This was it. Finally, after so many hours of poring over the journal and getting nowhere with it, Dipper was able to find a new clue to the author's whereabouts, thanks to the black light showing him the invisible ink. It all came back to the tree where he found the journal in the first place. He was certain that was where the next step was. He had already invited Mabel, Soos, Wendy, and Sammy to join him at the tree. At the moment, he was in the attic by himself, trying to find his black light, but for some reason, he couldn't remember where he put it.

Suddenly, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Sammy holding his black light for him. "Here. You left it under your bed," he said. "Thanks!," said Dipper, taking it. He then tucked the journal under his vest for safekeeping and was about to head out the door before Sammy stopped him. "Wait," he suddenly said. "Before you go… I think that you and I need to have a talk first." Dipper froze in the doorway and looked back at Sammy with a slightly anxious look, already having some idea of what their "talk" was going to be about. He had hoped to avoid it, or at least put it off for later, but luck was not on his side.

He sighed and closed the door so that nobody would hear them, then sat down on his bed while Sammy sat on his. They sat from across each other, and for a moment, there was just an awkward silence between them. "So… um… How was watching that old zombie movie with Wendy? Did you two have fun?," Sammy asked. Dipper looked at him in confusion. Where did that question come from? "It was… fine," said Dipper. "I mean, once you've faced off against actual zombies, you don't find the ones in movies that… scary anymore." Sammy nodded his head. "Okay. Cool, cool," he said. After that, there was another moment of silence.

"...Okay, I'm just going to say it," Sammy sighed. "Dipper, I think we should let Stan know what we're doing." "You know why we can't do that, though," Dipper argued. "If Stan knows even half the things we get up to without him knowing, he'll literally keep us under lock and key for the rest of the summer. He'll take the journal away, or worse, get rid of it entirely, and then I'll never find out who the author is!" "Dipper, why are you so determined to find out who the author is?," asked Sammy. "I mean, you don't know him. You don't know what kind of person he is, what he could be like, or if he's even alive or not. All you have to go off of is that journal."

"I know!," Dipper groaned. "It's hard to explain, though! It's just… It's something that I have to know at this point. Maybe I didn't care so much back when we first found it in that tree, but after all this time… I just have to know. If I don't… If I never find out who the author is, I'm afraid that it's going to eat away at me for the rest of my life. And… I don't want that to happen, Sammy. I need closure. Do you get it?" "Of course I do," sighed Sammy. "But… I'm just not that comfortable with us tiptoeing around Stan like this. He's a part of this family, you know. Doesn't he deserve to know?" Dipper thought about it for a moment. "Okay, Sammy. How about this?," he proposed. "I'll personally tell him everything after we find the author. I'll tell him what we've been up to, and he can ground me for the rest of the summer if he wants. But until we find the author, please don't tell him anything. The old man's stubborn. He won't listen."

He's not the only one who's stubborn, Sammy thought, rolling his eyes discreetly.

"Alright, fine," he sighed, finally giving in. "I won't tell Stan anything. But… if he ever catches on and tries to force the truth out of me, then I will tell him everything." "Okay, that's totally fair," said Dipper, thinking that Stan was never going to catch on anyway. "And… you have to promise that if we do find the author - which I am honestly starting to doubt will ever happen - then you have to tell Stan everything, like you said. Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise," said Dipper. Sammy smiled approvingly. "Good." He stood up from his bed. "Come on, the others are waiting for us." He was about to head out the door, but suddenly stopped and turned around to face Dipper. "And one more thing," he said crossly, narrowing his eyes at him. "You better not have crossed your fingers behind your back just now."

"Oh," said Dipper, his face growing red. "You saw me do that with Stan, didn't you?" "You weren't really being that discreet about it," said Sammy. The two of them left the shack and went into the woods while Stan was too busy talking with - or rather, bribing - the foreman. Soon, they joined Mabel and Soos at the tree where they first found the journal. Wendy hadn't shown up, so they decided to do this without her. Dipper stood on top of a stump and tapped a pen against his lantern to get everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming," he announced.

"Hey, when there's a mystery, you can count on your sister…-Ey," said Mabel, trying and failing to make that sentence rhyme for whatever reason. "That's an amazing rhyme," said Soos, who tried to join in. "When you want some, good… When you need a Soos, you… Oh oh, gosh, I don't know." "You did your best," said Sammy, patting the handyman on the back.

"We're here to solve the number one mystery in Gravity Falls; who wrote this journal?!," said Dipper. "Thirty years ago the author vanished without a trace. But according to this new clue, we may have found his secret hiding place." He took out his black light and shone it on the pages of the journal, showing the hidden drawings that were on them. They showed that under the tree was a stairway that led down to an underground bunker. "We find that author, we learn the answers to everything. We just need to figure out a way to get down there."

"Chop it down, dudes!" Everyone turned towards the voice and saw Wendy arrive on her bike, ringing its bell. "Wendy!," Mabel cheered. "Oh, hey! You came," said Dipper, who was kind of surprised and had half-expected that she wouldn't show up. "Glad you could make it, Wendy," said Sammy. "Me too, man," said Wendy. "Dude, I'm so stoked about this. I've been wanting to go adventuring with you guys. Sure beats picking up after my dad at home." She reached down and ruffled Dipper's head. "Thanks for the invite, man!," she said before walking to the tree. "Of course, anytime you wanna… I'm, we're always… Us," Dipper stammered out.

"Uh oh! Inviting Wendy on our mission? Me thinks there's romance afoot!," teased Mabel, poking Dipper playfully. "Mabel, quit it," sighed Dipper, slapping her hand away. "I'm not pursuing Wendy anymore. I'm over her." "Wait, you are?," asked Sammy, confused. "Didn't you have a big crush on her since the summer started? What changed?" "N-nothing!," Dipper said nervously. "But listen, guys. I've thought this through and I'm over Wendy. I've looked at it from every angle, and that thing was going nowhere. I know what matters to me now, and it's finding the author of this journal." Though Sammy nodded in understanding, Mabel was still in disbelief. "Hah! YOU'RE over Wendy?! Allow me to put on my 'skepticals.'" She made circles with her fingers and held them over her eyes to imitate a large pair of glasses. "Whooop!"

"I've moved on, Mabel. You should too," said Dipper, before walking away to join Wendy and Soos. Mabel stayed behind for a moment and continued making glasses with her fingers while muttering, "Skepticals…" under her breath. "Huh. I didn't expect that," said Sammy. "But I guess it makes sense, considering what happened with Robbie." "Pfft! Well, I don't buy it!," said Mabel, blowing a raspberry. "Dipper's still got the hots for Wendy. I'm a million percent certain." The two of them joined the others at the tree. Wendy squinted her eyes and noticed that there was something off about one of the branches. "Hey, is it just me, or does that branch kinda look like a lever?," she asked, pointing at said branch. Dipper looked where Wendy was pointing and noticed it too. "Huh, yeah." He turned around and thought hard. "But how do we get up there…? It seems we'd need like a ladder, or like, ladder shoes…" As Dipper was distracted with his own thoughts, Wendy suddenly took off her belt and used it to start climbing the tree.

"Uh, Dipper?," said Sammy, trying to get his attention. "Yeah, ladder shoes. I'll get Soos to draw up a prototype," murmured Dipper, still unaware of what Wendy was doing. The redhead lumberjack finally got to the lever branch, took out an axe, and used it to hit the lever with a loud "Boosh." "Whoa ho-ho!," said an impressed Soos. "Wow!," gasped Mabel. "Not bad, Wendy!," said Sammy, smiling up at her. Dipper was too shocked and in awe to even say anything at the moment. "Thanks! My dad used to make me compete in these lumberjack games when I was a kid. Guess I kinda ruled at it," Wendy rightfully boasted. Suddenly, the tree itself began shaking, causing crows to fly from the branches. "Whoa, whoa, what is that?," cried Wendy, trying to hold on. She lost her grip and fell off the tree, which slowly began sinking into the ground. The others were able to pull her out just in time. To their shock, a spiral staircase formed in the middle of the tree, as well as a door. After it stopped moving, the group stared at it in awe.

"Alright guys, this is it. Remember, whatever happens down there, we tell no one," said Dipper. Mabel gave a thumbs up, Soos turned his hat backwards, and Wendy mimed zipping her lips. Only Sammy was still on the fence about it, so he made a so-so gesture with his hand, which was enough for Dipper. "Now, who wants to go first?," he asked, holding up the lantern. The group went down the staircase with Dipper leading the way, using the lantern to light up the way ahead. Then, they went through the door in the tree and came across a dark room that was covered in dust. There was an old mattress, a weapons locker, empty cans of food, a gas mask hanging on the wall, and an old poster that said WARNING: FALLOUT SHELTER.

"Whoa!," Mabel and Soos said in unison. "Cool!," gasped Dipper, holding the lantern up higher so that it lit up the room. "This is so, stupid cool!," said Wendy. Sammy was the only one who was far from excited about this new discovery. Great, a bomb shelter, he thought, looking around the room with a grimace on his face. Yet another thing to remind me about the war. "It's like a fallout shelter or something. It must've belonged to the author," said Dipper.

Wendy took the poster off the wall and dusted it off. "This is going over my bed," she said. Mabel put her face in a barrel, and when she popped her head back out, black caterpillars were crawling all over her face. Of course, she wasn't bothered by it at all. "Haha! My face feels fuzzy!," she laughed. "This is incredible! It's like he was preparing for a disaster," said Dipper. He looked up at a shelf with boxes that were labeled with dates, the highest one going all the way up to 2070. "But what kinda disaster would need supplies for over sixty years?"

"I don't know," murmured Sammy. "But I don't like the feeling of this place." "Come on, dude," said Wendy, playfully jabbing him with her elbow. "Don't tell me you're gonna chicken out on us." "I'm not going to 'chicken out' on anyone," said Sammy. "I'm just saying… This place gives me the creeps." Dipper looked back at him in concern. "Sammy, you know you don't have to be here, right?," he asked worriedly. "You can leave right now if you're not comfortable. We'll be fine on our own." Sammy cleared his throat and straightened up, trying to appear braver than he really felt. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he reassured him. "I'm not going anywhere."

Soos opened the weapons locker, but instead of weapons, he found all sorts of random little items and knickknacks, including… "Oh my gosh! A Smez dispenser!," he said, taking out a small container with a yellow dog head as its cap. "I remember these things. What's that, yes I will have some of your old-timey face food." He opened the container and took out a piece of candy. "Uh, Soos, I wouldn't recommend–," Sammy tried to warn him before the handyman popped the piece of candy into his mouth. "...eating that," he sighed. Soos immediately began coughing and gagging at the horrible taste. "Ew, dusty!" Then, to Sammy's bewilderment, he decided to have a second piece. Meanwhile, Dipper picked up an empty can of beans that was laying on the floor, and noticed that there was still some bean juice dripping from it.

