Now, she felt bad.

Pancakes were served at their table, and Bill was eating his cheerfully. As for Wendy, she left hers untouched, worrying about Will and whether he'll be mad at her after this.

"He'll be alright."

She turned to Bill, he seemed to have sensed her thoughts. "Are you sure? He seemed pretty upset..."

Bill nodded. "Trust me, I know my own brother. He'll mope around for a while, but he'll get over it."

That wasn't enough reassurance to calm her nerves, but in the end, Wendy decided to trust Bill. She eventually ate her pancakes, still delicious despite it going cold. And then by the last bite, the bell by the entrance rang.

"WENDY!" Mabel beamed, at the doorway.

Wendy smiled, and let the other Guardian run up and hug her. "Mabel, I didn't expect to see you here," She said.

"Like seriously, are you tracking us, Shooting Star?" Bill teased. "Also, where's your lame brother?"

Mabel released Wendy, and sat beside her. "He couldn't come with me, unfortunately. He's driving himself a little crazy trying to figure the rift problem out, and he refuses to take a break."

"He better sleep, he has a weird tendency to try and eat his own shirt when he's tired," Wendy noted.

Mabel nodded in agreement, and Bill grew silent. Wendy then caught a flicker of disappointment on the blond's face. What was that about? Was Bill upset that Dipper couldn't come? If so, did the two finally manage to get along? The thought filled Wendy with glee, considering Bill and Dipper were her closest friends. Still, she tried not to get her hopes up, and wait for more evidence of this sudden bond between Guardian and boy.

Mabel spoke more. "Since I answered your question, you mind telling me where Will is?"

Wendy frowned, feeling a stab of guilt. "He failed at this Manliness Tester game, and we gave him a hard time for it. Long story short: he left to clear his head or something."

The female Guardian tilted her head. "Was it mostly Bill's fault?"

"Hey!" Bill protested.

The redhead suppressed a smile, but then shook her head. "No, I think we're both to blame," She said, then after some hesitation she added. "You know what, I'm going to see if Will's okay."

Mabel looked at her with uncertainty. "Are you sure he wants to be around people right now?"

"He won't notice I'm there," Wendy insisted. "I only want to see if he's alright."

"Fine by me, Red," Bill agreed.

Wendy prepared to stand up, when out of nowhere, the temperature in the diner rose to great lengths. The customers sweated immensely, and the ice in Bill's drink immediately melted in with the rest of the liquid.

Bill heaved a breath against the heat. "What the heck is happening...?"

Then, as soon as it started, the temperature went back to normal. Once Wendy's mind grew focused again, she noticed a familiar figure had appeared in the diner, and was sitting beside Bill.

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel exclaimed.

Wendy stared. It's been so long since she saw the Guardian of Day. Stan didn't change a bit since she last saw him, still wearing his golden and black attire, and signature fez hat.

"Hey, Stan, glad to see you're still alive," She said, greeting him with a handshake.

Stan chuckled. "Barely. Last dimension I travelled to, didn't appreciate fine merchandise, and tried to chase me out with pitchforks."

"Tell me you didn't sell them spray painted rocks and pass them off as gold nuggets," Mabel sighed.

"Mabel, your uncle ain't no crook," Stan protested. "I sold them broken glass and passed them off as crystals instead."

"Excuse me, but who the hell is this guy?" Bill demanded, glaring at Stan.

"Bill, this is my uncle, but Dipper and I call him Grunkle Stan," Mabel explained. "He's also the Guardian of Day, and controls the sun itself, isn't that cool?"

Stan wrapped an arm around Bill's shoulders. "So, if you ever find yourself with a blistering sunburn, there's a 90% percent chance I might have a grudge on you."

Bill batted his arm away. "And, why are you here, old man?"

The Day Guardian reached out over the table, and patted Mabel's head. "Obviously, I'm here to visit this knucklehead. Dipper is busy nerding out in our realm, and I got tired stacking objects on his head without his awareness, so I decided to come here."

"And, I'm glad you did," Mabel smiled. "The mortal realm is the greatest! They have toaster waffles now!"

Stan nodded. "Speaking of waffles, I could really go for some right now. Where is a waiter in this dump?"

On cue, Lazy Susan walked up to their table. "May I take your order, sir?"

Stan froze upon seeing her, and he gaped like a fish. "I-I...uh...um."

Mabel answered for him. "He'll like one waffle, please."

"Of course," Lazy Susan said, writing down the order before walking off.

"Who was that one-eyed goddess?" Stan questioned, staring at the waitress as she left.

"Are you blind?" Bill asked.

Wendy shot the blond a look, before grinning at Stan. "Ooh, someone has a crush on Lazy Susan~"

Mabel squealed excitingly. "You have to ask her out!" She told her uncle.

Stan hushed her. "Keep it down, will ya? I can't ask her out, I'm been out of the game for so long. And look at her, she's so classy."

The people at the table turned, and saw Lazy Susan hitting a spinning pie trolley.

