Mabel's voice called out.
"Grunkle Ford! Hurry up! I saw some crazy super fuzzy gerbil outside and I want to go pet it!"
She pressed her face against the window to look out at all the festival-goers.
Dipper groaned, dragging a hand down his face.
"Mabel, don't do that. That is a man in a costume. I'm pretty sure he's a furry."
Stan blinked.
"What's a furry?"
Dipper's eyes went wide.
He looked at Stan.
Then quickly walked away, his arms up in the air.
"NOPE! NOT DOING THIS!"
He walked out of the RV, the pens jangling together as he descended down the steps.
Ford looked to Evalin.
"Do you know what a furry is?"
Evalin shrugged, shaking her head.
Ford brought his hand to his chin.
"I suppose that means it's not a supernatural creature."
Mabel came up and patted him on the arm.
"Oh, Grunkle Ford… stay innocent forever~"
Without waiting for an answer, she turned on her heel and followed after her brother.
Stan stretched his arms above his head, his back making a satisfying pop sound.
"Well, I'm off to see if I can find a stiff drink. You gonna go off and do nerd shit, Poindexter?"
He nudged Ford with his elbow.
Ford rolled his eyes
"I plan on conversing with other Unusuaologists, yes."
Evalin snickered.
"Bless you~"
Stan snorted, a huge grin on his face.
"Oh, that's beautiful. I might have to use that too!"
Ford groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Please don't, Stanley. I can only handle one of you at a time."
Stan and Evalin looked at each other.
After a moment, they snickered together.
Ford exhaled through his nose.
"Wonderful..."
He turned to Evalin.
"What will you be doing while we are here?"
Evalin shrugged, hands in the air.
"Don't know. Never been to a festival before."
Stan smirked, arching an eyebrow.
"You remember that carnival from last month? It's like that but bigger!"
Evalin's mouth twitched violently.
"There were... a lot of people at the carnival. You're telling me there's more here?"
Ford raised an eyebrow.
"Are you going to be okay?"
Evalin flickered her eyes over to him, her throat going dry.
After a moment, she snorted.
"I'm tougher than you think I am."
Ford wasn't convinced.
He studied her, his eyes taking in every detail.
"Evalin, if—"
Stan clapped Ford on the back.
"Come on, Sixer. If the pretty dame says she's fine, we at least have to give her a chance! Now come on, bro! We got lots of nerdy stuff to get through today!"
With that, Stan gripped Ford on the shoulder and started pushing him out the door.
Ford's voice rang out.
"Slow down, Stanley! Stop pushing!"
Evalin chuckled, her tone amused.
'I still think this family is absolutely off their rocker but...'
She tilted her head slightly.
'I love their chaos~'
Her lips curled into a smile as she shook her head.
Finally, she stepped after them and out the door.
~n~
As soon as she stepped outside, the bright sun touched her skin.
She took a deep breath of fresh air.
The heat from the sun warmed her skin.
This was nice.
Then she looked around.
She pressed her lips together.
"That's... a lot of cars."
Dipper, who was checking over his bag one more time, shrugged.
"Well, yeah, this is a pretty big event. Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman is supposed to have a panel here this weekend and I have a few thousand questions for him."
Evalin tilted her head in confusion.
Ford overheard the conversation and turned toward Evalin.
"Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman wrote The Mothman and Other Curious Encounters book you borrowed from my study the other day.
Evalin brought a finger to her chin.
"Oh, I remember that book. That's a good one. A little short but hey, it's about Mothman so I'll still read it~"
Dipper raised an eyebrow.
"You know Mothman?"
Evalin's eye twitched.
She threw her hands up.
"Hell no! I'm not falling for this one again! I'm out!"
She turned on her heel and went toward the front of the RV where Mabel was doing stretches while reciting pick up lines.
Ford chuckled, watching her go.
Dipper furrowed his brow.
"What was that about?"
Ford smirked.
"I caught her on that exact same question. Trust me, she knows Mothman."