"Wait guys, I think this can was opened recently," said Dipper, holding up the can. "The author might still be alive down here!," Soos said enthusiastically. "Hold on, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Sammy said cautiously. "It could be the author, or it could be a homeless man who decided to take shelter here. We don't know for sure who ate those beans, so we have to be careful." The others nodded in agreement and continued to search the room.

Finally, Wendy found an old map of Gravity Falls on the wall, which dated all the way back to 1982. "Wait a minute…," she murmured, noticing something hidden behind it. She took the map down, revealing an open hatch cover. "Well, whoever ate those beans, I think I know where they might have gone…," she said. The group went through the hatch door and through a long tunnel that they had to crawl through. Eventually, they made it out of the tunnel and came into a large room that was… peculiar, to say the least. The walls, the floor, and the ceiling were made out of large metal cubes. "Whoa! Oh, man! Was this place built in the past or the future?," asked Wendy as they all piled into this new room. Sammy immediately noticed something that immediately put him on edge. "Uh, guys? Why doesn't this room have an exit?"

"I'm not sure," said Dipper, just as confused as Sammy. "Is this a dead end? Did we take a wrong turn somewhere?" "I don't know about you dudes, but this room is way creepy," said Soos. "Not as creepy as Dipper's internet history! Heyo!," joked Mabel, who suddenly pushed Dipper from behind. However, she ended up pushing him a little too hard, causing him to step on one of the squares on the floor, which had a strange design on it. To their alarm, the square that Dipper stepped on sunk into the floor, and the hatch behind them swung shut.

Sammy ran towards the closed hatch door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge, no matter how hard he tried to pull. "We're trapped!," he cried. Then, to make matters even worse, all the symbols on the squares glowed red, there was a loud buzzer sound, and the entire room began to shake. The metal blocks began closing in on them, threatening to crush them to death. "What's goin' on, dude?," asked Soos. Everyone pressed themselves against the wall, and they were all beginning to panic. "Haha, it's hard to be scared with caterpillars on your face," Mabel suddenly laughed, the caterpillars still crawling on her face. "This is a death trap!," cried Sammy. "If we don't find a way out of here, we're all going to get crushed by the walls!"

"Wall things! Crazy wall things happening right now!," cried Mabel. Wendy tried to push the blocks back in, but as strong as she was, even someone like Manly Dan would've had no luck in pushing them back. "It won't stop!," she yelled. "Dipper! What do we do?!," asked Mabel. Dipper took out the journal and frantically flipped through its pages until he found one that was about the security room. Then, he shone his black light on it. "Find these five symbols!," he said, showing everyone the symbols on the pages. "Quick! Everybody step on one!"

The others quickly looked for the symbols around the room. "One!," said Soos, finding and pressing the first symbol. "Two!," said Wendy, jumping up and punching the second one. "Three!," said Mabel, jumping over a moving block and slapping the third symbol. Sammy saw the fourth one in a corner of the room, which was about to be covered up. He ran towards it and stepped on it just in time. "Four!," he yelled. Dipper spotted the fifth and final symbol up on the ceiling, which was also about to be covered up. He ran towards it, jumping over multiple moving blocks with impressive speed, and hitting the symbol just in the nick of time. "Five!"

Once all of the symbols had been pressed, a new door opened up on the other side of the room. "Run for it!," yelled Mabel. With the metal blocks closing in even faster than before, everyone ran for the door. Soos got out first, then Mabel, then Wendy, and then Sammy. The latter glanced back and saw that Dipper was right behind him, but the blocks were about to fully close in and crush him to death! Thinking quickly, he grabbed Dipper by the front of his shirt and pulled him away with all of his strength. The room closed in behind him, snagging Dipper's vest in the process. They all managed to get out of there, but it was far, far too close.

Everyone stopped and took deep breaths of air. "Yes! Yes! That was, huh, that was nuts!," cried Wendy, who had never been more exhilarated since that time they broke into that haunted convenience store. "You ruled back there, man!," she said to Dipper. "Haha, thanks," Dipper chuckled, catching his breath. He turned to face Sammy. "And thanks for pulling me out of there, Sammy. Man, I would've been a goner if it wasn't for you." Despite feeling like he was about to faint, Sammy kept his composure and gave Dipper a strained smile. "N-no problem," he said. Fortunately, Dipper didn't seem to notice that Sammy's voice was shaky.

"Get a load of this crazy surveillance room," said Wendy, looking around at the new room they were in. "Check it out dudes!," said Soos, grabbing two glass beakers in front of him and holding them in front of his eyes to make them appear squiggly, then sticking out his tongue to make weird noises with his mouth. "Soos, Soos… That is hilarious," said Wendy.

Mabel then noticed that Dipper's vest was still stuck between the metal blocks in the security room. "Hey bro, you forgot your vest," she said, walking over to it and pulling it out of the blocks. However, in doing so, a note fell out of the vest's pocket and softly landed at Mabel's feet. "What the…?," she murmured, picking it up and reading it quietly to herself.

"'Dear Wendy, I've always had a crush on…'" She gasped and covered her mouth with the note in excitement. "OHMYGOSH!" She ran over to Dipper with the vest and the note. "Hey, Dipper! Look what I found…," she said, waving the note in front of his face. Dipper gasped when he saw it. "What are you…? Give me that!," he snapped, taking both the note and his vest from Mabel. "I knew it!," Mabel cheered as Dipper angrily put his vest back on and hid the note in his pocket. "I knew it! I knew it! You're not over Wendy at all!" She gasped. "And you were gonna tell her today?" "No, I changed my mind; it's a bad idea," said Dipper. "I'd just embarrass myself and then I'd be another guy she hates, like Robbie." "Dipper, you should just tell her already," Mabel pleaded with him. "One way or another, you'll feel better afterwards."

"Mabel, leave your brother alone," Sammy said distractedly, staring at the dashboard on the other side of the room, paying special attention to the screens showing security footage of some sort of underground laboratory, complete with giant glass tubes. "If he's not comfortable with it, then don't push it," he said, half-listening to their conversation. "See? You heard him," Dipper told Mabel, glad that there was someone in this room who was still reasonable. "And besides, I can't tell Wendy no matter how much I want to, so just drop it OK?"

"Dude! Dipper, you gotta check out this weird metal closet," said Wendy. She walked into the closet, then pretended to be a robot, complete with a monotone robot voice. "I am a robot, I have a metal closet," she spoke mechanically, performing robotic movements with her arms. "Coming!," Dipper said loudly, before whispering to Mabel, "This never happened."

As Mabel watched Dipper join Wendy, her thoughts ran wild. He wants to tell her but he's scared; maybe he needs a little push. Good idea, Mabel. Thanks, Mabel! "Uh, Mabel?," asked Sammy, who had just finished observing the control panel, only to see Mabel standing there by herself with a derpy look on her face. "Whaaat are you thinking right now?"

"Oh, nothing!," said Mabel, looking up at Sammy with a bright smile. Sammy blinked once, then narrowed his eyes. "I know that look, Mabel. Please don't do something you're going to regret," he said cautiously. "I don't know what you mean!," said Mabel. Before Sammy could say anything else, Mabel walked up to Dipper and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Brother, whatever happens, I just want you to know something: this is for your own good."

Before Dipper could ask what she meant by that, Mabel suddenly shoved him into the closet with Wendy and closed the door, locking it shut. "Mabel!," Sammy scolded. "Don't worry, Sammy, I know what I'm doing!," Mabel said cheerfully. "MABEL! Let us out!," Dipper yelled from inside the closet, pounding on the door with his fists. "Oh, I'll let you out, Dipper, as soon as you tell Wendy that thing you've been wanting to tell her! You'll thank me for this later!," said Mabel, leaning against the door. "What is she talking about?," asked Wendy. "Nothing! Mabel's just been eating raw sugar packets again," Dipper said nervously. By sheer coincidence, Mabel did happen to be gnawing on some sugar packets that she brought along for the trip.

"Om nom… That's besides the point!," she said, her face covered in sugar. "Let me out RIGHT NOW!," Dipper yelled angrily, banging on the door. "Ugh, this is just ridiculous," Sammy groaned, moving towards the door to let them out. However, Mabel blocked his way by standing in front of the door with her arms spread wide. "Really, Mabel?," sighed Sammy.

"Sammy, just trust me," Mabel tried to reassure him. "If this won't get Dipper to confess to Wendy about his feelings for her, then nothing will." "Wait, is that what we're doing now?," asked Soos, who up until now, had no idea what Mabel was trying to pull. "I thought we were here to look for the author." "Oh, we will," said Mabel. "But this is more important."

"Mabel…," sighed Sammy, slumping his shoulders in defeat. As dumb as he thought this whole thing was, arguing against Mabel when she had an idea was always a losing battle. And although he didn't want anyone else to know, he secretly wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible, and Mabel trying to be a "love chaperone" for Dipper was just going to eat up more time. He was about to voice his disapproval again, when suddenly, the banging on the door was back, only it was louder and more frantic. "Mabel, open up, for real! There's a monster in here!," Dipper cried from the other side of the door. A monster?!, Sammy thought in alarm.

But Mabel didn't believe a word of what Dipper said. "Ha ha, nice try! The only monsters are your own inner demons, Dipper!," she said. "That is so wise," said Soos. "Don't worry, you two! I'll get you both out of there!," cried Sammy, about to open the door himself.

But then, Mabel pulled Sammy's hand away from the handwheel. "Mabel!," Sammy snapped, losing his patience with her. "You heard Dipper! There's a monster with them on the other side of that door! We have to let them in!" "Yeah, I mean, I like a practical joke as much as the next guy, but aren't you taking this a little too far?," Soos asked nervously.

"Boys, boys, don't worry!," said Mabel, not panicking in the slightest. "There isn't really a monster with them. Dipper's just saying that so he could scare us into letting them out. Trust me, I know my bro-bro best, okay? I'd know if he was telling the truth or not." She seemed so proud and sure of herself at that moment that Sammy, for the first time since meeting her, wondered if maybe she should've been disciplined a little more when she was younger.

"Dipper, just say whatever Mabel wants you to say, so she'll let us out of here!," said Wendy, sounding just as scared as Dipper. "Come on, Dipper! Now's the time, bro!," Mabel said to him in an "encouraging" manner. "Wendy, I– I… I'm gonna find another way out!," said Dipper. "Wait, what? Dude, where are we going?," asked Wendy. Then, they heard what sounded like Dipper and Wendy's footsteps as they ran away, which slowly faded into silence.

