The morning was early and cold, the sun beams barely reached the mountains of Gravity Falls, only a view pinkish streaks made it through the dark forest to mix themselves with the dark blue color of the night, creating a deep purple which cloaked the city in a mysterious light. But despite the missing sunlight, Stan was awake at an ungodly hour, preparing breakfast after he'd lost the battle with his stone pillow, arguing about sleep.

The old man sighed and took another sip from his coffee. The bitter taste on his lips tried to break through the fog in his mind while he was slicing carrots for Dipper. He cursed- something that didn't involve butter biscuits or fudge, when the knife missed its target leaving a red mark on his index finger. He grumbled and put the finger in his mouth to avoid bleeding all over the place. The metallic taste caused a shiver to run down his spine. He sometimes missed being a Gargoyle, but the memories of Dipper injured badly was still too fresh in his mind. Stand grunted and used an old towel to wrap it around the small cut before he moved on with the deers salad.

But the thought of his nephew was still wavering in his mind, just like it had all night long, to be honest. Stan's gaze moved into the corridor, he wasn't able to see the staircase from his point of view but he kept on watching while a tiny spot of red was soaking through the grey towel. Stan didn't even so much as notice since he was too consumed by his own thoughts. Because after what had happened these last days Stan was simply afraid of what he might see when the kid's would come down these stairs.

It was right after the awful "new bandages for Dipper" episode, which had left the Shack in a mess and his ears ringing because his nephew's high pitched bleats, that Dipper had come up to him, while Mabel cleaned up the chaos her brother had made.

He was restocking the first aid kit which he used to keep in the gift shop when a shy bleat nearly made him jump in surprise. Stan turned around to face Dipper who looked to the ground the moment their eyes met.

Stan just sighed and put the last bandage aside

"If you're here to apology for the scrapes your little excuse for hoof gave me then forget it kid, stone or not I still am pretty thick-skinned."

But the way the small deer frowned told him that this wasn't the matter he was here to "talk" (or whatever he thought he was doing here) about, neither something of which he could lighten the mood that easily. One of Stan's bushy eyebrows slowly climbed its way up while he kept watching Dipper in silence. Finally when the fawn still refused to look at him, he knelt down and touched his furry shoulder in order to catch the kids attention.

"Dipper-"

But the moment the deer registered the sudden missing distance between himself and the huge human, who was actually touching him made Dipper jump back, just enough to bounce against the shelf behind him, cornered while the large figure in front of him raised again to look down at the frightened animal.

Stan could feel his heart, the thing that he had pretend to be just a romantic-good-for-nothing-myth before the twins had stepped into his life, brake inside him. His breath caught in his throat and he didn't dare to move a finger, looking down in the fear filled eyes of his nephew, only to register that it weren't Dipper's eyes, but the dark brown ones of an animal looking up to him. The sight itself was enough to make a shiver run down his spine, creating goosebumps on his neck.

The old man let out a shaky breath, lowering himself to the deer's level while he tried to soften his shivering voice.

"Easy kid, easy- I'm not here to hurt you, promise..." He whispered, even when he knew that with the black stare the small creature before him was giving him Dipper didn't even understand him. And so the bad feeling of this morning rushed over him again. He had tried to pretend that Dipper was just touchy with him changing his bandages, he tried to ignore the strange cautious look the deer boy had given him here and there, while a small voice in the back of his mind called him a liar and a coward.

But now there wasn't anything left to pretend something wasn't wrong anymore. Dipper, or whatever was left of him right now- was scared of him, just like any other wild animal would be, so he treated him just like that, a wild deer.

He carefully lifted his hands for Dipper to sniff on, while his voice started to crack in his throat.

"Here, see- Nothing to be afraid of, you're safe here Dipper. I won't hurt you." Stan watched an ear twisting towards the familiar name, before the deer blinked and the darkness vanished from his eyes again.

Stan's voice was mixed with fear and hope when he said the boy's name again.

"Dipper?" The fawn looked up to him with a shy bleat and sorrow in his eyes.

Dipper was back.

The old man let out a shaky breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He could feel the adrenaline rushing into his system, leaving his old knees wobbly while his pulse tried to steady his mind with its rhythmic beat. No need to scare the kid even more, maybe Dipper didn't even know what was happening, maybe he didn't notice.

Of course the worried look on the deer's face that really made it resemble Dipper told him otherwise but it was worth a try anyway.

"So-" He cleared his throat. "What's it that you wanted to talk about?"