He clasped his hands behind his back and strode over to Evalin, leaving Dipper to his own devices.
~n~
Meanwhile, Mabel was giving Evalin the rundown of the plan.
"Alright, listen up. You're my wing-woman today. All you got to do is scope out potential hotties and send them by way!"
Evalin's eyebrow twitched, crossing her arms.
"How the hell am I supposed to know what is considered a hottie for a 13-year-old girl?"
Mabel pointed a finger, beaming.
"That's easy. Boys! Preferably taller and the dreamy side."
Evalin pressed her lips together, exhaling sharply through her nose.
"That literally didn't help me at all."
Mabel went to say something when she saw Ford walking closer, hands behind his back.
A mischievous grin spread across her face.
She spoke up unnecessarily loud.
"Oh! Evi! What kind of guy to you like?"
Ford stopped head in his tracks, inhaling sharply through his nose.
Evalin, oblivious to Ford behind her, put a hand to her chin.
She thought for a moment.
"I mean, I like anyone who knows what they are talking about so intelligence is important and hopefully weird. Normalcy is boring as hell so anything that adds a bit of chaos is always good. Much more entertaining."
Ford's face burned as his heart hammered in his chest.
Mabel saw and grinned wider.
She turned back toward Evalin.
"What about looks? Surely you have a preference?"
Evalin narrowed her eyes, leaning back slightly.
"Um... having a body?"
Ford choked on air. His hands shot up to try and cover his mouth from making noises.
Mabel blinked, trying to process.
"... That's your standard?"
Evalin snorted, her arm flicking in the air.
"What does looks have to do with who I like?"
Mabel, still trying to comprehend Evalin's brain logic, squinted suspiciously.
"Okay, but like... a super buff model or something?"
Evalin rubbed her head in mild frustration.
"Mabel, this is very trivial. Tell me what you like and I'll try to keep an eye out, okay?"
Mabel exhaled through her nose.
"Alright, fine. Aim for boys that look like they would be on the cover of teen magazines."
Evalin blinked a few times, eyes locked onto Mabel.
Mabel furrowed her bows, studying Evalin's face.
"You... never read a teen magazine?"
Evalin shrugged, making a face.
"I don't think they had Teen Hotties, Lonely Witch in the Woods Edition where I'm from."
Mabel let out a long, slow breath, lips vibrating in a tired flutter.
"We need to get you out more."
Evalin's eyebrow twitched.
"Wow, rude!"
Mabel grabbed Evalin by the hand and started tugging her along.
"Come on, Evi! The sooner we get you in there, the sooner I can explain a hottie!"
Evalin stumbled slightly behind her.
"Woah! Mabel! Chill!"
Mabel tightened her grip.
"No time! Hottie hunting waits for no one!"
Mabel yelled back at Ford.
"Sorry, Grunkle Ford! I tried!"
Ford watched them go, his blush deepening.
His face scrunched in exasperation.
Stan walked up next to him, hands in his pockets.
"What was that about?"
Ford exhaled heavily.
"Mabel happened."
Stan let out a low whistle.
"Oof. Yeah, rest in peace, Spooky."
~n~
Mabel pulled Evalin over to the ticket booths, slapped down some money and got their bracelets.
She wrapped Evalin's on her in one swift motion and immediately went back to dragged Evalin.
Evalin never stood a chance.
They turned down the block and saw the festival.
It sprawled out over multiple city blocks, a labyrinth of twisting streets and alleyways bursting with colors, movement, and noise.
Massive banners hung from light poles, painted with swirling symbols, glowing runes, and eerie illustrations of cryptids and supernatural beings. Signs pointed in every direction, advertising booths, performances, and panels with paranormal investigators, psychic mediums, and conspiracy theorists. Some signs flickered with enchanted neon, casting an eerie, shifting glow onto the streets below.
The air was thick with clashing scents—burning incense, fried festival foods, herbal tonics, candle wax, and something metallic lingering beneath it all.
