PART 1
After their discovery of the missing data, the twins intend to go to Town Hall to try and get more information. In Dipper's car, the twins have just lost sight of the Shack when they hear a gunshot. Dipper stops the car as the source of the gunshots come out of the woods.
Two figures in hoodies, a boy the twins' age and a slightly younger girl, run past the car, followed by a large hunter with a shotgun. The hunter takes two shots before following the hooded figures into the woods, leaving the twins watching in a shocked silence.
Dipper pulls over and the twins follow the hunter, who shoots at them and says they [the boy and girl] are his. Mabel finds the hunter shooting into the tree the boy and girl climbed. She attempts to get the gun away from him, but fails. Dipper comes in, leaps into the air, and knocks the hunter off balance, allowing Mabel to knock him out and get the gun away from him.
The hunter no longer a concern, the twins turn to the tree and offer to help the boy and girl, but get no response. Dipper is about to leave when the girl drops out of the tree, followed quickly by the boy, whose arm is injured.
The boy introduces himself as Jace and the girl as his little sister Jessandra. Mabel starts flirting with Jace as Jessandra stares at Dipper. He mentions Jace's arm being hurt, and Jace explains that he twisted it while climbing the tree. He also says he's okay and that he's taken worse before, which his sister disproves by saying all he ever does is fl- before Jace cuts her off, a wrestling match beginning between the two of them.
Mabel and Dipper share a laugh at the similarities between them and the siblings before Dipper offers to give them a ride back to the Shack. Jess refuses, saying they have to get moving, before her brother pulls her into a sibling conference.
Dipper becomes suspicious they are hiding something, especially considering their large hoodies, but Mabel says he is just being paranoid. Jace and Jessandra stop talking and the four start to head back to Dipper's car, Jace and Mabel flirting with each other.
Dipper and Jess follow their siblings, Jess stuttering over her words and blushing until Dipper asks her why the hunter was chasing them. She says they went past his house and he thought the were going to steal something, so he went berserk on them. Dipper says he believes her, but mentally crosses his fingers, knowing they were hiding something.
Dipper asks she she and Jace lives, and Jess says they are gypsies. Dipper admits that gypsies are far from the weirdest thing he has seen, but two pre-adults walking around alone in the woods without bags of any kind is not the most solid story, so he is still suspicious. Jess asks about the town, and Dipper explains that there is more to it than meets the eye before the four of the arrive back at his car.
Jace and Mabel make fun of Dipper's car while Jess admires it, blushing when Dipper thanks her. The four of them go back to the Shack, Jess and Jace overwhelmed by the merchandise like every other tourist. Stan comes out and the twins explain the gunshot sound before everyone goes inside.
Stan complains about his back hurting from the fire the day before, Jess latching onto it and asking for more details. Dipper tells her the construction equipment malfunctioned as Mabel gives Jace an ice-pack. Instead of rolling up his sleeve, Jace shoves the ice-pack into his hoodie, making Dipper even more suspicious.
Dipper asks where they are from, and after the two have a silent communication moment, Jace tells them they are from California. Mabel says they are to and tells them about Stan 'dying' before almost mentioning the blue charges. Dipper stops her before she can reveal anything, and the two go into the gift shop where Wendy and Soos are hanging out, as usual.
Dipper again mentions that he thinks they are hiding something, which Mabel refuses to believe. She also says that she and Dipper are hiding things from Jess and Jace, and the two of them agree to not press the other kids with revealing their secrets, if such secrets even exist.
Mabel calls Jess and Jace into the gift shop and introduces them to Soos and Wendy before offering them a tour of the building. Dipper asks if the want to wash up from all the hiking they were supposedly doing, and the two of them agree, even though they are surprisingly clean.
Mabel takes them upstairs and shows Jess to the bathroom while Jace changes in her and Dipper's room. Mabel uses the old-style lock on the attic door to spy on Jace while he is changing. As she watches, he notices the charges on Dipper's desk, causing her to panic as those are not supposed to be seen by anyone else in town.
As she debates whether or not to go in and hide the charges, Jess walks out of the bathroom and catches her looking into the lock. Flustered, Mabel opens the door and falls into the attic, where Jace has removed his hoodie, revealing bright feathers on his arms. Jess tries to say it's a costume, but says the feathers aren't part of 'our' bodies, confirming that they are indeed bird-people.
Jess and Jace relax when they realize Mabel is not freaking out by their revelation. She explains she and her brother are used to things like harpies, which is what Jace tells her they are. Mabel ogles his feathers until Jess asks what the charges are.
Mabel hides the charges, but Jess is still curious. Mabel mentions telling Dipper about their being harpies, which they refuse, saying that the hunter from earlier found out, and they were being chased because he wanted their feathers. Mabel insists on telling Dipper, Jess says they will let her tell him if she tells them what the blue charges are. Mabel agrees not to tell Dipper, keeping the charge mystery to herself.
Mabel goes back downstairs where Dipper is telling Wendy about his attack on the hunter, blushing when she compliments him. Jess and Jace come downstairs, Mabel taking Jace on a tour of the building.
Jess, having stayed behind after Dipper said he didn't want to go, asks Dipper if he wants to go outside and look for mysteries. He says no, and she awkwardly goes outside on her own, barely making it outside without tripping over herself. Dipper says that was weird, causing Wendy to laugh. Dipper eventually takes the hint- Jess has a crush on him, much like his on Wendy from three years ago.
PART 2
Dipper is panicking about his inability to pick up hints, and is concerned that he has not been as subtle as he thought about his returned feelings for Wendy the last couple of days. Wendy pulls him out of the spiral his brain went into, laughing at the similarities of the situation.
