"So are we looking for anything specific or just generally exploring?" Mike asked as he and the twins wandered through the woods. It was about mid-morning, so the forest was bright and pleasantly warm as they made their way through it.
"Mostly generally exploring," Dipper replied, checking a compass he brought to make sure they were going in one direction. "Since Grunkle Ford's journals are gone we're starting mostly from scratch. I did copy down our own adventures from last summer in my journal and a few other things I remembered, but it's pretty much a fresh start. So if we come across anything interesting, we can study it."
"I hope we come across something adorable with just a dash of magic thrown in!" Mabel exclaimed as she balanced on an old log. "Like a sheep with rainbow wool! Or a dolphin that can sing all the popular songs."
"I'm pretty sure we'd have to be near the ocean to come across dolphins," Mike said, watching a few gnomes scamper by. "Then again, anything seems possible here…"
"We'll just see what adventure is in store for us!" Mabel declared.
They spent a few hours walking through the forest, seeing mostly gnomes but a few plaidypus as well. To Mabel's delight and smugness, they did find her rainbow-colored sheep. While each sheep themselves were a solid color, the flock they came across had at least sixteen different shades of color wool and it was super soft to the touch. Mabel longed to get lots of wool from each of them for her sweaters but didn't have any of the necessary tools to do so. Luckily the flock was friendly enough that they were sure they'd be able to come back again another time to get the wool.
After their packed lunch, the three siblings continued further into the forest until they came across a clearing with a large tree in the center. The trunk of the tree had been carved into and added on to build a cozy-looking cottage-like structure.
"I wonder if there are elves that make cookies in there," Mabel said, hopeful about that prospect.
"I don't know about this…" Mike said, looking at the cottage with suspicion. "I'm pretty sure all the fairytales I've read said that cottages in the middle of the woods are home to witches just waiting for some poor unsuspecting children to stumble across them."
"Well, the Hand Witch was pretty nice even though she did curse Grunkle Stan," Mabel shrugged easily. "She was just really lonely."
"We'll be careful of course," Dipper assured, putting away his compass and pulling out his journal instead. "But the only way we'll know whether whoever lives there is a friend or foe is by meeting them."
"Fine…" Mike sighed. "But if it is a witch and she tries to boil us alive or eat us or something, I'm definitely saying 'I told you so'."
"Phssh… We'll be fine!" Mabel said with confidence. The three of them walked up to the cottage tree and Mabel knocked on the door.
"Hello?" Came an elderly woman's voice as the door cracked open, revealing a wrinkled-filled face and larger-than-human amber eyes. "Oh! Visitors! I love having visitors!"
The door opened fully to show a hunched-over old woman, wearing a dark red dress and a brown feathered cloak. The woman moved aside and gestured for them all to enter, the three of them cautiously complying. The inside was warm and welcoming with cute carved little animals decorticating the various nooks and crannies in the tree trunk walls. The elderly woman ushered the three of them to sit on a very soft couch, clearing away a set of knitting needles and a bag of yarn balls.
"I love knitting too!" Mabel said when she saw the stuff, showing off the sweater she was wearing. "I even made this sweater!"
"It's lovely," the woman smiled, looking over the sweater. "You are quite talented. My name is Deirdre, though most just call me Granny Dede. What's your name dearie?"
"I'm Mabel," she introduced. "These are my brother's Dipper and Mike."
"Hello," Dipper said while Mike merely nodded. "Would you mind answering a few questions? About why you live in this part of the woods and what kind of creature you are?"
"My aren't you a curious one," Granny Dede chuckled. "And I'll be happy to answer your questions. I love sharing my stories and wisdom with those that love to hear them, but first, let me be a proper host. I'll fetch some tea and cookies."
"I love cookies," Mabel ginned as Granny Dede left the room. "See Mike, nothing bad happened."
"So far at least," Mike frowned. "But it's too soon to tell anything for certain yet."
"We can handle anything if it does go south," Dipper replied, starting a sketch of Granny Dede in his journal. "We survived Weirdmageddon after all, I think we can handle an old woman, even if she is a witch."
