Mystery

Dipper loved a good mystery.

Anyone who knew the younger Pines twin could have told you that. All of his favorite TV shows, movies and books were all mysteries, and nothing made him happier than stumbling onto something that no one could explain. It was one of the reasons he liked staying in Gravity Falls so much. There was a mystery under every rock in the seemingly sleepy little Oregon town, and Dipper considered it his life's mission to solve every last one.

Including the one that had just dumped ice water on his head.

"Direct hit!" The blue eyed girl crowed, cackling with glee. Scowling, Dipper shook his shirt to dislodge the ice cubes that had slipped in as his sister's friend hopped fearlessly off the roof of the Shack, where she'd been perched for her attack. "Oh man, you should have seen the look on your face. And has anyone ever told you that you scream like a six year old girl?"

"Real funny, Dani." Dipper grumbled sarcastically, cheeks darkening in embarrassment. He did NOT scream like a six year old girl! "Do you and Mabel always have to hang out here? Why can't she go to your house for a change?"

"Relax, Porcupine." Dani said, rolling her eyes. "Me and Mabel are heading somewhere else today."

"Where?" Dipper demanded, glaring at Dani suspiciously.

Ever since he first met her, Dipper had gotten the sense that there was something different about the pale, dark haired tomboy his sister had befriended. Dani wasn't a resident of Gravity Falls, but she was certainly strange enough to fit right into the town's colorful residents. Dipper found several things about her pretty suspicious, such as the fact that she never talked about where she was from ('Here and There' was the best he'd gotten from her when he asked) or answered any questioned about her family or past. He suspected Dani must have been involved in some kind of crime before coming to Gravity Falls, due to the fact that she hid whenever she saw men in suits and even Blubs and Durland made her anxious, and he knew for a fact that she had a hand in some less than legal activities since she came sweeping into Gravity Falls two weeks earlier. Which was, honestly, the main reason why he was distinctly NOT okay with Dani hanging out with his sister so much. He didn't want Mabel getting dragged into whatever mess the strange girl had made for herself.

"Can't say. It's a surprise." The girl answered his question with a shrug.

"What kind of surprise?" Dipper pressed, undeterred by Dani's vagueness.

"I. Don't. Know." Dani said slowly, enunciating each word. "That's kind of the point of a surprise, Ursa Minor." Dipper frowned at that. When Dani had said that there was a surprise, he thought it was for his sister. It hadn't occurred to him that Mabel had been the one to plot a gift for her new friend.

As if drawn out by her twin's thoughts, Mabel chose this exact moment to burst through the door and tackle Dani hard enough to send both girl's sprawling to the dirt.

"SWEATER BUDDY!" the brunette squealed as she hugged Dani tightly. Dani did her best to look annoyed at the attention, but a small smile snuck its way to her lips despite her honest effort to keep it at bay.

"I thought you agreed to stop acting like a charging rhino every time you saw me." Dani complained good-naturedly.

"What's the matter, Dani, can't take a little tough love?" Mabel teased back with an ear splitting grin. "So?! Are you super excited for your fantastically fun Mabelexcellent surprise present?! Admit it, you didn't get any sleep last night, did you?!"

"Oh yeah, the suspense is killing me. That, or the fact that you still got me in a choke hold." Dani grinned.

"Tough love." Mabel repeated cheerfully.

"Uh, Mabel? Can I talk to you for a minute please?" Dipper demanded, frowning between his sister and the dark-haired girl.

"Sure thing, Bro-bro." Mabel agreed amiably, finally letting Dani go as she turned to face her twin. A look of confusion passed her face as she took in Dipper's appearance. "Whoa, why are you all wet?"

Dipper scowled as Dani grinned deviously. Grabbing his sister's hand, Dipper pulled her far enough away to make sure that his sister's friend couldn't eavesdrop on them.

"Mabel are you sure it's a good idea to be spending so much time hanging out with that girl?" Dipper asked, his concern carefully hidden underneath annoyance and aggravation. "She's only been here a couple weeks, and she's already got a reputation as a troublemaker."

"Oh come on Dipper, all of that is completely exaggerated." Mabel sighed in exasperation.

"She blew up the water tower, Mabel." Dipper reminded his sister, pointing to where said landmark had once stood.

