Stan was the first to sit up. "Is everyone okay?" He stretched his back and readjusted his glasses in a manner that was similar to waking up from a deep slumber rather than have recently been through such an adventure.

Everyone else muttered their replies in a slow drawl as they woke up. They had each been laying on the carpet with their arms and legs awkwardly sprawled across the floor.

Wendy stirred slowly. Her head felt heavy  with fatigue. Once her memory finally caught up with her consciousness, she jumped to her feet. She wasn't sure what do to or what to say. The words piled up in the back of her throat like a dam about to break.

"The code!" she shouted. "Bill got away with the code!"

"It can't be that bad," Stan said. His tone was somewhat upbeat and hopeful.

Wendy clenched her fists and glared at him. "Why did you give up the code?"

"What're you taking about?"

"You were going to give Bill the code!"

"Wendy, it wasn't his fault," Mabel spoke up. She began to put a hand on Wendy's shoulder but Wendy shrugged it off.

"It doesn't matter anyways," Stan mumbled. "If we want to stop Gideon, we have to work together. Do you really think blaming everything on me is going to solve anything?"

His question hung in the air until Dipper woke up .

"Wha- what happened?" he mumbled, rubbing his aching head. His eyes fluttered open.

"Dipper!" Soos rushed forward and immediately wrapped his arms around Dipper's neck in a suffocating hug. Dipper winced when Soos's knee bumped into his cast.

"What's going on?" He pushed his hair off his his forehead and wiped the sweat from his face. His cheeks were flushed and the neck of his shirt was damp. "I had the weirdest dream. . ."

"There's a lot to explain," Wendy said. "But we don't have much time. Gideon is trying to get the deed to the Shack and we need to stop him."

"I'll look for the safe," Stan declared. "All of you stay here."

"But Stan-" Mabel began.

"-stay with the kids," he ordered. "We aren't in a dream anymore. This is real life. Something bad could happen, and I don't want any of you getting hurt."

"But what about you?" Soos asked, his voice shrinking. He stretched out a hand as if hoping that would deter him, and for a moment it seemed to work. Stan's eyes flickered with hesitation in the dim light of the sunset that streamed in from the door of the kitchen.

"Watch out for each other, alright?"

Before leaving the room, he picked up the old baseball bat he kept beside the couch and leaned it again his shoulder. The kids watched until his shadow disappeared and the sound of his footsteps subsided.

"What happened? Why was I dreaming about you guys fighting-" Dipper paused. He look at Mabel. "You fought Bill, didn't you?"

"I think you mean we tried," Wendy said. "He got away. Now we could lose the Shack."

"That doesn't matter. I'm just relieved that all of you are safe."

For now, Wendy thought.

The group was suddenly alerted by a noise sounded from the gift shop. Dipper sat up in his seat, momentarily forgetting about his cast.

"Gideon could be here any second. We can't stick around much longer."

Before anyone could respond, a figure appeared in the doorway. It wasn't until it stepped into the light that they recognized Pacifica NorthWest.

She looked different than when he had last seen her. Unlike her pastel wardrobe, she wore a black dress. Diamond jewelry hung from her ears, neck and wrists. Each piece of jewelry resembled broken glass. Everything about her seemed sharp and cold. Pacifica's eyes were no longer ocean-blue, but dull and almost grey.

Dipper blinked in surprise. "Paz? What are you doing here?"

Pacifica lifted a hand and unfurled her fingers to reveal a lighter that rested in her palm. In her other hand, she carried a journal. The last of the sunlight had faded. The new moonlight shining through the window reflected off the golden hand on the journal's cover. It was the second volume.

Before Dipper had a chance to ask where she found it, Pacifica flicked on the lighter and held it up to the journal.

"Show me where it is," she demanded.

Dipper's shoulders rose up in fright. "Where what is?"

"Journal number one."

"I-I don't know." His eyes darted from side to side while he searched for the right words. "I've looked everywhere for it. You know that. I only have volume three!"

She lifted the lighter closer to a loose page. Dipper's voice began to quiver.

"Why do you want it? What are you doing here?"

Pacifica paused. Her eyes narrowed. She lifted her thumb from the lighter. The flame went out. "I was promised a decent sum of money in return for that book. Now, where is it?"

"Who's paying you?"

Pacifica shoulders dropped and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Gideon Gleeful." She placed a hand on her hip.

"This isn't like you, Pacifica," Mabel spoke up. She pushed Soos and Wendy behind her, leaving them cushioned between her and the wall. "What's really going on?"

Wendy attempted to free herself from Mabel's make-shift barrier. She stood on the toes of her boots, making her just high enough to see over Mabel's shoulder. She noticed Pacifica's necklace. Something about the way the light bounced off the diamond-like shards almost reminded her of a prism.

Wendy gasped in realization. It was the prism! The last piece of the puzzle fell into place. She remembered the night when she chased after Pacifica. The way she had looked at Wendy with red eyes. Warn Dipper that somethings coming. Something big.

"Dipper!" Wendy exclaimed over Mabel's shoulder. "What color are Pacifica's eyes?"

Dipper looked back at Wendy, confused.

"What?"

"Look at her. What color are her eyes?" she repeated.

Dipper looked back at Pacifica. He stared at her intently. His eyes widened when he noticed the way her irises shifted from grey to a shimmering red.

"I'm calling the cops," Mabel whispered into Wendy's ear. She began stepping backwards. Her fingers inched across the faded wallpaper, towards the phone on the wall.

Pacifica whipped around to face them. "Oh no, you don't."

Mabel stopped, grimaced and let her hand fall back to her side.