Dipper's left eye twitched, a move Stan would interpret like as a raised eyebrow on a human face. His nephew hesitantly opened his snout, but closed it again, before a sound could escape his lips, knowing it would be useless anyway. Stan ignored the silence between them and let Dipper his time to come up with another solution. That the kids brain was still working was clear when his ears rushed up in a sudden moment, before he left to search something behind the counter. He frowned when he observed how Dippers fluffy tail moved, before he turned around with a piece of paper in his muzzle.

"What?" He questioned, taking the paper form Dipper's mouth to stare at the blank page.

"Uh- no offense kid, but I doubt that you're able to hold a pen the way you are now." Dipper gave him an annoyed look, he could nearly hear the kids voice questioning him.

'Seriously?' But instead only a animalistic noise left his lips, but definitely not less impatient, while he gestured his Grunkle to turn the damn thing around. Stan followed his request to find the cheap kiddy labyrinth he once had used to entertain the brats while he was tugging money from their parent's wallets. Its not like he had paid for them anyway- they had been a misprint he was so nice to get rid of. It might be looking like a simple labyrinth but in fact there was no way to the goal, you couldn't win this game, you only could get....

"Lost..."

Dipper visibly flinched when Stan's broken voice reached his furry ears, before he nodded hesitantly, moving his gaze to his Grunkle's feet. Stan himself just watched the fawns gestures with a blank expression, his mind tried to understand what he already know but didn't want to accept at the same time. Every fiber of his body screamed for denial, while his heart already ached underneath the pain of knowing the truth.

That was the problem wasn't it?

He knew Dipper wasn't imagining things this time, he knew it wasn't due to the kid's paranoia that he come up to him with that matter especially.

The truth was that Dippers time was coming to an end...

'Damn it!'

The owner of the Mystery Shack grit his teeth, while his heart hurt with every single beat. He could feel hot panic running over his skin when he recognized that his breaths were fast and shallow.

'No- now's not the time to go all panicked Stan, not in front of the kid at least.' He tried to calm himself down with a long breath before his eyes moved back to dippers furry state. The deer hadn't moved an inch, but his trembling figure told him that he needed to make a move now, because even when he was suffering his loss Dipper was far more worse then him.

Stan was biting the inside of his cheek while slowly lowering to Dippers level, but once his hand was about to reach out for Dipper, the deer snapped back to focus. His eyes were glued to his fingertips, his body ready to jump if Stan would made a wrong move.

The old man let out a long sigh, leaving his hand were it was.

"I know kid, I would probably be afraid of me too, comes with being an old grumpy guy." He muttered with a defeated breath. Dippers ear twitched towards him, his mind still clear enough to understand his Grunkle's words through his fear. Stan's own gaze moved to the floor so he couldn't see how Dippers ears moved back as he took a step forward.

Stan's attention snapped back to the former boy before him when fur suddenly brushed against his hand. He could feel how his own eyes begin to burn when he met his nephews gaze, who rested his head in his hand in a trusting gesture.

"Dipper..."

Stan's broken voiced echoed empty in the closed gift shop.

Apologies were waiting on his tongue, but not a single one ever left his lips. He wasn't about to try to ease his guilt this time, because even when he still thought that his was his fault since he was the one who should've been watching the kid, all his apologizes wouldn't do any good for Dipper. If anything they would suggest that he was about to give his family up.

He swallowed, carefully brushing his fingers against Dippers furry cheek, while he tried to inject some determination into his raspy voice.

"We'll bring you back kid... I promise."

He would never forget the way the small boy looked up to him, with big sad eyes that looked up to him with the faintest glow of hope, while a missing sparkle called him a liar.

It seems like the kid didn't have the guts to break his Grunkle's heart, knowing a truth Stan wasn't yet able to admit while he forced a small smile underneath his wet muzzle and nodded in hesitation, leaving Stan with his last hope.

The silence that stretched between them was bust with a loud cracking noise from the living room a few rooms ahead, followed by Mabel's cheerful voice "It's nothing, I'm alright!".

Stan chuckled, and carefully raised to his full hight again with a dry laughter while his eyes still glistened with tears that weren't allowed to flow, as he tried to lighten the mood.

"Well we better go look at this 'nothing'." He grumbled, but before he was able to leave the Shop, Dipper tugged at the edge of his sleeve.

He turned around to face the small fawn beside him who looked up to him with a questions look. Stan only rose an eyebrow when Dipper gestured in the direction of the noise with a soft bleat, before he looked back up to him with begging eyes.