"Wow. They're really committed to that monster bit," said Mabel. Sammy looked down at her. He usually found her pleasant and endearing to be around, even on her worst days. That… was certainly not the case anymore. "Maybe I should get Stan to give you a good old spanking when we get back," he muttered under his breath. "What was that?," asked Mabel, who couldn't make out what he just said. Sammy ignored her and glanced at the monitors above the control panel that he had been observing earlier. On one of the screens, he saw the footage of a glass tube that was almost completely shattered. At the base of the tube was a small caption that said Experiment #210: The Shape Shifter. Upon reading that, Sammy's blood went cold.

"Oh, goodness," he whispered, covering his mouth in horror as he stared at the screen. Mabel and Soos looked at the screen as well, and saw the same thing. "'Experiment number 210: the s-shape shifter?'," Mabel read aloud, her voice starting to quiver. "Shape shifter? Uh, dude? Didn't Dipper say there was a monster in there with them?," Soos asked nervously. "I thought he was just joking!," cried Mabel. "OF COURSE HE WASN'T JOKING, YOU IDIOTS!," Sammy suddenly screamed angrily, slamming his hand on the control panel so hard that he made a small dent in it, as well as cut up his hand pretty badly. But at that moment, he was far too angry to care about the latter. "Damn it! I knew something like this was going to happen! I f*ing knew it! It was only a matter of time! I was a moron! We were all morons! Dipper told us that there was a monster attacking them, and we did absolutely nothing! I shouldn't have let this happen! I should've told Stan what we were doing, but nooooo! Dipper made me promise not to do that, and look where we are now! And as for you, Mabel! Why didn't you–?!"

He turned to Mabel and Soos, prepared to bring his fury down on them. He stopped. He stared at the two of them, cowering in the corner of the room, huddled up together and trembling in fear. Mabel was on the verge of crying, and Soos didn't seem to be far behind.

They were terrified. They were both terrified of him.

Any anger that Sammy had left in the tank evaporated. Not since the time he found out about Darren in the graveyard had he felt so much guilt and shame. His hand stung. He looked down at it and saw that it was bleeding. He wiped the blood on his sweater.

"I'm… I'm sorry…," he whispered. Mabel and Soos stayed where they were, not saying a word. "I… I don't like this place," Sammy continued softly. "Something about the atmosphere… It's been setting me on edge, but I don't know why. From the very beginning of this trip, I've been feeling… weird. But I didn't mean… I didn't think it'd get to me so badly."

Mabel and Soos made no response. They just stared at him in silence, still as terrified as they were before. Sammy sighed and hung his head. "I'm sorry," he repeated quietly.

"...No." Sammy looked up in confusion and saw Mabel walk up to him with her head down, nervously playing with her sweater. "I'm the one who should be sorry," she said sadly. "Most people tell me I'm not as likable as I think I am, and… they're right. I do stuff like this all the time. I disregard people's feelings. I force my issues on them. I take my friends and family for granted." She sniffed and became teary-eyed. "I thought I learned that lesson when me and Dipper traveled back in time, but… I guess not. Maybe that's why I never really had any friends before meeting Candy and Grenda…" That last part was certainly news to Sammy.

"Wait… those two were your first friends? You never had any before them?," he asked. Seeing Mabel nod her head only made him more confused. "But how? I mean, yes, I won't deny that you can get on people's nerves every once in a while, but… most of the time, you're like a ray of sunshine, Mabel! You make people laugh, you try to be friends with complete strangers, you see the good in everyone… I'm sorry, I don't understand." "I don't blame you," said Mabel, letting out a bitter laugh. "The thing is… I do try to be friends with everyone, but every time, I either come on too strong or drive them away because I do dumb stuff like this. And I try to be better, but… i-it's hard… you know?" She sighed heavily. "Back at Piedmont, Dipper, mom, and dad were the only people who were willing to… put up with me. Then I met you, Soos, Wendy, Grunkle Stan, Candy, Grenda, and even Waddles… I didn't feel so… so alone anymore. And now…" Her voice suddenly hitched. "...n-n-now I'm driving you a-away too…"

At that point, Sammy could no longer just stand there and watch. He rushed towards Mabel and enveloped her in a hug, brushing through her hair with his fingers. Curiously, Soos had the same idea at the exact same time, and wrapped his large arms around both of them. They stayed like this for a while, with only Mabel's sniffles breaking the silence.

"Please don't do this," Sammy pleaded, gently caressing Mabel's hair. "Don't blame yourself like this. You didn't drive me away, and you never will. Yes, you did a stupid thing, and yes, you made me angry… but that was no excuse for me to lash out at you and Soos like that. I was more at fault for that than you are. In the end, you just wanted to help your brother, even if you could've done it in a more… sensible way." He looked up at Soos. "And Soos, the reason why I got so angry with you was because you seemed too content to stand by and do nothing except crack a few jokes. But like I said, I shouldn't have lashed out at you. And I shouldn't have lost my temper and gotten so angry at both of you that I made you two think I was going to hurt you… because that's something I would never do, do you understand? Never."

"Yeah, we know," said Soos, smiling disarmingly. "I mean, I understand why you got so upset with us. We were being kinda jerks." Sammy sighed in relief, glad that there were no hard feelings anymore. He looked down at Mabel, who had her face buried in Sammy's chest. "Feel better now, Mabel?" Mabel looked at him, still a bit teary-eyed, smiled, and nodded.

"Good," said Sammy. "Because now we have to go and save Wendy and your brother from a shapeshifting monster. Which… I've just now realized we probably should've done a lot sooner… considering that their lives must be in mortal danger right now… Shoot!"

The group quickly opened the door to the closet, and were surprised to find that there was no closet anymore. Instead, there was a giant underground laboratory, complete with large empty glass tubes - the very same place that was shown on the monitors in the surveillance room! They ran through the tunnels in the cavern, but they were so long and zigzagged all over the place, not to mention that there was almost no light in there, making it incredibly difficult to see anything. They ran and called out Dipper and Wendy's names, but to no avail. "Wendy?!," Soos hollered. "Oh, it's so dark! How will we ever find them?" "Leave that to Mabel!," Mabel said confidently, now back to her old, peppy self. She pressed the front of her sweater, which had a picture of a light bulb on it, and to Soos and Sammy's astonishment, the light bulb turned on and actually glowed! "Mabel, that's amazing!," said Sammy, amazed and a bit envious that his own sweater couldn't do anything like that. "Did you make that sweater yourself?"

"Yeah, I did," Mabel said bashfully. "It took a lot of wiring, shocks, and burns, but I was able to get it done." "I won't lie, that's rad!," said Soos. "Although, isn't electric clothing kinda like a fire hazard?" "No. It's a fun hazard," Mabel corrected him. "Now let me light the way!" She ran down the tunnel while Soos and Sammy followed close behind. "We're coming for you dudes!," said Soos. As they continued running, Sammy stared at the back of Mabel's head and couldn't help but wonder how that was the same girl who was shaking and crying earlier.

Suddenly, the group turned a corner and crashed into two other people, causing all of them to fall to the ground in a large pile. They got back up and realized that the people they had inadvertently bumped into were Dipper and Wendy! They began to greet each other excitedly, but then, Dipper suddenly frowned in suspicion and held Wendy back. "Wait! Careful. How do we know they're not the shape shifter?," he said, narrowing his eyes at them.

"We're not!," Sammy said with a relieved smile. He was so happy to see that Dipper and Wendy were alright that he didn't care that Dipper had just accused them of being shapeshifting monsters. "Trust me, it's us, your friends!" "Oh, yeah? That's something that only a shapeshifter would say!," Dipper challenged. "Maybe I am!," said Soos, pulling up his shirt. "Mabel, inspect my shape!" "Poke!," said Mabel, poking him in the belly. "Do that again!," Soos laughed. "Poke!," said Mabel, poking him in the belly again. Soos laughed again. "Even better the second time!" Sammy also couldn't help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all, then looked back at Dipper and Wendy. "Still think we're shapeshifters?," he asked jokingly. Dipper chuckled, his fears now alleviated. "Nope. It's definitely you," he said. Then, his eyes trailed down before they widened in shock. "Oh my gosh, Sammy, your hand is bleeding!," he gasped, pointing at it.

Sammy winced and quickly pulled the sleeve of his sweater down to hide the bleeding cut on his palm. "Oh, yeah. About that…," he said nervously. "Seriously, what happened to your hand, dude?," asked Wendy, also worried. "Did the shapeshifter do that to you?" She squinted her eyes at Mabel. "And Mabel, why are your eyes so red? You look like you've been… crying." Sammy sighed heavily, feeling the guilt from earlier return with a vengeance. "I'm sorry, guys," he sighed. "What happened was–" "We got attacked by the shapeshifter!," cried Mabel, cutting Sammy off. The latter turned to stare at her, feeling both shocked and confused.

"It found us in the tunnels behind us and tried to attack us!," Mabel continued, gesturing with her hands animatedly. "We would've been goners if it wasn't for Sammy! He protected us from the monster, but got his hand cut up!" She glanced up at Soos and poked him in the belly with her elbow while nodding her head. The handyman's eyes went wide as he finally got the message. "Uh, uh, yeah! It was bonkers, dudes!," he said, playing along. "We barely got away with our lives!" "And I was so scared that… I, uh, I cried," said Mabel, her voice trailing off as her face turned red with embarrassment. Sammy was too shocked to say anything.

Although Mabel and Soos were a bit dramatic in telling the story, Wendy and Dipper seemed to believe it. "Here, let me help you with that cut," said Wendy, taking off her shirt and tearing off one of the sleeves, before walking up to Sammy. "Hold out your hand." Sammy did just that, allowing Wendy to wrap the torn sleeve around his hand to cover it up.

"We got attacked by the shapeshifter too," Wendy explained, wrapping the sleeve around Sammy's cut. "He broke out of his cage, pretended to be the author, and wants Dipper's journal." "But why would he want the journal?," asked Sammy, giving a small nod to Wendy to silently thank her for dressing his wounded hand. "Because with that journal, he could transform himself into any creature sketched on its pages!," Dipper explained. "Imagine if he escapes into town! He could transform into anything! We could never trust anyone ever again!"

"What do we do?!," cried Mabel. "Well, he took us into his home, tricked us, and tried to destroy us," said Wendy, narrowing her eyes in anger and pounding her fists together. "I say we return the favor." "I completely agree," said Sammy, getting hyped up as well. "But we'll need a plan first. Does anyone have any ideas?" After discussing with each other for a while, the group finally came up with a solid plan. First, Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy were going to act as bait to lure in the shapeshifter. Then, they would lead the monster to the laboratory, where Wendy and Soos would turn on a valve to spray the monster with water, weakening it. Then, they would try to force the monster into one of the glass tubes and freeze it in place. It was far from a perfect plan, and there were many ways for it to go wrong, but it was the best they have.