"Technically they never proved that was her." Mabel said in her friend's defense. "Besides, how do you know that she didn't have a very good reason for blowing up the water tower?"

"Mabel…"

"Look just trust me on this, okay? Please?" Mabel asked, eyes going big and sad. "Dani's not a bad person Dipper, really! She's just a little different is all."

"Yeah well sometimes different is dangerous." Dipper warned, frowning at Dani over his sister's shoulder.

"Dipper." Mabel said, uncommonly serious. "Dani would never hurt me. She's my friend, and I trust her. And if you trust me, then you're gonna have to get off her back and stop thinking she's some kind of wanted criminal."

"Mabel, you started the summer off by dating a bunch of gnomes disguising themselves as a teenager who tried to force you to marry them. I think my paranoia is pretty justified here." Mabel gave her twin a hard glare for that one making Dipper flinch. Alright, so maybe bringing up the Norman thing was a bit of a low blow… "But if it really means that much to you, then I'll back off." Mabel's face lit up at her brother's grudging consent before she tackled him with a squeal that only dolphins should have been able to hear. "Just… can you at least tell me where you're going? So I know where you are? You shouldn't be running around Gravity Falls alone, you know."

"You're such a worrywart, you know that right? And I'm not going to be alone, dorkface. Dani's going with me." Mabel teased affectionately, rolling her eyes at her brother's protectiveness. "And we're just going to be hanging out in the forest for a while. There's a meadow not far from that mine-y place we went to a couple days back. You know, the one with the weird cave drawings? I figured that since Dani doesn't know what flower crowns are, I should teach her how to make some. I knew you wouldn't want to come along for girly stuff like this, so that's why I didn't tell you about it sooner." Dipper pulled a face at that. He was definitely glad he had gotten out of having to wear his sister's floral jewelry, but something about the idea of Mabel ditching him to hang out with Dani still made him want to sulk. "I'll be back before dark. Try not to get into too much trouble without me there to save your butt, kay Broski?" Mabel hugged Dipper once more before skipping back to Dani, oblivious to the way Dipper watched her go in exasperation.

"Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?" Dipper mutter under his breath as Mabel grabbed Dani's arm and hauled her away, giggling loudly at the tomboy's halfhearted protests. Well, it wasn't like Dani could really get Mabel into THAT much trouble.

…Right?

There were days where Dipper wondered if the whole world was out to get him. Then there were days he was sure of it. Today, unfortunately, was the latter.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the twelve year old screamed as he tore through the wood, trying to put as much distance between him and his pursuer as possible.

After Mabel and Dani had left him alone for the day, Dipper had decided that he should take the time to study up on some of the Gravity Falls anomalies on his own, without Mabel's goofing off to distract him. It was purely coincidental that he decided to start with the mines Mabel had mentioned were near the meadow where she planned to spend the day with Dani. After all, the strange glyphs carved into the cave walls DID bear further investigation, so his concerns about Dani's troublemaking putting his sister in harm's way had nothing to do with his decision to go there instead of pretty much anywhere else in Gravity Falls.

But while poking around the old mines, Dipper ended up being attacked by a spider roughly the size of a Doberman. While definitely not ideal, Dipper had managed to fight the monster off with a little effort and ingenuity, though it had been too fast and vicious for him to consult the journal to see what the thing was and what kind of weaknesses it had. Which was too bad, in retrospect, because he was sure that if he HAD checked, the journal would've definitely told him that the spider that attacked him was actually just a baby. And the Momma Spider- who was just a hair bigger than an elephant- was NOT happy when he killed one of her eight hundred her babies, who were equally unhappy at the loss of their sibling.

Hence the screaming and running.

Dipper did his best to try and weave through tight places to try and slow Spiderzilla and her army from Hell down, but this didn't work as well as he hoped since the monstrous mother uprooted trees and tossed aside boulders like they were weightless as it chased him down, while it's babies merely scuttled around them in hot pursuit.

The best he could do now was lead them further into the woods, away from the meadow, and hope that some kind of idea came to him before it was too late. Before this could happen though, more bad luck decided to greet the inquisitive young boy and an unseen branch snagged Dipper's shoe as he tried to flee past, sending the boy sprawling painfully to the earth. He barely had time to push himself up on his hands and knees before the monster's shadow fell over him while it's hairy, multi-legged babies circled in close.