The lump that had lingered to grow in his throat suddenly expanded to leave him breathless when he recognized what Dipper was asking from him, probably the real reason the boy had come to him in the first place.

He was asking him to watch over Mabel... when he would not be able to anymore.

Stan tried to swallow, and took his glasses off to run his fingers through his hair and dry his burning eyes his without Dipper noticing. But the burning stare of the deer was still the same once he put his glasses back on. Stan sight, and carefully ruffled the deer's head, like he would have done to the boy's hair before he nodded with a reassuring smile that never reached his eyes.

"Don't worry Dipper, I'll take care of her..." He swallowed when his voice broke under the dulling stare of his nephew.

"I promise..."

He watched a small breath escaping Dippers lips, it seems like a weight suddenly was of the boy's shoulders, before he left to look for Mabel with a smile, that Stan recognize that the boy was a lot more brave and grown up than they had taken him credit for.

His own, features darkened when he saw the boy leaving.

"I'll take care of both of you Dipper... no matter what."

Stan sighed and looked out of the window again, the darkness was fading more and more now. And when a shy bleat echoed through the house he knew that it was now time to fulfill his promise.

Something ruffled through her hair, making her stir in her sleep. She dragged herself deeper in her pillow and enjoyed the warmth of her bed, ready to go back to play with unicorns and cute winged kittens in her dreamland until a soft bleat ripped her out again. Mabel blinked when dark spots were dancing before her eyes until her vision was free enough to give away a small fawn chewing peacefully on one of her locks.

"Dipper..."

Cold needles were pinching underneath her skin, as her brother's name escaped her lips in a shy breath. The deer's ears picked up her noises so that the little creature lifted its head to look at her, still mind chewing on her hairs. Mabel took a sharp breath when their eyes finally met.

For a second the former twins just stared at each other. Mabel prayed in silent pain for her brothers intelligence to return into the soft brown eyes of the deer.

Please, please, pleeeease!

But when the fawn only tilted his head in confusion Mabel could feel her heart shatter in her chest.

Dipper really was gone...

Her breath hitched, a hint of new tears began to burn in her eyes when she reached out for her brother- just to stop when she saw the fawn twitch, dropping her hair to focus himself on her fingers.

Dipper's shiny black nose twitched sniffing her scent, just to step a little closer towards her. He was acting just like the deer yesterday. The lump in Mabel's throat began to grow when the fawn finally touched her hand, letting her fingers brush through the warm fur. She couldn't help but smile when he leaned into her touch, his tail wagging happily as he enjoyed the feeling of being pet.

Mabel tried to swallow but failed, as her fingers dug into his fur, brushing her brother's cheek while her words were barely more than a whisper.

"We'll get you back Dipper, I promise."

She choked when the fawn only looked at her with blank curios eyes unable to understand the noises of the strange creature before him. A small flame of determination returned inside her and got Mabel to shake her head the usual smile returning to her lips, weak but there.

She wasn't about to give up now.

Dipper wouldn't , so neither would she.

"Okay Mr. Fluffybutt- time to get you down there to figure out what to do."

He was about to bring Dippers bowls into the living room when he crossed the stairs and saw Mabel coming down, carrying the fawn underneath its front legs. Her eyes were glued to the staircase carefully making one step after another, while the small deer took a lazy look around. That was until it's eyes met Stan the he began to struggle in Mabel's arms, throwing her balance of with noisy bleats.

His sister's knees got wobbly, while she tried to hold on to the slippery animal in her arms.

"Dipper What-? Stop it, you will make us faAAAA-" But just as her foot slipped over the edge of step, two strong arms wrapped themselves around them.

"Don't worry, I got you."

Mabel blinked when the hot rush of panic slowly left her system, while Dipper still struggled in her arms, making her ears ring with his high pitched bleats, while Stan was holding them so close to his body that she could feel his own heartbeat beside her's as fast and loud as her own. She was hiding her fingers in her Grunkle's collar to brush her cheek against Stan's chest, as she registered that all of them seemed to need this kind of steady contact right now, while Bill's deal had stolen the ground underneath their feet. Even Dipper's struggles had died down a little as he looked unsure from Stan to Mabel and back, before bleating softly in her ear because he really wanted to be nowhere near the tall, strange smelling creature that was holding both of them right now. Mabel watched Stan's gaze moving to her brother's shiny dark eyes, to see his old wrinkly face reflected in them, she saw his features harden at Dippers sight, but the surprise and hope she at felt looking at him for the first time this morning where missing in Stan's eyes.

