For a moment, there was only pitch blackness, before he opened his eyes. Bill groaned softly, his bones felt like stone, and he found it hard to move. Eventually, he had the strength to rise slowly, despite the difficulties. He sat up, on the same moment, when a voice spoke beside him.

"You're finally awake."

Bill nearly jumped, and spun around. He was now facing Dipper. The Guardian was leaning against a tree, his expression more stoic than usual. What was going on? Where were the others? More importantly, where was Will?

The blond then noticed his clothes were soaking, and memories came in confusing and terrifying flashes. The waterfall, the beast, and the fall to their certain death...but somehow, they survived. At least, Bill and Dipper had, he didn't know about the others.

"Pine Tree, where are we?" Bill demanded.

Dipper exhaled softly, now looking grave. "I don't know."

"Are the others alive?"

"I don't know."

Bill gritted his teeth. "Can I have a valid answer?"

The brunette scoffed, and left his place by the tree. Bill felt a shrill of panic, when Dipper approached him. Except, the young man walked past him, and stared out into the fog covered waters.

"When we washed up, I tried tracking them with my magic," He said.

Bill felt a tinge of relief. "OK, now where are they?"

Dipper turned back to him, a darkened look across his face. "Here's the thing: my magic had no affect."

The blond stared. "What?"

"Your reaction was the same as mine," Dipper said. "I don't know what it is, but something is interfering with my powers, and I can barely teleport let alone conjure a tracking spell."

"You think the same is happening to Red and Shooting Star?"

"I hope not," He replied, a look of worry upon his face.

Bill began to worry as well, until he recalled something. He quickly dug into his now soaked backpack. He ignored the wave of frustration, upon seeing half of his cameras busted, lucky to have bought a few waterproofed ones. After a bit more rummaging, he finally found what he was looking for.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, pulling out the Viking horn.

Dipper gaped at it. "Wendy's horn!"

Bill smirked. "Yep. Hopefully, this will help."

He prepared to blow into it, when Dipper stopped him. "Wait, what if the sound attracts the monster? I'm defenseless without my powers."

The blond hated to agree with the Guardian, but he had to consider the dangers. Bill looked at the lake before him, and an unease resurfaced in his gut. He will never forget the beast's devious eyes, as it glared into his soul.

With that, he tucked the object back into his backpack. "We will have to distance ourselves from the water, then we'll use the horn."

Dipper nodded in return.

Bill was about to stand up, when an arrow of pain surged through his leg. He hissed under his breath, and looked down. Bile almost rose up his throat, when he saw that his ankle was a blooded mess. He wondered how he didn't notice that earlier.

Dipper's eyes widened, when he spotted the boy's injury. "You're hurt, let me help--"

"I don't need your pity!" Bill snapped.

He forced himself onto his feet, but might've done it too quickly. As soon as he put pressure on his wounded ankle, he cried out and fell forward. He would've landed on his face, if not for Dipper grabbing at the back of the blond's jacket. Bill was speechless, when the Guardian then slid his hands under the boy's arms, and easily hoisted him off the ground, like Bill weighed nothing.

Instantly, Bill started writhing in Dipper's grip. "Stop manhandling me, Pine Tree!"

Dipper only scowled in annoyance. "What part of I wanna help do you not understand?"

"Mostly the fact it's you of all people," Bill noted. "Why do you even want to help me?"

"If Wendy sees you like this, and sees I didn't do anything to help you, she won't be happy."

"You're so considerate," He remarked, sarcastically.

"Oh, hush. And stop squirming!"

Dipper started carrying him to a nearby tree. Meanwhile, Bill was flushing like no tomorrow. He hated feeling vulnerable, and the fact that it was Dipper seeing this side of him, made him feel worse. Why couldn't he be stuck with Will or Wendy? Heck, even Mabel! Anyone but this guy. Still, he supposed he was a bit thankful that Dipper decided to help him for once, instead of trying to execute him for crimes he didn't commit.

