Reverse Falls: Battle for the Journals

Meeting the Grunkle

Once they got settled, all they had to do was wait for the train to get going. In the meantime, Kathy and Dipper made some small talk.

"Are you excited to see your Grunkle again?" She asked him. "It's been a long time since you last saw him."

"Ten years." He said. "I haven't seen him since I was six. Mostly we've been communicating through the post."

Kathy nodded. "I figured as much. He told me that he wanted to see you again but he couldn't risk it. Something about your family being unstable."

Dipper let out a chuckle. "An understatement. And I know he wanted to see me. He invited me to live with him many times."

"Why didn't you?" Kathy asked. "From what I gather Gleeful Manor isn't exactly the best place to grow up. Why did you stay?"

Dipper paused as if contemplating how best to phrase his answer. Finally, he spoke. "Mabel. I stayed because of Mabel."

At Kathy's shocked and confused look, he began to explain. "I know Mabel seems terrible and she is, but she wasn't always like that. She was a pretty nice kid once upon a time."

"What changed?"

"Everything." He told her. "When her first signs of having magic came in, my parents were thrilled. They were so proud to know they hadn't gotten any squib children. When her magic showed up they were delighted and told her to embrace it to the fullest. And she did. Whenever she got angry she'd take it out on the servants or Will. Or she'd destroy pieces of the house. My parents didn't even get mad. They encouraged it. Even said it gave them a reason to renovate the house."

Kathy couldn't believe it. "You mean to tell me, your sister is insane because she never found a good outlet for her anger?"

"And our parents were terrible at raising us." He added. "They put all this pressure on us to be better than everyone else. If we did do something perfectly or if someone else beat us they'd verbally abuse us. Mabel took it the hardest as she was the one they expected the most from. And since she only knew one way to let out her anger, she only got worse."

"Okay," Kathy said slowly. "I think I'm starting to understand. But I still don't know why you couldn't have just taken her away and gone to your Grunkle."

Dipper scoffed. "Mabel wouldn't allow it. My parents might be awful but she loves them a lot. She thinks they're the best parents ever. And I couldn't just leave her there. She needed me." He sighed. "But now she thinks I'm her enemy."

Kathy felt a pang of sadness towards Dipper. She didn't know what she'd do if her parents saw her as an enemy.

"I'm sorry." She said, " I can't imagine how horrible it must be."

Dipper shrugged. "These things happen."

"Just because they happen doesn't mean that they should," Kathy replied.

Dipper said nothing. There was nothing else to say. What happened, happened and nothing could be done to stop it. Kathy knew that better than anyone.

Thankfully, Gideon and Pacifica woke up not too long after they finished their conversation. They both rubbed their eyes and yawned. Then they took a look around and their eyes widened in surprise.

"How did we get here?" Gideon asked them.

Kathy raised an eyebrow. "We carried you."

"You carried us?" Pacifica cried. "That's insane! Did you at least use magic?"

At the mention of the word, Kathy threw her a dirty look and then looked around. Pacifica had forgotten that they were surrounded by muggles. Pacifica flinched and leaned in close.