Dear Dipper and Mabel,
I know sending mail nowadays isn't exactly the way to go. But what can I say? I was trapped between dimensions for thirty long years and I'm still getting used to the 21st century! Anyways, your uncle Stanley and I plan on staying home this summer, and we were hoping you two would want to also. And by 'home', I mean here, in Gravity Falls. I know last summer was rough, but that's no reason not to come back. And lately, it's been really peaceful here. There is the occasional monster every now and then, but nothing too serious. Most are friendly now. Stanley and I plan on being home June 18th, meaning that's when you two can head on over. So, in summary, you both should really think about visiting over the summer. ALL summer! That is, if it's okay with your parents.
Sincerely, Ford
P.S. And even if it's not okay with your parents, you should still sneak on over here! This is Grunkle Stan, by the way. Can't wait to see you two!
"Isn't it great, Dipper?" Mabel smiled, scooting closer to her brother on the bus. "We're going back! We're really going back! Oh, we're gonna be back in Gravity Falls all summer long, just like the good old days." But Dipper didn't reply. He was too busy reading his great uncle's letter. "Earth to Dipper!" Mabel snapped, slapping the piece of paper out of her sibling's hands. He caught the letter just before it fell to the floor of the bus, immediately deciding to show it to his sister again.
"Does Ford's handwriting look different to you?" he asked, confusing Mabel.
"Oh hush, it looks fine," the girl grinned, grabbing the front of Dipper's hat and pulling it down over his face. "Besides, it'll be the whole gang back together again! You, me, Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford, Soos, Wendy, and even Waddles!"
Under Mabel sat Waddles, sleeping comfortably inside his little kennel. Dipper readjusted his hat so that he could see again. "Why do you always have to mess with my hat?"
"It's not your hat, it's Wendy's hat!" Mabel replied, rotating the hat around so that it was backwards. Dipper grunted and fixed it again, turning towards the window. Trees whizzed by the bus, each one reminding Dipper of their previous summer spent in Gravity Falls.
"I can see it now, Dipper: all of them waiting for us at the stop, happy and glad and...happy to see us...at the stop! You know?"
A mere ten minutes later, the twins arrived in Gravity Falls. It didn't take them long to gather their belongings and race out of the vehicle. Shockingly, no one was at the bus stop waiting to greet them like they'd hoped. As Mabel stepped out of the bus, she screamed, "hello, family!"
But no one replied. No one was present. There was just a calm, beautiful scene of the forest. The bus then drove off, leaving Dipper and Mabel standing in a puff of exhaust. They swatted the smoke away, looking around.
"Well this is...unconventional," Mabel noted.
THEME SONG
COMMERCIAL
"Let's just haul our stuff over to the Mystery Shack and see what's going on over there," Dipper suggested, his arms full of suitcases and junk.
"But why aren't they here?" Mabel sighed, Waddles sitting on the ground beside her. "I thought they would've greeted us or something."
"Meh, never mind all that. Let's just get a move on."
Dipper and Mabel Pines happily wandered towards the heart of the town, the Mystery Shack. Once standing outside it, the parking lot was packed as always. "Soos must still be doing well," Dipper noted, grinning. Before they'd even made it to the Shack, various townsfolk had recognized and greeted the two of them. The Pines were, after all, pretty much famous in Gravity Falls.
Dipper and Mabel nearly knocked the Mystery Shack's back door off its hinges as they entered the place, eager to see their family. It was quiet, however. The twins simply looked at one another and shrugged. They then dropped off their things in the attic and darted into the gift shop, happy to see Soos, Wendy, and Melody all working.
"Guys!" Soos smiled, running to hug the Pines. Wendy did the same.
"What are you dudes doing here?" Wendy asked. Dipper and Mabel froze, confused.
"What do you mean?" Mabel asked.
"Yeah, Stan and Ford invited us," Dipper added. "What, they didn't tell you?"
"Well no, but we assumed you guys would show up at some point," Wendy replied, stealing her old hat off of Dipper's head. Dipper noticed that she was still wearing his. After looking at it, she chuckled and gave her hat back to him.
"Weird. Because, well, they sent us this letter." Dipper then presented the letter to Wendy, who snatched it from him and began reading.
"Dipper!" Mabel suddenly snarled. "I thought we agreed not to use that word."
"Oh, right. 'Weird'."