Dipper asks Wendy for advice on how to handle it, unable to laugh because of his now returned feelings, kicking himself for being a hypocrite in saying Jess is too young for him. Wendy tells to wait until Jess admits her feelings, then be as understanding as possible, as telling her now would ruin the friendship.
Dipper agrees that it would have been bad if Wendy had told him she knew of his crush on him as soon as she found out. Wendy says that both of them knew they would never work out, unintentionally hurting Dipper. Dipper notices one of the doors on his car open and closes it before remembering their original mission. He climbs into his car, intending to actually get to Town Hall this time.
Back at the Shack, Mabel is showing Jace around, and he is falling for all of it. He then asks if anything is real, and Mabel admits that it's not, saying most of it is just for summer tourists. Jace asks why there aren't any tourists, and Mabel explains that most school haven't let out yet, and most tourists know to stay away during renovations.
Jace mentions how he and Jess are homeschooled, and how hard it is to hide their feathers, before accidentally revealing that he was shot down. Mabel says she is lying to Dipper for him and Jess, and Jace explains what is really going on with them and the hunter.
He shows her his arm, where the hunter, named Folbrow, shot him the day before. He explains that he and Jess trusted Folbrow and told him what they were looking for, after which he went mad and demanded they let him use whatever it is they were following. Mabel tells him to trust her, and he eventually agrees, wanting to get Jess and Dipper in on everything.
The two leave the tour room, Mabel letting slip about her crush on him, but he doesn't appear to return the feelings. They go into the gift shop, where Soos tells them Jess was getting something from Dipper's car. Jace goes outside to find Dipper's car is gone, and Soos never saw Jess leave. Mabel and Jace go outside and get on Mabel's bike, heading to Town Hall to track down their siblings.
On the road into town, Jess scares Dipper and almost causes an accident when she announces her presence. She climbs into the front seat after Dipper calms down, and explains that she dropped a necklace. Dipper says she can take her hoodie off, but she refuses.
He asks how old she and Jace are (13 and 16, respectively), and tells her he is 15. He says she can't guess how old Mabel is, but Jess remembers they are twins, meaning Mabel is also 15. Dipper compliments her, and she blushes, confirming she does have a crush on him.
She asks him where they are going, and he says town hall, but refuses to give her more information unless she tells him her secrets, which she refuses, before questioning what the blue charges are. Dipper lies, saying they are re-useable, light absorbent glow-sticks, but Jess doesn't believe him.
Parking at Town Hall, the two of them come to a deal- they don't press each other for information, and don't get anything from the other person without revealing something first. Not entirely pleased with the arrangement, Jess follows Dipper into the building.
Dipper wakes up the sleeping receptionist and asks for the demographics charts. As the receptionist does her job, Jess tells Dipper she and her brother are looking for something, and Dipper tells her her is looking for a missing week in the data for clues.
Dipper gives the receptionist his cell number and is informed that everything will need a day to process before he can get the information. Just as things are getting wrapped up, Jess feels someone watching them. Senses on high alert, the two leave the building, not seeing anything weird at first.
Someone says freeze, and the hunter reveals himself. He fires at Jess and Dipper, and the two start running away from him, heading into the forest. Dipper demands the truth out of Jess, but she doesn't tell anything. With the Shack directly behind them, and the two of them who knows where in the woods, Dipper decides to head to Multi-bear's mountain.
Dipper quickly explains the blue charges to Jess, hoping to get more info out of her. The two of them run down a small crevice near a werewolf cave, the hunter catching up quickly. Jess finally tells him the truth- she and her brother ran into the hunter while they were looking for the phoenix that came by the day before, and the hunter wants them to give him the phoenix.
The two of them come to a large pile of fallen rock block their path through the crevice. Dipper throws Jess up the pile before making as much noise as possible. The hunter finds him and asks where Jess went. Dipper jokingly says she flew away, still not caught up on that part of the story. Dipper warns the hunter they are in danger just before werewolves show up.
Dipper climbs up the rock pile as half of the werewolves go after the hunter. Unfortunately, the other half go after him and Jess. The two start running again, Dipper wanting to know why the hunter believed him when he said Jess could fly. She says she will explain when they are safe, Multi-bear's cave coming into view. However, a cliff is blocking the path.
Jess pulls off her hoodie and the two of them fall into the cliff. Jess starts flying them to safety, Dipper quickly realizing just what she is, all of the pieces finally clicking into place. The two of them land out of sight, all of Jess's feathers disappearing from view except the ones on her head. Dipper offers her his Pine Tree hat to cover up the feathers.
The two of them head back into town to find Dipper car, meeting Jace and Mabel on the way. They all promise to catch each other up on their respective stories, all secrets finally being revealed between the four of them. Jace and Jess get ready to head out, explaining that the necklace Jess lost in Dipper's car helps them track the phoenix.
Mabel walks over to Jace and kisses him, much to their siblings' disgust. After the kiss, Jace is stunned. Jess reveals he is gay, something he himself didn't even know as that was his first kiss. He kisses Mabel again before tuning and kissing Dipper, to the disgust of everyone. But at least he knows now.
Mabel and Jace hug each other while Dipper debates letting Jess down gently now, but the two harpies leave before he can say anything, his hat still on the younger girl's head. Mabel mentions Jess liking Dipper, which Dipper admits Wendy had to inform him about. Dipper asks to be alone, and Mabel complies, leaving his alone to watch their new friends fly away, trying and failing to sort out the complicated feelings in his heart, and also failing to figure out how to handle Jess's feeling for him.
Cryptogram:
Vsuhdg brxu zlqjv dqg vrdu wrjhwkhu, lqwr wkh iuljkwhqlqj ixwxuh; iru oryh lv d vfdub wklqj.
Spread your wings and soar together, into the frightening future; for love is a scary thing.