While Wendy and Soos stayed behind, Dipper, Wendy, and Sammy walked through the tunnel they just came from, with Dipper ahead of the rest and holding onto the journal. As they walked, Sammy and Mabel slowly trailed behind so that there was some distance between them and Dipper. "You didn't have to do that, Mabel," Sammy whispered, leaning his head towards her. "Of course I did," Mabel whispered back, smiling up at him. "You and Soos helped make me feel better, so I thought I should return the favor." "Yeah, but only because I got so angry that I made you cry," Sammy whispered, looking downcast. "If I hadn't gotten so worked up, then you wouldn't have needed any comforting to begin with." Mabel smiled sadly and patted Sammy on the arm. "I needed to get some things off my chest anyway," she whispered back.

"Come on, guys! Hurry up!," Dipper said impatiently, looking back at them. The two of them quickly caught up with Dipper and eventually came to a large cavern where Dipper and Wendy claimed that they last saw the shapeshifter. They hid behind a stone pillar and waited for the monster to show itself. Eventually, it did. "Dipper, my boy!," said what appeared to be an old and dirty man walking into the cavern. He had goggles on his forehead, dirty matted hair, and a large moustache. Of course, it was only a disguise. "Come out!" The shapeshifter shuddered for a moment, about to lose its form out of frustration. "I must speak with you!" Suddenly, it turned into a giant creature with six legs, claws, and a large hand for a head, which had a single eye peeping out from the center of it. "REVEAL YOURSELF, YOU SINGLE-FORMED HUMAN WEAKLING!," it roared, slamming its head into the ground. Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy looked at each other and nodded. It was time to enact the plan. They walked out from behind the pillar and out into the open, pretending that they didn't even see the shapeshifter.

"Oh boy, Dipper. That book sure is full of some great monsters!," Mabel said loudly. "I know, right?," asked Dipper. "I sure hope no shapeshifting monster gets their hands on it! That would be terrible!" "It sure would!," said Sammy. "There are so many forms they could take if they get that book! Imagine what they could do with so many forms!" The monster loomed over them, laughing maniacally. "There you are!," he cackled. "Ooh, and two new ones." Suddenly, he turned into an exact copy of Mabel. "Should I be her…" Then, he turned into Dipper. "...and what about him…" Then, he turned into Sammy. "...or should I be him? How about all three of them?!" Then, the creature transformed into something that could only exist in nightmares. It was a six-legged monster that was made up of the forms of Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy, but combined into an abomination of heads with eyes rolled into the backs of their heads, showing only the whites. The mouths were connected into one gaping hole in the middle of its body, with razor sharp teeth. It roared at them and scuttled towards them on its spider legs.

They all screamed and ran away as the shapeshifter chased them through the tunnel. In spite of their immense fear, they stuck to their plan and lured the shapeshifter into the laboratory with Wendy and Soos, who were both holding onto the valve of a pipe. "Guys, he's coming! He's coming! NOW, NOW, NOW, NOW!," screamed Dipper. Wendy and Soos tried to turn the valve, but to their dismay, it wouldn't budge an inch. "It's not working, dude!," said Soos.

Suddenly, the shapeshifter's tongue shot out from its mouth like a jungle frog's, sticking to Dipper's journal and trying to pull it away from him. "HEY, LET GO!," yelled Dipper, trying to pull it back. "Dipper!," gasped Sammy, turning around and running to help him. "You leave him alone!," yelled Wendy, leaving Soos' side to help Dipper as well. They both tried to grab the journal away from the monster, but the monster managed to pull away not only the journal, but Wendy along with it. "Wendy!," cried Dipper. "Dipper, stay back!," yelled Sammy, running up to the monster and tackling it head-on. At the same time, Wendy took out her axe and prepared to swing it down on the creature. But then, Soos was finally able to turn the valve, causing a huge stream of water to gush out of the pipe and hit the monster, washing it away along with Wendy and Sammy. But things only got worse from there. The pipe couldn't contain the sudden rush of water flowing through it, and it ended up breaking in half, causing even more water to erupt from the ground. Before they knew it, water quickly rose up to their chins, and a massive wave came out of nowhere and washed everyone away. Dipper, Mabel, and Soos struggled to stay afloat, while the monster was being carried along by the water with Wendy and Sammy.

As they were being swept away in the water, Sammy and Wendy instinctively swam towards each other. But then, Sammy noticed that Wendy was about to hit a boulder under the water, and thinking quickly, he grabbed Wendy, spun around, and made it so that he was the one who was going to hit the boulder instead of Wendy. He slammed into the hard rock, felt an intense pain in the back of his head, and blacked out, with Wendy's panicked face being the last thing he saw before losing consciousness. Eventually, all of the water drained out.

Dipper, Mabel, and Soos sat up on the cold, wet ground, soaking wet from head to toe and coughing out water from their lungs. Dipper looked around and saw Wendy's axe laying on the ground nearby, but no sign of its owner. Sammy was also nowhere to be seen.

He quickly got to his feet, picked up the axe, and ran through the tunnel. "WENDY! SAMMY!," he hollered, not even bothering to see if Mabel and Soos were following him. "Where are you guys?! WENDY! SAMMY!" Then, at the end of the tunnel, he was met with a sight that made his heart stop: Wendy lying motionlessly on the ground, her face turned away from him. "Wendy!," cried Dipper, dropping the axe before running to her side. "No, no, no-no-no! Can you hear me? Oh, please be okay, please be okay!" He shook Wendy, hoping that the redhead was going to wake up at any moment. Instead, she remained completely lifeless.

"Oh no, oh no! This is all my fault!," Dipper started sobbing, the words pouring out of his mouth before he could stop himself. "If I had told you when we were in the closet, we wouldn't be in this mess. But I was too scared and now you could be hurt or worse, and I never even got a chance to tell you I'm, like–in love with you, Wendy!" He covered his face in grief and started crying. But then, to his shock, he felt movement in front of him, and opened his eyes to see that Wendy was conscious again, looking up at him with a gentle smile that he could only describe as "angelic." "Dipper…," she whispered, her throat raw. "Oh my gosh, Wendy!," cried Dipper, relieved beyond words. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay! W-where's Sammy?! Is he okay, too?!" "Dipper…," Wendy whispered, smiling at him. "I need to tell you something…" "What is it?," asked Dipper, leaning closer.

Suddenly, Wendy grabbed Dipper by the throat. The boy's eyes went wide as he tried to escape her grip, scrabbling at her fingers to no avail. Sneering at him, the shapeshifter stood up, lifting Dipper in the air with just one hand. Then, he transformed back into his natural form, a large, white alien-looking creature with red eyes, a fanged maw that protruded from his head, a massive arm, and legs that resembled a spider's. "You're so gullible," it growled.

At that moment, Mabel and Soos emerged from the runnel and saw the shapeshifter holding Dipper up by the throat. "Dipper!," they cried out worriedly. The shapeshifter saw them approach and held Dipper out in front of him like a ragdoll. "Don't take another step closer! Do you want to see your brother get ripped in half?," he threatened. Mabel and Soos froze in their tracks, not sure what to do in this situation. Mabel spotted Wendy's axe laying on the ground and contemplated using it on the monster. But the shapeshifter had the same idea.

"Don't even think about using that toy on me, child!," he growled viciously. "I will break your brother's neck like a twig, and you will spend the rest of your life blaming yourself for his death! Is that what you want?! Hm?!" His grip on Dipper tightened painfully. "Guys…," Dipper croaked, barely able to breathe. "Get away. Just leave me here… Please…"

"NO!," cried Mabel, tears pouring down her face. "I won't leave you here!" She fell to her knees and started sobbing, overwhelmed by guilt. "It's my fault, Dipper! I should've let you in! I should've believed you when you said there was a monster, but I didn't! This is all my fault…" "Enough of these games!," the monster roared, suddenly sprouting multiple limbs that stretched over to them like taffy, grabbing Mabel with one limb and Soos with another. "This was fun, but I won't wait for a second later!," he growled. "Now the journal! Hand it over, boy!"

Though he had never felt more afraid in his entire life, Dipper glared at the shapeshifter defiantly. "No," he said. The monster narrowed his eyes in anger, then started searching through Dipper's vest with his free limb. "...You don't have it on you," he growled. He then flipped Mabel and Soos upside down and shook them, but nothing fell out of them other than Soos' hat. "And neither of you have the journal either!," he snarled, getting angrier. His hold on Dipper's throat tightened even more. "Where is the journal?! Where did you hide it?!," he roared.

Dipper desperately gasped for air, his vision going dark as he scrabbled at the monster's claws around his throat, his movements getting slower and slower. "Dipper! No!," cried Mabel as she and Soos struggled to escape the monster's grip. But just when it seemed like Dipper was about to get his neck broken, the grip around his throat suddenly loosened, allowing him to take in deep gulps of air. "No," the shapeshifter growled to himself. "No, I can't kill him just yet… The journal… I must have it… But how do I get my hands on it…?" Then, the monster gave Dipper a nasty smile that would've scared away a Gremloblin. "Your lumberjack girlfriend and the tall boy with glasses… Strange that they're both absent right now… One of them must have the journal. But it doesn't matter where they ran off to. I know this place like the back of my hand. No matter where they hide, I'll find them eventually… But you… You are going to help me…"

Meanwhile, Wendy - the real Wendy - slowly came to, feeling bruised all over. She sat up, then coughed water out of her lungs. As her vision came into focus, she looked around and realized that she had no idea where she was right now. She was in another one of those tunnels that the shapeshifter made in the past, though she couldn't tell which one - they all looked the same to her. She groaned and slowly stood up, her legs feeling wobbly. She realized that she didn't have her axe anymore and quietly cursed under her breath. Then, she saw Sammy who was lying facedown on the cold ground next to her. He was completely still.

Wendy was so out of it that when she saw Sammy lying there, her mind didn't even process what she was seeing for a few seconds. Then, realization came to her like a freight train. "Oh, sh*t!," she cried, running over Sammy and kneeling down next to him. "Sammy! Are you okay, man?!" She quickly turned him over on his back so that she could see his face. His glasses were missing, and his trademark bun was undone, his long brown hair flowing all over the ground around his head like a spiderweb. He also had a nasty bruise on his forehead and scratches on his face, but other than that, he seemed fine. Wendy quickly checked for a pulse, and was relieved to find out that Sammy was still alive, but sadly unconscious.