Wendy then handed to letter to Soos and Melody, who both began looking it over. "We haven't heard from Stan and Ford for a while. Though they did mention coming back for the summer," Soos said thoughtfully.
"We heard our names!" a familiar voice unexpectedly shouted. In the doorway stood Grunkle Stan and great uncle Ford.
"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel screamed as Dipper simultaneously shouted, "great uncle Ford!"
"Hey, kiddos!" Stan chuckled, hugging the kids. Ford joined in on the hug as well, followed by Soos, Wendy, and even Melody. "Miss us?"
"Well of course!" Mabel joyously replied. The hug then broke up.
"We were worried there for a moment," Dipper chortled, getting ahold of Ford and Stan's letter again.
Stan tilted his head in confusion. "Heh-heh...wait, why?"
"'Cuz we almost thought you two hadn't actually sent us this letter," Mabel interrupted, swiping the paper from Dipper and holding it out to Stan and Ford.
"But...we didn't write you a letter," Ford told her. "We just assumed this was a surprise visit of sorts."
Melody, looking at all four Pines, then asked, "then who wrote it?"
"Yeah, who did write the letter?" Soos repeated, fixing the collar on his tux just before gazing at Stanford and Stanley.
"Gimme that!" Ford snarled as he grabbed the letter from his brother. "My handwriting isn't this sloppy," he announced after looking it over.
Stan stole the letter right back. "And my handwriting isn't this neat!"
Mabel was starting to feel frustrated. "Okay, so a mysterious letter brought us back here," she said. "That's no reason to...freak out! I mean, it's no big deal. We were gonna come back anyway...invite or no invite!"
"True," Dipper nodded.
"Look, look," Stan put his hands up in an attempt to calm everyone down. "It's just a letter--"
"Forged letter, Stanley," Ford corrected him.
"Don't 'cha mean, 'Ford-ged?" Mabel laughed, slapping her knee.
"Whatever! Stop correcting me, Stanford!" Stan barked. "As I was saying, it's just a letter. Let's just all keep our heads and go watch some TV or something."
They did just that, letting Dipper hold onto the strange letter. While watching television, Wendy unexpectedly swapped hats back with him. "Just until you leave again," she smirked. He blushed and adjusted his old cap so that it fit on his head perfectly.
"The only person clever enough to defeat Duck-Tective is...Duck-Tective!"
"You know, I'm getting really tired of these reruns," Stan snorted. Dipper suddenly got up, walking out of the room.
"Where ya goin', bro-bro?" Mabel quickly asked as she saw him getting up.
He waved her off and curtly replied, "outside, that's all. Just need some fresh air."
"You sick of these reruns too?" Stan laughed.
"I suppose."
Dipper sat on the porch and pulled out the letter again, staring at it thoughtfully. It didn't take long for Wendy to join him. She sat down beside the kid, awkwardly looking around.
"It's pretty out here," Wendy said to him, admiring the surrounding scenery.
"How's working for Soos?" Dipper asked, crumpling up the letter and hiding it in his vest pocket.
"Um...unique. You know, I would've said 'weird' but nobody here likes that word."
"How was school?"
"Not too bad. What about you?"
"It was fine. Mabel seemed to like everything about it this year. Well, except the geometry unit in math."
Dipper had a brief flashback to when he and Mabel were sitting in school, being introduced to the next learning unit. Mabel was balancing a pencil on her nose, not paying attention. Which was a bad decision, really.
"Mabel Pines?" the teacher exclaimed, calling on her. "Since you're goofing off, would you mind telling the class what an isosceles triangle is?"
"DEATH!" Mabel instantly screamed.
Wendy laughed, imagining the moment in her mind. "Dude, that would've been hilarious to see," she giggled. "And hey, do you know when the next episode of Duck-Tective is?"
"Not for another three months," Dipper groaned.
"Hmph, figures," Wendy scoffed. She then got to her feet. "So you wanna go for a stroll in the woods? Or the town, I mean, you know. Wherever." Dipper grinned and nodded, following after his friend.
They meandered around in the forest a little bit, reliving past memories. Wendy flinging her old lumberjack hat around, Dipper noticing where the underground bunker was still hidden, the both of them enjoying themselves.
"Hey, I can't help but notice that you seem...distraught, to be honest," Wendy, for some odd reason, mentioned to Dipper.