This is it. Dipper thought, bracing himself for the inevitable. Screwing his eyes shut, Dipper held his breath and prepared himself for the pain of death by giant killer spiders.

Only… it never came.

Instead, Dipper heard the monster and babies give a chorus of pained cries following a series of short, sudden blasting noises. The cold shadow that had been looming over Dipper suddenly vanished as the spider babies clamored frantically away with frightened clicking noises, leaving the intended victim of the monster's attack dazed, confused and very much alive. As soon as he got control of his motor functions again, Dipper rolled over to see why he wasn't dead, eyes going wide at the sight that greeted him.

Spiderzilla was lying against some fallen trees. It had been wounded (Badly too, judging by how much it was bleeding), but it was still alive, and getting back to its long, hairy feet. Several of the spider babies laid dead all around them, and Dipper could see more still rushing back to the cave from whence they came. But rather then paying any attention to any of them, Dipper found his eyes drawn to the girl right in the middle of the mess, who had situated herself right between Dipper and the giant spider.

He'd never seen anything quite like her before, even in Gravity Falls. Her back was to him so he couldn't see her face, but she was just a little bit taller than Dipper, with wavy snow-colored hair that had been pulled back into a low ponytail. She wore an outfit that looked like it was designed for a cross between a superhero and a pop star, featuring a long sleeved crop top shirt (black on the left size, white on the right and separated by a diagonal slash that started at her right shoulder and went down and to the left), loose pants that hung low on her thin hips (primarily black white trim at the bottom, cutting upward into a triangle-like shape which came to a point at mid-thigh), and a pair of white boots, which were floating about a foot off of the ground along with the rest of the girl.

That, combined with the fact that her whole body appeared to be glowing and the gloved fists held in front of her body had some strange green energy around them, were pretty big tip offs to Dipper that there was something about his hero that wasn't completely normal.

"Get out of here!" The girl barked back without taking her eyes off of the spider, in a voice that had a strange, echo-like quality that many supernatural beings he'd encountered seemed to possess. "NOW!" At first Dipper thought she was talking to him. It was only when hands grabbed him and hauled him to his feet that he became aware of another presence besides the glowing girl.

"Mabel?!" Dipper sputtered, alarmed at the sight of his twin as she dragged him away to safety. Mabel didn't respond, too intent on putting as much space between them and the spider as possible, and before Dipper could say anything else the spider gave an inhuman screech before lunging for the girl who had apparently saved Dipper. The brunet watched wide eyed over his shoulder as the girl side-stepped the monster with easy, well-practiced expertise before punching it hard enough to send the beast flying, tearing through trees and hitting the ground hard enough to send dirt and rocks flying for a good ten feet before it finally came to a stop.

…Whoa.

Unfortunately, Dipper didn't get to see any more of the fight, since he and Mabel got too far and the trees grew too thick, blocking his view. Dipper considered trying to get his twin to turn back so he could see what was happening, but Mabel seemed unusually serious, which gave Dipper pause. For a while, the twins simply focused on running, only slowing to a stop when the familiar and welcome sight of the Mystery Shack loomed into view.

"Okay, that was WAY too close." Mabel said between large puffed of breath. "What the hey hey, Dip? Didn't I tell you not to get into trouble without me? What made you decide to go and nearly get yourself killed by Arachnormous back there?" Arachnormous? That was a good one. Dipper'd have to remember that.

"Yeah not exactly my shining moment." Dipper agreed with a cringe. "I was just studying the symbols in the cave. I wasn't expecting to run into anything that wanted to eat me."

"Well from now on, maybe you should always be prepared for that possibility." Mabel suggested dryly.

"Definitely." Dipper nodded absently, readjusting his cap. "But… who was that girl back there?" Though it probably should have been expected from him, that obvious question made Mabel go very, VERY still.

"Girl?" Mabel repeated, her voice going up a few octaves. "What girl?"

"The glowing one. Fighting the giant monster spider. And winning." Dipper clarified, raising an eyebrow at his sister.

"Oh, her!" Mabel forced a loud laugh. "I have absolutely NO idea who she could possibly be. Like, seriously. Pfft!" Dipper gave his sister a flat look at that.

