The Tapes by 13BlueBananas

Chapter Four: Watching Videos with a Monster III

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gravity Falls or any of its characters, script, etc., and only edited the cover image. All rights to respective owners.

Bolded italics signifies direct script from the show, which I did not write nor claim ownership to.

After removing most of the trash that had been flung around everywhere from the beast's fit (which left him with even more questions than answers) and giving said creature a close-up demonstration of what he could do with one of his many weapons, Ford began to play the next short...

And nearly fell out of his chair. The Hide-Behind? The creature itself wasn't too dangerous, but it was impossible to see in person - much less capture on a video. And while Ford took a moment to admire the twins' spirit, he was more than confident that this video would be full of nothing. It wasn't that he didn't have confidence in their monster-hunting/finding skills (because it was pretty clear at this point that Dipper and Mabel were magnets for the supernatural), but even the Author himself had tried to obtain photographic evidence and failed.

"... these photos suggest that it might actually be real! Either way, I intend to find out!"

It was definitely real. The footprints, the sounds, the glimpses... they all point to its existence. Honestly, shouldn't those two know by now that he would never write anything but fact in his journals?

"The Hide-Behind? Oh, he's real alright." It was good to see at least one person in this odd town had some common sense. "... made this sound... Mighty spooky."

Ford's eyes flashed with something close to amusement at the townspeople's behavior. Some things never changed. He stopped paying attention to the screen for a few moments, turning his gaze onto the somewhat-calmed monster currently eating the garbage it had decorated the room with minutes before. Something triggered it, and he needed to find out what like he needed air. He wouldn't be able to keep this thing captive forever, even if it was more or less staying in the basement by choice at the moment, and the videos were downloaded onto the computer.

"Don't believe every legend you hear, kid."

Seven words. Eight, if you wanted to be technical about it. Either way, they did nothing to improve Stanford's love for his brother. His train of thought was heading down old tracks worn down and rusted with something a split-hair shy of hatred when he noticed something on the screen. Something dark, skinny, and staring at the camera with glowing yellow eyes while hiding behind a tree.

This time, Ford actually did fall out of his chair.

If the Author had been a couple years younger and ignorant towards the supernatural world, he probably would have still been processing the fact that Dipper, a preteen boy, had been able to do what no one else had done before. But he wasn't a couple years younger or ignorant, so it only took him about thirty seconds to snap out of his disbelief and start paying attention to the screen.

"... run."

"What? Why?"

"... that camera out of here!"

Earlier, Ford had heard something about a giant tooth. The items in the background made him think the twins were in some sort of bait/fishing shop. Were they going after the Island Head Beast?

"... brought Mabel for backup."

"And I brought Bear-O..."

At the sight of the old, worn-down puppet, the Thing latched onto Stanford's leg.

"Gah!" It wasn't a scream, but the noise that echoed throughout the barren room after he kicked it off with his other leg was. Instinctively, he reached towards one of the various weapons concealed on his person. The only noise was a quite whimpering and Mabel narrating her "Bear-O" in the background. A few moments passed. The whining stopped, and the source of it was now the source of extremely annoying -and loud- chewing. After a few seconds more, Ford declared it safe to lower his hand.

"... are we supposed to be looking for?"

"I don't know. Just look for bubbles in the water."

"Dipper, look!"

They were obviously alive at the present time, so whatever they were about to face wouldn't kill them. I didn't stop a flicker of... concern? annoyance? both? from making itself known. Worry at the fact that they were just kids dealing with the (admittedly cool) weirdness that was Gravity Falls, and annoyance that his brother wasn't there to supervise. Not even he ventured out into the unknown alone until he was over twenty.

"What was that? What's happening?!"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! ROW! ROW! ROW!"

Ford had heard enough of the backwards language the Island Head (and many of the other beasts) spoke when it started chasing the twins to recognise it when he heard it. He quickly wrote down the sounds in the margins of the paper originally meant to be used as a rough documentation of the Thing. Thanks to his nearly perfect memory, he only had to replay the scene once. Sometimes that nearly perfect memory was a curse, though. Like how he would probably never forget "Bear-O's" parting pun before the static returned.

"Hey, guys, what are you, uh-"

"Grenda, hold him down!"

Was this a clip to one of Mabel's "Guide to Life" videos? If the scene playing out before him meant anything, the answer was yes. Grenda must be the girl with the red-ish hair... But why were they attacking his brother's employee?

"These pants are so tight... I can't move! ... If you're watching this, call for help!"

The girls certainly had interesting taste. The costume must have been from a movie or something because not even Mabel dressed that way. All Ford every saw her wear was sweaters.

"AHHHH! WHAT'S HAPPENING?! ... I'd be pretty mad at you girls, if I didn't look so fantastic!"

The tiger they had turned Stanley into did look fantastic. It was surprisingly professional, despite the fact that preteens had made it.

"Sucess! Take it to the streets, girls!"

The clip ended after that, confirming that it was, indeed, a clip. She probably used another device to film the rest of it, then mashed them together. Hopefully, he would find out who the other girl/girls that Mabel had been talking to if she uploaded the complete edit to Dipper's recorder, like she had the last two times. She couldn't have been addressing just "Grenda", and he highly doubted Dipper had been filming. There was a possibility he would find out within the next ten minutes, since the next video had her name in the title.