They finally reached the boat, stumbling across the shore, before finally climbing aboard. Dipper rushed to the steering wheel, and turned on the engine. It roared to life, and the boat sped across the water, before the Gobblewonker crawled out of the forest and dived in after them.

The boat swerved across the lake, and sprayed water over the deck. Meanwhile, the monster emerged from the lake, snapping it's jaws at them. Mabel pulled Will away from the railings, right before the Gobblewonker tore a chunk of it off. Bill stared at the beast, and quickly went to take a camera out of his backpack, when he noticed it was gone.

"What the--"

"Take this, foul beast!" Mabel yelled, tossing the cameras at the Gobblewonker, only to have them drop into the lake.

"MABEL!" Bill snapped.

The Guardian turned to him. "Don't worry, I left one for you." She threw the camera towards him, only to miss, and have it fell short and break.

"Goddammit!" He shouted, grabbing his backpack from her.

They dropped to the floor, when Dipper made a sharp turn. They were now near the shore, and he was trying to avoid hitting people in boats.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" He yelled, to passing civilians.

The Gobblewonker was still gaining on them, it's bulk surging through the water like a speeding bullet. It bucked it's head against the back of the boat, causing a jolt that caused everyone to drop again.

"Yeehaw! Isn't this a hoot?" Fiddleford cheered.

Bill growled. "Old man, this isn't the time to celebrate!" He then spun towards Dipper. "Pine Tree, get us out of here!"

"And how exactly is that possible?" Dipper shot back.

Then, Will stood up and hobbled towards the front of the boat. He looked over the steering wheel, and spotted a wall of water ahead.

"Go into that waterfall! There might be a cave behind there!"

"MIGHT BE!?" Mabel yelled, incredulously.

Dipper darted his eyes in a panic frenzy, before gritting his teeth. "I hope you're right!"

With that, he sped the boat forward. Their screams were muffled by the bloodcurdling roar behind them, then they crashed into the wall of water, and entered a cave. The boat lurched forward as it hit land, and the group was tossed over the railings. Bill groaned, feeling a throbbing pain in his ankle. There was a banshee shriek, and they turned, to see the Gobblewonker had trapped itself in the entrance.

"It's stuck," Dipper breathed, in relief.

Bill's face brightened in realization. "Wait, it's stuck!"

Quickly, he searched through his backpack, and thanked all the gods he knew, when still had one camera left. He laughed triumphantly, while snapping pictures of the beast, while it struggled rapidly.

"Did you get a good one?" Will asked.

"They're all good ones!" Bill exclaimed, happily.

The brothers cheered. Their celebration was cut short, when Mabel asked. "Now that's finished, where's Wendy?"

Dipper gasped. "Oh no, I almost forgot about her!"

"Fiddleford can tell us where she is," Will reassured, looking hopefully at the old man. "Right?"

Fiddleford scratched his beard calmly. "Whatever do you mean? She's right here."

Dipper narrowed his eyes. "This is serious! Can you please tell us where--"

The crack of stone interrupted him, and they all turned, seeing that the Gobblewonker had somehow freed itself. They screamed, when it prepared to snap at them...when it froze.

With baited horror, a bulge grew inside the beast's neck. Then the next moment, an axe shot out of it's flesh, and slit down it's throat. The Gobblewonker screeched, when blood and gore poured out of it's open throat, before it collapsed into the surrounding lake. The group observed, as it's poured entrails started moving, before a woman with red hair emerged from the cluttered guts.

"I'M ALIVE!" Wendy gasped, eyes wide as saucers.

Bill stared in absolute shock, as Wendy strutted up to them. She gave them a smile, despite covered in monster gore.

"Hey, dudes."

"How are you not dead?" Bill questioned, shielding his nose from the revolting stench.

Wendy shrugged off his shock. "This isn't the first time I've been eaten alive. You get use to it."

"Wendy!" Mabel beamed. "I really wanna hug you, but...Oh, screw it!"

Mabel embraced her friend, and didn't seem to mind the guts on Wendy's clothing. Wendy patted the Guardian's head. "I see you found Fiddleford."

"Yep," Mabel smiled. Then, her eyes shined, like she just recalled something. She turned towards the old man. "Fiddleford, now that we're together, you think our powers returned?"