Yeah, like THAT couldn't have been any more obvious.

"Mabel…" Dipper began, only to have his twin interrupt.

"You know what? I just realized I'm, like, really super hungry. All that running and being terrified really works up a girl's appetite, you know?" The diversion was blatant, and Dipper wasn't about to let his sister off the hook that easy.

"Whoa, not so fast." He said, grabbing Mabel before she could escape into the Mystery Shack. "You know something, don't you?"

"…No?" Mabel's answer sounded more like a question itself, and the usually bubbly girl suddenly seemed uncharacteristically meek.

"Mabel." Dipper pressed.

"Please, Dipper?" Mabel begged, cringing as she studied her feet. "I don't like keeping secrets from you, and I know I'm a sucky liar, but I can't say anything. I made a promise, and it's super important I don't break it."

"More important than being honest with me?!" Dipper demanded, hurt by his sister's muteness on this subject.

"No!" Mabel insisted, visibly upset. "I want to tell you, Dipper, honest I do! But I can't!" Dipper wanted to stay angry, but Mabel's eyes were starting to well with tears, which made the younger twin cringe in guilt before grudgingly caving to his sister's wishes.

"Fine. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want do." Dipper agreed with great reluctance. Relief and joy shone on Mabel's face before she pulled her twin in for a bone crushing hug.

"Thank yooooooou!" Mabel sang as Dipper struggled to breathe.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Dipper managed to choke out, with some effort. "So, uh, how about that lunch now?"

"Sure think, bro-bro!" Mabel laughed. "I'll make us my special marshmallow and peanut butter sandwiches!"

"Can I just get a PB&J instead?" Dipper asked hopefully, stomach churning at the thought of his sister's culinary creations.

"Pfft, you're no fun." Mabel teased as she looped an arm around Dipper's shoulders and lead him towards the Shack. Dipper grinned a little at his sister's jovial attitude, deciding that he'd made the best choice in dropping the matter of the glowing girl… for now.

It wasn't like Mabel would be able to keep anything secret from him for very long, anyways. Like she said, she was a terrible liar, and she had a habit of telling Dipper nearly everything she did. He'd find out who- and what- the girl was soon enough. Dipper was certain of that.

In the meantime though, there was still one more mystery to clear up…

"So where'd Dani go, anyways?" Dipper questioned after they had entered the Shack. "I mean, she was with you in the meadow, right? How come she wasn't around when you came to help me? She didn't let you go off on your own, did she?" He'd kill her if she did. What kind of person would just let their friend run off after a monster and not even try to help them?

"Wh-what?" Mabel stammered out. "Oh, right! Dani! She, um, had to go home, like, waaay before any of that stuff happened. Yeah, she had a thing to do with her parents today, and, um, she totally forgot about it! But then she remembered, so she had to go! H-heh heh… Sh-she didn't know about any of that stuff at all!"

"And what, she just left you there in the forest alone?" Dipper asked incredulously.

"No! We, um, came back to the shack first, but I forgot something back in the meadow, so I had to go back and get it!" Mabel insisted, smiling a little too widely. "So, about that food…?"

"That's funny. It didn't look like either you or Dani took anything with you when you left earlier, and you weren't carrying anything when you found me with that giant spider." Dipper pointed out with cutting look at his twin.

"I dropped it." Mabel explained quickly.

"What was it? I'll go back and look for it." Dipper offered, knowing full well his sister was lying.

"…I don't remember. Too hungry. Must eat. NO MORE TALKING." Mabel said, getting increasingly panicked. Dipper frowned as he watched his sister run into the kitchen like someone had set her on fire. Following her, Dipper found his twin stuffing anything remotely edible into her mouth and peeking at him fearfully out of the corner of her eye every once in a while, obviously falling back to her tried and true 'I-Can't-Say-Anything-When-My-Mouth-Is-Full' trick, which had been her favorite way to avoid questions and conversations she didn't want to be a part of since she was four. Clearly, Mabel didn't want him knowing where Dani was or why she hadn't been with Mabel when everything went to Hell in a hand basket. That realization made Dipper frown darkly to himself.

Oh yeah, there was definitely a mystery surrounding this Dani girl alright.

And he intended to find out what it was.