While yesterday was sort of a mixed bag for Sammy, it was definitely a huge downer for Dipper. It wasn't his intention to upset Wendy so much, but at the same time, he really should've been a little more tactful with her feelings that day. After breaking up with Robbie, Wendy called in sick the next day. Nobody at the shack believed that she was actually sick, but they didn't call her out on it either. And besides, after the harrowing day she had, what with her getting mind controlled and all, nobody could really blame her for wanting to take the day off.
Needless to say, Dipper was especially down in the dumps when Wendy didn't show up for work that day. He was convinced that he was the one who ended up driving her away, even though Sammy had told him numerous times that it was not his fault. In fact, Sammy made it a point to remind him that he actually saved Wendy. After all, if he had never caught on to the fact that Robbie was brainwashing her with music, the teen would've kept on doing it, and it probably would've led to some dire consequences. Really, the only thing that Dipper did wrong was when he asked if she wanted to "hang out" with him, unaware of the emotional turmoil she was going through. But as insensitive as that was, Sammy didn't hold it against him, and he believed that Wendy didn't hold it against him either. But despite telling him all of that repeatedly, Dipper still felt incredibly guilty for what happened yesterday. It seemed like nothing was going to cheer him up. Well… almost nothing. As luck would have it, news spread around town about a large, flying creature from prehistoric times, with some townspeople claiming that it even ripped off the roof of a police car last night. Surely, this new mystery would be right up Dipper's alley.
And it was. When Sammy brought it up in front of Dipper, the preteen brightened up and began peppering him with questions about this mysterious new creature. Eventually, he seemed to have forgotten about Wendy entirely and was completely focused on the creature and how he could catch it. It was a huge improvement from before, and Sammy hoped that it would help him get over it in time. One day, Dipper concocted a plan on how to snap a photo of the creature. He ventured into the woods with string, cameras, and a giant steak that he got from… somewhere. Of course, Sammy was invited along, and they even decided to let Soos tag along.
"Today's the day, guys. Thanks for coming along on this mission," said Dipper as they finally arrived at the spot where Dipper wanted to set up his contraption. "It's no trouble at all," said Sammy. "I'm always glad to get out of the shack once in a while and go on some other weird adventure with you guys. I'll be honest, they are starting to grow on me."
"Yeah dude, it's an honor. Today I'm sweating from heat and excitement!," said Soos, as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Hoo!" "There's something hiding in these woods. Something big enough to rip the roof off a car. If we get a photo of this thing, we'll be heroes!," said Dipper. "Yeah we'll get all the babes. You'll be fending off smooches with a stick!," said Soos, playfully nudging Dipper. "Ha ha, shut up, man," Dipper chuckled as he nudged Soos back. "With a stick, dude!," said Soos. Sammy only smiled at their interaction, glad that Dipper was no longer upset about Wendy anymore. "So now that we're here, how do we set this up?," he asked.
"Simple. We'll start by tying the cameras to these trees," said Dipper. "Here, give me a boost." The three of them got to work, and eventually, not only did they tie the cameras to the trees, but they also strew the string around in such a way that anything larger than a bear would have to go through them. They also placed the giant steak in the middle of the strings, and they made sure that all three cameras were pointing at it. After installing the last camera, Soos slid down to a branch where Dipper and Sammy were sitting and drinking Pitt Cola.
"Is sap supposed to be this sticky?," asked Soos, realizing that he now had tree sap on his hand. He tried to get it off, but to no avail. "Hm, it seems like there's been a lot of sap coming from those trees," Sammy noted. "It's probably because of this heat." After they finished resting and drinking their cola, they got back down to the ground and admired their setup. "If everything goes according to plan, the creature will grab that steak, cross through the string, and set off cameras A, B, and C," said Dipper. "And nothing can go wrong," said Soos. "Well, it's a bit too early to be sure," Sammy pointed out. "Too late, dude! I'm already gonna celebrate. High five!," said Soos, as he and Dipper high fived each other. However, they had forgotten about the sap covering Soos' hand, and their hands got stuck. "This was poorly planned…," said Dipper as he strained to pull his hand away. "Here, let me help," said Sammy as he tried to pull their hands apart. Suddenly, they heard a loud roar close by, and a huge gust of wind knocked them down. They quickly got up, only to see the steak was missing and the ropes were broken.
At first, all three of them stared at the sight in front of them, gobsmacked by what they had witnessed, or rather, didn't witness. But then, their looks of shock slowly turned into smiles as they looked at each other. "Dude…," said Soos, not needing to say anything else.
After that, they quickly got the cameras back down and ran back to the shack as fast as their legs could carry them. "We did it!," cried Dipper, bursting into the shack. "It tripped the wire! Somewhere in one of these cameras is a photo of that creature! Me and Sammy will go develop the film." "Cool. I'll go make us some victory nachos," said Soos. "Dipper, Sammy, and Soos for life!" The three of them laughed as they fist bumped each other. Then, Dipper and Sammy went upstairs to the attic, which Dipper had already converted to a dark room. They quickly got down to business. Sammy removed the photos from each of the cameras and gave them to Dipper, who began soaking them in a stop bath. As they worked to process the photos, Sammy decided that this was a good time to talk to Dipper about yesterday's events. "So, um… Dipper," he said. "How do you feel now?" "Hm?," said Dipper, still focused on processing the photos.