He nodded. "That's the gist of it."

Dipper held out his palm, and he grinned, when a plume of blue fire appeared. "Let's clean up this mess, then."

❇❇❇

After disposing of the Gobblewonker's corpse, the group returned to the shore, where the families from earlier returned home. The sky was a bright orange, as the rays of sunlight dimmed.

"Mabel and I will have to leave, now," Dipper announced.

Wendy frowned. "Aw, can't you stay little longer? There's still time to hang out before the lake closes."

Dipper shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we got to get Fiddleford someplace safe. Maybe, next time."

"It's been real fun," Mabel smiled. "And Will, remember what we've talk about."

Will nodded, sincerely.

Bill limped towards his brother, and leaned on him for support. "I see you and Mabel had a bonding moment."

"I can say the same for you and Dipper," He pointed out.

The blond scratched the back of his head. "Eh, the guy is tolerable at most. At least, if it weren't for the Pines, I would've never scored a picture of that thing, and soon the whole world will know about this." He held out his camera smugly.

Suddenly, a hand snatched the object from him. Bill spun around, only to see Dipper crush the camera with his bare hands, including the film inside. The blond gaped, lost for words, as Dipper dropped the broken pieces to the ground.

"Apologies," He said, halfheartedly. "But, no one outside of town should ever know about the oddities."

Bill inhaled deeply, before turning to Will. "Forget what I said. I despise him, and I will have my revenge."

Will rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.

The Pine twins turned and walked off, with Fiddleford in tow. After that, Wendy and the Cipher brothers returned to the lake, hoping to have a relaxing time, as the remaining sunlight slowly began to waver.

❇❇❇

Will rubbed the towel against his damp hair, finally managing to get the fish smell out. After that, he got out of the shower and dressed in pajamas, before going upstairs.

Will opened the door, to see Bill laying on his bed, resting his bandaged foot on a cushion, while immersed in reading the journal. Their single window framed the night sky. The twins had wanted to stay at the lake a little longer, but Wendy had chastised that it was dangerous to walk through the forest at night, and escorted them to the shack before dark. Will was glad they did, because he wasn't looking forward to another monster attack.

"Huh, would you look at that," Bill said, pointing to a page in the journal. "The same monster that attacked us, is actually documented in this book. Plus, it's actually named the Gobblewonker."

Will smiled, and walked over to sit at the foot of Bill's bed. "There's still a lot of things we don't know about this place."

Bill grimaced. "Too bad, no one outside the border will believe us."

The younger twin examined his brother's glooming expression. "Are you still upset that Dipper broke your camera?"

"Not really upset, more like encased in blinding murderous rage."

Will hesitated, before walking across the room to his side. His shorts laid on his bed, and he dug in it's pocket to fetch something. Once he had it, he returned back to Bill. The blond looked puzzled, when Will pressed something inside the journal.

"Here," He said. "After our brush with death, I bought a cheap camera from the gift shop with my work money. It only had enough film for one picture, can you believe that?"

Bill looked down. The image was a little fuzzy, but it was pretty clear what was showed: Wendy and him were laughing in the background, while Will smiled up front while taking a picture of the three of them.

"I know it's nothing special," Will said, sheepishly. "But, hopefully it can replace the one you lost."

"At a profitable point of view, it's worthless," Bill said, matter-of-factly. "However, when it comes to sentimental value...it's great."

Will rose a brow. "I'll take that as a compliment."

The blond grabbed his brother in a headlock, and playfully ruffled his hair. "You better, because that's all you gotta get from me."

"You jerk, let go!" He snapped, trying to free himself.

Bill laughed. "Ha, you really think you can--"

He groaned, when Will nailed him in the stomach with his elbow. When he was released, the blue haired boy looked at Bill in dismay. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"Hehe, well played, little brother," Bill chuckled, softly.

Will relaxed once realizing his brother wasn't mad, and grinned. "While, when it comes to cheap moves, I learnt from the best."

Bill laughed softly, then stopped once he felt something furry touch his hand. He squirmed, and retreated to the wall, when the goat jumped onto his bed.

"Ugh, why is that thing still here?" He demanded.

Will rolled his eyes at his brother, and allowed the animal to crawl into his arms. "This was his home first, so he has the right to stay."

