One Last Deal

Monster Hunt

(Andie's POV)

I woke up with a yawn to see that it was almost noon. I changed quickly and rushed down the stairs. Dipper and Mabel were sitting at the kitchen table and Grunkle Stan was at the stove burning...I mean cooking something.

Just as I was about to ask, Ford strolled into the kitchen, tussling my hair as he walked by. "Feeling better, kid?"

I gave him a thumbs-up. "Yeah, I'm good. Feels weird, though; usually, when I get sick, I'm bedridden for a few days, at least. It feels like some kind of weird dream, huh?" I laughed.

I noticed Ford and Stan exchange a worried look.

"Right?" I almost whispered.

Ford cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Andie, could you come with me?"

I shrugged. "Sure," I complied, pushing away from the table and following my grandfather to the vending machine. When we reached the second floor, he motioned me to take a seat on the table.

I sat down and swung my feet over the edge before Ford knelt down to me. "Andie, I need to ask you some questions about yesterday. Do you think you could answer them for me?"

I gave a small smile, low-key nervous about where this was going. "O-okay. I'll try...I don't remember a lot before you woke me up, though."

Ford nodded seriously and wrapped a sleeve around my arm before turning on a heart monitor. The sleeve squeezed my arm a little, and I felt my throat tighten up.

What was going on?

That's when I remembered him shining a flashlight in my eyes yesterday. What would be the purpose of that...unless....

He wanted to make sure that I was human. That I was me.

I broke into a nervous sweat upon remembering my dream where a younger Ford got possessed by Bill Cipher....and the promise Cipher made to me in the dreamscape.

Don't worry; I have big plans for this town. This is just the beginning....

And you'll be the key to all of the chaos I hope to bring.

The heart monitor spiked as my chest began to hurt. My own grandfather didn't trust me...and he thought I was that jerk who killed Mom.

Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them. Ford immediately took notice of this and ran over to me. "Andie, what's wrong?"

"You-you don't trust me," I sobbed out, wiping the tears away with my fists. "You...think I'm Cipher and that I want to hurt you!"

The look on my grandfather's face was one of shock with a twinge of guilt. "You-know Bill?"

I nodded. "Dipper, Mabel, and I when into Grunkle Stan's mind a while ago....and he said I'd be the key to all his chaos! And-"

I stopped for a moment when I heard scratching from behind me and turned around. A near-grown wolf was stashed in a metal cage, gnawing at the bars. Why would Ford...keep a random wolf locked in a cage for no reason?

That's when the wolf turned to face me and I realized why; the animal had a mutated-looking paw...with six fingers on it. I looked to Ford. "Where'd you...find him?"

"Astounding, isn't it?" Ford remarked with a chuckle. "And to think I never thought of an animal having polydactyly. I found him in the woods near the Pacific Northwest."

I jumped off the table and, before my grandfather could say anything, slowly approached the creature. The wolf seemed more vicious as I came closer, but when I reached out to scratch in between his ears, he happily accepted the touch.

"Cool paw, huh?" I said, looking down at its right, mutated paw. My heart suddenly sank. When I'd gotten a closer look at it...its paw was missing fur and was scratched up. I looked the animal straight in its eyes.

"Who hurt you?"

Without hesitation, the wolf whimpered and licked my marked hand, making the Taurus symbol glow bright blue. It then used its claw to mark something on the wooden floor.

It looked like the marking you'd find on a football-two curves with a line connecting them. It couldn't be...the symbol of Pisces. Then it all made sense: the six-fingered paw, the Pisces symbol....

It was him.

Before I could say anything, the wolf banged its head against the cage door one last time and broke free.

________________________________________________________________________________

(Ford's POV)

When the creature broke free from its cage, my first instinct was to protect Andie. But the wolf growled viciously at me when I tried to get to her, as if it was warning me to stay back.

I narrowed my eyes and took my gun out of its hoister, aiming it at the animal's heart. Right before I took the shot, the last thing that I expected to happen happened.

My granddaughter jumped in front of the wolf, arms shielding it in a protective manner.

"Get away from him!" she shouted, her expression a mix of both fear and anger.

"What?" I said, lowering my gun. "Andie, what are you doing?!"

"I won't let you hurt my brother!" she yelled, planting her feet firmly on the ground.

"Brother? Andie, did you hit your head or something?" I asked, giving her a bewildered look.

"I-I know it sounds crazy, but just listen to me! You said you found the wolf right near the Pacific Northwest, right? My brothers and I LIVE in the Pacific Northwest Orphanage! It's only a mile away from when you were looking!" she told me. "And it would explain the paw AND the reason the wolf is PROTECTING me, not attacking me!"

I was flabbergasted as Andie knelt down in front of the wolf and gently took its paw. She hugged the animal, tears in her eyes.

"Please, come back to us. Come back to ME."

The wolf leaned its head into her embrace and suddenly the blue light from Andie's hand engulfed the animal. Andie stepped back and we watched as the beast began to change. Its fur faded into the shade of pale skin, its irises turned hazel, and the top of its head grew dark brown hair.

When the transformation was finished, what knelt in front of us was no longer a wolf, but a teenaged boy with blue-green eyes and dark brown hair much like Andie's, almost matching me in height. He wore torn jeans, a ripped green shirt, and a blue jacket. He was barefoot, but the most shocking thing to me were his hands.

His left was normal with five fingers, but his right had six fingers instead. He sat up, putting a hand to his head before Andie tackled him into a hug.

"Welcome back, Matt."