Mabel and Dipper peered over the edge of a shallow, circular depression ringed with dirt. To Mabel it looked like any other hole, but Dipper's dopey grin told her otherwise.

"It's a Quantum Worm Hole," he said matter-of-factly as he flipped through the yellowed pages of his Journal. "It says here 'The Quantum Worm is a mysterious predatory annelid with the ability to fold space, allowing for instantaneous travel between vast distances.'"

"Ooo. Space Worm." Mabel interjected.

"'The burrows they create can be used as one-way portals, although with no way of knowing where they lead, they are of limited use…'" Dipper reached dramatically into his vest pocket and produced a tennis ball "…Until now."

"Dipper! That's brilliant! We could teach the worm to play tennis against itself." She leaned in close and grabbed Dipper's arm "We'll be famous." Dipper lowered his arm, a little deflated.

"N-no. It's what's inside." He pulled a small square monitor from a slit in the ball. "It's a pet GPS tracker. I got it off the Northwest's Retriever while she was tied up outside the mall. All I need to do is throw the ball into the hole, enter the code online, and we'll know where the portal leads."

"Don't you think they'll need that?" Mabel asked with kind-hearted concern. Dipper shrugged nonchalantly.

"Probably not." Dipper took the video camera from his backpack and handed it to Mabel. "I need you to record me dropping the ball so that I'll have a video record of the experiment."

"You got it Bro Bro." When it came to the supernatural Mabel could kind of take it or leave it, but she was happy to give Dipper a hand with this obsession. From across the hole Dipper brushed his shirt and cleared his throat. Mabel turned on the camera and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Today we take a great leap forward in worm-based travel or as I have dubbed it: 'Wormsportation.'" he said smugly.

"Ah ha. Dork." Mabel laughed to herself as she inched closer to the hole.

"With the help of GPS technology I will- Mabel don't get too close to the hole.

"Hold on, I think I can make your head look a little less huge if I shoot it from a low ang-WAHHH!

"MABEL!"

Mabel tripped over the edge of the hole and vanished in a flash of smoke and light. The tennis ball rolled from Dipper's hand as he stared slack jawed at the smoldering portal where his sister had just stood. "That's…probably not good." he murmured with shocked disbelief.

…

In the depths of a dark, unfamiliar forest Mabel erupted from the ground in a burst of blue light.

"WAHHH! –uf-WHAAA! –uf- WHAAA!" She bounced off the ground until she came to rest on her back at the base of a massive redwood. "Ugh, where am I?" Mabel sat up and examined her surroundings. A thick canopy of redwoods covered with hanging moss overhung a dark forest floor of pine needles and giant ferns. A small chickadee fluttered delicately past her, only to be snapped out of the air by the tongue of an abnormally large frog. The amphibian loudly gulped its prey and slowly blinked its vacant, yellow eyes. Mabel cringed and sucked through her teeth. "This place is a little creepy." Mabel slowly backed away and cautiously turned towards the portal.

"It's okay, all I need to do is go back through the wormhole." Mabel jumped into the hole and braced herself. She slowly opened her eye and looked around. Nothing. Perplexed, she began to jump up and down. "Activate!...Giddy up?...Go Worm GO!" The hole flashed and Dipper's tennis ball popped into the air.

"Oh right, one way." Mabel crouched to retrieve the ball. "It's okay, with the tracker Dipper will be able t-OW!" Mabel reflexively dropped the ball with pained surprise. The tracker inside had been reduced to a searing, molten pile of plastic. "Whaa…" Mabel scanned the ground for the camera. She walked over only to find it similarly annihilated. Mabel looked around nervously and forced an unconvincing laugh. "Ha, I guess electric stuff gets all super-charged when it passes through." The forest offered only eerie silence. "That's ok, I can figure this out without Dipper." She planted her hands defiantly on her hips. "Besides, it's only a dumb forest. It's not like I'm being chased by some sort of incomprehensible nightmare creature." With impeccable timing the ground behind her exploded with blue light and a titanic white worm rose above her. It trained its eyeless head on Mabel and slowly unclenched its ghastly, toothy maw.

"Scrapdoodle."

