I apologize that it took this long. It wasn't that this chapter was difficult to write, oh no, far from it in fact. Life just kept getting in the way more than usual with my job and responsibilities and crap. If you have a favorite part of the story, let me know in the reviews below. Start the fic.

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"I said, 'Let's talk this out like proper businessmen, shall we?' No reason why we can't be civilized about this." stated the stout man.

This man had a peaceful and pleasant look on his face as he smiled at them like an old friend. Dipper wasn't fooled for one minute, having Grunkle Stan in his wonder years taught him how to recognize a con man just by looking at them. This guy was as fake as a three dollar bill.

"What are you?" Pacifica asked bluntly. "You don't seem to be human but you don't look like any magical creature or paranormal monster I've ever seen."

"Why my dear girl, I am what is called a Dwarf."

"A Dwarf? I've actually never met a Dwarf before."

"Really my dear boy? Well then it's my pleasure to be the first. My name is Siegfried and these are my two associates Bartholomew and our little Ruthless. Sadly our stone sentinel here doesn't really have a name."

"Ruthless?" repeated Dipper.

"Yeah! Ruth is short for Ruthless!" snapped Ruth.

"Fitting name." Pacifica commented dryly.

"Well then, now that you've come to learn all our names why don't you two introduce yourselves."

Dipper decided to run with the truth, a lie wouldn't help them in this situation anyways. Who knows, maybe if he played his cards right this Dwarf could be reasoned with.

"This is my friend Pacifica Northwest and I'm Dipper Pines, I'm a paranormal detective. I work on cases involving the magical or supernatural, right now we're working on a case for Jack Frost."

Siegfried let out a small chortle. "Jack Frost? Heh. Are you serious? You actually want to help that jerk?"

"'Help' is a strong word." Pacifica said dryly.

"It's a job." explained Dipper.

"You are aware this is all his fault, right?"

"Doesn't surprise me."

Dipper rolled his eyes, despite the bull they were in he still needed answers.

"Pacifica please! Jack was vague on the details, why don't you tell us your side of the story?"

"Very well. I fancy myself a business man, and have always loved doing business with humans. With my two cohorts by my side we would travel across the country making deals, trading our goods for wealth and..."

"And exactly where did you 'acquire' these goods?"

Siegfried gave Dipper a dirty look for cutting him off but quickly regained the pleasant and peaceful face he had plastered on. "Why through our travels of course. Now if may continue? In our travels we came across a small town, last time we checked it WAS close by to this mountain." He took a moment to adjust his monocle. "I trust that is still true?"

Dipper did remember passing a town on his way to the mountain but it didn't really have anything outside of some farm lands. However, that didn't mean he needed to let his captive know that. "Maybe."

"I see." Siegfried said flatly. "Well anyways, this town wasn't doing very well. The poverty which had stricken the town was nothing short of criminal, so me and associates being the good folks that we are decided to help."

"Question!" Pacifica interrupted.

Siegfried winced in anger but made sure to keep his temper under control. "Yes?"

"I understand that you could probably pass for human, but your two friends here are pretty hard to miss as unusual. Exactly how did you explain them?"

"Well as you've already seen, it's quite easy for our dear Ruth to disappear when she wants to, and our delightful Bart just needed a way to hide his horn. Nothing a top hat can't fix."

"Okay, back to your story; exactly how did you decide to 'help' these townsfolk?" Dipper knew he was growing impatient, but after his emotional roller coaster ride with Pacifica, Jack Frost pushing them through a hole, and getting captured by a giant rock creature he was feeling more than a little impatient to cut through the bull crap and get to the truth.

"Well life on the road was starting to wear on us, it was time for us to settle down. So we struck a deal with the humans, we would get the entire town in exchange for all the gold they could ever want."

"All the gold they could ever want huh?" Pacifica scoffed. "I may not have been around a hundred and fifty years ago but I grew up rich, and the one thing I know about fortune is you don't find it just sitting there on the side of the road. I don't care how good of a business man you are, you can't promise 'all the gold they could ever want' without something crooked up your sleeve!"

