Happy Birthday!

Your Shooting Star - 4

It turned out to be surprisingly easy to escape the facility. Wendy seemed to have become quite the expert at stealth and combat. They ran into guards once, but Wendy dealt with them extremely quickly, giving them both leg shots with no hesitation.

"Keep moving!" Wendy said at Dipper when he stopped to gawk at the injured men. They moaned as blood seeped from their injured legs.

"You just shot them..." Dipper muttered.

"They were in our way." Wendy answered simply. "We have to get out now, while we still can, Dipper."

"How do I know that you're the real Wendy?" Dipper asked. "She wouldn't have shot people like that."

Wendy sighed. "I've changed, Dipper." She toyed with the still-wet strands of her hair. "As for proof, the sprinklers didn't affect me, remember?"

"There are other ways to pretend to be someone." Dipper countered.

Wendy rolled her eyes and reached into her belt and drew a knife. She swiftly nicked her arm, and showed off the cut to Dipper, holding a steely calm gaze at him. A deep red trail of blood snaked its way down her arm before dripping slowly onto the floor below. "Satisfied?"

Dipper nodded slowly.

"Then let's go."

It didn't take long for Wendy to locate a narrow smash window, almost too high to reach. Dipper assumed it was how Wendy had gotten in. Through it, Dipper could see that it was deep into the night.

"Okay, you need to help me up and then I'll pull you through after me. Got it?" Wendy asked.

Dipper nodded. He squatted down slightly to center himself, cupping his hands. Wendy stepped into his hold and he lifted her up. She wasn't particularly heavy, but Dipper wasn't all that strong so he had a bit of trouble.

"Higher! I've got a grip of the ledge, but just push me up a little bit more, Dipper!" Wendy called down to him.

"I can't, there's nowhere to push at." Dipper said, struggling.

"Yes there, is. Just push me!" Wendy said, annoyed.

"Where?" he cried.

"My butt, you idiot!" Wendy yelled at him.

Dipper blushed as he put his hands on her firm behind, pushing up. He realized that he had accidently found himself in a situation that 12 year old him would have killed to be in. He resisted the urge to grip the firm globes in his hands as he helped Wendy up into the window. Even after all these years she still had quite the effect on him.

After she was through, Wendy flipped around and stuck a hand out to pull him up. Dipper grabbed her hand, and together they pulled him through the window and out of the strange facility. They both stood up, their relieved smiles just barely able to be made out in the dark of night.

"I'm glad you weren't childish about that, Dipper." Wendy said. "You aren't the same kid I used to know."

"Thank you for noticing." Dipper said jokingly. Then, more seriously, "So what can you tell me about what happened to Gravity Falls?"

Wendy glanced at the building they had just exited. "We should get out of here first. Walk and talk." So they quickly put some distance between themselves and that building, and Wendy began to explain what had happened.

"So do you recognize that area at all?" Wendy asked, pointing back.

As he looked, Dipper realized that he did. That clearing, that road, it could only be...

"The tent! Gideon's tent! His Tent of Telepathy!" Dipper's mind was racing as he began to put clues together. "Wait, it can't be. Gideon? HE did all of this? But he was turning himself around."

"Yeah, sort of." Wendy said. "Thats what we thought too for a long time. That Gideon went back to his old ways, and with Stan and his brother gone, it was easy for him to take over the whole town."

"I'm sensing a 'but'."

Wendy rolled her eyes. "But, those of us that have been resisting found out recently that it goes deeper than that. Look, do you remember the mind control thingy Robbie tried to do to me?"

Dipper shuddered. "Of course. How could I forget?"

"That is what happened to Gideon. It's not actually his fault he's like this. He was controlled to become obsessed with taking over the town again."

"That's crazy!" Dipper remarked. "Who would actually want that?"

Wendy spoke lowly, as though telling a scary ghost story. "The only person who stood to gain from it. Who lost everything when Gideon went to prison, and when he betrayed Bill. His father, Bud Gleeful."

Dipper was shocked. "No way!"