Mike wasn't convinced but kept his concerns to himself. As Dipper continued to sketch and Mabel thought out loud about what kind of knitting stories to share, Mike heard some kind of faint whistling melody.
"Do you hear that?" Mike asked, straining to hear it more clearly.
"Hear what?" Mabel asked, tilting her head to listen for whatever Mike was hearing.
"I don't hear anything…" Dipper said after he listened for a moment. "What does it sound like?"
"Some sort of whistling…" Mike replied before shaking his head slightly. "It's probably just the wind blowing through the tree we're in."
Satisfied with that answer, the twins went back to their various activities. The melody continued to get louder and clearer to Mike though and judging by the twins' non-reactions, he was the only one that could hear it. A part of him was concerned by that fact, but it was being pushed back by a growing desire to find the source of the strangely haunting melody.
"Whatcha doing big bro?" Mabel asked, cutting through the music for a moment.
Mike blinked in surprise when he realized he was standing though he had no memory of doing so. He opened his mouth to tell them about the music but what he said instead was, "I'm going to go explore the rest of the house for a bit."
"Okay, just don't touch anything," Dipper replied. "And just yell for us if you need help."
"And definitely don't steal anything," Mabel added. "That's how Grunkle Stan got cursed last time."
"I'll keep that in mind," Mike replied with a reassuring grin. A part of him knew he should say more… that there was something wrong, but the music was so mesmerizing. He felt his feet move in slow, but sure steps, leading him on a steady path in a house he had never been in before. He eventually came into what seemed like the heart of the tree cottage, though he didn't have the presence of mind to truly examine it. All his focus and attention was on Granny Dede who was sitting on a nest-like bed, nestled between two large branches, and playing a hand-carved wooden flute.
"I figured it'd be you that was drawn to my music," Granny Dede said with a sympathetic smile as she put her flute away. "Those that have had the hardest life tend to become the cautious and quiet ones."
Even though Granny Dede had stopped playing, the music continued to play on repeat within Mike's mind. Still, it did lose some of its potency without Granny Dede continuously adding to and strengthening it and Mike gripped his head as he tried to think clearly through the hypnotic notes. (He needed… he needed to get back to the twins. And then they would… they would…)
"You must have had to struggle this hard for your whole life," Granny Dede observed sadly. "Having to fight with everything you had just to survive the burdens and tragedies that were unfairly placed upon you. Don't worry dear, you don't have to fight anymore."
The last phrase wrapped around Mike's mind like a warm comforting blanket. It dispelled the music, but only because those words carried even more power than the music. His hands dropped to his sides and he sank to his knees as he felt compelled to stop fighting. (Why had he been fighting again? There was nothing to worry about… Granny Dede would take care of him…)
"That's better dear," Granny Dede smiled, having descended from her nest when Mike hadn't been paying attention and was now standing in front of him. "Now let's get a good look at you."
Granny Dede gently cupped Mike's face in her hands, forcing Mike to look deep into her eyes. Mike felt something reach into his mind and soul, pulling out and examining the things it found. Mike saw his life flash by, the years of abuse and stress after his mother's death, the loss of his siblings and then his own life, the decades alone and trapped in a horrifying existence, hunting and being hunted.
"Oh you poor dear, you've suffered so much already," Granny Dede said, though there was something more sinister underneath her concerned tone. "But let's see about the other possibilities."
The visions that now flashed through Mike's mind were familiar but not as if they were things that he could have gone through but hadn't. He saw himself during Wierdmageddon, eyes glowing yellow as he was welcomed among the demon's minions. He saw a version of himself whose soul resided within an animatronic that looked like a recolored Funtime Foxy. He saw a couple of different younger versions of himself, accompanying a young boy that looked like his brother but wasn't. He saw a version of himself that was still a corpse, accompanying that same boy through what looked like the biggest Fazbear pizzeria he had ever seen. He saw a version of himself that looked human but was in reality an animatronic. He saw a Freddy design he wasn't familiar with, one with a glowing blue lightning bolt on his chest, and knew that his soul had been trapped within it. These visions, these other Mikes, and other lives that could have been his own if circumstances and decisions had been just a little bit different.
