Hey guys! Thanks to those of you who sent in questions; this chapter is for you! And before I forget, I'm writing this in third person; just trying something new, so tell me what you think. But before we get into that, shout outs!
Maximal7x13- I'm glad somebody picked up on the McGucket/Willow bonding I put in there. Their relationship is going to be interesting to write/see as the story progresses. And Willow's real name… I am not going to confirm anything, but I will say this. Her name is a real name that real people have. It is not something random or weird that I made up. Thanks for your review!
Gamelover41592- Thanks for your review!
Charr777- Thanks for your review/question. Everything helps! I made sure to put it in here.
Cinnabon68- Thanks for your suggestion. I'm not saying it's bad, but I am saying that in some cases Dipper and Mabel's perspectives need to be shown in order for it to make sense. However, I will try to put more of the story in Willow's perspective from now on, which should be easy now that we are getting to the main part of the show and Willow won't be by herself that much. Thanks for the review/suggestion!
Disclaimer: I only own Willow, Alex, and most of the responses to the questions. Anything that can be found online pertaining to this came from the mind of Alex Hirsch.
"Hey Bullseye!" Alex Roberts called through the computer screen. His girlfriend, Willow Pines, smiled back at him as her sister snuck up behind her.
"Hi Alex!" Mabel called as Dipper pulled her away.
"Leave them alone," he told her.
"Actually, that's why I'm calling," Alex told the group. Seeing the confused looks on their faces, he elaborated. "I was able to catch up with some of my old friends from other bases, and I told them as much as I could about what is going on with you guys. I didn't know much, so they wanted to ask you guys some questions about what life is like up there. Is that cool?"
"I don't know," Dipper started. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to-"
"Bro, come on," Mabel interrupted him. "How bad can it be?" She asked, turning back to Alex.
"The questions aren't too bad or personal, but if you don't feel comfortable, I don't think my friends will care too much. So we good?" Alex confirmed.
"Yeah, we're in," Willow stated as her siblings grabbed two chairs and sat down behind her.
"Great. So I'll ask the questions and type out what your answers are, sound good?" When none of them said no, he took that as a confirmation and smiled. "Great. This first group of questions come from MyNameIsFlame. Mabel, about how many scrapbooks do you have?"
"I've never really counted," she realized, thinking about how she actually started. "Let's see… I started making them at three and wanted to make one a year, but I always lost three or four that were only half complete. So that would mean…" She trailed off, running through the numbers in her head even though the others had already figured it out for her.
"About 40," Willow stated, half to Alex and half to her sister, who shook her head.
"That's not it. It's around… bleventy-two," she stated proudly, the others shaking their heads are her silliness.
"Anyway, next question, still for Mabel. Which sweater is your favorite?"
"I can't just pick one!" She yelled, before staring at nothing again, sorting through her brain closet. "Top three are unicorn… shooting star… and the Waddles sweater," she decided.
"Thank you," Alex said, finishing typing before looking at his girlfriend. "Will, you're up. Aside from the crossbow, which of your projects is your favorite?"
"Actually, Stan's been making me fix up and make a lot of exhibits, so I haven't had that much time to do anything personal. Although I have been trying to make one of Blendin's Time Machines, but that's from like a bajillion years into the future so it's not going so well. One thing I have been working on is a live book for horror stories. I'm still trying to figure it out, but what's supposed to happen is that at random times when you turn the page, something scary that has to do with the plot pops up. Sorry I said a lot," she added, but Alex brushed her comment aside.
"No prob; I got the gist of it. Anyway, I already know the answer to this one, but I have to ask it anyway. How did we meet and when is our anniversary?"
"Easy. We met at the end of 6th grade. It was two weeks before school ended and you had just moved into town. The other students were getting restless so none of the teachers were worried about getting you situated, but you really weren't either. You mostly just hung out and didn't talk to anyone, then school was over and I mostly forgot about you.
"But then a few weeks into the summer I was doing target practice in the woods by our house. You tried to sneak up on me, but I heard you and put an arrow in the tree you were hiding behind. You walked out with your hands up and said 'Don't shoot me.'"
"And then you said 'Don't tempt me,'" Alex interjected.
"Then I realized that I knew you and asked what you wanted, and you said Ranger training."
"I knew your real name wasn't Willow, and when I saw you making bullseye after bullseye, and that jacket you are always wearing, I realized that you weren't just a horror fan, but a Ranger's Apprentice fan too. I had read all the books, but was never able to practice archery, so when I ran into you, I figured what was the harm in asking."
"Then I shot an arrow over your shoulder and into the tree behind you."
"You split the first one you had fired in half."
"That was unintentional. But it got my point across. You took off like Orlog was chasing you. But on your birthday you came back with your throwing knife. Gotta give you credit for that. Anyway, I decided to give you a chance for a week, and it was impressive enough that we kept going. Soon we started hanging not during practice.
"August 11th I showed up at our practice clearing and you had set up a bunch of lights and speakers. You gave me the new Maze Runner book that I had wanted. It was about to come out anyway, but an advanced copy signed by James Dashner was extra special. Then you hit a button and Cabin in the Trees started playing. We started dancing and you kissed me."
