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Mystery Kids: Beginnings- Finale

Yep, it's the end, but only of this particular tale. Hope you've enjoyed everything so far, and thank you for reading!

“Whew, gotta take a breather,” Gideon panted to himself, leaning against a tree with his free hand. The other was getting tired after being curled around the amulet for so long, so he quickly switched, careful not to release his aces in doing so. He was pleased both had kept quiet the whole way; while Norman was tolerable if an idealist, the psychic had a voice that grated on his ears no matter what, and noisy hostages were annoying anyway.

“Now to find those Pines brats,” he muttered once he’d sufficiently recovered; that fool Dipper had left a trail plain as day even as the sun sank low, the sky orange and soon to fade darker. And only a fool got lost in the woods at night. Rustling ahead made him quicken his pace; surely he was close now, and then that boy wouldn‘t know what hit him.

Mabel lay in wait while Dipper acted as bait and made the brush move, drawing their foe right where they wanted him. Her grip tightened around the molded handle of the grappling hook, waiting to pull the line taut when he passed by, and there were only a few yards left. Hopefully their captured friends wouldn‘t mind a bit of a drop once Gideon let them go. Good thing there was plenty of fluffy-looking bushes and other woodland plants to cushion them. Squinting, she tried to make them out from her hiding place and couldn’t help but think they reminded her of balloons being toted just below the branches. Hopefully Raz wasn’t reading her mind right now. He did look pretty calm for a hostage, floating with eyes closed and legs crossed as though this was a regular thing for him. Norman looked more resolute than anything, his brows lowered and fists balled, but at least he seemed okay.

So when the first flickers of lightning streaked through him, Mabel felt heartsick. How could he be going through all of that—the nightmares, the terrible emotions—again? Dipper broke cover entirely and seemed dumbstruck, but Gideon was too concerned with his key bargaining chip suddenly igniting to notice. Taking several steps back as the lightning intensified, he brandished the amulet, waving it pathetically at the medium as he hollered commands.

“I didn't tell ya t’ do that! You obey me! Stop it this instant or you’ll get what’s comin’ to ya, you freak a’ nature!

There was no answer. The twins traded worried glances, but then it dawned on them that it wasn’t rage but intense focus that twisted Norman’s face as he struggled to channel the electricity. Gideon would have to try harder to break him, and it seemed that was what he went for. After dodging a few near-misses, he whirled around to face his would-be minion and drew as much power as he could from the psitanium to perform what he had planned.

The stone faded to a dull violet instead of lending its strength.

He had a moment to stare at it before Norman hit his mark and the amulet was shot from his hand. The two captives dropped, vanishing into a bank of ferns while Gideon scurried for his tie, which had bounced into the leaf litter somewhere. It also took him conveniently close to the grappling hook line. Darting to his sister’s side, Dipper grabbed the rope, and they hauled on it together as their rival crossed. Gideon stumbled and landed face-first in the dirt—their plan couldn’t have worked better if they’d asked. Jumping up from the hiding spot, Mabel sat on Gideon to restrain him while Dipper searched for the amulet and uttered a triumphant laugh when he found it tucked under a rotten log. There was no easy place to smash it here, so he tucked the sinister object into an inner pocket where Gideon would be hard pressed to reach it.

Raz helped pull Norman out of the ferns and assessed the situation while the medium caught his breath, bent with hands on his knees. Even with the psychic’s help, controlling that much power had drained him; all he wanted to do now was go home and sleep, and he even decided the ‘go home’ part was optional, but they weren’t quite done yet. Raz approached where despite feeble kicks and whining pleas Gideon’d had no success in shaking Mabel off, and gave her a thumbs-up before lifting their foe by his collar once she’d hopped up.

“If it was up to me you’d never see the light of day again, but I think my superiors are gonna want to talk to you first,” Raz huffed, and Gideon laughed in his face.

“You’re the government agent? What kind of fool do you take me for? You must be stupid if y’ think I’ll listen to you.”

“You know, you really shouldn't argue with the guy who can set your hair on fire just by thinking about it,” Raz retorted, and Dipper cleared his throat to interrupt.

“That’s great, but can we get home now? Norman looks like a zombie.”

“Kinda feel like one too,” he added, managing a grin.

“Ahh! And we’re out of ammo! Quick, throw Gideon to him so we can escape!” Mabel teased, and despite everything they’d been through the group managed to share a laugh while the one responsible for their troubles could do nothing but seethe. Once the grappling hook and the inactive psitanium had been collected, they headed back through the twilit woods, using a combination of the paths they’d already left and Raz’s excellent memory to navigate. Besides the occasional grumble from Gideon, the walk was almost pleasant. The lights they spotted finally poking through the trees spilled out from the Mystery Shack and beckoned them in. But something else got their attention first.