The Guardian placed him down, and positioned Bill so he was leaning against the trunk of the tree. Dipper knelt beside him, and reached into his shirt, and pulled out a mini first aid kit.

Bill looked at him curiously. "You had that the whole time?"

"I'm always prepared," Dipper replied, rather defiantly.

"Too bad, you didn't bring along a GPS, that would've been mighty helpful about now."

"Shut up, and let me treat you."

Dipper took out two items, a bottle of disinfectant and a roll of bandage. He placed one hand on Bill's knee, and held the disinfectant in the other.

"This might hurt a bit," He warned.

Bill rolled his eyes. "Please, I have been through much worse-- AH! CRAP!"

He winced, as Dipper poured the liquid onto his injury, and it stung like a thousand hornets. Bill tried to move away, but the Guardian moved the hand on his knee to his shoulder, and prevented him from scooting off. Once the wound was clean, Dipper wrapped Bill's ankle in bandage, before moving back to inspect his work.

"OK, that might do it," He said. "But, you're definitely not walking."

Bill grimaced at his bandaged ankle. "Why not? Won't it help if I just walk it off?"

Dipper looked at him like he was crazy. "No. Who told you that?"

The blond looked at him indifferently. "Well, back home, that's what I always did when I got hurt."

The Guardian shook his head, he looked highly exhausted. "I hate to imagine how reckless you were, as to get yourself injured."

Bill bit back a remark. Little did Dipper know, his past injuries weren't caused by himself, more frequently, Bill's father had been the one to cover the blond's body in bruises. But, Dipper didn't need to know about that, and he never will.

The change of topic came quickly. "So, how am I suppose to move, if I'm not allowed to walk? Or, are you going to leave me here, Pine Tree?"

"Tempting," Dipper taunted. "But, no. I'll have to carry you."

Bill shook his head furiously. "Nope! Not happening."

"Either that, or I'm deserting your stubborn ass."

The boy groaned internally, knowing he had little choice over the situation. After a while, Dipper helped Bill cling to his back, where the blond wrapped his arms around the brunette's neck.

Dipper rose from the ground."Just so you know, this is the first and last time I'm giving you a piggyback ride."

"Time to have fun while it lasts," Bill said, then kicked Dipper in the thigh with his good foot. "Onward, donkey!"

"Do you want me to drop you?" Dipper threatened.

Nevertheless, the Guardian walked forward, while carrying him on his back. Bill's gaze drifted back to the lake, and an unsettling feeling grew in the pit of his stomach.

He hoped Will was alright.

❇❇❇

In a clearing, Will was sitting on a stone, while his throat emitted soft high pitched squeaks.

Nearby, Mabel was regarding him in puzzlement. "What are you doing?"

"I'm avoiding screaming, as to not attract monsters. But, I also need to express my sheer terror."

"That's not gonna help us out of here," She pointed out. "C'mon, we need to move."

"Where exactly?" He asked, gesturing around. "If you haven't noticed, we've been stranded, separated from the rest of the group, and worse of all, your powers are gone!"

"I don't think they're completely gone, more like, something is blocking them," Mabel insisted. "And, it's not like powers are needed anyway. With a little determination, we can find the others in no time!"

Will stood up from the stone, and gave Mabel a look of uncertainty. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we don't know where we are, or if that creature is still looking for us."

"Pfft! Please, I faced monsters bigger than that danger noodle."

"But--"

"It's going to be okay, Will" Mabel reassured. "Because we got this, as long as we have the power of..."

"Friendship?" Will asked.

"Nope." The Guardian grabbed Will, and placed him on her shoulders. "MABEL!"

"Please put me down," Will said.

"It's alright, you weigh like a feather."

"No, but--"

"Now's not the time for chat, young blueberry," She told him. "It's time we find our friends."

Mabel walked forward, while Will prayed to heavens that he wouldn't fall off. As they trudged forward, the boy managed to relax as the brunette continued to carry him with ease. He directed his attention to the wild landscape around him, half waiting for that thing to appear again. Thoughts rushed back to Bill, and he hoped his brother wasn't alone. Even though, Bill was resourceful and very hardheaded when it came to accepting help, and usually knew how to take care of himself. If anything, Will should be thankful he wasn't the one on his own, but he was still worried about what his twin might be going through.