Dipper thought Siegfried would have been angered with Pacifica's accusation but instead he looked rather amused with her.

"Oh you think so do you? Tell me something, did you know that we Dwarves can do magic?"

"Well I kind of suspected it what with Groot over here." cracked Dipper.

"He is not Groot! He's never BEEN Groot! He's never GOING to be Groot! What even IS that? Some type of plant?" Siegfried snapped. "Whatever, moving on... Dwarf magic is all about the earth. We are born from it, raised inside of it, and eventually laid to rest in it. It was only natural that we get mastery over it. To an extent anyways; it always boils down to the soil."

"Is that how you were able to make Gr..."

"Stop calling him Groot! It's getting very annoying!" Ruth snapped.

"Not our fault you didn't name the stupid thing!" Pacifica snapped back.

"Quite." Siegfried adjusted his monocle. "You are correct though. I was able to create him with the soil inside this mountain which is why he is misshapen and lopsided if a bit clumsy, but back to my point. The better the soil the more I can do with it, why if it's rich enough I can even create gold. Which was exactly what I was going to give the townsfolk for our deal, but then HE happened!"

Bart and Ruth silently raged at the memory.

"Of course I am speaking of none other than Jack Frost! Before we could finalize the deal, he chased us in here with his blizzard and sealed us inside! So as you can see this is really all his fault."

Whatever little tantrums he had brought to the surface were gone now. He gave them a pleasant smile feeling confident he had pleaded his case sufficiently.

"Okay, that's enough." Dipper stated.

"Pardon?"

"That's enough. I think I've heard enough to figure out the real story. Of course this is only if my psychological analysis skills are as good as I think they are, so I'm afraid you'll have to tell me how far off the bat I am with this one. The way I see it, you wanted the rich farmland for yourself to utilize your magic to create stone soldiers better than the one which attained us right?"

Siegfried opened his mouth to say something but closed it after a moment. Dipper continued. "So you made them an offer they couldn't refuse, but in exchange every citizen of that town would be literally losing their home. Unprepared for the journey ahead of them, you, the man who gave them the gold for the land would sell them a vast of different things from rope to food to clothes to I don't know what else..."

"Carriages for their livestock." Bart added absentmindedly.

Siegfried sent the unicorn a glare but stayed his focus on Dipper as he continued.

"Thank you. And being the poor town they probably were back then the only thing they would have to offer you would be the gold you already gave them for the town. Leaving you both the town and the money. And then you got some Sylph interference from the one, the only Jack Frost. Not letting you steal their homes from them, Jack Frost chased you in to this mountain with a blizzard just like you said where he sealed you inside. However, with Jack Frost being himself he just left and forgot about you. Plus if you were really as desperate for a home as you claim to be you would have just made a stone house like the one we're sitting in. So what do you say Short Stack, am I in the ballpark?"

"Wait! He just up and forgot about us?! Why that no good son of a..."

"Ruthless please!" Siegfried snapped. "Very good Mr. Pines, you are very astute." His pleasant smile was gone now, replaced with a serious stern expression. He stood up and 'walked' over to them with his hands behind his back. Hovering in front of them, the two couldn't help but notice the ice starting grow in the corners of the room behind him. "Your detective skills are nothing to laugh at. I can see that lying to you would be a waste of time and effort. So out of a sign of respect, I will clue you in on a couple of key details you missed."

"Wait! Boss are you kidding me over here?! You aren't really going to tell him everything are you?!"

"Bartholomew, it's fine. They won't be going anywhere. I would have turned the town in to a capitol for Dwarves everywhere, and then when we had enough soldiers of the earth they would go in to the cities of the human and expand this nation in to a kingdom for Dwarves!"

"And you think your 'Goliaths' would actually succeed?!"