"Spin! Ya dumb pies! Spin!"

Bill turned back to Stan. "Again, do you need medical help?"

Mabel ignored Bill, and gave Stan a determined look. "With the matching making gods as my witnesses, I will help you gain your true love! And Bill is gonna help."

"I rather do anything else," The boy pointed out.

Again, Mabel ignored him, and tossed a bright look towards Wendy. "You want in on this?"

Wendy's eyes widened, and she laughed nervously. "Actually, I was suppose to check on Will!" Then, she left the table.

Bill shot her a glare. "Don't you dare leave me with these freaks, Red--"

"Bye, Bill!" Wendy called to him, before leaving the diner.

❇❇❇

He was alone in the forest, collecting his scattered thoughts.

He knew it was childish of him to run off after failing a video game, but by then, he couldn't control his emotions. Will wasn't as emotionally strong like Wendy and Bill, he wasn't even strong physically for that matter.

He sighed, and laid down on the grass. Will reached into the pocket of his shorts, and pulled out a pack of jerky that he recently bought from a vending machine.

"Well, time to drown my sorrows in calories," He decided.

He opened the pack, releasing the compacted air inside. A second later, the ground beneath him began to rumble slightly. His eyes widened in distress, when a giant shadow loomed over him. Will slowly turned, and bit back a scream, upon seeing the huge monster towering over him.

"Ah! Please don't eat me!" Will begged. "I haven't showered, in like, a week! And I'm all elbows, and gristle--"

"YOU!" The creature roared, the pointed to the boy's chest. "Gonna finish that?"

Will blinked, and looked down where the monster was pointing. It was his jerky. Hesitantly, he tossed the bag to the creature, and it ripped into it viciously. As it ate, Will eventually relaxed, and inspected it some more. He noticed that it had furry hind legs, and giant bull horns.

"Are you some kind of Minotaur?" Will asked.

The bull-like creature spat out the torn packet, before yelling. "I'm a MANOTAUR!" He punched the ground, making it shake. "HALF MAN...Uh...HALF TAUR!"

Will looked him up and down. "Did I like summon you, or--"

"The smell of jerky summoned me!" He stated. Then, the creature paused, and sniffed the air around the boy. "I smell...emotional issues."

The blue haired boy sighed. "I have problems, Manotaur, man problems."

The Manotaur sat crossed leg, patting his thigh. Will sat up, and scooted closer to the creature, before speaking. "I kinda flunked at this manly tester game, and my brother and friend made fun of me."

"I see," The creature said, thoughtfully.

Will glanced at the Manotaur, then had an idea. "Hey, you're pretty manly, maybe you can give me some pointers?"

He didn't know exactly what he was getting himself into, but it couldn't hurt to ask, even though he was asking a beast that looked like a bull on steroids.

The Manotaur stroked his beard in thought, then stood up from the ground. "Very well, climb onto my back hair, child."

He turned, revealing a dirty pelt growing out of his back. Will hesitated, before grabbing onto it. As soon as he did, the Manotaur sprinted through the forest. Will was briefly reminded of the time when Mabel had carried him through Scuttlebutt Island, except somehow this felt more terrifying. He screamed, when the Manotaur uprooted trees in his path, knocked over passing animals, before eventually jumping over a giant gorge. Will shut his eyes in fear, sure that he was going to die, when he felt the Manotaur had landed.

He slowly peeled his eyes open, and faced a amazing sight. They were now inside a cave, and it was filled with Manotaurs like the one that was carrying him. Will watched as the beasts sparred each other, lifted weights, and relaxed in nearby springs.

"Woah, what is this place?" Will asked, in awe.

The Manotaur helped the boy to the ground. "The gnomes live in the trees, the merpeople live in the water, cuz' they're losers! But we Manotaurs, crash in the MAN CAVE!" He exclaimed, gesturing around.

Then, Will watched as the creature moved to the center of the cave, and addressed his brethren. "Fellow beasts, I have brought you a hairless child!" He beckoned Will over.

Will stepped forward sheepishly. "Hi."

The Manotaur started pointing to several of his friends. "I would like you to meet Pubetor, Testosteror, Pituitor, and I'm Chutzpar. And, you are?"

"I'm Will," He answered, shyly. The creatures booed. "Um, Will...The Warrior?"

The Manotaurs murmured in approval.

"Will The Warrior would like us to teach him the secrets of our manliness!" Chutzpar announced.

The Manotaurs squinted at Will in calculation, before one of them stated. "I must confer with the Council."

The creatures began to huddle into a tight group. "So, should we do it?" Chutzpar questioned.

One Manotaur shook his head. "He's a human, I don't like him."

"I DON'T LIKE YOU FACE!" A third Manotaur yelled, and punched the other in the face.

Almost immediately, the Manotaurs started fighting, while Will watched from the sidelines.

"These guys seem fun," He tried to convince himself.

Crack! "ARGH! YOU BROKE MY LEG!"

Will gulped. "Yep...fun."