Gravity Rises (S1)

PF: Part Two

On the other side of town, the Mystery Museum heaved a sigh.

Inside, a fire blazed, and all was quiet save the rustling of books and the tapping of nails on glass. Pacifica Pleasure sat at a table, which she'd moved across the room to be closer to the fireplace, and impatiently dragged her fingers across her crystal ball as she did her hourly search of the town. Behind her, Gideon Northwest intently searched an old bookshelf, pulling books down one at a time.

The town was dark and quiet, as usual, and Pacifica was getting increasingly frustrated. It had been three days since she had seized power over the Mystery Museum and forced Stanford Pines out of his home. Stanford had gone to ground, presumably taking both of the twins with him. Pacifica had been hoping for Dipper to show up, ready to take his place as her king; but he was nowhere to be seen. So she was left scouring the town every hour or so through her crystal ball, searching for the people whose house she now occupied.

With a frustrated sigh, she moved the crystal ball's view past the local grocery store.

Wait!

She moved back, her nails clicking against the glass. Could that be. . . ? She zoomed in closer. Yes! Yes, it was! Dipper and Mabel stood outside the store, talking to a woman with reddish-blonde hair. "Gideon! Gideon, I found them!" Pacifica turned around, expecting him to jump up in excitement and congratulate her.

The boy only grunted. He didn't even turn around.

Pacifica gave an offended gasp. "Gideon, I just found the Pines twins. I've been looking for them for three days! Aren't you happy for me?"

"Ecstatic," was his dry response. "But considering that I still haven't found what I'm looking for, which, if you recall, is a Journal with secret information about Gravity Rises, forgive me if I'm not jumping for joy."

That's exactly what he was supposed to be doing. Inconsiderate snob.

"You know," Pacifica pouted, "all this Journal business has made you unbearably grumpy. Maybe you should just give it up."

Gideon finally turned to her. "Did I tell you that," he snapped, "when you decided to summon a dream demon to do your dirty work? No, I told myself, I have to be supportive of Pacifica, because we're partners. So you can just be supportive of me now and help me find this stupid Journal!"

A toxic attitude, that was. And when she had just found the Pines twins, too! Pacifica shook her head at him in pity. "You must be very frustrated," she said in a tone reserved for a difficult child. "I was too — before I found the twins, of course."

She glanced back at the crystal ball to gaze fondly at Dipper when she saw that they were leaving — they were almost out of the ball's view! She gasped and immediately went to follow them, moving the view with her fingers. Her manicured nails clicked as they repeatedly hit the glass.

After a few minutes, Gideon gave an annoyed moan. "Could you stop that, Pacifica!"

"I'm following them back to their hideout," Pacifica said, not taking her concentration off the crystal ball. "I have to know where they've gone. Go look for the Journal somewhere else if it's bothering you. I'm sure there's somewhere you haven't ruined in your search."

Gideon grunted at her again, and she looked over her shoulder at him. He appeared to be combing the bookshelf for secret compartments. Books lay strewn at his feet as he pulled them down to look behind them. What a mess. They may have stolen this house, but it should still be kept orderly. The rest of the place wasn't much better after being searched by the impatient Northwest.

Turning back to her crystal ball, Pacifica continued to follow the Pines twins. They each carried bags with groceries as they walked through the cold night, huddled close to one another. Pacifica felt her fingers curl as she stared down at Mabel Pines. "Get away from him," she hissed.