"With the rich soil of that town? I wouldn't bet against us. Oh but I do like that name you just used, 'Goliaths', fitting title. Of course those willing to make a deal rather than try their chances against our show of force, well those will be the sweetest victories of all."

"There's still somethings I don't get!" Pacifica exclaimed. "That thing which attacked us in the tree during the blizzard, I don't think it was your stone sentry here but it had to be your attack somehow! And another thing, you were probably the one controlling that blizzard since you seem to be 'wearing' Jack Frost's powers, but how were you able to steal them in the first place?"

Siegfried narrowed his eyes at her. "Very nosy, this one. I see no harm in it though. Bart, be a good sport and get the book will you?"

Dipper shook his head with despair. "Not another spell book." He knew that if it was anything like Edna's spell book it was going to be a pain in the butt.

"Alright, I'll go get it! I want it on record that I think all of this is a very dumb idea!"

"Nobody asked your opinion, ya mutant donkey! Just get the book!"

Bart rolled his eyes at Ruth's insult and headed out the door.

"While we're waiting why don't I tell you about what happened when we first found ourselves trapped inside? First thing we did was try to break through the wall of permafrost, but we soon discovered it freezes everything it touches. We couldn't break through it either; we constructed a ram out of stone and it shattered on the first try. So then we thought we could dig around it and guess what?"

"You were completely surrounded by the stuff." answered Pacifica.

"YES! Every direction was covered! Things seemed absolutely hopeless, then I remembered the book we acquired from a druid in exchange for some food..."

"Hey! Wait a minute! That brings up a pretty good point! If you guys were stuck in here for a hundred and fifty years then exactly what did you eat to survive!"

"Bats, bugs, anything we could find really. Now then Mr. Pines, if I may continue? Again?"

Siegfried was obviously getting tired of the constant interruptions but Dipper was a tad distracted by Pacifica and the look of disgust she had plastered on her face from the mental images of Siegfried's diet.

"Turns out it was a spell book, along with a vast variety of other spells we found one which allows for a transference of powers and abilities."

Dipper was about to ask another question when the door opened and in walked Bart with a book stuck to his face.

"I got the book. Also I think our little ice minion is finally on its way to bringing our mutual 'friend' here."

"Mutual friend? Wait a minute! That thing that tried to kill us out in the blizzard, that was one of you guys wasn't it?"

"Correct my lovely lady, that was a recent creation of ours but he was designed to seek out Jack Frost, not attack his helpers. He is actually the result from the combination of magic between my Dwarven magic and that found in the book. A sort of ice version of our stone friend here; once I had acquired enough of Jack Frost's powers I was able to try my hand at doing something with the permafrost and thus your attacker was born. The combination of magics even allowed it to pass through the permafrost. Sadly the same couldn't be said for the rest of us."

"What? Let me see that book!" Dipper's tone was unappreciated but Bart still lowered it to his eye sight all the same. "The Druid's Big Guidebook to Spells?"

"What?" Siegfried scrunched his face in confusion. "No that's not right. Oh! There must be dust on the book! Go ahead and blow on the cover."

Dipper did as he was told but the rest of the title didn't make him feel any better. "For Dummies?"

"Oh you have got to be kidding me."

"Every now and then, Pacifica, you come across something which seems just plain ridiculous. It's best not to try and fight it."

"Silly as the title may seem, it revealed the way to acquire our escape. It was through Jack Frost's touch we were trapped here so it was only through Jack Frost we could gain our escape. By stealing his very essence I would become a new, different Jack Frost and gain our freedom. Our magics seem to mix well together, and there's a whole new era out there just waiting for me!"

*KNOCK!**KNOCK!**KNOCK!*

The door kicked in and Jack Frost was hurled through the doorway landing roughly in front of Dipper. He seemed even worse than the last time they saw him, his face didn't change but he had a beard now which covered his body from the chin down.