…

Mabel scrambled frantically through the inky forest, dodging branches, logs and boulders as she went. With every few steps the ground beneath her would give way to another portal, giving her only a split-second to dodge the Worm as it materialized, breached and dove past her like a big, wormy dolphin. "Must go faster, must go faster," she gasped breathlessly as she slid beneath a fallen tree. The Worm breached right on her heals and slammed headlong into the thick trunk. Mabel laughed over her shoulder as she continued to run. "HA! In your FACE! Or…whatever you have-GAK!" Distracted by the Worm's disoriented yowls Mabel was yanked back by a low hanging branch that snagged her baggy sweater. Mabel tugged frantically while from the corner of her eye she watched the Worm gradually recover its wits.

"BLARG! Come on sweater!" she cried. "Curse my daring and avant-garde fashion sensibilities!" The Worm dove and Mabel, summoning all her strength, delivered one final, desperate jerk. The fabric gave way and she tumbled head over heels onto a flat, partially sunken boulder. She braced for the final strike, but none came. She gradually uncurled and peered around. The Worm was nowhere to be seen. Relived she flopped back on the stone, loosening a small fragment which clacked onto the dirt. Immediately the Worm burst from the ground where the rock had fallen, devouring it. Mabel tensed again, but again the final blow didn't come. Puzzled, Mabel plucked another stone and tossed in onto the ground. Again the Worm breached and dove, taking the rock with it. "I guess you hunt using vibrations?…" Mabel stood and jumped up and down on the boulder. Nothing. "…And you can only move through dirt?"

Mabel sat back down, pulled in her knees and rested her chin in a thinking position. This wasn't the first pickle she'd faced that summer, but those other times she'd had Dipper (or at least her grappling hook) to back her up. Mabel was good in a pinch, but truth be told, Dipper was kind of the idea guy, and having the Journal would also have been nice.

"BAHHHH! Come on Mabel! You can out-think a stupid worm." At least, she thought, she could stay on this rock until she figured something out. In the distance Mabel noticed a flash of lighting, followed closely by the low rumble of thunder. "Oh come on!"she shouted at the Universe, who really seemed to have it in for her today. She looked around and considered her options. Her boulder was one of many that studded the side of a steep hill. Mabel squinted as she followed the hill to its peak, when her eyes widened with excitement. At the top of the hill, peeking through the trees stood a fire tower. "YES!" she cried, jumping to her feet and pumping her fists. "That's right Worm. I got you all figured out. Just you try to catch me."

…

Mabel lined up her next jump just as the storm caught up with her. She was very close to the top of the hill and could make out the fence that surrounded the base of the tower. She jumped to the next boulder and landed awkwardly, her flat souled shoes sliding on the rock's wet surface. After she steadied herself Mabel reached down and gathered up a few stones that she added to the bulging pile she'd collected in her sweater's pouch. She brushed a few wet strands of hair from her face and lined up her next jump. The boulder was covered in green moss and both of her feet gave out the moment she landed. "OOF!" she face-panted into the rock, which she hugged desperately to keep herself from slipping off. A couple of stones fell from her pouch and landed on the ground. Immediately the Worm shot up and consumed them. "Ug. For a second there I thought you might have given up." Mabel pulled herself up and through sheets of rain she observed the small, empty field that stood between her and safety. Mabel took a deep breath, grabbed a handful of stones from her pouch and leapt into the air. Moments before hitting the ground she flung the stones in all directions. Just as she'd hoped the tiny projectiles confused the Worm's senses and it materialized well away from her. With each splashing stride Mabel flung another handful of stones, keeping the Worm distracted enough to allow her to close the distance between herself and the tower. With only a few feet to go Mabel exhausted her rock pile and the Worm wised-up to her trick. Mabel sprung into the air and latched onto the wet chain-link just as the Worm breached beneath her. The monster dove and Mabel let out a relieved sign. "Made it." She climbed the fence and pushed off the top, aiming for the tower's stairs. She landed hard and bashed her shin against one of the steps, but she was so relieved to have made it she hardly noticed.