"Best day of my life. And you agreeing to teach me was the best birthday present ever."
"Speaking of birthday presents, yours is coming up. I'll be sending out your gift tomorrow," Willow told her boyfriend, who shook his head.
"Return it. I don't want a gift; I just want you," Alex stated, earning an aww from Mabel.
"Who cares about all that relationship stuff?" Dipper, who had been quiet up until that point, finally interjected. "Can you just ask me a question already?"
"Are you into creative writing?" Dipper, who had been expecting something relatively easy and basic, stopped for a few seconds, considering his response.
"Honestly, I've never really thought about it that much. But now that you mention it, I think I could make a living writing about some of the things we've seen this summer. Hell, I could probably make a fortune making and selling copies of the journal," Dipper answered, thinking about whether that could actually work or not.
"Thank you," Alex said, glancing at the next question. "This next one is specified to Dipper, but I don't think they would care if the rest of you answer. What journal creatures/objects do you still want to meet/find?"
"Are there unicorns in there?" Mabel perked up instantly, babbling excitedly. "I haven't read it so I don't know but if there are I wanna go find them! When can we go see them!?"
"Mabel, calm down!" Willow yelled, she and Dipper grabbing their sister's shoulders. "The journal didn't say anything about unicorns, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. Okay?" Mabel nodded, pouting slightly as Willow turned back to the screen. "One of the things I've been wanting to look into is the cursed doors that were mentioned."
"Those are cool," Dipper added, sitting back down, the journal in hand. "I've also wanted to check out something called the Hide-Behind, but I'm still trying to get more info. There are a few other things I wanna look into, as soon as I have time. And I think this kind of goes without saying, but we all want to find out who the author is."
"You guys should really record some of these adventures you go on. People would love to see some of them. Let's see… next question for all of you. Before this summer, or in Will's case, met me, have you had any crushes on other people?"
"Robert Drake, Isaiah Hall, Matt Wilson, Bud Jones…" Mabel started listing, counting them off on her fingers. A few names later, Alex stopped typing.
"I give up on her. You two?"
"There was a girl in kindergarten named Lydia, and we 'dated' for a few weeks," Dipper said, putting air quotes around dated. "But I don't really count that because we were like six. We still talk once in a while, but there's nothing there."
"…Malcom Ware, Noah Montgomery, Liam Durant, Griffin Robins…" Mabel was still listing, not even half through the list.
"Thanks Brainiac. Will, you're up."
"…Sammy Burke, Nathan Parker, Eli Williams…" Mabel continued, her sister glancing at her before answering.
"There was one guy named Lucas between fifth and sixth grade who I hung out with most of the summer. His family was staying with relatives for the summer, but he ended up going to school in San Francisco, so we don't talk much anymore."
"…Zach Wright, Greg Parrish, Justin Kellogg, Roy Truman-"
"Mabel, that's enough! We stopped paying attention after Bud!" Dipper yelled, covering his sister's mouth with his hand, and promptly pulling it back three seconds later. "MABEL!"
"Works every time!" She announced proudly as Dipper wiped the saliva off his hand. "Alex, next question!"
"These next few are actually for me. They are: How long has Dad been in the military, where have I lived before Piedmont, and anywhere in the world I would want to live."
"I know most of these!" Willow announced proudly. Her memory wasn't the best when it came to these sort of things. "You're Dad has been in the military for 13-"
"15," Alex interjected.
"...Years," Willow continued, as if Alex had never interrupted. "You were born in Dallas-"
"Houston."
"…Lived there until age two, then went to Buffalo."
"NYC after 9/11."
"You moved to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and lived there until you came to Piedmont. And if you could live anywhere in the world, it would be London."
"Sydney. The only thing in that that was accurate was New Orleans." Alex said, giving his girlfriend a look through the screen.
"Oh. Umm… How about we move on to the next question?" She asked, laughing nervously and (failing to) inconspicuously pull a pen and notebook from her jacket. Alex rolled his eyes and read the next question.
"Those are it from MyNameIsFlame. These next three come from MyFavLineIs. What are your parents/grandparents' names?"
"Our parents are Bradley and Elizabeth Pines. Our Mom's parents are Kira and Tyler. Our Dad's Parents are Lauren and Shermy, who is Grunkle Stan's younger brother," Mabel explained; her scrapbooking had gotten her more in touch with the family history than her siblings.
"Huh. So Bradley and Elizabeth are your middle names," Alex commented, typing out the information he had been told while saying the full names of his friends in his mind. "Those have a nice ring to them. Anyway, next question to Dipper. When is Wendy's birthday?"
"January 20, 1997," Dipper answered automatically, a confused look coming over his face afterwards. "Why didn't they ask Wendy that?"
"I don't know. There wouldn't have been a problem with it, but you knew the answer anyway, and did you really want Wendy to be here for some of these?"
"Fair point. Next question," Dipper conceded.
"How old is Stan?"
"69; turns 70 on June 15th," Willow replied, looking up from her notebook to glance at her siblings. "We were in town that day. Why didn't we do anything for it?"
