Chapter 5: Run for your life

Everything was falling apart. The plan was ruined. The party was going to suffer a major interruption. Her parents were going to kill her, and then a murderous ghost was going to kill them, and probably everyone else in the house. And there was only one thought going through her head.

Smell her? Did Dipper think that was even a little creepy?

As Pacifica flew from the Den in a panic, with Dipper's defiant cry and the ghost's bestial roar echoing behind her, she supposed that her perfume was a little strong. It was the scent her mother detested, which was why Pacifica had chosen it, and she thought that maybe "smile like that" meant he was just making fun of her for wearing such-

Just then, something that looked an awful lot like Dipper flew past her down the hallway, until it slammed into the opposite wall, making a very Dipper-like noise. As she rushed to his side, he struggled to his feet, pulling the Materialization Rod from his coat and sending a blast of white lightning down the hallway toward his foe. His voice was like a drill sergeant. "Garden! NOW!"

Despite the fact that Dipper should have broken several bones a moments ago, he managed to push her rather hard out the double doors into the grounds. She ran for the hedge maze, where she knew the servants wouldn't be standing around waiting to be collateral. A hat-less Dipper fell into pace beside her, and as they reached the entrance to the maze, he panted, "Go right!" as he broke left. She hesitated, but he called, "Don't worry! Just KEEP RUNNING!"

So she did. Rather adept at running in heels, the girl flew down the maze, taking a wild turn, then another. She wished she had spent more time out here. She ought to have known the maze like the back of her hand, but she was running blind. Lost in her own backyard.

The hedge on either side of her burst into blue flame. She was spurred on, but the path ended at a wall of foliage. Dead end. She clenched her teeth angrily and turned to find the Woodsman floating down the path towards her. His voice was laced in malice.

"Ancient sins, ancient sins, ancient sins, ANCIENT SINS! ANCIENT SINS!"

As the apparition, (and his ax,) grew closer, she screamed in desperation, "Dipper!"

The ghost laughed. "Foolish girl. Child of Fate or not, there is nothing he can do."

"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that, Paul Bunyan."

The girl and ghost turned in surprise as the hedge wall disintegrated beside them. The Materialization Rod let loose as Dipper caught his foe in a cage of white lightning. The tendrils stabbed into ghostly flesh, holding the Woodsman in place as he roared, struggling, trying to reach Pacifica with his ax.

But Dipper wasn't having it. As one hand cast the Rod, the other drew the Equalizer from his now grime-streaked coat. The thumb dragged the bolt back, and Dipper fired again and again. With the Rod holding the ghost's form in place, each shot of light punched a hole through his body. With a vengeful cry, the specter's shape flew to pieces and disappeared.

Putting his toys away, the boy rushed to Pacifica's side. "Are you hurt?"

The Northwest heir shook her head. "I, uh, yeah, just let me catch my- my breath."

He looked her over again, as if searching for an injury, then nodded and began walking back through the tunnel he'd burned through the maze. "Come on, then. He'll be back, and knowing my luck, probably sooner than I'd like."

She began walking just behind him, then something occurred to her. She rushed up to look in his face. "Dipper Pines, did you just use me as bait?"

Dipper kept walking, looking straight ahead, his face impressively neutral, all things considered. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

She caught his slip into his cordial tone. "Oh, I'm sure you do, Mr. Gentleman. You knew he'd pick me over you, so you had us split up so you could double back and wait for him, you sneak!"

Dipper made a paltry effort to tap the dirt off his shoes before strolling back into the manor. He pulled the Journal from his coat and began flipping through it, replying as he read and walked the length of the hall. "There was a chance he would go for me, in which case my plan was to lose him in the maze, find you, and get back to the house. Believe me, Pacifica," he said, looking up from the old book, his voice subdued in emotion, "I didn't want to split up. Having you by my side is far preferable."

She held his eyes as he stopped in the corridor. Something warm blossomed deep within her, reveling in the silence. He turned away, ending the moment as he strode off again, with her falling into step beside him as he continued. "But it had become obvious to me I could not beat him in a fair fight. I needed to have surprise on my side. Even now, I've only dissipated his essence momentarily, and when he's back, he'll be waiting for that trick."

Pacifica waited for him to continue, and when he didn't, she asked, "Then what now? Where are we going?"

"Back to the Den. No two category 10 ghosts are different, but knowing something about them is the first step to beating them. Its rather fortuitous that you insisted on coming with me, actually."

"Dip, lets pretend I didn't know what that word meant."

He smiled. "Fortuitous, as in good fortune. Lucky. The specter seems intent on the destruction of the Northwest family. Now, if he just wanted your parents, I wouldn't have such a problem with it…

"Dipper!"

He ignored her. "But he seems to have some vendetta against you in particular. Hm, maybe he wants to finish you all of in ascending order- the heir, and then the matriarch and then the patriarch…

"In any event, from now on you'll have to stick close to me. I am, as of right now, you're bodyguard, until such time as this loser is exorcised properly."

Pacifica looked at him and caught him looking at her. As he turned away, she smirked. "Do you even have a plan?"

He feigned insult. "Of course I have a plan!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes!"

"Lets hear it then."

"Improvise." He paused, then sighed. "And hope that Mabel stays out of trouble."