"This is my fault. This whole thing with Bill possessing you, it's — it's my fault."

Fidds sat alone in the parlor.

He'd pretended to be asleep when Melody had come in to check on him earlier. But now he sat up on his bed, listening to the faint sounds of conversation coming from the living room, trying to decide if he wanted to go out there.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be crying to you about this."

Danny and some other neighbors had helped bring down one of the twin-sized beds from the attic — the twins had already gotten most of their things out. There was no way Fidds should be climbing stairs right now (especially not under Melody's watchful eye), so instead of staying in the attic like he did thirty years ago, he took over the parlor.

It meant he was a lot closer to Ford's room. It increased the frequency at which they saw each other — and the frequency at which Fidds caught Ford giving him murderous looks out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm not going to kill you."

Besides the secret murderous looks, though, Ford really was doing a good job at taking Fidds in. He seemed to be taking Lee's final directive seriously, despite the fact that Fidds was absolutely certain Ford despised him.

He should. Fidds deserved to be despised.

"You have to."

Fidds, of course, hadn't wanted to do it. Sometimes, anger appeared in Fidds' throat, and he wanted to yell at Ford that it wasn't fair, that he hadn't wanted to, that Lee had made him, that Bill had made Lee make him — but that anger usually fizzled away as quickly as it had come. Fidds knew he'd been the ideal murderer, especially since he had already done so many terrible things.

"You said yourself that it's like you killed me thirty years ago when you wiped my memory. Now you have to do it again."

But it really wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Lee had to die in the first place. He had so much he could've done. So much time he could've spent with his family.

Not Fidds, though. Fidds had no family left. And his mentor Lilith was certainly dead by now. Although. . . well, frankly, Fidds sometimes wondered if she had simply died that day back in Tennessee — that day she tried to fly. With what he'd learned about magic and its limitations. . . her death was more likely than her survival.

Regardless. It was very unlikely that she was still alive, after all these years. Fidds had a small urge to try summoning her ghost, but he didn't think she'd be anywhere near here. Plus, he was a little afraid of talking to her and learning for certain that she really had died that day in 1976.

Much better to think of her flying away, and living a happy, adventurous life, before passing away peacefully years later.

The point was — if anyone should be dead, it should be Fidds. Lee should be alive. Lee should be with Ford. Lee should be helping the town and the supernatural creatures with the recovery.

But Lee wasn't alive. Fidds was. Unfairness notwithstanding.

And Fidds couldn't do anything to change that.

"You can't die for me."

Fidds sighed. He shouldn't just be sitting here — he should be enjoying the movement and the sunshine that Lee couldn't. He should be socializing with whoever was out in the living room. But he couldn't get himself to move from this bed: his island in a sea of an empty room.

Forget going out there. Fidds should just lie here and never move again.

So he shifted to lie down. . . but halfway there, an idea sparked in his mind.

He frowned.

Wait.

"You can't die for me, so that's a pretty useless offer."

Fidds' eyes widened.

Maybe. . .

Maybe there was something he could do. Maybe he did have something to offer.

Instead of lying down, Fidds got to his feet. Instead of never moving again, he left his room to go find Ford.