“Aw yeah!” Raz cheered; a sleek private jet with the Psychonauts insignia was a welcome sight, parked as it was in the clearing adjacent to the tourist trap. “This is awesome! We took care of the bad guy, and you get to meet my mentors! Well, one of them anyway—looks like it’s just Sasha.”

“His name is Sasha?” Dipper said skeptically, indicating the imposing figure who stood waiting for them just in front of the plane.

“Yeah, what else would it be?”

Dipper frowned but didn't reply. They were about to meet someone obviously Raz looked up to, and that meant he was probably a great psychic too. Hopefully he hadn’t been thinking too loud just then; talk about embarrassing. They hurried up the dark-clad man, Raz eager to report while the others were curious to meet another psychic.

 “It’s good to see you all up and about,” Sasha said as the kids gathered around him, a rare smile on his face. “From what Razputin told me you were all facing some very serious mental trauma. And Mabel, negative eight.”

“Whoa…” she gasped, then grinned; while Dipper had been hoping he wouldn't read his mind, Mabel had wanted him to from the start. No one but a real psychic could guess the number she was thinking of and her name.

“So this child is the cause of the problem?” Sasha approached Gideon, who was still suspended a couple feet off the ground. “Ach, I can already feel his anger. Young man, explain yourself.”

“Well y’ see, I was simply tryin’ t’—”

“I can sense you lying, you know.”

Unable to worm his way out with words and unwilling to admit any wrongdoing, Gideon clammed up and glared at the ground.

“I’m afraid the museum this was from is going to have to find another piece of psitanium, or just be happy with one tiny piece. The only way I could get the rest of it back was if Gideon didn’t have a use for it anymore,” Raz sighed before he handed the darkened stone and smaller chunk over, and Sasha took hold of Gideon as well.

“You did what was most beneficial to you and your friends. The museum had it for a nearby university to study. If they truly need data, the Psychonauts are more than capable of providing it. You managed to save a portion, and perhaps even inert psitanium can still be of use to them. The important thing is that you once again performed beyond the task assigned.”

“Thanks Sasha,” Raz said, reassured. “So what are we gonna do with Gideon? Lock him up? Or can we fix his brain, because I think he seriously needs it.” The others agreed wholeheartedly.

“Well, it’s against guidelines to imprison him, and while it may be beneficial to ‘fix’ his brain, as you so eloquently put it, he does not appear to have extenuating circumstances as your friends did. Is he always such an active threat?”

“Well… not really,” Dipper replied, looking to his sister who also shrugged. “Unless he’s got that amulet he’s never been much of a problem—not one we couldn‘t handle anyway.”

“I see. An amulet? Do you still have it?”

“Yeah.” He handed the tie over, and the scientist examined it curiously.

“Fascinating. I’m not familiar with the stone, but it clearly has some kind of psychic presence. Do you know its provenance? No? Well, I’ll run some tests and ensure it is contained. As for Gideon…” he trailed, tucking the amulet into his pocket while he thought.

“Agent Nein, if I may make a suggestion?”

“Yes, Razputin?”

“If I stick around or visit once and a while, I could keep an eye on Gideon. But there’s also a lot more going on in Gravity Falls than this, and I want to investigate. Dipper’s already been looking into it for a while, but something tells me he could use backup. Lili’s going to want to come too, if that’s okay.”

“I can’t mention the specifics but Gravity Falls has been on our list. You’re not needed at camp immediately, so I think you could stay for a few days; I’ll run it by Cruller when I return to base.”

“Isn't Grunkle Stan gonna be mad if another random kid shows up at the Shack? He didn’t like Norman so much at first…” Mabel said, poking her fingers together.

“He’d probably make him do his own psychic show, or hold séances with Norman just to draw more people in,” Dipper said with a half-hearted laugh, and Mabel nodded.

“I’m sure we can work something out,” Sasha said, something like a sly grin at the corners of his mouth. “Come, let’s go inside. You all need rest, and it seems I have much to discuss with your guardian.”

“What about me?” Gideon piped up, putting on his best innocent look. “I’ll—I’ll make a deal.”