"Bud wasn't happy with how things ended up, But there wasn't much he could do about it. He didn't have the charisma that Gideon did, so even if he tried to take over on his own it wouldn't work. At least, not without Gideon. So when Stan and Ford left, there wasn't anyone to keep that close an eye on him. Eventually he figured out a way to bring back the one person who could make the town the way he wanted, his own son. Bud has been enjoying things in the background ever since while his son plays dictator."

"That's terrible." Dipper said as they walked. "So what happened to Mabel?"

"When Gideon was taking over the town, he made sure to take care of Soos. Almost caught me, too. I don't know what Gideon has done with him, but it can't be good. I worry about the big guy. Anyway, Gideon made sure to lay traps for you guys and your Grunkles at the Mystery Shack. He caught Mabel. I don't know exactly what he's done with her, but I know he has tried to turn her, but it hasn't worked." Wendy smiled sympathetically. "She's tough, your sister. She's been resisting."

But how long can she keep it up?"

Wendy's smile faded. "I don't know. But like I said, she's tough."

"We've got to get her out, Wendy." Dipper said, panicking. "Before it's too late."

"Hold your horses, dude." Wendy said. "We're working on it, but there aren't many of us. We can only do so much."

"I know, I'm sorry. I just can't help but worry about her."

Wendy put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't sweat it, man. I get it." Wendy stopped suddenly. "We're here."

Dipper recognized this place instantly. The bunker. It was where he had first found the third of Uncle Ford's journals all those years ago, and then later had gone on a crazy mission along with Mabel, Wendy, and Soos.

"Just like old times, huh?" Dipper joked.

"Yep." Wendy said coolly.

She then picked up a rock, using it to hit the branch that activated the entrance to the bunker. The tree sunk into the ground, revealing the entryway. They made their way inside and traveled through several rooms, eventually coming to a metal door that Wendy swung open. They were greeted by the meager cheers of a few people. Inside were Toby, Grenda, Thompson, and, Dipper was pleased to see, Pacifica.

After a bout of cheering, hugs, and long awaited greetings, Dipper asked, "So this is it? Everyone else is gone?" He hadn't meant it to sound as depressing as it did, and he felt a pang of regret when all of their faces darkened.

"Not quite." Wendy said. "We think there might be some other groups hunkered down somewhere, but we just can't find a way to reach them. We know for sure that McGucket is out somewhere giving Gideon hell."

"So do you have any sort of plan?" Dipper asked.

"Well, we were actually, like, just waiting for you or your Grunkles." Pacifica admitted. She had grown up a lot since Dipper had last seen her, and was undeniably now a blonde bombshell. If she wasn't a model already, it was easy to see her being quite successful as one.

"We can't beat Gideon!" Grenda practically yelled. She had grown up a lot too, although she was nowhere near looking at Pacifica's level, but she had come a long way from where she had been when Dipper had seen her as a kid, and was definitely looking better than Dipper would have expected.

I, uh, I'll try to figure something out." Dipper said, suddenly feeling very tired.

"No pressure, dude." Wendy assured him, giving a thumbs up.

"I'm feeling pretty tired, is there anywhere I can get some sleep?" Dipper asked.

"Sure! I'll show you!" Thompson said, hopping up to lead Dipper around. He bid the others goodnight and followed. As they wandered the chambers of the bunker, Dipper felt like he was forgetting something, like there was some important detail that he should be seeing, but Dipper couldn't tell what it was. Maybe he would remember in the morning. Thompson showed Dipper to a mostly empty room and bid him goodnight. Dipper saw a musty mattress sitting in the middle of the floor and collapsed on it, too tired to worry about how long it might have been sitting there unused. He fell asleep almost instantly.

Dipper was awoken by knocking at his door. He was unsure about how long he had been asleep. The door slowly opened and a figure walked inside. Dipper fumbled to turn on a nearby lamp to see who it was.

As the light swept over the room, Dipper saw that his late night intruder was none other than Wendy. As she stood over him, the first thing that he noticed was that she was wearing his old pine tree hat. The second thing that he noticed was that his hat was the only thing she was wearing.

Wendy looked down hungrily at Dipper. "Hey dude." She said huskily. "I've waited a long time for this."