"Well, it's just that you were pretty upset about Wendy yesterday," Sammy went on. "You seem to have gotten over it now, but I just want to make sure–" "Sammy, look!," gasped Dipper, interrupting him mid-sentence. "Check this out!" Sammy sighed, then looked at the photo over Dipper's shoulder. "Wait a minute… That looks like a wing!," he gasped. "It is a wing!," Dipper said excitedly. "And if camera B got the wing, then the one that should have got the rest is… camera C!" The two of them ran over to another photo that was being developed. Sure enough, they could make out the faint outline of the creature's entire body. "The creature!," said Dipper. Sammy narrowed his eyes at it. "It almost looks like… a pterodactyl," he murmured.
Suddenly, Soos barged into the dark room, letting light shine inside. "Who wants victory nachos?," he asked, holding out a box. Unfortunately, due to the light, the picture of the creature quickly faded away. "NO!," cried Dipper. "Soos!," Sammy scolded. "Dudes don't worry. I only ate like a third of them," said Soos, thinking they were upset about the nachos. "Half of 'em. I ate all of them, dudes!" "Soos, this isn't about the nachos," Sammy sighed, while Dipper was staring at the blank photo with wide eyes. "We were just about to see what the creature looked like, but you got light on all the photos, and now they're useless." "Oh," said Soos, frowning a bit. "Gee, I'm sorry, dudes. I didn't mean to do that. I was just so excited about the nachos."
"It's alright, Soos," sighed Sammy. "Just be a little more careful next time." However, Dipper was not so keen on letting Soos off the hook so easily. "I can't believe you, man!," he yelled angrily. "What were you thinking?!" "Sorry, dude. Like I said, I was just so excited! Nachos cause excitement!," said Soos. Dipper looked like he really wanted to tear Soos a new one, but he quickly took a deep breath to calm down. "Soos, no offense, but like Sammy said, you gotta be more careful sometimes. I mean, what are the odds we'll get another picture of the–" Before he could even finish his sentence, a giant shadow suddenly flew past the window, causing the entire shack to shake from its very foundations. "...of the creature that just flew right past that window?," asked Sammy. The three of them looked at each other, then ran outside, just in time to see a large pterodactyl fly away into the woods. It appeared to be carrying something small and pink in its claws, leaving behind a trail of red yarn strewn around the branches.
"Dude, did you see that? That thing was a dinosaur, bro!," said Soos. "How is it possible a dinosaur survived for 65 million years?," asked Dipper. "I mean, this is Gravity Falls. Anything could happen here," said Sammy. Meanwhile, Stan was just standing there, staring up at the sky in shock. "Did you see it, Mr. Pines?... Mr. Pines?," asked Soos. "It- it took him," said Stan, still staring off into the distance. "Took what?," asked Dipper. "The pig! It took Waddles!," said Stan. "Oh, no! Mabel's pig? But how?," gasped Sammy. Suddenly, Mabel rode up to them on a bike, having missed the commotion. "What did you say about Waddles?," she asked.
Everyone else just stared at her, none of them knowing what to say to her. "Oh. Woah. Awkward silence." "..." "BWAAAAH! Okay, but seriously, what's going on? Why are you standing around all awkwardly?... And where's Waddles?" "Um- uh-," Stan stammered, hiding a wooden stake behind his back for some reason. "The good news is, you're gettin' a puppy!"
"What happened?," Mabel asked, starting to get worried. "Well, see, uh, when the uh–," Stan stammered. "Your pig got eaten by a p-terodactyl, bro!," Soos blurted out. The confused look on Mabel's face quickly turned into an expression of horror. "Soos!," Sammy scolded him, smacking his shoulder. "Sorry, dude. I had to get that off my chest," said Soos.
"What?!," cried Mabel, immediately getting off her bike and looking around for any sign of her precious pig. "Waddles? Waddles! Oh no, how did this happen? Grunkle Stan, you didn't put him outside?..." Did you, Mister Pines?," asked Sammy, raising an eyebrow. That would explain the stake he tried to hide from Mabel. "What? No! I didn't put him anywhere!," Stan denied as he backed away into the totem pole. "I'm not acting suspicious! YOU'RE acting suspicious. What's a pig?" "Then… what happened?," asked Dipper. "Uh, look, it went down like this, see?," said Stan. "So there I was, in the living room… tenderly nursing him with only the richest of creams. When all of a sudden, this big, giant lizard burst through the door and ripped him right from my arms! So I said, 'No dice, cowboy!' I ripped off my shirt, leaped onto his back, and then I started punching him right in the face! But he played dirty by poking me in the eyes with his little lizard fingers! That really happened!" The conman suddenly began "sobbing" hysterically. "Why? Why couldn't you have taken me?!" Then, he peeked through his fingers to see if anyone was buying it. Sammy, of course, was not fooled in the slightest. There were just too many holes.
For instance, Sammy couldn't imagine Stan feeding cream to even his own niece and nephew, let alone a pig that he clearly didn't like from the start. And how could the pterodactyl have possibly fit through the door when it was probably larger than a bus? Not only that, all it took was a quick glance to see that Stan's shirt was completely intact and not ripped off. For a conman who regularly swindled his customers, his storytelling could use some work.