“We’ll talk once I've finished here. You will wait in the jet for now, and I will know if you touch anything, much less break it. And if you are able to purchase a rare meteorite on the black market, I’ll assume you can also pay for any damages. Understood?” Sasha said, voice taking on an intimidating tone as he addressed the troublemaker, stern face and unreadable glasses only adding to the effect. Gideon nodded, eyes wide. Satisfied he’d made an impression, Sasha lifted him into the jet and sealed the door, then turned to the kids and clasped his hands together. “Now that he’s out of the way—care to show me in?”

“Right this way, Mr. Nein! We’ve got ya covered. So why are you called ‘nein’? Are you like, the ninth Psycho-guy ever? Whoa, does that mean Raz has a number for a last name too?” Mabel asked, and Dipper covered his face.

“Uh… no. It’s German,” Sasha replied patiently.

“And mine’s Aquato, to clarify,” Raz added as they headed up the Shack’s stairs to the gift shop. They found the door was locked, but once Dipper knocked it was nearly ripped from its hinges as Soos rushed to open it and scooped them up in a bear hug—even Raz got caught in it, though Sasha managed to sidestep the handyman’s reach. Holding back tears he tried to apologize for falling asleep on watch, but Mabel shushed his blubbering and they agreed to talk about it later.

“Who’s at the door?” Stan shouted from the living room.

“It’s the kids, Mr. Pines, and a mysterious stranger,” Soos promptly replied, and they heard what seemed to be muffled swearing.

“How important is he?”

“Very,” Sasha answered for himself. “I have a proposal for you, Mr. Pines. I’d like to discuss it now if you’re willing.”

“A proposal? If it doesn’t involve money I’m not interested.”

“It could. Or I could just leave and you wouldn’t get anything either way,” he reasoned, and passed the kids a knowing smile. He’d dealt with enough shady underground types to know just how to push Stan’s buttons, no psychic powers needed—though they certainly helped. A frustrated growl and the sound of footsteps stomping through elsewhere in the house seemed to indicate Stan was getting himself decent before making an appearance. Soos waved them in out of the bugs, and Mabel promptly flopped on the floor.

“Mystery Shack, how I've missed your splintery floors and musty smell.”

Stan finally entered, paused to acknowledge the Mabel on the floor, then greeted Sasha in his most businessman-like manner, suggesting they take things to the office. This left the kids to relate their stories to Soos to pass the time, as no doubt the two men would be at it for a while. They were enthralled as Raz related his adventures through the others’ mindscapes, then all took turns describing what happened once everyone was back and actively involved in the tale.

“Makes me wonder what Gideon’s mind looks like,” Soos wondered when they’d finished. “Lil’ dude’s probably got some majorly twisted stuff in there.”

“I wanna know too, but unless they okay psychic testing on him we’ll probably never know,” Raz answered with a shrug. “Like I said, it’s usually illegal.”

“Fair enough.”

It was decided that they should all go to bed whether Sasha and Stan finished their discussion or not; if they weren't talking the twins were nodding off and Norman couldn't keep his eyes open. But the door to the office clattered open and Sasha stepped out, soon followed by their caretaker. They waited expectantly for the announcement—what deal had the agent made with the con man?

“Mr. Pines has agreed to host you, Razputin. He will receive a stipend to cover housing you, what would normally be considered travel fees for an extended mission. I expect you to return to camp when asked, but you are free to come and go as you like. Understand?”

“Yes, Agent Nein. Do I have to do any paperwork, or reports or something? That stuff’s boring.”

“We've been over how it is necessary to document your activities,” Sasha wearily sighed, “but for this situation, only if you find something interesting.”

“There should be plenty,” Dipper said, and Raz shot him a look. Paperwork was not something he enjoyed.

“Now, I must go deal with Gideon. Pines family, Norman, Jesús—it was a pleasure meeting you; we’ll be in contact. Good evening.”

“See ya!” The kids waved farewell, then noticed the awestruck Soos.

“He… he guessed my name!” he gasped, watching the tall fellow walk back to the plane. “Raz, you know some cool dudes.”

“’Cause I am one,” he replied with a smirk, and they all chuckled.

“So if you guys are gonna go investigate stuff around town, guess I gotta call you the Mystery Kids, since y’know, you’re not all twins huh?”

“If you squint, Raz and Norman could be related,” Mabel said, doing just that. The two in question looked at each other skeptically.

“No.”

“Yeah, the hair’s a dead giveaway.”

“Did you really—”

“Yes.”

“So Mystery Kids?” Soos smiled, holding out a fist.

Dipper glanced around at his friends, then met Soos’—and everyone else’s—outstretched knuckles in a collective fist bump. “Yeah. I like the sound of that.”