Mabel never thought, when she found Ford's third Journal, that the Pines would search so urgently for the other two. Nor could she have imagined that their success in finding the Journals would mean life or death for her family. Between old enemies...
"Ha! I win!" Dipper slapped his last card onto the pile and displayed his empty hands for Mabel to see.
Mabel put down her hand of cards. "I still say that reverse move was illegal," she said.
"I probably would've won anyway," Dipper said smugly.
It was Friday, late in the afternoon. The party room was decorated, the food was sitting in the kitchen ready to be set out just before the party, and Melody was currently hooking up her DJ equipment. Half an hour ago, with the twins under her feet, the housekeeper had suggested they go play a game or something to take their minds off their anxious excitement. So now Mabel and Dipper were on their fourth round of cards, with Dipper on a winning streak.
Dipper gathered up the cards again and started shuffling. His knee, which had a brand new red Band-Aid from when he banged it on the stairs earlier, bounced against the floor with a contained hyperactivity. Mabel knew he was waiting anxiously for the party — not because he was nervous, but because he was waiting for something exciting.
Mabel was just nervous.
She listened to the rustling sounds as Dipper shuffled the cards for a new round for a moment before grabbing her sketchbook and pencil from the floor.
She flipped to her latest sketch and started idly adding to it. She had done most of it on their Ford-ordered rest day, after designing the party invitations. It showed Ford kneeling on the ground of the secret basement, head tilted up as he stared at the huge upside-down triangle thing.
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Looking at the picture made Mabel feel two things: sadness at seeing Ford in pain, and a wild curiosity as to why he was in pain in the first place.
"Hey, Mabes, I'm ready." Dipper was holding out her hand. "You still wanna play?"
Mabel looked up from her sketchbook and shrugged. "I kinda want to play something else. Or get food."
"Melody said she'd make dinner at five-thirty. What time is it?"
"Dunno."
"Mabel?"
She turned around to see Ford walk into the room, and immediately slammed her notebook closed before he could see the picture of him and set it aside. He didn't seem to notice, just yawned behind his hand. There were bags under his eyes, and he moved sluggishly, like he had just woken up but hadn't slept well. Mabel realized she hadn't seen him since breakfast that morning.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Do you remember reading anything in the Journal about the amulets?"
Mabel's heart sped up when she saw the maroon book tucked under his arm. "No. I didn't know anything about the amulets until Pacifica first attacked me with hers."
Ford sighed. "That's what I thought. I've just read through it again and I didn't find anything."
"You read through it again? So you remember everything?"