The combination curled in Evalin's stomach—unfamiliar, yet eerily reminiscent of her own world at the same time.
The crowds were suffocating.
Thousands of people roamed through the streets, some in elaborate witchy cloaks, others in Victorian spiritualist attire, and more than a few dressed as cryptids or urban legends. There were even masked figures in deer skulls and robes, walking on stilts, towering over the crowds like eerie sentinels.
And Evalin could feel it.
The eyes.
Staring.
Watching.
'Oh my gods... I'm going to puke.'
Mabel was already pulling her through the busy street, beaming.
Evalin's eyes flickered between all of the people in front of her.
Some whispered truths. Some spun lies. And she could see all of it.
'This is... actually painful...'
Booths lined both sides of the streets, overflowing with everything from handcrafted talismans to preserved oddities in jars.
Vendors barked out their sales pitches—
"Authentic spirit boards, blessed under the full moon!"
"Handmade poppets, bound with protective sigils!"
"Potions! Enchantments! Spells for love, wealth, and power!"
Evalin's entire face twitched.
'They are spreading lies... This is a festival of fucking idiots...'
Some festival-goers turned their attention to her as she passed.
"You, girl! You have the look of someone deeply connected to the unseen~!"
"Come, let me read your future! I sense... something strange about you!"
Evalin's breath hitched—then locked in her throat.
A cold realization slammed into her.
'This isn't like a normal job! These people can see me... They can touch me!'
Her heart stopped entirely.
'THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE HERE THAN ON MY ENTIRE FUCKING PLANET!'
She gritted her teeth, shoving her hat further down over her face, resisting the urge to bolt.
'WHY DID I FUCKING AGREE TO THIS!?'
Mabel beamed, dragging Evalin behind her.
"No thanks! We got hottie hunting to do!"
The noise was a roaring cacophony pressing against her. Music from a dozen different sources clashed—lively folk tunes from a fiddle player on one corner, deep drumming rhythms from a nearby stage, echoing chants from a ritual circle, and the constant buzz of conversation that never, ever stopped.
It was too much.
Too much movement. Too much sound. Too many people.
Evalin's fingers twitched, every muscle coiling, her body screaming to run.
'THIS IS ACTUAL HELL!'
Mabel scoped around them, her hand shielding her eyes.
"Alright, Evi, I think we need to find a good vantage point. Let's see if we can—"
Evalin's grip tightened around Mabel's hand.
Mabel looked back to see Evalin.
Her eyes widened as she studied her.
Her shallow breaths, her jaw was too tight, her shoulders too tense, her knuckles gripping her hat turning white.
Mabel furrowed her brow.
"Evalin? Are you—?"
Suddenly, a random festival-goer ran into them, bouncing off like it was nothing. "Sorry!"
Evalin's breath hitched as her shadow slithered sporadically.
She stumbled, running into another festival-goer and then another and another.
With each step, she could feel the pressure of a familiar energy trying to bust out.
'NOT RIGHT NOW, DANGER NOODLES!'
She caught her footing and stood for a moment.
She clutched her chest as if she could physically hold her heart inside her ribs.
She could see her shadow slithering, the energy pressing out from her core.
'DON'T! THERE IS NO NEED TO FIGHT RIGHT NOW!'
She gripped her hat with both hands, pulling it down over her eyes as if it could protect her from the outside world.
'THEY'LL BE AFRAID OF ME AND THEN I'LL BE FUCKED!'
Mabel watched everything. She reached out her hand toward her.
"Evalin?"
Evalin jaw tightened.
In a low growl—
"I hate this."
She jumped from foot to foot and in an instant, she was gone.
The only thing left behind was a gust of wind in her wake.
Mabel's eyes widened in surprise.
"Woah! Evi! Wait! Come back!"
She tried to run after Evalin but she was nowhere to be seen.
Digging into her pocket, she dug out her cellphone.
Without hesitation, she texted Dipper.
"HEY BRO!
EVI DID A 180 AND RAN! LIKE POOF! DISAPPEARED!
