Mabel had been gone all day, and Dipper was getting worried.

He sat at the base of the stairs, anxiously bouncing his leg and staring at the door, Waddles asleep on his lap. Where was she? Should he go after her? She'd said she was going to help with a haunting at the Northwest Manor, but she'd been gone all day, and it was dark outside. Shouldn't she be done by now?

His mind went over all sorts of terrible things that could've happened. He knew he shouldn't have let her go off with Gideon! He may have saved her down in the bunker, but that didn't make him trustworthy. Dipper wouldn't trust him as far as he could throw him, and Mabel shouldn't either.

Huh. Funny how being afraid for Mabel made him as paranoid as Mabel.

"Do you want to go look for her?" Melody came into the entryway and leaned against the wall.

Dipper's leg-bouncing sped up. "Yeah, but I doubt the Northwests would even let us into their front yard, much less their house. And what if she comes back while we're out looking for her?" He sighed. "I'm not crazy, though, right? She should've been back by now?"

Melody nodded. "She should've been. And if you sit there for much longer, you're going to go crazy worrying. We can leave a note just in case, but let's get out there and start searching for her."

She was right, of course. He'd feel much better going out and doing something about it instead of just worrying. He eased Waddles off his lap and stood up. "Okay, but I'm gonna grab her grappling hook. Just in case we need to vault over the Northwest's stupid gate." He ran up the stairs, then paused on the top step and looked back down at Melody. "And grab the stun gun, too. You never know if we'll need it, and Mabel may be in danger."

Plus he would use it on Gideon in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose.

Five minutes later, Dipper was at the door, bundled in his coat and fiddling with the grappling hook in his hands. "I promise I'm just borrowing it, Mabel," he said to it. "I'll give it back as soon as we find you. Because we will find you."

Melody ducked into the entryway, pulling on her own coat. "All right, let's—"

There was a strong, sharp knock at the door.

Dipper and Melody both jumped. Their eyes met. "Do you think it's. . . ?" Melody began.

"That doesn't sound like her knock," Dipper said, butterflies of worry erupting in his stomach. It could be Mabel, but it sounded more like some responsible adult, come to be the bearer of bad news.

But Dipper wasn't one to wallow in anxiety when he could be acting. He pulled the door open.

And came face to face with Gideon Northwest.

Dipper saw red. Gideon started to say something, but Dipper didn't hear. He sprang from the doorway and grabbed Gideon by the collar. "Where's — my — sister," he growled, getting up in Gideon's face.

Gideon's voice was strained, but he managed to force out: "She's in danger."

The blood drained from Dipper's face. Gideon shoved Dipper off him, and he was too stunned to catch himself. He fell to the frozen porch with a thud.

Then the moment passed, and Dipper's dismay was replaced with anger. He jumped to his feet. "What did you do?!" he shouted.

"I didn't do anything! It was Pacifica!"

Dipper had been dreading Mabel being in danger. But he was not expecting this. "Pacifica? But she disappeared!"

Gideon gave him a flat look. "Well, she's back, and she has your sister, and if we want to save her we have to go now."

Dipper glanced back to Melody's anxious face, then up to Gideon. "We were just about to leave and go look for her. Do you know where she is specifically?"

"I know where she's going," Gideon said. "And. . . do you have to bring your maid?"

Dipper stared at him in disbelief. "She's not our maid, and of course she's coming!"

"It's okay, Dip," Melody said, coming out onto the porch and closing the door. "I'm a lot of things, and a maid is one of them. Let's just go get Mabel, all right?"

Gideon started off the porch, but Melody stepped forward to grab his shoulder. He turned, looking exasperated. "I'm as much Mabel's guardian as Ford, maybe more," she said, "and based on your track record, I can't trust either of these twins alone with you. So yes, I'm coming."

"Fine," Gideon snapped, twisting away from her. "Fine, I'm sure the twins would tell you everything anyway. Why not have more people know about the Order? I'm already going to be in huge trouble as it is."

He stomped down the porch steps and out to the street, leaving angry tracks in the snow.

Dipper and Melody followed. "The Order?" Dipper echoed. "What's that?" He knew he wouldn't like the answer —what could be good about something Gideon Northwest was hesitant to share?

Gideon let out a long breath. "It's a cult," he said. "And Pacifica just got put in charge."

"A what?" Melody asked.

"A cult. A cult that worships Bill Cipher."

Dipper got a spontaneous shiver from that name. He'd never forget what that demon did to Mabel. "And you know about this how?"

Gideon stopped for a second, but then remembered their haste and resumed the quick pace down the street. He sighed instead. "I. . . I do some work for them. But I do not worship Bill."

"Good," Dipper said forcefully. "You'd better not. Still, it figures you would be part of a cult."

Gideon rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, Pacifica is now too. Her leadership is just temporary, but that doesn't make the situation any better. She. . ." He hesitated.

Dipper tensed. "She what?"

"N-never mind," Gideon said.

That just made Dipper's fear spike. "You never stutter," he said, studying Gideon's pale face. "What? What's going to happen to Mabel?"

"Pacifica is. . ." Gideon took a deep breath, as if it pained him to say it aloud. "She's planning to kill her."

Dipper broke into a run.

"Dipper, wait!" Gideon called, speeding up as well. "You don't even know where we're going!"

"Then you'd better tell me right now!"

Gideon caught up with him. "The library. The entrance to Order headquarters is in the library."

They'd all but left Melody behind now; she couldn't compete with the speed of two teen boys. Dipper didn't care, though. All he cared about was getting to Mabel as soon as possible. Faster than that.

As they approached the library, Gideon held out an arm, forcing Dipper to slow down to avoid running into it. He turned on Gideon, but the Northwest put a finger to his lips. "There might be guards," he whispered.

Gideon crept around the side of the wall until he could just barely peer around the corner to the back of the library. Then he pulled back and nodded to Dipper. "Two," he mouthed.

Well, that was fine, they had the stun gun, right?

Oh. . . they had the stun gun, but it was back with Melody.

It probably didn't take very long for Melody to catch up, but it felt long to Dipper. His brain kept treading into forbidden territory and wondering, What if it's too late for Mabel by the time we get down there?

Finally, Melody came to a stop near them. They both put their fingers to their lips to stop her from asking questions. "Stun gun," Dipper breathed.

Melody nodded and got it ready. Gideon quickly and quietly told her what they were dealing with, and she held it up around the corner to shoot it at the guards.

"Who's there?"

The harsh voice startled Melody so badly that she dropped the stun gun. Gideon immediately snatched it up from the snow, aimed it around the corner, and fired off two shots. There were two grunts of surprise, then twin thuds as the guards fell unconscious to the ground.

He turned on Melody. "You should've just given it to me in the first place. We're lucky they didn't raise the alarm."

And with that, he stalked off.

Melody took a calming breath and followed, Dipper at her heels. Gideon stopped in front of a nondescript door that looked like an innocent back way for employees. The only thing that made it look out of place from the rest of the laidback town library was the keypad on the side.

Gideon punched in the code, and the door swung open with a quiet woosh of hydraulics.

Just beyond the door was an unlit staircase, sweeping down into the darkness. It made Dipper feel like he was staring into an abyss. One that he was about to willingly enter.

"Welcome," Gideon said grimly, "to the Order of the Crescent Eye."