Using what looked like a long a long icicle as as a walking stick, he managed to stand up but his legs were wobbling suggested that even this a challenge to him. Never before had Dipper seen Jack appear so frail.

"Hey Dipping-Sauce, clothes disappeared like I said. Lucky for you this beard is acting as censorship but here," Jack reached in to his beard and pulled out Dipper's fedora. "I found your hat. It has a hole in it for some reason though."

He tried to hand it to Dipper, but with his arms restrained Jack had to settle for placing it on his head.

Back off his tippy toes, Jack actually smiled at the sight of Dipper reunited with his hat.

"Heh. You have a tuft of hair sticking out of the hole."

He took a step back only to bump in to Bart.

"Hey!" Bart turned around and lifted up his hind legs. "I'M WALKIN' HERE!"

With a brutal horse kick to the back Jack was sent sailing over Dipper's head and hit the wall behind him.

"JACK!"

Jack coughed as he struggled to his feet. "I'm okay, Dipper. I just didn't see that reject goat there, that's all."

"I am NOT a goat!"

"Well you're certainly not a horse." quipped Jack. "I mean, come on, horses don't have horns."

He had been trying to use his icicle walking stick to prop himself up but when he was almost completely upright the icicle broke causing him to stumble forward a little bit. He stared at the broken pieces in his hand suspiciously. "What made me think this was a good idea? It's made of ice for pity's sake."

As he pondered this, Ruth fluttered in to his vision and landed on the tip of his long nose.

"Hey there Princess."

Ruth cracked her knuckles. "Oh I've been waiting for this for a long time!"

Dipper saw Jack wince and flinch over and over again as tiny little glints shining in the light could be seen dancing around him.

"BARTHOLOMEW! RUTHLESS! THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!" roared Siegfried.

Jack's flinching came to an end and he fell to his knees covered in small cuts. He moaned something under his breath about 'Quick little thing' as Siegfried's shadow fell over him.

"You two can't just attack Jack like that." Siegfried picked up Jack by his throat and held him in the air. "At least not before I get my turn in first!"

"It's so nice we can finally see on this situation eye..." He reeled back his fist back and gave Jack Frost a brutal hay maker to the face. "To eye!" And this was only the beginning, multiple punches to face followed by some brutal kicks to the ribs, Jack Frost was worked over. "...stop it..."

Dipper's attention darted to Pacifica and saw she was watching the scene with horror.

"STOP IT!" Pacifica found herself shouting. She had no love for the man but she couldn't stand to see them do such a thing to him. As much as she disliked the Sylph, she knew he didn't deserve this. She knew he didn't deserve to be beaten to death. "CAN'T YOU SEE THAT YOU'RE KILLING HIM?!"

Siegfried actually stopped his assault and eyed Pacifica as if she had said something startling. "He did this to himself! If he hadn't sealed us inside then none of this would have ever happened."

He tossed Jack like a rag doll through the air where he landed right in front of Pacifica. Jack looked up at Pacifica but his face was not a sight to see."Hey Blondie..." A black eye, a swollen cheek, and a busted lip was enough to make her cringe; and this was only the damage she could see, she couldn't even imagine what they did to the rest of him. The poor man couldn't even stand up.

"YOU'RE MONSTERS! ALL OF YOU!"

"Oh please!" Siegfried rolled his eyes. "If anybody is a monster around here it's Jack! Who seals people inside of a mountain?! Honestly! The only reason why he's getting it now is because nobody has ever been able to hit him. And I happy to fill in for those who were never able to before now."

Jack coughed up some blood, drawing the attention back to himself.

"Yeah, big man just slapping a dick around!"

The three 'associates' exchanged uncomfortable awkward stares before Siegfried cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Perhaps you want to rephrase that?"

"Why? You're the one who has a problem with stopping." Jack tried to shake the cobwebs from his head but it seemed futile so he settled for lying down on the floor instead.

Instead of giving Jack another beat down, Siegfried adjusted tux and held his head high. "Come along everyone. I think it's about time for us to leave this prison."