He had to tell Ford his idea.

~~~~~

Melody's conversation with Soos and Camille was interrupted by the front door opening. Dipper, Sam, Mabel, and Greyson were back. And they didn't look like they'd succeeded in taking Waddles out of town.

"Oh, Dipper," said Melody, getting up and going over to him. "I'm so sorry."

Dipper had some lingering tears on his face. "Greyson is going to take care of him," he said. "He's going to be okay." He held Waddles tightly.

"I'm glad," Melody said softly.

"Melody!" came a yell from across the house.

Everyone jumped. Except Melody — she just sighed. She could hear Ford's footsteps, heavy and brusque, coming down the hall. "Yes, Ford?" she said when he turned the corner. Surprisingly, Fidds was with him.

"Where's Gideon?" said Ford. He came into the living room. He looked more excited than Melody had seen him since. . . well, since he had turned on the portal a month ago, thinking Lee was on the other side.

"He's at the Northwest Manor, packing," said Melody. "Why?"

Ford looked at Fidds. "Tell them. Tell them your idea."

Fidds looked rather excited too, although he didn't have the same energy Ford did. "Ford, we don't know if it'll work yet," he said.

"Of course it'll work. We'll need Gideon and Andrew, but it'll work. Tell them!"

"Ford, calm down," said Melody.

He waved a dismissive hand at her and looked expectantly at Fidds.

Fidds breathed in deeply. "Well. . . ," he said, looking at straight at Melody like he was afraid to look at anyone else, "I had an idea. Lee was able to possess Greg to form the Cipher Wheel, right?"

"Right," Melody said slowly.

"So. . . what if he possesses me?"

Melody immediately disliked it. "No."

"But he has — he has more reason to have a body than I do," Fidds said.

"That doesn't matter. It's your body, Fidds."

"Exactly," said Ford. "He can offer it if he wants to. So, we need to talk to Andrew and Gideon."

"Now, wait a moment—"

"Melody," said Fidds, "really, it's okay. This is something I can do to help."

Melody hesitated. She could feel everyone's eyes on her: the Pines, Soos, Greyson. What was going through Soos's head right now, she had no idea. But that didn't really matter — what mattered was Fidds, and his insane idea.

"Talk to Lee," Melody said. "I'll come back with you, and we'll hold a séance, and we'll talk to Lee."

"He'll love it," Ford said. "We shouldn't wait."

"You don't know how he'll react," Melody said, "and you have to communicate with people, Ford, before you make big decisions for them."

Ford glared at her, but Melody was adamant. If Fidds really was insistent on letting Lee possess him, then they had to talk to Lee about it. And they had to figure out the details: Would Lee possess Fidds all the time? Or just once?

Melody turned to Soos. "I'm sorry. I have to go do this. Are you going to be okay waiting here?"

"Uh. . . maybe I should just go," Soos said.

Melody bit back a sigh. She was technically on a date right now, but it looked like this new situation would put an end to that. "That might be best," she said apologetically.

"I'll go, too," said Greyson. "I'd better tell my parents about Waddles."

Soos stood, looking awkwardly at Melody, as if he wanted to hug her but didn't know if he should with their audience. Melody smiled and made the decision for him: She gave him a warm hug. "I had a great time," she said. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

"Yeah," Soos said, smiling back. She'd forgotten how much she loved his smile.

Ford seemed pretty impatient while Melody and Dipper said goodbye to Soos and Greyson, but Melody was fine with making Ford wait. Then, after a few minutes, when Soos and Greyson had walked out the door, she turned to Ford and Fidds. "Okay. Let's go hold that séance," she said.

She started walking down the hallway to the lab, assuming Ford would follow her. She was basically in charge of both of these old men — all three, if you counted Lee — and they would not do something crazy like this without her approval.

Ford seemed to understand this, despite his frequent obstinance. So he followed, and so did Fidds.

~~~~~

"Are you sure, Fidds?" asked Lee.

"Yes, he's sure," Ford said impatiently.

"Shut up, Ford," said Lee. "This is not your decision."

Lee's firm tone actually shut Ford up. Good.

"Lee," said Fidds, "I'm sure. I really think this is a good idea."

Lee hesitated. He glanced around the séance circle: Fidds, Ford, and Melody all looked up at him with starkly different expressions. Uncertainty from Melody. Excitement from Ford. And determination from Fidds.

"I don't know if I should," Lee said. "I mean. . . I'm dead. You had a funeral for me and everything."

"But this is a chance to live again," Fidds said. "To spend time with Ford."

Ford stared silently at Lee, his eyes pleading.

"You would need to set up a specific system," Melody said. "How often would Lee take over? How are you going to switch once Gideon leaves? That kind of thing."

"You're right," Lee said. "What exactly were you thinking, Fidds?"

Fidds seemed to shrink in on himself. "I'm. . . not sure. I guess I was thinking you'd take over. . . permanently."

"No," Melody said immediately.

Fidds shrunk in on himself even more.

"Fidds. Look at me," Melody said.

It took a few seconds, but he raised his uncovered eye to her.

She stared directly into it. "Fiddleford McGucket," she said, "you are not getting out of life like this. I understand that you're in pain right now. But you need to stay, and face the world, and be a part of it. You've been back in this dimension for a month, but now you need to live again. Okay? So even if Lee takes over, you two would need to swap back and forth."

Fidds looked a little shocked at being talked to so bluntly, but Lee agreed with Melody. "She's right," Lee said. "You're still alive, Fidds. So live."

Tears suddenly appeared in Fidds' visible eye, and Lee couldn't tell if the tears were relieved or exasperated. "I just. . . want to rest," Fidds said.

"You can," Melody said. "But you can also do so much good when you're not resting. Stay with us, Fidds. Please."

She couldn't move from the séance circle, but she was already holding Fidds' hand in one of her own, and she squeezed it.

Fidds was quiet for a long time. Lee worried that Ford would jump in and say something, but thankfully he didn't. Fidds needed this time to think. As much as Lee liked the thought of having a body again — as much as his spirit yearned for it — he didn't want Fidds to essentially die just so Lee could live. If they could figure out a way for Fidds and Lee to swap back and forth, then maybe. But otherwise, no. It didn't matter if Fidds didn't value his own life: It was valuable, and Fidds should live it.