Then, her mind went to something else. Dipper! Mabel and Soos! The shapeshifter! She had to get back to them! The water blast was powerful, but she doubted that it was enough to kill the shapeshifter. Now that all the water had drained out, the monster was probably alive and well, and who knew what it was doing to them! She had to find the others as soon as possible, but she also couldn't leave Sammy here by himself. She gently shook him. "Hey. Sammy, wake up." Sammy let out a small groan, but he showed no other signs of waking up.

Wendy groaned, trying to think of a plan. If she really had to, she would carry Sammy on her back and find a way out of this place, and she did not look forward to that. She didn't know how much Sammy weighed, but the heaviest things she had ever lifted were large tree logs in her father's lumber mill, which were much lighter than an entire person, and she knew that the completely soaked clothes Sammy was wearing was only going to make him that much heavier. As she frantically racked her brain for ideas, she suddenly heard footsteps in the distance. She was immediately on her guard and instinctively reached for her axe, only to remember that she didn't have it. She hoped it was Dipper, Mabel, or Soos, and not the shapeshifter.

The man who appeared out of the shadows was someone who Wendy had never seen before, which only heightened her paranoia. That fear quickly grew tenfold when she noticed the 12-gauge shotgun that was strapped to his back. The man was wearing a hood that hid his face, a black leather jacket, large boots, and fingerless leather gloves. The man reached up and took his hood off, revealing his face. He had a mustache, a small beard, and a mop top hairstyle. But what really set Wendy on edge were the man's eyes. The way he stared at them… It was the same look that her father or one of her brothers had when they spotted a deer or some other animal during hunting season, but far colder. This man viewed them like his prey…

The man smiled chillingly. "You must be Wendy Corduroy," he said. His voice was soft and slithery, like how one would expect a snake to sound like if it could talk. "And that boy next to you must be Samuel Finch. It's a pleasure to finally meet you both face-to-face." Wendy got up to her feet and placed herself between the stranger and her unconscious friend. "Who the hell are you?," she asked roughly. "Whoa, now!," the man chuckled, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "No need to be so rude. Is that any way to treat a stranger?"

Wendy narrowed her eyes at him. "Who? Are? You?," she repeated. This man was dangerous, she could already tell. "I am just a man who found you and your unconscious friend in a place where children shouldn't be, and felt that you both needed my aid," the man replied calmly, lowering his hands. "My name is Gilles, by the way. It is a pleasure to meet you, Wendy." He reached out his hand for a handshake, but Wendy didn't comply, standing her ground while keeping a suspicious glare on him. She had been tricked by the shapeshifter, and she was not going to make the same mistake again. Gilles retracted his hand with an amused smirk. "Tell me, mon chère, what are you both doing down here?," he asked. "Like I said, this is no place for children. And what happened to your friend?" "Let me ask you something first, pal!," Wendy said aggressively. "How did you know our names? I've never seen you before in my life!"

"No, you haven't," Gilles admitted. "But I've seen you before. Plenty of times." "What?," asked Wendy, confused. "What are you saying? Did… Were you spying on me the whole time, you creep?!" "Not just you, mademoiselle," said Gilles. "Your unconscious friend, your boss who doesn't know you're here, the fat manchild with the buck teeth, the little girl who loves sweaters, and the little boy who loves poking his nose in business that doesn't concern him. I have been watching you all for some time now. But please, ma'am, don't mistake me for a harceleur. I was assigned to do so by my employer. He has taken a deep interest in the Pines."

"What does your employer want with the Pines? Who is your employer?," demanded Wendy. "I'm afraid I cannot say, ma'am," said Gilles. "All I can tell you is that he is a dangerous man, and he does not want his identity revealed to anyone but a select few individuals, including myself. You see, we are part of a small group of rebels. We believe it is our duty to disrupt the status quo, to sow chaos and havoc where there is none, to show the entire boring world just how much fun we could all have, if we just let loose and discard these silly rules that we force ourselves to abide by, these rules that we call 'morals'. We have a little… operation going on at the moment, but the arrival of two certain government agents have forced us to speed things along, so to speak. That is why I have followed you all into this underground cave. That is why I am here. You have something that my employer wants, something that is absolutely crucial to our operation. We want the journal. So…" He held out his hand. "...hand it over."

This guy is insane, thought Wendy. "Why?," she asked. "What does your employer want with the journal?" "You ask too many questions, child," said Gilles. "Hand it over." "...And what if I say no?," asked Wendy. She knew that anyone who would ask for the journal without giving an explanation wouldn't be up to any good. Gilles sighed, as if he expected Wendy to be stubborn about it. "Then I will kill you both if you don't give me what I want," he said calmly.

Wendy was suddenly gripped by a sense of fear and panic that she had rarely ever felt before. She had to get herself and Sammy away from that man! She quickly grabbed Sammy, struggled to lift him up in her arms, and tried to run away with him. Instead of running after them or getting out his shotgun, Gilles just chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "Eliza!," he suddenly hollered out. "We have a runner!" On the other side of the tunnel, someone stepped out from around the corner, blocking Wendy's path. It was a woman with pale skin and brown hair, who wore a red, beautiful dress that belonged in a high-society ballroom and looked very out of place in this underground cave system. The smile on her face was cruel and taunting, like a cat that has just cornered a mouse, and her eyes were as cold as Gilles'. Wendy stopped in her tracks, nearly dropping Sammy, her boots skidding across the stone ground.

When Wendy accidentally got close to the woman, she was suddenly hit with a terrible smell that made her gag and want to throw up. It was a thick, coppery aroma that she instantly recognized from joining her father and brothers' numerous hunting trips. The smell of blood. It was overwhelming and made Wendy's eyes water. The woman smirked at Wendy, took a knife out from behind her back, and pointed it at the lumberjack's face. "Drop the boy," she spoke in a smooth, silky voice that was just as chilling as Gilles'. "Or I will cut you into pieces, drain all the blood from your body, and bathe in it." Wendy shuddered, letting out a shaky breath. In front of her was a woman with a knife who smelled like blood. Behind her was a man with a shotgun. She had nowhere to go, she was unarmed, and Sammy was still unconscious.

Wendy flinched when she felt the cold metal of a shotgun barrel touch the back of her head. "Do what she says, please," said Gilles. Seeing no other choice but to comply, Wendy gently laid Sammy back down, slowly raised up her hands in surrender, and slowly turned to face Gilles, flinching again when she saw the shotgun barrel pointed barely an inch away from her face. "Listen–," she started to say, hoping she could reason with them, before Gilles flipped his shotgun around and painfully slammed the handle into her forehead. At the same time, the woman grabbed Wendy from behind, holding her knife over the redhead's throat.

Gilles put the shotgun's strap back onto his shoulder, then knelt down next to Sammy's unconscious form. "No, don't–!," cried Wendy, before the woman's knife started pressing down on her throat, cutting off her voice. Gilles patted Sammy down, then shook his head and stood back up. Then, he went up to Wendy, about to do the same thing. Wendy instinctively lashed out at him by kicking him in the groin. Gilles stumbled back and bent over, groaning in pain. Wendy then tried to elbow Eliza, but the woman twisted around to avoid it and pressed her knife down even harder, causing a small trickle of blood to start seeping from Wendy's throat.

After a short moment, Gilles managed to regain his composure. He glared at Wendy, with no more pretense of chivalry, and slapped her in the face so hard that she started seeing stars. Then, he patted her down like he did to Sammy. "Neither of you have the journal on you," he said in disgust, shaking his head. "Where is it? Where did you hide it?" Wendy narrowed her eyes at him, then spat out a glob of saliva that landed on his face. Gilles slowly wiped the spit from his face and glared at Wendy. "I've tried to be polite," he growled. Then, he took out his shotgun again and aimed it at her face. "Tell me where the journal is," he said, "or I'll blow your head off your shoulders." Wendy just glared back at him, not saying a single word.

"She's a brave one, isn't she?," said Eliza, letting out a deranged giggle. "Stupid is more like it," Gilles grumbled. He cocked his shotgun, making a loud, clicking sound that would have made anyone else flinch. This time, Wendy didn't flinch. Gilles glared at Wendy, then glanced down at Sammy, then looked back at Wendy with a smirk. He aimed his shotgun at Sammy's head. "Wait, wait, wait, STOP!," shouted Wendy, instantly losing her brave face.

"Oh?," said Gilles, raising an eyebrow. "Have I jogged your memory? Do you remember where the journal is now?" "I… No, I… I don't know where it is," sighed Wendy. "The last thing I remember before getting knocked out was that the shapeshifter had it." "The shapeshifter, eh?," asked Gilles, lowering his shotgun. "So you're saying he has it?" "I don't know, maybe," sighed Wendy, hanging her head down. "It was all a blur." Eliza's knife dug even deeper into her throat, causing her to wince in pain. "If you're lying, I'll slice you apart," she hissed.

"Now, now, Eliza," said Gilles, calming her down. "I think she's telling the truth. So the shapeshifter has the journal…" A cruel smile slowly spread on his face. "You know, I've hunted down my fair share of exotic beasts in the past. Elephants, tigers, bears, crocodiles, humans… but a shapeshifter? That's a new one… Yes, I think I would absolutely enjoy hunting down and killing a shapeshifter, even without the journal as a reward. The thrill of it would be enough for me." He gave Wendy a mocking bow. "Thank you for your cooperation, mademoiselle, but I'm afraid you're no longer needed. Eliza, kill her." "With pleasure," said Eliza, before leaning in to whisper into Wendy's ear, "I hope your blood is as sweet and warm as I think it is."

So this is it, Wendy thought bitterly. This is where it all ends. Getting killed by a couple of psychopaths while the shapeshifter is still out there, probably terrorizing my friends right now. I can't believe this sh*t… As Eliza was about to slit her throat, Gilles happened to glance down at where Sammy was laying. He did a double take. "Where did he go?!," he yelled.

Suddenly, someone snuck up behind Gilles and punched him in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. Then, that person took Gilles' shotgun and aimed it at Eliza's face. "Let go of her. Now," Sammy said in a low, soft, and dangerous voice. Eliza kept Wendy in front of her, the knife still on her throat, hoping to use her as a meat shield. "Put the gun down, sweetie," she said, using the same angelic voice that she used to seduce the numerous young men she had brainwashed in the past. "You don't want anything to happen to your little friend, do you?" But Sammy appeared to be unaffected by her voice. "Let go of her," he repeated.

"Or what? You're going to shoot me?," Eliza taunted. "Sweetie, I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into. Say, here's an idea. Why don't you just let me kill her right now? And you can join us. The Horsemen are always looking for new members, after all. We could help you grow into the most dangerous, most powerful, and most feared person in the entire world. Just imagine what we could accomplish together, sweetie. We–"

Without warning, Sammy pulled the trigger. BANG!