"Why? He eats everything in his path," Bill reminded.

"Kinda like the Gobblewonker," Will realized. Then, he smiled thoughtfully down at the goat. "He's name can be Gompers."

Bill narrowed his eyes at the animal. "Naming him based on the monster that tried to kill us. How accurate."

"Oh, hush," He told him, patting Gompers. "You're just intimidated by his cute face."

"No, I have a strange feeling about this goat," Bill admitted. "Either that, or he's just plain creepy."

"A lot of people find you creepy."

The blond scoffed. "I happened to be an enduring creepy, while he's just creepy creepy. There's a huge difference."

"Whatever you say, bro," Will said, sarcastically. "Anyway, I think it's time we go to bed."

Bill nodded in agreement. So, Will returned to his bed, with Gompers following him, before resting by the boy's feet. The two shared their good nights, before Bill turned off the lights, and they were shrouded in darkness.

❇❇❇

"My name is Mabel! It rhymes with table, it also rhymes with stable, it also rhymes with...cable!"

"Mabel!" Dipper snapped.

Mabel winked. "That's my name, don't wear it out."

Dipper scowled, and his sister shrugged.

"I felt like lightening the mood," She admitted. "Since, we're walking through a spooky dark forest at the moment."

She was right about that. Their current location was a path in the forest, the night domed overhead, and the the hoots of owls seemed to come from nowhere. The Guardians would've returned Fiddleford to their realm, but he insisted that he would like to live amongst the mortals. Dipper thought this was a terrible idea, but knew better than to argue with a Prophet, especially one that befriended his uncle.

"So, where would you like to stay?" He asked the old man.

The moon reflected in Fiddleford's glasses, making it almost impossible to see his eyes. "I've seen a pretty good junkyard over yonder."

Dipper blinked. "A junkyard? Are you sure?"

Fiddleford nodded. "Why not? I get free stuff, a place to call home, and maybe, I'll get me one of those raccoon wives."

"Sounds about right," Mabel said.

"At least, it's safe," Dipper decided.

As the three walked, the male Guardian felt anxiety itching at him, as he remembered about the discussion he had with Mabel earlier, about the magic fading from the town. He had seen this happen before, but last time, it happened in his own realm...when the Demons attacked.

"Fiddleford," He started, trying to keep his voice steady. "I want to know something important. Is it true that..."

Dipper stopped mid sentence, when he realized the man was nowhere to be seen. He furiously turned to his sister. "Mabel, I thought you were watching him!"

Mabel held up her hands defensively. "I only turned away for a second! I had no idea he was fast for his age."

He ran his fingers through his hair nervously, while his sister tried to calm him down.

"It's okay, I'll find him," She reassured. "I memorized his old man scent. Wait here, until I get back."

Then, Mabel bolted into the nearby bushes, disappearing from sight. Dipper stood awkwardly, growing anxious by the second. A while later, his sister still hadn't returned, and he thought about going to look for her. Then, a voice rang in the air, one that chilled him to the bone.

"Blue Pine..."

Instinctively, Dipper unsheathed his sword, and darted his gaze around in a frenzy. "You!"

A cold laughter echoed, and the Guardian stayed rooted to the ground.

"Did you miss me?" The voice jeered. "Admit it, you missed me."

"Stay away from Bill!" Dipper shouted, trying his hardest to not let his fear be shown.

"I missed you."

The air was knocked out of his lungs, as something barreled into him with full force. Dipper was pinned roughly against a tree, a steel grip wrapped around his throat. He choked helplessly, attempting to reach for his fallen sword, but it was kicked aside. Tears sprang from his eyes, as his face turned blue from the lack of oxygen.

"Oh, Blue Pine."

Dipper dared to look at the monster before him. Glowing red eyes seared through the darkness, and imprinted on the Guardian's soul. The brunette clawed desperately at the hand grabbing his throat, not sure how long he will last before he'll pass out.

"DIPPER!"

The red eyes blinked, before the enemy vanished in a puff of smoke. Dipper fell to his knees, gasping violently, as air returned to his body. He coughed softly, then a hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked up, to see both Mabel and Fiddleford.

Mabel had a look of distraught and worry. "Who was that?"

Dipper rubbed his neck, and regarded her seriously. "A Demon. One of the worse..."