Dipper and Bill sprinted across the laboratory, as a giant silhouette pursued them.

It chased after them, as soon as they left the closet. So far, they hadn't seen it's face, and intend to make it stay that way. Bill gritted his teeth, as he ran. By the heavens, if he didn't like Dipper so much, Bill would've fried him like rotisserie for getting them into this mess.

Finally, the two reached a dead end. They turned around, as the shadow grew larger. They had no choice but to fight. So, Dipper drew his sword, and Bill lit his hands on fire. They prepared to charge at the creature, but were interrupted.

Another shadow appeared, and pounced on the bigger one. There was a lot of yelling and growling, before the human sized silhouette tore something out of the monster's mouth, before it scurried off. Afterwards, the mysterious figure turned and stepped out into the light, revealing himself to be a man with facial hair, raggedy clothes, and a pair of goggles.

The man breathed heavily, before pulling out a slobbering piece of flesh. "Well, I just pulled out a monster's tongue. Your welcome."

He threw the tongue to the ground, while the two stared. Eventually, Dipper was the first one to regain consciousness, and then pointed his sword in the man's direction.

"Who are you?" Dipper demanded.

The man wasn't unfazed by the weapon, and replied calmly. "I should ask you the same question."

"I'm the Guardian of the Mind," The brunette said. "And this is my uncle's laboratory. So, what are you doing here?"

The man's eyes widened, and he stared at Dipper in sudden recognition. "Uncle? You mean Ford?"

"Wait, you know Ford?" Bill chimed in.

"Ah yes, I used to work with him," The man answered.

Dipper blinked, lowering his sword a little, but still keeping a firm grip on it. "What are you doing in here? And what was that monster just now?"

"I assure you, I can explain everything," He said. "All you have to do, is come with me. And quickly, that monster will regenerate soon."

Bill glared at the man, before whispering to Dipper. "I don't trust him."

"Neither do I," Dipper agreed. "But, I want to know what he has to say."

Bill frowned, but otherwise, let Dipper turn towards the stranger. With an emotionless face, he said. "Fine, we'll follow you, but if you try anything, I won't hesitate to slice you in half."

"Wow, you must be fun at parties," The man remarked, before beckoning them towards one of the tunnels. "C'mon, before that beast catches up to us."

The man walked ahead, while Bill and Dipper paused for a moment, before eventually following. Together, they ventured deeper into the darkness.

❇❇❇

Meanwhile, in the room, Mabel, Wendy, and Will were sitting in a circle on the floor. Placed in center, was a complicated game that collaborated many different pieces.

Each of them, were holding cards in their hands. Will squinted at his cards, before turning to Mabel.

"Uh, do you have any 7s?" Will asked her.

Mabel grinned. "No, but I do have this!" She slapped down a card down in front of him, which was really a picture of a goldfish. "You got Goldfished!"

"Uh oh, you know what that means?" Wendy beamed.

Will rose a brow. "No, I don't. You never really gave instructions--"

"It means, you move your top hat five spaces," Mabel started, pointing to his game piece. "And by then, you'll reach the adoption agency, where you'll adopt a perfect blue boy." Pointing to a game piece that belonged to a board game called Game of Life.

Will stared for a solid minute, before saying. "Am I the only one who thinks we should've made some rules for this game?"

"The chaos makes it fun," Wendy dismissed. "Now, don't be a deadbeat dad, and get your son."

The blue haired boy sighed, before moving his piece five spaces. Mabel gasped loudly.

"What's wrong?" Will asked.

"You just came across..." Mabel placed a wizard figurine in front of Will's piece. "The Wizard of Wizarding Wizardry! He came for your son's soul. To save him, you must appease the Wizard with a dance, to hopefully ward him off."

"Mabel, are you kidding me--"

"It's the only way!" Mabel insisted.

Will groaned, before reluctantly standing up. He paused, before awkwardly dancing.

"The Wizard likes it jazzier!" Mabel shouted.

The blue haired boy obliged, and increased his dancing movements. However, this caused him to accidentally knock over some papers off a desk. He stopped dancing, so he could pick them up.

"Dude, we're in a middle of a game," Wendy pointed out. "There's no need to pick those up, no one else has been here for ages."

"Well, nothing in this room really belongs to us," Will replied.

"What do you mean? Since this place is basically abandoned, anything is free to take. Like this cool briefcase I found," The redhead said, holding up a metal briefcase. "I like to hold it around, and pretend that I'm sneaking illegal substances."

Will was about to respond, when his eyes caught on one of the pages he picked up. His eyes widened.

"Guys, take a look at this," He said, before showing them the paper, which was a document.

On the page, were the printed words: Experiment 210: The Shapeshifter. Became too dangerous.

Wendy had a look of worry. "Didn't Dipper say there was a monster in there with them?"

Mabel gasped. "I thought he was joking!"

"You know Dipper is terrible at jokes!" Wendy yelled back.

Will turned towards the closet in horror. "Oh no..."

❇❇❇

"A Shapeshifter?" Bill questioned.

The man nodded. "Yes. It was Ford's and I's latest experiment, but it went horribly wrong. The creature turned on us in an instant, and in order to save Ford, I distracted the monster and ended up locking myself in this laboratory."

"You sacrificed yourself to save my uncle?" Dipper breathed, a flicker of admiration in his eyes. "You two must have been close friends."