But Mabel, the sweetheart she was, brought the entire story, hook, line, and sinker. "Oh, Grunkle Stan, you tried to save him!," she said, running up to him and giving him a big hug. "Uh, yeah! I'm a great man, alright," Stan said with a nervous smile. "You punched the pterodactyl in the face? I thought you didn't even believe in the supernatural," said Dipper. "Dinosaurs aren't magic, they're just big lizards! Get off my back," Stan said defensively. Mabel took out a picture of herself and Waddles and stared at it sadly. "Oh, Waddles," she sighed. "Hey, it'll be alright," Sammy said comfortingly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "We'll get him back."
"Yeah! No pterodactyl messes with MY sister," Dipper agreed. "We're gonna go out there, catch him, and save your pig! For Mabel, guys!" "For Mabel!," Soos and Sammy cried out in unison. "But how do we even find the little guy?," asked Stan. Mabel looked around for any clues, then gasped when she saw the trail of red yarn that the pterodactyl left behind. Thank goodness that she took the time to knit Waddles a sweater before she left him alone! "We follow that!," she said, pointing at it. The others nodded and agreed, talking over each other excitedly. Stan, however, was the only one who was not on board. "Or, you know, we could just call it a day, maybe hit the pool hall, or–," he said, stopping when he saw everyone else just staring at him, causing him to quickly change his tune. "Yeah! Let's go… save Woggles!"
"Waddles," Mabel corrected him. "Him too," said Stan. Sammy discreetly sighed, being one of the few people here who didn't believe Stan's story. It was pretty easy to figure out that the conman must have put Waddles outside on a leash, and that was how he got taken away by the pterodactyl. A part of him wanted to make Stan tell everyone the truth right now, but he felt that it was only right to let Stan come clean on his own. At least, he hoped that would happen eventually. The last thing he wanted was for Stan's lie to blow up in their faces…
With their new goal in mind, the group got to work preparing for the journey. Soos was spray painting the words PTERODACTYL MOBILE on the side of his own truck. "All right! That p-terodactyl won't know what hit him!," said the handyman. "Ha! It's pterodactyl, man," Dipper corrected him. "Actually, nobody knows how to pronounce it because no one was alive back in dinosaur days, so uh…," said Soos, before moving his head out of the way just as the wheel rolled over the spot where his head had been. "Whoa!" "Oh my gosh, Soos! Are you alright?," Sammy asked worriedly. "I'm okay, dude. Just almost ran over my own head there! Wow," said Soos, acting as though he didn't just get his head almost crushed. After the handyman walked away, Dipper turned towards Sammy and Mabel. "Guys, we've got to talk," he said worriedly. "This is a really high-stakes mission and I'm a little worried about Soos coming along on this one. I love the guy, but sometimes he messes stuff up." "What? Since when?," asked Mabel. "Mabel, I could literally make a list of the times when Soos messed up," said Dipper. "You… do have a point there," said Sammy, not feeling that comfortable about bad mouthing Soos behind his back. "I mean, there was that time he knocked over Stan's crystal ball while sweeping, the time when he broke a window while trying to put it in, and even that time when he crushed that poor fairy. And I can't even count the number of times when he said 'Sorry dude' every time he made a mistake. But… that's part of his charm. There's nothing wrong with all that."
"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with him," said Dipper. "But you guys can see why I'm so worried, right?" "Just let him down easy," Mabel said with a shrug. "There's nothing hard about that." "Okay," sighed Dipper. "I'll go talk to him." Mabel and Sammy watched as Dipper walked up to Soos. Neither of them could hear what they were really saying, but judging by the defeated look on Dipper's face, Soos' oblivious smile, and their fist bump afterwards, they could tell that Dipper's conversation with Soos did not go the way that Dipper wanted it to.
After everyone was prepared, they gathered into Soos' truck and drove through the woods, following the red yarn from Waddles' sweater. Eventually, they pulled up to what looked like some sort of abandoned church in the middle of the woods. The group got out of the truck and into the church as Mabel rolled up the yarn into a ball. "Okay, the red yarn leads to…," she said, before they stopped in front of a large hole in the floor. But that wasn't what made them all stop, because sitting in a rocking chair on the other side of the hole, singing "Doodly doo do doo do!" while playing his banjo, was a very familiar face. "McGucket?," asked Sammy.
The old hillbilly turned around and smiled at them. "Howdy, Sammy! What brings you and your friends to these neck of the woods?," he asked. "Hello, McGucket," Sammy greeted politely. "We're just here to save Mabel's pig from a dinosaur." McGucket's eyes slowly blinked one after the other. "...Well, ain't that just swell!," he said. "I think a better question would be, what are you doing out here?," asked Dipper. "You'll never believe me!," said McGucket. "So I was doin' my hourly hootenanny- Deedly doo ding dang!" He began doing a little jig. "Ugh, this guy," groaned Stan, crossing his arms. "Mister Pines, be polite," Sammy whispered, elbowing him in the arm. "When this enormous wing-ly critter stole my favorite musical spoons and flew lickety-split into the abandoned mines down yonder!," said McGucket, pointing down at the hole that the pterodactyl must have made. "Now that I think about it, he must've been that dinosaur you were just talkin' about, Sammy!" Everyone looked down into the mines. It was so deep and pitch black down there that none of them could even see what was at the bottom.