The only thing that filled them seemed to be grief and loss, that nearly made her puke all over him, while a small voice in her head tried to remind her of the very view situations she had Stan seen like that. Alone, staring in the air with the exact same expression before a sigh breathed them away in a flash of his glasses, leaving this emotions as an illusion in her mind. Mabel swallowed, instinctively hugging her deer-ly brother closer to her body, but before she could question Stan about it, his rusty voice blew the thought out of her system as he carefully settled both of them down.

"You should let me carry him sweetie. As light as he is now, I can't have you getting hurt because of his fears." He grumbled, as he watched his former nephew flee from him, as soon as his hooves touched the ground.

"Or- maybe not." He sight, putting himself back up for his spine to crack in an unglorious manner. Mabel looked up to him, still waiting for anything he was about to say about Dipper's state of mind- or rather his not state of mind. But instead Stan's features darkened a little, hurt flashing hidden in his eyes, while his gaze was still glued of the doorframe of the living room Dipper had fled into.

"Seems like he's afraid of me." Stan noted in a dry voice, chuckling a little while his eyes wandered down on himself.

"Well I can't hold it against him." The hidden sadness in her Grunkles tone made Mabel curl her lip in protest.

"Nah- don't worry Grunkle Stan. Deer or not, it's still Dipper you know- he was never the cuddly one. I'm sure he'll come to you again, if it's about food." A small smile made it to his dry lips, so he let his fingers curl through Mabel's hair in a thankful manner.

"Already prepared for that. His food is in the living room, I can prepare you something if you like to."

"Don't worry Grunkle Stan, some "Fruit Loops", will do just fine today." Stan eyed her with a knowing look.

"You sure? You know, I still got left some of the really "good" stuff-" He saw a glimpse of eyes growing wide before Mabel vanished into the kitchen, before he could even finish his sentence.

"But leave something for your old Grunkle would 'ya!" He huffed.

"I'll need to fix something in the Gift Shop, but I already called Soos and Wendy for a war council, be sure to get something in your brother's stomach too until then. " He didn't quite understand the cereal drowned answer he got, but it was enough for Stan to leave them alone, closing the door behind him before he faced a very well known vending machine.

It was time to get some answers, this or the other way around.

"So... all we can do now is wait for Pacifica-pain-in-the-ass-Northwest?" Wendy snorted.

"I mean look at him, I don't think we'll have all day to- Soos! God dammit would you stop that! He's not a dog." She snapped at the handyman who was actually throwing carrot and apple pieces through the living room for Dipper to fetch them.

"Why? He is having fun doing it, and we finally got him to eat something. Right little dude?" He grinned when the deer wagged its tail as he patted its head. Wendy only sighed, at the stupid attitude of those two boys, before she turned back to Mabel and cleared her throat.

"What I'm trying to say is, that we should get those last signatures ourselves, even if we need a little violence to do so." She watched Mabel frown, her eyes were still glued to Soos and Dipper playing before she turned her gaze to the redhead.

"I don't know. Pacifica promised it, and... I don't think she's a bad person. I even believe that she has a small crush on Dipper." She giggled, well knowing how her brother would react if he could hear her telling this to none other than Wendy, but the fawn's ears didn't so much as twitch, his nose already searching for the next piece of apple in Soos hands.

"And besides..." She swallowed, her tongue suddenly heavy in her mouth.

"I'm... I'm not sure what it's good for anymore..."

She whispered, too afraid of her own voice saying something like that out loud. Wendy couldn't help but gape at her and even Soos who only had listened with a half ear to the girls looked at her with a questioning look. Mabel felt their eyes upon her, nervously kneading the tips of her Sweater beneath her fingers, before her gaze wandered to Dipper, who was nudging Soos fist in order to get to the treats. He looked up to her with a demanding bleat, like he wanted her help to get them. But since it only made her lip waver even more the fawn tiled it's head, moving closer to her to brush his forehead against her head. Mabel sighed, at started to pet his fur before she began to speak since all eyes were still on her.

"Dipper is..." She swallowed, and chewed on the inside of her cheek before she dared to finish her sentence.
"He's gone... And Bill- he said that we have time until then, right? But now that Dipper isn't here anymore I'm just- not sure that it is going to work..." She choked, her eyes were burning again.

"Bullshit!" Wendy's voice echoed through the Shack, so that Mabel looked back up to her again.