I THINK SHE GOT SCARED!"
She hit the send button.
After a few moments, Dipper texted back.
"Where did she go?"
Mabel responded, her fingers quickly tapping the screen.
"I DON'T KNOW!
THAT'S WHY I NEED YOUR HELP!"
Mabel's phone dinged again with Dipper's message.
"Mabel, I'm in a panel right now.
Check at the RV.
That's the only place I can think of.
Keep me updated when you find her."
Mabel gripped her phone tightly.
Without waiting another moment, she dashed through the crowd, dipping and dodging as she made her way to the RV.
~n~
The first thing she noticed was that the door was wide open, a festival band broken on the floor.
She quickly made her way inside.
"Evalin? Are you in here?"
No response.
She looked around and made her way to the back of the RV.
The RV was too quiet.
She opened the door and found Evalin sitting on the bed.
There was no festival noise, no music—just the sound of Evalin's shaky breathing.
Her hat was pulled tight over her face.
She shadow wriggled under, her but Mabel didn't notice.
Mabel was too focused on the heavy rise and fall of Evalin's shoulders, how hard she gripped her hat as if it was the only thing that grounded her to reality.
Mabel furrowed her brow.
Something twisted in her chest.
"Evi..."
Slowly, she crawled up in the bed beside her, sitting with her knees to her chest just like Evalin.
Mabel's voice came out soft.
"Are you in Sweatertown right now?"
Evalin didn't respond, didn't move.
Mabel kept going.
"You know what I think about in Sweatertown? Things that make me happy."
She turned her eyes to Evalin.
"What makes you happy, Evi?"
Evalin didn't respond but her breathing started to slow.
Mabel hummed.
"What about the cool things you do?"
Still no real response.
Something came to Mabel's mind.
"Oh! How about, what is your sparkliest spell?"
Evalin furrowed her brows.
She turned to Mabel, her eyes narrowing when she stopped.
She looked into Mabel's bright eyes, her beaming smile—the warmth and gentleness in her face.
Something flickered behind her eyes and the world shifted in front of her.
There she could see a small pink pulsing light coming from Mabel's chest.
Evalin let out an exhale, the panic in her chest loosened—just a little.
Slowly, she lifted her head.
She watched Mabel for a long while, studying her.
Then—
She smirked.
"You want the sparkliest spell, huh?"
Mabel rolled her eyes.
"Uh, duh! Like, all the time!"
Evalin chuckled, shaking her head.
"Alright, Mabel. I'll show you but you have to do something for me first."
Mabel tilted her head.
"This isn't going to be a blood pack thing, is it?"
Evalin chuckled, her shoulders loosening slightly, her legs pushing out and laying them out flat on the bed.
"No, Mabel. No blood today. Just close your eyes and listen exactly to everything I say, okay?"
Mabel furrowed her brows a little and then quickly smiled.
"Whatever you say, O' Witchy One!"
Evalin rolled her eyes.
'I have never had so many nicknames in my life.'
She turned to see Mabel closing her eyes, still grinning like a gremlin.
Her lips curled into a weak smile.
"Alright, keep them peepers closed until I say so."
Mabel nodded, practically vibrating.
Evalin dropped her physical hand and her astral hand separated.
Gently, she reached out and touched the pink pulsing light in Mabel's chest, her silvery-blue glow flickered against Mabel's.
"Take deep breaths. Feel the little light flickering inside you. Let it travel from your core, down your arms, coaxing it to your fingers."
Mabel inhaled slowly through her nose and out through her mouth.
The light in her chest pulsed softly.
Then a string of the glow began to slither away from the main light.
It stretched outward from her core and to her fingertips.
Evalin smiled.
Slowly, she moved her astral hand away from Mabel before realigning it with her physical hand.
"Alright, open your eyes."
Mabel's eyes fluttered open.
She looked down at her hands and gasped.
Small waterfalls of sparkles trickled down from her fingers, fading as they landed on the bed.
For a moment, she just watched.