"Looks kinda hairy down there," Stan said nervously. "C'mon, Grunkle Stan, you can handle it! You punched a pterodactyl in the face, remember?," Mabel said encouragingly. Stan laughed nervously. "Oh yeah! Heh heh, I did do that, didn't I? Heh… heh heh heh…"
"My, what suspicious laughter!," McGucket commented. "Guys, we're going in," said Mabel, determined to get her pig back. "Need someone to tag along and tell weird personal stories?," asked McGucket. "No thanks," Stan said quickly. His situation was bad enough on its own, and he did not need some loon telling wild stories to them the whole time.
Unfortunately for him, McGucket decided to tag along anyway. They decided to use a rope to climb down into the depths of the mines. On their way down, McGucket decided to do exactly what he had promised: tell everyone else his weird personal stories. "So there I am, fighting a raccoon for the same piece of meat, when our mouths get too close and then we kiss accidentally!," he said. "You can't take a hint, can you?," Stan deadpanned. "Nope!," McGucket responded proudly. "Hey, Soos," Sammy said worriedly as he looked down into the deep, dark depths of the mines. "Are you sure the rope we're climbing down is going to hold?" "Don't worry, dude," said Soos. "I brought some of the finest rope before we came here. It'll definitely hold." But then, right as those words left his mouth, the rope that they were all holding onto ended up snapping, causing everyone to fall down into the mines while screaming fearfully.
Fortunately, they weren't too high up when the rope snapped, and there were even soft things at the bottom for them to land on. As they got their bearings back, Dipper lit a lantern and held it out, illuminating the entire cave with a dim, orange light. "Whoa," he gasped, shocked by what he was seeing. The others also gasped upon seeing their new surroundings.
Everywhere they looked, there were giant plants and flora that did not look like anything that could even remotely exist in today's world. In fact, they almost looked… prehistoric. "These plants look all Jurassic-y," said Dipper. "That's amazing," murmured Sammy, his eyes wide with shock and wonder. "This must be where the pterodactyl came from." Soos walked up to a flower nearby and sniffed it. "Huh! This little fella smells like battery acid!," he said. Suddenly, the plant sprayed some sort of strange gas into Soos' face. "Soos!," cried Sammy, quickly dragging him away from the flower. "Are you okay?!" "I'm okay, dude. But I think I just lost my sense of smell, ha ha!," Soos chuckled, seemingly unbothered by what had just happened to him.
Sammy sighed in both relief and annoyance. First, it was the photos, then, the rope, and now, this. It was honestly starting to get on Sammy's nerves a little, though he tried his best to suppress that feeling. "Just… please be more careful next time, okay?," he said with a pleading tone in his voice. "You're lucky it was just your sense of smell. Who knows how bad it could've been if that plant turned out to be poisonous?" To the handyman's credit, he seemed to actually take Sammy's concern seriously, instead of simply letting what he said go in one ear and out the other. "Sorry, dude. Won't happen again, I swear," he said, a solemn look on his face.
Mabel once again took out the picture of her and Waddles. "Oh, Waddles. We're gonna find you," she said, staring at it sadly. The group went deeper into the mines and walked through a long tunnel in the cave wall. But when they emerged from the other side, they were met with a sight that was far more astonishing than the prehistoric plants they saw in the other cave… and also far more terrifying. The light from Dipper's lantern fell on what appeared to be a t-rex, which was about to pounce on them, its jaws wide open. Everyone screamed in terror, then calmed down when they realized that the t-rex was not moving. They looked around and gasped upon seeing all the other dinosaurs, who were also frozen. The reason? Every single one of them were trapped in gigantic piles of tree sap, somehow perfectly preserving them.
"They're all trapped inside tree sap! That's how they survived for 65 million years!," said Dipper. "But if that's the case… then what about the pterodactyl?," asked Sammy. Dipper looked around and saw a giant pile of tree sap, only there was no dinosaur inside of it. Instead, there was a vast imprint of the pterodactyl that they saw earlier. "Whoa. The summer heat must be melting them loose!," said Dipper. To prove his point, he brought the lantern closer to the sap, causing it to start melting immediately. "That's… That's amazing!," cried Sammy. "There have been perfectly preserved dinosaurs sitting under the town all this time! Think of what that could mean for the world! Scientists and paleontologists would have a field day with this!"
Stan was just as excited as Sammy… but for completely different reasons. "You said it, kid! I mean, holy moley! Forget the cornicorn, this is the attraction of a lifetime!," he said, his eyes gleaming with ambition. "I could bring people down here and turn this into some sort of theme park! Jurassic… Sap Hole!" "...Unbelievable," said Sammy, staring at Stan like he had grown a second head. "We just discovered one of the greatest things ever buried underground, and all you can think of is turning it into another one of your attractions?" "Hey, these scientists and other pencil pushers could come down here and study this all they want!," said Stan. "But they're gonna have to pay double, no, triple the price. Just for the admission ticket!"