Sammy wasn't worried in the slightest when it came to his aim. It wasn't just his hand-to-hand that he had perfected in the military, after all. He had also trained with a variety of different firearms until he had mastered all of them, including assault rifles, grenade launchers, and yes, shotguns. The bullet whizzed through the air and scraped against Eliza's face, leaving behind a deep, red gash in her cheek. For a brief moment, Eliza was frozen in place, having not yet processed what had just happened to her. Then, she let out a horrified scream and let go of Wendy, dropping her knife to the ground with a loud clatter. "NOOOOO!," she howled, clutching her bleeding face. It wasn't a scream of pain, but a scream of horror and grief.

"My face! My beautiful face! What have you done?!," she screamed. Wendy turned around and punched Eliza in the face as hard as she could, causing her to fall to the ground. Eliza dropped to her knees and glared up at Wendy with so much venom and hatred in her eyes that it was scary to look at. "Te kibaszott kurva!," she growled, blood flowing from the gash in her cheek and blending in with her dress. "Nézd, mit csinált a barátod az arcommal! A szépségem örökre tönkremegy! Várd meg, amíg Hugo elkap téged! Szenvedni fog téged–!"

Wendy kicked Eliza in the face, knocking her out cold. Eliza slowly slumped to the ground in an unflattering position, a small pool of blood forming below her face. She reached up to her own throat and winced when she touched the small cut that Eliza's knife left behind. Her fingertips came away with blood on them. "Are you alright, Wendy?," asked Sammy, walking up to her with Gilles' shotgun at his side. "Yeah, I'm fine," Wendy assured him, ripping off another piece of her shirt and using it to cover her throat. "What about you, though? I remember when we were in the water, you used your body as a shield to protect me from hitting a rock - which you shouldn't have done, by the way - and you were unconscious for a while."

"I'm fine too," said Sammy, rubbing his back with a grimace. "My back kind of aches, though, and my head's still a little fuzzy, but other than that, I'm fine." He looked at Gilles and Eliza, who were both unconscious. "Who were those two, anyway?" "Beats me," said Wendy with a shrug. "All I know is that they're part of a group of unhinged psychos whose boss wanted the journal for some reason. Don't ask, 'cause I have no idea why." Sammy groaned. "First the shapeshifter, and now them. I'm starting to think we're getting in way too deep."

At the mention of the shapeshifter, Wendy's eyes went wide. "The shapeshifter! Crap! Sammy, we have to find the others! That thing's after them right now! It probably got to them already! We need to find them!" Sammy's eyes also widened in realization. "You're right," he said. "There's no time to lose. Come on!" The two of them were about to run out of the tunnel, but Sammy suddenly stopped. "Wait wait wait wait wait!," he said rapidly. "We can't just leave those two as they are, or they'll wake up and come after us again." "So what do you think we should do?," asked Wendy. "Kill them?" The moment killing was mentioned, both of them felt very uncomfortable; Wendy because she never had to kill anyone before, and Sammy because he felt that he had already done more than enough killing in Vietnam, and didn't want to kill any more people if he could help it. "No, we're not doing that," he immediately said.

In the end, they settled on simply tying them up with rope that Wendy had brought with her for the trip to the bunker. Then, they left the two bound and unconscious killers behind and ran out of the tunnel, with Sammy taking Gilles' shotgun with him. He had a feeling that he was going to have to use it again soon. They kept on running and running until their lungs started to burn. Then, they heard cries for help in the distance. "Wendy! Sammy! Help us!"

"That sounds like Mabel!," gasped Sammy. He was about to run towards the direction of the cries when Wendy suddenly stopped him, grabbing onto his shoulder. "Wait a minute," she said cautiously. "Remember, the shapeshifter can also mimic our voices. It might be using her voice to lure us into a trap." The very idea of the shapeshifter using Mabel's voice to cry out for help, luring them in while playing with their emotions, made Sammy's fist tighten up. "So what do you think we should do?," he asked, anger seeping into his voice. Wendy thought about it for a moment, then glanced at the shotgun Sammy was holding. "You can definitely use that thing, right?," she asked, pointing at it. Sammy nodded. "Our drill sergeant wanted to prepare us as much as he could for the war," he said. "He made us train with all kinds of firearms, not just our rifles." He became concerned when something occurred to him. "Do your ears hurt? I'm asking because a gun firing close to you could damage your hearing. I'm really sorry."

"It's fine, dude," said Wendy. "My ears are still ringing a little, but that'll go away soon." She hoped. "Listen, if the shapeshifter is really trying to lure us in, I have a plan…"

A few minutes later, Wendy went into the place where all the glass tubes were. She came in alone. That was where she heard the voices coming from. The moment she walked inside, she saw Dipper, Mabel, and Soos each trapped in a tube. When they saw her, they started banging on the glass and yelling, trying to warn her that this was a trap.

Even if Wendy had intended to leave, it was too late anyway. The shapeshifter suddenly jumped down from the ceiling and landed right behind her, blocking her exit if she decided to run away. "You humans really are foolish," he taunted, looming over her. "Did you really think that was one of your little friends crying for help?" Dude, I literally figured out it was a trap, like, right away, Wendy thought, although she knew better than to say that out loud. "Hey, listen here, you weird, creepy, skinwalker wannabe!," said Wendy, glaring up at him. "Let go of my friends right now, or else!" The shapeshifter laughed, then scooped her up in his massive hand.

"You're in no position to negotiate with me, child!," he growled. "Now tell me, where is the journal?!" He started squeezing Wendy in his tight steel grip. The redhead winced in pain, but managed to keep her composure enough to give the monster a confident smirk. "Tough luck, man. I don't have it on me," she said. The shapeshifter narrowed his eyes. "If you don't have it, then it must be in the hands of your other friend with the glasses. Where is he?!"

Wendy deliberately paused for a moment, then lowered her head and looked down, using all the acting skills she has gained in her school plays from long ago to make herself look depressed. "He left," she said, trying to sound as morose as possible. "He took the journal with him and left us behind." She even forced herself to start crying to make her performance appear more authentic. Meanwhile, Dipper, Mabel, and Soos were watching and listening to this, each of them trapped in a glass tube. The shocked looks of disbelief on their faces showed just how good of a performer Wendy could be if she wanted. "He left you for dead to save his own skin?," the shapeshifter asked mockingly. "So he must be a weakling and a coward."

Wendy had to bite back a retort. "In that case, none of you have any use for me anymore," the shapeshifter gloated. "I have your friends trapped, and I have you literally in my grasp. After I slaughter you all and take your forms, I'll go up to the surface and find him myself, even if I have to tear apart the entire town in the process! You were a fool to come back here all by yourself. Any last words before I crush you into paste?" "Yeah, I got a couple," said Wendy. "NOW, SAMMY!" Before the shapeshifter even knew what happened, there was a loud BANG that echoed throughout the entire room, and a large hole suddenly appeared in the monster's chest. Through the hole, Wendy could see Sammy at the entrance of the tunnel, down on one knee with the shotgun aimed at the shapeshifter's back. The smoke drifting from the end of the barrel showed that he had already fired. The shapeshifter screeched in pain, dropping Wendy to the ground. But it was going to take more than a shotgun blast to put him down.

"Push him in!," yelled Wendy. While the shapeshifter clutched at the bullet wound in his chest and screeched in agony, Sammy and Wendy worked together to push him into one of the empty glass tubes, which took a lot of effort due to how strong and large the monster was. But fortunately, they were able to push him into the tube, then shut him in. "Fools!," the shapeshifter roared, banging his fists against the glass. "Do you really think this fragile prison will keep me trapped forever?!" Wendy frantically looked around and noticed her beloved axe laying in the corner of the room. "Sammy! Go back to the surveillance room and freeze the shapeshifter!," she ordered. "I'll free the others!" "Got it!," said Sammy, running towards the door.

Wendy ran to her axe, picked it up, then used it to smash the glass tubes that Dipper, Mabel, and Soos were trapped in. Meanwhile, the shapeshifter continued banging against his glass prison, and eventually made a large crack in it. "Get behind me, guys!," said Wendy as she stood in front of them and gripped her axe tightly, ready for another fight if the monster managed to break free. Fortunately, that wasn't the case, because just before the shapeshifter was about to escape, Sammy reached the control panel in the surveillance room and pressed a button that activated the tube. As freezing gas began filling up the monster's tube, he tried even harder to escape, even shapeshifting into other creatures. "No!," he roared, turning himself into a rock monster, then a flame monster, then back to his human disguise. "No! Let me ouuuut!," he screeched, finally reverting to his natural form. Then, he vanished in the gas.

"Ha! Frozen!," cheered Mabel, giving Soos a fist bump. "Boosh!" Sammy ran back to where the others were. "Did it work? Is he frozen?," he asked frantically. "See for yourself," said Wendy, pointing at the tube, which was completely filled with freezing gas to the point that they couldn't even see the shapeshifter anymore. "Thank goodness," Sammy sighed.

"Guys, that was amazing!," Dipper started gushing. "I mean, Wendy, you were so convincing that you actually tricked me for a moment! And Sammy, the way you snuck in here while Wendy was distracting the shapeshifter and then shot him with that… um, that shotgun… I've never seen anything like that! Where the heck did you get a shotgun, though?"

"I stole it from a couple of people who tried to kill us," Sammy said bluntly. "Long story," he sighed when he saw the shocked look on Dipper's face. "You can tell us about it later, dude. Let's get out of here," said Soos. Suddenly, the group heard evil laughter from within the glass tube and gasped, realizing that the shapeshifter was not completely frozen after all. Then, the shapeshifter pressed his grotesque face against the glass. "You think you're all so clever, don't you, children?," he growled. "But you have no idea what you're up against. You will never find the author. If you keep digging, you'll meet a fate worse than you can imagine. And this will be the last form you ever take!" Then, the monster transformed into a horrifying hybrid creature of Dipper, Mabel, Sammy, Wendy, and Soos, all of them melded together and screaming in horror. Then, the shapeshifter finally did freeze, forever trapped in this disturbing form.

For a while, nobody knew what to say because they were so horrified by what they had just witnessed. They just stared at the frozen abomination in the tube, knowing that they were never going to be the same people when they walked out of the bunker. Finally, it was Soos who broke the silence with an ill-timed joke. "Good luck sleeping tonight!," he laughed. Everyone else slowly turned their heads to look at him in disbelief. Then, Sammy let out a quiet snicker before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Wendy followed suit, then Mabel, then Dipper, and for the next few minutes, they were laughing so hard that they had to hold onto each other to prevent themselves from falling over. It was exactly what they needed after such an ordeal.