"That's bullshit and you know that!" Wendy's eyes wavered from Mabel back to Dipper, she remembered the hot pain that had strapped through her chest when she first saw the little fawn this morning. The small deer had been hiding from her and Soos, it was only for Mabel's reassuring words that he had come back out again. The dark brown eyes that had nothing to do with Dippers intelligent ones had sent shivers down her spine, and she watched his cold nose twitching before he finally allowed her near enough to touch him. She would not say that doubt had never crossed her mind, but it left her system as soon as she had seen how he was acting around Mabel, she would never had guessed that just that girl couldn't see what was so very obvious. But Mabel only blinked at her, so Wendy finished her thoughts with a sight.

"Don't you see that he's acting different especially around you Mabel? I mean, okay he was fine with me and Soos after a while, but it's clear that he still trusts you the most. Heck he's even following you around all the time- so don't tell me that he doesn't know that you're his family."

"She's right dude." Soos confirmed Wendy's thoughts with a nod.

"He might be a lot more deery right now, but he's still a little bit of Dipper inside." Mabel looked back and forth between them, before her eyes settled back on Dipper, who's head was resting in her lap while his eyes were getting heavier with every second, fighting against sleep just like the cute baby he looked like.

"He's still afraid of Stan..." She murmured.

"Of course he is. Most animals are afraid of tall grumpy men Mabel, he'll warm up to him, don't worry. " Wendy assured her, but her gaze was still fixed on her brother while she ruffled him to sleep.

"Maybe... maybe you're right and he still somewhat remembers us but-" She was biting her lip, looking back up to them with the usual smile missing on her soft face.

"he's not remembering himself..." She sighed, pointing to the journal on the dinosaur skull beside her.

"I showed him the journal, read those stupid nerdy pages out loud, but Dipper only tried to eat the pages." She huffed, pointing to the freshly chewed marks on the cover.

"Dipper would never ever do something like that! He loves this old musty thing."

Wendy and Soos shared a look. Even if Dipper was still there... Mabel got a point, their time was running out. The redhead sighed, shaking her head, before she let her hand rest on Mabel's shoulder.

"I know it's hard kid, but that's why we must get this signatures as fast as possible." She watched Mabel swallowed, before she nodded slowly.

"We're waiting two more hours, if Pacifica didn't call then-" Her face suddenly hardened in determination, while she looked at her sleeping brother with a protective growl.

"We'll get them by ourselves."

Nope.

Null.

Niente.

Nothing.

"Damn it!" Stan cursed, ruffing through his hairs with an annoyed groan, leaving them sprayed in all directions without his fez. He closed the last journal with a grunt, looking back up to the picture of Dipper and Mabel, only to see his own reflection looking back at him with a accusing frown.

"Really sixer, you were obsessed this this stupid triangle head and still there is nothing in your stupid nerd books that's going to help." He swallowed while his gaze drifted back to the gold rimmed six fingered hand.

"I can't lose the boy, Dipper..." Stan murmured, placing his own hand over the six fingers of the journal.

"Please... not him too."

No.

He wasn't about to give up now.

Stan frowned, picking the dark light back on to go through the hidden secrets of the journals once again. But even before he had the chance to open the first page an ear piercing scream echoed through the Shack, making the blood in his veins freeze.

'No!'

"MABEL!"

He jumped up, running back to the elevator and cursed at it's slow movement as it crawled back up. His heart was bumping in his throat, he could feel it skip a beat here and there, but it didn't matter now. Even a heart attack wasn't about the hold him back now, as soon as the elevator opened it's doors he jumped out behind the vending machine, damn secret all forgotten as he took the small steps up to the living room.

Screams were welcoming him, but while they summoned panic in his own ears his eyes told him what a soft, warmhearted fool he was around those kids. Because while he was still scanning the area for a threatening creature that attacked his family he saw Wendy- the tomboyish girl "Whoo-ing" out of all things, giving Soos a fist bump who was throwing a bleating fawn in the air (okay- he might tell the kid to stop that) while Mabel was dancing, jumping and screaming in the middle of it all, only to get herself even more tangled in the telephone cord, before she handed said thing to her Grunkle in her happy sing song voice.

"She did it Grunkle Stan! We're gonna save him! We'll save Dipper! Yeeaaaaaay!"

She hopped away, tugging at the phone in his hands, only to fall over the line on the floor, still rolling in giggles and laughs of relief.

Stan blinked and raised an eyebrow before he answered the call.

"Uh- Hello?"

He heard her sigh, glad to have a normal human being at the phone for once. But even Stan could her the small satisfied smile in the rich's brat tone.

"I got them..., the last signatures."