"You have gone through and could have gone through so much," Granny Dede cooed, running a hand through his hair in a hollow gesture of comfort. "Don't worry, I will take all your pain and agony away. But let's see what else is in store for you…"
More visions flashed through Mike's mind, somehow feeling more uncertain but more real than the previous ones at the same time. He saw himself curled between an older Dipper and Mabel on a couch, the twins comforting him as he watched something on a laptop. He saw himself staring at an open scrapbook as he seemed to come to some kind of horrible realization. He saw himself lying in Stan's arms, crying and begging not to die. And finally, he saw familiar burnt-out ruins, buried deep underground as a rabbit animatronic loomed over him with glowing eyes and a horribly familiar voice saying, "Hello Michael, it's good to finally see you again."
The visions faded away without Mike truly being able to process or comprehend what has just seen, his thoughts smothered by Granny Dede's spell.
"So much tragedy and sorrow," Granny Dede said, her grin no longer comforting but something hungry and longing. "I haven't seen this much in one being in decades. I think I'll be able to feed off of you for centuries… but what's this? There still seems to be more…"
More visions filled Mike's mind, but they felt far more disconnected from himself than any of the others as if he was watching someone else's home movies. The locations and faces seemed familiar, as well as the golden rabbit and Funtime Animatronics that brought about the tragic conclusion for each child featured in the visions. Even in his groggy state, Mike was able to realize where the visions were coming from.
The Remnant
"What a delightful surprise," Granny Dede smiled, her grip tightening when Mike weakly attempted to jerk away when the visions had faded. "What a prize you are… I might not need another being other than you for millennia!"
Mike couldn't really understand what she was implying, not with how slow and disoriented his mind was at the moment, but he did know he didn't like it. His fight instinct kicked in, even with his cotton-filled thoughts, and he managed to transform his animatronic hand into taser mode, slowly lifting it to fight off the threat holding him.
"None of that now," Granny Dede scolded. "You don't need to fight against me. Just go to sleep and let Granny Dede take care of you."
Mike tried to push through the spell, but the compulsion to obey her was overwhelming. His limbs felt a hundred times heavier and his hand dropped back down to his side, the electricity fading as it returned to normal. His eyes closed and Mike fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
"Mike's been gone a while…" Dipper said in concern, glancing over at the door that Mike and gone through. "And so has Granny Dede… maybe something happened."
"Well Granny Dede's stove can just be supper slow at boiling water," Mabel attempted to explain, though it was obvious she was worried too. "And maybe Mike got lost? We don't know how big this house is after all. It could be bigger on the inside!"
"Maybe we should look for him…" Dipper suggested only to be distracted by Granny Dede returning, holding a tray with cookies and cups on it.
"Sorry that took so long dearies," Granny Dede said as she put the tray down on the table before them. "My old bones just can't move like they used to…"
"Thank you, this looks yummy," Mabel said politely, taking one of the cookies.
"Our brother went to explore, but hasn't come back yet," Dipper said, stopping Mabel from eating. "Is it alright if we go look for him?"
"Oh he's in my care now," Granny Dede smiled, looking the twins in the eyes. "You don't need to worry about Mike at all. He's safe in my hands now."
"We don't need need to worry…" Dipper and Mabel repeated, their eyes glazing over slightly as the spell took hold. The twins stayed only a little longer, drinking the tea and eating the cookies before Granny Dede ushered them out with a friendly pat on the head.
Dipper and Mabel began walking back home, excitedly talking about everything they found on their adventure and what they would tell their Grunkles, unaware of the gap they had subconsciously made between them for a third person that wasn't there. It wasn't until Dipper had turned to the gap with the intent to say something that he realized something wasn't right, coming to a stop as he tried to think of what was missing.
"What's the matter Dipping Sauce?" Mabel asked when she had noticed her twin had stopped walking. "Did you see something?"
"No…" Dipper said, still staring at the place he felt like someone should be. "In fact… I feel like I should be seeing more than I am… did we forget something at Granny Dede's?"