Mabel must have sensed his discomfort, because she broke the silence. "You and your brother must really care about Wendy, if you agreed to be bait."

"We mostly did it for the money," Will admitted, sheepishly. "But yeah, we do think of Wendy as a friend. She's really cool."

Mabel nodded. "Yeah, before she was bound to Zero Gravity Town, my brother and I use to get into a bunch of crazy stunts with her."

"Bound?" Will repeated.

She craned her neck to look at him. "Oh, she didn't tell you? At a young age, each Guardian is assigned an important role. Wendy was given the Spirit of the Forest title when she was a teenager, and has been sent to supervise the creatures in the mortal realm, and hasn't left since."

So, did that make Wendy as trapped as the Cipher brothers? The redhead didn't seem to mind, she still faced every day with a cool smirk and oozing confidence. Still, Will sympathized with her. It must be hard for her not to see the Pine twins as much.

"Who gives out these roles?" He asked.

"The Guardians of Day and Night," She answered. "Also referred to as my uncles."

"Your uncles?"

"Yep, Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford," Mabel smiled. Then, her smile wavered. "But for the time being, it's just Grunkle Stan..."

Will frowned. "Is Ford...?"

The Guardian abruptly paused, and stared. "No! He's not dead! He's...missing."

The boy furrowed his brow in confusion, but Mabel didn't bring herself to talk more on the topic.

"Anyway, Grunkle Ford happened to be best friends with Fiddleford," She moved on.

"Is that why you're looking for him?"

"Yep, and also because it's too dangerous for him to be alone. You see, Fiddleford is a Prophet, one of the most powerful, and he knows almost everything. Anyone would kill to get their hands on that kind of power."

A thought dawned on him. "If he knows everything, maybe he can tell us where the others are, and what happened to your powers."

Mabel grinned widely. "That's a great idea! New plan of action: we find Fiddleford."

Will bit his lip nervously. "Are you sure it's okay, while the others are still missing?"

"If we find Fiddleford, we'll be able to track them all at once."

He thought about this. In a way, Mabel was correct. By some miracle, if they managed to find one of their friends, the rest will still be lost. Once they find this Fiddleford, searching for the others will be quicker.

"Let's do it," Will agreed.

Mabel nodded, and proceeded to walk. Will looked up, seeing a shed of sunlight through the trees.

Hold on, Bill, He thought. We're coming.

❇❇❇

She didn't know where she was, but that was the least of her concerns.

Wendy had never faced a monster so great before. She could've done some serious damage on it, if it haven't moved so quick. Next time, she will not make the same mistake.

Her thoughts trailed back to the Cipher twins, and guilt twisted in her gut. What was she thinking? Bringing kids on a dangerous mission like this? She didn't know the monster would be that big, and she will never forgive herself, if either of those boys were hurt...or worse.

Wendy shook her head. Regret would have to come later, now she had to find her friends.

Grrrrrr!

She froze, hearing the low rumble in one direction. Oh, how she wished she hadn't left her axe in the monster's eye. She will have to use her fists, which she was not looking forward to.

The sound erupted throughout the forest, and Wendy charged in the direction it came from. She burst through the trees, and came out to see a lake.

But, no monster.

She blinked. But, I heard--

There came the sound again, and Wendy turned. A short distance away from her was a bunch of beavers, and one of them was nibbling on a chainsaw, accidentally turning it on repeatedly.

Wendy wasn't even surprised by this. She decided long ago not to question the nature in this town.

She prepared to turn away, when a shadow loomed over her.

There it is.

Wendy turned around calmly, facing the beast from earlier. Blood oozed from it's punctured eye, and it bared it's razor teeth.

The redhead glared. "Let's go, Nessy."

The creature roared, on the same time Wendy charged at it. She leaped into the air, her fists raised, ready for the fight of her life.