"I'm just not sure I'm ready for another summer here. I'm hoping it's not as...insane," the kid replied.
"What's wrong with being insane?" Wendy chuckled.
"Shut up, you're starting to sound like--"
That's when they saw it. Bill Cipher's old frozen stiff form, resting in the moss-covered ground.
"--That guy."
COMMERCIAL
Wendy walked over to the statue and suddenly snapped off its hat, chucking it off into the woods. She must've hit a gnome, because off in the distance they heard one wail in pain. "Ha, ironic, isn't it?" Wendy snickered. "This dumb triangle idiot spent all that time turning us into stone and now look at him."
"Don't remind me," Dipper retorted, walking away from it and Wendy.
"Don't worry, fellow teenager."
"Oh yeah, you're sixteen now. Geez. That sounds so much older than thirteen."
"Eh, not really. You do know thirteen's an unlucky number, right?"
"Yeah, I heard half the kids this age don't make it to fourteen!" Dipper joked, both teens laughing in response.
"So, what do ya say we head back to the Mystery Shack?"
"Sounds like a plan," Dipper smiled, picking up a rock and throwing it deep into the forest.
Clink!
Dipper and Wendy both froze. "What was that?" They wandered towards where they'd heard the sound, finding a lonely mailbox.
"Whoa, what?!" Dipper gasped, running to the mailbox's side. "No way! It's back!"
"Maybe it reappeared when everything was reset? Also, what is it? Like...it's just a mailbox, man."
"Not just any mailbox," Dipper snapped, pulling out his crumpled up letter from earlier. "The Mailbox!"
"Um. Okay. Very helpful Dipper, really."
"Now I can figure out who sent this--sorry, forged this letter." Dipper stuffed the paper inside the mailbox, eager for it to respond.
The mailbox began to violently shake for a moment, but soon calmed down. Dipper rushed to see what it had said, ironically getting, "ugh, you again?"
"What? Darn it," Dipper rolled his eyes, turning to Wendy. "You got a pen on you?"
"Do I look like Ford?" Wendy curtly retorted.
Dipper opened the mailbox and looked inside it. It was empty and he knew it. He just felt the sudden need to inspect it, his whole face inside the thing. Though he quickly had to get away from it, seeing that it had started moving again. It presented another letter, this time reading, "quit snooping around, moron! What do you want from me?"
Dipper groaned and looked around. "Man, paper. I need it. And gosh dang it, now we've lost the original letter 'cuz I just had to put it in there! All I wanna know is who wrote the stupid thing!"
"I take it this mailbox knows just about everything?" Wendy shrugged. The mailbox then shook again, revealing another response. "Oh hey, would you look at that," Wendy remarked.
Dipper read the response aloud to her. "Though I can tell you one thing," he read. "Otherwise, if I told you more, I'd be breaking the rules. The letter you received is really from..." Dipper flipped the piece of paper over, finding the literal letter "S" to be written there. "S?" Dipper peeped, bewildered.
"'S'?" Wendy repeated. "What, the name starts with 'S'? Dude, that could be anyone! And what does this dumb thing mean by 'rules'?"
The mailbox shook one last time. Dipper reached in and pulled out what it had sent. It, in all caps, read, "I'VE SAID TOO MUCH! GOODBYE, CRUEL WORLD! TELL MY MOTHER I LOVE HER!"
Dipper and Wendy exchanged awkward glances, just before bolting away from the about-to-explode mailbox. For some reason, it did decide to do just that: explode.
"Whoa," Wendy gasped, heart racing. "What the heck was that all about?"
"I have no idea," Dipper said, staring down at the sheet of paper in his hand. "But I know a certain someone who might."
Dipper ran to Ford, who was still watching television with the family. "Great uncle Ford!" he shouted. "What do you know about the letter 'S'?"
Ford blinked. "Um. Well, I know it's the nineteenth letter of the alphabet--"
"No, just...look at this!" Dipper held the mail from the mailbox up to Ford, but ending up confusing the old guy even more than he already was. Everyone else in the room quickly became interested in Dipper's unexpected dilemma.
Mabel took one glance at the letter "S" and quickly jumped to conclusions. "Soos! Susan! Stanley, Stanford! Santa Claus!"
"None of those make any sense, Mabel," Dipper snapped, interrupting his sibling.