"Not that I remember," Mabel said with a shrug. "But she told us we don't need to worry, so I'm sure it's fine."
Dipper completely believed Mabel's words for a moment before he again felt that something was off. He cast his mind back to this morning to try and retrace his steps. He had made plans to spend the whole day exploring and had been super excited about it. He had been trying to decide which direction to head while Mabel packed snacks for the trip and Mike…
"Mike!" Dipper gasped as he cleared away the strange fog in his mind and realized his big brother was missing. Mabel looked confused for a moment before the haze cleared from her mind as well.
"Oh no! Mike!" Mabel exclaimed in worry. "Did Granny Dede… make us forget Mike!?"
"Not exactly, more like she made it so we wouldn't notice his absence," Dipper replied, brow furrowed in thought. "She has to know that that spell wouldn't last forever… at the very least someone would question us about Mike's absence when we got home and trigger our memory. She's probably expecting a rescue attempt of some sort."
"But she might not have expected us to have broken the spell so soon," Mabel reasoned. "So if we hurry back now, we might be able to catch her by surprise."
"I think you're right," Dipper agreed. "This might be our best chance to rescue Mike."
With a shared nod of determination, the twins hurried back to the tree cottage. Knowing that going through the front probably wasn't the smartest idea, Mabel used her grappling hook to get them into the tree canopy. They managed to squeeze their way through various gaps in the branches until they came to a ledge overlooking a large open room. In the middle of the sitting between two large branches was a nest made of sticks, cloth, and pillows. There was no other furniture in the room, but at various intervals within the walls of the room were carved-out crevices filled with a thick shimmering golden liquid, similar to amber. Within several of the pockets of amber-like substance seemed to be various creatures, though Dipper and Mabel could only make out the silhouettes. Several had gnomes in them and one even looked like a manotaur. Something like roots or vines were extracting something from each of the contained creatures, leading to various spouts that were slowly dripping the various colored substance into vials or jars.
Granny Dede was standing by one of the pockets of amber, which the twins guessed probably contained Mike, and was holding a goblet under the spout connected to it. As soon as the goblet was full, she took a big swig from it.
"Hmmm… the most satisfying and delicious mix of agony and sorrow I've had in a long time," Granny Dede complimented, licking her lips in appreciation. "I'm going to enjoy every last drop I can get from you…"
Granny Dede stroked Mike's prison affectionately, which only caused Dipper and Mabel to shiver in disgust. When Dipper shifted slightly to get a better look, he accidentally knocked off an old stick. It fell to the ground with a loud clattering sound, making Dipper and Mabel freeze in fear.
"I hate that sound…" Granny Dede hissed, covering her ears. She looked over at the fallen stick before looking up and spotting the twins hiding amongst the leaves and shadows. "Seems I've got an infestation of pests in my walls."
"So much for the element of surprise," Dipper attempted to joke to hide his nervousness before turning to Mabel. "Do you think you can distract her while I try and figure out how to free Mike?"
"I'm always up for being loud and obnoxious!" Mabel grinned, pulling out her grappling hook and grabbing another loose stick. She shot the hook into the middle of the woven branch ceiling and swung around the room, letting her stick smack and bounce against the bark-covered wall.
"Hey, you old hag! Your knitting is terrible and is as ugly as your face is! Come on! Catch me if you can!"
Mabel retracted her grappling line as soon as she finished her taunt, letting her land amongst the branches as she continued to bang her stick on anything and everything.
"You little brat! Granny needs to teach you a lesson!" Granny Dede hissed, glaring in Mabel's direction. Her cloak unfurled, revealing that it wasn't a cloak at all but a large pair of owl wings. With a couple of powerful flaps, Granny Dede launched herself into the branches after Mabel. Mabel easily danced out of the way and slipped between the branches.
Because of the tight spaces amongst all the branches and leaves, Granny Dede had to fold her wings up again to move. But even with that, she simply couldn't fit through all the small spaces Mabel could wriggle through and had to take the long way after her.
"Nah! Nah! You can't catch me!" Mabel taunted as she waved her stick around and stood out of reach of the branches separating her and Granny Dede.
