"Everyone get down!! Don't let it taste human flesh!!"

The yell was muffled slightly by the furniture and distance between the dungeon and the main floor above, a multitude of voices clamouring as someone chased a screeching thing across the floor.
It was enough, however, to wake Bandit from the sound sleep he was previously in.
He groaned tiredly, looking a little grumpy that he had been woken up so rudely, pushing at his box with numb hands.
It swung open , his strings allowing Bandit to sit up and move easily, the surreal wooden Western vigilante scrambling out of his box and nearly face-planting the desk.

Thank God for the strings, though, huh? He let the strings get him back up, walking over and closing the lid of the box, locking it when he heard the judder of the elevator clunking down the shaft and down towards the basement.
He looked back over, scooting to sit on the lid of his box, one leg resting across his lap and the other lower leg swinging idly, only to see Ford walking back into the room with an unconscious squid-looking thing that carried with it the foulest smell.
If Bandit had a nose, it would be bleeding, but that didn't mean he couldn't somewhat smell it.

"What the heck happened up th- uugh, what is that?!" Bandit exclaimed, a dry heave following before he pulled his bandanna up over his nose and mouth.
"Sorry to wake you, Bandit. The Cycloptopus escaped again, and I've only just wrangled it" Ford replied, Bandit watching as he put the ungodly-smelling thing in a specimen jar and closing the lid.
Bandit dry-heaved again, one hand on his wooden torso where his stomach ought to be, the other hand balled in a fist and put to his mouth slightly to keep anything from coming up.
"Uuugh, that's just nasty!" Bandit said, his Southern Drawl a little more pronounced again, which made Ford laugh. As far as Bandit could tell, either Ford couldn't smell it, or he was trying to ignore it and get rid of the scent with some kind of ventilator thing. Though, he could swear that Ford's face was beginning to turn green.

After the disgusting scent was cleared -thanks to a ventilator and about three tubes of deodorant spray- Ford and Bandit soon found it easier to breathe the cool air of the basement again.
Bandit hopped back up onto his box while Ford worked, the male looking up at Bandit every so often to make sure he was ok and wasn't getting into any mischief.
At the minute, Bandit was watching the jar with an eerie glare of his glowing white eyes, beady black pupils trained on the thing, and with his Pop Pistol at the ready.

"It's alright, it's not gonna come back out for a good while" Ford reassured Bandit, grabbing his attention.
"Yeah, it better not" Bandit snarled, aiming the words at the now cowering octopus-like creature, scowling, though Ford smiled softly.
"I can assure you it won't. Plus it usually goes after humans, and not puppets. You'll be alright" Ford said, though Bandit countered with a "don't mean it can't try."
Ford chuckled and shook his head, leafing through the journal and stopping at the pages labelled "Showdown Bandit", twirling his pen between his six fingers.

"What have ya written my name down for?" Bandit asked, the audible 'clack!' noise coming from his boots colliding with the wooden desk, a soft jingling of spurs could be heard as he walked closer to Ford, who was writing something in the journal, not receiving an answer.
Stealing a glance, Bandit smirked and tapped Ford on the arm to make him look up, before posing with his pop pistol thrust forward to the air in front of Ford.
The scientist looked confused, then let out an "Aaah!" before sketching Bandit in that particular stance, showing it to Bandit when he was done.

"Hey, that's pretty neat!" Bandit said with a small chuckle, grinning as Ford gave a light nod of appreciation.
"Is it alright to ask some questions for the journal?" Ford asked, to which Bandit replied, "Sure thing!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few questions and jokey conversations, Ford had finished writing down as much information on Showdown Bandit as he can, and he was rather impressed with his two main abilities, not to mention his skill with the pop pistol that was alarmingly more powerful than it seemed from first glance.
They continued talking, until the most peculiar sound was heard nearby.

A rumble and a scream, followed by a loud THUMP! on the floor of the basement.

Ford motioned Bandit to make himself scarce, the marionette jumping down off of the desk to hide underneath a control panel, peeking out from the darkness as a shadowy shape walked towards something that had rolled into the study space.
The specimen jar holding the Cycloptopus had broken during the fall of the intruder, who seemed to be reaching for some kind of die. He'd never seen anything like it, and it fascinated the sentient puppet.
He watched the new person reach for it, until-

"DIPPER!! STOP!!"
It was Ford's voice!