"I want to do this for you," Fidds finally said. "But we can switch back and forth. If that's possible after Gideon leaves."

"It is," Lee said. "Andrew knows of a few different methods of exorcism. Gideon's amulet is just the fastest."

He spoke calmly. But his emotions were close to reaching a boiling point. He couldn't quite believe what was happening — but if Fidds really was offering Lee a body again — then—

He tried to keep himself calm.

A knock sounded on the lab's door that led outside. The inhabitants jumped, and Melody moved to get up, but Ford pulled her back down. "We can't leave the circle, or it'll end the séance," he reminded her. Raising his voice, he shouted, "Go around!"

"You could've ended it and just redone it," Lee said. He couldn't help a small smile. "I would've stayed here."

Ford gave Lee an annoyed look.

Footsteps pounded down the hall, and Dipper threw open the hallway door to the lab. "I got Andrew," he said. He wasn't as upbeat as he might've been, which confused Lee. But he still seemed excited. "Mabel and Mom went up to the Manor to get Gideon. Are you going to do it, Grunkle Lee?"

Lee glanced at Ford. Ford looked anxiously back.

"We need to talk to Andrew," Lee said slowly, "and figure out the details. But. . . yes."

He looked at Fidds. And though Fidds looked plenty anxious himself, he also had a genuine smile on his face.

Lee had told Fidds that he couldn't die for him. But Fidds had found a way to help him anyway.

Lee smiled back.