"Uh, dudes…," Soos said nervously, pointing at a velociraptor that was trapped in the tree sap. One of its claws was poking out of the sap, and it was wiggling. "Maybe… we should keep moving," Dipper said nervously. But Stan was too caught up in his greed to pay attention to the danger. "This could be a gold mine! Velvety-rope type deal there, ticket booth here, ha! Man, I should have put that pig outside ages ago!" And there it was. The truth came out.
"Wait- what did you just say?," asked Mabel, staring at the back of Stan's head. "Hm? What's that?," asked Stan, panicking on the inside. Mabel stomped towards him and pointed at him accusingly. "You said the dinosaur flew INTO the house," she said angrily. "No! Wait, uh, if you think about it–," Stan stammered, while Mabel gasped with anger and realization. "You put Waddles outside, then you lied to me about it! And now thanks to you, my pig could be dead! WADDLES COULD BE DEAD!," she screamed. "Look, he's an animal. He belongs outside!," said Stan, trying to defend his case. "No, that's it. Grunkle Stan, I am never ever speaking to you again!," Mabel huffed, turning away from him with her arms crossed. "Look, you can't be serious," said Stan. "Oh, is someone talking right now? Because I can't hear them!," Mabel said angrily. "Kid!," said Stan. "LA LA LA LA LA! I can't hear anyone! No one's talking to me!," Mabel cried out at the top of her lungs. "Guys, keep it down!," Sammy hissed under his breath. "If you make too much noise, that pterodactyl could hear you and come right over here!"
However, Mabel and Stan either couldn't hear him over their own voices, or were too angry and upset to care. So they continued arguing and yelling at each other, despite Sammy urging them to quiet down. "Guys, guys, don't fight! Why can't you be more like me, Dipper, and Sammy?," asked Soos. "Look, everything's gonna be cool." He picked up the red yarn that they were following and began rolling it into a ball. "All we gotta do to find the pig is follow this here yarn! We just keep following and following, and when we reach the end–" "Soos, no!," Sammy and Dipper cried out in unison, but it was too late. Soos had already reached the end of the red yarn, and now there was none left for them to follow. "Uh oh. Which- which cave was it again?," he asked, looking at the vast network of mine shafts that were in front of them.
"Arghhh! Soos, you lost the trail!," yelled Dipper. "Hey, come on. We'll find our way, TRUST me," said Soos, playfully slapping Dipper on the back. However, that action caused Dipper to drop the lantern, making it shatter on the ground and go out, plunging everyone into total darkness again. "...Sorry, dude," said Soos. Finally, Dipper could no longer hold back his frustration. "Ugh! That is it! See, this is why I didn't want to bring you along!"
"Wha- what… what do you mean?," Soos asked nervously. "I MEAN, that this is really important to Mabel, and you keep screwing everything up! You ruined our photograph, and now you got us hopelessly lost!," yelled Dipper. "But we're p-terodactyl bros! I made t-shirts!," said Soos, holding up a large white shirt with crude drawings of him and Dipper on it.
"It's pronounced pterodactyl! And these shirts are useless, they're gigantic!," yelled Dipper. In the end, it was the jab at his size that finally caused Soos to snap. "I have a different body type, dude!," he yelled. "Oh, so it's my fault?," Dipper retorted, and the yelling started all over again, with Dipper, Soos, Mabel, and Stan all participating. Sammy was the only one who wasn't screaming his head off like a lunatic. Instead, he was covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut while gritting his teeth, trying to drown out all this noise and the migraine that was slowly creeping up on him. Finally, he could stand it no longer. "Everyone, STOP!," he shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing throughout the cave. To his surprise, the others actually stopped their yapping and turned to stare at him with wide eyes. "This is ridiculous!," he yelled at them all. "What's the point in screaming at each other like this?!" The others began speaking up again, only this time, they were trying to pin the blame on each other. "I said stop! It doesn't matter whose fault this is, you, you… you absolute buffoons!," yelled Sammy. The others stared at him, their mouths hanging wide open. Never in their lives did they expect Sammy, arguably the kindest and most patient of the bunch, to suddenly start insulting them like that.
To make things even weirder, Sammy began yelling in that strange language again. "Mọi người bị sao vậy?! What is wrong with you people?! You're all supposed to be a team! You're all supposed to be a family! And you're just going to throw all of that away because of some dumb mistakes?!" Sammy wasn't aware of it, but there were now tears streaming down his face. He was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, and he didn't even know why. "I've lived under the same roof as all of you! I've laughed with you, cried with you, gone on all of these weird, crazy adventures with you… I've only been living with you guys since the beginning of the summer, but it feels like I've known you all for my whole life! I can only wish that my family was half as good as yours! But what did I get saddled with instead?! A drunk dad who never saw his own son as anything more than a waste of space, and a mom who left when I was a baby and never even bothered to answer any of my gosh darn LETTERS! I wish my family was like you guys! And you're all just… you're all just taking it for granted!" There was much more that he wanted to say, but he was pretty sure he would lose his voice if he kept on yelling like that, so he stood there and glared at them through his own tears, feeling like he was hyperventilating.
