered. "But it's up to you to decide whether or not you want to believe my story. Just know this, Pacifica Northwest. You're not the only human child Stan Pines has taken in. I just hope for your sake you don't end up like me."

"Huh? What do you…?"

"Hello? Little girl?"

Pacifica woke up with a gasp.

Oh yeah. She'd come to the inn that Tyler guy had pointed out to her the previous night, using some gold she'd found to pay for an overnight stay. It was kind of weird-that was the first time EVER Pacifica had stayed in a hotel by herself. It was…pretty scary.

Her thoughts drifted again to her parents as she pulled herself out of bed. What had happened to them since she'd been gone? Were they worried about her?

Despite herself, Pacifica couldn't stop the answer that entered her mind-a resounding 'NO'. The little blonde sighed. Okay, so her parents weren't going to win any 'Parent of the Year' awards. But they were still her parents. She had to get back home to them.

Pacifica looked down at her sweater and shorts in disgust as she headed out. She couldn't believe that she was wearing the same thing two days in a row.

Why didn't I pack new clothes before I ran off?! Ugh.

She kept walking through the snowy land before a voice called out

"Hold it right there!"

Great-another fight. Pacifica turned around…and saw a familiar face. Or rather, skull.

"You?!" Dipper gave her a hard look.

"Look, I don't want to hurt you, okay? But I want to join the Royal Guard, and I kind of need to capture a human to bring to the king, so just come along quietly?" A desperate look crossed his features, and Pacifica just stared. She'd really been afraid of this nerd?!

Pacifica started to tell him to go hang out in a graveyard-then stopped as she remembered her dream. That younger, badly broken version of Dipper she'd seen alongside Mabel. The kids becoming the skeletons they were now. Despite herself, Pacifica couldn't shake the feeling that what she saw was more than a dream. And she HATED being left out of the loop, especially when it was something that concerned her. After all, if Dipper and Mabel had been human once and became skeletons once they died down here, what did that mean for her? She couldn't go home looking like a Halloween prop!

And like that, an idea came to her.

"Alright." Pacifica said coolly. Dipper's eye sockets widened.

"Huh? You're just giving in like that?"

"Not quite." Pacifica said, giving him a hard look. "I'm NOT going to just let myself be dragged off like that. So I'm going to fight you."

"Y-you're…"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you or anything." Pacifica continued. "Even though I don't think I could…" This last part she said quietly to herself before looking back at Dipper. "How about this-we fight until one of us wears the other out? If you win-I'll let you capture me. I'll even go along with you to the kingdom." Dipper seemed to consider her offer.

"And if I lose?"

"You tell me your story." Pacifica asked. "About how you and your sister got here-and how you used to be human." The skeleton boy's jaw fell open in shock.

"What?! How do you know about that?!"

"I just do, okay?!" Pacifica snapped. "So is it a deal, or not?!" Dipper narrowed his eye sockets at her.

"Alright. Let's do this."

A/N: Well, now we know the twins' story a bit better. Second story I've had that had kids dying or almost dying-and I LOVE kids! But to be honest, when I was thinking about Dipper and Mabel as Papyrus and Sans, I just came up with this idea, and I had to do it. And yes-Gideon is Chara in this story. So this should probably go without saying-he's NOT as benevolent as he seems...

Will he influence Pacifica to kill? Will we learn how the twins found Stan, or vice versa? Stay tuned to find out-and review!