Gravity Rises (S2)

BB: Part Nine

"I think I see it!"

Mabel nearly bumped into her brother as he stopped in his tracks, pointing at something ahead. "Is that a light?" he asked.

Ford switched off his flashlight, throwing their little group into darkness. Once Mabel's eyes adjusted, she could see what Dipper was talking about. A faint light at the end of the tunnel winked at them.

Dipper and Candy cheered and started running for it. Mabel stayed next to Ford, who switched his flashlight back on and went at a slower pace.

"So what's your plan, Grunkle Ford?" she asked.

"There are pipes littered throughout the shallower tunnels. They're still working, as your brother discovered earlier. I want to find one and wait for the shapeshifter. Once he finds us, we'll release the water from the pipes and let them hit him full on. Hopefully, he'll shapeshift into something that can swim, something vulnerable. I'll shoot the water with my stun gun, and it should knock him unconscious, or at least disable him for long enough to get him back into cryogenic stasis."

Mabel frowned. "Cryogenic stasis?"

Ford nodded. "Those tubes back in the lab were created to cryogenically freeze subjects. After Shifty got out of hand and attacked Fiddleford, we froze him. Then we woke him up later, when Lee came, but he was still too dangerous. We had to refreeze him. And that's the last time I remember seeing Shifty. I don't know how long he's been awake, but not long enough to tunnel aboveground, fortunately."

"Fiddleford," Mabel said. "You mentioned him earlier. Who is he?"

"He's F," Ford said. "The assistant in my Journals."

Mabel's eyes widened. "You remember him?" she asked excitedly.

"Shifty tipped me off when he called him 'Fidds.' His name was Fiddleford McGucket."

"Fiddleford McGucket," Mabel repeated, trying it out. "That's a weird name."

"He was a strange person. But a brilliant one. He and I were good friends. We worked together for a while before Stanley came and joined us." Ford's eyes narrowed. "He didn't seem like the type to steal my Journals. But something happened between us, something important. He's not out of suspicion."

"Where do you think he is now?"

"I have no idea."

They had reached the end of the tunnel, and their next few steps carried them into the lab. The florescent lights overhead cast harsh shadows onto the rock. Mabel shut her eyes for a moment to give them time to adjust.

Dipper and Candy waited in the door between the bunker and the lab. "There you guys are," Dipper said. "So now what?"

"Follow me," Ford instructed.

He led them a few yards into another tunnel, over to a thick, rusty pipe that disappeared into the rock above. "We need to lure him here," Ford said, putting a hand on a large wheel that jutted out of the side. "Then we can blast him with the water in this pipe and put an end to this."

"He wants the third Journal," Mabel said. "We could bait him with that."

Ford frowned. "I don't—"

"I'll do it," Candy said. "I'm fast."

"Me too," Dipper volunteered.

Ford hesitated a moment before pulling the Journal out of his pack and handing it to Dipper. "If Shifty gets this, or it gets damaged, you both are in huge trouble."

"Message received." Dipper gave Ford a casual salute.

"Go back out there and get his attention, then run back here. Make sure to get behind the pipe with Mabel and me."