Everyone else just stared at him in shock, lost for words. All except for one. "Kid…," Stan whispered, his voice filled with sadness and sympathy. That alone was enough to get Sammy to snap out of it. "Oh… Oh, goodness!," he gasped, his face turning beet red. "I'm… Guys, I'm so, so sorry… I didn't mean to get so emotional. I have no idea what came over me…" Now that he had a somewhat clear head again, he was shocked and ashamed of how he acted a moment ago. He wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow him up right now.
Then, Sammy felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. Cheer up, Sammy," said McGucket, giving him a sad smile. "There ain't nothing wrong with gettin' a little emotional from time to time. You got nothing to apologize for. How about we put this behind us and keep looking for the girl's little piggie, hm? Look, I even fixed the lantern for ya!" He held up the lantern, only for its light to reveal the giant pterodactyl standing right above him. Needless to say, everyone's moods at that moment changed from sad to terrified. "AAAAAAAAUGH!," they all screamed.
"AAAAAAAAUGH!," McGucket screamed as well, though he had no idea what was going on. "Heh heh. What- what're we doing?," he asked. The others silently pointed at the pterodactyl behind him, causing McGucket to slowly turn around and look up at the creature.
"Nobody make any sudden movements or loud noises," the hillbilly whispered. There was a short pause. And then… "YEEEEEEHAW! We found a pterodactyl!" The pterodactyl let out a shriek and tried to impale them with its long beak. Fortunately, the group were able to get out of the way, but they weren't out of the woods yet. The pterodactyl shrieked again as it gave chase, racing after them on all fours through another tunnel. This tunnel led out to a massive cavern with what appeared to be an old railway bridging across a giant gap.
The pterodactyl got stuck in the doorway for a moment, which gave the group precious seconds to hide behind some rocks before it finally broke free. "Ugh, I'm such an idiot!," Sammy groaned, burying his face in his knees. "There I was, telling you off for being so loud, and then I end up being the loudest out of everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if it was my screaming that got the pterodactyl's attention. Stupid, stupid, stupid…" "Hey. Come on, Sammy, you've got to stop being so hard on yourself," said Dipper. "We'll find a way out of this, okay? Guys, we need a plan to get out of here." "Okay, okay. How's about Mabel knits Soos a pig costume–," said Stan. "I like it!," said Soos. "...and we use Soos as a human sacrifice!," Stan finished. "I like it!," Soos repeated, smiling obliviously. "What do you say, Mabel?," Stan asked hopefully.
"Hmph," Mabel huffed, turning away from him angrily. "Ah, come on, you can't stop talking to me forever," said Stan. "Yeah, Mabel, we have to work together here," said Dipper. "Oh, what, you want to work with Mabel but not your buddy, Soos?," asked Soos, crossing his arms with a scoff. The four of them started arguing again, and Sammy felt like he was about to go on yet another emotional tirade, even though that was the last thing he wanted.
Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a "WHONK! WHONK!" in the distance. "Wait, did you hear that?," asked Mabel, brightening up. She would recognize that sound anywhere. She looked in the direction of the noise and saw none other than her beloved pet pig, Waddles, sitting in a large nest in the middle of the railway. "Waddles!," she cried, running out from behind the rocks and onto the old railway. "Oh, wait, kid," said Soos. "Mabel!," hollered Dipper. "Are you nuts?," cried Stan. "Oh, is someone speaking right now?," Mabel asked sarcastically. "Because I can't hear anything!" And she continued running across the old, unstable railway.
"Oh no! She's gone deaf with fear!," said McGucket. "Mabel, come back here!," Dipper cried. "Stop! You're going to fall!," shouted Sammy. But Mabel ignored every person calling after her, and she did not stop until she reached the nest. "Waddles!," she cried. Waddles stared at her and oinked. "Oh, my Waddles! I'll never lose you again!," said Mabel, hugging Waddles and rubbing her face against his. Dipper, Soos, Stan, McGucket, and Sammy finally caught up to her. What they saw, and what Mabel failed to notice, were the piles of human bones strewn all over the nest. "Uh… Mabel?," Dipper said nervously, his voice trembling with fear.
"Shh. You're safe now," Mabel whispered, continuing to hug Waddles. "Mabel, quick! We gotta- now we gotta get out of here!," Dipper said urgently. "Come on, hurry!," said Sammy. But then, the pterodactyl's shadow fell across them, frightening Waddles. "WHOOONNNKK!," the pig squealed, running away. "Waddles, wait!," cried Mabel. "WHOONK! WHOONK!," squealed Waddles, continuing to run. He ended up jumping onto Stan, nearly knocking him off.
"WHOONK! WHOONK!" "Get off me, you dumb pig!," yelled Stan, trying to push the pig away from him. Then, to make matters worse, the pterodactyl swooped in towards them. "Look out!," shouted Dipper. The pterodactyl tried to grab them, but missed. Instead, it knocked both Stan and Waddles off the railway, causing them to fall into the vast chasm below.
"Oh no!," cried Mabel. "Stan!," cried Dipper. "Mr. Pines!," said Soos. "Aaaaaaaaugh!," Stan screamed. Fortunately, the prehistoric plants down in the chasm were able to break their fall. The pterodatyl flew above the others and dropped Stan's fez in front of them.