"We were," The man said, sadly.

Dipper frowned when seeing his expression, before saying determinedly. "We can help you take down the monster and set you free. But, in return, tell us everything you know about this..."

He placed the journal in front of him, it was opened to reveal the blueprint. The man stared at it in bewilderment.

"You found the journal!" He gasped, his eyes lighting up.

"Yes, so can you tell us about this blueprint?" Dipper asked. "Years ago, Ford disappeared through a portal similar to this one. Do you have any idea where the portal was intended to take him?"

The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe, I can tell you. However, I'd probably need the journal to jog my memory..." He reached for the book, but Bill grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Hold it," The blond hissed. "What makes you think--"

He was interrupted, when Dipper pried Bill's grip off the man, before sliding the journal towards him. "Deal."

The man smiled, before taking the book, and immediately flipping through it.

Bill turned to glare at Dipper. "What the heck, Pine Tree? We barely know this guy, and we're trusting him with the journal?"

"Bill, this could be my only chance to find Ford," Dipper replied, his expression softening. "Even though his actions were questionable, he's still my uncle. I want to know if he's safe. I want to see him again..."

Bill gazed at him in sympathy. He could tell that Dipper was still angry, but the brunette was right, Ford was still his family

But in all honestly, bringing Ford back, was the last thing Bill wanted.

If they managed to find the Guardian of the Night, he was positive that Ford wouldn't take lightly to his family mingling with Demons. Bill doubted that Ford could trick Dipper into killing him again, the Mind Guardian wouldn't let that happen. But, who's to say that Ford wouldn't end him on the spot? Bill was strong, but if Ford was just as powerful as Stan, he had no chance at survival..

But still, Bill was willing to do anything for Dipper at this point. No matter the consequences...

So, Bill decided to keep quiet for now. But, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. The monster that Gompers mentioned was definitely the Shapeshifter, but the goat didn't mention Ford having a partner. Something wasn't right.

Bill cautiously scanned the area around them. In an instant, his eyes caught on a can by his feet. It was identical to the others, but this one's label didn't completely fall off. He turned the can over with his foot, so he could see the label clearly.

He gasped.

"Bill, what's wrong?" Dipper asked him.

Bill picked up the can, before showing it to him. "Pine Tree, look."

Dipper peered at the can, then his eyes widened. On it, was a picture of a man, a man that looked identical to the one with them. The two shared a frown, before Dipper approached the man slowly, hand already pressed on his sheathed sword.

"Hey, I would like the journal back," The brunette said.

"In a minute!" The man hissed.

Dipper narrowed his eyes, before unsheathing his blade. He swung his weapon at the man, slashing a cut across his back. Instead of a yell of agony, there was an inhuman shriek of rage. The man leaped to the ceiling, and hung there like a spider. Immediately, his pupils turned to slits, and his whole body rippled. He turned into a pale misshapen creature, with transparent skin, and bulbous eyes.

"Well, looks like the monster is out of the cage," The Shapeshifter chuckled. "So, what do you think of my true form? Admit it, you like it."

"Give back the journal!" Dipper yelled.

"Not a chance," The monster growled, gripping the book. "I remembered when that six fingered nerd used to write in it while I was in my prison. So many forms to take..."

It flipped through the book, before changing forms rapidly. There were shapes that Bill recognized, like a gnome, or a Gremloblin. Then, there were forms that the blond hadn't seen before, like a skeletal creature made of wood.

Bill growled, before flinging a fireball at the monster. The Shapeshifter dodged it, before turning into a frog-like creature. It lashed it's long tongue at Bill, before it lassoed around his waist. Dipper saw this and acted fast. He swung his sword at the monster's tongue, slicing it in half. The Shapeshifter shrieked, dropping the journal.

After the chunk of flesh fell off Bill, he quickly grabbed the book, and let Dipper grab his hand, before hurrying him in one direction. Behind them, they could hear the creature regaining itself, and chasing after them.

They then reached a fork in the path, with the monster still nearing. Bill thought fast, and searched inside his backpack, before pulling out a flashlight. He turned it on, then threw it down the left tunnel, before dragging Dipper into the right tunnel. As they hid, they watched as the Shapeshifter arrived in a form of a giant bug. It saw the light emitting from the left tunnel, and immediately crawled in. The two sighed in relief, before bolting down the tunnel. They didn't go far, before running into familiar faces.

Wendy, Mabel, and Will stood before them. Will beamed, when seeing his brother. "Bill, you're okay!"

Bill looked at him suspiciously, then turned to Dipper. "We have to be careful, for all we know, there could be more than one Shapeshifter in here."

Mabel gasped. "What if I am a Shapeshifter!? Quick, someone ask me something that only the real Mabel would know."

"OK, which animal is more huggable?: a bunny, a sheep, or a tarantula?" Wendy asked.

"All of the above! If it's fluffy, then it's most likely huggable," Mabel declared.

"Yep, it's them," Dipper sighed.

Will regarded them. "Guys, what happened down here?"

Bill furrowed brow. "This Shapeshifter guy found us, and pretended to work for Ford. He was trying to get the journal."

"We can't let that thing get into town," Dipper insisted. "We could never trust anyone ever again."

"What are we gonna do?" Will asked.

"Well, it took us into it's home, tricked us, and tried to destroy us," Bill summed up, before narrowing his eyes. "I say, we return the favour."