Mabel trudged through the rain up the towers many, many steps. After what seemed like an eternity she reached the cabin on the top platform and tugged at the locked door. "BAH!" Mabel rolled her eyes as she fished a hairpin from under her headband. After a few moments of tense prodding the door clicked open and Mabel staggered inside.

The cabin was sparsely appointed with only a cot, a few cabinets, an ancient stove, and some sort of weird, circular measuring device. Mabel breathed in the stale, dry air and sloughed out of her drenched sweater, which dropped to the floor with a moist flop. After a few minutes of rummaging Mabel pulled together the sum total of the cabin's musty sundries, which consisted of two expired emergency ration bars, an old ranger's uniform, a modest length of rope, and a scratchy green blanket. She was momentarily elated by the discovery of a small handheld radio, but she quickly realized that the batteries were dead. Using the uniform as a towel she sat on the edge of cot and dried herself. After ringing out and hanging her muddy socks Mabel wrapper herself in the blanket and curled up on the cot.

As the rain pelted hypnotically against the cabin's metal roof and windows Mabel stared forlornly at the opposite wall. It was the first night in ages she could remember being completely alone. Sure, she'd been transported to a dark forest far from home, soaked to the bone and pursued by a man-eating worm, but even with all that it surprised her how acutely aware she was of Dipper's absence. "Oh Dipper." she sighed to herself " I hope you're not freaking out too much." Her brother was neurotic under the best of circumstances; she could only imagine what her vanishing into thin air would do to him. Thinking of Dipper and how worried he and Stan and everyone at the Shack must have been forced her to contemplate just how boned she truly was. She had no idea where she was, had no way of letting anyone know where she was, and obviously staying in the tower wasn't going to be any kind of long-term solution. Despite these agitated prognostications Mabel began to slip into the fuzzy, oddly contented haze that could only be the product of complete mental and physical exhaustion.

Tomorrow would be tough, but for now she was warm, and that was enough to gently guide her to sleep.

…

Mabel blinked awake as the sun crept over her face. As the unfamiliar room came into focus she momentarily panicked until the frenzied events of the previous day came flooding back. She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the cot, only to immediately wince as the consequences of banging her shin came rushing into her brain. She gingerly rose and hobbled over to the counter under the window where she'd piled what she'd found the night before. She unwrapped one of the ration bars and took a small bite. "Blah. It tastes like sad cardboard." Her stomach growled and begrudgingly she took another bite, which she immediately sprayed all over the window. On a nearby hill she could see a familiar tower with a red muffin painted on the side. It was the town water tower and it wasn't very far at all! Ecstatic, Mabel began to shake her hips and wave her hands in celebration before grabbing her swollen shin who stubbornly refused to take part in her one-person dance party.

Wobbly but undaunted Mabel began to contemplate her options, but after a few minutes her enthusiasm began to wane. Finally knowing where she was felt good and all, but it might as well have been the other side of the moon for all the difference it made. She was still stuck with no way to tell anyone where she was. Not unless the Worm had finally given up. She went to the other window and looked down on the field between the tower and the forest. A small rabbit paused nibbling on a flower and looked up at her with big, innocent and inviting eyes. "Maybe it really is gone-" she began before a violent rush of worm obliterated the rabbit from the face of the earth. "Yeesh." she said tugging at the collar of her undershirt.

Mabel slumped back on the cot. Clearly making a break for it wasn't an option. Even if she could run with her bum leg she didn't have anything she could throw to distract the Worm, which she doubted would work a second time anyway. Mabel flopped onto her back and began chewing her hair. "Let's face it," she said, spitting out the strand, "the only way I could get out of here is by calling Dipper for help." She sat up and frowned at the radio, which was sitting across the room from her. "Thanks a lot Radio." she said with frustrated disgust, "You had one job to do and you blew it! How am I supposed to get out of here with a dead radio?" She continued to stare down the object angrily when a look of profound realization flashed across her face. Mabel beamed and she began to bounce with excitement. "PLAN!" she shouted as she stumbled over to the radio. "PLAN!" she yelled again as she swept it up into an awkward waltz around the room. "Mr. Radio I have a PLAN!" She stopped dancing and affectionately nuzzled the object with her cheek. "I knew you wouldn't let me down," she cooed, "I never lost faith in you."