Then, she looked up at Evalin, eyes wide with wonder.
"Am... I doing this?"
Evalin chuckled, amused.
"Yes, Mabel. You are casting a spell."
Mabel stared at the glittering stream of sparkles cascading from her fingertips, her mouth dropping open in pure, unfiltered awe.
She gasped.
Loudly.
Then—
She screamed.
A high-pitched, exhilarated screech of absolute joy.
"OH. MY. GOD!"
She practically vibrated in place, her fingers wiggling to make the sparkles dance.
"EVI! I'M MAGIC! I'M A SPARKLE QUEEN! A GLITTER GODDESS! A— A—"
She flung her hands into the air, sparkles bursting from her fingertips.
"A FABULOUS SORCERESS OF RAINBOW POWER!"
Evalin snorted, shaking her head.
"That's... certainly a title."
Mabel threw herself at Evalin, wrapping her in a tight hug and shaking her wildly.
"THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS! CAN I LEARN MORE? CAN I SHOOT FIRE? WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? CAN I FLY? TELL ME EVERYTHING, MY WITCHY SENSEI!"
Evalin chuckled, lightly prying Mabel off her.
"Woah, easy there, Sparkle Gremlin. One step at a time."
Mabel gasped again, eyes sparkling just as much as the magic in her hands.
"SPARKLE GREMLIN! THAT'S ME! I ACCEPT THIS TITLE! I'LL PUT IT ON A SWEATER!"
Evalin laughed, shaking her head.
"Of course, you will."
Mabel wiggled her fingers again, watching the last few sparkles fade away.
Her face turned serious for a moment—her voice dropping to something softer.
"...Evi, this is so cool."
Evalin blinked, taken slightly off guard by the sudden shift.
Mabel looked at her hands, then at Evalin, her bright, honest smile never fading.
"I get why you love magic now," she murmured.
"It's like… holding a piece of the stars in your hands."
Evalin's breath hitched.
Something inside her chest tightened.
A familiar voice echoed in her head that made her heart flutter.
"You want the stars? You want to see the universe—to go beyond it? Give me a body, and I'll take you everywhere. Not just this world. Not just the stars. The multiverse, Dreamer. Every reality. Every possibility. All of it."
She stared at Mabel, hands curled softly against her chest.
Then, ever so softly—
She smiled.
"…Yeah, Mabel," she whispered.
"It is."
Mabel beamed, twisting her fingers as she made more sparkles fall.
Evalin shook her head with a chuckle.
"How about you go and try to impress boys with that little trick? I'm sure in a place like this, you'll find someone in no time."
She paused for a moment, looking around the room.
"I think I'm going to stay here for a while. There were a lot more people than I thought and I think I want to catch up on some reading."
She patted Mabel on the cheek.
"Have fun and remember to be your Mabel-y self, the best kind of Mabel out there."
Mabel's smile faltered just a bit.
"You sure you don't want to come back with me?"
Evalin shook her head.
"No offense to you but I'm more than sure. I just don't think I'm ready for these kinds of crowds any time soon. I don't want to ruin your fun though."
She leaned over slightly.
"Go out there, get lots of boys' phone numbers, and come back to tell me all about it. That is your assignment from your Witchy Sensei."
She ended that with a little wink.
Mabel's smile came back full force.
"You got it, Witchy Sensei!"
With that, Mabel turned on her heel and ran out of the room, out of the RV, and straight back to the festival, sparkles falling in her wake.
Evalin chuckled, shaking her head. She leaned back and looked up at the ceiling of the RV.
"I wonder if I was like that when you first unlocked my magic like that.."
Her shoulders dropped, her smile fading.
"I swear to the gods, you better still take me to the stars..."
She tilted her head slightly, her heart feeling heavy.
"You know I will reach them on my own one day, with or without you but..."
Her hand clenched on the brim of her hat, her jaw tightening as a lump formed in her throat.
"None of that means anything because..."
Her eyes began to sting.
"I want to see the stars with you... just like you promised."