They were about to leave when suddenly, they heard what sounded like growling and scratching noises from behind one of the tubes. They were immediately on their guard again. "Seriously, another one?!," Wendy hissed, taking out her axe. Sammy got out the shotgun and pointed it at the direction of the sounds. Slowly, the group inched towards the tube, with Wendy and Sammy taking the lead while the rest of them stayed at the rear. Finally, they all ran around the tube while screaming in unison, waving their weapons and fists in the air…

…only for a ball of fur to fly through the air and attach itself to Soos' face. "AHHH! Get it off me! Get it off me, dudes!," the handyman screamed, falling to the ground. Dipper managed to pry off whatever was scratching at Soos' face and held it at arm's length while the animal was growling and scratching at the air. "Is that a raccoon?," asked Wendy, bewildered.

Sure enough, it was a raccoon, though what a raccoon was doing in a place like this was beyond them. "Aw, hey there, little guy!," Mabel cooed, reaching out to pet it, only for the animal to snap at her hand with its teeth, barely missing her fingers. "Whoa!," she cried, snatching her hand away. "Hey! Bad raccoon! Bad!" "But what's a raccoon even doing here?," asked Sammy, lowering the shotgun. Suddenly, they heard yet another noise coming from behind them, a pair of footsteps. Sammy spun around and aimed the shotgun at whoever was sneaking up on them, thinking it was either Gilles or Eliza. Instead, he came face to face - or rather, face to gun barrel - with a very familiar old man with a long white beard, a brown hat, and overalls.

"Well, howdy there, friends! Long time no see!," said the old man, not caring at all that he had a shotgun pointed directly at his face. "M-M-McGucket?!," cried Sammy, quickly putting the shotgun down. "What are you doing here?," asked Dipper, who was just as shocked.

"I was lookin' for Emma-May!," said McGucket. "Emma-May?," asked Soos, getting up with fresh scratch marks on his face. "My raccoon wife!," McGucket said proudly. "She done scampered off a while ago, and I was able to track 'er down here!" He saw the raccoon that Dipper was holding and smiled joyfully. "Emma-May!," he said, holding out his arms for a hug. The raccoon saw McGucket, hissed at Dipper, then twisted itself out of his hands and jumped into McGucket's arms. "I finally found ya! Now don't you go runnin' off like that again! You done scared me half to death, you did!" He affectionately nuzzled the raccoon, who was surprisingly fine with it. "...This is both very weird and very adorable to watch," said Mabel.

"I am so, so sorry about that, McGucket!," Sammy apologized fretfully. "I didn't mean to almost shoot you! We were all on edge after… Well, a lot of things happened before you came, so we were all pretty paranoid and–" "Aw, think nothin' of it, Sammy!," said McGucket, waving his concerns away. "Didn't mean to scare you all. By the way, I think I got somethin' that one of you has lost!" He took a rectangular object out of his pocket and held it out to them.

"The journal!," cried Dipper, happily taking it. "I was wondering where it was! Where did you find it?" "I found it in one of them tunnels," said McGucket, pointing to a nearby tunnel. "As I was looking for my raccoon wife, this big ol' wave of water came out of nowhere and darn near washed me to an early grave! When I came to, I was holdin' your journal in my hands! Couldn't even remember how that happened. Oh, and I also came across two people who got tied up by some no-good hooligans, so I freed them by chewing through their ropes!"

"Wait," said Wendy, her voice ice cold. "You freed two people who were tied up?" The old man nodded with pride. "...What did they look like?," she asked. "Well, one was a man and one was a woman," McGucket explained. "They were real nice people, though I didn't like looking at their eyes all that much. Really scary eyes, they both got… Anyway, after I freed 'em, they were really thankful. The man saw the book I was holding and asked me if he could have it. I told him I couldn't give it to him, 'cause I knew it belonged to you. They were real understanding about it. And look!" He turned around, and to everyone else's shock, there was a knife sticking out of his back. It was Eliza's knife. "The woman was kind enough to give me a parting gift!"

"...We need to get out of here now," said Sammy. "I was right. This place isn't safe."

Eventually, the group went back up to the surface, just outside of the tree. After all that they've just been through, finally seeing the outside world again was a huge relief. "Dude, I think I'm kind of adventured out for a little while. My face hurts from doing this all day," said Soos. He made a screaming face, then winced from the tiny claw marks that were inflicted by the raccoon. "Yeah, but you gotta admit we're all total heroes," Mabel laughed. Soos playfully tousled Mabel's hair. "Hey, who wants to get some heroes' breakfast, huh?," he asked. Mabel gasped excitedly and climbed onto Soos' shoulders like a monkey. "Syrup on cereal!," she cried. "Mabel, you're a visionary!," said Soos, as the two of them walked off to the other side of the trees.

Meanwhile, Sammy had taken McGucket to a nearby creek to tend to the knife wound on his back. He had the old man take off his overalls, then prepared to pull the knife out of his back. "Get ready, McGucket. This is going to hurt a lot," he warned. Then, he pulled the knife out as quickly as possible. McGucket took it surprisingly well, barely making a single sound. Sammy washed away the blood with cold water from the creek. "I really appreciate you doin' this for me, Sammy," said McGucket. "I was starting to get afraid that you'd forgotten me."

"Forgotten you?," Sammy asked in confusion. "Well, you don't show up at the dump anymore," said McGucket. Sammy thought back to the last time he actually visited McGucket at the town dump, and realized that it had been a long while since. "I'm sorry," he said, feeling a bit ashamed. "A lot of stuff happened recently, and I guess I got kind of distracted. I can come by tomorrow, if you want…" "Naw, it's fine," McGucket reassured him. "I don't want to make you feel like yer obligated to come visit me all the time. Just knowin' that there's someone out there who cares I'm still alive is enough for me." Sammy froze, the old hillbilly's words striking a chord in him. Someone out there who cares I'm still alive… "...Then I'm glad I got to be that person for you," he said, his voice slightly quivering as he continued to wash McGucket's back.

Meanwhile, it was just Dipper and Wendy in the clearing outside the tree. Mabel and Soos had presumably gone back to the shack without them, and Sammy was busy tending to McGucket's knife wound near the creek. As they waited for the others, Dipper nervously sent a glance towards Wendy. The last time he had confessed his love to her, it turned out to be the shapeshifter. This was his chance! He had to tell her how he really felt about her!

"W-W-Wendy," he said, hating that he was stammering. "Listen… When Mabel locked us in the closet and said I had something to tell you…" Wendy looked at him and smiled. "Dude. It's okay. I kinda always knew," she said. "Wait, you did?," asked Dipper, doing a double take. "Yeah man," Wendy chuckled, "you think I can't hear that stuff you're constantly whispering under your breath?" Dipper groaned in embarrassment and sat down on a nearby log. "Oh man!," he said, covering his face with his hands. Wendy gave a sympathetic smile and sat next to him. "Listen Dipper, I'm like, super flattered, but… I'm too old for you. I mean, you know that, right?," she asked. "Mabel said confessing would make me feel better," groaned Dipper.

"Well, how do you feel?," asked Wendy. "Anxious. Scared. Kinda itchy," said Dipper. "Dude, don't be itchy man," said Wendy. "Let me tell you something. This summer was super boring until you showed up. I have more fun with you than, like, practically anybody else. And if you ever stopped being my friend… I would, like, throw myself into the Bottomless Pit!" Dipper looked up at her in wonder, hoping that she meant every word of what she said.

"So things won't be too, awkward, now?," Dipper asked hopefully. "I had a crazy guy aim his gun at my face while his weird girlfriend held a knife to my throat," Wendy said in a deadpan voice. "That was more than just awkward, it was traumatizing. And on top of that, we had to deal with the shapeshifter. If you handle that monster, you can handle a little awkwardness." Dipper stared at her in shock and concern. "Are… Are you okay, Wendy?," he asked tentatively. "I'll be fine, dude," Wendy said confidently. "I mean, I'll probably have some trouble sleeping tonight, but it's nothing I can't handle." Dipper slowly nodded. "Okay, then. So… friends?"

"Yeah, dude! Friends!," said Wendy, playfully shoving him off the log. The two of them laughed as Wendy pulled him back onto the log. "Oh, and hey Dipper? See you for movie night tomorrow. Your place this time, okay?" She got up and biked away, waving at Dipper as she left. Dipper stared after her with a dreamy smile on his face. Suddenly, Mabel popped out of some nearby bushes. "Sooo? How did it go?," she asked excitedly. Dipper gave a start. "Wha–what did you hear?," he asked. "Everything! All the time!," said Mabel. "I'M NOT HERE!," Soos yelled from inside the bushes that Mabel just popped out from. Dipper sighed heavily. "Mabel, how can everything be so amazing and so terrible all at the same time?," he asked.

Suddenly, the grin on Mabel's face was replaced by a shameful expression. "I'm sorry, Dipper," she said meekly. "I'm sorry that I never listened to you, that I kept you in a locker with Wendy, that I didn't believe you when you said there was a monster… None of us would have been in danger if it wasn't for me…" "Hey, Mabel, don't beat yourself up over it. It's okay," said Dipper. "Is it, though?!," Mabel suddenly cried out angrily, surprising her brother.

"Whoa! Mabel? What's going on? Where is this coming from?," he asked. "I put you and Wendy in danger because I wanted you to confess to her so badly!," cried Mabel, the tears in her eyes starting to return. "I didn't even believe you when you said there was a monster! You, my own brother! And it's not the first time something like that has happened, right?!"

"Mabel…," sighed Dipper, finally realizing what was going on. "Do you remember when we went back in time together?," asked Mabel, her voice quaking. "When we were in the nurse's office? I promised I was going to change, that I was going to be a better sister." She hung her head as tears dripped from her face. "It didn't take long to break that promise, huh?"

"...You know, Mabel," Dipper said gently, placing his hand on her shoulder. "It's not that hard for you to make it up to me." Mabel looked up at him with wide, teary eyes. "Really? What do I have to do, then?," she asked anxiously. Dipper smiled and shrugged. "Just… be there for me," he said. "Listen to what I have to say, and don't just shrug it off like you usually do. And of course, I'll make sure to do the same for you. It's going to be alright, okay Mabel?"

Mabel wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater and smiled at Dipper. "Thanks, bro-bro," she said softly, hugging him tightly. Dipper hugged her back. They stayed that way for a while, then separated. "Feel better?," asked Dipper. "Yeah, a lot better," said Mabel, wiping her eyes again. "I should thank Sammy when I have the chance." Dipper looked at her in confusion. "What does Sammy have to do with this?," he asked. Mabel's eyes widened. "N-nothing," she said unconvincingly. Dipper narrowed his eyes in suspicion and was about to press her further when Soos suddenly came out of the bushes and sat between them, forcefully pushing them apart with his body. "I'm still bummed we're no closer to finding the author guy," he said, quickly changing the subject. "At least I got his science-y coat and briefcase." For the first time, Dipper noticed that Soos was wearing a white lab coat and holding a dusty old briefcase.