"Maybe we should sleep on it?"
Everyone in the room thought Mabel's suggestion about sleeping was a good one; everyone except Dipper, that is. He still felt quite perturbed about his current situation, and he wanted it taken care of.
"Wow, you two show up for the summer and things are already off to a rough start," Soos mentioned.
Mabel put a hand on Dipper's shoulder, comforting him. "Oh, you hear that, Dipper? My phone's ringing!" It clearly wasn't, though. She pulled out her cell phone and held it to her ear, adding, "looks like adventure's calling!"
Dipper grabbed her phone and held it to his own ear, saying, "adventure? Yeah, not today!" He then turned to Mabel, asking, "can't we have a normal day in Gravity Falls for once?"
"'For once'? Pft, we've had tons of normal days."
"Name one."
Mabel froze, unable to think of any. "Well fine, you be that way. I'm just happy we're here. Sure, this'll be a long, probably crazy summer, but we survived the last one and we'll survive this one too."
"Hopefully."
Stanford quickly jumped in, and at the right moment. "Okay, okay," he said. "Just calm down. It's your first day back, so let's make it a good one, alright?"
Dipper and Mabel took a deep breath, nodding. "You're absolutely right, Grunkle Ford," Mabel replied, suddenly joyful. She then smiled at everyone in the room just before heading upstairs, bringing Waddles with her. "I'm gonna go unpack."
"I'm sorry, Dipper. If I still had my journals, the probability of finding out who or what this 'S' represents would be much simpler," Ford told Dipper, kneeling down. "What did you say happened to this strange mailbox again?"
"Eh, the thing mentioned that it had 'said too much' and then blew up," Dipper bluntly told his great uncle. "And in all caps, too."
"Wait, it said too much?" Ford raised a bushy eyebrow. "Well that makes zero sense. What about its so-called unlimited knowledge?"
"That's why I'm confused."
"If an all-knowing mailbox was destroyed after revealing information as simple as that, what's going on here must be something huge."
"Look people," Stanley finally interrupted. "Last time something 'huge' happened, I almost became a permanent amnesiac. Why don't we take care of it later? That way, I can speak with Soos about business stuff and you can go help your sister unpack."
Dipper agreed without hesitation, heading directly upstairs. "Ah," he grinned as he entered the attic room. He stepped in a moldy substance and instantly jumped back, still grinning. "Yuck! Heh, memories." After wiping his shoe off, he wandered over to his sibling and opened a suitcase, the two of them settling in.
"Hey bro-bro?" Mabel said, appearing grim. "Do you think you and I could head into town later today?"
"I don't see why not," Dipper shrugged, smirking. "In fact, I was just about to ask you the same thing."
Wendy gladly drove them to their friends' homes and other various locations, including Old Man McGucket's fancy manor and the arcade where they met up with Gideon. The kid had learned to like the place, seeing that he could legally destroy whatever it was he wanted to virtually; whether it be a person or a place. Gravity Falls was in a state of happiness that Mabel and Dipper had never seen before.
"Candy! Grenda!" Mabel screamed, running to hug her friends. Dipper walked behind her, content to see his sister in such a good mood.
"How was your school year, Mabel?" Grenda boomed.
"Great!" she immediately replied. "Got good grades, made a few friends--"
"Did you get yourself a special someone? Or are you going to be trying for that summer romance again?" Candy suddenly asked.
"Actually no. I've moved on," Mabel snickered, causing her brother to roll his eyes. The three of them continued chatting, with Wendy waiting in her car and Dipper standing nearby after saying a quick hello. Once Mabel had finished, she skipped back to the car with her twin.
"So, who else do you wanna see?" Wendy said, starting the car.
"How about Pacifica?" Mabel suggested. Dipper shrugged, followed with a nod.
"Then the Northwests' it is." They all drove off again, eventually reaching the Northwests' comfy forest log cabin sitting quietly in the woods. It was still a nice home, but nothing like what they'd previously been living in. They pulled up, the two twins knocking at the front door.
Luckily, Pacifica opened it up. "Hey losers," the blonde girl sniggered as she hugged both of them. "Wow, you two don't look any different."
"Right back at'cha," Dipper replied, cooly clicking the back of his throat. He simultaneously pretended to shoot her with two invisible guns, one in each hand.
Pacifica chortled, "ha! What on earth was that?"