"We're going to try it," he said.

~~~~~

Pacifica froze mid-step.

"That's weird," Shadow Pacifica said. "I didn't know you were that connected to the spirit plane."

"Pacifica?" Eleanor turned around. She was holding a box, which she was taking through the halls of the Order and out to her car. Pacifica had a box, too — they were boxes of Pacifica's belongings.

Pacifica put her box down. "Grandmother," she said, "something's wrong."

Ellie frowned, then put her own box down and came over to Pacifica. She had to step over a jagged section of floor, where the Order headquarters had split as part of the township and had then been shoved back together. But soon she was in front of her granddaughter. "What is it? Do you feel faint?"

"No, it's. . . something else." She didn't know how to describe it. She didn't exactly know what it was. She glanced over at Shadow Pacifica. Do you know?

But Shadow Pacifica didn't say anything.

"Describe it to me," Ellie said. "Describe what you're feeling."

"Something feels. . . off. I think it has to do with the spirit plane. And with me. . . ?" She trailed off, confused.

"Are there any ghosts down here with us?" Ellie asked.

"No," said Pacifica, "but I still feel strange. Like I'm under a spotlight. Or like. . . like someone's trying to. . ." She gave a little gasp. "Oh!"

"There you go," said Shadow Pacifica. "You got it."

"It's Lincoln," said Pacifica. "He's trying to find me. But he doesn't know where I am."

"Do you know where he is?" said Ellie. "Or should we just wait for him to find us?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should go to the Mystery Museum."

Ellie thought about this, then nodded. "But let's finish taking up these two boxes, at least."

They took the boxes up from the Order and out to Ellie's car. There were a few more things to get, but Pacifica was hardly thinking about that. After all, Lincoln was looking for her.

She was nervous at the thought of going to the Museum. Of facing the people there. But she turned and started walking up the street, not even thinking of getting in the car. It wasn't that far, and maybe she'd see Lincoln on the way.

Ellie, who had moved to get into the car, locked it and followed Pacifica instead.

They made it to the Museum, and Pacifica went up and knocked on the door. Her nervousness grew as she waited for the door to open.

It opened. "Pacifica," said Melody in surprise. "That was fast. Is Lee with you?"

"No," said Pacifica. She was glad Melody answered the door, and not Mabel or Dipper. "I know he's looking for me, though. I just. . . felt it."

Melody glanced at Ellie, and for a brief moment they shared a silent adult conversation. That was a little annoying, but it didn't matter. "I thought I could wait for him here," Pacifica said.

"Okay," said Melody. "Come on in. Everyone else is in the lab."

Pacifica and Ellie entered, then followed Melody back to the lab. "How did you know Lincoln was looking for me?" asked Pacifica.

"He said he was going to," Melody replied, "in a séance."

Pacifica frowned. "Is something happening?"

"Yes. But Lee didn't want it to happen without you."

Melody led Pacifica and Ellie back to the lab. To Pacifica's surprise, the room was full. Mabel, Dipper, and their parents were here, as were Ford, Fidds, Andrew, Gideon, and Grace. "What's going on?" Pacifica said.

"Oh, hey," Gideon said. "You got here fast. Is Lee here, too?"

"No," said Pacifica. "I could feel him looking for me. You should pull him back. But only after you tell me what's going on."

"Fidds should tell you," Gideon said.

Pacifica frowned and turned to Fidds.

He looked nervous. Really nervous. More nervous than Pacifica felt, seeing Dipper's glare out of the corner of her eye. But he also looked. . . happy? Was that it? Had Pacifica ever seen him look happy?

"Lee wanted you to be here," Fidds said. "He's going to. . . possess me."

Pacifica blinked. "Why?"

"So that he can be physical again," Fidds answered. "I volunteered. And we worked out the details — he's just going to do it for a few days. At least this time."

Pacifica stared at Fidds. His words washed over her.

Wait. Wait.

An unintelligible sound burst out from Pacifica's lungs. Then, "Fidds!" she cried. Without even thinking about it, she flung her arms around him.

He hugged her back. And Pacifica started crying.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you."

They stood there, silently, with their arms around each other, for at least half a minute. Then, "Pacifica?" said a new voice.

She turned around. "Lincoln," she said, smiling through her tears. "Did Gideon call you back?" She hadn't heard anything over the sound of her own crying. But now she could see Lee's ghost, floating among the other people in the lab.

Lincoln nodded. "He said you could feel that I was looking for you."

"Yeah. I didn't know I could do that." But it hardly even mattered anymore. "Are you really going to. . . ?"

"Yes," Lincoln said, with a big smile of his own. "Why don't you tell everyone I'm ready?"

"He's ready," Pacifica announced. She looked around at the others. Even Dipper and Mabel, who looked uncomfortable being in the same room as Pacifica, had small, excited smiles.

Then she glanced back at Fidds. His nervousness had grown more pronounced. But he nodded. "I'm ready, too."

Melody arranged some pillows on the floor of the lab, then helped Fidds lie down on them. Andrew recited his spell that would lend his power to Gideon.

"This will be uncomfortable," Gideon warned Fidds. "And only Lee and Pacifica will be able to see you. And since I'm leaving soon, you're going to need Andrew to do the exorcism a different way to switch back."

"I know," Fidds said. He swallowed.

"Okay," said Gideon. He sat down on the floor beside Fidds. His amulet started to glow.

Pacifica watched the exorcism on the spirit plane. It looked basically just like it had last week: A glowing spirit form of Gideon appeared, overlaid atop his body. Teal light surrounded Fidds, slowly drawing his spirit out of his body. The discomfort on Fidds' ghostly face as he was pulled out made Pacifica wince.

This exorcism took longer than last week's had, since it was taking Fidds out of his rightful body. But it worked. With a bright surge of power from Gideon's amulet — no doubt fueled by Andrew's magic — Fidds was separated entirely from his body.

He instinctively struggled to get back in. But Gideon's amulet held him fast. Lincoln floated up next to Fidds' spirit. "Thank you," he said.

Then he flew into Fidds' body.

Gideon let go of Fidds' spirit. Fidds looked disoriented. "Fidds," Gideon said. "Are you all right?"

Fidds turned. Looked at Gideon for a moment. Then smiled. "Yes," he said.

Gideon nodded, then deactivated his amulet.

The lab was silent as everyone stared at Fidds' body. It lay motionless on the floor. Pacifica wondered why Lincoln wasn't moving. Had something gone wrong, something she hadn't seen? Or was he simply lying there, enjoying physical sensations again?

"Stanley?" whispered Ford.

The eyes opened. Only one was visible, since the other was covered by Fidds' eyepatch. But it was Lincoln's eye: blue-grey, not Fidds' light brown.

"This body is really stiff," Lincoln said. "Help me up."

Ford's face split into a huge smile. Ford stepped forward and grabbed Lincoln's hand, pulling him upright.

Then the brothers hugged.

Just like last week. But in reverse. Instead of leaving a body, Lincoln had entered one. Instead of being barred from the physical world, Lincoln had been welcomed back into it.

A new wave of tears appeared in Pacifica's eyes. Pacifica didn't mind.

Ford and Lincoln pulled back from their hug, smiling at each other. And the lab burst into noise and motion. People were laughing and cheering. Everyone wanted to see Lincoln.

Pacifica wanted to see him too, but she could wait her turn. She watched Fidds, who was floating just outside the group. The smile on his face was a little bit sad. But it was still a smile. He had just done something. . . amazing. Something selfless. Pacifica hadn't really blamed Fidds for Lincoln's death — but if she had, then this act would go a long way toward making amends.

"Pacifica," said Lincoln's voice.

Pacifica turned. And there he was. Smiling at her with a face that wasn't his own. But it was still his smile. Still him.

"Lincoln," said Pacifica.

He wrapped his arms around her.

Pacifica never wanted to leave his embrace.