"Where did you get that?," Dipper asked, quickly forgetting about Mabel's small slip-up as he stared at the briefcase in Soos' lap. "I got it from that surveillance room when we were heading back up, dude," said Soos. "It looks kinda cool, doesn't it?" He held up the briefcase, and to their shock, the lid suddenly flopped open, revealing a keyboard and a black screen. It wasn't a briefcase after all. It was a laptop! "Whoa! What the?," Soos cried out.

At that moment, Sammy and McGucket were just heading back into the clearing, the former having finished cleaning out the latter's wound. "Sorry that I don't have any bandages on me right now," Sammy was saying to McGucket. "I could take you to the shack. We've probably got some bandages th–!" He froze and stared at the laptop that Soos was holding.

"Is… Is that a laptop?," he asked in bewilderment. "Yeah! And a really busted up one too," said Mabel. Soos held the laptop close to his face, observing it closely. "I bet I could get this thing fixed up in a few days. It's gonna take a lotta duct tape," he said. "This could be our next clue!," Dipper said excitedly, glad that they didn't go down into the bunker and risk their lives for nothing. There was also a label on the laptop that said Property of F.

Sammy glanced at McGucket and was both surprised and concerned when he saw that the old man appeared to be in some sort of deep trance. He was staring at the laptop with wide eyes, almost as though he recognized it… "McGucket?," he asked softly, tapping his shoulder. "Is something wrong?" McGucket immediately snapped out of his trance. "Whooo-eeeyyy!," he cried, shaking his head vigorously. "I don't know what just happened, but it felt like my brain was submerged in molasses!" Sammy stared at McGucket for a while, then shrugged it off, deciding that it was just one of the hillbilly's many quirks. "Come on, guys, let's get back to the shack," he said. "It's getting late, and Stan's going to be wondering where we are right now."

"Is Grunkle Stan even going to let you bring Old Man McGucket into the shack?," asked Dipper. "You know how he feels about us bringing in other people, especially when they can't pay him anything." "An old man was literally stabbed in the back, Dipper," said Sammy. "When we get back, I'll make sure to give him a good talking to if he doesn't let him in."

Later that night, the woods were dark, with only a few small slivers of moonlight shining through the canopy up above. Almost everywhere was pitch black, with plenty of shadows to hide in - a perfect place for a hunter. Gilles was laying down on his belly, peeking through the bushes at a couple of gnomes in the clearing. They were eating and sharing strawberry jam with each other. Gilles' lip curled up in disgust as he aimed his brand new shotgun at them. He was quite furious when he found out that his old one had been stolen from him, but at least he had a full stock of new, unused firearms to choose from. This one, he had been itching to use for some time now. He carefully aimed the barrel at the unsuspecting gnomes, and placed his finger on the trigger. Once again, he felt the familiar rush of adrenaline that came with a hunt.

Gilles was always excited at the prospect of a kill. That was why he started hunting to begin with. He hunted down animals, the bigger and badder they were, the better. But of course, there was nothing more thrilling to him than hunting down humans. He had slaughtered so many people in his incredibly long lifespan, even before he discovered his love for guns and became a hunter. To him, gnomes were just little people. He was about to pull the trigger…

"What do you think you're doing, Gilles?!," a voice hissed behind him. The gnomes, who finally realized that they weren't alone, quickly scampered off on all fours. Gilles cursed under his breath and turned around to see Eliza standing over him with her arms crossed. "Why did you do that, you b*h?!," he hissed back. "I was about to get a perfectly good kill!"

"Idióta! If I had let you fire your gun just now, the blast would've given us away! We're supposed to remain inconspicuous!," growled Eliza. The left side of her face was covered in a wad of thick bandages, concealing the bullet wound that Sammy gave her. "Anyway, that little bas*d, Holmes, wanted me to come get you. He has requested a meeting."

"Requested?," Gilles snorted, finding the notion absurd. "That arrogant little… He thinks that just because Hugo is away, that makes him the one in charge of us! I can't wait until the day I blow a hole through his head." "Get in line," Eliza sneered. "Although I wouldn't want to kill him too quickly. He deserves a slow death. Preferably from my knives…" "And then? You're going to drain out all the blood from his body and take a bath in it like you always do?," Gilles snickered. Eliza immediately stiffened up in revulsion. "Ugh, gross!," she gagged. "Don't even joke about that! Like I would want to bathe in the blood of a disgusting old man like Holmes."

Eventually, the two killers arrived at a large cave on the side of a mountain. It used to be the home of the Manotaurs, before the Horsemen slaughtered nearly all of them and claimed it as their own. There was only one survivor of that massacre, the one named Chutzpar, who had barely escaped with his life. He had fled for his life, and with nowhere else to go, had no other choice but to take shelter in the same cave as the Multi-bear. Oh, the irony…

Gilles and Eliza entered the cave and saw a third person standing with his back to them, a person that they were both very familiar with, and someone who they loathed with every fiber of their being, the aforementioned Holmes. Holmes had his arms crossed behind his back, and though he heard their footsteps and knew they were back, he refrained from looking behind him, believing it made him look more "suave" and "imposing" than he really was.

The Horsemen had made some renovations to the Man Cave after taking over it. They had removed the darts board, the foosball table, the hot tub, the gong, and Leaderaur's throne. They had replaced all of those things with a large rack that stored all of Gilles' precious guns and hunting equipment, an ornate porcelain bathtub for Eliza that was stained red on the inside and literally smelled like death, a long wooden workbench for Holmes where he worked on all sorts of different machinery and torture contraptions, and in the very back of the cave, a large mural on the wall depicting a one-eyed triangle with a top hat and a small bowtie.

"You know," Holmes finally spoke, his voice oozing with arrogance and self-importance, "it still absolutely boggles me how you two were even recruited to begin with. Outsmarted by two unarmed teenagers and a crazy old man? You're both pathetic." He finally turned around to face the others. He was wearing a bowler hat, a dark trench coat, and had a prominent mustache and sideburns. His eyes were just as dark, cold, and empty as Gilles' and Eliza's.

"Let me start with you, Gilles," Holmes sneered. "They call you The Hunter because, by your own words, you are a hunter of men. Didn't you always brag that no creature in the world, beast or man, normal or paranormal, could ever escape your clutches? And didn't you boast that, had you been alive during the Cretacious period, you could've hunted down the dinosaurs to extinction, no meteor required? And yet, you were knocked out and tied up by two children! You had a gun, Gilles! A GUN! And you still let them get one over you! Unbelievable! I swear, you are undoubtedly the poorest excuse of a hunter I have ever laid eyes upon!"

Then, Holmes turned towards Eliza, and his sneer grew at the sight of her. "And you, Elizabeth. You are perhaps just as bad as Gilles, if not worse. You literally had one of them in your clutches! You had her by the throat! And what did you do? You let her go and got kicked in the face because your oh-so-precious beauty was ruined! Oh, and let me remind you, that only happened because the other one used YOUR SHOTGUN, Gilles, to scar her permanently! But it didn't end there, did it? You were both tied up, having just regained consciousness, and along comes a crazy old man with the journal in his hands! After he freed you, you could've pried the book from his cold, dead fingers if you had to! And what did you do instead, Elizabeth? Stick a knife into his back, only for him to run away before you could do anything else! Incompetent! I swear, Elizabeth, The Harlot could not be a more fitting nickname for you!"

"Watch it, Holmes," Eliza growled. "Don't forget that you are talking to your elders. You may have The Gift, just like the rest of us, but you haven't lived as long as we have. So watch your tone!" Holmes sneered at Eliza. That was Holmes' default facial expression. He sneered at just about everybody. In fact, there was only one person that he never dared sneer at, and that person wasn't even here right now. "Maybe so," he acknowledged. "You have both lived longer lives than I have, gained more experience, killed more people… which only baffles me more as to how incompetent you both are! Face it, you have both outlived your usefulness! You are both obsolete! Dear Cipher, it is no wonder that Hugo is looking for a fifth Horseman!"

"I would like to see you do any better, Holmes," Gilles growled. "Believe me, the one named Samuel is not one to be trifled with. I've been watching the Pines family for a while. I've seen some of the things Samuel has done, and I can still scarcely believe what I saw! Do you remember when that little boy, Mason, foolishly raised the dead? I saw Samuel fight them off, and let me tell you, I have never seen such brutality and savagery in my life! I assure you, if you had been in our place, he would've torn you apart…" Holmes stared at Gilles, then scoffed. "All these excuses, and you still couldn't come up with a better lie," he said. "He's just a child, not some mindless killing machine. You've let your imagination get the better of you."

"He's more than a child, I'm sure of it," argued Gilles. "Why else would Hugo have taken such an interest in him? What if he is going to be our fifth Horseman?" "I don't want to listen to any more of your delusions, Gilles," said Holmes. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Hugo is on his way right now, and he will not be pleased by the news I will be delivering to him when he–" Suddenly, a knife flew through the air and planted itself into the cave wall, just a few inches from Holmes' face. Holmes stared at the knife with an emotionless expression, then turned to face the person who threw the knife. Eliza's arm was outstretched, and she looked furious… but also frightened. "You won't tell Hugo anything, do you understand?," she snarled. Gilles had his shotgun pointed at Holmes' head. His expression was the same as Eliza's: both angry and scared.

Holmes smiled sinisterly, enjoying the power he currently held over them. "Look at you both," he taunted. "Neither of you respect me. You are perfectly fine with insulting my intellect, calling me names, or threatening my life. Yet, just by mentioning Hugo's name, both of you are immediately terrified out of your wits." "For good reason, Holmes," said Gilles. "You know what he'll do to us, or to you, if he is displeased. So if you really are as smart as you think you are, then when Hugo comes back, you will not tell him a single word about our failure."

"Too late," a deep voice rumbled, echoing throughout the cave. "I've heard everything." All three of them slowly turned around. Even Holmes was petrified with fear. At the entrance of the cave, they saw the silhouette of a giant man, whose appearance alone made them tremble in fear. It was a man who stood head and shoulders above other men. It was the leader of the Four Horsemen. If Gilles, Eliza, and Holmes were demons in human disguise, then the man at the cave entrance was the Devil himself. It was the Harbinger, the one that Agent Powers had been searching for his entire career. It was the loyal servant of Bill Cipher. It was…

"Hugo," Gilles whispered, unable to contain the tremor in his voice. "You're back…"