Mabel turned to face her twin. "Yeah, are you trying to be cool and suave like Dippy--"
"DON'T. Say it." Dipper cut her off in an instant.
Pacifica invited them inside, but they respectively declined her offer. "Why not?" she retorted.
"Well for one, your parents still slightly hate us, I'm pretty sure. And it's also our first day back, so..." Mabel informed her with a shrug. "That's why."
"Oh, okay. Makes sense," Pacifica responded, folding her arms. "Well, thanks for stopping by. It's nice to know you're here for the summer. Again. But just do me a favor and don't cause the end of the world this time!"
"Okay, Pacifica, we won't," Mabel hesitantly laughed, waving goodbye.
They arrived back at the Mystery Shack to find Stan, Ford, and Soos throwing dishes around, cleaning up the kitchen; and clearly having fun while doing it.
Stan, however, froze as soon as he spotted the twins and Wendy walking into the kitchen. Of course, he ended up accidentally dropping a plate. It shattered when it hit the floor, causing Dipper and Mabel to cringe.
Soos immediately panicked. "Mr. Pines, I just bought that!"
"Well," Wendy suddenly spoke up, "it's nice to see this old beat up place bringing us all together again."
"Yeah, and it's all thanks to Soos for keeping it in one piece," Stan smiled, patting Soos on the back. "Nice job, buddy."
Mabel then asked, "so where'd Melody go?"
"She's out front working," Soos briefly explained.
"Hey uncle Ford," Dipper peeped, wandering over to the guy. The boy then took a couple dishes off the counter and put them away, causing everyone else in the room to begin tidying up again. Well, all of them except Wendy, who just pulled out her cell phone and wandered off. "Got any plans for us this summer? Any expeditions in mind?" Dipper asked his uncle. "Because--"
"Actually, I do!" Ford instantly replied, cutting Dipper off without realizing it.
"Oh...well--"
"As you know, Stanley and I have been traveling the world together," Ford sighed, finishing up the dishes. He then led Dipper into the living room, turning off the TV that had been left on. "But I've got my eyes set on something bigger."
Dipper held his breath. "Like what?"
Ford grinned. "I've detected something buried somewhere deep in the forest. I'm not sure what it looks like or what it does, but I know it's there. And I want you to help me find it."
"Why?"
"For the heck of it, kid! I also think I've designed a way to get us to other dimensions, a way to harness the old portal's power again; all built in the simplicity of a ray. But I'd need to revisit the crashed UFO to complete it."
"Shut. Up."
"Amazing, isn't it? I can start working on the device in the basement right away if you--"
"No, I mean it! Shut up!" Dipper then barked, angrily stomping his foot. "That portal nearly caused the end of the universe as we know it and you want to recreate it in a simpler form?!"
"That's the life of an inventor, Dipper."
"But--"
"I mean, in all honesty, I...I just thought that...I mean, you love--"
"But I never mentioned anything about your portal! No one here wants anything to do with that machine! And I'm sure your brother would agree."
"Hey--"
"Speaking of Stan, I thought you and him would've been looking forward to relaxation and the absence of...whatever it is you two do out there. Out at sea, 'getting the ladies', fighting monsters. And now here we are, with you--"
"Fine, forget it! I'll just throw away the blueprints and what I have so far, it's no big deal! If you want a boring summer so badly, I'll find a way to get you one." Ford then marched off, clearly irritated with not Dipper but himself. Dipper grunted, grabbing a Pitt Cola from the refrigerator and going to sit on the roof.
COMMERCIAL
Dipper chugged his soda and disposed of the leftover empty can by throwing it off the house. The can was then eaten by Gompers.
Mabel snuck up on Dipper, planning to scare him. She stopped when she saw him pull out the letter from earlier. After staring at him and it for a moment, she decided to frighten him anyway. He jumped, dropping the letter and nearly falling off the house. The sheet of paper floated downward to the ground, landing in some mud.
"Mabel!" Dipper snapped. The letter was then consumed by Gompers. Dipper mentally slapped himself, hiding his face in his hands.
"Bro, come on. I didn't think it would be this hard...coming back and all," Mabel said, sitting beside him.
"I didn't either. I was excited, but now I'm just not sure."
"Maybe it's just teenage angst like Wendy keeps telling us. Hold up, you don't want to go home, do you?"