"About time! What about the humans?" Ruth asked.

"If they love Jack Frost so much then they can spend the rest of their lives in here with him. Bartholomew, be a good sport and get the book."

"Right away, Boss."

"How can that thing stay on your face?" Ruth asked.

"I have a naturally sticky face."

When they were all out the door, Dipper gave a sigh of relief. "I didn't think they'd ever leave. Jack?"

Jack sat upright quickly and winced almost immediately. "Yeah Dipper?"

"My outer right jacket pocket has my President's key, get it for me will ya?"

"The President's key? Really? This isn't a lock Dipper!"

"I know Pacifica, but the key has always come in more handy than I ever would have thought. Chances are it might work on this stone stuff too, we are all 'locked up' after all."

Jack stopped searching through Dipper's pocket and gave him a dirty look. "Did you just make pun?"

"Umm... yeah?"

"Well you're not good at it. Don't do it again!"

Jack finally pulled the key out triumphantly. "Now what?"

"Press it against the stone and turn."

He did as he was told and the rock surrounding Dipper crumbled in to the stones they once were. He stretched out his limbs before the taking the key from Jack. "Ah. That's much better! Okay Pacifica, your turn."

He freed her the same way Jack freed him but a look of shock and disbelief never left her face. "I can't believe that actually worked!"

"I think we just lucked out this time. I doubt it would work again with a different form of entombment."

"So what do we do now?"

"Well we know who's doing this, and we have an idea how but we're still in the dark as to how we can get Jack his powers back. I'm guessing the answer is probably in that book of his, I say we go investigate!"

"Right! Jack, are you coming with us? Jack?"

Pacifica looked to Jack only for him to be face down on the floor.

"OH NO, JACK'S DEAD!"

"WHAT?!"

Dipper raced over to Jack's body and lifted up his head for inspection. However, a sound coming Jack's body made Dipper drop it carelessly on to the floor.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."

"Is he...?"

"Yes Pacifica. He was never dead. He's just sleeping."

"I don't believe it! Even when he's asleep he's a dick."

"Cut him a little slack. He has been through a lot and he needs a way to conserve energy. Come on, we need to catch up with our crooks."

Omake

"Boss," Ruth chirped. "Are you sure we shouldn't leave like a guard or something to keep those humans in check?"

"Hmm... Excellent point my dear Ruthless. We shall do one better than a guard though. Bartholomew? The book."

While Bart brought the book over so the Dwarf could thumb through the pages, unbeknownst to them they were being watched. Hiding behind a rock, Dipper and Pacifica watched with the utmost carefulness.

"Aha! Here we are!" Siegfried started to swirl his hands around as a green light started to shine between them beginning the spell. "This spell will bring forth a being from one of their memories to serve us! A being surrounded with so much negative emotions, that they will gladly aide us in keeping those humans in check."

Dipper and Pacifica heard this loud and clear. They both immediately thought of Bill, if he was brought back at full power than it was all over for them.

Finally something popped out of the light which left everyone, even Siegfried, completely stunned.

"Flip a Dip-Dip! Dippy Fresh is back Dude Bros!"

Staring at this small strange little twelve year old boy, the onlookers couldn't help but drop their jaws in confusion.

"Um... What is that?" asked Bart.

"I don't know! I thought I did the spell right!"

"Well..." Ruth cracked her neck. "Can I kill it?"

"I think that would be a service to everyone here."

Meanwhile Pacifica was staring at Dipper with a confused look which simply begged for him to explain the atrocity that was Dippy Fresh.

However, instead of offering an explanation he merely averted his gaze from both her and the soon be murdered Dippy Fresh and said. "I don't want to talk about it."

That's it for now. This chapter was also longer than I was aiming for. Anyways, if you want an update sooner than you got to give me some feedback, it really helps me write, I'd even settle for hearing about your favorite part of the chapter.