Forest of Riddles (Reverse Falls, S1)

FF: Part Seven

An hour earlier

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The Gravity Falls cemetery wasn't exactly a spot on Dipper's list of Places To Go, but he had to admit that it looked photogenic as the sun set.

"Didn't our ancestor have a big tombstone?" Mabel said.

"Probably." Dipper glanced in the distance for any sign of the Gleeful graves. "I dunno, the cemetery isn't a place I'd visit all the time."

"Neither would I," Mabel muttered.

They walked further into the cemetery, silence settling between them. Dipper kept his eyes on the gravestones they passed, but the name Gleeful didn't appear on any of them. How high was a chance of that code being a fake and leading them on a wild goose chase? They couldn't have just asked the author of the article, not when the author had been named as anonymous, and they probably could've done extensive investigating at the newspaper office, but untranslated codes -

"Hey, Mason?"

Dipper shook himself out of his train of thought and looked at Mabel. "What?"

She looked hesitant, but she said, "So, um, does getting my amulet back mean we open the Tent again?"

Dipper nodded.

"You have to do them, too, right?"

Not this again. "Don't remind me," he said, expecting some long speech about how he should definitely do them because, Mason dear, shows were Stanley's only source of income -

"You don't have to do them."

Dipper stopped walking.

So did Mabel, who looked at him expectantly.

"What?" he said again.

"You don't have to," she repeated.

That's what he thought she'd said, but -

"What about Father?" he asked.

"If you don't want to, then you shouldn't be forced to." Mabel glanced at her feet. "I know you don't like to do them."

"But I thought you liked me doing them."

"Well, your amulet can't read minds very well," Mabel said.

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Where's Mabel and what did you do to her?"

Mabel scowled. "Oh, come on," she snapped. "You weren't even peppy during the rehearsals."

He definitely hadn't been.

"And the town likes me better, anyway," she said quickly.

Dipper shook his head in amusement. He started walking again, and Mabel hurried to catch up.

"Well," he said, not even glancing at her, "um, thanks." Then a thought popped into his head. "But what if Father wants to watch one of the shows?"

He never did, of course, but he always relied on making sure Serena did once in a while.

"He doesn't," Mabel said simply. "Do you want to do the Tent shows or not?"

"No," Dipper said quickly, "but -"

"Just take my offer." Mabel rolled her eyes. "You're officially fired from the Tent."

"Oh." He paused.

"Oh, what a shame." Dipper half-heartedly did a dramatic pose. "Guess I should've been peppier."

Mabel giggled.