"Why are you fighting so hard against me?" Granny Dede asked, once again acting like a caring old lady. "Don't you care about Mike?"
"Of course I do!" Mabel immediately said. "That's why I'm trying to save him from you!"
"But I'm only trying to help him," Granny Dede insisted. "He has so much pain and agony attached to his soul, more than any one person could normally get in several lifetimes. Wouldn't it be better if I take all that sorrow and agony away? That he forgets the terrible tragedies in his life? Don't you want him to be happy?"
"I want him to be happy…" Mabel repeated, her eyes glazing over slightly.
Granny Dede was making a lot of sense. It had been obvious to both her and her brother from the moment they met Mike that he had a lot of bad things happened to him, only getting more true the more they got to know him. Even though he had become a lot happier since he joined their family, it didn't change the fact there was still a lot of sorrow burdening his soul. The fact that he still wouldn't talk about most of his past with her or Dipper just proved how much it still haunted him. Wouldn't it be better if all that hurt was taken away?
But then she remembered McGucket and the memory gun.
She remembered the bubble and the perfect fantasy she hid in while the rest of the world was left to burn and suffer.
Mabel's thoughts cleared and the spell lost its influence. Yes… Mabel hated that her older brother had suffered so much in his life and there would always be a part of her that wished she could take all his sadness away, but it wouldn't be right to do so. Mike might not talk about the tragedies of his past, but it wasn't because he was hiding from them or trying to forget they happened. He had accepted them and was doing his best to move past them. If Mabel let Granny Dede or anyone else just take that away, she would be destroying who Mike was and all the effort he had put in to overcome what he had gone through. It wouldn't be a mercy or kindness, only another tragedy…
"No!" Mabel said firmly, glaring at Granny Dede. "Taking his sorrow and agony won't give him real happiness and I won't let you!"
Mabel shot her grappling hook at a thick but weak-looking branch over Granny Dede's head. Once the wire was wrapped around it, Mabel pulled with all he strength. The branch creaked and finally snapped, crashing down and pining Granny Dede.
"How dare you! you little brat!" Granny Dede screeched, struggling to get the branch off her. Mabel stuck her tongue out before turning to make her way back to her brothers.
She hoped Dipper had managed to free Mike already because Mabel doubted the branch would stop Granny Dede for long.
As soon as Granny Dede had disappeared into the branches after Mabel, Dipper had done his best to climb down into the room. He had gotten about halfway down before he lost his grip and ended up tumbling the rest of the way down to the floor. Thankfully he only got a little bruised from the fall and he was able to easily brush off the injuries as he ran over to Mike's prison.
The amber was not nearly as solid as it appeared, much to Dipper's surprise. When he touched it, it easily bent and warped under his touch, but it didn't move from the crevice and Dipper couldn't actually push his arm in, no matter how much strength he used. It didn't seem like brute force would work, but maybe he could find some way to pierce the amber. Dipper glanced around but didn't see anything sharp enough to cut or stab the golden substance. Shrugging off his backpack, Dipper checked to see if he had anything useful that he could use. The sharpest thing he had was his pen, so he hoped that it was enough.
Getting a solid grip on his pen, Dipper stabbed into the amber and was relieved to find he was able to pierce whatever surface tension or magic membrane there was. It didn't pop like a bubble, but it did begin to ooze out of the puncture Dipper had made. Dipper stabbed with his pen a few more times to get it flowing faster before jumping out of the way as the amber substance began spilling onto the floor, dumping Mike onto the floor with it.
"Mike?" Dipper called in worry when his brother didn't move, becoming fearful when he noticed Mike wasn't breathing. Before Dipper could move to begin resuscitating Mike, Mike's eyes shot open and he immediately went onto his hands and knees and he began vomiting and coughing up more of the amber substance.
"Ugh… what is this stuff?" Mike groaned as he spat out another glob of the golden ooze.
"My best guess is some kind of magic amber," Dipper said, relieved that Mike seemed to be fine. "Possibly some sort of nectar."