"Well for one, we had only been in town a day or two," Dipper reminded her. "Also, that was the day we found the journal, so it wasn't like we could have done anything even if we wanted too."
"Fair enough. So are there any more questions?"
"Just one, from Charr777, and it's for all of you. What is/was your favorite mystery/creature you've solved or found so far this summer?"
Dipper and Willow both started flipping through the parts of the journal that they had written, talking over each other while Mabel answered the question first.
"The first incident with Gideon was pretty cool. Even though he ended up being an evil maniac and almost killed my siblings, it was still pretty fun being able to use that Force amulet. Aside from that, winning Waddles and the whole time travel thing was pretty cool too."
"Thanks Mabel. They ready yet?" Willow and Dipper we both still flipping through the journal, but after a few more seconds, they both pulled back and looked at the screen.
"I'm sorry, but I can't pick one event I liked over another. Although the wax figure thing was pretty fun since it was the first real mystery we tried to solve," Dipper responded first, Alex typing out his response before looking at Willow.
"Looks like you're the last one Will."
"My favorite thing was probably hunting the Gremloblin. Yes, it almost killed us, which happens a lot," she added to her sister. "But it was still fun capturing it. And the fact that the author, whoever he is, had such a hard time with the creature, and we were able to bag him relatively easy definitely boosted my ego. But I do still want to put an arrow through him for writing the 'don't use water' thing the way he did."
"What about when the pterodactyl took Waddles; you and McGucket- ooohhh…" Mabel trailed off as she remembered what had happened, but then perked up as Willow started smiling.
"I went in town and saw him back in the junkyard. I don't know how he survived being digested, but he did, so I'm not complaining. Alex, did you… what?" Alex was staring at them through the screen, not moving an inch. "Alex, you okay?"
"Are you?" he responded, coming out of his daze, a protective fire in his eyes. "Being almost killed repeatedly, willingly hunting a creature that whoever wrote the journals had a hard time controlling, some friend of yours surviving being digested by a pterodactyl, which, last time I checked, have been extinct for 65 million years!"
"Yeah, so?" She asked, not fazed by the situations she had been in. Although Alex seemed to think it was a big deal.
"SO!? You could have been killed!" He yelled, Dipper and Mabel taking their cue to leave the room. "And where would we be now?!"
"Alex, calm down! I'm fine!" Willow responded, trying to make sure he didn't break something in his room. But her response only made him angrier.
"No you're not! Did you lose a few brain cells? The Willow I knew was a rebel, but she didn't go out searching for something that could kill her!"
"And the Alex I knew would have supported me when I did stupid things and not start yelling like a crazy person! I can handle myself, and you know that!"
"I knew that when we were together in Piedmont and there was almost nothing to worry about! Now you're in a strange town living in a forest that is hiding God knows what, and I'm stuck up here where I can't be with you!"
They both stopped as they realized what the problem was. Alex wasn't really mad about Willow looking for dangerous creatures. He was mad that he wasn't there to protect her. And yes, she could handle herself, but Alex had been born with the need to protect his family from any harm, and Willow was covered in that category.
"Sorry I yelled," he whispered, the fire in his eyes cooling to heated coals. "I'm just mad that I won't be with you back home anymore."
"I know you are, and I'm mad about it too. But a friend told me that we would be able to overcome anything that happened to us, so don't worry about me. Together or apart, we will both be fine." Alex nodded and turned back to his list of questions as Dipper and Mabel re-entered the room.
"You okay?" Mabel whispered to Willow as she sat down. Her sister nodded and all three of them looked at Alex, who had finally gotten his emotions back under control.
"Sorry about that. Let's just finish this and then I'll see you guys soon. Anyone have any last comments about anything?"
"Love all you guys and gals who sent in questions. This was a lot of fun, even if things did get a bit tense," Mabel responded, glancing at her sister and her sister's boyfriend pointedly.
"If you guys liked this, it would be cool to do again," Dipper added, actually meaning it, the doubts he had at the beginning all but gone.
"Anything else?" Alex asked, looking at Willow. She nodded then added to her sibling's final comments, talking slowly so Alex could get everything down.
"Anybody out there who is going through something, you are not alone. There is someone out there who will help you find light in even the darkest of places. Hold them close, hold your family closer, and remember; no matter how bad things get, you're gonna be fine."
And with that, she ended the video chat and closed the lid of the laptop.
Okay. I know things got a little heated there, but Alex was just worried that he wouldn't be able to be there for Willow down the road. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this. If you did, but you didn't send in questions, don't worry. I have another Q&A planned between Last Mabelcorn and Pines vs. Future. If you have any questions, I'm already open to them. Send them in! Or just review; it's up to you. Next time we're back to the actual show, and the chaos is about to begin. Brace yourselves and I'll see you Halloween weekend!
PS: I used a random name generator for the names of Mabel's pre-summer ex-crushes. Similarities in the names of people, real or fictional, are purely coincidental, and I apologize if I have stepped on anybody's toes.
PPS: I have written my own version of the song Cabin in the Trees. Any RA fans out there who want to see the lyrics, PM and I'll send them to you.