Gravity Rises (S2)

NMS: Part Eight

Mabel watched as Gideon went white. "What?" she asked in confusion.

"Who is this?" a deep voice said.

Mabel turned around to see a tall man with fancy clothes. He looked a little bit like Gideon, except that his hair was brown and he had a mustache. Mabel guessed that this was Gideon's father.

Gideon got in between Mabel and his father and assumed a protective stance. "She's an expert on ghosts," he said. His voice shook a little with fear. "I brought her to help."

"Keep your voice down," Gideon's father said. He gave a nearby guest a fake smile, probably to mollify them in case they heard him. "Why didn't you tell your mother and me about this?"

"It hasn't worked so far," Gideon said smoothly. "I didn't want to get your hopes up."

Mabel didn't think it was a very good excuse, but Gideon's father moved on. Probably because he would berate Gideon later.

"Wait," Mr. Northwest said, "does that mean the ghosts are still here?"

Oops. Gideon's face lost even more color. "Yes," he admitted, glancing at the floor. "But their graveyard is in the mansion! We built over their resting place, and they're trapped here!"

His father didn't look surprised. Mabel wondered if that was because he knew about it, or because he was used to the Northwests doing things like that. "There has to be a way to get rid of them."

"They told me that following their demands was the only way, but I'm not sure I believe them," Gideon said. "I told them we weren't going to do what they want."

"Wait," Mabel asked. "What did they want?"

Gideon and his father met each other's eyes quickly. "Um," Gideon said, "they want us to move their gravestones somewhere else. And that would take way too long."

Mabel wanted to hit something. Preferably Gideon. "You've got to be kidding me. You're rich! You can handle it!"

"Gideon," his father cut in, "who is this?"

Mabel stood taller, upset that this man was talking about her instead of to her. Gideon looked like he didn't intend to answer anyway, so she did instead. "My name is Mabel."

"I don't think I've seen you before," Mr. Northwest said, looking quite confused, which in turn confused Mabel. She didn't think he'd be caught dead in the Mystery Museum. "What's your surname?"

Gideon met Mabel's eyes in a panic as if he didn't want her to answer. But what could she do? "Um. . . Pines. I'm Mabel Pines."

Mr. Northwest's eyes widened. He looked at Gideon with even more anger in his expression, which is when Mabel knew that Gideon was in a heap of trouble. "You brought a Pines here?"

Mabel was even more confused. "What? Do you have something against my family?"

Mr. Northwest didn't answer. "We will talk about this later," he said to Gideon. Then he pulled out a bell, rang it, and addressed Mabel. "A servant will escort you out," he said tightly.

Mabel tried to meet Gideon's eyes, but he looked away. So she pleaded with his father. "Wait!" she said. "The guests are in danger! I don't know if the ghosts want to hurt them - "

"Oh, they will," Mr. Northwest said.

"All the more reason to protect the guests! We have to fulfill the ghosts' demands or find some other way to set them free."

"We will do that without your help," Mr. Northwest said firmly. "Don't worry about us."

"But - " Mabel spluttered. "You can't just kick me out!"