…

Looking over the apparatus she'd built Mabel's faith in her plan began to slip. From the tower's steps she had managed to loop and tie the rope she'd found to the crossbeam of an ancient telegraph post in the yard. It didn't reach quite as far as she'd hoped, about five feet above the ground, but that was as good as it was going to get. In theory her plan was solid: run to rope, place the radio on the ground, jump, grab the rope, and climb high enough to avoid the Worm when it attacked. If the same thing happened with the radio that had happened with the rocks then the Worm would eat it. If the melted tracker and camera from yesterday were any indication then traveling through the portal with a radio in its stomach would really ruin the Worm's day. Her original plan had been to just jump off and on the first step of the tower, but the worm wouldn't take the bait when she was so close to safety. She figured her only chance was to convince it that she was out in the open with no way of escaping. She gripped the radio and patted her shin. "Hang in there just a little longer leg." She took a deep breath and stepped onto the ground.

She took off around the tower, little daggers of pain shooting up from her leg with every other stride. She slid beneath the rope and dropped the radio at her feet. She leapt and grasped the rope, imploring her noodlely arms to defy physics and lift her to safety. She'd managed a single overhand pull before the Worm sprang from beneath her. She tucked her legs and pulled with all her strength, swinging ever so slightly and just barely avoiding the Worm's eager jaws. The rope swung back and Mabel crashed into the Worm's ridged back, breaking her grip and sending her tumbling back-first to the ground.

She coughed and sputtered as she attempted to regain her breath when the Worm burst from the ground a few feet away. It turned back towards her and she realized that it has missed the radio, which lay right next to her hand. The Worm lined up its final strike and shot forward. Without thinking Mabel tugged and dropped the radio under her back all while rolling to her right. With mere inches between her and slobbery, toothy death Mabel's arm rolled into the hole where the Worm had originally emerged and she was instantaneously transported to the portal it had just left. She bounced out of portal and craned her head to see the spot where she'd dropped the radio. Before she could make out whether it had been eaten the ground trembled, and plume of purple effluvia poured into the sky like a nightmarish Old Faithful.

Mabel laid back her head and began to recover her breathing. As bits of worm gently rained on top of her she couldn't help but grin. "He messed with the wrong Pine-COUGH-HACK-WHEEZ!" Mabel crumpled into a spastic, sputtering ball of pained self-satisfaction.

…

Later that very night Mabel was staring intently at the familiar patches of mold on the ceiling of the Mystery Shack's attic. She shifted slightly and readjusted the icepack on her shin. She smiled, recalling the look of disbelief and admiration that had overtaken Dipper's face as she regaled him and Stan with the details of her adventure. As it turned out the energy of the wormholes dissipated with every use, and when Dipper had jumped in to follow her there wasn't enough juice left to carry him. When nothing happened he tossed the ball on the off chance that it might be small enough to make it through. She rolled her head to the right and took in the site of her slumbering sibling. The bags under his eyes were darker than usual, and his saliva soaked shirt collar told her he hadn't slept since the day before. He'd gone to sleep with a bat and a couple golf clubs tucked under his arm "Just in case." he'd said. She smiled; Dipper was adorable when he was protective. She turned back towards the ceiling. The attic was smaller than she'd remembered it.

On a whim she gingerly rolled out of bed and tip toed over to the desk where Dipper had left the Journal open to the page on Quantum Worms, the black light nearby to search for any hidden clues. Mabel grabbed a small flashlight and sat in front of the tattered tome. She looked over her shoulder to make sure she hadn't disturbed Dipper and began paging intently through the book.

After a few hours of strained reading Mabel yawned and pulled herself back into bed. As she drifted off she couldn't escape the feeling of being very small indeed, but instead of terrifying her, she felt an electricity she never had before. Tomorrow, she thought, Dipper and her would have a serious talk about the Journal. After all, the summer wouldn't last forever, and there was a whole lot of world she now desperately wanted to see.

…

In a world full of Wonders and Forests of black, you can always go home, but you'll never get back.

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