This apparent 'Dipper' looked up in shock as Ford glared down at them; at least, that's what Bandit could see from his hiding spot. He could hear the lecture Ford was giving the teen who looked no older than, what? thirteen or so? Granted, Bandit didn't look much older than him either, but that was besides the point.
However, the lecture stopped as soon as Ford spotted the multiple-sided die from the game.
"Is that what I think it is?! A 38 sided die from Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons?!" he exclaimed.
Nervously but excitedly, with a cracking voice and a glint in his eye, Dipper piped up; "Yeah, it is!! And I've been looking for someone to play it with me all day!"

"Wargh!! Uh, Mr Ford, sir? Li-lil help here?!" came a voice, startling Dipper and alerting Ford.
Ford looked over, seeing the Cycloptopus eyeing something under the desk.....something small and made of wood.....
Bandit scowled, Pop Pistol at the ready, and a pen nib being brandished at the hissing thing, trying to ward it off.
"Back the heck off me, ya darn critter, or I WILL shoot!!" came the same Southern voice. "Go on, get!!"

"Hey! you leave him alone!" Ford growled at the alien-esque being who made a bubbling growl sound.
Ford slipped on a glove and lobbed it across the other side of the room, kneeling down to seek out his minuscule guest.
"Are you alright?" Ford asked, Dipper staring bug-eyed at the space under the table.
"I am now...thanks, Ford" something said.
Dipper couldn't believe his eyes when the talker came out of hiding!!!
It was a doll.....no, a marionette....with very thin strings tied around his arms, legs and head to make him move. He was wearing a dark-coloured set of clothes, an orange bandanna around his neck tied loosely so it could be moved to mask his face.
He was holding a brightly-coloured cork pistol and a rusty pen nib close to him, looking up at Ford .

But what was this?
The wooden male ascended on his strings, zooming to Ford and resting on his right shoulder like a parrot, holding onto his coat as Ford stood back up.
Dipper was gaping, jaw hitting the floor at the new resident of the basement, whereas Ford was perfectly casual about it, as if it were just an everyday thing.
Then again, strange things were a regular occurrence in a town as weird as Gravity Falls. The living marionette was proof of that.

"Dipper, I'd like you to meet Showdown Bandit" Ford said formally, Bandit whizzing down on his strings so he landed at Dipper's feet.
Dipper looked down, nervous, seeing the pen nib had been taken away by Ford, and the pistol was holstered.
"Uuuh, h-hi" Dipper replied, looking down at Bandit.
"Well howdy, there, Dipper! might fine ta meet ya! Y'all can call me Bandit, if it's easier. Oh, hold on" Bandit said, stepping back.

Both Ford and Dipper looked confused at this, only to see Bandit standing in the middle of the room.
As if by magic, Bandit started....growing?!
He had his eyes shut, and when he opened them, he was at the same height as the teen, his clothes and hat still accustomed to his stature to fit him.
Ford looked through his notes on Bandit in the journal, and added to the profile where necessary, specifically about the demonstrated change of height. His theory was that Bandit could shift into any height he wanted, but also had a limit; how he was going to test this, he wasn't sure.

"There! now I can give ya a proper handshake" Bandit said, shaking Dipper's hand.
Dipper marvelled at the guy right in front of him. He seemed to be sentient. Alive. Just like him.
Though made out of wood and strings, Bandit could walk, talk, feel emotions, fear, and much more. It was incredible!

Bandit grinned happily, excited to have a new friend, his eyes turning to the dice in Dipper's hand.
"May I see that?" Bandit asked, looking at the die, which Dipper handed over cautiously.
Of course, Bandit wasn't going to pocket it....probably...nah! he was more interested in looking at it for now.
"Never SEEN a die with so many sides. How's that possible?!" Bandit asked, rolling and flipping it between his wooden fingers. "I only thought dice had six sides!"
"It's specially made by the company who make this game. There are some six-sided dice in the box, but there are others with more, some with less" Ford explained. "It's to help with rolling statistics and coming up with special moves in the game."
"Wow! By gum, that is somethin'!" Bandit gasped, rolling the dice in his palm again with another whispered "wow!"
"I-If you want, we can teach you how to play the game?" Dipper asked Bandit, feeling the marionette's beady eyes shift and lock onto him; it gave him the creeps, but if Bandit was friendly at the moment, then he guessed he could trust him for now.

"I'd love that" Bandit replied happily, helping Dipper and Ford set up the game.
"How do you play?"