"Guys! We gotta save them!," said Mabel, her former anger against the conman now absent. Even though he put Waddles in danger and lied to her, he was still her grunkle, after all. "McGucket, do you have an invention that can distract the pterodactyl?," asked Dipper. "Do I?!," said McGucket, rummaging around in his hat for a short while. "Nope." "Well, there has to be something we could do. Otherwise, we're all just sitting ducks!," said Sammy.
Suddenly, they heard what sounded like cracking next to them. They turned around and saw a giant egg in the nest with them, which they had somehow not noticed until now. The egg fell to its side, then completely broke open, revealing a baby pterodactyl about the same size as a human adult. It stared at them with large, derpy eyes, then let out a squeak.
"Awwww!," Mabel and Sammy couldn't help but coo. McGucket got closer to the baby pterodactyl, unaware of the danger he was putting himself in. "Well, welcome to the world, little feller-," he said, before the baby pterodactyl suddenly lunged towards him and swallowed him whole, right in front of the others, who screamed in terror. "Oh my gosh. McGucket…," gasped Sammy, feeling the tears in his eyes returning. "Ah dude! Did he really just eat that prospector guy? That is messed up!," cried Soos. The baby pterodactyl spat out McGucket's hat. But then, McGucket himself peeked out from inside the dinosaur's throat. "I'm okay!," he said, before he was swallowed back down. "Oh, thank goodness. He's alive," Sammy sighed in relief.
"What do we do, what do we do?," Dipper murmured fretfully. Soos appeared to be deep in thought as he tried to come up with a plan. Then, looking at the baby pterodactyl's eyes, he got an idea. "We have to get in a straight line," he said. "What?," Dipper and Sammy asked in unison. "The pterodactyl's eyes are so far apart, that if you stand right in front of it, it can't see you!," Soos explained. "That's… actually not a bad idea," said Sammy, considering the option. "It could actually work." Dipper, on the other hand, was not so easily convinced.
"Soos, you've been wrong about stuff all day," he said doubtfully. "How can we–" "Dude, look," said Soos, interrupting him. "I-I know I've messed up a lot. I could be sort of clumsy and… It's not always as loveable as I think. But please, as my friend, just trust me on this one!" Dipper still seemed unsure, and honestly, it was understandable, considering how much Soos messed up in the past. But this time, Sammy felt sure that this would not be one of those times. "Come on, Dipper. Give him a chance," he said. Dipper looked at Sammy, then at the baby pterodactyl, and then at Soos, who smiled and nodded at him. Dipper smiled and nodded back.
Soos quickly jumped onto one of the rails and stood sideways with his hands in the air. "Get behind me, dudes!," he said. Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy followed his example and stood behind him while mirroring his movements. As they slowly shimmied across the rail, the baby pterodactyl suddenly looked right at them. The three of them stayed as still as possible, but it turned out that there was no need, because from the dinosaur's point of view, the trio appeared to not be there at all. Due to its eyes being so far apart, it could not see anything in its center of vision. "It's working!," said Mabel. Whenever the baby pterodactyl looked to the left, they would jump to the left rail, and when it looked to the right, they jumped to the right rail. As they slowly shimmied across, Mabel suddenly lost her footing and nearly fell, but Sammy managed to grab her in the nick of time and pull her back up. Fortunately, the baby pterodactyl had already lost interest in them. Finally, the group made it back to safety and hid behind the rocks.
Everyone sighed in relief. "Soos, you did it!," Dipper congratulated him. "We're sorry for doubting you, Soos," said Sammy. "Eh, I get it, dudes," said Soos, shrugging. "I've made a lot of mistakes. But when it comes to you guys' safety, there's no better guy for the job!"
Suddenly, they heard the cry of the pterodactyl from high above them, only it sounded more like a roar of pain than anything. The three of them looked up only to be met with a bizarre sight. The pterodactyl was flying around above them, but its flight patterns were erratic. Not only that, but it looked like there was something - or rather someone - riding on its neck.
"Was that…?," asked Dipper, recognizing the figure, even from a distance. "Could it be…?," asked Sammy. "Stan?," gasped Mabel. And sure enough, the person who was riding on the pterodactyl was none other than Stan Pines himself, repeatedly punching the pterodactyl in the face while letting out a hardened battle cry. And strapped to his chest in what looked like a baby carrier was… "Waddles!," cheered Mabel. "He's punching him in the face!," Dipper said excitedly. "If only Wendy was here to see this," said Sammy, being just as amazed.
"From heck's heart I stabeth thee!," yelled Stan, before nailing the pterodactyl right in the center of its head with both fists. The pterodactyl screeched in pain and went down before crashing into the side of the cliff and falling into the chasm below. Fortunately, Stan was able to grab onto the ledge just in time, and pulled himself to safety. Soos, Dipper, and Sammy cheered as they ran up to him. "That was amazing, Mister Pines!," said Sammy. "I had no idea you had that in you!" "Heh. As a matter of fact, kid, neither did I," said Stan. Mabel walked up to him with a big smile on her face, having already forgiven him. "Here's your pig, kiddo," said Stan, taking Waddles out of the baby carrier and handing him over. "Waddles!," cried Mabel, hugging the pig to her chest. "You saved him for me!" "Yeah, well," Stan chuckled, putting his trademark fez back on. "Sometimes you just gotta–" "LOOK OUT!," Sammy yelled, pointing at the pterodactyl, who was climbing back up over the cliff ledge. The group started running back the way they came from, with the pterodactyl hot on their trail. Sammy noticed that Dipper was beginning to lag behind and pulled him forward. That turned out to be a good thing, because not a second later, the pterodactyl snapped at Dipper, only to miss and tear through his vest instead.