"What happened?" Mike asked, shakily rising to his feet as he tried to recall what he had been doing. "What's going on?"
"Mike! You're free!" Mabel cheered as she landed right by her brothers, putting away her grappling hook. "I've stopped Granny Dede for now, but we should probably get out of here as soon as possible."
"We'll need a distraction to make sure we can get away," Dipper concluded, thinking quickly. "Mike, you go that way around the room and use your claws to slice open all the amber chambers that have someone in them. Mabel and I will head the other way and do the same thing!"
"Will do!" Mike replied, extending his claws. He still didn't know what was going on, but he trusted Dipper and that was all he needed to act. The siblings ran around the room, freeing all the prisoners and covering the floor with amber ooze and coughing creatures.
"No!" Granny Dede shouted as she swooped down into the room. "My pantry!"
"RUN!" Mabel shouted at the top of her lungs. That immediately started a stampede with all the confused and recently freed creatures.
Mike used his wires to grab the twins and get the three of them out of the way of the hoard. Dipper pointed out a window large enough for the three of them and Mike didn't hesitate to smash through. Mike's animatronic legs absorbed most of the impact, but Mike misjudged his momentum, sending him and the twins sprawling on the ground.
"Come on! We still need to get out of here!" Dipper commanded as he and the others scrabbled back onto their feet.
They began running across the clearing, making it only halfway when a large shadow came over them. Mike didn't even have time to react before something large and heavy slammed into his back, pinning him to the ground. Talons dug into his shoulders, drawing blood from his human one and crushing through the metal plating on his animatronic one. Dipper and Mabel tried to run closer to help, only to get knocked back by a large set of wings.
"I'm not going to let you go that easily," Granny Dede hissed from atop Mike's back, tightening her grip with her taloned feet in warning when Mike started to struggle. "You've lost me my entire supply, but you alone will make up for it. I will feast on your agony and sorrow for centuries!"
"I think you'll find this meal is a bit too tough to chew on…" Mike grunted, gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulders. He used his wires to pull her off him enough for him to flip onto his back as his hand transformed. "I think you need a controlled shock!"
Mike slammed his hand into her, making Granny Dede scream in pain as electricity flowed into her. She fell over, alive but spasming in pain. Mike wasted no time jumping back up to his feet.
"Go. Go. GO!" Mike said as he ran, the twins immediately following suit. They ran as fast and as far as they could, Mike picking up the twins and carrying them when they started to get tired. They had just made it to where the multi-colored flock was living when Mike couldn't run anymore.
"I… vote… we stay… far away… from that… house…" Mike gasped as he took the moment to rest. "Preferably… forever…"
"Agreed…" Dipper and Mabel replied immediately.
"Mike…" Mabel began softly once they had all caught their breath. "Granny Dede said you had more tragedy than one person could get in several lifetimes… is your past that bad?"
"It's pretty bad… but it's more complicated than that," Mike explained, gesturing to his animatronic limbs. "Remember how Molten Freddy was a haunted evil animatronic? Even though the souls themselves have moved on, Granny Dede could still feed off the agony or whatever that was left behind."
"Huh… that makes sense," Dipper said, both he and his sister relieved that not all the tragedies Granny Dede had talked about had happened to Mike himself.
"I'm not looking forward to cleaning out all this gunk from my limbs," Mike grimaced as they continued to walk home, finally realizing just how covered he was in the amber ooze. "It's going to take forever…"
"We'll help," Dipper volunteered and Mabel nodded along. "It's only fair as you were right about the cottage being dangerous."
"That's right! I owe you and 'I told you so'," Mike agreed with a smirk. "I told you so! I told you that it'd have a witch that'd tried to eat us!"
"I'm pretty sure she was only trying to eat you," Mabel argued back good naturally.
"And it was only your agony and sorrow," Dipper added. "She wasn't trying to eat you physically."
"It still counts! Some my 'I told you so' is still valid!"
They continued to argue and joke all the way back to the Mystery Shack, satisfied with their adventures.
AN: If you're curious about which "other Mikes" I'm referencing, I drew a picture of that scene on Tumblr.