The twins ventured deep into the musky smelling forest, following the blaze of red hair in front of them. Moments later, they had left the boat on the shore, as they entered the deep marshes of Scuttlebutt Island.

"Is the money really worth it?" Will questioned, glancing anxiously at a giant spiderweb.

Bill turned to him. "Not just money. But a chance at fame."

"Is that really any better, though?"

"Of course, it is," The blond replied, incredulously. "When you're famous, you get all the penthouses, girls and boys, and enough expensive materials to fill the void in your heart."

The blue haired darted his eyes sideways. "That sounds like your kind of thing, I suppose."

"Suit yourself," Bill said, with a shrug. "You may be content on living in the shadows, but I'm gonna live in the moment. And by the heavens, I will get myself on a useless talk show!"

"Quiet down," Wendy snapped, her voice lowered. "This thing could be anyway, so we need to be careful."

She crept forward, with the brothers in tow. Everywhere, the forest seemed to be sleeping, with only the faint sounds of little creatures moving in the trees. Fog drifted over their feet, and everything was silent, when--

Snap!

The three paused, the astrosphere thickened with suspense, as something drew closer. Wendy immediately took stance, weapon in her hands, and eyes brightened with determination. Then, a shadow figure burst from the trees, and the redhead lurched forward with her axe raised. Until, the figure stepped into the light, and it was revealed...to be Dipper.

Wendy stopped herself just in time, her axe hovering inches away from the Guardian's face.

"Hey, Wendy," Dipper said, awkwardly.

Wendy's eyes widened. "Dipper, what are you--"

She was cut off, when Mabel stepped out. Her face lit up, upon seeing Wendy.

"Yes, you're here!" She beamed. "Are you here to find him, too?"

Wendy tucked her axe back into her belt, and darted her gaze between the two. "Who is this him?"

Dipper regarded her puzzlingly. "Wait, then why are you here?"

"Trying to find a legendary monster. Duh."

"And what about them?" He questioned, glancing suspiciously at the Cipher brothers.

"We're bait," Bill answered, casually.

Mabel bent down, looking at the blond with big eyes. "Really? Can I help? I heard that most creatures are attracted to sparkly things."

Bill creased his brow. "What does that--"

"Ta-da!" She exclaimed, and two knitted sweaters magically appeared in her hands. One was sunshine yellow, while the other was a baby blue, they had Bill and Will's names stitched in glittering letters.

The twins stared in unified confusion, then Mabel spoke again. "I spent all night making these for you. Would you like to try them on?"

The blond narrowed his eyes. "Hell n--"

He paused, when he spotted Dipper unsheathing his sword a bit, and shooting him a glare. Bill sighed heavily.

"Alright, Shooting Star."

Mabel smiled, and pulled the sweaters over each brother's head.

"Never have I been so disrespected," Bill muttered, under his breath.

Will wrapped his arms around himself. "At least, they're soft."

Bill huffed. "So much, I can't even complain about it!"

Wendy gave a little chuckle, before facing Dipper once more. "OK, now answer my question."

Dipper removed his hat, to comb his fingers through his hair. A grim look formed on his face. "We're looking for Fiddleford."

The redhead stepped back in shock. "He's alive?"

He nodded. "We finally tracked his location to this island."

"He's here?" Wendy demanded, suddenly distressed. "Where he could easily get eaten by the monster?"

"Let's not think about the negatives," Mabel insisted. "Dipper and I known Fiddleford for years, and he's very resourceful for a cooky guy."

"But you're right, Wendy," Dipper said. "We will have to find him before this beast does."

"In that case: I'll help you," Wendy decided.

"Red, weren't you planning on doing something else?" Bill pointed out. He didn't like the idea of spending more time with the Pines.

Wendy gave him a lopsided smile. "Who says we can't do both? We'll have to work together, and we'll both reach our goals."

On cue, there was a wave of protests from Dipper and Bill, until Wendy shut them down with a stern look.

"We'll cover more ground as a team," She told them. "And I don't want to hear it from you two."

"Ooh, what awaits us on this perilous quest?" Mabel said, excitingly. "Our goals? Unlikely friendship?"

"A likely death," Will responded.

Mabel patted his head. "Great imagination. The possibilities are endless!"

"No, I'm pretty sure we're gonna die."

"Let's find out, then," She said. The brunette walked ahead of the group, and waved towards them. "Follow me!"

"And who made you caption?" Bill remarked.

"I did, because I'm awesome like that. Now, onward!"

❇❇❇

The group traveled far, and the island grew more creepier as time progressed. The path ahead was dimmed, as the trees blocked the day sky, only bits of sunlight managed to filter through. The creatures peered at them from the shadows, their beady eyes shining with an ominous glow. And the fog continued to thicken, and soon they could barely see what was in front of them. It didn't help that the obvious tension in the pack, didn't soothe the astrosphere.

Dipper barely said a word, as he kept his eyes on Bill for the whole walk. As for Bill, this annoyed him to great lengths.

"Would you stop that?" He snapped, turning to the brunette.

Dipper scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Bill looked at him suspiciously. "Oh, so you weren't just undressing me with your eyes a minute ago?"

"Wait, I wasn't--"

"Boys, please," Wendy sighed, tiredly. "You can finish braiding each other's hairs, after we get this done."

With that, they both grew silent, but still occasionally sent each other death glares.

Soon, their path finally came to an end. They halted in their tracks, to avoid stepping over the massive cliff in front of them. A river flowed beside them, and morphed into a roaring waterfall. Bill looked over the edge, seeing dark churning waters. He kicked a pebble down, and numbered the distance from here to the bottom anxiously.

"Now what?" He asked. "It's a dead end."

Wendy frowned at the waterfall. "We will have to go around."

"It'll take all day," Bill complained.

"Either that, or we're swimming," She pointed out.

Bill knew better than to protest, and grudgingly joined the others, as they were about to turn the other way. However, he stopped dead in his tracks, when he heard a growl behind him.

The others heard it too, and slowly turned around. And then, a enormous shadow rose from behind the cliff, with a long neck, and monstrous glowing eyes.

"Crap," Wendy cursed, softly.

The monster growled, it's appearance shielded by the fog. It focused it's attention on the Cipher twins, leaving the Guardians unnoticed. Bill did the first thing that came to mind, and stepped protectively in front of his brother, while Will quivered behind him. The beast released another rumbling growl, but before it could strike, an axe was thrown at it's face, and lodged itself into it's eye socket. It seemed more furious, rather than in pain, as it roared viciously, shaking the whole outskirts of the forest.

"RUN!" Wendy yelled.

Too late.

The creature swiped it's tail at them. The force collided into them like a brick wall, and the next thing they knew, they were plummeting over the cliff. There was a brief moment of their screams of terror, before they were silenced, as the waters succumbed them.