Finally, they were back at the entrance, only to realize that there was no way out. The rope that they had climbed down on was cut. "We're trapped!," said Stan. Dipper looked around frantically for any way to escape, then saw a geyser push a large rock up with its steam. "Quick! The geyser could shoot us back up!," he said. Everyone climbed into the geyser, but it wasn't pumping, and the pterodactyl was getting closer by the second. "C'mon… Go, go!," Dipper said urgently. "We're not going to make it in time!," cried Sammy. The pterodactyl roared as it flew right at them, while everyone screamed, thinking that this was the end for them.
Soos, however, had other ideas. "Bros before dinos!," he yelled before raising his fists in the air and slamming them against the side of the geyser. Somehow, this caused the geyser to activate prematurely, causing a huge torrent of water and steam to propel them into the air, just as the pterodactyl was only inches away from them. Before anyone knew what happened, they were back in the abandoned church, tired and soaking wet, but fortunately still alive.
Then, just to top off this crazy series of events, McGucket popped his head out from underneath the collapsed floorboards. "McGucket, you escaped! But how?," asked Sammy. "I ate my way through a dino-sour! And I got my spoons back!," McGucket answered. Then, the old hillbilly began playing with his musical spoons and laughing like a madman.
After saying farewell to McGucket, the group headed back to Soos' truck. "I can't believe you did all that for Waddles!," Mabel said to Stan. "Ah, well. I couldn't have my favorite niece not talking to me," said Stan, leaning against a nearby tree. "And if I gotta leap onto a pterodactyl and punch him in the face, then that's what I got to do." "That's kind of sappy," Mabel giggled. "W-what? That's how I feel!," said Stan. "No, I mean…," said Mabel, pointing at Stan's hand, which was now covered in tree sap from the tree that Stan was leaning against.
"Oh, yeah," said Stan, before suddenly touching Mabel's face with his sap-covered hand. "Gotcha! Ha ha ha ha," the conman laughed. However, his mirth quickly disappeared when he realized that his hand was now stuck to Mabel's face. "Uh-oh." He tried to pull his hand off, only to lift Mabel off her feet. They both screamed as Stan frantically tried to shake her off.
Eventually, the two of them were able to separate, but were now covered from head to toe in the sap. The group piled into Soos' truck and started driving back to the shack, with Stan and Mabel soon falling asleep in the backseat. Sammy sat between them to make sure that they didn't end up sticking back together in their sleep, while Dipper and Soos sat up front.
"Check it out!," said Dipper, holding up his vest, which now had a large hole in it. "That thing destroyed my vest!" Then, upon looking closer, he discovered something amazing. "Guys, look!," he said, taking out a sharp, curved tooth which was embedded in his vest, obviously from the pterodactyl. "Wow, you got a real dinosaur tooth?," asked Sammy, leaning forward to get a closer look at it. "Yeah, that's awesome!," said Soos. "Not as awesome as you saving us back there," said Dipper, before holding up his fist. "Pterodactyl bros?" Soos couldn't help but smile. "Pterodactyl bros. Whoosh!," he said, as the two of them fist bumped each other. "And you even pronounced it right that time," said Sammy. Soos' eyes widened in realization. "Oh, yeah! I did," he said. "Think we need to worry about the rest of those dinosaurs?," asked Dipper. "I doubt it," said Soos. "I don't know, guys," said Sammy. "Crazier things have happened before…"
As they continued driving in silence, Sammy thought about what had happened down in the mines, and he couldn't help but cringe at the memory of his emotional outburst. "You okay back there, dude?," asked Soos, watching him through the rearview mirror. Sammy was taken aback, having not expected for the handyman to be so perceptive. "I'm alright, Soos," he said a bit unconvincingly. "Um… guys? Do you mind if we all just… forget about what happened in the mines? Just pretend that my, uh… emotional outburst from earlier never happened?"
Soos and Dipper exchanged worried glances. Neither of them wanted to forget about that, since it felt like a pretty big deal to them, but they decided to respect Sammy's wishes all the same. "Sure, we can do that," said Dipper. "We've got your back, dude," said Soos. "But hey, if there's something you need to get off your chest, I'm always here to listen." "Thanks, Soos," said Sammy, smiling gratefully. "No offense though, but… I'm not so sure if my old family life is something you can really relate to…" "Sammy," said Soos, staring at him through the rearview mirror with sympathetic eyes. "...I get it." For a moment, Sammy was lost for words. There was something about the tone in Soos' voice - or perhaps it was the look in his eyes - that made Sammy think that the handyman really did get it, that he did understand where he was coming from. Clearly, there was more to Soos than meets the eye. "...Thank you, Soos," said Sammy, giving another grateful smile. "No problem, dude," said Soos. "I'm happy to help!"