"No, no, I've just...lost interest in finding clues and...well, I've lost interest in the Mystery Twins, Mabel."
Mabel gasped, loud enough for Old Man McGucket to hear; and he was all the way across Gravity Falls in his mansion. "No, Dipper! You can't! It's who we are. You're just being negative, that's all. You and I battled our way through last summer and we'll do it again if we have to. The Mystery Twins? They're the people that never gave up on us! They're the two we know we can trust! They're us, Dipper, and they'll always be us! So if you're confronted with a challenge, accept its invitation and give it your all!"
Dipper looked up and her, slightly smiling. It then occurred to him. He let out a long sigh before putting a hand on his sister's shoulder and saying, "alright, fine. You're right. Believe it or not, Ford's already assigned us a mission."
"Really?" Mabel jumped to her feet.
"Sure has! You and I need to go find a buried...'thingamajig' somewhere in the forest. According to him, anyway." Don't tell her about the other assignment! Dipper rationalized to himself.
"Yeah! Wait, question: how are we gonna do that?"
"Meh, I'm sure we'll figure it out."
"'Cuz that's what us Mystery Twins do!" Mabel yelled victoriously as she slapped Dipper on the back, causing him to fall off the roof.
"I'm okay," he assured her, his voice hoarse.
Later in the day, the two of them found themselves out in the woods searching for the buried commodity they knew nothing about. Dipper didn't bother to ask Ford about it because the man had hidden himself in the renovated basement. After hours of searching in the woods, it had begun getting dark. Dark enough to where Mabel often couldn't see what was four feet in front of her. She eventually ran into something rusty and tall. "Ow!" she exclaimed as she did so. Dipper used his phone light to see what she'd stumbled into.
"It's a gate," he observed, shovel in one hand and his phone in the other. "And it's also padlocked."
"Leave that to Mabel!" the girl proclaimed as she revealed the President's Key. She then proceeded to unlock the gate, the two of them entering through it.
"Great," Dipper acerbically grimaced. "It's a dead end to nowhere."
"No, wait!" Mabel darted forward, kneeling down. She planted a finger on a spot in the dirt. "Dig here!"
Shrugging, Dipper stuck the shovel in the dirt and flung the stuff everywhere, hoping to find what they were after.
Crack! Dipper smacked the ground with his shovel again. Clank!
"Jackpot!" Mabel wailed, beginning to dig with her own two hands; like a dog would with its paws. The twins quickly uncovered a chest. "Look, Dipper, a chest!"
"Hmph," Dipper chuckled, crossing his arms. "Cliché."
"Um...I don't think so, bro-bro. Look again."
"Wait, huh?"
"Oh my--for crying out loud, it's a human chest, Dipper!"
Mabel wasn't lying. Before them was a skeleton. The Pines leapt away from it, Dipper dropping his shovel. Then his phone died, leaving the twins in the dark. "Aw, seriously?!" he growled.
"Welp. We better tell Ford," Mabel concluded.
"You think?"
Dipper and Mabel located Stanford in the Shack, briefly explaining to him what they'd discovered. However, they did it in the form of yelling; which frankly, wasn't helpful. "Yeesh, get ahold of yourselves!" Ford barked at them. They quieted down. "Wait, did you actually go out and look, Dipper? I thought you--"
"Mabel and I did, yes," the boy snapped. "And uh, we may have found something."
"May have?!" Mabel panicked. "Ford, there was a flipping skeleton out where you sent us!"
"Oh," Ford gasped, wide-eyed. "A skeleton? Yikes, that's not at all what I expected to be hidden out there. Look, you two, just...get some rest. I'll go check it out, gather some samples. Okay?"
Dipper and Mabel sighed, simultaneously replying, "okay..." The twins spun around and began sauntering off.
"And Dipper?"
Dipper stopped, turning around. "Yes?"
"Thank you." With that, Stanford left.
The twins made their way upstairs and got ready for bed. As they were settling down, Mabel looked over at her brother and said to him, "I can already tell this is gonna be an intense summer."
Dipper hesitantly agreed, climbing into his bed. "Yeah...can't wait."
"Goodnight, bro-bro."
Dipper awkwardly stared at the ceiling for a moment before responding. "Goodnight," he finally repeated.
CREDITS
Meanwhile, off in the forest, the eye sockets of the uncovered skeleton began glowing.