"You see, this place could blow anytime I want. Either someone hands over the journal, or this place burns to the ground."

"You're bluffing," Dipper said.

"Try me," Pacifica hissed, turning to face him once more. In one swift motion, she turned on the lighter, letting the flame lick at the corner of the loose page. She dangled the journal at a distance from Dipper. She held it in a position so his fingers were inches from it when he desperately swiped his hand through the air to put out the flame. She laughed mockingly, then patted out the flame by tapping it against the arm of the chair Dipper sat in.

"Want to know why I'm doing this?" She didn't let him answer. "It's because I trusted you. I always thought you were my knight in shining armor. You were supposed to be there for me, but instead you always ditched me to be with them." She pointed a finger at Mabel, Soos and Wendy.

"Then I found Gideon. He promised to get me out of this stupid town and away from my parents so I can finally be free from everyone's expectations."

Dipper sat up, as if trying to stand despite his broken leg."Gideon's a liar, Paz. He's selfish. He always has and he always will be. How do you know that he's telling the truth?"

Pacifica chewed on her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. Her eyes momentarily flashed from red to their normal shade of blue.

"This isn't you." Dipper's voice was soft. "I know that you're hurting right now, but you can't let those feelings make decisions for you."

Her eyes suddenly flashed blue. "I-I can't, Dipper. She's too strong!"

Pacifica began shaking and crying even more. She hunched over, her eyes flickering between red and blue. She tore at her hair and screamed. Her voice was shrill and rang with deep agony. The journal fell on the floor. Wendy leapt forward and took it while Pacifica was distracted.

Pacifica whirled around, letting out a low growl. Her red eyes shone brightly, burning into Wendy's. "Hand that over, you little-"

Wendy's reflexes took over, causing her to kick Pacifica, knocking her to the floor. Half of Wendy felt guilty, but the other half finally felt satisfaction. She picked herself off the floor and ran into the other room. Behind her, she could hear Mabel attempting to fight off Pacifica. It sounded horrible. Furniture was being slammed against the walls and shouting filled the air.

Feeling her pulse quicken, Wendy slammed open the door of the gift shop and closed it behind her. Her fingers fumbled with the knob. The sweat on her palms made it nearly impossible to turn the lock. When she finally had the door locked, she let out a sigh of relief.

She had to think of a plan, but she was running out of time. Her eyes scanned the room until she found a bookcase behind the cash register. One shelf was filled with old books coated in thick layers of dust.

Wendy wedged the journal between two old books. She took one with a similar shade of crimson and tucked it under her arm. She began running again when she heard the sound of Pacifica's heels clicking against the wooden floor outside the door of the gift shop. The doorknob turned but stopped from the lock. The knob began rattling furiously.

"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I SWEAR-"

Wendy didn't stay long enough to hear the rest of Pacifica's threat. She quickly climbed up the ladder in the corner of the room. Once she was on the roof, she heard Pacifica struggling to follow behind her.

Wendy ran until she reached the edge of the roof. She scanned the tiles until her eyes locked onto a shard of glass beside her boot. She carefully picked it up and hid it in the pocket of her overalls. While waiting for Pacifica to catch up, Wendy began to wonder why she always ended up cornered on the roof of the Mystery Shack.

"Well, well, well," Pacifica gasped. She grinned, even though she was obviously out of breath. Her red lipstick had smeared and dribbled down her chin in a mixture of sweat and saliva. She wiped it with the back of her wrist. The way she was hunched over made Wendy feel like she was being hunted by an animal.

"You've got no where else to run."

"You're right," Wendy said in defeat. She held up the book. "Just take it."

Pacifica lurched forward and began to pry the book from Wendy's hands, but Wendy was stronger than her. She let go, causing Pacifica to fall on her back. Wendy instantly tackled her, pinning back her arms.

"Let me go!" Pacifica screeched.

Wendy glanced at the sky over her shoulder and positioned Pacifica's arms so that her jewelry glistened in the light. Wendy took the shard from her pocket and positions it so that the moonlight bounced off the choker around her neck. The shards began to glow and so did Pacifica's eyes. Her eyes turned red, then orange, then yellow, until they finally turned into a bright white.

Pacifica let out one last cry of protest until the light was sucked back into the shards around her neck.

Wendy sat back, breathing heavily as she watched in anticipation for Pacifica to wake up. When she did, Pacifica immediately broke into tears.

"Di-Dipper-" she sobbed. Her eyes finally opened.

"It's okay," Wendy said softly. She crawled towards Pacifica and helped her sit up. She rubbed her back until Pacifica began breathing normally. "You're okay."

There was a solid minute of silence. The night sounds of the crickets and the fireflies that surrounded the Shack seemed to help calm Pacifica.

Although the dust from the battle seemed to have cleared, Wendy couldn't fight off the feeling of something even more sinister lurking in the shadows. She momentarily pushed the thoughts away.

"Come on, I'll help you get inside."

"No," she said, lifting her trembling hands to grip Wendy by the overalls. "You don't understand. It's not over. He's going to be here any minute- he's-he's dangerous. I'm so sorry-" Pacifica stopped, her head falling between her knees as she sobbed.

Wendy was caught off guard. She always felt incredibly awkward when someone expressed such emotion in front of her. she felt compelled to comfort her, but had no idea how.

Wendy placed a hand on Pacifica's shoulder and rubbed it with circular motions. "It's okay."

The roof tiles rattled beneath Wendy's feet. She felt her stomach twist as another wave of fear crashed over her.

Pacifica gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide.

"What's wrong?"

"He's here," she whispered.